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Item 2. Proclamations
Item 2a Constitution Week: September 17 - 23
Throgmorton: (reads proclamation) I think, uh, Kathy Pezley is here to accept the proclamation.
Is that right, Kathy?
Pezley: Yes!
Throgmorton: Could you come up please? (applause)
Pezley: On September 17, 1787, in Independence Hall in Philadelphia the U.S.
Constitution was signed, fulfilling a promise that the .... the Declaration of
Independence had made 11 years prior. In 1955 to celebrate this great event,
Constitution Week was initiated by the Daughters of the American Revolution
and it was officially declared by President Eisenhower in 1956. The members of
Pilgrim Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution are appreciative of
the proclamation of September 17 through the 23 as Constitution Week. Thank
you, Mayor Throgmorton. The National Society of the Daughters of the
American Revolution was founded in 1890 by four women, two southern and two
northern. Their goal was to heal the terrible wounds still bleeding from the Civil
War. Our founders believed that a call to a common bond, our ancestors who
fought together in the Revolutionary War to liberate us and found our country
would be a unifying and healing process. Today the objectives of the D.A.R. are
historic preservation, promotion of education, patriotic endeavor. Pilgrim Chapter
was chartered in 1898 in Iowa City and has celebrated almost 120 years of service
to the community. Membership is open to interested individuals who can trace
their lineage to a revolutionary ancestor. Again, thank you!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Kathy. (applause)
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regular formal meeting of September 5, 2017.
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Item 2. Proclamations
Item 2b National Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15 - October 15
Throgmorton: (reads proclamation) Uh, Barbara Kutzko I think with the.... could you come up
please? (applause) Hi, Barbara. It's nice to see you! Do ... do you want to say
anything? You don't have to. It's up to you.
Kutzko: Good evening, everyone! I'm Barbara Kutzko and I'm one of the Commissioners
on the Iowa City Human Rights Commission, and I just want to thank you for this
proclamation, Mayor. Um, I want to encourage everyone in the room to
celebrate, embrace, and cherish the diversity within our state. Um, particularly
now during this very tumultuous time within our country. Um, celebrate. Let's
learn to celebrate all immigrants. (noise in background, laughter)
Throgmorton: Celebratin' a little too early over there! (laughter)
Kutzko: Um .... let's celebrate each other and .... and I hope that you do plan to attend one
or more of the events, uh, that will be taking place, um, around the city of Iowa
City. Urn .... and let's learn to celebrate not only during the month, but throughout
the year ..... one another. Thank you so much!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Barbara! (applause)
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Item 2. Proclamations
Item 2c PLAYvolution: September 17 — 29
Throgmorton: All right! No more balloons blowing up, right? (laughter) (reads proclamation)
All right. Deb Dunk ... Dunkhase? Yeah! Dunkhase, yeah! Come on up,
De ... Deb!
Dunkhase: And invite you all to play (clapping and several talking) Now you gotta hold it
tight!
Throgmorton: Do not let go! (several talking and laughing)
Dunkhase: (unable to hear, away from mic) (several talking and laughing) (loud noise)
Taylor: She let go! (laughter) (loud noise)
Dunkhase: Okay! (several talking and laughing) You got a little preview (unable to hear,
away from mic)
Throgmorton: What's in the bags? (several talking and laughing)
Dunkhase: (unable to hear, away from mic) (laughter) One, two, three, four (mumbled)
discover, explore, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten (mumbled) PLAYvolution
begin! (loud noises, laughter) (applause)
Throgmorton: Excellent! Thank you. (several talking) ....proclamation, you know! (several
talking in background) ...take this back to Deb! (several talking)
Dunkhase: We would like to thank you, Mayor Throgmorton, and the entire City Council for
giving us the opportunity to come and launch our PLAYvolution here at your City
Council meeting tonight. Right here in Johnson County, we are the only place in
the United States, that we are aware of, that launches a PLAYvolution every year.
This is our third year to do it. It's organized by both communities — Iowa City,
Coralville, um, by the parks and req by the libraries, by 4C's Coordinated
Childcare, Simple Abundance Childcare, and the Iowa Children's Museum. We
are offering a free calendar of special PLAYvolution events from September 16th
through the 29th. It starts on the 16th with the Iowa City Farmers Market `Kids
Day' where we'll be launching rockets, paper rockets, and doing all kinds of
bubble play. On to `move it, dig it, do it' at the Iowa Children's Museum on the
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17`h. There's a read -in at the Coralville Library. Lots of bubble play throughout
the community at childcare centers and retirement homes. We wanted the play to
be inter -generational this year. We're doing a tailgating party for kids at Mercer
Park on September 23'', celebrating the golden birthday party of Morrison Park
on September 20, and it ends on the 29h with a Coralville Food Bank and Public
Library community dinner, and a STEM family free night at the Iowa Children's
Museum. We really appreciate this community's support of our PLAYvolution
every year. Thank you!
Throgmorton: All right! (applause) Thanks to all of you and we have our own play dough now!
(laughter) Which I certainly will play with as soon as I get home! (laughter)
Thanks for comin'! It's great to see all of you again! Oh, what's this?
(mumbled)
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Item 2. Proclamations
Item 2d Douglas W. Boothroy Day
Throgmorton: I don't know, what's.... what's comin' up next? (several talking in background)
Fruin: Yes, we, uh, have special recognition tonight, uh, for Mr. Boothroy, Doug
Boothroy, um, has been attending public meetings like this one for 40 .... almost
42 years, not quite 42 years, and uh, at Council's recommendation, uh, great ... a
great thought it was, uh, we had Communications put together a video. We asked
them to take Doug's 42 years and condense it into a video of two minutes
(laughter) so (laughter) they accepted that challenge and we'll play that for ya
tonight.
Throgmorton: What can we do about the light? (video begins then stops) (several talking and
laughing)
Fruin: Doug was a pioneer of technology, as you see in this video (laughter) and, uh....
um, he could probably figure out this, uh, this .... this (mumbled)
Cole: Love that collar, Doug! (several talking) (video plays) (applause)
Throgmorton: Nice video! Well done! Um, so .... Doug, why don't you just stay there. I want
to .... till I finish this. I want to read a proclamation to you, and it gives me great
pleasure to be able to do so. Uh, it'll take a while, which is maybe appropriate
cause you're known for being pretty talkative (laughter) All right, City of Iowa
City Proclamation! (reads proclamation) Doug, could you come up please.
(applause)
Boothroy: This means so much to me. It's, uh, little bit emotional, uh, accepting this. Uh, it
really is, uh, a great way to cap, uh, 42 years of, uh.... uh, working for the City of
Iowa City and, urn .... uh, I'm gonna remember this moment for a long time. Um,
so I do want to thank you all for this. Uh, as it was mentioned in the video, uh,
it's just been an amazing, uh, 42 years for me. Uh, when you have the
opportunity to, um, do a job that you love and you know, uh, each day when you
come, uh, that you have also, uh, the opportunity to make a difference, um ... what
could be more fun? And so .... uh..... you know, it was a difficult decision, uh, to,
uh, say goodbye after 42 years, to end this particular chapter of my life. Uh, but it
was the right decision. Uh, it's something that I .... I am looking forward to doing
in terms of, uh, being able to step back, uh, change my, um, patterns and routines
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in life, uh, take the time to appreciate things around me, uh.... um, my family, uh,
new adventures that .... that, uh, I want to take on, so I am looking forward to that
very much. I wouldn't have had this 42 years of experience, uh, with the City if it
wasn't for, um .... Bonnie, uh, her support, uh, and encouragement over the years.
I, um, had to quit my job as a teacher to go back to, uh, graduate school in 1974,
uh, to get my master's degree. That was taking a .... a risk, uh, because I wasn't
sure I could get employed. Uh.... it turned out that as soon as I got my master's
degree the City of Iowa City offered me a job. So everything just, you know,
kind of happened, uh, and ... and the rest of it is history. Uh, but over the years, uh,
as ... I've worked with so many, uh, wonderful people, uh, and I've spent, you
know, thousands of hours it seems like in this building. Uh, but I've worked with,
uh.... uh, I've had great colleagues, I've had great, you know ... uh, the public,
Planning and Zoning Commissions, uh, Board of Adjustments, uh.... um, City
Councils, uh...... many Mayors, many City Managers, uh, and it's been both
professionally and personally, um ... uh, a .... enriching and a .... a process that I ... I'll
cherish for the rest of my life, and we've had many successes, um, that is due to
all that collaboration and all that, uh.... uh, opportunity to work with these talented
people to bring things to, uh, to make a difference in this community. Uh, as I
think about the future, uh, for, uh, this area, I know that you all have, um, some,
uh.... uh, things to think about with regards to neighborhood stabilization and I
feel, uh, that, uh, I'm glad I was along.... around here long enough to have some
input in that process and I know that, uh, the recommendations that the City
Manager and staff are .... are going to present to you, uh, later in the month
are ... are going to do a really good job. I'm really pleased to see, uh, that I think
it's going to, uh, really help, uh, and maybe improve some of the issues with
regard to stabilization. So I ... I'm (mumbled) think that's a very positive step
forward. Uh.... you know I .... I'm gonna miss everybody, uh, as I, uh, leave.
Um .... and it's gonna be a transition, uh, but I wish you all, uh, the success in the
future and thank you for this proclamation. (applause)
Throgmorton: Thanks, Doug. You will be missed! All right, but we do have a meeting to go on
with.
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Item 4. Community Comment (items not on the agenda). [until 8 pm]
Throgmorton: This is for, uh (mumbled) items that are .... do not appear on the formal meeting
agenda. So if anybody would like to speak with regard to any item that's not on
the formal meeting agenda, please step forward and .... and say your peace. Uh,
please state your name and take not more than five minutes, please. Good
evening!
Logsden: I'm Kara Logsden, Community and Access Services Coordinator at Iowa City
Public Library, and I wanted to talk to you a little bit about bookmobile services!
Um, I know that you, uh, read the memo that was in, um, your packet earlier, but I
wanted to thank you for the opportunity to give an update about the bookmobile
services which started this past June. As you know, we're a City of Literature and
we value our stories, and once the bookmobile hit the streets, we started hearing
lots of wonderful stories about how the bookmobile is making a big difference in
our community. During the summer schedule, our `Stories in the Park' programs
were happy places with many cheerful stories. Mondays at Willow Creek, Wes...
Wednesdays at Wetherby, and that was an added. We didn't use to do `Stories in
the Park' at Wetherby, so that was a new location this summer, and then Fridays
at Mersh... Mercer Park. Each bookmobile visit was complemented by a
storytime. There were, um, games that were led by Iowa City Parks and
Recreation staff. Uh, the program generated 1,186 people counted at the
programs, 1,318 bookmobile visits, and 1,958 checkouts. That was just at `Story
in the Park' programs. What's my favorite story? Um, at the end of the summer I
had to say goodbye to two of my friends that would come and see me at Mercer
Park on Friday mornings, and um, I promised them a postcard, so I sent them a
postcard and I just saw their dad in the Library a week ago Sunday and he said
they're working on sending a postcard back to me. So two new friends that I
made. Um, another of my favorite stories, Marc Falk, who's a Music Professor at
Coe College. He wrote the most wonderful story about the bookmobile and he
played it at the `Stories in the Park' programs one week and if you haven't heard
it you can see it on YouTubc or I wrote a blog post about it. Um, but a warning,
the song will get in your head and it might not (laughter) get out, maybe for even
a week or two, and I do have to admit that when I drive the bookmobile I sing the
song because it's just such a happy song. I won't sing it for ya tonight though!
Um, I've had telephone calls from Legacy Assisted Living. "We love the
bookmobile! Bring more large print!" Um, and there's no reward better than
seeing the difference you make for someone by connecting them to access to
library materials. We've had moms that don't speak English who bring their
children to the bookmobile because they want materials for their children, so they
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can work on their skills in the summertime. We've seen kids who come to the
bookmobile for air conditioning. They want a respite from the heat that they
don't have in their home, so they hang out in the bookmobile. They play games
and they check out books too. Um, we hosted a group of people from a group
home who visited the bookmobile. And, um, I would not be honest if I didn't
admit that there were many tears when we saw the first wheelchair go up the lift,
and the person wheel up to the shelves and start browsing the books. Um, on
Thursday we were at Mercer Park. We go to Mercer Park now, um, Thursday
mornings to coincide with Tot Time, and then there's also a swim program for
people, um, maybe over age 50 or so, where there were lots of people coming by
the bookmobile, and the Parks and Rec staff had us just back up to the front doors
so everybody going in to Mercer Park had to walk by the bookmobile. There's a
group, uh, from Reach For Your Potential that stop by and they were kinda
peeking in the door, asking questions and we said, `Well come on back,' and then
we said, `We have a wheelchair lift,' and they said, `You have a liftT We said,
`Yeah,' and they said, `Well we will definitely be back.' So then all of their, um,
members could participate in bookmobile services. Um, there were many tears of
joy and happy stories when we saw what a difference the bookmobile is making
in our community each week. Um, the fall schedule started last week. We're out
four days a week — Monday through Thursday. It hi .... um, highlights include 17
weekly stops, rotating Wednesday mornings at Iowa City pre-schools, and four
new stop locations. Monday features, um, a stop at Grant Wood Elementary
during their English language learning class that they're offering. Last week we
had a lot of kids come and check out items. We're hoping that they bring their
parents back in the future. Um, as I said, Thursday mornings we're at Tot Time at
Mercer, and in a very short time we've generated a lot of new stories. At
Emerson Point last week on Shannon Drive one of our staff members reported, `I
lost track of how much I use the wheelchair lift at Emerson. Tons! Such happy
and excited people, many new library cards for people who hadn't used their
cards in ages.' From Oaknoll the story was, `It's like a party at Oaknoll! Ten
folks on right now, lots of materials get... getting checked out, and many happy
people!' And from Waterfront HyVee a patron got on the bookmobile and said,
`Wow! I just came to get a salad and I found the bookmobile!' So we partnered
with Antelope Lending Library on the National Bookmobile Celebration in April.
In the summer when their items were returned to us, we returned it to their house.
If our items were returned to them, they put it in the eastside book drop, so the
materials came back to us and we certainly appreciated that collaboration. Um,
we coordinated our summer schedules to assure that we weren't in the same place
at the same time, and we recently learned they're extending their schedule beyond
the summer too. We look forward to future collaborations with them. We also
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look forward to more stories from the road. I want to express to you how grateful
we are for, um, the many stories that you made possible by bringing bookmobile
services from the Iowa City Public Library to our community. Thank you. Do
you have any questions?
Throgmorton: Seems like a terrific success so far!
Logsden: It's wonderful! Thank you.
Mims: Thank you!
Throgmorton: Thank you. Excellent memo too. We .... we mentioned that during the work
session. Yeah. Anyone else? Okay, seeing no one we'll move to Item 5, uh,
which is Planning and Zoning Matters.
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ITEM 5. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
Item 5a Rezoning (Riverfront Crossings — Prentiss Street) — Ordinance
rezoning 2500 square feet of property from Planned High Density Multi -
Family Residential (PRM) zone to Riverfront Crossings — Central Crossings
(RFC -CX) Zone for property located at 114 E. Prentiss Street. (REZ17-
00012) (Second Consideration)
Throgmorton: This is second consideration, but the applicant requests expedited action. Before
we get into this, uh, does anybody need to make any ex parte, uh, disclosures?
Me neither. Okay, could I have a motion to waive, uh, sorry, to waive giving
second consideration?
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by, uh, Dickens. Discussion? Uh, I can say I don't
see anything problematic with this, given the, uh, the particular rezoning
involved. Further discussion? Roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
Mims: Move final adoption at this time.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries 7-0. Could I have a motion to accept correspondence, please?
Thomas: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Dickens. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. Uh, sorry, Kingsley, I've gotta get .... my timing a little bit, uh,
more (several talking) Yeah.
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ITEM 5. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
Item 5c Rezoning (Country Club Estates - Rohret Road west of Lake Shore
Drive) — Ordinance conditionally rezoning approximately 21.77 acres of
property located north of Rohret Road and west of Lake Shore Drive, from
Rural Residential, RR -1, (4.16 acres) and Interim Development Single -
Family Residential, ID -RS (17.61 acres) to Low Density Single -Family
Residential, RS -5, zone. (REZ17-00009) (Second Consideration)
Throgmorton: Does anybody need to make ex parte disclosures? Okay! Could I have a motion
please?
Dickens: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Tbrogmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Mims. Discussion?
Taylor: I'll probably be voting in favor of this. I was initially a little leery of the size of
the development, with 80 homes, uh, in that part of town, uh, and the possible
increase in traffic as far as near the school zone and some of the concerns from...
that came out of the `good neighbor' meeting and the homeowner's association,
but I ... I think a lot of those items have been addressed. So I will probably still
vote in favor of the....
Throgmorton: Okay! That's in your district, isn't it, Pauline?
Taylor: Yes, it is my district. Yes.
Throgmorton: Uh, any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
Could I have a motion to accept correspondence?
Dickens: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Thomas. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries.
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ITEM 5. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
Item 5d Lovick First Addition — Resolution approving the extraterritorial
preliminary plat of Lovick First Subdivision, Johnson County, Iowa.
(SUB17-00012)
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion to approve please?
Mims: So moved.
Throgmorton: I think we should do that first, right? We do the ... yeah, could I have a motion?
Susan?
Mims: Yep!
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Seconded by Dickens. Discussion? John Yapp!
Yapp: Mayor, Members of Council, uh, this property, uh, is located just west of the, uh,
Churchill subdivision and it borders the City limits on the east side of the
property. Um, the property to the west is unincorporated Johnson County and
then to the west of that is Olde Towne Village, uh, to give you some context. Uh,
the property is within the fringe area. Uh, and is .... it is within the growth area,
uh, and therefore the City and Johnson County both need to approve, uh, a
subdivision request. Uh, this is an image of the existing, uh, house on the
property. Uh, there's currently one house. Uh, and this is the proposed
subdivision, and I'll walk you through it. Uh, Herbert Hoover Highway is on the
north. Uh, the existing house would be on the new lot 1, and what is proposed is
a second lot, uh, residential lot just to the south of lot 1, uh, for a second house.
Uh, the property was recently rezoned from commercial, uh, to residential in
Johnson County. Uh, as part of that process, uh, the City and ... and the County
agreed one additional lot would be reasonable, uh, but with any further
development and with any annexation of adjacent properties, uh, it would be
appropriate at that time to annex the property, uh, into Iowa City. With .... with
the one lot it is still, uh, set up to extend, uh, Grindstone Lane to the west, across
the property, providing an east -west connection. Uh.... the existing house and the,
uh, new structure would be on private wells and sewers, uh, septic system, uh, but
upon annexation would be required to connect to City water and sewer. Uh, staff
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recommends approval and the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended
approval.
Throgmorton: So, John, on first glance this looks like an inappropriate transition, between
Churchill Hill Estates and, uh, the um .... Olde Towne Village area, uh, you know,
cause you have a certain kind of subdivision immediately to the east, and then the,
uh.... neighborhood commercial development almost literally immediately to the
west. Uh, so instead of one building there are going to be two buildings. Seems
like an inappropriate transition. So....
Yapp: Well, the property is zoned (both talking) the property is zoned residential in
Johnson County. Uh.... it does meet the County subdivision standards. Uh, and it
is ... allows for the future extension of infrastructure across the property. Uh, I
think what is different between what is proposed here and the adjacent, uh,
Churchill Meadows subdivision is these are larger lots .... than what is
immediately to the east.
Mims: The property immediately to the west is still in the County, correct?
Yapp: That's correct.
Mims: And what is that currently zoned?
Yapp: I believe that's also residential.
Mims: Yeah, I mean I'll support it. It's gone through the County. It's gone through, you
know, the other processes. Yeah! The lots aren't the same size but at least it's
residential and if the one to the west of it's also residential, then.... actually in a
way it's a better transition to that commercial in that you don't have a lot of high-
density housing, butting up against the commercial. You've got .... people who,
you know, have the larger lots. They've got that space. Um .... I don't know if
what's to the west of that would ever, you know, be sub ... try and be subdivided or
not. Looks like that house sits pretty far back from the road as it is.
Dickens: There is one home next to that, to the west, which is the Jensen house. Cause that
was Paul Boyd's original home. It's right ... by the driveway where you go in
(both talking)
Yapp: Oh, here!
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Dickens: That's the Jensen house. That will stay there. (both talking)
Yapp: For the foreseeable future.
Dickens: Okay.
Yapp: Yeah.
Cole: (mumbled) feeling like there should be greater density at that location? Is that
what you're getting at?
Throgmorton: I....L....I think it'd be much more appropriate for..... townhouses, rowhouses,
etc., to be located near the neighborhood commercial, A .... uh, development and
then phased down to single-family detached, etc., in Churchill Estates. Uh, I...
I'm just thinkin' about this as a .... land development, urban planning kind of
thing, and it...it just seems to me to be, uh.....a..... a.....ultimately an unwise use
of land. I'm not tryin' to persuade anybody else about this. I'm just stating my
view in terms of how I understand these things.
Mims: And I hear what you're saying. I .... I think the challenge that we always have is...
from a, you know, from our perspective what might be the best use of land, but
also recognizing within the rules that are in place for people to do what they want
with their own property. I realize that's not a .... an absolute right by any means,
but .... what's interesting is often times what we're trying to do is decrease density,
you know, if there's.... there's too much density, you know, next to a commercial
or .... type site, and here this isn't .... this is not even immediately adjacent to the
commercial. We've still got that one property or, you know, in between that .... it
appeared that there was a house on, that sits back quite a ways, and that could sit
that way for 20, 30, 40 years too.
Throgmorton: (both talking) It certainly could!
Yapp: Guess I would also point out, this is the....the property is in unincorporated
Johnson County.....currently.
Throgmorton: But we .... we do have the legal right to vote yea or nay on the rezoning, is that
correct?
Yapp: Uh, subdivision.
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Throgmorton: I'm sorry (both talking)
Yapp: Subdivision, that's correct.
Throgmorton: Yeah. Uh, would .... but we're considering the rezoning tonight. No, I'm sorry
(both talking)
Yapp: No, this is the (both talking)
Throgmorton: I was lookin' at the wrong.... item! Yeah, well I think we should just vote. Um,
unless other people have strong views you want to express and .... uh, let it
proceed. So, any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion
carries 6-1, Tbrogmorton in the negative.
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Item 7. Alcohol in parks - Ordinance amending Title 4, entitled "Alcoholic
Beverages" and Title 10, entitled "Public Ways and Property," to allow
alcohol in park shelters. (Pass and Adopt)
Throgmorton: This is pass and adopt, and staff ..... but staff requests indefinite deferral. Could I
have a motion for indefinite deferral please?
Mims: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Uh, discussion? Uh, I wonder if anyone
would, uh, like to state.... Simon, I know you and I were both present at the, uh,
the Partnership for Alcohol Safety Meeting. Do you feel free to briefly state what
we heard at that particular meeting?
Andrew: Absolutely! (clears throat) Um, there wasn't a clear consensus from the group.
Um, probably.... I'd say about 10 people spoke up, uh, a majority of whom were
uncomfortable, uh, moving in this dir... uh, direction. Uh, a lot of it just had to do
with, uh, the mixed messages that they thought that this may send to the student,
uh, community and to the University community. Um, not any, uh.... I wouldn't
characterize it as strong opposition, and please stop me if you had a different
perspective of what was said, but, uh, just a discomfort with it and given that it's
such an important stakeholder group that's put together specifically to look at
issues such as this, you know, we didn't see any strong reason to move forward in
the face of that, um, type of discomfort from that group. So, uh, staff is
recommending that we, uh, defer the third reading of this indefinitely.
Throgmorton: Good! Thank you. I .... I guess I'll elaborate briefly, uh, and I'm gonna quote
from an email I received from the staff person, uh..... um, the staff liaison or
whatever, uh, for the Partnership, uh, For Alcohol Safety. Uh, and in it she
writes, `I wanted to follow up with you regarding the ordinance change discussion
we had at PAS. I believe there were many valid concerns regarding the allowance
of alcohol in the rental shelters of the ... of City parks, and from the University
aspect, it could send a conflicting message. It may not seem like a big issue to
most, but over the last several years there has been a tendency to relax alcohol
policies, rather than tighten them. We believe this is an important decision that
could have unintended consequences and wonder if there's any benefit to
delaying the third vote,' and so on. So, uh, that's why, uh.... we're at this
moment. We're recommending, uh.....indefinite deferral. So, uh, would anybody
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like to discuss this topic? Anybody in the audience or .... Council Members? Yes,
ma'am! Please! Please state your name.
Pfohl: Hi, I'm Judy Pfohl. I'm neighborhood president (both talking)
Throgmorton: Nice to see you!
Kohl: (mumbled) It's been a while since I've been up here! (laughs) I .... actually I've
been the neighborhood president since we started a neighborhood when the Danes
sold the, uh, farm land and became Kiwanis Park area! And (mumbled)
...anyway, um, the idea of the neighborhood stabilization, uh.... we have .... a lot of
concern with the neighbors about this, um, l have signatures. I just started....
(laughs) Sunday afternoon but I've got 35 signatures here. Um, from neighbors
who are concerned that we need to maintain the separation of requests for shelter
and the separation of, uh, alcohol use. Um, for .... maybe some of the bigger areas
where you've got more space around, between where a shelter is and where
homes are, um, maybe it doesn't bother.... won't bother them to have potentially,
um .... kegger parties (laughs) or anyway, um.....loud parties. We have had some
trouble in the past with, um.....some other things going on periodically at the park
that they've had to .... to address, and we think this would just be adding more,
um, potential for problems for neighborhood parks.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Judy. Good evening!
Zimmerman Smith: Good evening! Uh, I'm Rachel Zimmerman Smith and I live on the other
side of Willow Creek Park in the Penny Bryn neighborhood on Teg Drive, and uh,
my neighborhood shares Judy's concerns. Um .... I guess if it's not broke, don't
fix it! (laughs) Uh, this is, um ... not broke, so don't fix it. I don't see any public
outcry for this really. I haven't .... I was surprised to see it in the paper, and I
thank the Gazette for publishing an article on it, cause it alerted me, and Judy, to
this. Um, and no one that I spoke to in my neighborhood, and I did speak to a lot
of people, supported it. The park is a nice, safe place for kids to go by
themselves. Um, most of them are right next to neighborhoods and there's plenty
of places to drink in Iowa City. I think Trueblood allows for, um, permits to have
alcohol... in that shelter. So there's no short .... no shortage of places for people to
have parties with alcohol here. So we agree with the staff recommendation and
hope that you follow it. Thanks!
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Throgmorton: Great! Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, Council discussion? Hearing none, roll
call please. This is on a motion for indefinite deferral. Motion carries 7-0. Could
I have a motion to accept correspondence please?
Dickens: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed. (laughs)
I did it again, Kingsley! (laughs) Gotta give you a....3 -seconds. That's how
much time I need, right, 3 second?
Dickens: Yep!
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Item 8. Under 21 Amendment for SHOUT - Ordinance amending Title 4, Alcoholic
Beverages, Chapter 5, Prohibitions and Restrictions, Section 8, Persons
Under the Legal Age in Licensed or Permitted Establishments, Subsection C,
referencing the City's under 21 law, adding an exception for those working
with a law enforcement agency. (First Consideration)
Mims: Move first consideration.
Taylor: (several talking) Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Taylor. Discussion?
Fruin: This is, um, a .... what I would consider a fairly routine item. Uh, just to clarify
that, uh.... um, individuals that are assisting law enforcement, uh, can enter the...
the premises. Um .... uh, of a .... of a drinking establishment. Um, it was prompted
by the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety's new program, SHOUT,
which stands for `students helping out.' Um, this is a .... a new initiative, uh, it's a
collaboration that's operated by the UI Department of Public Safety, but uh,
certainly in collaboration with, um, Iowa City Police and, uh, the Iowa City
Downtown District as well. Um, and generally speaking those are, um, student
ambassadors, um, that have training on bystander intervention and can help assist,
uh, people that need assistance with a variety of things, including getting safe
rides home in the evenings. I can tell ya, um, the report I got back from the Police
Department after this weekend is that the, um, student ambassadors, the SHOUT,
uh, staff were very helpful to them as they worked the .... the downtown crowd
after the football game. I know they were very appreciative of that resource being
available. So, this is just a .... a code modification to clarify that they have the
ability, again, to enter the, uh.... uh, premises of a drinking establishment.
Throgmorton: Okay! Good deal. All right, any further discussion?
Taylor: I guess I was .... I was going to ask Ben or ... or Geoff to explain the program a little
bit, cause I had not heard of it, but um, Geoff touched on kind of the issues I had
questions about as far as the .... the training that these, um, young folks have and
perhaps how many of them are there, and (mumbled) like a paid position for
them? It sounds like a great program.
Fruin: I .... I do believe it is a paid program. I can get those details and follow up with
ya. I don't know how many, um, there are, but urn ..... um, I know they were
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sufficiently busy this first weekend, um, so I can follow up with some more
details.
Taylor: (mumbled) Thank you.
Throgmorton: Okie dokie. Could I have a roll call please? Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 9. Unattended Vehicle Ordinance Amendment - Ordinance amending Title 9,
Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Chapter 3, Rules of the Road, Section 9, General
Driving Restrictions, Subsection C, referencing unattended vehicles, to allow
safely parked vehicles with the motor running to be left unattended,
matching State code. (First Consideration)
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion for first consideration please?
Dickens: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Geoff, do (both talking)
Fruin: Yeah, again I .... this is a .... a clean-up item in our code, uh, that mirrors some
changes that were made at the, uh, state level. Um, currently our code prohibits
vehicles from being left unattended unless their motor is completely turned off
and the keys are out of the ignition. Uh, now with remote starters it's very
common for someone to start their vehicle while they are not in the vehicle, and
so this just cleans that up to again allow for that type of circumstance to occur,
um, and uh, mirror our ordinance, our code language with, uh, the state law.
Throgmorton: Good. Thanks. Any further .... any discussion from Council Members? Anybody
in the audience want to address this? Okay, hearing none, roll call please.
Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 10. Rent Abatement in Emergencies - Ordinance amending Title 17, entitled
"Building and Housing," Chapter 5, entitled "Housing Code," to provide for
the abatement of rent in emergencies. (First Consideration)
Mims: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Good evening, Stan!
Laverman: Mayor, Council! Good to see you again. Urn ... this is one of the 15 steps that
were part of the Affordable Housing Action Plan, and while this is step 15, it
doesn't necessarily mean that we are done with all the steps. Um, so it deals with
rent abatement for emergency situations, uh, where we're not actually going to
vacate the property, but there is, uh, substantial reason for us to, uh, reach out and
help the tenants involved. So one of the things that we wanted to highlight, uh,
State code does allow for this, uh, when we find dwellings that are not in
pliance ... compliance with the housing code. Um, I think it's important to note
that not in compliance with the .... the housing code is left up to us, uh, the City
officials. Uh, so we're looking for items such as .... uh, not providing essential
services like water, sewer, electrical, heat. Are there health, life safety issues, or
if we come across properties that are being rented without a rental permit, we're
automatically going to assume that they're not in compliance with our housing
code. Um, again it's a City initiated action, uh, with notice provided to both the
tenant, the landlord, uh, and if the landlord is different from the property owner,
uh, that notice will be provided also. Um .... from there the ... the rent abatement,
the landlord cannot legally evict for non-payment of rent for the rent that was
abated. So I think that's important to note, that it just deals with the rent that's
being abated. If they're late on other rents, there could be issues there. Or they
can't withhold a rent deposit for the rent that was abated. That's that!
Throgmorton: Any questions for Stan? Uh, ha .... has staff reached out to landlords, that they
know what's goin' on with this?
Laverman: Um, no, not at this time.
Fruin: No, they were.... generally aware, you know, they were aware when we adopted
the plan. They knew this was one of the strategies, um, it's .... it's a pretty
straightforward code amendment. So, urn .... we have not, but ... we certainly can
before it, uh, gets through the, uh, the final stages of the approval process.
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Throgmorton: Good. I .... I also hope that, uh, the student body, uh, is .... is aware of this
ordinance. There certainly will be after this first vote tonight, uh, and if anybody
wants to speak directly to that topic, we'd .... we'd like to know about it. Okay,
thanks, Stan. So, anybody else want to address this topic? Seeing no one,
Council discussion? I'm very glad to see it. It's on our Affordable Housing
Action Plan. It's a response to the events at Rose Oaks, several months ago, and
I'm really pleased to see that, uh, staff has, uh, moved ahead on this.
Fruin: If I could just reiterate one point, cause I think this is really crucial to drive home
and... and Stan did mention it, but this is not a determination that the tenant can
make, and we're gonna have to over -communicate that, um, if you don't feel the
landlord is doing something that he or she should do, you need to contact us and
we need to make that determination. You should not just withhold your rental
payments and assume that they will be abated and that the City will support that.
It's really crucial that we make that determination.
Throgmorton: Right. Okay, hearing no further discussion, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 11. Occupant transition plan — Ordinance amending Title 18, Site Plan Review,
to require notification to occupants and an occupant transition plan for any
additions or alterations to a residential development with more than 12
residential units. (First Consideration)
Mims: Move first consideration.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? John, help us understand
(both talking) please.
Yapp: Uh, this is another item from the Affordable Housing Action Plan. Uh, and also
follows up on Comprehensive Plan amendments, uh, Council approved several
months ago. Uh, what this ordinance does is formalize requirements for occupant
notification, and an occupant transition plan associated with major site plans,
which are projects more than 12 units in size. Uh, the ordinance has the following
elements: uh, number 1, within 24 -hours of a site plan submittal, the applicant is
required to send written notice to all the current occupants of a development,
informing them of the application, the intent to develop, the anticipated
construction timeline, and project phasing. Number 2, uh, the applicant shall
submit an occupant transition plan, uh, if there are occupants on the property. Uh,
the plan must include the current number of occupants, a general description of
current contractual obligations when lease hold interests expires, and a
construction timeline and phasing plan. Uh, number 3, the site plan cannot be
approved until the City Council considers and approves the occupant transition
plan. Uh, that process allows for a public forum, uh, of the occupant transition
plan, allows for the occupants, uh, to speak in a public forum to Council regarding
the transition plan. In approving a transition plan, the City Council may impose
tran ... conditions to address the impact of redevelopment, uh, and this is important
to note. The Council may not prevent the landlord or the tenant from exercising
their rights under Iowa law, uh, including a decision not to renew leases, eviction
for cause, uh, and imposing requirements in relocation benefits outside of the...
what's accounted for in the lease. Um .... those are the essential elements of, uh,
the ordinance. Be glad to take any questions.
Throgmorton: I do have at least one, John.
Yapp: Sure!
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Throgmorton: If I read the text of the ordinance, uh, correctly, it indicates that, um .... for major
site plans the Director of NDS or those owners of 20% or more of the property
located within 200 feet of the exterior boundaries of the proposed development
may request review of the site plan by the Planning and Zoning Commission and
so on.
Yapp: That's correct, and that's currently (both talking)
Throgmorton: That's what I wanted to clarify (both talking) whether that's ... the current
requirement (both talking)
Yapp: It is, yes.
Throgmorton: Okay. Good deal. And then I wanted to make a couple suggestions,and I don't
know if these suggestions would require.... amendment to the, uh, proposed
ordinance or could be done administratively. Anyhow, when we were involved
with the Rose Oaks development, one of the things that stood out was that many
of the residents did not read or speak English. Uh, so I'm wondering if, uh, the
ordinance or .... or administratively we could re....require that when such a
circumstance exists that the owners convey the notice in the languages that are...
used, uh, by the .... the actually existing residents, uh, of the development. Uh, I
don't know, Spanish, Swahili, you know, etc. The, and then the second thing I'm
wondering about has to do with, uh, the language in which the notice is written,
and this sounds like an administrative thing to me, but anyhow it .... it'd be one
thing to convey to .... uh, to the .... to the residents in very sort of obtuse legalese
what's involved, uh, versus doing it in ordinary language that's easy for people to
understand. And .... and I think the latter is what's called for. So I'm just
wondering about those two things. Can .... can we require.....that..... the notice
has to be in ordinary language, and then secondly that it be, uh, made available
to.. in languages that the actually existing residents can read.
Dulek: You're going to put the onus on the owner of the .... the unit to incur costs to
translate. That would be a substantial, but if you're gonna put all that onus on the
City to do that administratively, that .... that we can do. Um, and still have first
consideration.
Throgmorton: Okay. Uh, my guess is that this is ... would not be a major, urn.... urn.... financial
burden for the City to do, but I think it's crucial to have that kind of translation.
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Fruin: It's really hard to anticipate what those translation needs may be, just thinking
back to the .... the Rose Oaks' situation. There was, urn .... I forget the number of
residents, certainly several dozen. I think trying to determine which languages
needed to be, um, what .... what we needed to translate to and how to communicate
those out, that would have been a pretty big administrative challenge for us. Um,
you're right, the financial cost .... this.....this won't come up very frequently, and I
think we could absorb the actual translations, the cost. It's more figurin' out
who's living there and what language do they speak and that .... that can be a big
undertaking.
Yapp: And I think the .... just the process of. ... translating, uh, would affect the timeliness
of the notices, just to put that out there, but I think it is important.
Throgmorton: All right. So help me understand how we can handle this better then, because in
the Rose Oaks' situation it was a problem. People did not understand what they
were being notified about. So there's a lot of confusion and that resulted in .... a
lot of people in this room bein' pretty mad, at least in part that .... that was a
consequence. So how can we avoid that?
Mims: I mean somehow people are signing leases. That I'm assuming in most cases
they're written in English. So whether they read English or not, they're relying...
they're either signing without knowing what they're signing...
Throgmorton: I think that's typically what happens with most renters.
Mims: I'm just....not sure how much as a city we can do. I mean.....
Fruin: Yeah it's .... yeah, I ... if you wanted for staff to facilitate, um, a translation, um,
you know, I suppose it would be possible to have the, uh.... developer, property
owner notify them that translation service is available at City Hall and then we
can assist the folks that approach us, but that critical message of where they can
find translation assistance.... urn ..... uh.....you know, needs to be up front
and .... and, uh, easy to be found by the (both talking)
Cole: ....that would be just one page of paper, that would have on all those .... and then
they'd be able to come to the City to access those services. Um...
Fruin: That .... that's the solution that we're talkin' about for our community survey, uh,
that we're getting ready to do, um, if you receive a survey you can come here, we
can help ya. Unt ..... we'll have to think about internally how we process that, but
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we do have language line and the technology and resources available to do that.
Uh, we just need to figure out where and who within City Hall can do that.
Throgmorton: Yeah, I .... I think we need to.....have a means of doing that, and.....uh, I don't
believe it means tonight that .... that I or anybody else needs to vote against the
ordinance. I want to pass the ordinance, but ... but I think administratively we need
to be thinking about how to provide that .... or enable that kind of translation
service, if necessary, you know. If it's requir... required under the actually
existing circumstances.
Taylor: I think that's very important, Jim, because, uh, back to the Rose Oaks' situation,
uh, the number of folks that, um, didn't really, uh, read or comprehend English
very well, but they .... they saw the word `eviction' or `evict' and that frightened
them and that scared thein, because they didn't understand the rest of the memo or
what ... what it was saying, so I ... I think it's .... I think your point is .... is very
important.
Cole: John, I .... I had a question of this ... this issue of.....transition assistance, and this
may be a Sue question or a John question or it may be an Eleanor question. I
don't know. Um, but as I understood the analysis that she viewed that as a
function of the lease contract, and because we can't alter the lease contract, we
can't do it, or was it the situation where setting aside the lease, we don't have the
Home Rule authority to require transition assistance as part of the transition plan.
Yapp: I'll have to defer to Sue on this.
Cole: You recall what .... that analysis was?
Dulek: We certainly don't have the Home Rule authority to put a condition in the lease.
We (both talking) yeah, we can't change that relationship.
Cole: I get that!
Dulek: And .... and to the extent that .... that we are requiring the .... the landlord to .... to
pay. That's what you're talking about, pay assistance to the tenant, right?
Cole: If they're dislocated (both talking)
Dulek: If they're dislocated. Well that's an issue, uh, in the least, or just a condition of
the rezoning.
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Cole: Yeah.
Throgmorton: Well the .... no, there wouldn't (both talking)
Dulek: I mean a condition of the (several talking) um, for the transition plan, um....
Cole: Cause I guess what I'm thinking of on that is that ... if as a condition of the major
site plan we can impose requirements to address storm water run-off, um, other
things that are gonna impose a cost on the developer, as part of meeting our
requirements for the site plan, if there is a human impact, um, why wouldn't we
be able to then, um, say as a condition of meeting what our expectations are for
the human costs, that we could impose expectations as to what a transition plan
would look like. So maybe a .... I hate to put you on the spot on that, but I'm
wondering whether .... I would like to see at least an evaluation, and I guess I
didn't see in the memo whether that particular issue came up, and I know at some
point there maybe was a discussion about Home Rule authority, cause I know like
for instance Seattle has it. San Francisco has it .... is my understanding and that's
always a creature of state law, um, but I would at least like to look into that. Um,
in terms of whether we have the authority to do that, and if so, I would like to
explore what that would look like.
Throgmorton: I wonder, uh, I wonder if Sue, uh, and then Eleanor when she gets back could
look into this particular question and, uh, let us know what you find prior to our
next meeting.
Dulek: Sure!
Throgmorton: Any further discussion?
Botchway: Yeah, I just wanted to go back to .... urn, your point, Jim. Um, is that something
that, uh, I do think it's important. Is that something that can come back to us,
um ... before the second reading, and I am not talking about .... I'm not talking
about a burden on the owner, um, but the City. I'm not saying that.... obviously
it's an opportunity to make it available to come to the City, um, but I just feel like
that's .... uh, that's a lot to do, uh (mumbled) that's a lot to do for me, and so, um, I
think that if we were able to, um, propose some other solution, I mean just off the
top of my head I'm thinking could we extend the .... the requirements is 24 hours
but maybe 48 hours for translation or something on that sense. It seemed like
from Sue, be able to do, um, as long as that administrative change is on our end.
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Fruin: We'll come back to you at the second reading with a proposed solution on the
translation.
Throgmorton: Is that okay with you, Kingsley?
Botchway: Yes!
Throgmorton: All right, sounds good to me. So, any further discussion?
Botchway: I just want to quickly say .... this is amazing, I mean, uh, for two reasons. One, uh,
for the simple fact that, um, you know, this was a huge community concern. They
came to us, um, in droves, via email and in person physically and said `We need
you to do something,' and I feel like even though we weren't able to respond
immediately, um, it is something, and I also think that this is, number two, a .... I
think it's a community protection. I think that frankly, you know, there are some
things that we found out that happened in the Rose Oaks' situation that I ... I
believe may still happen in Iowa City now and to have this .... I'm actually
thinking about the renovating of the (mumbled) as well, to have both of these
ordinances in effect, I think really signals to a large part of our community that,
you know, Council's listening and um, we're trying to be proactive to ensure
things don't happen in the same way again.
Throgmorton: I agree, Kingsley, and I'm thrilled that staff brought this to us. I'm really pleased
to be able to move ahead on it, uh, I think it's, uh, needed and, uh, a .... a very
good proposal before us. Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please.
Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 13. Community Comment [if necessary] (items not on the agenda)
Throgmorton: I've agreed to let, uh, Ben do this, uh, pretty much every meeting, at this point.
So, Ben, whatdaya have on your mind?
Nelson: Yeah, thank you, Mayor. Um, as I said last time I kind of just want to use this as
an opportunity to kind of like give you all an update on what UISG's been up to,
um, in between our Council sessions. Um, John, earlier you mentioned murals in
Cincinnati. Well I'd like to let you know that we now have murals in Iowa City.
Um, UISG, they just got done with an initiative where, um, various tunnels on
campus, uh, they .... they opened up that space to allow, uh, student artists, to kind
of give them an area to express themselves and kind of the theme of this project
was to celebrate, um, historically under -represented communities, um, in the
student body, and so the .... it really is kind of a neat and intimate space when you
walk through these tunnels, and um, you kind of see how these communities, um,
think of themselves and how they want to express themselves. So I would really
encourage that you call, if you get a chance, to kind of go some urban exploration
through the Iowa City, or University of Iowa campus and, uh, kind of check that
out. Um, the second thing I have is, if you'll.....as you go downtown and you use
the restroom, um, you might see these, uh, posters that the University of Iowa
partnered up with, uh, RVAP in the downtown district. Um ... they're sexual
assault resource posters, and so what they do, they have very clear definitions of
what sexual assault is, what consent is, um, what it is not, and kind of various
strategies to kind of intervene, and then ultimately they have their resources for
RVAP, uh, the Women's Resource and Action Center, um, so I really would like
to publicly thank the Iowa City Downtown District, to RVAP, um, for their
collaboration and for their willingness to let us use their space. Um, and then the
last thing, uh, earlier today, uh, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that
the Trump administration will be removing, uh, the DACA program, the deferred
action for childhood arrivals program, which, uh, effectively gives work permits
or schooling permits for, um, students who are brought here, um, illegally as their
parents came here. Um, they grew up in the United States. They don't really
know any other country than the United States. Um, so this really affects our
student community and I would kind of, uh, encourage you all as a Council, as
individuals to kind of reach out within your own communities, within your own
networks, um, to reach out to federal legislators, encourage them to keep it, uh,
keep the program and then if there is anything that you as a City Council can do,
whether it be something as simple as a resolution of support for our communities
or maybe something more substantive. I don't know the legalities of that, um, I
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would really encourage you all to look into that, um, as options. So, um, but other
than that, thank you very much for the opportunity. Appreciate it!
Throgmorton: Thanks, Ben. Good to see you again! All right, we'll move on to City Council
Information, Item 14.
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ITEM 14. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION
Throgmorton: Rockne, you want to start, please.
Cole: Well les... yesterday we had the Labor Day picnic and I wanted to just commend
City (mumbled) for another wonderful event. It's always so fun to connect with
all the different brothers and sisters in the labor movements, and you know,
obviously this community would not function, um, without everyone that gets up
and .... and works really hard to ... to make our community go. Um, so it was a
really enjoyable time and, uh, really....really had a good time. Beautiful day!
Dickens: Well I missed the last Council meeting, but I was at, uh, since then I've been in
Denver, and then I was lucky enough to go to Europe, and....
Throgmorton: Where'd ya go?
Dickens: Uh, from Amsterdam to Basel, and uh, what you find yourself doing if you've
been on the Council long enough is you start comparing your city to other cities
(laughter) wherever you go, and uh.....we're very lucky in this town that we .... we
care so much about the ADA accessible, cause when you get to Europe it's .... a lot
of it's not there so I .... I talked to Harry, uh, Ohnstead about this and he says
there's actually a book out that tells you what cities to avoid in Europe that don't
have .... so we can always do better, but it's very interesting to see and .... and
public transportation, uh, in Basel they have trains that go all over, little, uh....
Inner-city that just go around the city, and they discovered that they were too high
for wheelchairs to get into, so all the new ones they're putting in are now lower,
that you can get a wheelchair on, cause we talked to a .... several older couples
there and that was one of their biggest concerns is they don't go out because they
can't get up and down stairs, or the bathrooms are all in the basement of these
places, or the trains are too high. So the city has addressed that, so it ... it's kinda
interesting to see and as we move forward maybe on our train service that we're
looking at with North Liberty, that would be a consideration.
Throgmorton: Susan?
Mims: Um, just wanted to talk a little bit about, um, the Honors Program and the Green
Room. Um, I don't know if any of you have seen or heard about it, but they're...
they're running, they didn't do it this week cause of Labor Day, but I think the
next four or five Mondays they are having this Honors Class, the Green Room, at
the Englert Theater, and had it last Monday and it was Zach Wahls, uh, was kind
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of the keynote, talking a lot about poverty in the United States. He had lots of
statistics, urn .... a lot of statistics (laughs) in a short period of time, and then
Crissy Canganelli from Shelter House was talking about the Housing First
Project, and David Gould is the, uh, instructor, professor of this and .... I think he
runs the Honors Program, and so he just does a lot of innovative and creative
things, uh, with his students and so they have, I think it's about 80 students in the
class, and so they.... starting this next week, they are doing all the programming.
They are in charge of everything, from greeting people as they come in to
videotaping, um, introducing the keynote speaker, um, as David said he's trying
to make it like a .... a rock event. They have kind of headliners, but then you've
got the opening acts and .... and had some music, uli, but just wonderful,
wonderful presentations, um, from both Zach and Crissy, and they've got some
great people coming in the next five weeks. Um, Jane Elliott who did the Brown
Eye, Blue Eye Experient, um, Kaiser Khan, the father who spoke at the
Democratic National Convention. I don't remember all the other names, but if
you have an interest look at ... it's bringing the community and the University
together. So it's open to the community, um, it started at 7:00. I got down here
early. I was .... waited to walk up there at about quarter to 7:00. The line was all
the way from the Englert up to Herteen and Stockers and .... so I just kind of stood
there with Mary Ann Dennis, waiting to see if we were even going to get in cause
the line was so long. I think they said they had 478 people that came. So ... lot of
people from the community, lot of people associated with the University, but they
really are trying to bring the community and the University together. So there,
like I said, the next four or five, I think it's the next five Mondays, um, 7:00 at the
Englert. Um, I'm assuming there may be a number of these, and I wouldn't be
surprised if the one with Kaiser Khan is sold out. And I say sold out, there's no
tickets, but I wouldn't be surprised if you don't get there and get in line early that
you won't get in to the ... to the theater. So .... uh, great event. Thank you to David
Gould for all he's doing. I think giving students a really innovative learning
environment, um, with his class. So, it was a lot of fun.
Throgmorton: Terrific innovation. Yeah.
Thomas: Uh, on the Englert theme, I noticed that on September 12a' at 5:30 there will be a
public event, Let's Talk About Iowa City's Historic Downtown,' so that .... that
should be an interesting event and from conversations we've had with ... with Jeff
our consultant on the downtown inventory is generating some very interesting
perspectives on historic preservation there, so that sounds like a worthwhile event.
And then looking backward, uh.... the Downtown, Iowa City Downtown District
hosted an event that, uh.... spoke to the, um, public art program. Thomas Agren
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made a presentation, uh, which featured, among other things, the Cincinnati mural
program. Uh, very interesting, uh, evening. Lots of people were there, and again,
it's kind of this interesting, you know, opportunity for conversations that, uh, I
don't .... I don't think our public art program had had something like that in quite
some time, so .... I thought it was useful and a great start. Many people at that
event thanked Thomas for... and Nancy Bird, for having the event. It was very
nice.
Taylor: Uh, I'd like to just comment on a .... a memo we got from Geoff, uh, regarding our
own Simon Andrew, uh, as far as I'd like to congratulate him on, uh, ach... his
achievements, his two recent, uh, classes, uh, particularly the one, uh, let's see I
believe he said the title is, uh.... ADA, the Coordinator, which is ... which is
excellent and certainly needed, um, you're talking about the, uh, disability things
that we are concerned about already at the City, but a lot of folks don't realize that
the population of. ... of disabled folks in our community, and people usually
immediately think of folks in wheelchairs or walkers or .... or things like that, uh,
but there's.... there's more to disability (mumbled) as far as the mental health
issues and behavioral issues. There .... there are other disabilities out there too and
I think it's going to be very helpful, and I congratulate you on that. Uh, the other
thing I was negligent, uh, I missed the chance to comment on .... on, um, your, uh,
discussion about your visit, uh, to the Mayor's Conference and, uh, I wanted to,
uh, just put in a plug as a healthcare professional, I would be interested, very
interested, in, uh, working together with you and any other interested parties
on ... on that opioid issue in .... in Iowa City.
Throgmorton: Excellent! Uh, Geoff ...Geoff and I have had some preliminary conversations
about..... following up on what I heard at that conference concerning the
epidemic. Is (mumbled) uh, a lengthy article in the New Yorks Time yesterday
about the.. ..that directly related to that. So .... it's gaining increasing attention
nationwide. Is that it, Pauline? Good deal. Well I want to mention .... I want to
mention several things, and then end with a question for you, so .... wait .... wait for
the question (laughs) So, uh, first as you know I wrote a public statement
concerning the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and that public statement
subsequently appeared in the Press -Citizen. Also as, uh, Pauline just mentioned,
uh, and I'm gonna say this for the public really, uh, on August 16a' through the
19th I participated in a Conference of the Mayors Innovation Project in
Burlington, Vermont, and a memo about it appeared in the late handout for
tonight's meeting, so ... um, that .... that's available online now, that memo, if
anybody wants to read it.
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Fruehling: Um, no, not ... (mumbled) finalizes everything.
Throgmorton: Ah, okay! Uh, next, John, Pauline, and I had a really excellent meeting with D...
the Daily Iowan's terrific writing and editorial staff, uh, on the 25th of August. So
I .... were you in the room when we had that meeting? (unable to hear response
from audience) You were. Oh it was a terrific meeting, yeah, uh.... I think
we ... we learned a lot from the conversation. I hope it was beneficial for you as
well. Oh, let's see, uh.... there's gonna be a Council listening post at Uptown
Bill's on September the 6th from 5:30 to 7:00 P.M. That'd be tomorrow night.
(laughs) Uh, there's gonna be a retirement reception for Doug Boothroy from
7:30 to 9:00 A.M. on September the 11"'. Monday. There's a School Board
election comin' up and a school bond referendum on September the 12th. I
certainly encourage everybody to vote. The Economic Dev... the Council's
Economic Development Committee is going to be meeting on September the 15`h
from 3:00 to 4:00 P.M. and we're getting very close to coming up with our set of
recommendations, uh, to present to the full Council. The World Cup Cyclocross
is gonna take place on September the 17th. Geoff, maybe you were gonna
elaborate on this. I don't know. Which leads to the one question I wanted to ask
y'all. Uh, I find myself thinking that we should have a section during our work
session where individual Council Members have an opportunity to briefly report
on anything that's happened in the ... on the boards that they are appointed to, like
the City of Literature, like ICAD, like that Economic... Regional Economic
Development Committee, uh, like, uh.... (mumbled) Paratransit, uh, and you
know, I'm not sayin' decide right now, but it seems to me that that would be
pretty fruitful, cause as it is now we go to these meetings and then.... nothing
comes back to the Council. So I .... I think it'd be helpful to have .... very brief
statements about any major decisions that have been made or any major topics
that are coming up.
Cole: It's a good idea.
Throgmorton: So I ... I can bring that back up for, you know, any kind of discussion next we .... or
next meeting during our work session and you can ... say yea or nay. Okay, that's
enough for me. Geoff?
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Item 15. Report on items from city staff
a) City Manager
Fruin: Uh, I will just mention briefly the, uh, Cyclocross event, um, kicks off on the, uh,
14a' of September and, uh, I will be reaching out to Council Members to see if
there's any volunteers to help greet the UCI, uh, staff and the VIPs for the race,
uh, late on Thursday evening. I think they plan to get in around 9:00 or 9:30 in
the evening. Uh, CVB is coordinating a reception.
Throgmorton: So what happened last year? (laughter)
Fruin: We don't .... we don't talk about what happened last year with that (laughs) (both
talking) Mother... Mother Nature had different ideas for, uh.... uh, what was
gonna happen that night, but um, and then the racing, uh, starts on the 15a' and
goes to the weekend. It'll be a busy weekend with, uh, a football game in town as
well. Um, so there's been a lot of planning and coordination from law
enforcement, CVB, and a whole lot of other people, uh, that are involved in the
logistics, but, uh, the first year was great. The second year, uh, will be even better,
and we're ready to put on a show.
Throgmorton: Ashley?
Monroe: Nothing! Thanks.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of September 5, 2017.