HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-19 Transcription Page 1
Item 1. Call to Order
Throgmorton: Welcome to your City Hallon this beautiful summer day! Oh wait a minute!
(laughter) It's not summer! But it was a beautiful day. I walked my dog out
there.....kind of lazied our way around the neighborhood. It was just a gorgeous
day. So,uh,welcome to all of you.....on.....at the end of this day. We have a
special presentation to make, and I'd like to ask Councilman Terry Dickens to
walk around the front, as if he was,uh, still in elementary school. (laughter)
Dickens: Oh oh! Goin' to the principal's office! (laughter and several talking in
background)
Throgmorton: (unable to hear) ....seven years, 11 months, and....19 days and....(laughter) Is
this on? So,uh,we want to congratulate you for your service to the City. Uh,
you've performed with great skill and diligence and all that, and I'll bet your
fellow City Councilpeople have some things to say. I don't know what they're
gonna say,but they'll say somethin' so.....anybody wanna make a comment or
two about Terry? (laughter and several talking in background)
Mims: I'll go last!
Taylor: Okay, I'll go first! I'll just say that I've really enjoyed serving with you. I've
learned a lot from you. It's always fun to look down....down the aisle and see
you smiling. You're always smiling, and it's been a pleasure to serve with you
knowing that your family has had that established business here in Iowa City for
what, 75 years is it now? You're just....70 years, at that....and that's just
amazing and....and your service to the Council, it's....you've been a great
part....a big member of the community for years and gonna miss you!
Thomas: It's been a pleasure working with you,Terry, and uh....you're a mensch to me
(laughs) You're a good guy, urn,that's.....that goes a long way in serving on
Council, so thank you for your time.
Botchway: I'm gonna miss the jokes(laughter) We have a,you know, a lot of,uh,
(mumbled)jokes and commentary,um,back and forth sometimes and just gonna
miss that and,you know, I I just appreciate, Terry,you know,that....I think
that of....out of all the Councilors, urn,the fact that many people can just stop in
your shop and....and talk to you, I think that, you know, it's.....it's a testament to
who you are and you're always smiling, urn,you're always, you know,ready to
have that chat. So just your.....you're an amazing guy, so appreciate it!
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Cole: Terry, I've observed you both from the podium and right off here to my elbow,
and you know when I think of what really represents the best of Iowa City in
terms of its history, in terms of civic service, in terms of small business. I learn
new things, like for example I didn't know that JFK appeared at the Jefferson
Building in 1961, 62. Um, but that's precisely why it's such a joy to have known
you. I think that you really represent the best that our community has to offer,
and you know some people say that I like to talk a little bit,urn,but you are
someone who listens, and you don't really say something unless you really have
thought carefully about what you're about to say. And so when you speak people
really listen and so I think your composure and the way you handle yourself in the
public has been just the right, uh, fit for this community. So I wish you the best in
retirement. Lay off those cigars (laughter) and uh (laughs) and I hope we can stay
in touch!
Throgmorton: I don't know if Geoff and Ashley and Eleanor, Kellie want to say something
(several talking) Oh, sorry, Susan! You did say last!
Mims: Well that's fine! Um.....it's been a fun eight years. You're deserting me though
(laughter and several talking) Yeah, Marian left us first and so.....(laughter and
several talking) No, it's....it's, uh, been a lot of fun. Terry and I ran together
twice in terms of, you know,being up for election at the same time, and urn,have
really enjoyed getting to know you and spending time together, and uh, you've
given a lot of service to this community. Um, I think as people said, not just on
this Council but,urn,just the work you do in the community and....and like
people said, with the store and it's a....we will still be coming in. We'll still
come in to complain. We'll still come in to (laughs) to swap stories. Um, but
you'll be missed up here. You'll be very much missed up here. But.....I'll be
seeing you around!
Throgmorton: So, Terry, you've probably noticed I have something in my hand. Yeah, so one of
your passions is......had to do with St. Patrick's Church and Frauenholtz-Miller
Park on the east side, and you've put a lot of energy into tryin' to make all that
happen, and.....as a consequence of that,what we have is a painting by Marcia
Wegman, right,uh, one of our local artists, of that park. I'll show it to all the
Councilpeople in just a second.....of the park looking towards St. Patrick's
Church, and uh, there's, uh.....what is this on the back? That's a certificate for
framing it, is that right? Yeah. Where? (unable to hear response) Oh, any place
you choose. So let me show it to the Councilpeople. They haven't seen it yet.
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(laughter and several talking) So....thanks for your great work......eight years of
service to the City. Uh, I hope you enjoy that.
Dickens: Thank you! (several talking) I'll wait till the end.
Throgmorton: How many days?
Dickens: (unable to hear) (several talking and laughing)
Throgmorton: Please join me in congratulating Terry for(unable to hear) (applause)
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Item 3. Community Comment(items not on the agenda) [until 8 pm]
Throgmorton: Anyone who would like to,uh.....uh, speak to us about any topic that's not on the
formal meeting agenda should feel free to do so now. Please take not more than
five minutes to say whatever it is that's on your mind, and....when you come up,
please state your name! Hello again!
Libby: Hi! My name's Bob Libby and I'm, uh, Chair of the, uh,Airport Commission,
and uh, like to introduce Chris, and Chris is gonna talk to you real quickly and
shortly about our, uh, strategic plan.
Ogren: I'm,uh, Chris Ogren. I'm also on the Airport Commission, and we made a slide
here.....which should......so....and I think this was in the packet you received last
week, but we're pleased to announce that we've completed our strategic plan and
we're....we're very pleased with the result, and it boils down to five goals, which
are listed on the slide here. Um,the first goal is to continue strong
communication with the City, and by the way, three of these five goals also relate
to,um, goals in the City Council's strategic plan. So we think that aligns nicely.
Continuing strong communication means among other things regular reports to
the City Council, tours of the Airport and facilities to City Council Members. I
don't know how many of you have done that, but we'd love to show you around
the Airport. um, as well as the City Manager's staff, and City department heads,
and another thing, um....with strong....related to strong communication is that
we're interested in communicating with the Parks and Rec Department about
possibly further developing the little viewing area we have next to the Airport.
Urn, little kids love airplanes and we want them to be welcome there,to....to
watch, and their parents (laughs) and other people too, but, urn, but we'd really
like to develop that area in conjunction with the Parks Department. Goal two is
developing and maintaining funding mechanisms, which includes regularly
reviewing and revising, urn,the Airport's sources of revenue,um, and applying
for federal, state, and private funding, of course. Um, and goal three....is
increasing the use of the Airport. We'd like to see more people in the Iowa City
Airport....or Iowa City area regularly at our Airport. So we'd like to develop and
imp....implement(mumbled)planning to,um, a marketing plan that involves
communicating with pilots in the area, with area businesses and residents, and
with people who might be future pilots and encouraging them to take lessons, um,
and we're also planning a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Iowa City
Airport for next June. Urn,the Iowa City Airport is the oldest airport west of the
Mississippi still operating in the same location, and it'll be a hundred years in
2018 and we think that's a pretty big deal, and we'd like to celebrate it and use
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that also as a way to make the Airport more visible in the community. Goal four
is maintaining the safety and aesthetic appeal of the Airport infrastructure. So
related to that is that viewing area I mentioned. Also, um, working with or
advocating for continuing the sidewalk down Riverside Drive there toward the
Airport. There isn't good sidewalk now if you wanted to ride your bike to the
Airport or something. We have plans to paint Airport hangars, and to improve
landscaping. Um, and finally, goal five is implementing the master plan, um,
which involves a plan for short-term capital projects and, um, developing them as
funds become available. So we're happy to answer questions, but you have the
strategic plan also in your materials. So....are there any questions?
Throgmorton: I was wondering about one thing, Chris. It addresses...it has to do with the first
item on your list. I....I wonder if you've tried to reach out to the School District
to find ways to connect with the diverse array of kids that live in our city and
invite them to come out to the Airport, learn what's goin' on there,just get a sense
that in fact there is an airport in Iowa City(both talking)
Ogren: That's a terrific idea! Yeah (both talking)
Throgmorton: I know a Councilperson you could talk to if you(laughter)
Ogren: (laughing) Maybe we will! No, that's a great idea, cause it's....it's right there,
and if.....if the kids' families don't know about it, they might not have ever even
been to the Airport in Iowa City, but no, that's great, and maybe get them for the
100t anniversary too. We're gonna have rides for, urn, kids, free rides, and all
sorts of displays. We want to have, urn, planes from each decade the Airport has
been in existence, if we can do that, and we probably can. There's a lot around.
So we're excited about that.
Libby: (mumbled) talk to you when you come out to visit(laughter)
Throgmorton: Good idea, yeah (several talking) Be a great thing to go out and check out the
Airport.
Botchway: I just want to briefly say I think you're doing amazing things, you know I think
that for me at least coming on Council and thinking about an airport in Iowa City,
it just didn't make sense to me at the time, uh, when I first came on Council. I'll
be honest with you, it wasn't like my....my top priority to talk about, urn, but I
think that things that you have done,urn,just some of the community engagement
activities that I participated in, speaking of, you know, um, young, you know, son
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that, you know,had an opportunity to see some of the different planes and things
that are a part of some of the, urn, the....either the pancake breakfast or some of
the other things you do. I can't remember a particular name of the one that I'm
thinking of off the top of my head, but I....I'm just really supportive of that
community engagement piece. I recently....I think, Susan, you were there,
recently went to an event there.....
Mims: Shelter House.
Botchway: ....Shelter House (several talking) that was like phenomenally lit,urn,just....just
so surprised of the different uses from a community engagement standpoint. So,
continue the work, urn,just kudos. Thank you.
Ogren: Well that's good to hear, and yeah,there's a meeting room above the main
terminal in the Airport that anyone can rent out, and there's no charge for that.
You just have to sign up for it. It's a nice little, you know maybe a meeting of 20
or so people or a few more. It's a....it's a really great room. So yes,
come....come to the Airport(laughs)
Mims: Well and I think this is great,because I think a lot of people, because it's not a
commercial airport where people go, and you know, they bought their ticket and
they're getting on a commercial airline, a lot of people don't even go, because
they don't really know what's there, where can they go, where can't they go, you
know, those sorts of things. So I think the more, you know, we can get that word
out, and as people are there for other kinds of events and get on the property and
kind of see things, I think that's very beneficial to the public.
Taylor: And I'd like to commend ya for your work on the strategic plan. Just looking
back on the minutes that were given to us. Months....it took you months and
really hard work, and the fact that it, uh, so coordinates with the City's strategic
plan is....is really wonderful that it all fell into place, and I....I'm looking forward
to the 100-year celebration and I think....and that was one of your other goals is
to increase the, uh, community knowledge about the Airport, and I think that'll be
a good time to do that, and so I look forward to that.
Ogren: Great!
Dickens: Can we get another jet at the entrance? (laughter) (several talking)
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Ogren: We did....a couple years ago we did clean that one up some, but yeah, if you
wanna spring for it, we'd love (laughter) (several talking)
Throgmorton: Thanks so much! Keep up the great (several talking) Anyone else want to
address us on any topic that's not on the agenda? Good evening!
Routh: Good evening. Do I put this on here? Is that how that works?
Throgmorton: Sure!
Routh: My name is Laura Routh. I live in a single-family home in the Longfellow
neighborhood, at 828 Dearborn Street. My home happens to be in the prevailing
flight path of the Iowa City Airport. I am here this evening to share with you I
guess the countervailing opinion, um, which is my discomfort at the process by
which the Airport Commission engaged in strategic planning, including how they
solicited public input for their strategic plan, and the process by which they
submitted that plan to you last week,but then proceeded to come and present to
you this week. Uh, I feel that they've largely omitted the negative comments that
they received from the final narrative of the plan, and they've done nothing to
plan for or mitigate the negative impacts of increased activity at the Airport. I
attended several Airport Commission meetings during their planning process. I
provided both verbal and written comments, as well as participated in the
community survey,which....it must be said was only available to the public for a
very brief period of time. I do not feel that the resulting plan reflects the level of
concern that I and others raised and shared with the Airport Commission about
the Airport's impacts on neighborhoods, particularly as it relates to flight noise
and low elevation entry into airspace over our homes. The Airport Commission's
planning process was, in my estimation, fairly disingenuous. It was intended only
to shore up the Airport's agenda, which seems to be to maximize the number and
size of aircraft using the Airport, and increase the number of landings and takeoffs
occurring to maximize the gallons of aviation fuel sold. The fixed-based operator
even bragged in one Airport Commission meeting about how the Iowa City
Airport had the cheapest av fuel around. Note that the fixed-base operator gets a
cut out of every sale for every gallon of fuel that goes out of that airport. So just
what I wanted, to have our Airport be the Casey's of av fuel so that my china
cupboard rattles uncontrollably several times every single day as jet traffic
continues to increase. And now the Airport Commission's choice,to passively
submit to you tonight their resulting strategic plan, without its submittal being
posted as part of this meeting's agenda, nor including the plan itself in the City
Council's meeting packet, so as to ensure that there would be virtually no public
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notice or comment. It seems further evidence in my mind of their disinterest in
open public dialogue about concerns related to noise and flight impacts to the
health and well-being of property owners in the flight path. I am frustrated and
disappointed with the City. I expected better. I don't trust the Airport
Commission to protect my neighbor.....my neighborhood, and I don't think their
strategic plan is worth the paper that it's written on. I challenge you to hold the
Airport Commission and the Airport itself to account. I would ask you to ask
them to at least respect the voices of property owners in neighborhoods whose
health and well-being the Airport's activities affect. Subverting the process to
avoid public critique is unacceptable. While what they have done may be legal
and the,uh, Assistant City Attorney did in fact inform of that this afternoon when
I contacted him about the agenda for this meeting. It stinks. It's bad public
process and it engenders public distrust. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Laura. That deserves some reflection. Anyone else like to address
this topic....not this topic.....any other topic that's not on the formal meeting
agenda. All right. (unable to hear person speaking away from mic) Sure! Please
come up! (unable to hear person speaking away from mic) Well I'll tell ya if you
are. Don't worry about it! (laughter) Just state your name and, you know....
Teagle: David Teagle, and...we have for....we live on Davenport Street, and we had
gotten a letter in the mail, um, somethin' about they wanted to switch parking,
north/south sides of the street.
Barnett: It's odd, or it's every other day now and they want to make it.....cause the road's
only 29-feet wide. Is this on the agenda(both talking)
Throgmorton: Yeah, can you stop for a second? Is this on the Consent Calendar? This
particular.....
Taylor: The Davenport one was.
Fruin: Yes it is. It was, uh, part of the Consent Calendar and correspondence. The 1200
block of East Davenport Street,between (several talking)
Throgmorton: I think you should still be able to speak about it, but uh, it was on our Consent
Calendar, uh....which is a....a way that we a....address a lot of topics at....at one
time. (several talking) (laughter) Yeah, so please express your concern or.....
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Teagle: Well we have kind of multiple concerns about this. As I...um, I've bought
multiple properties around that area and then...we've....
Barnett: I live on the corner of Reno and Davenport. Point is we have six kids there and
people drive way too fast through that and so I park two cars there specifically so
people would slow down cause we have six kids between us and we taught 'em
all how to ride bicycles and play football and all that in the yards and they run
across the street. Well there's a lot of older folks that come flyin' up there at 40
miles an hour and don't slow down at all and one of our kids is gonna get killed if
we don't.....and just by me moving my car, um, to one side of the street's not
gonna matter if this is fast or not. Right there on Reno needs to be a stop sign
and/or.....the parking situation's not the issue. It's because these people have to
slow down to get through that. We've seen huge motor homes come by that go
tailgating that can drive through the two cars, but I park two cars there just so
people will slow down in the evenings so we can play in the....in the street and
teach our kids how to ride bicycles.
Teagle: Just more of a conscious thing that, you know, if you have two cars parked there,
that obviously it just slows everyone down just enough to where 25 is the speed
limit, but....being it's dea...a dead-end street to the park, you really don't need to
be going more than 25 miles an hour because there....you're not going through,
you're not travelin' through town. This is a neighborhood that you.....we're
tryin' to keep everyone down to begin with. So....
Barnett: Really what they're tryin' to do is put all the parking either on the north side or
the south side, one of the two (both talking) happens to be I'm the only one that
parks on the south side because I live right there on the corner of Reno and
Davenport. And I don't think that it needs to be on that side of the street. They
need to put stop signs in or some slow, uh, children at play type things so people
are aware of what's going on instead of just goin' 40 to 45. There's another way
to get around by going around on Bloomington Street. If you really want to go
that fast, go that way, you know what, don't come down our street then,
because...just to switch the side because I park my cars there....on two sides, I
have two cars that I park there, so you have to go slow through there doesn't
mean that you need to make it so I can't park on my side of the street every time I
wanna park my car next to my house. But....that's really what this is about, and
then I got some.....
Teagle: We all got letters. (both talking) ....in that little (both talking) block-long, you
know, we all got letters just in that block-long, which....doesn't(both talking)
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Barnett: ....me parking my cars there to slow these people down, they're gonna make all
the parking on the I think it's the south side (several talking) so now it's gonna
be on the wrong side of where I even park so it's just.....it just doesn't make any
sense. Cause it's not like the kids are leavin' their cars there for the semester and
we have to deal with towing. Nobody parks on this street cause everybody else,
besides my house, has a....a driveway or a garage. Mine just happens to be....my
lot's so big that I have to park clear down here and walk all the way around to get
into my house,but if I can park right next to my house, I shoot in my back door
and it's not a big deal.
Throgmorton: Okay, I.....I think I need to do a couple formalities. I'm not sure you stated your
names. I.....I didn't
Teagle: I had originally, David Teagle.
Throgmorton: Teagle.
Barnett: Andy Barnett.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Andy, uh, and it seems to me that this is something we need staff to
look into and see if there....check the process and all that kind of thing. And
provide, uh, David and Andy with some feedback a....about it and if we need to
change somethin', uh, we need to know what we need to do, you know....
Teagle: We just know that we had gotten the letter and....and I'm assuming we all did,
from that block, got the letter, but at the same time, I'm not sure how that letter or
how that complaint came about, but then yeah, we do have the signature of the
entire....
Barnett: ....block, saying they don't want to change it and I've got that in my pocket if
you'd like that.
Teagle: So it's just more of a....you know.....we just wanted to at least voice, you know,
that basically the entire street, plus some, is.....would be.....just kind of left alone,
I mean it's.....where, you know, go another two blocks well you're into, you're
into college students that leave their cars for the semester and becomes an
absolute hassle which we get that, but....on the other side of that is taxpayer and
....that's not the case. It's, you know, homeowners.....so.....
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Throgmorton: Sure. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Teagle: Okay.
Fruin: David and Andy, if you could provide your phone number or email,best way to
reach ya, to Simon over here, uh, we'll follow up with ya, uh,tomorrow or next
day (both talking)
Bamett: ......how it went from being, we get a letter in the mail to....we're changing this to
you can only park on one side of the street....we don't know how that happened.
Fruin: We'll look into it and we'll....we'II help you sort it out, okay?
Teagle: Perfect! Thank you. (several talking)
Throgmorton: Thank you. Anyone else want to address a topic that's not on the formal meeting
agenda? All right, seeing no one we're gonna turn to Item 4, Planning and
Zoning Matters.
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Item 4. Planning and Zoning Matters
Item 4a Zoning code amendment- Ordinance amending Title 14, "Zoning
code,Article 5b "Sign Regulations" to broaden the sign allowance and
illumination requirements for institutional uses in residential,ID and OPD
zones and to allow plastic trim cap channel letters for signs above the 5th
story on high rise buildings
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: So let me open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Jann!
Ream: Good evening! Um,this is kind of a....catch-all, some minor amendments to the
sign code, that, um,based on input that I received from,urn,various,urn,
institutions and people asking questions about the kind of signage that they would
be allowed. Urn, we....uh,realize there are some shortcomings, um, with,uh, our
sign code and this is kind of clean-up amendments to try and,um, alleviate those
issues. So the first issue was,urn, I had....for some reason I had had several
religious institutions contact me about allowable signage. And as I looked
through it, even though I've been enforcing the sign code now for 19 years, I
really realized that,um, especially in our single-family zones,the allowance
seemed woefully,um, small. So right now our current sign code, if you're in a
single-family zone and you're a church,you're only allowed one sign, and if that
sign is on the building, it's only allowed to be four-square feet. And if you have a
monument sign, you know, a non-building sign, it's allowed to be 12-square feet.
So I was getting, for instance St. Andrews was coming to me wondering what
kind of signage they could have. If you think about a typical church wall,uh, for
a sanctuary, it's a very large wall and to say....oh my gosh, you can have a four-
square foot sign on it and that's it,that's what you get. Um, and....and as an
aside, we don't, uh,we've never counted crosses as signage. Uh,this would be
like the name of the church or something. So,uh, what the amendment is doing is
it's a very....it's not like a huge incremental change,but it does allow these
institutions two signs, so they'd be allowed to have the name as a....of the church
or the institution, on the building wall,plus a small monument sign in the yard.
So we're increasing....we're allowing them the two signs. We're increasing the
size to 12-square feet on the....on the wall, and a 12-foot square monument sign.
And then as a, kind of an addition to that, urn, I had two,uh, requests from the
Newman Center and from Gloria Dei, which are PRM zones. PRM zone right
near our downtown,uh, on Dubuque Street,uh, and they wanted internal
illumination. They just wanted to be able to light their sign from the inside.
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Residential zone.....wasn't allowed. It just seemed reasonable in these type....
types of zones to allow that. There's very few PRM zones in Iowa City. This is
the only one that has institutional uses in it on the Dubuque Street corridor, and
the other two PRM zones, urn near the, on the west side near the University,
has no institutional uses and the one south of Burlington will most likely get
rezoned to Riverfront Crossings if they're ever redeveloped. And then the last,
um, sort of clean-up amendment is, if you remember when we did that huge sign
code change, um, last year, we were focusing mainly on our pedestrian-oriented
downtown, and we had decided that for pedestrian-oriented signs on our
downtown store facades we wanted signage that was more appropriate to....
that....experiencing that at a pedestrian level. In other words we didn't need
huge, um, internally lit channel letters when you're standing five feet in front of
the entrance. Um, what we didn't sort of count on was that we reference, uh,
signage in our Riverfront Crossings zones to the CB-10 zone. And as we're all
aware, we're getting some very large high-rise buildings in our Riverfront
Crossings zones and I started getting input from the Hyatt, urn, from the Hilton,
from, uh, our Sheraton is going to be rebranding soon, urn....wanting to brand
their buildings, urn, and the....the most common way is with that plastic trim-cap
letter. That's the most ubiquitous form of....of large channel letters that...and
they are used as wayfinding signs and larger signs for vehicular traffic. So....our
best solution was to allow those,but only on these high-rise buildings, and only
above the fifth floor, so they don't affect that pedestrian, uh, interaction. So that's
basically what's in front of you. So if you have questions?
Mims: I thought these looked like reasonable changes.
Cole: I just had one clarification on illumination for the church signs. Could you
comment a little bit on that? Does this allow essentially more illumination, and if
so, how much more in....in thecause a lot of these churches are in residential
neighborhoods too.
Ream: Well remember we're only talking about the PRM zone. That's the only place
that this would be changed. And, um, in....in.....our blanket ordinance for signs
in residential zones is no internal illumination. Uh, they can be externally
illuminated with the spotlights. That's....that's okay, but no internal illumination.
So in both of these cases, the sign is only allowed to be.....12.....24-square feet in
a PRM zone for a monument sign. And, um.....the people at these institutions
made a very good case in terms of wanting more visibility for their....for their
institution. And again, you know, you think about coming down Dubuque Street,
um, once you're at Market Street, you're kind of coming into our downtown area,
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urn, on the.....if you're heading into the downtown, on the left-hand side you're
starting getting....to get into businesses, urn, and then you're at the University.
So in terms of impact on the actual residential neighborhoods, I think it would be
negligible.
Throgmorton: So, Jann, I know the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7-
0, but if I remember rightly, some of the Commissioners expressed some
reservations during the discussions at least. Uh, were those reservations a....
addressed? Did they result in changes in what....what's actually before us now?
Ream: Well they were addressed. Urn, so they....and it was the....the, um, plastic trim-
cap letters on the high-rise buildings, and there was some concern about light
pollution and how that affected, urn......everybody, right, and, urn, so what I did is
I....kind of did a....a tour,um, of viewsheds to these buildings and, urn, what I
discovered was very interesting, is that even though, you know, when you see the
architectural elevations of these tall high-rise buildings, you know, they're
showing these huge towers and you have this perfect line of sight to this huge
tower, um, but when you're actually on the ground, either as a pedestrian or in a
vehicle,that is not the case. Urn, as you.....as you travel down a road, urn, you
will find that viewshed,urn,blocked of these very tall buildings, quite effectively.
I was.....I was surprised, urn, both by intervening buildings, by vegetation, urn,
that......for instance if you turn on....if you're turning onto Gilbert Street off of
Highway 6 and you're heading north, and you look in front of you, the Rise
building is incredibly prominent. It's.....it's right there. You drive two blocks up
to Kirkwood and it's almost completely obscured. You don't see it. And....and
as you travel down Kirkwood, you.....you'll see, all of a sudden you'll see a
glimpse of the Hilton come and you travel another half block and it's gone again.
So, in terms of the affect that this high-rise signage is gonna have on, urn, Iowa
City citizens, yes there will.....there will be, you know, occasions that I'm sure
somebody.....you know.....if they're up at a.....if they live at a higher elevation
can look out their bathroom window and see a sign on the....on the Hyatt, you
know, there's......that's gonna happen. But in terms of.....of a.....of an impact,
every day impact on the majority of the....of the populous of Iowa City, I....I
don't think having the signage on these tall buildings is....is going to have a large
impact. And, you know, people use these signs for wayfinding, as they're coming
into a city and they're looking for their hotel. I know I do when I'm in a large
city and I'm trying to find a hotel. Urn, the idea of them not being able to brand
their buildings, urn, you know, as I was expressing to sign contractors who were
asking me about this, you know, I'm saying well.....yeah I know you....I know
you use these letters on.....your buildings all over the country but.....but not here,
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not yet (laughs) so, urn....and I think......I think the the members of P&Z were,
urn, fine, you know, I think once that was explained and, um, I gave 'em a little
slide show. I have that here if you.....if you're interested in seeing that,
but....um, as you.....as you kind of travel through and you can see how things are
obscured.
Throgmorton: May.....maybe you could bring that in at the second reading.
Ream: Okay! I mean I have it here now but....it's up to you.
Botchway: Could we add it to the packet? Or the.....
Dilkes: Slide show?
Botchway: Add it to (clears throat) to the correspondence?
Dilkes: I....I don't know if you can put it in that form. Can you put the pictures in the
packet, you mean?
Fruin: Yeah, we can just.....we can add it to your packet for your second reading.
(several talking)
Throgmorton: ....do that. Okay, any other questions for Jann? Thank you. Would anyone else
like to address this topic? All right, seeing no one, are you folks inclined to vote
in accordance with the Planning and Zoning Commission? Yeah, okay. So I'm
gonna close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Could I have a motion please?
b) Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration)
Botchway: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call
please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 5. UniverCity Sale—521 South Governor. Resolution authorizing conveyance of
a single family home located at 521 South Governor Street
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: I'm gonna open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) So that anyone can speak to
this topic if they want to. Seeing no one I'll close the public hearing. (bangs
gavel)
b) Consider a Resolution
Thomas: Move resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? I love these buildings.
Somebody has to say that, cause it happens every time we have one of these on
our agenda. So....uh, actually saw the Fire Department, couple of our
firefighters, working on a building on North Lucas Street just a few days ago. Uh,
it was a building that's now a UniverCity house and they were just in there doing
some sort of.....dry practice (laughs) No fire. No water, you know,just
practicing and various things. Okay, that's irrelevant to the motion at hand
though. So any further discussion?
Dickens: Next one'll be number 60, so this is 59.
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Dickens: It's pretty impressive.
Throgmorton: It is pretty impressive. Okay, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 6. Happy Hollow Park Restroom and Shelter Replacement 2018 -Approving
plans, specifications, form of agreement, and estimate of cost for the
construction of the Happy Hollow Park Restroom and Shelter Replacement
2018 Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid,
directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for
receipt of bids
a) Public Hearing
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Juli....and good
evening, urn.....
Morris: Kumi Morris. I'm the Facility Manager.
Throgmorton: Kumi! Thank you! My bad.
Seydell-Johnson: Um,this is a project you've seen once before. We put this out to bid earlier
last summer. Uh, bids came in very high so we rejected them at that point. Urn,
we're gonna go through some changes, minor changes that we've made to....to
hopefully bring the cost down a little bit,but we think that really more the bidding
climate this time of year will make it possible that we get this project in at a price
that we can accept, urn, and get going on it. So, Happy Hollow, 800 Brown
Street. One of our more historic parks, but as you can see the....the current
restroom and shelter building is not very historic. Um, a lot of what we've done
in the design of the replacement has to do with the neighborhood in which this
park sits. Um, it's been through Historic Preservation Commission, urn, to get all
their feedback and approvals on this. And with that I'll let Kumi explain some of
the changes this time.
Morris: Sure, so....we have about.....about five changes. One is the schedule. So we are,
um, looking at bidding it in winter construction. What we found from talking to
the contractors that bid it the last time, we bid it in June, and we tried to complete
it by October. Urn, we found that many of them added, urn, substantial liquidated
damages to try to meet that deadline. So we....we'll find that by bidding it at this
time in the year we'll reduce some of that cost. So that's one thing. Urn, the
second thing that we're doing is we're, urn, going to a different gauge and
material. We do have to keep it as a metal, flat panel with a standing seam to
meet Historic Preservation guidelines for that neighborhood, but by going to a
lighter gauge, we can still maintain, um, the requirements for Historic
Preservation Commission as well. Um, the third thing that we're doing is we are
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changing the material of the actual, um....um,timber material in the shelter
structure. What we found was that the restroom pricing came in what we were
expecting to see for that....for that portion of the, um, of the facilities. The shelter
structure, however, was, um, substantially higher and what we found was that the
glulam was,um, the major,um, issue in terms of the cost. So by changing the glu
....going from glulam to regular timber construction, urn, which still meets
Historic Preservation, um, Commission's guidelines in having it be, urn, sealed,
um, stained and sealed will,urn, reduce that cost of the shelter to about$30,000.
So we're going to look at that as well. And, urn, we are looking at options for the
com connections. We found that that was actually not as, um, that cost was not
as, um, predominant as was early....earlier indicated to us by the consultant. Um,
they were saying that, you know, we would see a substantial cost from going
from, um, from....um, concealed to exposed fasteners. We found that that was
pretty minimal actually, that cost change was between....from contractors, was
between 2,500 to about $4,000. So we'll probably still go with the con....
concealed if the bids come in appropriately.
Seydell-Johnson: It's being bid as an alternate so the bid documents have it as exposed, um, with
the concealed being as an alternate so we can get the actual difference in price.
Morris: And the last thing that we're doing is we have an alternate for the fascia material
around the column base. So it's a.....so we have concrete base, urn, columns and
then we are looking at,um, a split face, um, finish or, urn, or limestone. Any
other questions?
Thomas: Are the....the drawings (clears throat) with the, uh, City Clerk? Is that....I'd like
to look at the drawings. I....I believe they're.....
Seydell-Johnson' ....plans, yes.
Thomas: Okay. And I....I'd also like to, urn, if I could, see.....before the City awards the
project, to, uh, see what the bids are, if....if, I mean I like the format that we're
using. We have a base bid and then we have the alternates. Uh, one....one thing
I'd like to explore with the neighborhood is if we were to do any fundraising in
the neighborhood to....to, uh, if....if we should need to, to include one or both of
the alternates, that I'd like to know it beforehand, before we....you decide how to
go with the project.
Seydell-Johnson: (mumbled) bids on February 6, so we'll be in....can be in touch right after
(both talking)
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Thomas: Okay.
Throgmorton: Any other questions?
Seydell-Johnson: Should mention, our hope is that this will be constructed yet....or constructed
early in the spring and open for next summer. We realize that's....the
neighborhood has been patient with us (laughs) and....I hope anyway, urn, so we
really hope to get it done(mumbled)
Fruin: Juli and Kumi, can I clarify on the dates real quick. You have an award date of
February 6th. Is that the Council meeting date?
Seydell-Johnson: Oh, I'm sorry, you.....you are correct. So bids opening is January 30`h. So,
and then we would hope to....to award it(mumbled)
Fruin: Okay, so,John, we can touch base with you. We typically....we'll open those
bids in the afternoon, on the....on Tuesday the 30t of January. Urn, we can....we
just need to make sure we touch with you on the....touch base with you on the
3151 cause the packet for the meeting in which this would be awarded would go
out the next day on the first.
Thomas: Okay.
Throgmorton: Any other questions? Okay, hearing none, thank you so much. Anyone else want
to address this topic? Seeing no one I'm going to close the public hearing.
(bangs gavel)
b) Consider a Resolution
Botchway: Move resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. Discussion?
Mims: Just glad to see it going forward and hope we get a better price(laughs) cause it
was pretty high last time. (laughs) So....
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Throgmorton: Yeah, me too, and it's....a lovely park and I think the shelter will (both talking) as
proposed will really enhance it and there's actually a gorgeous tree right next to
that playground, play equipment, that is one of my favorite trees in the whole city.
So....the shelter will fit with it quite nicely. All right, any further discussion?
Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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Item 8. Rental Permit Requirements - Ordinance amending Title 17, entitled
"Building And Housing," Chapter 5, entitled "Housing Code," to establish a
rental permit cap and to strengthen the minimum requirements for rental
housing (Pass and Adopt)
Mims: Move adoption.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? I don't know, there may
be someone in the audience who would like to address this? All right, I don't see
anyone. So Council discussion?
Mims: I would just say I want to thank staff for all the work they've done over the
past....six, seven, eight months to get us something that we can have in place
before the first of the year, urn,with the moratorium ending. I think one thing
that's really important as we look at this, urn, I really....(mumbled) like the term,
but living document. I think this is something that we really....um, have to look
at and pay attention to and maybe come back and make adjustments and tweaks,
um, as we go along. I know....I think both Jim and I had conversations with....
with an individual in terms of some of the exceptions and, you know,people who
are getting ready to retire and, you know,maybe had some plans and now see the
value of their house going down because they're not going to be able to rent it.
Um, I'm not saying we can accommodate all those. I'm not suggesting that, but I
think we have to kind of look at some of those things and as we go along look at
what our exceptions are, urn,make sure that the exceptions that are in place make
sense, that they work in terms of helping us,urn, with that neighborhood stability,
urn, yet at the same time, um, serve the property owners and residents of those
areas as well as possible. So, I guess just having said that, I....I see us coming
back and, you know, kind of reviewing and tweaking as we get more input down
the line, so....
Cole: I would echo what Susan had said. I liked your concept of the living document,
because I think as this process goes forward, I....I think we're one of the first in
the state of Iowa to employ such a system in terms of rental permit restrictions, is
that right, Eleanor?
Dilkes: We're the first.
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Cole: The first. So what I would encourage the people that, you know, don't like this is
that, you know, they work with us and that they communicate with us and they....
and they work with our staff, and they give us information, because I think that
that to me,um, I think I may have talked to the same person you did in terms of
the retirement issue, urn, let's try to make this ordinance as.....as good as we
possibly can while at the same time maintaining the integrity of what we're trying
to do, which is diversity of housing types. We want every different type of
housing type, long-term, short-term, and medium-term residents in our
neighborhood, and we think that's what this will accomplish. So I'm hoping,the
critics out there, I know there's gonna be some, that they'll engage us, that
they'll....you know, and maybe we won't offer these changes, but I think the
living document I think is....is definitely something that I think resonates with
me.
Thomas: Yeah, there....I think there are with anything of this magnitude there're going to
be some unintended consequences and uh, you know, I think we're beginning to
hear about that. Um, and so yes, we will be needing to refine and....and look at
those exceptions and....and see, you know, how we can address those unintended
consequences where they've arisen. Um, there has been some discussion, uh, in
the media, you know, over our....consideration of this. You know I would like to
remind those who have concerns with it that, you know, this is....this is a
complex issue. We're trying to achieve stability while diversity within our
neighborhoods. Um, we....the City is working, I think, in concert with the
University in terms of building,uh, additional student housing, urn, as we....we
had in a previous memo over the next....well now and over the next couple of
years, something like 4,000 additional beds being built within a mile of, uh,
the....the main campus. Uh, there will be,um, I think there's been a little bit of
misinformation on this, not intended to be misinformation, but there will actually
be an increase in the amount of....of beds, if not units, in the core neighborhoods
because of the lifting of the, um, you know, of the....of the occupancy cap. So
we're not.....there are a couple ways of looking at this. It isn't simply units. It
can be occupancy and...and the occupancy at least in some of the units will be
increasing. So,um, you know, again, my hope, as in many of the things we deal
in....with in Council is how can we strike a balance. There....there are lots of
different points of view that come to this. Uh, Comprehensive Plan
acknowledged the imbalance. This is what we're try.... trying to address, and
um, you know, there will be refinements as we move forward.
Botchway: I would echo a lot of the comments (clears throat) excuse me! I would echo a lot
of the comments that have been, uh, stated previously, uh,just proud of staff s
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work and flexibility on this, urn, there's gonna be a lot of concerns, you know,
urn, corning out from this and so, you know, we're gonna, you know, obviously
bear with you and work with you on that. Uh, I am worried about, you know, urn,
some....I think the same person talked to maybe all of us. Uh, I'm worried about
the media piece on this. I'm not necessarily throwing blame at the media, but uh,
you know, this kind of goes back to, you know, some concern I have with, you
know, how information gets out and I don't....I'm not blaming anybody, I'm just
saying that this particular person felt like, you know, they didn't know about the
information until just now and that's the unfortunate piece about how our....how
our communication works, urn,but we gotta think about how we can do better or
what we can do better, and I think that more concerns will come out from this as
we, you know, finalize this agreement. Uh, I would like to revisit it again, um,
you know....I agree with Susan from a living document standpoint, um, I also
think that as we think about some of the HGC recommendations and....not
necessarily related to this but as we think about, um, the affordable housing
conversation, I think it's important to kind of think about how this is gonna affect
that, um, and what that looks moving forward. Urn, and then I do think, you
know, lastly some of this conversation needs to happen at the ballot box, and so
ultimately I think that we're, um, you know, obviously not 'we,' but there was
staff responded to some changes that happened at the legislature. Urn, I know that
unfortunately based on kind of our structure of government, a lot of the concerns
come here, um, and not necessarily to the legislature, and I think that's a....that's
a fortunate situation,but I think that some of that needs to, you know,be that, um,
happen next year, uh, considerably, cause I think that it's, again, staff worked
hard,urn, and with, you know, some issues that came before us previously to
work some of those things out and change on the dime, um, so I'm proud of that
and I....I just think that,urn,we need to have a little more comprehensive
conversation when we're talking about this issue.
Throgmorton: Anyone else?
Mims: I....I would just make one last really quick comment, because I think this has
been unclear to a lot of people in the public, and that this ordinance only applies
to single-family and duplex structures. This does not apply to three-plex, four-
plex, 16 apartment buildings, whatever. This is only to single-family and duplex
structures that this applies to. Also, we are not taking anybody's rental permit
away. Urn, the same things will be in place. I....I think it does, and I think we've
talked about this, um, potentially stepping up our enforcement in terms of
nuisance properties. Um, I think this kind of puts that warning on....on landlords
that they need to really take heed of....of how they're managing their properties
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and....and the expectations they're putting on their tenants. Or based on, uh,
new....multiple nuisance complaints,they could potentially lose a rental permit,
and if they're in an area where it's already over the cap, they wouldn't be able to
get it back. So, um,but we're not taking any away. If people lose 'em it's gonna
be because of their own action or inaction, and again, it's only single-family and
duplex,which I don't know what percentage those make up of all the units, but...
there're certainly a whole lot of big apartment buildings in this town.
Taylor: And also reminding those individuals in the single-family homes, that's the
concerns I've heard that they try to sell their home and it's not selling and so
they're....the other option is to rent it and in that case there is a clause that they
can be allowed to rent that for a certain period of time and people need to be
aware of that.
Throgmorton: Right. Okay, I wanna say just a few words that will echo some of what others
have said. We need to adopt this ordinance to ensure that all of our
neighborhoods, especially those that are located within walking distance of the
University and the downtown, remain healthy, safe, livable, and stable for all
residents. I recognize that concerns have been raised about possible adverse
effects on the affordability of housing,but I believe we can accomplish the
objectives of this ordinance while still taking effective action to improve the
affordability of rental housing for students and other residents. I don't think
they're mutually exclusive, and as long as we work together and try to figure out
where the....where the intersects are, we can, uh, we can figure it out. And as, uh,
as two or three other people have said, amendments are definitely going to be
necessary on this over time because it is a very complicated thing and staff had to
do great work to even invent the steps that we're taking, but for now we need to
get the new ordinance on the books. Okay, further comment, anybody? Roll call
please. Motion carries and the ordinance is adopted 7-0.
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Item 10. Council Appointments. Applicants MUST reside in Iowa City and be 18
years of age unless specific qualifications are stated.
Item 10a Parks and Recreation Commission
Throgmorton: We have...we have two sets of vacancies here. So we have two vacancies to fill
four-year terms, and we have eight applicants. Uh, we need to appoint two people
and no gender balance is needed. Correct? Then we also have, uh, one vacancy
to fill a four-year term, and again, eight, but it'll soon be six, applications to fill
that one position. And the gender balance required for that one position depends
on what we do with regard to the first two positions (laughs) Okay! So, uh,
whata y'all think in terms of the first two positions?
Taylor: Well I think, urn, in regards to Angie Smith, I think, uh, obviously we thought she
was good enough to,urn, appoint her to the partial unexpired term in March and I
think that we should give her the opportunity to,um, have a full term.
Throgmorton: Yeah, I....I certainly agree. Yeah, any objection to that? (several responding)
All right, uh, so, uh, we should address, uh, I think Clay Claussen's application.
Clay has been the chair for the past seven years. He's just finishing his eighth
year, two consecutive terms. Our policy is not to reappoint anybody, uh,
all...subsequent to completing two full terms. Uh, so Clay has asked that that
requirement basically be waived, uh, because he's worked really hard, uh, for the
Planning and Zon...or for the Parks and Recreation Commission, and would like
to see some other projects brought to fruition. So I really admire that, but I can
say I'm not in favor of modifying our policy. I don't know what y'all think
though.
Mims: I agree. I....I have the greatest respect for Clay. I think he's done an absolutely
fantastic job on there, um, but we....we really sat here over the last, I don't know
when we had the major discussion,but the idea that we really wanted to give
more people the opportunity to serve on these boards and commissions, and urn, I
think we need to stick with that, and certainly he's welcome to reapply at another
time, but....um, as much as I would....would like to from the standpoint of what
he has done and the excellent, excellent service he's given, um, we need to give
other people the opportunity.
Throgmorton: On that point, I would hope that Clay can be fully engaged in efforts to, uh, build
fundraising for parks. I think that's a passion of his, and I see no reason why we
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can't reach out to him and try to engage him in that. All right so....hm, that
leaves us with six applicants.
Botchway: So I would, uh, throw out Ben Russell.
Throgmorton: I was gonna suggest Ben Russell as well.
Mims: That's fine. (several responding)
Throgmorton: Okay, so I'll write that down. All right, so we have five applicants for the other
position,the other four-year position. Do we have a gender balance requirement?
Item 10b Parks and Recreation Commission
Fruehling: Yes, so right now,um, with the two appointments you just made, you have, uh,
five female and three males.
Throgmorton: So we need a male. All right,unless we extend the deadline. All right, so the
choices are, let's see who do we have here? We have, um....uh, Steven Bird,
Lucas Foelsch, Steven Warren, Lindsey Evans is, uh, is a female, right? Yeah,
okay so.....Steven Bird, Lucas Foelsch, Steven Warren. Who did I miss? All
right.
Thomas: I supported, uh,just based on their applications, uh, Steven Bird or,uh, Steven
Warren.
Botchway: I would....I would, um, well I guess I'm not supporting both. I was going to say
Steven Bird.
Dickens: I can go with Steven Bird.
Mims: Yeah. (several responding) Yep, that's fine.
Taylor: That's fine.
Throgmorton: Okay. All right so we had three positions. We have chosen Steven Bird, Angie
Smith, and Ben Russell. Could I have a motion to appoint them?
Botchway: So moved.
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Dickens: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Dickens. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. All right we need to discuss the,uh, or the appointment we made
last week to the Board of Adjustment, or two weeks ago, to the Board of
Adjustment. There's a complication havin' to do with Ryan Hall's appointment.
Could somebody explain our situation and what we need to do?
Fruehling: Urn, there was an error with the....the gender balance. When staff configured the
current board members, we had down two males and two females. In actuality it
was three females and I need to look at my notes. Um.....three males and one
female, uh, so we really needed to appoint a female, um, and the gender balance
deadline requirement date was December 18a1. So at that point we should have
probably readded that position to see if we could get more applicants. Um, and
then I....I had called Ryan, talked to the Mayor and then I called Ryan to talk to
him and explain the situation and that we would have to readd, uh, and one of the
things that he brought up to me, urn, and wondered if it would make a difference
is he said he's gender non-conforming. Urn, with our application there's only a
male/female choice. It's a drop-down box, um, and he said had there been a third
option he would have chosen that I think is what he had emailed Eleanor.
Dilkes: Right, so I can pick it up from there. So I, um, I got an email from Ryan, um....
uh, noting that there are only the two options under.....so if you look at the, urn, if
you look at the application, uh, it's a.....you've got mandatory questions and
voluntary questions. Uh, gender is mandatory and not down in demographics
with, um, because of the State gender balance requirement. So that's a question
that has to be answered. I appreciate the lack of other options, um, and I....I told
him that and I'd be interested in hearing what he would propose, and I think we
shared this email with the Mayor. Um, and I was also going to talk to the, urn, to
our....to Stefani, our Equity Director, urn, but....the.....the issue we're gonna
have to address is how we deal with that gender balance, that State law gender
balance requirement, if we add additional cat....categories to, um,to the gender.
Um, I'm.....I'm just kind of brainstorming. I can think of a couple ways to
handle this. You could add.....you could put, I mean I think when the State says
gender balance, well I should back up for a minute. They're talk....they talk
about a 50/50 split or half and half. They're seeing it as male and female. Urn, to
accomplish the purpose of....of, uh.....of complying with the State law we could
change that to sex rather than gender. Um....and we could put gender identity in
the demographics. That would be one option. We could add one additional
category to gender, um, saying something....saying like gender non-conforming.
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That was what Ryan identified as. Urn, and make a decision....and say that if
somebody identified in that way, they could fill a male or a female slot. Urn,
these are things I've not completely thought through. Urn, and we need to kind of
decide what we're gonna do, urn, with the status or what we're gonna do with this
particular appointment. Urn.....so there you have it! (laughs)
Throgmorton: You know it's it seems to me that....uh, a way we could proceed is to ask you
to explore these possibilities and present them to us later on, but with regard to
this particular appointment, we could readvertise. Uh, and just proceed.
Mims: I would agree. -
Dilkes: I....I think that's a reasonable way to go, and I....I should say that in my email to
Ryan I....I told him that we would be raising this with you and you should.....and
invited him to share any thought he had about this particular appointment, and I
didn't get any response from him, so.....
Botchway: Can you tell me about the....so the readvertisement kind of timeline, what would
be the deadline then?
Fruehling: Yeah, I....I.....I think if we put it in right away we could do a January 9°i deadline
with appointment on January 16°i, cause with a read we don't need to follow that
30-day.
Dilkes: We just have about 14 more days we need to advertise for.
Botchway: So it's not.....so it'd be....it wouldn't be for this meeting, it'd be for the next
meeting.
Dilkes: The 6°i. Right? Or no....
Fruehling: It would be the second meeting in January(both talking)
Botchway: I'm......I'm comfortable with that, I mean I think that....there's some questions or
some issues with that I'm glad that Ryan has brought up that I'd like
to.....(mumbled) but
Dilkes: (both talking) ...talk to Stefani about it and we'll give you (mumbled)
Throgmorton: Okay, so we're in agreement about how to proceed here? Okay.
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Cole: I'm recusing myself.
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Item 12. Community Comment
Throgmorton: Gustave?
Stewart: Hello. Ur....as you probably know, students are on break, urn, after,urn, finals
week and everything like that. A lot of people headed home, various things like
that. Um, and then I also want to wish a happy retirement, Terry. Urn, you know
I only got to know you for like six, seven months. You're just kind of a happy
guy at....on the City Council, and I always enjoy that. Urn, it's also my morn's
birthday, so if my morn's awkwardly watching Channel 4 I wish her (several
talking and laughing) Happy Birthday, morn. Urn, yeah, so Happy Holidays!
Throgmorton: You too, Gustave!
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Item 13. City Council Information
Throgmorton: Could we start with Kingsley and move to the right.
Botchway: Yeah, so this is kinda jumbled up. Urn, participated, I think some of you as well.
I....I actually headed out pretty early, the Chamber legislative reception, um, last
night. Urn, that was fun, and the talk was really short so I really appreciated it as
well. Uh, won, the Coralville basketball championship last Thursday against
some Iowa football players. Not throwing it out there, but they were previous
Iowa football players. One was a famous running back, Mark Weisman. Moving
on,um, annual luncheon for CVB,um, that was kinda awkward for me, you
know, I....I didn't, I knew, uh, Marian got the award. Um, I presented for Marian
and Tim Carty, and you know, almost teared up. I don't like to do that. It's not,
you know, don't do that a lot and it was....just awesome to present that to Marian
cause of the work that she's done and obviously the (mumbled) as well. I mean I
really do truly mean he is an everywhere man. I see him at all the different ribbon
cuttings and everything else and so I really appreciate his support. Um, and then
participated in the CLP government day with Geoff. Um, that was fun just to
kind of talk about,urn, running for Council. There was some good, I mean,
questions about potential running for councils. So interested in also, urn,
provided information as it pertained to, uh,boards and commissions as well. So
that was good.
Dickens: Just lot of thank yous, start with my wife. That's a tough one. Uh, work my way
down to my kids, grandkids. I knew I was gonna do this! (laughter) Council,
staff(mumbled) Go ahead.
Cole: I....I just wanted to briefly follow up on our excellent discussion we had on....on
community policing tonight, uh, with our Police Chief. Urn, that conversation I
think in large part was generated by the community reaching out to us and letting
us know what's happening in the neighborhoods. So I guess I would continue to
encourage the community to reach out to us, to let us know what's happening, and
it's an issue that we're going to continue to monitor very closely, and I was very
pleased with the presentation as well as what staff had put forward with that. Um,
in terms of City....we're not doing updates on the boards and commissions yet,
are we or....or not. I was going to say there's no update there. So....
Taylor: Uh, received an invitation, uh, from the Minimum Wage Committee. They're
having, uh, the Minimum Wage Committee report, uh, this Thursday, 9:00 A.M.
at the Johnson County Admin Building, Suite 201. So that oughta be interesting,
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cause I knew, uh, it's particularly important with the County, uh, the issue as far
as, uh, the minimum wage and keeping it where it is, cause we worked so hard to
get it there. And, so everyone's welcome.
Thomas: A couple of events,um.....one....which.....both of which are annual events. The,
uh, the Center for the Book has an open house in December, which is kind of one
of those little areas of the University that, you know, many people are not aware
of, uh,that do really interesting work and you know they have kind of a.....a, it's
a fundraiser. They sell calendars, uh, they serve food. It's....it's really kind of an
interesting experience of just the....the small little entity within the University,
uh, kind of a, almost in my mind kind of an adjunct to the City of Literature in
that they create books with, you know, kind of a craft sense. And then Kingsley
mentioned the, um....Iowa City/Coralville Convention Visitors, uh, Bureau
annual event. That....that is a great event. It's entertaining. Uh, it's informative.
Uh, the (mumbled) are spectacular. Uh, Marian got an award, um.....it's.....it's
one of my favorite events that I've attended. I just think they really do a nice job
of putting it together.
Mims: Urn, Jim and I met with, uh, Lori and Janet from the School Board, uh, week or
two ago, couple weeks ago. Had a good conversation with them,just kind of
keeping (mumbled) up to date, uh, what's going on in both of our realms. So that
was interesting. Um, Jim and I were both here for the bond training last...today's
only Tuesday so I guess it was last week. (several talking and laughing) Um, was
really good. The rest of you missed, I think, a really good informative, urn,
presentation about the whole process,um, the risks involved, and you know, all
the work. Let me tell you, the money that we pay bond counsel is well worth it.
Um, this stuff is complicated and the regulations are just getting, uh, I think more
and more detailed and certainly Dennis and his staff do a great job,but the
importance of having, um, outside counsel for whom that is their every day
business, I get it, Eleanor(laughs) Eleanor does a great job with the other stuff,
but this stuff is....it's really specialized. So they were, uh, they were a great
group.
Throgmorton: Could I add to that?
Mims: Sure!
Throgmorton: Yeah, so in some ways it was really boring, you know, two hours of listening to
this talk about very detailed stuff. But man, it's....it's really important, and we
are very lucky that Dennis is in charge of our department that does all the, not all
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the stuff but a lot of it, and uh, I learned a lot, most of which I've forgotten
already but it....it was really informative and a very good thing to attend.
Mims: Yeah, I mean just the...the reporting deadlines and the kind of data that you have
to keep track of and report out on and, you know, from the time we sell a bond,
you know,how many days or months you have until you use the money, and the
importance of really, really good accounting procedures, so you can document
how you used the money and that you actually used it for what you said, and Juli
Seydell-Johnson was here and he....and he pointed her out and said, you know,
particularly say a department like Parks and Rec where they, you know, we go out
and we sell bonds for something and then all of a sudden maybe something
changes and you have to delay things because, you know, all of a sudden you find
some Native American artifacts or something and you....you can't go forward
with the project but you've already sold the bond. The.....you can't just move
that over somewhere else. I mean you've gotta go through very specific steps if
you're going to do something different with that money, and so it was just....it
was just very, very interesting and, um, informative, and....uh, so I thought that
was very interesting. Um,just....I haven't, I don't know, I've told maybe one or
two of you, during the campaign process, um, I went.....I......I did advertising
with and so went on KCJJ for an interview, and when I got done with that I just
kind of mentioned, hey, I'd be, you know, happy to come back on periodically,
just talk about, you know, what's going on with the City. So, I am going to be
doing two shows a month on KCJJ, um, the second Thursday of every month they
do a noon show out at Monica's, and the last Tuesday of every month, um, they
do an 8:00 A.M. show in studio with them. So just make everybody aware that....
that I'm going to be doing that. Um, Geoff and Jim and I met with Jennifer Daily
from.....what's the title of the organization?
Fruin: Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor Development (both talking)
Mims: Corridor Development is, yeah, is the, uh, kind of short-cut name. So it was
really nice to have a chance to meet her. Um, I was very impressed with her
background and the kinds of things that she's done from the Children Museum
here to Peoria Development and stuff. So, looking.....really looking forward to
getting to know her better and hoping to see some good results, um, out of that.
And then, yeah, the Chamber reception last night was a lot of fun. So.....
T hrogmorton: Yeah, well I participated in a lot of these events that have already been
mentioned, so I'm not gonna mention any of them, and I'm gonna skip over other
things as well. I do want to emphasize one thing. I had the opportunity to join
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with about 230 other people to attend the Oakdale Prison Community Choir's
annual winter concert. It is a great experience. For those of you who don't know,
anybody's watching on television, there're inside members and there're outside
members, meaning there are people from the broader community who go in once
a week, every Tuesday night to rehearse, to practice with these, uh, I don't know,
30 or so inside members, who I've learned over the years, now that I've seen
about 10 of these concerts, really look forward to these events, and really benefit
from them as well because they ultimately from the experience learn to know that
people care for them. And it's really moving to see that play out. President
Harreld was there, uh, the same night. He saw this unfolding and of course one of
his professors, Mary Cohen, is the Director of the whole thing. She's the one who
invented it. And has done a superb job with 'em and I'm proud to say my wife
Barbara is a member of the choir and has been for, I don't know, seven years or
somethin' like that. So it was a great experience, and if you ever get a chance to
do it, and I can tell you how to find out if you want to, we can make it happen.
Mims: Is it just once a year, Jim?
Throgmorton: Twice (both talking) spring and a....and a, I don't know, late fall concert.
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Item 14. Report on items from city staff
a) City Manager
Throgmorton: Okay. Geoff?
Fruin: Uh,just real quick. Terry, on behalf of staff, urn, thank you. Urn, you're as
steady and reliable, urn, as they come. Uh, I always appreciated...you know the
issues, you understand the complexity of the issues, um, and....and you have
your.....you're the ground on so many other things in the community. You were
always willing to share that feedback with us on what you were hearing. Urn, and
uh, we're gonna miss you dearly. We appreciate all the support that you gave
staff. You've been a huge supporter, urn, of not only those of us in the Manager's
office,but staff throughout the City, and uh, I know, urn, a lot of folks are gonna
miss ya, urn, thank you!
Monroe: I'll just quickly say it's only been a year but it's been a pleasure and hope to see
you more around town, so....
Dickens: I'm not leavin'! (laughter)
Monroe: Thanks!
b) City Attorney
Dilkes: I'll just say thank you and it's been a pleasure to work with you.
Fruehling: Ditto to everyone. (laughter) Thank you. Appreciate it!
Throgmorton: All right, Carrie...Terry, carry on! Could I have a motion to adjourn to the work
session?
Dickens: So moved! (laughter)
Mims: Second. (laughter)
Throgmorton: Moved by Dickens, seconded by.....
Taylor: Second.
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Throgmorton: ...Taylor. All in favor say aye. All opposed. Motion carries. We are adjourned.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of December 19, 2017.