HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-02 Bd Comm minutesItem Number: 4.a.
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February 2, 2021
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Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission: January 7
MINUTES APPROVED
AD HOC TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
JANUARY 7, 2021
ELECTRONIC MEETING
(Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or impractical
due to concerns for the health and safety of council members, staff and the public
presented by COVID-19.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Anthony Currin, Amel Ali, rShailyn Harrington, Eric Harris,
Layana Navarre -Jackson, Royceann Porter, Kevin John Rivera, Mohamed Traore.
MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Raneem Hamad.
STAFF PRESENT: Stefanie Bowers.
OTHERS PRESENT WHO MADE COMMENTS: Ashley Lindley, Loxi Hopkins, Kim
Lanegran.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
Chair Porter called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.
APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 21, 2020 MEETING MINUTES:
Motion by Curran, seconded by Ali. Motion passed 8-0.
(This transcription is not a certified transcription to access the recording from the meeting contact
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator.)
PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
My name is Ashley Lindley and I am a current sitting member on the Iowa City Human Rights Commission.
I just want to let you know what an honor it is to be here on the call tonight. I was also in attendance for
your first meeting. I'm very excited to see the TLC up and going I am not, however, here this evening, as a
representative of the Human Rights Commission, but as a representative from a community created
Human rights working group that is comprised of folks from various social service and social justice
agencies. So, I understood from your last meeting that you are interested in working with community
stakeholders to progress the mission of the CRC and we just wanted to
State publicly that we are here to support you in this endeavor, and we would like to request the time to
Either meet with that commission member or have a discussion with the larger community commission.
Excuse me. On how to promote equity in our community or invite you to potentially come to one of our
working group meetings. So I don't know how you would like to go about planning that but I just wanted
to throw that out there. And again, thank you all for serving on this Commission.
Let me introduce myself. I am Loxi Hopkins and I am on the Police Reform Committee in Scott County.
We, the, the committee dollars that I met this meeting tonight observing and anything that we can do. To
let you know what we're doing, or any information we can share. We're happy to do that. Thank you
for inviting me. Thanks lot thing.
MEETING ETIQUETTE:
Vice Chair Harrington: Alright everyone, so I and Chair porter and I, we thought it would be best to come
up with leading etiquette. Just a group of standard norms and have a base foundation as were forming
together the PRC is going to make some great change. And we're going to have all these aspirations to
get things done and how to do our part, but we must have hold each other accountable. With our
actions and our level of respectability with one another.
We would like to just spend some time creating group norms on this a list of expectations, however, I do
want to copy caveat that we're not looking to have a long list of expectations that is all random and just
things that won't be remembered are just tucked away and not continually referred to so one thing that
I'm believing in we can have further discussion on this is to come up with this a core set, maybe three to
five items that we can reference at the start of each meeting. And so when we come into the meeting
that we know like okay well as the meeting this continuing on for the evening. This is the expectations
that we hold for one another.
In yes that's about it in. Also, it would be helpful to have a sort of a guardian or someone another
Commissioner to take on the role to ensure that the group norms are being followed. So corrective
action can be had. In the moment and just address things. So I wanted to open the conversation up with
if anyone has any starting suggestions on a group norm. Or expectation to who amongst each other.
Chair Royceann Porter: I'll start out by stating respect. We will we will respect each other's person every
each one of us will have different perspectives. So everybody will come to the table with different
things. So I think that the first thing should be respected.
Commissioner Traore: I would like to add that I would like us to refer to each other, as Commissioner
followed by last name throughout the meetings to ensure that we continue to use the proper titles
throughout the meetings and ensure that we refer to each other and respectful terms and ensure that
the Community members know who is actually speaking and who was actually on the Commission and
recognizes these things.
Vice Chair Harrington: I have one norm that I think pretty much goes along with that is full participation
being present in the moment in contributing to the conversation and if you don't have anything to add
state that so that there's no silence and that everyone knows that I said to the.
Commissioner Rivera: One thing that we kind of use in the world of therapies. Very, very baseline kind of
condition of regarding people that were talking to with unconditional positive regard. And I think that
goes along with the first item that we mentioned, but as we go forward in this Commission, we're going
to be hearing a lot of things that are going to be really challenging and our response might be to sort of
buckle down maybe find offense to some of the things that we might we might be hearing either from
one another from the public. But I hope that we continue to just respond in a lot of love and respect for
this community.
Commissioner Harris: So I go next. And I will say I'm ethics. A lot of us that's on this whole Commission
on we are work with other things and we see each other in other capacities. So I would say, you know,
don't go out and you know tell people, hey, this person. I don't like this person because they stay at this
and the Commission. That's not what we're here for, you know, it has to be ethical thing, you know, this
is a commission about what we want to talk about don't evolve it in other things that you are involved.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: And if I could just interrupt and I apologize, but if you could
just state your name before you speak just because there could be people calling into this meeting and so
they don't have the ability to see who's talking. And to be honest, I think from an observer's aspect.
Sometimes it's hard to see what screen and who's talking so that I think that would just help out better.
So thank you.
Commissioner Harris: I tried to turn my video on but it won't let me do it. So I'll just keep saying that I'm
disabled.
Commissioner Rivera: And thank you for the reminder. Stefanie. This is Commissioner Rivera, and I also
spoke previously about unconditional positive regard
Commissioner Layana Navarre -Jackson: And this is Commissioner Navarro Jackson here. I'm going by
what you were saying with regards to respect. I think part of that includes having an open mind and a
willingness to learn from each other as well.
Chair Royceann Porter: Stefanie. I can't see who's raising my hands. It just shows me the number they
say it says three.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Yeah okay, I can let you know
Commissioner Traore: Thank you. This is Commissioner Traore So I would like to also add to ensure that
we treat community members with respect at all times when they're sharing anything with the general
meeting notes and guidelines for any city meetings, but I just want to make sure that we keep this in
mind, and that things may be sad at certain times, we may not agree with, or may not, like, but at the
end of the day, this is a Truth and Reconciliation Committee. And everyone may have a different sense
of truth. But at the end of the day, we have to ensure that we are ready to listen before we response.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Thank you so much, and I will lie, this is Commissioner current speaking,
and I would like to thank you very much for recognizing me, Madam Chair. The thing that I would come
into this is earlier they spoke of I believe it was you respect for the people. I would like to add to the
respectful part can we please have respect for the work as well. Not that anybody isn't just to make a
full clarification, but our on our last actual meeting our first meeting, I believe it was Commissioner
traore sorry if I mispronounced your name, Commissioner, that passed.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Each of us to come up with three guests to appear. And I thought that
was wonderful initiative and if we're going to get anywhere we as Commissioners all have to have and
we've got to think outside of the box, we're trying to solve for 100 year old problem. And we've got less
than 104 weeks to do it now. And so when we do get work to do. And we test each other. We should
almost treat it like it's survivor or the island and really trying to reach our weekly goals because it's not
for money. Here we are literally working for our lives. So yes, let's, let's, respect for work.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Commissioner Currin, currently speaking here. I would propose on the
floor, a person to maybe take a parliamentarian sergeant of arms sort of role in the group and we vote
on it. Can we get, can we put forth nominations?
Chair Royceann Porter: I really don't think we need that. I mean, I'm just one person that's my thought if
you if you guys want to do it, it's okay with me but can I get some response?
Commissioner Traore: This is Commissioner Traore speaking while I do not believe we absolutely need
someone to have the role if we have a majority of Commissioners that would like to have the role, I
would vote, and I would like to vote.
Commissioner Harris: And this is Commissioner Harris, if he wants to vote on it, we can vote on it.
Vice Chair Harrington: Vice Chair hearing and um, yes, I do want to add that I did proposed to have like a
quote unquote guardian of group norms. Both ways of not electing Commissioner to assume the role as
well as having one do so. But I do think it would be important to state the meeting etiquette at the start
of each meeting just to go moving forward.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Commissioner Currin here, I would like to suggest that maybe you think
about calling the position guardian of process. What do you think?
Vice Chair Harrington: I'm not sold on the title.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Thank you for your candor.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore is speaking at this time. If any other Commissioners don't
have anything to add. Would we like to at least put the position to hope. Before we continue on it.
Thank you very much. Vice chair and chair.
Vice Chair Harrington: Vice Chair Harrington. I'm a vote, I think can be called to order.
Commissioner Harris: To be a vote on meeting is this worth it.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: So if the group is wanting to call a vote then we just would
need motion, then.
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera. Just to clarify, are we voting to create this position or
has someone put in a nomination for themselves or for someone else for this position.
Chair Royceann Porter: I thought it was to create did anybody nominate somebody or can we create the
position and then nominate?
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: I think that's probably the best way to do it.
Commissioner Harris: If he wants to vote. You know, I'm not saying, which we will go, but I think we
should have a chance.
Chair Royceann Porter: So the motion with me by Vice Chair Harrington to create this role. You're calling
it guardian, but would it be, what would it be?
Commissioner Rivera: Etiquette officer. This is Commissioner Rivera
Chair Royceann Porter: I like that.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Me too.
Vice Chair Harrington: I agree. I like that title. And I think that's an appropriate term.
Chair Royceann Porter: Okay, so I made the motion.
Vice Chair Harrington: Second that.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Commissioner: A motion by Chair Porter was made to create the
position of an etiquette officer, seconded by Vice Chair Harrington. Motion passed 8-0.
Chair Royceann Porter: Okay, so the next step is to nominate someone for this position.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Commissioner Currin here. I would like, to put forth Commissioner Harris
as my nominee.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore, I would like to put forth Commissioner Rivera as a
nominee. Thank you.
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera. I was going to nominate you.
Commissioner Rivera: All I will decline my nomination at this point.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioners Traore here. I will accept.
Commissioner Ali: Commissioner Ali speaking, I would also like to nominate Commissioner Traore.
Vice Chair Harrington: I would like to nominate Commissioner Traore as well.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: What usually occurs in these situations is once all the
nominations have been received. Then the Commission just votes in order of the nominations, which I
have as Commissioner Harris and then Commissioner Traore. So those are the two that I have because
Commissioner Rivera declined.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: So the first vote would be for Harris. Motion fails 3 to S.
Commissioners Ali, Harrington, Navarre -Jackson, Traore, Rivera in the negative.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Vote for Commissioner Traore. Motion passes 5-3.
Commissioners Currin, Porter, Harris in the negative.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore here. I'd like to thank my fellow Commission
or members that either nominated me or voted for me and regardless of how anyone
voted no hard feelings. Just happy that we're here doing the work. And thank you. Vice
chair and chair a yield the floor_
COMMISSIONER INTRODUCTION AND WHY I APPLIED TO SERVE ON THIS AD HOC COMMITTEE:
RESOLUTION OVERVIEW:
Commissioner Traore: First and foremost, and I am very happy to have been one of the ones chosen to
be on the Commission, I know that there were lots of very, very accomplished and ready applicants. But
at the end of the day, I applied for this Commission because I'm someone that has lived in Iowa City
since I was three years old. So someone that has been here for such a long time now 25 turning 26 later
this year. I just think that I've just seen so much of this community as its continued to grow and met so
many different types of people whether it's been in preschool and the K through 12 going all the way
through Iowa City community schools and then going on to the University of Iowa. I had the opportunity
to meet everyone from backgrounds in terms of sports around the community for businesses
nonprofits.
And I, it's not that I believe that I have a better sense of anything that goes on in this community, but
rather is that I have at least a sense of what many different people in this community would like to see
or what they believe and I am very willing to reach out to more and more people to try to get more
input. And lastly, I also joined the Commission because I wanted to be sure that someone else didn't get
a spot that may not take it as seriously as I do or may not believe in this mission as much as I do. And it's
not that I again, think that I'm better for the position, but I know my work ethic and how much I believe
in then need to change and restructuring of how we do things in our community. And lastly, just wants
to make sure that kids coming up to this community are immigrants or anyone knew that joins our
community has great experiences, going forward, and has experiences comparable to or better than
what I experienced throughout my lifetime, and I was city. And with that, thank you for the time. And I
know you'll the floor.
Commissioner Ali: Yes. All right. I'm good. This is Commissioner Ali speaking. I have lived in Iowa City
since 2000 my family immigrated here from Sudan back then and growing up I always realized that
things were different. For me, whether it was the way that I spoke compared to other people or the way
that I was treated whether it be good or bad, and I really am passionate about this town. And I feel like
that. There's a lot that we can do to make it better. Um, one thing in particular that I really am
passionate about and want to continue working towards is mental health, especially within the
immigrant community here in Iowa City having grown up. As an immigrant. I had a lot of struggles and
stuff. And I want to be able to help change that for all of the younger kids that are growing up here. And
I also have really good connections and relationships with people who work for the neighborhood
centers of Johnson County.
I volunteered there for years I have grown up in the south district my entire life. I've been involved in a
lot of things in the last year, I've gotten a lot more involved. I would say, including being a part of the
youth panel that interviewed the incoming police chief that will start next week. I'm really excited to
make change in this town. And I know a few Commissioners already. And I'm just so proud to be a part
of this first group. Of people on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission I'm I think I'm going to learn so
much doing this, whether it be you know from other Commission members or, you know, from public
comment. And I think that that's really important because I think there's probably a lot more truth and
0
reconciliation that could happen. And I was city, then most people are probably aware of I'm going to
stop blabbing but that's my little spiel. I'm going to yield to the floor now.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Thank you, Madam Chair good evening, everyone. I am Commissioner
Currin. And as far as my background, I have to tell you I was really inspired by the two people who went
before me. The things that were said really resonate with me, especially Commissioner Ali, as she spoke
of her passion for mental health. I myself arrived in this awesome county August 25, 1989 that was all
the way back in the 20th century all and I'm going to tell you when I first got to Johnson County from
Chicago, Illinois. It was like night and day. I, 1 had not seen the things that I saw here. It was like, I moved
to Atlantis. The school system, I was able to go in to the high school system, and I came here to study
opera theater and to perform for the kids.
They were children. They weren't. Some of them were 14 -year-old freshman than high schools and I
went to City High and I also went to the West High and they were reading JD Salinger they were they
were working with computers. They were doing art as well as stem, they were doing incredible things
and Johnson County had mental health facilities that were able to help people with everything from
depression and attention deficit disorder to serious, serious, serious maladies and our guard treatments
and the time since 89 drawing closer to two. Now I have watched what that was once held as the
paragon of education slip. So where we're almost worse than Alabama school systems and I sing. I feel
like you know when Commission contrary says we got I need to be at least a placeholder to make sure
that someone with a lesser ethic doesn't have a chance to get in and drive but standards down
that's what I seem to have witnessed as I watched this beautiful thing that inspired me as a 19 -year-old
man. And I was like, wow, this is the place if everyone's going to have a family and raise a family. I want
to do it in this environment it's safe. It's wholesome. It's wonderful.
Man, I'm kind of lonely. I wish there was black people around. I mean, you know, by about six years and
only other black people I knew was like it was a handful of folks. It was not anybody as the community
grew and as diversity grew opportunities to recess and you can literally see the resources be pulled back
and it is my sincere hope that we are the Renaissance that we start to plant the seeds and our public
garden. For mental health for a safe place a safe environment and we start the deconstruction of the
modern New Jim Crow that holds the things in place that are killing innocent civilians and depriving
them of due process that we disrupt the pipeline from school to prison that we actually start to gird and
support and bolster the underpinnings of equity in our society. I want to be part of this Best Special my,
you know, with a Little Rock Nine now by with city and you know, I'm not saying we're going to make
history, but I really hope that our work here has efficacy and that we get to the meat of some issues,
even if we got to meet have one issue. How many lives could that save and then from a factory worker
to a community activist from a community activist, I realized that we have a system of self -governance
that if you get people the right people that will do the work.
You can get change and you can get good governance and I became active in politics and from become
active in politics. I watched history be made. I was very proud when we got a black board of supervisors,
remember and I can't tell you today how many black people. I speak to and other counties Black Hawk
County and Scott County and other counties that are in all of what Johnson County is going and as the
affirmative action Sheriff this county for the Democrats. I'm thinking to myself, I was horrified to find
that we went from just two short years, three short years ago. It was only we have only been having
women serve our county wide election for eight years, eight years when Jean Marie Jones was elected.
To the State House in the 70s, they did not have a place for women to go to the bathroom. We are
living in a moment of history. And I think we're going to see impossible things happen. I mean, just as
Donald Trump is impossibly awful. Think we can be impossibly wonderful and I believe that thank you
guys for giving me this opportunity to serve with you. I yield the floor.
Commissioner Rivera: I've lived in Iowa City for six years. I'm very, very honored to be included in this
group, not only as a community member, but as a Filipino American second -generation immigrant I do
lament the circumstances of injustice in a more in the lives lost that necessitated that creation of this
Commission. In my work is a mental health provider. I hear stories of trauma every day historically in my
profession. Psychiatry we've defined trauma and really strict terms, but that has been changing twins
include large scale and even insidious forms of trauma, who is increasingly evident to me in the past
year that I was not best serving my patients and clients if I ignored the traumas that they were facing as
a result of interpersonal and systemic racism. So I figured that in order to do to do my job holistically
and comprehensively. I had to do something. At the community level, not just in my office and so
serving on this Commission was one way that I could make sure that I could do that. So by being at the
epicenter of this group in hearing and shouldering the burden of narratives of oppression in our
community. I could try and pave a way for not only for my patients, but for everyone in our community.
Thank you.
Commissioner Harris: My name is Commissioner Harris, I have actually only live in the city for about two
years I've lived in Iowa for about 20 years. I'm from Chicago, Illinois. I was born and equip reintegrate
housing projects. So that's where I think one of the things that would bring you know, some different
thoughts and ideas to this Commission also as far as the things that I do in the community. I'm the Vice
President of the South district neighborhood association which I particularly which I participate in very
actively. I'm always surprised. You can see in the south district neighborhood. If you haven't read
through here. Also, um, I am the Rick grab human rights Award winner for 2020 because of my efforts
that I did for voting rights on which you know I don't get into politics, a lot but did you shoot but you can
actually see that that pushing and being an activist about voting rights, it really paid off this year. So, and
I've really feel good about that. And that's the thing that I do. When you hear about my name. You hear
about me with voting rights. I'm also bring it to this commission is what I could bring is I'm a person that
has actually suffered through social injustice through racial injustice. When I was in Chicago. They send
me to prison. When I was 17 years old. I'm older than that. Now, of course, but they send me to prison.
When I was 17 years old and so they made me a felon. When I was 17 years old. And so, and when I was
in those places. I got to see firsthand with my own eyes just ingest is that happen people getting abused
people getting the rights. Not being acknowledged and I saw all type of things like that in my life. And so
that's what I think that I want to bring to this Commission. To be able to testify and talk about things
that I've seen it modeling and also I grew up in an inner city you know LM I was city is a great place, you
know, but where I grew up at it was. Nothing even close to this if something like this would even
happen. Well, I grew up in Chicago. It would have been a better place.
So now, Chicago is Abilify, it's just as terrible place, but it wasn't no programs like this. It wasn't a thing.
It wasn't no commissions like this. To help people out to understand that, regardless of your color are
your four years you know at this like where you're from. You have a right to be able to be prosperous
and grow and progress. And with that, I will do my time.
Commissioner Layana Navarre -Jackson: I'm part of what I wanted to share. I'm not going to, you know,
take up a lot of your time because I do have a very interesting but very long story is all narrow it down.
My family and I moved here a long time ago back in 1997 actually. And we're from New Orleans.
Originally, so it was a larger of an area that we were used to and we moved to Iowa City and have lived
here off and on for more than a decade and a half now.
Basically the some of the things that we had noticed over And these are things that were brought up
before was that there was a difference there was a change in the community members themselves and
the diversity that was there and that change also included later on. A change in the number of
opportunities or types of opportunities, especially when it comes to employment and such. So part of
what I wanted to do when I applied for this commission is I wanted to volunteer in a way that was
different from what I had previously done I previously done a lot of volunteer work for places like
hospitals this a lot was in New Orleans and a lot was here but hospitals adult day centers, places like
employment systems unlimited in goodwill and working with the people there who had disabilities. And
this time in the past couple of years.
I started applying to try to work on commissions within the local community because I realized that we
were going to be here for quite a while longer. And I wanted to contribute and do want to contribute
the quality of life for members of the community who are so often overlooked and I one of the things I
believe is I believe that all of us can make contributions to the local community. Because of our
understandings. Each of us has a unique understanding of the issues that will be addressing related to
injustice and discrimination.
And as well as that, as Commissioner Rivera had mentioned the needs are also there for people who
have been discriminated against, to not only hear have someone hear them and acknowledge their pain
and their trauma, but also to address those issues and to have confidence that someone will, and I think
that these are the main reasons that I wanted to apply and did apply and I'm pretty confident that all of
us who've been gathered here will be available to actually address these issues and not, you know,
basically not have it be something that just sits as far as our suggestions, just sit there on a local leaders
desk and gather does, but I do believe that this group will be able to make sure that things get
implemented. I yield the floor. Thank you.
Chair Royceann Porter: I am wife and I literally moved here 20 I'm almost 30 years ago 1989, 1 can tell
you, I came here to work for IBM up down in Columbus junction at a pig factory that's I came from
Michigan. So that's how I got here. I have 20 years of professional experience, including as a family to
family partnership coordinator. A community liaison to the Iowa City Community School District and as a
financial service manager and industries, including business and personal services.
Currently I now am serving as a Johnson County Board of Supervisors. I've made. I am a history maker
being the first African American to hold a seat in the colony.
I previously worked for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as a union organizer. I was the
program coordinator for the city of Iowa City Parks and Recreation. My professional skills and
experiences include social services crisis intervention counseling working with homeless and persons
with multiple needs slash barriers, including but not limited to mental health services substance abuse
life skills and employment. I have been deeply engaged in volunteering activities throughout Johnson
County, including providing services for the Salvation Army 15 years, such as serving on the advisory
board for five years. Meeting Human Services needs of clients helping homeless clients find shelter,
clothing and food preparing and cooking meals for the homeless.
Helping clients with bus passes and family emergency Greyhound bus passes to attend funerals
distributing vouchers for gas clothing helping with Christmas project holiday toy drive
happened with children's character building programs and providing pick up a Sunday service I
completed my eighth at Kirkwood Community College in 2004 2015 1 have effective written and verbal
communication management counseling computer and administrative skills. Currently, as a Johnson
County Supervisor I currently serve a right now as your ad hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner
chair. I am on the 6t" Judicial Court board of directors I serve as the inside out on the Inside out Reentry
board of directors, I am on the Film Scene board of directors. I'm a Johnson County Medical Examiner
liaison. I am liaison to the Johnson County Conservation Board. The county, city assessor conference
board. I'm on the Johnson County D Cat board and the Johnson County Diversity and Inclusion
committee. Along with the Iowa City Area Development Group. I am on the Johnson County Food Policy
Council and weekly I am on the Project Better Together.
Previously I served on the Iowa City Nebraska in NAACP as the Secretary. Then the Iowa City community
leaders roundtable committee. The NAMI executive board the Citizen Police Review Board,
Commissioner, I served five years the Housing Fellowship Committee as an advisory board member. The
Fas Trac advisory board member, Children of Promise Advisory board member Juvenile Justice Youth
Development board member, Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee, Restorative Justice
Committee, the Coalition for Racial Justice Steering Committee, the Human Rights Building Communities
Advisory Committee and the Salvation Army Social Services.
A couple of weeks ago I received. I was the first recipient of the Think Iowa City Bravo Award. I have put
in a lot of work and I will city and I'm only telling you this this because my involvement within I was city
came when I was literally discriminated get discriminated against. The Iowa City Police Department. So,
um, I literally had a party for my 17 year old daughter I serve pizza and gave out. I don't know what
happened to my screen, but it's showing me that I'm still talking so I'll continue to talk, but, um, I had a
team party and kids got the fighting there was literally some Cedar Rapids kids. A boy danced on a girl
from Cedar Rapids, one of our city had football players dance on the girl from City High and the fight
broke out.
The fight broke out, it got kind of bad, where they was breaking stuff so I end up stopping the party at
11 o'clock and having the kids go home. I had boy still one of the young men were still wanting to fight
each other. So I did. I have to cause all these and I did what I needed to clean up and I left the club
house where I had the party. I do want to let you know that was on the Saturday night come Tuesday
morning after taking my daughter to ask elusive back to school at Indian hills. I was driving back and I
received the call that I had been on the front page of the Press Citizen newspaper and that that call
came from Henry Harper, who was the fast track CEO, Henry, let me know. He said, I was on the front
page of the newspaper. And I was like, for what now. And I'm thinking is something I didn't did within
my community, but it wasn't, it was, I will say the police department in big letters stated that PCR be
which is the police citizen review board member was cited for a house party. Um, I never got signed it
from the police, so I didn't know where none of this was going where I will continue to tell you is that I
end up having to go to court throughout this whole thing and it literally was thrown out on a direct
verdict meaning.
Absolutely. And that said, I'm sorry. I went blank. I was acquitted. And so after I was acquitted. I'm
throughout this whole thing. That's how we there became a group called the Coalition for racial justice,
where we decided that what happened to me would never happen to anybody else. And so we will fight
for people's right so I've been running around here, fighting for social justice and racial equity for a very
long time. So that's my spiel.
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Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Chair Porter, it was a directive verdict.
Chair Royceann Porter: Thank you.
Vice Chair T'Shailyn Harrington: Whole City area in this community. This is my home. So K through 12
and then later on to the University of Iowa where I got a Degree in business management. I also got an
event planning certificate. And that was my true like specialty and things that I was actually passionate
about planning events and bringing groups together to do like poetry slams and things of that nature.
Just having like that, that time to have like community building. My certificate experience as like student
org involvement really pushed me into my professional career. I currently I am the Community
Engagement Manager at Shelter House. And so I use all of this, like my passions is clearly a work of
passion of planning events for a cause, and I look forward to having the time through our commission of
thinking outside the box on how, how can we celebrate the diversity within our own community and in
an engagement way that brings out everyone and things like that. I also wanted to mention Henri
Harper, he ran fast track and when I was in high school I was a part of that youth program in each
summer. The Fas Trac program would take a, take a trip down south in visit different HTC use it.
But it was truly a civil Rights tour. And so we have the opportunity to go to the six Doric landmarks and
go to museums and truly like take part of history in and see like one thing led to another and explicit the
half has happened to African Americans in this country in it wasn't last summer, but the summer prior
Commissioner Currin and Chair Porter and I, we all went on this tour in and we chaperone group of high
school students and in my older age, I'm literally like five years removed from these group of kids, but I
was going on the tour. One more time and I think that was like a pivotal thing for me to know that.
Visiting like Martin Luther King's church or different things different landmarks in seeing the history of
civil rights within our country really putting context of the current presidential administration and how
that impacts us. And so that's we're kicking in. So when the TR see Commission sprung about I think that
my recent trip down south really made me want change within I will city.
MISSION STATEMENT:
Vice Chair Harrington: I wrote these quick little statements. On what was our, our goal and
things of that nature, that I was so and creating our commission. They have all of the points and things
like that. And I, and I thought that it would be great to quickly summarize those, those main points that
the entire document and that's also included in the meeting agenda, but I wanted to open the floor with
all the Commissioners to see if we can all come to a common understanding of our purpose and what
we hope to do to serve the community.
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera. I really appreciate Vice Chair Harrington, your
comments and your preparation of these points in generally I think they are all encompassing. One thing
that I was noticing in the WHO ARE WE statement. Sometimes when I read the word community. I tend
to think more of like sort of civilians in the public and I know that maybe it can be more all-inclusive.
To include government elected officials and things of that sort. By wonder if we can be a little bit more
explicit in defining community as including both the public and government so that people know that
when we're talking about who were calling on we are calling on both and then in our mission. I didn't
have as much of a formed kind of thought on this, but I was wondering if it would be useful, and I
welcome other Commissioners comments on this. If it would be helpful to include terms such as
transitional justice, such as is commonplace and other Truth and Reconciliation commissions.
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And in and I don't know, some way that we might define our benchmarks for reconciliation and healing.
Commissioner Traore: Speaking on the people around the community that you would like to continue to
work with of you speaking about schools and other community groups.
Commissioner Ali: I don't know what this is, Commissioner, Ali, is it alright for me to speak. Yes. I don't
know what the correct verbiage for this would maybe important to include Commissioner Ali:
Healthcare and the people who are in charge of making the decisions when this happens in a workplace,
if that makes sense. Like for example, if you work at the hospital and heard someone say something
racist and then the person that you would have to report to let's say that's a middle aged white woman
or you know that I want that person to be included to if that and I don't know what the correct way to
go about accountable as well.
Commissioner Layana Navarre -Jackson: Hi this is Commissioner Navarro Jackson. I think a lot of people
who are in human resources in various departments and businesses and also would fit that description.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: And just for clarification am I in the correct portion of the
statement or do I need to move your suggestions to another area. I just want to make sure that I'm on
the same page as each of you when you're defining community.
Commissioner Ali: This is Commissioner Ali. Yeah, you're in the correct. I would like to add banking
institutions as well.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Thank you.
Chair Royceann Porter: We have I see we have education, housing, we don't have policing and I also
want to add that this can always be edited, we can always go back on it if we if we feel as though right
now we have a very broad scope and we want to scale it down because we can focus more on
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore at this point in time, I have nothing to add other than the
edit in the WHO ARE WE section and just changing the a to an
Commissioner Layana Navarre -Jackson: Hi this is Commissioner Navarre -Jackson. Just a quick question. in
the mission statement. Did we mean to have both direct and indirect instances of violence, or do you
think that maybe the word actions can be substituted there.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner, Troy here. I also think that Commissioner Navarre -Jackson in terms
of changing the indirect direct into direct violence to something such as both direct and indirect actions
of violence.
Chair Royceann Porter: Is there anything else anybody would like to add to that?
Commissioner Anthony Currin: This is Commissioner Currin and I would like to see how this will read,
So this is our mission right so the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is committed to implementing
and sustaining grassroots community centered truth telling processes to address ..... so in this section we
have past and present instances of both direct and indirect actions of violence, discrimination and racism
and Iowa City and either to attach onto that sentence or after this sentence. I would say attached onto
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that sentence because we're talking about what we're addressing explicit and implicit bias.
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera. I tend to include bias in the concept of within the
concept of racism, I understand the point of making bias, sort of a point of view, you're making, but I
wonder if the sentence is getting an unwieldy.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioning Traore. I also agree with Commissioner Rivera, and would also like
to suggest that after we formalize the, who are we and mission statements we look to address this to the
community and see if there's any community input that we'd like to look into going into the future, if we
decide to revise anything in here.
Chair Royceann Porter: We have, community people from the public on the phone. Is there anyone who
would like to share anything?
Kim Lanegran: Thank you. My name is Kim Lanagran. I'm on the faculty at Coe College. I just have a
question about what the relationship would be between your mission statement and the mandate that
you are given in some ways, this mission statement seems more narrow than the tasks that you were
given in your mandate
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore here first and foremost I would like to thank Miss your
comments. I would like to suggest that we at least hold what we have for our current mission statement.
Maybe as a kind of draft and continue to go with what we've been given in our official capacity for now
and look for more community input or come back in the next meeting and think on what we have so far,
and then vote on maybe finalizing what we currently have.
Chair Royceann Porter: That sounds good to me. This is Chair Porter. Does anyone have anything else to
add to this?
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore here, I would like to motion to keep what we currently have
in our who we are and mission statements as drafts and look into the statements again in the next
meeting to look to approve them.
Commissioner Rivera: Second.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Motion by Commissioner Traore, seconded by
Commissioner Rivera.
Motion passed 8-0.
AD HOC TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION PROCEDURAL POLICIES:
Chair Royceann Porter: Will go over that the Chair presides over all meanings and in their absence. The
Vice Chair shall perform this duty in the absence of the Chair. The Chair and Vice Chair shall set the
provided Commissioner suggestions are considered for placement on the agenda. Commissioners can call
or email the chair and vice chair with any suggestions.
If anybody would like to do this a little different. We can if you wish to have a conversation on who sets
the agenda for each meeting, we can start that conversation now. If you wish, if we wish to proceed
differently than just the chair and the vice chair meeting and you guys call and given us something to put
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on the agenda.
Commissioner Ali: Commissioner Ali speaking I enjoy the way that we have it now. I think that just for
starting off and for organization purposes. I think that having the chair and vice chair kind of be the
people who run things and you go to for suggestions or Stefanie. But yeah I enjoy the way that we're
doing things now. I think it's just organized in a lot easier.
Chair Royceann Porter: Okay, thank you.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore here will second what Commissioner Ali said also agree that
we should continue to uplift and raise our elected Commission. Chair and Vice Chair in order to also show
the community who really is leading us in this commission and who they should be going to or look to for
more answers that way. We have a more concrete answer to anyone that says anything. And we don't
can attend the issues with open records or anything of that nature.
Chair Royceann Porter: We had a discussion about limiting the public comments that's on the agenda if
someone is going to come and speak. We would like to say, you know, we would like to you to keep your
comments to three to five minutes, but if there is someone on the phone, who would like to add to or,
you know, give us what you think of how this is going
Commissioner Ali: Commissioner, Ali here. I think three to five minutes is adequate for public
commentary, I believe.
Commissioner Ali: I have attended the Council meetings in the past and I feel like three to five is a pretty
good.
Commissioner Harris: This is Commissioner Harris, I think that I would just say that because some people
don't want to speak for that long. What is better for them to have enough time then not enough time. So
three minutes is pretty soon.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Madam Chair, Commissioner Currin here. I was just wanting to say before
we go there you were talking about. And we're going to be pressing some hot button issues in the next
24 months. And I've seen sometimes turnout can come to where quite easily you will have more than 10
people 10 persons to show up. So you know if 10 people actually take their moments to speak, we're
looking at 30 minutes if 10 people take them over to speak, and they have five minutes, that they can go
to, we're looking at nearly an hour long so it's not that I'm trying to get out of the meetings faster, but
We want to make sure to anticipate that if we do this right, the community is going to care and they're
going to turn out when we ask them to turn out. If we if we do our jobs correctly. People are going to
care and they're going to show up. And so we want to make sure that there's enough time for people to
talk, but that we're not going to be in there to the next day I think three after three minutes, we're
probably do it.
Chair Royceann Porter: Johnson County that's what we do.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: In my experience, I mean, l think at this point you're fairly
new. And so I'm not sure you want a hard and fast rule that you may want to modify say in two months.
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It doesn't appear that it's been a problem to date at meetings so I think Chair Porter and
Vice Chair Harrington and Commissioners, I think there you know you. I think you're okay just proceeding
as how you are now. But if the chair and Commission wishes to make it more formal than that just means
that at a future date that would probably need to be modified. Okay.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: If attendance appears to be a problem at this point or a
concern, you know, maybe look at creating policy down the road. Hard and fast policies that you would
then be changing in a few months. So if that's something that you want to discuss at a future meeting.
Your procedural policies you as a group are more than welcome.
Commissioner Harris: This is Commissioner Harris. I kind of don't like how we went past the time limit
thing. Because I think people should have more than three minutes. You can't see a whole bunch in three
minutes and I'm kind of, I don't know if we should have had a vote on that or not. But, you know, three to
five minutes should be sufficient not, you know, just three-minute limit. I really don't.
Chair Royceann Porter: We didn't say three-minute limit. No, it was, it was saying, three to five minutes.
Commissioner Harris: I don't want people to come and say they didn't have enough time to talk.
Chair Royceann Porter: That's understandable, but no, it was three to five minutes. It wasn't three
minutes.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Okay, Commissioner Currin here, Commissioners, yeah, we're going to
just keep everything the way it is for right now and will probably come back to that. If it becomes a
problem that presents itself. The suggestion was made, and we all, we kind of went along with it. It
makes a lot of sense not to make a hard and fast rule right now. So we decided not to make a rule about
it.
DEFINITION OF TERMS RELATED TO RACIAL JUSTICE:
Vice Chair Harrington: Alluded to plenty of times throughout this meeting is that the nature of the
conversations that we're going to be having they're going to be tough men, but there's going to be need
to be a lot of transparency with in though, and so having conversations about race and equity and all the
things it's necessary for us to all have a common understanding of what these terms all are and I'm not
necessarily saying let's pull out a dictionary and try to define 50 or 100 words more so the words that or
the words in terms that will probably be used most often in for those terms to be defined for all
Commission all Commissioners to know what is the intent behind saying the from the police or
discrimination or things like that so what do we truly mean when we say those things. And this is a list
that can always be added on or what have you I will throw it out there.
Like a simple example of a term and this is white privilege in when I when I think of the meaning behind
that word I define it as an earned advantages that allow a white person to access different things in the
world be that healthcare, education, wealth opportunities political power like those. Those are the types
of terms that I think would be helpful for us to set a foundation on understanding. So I want to open the
conversation to the Commission on pulling terms in having us come to an understanding of what these
terms will mean for the group.
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Commissioner Ali: This is Commissioner Ali speaking. Quick question. Do you want us to discuss this now,
or was this something that you envisioned us emailing? Because I think it might be a better idea if some
of us are. If we had some to email them to you rather than kind of just all talking about it.
Vice Chair Harrington: So I like that a suggestion on the way in which that this repository of terms or is
curated and send all the emails to Stefanie. Email in a list of a minimal of five terms that they believe
should be defined.
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera. I really like the idea of making sure that when we're as
a Commission like talking when we're talking about these things that we're all kind of understanding
where each other are coming from. And I really trust that you guys will educate me on how you view
terms through the process of this Commission and hopefully I can sort of lend some wisdom and
perspective as well. Where this becomes hard for me is that like we're nine people on this commission
and we are in service to the public who might also have ways in which the they understand such terms
that we need to be meeting them where they're at in terms of how they're defining and using these
terms as well. And truly, I think it's like in our in the mandate of our commission to make sure that we're
really representing the public and that everything that we're defining as truth.
Is being derived from the comment and testimony. We're, we're acquiring and collecting from the public.
And so one way to resolve that tension might be for us to go along with the suggestion of sort of different
definitions for these terms, but I would hope.
We would make sure that this is kind of a living and breathing collection of terminology and that it
wouldn't become finalized until we produced our final recommendations as a result of this Commission.
Chair Royceann Porter: I agree with what you're saying Commissioner Rivera. But one thing that I think
that we need to do is have a glossary of racial equity tools just the definition of these words because
when we are looking at the community. I deal with a lot of people in the community and white privilege
takes over a lot of things and people don't like to talk about it when we talk about race and racism, when
we talk about diversity they're not going to agree with what we're coming up with a name. These are the
discussions that we need to have a lot of things that we talked about are going to be hard issues. And so
when we talk about these definitions of words.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: This is Commission Currin here. I really respect what you do. First of all,
we can never have too much input from mental health. I just want to say thank you very much for
bringing that point out there. But truth is powerful. And sometimes the truth hurts. And that's actually
the job that we've been put here to do. And then there's another huge obstacle in our way when it
comes to crowdsourcing definitions from the public which I actually liked the idea of input. And I know
that we're going to have it. Because we're going to have a conversation, but um you know idea
facilitating math. You gotta, you have to keep in mind. Sense of group dynamic and then when a group
dynamic goes into play, where you have the salient culture or the people who are used to calling the
shots now interacting with people that don't get to call the shots you have acculturation going on. So it's
like I'm an American. You're a black American.
And so the person is thinking I just am and everybody else is pigeonholed or defined, but there's no need
to define myself. I see the world from my perspective out. And so, you know, you start to explain but if
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I'm not you and I define you as well. And so, you know, we get this dynamic. A lot of times that happens
where after people learn to think outside of the box. They see how that can be a truth but at first. They're
just shocked. I remember the first time I realized alot of the things that Europeans say about Americans. I
used to think what they saying about me because I'm an African American but then when I lived outside
of this nation for three years, I realized, oh my god, I'm just as body and I'm just as much a product of the
United States as I am a product of Inner City, Chicago, but it means to step outside of my acculturation so
I really think that our definitions are kind of grow, but I believe that we, we need to actually lay the
groundwork for some of these things that we need to address.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner here. I was like to say, I definitely agree with a lot of if not
everything that everyone is previously said and would also like to suggest that maybe we do each of us
are actually send in these terms that we believe need to be defined and what we see in the definitions.
And then on top of that as well. Once we collect this list to present them in a meeting and ask for
community members to again. Join the meeting listen in, give their suggestions on topics that we've
brought up that seem to really connect a lot between all of us and if they don't understand it, why they
don't understand it so that we can maybe find alternative definitions is when you look in a dictionary.
You don't always see just a one definition for something so just seeing if there's other ways we can try to
explain certain things to people, but also let them know that these are, again, the living definitions and
that we do understand people see things differently.
We're not trying to be arbiters of truth, but rather just to help everyone kind of be on the same playing
field in terms of understanding and you'll the floor.
Chair Royceann Porter: Just yesterday, we witnessed a horrifying stuff yesterday and you have people
who literally will, will that saw a different picture than us and I can tell you that each one of us on this
phone express how they felt when they saw the things that went on yesterday versus the people who we
saw who thought nothing was wrong with what they were doing. So I'm truly calling things as if they are
or when they are we, we literally have to call it out. No sugarcoating just saying about sugarcoating this
us, us being real. This is this is keeping it real. Let's be real. Let's not be sitting here trying to not worry
about other people's feelings. This is, this is a whole community effort of everybody trying to make things
better, because the reason this was all put together. It's because there's a problem. And we know that
there's a problem. So we want to work on that problem as a whole community.
That's just my two cents. I've been here a long time and I've seen quite a bit of racism right here in our
own community. So when those words come up. I'm used to it, even with our immigrant population, you
know, we see how in jobs where wage staff, you know, if they don't have even not only the immigrants of
the African people, but the Hispanic people I'm getting cheated out of money because, you know, they go
to work for somebody, and they don't have ID so this company might have them come work for them and
they pay them under the table, but you not really pan on what they the work that they're doing you
know these people get cheated wage stuff all the time. So we look at different types of stuff like that, we
have to look at the big picture. There are things that just have to be called out as though it is I'm the only
one on the phone.
Commissioner Traore: Thank you so much for putting that together is 100% agree and really do love the
fact that you are our chair with all the experience that you have and everything that you've done and
seen in the community. I just believe it's very, very valuable. So thank you again. Yeah, even with housing.
We have I'm wanting to put the black people on one side of town, we get that for the southeast district
all the black people go over there because why that's what they can afford.
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Chair Royceann Porter: That's where the people take in their money and literally charge overcharge them
for what they live in, in, but these are the things that we look for when we see discrimination in housing
and you know how this goes. So I've been around a long time and I've seen discrimination in schools on
how kids are treated why kids don't get kicked out of school like our black kids get kicked out of school. I
mean, there are various man I could tell you so many issues of instances of different things that go on.
That's right here. And, you know, even with the housing. You know white people will say, oh, that's
wonderful. That's wonderful. That's wonderful, what you're doing, but not in my backyard. We get
NIMBY all the time. All the time. There's NIMBY not in my backyard. As long as we're not doing it in a
backyard. Everything is fine and dandy, but this is just something I am so proud to be a part of because
It's just going to open up doors and it's just going to bring the community together to be able to have
these hard conversations and some of them are going to be hard. Not every meeting that we have
people are going to leave these meetings. Feeling okay because we're going to tell the truth, then. And
that's, that's me. Anybody that knows me know I speak my mind and I tell the truth. So, I'm proud to be a
part of this.
Chair Royceann Porter: Okay, so, Stephanie. We don't have to do anything on that. The next thing is I'm
the only thing that each Commissioner will send in to us a list of five. If you have more than five, send
them, but at least five definitions of terms related to racial justice.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: And I would just add as a friendly reminder from the
presentation from the city attorney, make sure that you just send them to the Chair, Vice Chair and me to
avoid the open meetings and then the next meeting that you have scheduled is for January 21 and I mean
I have to post the agenda with within 24 hours of the meeting, but that's always running it very close. So
we try not to do that. So ideally, if everybody could get those in no later than January 15 but we can
always do a late handout. If we have to which you know is fine but January 15 would be great. Just
because Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., life and legacy celebration. So I hope that we are out in the
community celebrating that and Tuesday again maybe cutting it close for the meeting on Thursday. But
like I said, we can make it happen. But it would just be best to get those sooner than later.
Commissioner Traore: This is Commissioner Traore. So I just wanted to know for sure, in terms of how
you want to be addressed in terms of your title for the meetings going forward, you have a preference.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: You can, I mean I'm pretty laid back, but I appreciate you
asking, but you can call me staff, you can call me Stefanie, you can call me human rights coordinator I'm
not really particularly. Stefanie is more than fine. But thank you for asking.
SELECTION OF FACILITATOR:
Chair Royceann Porter: We have to have a conversation about a facilitator. If you know of a facilitator,
you can send in send it to myself or the Vice Chair Harrington and we can start taking names as to, you
know, who we know that could be a facilitator focus group.
Commissioner Ali: Sorry to interject. This is Commissioner Ali speaking. Can you define what you would
view as a facilitator? I just I'm not as familiar with the verbiage so if you can just make that clear for me,
please.
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Chair Royceann Porter: Stefanie, what would the facilitator be doing at the meetings?
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: I think the facilitator be almost like what I would call a
consultant, like they would assist you in this quest. I would still be staff in terms of posting the agenda
per whatever instructions the chair and vice chair are giving me and putting the packets together and still
making sure that we're within open meeting laws and public records law, but they would just be kind of
facilitating or guiding you are having conversations in terms of this process and what you're looking for in
terms of the Truth and Reconciliation. So I would say advisor consultants and facilitator, they kind of do
all of that. I would still serve a staff. So if you needed anything you know from me, I would certainly do
that. And I would still be at meetings, but they would be more of the you know, if you wanted to hold
hearings on x or y or z. Then they might give you suggestions or consulting on how best to do that, which
is why I think in this resolution from the city council. They're trying to make sure that whoever you select
you select somebody who kind of has these wide skill sets.
I am sure you can always request an extension from the Council, but per the resolution as it stands now
you have 90 days from your first meeting, which is on December 21 to get a recommendation to the city
council in terms of how much funding you feel you will need to fulfill your obligation. In terms of serving
as truth and reconciliation Commissioners for the city. And so when I did calculate a date that looks like
90 days from your original meeting date would be Sunday, March 21 which usually when things fall on a
weekend. It would, you know, go to the next date. So basically, Monday, March 22 to get them. What I
would say a preliminary plan and budget but there might be things that you need to change as you go
along.
Chair Royceann Porter: So this is a paid position?
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Yes.
Chair Royceann Porter: I have some suggestions. If anyone has any please send to us
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: I also would just suggest in moving forward again. It's up to
the group's discretion. Always trying to be respectful of that but if you have somebody in mind, it may
not hurt to reach out to them to see if they would even be interested because there's no sense to
discuss a potential candidate who may not necessarily be interested in serving in that capacity in that
role. So if you do have somebody in mind that you feel comfortable approaching, like, hey, I'm going to
put your name forward as a facilitator, it may not hurt just to get a feel from them to see if that would be
something that they're, they would be interested in instead of having this great discussion coming up
with this great name. And then you reach out to them and they're like I don't really want to do that. So,
so just kind of keeping that in mind too.
Chair Royceann Porter: I did I do today. I reached out to a couple of people and they were interested
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera, we need to spend a lot of time talking about my
suggestion, but I just want a little low hanging fruit is included in our package Eduardo Gonzales has
reached out and offered partnership with our commission and they seem to have plenty of experience in
facilitating these types of commissions and so I wonder if that would be some someone that we could
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reach out to as well.
Chair Royceann Porter: I liked him too the only thing is he's not local. I liked it but I was trying to go with
somebody locally. We have Team Can and Team Can does the same type of facilitating in out in our
community, as far as a social justice or racial justice. They have a person named Jesse Case and Jesse
does this type of facilitation. So I would suggest Jesse Case I spoke with him today. I was just trying to find
somebody locally. I also am good friends with Annie Tucker and she is a mediator in Johnson County and I
think Annie will be good. We have Jennifer Sherer and Robin Bennett Clark from the Labor Center there's
quite a few people that can do this. So I was just trying to keep it local.
Chair Royceann Porter: So we need feedback from everybody.
Commissioner Ali: This is Commissioner Ali speaking. I'm going to second Jesse Case. He's incredible I just
love talking to the guy. He's such a cool guy. So that's a good suggestion.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore here. I would like to third, the great suggestion on Jesse
Case. I had the honor of meeting with him once before and he's an amazing person. And as someone that
would definitely be prepared and very good for this role as you someone that also knows a lot about
labor relations.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: This is Commissioner Currin here. Jesse Case, I'm telling you that we will
get this commission would get every cent worth of whatever we're going to pay him because he not only
does a good job. But he believes in what he does.
Chair Royceann Porter: Not only does he believe he fights. He fights for people rights. He really does. And
he's been working. He's been doing social justice work for a very long time. I literally went up under his
wing and learned a lot. And then he sent me out as an organizer for teamster so I truly think that he will
be a great fit. So that's just me but you know there's if there's anybody else out there. You guys are
welcome to you know make suggestions. I'm just one person.
Chair Royceann Porter: And if somebody else have somebody in mind like Stefanie said they can go to
that person after tonight and say, Hey, I was wondering if you'd be interested in such and such. And
come back and let us know. We will place on the agenda for the next meeting.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: In addition to a name that there is also a little more
information provided that tells each Commissioner, why you feel this person should facilitate because I'm
sure there's people that may be named that not all of you are familiar with. And that will better help. The
discussion, instead of just looking at like a name and not really knowing anything about them. So you
might as a group just want to consider that in your discussions as to whether or not you want to include
any pertinent information that you think is relevant for this group to consider and making the selection.
COMMISSION ANNOUCEMENTS:
Commissioner Traore: I'm Commissioner Traore here. I don't I think this fits into the purview of what
we're currently discussing, but just wanted to say thank you to all the Commissioners who did invite
people to join. I attempted to invite a few people but into the scheduling constraints, they couldn't make
it. But will do my best to reach out to more people once again for the next meeting and thank you once
20
again to those who did get their invites here tonight.
Commissioner Ali: And this is Commissioner Ali speaking. And I just wanted to implore or ask anyone if
you have the time. To look over the recommendations that the city manager Geoff Fruin has made to
restructure the police department. They are pretty long and so it. I would say do it when you've got a
little bit of free time email the city back with your opinions, because these suggestions that Geoff had
written out our mag to be edited and changed. And I think that as members of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, it probably would be important for us to know, the plans to restructure the
police.
Commissioner Traore: Commissioner Traore here. Thank you very much for saying that. I have these
documents I just downloaded them earlier and I can either send them to Miss Bowers to distribute to
everyone else, or I can send them in the meeting chat as well, whichever is preferred.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: I would probably, if you don't mind. You can send them to
me yet tonight and I'll get them sent out. So that's not a problem.
Commissioner Rivera: This is Commissioner Rivera I have three announcements, if that's okay. When is
this quick thank you to the public for joining us. During this meeting. It has been a hectic in a lot of ways,
terrifying last couple days and I appreciate you taking the time and energy to join us for this.
Meeting my second announcement it pertains to some of the points that other Commissioners have
made and I would just encourage folks if you if you didn't tune into the city council meeting on Tuesday,
to go back and watch the video and to listen to some of the public comment. It was point nine I think on
the January 5 meeting. And then my last announcement is that I just like to acknowledge that we're
meeting on the homelands of several tribal nations whose people were the original stewards of these
lands.
The collection of whom we all owe a great debt to as we continue to me. I do plan to develop and submit
for my fellow Commissioners review a formal land acknowledgement statement to honor these peoples.
By name, which I hope we can discuss at our next meeting and hopefully incorporate into each of our
meetings thereafter. I would be I would be eager to have the support of other commissioners in this
endeavor. Thanks.
Chair Royceann Porter: Awesome.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: Hello, Commissioner Currin here. I like to thank the public all the people
that I invited for showing up and I'm sitting through the meeting. And you know, it's a lot to actually sit
through as you're, you know, watching sausage being made and the initial coming together and how
we're initially putting everything together. And it's slow going, especially when you're not able to really
comment but
I want to thank you so much for your perseverance and it means so much for the support and we really
appreciate you. Thank you very much.
21
Chair Royceann Porter: I would just like to remind the committee that this is now a summit.Are there any
other announcements? Okay, then I would like to have someone make a motion to adjourn.
Commissioner Ali: Commissioner Ali's speaking. I like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Commissioner Anthony Currin: I second that motion.
Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator: Motion to adjourn by Commissioner Ali, seconded by
Commissioner Currin. Motion passed 8-0.
MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:3713M.
22
AD HOC TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
ATTENDANCE RECORD
YEAR 2021
(Meetiniz Date)
NAME
TERM
EXP-
12/21/20
1/7/21
1/21/21
2/4/21
2/18/
21
3/4/
21
3/18/21
4/1/21
4/15/
21
4/29/
21
5/13/
21
5/27/
21
6/10/
21
6/24/
21
ALI
6/22
X
X
CURRIN
6/22
X
X
HARRINGTON
6/22
X
X
NAVARRE-
JACKSON
6/22
X
X
PORTER
6/22
X
X
HAMAD
6/22
X
O/E
HARRIS
6/22
X
X
RIVERA
6/22
X
X
TRAORE
6/22
X
X
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting
--- = Not a Member
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Airport Commission: November 12
Item Number: 4.b.
November 12, 2020
Page 1
MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 12, 2020 — 6:00 P.M.
ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM
Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or
impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of commission members,
staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
Members Present: Warren Bishop, Scott Clair, Christopher Lawrence, Judy Pfohl
Members Absent: Hellecktra Orozco
Staff Present: Eric Goers, Michael Tharp
Others Present: Carl Byers, Matt Wolford, John Moes, Howard Horan, Blaine Rittmer
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
DETERMINE QUORUM:
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 P.M.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes of the October 8, 2020, meeting were reviewed by Members. Lawrence moved to
accept the minutes of the October 8, 2020, meeting as presented. Pfohl seconded the
motion. The motion carried 40, Orozco absent.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. FAAIIDOT Projects
L Obstruction Mitigation — Tharp stated that currently they are working on
the Phase 2 plans.and specs. The 95% Plan has been submitted to the
FAA. Tharp also spoke to the mitigation that still needs to occur and how
this is being handled with those property owners involved. Continuing,
Tharp noted that he will be asking the Commission to hold a special
meeting to set a public hearing for the December 10th agenda. This will
keep the project on schedule for the bid process. Looking for a tentative
November 12, 2020
Page 2
meeting date, Tharp stated the week before Thanksgiving would probably
be best.
Ii. Runway 25 Threshold Relocation - Tharp pointed out the two Work
Orders on the agenda, adding that these are for the design and
construction related services for this project, and also for the AGIS survey.
He further explained the nature of the second order, stating that the price
may ultimately go lower but will not go any higher than Bolton & Menk
have stated.
1. Consider a resolution A20-19 approving Work Order #4 with
Bolton & Monk for Runway 25 remarking and relighting,
runway 25 Phase 1 pavement repairs, and runway 12-30 AGIS
approach survey - Bishop moved to approve Resolution
#A20-19, approving Work Order #4 with Bolton & Monk for
Runway 25 remarking and relighting, runway 25 Phase 1
pavement repairs, and runway 12-30 AGIS approach survey.
Lawrence seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0,
Orozco absent.
2. Consider a resolution A20-20 approving Work Order #5 with
Bolton & Monk for AGIS Survey for Runway 12/30 - Bishop
moved to approve Resolution #A20-20 approving Work Order
#5 with Bolton & Monk for AGIS Survey for Runway 12/30.
Lawrence moved the motion. The motion carried 4-0, Orozco
absent.
iii. Fuel Farm Expansion and card reader kiosk replacement - Tharp
stated that things are progressing with this project, but that he does not
have a completion date as of yet. Byers added that he too has not
received an update on when they can do the installation of the secondary
pump. Tharp then further explained what this project entails, especially
with the secondary access ability.
iv. FY22 FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Pre -Application -
Tharp briefly explained how the Airport Improvement Program works, with
submittal of the application to the State. The State then compiles a report
that is sent to the FAA. The pre -application process is done in order for
the FAA to get final numbers and what the needs are for the various
airports. Continuing, Tharp stated that they have sent the pre -application
to the FAA and have received a couple of comments from them.
Discussion continued, with Tharp responding to Member questions and
also addressing how the COVID-19 pandemic may affect some of the
funding. He then reviewed the current and upcoming projects at the
Airport that are part of the AIP. Byers then spoke to the various projects,
as well, noting that as priorities change they can make updates. Pfohl
moved to submit the FY22 Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Pre -
Application, Clair seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0,
Orozco absent.
b. Airport Operations
I. Management
November 12, 2020
Page 3
1. Solar Power Installation project — Tharp spoke to what the
subcommittee has been able to find out about such a project. He
said he approached a local solar company and has been working
with them for several weeks now. The two approaches would be
to purchase a system outright or to go through a power purchase
agreement with a third -party vendor. They would then build the
system at the Airport, and an agreed upon rate would then be
applied. Tharp also spoke to how a solar project is handled with
Mid American Energy. Continuing, he spoke to the various
decisions that would have to be made before such a solar project
could be put into play, Speaking to the federal tax credits
available, Tharp noted that currently it is at 26%, with a State tax
credit of '13%. In 2021, these drop to 22% and 11% respectively.
He then asked Members what their thoughts are at this time
regarding moving forward with this or not. It was noted that the
tax credits would only be an issue if a third -party investor were
involved in the project. Goers spoke to the solar project as well,
giving Members an idea of how they might want to move forward
with this. He pointed out pros and cons to owning a system,
versus having a third -party build a system for them. Speaking to
using the rcurrent provider that Tharp has been working with,
Members discussed how fast they could move forward, especially
with the need for a public hearing, etc. Members agreed that they
should really take their time with this and explore all options and
all providers, just to be sure they do what is best for the long-term.
Members also spoke to the issue of continued maintenance with
the solar panels and who would be responsible for this. The idea
of placing the array closer to the main road was also discussed by
Members, which would allow the public to see what is going on at
the Airport. Goers then spoke to some of the legal aspects of
having a solar array and possible decisions that would need to be
made. Members shared their experiences with having solar
panels at their homes, and how the billing and usage works for
them. It was agreed that Tharp would move forward with the RFP
process as discussed.
ii. Budget — Tharp briefly summarized this item for Members, reminding
them that this is one of the outstanding items that they need to address.
John Moes joined the conversation at this point, adding that the big thing
is having monitoring and updating on a consistent basis.
1. Consider a resolution A2041 approving Amendment 1 to
Consultant Agreement with FUEL Inc. for website
maintenance — Bishop moved to approve Resolution #A20-21
approving amendment 1 to the Consultant Agreement with
FUEL Inc. for website maintenance. Pfohl seconded the
motion. The motion carried 4-0, Orozco absent.
iii. Events — None.
C. FBO 1 Flight Training Reports
November 12, 2020
Page 4
I. Jet Air — Matt Wolford then reviewed the monthly maintenance reports.
He also spoke to the arrival of the new truck and keeping an eye out for
the sale of the old one. He also talked about sending a crew out to an
Airport -owned piece of land by McDonald's that recently had to be
cleaned up of debris and overgrowth. Speaking to Jet Air, Wolford said
they are getting caught up in their maintenance shop. Sales for small
aircraft continue to be high, whereas larger aircraft, such as from
corporate entities, has dropped off. Flight training remains strong,
according to Wolford. Speaking to the flight simulator, Tharp noted that at
the nine-month mark there was about 100 -hours usage, about a third of
which was prepaid. The remaining two-thirds consisted of people coming
in to use the simulator. At this point, Tharp believes they are very close to
having it paid off for the amount they put into it. It was suggested that
something be posted to remind people who come into the Airport that the
simulator is available for use.
d. Commission Member Reports — Clair shared that he has been reaching out to
various stakeholders regarding a restaurant at the Airport. He shared with
Members some of what he has discovered during his research, stating that in a
few months he should have something more concrete to share.
e. Staff Report — None.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR:
The next regular meeting of the Airport Commission will be held on Thursday, December 10,
2020, at 6:00 P.R. via the Zoom meeting platform.
ADJOURN:
Lawrence moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 P.M. Pfohl seconded the motion. The motion
carried 4-0, Orozco absent.
CHAIRPERSON DATE
November 12, 2020
Page 5
Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2020
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
TERM
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
Z!
0
0
.i
NAME
EXP.
�
�
o
N
Ea
N
Ns
Es
N
0
N
N
W
Warren
06/30/22
O
O
O
Bishop
X
X
I
I
X
X
X
X
X
X
/
X
X
E
E
E
Scott Clair
06/30/23
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Christopher
07/01/21
O/
O/
Lawrence
E
E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hellecktra
06/30/24
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Orozco
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
NM
X
X
X
X
O/E
Judy Pfohl
06/30/22
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Airport Commission: November 30
Item Number: 4.c.
November 30, 2020
Page 1
MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 30, 2020 —12:00 P.M.
ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM
Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 29.8)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or
impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of commission members,
staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
Members Present: Warren Bishop, Scott Clair, Christopher Lawrence, Judy Pfohl. Hellecktra
Orozco
Members Absent:
Staff Present: Eric Goers, Michael Tharp
Others Present:
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
DETERMINE QUORUM:
The meeting was called to order at 12:00 P.M.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSIONIACTION:
a. Consider a resolution setting a public hearing to be held on December
10, 2020 at 6:00pm on the plans, specifications, form of contract, and
estimate of cost for the "Obstruction mitigation — Phase 2" project.
Tharp stated that they would discuss the project more at the public hearing
meeting and that he was asking the Commission to schedule the public hear-
ing for the plans and specifications. Bishop moved resolution A20-22, se-
conded by Pfohl. Motion carried 5-0
ADJOURN:
Bishop moved to adjourn the meeting at 12:02 P.M. Clair seconded the motion. The motion
carried 5-0,
CHAIRPER ON DATE
November 30, 2020
Page 2
Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2020
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
TERM
o
[^0��
0
0
0
0
0
o
0
.S
NAME
EXP.
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
w
N
0
0
0
0
0
0
Warren
06/30/22
O
O
O
Bishop
X
X
/
!
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
X
X
X
E
E
E
Scott Clair
06/30123
X
X
X
X.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Christopher
07/01/21
01
01
Lawrence
E
E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hellecktra
06/30/24
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Orozco
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
NM
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
Judy Pfohl
06/30/22
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Airport Commission: December 10
Item Number: 4.d.
December 12, 2020
Page 1
MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
DECEMBER 10, 2020 — 6:00 P.M.
ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM
Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or
impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of commission members,
staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
Members Present: Warren Bishop, Scott Clair, Christopher Lawrence, Hellecktra Orozco,
Judy Pfohl
Staff Present: Eric Goers, Michael Tharp
Others Present: Carl Byers, Matt Wolford, David Hughes, Howard Horan, Ron Roetzel
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL• (to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
DETERMINE QUORUM:
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes of the November 12 and November 30, 2020, meetings were reviewed by Members.
Tharp stated that Pfohl sent him some corrections on the minutes, which he will take care of.
Lawrence moved to accept the minutes of the November 12 and November 30, 2020,
meetings as amended. Pfohl seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-0.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. FAA/[DOT Projects
I. Obstruction Mitigation —Tharp stated that Phase 1 is on hold until
spring, at which time they will be able to determine if the seed has taken
hold. Phase 2 is about to begin, with Tharp asking the Chair to open the
public hearing before continuing.
1. Phase 1
2. Phase 2
December 12, 2020
Page 2
a. Public Hearing — The public hearing was opened at 6:03
P.M. Tharp continued, explaining to Members what is
involved in Phase 2 of this project and how it came about.
The public hearing was closed at 6:08 P.M.
b. Consider a resolution approving plans, specifications
and form of contract and authorizing bids — Bishop
moved to approve Resolution #A20-23. Orozco seconded
the motion. The motion carried 4-0, Pfohl absent due to
technical issues.
ii. Runway 25 Threshold Relocation — Tharp stated that they are currently
in the design phase. So far everything is moving along well, according to
Byers.
iii. Fuel Farm Expansion and card reader kiosk replacement — Tharp
stated that they are having some problems getting the contractor to finish
up. Everything is in, but the secondary backup pump still needs to be
finalized.
IV. FY22 FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Pre -Application —
Tharp noted that nothing has changed from last month's discussion of
this. He added that the corrections suggested were made.
b. Airport Operations
I. Management
1. Solar Power Installation project — Tharp reminded Members of
their last conversation regarding a solar project. He has started
the RFP process, but stated that he needs some assistance in
order to complete it. He stated that he did get a proposal from
Bolton and Menk for $5,500 to help write the RFP, communicate
with Mid American Energy, and complete other necessary steps in
order to ensure that the project would be successful. He also
spoke to the FAA's requirements with solar projects. Tharp spoke
to who all would be included in such a project, noting that Jet Air,
the University, and the Airport would be the main buildings.
Members discussed the various aspects of such a solar project
and things they may want to consider in moving forward. Goers
then spoke briefly to some of the legal aspects of these types of
projects as well. Tharp stated that they do have the funds to cover
the Bolton and Menk proposal, if the Commission is agreeable.
Members agreed that they would indeed like to move forward with
this.
ii. Budget — Tharp noted the upcoming budget meetings with the City
Council, January 9 and 12, where the operating budget and the CIP
budget will be presented. He briefly explained how these presentations
typically go.
iii. Events — Tharp stated there is nothing planned right now, other than the
autocross club reached out for dates in 2021 to hold their events, and
other staples, like the pancake breakfast, have yet to be scheduled.
C. FBO ! Flight Training Reports
December 12, 2020
Page 3
i. Jet Air — Matt Wolford briefly covered the monthly maintenance reports.
Highlights included runway light repairs. He also spoke to the success of
the simulator this year. Jet Air has been continuing to do well, especially
with the milder weather. Fuel sales for November were on track with last
year, according to Wolford.
d. Commission Member Reports — None.
G. Staff Report — Tharp stated that he will be out of the office between Christmas
and New Year's.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR:
The next regular meeting of the Airport Commission will be held on Thursday, January 14
2021, at 6:00 P.M. via the Zoom meeting platform.
ADJOURN:
Clair moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:39 P.M. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion
carried 5-0.
t/2i/adzq
CHAIRPERSON DATE
December 12, 2020
Page 4
Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2020
.KM.
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
TERMw
NAME
EXP.
Q
cc
N
w
N
r�
N
co
N
N
101
..4
N
0
13
N
-L
,�
N
i
Q
N
aoo
o
-'
m
o
0
o
a
Q
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Warren
O
O
O
Bishop
06/30/22
X
/
/
X
X
X
X
X
X
/
X
X
X
X
E
E
E
Scott Clair
06/30/23
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
--TTX
X
Christopher
O/
Lawrence
07/01/21
E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hellecktra
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Orozco
06/30/24
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
X
X
X
X
0/E
X
X
Judy Pfohl
06/30/22
X.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
.KM.
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time
Item Number: 4.e.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Historic Preservation Commission: November 12
MINUTES APPROVED
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
EMMA J. HARVAT HALL
November 12, 2020
MEMBERS PRESENT: Kevin Boyd, Carl Brown, Sharon DeGraw, Helen Burford,
Lyndi Kiple, Cecile Kuenzli, Quentin Pitzen, Jordan
Sellergren, Austin Wu
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow, Anne Russett
OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Monson
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
[due
electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or impractical
to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff, and the public
sented by COVID-19.
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Boyd called the meeting to order at 5:30pm.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA
None
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS:
109 East College Street, 111-113 East College Street 115 East College Street 117-123 East
College Street. and 125-127 East College Street — Local Historic Landmark
Bristow began her presentation about the properties on East College Street by discussing each
building. 109 East College Street is the West Bay of the Dooley Block. Any of the wood
elements on the front of 109 East College would be cleaned and repaired. For the rear
demolition, a door will be removed as well as the top of the wall. This is all that will be done to
this building except for the addition.
111-113 East College Street is the Sears, Roebuck & Co. building and it is missing some
terracotta elements. These missing pieces will be replicated as closely as possible. Some of the
masonry joints will be pointed and the front doors replaced as well. The entire back half of this
building will be removed at a point that is roughly aligned with the back half of the other Dooley
Block next door, with the new back wall having a row of punched openings and a small passage
door.
115 East College Street is the East Bay of the Dooley Block. The wood elements on this
building will be painted. On the back, there is a smaller, non -historic one-story addition that will
2
be removed, a second -floor door leading onto that roof that will be replaced (with the addition of
a guardrail), and the stairs and gutter removed as well. The interior door that goes from the
building to the addition will be removed and replaced with an exterior door.
117-123 East College Street is the Crescent Block, and it is one of the main renovations for
adaptive reuse. A lot of the work will happen with the storefront - two second -floor windows will
be removed and replaced, the entire "Union Bar' storefront will be replaced, and part of the
"Soap Opera" storefront will be remodeled for accessibility. On the back, plant material along
the back wall will be removed, individual windows on the third floor will be removed and
replaced, a fire escape as well as two individual windows will be removed, and the entire farm
store addition(s) will be removed so that the back wall will be in the original location. Since the
building is a three-story building, it will also include an elevator addition in a portion of the
existing "Revival" space. The new storefront (Union Bar) will be flat with recessed entry doors.
125-127 East College Street is the College Block Building, and it has had the facade cleaned
several times as well as other work and repairs over the years. On the front, some of the
elements will be cleaned and repainted. On the back, there is a one-story historic addition with a
door, a fire escape, and stairs that will be removed, with the door being replaced.
Bristow explained the new addition drawings/plans for the work on the West half of the Dooley
Block.
Bristow said that Preservation Brief 14, New Exterior Additions to Historic Buildings, talked
about adding a larger addition in a denser area and creating a sense of scale, by dividing the
facade up into smaller sections but is unable to happen with this project due to spatial
constraints mentioned by the architects. She said that this project does not follow the guidelines
generally, and said that the Commission discussed during the last meeting some of the
concessions that they would be willing to make in order to have this project proceed and save
the aforementioned buildings from any more invasive development. The project would need to
be approved through the use of an exception. The site is on the outside edge of the boundary
for the National Register Historic District and can provide parking access off of the alley, and
allow the building to be set back visually from the facade. Bristow said Staff felt that this
uncommon situation could be used as an exception to approve the elements of the project that
do not generally follow the guidelines.
Boyd opened the public hearing. Hearing no discussion, Boyd closed the public hearing.
Kuenzli asked, if the Commission approves, if all of the buildings that do not currently have a
local landmark designation will receive it. Bristow said that it would be a condition of the
approval that they must be landmarked. She said that they are currently in process, that they
have passed the first reading of council and won't get through the third reading until December
1st. Kuenzli said that she does not want to sign off on this until that landmark designation is a
done deal. She asked about potential arguments to be made by outside parties for future project
exceptions. Boyd said that the Commission exists to clarify the gray area when it arises.
Kuenzli asked who the targeted residents of the building will be. Wu said that, from the
perspective of a student, it seems out of the price range for most college students, so he
thought that the intended audience would be young professionals. Kuenzli asked if there will be
some apartments designated for affordable housing for a percentage of the residents. Boyd said
that he did not know specifically for this property. Russett said that the applicant is requesting
tax increment financing, which comes with the responsibility to address the issue of affordable
housing. Monson said that Russett is correct, and that they are currently following the directions
of the City Council.
MOTION: Burford moved to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at
109 East College Street, 111-113 East College Street, 115 East College Street, 117-123
East College Street, and 125-127 East College Street as presented in the application
through the use of exception to the guidelines for the uncommon situation occurring
with this project. The uncommon situation is described as the significance of these
properties, both individually and as a group, their location on the outer edge of a
proposed historic district, their ability to provide parking access from the alley and
hidden from view, and their ability to provide setback addition. The project approval
would include the following conditions: a local landmark overlay zoning for all included
buildings will be complete prior to the issuance of the certificate of appropriateness, rear
window and door condition is documented prior to replacement, the condition of the tile
entry at Crescent Block is documented and the new tiles match the existing, and the
storefront of the Crescent Block is revised with recessed entries. DeGraw seconded the
motion. The motion carried on a vote of 9-0.
Monson said that the Commission has made a very important decision in saving a very critical
part of Downtown and putting these storefronts into a landmark status so that they can never be
removed or demolished. He thanked and applauded the Commission for their actions.
REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF:
Certificate of No Material Effect - Chair and Staff Review
620 Oakland Avenue - Longfellow Historic District
This house was partially crushed by a tree - the damaged porch and rafters have already been
fixed.
622 North Van Buren Street - Brown Historic District
Some railing was replaced that was damaged by the storm.
220 North Lucas Street - Goosetown/H o race Mann Conservation District
The foundation of the garage was damaged by a fallen tree. The owner is lifting the garage,
putting a new foundation under it, and setting it back down.
426 Church Street - Goosetown/Horace Mann Conservation District
There are several projects at this location - this is just the approval of storm window product
information for the Historic Preservation Fund.
935 East College Street - Local Historic Landmark
Work is being done on the porch (it has been worked on many times in the past). The River City
Housing Collective had a report done on the status of this house that included historic
information as well as details about the condition of the house and future work to be done. The
contractor then put together a detailed proposal for work.
REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF:
Minor Review - Staff Review
Il
426 Church Street - Goosetown/H o race Mann Conservation District
The porch floor has some rot that will be replaced. The railing will also be replaced with
something that is much more in line with the style of the house.
112 South Governor - College Hill Conservation District
This is a rental property with an attic apartment without egress windows, which caused issues
with the housing inspectors. There was no place where the gable window could be replaced by
a typical one, and there is not enough room, structurally, to put a dormer in. A contractor came
up with the suggestion to install a skylight that is manufactured as an egress window.
1177 East Court Street - Longfellow Historic District
A solar array will be installed on the flat portion of the shed dormer.
320 East College Street Trinity Episcopal Church - Local Historic Landmark
One of the wood framed windows in the courtyard area of the addition will be replaced with a
product that looks similar but will be a metal storefront.
214 East Jefferson Street - Jefferson Street Historic District
A large format asphalt shingle was approved for the roof, but there has been difficulty in finding
a source for enough of it. The color is meant to mimic the original slate tile roof.
533 South Summit Street - Summit Street Historic District
A second -floor window where most of the sash is broken will be replaced.
721 Grant Street - Longfellow Historic District
One of the basement windows will become an egress window.
1527 Muscatine Avenue - Dearborn Street Conservation District
A lot of the wood trim around the stucco was rotting and will be replaced. Some of the sashes
will either be replaced or repaired.
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR OCTOBER 8, 2020:
Burford said that her comment on the top of the second to last page was not about saving the
existing entrances, but rather about accommodating the needs of the theatre for large items.
Bristow said that she is removing "saving the existing entrances" and changing it to
"accommodating the needs of the theatre for large items".
MOTION: Kuenzli moved that the minutes be approved as amended. Pitzen seconded.
Motion carries on a vote of 9-0.
COMMISSION DISCUSSION:
Bristow said that the Commission had correspondence from William Means, who owns the local
landmark property at 120 Fairchild Street, who wrote an email with questions regarding 410-412
Clinton Street, in which he also asked to have the email addresses of the Commission members
so that he could reach out to them. Bristow said that it would be fine for the Commission
members to have individual conversations with Means when they review the project, as long as
they note during the meeting that they had had prior discussion with him. Kuenzli asked if they
would be discussing the letter.
W1
Boyd and Bristow outlined the logistical steps and processes of the project. Bristow said that
they will start the local landmark process next month for 410-412 Clinton Street. Kuenzli asked
for explanation about the issues of setback mentioned in the letter. Bristow said that the
setback, how far a residential property needs to be set back from the property line, is a distance
that is potentially greater than what they are proposing with their new development and Means
was concerned if that setback was allowed on the corner, then any of the other houses that are
not landmarks that could be removed, developers might request that same reduced setback.
Boyd said that the zoning that is used on this project is unlikely to be used for future
preservations. Russett said that the applicant will be requesting a reduction in setbacks in
exchange for the landmark designation.
Boyd said that he attended the PastForward National Preservation Conference and attended
several sessions about historically underrepresented communities and how preservation fits
through that lens. He said that, nationwide, they have made a lot of strides in preserving black
history and they still have a long way to go. The National Trust has made a large effort to gather
funds to help preserve sites related to black history. Boyd said that he thought the session on
Hispanic communities was interesting and fit very neatly into the National Park Service's way of
preserving things. He said the session on LGBTQ history had a lot of interest and push from the
presenters to preserve LGBTQ sites and figure out ways to tell LGBTQ history. Boyd said that
his takeaway was that they still have a lot to do in regards to LGBTQ preservation.
Bristow said that she also attended sessions related to more modern construction and starting
to preserve and protect these types of areas now. DeGraw said that she found the presentation
about elevating whole buildings in Florida and the Florida Keys, in order to accommodate the
presence of water, very interesting. She said that the video about putting ultra -modern additions
on the backs of houses within a historic district is something that could come to Iowa City in the
next 10-15 years. Burford said that there is a house in Morningside Heights that seems to have
already done that.
COMMISSION INFORMATION:
None.
ADJOURNMENT: Boyd moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by DeGraw. The meeting was
adjourned at 6:53pm.
Minutes submitted by Lauren Rails.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD
2019-2020
TERM
NAME
EXP.
11/14
12/12
1/09
2/13
3/12
4/09
5//1
6/11
7/09
8/13
9/10
10108
11/12
4
AGRAN,
THOMAS
6/30/20
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
--
-
--
--
--
BOYD, KEVIN
6/30/23
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
BROWN,
6/30/23
__
X
O/E
X
X
X
CARL
BURFORD,
HELEN
6/30/21
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
CLORE,
GOSIA
6/30/20
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
-
--
--
--
--
DEGRAW,
SHARON
6/30/22
X
O/E
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
KUENZLI,
CECILE
6/30/22
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
KIPLE, LYNDI
6/30/22
X
X
O/E
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
PITZEN,
QUENTIN
6/30/21
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
SELLERGREN,
JORDAN
6/30/22
X
X
O/E
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
WU, AUSTIN
6/30/23
__
__
O/E
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Item Number: 4.f.
Description
Historic Preservation Commission: December 10 (SEE RECOMMENDATION)
r
!�,6z AG& CITY OF IOWA CITY
MEMORANDUM
Date: January 25, 2021
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Staff Member of Historic Preservation Commission
Re: Recommendation from Historic Preservation Commission
At their December 10, 2020 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission made the following
recommendation to the City Council:
By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommends approval of the local landmark designation for
the property at 410/412 Clinton Street.
Additional action (check one)
X No further action needed
Board or Commission is requesting Council direction
Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action
S:RECform.doc
MINUTES
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
EMMA J. HARVAT HALL
December 10, 2020
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
STAFF PRESENT:
OTHERS PRESENT:
APPROVED
Kevin Boyd, Sharon DeGraw, Cecile Kuenzli,
Quentin Pitzen, Jordan Sellergren, Austin Wu
Carl Brown, Helen Burford, Lyndi Kiple,
Jessica Bristow, Anne Russett
Gosia Clore, Adam Clore
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or impractical
due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff, and the public
presented by COVID-19.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL:
By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommends approval of the local landmark designation for
the property at 410/412 Clinton Street.
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Boyd called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA:
None.
PUBLIC HEARING LOCAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION —410/412 NORTH CLINTON STREET—
COCHRANE-SHARPLESS-DENNIS HOUSE:
Bristow said that the Commission did a study in 2015 of potential landmarks that exist within
Iowa City and are not within a designated district. She said that towards the end of 2017, the
Commission came up with a list of a few brick buildings that they wanted to pursue local
landmark status/designation for, including 410/412 North Clinton Street. However, it did not
become a local landmark as some of the other properties did.
Bristow said the house was built by 1865. It is a brick, Italianate designed house with a very low-
pitched gable roof. It has a very simple cornice (unlike other Italianate designed houses)
consisting of a small piece of molding between the soffit and the wall and a step out in the
brick, only on the front of the building. She said that there are some missing brackets as well as
some other missing elements. The structure is described as having a full-length porch, which is
actually inset from the corner of the structure so that the entire roof overhang is within that
front fagade, which is typical for a historic building. It has paired corbels, paired columns,
historically accurate shutters, a classical type of entry (including a transom with very narrow
side lights), it's original door, a low porch with some skirting, some very elaborate scroll
brackets, and some other corbels supporting the roof overhang on the porch. It has a
symmetrical front, despite a front bump -out that is a historic change (if not original to the
house). The windows are double -hung windows - 4 over 4 double hung windows on each side
of the upper floor, and 4 over 6 in the middle because it is a taller opening. The house does
appear to need some repair and rehabilitation.
Bristow said that the house was built when Milton B. Cochran owned the property. Cochrane
was in the Civil War, was the first superintendent of the Soldiers Orphans Home in Davenport,
included in the National Register nomination for that property, a member of the Iowa City
School Board, and a member of the State Historical Society from 1857 until his death in 1898.
According to the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, the two-story addition on the north (alley side)
was in place before 1899. There is an apartment addition on the back (east side) that was built
in 1969. Even though this addition is so large, it is attached very discretely, and it is assumed
that it could be removed, leaving the historic house intact. The southeast corner shows the
1899 addition, which has been built over by the bridge that connects the apartment with the
historic house. On the Sanborn Maps of 1899, this house also had an open porch in this
location.
Bristow said the residence is also named for Samuel and Priscilla Sharpless, who owned the
property from after 1865 to about 1915 when Priscilla died in the home. Samuel Sharpless was
the director of the Johnson County Savings Bank, which is also now listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. He was the supervisor of various farming industries and a member of
the Iowa City Council. In 1917, Edwin Dennis and his wife, Anna Tattlinger, bought the house
and they passed it on to their daughter, Gertrude Dennis in 1936. Dennis is well-known in the
community. She taught music, was a very active Presbyterian, and served in a local arts group.
She owned the house until 1965.
In terms of the historical integrity of the architecture, the house is very intact. Not much work
has been done over time, but it is in need of repair and rehabilitation.
Bristow said that this property is part of a development project. 410/412 North Clinton Street is
the property that would be locally landmarked. The houses next door (400 North Clinton and
112 East Davenport) would be taken down for new construction. Due to some of the concerns
from the public about the metal siding on the new building, the new drawings are clearly
labeled to shows which portions are brick. They also show a garden wall and a low wall out
front.
2
Bristow said that Staff finds the Cochrane-Sharpless-Dennis house eligible for landmark status,
which means that they meet at least Criteria A and B (A) significance to America and/or Iowa
City history architecture, archeology, or culture and B)possesses an integrity of location, design,
and setting in the materials of workmanship), and also meet Criteria D (associated with lives of
persons significant to our past) and Criteria E (embodies the distinctive characteristics of a time
period or method of construction —the Italianate architecture).
Kuenzli asked about the letter the Commission received about the siding/metal that would go
on the house. Bristow clarified that the letter from William Means was regarding the metal
siding on the new development. Because of the letter staff had the brick on the drawings
clarified. Bristow said that they are working through a new rehabilitation plan for the historic
house that, once the property is landmarked, would come to the Commission for approval.
Boyd opened and closed the public hearing.
Boyd asked about the order of operations in regard to the project as a whole and the
rehabilitation of the house. Russett said that the rehabilitation plan is not triggered by the
landmark designation but would be triggered if the applicant pursues the redevelopment of 400
North Clinton and 112 East Davenport Street. Boyd asked if the landmark status would make
them eligible for the PRM rezoning. Russett said that there were three applications: the
landmark designation, the rezoning of 400 North Clinton and 112 East Davenport to a different
zoning designation, and a proposed text amendment that would allow the applicant to ask for
additional development potential, which then would trigger the need for a rehabilitation plan.
Russett said that all three of these are running concurrently.
Kuenzli asked if they are assured that the house will be rehabilitated so the house does not
crumble in 25 years. Boyd said that, in order for the developer to obtain a certificate of
occupancy for the new portion, they have to complete the rehabilitation plan that the
Commission will see at a future meeting. Kuenzli asked about the order of events —
rehabilitation and development. Bristow said that part of the rehabilitation plan will include a
timeline of what needs to be done and how long it will take to do that, but that it doesn't
necessarily matter the order in which they are done as long as they are completed before they
want to occupy the development. Kuenzli said that she is concerned primarily with the old
house being restored according to the guidelines.
MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve the designation of 410/412 North Clinton Street as an
Iowa City historic landmark based on the following criteria for local designation: Criteria A, B,
D, and E. Wu seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 6-0.
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS:
1133 East Court Street — Lonsfellow Historic District
Bristow said that 1133 East Court Street was built between 1910 and 1924 in the Longfellow
Historic District. It is a Foursquare with a low-pitched hip roof, flared eaves, and dormers with
paired windows. The first floor has one over one double hung windows. The porch was
3
enclosed with combination windows in 1972. It has a two-story rear addition in the back, added
in 1988. The house is currently clad in aluminum siding which was likely installed either during
the two story addition or the porch enclosure in the 70's. There have been several past projects
on this house since the district designation, such as changes to the deck, repairs to the roof,
and an addition of a railing on the rear 2nd floor porch.
Earlier this year, the Commission received an application to remove the aluminum siding and
also for porch reconstruction. The Commission has approved the porch reconstruction to the
point where the aluminum in the storm windows could be removed and anything that had
existed be repaired. Depending on what remained, the project may come back to the
Commission for porch redesign.
Bristow said that she and Boyd had been working to determine what an original porch may
have looked like on this property if there was nothing remaining to be seen after the removal.
Bristow that she would talk about the siding project first and talk about the porch project
separately after that.
Bristow said that several options had been discussed by the owner for this property in regard to
its aluminum siding, with the most recent option being to remove the aluminum siding (some
of which had been damaged by the derecho) and install cement board siding over the top of the
original siding underneath.
Bristow said that the Historic Preservation guidelines are very specific about disallowing the
covering of the original siding with anything (including synthetic siding) and disallowing the
removal of original siding and trim unless it has deteriorated beyond repair. If the original siding
had deteriorated beyond repair, the guidelines state that it could be removed and replaced
with a siding that matches the original siding, including lap siding, use of corner boards. The
new siding could include wood, a smooth cement board or a smooth LP Smartside siding.
Bristow said that would assume the original siding was deteriorated and only the deteriorated
pieces would be removed and the new matching siding would be toothed in to replace the
deteriorated original siding.
Bristow said that this house also has aluminum over the soffits and the fascia, and the
aluminum edge comes up over a lot of the trim. Recently, there have been several projects that
have removed synthetic siding and so far none of those projects have found that all of the
siding on the property was deteriorated. A few have replaced individual pieces of siding and
parts of trim (pieces of sills, corner boards, watertables, etc.) have been replaced. Bristow said
that the goal of the guidelines for houses like this, with aluminum siding, is to remove it
because it traps moisture, obscures a lot of the details, and diminishes the architectural
character of the home.
Bristow said much of the architectural character is created by the trim and the siding, and the
guidelines are clear about how important those elements are to the character of the house.
4
That is why it is disallowed by the guidelines to remove the siding or trim unless it is beyond
repair.
Bristow said there are also options for repair from the derecho. If the damage to the aluminum
is small, staff would recommend trying to locate a siding that matches. If the aluminum siding
has been there for a long time it is likely faded and then painting it and painting any repair so
that it all matches would be an option for a small repair, keeping the existing aluminum. If it
was a matter of not finding a good match, it may be a matter of removing existing siding from
one place and moving it to the front and replacing all of a section of siding on the back or
somewhere not visible. Bristow said with catastrophic damage that would be the case where it
would be recommended to just remove all of the aluminum and just repairing the original
siding instead of covering it again. This is they type of work where we regularly promote using
our Historic Preservation Fund to help with repair.
Bristow said one project where all of the original siding was approved to be removed was a
house that was insulated without a vapor barrier being able to be installed. She referred to the
Bob Yapp article. Bristow said moisture from the interior of the house migrates into the wall
and condensates in the wall cavity. The insulation holds that moisture and does not dry out.
Bristow said that this issue was obvious on the house at 424 Clark Street because it was
possible to see that the siding was failing and could no longer hold paint. Because of the
deteriorated siding, the owner was approved to replace it with cement board. Bristow said it
was not known if the cement board would be able to handle the moisture either since the
product tends to wick up moisture and may also fail since the insulation was retained.
Generally, the overall goals of the guidelines are to retain the historic character of the house
itself, which helps to retain the historic character of the neighborhood.
Bristow showed an example of a house that had a siding and trim condition that might be found
under the aluminum siding here too.
Kuenzli said that it might be possible to find pictures of this house because she used to live
behind it, and a good friend of hers knew the owner who had lived there a few decades. She
said that, through the remaining family, they might be able to get some pictures. Bristow said
that that might be an option that could be discussed for the porch.
Bristow moved on to a discussion of the porch project. She said that, right now, they know that
it has an enclosed porch and the guidelines do not allow a porch to be enclosed. She said that
the Commission does not regulate storm windows, and a porch can be enclosed with storm
windows and screens (something that is not considered permanent) as long as nothing has to
change in the wall, the columns, the baluster, etc. in order to do that. She said that this is an
option for this house, and the porch could be rebuilt in a way that it could have solid balusters
and storm windows could be installed again. She said enclosing it with permanent walls and
windows would not be something that the guidelines would allow.
5
Bristow said that they looked at similar houses in the neighborhood to try and determine what
an original porch would have looked like. She showed an example of a much more elaborate
house and discussed how these details would not be appropriate here. She then showed an
example of some more similar appropriate porch designs to follow for this porch. She said that
they should avoid doing something overly elaborate unless they had a photo of what the
original porch looked like and confirmed that was the appropriate porch design. If that was the
case, Staff would recommend that the new porch design copy what the historic photo showed,
which is also in line with the guidelines.
Bristow said that the staff report includes multiple recommendations so that repair could be
approved with the original siding, if covering or removing the siding was denied. The porch
project was also separated for this reason.
Boyd opened the public hearing. Gosia Clore, a member of the public, began her presentation
about her house, 1133 East Court Street. She reiterated what Bristow previously stated about
the house history and talked about the current siding, which has allowed for pest (mice, bats,
bugs, etc.) penetration. She also said that the house has blown in insulation. She said she feels
moisture is being trapped within, which is causing additional damage to the siding. Clore said
the entire back is new with no wood siding under the aluminum siding.
Clore said that wood siding is not common on Court Street. She said that they are proposing to
replace the siding with something similar that is much more pleasing to the neighborhood and
something that is much easier to maintain in the long run. She said they don't want to repaint it
every few years.
Clore said that with the house on Seymour, everything was replaced. The vinyl was removed
and what was under that was removed and the original, which was asbestos was removed. She
said the windows were replaced. She said on Summit, a house had asbestos removed and all
new siding and trim installed. Clore mentioned a house on Summit where the arch was allowed
to be removed and changed. She said it was said that the arch was not original but others are
like that. She said it was allowed to be changed to let more light in.
Clore said that they propose to use appropriate materials. She showed an example in
Minnesota of a house they would like to copy. She said she would also copy a photo if one was
found. But the new materials could be used, not wood. She described the derecho damage on
the house saying that one third of the aluminum was damaged. She says that repair would not
be a great option. She then showed a house in New Jersey with cement board.
Clore said that what Bristow presented with the porch at 1152 is good and they would be happy
to mimic that. She said they know where the original columns were located. She said that if a
photo is found they would be happy to copy that.
Boyd closed the public hearing.
0
Kuenzli asked if Seymour street is in the Conservation District or if it is part of the Longfellow
Historic District. Bristow said that it is in the Longfellow Historic District. Sellergren asked if the
issue was that the homeowners did not want to keep any of the original wood siding after
removing the aluminum siding. Boyd re -opened the public hearing. Clore said yes, and that half
of the house already does not have part of the siding in it. Boyd closed the public hearing.
Kuenzli asked if the insulation could be removed/suctioned out through the small holes in the
siding, since that is how it was blown in. Bristow said that is depends, but it is a bit impractical
since the wall cavity has to dry out as Bob Yapp discusses in the article. Bristow said that the
house that was moved on College Street had insulation that was blown in and had all settled
and wasn't causing any damage to the siding. Insulation may or may not cause issues
depending on the type of insultation and coverage.
Boyd asked if there are any concerns with the proposed resolution for the porch
reconstruction, to mimic the porch at 1152 Court and not be permanently enclosed, to which
there were none.
Boyd said that when it comes to siding the guidelines specifically disallow the removal of
original wood siding and, given what they've seen in the application and public hearing, which
doesn't provide information about what will be found under the aluminum siding, he is
uncomfortable giving flexibility in that area.
Kuenzli said removing and replacing the aluminum siding does not address the problem of the
insulation in the walls.
Bristow said that they have recently approved the removal of synthetic siding on multiple
houses and the process has approval of removal and repair of original. After that staff or staff
and chair review what is found to determine the next step. It is a multi -step process and has an
additional review. Bristow said in this particular case, the applicant did not wish to work with
that unknown factor. She said that the back half of the house does not have original siding so,
regardless of what happens, they will have to put some new siding of an approved material on
the whole back half of the property.
Kuenzli asked if it would be possible to remove the aluminum siding from the front and the
sides and leave the back half either with its siding or to put the cement board there, and then
restore the original wood siding on the rest of the house. They could put the cement board at
the back and it would match up to the original. Bristow said that is possible because it would
meet the guidelines and could even be staff approved.
Clore said that the sheathing on the new addition is on the same level as the siding, so the old
siding butts into the sheathing and whatever new siding is put on will go beyond that, so it will
not be on the same plane. Bristow said that, if something was installed incorrectly with the
►A
addition, a typical solution would be to install a vertical trim piece to mask a transition. It is not
an ideal solution but there are solutions to problems like that.
Boyd said that the second recommended motion, siding repair, includes removing the
aluminum siding, and repairing the original siding if it is repairable, which it might not be or if it
is not there as the applicant said. Then anything that is deteriorated, missing replaced with
wood or smooth cement board or LP. Boyd said this seems to cover a lot of the unknowns for a
synthetic siding removal project project.
DeGraw said the second motion leaves open the option of discovering what's behind the
aluminum siding if it is taken off, and then there could be consultations with Staff in order to
move forward. She said that painting the aluminum siding does not look great at times, so she
is willing to entertain the suggested newer material. If there was a way to see what was
beneath the aluminum siding and to reimplement the details that are covered would improve
the look of the house.
Kuenzli said, with old houses that have siding put on them, she has never seen a case where the
original wood siding was removed in order to put a vinyl on it. She said that she believes that
the original wood siding is still there, and that it can still be saved. Pitzen said that it is
important to have the options open after the removal of the siding and see what is underneath
in case there are surprises.
Boyd said he thought that was what the second recommended motion does. Traditionally as a
Commission, we have said that if the original historic material is there we want to keep that and
repair it. If it is not there, we want to mimic what that could look like. This is also what that
second motion says. Kuenzli agreed.
Russett asked the applicants if they would be agreeable to the second motion. Clore said that,
once they remove the siding, half of the house is then exposed to the elements. They would
wrap it in Tyvek. She said that they do not currently have materials, and have had trouble
acquiring materials in the past, so she is afraid that they will be left with an exposed home
during the winter. Because of this, she does not think that the second motion is feasible.
Kuenzli asked why they do not want to use wood where they would remove the aluminum
siding. Clore said it is harder to maintain and it has a lot of other issues. Clore said that putting
cement board in for individual pieces would not work because it doesn't match and has a
different thickness and reveal.
Boyd asked about a motion to approve the removal or covering of the original and if that would
need an exception. Bristow said that she had not included that in the staff report but yes, since
the actions are disallowed by the guidelines, an exception would need to be used to approve it.
Bristow explained the types of exceptions: documented exceptions included in each section
(there are none for this project), exceptions for when the guidelines are silent or unclear (which
is not the case here since it is disallowed) or it would be an uncommon situation. Bristow said
A
the Commission would need to determine that the siding condition here was uncommon in the
historic districts.
Bristow clarified that past projects have approved toothing in LP or cement board with wood
siding. Some contractors apply for that.
MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 1133
East Court Street: removing the aluminum siding and either including the removal of the
original siding and trim without regard to its condition or the installation of new siding over
the original siding. Wu seconded. Motion failed with a vote of 1— 5 (Pitzen voting -to
approve).
MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 1133
East Court Street: removing the aluminum siding and repairing the original siding and trim,
replacing deteriorated or missing pieces with wood, smooth cement board, or smooth LP
SmartSide, any of which will match the original. Kuenzli seconded. Motion passed with a vote
of 6-0.
MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the porch
reconstruction project at 1133 East Court Street as presented in the staff report with the
following conditions: the new porch will mimic the porch at 1152 East Court Street, the new
porch will not be permanently enclosed, all new materials will be wood or approved by Staff
and Chair. Sellergren seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 6-0
REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF:
Certificate of No Material Effect — Chair and Staff review
1133 East Court Street — Longfellow Historic District
Roof shingle and front porch roof membrane replacement.
12 Bella Vista Place — Brown Street Historic District
Bristow said that this property has a 100 -year-old clay tile roof that was damaged by the
derecho. It will be replaced with new clay tile that matches the original and new copper pans
for the internal gutters.
REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF:
Minor Review—Staff Review
533 South Lucas Street — Governor -Lucas Street Conservation District
Storm damage was repaired to match existing.
420 East Jefferson Street —Jefferson Street Historic District
New front step, no longer cast concrete but wood with handrail.
9
1527 Muscatine Avenue — Dearborn Street Conservation District
Repair of stucco and windows with some badly deteriorated windows replaced
INTERMEDIATE REVIEW — CHAIR AND STAFF REVIEW:
534 Clark Street — Clark Street Conservation District
An extension to an addition
430 Oakland — Longfellow Historic District
A change to a past approval adding a garage entering off of Grant Court. The change is a smaller
garage design.
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 12,2020:
No discussion.
MOTION: DeGraw moved that the minutes from the November 12th, 2020 meeting be
approved. Sellergren seconded. Motion passed on a vote of 6-0.
COMMISSION INFORMATION:
Bristow said that they might have a special meeting to talk about the work plan and asked if
anyone had any issue with having a second, short meeting in January.
ADJOURNMENT: DeGraw moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Pitzen. Motion passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Lauren Rails.
10
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD
2019-2020
11
TERM
NAME
EXP.
1/09
2/13
3/12
4/09
5//1
6/11
7/09
8/13
9/10
10/08
11/12
12/10
4
AGRAN,
6/30/20
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
--
_
--
--
--
--
THOMAS
BOYD, KEVIN
6/30/23
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
BROWN,
6/30/23
__
__
__
__
__
_
X
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
CARL
BURFORD,
HELEN
6/30/21
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
CLORE,
GOSIA
6/30/20
X
X
X
X
X
X
--
--
--
-
--
DEGRAW,
SHARON
6/30/22
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
KUENZLI,
CECILE
6/30/22
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
KIPLE, LYNDI
6/30/22
O/E
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
O/E
PITZEN,
QUENTIN
6/30/21
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
SELLERGREN,
JORDAN
6/30/22
O/E
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
WU, AUSTIN
6/30/23
O/E
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
11
Item Number: 4.g.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Housing & Community Development Commission: November 19
MINUTES
FINAL
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 19, 2020 — 6:30 PM
ELECTRONIC MEETING
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible
or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission
members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Megan Alter, Matt Drabek, Lyn Dee Hook Kealey, Theresa Lewis, Nasr
Mohammed, Peter Nkumu, Kyle Vogel
MEMBERS ABSENT: Peggy Aguilar, Maria Padron
STAFF PRESENT: Brianna Gabel, Erika Kubly
OTHERS PRESENT: Lucy Barker, Kristie Fortmann-Doser, Mark Sertterh
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
Drabek called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.
CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: OCTOBER 15,2020:
Alter moved to approve the minutes of October 15, 2020. Lewis seconded and a vote was taken and the
motion passed 7-0.
PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
None.
IOWA CITY COUNCIL MEETING UPDATES:
Alter stated for the November 2 meeting she read the meeting notes and then watch the video for the
most relevant sections. Staff went over what the state legislative priorities memo would be and what they
would be then carrying forward as strategic priorities to the State that the City of Iowa City is in favor of
and she noted there were a few that were very heartening because they specifically dealt with affordable
housing. One of them was protecting Home Rule Authority for local government, including flexibility in
local building codes, revenue options, land use decisions and preservation of City's authority to restrict
housing discrimination based on source of income. Additionally, the City is supporting the University of
Iowa Student Government proposal regarding rental property move -in checklists. Legislative Bill 2216
was introduced during the 2020 legislative session to require landlords to provide and use an inventory
checklist at the start and the end of tenancy with a process for implementation. This is basically to protect
Housing and Community Development Commission
November 19, 2020
Page 2 of 15
tenants against unfair housing practices, specifically withholding of rental deposits based on
disagreements about what was or wasn't there when one moved in. Another really big thing during 2020
that the City has gotten involved in early on, but now are lending written support of legislation is protecting
the rights of manufactured housing residents. This came out of some predatory out of state
manufactured housing property owners that bought a property in North Liberty and were essentially going
to jack the prices up to the point that most of the tenants would have to be evicted. So the City is
supporting legislation protecting the rights of manufactured housing residents, including statewide caps
on the frequency and percentage of increases, lengthen notice periods for proposed increases, uniform
good cause eviction standards, fair fee regulations, fair lease provisions and effective enforcement
mechanisms to combat illegal provisions. Alter noted there's an awful lot of exploitation by out of state
owners of these manufactured home parks.
Another topic at the meeting Alter stated was a continued discussion from an October meeting about
broadband and the support of a state-wide strengthening and access to broadband throughout the state.
Alter tangentially noted at the meeting there was quite a bit of rezoning coming through and is something
for them to keep an eye since there is an accelerated 2021 affordable housing plan and there's been
some rezoning of the Riverside Drive/Myrtle area. There is a proposal to go from medium density, single
family residential to high density, multi family, residential and community commercial with bonus heights,
going from five floors to seven stories. This Commission needs to continue to have conversations about
as there is more development with more apartments, what's the percentage of them actually being
affordable and what does that mean, what's the AMI.
Alter mentioned a report by Wendy Ford, who is the economic development director, about the annual
TIF certification and that they are starting to collect revenues from the Foster Road project with 55% of
that money is going towards the Foster Road project itself, but 45% of it is actually going to affordable
housing.
Vogel stated he is curious when talking about keeping an eye on zoning, what is the role of HCDC as far
as zoning goes, after all there's a whole other commission that deals with zoning approval. He stated that
development has already had their good neighbor meeting, and the project is moving ahead. Vogel did
state he is not a big fan of where they currently do and do not allow affordable housing to be considered
as part of zoning, he thinks that map is horribly written and the fact that it doesn't include downtown
requirements. He added it is troublesome when there is the amount of vacancies and lack of affordable
housing already on the individual apartment basis and the City's looking at approving another seven story
tall multi -hundred bed monstrosity of an apartment complex.
Alter replied in terms of the first comment about the HCDC role, there isn't much other than to know that
this is a place where they can actually see in advance of something coming to them about how there
have been developers who have been working and trying to see what kind of bonuses or whatnot that
they can get from the City, but they have to actually put in a certain amount of affordable housing to do
so. She added there have been times in the past that this Commission has been fairly vocal about their
interest in turning more opportunities into affordable ones. Alter also noted they have had in the past
conversations about that map and there was pretty much a consensus that it needs to be refreshed.
Vogel stated he finds it interesting because he feels like affordable housing and zoning do go hand in
hand but it doesn't come to this Commission until the point where it's already been approved and that can
be a frustration.
Nkumu asked about the checklist that the landlord and tenants are supposed to have, he was under the
impression that checklist always should be included when someone's signed a lease to rent an apartment
so is this something new or something that was never mandatory before now and they want make it
mandatory.
Housing and Community Development Commission
November 19, 2020
Page 3 of 15
Drabek said he isn't able to say for sure that it was or wasn't mandatory, he doesn't think it was
mandatory, but either way he can guarantee that most of the time it didn't happen.
Vogel confirmed it is not part of 562A, which means it's not part of the landlord tenant act. It is absolutely
good practices and he would argue that good property managers and good landlords are providing a
move -in checklist that they then use to look at as part of a move out inspection a year or two years or five
years down the road. It's not a requirement legally under 562A so it's not required by state law, which is
what this legislation would like to rectify and require landlords across the state to do this. He stated this is
going to be a tough pull at the state level and is not sure what will happen at the city level. He agreed it's
not a bad idea, it is one of a handful of good ideas that unfortunately don't get passed on a regular basis.
The Iowa City Area Apartment Association for years has been trying to get the state government to
actually separate Ames, Iowa City and Cedar Falls to try to create a separate tenant landlord act for the
university towns but haven't been able to get traction on that at the State House for years. Another big
issue that only Iowa City has is tenants move -in in August and then expected to sign a renewal in October
for the next year. That's a problem that only exists in Ames and Iowa City and it is mind boggling that it's
not illegal.
Drabek asked if during that part of the City Council's discussion did they discuss local equivalence to a lot
of this stuff or are they pretty well determined that state law doesn't really allow them to do anything
without permission from the state. Was the discussion just focused on getting the state to do things
because he feels that's just sort of throwing things at a black hole. Alter agreed the City isn't able to do
much because of the state and the way the state has taken away so much away from the City.
Mohammed stated he attended the Tuesday November 17 City Council meeting, but there was nothing
related to the Commission's business mentioned at the meeting. The meeting was about proclamations,
land and zoning and appointees to different commissions.
ANNUAL PROJECT MONITORING PRESENTATIONS:
Drabek stated tonight they have representatives from DVIP, Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County
and Shelter House who will be doing these presentations.
Gabel noted Neighborhood Centers submitted a written project update that was included in the agenda
packet.
Kristie Fortmann-Doser (DVIP) noted it has been a very busy time. She noted while she is giving her
report, she would like to accept questions from the Commission, so don't hesitate to interrupt her. DVIP
provides crisis intervention services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and human
trafficking. They just celebrated 40 years a little over a year ago, and of course so much has happened in
2020 so she is going to focus to some degree on the pandemic and how that's impacted domestic
violence services in the communities. Like everyone, they had to on a moment's notice, turn on a dime,
and change how they were doing all of their services. That has been a pretty standard impact of the
coronavirus pandemic, on the community and on programs throughout the country. For DVIP it meant
that most of their services became virtual in a video format and not in person with the exception of their
shelter services. The shelter services remained but they did go through a time period where they were
depopulated. Fortmann-Doser will also talk a little bit about the outreach services and those services
going virtual was the biggest impact of the pandemic. They know this because of research and data from
across the country on other natural disasters and incidents of great significant impact on a community is
that their numbers went very, very quiet in March, April and early May. But by the end of May, their
numbers started jumping dramatically. Requests for support services were up 20% over the previous year
and the statewide hotline was seeing 3000 new callers a month starting in June. As some of the national
reports have been stating, domestic violence is being called the secret pandemic because behind the
pandemic is the reality that victims are typically isolated in spaces, in homes, with their intimate partners,
and the level of difficulty, and the level of stress has a huge impact. Fortmann-Doser was recently at a
meeting talking about their services and Rachel from the Johnson County Attorney's Office, who is the
primary attorney who prosecutes domestics, said that the thing that has surprised her so much over the
3
Housing and Community Development Commission
November 19, 2020
Page 4 of 15
last two to three months is the level of lethality that she's seen. The level of violence has been
significantly jumping. To give a frame, in this service area they've only had two homicides in the last six
years and now they've had two homicides just in the last six months. They are seeing more dangerous
situations in a time when they have many, many fewer resources.
Fortmann-Doser next discussed the DVIP shelter, in the early parts of the pandemic one of the steps that
was recommended by the CDC and by HUD, who is one of their major funders, was that shelters either
diminished significantly or depopulate. DVIP shelter did that along with Shelter House, they depopulated
during the months of April and May and then started bringing people back in but one of the realities is
shelters are designed for communal living and spaces that are shared. The DVIP Shelter bedrooms are
eight foot by 10 foot, but they have four bunk beds in them. Therefore when they started bringing people
back into shelter, they could only support half of their typical census. So they began using hotels for
emergency sheltering in a way that is quite unprecedented and have spent about $60,000 on hotels since
the pandemic started. In addition to the 15 to 20 people that were able to be sheltered in the shelter
location safely they were also housing anywhere from 3 to 10 people in hotel rooms on a nightly basis
which they knew was not sustainable. They are having conversations on the community level with other
service providers like Shelter House and food security programs, and local municipalities and their
funders, to start talking about what is it going to look like this winter as things are ramping up so
significantly. Fortmann-Doser stated they were very lucky to be able to work with a local developer to
gain five apartments to rent at a reduced rate that they will be able to use between now and sometime
next summer. In those apartments they will be able to house anywhere from 10 to 15 people and it will
cost DVIP significantly less than hotels, but that doesn't mean that hotels are completely out of the picture
because there is never a day when the DVIP shelter isn't completely full, a down night is 32 people full
status is 35.
Fortmann-Doser stated last year they served a total of 1877 people and that includes March, April, May,
and June, a time when their numbers dropped pretty significantly. Fortmann-Doser also noted that 1877
is only 15 less than the previous year, so they were already on projectile to meet what they had done
previously and will probably go up by about 10%. They sheltered 356 individuals last year, which again is
pretty much normal and once again, they had three months where they were doing half the census that
they normally do. Fortmann-Doser stated this is a complex situation that they're dealing with in a time
when everybody just wants to be able to stay safe.
Vogel asked when the new facility on South Gate would be open and able to be used
Mark Sertterh (Associate Executive Director, Shelter House) said that facility is scheduled to have
services in the building with all the mental health services enacting at the beginning of February 2021.
He did add there is a corner on the far east side of the building that is permanently for the winter shelter
and then during the off months it will be used for other various meeting spaces and that type of stuff. They
are hoping to be able to get into that part of the building starting in the beginning of January.
Vogel asked if that is going to be a space for only Shelter House or if DVIP is going to be able to use that
space as well. Fortmann-Doser said that is not space for DVIP to use but in terms of the services that are
going to be provided at that building, DVIP will actually use those as well.
Vogel asked if the apartments they are renting are existing apartments in town or is a developer building
new apartments. Fortmann-Doser replied they are existing apartments in town and are paying about a
30% cut on their expense and allowing them to put in security cameras. They are actually renting six
apartments total where they have a place that they can have staff to support the individuals staying there
so they have a component for services, because one of the things they learned using hotels during the
depopulation was that people just fall through the cracks and it's really hard to connect with people when
they're staying in the hotels and this way they're going to have somebody right on site hopefully 24 hours.
Vogel asked if DVIP is also having to furnish the apartments and are they working with Houses into
Homes or another program or group to furnish those places. He noted that's always been the issue of
4
Housing and Community Development Commission
November 19, 2020
Page 5 of 15
being able to do short term housing for people in apartments, in his complexes he's got at any given time
of year about 20 units DVIP could use but the problem is there's no beds or couches. Fortmann-Doser
said when they went into the depopulation back in March and April, in addition to using hotels they did get
a set of apartments to use at that time and they put out a call and people donated furnishings. They will
keep all those furnishings and can also give those to families as they move into their own apartments.
Vogel did acknowledge he has been working closely with DVIP staff in the last few months and has been
really impressed with the work that they've done as far as getting people into the places they need to get
to get out of bad situations.
Mohammad asked if they were able to serve all the people who reach out to for services. Fortmann-
Doser replied yes they were able to but did add that their services are crisis based, which means they
don't go as far as what victims actually need but provide emergency housing and shelter. There are
times when they have somebody who isn't in significant danger that they may try and work with them to
stay with a friend for a little while or try other alternative services. They will continue to provide other
services but it may not be emergency shelter based on what's going on with their situation.
Nkumu asked how long the clients stay at the emergency shelter. Fortmann-Doser said they can stay in
the shelter for 45 days. If someone does have an apartment but they just can't get into it for a couple
weeks they can stay in our shelter a bit longer than the 45 days. They will also work with individuals who
don't have legal immigration status and may not be able to get an apartment, it may take them longer to
get the resources together so they can stay for an additional 45 days. So 45 days is their guideline, but
there are special circumstances. Fortmann-Doser explained that's not a lot of time but probably about
seven years ago their length of stay was actually 90 days and then when Iowa reorganized funding for
domestic violence programs and shelters, they dropped from 28 shelters to just 8 shelters in the entire
state of Iowa so they had to change our length of stay in order to make sure that they could still
accommodate everyone now that they were serving eight counties rather than four for emergency shelter.
They now work with landlords and other property owners to have apartments in other counties to make
sure that they do have resources in other counties because they don't want to make people leave their
home community unless that's the only way that they can stay safe.
Lewis noted one thing that really stuck with her when they had their conversation was the challenge to
this Commission and to the City as well with that paycheck to paycheck reference, and she was
wondering if Fortmann-Doser could give that same kind of challenge through her own voice to this
Commission. Fortmann-Doser stated one of the things that she thinks is really critical for organizations
and commissions is to really look at how is it that they support organizations, they are supported to be
credible and ongoing resources for individuals moving forward. Many times they're working with
individuals who are struggling just to make ends meet and they can get them an apartment, but staying in
that apartment and keeping that resource is so difficult. And now in the pandemic some of what they're
dealing with is how much more of a challenge it is to even reach out and even connect with resources.
She would challenge the Commission to really look at how much of an impact DVIP programs and all of
the human service programs are having in the community and what kind of a budget they're doing that on
and the impact of not having increases over time that even match cost of living increases, much less the
level of requests for services that that they get. She believes one in three or one in four Johnson County
residents has some kind of direct contact with the United Way partner organization and to have that kind
of impact in the community is significant and to see funding that doesn't have increases that even
respond to cost of living means they're actually losing so much ground in terms of the citizens and the
communities.
Alter asked how far off are they in their typical fundraising given this year with the pandemic and in the
economic situation. Fortmann-Doser replied for this fiscal year that they've just closed, if one actually
looks at the numbers they have been adding a significant amount of funding, but that is because of the
CARES Act funding, and funding very specific to the pandemic, which is critical. However, that nearly
$60,000 that they put out in hotels about $22,000 of that was covered by FEMA. They have been doing
some fundraising and have been taking some out of direct aid funding that they have some flexibility with
the Crime Victims Assistance Division. Fortmann-Doser said in this first month of the new fiscal year they
Housing and Community Development Commission
November 19, 2020
Page 6 of 15
have used 20% of their funding just for hotels and that's supposed to be for direct aid for the full year, so
that's not good. She added that money is incredibly helpful, but it is very specific, they can only use it for
specific counties. For example, they got money for the southeast region and that CARES Act money can
only be used in four counties. Shelter House did get money for Johnson County so DVIP partner with
them and DVIP clients are able to benefit through Shelter House which is a fabulous collaboration. There
are also additional costs they are incurring to support the back end of the organization, they're going to
have to add another cleaning person, they've added two full time staff people just to clean, and there is no
budget for that. They are spending about $1500 a month just on PPE. They are continuing to fundraise
but overall fundraising for the operations of the organization is probably down about 25%.
Drabek introduced the next presenter.
Mark Sertterh (Associate Executive Director, Shelter House) knows many are familiar with Shelter House
so he will just go over a little bit what Aid to Agencies funds do and the overall robust amount of services
they provide with the Aid to Agencies money. Shelter House for longest time has been known as a
homeless assistance provider but quite frankly in the pandemic they've done a lot more than working with
people who are experiencing homelessness, which he'll explain in a bit. With regards to Aid to Agencies
money, he will talk a little bit about emergency shelter because that is really what they spend most of the
money this Commission and the City of Iowa City allocate. They do have a lot of other services and lots
of different housing assistance programs, but most of those are paid from federal grants, and not money
that may come from the City. The emergency shelter is a 70 bed shelter on Southgate Avenue that
they've been operating for 10 years and they serve men, women and families there. Over the last year
they served over 900 people but as the pandemic hit their maximum allotment has been 45 since the end
of March. They also have been using hotels for sheltering too. In the shelter people are at least six feet
apart, trying to maximize the amount of space and they stagger the mealtimes that people are eating.
They also have drop in service, during the daytime, 1 pm to 4pm every afternoon Monday through Friday,
and then 8am to 10am on the weekends, people can come in and shower and do laundry. Sertterh
stated laundry is probably the most popular thing, they did 865 loads of laundry last year for folks. Even
people that don't use the shelter but are living in the community and are low income, can come and have
their laundry done for free and take a shower. He acknowledged they've had to significantly cut those
services down during the pandemic to try to keep the numbers in the building low, so they've been doing
it by appointment. It has been a challenge, it is a service that a lot of people have counted on.
Emergency shelter and these drop-in services are funded by the Aid to Agencies funds.
Sertterh next discussed the demographics of who they servo. 16% of the people they serve in
emergency shelter each year are children and families, they see a lot of families, they have six rooms that
are dedicated towards families so that they can have more privacy. The single adults live in more of a
dormitory type style places with shared bathrooms. Over 50% of the people they serve report that they
have a disabling condition, and he would suspect that number is quite low from what it what it really is. A
disabling condition is either a mental health issue, a substance use disorder, a physical disability, a
chronic health issue, or HIV AIDS. Additionally 14% of people they serve and shelter are veterans.
Next Sertterh talked briefly about some of the other types of things they do and most is federally funded
through Housing and Urban Development at the federal government level is Rapid Rehousing. Sertterh
noted for most people that enter the homeless system it is the first time and the only time, and they really
need some type of light touch to help them. Rapid Rehousing has three core components of helping
someone that's homeless, find housing, provide short term rental assistance to them, which is security
deposits, rental assistance, and then wraparound services and supportive services for some time after
that with the hope that they're going to maintain and move forward. That is the vast majority of people and
this year they have already served almost 400 people in that service as of November 19th. Having those
services help keep the shelter population down and serve more people more quickly. They have also
received federal funds from the CARES Act. Sertterh stated they also do permanent supportive housing,
they own four homes in the community, three of them are in Iowa City, and one is in Coralville. At least
two if not three of them have partially used HOME funds from the City of Iowa City to purchase the
homes. They are homes for people who were formerly homeless and now live together in a peer support
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model. They live together, they support themselves with staff support, but it's limited staff support and
more of a peer support model where they help each other. They hold each other accountable at times
and it's a really unique and impactful program for people.
Sertterh stated another way they do permanent supportive housing is Cross Park Place, which is 24 one
bedroom apartments they built and constructed for people who were formerly chronically homeless.
These are people they identified through many different realms working with the police department and
University Hospitals and Clinics to try to identify the folks that are the most needy in the community that
cycled through all those different types of systems. Many of them lived on the streets for years, some
decades, but now moved into this apartment complex with staff support. There's 24-hour staff at the front
desk and also a lot of intensive case management support services and medical services, they have
primary healthcare on site as well as psychiatry services on site. It has been a great project and they're
excited to say they're planning on doing another building with 36 units right next to their current Southgate
building and hoping to start construction in 2022. This project is funded with National Housing Trust Fund
dollars, almost $3 million.
Lastly Sertterh discussed homelessness prevention services which is in response to the COVID-19
pandemic and the City of Iowa City was one of the first to be involved with that. The City awarded Shelter
House $50,000 to administer as rental and mortgage assistance for folks that were in arrears or for
utilities in arrears for folks that had a hardship due to COVID-19 or income loss due to COVID-19 and
those people met a certain income threshold. With the CARES Act funding that came out, Shelter House
was also awarded a large amount of money for homelessness prevention and at present time they have
spent over $100,000 of that. Additionally, the Iowa Finance Authority has invested $20 million dollars and
Johnson County has paid $1.2 million of rental and mortgage assistance and utility assistance to Johnson
County residents. The second round of CARES Act funding has been doing awards for the Iowa Finance
Authority and Shelter House has applied for more homelessness prevention funds, which they are hoping
they will able to use it all the way to the end of 2022. Those funds are for anybody in Johnson or
Washington County.
Another consequence of the pandemic is all the public facilities are closed, especially the library and
recreation center which has an effect on the homeless. Sertterh stated on Monday that Shelter House
will open what they call a day shelter environment at the recreation center. The City of Iowa City has
volunteered that space as it is not being used for anything throughout the wintertime and can be a place
for people that don't have anywhere else to go. Right now people can't even go to Free Lunch to eat a
meal, they have to get served outside and they can't sit down anywhere, so this will be a place for people
that don't have anywhere else to go and essentially get out of the cold weather during the daytime while
the winter shelters are closed being cleaned. Sertterh did note they don't know how they are going to pay
for this yet but are working through that.
Vogel asked about the building they're hoping to put in next door, in 2018 when Cross Park was created
City Council passed a measure to set aside about 5% of the Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) payments
from HUD for project based reimbursement primarily to make sure that those 24 units always had access
to funds and will the additional 36 units still fall under that 5% that's currently being set aside or do they
feel like they're going to need to go back to City Council and ask for an additional percentage of money to
be held aside for project. Vogel acknowledged there is currently such a long waiting list for HCV and for
housing funds. Sertterh response that all 36 units will have project based Housing Choice Vouchers and
of course there is the concern of there being enough HCV for other non -project based housing. The City
Housing Authority is working on how to prioritize vouchers and he knows that there are people on the
waitlist that will never get a Housing Choice Voucher because there there's always going to be somebody
that jumps ahead because they have a different qualifying condition of disability, elderly, etc. They try to
prioritize people with the highest needs.
Vogel asked if they know what the current number of vouchers is because even 5% should be more than
enough to cover the 60 units between Cross Park and the new facility. He wondered if anyone else in
town is currently utilizing that 5% aside from Cross Park. Kubly replied that only Cross Park is receiving
project -based vouchers. She doesn't know what the current number of available project -based vouchers
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for the City is offhand, but she did acknowledge the new project falls within what has already been
approved.
Vogel also wanted to share with Sertterh he is always impressed with the Shelter House staff and their
dedication and follow up making sure everything is taken care of. Sertterh appreciates the kind words
and if any of Vogel's tenants are having struggles with rental assistance and things like that, they have
this new funding to help people. That needs to be shared with all property owners and property
managers to just remind people of that.
Sertterh thanked the Commission for their support and for allowing this time to discuss Shelter House and
their programs.
Drabek reminded everyone that in the packet was an update from Neighborhood Centers of Johnson
County. Gabel added if any questions come up she is happy to send any questions their way and get a
response. She can read a couple statistics form the report on their projects so far, their year to date
outcomes and the children that they've served. From ages zero to five they served 185 and they've
served 129 families and had over 2000 face to face visits. The reports also talks about some of the
COVID related problems they're having with the school district closing down and a lot of their programs
taking place in the schools and that sounds like that was a challenge for them.
Vogel asked where the physical Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County are. He is curious because
there was a lot of discussion about programs but not what it takes to man physical locations. Gabel
knows some of their before and after school programs are in the physical schools and Kubly added they
have two locations, one on Broadway and one at Pheasant Ridge.
Vogel asked if those centers were manned throughout the week, like eight to five or what is their overall
manpower requirements or actual office hours on site. Kubly replied in normal times they're providing
childcare during the week, so staff is there, but during COVID she doesn't know what they are doing.
Lewis stated she is pretty familiar with them from her stint on another board for which they receive
funding. They do have office hours and staff, at least before COVID, that worked eight to five and
performed administrative type coordination. They also have a lot of staff that are part time and work at the
at the schools doing the childcare so there's a combination of full-time administrative staff and part-time
that provide the direct services.
Mohammad asked if the Neighborhood Centers observe any COVID-19 outbreak or cases and how do
they manage to mitigate these situations and what is most challenging that's facing them right now and
they plan to solve it. Gabel said she can pass those questions along. She did add Neighborhood
Centers was one that was involved with the nest program, so when the schools closed, and everything
went online, they were one of the ones who opened what they called a nest that kids in a nest
neighborhood could come in and get virtual learning support.
Alter added that Tony Branch with Neighborhood Centers was actually heading up the Alexander
Elementary nest and about a week after it opened the nest itself had to close down because of exposure.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FY22 CDBG/HOME AND EMERGING AID TO AGENCIES APPLICATION
MATERIALS:
Drabek moved onto the next agenda item, the applications for emerging agencies and what they're doing
here is taking any comments or suggestions or improvements on that application.
Lewis asked if it still is a part of the United Way application process because in a previous meeting they
talked about doing some work to try and get the United Way to change their process from annual.
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Kubly stated that for the legacy agencies they have a joint application process with United Way, but the
one in particular that they're looking at today is emerging and the City collects those applications on the
same timeline as the CDBG and HOME applications. It goes out in December and is due in January.
Regarding the timeline with United Way, she believes the Commission sent a memo to Council but she
hasn't heard anything more about that.
Lewis noted there were two applications and asked who actually applies for the CDBG/HOME funds, the
application that didn't say it was for emerging. Gabel said that is for the regular cycle. The applications
will go out after they are approved, in December, and will be due at the end of January. Then when the
Commission meets in February the discussion will start on allocating the normal CDBG and HOME
funding. Kubly added these ones are typically the affordable housing projects and sometimes public
facility improvements.
Drabek had one comment on the application, it comes up from time to time, but there's always the
question here about how much emphasis they should put on community impact versus emphasis on
leveraging other financial resources. Because it's a careful balance and need evidence that these are
stable organizations that are able to succeed but on the other hand it can be a hamster wheel for
emerging agencies, as essentially they need money to get money. He is wondering if maybe it wasn't
tilted a little too far toward the leveraging other financial resources part and not far enough toward the
community impact part.
Vogel said he would want to see organizations not just relying on tax income for their projects to succeed
and as far as scalability his issue is that there should be no requirement they have to put so much in but if
they have someone coming to them asking for $1,000, if they put $500 and they're going to get the 13
points the same way as someone who's coming for $500,000 who puts $250,000 is getting the same
point so he doesn't don't feel like it punishes smaller organizations looking to make a difference. He feels
it puts everybody on a similar footing where it's not dollar based, it's percentage based. He does
somewhat agree as far as community impact, but he also feels sometimes that falls back into the
leveraging resources question. If they throw $1,000 at a problem, and it helps 100 people, but they throw
$200,000 at a problem that helps five people, what is the leveraging resources budget points for that and
what is the feasibility community impact point of that. He feels there is no way to have a one answer for
all because everybody does different things and have different impacts. He is comfortable with the
application as is, he doesn't know that there's a happy solution, he doesn't have a problem with the 35-40
point issue. His question is should there be some kind of bonus points given by Commission approval.
Alter noted one of the things that they've had a lot of really robust conversations in the past with the
agencies, and about the application process, has been this is frustrating to them, this notion of
squishiness. So the notion of offering bonus points based on what the Commission feels that night, or has
come to a consensus or something about one that's most deserving, tends to be pretty problematic from
an agency perspective. The Commission has worked, and continues to work, to make it as clear as
possible, about what agency can expect they're going to be evaluated on. She gave a little bit of history
where some of the conversations that have been pretty tough in the past, were when the agencies have
been sitting here watching their application literally be dissected on screen while things are being parsed
out and these very comparisons are being made. They have stated if they don't know what the
parameters are, then what can they do to better prepare their applications. Alter also wanted to point out,
especially with this being for emerging agencies, that it's less about them being able to put some of that
skin in the game themselves because emerging agencies usually don't have any other resources or the
funding larger agencies do and they don't have the kind of network and the grant making abilities.
Lewis asked if the matching fund is a federal or state or just a city requirement. Kubly replied that the
HOME program requires a specific match, but it's just part of the scoring criteria.
Drabek acknowledged that Alter summarized some of the past conversations very pretty well and
basically the way the criteria are laid out they're given roughly equal weight, it's 35 points versus 40
points. His first thought is, he'd like to see it at about a two to one way where community impact is worth
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roughly twice as much as leveraging of existing funds. That was his first approach to it for emerging
agencies that might be a good weighting.
Kubly stated the scoring criteria that's in the packet is just for CDBG and HOME, she doesn't believe they
have a scoring setup for emerging agencies. Gabel confirmed that's right. There's a lot of documents in
the packet this month because there are actually four applications included. She noted they are planning
to do the CDBG and HOME applications a little bit different this year by doing a phase one and phase two
application. The financial verification is the phase two because when people apply early in the project,
they don't usually have all the specific financial details figured out yet.
Kubly added one clarification, in the CDBG and HOME application there is the affordable housing location
model and they are in the process of updating that for this year so the final application is going to have an
updated version when we put that out in December. She wanted to make sure to point that out.
Vogel motioned to approve the FY22 application materials as presented with the understanding
that the Affordable Housing Location Model will be updated before the application is officially
posted.
Lewis seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FY20 CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE & EVALUATION
REPORT (CAPER):
Drabek said they will open this for discussion and then at some point votes up or down on this. They've
seen a wide variety of attitudes as to the importance of the CAPER and the importance of some of the
details as an overview or with some line by line edits. No judgement on how anyone wants to view it.
Lewis noted as this is her first time looking through it, it is an incredibly long document, but there were
some places where she paid a little bit more attention to than others. She does have a couple questions,
she is not going to suggest line by line edits, but just for clarity in looking through it. Her first question is
on pages 3 and 4 and also page 11, where it states the priority areas for the City Steps. She noticed that
there's only a few of the Aid to Agency legacy agencies listed there and wondered if it important that
funding to all of them is demonstrated as meeting one or more areas of the City Step goals.
Gabel believes those are the projects that are specifically funded with CDBG and some legacy agencies
are funded with local funds. Kubly confirmed that a majority of the legacy agencies are funded locally with
general funds. For this report they focus specifically on the federally funded and there's usually three
projects each year that they fund with CDBG public service funds, rather than local funds because they
can only spend 15% of the CDBG allocation on public services.
Lewis next asked about the table that's on pages five through seven and in the column where it has the
funding CDBG funds and others, it's zero, and then there's some percentages and other things that don't
look like they're completed in some of those boxes. Gabel explained the way this works is they have to
input all the data into the system called IDIS and it doesn't always lift the information it should when the
tables that are auto generated. The table on pages five to seven are auto generated so they can't really
do a whole lot with it. The tables below that, on pages 10 and beyond are the ones that they manually
created to add context, because the way the system generates it is not always very clear.
Lewis asked about the report on page 22, the totals of minority owned businesses and then owned and
rented properties, what is that compared to. If there were funding, and only a percentage was given, and
in some of those tables it only looks like one minority and is that compared to 100 non -minorities or two
non -minorities, it doesn't give context. Gabel acknowledged that is another good question. That's another
table that's auto generated. One thing they wanted to start doing when the Commission goes through
their funding cycle and awards funds, is have the organizations fill out a form which covers demographic
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data and those kinds of things. There is room for more reporting there. As far as comparisons, that's
something they could look at in future CAPERS and she could make a separate table that might make
more sense and have more comparisons over time.
Vogel asked who are they providing this report to and what is the requirement that requires them to send
this out or prepare this document. Gabel explained HUD requires report, it is posted for public comment,
but she hasn't got any public comment. Vogel asked if HUD doesn't care if those tables are correct or
not. Gabel said in IDIS they can see whether the activities were or were not completed and what the
accomplishments were, so it's not that the system is wrong, it's just not presented very well in the table.
Drabek noted that perhaps what Vogel is asking is what are the regulatory consequences of sending a
falsified or otherwise useless report. Gabel responded that HUD has access to the same database that
the City does and can see everything in real time. Kubly agreed and said their HUD rep looks at the City
tables because they're actually easier to read. She added one of the issues they ran into this year is that
normally they have their action plan, and it's reviewed and submitted. But this year, the action plan was
open, because they were revising CARES Act funds and that may have impacted the results of some of
these tables.
Mohammad noted he read through the report and found the City completed 9 of the 11 goals and he is
just wondering why they did not complete all the 11 goals. Gabel noted one of the goals not completed
was slum and blight and believes that was because priorities are shifting away from that. So typically,
that's like facades of buildings but with all the issues in Iowa City things have just shifted towards funding
different kinds of projects like housing. Another reason would be there's sometimes a delay between
when projects are started and when they're completed. She stated there were two more public facility
projects that would have had them meet that goal but because they weren't completed in this fiscal year,
they won't show up in this report. They will be completed eventually and reflected in a CAPER in the
future.
Drabek acknowledged with all those goals, if there was one that that did not get accomplished it would be
that one as there's a lot of disagreement over what slum and blight means.
Vogel had one more question on the attachments, the valuation of property stuff and the foregone taxes.
Are those four residential, affordable housing properties owned by the City that the City doesn't pay taxes
on. Gabel said those are other projects funded for different agencies such as Shelter House, Successful
Living and Mayor's Youth. Vogel asked if those are TIF projects where taxes have been waived for a
period of years, is that what that valuation of foregone taxes is. If those are taxes that they've also
waived for projects from the City side as part of TIF agreements, perhaps they should also take into
consideration what the true value of funds in addition to CDBG and HOME funds given to agencies.
Kubly explained it is a tax exemption for affordable housing providers and the Wakefield one is a Shelter
House project with five units in a peer assistance program that was discussed earlier.
Vogel asked then those properties in addition to getting CDBG/HOME funds also get a waiver of property
taxes for what it looks like 10 years or 5 years. Kubly believes so.
Vogel motioned to approve the FY20 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report for
distribution to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mohammad seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0
Kubly said they will submit it to HUD before the deadline of December 27.
AID TO AGENCY VISIT REPORTS:
Nkumu was assigned as liaison for the Arc of Southeast Iowa and Pathways Adult Day Health Center.
Starting with Arc he spoke with Chelsey Markle on November 10 and in general the theme is the same
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where all the agencies are experiencing difficulties due to COVID. They are doing their best with the
resources they have to continue to provide services to community members. Specifically for Arc,
they have experienced a significant reduction in in-home service and individual service due to reduction
to staffing level. A lot of their staff, especially full-time staff, have withdrawn from working due to risk
associated with COVID which has put Arc in a difficult situation for providing full service and having to rely
on part time employees right now. Another problem is that the need for their services is really growing
and they're not able to keep up because it's really hard right now to attract new employees that can do the
job.
Another point is Arc runs a daycare program, which he believes is funded by the HCDC, and they are
very appreciative of the funding they get from us, but it's just not enough. They're doing what they can
because they have to remain affordable to the community. Without more funding, they will have to
increase the volume in order to cover the costs of running the daycare. They said they have about 10
people right now compared to what they usually have pre-COVID period. Another thing they wanted to
report was the support for the caregivers is very crucial and very much needed in this time, because
caregivers are so overwhelmed right now and stressed out, they have to take care of their loved ones and
they still have a need to earn income and it's really hard to balance those two needs at the same time.
Nkumu moved onto the report from Pathways, again this is basically a daycare but it's an adult day care
center for adults over 18 years old with disability. It is only daytime care and then those adults have to
return home in the evening. Like most agencies, they're also experiencing a lot of hardship due to COVID
in order to fully provide the service the way they usually do. The one thing they mentioned is that the
hardest thing right now for the agency is bringing people in groups, keeping those people healthy, and
trying to minimize the risk of infecting others, and then returning those people home. So it's a very
challenging situation that they are dealing with. Right now they are doing three times more work than
they usually do with less people as they're also experiencing shortage of staff and there's a lot of more
services that are needed than before. Again, they noted the appreciation for receiving HCDC funding.
Pathways is also stressing regardless of the challenges they are facing, they are providing service
appropriately in the community across the board, especially serving the minority groups and not
shortchanging any group because of lack of resources.
Drabek made a brief comment that they'll probably see a lot of similar themes to these reports from the
agencies, lots of discussion of COVID, shortages of staff and volunteers.
Kealey reported she toured the Free Medical Clinic and did a zoom with United Action for Youth (UAY).
Beginning with the United Action for Youth, the executive director Stu Mullins is on leave, so she talked to
Ally Hanten, the chief programs officer, who's been with them about 12 years. She showed Kealey
through their offices. They have a transitional living program and a young parent program that serves
youth under 25 years old. They serve people who have children until they're in kindergarten. They also
use community donations to set up a shop for diapers and other items, the women's rotary assists with
that. UAY receives about 60% of their referrals are from peers and word of mouth. 40% of their referrals
are from school districts, clinics, midwives, WIC, DHS referrals, DVIP, Shelter House. With regards to
diversity they usually serve about 100 families with 70% African American, 15% white and 15% Hispanic.
She noted there has been a decrease in teen birth rate, and they had only about 67 families that they
served. Their budget is about $1.5 million and they have federal and local grants. Their prevention efforts
are local, and private, their intervention and young parent program is all state funded, and their
transitional housing is all federal money. They have 15% of their funds as unrestricted.
Kealey noted a lot of the office staff is working remotely, which is common with COVID, their
interventional living program, which serves 16 to 22 year olds, and they do work with Foundation 2 in
Cedar Rapids if people aren't familiar with that, but they can work with kids for up to two months. UAY
does have some properties where they can serve up to 11 kids. Hanten stressed their prevention
program is really built on and striving to have another safe adult in each one of these kids lives, that if
they do that, that they're more successful. She's really focusing on trying to measure outcomes and that's
her focus over this time. Additionally she's does a survey with them after they are done with the services
to see if they need to increase their number of services and if they need to increase the number of
families and outreach and nurturing primary care contacts. They need to see if young adults have primary
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care doctors, increased immunizations, employment, if they have safe housing, and they asked them if
they felt like the program has helped them. Kealey did ask Hanten if they had any wish list items and she
just said more clarity on our process for aid to these agencies as they work really hard on the grant and
hope we could streamline it as the Commission has discussed in the last couple meetings. Kealey also
got to see, via zoom, the youth area which is closed right now due to COVID which is really sad because
it's a pretty impressive place. It's in Clocktower Plaza, where kids can go and make music and get guitar
lessons and do art and it's super awesome.
Kealey actually got to go tour the Free Medical Clinic, this was her first time meeting Barb Vinograde, she
has been the director there for seven years. They receive some local funding through United Way, about
$100,000, they write grants for about $90,000 and their fundraising is around $150,000 of private
donations. Their operating budget is about $600,000 to $650,000. She added that they get in-kind
benefits from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for specimen control, which is free. They get UIHC
pharmacy aid where they purchased the meds at cost. The Iowa Department of Public Health has a
central repository for meds which they utilize, Mercy helps them with radiology where they get free
mammograms, ultrasounds, orthopedic x-rays, etc. And at Steindler they get about five x-rays per month.
Every year they have about $1.6 million in in-kind services in volunteers, their lab, radiology, supplies and
whatnot. The Free Medical Clinic also has a dental center. The people the Clinic serves are surprising to
most people, there are people with PhDs, people who can't read or write, people with every language,
immigrants and refugees, all from every socioeconomic status. Pre -pandemic they had six clinics per
week and four of the six were chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiac issues as greater than 60% of
the people that go there have a chronic medical condition. They also have two night clinics that are
staffed by medical students who serve as volunteers. Then there is the dental clinic, Dr. Brad Styles and
Dick Parrot started that it's now called the Parrot Styles Free Dental Clinic. During COVID they have not
been doing as much dental stuff but were starting to ramp that back up again. They do go into the
schools to have healthy kids school-based clinics and they also have developed specialty care for
patients such as dermatology, physical therapy, ophthalmology, rheumatology, prenatal/postpartum
gynecology, and HIV counseling. Due to COVID they had to put their volunteers on hold because of
space concerns because the spaces are very small, before they were seeing about 100 people per week,
they have been starting to bring people back again, mostly working on the chronic stuff but did add
telehealth. They also noted the Derecho in Cedar Rapids was significant issue, and that they have been
working with the Cedar Rapids clinic there and trying to assist them. Vinograde said 52% of their clients
identify as Hispanic, Latino, and the majority speak Spanish.
Vogel asked if they rent that building or do they own that building. Kealey is unsure, Vogel commented
that it is a nice facility.
Drabek suggested in the respect for time pushing the rest of the presentations to the December meeting,
or into the January meeting. Gabel noted there is currently no meeting scheduled for December, but the
January meeting is very light if they want to push to that.
Everyone agreed that would be best
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION:
Gabel announced an implicit bias training on the night of December 2nd that anyone is invited to attend.
She reiterated there is no meeting in December, the next meeting is January 21, 2021. On that agenda
they will have a couple more project monitoring presentations. The FY22 CDBG and HOME process
begins in February.
Kubly gave an update on COVID funding. All the projects from the COVID first round of Cares Act
funding projects are underway and they're expecting to receive their third round of funding, which is for
small business assistance, probably by next week. They are going through an RFP process for an
outside agency to administer those funds but that should be up and running within a couple weeks.
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Kubly also wanted to talk about the affordable housing plan. Staff are expecting to be working on
affordable housing plan based on Council direction starting early next year. There was some discussion
at the work session on Tuesday about what Council wanted to be in incorporated into the plans and now
they have a little bit of direction on that. There will be a steering committee, invitations will go out early
next year for that, she expects there will be some representation from HCDC on that committee.
Lewis asked about the bias training and if it was required for boards and commissions. Gabel replied it
was her impression that it was recommended but not required.
Drabek asked if there is a quorum issue if too many people show up for the training. Gabel will have to
look into that, it may be in a webinar format where you're not able to communicate with each other, she
will find out the answer.
Vogel asked in regard to the steering committee, do they envision that all members of HCDC will be part
of the committee or just select members to be on the steering committee. Kubly replied she thinks they
are trying to keep the size of the steering committee to a certain number so it won't be the entire
commission, but there will be a representative from HCDC.
Vogel volunteered to be on the committee if possible. Alter would also volunteer to be on the steering
committee.
ADJOURNMENT:
Vogel moved to adjourn. Kealey seconded the motion and a vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0.
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Housing and Community
Development Commission
Name
Terms Exp.
7/16
8/20
9/17
10/15
11/19
= Absent/Excused
--
= Vacant
Aguilar, Peggy
6/30/22
O/E
X
X
O/E
O/E
Alter, Megan
6/30/21
X
X
O/E
X
X
Drabek, Matt
6/30/22
X
X
X
O/E
X
Kealey, Lyn Dee
6/30/22
X
X
X
O/E
X
Lewis, Thersea
6/30/23
X
X
X
X
X
Mohammed, Nsar
6/30/23
X
X
O/E
X
X
Nkumu, Peter
6/30/22
O/E
X
O/E
X
X
Padron, Maria
6/30/21
X
X
O/E
X
O/E
Vogel, Kyle
6/30/23
X
X
X
O/E
X
Attendance Record 2020-2021
Resigned from Commission
Key:
X
= Present
O
= Absent
O/E
= Absent/Excused
--
= Vacant
15
Item Number: 4.h.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Human Rights Commission: November 24
APPROVED MINUTES
Human Rights Commission
November 24, 2020
Electronic Formal Regular Meeting Zoom Meeting Platform
Members Present: Ashley Lindley, Roger Lusala, Jessica Andino, Cathy McGinnis, Mark Pries, Jason
Glass, Bijou Maliabo, Noemi Ford, Adil Adams.
Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers.
Others Present: Maria Bruno, Leslie Carpenter, Scott Carpenter.
Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or impractical due to
concerns for the health and safety of council members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM.
Approval of the October 27, 2020 meeting minutes: Motion by Pries, seconded by Glass. Motion
passes 8-0. (Maliabo not present).
Social Justice & Racial Equity Grant Updates 2020: The Commission received and reviewed the submissions
by recipients of the grant for the last funding period. Updates were received from the Labor Center, Center for
Worker Justice, Successful Living, Inside Out Reentry, Antelope Lending Library, and Little Creations Academy.
Social Justice & Racial Equity Grant Informational Sessions: Commissioners Pries, Andino, and Lindley
presented at two informational sessions on the grant for 2021. There were approximately 30 participants
between the two sessions. Attendees were given an overview of the grant and helpful tips on filling out the
application.
Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Staff provided the Commission with the names of those
appointed to serve on this Commission. Commissioners were also given information on how to sign up to
receive notice of their agendas and packets for each meeting.
Commission Statement in Support of Black Lives Matter: The Commission will plan on holding a strategic
planning meeting in early 2021 to further discuss their statement and devise a plan for how to implement the
ideals contained therein into actual programs, activities, or outreach.
Anti -Racism Subcommittee Update: Commissioners Lindley and Lusala scheduled a viewing of White Privilege
101 in recognition of Human Rights Day on December 10, 2020. Co-sponsors are the Iowa UNA Chapter and
the Johnson County UNA. The film will be screened using Zoom and will be followed by a group discussion.
Maliabo mentioned having the Commission screen the film at one of its meetings in the future.
Health Equity Subcommittee: Commissioner Lindley brought up the idea of doing a PSA on the importance of
wearing masks and social distancing. Commissioner Lusala thought a PSA on why getting the COVID-19 vaccine
is important would also be relevant to health equity. Specifically, to dispel myths or negative opinions on the
vaccination. Commissioner Lindley would like to work with City transit to provide transportation at no charge
for community members to go get the vaccine. Commissioner Glass thought a focus on how this pandemic has
led to an increase in suicides and mental health issues within communities would be beneficial to support the
community particularly those that are in isolation or little human contact. Commissioner Maliabo suggested a
video to support those who are experiencing depression during this time.
Human Rights Commission Video: Commissioners have been working with City Channel 4 on a video that
explains who and what the Commission does. The video includes versions in German (Commissioner Ford
Spanish (Commissioner Andino), French (Commissioner Maliabo), and Lingala (Commissioner Lusala). The
video once edited will be made available to the Iowa City Community School District.
Implicit Bias Training for Board and Commission Members: Implicit Bias expert Thomas Newkirk will hold an
implicit bias training for all City board/commission members on Wednesday, December 2.
Open Meetings and Public Records Training: Jeff Schott, former director of the University of Iowa's Institute
of Public Affairs, will be presenting this training for City board and commission members on Wednesday,
December 16.
December Meeting Date: The Commission decided not to hold a December meeting.
Reports of Commissioners:
McGinnis recently attended a Human Rights Meeting for the City of Ankeny who recently established their
Commission and were seeking advice and also best practices.
Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda: Maria Bruno who was recently appointed to the Commission
(term begins January 1, 2021) introduced herself to the Commission.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:32 PM.
(ENTER NAME OF COMMISSION)
ATTENDANCE RECORD
YEAR 20
(Meeting Date
NAME
TERM
EXP.
2/18
4/21
5/19
6/16
6/19
7/7
1 7/14
7/21
7/28
8/15
9/15
10/27
11/24
Maliabo
12/20
X
X
O
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
McGinnis
12/20
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Adams
12/21
O
X
X
X
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
X
X
Andino
12/21
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
O
X
X
X
X
X
Ford
12/21
O
X
O
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lindley
12/22
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Glass
12/22
X
X
O
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Pries
12/22
O
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lusala
12/23
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
----
----
X
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No meeting
--- = Not a Member
Item Number: 41
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Planning & Zoning Commission: January 7 (SEE RECOMMENDATION)
�.®ter CITY OF IOWA CITY
MEMORANDUM
Date: January 22, 2021
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anne Russett, Senior Planner
Re: Recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission
At its January 7, 2021 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission have the following
recommendations to the City Council:
By a vote of 7-0 the Commission recommends approval of REZ20-0013 & SUB20-0004, two
applications submitted by Crossing Land, LLC for a preliminary plat of the Cardinal Pointe West
— Part 3 subdivision, a 19 -lot, residential subdivision located South of Kennedy Parkway and
West of Camp Cardinal Boulevard and the rezoning of 27.19 acres from Interim Development —
Research Park (ID -RP) to Rural Residential (RR -1), Low Density Multi -Family Residential (RM -
12), High Density Single -Family Residential (RS -12), and Medium Density Multi -Family
Residential (RM -20) zones subject to the following conditions:
1. Development shall substantially comply with the concept plan for the area shown
as "Lot 54" on the preliminary plat, which includes townhouse -style, multi -family
dwellings with vehicular access to garages from a rear lane with green space and
landscaping between the rear driveways to reduce impervious surface and
improve stormwater drainage.
2. Prior to approval of any site plan, Owner shall obtain staff approval of a
landscaping plan which shall include the plans for useable outdoor space for "Lot
54" on the preliminary plat and screening of garages along Declan Drive and
Mason Drive.
3. At the time of final platting, incorporation of traffic calming devices in a location
approved by and designed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
4. Prior to the issuance of a certificate occupancy, construction of a 5' sidewalk on
the west side of Camp Cardinal Blvd between Preston Lane and Kennedy
Parkway.
5. Owner shall obtain staff approval of a Woodland Management Plan.
Additional action (check one)
No further action needed
Board or Commission is requesting Council direction
X Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action
MINUTES FINAL
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
JANUARY 7, 2021 —7:00 PM
ELECTRONIC FORMAL MEETING
MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Craig, Maggie Elliott, Mike Hensch, Phoebe Martin, Mark
Nolte, Mark Signs, Billie Townsend
MEMBERS ABSENT:
STAFF PRESENT: Sara Hektoen, Anne Russett
OTHERS PRESENT: Josh Entler
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or
impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and
the public presented by COVID-19.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
By a vote of 7-0 the Commission recommends approval of REZ20-0013 & SUB20-0004, two
applications submitted by Crossing Land, LLC for a preliminary plat of the Cardinal Pointe West
— Part 3 subdivision, a 19 -lot, residential subdivision located South of Kennedy Parkway and
West of Camp Cardinal Boulevard and the rezoning of 27.19 acres from Interim Development —
Research Park (ID -RP) to Rural Residential (RR -1), Low Density Multi -Family Residential (RM -
12), High Density Single -Family Residential (RS -12), and Medium Density Multi -Family
Residential (RM -20) zones subject to the following conditions:
1. Development shall substantially comply with the concept plan for the area shown as "Lot
54" on the preliminary plat, which includes townhouse -style, multi -family dwellings with
vehicular access to garages from a rear lane with green space and landscaping between
the rear driveways to reduce impervious surface and improve stormwater drainage.
2. Prior to approval of any site plan, Owner shall obtain staff approval of a landscaping plan
which shall include the plans for useable outdoor space for "Lot 54" on the preliminary
plat and screening of garages along Declan Drive and Mason Drive.
3. At the time of final platting, incorporation of traffic calming devices in a location approved
by and designed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
4. Prior to the issuance of a certificate occupancy, construction of a 5' sidewalk on the west
side of Camp Cardinal Blvd between Preston Lane and Kennedy Parkway.
5. Owner shall obtain staff approval of a Woodland Management Plan.
CALL TO ORDER:
Hensch called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA.
None.
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 2 of 11
CASE NO. REZ20-0013 & SUB20-0004:
Applicant: Crossing Land LLC
Location: South of Kennedy Parkway and West of Camp Cardinal Boulevard
An application for a rezoning of approximately 27.19 acres of land from Interim Development —
Research Park (ID -RP) zone to Rural Residential (RR -1) zone for 12.80 acres, High Density
Single -Family (RS -12) for 6.05 acres, Low Density Multi -Family (RM- 12) for 3.46 acres, and
Medium Density Multi -Family (RM -20) for 4.88 acres and an application for the preliminary plat of
Cardinal Pointe West Part 3, a residential subdivision with 12 single-family lots, 6 duplex lots,
and 1 multi -family lot.
Russett began the staff report noting there are two applications with this agenda item, a rezoning
and a preliminary plat. She next showed a map of the area which is located south of Kennedy
Parkway and west of Camp Cardinal Boulevard. The property is currently zoned Interim
Development Research Park and north of the project area there are multiple residential zones
and some rural residential. Russett noted the majority is single family, with the exception of one
area which is zoned for multifamily development.
In terms of background Russett noted this area was annexed into the City in the late 60s and
early 70s and was zoned Interim Development Research Park in 1983 as at that time it was
thought that this area could maybe be developed as an office park. The Comprehensive Plans
after 1983 recognize that this is probably not realistic, and then the Clear Creek Master Plan was
developed as a joint effort between the City of Iowa City, South Gate development, and the City
of Coralville in 2015. In 2016 Cardinal Point West Part One was approved predominantly as a
single-family subdivision, Part Two was approved in 2018 has some homes that are built and
some homes under construction. Unlike the first part, Part Two has a variety of housing types
incorporated into the design, there is single family, duplexes, and townhome, multi -family style
development. All of the vehicular access to the townhomes is through a private alley and there
are also some duplexes planned. Cardinal Point West Part Three is an extension of Part Two
and it's located to the south of Part Two. Russett showed some images of the land pointing out
slopes and some sensitive areas and showed the property off to the to the west where the trees
are located.
Russett reiterated this is a proposed zoning with four different zoning designations being
proposed. The first is rural residential which are the areas where for the most part will be
preserved as open space for the homeowner's association as a lot of these areas have sensitive
features and will not allow any development. The next is the RS -12 area which is the single
family and duplex development, there is RM -12 where the proposed townhomes would be
located and a proposed outlot for future development that the applicant is requesting a
designation of RM -20 which is a medium density multifamily zone.
In terms of review criteria staff looks at compliance with the Comprehensive Plan and
compatibility with the neighborhood and for subdivision review they also look at compliance with
Comprehensive Plan and compliance with the subdivision regulations. In terms of compliance
with the Comprehensive Plan, this area is in the Clear Creek Master Plan which was developed
and envisioned for residential and commercial and office development. There are also policy
goals in this plan related to conservation design because of all the sensitive features and
ensuring that there was housing diversity and a variety of housing types. So staff finds that this
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 3 of 11
plan, the rezoning and the preliminary plat, are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Staff is
recommending one condition that the property owners install a five -foot -wide sidewalk on the
west side from Kennedy Parkway to Preston Lane.
In terms of compatibility with the neighborhood, Russett noted this is a continuation of the
existing development pattern in the area, the area already contains a mix of single-family homes,
duplexes and townhomes, and multifamily buildings. Staff is recommending two conditions that
are carried forward from the previous rezoning of Part Two, which are compliance with the
concept plan, shown for the townhome style development to ensure that garage accesses is at
the rear that there's a private drive and also that there is green space between the driveways.
The second condition is approval of a landscaping plan which ensures that there is usable
outdoor open space on Lot 54 and that the garages are screened from the streets.
Russett next showed the preliminary plat pointing out the single family lots proposed along
Preston Lane and will connect with Camp Cardinal Boulevard. In the center are the townhome
style multifamily buildings and the duplexes are on the side. There are two outlots, which again
are predominantly sensitive areas and are proposed to be private open space maintained by the
homeowner's association. Outlet K is the area that's proposed for future development which the
applicant is requesting the RM -20 designation.
Russett noted a couple things related to traffic and transportation. The block length of Preston
Lane from Declan Drive to Camp Cardinal Boulevard exceeds the preferred 600 foot maximum
for block length which is in order to preserve more of those woodlands and sensitive areas. Staff
is okay with the increased block length but have asked the applicant to incorporate traffic calming
features, so they have incorporated a traffic circle on Preston Lane and then they've incorporated
chokers at Declan Drive and Preston Lane. Russett noted that Public Works has reviewed and
approved the traffic calming measures so there's no longer any deficiencies associated with the
plat. In terms of traffic counts, Camp Cardinal Boulevard is an arterial street and the average
daily traffic capacity for that street is over 16,000. Current data shows that at Camp Carnival
Boulevard and Kennedy Parkway it is currently around 7,780 and staff has estimated that
maximum build out of the proposed development, even including the outlet for future
development, would add additional trips per day of around 1,261 so with the proposed
development it will still be below the capacity of Camp Carnival Boulevard.
Russett reiterated there are sensitive features and so the applicant has submitted a sensitive
areas development plan. Russett showed a couple of summary tables to show the preserved
areas for both the slopes and the woodlands. For the critical slopes, the Zoning Code allows a
disturbance of up to 35% and the applicant's sensitive areas plan shows a disturbance of below
19% so they meet the requirements of the Code. In terms of the woodlands, they are showing
that the preserved area is almost 65% of the woodlands but there are two retention requirements
for this area because of the two separate zoning designations. Staff has determined the
application does comply with the sensitive areas ordinance as the applicant is proposing to
extend the woodlands to the south that have been preserved as part of Part Two. They are doing
the same on the west side preserving the woodlands from the north and extending them south.
The retention requirements for single family is 50% and the applicant is well above that at 65%.
In terms of stormwater management, the basin to the south of the subdivision shown has the
capacity to serve Parts One, Two and Three and this has been confirmed by Public Works.
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 4 of 11
In terms of next steps, the Commission's recommendation will go to City Council and then upon
approval by City Council the applicant can submit a final plat which will be reviewed by City
Council and then upon approval of final plat the applicant can submit site plans and building
permits, which will be reviewed by staff.
Russett reiterated all deficiencies mentioned in the staff report have been addressed. Staff did
receive one piece of correspondence from a resident on Preston Lane who's interested in some
type of pocket park or playground area.
Staff recommends approval of REZ20-0013 & SUB20-0004, two applications submitted by
Crossing Land, LLC for a preliminary plat of the Cardinal Pointe West — Part 3 subdivision, a 19 -
lot, residential subdivision located South of Kennedy Parkway and West of Camp Cardinal
Boulevard and the rezoning of 27.19 acres from Interim Development — Research Park (ID -RP)
to Rural Residential (RR -1), Low Density Multi -Family Residential (RM -12), High Density Single -
Family Residential (RS -12), and Medium Density Multi -Family Residential (RM -20) zones subject
to the following conditions:
1. Development shall substantially comply with the concept plan for the area shown as "Lot
54" on the preliminary plat, which includes townhouse -style, multi -family dwellings with
vehicular access to garages from a rear lane with green space and landscaping between
the rear driveways to reduce impervious surface and improve stormwater drainage.
2. Prior to approval of any site plan, Owner shall obtain staff approval of a landscaping plan
which shall include the plans for useable outdoor space for "Lot 54" on the preliminary
plat and screening of garages along Declan Drive and Mason Drive.
3. At the time of final platting, incorporation of traffic calming devices in a location approved
by and designed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
4. Prior to the issuance of a certificate occupancy, construction of a 5' sidewalk on the west
side of Camp Cardinal Blvd between Preston Lane and Kennedy Parkway.
Hensch asked about the removal of trees and there were any requirements to replant any trees.
Russett replied the applicant exceed the retention requirements so would not be required to
replant any trees. Hensch noted by looking at that aerial map it looks like they've already
cleared a large area of land and noted they should have to wait to get permission before they
clear any land. Russett said they can ask the applicant if anything has been removed.
Hensch asked if there's access to this development from Deer Creek Road or is it all from Camp
Cardinal or Kennedy Parkway. Russett confirmed it is all from Camp Cardinal or Kennedy
Parkway.
Hensch noted looking at Lot 53, it looks like it's closest to Highway 218 and when the
Commission approved the rezoning for the development just south of that they put in some
specific requirements due to the proximity to 218. He wondered about the distance Lot 53 is
from 218. Russett confirmed it is further away from 218 than the other development to the south
and none of Lot 53 is located within the 300 -foot buffer area.
Hensch asked if the large outlots on both sides of this proposal development will be maintained
by the HOA. He would hate to see it be overrun with invasive species. Russett noted what would
be required is as part of the final plat there will be restrictions placed on those outlets in terms of
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 5 of 11
development but it won't require maintenance and clearing of invasive species and woodland
management, there is nothing currently in the Code that would require that. Hensch shared that
is a concern, there are so many problems nowadays with invasive species so he thinks it's
something as a Commission they need to start looking at when they're looking at some of these
developments.
Martin asked about the traffic calming circle, and it appears that there are driveways on the
roundabout. Russett noted there are no driveways shown on the plat but there will need to be a
driveway off of the circle for lots 64 and 63. Martin noted that seems dangerous.
Townsend asked if there is going to be any affordable housing in these units. Russett replied
none would be required by the City, but they can ask the applicant their intentions.
Craig asked about the alley and thinking about the whole kerfuffle with garbage pickup on the
Peninsula in the alleys, will the garbage pickup be in that alley, or is it going to be out of the
street. Russett stated the City won't be picking up the garbage for the townhouses it will be a
private hauler because it is a neighborhood association, and the City doesn't collect garbage and
recycling and compost for multifamily.
Signs stated he is intrigued that there is some land left in rural residential zoning and is
wondering what is the reasoning or the benefit to that and why wasn't it just pulled into the
remainder of the development. Russett stated because those are outlets, the zoning matters a
lot less because they're going to be restricted from development through the subdivider's
agreement legal documents as part of final platting. Since Part Two had those rural residential
zones this part is just continuing that zoning designation. Hektoen added the outlots will have
that rural residential zoning designation and it will be plated as an outlot for private open space
and be restricted in that manner. Staff also discussed the possibility of zoning it consistent with
the adjacent land, but then imposing a conservation easement, so there's a number of ways to
reserve land so that doesn't get redeveloped, they chose this path based on consistency with the
previous subdivision.
Townsend asked about the traffic counts, noting that right now with COVID people are working
from home, so will it be different when there is a regular amount of traffic. Russett explained the
counts were taken prior to the pandemic.
Craig asked about the letter from the resident about a park and staff replied about a small area
near the townhouses of open space. Russett confirmed and noted the City only requires open
space and providing open space, but it cannot require playground equipment or anything like
that. Hensch noted in the past the Commission has put on requirements to put in some open
space or some recreation space or some playground equipment in those areas. Craig noted it is
a pretty big development and is a little isolated from lots of recreational options. She asked if
transit even goes out there. Russett replied transit currently does not. Signs said they could
address it with the developer and also ask if in Parts One or Two were there any parks put into
those areas.
Signs also noted he feels like dirt has been moved down there, and that is something they need
to pay attention to if and when developers get a little ahead of the game. Hensch agreed and
said it has happened in the past and people need to be held accountable.
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 6 of 11
Elliott asked about the multifamily lot and it is labeled high rise residential (RM -20). Hensch
stated that is for future development so it's not relevant tonight. Russett added a high rise
wouldn't be allowed there.
Hensch opened the public hearing.
Josh Entler (Crossing Land, LLC) thanked the Commission and did want to address a couple of
the questions but first wanted to share some of the highlights of their intent and vision for the
area. First with Phase one back in 2016 they had to bring sanitary sewer essentially from Camp
Cardinal Boulevard at the pond all the way up through that agriculture field so it seems like
there's been years of disturbance, but it was really getting sewer up to Part One and then the
heavy dirt moving started in Part Two in 2018. They were essentially just peeling off the excess
dirt and shifting it to the old cornfield that has since been stabilized with temporary seeding. In
terms of the question about woodland management and what the HOA would do, they are
certainly open to providing some information resource connections. Right now they have a
development proposal on the north side of Kennedy Parkway in Coralville that they're working
with the Iowa DNR as well as the City of Coralville to do a 10% management plan so by the time
they execute that plan they will have some good resources to be able to deliver to the HOA
should they want to take a more direct approach on woodland management. Regarding the
driveways on traffic circles he too had a little bit of a concern, but from the same token, it's not
real clear on the plat, but just to point out the technical details, each lane of that traffic circle is
—24 feet in width which is equivalent to a normal two-lane traffic but in the movement of the traffic
circle it's only one way traffic so there should be ample amount of room to be able to back out,
maneuver a vehicle, and not impede the other lane of traffic. For the land left in rural residential
that was really a request from staff to place it in rural residential as another mechanism to be
able to convey to the public that they don't intend to develop this land and the land is reserved
and not for development. Regarding a possible park area, as in Parts One and Two there is the
open space requirement, and again, those are going to go to the HOA once development is
complete. Entler did respond that particular neighbor that they would like to see some
playground equipment, and there is likely a need for it. They are open to it being part of that
initiative, whether it be basketball courts or some playground equipment. With Parts One, Two,
and Three all in is almost 72 acres of open space and excluding outlets that have been reserved
for future developments it leaves around 33 acres. There's two opportunities within Parts One
and Two in the townhome areas that they could do some pocket parks, but also if there's a
timber if they need to make sure they stay withing the 10% management plan. Entler also
acknowledged he did see on the 2015 Master Plan the label of a high-rise multifamily, it is not
their intention to do high rise development, at most they may do a 30- or 40-plex and really
requested the RM -20 at this time is to be able to keep their options open.
Regarding their vision for the area, Entler stated it is a continued focus on cluster development
with minimal impact the surrounding areas. As noted in the staff report the Clear Creek
Memorandum of Understanding could go up to 20 units per acre but that is certainly not what
their intention is here. In Parts One and Two they development at much less than even the
minimum allowance, they prefer to dedicate a lot of space to the HOA management for a more
natural type of layout and preservation, and focus their density on providing a diversity of
products. They had much success in Part Two and want to continue that model for a much
wider buyer pool and a diversity of homebuyers. Lastly he wanted to note one of the major
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 7 of 11
impacts is the connection of Preston Lane which is going to provide a lot of vehicular relief and
more opportunities for Parts Two and Three and Outlot K for future development. Entler also
acknowledged they did send information packets to the neighbors in the surrounding community
in lieu of a in person meeting and there were three comments that they've received. The first
one has already been addressed regarding community parks. Second was traffic impact with
this development which was covered in the staff report but the short answer is they will still be
well under the design capacity of Camp Cardinal Boulevard. The third comment impact on
surrounding infrastructure but this development is not going to negatively impact or exceed the
stormwater management as well. The basin or pond has been designed to handle actually a
much higher intensity than what is planned for the development.
Hensch asked for reference to a woodland management plan, and the development of that. He
also wanted to know if there is an area or an outlet that could be for a recreation area or
recreation equipment how would they see that looking or what would be their preference. Entler
replied he thinks how he sees that playing out is once they find success with what works in this
part of town and with the natural environment (because what they're working with on the
Coralville side of Kennedy Parkway is very similar terrain and steep slopes) then they can deliver
that successful plan and packet to the HOA. Regarding the woodland management plan, he
stated he personally walked that timber with the DNR and identified pockets that were preferred
species and clustered segments of 75 mature Red Oak and Black Oak species in a specific area.
They want to focus on retaining those oaks and then actually do some management practices
with the understory growth so that those oaks can prosper.
Signs asked about the traffic circle issue and noted it seems like an oddly placed traffic circle
with just three lots later having a choker corner and prior to the traffic circle there's only two lots
so is there some correlation of there potentially being one of the entrances to Outlot K. Entler
replied there could be a couple of different options of what Outlot K could look like and the intent
is to leave the options open in terms of whether a variety of big buildings or a continuation of
Parts Two and Three in the next phase. They did the best they could to align a future
intersection, whether it be the entrance to a multifamily or a future intersection where Dubs Drive
comes in and hooks into Preston Lane.
Martin asked if it has to be a traffic circle, she feels with a lot of the families that live nearby there
are a lot of budding young inexperienced drivers. She wants to be thoughtful going forward but
acknowledged she doesn't know what the answer is. Obviously, the City is asking for traffic
calming but perhaps there is something else that could be done. Russett stated that staff also
explored median islands as a potential option but this pavement was not wide enough for median
islands there so staff really felt that the traffic circle was the best option.
Signs asked if the traffic circle is required. Russett replied it is not required, staff is
recommending it because they've had issues before with long block lengths and speeding in
other developments with no traffic calming and within a year the neighborhood comes together
and requests speed humps. Signs noted it seems like a relatively short space to have a speed
bump and from Declan Drive to Kennedy Parkway it appears to be no traffic calming. He asked
if choker would suffice in that area. Russett explained they can only do a choker at an
intersection.
Townsend asked about affordable housing included in this development. Entler stated they have
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 8 of 11
not specifically identified anything as set aside for affordable housing.
Hensch closed the public hearing.
Nolte moved to approve REZ20-0013 & SUB20-0004, two applications submitted by
Crossing Land, LLC for a preliminary plat of the Cardinal Pointe West — Part 3
subdivision, a 19 -lot, residential subdivision located South of Kennedy Parkway and West
of Camp Cardinal Boulevard and the rezoning of 27.19 acres from Interim Development —
Research Park (ID -RP) to Rural Residential (RR -1), Low Density Multi -Family Residential
(RM -12), High Density Single -Family Residential (RS -12), and Medium Density Multi -Family
Residential (RM -20) zones subject to the following conditions:
1. Development shall substantially comply with the concept plan for the area shown
as "Lot 54" on the preliminary plat, which includes townhouse -style, multi -family
dwellings with vehicular access to garages from a rear lane with green space and
landscaping between the rear driveways to reduce impervious surface and improve
stormwater drainage.
2. Prior to approval of any site plan, Owner shall obtain staff approval of a
landscaping plan which shall include the plans for useable outdoor space for "Lot
54" on the preliminary plat and screening of garages along Declan Drive and
Mason Drive.
3. At the time of final platting, incorporation of traffic calming devices in a location
approved by and designed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
4. Prior to the issuance of a certificate occupancy, construction of a 5' sidewalk on
the west side of Camp Cardinal Blvd between Preston Lane and Kennedy Parkway.
Townsend seconded the motion.
Hensch stated he like this development because it has a lot of housing types and some high
density to help with the whole missing middle concept. The one thing he is interested in is to
perhaps add another condition that a woodland management plan to be developed and this is a
great opportunity to start a practice of making sure that larger timber stands are maintained over
time and deal with invasive species. Additionally, they could add in something about that plan for
some recreation area or recreation equipment if others are interested.
Signs agreed starting to look at woodland management issues is probably something the
Commission should be doing.
Craig also supports that because it sounds like if they're doing it on the northern part it should be
simple enough to extend it on down and maybe this is something the Commission should look at
more systematically in the future.
Martin also agrees.
Hektoen asked who the Commission would want to implement the management plan and when.
Hensch feels it is something where the developer would create the plan and then ultimately be
the responsibility of the HOA. Hektoen agreed that's probably the developer's preference, she
did note they have seen challenges with stormwater management being passed along to a HOA.
Hensch shares her concern as there are detention ponds all throughout the City that just don't
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 9 of 11
get maintained.
Craig stated it should be the responsibility of the HOA, it's certainly not the developers
responsibility 10 years down the road, and it's not the City's responsibility, and it lends value to
all their properties if well maintained.
Signs agrees but also confirms that traditionally they aren't taken care of, because for one thing,
there's money involved with that and no HOA wants to spend any more money than they
absolutely have to. It should be the HOA responsibility and they should appreciate it but there's
a good chance this is unless they find a way to put some teeth into it.
Craig suggested they start by what they're doing, which is asking for this plan from the developer
and assuming that the developer will pass that responsibility on to the HOA. If it is problem city-
wide then it is something that is put on a to do list of figuring out how to put teeth in it.
Hensch suggested they could do it similar to the wording in a condition number two, where it
says owner shall obtain staff approval on a landscaping plan, and have the condition say owner
must obtain staff approval on a timber management plan. They could put initial responsibility of
development of the plan and implementation on the development and then it is transferred to the
HOA.
Hektoen stated typically the transition of maintenance of common elements from the developer
to the home owners is a function of the HOA declaration. If the Commission wants the obligation
to stay with the developer, that would need to be expressly stated in the CZA. Otherwise the
HOA declaration will control.
Signs also wanted to comment as far as the rest of development goes, he thinks they've done a
nice job and he also likes the connection to Camp Cardinal Boulevard with Preston Lane and the
different types of housing and the preservation of the green space with the cluster development.
Nolte amended his motion to add a fifth condition:
Nolte moved to approve REZ20-0013 & SUB20-0004, two applications submitted by
Crossing Land, LLC for a preliminary plat of the Cardinal Pointe West — Part 3
subdivision, a 19 -lot, residential subdivision located South of Kennedy Parkway and West
of Camp Cardinal Boulevard and the rezoning of 27.19 acres from Interim Development —
Research Park (ID -RP) to Rural Residential (RR -1), Low Density Multi -Family Residential
(RM -12), High Density Single -Family Residential (RS -12), and Medium Density Multi -Family
Residential (RM -20) zones subject to the following conditions:
1. Development shall substantially comply with the concept plan for the area shown
as "Lot 54" on the preliminary plat, which includes townhouse -style, multi -family
dwellings with vehicular access to garages from a rear lane with green space and
landscaping between the rear driveways to reduce impervious surface and improve
stormwater drainage.
2. Prior to approval of any site plan, Owner shall obtain staff approval of a
landscaping plan which shall include the plans for useable outdoor space for "Lot
54" on the preliminary plat and screening of garages along Declan Drive and
Mason Drive.
3. At the time of final platting, incorporation of traffic calming devices in a location
Planning and Zoning Commission
January 7, 2021
Page 10 of 11
approved by and designed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
4. Prior to the issuance of a certificate occupancy, construction of a 5' sidewalk on
the west side of Camp Cardinal Blvd between Preston Lane and Kennedy Parkway.
5. Owner shall obtain staff approval of a Woodland Management Plan.
Townsend seconded the amended motion.
A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0.
CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: DECEMBER 17,2020:
Townsend moved to approve the meeting minutes of December 17, 2020.
Martin seconded the motion.
A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-1 (Signs abstained).
PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION:
Russett gave an updated that the City Council had their public hearing on the Carson Farms
annexation and rezoning on Tuesday and the applicant had requested that Council indefinitely
defer that item if there wasn't support for it and there was not support to approve the annexation
or the rezoning so they approved an indefinite deferral of both. The applicant has withdrawn both
applications.
Hensch asked if the fundamental issue was it affordable housing. Russett confirmed Council
had concerns with the existing affordable housing annexation policy and at the next work session
they're going to discuss it and provide more direction to staff on what their concerns are and
what they'd like to see changed.
Townsend asked about an update for the development off of Dubuque Street where they have all
the prefab houses. Russett did not have any updates on that.
Signs asked if there could be an introduction of new members at some point.
Hensch noted that is a good idea, many things have been difficult in the era of COVID and zoom
meetings.
ADJOURNMENT:
Signs moved to adjourn.
Townsend seconded.
A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0.
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Item Number: 4.j.
CITY OIF IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 2, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Public Art Advisory Committee: December 3
Minutes
Public Art Advisory Committee
December 3, 2020 5:30 PM
Zoom Meeting Platform
Final
Vk tronk Meeting (Purstot to lova Cone section 2LB)
An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person vras impossible or impractical due to concerns
for the health and s ftq of aotincill members, staff and the publk presented by COVID-19.
Members Present: Eddie Boyken, Jan Finlayson, Ron Knoche, Steve Miller, Nancy Purington, Juli Seydell-
Johnson, Sandy Steil, Andrea Truitt
Members Absent: Dominic Dongilli
Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Wendy Ford
Public Present: Thomas Agran, Loyce Arthur, Dellyssa Edinboro, John Engelbrecht, Donte Hayes, Janiece
Maddox, Nicole Shaw, Kalmia Strong, Antione Williams
Call to Order
Miller called the meeting to order at 5:37 p.m.
Introductions of Members and Public attending the Meeting
Committee members and staff introduced themselves. Members of the public introduced themselves.
Public Discussion of Any Item Not on the Agenda
None.
Consideration of Minutes of the November 5, 2020 Meeting
Seydell-Johnson moved to accept the minutes. Knoche seconded. Approved unanimously.
Capitol Street Parking Ramp Mural Project — Oracles of Iowa City
Engelbrecht began his presentation with images of both murals ("Oracles of Iowa City" - attached), one
reading "Black Joy Needs No Permission" and the other reading "Weaponize Your Privilege to Save Black
Bodies," on the Capitol Street Parking Ramp. Engelbrecht said if anyone wanted to publish these images
without the watermark, they can reach out to the team at cas@publicspaceone.com. Engelbrecht
expressed their excitement for the project and for the committee's constructive feedback that will
enable the project to move forward.
Williams said that he is very excited to be working on this project, especially with all of the Black Lives
Matter murals in various cities in North Carolina where he is currently residing. Williams said that he and
Hayes did not want this project to be solely a BLM mural, but rather one that has current relevance as
opposed to just being a symbolic gesture. Each mural will speak to a specific audience — the first mural
("Black Joy Needs No Permission") speaks to black people who have to navigate white spaces. The
second mural ("Weaponize Your Privilege to Save Black Bodies") specifically talks to the white, affluent,
1
educated audience that occupies that space as well. Hayes said that the murals also speak to people's
pasts as well as to the present for those who live in Iowa City. He said that the importance of the murals'
topography (the writing) will push the future inhabitants of the area in the right direction and away from
complacency, and that these murals themselves are not the beginning or the end of the conversation,
but rather a means to confront and further the discussion each and every day.
Williams said that "Black Joy Needs No Permission" is a direct conversation geared towards black people
who are navigating white spaces. It is a skill to navigate these spaces and can cause trauma for those
that have to do so. The mural is a reminder that joy, relief, and sanctuary are human rights, and that
black people should have the freedom to create those in any space. Williams said that the point of the
murals was to create something aesthetically pleasing, but also serve as a call -out for specific audiences.
"Weaponize Your Privilege to Save Black Bodies" is talking to white communities within the Iowa City
area that tend to have more political and cultural power. Williams said that this phrase means to
strategically utilize one's privilege in society as a means of dismantling white supremacy. He said that
the purpose of the language is to create a bit of discomfort, and the focus is to center black life instead
of white comfort or the comfort of those who are in power. Williams said that this could be considered
aggressive language, but it is bound to shift over time, and he referenced the initial uproar around Colin
Kaepernick's kneeling during the national anthem, the adoption of the incendiary phrase "Black Lives
Matter" after the murder of Trayvon Martin, etc. He said that the goal is to get white individuals to
acknowledge their privilege and take action within their day to day lives. Williams said that they had
considered using the phrase "de-weaponize," but decided against it because it was more passive and
felt like they were encouraging individuals to not do anything, when there is a stark difference between
being racist and anti -racist. To be anti -racist is to actively dismantle the system.
In regard to the aggressive language, Williams stated that there are many types of violence and that
white supremacy is one of them, which includes not only physical violence but also psychological,
economic, political, environmental, etc. He said that a current example of a violent act is politicians who
write a budget to fund police to buy military -grade riot gear because it can lead to the death of black
folks and other marginalized people. In a violent society, Williams said that the goal is to get privileged
white people to realize that they have social, cultural, and political weapons (as opposed to literal ones),
and to encourage them to use these weapons in a positive and constructive way. He said that, even with
the people who might be confused or not convinced by the message, it is still an opportunity to begin a
conversation (to take action —to utilize privilege), and those who are skeptical might be more inclined to
listen to white folks with social, cultural, and political privilege, as opposed to individuals who might not
have access to the same types of spaces. Williams said that is it their goal to make good art, but also
relevant art that speaks to current issues of today. Hayes said that this mural is also a call to action and
an opportunity to do more.
Arthur said there are plans in the works for how people can hear the artists' voices talking about the
mural or visit a website to get more information in order to be able to really contextualize the project.
Miller said that he sent an email out (attached) to the committee discussing the potential impacts of and
public reactions to the project. He said that he thinks it is beautiful on many levels and very thoughtfully
composed for its context, and craftful in how the graphic design illustrates the idea of double
consciousness and references the West -African traditions described in the narrative. He said that the
poetic juxtaposition between the two statements is very impactful. Miller said that he did not initially
understand the use of the word "weaponize" but after doing more research, he is in support of the use
2
of the word as a powerful call to adopt white privilege as a weapon of war against the systemic racism of
society.
Steil said that she would like to mirror Miller's opinion of the art, but when she sees the word
"weaponize" she feels that it exudes negative energy, and she would prefer to focus on putting positive
energy out into the community through the use of a different word (like "utilize," "employ," "exploit,"
"exercise," etc.), since most people will not understand the deeper meaning behind the phrase at first
glance. Finlayson echoed Steil's concerns about the word "weaponize." Seydell-Johnson suggested
alternate phrases such as "Iowa City Welcomes You," "Black Joy Needs No Permission — We Use Our
Privilege to Save Black Bodies." Steil agreed with Seydell-Johnson. Truitt disagreed, and said that this is a
message that should be explicitly stated in order for the Iowa City community to avoid slipping into
complicity.
Agran expressed his support for the aesthetics of the project and his excitement for the context of the
murals. He said that there is plenty of other public art within the community whose meaning alludes the
"Average Joe," and that this is an opportunity to recontextualize the word "weaponize." He said that he
looks forward to the committee's approval of the designs as they are submitted.
Purington said that the art is beautiful and powerful but takes issue with the word "weaponize" because
of the prejudice that some people hold combined with their prevalence with actual weapons, and fears
that its use will incite violence. She suggested to use the word "reinvent" instead.
Boyken said that he feels conflicted because it feels wrong for him to edit the words of the artists and to
choose their words for them, but as a part of this committee he recognizes his responsibility to serve the
entire community. He said that there might be people who feel unsafe or offended by the proposed
language, which is an unfortunate aspect, but it is not their place as a committee to create art that
caters to everyone.
Knoche said that he has concern with the use of the word "weaponize," and questions how they can
build a positive dialogue within the larger community. Engelbrecht said that that is a good and fair
question, and that Shaw is coming on to the team to tell these types of stories through journalism,
which will provide some more reach to the community.
Seydell-Johnson suggested the word "activate" as a substitution for "weaponize." Steil asked if there
was a connection to the Voxman Music Building that the team could use as a way to bring in more
positive energy. Williams said that the waves in the background of the second mural (with the word
"weaponize") is supposed to represent music.
Williams said that they spoke to (black) members of the Iowa City community prior to designing
anything and said that their conversation was very different — they were not talking about positive
energy within the community, but rather how they felt as though they are being ignored by the city.
Williams said that he and Hayes were trying to figure out how to create a conversation between two
groups within the same community who don't really interact with one another, beginning with drawing
people in with something that is aesthetically pleasing and then attempting to have that tough
conversation. He said that they are not necessarily looking for something that is overall positive, but
rather something that engaging and pushes people to have these difficult discussions with those who
3
are privileged and with those who may not understand. Hayes asked how change would come about if
nobody is talking about it.
Purington said that what Hayes and Williams said makes intellectual sense, but the use of the word
"weaponize" as the first word does not inspire her to save black lives, as it is too loaded and broad. She
said that she thinks it is too intellectual for the community as a whole and thinks that it will function as a
roadblock instead of as an opener to a conversation. Williams asked what the committee thought would
be a good and impactful word that would encourage members of certain parts of the community to stop
and engage in a conversation that they already don't want to have. He said that positivity never brings
people to the table to have a tough conversation that involves them giving up certain parts of their
power in society. Purington suggested using the word "reinvent" instead, since that is something that
she feels would inspire and empower someone on an individual level. Williams said that he does not
believe that privileged people need to be empowered, but that they need to be challenged. Miller said
that he feels like the word "weaponize" worked exactly how the artists had intended it, and if they had
used a softer word, he does not think that the message would have lingered with him as much.
Steil said that in a good negotiation, neither party gets 100% what they want. She said that they are not
disputing the artwork as a whole, just asking for a negotiation centered around changing one word for
the stability of the community. Williams asked, when Steil says "our community" if she really means
everyone. Steil said yes, and that there is no such thing as a city where everyone feels as though they
belong with everybody else.
Bollinger said that she does not see the Public Arts Advisory Committee neither wanting to or able to
reframe the artists' original statement, and she does not want to see the artists' message lost with any
overwhelming barrage of public onslaught, and that she wants to see it succeed. Engelbrecht suggested
that the project team reconvene and talk about the feedback from the meeting, and then come back to
Bollinger and Ford for future approval. Ford said that there might be a way to cause that same
discomfort without the use of the word "weaponize," by asking a question such as "Am I a Racist if I am
not an Anti -Racist?". Engelbrecht said that he really appreciates the dialogue and the feedback and
thanked everyone for their taking on this challenging topic. Purington said that she wants the project to
be successful, powerful, and productive for a long time to come.
Arthur said that she thinks the suggestions are good ones, and that she had the same initial reaction as
Miller but came to the same conclusion. She said that she is not sure if rearranging the words would
shift the message, but it is something to consider. She said that she appreciates how the project is
bringing the conversation into Downtown. Arthur said that she hears the concerns that were mentioned,
and that if a white supremacist decided to take action then they would take that action out on black
bodies, which is something to also consider. Boyken said that, while it is important to take into account
how the white community in Iowa City will negatively react to this project, it would be a bigger
disservice to water down the overall message of the project.
Motion: Steil moves to approve the artwork and the language with the exception (and replacement)
of the word "weaponize." Finlayson seconds.
Seydell-Johnson offers an amendment stating that the word "weaponize" be considered to be
replaced as opposed to requiring it, after other public comment. Miller supports the proposed
amendment. Steil rejects the proposed amendment.
Miller said that he will not be voting for the motion because he does not want to remove artistic
freedom from the hands of the artists. Purington emphasized Arthur's previous comments.
4
Motion fails with a vote of 3-5.
Motion: Seydell-Johnson moves that the project move forward with additional public input about the
word "weaponize" and the effects that it will have on the overall community. Purington seconds.
Motion passes unanimously.
Engelbrecht thanked the committee and said that they are looking forward to the rest of the project.
Tools for Evaluating Grant Applications
Truitt said that her and Finlayson created a Public Art Matching Fund Program Awards scoresheet by
looking at public applications and the scoresheet from the Climate Committee. Finlayson said that it is
important to keep these rankings as simple as possible for both the reviewer and the applicant.
Purington said that the criteria checklist is separate from the scoring rubric. Truitt asked if they already
have a form to use as a scoresheet before deciding on the numerical values.
Seydell-Johnson said that this is a two-step process, and the first step has to do with answering "yes" or
"no" and evaluating whether the applicant has met the minimum requirements. She said that she would
add a question like, "do they show technical ability to carry out the scope of the project being
proposed?" and only those that meet these requirements move on to the second round of the process.
Bollinger said that she thinks this process would make it more fair for everyone.
Determine date for next round of Matching Funds
Pushed to the January meeting.
Updates - Artists Database
Ford said that she meets with Geoff Fruin once a month, and one of the legal concerns with the Artists
Database was that the Public Arts Advisory Committee would be linking these artists to for-profit
businesses. She said that there are policies that prohibit this, but Fruin said not to worry about that and
to just focus on getting the database populated. Ford also said that Fruin was adamant that only Iowa
City based artists would be eligible for signing up on it. Bollinger said that there is still some fine-tuning
that needs to be done before the database goes live.
Updates - Kiwanis Park Community Garden art project
Bollinger said that she has been connected with the Ty'n Cae Neighborhood about starting the
community garden project, and they hope to do a walk-through after the first of the year.
Committee Announcements/Committee Reports
Purington said that she is teaching a Zoom art class at 2pm on Thursdays through Movement For All. It is
an Elements of Art Course called "An Apple a Day".
Staff Reports
None.
Adjournment
Knoche motions to adjourn. Finlayson seconds. Meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m.
5
Public Art Advisory Committee
Attendance Record
2020
Name
Term
3/5/20
4/2/20
4/20/20
5/7/20
6/4/20
7/2/20
8/6/20
9/3/20
10/1/20
11/5/20
12/3/20
Expires
Ron
X
X
X
0/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
x
Knoche
Juli
X
X
X
X
X
0/E
X
X
X
X
x
Seydell-
Johnson
Vero
12/31/20
X
X
O/E
X
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
Rose
Smith
Steve
12/31/20
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
Miller
Eddie
12/31/21
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
X
X
Boyken
Jan
12/31/20
--
--
--
--
X
X
O/E
X
O/E
X
X
Finlayson
Nancy
12/31/22
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Purington
Andrea
12/31/22
O/E
X
X
X
X
X
0/E
X
O/E
X
X
Truitt
Dominic
12/31/23
--
--
--
--
--
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
Dongilli
Tonya
12/31/23
--
--
--
--
--
--
0
O
--
--
--
Kehoe
Sandy
12/31/23
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
O/E
x
Steil
Oracles of Iowa City
Antoine Williams and Donte"v
K. Hayes
CONCEPT
The concept and ultimate vision for this mural will be a visual call out or beacon to the
community and to the greater region of people who will visit Iowa City. The starting thoughts
for the theme of this mural, comes from the term, Double Consciousness, the term created
by African American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, as the internal conflict experienced by black
people or colonized groups in an oppressive society.
With this in mind, as artists we want to make clear that this mural is not the end of any
conversation or action in regards to improving the lives and well-being of black people who live
and or visit Iowa City. However, the goals of the mural are for the white community, government
officials, community leaders, and all people who view the mural or have heard of the mural's
existence, to acknowledge the systematic oppression of black people and be accountable to do
more in the community than just this mural. Most importantly, the mural will speak to black
peopl'e's humanity and not just their plain.
DESIGN T1 1EMES
The mural will be presented on two sections of the parking deck. The inspiration for the design of
the mural is from the West African traditions of Amengan-sie (Ah-mah-gah-see) which is defined
as a sigh -priestess whose primary function is divination. Namely communication with the dead
(ancestors), the African deities, and the souls of the living. It is an ancient tradition in which the
dead, the deities, and the souls of the living actually come in direct contact during consultation to
speak. The mural will be an oracle that will voice ancestral wisdom and knowledge to guide
the present community to create a new future.
Both mural's backgrounds will be created with colorful pattern work similar to the patterns found
in West African traditional rituals and ceremonies. The use of triangles in the pattern and the
futuristic choice of style in creating the mural will allude to the importance of the Center for
Afrofuturist Studies and Public Space One in the foundation for this project. The patterns will
resemble sound waves which will connect the mural to its placement across the street from the
University of Iowa Vox Music Building. On one of the panels the words saying, Black Joy Needs
No Permission, and the other mural will read, Weaponize Your Privilege To Save Black
Bodies. The image will be figurative yet minimal. We purposefully designed the mural to have an
aesthetically pleasing graphic style with thought provoking typography. This will attract viewers
to engage with the mural and want to question the mural and how they perceive themselves.
Secondly, the design will be an opportunity for the skill level and experience of the CAS Mural
Fellows to receive professional mentoring in creating a mural of this size.
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