In tonight's regular meeting at 7pm, the City Council will hold several public hearings regarding the sale of bonds and the spending of CARES Act money. Also up for vote will b a proposed change to how site plans are approved downtown (Item #8), the city workplace survey contract with UNI (Item #14), and owner purchase agreements for properties impacted by the Main Street Reconstruction Project (Item #23).
Before that meeting, at 5:35 our standing committees will meet; I'll present change recommendations for the council meeting procedures, and the committees will also hear about the proposed CF Rotary Memorial Plaza and will provide staff with direction on private shared parking requirements. Finally the Public Works committee will get some background from staff regarding the speed limit on West 12th Street from Barnett Drive to Union Road.
I hope you can join us in person at the Community Center, or on Channel 15, or streaming live via YouTube. Have a great week!
Call to Order by the Mayor
Roll Call
Approval of Minutes
1. Regular meeting of July 5, 2022.
Agenda Revisions
Special Presentations
2. Proclamation recognizing August 2022 as Gastroparesis Awareness Month.
Public Forum. (Speakers will have one opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes on topics relevant to City business.)
Special Order of Business
3. Receive and file bids received for the sale of $3,860,000 General Obligation Loan Notes, Series 2022. While the dollar figure is large, the action is routine; this is the City's standard annual bonding. Thanks to the continuation of our top-tier Aaa rating, the city obtains the most favorable interest rates possible.
4. Resolution directing the sale of $3,860,000 General Obligation Loan Notes, Series 2022. This is the actual sale of the bonds from item #3.
5. Continuation of the public hearing on the FY2023 (FFY2022) Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Consortium. The action plan is contained on Page 30 - 109 of the council packet; council requested to continue the discussion of the program to this week, prior to voting on a resolution.
a) Staff comments.
b) Public comments.
c) Resolution approving the FY2023 (FFY2022) Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Consortium.
6. Public hearing on the Status of Funded Activities for the State Award of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV2) funding relative to the CARES Act.Cedar Falls was awarded $369,421 in CARES Act funding last year to address recovery from COVID. This hearing is to describe how funds have been expended. I'm concerned that $134.8K has been allocated to area service agencies, but they have only expended $17K of that. The city can reclaim and reallocate the funds if necessary, should the service agencies not be able to fulfill their contracts.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published July 11, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving the Status of Funded Activities for the State Award of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV2) funding relative to the CARES Act.
7. Public hearing on the proposed rezoning from R-1, Residence District to A-1, Agricultural District of property located at 2209 North Union Road. This is a rezoning downgrade of the former American Martyrs Retreat House so that the property can be used as desired by the new owner, accounting for the lack of city services to that property in the northwest quadrant of the city.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published July 8, 2022)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Pass an ordinance amending Section 26-118 of the Code of Ordinances by removing certain property located at 2209 North Union Road from the R-1, Residence District and placing the same in the A-1, Agricultural District, upon its first consideration.
8. Public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 26, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to Planning & Zoning Commission review of site plans in the Downtown Character District (CD-DT). This is a change to the city code to restore a level of P&Z and Council oversight to the development of new buildings downtown. This would only be for new construction in the Urban General (UG), Urban General 2 (UG2) and Storefront zones, not improvements or additions. One key goal for the new Downtown Character District was to clearly articulate some design boundaries so that developers wouldn't have to run the gauntlet of political-level approvals. I believe this is a bit of a step backward, but if this compromise brings more council members on board, then I have no concerns with making this accommodation.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published July 6, 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 Planning & Zoning Commission review of site plans in the Downtown Character District (CD-DT), upon its first consideration.
Old Business
9. Pass Ordinance #3013, amending Chapter 23, Traffic and Motor Vehicles, of the Code of Ordinances relative to prohibiting parking on portions of South Lawn Road, upon its third and final consideration. This proposed on-street parking change has been discussed in previous meetings; no concerns.
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.)
10. Approve the following recommendations of the Mayor relative to the appointment of members to Boards and Commissions:
a) Tori Hale, Community Center & Senior Services Board, term ending 06/30/2024.
b) Lorene Hosler, Community Center & Senior Services Board, term ending 06/30/2025.
11. Receive and file the following resignation of members from Boards and Commissions:
a) Sarah Corkery, Parks & Recreation Commission.
12. Receive and file communications from the Civil Service Commission relative to the following certified lists:This is not an approval of the list, but simply an acknowledgment that the Civil Service Commission has completed its work to develop the list for employment.
a) Cultural Programs Supervisor.
b) Information Systems Technician I.
c) Public Works & Parks Supervisor.
13. Approve the following applications for beer permits and liquor licenses:The City Council is the approving authority for all alcohol permits and liquor licenses in the city.
a) Dollar General, 1922 Valley Park Drive, Class C Beer & Class B Wine - renewal.
b) Smokin Oak Wood Fired Pizza, 1525 West Ridgeway Avenue, Class B beer – renewal.
c) Buffalo Wild Wings, 6406 University Avenue, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
d) Hy-Vee Market Grille, 6301 University Avenue, Class C liquor - renewal.
e) Octopus, 2205 College Street, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
f) The Other Place, 4214 University Avenue, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
g) River Place Plaza, 200 East 2nd Street – Plaza, Special Class C liquor & outdoor service – temporary expansion of outdoor service area. (September 3-4, 2022)
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 authorizing execution of an Agreement with the University of Northern Iowa relative to a City Employee Climate Survey. I'm very glad to see this agreement moving forward, to carry out objective 5.C.1 in the council goals. The council and I have discussed this initiative for several years now with staff; we'll be using the same UNI-managed assessment process that CFU employs annually. It's very important to have a third party conduct the survey and generate the report to assure the validity and accuracy of the survey results. This is the baseline survey, and I anticipate that follow-on surveys will be conducted periodically to measure progress.
It does take a thick skin to conduct a survey like this; every organization has its challenges, and this survey will help us to better understand where the City needs work as an employer. Empirical data will help tremendously.
15. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Cooperative Agreement with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission for FY23.This contract details a reimbursement to the city HRC from ICRC for any cases handled by the Human Rights Commission. The City Council, on the recommendation of the HRC, has determined that ICRC remains the best agency to handle discrimination complaints in Cedar Falls.
16. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Master Service Agreement with Heartland Business Systems, LLC relative to migration of the City's computer network to Microsoft 365. This contract is required for the city to remain in good standing with its insurance company for cybersecurity protection. We are still on Office 2010, so the upgrade to modern tech is terrific. The cost will be $37K for full conversion and training for staff with a required completion date of September 1.
17. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Service/Product Agreement with Inteconnex relative to replacement of the City’s door access control systems.This provides a common city-wide access system for $138K, which will greatly simplify security at all city-owned property locations (including all doors and facility gates).
18. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Service/Product Agreement with Amperage Marketing relative to FY23 Digital Advertising. This would allocate $14K for tourism-related marketing support.
19. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Red House Studio Lease relative to the use of 224 West Seerley Boulevard as artist studio space, in conjunction with the Hearst Center’s Visiting Artist Program. This is an arrangement we've had for several years now; no concerns.
20. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Subrecipient Agreement for Federally Funded Project with Operation Threshold for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV2) funding relative to the CARES Act.This provides $18.8K in federal funds to Operation Threshold for for mortgage/rent assistance to residents.
21. Resolution approving and authorizing the expenditure of funds for the purchase of two polymer mixing pumps for biosolids handling operations of the Water Reclamation Division.This $65K purchase is required to keep our wastewater system in good working order; the previous pumps have reached the end of their service lives.
22. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of Supplemental Agreement No. 2 to the Professional Service Agreement with Snyder & Associates, Inc. for administration and design services relative to the Oak Park Boulevard Sewer Replacement Project. This would provide up to $33K for engineering support for Snyder to assist in designing a sewer line replacement.
23. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of twenty-three Owner Purchase Agreements, and approving and accepting twenty-three Temporary Construction Easements, in conjunction with the Main Street Reconstruction (6th Street to University) Project.This is a necessary agreement with property owners in order to reconstruct Main Street, beginning next year. No concerns about the agreements.
24. Resolution receiving and filing, and setting August 1, 2022 as the date of public hearing on the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract & estimate of cost for the 2022 Sidewalk Assessment Project - Zone 5. This is just to set the hearing date; no concerns.
Allow Bills and Claims
25. Allow Bills & Claims for July 18, 2022.The 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
Executive Session
26. Executive Session to discuss Property Acquisition per Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(j) to discuss the purchase or sale of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property or reduce the price the governmental body would receive for that property.
Adjournment
| Council Packet Link | |
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| Meeting Date | 07/18/22 |
