Transcript
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This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person — it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.
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Okay, this meeting of the Cedar Rapids City Council will come to order. Welcome to the Cedar
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Rapids City Council meeting for Tuesday, September 28, 2021. I'm going to try to wear this mask the whole
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time and keep my glasses and fogging up too much. Council Member Tyler Olson had a conflict today,
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won't be able to join us, but the rest of the council members are here. Thank you for being
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here. I do want to welcome our acting city manager, Casey Drew, who I think will be here
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shortly. Oh, there's, sorry, Casey. And our city clerk and our acting city attorney,
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thanks to the city staff who are here and will be here after the meeting to try to
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answer questions that citizens may have. Please turn off your cell phones, your other
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electronic devices that might interrupt the meeting, city council meeting
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agendas, minutes and videos are available on the city's website and the regular
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sessions like this are available to watch live and replay through Facebook
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live. We will begin with an invocation from Public Safety Chaplain Rick Gale
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followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Father, we come into this room. God, I
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I never come in here that I don't look around and say thank you.
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Father, the men and women of our council, they give of themselves.
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I don't think that we can comprehend or understand what they do and the time that they give
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and what it takes to fulfill the position that they're in.
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So I ask you to honor them and God equip them and give them wisdom that they need.
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Lord, I also ask that you honor their families because their families live this with them.
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So God, we say thank you for their lives.
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Thank you for what they do.
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Thank you for their leadership.
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And Lord, our leaders of the city that are over here, again, would you honor them and
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just be with them, give our city wisdom that God, we can grow and become a better city
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every day.
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And we thank you, amen.
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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for
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which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
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Thank you, Rick.
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Good news announcements.
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I'll have several.
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I'll try to go fairly quickly.
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Discovery Living had some representatives here a few minutes ago to get a picture.
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sure that in December they will celebrate their 40th year of providing intellectual disability
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services to adults in Cedar Rapids and Lynn County. They do wonderful work and 40 years
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is a long time to be doing that great work. Last week Mercy Health Center groundbreaking
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to another facility in our Med Quarter as we continue to grow services to serve everyone
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everyone in Cedar Rapids and the surrounding areas.
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We on our agenda today is a contract with a private company to help us start keep clearing
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our stumps in the right-of-way.
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The Forestry Department has been doing that work.
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There are thousands of stumps we need to get cleared, and we're going to do that.
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And we want to do it as quickly as possible, but so we're going to work with an outside
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to continue to work, and our forestry officers will still be doing that work.
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And hopefully, we'll figure out a way to get those stops removed as quickly as we possibly can,
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but this is a good step in the right direction.
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Yesterday, our flood control manager, Rob Davis, and I were on the phone with people
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from the U.S. Department of Transportation giving them information about the RAISE grant application
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that we applied for $20 million for the 8th Avenue Bridge,
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which is a really key component for our flood protection system.
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We thought it went really well.
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They were very pleased with the presentation,
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so everybody keep your fingers crossed.
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They're supposed to make that announcement by the 22nd of November,
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so we don't have too long to wait, so that would be good news.
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And finally, maybe the best news,
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and I don't want to, you know, I don't want to play this too big right now because we'll
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hear about it later, but today we will hear a presentation and I'm certain we'll approve
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our Community Climate Action Plan and that really is good news, good news for lots of
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reasons and we'll talk more about that when we get to agenda item 35.
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And with that, we do have an important proclamation today to recognize Monarch Milkweed Month,
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and Council Member Dale Todd will present the proclamation.
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And Clark, if you and others want to come up, you're welcome to do that.
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Is this working?
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Yeah.
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Clark, come on up.
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On behalf of the City of Cedar Rapids, where is the Monarch Butterfly as an iconic
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North American species, whose multi-generational migration and metamorphosis captured the imagination
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of millions of Americans, and whereas in the last 20 years the population of monarch butterflies
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in the Midwest has decreased by more than 90 percent in December 2020, the U.S. Fish
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and Wildlife Service announced that listing the monarch as an endangered or threatened
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under the Endangered Species Act is warranted.
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And whereas in March 2018,
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the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
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established goals to increase the milkweed count in Iowa
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to improve the habitat for monarch butterflies
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in hopes to add 127 million stems,
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about double the amount of milkweed
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that currently exists in the next 20 years.
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And whereas Cedar Rapids is situating
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one of the major migratory paths for the Monarch butterfly and is a vital breeding ground for
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the species and whereas cities and towns and counties have a critical role to play to help
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save the Monarch butterfly, municipalities in particular can provide habitat, public parks,
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median strips, community gardens, municipal buildings that serve this community hub such
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his recreation centers and libraries. Schools, homes and businesses can also provide essential
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habitat for monarchs, whereas educating citizens about how and where to grow milkweed is also
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a key piece of the puzzle as milkweed is crucial to the monarch butterfly. Milkweed leaves are
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where monarch butterflies lay eggs and the plant is the only food monarch caterpillars
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And whereas every resident of Cedar Rapids can make a difference for the monarch by planting native milkweed and nectar-producing plants and in beauty to the landscape and supporting other insects and birds as well.
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Now, therefore, I, Dale Todd, on behalf of Mayor Brad Hart, Mayor Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
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do hereby recognize October 2021 as Monarch Milkweed Month and encourage the entire community
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to commit to restore habitat for the Monarch by planting milkweeds so that these magnificent
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butterflies will once again flourish across the continent.
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There you are, Clark.
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Thank
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you Councilman Todd and the rest of the Council. Obviously we all know we're
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doing more than milkweed these days and I think though the monarch stands as a
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symbol for all of us that the environmental actions are broad and deep
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and this is just one of a million species at risk today. So it's broad
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based habitat trees especially in Lynn County for the next three to five years
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for us thank you all thank you you keep that that's yours and on behalf of the
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council thank you for your tree planting efforts we appreciate it we haven't
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said much about it but we we know you're out there and we appreciate it
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thank you Dale