Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES City Hall, 220 Clay Street December 16, 2024 The meeting of the Committee of the Whole met at City Hall at 5:35 p.m. on December 16, 2024, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Gil Schultz, Chris Latta, Daryl Kruse, Aaron Hawbaker, Dustin Ganfield, Hannah Crisman, and Kelly Dunn. Absent: None. Staff members from all 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, Traffic Management Policy and introduced City Engineer David Wicke and Civil Engineer II Matthew Tolan. Wicke gave an overview of the standard operating procedure (SOP) for Traffic Management concerns, questions, and requests and how the City addresses these; Wicke provided the definition of Traffic Management, and the three phases of approach: education, enforcement, and engineering; and provided an overview of the City’s internal Traffic Management Committee structure. Tolan gave an overview of the four steps of the Traffic Management process of the Committee: step one - initial action, concern is received and reviewed; step two - education and enforcement measures are implemented as appropriate; step three – neighborhood completes a petition to provide to the Traffic Management Committee for further study to determine if future public improvements might be made and submit these to Council for approval; step four –engineering design and implementation to be programmed into the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) if recommended, with follow-up study after completion to determine effectiveness. Tolan provided an example of a concern and how it was moved through the process. Tolan noted special consideration provided to: Metropolitan Transit Authority regarding buses, routes, and stops; University of Northern Iowa regarding events, school semester on-street parking and pedestrian volume; and the City of Waterloo for projects at the City limits. Councilmembers, Mayor Laudick, Wicke, Tolan, Public Safety Director Craig Berte, Public Works Director Chase Schrage, City Administrator Ron Gaines, and City Attorney Kevin Rogers discussed: this SOP document is a formalization of an already in-place internal process; staff assistance with incoming concerns and petitions; staff follow-up with complainants and applicants regarding staff recommendations; staff consideration of “long term” solutions as neighborhoods change; applicant notification of City’s recommendation and recourse if they don’t agree with the recommendation; use of projections regarding traffic management for future growth and projects. Mayor Laudick introduced the second item on the Committee of the Whole agenda, Human Rights Commission (HRC) Annual Report and introduced HRC Chair TW Ingham. Ingham provided a narrative summary of FY24 including member updates, effects of legislative changes, and events hosted by or participated in by members. Ingham provided a budget overview and indicated use of current funds and collaborative work with the Waterloo HRC. Ingham provided an overview of the inquiry/concern/complaint process including resourcing complainants and submission of claims to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) for investigation. Ingham provided an overview of the events and activities participated in or hosted by the HRC and its members. Councilmembers, Mayor Laudick, and Ingham discussed: funding and reimbursement regarding claims. Meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. Minutes by Katie Terhune, Administrative Supervisor