MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JANUARY 17, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Board of Supervisors: Health and Human Services Building Parking Ramp
Board of Supervisors: Compensation Board Meeting.
Board of Supervisors: Makeup of County Trails Advisory Committee.
Board of Supervisors: Appointments to the Johnson County Building Code Board of Appeals.
Reports and Inquiries from the Board of Supervisors
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:24 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Facilities Manager David Kempf reported that he talked to Iowa City Planning and Community Development Director Jeff Davidson. He commented that Davidson would have encouraged the County to build a four-level parking ramp. Kempf stated that Davidson has no concern about the County building a parking ramp. Stutsman commented that Iowa City and Johnson County could partner up on the parking ramp project. Kempf stated that he did not get that impression from Davidson. Stutsman stated that the County could look into it anyway. Kempf stated that Davidson encouraged the County to consider a parking ramp in addition to surface parking, rather than surface parking alone. Stutsman asked if Davidson had any concerns about traffic. Kempf replied that he did not.
R. Sullivan commented that the County has already bid out a two-story parking structure, and the Board needs to decide if additional footings should be added to the structure that would allow for additional levels of parking in the future. Kempf said the estimated cost of the additional footings and the design change of the structure was $360,000.00. Meyers asked if the additional footings and the change in the design structure had to be done now. Kempf said the additional footings would need to be in place to allow for future vertical expansion, so the decision needed to be made now. The ramp would have to be constructed in a manner to support additional floors in the future.
Meyers asked how much a fourth floor would cost. Kempf said that he thought that would add an additional two million dollars to the price. Stutsman asked how much the pilings would cost for additional floors. Kempf replied that that the County would almost have to take that times two if they wanted to do the footings. Kempf stated that in discussing this with the Novak Design Group, the overall design of the parking structure might need to be reconsidered if the Board was considering building a four-story parking facility. Meyers commented that they don’t want to dwarf the Health and Human Services Building with a huge parking ramp. Kempf stated that a three-level parking ramp would not dwarf the building and a two floor ramp certainly wouldn’t.
Kempf said that if the Board came back and added a third level at a later date, the County would essentially lose at least the second level of parking during the duration of the reconstruction project, and would likely loose a good portion of the first level parking also. R. Sullivan said Neuzil is attending an Iowa State Association of Counties meeting in Des Moines and had left written comments. Neuzil wrote that he supports the ramp, but does not support dollars being used for additional footings because of costs and that once the Armory property is purchased, the County will be able to add additional parking there.
Stutsman asked if Kempf was proposing that the Board decide to add a third floor to the ramp now. Kempf responded that a third floor would not be added yet. Stutsman stated that she thought Kempf previously said that the County basically won’t have parking while a third floor is added in the future. R. Sullivan stated that that would only happen if and when a future Board would decide to add additional floors. Stutsman stated that she understood that, but it sounded to her like Kempf was suggesting adding a third floor now rather than have the inconvenience in the future. Meyers stated that they would have to put in additional footings, and if in ten years there was a need for additional floors, the ramp would practically have to be shut down. Kempf commented that he is not advocating putting on a third floor, he just wanted to ensure that the Board understood that the ramp would need to be shut down for a few months in the future if another floor is added.
R. Sullivan commented that he respected Neuzil’s comments, but he disagreed and is in favor of adding additional footings now. When there is talk of urban and regional planning, the County needs to talk about going up instead of out. There are buildings already in the County with problems, including the Iowa City Public Library and the Johnson County Jail. He said that people recommended adding floors to these facilities when space became scarce, but that additional floors could not be added because the footings aren’t in place. R. Sullivan said that he does not feel the County needs a three-story parking structure now, but said that he does not feel comfortable putting a future board in a tough situation because the current Board is unwilling to spend $300,000 now. He stated that he would like to think of it as forward thinking. By adding additional footings now, the Board would not be limiting future use of the Armory to parking only.
Meyers stated if that line of thinking was furthered, if additional floors were added in the future they wouldn’t necessarily need to all be used for County parking, and Iowa City has greatly expanded in just ten years. R. Sullivan said there is also talk now about someday building a Corridor Rail, and the County might use the parking structure in the future for residents to park their car and get on the train to go to Cedar Rapids to work.
Harney stated that he is more concerned about the County’s budget. He said that he suggested putting these in and that he is still in favor of doing that; however, this is the first year that he has been uncomfortable with the amount of money the County is taxing. He said the additional footings are necessary, but the Board needs to be careful with the budget. Kempf remarked that this is why the Board is having these discussions today, and he feels it is his job is to bring these ideas to the Board for discussion to decide what is best for the County today and in the future. Harney commented that the Board had the budget set for this project and had done so reasonably, but the taxpayers also have to pay for the Communications Center this year, which will cause a jump in the levy. He said that this year will be a tremendous burden on taxpayers. Harney remarked that he is going to support adding additional footings for future expansion, but he would not support adding a third floor at this time. Meyers said that he doesn’t support a third floor at this time either. R. Sullivan stated that he didn’t either.
Stutsman stated that she will not support putting in the additional footings now because of the cost and the County’s budget. Stutsman commented that the Board has added some big ticket items in the last three months that the Board has not had a thorough discussion. Stutsman stated that she feels the Board is speculating about the future need for a third floor and there are too many unknowns for her to justify spending another $360,000 when the Board hasn’t done a thorough, careful analysis. Stutsman said that she also feels that adding additional parking will encourage all employees to drive to work. She said she understands the arguments for future need, but the future is too unclear to go ahead with this kind of cost.
R. Sullivan commented that he disagreed that $360,000.00 is that big of an expenditure. He said that everyone has to pay their taxes and that no one likes to, but that over the past few years, he’s heard negative comments about past Boards who built projects without the possibility of expansion in the future. R. Sullivan commented that he thinks that sometimes you can be penny wise and pound foolish. He stated that he takes the budget very seriously, but feels the public has a voice with their vote. The things the Board taxes for are important and it is the Board’s job to make a case to the public as to why the money ought to be spent. This is a project where he feels the Board can make that case.
Harney stated that in the long run, the County will get the Armory property and will need to clean it up. The Board has no idea where a future jail might go and the Board would be negligent if they didn’t prepare the Armory for future need. Kempf stated that yesterday he gave a presentation to the Noontime Optimist Group of Iowa City regarding projects that the Board and County are undertaking now. He said that one of the main comments that he received from the Optimists was that they wanted to compliment the Board for forward thinking, including building an additional floor for future need in the Health and Human Services Building. Meyers asked if a two-level parking ramp would cover the need for parking for the first two floors of the Health and Human Services Building. Kempf replied that a two-story structure would more than cover the parking needs for the first two floors. If 75 more staff members were added to the building and each brought a car to work, there will still be enough parking to meet the need, but that would be at the loss of available public space.
Harney stated that employees would have to pay for parking in the ramp. Stutsman and R. Sullivan said the Board has not made that decision and would need to vote on that. Meyers asked how soon this decision would need to be made. Kempf responded that he would need to have some direction for the architects in the near future. He would like to have it on the agenda for the January 24, 2008 formal meeting. Kempf stated that the unofficial feeling seems right now that the Board is in favor of adding the additional footings. R. Sullivan said that he is in favor of adding the footings. Meyers stated that he has heard everyone’s concerns and understands them, but worries about closing the door on future additions by not adding the footings now. Kempf commented that if the County did not get the armory property and did not put footings in now, the County would still have a couple of options for future parking, including the CarQuest space. Meyers commented that at one time architects had recommended putting a parking ramp on the CarQuest property, but that the Board never got any particulars as to whether that idea was feasible. Kempf stated that he had the Novak Group look at that, but they had determined that it would not be feasible. Stutsman asked if a ramp could be built on the Armory property. Kempf stated that it could. Stutsman asked how long into the future they would look at building a ramp on the Armory property. Kempf stated that they might be looking at 5 to 10 years. Meyers stated that it could even be longer than that.
Stutsman said that what she was getting at is that the County would surely have the Amory property by then. Meyers said that if the footings are not put in now, there is no option of adding a third floor in the future. Stutsman stated that she understands, but feels that the cost is high. Stutsman asked what would be built on the armory property if it was not needed for parking. She asked if a park would be built on it. R. Sullivan responded if that was the case, the County could sell the property to the private sector for a large sum of money. He said that would be a future Board’s decision because the current Board doesn’t know what will happen. He commented that five years ago, the County was told they would have the armory property by now, but it’s apparent that the County doesn’t have the armory property yet. R. Sullivan commented that Davidson recommended that the County build a ramp. Stutsman asked if the City of Iowa City is still planning to build a parking ramp in the area. Harney said that Iowa City still has plans to build a ramp near the former site of St. Patrick’s Church.
Stutsman stated that she would not be at next week’s formal meeting because she would be on vacation, but she would like to vote no and asked if there was any way that she could vote by proxy. Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell stated that Stutsman could participate in the meeting by telephone and vote that way. Stutsman said she would probably be on her flight during the meeting and unavailable by phone. Chappell said since three yes votes were needed to move forward, Stutsman’s absence would be as good as a no vote.
R. Sullivan stated that the Board members had decided to each take on an issue for the upcoming Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) Legislative Day. He said that this discussion would allow the Board members to discuss when these should be finished and how they were to be done.
Stutsman stated that she had already completed a draft for Trails and County Attorney’s pay, and there is a bill already drafted for the County Attorney’s pay. She stated that she had planned to call ISAC and ask for additional information regarding what kind of impact the bill would have on Johnson County. She said that the discussion last year led her to believe that in the near future it would not have an impact, as the County already pays the County Attorney a competitive salary. The legislation was geared at smaller counties that aren’t in a position to pay very much. The State or District Court would tell Counties how much to decide to pay the County Attorney based on judge’s pay. Stutsman said this would be a huge burden for smaller counties, and ISAC’s position is that local Boards need to decide how much to pay County Attorneys. Stutsman said that she also plans to do a position paper on trails.
R. Sullivan asked if the Board has an upcoming meeting to discuss these positions further. Stutsman stated that she had written down that the Board would discuss the positions after the February 7, 2008 Board meeting. R. Sullivan recommended holding a work session after the meeting. Harney commented that the February 7, 2008 meeting will probably be a long meeting as there will be discussion of the five year road plan. Harney recommended holding the work session after the February 6, 2008 meeting. R. Sullivan stated that that would not work as there is a site visit and other meetings after the meeting on February 6, 2008. The Board agreed to plan a work session after the February 7, 2008 meeting.
R. Sullivan reported that County Elected Official’s salaries are set by an appointed group called the Compensation Board. This body consists of two appointments by the Supervisors and one appointment by each of the other elected officials. The Compensation Board meets and puts forward a proposal for the salaries of County Elected Officials. This recommendation can be accepted by the Board or reduced by the same percentage across the board. The Board is not allowed to increase the recommendations of the Compensation Board. This year, the Compensation Board is meeting on January 30, 2008 at 6 p.m.
R. Sullivan said that the Board of Supervisors typically holds a discussion, in which they discuss how they wish to approach the Compensation Board. R. Sullivan stated that it should be noted that Supervisors Stutsman and Meyers are unavailable, and he will be representing the Board at the Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) meeting that night. Harney said that he had thought about going to the JCCOG meeting also, but feels it is important for the Board have representation at the Compensation Board meeting. R. Sullivan said that he thought that Neuzil would be available for the meeting. Harney commented that in the past, the Board Chair has provided a letter to the Compensation Board regarding the Board’s recommendations. R. Sullivan said he would be happy to write a letter. Meyers asked if the letter would include recommendations for the Board members or other elected officials. R. Sullivan said that he would be happy to write a letter, but is not sure that it is necessary. Stutsman said that typically the letter is used to give the Compensation Board a better understanding of the Board’s workload. Harney said that he agrees the letter is not necessary, unless the Board will not have representation at the Compensation Board’s meeting. Stutsman asked if anyone had letters that the Chair had written from previous years. R. Sullivan stated that he has minutes published last year, which would allow him to see what Harney discussed last year. Harney said that he is not advocating a raise or asking the Compensation Board to pay for other things like cell phones.
R. Sullivan stated that the Board had previously made an appointment to the Trails Advisory Committee. At the time of the appointment, there was only one person who was eligible to be appointed, because they were the only person from an unincorporated area. When the Board first formed the committee they created a resolution to determine the makeup of the Committee. The resolution called for a member of the Linn County Trails Advisory Commission to be a member of the Johnson County Trails Advisory Committee, but Linn County will not be sending a member from their commission anymore. The Trails Advisory Committee is asking the Board to change the resolution so that an at-large member may be appointed to fill the position that was previously filled by a member of the Linn County Trails Advisory Commission. R. Sullivan asked the other Board members if they had a problem with doing that. Harney and Stutsman agreed that it was fine with them.
Stutsman commented that she was pleased that people were interested in applying for the committee. Harney stated that one concern he has, is that the member from the Linn County Trails Advisory Commission was typically very good at writing grants. R. Sullivan asked Chappell if the Board would need to put this on next week’s formal agenda. Chappell said that the better way to do it would be to draft a new resolution that would change the makeup of the membership and also make clear that the new resolution replaces a prior resolution. Chappell said that he does not know who drafted the original resolution, but thought that Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne or Board Secretary Jo Hogarty could put a new resolution together. R. Sullivan asked Claiborne if he could make a new resolution. Claiborne responded that he could. He asked when the Board would like to approve the resolution. The Board agreed to put the resolution on a future formal agenda.
R. Sullivan said that two members of the Johnson County Building Code Board of Appeals had decided to step down and would need to be replaced. He remarked that the Board has received two applications and the applicants are well qualified by experience and training. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said that the applicant from Swisher can fill the at-large position and has a construction background. The other applicant is highly qualified in HVAC, which is required by the resolution the Board passed when creating the Building Code Board of Appeals. Dvorak said applicant Doug Kohoutek of Swisher has 30 years of experience, has served on the State Building Board of Appeals, is a member of the Homebuilder’s Association, and is a representative from the Linn County Homebuilder’s Association. R. Sullivan said that the other applicant is Paul Osterholt of North Liberty. The Board agreed to put this item on a future formal agenda.
Stutsman attended a Decat meeting.
Harney attended a Mid-American Energy Open House, the Coralville Chamber Roundtable, the groundbreaking for the SEATS/Secondary Roads Facility, and met with Planning and Zoning Staff and Ambulance Director Steve Spenler. He met with Jeff Davidson and Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey to discuss the Joint Communications Center. Harney attended a North Liberty Chamber event and an East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Transportation Meeting. He noted several public calls about gravel roads and said the flashing lights have been installed at Wapsi Avenue and Highway 22.
Meyers attended a Decat meeting and met with Ambulance Director Steve Spenler. He attended a SEATS Labor Management Meeting and a Chamber Meeting.
Sullivan said there will be budget meetings on January 23, 2008 and February 1, 2008. He met with Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia, attended the SEATS/Secondary Roads groundbreaking, the strategic planning work session, and the department head meeting.
Adjourned at 10:12 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2008
By John Deeth, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on February 11, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.