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ITEM 2. STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS
ITEM 2a Regina Elementary
Throgmorton: I'd like to welcome all of you to your City Hall, and you know I'm remembering
that yesterday seemed to be abeautiful spring day. Oh my gosh! February 6`h,
beautiful spring day, uh, but it's a little bit different right now, isn't it? I think it's
turned a lot colder outside, but anyhow, welcome to your City Hall, and if this is
the first time you've come here, I especially want to welcome you. So Item 2 on
our agenda is Student... excuse me. Student Leadership Awards. So I've like to
ask Tanner Knight, Jillian Panther, and Lily Santillan to come forth! (applause)
All right, it's on. That's great! So .... I'm gonna ask you .... I'm gonna ask you to
read your individual statements, okay, and then at the end I'm gonna read the
general, um ... the text of the Student Leadership Award and the text is exactly the
same for each of ya, except for your name. Okay? So we'll start with Tanner. So
could you read your statement, Tanner? I'll help ya out here. (both talking,
mumbled)
Knight: Tanner Knight. Hi, my name is Tanner Knight and I go to Regina Elementary. I
think my teachers have nominated me for this award because I'm a leader in my
classroom. In school I am organized and prepared for class. Around my
community I altar serve for St. Thomas More, help clean up baseball fields, and
volunteer at the Iowa City Fall Fun Festival. I am very athletic since I play many
sports, such as soccer, basketball, baseball, and football. I practice daily on my
saxophone and have received high ratings for my hard work. I am also
responsible, helpful, funny, caring, and smart. I am honored to be chosen for this
award. Thank you! (applause)
Throgmorton: Well done, Tanner! You know I told you before the meeting that I too went to a
Catholic elementary school. Down in Louisville, Kentucky. Place called St.
Agnes, and I was an athlete too when I was a kid. Kind of like this guy back here,
claims to be an athlete right now but .... (laughter) Okay, so ..... next is Jillian,
right? Jillian, oops! Sorry! So .... would you read your statement, Jillian?
(mumbled)
Panther: Jillian (laughs) (talking in background) Jillian Panther. Good evening and thank
you for allowing me the opportunity to speak here tonight. My name is Jillian
Panther and I am currently a sixth grade student at Regina Elementary. I am
honored to have not .... been nominated for the Student Leadership Award by my
teacher Miss Davis. I believe I was nominated for this award for my work ethic
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in class. When it comes to working in my class, I do my best. I do my best to
work hard, help others, and complete my classwork on time and to the best of my
ability. I also do my best to lead by example at Regina. Some examples in...
include working with a group during a project and asking if it's okay if I possibly
take the lead. I work with my groups to make sure that all the areas of the project
are completed and that everyone has a voice in the final project. Thank you for
your time this evening. I, once again, am extremely honored for this nomination
and am looking forward to continuing to be a great student leader during my time
at Regina and wherever my education takes me afterwards. (applause)
Throgmorton: Well done (mumbled) Well done. Can I scoot past ya just a little bit? Okay,
Lily, you're next. Could you read your, uh, tell us your full name (mumbled)
Santillan: Okay. Lily Santillan. Hello, my name is Lily Santillan and I'm a sixth grader at
Regina Elementary and I'm in Mrs. Blomme's class. First of all I would like to
thank the City Council and my school for this amazing opportunity. I would also
like to thank my Principal Mrs. Vincent, my teachers and family, especially my
wonderful parents. While I feel very honored to be considered a leader, I also feel
very fortunate to be able to participate in many activities. I like participating in
Girl Scouts. Last year our Troop raised money so we could add to our school's
playground. I also participate in band, choir, and orchestra at school. Leadership
can happen outside of school as well. One way I am a leader outside of school is
volunteering for many charity events. I enjoy doing this because it feels very
good to help out others. In conclusion, I would like to say again how thankful I
am for receiving this award and the opportunities I have. (applause)
Throgmorton: Well done all three of you! All right, so remember the .... the text is exactly the
same for each of ya, except for the name. (reads Student Leadership Award) So,
here you go, Tanner. This would be yours.
Knight: Thank you!
Throgmorton: And I think, Jillian, yours is gonna be next. Yep! Jillian, and Lily. Are there any
proud parents out here? I know there's some over here. I know there's some
back there (laughs) All right! (applause) Well done. Thanks! It is really
reassuring to know that there are young leaders .... kinda movin' right through the
schools. Well done!
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ITEM 3. PROCLAMATIONS
3a Conversion Therapy
Throgmorton: We have two proclamations to read tonight. So .... the first one has to do with
conversion therapy. It's a pretty long proclamation, so please bear with me. It
has small text too, so I'm gonna have to .... help myself out here. All right. (reads
proclamation) Is there someone to accept this proclamation?
Voparil: Hunter Gillaspie and Harrison Freund will be accepting the proclamation.
(applause)
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ITEM 3. PROCLAMATIONS
ITEM 3b Black History Month — February 2017
Throgmorton: (reads proclamation) Is there someone who could accept this proclamation? All
right, seeing no one, I'll just, uh, hand it to our City Clerk and .... after the
meeting.
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ITEM 5. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA). [UNTIL 8
PM]
Throgmorton: So if..if anyone in the audience would like to address the Council about any topic
that is not on the formal agenda itself, please feel free to come up and speak. I'd
like to ask ya to limit your comments to not more than five minutes, and please
when you come up, uh, state your name and .... you know, if....
Mims: And sign in, please!
Throgmorton: Yeah, and sign in please. (several talking) Oh that's perfect, yeah! Thanks!
Elkind: My name is Landon David (can't hear) Elkind and, um, I'm in Coralville, but I'm
a representative of 2,183 graduate students at the University of Iowa, as the
President of our Graduate Student Union, uh, so it's on their behalf that I come
here today to talk to you. I'll start with what I would like the City Council to
consider passing as a resolution at its next meeting. Uh, this is the suggested
language. Of course you all might want to fiddle with it. Whereas graduate
workers are critical contributors to the economic and cultural life of Iowa City
and valued members of our community, and family, the City of Iowa City affirms
that the benefits and wages of graduate workers, especially their healthcare
coverage and tuition remission should not be cut. Now for the why! Well,
obviously many of the graduate students in this room and many across campus
come here to work and they contribute economically to this city. They spend
their money at local businesses. They bring money here. Um .... and ..... they're
contributors to the cultural life here in Iowa City. They come from all across the
world and many places across the country. I myself brought a bit of Texan
culture here when I came here. I'm not sure it was a .... well, never mind! I'll
leave that aside! (laughter) But .... um.....we are members of this family, this
Iowa City family, and .... our benefits and our wages are under attack by the
legislature. You may have heard about House Study Bill 84 that came out today.
Something, I suspect, something very similar to the bill that was introduced will
probably pass the legislature, and then will be in the hands of the Regents,
unilaterally what happens to us. And ... we face a very dire threat. The last time it
was in the Regent's hands, our health insurance and our tuition, we had no health
insurance and we paid full tuition. And those days were not so long ago. That
was 96. Um, and so I ask that .... I understand that a city council does not directly
control the Iowa Board of Regents. Um, I did go to high school, but (laughter) I
do want to say that .... I ..... I was encouraged when I saw you all unanimously
endorse a resolution that said you would, you know, devote your .... not devote
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your resources to making international, uh, community residents feel like they
were not welcome. I urge you and I plead with you to do the same for me and for
the 2,183 people I stand for, before you today. And that's why I ask you to
consider a resolution similar to the one I just stated at your next meeting. And
it's ..... just out of a spirit of love that I ask you to do it. Thank you very much.
Throgmorton: Great. Thank you, Harris (several talking) (applause) Good evening, Adil.
Adams: Hi. How are you? Good evening. My name is, uh, Adil Adams, uh, owner of
American Taxi Cab Company. As I mentioned before, I live here in Iowa City,
uh, almost 20 years and every time I come to talk, I talk about, uh.... the taxi
ordinance or the taxi regulations, and uh.... almost three years, but uh.... there is
no change happen to this, uh, unjustly regulations. Those, uh, regulations...
discriminated .... our business. As taxi... just I give you one example ... for the taxi
company. If you (mumbled) form, you pay (can't hear) as a fine, just if
you .... there is no company in the world, or in America, have phone and if you
didn't answer it, they give you a ticket or citation. And (mumbled) no change
happen. Only change is Marian retired. And that's good. (mumbled) Because
all this problems .....from this ordinance come from the City Attorney, she's the
one makes regulations. And .... I get almost 10 or 15 tickets. All of them is unfair.
Unjustly. And when you make bad laws or bad regulations, and we blame our
police and said the police is not good. So the problem not the police. The
problem if you make unfair.... regulations or unfair .... laws.....so the community
will get mad, but they blame the police and the one who did this is the City
Attorney. The court, the City Attorney, she work as a judge. Sometime she held
hearing in this room, as a judge. And when you go to court (mumbled) she work
as (mumbled) and she ... she's the one, she make the law or the regulation. And
when you go as opponent (mumbled) he just respect her. She never lose any case.
Because she pay $85 fees to any ticket (mumbled) court system or to the judiciary
system. Sothis is .... I don't know how (mumbled) make the law then go to the
court and (mumbled) this law and this is also not fair. So .... I want to just ... City
Council to look to this .... uh, ordinance carefully and we have new Chief, Police
Chief. He's very good person also. But if you keep this regulations and other bad
laws all the community will complain. They gonna say the police is not good.
Thank you. And I made this copies from the last case. I give it to you guys here.
But .... the resolution was not satisfied for me. I provide more documents for
what .... when you respond to my letter, I respond to your letter. So
everybody.....thank you.
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Throgmorton: Thank you, Adil. (applause) Uh, Julie, do we need a motion to accept
correspondence?
Voparil: Yes.....
Botchway: So moved.
Voparil: ...please.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. Uh, any .... would anybody else like to address us? Come on up!
Hi there!
Lovendahl: Hi, my name is Will Lovendahl. This is my first time here.
Throgmorton: (both talking) Good evening, Will.
Lovendahl: ...student at the University of Iowa, and I would like to talk about local and state
action in terms of national agenda from....
Throgmorton: Will, would you sign in, please?
Lovendahl: Oh! Certainly! Um .... one second! (laughs)
Throgmorton: Sony! It's really pretty normal to be kind of nervous when you're tryin' to sign
in and (both talking)
Lovendahl: Of course, yeah!
Throgmorton: Sorry!
Lovendahl: So ... urn .... during the.... recent.... travel ban that's signed by our President, um...
we very, a great part of the nation got into a discussion about the ethics and
politics of it, but a less discussed portion of it was that the amount of refugees that
our country would accept was moved down from 110,000 to 50,000, and so
personally I disagree with that, but over the course of history that number has
changed quite a lot. But I believe that Iowa should do its part in terms of making
sure that if the number will be 50,000 for 2017 that the State of Iowa, through the,
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uh, urging of City Hall of Iowa City, working with the City of Des Moines and
the State legislature could urge the State to bring in 1,000 refugees from Syria or
the other seven, uh, the other six countries on that proposed ban. Um, I hope that
by doing this, you know, it's not a common practice quite yet, but I hope that we
can lead from example and that we bring in a thousand. Indiana can bring in a
thousand. Illinois can bring in two thousand, uh, California can bring in 5,000,
and New York can bring in 10, and we can increase that number and show that we
truly support our Muslim brothers and sisters here in America. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Will. (applause) Good evening.
Zwick: I'll sign in first so I don't have to try to (laughter) (mumbled) Okay! My name is
Adelaide Zwick and I am also a student at the University of Iowa and this is also
my first time here! So, urn .... I would like to address you regarding the, um,
concept of sanctuary cities. So I know that, um, sanctuary cities have been in the
news a lot lately, particularly, um .... President Trump just signed a new executive
order within the last few days, which many of you are probably aware of, but it
explicitly sort of criminalizes the practice of, um. .... declaring one's self a
sanctuary city basically. Um, which is an issue, obviously, because cities don't
want to lose their federal funding, but um, I think particularly in our current
political climate and, um, sort of how things seem to be going right now, um, this
executive order also, uh... would .... um, sort of bring into practice this, uh.... I'm
not exactly sure what his idea is with this, as many things that President Trump
does. I'm not quite sure what he wants to do (laughter) but um, he's sort of issues
a lot of. ... vaguely worded statements and expects people to figure it out. But,
um ... he, uh, has said that he wants to sort of just up public awareness of crimes
that are committed by undocumented immigrants in this country, and as though
undocumented immigrants were not already under enough attack, um, he...
basically he wants to make sure .... he referred to them as `removable aliens' in
this statement, which I think is just the most demeaning and dehumanizing
possible term, and so .... I think we as privileged, document people, some of us
have more privilege than others, which I recognize (laughs) but um .... we're all...
we're .... I assume that all of us are documented since we are sery .... here serving
on the Iowa City City Council, um, so I think we have a duty to protect people
who simply don't have as much, um, privilege and don't have as much of a voice,
because they're the ones under attack, and I know that Iowa City has discussed
officially declaring itself a sanctuary city in the past, but we've seen no real
forward movement on that, and I think that now when we're in sort of this time of
crisis for immigrants, we really need to ... we need to make a definitive step on
this, and we need to make sure that .... if Iowa City is going to be a city which
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protects its residents, which protects its undocumented community, we need to
make that clear. So .... that's all I have to say. (laughs)
Throgmorton: Thank you, Adelyn. (applause) So I .... I want everybody to know that three
weeks ago we adopted a resolution directly pertaining to that topic, and the
resolution is available online, uh, and so .... we have addressed the topic and pretty
strongly. Good evening!
Hellman: Hello! I too will sign in before speaking.
Throgmorton: Okay!
Hellman: Uh, my name is Mallory Hellman. I'm the Director of the Iowa Youth Writing
Project. And I'm just here this evening to thank you. I'm originally from Florida
and in the five years I've lived here, and in the last few months in particular, I
have been singularly impressed with the responsiveness of this Council. Not only
to the issues of people like the ones in the room right here, but also to issues of
national importance and to responding quickly to those. Um, as an educator, as
an LGBTQ citizen of Iowa City, I feel safer walking in the streets because I know
you're here. Um, like many of us in this room last night, I was fortunate to attend
a lecture by Patrice Colors in which she cited community participation and local
action as the most important way we can stop the tide of what's going on
nationally right now. And looking in this room, looking at not only the
participants on this side, but the participants on this side, and seeing the
community work I do every single day here in Iowa City, and all of the people
who are focused on that, I believe that change can happen here. So I just wanted
to thank you very much.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Mallory. (applause)
Maggos: Hi!
Throgmorton: Hi. Oop, you're prepared!
Maggos: I'm prepared. I go the sticker. I've been here before! (laughter) Uh, so my
name's Nik Maggos and I'm also a grad student, so I'm one of the students, uh,
that Landon mentioned representing, and I just wanted to come up and sort of say
that I support his statement and also express.....I guess in a more personal way
why this is so important. So, uh, us grad students we don't make all that much
money as you might have guessed (laughter) uh, with Iowa City housing costs
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going up and just general cost of living going up, it gets harder and harder to
afford to live and work here and ... and really engage ourselves in the community.
So, any cuts to our benefits would really be detrimental, especially to people who
have families. So I.....I mean, I'm just a single guy so it's a lot easier for me to
take care of myself than it is for .... for other folks. So I just think it's really
important to .... really stress that. Thank you!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Nik! (applause)
Pector: Hi, I just came to talk about, uh, two House Senate bills. My name's Brad Pector.
Uh, the first Senate bill I wanted to talk about, um, is attempting to allow the, uh,
federal gom ... government access to all personal, uh, immigration records in Iowa,
making it easy for them to create, um, an immigrant registry. It's HSB 67. Um,
and, uh, it might very well break FERPA and it possibly is un ... unconstitutional,
um, but just like the executive order, um, that doesn't necessarily mean that, um,
that is going to stop. So I would just urge, uh, all the Councilors to use all their
political power that they can to stop that specific bill and I would also like to
echo, um, what the grad students have said before about HSB 84, so thank you.
Throgmorton: (applause) Thank you, Brad.
Ross: (mumbled) I'm Brandon Ross. Um .... a long time Iowa City resident. I, uh, also
went to school in the graduate department here. Um .... I come from Boston, and
uh, when I was in grammar school, uh, public school, inner-city, uh, we learned
pretty quickly about, um, about protesting. Uh, we learned about the Boston Tea
Party. I think we learned about that since we even had teeth in our mouths. Uh,
that the Boston Tea Party was a ... a protest against a monopoly, uh, the East India
Company, uh, which was sailing in on the (mumbled) of the English rights to be
able to send in a monopoly in collusion to sell tea at a price that was higher than
the colonists could .... wanted to pay. They could afford to buy from different
places, but they had a monopoly. And the ships that carried the tea were also
government ships from England, and only the government ships were allowed to
take that tea. And bourbon. And coffee. And other such things. And the
colonists were at the .... and on top of that, the government of England made the
colonists pay taxes. Now the colonists had no problem with taxes overall. They
wanted to pay into what their own communities were about. Massachusetts,
Virginia, many of those people actually talked about that. So some of my first
experiences is learning about all the protests that happened, including the
Revolutionary War. That included.... the Stamp Act, the Quartering Act was, uh,
was a law that the English made that soldiers should be able to come into our
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towns in the colonies to "protect the colonists." From what? They didn't want to
protect the colonists. They wanted to rule over the colonists. And they protested
that. And then there was the Boston Massacre. And that was a protest. And
people died of the colonists at the guns of the English who were trying to control
them and to tax them, and to militarize them. And they.... Revolutionary War was
also a protest. And it was a good protest. It was a protest against the King. It
was a protest against greed. I'm doin' this without my glasses (laughter)
Throgmorton: It's a hazard! (laughs)
Ross: Um, it was a protest against a company, uh, against a country that was sucking all
the capital out of the poor colonists. In my experience, our country was built on
protests. You can talk about abolitionism, which was to free people from being
slaves, or women's suffrage, or voting rights, , or civil rights. You can think of
the miner's strikes. One in Pennsylvania in 1903. Teddy Roosevelt came out
there to come to a compromise between the workers and the owners. And it
worked. In my mind protest has really been the one thing in our country that we
could depend upon in times of tyranny. When there is no tyranny and things are
going well, have you noticed that there's not many protests going on. Have you
taken a look at your newspaper, or in your cities lately... that's because our rights
have been canceled out one by one in this government, even ones to make illegal
protests. It wants to criminalize protests. So you want to give you five or 10
years in the prison .... for doing a simple protest, and you know that things are not
right when that's happening. You know that that's.....that's a criminal thing.
Now I would add that ... that people who protested are in the front line that we
know. Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, all these
people fought in protest against tyranny. For the common man. Right now there
are no common men in the cabinet of the President. They have more wealth than
more than half of our country, 160 million people. They have each man has as
much wealth as 10 million people. Each man has as much work as 10 million
working men and women. That's complete tyranny. To ... today I was coming into
town, and I saw a man, he was about 50 -years -old .... and he had three huge bags
on his back. And in those bags were cans and bottles that were for recycling.
And he had a bicycle. A 50 -year-old man on a bicycle, and I saw him
struggling... to get all that together. And I guarantee you that that man works
harder than any CEO .... I'm goin'! Any CEO in this country and any cabinet
member, and I encourage the City Council to stand up for the common people, the
working class, who makes up just about everybody in this town, and also to stand
up and to protect protests, and for everybody in this city to get up and protest. We
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will not work on their farm any more and we will not be their fools for them any
more. Thank you.
Throgmorton: (applause) Thank you, Brandon. Anyone else? All right, seeing no one else
we're gonna move to Item 6, Planning and Zoning Matters.
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ITEM 6. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 6a REZONING CAMP CARDINAL ROAD — ORDINANCE
CONDITIONALLY REZONING 3.48 ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED
AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF CAMP CARDINAL ROAD AND
GATHERING PLACE LANE FROM PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
OVERLAY (OPD -5) ZONE TO LOW DENSITY MULTI -FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL (RM -12) ZONE. (REZ16-00007) (SECOND
CONSIDERATION)
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Uh, I should have asked about ex parte,
uh, disclosures, but I think there's nothin' like that goin' on here, right? Okay.
So ... um, discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion carries.
Mims: (both talking) Move ordinance be adopted at this time.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by, uh, Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll
call. Motion carries 7-0. We need a motion to accept correspondence. Is that
right?
Voparil: Yes.
Botchway: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by, uh, Dickens. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carnes.
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ITEM 6.
Botchway:
Thomas:
PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 6c DEAN OAKES SEVENTH ADDITION — RESOLUTION
APPROVING PRELIMINARY PLAT (SUB16-00011)
Move the resolution.
Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Hearing.... wait a
minute! John! You snuck up on me. I'm just readin' away here, flyin' through
this agenda.
Yapp: Uh, if Council has any questions about this item, uh, while I turn the projector
on .... this is a, uh, one -lot subdivision at the east end of Bristol Drive, on a, uh,
remnant parcel from the development of the adjacent subdivision. Uh, a road...
uh, with a hammer -head intersection, uh, would be extended, uh, to this lot to
provide access. Uh, the lot has water, uh, and sewer availability. Be glad to take
any questions. (several talking) I'll show you an image.
Mims: Do ... do you have the map of it...
Yapp: I do.
Mims: ...cause I was just curious where... cause this is out near me.
Throgmorton: (both talking) ...far from your house is it.
Taylor: Yeah, it is. It's right (several talking)
Yapp: Yeah, very....
Mims: That's where I figured it was. Okay.
Yapp: Very east end of Bristol Drive, um, this is the zoning pattern. The .... the majority
of the, uh, property is, uh, RS -5 single-family residential. It's rural residential to
the east because of the lack of, uh, sanitary sewer availability. Uh, this is an
image of the lot with the .... uh, turnaround, uh, that would be required for Fire
Department and other large, uh, delivery vehicles. Staff did investigate the
possibility of Bristol Drive extending further to the south. Uh, but there is a
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wooded ravine. Uh, you can see the topography on the overhead. Uh, just to the
east, as well as the lack of sewer availability on the property to the east, uh, made
the likelihood of that extremely unlikely. So, hence the, uh, turnaround. Uh, staff
and the Planning and Zoning Commission have recommended approval.
Throgmorton: All right, we have a motion on the floor, right, so discussion? Hearing none, roll
call. Motion carries 7-0.
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ITEM 6d CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT — S & G MATERIALS, 4059 IZAAK
WALTON ROAD - RECOMMENDATION TO JOHNSON COUNTY
(CU16-00004)
Throgmorton: Is there a motion?
Mims: So moved (both talking)
Botchway: So ... second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? John.
Yapp: Uh, the Johnson County, uh, this property is about a mile and a half south of Iowa
City. Uh, but it is within the Iowa City fringe area. The Johnson County
ordinance requires, uh, City recommendation on the County's conditional use
permit. That is why, uh, this item is before you tonight. Uh, this is the location
on the east, uh, side of Oakcrest Hill Road. Again, about a mile and a half south
of Iowa City. Uh, this is a graphic showing their existing and proposed, uh, sand
and gravel mining operation. Uh, some quick history. Uh, in year 2000, uh, S&G
Materials was granted a permit for the sand and mining operations. Uh, in 2006, a
second permit was granted to expand, uh, the operation, conditioned upon
improvements to, uh, the access point. Uh, and in 2010, uh, the County granted a
permit to allow concrete and asphalt recycling, uh, on the property. The City
occurred... concurred with all these previous, uh, permits. Uh, they are now
seeking a permit to expand their operation to the southern portion of the property,
known as the Bright Farm. Uh, it's approximately 175 acres. Uh, it would occur
in four stages. Uh, four basins — basins A, B, C, and D — uh, and this is expec...
expected to last 15 to 25 years. Uh, the property is not likely to be annexed in the
future. Well outside the growth area. Uh, staff and the Planning and Zoning
Commission have reviewed this property from the perspective of being a part of
the Iowa River corridor. Uh, which is of. ... of regional importance, uh, to Johnson
County. Uh, some photographs. The .... the property in question is currently in,
uh, row crops. Uh.... staff sees this both as an opportunity to continue to have
locally sourced, uh, sand and gravel. Uh, largely used in the construction
industry. Uh, and longer term sees this as an opportunity to improve, uh, the
river corridor. The bottom two pictures, uh, show some of the, uh, wetland
reclamation that this company has, uh, implemented on previous, uh, phases of
their sand and gravel operation. Uh, in other words the property would no longer
be used for row crops. Uh, wetlands would be created at a .... at a 2 to 1, uh, ratio,
uh, and vegetation and the habitat that goes along with that, uh, would be
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implemented. Uh, staff recommends approval of forwarding a letter, uh, to the
Board of Adjustment.... Johnson County Board of Adjustment, uh, to allow sand
and gravel mining, and the Planning and Zoning Commission also recommended
approval. Be glad to take any questions.
Throgmorton: Okay. Any questions for John?
Cole: Were there any hydrological studies? You had mentioned you had made the
assessment on the impact for the Iowa River, um, was that .... was that done here
in terms of assessing this particular .... I mean I hear sand and gravel. Concerned
about ground water, concerned about impact. Was that done?
Yapp: Uh, as part of their permit with the Corps of Engineers and Department of Re...
Natural Resources, uh, that is done, but that is not regulated by the .... by the City.
Throgmorton: I was wondering what happens after 15 or 20 years, and I think you've answered
my question.
Yapp: Uh, yes, there is a requirement, uh, again through the Corps of Engineers and the
DNR, uh, for wetland reclamation.
Throgmorton: Uh huh.
Yapp: And .... and this company has a track record of following through on those
commitments.
Throgmorton: Any other questions for John? Okay. Thanks, John. Discussion?
Cole: I like the wetland restoration, so....
Throgmorton: All right! Somebody finally said somethin'. I was worried about our Council
(laughter) Nobody said (both talking)
Cole: Leave it to me! (laughter and both talking)
Throgroorton: Anything else? Hearing none, or .... no more discussion anyhow! Roll call.
Motion carries 7-0.
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ITEM 8. STORM SEWER EASEMENT AIRPORT - RESOLUTION GRANTING A
STORM SEWER EASEMENT ACROSS IOWA CITY MUNICIPAL
AIRPORT PROPERTY (OUTLOT A, WESTPORT PLAZA — PART 2) TO
ACCOMMODATE ADJOINING DEVELOPMENT
Throgmorton: Gonna open a public hearing. (bangs gavel)
Mims: This is when we're gonna continue the public hearing (both talking)
Tbrogmorton: Yeah! All right, I see no one, uh.... I need a motion to continue the public hearing
to February 21.
Botchway: So moved (both talking)
Dilkes: And defer the resolution.
Throgmorton: And defer the resolution, yes, thank you.
Botchway: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. Uh, this is all in favor say aye.
Opposed. Motion carries.
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ITEM 9. GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS - RESOLUTION INSTITUTING
PROCEEDINGS TO TAKE ADDITIONAL ACTION FOR THE CHANGE
IN USE OF A NOT TO EXCEED $700,000 PORTION OF THE GENERAL
OBLIGATION BONDS, SERIES 2015
a. PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: Again I'll open a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Anybody like to address this
topic? Seeing no one I'll close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b. CONSIDER AN RESOLUTION
Mims: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Maybe somebody could
explain this. Geoff?
Taylor: (both talking) I had a question. Maybe he can explain that then. (both talking)
Uh, I'm not remembering how it got diverted from Alexander.
Fruin: Sure. In 2015, uh, we had issued $700,000 in .... in anticipation that that would be
a requirement of a 28E agreement that we would have with the School District to
utilize, uh, the Alexander gym, which was built, uh.... uh, to be .... built larger than
their traditional elementary school gyms for the specific purpose of community
events. Those 28E discussions, um .... um, did not materialize the way we thought
they would. We don't have a 28E for the use of that space yet. We continue to
talk with the ... with the School District. We are using that space for Parks and
Recreation right now. Um, but in conversations with the School District, um,
they will not be requiring that we, uh, contribute the $700,000 that we originally
thought we would. So the, um .... the plan is to shift those bond funds to another
facility, um, that accommodates both, uh, school needs and, uh, Parks and
Recreation needs, and that's the Mercer Park Aquatic Center. In the memo, uh,
you can see the types of improvements that we'd be, uh, pursuing at Mercer. Um,
this is maintenance, um, on the ... or actually a replacement of the dubber... double
boiler and then some tuck pointing and masonry repairs, as well as the upgrading
of the ADA chair lift in the pool area.
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Throgmorton: Any questions for Geoff? Okay, uh, discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion
carries 7-0.
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ITEM 10. FOOD TRUCK VENDING - ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 9,
ENTITLED "MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC," CHAPTER 4,
ENTITLED "PARKING REGULATIONS," TO ESTABLISH A PILOT
PROGRAM FOR FOOD TRUCK VENDING IN THE DOWNTOWN.
(PASS AND ADOPT)
Mims: Move adoption.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Uh, discussion? Simon Andrew!
Andrew: Hi, Simon Andrew, Assistant to the City Manager. Um, as you know you have
your third reading of the ordinance enabling us to do this pilot program, uh,
before you tonight. I just wanted to go over the parameters of the program really
quickly with ya and make sure that you didn't have any questions about those.
Um, so the hours, uh, will run from 10:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M. Uh, that was the
goal of this program was to test those late-night vending hours. Um, they will be
on Friday and Saturday nights only. Um, and that was, urn .... through discussions
with the Mobile Vending Association that that was, um, the.....the wisest route
for them to go. Um, we did meet with, uh, the Mobile Vending Association and
the Downtown District, um, had a meeting with several, uh, restaurants
represented there, um, and I also met with the, uh, Executive Director of the
Downtown District and the, um, a .... a couple of representatives from the Mobile
Vending Association subsequently as well. As you can imagine, there was a .... a,
quite a bit of disagreement as to whether, um, you know, a pilot should move
forward at all. Um, but when we got down to the specific locations, I think that
the three that we've chosen for this pilot, um, struck the best balance that we
could. I think that, um, you know, in terms of what the alt .... other alternatives
discussed at that meeting that these were, uh, the ones that had the most support.
So, um, we have three locations. It'll be, um, one location will serve as the site at
a time. It'll rotate between those three locations. Essentially one month each.
Um, the first one will be on North Clinton Street, uh, near the dorms. Um, and
that was one that our Student Government Liaison had, uh, also suggested, um,
pursuing when we first started this discussion. Um, this was also one that was
mentioned at the meeting and, um, received the least amount of opposition from
downtown restaurants. It is roughly 1,000 feet, um, from the Downtown District,
um, which is beyond any, uh, buffer zone that I've seen in other food truck
ordinances. So... um .... that one, uh, will go first, so that'll be essentially the
month of April, four consecutive weekends, uh, during the month of April. Uh,
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next we'll move over to the, uh, Robert A. Lee Recreation Center parking lot.
And again, this was a ... a location that came up during, uh, the meeting with the
Downtown District and in fact it was suggested by a restaurant owner, and again,
uh, received less negative feedback than other alternatives. So that will serve as
the site during the month of May, uh, and will end up being five weekends,
um .... due to, uh, something having to do with the Du ... Dubuque Street location
that I'll get to in a second, but, uh, it'll be four consecutive weekends there,
Fridays and Saturday nights, same hours, and that will also serve as the location
for a .... a kickoff event, um, on March 3151' um, to get the word out that this pilot
program is, uh, going on. Uh, the last location is Dubuque Street between
Jefferson and Iowa Avenue, underneath the Biology skywalk. Uh, this will only
serve as the location for three weeks, uh, the first weekend in June is Arts Fest
and that's where they do a lot of their, uh, setup and, uh, discussed this with the
Mobile Vending Association and they were .... they were fine with staying at
Robert A. Lee for an extra week. Uh, this is the most common location, the
Dubuque Street location is, for our, uh, daytime vendors, um, when they are .... are
near the downtown. Again, it's not in the .... the downtown zone, um, as defined
in our current food truck vending ordinance, um, but it is the closest of the three,
uh, to the Downtown District. Um, and the last thing I'll mention about it is that
each of these locations, uh, there'll be a limit of four, uh, trucks vending at, uh, at
the same time. More can apply to be a part of the pilot program, and the Mobile
Vending Association will, um, work out which four vendors show up on any
given night. Uh, the only exception to that being, uh, the kick-off event at Robert
A. Lee, which can have up to six vendors .... for that event. So that is all I have for
ya! All the other requirements that are applicable from the current food truck
requirements — fire extinguisher, things like that — um, will all stay in effect for
the pilot program.
Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you, Simon. Uh, are there any questions for Simon?
Cole: How many of the locations are outside the current buffer? That we....
Andrew: Um, all of them! All three are (both talking)
Cole: All are, okay (both talking)
Andrew: Yes! Yes, the closest being Dubuque Street, which is commonly used now, so....
Throgmorton: So there have been many questions raised about fairness?
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Andrew: Yes.
Throgmorton: Uh, raised by bricks and mortar restaurants.
Andrew: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: Could you .... at the moment, uh, respond to those questions?
Andrew: Sure! You know, it's a .... it's a fairly common conversation that comes up, uh, in
the cities that look at allowing food truck operations. Um, you know, certainly
it's a .... there are, you know, different pros and cons for different business models,
um, certainly the .... the criticism that, you know, brick and mortar restaurants pay
hefty, uh, property taxes, have a lot of investment in their properties, those are all,
you know, very strong arguments and, um .... you know, we want to be sensitive to
that as well. Um, food trucks do, uh, you know, they do have a permit fee of
$1,000 per year. Um, they have, you know, fewer protections as well, you know,
as ... even in this pilot program, the ... it's in the administrative rules that we reserve
the right to change this at any point, you know, City Council can take away that
right from them to vend in the street at any time they want. So there's a little less
certainty with the business model, uh, for food trucks as well, but certainly
the .... the position that, uh, brick and mortar restaurants have made this great
investment in the downtown and, um, in .... in a lot of ways make the downtown
what it is, um, that's certainly something that we have to be mindful of and, um,
was largely the reason why we picked the locations that we did, was to try and be
sensitive to that and, um, try and, uh, get them as far away from those brick and
mortars as possible without, urn ..... without making the pilot, uh, uninformative.
The, you know, there has to be enough food tru ... uh, foot traffic for these food
trucks to operate, uh, in a manner that, you know, is profitable for them to even
participate. So, um, we were cogni ... cognizant of that and, um, we think we've
struck a good balance here .... to evaluate it.
Botchway: What was the conversation around, um, kind of the program evaluation so the
measurables that were attached, I mean are these .... are these kind of the
measurables, evaluative measures that all of...or everybody feels good or
comfortable with moving forward, I mean, what was the consensus on that, and
then also in relation to the permit fee, because I think that goes back to, um, some
of the debate back and forth as far as, you know, property taxes, permit fee,
whether or not that's adequate.
Andrew: Sure.
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Botchway: You know, um.....fee when you're thinking about, you know, the amount of
property taxes a brick and mortar res.... restaurants pay, urn, to us.
Andrew: Sure, absolutely.... and the, um, $1,000 permit fee that we have for food trucks
currently is something that, um, we can look at moving forward. We try and
review, um, all of our license and fees, charges, um, on a regular basis so there's
not a big jump at any one time. We have, uh, increased the food cart, uh, ped
mall vendor permit fees a couple of times in recent years, and that's something
that we can certainly look at for food trucks moving forward. Um, we did land on
the $250 fee for this just based on that $1,000 annual fee. Um, so that's... that's
how we arrived of it...at it, but there's no.. ..there was no calculation that went
into that, other thanjust prorating the current fee. It's not, um, there's not any
magic to that number. So, and that's something that we can certainly discuss
moving forward, especially if that, um, you know, gives the impression of more,
uh, parody, you know, more fairness, uh, with the program. And I'm sorry, what
was the first part of your question?
Botchway: The first part was just looking at the program evaluation, all the different (both
talking)
Andrew: Oh, sure, sure!
Botchway: ...that were chosen.
Andrew: Um, these are all the ideas that we could come up with, things that we could track,
uh, a lot of the conversation with the Downtown District is that, um, that financial
data isn't going to be available. Um, which is understandable and, um, you
know ... and it's understandable that, uh, in such a .... a short pilot that that's gonna
give you very limited information anyway. Their seasonal fluctuations,
fluctuations from year to year, uh, you know, obviously the Washington Street
project last year probably impacted, um, a lot of bottom lines to the degree that,
you know, it wouldn't necessarily be an apples -to -apples comparison. Um, so....
all the other measurables that we could come up with we included, but if there's
anything else that, um, Council wants us to track, or, um, if we get feedback from
the public or, um, any of the vendors that there are other, um, useful metrics that
we could use, we're certainly open to any of those. This isn't .... none of this is set
in stone. The only other thing I'll mention with that is, um, there isn't an exact
threshold for any of these. You know, uh, it could be that there's one food
wrapper in somebody's front yard on the way home, urn .... you know, we
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probably wouldn't say that that's enough to deem this not a success, but ... um,
there isn't an exact threshold in terms of. ... say trash or debris that, um, that would
give you a very clear determination of `no, we don't want to move forward with
permanent changes.' It's gonna largely be anecdotal and at the end of the day will
be a judgment call, uh, by you all.
Cole: Simon, were any places within the downtown directly, um, studied as a .... as a
possible location, cause I guess I'm a little disappointed there's not at least one or
two nights in the downtown area, um, even though the purpose of the pilot was to
allow staff discretion in terms of where those locations would be, but I thought
the whole point was to get some location inside the buffer zone. Um, I
understand the sensitivity of the downtown businesses to that, but I think that's
why I want to try to do the pilot so we can evaluate that. Were there any locations
addressed, uh, possibly downtown?
Andrew: Sure, um, the conversation kicked off with a map from the Mobile Vending
Association that they had presented to both us and the Downtown District as just a
list of suggestions, um, not necessarily where those were gonna land. So that was
the starting point for our conversation at the Downtown District offices, and it
was through that conversation that the vendors, um, and I'll preface this with not
all food truck vendors, um, necessarily agree with each other, as to where the best
locations are. There is some, you know, disagreement. It's not a .... a, the opinions
aren't monolithic there, so, um, but there was a .... a considerable interest in these
locations from, um, vendors and, um, it was really from that conversation that
these locations grew out of So these have been vetted with the food truck
vendors and, um, they've even, you know, put together a list of likely food trucks
that they think would be out on a given night and have started that process of
determining who the four trucks will be on any given night, um, and that was also
true of the Fridays and Saturdays. That was a suggestion of the vendors
themselves, so .... um, I think that they're definitely on -board with these locations,
particularly the Ree Center parking lot was one that hadn't been considered by
them in the past and, um, they .... they thought that it held a lot of promise, so....
Taylor: Simon, are, uh, from what you're hearing from these, uh, vendors, uh, are they
ones that have operated in this area previously or new to the area, such as at the
Farmers Market or are some of them new that are going to....
Andrew: Um, I think of all six that were on that list I was familiar with the names, yes. Um,
yeah, I believe that's true, that the lion's share were from Iowa City. I believe
one was based in North Liberty, one out of Cedar Rapids, um, but .... uh, three or
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four of them participated in our pilot across the street here, uh, in 2014, um, so
yeah, they're all trucks I think that we're familiar with and in fact one of them
already has an annual permit, um, for, uh, daytime operations for this year.
Throgmorton: Simon, with regard to location...
Andrew: Uh huh.
Throgmorton:.... my recollection, tell me if I'm wrong, my recollection is that when we voted
on this three weeks ago we did not know what the pilot locations would be.
Andrew: Correct.
Throgmorton: Yeah. Uh, but now we do, uh, so I'm wondering how long, uh, restaurant owners
and the Downtown Association have been aware of this ... these specific locations.
Andrew: Of these specific locations, uh, they did receive the memo roughly at the same
time it went into your packet. Um, but .... they were hammered down at that
meeting on January 24a' I believe it was. It was Kyle, Nancy, um, Tony Brown,
um, and a couple other City staff members, Mark Rummel, Jann, uh, Jann Ream,
uh, that .... that's where we landed on those locations.
Throgmorton: Okay.
Andrew: And so I sent out a .... a summary email after that meeting, just confirming that
this was what we had talked about and this is the direction we're going (both
talking)
Throgmorton:.. just wanted to make sure nobody was bein' surprised by the locations, right.
Andrew: Right!
Throgmorton: Or caught off guard. Okay! Any other questions for Simon? Thank you.
Andrew: Thank you!
Throgmorton: Would anybody like to address this topic? Good evening.
Nelson: Hi, I'm Barry Nelson. I'm with, uh.....Pancheros Mexican Grill. Um, I'd like to
just talk for a minute or two about (clears throat) the issue of fairness that's been
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brought up. Um ... I appreciate your time and I've had the opportunity to, uh, to
speak with a few of you individually and I ... and I appreciate the, uh, the time and
the open .... open-mindedness with which you approach your job, and it's ... it's, uh,
it's appreciated by all of us. Um, we talked about, uh, we talked about fairness
and for those of us who have .... more than one child .... a conversation of fairness
happens almost daily. (laughter) This is .... this is probably a little.... has a little
more weight, um, we talked about the brick and mortar.... restaurants, uh, they've
been, the brick and mortar restaurants that are here have been here for, uh, for
decades. And it's easy now to sort of think that, um, in ... without the ... the benefit
of retrospect or .... or.....or history, to think that that success, or the level of
success that they're experiencing now was there from day one and it was not. Uh,
success came .... hard and it .... and it was a long time in coming. Um .... the brick
and mortar operators have taken a great deal of personal risk. Uh, they've
invested, I know we talked about it, but it's a great deal of money. Uh, some...
north of half a million dollars or more; hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent,
property renovations, taxes, contributions to SSMID, uh, they have all worked...
uh, together to create this environment that we have now. The .... the energy or
the .... the culture that we have downtown right now is a direct result of the efforts
that they put in over the course of years. Um, and as brick and mortar restaurants,
and as business people, they ... um, they were here the whole time. Regardless of
season. Regardless of weather. Regardless of the time of the year. Uh,
regardless a lot of times to the time of day. Uh, there are dozens of restaurants
right now that are open after 10:00 and 11:00 P.M. right here in the Downtown
District that, uh, that are trying to do business. Um, and they were here
when .... uh, during every spring break and every summer vacation and every
winter break when the students were here, when the students were not, uh, they've
been here, and they've invested in the community and their people, and in their
food and in their customers. Um, and in .... and in Iowa City. Uh, they didn't pick
and choose when they might kinda swoop in. Uh, game days are a big, hot
commodity. Uh, you've got untold numbers of people down here for a finite
amount of time. A lot of operators downtown live for these events. Uh, it's much
like .... Black Friday in the retail industry. These events bring in people from
everywhere. A lot of restaurateurs struggle all year long to make it to this part of
the year where they can make their money and... and have their success.
Urn .... and then we come to the issue of fairness. Um .... there is a great deal of
opposition to the idea of food trucks being downtown. Not to food trucks, um,
and not to ... the idea of a food culture, uh, a food truck culture somewhere in Iowa
City and sort of enhance that and it'd be a part of whatever that is. But the idea
that they would come into the Downtown District, um, during peak times when
they could just come in, sort of take advantage of. ... of the event or whatever's
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going on and sort of get out when there are brick and mortar investors and
operators who've worked all year to get there. Um .... during a recent meeting we
had with, uh, with Kyle and with, uh, some of the food truck guys, we really tried
to work .... we went into it with a spirit of collaboration. Any time you have a
bunch of A -type personalities in a room, you're gonna get some, uh,
some.... dynamic conversation. Um, and we did, but in the end I think we came
up with some solutions and after the fact we've had conversations with .... with
Kyle offline to see how we can make his dream come true, cause I think he does
have an honest idea what he wants this culture to be. Um, and it is independent of
the current brick and mortar restaurants that are in existence. He respects that,
um, and wants to enhance it or kind of move along and li.... live aside it as
opposed to trying to sort of encroach on whatever's already there and just take a
bite out of a .... an increasingly small pie. Um, I guess in the end we simply just
want and ask, uh.... due deliberation, a lot of thought and a lot of conversation
into what the success of this ... this test looks like, um, and then what the next step
may be. I appreciate it.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Barry. Hi, Nancy.
Bird: Hi, Nancy Bird of the Iowa City Downtown District. Uh, first of all I wanted to
thank you all for entertaining comments tonight. Um, you all received a memo
from the Downtown District where I kind of.....I tried to go through and kind of
outline some of the conversation points. Um, but from tonight's discussion I
think there's a few things that I wanted to highlight a little bit further, especially
when it comes to the, um, the map and the boundaries and those locations. And,
um, really I think, uh, in speaking to a couple of you prior to, um, this effort, what
I heard from City Council was that they were trying to really build an
environment for entrepreneurs so that they can, you know, move into brick and
mortar if that's at all possible, and I thunk that's, you know, that's a, um, I think
that's a .... a good goal to achieve. One of the ... I guess requests that I would make,
um, cause there was some .... a few process points that I've learned, and some of
the things that I can do better that I haven't done in the past is, um, as Council has
an idea or, um, a .... an idea that reflects some sort of change, especially within an
ordinance for downtown, um, that prior to any, um, you know, moving forward
for a pilot that, um, to allow me to help serve that and pull together those
stakeholder groups and I know that staff does that often, but to have City Council
sit in on that. I think one of the .... there's a couple good examples that that
work ... has worked well with like the, um, stop sign. Seems like a small one but at
the same time just going back and being able to collect some information that was
buried, I think, is helpful, and we can do that on a number of different issues.
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Um, on this particular pilot, um .... I think if we would have had those parameters
outlined and had the conversation prior to this moving forward into pilot phase,
we wouldn't have so many people upset. I think initially people felt like `oh,
you're just doing it without the research done,' and Kyle did a great job pulling
his vendors together, getting the restaurants together to really have this exchange,
as uncomfortable as it was. It got pretty heated at times, but .... at the same time
just allowing that process to move forward. The location element of it became
very clear because I think one of the things that we all recognize is these food
trucks work great in underserved areas, and there's a real mis.... misconception
that downtown is underserved with food. Um, it is not underserved with food. I
don't know how to reiterate that, but there is, um, even late at night, we're really
trying to promote the kind of food that people want to come down and really
enjoy that's, you know, the highest quality of food, and at that time of night,
that's not why people are eating. So we want to ..... if that's something that we
want to promote, we need to do that at different hours. Um, I think there was a lot
of really good conversation from Brian and Leslie Triplett of Dumpling Darling,
um, what their model was for mobile food vending and going out. Now they're in
their brick and mortar, so that's kind of a great example. Their input to that
meeting was, um .... of course mobile food vending is great. It can allow you that
opportunity, but we would never do it in front of someone else's shop, and the...
we have so many, it's so dense in food downtown, and when we went through the
entire map, um, there's a numbered map so you can see how many restaurants are
in each block, and it was very helpful for everybody. So I think the solution that
Simon helped with, um, and that everybody involved really helped with was
people left feeling good about it, um, you know, we .... we looked through every
single zone and talked about them, and, um, you know, it's really ... it'll be
interesting to see how this works. I ... I, I mean, I think nobody really knows, but
even from Kyle's perspective, I think he wants to build something for daytime,
and if that's what we want to build, then that's what we should focus on. I think
ICAD can be a great partner to that. So, um, moving forward, if there's
something that comes up, um, I would be happy to pull together those stakeholder
groups so you can hear it directly, learn the information, um, you know, Iowa City
follows the national precedence of 150 -feet as .... which is lower. There are other
precedents of 200, 250 -feet from a brick and mortar restaurant. There's a lot of
restaurants downtown that would appreciate 500 -feet. Um, so I think we're
already at a pretty low standard, and then also we also have mobile food vending
already in those carts, and we have.... there's six permits and I think there's only
five that are active, and that says something about that late-night hour .... that
they're not even all full. So .... um, I appreciate your, you know, time and ... and
working through this. I think we'll all learn something from the pilot, and we're
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happy to support anything that is successful out of this moving forward. So thank
you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Nancy. Anyone else? Good evening, Kyle.
Sieck: Thank you everybody for the time. Kyle Sieck, Iowa City Mobile Vending
Association. Urn .... I want to start off by saying I've surprisingly really enjoyed
this process. Uh, when we sat down with the Downtown Association at their
office, uh, it was me, two other vendors, and then the faces of all the biggest
players in the restaurant industry in Iowa City and I thoroughly enjoyed that
because every single person in that room I respect. They're hard working small
business people who have a story of starting small and growing, and so personally
when I was in that room, again, we don't want to be setting up in front of people's
businesses, creating conflict, disrespecting people. That's not what a healthy food
truck culture's about. Uh, the locations that we chose is .... should be hopefully a
sign of our spirit that supports that because they're not in the Downtown District,
uh, as Rockne suggested. They're outside of the 150 -feet and I truly believe that
food trucks can, uh, address the underserved areas, you know, the dorms. They...
they're underserved for food at nighttime. Um, our recreation parking lot has...
this was suggested by restaurants and I'm really excited at the idea of a semi-
permanent or permanent late-night scene in the recreational parking lot. You
could have food truck vendors, uh, farmers market vendors, you know, Cedar
Rapids has a late-night farmers market, kind of in the spirit of that, uh, dynamic,
non-alcoholic events for people to do. So .... kind of like the .... the spirit of this
pilot program was to keep this movement moveme... moving. When we started
talking about downtown and late-night, it was just a next logical step of, okay,
that seems like something that might work, so let's try it out. And .... I'm excited
to see the Downtown District and businesses come to the table and be like, `yes,
we don't hate food trucks, but it's a complicated issue,' and yeah, I agree it's a
complicated issue. So .... I'm asking for your support on this final reading so that
we can test it out, see how this goes, and then have another public discussion to
see what's next, because the citizens love food trucks and.....it increases the
vitality of our community and we've just gotta figure out how to make it happen
in a delicate way, and I really feel like we've put a lot of work into makin' this
respect all sides of the table. So, with that, if you have any questions, I'll step
down.
Throgmorton: Let me ask you a question. I think I know the locations reasonably well. Uh, they
seem to me to be locations that are pretty well suited to capture a market (laughs)
individuals who are walking to and from where they live.
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Sieck: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: Uh.... and ... and is that your sense too, that the idea is, you know, that between 10
and....2 in the morning people are walkin' downtown or they're walkin' home
from downtown. They might have a little bit of hunger in `em and they'd kinda
like to, oh! Hey, there's a food truck and (both talking)
Sieck: Yeah, essentially that .... that's the spirit of it, you know, there's some restaurants
that it's (mumbled) them being open (mumbled) get into and you have to wait in a
long line. Otherwise you're gonna miss your taxi, or you know, or you just
choose to go home and there're some people that can make the, you know, it's a
public health argument that, you know, when.....when people are intoxi...
intoxicated, they're not making sound decisions and food helps them do less
stupid things essentially (laughter) so I think the more food close to where drunk
people are wondering around, it...it keeps.... events, you know, it keeps... events
that don't need to happen less likely to happen cause I think food can .... food is
medicine essentially. I'll just keep it at that, but .... yeah, you know, like I said,
we'll see if this .... if this market works. If. ... if we're capturing our audiences. If
it doesn't work, we'll .... we'll stop the topic or, you know, we'll try different pilot
program. The city's growing really fast. There's ways to develop mobile
vending in the new parts of town. So I think it's just healthy to keep the
conversation going and keep trying new things and I appreciate you guys for
letting us get this far, so .... thank you.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Kyle.
Voparil: Please sign in!
Throgmorton: Oops, sorry, I meant to ask you to do that. Does anybody else want to address
this topic? I guess the answer is no, so discussion?
Botchway: I can start. Uh... so I spent a lot of time on this and, you know, I .... I know that,
um, at times I'm the most outsper... outspoken food person on this Council, and
may not necessarily be about food trucks, but .... I agree with Nancy. I mean I
think that from a process standpoint, and this .... I think, has ..... some correlation
with some other discussions that we've had before that we need to try to figure
out how we can engage the Downtown District in a more ... a meaningful way, and
maybe just from me, I mean from an informational standpoint, as we're thinking
about things downtown. I will say I just warm give kind of a brief ..um,
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hopefully understanding of where I'm coming from as far as why I'm supportive
of the food truck culture. One, um, to me it's a .... it is entrepreneurial. I mean I
think that Nancy knows that and in speaking to it, I think it's, you know, in the
kind of same vein as I see ICAD, um, and folks being able to try out for, um, a
reduced amount of rent to see whether or not their business can, um, be
successful. Um, I see the food truck culture as similar. Now I know there's, you
know, vastly different things you can discuss about it, but for me, from a simple
standpoint, I .... I view it, I see food as a ... um, as an important element and, you
know, for me a happy element when I ... when I think about, you know, how I go
about my day. Uh, the other piece of it is, and I .... Kyle kind of mentioned it, was
the street culture aspect of it. Because, um, while I appreciate the kind of brick
and mortar discussion that we're having around the time and being in downtown,
there's also just a .... a culture from not necessarily having to go into a brick and
mortar business, sit down. You still are moving from, I don't know, maybe
you're moving from bar to bar, event .... from an event to an event, and you're just
stopping to grab something to eat real quick, and then moving to go something
else .... go .... going somewhere else, and so there's an element of that that .... is....
is something that I've participated in in other cities and would want to see
cultivate and grow here. Um, I'm supportive of this motion. Uh, I think there's
questions that I have because Rockne is, um, you know, the .... the downtown
element and where they're located. I think that .... it sounds like there's some
support of where the location is and so I'm not gonna, you know, kinda blow that
up and, um, try to make my own, you know, thoughts and feelings on it. Um, I
will say from my own perspective, from a .... uh, it's not ... food desert isn't
necessary word, but where there's not .... where food is being underserved, I .... I
still believe we should not necessarily be focusing just on downtown. Um, I think
when I.. A currently live on the southeast side, and even when I lived on the west
side, there's.... there's some times at night I thought I would have appreciated,
you know, being able to, um, just pop down the street and grab something from
that standpoint, instead of having to think about going all the way downtown, and
so I think there's some.... interesting points that I think, um, from a location
standpoint may move forward, but, um, I'm supportive of this effort. I'm excited,
um, appreciative of Kyle, appreciative of all the work and um, kind of getting
together and discussing this, and so .... I'll be a frequent customer!
Throgmorton: Okay! Others?
Taylor: I was impressed with the selection of the locations actually. Obviously there was
a lot of thought given to that, particularly... many, many years ago I lived in
Currier, so the thought of a food truck having been there in the north Clinton area
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many years ago, that would have been wonderful, especially between 10 and 2.
You're up studying; of course that's what we were doing (laughter) between 10
and 2.
Botchway: Whatever you say! (laughter and several talking)
Taylor: Sol....I think the locations, uh, were well thought out and .... and I think they'll
work very well.
Thomas: I kind of, uh, I was a little bit worried. I'm supportive of the pro.....of this effort,
the pilot, urn .... after talking with Nancy I was a little bit worried a while back,
um, that this .... you know, the process might blow up on us, so I'm really happy
that it seems .... all's well that ends well is.....is how I'm kind of looking at it at
the moment. Urn .... I've always kind of liked the idea of the pop -ups. You know,
they are kind .... they have a different energy to them. Urn .... trying to find the
locations I think is critical and I .... I do think some of them offer real potential.
I'm kind of interested myself in the .... Robert A. Lee parking lot. I think that
location seems promising. It .... it reminds me of the .... the concept of what people
refer to as `urban acu.... acupuncture.' There seems to be, you know, the .... the
food trucks there might kind of activate what a space that has real potential, I
think. Uh, so .... yeah, I mean it's .... it's only a pilot. It's only for three months. I
think .... I think there's been a real effort to listen to every ... you know, everyone to
listen to one another. I think that's good. And, uh, I think .... going into it, I think
there's been a really, you know, good faith effort to achieve balance with this.
Mims: Yeah, I'll support it. I .... I mean I agree with things people have said in terms of,
you know, the culture of the food trucks and that sort of thing, but I think it's
absolutely important that we also protect the .... the investment that people have
made in the bricks and mortar. So I think these locations, um, are really
important. It's a pilot. I think the .... I think the challenge, you know, or the...
and I guess I'd say challenge, is going to come when the pilot's done, really
trying to evaluate what it's done, good and bad, for various people and determine
how we move forward, but.... definitely looking forward, and I think the Robert
A. Lee parking lot, I mean, if you drive down Burlington Street late at night
(laughter) the foot traffic is .... a lot! It's a lot on there, so.....(mumbled) potential.
Throgmorton: Right.
Dickens: I'll be supporting it as well. Uh, I come from a brick and mortar background, so
I ... very cognitive of how hard it is to .... to rent a space, especially downtown, uh,
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the rents are astronomical. Um, I like the idea of the food trucks. I like the idea
of the pilot, where they're being placed. What I really am looking forward to is
the underserved areas. I live on the northeast side of Iowa City. We have the
HyVee deli and Hilltop. There's nothing else up there. There's.....there's
potential up in that area.
Throgmorton: There's No Dough! (laughter)
Dickens: They're.... they're farther down (laughter) downtown, but uh, I think there's....
there's some potential here, uh, you know this project may spur other areas
(mumbled) said the southeast side, the .... the east side — there's only limited
places to go there. I mean we do have a .... a very good concentration, some of the
best restaurants and vending trucks in the country. I .... I have friends that travel
here. I've brought board members from our buying group here. They're.... they
can't believe the incredible options we have in this city for food. So ..... I think we
can only enhance it. So, I mean, we are a culinary gem here that a lot of people
don't know about. We just need to...not be Iowa nice all the time. Toot our horn
a little bit (laughter)
Cole: Um, I would agree, and I would say the Robert A. Lee, I think, was probably one
of the best parts of some of the .... the conflict actually that did occur. It seemed
like that was sort of the creative solution that I don't think anyone had really
thought about before. I ... I certainly hadn't, but I think that .... I'm really excited to
see what that is going to ultimately look at ... like, and I think that really has, given
the, its parking, has the potential to be sort of like a mini -food truck scene there.
Um, this is a pilot. Um, I am not set after the conclusion of 90 days that we'll
change the ordinance permanently or allow this permanently. That's gonna
depend upon the Mobile Vending Association keepin' up their end of the bargain
in terms of garbage, in terms of how, uh, they manage their businesses, in terms
of how they comply with City rules and regulations. Um .... you know, and I
understand what the concerns are, but I do think that's the purpose of the pilot,
and I think we have four trucks. We'll closely evaluate that. I understand you
can't, for obvious reasons, share the financials data, but if we could at least just...
at least from my perspective, just sort of up or down information in terms of
hurting or not. I think that would be helpful, um, to the extent that you can. Um,
but I think this is what we need to do, and I think .... I'd also note too that these
food trucks, for them it's a life savings some of `em, I mean so they've made huge
investments too. Um, lot of `em are in their 20s and 30s, and I do view this as an
opportunity to open up new op ... o .... opportunities for them, as well, and I'm also
hoping we've talked about food truck to bricks and mortars, and I'm hoping we
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get some bricks and mortars that will consider a food truck or mobile vending to
sort of, uh, enhance their own business. So hopefully we can get some of that in
the other direction as well. Um, so I'm supportive of it.
Throgmorton: Okay. Uh, I .... I want to thank Barry Nelson for coming to speak and you were
very persuasive. In fact I found myself being pulled in the direction of voting, uh,
no tonight after having voted yes twice, uh, because, uh, you were so eloquent in
describing the challenges that bricks and mortar restauranteers .... restaurateurs,
face, uh, so .... um.....it was really quite compelling. But I think the location
element of this has been handled pretty deftly. So, uh, that inclines me, is going
to persuade me in the end to vote for the ordinance. Uh, I, you know, like I said,
I ... I know the locations reasonably well and think they'll probably succeed
without cutting into the restaurants downtown, uh, which is really important.
What you said about evaluation, yeah. Yeah, how ... how are we gonna know
whether the food trucks have succeeded well enough on balance and ... and
everything else is well enough on balance that we should .... that it's been a
success, you know, and that we should, uh, continue it. That's the challenge.
Okay! Uh, I guess we've talked enough. Roll call. Motion carries 7-0. Could I
have a motion to accept correspondence?
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries.
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ITEM 11 ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 8, ENTITLED "POLICE
REGULATIONS," CHAPTERS, ENTITLED "MISCELLANEOUS
OFFENSES," BY DELETING SECTION 2, ENTITLED "AGGRESSIVE
PANHANDLING," AND PROHIBITING SOLICITATION REQUESTS TO
PERSONS WITHIN A SIDEWALK CAFE WITHOUT THE CAFE'S
PERMISSION. (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries.
Mims: Move ordinance be finally adopted at this time.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by, Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries 7-0.
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ITEM 12 ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 9, ENTITLED "MOTOR VEHICLES AND
TRAFFIC," CHAPTER 8, ENTITLED 'BICYCLES," SECTION 6, ENTITLED
"PARKING VIOLATIONS," SUBSECTION B, ENTITLED "OWNER PRIMA
FACIE RESPONSIBLE FOR PARKING VIOLATIONS" TO ALLOW THE CITY
TO DONATE ABANDONED BICYCLES TO LOW INCOME YOUTH. (FIRST
CONSIDERATION)
Throgmorton: This would have been first consideration but staff is requesting that this item be
deferred indefinitely to facilitate further dialoque with community stakeholders.
Could I have a motion to defer indefinitely?
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Seconded
Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Motion carries, all ayes.
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ITEM 13. ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE - RESOLUTION ADOPTING AN
ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE OF UNPAID MOWING, CLEAN-UP OF
PROPERTY, SNOW REMOVAL, SIDEWALK REPAIR, AND STOP BOX
REPAIR CHARGES AND DIRECTING THE CLERK TO CERTIFY THE
SAME TO THE JOHNSON COUNTY TREASURER FOR COLLECTION
IN THE SAME MANNER AS PROPERTY TAXES
Throgmorton: Is there anyone here who would like to address this topic? Good evening.
Vanous: Uh, my name is Dave Vanous. I own a property at 412 Myrtle Avenue. It's a
rental property for me. In, uh, December of 2015 I got a letter in the mail saying
the sidewalk wasn't shoveled. So I called my tenant and they assured me they
had gone out and done that. The next day I had gone down and checked and it
was shoveled. I never heard any more after that until, um, in August of 2016 I got
a bill from the City for $195. Um, I .... I trusted that they did shovel it, um, I don't
know if we got another snow in between and ... or what happened, but anyway with
them moving out in July, and me already giving their deposit back, I had no way
to go back .... to get that from them, so it kinda fell in my lap, so..... I guess I
just ... I don't understand why it came that late, the bill. So, that's ... kind of where
I'm at on that.
Throgmorton: Okay. Thanks for coming, Dave. I .... I guess we should get a motion, uh, I mean
I wanted to ask how we should respond to a particular situation like this.
Dilkes: Well I think what we've done in the past is, urn .... we remove this particular one
from the assessment schedule, defer it to the next meeting so then staff can
respond and we'll deal with that on the 21 S`, and then we'll go ahead and pass the
res .... the rest of the assessment schedule.
Throgmorton: Did you follow that?
Vanous: Yeah. Do I need to come back then in a month or.....
Dilkes: (several talking in background) There.... there'll be information that staff will
provide to Council before their next meeting on the Thursday preceding the 21
Um, and then if you want to come to the meeting, then you're free to come.
Vanous: Is it necessary that I come back, or is that something you'll look at and then I'll
get a letter to let me know how you decide or....
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Throgmorton: Uh.....you wouldn't have to be here I guess, would he?
Dilkes: You don't have to be here. If you want to say something more to the Council you
would come.
Various: Okay. I guess .... I think I've said what I wanted to say. I know that we had a lot
of snow that time of year and when I got the letter, I remember it was at the, you
know, late December, so I don't know if we got the letter, they went out and
shoveled, and then we got another snow and that's when the City maybe came out
and shoveled and we got signals crossed, but .... the biggest issue is not getting the
bill until.... August 10`h.
Throgmorton: Uh huh.
Various: You know, if I would of got it sooner I could of maybe got to the bottom of it
or... I could have taken part of their deposit, you know, that I had given back, and
unfortunately he's a doctor in South Carolina now (laughs) so.....I'm not (several
talking)
Dickens: Is the property, is it the sidewalk close to the street?
Various: Yeah.
Dickens: Okay. Because I know I've had issues, I've talked to .... Geoff and Tom Markus
before that .... you go out, you make the effort, and then they come by with the
snowplows and throw it all the way back up there. What is our responsibility
and ... and I was told that once you've done it, you've made the effort and cleaned
it, and they come back and do that, that you're not responsible to clean it. I mean,
you want to clean it....
Various: Right!
Dickens: ...but you've made that effort, but I just want a clarification on that.
Dilkes: I .... I think our enforcement people are pretty clear on that issue, that if it's not a
natural accumulation of snow, it's from the snowplow, we don't cite.
Fruin: In order to, uh, maybe save you a trip back, if you, um, want to give me your....
your contact information, your number, what I can do as we prepare the
information at the staff level and go back and look at the .... the file, we can give
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that to you in advance so you know what our position is and then you can
determine whether you want to come and speak to that or just let the .... the facts
prevail and....
Vanous: Okay, yeah. Who do I give that to then?
Frain: Um, the gentleman right there can take it.
Vanous: Okay. Thank you very much!
Frain: Thank you.
Botchway: So, Eleanor, how do we proceed with.....we say, you know, for a mo ... or (both
talking)
Throgmorton: (mumbled)
Botchway: Well as amended?
Dilkes: Just... just amend your motion to adopt the resolution with Mr. um, Vanous', uh,
item removed. And deferred until the 21s.
Botchway: Okay! Um, move resolution, urn ..... the current assessment schedule with the, uh,
amendment for Mr.
Dilkes: Vanous.
Botchway: Vanous.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Do we have to say defer to the.....subsequent meeting then (both talking)
Dilkes: I think we've got it.
Throgmorton: Yeah, okay. Good deal! Okay, so moved by Botchway, seconded by, uh, Taylor.
(several talking) Thomas! Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion
carries 7-0.
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ITEM 14. CITY PARK CABIN RESTORATION PROJECT - RESOLUTION
AWARDING CONTRACT AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN
AND THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST A CONTRACT FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY PARK CABIN RESTORATION
PROJECT
Throgmorton: Unfortunately we'll be taking no action on this tonight. Uh.....uh, no bids have
been received. So ... you want to elaborate on that in any way?
Fruin: Um, we can. Kumi Morris is here and can speak to it, but uh, we'll go back to the
drawing board, um. .... try to get some feedback as to why folks did not submit
bids, retool the bid package and try again.
Throgmorton: Try, try again! Okay! Good deal! Thank you, Kumi.
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ITEM 15. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES. Applicants MUST reside in Iowa
City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated. [Staff will
not publish additional notices after a period of six publications; but will
continue to advertise vacancies with postings and on the Council agenda.
However, no additional publication costs will be incurred. More information
may be found on the City website or in the City Clerk's office.]
Throgmorton: There are several previously announced vacancies. One vacancy to fill an
unexpired term on the Airport Zoning Commission. Two vacancies to fill
unexpired terms on the Airport Zoning Board of Adjustment. One vacancy for a
Jefferson Street Representative on the Historic Preservation Commission. One
vacancy to fill an unexpired term on the Parks and Recreation Commission. One
vacancy to fill a three-year term on the Public Art Advisory Committee. Two
vacancies to fill three-year terms on the Senior Center Commission. And one
vacancy to fill an unexpired term on the Telecommunications Commission. And
applications for those must be received by .... yeah, received by, uh, 5:00 P.M.,
Tuesday, February 14. We also have .... a, uh, one vacancy to fill a four-year tern
on the Civil Service Commission, and one vacancy to fill an unexpired term on
the Human Rights Commission. Applications for those positions must be
received by 5:00 P.M., Tuesday, March 14. And we have a new, uh, vacancy,
five at -large vacancies for one-year terms on the Climate Action Steering
Committee. Applications for those positions must be received by 5:00 P.M.,
Tuesday, March 14.
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ITEM 17. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION
Throgmorton: Uh.... I don't know where we started last time. Rockne, go ahead. Oh, it was you
last time? Pauline? John?
Thomas: No.
Throgmorton: Susan?
Mims: Just want to thank everybody who came out for the rally on Sunday. Uh, there
was certainly a lot of people there. I know, Jim, you were there and spoke. I
didn't .... not sure I caught you when you were speaking, but .... uh, big crowd and
I think shows the strong support in this community, um, for people regardless of
religion, immigrant status, gender.... gender preference, etc. So, it was a great
event!
Throgmorton: Yeah, so .... certainly over a thousand people present. Who knows after that!
Kingsley? Terry?
Dickens: Nothing!
Throgmorton: Rockne?
Cole: March 4a', 2017 — the Crisis Center is having their annual breakfast, fundraising
breakfast, and it's at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. Um, I'm gonna be helping
out, probably some of you guys are too. And I assure everyone I'm not going to
be cooking any of the food —just serving it (laughter) Uh, which is good for the
public! (laughs) Um, I also wanted to echo Susan comments. How inspirational
the solidarity rally was. Um, those aren't easy to put together. That took a lot of
work, and I think what was most exciting about that was just the sheer cross-
section of people that were involved in terms of the musicians, the speakers.
Basically it was the whole sort of variety of people that we have in this
community, and I was so inspired by what happened. Um, we'll continue to
those ... have those rallies as .... as long as it takes, as long as we face the
circumstances that we currently are facing, and I particularly love the positive
energy that was there. It was just really inspirational. So, thank you to all the
organizers that put that together. It was very in .... inspirational.
Throgmorton: Yeah, it sure was!
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Cole: I was also going to think about the, um, I don't know if this would require
Council, four more votes, but the proclamation that COGS (mumbled) It said
resolution. That wouldn't be a resolution for us, but a proclamation, uh,
concerning their collective bargaining rights. Is that something we want to
explore or reach out to them?
Throgmorton: Well the thing I wonder about is timing.
Cole: Yeah.
Throgmorton: If it ... cause we wouldn't be able to read the proclamation for another couple
weeks.
Cole: Yeah.
Throgmorton: And State legislature seems (both talking) pretty quickly on things that they care
about.
Cole: Okay.
Botchway: I would still say you could make the proclamation though, I mean, in support of, I
mean, even though that's going to be something that probably gets done pretty
quickly. I mean we can make a proclamation in support of, um, the COGS, and I
think there's other, you know..... groups that we could speak to as well.
Throgmorton: Well I'd be supportive of doin' that and I have no....no objection whatsoever to
putting together a proclamation but I don't know who it's being proclaimed to.
Cole: Well it'd be the legislature.
Throgmorton: Well then .... (both talking) a letter or something (both talking)
Cole: ......of Iowa City.
Throgmorton: Did (laughs) I love lookin' at people's faces!
Cole: Yeah! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Like Eleanor's got this (both talking)
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Dilkes: I'm not sure I heard the entire conversation. Um .... well you've got some, you've
got that in your legislative priorities. You might be able to .... to direct a letter .... I
assume you may be directing some communication to them anyway in connection
with the recent bills. So ... that's a possibility too.
Cole: Could we do a Mayor letterhead letter, just to the legislature or something like
that?
Throgmorton: We could certainly do that, and I'd be happy to design it and....
Cole: Works for me! (several talking)
Throgmorton:.... draft somethin'?
Fruin: Yeah, I mean we can put something together as .... as Eleanor alluded to, there was
a collective bargaining bill introduced today, uh, both in the House and in the
Senate, so .... we're still readin' through that, trying to figure out what's in there,
but, um, clearly it's a.....it's a big change from.....from, uh, the .... the current
policy or the current, um, set of rules. So, whether you want to bring those two
things together or just do a generic letter in support of COGS, it's .... that's really
your .... your call, but.....um.....we'll.... we'll be happy to help you with the
proclamation, a letter, whatever you may want to do.
Throgmorton: Well, I .... why don't you and I talk about that tomorrow. I think probably a letter
would be appropriate and .... and maybe tying the two together, but I don't know
the details about, you know, what's.... what's proposed today earlier.
Fruin: So I guess just to be clear for all you up there, is that something that the ... the
entire Council wants to .... to see before it's sent or .... um, do you just want to have
the Mayor send it under his naive? (several responding)
Botchway: Yeah, my only issue is....
Taylor: Who would you send it to then? I mean, how is it going (both talking)
Throgmorton: Whoever's considering the bills, I guess, if it's being directed towards the
legislature.
Fruin: We'll have to sort that out. Yeah.
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Botchway: Yeah, I would just say that, you know, kind of in response from the public, um,
ask .... if there, for the next agenda could it be on there from a public, you know,
could you read it. It wouldn't be a proclamation, but just a letter that you read to
kind of...
Throgmorton: Yeah.....
Botchway: .....response back.
Throgmorton: I could do that, if ...if somebody could take note of that fact, that I would be
reading the letter .... at our next meeting (several talking in background) People
probably can't hear you. You're talkin' pretty softly!
Taylor: Oh, I ... I said similar to what you did with your letter to the School District and
other letters you've done, that you've done and sent off on our behalf and then
shared it with the group.
Throgmorton: Okay! We can do that! Anything else from you folks? All right, I want to
mention, uh, I don't know.... flu.... maybe three things. Uh, first we need to
schedule our next couple listening posts, and .... we haven't talked about them at
all, but we need to put some in motion. So we don't need to do that right now, but
we need to....
Voparil: Okay. I was just gonna wait till the budget got behind us, but I know that that is
coming up. So we can do that.
Throgmorton: Okay. Okay. Uh, secondly, the National League of Cities meeting in D.C. is
coming up, uh, soon in mid-March, right? And I understand that Kingsley plans
to go, is that right? And I've asked if any of the rest of you would like to go, as
well. I don't know if anybody does want to go.
Mims: I can't.
Throgmorton: Okay. I'm seein' no (several talking) All right! So sounds like Kingsley's gonna
be our rep. Okay! Good deal! Also, there's, uh.... a Chamber, uh, organized trip
that's gonna take place in April, right, Geoff, and....
Fruin: Correct (both talking)
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Throgmorton: I understand you will be going, along with, uh, I don't know, Rebecca Neades
from the Chamber?
Fruin: So the Chamber's been doing this for some time. I believe last year they took a
year off and .... uh, this year, uh, they're bringin' that back but a shorter trip. It'll
just be one day of meetings. Uh, that would be April 25`s, which is a Tuesday.
Um, so I do plan to go. I know that, uh, Coralville and North Liberty both plan
to, uh, send their City Administrator and an elected official. So if anybody is....
Cole: Where ... where is that?
Fruin: ...interested, that would be in Washington, D.C.
Cole: Oh, the April 250'9
Fruin: April 25h. It's probably... requires flying out on the 20, uh, staying the 250',
and ... and coming back the night of the 250i or the morning of the 260'.
Throgmorton: So a question is whether any one of you might want to .... uh, accompany Geoff on
that trip.
Mims: Yeah, I might be interested. I'll check my calendar.
Throgmorton: Okay! Last couple things I want to mention is, uh, I've been... seems to me
mighty busy, uh, speaking in various situations and writing a guest opinion that I
sent to the Des Moines Register and which appeared online, havin' to do with our
resolution and thank you for your help on that, Eleanor, and .... (laughs) bein'
interviewed about this and that. So, you know, I've been pretty busy about that,
uh, I'm not gonna go through all of that. I .... I do want to mention one particular
thing though. On the 270i of January I had the honor of attending a ceremony at
VA Hospital for a World War II medal of honor recipient. A man named Ralph
G. Nepple. And Dave Loebsack was there as well and lots of VA folks. The
family, um, the sons and daughters of Mr. Nepple. It was really fun to do that and
a real honor to be able to do it. That's about it for me!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 7, 2017.