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Council Present: Botchway, Cole, Mims, Salih, Taylor, Thomas, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Fruin, Monroe, Andrew, Dilkes, Fruebling
Others Present: Courtney Smock
Strategic Planning Discussion:
Throgmorton/ All right, so I wanna call to order, what is this? The 291i9 301'? (several
responding) ...of the, uh, Iowa City City Council meeting of January 301' focusing on a
strategic plan for the.....for the, uh, 2018 and 2019. Uh, we don't need to take roll
call.... officially, right? Can you hear us? Yeah. Okay, I don't think we need to take roll
call but I see every Council Member's here. Geoff Fruin's here, Kellie Fruehling's here,
uh..... Simon Andrew.
Smock/ Courtney Smock!
Throgmorton/ Courtney.....?
Smock/ Smock!
Throgmorton/ Smock. Yeah. Welcome!
Smock/ Thank you!
Throgmorton/ Yeah. I'm sure you'll say more about (mumbled) in a second. Uh, before we get
in I want to note that Maz tells me she needs to leave at 3:00 due to, uh, an appointment
that's really quite important for her, so we're just gonna have to deal with that, and I
think it would be fair to make sure we consider her strategic plan suggestions early on,
within that first two hour period so that she has a chance to fully engage in the
conversation and so on. So, take that into account as we're proceeding. Okay. I guess
I'd like to say a couple other things. You probably remember that I sent you an email,
City Council Members that is, an email over the weekend. I think I sent it on Saturday.
Which indicates .... I... A think the.... sorry, the initial question we need to answer is
should we continue the intent and set a .... set of priorities contained in the 2016/17
strategic plan. The intent being to foster a more inclusive, just, and sustainable Iowa
City. I strongly believe we should, but we need to go over that a little first. And if you
agree to both of those components, that we gotta focus next on the specific actions that
we want to include in this, um, this, uh, newest strategic plan will be developed, and
Courtney, I know we talked on the phone a little bit about this, along with Geoff, and
what I emphasized at least is that we ..... need to get all the topics out on the table,
combine as much as we can, winnow ones that we don't want to include, be as precise as
we can so that staff really understands what we're asking them to do. With that we'll
tum things over to Geoff.
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Fruin/ Thank you. Uh, I just have a couple of introductory comments and then, uh, as staff we'll
kind of sit back and be quiet and chime in when you need us to. Um, you do have a
packet in front of you. Uh, the packet includes a .... a memo that I, uh, put together. Uh,
there's nothing new in terms of....uh, items on there. I just took that working budget
memo that we have.....we have been, uh, using for the last few weeks and I organized it
into the strategic plan objectives. Uh, and then I laid out what I think the steps are, uh,
today. So we'll use that as kind of the guide through this process. Uh, Ashley's gonna
be workin', uh, the projector, and we'll be able to .... to make some live updates and
hopefully we can, uh, track along and of course we'll report back and refine as needed
after today's over. Uh, but I warm start, uh, just with some introductory comments. So
we started our strategic planning efforts in 2012 and now have, uh, adopted and closed
the books on three, uh, strategic plans. And I would say with each one of these three
plans there's been a stronger emphasis placed on it by staff, Council, and the public. So
as staff, um, some of you have heard me say this, we discuss it regularly. We use it in
our performance reviews for our supervisory staff, and frankly the City Manager's office
expectations are that any initiatives that come from our operating departments are framed
in your strategic plan, um, goal areas. As a Council you've relied on the plan more and
more to guide your discussions at the Council table. You've pushed for improvements in
reporting, uh, you've pushed for metrics, and uh, you've certainly, um, pushed for, uh,
enhanced communication of the .... of the plan, and.....and letting the community know
what we're doing in each of these areas. And I think we've done, uh, some good things
there. We still have a long way to go, uh, particularly when it comes to the metrics piece
of it and we hope to, uh, nail that down with this plan. And finally I'd say the public is
increasingly aware of the power of the plan. More and more you all are hearing
arguments made by the public and organizations that are framed in your strategic plan
goal, and I think that's very positive. All these are very positive signs that strategic
planning is now firmly entrenched in our organizational culture. So, what we're talking
about today and what we'll continue to talk about for the next, uh, month or two is an
incredibly important, uh, document that, um .... really the whole community and your staff
(unable to hear) forward. It's been an extremely busy couple of years. Um, hope you
would agree that there's been some great progress on critical strategic initiatives, capital
projects, and enhancements to our services. Uh, this is despite the fact that we've had
some kind of unprecedented turnover in our .... in our staff during this period of time.
And we're not really here to talk about successes, but I did .... I do hope that you, uh, have
a chance to look at some of the department notes that were submitted to you, a couple of
weeks ago in the information packet. That list of accomplishments is something that
we're really proud of, uh, we hope, uh, that you are too, and I think as we plan ahead, it's
also important to realize how far we've come. So I have four, urn .... four thoughts as we
get started on drafting the fourth strategic plan, and this is my perspective, um, heading
into this, uh, and hopefully gives you, um ..... uh, some ...... some context, um, to .... to
where, uh, where I sit and .... and where the staff is. So (mumbled) with our strategic plan
is we put two .... two year dates on them, 2018, 2019 for this plan, but I don't think you
should limit your thinking to .... to two year projects in terms of what we can get done in
those two years. Many of the most impactful, uh, ideas and solutions to problems take
several years to develop, and by stating them in your plan, knowing that we may not get
to the end goal in two years, you're really giving staff the permission and the freedom to
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explore some of these things. So, again, don't limit yourself to that two year window
when it comes to iden.... identifying your strategic plan objectives. I think this
particularly true when you look at some of the tricky land use issues that.... that..... that
we have or some of the ambitious, um, thoughts that have been talked about in terms of
the Iowa River, uh, the .... the federal parking lot in Riverfront Crossings, the Crandic rail
line. If you're interested in any of these things, just know that those are .... those are
beyond two years. And, uh, I .... if they're a priority, let's state `em in the plan. Second
point is .... uh, trust your staff. Um, we will work towards your strategic goals. Uh, even
without specific actions, and hopefully we've proven that to you. Um, we have a hard-
working, creative team here and we .... we've done a lot of work to ingrain the strategic
plan in our operations. So, uh, don't feel like you have to add action items just to
demonstrate, um, an appearance that you're putting proper emphasis in a particular
strategic goal area. We will help you, uh, cultivate ideas and implement those. Uh, you
know, if you look back at the last couple years, I just flipped through our last status
report, there's things that I know everybody's proud of. The .... the So You Want to Start
a Business series, the Merge development, the Summer Teen Dynamics program, um,
data -driven justice, the STAR program, and I could keep going on and on. Those are
things that really grew out of some of our .... our staff s initiative that aligned really well
with your strategic plan objectives. Point three, two more to go. Thanks for bearing with
me here. Um.....greater focus will produce more meaningful results. Uh, a .... a staff that
is stretched to accomplish 30 different tasks will do that, we'll check a box of 30 different
tasks. Uh, the greater the focus the Council has, I think the more strategic mindset
approach that staff can have to some of these problems, um, so .... keep that in mind, uh,
as you move forward. Then lastly, consider the (mumbled) context of the organization
itself, the City organization, and the community. I have a couple points here. For the
organization context, we have certain departments that are stretched pretty thin, uh, at the
moment and we'll struggle to move quickly on new initiatives. Uh, Planning, Public
Works, Parks, uh.....it's, you probably picked that up when you read their notes in the
packet. Um, that doesn't mean we can't, and we shouldn't, put new initiatives on their
plate. We all just need to know that that .... where they're at and some of the challenges,
uh, that some.....in some of those operating areas where we'll have, uh, you know to
move initiatives forward. Also I want to let you know one of, um, my top priorities for
the City Manager's office going forward is that we can, uh, continue to shift from more
of a, uh, reactive team that's just moving from issue to issue, fire to fire, if you will, to a
more, um, strategic, uh, team that is out there in front of issues and really, uh, moving
things forward. Um, I'll be frank, it's hard to do that right now. We are, um, we are just
moving from issue to issue and that's partly because of all the staff turnover we've had.
It's partly because we're all new in our area, but as a City Manager's office, we really
have to....to become a more strategic operating team and I'm hoping that, um, we can use
this strategic plan as the launching pad for that. The community context, um, sometimes
stars align really well in the community, and .... and you have to take advantage of those,
uh, in my view. So, you know, couple of examples, uh, there's been for years there's
been talks about engaging our river and yet there hasn't seemed to be the push to actually
do that. Now you have the University that's made that a top priority. Now you have the
Convention and Visitors Bureau that's.... that's recently made that one of their top
priorities. You have to.....I just use that as an illustrative example, but you have
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(coughing, unable to hear speaker) where you have support beyond the City organization,
cause you could really make a lot of progress in those areas when you can align certain
stakeholders. On the flip side of that, I would caution you not to kick up dust on items
that don't have, uh, wide support, unless you are confident that collectively you all have
the political will, uh, to push those through. Sometimes that's necessary. Sometimes
it's.... you.... you have to have that political will, you have to move somethin' through,
and if you believe in it that's great, but understand that those types of issues and
discussions, they suck a lot of energy out .... out of, uh, out of an organization. So use this
time in your strategic planning process to really think critically as you adopt items where
you have that broad community support and where you don't, and where you don't, just
make sure that the seven of ya have some sort of understanding of the political will that'll
be needed to .... to move, uh, issues forward. So thank you for entertaining my .... my
thoughts, uh, coming into this. Um .... we are going to be working off this top memo
here, so I'd encourage ya to .... to have that handy. Um, and with that, I'm gonna have,
uh, Ashley, um, introduce our facilitator!
Monroe/ Okay!
Throgmorton/ Before you do that, Ashley (both talking)
Monroe/ Sure!
Throgmorton/ ...clarify one point. Does this include what Geoff .... what Kingsley submitted,
what I submitted?
Fruin/ It does.
Throgmorton/ It does?
Fruin/ Yes, so it has, urn ..... uh, what was in the budget memo plus Mayor's, plus, uh, Kingsley's
comments. (mumbled)
Throgmorton/ Okay. Good! Ashley!
Monroe/ Okay! Um, so I'll start off by, uh, just saying that Courtney Smock is going to be our
facilitator today. Um, she was recommended by another community that had worked
with her and appreciated, uh, the process they went through and the services that were
provided, so we looked into things a little bit. Um, Kirkwood Community College
actually facilitated the connection, um, so we worked directly with Kirkwood to .... to get
Courtney Isere and I'll tell you a little bit about her first so you know who you're working
with through the process, and we'll go from there! So Courtney Smock is the owner of
Each Strong LLC and works full time as a Senior Organizational Development Specialist
at Rockwell Collins. In her career, Courtney has gained valuable business experience
(unable to understand) business experience, uh, leading organizational change. Change
management has allowed her to hone her ability to quickly assess business needs
confidently and appropriately challenge business leaders, and (unable to understand)
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actions for teams working on complex prob.... programs. Courtney began her career in
training and process facilitation where her facilitation skills are characterized by a unique
combination of high energy and deep subject matter expertise. Um, just our brief
introduction we found she's very confident, direct, and funny. Um, assets, she excels at
creating a safe space for the exchange of ideas, helping teams plan, manage her work, and
create accountability for real change, and Courtney has a Master's of Business
Administration degree from the University of Iowa. Uh, she received her coaching
certification through the IPEC organization. She's also a certified trainer of Linkages
Change Management courses, TMUC's Simply Strengths program, and the Matrix
Management Institutes Collaborative Project Management courses. So she has quite a bit
of experience in, uh, facilitating groups, including, uh, local governments and .... want to
welcome you to ... to the stage, I guess.
Smock/ That was embarrassing! (laughter) I wrote that! (laughs) And I wrote that a long time
ago! Thank you for that! Thank you for that! Um, thank you for having me here. I have
one job, which is to help you guys get clear about your objectives, and I like .... I like
what I wrote —just create a space (mumbled) can talk to each other, ask questions, get
what you need, and leave here with a list of stuff you're gonna get done, and .... I've spent
quite a bit of time going through your materials and your packets and a day in the life of a
City Council member (laughs) (mumbled) Urn.... and you have a really strong
foundation with the list you started. So I think my job here's pretty straight forward, is to
get you through the afternoon, get you through this work, and make sure you have a
chance to leave with a list of what you need to do. Okay? Um, so I think we should start
at the beginning. How bout that? And I think to the Mayor's point, um, let's start with
your `a more inclusive, just, and sustainable Iowa City.' And I'm just going to open the
room for conversation about that (mumbled) going to start at the very first step, uh, how
are you guys feeling about that? Um, what comments do you have? Are we good to say,
are you still there? Has something changed since you wrote it two years ago? Who
wants to go first? (mumbled) Move forward? You good? (several responding) Agree?
Okay, good! All right, so that one's....is that the easy one? Okay. Then you have seven
objectives and then there's an `8. Miscellaneous' category. And what I want to do is
move through those, um, we're just gonna peel a layer at a time, and we might have to go
a little bit low and come high, and then low and come high again. So let's just start, um,
everyone peak at the seven and what I warm do is.....let's take them at the .... at the
seven level first. And we'll do them one at a time and go in order, keep this very simple,
and if it helps to look at the sub -tasks to make sure we agree on the first one, um, we'll
start there, okay? So let's start with number one. Um, promote a strong and resilient
local economy. Is that still .... good? (several responding) Good with that? Okay. Um,
encourage a vibrant and walkable urban core. (several responding) On board, okay!
Mims/ I would just say, and.....and just to give you a little background, I voted against our
strategic plan two years ago.
Smock/ Okay!
Mims/ I was the only one.
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Smock/ Okay!
Mims/ My concern with the strategic plan was not the content of it. It was how big it was.
Smock/ Okay.
Mims/ And the inability to (both talking) and so .... I think we .... I think we have, while I ... while
it's not that I don't think this is important, I think we're doing a good job and I think to
try and get more focused, I would take that one out. Not that we wouldn't still do things
that are related to it, but I wouldn't still have it on.
Smock/ Okay. So this is that idea of, um ..... can you do seven things really well or is it better to
do five things really well and what is your sweet spot for the right number of things
(mumbled) So you agree it's the right thing to do, and that's .... I appreciate you bringing
up that comment, and let's just do that. Let's have a dialogue around each one of these.
Any comments or response to that?
Throgmorton/ I think we're fully capable of doing all seven. The question becomes really
the ... the details within each of the seven. If we have too many or they're not focused
well enough, then we create problems for the City staff, and if there are too many of `em
we're not going to be able to accomplish all of `em. I think we have 32 specific measures
in our last strategic plan, so (mumbled) that, that'd be great. But I .... I think, uh, this, uh,
the second item, the encourage vibrant, walkable urban core, is certainly crucial from my
perspective. The rest of you will have to speak for yourselves.
Botchway/ I'm comfortable with the second as well. I mean I know that you wanted to go
through each one. I feel very comfortable with moving forward, and I would agree that
it's really more ... kind of from the conversation upcoming where we need to really focus
on the details and how (mumbled) how we're going to .... give staff the opportunity to
focus a little more and how they're going to support (mumbled)
Thomas/ I .... I would say on number two specifically, uh, I would .... I would like to keep that, uh,
partly because I think our downtown (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) core
neighborhoods, it's .... what.....what the urban core exactly is is ... is a little bit permeable,
um, but it's one of Iowa City's great assets. It's .... it's one thing that makes Iowa City
unique. I don't believe any other community in Johnson County has the qualities that I
associate with downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. So I do think it's
important. It's something that makes Iowa City distinctive, special.
Cole/ And I think from a public policy perspective, I think it does actually (mumbled) in the
sense of what are your speed limits, what are the width of your streets, what sort of
infrastructure do you have, so I want to keep it in. The only thought I have is that we also
have concerns about developments on the outer edge in terms of how wide the streets are.
Um, I want to maintain a focus on the urban core, but do we want to say a walkable
community or is that diluting that too much? Cause I think we've had quite frankly
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planning work session of January 30, 2018.
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issues on the outer core as well and maybe this is something we can address in terms of
the (mumbled) walkable community.
Thomas/ I hear you on that. It's the one thing that ... and I don't want to add another bullet point
but, um, transportation kind of.....there isn't any specific .... of the, we have seven things
and transportation isn't really clearly articulated, in my view, in any of those seven.
Um....
Cole/ But that's the big picture for two, that'd be the topic.
Thomas/ Right, but the ... but the, yeah, um, the downtown is unique though so I (both talking)
Cole/ Okay! Okay, I don't feel super strongly about that, but I (mumbled)
Taylor/ (mumbled) street's action plan is included in that healthy neighborhoods section.
Thomas/ Right.
Taylor/ That is very important. (both talking) And then the first bullet point talks again, as we
just mentioned, about the, uh, use of the Iowa River corridor (mumbled)
Salih/ I mean I'm comfortable (unable to understand)
Smock/ Okay. So let's go through.....this is good. Let's go through and have all the discussion.
Then we'll come back to the top and see how it all ends up, okay? All right, so the
comment about .... is it just the core, is it the (mumbled), and do we have enough
addressing transportation somewhere. The two things we're capturing so far. Okay.
What about number three, what are your thoughts around foster healthy neighborhoods
throughout the city? (several responding) Good? Uh, maintain a solid financial
foundation. (several responding) Enhance community engagement and inter-
governmental relations. (several responding) Yes. Promote environmental
sustainability. It's gonna sunset? I'm gonna give folks a minute to look at the sub -tasks
on that one.
Taylor/ I think that one's going to involve (several talking)
Smock/ Okay. (several talking)
Throgmorton/ True enough, but there (several talking) issues (several talking)
Smock/ Hold on, I'm gonna .... two conversations so I'm gonna start here. Finish this one, that's
okay! So she's saying the Committee for Climate.....say that one again?
Taylor/ The Climate Action (both talking)
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Smock/ The Climate Action Steering Committee will drive a lot of that first bullet point. Okay.
And what were you guys talkin' about, sorry?
Salih/ Uh, I was just talking about, uh, I .... I don't (unable to understand) transportation (unable
to understand) affordable housing (unable to understand) make sure cause I really .... this
is something new to me (unable to understand) I want to make sure they are there.
Smock/ Okay. So let's talk one at a time. So what was the first one?
Salih/ Transportation.
Smock/ Transportation, okay. So where... when we look at our .... um....
Fruin/ So I could offer since I .... I slotted these, and understand, some of these initiatives you
could argue could go in any number of `em, so .... you my want to choose to move `em,
but the emphasis on public transportation on our bus routes and Sunday service, I placed
that in a strong and resilient local economy. You could certainly argue it could go in
another category, but that's in there. Uh, for the affordable housing piece, uh, I focused
that in the healthy neighborhoods section, uh, because there's really no geographic, uh,
focused areas. It's the entire community. Um, but again that could be .... that could be in
any number of other categories too.
Throgmorton/ The crucial thing, from your point of view, I think, Maz, is to have the specific
element contained in the overall plan.
Salih/ Exactly! Yeah.
Smock/ Add an action for it, okay. All right. Okay, anything else on.....environmental
sustainability? Lots of questions on that one.
Throgmorton/ Well, I would say we've done a lot with our recycling, a lot with regard to water
quality, and everything our Public Works' staff does basically has effects on the
environmental sustainability. So I think that Pauline's correct in saying maybe the
emphasis in this year will be more along that climate action plan.... Steering Committee,
when it comes up with, uh, there's all this other stuff that matters a lot too.
Smock/ Yeah. And one of the things that sort of stands out to me is you're talking about that
you.....you're gonna make the transition from what's your strat plan, right, what's your
big idea, what's your direction, and when do things become business as usual and they're
just expected. So your point, if we're .... if we're doing that (mumbled) look at the line
maintain a financial, um, foundation, is that strategy or is that just business as usual? Just
as an example, right? What city in the country doesn't say that's core to what we do. If
we don't do that, we can't have a strategy, right, and the same thing of when you talk
about, um, environmental sustainability. If we're starting to get this operationalized, it's
how we do business. It works. Then it sort of falls off your strat plan and becomes
business as usual. You have to hold people accountable to do it. Right, but is it strategic,
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planning work session of January 30, 2018.
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is it pushing you, is it changing something, is it bringing something new to you, or is it
just cost of entry at this point, and at some point, all of your strat plans, hopefully if you
did `em correctly, flip to business as usual, right, but you gotta.....that's what this ...... this
is kind of what this opportunity and conversation is, to say our strat plan is guiding us
somewhere to change things. It should be just a list of changes, big things. And then
there's a whole other place where you commit what is our commitment to our
community. To keep the lights on (laughs) literally! I say keep the lights on in corporate
and it's a figure of speech. When I do it with cities, it's literally. You guys have to keep
the lights on here, right? It's different. That make sense? So food for thought as you're
thinking about what strategy, what's important, um, what is the optics of what you put
out, cause you .... if you remove something, even if it's not strategic, the optics of
removing it will have a ripple as well. So, you have to think about that stuff. Okay,
advance social justice and racial equality. Conversation around that one.
Throgmorton/ We're committed to that.
Smock/ Committed to that. Absolutely. Okay. All right. So ..... what I think we need to do is
take each one of these apart. So sometimes you have to start like the hamburger, the bun,
and then come back. This is.....we're assuming, let's .... let's go through the detailed
review of the actions, assuming the seven are right, and knowing where we have maybe
some push or wiggle room. Let's go through `em and then as .... as a last thing we would
do, come back and say did any of our discussion change the wording, change the phrase,
change the intent, and get back to the umbrella and say is it still right. Cause if we
wiggle the bottom parts, it's possible it's gonna create a change we have to make at the
top. Are you guys okay with that? So intentionally it'll get us to talk about the details
when we gotta come back. Does that make sense?
Botchway/ Wiggle and change!
Smock/ Wiggle and change! That's..... write that down (mumbled) Okay! So, um, one thing, we
do not have to go in numeric order. Right, and I don't know enough about the
sensitivities, the preferences, the hotter topics. I think based on two things, one, time,
and two, energy, um, I would like to talk about the stickiest, most complicated, needing
the most clarification areas first, unless anyone has a different idea, because..... quite
frankly, y'all are gonna have a different level of energy at 4:35 than you have right now,
and I'd rather you.... you bring all that. Not that.....sounds like this is a lively group and
I'm not gonna have to worry about energy, but.... I do think about that. So .... or if
you ... if you much prefer, like let's just take `em in order, we're good to go, we can do
that, but I'm gonna kind of leave it with you (both talking)
Cole/ Along with what Jim had said, I guess my preference would be that we take .... do you have
to leave early Mazahir? Could we go over some of the initiatives that she wanted to,
address those, and then.....(unable to hear) take `em.
Throgmorton/ Well one of `em is at the very top of the strong and resilient local economy, and
uh, another one .... uh, is at the top of foster healthy neighborhoods.
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Smock/ Okay! (several talking)
Fruin/ Uh, social justice and racial equity had the, uh.....policy on vendors and the, uh, $15
minimum wage. So I think that's those three categories, one, three, and seven.
Smock/ Okay (several talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so let's do (both talking)
Smock/ So let's go one, three, seven, and then we'll go in numeric order after that. Does that
(several talking)
Salih/ I just receive a message (unable to understand) (several talking)
Throgmorton/ We can have a break at 3:00 (several talking)
Smock/ Okay, so let's start with number one, either way we'll start with number one! All right,
I'm gonna give you a second to read through them. We'll do the same thing. Urn .... as
you're reading through, I wanna make sure you have space to ask questions, like make
sure that you're understanding when you read it. It's very difficult, as complex as your
work is, to write seven or eleven words that fully encompass what is meant, so if you're
not sure, you have some assumptions about that, let's get them out, cause I don't want
you making decisions where someone thinks it meant apples and this person thought it
meant oranges, and this person thought they were gettin' bananas. Okay? Make sure an
apple's an apple and then have a conversation about it. So if you have assumptions....
from a change in management perspective, I always say there's no cure for assumptions.
Okay, you can't communicate, you can't coach .... your way out of assumptions. So ask if
you're not sure, get examples and context so that we're talking about the same things.
Okay? So.....
Fruin/ Can I offer one (both talking)
Smock/ Yeah, please!
Fruin/ (both talking) ....in this memo, you're seeing this for the first time so if you see an
asterisk next to the item, that just means we don't really think it's strategic plan material,
but it's something that came up in your budget deliberations and I didn't want to lose
sight of it. Um, and two, you can see we did a high, medium, and low. That's the LH,
uh, LMH. Uh, that is not meant to give .... to convey a staff priority on those items. We
were simply trying to give you, based on our understanding of what's involved, the level
of difficulty of implementation, something that's really easy for us to do or .... or
something that's medium or high, and that could be for different reasons. It could be for
financial reasons. It could be for staff capacity and .... and where we're short on staff, uh,
it could be any number of things. So if you need us to comment on those we .... we can.
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Smock/ Regulatory..... (both talking)
Fruin/ Right, it's not meant to express priority for us.
Smock/ Yeah, cause it makes a difference, like if someone said I want it, and they're like but it's
really, really hard, how bad do you want it. It just helps you figure that out, right?
Cole/ Cause that was actually my assumption, that that looked like a staff preference and
(several talking)
Fruin/ Glad I explained (both talking)
Cole/ Yep.
Smock/ Okay, so as you're cruising through let's take the first one, undertake a public
transportation route and hours of operation analysis.
Mims/ I would say yes and I think we've had discussion as we were going through budget, I
would be shocked if anybody said no (mumbled) (laughs) (mumbled) ....in conjunction
with that cause I think they tie together, urn .... I would say no on .... on Sunday public bus
transit service. I'm not saying no, that we don't do it. I'm saying no it shouldn't be in
the strategic plan. I think what we do or don't do related to Sunday bus service comes
out of that operation analysis. I think we have to wait for that analysis and figure out
what changes we can do and how we can or can't implement additional service and
change our routes. So to me that.... doesn't, shouldn't be part of the strategic plan. We
have to look at (mumbled) analysis is and then I know there's the desire I think from all
of us to increase service and particularly do something on Sundays, but it doesn't make
sense to me to put that in as a strategic goal.
Taylor/ I had that as a very high priority item, um, but I worded it a little differently. Instead of,
uh, working with a consultant as we have agreed to hire a consultant to .... to assess it, uh,
work with the consultant to assess the current public transit system to assure that the
system provides transportation needs of the entire community. So if it falls out that you
need Sunday services and this is how you can do it then we'll go for it (both talking)
Salih/ I think this is .... have to be in the strategic plan. I think, you know, Sunday transportation
is really priority for the community. (unable to understand) start campaigning, I just
spoke to a lot people (unable to understand) transportation for workers. You know, and
the study would take long time, af.... you know, after they ask (unable to understand) take
long time. (unable to understand) so we can improve the whole route after that, but for
Sunday I think this is really high priority.
Throgmorton/ So I propose a very slight modification to the first two elements here, to A and B
that is. In other words, I'd propose this. Undertake a public transportation route and
hours of operation analysis, to include considering the possibility of adding Sunday
public transit (mumbled) Sunday service.
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Botchway/ I'll be honest with ya, I mean, Jim, I appreciate that because I think it was kind of
along the lines of what I was thinking (unable to understand) kind of strategic plan point,
taking out the consultant, cause I think that there's the potential that we may need to
communicate with other entities as well and they may not necessarily be on board with a
consultant, but I .... I really liked your language. I think (mumbled) and taking out the
consultant piece, I think, encompasses the Sunday transit service and the other things that
we're thinking about as well.
Cole/ Here's where I would disagree with that, and I would agree with Jim, and to Susan's point,
I think if the consultant knows that it's a strategic plan priority to add Sunday bus service,
I think that .... it may be a different type of study than, um, than if there's no mention of it
at all. Um, and so that .... so I think to indicate that that's our priority, and I think that that
is what I want to do. Um, I agree with Mazahir that I .... or Mazahir that I think we should
consider this. Only difference is I do want to wait until we get the study first before we
consider, or before we add it, cause I wanna make sure that we are maximizing our
resources for.... presumably the study would include a projected ridership for Sundays
and before making a financial commitment I want to make sure that we have peer-
reviewed data to support that.
Botchway/ So, Rockne, my issue with that is around the Sunday bus service, so in talking to the
community as well, there's also, um, we want to increase the, um, number of routes on
different, uh, on different times of day. We want to ensure that, um, we have it for longer
number of hours, um, maybe we have a Sunday .... we have a Saturday service that
matches the weekday service, why are we only highlighting Sunday service? And that's
where I feel like if we want, I mean, if we want to make sure that the consultant gets our
message, I think that we need to, I mean, tell Geoff and City staff to make sure they come
back (unable to understand) priorities. I just have an issue with just saying Sunday
service because it was Sunday service, it was increase routes, it was increase times, and
there was a lot of different steps in there. I want to .... for me it's more generic as far as
how this is gonna lay out for people reading.... instead of just (mumbled) Sunday service.
That's my only .... issue.
Salih/ I just want to ask like if we really gonna have (unable to understand) study, that means for
sure that's gonna require a (unable to understand) come out and we need to have some
Sunday transportation. (unable to understand) if we know that? We gonna have Sunday
transportation, at the end of this study. Then at least we can (unable to understand) while
the study is conducted.
Throgmorton/ I don't think we can include a commitment to Sunday service. I think what we
can do is find out what's possible, what it costs, what the routes might be, what the
schedule might be.
Salih/ That what I meant.
Throgmorton/ Cause we have to take into account (both talking)
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Salih/ ....like we need to hire (unable to understand) how much it cost, you know (unable to
understand)
Smock/ So one of the things that..... um, I hear us talking around is what is the difference
between what's our federal requirements, like what are the needs that need met, and
what's the solution. Okay, and .... and as much as possible, when you write a strat plan,
you guys wanna be clear about committing to the requirements, providing access to the
right people at the right time. That's what you want built. Now the solution, whether or
not it includes Sunday, whether or not it includes alternate route, whether it has more
hours, you're gonna go through a process to figure that out, and to your point, if you put
the solution in the requirement, like you say it has to be Sunday, well what happens if it
comes back and you find out that people don't want it, you can't afford it, and you're not
gonna do it. All right? It's better to write a strategic plan (mumbled) that says we are
going to analyze the transportation needs, meet the needs of the community, increase....
whatever words you wanna use for that, and then you gotta trust that there's a separate
process you're gonna have to go through to state the requirements to your consultant, like
what does our community need, bring us a solution that does these things, tell us what it's
going to cost, and then we come up with a solution from there. If you ... if you write the
end in the beginning you're gonna limit what you get back, potentially. Does that .... am I
making sense? (several responding) Yeah? So, I don't want you to lose fact of what
you're .... what you want, but .... but.....but try, and this is very hard to do, try to separate
yourself from `it has to look like this' to meet the need and get really focused on `it'll be
great when.' Right? It'll be great when our transportation system, people can get to
work, that people feel like they can get whatever, right, that they feel safe on our trans...
like that's the stuff you wanna write in your strat plan, and the fact that you're gonna
invite a consultant to help you or these other things can go in there. How you're gonna
get there can go in there. Be careful not to write like we're gonna get a, you know, we're
gonna buy a semi and it's gonna have these components and it has to have other seats,
because maybe you can't afford that or maybe that's not what ends up, once you do the
analysis, the best thing to do. Am I making sense? Okay. So, noodle on that, um, what
Ashley's trying to do is capture, um, wordsmith. We're not gonna wordsmith, but we
have to have the words close enough (laughs) so that we don't forget what we said later.
Cause we will do that, cause we have other things going on. Do we want to take intent
maybe with .... with Pauline's version or something else at, um, writing.....a..... a
statement around this transportation one.
Mims/ Can you reread your, please, Pauline?
Taylor/ Sure. Work with a consultant to assess the current public transit system to assure that the
system provides the transportation needs of the entire community.
Smock/ That's pretty good! (several talking)
Mims/ I like it .... I like it all except the fact.... there's..... there's no consideration of the dollar
amounts when you get to the end, and so when you say assure that it commits (mumbled)
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you know (several talking) We may not be able financially to meet the needs of all, and
what does that mean in terms of. .... a route that maybe is needed, highly needed by a few
people, but then when it comes to a financial standpoint you're running a route that's
almost empty. Do .... do we .... I really like it except the very last part.
Smock/ Is there a place we can stick .... (both talking) financial responsible plan, right, in there.
Thomas/ Susan, I think that's one of those things that I would say infuses everything. You know
(laughs) you know the cost of whatever we do, I ... at least I feel that's something I'm
always cognizant of, is ... is, you know, what.... what's, how are we going to pay for this?
Mims/ Right, but .... that wording is very definitive at the end, to me, that says `meets the needs.'
Thomas/ Yeah.
Mims/ And .... you know, with the goal of ...(several talking)
Botchway/ (several talking in background continues; difficult to hear speaker) ....to me it's....
to me it, again, from (unable to hear) because I think we need to have more encompassing
conversations with all of the entities, irrespective of the consultant, but I think (unable to
hear) as far as, you know, kind of we want to make sure that whatever we put forth
(unable to hear) Are there going to be gaps in any type of system? Yes. But I would .... I
would want us to strive to ensure that, I mean, I think we're going to semantics, cause I
can go in and think about what I'd like to change and make sure that we particularly put
marginalized populations within the strategic plan to ensure that it's incorporated, but
again, I think that's a conversation we have with the consultant. (mumbled)
...conversation around budgetary constraints with the consultant (mumbled) comes back.
Fruin/ Maybe offer it as maximize the benefits to the community, somethin' like that. Maximize
(mumbled) optimal.
Thomas/ I mean I do tend to .... I .... I've always intended to do these strategic plans with the two-
year timeframe, although Geoff mentioned some take more than two years, but L.I think,
I always.... especially when you bring up something big like our pubic transit system as
the first year is a planning phase. So we .... we do optimize the value of the system, um,
because in my mind, public transportation may not be simply buses. It could be
transportation network companies. It could be walk.... improving walking. Improving
bicycling. Mobility, it's a mobility issue, and so there are a lot of components to that.
Certainly public transit's a big one, um, but I ... I am I think sort of drawn to the idea that
we .... we look at this comprehensively with, as we said, with certain things highlighted as
extremely important in terns of addressing gaps in service.
Throgmorton/ So I'm concerned about tryin' to wordsmith this too much, cause we have a lot of
items to go through. What I hear is a concern about financial or fiscal capacity basically,
but also ..... try to emphasize our concern about equity, namely to ensure that the transit
system ad .... adequately meets the needs of lower-income residents to have access to...
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home, school, work, etc., that type of thing. So the value, I think, is clear. But the
wordsmithing, you know (mumbled) not getting into that too much right now. (several
talking)
Cole/ So I would support Pauline's version.
Botchway/ (mumbled) we have the value (mumbled)
Mims/ ....let staff maybe (unable to understand)
Smock/ Okay? All right. Any other comments? (mumbled) We are going to the next one. I
was just making sure that anyone was still on that one. Okay, so any asterisk means, uh,
that it's being worked, it's not part of the strategic plan, but do we want to talk about all
those, Geoff?
Fruin/ No ... not unless there's disagreement with our recommendation.
Botchway/ (unable to understand) recommendation is to remove it from the strategic plan.
Fruin/ Yeah.
Botchway/ Yes. Okay.
Mims/ We'll see it as we're going through, either with a consultant and a study of what (both
talking)
Fruin/ ......you guys are gonna have a lot of time to comment on the .... the scope of the plan
before we hire a consultant, so this'll be (mumbled)
Smock/ Okay. And then, uh, letter C, provide examples of recent transit studies. That's just
something staff 11 do. (several talking) And then ..... D, support a local food incubator
project downtown.
Botchway/ Um, so I think that was my initiative, uh, based on a conversation (unable to hear)
Cole/ Do you think this is a budget issue?
Botchway/ I did .... I did ....... I brought it up as a budget issue initially when we talked (unable to
understand) strategic plan issue to move the conversation forward, but ultimately I think
Geoff .... we did two things. One we increased the, uh, amount we were looking for, um,
local foods, and we, um.....and Geoff (coughing, unable to hear) have a proposal, come
to him. He has a .... an amount of money in the discretionary budget to have this
conversation so .... I feel comfortable (unable to understand)
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Throgmorton/ So it ... a related item might appear later on, the overall (unable to understand) but
it seems to me that, uh, as a strategic plan value we could say something like this: we
want to effectively market and grow the local food economy.
Cole/ Yes.
Throgmorton/ And then there are particular ways (unable to hear) accomplished, and I'm (unable
to hear) the basic value of (unable to hear)
Botchway/ I would agree with that. (mumbled)
Mims/ Are we writing values or are we writing a strategic plan? And I don't mean to be critical
(several talking) I'm just (both talking)
Throgmorton/ If there are action items, it would appear under that or be associated with it
(mumbled) That's what I have in mine, but as a value itself it's meaningless. So I take
your point. But ... but we need the value to be backed up by specific actions.
Botchway/ Yeah, and I think to my point or the reason why I was interested (unable to
understand) is because this was .... this was focused on a particular project. To your point,
Jim, there's many other projects that are I think encompassing within that (unable to
understand) be interested in keeping that one (mumbled) and taking this language out.
Cole/ I would agree with Kingsley, because one of the things when staff evaluates a request for
anything like an incubator is how does it fit in with our strategic plan and I think it's good
to have a little bit more detail than strong and resilient economy. This would say `oh, this
is part of a local food initiative.' We can refer to the strategic plan, have (unable to
understand) support and then allow those details to sort of fill in as the projects come in,
sol....I would support Jim's version.
Smock/ So the recommendation would be to keep a D, and maybe change the wording of it to...
um.....so right now it doesn't have a verb. All right, so what's the verb we're looking
(both talking)
Throgmorton/ Well market is ..... marketed growth (unable to understand)
Smock/ Okay. Market.... okay. Oh, yeah, there you go. (unable to understand) Okay, so market
and grow a local food economy, and now you can have your project under it and you can
do all the other things. Is that working for you? (several responding) Okay, so (unable
to understand) D. All right. E, just information. You guys can read through that.
Cole/ Can we comment on that or are we going to go to F?
Smock/ Um, you can comment. (both talking)
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Cole/ This was mine. Um, and I think we can do at least consider and assess whether we should
expand our economic development to include worker -owned enterprise. Um, among
other things consider (unable to understand) as a five-year strategic plan for
cooperatively -owned enterprises, and so I would like us to at least consider that, because
it seems like right now, the micro -loan entrepreneurship is focused on sole proprietorship,
uh, but I do think we need to consider expanding that (unable to understand) and that
would be sort of two or more people, uh, engaged in enterprise. Um .... and with
cooperative enterprise as a (unable to understand) we should consider including, um, in
our economic development.
Fruin/ So our micro -loan program is a loan guarantee program. So essentially what we do is we
guarantee to the bank that we will financially support the loan that they're.... that they
otherwise would not issue, at least at that same rate. So if a cooperative could go to a
bank and get a loan as an organization, then our guarantee would stay the same. So my
answer to .... to E is that, yes, they could.....they could already participate in our micro -
loan program. The first step though, as with anybody, sole proprietor or not, is that they
have to go to a bank and work through that bank to get the loan terms. So the bank
would say, yeah, we'll give you a 5% loan or a 4% loan, but only if the City guarantees
it. So as long as the cooperative could do that, it's not a problem.
Mims/ And I don't think we need anything more than the staff s....(several talking)
Cole/ ....say you want to start your own business, I would like that sort of focus for starting a
cooperatively -owned enterprise. Um (unable to understand) traditional enterprise, and so
some type of language I think we should have it is consider expanding economic
development opportunities to include cooperative, you know, cooperatively -run
enterprises. Um .... and then we .... we could have staff sort of figure out the details on
that, but (unable to understand) enterprise that is different than the ordinary business.
You know, where you have a sole proprietorship.
Dilkes/ I think that's going to be largely dependent on what other (unable to understand)
recognizes as a legal entity.
Cole/ Yeah!
Dilkes/ And I have not researched that, and so I don't know, maybe they are in Wisconsin, um,
but the bank, what Geoff was saying, the bank isn't going to give a loan to an entity that
isn't exist.... doesn't exist under Iowa law. So as long as it exists, I think (unable to
understand)
Smock/ So are we .... am I hearing that the need that Rockne's brought up is .... would be covered
in what the staff s already thinking about from a micro -loan standpoint or it's something
different?
Fruin/ Well it .... what we're commenting on is that .... if they're a legal entity and they can get a
loan, we would support them. We don't need to change anything to do that. I think what
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Rockne's saying is maybe there's a broader objective here. We do some ..... the How
You, um, How to Start a Business program or So You Want to Start a Business program.
We don't necessarily focus the educational components on how to structure a
cooperative. We are more focused on the .... the single entrepreneur, the sole proprietor.
So, we could broaden that out. We could do some community education on cooperatives
and things like that .... if Council felt that was (mumbled)
Cole/ That's exactly what I'm talking about.
Mims/ I don' t see that it rises to the level of the strategic plan, personally. I ... I think the fact that
they can already apply if they're a legal entity, and we can certainly make that clear in
our documentation, um, and if we run the You Want to Start Your Business again, talking
about, you know, the difference in co-ops and the fact that, you know, on loans find out
what (mumbled) I guess when I look ...... I haven't counted how many we've got on here
yet (laughs) To me that does not rise to the level of strategic plan. Not that we can't
work on new stuff (unable to understand)
Botchway/ Yeah I try.....I'm differentiating here between priority and strategic plan. I mean I
guess I shouldn't use the word priority.... because I think we talked about it before. To
me this is something that .... I actually (unable to understand) encapsulated in F. I was
thinking about how that could be moved under #F, cause I have #F and (unable to under)
or How to Build a Business as a part of my #F, and so I just think that's again how we
can articulate what steps we're going to take as it pertains to the strategic plan priorities.
Throgmorton/ (several talking) I would agree.
Cole/ Okay! (several talking)
Smock/ Okay, so should we talk about F or thought we just talked about F (laughs)
Botchway/ (unable to understand) ...there could be some wordsmithing. It's just it's my own
language and I'm terrible at that but I have increasing opportunities for marginalized
groups to participate and contributing economic development opportunities. So I'm
gonna try to be as brief as possible, based on, you know, Jim's prior email, um, this is
adequately funding, um, the building basics, and um, initiative and create opportunities,
um, such as pop -ups, to allow marginalized groups to (unable to understand)
entrepreneurial ideas. I think (unable to understand) diverse, um, opportunity, or diverse
collective or cooperative groups underneath that is another, um, piece. Um... A also,
sorry, I'm reading from my notes. I also, urn .... see this as potential opportunity to
address what I think is, um, a lack of, um, available training in regards to different, um,
different jobs, and so (unable to understand) how do you provide training opportunities
for at least entry-level positions — secretaries, para -educators, clerks, seasonal
opportunities, so (mumbled) diverse community can participate. A consistent theme I
hear all the time is, well, this person doesn't have the experience. So how we provide
training opportunities to individuals (unable to understand) at least those .... I'm saying at
least entry-level positions. Um ...... the second thing (coughing) excuse me! The third
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thing is actually G as well, because I'm interested in kind of taking that out of the
wording of the strategic plan and encapsulating that (coughing) under #F, and I have it
more.... specifically focused as create ad hoc committee.... for two reasons. And this is
the memo with the (mumbled) program. So there's two things, um, if you had a chance
to read the memo (unable to understand) actually one thing in regards to new
programming (unable to understand) So (unable to understand) program, what it does is
they set up a committee... they set up a committee to, um, basically look at how they can
have policies in which developers say and a developer was going to build, um, this
particular location. They would .... they have a policy, a city policy, that says that 20% of
the, um, the workfo.... work labor needs to go to apprenticeship programs and so it spurs
that apprenticeship, um (mumbled) narrative, labor development, so we can push more
people into these opportunities. So I mean I think these are conversations to have with
multiple people (unable to understand) So I think there's a large number of conversations
at the school level. I'm saying that there needs to be a conversation at the City level, as
far as one, looking at a policy in regards to ensuring that developers are incorporating that
within their, um .... um, contracts (unable to understand) positions, and then secondly, I
think it goes back to what my initial point was, was with the (unable to understand)
program also introduces is training opportunities for additional apprenticeship programs.
And so .... I don't want to get into the details of that right now, and I don't necessarily
think that's a part of the strategic plan, but I do think it's a part of increasing
opportunities for marginalized groups to participate and contribute in economic
development opportunities.
Smock/ Comments or thoughts? (several talking)
Taylor/ I think that's very important when you have lengthy discussions about this, uh (unable to
understand) cause how do we tend to (clears throat) excuse me, recent School Board
meetings and Phil Hemingway, uh (unable to understand) the need for that and it was
alarming to hear because we toured the Kirkwood facility a while back and it's a
beautiful facility up there (unable to understand) It's huge and cost a lot of money. It's
beautiful, but the .... he gave the numbers, but only six students are enrolled in the
automotive program. That just signals to me that perhaps something's wrong in the Iowa
City Community School District (unable to understand) work with them and the
apprenticeship programs, uh, and other.... whatever is out there to provide a path for jobs
and future careers for .... for high school students. Cause not everybody's cut out to have
plans to go to college for four years or six years (unable to understand) go to college, but
these kinds of training programs (unable to understand) He gave numbers that back in
06, 07 there were 84 students at the high school were in the auto mechanics program and
in 10 and 11 there were 68 and now this year (unable to understand) only six, and that's
just .... that's really sad. And that speaks to the apprenticeship programs also, I mean
there's excellent programs. My husband went to the plumber and pipefitter (mumbled)
Cedar Rapids (unable to under) very good career out of that. We have to be able to be
encouraging these students at the high school level to go into those trades, cause you're
hearing from the trades, building trades, that they're just not getting people into the
apprenticeship programs. So how can we as a Council encourage that?
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Botchway/ And I agree and I think that ... that's where I'm saying.... saying I'm differentiating in
a sense where I feel like, yes, there a (mumbled) but I also think there's just a general
workforce element for individuals that may not necessarily have gone through a K-12
system, um, that are coming into our community and just need opportunities.
Throgmorton/ So I had some language I'd like to suggest, and it may be language that appears in
the current strategic plan, or at least in part, so ..... anyhow, let me just say this, and I'll
elaborate just a little bit. So work closely with the School District, Kirkwood Community
College, labor organizations, Iowa Works, and others to improve pathways to good jobs
for lower-income students. So it could be lower-income people. (several talking) Uh,
and then beyond that, one thing I wonder now is .... who would do this? Work closely
with ... so would we be delegating this assignment to the staff, and if so, who would ... on
staff would do it? Geoff would have to answer that. And if not, who would do it? But
beyond that I think there's lots of particular elements could easily appear underneath that
category, but.....that's what I would argue for, is kind of language I just put out there.
Thomas/ So I (unable to understand) in fact before you mentioned that, Jim, I .... one of our
previous items was bringing to my mind what do we have on our current strategic plan
(laughs) as we may be duplicating or .... pretty close, you know, some of these things may
overlap to some degree. So .... I think .... I don't know (mumbled)
Throgmorton/ It's pretty hard to look through it (laughs) (both talking)
Thomas/ But anyway I .... I liked that .... it's finding that sweet spot between.....you know,
something which does open up the potential, you know, you're identifying an idea and
maximizing the potential ways in which to deal with something, without.... jumping
ahead to any particular op .... option.
Cole/ I like Jim's language, and to your point, Jim, about whether staff or one of the non -profits
should do that, um, I think we give that decision to staff, you know, in terms of whether
(mumbled) creativity, and I like the word low-income. I'd use the word marginalized
(unable to understand) for some reason that strikes me, I don't know .... I don't know if I
would want to refer to myself as marginalized. Um, it's not really a pejorative word, but
I prefer low-income. Um.....so like.....so I think you talked about low-income as
opposed to marginalized.
Botchway/ Well two points, because I actually agree with (both talking)
Cole/ (mumbled)
Botchway/ Yeah, two points, cause I agree with Jim's language as well. I think that when
I .... what I'm .... what I did not, was not being clearly articulated (unable to hear)
mentioning our, um, kind of the cooperative piece that Rockne was mentioning, and then
also, um.....also kind of the.....the building basics that we already currently (unable to
understand) funding, and so I'm okay with how that, and maybe wordsmithing, maybe
not necessarily particularly identifying, um, different groups or organizations and saying
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working with a diverse stakeho .... working with diverse stakeholders, whatever you just
said, and then .... the only reason .... I'm okay with the low-income as well, but the only
reason I said marginalized is because when I was thinking about writing it, I was not just
focusing on race and ethnicity. I was also focused on women, ensuring that we have all
these different topics. So I'm ... I mean we could wordsmith the word, I don't care about
that. Um, because to me it's still opening up opportunities for .... women who may not be
low-income or individuals, um, with disabilities who may not be low-income, and so I
want to make sure that we provide a range of opportunities (coughing, unable to hear
speaker)
Throgmorton/ So it could be low-income and disadvantaged.
Botchway/ It could be, yeah. Whatever... whatever that....
Mims/ I guess I would ask this question. How many of you are familiar with Regional
Workforce Development Board?
Botchway/ As far as like familiar, yeah. I mean as far as you know their day to day, no.
Mims/ We have a Regional Workforce Development Board. This is set up by the State of Iowa.
It's run through Kirkwood Community College. Um, there's a chief elected officers part
of it and then there's the Regional Workforce Development Board that works on a lot of
these things. I would be the first to agree that they .... don't have all the solutions. They
haven't solved all the problems. But you're talking about what's already in place is a lot
of resources with a lot of people for whom this is their career, this is their expertise on
job training, job retraining, uh, transportation for people to get to that training, all of
those aspects. I quite .... I feel like this is such and complicated issue, and I .... and I
support the intent of what everybody is saying. But I do not believe that this is an
issue .... that as a Council, even in trying to talk with the School Board and a few others,
that we can .... on our own, have much of an impact on. I think before we start making
this a major .... you know especially creating a Council -appointed committee and all this
kind of stuff, I think what makes more sense is for the Mayor and Pauline, or whatever,
two or three people to set up a meeting with the people at Kirkwood that really run this,
find out what they're doing, how can we get more involved, how can we help, are
there.....we're gonna sit.... I'm sorry, folks, we're gonna sit here and try and reinvent the
wheel on what is an incredibly, incredibly complex almost unsolvable problem. And
there's already resources in place with expertise in place that .... I think we should use and
try to connect with.... before we do this.
Throgmorton/ I agree with you about regional. Of course as you know I was on the CEO board
for four years. So that's why I put in this language, work with the District, Kirkwood,
labor organizations, Iowa Works, which is the other term for the (mumbled) clearly we
cannot do this alone and we have to collaborate. I think we can contribute. That's the
main thing I was trying to get at, was work with these other organizations to try to
improve pathways.
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Mims/ I think we need to start out by finding out what they're doing. And I don't .... I will fully
admit, I don't (mumbled) it's been a while since I've been on the board and so .... I think
that's a starting point is to find out what their resources are and what they're doing, and
then how.....can.....can we bring any resources, maybe, to the table to advance the areas
that we are most concerned about.
Cole/ But isn't that a particular of the strategic plan objective, I mean so you're identifying the
objective. That would be a particular in that. (unable to understand) I don't think we're
trying to say that we're the alpha omega of the entire problem. It is a very complicated
issue, but as I view from a municipal standpoint, there could be opportunities that (unable
to understand) community that these are the things that we want. Um, we may all of a
sudden get some requests for developments that may incorporated a maker space or an
educational component to it. So we're at least keepin' our eyes open for that. So I .... I
guess I'd like to leave it in.
Throgmorton/ Several days ago I got a phone call from a man who appeared by voice at least to
be a Central African immigrant and he wanted to know how he could find a good job.
Said he was callin' the Mayor to get an answer for that question. I .... I didn't have a good
answer. My bad, but I didn't. I didn't know who to phone. I didn't know who, you
know, who could actually help. But if he's a resident, that person's a resident of the city,
we need to have ... find some way to help residents like that find (mumbled) which doesn't
mean we create the pathways. (mumbled) maybe create something (mumbled)
Smock/ Well and what a great discussion to have with some of your non -profits to say what are
you doing, what are your constraints, and how can we help. Right? Cause there may be
some things from a.....from a city standpoint that they're.... they get stuck because
they're (mumbled) and you guys can partner together and make more things happen
together. So that .... (both talking)
Thomas/ I'm seeing that .... in some of these reflect that. The ... the way of solving these difficult
problems are through networking, and so in that sense I think we're obligated to be part
of that network. What role we precisely play would be determined, but to at least
articulate the fact that we are part of the solution and we need to work with these other
entities at .... arriving at it, but we are part of (mumbled)
Smock/ So I think we have a version of some wordsmithing, and we started this discussion, um,
Kingsley, you (mumbled) very specific like your vision of the components and
(mumbled) context, right?
Botchway/ Yeah, it was to provide justification for why I (both talking)
Smock/ ....support that, but I .... but I think that, I think in this one, when you look at ... if you just
read F, and I think I heard G can sort of roll up into F because the intention and purpose
are sort of the same. Maybe it's kinda one thing. Um.....before we leave this one, how
much.....back to that what's the vision and what are the .... what are your requirements,
and separating those two discussions. Um, how much detail do you need to put in this?
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Is it okay to say we're gonna find partnerships and we're gonna do the best we can so that
I know who to ... to have, you know, my friend that just .... my friend that I met yesterday
calls I know what to do with them. Is the verb to create networks when we're doing
things or are there some things you want to put in the plan that are a little more specific
so that you know you got there. Um, where .... where are you at with this?
Throgmorton/ If we wanted to we could end that sentence about, the one that I tossed out.
Smock/ Uh huh.
Throgmorton/ We could end it and (mumbled, laughs) and then say this might include... and list
two, three, four very precise, short.....indicators about what might be considered. I mean
that's one way to (both talking)
Smock/ Yeah. What do you .... what are your thoughts about that?
Botchway/ I'm comfortable with this language, I mean for me, the ... the buzz words are provide
access, low-income (both talking)
Smock/ Disadvantaged.
Botchway/ I mean, we're gonna I mean I think there's some wordsmith .... wordsmithing that can
happen, but also (mumbled) that's the spirit of what I was tryin' to get at. I just used
different language and so....
Smock. So and then as a litmus test, fast forward two years, staff brings your list of here's
everything we've accomplished, and there's eight things on there that accomplish that,
you guys are good? (several responding) Yep? Okay. You were gonna say something?
(several talking) Okay. If you twitch around here, I'm gonna call on you (laughter) You
might buy yourself a broken down microwave. It's the second time I've sold one today.
Somebody twitched in a presentation I was doing this morning and I'm like `sold!'
(laughter) (unable to hear) great auctioneer! Okay! Um .... we made it to the bottom of
number one. For what's documented. Um .... I think, Ashley, I'm gonna come back to
you (mumbled) look at the full version. Is there anything that .... this is always the most
nervous part, cause I'm gonna open the floor for what are we missing, cause I know
we're trying to make the list short. But I also don't wanna.....stop, right?
Cole/ I'm wondering if we can get through all seven first.
Smock/ And then come back?
Cole/ (both talking)
Smock/ Perfect! I love that idea actually. I think that would work. Great suggestion! Okay.
Um, what was the other thing I wanted to say about this? So that's seven. We're not
gonna add until the end, I love that. Um ...... okay. So we're gonna go to ..... number
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three. Foster healthy neighborhoods throughout the city. Number three has a lot of
letters under it. We're gonna go one, three, seven, is that okay? One, three, seven, and I
think three's, um, a good .... I'm just gonna check in with you on time. Do you
guys .... it's 2:18. Need a .... let's try to get through three and then we'll see if we take a
break at 3:00. That'll be the goal, okay? All right. So foster healthy neighborhoods
throughout the city, improve the affordable housing action plan by identifying ways in
which we can improve the affordability of rental housing in Iowa City. (mumbled) rental
housing and affordability, affordable housing (both talking)
Salih/ I just want to pass this around for everyone.
Frain/ As that's comin' around, I tried to group the like items together, so really A through E are
dealing with (noises, difficult to hear speaker) affordable housing.
Smock/ Okay. So we have persuade citywide inclusionary zoning, accelerate our affordable
housing action plan, address the housing needs of students — thank you — pursue the use
of land banking funds. Those are all sort of in that bucket of affordable housing. What
are the comments or thoughts?
Mims/ I could start out .... with I think it was in our last info packet, we had the results of the
housing study, and there's lots of suggestions, possibilities in there from public, private,
hybrid opportunities and .... I think until we see the reaction to that, um, from the
University and .... cause they were a part of that (mumbled) recall Coralville, Iowa City,
and the University were part of that study, um, that study, you know, delineates some...
some options for the University that we don't know exactly how they're gonna respond to
that and what they might do. Um ..... their response could have a (coughing, difficult to
hear speaker) potentially have a huge impact on a lot of these things, and so.....1 think we
just, I guess I would just say I think we need to really keep that in mind as.....as we think
about what some of these items are and how we might want to start before we know what
their response is going to be.
Throgmorton/ I would agree completely with that, Susan. When I first saw the .... when I saw the
first draft of that housing plan, I thought, `Wow! If the University does (unable to
understand) that could greatly increase the supply of housing, have a dramatic effect on
rental housing market in Iowa City, and therefore, when we think on rents and therefore
on the overall affordability of rental housing in Iowa City. So I think that's crucial. So
that's the main reason I .... I came up with this specific language for this first item
anyhow. And that's why .... but I think there are elements that should be included with
that or attached to it, and one really has to do with cost burdened households, which is
what our affordable housing action plan currently focuses on, for good reason. Uh, but I
just wanted to affirm a lot of what you said, Susan.
Botchway/ Jim, I'm confused. Which one are you (mumbled) (several talking)
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Throgmorton/ I'm sorry! Yeah, it...it says (several talking) improve our affordable housing
action plan by identifying ways in which we (unable to understand) (several talking)
rental housing in Iowa City (several talking)
Botchway/ So kind of to Jim and .... maybe even Susan's point, I would agree, you know, the
information (unable to understand) at least, um, and I .... I think I added here accelerate
affordable housing action plan and identify metrics. To me I .... I do think, when I think
of the, I mean, I think about the word `improve' disencapsulates what I'm .... what I'm
focused on as far as acceleration. There's some other, uh, things that I have listed out
here (mumbled) regards to our (mumbled) policy, our tax abatement, I think all come
under that, and so.....I'm actually comfortable with A through E being that.
Smock/ Being A, being (both talking)
Botchway/ Being just A. I mean I don't want to speak for everybody else cause I know
everybody else has theirs, but my point is is that.... there's some details that I have
articulated in my current plan, even the increase the affordable housing that
Mazahir .... Mazahir had mentioned at the last, um, the last meeting for budget
considerations that I'll be bringin' up later on, but for me I just .... from a broad sense I
think that incorporates what Jim was just talking about also the additional points.
Smock/ Do you want to share any context for the document you handed around (both talking)
Salih/ You know sometime I really feel like I'm confused. I don't know when I should talk or
not or (several talking) yeah, and uh.....(several talking and laughing) No, no, I mean just
like, uh, I know that I said I want to (unable to understand) time to talk about it. If not I
really don't understand it, you know? Because I don't (both talking)
Throgmorton /I think this would be the appropriate time, for that (both talking) which is about
increasing the current budget, from 650 to....
Salih/ One million.
Throgmorton/ Your suggestion was to one million? Yeah, so, uh, so that makes ..... that would
be, I don't know, A through F, plus your suggestion.
Salih/ Yes. I really have two suggestion on that. First we (unable to understand) fund to one
million, and the second one, to set a clear goal for our affordable housing, um, you know
(unable to understand) and achievable goal for the provision of affordable housing in
Iowa City (unable to understand) I'm just like proposing some language (unable to
understand)
Fruin/ I think just so everybody's on the same page and so I can explain why that million dollar
proposal's not in here. This is .... I had that slated for the budget deci.... for the
discussion, not the strategic planning. It's okay to talk about it here, but that's why it
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doesn't show up here. It's still on the table for budget and then this language, I think
you're referring, uh, it's says `from,' that's the current strategic plan language.
Salih/ Uh huh.
Fruin/ So you're not gonna see that (unable to understand) you're not gonna find that in the
memo.
Salih/ Uh huh.
Fruin/ Just so everybody's (both talking)
Salih/ Okay, yeah, I (unable to understand)
Smock/ It's good! Bring it up! (several talking)
Salih/ (unable to understand) That's my suggestion (unable to understand) because I, you know
(unable to understand) I know there is .... this is (unable to understand) and I think we
really need to have, um, you know, more (unable to understand) rental assistant or
anything (unable to understand)
Smock/ So when you talk about those (both talking) those things, is it .... so one of the things that
makes these discussions so tough (unable to understand) exactly where you're supposed
to be is you have to go between very specific details back to higher strategies. So when
you think about things you just listed, is it ... would they be .... if there was a strategy that
said we are going to improve upon the affordable housing action plan, and identify ways
in which we can improve the affordability of rental housing. That's an umbrella
statement. Would the things you're talking about be covered under that? Like would....
is that at high level what you're trying to accomplish with the things you just listed? If
we did that and we came back in two years and we had accomplished your things, would
you feel like we've done what we committed to do in the strat plan, high level vision of
where we wanna go. Those are examples of things we do or not.
Salih/ I really don't know.
Smock/ You really don't know? Okay. Sometimes (several talking) think....
Cole/ Along those lines, um, I gotta tell you I am really impressed with the proposal that we got
from the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition, which contains a lot of detail
and it was an email from Sara Barron. And I'm not saying we should put all this in the
afforda...or in our strategic plan.
Smock/ Right!
Cole/ Um .... but I like language that would be.....consider and review whether we should
implement the recommendations of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition.
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So we're not saying which ones we would adopt today, um .... but to me that gives us a
framework for the staff, you know, tomorrow if we're able to get this adopted, would be
able to meet with the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition, and then start going
through those recommendations and then making recommendations back to us as to what
they feel is feasible and what's not, because.....as I look at this proposal, it seems sort of
like a very vetted proposal. Um, that would be my thoughts. We get the detail plus the
overarching strategic plan goal.
Smock/ Okay.
Botchway/ Here's.... here's what I was thinking in regards to not only that .... not only Mazahir's
proposal but also some additional (mumbled) to that proposal is that I think this is a work
session item for me, to clearly articulate (mumbled) staff to carry out (mumbled)
affordable action plan. Um, you know, ultimately we need to improve it, um, I like the
word `identify' because it speaks to the measurable piece that I think is discussed in...
this, um, recommended change from Mazahir, but you know.... there's like six different, I
mean, pursue city-wide inclusionary zoning, address housing needs of students, pursue
use of land banking funds with the goal of creating (mumbled) units. All those are, I'm
very supportive of and want to be introduced into the plan. I just don't necessarily know
if that's a strategic plan item. Including all the things that were brought up from the
Johnson County Housing Coalition.
Throgmorton/ I can say I haven't seen this until just now, literally. So .... I don't know what's in
it. Yeah, so .... beyond that, I'm sure there's lots of good stuff in it but I haven't had a
chance to read it. But to get .... another, couple ideas into the mix, the first thing we need
to do, I believe, is complete the remaining strategies in our current affordable housing
action plan. I think there are three actions (unable to understand) one has to do with, uh,
inclusionary zoning for voluntary annexations, and there are a couple others. (several
talking) Yeah, so .... let's complete them, and the second is, in my view anyhow is that...
the point about identifying ways to improve the overall affordability of housing, and that
gets to in large part increasing the supply of. ... of good rental housing. And then I would
think, well ... and then .... and then there are lots of other detail items. May .... maybe there
....they can be put into a one category called something like `consider' or `examine
carefully' the possibility of, I mean, language kind of like that. (several talking) Uh, so
maybe that could apply to what the Coalition has provided us with. And I .... I'd be happy
to do that. I wouldn't want to say right now `do what the Affordable Housing Coalition,'
.....(both talking)
Cole/ Yeah, no (both talking) but I think they look good to start.
Taylor/ Do .... do we have to limit it to .... to just (mumbled) single-family homes (several talking)
that perhaps would like to have the value of owning a home (several talking)
Smock/ So .... go ahead!
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Mims/ I was just gonna .... I think the idea of combining a bunch of these into A with that general
language gives us that opportunity, one, to have (unable to understand) how quickly, or
not, the University's gonna respond to that housing study, cause that could have huge
impact on decisions that we might make. Um, gives us the opportunity to try and finish
the stuff, as you mentioned, Jim, that we haven't done yet. Uh, time to actually consider
what's in the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition's document.
I'm .... personally extremely concerned about disparity between the request of Iowa City
and Coralville and nothing from North Liberty. Um, but we can look at that and consider
it. As .... as I've indicated before, I, you know, I'm not ready to go with the million
dollars and I've explained that oft.... explained again at budget, when we were talking
budget, but I think back .... again, back to .... to Courtney's comment about a lot of these
are very detailed and some of Maz's suggestions are very detailed, and trying to bring
this back to .... a little higher level strategic statement where a lot of these things, um, we
can ... we certainly can and will I'm sure talk about in more detail later on in terms of how
do we wanna.... how do we warm successfully complete these items within the strategic
plan.
Fruin/ If I could take one quick second and just remind folks how .... how the first plan came
about and the process that we used there. So two years ago when this conversation was
happening, it came out of it that we were going to create an affordable, uh, housing action
plan, and there was a lot of input from people at the time on what should be in there, what
shouldn't be in there. Staff worked to put together a list of a dozen or so strategies, uh,
we .... we presented that to Council at a work session. Um, there was feedback, uh, a lot
of support, but there was a lot of, well what about this and what about that. Did you
consider this? Did you consider that? And so I think we presented to Council in June of
that particular year, and the Council didn't actually adopt that plan till maybe September
of 2016, I believe it was, and .... and during that time we had a, you know, public meeting,
uh, that people could attend. We met with the, uh, Affordable Homes Coalition. We met
with other stakeholders. We tweaked our plan a little bit. There were some things that
those, um, organizations advocated for that ultimately staff didn't agree with and we had
to stand before the Council and the public and say this is why we don't agree with this.
Um, but it was a pretty good process that.... created a first plan. Now, I .... I would tell
you it's time to probably redo that (unable to understand) remaining items and two of
those items, the tax abatement committee and the annexation policy, are .... are ready to
go, uh, really. I think the tax abatement committee, excuse me, needs to meet one more
time. The annexation policy, urn .... uh, is .... is ready to be scheduled for a work session.
Um, I've got a final review on .... on my desk but Eleanor and other staff have put that
together. So, we're pretty close. The regulatory piece is still hangin' out there, uh, so I
would suggest to just follow that same .... same process. We'll gladly meet with the
Affordable Homes Coalition while we're drafting that to discuss some of these things.
We present `em to you. We get public feedback, and we'll do, uh, you know an
affordable housing action plan 2.0.
Cole/ Yeah (mumbled) just say complete existing plan as approved, affordable housing action
plan.
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Throgmorton/ Pretty much what we wanna do.
Botchway/ Yes, so I would agree with that change in language, but I also wanna. ... highlight
Pauline's point (mumbled) something that adds to not only rental housing but other
housing as well.
Smock/ So A says affordable housing action plan. It doesn't just say rentals. So does that meet
the need if it just says affordable housing?
Botchway/ Oh, sorry! I keep looking (several talking)
Cole/ There was the rental, affordability of rental (both talking)
Smock/ There are some sub -bullets that talk about rental, I think. That A just says affordable
housing action plan. (several talking) ....doesn't say rental in that A. (several talking)
Oh! You guys are saying the first part, improve the affordable housing action plan using
complete and approve.
Cole/ Yeah (several talking)
Smock/ And then.....you want the word rental removed from housing in the bottom part?
(several talking)
Cole/ Including rental and owner -occupied (several talking)
Botchway/ Affordability of housing in Iowa City.
Smock/ It's redundant. But yep. Okay. Isn't it so hard not to wordsmith? Cause you don't
wanna (several talking) So .... from A to .... did we go to E? Or F?
Throgmorton/ E. (several responding)
Smock/ E?
Throgmorton/ So I .... before we jump off the affordable housing point, I'd like to emphasize
(mumbled) In our past .... in our past strategic plan, the affordable housing piece
appeared as one element in the social justice and racial equity part, and it was kind of
down the bottom of the list. It almost disappeared, literally, to anybody who would read
the document. I think we want to put a lot more weight on it. So.....as.... as a matter of
sort of, uh, strategic prioriti .... prioritization, I'd think we'd want to have this at the top,
just to be clear, at the top of the list, uh, under this category.
Mims/ I guess my only comment to that, Jim, would be maybe in reading the strategic plan it fell
off, but certainly in terms of the effort and activity we've done (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, absolutely (both talking)
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Mims/ ...not fallen off.
Throgmorton/ (both talking)
Monroe/ To clarify, it'll say in the healthy neighborhoods category or in the social justice....
initiative?
Throgmorton/ I think it's a more a matter of social justice myself. I, but I, like Geoff said earlier
on, I don't think it matters too much, as long as it's there (mumbled)
Mims/ Do organizations ever put that same kind of a bullet under two high level categories,
because it....I mean (several talking)
Smock/ I mean....
Mims/ It really affects our neighborhood but it really is social justice and racial equity, and to
drive that point home, I mean .... I mean (both talking)
Smock/ From a (mumbled) standpoint, I can't answer that without saying like what your
(mumbled) and I don't want to do that to you, but .... they're separate things, right? You
need to plan, and I think you guys are being very awesome about saying we don't care
where it goes from a planning standpoint. It's a separate discussion. Decide how you
communicate it, and I think there you'd want to highlight, cause when you do the
communication you're not just gonna put the list of your strat plan. You're gonna share
your stories about that. And those should be everywhere you can tell those stories, right,
so you can demonstrate you're doing what you're doing, absolutely should repeat.
There's only so much truth. Does that answer your question?
Salih/ I guess what I'm say I really, you know (unable to understand) I would really like to see
that affordable housing not under (unable to understand) like a section by itself, like
(unable to understand) and you know (unable to understand) because.... so we can do like
a lot of like (unable to understand) and we can add the (unable to understand) you know
(unable to understand)
Smock/ Speaks to Geoff's point a little bit too like if it's a headline piece for you guys .... so .... so
let's keep that sort of noodling, right, as we get through this and you come back and say
is it seven, did something change, um....
Thomas/ I think what you were saying can we communicate this, if we're not changing the
structure of it, which is dif.... it does make it difficult to .... I.....I'm really interested in
transportation. As I said there's no obvious category for that, but I do think how do we
now communicate what we prioritized in the .... in the strategic plan can be another
project, right, I mean if...where we talk about specifically affordable housing, as a
separate communication. Does that make sense?
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Smock/ And you should ... you should engineer your communication, right? So you have a plan
that's.... that's linear and it's numbered and it's whatever. When you do your
communicating, you wanna start thinking about who needs to hear a message where and
reverse engineer it back to your strat plan. So you will .... if you have a transportation
discussion, you wanna do the planning to say, okay, someone asked me about
transportation, what's my story? (unable to understand) back to the strat plan in a way
that makes sense. If they have a question about housing, what's my .... and it should be
very clear from.....you guys are doing.....three-dimensional work in the list. Does that
make sense? So you have to know like these are the pieces and how do they fit, and if
it's not clear to you guys how things fit, we need to work on the strat plan. All right, if
you can't find a really simple connection to the work that you're bein' asked about the
most, then we need to work on this, right? It shouldn't be a plinko board (mumbled)
should be pretty clear. Doesn't mean you have to ... it doesn't have to be so simple that
you have a line for everything and therefore it's there, but it....it shouldn't be so
complicated you can't work your way back to what you're trying to find either, and that's
the sweet spot we're trying to find, and it's not a perfect science to get there. Okay?
Cole/ To Geoff and Kingsley's point, I mean, as I view this process, we'll have these goals.
Staff will develop a set of details. Bring it to us in a work session. Hopefully we'll be
able to add some of those additional details. So I think to your concern, Mazahir, that's
my concern too, is we wanna make sure that we have enough clarity that we know what
we're going to get at the end of two years.
Salih/ Exactly!
Cole/ So hopefully we can get that at a work session.
Salih/ Yep.
Smock/ And I think that.....and I think for today, some of those extra comments or keeping the
asterisks (mumbled) I think that's important, because if we lose that context, you may get
to a place and say well we agreed to this high level thing and the movie playing in my
head and the movie playing in your.... they're all different things and everybody's mad
cause nobody thinks they got what they wanted. We don't want that either. All right, so
we just have to keep talking about it and using those examples. Okay, so to summarize
where we are on that, you're gonna keep A. We're going to take B, C, D, E, and F not
away but maybe .... maybe (mumbled) different thing, but maybe they kind of become
asterisks like they're things we're considering that staff should be thinking about. Um,
and then there's a work session to get into the details and agree to the requirements of
what goes in that plan. Is that what I'm hearing?
Mims/ Yeah, I think it's more even complicated .... I.....I would say it's more than just a work
session. It's staff really putting together action.... affordable housing action plan 2.0 with
a lot of public input, probably multiple, uh, Council work sessions. We have a 15 -point
affordable housing action plan, um, that we're working our way through and a couple of
these .... the inclusionary zoning, B, is already in the current one, right?
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Botchway/ Yeah, so it would be more (both talking)
Mims/ So it's .... I think it's gonna be staff working on updating that affordable action.....
affordable housing action plan (laughs) as to how these, uh, B through E kind of get
....implemented or a work.... folded in there. Does that make sense to everybody else?
Salih/ It doesn't make sense tome really. I just would like (unable to understand) don't
understand anything. That's why I always keep asking questions. That, you know that
the (unable to understand)
Smock/ Uh huh.
Salih/ Is that just like now you have .... this is like (unable to understand) after that, everything
that (unable to understand)
Botchway/ Yes.
Salih/ How (several responding) you know because I don't feel .... I don't wanna feel like I .... I
didn't get including on this, uh, discussion, and this is gonna be a work session (unable to
understand) or .... (several talking)
Smock/ Geoff, do you want to explain (several talking)
Fruin/ So our goal today is if we can get through all of these seven topics, that's good and we
start to narrow the focus and just continue down the process. And then we'll have a work
session in which we review that and .... and you'll be able to wordsmith, add to, subtract.
We'll do as many of those as you all want. Our hope is then that you adopt the plan by
resolution, sometime in March, but it could go as long as you need it to, until you're
comfortable with the plan, and then one thing I'd like to do that we didn't do last, uh,
with the last three strategic plans is maybe a .... a month or two after you adopt that plan,
staff would come back to you with this is how we're gonna implement it. This is the
timeline for each of the items you set out. This is the role that Council needs to play, in
terms of setting policy, providing direction, uh, giving budget authority, and this is the
role that staff needs to play. Hire a consultant, developing the recommendations,
whatever it.....creating the rehab program, whatever it is, and it would be very clear to
the Council and to the public that this is the anticipated timeline. That then becomes part
of our update. We let you know as we're goin' down the update process, are we still on
track with this timeline? Are we ahead of schedule? Are we behind schedule? Here's
why we're behind schedule. So I think that clarity, uh, will come. For today I think
we're highlighting those big, broad based areas. So for example, since we got through
item one already, promote a strong, resilient economy, it's tra... it's public transportation,
it's local foods, and it's disadvantaged populations. Now everyone fostered healthy
neighborhoods. It's affordable housing. It's complete neighborhoods with strong parks,
and it's .... safe streets. You know, the.... obviously getting ahead of myself, but that's I
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think the level we're at today. And then it gets refined a couple of times before it's
adopted.
Salih/ (unable to understand)
Botchway/ The details help because I think it provides information for Geoff and everyone else,
kind of (several talking) how we're gonna move forward. So I think you need to bring it
up, and I think it's important that you shared this information. I'm just saying (both
talking)
Salih/ (unable to understand) (several talking) (unable to understand) ...timeframe now.
Smock/ So I think ... and this is the part we're gonna have to vacillate to the details and back up.
So if you take it completely out of what you all are trying to do, like if you were gonna
build a house, right, you'd come to somebody and say I want to build a house. That's....
that's the only level. We need a house, but the fact that in the early conversations we
know that you have four children and you want to have a two -stall garage, like some of
that stuff, we're gonna have to come back and actually build you a blueprint that shows
you ... to get your house, but to understand even at the beginning some of your ideas about
that house is gonna look like help, right, so if we just said it's just a house and we didn't
have any of the details brought up, they might bring you a .... a blueprint for a .... a one -
bedroom. And you'd be like, well why, you know, so we'll get into it. We'll get it right.
They're taking all these different inputs to come back with a blueprint (laughs) we hope
works, knowing that y'all are going to say, no, I was expecting a bay window and give
me a pool or whatever, right? But it's just .... we gotta wiggle our way there, bouncing
back and forth between the high and the low. You're fine! Don't... it's good!
Cole/ A lot of the things that Susan had brought up two years ago is that I think frankly we did
the same thing in terms of wanting the details in the strategic plan, and then we did that
and we had a lot of details, but the question is at the strategic plan level, if we have so
many of the details, do we lose the focus. So it's not that the details won't happen. It's
just where do they happen, and so I think like Geoffs saying, it's at the implementation
stage that we have the details. (several talking)
Smock/ Ironically if you (both talking)
Cole/ We did the same thing.
Smock/ Yeah.
Cole/ And I think Susan brought up some valid points about having too many.
Smock/ Ironically if you try to get it .... it's counterintuitive, but if you get too detailed too early,
you're gonna constrain yourself, to get the best things to happen. Right? So if you say it
has to include whatever, Sunday bus, and that becomes a requirement, now you gotta
(mumbled) around that. Or if you pull that back, pull it off (mumbled) everything that's
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here, what's possible, and they can bring you that. Right? It's counterintuitive but that's
how it works.
Thomas/ One .... one thing, Maza, I wanted to say about, you know, raising the fund from 650 to
a million, was it ... what it raised in my mind was we need a secure funding source. You
know right now it's .... there isn't anything really to my knowledge earmarked, where we
know that we're going to have whatever we want that number to be, you know, year in
and year out. So .... so that was a question in my mind is ... you know, identify `em. How
do we securely fund on an annual basis whatever level of funding we want to achieve.
Salih/ I said last time, you know, I go to the City Manager and he said we can very comfortably
from the reserve, and after that I said this could be a trial for the first year and it is really
working and we need to secure the fund for next time, we will look into other resources
to find out how we can secure this. But I (unable to understand) first year for that and
(unable to understand) from the (unable to understand)
Smock/ And this is a budget discussion (several talking) previous Council meeting? Yeah.
Thomas/ So that bigger question, which Geoff spoke to, you know, how .... how can we more
securely fund without drawing on our reserves.
Salih/ Well (unable to understand) even when I propose the idea he says to take it from the
reserve.
Thomas/ Yeah.
Salih/ I give him an option for something else, but he is the one who come and said (unable to
understand) because you know our position is okay, you know, we can do that.
Smock/ So that's a budg.... that's a budget discussion, right, that will follow (both talking)
Tbrogmorton/ Yeah, we will talk about that.
Botchway/ Well again just to (unable to understand) I think that the problem with this is (unable
to understand) but I also think that again, kind of to your point, Mazahir, if we didn't
think that improving... or improving the affordable action plan was important to
incorporate all the items (mumbled) have a list of items here that I'm interested in
making sure (mumbled) as well. Then I think that it does change the conversation later
on down the road, and so if it was just complete the rest of the affordable housing action
plan, then I wouldn't say that it incorporates your points or some of the other things, and
so I do think it's important that you bring your points up, in thinking about how we
(mumbled) it's just, again, complete strategic ... or affordable action plan, without the
thought of approving some of the elements that you brought forth, some of the elements
that I'm interested in bringing forth, then we're not really articulating that in (unable to
understand)
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Salih/ Yes, I (unable to understand) that this is (unable to understand) sometime I don't
understand exactly what you guys mean. (unable to understand)
Throgmorton/ Maz.... my recollection is during that work session discussion we said that with
regard to the .... the question of increasing the amount of money that would go into the
affordable housing action plan, we said we would discuss that in the budget session. You
know, later on we would decide that as a part of the budget, but with regard to the idea of,
uh, doing.... increasing the, uh, the minimum wage for temporary employees, that
(mumbled) I think we explicitly said it's something we would bring up during our
strategic plan discussion.
Salih/ (unable to understand) does not have to be now (unable to understand)
Throgmorton/ From the affordable housing funding?
Salih/ Uh huh.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, that.....that's part of our budget discussion.
Fruin/ That'll be February 6a', a week from today you all will pick up your budget discussion.
That's the 4:30 meeting.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so your proposal with regard to the budget is still on the table. You're
proposing increasing to a million dollars. Yeah, and so we will make that decision when
we have that next budget discussion. (both talking) ...with regard to minimum wage,
we'll (both talking)
Salih/ ...because I start talking about it now (unable to understand) no one talk about, nobody
(unable to understand) I saying something here and no one respond to it.
Thomas/ It's confusing. (several talking and laughing)
Smock/ Certain conversations for certain meetings, right? Okay. Okay, so.....there is a budget
component that's going to be talked about February Oh. We are good with A being the
summary line for A through E, and we're ready to talk about .... is it, is there another
bucket of things here, Geoff (both talking)
Throgmorton/ F and G (several talking)
Smock/ F and G go together? Okay. What do we think about F and.....letter G?
Taylor/ I had .... one of my priorities is missing middle, or encouraging missing middle
development so, uh (unable to hear) do whatever we can and we brought a consultant in.
He spoke (unable to hear)
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Throgmorton/ With regard to F, let me be clear about what that is saying. Uh, y'all know that
we've had a consultant, uh, do a preliminary analysis for the form based code concerning
two separate neighborhoods in the city. We've learned that will be .... very expensive,
and that same consultant tried to produce a code for both of those neighborhoods in one
fiscal year. Very expensive. So what I was tryin' to do with this language is just say we
want to adopt .... my ..... my suggestion language is we want to adopt form based code for
at least one, at least one of those neighborhoods in the next two years, preferably two.
But it's kinda, you know, implicitly acknowledging there's this budgetary (both talking)
Smock/ Constraint, uh huh.
Thomas/ That's probably the right level (mumbled) for this. I mean G, which is one I put in
there as sort of a sub -set under F, um, but I .... I, you know, in hearing about budget
concerns, you know, the idea of looking elsewhere, and certainly, you know, Opticos is
expensive, uh, but they're .... one thought I had was .... uh, could we do a .... a form based
code light is the way I put it. You know, there may, you know, the Northside,
what ... what are the, what's the potential for the Northside in terms of form based code?
Is there a way we can.....approach it in a way where it isn't quite as fully fledged as a full
form based code but.... it's, you're teaching in terms of, um, addressing some of the
opportunities that arise, such as the empty lot on Van Buren. I'd love to see that
developed and the house that we purchased on, um, Ronalds. You know, there are a
couple of opportunities where at a minimum I would hope we could build a duplex, or at
least have that as an option, which we don't have right now. Um, so if there's some way
we can try to .... to, uh, optimize our funds with both I think, you know, that's what I
would like to see, and I think that's kind of implicit in a way in which you're ... what you
said.
Cole/ (unable to hear)
Thomas/ Yeah. G is .... as we, I think we're finding (mumbled) I sometimes view the strategic
plan as a way of saying things that I've been thinking about. It's really not, um, at the
level of strategic planning, but it is sort of an action item that would fall under strategic
planning and maybe an opportunity to tie the two together.
Smock/ Yeah, and helpful context I think (mumbled) It's a way of saying what you mean and
making sure it's getting heard by everyone. Good. Okay, so the .... any suggested
changes to F, with .... with Jim's additional context. Is that a yes? Is that a no? Is that a
maybe with some edits? Where we at with F?
Botchway/ I mean I feel comfortable. I think the only thing I was thinking of was actually what
you just mentioned, John, around if we did do a form based code light, could there be the
possibility that it would indeed ... or I guess it's at least one. Never mind. (mumbled)
Smock/ Okay. And then we would take G out, but keep the context for... detail. Okay? So just
like, go ahead!
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Botchway/ (both talking) I was going to probably say whatever you're about to say after....
Smock/ I was about to say that just like in real life, um, codes are easier than affordable housing.
(several talking and laughing) What were you going to say? (laughs)
Botchway/ I was going to make a suggestion, if we had a .... if everybody's had an opportunity to
go through H through.....L, and I just had, you know, and this is kind of doing it on the
fly, something about making meaningful progress on bike and park master plan, with
ensuring something about equity.
Smock/ Hmm. So you're suggesting we write a new A, like the summarizing goal for ... he's
saying H through K. You guys wanna kind of skim through those.
Throgmorton/ I ... I would agree with that, Kingsley. Yeah.
Mims/ Didn't the Parks master plan already in their implementation try, I mean, address the
equity in terms of the (several talking)
Thomas/ It does but it's not in our .... if you look at the Park master plan, which lays out, you
know, over the next X number of years, um, it's ... it's not clear to me that it's been... some
of these issues have been integrated into that implementation. (several talking)
Mims/ I'd have to go (both talking)
Botchway/ ...so I'm kind of saying yes and no, cause I think that that was articulated but I think
John brought it up in that conversation that there were additional items that he wanted to
talk about in relation to kind of ...what's on here, equitable distribution of parks and
other things. That's why I wanted to tie it into (several talking) just to make sure (several
talking)
Thomas/ ....again, that's a very detailed thing, but it actually became a very charged issue in the
schools, and uh, so it seemed to me one compromised approach toward providing
rubberized surfacing, which is I would say a better .... it's more accessible than what we
typically do. Uh, a compromised approach would be identifying locations where that
could be done, without going (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah, I mean to me before I even would agree to that language and consider a plan for it,
I .... I want more detail, because one thing I recall at the Council meeting was the huge
cost differential in (both talking) and so I don't care if we didn't have any financial
constraints, is that surface that much better and that much safer than it is worth spending
that extra money? I'm not saying it is, I'm not saying it isn't. But ... I want more of that
information before I would agree to a statement that basically says, `This is what we
think we should do. We've got to find a plan to do it.' (several talking)
Cole/ ....seems like we're jumping ahead. Were we at H or do we want to (several talking)
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Smock/ H, I, J, and K (several talking)
Cole/ ....facilitator lead where we go.
Smock/ Yep! So I think that .... so back to the first one, H, I, J, and K are ones ... like they're in
order on purpose together because they are about bicycles, parks, um .... (several talking)
sorry, and L. Okay? So we can talk about them individually, the recommendation
is .... how about I'll read them. The recommendation is that can we find a summarizing
higher level strategic summary statement that would allow us that direction, on what we
want out of bicycles and parks and it sounds like access, right, equal access. Um....
Throgmorton/ I think H and J can be combined to accomplish what Kingsley was suggesting.
Smock/ Okay.
Throgmorton/ Which I would support.
Smock/ Okay, so ensure the next two budget contains sufficient funds to make meaningful
progress and achieving the goals of the plan, and J, I'll just go to that one, review the
equity gaps (mumbled) Parks plan and discuss options to address.
Cole/ That sounds good to me.
Frain/ (several talking) Can I clarify one point? John, on the ... on the equity issue in the Parks
master plan are you talking about the, uh, acquisition of land, to serve under -served parts
of the community? Or are you talking about equity in a different context?
Thomas/ The .... the equity gaps in the plan were in three areas. Pheasant Ridge, uh, Miller
Orchard, and what's quite to clear to me from the map, roughly Twain, Twain
neighborhood.
Frain/ So ... but .... but just where people are maybe outside of a distance to walk, being able to
walk (both talking)
Thomas/ ...no parkland within easy access.
Frain /Correct.
Thomas/ ....and, um, you know, the plan called for .... they recommended (mumbled) options, not
all of `em required land acquisition. So....
Smock/ Okay. So the .... the recommendation, wordsmithing later (mumbled) combine H and J.
Okay? And then .... K, equitable distribution of destination parks in easy and safe
distance. (mumbled) residents we were just talking about, John?
Thomas/ Uh huh.
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Smock/ Okay. So is that a detailed sublet of the combined H and J?
Thomas/ That could fall under J.
Smock/ Under J. Okay. Anybody have a concern with that?
Thomas/ As can L really.
Smock/ And L, consider a plan, and to your point, Susan, maybe that's pretty specific right now.
So, okay. What I'm hearing .... I don't know, what I'm hearing is we can combine, um, H
and J into one, and then asterisk K and L. So we keep the context but we don't put `em
in the strat plan. Is everybody there? Okay. All right, let's look at M, consider the
adoption of a safe streets action plan. Comments or questions about that one?
Thomas/ Well that was one that I .... I proposed, and you know you've heard from me on that
one, um, and (mumbled) the Blue Zones report from four years ago and the resolution
spoke about .... the City developing a streets... guidelines, manual, and pedestrian plan,
number of things, uh, which didn't materialize, and at this point, in a way maybe it's
good that they didn't materialize, because I'm beginning to feel as we are seeing, we're
developing action plans for climate or our bike and parks master plan. So in some ways
the ... this plan, which would call for making our streets safer, um, by way of an action
plan, seems to be from .... from what I can tell, the most cost effective and, um, effective
way of addressing our safe streets, which I'm seeing as .... as Rockne said, they're, it's an
issue all over town. Kind of filters into our conversations, uh, land use as well as other
things, um ..... whether it needs to be reworded so it's a little bit more generic, um, but ... is
a question, but I think.... you know, if it doesn't include a safe streets action plan, uh,
I .... I don't know what the remedy would be. So....
Cole/ One remedy that I would see. I look at the M versus the L, and it seems like staff thinks N
is, um, much easier, um, to implement. M means it's medium level to implement and
although this would be at the budget discussion, I remember a price tag of 100,000 bucks
they were looking at for that. So I guess I would prefer giving the staff, since it's easy to
implement, easier, that we strike now and focus on N, develop a policy for a 20 -mile -an -
hour slow streets initiative in select neighborhoods. Staff thinks that's doable. Once
that's done we could expand (unable to understand) neighborhoods.
Fruin/ I think naturally if you did M, N would.... the.... the 20 -mile -per -hour recommendation
would likely be a part of whatever the study produced. So you will get .... the action plan
would be much more comprehensive, in terms of how it evaluates safety, and again, N
would be a very specific action that (mumbled) targeted in certain (mumbled)
Thomas/ M .... M is looking at the main thoroughfares. N is looking at within a neighborhood.
Calming the .... managing traffic (mumbled) kind of complementary.
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Smock/ And there's more things involved in making your streets safe than how fast people are
going, right? So....
Thomas/ One of the, uh, in terms of process, what .... what really appeals to me, and again as I
think reflected in our climate, parks, and uh, bike master plans, it's a network. It's
bringing.... bringing to the process, uh, a whole range of people who are affected by
whatever the issue is. Uh, and I .... I do think we need a public conversation about safe
streets. I'm just running into that, um, living ... what seems like increasing frequency. So
I think it's an opportunity for the community as a whole, represented by this group, to,
um, participate and... and coming up with a plan to address it.
Mims/ I'm with Rockne on this. I ... I feel like we're talkin' strategic plan, not budget, but when
we were talking about it, there was some... probably that $100,000, uh, price tag for a
consultant. That, along with .... the long list from staff of what they've not only done but
are in the middle of doing and, um, new Transit director and Transportation, that issue,
urn .... and just the overloading of staff, I .... I really think this is something that we need
to, I think we need to do, but I'm not ready to do it yet. I think we need to put it off a
year or two. A good combination of the money and the staff capacity (mumbled)
concerning to me.
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) two years, uh, I see no reason why we couldn't, if we chose to, I don't
(mumbled) couldn't initiate a safe streets action plan a year from now and get that
process underway. Cause if not then we're really talkin' about three years from now
probably. So .... you know, I .... I think there's merit to putting it into the .... into our
strategic plan. Mainly because it has, uh, a key word — consider — you know, which
doesn't mean we'll do it, cause we don't know enough or whether we want to do it or not.
But I see merit in putting it in the strategic plan.
Salih/ I agree (unable to hear)
Frain/ The way that I would recommend that we would proceed on this, and I'm .... I'm okay
with that ... that language, if that's what Council wants. Uh, but I would not go from
where we're at to hiring a consultant right away. I ... I think we do have a wealth of data
that we don't do a great job analyzing and talking about, and in the MPO we've seen
maybe some of their reports where they list top 10 intersections and those sorts
(coughing, unable to hear speaker) I think, urn, if we could spend a little bit more time
analyzing the data, um, visualizing the data on maps and maybe allowing Council to have
a .... a conversation, there may be a .... a few things like N that (mumbled) a few solutions
that naturally surface, without having to go to a consultant. Um, and ... and you could kind
of ease.....ease your way into this without feelin' like you have to write a $100,000 check
to the effect that this is one where I don't know that you need to jump right into the
consultant. I think we could, in this first year, spend some time analyzing the data, listen
to them talk about it, and then you can make that consultant decision or .... you know, give
staff (mumbled) ideas (mumbled) to improve.
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Cole/ Cause that changes my mind, cause I had sticker shock in terms of the consultant. So if
(mumbled) support that.
Froin/ Well I would say we have the existing expertise to analyze the data and help facilitate a
discussion about it. (several talking) It depends on how aggressive you want to be, uh,
in .... in moving forward, after we look at that data.
Smock/ Any concerns with that? Additional (mumbled) Susan, you okay with that?
Mims/ Well, I just .... I don't know, I guess, until we get all the pieces pulled together.
Smock/ Okay. So we'll leave it for now, and then we'll look at it in (mumbled) Okay! All
right, so that gets us through number 3. Okay? Um, we're gonna take a 10 -minute break
just for energy. Only for Jim. The rest of you (several talking and laughing) Take a 10 -
minute break, um.....and...... (mumbled) Number 7 when we get back, just in case you
want to peek ahead.
LE
Smock/ Okay, so while you guys are finishing that, we have been through 1, we have been
through 3, and we're movin' on to number 7! Phew! Number 7, advance social justice
and racial equality. So we're gonna go right down the list. Is there any bucketing in this
one or is it kinda one by one?
Frain/ Line by line.
Smock/ Line by line, okay. Identify specific ways in which we can increase lower-income
residents access to good jobs.
Throgmorton/ We already addressed that in another, under another category, with very similar
language.
Smock/ Yeah, in the community one .... no, in, uh.....(several talking) Yeah, we're at 7a. And
we're looking at .... are we looking at 1f? Ish? (several talking)
Monroe/ (difficult to hear, several talking in background)
Smock/ So canwe look at If, g that we combined. So....increase opportunities for marginalized
groups who participate and contribute to the economic development opportunities. Um,
this one says identify specific ways in which you could increase lower-income residents
access to good jobs. Do we feel like this one's redundant now? Have we captured or lost
anything?
Throgmorton/ It'd be nice if we wanted to duplicate it, as Susan suggested (difficult to hear) you
know, have it here and .... in item, uh (mumbled)
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Smock/ So....
Throgmorton/ Priority 1 (mumbled)
Smock/ ....for your strat plan ..... I might suggest you pick and stick, versus getting confused,
cause every strat plan item's gonna have a bunch of actions under it, and doesn't have to
be perfect, but you have to agree to it. I wouldn't .... I wouldn't duplicate it in the strat
plan. I would duplicate it in your com plans. Okay? So if you .... if you like it better
under equality, that's the .... and go back to what your purpose is, right? Why is it here?
What does it stand for? What's it about? What's your why? If your why's .... in one
more than the other, put it there. I don't know if you have a strong opinion about that.
Throgmorton/ I think it's both, but I think it belongs more here than in .... there. (several talking)
Yeah.
Smock/ Social justice.
Botchway/ The only reason I'll disagree actually.... kind of agree, the only reason I disagree in
part is because (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) having it within the economic
development strategic plan objective highlights it in a different way than it would be
highlighted, um, with the advancing of social justice and racial equity piece. Um ... but
I'm not .... I'm not gonna sit here and fight it.
Smock/ Yeah. So when you guys think about, um, your strat plan are the high level actions you
are taking to accomplish whatever bigger mission or purpose that this team has
assembled to solve, right? So which one, and I think your point, Kingsley, is .... you
know, it probably.... where's the head of the snake and maybe it's kinds hard to tell, you
know, what ... what's driving what. Um ... but if it .... if it's an economic action, it should go
under economy. If it's a ... if it's both, you might wanna, um, asterisk it or do something
else, right, so it .... you expect the one action to make meaningful impact in two different
areas. I think your story around `ems different, right?
Botchway/ Well and to Jim's point, I'm actually.... actually think it's both, if you're asking me to
choose, that was my comment, and I think (mumbled) asterisk standpoint, we could
asterisk both or put `em in both and (both talking)
Smock/ But it's one action. Right? Okay! Is that ... is that what you guys are most comfortable
with is .... is having one action, but it's duplicated both places? (several responding)
Okay. And .... so, um.....and are you guys good with the wording? Do you want the
wording that's in 7a, or do you want the wording that we put on, uh, 1 f, is one better than
the other?
Botchway/ (unable to hear)
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) .....we can read that?
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Monroe/ Yes (unable to hear) making a final note here. (several talking) Yeah. (several talking)
Throgmorton/ Both of `em talk about access to good jobs (mumbled)
Smock/ There's not a strong opinion either way? You want us just to wordsmith it later and keep
`em together for now? (several responding) Okay. So, this software's really cool. She
can just put the two notes together and (laughs) best words out of each and we'll show
you a version of that later. Okay. All right, ready to go to B? Ensure staff safely and
skillfully assist people in crisis, fulfill Iowa City's commitments to the CIT, Housing
First, Behavioral Access Center relationships.
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) (several talking and laughing)
Taylor/ And all those are important. I .... I have it as a real high priority (unable to understand)
and, uh (unable to understand) close with the County and the immigrant communities, uh,
to ensure that if it becomes a reality (unable to understand) uh, all those things are
important (mumbled)
Throgmorton/ You know, given what, uh, what you said earlier about how we really ought to be
focusing on strategic initiatives. Yeah, well this is a .... Behavioral Health Access is
certainly something we are committed to and want to proceed with, and I know Susan's
been serving on the, uh, advisory committee for it. So that's probably (mumbled)
focused on. The staffs been doing a great job with the CIT training, makin' good
progress I think on Housing First. So, yeah, so probably (both talking)
Cole/ I'm just thinking of the exact same thing. This strikes me as one of those things that
(mumbled) completely embedded and normalized, near universal consensus. So for
(unable to understand) we could improve. I would just .... I would rather strike it.
Smock/ And call it (unable to understand) as usual?
Cole/ Yeah, I think it's business as usual, isn't it?
Botchway/ Well....
Cole/ Seems like it (both talking)
Botchway/ ....there's a part of me, and (mumbled) Pauline.
Taylor/ Okay!
Botchway/ ...that wants to.....you know, whose language is this? Jim, is this yours? It reads,
Jim (laughter and several talking) (unable to understand) (laughter and several talking)
Smock/ He's just gonna keep diggin' his hole! (laughter and several talking) Okay, we're
listening, Kingsly, we're listening!
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Botchway/ I almost want to focus on this assisting people in crisis, um, because I think that it
encapsulates the Behavioral Access Center, the Housing First, CIT, Invest Health, and so,
you know, how do we articulate that, because that to me is a.....an indi.... that's more to
me a strategic (mumbled) So, we will .... we will develop and.....ensure.... meaningful
work related to assisting people in crisis. I mean, that's a terrible sentence, but something
along those lines, to ensure that we keep all of what Jim's talking about, but also ... um,
what Pauline was .... your work in Invest Health as well. (both talking)
Smock/ ...or anything (both talking)
Botchway/ ....articulating that signals to the community that this is an area of need and concern
for City Council, um, separate than articulating (unable to understand)
Throgmorton/ Especially the `assist people in crisis part,' right?
Smock/ I was cuing in on those words as well, the assist people in crisis. Um, I think that you'd
want to put some ... some more words around that, so people know what you mean.
Whether it's (mumbled) like assist people in crisis on its own probably doesn't stand as a
strategic item (mumbled) context, but I agree with you, maybe not the initiatives that are
business as usual, and it opens you up for what's the thing behind the next one you do,
right, to that point, if it's two years, but it .... you can reach a little beyond. So....
Fruin/ I would....I would just keep in mind, uh, how to say this, uh, correct way, but this isn't...
this isn't kind of our core service area (mumbled) staff that are really focused on this.
Yes, we have staff that are working on the Behavioral Access Center, but we're not
leading that. Um, the Invest Health, we're definitely part of it, but when it comes to
serving people in crisis, we're not Johnson County Human Services. We're not Shelter
House. We're not non-profit. So in that case we're more aging, you know, you're just
signaling that we want to do more to support those organizations, unless you are talkin'
about creatin' a new type of service level at the City.
Botchway/ So I mean I'm .... engaging may be the word that I didn't think of.
Smock/ With those other groups?
Throgmorton/ Well, let me explain why I ended up with this bad sentence. I was thinking about
what I just read, uh, concerning (mumbled) the Police Department's, uh, write-up with
regard to the (mumbled) CIT training and about police officers safely intervening when
they encounter people in crisis, and then doing the CIT to Behavioral Access Center kind
of thing, so I was thinking about them both simultaneously, making sure that the public
safety officers were being safe in what they were doing, but also for helping people in
crisis by getting them where (unable to understand)
Smock/ Yeah. And that seems like an important thing to signal to the community.
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Thomas/ I have been, uh, dwelling quite a bit over the last .... period of time, I'm not quite sure
how long, but the notion of trauma, you know, and all the various ways in which we as...
as individuals and as community.... community -experienced trauma. It was kind of
triggered by the, uh, discussion about early childhood, urn .... what's it called, ACE, uh,
adverse childhood experiences. So, you know, that .... you have too many of `em when
you're young, it can have permanent impacts in terms of your .... even your brain
function. Uh.... so trauma to me is something and I don't know how we .... how it fits into
this particular, um, you know, this strategic plan, but I do think it's something that has....
it .... it's a concern and I, you know, how we, for me, and I ..... how it translates into a
strategic plan I'm not quite sure, um ..... but it is .... it is people experience a lot of trauma,
not, you know (laughs) There are levels of trauma and (mumbled) many respects but,
um, in other respects we're not (mumbled) So .... anyway, just trying to expand on the
idea. It's not just crisis. It's .... it's this sort of ongoing, um, social isolation, so on and so
forth.
Salih/ And even that, to me, that we are assisting people in crisis, this is really (unable to
understand) and I .... I think if you become like more specific on this. I know that (unable
to understand) cause that's (unable to understand) cause crisis could be anything (unable
to understand) and this could be crisis too. We just want to make sure what crisis
(mumbled) really mean.
Botchway/ (unable to understand) I think for me (mumbled)
Salih/ No (unable to understand) kind of crisis is that (unable to understand) specific because we
don't want to (unable to understand)
Botchway/ (unable to understand) I think we need to think about any mental health concerns or
whatever that may be in a crisis standpoint, in order to ensure everyone's touching on
each of these issues. I'm gonna go back and kind of change what I said previously,
because Geoff s point kind of weighs heavily on me. While I want to articulate that need,
seeing this as an area of concern that's articulated in our strategic plan, I do not want it
then simultaneously signal that somebody can say, `Well, (mumbled) doing this cause it's
in your strategic plan,' and so like we need to provide `em a service. That's what I mean,
because of the strategic plan, and so .... you know I'm hoping that the .... the wordsmith
and (unable to understand) I think maybe you (unable to understand) whatever....
whatever that does can kind of. ... meet what I'm trying to say. I just don't .... I agree! I
want to signal that as a priority, that mental health is an issue in our community and that
we're trying to either engage or collaborate (several talking) stakeholders, to ensure that
we're doing something, but I also don't want to say we're going to be providing X, Y,
and Z services in relation to that, cause I think (several talking)
Cole/ ...like that too.
Mims/ (several talking) ....directing it towards our partnerships (several talking) with other
people. We'll end up, hopefully, with a contract with the County on the Access Center.
(several talking) ...continuing to do training, uh, you know, the County .... but I think
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certainly in conjunction with our Police Department is kind of running the CIT training
(mumbled) Um, certainly we've been instrumental in our code changes for the Housing
First, etc. So ... somehow wordsmithing that to .... to reflect our concern that .... you know,
our staff, you know, where appropriate can assist people, um, to find .... the services that
....the appropriate services, with the various entities in the community and our continued
partnership with .... with them. (mumbled) hodgepodge of words (mumbled) (several
talking)
Smock/ Ashley, do you feel like (mumbled) wordsmith (unable to understand) (several talking)
Okay. Any other comments or concerns about that one?
Throgmorton/ Maybe I blanked out for a second, but with regard to Maz's point about people in
crisis, uh, some language, we could insert in parentheses would be "with mental health
needs and substance ta ... substance abuse challenges." Cause that's really what (several
talking)
Mims/ And I would even do "and/or" on that.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. (several responding)
Smock/ (mumbled) Good recommendation, Jim. Thank you! Okay, C, consider a policy to
limit City business to vendors that pay all employees a wage of $10.10 or higher. Letter
C.
Salih/ That's my proposer and I really think (unable to understand) I know Geoff told me this
could be (unable to understand) uh, but I feel like as simple as buying like some, uh,
cookies, soda, you know, for .... for the City, or like some (unable to understand) make
sure when we buy, we buy `em from, you know, business that pay livable wage (unable
to understand)
Smock/ Yeah. Thoughts or actions (mumbled)
Mims/ Well philosophically I really agree. I'm really concerned about the practicality of the
implementation. I'd be interested to hear what staff has to say. I mean I don't know how
you're gonna verify with all the different (mumbled)
Fruin/ We'd have to ... if you're interested in this, we'd have to do some work to tell ya how that
could be done, because we .... we do work with thousands of vendors, uh, every year,
thousands of different vendors every year. So we'd need to understand the legal
framework first and then where we do have some flexibility (coughing, unable to hear
speaker) I'd have to .... we'd have to run some numbers on our vendor relationships and
then, uh, look at potential policies that maybe other communities have adopted and see
how (unable to understand) It's a daunting thing for .... to think about in terms of how,
logistically how we would go through that and the types of verification process, but I
don't think it's.. A imagine it's been done in other communities, and we just would need
to dive into it and report back to ya on it.
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Throgmorton/ Seems to me this could be combined with item F, consider elevating our own staff
wages. This is the minimum wage recommendation that .... that Maz came up with a
couple weeks ago.
Mims/ No, I would not agree. I think they're very separate.
Cole/ Yeah, cause we have the authority to do the 15, but I'm supportive of C, to evaluate and
consider this proposal, or higher. I'm supportive of that. Obviously that would always
be subject to our Home Rule authority to do that, but to the extent that we have the Home
Rule authority, I would like to consider that.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I'm completely open to considering that.
Taylor/ (mumbled) clarify what (mumbled) RFP you have to (mumbled) consider them
reasonable.
Fruin/ (several talking) legally we could do it, um, it would be a condition of the RFP. You'd
have to certify that, you know, that we do that with the (mumbled) other things. So...
Dilkes/ I think if we say (unable to understand) (several talking)
Throgmorton/ ....which, to be clear, does not commit us to (several talking) ...think about it and
decide.
Botchway/ (several talking) I was thinking about the University (mumbled) so that'd be an
interesting conversation.
Throgmorton/ I thought (several talking) all their TAs and RAs are paid over 10.10.
Botchway/ Right, but I mean the University (unable to hear) It depends on how you .... how you
view vendor or how you (several talking)
Dilkes/ (several talking) (unable to hear)
Botchway/ So I guess I (several talking) I guess in a sense I'm thinking of, from (mumbled)
approach, sense of, you know, this to me is signaling that the City is only ..... the City
believes that paying above a minimum wage is so important that it....it means we may or
may not do business with you. I don't necessarily know that it doesn't speak to our
partners. I think that that would signal a message clearly that as a city we are .... we are
very focused on ensuring that everybody in our jurisdiction is (mumbled) but I mean I'm
cool with the limited notion of it. I just, the ile.... idealistic approach of it makes me think
differently. I see you smilin' at me, Jim.
Fruin/ Well there's just so many avenues we need to explore. I mean we don't just do vendors
with people here in Johnson .... we don't just do business with vendors in Johnson
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County. We do vendors with .... we do business with vendors and people all across the
country. Um, how deep you.... how.... how deep do you go? It .... the.....the easy thing to
do is when there is an RFP, or when you have to get, uh, hard quotes, because that forces
some of the .... it's actually the lower the dollar amount, the trickier it is. (mumbled) need
to stop and ... and provide food for a public meeting, I gotta call the restaurant and .... and
talk with the manager and .... and is a voice verification okay, do we need something
written, do we have to do vendor registration so that people .... I don't know, and then you
need to think about if we're limiting our pool of vendors, you might be driving up costs
(mumbled) just a sacrifice that you make by expressing this value, and those are the types
of things (mumbled) some time to think about and .... and report back to you on.
Botchway/ And the other thing .... so, to add to that, the only thing that I was also thinking, um,
cause I don't necessarily agree that, um, C and F are similar, but I wanted to introduce D
into the conversation a little bit, review the .... under miscellaneous, cause actually
thought it was going to be under .... not saying anything problem with you, Jim
(mumbled) under this particular strategy, because what I was thinking of was, and this is
kinda off the cusp, how do we .... it's almost like stating.... evaluating and considering....
I don't know, cause I don't warm (mumbled) I'll come back to that.
Cole/ (mumbled) (laughter)
Smock/ You're processing it (laughter and several talking) So .... so from, just to recap for C,
we're good with evaluate and consider.
Cole/ Yep!
Smock/ Knowing that we may adopt partial, not adopt, whatever comes back, right? And then,
um, since we're in this pay/wage thing, can we go to F? I know it's a different kind of
wage thing but your heads are at paying wage. So let's talk about considering evaluating
hourly staff wages to $15 ....or more, within two years.
Throgmorton/ This is for all staff. (several talking)
Smock/ ...hourly.
Salih/ (unable to understand) ....seasonal employees to be considered paying $15 an hour, within
the next two years.
Frain/ Seasonal and hourly can interchange.
Salih/ Oh! (unable to understand)
Frain/ Full time's already above (several talking) Anybody that's part of our .... our, uh, un....
three union contracts or administration and confidential, uh, plan, the .... the lowest, uh,
come January, or July I", is like $17.52 per hour (mumbled) custodian (mumbled)
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couple others that fall in that category. We're really talking about the hourly employees,
which are the seasonal ones. It's just a different (both talking)
Smock/ Are you talkin' about like lifeguards at the pool? (several talking)
Salih/ Uh huh.
Fruin/ Yes. That'd be an example.
Smock/ So they're .... so the recommendation is lifeguard at the pool, minimum of $15 ... okay.
Salih/ In two year.
Smock/ Over two years. Okay.
Throgmorton/ I'd support the idea of considering that.
Smock/ Considering it.
Cole/ I would too.
Taylor/ I would consider it.
Mims/ I don't. We've seen the numbers from staff already. I mean, 6 to $700,000 a year
without addressing wage compression; $900,000 to a million dollars a year, um, if you do
address wage compression. You're talking about people who are .... umping softball and
baseball games, reffing soccer games, lifeguarding. I do not see that those positions, um,
with the qualifications that are necessary, um, nor the fact that they are part-time,
temporary. Were ever thought of or designed to be qualifying for or needing a living
wage salary. So I .... I personally think we're .... I could never support this for .... for Iowa
City taxpayers to foot a bill like this for such low skill positions and what that does, I
think, even to our permanent staff and the wage compression with permanent staff. How
do you ... how do you sit there and say to somebody who's permanent full-time, who's
going to be making 17.52 an hour that the person .... reffing a .... a soccer game for two
hours on Saturday is almost making as much as they are (laughs) um, not with benefits,
and so I just don't think it's worth staff time to delve into it more deeply. I just .... I just
(mumbled) make sense.
Salih/ (unable to understand) for me I don't look at it like that. You know (unable to understand)
get benefit, get sick leave, get other good stuff from the City, insurance, everything, but
seasonal employees could be (unable to understand) students, but you never know. I
know a lot of the students who work at the University, like Sudanese students, were
really (unable to understand) think about (mumbled) because they are students or because
maybe they work all the seasonal, or because we (unable to understand) $15 hour and we
would like to take the lead as a .... city of Iowa, city doing something like this. That what
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I really think we have to think about it. (unable to understand) taxpayer more than happy
to know that their money going for city that pay livable wage.
Mims/ I .... I just think, just quickly, I think when you look at the skill level for the different
positions, those kinds of positions do not warrant, um, a $15 an hour, and quite frankly I
think you'd have a lot of taxpayers who would not agree.
Cole/ (mumbled)
Taylor/ I was just going to say that I .... I appreciate your thoughts on this, Mazahir. You know
I'm part of organized labor and .... and fought for a living wage, but on this aspect, um,
salary's a major part of the City's budget, and we're talking some things, like increasing
transit, which could be an increase in employees for the bus drivers, etc., supervisors, and
I would like to see the money towards that effort rather than, uh, to these folks, and also
for us to continue our .... our, uh, putting our energy toward (mumbled) employees that
are (mumbled) as we did, what was that two years ago, when we (mumbled) to extend
their contracts. We need to continue to be there (unable to hear) because they're going to
be in for a fight to keep (unable to hear) disappoint them and what the union gets them
for salaries.
Salih/ (unable to understand) (several talking)
Cole/ I'd support to consider it, this .... the reason why I didn't support it two weeks ago, um, is
this would be a major public policy shift. I mean, I think in terms of this is no small
thing. Um, you know, Geoff had brought up the question of wage compression. I think
that's a legitimate issue. I think Susan brings up a lot of taxpayers who don't feel ... that
it's too high, um, and I .... I understand just the process of considering this will take staff
(mumbled) That said, I do think this is the type of a community conversation that I want
to have with, you know, taxpayers, or unions, or non -unionized, and to see what sort of
consensus we get. I .... I think part of the problem is is that a lot of times we say well let's
not even start the conversation and this will take some (mumbled) from us, but I think to
Mazahir's, um, point, um, there are a lot of people that rely on .... it's not just .... it's not
just spending money. It's.... it's living money and they may find themselves that they
need that. So, I'm not saying I'd commit to it and say for sure I would support that, but I
want to go through the process of having a community -wide conversation about that, with
all the different stakeholders and I .... um, I would like to keep it a part of the strategic
plan.
Thomas/ Yeah, I'd like to keep it part of the conversation. I .... I certainly think it's worth
considering. Uh.... and I don't know if I would say within two years (laughs) I mean
that's sort of again leaping maybe too far forward, but uh.... I .... I think it deserves more
conversation. I was, you know, at the ... the assessment, very preliminary, uh, ballpark
assessment by staff, I think, some.... some temporaries are paid $13 now. You know,
there are (both talking)
Salih/ (mumbled)
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Thomas/ Pardon me?
Salih/ (unable to understand)
Thomas/ Yeah, so I mean it's .... it's not from 10 to 15. There are many people who are in
between, so I .... I think in terms of the ... the cost of this, I think needs further analysis
basically.
Smock/ Kingsley!
Botchway/ So I .... I guess couple of things (mumbled) about. One, I think it initially makes me
(mumbled) collectively for an agreement that this proposal. This is, I think, big enough,
based on some of the numbers that staff shared (mumbled) with Susan's comments, that
there's gonna be a .... I think we all (mumbled) the political will that we as a
Council.... will be taking on as we move through this conversation.
Cole/ Yeah!
Botchway/ And I think that .... that's a .... agreeing at that strategic level right now or maybe in the
future that we need to be clear on. I also am interested in .... this, I've got tons of
questions. Um (mumbled) Pauline's points, and some from John's points, as far as the
years and everything else. My other question is, you know, think about considering
elevating hourly staff wages to $15 an hour, why are we saying $15 an hour? Should it
be livable .... a livable wage? If that was .... livable wage is more than $15 an hour, should
we .... should we account for it being more? I mean living in our community, $15 an hour
may not be enough, and so .... that's, I mean, I was thinking through what that meant,
cause I....there's a lot of research around 10. 10, and I even think there's some research
around the $15 number, but you know .... I don't know. I'm interested in having a .... a, by
putting $15 an hour, we're set on $15 an hour, in the strategic plan. By putting livable
wage, I'm not necessarily disagreeing that we shouldn't go up to 15 cause I'm actually in
favor of that, but should it be more? I mean that's.... that's where .... (noises in
background, difficult to hear)
Salih/ $15 an hour after, you know, from my experience of talking, like uh (unable to
understand) livable wage, talking to Iowa Policy Project (unable to understand) I get it
from. Those would be the kind of people who really would like (unable to understand)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I'm willing to consider 15. We'll need to consider some .... some other
number, whatever that number might be for the `livable wage.' I understand the principle
but (mumbled)
Botchway/ (mumbled) be clear that that's what it signals then we're talking to the community,
it's a focus on 15,1 mean and not anything less.
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Throgmorton/ Yeah, but .... but be clear about this too, it's about .... for the strategic plan it's
about considering. That if you consider it it doesn't necessarily commit you to adopting a
$15 an hour .... uh, salary or wage for .... for seasonal employees. It does open up the
possibility of some other number or some other scheduling of increasing wage. It .... it
opens up possibilities.
Salih/ (unable to understand) I agree with you, we need to (unable to understand) the real
numbers of (unable to understand) How many people get like more than that, so we can
understand like (unable to understand)
Thomas/ And there are steps, so I mean it may be it starts at .... more than 10.10 but, you know,
with three steps up to 15 .... you know. There are lots of nuances I think (mumbled)
Salih/ ...consider this so we can work on the details later (unable to understand)
Smock/ So, Geoff, this one is .... you guys have an H on this from a staff perspective? Is the
evaluation an H, like to get some of the data they're talking about, to start the
conversation, is ... is that an H or .... is it an H if those recommendations are adopted
and .... (both talking)
Fruin/ It's a couple things. The evaluation is tricky, particularly if you want us to (coughing,
unable to hear speaker) wage compression. We'll do wage compression analysis. That's
....that's a tricky thing to get into, and it's one thing to do wage compression within the
temporary employees, or the hourly employees, which is that 900 to a million dollar, uh,
number that we gave you. That does not factor in any type of compression issues with
our ... our three unions and our administrative and confidential employees. So that 17.52
per hour custodian union, you know, what .... what do we do with that position and
everything else around it. Um, that just looked at the temporary, uh, compression. Um,
it's high because the analysis is .... is tricky. Um, it will take us some time to .... to get
more detailed. I .... I'd wanna know other than what we gave you, how deep do you want
us to dive into this. You have to understand, the .... the employees that fall in this
category, they .... they change consistently with the seasons. So the numbers that, you
know, the big numbers, the .... the 600,000, the million, that's based on our annual
temporary payroll. When I broke those positions down for you in the memo, uh, a couple
weeks ago, that's who's on payroll right now. If I were to give you that same type of
analysis in the middle of summer, there'd be three more pages to that, that, uh, that
document, uh, because we have a lot more hourly employees in the summer. So that's
tricky. Um, I think the ... the hardest thing for me to understand, uh, with this is how do
you pay for it? You're talkin' a million dollars of money that is .... is not there now. Um,
you've heard me talk about the budget before, you know, when we ... um, have to look at
either a new revenue stream, so you're gonna .... are you gonna have the political will
to .... to increase taxes or .... or fees, um, to .... to do that. Um, or are you going to need to
cut back somewhere else, and if you're cuttin' back somewhere else you're probably
impacting positions. You're probably cuttin' positions. So I have a hard time thinkin'
about how to ... how to fund this, and once you fund it, you take away capacity to grow
down the ... down the road. So, it's a lot harder to add more police officers or add more
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park staff, um, it's already hard to do that, but if we .... if we prioritize this in the budget
now, even three, four, five budgets down the road, you're gonna make it harder to expand
some of those other operations, and those are all policy decisions that you need to make.
Um, so .... long .... long way of saying H is for the analysis and probably more the cost
(both talking)
Throgmorton/ Sure.
Frain/ ...organization how we ... how we handle that.
Salih/ Uh, I don't understand that (unable to understand) but also like think of...(unable to
understand) think about (unable to understand) supporting this (unable to understand) $15
an hour, what the City (unable to understand) If you think about it that way, just you
know, you just (unable to understand) you have implemented (unable to understand)
Frain /Right.
Salih/ (unable to understand) do this and it should be (unable to understand) the City have
(unable to understand)
Frain/ You're absolutely (both talking)
Salih/ Then why you doing this, I know it's challenge but (unable to understand)
Throgmorton/ Well it seems to be clear .... that we've already identified most of the factors that
would need to be considered, when they do this, and ... and that we're not committing
ourselves to doing anything more than considering it and .... exploring the stuff
(mumbled) details necessary in making the decision.
Smock/ All right, so this one feels (mumbled) gonna ask, go around the room, if you're keeping
it or not. So is that okay on this one? John? Pauline, good? No. (several talking)
Cole/ Yes.
Botchway/ Yes.
Mims/ No.
Smock/ Okay, so it stays. Right? (mumbled) So it stays, and thank you. I'm not going to record
the votes, so I just want to make sure I know where everyone was at. For considering and
evaluating. Okay. So we're gonna go back to D now, consider changing the City
Manager's roundtable to a Council -appointed committee charged with applying the
equity toolkit to key Council decisions. This is the first one I've read and I don't know
what it means. (several talking) Good (laughs) someone, I don't have to know what it
means. Someone wanna speak to it?
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Botchway/ So, yeah, this is mine. So this is more .... this to me is an .... well, it depends on how
you feel .... feel about it. Ultimately what I'm .... what I'm asking for is, um, further
incorporation of the.....socioeconomic and equity review toolkit into more departments,
um, and to, and into other committees. Um, that would encapsulate not only our .... our
continual work with identifying other departments in relation to the, uh, review toolkit,
but also talking about change in the City Manager's roundtable to a Council -appointed
committee to review key Council decisions. And so what this means is basically when
we have a decision (mumbled) around minimum wage, that we are going to be, uh,
discussing for a resolution, I would like the City Manager's roundtable to change in a
sense where they would provide additional analysis, um, towards that end. So it could be
just basically based on some of the conversations (mumbled) departments we had prior,
it's adding a .... a number of questions that would happen on the front end, to ensure that
we are incorporating marginalized group and sure.... groups, ensure that we are
incorporating diverse stakeholders at the front end of these Council decisions, instead of
thinking about, oh well, we didn't think about it but this is how it's going to change in
order to incorporate it from that standpoint. And so.....
Smock/ He's doing change management but he doesn't know it (whispering loudly)
Throgmorton/ To me, Kingsley, you're proposing two separate things. One is to embed the
racial equity toolkit, uh, into City operations. The second is to give, uh, the City
Manager's roundtable a new mission.
Botchway/ Right.
Throgmorton /Yeah. So maybe they need a new mission but .... I don't know that it should be
only a racial equity toolkit. So, but anyhow, that's what I hear is two separate things that
you're putting out there.
Botchway/ Well, and the reason why I tried to put the separate thing out there is that, you know,
some of the items I think we talked about are somewhat specific, so I'm trying to think a
little more broadly for the strategic plan objective, in order to incorporate some of the
great work that staff s already (mumbled) I think it's led to many of the different
changes from the department level, um, that (mumbled) important for, I mean I think
from the budgetary standpoint we talk about having a racial impact statement, related to
any contracts. I'm looking at you, Geoff, to make sure I'm (mumbled) ...was related to
increasing, um, our, uh, outreach for minority and women owned businesses when
looking at putting out RFPs, and so I don't wanna lose what we've done there. I want to
make sure that's a part of it as well. So that's why I was trying to bring the bro....
broad ... the broad kind of idea in that first point, and then the second point, trying to bring
that under that umbrella.
Thomas/ Who was on, can I ask who is on the roundtable now? (several talking)
Fruin/ Probably 20, 25 people (several talking)
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Throgmorton/ ....City staff.
Fruin/ Uh, yeah, there's a lot of City staff that go to it. I .... I would guess we still have 20
constant staff (several talking) and we often get different representatives from the various
groups, but it's a big .... about the size of this table, and that's what the meetings look like.
Thomas/ Cause I agree with Jim's .... your comment, Jim, in the sense that, um, you know
depending on what the issue may be, I could see (mumbled) question for Geoff, do you
feel that that group of 20 accurately represents, covers all the bases with respect to all the
issues that might be brought up at those roundtable (both talking)
Fruin/ ....cover everything we've been through but .... urn, yeah.....
Salih/ I just wanna say like why .... why (unable to understand) roundtable meeting (unable to
understand) to be that committee. Can we (unable to understand) like you give them
(unable to understand) ...leaders from the community, they come and attend and City
staff will present something that they (unable to understand) and you know we
have .... the leader of the community give input to the staff (unable to understand) really
love it. (unable to understand) ....past three years or so. I like it because we will receive
information that otherwise never gonna know about it from the staff and have input.
Sometimes (unable to understand) but this is completely new role and the .... the
community leader who attended, they (unable to understand) lunch time. They would
like to know information about (unable to understand) sit down and discuss like Council
decision. This is really need more than one hour and it could be a separate committee
(unable to understand)
Botchway/ I appreciate you bringing that up, cause (mumbled) particularly because I wanted to
make sure that this point wasn't something that I was just kind of thinking of, that they
were supportive as well, and I think when you're thinking about, uh, racial equity toolkit,
I'll take out the socioeconomic for right now, just to make sure (mumbled) you know,
this is all (mumbled) and this is all about input, for me, at the Council level, and so while
I greatly appreciate some of the conversations that are happening within staff, my .... my
role or my thinking of it is .... from a legacy standpoint, I want to ensure that that
input .... is codified in the Council -appointed committee, and it happens regardless of
whether or not (mumbled) or this is a all -white Council, all -white young Council, and this
happens every time, especially in relation to key Council decisions. I think about, you
know, the time that we as Councilors have in order to provide the input that I think is
necessary in some pretty tough issues, and to have a committee that can provide, um, a
different level of questioning that sometimes I think about, 1 sometimes I don't, um, into
the conversation. I think provides a.....again, as a Council, uh, a level of deliberation and
information that we don't currently have, or at least I'll speak for myself (mumbled) and
so, you know, from a .... if I can ensure that we have representation from the student
community, the Asian community, um, the .... um, the community (mumbled) civilities
and encapsulate that in a ... in a particular, um, committee that can provide relevance and
efficient information to Council, when I say efficient I mean time -sensitive information,
to Council in relation to big items. I think it would greatly enhance my .... my role as a
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Council.... or my role as a Council Member, and greatly enhance our collective
understanding of issues happening in our community at the entire Council level. So
would I be interested in doing a separate total committee, sure! Am I trying to think of
staff implications and also implications of just creating another committee, instead of
thinking about how we could change (mumbled) That's why (mumbled) but if you're
asking me as far as a zero-sum game, whether or not I want to do this at all, and I'd say
take out the City Manager's roundtable and I'd be more than happy to (mumbled)
Cole/ If I could just jump in here, you know it's funny that we're in this particular room, because
I remember my first conference that I went to was on a racial justice municipal
conference, in this room, and it was (mumbled) I think she was from Seattle. John
(several talking) yeah, and what I really remember from that was she brought up I think
like, you know, not intentional racism, which of course exists, but the unintentional
racism, the structural racism we may....we may not be aware of, and I think she brought
up for example lights in neighborhoods. They were able to make some really surprising
correlations. So this may be something.....I know we do the quarterly updates already
with the equity, so it seems like there already is that, and I think to your point, Kingsley,
and this may be really much easier said than done, so I admit that. When we get the
reports, are we having equitable impact analysis, you know, in terms of our staff levels. I
guess I don't see that as much and maybe that's just harder to do if you're just doin' a
staff memo in terms of (mumbled) very complicated. Um, but so what I would say is
consider.... something along the lines of consider strategies to ensure that we're
implementing (mumbled) equitable toolkit principles (mumbled) I'm sure she has a
report for us (mumbled) not necessarily seeing it always in the report. Um (both talking)
Fruin/ We're doin' it at the staff level.
Cole/ Yeah, okay.
Fruin/ We're not, you know, analyzing.... you know, your Council reports don't have a, uh,
equity statement (both talking)
Cole/ ....quarterly updates already.
Throgmorton/ I think we'd ask too much of ...uh, the individuals who go to the City Manager's
roundtable for one hour every month (mumbled) every two months.
Fruin/ Probably about eight or nine times a year.
Throgmorton/ To .... to ask them to review major decisions being .... that are imminently to be
made by the City Council or something like that. Think it's askin' too much of `em.
But .... as an alternative, uh, I'd suggest possibly.....that this would have to be discussed
more thoroughly, possibly creating a new commission that would have representatives
from diverse parts of our community, like the Human Rights Commission, except it
would focus on, if you will, social justice and racial equity. Before we talked .... two
years ago we talked...... you don't know this Maza (mumbled) two years ago the
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possibility of creating a social justice and racial equity committee of the City Council and
decided not to do that for good reason. Uh, but we could create a .... a resident -based, uh,
commission, kind of like the Human Rights Commission. The problems with that, one of
which is staffing of it because they'd have to have some analysis really to be able to .... do
the work well enough, but that's one possibility.
Smock/ So is the, um, I'm gonna (mumbled) couple things here. Um .... you said several times
we want to ensure we have input from these communities. I think you said that like three
times, so is there .... is there just a different goal, the committee's the solution, but a
different (mumbled) how do we know that the stuff we're doing's working (mumbled)
people are getting feedback on it. It might be through a committee. It might be through
other things, but .... how do you .... is that like, I'm gonna step you back and say what are
you trying to .... what problem are you trying to solve, what are you trying to get? I think
I'm hearing we're pushin' the information out there and we have some mechanisms for
some people to review it, but how do we know that we're getting input from another,
from enough of the right people, and I mean just to be totally honest, you can pick people
from different communities. They can't represent a community. It's just....it doesn't
work, I mean it's nice to think, okay, I'm gonna pick one of these and one of these and
one of these and then I have representation. You don't! Right? So if you really want
input from a community, you gotta think about how you'll get input from a community,
and, um, it....it doesn't actually work like that. It seems like it should, but it doesn't, any
more than you .... I could speak for every woman who's 5'6" and 44 -years -old, I can't...
5'5" but I'm wearing heels (laughter) So ... (several talking) what's the need, what's the
need, what's the need, right?
Botchway/ So this is .... and I appreciate that because to be more clear, this is about providing
consistent and meaningful (mumbled) around racial equity, throughout City departments
(both talking)
Smock/ ...avenues for that, vehicles for that, whatever.... yeah. So that .... that's a very
(mumbled) like you're saying we're puttin' this stuff out there, as .... strategically how do
you know it's working, how do we getting feedback back, how do we know.
Botchway/ You know I mean I think.... again, we have I don' t six or seven departments that
have already gone through this analysis. So I'm trying to articulate that, that needs to
continue to include all our departments, and ultimately that's what I .... that's .... that's a
clear goal for me from that perspective. I'm also in the same sense trying to expand it to
us as well.
Smock/ Okay.
Botchway/ I mean that's where....again, in doing this analysis, it makes .... I mean I appreciate
you bringing up the (mumbled) Doing this analysis (mumbled) appreciate, um, the
different level of thinking that at times we're not able .... I mean there are, we're not
always able to do, especially when we (mumbled) or chairs, whatever the case may be,
thinking about particular issues. So while I appreciate the department level, I think it's
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important to continue that and do that and expand. I also think it has to happen at our
level (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) I mean so we could (several talking) have to,
we have to provide a different type of direction that I feel like can be, um, can be more
focused and more inclusive using this toolkit.
Smock/ Okay, big breath on that one. I want you guys to .... let this simmer a second.
Mims/ Initially my response to the .... I would not, from what (mumbled) never attended the City
Manager's roundtable. I would agree with others who've commented. I don't think
that's the place to .... to try and do this. I think the people coming in to get information
and to share information, I mean it started with the previous City Manager, just trying to
get more information from a broader range of community who felt they weren't being
heard, um, and so I think, you know, keeping that to that hour every month or two
months or whatever, so there's a good exchange of information. We're talking about
maybe if a major issue has happened, that seems to be what has been most important out
of that group to really increase that two-way communication between the City Manager's
office (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) and those individuals who .... who can have the
time to come. So I don't see changing that. I'm very leery of adding another
commission. Um, the time it takes for staff that is already spread really thin, um, if the
goal is really to get all the rest of the departments to go through the equity toolkit and be
using it on a regular basis for decisions, and to somehow get it into City Council realm, I
think we talk about how to .... how do we do that, but not necessarily with an additional
commission.
Cole/ I'm wondering like you know we do listening posts. A Councilor will sort of type up a set
of recommendations that they got from the residents, and maybe I'm wondering whether
that'll be a relatively low -wattage solution here, is I don't think we get updates from the
listening posts. So if there are policy concerns, maybe we could just get a memo from
the roundtable. What do people think about that? Are ... are we get .... I don't think we
get those now, do we? (several responding)
Mims/ Well, we do a quick summary of the listening posts.
Cole/ Yeah (several talking) use that same concept for staff (both talking)
Mims/ Okay!
Cole/ ....roundtable, so if the roundtable's saying, hey, we're gettin' a lot of concerns of potholes
or something like that, that at least we receive them (several talking) much the same way
that we report back to Council. (several talking)
Salih/ (unable to understand) (several talking)
Cole/ ....a lower -wattage (several talking) I think the commission is a lot of wattage.
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Botchway/ Let's do this, so I mean going back to your point, Rockne. How about in (mumbled)
expand and.... strategically incorporate the racial and socioeconomic toolkit within City
departments and Council. (several talking) The detail of it, I mean, we've already .... I'm
looking at the introduction in the memo of where staff is already doing a wonderful job as
far as incorporating the toolkit into some departments. So expanding it, while I do
(mumbled) is possible, and I think provides amazing recommendations that I think staff
has been able to propose and as we have kind of said, go forth .... go forward on. I think
also when I think of, I'm stepping back just a little bit and I appreciate you bringing up
the training, because .... one of the things I'm thinking about now is if we're not going to
have a commission, and I'm trying to (unable to understand) Council level, then maybe
we can think about how we can have a separate training as the board does for the School
Board in a retreat or whatever fashion, on some of these issues, and so I know that some
people won't even make it. Some people work. That could be a different way of
handling this particular issue where maybe on a two-year strategic basis, or a four-year
basis, whatever the case may be, we consistently get trained on how to have these ... put
forth these questions ourselves and move the conversation forward. That's one way I'm
thinking of off the top of my head, and so that language would provide a little more, I
wouldn't say ambiguity, but general notion to our strategic plan and we can still work out
some of the steps as far as how we actually (mumbled)
Throgmorton/ (several talking) ...if I could, uh, with regard to racial equity toolkit, you need to
be clear that what we did was test it in seven (noise in background, unable to hear
speaker) (several talking) ...four or five departments, so there's nothing permanently
embedded in our staff analysis that gets at racial equity (noise in background, difficult to
hear speaker) So part of what we could do is simply say ..... uh, we could direct the staff
to, uh..... uh.....uh...... I don't know what the right verb is. I'll say it (mumbled) explore
ways to embed the racial equity toolkit analysis into all (mumbled) all major department
activities.
Cole/ I like that.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. If that's the case, that we would automatically get, uh, racial equity impact
assessment for stuff comin' our way. I ... I (several talking) yeah, cause (several talking)
departments where it's probably irrelevant (several talking)
Fruin/ So we did, we tested it in ... in four or five departments. We had them look at two existing
policies and then one new policy that they were considering, or new program that they
were considering. Um, now we spent a full year doin' it, so three policies for five
departments. We spent a year doing that. Now we were being (unable to understand)
kind of a team, and .... and progressing through it so it's not like we were workin' every
day of the week on this, but, um....it.....it takes a lot of time, takes a lot of effort. Um, I
don't know how we would do it to say that every decision staff makes has to go through
this type of process. But .... I think what you do is you pick critical areas where you
suspect that there might be some problems, and that's what those departments did and
we're gonna kick it off again in February with four or five new departments, at least
that's our plan. And I'd say, you know, what .... what do you think needs to be re -
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examined or what might be on the horizon that I need to look at. That .... we continue to
do that, we found great value in the .... the toolkit, and I think you saw some good
outcomes from there. Um .... I just wanna temper expectations a little bit. This (unable to
understand) she really, especially early on, spent a lot of time explaining this to
departments and helping them do the analysis. Um, I don't know if we can do more than
four or five.... departments at a time right now. Hopefully what .... what our hope is, like
Finance is an example of one that went through that, now that they went through that
process (mumbled) policies, as they think of other ones they'll naturally do that.
(mumbled) more aware of it and you start to ask those same questions, but the analysis
itself is (mumbled) fill out. It's a set up .... a dozen questions or somethin' that force you
to .... to write out, uh, and think about those issues. So, it is a big extra step for
departments to do. It's just .... more (unable to understand) So I'm.....
Thomas/ Did you talk to Stefanie about this?
Botchway/ Yes.
Thomas/ One thought I was having (mumbled) if.....if we're to try to integrate what you're
hoping to achieve into the Human Rights Commission, is that .... is that a possibility or
(mumbled)
Botchway/ Yeah, I mean.... ultimately, kind of going back to your point. I'm interested in it
having (mumbled) and so the commission and the committee that I'm (mumbled) in the
strategic plan packet has always been as an avenue to do (mumbled) in the same sense
that Planning and Zoning (mumbled) does the work, at least initially, to give us
information that we're going to deliberate at the Council meeting. I understand the
implications from a staff standpoint, and so that's where .... I mean I appreciate, Jim, your
point as far as exploring, um.....I still want to add at the City, major departments, and
Council (mumbled) I think that it....it clearly articulates the emphasis that we're going to
look at it ourselves, and look at it at the City department level and at the .... the Council
level, and I ... I will go back to something Geoff said at the beginning of this entire
process, I'm not necessarily pushing for this to happen in a year. I see this as a four....
four-year multi -conversation type of thing. So there's no time constraints that I'm .... I'm
(mumbled) understand the level of work and detail that goes into doing some of this stuff.
So, I would .... I would like the language to include major City departments and Council,
but I'm not (mumbled) to happen this year.
Cole/ Can I say one thing too about the staffing issue that's obviously a super -huge concern, um,
but I also think for some of these proposals, I don't know that it would actually work out
this way, it may not involve a new City led committee, and I think for example of this
Transportation Committee that's out there, that as far as I can tell has no (mumbled) City
affiliation, but yet I think has done some really good work. I think of the racial justice
context, there could be also a lot of non -profits. I'm not saying we have to outsource that
to non -profits, um, but I'm not convinced that every time we talk about doing one of
these new initiatives (unable to understand) more staff (mumbled) Ultimately staff will
consider the explore and assess language, and determine (mumbled) whether staff can do
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more or maybe whether there could be some non -profits that could assist us in this
process.
Smock/ Okay, so this has been a very, very big discussion. Take a look at what Ashley has
captured as one of the summary ..... (mumbled) version. Um, how are we feeling about
explore and (unable to understand) equity toolkit and (mumbled) City departments on a
policy level. Do you want .... do you want (unable to understand)
Botchway/ Council's important to me and there's ... the reason why is the (mumbled) I mean this
is focused on the (mumbled) I mean I feel like for me from a racial equity standpoint, I
know that we're not Seattle, but I want to get to the level of detail (mumbled) work that
they're doing at the Seattle level. So .... add Council (mumbled)
Smock/ So thoughts and reactions to this (several talking)
Throgmorton/ .....language. I .... I think I actually prefer .... and policy.....departmental and
policy level, or departmental and Council level. Uh, but otherwise, yeah, I'm.....(both
talking)
Smock/ And does that, I mean we .... we covered a lot of ground in the last 15 minutes. So go
back to when we started with the.... the.... what was it called? The.... chairman's board
(laughs) meeting. Like we've been through it ... we've been around a few twists and turns,
so if we .... like how this is stated, are you in agreement with adding this as a ..... as an
objective, under.... social justice and racial equality?
Throgmorton/ I would like to raise a question, which, uh, we don't really need to discuss right
here now, I don't think, but racial equity, I mean.....I've felt some ambiguity about the
word `racial' in this context. So .... you know, does this involve low-income people who
may be white? Does it involve Hispanics.... which is not really about race? So often it's
not about race anyhow. Instead it's about .... uh.... uh..... sorry (mumbled) (several
talking) Yeah, so anyhow, for me there's some ambiguity about limiting it to racial (both
talking)
Botchway/ I mean I .... if you can put that in there, uh, Ashley, about, you know, discussion on
how we can (unable to understand) with the (unable to understand) and I .... I mean I want
to say I appreciate our deliberation on this, and this is something I'm very passionate
about because to me .... and I think Mazahir actually gave a speech on it Saturday night,
this to me is about clearly defining input from, um, our diverse stakeholders, um, at the
onset. So we have a different outcome happening. So I ... I really appreciate this
conversation.
Cole/ Yep! I support it. And you're right (coughing, unable to hear speaker) (unable to
understand)
Taylor/ (unable to hear)
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Smock/ Okay. All right. What about (coughing, unable to hear speaker) create a racial equity
newsletter. This was very (mumbled) but I'm .... let's have discussion (laughs) (several
talking) Take it out? (several talking) And then that, we get to skip to G, which is
consider communication strategy to ensure the bike master plan is well received by all
Iowa City residents, especially people of color.
Botchway/ Take it out! That's mine as well. This is why (both talking)
Smock/ You vetoed yourself? (laughs)
Botchway/ (several talking and laughing)
Smock/ (unable to understand)
Thomas/ (unable to understand) ...sort of one of those things that came to mind, um, based on a
podcast I was listening to recently, um, but I ... it was something (unable to understand)
consider and it....it revealed a bias on (unable to understand) I'm very strong advocate of
increasing our bike networks and (unable to understand) podcast was how people of color
are kind of offended by the idea of ...promoting bicycling. So, it .... maybe it's just
something to keep in mind I guess is what I would say if ...as we roll this out, that, uh,
you know, it's something that we frame properly.
Mims/ Well, and I think the (mumbled) doing in the community with various bike programs, you
know, the ones like that the police officers (both talking)
Thomas/ ...doing is a great bridge (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah .... yeah, so I think those are .... kind of build on some of those connections too so the
minority communities (mumbled) in regards to biking. (unable to understand)
Throgmorton/ I think there's a broader (mumbled) communication strategy, and this applies to
the climate action plan as well, especially within the, you know, the climate change world
(mumbled) people learned over time that you cannot simply distribute one message to the
public, especially if it's based on science. You cannot do that and expect the public to
respond in a way you want them to respond. Instead you have to know the diverse
publics that you're trying to communicate with, start where they are and build on that. So
I think the same thing, about the bike master plan. (mumbled) same thing about the
climate action plan. We need to have a better sense of where the diverse publics are in
Iowa City now .... learn what they're really thinking about and you know, build on that...
to help make the bike master plan work in a way that's good for them and likewise for
(unable to understand) climate action plan and so I think (both talking)
Cole/ That's sort of embedded in Kingsley's social equity toolkit piece of it, so .... um, I think we
should strike it.
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Taylor/ I think the communicate though is important because I (unable to understand) phone
calls from people in the Iowa City community saying why isn't Iowa City doing more for
the bicyclers and I was shocked to get that phone call because I thought we'd done
(mumbled) haven't they seen the master plan. Well they were referring to the fact that
they said they had come to (unable to understand) a while back and wanted us to build a
cyclocross course and I said but we have that, that we do that, you know, it's worldwide,
but then I thought well, Coralville actually built (unable to understand) so that's what
they were referring to was that one little item that they thought, you know, we hadn't
done enough, but we've done so much with the bike paths (unable to understand) I was
just shocked. So I don't know how we can do that, but the communication (unable to
understand) people know what .... what we're doing.
Smock/ So .... one.....one thought is you have to have a budget and you have to communicate
what you do, and it's .... is business as usual. If you wanted to tackle what Jim was talkin'
about, about like we're gonna get serious about audience analysis. We're gonna pay the
money to understand this group versus that group. That's an undertaking of the
communication strategy that would be like strat planning level (mumbled) we're gonna
invest in knowing our audiences. We're gonna work with a communication expert and
(mumbled) make these messages land. If you're just doing like.....we gotta figure out
how to communicate this stuff. That's kinda.... (laughs) you gotta communicate
everything you're doing, right? So you gotta think about, if it helps, like (mumbled) what
do you need, what do you want, and are you saying the things we've done to
communicate to date aren't enough, I gotta think differently about our communication
strategy. Now you're gettin' into the something has to change around communication,
and that would put it in the strat bucket, versus .... we just have to make what we're doing
work and ... and know that no matter how much we communicate, somebody's gonna call
us and not have heard of it, cause that's the (mumbled) communication. Throwing stuff
at you, I don't know if it helps or hurts but.... communication (mumbled) business as
usual and....and you can take that a step of.....of stretching yourself in it that would put it
in the strategy bucket.
Botchway/ The essence of G, I was actually thinking it needs to go up to 5. So that's (several
talking)
Smock/ ....essence of G is to go under 5, enhance community (several talking) engagement.
(several talking) Oh, yeah (several talking)
Monroe/ (unable to understand)
Botchway/ Yeah, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves though (both talking)
Smock/ (mumbled) Yep! (mumbled) Thoughts or recommendations on what we do with G
right now?
Cole/ I'd like to strike it.
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Thomas/ I think it's okay to, you know, as you were saying....it.....it really should be under five
anyway, um, but it's .... again, and as Jim emphasized, it's important that we, as we move
forward to, uh, always be asking ourselves.... say with the bike, just using the bike master
plan, which .... and maybe I'm wrong, but I .... I.....I wonder if people of color were strong
advocates for the bike master plan. If they were, then there's a good chance, you know,
this .... this isn't an issue. Um, but I don't know that, so I .... I guess it's just something we
always should be asking ourselves (mumbled) back to what you were saying, Kingsley,
has everyone been at the table as we .... and I know we make the best effort to try to bring
people to the table, but sometimes.... they may not be .... they may not be there.
Smock/ Yep.
Thomas/ And it gets complex when you overlay, you know, there are multiple publics out there
that's very difficult (mumbled)
Smock/ Okay, so I've heard strike it and I've heard move it. Where are you guys at?
Botchway/ Well I say .... yeah, strike it. (unable to understand)
Smock/ Strike it?
Throgmorton/ I'd say strike it and then we'll take a look at that communications (both talking)
Smock/ ....section? Are you good with striking it? (several talking) Yeah? (several talking)
All right (mumbled) Um, okay, so that puts us through.... number seven. Well done, you
guys, good job! Okay, so it's 4:30. We're going to keep going and go as far as we
possibly canto 5:00. So .... um, dig deep, folks, you're doin' great! Um, number two,
unless anyone's like `oh no while we're here and we're in the mode I'd rather skip
around.' I don't think.... there's a quick prioritization discussion, otherwise I'd
recommend we go to .... (mumbled) okay? (several talking) Two, encourage a vibrant
and walkable urban core. And our discussion in the very onset was is it just the
(mumbled) so keep that in the back of your mind as we move through .... I am not going
to read A. It's long. So read A. Collaborate with the University of Iowa. (several
responding) Good! Okay B.
Throgmorton/ So I'd like (mumbled) just so I'm fully on the same page. There .... there are
really two parts to that. One of `em has to do with the possible construction of. ... uh,
public/private partnership kind of housing, by the University, in the Riverfront Crossings
District. (unable to understand) (laughs) Yeah (several talking) and the other part is this
river initiative that I've mentioned before, and Geoff alluded to at the very start. (several
talking) Yeah, so just tryin' to say that's what (mumbled)
Smock/ Okay!
Cole/ Keep it!
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Smock/ Keep it! All right. (several responding) B, preserve important parts of Iowa City's
history. Then it says considering the designation of additional buildings as historic
landmarks, considering the creation of a historic preservation district for the part .... for
part of the downtown.
Botchway/ Whose is this?
Throgmorton/ (mumbled)
Botchway/ (mumbled) Is this already .... (mumbled) Is this already a part of our strategic plan?
Throgmorton/ You know, there's a tiny little element in our current plan about historic stuff, and
my recollection is that it's .... really vague.
Botchway/ Okay.
Throgmorton/ So .... especially with regard to the downtown. This .... this is more precise, and
yeah, to be clear, does not commit us to doing (mumbled) considering creating .... a
historic preservation district (mumbled) part of downtown, but also (mumbled)
knowledge that there's, uh, five or six (unable to understand) (several talking) Yeah, six
or seven brick residential buildings that are .... date back to the mid -1800s that are gonna
be coming our way from the Historic Preservation District, or Commission. So .... yeah.
Fruin/ You ... you have, and this is (unable to understand) Historic Preservation has identified six
or seven, uh, properties that they'd like to pursue (unable to understand) uh, that's
workin' its way through the process. They're reachin' out to property owners and seein'
who's on board, who's not, and, uh, then we have the downtown historic survey. Part of
the scope of that survey is not only to identify potential landmarks that are not designated
now, but also to imagine what a historic district (unable to understand) Historic
Preservation will review that and then it'll get to you eventually, and then there's a small
historic district that's bein' looked at by the Preser.... Preservation Commission in
Riverfront Crossings area. That is (mumbled) So there's a lot ... that's coming at you.
Whether you have this item or not, you're going to be doing this (laughter)
Botchway/ To that point, Geoff, so I actually (mumbled) so I'm not really worried about this
piece. I guess in thinking about some of the other pieces that (mumbled) going back to
more strategic plan, is this .... do we need to .... specifically state .... do we have a historic
preservation plan? A strategic.... like in the same sense that we have an affordable action
plan (several talking) Do we need to ..... is this something that we need to just incorporate
within .... in the same way? Or .... and just say..... going back to kind of affordable....
improve on our historic preservation plan, identifying (mumbled)
Fruin/ I think (unable to understand)
Cole/ Yeah.
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Smock/ Ashley, what's in the plan?
Monroe/ (unable to understand) initiative was just support historic preservation efforts.
Botchway/ I don't think that's enough. I think, I mean I like the ... the additional emphasis
(unable to understand) I was just trying to figure out how to .... (unable to understand)
Frain/ I think the .... I think what you need to consider is (mumbled) this is coming. You're
going to have to have these conversations. Do you want to send a signal that .... you
are ..... not committing, you are very strongly supportive of these historic preservation
efforts, particularly of the downtown or core, however you want to state it. Um, because
(mumbled) some of these come your way, we'll have property owners that object and you
will have some (mumbled) requirements. This is kind of what I talked about, that some
of these issues are going to be very difficult (mumbled) You need to make sure whatever
you state here, you have the political (mumbled) carry this thing out, uh, so if...if the item
is just consider it, I don't think you need to (mumbled) If you wanna signal that your
pro -historic preservation, then (mumbled)
Cole/ Are we .... we are currently, I mean, cause I was thinking on that last clause, might consider
the creation of a historic preservation district downtown? Are we actually .... is that
already in the works? Cause (mumbled) individual.... properties, and not the district.
Frain/ Part of (unable to understand) scope is to sketch out ways historic district would look like,
and that happened back in 2001 or 2, last time we did the survey, and the Council decided
not to move forward with the .... (mumbled) but a new set of boundaries or at least
confirmation that the old boundaries are still relevant will be presented to you (unable to
understand)
Botchway/ So to your point, Geoff, I mean I guess .... I mean (unable to understand) I guess I'm
going back to kind of the strategic plan. I think it needs (unable to understand) and so
even if we use the language `preserve important parts of Iowa City's history (coughing,
unable to hear speaker) historic preservation efforts throughout the Iowa City
community.' To me it's a general statement and it shows that we support, but it doesn't
necessarily speak to (mumbled)
Frain/ You just have to understand there's going to be people (mumbled) you say you're gonna
support historic preservation, yet you're voting against it. As long as you're okay with
that, if you're okay (unable to understand) be against something, uh, because property
owners object to it or because a .... a, uh.....group of property owners object to it,
whatever it may be, you just need to know that whatever could happen there is gonna be
ammo for whatever (several talking)
Cole/ I like leaving it in, personally, in terms of consider the creation of historic preservation
district, cause I think it is important that we signal which direction we want to go, or at
least .... we're only considering that, and to your point about the whole community,
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Kingsley. Think that's an issue, but I think the downtown's probably the most (unable to
understand) um .... so I think .... I think I like the language of this.
Smock/ Other thoughts or comments?
Throgmorton/ Well I wrote the language so I'm in love with it. (laughter) Goeff s point, uh, you
know, is an important one. I think there's considerable value (unable to understand) that
we think preserving.... key parts of Iowa City history are important, is important
(mumbled) It does not mean it will over -rule everything (both talking)
Smock/ Everything .... ri ght.
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Smock/ Other thoughts? (mumbled) Okay, so ..... I think we're sayin' it stays (several talking)
Okay. See, I told you your energy would wane (several talking and laughing) You guys
are so predictable! Okay! Um (laughs) letter C, explore incentivizing housing
renovations through tax rebates, low interest loans in historic neighborhoods, and
established neighborhoods with below-average increases in property assessment. Who is
that?
Thomas/ That's mine.
Smock/ Okay! You're up, John!
Thomas/ Again, another..... another thought I've been having is .... is how can we, through....
through the means we have at our disposal, uh, promoting, you know, the .... the
renovation and improvement of homes throughout Iowa City. Uh, in terms of affordable
housing, I tended to view existing housing as always..... you know, the new .... new
housing is expensive.... if you're trying to build affordable housing. So making sure our
existing housing stock is in good repair is really probably dollar for dollar one of the most
valuable ways we can .... pres... make sure that we have a good healthy stock of affordable
housing. It's a little long, you know, maybe there's another way of putting it, um .... but
I .... and .... and to some extent, Geoff, we may already have this in play, I don't know, I
mean we do have these, what's it Home Funds I think, that program?
Frain/ Yeah, the .... those are really lookin' at .... I mean we do have the (mumbled) program
and ... and other rehab programs that are more targeted, uh, based on income levels of
the .... of property owners, and not necessarily as a .... uh, neighborhood, uh, initiative.
Uh, we don't do any type of tax abatement or rebates, uh, but we do do loans (mumbled)
and we don't prioritize based on property assessments (mumbled) property assessments
(mumbled)
Andrew/ And the proposed budget does have the downtown historic grant (mumbled)
Frain/ (unable to hear)
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Andrew/ The .... didn't we add that this year in the proposed budget, the downtown historic, uh,
renovation grant?
Fruin/ I don't ..... (mumbled) other than the Englert I don't (unable to hear)
Andrew/ Yeah, I thought we .... I thought it was like a $40,000 grant program (several talking)
Fruin/ We did the .... we did a building change, the 50,000 (mumbled)
Smock/ .....thoughts about this one? Sorry, go ahead, Pauline!
Taylor/ (unable to hear) I was thinking and I (unable to understand) (several talking) Is that
something that ... I was thinking of it like provides lower income residents with assistance
in, uh, rehab .... (mumbled) to ensure that they're healthy and safe places to live (unable to
hear) talking more like renovating (unable to understand)
Thomas/ It could be any number of things, uh.....
Taylor/ (unable to understand) assistance for folks to make their home healthy too.
Salih/ I just wanna make sure I understand what you are saying here. You mean like giving a
loan, low income resident loan, to the people who own this house (unable to understand)
because they are (unable to understand)
Thomas/ (unable to understand) (several talking)
Salih/ ....like a .... a loan, low interest loan. So they can (unable to understand) and when you
(unable to understand) like income base loan like by income, or if you just have....
Thomas/ It could be, you know, I was looking at, um, basically established neighborhoods,
which .... based on property assessments are kind of stagnant (both talking)
Salih/ ....owner of the house is, give them the loan so they can (unable to understand)
Thomas/ Yeah.
Salih/ (unable to understand)
Thomas/ Whether it's owner -occupied or rental.
Throgmorton/ And this .... this could be residential neighborhoods in any part of the city?
Thomas/ Right. I mean I .... I kind of viewed it as established because it takes a while before a
house begins to need repair (mumbled)
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Salih/ Because you have historic here, neighborhood, is this just only for the (both talking)
Thomas/ It could be just (mumbled) established residential neighborhoods, which would include
historic.
Throgmorton/ I ... I know I've walked through, uh, several neighborhoods that seem to be
(mumbled) buildings constructed in the 60s or 70s, probably 60s (coughing, unable to
hear speaker) pretty deteriorated. So .... but they're owned by somebody (laughs) so...
would this initiative apply to those (both talking)
Thomas/ Yeah, that's.... that's kind of what I had in mind.
Cole/ Doesn't Dubuque have a very well defined tax abatement program in their residential
neighborhoods? That might be a starting point.
Fruin/ There's some that .... some that do, but under .... you know, typically with tax abatement
programs in this type of setting, you.—your taxes are abated on whatever improvements
you make. So if you're lookin' at things like replacing your water heater or your
windows or your roof, you're not really increasing the taxable value (both talking)
Cole/ Yeah.....
Fruin/ (both talking) ....home, so a lot of those are .... are set up to establish.... or to help with,
you know, additions to .... to ..... to homes or, um.....things of that nature that increase the
taxable value, and then you abate the taxes for 10 years on that. I don't know that that's
(several talking)
Thomas/ ....could be both (mumbled)
Fruin/ Could be both but understand if you're helpin' people with a new roof, a ..... abatement's
not gonna be your (both talking)
Thomas/ Right, but (both talking)
Fruin/ Yeah (both talking)
Thomas/ ...that would incentivize. Uh.... the best example I can think of is .... is the Northside
and Linda McGuire who built.... basically renovated the house next to them. It was, you
know, it was about to be demolished because .... it was in really bad shape, but
they.....you know, heroically renovated this house with a lot of sweat equity in one
residence and so forth. Uh, and they've.... they're gonna get hit, of course, with a major
....um (noise in background) tax increase because they dramatically increased the value
of that house. So they did the right thing, and then immediately saw, you know, an
increase in their property taxes. Uh, so to the degree we can incentivize .... what we want
to see happen (several talking) which is reinvestment in our neighborhood, whether it's
repair or renovation improvement. It's in a way .... it's a neighborhood approach for what
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we often do in the downtown in a sense (mumbled) how do we on a small scale, try to
incentivize property owners, uh, to improve their property? (several talking)
Salih/ I really like the idea but I wish we could like really (unable to understand) not limit it, uh,
and also (unable to understand) also can apply to this. You know I .... I need more
information for this, like, urn .... say if I can just get a loan from somewhere, I'm able
(unable to understand) or maybe ... like my house really old and (unable to understand)
Smock/ Yeah, I think that .... I think you're kind of, like the explore part, there's a lot to explore.
Oh, this is maybe a (mumbled) but I wonder if it doesn't go based on the discussion not
in walkable urban core but .... healthy neighborhoods throughout the city? Does it, does
that (several talking) it's a (mumbled) but I think .... I think you're a little bit away from
your walkable core right now.
Thomas/ Yeah.
Smock/ Um.....
Fruin/ One thing I would suggest, if..if there's an interest in going down this path, we're
probably at a point where we need to press time-out and review all of our .... we have
programs, because we have grant (mumbled) we do programs through Home and CDBG
and UniverCity program. We have the Invest Health initiative. You know, I .... we've
....we just did the historic preservation grant program. Um .... there's a lot of things
we've created and I think maybe we just need to say strategically here's all the resources
we use. We dedicate half a million dollars towards these similar types of effort. How do
we wanna.....uh, evaluate and maybe redeploy those resources to better align with where
you all want to go. So, if. ... if we're gonna keep this in here, we might take one step back
and just do a comprehensive evaluation of all of our .... uh, investments (mumbled)
Smock/ Thoughts or reactions to that? (several talking)
Botchway/ ...evaluate? (several talking) Um .... (several talking)
Dilkes/ (unable to understand) (several talking and laughing)
Smock/ ...watchin' ya struggle with that (several talking and laughing) You wanna go to D? We
good with that? See, you made her blush, guys. Okay! Um, consider (laughs) consider
steps towards creating a downtown form based code.
Cole/ I actually wanna take it out, as much as I love the form based code.
Smock/ Did you write it?
Cole/ I didn't write it (unable to understand) Two reasons, one .... how much difficulty we had in
terms of our existing form based code initiatives on the Northside and the Southside,
coupled with the sticker shock that I think we all had, coupled with the fact that we are
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(mumbled) historic preservation district, I think it'd be very hard to have two major
downtown initiatives. I still think we (unable to understand)
Mims/ I would agree with that. I think we wanna get to it, but .... I mean we (mumbled)
community a year or so ago (mumbled) look at the Northside and the Alexander areas
first, in terms of the form based code, and .... you're right, the sticker shock (unable to
understand)
Cole/ That's just on the Northside alone, I think, isn't it? So....
Throgmorton/ So I wanted to fulfill a commitment I made during our TIF (unable to understand)
discussions, where I said I would bring this up at, you know, so that we ..... I would
support the possibility of considering creation of a form based code or urban design
(mumbled) downtown. That's what I committed to do. So, if y'all say no, then .... no's
the answer (laughs) but I .... I wanted to fulfill my.....
Thomas/ I think it makes sense (mumbled) you know, doing it, uh, if...if we do the historic
survey. The certain focus and attention on the downtown that that brings, uh.... I mean
my hope is that, and this .... and this is a two-year timeframe we're talking about too, so,
you know, that's .... we have two years to try to a .... address all these form based code
issues we have (mumbled) um.....so, I mean I would .... I would like to keep it in there.
Um, in the hope that, you know, through some of the discussions we've had, I've
mentioned that maybe the Northside. If. ... if staff looks at what we could, in the short-
term especially, what we could accomplish in terms of regulatory changes to the code
that might allow .... you know, the house .... the house that was torn down on Van Buren
(mumbled) duplex, you know, that we may be able to .... you know, juggle our priorities
with respect to form based code.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so ... John reminds me that I did not mean to be suggesting that we .... would
literally initiate form based code for the downtown, or .... or allocate funding for a
consultant or anything like that. I wanted us to identify the steps that needed to be taken
and maybe take one or two initial steps, in that direction. But ... that does not mean
(unable to understand)
Botchway/ (unable to understand) supportive of your, the phrase (mumbled) John's (mumbled) I
can't remember what it was.
Throgmorton/ Uh, yeah, it was, uh.....sorry. Begin work on a form based code or urban design
plan for downtown. (several talking) (unable to understand)
Cole/ My only concern with that too is that even though we're all in the same room you sort of
get the sense of, you know, maybe we could do a (mumbled) presentation
or .... community gets this and (unable to understand) consider a form based code for the
downtown. All of a sudden they start organizing and say .... writing us letters and .... I just
think it's like, it creates a political process that I think we cannot
necessarily .... (mumbled) can avoid and we can still take those steps, those sort of pre -
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steps towards it. So that's my concern, is that we're sending the message that we are
going to do it.
Mims/ I would agree, Rockne (mumbled) when I looked at this, look at the age behind it, and
again I ... look at all the stuff we're talking about and how many things were on this... one,
two, three pages (several talking) and I'm (both talking)
Botchway/ ....use the 10 -point font (laughter)
Mims/ (both talking) I'm really concerned that we're gonna get to this final thing and I'm gonna
feel the same way I did two years ago, that the scope of this, given .... how thinly
stretched our staff is, that .... I'm going to have trouble supporting it, not because I don't
believe in what's in it, but because of the scope of it, and this is something that I think we
know we can't get to in the next two years. Uh, and I think, Rockne, you put it really
well. I think it starts to set a public expectation of something much sooner than we have
any chance of really making any concrete progress on.
Taylor/ (unable to hear) Comprehensive Plan, does that not sort of include some of these or that
would be totally different (unable to understand)
Botchway/ (several talking) The only other thing (several talking) was whether or not this would
be incorporated into .... item F (unable to hear) I have a different perspective on .... the
downtown, I mean the Council does about major (coughing, unable to hear speaker)
Could it be incorporated in (mumbled) spelled out as clearly as you have it in the urban
core piece, or are you particularly wanting to highlight in the urban core (mumbled)
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) downtown (mumbled) if you vote against it that's okay (unable to
hear)
Salib/ I think we can consider this a step towards (unable to understand) two years.
Taylor/ (unable to hear)
Throgmorton/ How bout preliminarily assess the steps (laughs) required.... something like that
that's, you know, really vague and doesn't (unable to understand) memo about things
(unable to understand)
Mims/ I'm sorry, I think the strategic plan should be the things that we (both talking) firmly
believe that we are going to put time and effort and emphasis on, either getting compelted
or at least starting major steps (mumbled) (several talking)
Cole/ (coughing, unable to hear speaker) (several talking and laughing)
Fruin/ The things that I said from the outset (both talking) energy of a Council and a staff, and
you have to really be committed to it. This is (both talking) consume a ton of
organizational energy, just by puttin' it on here. So .... I would....
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Thomas/ Well we do have the historic preservation piece.
Cole/ Well that's my thing, is that that is the .... it's the (mumbled)
Smock/ I .... so, is it stayin' or goin'? (several talking)
Mims/ Well I just believe.....if.....it's high level in terms of staff time. Think that....I agree with
Rockne that if we put it in, we're gonna really raise expectations for some serious action
soon, and I don't believe we have the time (mumbled) started our form based code, uh,
for the near Northside or (mumbled) Southside. So I just, I really don't see that we can
feasibly get to this in the next two years, and I think it just raises all kinds of expectations
from the community, and to me if you're gonna put it in the .... in the strategic plan, it
should mean that we believe we have the time and energy to make concerted progress on
it, and I don't believe that we do.
Salih/ (unable to understand) ...after two years (unable to understand) since we cannot like
(unable to understand) but we can consider (both talking)
Mims/ Oh I would .... I would see us putting it on the next strategic plan.
Salih/ (unable to understand)
Mims/ I think by that point we'll be ready to really, hopefully if the other's further out of the way
and be ready to move on this.
Fruin/ I mean it's recommended in the master plan, that we do this form based code, so it's
(clears throat) I .... my caution is not that we shouldn't do it. Uh, but if you prioritize the
Northside and the Southside, um, first, it's not realistic to do all three. And (both talking)
Salih/ (unable to understand)
Throgmorton /I know I counted one, two ... three people who think we should defer this to some,
to our next strategic. Do I see at least one more?
Thomas/ (both talking) as far as I think (unable to understand) we are (mumbled) creation of a
historic preservation district, looking at the downtown core (several talking and laughing)
Smock/ Okay, so we're gonna defer that one. Still important (mumbled) the downtown. Okay,
so I'm lookin' at you, should we go on to one more? Should we get people calibrated on
how far we got? (several talking) Okay! Oh, good! (laughter) You wanna maintain a
solid financial foundation.
Cole/ Triple -A (unable to understand) right, even though that's (unable to understand) I think we
should always have that. (several talking)
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Smock/ Do we want to ..... (several talking) You got two minutes. Do you want to do five? Six?
(several talking) Do you wanna pause? Whatda.....all right.
Fruin/ I would say, you know, you should be done at 5:00. We're not gonna get through
everything, and then (unable to understand)
Smock/ So let's .... let's take the time that we have to wrap up where we've been and where
you're going next. Um, because I think that ... I .... I'd much rather we get through.... we're
not rushed and (mumbled) overdo it. Um, you guys did get through, I think, some of the
highest priority things, and you do have a shorter list. Um, I think the next steps are for
us to get the wordsmithed, cleaned up version of this back to you so you can look at it,
and Geoff s like (laughing) Um, and then .... and then you'll have to continue the
discussion to get through the two or three that are left. Okay?
Botchway/ (mumbled) add in our prior Council, um, objectives?
Fruin/ You would 30 -some more items on here?
Botchway/ (unable to hear) ...see it all at the same time. (coughing, unable to hear speaker)
Throgmorton/ Kingsley needs (coughing, unable to hear speaker) (several talking) (unable to
understand)
Fruin/ We'll put it in a separate document (several talking) just a one -pager (mumbled)
Smock/ Okay, comments or needs before you all disperse? (mumbled)
Throgmorton/I'd like to say you've done a great job (several talking, applause)
Smock/ Thank you, my pleasure! I take .... I just get a ton of energy from learning things about
this stuff and meeting all of you. It's really cool, what you all do. I have .... a whole new
level of respect for city council people and I don't know how you read all this stuff, cause
it's amazing to me, so .... my pleasure! Do you have to adjourn a meeting or tap a gavel
or....
Throgmorton/ Oh, yeah, we're adjourned!
Mims/ I was gonna make just one comment because there was nothing in here under numnber
four. I will submit to Geoff two or three things that I think need to be in there, I mean I
think ... in number four, maintain our triple-A bond rating (unable to understand) about
really paying attention to.....to implementation of the 2013 tax reform, um, and .... so
anyway, I'll come up with two or three and submit to Jim just so you're not surprised
when you see those next time. (several talking)
Fruin/ So, um, your next work session is dedicated to the budget and form based code, so we're
probably not going to have time on Tuesday to talk about it. I will go ahead and schedule
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council strategic
planning work session of January 30, 2018.
Page 75
the second meeting (mumbledf) discussion and then you all in the meantime, between
now and next Tuesday, you can think if that's enough or if you want to schedule a
special.... another special session (mumbled) There is no hard deadline on the strategic
(several talking) so there is a hard deadline on budget. We gotta get through that stuff on
Tuesday.
Smock/ Okay? (several talking) You're welcome. It was a pleasure meeting you!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council strategic
planning work session of January 30, 2018.