HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-05-19 TranscriptionPage 1
1. Call to Order
Teague: Well, welcome to the Iowa City, uh, formal meeting. Uh, tonight is May 191i,
2020, and it's just after 7:00 P.M. and we are so happy for those of you who are
joinin' from the public. Um, you may be .... um, in the waiting room or .... or able
to hear us right now, and so, um, happy that you're with us, and then those that
are viewin' various, uh, other social media ways, happy that you're here and a part
of tonight's meeting. All right, so ... um, I am going to first kinda give some, um,
information about Zoom here because I know that it....it....it can be a little
challenging for some people, um, and so one of the things that I'm gonna ask is
that we keep our .... mics off when we're not speakin'. It'll just help with
transmitting, um, while people are talking, and then for the public or anyone that
is attending that is not, um, a part of the panelists in a way, uh, we're gonna ask
that you, if you would like to speak, there is a raisin' of the hand, um, and you
can, um, it's a little icon you'll be able to press and then I'll be able to see that
you would like to speak and if you're on the phone and you're a caller, *9 is how
you'll be able to raise your hand. So just wanted to get that up, um, as a thought
before we go, um, on with our agenda. So thanks for makin' the adjustment here
with Council. Really appreciate it.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 2
2. Proclamations
2.a. National Gun Violence Awareness Day
Teague: (reads proclamation) (garbled).... this today is Temple Hiatt, Co -Lo ... Co -Local
Leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Johnson County.
Hiatt: Thank you, Mayor Teague, and thank you to the City Council Members for
joining the movement to honor the lives of Americans stolen by gun violence, to
help keep firearms out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them and to
protect our communities from gun violence. I accept the proclamation on behalf
of the Iowa City volunteers with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in
America.
Teague: Great! Thank you so much!
Hiatt: Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 3
1-8. Beginning of Consent Calendar (Items 3 — 8) — Consider adoption of the
Consent Calendar as presented or amended
Teague: Could I get a motion to approve Consent Calendar as amended, and amending
public hearing date for Item 7.a. to June 2nd 2020.
Salih: Move.
Weiner: Second, Weiner.
Teague: Moved by Salih, seconded by Weiner, and .... public discussion? Uh, we do have
Item 8.c., that I'm not sure if anyone is present to ... that would like to address that.
I also wanted to make a mention that durin' our Council meeting that Item 7.a.,
the rezonin' of 1335 Highway 1 West, durin' our work session we did change the
date of when our next meeting will happen. Instead of bein' June 9' it will be
June 2nd, and so, um, we already made the .... the motion to amend that, uh, public
hearing. So at this time would anyone from the public like to address any item on
our, uh, Item 8.c. on our consent agenda? Hearin' none, Council discussion?
Hearin' none, roll call please. All right, motion passes 7-0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 4
11. Amend the FY2020 Operating Budget — Resolution amending the current
budget for the fiscal year ending June 2020.
1. Public Hearing
(Teague loses connection; Mayor Pro Tem leads meeting at this point)
Salih: I guess we open the public hearing.
Fruin: Mayor Pro Tem Salih, uh, Jacklyn Fleagle from our Finance department is here
and she'll have a short presentation for City Council tonight.
Salih: Okay. Start presentation.
Fleagle: Hi, everyone, uh, it's Jacklyn Fleagle, uh... get my presentation here pulled up.
Budget Compliance Officer.... Finance .... uh,a short presentation just on this
budget amendment. Uh, this is the third and final budget amendment for the
fiscal year 2020. Um, starting with revenues, some of the larger amendments
made were to other City taxes for approximately 293,000. This is for adjustments
to hotel and motel tax, uh, to bring it closer to actuals. Uh, another (mumbled)
intergovernmental for 483,000. Majority of this is related to expected COVID-19
grants that we are expecting to receive, and the largest revenue amendment, um,
totaled to about $5.4 million and this is largely related to the debt service transfer
for the lease purchase agreement in parking. On the flip side, expenditures within
the different programs (mumbled) involve public safety had amendments for
almost 90,000, and this is the flip side of a COVID-19 grant that was received, the
expenditures for that. 75,000 in public works. This is for salt expenses, due to
the winter we had this year. Uh, another larger area was community and
economic development program for 750,000, uh, this is two-part related to
COVID-19 grant expenditures on CDBG side and then also, uh, amending for
UniverCity purchase that was made. Um ... another larger one is the business type
expenses for just over $6.9 million, and this is the... actual payment for the parking
lease purchase agreement, and then we also have the flip side of the transfers in.
Now the transfers out, and most of that again is related to the other side of the
adjustment for the lease purchase agreement. Overall, the total impact to the, um,
fund balance is a decrease of over $6.98 million to ... the fund balance, this is the
third and final budget amendment for the fiscal year 2020. Urn .... willing to take
any questions you guys have.
Salih: Okay, questions for the staff? Okay, public discussion? Is there is any hand
raised I can't see anything? (talking in background)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 5
Teague: There is none!
Salih: The Mayor is back! Okay! (laughs)
Teague: I'll let you finish it out! (laughs)
Salih: Okay, now close the public hearing. And ... Council, I just need a motion to
approve.
2. Consider a Resolution
Thomas: So moved, Thomas.
Weiner: Second, Weiner.
Salih: Moved by Thomas, second by Weiner. Any Council discussion? Okay, roll call
please. Okay, motion passes 7-0. Thank you. Back to the Mayor (laughs)
Teague: Yes! So thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. I'll just admit that my computer gave me a
warning that my battery was low and I thought `Oh, I have a little time....' but it
went out, so .... sorry about that (laughs)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 6
13. Resolution approving purchase agreement — Resolution approving purchase
agreement with Summit Ridge, LLC, for Lot 1 of the proposed Community
View Subdivision for future use as a fire station.
Teague: Could I get a motion to approve?
Mims: So moved, Mims.
Bergus: Seconded by Bergus.
Teague: All right, is anyone from staff....present to talk about this?
Fruin: Yeah, uh, Mayor, this is, uh, Geoff. I will give a quick introduction and turn it
over to Fire Chief John Grier. Uh, earlier today in your work session we had a....
a brief discussion on your strategic plan, which is a work in session. Uh, and uh,
one of the items in your strategic plan is really to be, uh, thinking about long-term
needs of the City when it comes to infrastructure and facilities, um, and this item
really dovetails nicely with .... with, uh, where that objective is going. Um, this,
uh... uh, future fire station location is, uh, in the same, um, subdivision that you
just took a look at from the rezoning standpoint. So I think, uh, you're familiar
with that, based on the past, uh, staff presentations. Uh, and, uh, this would be the
location for, um, the future location of our existing station 3, and again Chief
Grier will talk about, uh, that in terms of the impact on operations. The
agreement, uh, is for the City to purchase the, uh, approximately 1.5 acres for
$420,000. Uh, that number was arrived at based on an appraisal of that, uh, or
was, uh... solicited for that, uh, for that parcel. Uh, so staff is recommending
approval, uh, but before you take your vote I'd like to turn it over to Fire Chief
John Grier, who's just gonna talk a little bit about what this means for future
operations, uh, in the Fire Department.
Grier: Hey, thanks! Uh, good evening, everyone!
Teague: Good evening!
Grier: We are certainly excited to have this resolution before you tonight. It's one of
those things we're constantly looking at how we can improve our services, and
this opportunity will definitely help us do that. Fire Station 3, as you know from
our previous discussions, was, uh, constructed in 1972 and its designed standards
are a little different back then. So it doesn't really have the modern facilities that,
uh, most fire stations have today. There's no dedicated office space. The crew
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 7
quarters are somewhat, uh, cramped and the, uh, modern fire apparatus squeezed
in there. It's ... it's a challenge. There's little room for error. Uh, you also know
that ... from our previous discussions that we have some response time challenges
on ... in the central, east, and south districts. Uh, re ... relocation of Fire Station 3 to
this ... this lot, coupled with the building of Fire Station 5, building and staffing of
Fire Station 5 on South Gilbert Street will definitely increase our abilities to, uh,
meet our time standards for calls for service in all those districts. If you
remember, I discussed kind of like the, uh, pin ... pin wheel, or bicycle wheel,
spokes that the fire station (mumbled) This helps us kinda meet, uh, all directions
that we can go. Uh, so we look forward to this proj.... these projects moving
forward in the future, and as I said, we certainly are excited to have this before
you tonight, and if you've got any questions I'd be glad to .... to answer them.
Teague: All right, hearing none. Any public discussion on this item? If so, please raise
your hand, and if you're on the phone, please press *9. Seein' no one, Council
discussion? Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 8
14. Council Appointments
14.a. Airport Commission — One vacancy to fill a four-year term, July 1, 2020
— June 30, 2024 (Term expires for Robert Libby)
Teague: Um, actually before we go through this, we have quite a few appointments
tonight. Uh, we have two, four, five appointments and so I think what I wanna do
is ... maybe go through each appointment, um .... and.....have people suggest who
they are .... urn ..... who they thought could be there. There are several applicants,
um, for various ones, and only a lim.... limited amount of space for .... people to
serve, and so .... I think that's what I'll do. We'll go through 14.a. all .... and kinda
talk about that. That one's a little easier because there's only one, um, one appli
....one applicant and one vacancy. So, um, I think maybe .... (mumbled) people
understand what we're gonna do. We have new Councilors on here. Yes? We'll
navigate it together. All right! So Airport, uh, Commission (reads opening). So
who is it on here, well there's only one individual so .... so what are thoughts?
Mims: I would appoint her (garbled)
Teague: I enjoyed seein' that she was apart of the, uh, Census, the Census 2020
Committee. I was excited to see that! Yeah! (several talking)
Taylor: ...that we need and ... and she's female!
14.b. Community Police Review Board — Two vacancies to fill a four-year
term, July 1, 2020 — June 30, 2024 (Term expires for Monique Galpin, Orville
Townsend) and One vacancy to fill an unexpired term. Effective upon
appointment — June 30, 2023 (Samuel Conaway resigned)
Teague: Yeah! All right. Uh, sounds like there's a consensus and nodding of heads for
that one. All right so .... (noises in background) (reads opening)
Mims: I would recommend reappointing of Orville Townsend. I think Orville fills a ... a
critical role on that particular commission, um .... a lot of our police issues were,
where as we don't have a lot here in town, but when we look at it nationally it has
to do with racial issues and he's involved with Black Voices Project. He's been, I
think, a great representative on here. So I would certainly recommend, uh,
reappointing of Orville to his second term, and then I thought, um, Amanda
Nichols was a really good applicant for that second spot.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 9
Taylor: I agree with Susan on Orville. He's certainly been a dedicated member of this
committee, uh, very good member, good attendance, which I always look at that.
So I would definitely recommend his reappointment. And I also liked Amanda
Nichols.
Salih: I....I do, I do also support, uh, Orville, but for the second one I really wanna
appoint (mumbled) the last name, but uh, it is, uh, the last name is O -r -o -z -c -o,
Orozco. (several talking)
Weiner: ...to the Airport Commission.
Taylor: ....the Airport.
Salih: Oh!
Taylor: She applied for a very ...various commissions but we put her on the Airport
Commission because she was the sole applicant.
Salih: Because she's the only one, right?
Taylor: Well we needed a female and she's female and (both talking)
Salih: Yeah. (both talking) Yeah, that's true. But because I ... I just was liking someone
from Latino background to be on the .... the commission, Police Review Board, all
the time, but that's fine. I also suggest Bruce for the .... for the unexpire... the
unexpire term, to continue unexpired term. And Amanda (mumbled)
Bergus: I guess I would just throw my support behind, uh, Jerri McConnell. I thought that
was a good application, someone who has a varied background and .... um, was
definitely interested in this commission, but I also, um, liked Amanda Nichols and
definitely Orville Townsend.
Taylor: Yeah, Jerri McConnell, I ... I didn't do a third one, cause we are looking at one
male, one female (mumbled) so I would agree with Jerri McConnell also.
Thomas: I would support (both talking)
Mims: ...Jerri on the unexpired one too.
Thomas: Yeah, I ... I supported the three. Uh, Jerri for the unappointed, or unexpired, sorry!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 10
Weiner: I think it's important that we ... we appoint Orville, uh, to this ... to this position, and
I would support appointing Amanda Nichols to the other full-term and Jerri
McConnell to the partial term.
Teague: Okay. So .... if I heard correctly for this one, we're going to appoint Orville
Townsend for second term. I heard Jerri Me .... McConnell for a ... an unexpired
term, and Aman ... and Amanda Nichols.
Salih: Yes.
Taylor: Yes.
Bergus: Yes.
Teague: All right. So .... our City Clerk get that? (laughs)
Fruehling: Yes I do!
14.c. Historic Preservation Commission (At -Large) — Two vacancies to fill a
three-year term, July 1, 2020 — June 30, 2023 ('term expires for Kevin Boyd,
Austin Wu)
Teague: All right! Perfect! All right. We're gonna go to Historic, uh, Preservation and
we have two vacancies and two males for that one.
Taylor: I would support the reappoint of Kevin Boyd and Austin Wu.
Salih: Yes (both talking)
Mims: I would agree.
Salih: I agree.
Bergus: I agree.
Thomas: I agree as well.
Weiner: (garbled)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 11
Teague: All right, so sounds like we have agreement there. So, um.....Austin Wu and then
Kevin Boyd to .... be reappointed. All right. And then we are going to, I should be
givin' the item number, um, so we're gonna go to 14.d., and this is the Housing
and Community Development Commission. (reads opening)
14.d. Housing and Community Development Commission — Three vacancies
to fill a three-year term, July 1, 2020 — June 30, 2023 (Term expires for
Charles Eastham, Vanessa Fixmer-Oraiz & John MclUnstry)
Taylor: This is Pauline. I ... I think before we consider the appointment, I ... I believe that
each of us received an email from V, uh, regarding reappointment to HCDC, and
we all know that V's been a very committed member of HCDC, uh, even serving
as chair, and it's unfortunate that V missed the deadline for the application, uh,
although (garbled) upside-down world, I don't sometimes know what day it is or
the date, um, so that's unfortunate, but I don't know, um, what other Council
Members feel about V's email request that we might put off one of the
appointments or whether that would be fair, I mean we do have quite a long list,
10 applicants, that did meet the deadline. I didn't know what others thought about
that.
Mims: I'm not willing to ... she's been an excellent member of that commission and I
think she's done a great job as chair, and I think it's really unfortunate, but I'm
really concerned about the press (goes silent)
Teague: You froze!
Taylor: (mumbled) Susan!
Thomas: Was she one day delay, uh, one day late on her application, is that...
Fruehling: It came in the day after.
Thomas: Uh huh. I think we are living under, uh, you know, very difficult circumstances. I
would ... I would certainly, and I'm very supportive of the work that V has done on
the commission. So I would be willing to accept her one -day late application.
Dilkes: I think if you're going to do that you probably need to delay the appointments and
just .... move the ... the deadline date back.
Thomas: (garbled)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 12
Taylor: (garbled) all the appointments (garbled) and move the date? Or just that one?
Dilkes: Well I mean all these people are competing for three different appointments. And
so all should be given the same opportunity to apply, um, if you're gonna change
the deadline date, it seems to me it should be changed for all the appointments
that are being made.
Weiner: Um, I agree that if we're gonna change it we should change it for all. I don't
think we heard everything that you were going to say, Susan, because you were,
you ....your, um, for some reason the sound cut out at some point and you froze
up. I ... I have, we're living in difficult times. I .... I admit full well. I'm also
always wary of setting precedent and um, and if we give a day for someone here,
what will happen the next time somebody applies a day or two late, for whatever
reason, um, so I'm just putting that out there for discussion.
Teague: I would agree that V has brought so much to our.... commission that, um .... I've
enjoyed her energy, her ...desire to really ensure that she's intentional about lookin'
into .... takin' time to look at the material and to consider recommendations to
Council, that she's done very graciously at times. I do believe that in this
particular situation, um, in my personal opinion, it is not wise for us to make this
exception. Um .... although that does not in any way mean that she's not awesome
and amazin' and um, unfortunate that it did come in late. Okay. So....
Salih: Well, for the (unable to understand) really suggest Charlie and Mohammed Nasr.
Taylor: (both talking) I agree on those two also. Charlie's been a very committed
member of the committee, and I actually talked to him and he ... I had concerns
since he's just been appointed to the School Board, but he said that, uh, he's found
that there is enough time to attend to work on both of these bodies. So I would
definitely recommend him, uh, and Nasr Mohammed, um, sounded very
passionate about, uh, his experience and ... and why he would like to be on this.
So, uh, yes, with the two males, I would suggest Charlie and Nasr.
Mims: Well I would suggest Zach and Kyle, and I'll give you my reasons. We have a lot
of people who are .... very (garbled) and very capable, and with ... for example with
Charlie. He's served two terms on Human Rights Commission. This'll be his
second term on the HCDC, and ... and so we, I mean one of the things we've talked
about over the last few years is really giving a lot of different people the
opportunity to serve, and so when you let one person serve two terms on one
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 13
commission and then go to another commission and serve two terms, they're
taking up a lot of spots, and preventing a lot of other people being involved,
regardless of how good they are or not, and one of the things I really liked about
Kyle too is he's got a lot of experience with, um, Iowa City Housing Authority,
working with people with Housing Choice vouchers, um, and Zach had, I think, a
lot of good experiences too. So my preference was with .... for Kyle, uh, Vogel
and Zach, uh ... (mumbled) I'm not sure how to pronounce his last name.
Taylor: We are looking at also, besides the two male, one none, uh, and I liked what Zach
had to say about why he would like to be (mumbled) homeless at one time and
has that experience and, uh, so .... um, I ... he apparently was on HCDC at one time,
till like last year or something, so, uh, I ... I think he would do well. (several
talking, garbled)
Weiner: ...been on Historic Preservation (several talking)
Salih: Yeah (mumbled) so many people bein' in some commission, and I think, uh, it is
fair if we give other people the second term, it is fair also to give (garbled) as well
and Mohammed, we ... we always say that Iowa City encourage diversity (unable
to understand) then ... we need diversity! Mohammed Nasr is a, the one who
(mumbled) diversity.
Weiner: For other, I'm going to put in a plug for, uh, Theresa Lewis, who is, uh, the
president of Four Oaks. They work up in Cedar Rapids. They're not ... the work
that she does on housing, um, is not within Johnson County or Iowa City, so I
don't believe that she would have a conflict with respect to needing to come to
City Council for funding, but she has a lot of experience dealing with these sort,
uh, dealing with these sorts of issues, and I think she can be a very valuable
member.
Taylor: I agree with Janice about Theresa. With her experience she would be a good fit
for this committee also.
Bergus: Yeah, I also appreciated Theresa's background and experience, and I tried to
speak with all of the applicants and, you know, I ... I thought also Kyle Vogel's
experience with the Housing Authority and (mumbled) a really different
perspective, um, you k now, based on his experience. Um ... and, uh, Nasr
Mohammed also seemed like someone who is very interested and had a pretty
compelling background, urn .... and, yeah. I guess I already said Theresa Lewis,
didn't I.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 14
Salih: Yes you said. Uh, I also support Theresa, but I really wanna tell you that on this
commission you have only two people of (mumbled) and if we add Mohammed
Nasr would be the second one, and Theresa and Charlie. Those three.
Mims: I think we already have two on there. There's one from Argentina and one from
the Congo. So I think there's already two people of color on the commission.
Salih: That what I said. Only two people.
Mims: Okay, misunderstood! Sorry!
Salih: Yeah.
Thomas: I ... I'll throw my hat for, uh, Charlie, uh, Theresa, and Mohammed.
Teague: All right! So it is down to .... um, I'll tell you where .... well, maybe I'll give my...
my, uh, votes for now. Um .... so it is down to .... really three people, in my
opinion, no matter, um, what I do in a way. Um .... so it is down to Theresa Lewis
....Nasr Mohammed... and Charlie Eastham.
Mims: So you're supporting Charlie then?
Teague: There is .... right now it's, um .... a four for Theresa, four for, um, Mohammed,
Nasr Mohammed, and three for Charlie. Um, I personally believe that, um,
my ... I'll tell you who I came here to ... I was supportin' and I've heard, um,
feedback. So Theresa Lewis, I really enjoyed, uh, what she had to bring. Um,
Nasr Mohammed, definitely wanted him on there and I'm happy to see the
support, and then for, uh, Kyle Vogel, I saw that, uh, one he .... it'd be his first time
bein' on the commission. He is doin' housing and really, um, I ... I think he would
benefit this, maybe, uh, greatly. Um, and so that's what I thought he would ... why
Kyle would be good on this commission. Um .... I .... I don't know if anyone has
any, I mean that was my choice, um, so .... so then Kyle and Charlie, accordin' to
what I've heard so far, are ... are tied.
Weiner: In the interest in giving new people a shot at this, I would agree with what ... what
you've proposed, Mayor.
Mims: So you're talking.....Theresa Lewis clearly has the majority support.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 15
Salih: Yes.
Mims: And it sounds like Nasr Mohammed does. I'm not clear on who the third one
really has the majority support.
Teague: Yep, uh, so it's tied between, uh, Kyle Vogel and Charlie Eastham.
Mims: Well, I would just say, I would go with Kyle. We .... we talk over and over and
over about giving new people an opportunity, um, to participate in our
commissions, and ... like I said, this'd be at least the fourth time Charlie's been on
one of the commissions, plus he's serving on School Board. So he has an awful
lot of opportunity to ... to....to, um, participate in and impact things in the
community, and so this'd be a way to open it up for somebody new, and this is
something that this Council has talked a lot about is giving more people
opportunity, um, I think that's important (both talking)
Salih: Susan Mims, we just give, uh, Kevin, we give Austin, we give Orville, we give all
those people second time. Why ...why is Charlie .... (both talking)
Mims: (both talking) ....we have not all the time. Even the last few months we've had
some that we did not reappoint for second terms. It's dependent on who else was
there, um, and ... and I would say that this is a very unique one in that he has served
at least two terns on Human Rights. This would be his second term here, so it's
not just reappointing for a second tern. It's just along term history of being on
one commission and another, and I think it's important to open up opportunities
for other people.
Salih: Other people (talking in background, garbled) commission as well. I guess it's
fair enough to do that, if we just ... on the last three, uh, the last two appointed
commission, we reappoint the people who been there, and I think is fair, to do the
same thing with Charlie this time.
Mims: Well, when we get to P&Z I'm gonna tell you I don't want to reappoint both of
those, so it's .... I don't believe in doing it every time.
Bergus: And, Mayor, I think I did count four people, um, favorable for Kyle Vogel, if
that .... was myself and Councilor Weiner, um, yourself, and Councilor Mims, and
I spoke with Charlie, as I indicated tried to speak with everyone, and as I said to
him, you know, one reason where I feel like it may be good to let someone else
have another opportunity is that Charlie will continue to do an excellent job
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 16
advocating for things that he believes in, regardless of...of where he is, you know,
seated on a commission or, you know, I mean he's a, uh, accomplished
community activist and so I think giving someone else, um, a voice at this
particular table will make sense to me.
Salih: I think I spoke to him too, but, uh, he said even, uh, it is time maybe for people of
color to serve and there is many people...... another person of color if we wanna
give people a chance. We can appoint another person because he said I will love
to be there, but if the opportunity will be for people of color, why not. It's time
for people of color to serve. I .... I thinks if you wanna appoint, just appoint Wifag
Mohammed, she been applying many, many, many times for many, many
applications and we did not appointed her. Her name come many, many times and
I thinks that if we really wanna.... give a people chance, new people, and diversity
people, we should give it to Mohammed Nasr and Wifag Mohammed, uh, if that
the case. I .... (both talking)
Weiner: We're also gonna run into, um, challenges there with having two males and one
other.
Salih: No, what you mean? This is female and two male, two male and, uh....
Teague: What .... what I will say as of now, as far as, um, the numbers, the majority does
have for Theresa, Kyle, and Nasr Mohammed, and so .... um, maybe we can ... um,
agree with the majority on that and then we can go to the next item, if we are in
agreement.
Salih: Yeah, go ahead!
14.e. Planning and Zoning Commission — Two vacancies to fill a five-year
term, July 1, 2020 — June 30, 2025. (Term expires for Michael Hensch, Max
Parsons)
Mims: Well, I'll start. My preference was to reappoint Max Parsons and to appoint
Susan Craig, and I know this is a .... this is always a tough one because the
learning curve on P&Z is .... is large. Um, but I think when we have two openings
come up, and you reappoint both people, again you end up in that situation of not
getting, you know, turnover and getting more people to have an opportunity to
serve, and I know Susan, um, had expressed to me her real interest when she
retired from the City, from the Library, of being involved and particularly being
on P&Z, um, and the reason I would choose Susan is I think she would be very
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 17
good. I think she would be very objective and very, very thoughtful in the
process. I have no preconceived notion of how she would vote on anything, but I
just thunk she would be very objective and very thoughtful, and the concern with
the others, um, both Adam and Kimberly, are realtors and we already have two
realtors on P&Z, and I don't think we should add any more, so ... that's my
rationale.
Thomas: I'm supportive of, um, Susan Craig and, uh, Michael Hensch. Uh (clears throat) I
think Susan, uh, first of all the ... the appointment on the P&Z is for five years, so
that's a long appointment. Um .... it's a.....it's one of the more challenging
commissions to work on because of the subject matter, but I think Susan has had
expressed to me a long-time interest in planning and zoning matters, and I think
she would serve very well on this commission. Uh, so .... I .... I landed on Susan
and Michael.
Salih: I agree with Thomas too, Susan and Michael, will be great.
Taylor: Well this is tough because I mean how do you, urn .... separate the .... the
reappointments — Michael Hensch versus Max Parsons. They've both been very
good, uh, members of. ... of that committee with their attendance, as I said before I
always look at that. I was definitely going to support (mumbled) Max Parsons.
Uh, I was very pleased to see Susan's application for this and, uh, I .... I would go
with her, if we're going with, uh, a second person besides reappointing Michael.
Bergus: Council would like to see Susan Craig on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
I think, um, you know, I ... I couldn't.—in a very smaller time scale she had so
much experience, but I went from being a .... a City employee and then serving on
the Iowa City Telecommunications Commission and I do think having that
background, you know, on .... on staff and then being able to serve on a
commission. For someone who has that public servant part that she obviously
does, I think that would be really, really excellent. I don't have strong feelings
about the second.... second position though.
Weiner: (mumbled) I support Susan Craig. I was really impressed with the application and
I'm agnostic on the second one.
Teague: Who did you say for the second one?
Weiner: I said I'm agnostic on the second one. I don't have a strong preference one way
or the other.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 18
Teague: Okay. Well I am, uh, supportin' Susan Craig and Michael Hensch, which uh,
Susan Craig would then have six supports, and Michael with three. I may have
missed one person on him. Um, otherwise I think we have our selection for .... for
all of our commissions. So great job at navigating! And ... what I think at this time
I'm .... could I get a motion to appoint for the commissions as we .... and the
individuals that we've stated for appointment.
Salih: Move by Salih.
Mims: Second by Mims.
Teague: All right! Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 19
17. Community Comment
Teague: And that is UISG. Ryan!
Longenecker: Hi, everyone. Uh, no major updates, um ... for right now. Last week was finals
week and, um, students now have, uh, a few weeks to decide, uh, if they wanna
choose regular grading or pass/no pass grading. Um, that is something that the
University offered this year, uh, due to the COVID-19, uh, pandemic. Um, and I
just wanted to say congrats to all the graduating seniors and, uh, we're really
proud of all the accomplishments, uh, that you've brought to Iowa City and to the
University, and we wish you luck as you go forward. Um, and hope that, uh, wish
you well in all your future endeavors. So that's all that I have for me!
Teague: Great! Well thank you and .... we're very, urn .... proud of all the graduatin'
seniors, or graduates from the University of Iowa, um, this is definitely a
different time that they're livin' in and so to all the graduates, uh, thanks for bein'
a part of our community. We really appreciated it and, um, yeah, I wish you all
the best in whatever your future endeavors are. All right!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 20
18. City Council Information & Updates
Teague: So ... we've done really well at chimin' in. Earlier today we were kinda talkin'
over each other, but ... urn, overall throughout this Zoom process we've done well.
So just chime in where.... whenever you want to!
Mims: Well we had an Executive Committee meeting today for the access center. Um,
no, actually yesterday. These days do run together (laughs) Um, and just talking
about some of the billing issues as they go forward, um, I would say what I find
interesting in these meetings is, you k now, the opening.... while being pushed off
a little bit to January, we certainly are getting, um, closer and closer and you can
tell that by the kind of, uh, detail that is going into some of these meetings. So
that's a positive. Um, I'll just give a really quick update of the Zoom meeting that
Geoff and I were involved in last Friday that .... my first one, uh, the Better
Together Project. Um, for me the most, um, important thing coming out of that is
that the group has hired Mark Nolte to kind of be the project director of that for
the next year. Uh, I think everybody knows Mark's long history in Iowa City with
ICAD and, um, he just .... he knows this community so well and is just incredibly
passionate, um, about so ... about everything to do with this community and
making us grow and prosper and... and certainly recover and heal from this
pandemic. So that's really exciting. As Geoff mentioned earlier, there's no....
there's no big plans or projects. It's .... at this point, it's more coming together
with ideas, if...if any of you have ideas, please funnel those to Geoff or myself to
take forward. Um, but it's more about that coordination and communication and
figuring out how we can help each other from County to cities to the University,
uh, to the hospitals, uh, etc., to make sure that we come through this in the best
way possible and recover and are just as .... as vibrant as we can be, and I think
Mark Nolte put it really well. He said I hope that we can find ourself maybe in a
year with, you k now, an article in one of the national newspapers, like the
Washington Post or (mumbled) maybe he said the Wall Street Journal and the
New York Times, because then he joked about depending on your political
persuasion, um, but of just .... an article of just how ...what a great job this small
Midwestern, uh, metropolitan area had done in not just surviving, but recovering
from this pandemic, and so really trying to be creative and thoughtful and
sensitive to the needs of our community, whether it's individuals or businesses,
um, so I think it's going to be a really interesting process, um, and really wanna
work together and cooperate to make it, um, as easy, uh, a recovery as we
possibly can for everybody. So give us your ideas. We'll take `em forward!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 21
Salih: I don't have anything but I would like just to say .... Friday is the last day of
Ramadan (mumbled) We are not going to be fasting anymore, and Saturday
(laughs) will be the first day of, uh, breaking the fast. I know (mumbled) is meant
to ... for, you know, people together together and celebrate together, but I really
urge all, mostly Muslim in the community, to celebrate (mumbled) your family at
home, uh, please make a big meal to break the fast and do like some cookies and
everything, but don't... then go and engage with, uh, people outside. Just also still
stay home and celebrate with your family! Thank you, and happy (mumbled) all
the Muslim in the community.
Weiner: So several.... several of us, including the Mayor and Councilor Bergus and I were
on a call, uh, one of the calls with the hospital staff, uh, about ... last week,
thanking them for all the hard work they've been doing during this. I thought it
was a very ...it was a really ... uh.... well organized and was astounded at the number
of people on the call. I don't think I've been on a Zoom call (mumbled) that had
300 people on it, or over 300 people on it before. Um .... I would like to, um, wish
the very best to all the graduating classes, including from all our high schools in
town who are experiencing a very different form of graduation, a different .... and
senior year and... and end of senior year than they would ever have imagined, um,
and .... and best of luck moving forward, uh, and .... you'll have until Friday to
request an absentee ballot for the June 2nd primaz.y.
Taylor: I don't have any committee reports. Um .... uh, just some community things, uh,
last Friday, of course, was the Summer Shop crawl that I had talked about in the
meeting before. Uh, of course it was done virtually, which was a new experience,
an interesting way to do it. Uh... I hope the shops, uh, did well. I did manage to
purchase some things online, which was interesting, uh, but I certainly hope we
can do a face-to-face one again sometime soon. Uh, the other one I wanted to talk
about, uh.... John mentioned, uh, neighborhood commercial, and .... and the
importance of that, and I was so excited to see — I've heard a lot, I don't think it's
open yet, but very soon on the comer of Muscarine and Court, um, a market, and
I'm gonna mispronounce this. I'm not sure if it's Thelma's or Telma's or Thomas,
uh, Market, a meat and market, uh, used to be a neighborhood market many years
ago and, uh, they have redesigned it and they're going to reopen very soon, so
that's exciting. The neighbors are all very excited about that. So congratulations
to them and welcome back to the community!
Bergus: My only committee update was the UNESCO City of Literature Board of
Directors met last week and, um, like many organizations, they're facing some
budgetary challenges, um, as some of their private funding has been, uh,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 22
redirected to other sources or, you know, individuals and, uh.... other sponsors
might be having a challenging time meeting those obligations at the same level
that they have in the past. Um, and of course programming, having to go online
and the IC, um, MusicIC Festival, um, did .... not happening in person, um, and
just looking forward to the Book Festival in the fall and thinking about what that
might look like and just the staff trying to make plans for, um, what used to be
important in-person events just happening maybe in other ways. I did also wanna
say congratulations to all of the graduating classes, um, seniors in high school, as
Janice mentioned, as well as the University of Iowa, and all of our colleges. Um,
and congratulations, I think next week is the end of the school year, um, so for
those who have, uh, students who are doing any kind of learning at home in this
environment, uh, maybe that will be a relief to .... to have that behind us soon as
well. That's it. Thanks!
Thomas: I'll just remind everyone again about that, um, that's coming Friday on the 22na
from 1:30 to 3:00 P.M., the solar siting webinar, sponsored by the UNI Center for
Energy and Environmental Education. So I ... I'm .... I would guess that that's how
you can join the webinar is by looking that up on UNI's website. So, um .... I'm
interested in seeing what this might have to offer. That's it!
Teague: Well great. So I have, uh, been very busy (laughs) and ... and I won't go into
everything. One I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all of our City staff
that's been a part of the (garbled) um, EOC meetings. Um, while the City...
while the State is openin' up and also our city is openin' up, I want you to just
know that our leadership team is really paying close attention to that and doin'
some things within our power to ensure safety and so just wanted to, uh, again
give a shout -out to, uh, Chief Grier, who is kinda leadin' that effort, and all of the
participa.... all of the participants that are there present, doin' a great job, and then
I continue to attend when possible the Johnson County Public Health EOC, which
happens now Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays. Um, I've been a part of lots of
Zoom meetings with people in the community. Actually it's been an uptick of, uh,
of involvement, which I've really enjoyed and this one I wanted to mention was
with Oakdale Community, urn.... Community.... Oakdale Community Choir. So
that was on this past Friday, and I can tell you that that was so powerful, just
connecting, um, with .... as a choir. How the inside singers, as they're called, the
individuals that live, uh, within the prison, was not able to be a part,
but.... typically they would be havin' a concert this time of year, uh, where there's
people from outside, um, in the community that is a part of a choir and they go,
uh, routinely for rehearsals to Oakdale Prison, and .... thing with inside singers and
so, um, it was still just a fabulous event, very meaningful, and so wanted to just
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 23
mentioned that today, uh, and so thanks to Dr. Cohen who leads that. She's
phenomenal. She was just great! Um, and so it was .... it was a great experience.
Other than that, that is the only update that I will give for today. I'm gonna move
over to our ...Item #19.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.
Page 24
19. Report on Items from City Staff
a. City Manager
Teague: Would you like to say somethin' to us?
Fruin: Nothing new tonight.
Teague: All right. What about Assistant City Manager?
Monroe: I'll remind everyone it's not too late to take your Census. My202OCensus.gov
and uh, we've got some interesting ideas percolating to continue planning for our
climate festival this fall. So, um, variety of activities, uh, taking different formats.
So, um, plans are coming. I'm getting excited about it, so .... that's all I'll share
tonight. Thanks!
Teague: All right!
C. City Clerk
Teague: And then our City Clerk!
Fruehling: Um, yes, I just wanna say congrats to all the seniors in the school district, but
especially to the ones at Liberty and West High, since I have one at each, so...
Teague: Yes, yes I hear that they're having a graduation, right?
Fruehling: They are, a walk ... a walk-through.
Teague: I have a niece there, that's why I know (laughs) (several talking)
Salih: My daughter (both talking)
Teague: All right!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 19, 2020.