OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Cedar Rapids City Council Meeting – August 26, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, August 26, 2025
BodyCedar Rapids, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 26, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:30:38

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

This meeting of the Cedar Rapids City Council will come to order.

0:04

Welcome everybody to the Cedar Rapids City Council meeting for Tuesday, August 26, 2025.

0:09

I'd like to note that Councilmember Anne Poe is absent today.

0:12

I want to welcome our city manager, our city clerk, our city attorney, and thanks as always to the incredible city staff of Cedar Rapids for being here today to answer questions before and now certainly afterwards, should you have any following our meeting today.

0:26

And reminder to turn off all cell phones, electronic devices that you may have so we don't distract from our proceedings today.

0:32

And note that all of our council meeting minutes, agendas, videos are available on our city's website.

0:38

Regular sessions are also available to watch live and on replay via Facebook Live.

0:42

And now, as we always do, we'll begin with an invocation today by public safety chaplain Rick Gale, that will be immediately followed by our Pledge of Allegiance.

0:55

Will you pray with me?

0:59

Father, I thank you for our city leadership.

1:02

God, they give us the opportunity to meet with them here.

1:06

Thank you for that.

1:07

Thank you for our mayor, the city council.

1:10

Thank you for our city manager.

1:12

Thank you for our departmental leaders seated here.

1:15

God, would you honor them for their selfless God?

1:23

Honor them for that.

1:24

Give them wisdom as they deal with situations and issues every day.

1:29

God, I pray that you'll be there with them and for them.

1:32

And God, I pray that this is a good night.

1:34

And for this we say thank you.

1:36

Amen.

1:38

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

1:57

Thank you.

1:58

We'll begin today with a proclamation for the 19th annual five seasons stand down today.

2:03

And my colleague Scott Olson will be reading that proclamation today.

2:07

I don't know whether we have anybody here representing the stand down that wants to come up.

2:13

We're still going to read the proclamation here.

2:15

And uh as an Army veteran, I'm uh this is a wonderful event that's held every year, and uh it makes a difference for the veterans, those that served our country uh that live in our Lynn County area to come and provide or receive much needed services in a central location.

2:32

And so the proclamation uh is to honor this 19th annual uh stand down event uh here in our great city.

2:43

Whereas Valor Incorporated, in partnership with the Cedar Rapids Metro Area Veterans Council, the Iowa City VA Medical Center, and the Lynn County Consortium of Care will hold Lynn County's 19th annual stand down for homeless and near homeless veterans as well as non-veterans.

3:02

And whereas, stand down is a term used in times of war in which an exhausted combat units come off the battlefield to rest and recover in a place of safety.

3:14

And whereas, according to the U.S.

3:16

Department of Veterans Affairs, the first stand down was organized in 1988 by a group of Vietnam veterans.

3:25

Excuse me.

3:28

In San Diego.

3:30

And whereas today, stand down also refers to a community-based program that assists homeless and near homeless veterans transition to community living by providing access to human service agencies, including benefits counseling for through Social Security and Veterans Organizations, employment and training assistance, eye screenings, health care screenings, housing services, legal assistance, mental health care treatment, and substance abuse counseling, all in one location at the stand down.

4:01

And whereas stand downs have been used as an effective tool in reaching out to homeless veterans nationally, reaching more than 200,000 veterans and their family members.

4:12

Now, I therefore, Scott Olson be on behalf of Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell and the entire Cedar Rapids City Council to hereby recognize September 4th, 2025 as the 19th annual five-season stand down day, and encourage residents to recognize the positive impacts of this event to assist veterans and to express our gratitude to those who have served as well as continue to serve.

4:40

So hopefully, all is out of veterans uh stadium, I believe, again this year.

4:45

And it's a fabulous event, and we should all be proud of the fact that uh these groups have gotten together and provide this wonderful service to those who served us.

4:55

Thank you.

4:56

Thank you, Scott.

5:00

It's now time for our public hearing.

5:02

So I'll remind everybody who wishes to speak today, whether during a public hearing or during one of our public comment periods of a few matters to ensure we have an orderly meeting.

5:11

A reminder to stay and stand at the lectern.

5:14

You see over here on your right.

5:16

We have five minutes per speaker.

5:18

When the light in the console in front of you turns yellow, that means you have one minute.

5:22

When it turns red, we'll invite you to take your seat once again.

5:25

Third, please be aware that all comments must be directed to the matter of the public hearing, and that abusive, obscene, loud, threatening, or irrelevant comments are not allowed.

5:34

And finally, we need to hold an orderly meeting.

5:36

So we ask for no applause, booing, or other distractions from the audience today.

5:40

We thank you in advance.

5:41

Does the clerk have any written comments or objections in regard to any of our public hearings today?

5:46

Your Honor, there were no written comments or objections filed.

5:48

Thank you.

5:49

Thank you.

5:49

Item number one is a public hearing to consider the proposed amendment number eight to the urban renewal plan for the central consolidated urban renewal area.

5:57

Scott Mather is here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing███████████████████████23%
Parks and Recreation████████████████16%
Procedural██████████10%
Urban Planning█████████9%
Public Engagement████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Economic Development█████5%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Personnel Matters████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Cedar Rapids City Council Meeting – August 26, 2025

The Cedar Rapids City Council met on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, with Councilmember Anne Poe absent. The meeting included a proclamation, multiple public hearings, approval of several development and infrastructure projects, and a contentious discussion on commission appointments. Public comments addressed fire lane enforcement and constitutional concerns.

Proclamation

  • 19th Annual Five Seasons Stand Down Day: Councilmember Scott Olson read a proclamation declaring September 4, 2025, as the 19th annual Five Seasons Stand Down Day, honoring an event that provides services to homeless and near-homeless veterans and non-veterans. The stand down will be held at Veterans Stadium.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 26A and 26B (resolutions appointing/reappointing individuals to commissions) were moved to the regular agenda by Councilmember Van Orney. The amended consent agenda was approved unanimously.

Public Hearings & Testimony

  • Item 1 & 2 (Combined): Public hearing on Amendment No. 8 to the Central Consolidated Urban Renewal Area Plan and a development agreement with Capitol B LLC for two four-plex units (3-bed, 2-bath, market-rate rentals) at 1100–1106 and 1417–1423 Ellis Boulevard. The $1.6 million capital investment includes a 10-year, 100% rebate of increased taxes (estimated $210,000 rebated of $250,000 total). No public comments. Resolutions approved unanimously.
  • Item 3: Public hearing on status of CDBG-DR funded single-family and multifamily new construction projects (16 units by Abode Construction, 25 units by TW Homes, 41 units by Greyhawk LC). No public comments. Council discussion noted progress and timelines.
  • Item 4: Public hearing on CDBG housing rehabilitation program administered by ECICOG, assisting 53 low-to-moderate income households with repairs. $2.5 million contract, $1,038,849.72 spent to date. No public comments. Councilmembers praised the program's impact.
  • Item 5: Public hearing to vacate and dispose of a 0.10-acre portion of right-of-way on 4th Street SE (between 8th and 9th Avenues) for $12,600 to Loftist Holdings LLC for additional parking. No public comments. Ordinance approved on first reading.
  • Item 6: Public hearing for an underground electric line easement at 309–329 F Avenue NW for Interstate Power and Light Company (serving the Cedar Crossing Casino project). Councilmember Olson recused. No public comments. Resolution approved.
  • Item 7: Public hearing for the 26th Street SW over Prairie Creek Bridge Deck Overlay project (estimated cost $410,000). Emergency repairs needed after overlay failure. No public comments. Resolution approved.
  • Item 8: Public hearing for the Jones Dog Park project (estimated cost $1.8 million). The 10-acre off-leash area will include a main dog area, small dog area, training area, rentable shelter, accessible parking, and restrooms (portable initially). The project is part of the Jones Park redevelopment following the 2020 golf course closure. Council debated the cost and priorities, with Councilmember Meyer opposing due to maintenance needs elsewhere, but the resolution passed 5-1 (Meyer dissenting).

Discussion Items

  • Item 33 (F Avenue NW & Levy Project): Rob Davis reported on the bid results for Stage 1 of the F Avenue reconstruction and levee project. The city received a $25 million BUILD grant, requiring removal of 2026-2027 work from the current bid. Low bid from Trader Excavating Grading Company was $576,738.61 for Stage 1 (to be completed by November 2025). The remaining work will be rebid. Resolution approved unanimously.
  • Item 34 (Redevelopment of City-Owned Properties): Noah Zeker presented a proposal from Prairie Rose Rental Company and Horizons (a family service alliance) to develop a single-family home with two ADUs and extended parking for NTS buses at 916 5th Street SE and 512 10th Avenue SE. The stakeholder review group unanimously recommended the project. Councilmember Todd requested a clawback clause in the development agreement. Resolution approved unanimously.
  • Commission Appointments (Items 26A & 26B): Councilmember Meyer moved to discuss separate items from the consent agenda. For Item 26A (appointment of Lauren White to the Affordable Housing Commission), she questioned why current vice-chair Alicia Faust was not reappointed, alleging a personal reason. Mayor O'Donnell defended the choice, stating new energy and ideas are needed. The motion to approve the appointments passed on a roll call vote (5-1, with Meyer dissenting). Item 26B (other appointments) passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Tom Pape: Resident of 1624 O Avenue NW, age 74, spoke about a recent fire department enforcement action designating a no-parking fire lane on their private road. He argued the action was arbitrary, targeted due to a complaining neighbor, and inconsistent with other city roads. He requested mediation and consistency. Mayor O'Donnell noted Fire Chief Smith was present and would connect with him.
  • Melissa Duffield: Self-identified civil rights advocate, provided public notice alleging unconstitutional actions by the city and state (e.g., charging by information instead of grand jury indictment, emolument violations). She criticized the council for approving the dog park, surveillance, and alleged conflicts of interest. She claimed to have won a federal case and stated she would pursue further legal action. Her comments were allowed but not responded to.

Key Outcomes

  • Proclamation: September 4, 2025, declared as Five Seasons Stand Down Day.
  • Approved Resolutions: All items on the agenda were approved, with the following votes:
    • Items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 33, 34: Unanimous.
    • Item 8 (Jones Dog Park): Passed 5-1 (Councilmember Meyer dissenting).
    • Item 26A (Affordable Housing Commission appointment): Passed 5-1 (Councilmember Meyer dissenting).
    • Item 26B: Passed unanimously.
  • Next Steps:
    • The F Avenue/Levy project will proceed with Stage 1 work starting by September 22, 2025; remaining work will be rebid in approximately three months to preserve the $25 million BUILD grant.
    • The development agreement for the Capitol B LLC housing project and the Prairie Rose/Horizons project will return to council for final approval this fall.
    • The City Manager will follow up on the fire lane enforcement issue with the Fire Chief.

Meeting Transcript

This meeting of the Cedar Rapids City Council will come to order. Welcome everybody to the Cedar Rapids City Council meeting for Tuesday, August 26, 2025. I'd like to note that Councilmember Anne Poe is absent today. I want to welcome our city manager, our city clerk, our city attorney, and thanks as always to the incredible city staff of Cedar Rapids for being here today to answer questions before and now certainly afterwards, should you have any following our meeting today. And reminder to turn off all cell phones, electronic devices that you may have so we don't distract from our proceedings today. And note that all of our council meeting minutes, agendas, videos are available on our city's website. Regular sessions are also available to watch live and on replay via Facebook Live. And now, as we always do, we'll begin with an invocation today by public safety chaplain Rick Gale, that will be immediately followed by our Pledge of Allegiance. Will you pray with me? Father, I thank you for our city leadership. God, they give us the opportunity to meet with them here. Thank you for that. Thank you for our mayor, the city council. Thank you for our city manager. Thank you for our departmental leaders seated here. God, would you honor them for their selfless God? Honor them for that. Give them wisdom as they deal with situations and issues every day. God, I pray that you'll be there with them and for them. And God, I pray that this is a good night. And for this we say thank you. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We'll begin today with a proclamation for the 19th annual five seasons stand down today. And my colleague Scott Olson will be reading that proclamation today. I don't know whether we have anybody here representing the stand down that wants to come up. We're still going to read the proclamation here. And uh as an Army veteran, I'm uh this is a wonderful event that's held every year, and uh it makes a difference for the veterans, those that served our country uh that live in our Lynn County area to come and provide or receive much needed services in a central location. And so the proclamation uh is to honor this 19th annual uh stand down event uh here in our great city. Whereas Valor Incorporated, in partnership with the Cedar Rapids Metro Area Veterans Council, the Iowa City VA Medical Center, and the Lynn County Consortium of Care will hold Lynn County's 19th annual stand down for homeless and near homeless veterans as well as non-veterans. And whereas, stand down is a term used in times of war in which an exhausted combat units come off the battlefield to rest and recover in a place of safety. And whereas, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the first stand down was organized in 1988 by a group of Vietnam veterans. Excuse me. In San Diego. And whereas today, stand down also refers to a community-based program that assists homeless and near homeless veterans transition to community living by providing access to human service agencies, including benefits counseling for through Social Security and Veterans Organizations, employment and training assistance, eye screenings, health care screenings, housing services, legal assistance, mental health care treatment, and substance abuse counseling, all in one location at the stand down. And whereas stand downs have been used as an effective tool in reaching out to homeless veterans nationally, reaching more than 200,000 veterans and their family members. Now, I therefore, Scott Olson be on behalf of Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell and the entire Cedar Rapids City Council to hereby recognize September 4th, 2025 as the 19th annual five-season stand down day, and encourage residents to recognize the positive impacts of this event to assist veterans and to express our gratitude to those who have served as well as continue to serve. So hopefully, all is out of veterans uh stadium, I believe, again this year. And it's a fabulous event, and we should all be proud of the fact that uh these groups have gotten together and provide this wonderful service to those who served us. Thank you. Thank you, Scott. It's now time for our public hearing. So I'll remind everybody who wishes to speak today, whether during a public hearing or during one of our public comment periods of a few matters to ensure we have an orderly meeting. A reminder to stay and stand at the lectern. You see over here on your right. We have five minutes per speaker. When the light in the console in front of you turns yellow, that means you have one minute. When it turns red, we'll invite you to take your seat once again.

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