Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers January 3, 2022 The Committee of the Whole met at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. on January 3, 2022, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Robert Green and Councilmembers Sudan deBuhr, Kelly Dunn, Dustin Ganfield, Simon Harding, Daryl Kruse, Gil Schultz and Dave Sires. Planning & Zoning Commission members, staff members from all City Departments, and members of the community attended in person and teleconferenced in. Mayor Green called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the agenda, Capital Improvements Program (CIP) – Joint Meeting with Planning & Zoning Commission and introduced Jennifer Rodenbeck, Finance & Business Operations Director. Ms. Rodenbeck stated the CIP is a planning document and does not authorize or fund projects. Funding of projects will be coordinated with the annual budget process. There are a total of 202 projects for a total of $357,804,490 on the CIP. City Council goals are incorporated into the CIP, which includes infrastructure (streets, sewer, stormwater), projects to be funded by emergency reserve, private donation goal, funding requests from gaming, Capital Projects funded by user fees, base general obligation (GO) funding on replacement debt and protect 25- 30% of debt capacity. Ms. Rodenbeck gave an overview of featured projects that included: technology upgrades - financial system and web and mobile app redesign; quality of life projects - Cedar River Recreational Improvements-Phase 1 and new high school pool; Street projects - 21 projects on the CIP that use road use tax or local option sales tax, Main Street reconstruction, and West 27th Street; Storm Water Project - 11 projects, a proposed rate increase will be coming to Council, Olive Street Box Culvert, Slope repair at Greenwood Cemetery, Slope repair at West Ridgeway Drive; Sewer Projects - 20 projects, will have a 5 year rate increase of 7% each year and Nutrient Reduction Improvements (Bond funding: 107.8 million & ARPA funding: 4.6 million). Ms. Rodenbeck gave a summary of GO debt that we are selling; as of 2022 we have approximately $3.8 million, $3.9 million for 2024 and $3.6 million for 2026. Ms. Rodenbeck explained the effect of the GO debt on the CIP is very low use of debt limit and 2.33% increase in taxes over the 5 year period (1/2 percent each year). Ms. Rodenbeck stated the formal public hearing and consideration by Council will be January 18th. Mayor Green opened it for council discussion. Councilmembers expressed concern with removing the funding for College Hill zoning, while other Councilmembers were in support of removing the funding for College Hill zoning in FY23. Councilmember Harding motioned to include funding for item #54 (Comprehensive Plan & Zoning Code Updates) for FY23 for $150,000 and Councilmember Dunn seconded. Mayor called for a vote on the motion. Aye: Dunn, Harding and Schultz. Nay: Sires, Ganfield, Kruse and deBuhr. Motion failed. Councilmember deBuhr asked if #56 (Housing Needs Assessment) and item #61 (Sample Plans for Residential Building Types) should be paid by the developer, instead of the City. Ms. Rodenbeck explained that item #56 is driven from the Racial Equity Task Force recommendations. Stephanie Houk Sheetz, Director of Community Development explained that item #61 was established to help development move forward and have established building plans that are approved by architects that include images, current codes, and setbacks for the Downtown Character District Zoning code. Councilmember Kruse discussed different options with staff on more cost effective ways to provide housing plans. Councilmembers discussed the pros and cons to these housing plans. Councilmember Kruse motioned to delay item #61 (Sample Plans for Residential Building Types) until FY24 for $40,000 and Councilmember deBuhr seconded. Mr. Bob Manning, 2908 W 3rd Street, stated these plans encourage developers and help narrow down size and options of houses. Planning & Zoning Commissioner Mr. Leeper stated this is less about the stamped set of drawings but more about a catalog of possible ideas. Mayor called for a vote on the motion. Aye: Sires, Ganfield, Harding, Kruse, deBuhr and Schultz. Nay: Dunn. Motion passed. Councilmember deBuhr asked if the developer’s share is listed as the private funding of $40,000 on the line item (Item #124-Streets: Various Intersection Improvements); Ms. Rodenbeck stated yes. Councilmember Kruse has concerns about item #36 (Parking Lot: Downtown Parking Ramp Study) and item #35 (Parking Lot: Downtown Lot Improvements) since a parking study was recently completed. Ms. Rodenbeck stated at this time staff is trying to determine next steps in the parking process; whether that’s forming a committee, discussion of creating a fee structure. It was determined to leave a placeholder for possible studies related to a ramp, but not necessarily a parking study. Ms. Rodenbeck stated a study or contract would come before Council for approval. Mayor Green moved to the second item on the agenda, Pavement & Alley Management Programs. David Wicke, City Engineer gave an overview of the pavement management program. Mr. Wicke gave an overview of streets that will be reconstructed which included: W. 18th Street, Madison St., E. Ridgeway Dr., Woodland Dr.; and street restoration will include: Linden Ave., Laurel Circle, Lone Tree Rd., Grand Blvd., Greenhill Rd., and Nordic Dr. Mr. Wicke explained the North Cedar Heights Area is a 5 year plan and it will begin in 2022 and end in 2026. Mr. Wicke stated the bicycle network has recommended adding sharrows for both directions of traffic for W. 18th Street. Mr. Wicke introduced Mr. Claypool, City of Cedar Falls Civil Engineer II. Mr. Claypool gave an overview of 2023-2026 reconstruction and restoration street projects. Mr. Claypool stated Cedar Falls has a total of 166 alleys; in 2021 the goal is 2-3 permeable alleys yearly and 1-2 commercial/priority alleys yearly. Mr. Claypool stated if alleys are located in the watershed areas (Jennings & College Square - 13 alleys within these areas) that funding allocations are available through Iowa DNR & IDALS grants. In 2023 five alleys are slated to be replaced by either concrete or permeable; Mr. Claypool gave an overview for alleys slated to be replaced from 2024-2026. Mr. Wicke recommended a motion to approve 2023 pavement and alley management plans to have staff proceed with final design. Mayor opened it for Council discussion. Councilmember Kruse asked about the North Cedar drainage issue; Director Schrage stated that North Cedar is included in the 2026 CIP. Councilmember Schultz asked about the overlay from Ford to Hiawatha and how it’s determined to overlay instead of reconstruction; Mr. Wicke stated the general criteria is age of pavement, has there been a previous overlay and rate of deterioration. Councilmember Schultz asked if utilities would be replaced; Mr. Wicke stated only if it’s required. Councilmember Sires asked about cost of alleys; Mr. Claypool estimated the cost would be approximately $310,000 for 2023 and the target rate is $300,000 per year and this completes two concrete and three permeable alleys. Councilmember deBuhr motioned to approve the 2023 pavement and alley management plans. Councilmember Kruse seconded. Motion passed. There being no further discussion, Mayor Green adjourned the meeting at 6:53 p.m. Minutes by Kim Kerr, Administrative Supervisor