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Home My WebLink About2019-09-03 CorrespondenceItem Number: 6.a. i CITY OE IOWA CITY www.icgov.org September 3, 2019 ATTACHMENTS: Description Chris Schoon: Thanks for implementing Trap Nueter Return in I C!!! Eleanor Price: TNR Program - Thank you Ashley Platz From: chrisjschoon@gmail.com Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2019 12:00 PM To: Council Subject: Thanks for implementing Trap Neuter Return in IC!! Well done, Councillors! Chris Schoon ZEN SCARLETT Available Now in Bookstores and Online UNDER NAMELESS STARS: A ZENN SCARLETT NOVEL Available Now in Bookstores and Online From Angry Robot Books Distributed in U.S./Canada by Random House chrisjschoonC@Rmail.com www.christianschoon.com @cischoon Zenn Scarlett on Facebook Ashley Platz From: Eleanor Price <priceele@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2019 7:29 PM To: Council Subject: TNR program - Thank you Dear City Council, Thank you for passing legislation to allow trap -neuter -return programs to operate in Iowa City. Our community cats deserve to live long, healthy lives, even if they can't live in homes. TNR prevents the spread of rabies, and allows these cats to live without the stress of constant pregnancy. TNR was already happening in our community, but it really helps us to have the support of Iowa City. My roommate and I have trapped and neutered six cats in our area, and only two were too feral to be rehomed. The other four are now living in happy homes. Without TNR, we wouldn't be able to identify which cats would be happy in homes --and without TNR, the two females we released could have had life-threatening pregnancies and numerous kittens. TNR doesn't just save lives, it also prevents suffering. I'm so grateful that Iowa City acknowledges the role of TNR in a maintaining small, healthy population of community cats. Thank you for supporting our community cats and their carers. Sincerely, Eleanor Price Item Number: 6.b. i CITY OE IOWA CITY www.icgov.org September 3, 2019 ATTACHMENTS: Description Feather Lacy: Styrofoam Downtown, Who is Responsible [Staff Response] Ashley Platz From: Geoff Fruin Sent: Monday, August 26, 2019 9:14 PM To: flacy@pobox.com; Bruce Teague; Jim Throgmorton; John Thomas; Mazahir Salih; Council; Pauline Taylor; Rockne Cole; Susan Mims Subject: RE: Styrofoam Downtown, Who is Responsible Hello Ms. Lacy, Thank you for the email. City staff is aware of the issue and is working to address it with the contractor rehabbing the exterior of the Ecumenical Towers building on Washington Street. Best, Geoff Fruin City Manager From: Feather Lacy (Personal) <flacy@pobox.com> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2019 4:36 PM To: Bruce Teague <Bruce-Teague@iowa-city.org>; Jim Throgmorton <Jim-Throgmorton@iowa-city.org>; John Thomas <John-Thomas@iowa-city.org>; Mazahir Salih <Mazahir-Salih@iowa-city.org>; Council <Council@iowa-city.org>; Pauline Taylor <Pauline-Taylor@iowa-city.org>; Rockne Cole <Rockne-Cole@iowa-city.org>; Susan Mims <Susan-Mims@iowa- city.org>; Geoff Fruin <Geoff-Fruin@iowa-city.org> Subject: Styrofoam Downtown, Who is Responsible Dear Iowa City Councilors and City Manager, Thursday, August 22, 2019, 1 was sitting with friends outside at the Java House at about 11 a.m. when we noticed small white particles landing in our drinks and on our table and clothes. We were probably breathing them. Then today, Monday, August 26 (see photo below) I saw many pieces and even some chunks of Styrofoam on the steps and in the garden area of the Senior Center. Where did it originate? One of the construction projects in downtown Iowa City needs to be held accountable. No person or company should be allowed to poison the people, streets and gardens of Iowa City. Below is a photo of the garden area near the bicycle rack at the Senior Center. �,ryy • • ' •� .' jI • �Yir .. ,r ... w � �,, .q' ...rte ,;'� ,. - - r -'� .- •- • ,•� �:' - r�.�i � •�.,�-, e�+'. � "`- -• {. � , ' .s C.ryt .1 w r �* r' � r. � -,a .� ' 'r. • .�' r,~ � • • ,♦+ '+ .. W, ^ f jam* - � - , .` s: S •' , �i �. , , i4 � � '. �f ►- +,. � ' � f• � • .. 7^ •` - Item Number: 6.c. i CITY OE IOWA CITY www.icgov.org September 3, 2019 ATTACHMENTS: Description Patricia Ryan: trees Fred Meyer: Increase Budget for Trees Linda Quinn: Put tree into your budget Ashley Platz From: Patricia Ryan <patriciaryan1652@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 10:57 AM To: Council Subject: trees City Council Members, As a resident of Iowa City, I would like to encourage you to include in the budget adequate money for replacing all trees that have been removed in recent years, and adding some more. This is a critical part of our response to the climate crisis and one that is relatively easy to implement. Thank you, Pat Ryan Ashley Platz From: Sent: To: Subject: Dear city council members: Fred Meyer <f.meyer@mchsi.com> Wednesday, August 28, 2019 8:05 AM Council Increase Budget for Trees Please allocate additional funding to replant trees in our community. An endless number of studies show the many benefits of trees: they mitigate climate change, save energy through shade and wind breaking, induce calming emotions and lower violence, increase property values, attract tourists, improve water quality, reduce air pollution... and the list goes on. When it comes to getting a good return on investment, planting more trees in our community is a fantastic deal. Thanks so much for all that you do to create an abundant community. Fred Meyer 112 Parsons Ave, Iowa City 319-358-7665 Ashley Platz From: Linda Quinn <quinnhenry@msn.com> Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 11:27 AM To: Council Subject: Put trees into your budget Hello Good Councilors, Trees, trees and more trees! Can you kindly consider budgeting for accelerated tree planting? To replace not only the ash trees, but also for the many other benefits that trees afford us, including combating climate change. I'm sure the city foresters can attest to benefits of native tree species; they attract more birds and insects and are especially suited for our region. Plus natives are low maintenance. I live in the Washington Hills area and the very best thing about my neighborhood is the mature trees- oaks, pines, maples among others. The trees provide shade, beauty and emotional well-being that just cannot be found in newer housing developments. Trees give us an important sense of nature right in the midst of so many people. Please invest in more trees. Keep our proud place on the list of Tree City USA. Sincerely, Linda Quinn, 2949 Creighton St Iowa City Sent from Mail for Windows 10 -A �- (0c Ashley Platz From: MARY Kirkpatrick <PATCHWORKMARYJ@msn.com> Late Handouts Distributed Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 9:04 PM To: Council Subject: Please make planting trees an Iowa City priority g _ 50 Dear Iowa City Council members, (Date) I encourage the city council to make planting trees a priority for the upcoming year. Our community has lost many trees over the last few years and it is important to replace them. The fires in the Amazon are a reminder of how valuable and necessary trees are to the health of our planet. Trees contribute to the environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting people and wildlife in so many ways. Planting trees is vital to our efforts to reverse the devastating effects of climate change. Thank you so much for all you are doing to make our community vibrant and resilient! Mary Kirkpatrick 431 Elmridge Avenue Iowa City 319 430-0861 I Item Number: 6.d. i CITY OE IOWA CITY www.icgov.org September 3, 2019 ATTACHMENTS: Description Email From Mary Hoyer: Iowa City Declares Climate Crisis Mary Hoyer: Letter to Editor Ashley Platz From: Mary Hoyer <mfessary@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2019 5:43 PM To: iowacityclimateadvocates@gmail.com; Council Cc: zsmith@press-citizen.com Subject: FW: "Iowa City Declares Climate Crisis" Attachments: IowaCity.docx FYI — and I would like an answer about what energy codes will be demanded for this project. Here are the newest: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/zero-energy-ready-homes The red flag when I was reading about Forest View was that manufactured homes are part of the project. Energy efficiency requires that the inside be separated, as much as possible, from the outside. How can you do this with modular housing? I recently attended a Green Building conference and was at a talk where modular housing was discussed; the presenter was John Straube: https://uwaterloo.ca/civil-environmental-engineering/profile/efstraub. A session that I did not attend, but may be a model is about Quebec City's Eco - Village: http://nesea.org/session/guebec-citys-eco-district-low-energy-affordable-sustainable-and-cost-effective. From: Mary Hoyer [mailto:mfessary@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 26, 2019 5:24 PM To: 'zsmith@press-citizen.com' Subject: "Iowa City Declares Climate Crisis" I read these two articles — both written by you, and really started wondering. I don't know if you take letters to the editor, or if this is just for you, but it is a question that is important. Best Regards, Mary Hoyer Virus -free. www.avast.com To the Editor, Iowa Press -Citizen When I was in Iowa City recently, I ran across an issue of the Press -Citizen. I was delighted to read that that Iowa City Council has declared a climate crisis. This is a remarkable recognition of a reality that most people are avoiding. We are not 10 or 20 or 30 years away from a crisis, we are already in it — as the roller -coaster ride of this year's weather illustrates only too well. In fact, t is really frightening to imagine what our world will be like in 2030 or 2050 or whatever years various city, state, and country's governments are setting as their goals for clean energy. Like the City Council, I do believe that we can turn this around, but am wondering how much the Council is going to follow through. On the first page of the newspaper there was an article about the Forest View project that the City is supporting. So I ask: What energy standards they requiring for these homes? Will they follow the Iowa Energy Code, or go even further and comply with the DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes standards? Will they install clean energy sources so that the development is in fact net -zero? Some may argue that meeting these requirements will add too much to the cost. First of all, these units are meant to be affordable, which should mean the total cost of owning the home. "Affordable" homes should include the overhead costs of utilities needed to live in those homes. More importantly, as a society we have to make a choice: Do we want to get serious and pay the price now for net zero ready homes (about 10% more, according to the latest studies), or cut costs and pay a much higher price in the future for ignoring this acknowledged crisis: The costs of unbelievable storms, floods, droughts, forest fires, not to mention the economic devastation, and ensuing unrest, that this is already causing many countries — including our own. I sincerely hope that the City Council is applying its declaration to the Forest View project and applaud their leadership if they are. Sincerely, Mary Hoyer, Salem, Iowa Item Number: 6.e. i CITY OE IOWA CITY www.icgov.org September 3, 2019 ATTACHMENTS: Description Emily Klinefelter: Sustainability -renewable energy Ashley Platz From: Emily Klinefelter <emilyklinefelter@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2019 9:15 AM To: Council Subject: Sustainability-renewalable energy Dear Iowa City Council, First off, thank you for your commitment to addressing our current climate catastrophe. I commend your work with solar panels, transportation, and recycling and waste reduction. However, this plan does not go far enough. To actually address the climate catastrophe we're currently facing, our goal should be 100% renewable energy for our entire city. Maybe we first start with the goal of 100% renewable energy for all municipal buildings, including our schools, and then look to invest in producing enough renewable energy to power all of Iowa City's commercial and residential properties. know this is a huge undertaking, but we must do this. Please check this out: https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100/commitments https://www.huffoost.com/entry/american-cities-powered-by-renewable-energy n 59ea2cbee4b0958c4681d32a I have a suspicion that there are some legal limitations surrounding our utility agreement with MidAmerican Energy, but anything can be done if you have the drive and ingenuity. Thank you for your time. Emily Klinefelter Item Number: 6.f. ®4 CITY OF IOWA CITY u► �� COUNCIL ACTION REPORT September 3, 2019 Establishment of parking prohibitions on Grissel Place. Prepared By: Sarah Walz; Acting Sr. Transportation Planner Reviewed By: Kent Ralston; Transportation Planner Tracy Hightshoe, Director, Neighborhood and Development Services Fiscal Impact: No impact. Recommendations: Staff: Approval Commission: N/A Attachments: Letter from Shimek Principal Executive Summary: As directed by Title 9; Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action: Pursuant to Section 9-4-1A (10); Install "No Parking Any Time" signs along the west side of Grissel Place and install "No Parking 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM on School Days" signs along the east side of Grissel Place. Background /Analysis: This action is being taken because Grissel Place has a pavement width of 25 feet and the principal of Shimek Elementary has identified traffic issues related to on -street parking. The parking prohibitions are to ensure that school traffic moves safely and efficiently to and from Whiting Avenue along Grissel Place. Grissel Place is a 200 foot long street that provides the only vehicle access to Shimek Elementary. School enrollment has increased this acedemic year and significant new traffic to and from the school site is anticipated. ATTACHMENTS: Description Correpsondence from Shimek School Principal Sarah Walz From: Chris Pisarik <pisarik.chris@iowacityschools.org> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2019 9:31 AM To: Sarah Walz Cc: Ben Grimm Subject: Shimek Elementary School Request Regarding Grissel Place Bear Ms. Walz, My name is Chris Pisarik and I am the principal at Shimek Elementary School here in Iowa City. As you know from our communication, my hope is that the City Council will consider supporting a plan that helps allow us to have a more safe and efficient drop-off and pick-up procedure here at our school. If it would help the council to better understand our perspective and needs from the school's vantage point, I would ask that you please consider sharing the following message with them: Dear Iowa City Council Members, First, thank you so very much for making time to read about the Shimek school community's concerns regarding Grissel Place. I would also like to thank Sarah Walz, who has been wonderful in making time to communicate and consider our request through a critical lens. I'm sure this council has plenty of things on its agenda and certainly appreciate you making time for our community. On behalf of the Shimek Elementary School community, I would humbly ask that the Iowa City Council please consider adding no parking signage to the east side of Grissel Place, during two critical times of the day or simply during school hours, in order to alleviate potential struggles in this area. Currently, there are two times of every school day that make it challenging and frequently unsafe for students and families coming and going to and from Shimek. Given that Grissel Place is the only egress in and out of our property, things can get challenging from a logistics standpoint from about 7:30-8:15am and 2:30-3:15pm on M, T, W & F and then 7:30-8:15am and 1:30-2:15pm on Th. Adding to our need for this change has been an increase in our student population and the addition of the Iowa City Home School Assistance Program (ICHSAP) building on our site. I think it's fair to write that the addition of the ICHSAP on our site, the increasing student population at Shimek and the increasing percentage of parents bringing children to school in private vehicles are all coming to a head this year. During the aforementioned times, it has been evident that we need traffic to be able to flow both directions; when that is unable to occur things come to a halt. The school team has worked with families to significantly change our drop-off and pick-up procedures. We have tried to put multiple new measures in place in hopes of increasing safety and efficiency, including increasing the number of staff and safety patrol students supporting the new procedures. We have also been very explicit about these new procedures in our communication to parents, providing them with written documents and a video we've posted on the main page of our school's website. With this additional support, if a parent or guardian is parked along Grissel Place, it is easier for us to come directly to that individual to ask for their assistance in moving their vehicle to one of our designated locations. To assist in addressing many of our concerns and to help with these new procedures, the school district has increased our on-site parking capacity and is in the process of adding signage and painting to label various things such as a bus lane, drop- off/pick-up lane and staff parking. Hopefully, our neighbors will also see the benefits of this during events such as Open House or the School Carnival - times when we should have the capacity to park many more vehicles on site and off of streets such as Whiting. Despite all of these efforts, if there is,-, vehicle that is parked along either side of Grissel Place and we don't know who the vehicle belongs to or cannot make contact with them, it can make moving a large number of students and families in and out of our site very challenging. Currently, there is signage on the west side of Grissel Place that restricts parking on that side of the street to times outside of the 8:OOam-4:OOpm time frame M -F. If the council would please consider supporting our proposal to post similar signage on the east side of the street, where there are currently two residents' homes, I know it would help tremendously. If there is anything that the city is able to do to assist with this, know that we would be extremely grateful. Thank you again for your time and consideration and if you have any questions, concerns or requests of our school please feel free to reach out to me here at Shimek or to our facilities management team with the school district. Thank you and gave .; good evening! Most Sincerely, Chris Pisarik Principal, Shimek Elementary School Ms. Walz, thank you again for your time and help with this process. We truly appreciate it! Have a wonderful day. Most sincerely, Chris Pisarik Principal, Shimek Elementary School Embracing and Inspiring Excellence. 1400 Grissel Place Iowa City, IA 52245 319-688-1160 www.iowacityschools.org/ShimekES Item Number: CITY OE IOWA CITY www.icgov.org September 3, 2019 ATTACHMENTS: Description Emily Klinefelter: Sustainability-renewalable energy Ashley Platz From: Emily Klinefelter <emilyklinefelter@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2019 9:15 AM To: Council Subject: Sustainability-renewalable energy Dear Iowa City Council, First off, thank you for your commitment to addressing our current climate catastrophe. I commend your work with solar panels, transportation, and recycling and waste reduction. However, this plan does not go far enough. To actually address the climate catastrophe we're currently facing, our goal should be 100% renewable energy for our entire city. Maybe we first start with the goal of 100% renewable energy for all municipal buildings, including our schools, and then look to invest in producing enough renewable energy to power all of Iowa City's commercial and residential properties. know this is a huge undertaking, but we must do this. Please check this out: https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100/commitments https://www.huffoost.com/entry/american-cities-powered-by-renewable-energy n 59ea2cbee4b0958c4681d32a I have a suspicion that there are some legal limitations surrounding our utility agreement with MidAmerican Energy, but anything can be done if you have the drive and ingenuity. Thank you for your time. Emily Klinefelter