Tonight's 7pm council meeting has a mix of administrative items, new purchases and contracts, and TIF fund transfers. I didn't see anything controversial on the agenda, but take a look and decide for yourself!
At 5:15, there are several Standing Committees items of interest -- the committees will be hearing a brief on the most recent audit report of city finances (it's good news), a brief a current pickle the city is in regarding our Main Street Reconstruction and the $10M federal grant we received for it this year (the requirements the DOT is putting on us would delay the project and nearly eliminate any benefits to taking the grant). The Public Works Committee will also hear the results of the staff study into making Seerley & Royal Drives two-way roads (they don't recommend it, based on public response).
The big ticket item in Standing Committees will be at the end, where the Community Development committee will review the College Hill Area Zoning Districts. I vetoed the council's decision to repeal the related vision plan entirely, and so this committee meeting will allow the committee to discuss where they want staff to focus their efforts. I agree that the College Hill Vision Plan area is unnecessarily broad (Hudson to Main Street) but it's no problem to bring in the focus to the vicinity of W 23rd and College Streets. I hope the standing committee will make that recommendation tonight, so that staff can finally move forward with the College Hill developmental renaissance. We're well past time on that.
I hope you can join us in person in the Council Chambers, on Channel 15, or online via YouTube livestream -- for this last council meeting prior to local elections (tomorrow!). And truly, thanks for taking the significant effort required to be an informed and engaged resident!
Call to Order by the Mayor
Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance
Approval of Minutes
1. Regular meeting of October 16, 2023.
Agenda Revisions
Special Presentations
Public Forum. (Speakers will have one opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes on topics relevant to City business.)
Staff Updates
Special Order of Business
2. Public hearing to consider entering into an Amended and Restated Agreement for Private Development with McDonald Construction & Remodeling, LLC. This amendment would provide the applicant with a three-year property tax abatement, as their building valuation is increasing to the $1M threshold required for these abatements.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published 10/21/2023)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Amended and Restated Agreement for Private Development and an Amended Minimum Assessment Agreement with McDonald Construction & Remodeling, LLC.
3. Public hearing on the City’s FFY22 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Programs. This is a routine report submitted to the federal government annually. It's a great look at our activities to support neighborhood improvement and quality affordable housing.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published 10/19/2023)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving and authorizing submission of the City’s FFY22 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Programs.
4. Public hearing a proposal to undertake a public improvement project for the Viking Road and Prairie Parkway Intersection Improvements Project, and to authorize acquisition of private property for said project. This approval would allow city staff to begin work to purchase parts of properties in this intersection in order to install a roundabout here.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published 10/21/2023)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
e) Resolution approving a public improvement project for the Viking Road and Prairie Parkway Intersection Improvements Project, and authorizing acquisition of private property for said project.
Old Business
5. Pass Ordinance #3044, granting a partial property tax exemption to KL Iowa 01, LLC for construction of a warehouse and manufacturing facility at 6313 Production Drive, upon its third & final consideration. This is a follow-on to a previous approval of a property tax exception to Kubica Corp for their new building in the industrial park. It has been considered in prevous meetings.
6. Pass Ordinance #3045, amending Chapter 26, Zoning, by removing Section 26-196E. Special Parking Standards, relative to allowing adjacent on-street parking to count towards shared parking requirements in the Downtown Character District (CD-DT), upon its second consideration. (requires 5 aye votes). This was also approved in the last meeting, and would need approval tonight and on November 20th to go into effect.
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.)
7. Receive and file the Mayor's veto of Resolution #23,366, being a resolution rescinding Resolution #22,360 approving and adopting the Imagine College Hill! Vision Plan. This simply adds the memo to the public record. Even if the council voted to not receive and file it, the veto would remain in effect.
8. Receive and file communications from the Civil Service Commission relative to the following certified lists:
a) Information Systems Technician II.
b) Water Reclamation Supervisor.
9. Receive and file Departmental Monthly Reports of September 2023.
10. Receive and file the FY2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. This is a routinely submitted report to the State of Iowa, and was prepared by our third party auditing service. Kudos to Lisa Roeding and the Finance Division staff for excellent work this past fiscal year in managing the city's funds.
11. Receive and file the FY2023 Annual City Street Finance Report. This is also a routine annual report.
12. Receive and file the Bi-Annual Report of Community Main Street relative to FY24 Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) funds and an FY24 Economic Development Grant. This is report required twice a year in order for CMS to recieve city funds.
13. Approve the application of J & M Displays, Inc. (Holiday Hoopla) for a fireworks display permit for November 24, 2023.The council is the approving authority for all fireworks display permits.
14. Approve the following applications for retail alcohol licenses: The city council is the approving authority for these kinds of permits.
a) Hansen's Dairy, 123 East 18th Street, Class B retail alcohol - renewal.
b) The Brown Bottle, 1111 Center Street, Class C retail alcohol & outdoor service - renewal.
c) Tony's La Pizzeria, 407 Main Street, Class C retail alcohol & outdoor service - renewal.
d) Five Corners Liquor & Wine, 809 East 18th Street, Class E retail alcohol - renewal.
e) Cedar Falls Community Theatre, 103 Main Street, Special Class C retail alcohol - new.
f) Grid Lounge, 100 East 2nd Street, Special Class C retail alcohol - new.
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.)
15. Resolution Calendar with items considered separately.
16. Resolution approving and adopting amendments to the City’s Emergency Operations Plan. This is the completion of a two-year overhaul of the Emergency Operations Plan.
17. Resolution approving and authorizing submission of the City's FY2023 Annual Urban Renewal Report.This 50 page report is required by the state annually, and lists our urban renewal efforts for the past fiscal year. It can be a bit hard to read, but does tell a story about renewal if you study hard enough!
18. Resolution authorizing certification of eligible expenses for reimbursement from the College Hill, Downtown, Pinnacle Prairie, South Cedar Falls, and Unified Tax Increment Financing Revenues.This is a TIF related document that we have to provide to the State at the end of each year.
19. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Bond Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the parking lot overlay project costs in the College Hill Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
20. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Stormwater Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the Olive Street Box Culvert project costs in the College Hill Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
21. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Bond Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the Prairie Parkway & Viking Road intersection improvements and Pinnacle Prairie round-a-bout intersection improvements in the Pinnacle Prairie Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
22. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Bond Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the Cyber Lane and Hudson & Ridgeway Avenue intersection improvements in the South Cedar Falls Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
23. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Economic Development Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the purchase of land and related expenses in the South Cedar Falls Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
24. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Street Repair Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the Main Street Reconstruction Project-6th & 7th Street portions in the Downtown Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
25. Resolution approving and authorizing an inter-fund loan from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Bond Fund to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund relative to funding for the West Viking Road, Industrial Park Expansion, and other administrative and legal fees in the Unified Urban Renewal Area. This is a routine and strategic transfer of funds between city accounts to provide for payment of TIF-related efforts in the district. No concerns.
26. Resolution levying a final assessment for costs incurred by the City to remove a tree from the property located at 821 Walnut Street. This adds the $825 tree removal cost to the property taxes of this owner.
27. Resolution approving and authorizing the expenditure of funds for renewal of a Microsoft Enterprise License relative to operating systems on the City's computer network servers. This is a $50K expense for the Microsoft OS for three years of service. Using the State of Iowa agreement with Microsoft saves us significant funds!
28. Resolution approving and authorizing the expenditure of funds for a video playback server for Cable Television. This $54K investment will significantly upgrade our city's video playback capabilities and greatly reduce time required to encode videos for playback, getting videos online much sooner.
29. Resolution approving and accepting Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice relative to replacement of police ballistic vests. This grant helps cover 50% of the cost for 16 new ballistic vests, at a total cost of $12,538.
30. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Master Services and Purchasing Agreement for Agency with Axon Enterprises, Inc. relative to replacement of police body cameras and in-car cameras. This complete replacement of officer cameras will cost $141K per year for 10 years, and includes body cameras and vehicle cameras. While the cost is higher than expected, this is the going rate for cloud-based cameras and services, which are instrumental for modern law enforcement.
31. Resolution approving and authorizing a Service Agreement with TargetSolutions Learning, LLC, d/b/a Vector Solutions relative to training management software for Public Safety Services. This is a $10.7K annual cost and a one time cost of $800 to set up Cedar Falls for a modern training delivery and tracking system. Training is a vital part of Public Safety's program, and this is a highly-regarded platform. It's a great investment in our officers.
32. Resolution approving and authorizing the expenditure of funds for the purchase of two plow trucks for Public Works. This would allow for the purchase of two trucks for $362K each, which had been bid and built for MNDOT. Given the great difficulty of procuring trucks these days, this is a smart solution.
33. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of Supplemental Agreement No. 3 to the Professional Services Agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. for surveying services relative to the Storm Water Study. This provides up to $35K for additional stormwater services not previously included in the contract.
34. Resolution of support for Community Main Street, and approving and authorizing execution of a Main Street Iowa Program Continuation Agreement with Community Main Street (CMS) and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) for the purpose of continuing the Main Street Iowa Program in Cedar Falls. CMS is a terrific and irreplaceable organization for the betterment of Cedar Falls, and fully support this three-year agreement.
35. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Contract with Rally Appraisal, LLC for appraisal services relative to the Northern Cedar Falls Flood Buyout Program. This pays the appraiser $1000 in grant funds to appraise two properties for possible federal buyout.
36. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Offer to Buy Real Estate and Acceptance for property located at 523 West 1st Street. This $95K expense would allow the city to convert this area back to greenspace. The memo on page 571 has a very good explanation for why.
37. Resolution approving a College Hill Neighborhood (CHN) Overlay Zoning District site plan for construction of a new garage at 423 West 26th Street. The city council is the approving authority for these kinds of improvements in the CHN. I would love to get these off the council's plate and allow owners just to conform to a checklist that can be then approved administratively by staff.
38. Resolution approving a College Hill Neighborhood (CHN) Overlay Zoning District site plan for construction of a new porch and siding at 2121 Walnut Street. This is the same kind of approval as #37.
39. Resolution approving a HWY-1, Highway Commercial Zoning District site plan for construction of a retail center at 703 Brandilynn Boulevard. This kind of site in HWY-1 requires council approval; no concerns.
40. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Rental Rehabilitation Contract with Daniels Home Improvement relative to a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Rental Rehabilitation Project at 915 West 4th Street; and approving and accepting a Real Estate Mortgage in conjunction with the project. This is a $16.3K project with federal grant money to improve a rental property.
41. Resolution approving and adopting 2023 payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program relative to the Section-8 Housing Program. This simply adjusts the Fair Market Rate to account for inflation and other increased rental costs in the city.
42. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Subrecipient Agreement for the Use of Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Funds with Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity relative to a project located at 2925 Sands Avenue; and approving and authorizing execution of a HOME Program Homebuyer Agreement in conjunction with the project. This would allocate $170K in federal grant money to the construction of a new home in this lot.
Allow Bills and Claims
43. Allow Bills and Claims for November 6, 2023. The city council is the approving authority for all bills and claims made against the city since the previous council meeting.
Council Updates and Announcements
Council Referrals
Executive Session
44. Executive Session to discuss Legal Matters per Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(c) to discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation.
Adjournment
| Council Packet Link | |
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| Meeting Date | 11/06/23 |
