HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-05-05 Bd Comm minutesCITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Airport Commission: February 13
Item Number: 4.a.
February 13, 2020
Page 1
MINUTES
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
FEBRUARY 13, 2020 - 6:00 P.M.
AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING
Members Present; Scott Clair, Christopher Lawrence, Bob Libby, Judy Pfohl
Members Absent: Warren Bishop
Staff Present: Eric Goers, Michael Tharp
FINAL
Others Present: Matt Wolford, Carl Byers, John Moes, Bill Bolman, Alex Schmidt, David
Price, David Hughes
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
DETERMINE QUORUM:
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 P.M.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes from the January 9, 2020, meeting were reviewed. Lawrence moved to accept the
minutes from the January 9, 2020, meeting as presented. Pfohl seconded the motion.
The motion carried 4-0, Bishop absent.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. Request to use decommissioned runway — Tharp spoke to Members
regarding this request from the Iowa Region Sports Car Club, noting that they
spoke about this several meetings ago. An agreement has now been worked
out, according to Tharp, with the club paying $300 per session to use the runway.
One of the car club members spoke to Members briefly, stating that they would
like to test out the runway on May 3rd just to make sure that it will work for them.
Otherwise they have just four sessions planned for the summer.
i. Consider a resolution approving agreement with Iowa Region Sports
Car Club of America - Lawrence moved to consider approval of
Resolution #A20-05, approving agreement with the Iowa Region
Sports Car Club of America. Clair seconded the motion. The motion
carried 4-0, Bishop absent.
b. Airport Website Update - The team from FUEL was present to speak to
Members regarding the website. Alex Schmidt began the presentation for FUEL,
February 13, 2020
Page 2
noting the feedback they have received thus far. Speaking to what can be
expected on the home page, Schmidt stated that it will include a brief overview of
the Airport, critical pilot information, an overview of the Iowa City community and
how the Airport is tied to that, a brief overview about business development, and
then also social media ties. Under the "About" section, the plan is to show the
Airport's hours; different features the Airport has; pictures of the Airport;
information about rentals, tours, visits, parking, etc.; and also a picture of the
Airport. It was suggested to add that the Airport has both Uber and Lyft
availability. Under "Pilot" information there will be an Airport diagram, showing
the runways, the FBO, and fuel pump location. There will also be links to the
FAA and Weather.com for easy use; Jet Air; and also information about fees, tie -
downs, overnight stays, short-term hangar space, fuel pricing, etc. Looking at
"Community Information," it was noted that there will be a calendar of events;
listings for restaurants, lodging, and entertainment. There will also be an area for
children's events, and also links to the University Hospitals and Clinics, and the
University of Iowa. "Business Development" will talk about investing, real estate,
leasing opportunities, and bringing new business to Iowa City. Moving to "ADA,"
Schmidt noted that this area will include disability services at the Airport, such as
wheelchairs and medical services. Members noted that they would also like to
have links for the Chamber of Commerce, ICAD, and the Convention and Visitors
Bureau. There will also be a "Contact Us" form that people can fill out, as well as
a Google map link to the Airport. The footer of the website will include location,
hours, contact information, link to social media, an ADA statement, a history/fun
fact, and copyright information. Members were encouraged to make further
suggestions and comments regarding what has been put together so far.
C. FAAIIDOT Projects
I. Obstruction Mitigation — Tharp stated that trees are still coming down
and things are going well. David Hughes noted that probably over 60% of
the trees are down at this point. Tharp added that things have slowed a
bit, mainly due to access of and location of the trees needing to come
down. Pfohl asked where the lawsuit is at this point. Goers stated that
the resident has obtained an attorney and he noted some of the concerns
thus far, i.e., number of trees, what the Code states, location of telephone
poles, etc. Hughes also spoke to this situation, noting how they are trying
to move forward at this point. Tharp noted that there is an amendment to
the construction management with AECOM, which covers the work that
AECOM has been doing the last couple of months. The amendment will
add $73,000 which will pay for the representative being present as the
trees are being brought down, etc.
1. Consider a resolution approving amendment #1 to Task Order
9 with AECOM — Lawrence moved to approve Resolution
#A20.06, approving amendment #1 to Task Order 9 with
AECOM. Pfohl seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0,
Bishop absent.
III. Runway 25 Threshold Relocation — Carl Byers noted that their planner
spoke with the FAA recently regarding this project. The National Geodetic
Survey information is scheduled to be downloaded next week at the FAA,
and once this is verified, the FAA staff can move forward with working on
developing this threshold. Byers also responded to questions regarding
any closures that will need to take place during this relocation project.
February 13, 2020
Page 3
ili. Terminal Apron/Taxiway reconstruction — Tharp stated that four bids
were received for this project, with one coming in under the engineer's
estimate —All American Concrete — by about $5,500. Therefore, staff is
recommending an award to them for $359,652.25.
1. Consider a resolution accepting bids and awarding contract —
Lawrence moved to approve Resolution #A20-07, accepting
bids and awarding contract. Pfohl seconded the motion. The
motion carried 4-0, Bishop absent.
iv. Fuel Farm Expansion and card reader kiosk replacement
a. Public Hearing Open — Public hearing was opened at
6:33 P.M. Tharp gave Members a brief rundown of the
project. He noted that the estimated cost of the project is
$192,000, with a bid alternate for a larger reader display.
Bids will be due March 5th, with plans to approve at the
Commission's March meeting. Public hearing was
closed at 6:37 P.M.
b. Consider a resolution approving plans, specifications,
form of contract and estimate of cost — Lawrence
moved to approve Resolution #A20-08, approving
plans, specifications, form of contract and estimate of
cost. Clair seconded the motion. The motion carried
4-0, Bishop absent.
d. Airport Operations
i. Management — Tharp noted that the flight simulator is downstairs now
and he encouraged Members to stop in and see it. Currently they are in a
test mode with the system and have had different people trying it out and
providing feedback. The online reservation system is now up and
running, so before long they will be opening up to the reservations.
Ill. Budget — Tharp stated that nothing has changed here.
iii. Events — Tharp noted that he has been in contact with the car club that
has had a car show around Memorial Day the past few years and that
they want to come back again this year. He is finalizing the agreement for
this. He has also been in touch with the EA Chapter, trying to organize
upcoming events with the apron reconstruction project in mind.
e. FBO / Flight Training Reports
i. Jet Air — Matt Wolford reviewed the monthly maintenance reports with
Members. He noted problems they've had with one of the trucks. Snow
removal kept crews busy in January, and February has seen some relief
there. Speaking to Jet Air's business, Wolford stated that their shop has
been extremely busy this winter. Their sales have also been quite brisk,
with several planes being purchased and sold. Wolford also spoke to
some time spent in Des Moines, lobbying for the exemption of sales tax
for parts and labor in their business.
f. Commission Member Reports — None.
g. Staff Report — Tharp will be out of the office on February 19, as mentioned
above, for the reception in Des Moines. He will also be out of the office on
February 27 and 28.
February 13, 2020
Page 4
Consider a motion to go into executive session under Section 21.5(1)(1) of the Iowa Code
to evaluate the professional competency of Individuals whose appointment, hiring,
performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and
irreparable injury to that individual's reputation and that individual requests a closed
session.
Lawrence moved to adjourn to executive session at 6:52 P.M. Libby seconded the
motion. The motion carried 4-0, Bishop absent.
Lawrence moved to adjourn the executive session at 7:24 P.M. Pfohl seconded
the motion. The motion carried 4.0, Bishop absent.
Lawrence moved to change Tharp's title from Airport Operations Specialist to Airport
Manager. Clair seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0, Bishop absent.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR:
The next regular meeting of the Airport Commission will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2020,
at 6:00 P.M. in the Airport Terminal Building.
ADJOURN:
Lawrence moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 P.M. Libby seconded the motion. The motion
carried 4-0, Bishop absent.
/(7
CHAIRPERSON
CHAIRPERSON DATE
February 13, 2020
Page 5
Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2019-2020
Kew
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
TERM
o
c
o
0
o
NAME
EXP.
Warren Bishop
06/30/22
O/
01
01
X
X
X
X
E
X
E
X
X
E
O/E
Scott Clair
06130/23
N
NM
M
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Robert Libby
07/01/20
0/
0/
0/
O/
O/
O/
X
E
X
X
X
E
E
E
E
E
X
Christopher Lawrence
07/01/21
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Judy Pfohl
06/30/22
NM
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Kew
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Airport Commission: March 12
Item Number: 4.b.
March 12, 2020
Page 1
MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
MARCH 12, 2020 — 6:00 P.M.
AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING
Members Present: Warren Bishop, Scott Clair, Christopher Lawrence, Bob Libby, Judy Pfohl
Staff Present: Eric Goers, Michael Tharp
Others Present: Matt Wolford, Carl Byers, John Moes, Bill Bolman, Alex Schmidt
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
DETERMINE QUORUM:
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES.,
The minutes from the February 13, 2020, meeting were reviewed first. Libby moved to accept
the minutes from the February 13, 2020, meeting as presented. Clair seconded the
motion. The motion carried 5-0.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. Airport Website Update — The team from FUEL was present to speak to
Members regarding the website progress. Alex Schmidt began her presentation
for Members by noting the various options available to them for website design.
She reviewed three options that FUEL has created, highlighting the links and
buttons that can be present on the various pages. Walking through each option,
Schmidt pointed out the differences between them and what all can be available
on the Airport's website. Items of interest include things such as having maps
available for both pilots and the general public, as well as links for transit options
and lodging accommodations in the area. A history of the Airport itself would also
be an important part of the website. Members discussed the various options,
noting what they would find most important and what their favorite design might
be. A suggestion was made to also add a listing of restaurants nearby, and even
a link to the Downtown District's page. Members also spoke to images of the
Airport, both internal and external, and Matt Wolford stated that he has several
that could be used. After some discussion, Members agreed that option #3 is
what they favor.
b. FAA/IDOT Projects
March 12, 2020
Page 2
i. Obstruction Mitigation — Tharp reported that trees continue to come
down, and that as of this afternoon they were down to the last two. The
plan is to complete this next week, and then prepare for clean-up,
reseeding, and sodding. Tharp added that they are considering a phase
two on this project, as they have since found at least a dozen more trees
that need to be removed. He noted that they are in the process of asking
the FAA for a phase two approval. Once this current phase is completed,
they will have taken down 102 trees on 29 different properties, over the
span of about three months. Tharp noted that they did come to an
agreement with the one property owner who was opposed to having trees
removed. He did agree to have the trees topped.
ii. Terminal Apron/Taxiway reconstruction — Tharp stated that last month
they did accept bids and are now taking their time due to the weather.
ill. Runway 25 Threshold Relocation — Tharp stated that they did receive
the final 'go letter' from the FAA. He further explained what is involved
with this relocation.
iv. Fuel Farm Expansion and card reader kiosk replacement — Tharp
stated that they opened for bids recently and received three total. He
also spoke to the bid alternate and what would be included in that. They
are recommending the contract go to Central Petroleum at $177,228.25.
This will be covered in part by an 85% grant from the IDOT.
1. Consider a resolution accepting bids and awarding contract —
Lawrence moved to approve Resolution #A20-09, accepting
bids and awarding contract for this project as discussed.
Libby seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-0.
V. FY2021 State Aviation Program Application — Tharp spoke to the
State's aviation program, noting that it will be heavily dependent on what
the Legislature does for funding the Airport Improvement portion of the
State program. He noted that he and Carl Byers will be proposing to
resurrect the parking lot expansion project again. Tharp added that this
has now become more of a priority project and one they desperately need
to get done. A second project would involve new hangar construction.
Tharp stated that the way the State program is capped at $150,000 for
new construction, he was considering going after grant funding to get the
infrastructure in place. Then in subsequent years, they could go back and
build a pair of hangars at a time, for example. Another option would be if
someone were to come in and want a new hangar, the infrastructure
would then be in place for them to do so. Byers shared some examples
of how they might accomplish the infrastructure and subsequent new
hangars. He and Tharp then responded to Member questions regarding
possibilities under the State's aviation program funding. The need for
future hangars was further discussed, with Members agreeing that the
market will pretty much determine this. Discussion continued on the
various projects the Commission would like to see take place at the
Airport, with Tharp and Byers responding as needed. Byers stated that
he could draft something for the Members to review, prior to the April
submission, with parking and doors taking priority.
C. Airport Operations
L Management
March 12, 2020
Page 3
1. Annual Report — Tharp shared what the Airport's annual report
typically looks like and gave a brief rundown of how the
Commission presents this to the City Council each year and what
is included in each report. Speaking to fuel sales, Tharp noted
that they are starting to trend down. He added that 2018 was the
Airport's peak year for fuel sales. Continuing, Tharp asked that
the Members review the annual report and let him know of any
errors or emissions, or if there are any questions. Then at next
month's meeting they can do a formal approval of the annual
report.
U. Budget — Tharp noted that there are three months left to this fiscal year.
At this point, he noted that things are on track. Speaking to the Reserve
Center next door, Tharp stated that he has been told that the Reserve is
done at this location. In the ,not too distant future, Tharp expects that the
Airport will be able to take back their land.
iii. Events — Tharp noted that the Memorial Day car show is still slated to be
held at the Airport.
d. FBO / Flight Training Reports
L Jet Air — Matt Wolford shared the monthly maintenance reports with
Members. He stated that a lot of the items were just general in February,
such as picking up broken pavement around the self-service area; the
'caution jet blast' signs were installed near the viewing area; tower light
bulb replaced; and blinds hung in flight simulator room. In March there
wasn't much change, other than more trash pickup due to the high winds.
Wolford also shared a 'time justification report' for the flight simulator. He
detailed how the first week was used to troubleshoot, with February 171
starting actual charges. He further explained how the charges are being
determined, and Members discussed how this charging is being reflected.
Wolford also spoke to some of the various simulator users thus far.
Speaking to Jet Air, Wolford stated that things are going along smoothly.
With the COVID-19 scare there have been some cancellations. On the
upside, more corporations are going back to private planes.
e. Commission Member Reports — Pfohl mentioned that the pilot's lounge is in
terrible shape. She stated that she may have some leather furniture available, if
there is any interest, and she volunteered to look into sprucing this room up.
Others agreed that she should move forward with this. Clair spoke next, stating
that over the past few months he has been reaching out to various community
members, trying to see how the Airport might fit into various aspect of the
community. On February 21st he had lunch with the Cedar Rapids Airport
manager and the marketing director, to see if they would be interested in any
type of monthly alignment with the Iowa City Airport. He suggested a
subcommittee of Members be a part of this. Lawrence volunteered to join Clair
on this subcommittee. Libby spoke to solar panels and if this issue had ever
gone any further. Tharp stated that it has not. Other Members spoke to this,
noting that the City has talked about putting up solar panels on City -owned
buildings. A brief discussion ensued, with it being noted that glare from such
panels could be an issue at the Airport. The FAA would have to become involved
March 12, 2020
Page 4
in any such project. Members continued to discuss solar possibilities, with
Bishop and Libby volunteering for a subcommittee to look into options.
f. Staff Report — Tharp stated that he will be out of the office tomorrow afternoon
for a Dr. appointment. He also has a conference call with the Iowa Public Airport
Association Board tomorrow, to discuss the aviation conference set for April.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR:
The next regular meeting of the Airport Commission will be held on Thursday, April 9, 2020. at
6:00 P.M. in the Airport Terminal Building.
ADJOURN:
Libby moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 P.M. Lawrence seconded the motion. The motion
carried 5-0.
t� /(-/ /26-Z-C�
CHAIRPERSON DATE
March 12, 2020
Page 5
Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2019-2020
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
TERM
o
0
0
0
0
O
i
23
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s
Q
o
0
0
NAME
EXP,rn
v
N
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-•
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i
O
to
N
w
N
s
a
N
t0
W
t0
W
W
tD
t0
to
W
O
O
O
Warren Bishop
06/30/22
O/
0/
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
O/E
X
X
E
E
X
Scott Clair
06/30/23
NM
NM
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Robert Libby
07/01/20
0/
Ol
X
0/E
X
X
X
O/E
O/E
O/E
E
E
X
X
Christopher Lawrence
07/01/21
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Judy Pfohl
06/30/22
NM
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
Item Number: 4.c.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Housing & Community Development Commission: March 12
Date: 03/12/2020
CITY OF
IOWA
CITY
Successful Living Acquisition #1
MEMORANDUM
$48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #2
$0
$48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #3
$0
$48,000
The Housing Fellowship CHDO Ops
$0
$20,000
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Erika Kubly, Housing and Community Development Commission Staff
Re: Recommendations from Housing and Community Development Commission
At their March 12, 2020 meeting the Housing and Community Development Commission made
the following recommendations to the City Council:
1. By a vote of 5-1 (McKinstry opposed) HCDC recommends the following FY21 Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Program budget to City Council totaling $448,000
HOME and $105,000 CDBG:
Project
CDBG
HOME
Successful Living Acquisition #1
$0
$48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #2
$0
$48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #3
$0
$48,000
The Housing Fellowship CHDO Ops
$0
$20,000
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #1
$0
$30,000
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #3
$27,000
$0
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #2
$0
$0
Systems Unlimited New Construction
$0
$100,000
City South District #2
$0
$50,000
City South District #1
$0
$44,000
Unlimited Abilities Acquisition
$0
$60,000
Little Creations Public Facility
$78,000
$0
Total Allocation:
$105,000
$448,000
2. By a vote of 6-0 HCDC recommends to City Council the following FY21 Emerging Aid to Agencies
budget to City Council totaling $16,738 and dividing the remaining $8,262 among Legacy Aid to
Agencies applicants (totaling $459 per agency):
Grow Johnson County - FY21 Season
$0
Houses into Homes - Inventory Mgt
$5,438
Successful Living - Snow/Mow
$0
Successful Living - Software
$0
Unlimited Abilities - Operations
$11,300
Total Allocation:
$16,738
Additional action (check one)
X No further action needed
April 21, 2020
Page 2
Board or Commission is requesting Council direction
Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action
MINUTES
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
MARCH 12, 2020 — 6:30 PM
SENIOR CENTER, ROOM 202
FINAL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Megan Alter, Matt Drabek, Charlie Eastham, V Fixmer-Oraiz, Lyn Dee
Kealey, John McKinstry
MEMBERS ABSENT: Peggy Aguilar, Peter Nkumu, Maria Padron
STAFF PRESENT: Kirk Lehmann
OTHERS PRESENT: Shirley Tramble, Ryan Holst, Elias Ortiz, Roger Goedken, Carla Phelps,
Ashley Gillette, Anthony Smith, Simon Andrew, Whitney Stevenson
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
By a vote of 5-1 (McKinstry opposed) HCDC recommends the following FY21 Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Program budget to City Council totaling $448,000 HOME and $105,000
CDBG:
Project
CDBG
HOME
Successful Living Acquisition #1
$0
$48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #2
$0
$48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #3
$0
$48,000
The Housing Fellowship CHDO Ops
$0
$20,000
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #1
$0
$30,000
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #3
$27,000
$0
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #2
$0
$0
Systems Unlimited New Construction
$0
$100,000
City South District #2
$0
$50,000
City South District #1
$0
$44,000
Unlimited Abilities Acquisition
$0
$60,000
Little Creations Public Facility
$78,000
$0
Total Allocation:
$105,000
$448,000
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 12, 2020
Page 2 of 14
By a vote of 6-0 HCDC recommends to City Council the following FY21 Emerging Aid to Agencies budget
to City Council totaling $16,738 and dividing the remaining $8,262 among Legacy Aid to Agencies
applicants (totaling $459 per agency):
Grow Johnson County - FY21 Season
$0
Houses into Homes - Inventory Mgt
$5,438
Successful Living - Snow/Mow
$0
Successful Living - Software
$0
Unlimited Abilities - Operations
$11,300
Total Allocation:
$16,738
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
Fixmer-Oraiz called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.
PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
Anthony Smith (Pastor, Little Creations Academy) came forward with a couple of questions. First, he was
wondering how the agencies are picked for the coalition, it sounds like that happened and he was not
privy to how the agencies were picked.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated the Agency Impact Coalition was not form by HCDC, it was self -formed and would
direct questions regarding the coalition to Becci Reedus, Crisis Center/Food Bank or Nicki Ross, Table to
Table.
Smith's follow-up question then is if the coalition is self -formed why it has any impact or any kind of
authority at this meeting or before this board?
Fixmer-Oraiz wouldn't say it necessarily has authority, the coalition is a gathering of executive directors
that have long standing experience with dealing with the Housing Community Development Commission
items and wouldn't say that they have a seat at the table.
Lehmann reminded everyone that for public comment they're actually not supposed to have
conversations, but topics can be put that on the agenda for the next meeting.
Smith also stated other thing he was concerned about was the scoring and if there has been some
consensus or how that's going to be taken care of and is there an avenue for suggestions on how it might
make it a little bit more fair for other agencies to be involved in this. He understands he is just asking the
question, it's not a dialogue, per perhaps something to put on your meeting agenda.
Lehmann made a general public comment that typically they look at those things (such as scoring criteria)
in leading up to the December meeting, so November is typically when the scoring is discussed. Just as a
general comment to the Commission in case you're curious for background.
MONITORING REPORTS:
NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS OF JOHNSON COUNTY: Lehmann reported they use the assistance for
their early childhood program up to five years, included childcare for 136 infants, toddlers and
preschoolers. They had some youth development where over 800 school aged children participated in
before and after school programs at the schools. And then family development, they also provide support
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 12, 2020
Page 3 of 14
to families and then some community development where they respond to issues that affect the entire
neighborhood. They included a list of things that they did, a snapshot of outcomes which included 91 %
improved or maintained healthy family functioning problem solving communication, 51 out of 58 which is
88% improved or maintain social supports, 88% increase their connection to concrete supports, 60%
improved nurturing attachment between parent and child, and 57% increase knowledge of child
development. He shared the the report with the Commission and if they have questions, they can always
bring them up at the next meeting or or ask for follow up.
4CS: Lehmann read from their report that during the last half of 2019, they've provided over 100
consultations to 23 home-based programs. They work with these providers on a number of things from
registration to additional trainings for DHS approval, to talk about safe sleep practices, and early learning
activities. These are new providers, childcare providers, so addressing how to market their business so
that families can find them is part of the conversation as well. They work hard to get them in the food
program, which partially reimburses them for healthy meals and snacks they serve to children they take
care of. They're struggling with landlords that are limiting the number of children that they can have,
despite the fact that they are monitored by 4C's and by any number of agencies. 4C's is pleased that
their program continues to grow. They have six who are currently going through the registration process,
and it's been a lot of word of mouth activity. Most of the providers are providing infant care and it doesn't
say how many children that they're providing care for, but they assisted 23 home-based programs this
year.
SHELTER HOUSE: In FY19 they were allocated Home Funds of $94,000 with a loan from the Housing
Trust Fund of Johnson County to acquire a property at Wakefield Court to be used at Fair Weather Lodge
which is a communal living supportive housing environment for folks that had experienced homelessness.
They just bought the house, they have five SRO units and they're seeing if they can add another bedroom
possibly, but they're not proceeding at the current time. They're waiting due to some rehab delays to fill
the units but otherwise the property is purchased, and they are working on the property.
For Aid to Agencies for FY20 they have served 674 unique individuals currently in emergency shelter, 99
of whom were children, 47 are non -school aged. That has also been an average of 11 people using
overflow and sleeping in the lobby of the Southgate Avenue shelter as the facility is running capacity for
the standing 70 beds. The winter shelter has maintained a nightly average capacity of 27.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROGRAM: Ryan Hoist (DVIP) reported their project was to
repair two of their parking lots that were crumbling and needed to be replaced, that has been finished.
They finished with the fence right after that, there were some hiccups on that but that had been resolved.
The fences are up and working very well, stopping through traffic, making it a lot safer. Finally, they are
now finishing up the part of the project of renovating the youth room. They are basically done with that but
are waiting on one cabinet door to be brought back. They had an issue with a manufacturing default on
one of the cabinet doors, and once that is in they'll be completely finished with the project.
DISCUSS FY21 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AND HOME PROGRAM
FUNDING REQUESTS AND CONSIDER BUDGET RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL:
Lehmann started by showing the average by points provided by each Commissioner, he also included the
individual Commissioners' rankings. Lehmann also provided a memo regarding some concerns that staff
had under the CDBG program. Most of it is tied to either applicant capacity or risk of repayment of CDBG
funds. In CDBG, the Community Development Block Grant Program, there is a required five-year period
which is called reversion of assets period. If, for whatever reason a project does not meet its need as
shown in the application for five years, then that money gets pulled out of the project. So typically that
would come by whatever the asset is for example if you helped someone buy a property, that property
would get liquidated or it would be sold off to someone else and the City would get its money back and
the City would pay HUD back. That's the typical process. In this case, Staffs concern is tied to Little
Creations Academy because we provided $109,000 last year, the project is close to being closed, but it's
not quite there yet, they still need a couple reports from Little Creations. Staff is a little concerned about if
another $78,000 is provided to Little Creations Academy then that means that the City is at risk for
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March 12, 2020
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$187,000 with non-federal funds should the agency close. The concern is that the childcare provider
space is provided by a church and there's a number of reasons why churches close or why childcares
close and in this case the childcare is located in the church building and poses a bit more of a risk
because it is difficult to get that kind of equity back out should Little Creations close within five years. Staff
just wanted the Commission to be aware of that, it doesn't mean that they can't fund it, it just means that
that's a concern to be aware of as you're making your funding decisions this year and the City needs to
be aware it is their funds they will lose should it close.
Staffs second concern is that with HOME funds, there's a similar affordability period of 5 to 15 years. It is
often described as CDBG being you're dating the person so it's a shorter -term thing and HOME is more of
a marriage where you're together for 5 to 15 years. HOME funds have a lot more requirements that are
tied to it over the long-term funding period. In this case, Unlimited Abilities as a new agency doesn't have
experience with HOME or CDBG funds and staff is a little concerned about using Home funds with
Unlimited Abilities. Again, if they don't meet their requirement over the period either they'll be forced to
sell the property, which would go back to HUD, or if something else happened then the City would be on
the hook for that money. Lehmann noted that staff did just want to put out a recommendation that if
looking at Unlimited Abilities and Little Creations, that reversion of assets only applies for over $25,000 so
they would recommend funding $25,000 as the maximum amount for those and then possibly reopening
an application round for CDBG/Home applicants if it's necessary. That's a staff recommendation again,
HCDC can recommend what it likes, and Council can recommend what it likes, but staff needs HCDC and
Council to be aware of those risks that come with those properties.
Fixmer-Oraiz noted that Unlimited Abilities, the acquisition is ranked pretty low but wants to understand
the staff concern. Lehmann stated the concern is specifically with HOME funds, and to some extent with
CDBG funds, but honestly, the reversion of assets is more of a challenge for Little Creations then
Unlimited Abilities because they're purchasing a new building so that reversion of assets should be able
to be recouped. In the case of Little Creations, the church may still exist, and no assets would be gained
even if the church sold. Fixmer-Oraiz asked if more of the concern with Unlimited Abilities was because
they had never done a project with the City before. Lehmann stated the other factors as to why Unlimited
Abilities ranked lower was because of the way that the ranking is set up. Leverage is a large part of that,
and Unlimited Abilities lost 19 points from that alone, which is a pretty big hit for the application. It did lose
points on capacity in history, it only had 4 out of 15, mostly because it didn't have experience with
CDBG/HOME funds in the past. Those are really where it lost most of its points in the application. That
staff memo was a different point on what it looks like when you have to reclaim funds.
McKinstry asked about the Little Creations application, in the chart it says a minimum of $30,000 and staff
recommended a maximum of $25,000. Lehmann stated the Consolidated Plan has a minimum written of
$30,000 for public facilities and he had written that without thinking about reversions of assets, he based
it off past public facilities projects where it used to be $50,000 minimum to get a public facilities project.
Lehmann wanted to lower it because they had applications like Old Brick where it was $36,000 so he
thought $30,000 was fair. In this case, he would recommend as they're approving the Annual Action Plan
to also amend the Consolidated Plan to be $25,000 because that allows for reversion of assets.
Lehmann said the Commission could recommend $25,000 and also recommend a substantial
amendment to the Consolidated Plan.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked why there needed to be a minimum stated. Lehmann said there had been a time
period where they were doing $5,000 projects, and they'd have 12 projects to administer. As staff
decreased in the community development department that did not become feasible, similar to what
happened with Aid to Agencies with the $15,000 minimum. HCDC could propose a different minimum
project amount, another rationale behind having a minimum was that instead of doing a project every
year, do one project every five years and have it cover a bunch of stuff. There are tradeoffs.
Eastham noted that one of the advantages of having recommendations from the staff is they give him
something to ignore. He doesn't find that reversion of assets argument at all persuasive. It's the same
risk that any applicant or any application presents to the City and he doesn't see any alarming risks from
either Little Creations or Unlimited Abilities in terms of not being able to go ahead with the projects over
the required time periods to avoid reversion. He noted the staff memo actually doesn't talk at all about
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the benefits for these projects and Little Creations presents a huge benefit to the community for a low-
cost childcare. Unlimited Abilities also presents a huge benefit to the community for group housing for the
folks that their mission is to serve. The staff of Unlimited Abilities has the same abilities and qualifications
as a staff of any other of these organizations. He is not at all concerned about the things that the staff
raised in their memo. Eastham did note he thinks it's important to support newer groups, they pose a
benefit to the communities that they're serving as well as to the general community by opening up a new
organization with new staff that can expand the overall ability to provide housing and childcare for the
community. He will be sticking with his recommendations, both in terms of scoring and with
recommended allocations.
Alter stated one of the things that she is noticing from the conversation as well as having gone through
the applications is that there seems to be almost like a paradox here that on the one hand, we want larger
projects and certainly there's need and there are the funds for it, but on the flip side, there's possibility of
risk, which she is attributing primarily, though there are other things outlined here too, to the fact that both
agencies in this case are fairly new. She also noted for instance that in the application for Little Creations
it does note in two places about past projects having been substantially delayed, but she also noticed that
there was one for Habitat that also talked about delays, but obviously the strength of that application was
different than Little Creations. So taking those two things into account along with what staff has been
describing, in conversation as well as in the memo, it seems like there's an inherent contradiction here
that the place to get larger funds that really are desperately needed in the community by different
agencies, this is the resource for the funding, and yet there's this hesitancy, at least from staffs part, to
perhaps go all in on that because of the possibility of that 5 year or 15 year possibility of the agency going
under.
Lehmann stated from the staff perspective, when it comes to compliance, local funds are the best to fund
starting agencies hands down, it's the right option because the City controls what most of the rules are
and can work within those rules to ensure that newer agencies have the flexibility to grow and to learn. In
the case of federal funds there is a lot more monitoring, if things are not done properly then funds can get
recalled, which can be challenging if funds are spent. In terms of difficulty, generally CDBG is easier to
manage than HOME. HOME in 2013 had a substantial rule change and that's made it a lot more
challenging, and they're even just learning as they do the monitoring with existing agencies, a lot of those
changes in 2013 are not necessarily there. If HUD comes to monitor, and they find us out of compliance,
there's a chance that they could recall those funds. It's a balancing act between saying we want to foster
new agencies, but we want to ensure that they are able to spend the funds without the fear of having it
recalled at some point over the compliance period.
Eastham stated if they all had that perspective then The Housing Fellowship would never gotten started.
Drabek noted one question he has for staff is he understands the risk, he doesn't understand how risky
the risk is. He understands Lehmann can't give anything close to a hard number, but for him it would
make a big difference to whether there was a 1 % chance of the funds getting recalled versus a 25%
chance of the funds getting recalled.
Lehmann stated in the case of Unlimited Abilities he has never worked with that agency and they're both
new agencies so it's hard to say, he can't give a risk amount, what he can say is that CDBG funds are
less risky to use. In the case of Little Creations, they've shown a great dedication to providing low cost
childcare, that's a great thing for low income people. But, like he said, the City would probably be less risk
averse if it hadn't happened once already in a church providing childcare situation. If someone moved
who was the champion for that to a different location or retired or anything like that, you never quite know
what happens. Lehmann reiterated he can't give any kind of risk analysis, but what staff wants to do is
make sure that you are aware that there is a risk, and then go ahead and make your recommendation
and either ignore it or make your best guess on saying you think it's going to stick it out for those five
years.
Eastham asked if the City could attach a lien to the building of the church building itself. Lehmann
confirmed the City would have a lien, but churches eventually sell their buildings and do something else.
Eastham noted the City's pretty heavily involved in taking long term commitments for housing. Eastham
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March 12, 2020
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also stated for the benefit of the Commission, he just doesn't think this is a real issue for them to
consider.
Eastham stated he does have a question about the City's South District Program. The application
indicates or some other source indicates that the staff has received 11 applications for the four units that
are currently in the program and he wonders what the racial makeup of those applicants is and where are
they living. Lehmann believes at least the two that are moving forward right now are South District
residents from Taylor Drive and are currently neighbors, so they're excited to continue being neighbors.
Lehmann noted he is not as involved with that program and does not have those numbers with him but
thought that was stated in the application. Eastham noted the number of applicants was in the application
but there was no demographic breakdown or the residency of the applicants. Lehmann said the program
is targeted towards neighbors staying in the neighborhood. He added that the expected incomes is
based off of the applicants that they currently have but obviously with one applicant at 61 to 80 and one at
31 to 50 it's not a full breakout but he believes that's representative of what they've got in applications.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked with the figures that they have today what is the average. Lehmann stated three
households are under 30%, five are 30 to 53 or 60 to 80 but he doesn't have the racial makeup.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated with the average of everything recommended, and then the expected, there's a
tiny wiggle room there and is curious where they're at with everything now that there is an average and
given the conversation she is curious if people have thoughts on anything that they want to move or
change.
McKinstry suggested to see everybody who asked for funds get some this time because of the needs that
are out there. He does take seriously all the hard work they put in on the scoring system and trying to
make the scoring system actually mean something so that when agency executives are searching for
what their next objective is they can count on if they really score high because they really push to do
those things they be rewarded. He also thinks it's very important to help out new agencies but is more
interested in the services that people actually get in the end, the people who are in need. Therefore, he
would like to see Little Creations and Unlimited Abilities get some funding but would recommend that
everything above those on the list, due to their scores, be fully funded and that they look at what remains
that isn't allocated by fully funding all those of above the bottom two and then they discussed more in
more depth the final two and that they use the HOME funds everywhere they can above the bottom two in
the ranking. If they use up all the HOME funds first and then have the CDBG funds left over for the
bottom two because there is more local flexibility and because they have more recoverability if there is a
problem.
Eastham stated he looked at the projects and what they actually accomplish. He is really pleased with the
group home projects of Successful Living, Systems Unlimited and Unlimited Abilities. They also have
though four units for the City South district and three Habitat down payment assistance projects for a total
of seven homeowner projects, which, in his mind are useful but not totally essential things for them to be
doing. Eastham agrees with McKinstry and feels maybe they're going in the same direction, but he could
certainly remove funding for one of the South district projects and one Habitat down payment assistance
project and to bring the Little Creations and Unlimited Abilities up closer to their to their application
request. He added one of the things he used in scoring Unlimited Abilities and Little Creations was the
leveraging question and the difficulty he has with the way that that leveraging question is being utilized is
that they're looking for leveraging for funds outside of the HOME and CDBG things. For him the
leveraging question should be looking for funds that are other public funds that are available to the project
or to the applications, rather than private because all the private funds are coming from the homebuyers.
Lehmann noted it is mostly like mortgages, basically the down payment.
Eastham stated he is giving credit for leveraging for money that's coming in from people that are
benefiting from project so did his points for leveraging for both Unlimited Abilities and Little Creations to
consider that balancing.
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March 12, 2020
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Lehmann noted the agreement on funding at least the top group homes and then further discussion, all
agreed.
Drabek stated he also agreed with McKinstry's general principle of using the HOME funds first for the
higher ranks. All other Commissioners agreed.
Lehmann said by doing that it that would leave $74,000 of CDBG currently open
Fixmer-Oraiz asked him to calculate the Unlimited Abilities and Little Creations amounts
Drabek noted Eastham wanted to take money from that third Habitat request and then move it to Little
Creations or Unlimited Abilities. Eastham agreed noting that still give two Habitat down payment projects
funded.
Lehmann noted if they do that it would leave $27,000 which could be used for Habitat.
Alter noted she may be in the minority here with the South District, she realizes that one of them is funded
but was very taken by a discussion or presentation by Habitat a couple of years ago about the impact
because it was at that time a low priority and hadn't gotten a whole lot of consensus about getting
funding. The explanation that they provided us was about the sort of the ripple effect of impact on
homeownership and legacy and bolstering up of neighborhoods. South District, particularly on Taylor and
Davis, as Eastham has long fought and been an avid advocate for, really allowing the neighborhood to
actually have the potential for home ownership is crucial in the long term but in particular right now
because there's actually a lot of violent interaction there. She feels there are multiple ways in which the
neighborhood can be strengthened and that don't necessarily have to rely on police action. She is not
saying if one is to buy a home they don't have to call the police but that there needs to be other props in
place to help strengthen that neighborhood. She thinks that both projects should go through and she
realizes it's about risk because this is a new project, but the flip side is that they saw what was done with
the one set of units, it's really tremendous. She noted there seems to be consensus on funding at least
one she wanted to put that out there to fund both. They have done away with priority rankings and her
fear is that something that's really looking forward towards future stability and strength is going to always
get pushed down in favor of a more critical need, but both are tremendously important.
McKinstry noted he is in agreement and thinks homeownership has a stabilizing effect on whole
generations of families in whole neighborhoods and it extends further than just the family that lives within
the walls. As he already stated he'd rather see the Habitat and South District things fully funded.
McKinstry also noted for many years he was pastor of a congregation that had childcare, it was a
HeadStart program, and a lot of federal funding helped. They shared the kitchen, the dishwasher, the
range so he understands and is in great sympathy with the need for Little Creations to be funded.
Eastham stated he is not inclined to overlook group home support, or down payment assistance or home
ownership, his argument is that Council has funds that they can put into homeownership both in the
South District and Habitat projects beyond the CDBG and HOME amounts. If Council was persuaded
that the South District homeownership project or Habitat's down payment assistance project is a great
boom to the community they have available money in other parts of the City budget to put into those
efforts.
Fixmer-Oraiz noted the Commission has gone to City Council several times now requesting additional
funds. She agrees the City South District is a very strong component because they need neighborhood
stabilization in that district, which also shows in the scoring. She agrees there are other funding but is
just not sure who's going to take up that mantle at this juncture.
Drabek discussed the scenario with the numbers shown as everything fully funded and use the remaining
CDBG and allocate it towards the two organizations left.
Fixmer-Oraiz questioned is if those two organizations are not fully funded will they still be able to move
forward with their projects. Lehmann stated for Unlimited Abilities they could perhaps purchase one
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March 12, 2020
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home instead of two and Little Creations would just buy whatever they could with the allocation they
receive.
Alter stated that Unlimited Abilities said in their application they could purchase a home for $75,000 and
she sounded pretty confident that there was some way that that was going to work. Therefore, Alter's
recommendation is to fund one home.
Fixmer-Oraiz noted that Systems Unlimited is such a great organization and they're asking for $100,000.
They also have a fairly robust ability to leverage funds from what she recalls so what if they funded them
at most but not all, somewhere in the range of $74,000 or $75,000 and then that would free up other
funds for the other organizations. Lehmann stated already bought the lot, their project budget is
$478,000, the lot purchase is $65,000, engineering and design and then home construction for $375,000.
Fixmer-Oraiz said they're asking for $100,000 which would be spread throughout those specifics and if it
were somewhere in the vicinity of $75,000 then they would be able to get a lot purchased plus have a bit
extra.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked is there anything the Commission needed to know from any of the organizations.
Lehmann noted there has been some of the more recent projects delayed a little bit so that FY20
Successful Living acquisitions have gone forward smoothly, Successful Living's rehab has been a little
slower, Habitat's FY20 has switched to a down payment assistance model, so we're not as involved in the
construction so he doesn't know where those projects are as much. With South District, the challenge
they've had, especially since they've been looking in the area and prioritizing lower income folks, it's hard
to get them qualified with a mortgage and because it's a new program, working with lenders, get them to
understand what the down payment assistance situation looks like, and what's getting forgiven and what
the costs are is challenging. With Systems Unlimited the City doesn't have an active project with them,
The Housing Fellowship has a bunch of properties, they're pretty well known, and they have a good
compliance. Little Creations has been, especially with the new contractor on that last part of the contract
went pretty smooth. Lehmann wanted to reiterate he is not worried about the project getting done or
anything, he has no problems with that. He noted it's been an unfortunate situation where they've been
delayed this time so now they're just waiting on reports from Little Creations to submit that and they can
close that out. Lehmann noted those were just general thoughts, no real concerns.
Drabek asked without discussing any specific number here he thinks that the general principle of what is
suggested is good. He stated it rewards the higher scoring applicants, it gives money to every agency, it
appropriately balances the CDBG versus HOME funds.
Lehmann noted one additional thing that might be of interest to the Commission is with the new
Consolidated Plan, they are de -obligating old funds that don't get spent on economic development within
two years. They have been trying to push childcare as their economic development activity but will likely
have funds that will be de -obligated in CDBG, which could then be reallocated and could retroactively
fund an agency more. It is not a promise, and the Commission could also do a funding round it would just
depend on how HCDC wanted to approach that based on the policies that are in the Consolidated Plan.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked when that would be. Lehmann stated it would be July 1 unless projects come
through right at the end over the next three months, he believes that it would be around $60,000.
Eastham wants to understand what the boost in proposed allocations are again, Lehmann stated the
proposed allocations right now are full funding for Successful Living's three acquisitions, Housing
Fellowship CHDO, Habitat's three purchases or down payment assistance, Systems Unlimited new
construction and then the City's South District program projects. Then for Unlimited Abilities acquisition
would be $75,000 and Little Creations would be $24,000 and the Commission would have to amend the
Consolidated Plan with a smaller amount. Eastman stated he would not approve only $24,000 for Little
Creations as it doesn't make any sense to him. He said they could move one of the Habitat down
payment assistance proposals and increase the Little Creation amount.
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March 12, 2020
Page 9 of 14
Drabek noted there is one very small change that would eliminate the necessity of asking for an
amendment to the Consolidated Plan and that would be moving $6,000 in CDBG funds from City South
District to Little Creations. That would bring the amount to $30,000.
Eastham noted that $30,000 still below the average allocation of $40,000. He also stated affordable
childcare is a major need in the community and one which there is substantial efforts being conducted by
a number of groups in the community to address.
Lehmann noted with the Little Creations project the hood is $28,000 roughly by itself, then there's
electrical, plumbing, gas range for $3,000, three parts sink for $1,600, commercial dishwasher for around
$9,000 and a number of site preparation stuff and then some of the developer oversight stuff.
Drabek noted then the allocation of $30.000 would be roughly the amount of the hood budget. Or
Lehmann noted the dishwasher, sink, range and plumbing.
Fixmer-Oraiz also noted to keep in mind that in July there may be another $60,000 that could be
reallocated. Lehmann confirmed that is what they're anticipating.
Eastham noted that $60,000 could also use for down payment assistance on one of the other
homeownership projects. Lehmann acknowledge it could be for any unfunded project or to fully fund a
project or a competitive round could be opened. Eastham suggested reducing the number of home
ownership projects. Lehmann stated that would require shifting HOME to Unlimited Abilities and then
moving Unlimited Abilities CDBG down and he stated that blending funding is challenging and best to fully
fund with one source of funds as they've had issues in the past. Lehmann stated they're trying to make it
easier, but it's not easy and even experienced agencies do not always comply properly, and he would
recommend against doing it.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked what if they fully fund Little Creations, she agrees with Eastham and has actually
spent quite amount of time on the Johnson County Child Care Coalition and childcare is a serious need in
the community for many reasons, so is there a way to just take one of Habitat's down payment assistance
and move it over to Little Creations.
Lehmann stated if they wanted to go this route he would recommend on down payment for Habitat under
CDBG and one under HOME.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked if the Commission could ask a question of Unlimited Abilities since they are in the
audience. She asked if this was to go through and they get half of the funding now and half of the funding
later, is that an issue in terms of timing, given the project that they have.
Shirley Trample (Unlimited Abilities) replied she doesn't think it would be.
Lehmann state he would also propose if they were to do that, they still swap out the HOME for CDBG and
Habitat can be funded with CDBG.
Alter moved to recommend the following FY21 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and
HOME Program budget to City Council totaling $448,000 HOME and $105,000 CDBG:
Project
CDBG
OME
Successful Living Acquisition #1
$0
48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #2
$0
48,000
Successful Living Acquisition #3
$0
48,000
110
The Housing Fellowship CHDO Ops
$0
20,000
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #1
$0
30,000
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #3
$27,000
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March 12, 2020
Page 10 of 14
Habitat Down Payment Assistance #2
$0
0
Systems Unlimited New Construction
$0
100,000
City South District #2
$0
50,000
City South District #1
$0
44,000
Unlimited Abilities Acquisition
$0
60,000
Little Creations Public Facility
$78,000
0
Total Allocation:
$105,000
448,000
Eastham seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 5-1 (McKinstry opposed).
DISCUSS FY21 EMERGING AID TO AGENCIES (EA2A) FUNDING REQUESTS AND CONSIDER
BUDGET RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL:
Lehmann noted the budget for EA2A is $25,000 and he showed the averages. He noted that Successful
Living snow/mow is below the $5,000 minimum. Otherwise, if they funded everything, it would all hit that
$5,000 minimum. Lehmann noted all requests are above the minimum and noted that two Successful
Livings requests are technically over the maximum.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked it agencies could put in multiple applications. Lehmann said the guidance that they
have so far is that there's a minimum and there's a maximum, but they haven't talked about multiple
applications. CDBG/HOME agencies got guidance to put in one application for every property that they
want to purchase with the idea that it would be easier to allocate funds.
Eastham noted the Successful Living snow removal thing just failed to excite him so he moved the $2,250
down to Unlimited Abilities.
Fixmer-Oraiz stated that for people who have access or accessibility problems, not having clear
sidewalks, entryways, and driveways is an issue. It is also a strain on their staff who's having to go
around to all of these properties, so she thought it was actually a good investment. Lehmann noted that
Successful Living is typically chronic mental disabilities, but it does include physical disabilities as well.
Alter stated she was trying to look at this through the lens of why emerging aid to agencies was its own
separate allocation pot and the purpose of having the emerging aid to agency was really to try and fund
organizations that were trying to emerge and getting off of their feet. Which is also the question she had
about Grow Johnson County, haven't they previously been funded. They always have great application,
and it's certainly a worthy cause but at what point are they emerging anymore. Similarly, Successful
Living is the same. It's not that she doesn't think it's worthy and people do need to get around, but rather
to reflect on why we had the categories separated. And in that case, Houses into Homes definitely
qualifies and Unlimited Abilities as well.
Eastham stated an option would be to fund Unlimited Abilities and Houses and Homes as genuine
emerging aid and then devote the remainder back to the other HOME/CDBG projects. Other
Commissioners agreed to that.
Alter also stated it's incumbent upon the Commission to be a little bit clearer on the application as to what
emerging aid category is and what that means. They need a clarification statement on the application so
they don't waste people's time. She apologizes to those organizations that it really was a failure of the
Commission.
Eastham is proposing to fund Unlimited Abilities and Houses and Homes and have the remaining $8,262
go the legacy agency projects and be divided equally per agency.
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March 12, 2020
Page 11 of 14
Eastham moved to recommend the following FY21 Emerging Aid to Agencies budget to City
Council totaling $16,738 and dividing the remaining $8,262 among Legacy Aid to Agencies
applicants (totaling $459 per agency):
Grow Johnson County - FY21 Season
$0
Houses into Homes - Inventory Mgt
$5,438
Successful Living - Snow/Mow
$0
Successful Living - Software
$0
Unlimited Abilities - Operations
$11,300
Total Allocation:
$16,738
Alter seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0.
DISCUSS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WEEK ACTIVITIES:
Lehmann noted Community Development week is held annually, it's a time to celebrate the projects that
are funded by CDBG and HOME and it's a way to get out the word so the Commission can see what's
happening. Last year they did those tours of the agencies but are now doing that now on a more
personalized basis. There has also in the past been things where the Commission has decided to put on
an event or awards, a celebration, it is up to the Commission if that is something that they want to take
on. If the Commission is interested in doing that, they can create a subcommittee or discuss. Probably
the easiest thing to do is to create a subcommittee and organize something that way.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked if there was an interested in creating a subcommittee to come up with some ideas
that people want to do, however she acknowledged #Coronavirus. They probably don't want to devote
scads of time into something that ultimately may not happen.
Lehmann suggested doing something like posters or social media. Fixmer-Oraiz noted she has kicked
around this idea of communities of care and could really fit in something like what Lehmann was saying of
posters. She had originally envisioned it as letters of care and it would be basically love letters to our
partner organizations. However she is not sure if letters fall under spreading coronavirus. They could do
emails of care. She came up with that idea while she was sitting in the meeting with the City and with the
Agency Impact Coalition, it was very tense but then there was this moment of hey, we're people, and
we're really trying to do good work. She just thought there's an opportunity there to tell that story in a way
that's actually recognizing the work that our care providers provide do is really from a loving place.
Lehman suggested as Commissioners, they have their meetings with each agency and how about after
those meetings they write letters thanking them for the work that they do.
Alter asked if the audience is just those agencies. Fixmer-Oraiz stated she was trying to get the public to
write the letters but obviously it's easier if we just do it because it actually will get done. It was also a way
for the City to potentially be a drop off point for the City to receive the letters to them and showing it is full
circle of the City and the agencies working together in the eye of the public. Fixmer-Oraiz wondered if
there could be something on the City website where people could just write a quick note.
Consensus to agree to develop a subcommittee to flesh out ideas.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked since they are not promoting large group gatherings at this point, can they potentially
move to another week. Lehmann stated it is a nationally recognized week, but they can have a local
community development week.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 12, 2020
Page 12 of 14
CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: FEBRUARY 20.2020:
Eastham moved to approve the minutes of February 20, 2020. Kealey seconded and a vote was taken
and the motion passed 6-0.
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION:
Lehmann noted the next meeting will be on April 16 at 6:30pm in Senior Center room 202. Agenda will
be monitoring updates on Little Creations, Successful Living and The Housing Fellowship, they will
discuss projects not conforming with the unsuccessful delayed projects policy, which at this point he
believes is only Old Brick and they've actually gotten word from the HUD rep and are moving ahead so
very excited about that. They will also review of the FY21 Annual Action Plan and then review of the
Citizen Participation Plan update. One thing that staff has been doing is going through the Citizen
Participation Plan and will put it as an appendix to the Consolidated Plan as well. They will also consider
amendments to the Consolidated Plan, such as the public facilities amount, if that's something the
Commission wants to pursue. He asked it there anything else to add to the agenda.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked to discuss the method of the meeting on April 16 as she doesn't think they should
meet in person. Lehmann said the City has not yet had consideration for Commission's or Committees
meeting virtually but imagines that will change relatively soon. Fixmer-Oraiz asked if they could us Skype
or Zoom. Lehmann said they can do digital meetings so long as it is on any open meeting software like
Skype or Zoom. He noted there's some additional rules that come with that but for the most part it's going
to be the same they just have to make sure that they're posting all the information so that everyone can
participate.
Eastham added at some point, he'd like to talk about the Agency Impact Coalition but would not
necessarily want to do that at an electronic meeting and rather do it in person.
Lehmann noted that there is not an HCDC meeting scheduled in June, April will likely be an online
meeting, May could as well. They need to have the April meeting but in May they don't necessarily need
to meet however that could mean the next meeting would be July.
Lehmann also wanted to pass on information from Shelter House, currently the guidance from HUD as to
how to deal with the outbreak within a shelter situation versus other situations has not been terribly useful
up to this point and so Shelter House is looking for any ideas, right now the City is trying to work through
this but it's a challenging situation.
Lehmann also noted the City is also trying to figure out how to use public facilities right now, the model is
mostly a disaster recovery situation, but this is different than relocating someone from a floodplain, or
flood impacted area.
Eastham assumes Shelter House has looked at the Department of Public Health and the State
Department. Lehmann confirmed they have and there is some guidance out of LA County that's better
than HUDs but I mean, it's very different place by place and the shelters are a challenging situation.
Shelter House is also looking for donations of sanitary supplies because obviously they're going through a
lot of those and it's out at a lot of places.
McKinstry pointed out that the Meals on Wheels people have already made sure that all of their clients
have seven days of their normal support services food on hand which was really cool but they don't know
where the money for that is going to come from for sure but they went ahead and did it, even though it
wasn't in their budget. He stated it was good they looked at the emergency funding last month, because
he is sure there's going to be some requests for reimbursement from some of the agencies who are really
getting ahead of things and spending money they don't have in order to try to avoid some cataclysm with
their clientele.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 12, 2020
Page 13 of 14
Lehmann noted in terms of agency liaison meetings, McKinstry is done with his visits, Fixmer-Oraiz has
April and May, does Eastham want June and July to get them done. Fixmer-Oraiz said she may have to
push back her visits due to COVID-19. Lehmann agreed and suggested they delay until June and just
plan on starting in June.
Final announcements, Lehmann has accepted a different position at the City of Iowa City and will be
transitioning to the long-range planner position. He will work closely with his successor to make sure that
things transition smoothly and will actually be transitioning March 24. The position is open right now till
March 25 if you know of anyone who would be interested in applying for a community development
planner position.
ADJOURNMENT:
Alter moved to adjourn. Kealey seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 6-0.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 12, 2020
Page 14 of 14
Housing and Community
Development Commission
Attendance Record
Name
Terms Exp.
7/11
8/15
9/19
10/17
12/19
2/20
3/12
= Vacant
Aguilar, Peggy
6/30/22
■
X
X
O/E
X
X
O/E
Alter, Megan
6/30/21
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
Drabek, Matt
6/30/22
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
Eastham, Charlie
6/30/20
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Fixmer-Oraiz, V
6/30/20
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
Kealey, Lyn Dee Hook
6/30/22
O/E
X
O/E
O/E
X
X
X
McKinstry, John
6/30/20
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
Nkumu, Peter
6/30/22
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
X
O/E
Padron, Maria
6/30/20
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
O/E
• Resigned from Commission
Kew.
X
= Present
O
= Absent
O/E
= Absent/Excused
---
= Vacant
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Human Rights Commission: February 18
Item Number: 4.d.
Approved Minutes
Human Rights Commission
City Hall, Helling Conference Room
February 18, 2020
Members Present: Ashley Lindley, Bijou Maliabo, Jessica Andino, Jason
Glass, Cathy McGinnis.
Not Present: Zachary Rochester, Noemi Ford, Mark Pries, Adil
Adams.
Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers.
Recommendation to Council: No.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:41 PM
Approval of the January 21, 2020 meetina minutes: Glass moved, and the motion was
seconded by Lindley. Motion carried 5-0.
Women's History Month Proclamation: Commissioner Lindley will accept the
proclamation at the March 3, 2020 City Council meeting on behalf of the Commission.
Funding Request: Night of 1000 Dinners: The Commission approved giving $300.00 to
this annual event that is held in honor of International Women's Day. The program
includes an international buffet and recognizes 3 local groups founded by, led by, and/or
serving women. It will be held on March 11, 2020 at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center
in the Social Hall. Glass moved, and the motion was seconded by McGinnis. Motion
carried 4-0. (Andino abstained due to a conflict).
Funding Request: DVIP 40th Anniversary Conference: The Commission approved the
request in the amount of $390.00. DVIP will be hosting this conference that is open to
community members and professionals to celebrate 40 years of serving victims of
domestic violence. It will be held at the Coralville Marriott on April 28, 29, 2020. Glass
moved, and the motion was seconded by McGinnis. Motion carried 4-0. (Andino
abstained due to a conflict).
Funding Request: Health Equity Advancement Lab UI College of Public Health: The
Commission approved the request in the amount of $400.00. This Summit will focus on
health inequities related to the criminal justice system via a community focused event,
created to bring Iowa City community members to the University of Iowa and provide a
platform for local projects to be highlighted on a larger scale. Glass moved, and the
motion was seconded by McGinnis. Motion carried 4-0. (Andino abstained due to a
conflict).
Page 1
International Transgender Day of Visibility: Chair McGinnis will accept the
proclamation on behalf of the Commission at the City Council meeting of March 24, 2020.
Youth Job Fair: On March 6, 2020, the City along with Iowa Works and Vocational
Rehabilitation Services will be hosting a youth job fair to be held at the Robert A. Lee
Recreation Center in the gymnasium. Commissioners, Glass, Maliabo, and McGinnis will
plan to attend to assist with the event.
March Meeting Date: Commissioners opted to hold its March meeting on the scheduled
date of March 17, 2020. Commissioner Glass will be unable to attend due to spring break
commitments.
Anti LGBTQ Bills: Commission staff spoke on bills currently pending in the Iowa House
and Senate that would allow a business to deny services to LGBTQ persons based on a
religious exemption.
Committees & Strategic Planning: This item will be placed on the March agenda for
Commissioners to discuss in more detail.
Black History Month Proclamation: Commissioner Glass accepted this proclamation
on behalf of the Commission at the City Council meeting of February 4, 2020.
Youth Awards: Save the date May 13, 2020.
Human Rights Breakfast: Save the date October 21, 2020.
Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 6:33 PM. (Due to lack of a quorum).
Page 2
Member Attendance Sheet
Member
Term
1/7
1/21
2/18 3/17 4/21 5/19 6/16 7/21 8/18 9/15 10/20
Maliabo
1/2021
Present
Present
Present
McGinnis
1/2021
Present
Present
Present
Rochester
1/2021
Present
Present
Excused
Adams
1/2022
Excused
Present
Excused
Andino
1/2022
Present
Present
Present
Ford
1/2022
Present
Present
Excused
Lindley
1/2023
Present
Excused
Present
Glass
1/2023
Present
Present
Present
Pries
1/2023
Present I
Presentl
Excused
Page 3
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Library Board of Trustees: February 27
Item Number: 4.e.
Qww IOWA CITY
4Fw. PUBLIC LIBRARY
123 S. Linn St. • Iowa City, IA 52240
319-356-5200 • icpl.org
HOURS: Mon-Thurs 10-9, Fri 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of the Regular Meeting FINAL APPROVED
February 27, 2020, 2020
Members Present: Wesley Beary, Kellee Forkenbrock, Derek Johnk, Robin Paetzold, Tom Rocklin,
Hannah Shultz.
Members Absent: John Beasley, Carol Kirsch, Monique Washington.
Staff Present: Kara Logsden, Patty McCarthy, Elyse Miller, Jason Paulios.
Guests Present: None.
Call Meeting to Order. President Beary called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
Public Discussion. None.
Items for Discussion/Action.
Nominating Committee. President Beary said the group will put together the slate for potential officers.
The Board members serve overlapping three-year terms, which can be more challenging than it appears
to fill the slate of officers. President Beary said having someone who has served before as well as a new
Board member on the Committee has been a successful model . He will draw names if he hasn't heard
from interested members in a week. He said the process takes the Committee approximately two
meetings and then the slate gets put forward and voted upon. New terms begin on July 1, 2020, the
start of the new fiscal year.
Staff Reports.
Director's Report. Congratulations to Jason Paulios upon his appointment as ICPL's new Adult Services
Coordinator.
Departmental Reports:
Children's Services. Johnk said the program was Ilamazing; a madhouse, and warmed the heart to see
how the library demonstrated its vision through programming.
Collection Services. Innovative consultant has been here this week.
IT. No comments.
If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Elyse Miller,
Iowa City Public Library, at 319-887-6003 or elyse-millerPiWt orq. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow
sufficient time to meet your access needs.
Development Office. McCarthy thanked Kirsch and Paetzold for their assistance. The wine tasting event
raised nearly $500, which is up a bit from last year. There will be a gig book sale on Saturday. The
Friends Foundation seeks new board members, particularly people with financial expertise and event
planning experience. Please direct interested individuals to McCarthy. These are three-year terms,
beginning on July 1, 2020. The March Eat Out to Read partnership will be at Hudson's on March 25. The
Looking Forward event is scheduled for April 23`d , at 7:00 pm (after the Board meeting), at the Englert
Theatre. The Tuesday Agency is sponsoring the party.
Spotlight on the Collection. No comments.
Miscellaneous. No comments.
President's Report. President Beary said there was not much to report this month. He said the
Director's Evaluation Subcommittee work has gone well and is ready for next month.
Announcements from Members. None.
Committee Reports.
Friends Foundation. Discussed next steps for developing the Friends Foundation strategic plan. The
Committee meets again in March.
Communications. None.
Consent Agenda.
A. Approve Regular Minutes of the Library Board of Trustees January 23, 2020 meeting.
B. Approve Disbursements for January, 2020.
A motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Johnk and seconded by Forkenbrock.
Motion carried 6/0.
Set Agenda Order for March Meeting.
Director evaluation.
Policy review.
Adjournment. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Beary. Motion carried 6/0.
President Beary closed the meeting at 5:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Elyse Miller
If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Elyse Miller,
Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or elyse-miller@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow
sufficient time to meet your access needs.
Board or Commission: ICPL Board of Trustees
ATTENDANCE RECORD
12 Month
*March 26, 2020 meeting cancelled; beginning of COVID-19 pandemic
KEY:
X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting
M eting Date
Name
Term
Expiration
4/25/19
5/23/19
6/27/19
17/25/19
8/22/19
9/26/19
10/24/19
11/21/19
12/19/19
1/23/20
02/27/20.1
4/23/20
Diane Baker
6/30/19
x
X
O/E
Off Board
Wesley Beary
6/30/21
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
John Beasley
6/30/21
X
X
X
X
o
X
X
X
X
X
o
X
Kellee
Forkenbrock
6/30/23
X
O/E
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
Janet Freeman
6/30/19
X
X
X
Off Board
Derek Johnk
6/30/25
Not on Board
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
Carol Kirsch
6/30/23
X
X
X
O/E
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
Robin Paetzold
6/30/23
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
Tom Rocklin
6/30/25
Not on Board
X
O
X
O/E
x
X
X
X
X
Hannah Shultz
6/30/25
Not on Board
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
4
Jay Semel
6/30/19
X
X
X
Off Board
Monique
Washington
6/30/21
X
X
X
X
XX
X
X
X
X
O/E
OE
*March 26, 2020 meeting cancelled; beginning of COVID-19 pandemic
KEY:
X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Senior Center Commission: February 20
Item Number: 4.f.
Approved Minutes
February 20, 2020
MINUTES
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
February 20, 2020
ROOM 205, IOWA CITY/JOHNSON COUNTY SENIOR CENTER
Members Present: Lorraine Dorfman, Scott Finlayson, Zach Goldsmith, Angela
McConville, George Nelson, Linda Vogel, Paula Vaughan
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: LaTasha DeLoach, Kristin Kromray, Ashley Monroe
Others Present: Allie O'Connell
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by Dorfman at 4:00 PM.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL:
None.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE January 16. 2020 MEETING:
Motion: To accept the minutes from the January 16, 2020. Motion carried on
a vote of 7/0. Goldsmith/Vogel
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
Assistant City Manager, Ashley Monroe is on the Census 2020 Complete Count
Committee, whose goal is to spread awareness for the upcoming census. She
explained the importance of the census and how federal money is allocated
based on the information gathered. The census begins April 1 st. Citizens will be
able to do the census online and then reminders will be sent before a paper copy
is sent.
COMMISSION ASSIGNMENTS:
Vogel will attend an upcoming City council meeting. Nelson noted there is a City
Council listening post on 2/27/2020 at the Senior Center and it might be nice to
have commissioners attend.
OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW:
Approved Minutes
February 20, 2020
DeLoach reported the request for proposal for the building assessment will be
coming before City Council in the next month.
The Senior Center survey is off to a good start. The cut of date is March 1 st. The
Senior Center mailed 5000 surveys as well as having the opportunity to do the
survey digitally as well. Once the results are tabulated a public meeting may be
held to discuss results.
DeLoach has an idea about a senior center in a box. She is formulating this idea
and will have additional information later.
COMMISSION DISCUSSION:
The commission discussed the demographics in the packet and whether they
would like to see them on a more frequent basis.
Motion: To receive demographic information on an annual basis. Motion
carried on a vote of 7/0. Goldsmith/Dorfman
Emily Edrington submitted a pantry report. Amazon gifted the Senior Center all
items on our wish list in December. Pantry is available to anyone in the
community and has been in place for over a year now. Approximately 100
pounds of food are received every week. Nelson would like to see fresh fruits and
vegetables through table to table be utilized. DeLoach noted that she had been in
contact with Table to Table. She stated we need to be a little careful with
perishable items due to the limitations we have. But she agrees it will be nice to
have some fresh options there as well. The Senior Center did partner with
Horizons last summer and received vegetables and fruit that they could not use.
Vaughan mentioned that the community gardens might be a good partnership.
Intern, Allie O'Connell, is working on an op ed for the newspaper regarding the
first year of the pantry.
Finlayson will bring a survey to the next commission meeting. He is hoping to see
what other community organizations commissions are involved with in the hope
of networking to spread information about the Senior Center. He is working on
making name tags for the commissioners.
McConville, reported the partnership with the Senior Center and North Liberty is
going well with people attending the classes in North Liberty and routinely noting
the information in the program guide.
Vogel noted that Artisan's gallery may be interested a in a partnership with the
Senior Center.
OA
Approved Minutes
February 20, 2020
Future agenda items:
- Discuss ways the Commission might get more involved. Add vision discussion to
all commission agendas
- Discuss 3 years of demographic data from fiscal years 2017-2019
Motion: To Adjourn. Motion carried on a vote of 7/0. Goldsmith/Vaughan
Approved Minutes
February 20, 2020
Senior Center Commission Attendance Record
Name
Term Expires
3/21/19
4/25/19
5/16/19
6/20/19
7/18/19
8/14/19
9/19/19
10/17/19
11/21/19
12/19/19
1/16/20
2/20/20
Kenn Bowen
12/31/19
NM
X
X
NM
X
X
NM
NM
NM
X
--
--
Cheryll Clamon
12/31/19
NM
X
X
NM
X
X
--
--
--
--
--
--
Lorraine
Dorfman
12/31/21
NM
O/E
X
NM
O/E
X
NM
NM
NM
X
X
X
Robert (Scott)
Finlayson
12/31/20
NM
X
O/E
NM
O/E
X
NM
NM
NM
X
X
X
Zach Goldsmith
12/31/21
NM
X
X
NM
X
X
NM
NM
NM
X
X
X
Angela
McConville
12/31/21
--
X
X
NM
X
X
NM
NM
NM
X
X
X
George Nelson
12/31/22
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
X
X
Paula Vaughan
12/31/22
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
O/E
X
Linda Vogel
12/31/20
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
X
X
Hiram (Rick)
Webber
12/31/19
NM
X
X
NM
X
O/E
NM
NM
NM
O/E
--
--
Key: X =
Present
O =
Absent
O/E =
Absent/Excused
NM =
No meeting
-- =
Not a member
Item Number: 4.g.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Telecommunications Commission: January 27
APPROVED
Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
01/27/2020 Meeting Minutes
Page 1 of 4
Minutes
Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
January 27, 2020 — 5:30 P.M.
City of Iowa City Cable TV Office, 10 S. Linn St. - Tower Place, Level 3A
Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 5:30 P.M.
Members Present: Matthew Brenton, Adam Stockman, Andrew Austin
Members Absent: Gina Reyes, Kyla Paterson
Staff Present: Ty Coleman
Others Present:
Recommendations to Council: None
Approval of Minutes:
Stockman moved and Austin seconded a motion to approve the December 16, 2019 minutes as
presented. The motion passed unanimously.
Announcements of Commissioners:
None.
Short Public Announcements:
None.
Municipal Broadband Research:
Brenton said he had been reading more about the coming of 5G noting that it is forecasted to be a
game -changer in broadband, but wants to find more concrete information. Stockman asked if Brenton
knew of a rough timeline for when 5G would become more prominent. Brenton said it would be within
the next ten years for sure.
Austin commented that U.S. Cellular has an option for in-home WiFi using mobile towers, though not
using 5G technology at the moment. Austin said it didn't seem to be as good of an option price -wise
and in terms of quality as other broadband services in the area. He said 5G is just starting to be rolled
out in very large cities and that he has read of challenges some efforts have faced already with regard
to 5G signal transmission.
Austin said he sent an email to the New York City mesh network group he had found but has not yet
received a response. He said the group does have a book on how to create a mesh network.
Stockman said he received a response from Curtis Dean from the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
(IAMU) and was given the list of contacts for municipal broadband networks in Iowa. He said the next
step is to send the survey to the contacts in order to learn more about their networks.
Stockman said Dean also sent him information about a bill that was introduced recently that could pose
another challenge for existing municipal broadband networks as well as for communities looking into
municipal broadband. Austin said the bill might demonstrate that municipal broadband is something
current providers are concerned about. Brenton said the information, included in the meeting packet,
indicated that the bill is attempting to divorce telecommunications utilities from other utilities. Brenton
asked if Stockman had received any additional information about why the IAMU's interpretation is that
the bill is anti-competitive. Stockman said he did not receive information about this.
APPROVED
Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
09/27/2020 Meeting Minutes
Page 2 of 4
One part of the bill that Stockman said caught his attention is that municipal broadband providers
wouldn't be able to advertise their broadband service within customer bills for other utilities or services.
Stockman said he could see how this would aid in creating a level playing field between municipalities
and commercial providers.
Stockman said he did not see any information regarding a timeline for the bill. Brenton said perhaps
there would be time to look further into it before the next Telecommunications Commission meeting,
then decide if the Commission would want to recommend any action from the City Council. Brenton
said the Commission had made a similar effort in the past for the net neutrality issue, for which they
asked the Council to voice its support for opposing related legislation that had been proposed.
Brenton said that if the Commission was to decide that the bill was unfair or could restrict the creation of
a municipal network, it could make the recommendation that the City Council voice its opposition.
Austin said the Commission may want to consider whether the bill has any effect on the access to those
who don't currently have proper broadband access, noting the small pocket within Iowa City that did not
appear to have access to broadband services. He asked if the bill could reduce the cost of internet
access or improve access for students and other groups. He said that such factors could align more
with the City's priorities.
Brenton said the issue could be put onto the next Telecommunications Commission meeting agenda for
further discussion in order to decide whether or not taking action is needed. He said the group could
hold a special meeting if the timeline seemed to indicate the bill was moving through the process
quickly.
Austin asked if it was confirmed that there was an area of Iowa City where residents did not have
access to broadband as defined by the FCC. He said that improving access to broadband is an
important part of what the Commission is researching. Brenton said it was a mobile home park next to
the area formerly known as Dolphin Cove. He said the group was unsure if this area was actually
without access to service. Coleman said that Reyes indicated at the last Commission meeting she
would look further into how the data was collected for the broadband coverage map she had found.
Austin asked for more information about the Iowa Communications Network (ICN). Brenton said from
what he read, municipal broadband did not fall within the list of acceptable uses for the ICN system.
Austin asked if delivering information to the City Council sometime in March was a realistic goal. He
also asked if the recommendation would include continuing to look into municipal broadband.
Stockman said his impression was that after the Telecommunications Commission presents its findings
to Council, the Council would decide whether or not it was worth further investigation. He said that if
the Council decides to look further into the possibilities, it would most likely be a group or business
outside of the Telecommunications Commission doing the work. Brenton said the Commission could
recommend looking further into the issue, but that simply presenting information to the Council would be
an option. He said the Council could decide to create an advisory board, as proposed by the
Commission earlier last year, to seek a professional consultant, or to pass on further investigation.
Stockman said it would be good to include information found that deals with access to broadband.
Austin said this aligned with the City's plans to increase accessibility, noting that access to reliable
internet can help in a lot of ways. Brenton said he would reach out again to the members of the
Community Internet Project who had come to a Commission meeting in the past. He said the group
had been focused on accessibility at that time and was working to improve access for students by
partnering with the schools. Austin asked if a question about accessibility could be included in the
survey to be sent to Iowa communities who have municipal broadband. Austin said the contacts could
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be asked whether the municipalities considered accessibility when deciding to build their own networks
and whether they had any related data to share.
Consumer Issues:
Brenton noted that the two issues found in the Cable Complaints Report in the meeting packet had
been resolved.
City Cable TV Office Report:
Coleman referred to the report the Cable TV Office had submitted in the meeting packet. He noted that
Cable TV Office staff would be covering a number of annual programs in the coming weeks, including
the Johnson County Local Food Policy Council forum, the Compeer Program's Sound of Friendship
Concert, the Prairie Preview event keynote, and the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce's Annual
Banquet.
Adjournment:
Stockman moved and Austin seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
Adjournment was at 6:10 p.m.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
12 -MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD
(x) = Present (o) = Absent (o/c) = Absent/Called (Excused)
Gowder
Paterson
Brenton
Pierce
resignation
Stockman
02/25/2019
x
vacant
x
x
o/c
Reyes
03/25/2019
resignation
o/c
x
x
x
04/22/2019
vacant
x
x
x
o/c
06/03/2019
Meeting not held due
to lack of quorum.
vacant
_
_
_
_
06/24/2019
vacant
x
x
x
o
Austin
07/22/2019
x
x
x
x
resignation
08/26/2019
o/c
x
x
x
vacant
Paterson
09/23/2019
x
x
x
x
o
10/28/2019
x
x
o/c
x
o
11/25/2019
o/c
x
x
x
o
12/16/2019
o/c
x
x
x
o
01/27/2020
x
o/c
x
x
o
(x) = Present (o) = Absent (o/c) = Absent/Called (Excused)
Item Number: 4.h.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
May 5, 2020
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Telecommunications Commission: February 24
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02/24/2020 Meeting Minutes
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Minutes
Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
February 24, 2020— 5:30 P.M.
City of Iowa City Cable TV Office, 10 S. Linn St. - Tower Place, Level 3A
Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 5:32 P.M.
Members Present: Matthew Brenton, Adam Stockman, Gina Reyes, Andrew Austin
Members Absent: Kyla Paterson
Staff Present: Ty Coleman
Others Present: none
Recommendations to Council: None
Approval of Minutes:
Stockman moved and Austin seconded a motion to approve the January 27, 2020 minutes as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
Announcements of Commissioners:
None.
Short Public Announcements:
None.
Senate Study Bill 3009:
Austin asked if there was anything in the bill applicable to the municipal broadband discussion, aside from
not being able to advertise a municipal utility within an already -existing utility bill. Brenton said the bill
puts restrictions on municipalities with regards to municipally -owned broadband operations, but noted that
one of the goals of proponents of the bill was to ensure a level playing field by requiring municipal
networks to do their own advertising. Austin agreed that this wouldn't pose a big issue for municipal
broadband and felt that people tend to naturally gravitate towards municipal service.
Brenton said the bill didn't appear to be anything concerning for which the Commission should
recommend action by City Council. All members of the Telecommunications Commission present at the
meeting agreed that no action was necessary.
Municipal broadband research:
Stockman said he was able to get an email out to the list of Iowa municipalities that have their own
broadband service. The message asked staff from the cities to fill out a survey to provide information and
insight into the process they went through to create their systems. Stockman said he received responses
from Vinton, Osage, Waverly, and one other he couldn't recall.
Stockman said he added a question to the survey regarding the impact the city's municipal broadband
networks had on accessibility, given that the Commission had been discussing the importance of access
to affordable broadband. He said some of the responses indicated the networks provided competition
and also provided service to areas that otherwise would not be serviced.
Stockman said Waverly, who already owned its own electric utility, had initially approved the pursuit of its
own broadband network back in 2000, but that, largely due to cost, the vote to get started wasn't until
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2014. He said this showed they were concerned about the cost, but that the price had become more
acceptable to them over time.
Stockman said he hoped more responses to the survey would be coming in, but felt good about those he
had received. He said he had sent 20-30 emails, some going to multiple people at the same municipality.
Brenton said that one follow-up email to those who hadn't yet responded would be fine, but that if
someone doesn't respond, it won't help to keep bugging them.
Austin noted that three of the four responses indicated in some way that the project has paid for itself or is
profitable. He wondered if other responses that could come in would be similar. Austin said that knowing
more about the cost -factor for these projects would be helpful and suggested that a more focused survey
could be an option to consider.
Brenton said that Osage responded about factors that contributed to the feasibility of their broadband
project, including being able to leverage bonding using their electric utility, which he said sounded like
something that Senate Study Bill 3009 might restrict.
Brenton mentioned the cost of 100Mbps service for three of the respondents was between $50 to $65 per
month for subscribers. He said he thought Mediacom's 100 Mbps service was at or below that price
point, though he noted that it can vary depending on multiple factors. Stockman agreed that Mediacom's
price seemed to be in the same ballpark as the others. Austin mentioned that promotional pricing can
vary the cost greatly, saying that his $70 per month Gigabit service would increase to $195 per month
when his promotion expires. Stockman said it seemed that the responses regarding the municipal utilities
indicated they were not simply providing cheap internet prices, but that they were able to charge enough
to remain profitable.
Coleman said he wondered about how much time it could take a new municipal broadband utility to start
making money after making such a large initial investment in building its infrastructure. Reyes said a
couple of the responses showed a cost of $15,000,000 to build. Brenton wondered how much of those
costs were for new infrastructure, noting that smaller locations may have smaller costs due to having less
space to cover, having less development in some areas, and other factors.
Brenton said the Commission had spoken to the City Council approximately six months ago and
wondered if Council had been looking for information from the Commission. He suggested the
Commission put something in an upcoming meeting packet to express that the group expects to have
information to present in two or three months. Brenton said the group would need to have at least
another meeting to discuss any new survey responses that may come in. Stockman said that a
subcommittee could put the information gathered into some kind of report for Council.
Austin brought up a report he had found from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). He said
the report looked at the economic development impact of broadband access when provided to those
formerly without access. He said the report indicated that a 10% increase in broadband resulted, on
average, in a 3.6% increase in business efficiency and output in the areas that were analyzed.
Reyes said she further investigated the broadband coverage map she had referred to in the previous
meeting. She said the first version had been created by an LLC, while the second version of the map had
used information pulled from FCC data. She said the data was collected in June of 2018, but wasn't
published until September 2019. Reyes also said the FCC data was generally focused on rural access.
She said it would be good to know about the small pockets in Iowa City that were shown on the map as
not having access to broadband.
Brenton reported he had reached out to Ryan Goddard, who used to work for Muscatine Water and
Power (MPW). He said he asked Goddard some of the questions from the survey. He also asked about
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whether Goddard thought 5G would have an impact on municipal broadband deployments. Brenton said
Goddard presented the following opinions:
• Municipalities should base decisions on existing services and what is needed to provide service
to underserved areas.
Municipalities run a litigation risk any time the government competes with private industry.
MPW was subject to the Mediacom bill, which prohibits a municipal entity from self -funding
internet services from other utilities within that entity, requiring a city to use public funding sources
and not public revenues.
Not owning poles can be an issue. MPW pays for use of all poles used.
• He foresees the future being most cities using a transport model for these services and leaving
the administration and operation aspects to private entities who pay stipends to the municipalities.
• 5G won't have a big impact until it is fully built, which will be a long time. As providers are putting
fiber in the ground instead of copper, 5G won't likely steal customers away from them, but would
definitely capture the rural, underserved markets.
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet service may be the future of internet service to homes.
• Municipalities should stay out of cable TV and phone service as long as those needs are being
met by other providers.
Brenton noted that Iowa City now has three providers, depending on the area of town you live in,
including Mediacom, CenturyLink, and now ImOn. Brenton said satellite internet service can suffer from
latency, making it less desirable.
Brenton said he learned that 5G is divided into millimeter -band (higher frequency), mid -band, and
low -band waves. He said millimeter -band is the fastest, but the reach is short and has difficulty traversing
walls and windows. He said mid -band is the most widely deployed. He said 5G low -band offers similar
capacity to surpass 4G.
Brenton referred to an article in Ars Technica about whether 5G would be able to replace everyone's
home broadband. The article said carriers can address the issues with millimeter -wave frequencies by
building many more cell sites with a fiber backhaul. Brenton said that it appears that 5G won't
appreciably cut down on the need for fiber when compared to a municipal broadband deployment and
that 5G as a solution for home internet would practically require the access point to be in the home, where
then devices would connect wirelessly to it.
Austin said it seems like a 5G home broadband solution would essentially be like creating a fiber to the
block solution like a traditional internet service provider, but instead changing the last stretch to the
millimeter wave technology, which appears to be more susceptible to problems. He said there will be
areas where 5G will offer improvements, but he is not yet sold on the idea of 5G as a home broadband
solution. Brenton agreed that it is not likely to be a good solution for Iowa City residents.
Austin said he could see those living near the downtown and University areas having access to 5G
options, but that when you get out to the underserved areas, it is unlikely that it would be available there.
Brenton said the article referred to one existing 5G deployment in Sacramento, where Verizon had only
signed up under three percent of the single-family homes located in range of the 5G signals and that the
homes within that range only constituted six percent of all of the residential addresses in the area studied.
Brenton said an analyst in the article expressed that millimeter -wave spectrum propagation is too limited
for the economics to be compelling.
Brenton said T -Mobile is going more for the mid-range spectrum and claims that its 5G home broadband
service is expected to cover 52% of U.S. zip codes by 2024. Brenton said he suspects that Iowa City
has enough of a population density to be included in that 52%.
Brenton mentioned an article he found about SpaceX's Starlink satellite -based broadband service, saying
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that its coverage would begin in 2020 and that the company had applied for putting thousands of satellites
into orbit. He said the Pentagon has a contract with SpaceX and that the U.S. Air Force is currently
testing this technology, delivering high bandwidth into Air Force planes. Brenton said that other
companies are planning to enter the satellite -based broadband market.
Austin said he was curious about the latency typically associated with satellite service. Brenton said this
newer technology appears to rely on satellites that are much closer to Earth and said he assumes that the
technology has improved enough to further reduce latency. He said that while there are not currently 5G
or LEO satellite services available to customers in Iowa City, such solutions are on the horizon, though
still with many unknowns.
Brenton said these technologies are still worth considering to present to City Council as potentially being
additional options for Iowa City residents in the future. Austin said that if these technologies are the
answer that Iowa City could still utilize them to improve access for those who otherwise couldn't get it.
Brenton said that if there are more options, the extra competition could drive prices down.
Brenton said he could start to draft what he thinks the communication to Council should look like. He said
he would also send the links to the articles he mentioned to Coleman for sending out to the other
Commission members. Brenton asked if Stockman could start to compile some of the data acquired from
survey responses and to identify the highlights.
Brenton said that the ITU report presented by Austin would be a good item to refer to in a report to the
Council to illustrate why broadband matters.
Brenton said the FCC data mentioned by Reyes is helpful in communicating that, while almost all of Iowa
City does have access to broadband, there is at least one pocket that does not appear to be served. He
noted that saying there are providers of broadband that cover all of Iowa City is not the same as saying
that everybody has broadband.
Austin said it could be important to note that the FCC's current definition of broadband could stand to be
updated for faster speeds and lower latency. He said that there are areas in Iowa City that have
lower -speed options than others.
Brenton said he would start to frame out an outline to include: why broadband matters, the current state of
broadband in Iowa City, and some of the options.
Consumer Issues:
Brenton noted one of the issues related to the cost of cable TV service. Coleman said that when looking
at some of the history of cable TV rates, he found that Iowa City is actually pretty low for basic -tier service
when compared to other cities in Iowa. Coleman said that Iowa City's basic -tier rates have stayed pretty
consistent for at least the last ten years.
Coleman also referred to an issue presented in a prior report where a resident was having difficulty
getting Mediacom service extended to his property, located in a low-density area. He said the resident
was given a quote for the amount he would need to pay for Mediacom to build out its infrastructure to his
location, but wasn't given additional details, such as the distance to be covered. Coleman said the quote
of $4,200 did not seem out of line with quotes he had seen in the past for other residents on the outskirts
of town. Brenton said he found it interesting that Mediacom was at least willing to engage in a dialogue
with the resident and thought that most companies would simply say they couldn't extend service. Austin
said he has heard of business customers being given a build -out quote, but not residential customers.
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City Cable TV Office Report:
Coleman referred to the report the Cable TV Office had submitted in the meeting packet.
Adjournment:
Stockman moved and Reyes seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
Adjournment was at 6:28 p.m.
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Iowa City Telecommunications Commission
02/24/2020 Meeting Minutes
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
12 -MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD
(x) = Present
(o) = Absent
(o/c) = Absent/Called (Excused)
Gowder
vacant
Brenton
Stockman
Pierce
02/25/2019
x
vacant
x
x
o/c
Reyes
03/25/2019
resignation
o/c
x
x
x
04/22/2019
vacant
x
x
x
o/c
06/03/2019
Meeting not held
due to lack of
quorum.
vacant
_
_
_
_
06/24/2019
vacant
x
x
x
o
Austin
07/22/2019
x
x
x
x
resignation
08/26/2019
o/c
x
x
x
vacant
Paterson
09/23/2019
x
x
x
x
o
10/28/2019
x
x
o/c
x
o
11/25/2019
o/c
x
x
x
o
12/16/2019
o/c
x
x
x
o
02/24/2019
x
x
x
x
o
(x) = Present
(o) = Absent
(o/c) = Absent/Called (Excused)