HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-21 TransciriptionPage I
City Council Work Session
Council Present: Botchway, Cole, Dickens, Mims, Taylor, Thomas, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Fruin, Monroe, Dilkes, Guidry, Voparil, Ralston, Bockenstedt, Havel,
Boothroy, Yapp, Walz, Hightshoe, Andrew, Bowers, Nagle -Gamin,
Seydel-Johnson, Rummels, Knoche
Others Present: Nelson, Simpson (UISG)
Update on the Bike Master Plan fIP#3 of 3/16 Info Packetl:
Throgmorton/ Okay, so let's begin the Iowa City City Council work session for Tuesday, March
21St, 2017. First item on the agenda is an update on the bike master plan. I understand,
Kent, you're going to do something.... but before we start that, we should note that Chris
Guidry, our new City Clerk, is sitting over here to our left. Welcome aboard, Chris!
We're glad to have you with us.
Guidry/ Good to be here!
Throgmorton/ Yeah! And, Julie, thanks for the great work you've done over the past, you know,
whatever.... two, three months, whatever the total number's been. Yeah. Yeah. (unable
to hear response) All right. Kent!
Ralston/ Yeah! Kent Ralston, Transportation Planner. Uh, good evening. Um, as you will all
remember, in your adopted strategic planning goals for 2017, uh, one of those goals was
to reach a gold level bike -friendly community status. Uh, as part of that, then last fall,
uh, we went through an RFP process to hire a consultant for our bike master plan .... to
help then, again, achieve that gold. Uh, with us here tonight is Kevin Neill, uh,
Transportation Planner for Alta Planning and Design. Uh, that firm ultimately received
the, uh.... the, uh, contract to complete the bike master plan. Uh, thus far they're
probably I would say about halfway done, uh, and Kevin will give you some more
information on that. Um, I'd like to say they've done a really good job, I think, thus far
with public participation, um, and our existing conditions report, uh, which we've been
able to review and which will be posted online, um, I think later this week. So, uh, with
that I'll turn it over to Kevin Neill with Alta and, uh, I'll stick around and be happy to
answer any questions, uh, along with Kevin. Thank you.
Throgmorton/ Good deal! (both talking)
Neill/ Good evening, Mayor (both talking) Members of the Council. Thank you for having me
here tonight to provide an update on the bicycle master plan. So as you're all aware,
we're in the midst of the plan and, uh, what I'd like to do tonight is just give you a brief
overview, uh, status update on where we are, uh, summary of some of the public
engagement and activities that we've had to date, um, a summary of the vision and goals
that will guide the plan development, and some of our current tasks and what's on tap,
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uh, as we work toward completing the project this summer! So bicycle master plan, uh,
is designed to really capture Iowa City's vision for bicycling, um, and we're going to be
looking to not only capture that vision through public engagement, but also reflect that
through all the recommendations for bicycle, uh, network improvements, uh, programs
and policies, anything that can help advance bicycling in the community, and as part of
that planning process, uh, we'll not only make recommendations to improve the bicycle
network itself, but identify program opportunities, uh, and funding strategies, project
prioritization. We really want to make sure that this plan is fully functional for the City,
so that way when the planning process wraps up, implema.... implementation can .... can
begin immediately. The plan utilizes what we call a `6 E's approach,' and this approach
was initially pioneered by the League of American Bicyclists, the nonprofit, nationwide
advocacy organization who, uh, provides communities with that bicycle -friendly
designation, and here in Iowa City we're a silver level community right now, and we're
looking to ... um, advance to the next level. Uh, that 6 E's approach incorporates not just
the engineering recommendations that look at bicycle network, uh, and facilities, but also
education opportunities, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation, and equity. So you
can see here on the screen we have our plan schedule, where we're at now, uh, about
halfway through, uh, here in late March. We've already kicked things off, developed a
solid understanding of existing conditions for bicycling in the area, uh.... developed a ... a
fall list of all the project partners who've been not only, uh, instrumental in bringing
Iowa City to this, uh, silver level designation that they've achieved, but also will be
helping to implement this plan and really create a culture that welcomes, encourages, and
supports bicycling activity. So in the coming.... coming months we'll be, uh.... refining
our draft recommendations for bicycle improvements. We'll be looking at policies,
programs, and implementation activities, and intending to wrap up the, uh, final plan, uh,
in June. So just to give you a little bit of context on some of the activities that have
happened to date. Uh, I'd like to start with, uh, some of our public engagement activities.
Uh, in January we held an open house, uh, and had over 100 residents in attendance. We
think that number's a little bit higher than what, uh, we had on our sign -in sheets, but uh,
it was a really great crowd and the feedback that we received, urn .... ranged from lines on
the map to ideas on, uh, butcher paper that was about 20 -feet long. Uh, it was really
encouraging to see a diverse mix of community residents, really play an active role in
sharing their ideas for what it takes to make Iowa City, uh, a truly bicycle -friendly
community. You can see here, uh, these are a few of the poster boards that, uh, we laid
out for people to identify the types of bicycle facilities that would encourage them to
bicycle more. What kind of facilities would they feel comfortable on? Uh, Iowa City
already has, um .... a great number of separated trails, wide sidewalks, and a few bike
lanes and on -street routes to help facilitate bicycling activity, but a lot of residents
expressed their desire for greater separation, urn .... when bicycling on -street. So things
like bike lanes, uh, parking protected bike lanes, cycle tracks. Some of these facilities
that, uh, maybe 10, 15 years ago weren't really in the conversation have really been, uh,
tried and tested in a lot of other communities, and um, are at the forefront of bicycle
facility design. So, uh, a lot of community residents feel that these are the kinds of
improvements that are really gonna get them out, uh, and enjoying bicycling, uh, not just
for commuting or recreation, but, uh, for everyday trips — visiting with friends, um,
running errands. Uh, once we start to develop that network, those kinds of activities can
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really become commonplace. Our project web site, um .... has kind of to ... uh, functioned
as our online resource to tell residents about the plan, give them information to,
uh.....um.....participate in the process itself. So we had links to an online survey, an
interactive mapping tool where people could map out their routes and ideas. I'll explain a
little bit more about here. But this project web site's, uh, going to be populated in the
coming weeks with some of our draft reports that have been reviewed by City staff, and
also reviewed by our Technical Advisory Committee, and our Bicycle Advisory
Committee, which consists of, uh... community residents and advocates. So with our
online survey, uh, we've been able to gather, um, over 600 responses in less than two
months, and that, um, that number's.... we're .... we're very happy to see that kind of
response. It shows that, uh, this is a .... a hot topic for Iowa City residents and something
that people want to express their .... their views and opinions on. When you look at the
location of the responses received, uh, a great deal of respondents, uh, resided within the
central region. Let me close this (mumbled) Uh, we're looking at over .... let's see, about
nearly 40% in the central region alone, and then another, uh.... almost 30% in central
west or to the east of the central district. Let's see.....(mumbled) So as I mentioned, 630
responses, about 508 of those surveys were completed, uh, 100%. So people went from
start to finish which, uh, for those of you who've taken the survey know that, uh, it's not
the shortest of surveys, um... but the feedback that we're getting through that survey, ub,
has been really useful in determining, uh, who .... who's playing a role in the plan, what
type of, uh, cyclists want to get out and bike more, and what we need to do, uh, to make
cycling an easier activity, uh, for people of all ages and abilities. So you can see of our
survey respondents, uh, almost 90% biked at least once a week on average. Uh, and
around 50%, uh, several times a week. So ... we already have a population in our survey
responses who's actively bicycling a lot, and this is usually... as you can imagine, more
than the general population. Uh, a lot of survey respondents are kind of self-select
themselves as bicycling advocates that want to participate in the process. Uh, so when
we ask these questions in the survey, we try and ask generally, not just what would make
you more comfortable, but what would it take to get more people on bicyclists,
recognizing that a lot of the people responding to the survey, uh, they're already out there
doing it. They're out there, uh, on the streets, on the trails, but if we want to see more
people bicycling, it's about reaching those who, um .... we don't see right now. Again,
uh, the .... the responses show that bicycling activity right now is not just for exercising or
commuting, but people are really bicycling for all types of, uh, trip purposes. Whether
it's heading to the park, visiting with friends, running errands, or even longer, uh, touring
outside of the city, uh, bicycling's not just a .... you know, for commuters or, um, those
trail riders. (clears throat) So similar to how we saw a lot of respondents, um, let us
know that they bike frequently, when we asked what type of cyclists they would consider
themselves, uh, we have a very high percentage of respondents, uh, that describe
themselves as `enthused and confident,' and what we take that to mean is, uh, cyclists
that are comfortable bicycling on many streets throughout the city, uh, but would still
prefer to see, uh, facilities like bike lanes, uh, and other types of improvements to make
cycling easier. We also have a lot of folks, uh, that have responded to the survey that
have expressed interest in bicycling more but concern about roadway conditions, access
to trails and greenways, and um .... again, want to see more, uh... a more connected
network for bicycling. So again, what type of improvements is it gonna take to get more
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people bicycling? Almost 94% of respondents identified that, um ... protected bike lanes,
uh, would .... would get more people out bicycling. When we looked down the list, a lot
of what it takes are dedicated facilities, uh, more off-street trails. Uh, one interesting, uh,
note that came up was 74% of respondents re .... um ... identified that a stronger
bicycle .... a stronger bicycle advocacy organizations, uh, are.... necessary to get more
people bicycling. In Iowa City we already have a really strong advocate community and
multiple agencies and organizations that play a role in, uh, supporting bicycling. So we
look at that as maybe an opportunity to identify some common ground, where, um .... we
can identify some efficiencies and resources, uh, to pool together and,
um .... opportunities for greater collaboration between the City and .... and many of these
advocacy organizations. And down near the bottom of the list .... there were about 30
different, uh, types of improvements in this question, so I only highlighted a few that, uh,
received the highest, uh, support, and of course bicycle safety activities for children, uh,
was an activity that points out that when we talk about building a bicycle network that it's
not just about accommodating adults going from A to B, but that we have to really think
about more vulnerable users, like children, uh, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and
how they might bicycle around town. Um, in a lot of cases, uh, and this is an approach
that I think in Iowa City has worked fairly well, but you almost see somewhat of a .... of a
dual network, of...wide sidewalks and on -street facilities to support, um .... different user
types. So in looking at our online mapping tool, um, this is .... an interactive, uh, tool that
we developed for individuals to identify existing bicycle routes that they currently use,
uh, bicycle routes that they would like to use, uh, community destinations that they'd like
to reach by bicycle, uh, some of the barriers, uh, to bicycling that they face now, and
ideas for improvement. As you can see we had almost 600 individual points and lines
added to this map over a two-month period, uh, with the majority of that feedback
coming in the month of January. And when we look at, uh, some of the information that
we received, and it is a lot to take in, but each one of these individual points and lines,
uh.... comes with a .... a set of comments that people wrote to describe what it is that, uh,
they're trying to explain with their line. So I think one of the most important things
that .... that we .... the take aways from our online mapping tool so far has been just
the ... the amount of bicycling activity already taking place in the city is really
encouraging, and the top left map, those purple lines show current routes and, uh, you'd
be hard pressed to find a street that people aren't bicycling on when you look at this map.
So, that was a ... that was very encouraging for us, uh, but we know that, uh, just as there
are many current routes, there's also a lot of ideas for improvement, and you can see in
the bottom right corner, um .... we've had a really engaged and vocal, um .... uh, response
from community residents, and I think that's encouraging that, um .... we're getting that
kind of feedback, because that's the feedback we need to ... to draft a successful plan that
really reflects kind of the needs, the values, and the aspirations of community residents.
So here's just a sample of some of the comments that, uh, came attached to those lines
and points on a map. To give you the, uh, impression that not only do people have ideas
that they want to share, but these are ... these are great insights. People aren't, um .... you
know, just saying `I want to bike more.' Um, they're giving us some pretty concrete
examples of issues they face or facility improvements that can help, uh, make their routes
easier or address issues that, uh, are shared by numerous, uh, cyclists throughout the city.
So what's next on tap for us? Uh, when we look at our upcoming engagement activities,
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urn ... in late this month, early next month we'll be scheduling a, um, a meeting or a focus
group meeting with resi.... uh, students at the Southeast Junior High, and also a school -
wide survey. We really want to make sure that we're capturing, uh, some of the ideas
that, uh.... pertain to our younger community residents. What's going to get them
bicycling more? Urn ... you know, hopefully they've got some .... some great ideas and
what we might find out is that, uh, they don't bicycle enough because their parents don't
want them to cross particular streets and they might be landlocked into .... into their
neighborhoods. So that'll help us, uh.... urn, really capture that feedback and if things do
go well, we're looking at additional opportunities, uh, perhaps with, uh, City or West
High School to reach out to a ... urn, some older, uh, children and young adults. We're
also working with the MPO to identify some opportunities to target, uh.... urn, low-
income, minority, uh, immigrant and other under -represented populations. Um, a lot of
these individuals are already bicycling. Um, many not by choice but by necessity, and
we want to make sure that, uh, their needs and their issues are... are captured in this
planning process and reflected in the recommendations. In May we'll be looking, uh, to
host our second open house. Um, and that open house will focus on plan
recommendations. And we'll look to .... to tag onto some of the existing events and
activities that take place every May, uh, which is, uh, National Bike Month, and National
Bike Week, and National Bike to Work Day. So there's, uh, a lot of opportunities
coming up as the .... the, uh, winter weather gives way to some nice, uh, spring
temperatures and, um, we hope to take advantage of some of those, uh, activities that are
already in place. I wanted to finish, uh, the presentation just by quickly, urn .... pointing
to our vision and goals for the plan. We think that, urn ..... uh, these vision, the vision
statement and the accompanying goals, um, really encapsulate a lot of the information
that we've heard so far, and point to the need for bicycling to be an accessible, uh,
activity, not just for adults, urn .... those weekend warriors or those daily, uh, commuters,
we want bicycling to be an accessible activity, uh, safe, comfortable, convenient, and we
also want it to be a preferred mode of travel, something that people can choose say over,
um, other options for transportation in the community. They look at bicycling as a
preferred mode of travel. The goals of the plan are built around that 6 E's framework that
I mentioned earlier, and each goal pertains to an individual one of those E's. And as we
work on developing recommendations, uh, those goals will be fleshed out with specific
objectives, uh, tied to either recommendations for infrastructure improvements or
recommended programs, and through those recommendations we can measure plan
implementation, uh, with some very concrete metrics, and we want this plan to not have
vague open-ended recommendations, but we want the City to be able to really say, `Are
we doing a good job at implementing this plan? Where do we need to concentrate our
efforts, uh, what do we need to focus on?' With regard to engineering, its focus is on the
bicycle network itself, implementing safe, comfortable, and convenient travel for people
of all ages and abilities, through an interconnected network of low -stress bicycling
facilities. Education, we want to provide educational opportunities that teach roadway
safety for all roadway users, including practical skills for bicycling, awareness of bicycle
facilities and how to use them, and the rules of the road for people driving and bicycling.
For encouragement, our goal is to offer a diverse and inclusive programs, events and
activities that encourage all Iowa City residents, and visitors, to enjoy bicycling. With
regard to enforcement, establish a shared understanding of and respect for bicycling
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among all road users, through enforcement activities that promote a safe..or that promote
responsible travel behavior and help educate the entire community on roadway safety.
Evaluation is focused on defining measurable mobility targets and providing routine
evaluation of the state of bicycling in Iowa City. That's really focused on that, uh.....uh,
concrete metrics to .... to measure a plan implementation. And equity, uh, we want
bicycling, uh, to contribute to a more equitable, affordable, and accessible transportation
system in Iowa City by ensuring that bicycling is a viable choice for people throughout
the entire city, with a special focus on underserved populations, including youth, the
elderly, people with disabilities, racial and ethic minorities, immigrants, and low-income
households. So you can see that these goals are, uh, cast a wide net, uh, but we believe
that, uh, the recommendations that we put forth in this plan, uh, will really be able to
touch on a lot of, uh, areas related to quality of life, urn .... to, urn .... economics,
environmental sustainability, and really just, uh, adding to the character and culture that
Iowa City, urn ... makes Iowa City special. So I'd like to just leave the, uh, project
schedule up as, uh, I take any questions, uh, that you might have!
Throgmorton/ Thanks, Kevin! Great job! So, uh, do we have any questions?
Botchway/ Just how are you going to incorporate the areas where you seem to get a low
response? I mean you talked about central Iowa City having a high response. You can
probably equate that to it being at the Iowa City Public Library, um, and may .... and
maybe not, but urn .... you know, you talked about wanting to get out to diverse
populations. Do you have a plan or is that just kind oi... what you, I mean, you're just
kind of saying that to ... something you plan on doing in the future?
Neill/ No, it's .... it's part of the engagement process and, uh, Sarah Walz, uh, in the MPO has
actually been leading the charge to expand, uh, the project's engagement activities and
efforts, um, and Sarah, I know you've been in communication with, uh.... uh, certain
individuals.
Botchway/ Oh I mean ... I didn't know .... if there was a ... sorry! I mean I want you to talk, Sarah.
I guess I didn't know that we were .... it mentioned the MPO but I guess I didn't know
that we were working directly with our staff to do that part of it. I thought your firm was
going to be doing the majority of that, but .... go ahead!
Walz/ So we're sort of working on it together, because I think these other parts will take sort of
more small meetings than a big, large meeting. So a couple of the people on our
vi ... Bicycle Advisory Committee are with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County
so we're gonna be doing some work with them. I think working through youth is a big
part of ..of doing the outreach, um, and then there's a couple of other people that I'm
reaching out to, to see what sort of, urn .... whether it be small group meetings, um, small
op ... small open house events or even sort of, urn .... person the street with a clipboard
(laughs) kind of things we can do to reach people who maybe don't have the time or
opportunity to attend a one or two-hour type of event that we had at the Senior Center.
So those are, um, are gonna be coming up over the month of April is when we'll be doing
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that, but I think the junior high event is a real opportunity to sort of reach into various
communities and neighborhoods through kids. So....
Botchway/ Cool!
Cole/ I'm curious about the protected bike lanes. I know you probably can't comment any
particular street, um, but as you sort of look at all of the Iowa City in general, is that
something you think that we could be able to .... to work in, a protected bike lane? I know
that there's the 94%, but it's obviously you need to have a proper width and those sorts of
things. Is ... is that gonna be a possibility do you think?
Neill/ Yeah, I think it is a real possibility, uh, like you mentioned, there's some challenges in
a ... in a built environment where there's some right-of-way constraints, uh, we'll have to
look closely and really take a look and see where those opportunities might exist. You
know, in addition to whether or not we've got the right-of-way, we also have to look at,
uh, the impacts on the full transportation system, uh, but .... but we think there's some
good opportunity, and um, we want to make sure that, uh, if we're making those
recommendations that they are completely implementable, uh, so we'll be working with,
uh.... the City engineer to really vet through some of these different types of cross
sections and ... and make sure that they're gonna work.
Dickens/ Cost -wise, where .... does that come in? Does that come in this budget year, next year?
Fruin/ We have a, uh, complete streets line in our budget. I think it was $300,000 in FY17, uh,
we're using some of those funds, we have, for the Sycamore bike lanes, for First Avenue
restriping, and I think to, urn ... work in, um, some additional analysis on Clinton Street
road diet. But we'll have some carry-over funds from .... from 17, and then going out
FYI 8, uh, through the five-year CIP, I believe we have 150,000 per year in the capital
plan to help us implement, uh, whatever recommendations come out of this plan.
Dickens/ Thank you.
Throgmorton/ Kevin, in the surveys and meetings that you've held, have you encountered any
unexpected crea... creative suggestions that have come from people?
Neill/ Nothing too out of the ordinary. Um .... through our online mapping tool we've ... we got a
good understanding of just how .... big of a passion a lot of community members have for
bicycling, um, and how keyed in people are to, um ... local government processes for
bicycle planning, project development, uh, so on..on our online mapping tool, we actually
saw somebody (coughing, unable to hear speaker) majority of recommendations that
were identified in the 2009 MPO bicycle master plan and add those to the map. So, um,
looking for some carry-over and continuity. Uh, no, nothing.... nothing, uh, terribly out
of the ordinary, but the volume, uh, and breadth of responses have really been, uh,
exciting to see.
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Throgmorton/ Excellent! So, I wanna flip that question just a little bit, calling upon your own
creative juices. So we have, uh, Bike to Work Week and, uh.....Biking Month or
whatever the specific title is (laughs) Can .... can you think of any sort of creative one,
you know, one creative activity that we could bring into that whole process to ... sort of
heighten attention and awareness of what we're tryin' to do here with ... with regard to
improving the bike system.
Neill/ Uh huh! Well I think when we talk about, um .... creating a culture of bicycling, uh, it's
important to really start with, uh.... engaging youth. Uh, a lot of people learned to pick
up a bicycle for the first time, um .... when they're five, six, seven -years -old, and to be
able to .... train children to properly, um .... ride a bike, learn basic safety, uh, and
maneuvering skills, and learn about the basics of traffic, uh, can go a long way. One of
the reasons that, uh, we see other communities, um ... hit a little bit of a, I wouldn't say a
road block, but .... by not being able to institutionalize, um .... bicycle safety skills, uh,
through things like, uh, physical education curricula and adding that in. We've seen a lot
of cities in the St. Louis area where, um, where I'm from, and including the City of St.
Louis Public School District, uh, the City of Kirkwood School District, incorporated, uh,
a full week of bicycling into their P.E. curriculum, uh, in partnership with local police
department who owns a, uh, a trailer and a fleet of children's bicycles. Uh, they make it a
safe, fun, and accessible way to learn those basic skills and really teach children, um....
not only how to bike but help instill a passion for bicycling when they're young. Uh, we
know a lot of people put the bike down when they get into high school, um, and pick up,
uh, four wheels and a motor instead, but uh, when ... when going to college or, um ... or
beyond high school, uh, you know, people.... people will return to bicycling, not just as a
way to stay in shape, but when they realize that it can be a great tool to get around town.
So, we think that there's some opportunity here in Iowa City to, uh, focus on youth
education and kind of build that into the.....the community fabric.
Throgmorton/ Good deal!
Dickens/ Has there been a .... a bike rack inventory? I know the City has .... knows where all
theirs are but I ... what brings this to mind, I stopped at the new Big Grove Brewery and
behind there they have a whole series of bike.... bicycle, uh....
Throgmorton/ (both talking) What were you doin' down there, Terry? (laughter)
Dickens/ Just to see the property there (laughter) making sure everything was good! (laughter)
But there was a .... I was surprised at the number of bicycles already there that... that, it
was a Saturday night at 10:00 and the bike racks were almost completely full there
already. So I don't know if there's a way to encompass private and public to let bicycle
riders know that there is places for them to park at all these independent businesses that
aren't .... part of the City, uh, City -owned (both talking)
Neill/ Right! Right! We, um, as part of our planning process, we're .... we're using that
inventory that the City has right now, uh, but it's not Within our scope to .... to undertake a
new inventory and identify where those additional racks, uh, have been included.
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Dickens/ Is that something the MPO could locally do?
Ralston/ Yeah, uh, we've actually got a project in our MPO work program for this year, uh, to do
that very thing, to actually inventory bike racks at private locations, uh, and then we're
also working on a program where we may actually try and get some City sponsored racks
at some private locations that are underserved essentially. So, we are working on that
and hopefully we'll have that done, um, within the calendar year.
Dickens/ Great to hear!
Botchway/ Kent, before you walk away, as a follow up maybe to both of you, what about, you
know, just, um, bicycle -friendly businesses and so is there any type of. ... survey going
out to businesses to know, um, when we get the report back, um, whether or not there
needs to be, you know, more community engagement from the, um, or education from
that standpoint to get more businesses involved, um, cause I think about, you know, when
I used to work at Johnson County, I mean, they had a Bike to Work Week. They, you
know, seemed very bicycle -friendly. There was a couple of supervisors that road their
bikes to work and so that made sense. There seemed to be a lot of consciousness around
that, but ... um, for those businesses that may not be, I mean Terry just mentioned
one .... one business that is, but is there a thought to get that information in some way so
we can ... we can know that, and then you can know that to kind of prepare for more
education along... along those lines, excuse me.
Ralston/ Yeah, I mean I think most of the bike .... the current bike -friendly businesses know about
what we're doing. Certainly it's .... it's, the difficult part's reaching to the businesses that
don't know what we're doing. I mean if they're not paying attention to some of the local
news or some of our advertising or some of the, you know, outreach, uh, types of things
that Alta Planning and Design is doing, it is difficult and challenging to do that. Um,
there is actually a bike -friendly business designation that is also akin to the bike -friendly
community's designation. There's also a bike -friendly university's designation. Um, but
we do have quite a few, uh, businesses in town that are bike -friendly business, uh,
designated now. So, you know, there's that whole program going on in and of itself, uh,
how we can relate that or how we can tie that into this is, um, you know, something we'll
have to talk about, but the hope is that, yeah, we can reach out and get everyone to know
about what we're doing, including businesses. If that answers your question.
Botchway/ Kind of, I mean more along the lines of is there any way that we can get the online
survey to, like, you know the Chamber or the Downtown District so they can spread that
to their kind of business community, because one of the things is is, you know, the survey
provides for the fact that there's a lack of information from the business and we know
that there's a clear need....
Ralston/ (both talking) Right.
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Botchway/ ...that we could possibly address and so, yes it does answer my question but I guess
I'm just wondering whether or not we still can get that survey out to them and if they
don't respond then we know that, you know, maybe that's something we need to look at
as far as an area of growth.
Ralston/ Right. Uh, I don't know if I have a good answer for that, but we, you know, we do the
best we can. On our Bicycle Advisory Committee, um, and our Technical Advisory
Committee we've actually got University of Iowa, for instance; we have a liaison from
the University of Iowa, several, um, on the Bicycle Advisory Committee, so they're
actually pushing that out through the University as well, so I mean we're .... we're doin'
the best we can I guess is my answer to that.
Botchway/ Okay.
Ralston/ But that's a good point, that we need to be making those efforts. Certainly!
Throgmorton/ Terry mentioned going to Big Grove, uh, Brewery, uh, and being there at night,
right?
Dickens/ Yeah ... I didn't get there till 10:00. I was just ... we walked through and walked out.
(both talking)
Throgmorton/ Just makes me think about nighttime biking, which you know is .... can be pretty
hazardous, depending on the condition of the roads and traffic and whatever. So is ... is
our work looking at nighttime bicycling as well as daytime?
Neill/ Yeah, that's certainly a component of the .... of the plan, and one of the most effective
ways communities are addressing safety issues around nighttime bicycling is through,
um, either enforcement activities or education activities that not only promote the
benefits of, uh, riding safely, uh, with front and rear lights, reflective gear, uh, but
combining that with, uh, either promotional giveaways or other kinds of,
uh.... um .... awareness events. It can raise ... it can raise a little bit of a tension and let
people know about some of the basics of...of nighttime cycling and in a community
where we see so much cycling activity already, um, how do we also spread the word for
motorists, to be on alert for other road users? And it's not just cyclists. It's pedestrians
too and, um, really... really letting people know that the .... once you get out on the street,
uh, you've got, uh, a responsibility to .... to be aware and be respectful.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I think the more successful we are the more important it will become to,
you know, have good facilities and training and all that for nighttime riding.
Neill/ Certainly!
Thomas/ Do we .... do we have the data on collisions, you know, what kind of accidents we're
seeing with bicyclists?
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Neill/ We ... we do have the data, uh, the crash data that we have been looking at over the last five
years, um, comes through Iowa Department of Transportation, and while the data itself,
um .... is .... is coded, the ... the information is limited and it's avail ... in its ability to tell us
about crash characteristics or, you know, give us the full crash report that might have a
narrative of...of the incident itself, uh, but we've been able to identify some of those high
crash locations and look at those as opportunities to, um, either apply particular, uh,
facility or spot improvements to .... to address either corridors or intersections, but also
give us a chance to maybe focus our .... our, um ... education and enforcement, um,
programming around those particular corridors. Um, Gilbert Street's one that comes to
mind, where there are quite a few, um, crashes at the intersection of Gilbert and ... um...
Benton, I believe. But, uh, you know a lot of that .... a lot of those high crash locations
are .... corresponding to where we see some of the highest volume of activity too.
Cole/ I'm curious in terms of the education piece. I went to the community engagement session.
It was very well attended. Um, very pleased with it. Tended to be people that are
probably already converted on the merits of bicycling. I'm wondering with your bicycle
plan, do you also .... you mentioned the education piece of it, do you get into how we
persuade people that maybe aren't convinced on the merits of sort of, uh, commuting -
friendly infrastructure on streets for example or is that mainly a separate piece, uh, in
addition to the plan?
Neill/ Well our .... our process will .... will focus on recommendations that might include
programs to encourage people, uh, or educate people on the benefits of bicycling
infrastructure, uh, some of the basics about, you know, if a .... let's say a new, a new bike
facility comes on a .... a road that might have a number of existing houses, urn .... a lot of
communities have been successful with ... touting the benefits of those facilities, how to
interact with them as both a resident, maybe wielding your trash carts out to the, uh,
street for trash collection or, um, how to cross a bicycle lane when, uh, driving and
making a right-hand turn, uh, we've used door hangars, we've had mailers, urn .... there's
a lot of different ways to reach out and address specific issues, and I think through out,
uh, discussions with City staff, we know that when it comes to say traffic calming
improvements or similar projects that the dialogue with, uh, community residents in that
neighborhood or along that corridor can really serve as an educational opportunity, and
um, so you might see a lot of that on a project -by -project basis, but there might be the
opportunity through this plan to look at creating some standard or stock material that
could be, uh, distributed either at events, um .... or in .... in the midst of a project.
Cole/ Thank you.
Throgmorton/ 0 ... okay great job, Kevin! We probably should move on, unless there's some
other.... significant question that needs to be asked. Thank you very much. Thanks,
Kent. Thanks, Sarah. (mumbled) Okay so, Ashley, you're up next. Uh, our second
topic is, uh, the strategic plan status report presentation and I'm gonna step out for just a
second.
Botchway/ And this is your .... third presentation? Or second?
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Strategic Plan Status Report Presentation [IP#4 of 3/16 Info Packet]:
Monroe/ No, I did the budget and I think this is it, so....
Botchway/ All right!
Monroe/ Good evening! Hello! (several talking in background) Um .... do we want....
Botchway/ Yeah, go ahead and get started.
Monroe/ Um, so we presented a summary of the strategic plan updates, uh, the first ... for the first
time in October of last year, and uh, since that time we've been really quite busy. Um,
we have added about 10 pages worth of, um, additional projects, programs, detail to what
we had given to you, uh, last time around. So, um, here we go! Uh, the strategic plan
intends to foster a more inclusive, just, and sustainable Iowa City. Uh, it's a two-year
plan that was developed by Council and encompasses the seven, um, goals and... and
objectives identified on the pages here, and I will walk through each of those in different,
uh, with different explanations. So there are 36 initiatives identified by Council within
the plan. On 28 of those have significant and continued progress, uh, since we last
reported. Um, five are still in earlier stages. Um, two are not yet addressed, and one is
on hold. Um, the two items not yet addressed include the, uh.... I guess furtherment of an
industrial arts or crafts facility and also providing input on the School District's bond
referendum. Um ... and as you may know, you'll have discussion about the proposed bond
on the April 4a' agenda, uh, with the joint session work ... work session with, uh, the
School District Board .... on the 4"'! Uh, there are over 40 other initiatives that support
and align with Council's broad goals but are not specifically identified within those 36
initiatives. Uh, I wanted to note there's been progress, significant progress in a couple of
areas, including, um, historic preservation and, uh, community... community engagement,
our sustainability efforts, and social justice and racial equity. So section one includes
information about our TIF policy review. We have conducted nine stakeholder meetings,
so those are completed, uh, for the foreseeable future. Uh, economic development
policies update. Uh, you're quite familiar with our affordable housing requirements and
newest policies. Uh, the `So You Want to Start a Business' workshops, uh, were
conducted in coordination with Kirkwood Community College and due to their success,
uh, we're working on a single day workshop for potential business entrepreneurs. Merge,
the collaborative, uh, work space and prototype lab on the ped mall at the Library space is
coming soon. They're opening this spring. Uh, you'll see the facade improvements, uh,
support that was given, um, you're seeing that in the Riverfront Crossings District if
you've been by Big Grove and .... and those areas. Community support lent by Council to
the Englert and Riverside Theaters, uh, EntreFEST is, uh, coming, and ... are just leading
to additional support of our creative endeavors within the community and entertainment
venues. As well as the continuation of our local food programs. We, in the fiscal year 18
budget, it increased, uh, the allocation from 25,000 to 30,000, and uh, we're also adding
some newer, more gardening beds this year. Section two talks about our vibrant and
walkable urban core. Uh, so here we talk about our historic preservation, support the...
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City park cabins were previously bid. They're being rebid this spring. Um, there was a
$25,000 grant, uh.... to .... to help With the rehabilitation of those structures. Uh, through
the approved fiscal year 18 budget, we converted the temporary historic preservation staff
position to a benefited position that will provide a little bit more stability. Um, we also
funded his .... a historic survey of downtown Iowa City that will begin this spring. Uh,
there was a National Parks Service civil rights grant issued, or awarded, to the Historic
Preservation Commission and this grant, if you didn't catch the press release, is $16,000
and it will help, um, from the National Park Service, and it'll be used to fund the
nomination of Iowa City's Tate Arms rooming house and the Iowa Federation Home
Dormitory to the National Register of Historic Places. Um, these two buildings were
serving as, uh, served as landmarks associated with the struggle for housing equality for
black students at the University of Iowa! And then finally, um, I wanted to note that the
recent budget approval also added $40,000 for a homeowner, uh, historic preservation
program, um, for either properties or historic district properties. So adding to that, we are
initiating public dialogue. We invited, um, a group of gentlemen out at various times last
....last year to speak on planning and, uh, various issues, um, about urban core related
philosophies. Um, most recently Zach Benedict visited the city and talked about a
lifetime community. So, thinking about planning processes and community amenities
that support all ages of ...of people. Other initiatives include our urban core sign code
amendments and, um, this was amended in November of last year. So code changes are
based upon the study completed by Kiku Obata and the firm, Kiku Obata, and the code is
ultimately intended to provide, um, a more pedestrian feel for signage and a wider variety
of signage. Um, you know about the Washington Street reconstruction. That's finishing,
uh, shortly! We included the stop signs; had a lot of discussion about that, as well as, um,
some enhanced plantings and accessibility. There are also the planned road diets for
Clinton and Madison upcoming in the next year or two. And concept plan for Gilbert
Street. Moving on to section three, we have, uh, our form -based code, so we have,
urn.... different group here (mumbled) So Dan Parolek's firm Opticos has been hired to
conduct the analysis of Northside neighborhoods and the South District, and uh, to assess
the viability of a form -based code, and uh, they're also providing an analysis of parking,
uh, or recommendations to address parking in those areas. At the last update, uh,
diversifying membership of neighborhood associations was a project that hadn't been
addressed yet, and so .... since then we approved the 18 budget and expanded, uh, PIN
grants, with the hope that, uh, it'll attract additional neighborhood appeal and kind of
increase neighborhood engagement through expansion of those PIN grants. Uh, we have
access to public spaces, uh, coming to fruition in different ways. So park improvements,
um, we have RDG Planning and Design Group is working with our .... our staff on the
Parks master plan, and we have, um, so that'll increase the accessibility and, um, address
facility maintenance needs, those types of things for our current facilities. Um ... we also
have.... apologies.... well, we have a tree inventory. I'm missing one page! (laughs) Our
tree inventory is underway, uh, Planet Geo is conducting that and approximately 13,000
trees have been inventoried since the fall. So we're making good progress there and, um,
we also have, um, AES is involved in our natural areas master plan, which was awarded
earlier, uh, I believe earlier this year. Uh, we have our UniverCity program, uh, again
making headway on that .... that program. To date 61 homes were purchased. So we've
had a little bit of a jump since last update. Fifty-six have been renovated and sold with
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Page 14 City Council Work Session
two offers pending, uh, one I believe is upon your consideration this evening, and uh,
three others are in various stages of being purchased in our possession, but not quite
ready, uh, to be sold, and then, of course, the budget approved another five houses that
could be purchased ne... in next budget year. The Library bookmobile is another item
that's addressed in our healthy neighborhoods and it's exciting because it'll be going to
all different quadrants of the city. Um, it's arriving this spring. There's over 20 stops,
including, um, parks, schools, shopping centers, retirement residences, and mobile home
parks. So, um, what they've ... the Library's put together a great schedule and we're
excited about that. So it's beginning in June. Keep rolling here! Uh, so section four is...
addresses our.... financial foundation, which is essential for us. Um, we're redu...
diversifying our revenue sources through various fee adjustments. We're adding
$500,000 to the emergency fund through the budget allocation. Uh, we're continuing to
keep our triple-A bond rating, and it's, uh, it's really positive that, uh, Speer Financial is
going to come and help with a scorecard analysis, um, for Moody's this spring, which'll
help us continue to address any potential issues, to ensure our bond rating is kept. And
then we reduce our tax levy for the sixth consecutive year and that will be effective July
1! So we have a couple more sections. This is section five, talking about community
engagement. Um, not gonna go through the whole list, but um ... it is important to note
that Council and staff have participated in a number of panel discussions, forums,
neighborhood meetings, listening posts. Uh, we've established agreements with inter-
governmental agreements with, uh, for example University Heights fire service and, um,
or fire services for University Heights, and ambulance service agreements with Johnson
County. Um, we have the County CIT presented, um, last .... last work session, but we're
doing a lot of training in terms .... so I believe there are 40 police officers that are going
through training within the next week or so. Uh, while it's not included in the plan
update itself, we're planning to insert that, I just wanted to note that the City's
Communication Division has been, um, really working to incorporate strategic plan
initiatives into the outreach and promotion of. ... of City objectives. Um, a recent example
is, uh, their incorporation through a lot of video production, um, one of them being the
use of Facebook Live .... last Friday for our, uh, Q&A session on composting and food
waste, which was pretty popular. We had a lot of views, um, during the event and after,
and I just wanted to .... to note that ... that your, um, influence and .... and objectives are
getting out there to the public. More on outreach, we have City departments outreach.
Um, so our Police Department is out there, um, you know in the community. I know the
Police Chief recently went to Coffee With a Cop. They do that on a regular basis. Um,
we have a new recreation program supervisor that addresses special populations. Um,
our community outreach officer's still out there, uh, in the field. They created at the
Library an autism special access hour. So they're, um, offering special time for ... people
with a need for .... for different environments, and Shop With a Cop is a ... is a regular
event, LA hear. Um ... and we have .... we have our other initiatives here as well.
So ... working into section six, environmental sustainability. We ... uh, are hearing about
our bike plan initiatives ... kinda took away my good pun about kicking into high gear and
(laughter) all that, but .... (laughs) um, so we ... we heard a lot about what we're doing with
the bike plan. Uh, our bike share initiative is nearly complete. We're waiting on a
couple of approvals, uh, from the State DOT I guess. Um, we're installing some bike
parklets and .... uh, other amenities — a fix -it station, uh, several of those throughout, um,
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the downtown area, and then I wanted to address, uh, the Jingle Cross World Cup, uh, or
Jingle Cross Race that's hosting the world cup, uh, for cyclo -cross for the second time.
Uh, they came last year and put us on an international stage and, uh, they're coming
back! So although it's talking about, um, vehicles and it doesn't seem particularly
environmental, um, it does address our road diets, which will open our roadways for
other types of road users — pedestrians, bikefu... bicyclists, um, sl .... maybe potentially
reducing vehicle traffic in certain areas of town. So we've got those projects happening
at First Avenue, Sycamore, um, Mormon Trek, Clinton, and ... and Madison in the next
couple of ...this year and next. Um, noted the pedestrian improvements as well. So the
Riverside tunnel and First Avenue that are coming up. More on the traditional side of
sustainability, um, our plastic bag policy project is on hold. So that was the project I
noted at the beginning that's, um, no longer really in motion. We're waiting on, uh, as
staff is monitoring pending legislation that would ban cities from banning plastic bags.
We are going to incorporate, um, a .... a prohibition on plastic though at our Farmers
Market this year, so that's.... that's still in the works. Um, Council approved a resolu...
well ... I guess I'm jumping the gun here. Um, the carbon emissions reduction projects,
AmeriCorps, our energy audits for, um, low to moderate income households approved by
Council are 75% done. So that's exciting. And our non-profit proposals are do this
spring. So, Council approved a resolution creating the Climate Action and Adaptation
Steering Committee in January and .... we are looking, or you are looking at the potential
candidates for this committee this evening, I believe.
Throgmorton/ No problem! There are only 41 candidates! (laughter)
Monroe/ I know! (laughter)
Throgmorton/ We'll breeze through `em! (laughter)
Monroe/ We'll..... we'll help you out! Uh, we'll help you keep track at least! So, um, the ... this
committee is going to help the consultant selected, uh, perform some of the things — the
community engagement, assist With, uh, providing, urn .... I guess, uh, as a commu..
community liaison and acting as a .... as a liaison for their stakeholder groups. Um ... the
climate action plan itself that we're going to be working with the consultant, uh, will
address emissions reduction, also address our STAR community objectives, and we are
performing... staff is performing consultant interviews in the next couple of weeks and we
hope to have a selection shortly, I would hope in April some time, to be brought to
Council as soon as .... as soon as we can get them here. Uh, greenhouse gas inventory is
complete. Uh, we're working on a eco -city footprint tool, uh, that will help with the
climate action planning process, and, um, the other projects are still (mumbled)
underway. The waste minimization, last meeting we walked through the fee changes for,
uh, recycling and other .... other programs, the ... the food waste composting programs, um,
and so this is just identifying those, uh.... those services. We also did some facility
improvements this ... this winter, or this year. Um, I wanted to just touch on the fact that,
um, the replacements done primarily at, um, Mercer Aquatic Center and Robert A. Lee
Center, um, will potentially have a great energy savings, potential cost savings, um, as it
makes the, you know, the boiler and HVAC will help with, uh, regulating pool
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temperatures and, urn ... just getting other .... other savings. They also .... almost done. I
don't want to skip anything. In social justice and racial equity, um, we have our socio-
economic equity review toolkit that's underway. Six departments are involved in ... in
doing that, and uh, we'll be reporting the results this year. Uh, we've continued to
engage the community's youth in different programs, uh, we're continuing to do those,
but we also had, um, the .... the Police Department worked with students at Southeast
Junior High, uh, for G World, and that's an award-winning mentoring program focused
on empowering, urn ... girls of ...girls of color, and also the Library ended up, um,
providing holiday story -time before a visit from Santa at a homeless shelter. I wanted to
mention those. We have .... so we have our disproportionality discussions that are ... that
are upcoming or forthcoming in April. And .... our racial equity report was published in
November. So that's ... the report is a way for us to .... provide, um, yearly racial
demographics, urn ... either police contacts, um, demographics of City staff, and uh, the
demographics of persons serving on City boards and commissions. Our racial equity
grant applications were due, um, in December and they were reviewed by the .... by the
Human Rights Commission. They forwarded a recommendation to Council, which
you're also considering this evening. Urn ... and then we have a variety of stakeholder
partnerships that are continuing to work on, uh, workforce developments. We have our
affordable housing action plan and that work is underway. I wanted to note that the ... a
tenant displacement ordinance will be going to PB ... or to Planning and Zoning for
consideration in April. And changes to the existing affordable housing location model
will be presented to Council on April 4th. Um, and we're continuing with the Diamond
Senior Apartments. It's a great project, um, that's continuing to make progress. I think
we have two more. So we have our housing choice vouchers, uh, or human rights
ordinance and, um, recent legislation was introduced to eliminate this protection by cities,
but it was removed, uh, that particular language was removed from the bill before it
passed through ... to be passed to the State House, which is good news for us. Um, we also
have Invest Health program, and I just wanted to note that it's begun. In neighborhoods
they're taking surveys right now and further objectives or goals from that program will...
will be found, um, after we get the surveys back in April. And finally we have our, um,
mobile hot spots, uh, rented out by the Public Library, allowing greater access for people
to use the internet. And the bookmobile is just, um, noted in this section because of the
versatility it offers, um, to particular areas of the community. I think the neatest part is,
uh, the ability to have carts stocked with a particular type of volumes so groups of
children in a particular area will get more kids' books, um, people speaking a certain
language will have texts that ... that provide content for them. Um, diversity awareness,
the Library offered a couple of different displays, um, provided for Transgender
Awareness Month, as well as Native American Heritage Month. Uh, there's a upcoming
conference addressing eliminating racial biases and, uh, last but not... certainly not least,
um, we had in response to, um, bias and hate crimes, the office of equity and human
rights offer ... issued a `Know Your Rights' pamphlet, um, that provided insight to, um,
you know, the .... the recent resolution that was passed for reaffirming law enforcement
and, um, provided additional information in a variety of languages, including English,
French, Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese. So, we're, urn .... I apologize for speaking so
quickly. If you have questions, I'm happy to answer or, um, essentially staff may .... may
need to fill in specifics, but, um.....I think we're .... we're making some progress. So....
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Throgmorton/ Good job, Ashley! Thank you, uh, and I bet there are some questions or reactions
or whatever, so .... who wants to go first?
Thomas/ Well I'll just.... mention the ... the, and the bookmobile for some reason really, um, kind
of excites me, looking ahead. What it was beginning to remind me of was this, you
know, this notion of the pop-up that we've been talking about downtown.
Throgmorton/ (both talking) ...was thinking of the same thing!
Thomas/ Yeah. I think .... I think it really has great potential for creating, uh, a spot of energy
wherever... wherever it is along this route, showing up, um, and .... and energizing that
space, providing kind of this social gathering that will take place around it, uh, I'm
really.... really intrigued to see how that works, but I'm very optimistic.
Cole/ I'm curious with the plastic bag ordinance. Were there any other cities in the state of Iowa
contemplating this or that have them in place that you're aware of? I don't know if you
are... so it's just the City of Iowa City that was contemplating and that potentially has led
to this legislation? Any...
Fruin/ No, I'm not aware of any cities that have implemented a bag ban, but certainly the City of
Dubuque, um, created some headlines just in the last couple of months as they were
talking about it, uh, with their council.
Cole/ Okay.
Botchway/ Great work! There's a lot of stuff on there, obviously, um, some of it was shared in
the packet before, so I appreciate the presentation, but, um, I can't remember who I was
talking to.....oh, I was talking to you! Um, and just saying that staffs done a wonderful
job of incorporating a lot of the different things from a strategic planning standpoint,
so... kudos!
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) How many kudos?
Botchway/ There's a lot of kudos. I don't necessarily know the exact number (laughter) I'll
have to talk to Geoff about that! But, kudos to all!
Taylor/ I was curious about the PIN grants for the neighborhoods. What kinds of things do you
anticipate they might be requesting funds for?
Monroe/ Um....
Fruin/ We really .... you know, let that be a neighborhood -driven, um, activity. So over the years
there's been a wide variety of beautification projects, um, community ... or neighborhood
gatherings, um, I think we've, you know, purchased, um .... uh, kind of gardening
equipment to help support, uh.... um, beautification efforts. So, but we .... we want those
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Page 18 City Council Work Session
ideas to come from the neighborhoods themselves, so, urn .... we've been pretty flexible
and lenient in what we've, uh, approved over the years.
Thomas/ One ... one that I just learned about, um, this coming year is, uh, alley .... some alley way
improvement.
Taylor/ Oh, good!
Throgmorton/ Hey, Jake, this is almost your last session, isn't it? Or is it your last? I'm not
sure.
Simpson/ I have two more.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so, um, you have any thoughts? You ... you want to respond to any of this?
Simpson/ Um, I think this looks really great. Um, one of the things we've been involved with is
the bicycle master plan, and I know a lot of students have been really thankful to
participate in the survey and then I think I saw someone on the presentation, um, who's a
student at the, uh, at the, uh, community forum on the ... the bicycle thing. So, um, this
looks really good. Our priorities are always about more affordable housing. So if the
City can always continue to think about how we can, um, deer... decrease the market
price, um, of housing off -campus that'd be great, and then another thing we're talking
about a lot is food insecurity, and I know that with the local foods project that, um, we're
making a lot of headway on that, um, but if we can always, um, provide more local,
healthy, organic foods that would be great.
Throgmorton/ So, Jake, I'd like to note that, uh, we have a substantial number of
students.... student applications to our Climate, uh, Action .... uh, Steering Committee, as
a result of yours and Ben's, uh, lobbying I guess, you know (both talking) trying to get
folks to sign up (both talking)
Simpson/ ....some students who applied for the Human Rights Commission (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah! For sure! So when I first read the report, the written report, I thought
`Wow! The staff's doin' all that?' It's a terrific report. I love the format. I love the
illustrations. The content's terrific. I think it conveys a really clear, um, indication of the
wide variety of things that we are doing that are focused on the, you know, the seven
priorities that we identified. Not everything's in it. Thank god, because .... you know
(laughs) nobody'd ever be able to read it! But, uh... you know, it's a terrific report and
I'm really very proud of it and really appreciate the great work the staff has done on it.
Not ... not on, not just on producing the report, but doing all the work necessary to lead us
to this point. Anything else? Thank you, Ashley.
Monroe/ Thank you!
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Page 19 City Council Work Session
Fruin/ I always just like to, um, ask this when we ... when we go through this program, but, um,
this is the second update and likely probably the last. We'll do a .... we'll do a recap at the
end. So it's a good opportunity if you see some areas where you think we're lacking, um,
to let us know. Um, Ashley noted that the two items that are yet to come up and ... and
assuming we'll have those discussions in the coming months, but if there's anything
where we're not meeting expectations or if you have different ideas and you want to
redirect us, now's a good time .... or .... or the next couple weeks as you digest the report,
if you could talk to me that' d ... that'd be great.
Thomas/ One ... one thing that just came to mind was on the .... I guess it would be the vibrant
urban core was, uh, or healthy neighborhoods, was the .... the, um, Prairie Hill Co -
Housing Project, which I feel really touches on a number of our strategic plan goals in
terms of affordable housing, um, environ .... has an environmental sustainable component
to it, urn .... I think it's one of the more significant in .... in -fill projects in our downtown
core. There's, um, there's very little, um, public dollars put into that project, and yet it's
providing I think over 30, um, residential units. That ... that is, to my knowledge, a unique
combination (laughs) um, so .... so if there's a space in the report for that I ... it's also the
first co -housing, um, development in the state of Iowa.
Fruin/ That's a ... a good point.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. I ... I think I would mention also that when I made a speech to the Triangle
Club a couple days ago, I put a little more emphasis on the park, the works we've been
doin' on parks and thanks to Julie Seydel-Johnson, I was able to use some .... some
illustrations that came out of that Power Point presentation she gave to us. So that's a
key part of the building healthy neighborhoods component, seems to me.
Cole/ I'm curious as to the feedback you've been getting from the public. You know we get the
emails usually addressing particular concerns, um, but when you sort of get a significant
number of pieces of feedback, is that something that you guys monitor to report back to
us or ... what sort of feedback have we been gettin' from the public, sort of in general,
about areas that maybe we could improve on in some of these areas, if you can think.
Fruin/ Um .... boy, they tend to be pretty issue -specific and centered around whatever might be
grabbin' headlines at the time. Um .... I ... nothin' jumps out at me.
Cole/ I mean that's been sort of my sense, is that ... I mean, and I think that reflects on how well
you are all doing, that I have not, at least in a lot of these different areas, been receiving a
lot of negative feedback. We've had some concerns about the streets, um, that's always a
concern, you know, limited funds. So I think that just sort of underscores the great work
that you guys are doin', um, in achievin' our objectives.
Monroe/ We'll continue to .... I'll continue to work with Communications and monitoring any
kind of feedback we get through our various channels about, you know, things that could
be addressed.
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Cole/ Thank you.
City Council Work Session
Throgmorton/ Okay! Good deal. Thank you, Ashley.
Monroe/ Thank you!
Throgmorton/ Let's move on to our next item. It's clarification of agenda items. Anyone?
Ferris Bueller day off? Anyone?
Clarification of Agenda Items:
ITEM 3f(3) Amy Charles: Sexual harassment and subversion of government at
Uber [Staff response included]
Botchway/ I had question about .... IP .... not IP, sorry, 3f(3). Um, but have ... have we heard any
complaints about Uber?
Fruin/ I .... no, um, I have not.
Botchway/ Okay. (mumbled)
ITEM 8. SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL RATE CHANGES - ORDINANCE AMENDING
TITLE 3, FINANCES, TAXATION AND FEES, CHAPTER 4, SCHEDULE OF
FEES, RATES, CHARGES, BONDS, FINES AND PENALTIES, SECTION 5,
SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL, TO AMEND SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND
DISPOSAL FEES. (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Throgmorton/ The one, uh, I don't know, email or whatever it is that we got about the sexual
harassment was ... pretty stunning, right, so not a good story at all, but it doesn't apply to
Iowa City as such, so... Nothing? I want to bring up one thing then. With regard to
Item 8, uh, which is the ordinance amending solid waste collection and disposal fees. I
got a phone call from a constituent who, uh, was pretty upset about having to pay $2.00 a
month when he ... for, uh, yard waste collection, when he and other neighbors of his either
have private yard .... private firms pick up the yard waste for them, or else ... uh, only ... they
only put yard waste out like once or twice per year, and we're not talkin' big bucks here,
but he ... but he was upset about it and thought it was unfair that they'd be charged $24.00
per year basically when, you know, they're really only, if you will, puttin' out like $4.00
a year of yard waste or none. So ... yeah.
Mims/ I understand that, but at the same time I think when we're trying to bolster our
composting.... trying to bolster the composting program, um, at the Landfill that goes
along with that, I mean I think that it's something that ... with the single stream recycling
and with the yard waste, etc., I think those are just improvements that we're making
environmentally, hopefully keep .... people keeping more of the food stuff out of the
Landfill, etc., um, it's going to make it easier curbside. So I think it's.... there's no
easy ... there's no way to just charge people just for what they use. I mean otherwise why
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Page 21 City Council Work Session
am I paying taxes for the fire department when I've had my house for 30 years and it
hasn't burned down yet or, you know, it's just....
Thomas/ Would you like your house burned down (laughter and several talking)
Mims/ I won't comment on that (laughter)
Thomas/ I agree though!
Mims/ That you want my house to burn down (laughter)
Thomas/ No, no! (laughter) That we pay for these things and then never (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah, we do, and I just .... I think as staff has worked really hard over the years, I mean
we started our, you know ... uh.... recycling at the multi -family units. We did that program
years ago just to ... as pilot and now we're actually going to be, you know, getting that
more, you know, across the city, etc. This again is just one of those things that ... it .... it's
the best way and the most efficient way for the City to do it, and of course not everybody
is gonna use every service that's offered. So....
Throgmorton/ Yeah. Yeah. Well he was just wondering why he and his neighbors have to pay.
Thinks it's unfair, and I wanted to give us a chance to respond to that.
Taylor/ IA can understand where he's coming from cause a lot of folks in our community,
particularly seniors... and I don't know if he's a senior, are living on a very tight budget
and you budget from month to month, so then when things increase that ... that is hard to
do. Then you have to shuffle around and... and.... limit something somewhere else, but
the more I thought about I thought on the lines of Susan. It's like... we're actually not
paying for it for ourselves but for the entity in whole and have the service provided in the
city in whole, cause it takes money cause extra... extra, uh, folks to pick it up and extra,
uh, a different type of vehicle to .... to pick it up. So it takes extra money!
Throgmorton/ Uh huh.
Fruin/ The other thing I would add to that, um, when we ... when we combine yard waste and
curbside composting, you're increasing the pool of residents that are going to take
advantage of that service. Um, I would .... I would argue that the existing yard waste
system is a little bit cumbersome already. Um, having to come in to ... to City Hall and
buy a sticker or buy bags, it's ... it's a little, probably a little inconvenient for a lot of
residents to have to make that special trip in. Um, but I'm talking more on the back -end
for staff, we're .... we're purchasing stickers. We're processing those. We're delivering
bags to retail outlets. There's....there's just a lot of energy and administrative costs that
go into the current system. Simplifying it through a monthly fee, as that user group
expands with composting, just seemed to make sense at this time.
Information Packet Discussion [March 9, March 161:
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Throgmorton/ Okay. Okay, thanks. So let's turn to the next item, unless .... no other agenda
clarifications, right? Okay, so the next item Information Packet, um, discussion, so we'll
start with the March 9a' packet.
Botchway/ IP .... 2!
Throgmorton/ Yep.
Botchway/ Let's do it!
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I was gonna ask, uh, you whether you wanted to follow through on that and
adopt a similar resolution and so I guess the only real question would be, uh, do we want
to tinker with it some. There... there might be good reasons to massage some of the
language. Um .... but I, uh, I thought that y'all would agree that we do want to adopt a
resolution.
Taylor/ Right. You don't want it to be word-for-word. I was thinking of that too, you know.
Mims/ I don't see why not. (both talking) But ... I mean, if there's things people think ... could be
changed or should be better, fine, but as I read through it, that's one of the things I was
specifically looking at, you know, and I didn't see anything wrong with using the same
language, but....
Botchway/ I would change, um, to Iowa City.
Mims/ Right! (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Good idea! Well, uh.... urn .... in ... any objections to that?
Cole/ Not at all!
Throgmorton/ Sounds like a done deal then. Okay, so for our next meeting we'd like to do that.
All right, any other, uh, March 9 packet items?
Botchway/ IP .... 4!
Throgmorton/ Boy you're just jumpin' my gun! (laughter) Go ahead! (laughs)
Thomas/ Yeah, I ... I, um .... give my two cents worth on the complete streets policy and things
related to, um, our constre... our complete streets policy, uh, and tried to pull together, you
know, many of the things that over the last several months, some of which were
highlighted in our strategic plan that we've had a number of nationally renowned
speakers come in to Iowa City, um, Jeff Speck, Dan Burden with the Blue Zones report,
um. .... all of the things that I've included in that memo to you are things that were
advocated for through the Blue Zones, uh, Jeff Speck, and I would ... I would
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say... we're... we're seeing now from .... uh, transportation officials that there's an
acknowledgement of that. We now actually have standards which are beginning to
reflect what ... what Speck and Burden have been advocating for for years. So I think we
have a ... I think it's beginning to be, uh, endorsed, um, more generally by transportation
officials and I think that's what I would like to bring our attention to and see if we
can't... look at our complete streets policy and ... and look to revise it, uh, in ... in minor
ways, and then I've also added, um, some initiatives that I think we ... we could explore,
uh, again drawn from some of the practices that .... that I'm seeing being adopted in other
cities around the world, such as the ... the Vision Zero, which is aimed at eliminating
traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. And also, uh, a neighborhood streets
initiative where we would implement what ... what I refer to as a safe neighborhoods
approach, where we would ... we would advocate for dropping the ... the speed limit in .... in
certain neighborhoods. You know, there's certain qualities that a neighborhood would
have to...to have in order to, I think qualify for this program, but, um, where the design
speed is dropped to 20 -miles -per -hour. Um, I think all of these things, you know, hearing
that the bike master plan, uh, again I think is a very inspiring program that we're
pursuing. I think actually, uh, this ... what I've included in the memo could help the bike
master plan because the standards that ... that I've noted there, uh, would allow for more
space to be reallocated for bike lanes, that if we were not to adopt them, we ... we would
have a .... a project that would entail more capital expenditures because we might have to
move the curbs and so forth. Um, so I just wanted to put that out there for your
consideration, uh.... as I've tried to note, I think in addition to what Speck and Burden
have advocated, what I've become conscious of serving on Council is the economic cost
of our current standards. Um, you know, Speck referred to some of our streets as 70 -
mile -an -hour streets because of the lane widths, um ... that's a safety issue, but there's also
a cost there because the ... those lanes are wider than they need to be, and so the ... the
capital and operational costs, uh, increase. We have less land to develop. Land is really,
as a city that's... that's what we have. That's our ... our asset, our primary asset is land. So
less.....less infrastructure, more land.... for.... for purpose, you know, for various
purposes. So, urn .... again, I just wanted to sort of start that conversation (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, John, thanks for puttin' this together. It strikes me as a very good starting
point for our discussion, uh, but it's not the end point; right? So when we have a work
session discussion about the complete streets thing, we can build on this.
Fruin/ I want to clarify, um, there's some.... there's some different terms and policies bein', um,
bein' thrown around. I (mumbled) make sure everybody's on the same page, so .... I
really see three different things that your memo touches on a little bit. One is, um, a
complete streets study. So the conversation that's referenced in the first paragraph of
your memo, where I indicated I was awaiting further direction from Council, I was
actually referring to the complete streets study that's on your pending list, um, of work
session topics. That is a, uh, when you were going through the FY17 budget, um, after
this Council was first seated, um, one of the changes you made was to, uh, place $25,000
in the budget for a complete streets study. That's what staff doesn't have any direction
on, um, and I don't know that that study's needed any more. I think we've got a number
of things underway, but that's.... that's what needs further direction. So that's... that's
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one, that's the complete streets study, and then we have, um, two separate things and
really the design guidelines and the complete streets policy, and ... and both came up at
different points last year. Um, last summer we had a lot of talk about traffic calming, um,
if you recall there was a situation where we, uh, placed speed bumps on Langenberg,
which is a street that's -was fairly recently constructed. That prompted a conversation to
say, `Hey, we need to be lookin' at our design standards if we have to go back in a few
years after a road's constructed to add speed bumps,' and what we reported to you at that
time was that we were, um, already planning a look at our design, a review of our design,
um, standards and that we hoped to be ready, um, to come back to you in the spring of
this year, um, this spring, uh, with some recommendations to changes to our design
standards. Our staff is doing that now, uh, the Public Works staff is, um, completing
their review. They're beginning to, uh, have a discussion with the Neighborhood
Development Services Department and ... and tryin' to make sure that as staff we're on the
same page before we .... we bring those to you. And then the final piece, the third item, is
the complete streets policy itself. The ... the policy, the complete streets policy, came up,
uh, during the Douglass Street, Douglass Court water main project discussion, where we
were lookin' at sidewalks on one side versus two side. Um, our complete streets policy
doesn't get into, urn .... uh, hard .... design guidelines like lane widths and things like that.
That's more of a, uh, policy statement that says when we, uh, pursue work in ... in the
right-of-way, whether it's a water main, sewer, sidewalk project, road project, um, as we
put the pieces back together in that neighborhood or along that street that we're .... we're
cognizant of all the different modes of transportation that utilize that corridor or could use
that corridor. So, um, even with that Douglass Street, Douglass Court, um, we
determined that, um... you don't even need ... you don't need to revise the complete
streets policy to accommodate that situation. There's enough Wiggle room in that policy
to do so. So my takeaway from, uh, your memo, Councilman Thomas, was .... was that
your primary focus, other than the initiatives mentioned at the end, were on the design
guidelines themself and I guess my little, my speech here was, uh, a long way of saying
we're almost ready to have that conversation with you and present you with some
recommendations, but I would suspect we need, uh, probably another month or ... or two
before we have some firm recommendations.
Throgmorton/ Okay! Good deal!
Cole/ So it will be on the work .... okay.
Fruin/ Yeah, we'll ... we'll let you know when we're ready and then, um, you can decide when to
put ... schedule it on a work session.
Throgmorton/ Okay, any other Info Packet, uh, March 9 Info Packet items?
Botchway/ IP6, um,1 forgot to ask you this. Did you reach out to folks?
Throgmorton/ About what?
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Botchway/ About ... I thought you were (both talking) Yeah, IP6, I thought you were ... I thought
last meeting we talked about that you were going to reach out to ... you said something
about reaching out to .... the, um, Union Bar or something like that, the owners. Talking
(both talking)
Throgmorton/ No, no! I just wanted information about who the owners are and that kind of thing
and maybe I'll personally try to do somethin' but (both talking)
Botchway/ Okay.
Throgmorton/ ....I haven't ... (both talking)
Botchway/ ....wanted to ask. Yeah.
Throgmorton/ So .... so I'd like to mention IPS, which is a Washington Post article about the
President's proposed but sketchy budget. And ... I .... I only want to bring up the point
about Community Development Block Grant, Home funds, and a few other major
pro ... uh, programs that are really vital to the .... to our City operations. I know that we
signed on to some letter that was sent, uh... uh, in response to that, but I don't remember
what it was. Can you help (both talking)
Fruin/ Yeah, there's a .... as you can imagine, um, cities are, uh, and various different coalition
groups are ... are banding together right now to communicate to our congressional
delegation our .... our views on, uh, whether it be the proposed cuts at HUD, EPA,
any ... any number of...pick your federal agency. Um, and ... and so I think you're referring
to a ... a National League of Cities email (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) signed on to,
um, just... reiterating the importance, um, of...of some of those programs whose dollars,
uh, do reach us at the local level. Um, but there's a lot of other professional associations,
uh, whether it's in the planning world, um, or, uh, transportation world that are doin' the
same things and .... and we're doin' what we can to, uh, advocate for that funding. Uh,
I'll be going to D.C. with a group from Johnson County at the end of April and, um ... uh,
I'm working with the City of Coralville and the City of North Liberty to develop some
joint position statements on, uh, particularly related to HUD and, uh, brownfield grants,
EPA cuts, those types of things.
Throgmorton/ Good deal! Anything else on the March 9 packet? Okay. March 16. I'm hearin'
a lot of silence! Do I take that to mean we're done with our work session? Okay! We're
done. We'll reconvene for the formal meeting at 7:00!
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