The big item for this council session appears to be the proposed changes to the ordinances which govern Downtown. One aspect is the clarification of Community Main Street as an advisory body, not an approving or enforcing body. The rest of the items on the agenda appear to be the necessary, routine actions which keep the city running. As always, let me know if there's something I ought to be concerned about that I missed! Council starts at 7pm on Tuesday this week (due to Labor Day) and there's no Commitee of the Whole beforehand this week.
Also, I just wanted to call out city staff -- during the past few months, I've been meeting and riding along with city staff and workers to learn how the city operates. For instance, we recently voted on Section 8 Housing changes, and I honestly didn't know much about Section 8. Lisa Ahern Karen Howard at City Hall met with me last week for a great hour-long discussion about what Section 8 is, how it works in Cedar Falls, and our challenges and opportunities with it. These sorts of meetings are helping me a great deal to piece together how all the pieces of city government fit together, and I sincerely hope the conversations will make me a wiser councilor. Thanks for your patience as I learn!
A. Call to Order by the Mayor.
B. Roll Call.
C. Approval of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 20, 2018. No concerns.
D. Agenda Revisions.
E. Special Order of Business:
1. Public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 29, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to design guidelines in the Central Business District Overlay Zoning District. These are significant changes to our downtown-specific ordinances, and we received a presentation about them in our last Committee of the Whole. I'll be very interested to see if any opposition is presented at this hearing. One note, 9.168.f.(1) states that residences with less than seven units are exempt from site plan review, but the memo says up to seven units. I'll ask for clarification.
a. Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published August 24, 2018)
b.Written objections filed with the City Clerk.
c.Oral comments.
2. Pass an ordinance amending Chapter 29, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to design guidelines in the Central Business District Overlay Zoning District, upon its first consideration. No concerns.
F. Old Business:
1. Pass Ordinance #2929, amending Chapter 29, Zoning, and Chapter 27, Utilities, of the Code of Ordinances relative to the City's floodplain regulations, upon its third & final consideration. No concerns; my questions have been addressed in previous meetings. If approved in this meeting, then it becomes official.
2. Pass Ordinance #2930, rezoning property located generally on Lots 7 & 8 of the Midway Business Park Addition pursuant to provisions of a Zoning Agreement associated with Ordinance #2080, which placed said property in the R-4 Residential Zoning District, upon its third & final consideration. No concerns; my questions have been addressed in previous meetings. If approved in this meeting, then it becomes official.
3. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Agreement to Amend Restrictions in Deed of Dedication relative to property located generally on Lots 7 & 8 of the Midway Business Park Addition. This allows a property to be used as an assisted living facility; we've discussed it in a previous council meeting. No concerns.
G. New Business:
1.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.)
a. Receive and file the Committee of the Whole minutes of August 20, 2018 relative to the following items: No This was a very interesting meeting. If you have time, check it out on YouTube. https://youtu.be/AJ5zax9XtII?t=1m6s
(1) Parking along Bergstrom Boulevard.
(2) Hearst Center and Cultural Programs Presentation.
(3) Pavement Management Program.
(4) Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Ordinance Update.
(5) Review of urban chickens.
(6) Bills & Payroll.
b. Receive and file the Administration Committee minutes of August 21, 2018. This committee meeting was called to address a firefighter grievance. The memo explains the issue, and the committee's determination. I wasn't able to attend to a previous commitment.
c. Receive and file Departmental Monthly Reports of July 2018. No concerns.
d. Receive and file the FY18 Annual Report of the Public Works & Parks Division. My first time reading through an annual report like this. Very interesting. Did you know that one of those new Ford police interceptors costs about $45K? If you read this report you will! Lots of great info here, though I need to ask what some of these abbreviations mean.
e. Receive and file the bid received for the 2018 Seal Coat Project. Though only one bit was received, it was for 6% under the city's estimate. That's good news.
f. Approve the following special event related requests: For (1), we really need to find a way to waive the $25 fee for neighborhood block party events like this. I brought that up a few months back, and will try again (with a more concrete solution) next year. It's a small amount of money, but I really want us to be encouraging these kinds of events, and that fee isn't just for barriers, it IS a barrier.
(1) Street closure, Coventry Lane, September 13, 2018.
(2) Parking variance, West 2nd Street, September 15, 2018.
(3) Street closure, College Street, September 20, 2018 & October 18, 2018.
(4) Grant Wheeler Memorial 5K Run/Walk, October 27, 2018.
g.Approve the application of Masala Market, 913 West 23rd Street, for a cigarette/tobacco/nicotine/vapor permit. No concerns.
h. Approve the following applications for beer permits and liquor licenses: No concerns.
(1) Metro Mart, 103 Franklin Street, Class C beer - renewal.
(2) Sidecar Coffee, 2215 College Street, Special Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
(3) The Brass Tap, 421 Main Street, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
(4) Wilbo, 118 Main Street, Class C liquor - renewal.
(5) Casey's General Store, 1225 Fountains Way, Class E liquor - renewal.
(6) Great Wall, 2125 College Street, Class E liquor - renewal.
(7) The Music Station, 1420 West 1st Street, Class E liquor - renewal.
(8) Amvets, 1934 Irving Street, Class A liquor & outdoor service - temporary expansion of outdoor service area. (September 21-23, 2018)
(9) Mary Lou's Bar & Grill, 2719 Center Street, Class C liquor - temporary outdoor service. (September 7-8, 2018 and September 29-30, 2018)
(10) College Hill Partnership (Oktoberfest), Municipal Lot G, Class B beer & outdoor service - 5-day permit.
2. 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.)
a. Resolution levying a final assessment for costs incurred by the City to mow and clear overgrown vegetation on the property located at 2208 Coventry Lane. If lawns remain unmowed, the city will send out a private company to do it...at $95/hr. This resolution is to put a lien on the house to collect the unpaid $421.
b. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Agreement for Utilization of School Bus Services for Non-School Travel with Cedar Falls Community School District relative to summer travel for the Camp Cedar Falls program. Allows for school buses to be used for City-sponsored summer programs for local kids. No concerns.
c. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a contract with the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) relative to funding for traffic enforcement and training. Allows the city to use $5500 in state grant funds for overtime pay for traffic enforcement and training travel. No concerns.
d. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Consolidated Public Safety Communications 28E Agreement with participating government agencies in Black Hawk County relative to providing consolidated dispatch and communications services. Just a minor change to how billing works for our county 911 dispatch. No concerns.
e. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Joint Funding Agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey relative to the Cedar River Streamgage Station. This covers the city's $9K of the annual $15K spent jointly by the city and the USGS for monitoring and maintenance of our river gauge at the Main Street Bridge -- a critical measurement and recording tool for our flood-prone area. No concerns.
f. Resolution approving and accepting the bid of Blacktop Service Company, in the amount of $136,174.67, for the 2018 Seal Coat Project. Allows portions of our roads to be seal-coated. No concerns.
g. Resolution approving and accepting the contract and bond of Blacktop Service Company for the 2018 Seal Coat Project. (Contingent upon approval of Item G-2.f.) Allows us to move ahead with the seal-coating. No concerns.
h.Resolution approving and accepting the contract and bond of Feldman Concrete for the 2018 Sidewalk Assessment Project, Zone 9. Allows the sidewalk repair contractor we approved in our last council meeting to move ahead with their work.
i. Resolution approving the preliminary plat of West Village. This allows for apartment complexes and professional offices just off of Greenhill Road. I have long-term concerns about how these kinds of non-neighborhood developments are contributing to sprawl in Cedar Falls, but I don't have particular short-term questions or concerns about this plat.
j. Resolution approving and accepting a Lien Notice and Special Promissory Note for property located at 2103 Washington Street relative to the Rental to Single Family Owner Conversion Incentive Program. This provides a $10K forgivable loan (i.e.it doesn't have to be repaid if certain conditions are met). I'm interested to know how this program is working out overall (i.e. is it meeting the intended purpose), but no concerns about this resolution. I'm very happy to see the redevelopment and rejuvenation of our original neighborhoods.
k. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of eleven Owner Purchase Agreements and one Tenant Purchase Agreement, and approving and accepting ten Owner's Temporary Grading Easements and one Public Utility Easement, in conjunction with the West 1st Street Reconstruction Project. This allows for the buyout of some homes and partial purchase of other properties for the widening and reconstruction of 1st Street / Highway 57. No concerns.
l. Resolution approving three occupancy permits prior to the acceptance of the public improvements in Arbors Third Addition. No concerns.
H. Allow Bills and Payroll. No concerns.
I. City Council Referrals.
J. City Council Updates. I'll likely bring up my attendance at the MET Transit Presentation Ride-Along on August 21st, with a few details from that event. You can see the video from it at https://youtu.be/ej2KdiNVoHc.
K. Public Forum. (Speakers will have one opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes on topics germane to City business.)
L. Adjournment
| Council Packet Link | |
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| Meeting Date | 09/02/18 |
