HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-09-19 TranscriptionPage 1
Item 1. Call to Order
Item la Roll Call
Throgmorton: I'd like to call to order the regular formal meeting of the Iowa City City Council
on September 19, 2017. Roll call. Welcome to your City Hall ..... on what's been
a beautiful, foggy, sunny, late summer day. Uh, I don't know about y'all but I
love the fog, cause I don't drive too much but ... uh, love walking in the fog.
Before we get deeply into tonight's meeting, I want to take a minute to honor the
life of a notable Iowa Citian, former Mayor Bill Ambrisco. Mayor Ambrisco
passed away on Friday, September the 8"i, at the age of 87. He was an alumnus of
the University of Iowa's Collage of Business and was a prominent leader in Iowa
City's business community. He exemplified what it means to be an active
community servant. In addition to serving on the City Council for 10 years, and
serving as Mayor for I think just two years, if I remember rightly, yeah .... he also
served on the City's Planning and Zoning Commission, the Senior Center
Commission, and the Johnson County Council of Governments. Additionally he
served in leadership capacities with both the Chamber of Commerce and the Iowa
City Area Development Group. (noise in background) What's goin' on?
Mims: Amber Alert.
Throgmorton: Ali! (several speaking in background, sounding of alarm) Bill served as a mentor
to many in the community and inspired countless numbers of people to step into
public service roles in the Iowa City area. His presence will be missed, but his
impact in our community will be felt for a long time. On a personal note, I had,
uh, really good, uh.... uh, exchanges with, uh, with Bill over the last several years
of his life, and I can recall that when I was elected to City Council in the mid-90s,
I actually replaced him on the City Council in a special election. In any event, our
thoughts are with his wife Carly and their three sons, David, Michael, and Daniel.
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Item 2. Proclamations
Item 2a Food Rescue Week with Table to Table
Throgmorton: And we have one proclamation to read tonight and I think someone's here to
accept this proclamation. Nicki, right? Okay, so I'm gonna read it and then you
can come up and accept it, Nicki, and .... and say whatever you want to say. (reads
proclamation) (applause) (both speaking in background)
Ross: I do just want to thank the Iowa City community so much. There is, uh, no other
organization like this in Iowa, and the Iowa City community is the reason that we
exist, because you believe in what we do. We rescue all that food! It would go to
waste without you. So ... thank you so much and thank you so much for supporting
Food Rescue!
Throgmorton: (applause) Thank you, Nicki. (applause continues)
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Item 4. Community Comment (items not on the agenda). [until 8 pm]
Throgmorton: This is community comment for items not on the formal meeting agenda. If
anyone would like to address, discuss any particular topic that's not on the formal
meeting agenda, please feel welcome to come up to the podium. Please state your
name and take not more than five minutes, please, uh, to express your .... your
ideas.
Brecht: Good evening. My name is Diane Brecht and I'm representing Chatham Oaks
this evening, and I just want to comment to the potential changes in your
residential code status on your rental units. (clears throat) Um, I'm a little bit
nervous so .... forgive me. Um, I just want to talk a little bit about what we do.
We ... our organization provides services for people with mental illness and what
we do is we help individuals who want to integrate back into the community when
they're coming out of an acute care setting, maybe from a .... a large residential
care facility and what we do is we provide services to those individuals in the
community, and .... we, um, we look for safe, affordable housing for these
individuals, and as you all know in Iowa City that's a challenge, especially for the
individuals that we serve, cause they live on a limited income. We try and find
housing that allows them to have less than 30% of their income towards rent and
utilities, and that's a challenge. We just aren't able to do that. So what we have
done is tried to be creative when we provide that housing for them and
we .... we've partnered with landlords here in the community that will allow us to,
um, rent properties and .... and place at least five individuals in those locations,
and by having up to five individuals in those locations, we're able to decrease the
amount of money that they have to put towards rent and utilities, and we also look
for safe housing. We don't want our .... our individuals that we serve living in an
area where we wouldn't want to live or our staff wouldn't feel safe going into.
We, um ... we have staff on site, up to 24 hours. They might be there for .... they
might require 24 hour staffing, or maybe less than 24 hours. Maybe they don't
need overnight staffing. The majority of our individuals do not own vehicles and
so when you look at the parking issue related to that, we have maybe two
vehicles, possibly three at certain times of the day, at those locations, and we have
never had an issue with, um, a service call from law enforcement. Um, we
provide the .... the necessary supports and services that these individuals need, and
so I would really encourage you to think about that, having an exemption for
social service agencies who provide this kind of service. Without what we do,
there are a fair number of individuals, most of the people that we serve would not
have an opportunity to reintegrate back into the community, and this is the
community that they're choosing. Their families are here. Their support systems
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are here and they want to live just like you or I do and giving the opportunities we
have by being able to have a .... up to the five individuals living in .... in one
location really makes it much more affordable for them. Um, I did provide a .... a
letter to the City Clerk and it has my contact information on there if you have any
questions. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Uh, Kellie, is this the one piece of correspondence that we have?
Fruehling: There's two.
Throgmorton: There're two, okay. Thanks.
Logsden: Hi! I'm Kara Logsden and tonight I'm coming to you with my private citizen hat
on. Um, I'm part of a partnership called Logsden Properties and for five years we
have been renting, um, our houses to group homes. We have six homes that we
rent to Chatham Oaks. Uh, three are on the east side, three are on the west side,
and we very strongly believe in the mission of Chatham Oaks to help residents
live in our community. Um, they're a delightful organization to work with. The
residents are wonderful. Um, we've gotten to know many of the residents as we
go into the homes and .... and make repairs, and .... we understand what the City
staff is trying to do and we share the same concerns that you have with
maintaining safe, welcoming, stable neighborhoods, but we also want to
encourage you to think about the residents of Chatham Oaks, or some of the other
group homes, and understand what their unique needs are, and we, um, we want
to continue, um, to be able to rent to Chatham (mumbled) Oaks, um, if they are
looking for their houses. We would like to be able to find additional houses to
rent to them. Um .... because we think that it's the right thing to do, to give people
a home, um, in our community, and, um .... we just thank you for thinking about
that.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Is that the (mumbled) Yeah. Yeah, so I can have a .... ask for a
motion... could I have a motion to accept correspondence?
Botchway: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. Anyone else? Good evenin', Brandon!
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Ross: Hello, um.....just piggybacking on the back of that, um, affordable housing in
Iowa City. I just, um, I just want to call attention to, uh, the sty that's across the
street, which is the Chauncey Swan, uh, building, uh, site, which, uh, which was
decided upon by a previous Council, but we lost Chauncey Swan Park with all the
trees, with all the grass, with all the place for the elders and the kids and
everything like that. Yet, uh.... it .... it's a great place for kids and a lot of people
come through there. I .... I can't even count how many are disgusted by this. Um,
there's nothing you can do. As they say it is what it is right now. Uh, but in order
to have something, uh, that only benefits a few people, uh, to destroy a public
park, I think is a bad idea, and it's a good time to call attention to it. Uh, they're
motoring out there right now, the cranes are moving. Responsible men are
working their jobs, but it was done completely in a wrong way. I feel that, uh, a
lot of citizens, uh, have complained about this, uh, or at least a lot of people that I
know have. And that it's a precedent, uh, not to forget that, uh, when you make a
decision, uh, to put a building up that you have to protect, uh, what you have. Uh,
if you don't do that, you'll end up with nothing. The people who use the park are
basically every -day people, uh, working class people, people perhaps who are
even working on the site now, uh.... would come there, uh, you and I, uh, and
everybody would share in the music and the place. So I think it's a.....we lose it
for this season, we've lost it for this season, uh, we lose it for next season it looks
like, unless.... unless things change according to schedule. The actual building
itself, um, you know, it's 50, 55 units from what I understand. Um, there was no
planned affordable housing in there, and uh, I .... work .... workforce housing from
what I understand, five .... five units, um, and, Jim, I see you probably want to
comment and I would like you too after I finish (laughs) uh... but uh.... I think we
have to do better. Um, you know a group of us is doing a survey of people and
how much they pay percentage -wise of what they make, uh, in their jobs. And,
uh, there's a large group of people who are paying 50, 60, 70, uh, even 80%, uh,
working full time jobs, to landlords, and, uh, when you multiply that, uh, thinking
about how much the landlords are getting percentage -wise of people's work, uh,
when you work 40 hours a week and you work 160 hours say just roughly in a
month, and you take 80% of that and you give it to a guy sitting there on a
telephone, uh, there's a problem here. So I think that Iowa City's affordability is
in question and that we need stronger laws. Uh, we need affordable housing
there. We also need rent control, and we need other .... other types of things to do,
so that people can actually afford to live in this city, uh, which is slowly become
kind of the classic neoliberal city, which is good for the rich, but if you don't have
it you can't come around. Uh, there are a lot of great things like festivals and
things that do take care of people. There's a lot of free things, which is great, and
the Council does a great job, but unless there is affordable housing, uh, unless
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people can live here, you're gonna have a stale city, and I think, uh, I'm speakin'
for a lot of people and I'm speaking for people who are paying $1,000 for their
family to live in a small apartment, you know, six people in an apartment and
things like that, and this is one of the expensive cities to live of its kind, and I just
encourage you, uh, just use this minute to just think about that and hopefully, uh,
in the course of your .... of this next year we'll .... we'll really, urn ... put forth your
best efforts in order to consider the working people, uh, of this community.
Thank you so much.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Brian.....Brandon. I ... I was just shaking (laughter) Brandon, I was
just shaking my head, only .... only because we purchased, the City purchased five
units for the Iowa City Housing Authority, so .... (both talking) Yeah. Uh, thank
you for speaking. Anyone else? Okay, I don't see anyone. We'll move to Item
5, Planning and Zoning Matters.
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Item 5. Planning and Zoning Matters
Item 5a Dodge Street Court — Ordinance conditionally rezoning 2.4 acres of
property from Medium Density Single -Family (RS- 8) zone to Planned
Development Overlay- Medium Density Single -Family Residential (OPD -8)
zone located on Dodge Street Court. (REZ17-00010/SUB17-00007)
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: Does anybody need to make any ex parte disclosures? Okay, seeing none, I'm
going to open the public hearing. Hold on, I gotta find my mallet. Open the
public hearing (bangs gavel) Good evening, John.
Yapp: Uh, good evening, John Yapp, Development Services. Uh, this, uh, proposal is on
the east end of Dodge Street Court, uh, which is a....a fairly short street, off of,
uh, Conklin Lane, north ... or excuse me, south of Dodge Street. Uh, the property
is currently zoned RS -8, which is a medium density, single-family zone. Uh, the
applicant has proposed a planned development, RS -8, uh, in order to cluster, uh,
density into.... townhouse units, uh, on the south side of the property, preserving
more than 50% of the northern half of the property, uh, as open space. Uh, the
townhouses would face Dodge Street Court, uh, they would have access through
an existing, uh, townhouse and multi -family property directly to Dodge Street. In
other words it would .... there would no....be no direct access, uh, to Dodge Street
Court. Uh, to the west, uh, of this property are existing townhouses, uh, that ... that
also face Dodge Street Court. Uh, Dodge Street Court is a fairly narrow street,
uh, just under 20 -feet wide. Does not have curb and gutter at this time. Uh, that
is why the, uh, access is planned to go directly to Dodge Street, uh, via a rear lane,
uh, that would serve the townhouses on the property. Uh, staff recommends
approval ... uh, subject to the owner dedicating right-of-way, uh, so Dodge Street
Court is to a 50 -foot right-of-way, which is our minimum standard at this time.
Uh, and subject to the development draining storm water away from Dodge Street
Court to the extent possible, and we would confirm this with the, uh, final
engineered plans, uh, and that building designs be reviewed and approved by the
Design Review Committee, uh, to ensure compliance. Staff recommends
approval and Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval. Be glad
to take any questions.
Throgmorton: Any questions for John?
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Thomas: So, John, the...the vehicular access goes through another property to Dodge, is
that (both talking)
Yapp: That's correct. If I can .... bring up the aerial. It's a little bit hard to see, but this,
the property to the west has been developed with townhouse units and a multi-
family building, and access to this property would go through that property, uh,
directly to Dodge Street. And they do have a access easement to accommodate
that.
Throgmorton: So there's only one egress onto Dodge Street for both of those (both talking)
Yapp: That's correct.
Throgmorton:... for both those developments.
Yapp: That's correct.
Throgmorton: Any other questions? Thank you, John. Would anybody else like to address this
topic? All right, seeing no one, uh, are you folks inclined to vote in accordance
with the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation? (several
responding) All right! I'm gonna close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) Consider an Ordinance
Dickens: Move the consideration.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Was that you?
Botchway: Yeah, second! Sorry!
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Botchway. Discussion?
Thomas: I thought this was a .... a really well..... crafted, uh, application of the planned
development overlay process with the preservation of the natural area. Uh,
townhouses I think are certainly suitable given the context of the, uh, housing that
surrounds this general proposal. Um .... density's well under the, um, RS -8
allowed density. So I think it's a .... a good outcome on this one.
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Throgmorton: Any others? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 5. Planning and Zoning Matters
Item 5b Alley north of City Hall — Resolution vacating alley right-of-way in
Block 44, Original Town Plat. (VAC17-00001)
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) John!
Yapp: Uh, good evening again. Uh, this is a right-of-way vacation for the .... the alley
right-of-way north of City Hall. Uh, this is connected to the Aspen Ventures, uh,
development project, uh, proposed for the north City Hall parking lot. (coughing)
Excuse me! Uh, we do have some criteria when considering alley vacations, uh,
regarding access, uh, to private property, general traffic circulation, utilities, uh,
etc. This, uh, right-of-way does not provide general traffic circulation. It ... it is
used solely for access to the parking lot. Uh, it does not provide gen .... a general
traffic circulation function. It does not provide access to private property. Uh,
with the proposed redevelopment of the north parking lot, uh, the City would
have, uh, parking within a proposed parking structure with access to Gilbert Street
and to Van Buren Street. Uh, and the staff analysis is therefore the alley right-of-
way is no longer necessary. Be glad to take any questions.
Throgmorton: Any questions? Thank you, John! Anybody else like to address this topic?
Seeing no one, I'm going to close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) Consider a Resolution
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? It's a necessary step to
move ahead with this particular project, which we agreed to some time ago.
Hearing no more, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 5. Planning and Zoning Matters
Item 5c ROW adjacent to 2222 Old HWY 218 S — Resolution vacating right
of way adjacent to 2222 Old Highway 218 South. (VAC17-00002)
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
Yapp: Uh, 2222 Old Highway 218 South is the property that .... that my mouse is on, uh,
currently, to the north of the subject right-of-way. Uh, the subject right-of-way
only provides access, uh, to that property, which is owned by the State of Iowa.
Uh, this is a photograph of the right-of-way as it exists today, uh, so it...it is an
unimproved, uh, right-of-way, formerly occupied by South Riverside Drive. Uh,
South Riverside Drive has been, uh, repaved to connect directly to McCollister
Boulevard, uh, and therefore this right-of-way is no longer necessary, uh, as right-
of-way. Uh, the City owns the property to the .... to the south, and .... and does not
use this right-of-way for access, uh, to this property. Uh, similar to the previous
item, the ... this right-of-way is not used for general traffic circulation, uh, and
vacation of the right-of-way would not have an impact on .... on, uh, vehicular or
pedestrian circulation. Be glad to take any questions.
Throgmorton: Can you remind us of why we're vacating the right-of-way?
Yapp: Uh, it's a request from the, uh.... State of Iowa, from the property owner to the
north, to be able to add that to their property.
Throgmorton: Okay.
Yapp: So the ... the, on your .... on your next agenda would be a ... a conveyance of the
property.
Throgmorton: Okay.
Dilkes: And in the bigger picture, we're going to be exchanging this with the State of
Iowa for the right-of-way that you just vacated .... uh, so that we can then convey
that right-of-way to the, urn .... to the developer.
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Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you, John. Any questions for John? Guess not. Would anybody
else like to address this topic? Seeing no one I'm going to close the public
hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) Consider a Resolution
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 5. Planning and Zoning Matters
Item 5f Country Club Estates Seventh and Eighth Additions — Resolution
approving the preliminary plat of Country Club Estates, Seventh and Eighth
Addition, Iowa City, Iowa. (SUB17-00009)
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion ... no, well, yeah I guess, a motion to approve.
Botchway: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. John.
Yapp: Uh, this is a preliminary plat for the property, uh, that was just rezoned, on the
north side of Rohret Road, uh, west of the Country Club Estates neighborhood,
and I'll bring up an image of the, uh.... preliminary plat. Uh, it consists of 81
single-family lots. Uh, the majority ... uh, of which would be accessed off of
internal, uh, streets. There are some smaller single-family lots that would front on
Rohret Road and would be served by a rear, uh, alley, uh, as shown on the plat.
Uh (clears throat) you've had some correspondence from the existing residents of
Country Club Estates and staff met with some representatives (coughing) uh, of
Country Club Estates last week. Uh, and they had some concerns regarding this
proposal, the majority of which have to do with private covenants, uh, between,
uh, the existing homeowner's association and .... and what the new homeowner's
association will be. Uh, the City's not a part to private covenants. Uh, they had
one other concern regarding the name of the subdivision, uh, and requested that
the ... the name be changed from Country Club Estates to a different name. Uh, to
not be associated with the existing Country Club Estates subdivision and the
homeowner's association, uh, papers. Uh, the developer has agreed to change the
name, uh, and we would do that with the final plat, uh, for the property. Um...
developer has agreed to pay, uh, as part of a conditional zoning agreement to pay
50% of the cost of upgrading Rohret Road, uh, which would be done at a ... at a
future date yet to be determined. Urn ..... be glad to take any questions.
Throgmorton: Any questions for John? Thank you, John.
Yapp: Thank you.
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Throgmorton: All right, uh..... let's see, we got a motion, uh, discussion? So I want to ... uh, state
something be ... before the rest of you have a chance to speak and that is .... Susan
and I met with about 10 residents of Country Club Estates during a recent
listening post at Uptown Bill's. We quickly discovered that their concerns didn't
focus on rezoning, so there was no need really for me to bring that up, but it ... their
concerns did focus on the subdivision plat and consistency with the existing
homeowner's covenant or whatever it's specifically called. So, um, we were
pleased to be able to direct them to our City staff and work out the details of this
particular proposal. Okay, so any further discussion?
Fruin: You may have representatives of the homeowner's association here tonight. I
don't know if they want to speak or not.
Throgmorton: Good evening, it's nice to see you again. Yeah! Okay, you don't want to speak
though, right? (unable to hear response from audience, away from mic)
(laughter) Okay, any....
Botchway: Sorry, I just wanted to ... go, no go ahead!
Throgmorton: Anybody else want to address the topic? No.
Botchway: So, John, I just wanted to get back to an email I had. Sorry, it took me a while
cause I had it on airplane mode, um, what uh...... can you go back over the
concerns again, just to make sure that they've been addressed?
Yapp: The homeowner's association...
Botchway: Yes.
Yapp: ....concerns. Uh, there were three main concerns. One was the name of the, uh,
subdivision.
Botchway: Right. I mean you already said that.
Yapp: Number two was .... uh, re .... and I might have this out of order, but the,
uh.... there's a storm water management and wetlands area to the north of the
subdivision and there was a concern regarding, uh.... uh, maintenance of that
and ... and what percent, uh, the new subdivision would pay toward maintenance of
that area. Uh, and number three was regarding property ownership, and there's a
few pieces of this proposed subdivision that are currently owned by the existing
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homeowner's association. Uh, the .... that would have to be, uh, rectified by the
time we get a final plat for the property. But that's a private issue.
Botchway: Private issue. So in particular there was concern about, um, use of, um, certain
amenities. How did that get worked out?
Yapp: Uh, the developer, uh, agreed that the new, this new subdivision would not have
use of, uh, the existing pool facility and other recreational facilities.
Botchway: You probably just said that and I missed it cause I was tryin' to work (both
talking)
Yapp: I don't think I said it, but (both talking)
Botchway: Okay! All right, that's my question. Thank you.
Yapp: Okay. You're welcome!
Tbrogmorton: Thanks, John. Any other discussion?
Taylor: First I was concerned about the size of it, 81 lots, uh, but being a single-family
and being that's my district on the west side, I'm .... I'm really pleased to see the
west side growing and... and including some single-family homes. I think it's a
much-needed, uh, aspect for the west side.
Botchway: And to that, uh, well, and to the point ... the question I was trying to ask and trying
to pull my email up cause I knew I had my notes on that, um, it was just a couple
of concerns I'd gotten, or gotten raised by, uh, members of the community around
kind of the amenities they have within that, um .... homeowner's association
wanting to continue with, uh, that kind of culture or things that were provided
from that standpoint and so I think it's been addressed and so .... from the private
developer and so I feel comfortable moving forward.
Cole: I would just quickly comment. Normally I like to see more mixes of housing
types, um, but for a single-family division, uh, I really like the fact that there are
so many of them, so we are gonna add a lot of units. I .... I like the density of this.
Um, normally that's a concern if there's too many single-family. It seems like to
me you don't get quite the density that you want but .... and I like the, um, I just
like the design of it. So I think it's good work.
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Throgmorton: Anybody else? Uh, hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0. Could I
have a motion to accept correspondence please?
Botchway: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Thomas. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries.
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Item 6. Sale of lot in the Industrial Park - Resolution authorizing conveyance of Lot
2 in the Industrial Park to Alexander Lumber, Inc.
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Wendy!
Ford: Good evening! Let me just pull up a slide here. Hi, I'm Wendy Ford, Economic
Development Coordinator, and um, tonight I point out to you the 420`h Street
Industrial Park for .... which we recently received a purchase offer. Um, we've
had this property listed since before 2014, um, but since then Jeff Edberg in our
audience has been our, uh, real estate agent of record, and uh, he has presented an
offer to us through Alexander Lumber for $589,490.....sorry! $589,495 for Lot 2,
which is .... uh, right up here in the comer .... of, uh, on the comer of Compass
Drive and 420`h Street. This is a little wacky of a view since north is to the right.
That's unusual. Usually north is up but it's to the right here. You can see the, uh,
Iowa Interstate Railroad tracks here, and then this is Highway 6, just below. So
this is our new industrial park. We have our very first offer ever. Um, Alexander
Lumber is .... has been operating in the city now for ... at least a few years. Uh,
they serve the construction and contractor industry as, basically as wholesalers.
They do have a .... a showroom for their cabnety .... cabinetry products in another,
uh, area south, further south, on South Gilbert Street. Um, but the purchase of
this lot out in the industrial area would allow for them to be able to, um, better
serve their contractor, uh, industry, and perhaps have .... and perhaps have
to .... and perhaps be able to grow into using the rail access, which is just to the,
uh, just to the east of the property, and you can see the spur here. The brand new
spur, never used yet, um, that will be easily accessed, uh, from Lot 2. Those are
my comments! Any questions?
Throgmorton: Questions for Wendy? Thank you, Wendy. Anybody wanna speak to this topic?
Seeing no one, I'm gonna close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) Consider a Resolution
Botchway: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. Discussion?
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Dickens: I'm just glad to see this happen. I did talk to some of the management team from
Alexander when they had their grand opening and it was ... it brought to my
attention they really wanted to be in Iowa City, and I'm glad that we were able to
accomplish that because that was one of their main goals was to stay in Iowa City,
because they....they felt that they were buying a long-time Iowa City business
when they bought Nagle and they're just happy to be here.
Mims: It's nice after all these years to finally have at least one of our parcels out there
sold and I hope it's the first of many to come, quickly! (laughs) (several
responding)
Throgmorton: Uh, I would echo their comments, uh, but I don't need to restate `em! (laughs)
Cole: And yeah, I just love this project! The lumber yard, railroad (laughter) Good
stuff'.
Taylor: Exciting!
Throgmorton: Any other comments? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 7. Belt Filter Press Replacement — Resolution approving plans, specifications,
form of agreement, and estimate of cost for the construction of the City of
Iowa City Belt Filter Press Replacement 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) Seeing no one I'm going to close the
public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) Consider a Resolution
Botchway: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Well, the only
intelligent thing I can say about this is I did a tour of the .... the sewage treatment
plant and the facilities down there, and I'm betting this is an important part of it.
(laughs)
Frain: Yeah, I think you want these, uh, belt filters to work (laughter) so it's.... they've
been in service since 1989. It's time to replace `em, but it is not an inexpensive
endeavor. You can see the cost to, uh, the price tag is about 1.8 million for this.
Dickens: That'll come from .... the water funds then?
Frain: Uh, the waste water fund, yes.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 8. Mixed Use Development - Resolution approving an agreement for private
redevelopment by and between the City of Iowa City, Iowa, and Hieronymi
Partnership, L.L.P., Hieronymus Square Developers, L.L.C., Iowa City ES
Hotel, L.L.C., and HS314, L.L.C.
Botchway: Resolution (both talking)
Mims: Resolution.
Throgmorton: Uh, yeah.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Dis... we'll turn to Wendy first.
Ford: Hi, I'm Wendy Ford again, um, Economic Development Coordinator. Tonight
you are going to be considering a development agreement for a project that has
been a long time in the making. A critical link between downtown and Riverfront
Crossings, it has been one of the busiest comers in town for decades, but it is also
perhaps one of the most underutilized, having been completely vacant for more
than the last 10 years. Along State Highway Route 1, this lot has been one of
many street corners featuring automobile -oriented services. There was a gas
station on this corner and one across the street, an auto dealer where the Dubuque
Street parking ramp is. There's still a tire store two blocks east, and more service
stations at the Gilbert, Linn, and Madison Street intersections. Jump-starting
development in .... on the block in 2005, the City took a lead by building the Court
Street Transportation Center. A year later a tornado tore through downtown and
Hieronymi Partners began working on partnerships with the City and the
University of Iowa, and even got an approval from Council for a $50 million, 15 -
story project, with a $60 million TIF to include commercial office, offices for the
University of Iowa, residential units, hotel, restaurant, and retail uses. Soon after
that, the recession hit and a year after that Iowa River flooding diverted
everybody's attention. Plans were shelved until a few years after the flood, when
an idea to partner with the University again on a new post -flood location for the
Art Museum was explored. Then those plans were shelved when the University
opted to put the Museum on land it already owned near the Main Library instead.
Today, things have changed. Most recently, the University completed its $156
million School of Music across the street to the west, and a $40 million, uh,
Hilton Garden Inn is nearing completion immediately to the south. In the distance
in this sli.... slide, you can see the cranes working on the, uh, 12 -story Rise, uh,
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under construction just behind. Their new neighbor, Hieronymus Square, will
include commercial and residential, uh, components in two buildings. The
buildings will lie on an east -west access, parallel to each other. The one on the
north lies along Burlington and is primarily residential with retail and commercial
on the first and second floors, and the one on the south is an extended stay hotel.
Each building will be seven -stories tall and will be connected by a vestibule
facing Clinton Street, the main entry to both buildings, except for the retail entries
facing Burlington Street. For this $40 million project, the developers are seeking
$8 million in tax increment financing rebates. To be eligible to receive those
rebates, they have agreed to a certain set of minimum improvements, which are
written into the development agreement, and those include for the Element Hotel,
having 91 extended stay hotel rooms, which each have a full, compact kitchen in
every room, building a patio, pool, and fitness room on the second floor, getting
access to the Court Street Transportation Center for hotel ... hotel guest parking,
and achieving the gold Green Seal certification, and that was fairly .... a fairly new
term to all of us. Um, is a certification that can be granted by a third -party, non-
profit environmental certification, uh, organization for businesses, and they have a
hotel category as well. And then, uh, minimum improvements for the mixed-use
building include building the first floor, uh.... uh, of retail, the second floor for
commercial office space, class -A commercial office space, and then having the
third through seventh floors have residential, uh, apartments in them. And on the
third through seventh floors there would be a total of 45 units which in our, um,
TIF policies, uh, will require that 15%, or seven in this case, be provided as
affordable housing, and in this case, um, there will be two required to be on site
with the additional five, uh, to be either located on site as well or have a fee in
lieu of $80,800 be paid to the City for not providing the additional five on site.
So minimum two on site, and uh, five.... potentially five more, totaling the seven,
on site, and perhaps as an option, uh, having the developer pay the fee in lieu, uh,
which is established through our inclusionary housing, uh.... um, resolution a year
or so ago, uh, instead. So the next three slides show various elevations. This one
looks southeast along Clinton Street, with the residential building on the left, the
entry vestibule with the hotel logo on it, you can see that `E' looking thing for the
Element, the name of the hotel. That's in the middle, the vestibule, and the hotel
on the ... with the lighter facade material on the right. This one shows it in context
with the new Hilton Garden Inn, which is operated by the same owner that will
operate the Element, Kinseth Hospitality. The hotel estimates that approximately
34,000, uh, room nights will be sold each year. That's 34,000 people who won't
live here spending the night downtown in, uh, in a hotel and they'll generate
upwards of $200,000 a year in hotel/motel taxes, which go directly to support the
police, the parks, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, uh, to continue
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marketing to get people to come. Uh, the hotel on the right in this view, looking
directly across Clinton Street, there's an extended stay hotel which is geared to
guests who stay longer than a night or two and who would like some of the
comforts of home, such as a living area or a kitchen so they can .... so they could
prepare some of their own meals while they were visiting. From this angle you
also get an idea of the setback that will be provided along Burlington Street, and
that is in the far left, lower left corner here. So if this is Clinton Street, going left
to right, this is the corner of Burlington and Clinton, and you can see how the
building overhangs a little bit. Well that provides a setback which, um,
effectively widens the sidewalk there, um, making it more comfortable for
pedestrians to be on what is, um, sometimes a fast and furious section of. ... of
Burlington Street downtown. Urn .... let's see .... you can easily see the retail on
the first floor here, and on the second floor of office space above that with the five
floors of apartments, um, above. They'll only be .... I think we're at nine
apartment units per floor typically. This, um, this is another view looking south
across Burlington Street, with the School of Music here on the far right. Um, this
view shows, uh, this view gives you a good look into the retail space on the .... on
the first floor, and again, the straight -on view of the office space and residential
above. I believe that apartment unit mix in those will be approximately 25 two -
bedrooms and 20 one -bedroom apartments. There'll be no three -bedrooms in
here. For any TIF project, developers are required to provide an amount equal to
15% of the hou... of the housing in their projects as affordable, which is seven in
this case. As I mentioned I'm just going to reiterate this affordable housing piece.
The developers will provide the two affordable units on site, one one -bedroom,
one two-bedroom, and they'll have the option of providing the remaining five on
site, or they .... by paying the 80, uh, thousand dollars .... $80,872 per unit fee in
lieu if they decide not to provide them on site. Providing them off site is not an
option in this case. A quick overview of the plans. Um, this is the basement
level, which essentially shows the parking lot, uh, or the parking deck, which will
be accessed.... I've lost my cursor. There we go! Which will be accessed through
the Court Street Transportation Center, and I might add, um, as well that that will
require an additional agreement because that, um, facility was funded in part by
federal dollars. There'll be 60 spots here and they will, uh, provide the parking,
uh, required for the residential, and there'll be a couple of extra spots, uh,
remaining after that, which'll probably be used by the commercial, uh, office
users above. The hotel parking will be, urn..... arranged, um, very similar to the
way the Sheraton and the Hilton Garden Inn have already, uh, had agreements
with us for use of our parking ramps. It'll be the same for the Element Hotel.
This is showing the first floor and you can see the drop-off area on the left. In
this case north is straight up, so, uh, Clinton Street runs top to bottom, and
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Burlington Street runs across the top. You can see here on the left the ... the drop-
off area, uh, near the vestibule. Um, this is the, uh, configuration now for the
retail on the first floor, and you can see those are accessed by, um, by doors at
Burlington Street, and those would be outfitted for tenants as, um, agreed by ... as
agreed between the, uh, between the developers and the tenants. Um ... then this is
the main floor of the hotel area so there'll be the hotel lobby over here, the
reception area, some of the back of house, urn .... uh, workings going on towards
the back of the house basically on that first level. The vestibule then that we
talked about stretches, um, across the length of the .... of the building and, um, will
provide, uh, steps, uh, stairs and elevator access up to the second floor here
where, urn .... pedestrians can also gain access to the Court Street Transportation
Center here and, uh, can also enjoy the swimming pool, fitness center, and, uh,
terrace amenities, um, that will be on top, essentially on top of the .... and
outdoors, on top of the vestibule. This is a typical layout for the rest of the floors
going up with, uh, residential. Configuration of apartments here on the top and
the hotel unit configured here. There're about 15 units per floor on the hotel and
like I said earlier about nine units per floor for the residential. This is kind of
interesting. It requires a little bit of study, but um, it's sometimes hard to
imagine how you could get underground access from a built parking ramp into
underground of a .... of a new facility and .... and this, uh, this hopefully shows how
that works. On the .... on the left side of the drawing we have a view as if we're
standing on Clinton Street looking straight east, and so this is a cross section north
to south, and you can see the floor of the parking ramp rise up to meet, uh.... uh,
this little squeeze point here (laughs). I'll call it a squeeze point, um, in the, uh,
transition between the Court Street parking facility and the underground parking
in this new project. Uh, this view here is a cross section going the other way.
Um, this would be as if you're standing next to the back of the new Hilton Garden
Inn and looking north, and how that ... the two of those connect. Then above here
are the stairs and the access to that parking ramp, and you can see the, um, the
terrace, or you can tell where the terrace would be from, uh, from this point
forward. These are some images, uh, that are typical of Element Hotels. Kind of
a modern, streamline look. And now the numbers. Let me skip ahead a little bit.
As you know, uh, we partner with a non-profit organization, the National
Development Council, to assist in our financial analysis of projects that are
requesting TIF. The analysis includes a full review of all project costs and
financing proposed by the developer, or the sources or uses as we call them, and
this table shows sources and uses. Um, and sources and uses must balance, and
that's why I have this red box. I guess pay attention to the far right column. This,
urn .... this uses here totals up the various aspects or costs of putting this project
together, both the hotel and the mixed-use. Interestingly very similar in costs. For
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a total of $40.7 million. In order to finance that then.... urn .... uh, as .... as I said,
you have to have your sources, the way you're going to fund this match the uses,
or else you have a gap, and our, uh, due diligence includes a review of all of the
costs and sources of financing and for example, we compare land costs with other
similar land sales, and we look at third -party appraisals of land. To determine
whether a bank loan is sized appropriately, we would work with the City Assessor
to estimate the finished value of a project and ensure that the project has indeed
maxed out the .... the loans that are possible to attract to that project, using the loan
to value and debt cover ratios, um, which are the typical ways that our banking
community does the same thing. Um, so in this case you can see that the
developer has a.....here we are! Sorry about that! Um, a .... a bank loan secured
for 22,000....$22,451,000, um, and because the, uh, TIF policies require that...
couple things. One, the developer equity be at least equal to if not greater than the
TIF request they're seeking, and that that equity also, uh, is such that they will not
be unduly rewarded by, um, the gap financing that we would put into it. In this
case, developer equity is $10,302,000, leaving a gap of $8 million. Okay, so I
want .... I want you to look at that gap. Let's see, oh, there should be a purple...
there should be a purple box around the second to the bottom line there with the
City's financial gap assistance. Not sure what happened to it. (several talking in
background) Oh there it is! Okay. So, that $8 million of gap financing is
detailed here in this next slide. So what we did, uh (clears throat) is look at each
part of the project independently. Saw the two tables, one for each side of the
project, and we found a total gap, an actual gap of $5.2 million, which is the cash
required to get the project out of the ground. They couldn't begin if they didn't
have that cash. Um, so, uh, it also .... um, requires that loan sources be maxed out,
and I mentioned before that equity be equal to or greater than the return for ... or
sorry, equal to or greater than the ... the TIF and sized to a return that is fair. So for
the promise of TIF rebates to cover the $5.2 million, the developer must take out a
TIF loan that would be paid off, or paid back, by those future ra... rebates. In this
case, the TIF loan of $5.2 million, uh, carries with it a $2.1 million interest cost.
That's a 4.5% loan over about 13 years. Then the remaining $600,000 of the gap
would be .... is proposed in this case to be covered by a TIF advance. So that
would be set up so that the developer would have to build the building, get it out
of the ground, complete all of the minimum improvements that we listed before,
and .... and knowing that we're then guaranteed having that project completed, we
would grant the developer the six ... the $600,000. And the reason for doing
it ... this this way is because it helps reduce the interest costs in the TIF loan, um,
by reducing, um, the .... the time needed to pay back the TIF loan, and it also helps
with the early project cash flow, especially due to the lag time before those
rebates hit and begin to help them, uh, begin to help them pay down their loans.
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So .... and as I said before, City risk is minimized because, um (clears throat) the
project will be complete, which again teases the value out of the project before the
advance is given. So here the total between the 5.2 gap filling, the 2.1 interest,
and the $600,000 comes out to $8 million. I'd like to, uh, finally talk about how
this project aligns with the strategic priorities that you set up at the beginning of
your terms. Um, those included.... include having a solid financial foundation for
the community. Um, in this case the project brings $22 million in new value to
our tax base. It also brings in an annual o ... up to a quarter million dollars, plus or
minus depending on occupancy, a year in hotel/motel taxes. You also have a goal
of having a strong and resilient economy. This adds office, retail, and residential,
downtown, and it connects downtown with a prime Riverfront Crossings lot. It
fosters healthy neighborhoods by eliminating a blighted corner, an underutilized
blighted corner, and both of those words are used in the State's description of
blight. Um, it encourage vibrant .... a vibrant and walkable urban core by having
the storefront windows and the setbacks along Burlington Street enabling
pedestrian traffic a little more comfortably, and it promotes environmental
sustainability by a couple of ways. One, the roof -mounted solar panels that will
be on top of the mixed use building, and the green .... Gold Seal Certification for
the Element. No, the gold Green Seal. I think I got that backwards on there.
Gold Green Seal Certification for the hotel. Um, this project was reviewed by the
Economic Development Committee on, uh, July 21s`, who voted three to nothing
to forward it to the full Council with their recommendation. And I'd be happy to
entertain any questions.
Botchway: Wendy, I ... I apologize for not kind of telling you this before when I saw you in
the hall. What's ... and I kind of quoted, put it on here as quotes, um, what's the
true financing? When I say that, um, went through ... I think you did a wonderful
job going through kind of that gap analysis. And I got the, I mean I don't know if
I got the same phone call, um, Jim, earlier today, but I got a phone call, um, and I
can't remember the .... part of it, but they were just kind of upset, and so I ... I kind
of want to talk about what is .... what is the City giving in a sense? Like are we
handing money, are we handing $8 million over, uh, to the developer? Can you
kind of walk through what this, I mean basically the rebates is what I'm talking
about, what that actually means.
Ford: Right. So ... so first of all we're not handing money over the develop ... over to the
developer. Um, in order to be able to rebate tax increment financing dollars, the
project has to be built. It has to be assessed by the City Assessor. The property
tax bill has to be paid, and after it's paid, um, then a portion of it is rebated back
as a tax rebate. In this case, um, that tax rebate will go directly to pay off a loan
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that was taken out based on the, uh, based on the future promise of. ... of TIF
rebates. That making sense?
Botchway: Yeah, no perfect (both talking)
Ford: Okay.
Throgmorton: Other questions for Wendy?
Cole: In the EDC you talked a lot about the protected, that levy being 25%. Could you
explain what that is, cause I think that's an important part of the immediate
benefit potentially that the community gets.
Ford: Sure. When... when, uh, people in Iowa City pay their property tax bills, they not
only pay a portion to the City, but they're also paying at the same time a portion
to the schools, a portion to the County, and there are a couple of other tax levies
in the consolidated property tax bill that they get, and it right now adds up to
about $38.00 for every $1,000 in valuation. So that's what gets paid in, um,
whether you're, uh, whether you own a residence, whether you own commercial
property, sometimes a rollback applies but ... the rate, that $38.00 per $1,000
valuation is essentially the same for everybody in Iowa City. Now because,
uh... uh, TIF rebates are subject to, uh.... being able to..... let me see if I can back
up a little bit. TIF ... TIF rebates, uh, are subject to the TIF levy, which is all of
that $38.00 per 1,000, minus approximately 25% or in this case it's around $8.00
or so, um, which is called the protected debt levy, and that is a total of the, um,
the debt on the budgets of each, the City, the County, and the School Districts, but
is not and cannot be subject to, uh, the TIF rebates, leaving about $30.00 per
$1,000 in valuation to be rebated.
Cole: And where does that money in the protected debt levy go? I mean (both talking)
Ford: Back to the taxing jurisdictions for their debt service.
Cole: Okay.
Thomas: Would that cover.... Wendy, for example the .... the recently passed school bond?
Would that be....
Ford: Sure!
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Thomas: ....fall under that category then?
Ford: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: So, I'd like to ask the same question but in a different way. So, how much is the
property currently generating in property taxes, and how much will it be
generating after the project is completed?
Ford: Well, the .... the valuation on the property right now is a little over $1 million, so if
you take that $1 million times approximately $38.00, you get about $38,000.
That's what their .... this is a rough estimate, back of the envelope, that's what
their.... that's what they're paying right now. Second part of your question
was....
Throgmorton: How much will it be generating after the project is completed?
Ford: Well, I'm really good at mental math, but I don't know if I can take a $22 million,
uh, value, divide that by 1,000, and multiply it by $38.00, but that's the formula to
figure it out. I've got it on spread sheets on my desk. I don't have it in my head.
Mims: About $836,000 if I did it right.
Ford: Thank you, Susan!
Throgmorton: I figured somebody had a calculator.
Mims: Phone! That has a calculator too! (laughs)
Throgmorton: So, how much of that 800 and whatever thousand dollars per year will
immediately be allocated to the taxing bodies? 25% of it, is that right (both
talking)
Ford: Yes, uh huh.
Throgmorton: Okay, so 220,000 per year...
Ford: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: .... will immediately go to the City, County, and School District.
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Ford: Correct!
Throgmorton: (mumbled) ....divided up. Right?
Ford: Yeah.
Throgmorton: Okay.
Frain: Just as long as we understand, these are really rough (several responding) rough
numbers here, um, because there's, you know, there's commercial classification,
there's residential classifi... there's a lot of variables here, so just understand (both
talking)
Throgmorton: Yeah, a ballpark helps (both talking)
Frain: ....general ballpark numbers.
Ford: And that was kind of the `how-to.' (laughter)
Froin: And, uh, Mayor, to your .... your question as well. Wendy touched on this in her
presentation, but this focuses just on the property taxes and certainly hotel/motel
taxes are a .... a big piece of the City budget and an increasingly important piece of
the City budget with all the ... the squeeze on property tax that, um, you all are well
aware of.
Botchway: Geoff, just to be clear, that is money that comes directly to us, or not to us so to
speak. I mean it goes to (both talking)
Frain: Funnels through the State (both talking)
Botchway: ....State, okay.
Frain: Yeah, it funnels through the State to us. We remit, uh, 25% to the, um, CVB and
use the rest for Parks and Police.
Throgmorton: So I'd also like to ask the `but for' question.
Ford: Uh huh!
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Throgmorton: So I get a phone call, not from the same person (several talking) I got a phone call
from a friend today. He's not a really close person. I don't know him all that
well, but he's a good guy, and he basically said, `Why should the City commit
any money to this project? It's prime real estate, so why not leave it to the private
market.'
Ford: Well, it might be best answered by the developers; however, um, I can take a shot
at it and say that one thing that the City does is consider, uh.... if we weren't
participating in this project, we do know that a smaller project would .... would
happen on that corner. Ours, um, is to figure out how we might effect the highest
and best use of that comer, um, for 50, 100 years in the future, and I .... and I think
we know what the .... the typical development on a prime, close -in corner, uh, is in
Iowa City, and um, I think the motivation for assisting the developers and provide
something that is not that is.....clear.
Throgmorton: (mumbled) (both talking)
Fruin: To .... to Wendy's point, I think you can look up and down Burlington and .... and
probably Gilbert Street as two comparable streets and look at what type of
development we've attracted in just the .... the private market over the last 10 or 15
years and expect that you'd get something similar on this lot.
Throgmorton: Right. So I .... I said something very similar in the phone conversation today,
and ... and indicated that there is a new building, it's less than two years old,
located about a half a block or a block away on Burlington that .... is what we
would expect probably if ..if it .... if we left things to the market, and it has to do
with the market conditions in Iowa City. So here's the second question. Again it
come ... this comes from the same fellow. `Does Iowa City really need another
hotel?'
Ford: The market studies show that an extended stay hotel, uh, does not exist in this
market and that there is a market for one. The, um, operators of the Element
Hotel operate separate hotels in the .... in the area and multiple hotels in the region,
and .... would probably be the first to sug... the first to back out of a .... uh, of a
hotel deal that wasn't, uh, that wasn't going to be successful.
Cole: I guess one other, uh, question that I just wanted to have clarified. It's worth a
million dollars as a vacant lot, and it's currently generating $38,000 per year, is
that right?
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Ford: Yes.
Cole: Okay.
Ford: Approximately.
Cole: So that will continue, the developer will continue to pay that $38,000, that that's
not subject to the financing or not?
Ford: Oh that's a good point, Rockne! Right.
Cole: Just to clarify that. Yep!
Ford: Yeah.
Fruin: The... the.... the base assessment that we're gonna use for this is actually gonna be
lower than that million, but because of the debt service levy, um, requirements,
the .... the taxing entities are going to get more than they're getting right now on
this property, through the life of the TIF, and then once the TIF expires they'll
certainly realize the full benefits of this.
Cole: Yep! Okay.
Botchway: For me, um, so I .... I really like this presentation. Can you do that .... that graph
next time, um, that shows, I mean for the next ... the gap, that shows kind of, kind
of going back to Rockne's point, and kinda what I was trying to get at as far as
kind of what's the .... I get a lot of comments or even, urn .... uh, complaints about,
you know, the City kind of giving money so to speak and the rebate piece of this
is kind of the interesting part of it, and it ... kind of what Jim was alluding to as
well, and I think a couple of people, I think it's the tricky part that, you know,
having that graph, at least for me as a visual learner, really kind of explains
(mumbled) this will stay the same, or even as Geoff kind of talked about, will be a
little bit more. Nothing will change and ultimately we're having this, you know,
um, project put forth that, um, will benefit, you know, many different things. So,
if we can do that graph next time — for me. Maybe not for the other Councilors. I
think that could help me explain it more in general.
Ford: Sure!
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Fruin: And .... and presumably you're going to get questions after tonight. We'd be
happy to put together a .... a, kind of a one-page sheet for ya that ... that gets you
those specific details so you can talk about that.
Botchway: Great!
Cole: That would be great!
Throgmorton: That'd be helpful. Any other questions for Wendy?
Fruin: I do want to make one more point. Um, there are a number of,
uh.... really .... great benefits to this project, and Wendy did a fine job walking ya
through. Uh, one that I don't want to overlook is the, um, architecture associated
with the property, and .... and, Jim, this gets back to your question on what we
could expect, um, if the private market were to .... to produce something. I don't
think you'd get the level of, uh, architecture that you're seein' with, uh, this
proposal. Um, and what I think is really important a .... about this, um, particular
site is the proximity to the School of Music, and, uh, knowing that the architect,
um, designed this, um, specifically in the context of the School of Music, uh, both
from a scale, material, uh, and .... and shape perspective, I think that's, um, really
important and will have a lasting impact, um, for... generations.
Botchway: Actually I have two more questions for Wendy. Sony! I forgot (mumbled)
looked on one side of the page. I got really excited about that one part. (laughter)
Um, is the.....going back to your, urn .... so can you .... we talked about this briefly
and then I ... (mumbled) then I ran back over to Geoff. Can you just re -explain the
affordable housing, just for public benefit, cause I don't think I'm gonna do it
well enough that you could do it, kind of the affordable housing piece of the 10%
and then the 5%.
Ford: Sure! Uh.....this property is located in the Riverfront Crossings area, which has
its own requirement for have... for provid... for the developers to provide 10% of
the number of residential units they're building as affordable. In that, uh... in that
inclusionary housing, the developer can provide them on site, off site, or they can
pay a fee in lieu of that is about 80,800 and some dollars per unit. There's also a
TIF policy that requires that a developer who is receiving TIF has to provide 15%
of the .... their units on, uh, as affordable. So what we did in this case, and .... and,
what ... what we did in this case was take that top 5%, the five that are required by,
um, by receiving TIF, and require that those be provided on site for sure. Um, 5%
of 45 in this case was, uh.....two of those sites. One one -bedroom, one two -
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bedroom, with the remaining five units, uh, able to be, uh, and those are the ones
that would be, uh.....uh.....
Mims: ....the 10% (both talking)
Ford: Right, tied to the Riverfront Crossings inclusionary housing, uh, code and be
10%, and five units in this case. Those could be either provided on site or, uh, or,
uh, paid for by fee in lieu of.
Fruin: And just to be clear, if they decide to take advantage of the fee in lieu of
provision, that money comes to the City and is earmarked for affordable housing
projects in the Riverfront Crossings District. So it's not like we can take that
money and spend it on anything else. It will hopefully leverage, if they decide to
do it, hopefully allow us to leverage even more investment in that district and
create more affordable units.
Botchway: Perfect! That's what I was looking for (both talking)
Taylor: We don't know for sure what.... which direction it will go then, fee in lieu of or....
Ford: Not yet!
Taylor: ....offsite. Yeah.
Botchway: Perfect, and the other question I had is, going back to that picture of the overhang
and the, um .... the sidewalk. Can you..maybe I just missed it or kind of got it
mixed up. It looked like there was a cutout for where people were coming in for,
um, the hotel, um ..... kind of a drive (both talking)
Ford: Kind of a drive, uh....
Botchway: Yeah, kind of a drive in, drop people off, and I get that but how does ... how does
that ..... mess up or, um ..... limit kind of the amount of space on that sidewalk?
Ford: I don't .... let's see here. Let me find the plan view. There it is.
Botchway: There!
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Ford: Uh... well it looks like that ... that little, um .... cutout would be equal to about the
size of a parallel parking spot. So not compromise the ... the walking area on the
sidewalk.
Botchway: Does that .... so if you look at that bottom there, is that overhan.... well, is that the
overhang, the actual building? Is it like overhanging of the sidewalk that's going
to be underneath, is there going to be a walking path or is that just the walking
path that's there?
Ford: You know, I'm not sure I have .... I know enough to be able to say for sure.
Botchway: Okay, well you .... if you can come back with (both talking)
Ford: ...sorry (mumbled)
Fruin: What I can tell ya is, uh, I think you're aware that the, uh, Clinton/Burlington
intersection project was pushed to next year, uh, because we weren't able to
attract bidders this year, and I know, um, Ron Knoche, our Public Works
Director, has already been in touch with the developers. They certainly have a
keen interest in how we redevelop that, not only for this project, but for the Hilton
Garden Inn project that'll..... that'll open next month. So, urn .... we all have the
same goal. We wanna... we warm accommodate the .... the necessary drop-off for
both hotels, but clearly we're trying to maintain room for pedestrians. So, we
don't have the exact dimensions but, um, it will feel comfortable for pedestrians.
Botchway: Okay!
Throgmorton: I .... I'd like to ask a question in which maybe you're not the best person to
respond to, Wendy. Maybe Ben or Kevin is .... it has to do with the .... the gold
level certification under the green for hotel standard, and it's my understanding
that you.....you've, uh, agreed to pursue this gold level certification and that's a
stretch for you, that there are very few such hotels in the country that have done
this and I want to express my admiration for, uh, for that, but .... but also kind of
get some detail from you about, you know, how many other hotels have gold
level, etc.
Ben Kinseth: Sure! There's actually.....we.... it's a (can't hear) Endorsed, uh, program, Green
Seal. It's been around since 1989. and there are no hotels in Iowa doing the
Green Seal Certification, so we would be the only one, and we would be the only
one doing it at the highest level. There's actually only about 45 hotels nationally
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that are Green Seal, uh, certified, and there's only five of those that are at the gold
level. So it'd be a rigorous sort of certification for us. Um ... and really addressing
all points of sustainability for the hotel, so....
Throgmorton: Yeah, uh, thanks! I wanted to get that on the record. I think it's something you
should be very proud of. It's a .... a good asset for your .... for your hotel.
Kinseth: Thank you!
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Dickens: I just want to make a comment that the .... the people that are building this are
all .... been around Iowa City for years, uh, Hieronymus has really helped build the
downtown when they built the Old Capitol Center. Uh, Hodge and... and all the
other partners that are with you, Kinseth, have been Iowa City based for ... for
many years, and I think it's very important that we remember they're from Iowa
City and that's.....I think that's very important that they .... they have a stake in
this city and they're willing to put their money there.
Throgmorton: Be .... before we dive any further into us discussing it, uh, is there anybody else
who wants to address the topic? All right, no .... nobody else, so....
Botchway: I had one more question, um, around.....and maybe I missed this in the prior
document. Um, but conference room space. Is there conference room space in
the hotel? And how .... how much conference room space, and I'll explain kind of
later on why that's important, but I just wanted to....
Kinseth: I wouldn't call it conference space. It's a small meeting room that's typical of,
um, extended stay hotels. About 600 square feet.
Mims: Well I would just say I'm supportive of this, having had the opportunity to sit
through all the EDC meetings and presentations and discussions. Um .... this has
been certainly a long time coming as Wendy said, uh, way back from before the
2008 flood and before the, you know, the recession that started, with at that time a
much taller project which I think would have been perfect on that particular
corner, where you've got a high volume of vehicles, etc. Um, but I think the
design here, I think fits in really well. I think it fits in well with the School of
Music. Uh, one of the overhang pieces that Wendy was talking about is actually
on the Burlington Street side, just like the School of Music has kind of that
overhang, um, because the buildings are built so close to Burlington Street, but
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trying to give more space for the pedestrians, there's that overhang which gives it
a little bit different feel, um, as you would go into those retail spaces off from
Burlington Street. Um .... and I think the idea of an extended stay hotel
downtown, um, as well as the other, you know, amenities and residential units,
etc., that are here, um, just fit in really well. I think, you know, restaurant owners
and other people downtown have just gotta be thrilled to have more amenities that
bring people downtown and spend their money, so .... very much supportive of
this.
Throgmorton: Anyone else?
Thomas: I certainly, urn .... I, starting this project my .... my first point would be the, which I
think Geoff referenced, was .... this is .... this is really an opportunity site. I mean
this is a significant location in terns of, uh, the entryway into Riverfront
Crossings, uh, with the School of Music directly across the street. So this
is .... this is a site that I would certainly hope as a city we could accomplish more
than the sort of standard development that, you know, we can expect in Iowa City.
And so the .... the notion of this being a, what I .... what I think can be called a
high-quality, high amenity project is critical. Um .... one thing, you know, on
Council, so .... so we see the project. All of us have seen it preliminarily, uh, and
expressed I think our .... our support for it, without really knowing what the TIF
would be. (laughs) So this .... this is a little bit of a challenge, I think, for us,
especially vis-a-vis the public, you know, that we, um ... like anyone on t he street,
you know, we .... you look at a project, you say, `Yeah, I think that's a great
project!' Um .... and then we come ... but we don't know at that point when we're
giving our support what the level of City support will be required to .... to finance
it. And ... and I was interested personally in seeing how with this project, which is
a smaller building than the highrises, uh, how .... how it would compare in terms
of TIF support, because it's a smaller building. The structural systems and so
forth would require less cost in order to implement, um, and in fact in .... in talking
with Geoff about the project, the .... the development costs per square foot are
significantly lower than with our highrises. So I think that's another point I
would make is that while the .... the occupancy is going to be market-driven, um,
the development costs are less. So I think we can expect that the price points may
offer a different opportunity than, you know, we .... we've seen with the highrises.
Uh, so I think, you know, I'm pleased with the project. I think it's a .... a great in-
fill project with taking advantage of the opportunities that the context is provided.
Uh, the last point I would make is .... you know, that cantilever on, um ... on the
Burlington Street side, uh, I think does have some impact on the pedestrian
experience because it in a sense occupies some of the air right above the sidewalk,
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um, and ... and thus limits the opportunities for planting trees along Burlington to
help buffer that experience. I believe we, and I know I've mentioned this before
(laughs) I'll just mention it again quickly. There are ways to redesign Burlington
to reclaim what we've lost with that cantilever and I hope at some point in the
future we can widen the sidewalk to .... to reallocate, uh, air .... air space so we can
in fact create a better streetscape.
Cole: Maybe I'll go ahead and speak. Um, I'm very supportive of this project. Um, it's
beautiful architecture, and I want to address one issue directly related to the
market question. You know, I've asked myself that same question: why ... why
should we have the City participate in tax increment financing. While I think
with the music building that's adjacent to us, I think that provides really a good
metaphor. Really what we're trying to do is have a, um, downtown that's like a
symphony. With all different types of instruments, blended in harmony, working
together to era .... to create something, um, beautiful, and you don't want a
symphony only full of violins or cellos or violas or trumpets. You want them all
working together and to the more utilitarian projects that have been generated by
the market, those are important. So we're not saying for those developers that
have done those more utilitarian, those have filled a need and those have served
us really well. I think our only point is, is we don't want a downtown where
that's the only housing model, and that's really what we're trying to accomplish,
and as to this particular project, the rate of return here is going to be very
reasonable, um, and without it essentially the project wouldn't happen, at least in
terms of the National Development Council. So this is a very pragmatic
approached development. Um, we have a really dynamic developer here. It's a
good design, and I'm really excited, uh, for this project to actually, um, happen.
Botchway: I would just say I'm pretty upset actually because I was going to say something
about the music and how (laughter) how that, you know (both talking)
Cole: (mumbled)
Botchway: I should have just .... just gone (laughs) and just (both talking) cut in, um, I'll be
supportive of this project as well. Urn, I want to go back to what John said about
kind of this opportunity and this is a ... a location that I think needs that City
support. You know, without it, and I don't want you to get up, Wendy, it's a
vacant lot, and I think .... I've talked somewhat, um, anecdotally on Council about
vacant lots and vacant alleys and what we can do to kind of spruce up some of
those things and so for me that's a win, and when we're talking about $8 million,
it's a significant amount of money and there's that balance test that I frequently
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brought up on Council as far as how I think about some of the things that we do
when we're, um .... um, alluding to what we should, um, move forward on, and I
just feel like the amenities that this project provides, um, and the things this
project provides, um, outweigh that level of support and I'll just go through `em
really quickly and I'll be done. Uh, again, it's a vacant lot currently and so that's
still a very significant piece for me. The affordable housing component that we
were able to put in, um, with Riverfront Crossings District it's important. The
hotel amenities, uh, I appreciate the local development because there's a lot of,
um, there's some businesses that could come in and buy the property and kind of
do whatever they want, but we have some people that want to ... put a stake in a
property that's very, um, important to Iowa City. Um, one of the things I didn't
ask a question about but I really was excited about was the garage underneath.
Um, I remember our conversation, um, with the parking director, um, of
University talking about if you ever did the aerial view of Iowa City and looked at
how much parking we have over our spaces, it's ... it's kind of, um, disheartening,
and so knowing that that parking is underneath I think is gonna be great, and
allows for more space and more use. Nobody's talked about the solar panels!
Like I think that's awesome! Um, so I'll be checkin' those out on a regular basis.
Um, so I'm just (both talking)
Mims: (laughs) Yeah, right! (laughter and several talking in background)
Botchway: I think it's cool! (laughter) Um, so I think it's.....
Mims: Let me know when you're goin' up! I want to keep count! (laughter)
Botchway: Well I mean I'm not gonna go up. I'm just gonna check `em out. Unt .... (several
talking) so I'm really excited, um, that this building kinda has some of those
features, and we talked about it kind of when we were talking about signature
projects, um, in general where we can say that, um, in regards to solar panels or in
regards to, I think we even talked about wind.... whatever you Iowans call that
(several talking) Turbine, whatever, um, windmills, whatever! I am an Iowan but
I still don't ... that's a weird thing for me when I still drive through Iowa, but um,
I'm excited that we're able to do somewhat of a signature project in that particular
type of way. So all those points for me really, you know, have me supportin' this
project.
Throgmorton: Pauline?
Botchway: You're comin' with me, Susan, to see the solar panels! (laughs)
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Mims: You call me! (laughter)
Taylor: Kingsley stole some of my points, but uh, it was somewhat difficult for me to, uh,
make a decision on this item, uh, because to be honest I wasn't thrilled at the
request for $8 million in .... in TIF, uh.... and being told that it was the only chance
or, uh, the project wouldn't be done. Um .... also hearing that the property called
`blighted.' I .... I didn't like that term because, uh.... uh, blight is .... I think of
something that's dilapidated or uninhabitable and this property's valued at a
million dollars. I don't think that, uh, is .... is exactly blight (laughs) in my terms,
uh, so I had to start thinking about, uh, the positive attributes of it and what we as
a city are getting in return for it, and uh, I ... I do, I like the height of it. I love it!
(laughs) I think it's just perfect for that corner and for both of those buildings to
be the.....the seven -stories back is .... is good. It's a project that has potential to be
a very positive addition to the downtown, uh, and I think as John mentioned, uh, a
nice transition and maybe Wendy also to the, uh, Riverfront Crossings area. I
think that'll, uh, blend in really nicely and developing that corner lot that's been
empty space for ... for so ... so long and it deserves to have a .... a good project there
and I think this all in all, you know, is a good project. The affordable housing
units will be .... will be great. We've been talking about that all year long about
the need for that. Uh, although we're uncertain how many it's going to be, I
would hope for the seven units that would be good. Uh, one thing that hadn't
been mentioned is the patrons of the extended stay hotel, you'd said maybe two to
five days, but I'm thinking even maybe longer, visiting professors and such are
there for even longer. Uh, they're going to be patronizing our downtown, our
stores, our restaurants. They have the kitchenettes in their rooms, so they're
gonna want to cook some food. They'll.... they'll shop the stores and so that's
going to be a very positive for our economy also. Um, the gold Green Seal
certification is ... is wonderful, as well as the solar panels and the, uh, garage space
below, I think it will be good too. So .... um, all in all, uh, the positive things
kinda outweigh the negative, uh, thoughts of...of the $8 million TIF so in the
interest of having the development in that ... in that space, I would be in favor of it.
Tbrogmorton: Okay, my turn! I also will be supporting the pro .... the proposal. It gives us much
greater control over the development of this crucial site, a site that has stood
empty for as long as I can remember. I can remember parking there while going
in to The Mill. I did that for years and years and years and years, uh, but now it's
gonna change. And, it sits directly across Clinton Street from the new Voxman
Music Building. This means, uh, because of the quality of the architecture, it will
enhance the overall quality of urban design at this really important intersection.
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We had a meeting maybe five years ago on this Council and I said to, uh, Tom
Markus and others, this is the most important site in Iowa City right now, and we
need to make sure we get a really good development on it, and I think we've done
that, uh, and thanks to the cooperation of the developer and the architect
and .... and so on. Uh, it will also greatly improve the walkability of this part of
the urban core, which is a crucial thing and somebody mentioned the gateway
to... down to the rest of Riverfront Crossings. I think that's crucial as well. And
it's gonna contribute to our sustainability goals, uh, and that .... that's why I asked
the question about the Gold Seal. I think this is a real attribute and, uh, I urge you
to promote it as something really special that will, uh, attract more people to it.
So, bravo to you. It's a signature project for this Council, and I am very, very
pleased that we will be supporting it unanimously! Any further discussion?
Mims: Yeah, I want to make two quick comments, kind of piggybacking off something
John said and something that Kingsley said. John made the comment earlier
about, you know, lots of times projects come before Council, um, at the ... at the
very beginning stage, kind of at the.... conceptual stage, and we indicate, you
know, support or not and.....and we don't know at that point what the cost is
going to be. That became an issue with the Jesse Allen project right next door
here, uh, when we ... when the costs first came back on that and we were, you
know, we were kind of shocked by how much money was being asked, and I
think that's something that we have to be .... um, thoughtful of and careful of,
and ... and keep reminding ourselves and developers and others, as they're coming
forward with those conceptual ideas, that we may be very supportive of those, but
that doesn't mean that we can open our pocketbooks to the extent that they may
need, and so I think that's something that we and staff need to keep, like I say,
keep reminding ourselves and the developers as we're going through some of
those conceptual, uh, stages with projects. Secondly, um, to the comment that
you made, Kingsley, about really liking the garage underneath, okay? I happened
to be talking with Geoff about this I think earlier today, and underground parking
runs around $49,000 per space, okay? We can build spots in our ramps for about
25, ballpark, okay? Guess who's paying the difference? Iowa City taxpayers....
in that gap. That comes back to how we do parking downtown. I think we really
have to look at what our parking requirements are downtown and in Riverfront
Crossings because by continuing the parking requirements the way we are, and in
many of these cases ending up using TIF, we are costing Iowa City taxpayers a
whole lot of money by requiring those spaces on site. I'm not saying how we
should do it, but I'm just saying I think it's part of a much bigger conversation
that we have to have going forward, because the current way we're doing it is not
the most financially efficient way to do it.
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Thomas: Well I ... I certainly, I had spoken with Geoff about it as well and... actually floated
the idea (mumbled) process as to reconsidering it. I think it was too late. I .... I....
it is an important issue. It's.... it's tied to the question of occupancy in my mind.
Who are we trying to attract to live in ... in .... in the downtown? I think long-term
residents.... arguably do need access to their own automobile. Uh, but I think...
it's another conversation...
Mims: Right.
Thomas: (both talking) It ... it is a significant cost, $2.5 million, you know.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
Could I have a motion to accept correspondence please?
Dickens: So moved.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, all in
favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. Take a short break here. Short break's
over. (laughter)
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Item 9. Prohibit tobacco use in parks. Ordinance amending Title 6, entitled "Public
Health and Safety," Chapter 10, entitled "Smoke Free Places," and Title 10,
entitled "Public Ways and Property," to prohibit the use of tobacco including
smokeless tobacco in all City parks. (First Consideration)
Mims: Move first consideration.
Throgmorton: (both talking) This is first consideration.
Mims: Sorry, Jim!
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Good evening!
Claussen: Good evening. My pleasure to be here. (both talking) Uh, I am Clay Claussen.
I'm the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, and I am here to express
our strong support for the ban as presented and would like to encourage the
Council, uh, to support it also. Um .... and in the event that there's any
consideration of. ... of creating designated smoking areas in the parks, I'd like to...
some of you are old enough to remember when there were smoking and non-
smoking areas in commercial flights, and uh, you remember how well that
worked, and I think the same sort of concept would happen in a.....in a park area.
This is a public health issue. We're not here to infringe on anyone's rights, but
I'd like to look at it as .... as a health issue. And, uh, I don't know if you have any
questions of me.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Clay.
Claussen: Thank you.
Throgmorton: Any questions? No. Thank you, and thanks to the Commission for its hard work.
Anyone else? All right, uh, well, uh, discussion, Council discussion? I ... we had a
work session discussion about this, I don't know, several weeks ago. I indicated I
could not support it. I don't think it's a public health issue. I .... I look at a list in,
uh, that's contained in our packet, a list of. ... of parks in which smoking is already
prohibited, uh, and it's a pretty extensive list, and it was contained in Juli's, uh,
memo to us. Maybe there's good reason to extend it to other parts of parks, etc.,
but I .... I don't believe it's a public health issue if one's in, I don't know, Hickory
Hill Park, uh, it's not like being, uh, it's not like being in a airplane. I mean in an
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airplane, the smoke's contained. In a place like Hickory Hill Park, uh, it's not.
So, that's just my view. I know we had a discussion about this in the work
session. I don't want to push it too hard. I'm gonna vote no on this, and
everybody else can do what they feel is appropriate.
Mims: I'm gonna support it. Um, I .... I think it is .... I think it is important. I think it is a
health issue, and it's funny because.... where I tend to be and the people I tend to
be around, you know, I hardly ever run into anybody anymore that smokes, and I
grew up with a father who smoked two or three packs a day, so I mean I ... was
around that all the time. On Sunday I was out at the Johnson Founty Air...
Johnson County Fairgrounds for Cyclocross and I trekked up to the top of the hill,
to Mt. Crumpet, to watch, you know, the riders and stuff, and end up
unbeknownst to me initially, standing next to this guy who's smoking. I mean I
ended up moving away and going somewhere else to watch because it was .... I, at
this point in my life I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. So, I do see it. I
think it impinges on other people's, you know, health and .... and rights to use
those spaces, um, in .... in a comfortable and convenient way, and so I will support
it.
Taylor: I also, um, Susan and I had a similar experience on the Johnson County
Fairgrounds a few years back as my grandson was only about five years old and
we were at the fair and we were waiting in line for one of the amusement park
rides and a lady walked up behind us and lit up a cigarette right there, and here's
my five-year-old grandson there and .... and he said something like, `Grandma,
that lady's smoking a cigarette,' and she overheard him and -oh, and she realized,
you know, that she probably shouldn't be doing that, but that's like people don't
realize that, or you don't know if you're in the park, if you're comin' upon
children or ... or someone with, uh, asthma or ... or those kinds of conditions that it
could affect. So I'm ... I'm very much in favor of it.
Botchway: I'm supportive as well, you know, just thinking about kind of the imagery of
the ... urn, plane. I'm not old enough to know about the smoking in planes, so I
think it's.....I think it's interesting that that happened, but um, the, uh... just
thinking of like a park, urn .... like a manual or a picture of a park and just seeing
somebody like light a .... light up a cigarette. It just didn't .... it just doesn't make
sense to me in my mind and, I mean, uh, you know, being a family that has a
significant amount of smokers, I .... I do think it's a .... it's a public health issue in
the since of, you know, wanting to promote, uh, healthier lifestyle, um, I .... I get
the part where the infringing on rights bothers me. I mean I did .... I did consider
that and thinking about that and kind of the open space that's a part of that, but
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I .... I also think about, as a city, as we .... we do certain things, how that is, um,
supposed to be promoting, uh, a particular lifestyle that we want our city to, um,
to be about. So that for me is the .... the biggest reason why I'm supporting, um,
this particular, um .... uh, motion for, uh, for banning. So .... yeah.
Dickens: (mumbled) I think it's already in a good share of our parks that it just should be
for all the parks. So that's very easy to .... to handle and enforce. Every park will
be the same.
Thomas: Yeah, I think consistency, that's a good point, Terry, and I ... I would just say from
my standpoint it's a statement by the City that we promote healthy....healthy
citizens and a healthy city, and uh, ultimately I view it as a cultural issue. I mean
I think the culture needs to shift in that direction, but I .... I think for the time being
it's a statement by the City supporting healthy.... healthy citizens.
Cole: And the evidence on second-hand smoke is just overwhelming in terms of the
impacts on people. Now there is an issue about if it's dispersed what will the
actual impact be, but .... why even have any small amount of risk in our parks. So
I'm gonna support it.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 6-1.
Could I have a mo .... uh, motion to accept correspondence please?
Dickens: So moved.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Botcbway. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. Thank you, Clay. (unable to hear response from audience, away
from mic)
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Item 10. 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. (Second Consideration)
Throgmorton: This is second consideration, but the staff requests expedited action.
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 (both talking)
Throgmorton: Did John say (both talking)
Mims: It was Pauline seconded it.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by, uh.... uh, Taylor, um, discussion? Roll call.
Mims: Move final (both talking)
Throgmorton: Motion carries 7-0.
Mims: Move final adoption at this time.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Uh, discussion? So, it'd be helpful if
somebody could explain what this is all about, just for the benefit of anybody
who's watching or anybody who's in the audience.
Fruin: Sure, and .... and I just want to call attention while I give a quick overview, uh, the
second page in the packet for this item happens to be page 327, is the requested,
uh, additional information from the last meeting. That's the memo from Chief
Matherly, uh, that gets at some of the training, how many ambassadors, SHOUT
ambassadors, there are; um, clarifies that they are paid employees of the Public
Safety Department and .... and soon. Urn .... we talked about this a little bit last
time. This, uh, will allow, um, the University employees under the SHOUT
program, SHOUT stands for `students helping out,' to enter, uh, the, uh, enter
drinking establishments, um, after .... after 10:00 when they otherwise may not be
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allowed to, um, so it clarifies that in the code that that is acceptable. Uh, the
SHOUT program is a new initiative by, uh, being offered by the Public Safety
Department of the University of Iowa. Uh, it's certainly in cooperation with our
Police Department. Um, the SHOUT ambassadors are students, uh, who work for
the Public Safety Department and they're out, uh, in the downtown, assisting, uh,
people with a variety of needs, just ensuring that.... that at their most basic level
they get home okay. Um, they provide a service that our police officers, um,
don't necessary have the .... the time to be able to provide, and they certainly, um,
help avoid, urn .... uh, necessary interactions, uh, between police and .... and .... and
students. So they're out there, they're workin' in close collaboration with our
officers. Our officers are, um, in communication with them. They can call the
SHOUT ambassadors over to assist with someone that they feel, uh, needs
assistance, and uh, as I reported last time, uh, to date, uh, we've found the
program to be very beneficial. So, we hope that, uh, it continues and .... and
perhaps expands in the future.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Geoff. Any Council discussion?
Taylor: I believe I was the one that might have asked for some additional information on
the SHOUT program cause I hadn't heard of it before, so I want to thank you,
Geoff, and ... and, uh, Chief Matherly for the additional information. It was very
helpful to know about that and it sounds like it's a very worth.... worthwhile, uh,
program.
Throgmorton: No further discussion? Roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 14. Parks Master Plan. Resolution approving the 2017 Iowa City Parks Master
Plan
Dickens: Move the resolution.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Good evening, Juli!
Seydell Johnson: (mumbled) ....or good evening (laughter and several talking) Uh, Juli Seydell
Johnson, Parks and Rec Director. Um, this is the final version of the park master
plan. It's available on the web site, uh, and you had the full presentation back in
August. Um, it's been available for public review since that time. Have received
very few comments other than `we just really like it,' um, and it will be the basis
for what you see coming up in our budget process, um, as our .... as our planning
tool for the next, you know, five, 10, 15 years.
Throgmorton: Excellent! Congratulations on getting it this far, and we'll see what happens right
now. Uh, any .... would anybody else like to address.....Nancy! So, thank you,
Juli.
Carlson: I'm Nancy Carlson, a resident of Iowa City. And I would like to express my
enthusiasm for this project. I believe it started just about a year ago. I went to a
meeting in the fall. It was either in September, Oc.... October. I've gone to
various meetings since then and I've watched the progress of this. I've watched
the enthusiasm of the Parks Department and, uh, the, uh, company that created
this plan, uh, the people who went to the meetings, um .... it has .... has been an
incredible experience. I'm also here to convey the fact that, uh, I have incredible
fear that once more my hope.... that.... what this plan has put forth will not come
to fruition. I've lived in my house for 37 years. I have come before numerous
City Councils.... talking about parks, and the lack of parks in my area. I have
watched the City Council pass numerous plans.... only to not see the difficult parts
ever dealt with. And so I .... I looked at this .... I looked at this plan again today. I
mean the incredible amount of detail in this plan is ..... it makes my heart sing.
And if we're .... it makes my fear even deeper. This is not the end. This is the
beginning. And what happens after this depends upon you and your support.
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Nancy. Council discussion?
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Mims: Well I think we saw a great plan. I think we all know it's a great plan. It's an
expensive plan, and we're gonna have to work hard to, uh, as we work through
budgeting this year and Councils for years to come to find ways to prioritize, um,
our spending, but this is .... this is really important for quality of life across our
city and, um, I think one of the things that they really worked hard on, and John,
you've talked a lot about, is just equity across the city in our parks and everybody
having parks with the various amenities, etc., and this is .... it's a great plan. Um, I
think if any of us could snap our fingers and, you know, implement it tomorrow
we would do that. Um, but with so many things, it's.... it's going to be a
challenge, um, because of the financial resources that are gonna be required. So,
we're gonna have to be very .... very thoughtful and very strategic about how we
can start implementing this. It, you know, goes along with the bicycle plan, two
very good plans, very expensive plans, um .... and we just don't have all the
resources to do `em at once, so.....it'll be years in the making, but I hope that we
will see significant process.....progress made every year.
Thomas: I would just say that, you know, I first arrived in Iowa City, it'll be eight years,
uh, in November, and two of the issues that immediately .... came to my attention
and concern were the condition of the schools and the parks. And I remember
talking to Tom Markus about it, and urn ..... so I....I feel (laughs) you know
we ... we're sort of at an interesting point. I feel we're at long last, uh, and .... and
this is not .... this movement didn't begin yesterday. It's been underway I think for
several years now. I ..... I think we are now seeing the parks and the schools turn
around, and urn .... I think that's very exciting. It suggests, uh, a reinvestment in
Iowa City in its entirety because most of Iowa City consists of its residential
neighborhoods. So to .... to reinvest in the neighborhoods, in the parks, in the
schools, urn .... you know I share Nancy's concern. Uh, I had concerns about our
(laughs) school district delivering on the bond, urn .... and, you know, the bond
wasn't perfect but it .... it's moving as forward, uh, significantly and I .... I do
believe what I've seen in the last few years in a similar way as with the school
bond has given me more confidence that we as a city, uh, the City Manager's
office and the .... and the .... and the Council understand the value of parks, and
we'll move forward toward the implementation.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? I'll make one comment. Uh, Nancy, uh, our ... we'll get a
draft budget from the staff in mid-December. Please take a look at it when it
comes out and, uh, let us know what ya think! Okay. Uh, roll call please.
Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 15. Idyllwild Drainage Diversion - Resolution approving, authorizing and
directing the Mayor to execute and the City Clerk to attest an Agreement by
and between the City of Iowa City and HR Green, Inc., to provide
engineering consultant services for the Idyllwild Drainage Diversion Project
Mims: So moved.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Could .... could Ron
(several talking and laughing)
Knoche: Mr. Mayor, uh, Council, Ron Knoche, Public Works Director. Uh, this will
authorize, uh, the, uh.... Mayor to sign and, uh, City Clerk to attest the consultant
agreement, uh, with Howard R. Green, or HR Green Consultants, for the Idyllwild
diversion project. Uh, with this project we've already have done a .... a
preliminary, uh, assessment of what alternatives would be there. This will take
both of the alternatives, which is both an open ditch and a closed pipe system, uh,
to the Iowa River. Um, take both of those alternatives to a preliminary state till
we can make a determination of what is the final, um, alternate that we would go
with, um, and then take that to final design. Uh, along with this there will be, uh,
design for a pump station, uh, in the Idyllwild detention basin. Uh, they have, uh,
done a berm project to protect themselves to the ... to the hundred year event. Urn,
the pump station would be designed to, uh, allow for HESCO barriers to be
installed on top of that bar ... that berm, and then pump up to a 2008 event. So, uh,
we will go through the design of that, uh, pump station. It would be included as
an alternate to the construction plans and we would bid that at, uh, as a .... as the
final piece. Um, Idyllwild has, um, committed up to $100,000 for the, uh, pump
project and uh, the developers of the Forest View project have also, um,
committed up to 25% of that project.
Throgmorton: Any questions for Ron?
Knoche: Thank you! (several responding)
Throgmorton: Anybody else? Yes indeed! (laughter and several talking)
Kimmerling: Good evening! My name's Kurt Kimmerling. I'm, um, the President of the
Idyllwild Homeowner's Association. I'm here to express the support, uh, for the
project for our nearly 200 owners that live in Idyllwild. Um, about a year ago we
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hosted many of you at Idyllwild to look at the diversion problem, the .... the storm
water problem, and I think at that time you were all supportive of the project. Uh,
since then there's been a very large project proposed within our water shed, the
Forest View development, and uh, in earlier meetings we've been supportive of
that project, but the project in Forest View does bring a lot of hardscape and
rooftops into the .... into the equation and the concern for flash flooding in
Idyllwild is .... uh, still there. So the diversion project will help with that. Uh, in
addition to the flash flooding mitigation, the proposal of doing a pump station's
very helpful to us. That's a very expensive part of the problem that we're dealing
with, and we're....very appreciative of adding that to the project. Um, lastly I
wanted to emphasize that we, uh, have brought up numerous times the need for
some Idyllwild storm water district that would manage all these future retention
areas that are up in Forest View. Right now, uh... they appear to us as an
unintegrated sort of system where various HOAs and businesses will manage their
own retention areas and those, uh, it concerns us quite a bit if those aren't
managed in the right way that all that water is beading in our direction. So again,
uh, we hope you'll support the project. Thanks very much.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Kurt.
Hall: I'm Ivan Hall and I'm a resident of Idyllwild. Just want to make a few points.
The benefit of the pump station and diversion design will benefit the people of the
Peninsula as well as ourselves. In the meantime while the new road with the new
development is gonna be built, to have a second entrance access to the Peninsula,
to Dubuque, uh, it'll mitigate that such that the one road that we share today will
be available with greater.... less risk than before. The other thing during the
development of the new ..... uh, project, there's gonna be a period where there's
technologies not engaged and they're doing the clearing of the 12 or so footprints,
and the pump station I believe will play a vital role in helping to get through that
period of vulnerability for the site and Idyllwild itself. The ... pump station
proposal was in .... recommended by the joint partnership between the developer
and ourselves, stepping forward to support the bigger project which will benefit
the entire Peninsula. And I do believe that it's a major investment of
infrastructure towards what we're trying to build (mumbled) entire Peninsula to
manage the storm water, given the topgraphic laydown of the Peninsula and the
new site, it's going to be quite a challenge and we can't trust technology to
answer all the questions, and what we can see by today's weather, we're in for
extremes. I mean when's the 1,000 -year flood gonna hit us? This is the summer
dr ... drought I guess. But thank you very much for your time and it's hopefully by
the end of this contract period, we'll understand the cost to complete the pump
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station, the diversion approach, and for the building it, so we can realize the
developers share 25%, the 100,000 from Idyllwild, and then the balance of the
money that's on the books, cause you had budgeted 450,000, and you're applying
the initial 192. We think working together we can make this happen. Again,
solving Idyllwild's concern, but allowing the bigger development to happen,
which benefits the whole city.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Ivan. Anyone else? Uh, seeing no one else, Council discussion?
Taylor: Well I think, um, approval of this, uh, shows that, uh, we have taken the residents
of Idyllwild's concerns very seriously. Uh, I also, um, see that it....it will play a
very important, uh, part in the progression of the Forest View development, which
is important, but I think that, uh.... uh, that your concerns with the storm water
were very important, and this'll help.
Cole: Well I guess I just wanna comment. I want to commend you all. I want to once
again commend the developer, and of course our staff. Um, so often people come
and .... and ask for solutions at that podium. Well it's very difficult to accomplish
that. I think this is a classic example of very productive and solutions -oriented
collaboration, and it's really the way that it should work, um, but we need .... need
to see it even more frequently. So I really want to thank you for coming together
to offer your own solutions on that. Especially given what you face with climate
change, it's not an abstraction for you. It's an every day reality.
Thomas: Yeah, I'm glad .... I'm glad to see this moving forward and, um, I noticed in the...
in the, uh, the contract there will be coordination with Idyllwild residents, uh, and
other stakeholders. So I think the conversations will continue through the process
and, uh, the NTP is .... it, any day now, I guess, urn.... and.... final bids will be
submitted in February of next year. So, look forward to, um, you know,
productive outcome.
Dickens: Long overdue!
Throgmorton: I'm very aware that you folks have had to .... and .... and your neighbors, have had
to deal with a very challenging situation over the past few years, uh, and I, uh,
fully understand why. So I'm really pleased to be able to move ahead with this.
Fruin: Mayor, can I make one comment?
Throgmorton: Sure.
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Fruin: I just, um, want to respond for .... for those in the audience. Um, we have received
your correspondence regarding the storm water management district. It's .... it's a
concept that we don't have in play here, and we're .... we need to do some research
as to whether, uh, a ... it .... we can legally establish that. So we're not ignoring it.
We are looking at it. Um, we do realize that, um, when the rezoning for Forest
View comes that that issue needs to be addressed; your concerns are legitimate
and, uh, if you'd just be patient we'll, uh, we'll respond, uh, very compre... uh, in
a comprehensive fashion and .... and have that discussion.
Throgmorton: Okay, if there's no further discussion, roll call please. Motion carnes 7-0.
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Item 19. Community Comment [if necessary] (items not on the agenda)
Throginorton: Ben!
Nelson: Good evening. I ... I really just want to start off by inviting myself to go see solar
panels with Kingsley and Susan (laughter) um.....
Botchway: You can see `em from the Hilton! (laughter)
Nelson: I can't afford the Hilton! (laughter)
Throgmorton: (several talking and laughing) ...a drone!
Nelson: Um.....the other .... the other, uh, little thing I want to get to before we get into
bigger things is that, uh, my title and Gustav's title have changed, according to the
UISG bylaws. Um, we are no longer the City Council Liaison and the Vice City
Council Liaison, given that our roles have kind of expanded and, you know, we
serve as ex officios on the Iowa City, uh, Downtown District, the Board of
Directors, um, and we get involved in all sorts of other community projects, our
names have since been changed to City Liaison and, um, Deputy City Liaison.
Kind of reflects that we have a wider purview. Um, and so now more substantial.
Earlier you might have seen me sneak out of the work session a little bit earlier.
That's not because I was sick and tired of it. I was actually fascinated by that
conversation earlier and I hope that we can have more constructive conversations
going forward, but it was because I had to go to the joint session at the Old
Capitol Mall, or the Old Capitol building, and the joint session is when the
University of Iowa Student Government, Staff Council, the Graduate and
Professional Student Government, um, and the ... the board.... Members of the
Board of Regents, President Bruce Harreld, we all get in the same room. We pass
legislation. It's a very symbolic event. It really only happens once ... uh, once a
year. Um, so it's really an opportunity for us to kind of come together as like ... all
....all the different bodies that make decisions for the University and kind of
communicate, speak, we pass legislation. Um, we passed legislation related to
civic engagement, we passed legislation related to affordable housing which will
be sent to you all, um, and we all passed legislation related to, um, Title IX, which
is at risk. If you've seen in the news, Betsy DeVos is considering, uh.... all the
different policies related to that. Um.....the next thing I want to address is that we
will.... University of Iowa Student Government will be hosting Senator Jody Ernst
at the IMU this Friday at, uh, 12:30. Um, all community members, all students
are welcome to come and express themselves in any way that they see fit. Um...
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uh, and then I would also like to say that if you go to the, uh, Farmers Market this
Saturday you might see an uptick in students. There is a .... a $3.00 voucher if you
show your student I.D. that you can spend on some fresh produce or whatever you
want, and so it's kind of a ... an initiative to get, again, get students more involved
in the community because that's always something we like to see happen.
Urn ... and then the last thing that I'd like to speak on is kind of. ... at my last
announcements I was speaking of DACA and, uh, kind of how that .... that policy
has been at risk. Since ... since that day, uh, President Simpson has released his
own statement related to DACA. The Association of Victim Students has
released a statement, a joint statement, related to DACA. President Bruce Harreld
has released his own statement related to DACA, so I would kind of again just
publicly echo on behalf of UISG that, um, we do stand in solidarity with any
student that runs the risk of, urn .... uh.... we stand with any student that might be
affected by the removal of the DACA program, and that I would like to reiterate
that they are welcome here, um, this is their home and like we will do everything
that we can to protect them. Um, other than that, we have Penn State this
weekend and so .... go Hawks! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Thank you, Ben.
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Item 20. City Council Information
Throgmorton: Let's start with Terry and move left.
Dickens: Uh.... I attended the ribbon cutting at Miller Frauenholtz Park, which is a study in
perseverance on my part (laughter) I finally got the park done, and as we talked
about with the master plan that this is one park that had been neglected for a long
time. It was just a big empty lot and I was very glad to see Juli was there. The,
uh, Parks Commission came after their meeting. They all drove out as a group.
Um, our City Manager made it after soccer practice, but it was a .... a great event
for that area and that park is being used constantly. Uh, there was a historic
building meeting at the Englert and, uh, it was very well attended. There was
some very good conversations there. Um, I know there were several other
Council Members there as well, but it was .... I think it was a very good meeting.
Oktoberfest is coming up September 30h. I'm sure Kingsley will be there. I have
to work that day, so you're gonna have to take my share of the beer.
Botchway: I gotcha! Pay for my ticket though! (laughter) Urn ... so all those things that Terry
said, uh, there's a trauma informed care conference at the Radisson Hotel in
Coralville on September 25°i and 26b. It's a collaboration, um, between a lot of
different entities. I've actually never gone to the meeting, but I've been on the
email a lot so, um, if you can get out there.....I think it's important, and especially
the second day, on the 260i, I will be there for that, where it's gonna be talking
about, um, how we can come together as a community and develop some, um,
programming and, uh, around .... (mumbled) so I'm excited about that. Have a
separate issue to kind of bring up, but I'll try to be brief. Um, cause my i -Pad's
dead and so I don't have it right in front of me, but, um, is there any .... I've been
talkin' to some folks, um, out at the, um, Manville Heights neighborhood, um, in
regards to, uh, our .... our work session agenda item that's coming up in
November. One of the .... 21st.....one of the things that they requested was could
we kick that, um, a little bit further down the road to December. Um....
Throgmorton: Really?
Botchway: Yeah, and the reason for that being is that the November 21't, and maybe we
can ... maybe we could reach out again, and that's what they said this morning
actually was.....cause November 21'` is like right thereon Thanksgiving. Um,
and so just attention to it and some of the other things would just be problematic
and so, um, I'm just kinda puttin' that out there and I'll reach back out to just ... to
reconfirm, cause it was only a couple people there. There were some people that
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weren't able to be there, but I think that, um, that was one of the major concerns is
right next to Thanksgiving.
Throgmorton: I think it matters, uh.... how fully the .... the neighbors are behind that, I mean,
not ... it doesn't have to be a vote or anything from the neighbors, uh, I had
promised them that we would address this topic before the start of December. So,
November the 21", uh.... I ..... I don't have any objection to pushin' it back a
meeting, but I .... I want to make sure that....
Mims: That it's more than just a couple people (several talking)
Botchway: I agree, I agree, but I just wanted to see if Council's.....o.... okay with possibly
doing that. Okay. I'll follow back up.
Throgmorton: Susan?
Mims: Uh, yeah, couple things. Want to thank staff, um, you know, from the City
Manager's office on down for the employee tailgate luncheon a week ago Friday.
I think everybody that was out there had a great time, good food, and just heard a
lot of staff members, you know, really express their appreciation (both talking)
Throgmorton: Don't say anything about me being stung on the tongue by a bee!
Mims: Oh, I didn't know anything about that!
Throgmorton: Oh! It was no fun at all! (laughter)
Botchway: You take pictures? (laughter)
Mims: Well, other than Jim's experience I guess, it was a really good time (laughs)
Great food, just nice to always sit down with staff and, you know, visit and ... so
that .... show our appreciation to them, so that was nice. Um.....Terry already
mentioned the historic presentation at the Englert. I think there were about four
of us there, but we didn't talk, Eleanor, so I think we were okay. Um, I know it's
been a week, but I just want to publicly, uh, express my appreciation to the people
in the Iowa City Community School District who voted in favor of the bond last
Tuesday. I think this is a huge issue, um, not only for the City of Iowa City, but
for .... for North Liberty and Coralville, people in the County who .... whose
children attend there. It's .... it's huge for us in terms of neighborhood
stabilization. It's huge in terms of economic development. Um, people who are
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thinking about moving here to work, thinking about, um, expanding or ... or
bringing businesses here. One of the ... the absolutely most important things they
look at is the school district as they investigate various geographic areas, and so I
just really .... I, you know, you mentioned earlier, John, you know, the plan may
not be perfect. I don't think any plan that big can ever be perfect, but literally,
you know, dozens if not hundreds of people spent thousands if not tens of
thousands of hours developing that facilities master plan, and as they kept saying,
you know, to this point it was on time, under budget, and um, we just have to, you
know, as community members, stay vigilant and .... and watch the progress and
make sure that, uh, what was promised is delivered, and I think it's just incredibly
important, so I just really want to take the time to say thank you to all the
community members who supported that. Um, if you have not seen the
advertisement you can actually go out and buy this, but I don't tend to do it that
way. PBS is showing, I think it's a 10 -part series, `The Vietnam War.' Started on
Sunday night. It was really good. And somebody had posted on Facebook and I
had to respond to it. Like in the first three minutes, I learned something that was
like `Why in the world did we ever get involved in thisT But it was ... it was
called `lack of sharing of information.' It was .... it was a piece of information by
a member of the United States OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA, which
wrote a very .... he'd spent a lot of time over there, wrote a detailed memo saying,
`This is unwinnable. Stay out of here. This .... this is ......... it got buried in a CIA
file or an OSS file. Never came to light for the President.....Eisenhower, etc.,
beyond that, but .... it's a really, really good series and as I say, I think it's 10 -part.
If you want to go out and buy it, it's on DVD, Blueray, um.....
Botchway: Just go over to your house and watch (several talking and laughing) But
I'm .... I'm watching it or taping it, you know, on the DVD for the next 10 weeks
or whatever, but Sunday nights at 7:00. I think it's every Sunday for the next
(several talking)
Throgmorton:... amazing visual (both talking)
Dilkes: ....Sunday through Thursday.
Mims: Oh! Well I missed it then.
Dilkes: For this week, and Sunday through Thursday (several talking)
Mims: Oh man! I'm already behind! I'm gonna have to .... now I'm gonna have to go
(several talking and laughing)
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Dilkes: They're streaming it too.
Mims: They're steaming it too? Okay, well I'll have to go .... it's on PBS. I'm gonna
have to go find the streaming, cause I ... I'm already behind! (laughs) Um .... and
then just a reminder, we have a MPO meeting tomorrow at 4:30 in this room.
Okay? So hope that .... Jim's not assigned to that. The other six of us are. Hope
everybody's here. If not make sure you get a substitute. (several talking) Thank
you!
Thomas: Just a follow up on Susan's mentioning of the bond. Just an image to share or
a .... an experience to share. You know, when the news, when we got the news the
night of the vote, um, Jackie Briggs in our neighborhood started driving around
honking her horn (laughter) so you know it....it was as if we won the World
Series or something, you know, I don't know, um, but .... but that's kind of
the .... the mood up on the Northside, that, urn ..... again, I .... I haven't been in Iowa
city that long, eight years, but you know, some folks who have lived in the
Northside have been struggling with the issue of Horace Mann for over 30 years.
So, um, this was a .... this was a huge night for ... for the Northside, as well as
neighborhoods throughout Iowa City.
Mims: We would have lost that building without this bond, I th.... I believe.
Thomas: It's very possible!
Taylor: I'd like to, uh, thank anybody and congratulate anybody, Geoff and anyone
involved with the, uh, Cyclocross this .... this past weekend. I think it was, again,
another successful event. Uh, I only attend on Sunday. I know I saw Simon and
Susan and Kingsley, uh, but met lots of folks from all across the country and
Iowa, and lot of Chicago folks! There must be a lot of bicycle enthusiasts from
Chicago, but it was fun to talk to them. Uh, and just, uh, I just got pumped up just
feeling the enthusiasm and the energy from the .... the crowd, as well as the
participants. To watch those folks, especially climbing the Mt. Crumpet hill
that's like oh my goodness. That's just amazing how they can do that. So ... and,
uh, hoping for being selected again next year. It's be wonderful!
Throgmorton: Did it make you want to bike up that hill?
Taylor: Yes it did! But I walked instead, but it was tough even walking it! (laughs)
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Throgmorton: That's pretty steep! (several talking) All right I'll just mention a few things
(several talking) Kingsley! Rockne! (several talking and laughing)
Botchway: The biggest thing is you just thought of Kingsley! (laughter)
Cole: Well hey! (several talking and laughing) It must be 9:15! (laughs) I'll make it
quick for once, in the way that I can ... um, I just wanted to congratulate all of the
School Board people that won, as well as the people that didn't. Um, I think
school boards..... Susan has served on School Board.
Mims: It's harder!
Cole: I .... oh my goodness! I have so much respect for every single one of the people
that serve, that try to run, and that participate. There was more passion, um, on
that ... in the School District.... it's an incredible amount of stress that they have to
endure, it's an incredible opportunity, um, and I'm just .... really commend
everyone that's taken the time to make that work, cause it's very difficult, and I
also encourage the community, let's be positive. They have a mandate. Let's
work with them. If they have concerns you can share that with `em. I really got
to know, uh, Ruthin and Jean at the Farmers Market. Lot of good conversations.
So I'm sure that they and Sean and JP, of course, are gonna be out in the
community, so let's address those concerns in a positive way, um, before, you
know, we get so mad at `em sometimes (laughs) So, uh, once again
congratulations and with Mann, I tell ya what, I walk.....I don't live in the
Northside, but I walk in the Northside all the time. I just cannot wait to see what
that looks like once it's actually built, and of course we'll get to see that with
Longfellow in September of 2018. So .... kudos all around! That was pretty short,
wasn't it?
Throgmorton: That was pretty good!
Cole: For me anyway. (laughter)
Throgmorton: Yeah, for you. (laughter) I'll mention just a few things. Uh, first it was a real
pleasure to attend Doug Boothroy's retirement celebration here on the l la'. Uh, a
well-deserved ... I don't know, ceremony for Doug.
Dickens: I saw him walkin' the streets right before this meeting so (laughter) He was
headed the other way! (laughter)
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Throgmorton: He told me he has plans. I don't know! (laughter) Uh, also want to mention that
our Economic Development Committee met on September the 15th and will meet
again on October the 10`h
Mims: No we won't.
Throgmorton: No?
Mims: I have to be out of town, so we're gonna have to change (both talking)
Throgmorton: Well like I said we're not gonna meet on the 10"' (laughter) Uh.... I and .... at least
one other Councilperson, I'm not sure who, are gonna be meeting with repres...
representatives of the neighborhood council on the 28th .... John! Okay, thanks.
And .... L ....I can't pass up the opportunity to congratulate the victors of the
September 12th School Board election, even though it's been said by, I don't
know, four or five other people. I eagerly look forward to working with J.P.
Claussen, Ruthina Malone, Janet Godwin, Sean Istone, and the other three
continuing Board Members over the next few years. I also want to congratulate
the very large number of people who voted on the School Board referendum. It
was a very large turnout, and that couples with a very decisive 65/35 vote to
provide much needed clarity for the coming years. That's a huge thing! So,
bravo to everybody who voted. Huge turnout, etc.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of September 19, 2017.