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2. Student Leadership Awards - Weber Elementary
2.a. Lydia Evans
2.b. Reel Matar
Tbrogmorton: We have two outstanding students who will be receiving awards tonight. They
both attend Weber Elementary and one is Lydia Evans and the other is Reel Matar.
So would you all come up? Perfect! Thanks! Okay, what a great evening it is
and it's, uh, really a treat to be able to celebrate two outstanding students for doing
really good work at Irving Weber School. And we talked about this beforehand,
right? So I'm gonna ask you, Lydia, to begin by reading your speech and then, um
(laughs) (both talking) Reel, I'm song, uh, thank you, and Reel, then you'll read
yours, right? Okay! Good deal. So you wanna begin?
Evans: Sure.
Throgmorton: I'll hold it.
Evans: Okay (laughs)
Throgmorton: Speak to your parents and the audience out there.
Evans: Yeah, thank you! (clears throat) I would like to start this off by saying thank you
to the City Council for giving me this award and my teachers and principal at
Weber Elementary for selecting me. There are a lot of other people that show
good leadership at Weber, so I'm really honored that I was chosen. Some ways
that I try to show good leadership is leading by example. I always try to be a
good role model, even when I'm not in a school setting, and even when no one is
watching. At school I pay attention in class and ask questions during the lesson. I
always try to be kind and make everyone feel welcome. I try to be friendly to
new kids and when we're doing a group project, I make sure that everyone listens
to other people's ideas. Thank you.
Throgmorton: All right! (applause) Well .... well done. Okay!
Matar: Hello! My name is Reel and I am very, um, honored to be here. I would like to
thank Mrs. Bass and my parents for their support. I think I won this award for
several reasons. First, I try as hard as I can and if I don't get it I try so very hard
to understand. Second, most of the time I take things a step higher and challenge
myself. Third, I listen to instructions right away, and lastly I try to put exam...
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special formal meeting of November 4, 2019.
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good example for kids older than me, younger than me, and kids my age. Thank
you. (applause)
Throgmorton: Listen to instructions, what a good idea! Okay, so like I said, I'm gonna read the
award for you both. So it reads the same, exactly the same for each of the awards,
except for names. Yeah? Okay, so Student Leadership Award (reads award) So,
Lydia, here's yours and Reel, here's yours. Well done, and I know there's some
really proud parents right down there, and some other really proud parents right
over here. So great job. Y'all are doing really wonderful! So, join me in
celebrating. (applause) Bravo! To go off topic for just a second, there was
something I meant to do cause I usually start every meeting by saying something
about the day, and I guess what comes to mind is that a little over a week ago I
was in Greenville, South Carolina, and then I came back here and saw all these
beautiful trees with all sorts of yellow leaves and red leaves and it was really fun
to just observe our fall day, and a day later there was this heavy snow fall, or
snow fall anyhow, and all the yellow leaves came straight down, and all the red
leaves came straight down (laughs) and next thing ya knew, there were pretty
much (laughs) no leaves on the trees anymore. Oh well! Next time I go to
Greenville, South Carolina I won't make that mistake! (laughs) I'll come back
just a little bit earlier or somethin'!
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3. Proclamations
3.a. National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
Throgmorton: (reads proclamation) I understand that Jim Kringlen is here to accept this
proclamation. Jim! Yeah, please come up! (applause) (speaking away from mic;
laughter)
Kringlen: Thank you, Mayor, Members of the Council. Um, I'm one of quite a few
members of the local Homeless Coordinating Board here in Iowa City. Um, I've
participated in my role as the managing attorney at Iowa Legal Aid but there's a
couple of dozen agencies that provide services that come together to collaborate
to address those issues. Uh, just over the past year, the Homeless Coordinating
Board has, uh, worked on its annual winter emergency shelter, which provides
shelter during the coldest months to people who would otherwise be literally
homeless on the streets, in ... in danger. And there's been no loss of life due to
exposure in the past year. Uh, the .... the Board is also engaged in a case study to,
uh, identify how to provide services to home... chronically homeless individuals,
and that resulted in the very successful and amazing, um, Cross Park Place, which
opened, uh, earlier this year, and provides a permanent home for 24, uh, single
adults who are chronic ... who had been chronically homeless, but are not any
longer. Uh, we've also developed a rent wise, a training program for tenants, uh,
to help them learn how to be good tenants that will help them become, uh, less
likely to be homeless in the future and we're hard at work in creating a risk
mitigation fund to induce landlords to rent to difficult to house or to rent to, uh,
tenants, uh, and provide them with compensation in the hopefully unlikely event
that they suffer losses as a result of their willingness to provide housing to ... to
those individuals. We've also, uh, developed coordinated entry, which is a pretty
complex program. I won't try to summarize here, as well as community
connections day, which will be, uh, Thursday, November 21, at the Robert A. Lee
Recreation Center, which is an annual service fair for residents at risk of
homelessness or currently homeless. It provides, uh, hair cuts, other clinics, um,
as well as agencies there that provide a variety of services to help them know that
this community is there to help support them. So, thank you for the proclamation
on behalf of the local Homeless Coordinating Board.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Jim. (applause)
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10. Community Comment (items not on the agenda)
Throgmorton: Uh, anybody who would like to address any topic that is not on our formal
meeting agenda could please feel free to come up and speak to us. Uh, please
don't take more than three or four minutes to express your views, and we'll move
on from there.
Cohen: Good evening, Mayor, Councilors. My name is Andrea Cohen and I am the
former Executive Director of Iowa United Nations Association. I'm a great fan of
Edward R. Murrow when he said I wanna say exactly what I mean to say and I
request your permission to read from the script. Children have human rights and
they should be empowered to claim them. Thirty years ago the Convention on the
Rights of the Child recognized children as their own beings, entitled to non-
negotiable rights. Nearly all governments, to the exclusion of one, have ratified
the convention and pledged to respect, protect, and promote those rights. This
makes the Convention one of the most visionary and universally accepted human
rights agreements in history. This anniversary creates a momentum for the
international community to step up its efforts to make children thrive and to
renew their commitment to commute ... to protect and promote all their human
rights. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body in charge of
monitoring states' compliance with the provisions of the Convention, has been
encouraging states parties to renew their commitment to the Convention by
pledging to take one specific and measurable action for promotion, protection,
and realization of the Rights of the Child. The United States signed the
Convention, but has not ratified it, and is the only country in the world that has
not done so. There is opportunity however for states, cities, communities, and
individuals to make such a pledge. Iowa United Nations Association is asking the
Iowa City City Council to make its pledge to take one specific and measurable
action as we celebrate the CRC at 30. So what I have for you is what exactly the
pledge would look like, what it is, why you want to do it, how you want to do it,
when you want to do it, and who will be doing it. I've also provided some action
suggestions in case .... in case you need them, though I'm pretty sure you've got
plenty, and just in case you haven't learned it by heart yet, the Convention of the
Rights of the Child with illustrations and with what each of them are. So thank
you very much and it's not something that has to be done by the end of the year,
it's not something that has to be done in a major program. It's just something that
shows the commitment of Iowa City, which has, urn .... pledged to support the
Convention, uh, against all .... to eliminate all discrimination against women,
which we're very thankful for, but now we can also do this Convention on the
Rights of the Child. The 30th anniversary is actually on November 20th. That
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can be the starting point for something. It's something that can take three years,
five years, however you would like to do it. If you need my help, I'm here until
December 22nd. After that I'm sure Iowa UNA will be happy to help, as well as
the Johnson County Chapter. So just let me know who I give this to. That was
taken care of. Thank you!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Andrea. Good to see you again too. So there... surely some way we
can get it on our next meeting's agenda, maybe in an information packet or
something like that. Great! Hi!
Harrington: Hi there you guys! I'm T'Shailya Harrington from Shelter House, um, and I
wanna first thank local coo ... Homeless Coordinating Board for accepting our, uh,
the proclamation for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, as well
as you guys for, um, making the week (laughs) for the proclamation. I also wanna
share, um, some of the programs and activities and events that we will be
recognizing. Um .... to begin with we will have a .... discussion panel and if 11
have, uh, interesting mix of housing and healthcare professionals, um, talking
about the importance of prescribing housing for healthcare. Um, we'll have
professionals from the community, as well as Senator Zach Walz, um, moderating
the discussion. On November 21 st we will have a soup luncheon that is hosted by
Gloria Dei at the Congregational Church, um, in Iowa City, and also a food drive,
I mean, um, a sock drive! I'm sorry, and .... on that Friday we will have a film
screening, Lost in America, and it details the, um, epidemic of youth experiencing
homeless.... homelessness, which is, um, a pressing issue that is sometimes
overlooked. Um, we have a full week of programming and more information can
be found on our web site at shelterhouseiowa.org. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, T'Shanda. Hi, Jamie!
McCoy: Hi! My name is James McCoy, and first of all I just wanted to, uh, thank the ... the
Council for their, uh, expressed support for the Energy Innovation Carbon
Dividends Act and for the many things that are being done on a local level
through the Council, that are all extremely important. I just wanted to make one
technical point that maybe wasn't clear in the previous information I gave you,
and that is this .... this, uh, this proclamation or resolution is a very important
thing. The intent of that is to go to all of our federal legislators and just let'em
know that there is political will, uh, at the local level for doing something about
climate change. Another very important thing though is to actually go to the
endorsethebill, a web site, and sign on as an endorser. That's what puts Iowa City,
uh, Council on a list of, um, illustrious groups, including L.A. County and South,
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um, Miami, Florida, and Anchorage, Alaska, and many in between that have
endorsed the bill and so I'm hoping that in addition to a resolution, that the
Council will, uh, be willing to go on this web site and just, uh, basically fill out
about 10 lines, uh, indicating that they support the bill. Thanks very much for
your support.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Jamie. Hi there!
Reedus: Good evening. My name is Becci Reedus. I am the Executive Director of
Community Crisis Services and Food Bank. I'm also the, uh, agency chair of the
inaugural year of the Agency Impact Coalition, group of agencies, um, that have
been known by as the 'legacy agencies,' as they're funded through Iowa City for
funding for our non-profit, uh, organizations for a variety of needs. I want to
address the process of funding non-profit organizations tonight, and the process of
funding outside, um, the .... going outside the process, uh, to provide funds to
organizations, such as being considered. Not against any organization, um, such
as Houses Into Homes, um, getting funds — not at all — but I really feel strongly
that it is important for the Council to adhere to the same kinds of rules they give
all organizations for funding, that we have a process for joint funding and we have
deadlines and we compete in a process for one pot of money that's divided among
15 or 16 organizations. I've written 12 of those, um, applications. Eleven of them
I've never, our organization has not ever received full funding for that. Urn .... it's
a process, joint funding is. We're notified in the fall, uh, we have about six weeks
in which to write a proposal and submit it, and it's clear... it's clearly been
identified that if we don't meet that deadline, we're not going to be eligible to be
considered for funding. I think this process, one in which we are applying for a
specific amount of money, um, creates a .... um ..... a competition, um .... we all
know that competition. Um, and going around that process undermines equity for
us all. We, most of us know that we're not going to receive full funding in that
process. Um .... that we're gonna receive partial funding. And I think the
transparency of, uh, what .... and the competition is undermined when an agency
goes around that process. And I'm questioning I guess why, um .... why this
process isn't, the rules I guess aren't for all. I know that there are agencies in the,
uh, Agency Impact Coalition of which are legacy agencies with Iowa City who
are in need of additional funding, who have never received full funding except for
last year, which was a .... an unusual year. But going forward we're not expecting
that same level of funding. Um .... and I know that those agencies could use
additional funds at the same time. So I .... I guess, um, that's my question is...
why some agencies are required to adhere to the rules and others are not. Um...
where ... where that fairness in equity is coming from. All of the agencies that are
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asking for money have addressed serious issues in our community, whether it's
housing, whether it's medical care, whether it's food, youth activities, counseling
activities. I think it's important for the Council to .... provide everyone with the
same rules. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Becci. Hi there!
Prybil: Hello! Uh, my name is Phil Prybil. Uh, as the, uh, outgoing bio -solids applicator,
I wanted to, uh, afford myself the chance to thank you all for the chance to have
worked for the City for .... many, many years. Um, my business, uh, has certainly
benefited and enjoyed the opportunity to, um, aid in, uh, labor management and,
uh, evening of our work flow and, uh, continued, uh, employment of the people
who I employ. Uh, additionally the farm ground that we operate has benefited
from the bio -solids product and ... and, uh, I know bio -solids are the sort of things
we like to bring up ... always in mixed company, or near dinner for sure. Um ... so
back in 2010, ran ... in addition to thanking you and .... and bringing myself up here,
I wanted to, uh, return something to you all. Uh, back in 2010, um, when I was
fairly new in the process and needed money, much more, and the City was under
different management and certainly the waste water plant was under different
management as well. Um, they had some issues with accounting. Um, and so it
was .... fairly common that I would get presented with money that wasn't earned,
which is always a bit of a dilemma, and uh, on one particular occasion, um, I'd
been presented a check, um, three different times, same amount every time, uh,
and I would march the check back and return it, and after it came a third time,
not .... not that I needed to, but I decided that I would keep it, and I put it above
my desk and it was good conversation as to why it is that I was in possession of
an uncashed check for $2,000 from the City of Iowa City, living out in the
country. And so, uh, I'd like to return that to you all now (laughter) if, um,
because (several talking and laughing) Well odds are, Jim, it's fairly void and
would be hard to present today anyway, but I'll leave it with you all, and uh, once
again thank you for the, uh, what was a .... a good process. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Phil. I was only joking. (laughter and several talking) Sure!
Canganelli: Good evening, my name's Crissy Canganelli. I'm Executive Director of Shelter
House and urn .... I would just reiterate the comments of my colleague, Becci
Reedus, from community, um .... regarding the Aid to Agencies and the joint
funding allocation process, and urn .... also on the heels of, uh, Jim's statement on
behalf of the local Homeless Coordinating Board, and the work that the local
Homeless Coordinating Board has done in the past .... more than five years
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collectively to coordinate services, to look at gaps in our community, uh, in
services, and to work collectively and as a .... as a coalition to address those
efficiently and effectively. To challenge ourselves to see if a gap existed, did an
entity exist that could address that need, without creating an additional
organization, an additional non-profit, and the additional administrative and
overhead expenditures that, urn .... without doubt comes with that establishment of
a new organization. And I'd like to say that we've done, or will say, we have done
a phenomenal job in doing that, in integrating new programming, innovations,
working within the existing system of care, and we're stronger and more effective
for it, and we have helped in, uh, very profound ways some of the hardest to
serve, hardest to house individuals and most vulnerable individuals and families
in our community because of it, and we have done that all along with the support
and the leadership of City staff, and with this Council. So I have to say I was
quite shocked, uh, at the conversation and the starting point for the conversation
with respect to the determination, um, that the right thing to do at this moment
would be to, uh, give $25,000 to a relatively new organization because the gap in
between increasing service and making an impact was funding for an executive
director. Um, I say this at risk of sounding ungrateful I suppose, but I've had over
20 years of modeling this value system, these goals, these objectives, working in,
uh, collaboration with the existing entities to build and strengthen the network
that exists within our community and to do that with an eye to efficiency and
effectiveness, and economy. I'm going to also add that no one up here asked the
question, 'Are they collaborating? Did anybody reach out to help?' On multiple
occasions I will say that my organization off .... offered administrative support, a
Vista volunteer, resources, guidance, and at every turn we were turned away,
denied. Urn .... your decision tonight and the conversation is, uh, such a slap in
what I have understood to be the values and the strongholds .... that our
community has endorsed in moving forward and developing a system of care, and
I would echo the statements that Susan Mims, Councilor Mims, made as far as
standing back and looking at the need to do some real hard human services
planning, and uh, reassess and think outside the box, challenge us to do that. We
are the, uh.... experts in this area, tun .... and we were .... we were not consulted as
to a possible strategy to achieve, I would say, an even greater goal than what will
happen from your decision tonight. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Crissy.
Dixon: Hello. Um, my name's David Dixon and I think you've seen me enough. You can
probably guess what I'm about to talk about. Um, earlier tonight in the work
session you talked about, uh, speed limit on North Dubuque Street. I wanted to
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make a couple comments about that. Um, as Miss Dilkes mentioned, the ... that
non -statutory speed limit has to be passed by ordinance. Dubuque Street was
previously 45 by default. Um, when Mayflower opened, uh, back in the 60's. Uh,
it was reduced from 45 to 35 once the City got authority to do so from the state in
1968, and first adopted by ordinance in 1977. There's been minimal new
construction since then. You guys have improved the road quite a bit since then.
Um, couple of recent cases making nat.... national news in Michigan and in
Louisville, Kentucky, uh, where courts have thrown out traffic stops relating to
speeding. Um, one of 'ern in, uh, Louisville, guy stopped for 93 in a 55. It simply
does not matter that speed limit signs could be or should be enough, it's a matter
of what the law is. And in tossing evidence of drunk driving, there is no public
record of any engineering study modifying the statutorily defined speed limits.
The speed limit on the .... within the Gateway Project has never been 25. An
ordinance to that effect was never adopted. You .... at the August meeting
instructed staff to conduct a study. They haven't quite done that yet. There are
certain things that are required to be in that study. One of'em is very important,
and that's an analysis of the free flowing speeds of vehicles on that roadway.
They counted all the cars. If you drive Dubuque Street, you know that you have,
you know, Mr. Thomas rigidly at 25 and perhaps Miss Mims trying to get by him,
right behind him. Uh, I'm not accusing anybody (laughter) but (laughs) um, but
that's somethin' that's required to be in there, and there's a reason for that. One of
the things an engineer looks to is what percentage is free flowing? Do we have
lots of platooning? What are following distances looking like? Can we improve
some of those things with a faster speed, which I think is one of your concerns,
could 35 miles an hour in fact be safer than 25? Could 45 be safer than 35? And
that's something that we need to see in that study, at a minimum. Um, I'm....
fortunately Mr. Ralston collected the data necessary to determine all of that. He's
got the raw data. I had a conversation with him earlier today, and he's agreed to
provide that to me, and I'm gonna crunch the stuff in Excel and figure out what
some of those parameters look like, what the 85th percentile speed limit of free
flowing vehicles actually looks like. It's higher than 41 '/2. By how much I don't
know. It could be 42, it could be 49. We do know we've had people, looking at
police records, stopped for more than 30 over on that stretch. That's 65. Um, one
of my concerns though is that the police enforcement that has happened, we're
talking 300 citations just in that stretch out of roughly 1,000 issued in the city, city
wide. Three hundred of those, and about, uh, 40% of 'em, 39 point somethin', if I
remember right, are for speeds less than 10 miles an hour over. Less than35.
We're spending a lot of enforcement effort enforcing speed limits on people who
are doing something that design engineers on the Gateway Project have said is
perfectly safe. Um, that's something we need to think about. Um, you know,
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I've ... I've attempted for three months now trying to find evidence of engineering
support for some of the City's other speed limits and have come up with nothing.
Um, maybe the City's never done'em. Maybe they've been lost to history. I don't
know. But .... I wanna know when the City's gonna start issuing refunds to those
people that should have never been cited. How many of them are .... are
struggling for.... furniture in their home or trying to find a, you know, trying to
maintain housing, uh, how many of'em are ... fighting a license suspension that
might result in the loss of a job. All those things, even somebody that's cited for
45 in a 25 that would of still been speeding potentially, or somebody, you know, a
65 in a 25. There's a difference in what they pay to the court and what
consequences they face as a result of the errors on the part of the City and trying
to for... enforce a speed limit it never passed. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Anyone else? Mariam.
Kashia: Hi. Uh, my name is Miriam Kashia. I currently live in North Liberty. I lived in
Iowa City for over 20 years before I moved there. Uh, I'll get back to that in a
minute. First thing I wanna do is thank you all for your, um, the Council and
staff, for your concerted efforts to review and upgrade your climate, uh, solutions
and goals. I'm really pleased to see everything that's going on, the new
commission that you're setting up. It's very exciting and thank you. Second thing
is, um, I'm a walking billboard for what Jamie was talking about. If you can't see
it it says 'Keep calm and put a price on climate,' I think. I just got the shirt today.
Anyway, um, so I'll .... I'll ditto what Jamie said. I hope you will do the
endorsement, not just a resolution for this community supporting, um, House No.
763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Bill. And thirdly, I've been
thinking about .... I'd really like to move back to, uh, Iowa City. I love it here. I
live in North Liberty. Why do I live in North Liberty? Cause I couldn't afford to
live in Iowa City. And one of the reasons I couldn't afford to live in Iowa City is
because we don't have enough affordable housing, and I know you work on that.
Um, but one of the things that's come to my attention is that there are, um,
restrictions on multiple housing in many, many neighborhoods in Iowa City. I
live in a condo, a six -unit condo. I'm on the third floor. Heat rises. I practically
pay no heating. Um, you save a lot of energy when people live closer together,
and since you're interested in saving energy in this community, I really encourage
you to think about, um, changing some of the zoning that permits more
concentrated housing. It saves money, it provides more affordable housing, and it
saves energy. So ... thank you for your work. That's it!
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Throgmorton: Thank you, Miriam. Anyone else? Not seeing anyone else. We could move
ahead, but I wanna ask Kellie a question. Did I forget to get a motion to accept
correspondence from Cheryl Cruise, or did we do that?
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11. Planning and Zoning Matters
II.a. Regulating Plan Amendment - 625 S. Gilbert Street — Ordinance
amending the Riverfront Crossings regulating plan to include the property
located at 625 S. Gilbert Street in the Central Crossing Subdistrict. (ZCA19-
03) (Pass and Adopt)
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion?
Mims: So moved.
Teague: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims and seconded by Teague. Discussion? I'll just quickly note,
we've already discussed this in two previous meetings, so the odds are pretty good
there won't be extensive discussion tonight, but we'll see. Any comment from
anybody? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion carries 6-1, Throgmorton in the
negative.
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ll.b. Rezoning at 305 and 315 E. Prentiss Street and 625 S. Gilbert Street —
Ordinance conditionally rezoning approximately 1.6 acres of land located at
305 and 315 East Prentiss Street and 625 South Gilbert Street, from Intensive
Commercial (CI -1) and Community Commercial (CC -2) to Riverfront
Crossings — Central Crossings (RFC -CX). (REZ19-07). (Second
Consideration)
Throgmorton: But the applicant has requested expedited action and waiving second
consideration.
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Salih: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Salih. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call please.
Motion carries 6-1, Taylor in the negative. Could I have a motion to (both
talking)
Mims: Yeah. Move final adoption.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims and seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Again we've had length
discussion about this topic in the past. From my point of view the key question is
not the rezoning but the height bonuses.
Cole: Which will be subsequently decided (both talking) One footnote to our discussion
about ... that we had extensively the other week, about the carbon, uh, emission
aspect of this in terms of the height of the building and optimizing, or should I say
minimizing carbon emissions. Um, John and I have been in contact with Martha
Norbeck and have some .... have had some, at least on Martha's end and John's end
of course too, some very learned discussions on this precise topic. Um, Martha's
in the process of looking at some of the .... the research that John has showed. I
think she's at least going to give us her take and at some point maybe the Council,
in the future, may wanna look at this question more in depth, so we can, you
know, as opposed to just sort of our gut instinct, um, that we can get some
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consensus in terms of where the scientific studies are .... are telling us. Um, so sort
of stay tuned for that. I don't think we can figure that out tonight, but uh, I think
that will be an important part of our future discussions on height.
Frain: Just as a reminder, you ... at your previous meeting, you asked the Climate Ac ... the
Climate Commission to review the topic, so they'll also (both talking)
Cole: ....be some additional.
Throgmorton: Right. Okay, any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call please. Motion
carries 7-0. Could I have a motion to accept correspondence from Michael
Welch, Axios Consultants, and Pat Bowen.
Mims: So moved.
Salih: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Salih. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion
carries.
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12. Burlington and Madison Intersection Improvements — Resolution approving
project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Burlington
and Madison Intersection Improvements Project (NHSX-001-5(120)--3H-52),
establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City
Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids.
1. Public Hearing
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Oop! Hi, Jason!
Reichart: Hello. Sorry, I'm having some trouble here.
Throgmorton: That's all right! I was havin' trouble right before you.
Reichart: All right, Mayor Throgmorton, uh, Council Members, my name is Jason Reichart.
I'm a Senior Civil Engineer in the, uh, City Engineering Division. Uh, tonight I
have a presentation for you on the Burlington and Madison intersection
improvements project. So this project's been around in one form or another for
quite a while. Uh, originally, uh, designed in part, uh, for the anticipation of
increased pedestrian traffic to the new University Ree Center. Um, it included,
uh, landscaped medians to direct pedestrian to signalized intersections, uh, to
cross as opposed to the ... to deter mid -block crossing, and was designed by
Anderson Bogert in 2010. Uh, the current project, we reevaluated the design and
looked at the current conditions and determined that medians were no longer
necessary as a more .... as a form of safety improvements. Um, the current design
includes pavement widening from Madison Street to Front Street, and continuous
buffered bike lanes from Madison Street to Riverside Drive. Uh, the project also
includes signalized intersection improvements and ADA sidewalk improvements
at the Burlington/Madison intersection, and some, uh, public utility improvements
in the corridor as well. Uh, I didn't know how well these would show up, but this
is, uh, an exhibit showing the proposed restriping of Burlington Street. This also
extends up to Capitol Street, but the bike lanes do not. So it would just be, uh,
from Madison to Riverside that the bike lanes would be added. Um, the, uh, other
item that I was asked to kind of touch on was the Madison Street four -lane to
three -lane conversion was to be part of this project, but with the University's
projects that are going on for the next couple of years, we decided to pull that
back and wait until those are complete, uh, to complete the conversion of
Madison Street and add bike lanes to that corridor. And with that, that's it!
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Mims: Can you go back to the one ... I'm trying to understand the buffered bike lanes for
sure. It seems like we've got full lanes from curb to curb on the bridge and so I'm
must trying to be clear about....
Reichart: Yeah, it's kinda hard to see. So there is a (both talking)
Mims: Between the turn lane and .... (both talking)
Reichart: ...between the turn lane, yeah, between the turn lane .... my mouse isn't showin' up
there, uh, the through lane and the right turn lane on the north side of the bridge
is, uh, dedicated bike lane and then on the south side of the bridge, what looks
like, uh, I guess a shoulder line is actually, it's the (both talking)
Mims: So it's right up against the edge of the bridge.
Reichart: Yep!
Mims: So I'm assuming that the lanes currently are wide enough that all we're doing is
reducing the width of the current lanes?
Reichart: Uh, yeah, I beli.... yeah, I believe so. They'd be 11 -foot lanes.
Mims: Okay! Thank you.
Cole: Normally I love bike lanes, but this does seem a little bit dangerous in the sense of
the bike lane is right between two lanes of vehicular traffic. Um ... am I looking at
that correctly? Um .... and isn't it true that these particular sidewalks are wide
enough that it is okay for bikes to go on the sidewalks over the bridge, or is that
not....
Reichart: (both talking) ...I don't believe so. I believe they're four or five-foot wide (several
talking)
Thomas: What happens at ... so where .... where it, the bike lane meets Riverside Drive what
happens?
Reichart: Um, well there's the Iowa River Corridor Trail and then future, long-term we're
working with the University to look at, uh, a kind of a Grand Avenue
reconfiguration. That's a long-term project that we're currently working in the
study phase on. So .... this, these improvements were identified in the bike master
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plan as a recommended, uh, route, so .... because we're doing the ... this project that
we were implementing it with that.
Throgmorton: Jason, what will protect the bicyclists?
Reichart: Um....
Mims: Paint.
Reichart: Yeah, there's ... like the width of the buffer or...
Throgmorton: No, I'm (both talking) frankly I'm (both talking)
Reichart: ...there's no separation.
Throgmorton:... trying to wrap my head around being a bicyclist crossing that bridge.
Reichart: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: On a bike lane that is between the car lanes. That's what I'm trying to wrap my
head around, and so as a bicyclist my immediate instinct is, No, I'm not going to
do that. I'm gonna ride on the sidewalk.' That's... that's, what I'm telling myself.
Uh, so ... except me, take me out of the picture for a second and just think about
other bicyclists. Have y'all been in conversation with bicyclists who routinely use
this bridge and have complained about it for many years, about there not being a
way to cross it really safely on a bicycle. Have ya had conversations with them
about this particular design?
Reichart: Uh, not to my recollesh... recollection. I believe we may have in the past. We've
been working on this for a while now. Urn .... oh, sorry!
Knoche: So when .... when, with the original concepting of this project, we had a lot of
discussion with the bicycle community and.... and they actually brought it to our
attention the need for the ... for the bicycle lanes and the ... the on -street bicycle
facilities, and what .... what they had come back to us with originally when we
were looking at the concept of having a median in the middle, there wasn't enough
room to provide on -street bicycle facilities, so they were looking at having a .... a
bikeway outside of the street and then... especially at the crossing near where the
water plant was they were gonna bring the bicycles back into the street. Um, with
the redesign that we've done, we're .... we're able to keep the bicycles that wanna
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Thomas:
stay on .... on the street and use the on -street bicycle facilities, a dedicated space in
the lane, and they'll stay visible through that whole corridor, versus bringing them
from outside the back of curb into the traveled way.
So they've seen this and approved it.
Knoche: They have.
Mims:
I agree with you, Jim. I wouldn't ride a bike there. Personally. But it's ... it's either
I guess it's either doing this or it's having nothing at all and they're riding in the
same lanes with vehicles or they're on the sidewalk, which is too narrow for
bicyclists and sidewa.... bicycles and pedestrians together. So there's
not... the... the infrastructure does not lend itsef .. itself to a good, safe.... design in
my opinion.
Throgmorton: (both talking) What's.... what's the striping going to be like?
Knoche: Do you know what the buffer (mumbled, away from mic)
Reichart: Um, I believe the ... the buffer is only a foot or a foot and a half.
Mims: You don't mean between the lines on each side of the bike lanes?
Reichart: Yeah, between the travel lane and the bike lane.
Salih: Can you tell me again why in the middle, why is not on the side?
Reichart: Bikes in the middle as opposed to (both talking) bike lane (several talking)
Knoche: It's because the .... the travel lane as you go up the hill.....so in this situation,
unlike on the south bridge, there's no turn lane adjacent to there. So for the ... for
the bicycle movement to be able to go from Burlington Street, across to Grand
Avenue, they need to be between the turn lane and the through lane. So they're
basic.... they're on the right-hand side of that travel lane as you work your way up
the hill. Otherwise they would have to come back across the turning traffic to get,
to be able to go up to Grand Avenue hill.
Salih: If you going from the bridge to Grand, you also can, if you are in the middle
biking, you will cross the street and you will be there also in Grand in the middle
or after that you (both talking)
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Knoche: You'll be .... you'll be along.....you'll be in the right-hand travel lane of Grand
Avenue. So you won't be in the middle of any lanes. It's two lanes, Grand
Avenue is two lanes as you work your way up the hill. Eventually that right-hand
lane turns into the .... the bus, um, pick-up lane in front of the residence halls. Yo
won't.... you're not in the middle, you're not in between two lanes as you work
your way across and you work your way up the hill.
Salih: You mean like you coming from the bridge on the middle, but after that you'll be
in the right lane.
Knoche: Right, so .... so as .... as I'm .... (both talking) Right, so .... so if. ... if I'm in the right-
hand through lane of Burlington Street, that takes you straight across the
intersection, up Grand Avenue.
Salih: Okay.
Knoche: So you will be on the right-hand side of that lane, on your bike, as you work your
way into the .... into the lanes up Grand Avenue.
Salih: I don't know. For somehow I can't picture that. Because now this is the bike lane
now .... it is in between the two lane, right? (several talking)
Knoche: ...the right-hand, that right-hand lane is a turn only. So that right-hand lane is a
right tum lane onto ... onto Riverside Drive.
Salih: Yes.
Knoche: So those cars are gonna have to turn right. There's no receiving lane across the
street for them, so you're gonna be in that ... that right-hand side of the ... of the
travel lanes as you work your way up.
Fruin: I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, Ron. I believe it's a similar situation to what
we have on Melrose, as you're .... as you're approaching Hawkins, um, you're
gonna be between, you currently are between a turn lane that goes right or north
onto Hawkins, and the bike lane, you know, so the .... so the bike lane closer to the
parking ramp, you're going to be riding on the edge, next to the curb, and then as
that turn lane is created to go right onto Hawkins, that bike lane stays between
them, and that's a pretty common striping approach. So we've had that on
Melrose for a while.
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Mims: I think there might have been a misunderstanding, or at least I hope there was.
What's the actual width of the bike lane?
Knoche: (both talking) Yeah, so the bike ... five and a half feet (both talking) The buffer
itself is the 18 inches or the foot and a half (both talking)
Mims: Okay. Given the volume of traffic, particularly here and sometimes maybe the
speed of it, but particularly the volume, has there been any consideration, at least
during the warm weather, when we're not worrying about snow removal,
of...putting up the, I don't know what you call 'em, the posts (several talking)
Cole: ...possible?
Knoche: That .... that is not something that we've considered, um, in regards to the bike
lanes.
Mims: Okay. I just throw it out for, maybe some thought, especially during the warm
weather when we're not worrying about plowing snow, especially in the first year
or two, to maybe kind of start help training people, cause that's gonna be a huge
switch there, and then my other concerns becomes those bicycles going straights
are going to have to merge with that traffic, the vehicles going straight, and I
realize that a lot of those vehicles tend to try to get in the left lane because they
know that .... that bus lane is there and they know they've gotta get over if they're
going to continue around on Melrose. We're still gonna have some issues there I
think. So...
Cole: I'm really worried about the, you know, the interior lanes, if they decide, oh, oops,
I guess I need to get in the turning lane, and they need to move across the bike
lane and there will be a bike there, I mean, is that .... (mumbled) some sort of
concern, isn't it? See what I'm saying, those .... those lanes in the northern part of
it that are on the south, that are supposed to proceed straight through the
intersection, correct? But what if they change their mind and decide they need to
get into the right lane and don't see the bike in that bike lane. I .... (both talking)
Mims: I'll tell you, Rockne, as I've traveled (both talking) other cities, this is a very, very
common (both talking)
Cole: ....seen it too and there's been critique of these, so....
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Mims: Yeah, and I've seen it in the really big cities (both talking) super common. I think
for us here, we just really haven't had any, or many, like this and that's why I just
kind of throw out that idea of puttin' those posts in (several talking)
Thomas: ....color the lane, that would be (both talking)
Mims: ....that's another thing that's done in a lot of places is coloring it. So .... make it
stand out, make 'em paint it green a lot of places (several talking)
Thomas: Distinguish it from the (several talking)
Throgmorton:... like that would be helpful. I .... I feel uncomfortable, as I think I articulated
already and, uh, it's partly because I was not able to read these maps clearly
enough and I didn't realize where the bike lanes were gonna be, till just tonight.
Uh, so .... my gut instincts tell me I wanna know what the bike community thinks
about this particular design, before I vote. (several talking) ....well I didn't see
anything in writing. I mean I take your word for it, but I haven't seen anything
from people sayin', hey, yeah, I understand you have some concerns, Jim, but... or
whoever the Council Members, uh, but we think this is the best solution.
Mims: I mean I guess for me, if our staff says those people were part of the process and
support it, I'm not... comfortable holding this up to get something in writing. I
mean I trust our staff if they stand there and tell us they've met with these people
and these people support it.
Throgmorton: Well, I don't wanna make it a matter of trust, cause I totally trust Ron and Jason
and all that. Any other discussion?
Salih: (mumbled)
Teague: ...public comment (several talking)
Cole: ...be possible to get feedback on that proposal for the (mumbled) is that somethin'
you can at least (both talking)
Fruin: Yeah, we .... we can (both talking)
Cole: ...cause that would certainly reduce my concerns, and I think Susan brings up a
good point. These are in a lot of other communities, but I also think there's been a
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lot of pushback on these sorts of things because there's not that physical barrier.
So I think your original point, I think, is well taken. So....
Fruin: Yeah, we can report back.
Cole: Okay.
Throgmorton: So we do have a public hearing. So, David, please.
Dixon: So ... David Dixon. I'll admit that I haven't looked at this before tonight, so I'm
kinda of givin' ya a first .... first off the cuff impression of it. Um, as a cyclist I'd
be a little uncomfortable with that long of a lane in between two lanes of traffic.
Uh, but it is what's required. You either have to terminate the bike lane or it has to
go to the left of a.....an exclusive turn lane. So what .... what Jason's doing here is
strictly by the book. It's what he's required to do. However, I .... I contemplate a
little bit an alternative where you could put the bike lane over to the right, but it
would require an additional action, and that would be a requirement to cross the
street using the pedestrian over ...you know, the ... the bridge overhead, instead of
crossing on the surface level. Um, you might have to pass an ordinance that
would require dismounting to go up the ... the spiral ramp thing, um ... but that
would be one way that would allow you to put the bike lane over at the curb,
towards not conflicting with the right turn traffic, and .... and maybe get a little bit
of extra space and... and comfort out of that as well. Um, otherwise it looks like
an interesting project. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, David. Does anybody want to address.... anybody else want to
address this topic? Okay, seeing no one else I'm gonna close the public hearing.
(bangs gavel) Could I have a motion to approve please?
2. Consider a Resolution
Mims: So moved.
Cole: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims and seconded by Cole. Discussion?
Cole: I'm gonna support it. I think to Susan's point, it is progress and it is a lane, and it
has at least received feedback from some of the cyclists that routinely comment
on this, and I know that the Burlington Street bridge has been an elusive goal for a
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very long time, that this represents an effort by staff to try to meet this ... this goal,
um, under a lot of constraints. So hopefully at least they can report back to us. It
may turn out that the engineering standards won't allow these .... these nice little
white, um, barriers that go up along there. Hopefully it will be feasible in terms
of the engineering studies, but you know I say let's .... let's move forward with it
and at least make some .... some progress on this Burlington Street bridge issue
that comes up for .... has come up for several years.
Mims: I would agree.
Salih: I will support it too but somebody said like if it's being color, different color
would be great so people can differentiate it from the ... or it will be clear that the
bike lane so ... people are not scared while they are biking there.
Teague: I'm gonna support it as well. And I would agree, that if. ... if we can do somethin'
just for the first year or two, just to make sure that it's .... urn, identified as a .... a
bike lane for safety that would be good. Um, the other thing is that if this doesn't,
you know, god forbid anything horrible happens, but if it doesn't seem like in the
future, you know, we can do better, than you know potentially doin' an overhead
bridge would be an option, but I'll support it and .... and go from there!
Thomas: I'll .... I'll support it, but I do think, if possible, having that, uh, conversation with
the bike community, uh, would be helpful, just to get their confirmation on the
details of the project. Along the lines of what we were just discussing, perhaps
enhancing it, distinguishing it through the use of paint, which could be, uh, issued
as an addendum to the contract so that it would be part of the contract without
slowing up the project.
Taylor: I'm supportive of it. Obviously it's something that's been needed for some time,
but uh, I think I agree with Susan — some sort of method of identifying it clearly
as .... as the bike lanes. I think there's some very innovative ways out there that
some other cities have done. I think we received (mumbled) info a while back
about some glow in the dark lanes, uh, which was kind of innovative and, uh, but
also in regards to paint, that wears out and has to be done so often, so I think
Susan's idea also about other types of markers would be important.
Throgmorton: Yes, okay so I'm gonna support it as well, cause I don't warm make this a matter
of trust with our staff. Um, I like the way Rockne phrased his .... um, suggestion.
I agree with Maz about the ... the color coding the bike lane. I think both of those
would be good moves and then we have to pay attention to how it goes. Uh, if
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any bike people are watching or, uh, become aware of this topic, I'd like to get
feedback from them, but full speed ahead! Any further discussion? Hearing
none, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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14.a. Deer management/firearms in parks — Ordinance amending Title 10, entitled
"Public Ways and Property," Chapter 9, entitled "Parks and Recreation
Regulations," to allow persons to carry firearms in parks for the purpose of
killing deer pursuant to a deer management plan. (First Consideration)
Mims: So moved.
Salih: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims and seconded by Salih. Discussion? Would anybody like to
address this topic? Seeing no one, Council discussion? I'll express a concern, just
to get it out on the table. Um .... there's gonna have to be ample public notice,
because people walkin' through Hickory Hill Park don't want guns fired in their
direction. And .... so I'm very clear that City staff is fully aware of that and will do
anything they can to make sure that people are adequately informed. And there
are nearby houses as well, so a lot depends on where the guns are aimed and...
whether they're mis-aimed, so I think attention needs to be paid to that, as well.
And I'm sure staff has thought about that as well.
Mims: Well and with that, Jim, I think it's really important, you know, that the public
knows and understands that we're contracting, you know, with White Buffalo,
who's done this all across the country and very experienced, very professional,
and they're extremely cautious about how they set up their sites and ... and where
they shoot and they're incredibly disciplined about, you know, having to aim
down, you know, so that there's no chance of bullets traveling long distances,
certain distance from houses, um, so I mean I agree with your .... that those are
important issues, but I have extreme confidence that in the history and .... and
performance of White Buffalo that those should really be non -issues.
Throgmorton: I think a key difference, unless I'm mistaken about this, is that they have
not... done this kind of hunt inside Hickory Hill Park before.
Mims: Not inside Hickory Hill, but I think they have in other parks in other cities, so...
it's gonna be new for us, I totally agree and... and the notification is critically
important, but I think the safety issue, um, will be well taken care of.
Taylor: I had those concerns too, um, but it was good to note that the Friends of Hickory
Hill Park were consulted and don't object to the sharp shooting in the park.
Mims: Concerned about the damage to all the plants and stuff too.
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Throgmorton: Any further discussion?
Salih: I was (unable to understand) is not allowed and my question would be like how
do they know if like (unable to understand) and usually people (unable to
understand) we don't know. This is first time I know that it's again the law to
carry (laughs) (several talking) How do you know if people there (unable to
understand)
Throgmorton: .... know if somebody uses it or .... or somehow gets searched or....
Salih: Yeah, because park is just open for everyone. This is interesting.
Teague: I'm confident that there's some safety measures that'll be in place to, you know,
that White Buffalo they've done this before in a lot of cities. So I don't know all
the details, but .... um, and I .... I feel confident that they are aware of those
hazards, um, and will do stuff to .... )White Buffalo, who's doing the sharp
shooting.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion?
Salih: (mumbled)
Throgmorton: Um, I'm not hearing any, roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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15. Public Art Strategic Plan Adoption — Resolution Adopting the Iowa City
Public Art Strategic Plan 2020-2025
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion to approve please?
Salih: Move.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Salih, seconded by Mims. Hi, Marsha! And.... Vero Rose Smith, hi!
Smith: My name is Vero Rose Smith. I'm the Chairperson of the Public Art Advisory
Committee and I'm here today to walk through the strategic plan that we put
together for the Iowa City Public Art .... I guess strategic plan, moving forward.
Um, we prepared this plan. It's taken us about almost a year, with lots of input
sessions and to make sure that we are in complete agreement with the City's plan.
So we'll go through this quickly and.... colleagues on the committee are welcome
to help me out too. So firstly I want to thank the Council and Mayor
Throgmorton for reviewing this plan, for inviting us to be here. I also want to
thank all Committee members who have served on the Public Art Advisory
Committee, Wendy Brown, Andrea Truitt, Steven Miller, Edward Boyken, and
then our City liaisons, Ron Knoche and Juli Seydell Johnson, and of course
Marcia Bollinger, for putting together this wonderful document for us to look at.
So our summary overall, the thing to take away from this, is that .... we worked
really hard, made lots of opportunities available for the public to give their input
on what we are doing with public art in this community and in a way that will
help us better align with the goals and cultural mission of Iowa City and put us on
par with other cities of our size and scale and mission. So these are our vision,
mission, purpose. Uh, the main purpose of this plan is (several talking) Oh, is it
not up there? I'm so sorry (several talking) Um, okay .... there we go! All right,
here we go! So, vision, mission, purpose. I'm going to just highlight the purpose
for you this evening. This was created to outline a five-year plan to create a more
sustainable and diverse public art (coughing, unable to hear speaker) designed to
meet the interests and the needs of our growing community, and to secure the
funding necessary to support it. We have a wonderful, vibrant history of public
art in our community. Our public art program was begun in 1997 and has
experienced a lot of funding fluctuation over its history, which has made it
difficult for long-term planning in terms of collecting new artworks and creating
new opportunities for local artists, as well as for larger -scale commissions that
might invite outside artists into our community. In terms of how this strategic
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plan interfaces with Iowa City's comprehensive plan, this was developed
specifically to align with the goals and strategies for arts and culture, as we can
see in our comprehensive plan, the IC2030 Comprehensive Plan, which was
adopted on May 14th of 2013. And this is our process. So starting in December
of last year, there was a request from city Council to draft this plan. Beginning in
February we held a meeting for arts professionals in our community, and with the
help of those professionals, crafted a strategic process to gather input from a
broader public, which we implemented on March 8th. We then had another
meeting with our professionals. We had a survey that we developed that was
available online and also in person. We had more meetings later in the year. So
lots of meetings, lots of times to give input, and we finally have the strategic plan
ready now in October of this year. Some highlights of the surveys that we
presented to the public, we had 545 respondents from all parts of Iowa City,
which is a really, really good turnout in terms of feedback. And when people
were able to make general comments, over 150 people chimed in. Many people
wanted to see more public art outside of downtown and in the neighborhoods, and
more engaging and interactive public art. And more art by local artists. These are
our goals and strategies, and I'm gonna invite my colleague on the Committee,
Steve, up here to go through these with us.
Miller: Hello.
Throgmorton: Hi.
Miller: Uh, thanks, Vero. My name's Steve Miller. I'm the Vice Chair of the Public Art
Advisory Committee, and um .... so you .... you all have the strategic plan and
I'm .... we only have a short amount of time, so we're not gonna go through every
action step and task and timeline, but just to hit the highlights. Um .... goal one is
reviewing the existing public art program, which some of the highlights there
include, um, considering expanding the size of our committee to be more
representative of the overall community; um, looking at what time we meet and
where we meet, just to make sure we're, um, inclusive and, uh, representing the
full community; uh, updating our procedures and criteria for accepting public art
proposals; and also, urn .... in the spirit of collaboration in goal four, initiating an
annual gathering of arts professionals to encourage and optimize collaboration.
Uh, goal two is expanding opportunities and um .... this is about exp.... expanding
both where the art is and trying to get it out into the neighborhoods more, but also
expanding the concept of art and what .... what types of art are .... are public art.
Um, so .... um .... getting diverse types of art and spontaneous arts experiences in
non-traditional settings, um, that was one of the key, um, something that was
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brought up a lot in the surveys is people want sort of to be surprised by .... by art
and where it is and what it is. Um, goal three is secure and manage funding. So
we're not here to tell you where the funding's coming from. We're excited to work
with City staff and Council Members to figure out a sustainable and reliable
source that allows us to pursue these goals. Um, and also to .... um, provide
resources for the required maintenance and conservation of the art we do have.
Um, the fourth goal is collaborate with all the great arts organizations in our
community, um .... and have Public Art Advisory Committee members and local
artists more integrated with the City process, cultivating the partnerships with the
community arts organizations, supporting efforts to create a community art center,
um, and promoting the incorporation of public art in private development. And
goal five is building awareness and promoting understanding about public art and
the benefits of arts in general, and specifically about increasing our Committee's
interaction with City Council and staff to keep everyone updated, providing the
annual report, and um .... and public awareness. So .... (mumbled) ....so in
summary, public art is one of the things that makes Iowa City lovable, makes it
memorable, and um, we .... we fee like this plan has public support and is in line
with the strategic plan and we ask that you adopt it! Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Steve. Thank you, Vero Rose. Would anybody else like to, uh, well I
guess you're right there, so maybe we should see if anybody has questions for
you. Anybody wanna ask questions?
Salih: I guess (mumbled) Yeah, good job!
Throgmorton: Would anybody else like to comment on the proposed public arts plan? Okay,
well, um, then we can have a .... a Council discussion. So I wanna make a quick
observation, and that is first of all I think you've done a superb job of putting this
together, so thank you. And then I think public art is absolutely crucial in
developing and enhancing and articulating a sense of place, in a community, and
likewise a sense of community identity. I think those are both crucial, and when I
think about that, I think in a way similar to how I think about historic
preservation. We have, um.....if we dig deep in our history we'll discover that the
Ioway tribe used to live here and the .... the Meskwaki resided here and so on, and
if we look farther ahead, we can also see that there are lots of people here now
who are not sort of traditional Iowa Citians. So it seems to me, in a manner
similar to historic preservation, we needed to expand our horizons and find some
way to connect our public art to the people who used to live here for thousands of
years and the current residents who are different from the long-time current
residents of this place and who are at the same time helping to shape ... the future
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unfolding of our public art and our history. So, I .... I would hope that, and I think
y'all had this sense embedded (laughs) in your own thinking, but I would hope
that you would do what you can, uh, to reach out to .... um.....members of the
Ioway tribe and the Meskwaki, but also to, uh.... uh, members of our newer
communities in Iowa City to make sure that they are somehow involved in
developing some of the newest art that comes to .... public art that comes into our
community.
Smith: Mayor, Jim, may I speak to that... quickly?
Throgmorton: Sure!
Smith: Sure, so part of that, as it's embedded in the strategic plan, comes down to the
accessibility of our committee and who can serve on our committee, and so some
of the things that we will be looking at are our bylaws, the types of timing
constraints, when we meet. Currently we meet at 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon.
This time is not terribly accessible for many people in our community. I am
fortunate that I am an arts professional and my boss sees the value of me serving
on this committee, but not everyone can do that, and so that is one of the things
that we will be working through at the committee level is thinking about ways
first and foremost of opening up service on this community to others who might
not have the ability to do so right now. And the second way that we hope to do
that is by .... increasing this budget. We will have more resources to move outside
of the downtown. We have a wonderful partnership with the Iowa City
Downtown District, which is its own non-profit boosterism entity that is separate
from the City, and the Downtown District has a fantastic public art director of
their own, who now serves at 20 hours a week professionally. We do not have
somebody in that capacity at the City to run this program. We have Marsha who
is incredible, but this is not the main part of her job. And so part of securing
funding, not only for creating new opportunities for local artists, for calls to
artists, but also for administrative staff, to make sure that this program can be
vibrant and can invest the type of time necessary in forging connections with all
parts of our community, is a crucial stage in the strategic plan for us.
Throgmorton: Thanks.
Salih: One of your goal I guess, if I'm not mistaken you said you would like to expand
your commissions or....
Smith: Yes!
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Salih: Yeah, I guess (unable to understand) I really like to see like different people
serving this committee, because as she said, there is people who used to live in
this city. Your art need to feature that and also how new people used to live here,
and to do that you have to have representative from different communities. Uh,
so Iowa City's really growing and we have different people right now. I really
like that, that you wanna do this. This is really great. Thanks!
Throgmorton: Any further discussion?
Mims: Well I just wanna commend you for the strategic plan. I think it's .... I mean I
think it's great and it has so much detail and .... and lots of ideas and ... and the
action items. One of the things that struck me was, one, the pictures, uh, just
some beautiful photography of various things around the community. But if
there's one thing I had to pick out, it's the public art map. Because I think there
are an awful lot of items on that map that people have no idea are in this
community or where they are, and what's interesting is .... is sometimes people talk
so much about how we overemphasize downtown, and you look at this map and
there are so many things outside of the downtown, but you have to almost go
looking for them. I mean if you don't know they're there and you don't happen to
live in that neighborhood or happen to drive down that particular street, you have
no idea they're there. So if. ... if the public were to look at this for no other reason
than to see that public art map, I think it's .... it's a great resource for people to see
that and say, hey, I'm gonna go out and look at some of these, cause they're great
pieces that we have in the community. So, thank you.
Smith: Thank you, and we have hopes as part of goal five of the strategic plan to better
digitize that art map, maybe integrate it with existing mapping technologies.
There are ways to pinpoint historic sites or sites of cultural significance within
Google maps, for example. So existing mapping technologies that are free, open
accessible to the public. So ... so if we had more administrative support to do these
things, we can expand how this map is able to be accessed, and that's super
exciting (laughs) Um, a quick side note, I brought my Kirkwood Community
College students on arts safari through Iowa City and they had 20 minutes to find
as much public art as possible, and this is back in the spring, and they found .... the
winning group found over a hundred examples of public art! So we're already
doing an incredible job, but this strategic plan is really focused on how we can do
that better, how we can serve more people, and be more inclusive in our efforts.
Throgmorton: Very good.
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Salih: Yeah, and to expand the public art like outside the Iowa City downtown and this
area, I guess connected with neighborhood association also would be great .... so
you can do things in neighborhoods. (several talking)
Thomas: One thing I'm interested in exploring is the idea of public art in natural areas too.
That contrast that could be set up between.... familiar with Hickory Hill Park, but
you know having artwork in Hickory Hill Park. Of course it would have to be
appropriate for that setting, but I.....I think defining, uh, incorporating that would
then draw people into natural areas that may not, you know, normally think of
them as being a place, a destination for them, but ways we can use public art to
activate places that can use the activ.... activation.
Smith: Absolutely. Um, my mother-in-law lives in Los Angeles, so not really a
comparable city, but the Descanso Gardens, which are a public green space
outside of Los Angeles has a fantastic temporary installation every winter that is
light based and they contract with light artists and it's amazing, cause it allows
this landscape to be open at night and experienced in a totally different way. It
doesn't detract from the normal flow of their visitorship. It in fact increases that.
So we could think about many different applications of public art that is more
femoral, that has a low environmental impact, that activates these public spaces.
And also, quickly, highlight one of the grants that we administered this past year
for our public art matching grant fund was to a project called "Ramp," which
activated a City parking ramp as a music festival site. This happened on June 9th
of this year. The ramp remained open to vehicular traffic. The musicians were
located down in the snow pit of the ramp, which is only useful to the ramp during
cold months. So those types of site interventions are something that the
committee currently is really excited about exploring further.
Taylor: You mentioned Hickory Hill Park, uh, Bruce and I both live close to Willow
Creek and there is (both talking) have not seen it, people have not seen it, cause
that's a very well traveled path for walking, jogging, and biking and there ... it's
beautiful and unusual forms of artwork in the park and that's a really nice thing,
and just wanted to comment on .... on your goals. I think, uh, congratulations
on... on, uh, writing those. They seem very realistic and achievable and .... and
understandable so it's good, good job!
Cole: I just wanted to briefly comment too. It's just mega kudos to everyone on the
committee. You know the funding is really going up. It seems like the artwork
and everything is going in the right direction, and it's really exciting to see what
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you guys have in store. I think you've done a terrific job. Also do wanna give a
shout -out to Thomas Agran as well. He's done a really great job as well, in
addition to all the wonderful committee members, cause I know it takes an
incredible amount of time, uh, to make it happen. So I'm really, I can't wait to see
which concerts you have in store. (laughter)
Smith: (laughs) Thank you.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, thank you. Thank you, Marsha. No
further discussion? Roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
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16. Council Appointments
16.a. Human Rights Commission
Throgmorton: We have one vacancy to fill an unexpired term upon appointment. There were 20
applications for that position, with a male gender balance requirement. So seven
of the applicants are males. Uh.... yeah. I .... I won't need .... I won't read their
names but there were seven applicants who were males. Do you folks have
recommendations (both talking)
Salih: I do have one really. Uh, Zachary Rochester. He's a student at the University of
Iowa. Just by looking at people who serve in the (mumbled) you know,
commission, they .... if I just look at their age, it ranges .... the youngest is 26 but
the average is really 40 years old, and just bringing students from the University
will connect. We always say the University and the City are isolated. This will
give chances to the students to serve in commissions, you know, and I think he's
really, uh, he serve in many things that I know, like, uh, is very good person on
like community things and helping people in the community.
Mims: He was an intern at CWJ, right, and you (both talking)
Salih: ...yeah. I really .... he was intern but he was really working hard on the ... save the
Labor Center (mumbled) on that but .... he wasn't like really intern. (several
talking)
Taylor: I just wanted to note that I ... I actually think there were eight males because one of
'em was maybe inadvertently labeled as female, Van .... I can't pronounce it
(mumbled)
Throgmorton: (mumbled)
Taylor: ... in .... in the application he said male.
Salih: Oh really?
Taylor: Am I correct in that or.....incorrect (several talking) ...cause in this list he's listed.
But I would agree with Mazahir, I also was, um, looking at....at Zachary as a very
good, uh, possibility for this.
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Cole: Yeah, I'm supportive of Zachary too. He's one of these guys that I've sort of seen
out in the community and he's just very active and seems like he's doing a lot of
good things, and I think to Maza's point, bringing those new, younger voices is
important too to balance out the commission, so I think he'd be a great candidate.
Thomas: I thought there were a number of good candidates, but I would support Zachary.
Throgmorton: Well it sounds like there's clear support for him. I know I looked at the ... uh, the
table that shows .... I don't know, the various, if you will, ages and characteristics
of applicants.
Mims: That is very helpful to have (several talking)
Throgmorton: Seems to me that Zachary fills a gap in our current mix of people on the
commission and there... there are other reasons to support him as well, but that's
one thing I think about. So .... uh, I'm fully happy to support him. Any other
discussion? Okay, um, so .... could I have a motion to appoint, make sure I have
his name right here (both talking)
Salih: Zachary Rochester.
Throgmorton: Yeah, Zachary Rochester to the Human Rights Commission.
Salih: Move.
Teague: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Salih, seconded by Teague. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion
carries.
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19. Community Comment
Throgmorton: Come on up!
Lenkaitis: Charlotte Lenkaitis (both talking)
Throgmorton: Hi, Charlotte!
Lenkaitis: Hello! (laughs) Deputy City Liaison University of Iowa Student Government.
Um, I've got a couple exciting, uh, updates for you all. So this past Friday, visit
...we had a visit from Regent Barker. Um, he received a tour of campus, which
was facil ... facilitated by several members of the Student Government. Um, and
yeah, I was there for part of the tour and I thought it was very successful. He was
very receptive to, um, everything that we were talking about. Um, and we are
also in the midst of the National First Generation Coll... College Celebration, in
which, um, it's from November 3rd to the 8th. Um, and yeah, yesterday on
November 3rd, UISG hosted the "I am the First FirstGen Summit." Um, with the
aim to identify and connect FirstGen students with resources that can support their
student success during their time at Iowa. Um, and there, um, the celebration is
continuing with various events throughout the week. Um, and then the upcoming
transit study forums are being, um, promoted through UISG, with, um, on social
media and they're also being promoted through Cambus. So hopefully we'll get a
lot of good student feedback from those forums. Um, and then I emailed (laughs)
you all very late last night (laughs) about, um, ideas for agenda items for the, um,
planned joint meeting with UISG, GPSG, and City Council for spring, 2020. Um,
and so I just kinda I guess wanted to, you know, put that in your minds and, um,
Austin and I will be creating and sending out a survot.... survey (laughs) to UISG
and GPSG members, um, to collect some of, uh, student ideas about what they
wanna talk about. Um, so I don't know if you guys had any ideas right off the bat
or, um, I was gonna send you the results from the survey once I receive that and
so then you can kinda gauge what students are interested in and maybe give
additional ideas, but (mumbled) (laughs)
Throgmorton: Sounds good!
Lenkaitis: Okay.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Charlotte.
Lenkaitis: Yep!
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Throgmorton: Anyone else? No. Oh, could I have a motion to accept correspondence from
Charlotte.
Teague: So moved.
Salih: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Teague, seconded by Salih. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion
carries.
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20. City Council Information
Throgmorton: Could we start with Bruce and move to the right.
Teague: Yes! So we did the homecomin' parade this year (laughs) the University of Iowa
homecomin' parade on the 18th of October, and that was a .... a blast. So thanks to
the Mayor for suggestin' that. It was great to be out there with, um, staff. We also
had a .... a vehicle of the City's, there was an electric vehicle, and so, um, we were
passin' out some candy, as well as some climate action, uh, pamphlets, uh, just
educatin' the public on some of the goals that we're gonna be doin' here in the
future. So that was super fun. I had a blast, so ... yeah! Um, the next night, on the
19th, um, our Mayor was, um .... recognized at the Refuge.... refugee and
immigrant recognition dinner. Um, the ... the event really, you know, just lookin' at
the refugee and immigrant, all that they're doin' here in our community. It was
amazin'. Um, it was a great time of celebration, but we also had the honor, and I
was able to be present with the Mayor, along with some more Councilors, uh, to
say thanks for all that you've done, um, and so this has been, um, just a great time
of celebration for many people, but again I wanted to just give a shout -out to our
Mayor. This is, you know, today when I came in I realized that he has four more
meetings, um, before he is done here and so, um, I .... I'm gonna give kudos to the
Mayor. So thanks for all that you do for Iowa City. And Human Rights, um,
awards that happened on the 23rd of October and there were... there were five, I
believe, um, individuals that were celebrated. All well deserving. It was a great
time of just honoring some pillars within our community that really do, um, serve
other people in their ...in human rights needs, so kudos to all of those that received
that on .... on that morning. It was fabulous! Other than that I have no other
updates. Um, I ... I did have one, um, meetin' that I went to today and that, uh, was
a childcare, uh, meetin' because we have the childcare summit and so those are
happening, um, different committees throughout the community and so, um, I'm
lookin' forward to seein' what is derived, um, as a .... for more childcare solutions
within our community.
Salih: I guess Bruce said everything (both talking)
Teague: (laughing) Oh, sorry! (laughing)
Salih: Yeah, same thing like Bruce, we attend the, yeah the homecoming parade. It was
really nice. Enjoyed it. And also the refugees dinner, very nice, but he forget to
say we ... I attend the grand opening for Multi -Generations Center (laughs) you
know, it was really nice place (mumbled) to go and ... it is very big one. I hope ... it
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will solve a lot of, you know, kind of problems that we have for (unable to
understand) and the, I like the concept that we have, multi-age people will be
there, which is great. Congratulations! And after that I couldn't attend (unable to
understand) but I traveled to Sudan and I attend my brother wedding on the first.
I just came today, at 7:00, at Chicago, 11 Cedar Rapids, and now here, even didn't
go home yet! But that's all I have.
Throgmorton: Wow, that's seven hours there, seven hours back no problem (both talking and
laughing)
Cole: Ditto and ditto! But I do wanna add a little bit, with regards to the Human Rights
breakfast. I think it should be videotaped on Channel 4. Geoff, are those usually
not shown, or not....
Fruin: I thought we did videotape those but I (both talking)
Cole: Okay, cause I .... I hope you can cause you out there, if you get a chance to watch
these speeches, these speeches were so good. Normally with speeches, especially
if it's me, they go on and on a little bit, but each one of these recipients basically
gave like a three to four -minute speech, and almost none of them went over, and
almost every single one of them had a very impactful, dynamic presentation that
was, you know, inspirational and full of details, like each one I wish I would have
had like a little notebook to write down some phrases. So it was that good. And
so if you get the chance, normally you don't watch those on video, but you should
because it was that terrific. The refugee dinner, I just continue to be inspired by
our refugee community. There was more music, there was more dance, there
were even some City Councilors that were dancing (laughter) It was so much fun,
and I'm .... and I'm hoping that at some point in the future, give me a kernel of an
idea, is wouldn't it be awesome to have sort of a refugee music festival. So
something to think about, some hope for that little kernel in the future, and this
past weekend I was biking along City Park and I went under the Park Road
bridge, and I discovered for the first time that that underpass, under the Park Road
bridge, is now done, and that is so cool. So normally you sort of...you go across
the road and it's a little bit dangerous and we're biking with, you know, my
daughter and a good friend of hers, um, but it was really wonderful to see that
done. So if you're a biker, you're a walker, check that out and sort of see that
progress that's been made on that bridge, but other than that, that's pretty much it.
Um, lot of good things happening!
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Thomas: Yeah, we're .... we went to a lot of events together, it seems (several talking) and
they were all wonderful. (both talking)
Salih: ...quorum! (laughter)
Cole: No policy was discussed though (laughter)
Thomas: Yeah, the only one I would add was, uh, the Strong Towns talk, which I had
mentioned before the event, uh, but after the event, just wanted to mention that it
was recorded by City Channel 4. So I would recommend to anyone who is
interested in .... in, uh, urban planning, uh, to ... to take a look at that. That video, it
was ... Chuck Marohn has honed his presentation, you know, over the years and it's
worth watching.
Mims: Well, for those things that I did with the rest of you, um, which was some of'em
and not some, but I won't bother repeat, uh, went to a couple of really good events
in Witching Hour this weekend. Um, on Friday night at the Englert, um, from
Impossible to Inevitable: How Climate Action is Mainstreamed Globally. It was a
really, really interesting presentation, um, by Marsello Mina, um, from Chile, and
he was one of the top, top members of the Chilean government and working
directly with their, um, prime minister or president, I forget her title, and some of
the changes that they have made from fossil fuels to huge, huge solar
installations, um, eight new national parks that they have, um, developed in areas
they saved, uh, working very, very closely with the indigenous populations in
many of those areas, especially along the ocean and the fishing grounds, etc. Um,
but they....as a country, they have been very involved, um, nat... internationally
with various, uh, accords and agreements and changes, and so, um, I don't know if
any of that was filmed but it was an incredibly interesting presentation and just,
you know, a lot of the data that we have talked about with Paris Climate Accord
and a lot of other things in addition, but how they have done it at the national
level. Um, obviously as he said, you know, they're a very different country than
we are in terms of the amount of development, human, uh, natural resources, etc.,
but um, incredible progress that they have made in Chile. So it was a very
interesting presentation. And then on Saturday afternoon, um, at Film Scene in
the Chauncey. It was my first visit there. Um, Lynch, a History by David Shields.
This was a documentary on (both talking) yeah, I know the name. I was just
trying to stop and think about how best to portray it, I mean it's Marshawn Lynch,
who's an NFL player, retired, but it really was, urn.... systemic racism, racism in
sport, um, the strength or the importance of silence, um, how .... how athletes are
treated by the media, how black athletes are treated by the media. It was, I think,
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an 84 -minute, um, documentary film. No .... there was very little of it that they
actually filmed. Most of it was clips from public record, but in order to use those,
they can use no more than like 10 or 15 seconds of a clip, so I mean this thing was
like clip after ch .... I mean .... I told 'em afterwards I wanted to go back and watch
it again because it just was so fast moving. Uh, it went way back. He used a lot
of, um, speakers from .... that are very, could be considered very controversial
today from Bill Cosby to .... I mean just ... Bill Russell and all kinds of different
people, but it was just a real ... lot of juxtaposition between the clips and, uh, the
way the film ended was really, really interesting because it showed.... some black
athletes. Basically.... confronting the media with the questions that they were
asking. Um, and one of'em was asking LeBron James a question (laughs) and it
was just one of these stupid questions that sports writers always ask, but .... why
do you always ask ... he's like, oh, is it important to home court advantage or to
protect your own court, and (laughs) LeBron just looks at the guy and says, well
is it, I mean ... so you looked at how they presented, and how the media responded
to them, and then they showed clips of Bill Belichick and um... Poppa.... uh,
that's not right. Popovich, who was with, uh, San ... San Antonio Spurs. And how
those older white men were treated by the media when they basically did the same
thing, like what kind of a stupid question are you asking me. And so the whole
thing, like I say, was on systemic racism, racism in sport, the criticism of black
athletes for speaking out about injustices, Colin Kaepernick, other people, uh, so
if you get a chance, he said you can find it out there on ... on YouTube or whatever.
Um, but it's Lynch, a History and uh, what was also interesting about it was
Marshawn Lynch refused to participate in the documentary. Because he just
didn't trust, but he went and saw it and he told David afterwards, "I think you did
a great job," and so we weren't .... we were interested in going, but we were
especially interested in going because our oldest son Jeremy was invited by Andre
Perry to actually do a Q&A with David Shields after the film. So, it was really
good!
Throgmorton: Very good.
Mims: And just a shout -out to everybody involved with Witching Hour. Just incredible
stuff.
Throgmorton: Sure. You make it sound like something well worth watching (both talking)
Okay, the homecoming parade, I wanna praise Zach Berg for all the organizing
work he did, and the ... the rest of the staff team that really helped with that. I also
wanna praise Charlotte and Austin for being fellow marchers. It was really great
of you to do. So, bravo to all. And, uh, I wanna praise our colleague, Pauline, for
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being so clever as to buy me a stove hat, stove pipe hat (laughter) and a sash, and
make a sash. Yeah, so thanks for doin' that. (several talking) Yeah, so there was
that, and with regard to the immigrant and refugee association dinner at St.
Patrick's Church, I wanna give a, again, a big thanks to Jean Paul Mugemuzi for
all his efforts, and Jim Olson and the UNA Association for, uh, all the organizing
work they did, and I'm sure there's a lot more going on behind the scenes that I
didn't know anything about, uh, and Father Rudy Juarez, at St. Patrick's Church,
for enabling it to take place out there, as he did with the Sudanese Association
event. So I think that's just a great connection. So, bravo, Father Rudy!
Tomorrow, Geoff, unless I'm mistaken, you're gonna be speaking at the Sizzle
Series Luncheon down at Big Grove, about development in Iowa City or
whatever. So eyes are gonna be watchin' you (laughs) I look forward to it. It'll
be fun! And, let's see, on the 15th I'm gonna be interviewed on KICI radio, which
is a low-power radio station that's fairly new, about our climate action efforts, and
I'll be basing that on (laughs) what I see next week or whenever it is that we get
the report. Uh, with regard to the Human Rights breakfast and the Strong Towns
events, I regret not being able to attend them, but I was in Greenfield... Greenville,
South Carolina, attending the annual meeting of my scholarly association, the
Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. And there were lots of great
presentations pertaining to inclusion, sustainability, resilience, regenerativity, plus
the traditional transportation, housing, uh, economic development kinds of things.
Last, here's a surprise, local elections will take place tomorrow (laughter) Please
don't forget to vote, both in the School Board election and City Council election,
and this means you too, Simon (laughs) So, uh, that's it for me. Geoff? (both
talking)
Taylor: ...go yet. (laughs) You did. You did, how dare you do that (laughs) I had a lot to
say too, although a lot of it's already been said, but the last couple weeks was, uh,
quite the time for recognitions and awards and I echo about the homecoming
parade. There ... what surprised me was a very positive reaction from the crowd of
people lining the streets. That was really fun to .... to see that, and thanks again to
Zach, uh, and his committee for putting all that together with the signs. They
were wonderful signs and the banner we've got now, it's great! Uh, then on
Saturday, again, the refugee and immigrant association recognition dinner was a
fantastic evening with, uh, music and singing and great food and dancing. It
was .... it was a lot of fun, and um .... they did give recognition to the Mayor, as
well as the City itself for what we do to, uh, welcome immigrants and refugees to
the area. Uh, then on, uh, the .... 22nd, uh, Bruce (mumbled) but Maz mentioned
this, the ribbon cutting for the Caring Hands facility, which is ... it uniquely
combines the elder care and the child care. There is no other facility like that in
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the area. So best wishes, congratulations to Bruce for success in that facility. And
then of course the Human Rights breakfast, uh, was mentioned. Uh, there's
always well deserving recipients, uh, for that, but two stood out for me this year.
Uh, of course it was Jesse Case's union brother, I've known him for over 20 years
and he does work very hard for workers' rights and well deserved on that, and
then of course I have to give a shout -out to Angie Jordon because, um, she's just
been wonderful with helping to start and lead the South District neighborhood
association. So it was good to see her getting one of those, uh, awards. Uh, then
on Thursday the 24th, uh, I attended what was called the Pat Meyer Vision Award
ceremony, which was, uh, hosted by the Johnson County Coalition Against
Domestic Violence. It's a non-profit citizens group that is committed to ending
domestic violence. Uh, their award is given to both an individual and an
organization or a business that has worked towards supporting survivors of
domestic violence, and this year, uh, another very long-time, uh, friend of mine,
good friend of mine, Lois Cox received an award. She's, uh, long-time professor
at the College of Law and has helped, uh, victims with the legal aspect of what
they need to do, and then also, uh, the great organization, the UAY. It just made
me realize in all of these events made me realize what great community resources
we have in Iowa City, just an abundance of them out there, and people that are
willing to .... to do these things. Uh, then Friday the 25th, my daughter and I
attended the fall shop crawl for the Downtown District, and it happened, it was
kinda funny, cause it happened to coincide with Bernie Sander's visit on the ped
mall. So as we were visiting some of the stores along Dubuque Street and we had
sort of weave our way through the crowds of people that were there. We couldn't
see him, he was off in the distance, but we could hear him and uh, had to avoid
getting stickered, Bernie ... with Sander's stickers in all the crowds, but that was kid
a fun. Then Sunday ..and it apparently went quite well. It didn't conflict with the
crawl and there .... I don't think were any, uh, events that the police needed to take
care of. Uh, then Sunday the 27th, uh, was another very fun event, the Preucil
School of Music fundraiser. They called it'Bach & Roll," and most of you are
probably aware that, uh, Doris Preucil founded the school in 1975. It's been
around the community for a long time. And in ... in those years it's gained
international recognition, uh, in the world of music, uh, teaching countless
numbers of students and becoming a real jewel for our community. Um, and that
evening they, uh, did pay tribute to one of their, uh, instructors who's been the
current director there for the past 27 years, 20 ... yeah, 27 years, Sonya Zeithamel
uh, because she recently received national recognition, the 2019 National Guild
Milestone, uh, Award from the National Guild for Community Arts, Education,
which is apparently a pretty significant award to ... to receive so, uh.... I was
honored to read a letter from the Mayor and the Council and the City as such,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
special formal meeting of November 4, 2019.
Page 44
acknowledging that award and so congratulations to Sonya and to the Preucil
School of Music. And then I wanted to add, I neglected with my CVB report
earlier that, uh, the University of Iowa rep, uh, there's been a lot of discussion and
speculation about what's happening with the student population and he sort of
alluded to the fact that they don't really anticipate a large increase in undergrad
students, but they're looking at an increase in graduate students, which kind of
makes sense that some of the older folks in the community around, uh, are
thinking of continuing their education, going back to school. That's all!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
special formal meeting of November 4, 2019.
Page 45
21. Report on Items from City Staff
a. City Manager
Throgmorton: Geoff?
Fruin: Nothing.
Throgmorton: Ashley?
Monroe: I'll offer a quick Census update. At the federal bureau has expanded eligible
applicants for working as a Census taker or as, uh, Census staff. They had
initially required, uh, someone to be a U.S. citizen and they have expanded that to
non -citizens, with a special focus upon people who specialize in languages or are
fluent in languages other than English. So, um, they're working on updating the
web site to allow people to apply, and we have, I think on a regular basis, early
Sunday afternoons there's someone at our Iowa City Public Library that is helping
people apply on the computer. (unable to hear question asked) On Sunday
afternoons, just about every week, um, just about every week they're there in the
Library and kind of just when you walk into the meeting room area, there's
somebody there from the Census to help people apply.
Throgmorton: Great. Thanks.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
special formal meeting of November 4, 2019.