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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-02 TranscriptionPage I 1. Call to Order Throgmorton: (bangs gavel) I'd like to call to order the regular formal meeting of the Iowa City City Council for July the 2nd, 2019. Roll call please. Uh, people who are watching surely notice that Mazahir Salih is not here again tonight. She's still in Sudan. Has not been able to get a flight back from Sudan yet. So hopefully at some point she will be able to make it back! (laughs) Uh.... but we don't really know. We've had fitful conversations with her. I mean fitful communications with her over the distance.... but we certainly hope that she is well. All right, so greetings to everyone. Thanks for coming. It's been a pretty brutally hot and humid day, a good day to be discussing climate change, which we did in our work session just a few minutes ago, but now we need to move on to other things. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 2 8. Community Comment (items not on the agenda) Tbrogmorton: This is for any item that's not on the formal meeting agenda. So if anyone would like to address any topic not on the formal meeting agenda, please feel free to come up and speak. I'd like to ask ya to keep your comments brief. I .... it looks like not many people are here so ..... not more than five minutes at the most, preferably less. Hello! Please state your name. Hewin: Uh, my name's Ann. Uh, I've (both talking) Throgmorton: Ann, full name (both talking) Hewin: Ann Hewin. Throgmorton: Thank you. Hewin: I've reviewed agenda Item 9.b. regarding zoning at the northwest corner of Benton Street and Orchard Street, which (both talking) Throgmorton: Ann, excuse me, if...if you're gonna address an item that's on the agenda (both talking) Hewin: ....informed, uh, general observation, so I'd like to make a statement on. Is that all right? Throgmorton: But not about that specific topic? Hewin: No. Tbrogmorton: Sure. Hewin: Thank you. Uh, the condensing of residential areas can be beneficial to the mission of mitigating and slowing the progression of the current climate crisis, which is several ... with several exceptions. (mumbled) standards should be adopted regarding the energy efficiency of newly developed and existing structures, in both multi -family residential buildings, as well as single-family homes. This is due to the typical energy loss of residential homes in the city, which increases overall greenhouse gas emissions in the area, and therefore contributes to the current climate crisis. In addition, construction of more impermeable pavement should be considered regarding increased run-off it causes This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 3 during the inevitable storms that will continue to increase in magnitude during the current climate crisis. Mitigation of impermeable surfaces is expected by the residents of Iowa City and if there's construction is necessary further permeable surfaces requirement should be made by both the Zoning Commission and City Council, in order to mitigate flood risks. This .... these include larger green spaces, planting of native plants with deep root systems that encourage infiltration and reduce soil run-off, and the installation of water catchment systems. I encourage the Council to consider the environment ra .... environmental ramifica- tions of all decisions made by this body, particularly in the context of the current climate crisis. Thank you. Throgmorton: Thank you, Ann, and thanks for taking the time to come up and share your views about that. Hi, Megan! Alter: Hello! (mumbled) Hello, my name is Megan Alter and I live in the South District and, uh, I have a brief PowerPoint that is to give you some feedback on a survey that I conducted not long after Lucky's announced its closing. Um, I did it very informally. Not scientifically. It was done through Survey Monkey and, um, and social media, essentially. So, um, I want to share with you an amalgamation of the results. Hopefully.... there we go! Um.....and this can just give you some ... a sense of input of what the community, uh, responded to. Unfortunately this was not translated, so this is only English reading and writers. Um, so .... take it for what it is, but I do think it gives a snapshot as to what the community is thinking. So .... it was a very simple question, uh, what should go in Lucky's space? What do you think would be the best use for Lucky's space for the South District and for Iowa City? There were slightly more than what I said, uh, what's listed here — 231 answered, um, although that's (mumbled) close enough. So, as .... a visual, and I will get the specifics, as a visual, this purple line here is actually a one-stop shop like Target. Um, others that were referenced as decent choices were grocery store, um, an anchor store, as well as ... I wanna say restaurants. So, here is actually a little bit more easy way to see this. Um, groceries, 12%; anchor store, close to 5%; uh, indoor.... affordable indoor recreation space, 3%; uh, other, which I'll get to, was 5, almost 6%; but as you can see, one-stop shopping like Target was 67%. So there was a pretty clear, uh, selection here. So in a nutshell, several of the questions are condensed here. So who responded? What were the percentages of, um.....the spread across the city, who lives in the South District versus who responded from outside of it; how useful would this service or business be and how often would it be frequented? 231 people responded, 69% live in the South District, 154; 67 who responded lived in Iowa City; a lot were on the east side. 67% responded that the new service or business would be extremely This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 4 useful, that was 146. And then 77% responded that they would frequent their selection at least once a week. Um, and I felt that that's an important thing to include because while somebody can say, yeah, that's my first choice but I'm gonna go there twice (mumbled) you know, it's not gonna matter. So this is something that they really did believe, um, they would frequent. So that's kinda just the nutshell of the statistics, and I'm gonna actually send this all to Council, the pdf from which this all came so you can peruse it at your leisure. Um, but other suggestions for improvements to the Iowa City Market Place and its retail neighborhood, and I've taken a selection that are representative, um, someone says, 'Let's bring in something that provides jobs and services that the neighborhood will use; um, 'Improve the parking lot, make it pedestrian -friendly to get there.' That was a pretty significant cluster of comments about the difficulty of accessing it, unless you were in a car, and also the state of the parking lot itself It really is this great big ocean that is difficult for pedestrians, bicyclists, and even people on the bus line. Um, there aren't that many stops, and um, so that was something that came up again. Or several times. Um .... someone said, 'Rightfully so! I hate having to drive to Coralville for socks.' With the closing of Paul's, as well as Kmart, there really is nothing in that area. You do have to travel all the way down to Walmart, or go out to Coralville to do that, and it would be very nice, a couple of comments, noted that it would be very nice to have an alternative to Walmart. Um .... someone suggested for betterment of the Iowa City Market Place in general a sign easily seen from Highway 6 displaying the movies that are being shown, as well as the stores that are there. Um, and then ... will note this last one, 'More pedestrian, bicycle, and bus friendly. Now that even the inside is chopped up, we never stroll around inside and outside is too ugly and unfriendly to pedestrians to do that either. So provide a covered outdoor seating area and a through -way inside from one end to the other.' And that too was something that came up that actually the flow of the mall itself is .... not very user- friendly. You really are going there for a particular destination, rather than sort of being able to visit multiple stores. It's difficult to access. So additional suggestions, to wrap up, are actually, um, these were more outliers, but I thought that they were interesting. Renovate Eastdale Plaza; uh, create affordable attractions for teens; um, a couple of people suggested annexes for the Public Library and the Senior Center; someone suggested something like a Home Depot. Yes, Ace Hardware is there but something where you could get like 2X4 or, you know, drywall, things like that. This is before Harbor Freight moved in, so I'm not sure how that would affect anything. Um, in general, encourage the Iowa City Market Place to modernize, renovate the theater, create a food court, attract an anchor store. So really bring it back to a traditional mall, if you will. Um, and then someone else made a suggestion and I do concur with this that help This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 5 pedestrians who are trying to cross Highway 6. They suggested a walking bridge. That might not be feasible, but something that actually helps pedestrians. It's a pretty outlet and yet south of Sycamore is a big residential area and so there are a number of people who are crossing the highway all the time. Throgmorton: Great. Thank you, Megan. Alter: Thank you. Throgmorton: Anyone else? Good evening. Ashman: Good evening. My name is Jan Ashman, and I'm here on behalf of the Johnson County Humane Society to try to figure out where we are on, um, our feline trap, neuter, and return proposal that we, um, think we gave it to you last year in July. Urn .... we're here to answer questions. Uh, Chris Whitmore is here and so is Laurie Kendrick, and she's right behind me and she's got somethin' to say! Throgmorton: Thank you, Jan. Kendrick: Not really! (laughter) I was just gonna ask what your, Council's direction on that is or.... Throgmorton: Yeah, we did not have a chance to talk about it during the work session, as you know. We're gonna do that.... that'll be the first item when we get .... when we, um, adjourn this formal meeting and go back into our work session. I think it'll be a very short formal meeting, so we should get to that pretty quickly. Hi there. Kazembe: Hi, my name is Aisha Kazembe and I would like to make a comment on Item 9.a. and how it relates to the current climate crisis and some possible equity issues. Throgmorton: But you mean generally, not specifically, right? Kazembe: Yeah. Throgmorton: Yeah. Kazembe: Um, so as mentioned in today's agenda item write-up, Iowa City currently has a sepra .... separation distance between fuel pump dispensers in residential zones set at 100 feet. Um, the fire code only requires a 10 -foot separation distance, but many cities choose to use a larger limit for the general welfare of residents. Iowa This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 6 City does have a relatively high separation distance, but this is a good thing because gas stations and pumps are known for emitting a variety of toxic fumes that are linked to health hazards such as cancer and asthma. Some of these substances include benzene, as well as other emissions that are released from cars driving in and out of the station. Not only are there adverse health effects associated with consistent exposure to fumes common in gas stations, but this also brings up an equity issue. Many of the Iowa City residents who will be exposed to the health risks associated will be those who live in mixed-use areas. Residents who live in areas with this type of land use may be more likely to be (mumbled) income. This means that there's already an equity issue concerning the accessibility of healthcare, which may only be exacerbated to exposure of toxic fumes. Finally, lowering the separation limit between residential zones and fuel dispensing equipment makes it easier to set locations for new gas stations and encourages the use of fuel. Considering our current climate crisis as a city, I think we should be working towards discouraging the use of fuels that are contributing to climate change whenever possible. For the well-being of Iowa City residents and the environment, I think it's a good idea to keep the current separation distance at 100 feet. Throgmorton: Thank you, Aisha. Kazembe: Thank you. Throgmorton: Blair, you're up! Please state your name, Blair. Frank: My name is Blair Frank. I live at, uh, in Iowa City. I'm not addressing.... I'm not intending to address any of the specifics, but I am, uh, fresh from hearing the work session and so I have a few comments to make, because I've been very concerned about climate action and climate emergency, and I've worked for a few years on food security, um, edible foods grown in urban areas. Um, also, uh, very interested in teaching children about, uh, climate change, about growing, uh, and harvesting food, bio -mass, which is not known for, uh, being present in urban areas, but, uh, bringing a lot of that, with permaculture yards all over the place. Um, and just think in a climate change local food, uh, creates jobs, as well as nourishment and you .... you may remember me, I'm the senior that had Gaia's Peace Garden and for nine years I had that project and we had 70 fruit trees, and uh, medicinal herbs in the, uh, understorage, and uh, that area. When I found out that the cherry tree was listed for removal, it....it really frustrated me. It hurt me deeply, because my wife and some of us were part of planting that place. I think the big thing that .... that really hurt was that we weren't included on the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 7 discussion, here's a stake, says food removal. So I go over and have a discussion at the, uh, Rec Center. Well how is a decision like that made? And somebody said well it is on our property. And I thought, well, wait a minute, I'm, uh, a citizen of Iowa City. What do you mean? Our property, and .... um, that still is.... a .... a comment that I'm still trying to figure out. The second thing was that I said, well was it the Park and Ree decision, and they said no, it's an engineering decision, and I said, well, then who makes that, uh, the engineering decision? Well I've heard the comments that we've made about climate emergency, and I know my five minutes'll be up in a hurry, but one of the things that I hear a lot about is we're, uh, about empowering or communicating an 85 -page plan, which I affirm you for and am happy for all the work in that 85 -page plan, but is there... what is the plan, and maybe that's coming next, um, that communicates that to everybody. When I went to the Farmers Market one morning, I had four questions and I asked people how many .... one of the first questions was, uh, how many of you know that we have an 85 -page Iowa City climate action plan, and I asked a lot of the vendors. It's not a scientific study, but most of'em didn't know that we had our 85 -page plan, and then some of 'em had not read it, of course. One of my two suggestions, and then I'll sit down, is that in a lot of different cities, and I've traveled to Scotland a number of times, Ireland. I just got back from the rain forest in Vancouver. One of the things I hear over and over again is that people in other countries are saying people in the United States are counting carbon, and they're, uh, trying to figure out percentage -wise, and .... and I'm affirming the graphs and everything, but there's gotta be another, uh, another, uh, aspect of that, of addressing climate change, other than the technical, and that is the communication. In Ann Arbor, in Austin, in Portland, in other places they have a thing called 'conscious cafes' and I wrote this in a letter to the City Council and said it a couple weeks ago. But one of my suggestions is that we talk, um, more, uh, on a horizontal level about this 85 -page plan. So one of my suggestions is to implement, uh, regular discussions, places where people meet, um, regularly, at coffee shops maybe, and have the subject be the 85 -page climate action plan, perhaps. Um, I didn't suggest that we hire somebody else. Um, I'm saying we empower the people that live here, because I think there's a lot of gifts and talents that are not bein' tapped into. I know a number of people that .... that studied this and went to Scotland and I've been told by a very gifted person in this community that this is one of the bibles for climate action and, uh, it's great! It's great! I love it, and it's good to know, but we also need to .... to allow the children to be a part of this whole process by protecting things, and I know I'm gettin' a little (sighs) I'm just so hurt. I .... I just really felt so, uh, left out when we decided to cut down a cherry tree. These the cherries, that's my prop. (sighs) Thanks for listening to me. I affirm you all for what you're doin'. I affirm all of these people for what This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 8 they're doin', because the day that we really do good is when we empower each other and that's (both talking) Throgmorton: Thank you, Blair. Thanks for comin' down tonight! Anyone else? Hello. Norbeck: Good evening! Martha Norbeck. (mumbled) I think my address is on record. (laughs) So I wanted to speak to a letter I wrote to Council, which ties into your conversation earlier this evening at the .... at the work session. Um, you know we have the technology to get to that 2030 goal of 45% reduction. Brenda laid it out pretty clearly, and in the takeaway I had was her .... her final thing was we need to strengthen partnerships, and the City's really not empowered to do that directly. It needs to happen through relationships. Ura .... and so the letter I wrote to the Council was suggesting that a person be, um, assigned the responsibility of being kind of the hub of those partnerships. And the closing of that letter said I'm not sure if this is a City staff position. Could the City be funding it? Probably that's logical, because then there's a stake and a natural link in communication with the City, but ... you know, I'm thinkin', Susan, one of the things you said was, you know, you need to make it easy, and then Pauline said you gotta educate people. Well, this is about people actually giving a hoot, right? The reason peop.... you know, Ashley's saying well people aren't telling us they care about climate. Well yeah, we're not telling you that! But we care! We're just not coming and telling you. So there's.... there's this level of community engagement which if we were running a political campaign, if climate change (laughs) if climate change were running for president, we'd be canvassing door-to-door! I mean this is political action at its best. If you want to pass a bond issue, you're not just gonna hope people show up and say 'please tax us more.' No! You need to, the City goes out and has a calculated campaign for going out and generating some belief in the community that you should pass said bond issue. Um, this is the bond issue, uh, magnified dramatically, because you don't just want people to agree to whatever incentives or taxes or whatever fee structure you get to do things. We also need people to change what they're doing, and it's not just the easy stuff. It's gonna have to become the hard stuff. And let's face it, people do hard stuff all the time. People choose to do ridiculously hard things, all the time in their lives. Why do they do that? Because they believe in something. And right now we're not fostering a belief in the importance of acting on climate change, and I am not sure that full-time City staff person is the right person to basically do a political action campaign. Do I think the City should be funding that, and supporting that, and having a direct tie with staff? Yes! But one of the things that happened when I was on Council in Fairfield was we actually hired a sustainability coordinator that was funded from multiple sources, and so he was actually able to play those This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 9 funding sources off of each other and leverage that in his work with the community, because he was like saying I'm not just speaking for the city of Fairfield. I'm also speaking for ISU Extension Service. I'm also speaking for this company that kicked in a few thousand dollars, and so suddenly he was empowered to speak on a broader scale, and so I'm asking you to think about this problem differently. Don't approach it like, oh, we just need to allocate money to hire another person. We need to change the way we think about moving forward, because if we keep doing what we've been doing, just a little bit better, let's face it (laughs) get there. We need to .... we need to be creative. And I think it's time to think about what that creative outlet would be. So thank you! Throgmorton: Thank you, Martha! Would anybody else like to address us? Okay, I'm not seeing anyone else so .... we'll move on.....to Item 9, Planning and Zoning Matters. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 10 9. Planning and Zoning Matters 9.a. Zoning code text amendment related to separation distance requirement for fuel dispensing equipment - Ordinance amending Title 14, Zoning Code, to modify the provisional and special exception approval criteria regarding the distance separation between fuel dispensing equipment and residential zones for quick vehicle services uses. (ZCA19-01) 1. Public hearing Throgmorton: I'm gonna open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Hi, Danielle. Sitzman: Good evening, Mayor and Council. Danielle Sitzman, Neighborhood and Development Services. Uh, the first agenda item for you tonight is the zoning code text change, uh, addressing the separation distances of, uh, quick service vehicle station, uh, fuel dispensing devices. Uh, this was, uh, brought to our attention recently when, uh, a ... the owner of a Kum n' Go, uh, proposed to invest in a redevelopment of that site to continue it as a gas station with a different, uh, orientation of their pumps to facilitate a better site design. Um, and in reviewing their application, uh, the determination was made that they would have difficulty making any renovation, uh, at .... to meet our current code for the separation distances. Um, such a proposal would require either provisional administrative approval or a special exception approval process through the Board of Adjustment, using, uh, very similar criteria and that separation distance was identified as something that would be, uh, a .... uh, difficulty to facilitate that. Many of you are probably familiar with this gas station. It's one of the few places you can purchase, uh, fuel for your vehicle as well as, uh, have a convenience store option for, uh, other sundries you might need. It's located in a neighborhood off of Mormon Trek. The proposal is essentially to rotate the gas pumps. There are three pumps on site. Rotate them 90 -degrees so that they're oriented, uh, perpendicular to Mormon Trek rather than parallel. Um, some additional views of the site showing the, um, surrounding neighborhood. Um, the current requirement, uh, does require, uh, at least 100 -foot separation, um, in this particular situation. There are other situations in other zoning districts where that can be reduced down to 70 -feet for a residential boundary. Um, staff is proposing that distance be amended for either case down to 50 -feet, rather than the 100 -foot separation. Um, in .... and there's also some things that will not be changing. Uh, there's some, uh, provisions in the code that allow for kind of special consideration of. ... of proposals when they can't meet that separation distance at all. Um, but we're not proposing to make amendments to that. So in ... in This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 11 considering this change, staff went through the usual process of trying to figure out why we have a .... a rule in the first place. Um, we were unable to identify the origin of this particular, um, distance. Um, it's similar in nature to another separation distance that applies to above -ground storage tanks, large storage tanks for fuel. However, uh.... gasoline is pumped from underground storage tanks through dispensing equipment (mumbled) different than that kind of arrangement. So we were unable to locate the exact, uh, origin of that separation in our code. So then we looked up beyond ourselves to see what nationally is done and what our peer cities in Iowa, uh, do to regulate, um, these, uh, uses. Um, we discovered in our peer cities a wide range of distances and, uh, not a whole lot of reasoning behind them. What we can find is on the books and so the actual distances that are measured in between pumping, um, and .... and residential zones. So there's a wide range, anything down to, um, 10 -feet, which corresponds to the International Fire Code standard, and up to 50 -feet, uh, in the West Des Moines area, and a range of things in the 20 to 15, 25 -foot separation. Um, we did consult with our Fire Department since we were aware of what the International Fire Code said as far as the minimum requirement. Um, that, like I said that was 10 -feet, uh, separation distance between fuel dispensing equipment and a residential boundary zone. Um, they concurred that, um, the proposed, uh, reduction in distance would not be in conflict with that, therefore they, uh, had no, uh.... uh, opposition to the proposed changes, but also look at other, uh, all the existing gas stations, or many of the existing gas stations in town, to kind of get a read on, um, whether they were complying with the current ordinances or how many situations maybe where that might be non -conforming with that, with the existing 100 -foot separation. In general most stations are .... are located well away from the pumping, uh, dispen... the fuel dispensing is located well away from residential zones. We think that's actually a element of the marketability of a fueling station, wanting to have a prominent visibility in picking sites that are larger anyway. Um, we did, uh.... excuse me, so the way our code is set up is based on, the approval process, is based on, um, which zone you are in and then what process you go through is either ask for that special exception with the Board of Adjustment or a PR meeting provisional. So there's a wide range of commercial districts that could allow quick vehicle servicing uses and (mumbled) fuel dispensing equipment, and a different approval process depending on the intensity of the commercial district itself. We did look at the property zoned appropriately now to be allowed to have quick vehicle servicing and where those properties are in relationship to residential properties. Um .... this map does show those parcels throughout the city. The majority of potential future parcels are clustered near South Gilbert Street, Highway 6, or Dodge Street. Uh, there are a few potential parcels situated in, uh, areas that would potentially be neighborhood commercial. Like I said, the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 12 market demand for fueling stations tends to not focus in neighborhoods. We don't see that this code change would create a large demand for additional neighborhood gas stations. They're kind of more of a many... amenity that many neighborhoods, um, are going without at this point and having to travel farther away to fuel vehicles or to, like I say, be able to purchase, um, some limited groceries. This is the same map, just showing those parcels highlighted in different colors, depending on the approval process, whether it's special exception or provisional. So in summary, the current requirement places a constraint on gas stations which might want to, um, service denser areas of the city or stations that are located already in close proximity to residential that warm make, might warm make, um, redevelopment or reinvestment in their property and... and in this case in partiti... particular result in a improved site design. Um, many cities, both nationally and in Iowa, have a separation distance, uh, lower than our current and more in line with our proposed 50 -foot separation, and we would continue to be, uh, consistent across all of our residential... or sorry! Commercial and residential zones. So the next steps for this would be a consideration by City Council tonight. Um, based on staffs review of the national and local peer cities, and in consultation with the Iowa City Fire Department, and based on the analysis of the potential impacts, uh, to sites throughout the city, staff did recommend the proposed code change and at their May 6th meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of it to you tonight. I'm happy to answer questions. Throgmorton: Thank you. Are there any questions for Danielle? Cole: I .... I would like to hear a little bit more detail about the safety aspect of this, because presumably the reason why these distances exist in the first place, we have a flammable liquid and we also have fumes from that. Um, do we have any particular details about how much, one the fumes would .... would waft out into the neighborhoods, and secondly, are there any issues related to the fire hazard or anything like that? Sitzman: So not contained in the zoning code. When we looked to our zoning code, normally we would look for it to give us clues as to what negative externalities might be regulated by an additional separation between things. There is no mention in our zoning code of that, nor in any of our kind of peer cities and their analysis there. Therefore we looked to the fire code, and that's a code that's developed in, uh, response to public health, uh, concerns, identifiable, uh, hazards that have been addressed with the firefighting community and the fire marshals. Their separation distance is much less than what we're proposing, so the 10 -foot This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 13 separation is what the fire code would deem as safe. I have to imagine, I'm not an expert in this but I have to imagine that technology over time, um, these are systems that are tested and required to meet standards on their own, outside of the zoning code. So it's like buying a .... an appliance that you would plug in. So they have other safety measures that they have to meet, so .... we looked at the fire code as the authority in this case, for safety. Thomas: I .... I think, um, when this issue came up on Forest View and I remember meeting with staff on it, uh, not specifically on this distance, although that was a concern of mine because the gas station at that time was part of the project and the proximity to the residential areas, which kind of led me to what we heard during the community comment period was that the .... the issue could very well be, uh, the vapors and the impacts from a public health standpoint, uh, on adjacent land uses. And so my .... one of my questions would be, um, and it kinda reminds me of this question on, uh, you know, building code, energy efficiency requirements. Is there anything at the State level, uh, say DNR that might regulate air quality standards. Sitzman: I don't know if I can answer that. I know the DNR is involved in the underground storage of fuels quite intensively. So underground storage tanks is regulated by DNR, and they of course have their standards for that. Uh, I don't know that I could speak to the additional health concerns or .... safety elements. The proposed separation would meet, uh, the fire code, which is also adopted by the State. Thomas: Uh huh. Could.... could, I mean I .... is this gonna be just a one reading or what is this (mumbled) three readings! Sitzman: This is three (both talking) Thomas: Could you look into that, um.... Sitzman: Sure! Absolutely! Thomas: First of all ... first that and what I also noticed when we were talking about Forest View, it....it brought to my attention the fact that, uh, you know, the vapors escape at certain points in the process. So, you know, when the .... when the gas, when the fuel tanks are being filled, that's one piece of when vapors can escape. Also when you fill up your tank, um, you know, when I travel out of state, the ....the pumps have a ..... a better control over the vapors escaping from, um, you know, from that .... when you're filling up. So one of my questions there is is where we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 14 Sitzman: Thomas: do find the distances to be .... you know, less than 100 -feet if, urn .... we .....we could establish a requirement to en .... ensure that the.....that that particular gas station (clears throat) excuse me! Gas station has better control over, uh.... the degree to which the vapors could escape into the air. Certainly look into that, but I think it's a highly regulated industry by others, so I'm not sure if we're going to find that we have the authority to (both talking) That's why I think this whole state question seems to me to be important to understand, cause it does seem to me when, yeah, when I leave the state is when I start seeing these, um, a more regulated control. Throgmorton: I would think since we're talking about vapors that that's a matter of air pollution and it's controlled, regulated, by the .... I guess the State DNR, I'm not sure who (both talking) with regard to air pollution control. So I don't know, maybe you could check into that for us. Taylor: I didn't see the photo of the proposed plan, Kum n' Go. You'd mentioned that they're going to move the pumps. They currently run north -south along, uh, Mormon Trek. So they're planning to move them more in an east -west direction (both talking) Sitzman: They're only in kind of concept development at this point, but yes. They would rotate them 90 -degrees so they would run east -west. They'd be more on the north side of the site. Taylor: On the north side, not the south side, cause currently the housing development is on the south side of the building. So it'd be further away possibly from (both talking) Sitzman: Yeah, their concept is to move their building farther south and their pumps farther north. Taylor: (mumbled) Okay, thank you! Throgmorton: Any other questions? Cole: How many .... would they add any additional pumps, or is it just changing the orientation? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 15 Sitzman: It would not be adding pumps. Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you, Danielle. Would anyone else like to address this topic? Hi there! Weggin: Good evening. My name is Keith Weggin. I am with CDA. Also with me tonight is Shavone Harmon and Brittany Andreson with Kum n' Go. Um, just wanted to supplement, uh, the previous presentation and make a few mention of some notes, just some additional information. Um, concerning vapors and .... and, uh, venting, there are lots of federal mandates and provisions in place, uh, to handle venting, uh, in many different capacities. For example when pumps are being operated, venting happens up through the canopy. It's not happening at the ground level. Additionally when, um, the underground fuel tanks are filled by the fuel provider, they are capturing vapor and fumes, and basically taking those with them. So they're not only just filling the fuel up on site, but they are also, um, protecting those, uh, the vapors and fumes from just bleeding out in the atmosphere, and that actually goes back into tanks within their trucks. So, um, couple other things just to mention. We do have some concepts with us of what the proposed layout would be, uh, for the site. So as was mentioned, essentially where the canopy and the pump islands sit today, we would rotate that 90 degrees, and it'd move north just a little bit. What we're really excited about with this site and the proposed concept is the improved access and circulation through the site. So couple things we worked very hard with the staff, um, trying to find a concept plan that .... that benefited both Kum n' Go and the City of Iowa City to improve efficiencies and access to the site. One of the things that we talked about during those conversations was, uh, limiting the number of pump islands on site. Typically when we come into a new site, we'd be looking at six pump islands, and in this case we agreed to, uh, stick with three, which is what's out there today. So with those, with the canopy being rotated and moved slightly north, it actually in a sense pulls that .... that fuel canopy further away from the majority of the nearest residential units. An interesting fact about this site, um, this is a unique situation. The site's actually rather small compared to the sites we usually see. This site is 158 -feet wide and has residential across the street to the west and south. So there is not a dot on this site with the current 100 -foot separation requirement where this site would be .... could be redeveloped based on the current requirements and provisions. So, um, we are happy with the concessions in the agreements that we've had with staff and we're excited to move this project forward and be happy to answer any questions that you might have. Throgmorton: Great, thanks, Keith. Does anybody have any questions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 16 Weggin: Thank you. Throgmorton: Thanks. Anyone else? Okay, seeing no one else, before I close the public hearing I need to ask you whether you are inclined to vote in accordance with the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation to approve. Teague: I'm not sure (laughs) Cole: I have some concerns. Throgmorton: Okay, but I'm seein' a majority that is, so .... given that I'm gonna close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Could I have a motion for first consideration please? 2. Consider an ordinance Mims: So moved. Thomas: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Thomas: Well as I said during the question period, I do have concerns about this, uh, this project in terms of its, uh, the air quality standards. Uh, you know, benzene's a known toxic material that is released in these, in the vapors. You know, I'll support it kind of conditionally now, but I am very interested in hearing what... kinds of regulatory controls we have at the State level and .... and um.....you know .... we'll reevaluate it at the second reading. Throgmorton: Okay. Cole: Does this have to be citywide? I mean would we be able to zone this particular parcel? I know in some particular cases we .... we've done that, is that .... um, does (both talking) Throgmorton: (mumbled) Cole: ...citywide? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 17 Dilkes: We're not really rezoning, we're changing a code requirement. So .... you would have to...if you were going to apply it to this site only, you would have to identify what's different about this site that (both talking) Cole: (mumbled) Okay. Teague: Is .... is this site currently under the 100 -feet already? Thomas: In .... in the reorientation it would be. Teague: But the current orientation (both talking) Thomas: (mumbled) Teague: But the current orientation is under 100. (several responding) Yeah. Fruin: There's no way to ... to rectify that. You either have to stay with what they have as a non -conforming use, or they have to close, and relocate (both talking) Cole: And the specs ... the special exception process now is off the table for them, is .... is that correct? Sitzman: So they would have to get a special exception, but they couldn't meet the criteria, which is the 100 -foot separation. Cole: Okay. So they couldn't vary from the requirement. Teague: And with the current distance, how is it in comparison? Sitzman: You know I haven't measured, uh, and Keith might know that, uh, what the distance is currently, but it sounds like there's no place on the site that could be 100 -feet. I'm assuming (both talking) gets them to .... to be in compliance. So it's somewhere between 50 and 100, or more so... Teague: Do we know? No? Weggins: (mumbled, away from mic) I don't know the exact number, but if you imagine the .... the canopy as it sits today, north -south, we just literally just taking that and rotating it. Generally it's about in the same spot, but a little bit further north. We're moving it feet, um, maybe less than 10 feet or so. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 18 Teague: Okay. Weggins: And that's simply, the whole reason for moving it is just to improve access, um, along the street. Teague: Okay. Thank you! Taylor: I did have some concerns when we initially heard this proposal, and that's why, um, thank you for the information regarding the fire code, cause I .... I had requested that. So that was good to know. Uh.... and I also had concerns because of the nearby residents and that housing development there to the south, uh, does have a lot of. ... a number of disabled folks and, uh, young families with young children, so I was concerned about that but to hear that it's actually moving further away from that residence area, and we're not looking at a new gas station. It already exists there. So if you're concerned about fumes, there were already fumes. It was already there, uh, and I'm actually excited about it, because (laughs) I drive that road all the time and that intersection, it .... it's awkward. The drives, the two drives are terribly awkward, especially with our reconstruction of Mormon Trek. So I'm very excited to see how you're going to reconstruct that and I think it's going to be a big improvement for them. Teague: I guess for me, with the reorientation, it's not that big of a deal. Well it's not that big of a difference. Um, I'm assumin' with the distance. I would ask, or echo, Rockne's comment about how .... is it really viable for us to like ... just earmark this project and get somethin' approved just for this project? Cole: Yeah, because I mean to that end I mean we're not just doing this particular parcel. It's my understanding this would be (mumbled) the city as a whole, and I do have concerns about facilitating expansion of gas stations in other parts of the community. Um, this looks like a very good project, this particular one. It doesn't look like that big a deal, um, but this as I understand it is for the city as a whole, um, so .... I have some concerns about it, cause certainly with the Forest View, the gas station by far was one of the key factors for a lot of those residents and I think rightfully so, and we ended up removing the gas station in that context. So .... thafs sort of where I am at least at this point. Throgmorton: Yeah, the key thing is as Eleanor said, this .... we're not doing a rezoning here. We're doing a text amendment to the zoning code. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 19 Teague: But a .... but again it would be .... for the code, which it can be in another community, or another placement or parcel (both talking) Throgmorton: Yeah. Teague: And so there's no other options ... for this develop .... for this transaction to take place? Dilkes: They don't meet the current 100 -foot requirement. So there's gonna have to be a code change of some kind. If it's .... if it can be narrowed, um, to apply to a particular circumstance, perhaps focusing on the .... there's no increase in the non- conformity, for instance. That might be a possibility. Cole: Eleanor, is there a way that we could give, where we can keep the same standard and then we would give the Board of Adjustment if certain criteria were met to go to a lower distance? So we would give Board of Adjustment the authority, is ... is that (both talking) Dilkes: I think that's essentially what we're talking about doing. Changing the .... (both talking) Cole: ...Board of Adjustment, or is it.... Sitzman: So the Board of Adjustment does have that ability, but only in certain overlay districts. So the Towncrest design guidelines district, they can choose to reduce the separation distance. The Riverfront Crossings and the Eastside Mixed -Use district. So there's already an exception where the Board could make that kind of reduction. We're not proposing that this code change. What we're proposing is to allow citywide (mumbled) separation distance to be reduced to 50 -feet. Cole: So to clarify, you would not go to the Board of Adjustment. You would go, as a right (both talking) Sitzman: Well depends on whether it's provisionally approved, which would be a staff approval, or whether it's in a district that requires the Board of Adjustment to make the, to review it. Either way the criteria are the same, the separation distance applies. And .... and then only in those other existing districts could, if you're headed to the Board of Adjustment, could you also ask for a reduction, from whatever the standard is, for the circumstances of being in one of those overlay districts. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 20 Dilkes: I think it's just, I mean .... staff can look at it, the issue of ...I don't know the details right now, but..... Sitzman: I .... I think .... we can look at it. What I would look at is what is .... what is it next to and is there a way to narrow those circumstances to the site, based on this... this context of the site now. So it may be more (several talking) Thomas: Another.... another approach might be the size of the gas station, you know, if it's a small gas station then .... there, you know, the distance could be 50 -feet. Throgmorton: I .... I (both talking) Dilkes: ....fact that it's an already existing gas station and you're not going to change the .... the facts on the ground, essentially. Throgmorton: I .... I think we're parsing this much too precisely. The .... the gas station has been there for a long time. It's been emitting fumes, whatever fames it has, uh, for a long time. The fumes are almost certainly not worrisome. Beyond that, nobody knows why the current code distance was created, and I think you said, Danielle, but most of the communities you looked at .... had.....they had, was it shorter separation distances than the 100 -feet? Sitzman: Um, yeah. You can see our (both talking) Throgmorton: Yeah, so we're really parsin' this way too much, I think. That's my own personal view. Any further discussion? Hearing none.... Teague: I think just for me I would like to know the health concerns, I mean first time dealin' with this — I wanna make sure that I do my due diligence. We're gonna be, you know, whatever we're amending (laughs) um (mumbled) you know essentially people can do less than 100. So .... um, I think.....I think I hear four votes (laughs) that'll get this to the next, um, level. Um, I'm not gonna support this tonight. I'm hopin' to get more information. Throgmorton: Well, uh.... you were a yes? (talking in background) Yes? (several talking) I don't wanna have some mess up here. Dilkes: I just wanna.... are we looking at four votes to move it forward, or .... (several talking) Okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 21 Throgmorton: Yeah, so.... Dilkes: (both talking) if there's (both talking) No, I .... I know, but that's a .... but we'd rather .... not go back to P&Z if we're gonna make some change. Throgmorton: Yeah, so any further discussion? All right, hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 4-2. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 22 9.c. Rezoning at the Southwest Corner of E. 1st Street and S. Gilbert Street - Ordinance conditionally rezoning 0.20 acres of land located at the July 2, 2019 City of Iowa City Page 5 southwest corner of E. 1st St. and S. Gilbert St. from Intensive Commercial (CI -1) to Riverfront Crossings South Gilbert (RFCSG) (REZ19-4). (Second Consideration) Throgmorton: This is second consideration, but the applicant has requested expedited action, and correspondence about that is included in the late handouts from yesterday. Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, that the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time. Thomas: Second. Tbrogmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? I see no reason not to do this. Cole: Agreed! Throgmorton: Uh, any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 6-0. Mims: Move final adoption at this time. Thomas: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 6-0. Could I have a motion to accept correspondence please? Mims: So moved. Teague: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Teague. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 23 9.d. Capital Subdivision - Preliminary and Final Plat - Resolution approving the preliminary and final plats of Capital Subdivision, Iowa City, Iowa. [Deferred from 6/4 and 6/18 meetings] Throgmorton: Could I have a motion to approve please? Thomas: So moved. Teague: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Teague. Danielle, are you gonna say a few things about this? Sitzman: I'm gonna say a few things about this. This is a application for a prelim and final plat for the property at the northwest corner of, uh, Moss Ridge Road and North Dubuque Street, just north of I-80. Uh, this follows a rezoning that was done not too long ago that had conditions on it. Primarily those conditions are to be fulfilled with building permitting and site plan review. So it's too early to say that they've been fulfilled, but they are on track to do that as they go through this development process. Um, one of the conditions did require general conformance with the concept plan showing the building to be, uh, primarily oriented to the corner as this is a, uh, corner site. Um, the site would be accessed off Moss Ridge Road and there's some public improvements that will be made, including closing an access, installing sidewalks, um, to the site. It's also in a flood plain and has been previously improved to, uh, be filled to remove it from the flood plain prior to development. Um, showing its trajectory through the development process, you are at the preliminary and actually final plat stage. Um, staff has reviewed it for compliance with the previous conditions, the comprehensive plan and the applicable subdivision standards. Staff does recommend approval of the proposed plats. Um, the Planning Commission took this up at their May 16th meeting and also forwarded it to you tonight with a recommendation of approval. Happy to answer questions! Throgmorton: Any questions? I don't (mumbled). Excuse me, I don't hear any questions, so thank you, Danielle. Anybody else wanna address this topic? Okay. Council discussion? Oops, sorry, Martha. Go ahead! Norbeck: Think this is great opportunity to point out that climate should be part of this discussion. Um, they wanna build in a flood plain. I mean even if you raise it. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 24 I'm working in a project in Des Moines, where they literally are saying, well we don't need to put the building higher, cause we've got a levee. And I keep saying (sighs) don't count on it, you know, over and over and over. So they finally agreed to put all the equipment up high, but .... I guess you have a burden when you're making this choice to say, yeah, you can build in this place that's in a flood plain, cause you'll build it up and you'll do the right thing, but I have to bring this up at this Des Moines animal shelter project every meeting, every meeting, because they kinda drift away and forget that they're in a flood plain, because they're protected by the levee, you know (mumbled) and the reason that I am at the table is because I'm the lead consultant, and I bring up a climate at every meeting, remind every single time where they are living, and so I ask the question, if you're gonna approve this, what kind of -you don't have any control once you say'okay' Um, and I don't know how you ... (mumbled) and I realize I'm coming in at the 11 th hour and there's process and you'll probably say okay, but I think this is a great example of how this should be integrated into every conversation and infused throughout the city. Thank you. Throgmorton: Thanks, Martha. Anyone else? Okay, seeing no one else, Council discussion? I'll just kinda leap off the cliff here. Uh, Martha raises a really important point, and it seems to me when we did the rezoning, Rockne, you were the only person in the negative. (both talking) Cole: ....one of the votes. Throgmorton: Uh, yeah, so, uh.... I'm gonna support this because I also supported the rezoning, but Martha does raise an important point, but it....it raises a larger question, which is not really about the flooding of the gas station, but about the gas station. So if we're truly serious about climate action, and reducing carbon emissions.... uh, on .... at the rate we are proposing to do that, we need to be imagining that at some point in the not -so -distant future, there won't be any new gas stations. Or they'll be few and far between. So....we probably need to wrap our heads around that and start understanding what that implies, and how to get there. I don't think it's fair to get there right here, right now, with this particular proposal. But ... we need to be lookin' ahead! Thomas: I .... I agree. It seems that we do need a, you know, climate needs to be embedded in our review process in a more substantive way, kind of in the way we have the equity toolkit, it seems to me, something along those lines where, you know, what are the impacts. We .... we assess a project based on its climate impacts. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 25 Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 6-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 26 10. City Hall Boiler and BAS Improvements - Resolution approving plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimate of cost for the construction of the City Hall Boiler and BAS Improvements Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. 1. Public hearing Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Hi, Juli. Seydell-Johnson: Hi. Juli Seydell-Johnson, Parks and Recreation Director. Uh, this falls under our department as we have government buildings under our department. Um, BAS, building automation system (laughs) It's the, uh, the control system that we're trying to move all City facilities to, allows for more efficient operations and efficient control, and uh, monitoring of the .... the heating and cooling systems. So I should say how amazing we're talking about replacing two boilers on one of the hottest days (laughs) of the year. Uh, but last winter, in the middle of winter, we were limping through on just one boiler working at that time. So this is a behind - the -scenes project, um, that will get our building adequately heated, with a backup system ready to go so that we can ensure, um, heating and cooling throughout the year. Mims: And with everybody talking about climate action, the .... the, uh, automation system will help with that (both talking) Seydell-Johnson: Yeah. The boilers themselves provide about a 12%, um, more efficiency than the old system, and the biggest limitation here is the age of this building and the construction of the building, um, but the automation system as well, it allows for smaller changes in ... in, so things don't get too far out of line at any one time. Throgmorton: Any other questions for Juli? Thanks! (several talking in background) Anyone else want to address this topic? Hey! Look who it is! (laughs) Norbeck: (laughing) (speaking away from mic) ...area of expertise! (laughter) Uh (laughs) Throgmorton:... should go out for a beer afterwards or somethin', I don't know (laughter) Norbeck: Um, so, uh.... I'm very pleased to see a high -efficiency boiler being specified, uh, the building automation systems will definitely, unquestionably, uh, improve, uh, operations, um, and in fact I think you guys totally undersold that in the memo, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 27 because I think you.....because the 12% doesn't seem that impressive, but if you were to add any additional potential for efficiency through the building automation system, um, I .... I think you would see some good results, um, so that you should definitely applaud and .... and also the fact that you have a BAS that is aligned with all the City buildings. So when you have that, you have power, because you can't manage what you don't measure. So if you have the measurement tools, and if you have the management tools, then you act ... can actually finally adjust. It's like, you know, using a hammer to .... to type with versus your fingertips, and so the BAS system is very valuable for being more, uh, nuanced in how you operate all the City facilities. So this is really good. Um ... the one thing that comes up to me as .... because of what you said earlier, Jim (laughs) to point out this gas portion that is coming from Mid American, and you're talking about replacing a gas boiler with a gas boiler. And the life span on a boiler like this is probably 20 years at least, um, so the question is, um, is the City going to be a leader in electrification? Are you going to start looking seriously at converting your building to all electric? Um .... and I think that needs to be a real discussion, and I do agree with the age of this building. That is ... it might be a non-starter. I know for Public Works we had this conversation, and there were literally.... it would have added a million dollars to the project to make it an all electric building. And that just wasn't in the cards, and so you're going to have to make some tough decisions about electrification, but I think if you take the leadership on electrification, then you are setting an example for other people to make those tough decisions. And some parts for electrification are easy, like doing a heat pump water heater in your home, instead of replacing gas with gas. You can actually reduce emissions, and save operating costs over 10 years. So there will be different decisions and you're not going to make the same decision every time, but I think the discussion of electrification needs to be an integral part of evaluating every City facility, so that you can be a leader in that conversion. Cole: How much more efficient is the electric, than the gas? Norbeck: (laughing) Well .... unless you did that analysis, did you do that analysis (difficult to hear, speaking away from mic) Mid American review? No? You weren't involved in the Mid American review. So when you do the review with Mid American, you can evaluate that, and I have no idea. Cole: Okay. Norbeck: So I'm not throwing them under the bus here. They may have evaluated that. My guess would be for.... supposition based on previous experience is that your, um, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 28 total energy cost going to electric would increase, and they would have ruled that out because your .... your monthly utility costs would have increased so much because per BTU of heat that you get out of electric, unless you go to a .... a heat pump thing that's a refrigerant -based system, an electric solution tends to be more expensive to operate. The only way to make electric heat more cost-effective than gas is to go with refrigerant, which has its own problems, but we're not gonna go there (laughs) Cole: Thanks. Throgmorton: Thank you, Martha. Anyone else? Seeing no one else I'm going to close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Could I have a motion please? 2. Consider a Resolution Cole: So moved. Teague: Second. Throgmorton: Moved by Cole, seconded by Teague. Discussion? Mims: (mumbled) resolution. Do we already have a motion on the floor? Dilkes: Pardon me? Mims: There wasn't a public hearing with this, was there? (several responding) Pardon? Oh, there was? Throgmorton: Any discussion? Thomas: (mumbled) (laughs) question of energy efficiencies and sources of energy, things get more complicated, but I'm .... I'm glad we had that brief conversation. I was almost afraid to ask if it was replacing gas with gas (laughter) Throgmorton: Okay! Hearing no further discussion, roll call please. Motion carries 6-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 29 11. Council Appointments - Applicants MUST reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated ll.a. Telecommunications Commission Telecommunications Commission - One vacancy to fill a three-year term. July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2022. (Term expires for Paul Gowder) Throgmorton: We have one applicant for a full three-year term, no gender balance requirement. The applicant is Andrew Austin. Uh, I'd recommend we appoint Andrew Austin. Whatda y'all think? (several responding) All right, uh, and then the other is the Airport Commission. ll.b. Airport Commission Airport Commission - One vacancy to fill a four- year term, July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2023. (Term expires for Minnetta Gardinier) Throgmorton: We have .... two applicants for a four-year term. Again no gender balance requirement. The two applicants are Clair Scott and Minnetta Gardinier. So, uh, I recommend we appoint Clair Scott. Whatda ya think? (several responding) Okay, could I have a motion to appoint, uh, Clair Scott to the Airport Commission and.....and.....and Austin, Andrew Austin to the Telecommunications Commission. (several talking) ...did I do that? Sorry, I apologize to Scott Clair. I correct that on my own notes. (mumbled) Not sure (mumbled) backwards. Mims: And I think just to be clear, we talked about this before as giving other people an opportunity. I think Minnetta's been a great member of that commission, but giving new people an opportunity. (several talking in background) Taylor: Thank her for that! Throgmorton: So do ... where are we? Did we get a motion? Seconded? (several talking) So who ... who made the motion? Cole: I think I made the motion. Taylor: Rockne! Throgmorton: Moved by Cole (several talking) seconded by Teague. Okay, all in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion carries. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 30 15. City Council Information Throgmorton: Could we start with Rockne and move to his left. Cole: Sure! Um, Pauline and I had our first meeting (mumbled) mobile home task force, with, um, led by Sara Barron, as well as other representatives from North Liberty, city of Coralville, Johnson County, as well as State Legislator Zac Wahls, and we got off to a really strong start. Um, Sara did a really terrific job, as everyone knows. Um, it's a very complicated issue, uh.... we're all sort of evaluating, you know, what authority we do and don't have, and ways that we can constructively work together. Um, I think tentatively we're going to be meeting a second time here in late July, little bit difficult to figure out the schedule of all of our, um, you know, schedules in July tend to be a little booked, but very productive meeting and I think it's, um, not due to anything. I don't it's an option, and uh, so we're trying to find constructive solutions, and um, just as a little footnote to that, I .... I think it's another example of, you know, a lot of times when you talk to the public, people say'why don't you work more with City of Coralville, City of North Liberty,' well I'm really pleased that we're doing more and more of this, whether it's Susan's work with the Access Center, the way that you've cooperated there. Course we do our MPOJC and our joint meetings, but think it's another example that it is a regional issue that we're dealing with. A lot of these parks are outside of the city limits and the City of Iowa City, um, so I think it does require a .... a regional solution, and it's also, of course, nice to have a State legislator, um, on the committee, um, to sort of hopefully be able to generate some proposals that can make their way to Des Moines, and it does appear that there may be a few proposals that have a change, um, next year, which .... which was good to hear. So we'll continue to keep you updated on that. Throgmorton: Okay, moving to your left, so that brings us to Bruce. Teague: Um, I have no committees to report on. Throgmorton: This isn't about committees. This is (both talking) Teague: Oh, perfect! All right! Um, so .... on the 19th of June, I was at the University of Iowa Public Health. Had the opportunity to speak to, um, 10 undergraduate students that were visiting, um, and they'll be here for a little bit and so that was, um, awesome bein' on the panel there. Um, the Mayor and I were at, um, I ... um, in Coralville at the library, as well as in Iowa City, on .... on Thursday the 20th, and this was talkin' about opportunity zones, in both, uh, Coralville and Iowa City, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 31 and so if people are out there wantin' to know more about that, ICAD, um, is a point of contact, as well as Wendy Ford here at the City of Iowa City can help navigate that for you! And then on Saturday the 22nd, um, I was a a part of the Juneteenth event, and it was a privilege to give the proclamation. This event was very, very well attended. Um, it was very exciting. Um, loved every minute of it, and later that day I got to come downtown and, uh, experience the Block Party, Iowa City Downtown Block Party, which was very, very festive. Lots of, um, I think the way that the, um, it was .... laid out this time was even better than last year, and the crowd seemed to really flow nicely and get along! So, um, yeah, it's been great bein' out in the community! Taylor: I just.... addendum to Rockne's comments on the, uh, affordable housing coalition mobile home task force. Uh, as he mentioned there were several players involved and I think, uh, the intent was collaboration amongst, uh, council members from Iowa City, North Liberty, and Coralville, uh, as well as the Board .... Board of Supervisors, uh, had representatives, Center for Worker Justice, uh, Affordable Housing Coalition, an owner of a mobile home park, uh, someone from Legal Aid, uh, and Zac Wahls, and uh, Zac was very helpful. Talked about, uh, as Rockne mentioned, the legislation that, uh, he'll be striving for and what he thinks, uh, can happen, which is very positive, because it seems as though something needs to be on the State level to help control the interests of ..of these folks, residents of mobile homes, so .... so that was very good. Uh, and as he said, we meet again later this month. Uh, also, uh, on the Juneteenth celebration, um, it....it seemed very, very successful, uh, people were havin' a great time. Great displays of the many services that are available in our community, which was very good and some good entertainment, and then the Block Party, uh, I think I heard estimate 40,000 to 42,000 people. So, uh, kudos to the Downtown District for another very successful block party, uh, and the weather even cooperated. Didn't start sprinkling till around 10:30 or so, so despite the continued construction downtown, uh, it was very successful. Uh, let's see, over the past week, um, I've had the pleasure of attending three different events, uh, that involved, uh, visitors through the Center for International Visitors in Iowa City, the civic group, the Mandela Fellows, um, two of the young ladies were in our audience today, because they were very curious about our climate action plan and just kind of how our city government worked too. So I was very pleased to see them here, and they were excited and had a great time, so that was good. Uh, very impressive, um, group of individuals that have accomplished in .... in their home countries. Many of the different areas of Africa, they're from, um, their bios are just absolutely amazing. Uh, and what was really pleasing, and Jim heard this from them too, uh, they, uh.... commented on the green, how green our.... our city was. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 32 They .... they were just amazed at that, and uh, one of the events we were up on the upper level in a penthouse and .... and you look out over the city and you could really see. I think Jim commented it looked like we were like in the middle of a forest. There really is a lot of green. You'd be pleased, John. (laughter) There are tree canopies out there that, uh, and they loved that. They said they just don't see that, uh, in any of the countries they come from. They also said they had the opportunity to attend the Block Party, which surprised me. They had free time that night and they absolutely loved that. They had a great time. So that was good to hear. Uh, so they also said what wonderful, how warm and welcoming and wonderful Iowa City is and that, uh.... uh, really makes me proud, uh, to be a member of this city and .... and to know, uh, and they pointed out things that we kinda take for granted, which was .... was a good thing. Um, let's see, Jim and I'll be ... oh, that's a meeting (mumbled) We're gonna meet with representatives from the School District, urn .... this week, Wednesday, just to kinda update on what they're up to! Urn .... remind about Jazz Fest this weekend! Coming up! Lots of activities, lots of fun! That's all! Throgmorton: All right! Susan? Mims: Nothing else that hasn't already been covered. Throgmorton: John? Thomas: I .... I had the pleasure of attending, uh, a few days ago, the inclusive teaching awards, along with Jim, at the Library. This is a .... a.....a event or a program where teachers in Iowa City are recognized by their own students for their inclusionary .... inclusive behavior in the classroom, uh, and given recognition at this event, which I'm guessing is held annually. Uh, and it was a wonderful event. Throgmorton: This is first time. Thomas: This was the first one? Throgmorton: Yeah. Thomas: Okay! Is it plan ... it must be something, I hope. Throgmorton: I hope so! (several talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 33 Thomas: I think it's a wonderful reflection of Iowa City, and urn .... the guest speaker was the daughter of Reverend Oliver Brown, who was the Brown of Brown versus the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. So that was a very kind of interesting angle on this notion of inclusion in education (laughs) of course. You know the breaking down of segregation in the schools. So yeah, it was a very touching experience and one of the award winners said, urn .... teachers need a little bit of love too (laughs) so that was (mumbled) It was just a very, very pleasant event. Throgmorton: Yeah, I'll mention a few things. Uh, there are many .... events that I went to and y'all already mentioned, so thanks for doing that. I had an opportunity to attend the State of the Downtown annual meeting in the alley, John, you were there. I don't think anybody else was there, but .... Geoff was there, um.....uh, and it was great! I have nothing but praise for Nancy Bird and the Downtown District people, and Thomas Agran for painting the, if you will, the floor of that alley space, and all the cleaning up they did. But it really shows how much improvement you can make by usin' a little creativity, a little paint, some lights, some elbow grease, and a few plants (laughs) It is a very impressive thing. I admire it a lot! I also attended the Sudanese Democratic Revolution forum, over in Coralville, on the 27th. And that was pretty enlightening, little bit of history about Sudan and the.... dictatorships they lived under. I think the speaker said that they live like 55 years under dictatorships in the last 66 years. Thomas: Eleven years. Throgmorton: Yeah, something like that, so .... yeah, so it's pretty instructive. So happy to go! I (laughs) completely different thing, I attended an open house at the .... uh, I don't know how you say this — 1,133rd Transportation Company Armory— on the 29th of June. And I went there because I was invited to go, but it .... what it turned out to be was, uh, education for potential employers of National Guard members, because there're rules you gotta follow (laughs) as an employer, and I didn't know anything about those rules (laughs) so it was pretty instructive to do. You already mentioned ... or you didn't mention it. We, uh, Susan, you're goin' to the National Resources Commission (both talking) and Bruce, are you going, right? And Geoff, you're not going. You are, and Captain Campbell's goin' too? Is that it, just ... just the five of us or is there somebody else? Fruin: Sue Dulek from Eleanor's office will be there as well. Throgmorton: Okay (laughs) we have a crew goin'! Good deal. Anyhow, we're gonna do that on July the 11th, in Boone, Iowa. Uh.... the Lucas Farm neighborhood is having its This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 34 fifth annual history day on July the 14th. From 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. and I've been to that several times. It's really terrific. Julie, uh, Judy Nyren has done a fabulous job with that neighborhood. So, bravo! And we have a Joint Entities meeting on July the 15th. So .... that will be what it will be. That's it for me! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019. Page 35 16. Report on Items from City Staff a. City Manager Throgmorton: Geoff? Fruin: Nothing. Monroe: We're working on the budget, so, uh, tomorrow we will be releasing news .... news and social media feeds for our survey, our priorities survey that, uh, relates to our 'chip -in' budget activities. So, um, just be on the look -out for that, uh, this week! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of July 2, 2019.