October Council Meeting Summary

Dear U-Heights neighbors,

City Council held the regular October meeting on Tuesday. See the agenda and supporting documents here. Here are some highlights:

Presentation to residents: GG Land Group OCTOBER 16 7:00 PM University Club
It was brought up at council meeting that a mailing went out to residents Tuesday for a public meeting this Thursday evening. (I didn't see the letter until after the meeting) I strongly encourage anyone who can attend Thursday do so. City Council HAS NOT approved any plans. When GG group came to council last month we suggested they hold a public meeting.
Want a Street Tree?
Councilor Virginia Miller will submit  a 2015 Trees Please Grant. If you would like to receive a tree for planting in the city right of way at your property contact her at virginia@university-heights.org. She has lots of interest already so don't delay.
Farewell to Chief Ron Fort
Tonight was Chief Fort's final meeting as head of the University Heights police. Council and the public wished him well, and Mayor From presented him with a key to the city. Ron's final official day will be October 24th.

Two Other Items to Pass Along:

1.     LITTLE FREE LIBRARY is running low, please return books you've borrowed and read, or consider donating extra books. Adult and Children's boxes both would benefit from more material!

2.     Open House for newly appointed Police Chief Ken Stanley.  An Open House will be held, Sunday, Nov. 2^nd from 2:00-5:00pm at the City office next to Stella.  Chief Stanley will be sworn-in as chief at 4:00 pm.

Since you've got your calendars out here are a few more upcoming events:
Oct. 22nd – Zoning Commission Meeting 7:00- 9:00 PM City Office, 1004 Melrose
Oct. 27th – Leaf Vacuuming If your leaves are raked to the curb early, trucks may pick them up as they pass through to the city landfill.
Oct. 30th – Zoning Commission Meeting 7:00- 9:00 PM City Office, 1004 Melrose
Oct. 31st – Halloween Trick or Treating will be from Dusk until 8:30 PM
Nov. 4th – Election Day 7:00 AM- 9:00 PM St. Andrew Church MORE INFO HERE LOST Info HERE
Nov. 11th – City Council Meeting 7:00 PM site TBD
Nov. 13th – Leaf Vacuuming If your leaves are raked to the curb early, trucks may pick them up as they pass through to the city landfill.
Nov. 20th – Leaf Bag Pickup Leaf bags are picked up free of charge.

GG Land Group

GG Land Group made a presentation last night regarding a development they are proposing for eastern University Heights. The Press Citizen covered it here:


U-Heights Residents Speak Out About Proposed Housing Complex

I was teaching class last night until 8 PM and was only able to attend the last 30 minutes of the meeting. GG Land Group presented at the September City Council meeting and we suggested that they hold a city-wide informational meeting.

In a nutshell this project would be a 158 unit (508 bed) apartment building catering to upper level and professional students. The property site is just west of the bridge on the south side of Melrose Ave. The parcel is a right triangle shape with the hypotenuse running along the railroad tracks. Since the land comes to a point at Melrose, most of the property is nearly invisible to a casual observer.

I have some fairly large concerns about the scale and impact of this project. If you notice the large gap between the number of units and number of beds listed above, one easily sees that nearly 40% of the units would contain 4 bedrooms. As a point of interest, Iowa City no longer allows 4 bedroom units in their multi-family buildings. And while I appreciate GG Land Group's statement that most of the residents of this project would be pedestrians or bicyclists, access remains a major issue as well.

I'm certain the a majority of city council does not think this project, as proposed, is a good fit for the property or our town. Personally I don't think it could be "tweaked" to make it one either.

If you've read this far, let me also say that despite what the Press Citizen said, we DO NOT have a council meeting on October 23rd!

And let me also say I need to update this site with council meeting summaries and will do that as well as talk more about LOST in the next few days.

MORE Thoughts on LOST

As I just sent out to city residents, the Johnson County Supervisors have now asked all municipalities to include language on their Local Option Sales Tax ballot to set aside 10% of revenues received to go to repayment of a Courthouse Annex  bond. In a June 30th Press Citizen story Iowa City Manager Tom Markus asked all other municipalities to set aside 10% of revenues received for low income housing.

At our City Council meeting last Tuesday I suggested we have ballot language that would include acquiring community center space. Using LOST revenue would be a great way to pay for space at the proposed One University Place development. When council asked audience members in attendance what other possible purposes LOST funds should be used for we heard both sidewalk expansion and street repair.

I'd be interested in hearing other ideas that residents may have regarding LOST.

A TWO-FER Council Update

I tend to slow down in the summer just a little, so I didn't get this week's July Council meeting update posted, before I needed to make another post revising what I'd already said!

Here is the latest Info sent on Saturday July 12th:

I know I've already sent an update this week but two items have happened since then that I thought it was important to communicate to as many people as possible.

Vehicle Safety

Police Chief Ron Fort requests that everyone in town makes sure their vehicles are locked. U-H had 5 unlocked vehicles entered this week. Some money and minor items taken. Contact UHPD if you see anything suspicious.

Updates Regarding Election and LOST

The Iowa Attorney General reverses opinion regarding special elections. In a change from what I reported in my council meeting update, U-Heights will NOT be required to hold a special election for the city council seat that Carla Aldrich was appointed to on Tuesday. If citizens' wish to petition for a special election challenging city council's appointment this week, they must file a petition for election by July 22, 2014.

Johnson County Supervisors ask for 10% of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money Council will have to decide what the language will be included on our November ballot.

For More information about both of these issues:REVISED City Attorney Report 7/12/14

Mark Your Calendars!

Several major events are quickly approaching.

• City Council Special Meeting is THURSDAY July 24th 6 PM City Office 1004 Melrose. Council will meet to consider bids for the Koser/Oakcrest corner curb replacement. This project will bring the curb ramps into compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
• Farmer's Market is TUESDAY Aug. 5th 5-7 PM St. Andrew Parking Lot
• August regular City Council Meeting is TUESDAY Aug. 12th 7 PM Site TBD

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 Here is what I sent out on Wednesday, July 9th:

City Council held their July meeting last night here are some highlights:

Zoning Changes Discussed

Council held a public hearing to begin discussing ordinance 187 which would amend the zoning ordinance to account for One University Place’s residential building’s elevator tops, trellises, and storage space. Council will consider more language in August to accommodate those items without raising the building’s main roof height above the current code’s 76 feet. Council will also continue discussing whether a community center space should be not be counted against the amount of retail space allowed in the front commercial building.

Councilor Appointed

Carla Aldrich, 11 Leamer Court, was appointed to serve on council, replacing Zadok Nampala. Due to a change by the Iowa legislature this last session, there will be a required special election for this seat on Nov. 4, 2014. Carla has said she plans to run for the this seat. The winner of this election will serve until the end of the current term, December 31, 2015.

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST)

Also on the Nov. 4th ballot will be a Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) vote. University Heights will need to come up with language for the citizens to consider. Discussion centered on using LOST funds to pay for a community center. Council will consider the ballot language in August.

My Thoughts on LOST

UPDATE: I wrote my post before seeing today's Press Citizen. Their article has a good summary of how the county-wide aspect of the vote will work. Here is a link to their story about the Iowa City Council passing the ballot initiative last night:

Iowa City Council approves sending sales tax to voters

As I posted earlier, it appears we will have a Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) vote this coming November.

I think it will be important for our citizens to vote YES on this issue. If the measure is passed in a total county vote, we will pay this tax on non-exempt items anywhere we shop in Johnson County. If the measure is passed overall but we as a city vote NO we will not receive any of the revenue. If it is passed and we vote YES we receive a portion of all revenue generated county-wide. If approved the tax would be collected for 10 years.

We as a city will have to decide how to word our ballot measure, explaining how we would use any money received. My strong feeling is that we should earmark this revenue to pay for the community center structure being proposed for One University Place. There has been much discussion about how to pay for this, with TIF (Tax Increment Financing) or bonding being really our only two options. There are people opposed to both choices for various reasons.

I think LOST would be the perfect way to pay for this and an excellent use of what could be one time (10 years) money.

Deja Vu All Over Again

The Cedar Rapids Gazette this evening is reporting that Iowa City will likely call for a Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) vote on the November 2014  ballot. Here is a portion of their story

Iowa City Council Indicates Support for Sales Tax

• 

  Iowa Regents' longer efficiency report lists 175 'improvement opportunities'

• 

  More severe weather on the way for Eastern Iowa

• 

  Hatch taps Monica Vernon as running mate

• 

  Ground Floor: Belle Plaine coffee shop has community focus

• 

  Cedar Rapids man dies after Friday crash

Iowa City Council indicates support for sales tax

Voters will see request for increase in November ballot

By Gregg Hennigan, The Gazette

Published: June 17 2014 | 6:00 pm - Updated: 17 June 2014 | 7:45 pm in City Council, Government, Government Rotator, Iowa City, News,

 3  7  0

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• Photos

(The Gazette)

IOWA CITY – Johnson County voters should count on seeing a request for increasing the sales tax on November’s ballot.
What exactly they’ll be asked to spend the money on remains to be seen, however.
The Iowa City Council at a work session Tuesday night discussed sending a 1 percent local-option sales tax referendum to voters this fall.
They did not formally move forward, but a majority of council members indicated they support a referendum.
“We’re excited and we want to hear the details,” council member Rick Dobyns said.
The council will discuss it again at upcoming meetings, and a resolution putting the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot must be approved by the end of August.
Because it has more than half of Johnson County’s population, Iowa City has the power to call for the referendum. Residents in other towns in the county and the unincorporated area also would vote on it.
The local-option sales tax, or LOST, would take the sales tax in jurisdictions that pass it to 7 percent from the current 6 percent.
It would generate approximately $20 million anually for Johnson County governments to divvy up, including $9 million to $12 million for Iowa City, depending on which jurisdictions approved it, according to Iowa City.
Iowa City and its bordering towns – Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights and Tiffin – would vote together and the combined votes in favor would have to surpass 50 percent for the measure to pass.
Communities can decide for themselves how they would spend the sales tax revenue they receive.
Coralville and North Liberty leaders have said their city councils still need to discuss the issue.

- See more at: http://thegazette.com/subject/news/iowa-city-council-indicates-support-for-sales-tax-20140617#sthash.JZ7YuDOi.dpuf

By Gregg Hennigan, The Gazette

By Gregg Hennigan, The Gazette

By Gregg Hennigan, The GazetteBy B

By Greg Hennigan, The Gazette

IOWA CITY – Johnson County voters should count on seeing a request for increasing the sales tax on November’s ballot. What exactly they’ll be asked to spend the money on remains to be seen, however. The Iowa City Council at a work session Tuesday night discussed sending a 1 percent local-option sales tax referendum to voters this fall.They did not formally move forward, but a majority of council members indicated they support a referendum.

“We’re excited and we want to hear the details,” council member Rick Dobyns said. The council will discuss it again at upcoming meetings, and a resolution putting the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot must be approved by the end of August.

Because it has more than half of Johnson County’s population, Iowa City has the power to call for the referendum. Residents in other towns in the county and the unincorporated area also would vote on it. The local-option sales tax, or LOST, would take the sales tax in jurisdictions that pass it to 7 percent from the current 6 percent. It would generate approximately $20 million annually for Johnson County governments to divvy up, including $9 million to $12 million for Iowa City, depending on which jurisdictions approved it, according to Iowa City.

Iowa City and its bordering towns – Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights and Tiffin – would vote together and the combined votes in favor would have to surpass 50 percent for the measure to pass. Communities can decide for themselves how they would spend the sales tax revenue they receive. 

What this means for U-Heights is that we will have this measure on our November ballots, we don't have any say on that, it is controlled by Iowa City. The final paragraph I included above explains that if the measure passes in the combined area We WOULD have control over how our University Heights portion would be spent. This is different than in 2009 when every city voted independently and could pass the measure independently. Currently there are no places in town that would collect this tax, but we would pay it for any purchases (excluding notably food and medical expenses) that were made in the county if it passes. 

I'm sure we will hear much more about the philosophical and politcal aspects of this issue, (and there are many) in the days to come.

 

 

• 

  Iowa Regents' longer efficiency report lists 175 'improvement opportunities'

• 

  More severe weather on the way for Eastern Iowa

• 

  Hatch taps Monica Vernon as running mate

• 

  Ground Floor: Belle Plaine coffee shop has community focus

• 

  Cedar Rapids man dies after Friday crash

Iowa City Council indicates support for sales tax

Voters will see request for increase in November ballot

By Gregg Hennigan, The Gazette

Published: June 17 2014 | 6:00 pm - Updated: 17 June 2014 | 7:45 pm in City Council, Government, Government Rotator, Iowa City, News,

 3  7  0

---

• Photos

(The Gazette)

IOWA CITY – Johnson County voters should count on seeing a request for increasing the sales tax on November’s ballot.
What exactly they’ll be asked to spend the money on remains to be seen, however.
The Iowa City Council at a work session Tuesday night discussed sending a 1 percent local-option sales tax referendum to voters this fall.
They did not formally move forward, but a majority of council members indicated they support a referendum.
“We’re excited and we want to hear the details,” council member Rick Dobyns said.
The council will discuss it again at upcoming meetings, and a resolution putting the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot must be approved by the end of August.
Because it has more than half of Johnson County’s population, Iowa City has the power to call for the referendum. Residents in other towns in the county and the unincorporated area also would vote on it.
The local-option sales tax, or LOST, would take the sales tax in jurisdictions that pass it to 7 percent from the current 6 percent.
It would generate approximately $20 million anually for Johnson County governments to divvy up, including $9 million to $12 million for Iowa City, depending on which jurisdictions approved it, according to Iowa City.
Iowa City and its bordering towns – Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights and Tiffin – would vote together and the combined votes in favor would have to surpass 50 percent for the measure to pass.
Communities can decide for themselves how they would spend the sales tax revenue they receive.
Coralville and North Liberty leaders have said their city councils still need to discuss the issue.

- See more at: http://thegazette.com/subject/news/iowa-city-council-indicates-support-for-sales-tax-20140617#sthash.JZ7YuDOi.dpuf

• 

  Iowa Regents' longer efficiency report lists 175 'improvement opportunities'

• 

  More severe weather on the way for Eastern Iowa

• 

  Hatch taps Monica Vernon as running mate

• 

  Ground Floor: Belle Plaine coffee shop has community focus

• 

  Cedar Rapids man dies after Friday crash

Iowa City Council indicates support for sales tax

Voters will see request for increase in November ballot

By Gregg Hennigan, The Gazette

Published: June 17 2014 | 6:00 pm - Updated: 17 June 2014 | 7:45 pm in City Council, Government, Government Rotator, Iowa City, News,

 3  7  0

---

• Photos

(The Gazette)

IOWA CITY – Johnson County voters should count on seeing a request for increasing the sales tax on November’s ballot.
What exactly they’ll be asked to spend the money on remains to be seen, however.
The Iowa City Council at a work session Tuesday night discussed sending a 1 percent local-option sales tax referendum to voters this fall.
They did not formally move forward, but a majority of council members indicated they support a referendum.
“We’re excited and we want to hear the details,” council member Rick Dobyns said.
The council will discuss it again at upcoming meetings, and a resolution putting the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot must be approved by the end of August.
Because it has more than half of Johnson County’s population, Iowa City has the power to call for the referendum. Residents in other towns in the county and the unincorporated area also would vote on it.
The local-option sales tax, or LOST, would take the sales tax in jurisdictions that pass it to 7 percent from the current 6 percent.
It would generate approximately $20 million anually for Johnson County governments to divvy up, including $9 million to $12 million for Iowa City, depending on which jurisdictions approved it, according to Iowa City.
Iowa City and its bordering towns – Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights and Tiffin – would vote together and the combined votes in favor would have to surpass 50 percent for the measure to pass.
Communities can decide for themselves how they would spend the sales tax revenue they receive.
Coralville and North Liberty leaders have said their city councils still need to discuss the issue.

- See more at: http://thegazette.com/subject/news/iowa-city-council-indicates-support-for-sales-tax-20140617#sthash.JZ7YuDOi.dpuf