This meeting of the cedar rapids city council will come to order. Welcome to the cedar rapids city council meeting for tuesday, december 17th, 2024.
my colleague dale todd, I believe will be here shortly.
okay. Well, I want to welcome, as always, our city manager, our city clerk, and our city Attorney, and thank you to our city staff for being here today and willing to answer
questions, should we have them here afterwards? A reminder to those of you who are here, welcome, councilmember todd.
reminder I'm like that teacher calling out the student.
let the record show it is 4:00. You are just fine. Thank you. Thank you. A reminder to please turn off any electronic devices that might distract us From our meetings today, and a reminder that all of our city council meeting agendas,
minutes, and videos are available on our city's website, and regular sessions are also Available to watch live and on replay via the city's facebook page.
we will begin now with our invocation. Mayor pro tem ann poe will do that immediately followed by the pledge of allegiance.
thank you, mayor. Dear god, grant us gratitude for your gift of this day for family, friends, colleagues And community as we look
forward to celebrating this holiday season together.
god, please continue to bless the people of our community with hope, peace, love and joy.
guide this council as your servant leaders to do your people's work with open hearts and Hands now and in the new year.
during this holiday season, god, we ask that you remind us to let compassion, kindness, Patience and understanding lift up our hearts with
mercy and grace. We pray, god, you keep our police and fire personnel and first responders safely in the Palm of your hand carry them and carry with them the shield of
blessings from a grateful community for their service. We ask god that you bless and keep our city employees and their families.
it's not just the big things they do for our city, but the everyday little things that May not even be noticed but have a large impact for the cedar rapids
citizens. With a grateful heart, we ask these blessings in your heavenly name.
amen.
we'll begin now with a proclamation for universal human rights month.
I'd like to invite those of you who are here for this proclamation to please join Councilmember ashley vanorny to read the proclamation.
whereas the universal declaration of human rights, adopted by the united nations general Assembly on december 10th, 1948, serves as a cornerstone for the
protection of the dignity and rights of every person, and whereas the declaration Recognizes that the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world
and whereas the universal declaration of human rights remains a guiding framework for Governments, organizations, and individuals worldwide in striving to promote,
protect and uphold the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people, and whereas, the City of cedar rapids recognizes the importance of continuing the work of advancing human
and civil rights and fostering a community of welcoming, respect, understanding and Inclusion for all, and the city of cedar rapids remains committed to ensuring the
protection of its residents from discrimination based on age, color, creed, familial Status, gender identity, marital status, mental disability,
national origin, physical disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or Association with members of these protected classes, and
whereas, we reaffirm our commitment to upholding human rights and our collective Responsibility to build a community where every individual can live without fear,
oppression, or injustice, and whereas the city affirms that every, every person deserves The chance to chart their own destiny free from
discrimination, and that all residents should work together to ensure equality, dignity And freedom for everyone.
now, therefore, I ashley vanorny on behalf of tiffany o'donnell, mayor of cedar rapids And the entire cedar rapids council, do hereby recognize december 2024 as universal human
rights month and encourage residents to observe this month by treating all persons with Dignity, respect and fairness, strengthening both individuals and our
community. We unite in support of human rights, honoring the progress we've achieved While renewing our commitment to the ongoing advancement of human dignity, equality and
freedom for all. Thank you.
thank you. First of all, to the mayor and the city council for your commitment to making Cedar rapids a just and inclusive society.
my name is stefanie munsterman. I'm the executive director of the civil rights commission.
as ashley said, the declaration of human rights reminds us that each individual deserves A life free of discrimination and injustice.
it affirms the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings and serves as a Foundation for peace, justice and freedom, and it inspires our continued
commitment to these values, and while we honor the progress that we have made, we Acknowledge that much work does remain.
this is reflected in the continued rising numbers of complaints filed with the civil Rights commission office, as well as the increase in numbers where we do find evidence of
discrimination within our community. It is our individual and our collective responsibility to address these barriers Affecting our fellow community members.
by confronting these obstacles, we can work towards a more equitable and inclusive Community.
let's work together to cultivate a city where everybody's individual worth is recognized.
everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Let's protect our civil and human rights, nurture empathy and compassion, and as you Said, compassion.
thank you for that and collaboration. This way we can ensure freedom, justice and equality for all of those who are in cedar Rapids.
thank you. Thank you.
thank you all. It is now time for our public hearings. So I remind everybody who wishes to speak today, whether during a public hearing or During the public comment or public input periods.
a few matters we need to have to ensure an orderly meeting.
a reminder to remain at the lectern on your right. If you have any documents you want to share with them, give them to the officer and she Will get them to us, and comments are limited to five minutes per speaker, and
when the light on the console turns yellow, you'll have one minute when it turns red. We do invite you to take your seat.
a reminder that all comments must be directed to the matter of the public hearing and That abusive, obscene, loud, threatening or irrelevant comments are not allowed, and
finally, we need to hold an orderly hearing. So we ask for and ask for no applause, cheering, booing, other noise or disruptive Conduct from the audience, and we thank you in advance.
does the clerk have any written comments or objections in regard to any of the public Hearings on our agenda today?
your honor, there were no written comments or objections filed. No written comments. Thank you.
item number one is a public hearing to consider a development agreement with cedar rapids Development group, llc for the construction of a casino between f and I
avenues and first and fifth street northwest. Scott mather and bill michael are here.
gentlemen, I'll recognize you. Thank you. Mayor and council. Scott mather with the city manager's office.
we the city, the cedar rapids development group, llc and linn county gaming association, Incorporated, executed a memorandum of understanding which provides
exclusive support of a casino by crdg. The current mou extends through october of 2029.
on july 11th, 2023, city council authorized a resolution approving an option agreement And term sheet.
today, we're here to consider a public hearing and resolution approving the development Agreement.
on february 6th, 2025, the iowa racing and gaming commission will issue their decision.
so here's an aerial. The red dotted line in the box there indicates the proposed location for the casino, and Here is a site plan showing the
layout of the building and parking, as well as indicating where the four main entrances To the building.
the next few slides are just renderings of the building. Here's an aerial view, and this is from the north entrance,
and this is the fourth street and f avenue entrance.
so the development agreement terms regarding purchase and sale, the properties to be sold At its fair market value, as determined by an appraisal, incorporation of flood mitigation
measures in the project to satisfy the deed restrictions. Closing conditions include the developer receiving a gaming license that they have Conducted no less than two public open house meetings, and that city council has approved
the design of the minimum improvements site.
site considerations include. The developer is to pay costs to vacate and dispose of any right of way, and relocate any Public or private utilities.
the developers to conduct a traffic study with the city and developer to develop an agreed Upon plan for any off site improvements, and the developers to pay any
increased costs for the city's flood control system if the project necessitates any Modifications.
the minimum improvements and investment. This is a 110,000 square foot gaming facility, of which 17,000 square foot is restaurant Space, 16,000 square foot event space, 39,000 square
foot gaming floor and 5000 square foot cultural center.
there'll be roughly 1100 parking spaces. This is $150 million minimum investment with a $50 million minimum assessment agreement.
completion of construction is to occur within 24 months of commencement.
financial considerations, the developers to make monthly community betterment payments to The city, commencing one year after the casino was opened, and continuing in perpetuity
while it operates as a casino. These community betterment payments shall be calculated at 2.25% of the adjusted net Gaming win, which is the gross revenue, less any applicable
taxes. These community betterment payments are in addition to the taxes the city would Already receive, which is around 0.5%.
so today, we're here to consider the development agreement. In february of 25, the state gaming and racing commission will release their decision on The gaming license and the city would close on the property within 180 days if a license
is issued. With that, I'll return it back to mayor and council for any questions.
thank you. This is a time and a place for a public hearing on this matter. Does anyone here wish to address council?
all right. I will invite you to take the podium and just give us your name and the city Where you live.
hi, isaac davis, cedar rapids. Just one quick comment on the site plan here.
this is the first time I'm seeing it. I noticed that there is quite a lot of parking, which makes sense for a facility this Size.
in context with the location of this casino right near our greenway parks plan, I think That northern
border of the parking lot in the site plan. We want to be very careful about how that how that sits adjacent to our greenway park.
my understanding is our greenway park is going to be a celebration of the river nature, Cedar rapids ability to create a really
destination park, and a bit of a jewel for the city, and as such, we want to make sure That the large parking lot directly adjacent
to it has an extraordinary amount of, you know, be it screening, landscaping, whatever.
creativity allows one to take a look at this parking solution and be like, this fits next To the largest park plan in cedar
rapids. That's the only thing I would really encourage the city to focus on and make sure That we move forward as we continue to evolve the site
plan, I'm sure. Thank you. Thanks, isaac. Is anyone else here wish to address council?
all right. Let the record show a public hearing on this matter has been held with no Objections for the matter.
that brings us to council comments. Councilmember vanorny. Thanks. Bill, can you go back to the picture?
right there. Perfect. So just going to share some of my thoughts on this.
first off, I'm not a gambler. I've never bought a scratch ticket, so this isn't my cup of tea.
that doesn't mean that it's not other people, and so I just want to try and capture some Of the conversation that people have been having with me, because I think thus far, there
hasn't been a lot of conversation where council could weigh in. You know, we had the memorandum that came out, but it was really just about holding that Holding space for that land.
you know, the last referendum that we had was really a small majority, I would say.
so people are still pretty mixed about, should we, shouldn't we? I can't tell you if this is going to be the thing that finally gives us a vibrant Downtown.
I have my bets against it, but, you know, certainly there are plenty of people who like To do this, and it would be advantageous for cedar rapids to benefit
from the revenue that is otherwise going other places. I know there's a lot of conversation happening right now.
certainly people have told me I have not seen them, but there's a lot of advertising Happening.
it seems like it's coming from interested parties who want to keep their monies where They are in their casinos, and not necessarily people who don't have a vested interest.
additionally, I think there is a lot of advertising from people who do have a vested Interest that are telling us, yes, we should do this.
so I'm just trying to capture the nature of the conversations of persons that have either Contacted me or connected with me.
so, you know, this space used to be residential, and we moved actual homes and families Out of this area.
isaac was talking about the greenway plan, which is very exciting and is very destination Setting.
so in my head, I'm disappointed that this doesn't utilize or activate the river.
matter of fact, it doesn't really even face the river, and so you have this bit of parcel That, you know, we have a lot of flooding concerns that forced people out of this
space necessarily, because we didn't have the flood protection that we now have or are Going to get that will allow us to leverage this bit of land
again. So I think about, you know, what just happened with kingston over the last couple Of years, and what I'm really looking for again is that destination.
I don't see it in this. This looks like a big box store to me. There's nothing on the roof.
yes, there could bring some more activities, but maybe that'll take away, I don't know, One way or the other.
I'm not sold on this. Pretty ambivalent about, you know, any of the sales pitches that I've heard thus far, but I would say at a minimum, there's been a conversation about having a stem lab in there,
and at best, I think it's out of place. I don't know anybody who said, let's go to the casino and drop the kids off for some Science.
it just seems weird to me. Maybe it's an option that works.
certainly. There's you know, I'm a big stem-focused person. I took just about every science class that the university of iowa offered other than Organic chem.
so certainly I'd be all for it, but I just think it seems a bit out of place here, and Then I have a hard time accepting that while we're being told that 8% is
generous, that's really even like dipping into anybody's bank, because if you could Easily, so easily offer 8% and you've got wonderful companies like google coming who
are, you know, matching and giving us these opportunities and, you know, they're not Necessarily making that profit like a casino would.
I just have a hard time accepting that? That's really something I should be impressed by, and we also know that we're going to go Into another legislative session where we're going to be asked for our property taxes
likely to be reduced. So it's conversations that we have to have about the realities of This and things that are being considered.
I would also just say, you know, in general, I know that there are interested parties.
this is a big development. It would certainly create a lot of jobs. We've got the best, you know, unions here and tradespeople.
so I'm all for getting them jobs, but I just don't think that this location and this Particular thing is something that I'm, you know, feeling like a kid on christmas
about because it just seems like it's missing something or it's just blasé at best, and I Also am just generally concerned about
you know, somebody not being able to commit to me that it would be a smoke free facility.
you know, we were just at the national league of cities and there are smoke free Coalitions there in casinos who are making some good progress, but I've repeatedly asked
about that and the health care person, and me just says, if you can't commit that, this Would be smoke free, and how does that work with having some sort of school or education
thing on it? Because you can't just say that the smoke stops at a room that we know that Doesn't work for years.
it's just not a project that is going to get my support at this time. I think there's other places in cedar rapids that if we're dead set on having a casino That we could certainly make room for.
there is absolutely room to grow in cedar rapids, but I just don't think this is it.
so that's my thoughts. Thanks. Councilmember.
olson. Yeah. Thank you. You know, I think as we look at this again, I'm not a gambler either, except once in a While, once a year, I put a penny in a slot machine and see how I do
and represent the city in las vegas every year and have been going for 20 years, and I Just enjoy seeing all the people that enjoy gambling, and
I think this site was created not for them.
it was created for development and the because of the flood, this site became available.
we tried three other times and it was where the big grove corner was and we tried over by Where the skogman building was, and so we have a vacant piece of ground that
people are complaining about that's not being maintained, and we're trying to grow Things, and one thing that this type of an operation does is create
development. Being not being a gambler. We are having our people that live here in cedar rapids go outside.
we try to gain revenue to nonprofits from the other casinos surrounding us, and our Nonprofits get turned down and the money spent in those areas.
I think gambling is changing. The form of gambling is changing.
it's changing in las vegas. It's changing everywhere, and what's different about this concept is it's become more Restaurant driven and other things than gaming, but
people are going to gamble whether we like it or not. Should we gain from that?
I think we should. Will this enable us to do other things? Yes, it will do.
am I going to go gamble there? Probably not, but I may go to some of the entertainment events and things.
we have a piece of ground that will take a long time to develop, and I think this is an Opportunity that we may
or may not see, and so they've made they've done all the steps, they've acquired all the Ground.
they have to meet the flood protection requirements, they have to meet, as isaac said, Landscaping and other things, which I know they'll do a good job of because they listen
and you can just see the trees and things that are planted here, and, like I say, as a Buffer around the railroad tracks, but I think they've done their
job to go and apply. They're either going to on february 6th, they'll either win or lose beyond our control.
we're not a member of that commission, and if they win, I think then we have to jump in And make sure that they everything they do that they've promised benefits the
citizens, the labor unions, whoever may be using this facility
and I think what it's going to do is encourage what we hope is that when you travel to Other cities, as I do for
different conventions, whether that's new orleans, las vegas, other places, when they Have a casino, it makes a difference and it generates a lot of activity, and so
we're not going to the casino's not going to be the only one that benefit from it. So is gambling good.
we can all debate that. Is this project good? I hope it is. I think they're doing a nice job.
is this something that will make a difference in cedar rapids? I'm on several nonprofit boards.
you're darn right it will. It'll bring major money that we're not getting that the other cities are getting when People go gambling there, and so what we need to do is make sure we protect this
neighborhood. We protect the greenway, we create the flood protection.
we create jobs, and the 8%, which kind of shocks me, is the highest in the state of Iowa, and
I think it's just going to come down to five individuals that are sitting citizens of Iowa that are going to make a yes or a no vote on february 6th.
nobody knows what it's going to be. If it happens, great. If it doesn't happen, we'll move on and find something else to do with this ground, and So as a city council, I think we've developed a good development
agreement to protect our city, to get the revenue to the city that we can share with Others in the community
and we have the design standards that are going to protect the neighborhood, and I'm kind Of excited about it because it it will change the hotel,
motel, tax, all the things that we use for nonprofits and everything else.
does it create gambling problems? Probably, but I think that we're not going to be able to stop that whether they're Gambling here.
riverside. Dubuque. Waterloo gamblers or gamblers and if I decide to go in there, I'll play the penny slot.
I'll put my $20 in and see if I win or lose whatever, and have fun watching all the People gambling and all the crazy people in there.
it's kind of fun. As a matter of fact, and so let's let's see what happens.
it's out of our control. We've done everything to protect ourselves.
february 6th, the magic date, and we'll see what happens. So that's where my thoughts and I agree.
you know, I share ashley's concerns. We're on the same page, smoking and all of that.
I totally agree, and we just need to say, hey, they've done everything they're supposed To.
they've done it. They filed. They've done it. They've communicated with us. Let's find out what happens on february 6th, win or lose, and we'll go from there and see If something happens.
so I'm excited about it. Councilmember todd.
thank you, mayor. Thanks. Thanks, scott, and to staff for the background.
in terms of the background, your site only went to 2023, and in saying that,
I think that slide should go back a lot further because you neglected to mention the First
stab at this was a boat at over on the sinclair site or across from the boat harbor over There, and I think, are we going to
1999? You know, we're going we're going somewhere around there.
let's talk about the location for a second, and my my thoughts on this have evolved over Time for a host of reasons, but
when I look at that site, I picture some of you might not remember this, but the ice Harbor in dubuque.
okay, that was a superfund site.
dubuque was broke. The packet closed. There was no money in that town, and by by developing the
casino on that site instead of riding downtown on main street, it went over to the ice Harbor.
it cleaned up that entire area over there, and so and over time, I, you know, I've come To at least in terms
of the studies, I, you know, I this is not going to be the economic savior
that some people pretended it's going to be, but I look at it as an option for people.
if they want to go, they can go, and while I don't gamble, I'll tell you what I do.
this is the kind of nerd I am.
when we go to dubuque for holidays and I have to break out of the house, I drive around The ice harbor and I drive around the parking lot, and I look at
the license plates of linn county, linn county, linn county, and I can do that in Davenport, and I can do that in
meskwaki, and I can do that in waterloo, and these are all cedar rapids residents who Have voted twice to support
this initiative, and so I look at it as simply an option in terms of urban planning and Development,
and the council, I would suggest there is no compelling developer knocking down our door To develop this site,
nor do we have the wherewithal to develop this site anywhere outside of a ten year Window.
I simply don't see anything happening at that site, and at the same time, the public has Realized that
by obligating that land the way you did, the public has come to realize that
hopefully will be the outcome of what this land banking has done.
in essence, what the city did, we land banked it, but there should be no surprise that We were going to do something else on this site.
it was always going to be a casino. That is if in the event that we get the license, and so I like the location.
I last but not least, I attended the hearing the other day, and the only
reason I have not really been, I've sort of sat on the sidelines in this whole discussion Throughout the years.
I haven't made any decisions one way or the other, but I was home the night before the Meeting and
I got a text and then there was an ad on tv while we were watching the news, and I asked My wife, I said, can you google who's responsible for that
ad? And it came back google. I said, dan keel, okay, and as I sat through that hearing throughout the course of that Day, I got repulsed
at my colleagues from other cities, whether it was waterloo or dubuque, cedar falls, who Were
all complaining that if we got a license here sincere that it was going to cut into their City budget, dubuque said point blank.
the city manager 2.5% of their property taxes are paid with cedar rapids or gaming Revenues, and those are all a lot of
those people are people from cedar rapids and linn county, and there's new fire trucks in Kalona, and, you know, as the day went
on, I just got sick, and so I, you know, I look at it as an option for people.
if they want to go there, they can go there, they can go to kingston, they can go to Newbo, czech village.
it's simply another option for us as a community.
councilmember tyler olson. Thank you, mayor. I appreciate the discussion, and, you know, councilmember todd, you Mentioned that this project is not going to be an economic savior, and
I agree, and the great thing is, we don't need an economic savior in cedar rapids.
I think we all understand the strength of the economy in the community right now, and Honestly, the strength of downtown
in the west side you know, south of here and in particular, but also a lot of development Along ellis boulevard
and up towards time check, and so, you know, looking at it as a development project, you Know, as it's been presented and councilmember olson, you know, you mentioned it this
way too. You know, we're talking about a live music venue, we're talking about restaurants, we're Talking about an entertainment complex very close to the heart of
downtown, which we have supported in other areas, and I think any community, you know, Would be excited to get now, in this case, you know,
we have the added wrinkle of the fact that there will be gaming there will be gambling There, but has been mentioned before, the citizens of linn county twice in
somewhat overwhelming fashion for elections today, you know, have voted in favor in favor Of it, and I think it's also important to point out that the northwest
northwest neighbors, many of them, have spoken very strongly in favor of it, and they Will, you know, be the ones that are that are closest as
far as residences and, and businesses as well. So I think it's a good development project, just as a, as a development project Incorporates flood control.
well obviously will incorporate the traffic has the railroad as a buffer.
on the north side, and the, you know, the activity that will be generated there will be Great for the community.
so, you know, it's something that I think minus the gambling we would all be very excited About in the community, and
, you know, regardless of our personal feelings about gambling, the community has spoken On multiple occasions and wants
this, and so I'm excited that we have developers that are willing to put the extra mile Into it.
I mean, it'd be easy to put up a gaming hall that, you know, didn't have other amenities And wasn't as nicely done as this one.
so I think we've picked the right partners here and the right project. Thanks. Anyone else?
all right. Well, it's no secret I've been for this project. This specific project, since before I was even mayor.
as an advocate, as a citizen for this project, and I think one of the biggest Contingencies for me to support it is openly pre mayor and certainly
post mayor is exactly the location of the casino.
I'm reminded of and no one on this council I don't believe was was here when we put the Ball diamond out where we put it.
it just if I could wave a magic wand pick up that stadium and put it closer to our Downtown and closer to all of the development that's happened here,
I would absolutely do that. I feel exactly the way about this. I'm not actually sure how much I would support a casino in the middle of nowhere.
I support this casino because of where it is, and certainly, you know, no one does any.
my opinion isn't my own alone. I certainly stand alongside a lot of other people who feel the same way that I do.
as far as the design of the casino, you know, I'm not sure if councilmembers, if this is Your first time seeing this or the location.
I didn't think so. There's been ample opportunity to give that kind of feedback, and I would encourage that Conversation to continue.
if we have ideas to make it make it even better and to serve more people.
I too would absolutely support a nonsmoking to make that a real differentiator.
I mean, I'm not a marketer extraordinaire, but I would think it would be a great Differentiator to say, hey, come to this casino because it's smoke free.
I also understand there are reasons why this developer wants to have that, and it is his Development, so he gets to do that.
I will also say the organization that I work for in my other life, I do a lot of events In the only places that can house the amount of people we have are in casinos.
so I'm in a lot of casinos across the state, and you actually can put a wall up.
it's really remarkable what they've done with filters inside these facilities now.
so to those who don't want to smell the smoke, I just suggest, you know, innovation has Happened in that realm as well.
so I'm a little surprised. I mean, I'm glad that the council is having this opportunity.
I'm a little surprised that we're having it today. I certainly am not here to legislate whether or not this council is for or gambling or Not, or, frankly, for the location or not.
I'd like to say the horse has left the barn on this, and a lot of work has gone into this Development agreement, and the 8% is absolutely a game changer
for organizations in our community, and I look forward to helping them achieve that.
we are here today to discuss, to have the hearing on the development agreement.
so if we don't have any other questions, I'm actually going to ask for a first and a Second from council.
do I have a motion? Councilmember tyler olson. Do I have a second? Second.
councilmember hoeger thank you all and let's go ahead and do a vocal vote.
okay, and then if that is it, that resolution has been passed.
the motion carries. Item number two. Moving on to a public hearing to consider a proposed amendment number Five, to the urban renewal plan for the central consolidated urban renewal area.
scott, you stay put. I'll recognize you. Thank you. Okay. All right.
on november 19th, council authorized city financial incentives with 860 17th street, llc For the redevelopment of the former higley mansion at
860 17th street southeast. Their tenant, radix recovery, is to provide a voluntary substance abuse programing.
as a result, urban renewal plans are required to be updated to reflect activities to Include new economic development projects and infrastructure improvements.
consultation with taxing agencies is also required, which was held on december 2nd with No comments or objections.
today, we're here to consider approving the urban renewal amendment and development Agreement.
this is a $4.6 million capital investment. Calls for the renovation of the existing 27,000 square foot building and a 3000 square Foot new construction addition.
landscaping improvements complete in august of 25. Standard incentive provides a ten year, 100% rebate of increased taxes.
it's expected to generate 525,000 new taxes in the ten year period, of which 145,000 Would be rebated.
here is a rendering of the front of the building after it's been renovated.
here's a map showing three infrastructure projects that are incorporated into the ura Amendment.
the one to the north is the cedar lake, and then the ones over here in czech village are Related to the light line loop and the light line bridge.
so today we're here to or I guess my recommendations are to approve the amendment number Five to the central consolidated urban renewal area and approve the resolution authorizing
the development agreement with 860 17th street, llc. With that, I'll turn it back to you, mayor.
thank you. All right. This is the time and place for public hearing on this matter.
does anyone in the audience wish to address council on item number two?
let the record show a public hearing has been held with no objections for the record?
councilmember vanorny. Thanks, mayor. Scott. My only question is about the wall that is adjacent to the road there.
the other day when I was driving by, it looked like it was leaning a bit. Are they planning on, I guess, kind of reaffirming that barrier, I mean, if it's damaged, It's going to get replaced, it's going to get repaired.
I know that they've talked about needing to do significant improvements to the outside.
just there was, you know, the roof had been replaced from the derecho, but there's still Issues as a result of the derecho.
so that's what they also intend to do. So I'm assuming that'll be, but I can certainly follow up with them on that.
yeah, and if and if they do, let's just make sure to coordinate with our relief programs Too.
because if they're going if it must, it just looks like it's a bit insecure and kind of Leaning, and so if they are going to adjust that, I'd love to coordinate with them so that
we can just look at improving our tree canopy too. So thank you, councilmember todd.
just to give some background on I think that's all waiting. Part of that, they were all waiting for mount vernon road to get done, and so since that Stretch between 21st and the hospital is done, now would be a good time.
you wouldn't do it before? No. All right.
anyone else? All right. Seeing no further questions, the adoption of the resolution has been moved by councilmem Ber scott olson, seconded by councilmember todd.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
item number three was the public hearing to consider the development agreement as a whole At 860 17th street llc.
this is a time and a place for public hearing on that. Does anyone here wish to address council?
let the record show. A public hearing has been held with no objections for the record council.
all right. Seeing none, the adoption of the resolution has been moved by councilmember Todd, seconded by councilmember vanorny.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you. Item number four is a public hearing to review the status of funded activities For single family new construction program, the roots project.
we call it at 124 meadowlark lane northwest and 164 cherry hill road northwest.
funded through the community development block grant disaster recovery program.
sara buck is here. Sara, I'll recognize you. Thank you, mayor and city council. Sara buck with, community development.
so the purpose of the public hearing today is that the disaster recovery program requires A mid-project update that includes accomplishments and expenditures to date and any work
that's remaining, as well as any changes to the projects. So we have two projects here a single family or a single unit home.
on each of these, 124 meadowlark lane northwest and 164 cherry hill road northwest, and Both of these are being developed by wes waters of
wwi3. So accomplishments to date you can see both homes have the same floor plan.
exterior construction is complete on both projects. The interior work is more complete on the meadowlark lane northwest.
the cherry hill is just slightly behind on that. Final grading has been done on meadowlark and rough grading has been done on the cherry Hill.
obviously the landscaping will still need to be done in the spring.
so expenditures. To date, the total project budget is 294 on meadowlark, 289 on cherry hill.
the cdbg-dr funding or community development block grant disaster recovery funding on Both of these projects was 100,000 per unit and an additional $25,000 per unit for
additional mitigation. So really making those units more resilient, more cost efficient As far as heating and cooling.
other funding for the projects is the developer has a construction loan, and the Expenditures to date are roughly about 70,000 for each of those projects, and
so the remaining work to complete, like I said, is that interior finish work on Meadowlark and landscaping, and then more interior work on cherry hill and landscaping as
well. Project changes, no substantial changes again to date other than the timeline.
the meadowlark project was due to be completed and sold at the end of this calendar year, And that's being pushed out until january, and then the cherry hill project is going to be
pushed out until february/march timeframe. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
this is the time and place for public hearing on this matter. Does anyone here wish to address council?
let the record show public hearing has been held with no objections for the record, Council. Councilmember vanorny.
thanks, mayor. Sara, I just want to pass along a compliment to you and your teams. I know that my colleague, councilmember todd, had asked several years ago to bring this Program back because he was familiar with it.
the first origination of it, but this is something that I've just heard repeatedly, and Especially more recently, as a significant opportunity for us to get people into
homes and particularly first time homebuyers. So just really appreciate all the efforts of you and your team to keep this alive.
thank you. Anyone else?
I have a question, sara, and it's okay if you don't have the answer to this, but I'm Wondering, what do you know what these homes will be listed for?
so the total investment in is the budget amount.
so 294, 289 is the total investment amount. The appraisals have been coming back just slightly under that amount.
just because the amount of money going in for those resiliency factors.
so the higher or lower, better insulation.
those types of things aren't something that necessarily show up on an appraisal. So that said the total cost to the actual homeowner will be $140,000 if they receive the Full $35,000 of down payment assistance, but the actual valuation
will be close to that 294, 289. Square footage, do you have that?
I do not have that. I believe they're right around 1000ft², maybe a little bit more, I just but they do have A basement that has window wells, and so yeah, prices
are coming in close to that and other areas of the and brand new construction, of course.
really. Yeah. Okay. Costs continue to increase.
so that's why we had to add so much additional subsidy into these units to make them Affordable, because we could not get the developers to even be able to construct the homes
for that dollar amount. So we had to add those additional layers of subsidy.
to make them affordable. Okay. Yeah. Councilmember poe.
thank you, mayor. Sara, how many bedrooms are in that? In these particular units, they are I believe they are two bedroom, one bath is what I Recollect, but there are other floor plans throughout the other roots homes
that have some additional, you know, two bedroom, two bath or a three bedroom, one bath. So there are different options out there for homeowners.
you know, and I'm thinking back to the roots homes that we had done in 2000 whatever, ten Or whatever it was after the flood, and they seem to be a lot bigger and a lot
more spacious, and of course, inflation has a lot to do with that, but these, to the Mayor's point, these seem awfully small.
they are smaller, but these are also on infill lots and they're not on a new subdivision. So that is the difference here as well.
so the lots of these are on were actually homes that were destroyed by the derecho in 2020 that were completely removed, and then so it's great to be able to fill those lots
as well. Well, that's a really important point. Thank you. So that's included in this.
that's okay. So these two homes were infill lots. Got it. Okay.
all right. Thank you sarah. You're welcome. Any other questions from council?
all right then. If there are no more we're going to go on to there's no resolution for this item, so We'll just move on.
sarah, thank you for that. Item number five is a public hearing to consider a vacation of a 0.09 acre access Easement adjacent to the easterly corner of the intersection of fifth street and sixth
avenue southeast, as requested by abbe center for community mental health.
rob davis is here. Rob, I'll recognize you. Good afternoon. Mayor, city council, rob davis with the public works department.
this project, I'll point out a few landmarks. On the west side of fifth street is the abbe center on the east side of fifth street, and Just near sixth street is the
brickstone development near the location of the easement.
vacation is near sixth avenue, running towards the alley between fifth street and sixth Street as shown here cross-hatched.
this is the request that's crosshatch as request to be vacated. As the mayor noted, there are two driveway locations that lead to the alley, so only one Of those would be closed off from the parking lot.
I've got another drawing to show how that will be differentiated with the new curb and Gutter.
the remainder of the access again will still provide access to the brickstone apartments From from the parking area on the other side of the alley, and this is all in
accordance with the memorandum of parking lease with brickstone, and soe investments back From april.
so this is in accordance with that. So it really shouldn't be any objections or concerns, just giving you a little better Flavor of what's going on.
the area that's in yellow is what would be vacated.
so the only way to get from six down to the alley would be use the other aisle of the Parking lot.
that would be in green. That's because the abbe center wants to have dedicated parking just for their center on That eastern half of the parking lot.
so they don't want as many through traffic going through, and then the parking lot again, This is in accordance with the agreement, and there is an alternative path which would be
the green one, and with that, we would recommend approval of the vacation as requested.
thank you. Rob, this is a time and a place for public hearing on this matter. Does anyone here wish to address council?
let the record show a public hearing has been held with no objections for the record. That brings us to council.
councilmember todd? Mayor, I just plan to abstain from this. Councilmember todd abstaining.
councilmember vanorny? Yeah, I just want to say that this is another good opportunity, Just like the higley mansion revision, to increase the mental health opportunities in our
community and just really appreciate that we're going to have that access, but also have Those improvements to this area.
I mean, it's an aged building, but I like that it's really appreciate that it's going to Have some new life breathed into it.
so thank you. If there are no further questions, the adoption of the resolution has been Moved by poe, seconded by overland.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you. At number six is a public hearing to consider a change of zone for property At 6200 26th street, southwest from agriculture district to general industrial
district, as requested by corridor developers. Seth gunnerson is here, seth.
I'll recognize you. Thank you. Mayor seth gunnerson, zoning administrator and development services.
as mentioned, this particular item is a request for a zone change from a-ag, which is Agriculture zone district to I-gi, which is general
industrial. This is a just over three acre parcel.
the proposed use for the property now is a truck staging area for the adjacent diamond v Mills property.
the developers talked about future construction of a contractor shop or similar Development on the parcel.
here's an aerial showing the property with the city's future land use map.
the grayish color this is in is er or employment reserve.
this is in southwest cedar rapids. Edgewood is over here 60th avenue diamond view mills site here.
the zoning map shows the surrounding area is generally I-gi or general industrial, so the Requested zone fits in the context of the surrounding neighborhood.
the properties, which are zoned ag surrounding it, are essentially undeveloped properties That just have not been rezoned since coming into the city.
here's another aerial view showing the property near the corner of 60th and 26th.
here's the site plan that they provided, essentially paving the property for truck Storage, and then a proposed cold storage building, which could be used for contractor
condos at some point in the future. In terms of rezoning criteria, the request is consistent with the comprehensive plan.
the zoning districts, consistent with what the future land use map says, is a permitted Zone at this location.
there are city services available and the rezoning is within character of the surrounding Area.
for that matter, or for those reasons, staff recommends approval of the request.
this went to the city planning commission on december 5th, and was unanimously Recommended to council for approval pending today's public hearing will do a second and
third reading in january. With that, I'll turn it back to the mayor. Thank you, seth.
this is a time and a place for public hearing on this matter. Does anyone here wish to address council?
let the record show public hearing has been held with no objections for the record. That brings us to council consideration.
all right. Seeing no further questions, the approval of this ordinance on its first Reading has been moved by councilmember overland, seconded by councilmember tyler olson.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
item number seven is a public hearing to consider a change of zone for property at 1201 Summit avenue, southwest from suburban residential low single unit district to suburban
residential low flex district with a planned unit development overlay. This is requested by ginkgo ridge llc and capital b, llc.
seth, I'll recognize you again. Thank you. Mayor. As noted, this is a request to change the zone from a single unit residential district to A residential flex district to allow
for development of row homes and detached single unit homes.
as noted, this comes with a pud overlay or a planned unit development overlay.
the site is a little around three acres in size. The developer is proposing creating 29 lots for a mix of single unit detached homes and Townhomes.
planned unit development allows you to customize the zoning requirements within a Specific area.
in this case the developer's requesting reductions in setbacks minimum lot sizes.
this would allow for them to cluster development on the site and preserve more of the Original site, such as reducing the amount of trees that need to be cleared for the site.
they held a neighborhood meeting on november 13th, which was attended by several adjacent Neighbors.
the exceptions requested by developer include a reduction in minimum lot size, so Allowing lots to get down to 1600 square feet instead of 1800
square foot required a reduction or an increase in the maximum lot coverage, allowing Buildings to cover up to 80% of some lots and a reduction in front,
side, and rear yard setbacks. Here is an aerial showing the future land use map.
this is an urban low intensity area. The district they're going for is a multifamily district that permits multifamily Development, but it's compatible with the low intensity land use typology area.
here's the zoning map showing the s-rl1 district and the surrounding neighborhood.
there's multifamily to the north as part of the tanager campus and apartments.
as you can see, this is located along the cedar river just south of the mount trashmore Area and north of jones park and adjacent to the
cedar valley nature trail. Here's another aerial showing the site with summit and quarry avenues coming into the Western side of the property.
the proposed site plan and plat will carry summit avenue down to a cul de sac.
there would be private, or there would be stormwater detention on the south end of the Site.
you can notice that there's a decent amount of trees and stuff which would be preserved On the south end of the site.
the proposal as it stands now, would using cdbg-dr funds that the applicant is seeking Would have three and four
plex attached homes and one detached home constructed with several lots developed for Future expansion as well.
the site plan does include a connection to the cedar valley nature trail, which would Benefit this site and provide another point of access to the trail for the neighborhood in
general. Here are a couple of renderings provided by the developer showing the proposed Homes in terms of rezoning criteria.
the proposed zoning district is compatible with the comprehensive plan.
the residential density is 9.7 units per acre, which is within the range allowed within The land use typology area.
in terms of public facilities, services and suitability. Water and sewer is available on site.
sewer service will be accomplished through a private lift station. This will complete connections to summit and quarry avenues, which currently don't have a Fire turnaround on them, so it will help the overall area of development gain
fire code compliance and will provide a connection to cedar valley nature trail, and in Terms of overall character, the zone districts permitted by the future land use map and
the requested modifications to the zone district are necessary, and help allow the Development to minimize the amount of site clearance that needs to be done.
this was also reviewed by the city planning commission on december 5th and recommended For approval.
staff recommends approval of the request pending today's public hearing. This will return for second and possible third readings in january.
thank you, seth. This is a time and a place for public hearing on this matter. Does anyone here wish to address council?
let the record show. A public hearing has been held with no objections for the record, Council.
councilmember poe? Seth, can you please go back to the site map?
thank you. How so?
there was another another one. Go back to the one there.
that's the one I wanted to see. So it's close proximity to the river.
did this area flood in 2008 and 2016? No. This is well above the 100-year floodplain.
the trail is up on the a little bit of a ledge here. Bluff, and then this property is a few feet above that.
so it did not flood. Okay. Good. Thank you. Councilmember maier.
thank you mayor. Thank you, mayor. Seth, you had commented that there was a meeting with the neighbors back in november.
do you have a summary of the takeaways or the feedback from those residents?
were they satisfied unsatisfied. Any insight you have would be appreciated. Thanks. Yeah, I think my understanding is the developer answered the questions that Neighbors had.
there were questions raised about, you know, traffic, construction and stuff like that.
I think one of the what I heard, one of the big questions was would be, would this cause You know, any upgrades to summit or quarry that would be
assessed for, and basically the response was that if there was damage caused by Development to the road, that the city would work with the developer to have that
repaired, and there are no plans at this time to do upgrades of either of those streets Or, and typically the city when assess the residents for any
improvements there. So yeah.
councilmember todd, we did receive some feedback from a neighbor in regards to this Project, I believe is.
are you aware of the one I might be referencing? Yeah, I think there was a letter from a neighbor to the south of the project.
yeah. So here's my point. You mentioned cdbg funds.
so what if they don't get the cdbg funds?
I would either ask the developer or possibly sara buck could answer that.
I'm not aware of what they would do if they weren't to receive the funds.
I believe they've been awarded them. They have been. Okay, good, and then lift station.
you had mentioned that. Yeah the development will have a basically there is a pretty sizable sewer line that runs Along the cedar river and the trail, but due to the
size of that and the drop necessary to get to that lift or to that sewer line it's not Practical to connect.
so the development will have a private lift station which will pump wastewater back up to Be served by gravity from, I believe, summit, and so in
terms of the cul de sac, the city garbage will be able to get in there.
fine. Yeah. Yep. The design of the street and the turnaround should be sufficient for a city like Solid waste and for fire and other vehicles.
yeah. I appreciate it's within the guidelines, right.
the zoning, but I my and I won't vote against it, but if you go to the top view of the Google
shot, I mean, basically you're looking at those are all single family homes and you're Putting a, you know, you're putting a
row home development in a place where historically, you know, it's simply been single Family
and so that's not an you know that's the concern.
doesn't mean I'm going to vote against it, but that's what we're doing in this case, and So okay.
thank you. Seth councilmember vanorny. Thanks, mayor. Good conversation, councilmember todd.
not too far from here, though. We have approved other row homes, and they're currently building kind of a second swatch Of them over by czech village.
so I think while it may not have been like that some time ago, it's starting to take that As we work on this infill.
seth, my question really is just about some of the complete streets.
so right now there's not any sidewalks. The road looks like it's in pretty rough shape.
maybe just patched asphalt. Is the road getting improved? Are there going to be sidewalks there or are they working on also kind of circling back With the existing neighbors to make sure that we're putting in kind of the boulevard tree
plantings for relief. What does that look like? So within this development there will be you can see the streets have sidewalks.
on both sides will be street trees within the parkway, and they're providing the Connection to the nature trail beyond
along summit and quarry, outside of the development. That's not within the scope of this project.
okay, and then I appreciate the fact that it's you know, adjacent to this trail that is Quite, you know, used around as it leads to mount
trashmore. What is the access or buffering going to be like? I just want people to have reasonable expectations then, since this is a pretty traversed Trail.
are they asking for buffers? Are they going to have immediate access?
like their backyards will abut the trail and they could just access it that way.
there will be a single sidewalk connection to the trail from the cul de sac here.
I think there would be. You can see the contour lines. There's a pretty significant grade drop from the backyards of the homes down to the Trail, and it's pretty wooded back there as well.
so the street and the development in a whole will have a single sidewalk connection.
okay. Thank you. Can you just put the picture of them up again.
yeah. This one.
okay. Yeah.
I think it's great. I think it's going to be coveted. I think it's in a great location and I'm happy there's someone who's willing to invest.
anyone else from council. All right. If there's no further questions, the approval of this ordinance on its first Reading has been moved by councilmember tyler olson and seconded by councilmember hoeger.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
item number eight is a public hearing to consider a change of zone for properties south Of mccarran avenue, northeast and east of sunny spring drive, northeast from agriculture
district to suburban residential low flex district, as requested by midwest development Company.
nisha and shanka chetry and nolan and melissa determan. Seth, I'll recognize you again.
all right. Thank you. As mentioned, this is a request to rezone approximately 3.5 acres of land on the north Side of town.
these are couple strips of property that were annexed into the city earlier this year.
land that's annexed into the city comes in as the ag zone district. So the intent here is to match the zoning of the adjacent lots.
the property in question will be combined with adjacent existing lots and will be Developed.
essentially, the backyards of homes will continue to be developed as part of the prairie Landing addition.
the two tracts of land in question are here, kind of at the extension.
this would be mccarran drive. It would be the street within cedar rapids that's being developed, and then here on the Eastern side of the prairie landing property the southern portion
of property includes two properties that you mentioned, which are lettered outlots that Were within linn county that are essentially the backyards of homes that were
built in cedar rapids. That created a situation where there were there are issues with the county with Permitting, for example, building pools, sheds, things like that within a
backyard that's actually in the county and not within the city's jurisdiction.
as a result of that the those two properties and then any property that under state rules Could be annexed into the city were brought into
the city. This shows a little bit better view of those two backyards were annexed into The city to reduce this issue coming up again in the future.
so the request today is essentially to match the adjacent sound district, which is the S-rlf district.
here's another plat showing the two properties that were annexed.
in terms of rezoning criteria, the request is consistent with the future land use map and Is consistent with adjacent zoning.
the land in question will essentially be the backyards of planned homes.
there's an overall preliminary plat for the prairie landing subdivision that this will be Incorporated into, and the zoning district matches the character and basically allows for
the development of the homes that are already planned within the development.
this was recommended by the city planning commission on december 5th and like the others, If approved, would go to second and potential third readings on january 14th, and I'll
return to the mayor. Thank you. This is a time and a place for a public hearing on this matter. Does anyone wish to address council?
let the record show public hearing has been held with no objections for the record Council.
seeing no further questions, the approval of this ordinance on its first reading has been Moved by hoeger, seconded by maier.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. This motion carries.
thank you. Item number nine is a public hearing to consider the proposed plan Specifications, form of contract and estimated cost for the walford road from sixth street
southwest to 1350ft west project estimated cost is $1,590,000.
ken dekeyser is here. Ken, I'll recognize you.
public works. Turn the microphone on. I'm sorry.
thank you. This project will upgrade an existing gravel road to an urbanized concrete Street.
this is in connection with an iowa state grant. It's the rise grant that was given to us in connection with the recently constructed Fedex facility near the corner of sixth street
southwest and walford road, and provides a secondary paved access to that facility.
it bids tomorrow and it will have an april 2025 start date and should be done within the Next year's construction season.
here is. The location is just west of sixth street southwest. We are not getting into the intersection of sixth, namely because of some of the work Going on with the wright brothers boulevard interchange and need to maintain six as
a detour route when needed, and here's just an overview of the construction as well, Showing the paved limits of the project
and the typical section. We're going to be making sure that we have local access provided to the two county Facilities that are just on the north side of walford road shown there
and there's also going to be a marked detour route for any other traffic.
it's a pretty straightforward detour and again with the wright brothers boulevard work Over near sixth street there.
we're not going to be impacting that intersection so much that this won't work.
so with that, public works department recommends approval of the resolution. Thank you. Ken, thank you.
this is a time and a place for public hearing on this matter. Does anyone here wish to address council?
let the record show. A public hearing has been held with no objections for the record Council.
all right. Seeing none. The adoption of this resolution has been moved by maier, seconded by hoeger.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you. Item number ten is a public hearing to consider the proposed plan Specifications, form of contract and estimated cost for the molecular sieve installation
package two project with an estimated cost of $300,000. Brandon jennings is here.
brandon, I'll recognize you. Thank you. Mayor. Good afternoon. Councilmembers, brandon jennings with the utilities department.
the cedar rapids water pollution control facility produces high purity oxygen that is Used in several processes for the treatment of wastewater.
the existing system for oxygen production is complex to operate and requires annual Maintenance to be performed, which is both expensive and time consuming.
this project is to install a new molecular sieve that was purchased under a prior contract To improve system efficiency and reduce system maintenance maintenance
costs. This package, too, will install the concrete foundation and access drive and other Miscellaneous electrical and site improvements to support the
molecular sieve system. The engineer's opinion of construction costs for this project is $300,000.
bids will open on january 8th. Construction will begin in march and be completed by july of 2025.
the utilities department staff recommends approval of the resolution for this project.
with that, I'll turn it back to you, mayor. Thank you, brandon. This is a time and a place for public hearing on this.
does anyone wish to address council? Let the record show. A public hearing has been held with no objections for the record, Council.
all right. Seeing none. The adoption of this resolution has been moved by hoeger, seconded by councilmember tyler Olson.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries. Thank you. We have our first of two public comment periods, and no one is signed up to Speak.
so I will officially close out our public comment period.
city manager pomeranz, do you have any changes to the agenda?
two changes, your honor. The clerk's office is requested to remove item number 23 g from the agenda.
remove 23 g, and second, we do have a small correction, your honor.
item number 28 h should be corrected to, say, 846 ninth avenue southeast instead of Southwest.
that's all, your honor. Thank you. Okay. Does the clerk have those changes recorded?
okay. You do. That brings us for a motion to approve the agenda, as amended.
the approval of the agenda has been moved by overland, seconded by poe.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you, council. That brings us to our consent agenda. The approval of the consent agenda has been moved by poe, seconded by vanorny.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you, council. Moving on now to our regular agenda.
item number 29 is a report on bids for the glass road tank reconditioning project, and Brandon, I'll recognize you once again.
thanks again, mayor, councilmembers. Brandon jennings with utilities.
so just as a reminder of the background of this project, this project will repaint the Wetted interior and exterior of the glass road standpipe, which is located near the
intersection of weneg and glass road. The city's name and logo will be added to this tank.
a submersible mixer will also be installed to improve the quality of the stored water.
the engineer's opinion of probable construction cost was $538,000.
12 bids were received for this project on december 4th. The base bids, including the allowance, ranged from $452,122 to $986,000.
clear creek coatings from new carlisle, ohio, was the apparent low bidder.
the utility staff is still reviewing received bids. A recommendation for council action will be made at a future council meeting.
with that, I'll turn it back to the mayor. All right. Thank you. Council.
any questions? All right, moving on to item number 30. Report on bids for the replace ribbon board at vets stadium project.
this has an estimated cost of $600,000. Doug nelson is here.
doug, I'll recognize you. Sorry about my comments about the ballpark. I just wish it was downtown.
it's a wonderful ballpark. Yes. Oh, well, again, I'm doug nelson with the cedar rapids kernels, and here to report On the bids on the
replacing our left field tri-visions with a ribbon board. Again, the construction would happen in fall of 2025 and would be in the area shown on The on the image here on the screen.
the originally we had budgeted this project to be at 600,000.
as we got further into it we're estimating or projecting cost to be 500,000.
we did receive two bids. One was from blackhawk construction llc for 388,683.
the other was from daktronics for hundred and $50.
asking for no action be taken this evening as I have several meetings scheduled with Blackhawk construction, just to make sure that their
bid meets our scope of work specifications. Given their price, I certainly hope it does, but just want to be on the careful side.
just want to have those meetings first. With that, thank you very much for your continued support.
thank you. Doug council, any questions. All right. Moving on to item number 31.
this is a report on bids for the river wall repair and balustrade replacement and city Hall storm sewer project.
this has an estimated cost of $1,020,000. Rob davis is here. Rob I'll recognize you.
good afternoon. Mayor, city council, rob davis, public works department. On november 19th, I actually presented the bid results.
the low bid was more than $800,000 above the engineer's opinion of probable cost, and Whereas this is an important project time
wise, to get done in advance of the army corps coming with flood control system, staff Thinks there is enough time and it would be
appropriate to reject these bids and make some changes to the plans so that we can get Closer to the engineer's cost opinion.
these were just too high and there isn't enough time. So that is our recommendation to reject the bids, and we'll be back with revised Documents at a future council meeting to go back out for bid.
appreciate that rob. Thank you council. Any questions on that. All right. Appreciate that.
if there are no further questions the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Vanorny, seconded by todd.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
item number 32 is a report on bids for the alliant energy light line bridge project.
this has an estimated cost of $11,300,000.
brenna fall is here with that. Brenna, I'll recognize you. Thank you. Mayor. Good evening.
council. Brenna fall, public works department. This is quite the project.
big public private partnership with the connectcr group. A lot of private fundraising done, and I am here to report the bids, but before that, We'll just remind you what the project is intended to look like.
again, this is considered the alliant energy light line.
you can see the line part of the light line.
it will be fantastic. There's another day view of the tower and some of the images of the ornamental railing And benches on the bridge.
so we did receive four bids on december 12th, ranging from $14,929,902.80, all the way to $22,913,942.45.
so the lowest bid did come in above our estimate.
we have been working with finance to identify additional funding to cover the project, so We have been able to do that by allocating tifs to
the project and then just reallocating within some projects.
we did do that in order to not impact the scope or schedule of any other projects that Have been programed.
so I do want to recommend approval of the resolution to award the contract.
general constructors is a reputable contractor who has worked with the city of cedar Rapids on flood control projects, and we're confident in their bid.
we do believe because of the range of the bids, if we were to rebid the project, we would Probably not receive any more favorable bid than what
general constructors has put forth. So with that, if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.
brenna, thank you. Council. Councilmember maier.
thanks, brenna. Thanks, mayor. Do you happen to know with this $15 million price, the percentage breakout between public Financing and private financing that will go for
the light line? It's roughly half. Half, great, thank you. Yep. Yikes.
I appreciate the dilemma, and I appreciate the work to find, you know, and I'm just, you Know.
councilmember todd, I'm going to look to you as an expert with connectcr. What are your just hear your thoughts on that.
first off, I appreciate the work that the staff had done, and I mean, we've always known That it would be more than what
we probably had anticipate simply because of the variables.
do you want to go back to that initial picture? The that one more you see a bunch of metal.
it's metal, and when we asked the cost, you know, specifically you've got the cost of the Not necessarily just the tower.
we'd always plan for the tower, but the railings.
there's a significant amount of metal involved in the railings. The other part to keep in mind is what what the contractor will have to do in terms of Creating a dam across the entire river.
you have to create a dam for the construction to go down. You have to get down to the bedrock and then you have to remove the dam
and those are costs that we didn't necessarily figure into it, and so I would echo what Brenna's said in terms of if we did rebid it, it's only going to
get higher, and based on the initial inflation that we anticipated, keep in mind when we Start it, I mean, this is like six years ago and
so we feel good with it. The appreciate the leadership on the city manager and the finance team to help make this This happen, and at the same
time, without the 10 million bucks from the connectcr folks, it would be a different Story.
so thank you for your presentation.
councilmember hoeger. I guess I would just like to echo what councilmember todd said and some of the comments That I've received is, well, if it comes in that much higher, then why don't we redesign
it and do less of a bridge? And I guess my sentiment is you go there.
that's an easy statement to make, but then we're two years in design, and in two years, We're probably looking at a $15 million bridge.
that's not as nice as this one, and this is really going to be a really nice feature for Cedar rapids for the skyline looking
at mount trashmore even though I hate that name, but I feel I struggle with it sometimes Too.
you know, I mean, we look at two bedroom homes that cost $300,000 today. So to delay this project is going to mean that we're either not going to have it or we're Going to get less for the same amount of money.
so I would agree and move forward. Thank you. Councilmember poe.
yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor. I what this bridge means to economic development, what it means to tourism, for Our community,
what it means to growth in the southern part of our city.
in terms of czech village and new bohemia. This is. This is to me, this is a worthy investment because of all of those factors that, You know, economic
development and people coming and using this and staying over at the new hotel down on 12th and second street.
people will come, they will use this, and it will be a wonderful, wonderful destination For people to come and enjoy what cedar
rapids has to offer and certainly will help the businesses in that thriving district of Czech village and new bohemia.
so for me, I agree with you, brenna, 100% that, you know, I don't think we're going to Gain anything, and to marty's point, you know, we could be right back where we are and not
have it be as nice. So I'm thrilled with with this project and have been from the inception.
so I think it's well worth it and I will fully support it.
thank you, mayor. Councilmember vanorny. Yeah. Thanks, mayor. You know, I think these conversations are accurately reflecting the fact That when you have really specialized work, it's hard to bid.
exactly. You know what what it's going to cost, and there are a lot of fluctuations, you Know, we're hearing conversations about, you know, where the economy is
going and tariffs that are going to potentially impact different things too, but, you Know, in this project, we were just showing some homes that are going to connect roughly
to this space, and so when we think about this from a much more holistic perspective of Everything that's happening here, it helps to complete that story.
I think the story we haven't yet told well enough yet is this big aerial view of of Everything that's happening, you know, between these two parts, but
it is a big part of that. That is an essential part and helps to connect that connectivity between, you know, newbo And czech village that, you know, we've been investing a lot in.
so it has my support. We end up making this up all the time with different projects.
you know, $100,000 there, you know, 500,000 here. I know it's there big numbers, but when you come to these huge commercial projects, this Is kind of where it ebbs and flows a little bit.
so I'm comfortable with this project given the uniqueness of it.
thank you. Good conversation, and councilmember hoeger had asked to leave for another a Commitment.
so just to be clear, he didn't get up because of your remarks. No, but brenna, thank you for that, and thanks to again the team for all of the thought That went into that and to finding a way to.
yes. So if there are no further questions, the adoption of this resolution has been moved By councilmember todd, seconded by councilmember scott olson.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you. Item number three is a report on bids for the fy 25 sanitary sewer point Repairs project, with an estimated cost of $220,000.
ben worrell is here. Ben. I'll recognize you.
thank you, mayor. Ben worrell, public works department.
this project fixes sanitary sewer issues that are typically found during our routine Inspections.
this package includes the replacement of 186 linear feet of sanitary sewer, as well as The replacement of three manholes.
we're also correcting protruding taps as an example of one in the photo the right there.
it's where private lateral is sticking out into the city main, which prevents our ability To line the main.
we're fixing 15 of those and we're replacing pavement as needed for that work.
engineer's opinion of probable cost was 220,000.
here's a map showing the locations around the city.
this project bid on december 4th. We received five bids ranging from $204,953.68 to
$274,530. Low bidder was bg brecke.
public works department recommends approval of resolution. Thank you. Thank you.
council questions. All right. Seeing nothing further, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Councilmember scott olson and seconded by councilmember todd.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
item number 34 is a report on bids for the stickle drive northeast at fourth street east Central quiet zone improvements project.
with an estimated cost of $680,000. Ken dekeyser is here.
ken, I'll recognize you. Thank you. This project completes our grade crossing, paving approach work and storm Sewer over at the stickle drive.
grade crossing is in connection with the downtown phase eight quiet zone. So when this work is done and when the canadian national signal is installed, that should Complete the construction improvements to get the quiet zone
established. It bid on december 4th with the $680,000 cost.
opinion, and the late start is next june. This is the location shown.
stickle drive intersecting with c avenue and fourth street northeast near cedar lake, and Seven bids were received.
starting with the low bid of $549,921.20, up to the high of
$727,559.20. So the low bid was under the cost opinion, and with that, we recommend Approving the
resolution to award this contract. Thank you. Thank you ken. Council. Any questions?
all right. Seeing nothing, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by councilmem Ber todd, seconded by councilmember vanorny.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
item number 35 is a presentation and resolution authorizing city financial incentives Under the green building economic development program for the redevelopment of property at
1/51 avenue northeast, as proposed by 1/51, llc.
scott mather is here. Scott, I'll recognize you. Thank you. Mayor.
we received a request from 1/51 llc for city financial incentives for the redevelopment Of the former wells fargo building at 1/51 street northeast.
project qualifies under the city's green building economic development program.
the building has been completely vacant since march of 24 and mostly vacant for several Years.
this will serve as headquarters for tiffany earl williams real estate group.
this is an $11 million capital investment, including the renovation of the existing 42,000 square foot commercial building, also adding an active rooftop patio.
this building will become leed certified, will create 15 jobs while maintaining 12.
construction would commence here in february of 25 and complete by january of 26.
the city would reimburse the increased taxes generated by the project to cover the Increased cost to achieve leed certification, up to a ten year, 100% rebate
based on the investment and estimated post-development value. The project is expected to generate roughly $900,000 in incremental costs, which would be Eligible for reimbursement to cover the incremental lead costs.
a couple of street photos of the existing building and its existing condition, and then a Few renderings of
what the building will look like when it's complete.
so today we're here to consider the resolution of support. If approved, I would return in january to amend the urban renewal area and development Agreement.
with that, I'll turn it back to you, mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Council. Any questions?
councilmember vanorny, can we go back to that? The sidewalk view?
yep. That's great. Yeah. You know, this is a very recognizable piece of property in cedar rapids, but this is Exactly the kind of projects that get me excited because it's repurposing something
that wasn't being fully utilized and is adding, you know, street value.
so, so that it's, you know, visibly pleasing, but also just adds that utility.
we talk, you know, ad nauseam about having this, this three 60 design, but this is what I'm talking about is it does take some love.
it does take some investment, but you're taking an existing building and refurbishing it And bringing it up to the highest standards, and then also giving back to the downtown in
a way that, you know, brings people into it and helps to activate it. So I really appreciate this project.
I appreciate what tiffany earl, she's a big player in cedar rapids in terms of real Estate.
so just appreciate her efforts to refurbish this building.
councilmember overland. Yeah, I mean, it's this building has been underused, has not changed any either inside or Out for a long
time, and it's good to see it reinvigorated making some investment, significant Investment, probably even get some of the dents
out of it too, for that matter on the first floor, but it's a very highly visible location, and I'm very pleased that the Real estate
group is taking this on to breathe new life into it. So thank you.
mayor. Yes, councilmember todd. Beautiful design. It's my old breton bank building.
here's my one concern is that now there will be two tiffany's downtown.
it's a lot. It is a lot. Thank you for acknowledging that. Yeah. No, I know I appreciate that, and I just want to say, too, we've we've given credit To tiffany earl williams and her team.
they do a lot of work in this community and region and frankly, across the country to Make communities and individuals successful.
so I feel grateful that they have chosen this project, and it is absolutely has her first Class hallmark all over it, and
so just really pleased to have them as neighbors, and we'll try to keep it down while the Tiffany's, and if there are no
other thoughts or questions from council, we'll go ahead and move this by councilmember Poe, seconded by councilmember overland.
all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no, and this motion carries.
thank you, and that closes out our formal business today, and brings us to our final Public input period.
this is a chance for cedar rapids residents, property owners and business owners to Address the city council on any subject pertaining to council business.
as with the earlier public comment period at this time, we are here to listen, so I'll Remind everybody to remain at the lectern.
comments are limited to five minutes and there should be no abusive, loud, threatening or Personal comments.
if you've signed up to speak, please approach the microphone when I call your name, and Again when the light turns yellow, you have one minute and when it's red, we'll invite you
to take your seat, and our first person to speak is kevin wymore, who's here to speak on Prospect meadow subsidies.
mr. Wymore. Thank you very much.
I have hopefully some brief comments on the coverage regarding the financing and
the subsidies it's been in the gazette.
two major articles on august and september, and now after doing a bit
of digging as a private citizen, I now have an idea of the debt for the prospect meadows Situation,
and it it appears to be substantial.
according to the definitive irs form 990 the outstanding debt is $5.3
million, and I do have the copy of the form 990 that I received from prospect meadows.
what's a bit troubling to me is that the gazette reporting and all.
all told the gazette has done pretty good coverage on this.
was that the debt amount has been unknown, but there it is in the public document.
so I would just like to ask you to be a bit more careful and
scrutinizing of, you know, nonprofit organizations who may be asking
for public funding. Another very troubling thing about this form 990, which was from you know, 20, 23, it was They continued to lose
money in the amount of about $500,000, and so all I'm saying is, I don't believe Taxpayers should be the first
line of relief for an enterprise of this type, and I like
baseball. In fact, I was a member of the city champion back in the 60s.
maybe eastside dairy queen team and the, you know, perquisites after the games free ice Cream were
were really pretty good. So I guess that's all I have, but you know, I've talked to supervisor supervisor ben Rogers,
and he's, you know, cognizant of the negotiations back and forth, and I just, I just want A
bit of scrutiny of the form 990 and some understanding of of, you
know, the taxpayers should not be the first line of funding, and hopefully from some of The heavy
hitters that may or may not be out there. You know, those folks should pay down the debt.
thank you very much, and that's my last baseball metaphor. Thank you very much.
doug brain is next to speak on item number six.
doug? Gone. Okay. He is gone.
well, that will then officially close out our second public input period.
city manager pomeranz, do you have any communications today? No communications, your honor.
thank you. All right. Just a point of personal privilege as we round out our final council Meeting of 2024.
just major, thank you to all the people in this room specifically pointing out our city Team, our directors who make the work that we do every day
possible. So grateful for all that you do for us, our police chief, fire chief, and the Amazing teams that you support for keeping us safe, and
we're really grateful for all that you do every day, very much quietly so we appreciate You and councilmember city manager pomeranz.
our city attorney, vanessa, and our clerk, alissa. Thank you, and then finally to council, what a privilege it is to work alongside all of You learning every day and appreciate appreciate our conversations, and,
and then to you out there in the gallery as well as, oh, we've already closed out public Comment period.
I'm sorry. I can catch you afterwards. Is that all right? I just wanted to say thanks to everybody for.
thank you. Got it. Okay. Thank you. Got it. Thank you.
glad you're better. Yes. Appreciate you being here. Thank you, and then just to the people out here.
thank you. This is why we do it here, and certainly those of you watching online, we're Grateful to serve you, and let's keep the conversation going.
best wishes for a beautiful and safe holiday season. We'll see you here in 2025, and this meeting is adjourned.