Council Meeting Webstream

As I mentioned back in a post in December, Louise From was recognized at her final council meeting for her service to University Heights. Cable Channel 4 in Iowa City is now streaming that meeting. It's worth watching

December 15, 2015 City Council Meeting

A Very Sincere Thank You!

Mayor Louise From presided over her final meeting as mayor tonight and I'd like to say she was sent out in style. Completely unknown to her, various Iowa elected officials and a notable celebrity were asked to submit a letter of thanks to Louise. These were read at the meeting. She received congratulations and thanks from both U.S. Senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and our U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack. She also received recognition from Governor Branstad, and our state senator, Joe Bolkcom. Our Iowa House rep, Mary Mascher, came in person to thank Louise also. The highlight of the presentation was a letter from Kirk Ferentz, who spoke of how University Heights was his first home in Iowa, and thanking Louise for her service.
Louise was elected to five terms as Mayor, for a total of 10 years. Prior to that she served six terms on council for 12 years. In total she served the City of University Heights for 22 years from January of 1994 through December of 2015. While I don't know Louise's exact age I'm pretty confident in thinking that she has served University Heights for at least one-third of her life.

I have greatly enjoyed working with Louise, and have great admiration for her abilities and the accomplishments she has made for the betterment of our city. I hope that if you see her in the coming days and weeks, that you'll tell her thank you too.

11/10/15 City Council Meeting Webstream

I should remember to post these regularly, because our friends at City Cable Channel 4 do a great job of making available a webstream of all regular City Council meetings. You can also watch a rebroadcast on Channel 4 every Thursday night at 9:00 PM.

November 10 City Council Meeting

November Council Meeting Update

Dear U-Heights residents, City Council held their regular November meeting Tuesday night, below are some highlights. For more information please look at the full agenda and attachments.   LEAF VACUUMING November 19 will be the final leaf vacuum date. Please rake leaves only to the curb. Often Johnson County refuse comes by to pick up leaves early as they travel through town. Even if they pick up early they will still pick up on the scheduled date too.   One University Place Council heard an update regarding progress on One University Place. Council also heard public input and made a decision regarding ravine restoration. Council and public were in agreement regarding 3/1 grading plan  and tree planting. Jeff Maxwell will work with EVE and Confluence Landscape architects to bring a planting plan to council. Fire Protection Mayor From reported that negotiations are nearly complete to switch city fire coverage to Iowa City at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, 2016. Fire protection from Iowa City will be at the same rate as our current coverage from Coralville. Community Visioning 2016 Councilor Virginia Miller announced University Heights has been awarded a Trees Forever Community Visioning program Grant. The steering committee will send representatives to training in Ames later this month. Tree Pruning Class Trees Forever will have a Tree Pruning class on Sat. Dec. 5th We are planning to hold this at the City office. One hour of class time and then one hour of field work on Melrose and Sunset. We need to know how many people will be attending so we know whether to move it to the University Club. RSVP to Hannah Howard at HHoward@treesforever.org. Upcoming Events Leaf Vacuuming Nov. 19 Tree Pruning Class Dec. 5 City Council Regular Meeting Dec. 15, 7 PM Horn School Library Leaf Vacuuming Nov. 19

Follow University Heights on Twitter Consider contributing to the University Heights Community Fund I also write a blog covering U-H and other timely topics, with my opinions expressed UHForward.blogspot.com Join the community at Nextdoor University Heights! As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor. -Mike

October 2015 Council Meeting Summary

Fellow U-Heights residents, City Council held their regular October meeting tonight, below are some highlights. Lots of important things happened tonight. For more information please look at the full agenda and attachments. But before I talk about the council meeting, here are three important upcoming events:   Trick or Treating Trick or Treating will be Saturday 10/31 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM UNLESS the Iowa-Maryland football game kicks off at 2:30 PM or later. If that occurs, Trick or Treating is the same time on FRIDAY 10/30.   LEAF VACUUMING See the 3 dates for vacuuming below in the calendar. Please rake leaves only to the curb. Often Johnson County refuse comes by to pick up leaves early as they travel through town. Even if they pick up early they will still pick up on scheduled dates too. 2015 Municipal Election All council seats and the mayor's office are up for election this fall. In person early voting is available at the County Administration Building, 913 S. Dubuque St. M-F from 7:45 AM to 5:30 PM through Nov. 2.  University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Fountain Lobby 200 Hawkins Dr. Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Election Day, Nov. 3 vote at St. Andrew 7 AM to 8 PM. One University Place Construction has started, and there was a great deal of discussion regarding work done so far and how a major amount of rubble was discovered in the east ravine. For more information see the Engineer's report item #7 at the above agenda link, there is a very good summary of what has occurred. Minimum Wage This was actually discussed in September, but council will not take any action, which will allow the County minimum wage ordinance to take effect. My personal comment is that I believe that minimum wage should be a livable wage.  Community Visioning 2016 University Heights has been approached about participating in the Trees Forever Community Visioning program, and council thinks we should pursue it.  The program works with small towns in Iowa to develop plans for improving their pedestrian, bicycle or car transportation systems using engineers and landscape architects from Iowa State University. Community Center  There was discussion of having a community committee plan what amenities will be needed in the community center, and help decide such issues such as public use policies and layout. If you are interested in participating in this committee please let Mayor Louise From know.  Upcoming Events Leaf Vacuuming Oct. 19 Leaf Vacuuming Nov. 2 Election DAY Nov. 3 Poll Site St. Andrew Church 7 AM to 8 PM City Council Regular Meeting Nov. 10, 7 PM Place TBD Leaf Vacuuming Nov. 19

Follow University Heights on Twitter Consider contributing to the University Heights Community Fund I also write a blog covering U-H and other timely topics, with my opinions expressed UHForward.blogspot.com Join the community at Nextdoor University Heights! As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor. -Mike

September Council Meeting Summary

Fellow U-Heights residents, City Council held their regular September meeting Tuesday night, below are some highlights. For more information please look at the full agenda and attachments. Ice Cream Social U-Heights Ice Cream Social will be this Sunday, Sept. 13, from 3:30 to 5:30 at the newly renovated Tower Court Park. Eulenspiegel Puppets will perform at 4:00. Ice cream from Dane's Dairy and Kalona Bars will be served. Come greet your neighbors, and have a good time! Kid's Council Presentation Iowa City Crime Prevention/Community Service Officer R.A. Mebus presented this evening during the Kid's Council program about Safety Village. This two week long June program is available to 5 through 7 years olds. More information can be found here Safety Village. Open Space/Tree Board Ordinances Council had first readings of two ordinances. Ordinance 191 would require any developer who splits a property or increases density to set aside open space. Ordinance 190 would create a City Tree Board to help manage and watch out for trees planted in city right of way. Both ordinances passed 5-0. All ordinances require 3 approvals from council. Both ordinances can be found in the above agenda and attachments link. Driveway Issues City Engineer Josiah Bilskemper reminded everyone that a driveway permit is required whenever a new driveway apron (The portion between the sidewalk and the street) is poured.Driveway Permits forms are on the city website on the Building/Zoning/Sanitation page . Upcoming Events U-Heights Ice Cream Social Sept. 13 Tower Court Park 3:30 to 5:30 Neighborhood Watch Meeting- Kingsley Botchway will present on Cultural Competence Sept. 24th 7 PM City Office 1004 Melrose City Council Regular Meeting Oct. 13th Place TBD LEAF VACUUMING: 3 DATES: Oct. 19 Nov. 2, Nov. 19

Follow University Heights on Twitter Consider contributing to the University Heights Community Fund I also write a blog covering U-H and other timely topics, with my opinions expressed UHForward.blogspot.com Join the community at Nextdoor University Heights! As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor. -Mike Copyright © 2015 Mike Haverkamp, All rights reserved. This is information about University Heights for residents who wish to receive it. Our mailing address is: Mike Haverkamp 315 Golfview Ave. Iowa City, IA 52246

One University Place Approvals

At our City Council meeting tonight Council voted 4-1 (Quezada voting "no")  to approve the TIF Development Agreement which essentially approves the One University Place project. While this is nearly the culmination of 7 years work on planning this project, it is truly the beginning of the project itself. 

Unlike most times, tonight I had a prepared statement to make regarding the vote. However the way our discussion went, I never had a chance to deliver it. So here are my thoughts on why I voted to approve the TIF :

As I consider tonight’s vote I want to reflect the journey that has gotten us here. When I was first elected in 2009, my hope was the U-Heights would be a financially secure community that maintained its high quality of life. Approving this project, and the TIF that will make it happen is a major step toward realizing that goal.

What I think is important to remember here is that the City is not a part of the purchase process for this property. This development is located on private land owned by St. Andrew Church. Unlike River Landing in Coralville, or Plaza Towers in downtown Iowa City, we as a City do not own this site, we could not solicit bids and choose a developer from among competing projects.

Despite this, the residents of this community have molded this project over the past 7 years and their ideas have resulted in improvements and enhanced amenities. We will have commercial enterprises that will add to our community. We will have a community center, at an attractive price, where we can gather and celebrate. There will be playground space and attractive outdoor facilities. The ravine east of the project will be preserved in its current state. We will have an improved arterial intersection with better traffic flow than we have currently. Those traffic improvements will be paid by the project itself.

I don’t think anyone on council believes that Tax Increment Financing is to be given away lightly or surreptitiously. We have received advice from the National Development Council as to the need and amount of gap financing. Without a TIF, this project does not proceed.  While a gap of $4 million dollars, which results over time in a $6.7 million rebate payout is certainly not small, it is a reasonable amount, and the city will be able to repay without putting the city or its residents at a financial risk.

This TIF we are considering complies with the guidelines set forth by Peter Fisher of the Iowa Policy Institute for responsible use. Only taxes collected on property in this development will be used to rebate costs. Dr. Fisher advised not including the cost of a community center in the TIF because we shouldn’t TIF for non-tax generating space. We are following that recommendation.

Because I certainly know that tonight’s vote is not the end but the beginning of the next chapter in the future of U-Heights, and I know that approving this project will make us a financially secure community that maintains its high quality of life  I will be voting yes.

Here is the link to more information about the project. 

One University Place Information

TIF Plan Details and My Opinions

RAGBRAI WATCH AND WAVE IS JULY 25th
incorrect date in my eMail!

With tonight’s approval of the TIF district and first approval of an ordinance identifying the district, City Council continues to move forward in the process to finalize and approve the One University Place development.

I think it is fair to say there has been a lot of misinformation about the project and the process of approving the TIF (tax increment financing) that goes along with it. In order to help explain what is happening I created a PowerPoint slideshow that I shared with the rest of council and the public at tonight’s council meeting. That PowerPoint can be found here.

Key information points from the PowerPoint:

1. Only the area of project itself is in the TIF District. Taxes collected on those properties, AFTER protected levies are paid to all entities, will be used to rebate the developer for construction costs.
2. All the major governmental entities (ICCSD, Johnson County, Kirkwood CC) will receive protected levies AND any leftover increment during the TIF.
3. With a very conservative 1.5% annual increase in valuation (last 10 years U-H has averaged a 5.5% annual valuation increase) TIF would be paid off in 13.5 years.
4. The Council is following recommendations from noted TIF critic, Peter Fisher, including bonding for the city community space rather than paying via TIF.

And here is my personal opinion based on the above:

TIF is justified as it will ensure that the project is built as a high quality residential/commercial development. 

The inescapable conclusion that I draw as I look over the long road we have taken to get to this point is this:

The Council and its staff have attained nearly every major concession or goal regarding the project that represents what a majority of University Heights seems to want. The City has repeatedly bent the developer to our will:

• The development is of a size that does not overwhelm the site or neighborhood
• The development includes commercial space that is desirable to many residents
• The development will have higher end residential space that will not be targeted to students
• The development will have a community center space at an attractive price
• The Melrose/Sunset intersection will be re-aligned at One University Place's expense
• The ravine east of the project will be protected in its current state

 

The Truth about TIF and the NDC

One of the most unfortunate aspects of the events leading up to our June city council meeting was the guest editorial by Silvia Quezada  that ran in the Press Citizen Tuesday morning. Tom Jackson, Director of the NDC, sent an email to all of City Council Tuesday afternoon. 

Silvia did start the meeting Tuesday night with an apology to Tom and the NDC. However since approximately 40 members of the public were at the meeting and I'm sure more than that read her editorial, I think it is fair to run his response here.

Subject:   RE: Follow-up University Heights From:   "Tom Jackson" <TJackson@nationaldevelopmentcouncil.org> Date:   Tue, June 9, 2015 12:05 pm To:   "silvia quezada" <smq130@hotmail.com> (less) "council@university-heights.org" <council@university-heights.org> Priority:   Normal Options:   View Full Header | View Printable Version  | Download this as a file

Councilmember Quezada – I was sorry to see in the paper this morning that you feel that “NDC was instructed to analyze the (One University Place) project assuming $4 million in TIF plus interest.)  That was not my direction from any of the members of the University Heights City Council and is not the way that NDC conducts gap analyses.  What I did do was review budgets, sales projections and operating revenues and expenses for multiple iterations of the project.  If, in my initial analysis of the project’s financials, I had found no evidence of a financing gap, I would have informed the City of as much and future considerations could have focused on zoning without any need to debate the use of tax increment financing (TIF).  Instead, I identified a financing gap in that initial submission that exceeded $9 million.  This number was well in excess of what I was told was the City’s total bonding capacity and it was a number that couldn’t be amortized with a TIF rebate in anything approaching the maximum available terms of private financing.    Councilmember Lane stated in the last council meeting, and I believe during a meeting that you and I had with him in the spring of 2014, that the City couldn’t risk more than $4 million in gap financing to help incentivize development on the St. Andrew’s site.  Given this feedback, the Developer had no choice but to rework and resubmit successive plans and associated financials to try to eliminate the majority of their financing gap.  Even the plan that included the one-story retail/commercial building that was reviewed by Council in early summer 2014 – and that received relatively favorable review from your residents – could not bring the financing gap below $5 million.  A rework of that plan led to the current Developer proposal and my analysis that it evidences a financing gap with a present value of $4 million dollars. I believe that you have, through the services the City contracted with the National Development Council to provide, received an independent review of the financing scenarios that have been associated with each iteration of the project’s design, unit count, unit mix, project budget, and projected sales and operating revenues and expenses.  This review couldn’t be independent of the proposals made by the Developer, because the current development team is the only one that has control of the St. Andrew’s site.  Given that control, the Maxwell team is the only one investing in the designs, construction estimates, proforma development, etc. that are necessary prerequisites to NDC’s analysis.  I’ll be in attendance at tonight’s City Council meeting to answer any questions you may have regarding my analysis of the current proposal’s gap financing needs.  All the best - Tom Tom Jackson, Director National Development Council 927 Dudley Road Edgewood, KY 41017 (513) 300-0886 Mobile tjackson@nationaldevelopmentcouncil.org www.nationaldevelopmentcouncil.org

My Vote on One University Place

I voted in favor of the PUD and the Developer's Agreement at our June City Council meeting tonight. Neither decision was taken lightly nor without considering the many details of both documents. I also considered how those documents work in light of the request for TIF that the developer has made.

I have spoken at length lately about the merits of commercial development, how a rebate TIF is a best way to make sure this project succeeds, and why this project is good for our town. Tonight it is time for me to go back and reflect on what started me on this path 6 years ago.

When I first ran for council in November 2009 I spoke at length about our city budget and my concern over it. The fiscal year that had ended in June 2009 had a $39K annual deficit. I had spoken in favor of the proposed development as a citizen who saw walkable commercial as important to maintaining our town's quality of life. The more I studied the situation the more I realized that the economic impact was critical as well.

Even though the development has not progressed, we as a city received a reprieve in the form of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) that was collected in Johnson County from July 2009 through June 2013. We received roughly the equivalent of a 10% increase for those four years. We managed to bank quite a bit of those proceeds, even though our annual carryover was always smaller than the amount of LOST received.  In conversations with Finance chair Jim Lane and City accountant Steve Kuhl 100% of the City's current carryover is attributable to LOST.

It is time to move this project forward. We need this to continue as a vibrant community and we need this be economically viable in the future.

We also scheduled a Public Hearing for July 14th to discuss TIF district. I will have much more to say about how this TIF is structured and how it works in the coming month.

A Closer Look at TIF

Council held a work session last night on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) as we continue to consider the One University Place project. We had two speakers talk with us, and it was a very informative and illuminating meeting.

The first presenter was Dr. Peter Fisher, Research Director of the Iowa Policy Project. Peter is national expert on public finance and is a frequently cited commentator on what is viewed as the abuse of TIF projects.

I spent a good deal of time speaking with Dr. Fisher in 2010 when in my first term on city council and the idea of TIF was proposed for One University Place. I find him to be very approachable and gracious with his time and expertise. Last night he had a PowerPoint presentation that he shared with the council and public who attended the meeting.
The slideshow can be downloaded from the U-H Municipal website:  TIF Presentation

The portion I found most helpful were the last two slides he shared. The first slide was guidelines for Responsible TIF Use:

These guidelines generally correspond with what I've said I would support in a TIF: a project based, rebate TIF with a definite time/cost ending. The only area above that I haven't supported is the last one in that I have mentioned TIF as a means to pay for the Community Center which would be a tax exempt facility. I will now need to consider bonding for a center in light of Dr. Fisher's suggestions.

The last slide was Questions to Ask:

These are the questions we should apply to One University Place, some I can answer now, others not yet:

Question One: YES ( we are only considering a rebate TIF, for the project site only)
Question Two: YES (I view the commercial space as a public benefit. The developer has said they could build a residential only project without TIF. I believe the public benefit of commercial space justifies a TIF)
Question Three: Not Yet (I'll talk about this down below)
Question Four: To ensure public benefit (This can be explained in my answer to question 2 as well as my firm belief that this property, which currently generates zero taxes, should be on the city rolls. If this development does not take place there is a high probability that it could be purchased by the University of Iowa, which would effectively remove any possibility of it generating taxes)

The second speaker was Tom Jackson of the National Development Council. City Council has hired Tom evaluate the One University Place project and recommend whether or not a TIF would be necessary. Tom has also performed this duty for the City of Iowa City as they consider re-development projects. Tom's work will heavily influence how I judge the answer to question 3 above.

Tom said he will have a full written report delivered to the City prior to our May 27th Public Hearing on the One University Place Planned Unit Development (PUD). He did have some preliminary remarks last night. Here are what I considered major points of what he said last night:

• While Tom didn't say outright that the project deserves a TIF, he did talk in general terms about amounts and time limits, so I am assuming he has deemed the project as viable and worthy of TIF
• Financing model is predicting an 8% return on the project 
• Local bank financing would be approximately 5% which would be paid first
• Private equity firms are not interested in projects generating under 15% return
• A TIF time limit of 12 years is the rough projection
• The payment would be a flat amount per year, so that after the first several years of payment, any excess amount generated from site would flow through normal channels to all other entities: county, city, school district
• A gap amount of $4 million is the rough projection

As I said at the beginning of this post, I found last night to be extremely helpful and what I learned will certainly influence and clarify my judgement regarding this project.

March Council Meeting Summary

 

Fellow U-Heights residents,

City Council held their regular March meeting Tuesday night, below are some highlights. For more information please look at the full agenda and attachments. 

One University Place Ordinance First Approval

Following a recommendation from the Zoning Commission last week, city council held a public hearing on a zoning amendment for One University Place  and heard community comment. Council also heard from the developers regarding their request to increase the residential unit number from 80  to 104 and surface parking from 55 to 108. Their plans show a reduction in commercial space and the footprint of the front building. The back building would remain 5 stories. Due to a petition filed by 20% of residents within 300 feet of the property, council approval would require a super majority of 4 yes votes. Council approved the first reading tonight 5-0. A second reading of the amendment will be held at the April meeting. 

FY16 Budget Approved.

Following a public hearing council approved the FY16 budget. City budget years begin on July 1. The carryover projected at the end of FY16 is $779. The re-estimated carryover for the end of FY15 (June 30, 2015) is $13,665.

Parking Passes Created

Police Chief Ken Stanley announced a policy where any resident hosting a gathering can contact the police department and request parking passes for guests who may be leaving their car on a city street overnight. He also passed out several passes to each council member for them to distribute to any neighbors if needed.

Upcoming Events

• City Council Work Session on Tax Increment Financing MONDAY MARCH 23, 6:30 pm (tentative) 
• City Council Meeting TUESDAY APRIL 14 7:00 PM 
• Annual Spring Clean Up Day is SATURDAY APRIL 25th 9-noon 
• Arbor Day Tree Planting Ceremony will be SUNDAY APRIL 26th 
• Farmer's Market starts TUESDAY JUNE 2nd
• City-Wide Garage Sale will be SATURDAY JUNE 6th throughout town 
• RAGBRAI comes through U-Heights! SATURDAY July 25th

• Follow University Heights on Twitter
  Consider contributing to the University Heights Community Fund
  I also write a blog covering U-H and other timely topics, with my opinions expressed UHForward.blogspot.com
  Join the community at Nextdoor University Heights!
  
  As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor.

  -Mike