HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-18 Bd Comm minutesItem Number: 5.a.
February 18, 2020
AT TAC HM E NT S :
Description
Civil S ervice Commission: F ebruary 7
MINUTES — FINAL
CITY OF IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE
Friday, February 7, 2020 — 3:30 p.m.
HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM
Members Present: Rick Wyss, Melissa Jensen
Members Absent: None
Staff to the
Commission Present: Karen Jennings, Tracy Robinson
Others Present: Geoff Fruin, Chief Jody Matherly, Eric Goers, Tom Richter
RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL (become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
CALL TO ORDER:
Wyss called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Jennings advised that Stephanie Houser has
resigned from the Commission, as she has relocated from the area.
FIX TIME AND PLACE FOR HEARING OF TERRY TACK APPEAL:
After discussion, the hearing was set for 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 19, 2020 in
Meeting Room A of the Iowa City Public Library.
PROCEDURAL ISSUES FOR UPCOMING HEARING:
Jennings referenced the Rules of Procedure for Appeals and Hearings.
The Commission requested statements of fact and witness lists to include the essence of
testimony to be provided by February 14th.
Wyss indicated that Jensen would have the authority to authorize subpoena requests in
Wyss's absence. Jennings will advise the attorneys to contact her to coordinate should
any witnesses need to be subpoenaed.
The commissioners indicated that they preferred space be reserved for the sequestering of
witnesses, if necessary. Jennings will inquire about the availability of additional space in
the Library.
The Commission directed Jennings to arrange for a court reporter.
The Commission determined that they wished to secure outside counsel and agreed that
Mike Kennedy would be contacted, given his previous experience of having served on
the Commission as well as advising the Commission.
POLICE CHIEF RECRUITMENT:
After a brief discussion, Jensen moved and Wyss seconded to approve the process
proposed by staff in the February 7, 2020 memo. All were in favor.
ADJOURNMENT:
Jensen moved to adjourn, Wyss seconded, all were in favor and the meeting was
adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Board/Commission: Civil Service Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
YEAR 2020
(Meeting Date)
NAME
TERM 2/7120
EXPIRES
Rick Wyss
4/4/20 X
Melissa Jensen
415121 X
Stephanie Houser
4/4/22 ---
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No Meeting
--- = Not a Member
The Civil Service Commission of the City of Iowa City, Iowa, hereby adopts the following as
its Rules of Procedure for Appeals and Hearings.
RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR APPEALS AND HEARINGS
Revised November 1989
Section 1. Complaints: Employees In the Civil Service shall have the right to appeal to the
Commission relative to any situation affecting employment status or conditions of employment,
except where the right of appeal Is denied by the Code of Iowa. An employee may appear
before the Commission at any of its meetings to request a hearing on his or her complaint, or
such complaint may be filed in writing with the Commission. it shall be the duty of the
Commission to inform the appointing authority or other persons Involved in the filing of the
complaint.
Section 2. Appeal: In the event of the suspension, discharge, or demotion of any person
possessing civil service appeal rights pursuant to Chapter 400 of the Iowa Code, such person
may, within foudeen calendar days thereafter, appea t erefrom to the Civil Service Commission.
The person who has suspended, demoted, or discharged the employee may In like manner
appeal. Any other complaints must be presented to the Clerk of the Civil Service Commission
within fourteen calendar days after the appellant has knowledge of the occurrence which
precipitated the complaint.
Section 3. Notice of Appeal 9 an appeal be taken by the person suspended, demoted, or
discharged; -notice thereof, signed by the appellant and specifying the ruling appealed from,
shall be.fiied-with the Clerk of the Commission (City Clerk), if by the person making such
suspensioni !demotion, or .discharge, the notice shall also be served upon the person
suspended, -.demoted or.discharged.
Section 4. Charges: Within fourteen calendar days from the service of such notice of appeal,
the person or body making the ruling appealed from shall file with the body to which the
appeal Is taken a written specification of the charges and grounds upon which the ruling was
based. If such specification of charges are not so filed the persons suspended or discharged
may present the matter to the body to whom the appeal is to be taken by Affidavit, setting
forth the facts., and -;such body shall forthwith enter an Order reinstating the person suspended
or discharged for want of prosecution,
Section 6. Time and Place .of Hearing: Within ten calendar days after such specification of
charges -are filed;. the Commission shall fix the time, which shall be not less than five nor more
than twenty days thereafter, and place for hearing the appeal and shall notify the parties in
writing 01`44e time and place so fixed, and the notice shall contain a copy of the specification
of charges so filed,
Section 6. Appeal Proceedings:
1. The Commission shall hear the evidence upon the specification of charges as filed with
it by the appointing authority. The proceedings shall be as Informal as is compatible
with the requirements of justice.
2
2. The order of business at the hearing shall be as follows;
a. The appointing authority shall present evidence In support of the charge. The
appellant or his or her counsel shall then produce such evidence as he or she
may wish to offer In support of the appeal. The parties in Interest may then offer
rebu#al evidence.
b. The Commission shall have the power to subpoena and to require the
attendance of witnesses and the production of pertinent documents, and to
administer oaths. The appointing authority may be represented by the City
Attorney or other counsel. The appellant may also be represented by counsel.
C. If the employee shall fail to appear or be represented by counsel at the time
fixed or a hearing, the Commission shall hear such evidence as may be
produced, or as it shall deem proper or necessary and make a finding according
to the evidence.
d. Upon conclusion of any investigation "or hearing, the Commission shall cause its
findings and decisions to be prepared in writing and shall certify the same. Such
findings shall be co-signed and filed as a permanent record in the files of the
Commission. The Commission shall deliver a certified copy of such findings to
the appointing authority and to the employee affected, and such judgment shall
become effective forthwith.
e. Any member of the Commission may submit a supplemental or minority report
which shall be filed as a permanent part of the record of the Commission.
The Commission may, in its discretion,
a. require each party to submit, prior to the hearing, a written statement containing
any or all of the following;
1) statement of facts;
2) name of each witness the party intends to call;
3) specifications of which he/she has personal knowledge;
4) essence of the testimony to be given; and
5) basis for the witness' knowledge;
b. limit each side to a certain number of witnesses based on which issues or
specifications the Commission wishes addressed;
C. limit the length of examination, direct and cross, of any witness called;
3
d. itself conduct the direct examination of any witness called and limit the length
of the cross-examination by any party;
e. rule on the admissibility of evidence;
f. refuse to allow or limit the length of opening or closing arguments of the parties
involved;
g. limit the scope of testimony to only those specifications which constitute an
adequate basis for termination, suspension or demotion;
h. may require the attendance of witnesses and the production of
documents/exhlbhs through the use of subpoenas. In the event that a party
should designate a witness to be subpoenaed, the Commission shall issue it for
that party.
4. The City, or any Civil Service employee shall have the right to appeal to the District
Court from the final rule and decision of the Civil Service Commission. The appeal shall
be taken within thirty days from the filing of the formal decision of the Commission. The
District Court of Johnson County shall have full jurisdiction over the appeal and the said
appeal shall be a trial de novo as an equitable action in the District Court.
5. The appeal to the District Court shall be perfected by filing a notice of appeal with the
Clerk of the District Court within the time herein prescribed and by serving notice
thereof on the Clerk of the Civil Service Commission.
6. In the event the ruling or decision appealed from Is reversed by the District Court, the
appellant, ff it be an employee, shall then be reinstated as of the date of the said
suspension, demotion, or discharge, and shalt be entitled to compensation from the
date of such suspension, demotion, or discharge.
Rules adopted this 2-9 day of November, 1989, by the Civil Service Com ission of the
Of Iowa City, Iowa. n _ _ %
By:
Service
i
Member, Civil Service Commission
-) zx/" Z' /j
Civil Service Commission
Item Number: 5.b.
February 18, 2020
AT TAC HM E NT S :
Description
Community P olice Review Board: J anuary 14
r,®1r CITY OF IOWA CITY
MEMORANDUM
Date: 2/11/20
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Chris Olney, Community Police Review Board Staff
Re: Recommendation from Community Police Review Board
At their January 14, 2020 meeting the Community Police Review Board made the following
recommendation to the City Council:
(1) Accept CPRB #19-03
Additional action (check one)
X No further action needed
Board or Commission is requesting Council direction
Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action
SAECform.doc
Final/Approved
COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD
MINUTES — January 14, 2020
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Monique Galpin called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: David Selmer, Orville Townsend
MEMBERS ABSENT: Sam Conaway, Latisha McDaniel
STAFF PRESENT: Staff Chris Olney, Legal Counsel Patrick Ford
STAFF ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Iowa City Police Captain Bill Campbell
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL
(1) Accept CPRB #19-03.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion by Townsend, seconded by Selmer, to adopt the consent calendar as presented or amended.
Minutes of the meeting on 12/10/19
ICPD General Order 99-11 (Arrests)
Motion carried, 3/0, Conaway and McDaniel absent.
NEW BUSINESS
Community Forum Discussion — Olney reminded the Board of the annual community forum.
In previous years it was held in April and there was usually a discussion topic or presentation.
Possible topics discussed by the board included
• presentation on new body cameras
• report from Chief on overall department statistics (i.e. number officers, types of crimes)
• introduction of either Daisy Torres or Travis Neeld and their roles within the department
The specific forum topic and agenda will be discussed at the next regular meeting.
The Board agreed to hold the forum at the Public Library on Monday April 27, 6:00 P.M.
The specific forum topic and agenda would be discussed at the next regular meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION
Dean Able suggested facial recognition technology, ring doorbell program and body cameras as topics
the public might be interested in for the community forum.
BOARD INFORMATION
None.
CPRB
January 14, 2020
Final/Approved
STAFF INFORMATION
Olney stated City Council member Janice Weiner had been appointed as the CPRB Liaison.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion by Selmer, seconded by Townsend to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section
21.5(1)(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or
federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's
possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential
personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school
districts, and 22-7(5) police officer investigative reports, except where disclosure is authorized
elsewhere in the Code; and 22.7(18) Communications not required by law, rule or procedure that are
made to a government body or to any of its employees by identified persons outside of government, to
the extent that the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of
government could reasonably believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to
that government body if they were available for general public examination.
Motion carried, 3/0, Conaway and McDaniel absent. Open session adjourned at 5:41 P.M.
REGULAR SESSION
Returned to open session at 5:55 P.M.
Motion by Townsend, seconded by Selmer to accept the Board's report for CPRB #19-03 and forward
to City Council as amended.
Motion Carried, 3/0, Conaway and McDaniel absent.
Motion by Selmer, seconded by Townsend to set the level of review for CPRB Complaint
#19-05 to 8-8-7(B)(1)(a) On the record with no additional investigation.
Motion Carried, 3/0, Conaway and McDaniel absent.
TENTATIVE MEETING SCHEDULE and FUTURE AGENDAS (subject to change)
• February 11, 2020, 5:30 p.m. Helling Conference Rm
• March 10, 2020, 5:30 p.m. Helling Conference Rm
• April 14, 2020, 5:30 p.m. Helling Conference Rm
• April 27, 2020, 6:00 p.m. IC Public Library Rm A
• May 12, 2020, 5:30 p.m. Helling Conference Rm
Townsend advised he would be absent for the May meeting and Galpin has a possible
conflict in April but will address it at the March meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion for adjournment by Selmer, seconded by Townsend.
Motion carried, 3/0, Conaway and McDaniel absent.
Meeting adjourned at 5:56 p.m.
COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD
ATTENDANCE RECORD
YEAR 2019-2020
(Meeting Date)
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting
--- = Not a Member
2/20/19
3/12/19
4/9/19
4/29/19
5/14/19
6/11/19
7/11/19
8/13/19
9/10/19
9/24/19
10/8/19
11/12/19
12/10/19
1/14/20
NAMEQUOR
NO
OR UM
Donald
X
X
X
X
X
X
King
-
Monique
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Galpin
Orville
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
Townsend
Latisha
O
X
X
X
X
X
O
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
McDaniel
David
O
X
X
X
X
X
O
X
X
X
X
X
X
Selmer
Sam
X
X
X
X
O/E
O
O
Conaway
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting
--- = Not a Member
COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD
A Board of the City of Iowa City
410 East Washington Street
Iowa City, IA 52240-1826
(319) 356-5041
January 14, 2020
To: City Council
Complainant
City Manager
Equity Director
Chief of Police
Officer(s) involved in complaint
From: Community Police Review Board
Re: Investigation of CPRB Complaint #19-03
W
This is the Report of the Community Police Review Board's (the "Board") review of the investigation of
Complaint CPRB #19-03 (the "Complaint").
BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY
Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City, the Board's responsibilities are as follows:
1. The Board forwards all complaints to the Police Chief, who completes an investigation.
(Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(A).)
2. When the Board receives the Police Chiefs report, the Board must select one or more of the
following levels of review, in accordance with Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(Bx1):
a. On the record with no additional investigation.
b. Interview /meet with complainant.
c. Interview /meet with named officer(s) and other officers.
d. Request additional investigation by the police chief, or request police assistance in the
board's own investigation.
e. Perform its own investigation with the authority to subpoena witnesses.
f. Hire independent investigators.
3. In reviewing the Police Chiefs report, the Board must apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review.
This means that the Board must give deference to the Police Chiefs report, because of the Police
Chiefs professional expertise. (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(2).)
4. According to Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(2), the Board can recommend that the Police Chief
reverse or modify the Chiefs findings only if:
a. The findings are not supported by substantial evidence; or
b. The findings are unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious; or
c. The findings are contrary to a police department policy or practice, or any federal, state or
local law.
5. When the Board has completed its review of the Police Chiefs report, the Board issues a public
report to the city council. The public report must include: (1) detailed findings of fact; and (2) a
clearly articulated conclusion explaining why and the extent to which the complaint is either
"sustained" or "not sustained ". (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(5).)
6. Even if the Board finds that the complaint is sustained, the Board has no authority to discipline the
officer involved.
BOARD'S PROCEDURE
The Complaint was initiated by the Complainant on August 7, 2019. As required by Section
8-8-5(B) of the City Code, the Complaint was referred to the Chief of Police for investigation.
The Chief's Report was filed with the City Clerk on November 5, 2019.
The Board voted on November 12, 2019 to apply the following Level of Review to the Chiefs Report: On
the record with no additional review, pursuant to Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(1)(A).
The Board met to consider the Report on November 12, 2019, December 10, 2019 and January 14,
2020.
Prior to the November 12, 2019 meeting, the Board reviewed audio and video recordings of the
incident.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Officer pulled the Complainant over for exceeding the speed limit. The Officer asked the Complainant to
provide a driver's license, insurance and registration. The Complainant was unable to provide proof of
insurance and stated that they were borrowing the vehicle. They also admitted that their license was
suspended due to an OWI. The Officer let the Complainant know they would need to tow the vehicle.
However, the Officer did not properly remove the license plate according to code.
ALLEGATION 1 — Improper towing of vehicle.
Based on the code, the officer was within his duties to have the vehicle towed. The Complainant had no
proof of insurance and was driving on a suspended license. The board affirmed the option set forth in
the report of the police chief and/or city manager.-'
Chiefs Conclusion - Not Sustained
Board's Conclusion - Not Sustained
C: .'
COMMENTS cD
The Chief's report addressed an additional finding that the Officer failed to remove the license plate
prior to towing, although this was not a part of the Complaint
Item Number: 5.c.
February 18, 2020
AT TAC HM E NT S :
Description
Climate A ction Commission: J anuary 6
MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION
JANUARY 6, 2020 —3:30 PM — FORMAL MEETING
IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, MEETING
ROOM A
MEMBERS PRESENT: Madeleine Bradley, John Fraser (via phone), Stratis Giannakouros,
Kasey Hutchinson, GT Karr, Matt Krieger, Jesse Leckband, Katie
Sarsfield, Becky Soglin, Eric Tate
MEMBERS ABSENT: Grace Holbrook
STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Ashley Monroe, Brenda Nations
OTHERS PRESENT: Jeff Falk, Ben Grimm, Paul Pomrehn
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
None
CALL TO ORDER:
Krieger called the meeting to order.
APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 MINUTES:
Karr moved to approve the minutes of December 2, 2019 with revisions that will be sent to
Nations. Leckband seconded the motion.
A vote was taken and the motion carried 10-0.
PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
Ben Grimm (representative Iowa City Community School District) noted that in December they
got a summary report on the carbon footprint of the City schools. Grimm reminded everyone
that the Iowa City Schools are actually in five different cities and the report represents the entire
school district. According to the report, if they stay on course and continue with the projects they
have planned and facilities master plan version one, they will actually exceed the expectations
the City has set out for objectives for reducing their carbon footprint. Grimm added they're going
to actually go back in history and see what their school district looked like before they started
this process. In the school district all but four schools that have geothermal so that is where a lot
of their carbon footprint went down when converted to geothermal, so he believes they have
four sites left that still need to be converted. And as they work forward into facilities master plan
2.0, they're going to look at other ways that they can reduce that and get as close to zero as
possible. The two big ticket items for the school district are energy for the building and to have
the bus fleets all on diesel. So those are the two big things that they're going to be looking at the
next few years.
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 2 of 12
REQUEST FROM COUNCIL FOR COMMISSION TO RESEARCH AND ADVISE COUNCIL
ON THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF BUILDINGS OF VARYING DENSITY AND SCALE:
Krieger noted this item will continued to be deferred to future meetings as it has a longer
timeline than some of the other items, they are discussing with the 100 -day report. This was
assigned to the buildings working group to address so that's something to look at an upcoming
meetings and discussion.
REQUEST FOR COMMISSION TO GET PUBLIC INPUT ON 100 -DAY REPORT:
Krieger suggested to roll this into item six B, which is more detailed feedback and review of the
report.
BASICS OF OPEN MEETINGS AND OPEN RECORD LAWS:
Sue Dulek (Assistant City Attorney) presented to the Commission some basics of open
meetings, open records, meeting agendas and why there might be something on the agenda
and doesn't really make sense, and to answer any questions. Dulek noted she can always
come back to another meeting for a refresher or to answer questions, or feel free to call or email
her directly if there are questions.
Regarding open meetings, there must be 24 hours' notice, so for example, if everybody thought
it was a good idea to meet tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock it can't be done absent an
emergency. An example of an emergency would be City Council meeting immediately because
the landfill caught on fire or something like that. For all meetings the agendas are posted on the
internet and given out to the media. That is why public comment on items not on the agenda is
on every agenda, it's for the public to comment, it's not for the Commission to comment, it's not
for staff to comment. If there needs to be discussion from something that is bought up in public
comment, it can be put on the next agenda and then staff, and Commissioners can have those
discussions.
It is an open meeting with a quorum anytime there are six commission members talking about a
climate matter. While it's unlikely that six members would all find themselves at the Java House
or something like that, but if so, the last thing you want to do is have all six of you sit down at the
table and start talking about the climate. There will be times when six or more of you will be at
public event, those things do happen, they happen with City Council as well, but just be
conscious to not talk about something like the 100 -day report while you're all together.
Dulek also noted the Commission might get something from Nations and see a response that
will say do not reply all, that's because it can actually be a simultaneous meeting if everybody's
going back and forth on the internet and that would be a meeting and the public hasn't been
notified nor can participate.
Regarding agenda items, such as when there are commission member reports, it is just a time
for a report on what was done but not a time to have a substantive discussion because specific
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 3 of 12
matters are not on the agenda. It would be a time to suggest putting the item on a future agenda
for a substantive discussion.
Dulek next talked about open records. 99% of the things that happen at the City is public,
personnel records are not but almost everything else is. As an example, if the City got an open
records request about something having to do with climate action and there were two projects
and some folks wanted to do project A and some want to do project B and they were both great
projects and it's kind of split evenly. The IT department could search Nation's emails coming
and going for project A and project B, however it can't with the Commission because you use
your own computers. Therefore, the Commission would get an email from Dulek saying she
needs all the emails having to deal with project A and project B, just because it's on a home
computer, or a work-related computer, if it's City business, its City business. That's is also a
reminder about making comments that you wouldn't want read by the public.
Dulek also talked about their charge as a Commission and about conflicts that may be of
interest. The resolution that City Council set up the Commission sets forth the duties and
responsibilities. There may be some point in time where a member of either the public or a
member of the group wanting to do something, and the topic will come back to is that within the
charge and within the duties and responsibilities. Dulek noted it's always good to review the
resolution because this is what Council charged the Commission with. Council can change or
amend the resolution per your requests.
Lastly Dulek discussed conflicts of interest, noting it probably won't happen very often but again,
for example there were those two proposals and one of the proposals you were going to
advocate to Council to purchase something from a business and your spouse was employed by
that business, that should be disclosed to Nations who would have a conversation with Dulek.
A lot of times they are not legal conflicts just more kind of comfort or appearances of conflicts to
the public. There are times when a Commission member will recuse himself or herself from the
discussion.
Krieger asked about the working documents the Commission is producing, likely those are often
in draft form as we're working on them so do we just want to need to make sure that we're
labeling all of those documents. Dulek stated that's the easiest way, but draft documents are
not public, they can be held back. Krieger asked what's considered a draft document versus a
non -draft? Dulek responded a draft document would be something when you're prepared to
have that discussion, but if you've got some working groups or smaller groups and are just kind
of going back and forth and haven't brought it to the Commission yet, it would be considered a
draft. When a document is ready for action, as opposed to something that's floating around
internally, then it becomes a public document.
Soglin asked if the Commission is able to use a Google Drive for working draft documents.
Dulek confirmed they can as long as staff has access as well.
Fraser asked about working groups; If there are only two members of the Commission on a
working group and eight other people, does that meeting has the same requirements to be
public because there are more than six people present even if only two are commissioners?
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 4 of 12
Dulek stated if six members of the Commission are present and discussing a topic then it must
be an open meeting. Working groups don't have to be public, meetings do not have to be
published, and there doesn't have to be minutes. Additionally, you don't have to allow members
the public to sit in and they don't have to be notified 24 hours in advance right.
Fraser asked if in the end the outreach working group comes to a huge document and wants to
introduce that document to the entire Commission, or more than six people on the Commission,
at that point, everything that's discussed regarding the work of the working group is now public.
Dulek confirmed that was correct.
REQUEST FROM COUNCIL FOR THE COMMISSION REVIEW AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK
OF THE 100 -DAY REPORT, "ACCELERATING IOWA CITY'S CLIMATE ACTIONS":
Krieger noted during the last meeting they had charged the working groups with reviewing and
providing feedback on the actions within the report. He would like to go group by group and
provide what were the recommendations and discussions from those.
Soglin stated she was a little uncomfortable making recommendations when they don't yet have
public comments if that's considered an important part of what we're supposed to deliver, to
making recommendations without that in her mind is just preliminary discussion. Krieger agreed
and noted the discussion last time was that if we wanted to try to provide recommendations
rather quickly this feedback would be recommendations and feedback directly from the
members of the Commission and not the public. This is an attempt to make sure it's clear to the
Council we're not ignoring them.
Buildings: Krieger noted the buildings working group wasn't able to schedule an in-person
meeting since the last meeting, but they did request feedback from the people that were
interested in being on that group. The six individuals who provided feedback were Krieger,
Soglin, Jeff Falk, Ben Grimm, Karr and Martha Norbeck. Each of them individually reviewed it
and provided some feedback and that feedback was different per person. Sometimes it was
priorities or recommendations, other times it was just discussion questions or things to consider
so it's kind of hard to provide an overall summary but what he did was took the feedback each
person provided around the actions that were identified and there were five that kind of floated
to the top that people prioritized similarly. Those items were: education item number one,
which is promoting energy efficiency and performance tips to the public; education item number
two, which was partner with stakeholders promote green building; rehab incentive number one,
which was operating free home energy assessments through Green Iowa AmeriCorps;
regulation number one, creating more robust energy code inspection program; and regulation
number two, incorporating stricter energy standards into tax increment financing policies.
Soglin stated since the buildings group didn't have a chance to talk about it amongst themselves
and although there's some clear things that are coming to the top, with some discussion there
may be some shifts.
Karr noted he and Norbeck spoke this afternoon about this and approached it as it's great to get
all the ideas out there but to frame it as what are the top three achievable goals that they can
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 5 of 12
get off the ground, get done, and then move to a second and third priority. He noted with
regards to the public input the people that are giving us input now have had opportunities to give
input many times. He would personally love to see them partner with somebody to do
something, get something checked off, and then continue to get public input.
Soglin wanted to clarify that what she is asking is that at least the six of them just get on the
same page. Some of the recommendations just broadly could be a quick win but they were
asked also for a long-term recommendation. Also, they were concerned about equity and
connecting with programs and efforts already underway. Perhaps with a little more discussion
they will be ready to share something.
Krieger suggests the goal of the meeting today is to just kind of flushed out and whittle it down a
little bit and then put together more of a formal draft document for the Commission to vote on
and to send to the Council as recommendations.
Transportation: Leckband noted they had a meeting on December 19, a conference call, to
discuss this and their charge sheet. They haven't really distilled what their discussions were yet
but noted the committee is just Giannakouros, Leckband and Nations right now so if anyone else
would like to join please let him know
Leckand noted their discussion was on the education components and the outreach campaigns,
if that's going to happen this year it would be nice to get a little bit more information about that.
Most of the transportation goals in the near term are City actions so it might be helpful to get
Public Works representation for green initiatives, idle policies and things like that, what those
tracking metrics mean, etc.
Giannakouros noted the discussion was about sharing fleet information, they discussed the
transit study as something we would have called for if it wasn't happening right now, in order to
understand some of the key things. When looking through the 100 -day Action Plan the action
items did depend upon a robust amount of data to understand what the needs of the citizens
are. The other thing they discussed was that there's a clear link between equity and achieving
transportation goals. For example, if you are a lower income household, you spend a
disproportionately high amount of your income just in transportation. This is not to say that we
should target communities that are lower income in our city but that, in fact, is a way to achieve
our climate goals. Lower incomes are going to drive generally higher polluting cars, they're
generally people that need public transit, and that can be incentivized. So the free fare thing that
is listed in here is a wasted target unless we make sure that the transit study and our efforts link
up to understanding what the needs of those communities are. Giannakouros noted that's
where the outreach piece comes in, they have to find a way to get the people to say if they are
in a certain community in the city and in a certain demographic, socially strategically challenged
status, such as young people that are grade school age, or people in the community, that would
be a primary target for better transportation, that's going to reduce emissions. It is hard to make
an appeal to someone who already is going to go to buy a new EV or a Prius, they have the
money and the ability to transition fast with new technology. If you're poor and you have a very
old car, and that car is undependable, those are the people we want to make sure are really
heard in this.The link between the equity group and transportation has to be made more
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 6 of 12
profound, to understand how our transportation policies affect people who are economically
disadvantaged.
Nations added is that the transportation section goals are dependent on what is found in the in
the transit study and the EV readiness plan. There will be more clear path one those are doing
and we will be waiting to get those done to see recommendations.
Giannakouros noted in planning, in general, the thing that's going to change is how people move
themselves and how we think about mobility. Complete Streets is a policy that exists, but people
don't understand how comprehensive if done correctly, we don't have to invent the wheel on
that we just have to make sure that Complete Streets is implemented properly. It's not just
saying "hey it would be nice if more people used like their bikes", that's not realistic. It's saying
that people should be able to get from point A to point B in a way that's low carbon and that
enhances quality of neighborhoods. All these things that can come together to
disproportionately impact low income residents. When the City plans neighborhoods, plans
roads and access, having a policy like Complete Streets that's enforced is going to get us 90%
of the way there without having to think too hard about what transit means. An absence of
planning is planning of a different sort. Not to pick on certain subdivisions or areas of Iowa City
that are that are sort of low density and spread out and haven't thought about this, but once
those go into place on the back end, trying to figure out how to build everything in is really
challenging. Therefore if over the next 20 or 30 years, we're serious about decarbonizing our
transit structure there has to be an emphasis from the City to think about planning in a more
robust and proactive way that targets low economic social communities and also make sure that
the planning that's going on is structured for EV charging stations, for public transit, for access
otherwise, but there's not a lot that you can do on the back end to fix that.
Nations added they are budgeting for a transportation data analysis. Monroe stated they are
arranging for when the consultant comes back to hold a public announcement of the transit
study results, and they will encourage people from all neighborhoods and community to come to
the meeting and they'll be sending transit into the neighborhoods to get those people to and
from the meeting.
Krieger asked what is the timing of the transit study completion and do some of the issues that
Giannakouros is bringing up need to be incorporated into the study to make sure they are
reaching the communities that we want to have incorporated and included in the feedback.
Giannakouros stated they discussed that in their group, how to get everyone take the transit
survey.
Nations said the transit study should be done in summer 2020.
Monroe added the consultants got rider feedback by riding on the buses and collected close to
1300 individual responses from people who are already riding busses. Then they also have the
survey that went out, they'll probably announce more about those results at this upcoming
meeting.
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 7 of 12
Sarsfield noted she sent the survey link to her work HR department and asked if they need to
have their contractor services at the next transit meeting because they do talk at work
sometimes about how it'd be nice if there was a bus route that went to certain areas, etc.
Sarsfield suggested they need to have the transit study consultants reach out to employers, like
HyVee, because they know a lot of people take the bus to get groceries, and reach out to
people who would have people come in to their places from transit if it was more accessible.
Monroe noted at this upcoming public meeting the consultants will have coordinated all the data
from the survey and compile it to have three different looks at what the system could look like
and then keeping gathering feedback on that.
Giannakouros noted an urban planning class did a study, it didn't have a huge end use data set,
but for Iowa students at least some of the reasons why they wouldn't use transit or be leery of it
aren't things that are directly related to efficiency of time. So, for people of color or females in
particular, one of the things that came up repeatedly was feeling safe. So, it may not be a
question of is there a bus available, it is a question of is it a well -lit spot. Planners need to think
about how to get people within a three-mile radius, for sure two-mile or one -mile radius of their
cars to take the bus every day to work. He added while it is more efficient to use the there's a
huge learning curve.
Krieger asked if through their interactions with this work do they have an understanding of how
important the co -benefits are for the decision making here versus the straight direct costs
versus revenues.
Giannakouros stated that based on just reading the actions, it's hard to understand exactly what
all surrounds those to be able to make a recommendation. What is the potential impact from a
metric standpoint, are there are other factors, how much is it going to cost, what are the other
benefits that would make you want to recommend that action? Some of that research was done
into the original 35 actions, more broad actions that were incorporated within the overall action
plan.
Giannakouros asked if the Commission is able to have any influence on the direction of the
transit study or the actions based on what we come up with as recommendations related to
transportation. Or are these completely separately moving.
Soglin stated she had wanted to apply an equity lens to what they're doing and hopes they all
agree that they should run each working group, buildings, transportation, waste and adaptation,
and outreach through an equity lens, instead of equity being separate.
Tate noted he studies natural disasters and there's place after place and planning processes in
cities, they have comprehensive plans and then they have hazard planning, and
they never talked to each other. So, he wants to know are the things that they're doing is going
to intersect with these other actions that are happening?
Nations stated the goal in the City is to have climate action be institutionalized within all of their
things as well as equity. That's the goal, it's something that the City Manager supports, to have
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 8 of 12
equity be part of everything the City does, as well as climate. She added the person that's in
charge of running the transit study went to a meeting in Oregon with her and the whole meeting
was about equity and co -benefits around transit. The whole goal with all the City's plans is to
have them merge, so climate action is part of the transit study.
Sarsfield asked how practically speaking how does that look. Are the Commission's inputs
going to be acknowledged at the January 27 transit study meeting, or should the consultant be
invited to a Commission meeting. Nations agrees to inviting the Transit staff to a Commission
meeting but encourages the Commission also to go to the Transit study meeting.
Giannakouros stated he bracketed his comments as sort of isolated in the transit discussion but
noted throughout all discussions if the City's going to spend money on climate action it needs to
be primarily targeted towards groups that are disadvantaged, it's a chance to rectify those
constraints and those problems, and it also is a smart way to spend the dollars. That's
transportation, it's buildings, everything they do. So, the co -benefits are huge when they're
spent in the right segments.
Nations agrees noting everything shows that when you help the people that need it the most
you actually help everybody.
Soglin acknowledged she agrees with Giannakouros; however, should consider there could be a
project or one of the action steps that the immediate benefit is not potentially to lower income or
disadvantage but by doing that actually then frees up other money somewhere and has a major
impact overall.
Fraser stated all the subcommittees need to work on equity, but there needs to be somebody
that's making sure that all the subcommittee ethical ideas are put together in one chunk,
someone who follows through on it with legislation, because without legislation or some sort of
guidance or punitive message, people will fall back into misbehavior.
Nations noted when presented with the 100 Day report, one Council member said if we do all
these things, even if we weren't looking at climate, it will just make our City better. We'd have
cleaner air, people walking more, people being healthier. We would support people who need it
most.
Fraser agreed but noted it's the unintended consequences of do gooders that sometimes cause
a lot of problems so what we're really looking at is how do we prevent unintended
consequences as we're doing good.
Waste: Nations noted she was invited to go to Friday night meeting by the people that were
putting on the LENA Project and that is a woman and some university students who originally
came to the City Council about reducing straws in restaurants downtown. This group is really
interested in talking about waste and climate. They seem like very dedicated people from all
different places, restaurant owners and recycling people, etc. so she thought that it would be a
perfect group to be a waste working group because they were knowledgeable and wanting to
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 9 of 12
really make positive changes as far as waste citywide and composting and they had different
backgrounds.
Bradley stated she attended that meeting as well and would be willing to be the Commission
member that would be in charge of the waste working group and engage the members of the
LENA Project. She said she found the meeting really interesting, because we've been talking
about how much of an impact buildings and transportation have kind of the disconnect that
people have with how important waste is. But as a working group it could be a good way to get
more people involved in the environmental discussion.
Nations noted an interesting article that talked about what actions people will have the biggest
impact on climate and everybody thinks recycling is the biggest thing but it's not however, it's
the gateway drug. Recycling is the gateway drug to and even though we didn't think about
having a waste group because it's only 2% of our all of our emissions, as far as the City portion
goes, we have a goal to reduce what's going into landfill by 50%.
Bradley agreed to be the liaison and the group would be composed of private interest groups
and individuals within the community expressed an interest in talking about these issues.
Giannakouros asked if City staff can sit on the working groups. Krieger noted the idea was as the
groups identify what expertise for the tasks that their dealing with move to invite staff for
feedback, but they would not have to be a permanent member of the working group
Monroe stated if staff can offer those connections to the working groups, even if they're not a
formal member of the group, please reach out to them. It could be a conversation with a staff
member on certain issues or a presentation at a meeting, that is how they want to help.
The waste group can also discuss sustainable lifestyle because it seems like that group is very
interested in sustainable lifestyle and it speaks to things like food and waste compost.
Sarsfield made a motion to form a Waste Working Group led by Bradley. Krieger
seconded the motion, a vote was taken, and the motion passed 10-0.
Sarsfield suggested moving from equity to the waste group because she works at
manufacturing plant and represents three plants in town. She agreed to also be on the waste
working group.
Adaptation: Tate noted they haven't met yet, they are scheduled to meet on Thursday. They
will be discussing individual takeaways from the 100 -day report and trying to identify low
hanging fruit things they should prioritize early.
Tate did question how all the working groups will work as a whole to handle these cross -cutting
issues, so the cross -cutting things aren't subsumed and lost.
Soglin noted she has seen presented at conferences, an equity lens, which she thought the City
had a version of it at one point. It's a list and used as a check. Perhaps a few other concepts
could be added to that and then we all use it for our groups.
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 10 of 12
Nations stated the City does have an equity toolkit. The people that were on the original steering
committee had that as part of their documents. She will email it to everybody. Soglin stated she
would be happy to edit it and add the topic intersections that they might want to be thinking
about beyond intersection. Nations will work with Soglin to come up with a checklist for non-
economic co -benefits and it will be on the agenda for the next meeting so the Commission can
discuss.
There was discussion on non -economic benefits as not all benefits have economic benefits.
Tate noted that because this is Iowa City, because this is a public entity, they serve all citizens
and have to be aware the systems set up don't unintentionally disenfranchised people in a way
that impoverishes them or causes economic insecurity. But it really is about using this as an
opportunity to give people access to the system. If they're more integrated, they have a say,
they're at the table, and they're benefiting in ways that make their life better. Yes, you can
quantify all of that eventually, but that's indirectly, and also contributes to a better democracy.
Fraser stressed the importance of making sure all parts of the City are equally maintained when
it comes to things like tree planting as to benefit everyone. Nations noted the City has a tree
canopy map, and there is a grant that the City got where they're going to be planting trees
where they are lacking in the neighborhoods that don't have them and cross referencing that
with census tract.
Karr asked if there is a way to take the expertise that they have, come up with three or four
priorities before they recommend and give themselves time to almost take care of it in the
working groups rather than just brainstorming here.
Tate questioned the group adaptation and equity and with the 100 -day Report it's a more
concrete sort of formulation of adaptation actions, and this is what equity means versus
whatever the first report was from two years ago. He feels there is limited overlap between
these two, they can certainly push forward and address both but also seems like they're a bit
different too.
Sarsfield noted it just keeps coming back to equity overarching over all of the groups. Maybe
equity should be the whole Commission and forget the sub business.
Fraser feels that is dangerous because they don't have representation on this group to be smart
enough to catch all the inequities that might come out of the wonderful ideas.
Tate states they are smart enough to figure out where to get the information when they are
trying to answer questions.
Outreach: Krieger noted they have met twice since the last meeting because it feeds into
almost everything else with education components and awareness components. The top four
items that were discussed were having the realtors agreeing on the MLS was an important one
because that impacts multiple things at the same time, the green business program, and then
educating and coordinating with local agencies on health impacts, because health is a potential,
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 11 of 12
another gateway to reach people, other populations that don't normally want to think about
climate change.
UPDATE ON WORKING GROUPS:
Krieger noted they need to continue having some more input with the working group level to
feed back into the discussion next time.
The working groups will need their reports ready to go out in the next agenda packet, so they
are due to Nations by January 27 to get in the next agenda.
UPDATE ON CLIMATE FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 18-20.2020:
Nations sent out an email requesting if there any other Commission members interested in
serving on the Climate Festival Planning Committee.
STAFF/COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Krieger noted at the next meeting as part of the agenda they will have the election of the Chair
and Vice Chair. Being Chair was temporary for him and they have to do these elections at the
beginning of each year.
Krieger also stated one of the other things they will put on the agenda is to address meeting
times and potential scheduling issues. For instance, because the meetings are Mondays at
3:30 there is a potential conflict for people who are students or teachers because it's during the
day and they're not going be able to make it. We can discuss if we want to think about shifting
the date or the time of these recurring meetings to evening or trying to be more accommodating.
Soglin questioned if they wanted to discuss the next meeting, it is the same day as the caucus,
so she suggests they be prepared to really wrap up at 5:00pm to get to the caucus. Many on the
committee said they did not want to meet on caucus day.
Soglin moved to change the February meeting to Monday, February 10 at 3:30pm.
Giannakouros seconded the motion, a vote was taken, and the motion passed 10-0.
ADJOURNMENT:
Krieger made a motion to adjourn.
Giannakouros seconded the motion.
A vote was taken, and the motion passed 10-0.
Meeting adjourned 5:06pm.
Climate Action Commission
January 6, 2020
Page 12 of 12
CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2019-2020
(Meeting Date
NAME
TERM EXP.
O
-�
N
v
N
N
O
O
O
O
Madeleine Bradley
12/31/22
--
--
X
X
John Fraser
12/31/20
X
X
X
X
Stratis
UI Rep
X
X
X
X
Giannakouros
Grace Holbrook
12/31/21
X
X
X
O/E
Kasey Hutchinson
12/31/22
--
--
X
X
GT Karr
12/31/20
X
X
X
X
Matt Krieger
12/31/20
X
X
X
X
Jesse Leckband
MidAmerican
X
X
X
X
Re
Katie Sarsfield
12/31/20
X
X
O/E
X
Becky So lin
12/31/22 1
X
Eric Tate
12/31/21
X
X
X
X
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No Meeting
-- -- = Not a Member
Item Number: 5.d.
February 18, 2020
AT TAC HM E NT S :
Description
Parks & Recreation Commission: J anuary 8
r
per' CITY OF IOWA CITY
� h
MEMORANDUM
Date: February 13, 2020
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Staff Members of Parks & Recreation Commission
Re: Recommendation from Parks & Recreation Commission
At their January 8, 2020 meeting the Parks and Recreation Commission made the following
recommendation to the City Council:
Moved by Serenda, seconded by Venzon. to approve the Parks and Recreation fees and charges for
FY21 as proposed. Motion passed 6-0 (Russell and Wills Absent)
Additional action (check one)
No further action needed
Board or Commission is requesting Council direction
X Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action
S:RECform.doc
IOWA CITY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED
MINUTES JANUARY 8, 2020
ROBERT A. LEE RECREATION CENTER — MTG ROOM B
Members Present: Stephen Bird, Boniface Penandjo Lemoupa, Melissa Serenda, Angie Smith, Jamie
Venzon, Blake Winter,
Members Absent: Ben Russell, Brianna Wills
Staff Present: Brad Barker, Morgan Gerdes, Zac Hall, Juli Seydell Johnson
Others Present: Alex Hachtman
CALL TO ORDER
Juli Seydell Johnson called the meeting to order at 5 p.m.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council action):
Moved by Serenda, seconded by Venzon, to approve the Parks and Recreation fees and charges for
FY21 as proposed. Motion passed 6-0 (Russell and Wills absent).
CONSIDER A MOTION TO APPOINT PARKS & RECREATION DIRECTOR AS
TEMPOROARY CHAIRPERSON:
Moved by Bird, seconded by Smith, to appoint Juli Seydell Johnson, Director of Parks & Recreation,
as temporary Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Passed 6-0 (Russell & Willis
absent
OTHER FORMAL ACTION:
Moved by Venzon, seconded by Winter, to approve the December 11, 2019 meeting minutes as
written. Passed 6-0 (Russell and Willis absent).
PUBLIC DISCUSSION
None
INTRODUCTION OF NEW STAFF MEMBER:
Barker introduced Morgan Gerdes to the Commission. Morgan fills the Program Supervisor for
Community and Event Planning position for the Parks & Recreation Department.
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
January 8, 2020
Page 2 of 5
COMMISSION ORIENTATION:
Seydell Johnson introduced new commission members Boniface Penandjo Lemoupa and Melissa Serenda
to commission and staff. All members introduced themselves and welcomed them to the board.
Seydell Johnson presented a brief commission orientation. She started by thanking all members for their
willingness to serve on the Parks & Recreation Commission. She stated that while it may not require a
huge amount of commitment, it is an important one. She went on to explain what members can expect,
stating that while the meetings are not filmed, there may be times where media may be present. She noted
that the Parks and Recreation Commission agenda packet will be emailed to them at the end of the week
prior to the scheduled meeting. The packet includes the agenda, minutes from the previous meeting, staff
reports and any additional handouts that may pertain to an item on the agenda. Meetings are scheduled the
second Wednesday of each month, unless otherwise noted, from 5-7 p.m. at the Robert A. Lee Recreation
Center. She shared that as people in the public learn of their role as a commissioner, they may be asked
questions about various parks and recreation topics. She encouraged members to forward those questions
to her. She stated that as a commission member they are subject to the Iowa Public Meeting laws. She
further explained that if there are more than 3 commission members that were to run into each other at a
coffeeshop, for example, they cannot talk about items that are being discussed by the commission.
Members were also reminded that if they have something they want to share with the other members, they
need to send that item to Seydell Johnson who will share with the Commission Chair and then she will
share with other members if appropriate. The meetings follow the Roberts Rule of Order. Therefore,
meetings will follow the order of the agenda. Should a member have an item that they would like to
discuss at an upcoming meeting, they may pass that on to Seydell Johnson as well and she and the
commission chair will determine if it is appropriate to add to the current agenda or if it should go on a
future agenda. If a person from the public attends a meeting to discuss an item that is not on the agenda,
they may present the item, however, the commission cannot take action until it is placed on a future
agenda. At the end of each meeting, each commissioner is asked if they have anything else they would
like to discuss or an item for a future agenda. Staff will provide brief oral reports to the board during each
meeting. Park development and redevelopment projects will be presented to commission periodically as
well.
NOMINATION FOR PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION CHAIR PERSON:
Seydell Johnson noted that Commission needs to nominate and vote on a new chairperson and vicechair
at this evenings meeting.
Venzon nominated Steve Bird to serve as Chairperson of the Parks & Recreation Commission.
Moved by Venzon, seconded by Smith, to elect Steve Bird as the Chairperson for the Parks and
Recreation Commission for 2020. (Russell and Willis absent).
Venzon nominated Angie Smith to serve as Vice -chairperson of the Parks & Recreation Commission.
Moved by Venzon, seconded by Bird, to elect Angie Smith as the Vice -chairperson for the Iowa
City Parks and Recreation Commission for 2020. Passed 6-0 (Russel and Willis absent).
FY 21 PARKS & RECREATION FEE SCHEDULE — BRAD BARKER:
Barker directed commission members to the fee scheduled included in the commission packet. This
schedule includes the history, current and future proposed fees for recreation programs, rentals and
events. He explained that not all programs will incur an increase every year. Those that do will normally
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
January 8, 2020
Page 3 of 5
increase by 3%. He pointed out that the pool parties have been added to the matrix. He also noted that the
fees for adult sports have been reduced to encourage more participation. The rental fees for The Lodge at
the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area and the Ashton House have both increased to reflect current use.
Moved by Serenda, seconded by Venzon, to approve the Parks and Recreation fees and charges for
FY21 as proposed. Motion passed 6-0 (Russell and Wills absent).
REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF:
Parks & Recreation — Juli Seydell Johnson: Seydell Johnson attended the budget presentation sessions to
Council on Saturday. Some of the items proposed include the addition of two forestry staff as well as
additional funds for tree planting. Staff will continue working towards the City's Climate Action Plan.
Seydell Johnson is asking for funds to hire a consultant to assist in the creation of a recreation program
and aquatics master plan noting that the recreation building, as well as the aquatic facilities, are aging.
Other items include new equipment for forestry.
Seydell Johnson stated that Recreation continue with planning programs that will allow children to learn
to swim, bike and gain outdoor recreation skills. Staff will also be planning an annual event at Riverfront
Crossings as well as various pop-up programs in the parks.
Seydell Johnson shared the schedule for Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects. She noted that those
currently in the construction phase include the Kickers Soccer Park field addition, the Willow Creek Park
redevelopment and the Lower City Park Adventure Play Area installation. Other 2020 projects include
Fairmeadows Playground installation, ADA paths at Hunter's Run and Brookland Parks. She shared that
2020 CIP projects include Scott Park shelter and playground installation, Napoleon Park playground
installation, and construction of a shelter, restrooms and playground at Wetherby Park. Some smaller
projects planned include a bocce court at College Green Park and refurbishing the sport courts at Court
Hill and Happy Hollow Parks.
Recreation Division Superintendent: Barker noted that Recreation staff are busy working on the
upcoming spring activity guide. He also announced that the departments Makers Space will open on
January 29 in the Recreation Centers craft room. This will provide a place where individuals can come
and create and take part in various activities at their leisure. He is looking forward to growing this
program as it progresses.
Barker will be meeting with program supervisors one-on-one over the next couple of weeks to begin
planning for summer programs.
Parks Division Superintendent — Zac Hall: Hall explained that the Parks Division is comprised of parks
maintenance, horticulture, natural areas, forestry, and athletic facilities staff.
Parks Maintenance/Horticulture/Natural Areas: He noted that typically staff would be spending
much of their time taking care of snow removal. However, unseasonable weather of late, they
have been able to turn their focus on other projects such as removing invasive species from
natural areas and sand prairies, as well as a prairie burn prior to the new year. Other staff are in
the process of removing playground equipment from Napoleon and Fairmeadows Parks in
preparation for next year's upgrades.
Forestry: Staff is working pruning trees that are under 15'. This process is done to increase the
health of the trees.
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
January 8, 2020
Page 4of5
Athletic Facilities: Athletic Facilities staff are currently attending the annual Turf Grass
Conference.
Bird asked what the ice depth requirement is for staff to install ice hockey nets. Hall reported that it has to
be at least 6" thick.
CHAIRS REPORT
None
COMMISSION TIME/SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
Venzon asked for an update on the deer management program. Seydell Johnson reported that White
Buffalo completed its first round of operations. They will return in February to continue the process.
Although there were some issues with getting patrons out of the parks by 3 p.m., White Buffalo staff were
satisfied with the outcome. They will not return to Terry Trueblood Recreation Area or City Park as they
did not get the deer populations in those areas as expected. The later sunsets in February will allow the
areas targeted to remain open longer than the previous 3:00 p.m. times.
Bird reminded staff and commission that there is a need for a couple of commission members to volunteer
to become members of the the Tree Advisory Board. Jamie Venzon and Melissa Serenda volunteered to
be on the board.
ADJOURNMENT:
Moved by Smith, seconded by Winter to adiourn the meeting at 5:38 p.m. Passed 6-0 (Russell &
Wills absent).
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
January 8, 2020
Page 5of5
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
ATTENDANCE RECORD
NAME
rl
o�
ri
rl
H
r-1
rl
�
"M
"-4
`
H
O
N
o
TERM
EXPIRES
N
M
IT
W
�Ni
H
Suzanne
12/31/20
NM
X
O/E
X
LQ
X
X
LQ
X
X
O/E
Bentler
Steve Bird
12/31/21
NM
X
X
X
LQ
O/E
X
LQ
O/E
X
X
X
Lucas
12/31/22
NM
X
X
O/E
LQ
X
Foelsch
Cara
12/31/19
NM
X
X
X
LQ
X
X
LQ
X
O/E
X
Hamann
Boniface
12/31/23
NM
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
X
Penandjo
Lemou a
Ben Russell
12/31/21
NM
X
X
X
LQ
X
X
LQ
X
X
X
O/E
Melissa
12/31/23
NM
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
X
Serenda
Angie Smith
12/31/21
NM
X
X
X
LQ
X
O/E
LQ
X
X
X
X
Jamie
12/31/20
NM
X
O/E
O/E
LQ
X
O/E
LQ
X
X
X
X
Venzon
Brianna
12/31/22
NM
X
X
X
LQ
X
O/E
LQ
X
X
X
O/E
Wills
Blake Winter
12/31/22
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
X
X
X
X
Joe Younker
12/31/19T
NM
X
X
I
X
LQ
X
X
LQ
X
X
X
KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting LQ = No meeting due to lack of quorum
* = Not a member now
Item Number: 5.e.
February 18, 2020
AT TAC HM E NT S :
Description
Public A rt Advisory Committee: J anuary 16
FINAL
MINUTES
PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE
JANUARY 16, 2020 5:30PM
HELLING LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM — CITY HALL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Vero Rose Smith, Nancy Purington, Andrea Truitt, Eddie Boyken, Steve
Miller, Juli Seydell Johnson, Joe Welter (for Ron Knoche, Public Works)
STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Bollinger, Wendy Ford, Camille Soleil
PUBLIC PRESENT: Isaac Hamlet, Arts and Entertainment Reporter for the Press -Citizen
CALL TO ORDER
Rose Smith called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
There was none.
INTRODUCTION OF 2020 PAAC
Rose Smith welcomed new PAAC member Nancy Purington. PAAC members, staff and public
introduced themselves.
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 5.2019 MEETING
Miller noted the misspelling of Summerwill in Staff Reports.
Seydell Johnson made a motion to accept the minutes with that correction. Truitt seconded the
motion. Meeting minutes were approved.
REVIEW OF UPDATES FARMER'S MARKET CALL TO ARTISTS
Seydell Johnson noted it has been a year and a half since the Call to Artists was sent out the
first time. At that time the idea was to brighten up the space with all the construction taking
place next door. She noted that the park is now open and the area looks good. At that time five
or six proposals were received, and only one of the proposals was viable. Unfortunately, that
artist has not been able to produce.
Seydell Johnson asked that the PAAC send the call out again for piece which will dress up the
parking ramp and let people know it is the Farmer's Market.
Seydell Johnson shared that there is currently $6,000 in the Farmer's Market budget for the
piece as well as $1,000 matching funds from PAAC in FY2018.
Miller advocated for increasing the budget to draw more quality submissions. There was much
discussion about the difficulty in getting serious proposals for such a small sum.
Rose Smith asked about project goals:
How long is this installation expected to be up, is it tied to the actual market or permanent?
Seydell Johnson replied that it would be permanent on the ramp, for at least 5-10 years.
Rose Smith suggested changing the language of the call to reflect that so it is clear that it is not
tied seasonally to the Farmer's Market but rather, permanent.
Rose Smith also suggested narrowing the time frame, either 5-7 or 7-9 years. Seydell Johnson
said 5-7. Rose Smith pointed out that anything paint -based would not be viable for that long of a
timeframe.
Rose Smith also suggested that schematics of the ramp and placement instructions would be
helpful to include with the call. Seydell Johnson said the Call to Artists will include dimensions of
the space and how it is to be attached to the structure.
Rose Smith asked if the piece must include specific reference to the Iowa City Farmer's Market.
Seydell Johnson responded that the piece should celebrate the farmers market year-round but it
won't need to say "Iowa City Farmer's Market."
If the Farmer's Market changes its venue, will it have to move? Seydell Johnson stated that 5-7
years will be safe.
Bollinger said that the call would will put out to Iowa Arts Council.
Seydell Johnson added that she would like the piece to complement the new park master plan.
Purington asked it if would it be prudent to consider limiting the Call to Artists in Johnson County
or Eastern Iowa. There was discussion about that, with the consensus being to let artists self-
select by placing it with the Iowa Arts Council.
Miller noted that $7,000 is a very small budget, adding that if you want something bigger that
includes lighting, the budget must be bigger. Seydell Johnson said that her preference is
something over the arch, and would love it to include more. She talked about the interior of the
parking ramp as a possible future separate project, reiterating that the first priority is outside.
There was lengthy discussion about expanding the budget for the project. Rose Smith and Miller
both felt that there would be a difference in the level of proposals received the budget would
increase to the $15,000420,000 range.
Bollinger pointed out that City Council still needed to approve the plan before releasing funds for
2020 fiscal year. Truitt spoke about the importance of this piece, because of the location across
from City Hall and the importance of the Farmer's Market, and advocated for increasing the
contribution from PAAC because it is a longer-term project. Seydell Johnson and Purington both
spoke of the importance of the Farmer's Market and this project. Bollinger offered that there
were 2 projects still on hold from previous funding years -- Creekside Park, $6,000, and the "Hit
the Ground" artwork that would be painted on trails in the South District to encourage movement
and exercise, $3,000, that could be reallocated to this project as they would not be completed
until this current fiscal year.
Miller asked what Council is expecting to see to formalize the new budget and Bollinger replied
that there will be some report to the council by April or May. Public matching grants and
everything is on hold until then.
Rose Smith, Miller, Purington and Truitt all spoke in favor of increasing the scope of the project
as it is a focal point and an important work.
There was discussion on the time frame for the project and it was decided that proposals will be
evaluated for the viability of ten years. Rose Smith emphasized that proposals should include a
maintenance plan, checkpoints at which work needs to be evaluated.
There was discussion on maintenance of the piece, and how that would work. Bollinger stated
that most contracts require some amount of time after installation that the artists will address
any problems.
Miller moved to reallocate the Fiscal Year 2019 funds from the Creekside Park ($6,000) and the
"Hit the Ground" fitness artwork ($3,000) to the Farmer's Market project until we can have that
money available in order to increase the Farmer's Market project to $16,000 total. Truitt
seconded. The motion carried.
Discussion next shifted to approving this Call to Artists pending suggestions made by this
committee.
The discussion around time frame noted that if the call went out during the following week,
artists would have 2 months to respond, so it was decided to leave the deadline to respond at
March 20, 2020. In order to complete billing during this fiscal year, the committee agreed that
work must be done and invoiced by June 15, 2020. Payment to the artist would occur in three
payments.
There was further discussion on timeframe and limiting call to nearby artists.
Seydell Johnson made a motion that PAAC use this Call for Artists with the changes discussed
for Farmer's Market Art. Miller seconded. The motion carried.
REVIEW OF DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN
Bollinger presented the most recent draft of the Public Art Management Plan, which was revised
and edited, making it easier to read with better flow.
Welter suggested removing the words "ensure" and" insure", under goals 2 and 3, saying that
the City and this committee can't ensure or insure anything. Rose Smith suggested changing
the verbiage in goal 2 to "for everyone in the community," Goal 3, "plan for the care and
maintenance..."
On page 7, similar work on language, remove "ensure" and "insure" throughout document.
Rose Smith brought up distinguishing throughout the documents the responsibilities of PAAC vs
staff, adding more language about recommending on or advising for PAAC as it is up to City
staff to implement things. She urged that the document use language reflecting the advisory
role of PAAC versus the implementation role of staff.
Miller asked if there is a working spreadsheet of budget that is current. Bollinger replied that
there should be, and the budget has been so small over the last few years that it wasn't a
priority.
Purington referred to Page 8, #7, "all things being equal, preference will be given to Iowa City
artists." There was discussion on verbiage and is it potential in providing preference to Iowa City
artists. This led to discussion on the differences between projects, the Proposal versus the RFQ
process, and joint projects with other City departments.
Rose Smith summarized by stating that members of staff who are present today will consult with
the City Attorney's office to find out specifically what language can be used when soliciting
proposals in order to encourage more local participation. Staff will have an update on this
language by the time the management plan is finalized in March or April.
Rose Smith again brought up being clear what the PAAC is responsible for advising but staff
does the reporting/inspections. She also made the point that it is important to note all of the
duties of "staff members," reminding the committee that when speaking about budgetary
allocation for public art, one of the things embedded in the strategic plan is funding for a staff
person, and in noting all of the responsibilities of staff, we are building out that position in a way
that is sustainable.
On page 18, under Public Art Policies and procedures "28" was a typo.
Under 7.1 , the first bullet point, change conservator to "qualified professional."
On page 19, 2nd bullet, "City Manager or their designee". 3'd bullet, "advise on." 4th bullet,
Qualified professional," and make this language consistent throughout.
On page 19, 7.4 change 1-5 years to "as stated in maintenance report."
Remove numbers 9, 9.1. After discussion, the committee didn't feel it was appropriate for this
document to state how funding occurs. Pursuing grants or private fundraising to provide
supplemental funding is within the purview of the PARC, but the actual funding is determined by
City Council.
Section 10, Conflict of Interest, needs to be discussed further. Bollinger noted that the draft
language is not how the committee has been operating in recent years. Rose Smith urged to
keep it consistent with other boards and commissions within the city, and re-evaluation built into
each term.
Typo on Page 20, "City Manager, or their designee.
Rose Smith asked if anyone has any other comment about edits to the management plan, to
please have to Bollinger by Friday January 24th.
REVIEW OF CITY FACILITIES INVENTORY AND INSPECTION PROCESS
Bollinger shared that she is working with Information Technology staff to develop a database for
inventory and maintenance of public art assets.
Bollinger shared a list of current City facilities, noting that anything highlighted in yellow has a
higher amount of public traffic, and she asked if anyone on the committee is interested in
participating and looking at facilities as possible locations for public art, to contact her directly.
COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR COMMITTEE REPORTS
Seydell Johnson asked the committee for ideas of what to do with a sculpture that is currently in
storage at cemetery. The brass and copper sculpture was removed from display several years
ago after it was discovered that cemetery visitors were disturbed by the statue. Seydell Johnson
was interested to hear if PAAC members had suggestions on future use of the sculpture with no
credible options being suggested. Seydell Johnson thanked the committee, and thought the
best option at this point would be to move forward with taking it to auction on the govdeals
website.
STAFF REPORTS
Bollinger reported that Poetry in Public is moving along with a submission deadline of February
7. City Communications staff will be present in February meeting to talk about outreach.
Bollinger and Ford rescheduled their meeting about the relocation of "Dorothy" due to weather.
The next meeting will be February 6, 5:30pm.
ADJOURNMENT
Seydell Johnson motioned to adjourn. Miller second. Adjourned at 7:20pm.
Public Art Advisory Committee
Attendance Record
2019-2020
Name
Term
Expires
1/10/19
3/7/19
4/4/19
5/2/19
6/6/19
7/11/19
8/1/19
9/5/19
11/7/19
12/5/19
1/16120
Nancy
--
--
--
Purin ton
1/1/2021
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
x
Ron
X
x
x
Knoche
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Juli
x
x
Seydell-
x
O/E
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Johnson
Vero
x
x
x
Rose
1/1/2021
x
x
O/E
x
x
x
x
x
Smith
Steve
Miller
2/1/2021
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Andrea
Truitt
1/1/2022
x
x
x
x
x
__
x
x
x
x
x
Eddie
Bo ken
1/1/2022
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
O
x
x
Key:
X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
--- = Not a member