Boil, Toil, and Loyal

That was the title I gave to my most recent email to U-Heights residents. I live to make bad rhyming jokes. Humor aside I wanted to communicate some important information about the boil advisory the city is under (along with west-side Iowa City) as well as give an update for our council work session held on 2/19. Hearing from former residents was a bonus.

Even better than that was hearing today from a current resident and brand new parent who reported that no less than THREE of her neighbors came over to make sure they had heard about the boil advisory and to ensure they weren't mixing formula or washing baby bottles without treating the water first! That is what community is all about.

Here is what I sent out:

University Heights municipal website View this email in your browser

BOIL TOIL and LOYAL! Boil Advisory I’d like to apologize for incorrectly using the word “order” in my email yesterday, the Iowa City Water Department issued an “advisory.” Today’s Press Citizen had more details than yesterday’s City of Iowa City’s press release, which I copied in full and sent to you. Here is the link to the PC Story Two comments from the story are highlighted here:  “We have not found any bacteria or contamination,” McMahon said. “We just like to err on the side of being conservative with this and just want to make sure everything is safe. We have no reason, though, to believe that there’s any contamination.” A precautionary boil advisory means no contaminants have been identified, but city staff still recommend residents boil their water until testing is complete. If a bacteria contamination is found, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources would issue a boil order. I hope this helps explain our situation better. Toil- Council considers Site Concept Plan Here is the webstream to the 2/11 City Council meeting. The presentation of the concept plan for the St. Andrew site is the 4th item on the timeline. Council heard more details and asked many questions at their work session on 2/19. Citizens also gave their input and suggestions. Illustrations comparing footprints of plans can be found here: St. Andrew Site Plans. Council will discuss the concept plan further at their 3/11 regular meeting to be held at the University Club at 7:00 PM. Loyal- Former residents still interested One nice side note of yesterday’s message about the boil advisory was that I heard from several former U-Heights residents, who even though they no longer live in our fair town, have chosen to stay on my email update list and remain interested in our affairs. I see this as a testament to the residents of our town, and what a special place we are. As always, it is my pleasure to serve you as city councilor. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. -Mike Haverkamp

St. Andrew Site Concept Design

Kevin Monson presented a site concept drawing at our council meeting last night. He stated that he wanted to get a feeling from council whether this was an avenue to pursue. Here is what he had to show Download PDF.

The major changes as he listed last night:

• The front building will be commercial only, no residential. So essentially a one story building with a taller roof making it look like a two story building. This is shorter than the 3 story building proposed earlier. This eliminates the need for underground residential parking on the first building.
• A community center could be added to the far eastern portion of the front building. This is currently shown as green space. This could be built with the original construction or added later.
• The rear building will contain 6 floors of residential units plus the rooftop meeting space. This is one story taller than the earlier proposed building, but still within zoning limitations.
• The rear building has a smaller East-West length.
• The shape of the front building has been simplified.
• There is no connection between circle parking for rear building and Sunset Street exit. 
• Front building moved 2 feet further back from Melrose.

Council will have a  work session to look further at this concept. This has been scheduled for WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19TH at 7:00 PM in the IOWA ROOM of the UNIVERSITY CLUB. The public is encouraged to attend and to comment on the concept design.

I would have to say my first impression of the concept design is favorable. I think many of the changes proposed are a result of community feedback from the September focus group meetings, and seem to strike a middle ground that would satisfy many of our citizens.

After thinking about this concept today, here are some questions I sent to Mr. Monson tonight that I would like to see addressed either at the work session or soon after:

• How do the the footprints of each building compare to earlier proposals?
• Can we get a comparison overlay of current concept, the 5+/3 and St. Andrew Church?
• What would be estimated height of first building?

 I'm sure I'll have more questions by Wednesday.

February 2014 Council Meeting Summary

U-Heights City Council held their regular February meeting last night, here are some highlights:

New St. Andrew Church Site Concept Plan:
Architect Kevin Monson presented a new site concept for re-development at St. Andrew Church site. Changes include a smaller front building with commercial only and a narrower rear residential building with 6 floors plus a rooftop room. Council will consider this plan further at a work session likely next week. I will post images in the next day or so.

FY 2015 Budget Planning
Council deliberated on the FY15 budget. A public hearing will be held on March 11th at 7:00 PM. Regular council meeting will follow.

Community Comment Guidelines
Council started to discuss guidelines for community comment at meetings. A draft guideline was presented by Jim Lane, council and community members responded. Suggestions will be incorporated and discussed in March.

City Committees:
Check the link below for agenda and attachments to read Streets and Sidewalks report on Emerald Ash Borer, Building/Zoning/Sanitation report for current rental property numbers and more.

February 11 Agenda and Attachments

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