Committee of the Whole Meeting

MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall, 220 Clay Street August 5, 2024 The meeting of the Committee of the Whole met at City Hall at 5:35 p.m. on August 5, 2024, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Daniel Laudick, Councilmembers Gil Schultz, Chris Latta, Daryl Kruse, Aaron Hawbaker, Dustin Ganfield, Hannah Crisman, and Kelly Dunn. Absent: none. Staff members from various City Departments and members of the community attended in person. Committee of the Whole: Mayor Laudick called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the Committee of the Whole Agenda, Discussion on the Future Planning of the Current Cedar Falls High School Site and the MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center (formerly Sartori) site. Mayor introduced Community Development Director Stephanie Houk Sheetz. Sheetz provided an overview of the current High School site: it is 16 acres and owned by the school district; it is zoned R-1 and Sheetz provided examples of permitted uses in that zoning district; its future intended land use is as an educational facility; and Sheetz provided current neighborhood characteristics. Potential options for future use of the site include: reuse of the structure following R-1 zoning regulations; site redevelopment with some or all of the current structure demolished with new construction; a future application for rezoning and Comprehensive Plan amendment through a public process (no applications are currently on file). Sheetz provided an overview of the current MercyOne site: it is 18.5 acres and the City owns the building and the land; it was a municipal hospital until 1997, when it was leased to Covenant (now MercyOne), most recently a 5 year renewal of the lease was signed in 2022; it is zoned R-3 and Sheetz provided examples of permitted uses in that zoning district; its future intended land use is Civic; and Sheetz gave current neighborhood characteristics. Potential options for future use of the site include: reuse of the structure following R-3 zoning regulations; site redevelopment with some or all of the current structure demolished with new construction; a future application for rezoning and Comprehensive Plan amendment through a public process (no applications are currently on file). Sheetz noted visioning & zoning work for these areas is in the CIP currently slated for FY26-27. Councilmembers, staff, and Mayor Laudick discussed: timeline of project and placement in CIP; concern that no representative from MercyOne was in attendance and a request for their input; what the process for a future land use other than what is identified would be – it would require a request, but would include a public process; City ownership of the land and building along with control over any leases for the MercyOne site; clarification of ownership of parcels located to the northwest part of the MercyOne property; and if there are any flooding/runoff concerns at the MercyOne site – there are none currently. Mayor Laudick introduced the second item on the Committee of the Whole Agenda, Resilience Plan – Overview of the Plan Elements. Mayor Laudick introduced Planner III Thomas Weintraut. Weintraut stated the purpose of the plan is to provide an action guide utilizing existing community plans and actions while seeking community involvement to identify additional actions needed to improve prosperity and stability. Weintraut overviewed the process of the Plan’s creation including online and self-guided workshops, public worksheets, and a town hall meeting and provided a chart identifying the importance the community placed on topics in three areas: Local Economics and Community, Weather and Nature, and Energy and Mobility. Weintraut provided an overview of current City actions and progress, responsibilities of the City and CFU, while involving community members, businesses, and community organizations to execute the plan; and utilizing the three identified categories to identify resilient actions needed. Weintraut provided plan drivers, top resilience issues identified, what Cedar Falls currently provides, and what is still needed for each area. Weintraut overviewed the action plan, which includes 68 listed actionable items, and reiterated that the plan only works if the City, CFU, the community and its organizations, and businesses all work to implement it. Councilmembers, Mayor Laudick, and staff discussed: use of the plan if it’s only received/filed but not adopted/approved; how to define resilience; how best to utilize the information in the Plan, possibly move items onto the Council Goals list and note things that have occurred or are in process; potential for a new group of people to review the plan; Councilmembers individually reviewing the plan to put forth specific items to Council; if the plan is adopted, staff can work without direction, if not they would need specific direction from Council; how staff will know an action is being addressed if not indicated directly; how to monitor if the plan is being utilized; if Councilmembers and staff know when a request or referral is put forward if it is a recommendation in the Plan; grant application questions regarding if the City has an adopted Resilience Plan; how to avoid duplicating work being done by a community group and identifying items being done or in process; and the possibility of putting the plan forward subservient to the Strategic Plan and review at Goal Setting. Meeting adjourned at 6:34 p.m. Minutes by Katie Terhune, Administrative Supervisor