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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-04 TranscriptionPage 1 2. Proclamations 2.a. Asian Pacific American heritage Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Day Against Bullying Teague: Our second item is 2.a., is ... is proclamations and this is the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Day Against Bullying. (reads proclamation) ....and to receive this is Human Rights Commission Members Jason Glass and Ashley Lindsey, welcome. Lindley: Thank you, Mayor Teague. It is just me tonight. Jason was unable to make it, but I'm happy to accept this proclamation on behalf of the Human Rights Commission. I just wanted to make a few additional statements. I am very proud to live in a state that in the wake of the Vietnam War had a leader who answered the call to welcome refugees from Southeast Asian countries. Republican Governor Robert Ray testified before Congress in 1979 saying, `Human lives are at stake, already hundreds if not thousands have perished. Our response to this (garbled) will to a large degree determine whether more lives are lost or saved.' And it was under his leadership that the State of Iowa was the first to offer resettlement assistance to these refugees. We welcomed thousands of Vietnamese, Thai Dum, Laos, Cambodian, and Hmong refugees following the Vietnam War. And with the help of volunteers and government officials, they were able to find housing, jobs, health care, and education. It's thanks to these and similar acts to assist refugees that Iowa City is such a culturally diverse place. And though our state and community continue to welcome new refugees from across the world, our actions or inactions toward these peoples and their treatment by our residents can sometimes leave something to be desired. In recognizing my whiteness, I would like to take a moment to share a couple excerpts from UI Writers Workshop alumna, Professor Cathy Park Hong's new book, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning. Uh, the first is this. "When I hear the phrase, `Asians are next in line to be white,' I replace the word white with disappear. Asians are next in line to disappear. We are reputed to be so accomplished, and so law abiding, we will disappear into this country's amnesiac fog. We will not be the power, but become absorbed by power, not share the power of whites, but be stooges to a white ideology that exploited our ancestors. This country insists that our racial identity is beside the point, that it has nothing to do with being bullied or passed over for a promotion or cut off every time we talk. Our race has nothing to do with this country even, which is why we're often listed as `other' in polls, and why we're hard to find in racial breakdowns on reported rape or workplace discrimination or domestic abuse. It's like being ghosted, I suppose. We're deprived of all social cues. I have no relational gauge for my own behavior. I ransacked my mind for what I could have done, but have said I stopped trusting what I see, what I hear. My ego is in free fall, while my super ego is boundless, railing that my existence is not enough, never enough. So I become compulsive in my efforts to do better, be better, blindly following this country's gospel of self-interest, proving my individual worth by expanding my net worth, until I vanish." I would like to share one more excerpt. Um, this addresses the effects of racism, particularly on familial relationships in the AAPI community. "One characteristic of racism is that children are treated like adults and adults are treated like children. Watching a parent being debased like a child is the deepest shame. I cannot count the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 2 number of times I have seen my parents condescended to or mocked by white adults. This was so customary that when my mother had any encounter with a white adult, I was always hypervigilant, ready to mediate or pull her away. To grow up Asian in America is to witness the humiliation of authority figures, like your parents, and to learn not to depend on them. They cannot protect you." So, what are we doing as a community to protect our AAPI community and residents? As a diverse Iowa community, I do think we have a responsibility to step up and become more culturally aware and empathetic toward our minority residents. So please remember, ally is a verb, and I echo our Mayor's urge to support our AAPI residents in the face of bullying and hatred. Thank you. 2.b. Bicycle Month and bike to Work Week Teague: Thank you, thank you so much. Next on our agenda is 2.b., which is a Bicycle Month and Bike to Work Week. (reads proclamation) ...and to receive this proclamation is Audrey Wiedemeier. Welcome. Wiedemeier: Hello, Mayor Teague. Thank you and, Ashley, thank you for reading those excerpts. I really appreciate it. On behalf of everybody here at the Iowa City Bike Library, we just want to welcome you all to Bike Month. Itis May and there's every reason to get out and ride. For those of you who don't know, the Bike Library has purchased a building after 17 years in the community at 1222 South Gilbert Court, and on Saturday, May 15th, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, we are going to be celebrating. We invite you to come out. Mama's Chicken and Fish food truck is also having their grand opening, alongside our reopening. So we'll be celebrating alongside Kenya and... and her new food truck. And it's going to be a time to kick off Bike to Work Week. The next week of the 17th is going to be Bike to Work Week, and I believe tomorrow, actually maybe it's today, that it's Bike to School Day. So if you haven't gotten out with your kids, you know, to bike to school, whether you're in school or homeschooling or whatever, um, maybe try to get out with them once this week too. You know, every time I, uh, see a kid on a bike, it gives me some hope for the future. So shout out to all those young people commut... uh, or going to ... going to school by bike, making use of the trails, taking their younger siblings out on rides. Hope to see you all on Saturday, May 15th from 4:00 to 7:00 at our new location, 1222 South Gilbert Court. It's 4:00 to 7:00 PM, and we got a live mariachi band! 2.c. National Public Works Week Teague: Thank you so much, and congrats on your new building and your, uh, opening. So thank you so much. 2.c. proclamation is National Public Works Week. (reads proclamation) ...and here to receive this is Public Works Director Ron Knoche. Welcome! Knoche: Mr. Mayor and Council, good evening. On behalf of the 162 Public Works professionals in the Iowa City Public Works department, I'd like to thank you for this proclamation. The dedicated professionals who work in our Engineering, Equipment, Resource Management, Streets, Wastewater, and Water divisions exemplify this year's theme of `stronger together.' Whether we are providing the everyday services made more challenging by COVID or This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 3 responding to the derecho or a winter storm, the Public Works department is here to serve our community. I would also like to thank you for your support of our operations, and to announce the American Public Works Association has selected the Iowa City Public Works facility phase one project as the Public Works Project of the Year in the structures category, for 2021. We look forward to a time when we can share this project with the community. Thank you. Teague: Thank you, Ron, thank you for all that you all do. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 4 9. Community Comment (items not on the agenda) [UNTIL 7 PM] Teague: We are on to our Community Comment, Item number.. nine. And this is an opportunity for those, uh, within the community to address Council at this time. We ask that you raise your hand, and I will call upon you. And I'm just waiting to see how many hands we have raised during this time. We ask that everyone keep their comments to three minutes, and I'm going to welcome Terri, followed by Jan. Welcome. Macey: Can you hear me? Teague: Yes (echoing) Macey: Okay. Thank you. I'm Terri Macey from Iowa City. I'm a retired faculty member from the University of Colorado, and I'm here to talk to the Council about, um, using funds from the American Rescue Package to support an Excluded Workers Fund. We need to spend these funds on people whose lives have been most damaged by the economic fallout of COVID. We need to provide direct payments to those people, regardless of immigration status or incarceration history, as well as support those agencies that directly serve these individuals, such as the Center for Worker Justice and CommUnity. There's already speculation that Council plans to use these funds to subsidize businesses on the ped mall. I feel we do not need to subsidize businesses that cater to those people who are well off. You have a chance to provide help to those who are suffering and I'm asking you, please, not to waste it. Thank you so much. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Jan, followed by Terri. Stephan: Okay, am I on now? Teague: Yes. Stephan: Okay. My name's Jan Stephan. I'm a retired nurse from Mercy Hospital. I live in Iowa City. I'd like to support everything that Tern said. I don't believe we need to be spending money on businesses downtown. We've spent enough money downtown. It needs to be spent with the people who need it, and we need to have a community meeting to get community input into what happens to that money. Thank you. Teague: Thank you, Jan. Welcome, Terri, followed by Maya. Byers: Hello, everybody. This is Terri Byers, President ofAFSCME Local 183, and I just wanted to thank you all for approving the contract and talking a little bit about the union. It's been an interesting year for our union here in the City of Iowa City in the sense that we did certification last fall and ... for the City of Iowa City. It was at 89% and the Library was 99% of certification that passed. Also the contract, as you know, the collective bargaining changes from 2017 went into effect. It was a new process for everybody involved. I think it went pretty smoothly. I am This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 5 very happy that we have the contract that we have. It could be better, but, you know, we have to wait for Des Moines more than we have to wait for Iowa City. And I just wanted to say hello to everybody and also, if you guys ever have any questions about how the union works or what we're doing or what we're up to, just, you know, you can contact us and we have a Facebook page and also you can find most of us through the City, so thank you! Teague: Thank you, Terri. Welcome, Maya, followed by Katie. Sims: Good evening, my name is Maya Sims and I am the Advocacy Director at the Community Transportation Committee. I am speaking tonight in response to the recent presentation on the summer 2021 transportation changes. While we are enthusiastic about these changes and know they are a step toward providing more accessible transportation in our community, CTC is concerned about the lack of late night service in Iowa City. Bikes are great, but not everyone is able to ride a bike to work. Bikes are not a solution to provide an adequate transportation for many people in our community. As we all know, many Iowa City businesses are open late into the evening and workers deserve safe and reliable transportation to and from work. As such, we are asking that as you move forward with these transportation changes, you align service times with Coralville Transit and provide evening service until midnight. Aligning service times with Coralville would benefit the many workers who live in one city and work in the other. We also believe the fare changes should include a discounted monthly low- income pass. Late night workers have been in need of adequate transportation for years, so we ask that you act with urgency to provide public transportation until midnight. Thank you. Teague: Thank you so much. Welcome ... Dan, followed by Janeen. Kauble: Hi, can you hear me? Teague: Yes, welcome. Kauble: Hi, good evening, Council. Um, to begin with I would like to highlight the hypocrisy present within the Mayor's proclamation to help fight anti -Asian bullying. It's a very important issue, but it's interesting that Mayor Teague is urging Iowa City residents to fight bullying when he and his Council do nothing to stop the racist bullying faced by minorities in Iowa City, specifically minorities, uh, who are dealing with racist landlords. This government must do better. I would ah ... also like to quickly discuss the last Council meeting, since there were several very disturbing things that occurred within it or during it. First, I would like to say that the speaking time then, as well as tonight, um, being cut is extremely unethical. I can't speak for everybody, but, um, most of us have three to five minutes prepared and cutting our time is just, I mean that's what Des Moines's doing and everybody is just talking about how awful it is there. Secondly, it's very unethical that you cut discussion about the tax abatement along Highway 1 and 6, since everything that we were bringing up was relevant to that discussion. You can't just shut people up with that ... without a valid reason. Um, now I would like to voice my support for the creation of an Excluded Workers Fund. Also seriously, City Council, you're going to spend money on businesses downtown, the majority of whom are owned by the same This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 6 landlord family, as that family raises rent and pushes out existing tenants? That's shameful. Um, there is no good reason why the City won't go along with this proposal. It will give direct relief to undocumented immigrants, previously incarcerated people, low wage essential workers, and everyone hit hardest by the pandemic. It also makes good sense in terms of boosting the economy in this community. It will put money in the ... back in the pockets of those who need it most, and, um, it will help raise consumer demand and keep the economy moving. It will also right the wrongs that have come from not providing pandemic relief to excluded workers in Johnson County making less than $15 an hour. It will also provide infa... infrastructure upgrades, excuse me, such as real affordable housing cooperatives and community land trusts, and expand public transit to late nights and Sundays, and redistribute land back to black and indigenous people of color. The relief can be delivered simply and easily with a minimum of paperwork and flexible requirements, similar to that required to obtain a Johnson County ID. In short, public money must be used used for the common good. The community must decide how the A ... ARP relief is spent, not big businesses or downtown interest groups. It's time to put people first, communities before corporations and people before profits, politics, and polluters. Um, I'm going to switch gears a bit, Council. You claim that you work to better the community and yet when vulnerable members of the community have come to you for help, you ignore them. A perfect example of this is Naa Adjeiwa Tackie, whose landlord refused to fix City code violations at her storefront and evicted her when she reported them to the City. As of today, Councilman... Council Member Salih was the only one of you who has ever talked with or visited with Naa, and even then it was only ...it was outside of her capacity as a City Councilor, um, and (mumbled) coordinate with the Center for Worker Justice. What good is this government and its officials if constituents cannot be helped or protected by it? IFR and the People's Truth and Reckoning (both talking) Teague: Thank you, Dan. Welcome, Katie, followed by Janeen. Biechler: Hi, my name is Katie Biechler. I am with SEN Local 199 and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. I'm here today to read a few letters from ex-incan..incarcerated people, uh, in support of the 14 -group coalition for the Excluded Worker Fund. Greetings, my name is Doren Walker, Co -Founder of Family Love, writing to let you know I support Excluded Workers Fund. As a previously incarcerated person, I think public money should be used for the common good. A few examples are housing, health care, insurance, and transportation. It is never easy to return after prison, but it was even worse in the pandemic. With no jobs and relapse easier than ever, people were ... (laughs) Sorry! With no jobs and relapse easier than ever, people could not even attend church, AA, or NA, no support groups at all. In state prisons in Iowa right now, like Anamosa, Iowa Prison Industries have taken incarcerated workers' federal stimulus money, but denied them the fans, TVs, radios, and other survival supplies they bought with it in order to get by during a pandemic when everything was locked down. I am kindly asking you to help people by creating this fund now. The next letter. Hello, my name is Todd E. Williams. I am a small business owner, as well as someone who was formerly incarcerated. I am writing to support the Excluded Workers Fund. As a previously incarcerated person, I know from firsthand experience how little help there is for people trying to get back on their feet after serving their time. The initial days and months following a person's release are crucial to their This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 7 success and reintegration back to society. The financial burden put on the ... upon the taxpayer in keeping men and women locked away for years demands that we do everything in our power to see that these people succeed and become contributors, instead of burdens. That's why I believe any funds available should be put to good use, such as this. Many people recently released from prison are forced to go to community-based corrections houses where immediately upon entry they begin accruing debt, even before finding gainful employment. These practices must be changed because it creates nothing but a revolving door right back into the prison system. I know from firsthand experience that there are many different problems that exist within the walls of prison, and that there continues to be a lack of oversight to address these issues. But here we have an opportunity to make a positive change in people's lives leaving prison. Let's not let this opportunity pass us by. Once again, I support the Excluded Workers Fund and believe wholeheartedly that this can make a difference in people's lives. And the last letter. My name is Vaughn Cavin, and I support the Excluded Workers Coalition proposal to spend the American Rescue Plan money on previously incarcerated people, essential workers, immigrants, affordable housing, public transportation, and other critical needs. As a previously incarcerated person, I know from firsthand experience how little help there is for people trying to get back on their feet after serving their time. Workers released during the pandemic, when the economy was shut down, had no jobs to go to, but did not qualify for unemployment insurance. And in state prisons in Iowa right now, like Anamosa, Iowa Prison Industries have taken incarcerated workers' federal stimulus money, but denied them the supplies they bought with it in order to get by during the pandemic, when everything was locked down. Then when people do make it out, there is no support. I urge you to put people first and fund excluded workers today. Thanks for your time. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Janeen, followed by Maureen. Jorgensen: Sorry, I was muted (laughs) My name is Janeen Jorgensen. I am previously a long-term resident of Iowa City, when I worked at the University of Iowa in their International Office, uh, in charge of study abroad. I then moved to the University of Oregon and did a similar kind of work, and then moved to the Country of Denmark, where I was also employed sim ... similarly. And then finally I've returned to the me ... the oasis that Iowa City is in the state of Iowa. I mention the ... the time that I spent in Denmark because it was for me a ... a revelation of how a country could work together to really bring about an equitable distribution of goods to all of its people. I am here to support a $54 million Exclude... Excluded Workers Fund, um, because I ... I truly believe nobody should be left out of this pandemic, this pandemic relief fund. I hope ... I hope the City Council will see the gift of this money as a wonderful opportunity and to realize that the guidance that the federal government is providing us is ... is really clear, um, that it should be used to help to help the ... help everybody who's ... who has been damaged by the pandemic. I am particularly interested in providing low wage workers who ... who worked very hard during the pandemic, that needed hazard pay raises, that I think they very much deserve. Thank you for listening. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Maureen, followed by Crissy. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 8 Vasile: Good evening, my name is Maureen Vasile and I'm a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and a Catholic Worker. I'm here to support the $54 million Excuded ... Excluded Workers Fund. Janeen was right, no one should really be left out of this. The guidance is already clear, immigrant workers and low wage workers need hazard pay raises and COVID relief. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Crissy, followed by Pat. Canganelli: Good evening, Mayor and City Council people or persons. Last year the Iowa City Council registered opposition to the previous administration's intention to overturn HUD's equal access rule. On April (garbled) 22nd of this year, HUD Secretary Fudge announced that HUD will withdraw the previous administration's proposed rule change that would have reversed the equal access rule protections for transgender people. Secretary Fudge went on to state, `Access to safe, stable housing and shelter is a basic necessity,' and affirmed HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing (mumbled) or other critical services because of their gender identity. I want to thank the City Council for taking the position that you did last year in registering your opposition to the past ... uh, the previous administration's intention... intended rule change. I want to thank you on behalf of the shelter ...of Shelter House, the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, the Agency Impact Coalition, the Iowa (mumbled) State, Continuum of Care Governance Board, and the Iowa Council on Homelessness for joining us in this opposition. We were successful, we were heard, the equal access ruling has been preserved. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Pat, followed by Annie. Bowen: Hello, thank you. My name is Pat Bowen and I live in Iowa City, and I was on tonight's work session and during that session you spoke about making the Good Neighbor Program mandatory, so more residents could be informed and that it was more transparent, and I applaud that. I hope you will do the same thing for the spending of the ARP monies. You've heard from several people tonight and you also heard from the City Manager during your work session about guiding principles for the ARP monies and he suggested evaluating values. And I would hope that when you look at these values, you are looking at the values of the entire community, helping the most vulnerable and marginalized. It isn't just a moral thing to do. It really makes good economic sense. Putting money in the pockets of those people who need it the most will keep consumer demand high, and they will spend that money in the local economy and keep it moving. Also, the U.S. Treasury Department has already issued clear guidance about how the ARP money can be spent, on hard hur...on hard hit people, families, communities, nonprofits, and places of worship. Premium pay for essential workers and critical infrastructure. These are the things I would like you to concentrate on when you were looking at the values. I would also urge you to remember that these are public monies and should be spent for the public good, which you've heard several times, but I will just say it one more time. I also concur that educating the public is part of your job, and believe that you are on the right track and have ... in having public meetings, not only to hear us but also to help us understand the process and to get our input in that process. So I thank you very much for your time. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 9 Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Annie, followed by Taylor. Gudenkauf: Hi, my name's Annie. I'm a social worker in Iowa City, often working with families that are undocumented and/or receive low wages. I'm speaking in support of the fund Excluded Workers Coalition's demand to spend the $17 million we are receiving from the federal government on those most hurt in the past year, undocumented immigrants, previously incarcerated people, sex workers, and other low wage essential workers. During this pandemic, access to vital social services has become limited, inaccessible, or cut off completely. Those harmed by the government's ambivalence or outright hostility are owed this financial assistance, not only because they have worked on the front lines of this pandemic and recession, but also because they are human beings and deserve to feel safe and materially supported by those in power. Your choice on how to spend these funds is life or death for some in Johnson County. Please choose in accordance with the Treasury Department's guidelines and the wishes of your constituents. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Taylor, followed by Juan. Kohn: Hi, can you hear me? Teague: Yes, we can. Welcome. Kohn: Hi. I'm here to add my support to those calling for the $54 million Excluded Worker Fund. When deciding how to spend our money, we have to prioritize our neighbors over profits. This is a great chance for you as City Council to make good on your promises to strive for equity in this community, to prove whether you are sincere. Uh, platitudes are great, but when we need material support that you can provide, will you? Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Juan, followed by Dulce. Galvez: Sorry, this is (mumbled) you can hear me. Uh, thank you so much. My name is Juan Manuel Galvez. I am working in the City, but also have been in, urn ... um, for many years (mumbled) in Iowa City, and I am here to support these like fund for the Exclude Workers Fund, and I want just to say that we have this opportunity to do this, not just because, uh (mumbled) for all these people like has been exclude, but also because we can send a message of love, because we can send a message that we can be different, as a human beings in all this environment, and especially with the Latino immigrants. I am a Latino and an immigrant, and I have seen firsthand how many people is suffering for the last, uh, especially the last year. I know ... I know like many people need support, but I think we need to put priorities in front of us. And the most important, I think this is not political issue, this is a human issue. If we can see in the ... in the way, I think we can send a message, just not to the rest of Iowa but to the country. Thank you. Teague: Thank you, and welcome, Dulce, followed by Hannah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 10 Escorcia: Hi, my name is Dulce Escorcia. I grew up in Iowa City and continue to live here as a student at the University of Iowa. I'm also an organizer with Iowa (mumbled) Action, a grassroots organization, and I'm here to speak in support of the $54 million Excluded Worker Fund that has been mentioned throughout this meeting. As has been mentioned, this would be paid by the American Rescue Plan and has wide support by the people of Iowa City, as I'm sure you have seen in just the past 20 minutes or so. The people of Iowa City are in dire need of money, housing, and more, and again, I'm sure you're well aware of this, since these are issues that have been brought up many times during meetings, and hopefully you've been listening during those times so you know how crucial it is. However, I don't know for sure that you will use this money in ways that will actually help the people who need it most. Many of the people I care about, um, and have created a community with are undocumented and are low wage workers, so this is an issue that is very close to me, my family, and people that they love and care about. One of the people that I know and I'm close to recently was out of work because he had COVID, and that was a really big stressor, obviously for him, his family, and those of us around him. Imagine being sick and your health is not even like your biggest concern, because now you're missing half of your regular monthly income, and you still need to pay for rent, feed yourself, and feed your child. So I am asking you to support this fund and do it as a way to stop pushing people out of Iowa City in favor of wealthy families and students. Um, again, like I said, just, uh, am speaking in support of the Excluded Workers Fund. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Hannah. Bott: Hi, my name is Hannah Bott. I am here as a member of Iowa CCI, but also as the organizer and Union Rep for Local 199. In the hospital I work with nurses and healthcare professionals, and throughout the pandemic I have heard first-hand accounts of, you know, much like Dulce said of people who are on the front lines and who are facing, you know, in the early stages were facing exposure to COVID and a great deal of uncertainty. I mean I heard from nurses who had been in the practice for over 20 years that this was the first time they'd ever been scared to go to work. So this was a really unprecedented time, and while I was hearing those stories, what I was hearing from these people was not that they were more scared for their lives, but once they got past that that they were scared that they were going to lose their jobs still because of the uncertainty of the pandemic, because of the cutbacks, because of being put on furloughs, um, and that really just highlighted, for me, and I hope that it does for everyone else who's listening, um, the necessity of having things like an Excluded Worker Fund out of the American Rescue Plan funds that are coming to Johnson County. You know, no one deserves to feel afraid of losing their livelihood, or their ability to provide for their family, of facing housing insecurity and food insecurity, not knowing how they're going to feed their kids, or if they can make rent for the next month, because they lost their job because their boss prioritized keeping the profits over paying their employees in a difficult time. Um, and because of that, because businesses consistently throughout the pandemic prioritize their own profits and paying their executives and higher ups at really high rates over the workers who make them that money, it is incredibly critical that we as a community focus on the people who live here, who keep the money in Iowa City, the poor people, the working class. The people who have kept Iowa City moving throughout the pandemic, and because of that I'm asking you to please be more transparent This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 11 about your process with how you are going to direct these funds and to really take seriously the impact that this could have on the lives of low wage workers, of immigrants, of people who were left out of monies from previous disbursements of funds throughout the pandemic. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Um, Kathy Lee -Son. Please state your, uh, full name. Lee -Son: My name is Kathy Lee -Son. Thank you, City Council, Mayor Teague. I'm here to support the $54 million Excluded Worker Fund from the ARP. I'm a pediatric nephrologist here at the local Stead Family Children's Hospital. I care for children across Iowa with kidney conditions. I'm also affiliated with the Catholic Worker House, in alignment with their social justice mission. In these eight years of my medical practice here, I have been a provider to many pediatric patients whose caregivers are either migrant workers, English as second language speakers, low wage income workers, were or are incarcerated, and experience routine insecurities in housing, food, education, and personal safety. I've seen their struggles, not only for them trying to look after themselves at times of health complications, but really to keep our society supply chain moving, through their employment as under- recognized essential workers. They have all suffered during this past year. Social distancing and working from home are truly unearned privileges of the wealthy in the United States. Though recommended, these guidelines are really not within reach by all of these essential and migrant workers. Now there is, as you all know, a wealth gap inequality within this country, our state, our county, and most importantly, within our city. We have an opportunity here to close this gap. By seeing the vulnerable and recognizing their needs, this Iowa City City Council has a chance to reckon with and address these systemic inequalities that lay before our own very own eyes. Furthermore, because I'm a pediatrician I focus on children's health. Adverse childhood experiences impact the long- term psychosocial and physical health of children as they grow up into their adulthood. It shortens their lifespan, it creates chaos. Food insecurity and financial stress within the home are often associated with dysfunctional household category of aces, where there's a history of parental separation, substance use, incarceration, or domestic violence. This community that we have has the opportunity to disrupt this cycle of wealth gap inequalities, not just for the present moment but for our collective future, and I really implore you all to really focus on paying attention to not just where the funds go, but are we ready to invest in our children and their families and our future, our collective future. Thank you for your time. Teague: Thank you. I'm gonna welcome Stephany, but I also want to acknowledge that if you've already addressed Council, we ask that you lower your hand. Welcome, Stephany. Hoffelt: Hello, my name is Stephany Hoffelt and I am a member representative of the Iowa City Mutual Aid Collective, one of the 14 groups ... or the 14 -group coalition, who are asking for people's support of the $54 million Excluded Worker Fund paid for by the American Rescue Plan. I think that what I ... I mean, there's so many reasons, there's so many people that we as a mutual aid collective provided mutual aid support for during the pandemic, but the people that I'm thinking about most are people who worked in healthcare and as maybe nurses assistants and people like that who ... who don't make $15 an hour, and we tried to find places, free places for This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 12 some of these people to stay, but there weren't enough empty places, and COVID being what it was, we couldn't let people into our homes. So some of those people had to pay for hotel rooms with credit cards that they're still paying off. At $11 an hour to live in a hotel, can you imagine how much it would help them to be able to pay off those ... that credit card debt that they ran up during that time? And that's not to mention the, you know, food that we send regularly out to people who are undocumented workers and things like that and ... and how badly that was needed during the, you know, meals to fill in the gaps for other programs and things like that that were needed during COVID. And those people haven't caught up yet and these types of funds would really help those people to catch up and to be able to participate more fully in the economy in Iowa City, and I urge the City Council to support this plan. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Now I see some hands of people that have already addressed us during this public comment time. So ... I'm going to call David Hempel. Welcome. David, we ask that you keep your comments to three minutes or less. And you're on mute. Hempel: Excuse me, I didn't know (laughs) sorry. My name is David Hempel. I've lived most of my life in Iowa City. I went to school here in the 60s, got a music degree, and after graduation I owned Eble Music Company downtown for 25 years. I've been an activist for the folks who are very much less fortunate than some of us, and I really think that everyone before me, Kathy, Katie, Janeen, Pat Bowen, um, they've all spoken eloquently to this. I ... I couldn't stress more that I ... I believe that all these people represent the people who really need it. The poor folks in this town, indigents, people that have spent time in ... behind bars, and low wage workers of all sorts have really struggled, and this would mean so much to them. It's good that we ... we have Center for Worker Justice and HACAP and Catholic Worker House and various other wonderful institutions in this town, but when this chunk of money comes along, we really need to put it where it's needed the most. So ... thank you for listening. Teague: Thank you, I still see hands that have already addressed us during this comment time. We will be ending at 7:00 PM. I'm going to call Harry. Welcome, Harry, and if you've already addressed Council, ask that you lower your hand. Welcome, Harry. Manaligod: Yes, I would just like to also express support for the Excluded Workers Fund. Um, I think that especially if City Council is going to proclaim support for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that, uh, we remember how huge the wealth gap between immigrants and citizens in those ... in that racial group is and so many other racial groups, that we have to remember that immigrants are the people in immigrant groups that suffer the most, and who are often left behind, whereas people who do have citizenship can live very good lives oftentimes, not necessarily that there's no problems, but we ... we need to make sure we support those in our communities who are suffering the most, especially if we're going to (garbled) to us. Teague: Thank you. Would anyone else like to address Council during this time? Please raise your hand, who haven't already addressed Council. Seeing no one else, I am going to close our public comment time. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 13 10. Planning and Zoning Matters 10.a. Zoning Code Amendment — Nonconforming Drinking Establishments — Ordinance to amend Title 14 Zoning regarding nonconforming drinking establishments in a Historic Overlay District (OHD) zone and vacant for at least two years. (REZ20-0015) 1. Public Hearing Teague: I'm going to open the public comment... public hearing. And I am going to welcome staff! Sitzman: Good evening, Mayor, Council. Danielle Sitzman, Neighborhood and Development Services. I'll walk you through this item for this code change, starting with a little bit of background. In the past, the City has established ordinances to address, uh... negative circumstances that were prevalent in and around the concentration of drinking establishments. Beginning in 2009, the City established a minimum separation distance as a way to address some concerns that were, uh, present at the time, in addition to other grouping, uh, related ordinances that were adopted. I'm only going to talk really about the zoning code issues, uh, that ... or ordinances that were adopted in the proposal tonight is coming to you through the zoning code. So as I said, in 2009 there was a minimum separation distance established, um, throughout the city. Um, in 2013 that was redressed again to limit its impact to a smaller area where the concentration (garbled) really the most concerning. Um, that was the University impact area and Riverfront Crossings District, and then again as over the years there's been some lightening of the, uh, restrictions that were placed at the time to address additional innovations that have come to us and, uh, such as roof top cafes and sidewalk cafes. So some of the rules that we're going to talk about tonight have to do a little bit with what happened when the separation distance was put into place and basically made a lot of the existing drinking establishments (garbled) So, uh, as I said in 2009, 2013 those (garbled) quite a few drinking establishments in and around the downtown became legal non -conforming uses at that time. As I said, it was initially throughout the entire city, but then pulled back a bit to just the two areas shown on this map, being the University impact zone and the Riverfront Crossings District. Um, the consequences of these regulations have been largely positive as they were intended to be a big help to prevent further proliferation of drinking establishments and led to the ability for more vaned businesses to locate in the downtown, um, including retail and office. With any changes there's always impact over time that maybe were not anticipated or that we'd like to continue to address (mumbled) as I said, beginning in 2009 (garbled) addressed a couple... every couple of years in different ways, um, bringing us to the concern that was raised by the Tailwinds project most recently, as part of the redevelopment in the ped mall area at 109 to 112 East College Street. The concern was raised as part of that project. Um, these are historic buildings that were protected as part of the redevelopment project and then they are being renovated and reoccupied with new uses. Um, one of those new uses is a brew pub and restaurant which wishes to operate as a drinking establishment and would occupy one of the former spaces that was previously a very large drinking establishment, um (mumbled) classified as legal non -conforming and then, um, closed. So the proposed amendment tonight is to address some of the unintended impacts that, um, and continue to look for ways to support the comprehensive plan and historic preservation in our This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 14 downtown, as well as economic viability of businesses throughout the city. So talking a little bit about drinking establishments by definition in our zoning code, they have three qualities, primarily that they dispense alcoholic beverages and/or food. Um, they're licensed by the State for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and they operate hours specifically midnight to 2:00 AM. Another way of saying that this is (mumbled) while some things can be eating establishments and have liquor licenses, if they're not open late, uh, between midnight and 2:00 AM (mumbled) establishment. As I mentioned, this crosses over into the territory of legal non -conforming uses in that, um, over time as zoning code changes, um, if something's in place at the time the code changes, it's typically allowed to continue to operate. It just becomes classified a different kind of use, a non -conforming use. The intent of non -conforming use ordinances generally is to allow things to change gradually over time, either through attrition and replacement when things close or in the case of, uh, when it's non -conforming based on the physical developments to encourage gradual improvements to a property to bring it into compliance. In this case, it's a use that we're talking about being non -conforming and generally the anticipated impacts of this ordinance change in 2009, 2013 was to eventually see the number of drinking establishments decline as they closed and remained closed for a year or more (garbled) reopening under our current ordinances. The proposed amendment tonight would allow the continuation beyond that one-year expiration of non -conforming drinking establishments, where economically viable business substitutes have not been found for locally designated historic buildings. So a very specific set of criteria (mumbled) the property, um, considering being, um, using this new ordinance would have to be zoned an historic district overlay, like the Tailwinds project recently was, and the building has actually remained vacant for two years, so one year putting it out of the range of a non -conforming use and another year really as a way to show that they've attempted to find another viable use and have not been able to do so. (mumbled) historic preservation and economic development goals to reward the designation of (mumbled) landmarks (mumbled) storefronts. (mumbled) more permissive regulations regarding, as I said, non -conforming drinking establishments. And as I mentioned there's very specific criteria. So staff did look at and do an analysis as we drew up this proposal for your consideration tonight. There were... there are currently more than 100 businesses that have licenses to serve alcohol in the University impact and Riverfront Crossings Districts, approximately 43 of these would be classified as drinking establishments and meeting those three criteria that I mentioned. Thirty- eight of those 43 were, uh, are non -conforming, which means they were created or were in existence when the 500 -foot separation distance went into effect. And there's a map included in the packet that shows the area of the separation in blue bubbles around the drinking establishments. It also shows the location of historic districts or resources in the blue and red crosshatch. Um, as you can see there's very few places where this ordinance (mumbled) would be able to be used. Typically we see most of our historic designations in residential zones for residential properties. Um, much of the downtime could be designated historic, but is not. Um, that's generally at the choice of the property owner. Um, this is another exhibit that was not in the packet, but I found useful for myself in kind of conceptualizing what the net impact of this ordinance and the use of this ordinance by Tailwinds would be. This is a cross- section of the buildings at 109 to 127 College Street on the ped mall. Imagine you're standing on the south side of the building, so the Burlington side, clicking through them and the historic resources (mumbled) College block. I kind of tried to align the spreadsheet here to identify those spaces. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 15 Outlining each one of those is the former location of drinking establishments that were in existence, but have, um, either have gone out of the non -conforming boundaries or would. Uh, the Fieldhouse on the left is in the Dooley block at 111 East College Street. Bounded in the red is the former location of the Fieldhouse, basically on the first floor of that building. In the Crescent block, kind of on the center of the screen is the Union Bar, which is a multi -floor drinking establishment at 121 East College Street. Bounded in green and both, uh, across all three of these blocks are ... is the proposed redevelopment as part of Tailwinds. So you can see in this present block, the Riverside Theater takes over, um, dressing rooms in the upper floor and there are four new studio apartments being constructed on the second floor and two commercial tenant spaces taking up what would, uh, had formerly been (mumbled) Uh, on the western side, in the Dooley block, the three floors of space, or what would be the proposed redevelopment for a Reunion Brewery, uh, Restaurant and essentially drinking establishment. Then the far east side is the Martini space. Also included in this spreadsheet is the occupant modes for those, all those previous uses and the proposed uses. Occupant loads are not exactly a square footage calculation. They're the number of people that will be anticipated be in a space, based on a square footage but also it's designed so if you have a bar that's designed to be standing room only, uh, no tables or chairs, not a heavy emphasis on dining, there would be more people in the space. In this redevelopment, the Reunion Brewery is more on the floor plan similar to a restaurant (mumbled) particular amount of floor space taken up by brewing equipment. So you can see the occupant load is dropping from the previous Fieldhouse of 420 people to a range of 350 to 447. They do also incorporate some rooftop space as well. In the center block, the Crescent block, the Union going from 854 occupant load down to essentially zero for drinking establishments, because those (mumbled) be something else, and then the Martini space recently applied for a re ... um, renovation as well, showing the drop in occupancy right there. So this amendment is narrowly targeted to continue to support the initial goals of the separation distance established in the ordinances in the 2000s. And the amendment also facilitates historic preservation and economic development to support a project that ... of this scale and size, as shown in this graphic. Overall the requirements of the proposed amendment mitigate negative externalities to prevent the further proliferation of downtown drinking establishments. It also provides (garbled) incentives for future designation of properties as historic. Um, both of those goals are identified in our comprehensive plan and are supported by the proposed code amendment. So based on a review of the relevant criteria and potential impacts, staff drafted and recommended the zoning code be amended as explained, to support the goals (mumbled) of the comprehensive plan, related to continue the reuse of historic properties in (garbled) At it's April 15th meeting by a vote of 6-0 the Planning and Zoning Commission concurred with staff's opinion and also recommend approval of the code change. Happy to answer questions. Teague: Any questions for Danielle? Thank you, Danielle. Hearing none, all right. Would anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand and I'll call upon you. Seeing no one, I'm gonna just ask the Council if you're inclined to vote with P&Z on this item? I see the majority's shaking their head. I'm going to close the public hearing. Could I get a motion to approve first ... give first consideration please? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 16 2. Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration) Minns: So moved, Mims. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: Council discussion. Mims: I just want to thank staff for their careful crafting of this. I mean this... obviously alcohol issues have been something that we've been dealing with downtown for a long time and, you know, with the 500 -foot rule, etc., and just trying to really deal with some of the problems down there, and I ... so I think to really look at the conflict of issues here between venues that serve alcohol and the ... some of the problems we've had with late night activity, etc., and historic preservation and use of those old buildings, I think staff is ... has really kind of threaded the needle on all of that and come up with a really good solution to make use of these buildings, to help with the preservation, which of course is what, you know, Tailwinds wanted to do in cooperation with their other part of their project. So I just really want to thank staff for the creativity in developing this. Thomas: Yeah, this is, I think, this need was immediate in that the Tailwinds project needed to, um, you know, to move forward, and to move forward it...it needed this sort of legislation. So it...it was necessary to do it, that was kind of the trigger. But it also does, you know, as staff has emphasized, I think it has some long-term benefits. Uh, we'll be, um, it hopefully will incentivize historic preservation overlay, uh, designations. Uh, will fill some vacancies hopefully, you know, you never.. you don't want empty storefronts in a commercial district. So, yeah, I'm pleased that staff came up with trying to address, you know, all the issues. It's ... it's a tricky balance, you know, it is something that I think we'll obviously need to continue to monitor. I think management of the drinking establishments plays into this as well. I ... I have more ... I have confidence in the Reunion Brewery managing that place well and so that it, uh, will be a successful drinking establishment. Teague: I think there's a lot going on here, of course, and just like the previous Councilors have mentioned, I think it's a great opportunity, um, now to address these and we'll kind of just monitor as we go along on ... on some of this, but I'm going to support this tonight. Roll call please. (no response from Salih) And she may have stepped off for a minute, um, so motion... motion passes 6, uh, with one absent. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 17 10.b. Rezoning — Finkbine — Ordinance conditionally rezoning approximately 6.12 acres of land located near the intersection of Finkbine Commuter Drive and Melrose Avenue to Medium Density Multi -Family Residential (RM -20) and Institutional Public (P-2) with a Planned Development Overlay (OPD/RM-20/P-2) (REZ20-0012) (Pass & Adopt) Teague: Could I get a motion to pass and adopt? Mims: So moved, Mims. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: And I'm gonna wait one second, um ... for Mayor Pro Tem, she got disconnected. And I just want to establish who moved and who seconded that. Fruehling: Mims and Bergus. Teague: Great! Gotta love internet every now and then (laughs) I wonder if. ... uh, while Mayor Pro... we need to finish this one. And I should have ... uh, some information here within one minute. Please... All right, Mayor Pro Tem issues are, uh, trying to get worked out, so we're going to go ahead and continue, um, in her absence. So we're on item 10.b., and this is the rezoning Finkbine. We just had a motion and a second it, and Council discussion. Hearing none, roll call please. Taylor: Mayor, could I just quick say something? Sorry! Teague: Absolutely, yes! Taylor: You are too fast! I was just going to comment that at one time was not in favor of this, but I had some concerns, and I still... what I ... I will vote in favor of this, but I still express those concerns about their plan to eliminate so many trees and the actual size of this building, the height, um, the sensitive slopes proximity and lack of affordable housing options, and those... those kinds of things, I still have concerns about, but I still think its a good idea, you know, we annex this and rezone it. That.. that's a good thing. Teague: All right, any other comments? Hearing none, roll call please. Dulek: I'm just not sure if Council Member Salih is on yet, so I will ... I will state her name. Teague: Yeah, she .... she may not be on yet, but we'll (mumbled) She ... she stated that we can continue. All right, motion passes 5-1, with Mayor Pro Tem absent. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 18 11. Transit Funding Application — Resolution authorizing the filling of an application with the Iowa Department of Transportation for FY2022 for Iowa Department of Transportation State Transit Assistance and Federal Transit Administration funding. 1. Public Hearing Teague: I'm going to open the public hearing, and staff presentation please. Nagle -Gamin: Good evening, Mayor, Councilors. Um, tonight's application, as the Mayor stated, is, uh, is an annual filing of our application to the DOT and to the Federal Transit Administration for annual funding. This is a federal... federally required step to host a public hearing and to seek your approval to apply for these funds. The funds we're applying for tonight, or this year for the upcoming fiscal year, will be approximately $555,000 for the State Transit (garbled) Assistance Program, $1.9 million from the Federal.... Federal Transit Administrator for operating assistance for transit, approximately $119,000 from the Federal 5310 Program, which will help support our paratransit services. And then our, uh, little over $20 million federal request, ongoing federal requests, for funding for a new transit facility. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Teague: Hearing no questions for you. We are going to ask the public to raise your hand if you would like to address this topic. Hearing no one wanting to address Item 11, which is the transit funding application. I'm going to close the public hearing. Could I get a motion to approve please? 2. Consider a Resolution Weiner: So moved, Weiner. (several talking, garbled) Teague: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Salih. Council discussion? Roll call please. Motion passes 7- 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 19 12. CPRE Ordinance — Ordinance amending Title 8, entitled "Police Regulations," Chapter 8, entitled "Community Police Review Board," to lengthen the time period to file a complaint and to allow the complainant to respond to the Police Chief's report. (First Consideration) Teague: Could I get a motion? Mims: So moved, Mims. Weiner: Second, Weiner. Teague: Moved by Mims, seconded by Weiner. Staff presentation on this. Dulek: Uh, Mayor, hi, this is Sue Dulek with the City Attorney's office and last summer, as you know, you passed a resolution often referred to as the Black Lives Matter resolution with a variety of action items, one of which was to ask the CPRB for their recommendations to improve civilian oversight of the Iowa City Police Department. And in December, the Council received the CPRB's report and it included a variety of...of recommendations, and in March at your work session you discussed those, some of which need further discussion and some of which need further legal review, but two of them you approved and asked staff to act on, and those were to increase the time to file a complaint from 90 days to 180 days and, secondly, to allow the complainant time to respond to the Chief's response. Staff, in tum, then drafted an ordinance, the same ordinance that's in front of you tonight, forwarded it to the CPRB for their review. They reviewed it at their last meeting and had no comments, and so the ordinance in front of you does do two things — it increases the time to file a complaint from 90 days from the incident to 180 days, and also gives the complainant 21 days to respond to the Chief's report, and if the Chief so chooses, Chief has seven days in turn to respond to the complainant's response. So I'm certainly more than ... there's nothing magic about those 21 and seven. We've selected those as reasonable amounts and the CPRB didn't have any comments. Teague: Thank you. Any questions for our Interim City Attorney? Salih: My question is just like when ... when (mumbled) respond to the ... the report or the comment of the Chief is that after the decision of the ... of the (mumbled) of the committee or when is that? Or as soon as the Chief of the police is (mumbled) investigate the problem. Dulek: Right, the latter. It's the Chief's initial report to the CPRB. Salih: Uh huh. Dulek: Um, and previously then there wasn't an opportunity for the complainant, who gets a copy of that, to say, `Well, I disagree, or what about this, or what about that,' so then now the complainant would have that opportunity to comment on the Chief's report. And then the Chief, in turn, would have an opportunity. Then all of that goes to the CPRB (both talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 20 Salih: Okay. Yeah, that means before the CPRB look at it. Okay, that's great. Yeah, okay. Teague: Any other questions? All right. Would anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand. Seeing no one, Council discussion? Thomas: I'm happy to see some of the recommendations by the CPRB moving forward. I thought the CPRB did a really fine job producing the recommendations, so it's nice to see them moving forward. Mims: I would just say ditto to what Councilor Thomas said. That's... you just kind of took the words out of my mouth. It just...really appreciate their work and glad to see things going forward as well. Weiner: They put a lot of hours into it, so, um, and appreciate the ... the Interim City Attorney for helping put this into ... into words so that we can vote on it. Teague: Yeah, I would say ditto to all of that and it's a great opportunity for people that want to, you know, really write a response and... and get their side, um, so that's a great opportunity for those individuals, so ... great! Hearing no more comments, roll call please. Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 21 14. Alcohol in Park Shelters — Ordinance amending Title 4, entitled "Alcoholic Beverages," and Title 10, entitled "Public Ways and Property," to allow alcohol in park shelters. (Pass & Adopt) Teague: Could I get a motion to pass and adopt? Salih: Motion to pass and adopt. Mims: Second, Mims (garbled) Teague: Moved by Salih, seconded by Mims. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If you're on the phone press *9. Otherwise raise your hand. Seeing no one, Council discussion? Taylor: I (both talking) I just ... I just wanted to make quick (laughs) you're just so quick tonight, Bruce (garbled) people to see maybe, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate... do appreciate some concerns that have been raised about this from some people, but ... but I'm just trusting that people will be sensible,uh, in ... when they utilize the,uh, their rented space and drinking alcohol. Teague: Anyone else? Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 22 15. 2021 Bond Resolution — Resolution directing sale of $11,325,000 (subject to adjustment per terms of offering) General Obligation Bond, Series 2021. Teague: Could I get a motion to approve please? Mims: So moved, Mims. Bergus: Second (several talking, garbled) Teague: Moved by Mims, seconded by Bergus. And... hello, Dennis! Bockenstedt: Hello, uh, good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh, I am Dennis Bockenstedt, the Finance Director for the City of Iowa City, and this morning the City had a successful sale and took bids at 11:00 AM for $11,325,000 of general obligation bonds. And tonight Maggie Burger, our Financial Advisor from Speer Financial is here. I believe she's on Zoom with us, and she's going to give us a summary of the results and talk about how it went. And I will turn it over to her! Maggie Burger: Thank you very much, Mayor and Council. I'm Maggie Burger with Speer Financial. Today we received four bids, and they are listed on a letter. Key Bank Capital Markets Incorporated of Denver, Colorado, is our low bidder at an interest rate of 1.0645%. The second low bid was at 1.1135. We also had a bid at 1.1829 and 1.9118. These are 10 -year bonds and this interest rate is lower than the 1.55% received last year. The City of Iowa City did go through the rating process again with Moody's Investors Service, as you always do, and we are very happy to report, and the City should be proud, that you have maintained your AAA status. That is the highest rating that can be achievable in Moody's and other rating agencies across the nation. They talked throughout about ways that you could, you know, or items that, I'm sorry, are being improved upon in the City, that ongoing development in residential and commercial across the city is expected to continue to grow your tax base. They talked favorably about your general fund surpluses and those ending fund balances year -to- date. We've always talked that Moody's does like cash. It also likes the fact that you have ample revenue -raising flexibility, meaning that there could be extra dollars either levied or additional dollars that be could be sought after, if you were to utilize or vote upon like a local option sales tax, for example. Uh, positively the City has a rapid amortization of 100% of its debt being repaid in 10 years and it talks highly under governance about the City's management team, and how you have always maintained your fund balances and exceeded those fund balances, as well. We (mumbled) those pages and the bids are outlined for you. The total bid price from Key Bank is they are going to pay you a large premium on your bonds and in doing so they're paying you about $1.4 million in premium. In doing so, they are giving you that premium to buy down their interest rates, which range from a 5% down to a 2%, which is very typical in the market that we're seeing. Most of the bids came in with very similar structure and we've provided the final debt service schedule on $11,325,000 of general obligation bonds. Annually your payments started around a 1.5 and they do decrease every year, and that is based on a structure of equal principal payments every year, which is a structure that the City has moved to in the last couple of years through This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 23 your budgeting practices. These bonds are callable on June 1 st of 2027. So at that time, if interest rates are lower than the 2 and 3%, uh, coupons or interest rates that remained, you would be able to refund them or you would be able to call them in at that time and repay them in full or part. I would answer any questions that you have, but we would recommend that you pass the resolution in front of you, which awards to Key Bank Capital Markets of Denver, Colorado, at the true interest rate of 1.0645%. Teague: Thank you, Maggie. Any questions for Maggie? Would anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand and I'll call upon you. If you're on the phone press *9. Seeing no one, Council discussion? Mims: I just want to once again thank our staff for putting us in a position to continue this AAA bond rating. I think when you look at this interest rate of a true interest rate at 1.0645%, that is absolutely phenomenal. And I think that the practices we've put in place, that Maggie listed, that Moody's mentioned in their analysis from, you know, our ongoing development to, you know, the way we do our fund balances and our fund surpluses, etc., the rapid amortization. Um, Geoff, and, you know, Tom Marcus before you, and Dennis, um, have just done a phenomenal job, and I just hope that our Council will, you know, continue down that path in those kinds of decisions to make sure that we keep the City (mumbled) coming out hopefully the other side of the pandemic, but keep these things in mind because they save us so much money in the long run when we can get these really low interest rates, so thank you for all the hard work from staff. Teague: I would have to say ditto, interest rates do matter because that's real money that is leaving us going into, you know, paying for that extra charge, whereas this allows us opportunities to do different things with the money that we keep, so thanks to staff and all your hard work. Hearing nothing else, roll call please. Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 24 16. Approval of the CDBG/HOME budget — Resolution adopting Iowa City's FY22 Annual Action Plan which is a sub -part of Iowa City's 2021-2025 Consolidated Plan (City Steps 2025). Teague: Could I get a motion to approve please? Salih: (both talking) Thomas: So moved (garbled) Teague: Moved by Salih, seconded by Thomas, and staff presentation please. Hello, Erika. Kubly: Hello, Erika Kubly with Neighborhood Services. Can you see my PowerPoint? Teague: Yes. Kubly: Okay. Is it still there? Teague: Yes. Kubly: Okay, thanks. Um, so as an Entitlement Community, Iowa City receives Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships Funds annually from HUD. For FY22, we've been allocated about 721,000 in CDBG funds, which is a 3.4% increase from last year. We are also expecting 494,000 in HOME funds, which is a decrease of about about 3.4% from last year. The annual action plan, um, is part of our five-year Consolidated Plan City Steps 2025. (mumbled) the City will spend its CDBG and HOME funds in the upcoming fiscal year and how we will use the ... those funds to reach goals identified in City Steps 2025. This is the second year of our five-year planning cycle. And so this slide shows City funding for CDBG and HOME over the past 25 years, with CDBG in the blue on the bottom and HOME on top of that. Back in the late 1990s through early 2000s, we received about a million dollars in CDBG funds. That amount has decreased over time, although we've gotten some small increases in recent years, and then HOME funding has ranged from over 716,000 in 2003, down to 321,000, um, in 2015. And so this slide shows the same information adjusted for inflation (mumbled) back in the late 1990s, which translate to about a 2.5 million in 2021 dollars. So federal funds are trending downward over time. This table is how we plan to use our funding for FY22. Several of these activities are set asides, which means we can ... we identify these activities in City Steps 2025 and fund them at certain... at a certain level each year. This includes neighborhood improvement for 75,000, which will be spent in partnership with the (mumbled) and will serve a low income area of the community. The housing rehabilitation set aside is used primarily for the City's owner -occupied rehab... housing rehab program, but we can also use it for some rental rehab. We have two CHDO funding set asides, CHDO stands for Community Housing Development Organization, and our local active CHDO is the Housing Fellowship, so they can receive funds for operations each year, and also for housing activities. Um, our economic development set aside funds are CDBG technical assistance grant, as well as This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 25 our small business resource program, which is the matching loan program for micro enterprises. And then our admin and planning, we can use up to 20% of our CDBG allocation and 10% of our HOME location on things like staff expenses to administer the grants. Um, back up at the top, we can also use 50% of our CDBG budget on public service activities, which are paired with our local Aid to Agency funds. The public facility projects are competitive applications recommended by HCDC and include an (mumbled) project at Shelter House and rehab projects at the Broadway and Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Centers. And then down under other housing activities, you'll see that a portion of the funds as listed as `to be determined.' We actually had two agencies withdraw applications this year. We did not receive enough requests through our competitive allocation to expend all the available funds. We do plan to hold a mid- year funding round for HOME funds this fall to solicit applications for additional projects to allocate any remaining funds. And then Unlimited Abilities was recommended $125,000 for a rental acquisition project by HCDC. A staff mem ... memo was included with your packet, outlining a staff recommendation to HCDC to defer this application to the fall funding round. Unlim... Unlimited Abilities received their first HOME funding award in FY21, so they're new to the HOME program process. The project was a rental acquisition for people with mental illness. Um, while they've moved forward with their current project in a timely manner, they have not fully leased up the units, and staff has not had a chance to do monitoring for home compliance yet. So we have some concerns about the agency's ability to meet commitments for the entirety of their HOME affordability period, um, and a second project would increase that risk for non-compliance. If the ... if the recipient were unable to comply with HOME program requirements, funds would likely be returned to HUD and no longer assist residents in the community. The HOME program requires us to have risk monitoring policies in place, and because this is a newer agency with a funding request over $100,000, they're considered higher risk. Staff recommended deferring Unlimited Abilities application to the mid -year funding round to allow the agency to focus on lease up of their current rental acquisition project. This would give us an opportunity to review documentation for HOME compliance ahead of starting the new project. Um, we know that the applicant had some vacant units at our last check-in, and the new project will require 15 -years of HOME compliance, so we want to be sure that the agency can successfully provide affordable housing for that time frame. Staff made this recommenda... recommendation to HCDC, and they voted to award funding to Unlimited Abilities, as requested, rather than defer. So our timeline, we've held a 30 -day public comment period in accordance with the citizen participation plan. HCDC recommended approval of the action plan at their April meeting. Tonight is our official public meeting for the plan, and it's due to HUD on Ma ... May 15"i, and our fiscal year will begin July 1 st. And then this isn't necessarily part of our action plan right now, but I did want to give a brief update on our COVID federal funding. Iowa City received over 1.5 million in CDBG-CV funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the pandemic. We have allocated over ...or exactly at 636,000 to emergency housing assistance, which is currently being administered by Shelter House. About 100 ... 424,000, um, has been allocated to business assistance. Um, ECCOG is administering this program, and 27 businesses have been given assistance. And then about 461,000 has gone to local nonprofit agencies for projects relating to child care, health care, mental health, and homeless prevention services. We were recently notified by HUD that we are expected to receive over 1.7 million in what they're calling HOME (mumbled) funds through the American This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 26 Rescue Plan Act, which will be for homeless prevention activities. The rules and regulations on this haven't been released yet. Um, it probably'll be a couple months before HUD releases that guidance, but we would bring this back to you in the form of a substantial amendment to our action plan, once we're ready to proceed with that funding. And that's all I have. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Questions for Erika? Bergus: Erika, the mid -year funding round that you mentioned, um, when would that be? Kubly: We're expecting to do that this fall, so it will give agencies a little more time to prepare projects and maybe some... submit some local projects as well, some internal projects. Teague: For the affordability period for Unlimited Abilities, what is it currently? Kubly: Their current project only required a five-year affordability period, based on the number of units. The new project, um, as it ... has more funds, so it'll be 15 years. Teague: So the current new project that they have before, um, that they were awarded the 125 ... well (both talking) Kubly: ... five years. Teague: ... it's five ... that's five years, but if...if that comes this fall, it'll be 15 years. Kubly: Yes, the new project would be 15 years. Teague: Okay. And then (both talking) Mims: I'm sorry go ahead, Mayor. Teague: Yep! Um, Unlimited Abilities, I understand that there are some vacancies right now. Um, have they responded to any concerns as ... say maybe I should wait, or there just hasn't been in the conversation ... that you recall? Kubly: They haven't ... we haven't addressed concerns about (mumbled) I think they'd be willing to wait or proceed, um, depending on the award. We did go through some questions ahead of our HCDC meeting, which I believe are included in the packet about ... they can see and kind of, um, whether they'd be able to proceed with the project. Teague: And if they wait, if this is awarded to them, they have until next year to spend the monies before June 30th. Kubly: Yes, this is ... this is HOME funding, so we have two years to commit the funds and four years to complete the project, so we don't typically allow that much time. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 27 Teague: Okay. Salih: Erika, you could remind me for the, uh, 400,000 in business assistant. Is this ... I know that the... the ... the housing assistance was (mumbled) and where (mumbled) housing, the 400,000 for business. Kubly: Um, the program is being administered by ECCOQ and it's ... we've allocated funds at 27 businesses. Salih: Okay, and is there is fund left or...(both talking) Kubly: I believe all ... all of the funds have been allocated, but they have not all been paid out. Salih: Twenty-seven businesses in Iowa City. Kubly: Yes. Salih: Okay. Mims: So I have a question about the Unlimited Abilities award in the ... the fact that staff recommended waiting on that. What ... in waiting on that... cause I guess I'm concerned about allocating or awarding that money now, and the potential that they might not be able to meet the qualifications. And then my understanding, Erika, is then we basically lose that money out of the community, it would go back to HUD. Is that correct, if they don't meet the qualifications? Kubly: Right, if they weren't able to meet the HOME compliance requirements, then we'd have to repay the funds, but they ...how far they are along in the project, we haven't gotten to that point to review that documentation and make that determination. Mims: So am I correct in that we could amend this motion, and maybe this is a question for Sue, that we could amend this motion to ... we, to defer that 125,000 to the mid -year and not approve that tonight? Dulek: Yes, you could do that. Mims: I won't make the motion yet, but I ... I'd be interested in hearing what other Councilors think. I am certainly inclined to make that motion to amend ... to defer that. I'm ... I'm really concerned that we have a case where staff has the expertise and really digs into the details with these agencies, and has a concern that they aren't far enough along and don't have the history of projects this large, to be assured and comfortable yet that they can meet those qualifications, and would like to defer to ... to make sure that that's the case. To me it doesn't seem like there's much of a risk to the agency for us to defer, yet there's a risk of the community losing $125,000 if we award and it turns out that they can't meet the qualifications. So it just ... when I look at it This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 28 from a risk reward standpoint, it just seems logical that we defer this to make sure that before it's awarded, we have a higher level of confidence that they will be able to meet the qualifications. Teague: So, Erika, if they're granted the 125 right now, let's say in December they decide, you know, we just can't do this. Um, what happens with those funds? Kubly: Those funds would get returned to our general pool of HOME funds, and we would allocate it to another project at a later date. Teague: So it would come back to the City. It would not actually go back to the federal government at that point. Kubly: Right, it would just be a canceled project, rather than a non-compliance issue. Teague: Okay. I (both talking) Mims: But if they take the money and spend it, and they can't meet the 15 years of affordability, we lose it, and my interpretation of staff's recommendation is they don't have the confidence yet with this large of an allotment, with a relatively new provider, that they can meet the 15 -year affordability. And so it's... there's... it's more complicated than them just maybe returning it. It's... the... the real problem is if they don't return it and they go ahead and use it, but they don't necessarily have the experience and wherewithal to meet the 15 years of affordability. That's why I think ... to me it's too big of a risk to do it now. I would rather see us defer this so it gives Unlimited Ability more time to do their planning and get their documentation in place to convince staff that they are prepared to go forward and meet all the requirements of HOME. Teague: Any other questions for Erika, and then we'll ... and later get into our Council discussions. Weiner: When ... one quick question. I did read ... I read through the HCDC minutes, but it wasn't ... why, do you have a sense of what, um, why HCDC did not agree with staff's recommendation? Kubly: Um, I think the consensus was that there was funding available, and they could start the project right away or after the beginning of the fiscal year and ... rather than wait. Teague: Okay. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand and I'll call upon you. Seeing no one, Council discussion? Taylor: I'm following Councilor Mim's thoughts on this ... this the... they're requesting twice as much as what they'd requested before, and I also I trust the ... the staff's recommendations. As ... as Susan had said, they've done this before and ... and looked at these kinds of projects before, and they just ... kind of red flags went up for them on this, and so I would agree with them that perhaps, as ... as Susan Mims said, uh, we ... we do an addendum to this. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 29 Teague: I think for me, I would suggest that we actually kind of, uh, do some supports, staff do some outreach and learn what are the ... what are the complications. Um, because if they can't find tenants, they can't find tenants. Uh, that's one thing, right, and then once they find the tenants, my assumption is the pro forma that they submitted for the CDBG, HOME project show that, you know, they would be in compliance. Now, there are still checklists that you have to do, um, and ... but if...if we're just talking about the homes not being rented out, then maybe try to figure out what those challenges are, give some resources to find some tenants. Um, I ... I guess ... if...if the funds are given, the $125,000 funds are given after July 1, again, they ...they have shown that they meet the requirements for this program. They haven't (both talking) Mims: ... still have a 15 -year affordability they have to meet, Mayor. Teague: What I'm saying is they've demonstrated that they have a plan to meet that. Otherwise they wouldn't have been accepted. Mims: I'm going to make a motion that we defer the $125,000 award to Unlimited Abilities to the fall funding round. Salih: I don't know what I really ...I agree with you, Mayor. Uh, if they ...if they did not really (both talking) Teague: Sorry, Mayor Pro Tem, I think there's a motion on the floor. Dulek: Yes, let's see if there's a second to that. Teague: Is there anyone that wants to second? Taylor: Second, Taylor. Teague: Okay. Motion to defer this. There's a seconded on the floor. Council discussion. Mims: Let me just clarify, it's not a motion to defer the whole thing. It's a motion simply to defer that part of the funding. Teague: Correct. Okay, now we have discussion. Go for it, Mayor Pro Tem. Salih: No, I just think that if they did not demonstrate their (mumbled) you know, the committee would not ... would have never, you know, agree (mumbled) I really support the committee, you know, decision. Teague: Any other discussion on this? Bergus: Just to be clear, the motion is to approve the funding, but to allocate in the mid -year award. Is that right? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 30 Teague: I think ... I think we're going to separate it, and this is to defer Unlimited Abilities. Bergus: Right, but it's not to ... it's not to say that they would have to come back and reapply for the mid- year. It would be allocated at that time, or they would... they would still reapply? Teague: My assumption is they have to come back and reapply. Erika, can you give clarification? Kubly: Yeah, that ... that was how we had it for them. They would reapply in the fall funding round. Teague: Yeah. Any other questions or comments? Salih: But, Erika, what they going to make them eligible if they are not eligible right now, and the fall will make them ... their situation will be like different. Why you see them are not eligible? Kubly: They're not ineligible, but in ... in a few more months, we'll know if they're able to lease up the current project, and so we'll just know if they're better positioned to start a second project. Mims: My whole point in this is I simply do not want to risk giving $125,000 to an agency who starts a project that they are then are not able to meet the HOME requirements and that we as a community lose $125,000. By deferring this until staff can get more information and have more confidence in their ability, and so that staff recommends this, I think is a very prudent financial decision for the City. Salih: Do we have somebody from the committee here? Teague: Yeah, I ... again, I just ... and I've already spoke, so anyone else want to speak on this? Thomas: Well, I just have a question for Erika. Erika, do you see or does staff see a downside in the deferral, with respect to, you know, this ... this proposal for the 125,000? Kubly: Um, a downside for the agency would be if they identified a project in the mean..., uh, or a house in the meantime, that they won't be able to proceed with that until, um, you know, they might lose out on a property. And also if we got different ... if we got higher scoring applications in the fall, they may not be funded. Thomas: Thank you. Teague: Any other comments, and before I go ahead and ask for a roll call, and this would be specific to not approving, uh, Unlimited Abilities for 125,000. It's not really a deferral. It is not approving their funding that has been submitted by HCDC. Roll call please. Motion passes 4- 3, and we will go to, um, vote on the original... for the resolution of...of everyone else, minus Unlimited Abilities. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 31 Dulek: (both talking) ...resolution as amended, right, Mayor? Teague: Yes, resolution, as amended, yes, and any, um, further discussion from Council? Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 32 17. FY22 Aid to Agencies — Resolution allocating human services Aid to Agencies funding for Fiscal Year 2022, July 1, 2021— June 30, 2022. Teague: And Mayor Pro Tem is going to recuse herself, and so we'll allow her time to go away and we'll call her back when we're done. Could I get a motion to approve please? Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: All right, staff presentation. Kubly: Okay, Erika Kubly again with Neighborhood Services. Um, Aid to Agencies is the City's human service funding, and these are the proposed allocations to legacy agencies for FY22. The legacy funding is intended to provide a stable funding source for human service agencies serving low to moderate income residents, based on funding priorities set in City Step 2025. To ensure stable funding, City Steps identifies and limits legacy funding to a core group of service providers that are listed here. We were scheduled to hold an application round this year, which would kick off a two-year application cycle. However, staff received a request from the Agency Impact Coalition to suspend the application process and renew FY21 funding allocations at a prorated amount, based on the FY22 City budget. Not having to submit an application or go through the allocation process was a way to reduce strain on agencies as they were working to navigate the pandemic in the past year. HCDC approved this process, this request, at their July 2020 meeting and agencies will continue to report on accomplishments and beneficiaries as normal. Funding distributions for the legacy agencies have been updated for FY22, based on the City's budget. Um, while the total Aid to Agency budget was increased by 3% from FY21, agencies won't see a full 3% increase to their individual allocations due to a higher emerging Aid to Agency allocation this year. Um, in addition to providing stable funding for a set group of legacy service providers up to 5% of the Aid to Agency budget can also be used for emerging agencies. This funding was initially set aside to help newer developing agencies, but is currently available to any agency who is not a legacy agency. We received four applications this year, and HCDC recommended (mumbled) a total of 30,000 to three of those agencies at their March 2021 meeting, and this amounts to about 4.4% of the total Aid to Agency budget. So as you can see, 15,000 was allocated to Center for Worker Justice for wage recovery efforts. $5,000 was allocated to the Sudanese American Community Services for purchase of laptops and tablets to provide remote classes and activities, and then 10,000 was allocated to Dream Center to staff their Connection Academies, which serve minority youth and families. That's all I got. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Any questions for Erika? You got away. All right, anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand and I'll call upon you. If you're on the phone, press *9. Seeing no one, Council discussion? Pretty excited about this (laughs) Great opportunity for these agencies that are making an impact within our community, and so this is This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 33 great. Roll call please. Motion passes 6 with one recusal, and I just sent Mayor Pro Tem message to return. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 34 19. Council Appointments —Applicants MUST reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated. 19.a. Board of Adjustment — Board of Adjustment — One vacancy to fill an unexpired term. May 1, 2021— December 31, 2021 (Zephan Hazell resigned) Teague: We only have one, um, appointment that we need to have tonight. And this one is ... there's no gender balance. We have two applicants, and wanted to see what people are thinking. Thomas: Well, I was ... I was impressed with Mark Russo's experience and activities through the years, uh, serving in McGregor, Iowa, on their city council, as well as library board and municipal utility board of trustees. And he's also work... worked in construction, so I think in terms of the Board of Adjustment, I suspect he's familiar with how that process works, so I would ... I would support his appointment. Mims: I would concur. Taylor: I do also. I certainly was able to get a sense of his experience and how he believed he could serve on this committee and be, uh, be a helpful member. Bergus: I agree. Teague: All right, I'm seeing shaking of heads. Could I get a motion to appoint Mark Russo? Salih: So move. Thomas: (garbled) Thomas. Teague: Moved by Salih, seconded by Thomas. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion passes 7- 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 35 21. Community Comment [IF NECESSARY] (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA) Teague: And ... hello, Anna! Van Heukelom: Good to see you all. Teague: Yes, welcome. Van Heukelom: Hi, I just have a few things tonight. Um, so this past Friday they announced Barbara Wilson as the new University President, which is really exciting. She'll start on July 15th and previously she was the Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois. So I think she was a really popular choice. Um, in terms of students, we have finals week next week, so we're getting ready for that. Student Health is giving second dose... doses of the Pfizer vaccine to students. It doesn't matter where they got the first vaccine, so that's pretty cool. And they're also doing both doses of the Pfizer and single Johnson and Johnson's shots. And then in terms of like incentivizing students, they're offering a $10 Iowa City Downtown District gift card to anybody who's been vaccinated, if they show their vaccination card. So that's pretty cool, and then lastly I just wanted to introduce the new Deputy City Liaison, um, Ellie. Miglin: Hi, everyone. I'm a first year student here at Iowa, studying international relations and environmental planning and policy, so I'm really excited to get to work with you all and ... yeah! Teague: Welcome to both of you tonight and very excited to have you on board with us, so thanks for being here tonight and look forward to seeing you in the future. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021. Page 36 22. City Council Information Teague: Any updates? Bergus: Mayor, I actually had a question about our vacancies that were announced. I saw we were still announcing the Telecommunications Commission that we effectively dissolved this evening, so I assume those applications are no longer going to be accepted. Fruehling: Correct, that will be removed. Bergus: Okay. Thank you. Teague: Great! Weiner: I just want to make a pitch for vaccines. The, you know, things are getting better. Johnson County's vaccination rates are ticking up. Let's keep it going, please. I would love ... I ... I'm thrilled to be as of today fully vaxxed. Would love to have lots of other people join me so that we really can by mid -summer have a much more normal... summer. It would ... it would be so wonderful. So there is... there's lots of vac... vaccination appointments available now, um, hopefully 12 to 15 on the horizon, um, for Pfizer and please, um, please keep going. Teague: All right. Salih: Again for the vaccine, I'm sorry, Mayor. You k now, on the 8', we have University of Iowa mobile clinic at the Center for Justice at 11:00. We're going to be giving like Modema vaccine, so if you are not vaccinated and you want to stop by on (mumbled) the 8', stop by the Center so you can get one for free. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of May 4, 2021.