Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers February 5, 2018 The Committee of the Whole met in the Council Chambers at 5:00 p.m. on February 5, 2018, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Jim Brown, Tom Blanford, Frank Darrah, Susan deBuhr, Rob Green, Daryl Kruse, Mark Miller, and David Wieland. Staff members attended from all City Departments. Pat Kinney with the Waterloo Courier and other members of the community attended. Mayor Brown called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the agenda, Vine Street Parking Restriction. David Sturch, Planner III, reviewed the request for parking restriction on Vine Street. He explained that this street is a narrower street, only 16-18 feet wide and the cul-de-sac is also smaller; 55 feet side (standard dimension for cul-de-sac is 80 feet). He said currently parking is allowed on both sides of the street and in the cul-de-sac. He stated staff received a petition signed by four of the six residents along Vine Street. The petition requested no parking in the cul-de-sac area. Mr. Sturch stated staff sent a notice to all of the property owners about the meeting. He stated staff reviewed the petition with other City departments and noted there are benefits to restricting the parking due to the narrow roadway. Mr. Sturch stated staff recommends a parking restriction for no parking in the Vine Street cul-de-sac and on the east side of Vine Street, north of Cedar Street. Mayor Brown opened it up for discussion. Rod Vander Werf, 1003 Cedar Street, commented that parking has not been an issue and people only park on one side of the street. Brad Heath, 2206 Vine Street, stated the parking issue has just come up since he moved in and it wasn’t a problem before. Mike Johnson 2214 Vine Street, stated there have been issues with the parking because; it may block access to fire hydrants and mail boxes, Federal Express has trouble making deliveries and cars are parked longer than 48 hours. Mark Miller motioned to restrict parking in the cul-de-sac on Vine Street, seconded by Frank Darrah. Mr. Sturch stated that at a later time if warranted this could be brought back to review if no parking signs should be on the east side of Vine Street. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Brown introduced the second item on the agenda FY2019 Budget Presentation. Jennifer Rodenbeck, Director of Finance and Business Operations, reviewed a PowerPoint presentation. She reviewed the budget process and the property valuations. She stated assessed valuations increased 4.3%. She stated the assessed valuations are now over $3 billion. Ms. Rodenbeck reviewed the backfill money received from the State with regards to the commercial rollback; stating in FY19 back fill is not guaranteed. She stated for the FY19 budget staff is proposing the property tax rate increase from $11.13 to $11.22. She said residential properties will see a 1.53% decrease, commercial/industrial properties will see a .81% increase and multi- residential properties will see a 3.77% decrease. Ms. Rodenbeck stated that all Capital Improvement Projects for FY2019 are in the budget. She also reviewed other items, such as, TIF, FY19 benefits rates, additional staffing needs and outside agency funding. Ms. Rodenbeck answered questions from Council. Ms. Rodenbeck explained the Public Hearing will be held on February 19th and we must certify the budget to Black Hawk County by March 15th. Mayor Brown moved on to the third item on the agenda, Public Safety Services Update. Jeff Olson, Director of Public Safety Services/Police Chief, reviewed a PowerPoint presentation, stating crime has increased 11.9% in 2017, but continues to be down for the past 5 years. He reviewed the statistics and compared them to the FBI national crime stats. Crime reports to council includes all crime. The FBI crime stats reports only certain crime so the comparisons are different. He stated they continue to work with Waterloo to take appropriate action to react and prevent crime. Mayor Brown opened it up for questions from the Council. Chief Olson answered questions, stating the body cameras have been very beneficial in writing the case report and in court. He said University of Northern Iowa reports their own crime statistics. Chief Olson then played a video of the trip Public Safety personnel and other staff took to Kalamozoo, MI to see their Public Safety department. He stated they started a Public Safety department in 1985 and all employees are cross training Public Safety Officers (PSO). He said we are using their organization as a learning tool to what works best and Cedar Falls can progress towards this model. Chief Olson stated they may add a medical response truck to the fleet, this addition will cut down on wear and tear on the large fire trucks being deployed for medical only calls. He said they will also look into PSO’s carrying the SCBA gear along with their other gear in the squad cars. Mr. Olson reviewed a listing of other Public Safety Departments across the USA, listing cities from 200,000 to 1,000 in population. Chief Olson answered questions regarding the training budget and having specialized PSO’s. Mayor Brown introduced the final item on the agenda bills and payroll. David Wieland moved to approve the bills as presented and Tom Blanford seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. There being no further discussion Mayor Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m. Minutes by Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer