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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-21 Public hearingItem Number: 8. CITY OF IOWA CITY `���� COUNCIL ACTION REPORT July 21, 2020 Discussion of Formation of Truth & Reconciliation Commission - Public Input and Council Discussion Prepared By: Eleanor Dilkes, City Attorney Reviewed By: Geoff Fruin, City Manager Fiscal Impact: To be determined Recommendations: Staff: No Recommendation Commission: N/A Attachments: "Truth and Reconciliation Commission Core Functions and Requirements" received by Council members Bergus and Weiner from Iowa Freedom Riders. Prior City Council resolutions creating the Climate Action Commission, Ad Hoc Senior Services Committee and Ad Hoc Diversity Committee. Executive Summary: On June 16, 2020 the Council passed a resolution of initial commitments addressing the Black Lives Matter Movement and Systemic Racism. Item 5 of that resolution provides for the creation of an ad hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In order to create the commission the City Council must pass a resolution that includes details of the Council's charge to the commission and the makeup of the commission. Background /Analysis: Item 5 of the Council's June 16 resolution provides: By October 1, 2020, create an ad hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission to bear witness to the truth of racial injustice in Iowa City and to carry out restorative justice, through the collection of testimony and public hearings, with such work to include a recommendation to the Council of a plan for dedicating and/or renaming public spaces and/or rights of way in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement; Examples of resolutions creating various city committees/commissions are attached. The resolution creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will need to address: 1. Number of members. 2. Whether positions will be designated for persons with specific expertise or from specific organizations. 3. Whether members will be required to be residents of Iowa City. 4. Duties/responsibilities of the Commission 5. Length of time the Commission will have to complete its work and report back to the City Council. 6. Report to Council - Details on what the report and recommendations to Council should include. The resolution passed on June 16 states that the report to Council will include a recommendation of a plan for dedicating and/or renaming public spaces and/or rights of way in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement. Council member Bergus has provided a few additional examples: 1) a professional repository for community stories in multiple media (written, video, audio, art); 2) a process for supported and facilitated direct conversations between community members of color and white community members, including those who've had direct negative interactions (police and protesters, landlords and tenants, students and teachers, doctors and patients, etc.); let's make a replicable model and provide the structure for these conversations throughout Iowa City; 3) educational programs throughout the community (sounds like staff already pursuing great ideas); 4) recommendations for City funding support, in coordination with existing City programs, grants, and commissions. 7. Will Council appoint the Chair or will the Commission, once created, appoint its Chair? In addition to the resolution Council will need to provide direction on what resources will be provided to the Commission. As a reminder, item two of the resolution passed on June 16 allocates 1 million for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2020 for efforts to promote racial equity and social justice, including support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Council should outline upfront whether support will be limited to facilitating meeting logistics and public engagement with all final programmatic recommendations for funding coming to Council for approval. As reminder, this Commission will be subject to the same state laws as other city boards and commissions, including open meeting and open record laws. City staff can assist in ensuring compliance through an appointed staff liaison position. Lastly, the City Council should consider how this commission will be expected to coordinate with other city commissions that are doing similar work including the Human Rights Commission and the Community Police Review Board. Clarity of scope and expectations for all of these commissions will help ensure efficient use of volunteer time as well as clarity for the public who want to participate in discussions and decision-making processes. ATTACHMENTS: Description I FR Core Functions and Requirements Climate Action Commission Ad hoc Senior Services Committee Ad hoc Diversity Committee Truth & Reconciliation Commission Core Functions & Requirements Core Functions: Fact-finding. The TRC will bring out first-hand testimony and other evidence of the experience of discrimination and racial injustice in police interactions, city services, employment, housing, univeristy academics and activities, and more, to create a concrete factual record to support a range of fundamental and necessary institutional and policy reforms in the coming years. Truth -telling. The TRC will give persons impacted and traumatized by racial injustice a deeply empowered and attentive space to share their stories of racial injustice (and gaslighting about the supposed lack of racial injustice) and the experience of being heard by (a) fellow communities of color, (b) a broad cross-section of the entire Iowa City community, and (c) key entrenched/established power -brokers and decision -makers in city government, the business community, and the University. • Education. Recognizing that structural racism is often as much a result of ignorance rather than malice, the TRC will provide deep experiential learning to broad cross-section of the Iowa City community regarding the reality of discrimination, racial injustice, and white supremacist assumptions operating in our idealized progressive/welcoming city and the painful experiences • Reconciliation. With the beginnings of a shared experience of race and racial injustice in our City, the TRC will build momentum for institutional and policy reforms and begin to cultivate new social practices, expectations, protocols, habits, rituals, conversations, and celebrations that will move Iowa City toward a shared experience of race and difference, justice and equality, an community and harmony in our city. Core Requirements: • City Support. Strong, unwavering support from city (and business, civil society, and university) officials to (a) loudly vocalize the need for a TCRP and for Iowa City to stop pretending it doesn't have a racism problem and (b) provide the financial and logistical resources necessary for a high-profile and successful process. Safety & Protection. The TRC must have the ability to protect participants from any threat of retaliation associated with their full and robust participation in TRC processes. The means to ensure this will be worked out but will likely need to include (a) consistent messaging that robust honest participation in the TRC is a heroic act in service of the long- term health of the community; (b) the creation of a Retaliation Prevention Task Force and if necessary a streamlined non judicial remedy system; (c) an insurance -backed commitment from the City to indemnify any witnesses against any defamation or other legal claim and a strong stand against any actors considering such responses/retaliation. • Inclusive Testimonial Participation. The problem of racial injustice in Iowa City intersects with and is invidiously buttressed by discriminatory and superiority assumptions impacting innumerable communities of difference across spectrums of sex, gender, ability, ethnicity, nationality, indigeneity, and more. The TRC must be have a strong ethic of inclusivity and aim to investigate and support intersectionality as part of its core mission. Widespread ListeningPpation. Robust listening/learning participation from across Iowa City's politically and culturally diverse communities and from the grassroots to the highest echelons of poltical and economic power is absolutely critical both to respect and protect witness participants (asking impacted persons to share their stories without sufficient procedural respect risks retraumatizing them) and to make viable the profound education and reconciliation goals of the process. Given what we know about Iowa City's inclination to hide from racial justice issues, strict transparency and accountability measures may be necessary to encourage broad participation across institutions, communities, and neighborhoods. While such measures are not a substitute for genuine good faith, they can help push people past initial wariness or dismissiveness to a point where they may recognize the value and core safety of the proceeding.) Evolving & Creative Design. It is impossible to say ahead of time exactly what processes and tools will work best for a TRC in Iowa City. Nor should the planners of a TRC in the present moment presume to know the needs of a true education and reconciliation process before a wide range of persons impacted by racial injustice have been heard from. Thus it must be expected that the procedures and requirements of the TRC will evolve over time as more truth comes to light and more information becomes available. The TRC must also embrace creativity and diffrerence in its core functioning. A "public hearing" with speakers at tables, microphones, and an audience is only one method of truth - telling. The TRC must be open to ways that art, music, theater, workshops, rallies, and other forms of congregation and listening can add dimensions to the process and reveal truths that cannot be fully expressed in traditional forums. Significant & Flexible Remedy/Response Powers. The TRC must have the power to direct and recommend the implementation of both practical and symbolic remedies and/or responses, commensurate with the depth and ambition of the underlying truth -telling and reconciliation process. As referenced in the language of the June 16 Council Resolution, such remedies/responses should include dedicating and/or renaming public spaces and/opr rights of way in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement, or specific person -of -color victims of police or community violence, or other significant community figures in the fight against systemic racism whose impact(s) may be revealed by the TRC process itself. The TRC should also be empowered to consider the question of reparations, measures to enhance the autonomy/security/sovereignty of communities of color, measures to rapidly mitigate disparities in social and economic power, and of course institutional and policy reforms across city affairs, University -city relations, and local business practices. 2 Prepared by: Brenda Nations, Sustainability Coordinator, 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 887-6161 Resolution No. 19-251 Resolution establishing a Climate Action Commission Whereas, in Resolution No. 17-96 the Iowa City City Council authorized the creation of a Climate Action Steering Committee for the purpose of creating the Climate Action and Adaption Plan to achieve greenhouse gas emissions targets of 26-28% from 2005 levels by 2025 and 80% by 2050; and Whereas, the Steering Committee convened Adaptation Plan, adopted in September 2018, continue as a self -governed advisory board; and during the creation of the Climate Action and and dissolved from an official City capacity to Whereas, after one year, members of the self -governed committee recommended a formal City Commission to address the City's climate action and sustainability objectives; and Whereas, in July 2019, City Council declared a Climate Crisis and increased new greenhouse gas emissions targets of 45% by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050 as recommended in October 2018 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in response to this crisis; and Whereas, creation of a Climate Action Commission will enhance and enable further community efforts to achieve the City's ambitious climate goals; and Whereas, a created Climate Action Commission will operate as an advisory body to the City Council and shall advise, research, analyze, promote, and with approval, implement initiatives that support the City's climate and sustainability goals, including the Climate Action Plan and any related or updated plan hereafter, and Whereas, the composition of the Climate Action Commission shall include eleven member; with backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise offering representation across the community which could effectively guide implementation of climate objectives. MidAmerican Energy and the University of Iowa will each have a standing representative on the Commission. Nine at -large seats, representing other key stakeholders, will be appointed by the City Council. Key stakeholders may include, but are not limited to, the Iowa City Community School District. area commercial businesses, local industry, design and construction professionals, non -profits, and the general public; Whereas, residents of Iowa City should be given preference, but members are not required to have Iowa City residency; and Whereas, the self-governing climate advisory board is a direct successor to the Steering Committee which developed the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Active members of this board have expressed interest in continuing in a formalized role and it is appropriate to appoint these members initially, without regard to gender balance; and Whereas, Commission member terms should be three years, with a two -term limit, and the initial terms will be staggered in length, with all members appointed for three years. The two standing members, MidAmedcan Energy and the University of Iowa, will assign their representatives and not be subject to term limits; and Whereas, the Commission should be guided by principles of equity, and ensure through diverse and representative Commission membership and through its actions, to consider equity impacts of proposed climate initiatives; and 13' Resolution No. 19-251 Page 2 Whereas, the Commission may form working groups or subcommittees on specific topics and issues to achieve substantive progress on action areas of the plan. Working groups and subcommittees may include members from outside the Commission; and Whereas, the newly created Commission will create greater credibility, influence, awareness, and capacity in interactions with City elected and appointed leadership, and throughout the community. Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Iowa City City Council hereby establishes a Climate Action Commission in order to assist the City in the implementation of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan in order to reach the new Climate Crisis emissions targets by 2030 and 2050 as follows: 1. The Commission shall have eleven total members consisting of nine at -large members appointed by the City Council, one from MidAmerican Energy, and one from the University of Iowa. 2. Members shall have backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise offering representation across the community which will effectively guide implementation of climate objectives, and may include representation from the Iowa City Community School District, area commercial businesses, local industry, design and construction industry, non -profits, and the general public. 3. Any active member of the climate advisory board who is interested in serving on the Commission is appointed as an initial member, even if not gender balanced. 4. City residency is preferred, but members are not required to be Iowa City residents as long as they are residents of Johnson County and meet the requirements of knowledge and expertise for guiding climate objectives, as set forth in Paragraph 2. 5. Member terms shall be three years, with a two -term limit except for the three members initially appointed for a one-year term. The initial terms shall be staggered in length as follows: a. Three members appointed for three years with terms ending December 31, 2022. b. Three members appointed for two years with terms ending December 31, 2021. c. Three members appointed for one year with terms ending December 31, 2020. These three members may be appointed for two additional three-year terms. Accordingly, the new terms for three members shall commence January 1, 2023, for three members on January 1, 2022, and three members on January 1, 2021. Representative members from MidAmerican Energy and from the University of Iowa will govern their own appointments and not be subject to term limits. 6. The Commission may form working groups and/or subcommittees on specific topics and issues to achieve substantive progress on action areas of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Resolution No. 19-251 Page 3 7. The Climate Action Commission shall: a) advise the City Council on climate issues. b) research, analyze, and promote climate actions, with particular attention to equity. c) educate and engage with the public on climate action and the City's climate and sustainability goals. d) assist City staff, City Council, and members of the community with implementing approved initiatives that support the City's climate and sustainability goals, including the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and any related or updated plan hereafter. e) recommend to City Council updates to the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. 8. The Climate Action Commission shall prepare bylaws, which it deems necessary and advisable for the conduct of business of the Commission, and present the bylaws to the Rules Committee and City Council for approval. Passed and apprrooved this day of er 2099. Ma r ATTEST: W, Zip Cl CLERK - d- — roved City Attorney's Office Resolution No. 19-251 Page 4 It was moved by Mims and seconded by Teague Resolution be adopted, and upon roll call there were: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: x Cole x Mims x Salih x Taylor x Teague x Thomas x Tbmgmorton the Prepared by: Geoff Fruin, Asst. to the City Manager, 410 E. Washington St., Iowa City, lA 52240 (319) 356-5010 RESOLUTION NO. 14-37 RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING AN AD HOC SENIOR SERVICES COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE VISION, MISSION, AND PROGRAMMING OF CITY SPONSORED SENIOR SERVICES IN RELATION TO THE OVERALL NEEDS OF SENIORS IN THE COMMUNITY WHEREAS, The vast majority of city sponsored senior services are provided through the Senior Center (aka The Center). The Vision of the Senior Center is that it "will be the communities' primary resource for the highest quality programs, services, and opportunities that promote optimal aging". The Mission of the Senior Center is "to promote optimal aging among older adults by offering programs and services that promote wellness, social interaction, community engagement, and intellectual growth. The Center serves the public through intergenerational programming and community outreach.",* and WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, the segments of the United States population that grew the fastest between 2000 and 2010 were persons ages 45 to 64 years and 65 years and older. Statistics on the State of Iowa and the City of Iowa City indicate that the senior population is growing in similar fashion; and WHEREAS, The City Council recently adopted its 2014-15 Strategic Plan, which includes a commitment to foster a more inclusive and sustainable Iowa City. The Strategic Plan also included a new initiative to examine alternative approaches to delivering services and programs for senior citizens; and WHEREAS, It is important for City services to recognize and adapt to the changing demographic and socioeconomic profile of Iowa City residents in order to ensure that municipal services are best meeting the needs of the population; and WHEREAS, The City Council has expressed a desire to evaluate the current services offered by the Senior Center in order to ensure that the City is effectively meeting the needs of the senior population within the community. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, IOWA, THAT: 1. The Ad Hoc Senior Services Committee is established. 2. The Senior Service Committee shall consist of seven (7) members to be appointed by the City Council. Members of other City boards and commissions may serve on the Senior Services Committee. Membership shall include at least one member of the City Council, Senior Center Commission and a non-member of the Senior Center. Up to two non-residents of the City of Iowa City shall be eligible to serve on the committee if they are residents of Johnson County and offer desirable expertise not available from applicants who reside in Iowa City. Resolution No. 14-37 Page 2 3. Applications for membership on the Senior Services Committee shall be announced, advertised, and available in the same manner as those for all City boards and commissions. The term of members shall commence immediately upon City Council appointment. 4. City Council shall select the Chair, who when present will preside over all meetings, and the Vice -Chair, who will serve as chair in absence of the Chair. 5. The City Manager and City Clerk, or their designees, shall staff the Senior Services Committee. 6. The Senior Services Committee shall determine the frequency and conduct of its meetings. The meetings will be open to the public in accordance with Chapter 21 of the Iowa Code. 7. The Senior Services Committee shall serve from May 1, 2014 to December 1, 2014 and shall have an organizational meeting no later than June 13, 2014. 8. The charges of the Senior Services Committee are as follows: A. To evaluate the current vision, mission, programming, and recent accomplishments of the Senior Center, as detailed in the 2013 Annual Report. Further, and to review the current demographics of the participants served by existing operations. Such evaluation should consider the 2013 Senior Center Survey of Members, Former Members and Non -Members, as well as other available data sources from the Senior Center, and determine whether segments of the senior population are not accessing available services. A summary of this committee evaluation and its related findings shall be included in the final written report submitted to the City Council. B. To make recommendations to the City Council on how Iowa City should use current financial and physical resources to meet the needs of Iowa City seniors. These recommendations should consider the City's use of existing resources and the vision, mission and programming required to more effectively serve the growing senior population in the community in accordance with the inclusive and sustainable values expressed in the City's Strategic Plan. Such recommendations shall include commentary regarding the specific segments of the senior population that they are intended to serve. C. To identify any obstacles, including facility considerations, which may be hindering the City's ability to serve the senior population and to make recommendations that would minimize or eliminate such obstacles. 9. The Senior Services Committee shall submit a written report to the City Council by December 1, 2014, that responds to each of the charges listed above and that contains recommendations, if any, with respect to each of the charges. 10. Absent further action by the City Council, the Senior Services Committee will dissolve on December 1, 2014. Resolution No. 14-37 Page 3 Passed and approved this 18th day of February , 2014. ATTEST: CITY CLERK p roved-by1 City Attorney's Office Resolution No. 14-37 Page 4 It was moved by Mims and seconded by Payne the Resolution be adopted, and upon roil call there were: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: x Botchway x _ Dickens _ Dobyns x Hayek x Mims x Payne x Throgmorton Prepared by: Susan Dulek, Asst. City Atty., 410 E. Washington St., Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 356-5030 RESOLUTION NO. 12-320 RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING AN AD HOC DIVERSITYCOMMITTEE TO STUDY CITY OPERATIONS AS THEY RELATE TO MINORITY POPULATIONS WHEREAS, the population of Iowa City is becoming increasingly racially diverse; and WHEREAS, on May 15, 2012, City Council passed a resolution of intent to establish an ad hoc committee to study City operations as they relate to minority populations with a view toward promoting just and harmonious interaction between local government and minority segments of the community (Resolution No. 12-260). NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, IOWA, THAT: 1. The Ad Hoc Diversity Committee is established. 2. The Diversity Committee shall consist of seven (7) members to be appointed by the City Council. Members of other City boards and commissions may serve on the Diversity Committee. Members must be residents of Iowa City. 3. Applications for membership on the Diversity Committee shall be announced, advertised, and available in the same manner as those for all City boards and commissions. 4. City Council shall select the Chair, who when present will preside over all meetings, and the Vice -Chair, who will serve as chair in absence of the Chair. 5. The City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk, or their designees, shall staff the Diversity Committee. 6. The Diversity Committee shall determine the frequency and conduct of its meetings. The meetings will be open to the public in accordance with Chapter 21 of the Iowa Code. 7. The Diversity Committee shall have an organizational meeting no later than September 10, 2012. 8. The charges of the Diversity Committee are as follows: A. To study the operation of the City's transit system, including but not limited to the downtown interchange, as it relates to minority populations with a view toward promoting just and harmonious interaction between City government and minority segments of the community. B. To study the operations of City law enforcement, including but not limited to the Police Citizen Review Board (PCRB), as it relates to minority populations with a view toward promoting just and harmonious interaction between City government and minority segments of the community. Resolution No. 12-320 Page 2 9. The Diversity Committee shall submit a written report to the City Council by March 10, 2013, that responds to each of the charges listed above and that contains recommendations, if any, with respect to -each of the charges. 10. Absent further action by the City Council, the Diversity Committee will dissolve on March 10, 2013. Passed and approved this 19th day of . June , 2012. !!g� w MAYOR ` ATTEST_ 2/ CITY RK Ap ove 6,13 City Attorney's Office Resolution No. 12-320 Page 3 It was moved by Dobvns and seconded by Payne the Resolution be adopted, and upon roll call there were: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: _x Champion X Dickens x Dobyns _ x Hayek x Mims _.._ x Payne X Throgmorton 0 0110 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ANDICE ESTIMATED HEARING(COST FOR THE 2019-J2020 ANNUAL FILED SANITARY SEWER PIPE REHABILITATION PROJECT IN THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, IOWA JM 02 2020 TO ALL TAXPAYERS OF THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, IOWA, AND TO OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS: Public notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Iowa City, Iowa, will conduct a public hearing on the Project Manual, including the plans, specifications, contract, and estimated cost for the construction of the 2019-2020 Annual Sanitary Sewer Pipe Rehabilitation in said city at 7:00 p.m. on the 21st day of July, 2020, said meeting to be held in the Emma J. Harvat Hall in the City Hall, 410 East Washington Street in said city, or if said meeting is cancelled, at the next meeting of the City Council thereafter as posted by the City Clerk. This project includes lining of approximately 10,600 linear feet of sewer pipe, reinstatement of approximately 236 service connections, and other associated work for various locations around the City of Iowa City. Said Project Manual and estimated cost are now on file in the office of the City Clerk in the City Hall in Iowa City, Iowa, and may be inspected by any interested persons. Any interested persons may appear at said meeting of the City Council for the purpose of making objections to and comments concerning said Project Manual or the cost of making said improvement. This notice is given by order of the City Council of the City of Iowa City, Iowa and as provided by law. Kellie K. Fruehling, City Clerk City Clerk Iowa City, Iowa