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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-07-18 TranscriptionPage 1 Item 2. Proclamations Item 2a National Disability Voter Registration Week — July 17 — 21 Throgmorton: I think no one's here to ... to accept these proclamations, but I'd like to read them anyhow. So I'll begin with National Disability Voter Registration Week. (reads proclamation) And I guess I'd like to say I notice that, uh, one other Council Member indicated he has a disability earlier, and I can tell you I do! So .... it's important to deal with this kind of stuff, ya know? So, I'm proud to read that proclamation. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 2 Item 2. Proclamations Item 2b Americans with Disabilities Act Awareness Day — July 22 Throgmorton: Okay, the next one is.....concerns American With... Americans With Disabilities Act Awareness Day. (reads proclamation) Am I right that there's, uh, that Keith or no one else is here to accept these proclamations? Okay. So, moving on! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 3 Item 4. Community Comment (items not on the agenda). [until 8 pm] Throgmorton: Uh, comment, well .... and, uh, this is an opportunity to speak to us about any item that does not appear on the formal meeting agenda. You have up to, not more than, five minutes. Please come up, state your name, and .... welcome! And incidentally, welcome to everybody tonight. Uh, I'm surprised anybody's here, given the amount of rain we got just a little while ago, but anyhow we're all here! Welcome! Weaver: Uh, Mr. Mayor, I want to commend you and the Members of the Council on the adoption of those proclamations. I had a very successful professional career that was basically destroyed when I became afflicted with Major Depressive Disorder. A lot of that being the inability, uh, thanks to the Ambassador to China to provide appropriate medical care. That's an aside. That's not actually the reason I'm here. I think you folks have a problem. A big problem. Um .... it.....the Police Department.... is the laziest, most inept group of officers that I have ever encountered in 30 years of working with law enforcement. Example one, in the late summer of 2015 I reported to the Police Department that a gentleman who up to that time had been a very close friend of mine had asked to borrow several hundred dollars. Uh... I .... am in a position where I lent him the money, believing it would aid him in his recovery. It became quite apparent after a short period of time that it was a fraudulent transaction and he never intended to pay me. The officer who was sent to my house was a ranked officer, but attempted to .... tell me .... a dishonest interpretation of the theft statute. Now unless I assume that you are raising people to a higher rank and paying them a higher amount of money who don't know what a theft is, uh.... then she may have been accurate, but I just simply find that hard to believe. Uh, so okay, I turn it over to the County's off... Attorney's office. Of course they drop the ball. They don't do anything. Um, then I had a second incident on July ... uh, January 110' of this year. Chris Villhauer, who is somewhat of a supervisor of Southgate Property Management came to an apartment I rented and stole a very expensive, custom-made chair that went with an oak dining room table, again of great expense. Uh.... on the 12th I reported that to the Police Department. At some point in time the Police Department called Mr. Villhauer and decided they would not pursue the matter. Uh, but they lacked the courtesy and the fortitude to notify me. So I had to track it down myself and they said it was a civil matter. Said civil matter? The man admitted it, that he committed a theft! Why does this become a .... a civil matter, but that's rather a chronic situation in these cases. Juxtapose that to difficulty I encountered with the Trailways driver. Now this is clearly a civil dispute, based on a contract of my purchase of a ticket. The, uh, driver....I.....I don't drive. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 4 Haven't driven for a decade. That's by choice. You have a wonderful system here and I don't see (mumbled) reason to waste the money on a car and I don't! So, I travel by bus. He was extremely rude. In fact the, uh, carrier ended up settling with me for a few hundred dollars based on his conduct, but the Police kicked me off the bus! Now that's a civil contract! And they turn it into a criminal act when I'm involved, but they don't pursue either act of theft, and I .... am sufficiently trained in legal matters that I could have written the cases for them and had my one -year-old grandson present them. I mean they were very simple and straight -forward and the evidence was overwhelming. What really troubles me most is you don't see my feet, but I'm wearing a $400 pair of shoes. It's not my style, until last month or so $400 was probably the total cost of all the footwear I own. In that left shoe, there is a fixture designed to try to keep my foot tightly together so that a fracture can heal without necessity for surgery. Now there's something of an urban legend that's grown up around the hospital, so they call a police officer in. He indicates to me .... where I was situated I was eating some tuna salad purchased at the hospital in the fourth floor lounge next to where I receive my primary treatment at the, uh, Digestive Disease Center. I was just sitting there, doing nothing. The officer comes in, says I'm discharged, and that was the first time I really knew that he was a peace officer only because he wanted to see justice done. I did not realize until that time that he had been admitted to practice medicine by the Board of Medical Examiners and was Board Certified in orthopedics. Which of course he is not. And he placed me at ja... great jeopardy, uh, further injury to this foot, which would necessitate surgery. I simply ask that you provide some relief for the citizens. My clothing selection tonight was of some importance, but the heat.... protocol gave way to the heat. When I came back to Iowa City (both talking) Throgmorton: Sir, if (both talking) I could, you've gone well over five minutes. Could you wrap up, please? Weaver: Well when I came back in 2014 I wanted nothing to do than to be Robert Crones, Mr. Natural. So (mumbled) you know, I'll just go around and do my thing. But I made the mistake of wearing sweat pants, and whether you want to believe it or not, this is a very bigoted city, based upon income and perception. Someone sees me walking around in sweat pants and particularly if I carry my lunch in a plastic sack. They think I'm homeless and they treat me like shit! You got three other departments the same way, including your City Attorney, who will soon be resolving her ethical behavior with the Iowa Supreme Court. Uh, I appreciate your need to limit the comments. I guess I'll have to come back three or four times to discuss the other agencies that are involved. However.... please be This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 5 warned that the Library has prohibited me from going in to the Library on false accusations. If that order is not released in three days, I will enter the Library for the purpose of being arrested and having a public trial exposing the operation of that facility (both talking) Thank you, Mayor. Tbrogmorton: Thank you. Dilkes: Sir, can we get your name please? Voparil: Could you sign in? (responding from audience) Weaver: I apologize! My, uh, I prefer Jim Weaver. When I came to Iowa City I often signed up as James and people took that too seriously and I'm not really a James, I'm more of a Jim. I haven't been a Jimmy since my grandmother passed. Throgmorton: Thank you. Would .... would anybody else like to address us? Seeing no one else, we'll move to Item 5, Planning and Zoning Matters. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 6 Item 5. Planning and Zoning Matters Item 5a Rezoning 513 S. Riverside Drive — Ordinance conditionally rezoning approximately 0.62 acres of land from Community Commercial (CC -2) Zone to Riverfront Crossings — West Riverfront (RFC -WR) zone for property located at 513 S. Riverside Drive. (REZ17-00005) a) Public Hearing Throgmorton: All right. So there's a sequence we're going to go through here. Uh, basically in the end we're gonna ... I want to get a motion to continue the public hearing to August 15` and then a motion to defer first consideration to, uh, to August 15`, but, uh.... that said, uh, I want to ask if there's any ex parte disclosures that need to be made. Okay. So I'm gonna open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Mims: Move to continue the public hearing to August 0. Dickens: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Hearing none, uh, we need a .... all in favor say aye. Opposed. Uh, motion carnes. b) Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration) Mims: Move to defer first consideration to August ls` Dickens: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Hearing none, uh, all in favor say aye. Motion carries. I need a motion to give, uh, no what is that? Motion to give first consideration, I don't do that. Discussion, roll call .... never mind! Okay, so we'll move to Item 6! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 7 Item 6. Riverfront Crossings Park, Phase 2 - Resolution approving plans, specifications, form of agreement, and estimate of cost for the construction of the Riverfront Crossings Park, Phase 2 Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids a) Public Hearing Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Juli! Seydell Johnson: Good evening! Fun project to talk about and fun to talk if you've been down to the site, they're really moving on Phase One right now, so Phase One of the park is ... is well under way. A lot of ...a lot of fun to watch that take shape. So Phase Two is the nature play area. Um, this was pulled out of Phase One because it has some federal funding involved and we wanted to keep it as its own sev... separate project. Um, I think it'll be the largest nature play area, nature playground area, for kids in the state of Iowa, and definitely the coolest and best one I'm sure! (laughter) Um, happening right on the east side of the park, along Ralston Creek, and a couple things I'll point out. You've seen this before but there's that creek access area here with limestone steps down into Ralston Creek. Um, there's various different play areas which I'll hit on in just a little bit, but some of them seem pretty simple, but I think they're going to be so much fun. On the center section is a tumble, um, a tumbling area. So it's a hill with a tunnel underneath. Kids can explore underneath it, but then they basically go to the top and tumble back down. (laughter) Sounds very simple. Throgmorton: All right! We can all do it! (laughter) Seydell Johnson: Yeah (laughter) That grand opening with the bike, you can bike out here and ... and go do that. Uh, separate areas along the side, there'll be an explorers' area for kids to kind of run through and have different obstacles to go through. There'll be a two through five-year-old area, an older kids' area, some, um, special areas that, uh, swings for, um, parents and child to swing together, log slide.... different logs and things to go through, sand play area where they can be like an archaeological dig. Uh, there'll be a tepee for `em so you'll.... they' can bring things and make it into a tepee for some social play areas. Uh, part of the railroad bridge that's being taken out in Phase One will be recycled and used for part of the play structures and the Sabin arches from Sabin Elementary School are also going to be used within this play area. So, just quite a few exciting things This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. i happening, um, and here it is on the map of the park, uh, happening here on the east side. Throgmorton: All right! Fabulous! Any questions for Juli, or reactions? Mims: Just excited to see this keep moving! Make a great park! Throgmorton: Yeah! I'm looking forward to it as well, especially when that bridge opens up. Then I can walk across the bridge with Rockne and go over to the (laughter) to the brewery and then back across (several talking) Uh, no further questions? Thank you, Juli. Would anybody else like to address this topic? Uh, seeing no one I'm going to close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Do I have a motion? b) Consider a Resolution Mims: Move the resolution. Botchway: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Thomas: It's gonna be a nice feature for, uh, the Riverfront Crossings Park, especially I ... I think it's taking, um, excellent advantage of the fact that it's along Ralston Creek, uh, and this ... the notion which I think we've talked about of parks serving as destinations. This one will I think really, truly be an activator to, um, this .... this general area of Iowa City, but also I think the reach of it will probably go beyond that. So it's .... it's really nice! Really nice to see that. Throgmorton: Yeah. Anyone else? Okay, well we have a motion on the floor. Roll call, please. Motion carries 7-0. Your boy'll be able to play out there. That'll be fun! Botchway: I'm kinda worried about it! (laughter) Lot of dirty clothes! (laughter) Thomas: Dirt is good! (laughter) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 9 Item 7. Robert A. Lee Recreation Center Remodeling 2017 — Resolution approving plans, specifications, form of agreement, and estimate of cost for the construction of the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center Remodeling 2017 Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids a) Public Hearing Throgmorton: I'm gonna open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Juli! Seydell Johnson: So this project looks at some accessibility issues that we have at the Robert A. Lee Ree Center. Um, in our lower level lobby we have these two here on the right side, two restrooms, two single -stall restrooms not accessible for people using wheelchairs. Also kind of a security issue from how staff can see them, um, versus how the building operates. So we're gonna fix that by making them bigger and changing the entrance location. Um, the stairs, also not ADA compliant at the time ... at this time because of the railings and if you've been there, they're just really showing their age. We redid the floors two years ago in the rest of the building but weren't able to redo the stairs. So we'll end up with enclosed stairs that, um, look a lot better and function a lot better for the facility. Um, and the final thing that the project will accomplish is the restroom change, which I'll show you on the plans in just a minute, uh, takes away an office that we have right now, uh, right off the gym. RaQuisha Harrington's office at the moment. It's not a very conducive office, and if you've ever been there when the gym is busy and lively (laughs) I'm not sure ... it was once probably the coach's office. It had a shower, it had all those kinda traditional things, so, um, that's going away and that means we're going to end up doing some, uh, small renovations in our upstairs administrative offices. Uh, this, uh, window that you see in the bottom right will actually not be there any longer. Our main customer service operations happen at the larger desk down below and it's been very confusing since we made tlrat change. We want this window open. It's not always staffed. The staff is downstairs. So we will be closing that off so we can use this for work spaces, uh, have some level of noise control inside the admin offices. Still public access to come in and meet with the different people that have offices in there, but uh, we'll get that closed off. Let me show ya the ... this would be the downstairs area. So currently the two restrooms enter from the lobby by the, um, stairs. Here's the stairs going up. What we're going to do is change those, turn them around so that the two entrances will be directly across from our customer service desk. We'll have `em very visible and be able to ... to monitor them pretty closely. They'll This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 10 become single -stall, uh, non -gender specific restrooms, uh, with family changing, or the, um, young child changing areas in them. Behind us we will have a .... a lactation room, uh, which has been asked for by both staff and by, um, people using the Rec Center building, and then a small storage area made out of that lower level space. And then upstairs, as I mentioned, some renovations in the office. The ... the window area'll be closed. Uh, there's currently a door into the main office that will also be closed to help with the flow of the ... the building and the meeting spaces that we use, and that will make this into two offices here and then two work stations in the front area. (mumbled) any questions you might have. Throgmorton: Okey doke, any questions for Juh? Full speed ahead it looks like. Uh... thank you, Juli. Would anybody else like to address this? Seeing no one I'm going to close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Is there a motion? b) Consider a Resolution Thomas: Move resolution. Mims: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Botchway: Just want to commend, uh, City staff, not only obviously for the renovation, but urn .... urn, this is .... I don't know if this is the second iteration of remodel where we're looking at, um, gender non-specific restrooms, but you know there's....there's still.... that's still being built in our community where we have gender specific restrooms and so for the City stepping up in that way I just ... I think it's .... that was going to be my comment, and you answered it, so I appreciate that! Mims: Well I think the ... the additional visibility's really important too, so I think it's a good remodel, use of space. Throgmorton: Yeah. All right, hearing no further discussion, roll call please. Motion carries 7- 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 11 Item 8. Solid Waste Code Amendments for Cardboard Ban - Ordinance Amending Title 16, Public Works, Chapter 3, City Utilities, Article H, Solid Waste, To Prohibit Landfilling of Corrugated Cardboard. (Second Consideration) Throgmorton: So, uh, I'd like to get a motion to waive second consideration to, uh (mumbled) 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? I ... I can, well just on this, urn .... (laughs) I guess there's no discussion! Never mind! So ... uh.... roll call, please! Motion carries 7-0. Mims: Move final adoption. Dickens: Second. Throgmorton: Okay, moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Uh, what I was on the verge of saying is I.....put a lot of cardboard into our recycling last night (laughs) Really, a lot of cardboard! So I'm very pleased to know that it's all .... all of it's going to be recycled now and no longer, um, be allowed to go to the Landfill. Happy about that. Um.....you earlier asked a question about carbon, uh, on a different topic, having to....during our work session (several responding) Yeah, um, so I noticed there's information here about methane emissions associated with carbon, in the Landfill, and apparently this will reduth... reduce methane emissions con ... uh, quite a bit. And that's quite important from a climate.... climate change, uh, point of view, so .... I'm very happy to see that. Uh, any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 12 Item 9. Poor Farm Water Well - Ordinance amending Title 16, "Public Works", Chapter 3, "City Utilities", Article C, "Potable Water Use and Service", Section 10, "Private Wells Restricted" to allow private wells to be installed by governmental entities within city limits if determined by the City to be in the public interest and to clarify that geothermal wells are not private water wells for purposes of this section of the City Code. (First Consideration) Botchway: Move first consideration. Dickens: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Fruin: This is just a, um, a follow up on our request that we received from the County. You may recall when we toured the Poor Farm with the County this issue came up. Um, and for those of you that were at the Joint Entities' meeting, uh, last night, I .... I misspoke a little bit on the timing. Urn .... uh, we will, uh, ask you to approve the first reading tonight and then collapse on August I". The County is kind of on stand-by, wanting to, uh, drill a new well out at the Poor Farm. It's currently prohibited by City code, so this amendment is pretty narrowly tailored to allow government entities, in this case the County, uh, to pursue a well, uh, should we determine it's, uh, in the pub .... uh, public interest. Throgmorton: Okey doke! Cole: County is doing some great things at the Poor Farm. A lot of people forget that it's actually on City property. So it's interesting to sort of see this level of cooperation. (several talking) Throgmorton: ... not City property (both talking) Cole: ....City limits is what I meant, yep! Throgmorton: Yeah! And .... true enough! Any other discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 13 Item 10. American Legion Road and Barrington Road Speed Limits - Consider an ordinance amending Title 9, Entitled "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Chapter 3, Entitled "Rules of the Road," Section 6, Entitled "Speed Restrictions," Subsection B, Entitled "Exceptions" to establish a maximum allowable speed of 35 mph on American Legion Road between the intersection of Scott Boulevard and Taft Avenue and amending Subsection C, Entitled "School Speed Zones" to establish a 20 mph school speed zone for Hoover Elementary School. (First Consideration) Botchway: Move first consideration. Taylor: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Taylor. Discussion? Well, like I said during the work session, it's extraordinarily important that we ensure the safety of children and escorts going to school, uh, and.... especially in terms of crossing the road and walking along American Legion Road especially. So, of course I'm very happy to see this and, Geoff, I know you wrote a memo to Steve Murley on this particular point, alerting him about what we were going to do. Fruin: Yeah, that memo will be in the, uh, School District's next Board packet, as well as your Thursday, uh, Information Packet, and urn .... uh, just to note on this particular item. Our staff has also been working with the County and we will, um, with their permission, which they .... they have given us, also install some speed limit reduction signs east of Taft .... Taft as well. So we'll start to taper that speed even before the Taft intersection. You're not seein' that reflected in the item tonight because that's County property. Taylor: My, uh, grandson is a Longfellow Longhorn, as Rockne's daughter is, and so seeing this he's going to be temporarily uprooted from Longfellow and going to the new Hoover, so I'm very happy to .... to see this being done. Throgmorton: I ... I wanted to ask one question. It has to do with the conversation you and I had, maybe a week or two ago, I don't remember exactly, about the hill just to the east of the exit from the new Hoover School parking lot, and my experience coming out of that exit was that it's, uh, the top of the hill's pretty close. So if a car's comin' at ya at....at a rapid speed, you're.... you're at risk. So, I imagine you've had conversations about that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 14 Fruin: Yeah, we did, uh, we had staff take a look at that, um, technically it meets the visibility, uh, thresholds that we measure. Um, but uh, we are going to engage the School District to see if, um .... uh..... uh, while they're still completing some site work out there they might be able to ... to take a little bit off that grade. If not we'll .... we'll work, um, if they're not able to do so, I think we'll work to find a solution where we can improve that visibility a little bit. It is .... it is, urn ... uh, I think it is a concern, but again, it technically does meet the visibility thresholds. Throgmorton/ Okay. Thanks! Mims: I would just like to add one thing because the public hasn't seen Geoff s letter yet and, like you said, it'll be in the School District's packet, um, their next packet. It'll be in our packet on Thursday. And I think it's .... I would strongly encourage people to look at that letter when it comes out, either in the School District's packet or in ours. It really lays out I think in great detail kind of the process that has been gone through since the City and the School District were working together to help the School District find property, and ... really the lead time that it takes the City to do capital improvement projects and major road construction and .... and reconstruction, and there is ... there's a huge timing issue here where in an ideal world that road would be rebuilt before that school opens. Um, with sidewalks and ... and the ... what we anticipate is a pathway underneath the road for .... for kids to come from Windsor Ridge to the school. That just is not physically or financially possible to have gotten that done by the time the school opens, but certainly the City is working I would say in as expeditious a manner as possible, uh, regarding both the physical and financial limitations to get that done and in the meantime we'll do everything we can with the School District, um, to cooperate and make sure that that is as safe as possible out there. Throgmorton: I wonder if it would be worthwhile having, um, a short Channel 4, City cable channel TV, um, segment, uh, on this particular topic. Mims: Good idea! Fruin: We can do that, and, uh, on a related note, on your next agenda we expect to also be bringing you a school speed zone for the Mann Elementary, which we've talked about at this table before. Uh, we had hoped to bring that at the same time, but since it's a DOT route, there's a couple of extra steps to take, but we think for the first time we'll be able to actually put a speed zone on Mann. I'm sorry, around Mann, on Dodge, with their permission. So, that's also in the works and, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 15 uh, we'll have that done, and assuming you approve and collapse on the 15"i, will be in place before school starts .... on Dodge as well. Throgmorton: Excellent! Any further discussion (several talking) Cole: ...really thrilled about that. Throgmorton: Uh, hearing no further discussion, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 16 Item 11. Art Work in Black Hawk Mini Park - Resolution authorizing the City Manager to sign an agreement with Iowa City Downtown District for temporary placement of art work in Black Hawk Mini Park Thomas: Move the resolution. Botchway: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Fruin: Give a brief intro as well and then, uh, Betsy Potter from the Iowa City Downtown District is gonna, uh, go ... go, walk you through this in more detail, but you'll recall last year during the Washington, uh, Street reconstruction prog, uh, process that the, um, City, uh, contracted with the Iowa City Downtown District for some additional programming in the Black Hawk Mini Park area. Uh, you may recall some of their events. They had paddle boarding, a rock wall for a climbing event on a weekend, uh, they did yoga, and a whole other number of events. We received great feedback, uh, from the businesses, from the public who participated in that, and so during the budget process this year, um, we included dollars to do the same thing, um, with the Downtown District. They're refining their approach this year. It's gonna be a different set of offerings, um, and Betsy has been gearing up for that, so she's gonna walk you through I think the bigger picture on what they're lookin' to do programming wise, and then talk specifically about the temporary art installation. Throgmorton: Good evening, Betsy! Welcome! Potter: Good evening. Thank you so much! Let me open this up really quick. Nope! That's Juli's. Oh, here we go! So I hope that everyone has kind of noticed that we have started the Black Hawk Mini Park programming so far this year. The yoga started in June and we've had a lot of success with that particular programming element. It's free. It happens on Sundays, every single, uh, weekend. We work with Hot House Yoga to bring out an instructor. We have about 65 to 70 attendees each Sunday morning at 10:00, uh, which is a really great attendance for the area, considering there's not much going on on Sunday mornings in that area already. We have the red chairs out again. This week we've brought back out.... actually for the last week and a half, the ping pong table and giant Jenga sets, which we always hear really great feedback from. So; um, part of. ... so we'll keep on with the `lighter, quicker, cheaper' programming and element and I'll kind of walk through those a little bit, but part of this also is This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 17 about putting a temporary art installation in this space, and urn .... you know, it was back in ... I believe.... I'll walk through the timeline, but there ... back in January we started this whole process with the community survey, kind of asking the community members what they wanted to see in Black Hawk Mini Park temporarily from July until October, and so that's a ... a lot of this is based on that community survey, and then additionally we met with a lot of our key stakeholders, um, the Iowa City Public Library and a whole bunch of other non- profit groups and clubs around town that had been mentioned in the community survey, and we met and we talked to them about what they'd like to participate in, what they would be willing to help us with, and how they would like to see Black Hawk Mini Park used. So all of these ideas have come from those meetings and from those, um, investigations. So this is kind of how we started those, um, that survey and the workshop. We kind of explained the current existing conditions of Black Hawk Mini Park, that, uh, we learned a lot last year when we brought the paddle boarding in. We realized the drainage isn't so great. Things that we should and shouldn't do in the area. Um, things people want to see in the area, and things they don't really want to engage with. Um, and so we learned a lot of lessons from that and so these are the current, uh, conditions of Black Hawk Mini Park, and then like I said, we started this whole process, urn .... in January, when we first decided to define what we thought as place making, as an organization, based on some, uh, research and conferences that we've attended, and then in February we sent out the community survey and we had a really great response from a lot of community members that were very open about if they even knew what Black Hawk Mini Park even was, and that was our first question. About 60% of the survey results said that they did; 40% bad no idea that the area was called Black Hawk Mini Park, and then after that one of the questions on the survey just as a reminder was, um, what organizations should we partner with in the community. So every single one that was mentioned in our survey we invited to a larger workshop, and I think about 16 of those mentioned partners showed up, and we walked through for about an hour and a half to two hours what they would like to see in this space, and so that's when we established our needs and that's how we came up with, uh, three major components of the Black Hawk area that we would like to see this summer programming, the `lighter, quicker, cheaper' events that we are putting on. Temporary amenities, there's currently nothing in this space besides a light pole, um, and one of the biggest complaints is we need shade, we need seating, we need, you know, things to make it feel safe, things to make us want to be there a little bit longer, and then by and far about 98% of the comments were based around art, and whether it be temporary art or art elements. So we kind of knew right there that we had to start focusing our energy on bringing some sort of art element to Black Hawk Mini Park for this pilot program This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 18 that we're doing. So, um .... this is kind of just going over those community results, but we are working towards now finding an art element for Black Hawk Mini Park. Following the community sury ... or the community, um, survey and the workshop, we then met with our art partners in town. So local artists and the Museum of Art and other partners that really wanted to help us define how we were going to bring art to the area, and um .... through that process, I think it was Public Space One had mentioned that it is a great ele... thing to bring art to the area, but it needs to maybe have another component to it because this space is really in need of shade and seating, and staging actually, and so, um, we then... reached out to a recommended artist, Hannah, and she's here and she's gonna go over our proposal today, um, to come up with a temporary art piece that would incorporate both shade, seating, and just be a real great conversation piece for Black Hawk Mini Park. So, that is where we're at right now. These are just like some of the `lighter, quicker, cheaper,' just to like .... let everyone understand what we've done in the past there and what we're working on, and then I will kind of tum it over to Hannah to explain the Prairie Box that we're hoping to put in this space, and it'll be there from... hopefully August until October, and then it's temporary and it'll be removed. Throgmorton: Good evening! Welcome! Givler: Hi, thank you! Um, thank you to Betsy and all of you for the opportunity to speak about this. Throgmorton: Please.... please state your name (both talking) Givler: I'm Hannah Givler. Um, I'm an artist here in Iowa City and I teach sculpture and design courses at the University of Iowa. Um ... I have a ..... a sculpture practice that includes the design and construction of architectural spaces, um, in part. I also do other things in that practice, but um, I believe that a architectural space can convey meaning. Um, I believe that it...it can, uh, contain ideas and share stories and also effect social behavior, um, and share history, and so when I was met with the possibility of developing a proposal for this site at Black Hawk Mini Park, um, I thought about, uh, the current climate of sort of. ... social, uh, anxiety on a local and national level and thought what I wanted most was to design a space that would be welcoming and facilitate belonging, and so, uh, from that I developed.... does this work this way? I developed a structure that's, uh, influenced by the Four Square home, the American Four Square which is a midwestern vernacular style that can be found here in Iowa City and across the midwest. Um, and .... and using this house form, um, I modified the design This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 19 slightly so that every face of the building is an entrance. It has a porch with the shade and a swing, um .... for gathering. Um .... the American Four Square, uh, was often, um, distributed as a kit house. It could be ordered through a catalog. Um, and.... basically mills ... lumber mills in Iowa and in the midwest would, um, pre-cut a lot of the lumber for the houses and then ship thein by railway to, um, homeowners across the midwest who could then build that house by themselves or hire, um, hire a carpentry team at lower costs. So it was one of the most affordable homes of its time. In this case, um, the .... frame work is very light, uh, the interior's left intentionally open and flexible for opportunities of, uh, spontaneous or .... or planned activity. Um .... let's see. The thing that interests me also about the prominence of the porch on this structure is the hybrid dynamic of public and private space. Um, a porch is both of those things, and I think it can challenge the notions we have about what it means to make one's self at home in public. Urn .... here I've included some specification drawings, uh, for a sense of scale. So it's 20 -feet tall, 34 -feet at its widest. Um, so it's not the full scale of an actual house but still quite large. Urn .... and then it is ADA -accessible. It has a ramp. So at the top of this image you can see, uh, a ramp starts and comes to the middle of the platform. There are three stairways for entrance on the sides. Um, and the structure itself is intentionally left light like a wireframed to sort of call back to its origins as a drawing. So, you'll see that line is basically metal, uh, square tubing and there's an awning with a shade fabric. Um, a wooden platform that's painted, and then the four swings. So, um .... I think we're opening it up for questions or .... is that right? Throgmorton: Hannah, what's the height of the base? Givler: Twenty-two and a half inches. So that's.... Throgmorton: So pretty good for sitting on I guess, huh, and then ... with feet on the ground? Givler: I think the ... the stairs would be .... there's going to be a railing around the perimeter of the platform, um, hoping to keep people sort of safe if they're running across or playing (laughs) roughly. Throgmorton: Yeah. Good deal! Well, um, is ... is that it? Givler: Yep, that's it for me! Throgmorton: Yeah! Thank you. Uh, are there any questions for Hannah or Betsy? Or any reactions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 20 Mims: I like it! Neat ideas of temporary things that draw people down and .... and the connection that this hopefully will bring to people, place to sit and talk and.... Dickens: It's Iowa! (laughs) (several talking and laughing) Cole: So how long will it stay up for? Like 90 days or .... or how long are we going to have it up? Potter: Yeah, our hope is that we can start construction here soon and then, um, it'll stay up until the end of October. Throgmorton: Okay! Potter: Yep. That's when the proposed timeline is. Throgmorton: I really like the experimental nature of what the District has been doing, uh, and this is just another instance of it. So I ... I'd like to personally praise, uh, Nancy and everybody else for that. I'd also like to note that, uh, one Sunday morning, I don't know, two, three weeks ago, I just happened to be by myself. My wife Barbara was at a conference and so I was downtown and I noticed people doing yoga (laughter) and I ... so I took a photograph of it and Tweeted the photograph, and I thought it was really lovely and conveyed a ... a .... a very, very positive image of our downtown. So, yeah, I'm really happy about that. Botchway: I honestly had a, uh, different story in mind when you started (both talking) I thought you were gonna, you know (both talking) you went out there and then you were the yoga instructor (laughter) and everything else, so.....(several talking and laughing) Potter: This Sunday you can all join us! (several talking and laughing) Throgmorton: I've done a lot of yoga, but no! (laughter) Botchway: One quick question, Betsy. What about the, uh, lighting? So you talked about lighting kind of in the initial presentation. Is that going to be incorporated in some way, shape, or form or it's just the lighting that's there currently? Potter: We don't have additional lighting at this point proposed, mainly because of cost and accessibility to that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 21 Botchway: Cool! Throgmorton: Okay! Any other comments? Mims: Thank you! Throgmorton: Thank you, Betsy. Thank you, Hannah! All right, anybody else want to address this topic? Seeing no one, we have a motion on the floor. Roll call, please! Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 22 Item 12. Aid to Agencies - Resolution allocating human services aid to agencies funding for FY18 Mims: (both talking) Move the resolution Throgmorton: Uh.... could I have a motion? Thank you. Botchway: Second! Throgmorton: Uh, motion by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Good evening, Tracy! Hightshoe: Hello. I'm Tracy Hightshoe with the Neighborhood Services office. Um, each year we allocate, or the City allocates, funds to local non -profits. Um, we go through a process every year. For several years now we went through the United Way joint funding process, which allows Johnson County non -profits to use one application. So in one application they can apply for Johnson County, United Way, Coralville, and Iowa City funds. They mark on the application how much they're asking from each entity, and then each funder has .... decides how much they fund each agency. So, we had applications, United Way accepted applications back in September. Um, we received 27 applications that asked specifically for Iowa City funds. HCDC reviewed these applications in January. Um, they recommend the funding of 15 agencies and typically you would have seen those requests in May but since part of the budget is made up with Community Development Block Grant funds from HUD, we didn't get a budget till .... well, we didn't get a final titlement amount till about June of this year. So, um, due to a slight reduction in funds, we had to lower everyone's allocation by less than 1%. So, that's why you're getting it now. I can ask ... or I can (both talking) Throgmorton: Thank you, Tracy. Hightshoe: ....questions! Throgmorton: Any questions for Tracy? Thank you! All right, uh, we have a motion on the floor. Uh, see where am I? Gotta look at the right thing here. Urn .... any further discussion? None? Roll call, please. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 23 Item 13. Council Appointments. Applicants MUST reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated. Throgmorton: Uh, there's several positions that, um, we received no applicants for and we're gonna readvertise and then, uh.....what, two appointments to the Housing and Commun.... no! One appointment to the Housing and Community Development Commission. So .... we have two vacancies to fill unexpired terms on the Airport Zoning Board of Adjustment. One vacancy to fill an unexpired term upon appointment to the Airport Zoning Commission. One vacancy for a Jefferson Street representative to fill a three-year term on the Historic Preservation Commission. And two vacancies to fill three-year terms on the Telecommunications Commission. hl all those cases, uh, no applicants were .... no applications were received so we have to readvertise. Uh, where's the date? Um ..... yeah, I don't know, when do the applications have to be submitted by, Julie? I don't see that. Voparil: We'll be readvertising, so urn .... August 1St is coming up pretty quickly so it'll probably be that second meeting in August, the 15th, I'm thinking. Throgmorton: Okay. Good, thank you! All right, and then, uh, we do have one vacancy to fill an unexpired term upon appointment to the Housing and Community Development Commission. We received nine applications, uh, for that one position. Uh, there's no gender requirement. Uh, so what's your pleasure, folks? Mims: I don't know any of `em. I thought Claire Rose brought an interesting set of skills to it. She works at Pearson and stuff and analytical background and stuff but....I..... Cole: I don't have the list in front of me but there was someone from HBK Engineering. Do we have that name? Thomas: Maria Padron. Cole: Maria. I .... I support Maria. Um, she called and I was very impressed with her skill set background. Think she'd be a great addition! Throgmorton: Yeah, I thought... as far as I know we don't have any Hispanic members to any of our boards or commissions. Cole: Yep! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 24 Throgmorton: (several talking) There might be one person or somethin' but uh, I .... I was impressed by her application. She did make the phone calls and, uh.....uh, I think she'd make a (several talking) Taylor: She had the urban planning, uh, background, Hispanic. She'd been in Iowa City over a year. Some of those others, I have a problem with when they apply for two, three, or four of `em at the same time, and she seemed very interested in this position and I was going to support her. Throgmorton: Yeah! Okay, sounds like we have agreement about that. So ... could I have a motion to appoint, uh, first name's Maria, is that right (several responding) Marian Padron..... Taylor: So moved. Throgmorton: (both talking) ...to the Historic, uh, Housing and Community Development Commission. Uh, heard a..... Mims: Moved by Taylor. Throgmorton: Moved by Taylor, seconded by Botchway. All in favor say aye. Appro.... approved, motion carries 7-0, whatever. Getting dizzy! (laughs) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 25 Item 14. City Council Member Appointment — Seats Paratransit Advisory Committee (1 alternate) Throgmorton: Item 14, uh, City Council Member appointment to the Senate, uh, Senate? Uh, yeah! Seats Paratransit.... Dickens: I'm not ready yet! (laughter) Throgmorton: (several talking and laughing) ...pretty funny! Cole: Is there news we need to share? (several talking and laughing) Throgmorton: Yeah, somebody's gonna re .... resign unexpectedly (mumbled) Terry (mumbled) to the, uh, Seats Paratransit Advisory Committee, and Terry is currently our (talking in background) to that committee, and he's generously agreed to serve to the end of his term on the Council and then we'll have to go through this, uh, again. So, could I have a motion to, uh, to appoint, uh, Terry Dickens, uh, with, uh, Pauline Taylor as the alternate. Mims: So moved. Botchway: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. Okay, so we turn to ... uh.... Voparil: Could we accept.... could we accept correspondence, excuse me, Mr. Mayor. Throgmorton: Right! Voparil: Thirteen (both talking) Throgmorton: Sony, yeah, could I have a motion to accept correspondence pertaining to the Housing and Community Development Commission appointment? Botchway: So moved. Dickens: Second. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 26 Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. I'm sorry, Julie, I should of done that! All right, so now we're at .... where are we, uh, City Council Information, Item 16. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 27 Item 16. City Council Information Throgmorton: All right, where we gonna start? I can't remember where we started last time so ..... uh.... it'll be you, Kingsley. Botchway: Sure! Um .... so this weekend I think you mentioned already in the proclamation the ADA celebration, uh, from 10:00 to .... wait! Throgmorton: 10:00 to 12:00. Botchway: 10:00 to 12:00, yeah, 10:00 to 12:00. Um, so please show up (both talking) Throgmorton: On the ped mall. Botchway: On the ped mall. It's an important celebration. Coming up in ... two weekends from now, August.....5 h and 6U' is the Soulfest. Um, should be exciting. There's a lot of different opportunities, um, to discuss, including an entrepreneurial panel, a black author's panel and discussion with some of the University, um, folks sharing their books and resources. A fashion show on the Friday night, um, and then some, you know, food and festivities as they've always done with the Summer of the Arts' series, so (mumbled) opportunity, stick around and ... join in! Throgmorton: Good deal! Terry? Dickens: Um, Friday Night Concert, uh, we have about six or seven weeks left, so make sure you get downtown every Friday night. Uh, downtown's alive for, well it's alive every night but this is a really exceptional night that people get down. I saw a lot of people last Friday that said they hadn't been down in a couple years and just happen to come down and really enjoyed it. Met with Fred Hubbell at Merge. Uh, Mark Nolte asked me to .... to, um, meet with him. There was a group of us there, uh, some of the people that are with start-up companies. He was very impressed with our Merge area, the City and ICAD and .... it's a great community effort, uh, with the University too. He was very impressed with it, and since then he's announced that he is running for Governor now (laughs) so at the time he was thinking about it. Uh (both talking) Cole: (mumbled) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 28 Dickens: Good luck to the Regina softball team. They're in the semi-finals Thursday. 1 have two granddaughters on the team, so.....looking forward to them getting a championship to bring it back home. Throgmorton: There you go! Rockne! Cole: I just wanted to extend a big thank you to everyone that helped to organize the community bar-b-que out at Wetherby Park. Um, it was a real tremendous, uh, success. We probably had 300 or 400 people that turned out. Um, it was just a really positive event and part of that was funded actually by our local foods budget, so also thank you to staff for working with Shanti Sellz to make that happen. Um, but in particular I really want to thank James Adrian, of Jimmy Jacks Bar-b-Que. Um, he volunteered to essentially cook all of the pork for free and he also did a great .... we picked pork together for about three hours. So we had a lot of good conversations about pullin' pork in Iowa City and starting a business. That was really great. And of course a big thank you to Royceann Porter and Shanti Sellz who really made that event happen. And also I feel like every time I report on my vacations, I was just in the city of Portland and it was really fun to sort of see the skinny streets that they have there and how they sort of integrate that into their downtown. That's sort of what they're known for. Um, really micro -blocks. Um, they do one -ways that actually work. It works there because they have very small blocks and they have very skinny streets. So it's .... it's fun to hear a lot about a place and then to come back and actually observe it, but I tell you what, it's great to be home in Iowa City. And we're really fortunate to live here as well, so..... Throgmorton: Pauline, you want to go next? Taylor: (mumbled) Throgmorton: Nothing! John! Thomas: Uh, on .... July 9a' the Iowa City Community Band played at North Market Square, which is, urn .... you know, just music in the parks. It's different than the Party in the Park, um, this was a full .... full fledged band playing in .... underneath the pavilion and uh, it was a hot day but it drew a nice crowd and we had a very positive response. I mean it was clear that people were having a wonderful time. It was a little bit warm but .... plenty of. ... shade from the tree cover around the playground. So, um, people had a wonderful time. Some people said didn't know This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 29 this was happening, um .... but can we do it again (laughs) So we're hoping it's, uh, you know, an annual tradition now that we'll have established. Throgmorton: Good deal. Mims: Nothing! Throgmorton: Nothing! Mims: Yeah, nothing. (several talking and laughing) Dickens: She was on vacation last week. She's still thinking (several talking and laughing) Mims: Part of last week! Throgmorton: Well you could talk about that a little bit. That'd be (both talking) Mims: ....went to Vermont. So.... Throgmorton: Yeah! Good deal! I'll mention just three things quickly. One is that Geoff and I met with three leaders of the Congolese community, uh, back in early July. Uh, I found that to be a tremendously, uh, rewarding conversation, and a very promising one, uh, because we have a substantial number of Congo.... Congolese refugees living in our community, uh, and they have considerable difficulty trying to figure out how to fit in, partly for language reasons, partly for cultural reasons, and so on, and I think we really helped them figure out how to connect with City government and....and various things we can support and so on. So I was very pleased with that conversation. Uh, the second thing I wanted to mention is that .... I took a guided tour of the south water treatment plant, uh, on the 6a' of July. And it's a pretty impressive facility. I imagine some, perhaps all of you have been out there before, but I did a tour back in 1995, I think, when it was, you know, had been open for just a few years, and it's way bigger (laughs) than it was back then, and it's an impressive operation. And I want to thank Roger Overton, Al Figueroa, and Steve Flake for guiding me around and helping me understand how that plant works, and I took a photograph of some of our, um, neighbors who do good work for us down there, and what I mean is there are microbes that consume waste and .... play a crucial role in that treatment plant, and so.....uh, I think it was Al, uh, showed me a microscopic image of `em as they were swimming around, doing what they were doing (laughs) took a photo .... took a photo of it and Tweeted that too and thanked our neighbors for their good work This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 30 (several talking in background) Uh, last ... no, the next to the last thing I want to mention is that we're gonna have an Economic Development Committee meeting at 8:30 this coming Friday morning, which is July 20 .... the 215, right. So Susan and Rockne and Geoff and, uh, Wendy Ford and I will be present there, and uh, it's an important meeting. I think we're gonna take an extra half hour on this particular one, and of course it's televised, so anybody who wants to see it can observe it on Channel 4, uh, plus it's open to the public if anybody wants to come. The last thing I wanted to mention is, uh, no I wasn't on vacation, but I was out of town for several days. I was in Lisbon, Portugal. Uh, I was participating in a conference of the Association of European Schools of Planning, which I have done .... this was the seventh time I've done that over the years. So it's a connection I established back in 1991 with scholars in many, many different European countries, and it was a great treat being there. I enjoyed .... reengaging with people I've known for a long time, meeting new people, uh, including people from China who were there, uh, and, uh..... had very fruitful conversations with `em, plus I gotta tell ya! Lisbon's.....Lisbon is a pretty sweet city! It's a very attractive place in many respects, and we had a pretty good party on the beach (laughter) looking out at the Atlantic as the sun was setting and ..... that was fun to do! (laughter) Cole: So it wasn't a vacation then. Okay! Throgmorton: Some of it was a vacation, and just for the record, I paid for it myself. There's no City money involved in this. (several talking and laughing) Oh funny! Okay, Geoff, your turn! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017. Page 31 Item 17. Report on items from city staff a) City Manager Frain: Nothing. Throgmorton: Ashley? Monroe: No! b) City Attorney Throgmorton: Eleanor? You were on vacation too. (several talking) c) City Clerk Throgmorton: Julie? Okay, I think we are at that point. We're gonna get a motion to adjourn to the work session (several talking) Botchway: So moved. Mims: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. (bangs gavel) And we're done with the formal meeting. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 18, 2017.