City Council - Regular Meeting

All right, it is 6 p.m. on September 1st, 2026. I want to welcome everyone in Council Chambers to your City Hall and to those that are joining us virtually, welcome as well. I'm going to call this meeting to order. Roll call, please.

Alter. Here. Bergus. Here. Harmsen.

Here.

Moe.

Here.

Saleh. Here. Teague.

Here.

Weiline. Here.

All right, we are going to jump right into our agenda with item number two, proclamations 2A is library card sign up month. Where is the City of Iowa City Public Library? is a center of community life that connects people of all ages with information, engages them with the world of ideas and with one another, and enriches the community by supporting learning, promoting literacy, and encouraging creativity. And whereas a library card provides free access to resources that strengthen our community, including books and digital media, technology, research, and business resources, workforce and career support, educational opportunities and programs that build knowledge and skills, And whereas the library supports people at every age of life, helping children develop literacy and social skills, students succeed in school, adults learn new skills and pursue employment, entrepreneurs and businesses find information and resources, and community members connect with one another. And whereas the library contributes to the quality of life in Iowa City by providing welcoming spaces for gathering, learning, creating, exploring, and enjoying entertainment, culture, and the arts, And whereas a library card is key to the opportunity to connection, discovery, and participation in community life. And whereas a strong public library helps build a strong community by giving people the resources and opportunities they need to learn, work, create, connect, and thrive. Now, therefore, I, Bruce Teague, Mayor of Iowa City, do hereby proclaim September 2026 to be Library Card Sign-Up Month in Iowa City and encourage all residents to get a library card, use their library card, and discover the many resources, services, programs, and opportunities available through the Iowa City Public Library. And to receive this proclamation is the Iowa City Public Library Director, And...

Thank you, Mayor Teague. So as Mayor Teague said, I'm Ann Mangano. I'm the director of the Iowa City Public Library. And on behalf of the library, I want to extend our gratitude to all members of city council for your support of the library and your recognition of the power of the library card. We welcome everyone in our community to visit the library and sign up for a card this month and any month. It will give you access to books, movies, music, and much, much more. And it's free. At the library, you'll discover new stories and ideas and find community. So for more information about the Iowa City Public Library and all our services, stop in, visit our bookmobile, or go to icpl.org. Thank you.

Thank you so much. The mayor had to step out for a moment, so I get to step in. And I'm actually truly thrilled for this. So I get to read the next proclamation, which is in honor of National Senior Center Month. Whereas, September is recognized nationwide as National Senior Center Month, sponsored by the National Center Council on Aging, celebrating the role senior centers play in health, connection, and well-being of older adults. And whereas, 2026 marks the 45th anniversary of the Iowa City Senior Center, which has served the older adults of Iowa City and Johnson County since 1981. And whereas, more than 11,000 senior centers nationwide have served their communities since the 1940s and have been recognized in the Older Americans Act since 1973 as essential community institutions. And whereas, the Iowa City Senior Center approaches an all-time high in membership, a measure of how deeply this community relies on it as a place of belonging. And whereas, the Senior Center counters social isolation, supports lifelong learning and creativity, and affirms that aging is a time of growth, purpose, and contribution. And whereas, throughout its 45th anniversary year, the Iowa City Senior Center invites the whole community to celebrate this milestone and to look toward the next chapter of its work. Now therefore, I, Megan Alter, on behalf of Bruce Teague, Mayor of Iowa City, hereby proclaim September 2026 as National Senior Center Month in Iowa City and recognize the Iowa City Senior Center on its 45th anniversary. I encourage all residents to celebrate by joining its anniversary programming, including the 45th Anniversary Showcase on September 17th at the Englert Theater, And a screening of the documentary, 45 Dreams, a love letter to community on December 9th, 2026 at Film Scene. And if I'm not mistaken, September 25th, is that correct?

Oh, for Soul Train?

Oh, yes.

Yes, we will be dancing in the street September 25th.

Yes, I wanted to make sure to call that out. And so here is our own Latasha DeLoach to accept this proclamation.

Is that correct?

Thank you so much. Thank all of you. We are very excited to be 45 years here in this community strong. Our actual date is September the 19th of 1981 is when the doors opened at the Senior Center. Very thankful for a group of people who are adamant about finding a place for seniors to be able to come together to grow, connect, and to continue to battle social isolation which we know is an ongoing fight throughout the United States. And that impacts people across all ages, but we do see it a lot with older Iowans and Iowa City folks. And we want to make sure that people have a central place to be. I wanted to go back and re-highlight that showcase extravaganza. You will see, if you've ever been to the Senior Center, one thing we do well is music. So you will be able to be there for Family Folk Machine. We also have our choir that is over 65 people strong. We'll have some of our bands. We'll have our theater troupe who already have their own special outfits made. So be prepared. As well as some of our other groups that we have that are very proud to get up and be able to share some words and their experience at the Senior Center. We are very excited about Soul Train. Again, please come out. Food trucks and dancing down the street. You just can't beat it. The Congo line that magically emerges. You have to be there for that. But I wanted to also highlight that we have a group called Queer Elders, and they are having a queer dance party two days later on the 27th, partnering with Studio 13. It's during the day, so it's like 3 to 6, so you can get there. You can get there. So we'll be... partying all month long. This month nationally is happier birthdays here and we know at the Senior Center we are always celebrating another year of life. Aging is never the problem. Social isolation is and that's what we combat on a consistent basis. Thank you.

Thank you. OK. Moving on, I would like to get a motion to approve the consent agenda, items three through eight.

So moved, Mo. Second.

OK. Is there anyone from the public who has anything on our consent agenda that they wish to comment on? Council discussion. Any items that they wish to discuss? Roll call, please.

Mo? Yes. Sala? Yes. Teague? Y-line? Yes. Alter?

Yes.

Burgess? Yes. Harmsen? Yes.

Motion passes 6 to 0. Motion to accept correspondence for item 6B. Second. Moe by Sala, seconded by Bergus. Voice vote, can I get?

All those in favor?

Thank you. I can't remember that phrase. All those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, same sign. Passes 6 to 0. Okay, moving on. I believe we are moving to public comment. Is that correct? Yes, community comment. Public comment is intended so that members of the public may be heard by council. Because community comment is for items not properly noticed on the agenda, council cannot engage in discussion or debate due to open meeting laws. You'll be provided three minutes to speak. And at that, if there is anyone who wants to come forward and speak. Come on up. There are stickers in which you can fill out your name and city of residence. And you will be given a piece of paper that allows you. There you go. Yeah, thanks.

Welcome. Thank you. Thank you. I'm Mary McCann. I moved to Coralville in August, but my years in Iowa City have healed parts of me that I don't talk about very much. Thank you all for that. You all had a piece of it. Today, I want you to know that I support having the shared effort with the UIPD and the ICPD to add community officers. Mary?

Yes? I apologize for interrupting you. We do have this as an item on the agenda. So you'll have to wait until we get to that agenda item.

OK.

This is for the items that are not, for anything that the public wants to raise that's not actually on the agenda. Right. So I apologize for interrupting you. But if you could just hold off a little bit. Thank you. Is there anyone else who has anything they want to raise to our attention? Let us know. OK. It looks as if there is no one, so we will move on to our regular formal agenda. Item 10A is the FY27 budget amendment public hearing. And I have to slap this thing, don't I? All right. This is a resolution amending the current budget for fiscal year ending June 30th, 2027. The public hearing is being held to receive public comment on amending the FY27 operating budget. Information was available for public inspection on August 18th. I'm opening the public hearing. We'll start with comments from staff followed by council questions. At that time, I'll open the item for public discussion and ask that you limit comments to three minutes. At any rate, here now is Angie Ogden to help us.

Good evening, Council. Angie Ogden, Budget Management Analyst. I'm here tonight with the FY27 amendment. So the budget process is for FY27 original budget. It was approved on April 21, 2026. It runs July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The city policy allows for amendments for the following situations as noted. They can amend any time other than the last 30 days of the fiscal year. And Iowa City averages two amendments per fiscal year, typically one now and then again in the late spring with the following year's budget. The carry forward requests from the 2026 budget are submitted by the departments and reviewed by the city manager's office and finance department. The budget policy is that the carry forwards must be 5,000 or 1% of the division budget or has already been ordered. Capital improvement projects are budget carry forwards. CIP usually aligns more with the calendar year versus fiscal year and is a multi-year project. And then there's also miscellaneous other amendments. So for the revenues, under intergovernmental revenues, there's just over $36 million. That's going to be your state and federal grants and CIP carry-forwards for transit facility and buses. Under other financial sources, it's $27.2 million. That's going to be your wastewater CIP revenue bonds. And transfer ends is at $18.8 million. Reimbursements for the CIP for a city park pool, the wastewater digest projects, and the equipment transit facility. For expenditures under the governmental capital projects, you get just shy of $59 million. The major CIP projects there are your equipment facility, Court Street reconstruction, Burlington Bridge, North Dodge Street, ACT Circle signalization. For business type enterprises, we have just $95.5 million. The major CIP there, again, is the wastewater digest project and transit facility. and under community and economic development we have 12.2 million the carry forwards are for cdbg home and the arpa funds so to wrap that up the first amendment for fy27 budget again the overall impact to the fund balance is a decrease of 95 167 649 this is covered through excess fund balances and bonds and will not affect any property tax levies

Okay. Are there any council questions?

All right. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If you're online, please raise your virtual hand. Seeing no one online or in person, I'm going to close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please?

So moved, Mo. Second alter.

All right. Council discussion. Roll call, please. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the annual 88 curb ramps 2026. Project establish an amount of the security to accompany each bid direct the city clerk to post notice to bidders and fixing time and place for a seat to be as I'm going to open up the public hearing and welcome.

Hi Vivian Olson with the public works Department engineering division. I'll be presenting on the annual ADA curb ramps 2026 project. Just a brief overview of what the project is. So this is an annual project. So it occurs every year. And in this, we explicitly target non-ADA compliant curb ramps and curb cuts and bring them into compliance. That may be installing new detectable warning devices here or correcting slopes that are too steep. Additionally, if there's no cut in the curb, we'll install one for a proper crossing. Generally, removing and replacing existing ramps, installing new ones where they aren't installed. There are times when we need to do full depth patches on the street just to bring the crossing itself into compliance and adjust grades there. And then additionally, just sort of minor grading, tapering back out to the existing grade and seeding the area. This year, we're sort of cleaning up some loose ends from previous projects, so targeting areas where we had done replacements in the past and kind of connecting those improved areas with larger corridors. With that, we have over here Jack Street and Shannon Drive. That's over off of Road here to the west. And then we have a crossing at Bluffwood Circle and Stewart Court. There are two at Westbury Court, Westbury Drive, Lower West Branch Road and Westbury Drive. Those were sort of added a little bit late just because there were some water valves in those areas that were bucking up in the curb ramp that were trip hazards. So those got tagged on at the end. We have Alpine Drive and Brookside Drive here, and then two in this area, which are direct follow-ons from last year's, on Hollywood Boulevard and Western Road, and then Grantwood Street and Hollywood Boulevard, and then finally one crossing at Walnut Street and Clark Street. This ties into our strategic plan in a couple of different ways. So first of all, the obvious one is mobility in that it connects pedestrian corridors and promotes non-motorized use of right-of-way. That's pedestrians, that's people with strollers, people who just might be using the sidewalk in general. And additionally expands that to address accessibility concerns for people who are using the right-of-way in that way. Additionally, walkable areas are important for our own safety and well-being. Detectable warning devices, those sort of red bumps at the intersection, are a good guide for those who have maybe some impaired visibility. Also, just if you're not paying attention, walking along on your phone. And additionally, when we have safe crossings that are installed, people are more likely to cross designated areas instead of just wherever is most efficacious for them. IN TERMS OF COST, THE ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COST THIS YEAR IS ABOUT 160,000. THAT'S A LITTLE BIT NORTH OF WHAT WE HAVE ANNUALLY FOR THESE PROJECTS. MAINLY THAT ADDITIONAL COST IS COMING FROM SOME OF THAT FULL DEPTH PATCHING AND ROADWAY WORK THAT I WAS DISCUSSING EARLIER. ADDITIONAL FUNDS WILL BE MADE UNUSED FUNDS EITHER IN THIS PROJECT FUND OR OTHERS ALONG WITH I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT WE'RE TARGETING FOR THOSE ACTUALLY. THE SCHEDULE BID LETTING WILL START TOWARDS THE END OF THIS MONTH AND THEN WE'LL AWARD AT THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL MEETING LOOKING TO START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AS WE'RE A BIT LATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION WINDOW. The completion date is in next June and that's mainly because of the sort of concrete setting window since we're late in the season we're likely to get a couple of ramps done before the winter sets in and then in the spring finish up seed and then that window gives us enough time to review whether the seeding actually established. That's all that I have. That's my contact information open for comments and questions.

Can you explain how these ended up on the list this year? And then maybe also for anybody who's listening, what the process is from ICGovExpress to your guys' mailbox to prioritizing?

Yeah. So these got selected, like I said, particularly because they were in areas where we had already done some improvements, but that were sort of last intersections to complete a full corridor. So like arterial or larger streets, places where People might be coming from a bus or that kind of thing. As we move forward, we're looking to have more coordinated selections. So having targeted geographic areas where we hit, which is also helpful for minimizing contractor mobilization costs. As far as getting these sort of curb ramps to us and for our attention, ICGov Express is a great way to snap a picture or just say, hey, I noticed this curb ramp doesn't have detectable warning devices. Could we get that updated? From there, I put it in a database that has a lot of those different complaints and then we have different prioritizing metrics based on its proximity to bus stops or libraries or economic centers, exactly in what ways is it noncompliant. We go check it out. And then from there, we work with the MPOJC, the planning organization downstairs to assess which areas we can sort of coordinate our pedestrian accessibility improvements with. So I know that next year, We're hoping to target an area that is also going to be receiving a pedestrian refuge island. So just sort of making sure our improvements are coordinated with other efforts that might not be on this specific project.

Thank you.

You can also hit me up directly with my email because I manage that database.

Thank you. All right anyone from the public like to address this topic please come forth. If you're online, please raise your virtual hand. You know when in person or online. When to close the public hearing that I get a motion to approve please.

The move to alter second Bergus Council discussion.

Actually, it's discussion slash an observation. And I know that we've had this in place for some time, but I was struck anew again at how I really like that the projects are tied up to this fits with our strategic plan in this way, in this way. It's important to make sure that even things like we're helping with our ADA sidewalks and all of that. How does it tie into this bigger picture? So I just appreciate that that's continuing. And it's one of those things that we haven't mentioned, that that's a deliberate and intentional thing that all the departments are doing. So thank you for that.

Yes, thanks. Roll call, please.

Teague? Yes. Weiland? Yes. Alter?

Yes.

Burgess?

Yes.

Harmsen? Yes. Moe? Yes. Sala?

Yes.

Motion passes 7-0. Can I get a motion to accept correspondence?

So moved, Sala.

Second move. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes seven to zero. 10C. Colibarium Construction Expansion Project, Resolution of Proven Project Manual and Estimate of Cost for the Construction of the Colibarium Construction Expansion Project, Establish an Amount of Bid, Security to Accompany Each Bid, Direct City Clerk to Pose Notice to Bidders in Fixing Time and Place for the Receipt of the Bids. I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome.

Good evening, council and mayor. My name is Tyler Barrett. I'm superintendent of parks and forestry. This is a little bit different project for you than our typical park projects, but one that we're excited to present. We don't have this opportunity as often, but it's a unique project. So if you have any questions, by all means, we're able to answer those. So project overview, there is a site at Oakland Cemetery we've designated for this columbarium project. Tentative name is Woodland Edge Columbarium. It's in the back section along Hickory Hill. We think a fitting name for it. Project includes phase one, and there are potential future phases to build out. So we're not only thinking about this phase, but future phases that can add capacity. So doing that planning all up front so things are coordinated. This is for the earthwork, concrete foundations, sidewalks, pedestrian areas, landscape plantings. This does not include the actual columbaria. Those were procured through a request for proposals, and this is the work that has to happen so those can be set in place. But this is the major site work, and then those are essentially the structures that will sit on it. So tying into that strategic plan, well-being, want all of our spaces to be inviting, cemetery as well. Lots of people use the cemetery for contemplation. They also use it, you know, to recreate in a way. It's a quiet place, a very... A very nice place in our community for people to go and reflect. ADA compliance with this project as well. So being able to get people to the space where they can do this reflection and contemplation and attend funerals and such. Economy, it addresses the demand. More and more people are choosing to be cremated, and we are running out of space in our current columbaria. So this will serve that. And it's that necessary expansion, but also being mindful of the footprint. This area was not conducive to standard burial. It was kind of an underutilized space in the cemetery, and bringing us to why we chose that space. This is a rundown of what we currently have for columbarium. This would be the third structure. One of them is already sold out. It had 64 niches. That's the middle one there that cherished columbarium, but also have the forest view columbarium. Only 46 of those niches remain, and those are priced at 900 per niche. Woodland Edge, we will have 700 with this planned current, and then another 850 potential with future phases to that. And we already have people on a wait list. Maybe their space needs didn't meet what one we currently have. or they have other reasons for wanting a different space. So we already have some people ready to purchase those. No set price at this point. That's something that we would establish through our fees updates. project site those of you familiar with the cemetery if you know where the deeded body area is this is just to the southeast of that there's a uh structure there a shelter structure um it's it's to the southeast of that it is a triangle space currently there is a gravel road on the the side closest to hickory hill park there and this includes that and then up to where there are um paved access already Existing conditions, a line of overgrown hedge that has aged out and a few trees in there. One of the trees is in not as good of health and that will come out with this project, and then the other ones we are working to protect and maintain. As you see there, phase one is the section closest to where the woodland is, and it will include the first kind of half of an oval-type shape and all the paths that connect it ADA-wise through, with phase two being the other kind of flip side of that or the symmetry to that. Phase three would be another pad with some niches going along that kind of northwest path there. So cost for this part of the project estimated at $210,000. Previous, we have costs already that were approved through the RFP process. Schedule. hope to award in beginning of October and start soon after. Ideally, a lot of this can get accomplished this fall. Some of the plantings will likely happen in the spring, but if time and weather are good to us this year, some of that may be able to be completed this fall as well. But Similar with Vivian's other project she just told you about, that June 25th date gives us a chance to see those plantings grow in, that grass establish, and complete the final project. If you have any questions, Julie Seidel-Johnson is our main contact, Vivian as well. You can also reach out to me through email, any of those options, and I can take questions now if anyone has them.

No questions. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please come forth if you're in council chambers. If you're online, please raise your hand. Seeing no one, I'm going to close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please? So moved. Mo.

Second. Walter.

Council discussion. I think it's great I think more opportunities for those that want to have a cremation and it from the pictures to look great so. Good job staff.

Roll call, please why mine, yes alter yes, very good. Yes, Thompson, yes, Mo yes, so yes, Teague yes motion passes 7 to 0.

Item 10 D tobacco civil penalty and 30 days suspension. Essentials Vape and Smoke Shop. This is a resolution assessing $1,500 in a civil penalty and 30-day retail cigarette permit suspension against Essentials Vape and Smoke Shop. And I am going to turn it over to Sergeant Tice. Welcome.

I'm actually Sergeant Dan Bosen, Iowa City Police Department late night watch. Great. Welcome. Thank you. SO THE CITY OF IOWA CITY HAS A 28E AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF IOWA REGARDING I-PLEDGE WITH TOBACCO COMPLIANCE CHECKS AT LOCATIONS THAT ARE LICENSED TO SELL TOBACCO AND NICOTINE PRODUCTS. ON MARCH 13TH OF THIS YEAR, SHORTLY BEFORE 730 PM, WE CONDUCTED A TOBACCO COMPLIANCE CHECK AT ESSENTIALS VAPE AND SMOKE SHOP 560 HIGHWAY 1 WEST. We sent our underage person inside to attempt to purchase nicotine products. They were sold the nicotine products. We made contact with the staff and issued a citation. This is their third citation since January 1st, 2025.

How many thirds is that?

Say again. The 3 yes, this is their 3rd citation. We've done 4 checks there the way the I pledge checks worker tobacco compliance checks work we do one check annually and then we do a recheck if there's a failure so in 2025 they failed their first check they failed the recheck in 2026 they failed their first check and then they pass their recheck so out of 4 checks they failed 3 times.

Sorry. An officer for this third offense that you just described, the clerk who sold has been convicted.

Is that correct? Yes. That was adjudicated at the Johnson County Court on July 17th of this year. The clerk was found guilty by bench trial.

I'm not sure if this is a question for Officer Bozen or City Attorney Goers, but the suspension will not be enforced unless it is discovered the same or related individuals were operating.

Yeah, this is admittedly a little bit of an odd circumstance. There's been a sale of the premises before. uh in the past sometimes we've seen a sale to a spouse let's say or to someone else who's closely associated with the original owner we have not been able to confirm that this is a i'll say related sale although i think the last names associated with these entities may be the same and that's why we've kind of hedged our bets a little bit it is our intention not to impose the suspension on the new entity that is now operating essentials, but if we either a discover that they are in fact the same then we would come back and want to impose that suspension or be if they get yet another failure we may wish to consider it a 4th offense.

How do you how do you monitor the 30 days suspension.

I believe that be something handled by the city attorney's office in the city.

Right they need to come in and turn in their permit and typically that's it especially when it comes to a shop like essentials tobacco shop that leaves them with very little and so if their doors are open during that period of time we would probably want to visit and see what's going on.

Sure.

And I don't know if the permittee is here right now, but have they been notified of the meeting today?

They have.

Our office took care of that. Great. Thanks.

Can you remind me if this happened again with the second level of suspension?

Yes, so I'd defer back to the city attorney for that.

I'm trying to recall. If it's a fourth offense within three years, this is a third offense within two years, if memory serves. I believe it's a 90-day suspension and a $1,500 fine, but I'll see if I can check that real quick.

Thank you.

this was sorry um just wanted to make sure this this person was convicted in court at a bench trial you said yes okay i guess i have a question for the city attorney as far as the question the

If we chose to enforce against a related entity, or I'm sorry, if we determine that those owning the new entity are related to the prior owner, is there like a standard way in which you would make that determination or certain types of relationships that are definitely close enough or not?

yeah the answer is no if your question is is there a clear way of deciding that but we would be looking for things like common ownership these are both corporate entities i think there might be llc's if i recall and so we look to the natural persons behind those corporate entities to see if there's overlap again we look for marital or close family relations things like that And if we were ever to determine that, in our opinion, these are closely related so as to suggest a sale so as merely to avoid the future penalties or something like that, we would probably come before you again with a hearing so that the permittee would have the opportunity to argue to the contrary. And I think that would be for council to decide.

Thank you. We have further. Questions.

I'll clarify that it looks like a 4th offense in 3 years is a 60 day penalty suspension along with a $1500 civil penalty.

Can I get a motion to approve so move no. The contact.

And I'm sorry, I should have jumped in earlier. Could you just confirm, Mayor Pro Tem, that the permittee is not here and wishing to be heard?

Yes, I apologize. Is the permittee here, and would they like to step forward and have any comments, make any comments? It does not appear that they are here.

All right. I'm sorry. No, quite all right.

I thought the mayor had handled that, but we want to make sure. Can I get a motion to approve? I'm sorry. I know that we have that. Right, it looks like. It was Moe, and then Sally? OK. Council discussion? OK. Roll call, please. Alter? Yes.

Burgess?

Yes.

Harmsen? Yes. Moe? Yes. Sala? Yes. Teague? Y-line? Yes.

Motion passes 6 to 0. Item number 10E is the Orchard Court LIHTC loan agreement. This is a resolution approving a purchase money order loan. Excuse me. A purchase money order. One more time. purchase money loan agreement by and between Central at Orchard Court LP and the City of Iowa City, Iowa. This resolution will authorize a $5.1 million loan from the City to Central at Orchard Court LP, aka the Annex Group, to aid in the construction of 183 new affordable residential housing units that will be operated under the federal low-income housing tax credit program. The city is using affordable housing fee in lieu dollars paid by other recent developments in the Riverfront Crossings District. The loan will carry a 1% interest rate with repaid principal and interest funds reserved for future affordable housing projects in the community. And actually, I'm going to hand it over to you, city manager.

Thank you. Can we get a motion first?

Oh, I'm sorry. We need to have a motion to approve. So moved, Armisen.

Second? Moved.

Move Tarmson, second by Moe, and now I will hand it over to Jeff.

Thank you. Very excited to revisit this project with you. You may recall that we did a deep dive into this project at the April 21st work session, and we've attached the slides from that work session to your packet. for reference if needed. And then later on at your June 2nd work session of this year, you revisited this project specific to the relocation assistance that was authorized for the 37 residents that were living on site at that time. The project itself has not substantially changed nor has our motivation to move forward. Clearly the strategic plan talks about the need for affordable housing development, and we have, whether it's the comp plan or the affordable housing action plan, has plenty of statistics that we can go through if needed about the needed housing unit production here in Iowa City. I thought tonight what I'd do is just a quick overview or reminder of what this project looks like, talk about the source of the funds that we are using for this loan, and then we'll talk a little bit about the loan itself, and I'm happy to answer questions.

you

So the project is a $57 million and will be fully taxable, relevant to our work session discussion. It's a $57 million residential project with 183 units. We are losing 24 units, so we're replacing 24 existing units with 183 units. A breakdown of those units is as follows. We have 74 one-bedroom units, 79 two-bedroom units, and 33 bedroom units. They will all be subject to the low income housing tax credit program. And what that will look like in terms of an income limit distribution for the individuals that will be accessing these residential units. 153 of them will be for incomes at 60% or below of area median income, and then 15% will be for 50% or below area median income, and 15% will be at 70% area median income. So it all averages out to all units being 60% area median income, but there will be 15 with a little bit deeper affordability provisions in there.

Jeff, you had mentioned, you said, I may have misheard you, did you say 15 units or 15%?

15%, I'm sorry if I misspoke, yeah. 15 units. 15 units at 50, 153 units at 60%.

Yeah, that's what I was reading and I heard you say percent.

Sorry, I probably twisted my language there. The project is not only proposed to be supported by the city through our $5.1 million loan agreement, but is supported by the federal LIHTC project, which was competitively awarded at the state level. It's also supported locally by the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County, which is providing a nearly $650,000 loan that includes a 30-year affordability period. So that's a little bit of a reminder about the project itself. We're proposing to loan $5.1 million from our Riverfront Crossings Affordable Housing Fund. So these are fees that have been paid by private developers who chose not to provide affordable housing within their own building, but instead paid a fee in lieu so that the city could pursue our own affordable housing. A reminder a little bit about that source of funds. There have been six developments that have chose to pay fee in lieu and they would have otherwise been required to place 68 units on site or within their buildings for a period of 10 years. So that has That means with this project we are getting far more units for a far longer affordability period than we would have had they chosen to place those units within their development. That fee-in-lieu collected to date is just over 5.8 million. That does not include the interest accrued on those. So in reality, we're a little bit over 6 million right now with our fee-in-lieu dollars. And again, we're proposing to loan 5.1 out with this project. Any questions about the source of funds or the project itself before I move into a little bit about the loan structure? Okay, the loan structure is a $5.1 million purchase money loan that will be secured by the land. So what's going to happen, assuming approval tonight, is that we will be lending them the $5.1 million so they can close on the land. That closing will take place within a matter of probably a week or two. And then from that point, they will be securing their construction loan into their senior permanent loan. um again our investment will be secured by a mortgage on the property there is a one percent interest and there are required annual payments uh to the city that would equal one percent or twenty percent of the cash flow so we have a cash flow procedure in the agreement um and um we would get whatever the lesser is. So if there's cash flow struggles in the project, they may not pay that $51,000, but that interest still accrues. It just becomes a balloon payment at the end. So what I want council to understand about this agreement is that I would consider it back-loaded, meaning the large portion of the repayment is going to happen at the end of the loan. It's not going to provide lot of cash flow up front matter of fact the first payment isn't even called for until about a year after they secure their senior loan so we're talking about a couple of years after they're up and running which just recognizes that the cash flow the the tightness of the cash flow in those early project years A few more things to point out about the loan agreement. They obviously will have to comply with all the LIHTC standards for those 183 units. There's also language in the agreement about non-discrimination. provisions including source of income. So they will welcome vouchers holders, which is very much needed in the region. We have a secured position again with the mortgage, but we will be taking a subordinate position to their senior loan. So again, it's a $57 million project. Someone else is going to step in and loan the the bulk of the dollars and we will end up taking a subordinate position to them, which means there's a little bit more risk that senior loan would have to be addressed before essentially our loan is addressed if the project was ever found itself in kind of a distress type of situation. There is a right of first refusal agreement that I wanted to point out here. And this gets back to council's desire to really use these funds for permanent affordable housing. So I really think there's two key components to that permanent affordable housing piece. One is that this is not a grant. This is a loan. It will be repaid. It may be backloaded, but it will be certainly repaid. at the time their senior loan is satisfied or if they were to sell or refinance. But second, is this right of first refusal? So the city will have the option to purchase the property and ensure longer-term affordability should the owner wish to sell the project. So we'll have to prepare for that internally. We'll have to look at what that decision-making framework may be because it will be a 60-day window in which we have to decide as a city. And this isn't a decision that will come up in the next few years, right? This is anticipated to be many years in the future. But as we track this loan agreement, we'll have to be ready to consider whether we want to put ourselves in a financial position to be able to do that. The purchase price associated with the first right of refusal is the minimum amount that's really permitted by law, which is going to be pretty much the indebtedness on the project plus any outstanding fees associated with the project. So it's hard to look into that crystal ball and understand what that may look like, but I think the right of first refusal language is very favorable for the city.

I have a question about that. You said... Just explain that again because you're giving the minimal amount or something.

So a right of first refusal is essentially if they ever found an interested party that wanted to buy the project, if they wanted to sell it, they would have to then come to us and say, okay, city, we have found a buyer for this project. But we have the right within 60 days to elect if we want to buy it. And the purchase price is kind of formulaic. It's embedded in this first right of refusal agreement. So it's really primarily the debt that's left on the project, plus if there's any kind of outstanding taxes and fees that need to be resolved.

So it's not related to really the going rate. Correct.

It could be a below market purchase.

Okay.

Correct. Great.

I also have a question about that. Specifically, when it comes to TOPA in D.C., which is the Tenant Occupancy Whatever Act, which is their right of first refusal for tenants, specifically the tenant has the ability to do a warm handoff to a nonprofit. Would we be able to do something like that if in the future if the city didn't want to do it but say housing fellowship was in a position that they wanted to Do you know if that's something we could do?

Correct. I timed out on my screen here. Let me log back in. I can read you that provision because that is a part of this.

It's the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, not whatever act. Sorry.

Okay. The city may assign all or any portion of its right under this agreement to a qualified nonprofit organization, another governmental agency or instrumentality, a tenant organization or resident management corporation that demonstrates an ability and willingness, so on. So yes. Great. The answer is yes. It can be assigned. Okay.

And to put a finer point on it, that right of first refusal persists. It's not like, does it expire when the loan is repaid?

No, it extends through the regulatory period of the LIHTC. So theoretically, we could have our loan resolved and still have the right of refusal until after that LIHTC period is done.

And is that a 15 or 25?

It would be a 30-year LIHTC compliance.

That's really cool. Okay.

So that's a little bit about the loan. We talked a lot about property tax in the opening work session tonight. This is a fully taxable property. We estimate that the property will generate about 450,000 in new taxes annually for all of the taxing districts to share. That's not just the city share. Again, we're roughly about 40% of that. But had we pursued the more traditional TIF or tax abatement, that would not have counted as that new construction valuation that we talked about at the work session. So we will get those dollars to support our municipal services at the same time. I think we're doing a great job in leveraging those fee-in-lieu dollars for even more units and a longer affordability period. Happy to answer any questions or circle back to any of the finer components of the loan agreement.

There was a question that was raised at one of the prior conversations we had about this project that when we get the loan repayments, will those still be restricted to the Riverfront Crossings District for their future use?

don't know that we've officially crossed that bridge on that one yet we have not uh i was just wondering that earlier today and sent an email as we sat here uh addressing that we would need to take that up about what our requirements are so not yet sure but we're thinking about it already and i don't that's not necessary for the approval of this to be clear i was just curious since we talked about it

I'm also just really grateful to see the personal guarantees that are in with this. I understand that we'll be subordinate to a larger loan, but that helps provide some additional security.

The personal guarantee covers that period between the purchase of the land, which again will happen within a couple of weeks, but then they have to go and get their construction loan. They have to do that by December 31st. And should something happen in between, not only is there that mortgage document, but there's a personal guarantee to help secure the city's position.

I also like that there's the agreement of having the voucher holders. Yes. As part of this. I mean, it's fantastic that the LIHTC breakdown of the different units, but the fact also that we were able to build in the rental agreement of having housing vouchers honored is important.

And just to be clear, we have the authority to do that because this is a contract with a specific entity for which we're bargaining other things. So we can add that requirement back in, right?

I'm sorry that like the contract that's right yeah arm's length I should say all right anyone oh I just have a question for the 15 unit that will be at 50% am I it was a structure of don't be like one bedroom two bedroom three bedroom you know that is the developers choice it's not specified in our agreement

All right, if no more questions, then anyone from the public like to address this topic? If you're online, please raise your virtual hand. Seeing no one in person or online, council discussion. I was just going to say thanks to the staff for putting together a somewhat complicated deal that I think achieves a whole lot of goals and seems like a big win, 183 affordable units.

And then we also get the money back. I think it's a great deal. And in addition to everything you guys brought up. So thank you for all the work on a somewhat complicated process.

Yeah. And that with, I mean, the agreement itself is just... I think extremely favorable to the city and to our community. So y'all knocked it out of the park with that. Thank you very much. And also thank you for helping the displaced tenants as well. And thank you to the council for doing that. That meant a lot. That really bridged the gap for a lot of people and everybody's been accounted for. So thank you so much.

I really have different opinion. Can I say what I have? Okay, I wrote my message so I can be clear. I support affordable housing and I wanted to see this project succeed. But I have serious concern about using $5.1 million of city affordable housing fund for this project. My concern is about what the city is getting retained for that significant public investment. That vast majority of this unit are security percent of AMI, with only 15 unit at 50% AMI. These rents are still out of reach for many of the families in our community who have the greatest housing needs. We have extremely limited affordable housing dollars. If we are going to be investing $5.1 million in one development, especially a very favorable 1% loan, I believe that investment should produce deeper affordability in more units at 30%, 40%, and 50% AMI. In particular, also they receive funds from the Housing Trust Fund. which is the city being given housing trust fund money. So I don't know what the source, but still. But particularly two and three bedroom unit, we need to be really affordable. I am also concerned about putting such a large amount of available affordable housing resources into one project. I just want to think about it like, This developer, when they try to do this project, they know what they are going into. And it is a huge project for me. And I think they've been getting ready and they know how to. bring that money or where to get it from. But you just said the $5.1 million is from the affordable housing that the developer choose not to do it on site because we was asking affordable housing. And I'm just thinking, how much is we took the $5.1 million And we did affordable housing, or we bought affordable housing in Riverfront Crossing. How many affordable housing can we have and own? For me, the question is not whether this is a good development. The question is whether 5.1 million is the best use of this limited public affordable housing dollar, and whether the city is receiving enough affordability and return for that investment. Before I can support this amount, I need to see either a stronger affordability commitment from the developer or clear explanation of why $5.1 million in the city is necessary for this project to move forward. I really just have a hard time understanding that.

it might be good for me to revisit part of the work session that we did because I think it is important that you know that you have some flexibility with these funds and there are other options and Over the years, staff, we've chased down a couple of different possibilities, but I brought up two examples that I think are still relevant from the April work session. One is the possibility for us just to go buy land and try to build our own. 1.59 acres in riverfront crossings right now, the property is listed for 4.7 million. So that same 5.1 million, I mean, what we're doing is we're essentially loaning the money for the land. We're not loaning the money for any of the improvements. So we could go buy land, but then we're stuck with not having those resources to actually build units. And then at the time in April, and I haven't done this since April, but there was just one property on the market, and it was just outside Riverfront Crossings. There weren't any on the market within Riverfront Crossings, but it was just a couple blocks outside. A 1971 apartment building with 42 units was listed at $3.65 million. So when staff looked at those options and said we could buy an existing unit and create deeper affordability, It would nearly cost us 3.6 million for 42 units. And then we looked at buying the land. We ran into the puzzle of not having the money for the construction dollars. So what we prioritized was, getting as many units as we could out of the ground as fast as we can, and the sacrifice was that deep affordability. And that's truly a policy trade-off. There's not a wrong or right decision. We were prioritizing expediency and getting units that are rent-controlled onto the market.

And how long have you been having that money sitting there?

Not very long. Let me see if I have those dates. They really, I don't have the exact dates. The two largest contributors to that fund, the Hive Project, which is on that corner of Myrtle and Riverside that was just open, contributed 2.8 million. And I'm sorry, that's replay. That's replay. They contributed $2 million. The Hive is on Dubuque Street as you go down kind of by Johnson County Ambulance. They contributed $2.8 million. Both of those units or both of those developments have been... just occupied within the last two, maybe three years. And that's 4.8 million. The rest of the three developments were earlier, but those were smaller, 404,000, 323,000, 225,000. So there was a lot of, there was five, four smaller ones that took place since 2016, but really the bulk of these dollars to give us the ability to actually do something substantial just came within the last two to three years.

Oh.

Anyway, that's my position. So I was not at the work session when we had this discussion, but I did look at the work session. And while I agree with a lot of what you just said, sitting back just looking at how are we going to get more units in our community, all types of units. high-end, low-end, and I don't want to use the word low-end, but affordable. Affordable. Yes, affordable. All of the things. We need it all. And of course, this can be one of the tools that we use. My biggest challenge, and yes, I agree that we can look at the unit size, all of that, and you know, kind of navigate that. I think where I've landed is more so the interest rate. So 1% is a great deal, but right now it's 6% out there for commercial development.

More than that.

Oh, yeah, yeah, but at minimum, you know. So that's where I get a little, you know, yes, if we're wanting to make this deal, you know, you know, possible, at least for me, I would have entertained more of a 2%, a 3%. Still small, but 1% doesn't even seem like it's... I would just say 1% seems low to me. And so that was my... I mean, that was the biggest, I think...

I bet there is many developers who do affordable housing if they get this opportunity by giving them $5 million with one interest rate, they will take it and they will do affordable housing. That's what I think. A number of the organizations will do housing. They would love to have this amount of money in doing it.

I do have a question, and that's for the, because is the applicant here? No. Okay. The applicant is not here.

The project is, you've already rezoned the property. It's going through kind of that development side of things.

Sure. So my, I mean, that's the, my biggest thing is the percentage at this point.

Do we have an opportunity to, when the rezoning come?

The rezoning's already passed. It's really a building permit issuance from a development standpoint.

Sorry, I take that back.

You know, I guess what I would say, the concern's valid. 1% is a low interest rate. It's a favorable interest rate. And I think normally what these things look like are TIF agreements and tax abatements. When we sit down to negotiate something like this, there's all sorts of trade-offs that we have to work through. And we also have to recognize the cash flows and the constraints that the developer has. In this case, it wasn't just staff looking at the numbers. We had outside financial consultants helping us look at the numbers to test their assumptions. And if we felt like we could have pushed that interest rate any higher and the project would still be viable, You bet we would have done that. But when everything's on the table and there's all these different pieces out there, we landed on 1% being the fair number. I'm personally thrilled that it didn't have to be a grant, that it could be a loan, that we could get this principal back. But I understand that's well below market rate. It's an affordable housing development. We're trying to move it forward and get it out of the ground. I don't know that it happens if that interest rate goes up to 3% or 4%.

Even low interest rate, 15 years, we get the $5 million. I bet it's not going to be buy two houses at that. I don't know.

The balloon payment at the end is $6.1 million plus any accrued interest.

And that's at the end of the 30-year, correct?

That's when the senior loan is retired. It depends on when they refinance or when they sell.

Yeah, I totally hear. I think the thing... agree with so much of what you're saying, obviously. I think the thing that we were able to put the right of first refusal in there made it a more permanent chance in my head and made it more viable as a truly affordable housing project is kind of where I was at.

Don't get me wrong, I love LIHTC. You know, I see it on the next, I see it like many others, like the housing fellowship, but it's at 30% of the area median income, 40%, 50%, and maybe 80, I don't remember. But they have those components, like 30% of the area median income and 40%. That's what I really want to see. And it is 186 units.

183 units.

83 units. So 15% at 50%. And I'm sure 100, that's going to be really higher, too, because I would love to know how much per unit, you know, it will be expensive when I did my own calculation.

Any other discussion? Roll call please.

Burgess. Yes. Harmsen. Yes. Mo. Yes. Tama.

No.

Teague. No. Weiline. Yes. Alter.

Yes.

Motion passes 5-2. All right. We are moving on to item number 10F. Amending budget positions in the police department. Resolution amending the budgeted positions in the police department by adding two full-time police officer positions and one full-time police sergeant position. Could I get a motion to approve, please? So moved. Mo?

Second. Alter.

All right. And we'll turn it over to our city manager, Jeff Rohn.

Well, this was obviously a topic of a lot of conversation at our last work session. So Chief Liston's here to answer any questions that you have, but we didn't plan to revisit the presentation that we gave at the last work session. So we'll turn it back over to council and happily answer any questions that you have.

Any questions at this time Council will be able to deliberate later after the public comments.

Sure.

Here are no questions. Anyone from the public like to address this topic if you're present please raise your hand. All right yep and if you're online we'll have you raise your virtual hand. Just wanted to mention that there are stickers in the back for people to pre-fill out and drop it in the basket. You'll be allowed three minutes. And just remember that council cannot engage in conversation while you're here. But if we choose to address later, we could. Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome. Please state your name and city you're from. You'll be given three minutes.

Mary McCann, and I, in August, moved to Coralville. But I appreciated my time here, and you all, of course, see me here for other reasons. Today I wanted to let you know that I do support the shared effort with the UIPD and the ICPD to add community officers who focus on the Ped Mall and surrounding businesses. Hiring three people will allow staff to prepare for that partnership and for the changes coming when the police department is relocated across town. away from its busiest part of their jurisdiction. The establishment of Community Policing Partnership lets Iowa City and all visitors know that the town's police department is committed to maintaining safe streets. I was deeply disturbed listening to the council's disregard of the mandated and forced overtime our local police must accept in response to the needs of the city. I don't want to carry firearms. They change your life, and they are a burden, in my opinion. I need our police to be well rested with time to restore their balance away from the stressful work we ask of them. It is ultimately your responsibility to be certain the department has the staff to meet those essential needs. There was also, yet again, the mention of policing and disproportionality. I thought we all knew how Iowa and American society works. Today I will talk about black residents because that has been the focus of my work. But I constantly rage that Iowa and Washington DC have codified discrimination into their laws against all non-white and LGBTQIA plus people. Discrimination, disparity, disproportionality, are fully engaged when a black woman walks into her doctor's office and is pregnant. It continues through pregnancy, and if she survives delivery, it carries on to her child, to her care, and to her child's care. Healthy survival depends on an informed extended family and advocates. Yes, I can speak in detail about these disparities and others. When a child enters public school, disparities flourish. And black children learn survival rules in every classroom they enter. But they are different than those for their white classmates. The police do not cause these disparities. They are the people who are there when we fall. The black mother who survives the childbirth, the black child in school who is ignored know these things. It is a lazy activism, because I hear this very often here, which is wrenching. It's a lazy activism to blame the police instead of deciding what each one of us can do. I have certain skills that I have offered for years, not because I waited for somebody else to tell me, yeah, you can do it.

Thank you.

Everybody, get to work.

Thank you. Welcome. Please state your name and city you're from.

Good evening. Joe Riley, Iowa City. I'm here on behalf of the Iowa City Downtown District. As the director of operations and nighttime initiatives, and on behalf of our board of directors, after many conversations and stakeholder engagements, we felt that it was important to express our support for the proposed addition of one sergeant and two officers, with us specifically focused on the downtown area during evening hours. We see this effort as one response among many to address concerns around long-term violent crime. We also believe policing is only one piece of the much broader community safety strategy. That strategy includes GuideLink, Mobile Crisis, the Field Mediation Pilot Program, and ICDD's continued investment in our downtown through activation, hospitality, and other efforts to keep our community safe and welcoming. experience with icpd's community liaison approach and specifically you may know him as daytime officer colin fowler and his work in downtown has demonstrated the value of relationship-based policing colin has become a known and trusted presence among downtown businesses employees, property owners, and ICDD staff. That familiarity matters. Businesses know who to call. They have someone who understands the unique challenges of the downtown environment and can help address issues before they escalate. That relationship did not happen overnight. It was built through consistency, communication, accessibility, and trust. We believe that model provides an important foundation for these new positions, particularly during the nighttime hours and when challenges and needs of downtown can be very different. The ICDD board has three recommendations as you not only consider this funding, but as you look toward public safety investments overall. First, we strongly encourage these positions to embrace the same community liaison philosophy. Their success should be measured not only through enforcement, but through relationships built, problems solved, communication with businesses, de-escalation and prevention. Enforcement and arrests are important tools when necessary, but they should not be the only or primary measure of effectiveness. Second, once the position is in place, we recommend establishing clear benchmarks and formally review this yearly. We understand that what is working, what has changed, and where the adjustments may need to be added. Third, we respectfully request that ICDD or a representative of our organization participate in your hiring process as we did with the daytime liaison officer, Colin Fowler. That collaboration helped reinforce from the beginning what being a liaison means, being connected to the community you serve. We support the city's focus on nighttime safety in downtown, and we believe its great potential comes from combining additional resources with the relationships based. Thank you. Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Welcome. Please state your name and city you're from.

Hi. Michael Roberts, Iowa City. The shooting on the Ped Mall was a tragedy. And it's natural to have an emotional response when a tragedy occurs in our community. Emotional responses are even very important. They give us a chance to reflect on the tragedy, support each other in a collective moment of anger, sadness, and grief. However, I don't think emotional responses should drive our public policy. Counselor Burgess noted that the data did not indicate a rise in violent crime in the downtown area that would justify a response of additional police patrols. Chief Liston also acknowledged that downtown is a generally safe environment. People are understandably shocked by violence in our community, and it feels satisfying to have an action that we can point to as a concrete response. At a surface level, it feels logical. Violence is a crime, and law enforcement responds to crime. I can understand how it would feel satisfying sitting in your shoes to rubber stamp this proposal and say, job done. We've solved the problem. But I think the council should take a step back and consider the issue in a more nuanced way. Frankly, the proposal feels like a rushed response to show that we are doing something. It was first presented to the council in a work session two weeks ago. The council had a brief, perfunctory discussion during which Councilor Burgess and Sally's concerns were brushed aside. At a time when we are looking at budget challenges driven by restrictions from our state government, is committing $370,000 annually to additional salary the most effective use of limited funds to enhance community safety? Do we have evidence that there is a rising epidemic of violence that this proposal attempts to solve? I don't think that we do have a convincing answer to either of these questions. And I think that the response to a terrible tragedy like this should take the form of a more nuanced, holistic community response. I encourage the council to vote no on the proposal to add three new officers. Let's take a step back, take a breath, and consider what may be driving acts of violence and what a more thoughtful response to this tragedy could look like. Thanks. Thank you.

Welcome. Please state your name and city you're from.

My name is Temple Hyatt, and I am a resident of Iowa City. And I've been involved with gun violence prevention efforts for nearly ten years. I take no pride in appearing before you here today. But it's extremely important that I remind the council, especially the candidates that received the gun sense candidate distinction during election time, that gun violence prevention is a multifaceted effort. if the mere presence of police was an effective prevention strategy I would have been here in the past 10 years advocating for that. The Ped Mall shooting was a horrific tragedy. I deeply respect Chief Liston and the department's desire to make everyone downtown feel safe. Hotspot policing is a strategy law enforcement use to address gun violence once an area has been identified using crime mapping software. Did we use crime mapping software? However, research shows that complex, community-focused approaches tend to be more effective than mere increased police presence. Problem-oriented policing pushes law enforcement to look at community concerns and issues and to use a variety of strategies, often outside of traditional policing, to find the best response. It looks to gun violence from a community perspective and aims to address the underlying issues that cause or impact gun violence in the area. Research has shown that problem-oriented hotspot strategies can have greater and longer-lasting impacts on gun violence reduction. It's essential that we track gun violence, trace every crime gun, submit crime gun ballistics, convene stakeholders to review incidents of gun violence, and develop intervention and prevention strategies. And I assume we're already doing those things. But other community strategies include crime prevention through environmental design, Secure gun storage campaigns, educating gun owners and the general public, supporting community-led public safety strategies that can include street outreach programs and group violence intervention programs. Mayor Teague is part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. How about amending this resolution to create a Mayor's Office of Gun Violence Prevention to support these strategies and match the estimated 370,000 to fund this office annually. Preventing gun violence does not happen exclusively with police presence. Just over a year ago, there was a mass shooting on Court Street where four individuals were injured. When we add three more officers in that area, we cannot afford to make more policing a permanent response to shootings in our community without also addressing the underlying issues that cause and impact gun violence. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no one else in person or online, we're going to close the comment period and switch over to our city council. We can start discussions at this time, council.

i'll jump in i just want to reflect on the last item that was on our agenda because it was really helpful to have city staff you know say we've talked about this issue multiple times we've had the opportunity to have uh input i know in you know one-on-one meetings as well as in public meetings and when there were some concerns raised jeff you did a great job of saying there are other options there are other alternatives um I think as we've heard this evening and as we know from our own experiences in being stewards of funding of public safety in this community, there are many things that we're not evaluating and that we're not considering when it comes to enhancing safety in our community with this proposal. This proposal is a thumbs up or a thumbs down on three permanent positions that would add as much as $500,000 immediately to our authorization for the police department. We just finished having a conversation where we weren't even willing to discuss budget priorities until we had our strategic planning conversation. I think we know being in the midst of the field mediation pilot, having conversations that are ongoing about mobile crisis response expansion, and as I stated at the last meeting, knowing that interventions for violence are not just the presence of police. We wish to be a data-driven city. We don't have any data that is supporting this exact proposal. And it is reasonable and understandable and valid for my colleagues to decide that this is what they want to do. But I think for us to do it under the premise of minimizing the occurrence of violent crime on the pet mall, I don't think is correct. And I think we need to be honest that this is again it's just not we're not providing a thoughtful analysis we're not considering alternatives that are known to help prevent violence before it happens and the timing of this like i don't understand what the rush is when again we just had a conversation that we wish to hold off on discussing budget priorities until we have the strategic planning conversation. I don't want to repeat too much of what I said at the last meeting, but I think it's very telling that community violence intervention is not here supporting this. I think it's very telling that other interventions that we've had downtown include, for example, the UAY program when there were the teens who were you know, shooting Orbeez guns, toy guns on the Ped Mall area and that their intervention they thought was very successful. That didn't involve the addition of police officers. And I think we know that there are best practices that are really based on a broader definition of safety and understanding of what the overall downtown environment looks and can be the culture that we're trying to cultivate in our community and I just think that this decision would be very short-sighted and expensive if we're trying to actually address violence in the downtown area so at the very least I would ask that we defer this item until after we have our strategic planning conversation if the majority of my colleagues want to move forward with this

Well, are you making a...

I'll move to defer until after our strategic planning work session. I second.

Moved by Burgess, seconded by Sala. And then we'll go roll call. Any discussion on that? I guess what I will say is my earlier comments during our work session about... Although there were some suggestions for what next budget season looked like for staff to bring back to council, I think at least a couple people made some thoughts. I made one, and it was pertaining to TIF and other opportunities. Because there could be a broader, not project, discussion is why I made that halt. I'll, you know, go through this, you know, I'm going to go through this vote. And a lot of what you mentioned as far as like maybe this feels rushed or whatever the case may be. This is something that's been happening in our downtown for some time where there's been police on shift. And so it's not a new concept to this council. We've all had conversations about it. So I don't in that moment feel like It is a new conversation and it has been conversations throughout the years. It's not just a right now conversation. So I won't be voting to defer, but yeah, we can make that vote if there are no more comments.

I think I would just add that this was the request for a look at pet mall safety and what options there were was something that we brought up. Right after this latest incident and the chief and the city manager said that will be fine, we will do that. But also know that we won't simply just present you with here's what's going on. We will have recommendations. And so back in late April, early May, that was from the outset something that we knew was going to be happening. And so they took the summer to gather actually the data and the statistics of about what has been going on in this Zone 1, the downtown core, and then Area 1 outside of that, and the different types of crime, and what that has looked like longitudinally over the past six years. And that was feeding their recommendations. I certainly understand we have talked about the optics as well as talking about should we do this vote now or not. But I think in terms of how this has come out, in terms of the information that we have received, the way in which both the police chief and the city manager have put the information together and the recommendation, none of that is actually a real surprise because that was something that we asked for. We wanted this information. But I recall very specifically Jeff saying, we can get you this information, but please understand this isn't just an exercise in here's where we're at. We will come to you with recommendations. That's exactly right.

That's what they said. said they're going to come with a recommendation.

So that was something way back when. We knew this was going to be what they, you know, we didn't know what the specific recommendations would be, but that that was something. So I just want to, and that's as much for the public to understand as it is just as a reminder for us.

But what I want to add to what you said Yes, they said they're going to bring recommendations. Yes, they said they're going to bring the study, like all the neighborhood, the side, the district, whatever, the number of shooting, years, everything. But the only thing that, I don't know, maybe I missed something. The only thing that the recommendation does not have any backup. Is this the recommendations, increasing the police on the downtown area is the solution after they investigate everything? Would the data that's showing increasing officers, which is the solution that they recommend, will reduce those crimes? I don't see that in the recommendation. Yes, they come with this recommendation, but I will say yes if they have, oh, and we have this data proven that if we ask three more officers, we'll solve the problem. That's what's not there. That's why, you know, we can, I guess, support something because the police gifted that.

I mean, I hear you, absolutely. And yet, over and over again, and I've talked to other counselors about this, that Colin Fowler has been this model of policing. And that, in fact, this is what this dedicated team would be doing is creating more relationships at nighttime. and being able to know there's the talk of hotspot and crime mapping. But this would be through relationships and understanding what the experiential landscape looks like. And so I certainly would want to have That kind of, yes, these are sworn officers, but I would want to have that kind of approach to policing available rather than having people simply be at overtime. The other thing is, and I know that council knows this, so I'm not talking at anybody. I want everyone to understand that. It's just that, as Chief has mentioned, getting three new positions is not just advertising for them and that is these new people get slotted in. It is to work from to be able to continue to give service levels at patrol with these specialty positions being hired from within. It's a process and it will allow officers who are already known within the community to be able to start building those relationships. I said last time, and I say it again, and I repeat something that I remember the city manager talking about, that this is one piece of an entire spectrum of response. of public safety, and that the police are at one end of the spectrum. It's reaction. It's not proactive, per se, but there are many, many steps along the way, and public safety, as we know it across this continuum, does also include the police. Our police department, folks have talked or we've got the statistics about it being streamlined and kind of a lean organization. And I looked and it's in fact there's 1.1 sworn officers per thousand people. That is significantly less than the 2.2 across similarly sized Midwestern cities, and our population increases when we get university students coming in by 30,000. So we have a streamlined police force. We also have a chief who understands that we do not want to balloon out our police force. We don't have the budget for that, but I do think that if we look at different facets of need and ways in which we can better our approaches across the spectrum that for this specific issue that has been escalating in at over time escalating is not probably the right words i don't want to put that that things are getting worse right thank you counselor um but We have high density in the downtown area and there have been incidents in which we have averted tragedies by luck and by having smart thinking and I will end here, but I think that we are not overreacting to say that we have a streamlined police force who is trying to deal with an area that environmentally a lot of people go to and that that climate changes when it's over in the late hours.

We have a deferment on the floor, and no, it was my fault for not calling the vote.

At least this time I wasn't yelling.

I also went off the topic of the deferment.

I mean, I have an on-topic of the deferment. Because I think... And I totally understand where everybody's at and everybody's in the same place that we want the safest possible environment for downtown Iowa City. I live downtown Iowa City. That's high up there in priorities for me for not to be dangerous in my own home. But When it comes to the timeline of the proposal, we know that we're not going to be able to hire these positions for years. But that doesn't mean that the service is not going to be provided. That's the chief's purview to... to do what he thinks is the best for the community with the resources that you have. And what it comes down to is capacity. We just don't think that, the chief doesn't think that with the capacity that's current, police department has that just reshuffling the current police number is not sufficient. But, you know, I look at communities like Durham, like Dayton, that just invested robustly in community response like we already have budgeted for, in theory. And they've been able to have that be the vehicle to increase that capacity. So I think that if there's actual, if we actually like looked at these statistics and studies and examples and models from other communities that we would say, hey, there's actually ways that everybody can get what they want. The police can get more capacity. These new positions will still be there. And especially in the timeline that we're talking about, like these programs that have really good yielding results that we would be looking for, they've only been around for like two, three years. So, and we're past the starting line than what they were in terms of our current infrastructure. So I think that is why I think holistic conversation. I know we've used the word holistic a lot. Especially when we just had the budget exclamation point work session that we all sat through. Yeah, I just think that Not that deferring it could have us actually have that conversation where people could have the information. Because I haven't sat down with everybody and been like, look, this is what I'm looking at. Our staff hasn't been directed to look at that. And it's not staff's fault because we didn't give them direction to. So that's what I think.

In terms of the deferment, and I will limit myself to that because I have many thoughts on the other stuff here when we get to the meat of the issue, but I can't think of any issue that we have, at least myself, speaking for just myself, in the four and a half years I've been on the council that has taken more time and attention than we have. our police and public safety in general, and certainly over several years, the downtown area in particular, plus since April of, what, 19th, I think is the date on that? It's since April. You know, this isn't something that I quit thinking about until two weeks ago, so I feel comfortable moving forward with the discussion that's kind of already moved forward a little bit, but we do have this thing on the floor. So for that reason, I will be voting against the deferment.

The last thing I would say about the deferment is at the last meeting, I requested that we have the opportunity to review the data that we have been collecting but have not seen for several years relating to racial disparities in our traffic stops. I do think that is incredibly important just to know where we stand. We can make the same decision. Just like if April 19th hadn't happened, I really object to tying this decision to that incident. I think that is not... I think that's not accurate as far as why we would want to do this. And I think, you know, as far as like the timing of this and the fact that we could wait maybe a couple more months, depending on when we have our strategic planning session, you know, we I got a press release just within the last few days that the department's hiring now, you know, continuing to hire. That isn't going to stop. We have open positions currently. And I understand that the racial disparity data should be available at the end of this month. So, again, it doesn't mean necessarily that the decision will change, but it worries me that on this important of an issue, we wouldn't want to be informed by that when we had the priority of, you know, really looking at public safety more holistically since 2020. And the investments that we've made have been relatively minimal until this point.

Roll call please harm this and this is yeah.

So this is for the deferment if you want to defer and I'm assuming we didn't give a date. Maybe we should at it.

I thought it was until the end of the strategic planning process to okay, all right.

We have a sense of when that is I know it's we haven't scheduled it but I know it's still we still have one more individual Council meeting with the facilitator and then we'll schedule it great.

That works right so a motion to defers the vote before us now yes. We're ready to harm son, no Mo no Sala yes Teague no why line, yes alter.

Burgess yes. Motion passes to defer four to three. All right. So we're going to defer that vote. All right. Could I get a motion to accept correspondence, please? So moved. Moved by Alter.

Second. Saleh.

Seconded by Saleh. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes seven to zero. We're at number 11, Council Appointments 11A, Human Rights Commission. One vacancy to fill an unexpired term upon appointment through December 31st, 2027. Council discussion.

I think I had actually nominated her or brought her name forward. All right. At another moment when we were looking at HRC, I just have to pull her up. I want to say it was.

The three people that have been on the short list, I know, like multiple times. I know that we have discussed Estella, Cliff, and Ed, I think are three that have been on the list in the past.

I want to add Scott. There is a, I want to say. Oh. Tiana Madison was somebody that I had. I'm not sure if I...

Will you state those names again, Councilor Moe?

Yeah, I think that the three that we've discussed in the past that have been, I think, top contenders have been Estella, Rora Johnson, Clifton Johnson, and Ed Moreno. I still think they could be great candidates, but I also understand that there's a great list. Sure. I would support Estella.

I would as well. She's on my short list.

Shoot. If that's agreeable on my list as well. But man, you know, again, so many, we say it every time, especially with the Human Rights Commission, but just so many really, really good applicants and it makes it difficult. And yeah, please keep applying.

So do I hear three for Estella?

Four, actually. Four? Okay. Are you at four? No.

Okay. All right.

So over there.

All right. So we had one vacancy. So can I get a motion to appoint Estella Rory Johnson to the Human Rights Commission? So moved, Mo.

Second, Fergus.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Seven to zero. All right. We are on to... Item number 12, announcement of vacancies previous. Airport zone and Board of Adjustment, one vacancy to fill a five-year term. Airport zone and Board of Adjustment, one vacancy to fill a five-year term. Board of Appeals, one vacancy for a licensed electrician to fill a five-year term. Board of Appeals, one vacancy for HVAC professional to fill an unexpired term. Historic Preservation Commission one vacancy for Brown Street representative to fill a three-year term. Historic Preservation Commission one vacancy for Jefferson Street representative to fill a three-year term. Historic Preservation Commission one vacancy for Wollong Avenue representative to fill a three-year term. Vacancies will remain open until filled. We're at item number 13, which is City Council information. We're going on to item number 14, reports on items from our city staff, city manager's office. Not tonight. Our city attorney. No, thank you. City clerk. No. All right. We are on to item number 15, which is adjournment. Can I get a motion to adjourn?

So moved. Second.

Moved by Solis, seconded by Alter. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes 7-0. We're adjourned. Have a nice night.

Thank you. Good night. Thank you.