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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-15 TranscriptionPage 1 ITEM 3. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA). Hayek: This is the opportunity during our meeting, uh, when the public can address the Council on items that are not on tonight's agenda. If you have anything you'd like to bring to our attention, please step to the podium, sign in, uh, state your name, and limit your comments to five minutes or less, please. Brown: Hi, um, my name is Caleb Brown. I hope I'm doing this right (mumbled) okay. Hayek: Sure. Brown: All right. Um, so...my name is Caleb Brown. I'm a long-time resident of Iowa City. I was born here. I grew up here. Went to high school here. I've been a student at the University of Iowa for the past couple years, and um, well, I graduated and I just got a position teaching at the University of Ohio. Um, and I...have also been a street performer in this city, and I've really enjoyed it and had a good time, but I just want to talk about a few things. Um, that, and also I want to talk about a few other things. So, um, I've reviewed your minutes and I've seen all the work you do, and I wanted to thank you all for keeping Iowa City's affairs running smoothly. However, I do have a few concerns. I've always known that the City Council meets every first and third Tuesday of the month. I checked the schedule, and it seems like there weren't that many meetings, like things have been cancelled and rescheduled. I see that you just rescheduled another one, um, for...what was it, the beginning of July? Um, so I'm glad to see that there actually are going to be meetings. Um, but the rest of what I wanted to talk about is actually one package, disguised as a variety of ordinances. I call it `ban the bums,' but you call it purple parking meters, the panhandling ordinance, and the smoking ordinance. We the people are not stupid, Terry Dickens, and we realize you just wanted to clean up the streets outside your business. By the way, we are in a recession, and jewelry's a luxury item, so any downtown business ...any downturn in your business is not due to the guitar player on the street, but rather due to overarching economical concerns. Um, but there are much more far- reaching effects. Regenia Bailey, I know that you are a fan of Iowa City's downtown, and certainly you have been downtown in the last week and felt the difference. There are not as many smokers. There are no more intimidating signs. But, there, um, you can also donate your small change to buy an office computer for some charity or other, but there are not as many people hanging out. There are no street performers, no musicians, no jugglers, nobody entertaining, um, there's no art or jewelry for sale on the sidewalk. This is certainly a boon for downtown jewelry stores, but a vital element of Iowa City's character has been removed. It is a travesty that just in time for the Summer of the Arts this freedom...this freedom of artistic expression in downtown Iowa City has been limited. Interestingly also, just the week before the Summer of the Arts, Jim, or the crazy man downtown with the scraggly beard was arrested and, um, taken to jail because he was watching a dumpster burn. I don't know if he set it, but it happened right before the Summer of the Arts started. Um, so...yes, you have This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 2 made a criminal out of me. I am a street performer and entertainer, or in your words - a panhandler. I used to gather crowds of dancing and jubilant people around me as I played old time tunes on my banjo. I even did the job of the police, watching out for street fights that might break out. I called the ambulance a few times when I saw people get really badly injured, and um, nobody was really watching besides me. But, now the 10-feet this direction, 15-feet from that thing, this...all these ordinances, um, are confusing and similarly designed to be impossible to know or follow. Policemen themselves have told me they don't know how to enforce it. I don't know how to follow it myself, um, I was trying to figure out all of the distances from everything that I had to be, and I identified a few spots downtown where it might be okay. But I learned recently that there's also separate restrictions in, for example, the parking meter ordinance that have to do with how (coughing, unable to hear) from them, which isn't even in the so- called panhandling ordinance. Um, lucky for me, I just got hired as a teacher at Ohio University, so I can move. Maybe if I come back some day you will have had the wisdom to include in our ordinances an exception for artists and um, maybe be lenient with some of these things that make Iowa City what it is, a city of the arts, and support the Summer of the Arts, um, and remember us in the battle against the bums. We're real people too, as are bums. Um, one more thing, one last final thing. The other day, I saw somebody panhandling downtown. They were asking for money, walking around asking people for money. And they were holding a donation box for the Summer of the Arts. The Summer of the Arts is the only thing allowed to panhandle in downtown Iowa City now. But not real artists like me. Thank you. Hayek: Anybody else...wishing to address the Council during community comment? Okay, hearing none, we'll close that and move on to Item number 4, Planning and Zoning Matters. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 3 ITEM 4. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS. a) REZONING APPROXIMATELY 24.35 ACRES LOCATED WEST OF MORMON TREK BOULEVARD, SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 1, AND ADJACENT TO THE CITY VIEW DRIVE FROM HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL (CH-1) TO INTENSIVE COMMERCIAL (CI-1). (REZ10-00008) 1. PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open. Davidson: Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council. Uh, I am Jeff Davidson, the Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Iowa City. Item a on your, uh, agenda under Planning and Zoning matters this evening is a rezoning of approximately 24 acres, uh, that has been requested by Dealer Properties Iowa City LLC. Uh, it is a requested rezoning from CH-1, Highway Commercial, to CI-1, Commercial Intensive. It is for the purpose of allowing an auto dealership and collision repair facility to exist at this location. Uh, it is at the intersection of Mormon Trek Boulevard and, well, actually, Highway 1 in the vicinity of City View Drive, which I'll show you in just a moment. Uh, the existing land uses are an auto dealership that is currently existing, uh, right on, uh, Highway 1. Uh, and...the Comprehensive Plan, I also wanted to highlight, uh, it does call for either Commercial Intensive, or... Commercial Intensive which is the requested classification, or Highway Commercial, which is the existing classification. Both are deemed appropriate under the, uh, adopted Comprehensive Plan. Here is the general location. Uh, and I think...well, we have an aerial here. Uh, you can see the existing, uh, dealership here, which I believe is now the Honda dealership. Uh, this is the area of the requested rezoning. You...you may recall that we recently had an application by the, uh, the same applicant right across the street, uh, which was approved, uh, that was a change from Commercial Office to CI-1, to allow the auto dealership. That property was later, uh, not deemed suitable by the...the applicant, uh, for that use and hence the, uh, request for the, uh, property right across the street. Um...as I mentioned, the Honda dealership is right next door. This property was annexed into Iowa City in, uh, 2003, uh, the...it was enabled by the extension of the Mormon Trek Boulevard, which you see here...excuse me, if I can get the arrow...here. Um, and the other city utilities were extended to the site at that time. Um, at...at the time of the annexation, the Highway Commercial zone did allow, uh, an auto dealership to be present. In 2005 that was modified, uh, with the, uh, change in zoning ordinance at that time. The thought was that an auto dealer...we wanted to orient the Highway Commercial zone to, uh, things that were really part of Highway Commercial, restaurants and, um...um, motels and that sort of thing, and an auto dealership (noise on mic) deemed part of that. Uh, so that's the reason for the requested rezoning. It does This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 4 include, uh, the Honda dealership. Um...the, uh, and you know, and we've had a lot of discussion over the years of the CI-1 zone. I think you're fairly familiar with it. It's an intensive commercial zone, allows outdoor storage, uh, and those sorts of things, and so it's...it's quite typical when we get into, uh, requests for change in zoning to that zone to condition, uh, that rezoning on certain things, in particular...particularly having to do with screening and buffering because of the intensive nature, uh, of the commercial zone. Um, in this particular instance, we have...we have taken a lot of care over the years to try and preserve some of the attractive characteristics of this entrance way, and if you look up and down the corridor at most familiar, uh, recently was the Walmart development where we, uh, again had a conditional zoning on that property to ensure that... in terms of positioning of the building and that sort of thing, and screening of outdoor storage, that it remain an attractive entry way. And, we are suggesting conditioning this, uh, zoning, uh, similarly. Uh, go back...now you can see there's an existing, uh, well, it's kind of hard to see here, but you can see there are lot lines and City View Drive, which has been constructed, uh, and it is likely, well, the applicant has indicated that there is some probability that they may re- subdivide this property, uh, but for the time being the rezoning is for the entire property, which includes, uh, the...the configuration that you see here with respect to the lots and City View Drive. Um...what we are suggesting then is a, uh, some conditions on the...we are recommending approval with the following conditions, and that is that, uh, there be landscaping required for frontages on Mormon Trek Boulevard, Highway 218, and Highway 1, and again, consistent ... if you look at the details of the CZA, it goes into more detail of exactly what those requirements should be, but they are typical of what we provided...uh, what we've asked for in this corridor. Uh, building and site design standards that address the appearance of the development, location and screening of loading docks, garbage dumpsters, outdoor storage areas, equipment that's stored outdoors. Again, typical to what we have done...most recently with the Walmart development, but in this, uh, corridor. Uh, restrictions on lighting, uh, in particular having to do with sensitivities with the Airport. The Airport, uh, Director has indicated that as long as the lighting is downcast, uh, there isn't going to be any problems with it. Uh, that will be handled, uh, at the site plan stage, uh, to ensure that that happens, but the Airport Director does not have a, uh, problem with it. Um, the final thing then was an adequate buffer from residential properties. Uh, to the south of this area where Dane Road comes in there is a existing county residential subdivision, uh, some homes that were moved into that area years ago, but it's an existing neighborhood, and we want to make sure that there is buffering. Again, that'll be handled at the site plan stage, but we'll, uh, ask through the conditional zoning agreement that that, uh, be something that the applicant is required to do. Uh, as I say, with those conditions, uh, the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff, uh, is recommending approval. Do you have any questions? Thank you. Hayek: Public hearing is still open. Would anyone like to address the Council? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 5 Larson: I'm Dave Larsen, and I'm here representing, uh, Properties IC, and I'm just here to see if anybody has any questions for us. Dickens: Are you still planning on building across the street, or is this going to be the new plan on this side now? Larsen: At the present they're not planning on building across the street. It wasn't acceptable, and so this one is. Bailey: I think I recall that it indicated you were going to use the `good neighbor' policy. Have you done that? You've talked to... Larsen: All the property owners. Bailey: In the surrounding area... are supportive of this, or what was the response? Larsen: Yes. Bailey: Okay. Hayek: What...this is more for staff, was the property across the street, was that subject to a CZA, as well? Champion: Right. Hayek: Okay. And those have standard language, uh, in terms of successors and the signs, if...if they were to sell that, the next person wouldn't be stuck with those... Davidson: Right, but otherwise any...any use permitted under the (away from mic) Hayek: But in terms of screening, and the things you set up the...okay. Any other questions from Council? Thank you, Sir. Dilkes: Ex parte? Hayek: Yes. Oh, yes, has...anyone have any ex parte discussions concerning this item? Probably not. (several responding) Anything else? Okay, I'll close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) 2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Bailey: Move first consideration. Dickens: Second. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 6 Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 7 ITEM 4. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS. b) AMENDING THE IOWA CITY ZONING CODE, SECTION 14-4E-8, NONCONFORMING DEVELOPMENT 1. PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open. Davidson: Uh, the Mayor asked me to just very briefly summarize, uh, this item. Uh, we had some discussion, um, yesterday evening at your work session. The intention here is to allow, uh, flexibility in the application of current development standards to nonconforming developments, and by nonconforming developments, we mean developments that because of a change in the zoning code that you have adopted are no longer in conformance. They may have been at one time, but they are no longer, uh, in conformance. Um, otherwise, under strict interpretation of the...the current ordinance, if a property owner wants to build an addition or change a use, uh, for example, the entire parking lot has to be brought up, uh, to standards, and there have been instances where, uh, it's been (mumbled) accepted that that's...less than reasonable thing to do given the scope of what's needed to bring an entire development up to the conforming standards. So this will provide flexibility, and we indicated to you yesterday evening that there are some things in particular as a nonconforming development, um, relates to the public realm. Uh, the street or a park, or something like that, that...that the buffering standards, the street tree standards, we will still try and work with a developer as much as we can, if there is room, uh, to try and get over time nonconforming developments to conform, but this will allow flexibility and through the minor modification process the waiving of standards in certain instances, if you choose to adopt it. Hayek: Would anyone else like to address us during this public hearing? Hearing none (bangs gavel) public hearing is closed. 2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Champion: Move first consideration. Bailey: Second. Hayek: Moved by Champion, seconded by Bailey. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 8 ITEM 4. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS. c) AMENDING THE IOWA CITY ZONING CODE, ARTICLES 14-51, SENSITIVE LANDS AND FEATURES AND 14-9E, SENSITIVE LANDS DEFINITONS, TO REFINE THE DEFINITION OF A REGULATED STREAM CORRIDOR. 1. PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) The public hearing is open. Davidson: Uh, this is also a...a housekeeping item dealing with how we enforce the sensitive areas ordinance, and specifically, the regulation of stream corridors. Uh, we have instances now where, uh, our reference to a blue-line stream on a USGS quadrangle map, uh, when verified in the field, resulted in the determination that there's not actually a stream with a bed and bank that's definitive stream, uh, for carrying water, uh, which is the purpose of what we're trying to regulate. So this...in this instance, if that field verification determines that there's not a stream corridor with a bed and bank, uh, that is obvious, uh, it would not be a regulated stream, uh, should you choose to adopt this. Wright: I noticed you didn't mention high water marks for that. (laughter) Hayek: Anyone else for the public hearing? (bangs gavel) Public hearing is closed. 2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Mims: Move first consideration. Wright: Second. Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Wright. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. . This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 9 ITEM 4. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS. e) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CONDITIONALLY REZONING APPROXIMATELY 60.32 ACRES OF LAND FROM INTERIM DEVELOPMENT-RESEARCH PARK (ID-RP), TO OVERLAY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT-OFFICE RESEARCH PARK (OPD- ORP); AND APPROXIMATELY 56.48 ACRES OF LAND FROM INTERIM DEVELOPMENT-RESEARCH PARK (ID-RP) TO OVERLAY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT-RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PARK (OPD-RDP); AND APPROXIMATELY 24.49 ACRES OF LAND FROM INTERIM DEVELOPMENT-RESEARCH PARK (ID-RP) TO OVERLAY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT-MIXED USE (OPD-MU) FOR PROPERTY LOCATED NORTHWEST OF THE INTERCHANGE OF STATE HIGHWAY 1 WITH INTERSTATE 80. (REZ10-00004) (PASS AND ADOPT) Bailey: Move adop...adoption. (several talking) Oh, we need to defer this one? Davidson: We have not, uh, we have not received the determination from, or I should say, the applicant has not received a determination from the Corps of Engineers on the wetland issue with Oakdale Boulevard, so we would ask you to defer this item, uh, the following item, the plat, and also item, uh...l 1, which is the development agreement till your next meeting. Bailey: Move to defer to July 12tH Wilburn: Second. Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Wilburn. Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. 4.e. is deferred until July 12tH This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 10 ITEM 4. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS. f) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY PLAT OF MOSS GREEN URBAN VILLAGE, IOWA CITY, IOWA. (SUB10-00005) (DEFERRED FROM 6/1) Wright: Move to defer. Bailey: Second. Hayek: Moved by Wright, seconded by Bailey to defer to July 12 I trust. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 11 ITEM 5. RENEWAL OF A CLASS C LIQUOR LICENSE FOR 808 RESTAURANT & NIGHT CLUB, INC. DBA 808 RESTAURANT & NIGHT CLUB, INC., 121 IOWA AVENUE. a) HEARING Hayek: We'll open up the hearing at this time. Would either the Police Department or the applicant like to...Mr. Adam. Adam: Mr. Mayor, Council Members, my name is Matthew Adam. I've been in front of you before. Um, I'm an attorney with Simmons Perrine Moyer and Bergman. I'm here today to ask the Council to recommend approval of 808's, uh, liquor license renewal application. Uh, a little bit about 808 - uh, 808 is a corporation owned solely by Robbi Uchida. He has owned the restaurant and bar since 2004. He has been in the bar business in Iowa City since 1995. So he's been around for a while. In that time, no one in his bar has ever been cited or charged or convicted with any violation of any liquor control licenses. Um, we feel that, uh, he meets all the qualifications for holding a Class C liquor control license according to the rules promulgated by the Code of Iowa, and the Alcoholic Beverages Division. Uh, he possesses the good moral character that the code requires. He, um, and his staff have never been caught in any stings by the Police Department. In fact, they go to great measures to prevent underage drinking in their bar, and they self-apply stings and in one instance the, uh, employee was caught and immediately fired. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the busiest nights, they have a monitor that walks around their bar, pulls drinks, and removes underage patrons that are caught drinking. Before anyone can walk into the bar, they have the process by which an I.D. is presented, and no one is given access without presenting an I.D. All underage individuals are stamped, and servers are trained to never serve alcoholic beverages to someone who is in fact stamped. Um... going back to the qualifications for a moment. If this Council looks at its resolution that it passed in February of 2009, I think it will see as it goes down the list that 808 does meet every qualification, save one, and that is the PAULA ratio. Now this Council is aware of my position on the PAULA ratio, and I'm aware of the Council's position, and I suppose we'll respectfully disagree on those. I will say this, that because I disagree with the PAULA ratio being a legitimate standard by which liquor control license holders are judged, I would ask that the Council focus their attention on the other factors. You're not mandated according to your resolution to recommend denial. So, you do have the option of recommending approval of a liquor control license. Um, and I would ask that you do so tonight. If you have any questions for the...for Robbi, he'd be happy to address the Council at this time. Bailey: What's the capacity of this bar? Uchida: 199. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 12 Bailey: Thank you. Wright: Number we have is 176. Bailey: ...did you see that? I'm sorry. Uchida: That's the last number I was told. Wright: On the PAULA report that was in the Information Packet. Bailey: Oh okay, thanks. That's what I was looking for. Uchida: If I might interrupt. I had one thing I wanted to also state that is the, on the report that you received from Sergeant Brotherton, the TIPS training is not necessarily accurate. Uh, 808 has had no turnover in staff for almost three years now, and all the staff is in fact TIPS trained, but when you read that line item it looks like no one has been TIPS trained in the last year, which is true because there's been no new staff. Hayek: Thanks for pointing that out. Wright: I do have a question, and it's one I've asked before, and I'm always curious about the answer. Um, we have an indication here that the occupancy of your (several talking) Hayek: ...you're going to have to stand back there if you'd like to take photographs. Wright: We understand the, uh, occupancy of your, uh, establishment is 176 people, and just scanning down the information that we have, it was...public information, uh, for example, Brothers Bar & Grill has an occupancy of 556 people, and a PAULA rate one-quarter of yours. Uh, the Blue Moose, occupancy of 436, uh, PAULA rate approximately half of yours. Why? Why can they do it and you can't? Uchida: Blue Moose, to my knowledge, um (unable to hear) I can't really speak, to be honest with you, Sir, about anybody else's bar because I only worry about my four walls. Um, generally speaking, we are busier on the weekends as opposed to, uh, going to use Brothers as an example. Brothers, um, Brothers is busy (unable to hear) but at the same time, police force doesn't, uh, necessarily conduct their bar checks also seven days a week, as...as uh, regularly as they do say Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. (mumbled) of course more people do go out, but at the same time, you know, we're aware we're going to get checked Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays consistently when we are busier, uh, and we are also a restaurant during the day and during the week, and we serve lunch and dinner, and we just hosted a University of Iowa Hawkeye Alumni football party (mumbled) um, those...those things I think also get lost in the shuffle (mumbled) and some of the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 13 (mumbled), um, you know, I can't speak for Brothers, and I definitely do not speak for (mumbled) but I do know that, um, when people walk up to my bar, I'm there all the time. We do not encourage 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds or anybody under age to drink or engage in any kind of illegal activity. Um, I...I don't...I personally do not, uh...I...I don't want to speak for anybody else, but I don't think that all the other bar owners share my passion for that. (mumbled) I...I just want to...run a good business and...and provide Iowa City with some form of entertainment. Uh, I don't...I hope that the City Council doesn't see me as a purveyor of... of poisons to minors, cause I definitely, uh, was a student here. I understand what it's like to be a part of the University, um...I...I don't feel that any of that is, uh, I...I guess...I just don't feel like I'm...in the wrong completely. I understand, I accept responsibility for my PAULA ratio, but I also understand that there are things that, with that PAULA ratio, there's a lot of things that (mumbled). That number doesn't reflect a lot of things. We've had, you know, minors with their parents get pulled out, and we didn't provide them...we didn't provide the alcohol to the minors. The parent may have. I'm not using that as every example, but it's happened. And, you know, as...as much as we can police it, you know, we...we didn't put the drink in that kid's hand. You know, none of my employees did, and...and you know, we go about our business that way. We treat...we've treated this very seriously because this is my livelihood. So, you know, if... if, you know, as the City Council, you tell me that underage drinking and binge drinking is a problem. I made it my problem. We...you can look at my payroll. It's increased. I've had to try to...help curb these problems. So, I mean, you know, as far as my numbers are concerned, I understand where you're coming from, but at the same time I do not feel...that 1.6 number is completely and 100% accurate. Bailey: But I...you've gone to, clearly you've gone to stringent measures to address this issue. What I don't quite understand is how does it continue to happen, and happen at such a high rate? That...I mean, you...you cited one example, but I don't understand how this continues to happen when you have all these measures in place. Uchida: Well... Bailey: In a relatively small bar. Uchida: Right, I understand that. To make a long story short, um, what ended up happening with the Field House is...is, uh...if I'm going to use them as an example. What ended up happening is...is...is the City Council, you know, denied their liquor license or their application for a liquor license. That get...that gets printed in the newspaper as the City...the City Council has taken away, that's how the general public perceives it, or at least the students or the people who go there, generally perceive them as not being able to serve beer or alcohol and generally speaking that means they're not going to be open. So since the City Council has passed that, most of Iowa City has viewed the Field House as being This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 14 closed. So what ends up happening is those people who go to those bars, 21-year- olds and up, and you know, 20-year-olds and under look for somewhere else to go. And, their options are...limited by, you know, whatever rhyme or reason they may have, but they're going to go somewhere else because if...the focus of, you know, Iowa City was the Field House...nobody wants to go there whether you're 45 or...or 19. You're not going to want to go there to either avoid (mumbled) with your friends and to get harassed by police officers, you know, constantly. Um, that has happened...for a lot of places. It's come down the line, so basically we've seen an increase in our business, both in the 21-year-old range and above, our business has gone up, um, and at the same time our PAULA ratio has gone up, because if you look, you know, the previous year's...I've maintained about a 1 or at 1 PAULA ratio in the five years that I've been open. Uh, this year, you know, when all of these things started trickling down, it... it literally pushed business out of the ped mall and towards our side of town, and you know, with the increased numbers of course we were going to get busier as we opened ourselves up to more, you know, bar checks, compliance checks, um, you know, and those things have all (mumbled) so like I said, I do take responsibility for the PAULA ratio. I understand that, but at the same time, I cannot have one bar staff per customer running around a bar trying to pick people off who are...who are trying to deceive my staff or, you know, police officers by showing us factious I.D.s, or you know, sneaking off to have a drink, um, and with whatever, you know, laws that...that are here, um, you know, I think they have something called a proximity rule, where if...if a minor has a drink within arm's reach of him, he can be LD.'d or any person has a...has a drink within arm's reach of him, that person can be questioned, I.D.'d, and it's happened. So they don't (coughing, unable to hear) something or drinking anything. They can physically be, you know, stopped, questioned, asked for their I.D. which is okay, but I mean...these people, not necessarily, they're not drinking necessarily in my bar. A lot of times we're turning away people who are coming to downtown from outside already, you know, intoxicated. Um, my staff has gone to great lengths to...to turn these people away. Um, another thing that we saw here was, you know, we don't turn any fake I.D.'s in to the, uh, to the Police Department. I...I didn't...I had no idea, first off, that that was, you know, part of these, part of the process that the City Council looks at, um, as far as our liquor license is concerned. If... any time we've seen a bad I.D., I just turn the people...what I've instructed my staff to do is to just turn them away. I don't...I don't feel it's legal, I mean, cause we've run into this problem before. We've taken the I.D. It's an older sibling or brother. They show up the next day and pick up the I.D. and (mumbled) it's them, they even have second forms of identification, but it's their younger brother who was using it. We, you know, I mean...we...we just don't let them in. We...we've stopped...I don't want to run into that problem where somebody claims that we took their I.D. lawfully or tried to sell it or, you know, whatever happens in bars, I just say, "Get out! And stay out!" But after looking at this, I guess, you know, things are different, so I guess that is one of the things that the, uh, City Council was taking under consideration for liquor licenses. But, um...that...that's my, uh, story about my increased PAULA ratio. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 15 Bailey: Thank you. Hayek: Any other questions for the applicant...forthe, uh, bar owner or Mr. Adam? Thank you. Thanks, Matt. Uchida: Thank you. Brotherton: Mayor, Council, Denise Brotherton with the Iowa City Police Department. I'm here to speak for the Chief, uh, based on the excessive PAULA rate of 1.6 he is mandated to recommend denial. Uh, other factors were considered. Uh, those alone would not necessarily have been deemed a denial. Uh, one thing I do want to point out since it was brought up is, uh, the rating period for last year, their bar checks. They had 45, and their PAULA arrests were 38. Uh, this year the bar check was 46 times, and then the PAULA rate had gone up to 72, if that's of any interest to you. Hayek: Can you give me those numbers again? Brotherton: Uh, the rating period for last year, the bar checks were 45 with a PAULA rate, or a PAULA arrest of 38. This year then it was 46 times the bar was checked, and there were 72 PAULA violations; therefore, this year it was the 1.6. Wilburn: Uh, Sergeant, the owner had referred to the, uh, termed it the proximity law, uh, the notion where if a minor is in proximity of a beverage. That's State law, is it not? Brotherton: Yes, and you know in having worked, uh, that shift, done bar checks, enforced the PAULA, I...I can tell you that the majority of arrests, they have it, I mean, there's so many people down there that you really don't need to use that one, um, they're just within reach. We understand the bars are crowded, um, if we did that, you know, we'd be stopping every single person. It's usually those people who had it. We saw them with it, then they set it down. It's obvious they were drinking. There's usually other factors. We usually don't just walk in and someone's innocently standing by a table and then we write them a PAULA ticket. Wilburn: And so as State law that applies statewide and in every establishment, um, or... Brotherton: Yes. Wilburn: ...or any location. Brotherton: That's correct. Wilburn: All right. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 16 Champion: And then, um, if you do question somebody and you realize that they're not 21, but then...are they breathalyzed before they're given a citation? Brotherton: Uh, having consumed is not, uh, one of the standards. They do not need to have consumed it. Uh, if they're denying that they had it, often times we will offer them a breath test. Uh, you know, and I can tell you in my experience if they've come up zeros and I didn't see it in their hand, then I probably wouldn't cite them, but most likely it was in their hand, and that there is the violation, if they had it in their hand. Champion: And of course if they don't register a zero, you don't know whether they've consumed it before they went downtown to the bars. Brotherton: Well, if they had it in their hand, once again, if they had it in their hand, usually we have seen something before they're right there...they're sitting at a table with the drink right in front of them. There's no one else there. Uh, like I said, there's so many down there, so many people down there that the ones that are written are usually pretty clear cut. Champion: Okay, thank you very much for that information. Wright: Could you address the, uh, low level of cooperation that was, uh, rated in the application. Brotherton: And once again, that's taken, um, just from some of those factors listed, uh, they are right about the TIPS training. There wasn't...there hasn't been one since November. I can only go off the list I have, um, I don't dispute if he says, you know, he's had the same employees, uh, not having the...having turned in the I.D.'s, there are other bars who do that. I, the feedback though I did get from the watch commander on the overnight shift is there's not issues with the employees here. Um, lack of cooperation with them in any way. It's just when you look at those factors, that's kind of where they fall in it, but I wouldn't say that, uh, they're a problem in that way in dealing with the late night shift and their officers and commanders. Wright: Thank you. Hayek: Any other questions? Thank you. Anything else from you guys? Okay. We will close the hearing at this point, and uh, this is a hearing, it's not a public hearing, Sir. Um...and uh, take up a motion. b) CONSIDER A MOTION TO DENY IN ACCORDANCE WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION Wright: I move to deny the license in accordance with the staff recommendation. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 17 Champion: Second. Hayek: Moved by Wright, seconded by Champion. Discussion...among Council? Champion: Well, again, we have a bar with a fairly high, um, PAULA ratio that claims not to be the problem. It's amazing to me that no one has come to one of these hearings and they've all said that they're not the problem, that they run a really good bar. Uh, I'm not saying you don't run a good bar. I'm just saying you have a high PAULA rate, and I think as Mike had pointed out, there are bars that have very low PAULA rates that are even larger than your bar or other bars in town. So I think you can control it, and uh, and I'm interested in...in it being controlled, and I thank you for what you're doing, but you do have a high PAULA rate, and higher than a lot of bars that are a lot bigger than yours. I think it can be controlled, and I think it's time for the bar owners to step up and control it. Hayek: Um, you've identified, uh, the...the difficult...the difficulty of control and possession in bars, and I don't doubt that it's difficult to do that, and that's really the crux of the issue here is whether the City can expect bars to control possession by under...underage individuals in their establishments, and we're going to find out, uh, whether a policy is upheld, and whether 21-law sticks. I..I suspect, and...but in the meantime, uh, we...we've got a policy, and uh, this is the third highest, uh, ratio on the list by my reading, and uh, I don't see that we have much choice. Anybody else? Okay. All those in favor of denial say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 18 ITEM 6. AMENDING TITLE 3, "FINANCES, TAXATION AND FEES", CHAPTER 4, "SCHEDULE OF FEES, RATES, CHARGES, BONDS, FINES AND PENALTIES", SECTION 3, "POTABLE WATER USE AND SERVICE". a) PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open. Fosse: What we're doing, uh, here tonight, or what we're proposing this evening is to update our fees for certain services that have...have grown stale over the years, that don't cover the costs of service, specifically those for reconnection of discontinued service and also for carding, uh, we'll go from $20 to $35 during normal business hours. It'll go from $40 to $70 after hours, and then, uh, for checking water meters will go from $35 to $62, and the annual fire hydrant fee (coughing, unable to hear) going out and exercising the...the valves in the hydrants, operating them, making sure everything works well, will go from $50 to $88. So our intent here is to keep the costs in line with our costs of actually providing that service. Wright: Who pays the fire hydrant fee? Fosse: The fire hydrant fee (several talking) yes! Let me give you some more detail on that. Not every fire hydrant out there is owned by the City. There are a number of hydrants that are...that are on private property. They're there for the protection of a specific business or building, uh, they're privately owned, but we do maintain those annually so that we know that they work, and it maintains the integrity of the water distribution system, as well. Champion: And I wanted to ask, what is a meter check? Fosse: A meter check is...is, uh, if people are concerned about the accuracy of their meter, we can...we can, uh, take that into the shop and check the, uh, see if it's...if it's metering it correctly. Champion: And if it is not reading correctly, are they still charged? Fosse: I was wondering the same thing earlier tonight, and I can follow up on that. Champion: I'd like an answer to that! (laughter) Fosse: Okay! Champion: I mean, I don't think my meter's ever read right! (laughter) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 19 Fosse: I don't...I don't...I don't think they are charged, but I'll find out and follow up with you. Wilburn: If the Council's interested, I'd like to have, um, staff look into what this department, um, not necessarily coming up with a strict review schedule, but uh, you know, Parks and Rec, they um, have determined uh, protocol, a routine as to where, when they need to increase their fees to...to take care of cost of living type of thing, and...I mean, it seems since the 80s seems like a long time to have, uh, have reviewed these and if possible to begin putting some type of a review in place so that we're not having such a long duration of time and have...having such a large jump, um, but I...I certainly, uh, I mean, we need to have the costs covered for the...for the services that are being delivered, but uh, it's um, little better absorbed by the public to see it done in a more regular fashion. (several responding) Bailey: That's a good idea. Hayek: We're still in the public hearing. Is there anything else you want to...add, Rick? Anything from the public on this item? Okay, why don't I close the public hearing. (bangs gavel) And b is consider an ordinance. b) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Mims: Move first consideration. Wright: Second. Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Wright. Further discussion? Champion: I don't know if it'd be hard to find out, but...if you could just ask somebody if they've ever found very many meters that aren't registering correctly. Just, you know, don't research it, just ask if somebody remembers finding meters that didn't work correctly. Fosse: Okay! And people typically don't report the ones that are under billing either (laughter) Champion: Well, I would never do that either! (laughter) Bailey: I would like one of those! Wright: You're really concerned about that meter, aren't you? Champion: Yeah! (laughter) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 20 Hayek: I'd echo Ross's comments that, uh, and Connie, you can address this, the age old question, do you incrementally increase or do you sock it to `em all at once, and then not increase anything for a period of time, um, this is probably a lot to swallow, and absolute, or in relative terms, but if we could look into that, that'd be great. Fosse: We'll do that! Helling: Typically when we run into these, we have taken a look at `em to, and I think in many cases you'll find that we're doing more, uh, smaller increments and increased numbers of fee increases, and hopefully as we pick these up we can continue to do that, because this, yeah, it's a long time to go without a... Hayek: Yeah. Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 21 ITEM 7. APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF CONTRACT, AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE 420Tx STREET IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO PUBLISH NOTICE TO BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS. a) PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: For the public's information, this project consists of reconstructing 420th Street from Highway 6 to the city limits, uh, a storm sewer system, and extending water and sanitary sewer to the area. Estimated construction cost is about $4.6 million. It will be funded with, uh, Department of Transportation grant for about $1.2 million, and the remainder from General Obligation Bond proceeds. This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open. The hearing's closed. (bangs gavel) b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION Bailey: Move adoption. Mims: Second. Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 22 ITEM 8. APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF CONTRACT, AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PENINSULA GLOOD MITIGATION IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO PUBLISH NOTICE TO BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS. a) PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: this project includes renovations to four of the City's well houses located on the peninsula for protection from future flood events, uh, it also includes construction of a portable generator terminal site. Estimated construction costs is $871,300. It will be funded with FEMA reimbursements. This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) The public hearing is open. Public hearing is closed. (bangs gavel) b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION Wilburn: Move adoption of the resolution. Wright: Second. Hayek: Moved by Wilburn, seconded by Wright. Discussion? Roll call. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 23 ITEM 9. APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF CONTRACT, AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BOWERY STREET BRICK REPAIR PROJECT -SUMMIT STREET TO CLARK STREET, ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO PUBLISH NOTICE TO BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS. a) PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: Uh, the estimated construction cost is $205,000 and will be funded with General Obligation Bond proceeds. This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open. Public hearing is closed. (bangs gavel) b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION Bailey: Move adoption of the resolution. Dickens: Second. Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Champion: Well, you know, we're going to talk in the future about, um, renovation of brick streets and maybe how we should be looking at this different than just patching them all the time, and having it look bad. I mean, Bowery Street is in bad shape. Um, so I'm wondering, I mean, I know something has to be done with this, but the...for $200,000 it's probably just going to be patched...patching again. Fosse: No, this is...this is a one-block rebuild. Champion: Oh! Okay, okay. Fosse: Yes. Bailey: Like...on Church Street. Fosse: Yes. That's right. We patched Bowery about seven or eight years ago and that did not hold. Champion: Right. Okay, no I just...well, I don't think that's so expensive. I just thought that would cost a lot more than that. That's great! Wright: It's a whole lot more to patch! (laughter) Champion: You never know! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 24 Hayek: But this should give us some empirical data in terms of the cost of...of a project like this when we get into the brick street's discussion later in the year. Fosse: That's right, that's right, and...and um, as pointed out, we did the Church Street project a few years ago. That came in a lot less expensive than we thought it would. This cost estimate is based off of our experience in that project. So it'll either confirm that that's an accurate price, or...or, uh, perhaps expose that that was a low price that we got on Church Street. Hayek: Okay. Any further discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 25 ITEM 13b. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AND CITY CLERK TO ATTEST A SHORT TERM LEASE AGREEMENT WITH THE HORACE MANN BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM (BASP) FOR THE USE OF 435 SOUTH LINN STREET FOR THEIR SUMMER PROGRAM. Hayek: This relates to the old St. Pat's Parish Hall which has not yet been demolished, and the lease would last from, uh, June 14 to August 6 of this summer. Bailey: Move adoption of the resolution. Dickens: Second. Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 26 ITEM 13c. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER AND THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE, AND THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST, ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO PURCHASE TWO HOMES IN THE PARKVIEW TERRACE SUBDIVISION WITH COMMUNITY DISASTER GRANT FUNDS. Hayek: For the public's information, uh, there is approximately $300,000 left in the State of Iowa's Community Disaster Grant funding, and staff recommends purchasing two additional homes in the Parkview Terrace neighborhood with the remaining funds. Wright: Move adoption. Bailey: Second. Hayek: Moved by Wright, seconded by Bailey. Discussion? Champion: Well, I think we should make it clear that we offer some flexibility in that to the staff, that they couldn't buy two houses they could use part of it for business aid and part for private aid. Isn't that correct, isn't that how we...handle that? Bailey: I think so. Dilkes: (several talking) the resolution so provides. Champion: Yeah. Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 27 ITEM 17. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION. Hayek: Start with, uh, Ms. Mims. Mims: Nothing! Champion: Nothing. Wright: Not a thing! Hayek: Wow! Uh, couple of things, uh, first, congrats to our area high school soccer teams (several responding) Uh, it's really fantastic honor for the community, and second, uh, you will read about this tomorrow. This was released this afternoon, but Iowa City, uh, has been ranked or announced as the, um, community with the second highest rate of volunteerism in the country. Champion: Oh my gosh! Better add that to our little list (several talking) Hayek: Yeah! It's, uh, it's incredible. Uh, and uh, there was a press release earlier today and we should all be proud of our community! Ross? Wilburn: This Saturday, June 19t", from 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. at Old Capitol Town Center there will be a, uh, ceremony, celebration, um, an annual one that occurs throughout the country referred to as Juneteenth as it's on June 19t", which commemorates the end of slavery, um, if you go to one of the events here or there's also events in Cedar Rapids at Gibson Park, um, you'll hear a little bit more about the history, but that happened to be, uh, an historically... one of the last states or the last, uh, last slaves in the country, I believe, Galveston, Texas, uh, where slaves were actually freed, um, that...that longer period of delay. Some interesting historical stories there. Going to encourage people to go to Old Capitol Town Center to, uh, find out some more information. Again, Saturday from 1:30 to 3:00. Bailey: Were you going to announce... Wright: There is something that I overlooked, uh, unfortunately it's a competing time, uh, with the...the Juneteenth ceremony at the Old Capitol Mall. We also have the, uh, an open house for the community for the Joint Emergency Communication Center. It's being held Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00. Uh, the Center will be opening on July 1St, uh, I should add on time and under budget. And uh, we're uh, opening it up to the community for folks to just have a look. It's an incredible facility in terms of its technology, uh, very sturdy building, and uh, we're hoping for good weather and a good turnout. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 28 Bailey: Um, I want to echo what the Mayor said about the soccer teams. We should be called the city of soccer, and it was a really exciting week. Um, thank you, City High, for that excitement! Um, very unexpected! I want to congratulate Summer of the Arts for a terrific Arts Festival despite a huge shower on Saturday night. The show went on, and it was...it was terrific. And then I want to remind everybody that this weekend in downtown Iowa City is the Pride Festival, as well. It's going to be a busy weekend in Iowa City, lots to do, so um, get out and celebrate and participate! Dickens: Well, timing's everything. Our family is actually sponsoring, our family business is sponsoring the Friday Night Concert Series this weekend. We have the Diplomats of Solid Sound and the Diplomats will be playing at 6:30 in downtown in front of the Sheraton. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010. Page 29 ITEM 18. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF. Hayek: City Manager? Helling: Just one quick thing. Um, recently the media reported a report from the University to the, uh, Board of Regents regarding their, uh, School of Music development, and as you know, that's, um, a joint partnership between the developer and the University, and the City, uh, because we own some of the land that that will be built on. Um, and uh, it does continue as originally, uh, planned, um, there's not a lot of detail. There's a lot of leg work left yet to do by the University and the developer, but I wanted to assure you that we are meeting regularly with the developer and the University, and uh, staff is meeting with them. Rick and I and Jeff primarily, and um, so we're there to look after the City's interests and to make sure that this happens cooperatively in a way that preserves a lot of that development for the City's tax base so everything seems to be going well, but it does go very slowly. Hayek: Thanks for that update. Rick? Fosse: Nothing. Hayek: City Attorney? Clerk? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the regular formal Iowa City City Council meeting of June 15, 2010.