The regular council meeting will feature consideration of the FY2023 City Budget (Item #3) and the first proposed changes to the new Downtown Character District (Items 7 & 8). I'm also pleased that our UNI Student Liaison position will be filled again (Item #9), bringing back an important UNI student perspective that had been sidelined during COVID. Also, several major infrastructure projects will be up for approval as well.
Prior to the regular council meeting, at 5:30 we'll have our second work session regarding Cedar Falls Public Safety, as well as a stormwater-related Committee of the Whole presentation at 6:30. All of these meetings will occur at the Community Center next door to the Cedar Falls Library.
Also, the Council previously noted in a resolution that videoconferencing would be offered as a public option for participation while the County Covid Spread Risk was at "High / Red". Now that the risk has dropped to "Low/Green", public participation will be in person. If you wish to watch the meeting at home, however, you can still do so on CFU Channel 15 or via the Channel 15 YouTube Livestream. I hope you can join us!
Call to Order by the Mayor
Roll Call
Approval of Minutes
1. Regular meeting of February 21, 2022.
Agenda Revisions
Special Presentations
2. Proclamation recognizing March 8, 2022 as International Women's Day.
Public Forum. (Speakers will have one opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes on topics germane to City business.)
Special Order of Business
3. Public hearing on proposed FY23 Budget for the City of Cedar Falls. This hearing is for the final approval of the city budget for FY23. Last Monday the Council voted in Committee of the Whole to reduce the budget by $335K to lessen the impact of property taxes on residents. This is the final stage of approval for this year's budget process. The entire budget document is included in the packet from pages 13 - 334.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 23, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving and adopting the FY23 Budget for the City of Cedar Falls.
4. Continuation of the public hearing on a proposal to enter into an Agreement for Private Development and to consider conveyance of certain city-owned real estate to McWing, L.L.C. This is agreement will provide 2.5 acres of city-owned land in the southern industrial park for development of buildings valued at $2.996M. The agreement would also provide five years of property tax exemptions and rebates as an incentive for the project's development. The city has completed similar agreements with the other property owners in the Industrial Park, and this arrangement is useful for the goal of increasing our corporate, industrial, and warehousing base.
a) Staff comments.
b) Public comments.
c) Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Agreement for Private Development, and approving and authorizing execution of a Deed Without Warranty conveying certain city-owned real estate to McWing, L.L.C.
5. Public hearing on a proposal to enter into an Agreement for Private Development, and to consider conveyance of certain city-owned real estate to KL Iowa 01, L.L.C. This is a similar agreement to Item #4 above, for a $3.45M research and development center in the industrial park. Excellent news for the future of the Cedar Valley's high-tech manufacturing base.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 25, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Agreement for Private Development, and approving and authorizing execution of a Quit Claim Deed conveying certain city-owned real estate to KL Iowa 01, L.L.C.
6. Public hearing on the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract & estimate of cost for the 2022 CDBG Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. This is a routine annual project for $248K in sewer rental funds to improve our city sewer infrastructure.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 25, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving and adopting the plans, specifications, form of contract & estimate of cost for the 2022 CDBG Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project.
7. Public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 26, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to deleting all shared parking requirements in the Downtown Character District. These proposed amendments are the culmination of several months of debate and effort, to continuously improve the new Downtown Zoning Ordinance. The council petitioned the Planning & Zoning Commission to consider ending the shared parking requirements for new construction in the downtown area. Because P&Z denied the petition, the council still has the opportunity to approve the change anyway, but must have five council "yes" votes instead of the usual four.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 25, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Pass an ordinance amending Chapter 26, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to deleting all shared parking requirements in the Downtown Character District, upon its first consideration. (requires at least five aye votes).
8. Public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 26, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to increasing parking ratios in the Downtown Character District. Similar to #7 above. The council petitioned the P&Z to increase the parking requirements downtown; after consideration, P&Z denied the petition so the council would need five votes to override the P&Z decision. On the other hand, P&Z did approve a version of the request that doesn't go quite as far as the Council petitioned, and so if the council wanted to approve that, it could do so with a simple majority (four votes).
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 25, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Pass an ordinance amending Chapter 26, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to increasing parking ratios for residential mixed-use and multi-unit buildings in the Downtown Character District to one parking space per bedroom, upon its first consideration. (requires at least five aye votes)
OR
Pass an ordinance amending Chapter 26, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to increasing parking ratios for residential mixed-use and multi-unit buildings in the Downtown Character District to .75 parking spaces per bedroom, but not less than one parking space per unit, as recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission, upon its first consideration.
Consent Calendar: (The following items will be acted upon by voice vote on a single motion without separate discussion, unless someone from the Council or public requests that a specific item be considered separately.)
9. Receive and file a communication from the Mayor relative to the appointment of Zachary Zippe as Student Liaison, term ending 04/30/2022. We've not had a UNI Student Liaison at the council dais for nearly two years, due to the disruption caused by COVID. Although there would be only two months (four council meetings) in this term, there's no time like the present to get this position re-filled.
10. Receive and file the City Council Work Session minutes of February 21, 2022 relative to the Public Safety Director Position and Public Safety Model. This simply enters the minutes into the official record as an accurate reflection of what transpired in the meeting; it is not an appropriate time to debate the merits of the items included in the minutes.
11. Receive and file the 2021 Annual Reports of the Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment, Historic Preservation Commission, Group Rental Committee/Board of Rental Housing Appeals, Housing Commission and Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee. These reports, (starting on page 478) provide excellent insight. I'm especially interested in their identified goals and seeing how we can work them through to completion this year.
12. Receive and file Departmental Monthly Reports of January 2022. These reports are important for understanding the monthly work of our community's hard-working city employees.
13. Approve the following applications for beer permits and liquor licenses: The Council is the approving authority for all alcohol-related permits and licenses.
a) Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, 3205 West 12th Street, Class B beer & outdoor service - renewal.
b) Scoopskis, 1828 Waterloo Road, Class B beer & outdoor service - renewal.
c) Chilitos Mexican Bar and Grill, 1704 West 1st Street, Class C liquor - renewal.
d) Deringer’s Public Parlor, 314 ½ Main Street, Class C liquor – renewal.
e) The Stuffed Olive and Roxxy, 314-316 Main Street, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
f) Happy's Wine & Spirits, 5925 University Avenue, Class E liquor - renewal.
g) Prime Mart, 2728 Center Street, Class E liquor – renewal.
Resolution Calendar: (The following items will be acted upon by roll call vote on a single motion without separate discussion, unless someone from the Council or public requests that a specific item be considered separately.)
14. Resolution approving and adopting certain revised Personnel Policies for the City of Cedar Falls. These are clarifications to policies for city employees, including the new Remote Work policy. Details of the changes are included in "red line" text.
15. Resolution levying a final assessment for costs incurred by the City to mow property located at 923 Ellen Street. The city will hire a contractor to mow a property if the owner is continually negligent in doing so.
16. Resolution approving and authorizing submission of a Peace Officer Retention Bonus Grant application to the State of Iowa. This allows Cedar Falls to participate in a $1000 bonus to law enforcement officers using federal ARPA funds. There would be no direct cost to Cedar Falls taxpayers.
17. Resolution approving a C-2 Commercial Zoning District site plan for a storage facility to be located at 3717 Midway Drive. This repurposes a car wash into a mini-storage unit. I'm glad to see new life put into older structures.
18. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of Supplemental Agreement No. 2 to the Professional Service Agreement with Terracon Consultants, Inc. for an extension of the 2019 Construction Testing Services through the 2023 construction season. This allows Terracon to continue with ongoing geotechnical services.
19. Resolution receiving and filing the bids, and approving and accepting the low bid of Peterson Contractors, Inc., in the amount of $3,266,189.70, for the 2022 Street Construction Project. This is a routine annual agreement using street construction funds for street work. The differential between the two bids is less than 1%, with a Cedar Falls-based company losing to a Reinbeck-based company. If quality aspects are equal, I would prefer to see a Cedar Falls-based company receive the work to support our own local businesses and tax base. While I don't think it would be fair to take this kind of stance on the current project (changing the rules arbitrarily), I will be approaching council to implement a policy that favors companies based in Cedar Falls. That said, I'm certain Peterson Contractors will do excellent work as usual.
20. Resolution approving and accepting the contract and bond of Peterson Contractors, Inc. for the West Viking Road Industrial Park Phase V Project. This allows the $8.1M TIF-funded project to proceed; it has been described in previous meetings.
21. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of two Owner Purchase Agreements and one Tenant Purchase Agreement, and approving and accepting two Permanent Utility Easements and two Temporary Grading Easements, in conjunction with the Olive Street Box Culvert Replacement Project. These agreements allow private properties to be accessed for construction and utility placement, for $1205 and $1100 respectively.
22. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of two Owner Purchase Agreements, and approving and accepting two Temporary Construction easements, in conjunction with the West 27th Street Reconstruction Project. This allows temporary and permanent property access for $5995 and $7840 in taxpayer funds so that the new 27th Street can be built.
Allow Bills and Claims
23. Allow Bills and Claims for March 7, 2022. The City Council is the approving authority for all bills and claims made against the city since the last council meeting.
City Council Referrals
City Council Updates
Staff Updates
Adjournment
| Council Packet Link | |
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| Meeting Date | 03/07/22 |
