U-Heights Council Meets with JoCo Supervisors

City Council held a special meeting with the Johnson County Board of Supervisors last night. It was an interesting and informative session. We updated them on our Sunset wide sidewalk project, and a street sign replacement grant we are applying for this spring. They gave us information regarding their road and bridge infrastructure plans and other improvements. 

Supervisor Rod Sullivan asked about our city finances since they had been mentioned when the One University Place TIF request went before the board in August 2011.

Councilor Jim Lane, as our finance chair, responded we currently have about $500,000 in cash reserves, of which $200K is earmarked for Olive Court and Leamer street repairs following completion of the Hendrickson development in Iowa City. I mentioned that with our Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money running out this summer, we will be facing the equivalent of a 10% budget cut. The supervisors were sympathetic regarding our tight finances, especially in light of how many services we purchase from other communities, and whose cost we have little control over.

Perhaps the most interesting point of the evening was when Supervisor Chair Janelle Rettig commented regarding the possible interest of the University of Iowa in the St. Andrew Church site. Her comment was that we should be working to make sure that the property goes into private hands in order to generate tax revenue, just as she would be working to do the same for the current Johnson County Jail site, if the Justice Center Bond (vote scheduled for May 7th) should pass. She said unless UI comes up with the "golden ticket" (or something to that effect) price for the land, she would much prefer a dense mixed use development on the jail site.

After the meeting I talked with Janelle about the necessity of all governmental agencies whose jurisdiction adjoins the University meeting with them about planning and future land use. She heartily agreed, but that will be another post.