Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers September 16, 2019 The Committee of the Whole met in the Council Chambers at 5:55 p.m. on September 16, 2019, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Jim Brown, Tom Blanford, Frank Darrah, Susan deBuhr, Rob Green, Mark Miller, and David Wieland. Daryl Kruse was absent. Staff members attended from all City Departments. Bettina Fabos and Isaac Campbell both from University of Northern Iowa (UNI) also attended, as well as members of the community. Mayor Brown called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the agenda, Wheatpasting Murals in Cedar Falls by Fortepan Iowa. Bettina Fabos, UNI Professor of Visual Communication and Interactive Digital Studies, explained they have been working with Fortepan Iowa to create digital archives of photos taken by amateurs. She stated this will be an online story telling feature of the history of Iowa. She explained they are in partnership with five public libraries including the Cedar Falls Public Library. Ms. Fabos stated they are working on grant funding to create a scanning hub at the Cedar Falls Public Library. She introduced Isaac Campbell, UNI graduate student. Mr. Campbell continued the presentation and explained what wheatpasting is. He said these murals have been put up around the world with flour and water. He reviewed various murals. He stated they can last up to 10 years and they are nondestructive, biodegradable, and images are scalable and can be put up at a low cost. Mr. Campbell said he helped with a project in Budapest, Hungary and in Ottumwa, Iowa. He explained how a project is done. He reviewed the five temporary wheatpaste murals which will be put up in the College Hill area. He stated the funding has been provided by the College Hill Partnership, UNI Alumni Association, and the Iowa Arts Council. Mr. Campbell explained they will put these up before UNI Homecoming, October 5, and they will remain up for 1-year. Mayor Brown opened it for discussion. Mr. Campbell stated repairs can be made to the murals, but the wheatpasting is durable. Mayor Brown introduced the final item on the agenda, bills and payroll. Rob Green moved to approve the bills and two payrolls as presented, Mark Miller seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. There being no further discussion, Mayor Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m. Minutes by Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer