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

Welcome everybody.

The Cedar Rapids City Council meeting for Tuesday, January 27th, 2026.

I'd like to note that my colleagues Scott Olsen and Tyler Olson are absent from today's meeting.

I want to welcome our city manager, our city clerk, and our city attorney, and thank you as always to city staff for being here and available to answer questions.

A reminder to those who are visiting today to turn off any cell phones or electronic devices that might distract us from our meetings today.

And note that all of our city council meeting agendas, minutes, and videos are always available on our city's website as well as via Facebook Live.

We'll begin as we always do here with an invitation by public safety chaplain Rick Gale today, and that will be followed immediately by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Father, I just want to take a minute and say thank you for the quality of leadership that we have in this community for our mayor, city council, our de God, the administrative offices, and our department leaders.

God, I pray that you will honor them and God give them the wisdom and knowledge that they need every day to deal with the situations that come their way.

Father, we say thank you again for the quality, and God, we ask you to honor them as they serve this community.

Amen.

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, beginning with a proclamation today for George Washington Carver Day, I'd like to invite those of you who are here for that to join my council colleague Anne Poe at the Dais.

That's all right.

We were under the impression we couldn't come in here.

Guess what?

I'm gonna let you end.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Thanks, mixed up, you guys.

You guys are mixed up.

Go on up and turn around and we'll face the audience.

Are you ready?

Well, thank you all.

Thank you all so much for being here today.

This is a real honor, and we're happy to have you.

This is a proclamation for the city of Cedar Rapids, whereas George Washington Carver was born into slavery in Missouri and overcame racial barriers to pursue his education, eventually coming to Iowa.

And whereas Carver was a prolific inventor, artist, and civil rights champion, who devised hundreds of novel uses for crops, championed conservation of natural resources, and as one of America's foremost agricultural scientist during the first half of the 20th century, made a significant contribution to civil rights and left an indelible mark on Cedar Rapids, showcasing his extensive artwork in 1892.

And whereas Carver's educational path included study in Iowa, where he earned both a bachelor's and master's degree and eventually became a member of the Iowa State faculty.

Going on to dedicate himself to assisting the South's most impoverished farmers through research, education, and information outreach at Tuskegee University.

And whereas in 2003, the permanent home of the African American Museum of Iowa was established in the city of Cedar Rapids, where it has been dedicated to fostering a community that understands, appreciates, and celebrates Iowa's African American history and culture.

And whereas the City of Cedar Rapids celebrates the month of February as Black History Month, recognizing the rich history, achievements, and resilience of African Americans through our community and the nation's history.

Where as in light of his extraordinary accomplishments, Carver deserves to be recognized as Iowa, as Iowa's and Cedar Rapids most illustrious citizens.

Therefore, I, Anne Poe, on behalf of Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell and the entire Cedar Rapids City Council hereby proclaim February 1st, 2026 as George Washington Carver Day, and encourage all residents to commemorate the myriad of scientific civil rights and culinary achievements of George Washington Carver.

Congratulations.

Thank you all.

Thanks to the City of Cedar Rapids for its uh current leadership.

And very specifically, we want to thank the Cedar Rapids Police Department for its professionalism during these last few months of stress that's going on.

So thanks for having us.

Melick is an upcoming scholar.

Uh for the student representation.

And three years ago wrote an excellent order, excellent commentary on George Washington Carver.

Larry is one of our officers, and Bill is one of our officers for Veterans for Peace.

And I'm Joe O.

President.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Joe.

Thank you.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Our first uh presentation will be on our FY 2025 annual audit.

So Brad Tyson of I Bailey will joining our finance director, Abi Deshbande.

Gentlemen, I'll recognize you.

Abi Dishwande for uh record.

Uh good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

So I'd be our external financial auditors.

Um they recently completed FY25 financial audit.

So with that, uh today I um they're going to present their present uh basically the sum of the um the summary of the finding.

With that, I will turn it over to Brad.

All right, good afternoon, everybody.

Uh my name is Brad Tyson.

I'm a senior manager with I Bailey.

Um I have a presentation, short presentation here.

If anybody has any questions, feel free to let me know.

Otherwise, we can go over those at the end.

Um the slides you have up here.

I just wanted to give a kind of a quick background as to I Bailey and who we are.

I know this was our second year completing the audit.

We are a top 20 CPA firm in the nation.

Um we have 300 dedicated staff uh dedicated solely to uh performing governmental audits.

Um, and we have a variety of other staff within our debut office that have performed those audits as well, too.

So if we go to the next slide, I'll just kind of start with a little bit of a recap.

So um there's four different auditing standards sort of at play within the audit of the city of Cedar Rapids.

The first is uh generally accepted auditing standards, which is governed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the AI CPA.

Um, these are standards that you'll see in any audit, uh, public or private from coast to coast.

Um government auditing standards is another additional set of auditing standards, uh, very similar to generally accepted auditing standards, but has additional requirements in terms of CPA firm independence, continuing professional education requirements, and also has additional reporting requirements that we'll talk through as well, too.

Um, and then there's the third bullet point there is the uniform guidance audit, um, or sometimes called the single audit.

This is an audit over, this is an audits that's required anytime the city spends more than 750,000 dollars in federal awards in any given year.

Um, and they require us to go through and select major programs throughout the year to test for compliance.

Um, so we can we'll we'll go over the results of that audit two.

Then there's also an audit over the uh the the revenues received by the airport too that we'll go over.

Um, just a quick recap.

Um, audits are designed to obtain reasonable but not absolute assurance that the financial statements are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Um, one thing to be aware of is the concept of materiality within that statement.

Um, so we are auditing significant account balances and transaction classes, not necessarily auditing every single you know, dollar that the city receives or spends throughout the course of the year.

So uh the concept of materiality there is just something we kind of want to point out.

Um a recap in terms of timeline here.

We started our planning procedures in July and August with some inquiries of management to determine um any significant changes from the prior year and also determine any you know significant account balances or transaction classes that we might need to look into for the upcoming audit.

Uh single audit compliance testing started in September, October.

Um, along with those planning conversations that we in July and August, we were able to identify which programs were going to be the major programs of the city.

So we were able to start that in September and October and wrap that up sort of in the Octoberish timeline.

And then the year end testing was performed around October, November.

And this is where we performed all of our testing on significant account balances and transaction classes.

And then the reporting was done in December.

And I'm very proud to say, you know, and working with Avi and Andy and their staff, they provided all information very timely and very accurately, but which allowed us to have that timeline to complete our reporting timeline by December, too.

I'll just talk very briefly here about management's responsibilities for an audit.

So management's responsible for preparing the annual comprehensive financial report in accordance with general accepted accounting principles.

So they're preparing the report, and we kind of just give an opinion like a yes, no, we agree, or we we do not agree.

They're also responsible for internal controls and designing, implementing, and maintaining those internal controls.

One of the common misnomers with an audit is when you have an audit performed.

Everyone thinks, well, they've the auditors have looked at our internal controls and all the internal controls are operating effectively.

That's not necessarily true.

We are reviewing internal controls from a higher level in order to assess the risk and material misstatement within each account balance or transaction class.

Um so just wanted to point that out.

Um and again, our responsibility is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement.

Um just kind of wanted to point that out again there.

So we'll get into the results here.

Um the financial statement audit.

We had unmodified opinions on the financial statements and the way they were presented, meaning we have a clean opinion or we agree with the way the information is presented.

We we believe it's presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Um we had one of the additional requirements that I mentioned before for government auditing standards is we're required as part of our process to provide a report.

If we determine we have any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses that we've identified as part of our audit, that's required separately by government auditing standards to make that report publicly available.

Um, as part of our audit procedures, we did not have any internal control findings that elevated to the level of a significant deficiency or material weakness.

So a very clean audit opinion and compliance report from that standpoint from a financial statement audit standpoint.

As we move to the federal audit results, again, unmodified opinions on the three major programs that are that are labeled there.

Um these three programs were identified as part of uh a risk and size analysis.

Um anytime the city has more than 750,000 in federal awards and any individual major program, they get elevated into a pool for selection, um, especially if if that particular program has not been audited at any point in the last two or three years.

Um so these were the major programs that we audited for compliance this year.

Again, a clean opinion there.

Um, and also we're required to identify any material weaknesses or significant deficiency, significant deficiencies from a federal standpoint too, and we did not have any findings from that standpoint as well.

Um, and then the use of the airport revenues, um, same story there.

Uh clean audit opinion on the way the that that financial statement was presented, and no internal control findings noted there either.

Um I just wanted to briefly point out we also provide a letter to governance at the beginning and end of the audit, which spells out some of these same types of items, and that's required by both the AI CPA and governmental auditing standards.

It identifies such things as significant risks, significant estimates and whether or not we have any past adjustments, and just wanted to point out there that we did not have any past adjustments as part of our audit process there too.

So very clean.

Um, and then I just wanted to point forward to next year a little bit.

Um we have uh two new accounting standards that will be required to be adopted for 2026.

And there's also a new one that was just actually released here in the last within the last week.

Um, so we have GASBY statement one number 103, which will um increase the amount of reporting that needs to be done within management's discussion and analysis.

Um, GASB 104, or I should sorry, I should go back to CASB 103.

It changes the requirements of the management discussion and analysis, and then it also changes the definition of operating income versus non-operating income and expenses too.

So uh, but is expected to have very little impact on the city.

Um, same with GASBY statement number 104 for disclosure of certain capital assets.

Um, and then also GASB number 105 for subsequent events was just released within the last week, I believe.

Um, none are expected to have a significant impact on the city's financials, but just wanted to point those out for next year.

And then just also wanted to point out that we have some ongoing communications that we have uh available throughout the course of the year, too, as well as access to specialists too.

Any questions on that at all?

Council.

All right.

None.

Thank you, Jennifer.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Next up, we'll have a presentation on the relief plan update.

So we'll invite Carol Teeter.

Carol, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

Carol Teeter, Relief Program Manager in the Department of Parks and Recreation, and I'm joined here today by Molly Stolke, who's the Lynn County Program Director for Trees Forever.

Next week will mark four years since the City Council adopted the Relief Plan.

So Molly and I are here today to provide the council with a progress report on implementation of relief.

The goals outlined for the city in the relief plan, of course, focus on public property, specifically planting 42,500 trees on city streets and in uh parks and golf courses.

The city council committed one million dollars a year to the public planting, and these funds have been supplemented by government grants, such as the $6 million U.S.

Forest Service Grant and $3.5 million from the Iowa Economic Development Authority through disaster recovery funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Additional funding has been received through grants from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and through funds raised on behalf of the relief effort by the City Rapids Cedar Rapids Parks Foundation and Trees Forever.

Of course, as devastating as the 2020 Gerade Show was to public trees, the majority of the estimated 670,000 trees lost to the Dray Show were on private property.

Cedar Rapids was fortunate at the time of the Durade Show that we had an organization already on the ground in the community with more than 30 years of experience focused on urban forestry.

Trees Forever stepped stepped up from day one as a partner with the city in the development of the Relief Cedar Rapids Plan and is integral in implementation of the plan to the private sector.

As the city's relief partner, Trees Forever leads volunteer engagement efforts and provides education and outreach about tree planting and care, in addition to distributing low-cost quality trees to residents.

Trees Forever also leads private fundraising efforts on the for the relief partnership.

To update you on the progress made by the city on relief goals.

To date, the city has planted almost 18,400 trees along city streets and in parks and golf courses.

We still have more than 24,000 trees to plant, but we are already at the 43,000 percent.

We already two 43,000.

Oh wow.

40 43% of the goal.

Sorry about that, and are ahead of the relief yearly projections by more than 4,500 trees, which is almost a full year ahead of where we thought we would be at this point in the plan.

This acceleration was largely made possible by the federal grants that the city received.

Now to update you on the progress made on behalf of relief in the private sector, I will now turn this over to Molly.

Thank you, Carol, and thank you for having us this evening.

Since 2022, Trees Forever has been implementing relief programs serving residents, nonprofits, and institutions across Cedar Rapids.

We are incredibly proud of the number of trees planted.

But we also know that restoring our tree canopy isn't just about planting trees, it's about growing them and ensuring their longevity.

As outlined in the relief plan, the most effective way to do that is through education and volunteer engagement.

Education is at the core of everything we do.

Happens through one-on-ones with residents, with large volunteer groups, hands-on learning, and through virtual opportunities.

There is no single approach that works for everyone.

So it's important that we remain flexible and responsive to the needs of all Cedar Rapids residents.

And while Trees Forever has years of experience, education remains a priority amongst our staff as well.

Two of our team members who work directly with Relief have recently received their certification as an arborist, and a third team member will be taking their exam soon.

We currently offer volunteer opportunities through our relief programs and have had the privilege of working with roughly 2,000 volunteers or having 2,000 volunteer encounters.

Since relief began, we partnered with roughly 45 local businesses, including some of the largest employers in the community, with 94% of them returning after their first year experience with us.

What's most meaningful is that participants walk away with a deeper understanding of tree care, a stronger connection to the community, and a sense of ownership to the plan.

And that often leads to continued involvement, whether that's through funding support, volunteering, or participating in additional opportunities.

We are also actively seeking community feedback to help guide us to the future.

So looking ahead, we're excited to continue to build our momentum.

And on February 19th, we will be hosting our 2026 planting season kickoff at Lion Bridge.

And in the fall, we'll be hosting another party in the park to celebrate the community behind the work.

I appreciate your continued partnership helping relief grow.

And we hope to see you at one of these events.

I'll hand it back to you, Carol.

So what's ahead in 2026 relief spring season will begin on February 19th, as uh Molly just mentioned.

Uh the city will exceed our 50% uh goal of the relief goal to plant 42,500 uh trees along streets and in parks and golf courses.

As Molly said, Trees Forever will continue working with volunteers and in community outreach, and the party in the park will take place this fall to celebrate the conclusion of our community tree planting this year.

And with that, I'll turn that back over to you, Mayor.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Council.

Councilmember Van Roney.

Yeah, this is a I appreciate everything that everybody's doing.

It certainly is a daunting task to say the least.

Um, I know at development committee um just last week, we were talking about the caliper size um of trees and and changing that so that we have a greater longevity of hopefully these trees living year over year from being planted.

But I also uh know that there's been a very intentional conversation from council as well talking about watering and just ensuring that because uh my my ask would be is of these 42,500, how many are still living, right?

We we also know, although that is much more rare, that some um residents are just bucking their participation in this at all.

Um I know that it is a bit um provocative for people who have not previously had trees in their right of way to now have trees in their right of way, but we are asking for continued participation for everybody to do their part and to not do something uh you know, nefarious to these trees, which I have absolutely seen happen.

Um, so I just I think there's a lot of uh work, of course, that we need to do with this, um, including continuing to look for our we love to talk about private uh uh you know, public-private partnerships and and certainly we have seen some great strides where um some of our private partners and large corporations have including uh significantly increased the amount of trees on their property, but there's still a lot of uh you know pavement that we can break through and add trees to.

There still is a lot of overparking um in uh areas throughout the city, and so you know, this is just my call to action of any corporate sponsors who have large parcels to allow us to continue to help because it is going to be this cooperative togetherness that is the only way that we can achieve this.

So uh just certainly appreciate everything you're doing.

Councilmember Overland.

Thank you, Mayor.

I think uh the progress to date has been tremendous.

And Carol and I talked throughout the year and uh discuss mortality rates and things watering and things like that, and we're not out of bounds with what you originally expected, even though the weather sometimes is challenging.

And I have no worries about the public sector portion, we'll get that done uh as we cross 50 percent, we'll get the rest of it done.

But one thing I've often wondered is uh obviously, as you said, majority of the trees are on private property.

Do we have any way of estimating how many trees have been planted in the city of Cedar Rapids on private property?

I know some homeowners like myself have probably overdone it, but uh, we've maximized, can't take another tree.

Um, and then there's other folks that uh whether they had trees or not in their yard, they don't plant anything.

And um so do we have any idea how on track we are with eventually getting to the point where we are back to where we were before the storm occurred, and if not, um perhaps that's something to try to.

I know you're always trying to figure out new ways to push that, but that might be something we need to do for the next 20 years.

Um I would say that we're gonna it's gonna take longer than 20 years to really get back that 670,000.

But um, I can let Molly talk about how they're tracking the private sector.

I will say that the Department of Natural Resources has programs that you can use LIDAR and you know, basically I don't know what LIDAR is, honestly, but it's a flyover, they fly over the community and can estimate the uh canopy.

And I think they could do that as young as two the trees are only two years in the ground too.

So we will be able to get some good data here in the coming years on not just the obviously we had the data for the public side, but what has been happening on the private side.

So yeah, so Trees Farber does a really nice job at tracking all the trees to our distributions and our plantings.

Uh so we do have all that mapped.

Um, but as Carol said, you know, with 85% of the loss being on private side, it will be closer to the 20 plus year mark to get close to what we lost.

Um we are fortunate as a community that so many people, especially right in the beginning of the DRAG show, um, stepped up and we're having uh tree distributions.

I can think of multiple businesses in the community that did that right away.

We don't have, we don't have their numbers to track, you know, what they handed out, just what we have done at this point, but we know that there's been a lot of really amazing community sport, um, and it continues even this you know five years after.

Councilmember Poe.

Thank you.

Um, Carol, thank you.

Thank you.

Um so we know those first couple years when you after you plant a tree are critical and that they have to be watered.

And um, what can you just share with us what the existing watering plan is with the trees that you will be planting or have planted?

Thank you.

Sure.

Um the trees that are planted in the uh public right-of-way and in parks do come with a two-year watering requirement that the contractor does.

I will say that um we were actually helped out quite a bit in this last year by Mother Nature.

Uh the goal is to uh water about 10 to 20 gallons a week unless we get an inch of rain.

There are a lot of residents who I know are under the mistaken belief that you need to water every day or you need to water, you know, that amount every week, even if we get rain.

You can kill trees by overwatering, just like you can underwatering.

So I will let the council know that um we monitor every single tree that we plant.

We map those trees and we monitor them.

We have uh in the fall we re we re had the contractors replace almost 650 trees that were um either not of a quality that we accepted or had died.

We are also monitoring um there's 567 trees that um if they do not come back in this next growing season will be replaced, and we already have 277 on the list for replacement in the spring.

So although there is mortality in the trees, we also have a two-year warranty, and so those trees are replaced during that critical establishment time if if they don't make it.

Those numbers all come out to about 8% of the trees that were planted have been replaced under warranty, which is completely within it's generally five to 15% that is expected of trees that are planted do not make it.

And like I said, we have the two-year warranty, so that is not an expense to the city to replace those trees.

Yeah, thank you for sharing that.

I think that's valuable information.

Appreciate that.

Thank you.

You know, what's the collaboration like with other organizations like Monarch in terms of the private?

Do you all work with them or other organizations too?

Just to accelerate the replanting.

Yes.

So Monarch Research does, of course, the tree distribution.

They work with the city to um uh provide trees to our employees.

Beyond that, we haven't had much involvement with them.

Um, and I don't know about trees forever.

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

All right.

We know we just can't get it done fast enough.

So all hands on deck.

Carol, thank you.

Thanks so much, Molly.

Thank you very much.

All right, we'll move on to our public hearings today.

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

Uh, remind you to stay at the lectern.

If you have any documents that you need to get to us, please give them to the officer who'll get them to us.

There are two lights on the console.

When it turns yellow, you have one minute.

When it turns red, we'll ask you to take your seat.

Uh please be aware that all comments must be directed to the matter of the public hearing and that we ask no abusive, obscene, loud, threatening, or irrelevant comments be allowed.

And finally, we need to hold an orderly meeting.

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

So we thank you in advance for that.

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

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

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll move on to item number one, which is a public hearing to consider amending the Cedar Rapids Central Reinvestment District plan.

Bill Michael is here.

Bill, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Bill Michael, Director Economic and Development Services.

A bit of background.

Uh provided state aid for transformative projects, supporting quality of life, and enhancing assets of place while benefiting local, regional, and state economies.

The program provides reimbursement of the incremental increase in hotel motel tax and state sales taxes within a defined geographic area.

And in this case, the program focuses on first and first.

And so the incremental increase in both hotel motel and state sales taxes is generated by the hotel and the shops that have been added to the first and first west development.

So the City of Cedar Rapids final application was approved by the IDEA July 22nd of 2022 for $9 million.

And in 2025, in total, the reinvestment district generated approximately 269,000.

In that initial approval, there were three projects.

And then the Eighth Avenue Pump Station Mixed Use Development at 1.5.

And so then we received the city received an award of federal funding through the Protect Program for the Eighth Avenue Bridge, $56.4 million.

And that subsequently, of course, we didn't know we were going to receive that.

Obviously, a fantastic award to get that project done as part of the flood control system.

But it did create a situation in which we need the Eighth Avenue Pump Station and Mixed Use Area for construction staging.

And we also need to install a coffer dam to get that project done, which obviously causes some conflicts with the five in one dam project.

And so we started doing some internal planning at the staff level and realized that was going to push those two projects out past the 2031 performance period.

As a result, we had to reach out to the IEDA.

They suggested the best path forward was to go ahead and do an amendment, retain the six million dollars for the first and first west parking ramp.

But we did receive some uh encouraging feedback from them to uh please apply in the future for uh some of the programs that they have for those other two projects, indicating they would be uh a good candidate for those.

And so uh the reason this requires a public hearing uh is because the reinvestment district plan was set up via an ordinance uh and that included the financials, which we are amending, hence uh the need to do the public hearing and the ordinance amendment.

Uh happy to answer any questions, and with that I will uh pass it back.

Thanks, Bill.

Uh this is a time and a place for public hearing on this matter.

Does anyone here wish to address counsel?

All right, let the record show a public hearing has been held with no objections.

Council.

All right.

Seeing no further questions, the approval of this ordinance on its first reading has been moved by Todd, seconded by Van Orney.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And this motion carries.

Item number two is a public hearing to consider approving the acquisition of easements by ITC Midwest by eminent domain condemnation, approving the route of ITC's transmission line project, and finding that there is a reasonable expectation that ITC will be able to achieve its public purpose.

And Bill, I'll recognize you once again.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh so a bit of background on this project.

There are essentially two uh proposed uh infrastructure upgrade and expansion projects uh that are uh proposed on one set of of polls.

And so uh back in July of 2022, uh MISO, which is the Mid Continent Independent System Operator, approved the uh the first of these projects uh starting at the Beverly substation in southwest Lynn County, and that runs to uh the substation 92 in northwest Muscatine County, and that project is actually part of a uh broader uh it's a segment of a broader collaborative project to build needed high voltage trend voltage transmission infrastructure across uh the upper Midwest uh focused on improving system reliable reliability resilience uh to extreme weather, access to generation resources, and uh distribution of renewables.

Uh the second project approved by uh MISO in 2025 was to add a second set of 345 KV lines uh to those same poles, and the project was proposed to increase transmission system capacity to help meet current and future demand for electricity.

And uh MISO is uh established in in 1998 under the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FERC, essentially in charge of management and reliability of the regional grid across the Midwest.

Um ITC has been using uh public right-of-way where possible and negotiating easements where necessary.

Uh there are 5.3 miles of this project located within the Cedar Rapids city limits, and to minimize the impact on landowners along this proposed route, those lines, as I mentioned, are built in a double circuit configuration, essentially meaning they're built on the same poles.

Um jumping into the acquisition process, um ITC Midwest uh has had since 2010 a long-term franchise agreement with the city of Cedar Rapids to build transmission lines as needed to support public use and reliable electrical service.

Uh the current preferred route includes 13 landowners within the uh city of Cedar Rapids city limits.

Uh there are no easements necessary on residential property.

Uh 30 planned poles or structures uh covering, as I mentioned, 5.3 linear miles.

Uh ITC Midwest uh began negotiations with landowners to seek voluntary easements on the parcels needed for the proposed route in November of 2024.

And uh something else I'll mention, uh they have offered and are paying fair market value for uh these easements.

However, the landowners retain uh the deed.

So uh essentially paying for as if they're buying the property as opposed to just purchasing a lead or excuse me, a uh an easement.

Um outside of the city limits, the uh Iowa Utility Commission is the governing body.

Um, but of course, within uh city limits, it defenses our uh franchise agreement.

And for those landowners who have not agreed uh to a voluntary easement, um ITC Midwest franchise agreement uh with the city provides for the city council to grant ITC Midwest eminent domain authority to obtain necessary easements to move forward with transmission line projects that are serving a public use.

And uh quickly uh on the map outset on the right of the slide, you can see the overall uh extent of the project, as I mentioned, running from uh the Beverly Substation, Southwest Lynn County down to Muscatine, and then that second project running from Beverley's and uh Beverly down to uh Hills located on the map, and then uh again, a bit difficult to see, but you can see the 5.3 miles on the yellow line here running through the city.

A little bit more information on the acquisition process.

Uh as of uh yesterday within the city of Cedar Rapids, uh ITC had acquired 10 of 13 voluntary easements.

Uh, in addition to that, um new leader manufacturing uh awaiting final review.

Uh we expect that uh they will also sign a voluntary easement.

Uh so that creates a situation in which you have two remaining uh landowners, Martin Equipment of Illinois.

Uh their easement would be along 6th Street for 680 linear feet, one pole within that easement, and uh then the second uh Torino uh also one easement about a uh 1100-foot easement uh and uh so the situation there is they have granted uh some options on the property uh to a developer and uh along with those options um you know they need the approval of uh the developer holding those options to to sign, which they have not agreed to.

And so um again, it's in front of council, and ITC Midwest will continue to pursue voluntary easements until the compensation hearing.

Uh the final thing I'll mention is that uh representatives from ITC Midwest are here uh to answer any questions that you may have.

And with that, I'll pass it back.

Thanks, Bill.

This is the time and a place for public hearing on this matter.

Does anyone wish to address council?

Okay, just please approach the microphone, and if you wouldn't mind giving us your name and um the state and the community where you live for the record.

Of course.

Um, Mayor O'Donnell, members of the city council.

I am Sherry Monahan, the director of customer and business solutions at ITC Midwest.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

I want to start by thanking you, Mayor O'Donnell and City Manager Jeff Pomerance for your continued partnership and collaboration.

Your commitment to supporting responsible infrastructure development has played a key role in enabling the growth for the city of Cedar Rapids.

To Bill Michael and Seth Gunerson and so many of the uh city department heads that we've worked with on this project, we appreciate the city's proactive engagement, thoughtful leadership, and willingness to work closely with us as we strengthen the energy infrastructure that serves this community.

We truly appreciate your leadership and productive working relationship that we share.

Eminent domain is never a step we take lightly.

It's a tool of last resort used sparingly and only after exhausting every good faith negotiation option with landowners.

We understand the magnitude of our request.

ITC Midwest has a history of obtaining voluntary easements of 99%.

We use the process sparingly, but we are at the point with two of the 13 landowners.

Each will have one structure as Bill outlined, and less than 2,000 feet of easement.

We must move forward through the formal proceedings, starting with this hearing today.

Even when eminent domain authority is required, as Bill mentioned, property owners retain ownership and are compensated at fair market value through an independent, well-established process.

Bill outlined that you are the authority that allows eminent domain within the city limits outside of the city limits.

The Iowa Utility Commission is that governing authority.

Today you're approving the final route.

Council member action ends at that point, ends at the point of passing the resolution.

The process is then turned over to the chief judge of the Lynn County District Court.

The chief judge will appoint compensation commissioners, and the Lynn County Sheriff schedules the compensation commission hearings.

The compensation commission hearing will only determine the market compensation because you have determined the route collaboratively with us.

This compensation commission process generally takes about three to six months.

ITC Midwest will continue to negotiate with the property owners up to the compensation commission hearing in every effort to cons uh secure voluntary easements for the remaining parcels.

ITC Midwest has an obligation to serve the requested and approved projects that are for public use.

While this includes the transformational developments that we've uh at Big Cedar, the infrastructure we're advancing benefits the whole community by ensuring a dependable, resilient and uh resilient grid prepared for long-term growth.

It is for public use for the greater grid.

We do uh, along with myself, I have several subject matter experts here today with me to answer any questions that you might have regarding the project or the process.

We recognize the council's responsibility to serve the community's best interests, and we appreciate the partnership and thoughtful engagement you have brought to this process.

We understand that this process is difficult for everyone.

Council members, landowners, and the community.

We are committed to conducting it with transparency, fairness, and respect.

And again, I thank you.

Thank you.

Does anyone else wish to address council?

All right, let the record indicate a public hearing on this matter has been held with no objections for the record.

That brings us to council comments.

Councilman Van Orney.

Thanks, Mayor.

Um, I certainly appreciate all the work that uh Bill and the teams have gone into this and uh appreciate the 77% voluntary mark that has been achieved to date.

Um, some of that increase is because of uh some intentional work on the city to encourage more time to be had uh from when it was originally scheduled as a hearing.

But I would be remiss if I didn't say that this conversation is actually started back in June.

And um, you know, we had just gotten done uh talking uh or celebrating the um the kickoff for Google, which is such a a big win for Cedar Rapids, and all this development is happening because of the surge happening in the big cedar area.

uh some intentional work on the city to encourage more time to be had uh from when it was originally scheduled as a hearing but i would be remiss if i didn't say that this conversation is actually started back in june and um you know we had just gotten done uh talking uh or celebrating the um the kickoff for google which is such a a big win for cedar rapids and all this development is happening because of the surge happening in the big cedar area but i remember talking with um some representatives from iTc there about how much I very much want to bury the lines from the extremely large polls that are very visible on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids and have never once had an audience uh about that and um and so it it's interesting that this wasn't brought up then but later we had a council meeting um in small groups where this was really presented to me at least um my my my emotional feelings about it somewhat audaciously uh that this was just something council had to do and it wasn't a big deal and and and uh you know sometimes we have to do this um and and I frankly disagree we've had a lot of really incredible conversations that my council colleagues and I have had to face and eminent domain is just one that you know you use incredibly sparingly and I understand the utility of why this needs to be achieved I do uh this is in my district I understand this I appreciate that this isn't about any uh residential owners at this point in time most of that area uh is manufacturing and I do not want to encourage speculators as well to waste any of our time to force our hand in uh achieving eminent domain as the only means to solve this you know this um objective that needs to be resolved uh but it does concern me that uh specifically new leader manufacturing has not yet been signed off on um and so I will be a no vote today thank you anyone else councilmember Todd thank you Bill just question uh the land that is being uh that is held out uh century farms or anything like that no excuse me no there are not uh you said no residential correct okay um council member Van Orney you you mentioned in your comments that there'd been some additional time put into this and and I think that that has been very helpful for all parties and and and from my perspective I would suggest I think uh ITC has is done their due diligence in terms of uh uh making a good faith effort to secure this property I want to go back to a meeting I had in probably 2009 this was with uh uh Secretary Vilsack who was the USDA chair at the time uh administrator and it was a small business group of uh businesses uh here in Cedar Rapids large manufacturing companies including the line energy and in that meeting and I don't know if if anybody here was there it was at Legion Arts the number one issue that came out of that meeting was the uh the the danger uh and the fragility in terms of the grid uh the public safety issue involved in in having a grid that was old uh that was falling apart uh at Tom Aller once again pounded on a table and I I specifically uh uh remember that uh and how everybody at that point in time came out of that meeting with the understanding that the the the grid is not just important for Cedar Pidians but for all of eastern Iowa and we learned that way too soon in August August 10th uh 2020 when the great show hit and if we all remember that there were eight days when the community was off the grid uh completely off of the grid there was no power and I remember the crews from ITC uh that came in probably about 800 people they worked 17 hour days uh to to get us back on that grid and uh uh I want to just make sure that the community understands that this isn't a utility that's coming in from out of state or out of the out of town uh these are people who live and work here in our community and uh I I have the utmost confidence and in in their character and and how they uh again none of us take uh eminent domain I don't think I've ever had to do it since I've been here for five terms uh so it's it's something that we simply do not take lightly but there comes a point in time when you have to do what you have to do and in this case I'll be voting uh an affirmative for uh for this project to move forward council repo yeah thank you mayor um I I um I don't think I can remember either council member Todd ever having to uh have an in ever voting um in my 15 years on council so this is unique and I do appreciate the fact that you do use it sparingly thank you for doing your due diligence up front and while I agree with with council member Van Orney that I'd love to see every utility line buried and and we've you know we encourage that when we can but these lines are awfully big and they would require

Um I I um I don't think I can remember either, Councilmember Todd ever having to uh have an in my ever voting um in my 15 years on council.

So this is unique, and I do appreciate the fact that you do use it sparingly.

Thank you for doing your due diligence up front.

And while I agree with with council member Van Orney that I'd love to see every utility line buried, and and we've you know, we encourage that when we can, but these lines are awfully big, and they would require uh uh I'm sure a great deal of expense and to bury something that big.

And so that I'm assuming, Bill, that money that it would cost to bury these big lines um would then be passed on to the end user.

Am I correct?

Um, you know, I I can't comment on on you know what ITC would do in terms of of end user, but in our uh franchise agreement, um the city would also would be responsible for a significant portion of that underground.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you for pointing that out, because that is another that is another consideration.

So I will be voting for this in favor too, Mayor.

And as it's been pointed out, this is this has been worked on for a very long time.

And it's far beyond just the the um data centers.

I think it was under council or uh Mayor Corbett, we started working on some of this.

And so it's been in process for a very long time, and now we've reached that tipping point that we have to continue to move forward.

So I will be voting in favor of this, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Overland.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, not uh grab on to what others have said, but uh my observations are if we go back 15 years and we look at all the development that has occurred since that time, as well as um what is powering a lot of that development and its electricity.

And all over the country we're seeing tremendous uh uh five, six percent annual growth in electric usage, and for a long time uh there wasn't a lot of reinvestment in the utility sector simply because uh future growth didn't look to be uh justifying the expense.

But what we've seen around here, especially is and as Congress or as not Congressman, but as Councilman Todd mentioned, um since the Duray show, there's been a lot of uh reinvestment, not only in the long lines that feed Cedar Rapids, but also on a local level.

And I consider it to be um kind of a form of security to continue to improve our grid and connections and the big lines, and as we've mentioned today, uh ITC has worked with landowners for the last 14, 13, 14 months, and we're at the point now where we those uh remaining uh landowners uh need to be settled, and we need to move ahead with this.

So as a result of that, I'm in favor of uh of the measure.

Thank you.

Councilmember Hager.

I think um a couple of things for ITC's reputation of settling 99% of these goes a long ways.

I mean, you guys go to the ultimate end, so you don't have to go through this.

This isn't something that you strive to do is to go see a circuit judge to see if you could take somebody's land.

The other thing that um that that's the one thing that I think eminent domain is has a reputation of is it's taking of land, and this is an easement.

We are not taking their land, we're going through their land.

We have easements all over this community.

The the property owners still own their land, they can still farm their land, they can still do things in their land that they want to.

We're just putting an easement through their land for these power polls.

So um I'll be supporting this as well.

All right.

Uh council, thanks so much.

And I too want to echo um my support for this after much uh I'll be honest Heartburn, because I think um, you know, I had a very different experience than Councilmember Van Orney.

Um it really never was a foregone conclusion or um really a demand from ITC that this was an inevitable outcome.

I felt that it was extremely collaborative, and you know, the willingness of ITC um as would has been pointed out to partner with the city to find to partner with these, you know, these organizations that this is directly affecting, um, frankly, really speaks volumes um about your intent and understanding that this is not something that you take lightly.

So I appreciate you know the the flexibility in where polls are placed, so that you know, maximizing the use, whatever those properties um were designed or by the developer to be for.

Um I I just appreciate the thoughtfulness and um yeah, understanding what a big deal this is for us.

Um so, council, I really appreciate your time and attention to this because it has been extended.

It it um, you know, I think sometimes when the public sees these presentations, you know what the last thing we would want is for you to think that's the first time we're seeing this.

A lot of work, as you can see, months of work and and time and debate goes into this.

So today is where we where we get official with things.

So um if we don't have any further questions, I will take a motion to adopt the resolution.

So council member uh Todd, seconded by council member Poe.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, no.

And the motion carries.

Thank you, council.

Moving on to item number three.

This is a public hearing to consider the disposition of city-owned property at 413 Fifth Avenue Southwest as part of the SPARC program.

Jeff Woisencraft is here.

Jeff, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Jeff Losencraft with the community development department.

As mentioned, this is a property to this disposition through the SPARC program.

Just a little background here on the SPARC program and saving property and revitalizing communities.

Um, it was adopted in 2023.

Um, and it's a program that's collaborative amongst uh several city departments listed here and the Lynn County as well to redevelop vacant and abandoned parcels and put them back into productive use.

Uh the parcel in question today uh is located here on the map.

Interstate 380 is running on the right side of the image.

Um, Cedar River Academy is off to the left, and this is Sixth Street Southwest.

Um, so some more background on the property.

It's been vacant since uh the flood of 2008.

Um, since 2015, it had 41 code cases on it.

It was acquired using a vacant and abandoned chapter of state code and was demolished after acquisition in 25 2025 due to safety hazards.

Uh for the disposition, this was um included in RFP on November 21st uh for uh nonprofit affordable housing developers.

Um one proposal was received from Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity for construction of a new single unit home.

Um, and with all of these dispositions, uh there would be a purchase agreement that the project should commence within six months after closing.

Um so here's uh an example of uh current Spark property that Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity has done on the northwest side.

Um and with that staff would recommend accepting the proposal, authorizing the execution of a purchase agreement in the conveyance of Dean.

I'll pass it back to the mayor.

Thanks, Jeff.

This is time to place for public hearing on this matter.

Does anyone wish to address council?

Right, let the record show a public hearing has been held with no objections for the record.

Council?

All right, Councilman Orney.

Yeah, thanks, Mayor.

Uh Jeff, this program continues to be uh just a terrific one from start to finish.

Um we talk about this a lot on development committee, but it's really difficult to see these properties go vacant and be abandoned and then uh tie up time.

Of course, understandably the last thing we want to do is take property from somebody.

Um, but these oftentimes somebody's passed and there's nobody to leave it to, or uh there's been a fire, and somebody just does not have the capacity, whether they were fully insured or not.

Um so I really appreciate um all the intentionality behind these programs and allowing us to put neighbors back into these communities that have sat vacant for such an extended amount of time.

Um, really support this project.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

All right, seeing no further questions.

The adoption of this resolution has been moved by Poe, seconded by Overland.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

Item number four is a public hearing to consider the proposed plan, specifications, form of contract, and estimated cost for the tree of five seasons park and first street northeast two-way conversion project.

This has an estimated cost of two million seven hundred and ninety thousand dollars.

Rob Davis, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Good afternoon, Mayor City Council Rob Davis with the public works department.

Uh, this project uh has a good title, one of our shorter ones.

Uh it's really uh in this area and just across the street from City Hall and north of City Hall, bounded by Interstate 380, First Avenue, north and south, and then the Cedar River and uh the Cedar River Tower, um, this area bounded in yellow.

Um the flood control system is pretty well taken out the entire uh three or five season park so far.

Um and now this is uh this is actually one of four projects in the area uh is gonna put the three to five seasons back, but it's also gonna be transformational in that it will convert first street, northeast to two-way.

Uh right now that's only one way coming southbound.

Uh flood control system took some of the capacity away on first street uh northwest when uh that was converted from five lane to three lane.

So this will restore some of that northbound capacity.

Uh the opinion of probable cost of $2,790,000, as the mayor mentioned.

Uh the fog control system has $1,980,000 of that.

Paving for progress is uh paying for the conversion of the street, and then there's some miscellaneous funds for street lighting upgrades.

The bid opening is on February 4th, and construction is anticipated to start in spring with completion in October.

Uh let me show you some of the renderings here.

This is what the two-way conversion will look like.

There'll be one lane northbound and then uh one lane southbound, uh turning into a left and right turnway to First Avenue.

Uh I said there's several projects here.

This uh this area uh by the uh Cedar River Tower.

That's actually one of their projects that supports the uh new bank coming to their building.

Uh the other projects are the Army Corps of Engineers will clear the tree of five seasons park.

Uh the end of March is our current schedule.

And then the fourth project, uh the city will have a project to paint a mural on the uh pump station that's being constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

So this is the first street conversion.

Uh this is uh rendering of what the uh tree to five seasons park will look like when it's done.

It'll have uh the tree of five seasons, as you know, was moved and was also raised up, so there'll be a uh uh code compliant sidewalk that comes up from First Avenue, kind of ramps up around and then above the height of the tree of five seasons and comes out over to an overlook over the Cedar River.

Uh this is another kind of look of that uh showing um uh the overlook out over the top of the flood wall.

So again, we're trying to do our best so you don't really feel and see the flood wall there, you see the park, and for those who are um interested in getting interstate 380, they can get there another way to northbound as well.

Uh and uh this wouldn't be complete without some uh lighting to improve the uplighting of the tree of five season sculpture as well.

And with that, public works department recommends approval.

Thank you.

Thanks, Rob.

This is time to place for public hearing.

Does anyone wish to address council?

Let the record show public hearings have been held with no objections.

Council?

Councilmember Poe.

That's cool.

I really like that, Rob.

Way to go.

That I've never I've not seen that overlook before.

And conversion, uh, you know, the conversion of the street is necessary too.

So good job.

That's all I had to say.

Thank you.

Councilman Van Nordie.

Thank you.

Rob, you make this look so easy.

Um I I love using these examples.

Can you go back to the photo?

Because I think we just like that a lot.

Uh, one more.

There you go.

Um there's a couple of things.

Uh one, I I love that we have a uh fishing community, although I I don't eat fish, so and I don't know that I eat fish out of the Cedar River, but nonetheless, nonetheless, I know people do, I know people like it.

It's probably just because I don't eat fish.

But um, all that being said, um, the fact that you have some ADA accommodations in here is is important in the fact that people can uh not have to like stand in the rocks that they are today as diligent fishers, um, but actually, you know, allowing them down there with much greater ease, even if they just you know just want to enjoy the water's edge.

Um, the fact that this is so seamless in there.

I I think a lot of people have been uh not everybody is able to keep along with all the flood projects that we have.

So a lot of people have been speculating.

How do these walls work?

What is that happening?

And you know, we've been talking about it for a long time, and people are still uh coming to the coming to terms or coming to the table with what is even happening here.

But this is this is really beautiful.

I mean, I love the flags.

I know we've talked about that a lot um at council of like having this be uh allow for more um ceremony and kind of um intentionality there, um, and certainly keeping um with the uplighting and everything that's already happening in this park.

Um you just make it look easy to do these projects, and I know that they are anything but um so I appreciate your intentionality with uh how well you are mastering this.

Thank you.

Councilor Todd.

Mayor, thank you.

I don't think there's a project in in the city that has been monitored so closely from the city manager's office than this project.

And uh what started out is I think in terms of the public's perception of it, a simple gesture, moving the tree of five seasons, putting the pump station in, is really an incredibly complicated project because of the flood control system.

There's been numerous variations of this this piece of property here.

My question to you is simply what week will the street conversion happen because I want to be out of town far away from the day that happens.

Turn your email off too.

Yeah, so but Rob, good luck.

Okay.

Wow, and what do we always say, Rob?

Flood protection?

Hiding them points on.

That's right.

Yes.

That is so great.

Great example of that.

Thank you so much for all we call them the FUD flood guru on purpose.

If there are no further questions, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Overlin, seconded by Hager.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed pay no, say no.

And this motion carries.

Number five is a public hearing to consider the proposed plan specifications, form of contract, and estimated cost for the Cedar Lake Amenities Playground Equipment Package project.

This has estimated cost of $600,000.

Ben Warrell is here.

Ben, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Ben Moral Public Works Department.

This is a Connect CR project to install playground near Cedar Lake next to Shaver Road Northeast.

I've put a star on the map for the location.

Project includes synthetic turf surfacing with fall attenuation, padding, and drainage aggregate.

Site work, including grading, concrete, shelter, uh, and parking lot are included on other packages.

The playground will be designed for ADA compliance.

And this bid will be a little bit different.

Really, the bidders will be submitting proposals.

There's some flexibility on what the bidders proposed.

And so uh cost is a factor in selection, but uh our parks department has uh developed a scoring system, and the proposals will be scored by our parks and community development departments before selection.

Here's a concept of what the playground will look like.

There's a variety of uh age intentions here.

There's a preschool tent climber, and then for a little bit older kids, there's a play structure, and then for teenagers and adults, there's a challenge course that'll have a timer uh board, and uh that'll be the first challenge course in the city uh for city parks.

Engineers' opinion probable cost is six hundred thousand.

The bin letting is scheduled for February 4th, and construction is expected summer through November.

And again, that this work will need to be coordinated with the site work contractor.

Public works department recommends approval of the resolution.

Thank you.

Thanks, Ben.

This is time and a place for public hearing on this matter.

Does anyone wish to address council?

Seeing none, uh let the record show a public hearing has been held with no objections.

Council, Councilmember Todd.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh I I think we just need to be careful a little bit when we say playground, because I mean, while there's there's structures there, this is meant to be more sort of an extreme challenge course, uh, an amenity, the people who utilize the the trail loop, uh, whether you know younger or older, uh, they would be able to activate on this the space.

And so the the design it's gonna be a work in progress, but the terms of playground construction design, the the largest segment of growth is this extreme play.

You know, what America Ninja Warrior or what I mean, along those lines, the people can come and exercise and and you know uh and so that's what we've got going on here.

There is another playground that'll be along, you know, in the area of the light line loop some point in time, but this is simply a space that'll be uh in in the Cedar Lake area.

And so, Ben, thank you for that.

Anyone else?

All right, if there's no further questions, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Hager, seconded by Meyer.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

Six is a public hearing to consider the proposed plan, specifications, form of contract, and estimated cost for the West Side Library F FNE project.

This has an estimated cost of $1,500,000.

Jason Stancliffe Stancliffe is here.

Jason, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

Jason Stancova Facilities Maintenance Services, and I'm here today to talk about the West Side Library F FNE project.

Uh the work generally consists of furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the Boosie branch, uh new library on San Burglane.

Um bid documents were issued on January 14th.

The question deadline was January 21st.

The bids are due tomorrow.

The estimated cost is 1.5 million and it's funded by the library foundation.

FMS recommends uh adoption of plans, specifications from a contract, and estimated cost is in the resolution.

With that, I turn it back over to you.

Thanks, Jason.

This is time and a place for public hearing on this.

Does anyone wish to address council?

Let the record show a public hearing has been held with no objections.

Council.

All right, seeing no further no further questions.

The adoption of this resolution has been moved by Meyer, seconded by Todd.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And this motion carries.

Here in the city of Cedar Rapids, we have two public comment periods.

The first is a chance for the public to address the city council on any subject pertaining to council action set for today.

A second public input period comes at the end of the meeting for residents, property owners, and business owners to speak to issues that are germane to this city but may not be on the agenda today.

Council members and city staff themselves make themselves available for uh by phone or email.

But at this time, we are here as a body to listen.

Uh please remember that all the matters I addressed prior to the first public hearing today apply to these public comment hearings as well.

Remain at the lectern if you have documents given the documents, given the officer.

Five minutes total, yellow light, one minute red sit down.

All comments are directed to the matters you wish to address.

Abusive, obscene, irrelevant comments are not allowed, and we ask for no participation from the audience.

If you've signed up to speak, approach the microphone when called upon.

And it looks as though we have two speakers here, and they've probably already spoken.

Um Sherry Monahan has spoken.

Dusky Terry, Dusky, do you still wish to speak?

Okay.

Then that will officially close out our first public comment period.

City Manager Pomrance, do you have any changes to the agenda?

One change, Your Honor.

Uh, the public works department is requesting the removal of item number 24R from the agenda.

24Renty for R.

It's a paving for progress item.

Okay.

Thank you for that.

That'll bring us to uh motion to approve the agenda as amended.

Uh the approval has been moved by Todd, seconded by Van Orney.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

That brings us to consent.

Yes.

Yeah, thank you.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

I would like to recuse myself on consent agenda item 18C.

ID number 49 and 195.

Okay, I'm gonna ask you to repeat that one.

You're moving too quick.

Quick for me.

What was it again?

I'm sorry.

That's okay.

I'd like to recuse myself on consent agenda item 18C.

ID number 49 and 195.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh the approval of the consent agenda has been moved by Overland, seconded by Hager.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

Thank you, Council.

Onto our regular agenda.

Item number 25 is a report on bids for the 42nd Street Northeast from Pineview Drive to Wennock Road Pavement Improvements Project.

This has an estimated cost of $4,600,000.

Doug Wilson is here.

Doug, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor Doug Wilson.

Public Works Department.

This project includes full reconstruction of the pavement, new sidewalk, and ADA compliant curb ramps, water main storm, and sanitary sewer improvements, along with a mid-block rectangular rapid flashing beacon crossing for pedestrians near Kennedy High School, along with traffic signal improvements at Wenig Road.

There were two public meetings held for this project prior to uh the bidding.

Uh and there will be signage on all on the detours for all non-residential properties, as was in the first phase of the 42nd Street project done this year or last year, excuse me.

Pre-bid conference was held January 14th.

Bid opening is scheduled for January, uh was scheduled for January 21st with construction to start this spring and completion in the late fall or early in 2027.

We received nine bids for this project, ranging from 3,970, 202.38 cents to five million three hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and sixty-five dollars and seventy-six cents.

The public work department recommends approval of the resolution to award to Roche Construction Company.

Thank you.

Thanks, Doug.

Council, questions other than amen.

Praise the Lord.

42nd Street.

Thanks, Doug.

If there are no further questions, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Meyer, seconded by Todd.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

26 is a report on bids for the Mount Vernon Road Tank and Wilson Avenue Tank Reconditioning Project.

This has an estimated cost of 1,935,000.

Casey Meyer is here.

Casey, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Good evening, Council.

Casey Meyer with the Utilities Department.

Uh this project is for the reconditioning and rehabilitation of both the Mount Vernon Road and the Wilson Avenue water towers.

And the city's name and logo will be painted on the sides of both tanks.

We received nine bids on January 14th that ranged from $1,243,000 to $2,428,000, with O and J codings submitting the low bit.

The engineer's opinion, the engineer's opinion of probable construction cost for this project is $1,935,000.

Construction for the Mount Vernon Road Tank is expected to begin in April of 2026, and construction for the Wilson Avenue tank is expected to begin in September of 2026.

The utilities department recommends awarding this contract to O and J Codings.

And with that, I'll turn it back to you, Mayor.

So it's clear no one in these parts do tanks, right?

Those are all crazy out of state.

Yeah, we can go back.

We have worked with ONJ codings in the past.

But we we have a wide range of locations.

Yeah, interesting.

Okay.

Well, thank you for that.

Uh council questions.

Okay.

If there's no further questions, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Van Orney, seconded by Poe.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And this motion carries.

27 is a presentation and resolution authorizing revision number 11 to the Cedar River Cedar River Flood Control System Plan.

Rob Davis and Abi Dishbandi are here to talk about that.

I'll recognize you both.

Thank you, Your Honor.

I'll start off with uh just basically explaining what the FCS plan is since it's been around for a while, but um it's always good to have a little reminder.

Um this was originally adopted by city council in June of 2015.

It's basically a guide that we use for the planning and design activities for the flood control system.

You know, include the what we're building, where, what design standards, what they look like, how it's financed, uh, when it's uh what's priorities, things like that.

So it was always intended to be updated periodically for these purposes as construction progresses, as we might get grants, as needs might change.

Um design standards or federal requirements might change.

Um and so it's there, it's a fluid document.

Uh the last revision that was done was revision number 10, and that was in January 2025, so just a year ago.

So we've been averaging about one a year.

Uh this is the alignment.

Uh, as I said, it shows what we're gonna build and where.

Um, so this is the 7.4 miles along the Cedar River, the uh magenta colors, the levees, the solid blue is the walls, the green dots are the pump stations, and those red um are the combination of uh shorter flood walls with removables on top of them, and the yellow dashed are the pump station detention basins next to them.

So again, this is just the this is the overall plan.

Um and then um really just have um uh two things for this uh annual update.

The first one, uh, which Abi will talk about is uh chapter five, the financial plan for the proposed uh next nine fiscal years.

And then if you like some of the renderings I showed you before, I got some good renderings that we're adding to the uh plan for the um uh eighth Avenue Bridge.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

Uh that's for the uh the total financial plan uh for the cost of Pinion is now around 1.25 billion uh through FY 2035.

Um, as uh uh Rob mentioned about how the whole system is funded through uh the federal fund, state fund, as well as the local fund.

It's kind of a three-legged stool.

Uh and the federal funds are around uh 199 million for uh million so far.

The state of Iowa funds, which is the IO flood mitigation program, which is around 269 million, and the city of City Rapids local funds, which is the largest share so far, is 297 million uh out of that.

The general obligation bonds um have been adopted as part of uh the FCS plan was about 264 million, as well as some miscellaneous uh local revenue or local source of revenue is around 33 million dollars.

And there are uh miscellaneous grants such as the Protect grant of uh 58, 56 million.

That no, so total miscellaneous grant is around 81.8 uh one million.

So the uh at this point, the oral the 65% of the the flood control system or uh the financial plan uh has been funded.

Uh so we are talking about how we can fund the next uh around 35% remaining of that 1.25 million to 1.25 billion um estimate.

Um just a little history on the the the geo the local geo bond financing that was adopted by the city council.

Uh it was adopted in around uh FY2029.

Uh that was the nine-year plan.

The total approval was 264 million for the bonding uh program.

Uh and this the council authorized the death levy increase of flood control system from FY292 FY29 for nine years, 1.5 um dollars basically.

Uh on that, the current status is the bonds are sold a little bit ahead of the original schedule uh as per the um to as per to accelerate the the progress of the flood control system, the bonds sold out of that f uh from uh out of the 264 million authorization through from FY20 through FY26 is around 247.8 million that includes the 30 36 million that will be sold in June 2026 this year.

Uh as you can see in the death levy increase for the flood control system from FY20 through FY26 is $1.47.

Um you may remember the council has approved around 22 cents every year, but uh in FY23 it was 15 cents.

So out of that original one $1.50 authorization, only three cents are remaining at this point.

Going forward.

Um now as per the proposed financial plan, uh so this uh financial plan was presented to both uh council subcommittees for the finance committee as well as the flood control um committee as well, which they recommended for full council consideration today.

So basically, as per this financial plan from starting from FY27 to 35, um this will extend the time frame for FCS and that will match to the the time frame what uh the state IFM program is or US Army Corps uh plans are until FY35 uh forecasted to generate around uh up to 300 million local funding through geo bonding, the local share of funds will be decreased in relation to state, federal or grant funding matches.

So even though the request or authorization could be around 300 million, will will decrease that as per the state, federal or grant funding matches will emerge in future.

Uh this plan also outlines the need to increase the current death levy uh for FCS construction by up to two dollars.

Um right now we have $1.47.

That will increase uh authorization to dollar uh $3.47 over the next nine fiscal years from FY27 through FY35.

Uh the annual increase will be varied.

They are they may not be the same as you see seen in the past, like 22 cents every year.

Will um will uh adjust the annual increase based on the city's taxable valuation each year.

Finance department will monitor uh analyze and determine the required annual increase as per the how much the need the project has or interest rates or taxable valuation as per that, uh a combination of various different facts.

Um the overall basically this plan provides more flexibility to the um uh as to adjust the bond sale as per as per the need of that project.

Uh doesn't specify uh the specific bond amount uh sales per year, which was in the past.

Um as I said, that uh annual increase would be um adjusted as per the scheduled projects uh taxable valuation and interest risk calculations.

Uh annual increment um increase can consider additional outside funding secured from the state, federal or gr or some other grants.

Um as I said that uh annual increase would be um I guess it has for the the scheduled projects uh taxable valuation and interest risk calculations uh annual increment um increase can consider additional outside funding secure from the state federal grant or some other grants um if uh the state uh state and federal share um increases that will decrease the local share and ads for um that um uh particular the external source external uh partnership will reduce the local bonding share as well um basically it allows the to maintain the momentum planning and implementation uh segment of the the flood control system it allows also grant applications which require the local match uh for uh many fertile grant applications also it's accommodate the original match required to 35 to 65 uh percent cost share for the entire flood control system with that I will turn it over to the floor control guru thank you Abby so as um uh Abi mentioned we took the chapter five financial section to uh both council committees on December 1 and then December 11th uh so uh but so as you said those have been recommended uh the other thing we wanted to add was the renderings of the 8th Avenue bridge which also went to both committees uh the bridge has been shown in there in a very generic form for a long time but we do want to show exactly what um is gonna be built um we are at this point now sitting about um eight months away from bidding this project so uh this time next year we should be getting pretty close to um we're getting started with construction uh bits uh you can see the the rendering here it's a four-lane bridge um it's got an A-frame tower uh centered in the bridge it's um or something in the river so it's a 700 foot long bridge um it's got two um side paths uh on the outside there are 14 uh foot wide on each side uh the purpose of this bridge is is uh this is one of those things that we want to say hiding in plain sight the um you can see the cranic bridge in the back it's got a lot of piers in the river and that actually can slow up and create friction and and uh raise the water surface we literally are working with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on hundredths of a foot and so we had to find the most hydraulic bridge we we could and that's single pier in the river.

These are very large piers are like 16 foot diameter but it's a much more you can just see the wide opening there.

So it is a flood control system item.

The bridge also goes over the top of the flood wall so during a flood uh there is another opportunity to get across river besides interstate 380 here's kind of a a view looking from south to north you can kind of see again the uh the cables there um this is uh kind of a shot on the bridge uh you can actually see it's kind of a uh kind of a nice uh view where the cables come down between the travel lanes and the uh side paths so if you're on the sidewalk you're not looking at all through the cables uh you get to see a clear view of downtown uh here's what you would see you know you will see this um uh from quite a distance this tower is a hundred and seventy five feet above the deck so it's pretty tall um it will have lighting we're currently working on the lighting uh plans for now um we know that it you know it's gonna be a centerpiece of the system uh we will come up with how that is maintainable to light it because replacing all the white balls 175 feet in the air is not something I want to climb up and do so we'll come up with a plan for that going forward again a couple of other renderings here and with that we'll turn it back to council thank you Rob okay council councilman Worthy uh can you go back to the photo perfect um so there's a lot in this we've we've been I mean I I drive past this if not on this bridge right now um most days if not um every day um and it's in dire repair I mean it it is just so apparent that we have done everything we can to extend the useful life of it so I I know that we are in desperate need of doing this I really appreciate uh all the the thought and care that's gone into figuring out what is the best use of funds and grants and combinations thereof uh to accomplish this um this is beautiful and it really is a centerpiece um and can you go to the one with the um sidewalks on it right there uh you you really can't do this now um so not only uh should this help with with anybody just commuting but uh if you were to walk there which a lot of times you know uh my family and I will go and eat and then we'll try and uh cut across to go to uh an event at McGrath and it's tight when you have a crowd there anyway let alone getting like two groups of people passing by each other let alone on both sides um so it this the utility behind this and all the the um function uh the form is great right it's beautiful the lights are beautiful I love that I want to get the lights on all of our bridges and just keep that going but the the form behind that or sorry the function behind this is actually really incredible in the fact that it it does lift it up which is an incredible feat to lift that road roadway higher than it is so that we can still use it.

It's beautiful, the lights are beautiful.

I love that.

I want to get the lights on all of our bridges and just keep that going.

But the the form behind that, or sorry, the function behind this is actually really incredible in the fact that it it does lift it up, which is an incredible feat to lift that road roadway higher than it is so that we can still use it.

Um and I know we're all just really excited to see this come about.

So I am not looking forward to when it closes um for some time, but it is we we've had those signs up for probably 15 years saying it's coming, and I think people stopped believing us a long time ago, but we are actually really close to um setting sail on this.

So thank you for all the incredulous work that goes into this.

Councilmember Overland.

Thank you, Mayor.

Just a few comments, and as it seems like it's uh gone fairly fast to where now we're getting to the point where about halfway through construction fairly soon.

And uh definitely this is a journey, not a destination as we've been going along.

But uh as I see this, uh, with all the delicate planning that has been done over the years and going forward, it comes as close as we can get to ensuring that we get this project done in a reasonable amount of time.

Uh we've been very uh efficient in acquiring outside resources, uh bridge obviously being one of those examples.

But the biggest thing is as we go forward is uh each year during the budget process, future councils will figure out along with your advice and consent on um what additional bonding should be occurring at that time, so we keep the momentum up as we have been doing.

Sometimes people ask me, well, how come we're not going faster?

And I said, Well, we probably could go faster, except uh depends on how much uh disruption you want to have in any given year, so people still need to be able to use the city.

But we're rolling along, and I'm looking forward to when they start building this bridge.

Thank you.

Councilmember Todd.

Thank you, Mayor.

I I just want to just echo uh councilmember Overland's comments.

Um and Councilmember Tyler Olson's not here, but I have to give him uh and the flood team along with the city manager a shout out for their the work that they've done on this.

Uh it was last week that Major General uh Peebles was here along with her team, and uh council should really be aware that this is while uh trying to think of a delicate way to say this.

Well, our country is uh in the middle of significant chaos right now.

Uh this project is managed to weather the storm of politics, and it is uh uh supported in a bipartisan way, and most importantly, the the citizens of Cedar app it's have really provided us with the luxury of being able to have some flexibility in terms of the timing and the cost.

Uh and that's that's because of their confidence confidence and trust and and in the process so far.

And uh Rob and Abby, you guys uh uh you you really should feel good with what we've been able to do in terms of transforming uh the heart of the city uh with the our flood control system.

You've done a an incredible uh job of uh uh uh doing it and shepherding it along the way, and uh we look forward to when it's completed.

Uh I assume our city manager will still be here then, but uh you know whenever that it gets done, we'll all be around, but we're looking forward to it.

Okay.

Councilmember Poe, yeah, thank you.

Um so I'm you know, in 2008, this this bridge is is so extremely critical for connecting the east side and the west side of our community and getting into the core of our community now with some flood control in place.

Um in 2008, you going across I-380 would just take you where at that point, we had to go all the way up to Waterloo to even go to Iowa City.

And so I can't I can't underestimate how important or overestimate how important this is, because this really I don't think so.

We started the the uh flood control system, was it uh 2010?

You first started working on it, or was it nine?

Well, we we first city council first passed its uh uh resolution of the plan in November of 2008 for what the plan would be, and then we started with the amphitheater in 2010.

Okay, so that was the that was the alignment back then.

Okay.

So was this even was the bridge even part of that conversation at that point?

It was not that was added in 2016.

Yeah, and so this this whole plan has he has evolved.

And and I want to just say 81.1 million dollars is nothing to sneeze at when you take a look at the grants we've been able to pull in.

So thank you for that.

Um do you remember, Rob, when we first started this, what the estimate was for the amount of money we were gonna, we thought we'd have to spend at that time on our flood control system.

It was in the order of magnitude going back a decade or 11 years ago, about 600 million dollars.

So you can see the dramatic increase and why we've had to make these moves.

So um, thank you both.

Thank you, Avi.

Thank you so much.

Um really appreciate your work, Rob.

And again, what can I say?

We're gonna get there.

I just want to say thank you as you're complimenting us.

I think it would um should go with uh understanding the leadership of this city council and previous city councils over the last decade.

This is a revision number 11.

Thank you, the city manager as well.

Um, this is a long-term project and has got another decade to go.

So thank you, City Council as well.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jeff.

And I just might add to you guys are pretty smart in how you ordered this presentation.

Tell us how much more it's gonna cost, and then show us the beautiful picture.

That was really smart.

But um, all kidding aside, um, I I think you know, this council.

I mean, I don't know what everyone's votes gonna be, but I we will absolutely um you know, even if we have to increase that contribution, you know, from the well-meaning and well uh paying taxpayers of Cedar Rapids.

Um, one thing I've experienced is leadership.

Um, Rob, your participation in our trips to Washington, DC.

And you mentioned, you know, the more money we can bring in from our state and federal partners, the less that we have to contribute as a city.

So um, you know, I can certainly pledge that our efforts will continue to even move just by you know basis points to provide relief to our taxpayers.

So thank you for all that.

As relates to this bridge, um, you know, I think it's also a testament what to council member Todd mentioned.

We've worked with two administrations on this bridge.

Yeah, that's really something.

I don't know if we want to say that out loud, but I just did.

Um, so it really has been um, you know, a collaborative effort from a lot of different different groups.

And you know, Rob, once again, kudos to you for being flexible and I know making adjustments along the way to make it work for a variety of different communities.

So thank you.

Okay, if there's no other further comments, the adoption of this resolution has been moved by Overland, seconded by Hager.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye, those opposed say no.

And this motion carries 28 is a presentation and resolution authorizing city financial incentives under the community better benefit economic development program for the construction of a new commercial logistics building at 4690 Bowling Street Southwest, as proposed by Plum Supply LLC.

So Scott Mather is here.

Scott, I'll recognize you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Council Scott Mather with the city manager's office.

We received a request from Plum Supply LLC for standard city financial incentives for the construction of a new commercial logistics building at 4690 Bowling Street Southwest.

Company's been uh here in Cedar Rapid since 1979, and they desire to expand operations here in Cedar Rapids rather than constructing smaller hubs in other neighboring communities.

Project qualifies under the community benefit economic development program for the expansion of an existing business in a targeted industry, and this parcel is currently vacant.

This is a $15.2 million capital investment for the construction of a 92,000 square foot warehouse and logistics building.

Uh the construction is planned to begin here in April of 26 and complete in May of 27.

This would maintain 30 jobs and create seven new jobs.

The city incentive provides a tenure declining scale exemption of the increased value generated by the project, uh estimated at to generate 3.1 million in total taxes over 10 years, of which 1.2 million would be exempted.

Uh here's a map showing the project location with I-380 over here to the left, and uh 30 is uh just out of view here to the south.

There's a picture of the current status of the vacant lot.

And here is the site plan again, bowling street over here to the right, I 380 over here to the left.

And a couple of renderings.

So today we're here to consider the resolution of support.

If approved, uh next steps would be to establish an urban revitalization area.

With that a return back to you, Mayor.

Thanks, Scott.

Council.

Councilman Orney.

Thanks, Mayor.

Um, just welcome then to to uh district five.

And and hopefully those renderings will include some trees.

Just putting it all together.

Definitely.

Thank you.

Okay, if there are no further questions, the adopter of this resolution has been moved by Todd, seconded by Van Orney.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

That now brings us to ordinances.

29 is an ordinance establishing the Rose Cottage 2 urban revitalization area for property along Prairie View Lane Southwest as requested by Rose Cottage 2 LLC.

The approval of this ordinance on its second reading has been moved by Van Orney, seconded by Overland.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed saying no.

And the motion carries thank you, Council.

Councilmember Poe.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move the rule requiring three readings on three different days to be suspended and the ordinance be adopted on its third and final reading.

The adoption of this ordinance on third and final reading has been moved by Poe, seconded by Hager.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

And that's going to close out our formal business today, bringing us to our final public input period.

If you're not a resident property owner or business owner, you won't be permitted to speak, but we encourage you to email or call council or city staff with your comments.

As is the earlier public comment period, we are here as a body to listen.

Comments are limited to five minutes, yellow light, one minute, red light, sit down.

If you sign up to speak, please approach the microphone when called upon.

And our first speaker, Joshua Candler, here to speak on rental property issues.

Hello again, council.

We've seen each other how many times now.

But let's get down to the brass tax.

We have in this city uh properties that are being owned by companies out of state.

A good example is the former Hardwick apartments at on Oakland Road, which are now known as the Five Seasons apartments.

They are owned by a property management company called Arrow Midwest out of Lincoln, Nebraska.

And that poses a serious problem for the citizens in those properties.

Therefore, I'm gonna propose an ordinance or whatever you guys can do to force property management companies that have any presence in this city.

I don't care, but I propose that an ordinance is passed that requires there to be an endpoint contact for that property management company in the city that a person that a renter or someone utilizing that property can contact.

So it's not easy.

Um severe problems with their plumbing.

Their uh tub is currently backed up and flooding their bathroom.

They have no bathroom door, they have there's no barrier between the flooding bathroom and the rest of the prop their apartment.

So, you know, we since we don't as people who live in these apartments owned by this property company, we don't have a contact.

Nothing.

The only means we have to get in contact with our landlord is through the uh resident portal on an app folio app on our phones.

Yeah, they have a cell a phone number, but trying to get a hold of them is like trying to play pick up sticks with uh with a pile of sticks 17 miles tall.

You can't do it, it's not possible, and it's just not possible to have people in this property in this city who runs run our properties and make it so that we can't get a hold of the resources we need.

Yeah, they contract with companies here in Cedar Rapids to do maintenance, but if we need to talk to them, what if God forbid the apartment is collapsing?

What if God forbid?

You know, our bathtub, our toilet, our sink is jetting water from the sewer.

I mean, it hasn't happened yet, but the property at 1414 Oakland is known to have very, very poor piping.

So it's a possibility.

Um, so again, I've already talked to Councilmember Poe about this.

I recommend we get uh we I recommend we get an ordinance in place that mandates every property management company, no matter where you're located in this country, someone in the city helps manage that company for them.

For every resident, for every person who rents in the city.

I believe it's essential.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Candler.

In the meantime, um, I'm hoping that someone from staff can help Mr.

Candler.

Thank you.

Um, Siabadi.

Uh, next uh on our list is Bronson Beals here to speak on traffic delineators.

Good evening, Mayor O'Donnell and members of the City Council.

Thank you for your attention to my presentation on 13th January and for the opportunity to address the council again today.

I would like to thank Council Member Meyer especially for taking time to discuss this issue with me after the last meeting.

Sir, I was heartened by your research into this matter, and I thank you for your interest.

I think you will find my comments today shed further light on the situation.

My name is Bronson Beals, and I have returned to discuss further the issue of the traffic delineators installed by the Streets Department in early December to sequester traffic from East Robins Road and Marquette Drive Northeast.

Before I begin, I would like to share some handouts.

As you know, I live at one of the 410 households on East Robins Road affected by this traffic diversion from Marquette.

I previously made the case to this body that the consensus gathering process used to justify installation of this fixture was motivated, excuse me, motivated by convenience and excluded the vast majority of interested parties.

While I maintain this argument, I submit to you now not only that this action is an inconvenience to city residents, but that it is a hazard.

Imagine my surprise Sunday morning as I was driving up East Robins to find several delineators scattered about the street and ditches surrounding the installation site in a fashion to that pictured on page seven of your handout.

On Sunday afternoon, my brother and I were surprised to find 14 delineators similar to the site-acquired samples here, separated from their base, surrounded by sharp fragments of broken plastic from the base and pieces of carbonper.

Our survey shown on page four indicated that fragments from what can only be assumed to be successive automotive collisions were strewn across East Robins Road and surrounding properties as far as Princeton and Normandy Drives, over three-tenths of a mile east of Marquette Drive.

Almost two weeks after the initial collision, the streets department had not removed these fragments from the road or from the ditches.

When we began to gather this litter from the area, every car passing along the westward portion of East Robins Road continued to drive over this debris.

Photographs of our total collection, which comprises almost 30% of the original number of delineators installed by the Streets Department, as well as large pieces of plastic debris there from and car parts are presented on page six.

Of this collection, I took into custody three delineators and select fragments for exhibitory purposes and am pleased to commend them into the care of the city, should it so desire.

These delineators were installed less than two months ago and already decreased in if efficacy by 30%.

Consider the danger that they posed to the drivers of Cedar Rapids having already caused due collisions.

It is clear that these crashes came at the cost of damage to personal property, though the danger that these accidents pose to the drivers and occupants of the affected vehicles and oncoming traffic cannot be ignored.

Even today, small plastic fragments threatened harm to tires that roll along East Robins Road and to Animals Crossing.

They deface property as litter.

How did one of the delineators come to rest nearly half a mile down the road?

It is obvious that this solution by the streets department, aside from being inconvenient, was temporary and did not consider durability.

What expense will come to the city in allocating resources to clean up this mess and to repair the delineators?

What if the time and attention of dispatch police officers making crash reports for the collisions that will inevitably follow these?

What inconvenience does this cause to the plowman as he alters his rhythm of street clearing?

This solution was undertaken hastily with the goal of quieting a small group of dissenters objecting to a contrived issue.

The solution now endangers and inconveniences a much larger contingent of Cedar Rapidians.

We were happy to assist the city in cleaning up this mess.

The city will have, however, to clean up the mess itself and to modify the delineators.

This project is quickly spiraling into an unchecked expense and a sunk cost with little benefit to stakeholders.

Therefore, I ask you to exercise your authority as the discretionary body over Cedar Rapids, custodians of the public purse, and guardians of public safety to insist that the streets department repent from this poor decision.

Instead of squandering further resources and perpetuating this fanciful effort, direct that this inefficacious obstruction be removed to the tune of accolade from over a thousand affected residents.

Thank you for your time and consideration in addressing this important concern.

I would be delighted to discuss this issue further with any of you.

Thank you.

And that will close out our second public input period.

City Manager Pomerance, do you have any communications today?

No communications, okay.

Thanks.

If there's no further questions, uh business to come before council.

Councilmember Overlin moves to adjourn, seconded by Council Member Poe.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed say no.

And the motion carries.

We are adjourned.