HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-04 TranscriptionPage 1
Council Present: Bergus, Mims, Salih, Teague, Taylor, Thomas, Weiner
Staff Present: Frain, Monroe, Kilburg, Dilkes, Fruebling, S. Bowers, Havel, Hightshoe,
Russett, Bockenstedt, Nagle-Gamm, Seydell-Johnson, Ford
Others Present: Longenecker, Van Heukelom (UISG)
COVID-19 Update:
Teague/ All right, well welcome again. I'm so happy that you all are able to join us today. Uh,
we're gonna get started just by...um, having .... I'm just gonna bring up my...sorry!
Adjustin' my screen here. (laughs) Well we're gonna start with the work session. First
item is COVID-19 updates, and I'll probably, um, give this over to Geoff Frain to see if
there's any updates that he has, urn .... for.....uh, Iowa City.
Frain/ Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I just have two follow-up items from, uh, previous conversations.
Uh, the first one, um, stems from our conversation at the last work session. Uh, we
talked about making sure that we wanted to be prepared, uh, to infuse additional dollars,
uh, to help the community, uh, in the event we have a .... a spike in, um, housing requests
or if we're facing some serious eviction, uh, situations here in Iowa City. So, um,
Councilors, um, Mims, Bergus, and Taylor, uh.... uh, were part of some communication
with me between these last two meetings and I, uh, forwarded a .... a proposal that I'd like
to share with the rest of the Council, uh, tonight, um, in hopes that, um, in hopes that we
can move forward and feel pretty comfortable with where we stand in terms of
emergency housing assistance. Uh, so what, uh, what I propose, what I'm proposing is
that, um, we ... um, not try to create any additional programs at this time, that we focus on
the three ... three programs that we have active right now. Uh, and again, these are local
programs, so this is not considering the State dollars. This is not considering, uh, the
CDBG dollars that Iowa City has received. We're really focusing on our local dollars
here. Um, there are three programs that are active, uh, that are assisting our residents
here in Iowa City. The first is the $50,000 program that is being administered by the
Shelter House. Uh, you had, uh, received an update on that in your information packet so
you know, uh, where that program stands. Uh, the second is the Center for Worker
Justice, My Home to Yours program, which you approved funding for at your last
meeting, and the third is our, uh, community security depos.... deposit program, which
assists people, uh, getting into homes by providing, uh, dollars for, um, the security
deposit, when that is a barrier. And, uh, what I'm proposing is that the Council provide
me, uh, the, uh, authorization to replenish those programs should they run out, up to 1.5
times our original commitment. So I'll walk you through what that means for each
program. Uh, for the Shelter House rent relief program, the original funding committed
was $50,000. Um, and I would have the authority to replenish that fund, uh... uh, to, uh,
the tune of another $75,000. Uh, the Center for Worker Justice My Home to Yours
program, the original funding commitment was 25,000 and going forward I have ... I
would have the ability to replenish that, um, that program up to an additional 37, uh, and
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a half thousand dollars. And then the Community Security Deposit program was
originally funded at 75,000 and uh, I would be seeking the ability to replenish that
program up to 112, uh, thousand dollars, $112,500. So the additional spending authority
that I'd be requesting, uh, from the Council is a total of $225,000. Um, again, this is not
a .... a guarantee that we would spend those dollars, but what we're trying to avoid here is
a situation which one of those programs runs out of funds at a time of great need, and we
really don't have the time, uh, maybe we're between Council meetings where we have to,
uh, formally come to you and ask for additional authorization. Um, we can begin to kind
of, uh, look at those programs now, if they get close to running out of funds, and be ready
to extend our funding, uh, should there be, um, additional need out there, which ... which
we think there probably will be. Um, I wouldn't necessarily fund, uh, the entire, uh, use
my entire authority, uh, at one time. So for example if the $50,000 runs out at the Shelter
House, um, I would have the ability to replenish that up to 75,000, but I might do that in
smaller increments, so $25,000 increment and another 25,000 increment, and that gives
us the ability, um, to make sure the program rules are being followed, um, make sure that
things are working, uh, according to expectations, and also allows us to report back to
you, um, at your meetings to let you know that we have authorized an additional 25,000,
and at any point that you may feel comfortable or if you wanna review program rules and
regulations, you can kinda press pause at that time, uh, without having me committed
that, uh, that entire, um, funding amount. Um, I .... I think a program like this, uh,
depending on your comfort level, um, with the, um, with the dollar amount I'm talking
about, um, I think that would ... uh, be able to get us through any sudden spikes as we're
kinda waiting to see what the federal government does. We're waiting to see how
effective, uh, the CDBG program is, and if we'll get additional CDBG dollars from the
State. I think it just....I think it just gives us a ... an additional level of comfort, um, that
we'll be able to meet those needs. So I'll stop there and answer any questions about that
before going on to item #2.
Weiner/ Would.... Geoff, would any of that, um, have an impact on the ... the City -run utilities, the
water, um, sewer, trash, take out and so forth?
Fruin/ You know at this point we ... we could, um, we could use some of those funds to reimburse
ourselves. That's not the main focus of the funds right now. Um, we'll probably take a
look at that with any State .... any additional State CDBja... CDB .... excuse me, CDBG
dollars that we get. Um, but we don't have those program rules in place right now, so
we're not exactly sure how those will work. Um, so the short answer is ... is yes, but that's
not really the focus of those programs as they stand now. Um, once we get to the point
where we need to consider shut -offs again, uh, which isn't on the table right now, um, we
may need to talk about whether we want to open the door with these funds.
Bergus/ Geoff, I'm just wondering about, um, Tracy Hightshoe's memo in this information
packet about the Shelter House program and the possibility of changing some of the
criteria, and ... and I'll be honest with you, I probably read it too fast, but I'm just trying to
square that. Is that ... is that relating to this Shelter House program or...or is she just
talking about the, um, the CDBG funds? I just wanna make sure if we're authorizing an
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extension of that program maybe ... maybe we should, um, discuss that change in criteria
at the same time?
Fruin/ Yes, uh, so that is, um, that is the same program that we're talking about here. It's the
$50,000 program. Um ... uh, as of the date of the memo that's in your packet, uh, the
Shelter House had spent just over 10,000. So there's.... there's still a substantial portion
of those dollars left. Um, but again, I think what we're worried about is with the
unemployment insurance benefits running out. Um, and uh, perhaps some of the eviction
protections coming to an end that ... that there might be an accelerated need for those
dollars. But it is the same program, yes.
Bergus/ So I would be favorable to, you know, extending Geoff's authority as he proposed, and
also, um, changing the criteria for that Shelter House program, as Tracy presented in .... in
her memo. I ... I do think that, uh, I saw an email from the Iowa Finance Authority today
that the State program may have also altered their criteria, so hopefully that opens up
some additional dollars for people to be eligible. I think they're saying that those who
were receiving the $600 a month unemployment will be able to receive that, um, Iowa
Finance Authority benefit potentially as well, but um, yeah! That's what I think. We
should ... we should, yes to both of those! (laughs)
Mims/ I would agree. I had communication with Geoff on this and support that increased
authorization. Again I think it ... as he's indicated, it avoids some emergency situation
where we would have to have a meeting because he doesn't have authority, so this gives
him the opportunity to address that, um, in a timely manner and um, like Laura said, I
would agree to those changes, uh, from Tracy's memo that gives, broadens the scope of
what they can do.
Taylor/ This is Pauline. I'm also in favor of ..of that and giving him the authority. I just had a
question as far as is there a time frame on this, a time limitation? Is it going to be three
months on..cause we really have no idea how long this, uh, full virus thing is going to go
on. So are ... are there some timeline guidelines on this?
Fruin/ That's a good.... good question. I would ... I would, um, probably, uh, feel most
comfortable if it was extended through the end of the calendar year, and then, uh... um, if
we haven't really had a reason to check back in at that point, uh, it probably means we
haven't had to spend the dollars. Um, so, um, I'd be comfortable with a January 1 kind
of spending authority window, and if we get into December and we think that's needed,
uh, we can always extend it a little bit. (several talking)
Thomas/ I'm in favor as well.
Salih/ I just wanna ask you .... I really don't remember if I read that on the memo or not. What
we gonna do for the people who really can't prove that COVID was affecting them, but
they are really, really can't make ends meet and they would like help.
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Fruin/ So, um, the, uh, two, uh, suggestions that Tracy, uh, recommended in her memo, which is
(mumbled) comes after consultation in .... in talking with the Shelter House staff, would
be that we allow for self -certification of income and COVID impact, uh, similar to what
we did with the Center for Worker Justice, um, agreement. Uh, so that would, uh,
presumably remove some of that barrier, uh, to have that, urn ... uh, that .... that
documentation, um and then the second one would be allow for the period of assistance
for the Shelter House program only, uh, to go from two months of assistance to three
months of assistance.
Salih/ You still did not answer my question really. Uh, I'm saying some .... I'm gonna give you
an example. Somebody who came to the country, uh, you know, like right ... like say
March, and they was looking for a job, and they could not find any job. Okay? And they
still continue looking for a job. And they did not find job because of COVID! And they
are in need. You know? Their income was zero before March, and their income is still
zero after March. (unable to understand)
Fruin/ Yeah, uh, I see Tracy's on the call. I don't know if, Tracy, if you talked about that exact
scenario with, uh, the ... the Shelter House, um, staff? Um ... uh, just going off the cuff
here, I think if.....if, uh... uh, they're not able to find employment because of COVID, uh,
because of the .... the, a depressed, uh, job market, uh, as a result of the COVID, uh, virus,
then, um, I would say that would ... that would count for our local. I don't know that that
would count for anybody else, but for our local dollars (both talking)
Salih/ No, I'm talking (both talking)
Fruin/ ...counting that as ... as COVID impact.
Salih/ Yeah, I'm talking about our local money.
Fruin/ Tracy, go ahead!
Hightshoe/ I can clarify my conversation. So, yes, with the, our federal Community
Development Block Grant money you do have to show impact that probably would not
be eligible. For the local money with Shelter House, um, I asked them to identify the
challenge that they had with the agreement that we had in place. They didn't mention
that, so I'm not sure if they're not seeing that or if they've not had that encountered yet.
What they just say that there's two issues (mumbled) income verification was a
challenge, so I was recommending that we move to, um, self -certification of income,
similar to the Center for Worker Justice agreement. The other concern that they bad was
they were finding people that two months wasn't enough, that people had been ... that were
late for three or four months with rent or utilities. So they were requesting to go to three
months. So staff was in support of that. They didn't ... they didn't mention any other
issues or challenges when we asked them to comment about what they.,would like
changed in the program so they could help folks. Um, so that didn't come up in our
conversation.
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Salih/ Because I told them I would interview somebody with them and they told him he's not
eligible because (garbled) his income wasn't reduced from before March and after March.
You know, after March 17 is not reduced, and also there is another situation happening in
front of me where somebody was not working enough, uh, before March. (mumbled)
start looking for a job, and he get .... he gets hired after March, like from January to
March he couldn't find job. He hire...he find a job after March, but his job
even.... because he found a part-time job, where he can make only 600 and his rent is like
1,300, and he need the different at least, and those kind of people, you know, I thinks, uh,
the wife was looking for a job. She couldn't find because of COVID. If the wife and the
husband were, uh, it's a normal time, they would have found job, both of them, and they
can pay the rent, both of them together. You know, this is a local money. We have to be
flexible. And help people! That's why I'm saying, if somebody really cannot .... you
have the income in front of you and you see the rent is 1,200 and the income is, uh, say
900 or 700, and they have three children, why we cannot help those people, because, you
know, the two parent cannot find job! One of them is just the one that find job during this
bad time and all of them, all this situation happen to the people who are new in the
country. I thinks, and they live in the City of Iowa City residence. We need to help `em
out!
Fruin/ So I would say that's... that's just where Council is in .... in terms of your comfort level,
um, you could ... you could assume COVID impact for everybody. Um, that ... that the...
that the pandemic is great .... great enough, um, and has, uh, an impact, which just
assumed to have impacted, uh, everybody on some level. Um, you still have to income
certify, um, but that's... that's really a Council, uh, policy preference on how you want to
craft your local programs.
Dilkes/ I just wanna say one thing. In terms of the programs that you ... the contracts that you
have authorized to date, it requires some showing of COVID impact. If you warm do a
different set of contracts and a different type of funding for .... for another, for other
reasons, you can do that. Um, but we're gonna have... and.... and we've allowed self -
certification. I agree with Geoff that the situation that Maz was describing could be, um,
could be because of COVID impact and that could be self -certified. But we can't, within
the framework of the agreements that we currently have, eliminate the COVID impact
requirement.
Salih/ Agreement with what, Eleanor?
Dilkes/ With Shelter House, with Community, and with Center for Worker Justice.
Salih/ I'm not talking about Community, this is federal money, and you told me, guys, before, we
have to follow the federal guideline on that. No doubt. I'm talking about the
50,000 .... also I'm not talking about our agreement because it's already done, but while
you are modifying the agreement for the Shelter House, because the ... the, to begin with,
the 50,000, because we said there is people are not eligible for federal money, so we can
give them this, and I think if (mumbled) with what Geoff said, just let (mumbled)
COVID impact for everything, that .... we can modify the Shelter House money for our
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agreement, you know, for the Center for Worker Justice (mumbled) I don't even wanna
talk about it, because that agreement is done and they have to follow the agreement. But
now we are modifying the Shelter House agreement. Then we should add that to the
Shelter House agreement, especially their money is still there! You know, they spent only
few thousand dollar.
Dilkes/ I think what I explained the last .... when we first started into this is that we have to
identify the public purpose. We have identified that as COVID impact, and we have to
have some minimal showing that that's what the money's going to. I'm comfortable with
self -certification. If you wanna completely change up the contract so that they don't have
to be connected to the COVID-19 impact, then we need to identify.... what that public
interest is and ... and how we're gonna deal with that, and ... and (both talking)
Salih/ What about (garbled) I did not find a job because of COVID!
Dilkes/ I just said that's fine! That's fine! (both talking, garbled)
Weiner/ It seemed to me that what ... what Geoff explained and what you're talking about would
all fit under, um, the proposed amendment for Shelter House. If someone comes in and
says I, a) I can't make, you know, I can't find a job that.... because of COVID. I can't... I
can't earn enough money to pay my rent. That's a .... that's a COVID impact. Because of
COVID I can't even find a job so that I can pay my rent. That's a self -certified COVID
impact as well, at least in ... from my perspective. (both talking)
Salih/ Okay, I guess we are on the same page, but this situation will go through then if somebody
did not find any job before, and now even they don't find job, it still .... I did not find job
because of COVID impact.
Fruin/ So then we ... when we, um, work with the .... the Shelter House to amend the rules, as
Tracy has proposed, um, Tracy'll just have that conversation with them on ... on what it
means to certify, to self -certify for COVID impact and I think ... I think all this works itself
out.
Salih/ Uh huh, as long as you (garbled) those people, I thinks I'm fine with the way that self -
certify person can write anything. That's not a problem.
Teague/ Hey, Geoff, I was wonderin' if there's any other ...while I do appreciate and do agree
with, uh... um, what we're gonna do now, cause the majority of the Council does agree
with the proposal for the COVID relief, but I did wonder if...if we were hearing from
anyone else that has a need. I know that, um, Better Together have reached out. I'm not
sure there's an update from them. Are there any businesses reachin' out, with some relief
requests or .... or we not gettin' that so much?
Fruin/ Yeah, um, Better Together (garbled) number two, so if everybody's comfortable on the
housing matter (garbled) we can move to that and I can start to get into the Better
Together request. That sound okay? Okay, so, um, as you know, uh, the Better Together
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group previously, uh, had requested, uh, $25,000 towards their `hold your own' gift card
program. Um, the, uh, Johnson County Board of Supervisors had committed $40,000, I
believe, to that program, and there has been, uh, over $85,000 rai... raised privately for
that program. Uh, that program rewards people that spends dollars at local businesses by
giving them a gift card. It also sets aside some, uh, incentive, uh, that is going to be used
to assist, urn ... uh, BIPOC (mumbled) business, uh... uh, owners in Johnson County who
have experienced, uh... uh, a .... a negative impact due to ... due to COVID, and um, where
things stand right now, the gift card program is ... is rolling, uh, pretty strong right now.
Uh, they have, um, accounted for over $100,000 in local spending, and I think the gift
cards issued itself have been somewhere in the neighborhood of maybe $12,000. So
they still have a considerable amount of...of funds, urn ... uh, left in that program. Um, one
of the, um, I ... I think it's safe to say, kind of a ... a surprise was, uh, when they went out
and sought applications, um, from the ... the BIPOC-owned businesses, uh, who need
assistance. Um, they received, uh, 50 applications, uh, from local businesses requesting
$244,000. And, urn .... uh, I ... I think that they anticipate only being able to meet probably
somewhere between 10 to 20% of that request, um, through.... through the `hold your
own' program. So I've had a few conversations, uh, with, uh, members of the Better
Together Committee that are, um, administering that grant program, and uh... uh, they, uh,
came forward with a suggestion that I think has a lot of merit, and that is instead of the
City contributing $25,000 to the gift card program, that we would designate our $25,000,
uh, towards a phase two grant offering for those BIPOC-owned businesses, uh, that are
located in Iowa City. And so I'll give you some numbers, again, uh, in all of Johnson
County they had 50 applications, uh, requesting $244,000. If you just break that down to
the Iowa City businesses, there were 33 applicants requesting 163,000. Now some of
those 33 that were requesting 163,000 will be funded in ... in kind of the ... the phase one
offering of this grant program, but um.....uh, we know that there will be many other
applicants that don't get funded or that don't get, uh, nearly the funding they need. And I
should have mentioned, of those 33 applicants that are from Iowa City, 16 of them
indicated that they have not received any funding support from the state or federal
government to date. So there's a good, uh, number of these applicants that didn't get PPP
loans or didn't get state assistance that are, um, really fighting through this on their own.
Uh, so the, urn ... the .... the modified request, uh, that we .... we could bring to you, uh, at
your next meeting, if...if everybody felt comfortable with it, would be to designate the
$25,000 for a, uh, phase two grant program to Iowa City, uh, based BIPOC-owned
businesses. And, uh, those dollars would be, urn ... uh, allocated by the same committee
that is allocating, uh, the dollars through the Better Together Committee and, uh, would
be our really ..our first step forward in offering local, uh, business support, uh, through
the .... through the pandemic. So I'll stop there and answer any questions you have about
the request and... and what this may look like going forward.
Teague/ Yeah, I do know about this program, um, I've read it.....through a .... an email that I
received about it, and, urn .... I do find that the $25,000 request from the City would be
appropriate. I guess the question that I have is can we limit our funds to only Iowa City
businesses?
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Fruin/ Yeah, so ... so the, um, I believe the, um, the ... the Better Together, they've assembled a
panelist, a group of people that are reviewing the .... the applications and my
understanding is that they plan to make their allocations, uh, here in a couple of weeks.
So we would wait for that process to .... to end up, uh, to carry all the way through and
then we would then take the subset of Iowa City -only businesses, uh, that remain and, uh,
offer our own grant program. So basically it's ... it's a ... it's kind of a phase two grant
program, um, but yes, we can limit, uh, our dollars to just those businesses, and if other
communities wanted to join in and ... and, uh, contribute towards the businesses owned in
their communities, I'm sure that would be an option the Better Together group would
entertain as well.
Bergus/ I think the Council had previously discussed supporting the gift card program and I think
most of us were in favor of that. I ... I like this one a lot better, I guess, personally. It does
seem like a good fit and very grateful for Better Together to come back with a, kind of
acknowledgment that, you know, the ... maybe the way the first, um, request was
established that that same need isn't there or was fulfilled more than they thought. So,
um, I would also just say from a process standpoint, we talked before about, you know,
future non-profit requests coming, relating to COVID relief, to maybe go through the
emergency funding procedure that we talked about earlier this year. Um, I don't know
how ... how this would or would not fit within that, but I think, you know, since the
majority of Council already was favorable to the 25,000 to Better Together, I'm
comfortable, um, saying yes to this request.
Mims/ I would agree. Like you, Laura, I think this is actually a better use of the money, uh,
more directly to people in need, um, versus doing the gift cards, and I think that's also
indicated just by the, um, the amount of money that the Better Together campaign still
has left on those gift cards. So I much prefer this approach.
Thomas/ I think this is an excellent idea.
Weiner/ I was actually of two minds on ... on the gift card. I wasn't ... I was on the fence on it, but
I ... I think this is a much more positive approach.
Taylor/ I agree too. I think it goes along with everything we've talked about in helping to
support local businesses.
Fruin/ Okay. So, um, we'll .... we'll put a resolution together on both of these items, both my
spending authority and, urn .... and the, uh, the grant program that we just talked about.
Those'll be ready for your next meeting. Um, any other, uh, any other questions that you
have for ...for me?
Weiner/ I just wanted to ask if you had any ..any sense or feedback of how the face covering
mandate is going? I know that the ... the County Board of Health just passed theirs and I
guess that will be taken up Thursday at the Board of Supervisors, uh, but I wanted to get
a sense from ... from the City's point of view and my ... my second question, which is sort of
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not necessarily (laughs) directly for you is the ... how the University is going to approach,
um, move -in to dorms.
Fruin/ Uh, so the .... the face coverings, um, you know, just anecdotally I think, uh, I think the
mandate has made a .... a very positive impact. I know just, uh, as I'm out and about, uh, I
notice a much higher level of compliance. Um, our, uh, Transit Department, uh, has
noted increased compliance on the buses, uh, with mask wearing, and uh, since the order
was issued, we've only had 17 calls for service into the Police Department, which is, uh,
much lower than I expected, and some of those calls, uh, were really just seeking
clarification and not necessarily reporting, uh, issues where there may have been non-
compliance. So we've .... we've had 17 calls. There's been no need for citations. Uh,
officers have been able to either, uh, come out and address the issue through education or
providing a mask. Urn ... uh, or, uh, when they arrived at wherever the location was, there
was, uh, no observed non-compliance with the order. So, uh, in my view it's, uh, it's...
it's had a very positive impact, um, on the community. I know there's, uh, concerns with,
um, the, uh... uh, kind of bars and restaurants, especially late at night, and... and concerns
of what those would look like, uh, going forward. Uh, you may have seen in the news
that the State has, uh, informed license holders that they plan to start enforcement of the
Governor's orders, uh, which I .... which I think will have a much greater impact, uh, than
any enforcement that we could do with our mask order. Uh, so, um, we don't have exact,
uh, ideas on how the, uh, State, uh, will do enforcement, but we do expect the State to be,
uh, coming to town here and helping us with enforcement, uh... uh, for, uh, bars and
restaurants. So, I'll keep you informed as we learn more about that process.
Teague/ I wanted to add that I've heard from a lot of people within the community that, uh, have
really been appreciative for the order, um, various reasons that I've been given. On the
flip side, I do know that there have been a small, a very small amount of people that have
reached out that have criticized the order. Um, there has been some that, you know,
stated that they don't agree with the order, um, whether they believe that I have the power
to do that or not. Um, but overall even those individuals, um, many of them stated that
even though they don't agree, they did appreciate, um, the efforts to reduce the ... the
amount of COVID. Um, so some, you know, totally didn't agree, um, but overall I think
in our community, um, and I've been out and about, um, lookin' around and people are
compliant for the most part. One of the challenges I think that, um, we could find as a
community is that we might, um .... uh, find some conflict with people that don't wear
their masks, um, and I think .... we don't know why a person isn't wearin' a mask, and I
want people to be just sensitive to that fact. Um, they could have one of the excluding,
uh, reasons why and so we don't wanna make assumptions, and so I really believe that it
is individually our ...do what we can to ensure that we're wearin' a mask if we don't fit
one of those excluding, uh, reasons, and so very proud of our comm ... uh, community.
I'm hoping to see, you know, the results in the numbers, because research has shown that
if people are wearin' masks, we're gonna see reduction in ... especially now that we're
gonna be getting closer to school starting, as well as the .... both the University, as well as,
um, our local Iowa City Community School District's returning. I'm hopin' that this act
will keep us a lot safer.
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Weiner/ My .... my question with respect to move -in to the dorms, is it ... and I don't know if we as
a city have any information on this right now, but um, I believe that Iowa State is ... testing
students before they move into the dorms, and what I read here is that the University of
Iowa at this point is not.
Fruin/ I do not have any information on that, but I'm happy to contact the University and ... and
follow up with the Council. Uh, I see Ryan jumpin' on. He may have some information.
Longenecker/ Uh, yeah, I have a little bit. Um, yeah the University is not planning to test
students when they get back to campus. Um, mainly because I think after consulting with
UIHC, they were told that testing all 30,000 students, right when they get back, would
only provide a snapshot in time, and I think they .... worry about, um, giving students the
sense like, oh, I tested negative so I'm fine. Urn .... I don't have it, and they're gonna
catch everybody who does have it. Urn .... so they're just reserving tests for essentially
symptomatic cases and then those who know that they've been exposed to COVID, um,
and so you can go to, um, through Student Health to get a test that way. Otherwise if
you're asymptomatic, um, and you wanna get a test, then you'll have to go to the Test
Iowa, um, site in Cedar Rapids. As for move -in, I don't have much information. I know
that they plan to do one-hour time slots, um, and only, you're only allowed to bring two
people with you, um, to help you move. Uh, I know that they're gonna try and distance it
more and spread it out more, so I'm assuming that the move -in process, instead of three
days like it normally is, is probably going to be a week to two weeks. Um, I can get more
information on that, uh, and send it along to Council. Urn ... but yeah, I know Iowa State
actually started moving in I think today, um, I have friends that started moving in today to
Iowa State, but um, besides the RAs at Iowa, I don't think any other students have started
to move in yet.
Teague/ All right, thank you, Ryan. Anything else on this?
Bergus/ Geoff, could you just report on the PPE that, um, Iowa City purchased and has been
distributing through non -profits real quick?
Fruin/ Yes, um, we have, uh, ordered, uh, 15,000, uh, face coverings, a mix of one-time masks,
cloth masks, and face shields, and at last count we had distributed nearly 10,000, uh, of
those face coverings. Um, I believe we have nine, uh, non -profits that we have provided,
uh, face coverings to and we provided some, uh, to the Iowa City Downtown District and
to the, uh, Business Partnership as well. Um, we do have, uh, we do have masks
remaining and, uh... uh, if anybody hears this message and needs it, we are targeting non-
profits and, uh, businesses that, uh, that need those for their employees or for their, uh,
their customers. And, uh, would like if I have the extra minute to say thank you to the
University of Iowa. We were able to, um, purchase excess, um, masks that they had
ordered, uh, this year that they do not believe they will need. So they had extra supply
which allowed us to get, uh, them very quickly and at a very reasonable cost, um, and get
those out the door almost, uh, almost immediately after your authorization to do so.
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Continue discussion of Resolution (20-159) of Initial Council Commitments addressing the
Black Lives Matter Movement and Systemic Racism in the wake of the murder of George
Floyd by the Minneapolis Police and calls for action from protesters and residents (IP3):
Teague/ Anything else .... on this topic? All right, thank you, Geoff, for the update. We're gonna
move on to ... the second item on our agenda, which is related to Black Lives Matter and
systemic racism, uh, here in our, um .... in.....in the resolutions that Council has created.
Also I will draw your attention to July 30th, uh, of the IP3, urn .... IP3 item, um, on that
July 30th, uh, there is an update there of how we're kinda tracking this from the, um, from
the City perspective. So I know that, uh, Councilor Bergus and Weiner went out, um, and
maybe you all have some reports that you wanna give to us at this point. Uh, one thing
that I did wanna, uh, maybe ... uh, personally do, uh, is maybe talk overall about, um, you
know, maybe relookin' at how are we gonna reach some of, uh, these goals. The
timelines are, urn .... are kinda fluent at this point and wondered if there's anything that
we ... that we feel like we can, um, take on. I do know that the Truth and Reconciliation,
uh, Commission is ... has been on the forefront, but there's quite a few other things I think
that we wanna achieve. So, uh, hopefully throughout this conversation we can bring up,
uh, some next steps for a few things. All right! Um, Councilor Bergus or Weiner?
Bergus/ Sure I can jump in, Mayor, with updates, um, just from the work that Janice and I have
done. I always like to provide a little bit of context for people that might be tuning in or
haven't been watching our meetings. Um, on June 16th we passed a 17 -point resolution
in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, supporting the end of systemic racism
in our community, and so we've committed to a number of different endeavors, um,
restructuring our Police Department, forming a Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
allocating a million dollars, uh, towards a number of equity programs and, urn ... uh,
initiatives in Iowa City, and so we continue to have this item on our work session agenda
and then also occasionally on formal meetings, as we make progress on these items. Um,
as Geoff has reported before and what I also wanna highlight for anyone who might be
watching is icgov.org/blm is where you can find constant updates, um, on our
commitments and the progress that we are making there. As you mentioned, Mayor,
there's a very nice .pdf that has kind of a snapshot of where we are, um, that was in our
information packet issued on July 30th was the most recent one. If you go to
icgov.org/blm, um, you can see all kinds of information about the initiatives that we're...
we're continuing to push forward. I can speak to the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. Last week Janice Weiner and I met with, uh, Raneem Hamad from the
Iowa Freedom Riders, uh, first individually and then we had a meeting later in the week,
um, with Raneem from IFR, as well as with representatives from the South District
Neighborhood Association and, um, had some overlap with some of the South District
Neighborhood folks, as well as Councilor Weiner, as representatives of the Black Voices
Project, although there were some people who couldn't attend from Black Voices Project
that day, so we're continuing to seek input from them. Um, we talked through, uh, some
proposals that the Freedom Riders had provided to ... to the South District and to the Black
Voices Project relating to the formation of the commission, and um, also you'll see in our
late handouts, we had a letter that was provided from some representatives of the South
District Neighborhood Association with their very specific input on the formation of the
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commission. In our initial resolution, the City Council committed to, um, forming the
commission by October 1st. Um, and we talked at our last meeting about some of the
criteria. So for example, how many members we might have on the commission, what
the application process might look like, if the commission would be Iowa City residents
or we might allow non-residents if they had certain areas of expertise or represented
certain groups, um, as well as, uh, the duration of the commission, that this is, um,
indicated as an ad hoc commission, so at least in the beginning there might be some time
frame in which it would be operating. Um, you know, what... whether or not there would
be some, uh, what staff support for the commission might look like. One idea that we've
had that we fleshed out a little bit since the last meeting is the concept of a facilitator to
assist the commission. That might be someone external to City staff. Um, as we've
discussed before, it's important that this undertaking be, um, independent from just us,
that it not be just City Council. It will be a public commission appointed by City
Council, but we're hoping that the undertaking that the commission supports is one that
facilitates community conversations in many sectors of Iowa City, in employment,
education, healthcare, um, other, you know, not just the provision of City services.
They're not just a specific to ... to Iowa City, and so as we .... as we go through all of this
we're trying to balance the requirements of a .... of a City commission with the need for
independence in seeking input from, uh, stakeholders in our communities of color. So I
would say as of right now we're still, uh, we don't have a draft of the resolution to form
the commission as we ... we thought we might have for this evening. Um, but have
followed up with our City Attorney, um, on getting, you know, what ... what could be the
frame work for that. As you'll all recall our last meeting we did look at a couple of
examples of resolutions for formation of the commission, or of recent commissions
that ... that the City has formed. So some takeaways from the meetings that we've had, I
think the, um, Iowa Freedom Riders are requesting that there be five members on the
commission, uh, the South District Neighborhood Association is requesting a larger, uh,
commission, and I think the input that we received from City Councilors at our last
meeting was also more on the side of a larger, uh, commission. Um, I think there's a
theme of making sure that people who are serving will be those who had experiences in
our community that relate to the subject matter of the commission, which is finding the
truth of, uh, systemic racism and hearing the stories, and um, giving credit and credibility
to what is occurring in our community, and then moving to the reconciliation place. So,
um, you know, we know that the commissioners themselves are not just, you know,
people who would be coming forward and telling their stories. The commissioners are
those that are going to be facilitating this wider community process, and I think the
feedback that we've received, um, which ... which I agree with, is that having individuals
who themselves have experienced, um, some of those ... those negative, um, things in our
community is important. So that's kind of where we are. Um, I should also say that the
Freedom Riders are being supported by a group from the University of Iowa Center for
Human Rights. They've... they've coalesced kind of a working group, um, and also a
couple members of our Human Rights Commission are ... are serving sort of in that
working group. So there's.... there's overlap in those different, um, circles or centers,
networks of expertise, as well. Don't know, um, if anyone else has... questions or input
or...Janice, if you have other things that I missed.
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Weiner/Um, I think that was .... I think that was pretty comprehensive. I mean the ... the, um,
there ... I would ... I would just add that there was a real focus in some of the discussions on
the need, um, to make sure that the commission ends up being inclusive of a variety of
the BIPOC voices in Iowa City that have been affected by this, uh, and that it also not
rush its work, either our for ...either the formation or its work because it's really
important, um, in the long run to get this right.
Teague/ All right, thanks to both of you. Um ... I do know that one of the goals is for us to kind of
get a resolution for ...or kinda the charge for the commissioners. Um .... I guess my
question would be .... my, well my understandin' from the last meeting would .... was that
this is something that will kind of get initially crafted outside and then it'd be presented
to Council, um, or...what are thoughts on that?
Weiner/ And I don't, um, Laura, please ... please chime in. My sense is that there is ... that, um, as
we're ... the, we are going to continue conversations, uh, and that I would...I would hope
that certainly before the next Council meeting, uh, we would have the time and ability to
put together at least a framework for consideration.
Teague/ Yep, and that's fair enough, and I ... I just wanted to make sure that it was out there for
public knowledge, um, that that is the plan that we're having. So thank you. Um, and I
do know that Black Voices Project does want to ... very much weigh in on this. I've had
conversations with some of the leadership there or very involved members, and so, um,
we'll wait for them to kinda talk to you two and give their official input, and then we'll
be able to share that publicly as well. So any other item related to the commission?
Weiner/ (mumbled) I don't have an item related to the commission but I have something else
related to our resolution, when we get to that.
Teague/ If no one else has anything else then I think we can talk about the resolution in general,
um, because I do believe that, um, we ... we've been kind of focused on one area, well
maybe two, uh, but I wanted to touch base on items from the resolution as well. So now
would be a good time, if no one else has anything.
Weiner/ Okay. What .... I wanted to touch on one of the other really big issues in the resolution,
um, which is the ... our commitment to develop a preliminary plan to restructure the Iowa
City Police Department toward community policing. Um, it has a ... a deadline of
December 15a' for a preliminary plan, and I think that's gonna come up much more
quickly.... come upon us much more quickly than any of us could imagine. Uh, and ... so
as a result, I would like to throw out for everyone's.... for consideration that ... that we
maybe take... undertake an effort to build a repository of elements is what I'm calling it,
of ideas and models over the next month to six weeks, and the way ...and the way I would
suggest, one way that I would suggest that we could look at it is to do a series of
essentially focused listening posts, um, several of which could be in parks and
neighborhoods, socially distanced and with face coverings, each of which could be
attended by two or three Council Members, um, as well as, uh, perhaps, uh.... a
representative of the City Manager's office and someone to take notes. A couple maybe
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as well by Zoom for people who would rather not or cannot be out in public during
COVID, and then I think we ... we'd also be well served by doing one, at least one, with
the non-profit agencies that work in the fields of like mental health, homelessness, crisis,
domestic violence, sexual assault, immigrant rights, and so forth and then we can ... we
can collect ideas, um, in ... and thoughts in writing as well, maybe by our Coun... Council
email. (mumbled) wouldn't matter to me personally if, uh, ideas ... if people are focused
on a single issue or on a broader concept. I don't think that any idea would be either too
small or too big. Um, so that's sort of what I would throw out there, that I would view as
a, um, a cooperative, collaborative, and community undertaking... which of course still
has to have as a major focus the BIPOC community and its experiences, and I think ... but
I think that would also encompass other issues, such as the best way to deal with mental
health, addiction related, or homelessness related calls or...or traffic issues. Um, and I
would see something like that as just the beginning of a process to come up with this
preliminary... restructuring plan.
Thomas/ One thought I was having with respect to the... restructuring the Police Department was,
uh (mumbled) to get a better understanding of the, um, what I believe are the 17,000
interactions that our Police Department has with the public, I believe, on a yearly basis.
Urn .... I ... I'm personally interested in trying to understand the nature of those interactions
and engagements, um .... you know, what ... what types of engagements are there, you
know, I've spoken to many of you about the ... the question of traffic law enforcement, you
know, that that's... that's a significant piece of how our Police Department engages with
the community. But there .... I'm sure there are other categories, uh, that we could, uh,
identify, um, to get a better idea of what those interactions are, where they may occur, and
how they impact, if there is a pattern, um, you know, our BIPOC community. Um, it
seems to me it would be helpful to have that kind of information so we could ... get a better
idea of what ... what types of engagements seem to result in complaints with our CPRB,
uh, that result in disproportionate contact, and uh, try to yet use that as sort of a platform
on which to then, um, inform our ...our thoughts regarding how we would restructure the
Police Department. So that, you know that ... that kind of data analysis would take some
time, so I would like to suggest that, um, it could serve as a starting point for coincident
point for, you know, developing those kinds of models and precedence that we may be
looking at.
Mims/ (mumbled) um .... with both Janice and John. I think, um, think the community, and we
set for ourselves (laughs) I think a pretty, um, aggressive timeline for this, given just all
the ordinary work that we need to do, and staff needs to do. So I think to start to gather,
um, as much input as we can from the public, and Janice, I really like, you know, the
variety of mechanisms that you have mentioned, from you know, gatherings in parks
where people can be socially distanced but you can kind of have that face-to-face
conversation, to ... you know, uh, to doing some Zoom meetings, to emails to Council, and
even possibly, um, maybe the City staff can set up more of an anonymous, uh, way for
people to ... to offer ideas and suggestions online, but I think ... doing at least some in
person and with Council representation and, you know, very carefully selecting those
locations so we can get representation across the community, particularly obviously
across the BIPOC community is .... is most important. Likewise with what you've said,
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John, the idea of using data to help inform, uh, decisions and models and changes I think
makes a lot of sense, and so I don't know, um, obviously Geoff and IT staff and ICPD can
give us a better idea of how easy and ... and/or difficult and time consuming it might be
to ... to break some of that (mumbled) I would guess that a lot of it could be broken down
at least a high level, probably with not a terrible amount of effort. Um, the ... the one I
guess additional piece that I would throw out is that I think as we look at this process of
trying to gather information so that we can... can discuss it and put something together
and have the public react, etc., I would wanna make sure that we do not exclude our staff
from input as well. Um, we made it clear that we don't ... we don't expect or want
necessarily the staff to drive this process or drive these decisions. These obviously are
Council decisions. But I think we would be remiss if we did not, um, respect and take
advantage of expertise that we do have on staff, uh, even from the Iowa City Police
Department. And take all these pieces, all of them, from all... anybody who wants to and
has information to kind of put into a hopper, into this repository as Janice has called it,
um, to give us the absolute most information for us to analyze and... and come up
(garbled) a decision. So ... but thank you both, Janice and John, I appreciate your
comments.
Taylor/ I .... I also appreciate that, John, cause I think, uh, I didn't realize that 17,000 calls.
That's... that's a lot of calls. So it would be helpful if we had some kind of data, uh, to
break it down to see just how many of those perhaps were related to social services,
mental health, or...or alcohol or even, uh, domestic abuse kinds of calls, rather than traffic
stops or those kinds of things. Uh, so I think that would be very helpful.
Fruin/ Just ... just to clarify real quick. It's, uh, our ...2019 calls for service were 77,000, not 17.
Thomas/ (mumbled) I knew there was a seven in there, but (laughs)
Teague/ Um, I .... as far as the, um ..... definitely reachin' out to the community to have, um,
listening.... listening posts, listening sessions, I think is very positive. One of the things
that I .... I know just from the, I think the three events that we held, uh, Mayor Pro Tem
and I were involved with, um, havin' some `speak up and speak out.' Um, it ... it, we
wanted to make sure that we reached out to, um, the BIPOC community, um, essentially
to ensure they were a part of it and ... we were ... we were, um, happy with our efforts,
although we ... it was so quick (laughs) that we didn't have time to, uh, really reach out
like we wanted to, uh, but the word got out really quickly and there was, urn, definitely
some BIPOC individuals part of that, sharin' their own personal stories, which were very
meaningful, uh, very powerful to hear from those individuals specifically. Um, so I ... I
think whatever we do we wanna make sure that there are, um, just conversations about
how we can best, uh, reach out to ensure that the BIPOC population or individuals are
notified and are present.
Salih/ I ... I just think that .... let us be clear here. This is a Black Live Matter problem and they are
the one who requesting, you know, this restructure of the police department. So we have
to reach out definitely our priority have to fall ... have to focus on reaching out as the
Mayor said to the black people in the community and the immigrant in the community.
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White people, they don't have a lot of bad experience with the police and our data
showing that most likely the people of color been stopped than (mumbled) the human
right data that they release, uh, last I guess the beginning of this year or maybe the end of
last year that we saw. It tell us clearly that ... that the black people in this community has
been (mumbled) and they been stopped more than white people in this community. It
was clear. People of color in general, they are the one been affected by this. If we really
wanna listen to the people for ...like how can we structure the police, we have to put that
priority. You know, after we listen that we don't mind hearing from other people, and
there is many good people in this community have experience and they support our effort
and we can hear from them. There is no problem. But our focus have to be on that.
Listening to the police department to like ... how restructure the police, I don't think so.
That's my own opinion. That's will be the last one to like ... because I cannot listen to the
people who are ... we want to restructure them, to tell us how we can structure them,
restructure them. Okay, to me it's odd. I'm not gonna support that, but we would like to
put the people of color as a priority, to reach out to them and to listen to them ... what,
what the change that they want. As the Mayor, uh, the Mayor said, when we went out to
do this listening, this ... this speak out ... speak up, speak out event, we heard this story that
heartbreaking, and all the people who been there, they start hearing how ... how the Iowa
City Police Department was treating the people of color in this community. We heard it,
and you know, for ...white people in this community have a lot of thing for granted, you
know? We heard people who just scare when they go to the HyVee. Their kids walking
with them. They don't have to put their ...their hand in their pocket because there is
assumption that maybe they stole something. That's why ...take your hand out your
pocket. We heard people saying those kinds of things. (garbled) people they don't have
to worry about that when they walking on the HyVee or somebody else. This is affecting
people of color and black people in this community. Let us give the, you know,
everything (mumbled) deserve and let us give everything that the, you know, the focus
they deserve, and I'm gonna just really pushing for priority to listen and hear from people
of color in this community and make that priority.
Teague/ All right! (both talking)
Bergus/ I was gonna ask, Mayor, if maybe ... it sounds like, um, the majority of Councilors are in
favor of this listening post idea, um, so whatever we need to do to kind of move that
forward. I know Mayor Pro Tem and I, um, I think we need to get back to Kellie with
dates (laughs) for this month, um, to do the normal listening post anyway, and I don't
know, uh, Mazahir, if you're interested in ... in, uh, maybe focusing on that, for that
listening post or .... trying to have some overlap. I think that's one opportunity. Um, I ... I
would just like to ask maybe that the, um, staff go ahead and start collecting that data
or...or framing up that data for us. I know there's some very high level data about
disproportionate minority contact in the annual study, and then there's also some, um,
other high level data about, um, charges and traffic stops that's reflected in our equity
scorecard, um, which comes out every year and is, um, also linked at icgov.org/blm is the
equity scorecard and there's just, again, some very high level, um .... in .... information
there relating to charges and traffic stops and broken down by race. Um, but I think even.
Geoff, if you could just let us know, is it ... is it the kind of undertaking that staff could
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assist in compiling information about types of stops and areas of stops, uh, patterns, that
kind of thing?
Fruin/ Yeah, absolutely. We can ... we can pull that together, um, and I ... and I think frankly it's
gonna be critical to making informed decisions. Um, when you're looking at how to
respond to certain calls differently, which... which we're onboard with, uh, absolutely.
You have to know how many (garbled) for those types of events there are and when, and
how frequently they come. Are they seasonal? Do they happen at night, during the day,
are they spread... all that's gonna affect your staffing models. So, um, you're going to
need a whole lot of data to guide your decision making going forward, and I think it's
really powerful to put that data in the hands of...of the people who have some ... some
ideas out there, uh, whether that's residents or non-profit, um ... uh... uh, employees, um,
we've gotta ... I think that's the next step and ... and John was right on point. We've gotta
pull that together in a meaningful way, get it to the public, and then have some really
informed discussions on how we might go about things differently, with the goal of better
serving the public going forward.
Mims/ To that point, Geoff, it just ... as I'm thinking about this, from your perspective, um, and
(mumbled) be interested in what other Councilors think, I guess one, how long would it
take, do you think .... maybe you can't answer this right now obviously, to kind of get that
into some meaningful form for us, and then to Councilors, do you think it makes sense to
wait for that data before we try and schedule, um, meetings and .... and gather input from
the public, so that they can also see that data before they start, you know, making
suggestions about changes and new models, etc.
Fruin/ I don't know that you need to wait for it. Um, there's probably a certain level of
information that we can get to you right away, uh, that would be informative for your
audiences at these listening posts. Um, but as ideas come in, we may need to dissect the
data a little bit differently to ... to kinda test out those theories, if you will. So I wouldn't,
uh, I wouldn't necessarily think you need to wait. I think you can get going. We'll get
you some good information to get started with. (mumbled) get it in a good, presentable
form and then, uh, we'll just refine, refine, and refine based on what we're... what we're
hearing from the community.
Taylor/ I agree with Geoff, cause I ... I think we really wouldn't want to, uh, influence them by
giving them, showing them the data we have. We wouldn't want to hinder them from
maybe bringing up their own stories, cause I think that's what we wanna hear are their
stories about how they've been influenced by this.
Weiner/ If I could add one thing (several talking, garbled)
Thomas/ One ... one other quick aspect of the data that .... that came to my mind, uh, in looking at
our material was the .... whether it....it might be useful with respect to the CPRB to have
an understanding of where those complaints are coming from. Are ... is there a pattern, uh,
with respect to that? In other words, if it's ... if it's complaints that are driven by traffic
stops or perhaps domestic calls, things of that sort. So..so we begin to see if there are,
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um, particular types of engagement which have a higher likelihood of resulting in a
complaint, uh, that we could then, in my mind it's almost like preventative medicine.
How ...how can we .... make a change to that ... that form of engagement, which may help
simply reduce the, uh, the number of complaints that are ... that are filed with the CPRB.
Weiner/ The ... I like the data issue you brought up, John, is really, um, is really helpful. Um, to
me .... a lot of the ... the story telling and the truth telling is ... is really going to be the
province of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Um, when I think of, uh, public
forum (mumbled) other, my hope would be that perhaps.... some of the experience that
people ... that the people... that people have had, um, will lead them to say.... and this....
because this happened and this is the change that I see as necessary or this is the area that
really needs to be changed, as opposed to a .... a ..... a really story telling, um, session, if
that makes any sense.
Fruin/ If I could just offer one other thing I think would be important for the community
discussion is ... is proof that .... that these alternative solutions work, um, because we do
have evidence here, and .... and we .... we can share some of that data. We can talk about
how opening the ... the winter shelter, uh, four, five years ago reduced calls for service.
Uh, we can do the same with Cross Park Place. We can talk about the mobile crisis unit
that already exists in Johnson County, but many people don't know about and how many
calls that responds to and... and how that relieves, uh, our, um, our need to respond to
those ... to those calls for service. So I think .... um, proving to people that there... there is a
path forward here is equally as important here too. You want .... you want people to come
in with ideas, but there's gonna be some... some skeptics out there too, and uh, it's not to
say that every idea will work, but we ... but we have shown that alternative responses, uh,
can be effective and ... and that's really, uh, something I think we need to get out there
more, um, as we're having these discussions.
Teague/ One thing I think we'll find is, uh, the commun.... our community, um, is very, um, they
....they bring solutions often, uh, to us. They, uh, and ideas, and I .... I think that we're
going to find that. I've been talkin' to, of course, a lot of people throughout this process,
um, BIPOC population specific or individuals specifically, and many .... many of us have
ideas on, um, several resolutions, um, things that can, you know, be in place, uh, to really
change the way that our police currently operate. So I think we're gonna be very
surprised and, um, and .... and.....and just enlightened by some of the ideas that come...
come through this process.
Mims/ I think that's great, Bruce, and I think the more that we can reach out to the BIPOC
community and, you know, I ... I don't think any of us sitting here disagree with what Maz
said. The focus needs to be on getting the input from the BIPOC community. That has to
be absolutely the highest priority. How do they see changes that could be made that
could impact their interactions, um, and ... you know, decrease.... decrease interactions,
make any necessary interactions go better, you know, whatever it might be. So we
definitely, um, need to reach out, and I guess what ... my question to you (mumbled) all the
Councilors, you know, are there other ways, better ways, additional ways that you feel
that we can get that input? I mean we can only do so many (garbled) meetings. Some
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people won't come, some people can't come, some people won't be comfortable in that
environment speaking, you know, we can, you know, put all kinds of information out.
They can send us emails. People may not wanna be identified. Can we do any kind of
a ... a Survey Monkey or whatever, I mean, what other ideas are there so that we really can
try to get the most and broadest and best input, um, possible? So I'm just .... I'm open to
anything that people think will work so we can get the most information, most input
possible.
Teague/ I guess personally I think startin' with this, uh, could be step one, and then we can
certainly, um, get input from anyone that is out in the public that think they may have
some suggestions for us. Uh, certainly we do have the South District, um, IFR, as well as
the Black Voices Project, that has had significant, uh, contact with the BIPOC community
and so there could be ways to, um, you know, certainly advertise through them or even
get some suggestions as to how we can certainly reach out.
Mims/ Geoff, can I ask a question. How ...how difficult is it, and again maybe you need to come
back (laughs) I don't mean to put you on the spot. To ... and I come back to Janice's word
of repository, I guess. How difficult is it to set something up say with our website, where
people could just go to a spot on the website and like click a button and type in a
comment kind of thing, uh, I'm just trying to think .... and I realize that doesn't work for
everybody and that's why we need to do in-person. People can send snail mail, whatever
works, um, but is that something that would be .... real hard for staff to do?
Fruin/ No, no, that's easy and we could tum that around very quickly. You're just, I think,
basically... looking for a .... a .... a mode of input, you know, just an empty text box maybe
with a couple of prompting questions and that's.... that's very simple to do.
Taylor/ And, Susan, you'd mentioned earlier I think you, uh, you used the term anonymous and I
think, Geoff, is that difficult to do? You know, I'm technically challenged, uh, for people
to submit corrnnents anonymously?
Fruin/ No. No, we can do that.
Mims/ And I would encourage that with it we give them the option, you know, of...of leaving a
name and contact information, but make .... make it very clear that it is optional, so that if
people, you know, want us to know, so if they potentially wanted feedback from us or
something, or if we wanted to ask clarifying questions. At the same time they feel totally
comfortable not to give any identifying information if they don't want to. And certainly
that's obviously just one mechanism in addition to the others that we've talked about, but
I would like to encourage staff, if other Councilors are comfortable, that we kind of start
with that and try and figure out either tonight or relatively quickly, some dates for some,
um, in person meetings and figure out those locations and .... and Councilors who might
want to be a part of that.
Salih/ Definitely I will, uh, you know, encourage that, uh, you know, to .... to ask `em if they can
put their name even though if it's like optional, but .... uh.... if they can put their name will
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be really great so we can see where we getting this feedback, at least like, uh, the
people... because we need diversity of people to give us feedback will be great. So,
hopefully, you know, yeah, it's optional, definitely, no problem but encouraging them,
yeah. If we have it there and it's optional, people if they wanna do it they will do it, but
like not completely anonymous, you know, just give them the option. I agree with Susan
on that.
Mims/ Maybe another thing related to that, Maz, and if this is possible, Geoff, is also if there's a
couple of questions, maybe giving them the option — again optional — to identify, um, by
ethnicity.
Salih/ Yes!
Mims/ (both talking) ethnicity.
Salih/ Optional, yeah.
Mims/ Yeah, definitely optional!
Bergus/ I....I have a specific request if we're going to be doing a, um .... a web form, um, if ..if
we can make sure that it's directing people to resources online as well. Like we don't
know how they're going to get to the form necessarily, but I often push people towards
the City's, um, email subscriptions. We have a bazillion different email subscriptions,
and if you subscribe to the right ones you are really in the know about things. So I don't
know if we have one yet, um, that's sort of equity and BLM specific, um, I imagine there
is, but just, Geoff, if we can confirm that that .... that's happening, so that if someone were
to submit input on something like this, to make that they .... if they choose to enter their
email address they will then be getting updates on this process and the City's initiatives
along these lines.
Fruin/ Very doable!
Teague/ All right, so it does sound like, um, Mayor Pro Tem and Councilor Bergus, um, if I heard
it (garbled, goes silent)
Salih/ (garbled)
Bergus/ Mayor's frozen. (several talking)
Weiner/ Yeah, Mayor just froze.
Fruin/ So, Maz and Laura, you're gonna handle the first listening post. We'll just have ya work
with Kellie on the date and then we'll get that promoted out, and uh... I think, um .... uh,
other Councilors can start to, um, think about, uh, locations and ... and, uh, follow up dates
too. So .... we can, uh, we can carry that over to the next, uh, work session, uh, if you'd
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like and then ... or at least have one scheduled by that time, and can build the .... the
subsequent ones after that.
Teague/ (garbled) by chance?
Salih/ Yes!
Teague/ Okay. I'm gonna (garbled) and sign back in. If there's nothing else, uh, Mayor Pro
Tem, can you lead us (mumbled) item?
400 N Clinton Preservation Proposal Update (IP4):
Salih/ You know .... uh, I have to open the agenda (both talking, garbled)
Teague/ (both talking) ...400 N. Clinton, um (garbled) proposal.
Salih/ Yes, it's IP #4. And, uh, do we have presentation?
Russett/ Yes, good evening. This is Anne Russett with Neighborhood and Development
Services. Oh, um.....I do have a presentation ..... is there a way that the host can allow me
to share my screen?
Salih/ Okay.... Kellie? Or who (both talking)
Fruehling/ You should be able to, Anne. Um....
Russett/ Okay! Now I can! Yep, thanks! Okay. (mumbled) Sorry, I'm trying to get this on the
right one. Okay! All right so as was mentioned, this is a discussion on the 400, uh.... 400
N. Clinton. Uh, this was presented to the Council back in February. So I have a few
slides that I'd like to go through. Um, the purpose of tonight is really to get some
feedback from the City Council on next steps. Uh, in terms of, uh, background, uh,
this... this initially started because the Historic Preservation Commission submitted an
application to designate 410, 412 N. Clinton Street as a Iowa City historic landmark.
That, uh, local landmark designation failed, and after that failed attempt at that rezoning,
staff worked with the property owner to identify another solution to get that property
landmarked. At that time the property owner proposed redeveloping 400 N. Clinton
Street and 112 E. Davenport Street in exchange for voluntarily landmarking 410, 412 N.
Clinton. This item was discussed with the Historic Preservation Commission in January
of 2020 and then in February with the Council. And at that time the City Council
directed staff to continue to work with the property owner, um, on revised plans for the
redevelopment of 400 N. Clinton Street and 112 E. Davenport Street. And we did receive
some revised plans from the property owner. Um, many of the concerns that were raised
by the commission and the Council were addressed in the revised plans, but there were
some changes that we felt were significant enough that we needed to get more input from
the Historic Preservation Commission. So in ... um, July, last month, the Preservation
Commission relea... reviewed the revised draft. Um, next I just have some .... some
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images here for context. This is .... 412, 410 N. Clinton Street. This is the historic
structure. So this is the property that would be landmarked as a local historic landmark.
400 N. Clinton is right here. This is 112 E. Davenport. This would be, uh, redeveloped.
Here's a image of 410, 412 N. Clinton. Again, this is the historic structure. This is 400
N. Clinton Street, and 112 E. Davenport Street, which would be demolished as part of the
proposal. And just a .... another photograph for context here. You can see the historic
structure in the back, next to 400 N. Clinton on the ... on the comer. And Currier Hall is
across the street. The ... uh, elevations that we received and that the Council and the
commission reviewed earlier this year are shown on the screen here. Um, it's a ... it was a
six -story building with a gabled roof. Two elevations, and when we took this to the
commission in January they had a lot of concerns with the scale of the proposed
development, but ultimately the commission wanted to save 410, 412 N. Clinton Street.
Um, we also received some input from Friends of Historic Preservation, and they
recommended some design changes to the building, specifically to remove the six -story
and allow five stories with no step ... stepback, but to have it be, uh, a flat roof instead of a
gabled roof. And the ... the commission and the City Council both agreed with those
design changes. The other concern that was brought up during the City Council meeting
in February, uh, was the lack of open space shown on the plans. So we ... we provided
these, um, comments to the property owner. Uh, if you remember from our discussion in
February of 2020, in order to develop the property as is proposed it would require both a
rezoning, a map amendment and a text amendment. What is being proposed, um, goes
beyond what is allowed by our current zoning code. Um, so this ... this chart here just...
provides kind of a side-by-side comparison of what's currently on the ground, what could
be redeveloped under the current zoning, and then what is being proposed. So I'm ... at
410, 412 N. Clinton Street, um, currently there are 18 units on that property and nine
parking spaces. It's a two-story structure. If it was redeveloped under the current zoning,
um, the maximum number of units that our zoning code would allow is 24 one -bedroom
units. And 24 parking spaces would also be required.... for those 24 one -bedroom units,
and the height limit is 35 feet. At 400 N. Clinton Street and 112 E. Davenport Street
there are currently 11 units in those two buildings and there are seven spaces, seven
parking spaces. There's a two and a half story building and a one-story building. And
similarly to 410, 412, if this area was redeveloped they could get 24 one -bedroom units.
Um, they'd need to provide 24 parking spaces and..and the maximum height is 35 feet.
So if that entire area is developed, uh, both 410, 412, and 400 N. Clinton Street, one... and
112 E. Davenport Street, the maximum number of bedrooms and units would be 48 one -
bedroom units and 48 parking spaces would be....be required. So what .... what's being
proposed are 32 units, a total of 71 bedrooms. They're showing a little under 1,800 -
square feet of open space, 21, um, parking spaces, and a four-story building. So here are
the revised plans. They're showing .... the open space in this area here between the
historic structure and the new building. And the main change between.... well there are
several changes. The one change that we wanna discuss specifically with the commission
is this portion here, which wraps around the historic structure. You can see here that they
changed it to five stories and that there's a flat roof, and again here is the portion of the
new building that wraps around the historic structure. I just have a few more elevations.
This is the Davenport Street elevation. And this is a 3-D model that the property owner
also provided. When we took this to the Historic Preservation Commission in early ...in
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early July, they still had some concerns with the scale of the building, but um, there was
a, um, a majority of commissioners who supported the revised plans and requested the
following: specifically that the property owner develop a rehabilitation plan for the
building at 410, 412 N. Clinton Street, that we explore salvage of the demolished
buildings at 400 N. Clinton and 112 E. Davenport Street, and that we look to ensure that
the proposed wall around the open space is not physically connected to the historic
structure. Um .... that's shown here. This is the wall that's being proposed along the open
space, and uh, the commission does not want it to connect with that historic structure.
And then lastly, there's a concern that the maximum height be capped at five ... five, uh,
stories, that it couldn't go above five stories. The Friends of Historic Preservation were
also in attendance at the July meeting, and they also, uh, appreciated the revisions that
were made to the plans, and ... with the flat roof and the five stories, and they also echoed
the commission's interest in having a rehabilitation plan for 410, 412 N. Clinton Street.
So at this point, um, the... staff would like some direction from the Council on whether or
not we continue coordinating with the property owner to draft the necessary code changes
that it would take, uh, for this project. Um, we're also interested if there's any co -
changes that would not be supported by City Council or if there's any other input or other
factors that the City Council would like us to consider. And that's.... that's all I have!
Thank you!
Salih/ Mayor, are you back?
Teague/ Yes I am!
Salih/ Okay.
Teague/ Yep! So questions for Anne? Comments?
Mims/ Anne, I have a question. The ... height of five stories, does it .... do we know how many
feet that is? I mean a lot of this newer construction, and I don't know if that would be
their intent here, is going with, uh, higher ceilings. So each story is taking up more feet.
Um, I don't know if their renderings that they have are giving an indication of what that
height would be.
Russett/ I ... I don't have the height in feet. I would need to ask the property owner that.
Mims/ And they do not intend to tear down .... 410, which is the back part, correct? They intend
to keep that?
Russett/ That's correct.
Mims/ That's too bad. That could be a huge improvement (laughs) offering more ... some more
open space, as well as ... a better look. But .... I .... I'll just .... I'll just say I'm not excited.
I'm not excited about this proposal. Um, but I will defer to the Historic Preservation
Commission, if they... are supportive of this in terms of, um .... you know, the compromise
of this kind of development in ... in order to get the preservation, um, of 410, 412. I
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certainly agree with them, with needing a written plan for the rehabilitation of that
property. Um, so that we make sure that that gets done. Um, I ... would still, personally,
would prefer something smaller on this comer. Um .... I think we do have, um, you know,
an advantage, if you will, given what they could redevelop under certain zoning, could
end up with 48 parking spots in this, um, you know, the 21, uh, plus the nine that are
already there, that exist. So that's.... that's an improvement, urn .... so I will ... I'll support
it as is, but I .... I'm not excited about it.
Teague/ (both talking)
Taylor/ Oh! Go ahead!
Teague/ Go right ahead, please!
Taylor/ Oh, okay, I was just gonna say I ... I agree with Susan and I ... I do appreciate the time that
was taken to revise the original plan, uh, to align with a lot of our concerns, uh, and
the ... I, uh.... the historic preservation, uh, concerns that they listed in their request, I ... I
believe are important to consider and, Susan, I think there was something mentioned
about, uh, the possibility of. ... of removing 410, uh, and that would open up more ... more
green space and ... and it's never pleasant to see any building demolished and it just
doesn't seem fair or right that, uh, to use that building then as sort of a bartering chip to...
to save another building, uh, but I was one that, uh, originally voted to designate 412 as
historic, and .... and I still believe that it's important, uh, to ... to, it's of value to our
community, the history of our community. So I think that's important, but I also am not
really happy with this ... this total new plan.
Thomas/ I'm .... I'm gonna agree with, uh.... both Pauline and Susan. I think the project is ... is
significantly better than what we first saw. So there's that. Um, we're... we're really not
in a very strong negotiating position. This is ... that's sort of the starting point here and...
and so with that being the case, urn .... you know, I appreciate the effort of staff and ... and
the developer to .... to work toward a better plan. Uh, I do think it could be even better
(laughs) and there were some additional, uh, comments made by the commission that I
think would make it better, particularly the, um, removal of the back apartment building.
Uh, we are increasing the population and unit density of this... these two sites, or three
sites actually. So, you know, creating a ... a little bit better balance of open space with the
occupancy count, uh, as well as just the ... the value of, as one of the Historic Preservation
Commissioners mentioned, decluttering the historic building, I think, would have some
benefit. Um....so again I will be supportive of it. Um, I ... I do feel as a community we
are at kind of a .... a, we're at a, perhaps an inflection point on our ...our housing in the ... in
the, urn .... you know, the University impact zone. I do feel we .... we need to, as ... as best
we can, promote quality as well as .... you know, balancing quantity and quality, uh, and
there are increasingly, um, better understandings of, you know, how to design buildings,
even larger buildings, with a way of articulating them in ways where that block form can
be broken up, uh, and ... create (mumbled) not only a more attractive building, but a more
livable building. Um, you know that ... that facade along Davenport is 137 -feet long I
believe. It's ... it's a big building. (clears throat) and there are ways in which one could,
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um, have vertical stepping, you know, where it's not five stories running from beginning
to end. Uh, but this is not the project it seems where we can explore all those options.
Um, I do hope as we move forward that we do take advantage of. ... of this better
understanding of how, uh, you know, house form buildings can actually generate
considerable density as well as (mumbled) buildings. Um, the project.... near College
Green, on, uh, College Street, across from Blank and McCune I think is an excellent
example of a house form building that has fairly high density. So I think we can do it.
We just need to make sure that ... you know, we promote it, we .... staff can explain to
developers that there is ... potential with these other house forms or house form building of
a higher density that could ... could be used instead of what we see as the standard block
form, um, but again I think, you know, I appreciate the efforts that this thing has evolved
and moved in the right direction.
Teague/ Yeah, I guess for me, this was one of the ones that I voted to preserve, the historic
preservation. Now it's back ... with another opportunity before us. Um, I guess for me, I
wanted to ask Anne, are there any affordable units or the only thing that .... I'm assumin'
this is all at market rates? Market rental rates (both talking)
Russett/ Yep, it would be market rate.
Teague/ Okay. Urn .... so yeah, I ... I do believe that, and Councilor Thomas just talked about
the ... the large number of influxed rental (laughs) rentals within the University area. Um,
that's.... we don't have a shortage right now, that's for certain. I guess .... I'll be, you
know, just kinda interested to see how all of this pans out. Um, I know one of the
questions you asked us is there anything that we .... urn, would advise staff or is there
anything else we're lookin' for. Um, I'm not gonna hold my, uh, hat long to think that the
developer might.... include some, uh, affordable units, but that would be awesome and
that could happen. Um, I .... I will be lookin' at that to see if there's an opportunity for
that to take place. Um, other than that, um.....you know, this is a lot of units. It's goin'
from, you know (laughs) That's a huge influx of units! And so I ... the preservation of the
buildins' were very important, given its location. Urn .... so I'll just continue to bear all
this in mind, but I ... I at least wanted to just relay that the lack of affordable units,
especially since we have such an influx of ..uh, units in our University area, um, is of
concern to me.
Thomas/ Mayor, I just wanted to quickly, uh, in response to that. I think there were some notes
in the meeting minutes from H ... HRC, uh, 412 Clinton is a boarding house and, um, so...
in an interesting way, it's the affordable housing piece of this project. Urn .... so that
historic building, at least historically, has been affordable. So it's good that we're
preserving it in that regard.
Salih/I just wanna ask you, Anne. Uh, you ... you saying that we are preserving it, but what we
have in exchange? If we preserve it, how many .... what they ask, what their ask was. I
just missed that. Like ... they exchanging to preserve that building, so we can give them,
you mean like more stories or...what exactly?
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Russett/ Yeah, the property owner has agreed that ... to, um, agreed to the local landmark
designation to preserve 410, 412, and in exchange, um, for that voluntary designation,
they could, uh, develop 400 N. Clinton Street and 112 E. Davenport Street at a higher
intensity than our code would normally allow.
Salih/ Yeah, how much, that what I'm asking, like what the different.....between what we allow
and what they want.
Russett/ So, uh, in the current zone it's a maximum of 35 feet. Um, they're proposing five
stories. Um, they could get 24 one -bedroom units on that site now, and the ... they're
showing a 32 -unit, 71 bedrooms, a portion of which is on the other property. So it's more
units. It's a higher... it's a higher, um, building. There's less parking... being proposed.
Um ... those are the main things I would say.
Salih/ Yes, you said 24 to 31 or 32, that what you're saying?
Russett/ Yeah, um, they could cur ..currently get 24 one -bedroom units.
Salih/ Uh huh (garbled)
Russett/ And their proposal has 32 units and 71 bedrooms.
Salih/ Okay... which is like kind of eight .... eight unit more.
Russett/ Yeah and ... and a lot of. ... a lot more bedrooms (both talking)
Salih/ A lot of, yeah, bedrooms. Yeah. You know I ... I really .... wanna see some affordability on
that, even if we agree to that, uh, especially we are saying now we need some like .... uh,
you know, on this area specifically we need to see more affordability. Uh, I really hope if
the developer can think about some (garbled) affordable! And .... on-site. So .... that will
be my request.
Russett/ Okay!
Taylor/ I think we also need to keep, uh, climate action, uh, that always comes up, and uh,
envira...environmentally friendly units. I mean the higher you go the more units there
are, the more people there are, the more energy is consumed, the more ... the higher
number of parking spaces means more vehicles. So that's why I'm kinda against the...
the extra height too. I'd be happy with four stories, which would seem more compatible
with the, uh, surrounding area too, Currier and .... and the historic building. It just would
seem more compatible. It just kind of seems out of place being that tall and that long.
Fruin/ If I may just add a little bit of ..of history and context to the decision here. So, um, I think
Council's aware, this was a ... as Anne mentioned, um, somethin' that, uh, we brought to
you to designate as a landmark. The property owner, um ... uh.... um, opposed that and it
required a super majority, which we didn't have. So we had a majority of Council that
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wanted to preserve it, uh, but we didn't have the super majority to force that on the
property owner. We then approached the property owner. So I just wanna be clear, we
went to the property owner and said, hey, we still wanna save this. How could we make
this happen, and at that point ,um, you know, he said, well, there's this property next
door. He doesn't .... the same property owner doesn't own this property. They would
have to buy it and then .... and then, um .... uh, build these units, and .... and, you know,
for .... for what they're gonna buy the property for, these are the number of units that they
need to produce to make the whole transaction work. So, um, I ... I don't know who
mentioned it earlier, but um, we ... we don't have a whole lot of bargaining here because at
some point it just doesn't become feasible for the developer. They're not gonna buy that
next door property and we're just gonna have to live with the fact that those properties,
um, are unprotected and could be demolished. So ... we .... we can go back and we can talk
about affordable housing, we can talk about climate, we can talk about bringing the scale
down, but I can tell ya it's not going to work. Um, we're to the point now where I think
this (mumbled) maybe some minor tweaks here and there. This is ... this is really what
needs to....to move forward if we wanna preserve this building as a landmark. And if
we're not comfortable with it, that's okay too, and I think the developer's okay with that
as well because he doesn't own that adjacent property right now. So they can walk away
and they ...they're in the same spot they were, uh, before. So, um, I just wanna make sure
we're framin' this right, that this was really a City initiative that the ... that the developer's
trying to respond to us, uh, on with a .... with a pretty creative solution. It's ... it's not a
whole lot different than what we had with Augusta Place, uh, where we ... we had to ... we
had to kinda do some things we normally probably wouldn't do to save the ... to save the
church. Um, this is kind of that same situation. I get it, it's not perfect, but um, if you
wait for perfect, it's going to be too late. So that's kinda what we're here talkin' about
today and if...if I'm gettin' the sense that you folks are kinda lukewarm on it, my guess is
the developer's gonna have that same sense and probably not wanna proceed and spend a
whole lot of time and investment moving forward.
Salih/ (mumbled) you know, it's worth ask, Geoff, I'm personally directing you to ask the
developer that I ask this, why not? Why you ... we understand that we are the one
(mumbled) I guess I don't remember, but I thinks I'm the one who did not (mumbled)
maybe I was one of the super majority, not, you know, makin' the super majority is not
happening, uh, because I voted for that. I'm the same person now asking the same
developer to ... if they can reserve something. We can ask and they have the right
(garbled) uh, but if we have something we wanna see it, we just have to tell them our
value and, you know, uh, I just want you to take our request and ask them, and come
back. We are not in hurry here.
Ruin/ Understand.
Teague/ All right, any other items on this? Any other...
Thomas/ I just wanna make clear that I .... I do support the project. Um, you know, there ... as
Geoff said and I ... I think I had mentioned earlier that, um (clears throat) this was ... this
was the best, it seems like the best we can do and I do appreciate all the effort that's gone
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into making it a better project. And, uh, so again, I'm supportive of it, and ... and you
know that, the 412, 410, those existing buildings that will remain, you know, they're....
they're not going to be rent controlled but ... but as a boarding house, I suspect it will have
a low rent and that existing apartment building, if it were to remain, the one behind the
historic building, I suspect its rents are fairly low as well. So .... uh, they're not
controlled, but I ... I would not be surprised if they're relatively affordable.
Bergus/ (several talking, garbled) Sorry!
Mims/ No, go ahead (both talking)
Bergus/ Well I was just going to say for staff, um, I wouldn't want anything less than what the
majority of the Historic Preservation request is, so the ... the rehab plan is really important.
Salvaging the other properties is important, um, not connecting the wall to the historic
structure, capping the height at five stories, I mean I ... I think we can't go anything less
than what the commission was asking for is my opinion.
Salih/ Yeah, I just wanna be clear here.
Teague/ You went on mute!
Salih/ I'm not asking for less or anything. I'm requesting that a portion of this, you know, like a
lot of rooms and apartments to be affordable and I think that's my ask for the developer.
That's all!
Mims/ I just wanna confirm that I, like with John, this isn't perfect, it's not ideal, but I will
support it as is. Um, I ... I think it's important, just from a process standpoint for staff to
really know where each of us are at in terms of -what they feel they need to, um, consult
with the developer on, um ... just, I mean, so I ... I will support it as is, as, you know, as
Laura indicated, as John indicated, the things that the Historic Preservation Commission
requested.
Taylor/ As I said, I ... I do appreciate the changes that ... that the developer made and I think they
are some very positive changes. I also, uh, do appreciate the, um.....uh,
recommendations from the commission, and I do think, I do believe, that this current
design is a major improvement over what is at 400, uh, Clinton now, and Bloomington. I
think it...it will, uh, be a nice addition to that corner. I just wish it was a little smaller, but
if we can't go with that, then ... then I'll go along with it.
Teague/ All right, thanks, everybody. Thank you, Anne! Because of time we're probably gonna
have to end our agenda right here and pick up, unless there's somethin' pressin' that a
Councilor wants to talk about right now. Hearing nothing else, we will be back at 7:00
P.M.
(Break for forma[)
(Reconvene work session)
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Clarification of Agenda Items:
Information Packet Discussion:
IP 7/30:
Teague/ Okay, we're gonna continue with the work session. We've already done, um, of course
the agenda items. Is there ... so we have Info Packet discussions. We did have, uh, two
items on .... well three items actually on here that we wanted to talk about. Um, so we'll
go with, urn .... Info Packet number, uh, July 30'h. IP7, and this is a memo from the
Neighborhood and Development Services... which.... Services Director, uh, Shelter
House, which we did go over this, uh, a little bit. I don't know if staff wanted to give
more update on the local eviction prevention program.
Fruin/ I think we covered this. We have our direction (garbled) so we ... we can move on.
Teague/ Great! And then, uh, 7/30, IP9, the Human Rights Commission minutes, July 16`h.
Um .... and this is requestin' Council direction for consideration of a resolution on
becomin' a fair trade city. Um, and this was ... in a previous, uh, agenda packet, as well.
Taylor/ I .... I found this information. It's a really honorable, I think, uh, intention, uh, as it relates
to human rights and marginalized workers and safe working conditions. I think that's
really important, uh, but I still would like to have a little bit more information on it, uh,
because it talked about, uh, purchasing, uh, some items for the City and it said `such as
coffee or tea,' but I think I'd like maybe a broader picture. Does it include other things
like office supplies or would it be the vendors who fill our .... our vending machines and
those kinds of products, would those come from fair trade countries or, uh, that kind of
information I wasn't clear on. I .... I'm really behind the idea but just would like a little
more information on what it would mean for us.
Fruin/ My understanding is that it can be as little or as much as the .... the community is
comfortable with. So literally it could be .... I think the coffee and tea example was
something easy, um, you know when we provide that for the public or for the Council
when we have in person meetings again, uh, if we bid fair trade, that would ... that would
qualify, but we're not making a .... a commitment that would, um, necessarily, um, need to
replace other procurement methods that we have for office supplies and other things like
that. We could .... we could slowly take those things on. It'll be a balance between
various efforts that we have, including getting the best price, uh, shopping with local
vendors, and then fair trade is kind of another element. But, uh, for starters the Human
Rights Commission felt that if we could find something, uh, be it coffee, tea, or
something else that we could commit to, um, that would really give them the standing to,
urn ... uh, do some education and outreach on, uh, what it means to be fair trade and... and
....and,uh, they thought it would just help their programming efforts. So, uh, again my
understanding, it's not a big commitment from the City, but it is a ... a commitment to find
something, um, which I'm confident that we could probably do.
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Teague/ I'm....I'm actually, uh, happy that the Human Rights Commission is lookin' at the fair
trade and have provided some information, although it's limited. I have actually, um, had
a one-on-one, um, conversation about the fair trade, um, and so I do understand a lot
more about the opportunities that it would provide and I'm supportive of it. I would hope
that maybe there could be more information given to Councilors, which could be a one-
on-one, just to learn more .... more about .... what this means for our city, and I do agree
with, uh, we can just start wherever we feel comfortable and then increase as we desire.
Salih/ I really (several talking) I ... I really support this. You know, in the beginning (garbled)
afraid to like uh two years ago didn't know what they meant by fair trade, and uh, until
they invite us, uh, at the Center for Worker Justice to come to Chicago for this, um, you
know, like ... it was a seminar or event where they explain and you see some people there
who are doing this kind of fair trade stuff, and finally I really understand. I think this is
really (mumbled) social justice and human right thing, and uh, it's not like a really big
commitment for the City so we can say like, oh, maybe we cannot do everything fair
trade. And now I guess when they give you the, um, as Geoff said, the ... the example of
the coffee and the tea, that what really like there is a lot of items, you know, all kind of
coffee and ... and tea that is fair trade and easy to get, and uh, this is just as simple as any
business can be a fair trade, uh, you know, if they urn .... if they just purchase any item
from fair trade, and also I guess when the City become a fair trade product, uh, especially
there is no commitment, this is will encourage a lot of business in the area to become a
fair trade too, which is we just like setting example and the standard high, uh, I will
support this and I will encourage the Council to support it.
Weiner/I'll support it as well (both talking, garbled) Um, I support it as well, because among
other things it really, um, is a further.... further showcasing some of the values that we are
working on very hard right now. We don't ... we want to make sure that .... that products
we buy, what if we choose things like coffee and tea are not produc... the people are not
being, um, are being paid a fair wage and they're not being oppressed, and to me that's a
really important statement.
Mims/ I would agree, and I would just encourage people if you're looking for more information,
just Google fair trade and you can get lots of information about the different kinds of
companies and products and stuff, um, and certainly it doesn't commit us to buying
everything that way, and an awful lot of what's done under the fair trade is, are things that
are imported, uh, so it sets a standard there, as Janice said, to make sure that people are
being treated fairly that are working in these companies, and... and farmers and whoever
else, so I strongly support this.
Thomas/ Yeah, I support it as well. I think it's a nice expression of kind of thinking globally,
acting locally. So we're .... we're strong with our emphasis on, uh, the local aspect. I
think this is, uh, interesting, uh, proposal by Zachary, who I understand is an international
studies major, so it seemed like a natural for him to, uh, pursue this and identified it as an
opportunity.
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Bergus/ I agree (both talking) (mumbled) Yes! (laughs) Guess you already have your majority!
Thanks, Mayor! (laughs)
Teague/ All right. Great, great, great! All right, so, yeah! So that's kind of Council's direction —
we're supportive of it. Item, uh, the last, um, item here is .... IP10 from July 30a'. I ... and
this is a memo from Parks and Rec Director, Happy Hollow Park baseball field infield
conversion, and so we'll have that discussion now.
Thomas/ Well as .... as, uh.... we discussed this last ..... uh, at our two .... couple meetings ago, um,
I just wanted to make some comments on ... on the process as it's unfolded over the last,
well, several months actually, um, relating to the park planning process and then some of
the ... issues related to Happy Hollow. Uh, in a manner similar to Happy Hollow ball field,
changes to the field or ground surface came up more, uh, came up recently with the
prairie restoration proposal. Uh, the ground surface is an important factor in determining
land use, as we learned with ... with that program. Uh.... and as we learned more about the
park use and some of those prairie restoration sites, uh, in some cases the scope of work
was revised or dropped entirely. Examples that were, I think, brought to Council's
attention were, urn .... Benton Hill, Crandic, and uh, Willow Creek, in particular. In ... in
the case of Happy Hollow, the question of the field surface meant whether the ball .... ball
field skinned infield would be replaced by turf, uh, and thus becoming a recreational
field, and uh, this was not a question that was asked of the neighborhood residents or of
the baseball/softball community. I do think ... um, moving forward that we ... we really
need, as a city and as a community, to acknowledge and respect, uh, when we're
proposing changes like t his, the diversity of views and insights that are held by the park
users, and that questions and proposals regarding changes to existing park use, whether
initiated by the community or by staff, must publicly be asked of and clearly presented to
these users, preferably at the beginning of the process. So that's kind of just the ... the
process aspect of this that I wanted to comment on. In terms of Happy Hollow, um, the
staff's memo stated that based on their analysis of the ... the permitting process, um, the
primary user or users was the City's Recreation Division Tee -ball teams. And if...in that
instance, uh, a turf infield is an adequate surface for Tee -ball. Uh, but this is where the,
you kn ow, the participation of Michael, uh, Muhlenbruch came in and, you know, his
letter I forward to you, uh, it was in our discussion a month ago and so I resent it to you a
few days ago. Um, where he provided a detailed description of the ball field's every day
use that is ... based on my outreach to the community, consistent ... uh, with the information
I received regarding, um, the use of the ball field, both by members of the community
and the youth and baseball/softball programs. Uh, first... first I wanted to provide a little
bit of background on that letter which I didn't provide a month ago. Um, Michael, um,
Muhlenbruck was asked by Brian Mitchell, who is the head coach of the City High
baseball team, to lead the response of the baseball/softball community, uh, on this
question of restoring the ball field at Happy Hollow. So he took up .... he took on that
responsibility, uh, representing, uh, that community. He prepared the letter and also, um,
posted it on Change.org and uh, his letter, which is a little bit different from the one, uh,
Council received, uh, received or was signed by 438 .... um, members of the community,
many of which supported... are supporters of the Iowa City baseball/softball community.
I ... I do think, urn .... you know, to sum up his ... his letter, what it stated was that in .... in
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normal non -distancing times, that ball field at Happy Hollow is used spring, summer, and
fall by all kinds of people, including baseball and softball teams, both formal and
informal, and by both kids and adults. Uh, activities include so ... slow -pitch softball, pick
up games, batting practice, even kids being kids just running around on the infield on the
bases. So ... so what I think we have in this case is, uh, the ball field at Happy Hollow, uh,
which is located in a neighborhood setting sees a different kind of use pattern than a ball
field at our complexes, and that field rentals are... are part of the picture, but not the entire
picture in terms of how that field is used. I think he also made, Michael made another, I
think, very important note and that was that ... uh, removing the end fields, the skinned
infield, did not .... add any recreational activities to those that already existed.
Coordinated multi -use of the field is both desirable and encouraged. However, removing
the skinned surface eliminated the use of the field for softball and baseball, except for
Tee -ball. Thus excluding a considerable segment of the users, as was described earlier.
Since the skinned infield was removed in spring, several months ago, uh, from what I can
tell based on social media, which was .... ended up being kind of factored into that, uh,
petition signing, the ... the overwhelming response that I'm seeing from the community,
uh, is to restore the ball field, and to avoid this exclusion of the ball field use by softball
and baseball. Uh, and that this is evidenced by the Change.org petition. As a community
I do think we're better off when we are all accommodated. I don't see a reason why, um,
we would be pursuing an action, or pursued an action which ended up eliminating, um, a
use of the field. In terms of the ball field supply and demo ... uh, demand, um, many
people in the ball field community noted that there is really no surplus of ball fields in
Iowa City. And uh, that caused me to look at, uh, North Liberty and some of the
neighboring communities in terms of their ratio, which is usually for softball and
baseball, uh, defined as number of ball fields per 10,000 residents. And, uh, North
Liberty has, uh, both a ... a complex of nine fields at Penn Meadows and five single fields,
uh, three at elementary schools and two at neighborhood parks. So they have a total of
14 fields and a population of 20,000 people roughly. So that ... that translates to around
seven fields per 10,000 (noises in background) Urn .... Iowa City just as a contrast,
75,000 residents and staff noted that there are 16 ball fields which serve the same purpose
as Happy Hollow. So that's roughly, uh, two point ... a little over two fields per 10,000
residents. Urn .... you know there .... North Liberty is probably a gold standard, I would
think, uh, you know, based on other cities that I was looking at, you know, anywhere
from three to five, I think, is more typical. Um, but again it just reaffirmed the ... the fact
that we don't really have a surplus of ball fields in Iowa City. And then lastly I would say
that.... what also I think was missing from this conversation was, uh, the uniqueness of
Happy Hollow ball field. And Michael noted this, that ... and it was affirmed by some of
the petitioners that Happy Hollow ball field, or Happy .... the ball field at Happy Hollow
has carved out a unique niche in Iowa City, uh, to many, including the Iowa Writers
Workshop. It is actually hallowed ground. It is cherished for its memories, as well as for
its unique natural setting, which is somewhat removed from the surrounding cityscape.
Uh, it is, you know, these qualities, which are ... which have been strengthened by the new
shelter and restroom, and will be further enhanced with a prairie restoration in any future,
uh, park improvements. Uh, you know, due to ... I would just end by saying that due to
COVID-19, uh, the community was not able to celebrate that 75th anniversary of Happy
Hollow. It was founded in 1945. I do hope, um, my vision now is that, uh, next spring
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we will be able to ... celebrate that 75' anniversary, and I hope that we have the ball field
restored at that time so we can all enjoy its use once again. So those were my thoughts
on this. Um .... you know I ... my timeline is kind of defined by what I just described,
um....I think at this point was... what's most critical is that we .... we acknowledge that the
field is well used, perhaps in a different way than the, uh, the complex ball fields, but
nevertheless very well used and, urn ... that we restore it at, uh, so that it can go back into
use next spring.
Fruin/ Maybe I can offer a couple of, uh, a couple of thoughts and .... and please understand we'll
....we'll do whatever the Council, uh, sees as the ... the best course of action here, but
urn ... uh, we didn't, we did this with the belief that it was in the best interest of the
neighborhood, that the neighborhood would support it based on the feedback, uh, that we
were getting. Um, obviously our folks are in the parks a lot. Um, we make changes to
the land use of parks, uh, every year. Uh, we put new sidewalks in to promote
sustainability ...or to promote accessibility. We plant trees. We ... we put benches in. We
replace playground equipment. Uh, we put up pavilions in different locations. Um, some
of those, for larger projects, we do community meetings with, like we did with Happy
Hollow here and others, uh, we do based on just the feedback that we have and the
observations that our ...that our park staff has, who again are in these parks, um, on a ... on
a weekly basis, if not a daily basis, on ... on some of the .... on some of the parks. Um....
we, um, we can, again, certainly, uh, convert these, uh, fields, uh, convert the field back.
I think, uh... um, if we do so, I think there should .... I think there needs to be an
expectation that the field is maintained to a ... to a ball field standard, uh, which it was not
being done before, and... and a lot of the concerns that we had from the neighborhood, uh,
and ... and from those that use the field frankly was that, uh, we weren't able to keep up
with the maintenance of the field as we would at a .... at a complex. And, uh, one of the
major challenges with that, that we struggled with, uh, throughout the city is the, uh, no
chemical policy that we adopted several years ago, and that's a great policy and we
wholeheartedly support it. We just have to recognize that from a maintenance standpoint,
um, it takes a lot longer to have people hand-pick weeds, uh, out of an infield, uh, than it
would be to apply, you know, a chemical, which we no longer do. Um, so ... this was one
area where we felt the maintenance staff was stretched pretty thin to ... to go, uh... um,
and .... and keep that field up-to-date. So if ..if we are doing this for the ball field
community, um, then we should maintain it to the ball field community's standards, or
close to, uh, because we don't want to be caught in that halfway zone or (mumbled) that
we were in before. And I think what the neighborhood would need to understand if we're
maintaining it at a higher level, it will get a lot more playability and you will see parts of
that park that, um, are... are fairly restricted or more so restricted, um, in use than it was
before. So for example, when we're playing rec league softball, or Tee -ball, you can go
ahead and have a picnic in the outfield cause the kids aren't gonna hit it out there. Um, if
you're opening this up to Little Hawks baseball league and you're gonna play a lot more
games out there and a lot more practices, that outfield is going to be occupied and you're
going to have less of that casual rec type of use in the outfield. So those are some of the
factors that lead us as staff to say, um, there's some pros and cons and ... and neither
decision is a wrong decision, um, but I ... I, what I fear the most is that we go and we ... we
put back the infield the way it was, um, and then we get pushback from the community in
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another way, and if ..if we're at fault for not seeking input on this, uh, specifically before
we make the change, then I'd hate to see us re ... repeat that mistake by, um, going and...
and making another change without sittin' down and making sure that everybody
understands the ... the trade-offs that are involved with ... with this type of, um, this type of
conversion. So again, our staff is happy to ... happy to do, um, whatever the Council sees
fit. Please understand we were, um, well intentioned in our change here and uh, we ... we
weren't ... we weren't doing this for any type of selfish reasons. We were doing this
because we felt it was going to serve, um, the ... the, uh, the park users better and we didn't
feel like, um, our fields were ... were, um, booked at a capacity that prevented, um, others
from .... from, um, playing baseball on those other fields that we have. So, um, we'll just
sit back and answer questions. Juli's on the line, can ... can get much more detailed than I
can on this, um, but we'll .... we'll look for your guidance on where to go from here.
Mims/ I guess my thought, and (mumbled) big supporter of sport and athletics, etc., and
opportunities for people, but I guess as I've listened to this and tried to spend a little bit
more time with it, it does kinda seem like there's somewhat of a conflict between the
softball/baseball community and maybe the neighborhood, who.... neighborhood
members who, you know, see this as more of a recreational field, space, uh, multiple use
kind of space, where for lots of little kids running around and stuff I think more turf is
better than more dirt area, and especially, uh, when it's difficult to keep it maintained at
the level that even the neighborhood wants, and certainly when I've been down there at
times, it...it has that appearance of, especially before we got the new, uh, structures and
stuff in, the field itself still kinda looking rundown and ... and not particularly well
maintained, and as Geoff said, you know, we've got certain standards, and you know, no
pesticide, herbicide type, you kn ow, products, so a lot more manual labor, and when
we're looking, you know, real carefully at what our budget is, um, and you know, I mean,
let me tell you — we've got people who want to put in, you know, a lot more fields and get
those numbers, you know (laughs) closer to North Liberty with that Eastside project and
have a lot more, uh, possibilities for all of our kids all across the community. Um, so for
right now, I ... my preference is to stay with the turf that's been put in. Um, if anything,
take the next year or so to get more feedback from the actual neighborhood, um, in terms
of their thinking of it and their use of it and their preference. I ... I don't wanna see us do a
quick reflex reaction of flipping back without making sure that it, to go back really is the
right thing to do. So I would like to keep it as is and give us some more time if necessary
to reevaluate.
Bergus/ I think one thing that distinguishes this question of reverting the field, one thing that
distinguishes this from something like, um, the prairie, uh, projects that we were looking
at a couple months ago where we heard public input and ... and directed staff to ... to scale
back, is that this ... this change has already been made and what we're talking about is an
additional new expenditure to revert it back to something, and so there's not really ...in my
mind the ... there's not this sort of urgency timeline as we had in ... in that kind of situation,
and I ... I reviewed the ... the Change.org petition and all the comments that were on there
and what I was seeing on social media, and I have a little bit of a concern, and I think you
all know I'm always very favorable to additional input and making sure that people are
engaged and that the right people are engaged. I have a little bit of a concern that some
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individuals thought that the park, um, was being decommissioned. Some of the
comments seemed to indicate that Happy Hollow itself might be going away and that it
needed to be preserved as a park, and certainly that's not... that's not at all what's
happening. In fact there's, you know, improvements that have been recently completed,
um, which are really wonderful, and the additional improvements that are coming in just
a couple of years. So I ... I think that, um, this seems like the kid of thing where if. ... if
there really is that, urn .... to Geoff's point as to that balance between the true sort of
baseball community and the pick up, uh, needs of the neighborhood seems like a really
great kind of neighborhood association or kind of neighborhood organizing. I am
hesitant to make this change based on the request of the .... the baseball and softball
community that are trying to compare a facility like this to like what we see in North
Liberty or Coralville. I mean I think we know because of our herbicide policies that our
fields look a lot different, the aesthetic is different. It's not the same kind of use, and
certainly isn't in a neighborhood park. So I'm very sensitive to, you know, I don't wanna
invite something that's going to ... to bring in a lot of outside traffic to a neighborhood
park and... and end up being kind of the opposite of what people wanted. So my .... my
desire would be to leave it for right now. (several talking)
Thomas/ ...respond, um, to Susan and ... and Laura. Um .... the, many of. ... I'd .... I emphasize...
(mumbled) overemphasized the ... the signers of the petition representing the ball field
community. Uh, there were many people from the city at large, as well as from the
neighborhood who also, uh, supported the idea of restoring the field. So it was not, it was
not this dichotomy of...of the neighborhood preferring a multi -use versus the ball field
community wanting the ball field restored. Um ... I, prior to the petition going out, I
contacted, um, folks in ... in the Northside area and received I believe 20 responses back,
and.... the.... the majority of them wanted the field restored. Some were neutral on it, but
were not happy that the neighborhood wasn't asked. Um, but I was not seeing, uh,
majority support for, um, losing the infield. So, you know, in hearing your comments,
I'm ... I'm certainly as I said my time frame at this point was to restore the ball field, um,
by next spring. So we ... we do have .... a number of months here, if we did wanna engage
in a ... in a public participation process. I'm .... I'm open to doing that, but I also did not
mention that we had a .... um, last .... last year to discuss future park improvements and the
notion of taking out the infield was not advocated for by the neighborhood. Um ... nor
even considered. That was not something brought up at that meeting. So .... that to me
also suggested that no one was thinking about changing the use of the ball field in the
way that it was done. Again, if we need confirmation, um, of that, um, so be it, but I ... I,
there were a number of occasions where the neighborhood had an opportunity to offer
and recommend or suggest the idea that we take out the infield, and that was not
forthcoming from the neighborhood.
Fruin/ Yeah, if I ... if I can just jump in, cause I ... I wanna... um, just offer this. We .... we did have
the neighborhood meeting and, uh, Councilman Thomas was obviously heavily involved.
You're very dedicated to, um, this park and you've been, uh, very, um, involved in the ... in
the process. Um, we put together our plan, um, kind of post the neighborhood meeting,
and uh, I ... I did forward that to you, Councilman Thomas, in October of last year, just to
make sure that we were on the same page on what the improvements were, and it
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involved some of the tree planting and limestone blocks, but it also noted on there our
intention next year, which ended up being this year, to convert that baseball field. So,
um, we did ... uh, develop that improvement out of the neighborhood meeting, uh, because
of the input. Yes it wasn't discussed, but oftentimes what happens is we .... we hear
comments from the neighborhood about the maintenance and ... and, or whatever they may
be, and we look for solutions, and that was our solution, and ... and maybe we should of
checked back in with the neighborhood, um, but we did choose to make that change after
the neighborhood meeting, based on input we had. Again that input wasn't you need to
change (mumbled) convert the field. It was just that identified it as an issue, the
maintenance of it as an issue, and that was out solution. So, um, we did try to be open
about that, um, and I ... and I tried to relay that to you before we did it, to ... to snake sure
that we weren't going to do anything that was going to, um, not be received well by the
neighborhood. And I understand that...that communication didn't work out, but at least
there was an attempt to do that.
Seydell-Johnson/ So, Mayor, this is Juli. If I could jump in for a second. Um, what I would say
is during the community meeting we listened for the ... for the neighborhood wants and
their needs, and we don't always have the solution on-site, but in that case the other thing
we heard very strongly was people wanting to play in the open field, wanting to play
soccer, um, and I would suggest if we're going to poll people for what the use of the park
should be, we really need to include the soccer community. Um, because they're very
happy with having the additional green space and soccer goals, um, to play in the
outfield. Um, I would argue also that although use would seem a little different with the
skinned infield, the uses that we had seen there in the past few years can all definitely still
happen on the grass infield, um, practices for the baseball, for the softball, the Tee -ball,
the Writer's Workshop probably safer for them to be on grass. Um, so we are seeing
continued use of the field by the ... the casual users and the type of uses that we saw, um,
before that. Um, we really felt this was an equity issue too in that this now makes it a
recreational field like we have in other parts of the community, um, all used that same
way. So, um ... we're happy to do whatever you'd like to do, but there was a lot of
thought and, um, background put into this before.... before we made the change.
Weiner/ Can I ask a finance -related question? What, more or less how much .... if it were
converted back, at these times of pretty tight finances, how much are we talking about?
Seydell-Johnson/ So we have over the season, now I don't know the exact amount for skinning it
and bringing the, uh, the gravel back in, um, but over the season right now with just
mowing it as turf, the total cost is about $3,500, 3,500. To maintain it to a level of the
other baseball fields, and this takes into account unfortunately the extras travel time and
whatnot to bring a specialty crew there, that's about $18,600 per season. So there's a
significant cost savings, urn, for doing it with the grass infield, and... and once again,
that's based on the actual use that we saw, um, in the years leading up to the change.
Fruin/ Juli, um, Janice is probably asking about the conversion back, the cost there. I think it's
probably going to depend on where we land on ... on the level of playability. You know, if
it's just converting it back to the dirt and we accept the fact that it's probably not going to
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make the baseball community too happy at the end of the day because it's not going to be
extremely playable for the, um, for the more advanced, uh, youth. I don't think it's that..
that large an extent... expense, but if you ... if you wanna establish a very playable ball
field, um .... you're .... you're gonna look at a ... a fairly decent expense. Juli, do you have
any estimate on what that would be, to get it all graded out and....
Seydell-Johnson/ Well we know that, um, on other fields that we've recently graded, the grading
alone is about $5,000 to $6,000, um, but I ... I don't have an estimate on what it would take
to put it back to exactly like it was before.
Weiner/ (mumbled) appreciate the ... the other part too, that other piece is important as well. Um,
I have to say that right now with ... with fin ... looking at finances and looking at where we
are, that piece alone is gonna lead me to say let's leave it as it is, at least for a year or...or
two, see how it works out. I just can't justify the extra cost right now.
Teague/ So far we have about three Councilors wanting to keep it as is. Wanted to just quickly
learn what other Councilors are thinking. You don't have to elaborate if you don't want
to.
Taylor/ Well just ... just quickly. I really wasn't certain on this one until I did see the letter from
Mr. Muhlenbruck and it was obvious that perhaps, uh, it wasn't really clear on ... on how
that ball field had been used. It was used for more than just recreational uses. Uh, so
it...it was more, uh, usable with the skinned field and that people were kind of surprised
and shocked when ... when that was converted. Um, so I ... from what I'm hearing, uh, they
would much prefer that it was converted back, uh, to the skinned field, but uh, I have to
admit I don't know a lot about baseball fields and baseball versus softball, but that would
be my opinion.
Teague/ Okay. Look like Mayor Pro Tem isn't on anymore. Um .... so if. ... keepin' it the way it
is right now, is that what I understood from you, Councilor Taylor? Okay.
Taylor/ What's that? To ... to convert it back, eventually .... as .... as soon as we can.
Teague/ So you're saying convert it back.
Taylor/ Yes! (both talking)
Teague/ ...as soon as we can.
Taylor/ Yes, yes! Thank you!
Teague/ All right. All right, thanks for that clarification. Um, you know, I looked at the .... when
I hear the 438 signatures that sound like a ... a large part of the community comin' out to
say that they want the change. Uh, Councilor Bergus talked about lookin' at the (garbled)
um, lookin' at the comments specifically on Change.org, and how some of that was
probably.... people were.... misinformed or they ...they had an assumption that actually
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wasn't the issue. Um ... and that was, you know, converted in the back. So for me, I
believe that if we were to do anything, we have to get the comments or public input, and
so for now .... I'm .... I'm inclined to say leave it as it is, let's go at least one to two
summers to see what the input will be from the community. Um .... allow them to try it
out. It's been converted. It is unfortunate the way that things happened, but Iowa City is
a community that really likes to weigh in on things, and so it's already been done, um, I
believe at this point we would just allow it to .... COVID-19 has definitely, um, affected a
lot of things in our community. So I would say let's hold off, give it a year, a max of two,
and then if we appear to, um, if there appears to be interest to convert it back, then we'll
have conversations at that point. And I believe Mayor Pro Tem is back, is tryin' to get
back on. It'll take her a minute. Mayor Pro Tem!
Salih/ Yes! Thank you!
Teague/ Yes! So we were just finalizin' on just getting' quick comments about, um, either
keepin' the park, um ... the park as is, Happy Hollow, um, as is, or convertin' it back. Did
you wanna weigh in or no? Um, seem like I don't have sound from her. So at this point
it seems that we have the majority to keep it as is and to go, um (both talking)
Salih/ (mumbled) me now?
Teague/ Yes!
Salih/ Yes, uh, I wanna keep it as is. For now.
Teague/ Okay. All right. Um, I did hear one or two ... I think I heard two years, kinda
reevaluating the park. Um ... is that fair to say two years to reevaluate?
Bergus/ I think, Mayor (garbled) concurrently with the plan for the, um, the renovations that are
happening on that time line makes sense to me.
Seydell-Johnson/ Yeah, this is Juli again. We have planned reso ... renovations for 2023 of the
playground area. So that means that next summer would be the summer we do the, or
not, sorry, 2022 would be when we do the outreach, um, and neighborhood meetings for
that project. So that would be a great time to get the input ... for this.
Teague/ So, uh, Councilors' head.... nodding so I'm going to take that as majority, unless... yes!
Yep, all right! So that sounds great. Any other.... comments related to this item?
Hearing none .... any.....at this point we wanna do any, urn .... updates for assigned boards
and commissions, committees, as well as any general comments, uh, from Council.
Consent Calendar:
Taylor/ Mayor?
Teague/ Yes!
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Taylor/ Sorry, I ... I kind of dropped the ball on the Consent Calendar items, cause there were two
that I just wanted to make quick comments on, if. ... if my fellow Councilors would humor
me on that for just a minute. That be all right? (both talking)
Teague/ I'm hopin' it ... I hope it involves (laughs) a park named after a person (both talking)
Taylor/ Yes it does! Yes it does! That was actually the ... the top item, uh, in Correspondence 8.f.,
uh, very important. We received a lot of correspondence on that, but I think that the
people that wrote in and also maybe the new members, for the benefit of Janice and, uh
,Laura, perhaps don't know the protocol and the process. Maybe you don't even, uh,
know, cause I ... I, it's only been once in the time I've been on the Council where we've
renamed a park. Uh, if the staff has a moment now or could send us info or include it in
another meeting, uh, the actual protocol and process for naming, I mean we can't just out
of...out of our hat throw out and say, okay, let's name it that. There's a process that ... that
has to be followed, uh, so I just wanted to point that out. I'm very much in favor of it, I
mean this sounds like it would be wonderful person to name that park after, uh, but there
is a process. We can't just do that, I think.
Teague/ If I can jump in, if you would allow me to just talk about, urn .... this particular item, so
there ... there were letters submitted, uh, to Council about renaming, um, a park after a
very famous person (laughs) that lived in our community — James Allen McPherson. Um,
he was a writer, um, African American ... he was an African American writer. Um, he
did ... he wrote essays and he was an author, but he was also the first African American to
win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction and, um, I know him personally. Um, one of the great
things that I ... I think we have right now is the, we're gonna be formin' the...the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, and I know that one other thing that is a part of our
resolutions, it will be considerin' renaming a park. Um, I think that this is somethin' that
we can give to that commission for consideration. Um, personally I think he would be a
great option, but I think in respect to Black Lives Matter, and we have this a part of our,
um, resolutions already, I suggest we kinda give this over to them, um, whatever .. uh,
body is gonna be makin' those decisions. And then allow them to come forth with some
recommendations. But .... James Allen Me ... McPherson would be one of my top picks...
for certain! Sorry to interrupt you! (laughs)
Taylor/ Oh no, that's perfect. That's exactly what I was going to say. I mean I would do it in an
instant, because just sounds like he would be a perfect person, uh, and... and he lived in
that neighborhood, so it's even more suited, more, uh, fitting to ... to do that. So
not.... that's all I had to say on that.
Mims/ I would just say that ... I think it would be helpful if staff maybe did in our next packet just
put in, uh, what that process is supposed to be. I think even if we end up giving it to the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I think we wanna make sure that we're still
following, uh, Council process in doing things. So I just .... I would like to see that so we
know that we're following that, even if we do delegate it to somebody else.
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Taylor/ I agree, Susan. That's kind of what ... what my point was, uh, get that information out
there on what the process truly is. Yeah. Thank you! The only other item, uh, Mayor, if
I can .... if that's all on that topic, uh, was, uh, I believe it was, uh, resolution 6.a., it was
about, uh, the procurement manual and I was just really ...I just wanted to say that I was
happy to see the, uh, provision added regarding requiring, uh, minimum wage preference
for ...for the places that we do business with. I ... I really, uh, like that.
Teague/ (both talking, garbled) Great, thank you! Hearin' no one else....
Weiner/ I'm .... I'm always willing to chime in, Mayor. You should know that by now (laughs)
um, I would just like to thank everybody out there who is wearing a face covering.
Encourage you to continue it because it really is going to help our community moving
forward, um, and .... and I .... (mumbled) like to send my condolences, heart -felt
condolences to the City of Beirut, which just experienced a horrendous explosion. Many
deaths, many injuries.
Bergus/ Mayor, just to ... a couple of seconds, um, for those who didn't watch our work session
this evening, I just wanted to tout again, uh, the City's, um, progress tracking on our
resolution relating to Black Lives Matter. You can find it online at icgov.org/blm and
encourage people to go there, um, we'll be updating that continuously. Also wanted to
just highlight the board and commission vacancies that were at the end of...of that formal
agenda. Um, what an excellent way to get involved in public service in Iowa City. I
think people are feeling right now this is a moment where they're not really sure what
they can do to contribute, what they can do to impact their community, and service on the
boards and commissions, uh, Councilor Thomas was saying this to me just the other day
— it's such a great way, um, and being involved is kind of, I think his words were `the
gateway drug' to civic engagement, uh, and certainly that level of service is ... is really,
really important and critical for our, um, recommendations that are made to us on City
Council. So I hope people look at those and apply! Thank you!
Teague/ All right! Hearin' no more comments .... we will be adjourned for the evening!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of August 4, 2020.