• Discussion: New 12th Avenue Developments

• City of Iowa City: League of Women Voters/Regional Government Presentation

• Iowa City Community School District: Partnerships

  • CDBG Block Grant - Wood School and North Corridor Elementary

• Iowa City Community School District: Housing

• Johnson County: Legislative Priorities

• Johnson County: Jail Update

• Johnson County: State Funded Tax Credits

• Scheduling Date and Time of Next Meeting

• Reverend Bob Welsh: Senior Assessment

Chairperson Neuzil called the joint meeting to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 4:31 p.m. Coralville City Council members present were: Henry Herwig, John Lundell, Jean Schnake, and John Weihe. Also present: Coralville Mayor Jim Fausett. Iowa City City Council members present were: Ernie Lehman, Mike O’Donnell, Regenia Bailey, Bob Elliott, Dee Vanderhoef, and Ross Wilburn. Iowa City School Board members present: Lauren Reece, David Franker, and Peter Wallace. Johnson County Board of Supervisors members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, and Carol Thompson. North Liberty City Council members present were: James Moody and Thomas Salm. Also present: North Liberty Mayor Clair Mekota.

Other city and county officials and staff present were: Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth, Iowa City City Manager Steve Atkins, Iowa City City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes, Iowa City City Clerk Marian Karr, Johnson County Council of Governments Executive Director Jeff Davidson, North Liberty City Manager Brian James, Johnson County Board of Supervisors Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan, and County Auditor’s Office Administrative Secretary Casie Kadlec.

Neuzil said that the 12th Avenue process includes the City of Coralville, North Liberty, the Iowa City Community School District, and Johnson County. Thompson said that there is a meeting on the topic scheduled for January 28, 2004, which she hopes will be attended by representatives from all entities. She explained that the municipalities received a Federal grant through JCCOG for about $1 million and the County is also applying for a grant for 80% of a sidewalk trail through ECICOG, but has not heard the outcome yet. She said they still need to figure out what share of the total cost each municipality will pay. Thompson said that Coralville will be the lead on the construction, which they’ll need to set up with the School District. Iowa City School Board Member Peter Wallace asked what the schedule is for Forevergreen Road. M. Lehman said that the County doesn’t have the road on the 5-Year Road Plan. Thompson said that land has to be deannexed first.

Thompson asked if they are still planning on the road being the dividing line for North Liberty and Coralville. North Liberty Mayor Clair Mekota replied that there is an agreement that once the road is deannexed, North Liberty will improve the street and share the cost of the intersection on Highway 965 as soon as the legal work is finished, but the process is at a standstill. Coralville Mayor Jim Fausett said that Coralville doesn’t have any further information and until the deannexation, Coralville won’t proceed. North Liberty City Manager Brian James said that the process is at a standstill and it’s possible North Liberty will have to force the issue. Thompson asked if the first school building to be built will open onto Front Street and the second onto Forevergreen. Mekota agreed and said that luckily Front Street is already finished.

Coralville City Council Member John Weihe said that he’s not sure that saying the ball is entirely in Coralville’s court is a fair representation as far as deannexation is concerned. Coralville City Manager Kelly Hayworth said that Coralville doesn’t have any resolution as to how 12th Avenue will be paid for, which is a big part of the problem. He said that some of the deannexation is based on how the road is worked out. He said that Forevergreen Road will be a problem until annexation and deannexation occurs. Hayworth said that Coralville bonded for the road and has an agreement with North Liberty, but it’s all based on getting the annexations and deannexation completed. Thompson asked how long deannexation takes if an annexation takes about year to complete. Hayworth said that deannexation doesn’t take as long, but it’s a question of fighting agreements, which could cause a delay. He said that North Liberty’s City Attorney has said that they don’t want to be annexed until they know what is going on with the road. He said otherwise the agreement will not be fulfilled without both the deannexation of North Liberty and the annexation by Coralville. He said that without cooperation by the landowners, they won’t be able to proceed further without forcing the issue, which could take longer.

Thompson said that 12th Avenue is moving slowly but Forevergreen Road isn’t moving at all. She said that it won’t be finished when the school is. Hayworth said that the issue with completing both roads in one summer would be very difficult. He said that currently there are 2 summers before the school opens in the fall of 2005, but they’re running out of time this summer to get started on either road, so at least one road probably wouldn’t be paved before the school is completed. He said that several entities will have to decide which road is more important. He said that there is a lot of road to get both done during the 2005 construction season.

Iowa City Mayor Ernie Lehman explained that the League of Women Voters has approached Iowa City, as they have other entities in the county, to make a presentation. E. Lehman said that Iowa City informed them that the Joint Meeting would be the forum for them to make their presentation, however, the League did not concur so Iowa City will schedule a separate meeting with them. Iowa City City Council Member Ross Wilburn said he watched the League’s presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Public Access Television. Wilburn said that there are people interested in having the topic discussed at the Joint Meeting.

Thompson said that the League suggested having a unified communications system as a first step towards cooperation. E. Lehman said that Iowa City is looking at upgrading their communication system in the next year or so and he would encourage other municipalities in the county to get together on the project. He said that Iowa City is going to be hiring a consultant to look at their current equipment and needs. He suggested that if the different entities could use the same sort of communication system, they could probably all save money and have a much better system. He said that Iowa City will be contacting each municipality for that purpose. Weihe asked if Iowa City would consider running the communications through the Johnson County Board of Supervisors since the County encompasses all of the entities and is currently running Coralville’s system. E. Lehman said that there aren’t any preconceived notions, but they do need to look at the entire issue of communications. Iowa City City Council Member Bob Elliott said that it appears to make sense. E. Lehman said that a consultant could give feedback on that issue. Iowa City City Council Member Dee Vanderhoef said that the consultant is the first piece of the collaboration so they all can have a countywide assessment of what is needed.

Neuzil said that the Johnson County Mutual Aid Association is also interested in participating in planning a potential countywide communication system. He said that he and E. Lehman presented this idea to Federal Legislators and they believe that there’s the potential for finding funding sources from the Federal Government. He said that currently they’ve pursued the Homeland Security monies distributed last year, but no one was successful in obtaining money for communications. He said that the funding process often takes about 3 years to receive attention, and they are in year 3.

Neuzil said that the League of Women Voters discussed several other issues including townships, which the County believes is a good deal because it only costs $2,500 for 22 townships to have 4 elected officials each. He said that they also discussed communicating with different entities on fire districts. Neuzil said that the League of Women Voters’ presentation is very good. Neuzil said that he pointed out to the League that government will have to step up to show leadership in regards to government efficiency, which many times means having less employees. He said that many times consolidation doesn’t happen because it’s very difficult to phase out employees. He said that the different governments have to be prepared to provide that leadership if the entities are talking about consolidating things like a dispatch center.

Wilburn said that he cannot participate in this conversation due to his affiliation with a group that receives Community Development Block Grants. Iowa City School Board Member Lauren Reece said that as the School District implements $40 million in bond money, they are actively seeking partnerships to maximize the facilities that they are building to reach as much of the community as possible. They are in the process of applying for a Community Development Block Grant that will fund a Family Resource Center at Grant Wood Elementary. Reece explained that they are looking at a 2,200 square foot space that will be owned by the School District, but run by the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County. The space will be used to provide a wide assortment of programs that is desperately needed in that part of town. She said this building would give Neighborhood Centers the opportunity to expand their preschool and after-school programs, parent classes, and adult ESL.

Reece said that the School District is also partnering with the City of Coralville to build a jumbo gym at the North Corridor Elementary school, which will facilitate community programs after school hours. The School District is also hoping to work with the City of North Liberty on building outdoor equipment at the elementary. Iowa City School Board Member David Franker said that the School District is also partnering with North Liberty to add extra gym space, which will allow some junior high ballgames to be played at the North Liberty Community Center.

Reece thanked the City of Iowa City on behalf of the School District for putting the housing issue on the front burner in terms of the concentration of Section 8 and low income housing in areas of the community which render schools with disproportionate amounts of kids with high needs due to living in poverty. Reece said that she appreciates Iowa City’s willingness to discuss the issue and consider policies to help balance the issue.

Neuzil said that there will be several opportunities in the next few months to be a part of what’s going on at the State of Iowa with tax credits. He asked people to also be aware of what is going on with the Chamber of Commerce and attend their legislative meetings. Neuzil announced that the Chamber of Commerce Legislative trip is February 19, 2004. Neuzil said that Johnson County’s entities have several legislators that work together very well, but there are also legislators that represent portions of the County who aren’t seen as much. Neuzil reported that the Chamber of Commerce is also sending a delegation to Washington D.C. from February 23-25, 2004. Neuzil and Harney will be attending for the County as well as several representatives from the other municipalities. He said that if there are issues that need to be presented to the Federal Legislators, let the delegation know soon. Neuzil said that these meetings are particularly important because the delegation meets the Legislator’s staffs who are really the people to be talking to.

Neuzil said that the County has put together a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee as recommended by the Jail Task Force. Currently the Committee is looking at possible alternatives because the message the County received from the Task Force was to pursue alternatives before pursuing a new building. Harney said that many of the alternatives are already being used in other communities, like wrist bracelets for work release, which needs to be better structured before Johnson County is willing to pursue it. He said that the County Attorney has designated a full-time assistant to coordinate these different possibilities. He said that they’re looking at putting a group together to interview people with possible mental health issues, who if properly medicated could be left in the community to await their trials. He said that the ideas that are the most realistic need facilities in order for them to work, like structured classrooms. He said that by Code, these people have to be monitored by law enforcement officials. He said that there’s no room to expand or remodel the Jail and the State Jail Inspector is already criticizing them for lack of exercise room.

Iowa City City Council Member Mike O’Donnell asked how much was spent last year transferring prisoners. Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne replied that they spent $396,000, which was an increase from the previous year. Harney said that they’ve also spent about $1 million on upgrading air quality, heating and ventilation systems, and sewer pipes. Neuzil said that no matter what is decided it will take a few more years before the problem is solved. Harney said that the most important thing to the Board of Supervisors is having the alternatives supported by the Sheriff, the County Attorney, the Court System, and Iowa law.

Neuzil said that State Funded tax credits were brought up at a meeting the Board had with State Senator Joe Bolkcom. He said that while the different municipalities are putting their budgets together they should be aware of the possibility that the State might not fund the tax credits. Horne said that the County has chosen to assume that most of the credits won’t be funded because the issue won’t be resolved until after the County’s budget is finished. He said that the main issue the County is having is with the Homestead Credit. Horne said that last year the problems stemmed from the Elderly and Disabled Credit, the Military Credit, and the Homestead Credit. He said that the last 2 years the County absorbed the cost of the Military Credit and the Elderly and Disabled Credit and did not pass it on to the taxpayer, but not the Homestead credit. Horne said they need to decide how to proceed this year. Thompson said that the County also paid the money to the Cities and Schools as if it had been paid to them by the State. She said that the County covered the difference because they found out about the credits after everyone’s budget had already been certified, and the Cities and School didn’t have any more money than the County did. She said the credits the County paid were a small amount of money, but since they’ve been warned this year, the County isn’t going to pick up the difference unless it is required to. She said the County wanted to let the Cities and School District know that if the Legislature doesn’t pay the credit, the Board will be passing the credits on. M. Lehman said that by paying the difference services have to be cut because the County is at the tax cap in the General Levy. Neuzil said that the Board sent a message to Senator Bolkcom that the State can continue to pass on their tax credits and problems down to the local level, but if they think that it’s not increasing taxes they’re wrong.

The next Joint Meeting will be April 21, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. and hosted by the City of Iowa City.

Reverend Bob Welsh said that last year the Community Assessment Task Force reported on a number of groups that deliver services to seniors. He said that the purpose of the Task Force is to gather information to help service providers and decision-makers make decisions that help Johnson County become a friendlier place for seniors. Since the last update, the Task Force has mailed out 2,000 surveys and received 1,200 back. Surveyed areas include: Health & Supportive Services; Housing; Transportation & Mobility; and Opportunities to participate in work, leisure, and other activities. Welsh said that they’re now planning on sending out 530 surveys to organizations that can assist making Johnson County a friendlier place. These organizations include health services providers, owners of rental properties, realtors, builders, employers, faith based organizations, leisure providers, transportation providers, and transportation planners. The third phase in the project is to bring in focus group to fill in any gaps and then the Task Force will share the findings with decision-makers in order to help them facilitate making decisions.

Adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary