Cedar Rapids City Council Meeting — November 3, 2026

Meeting held Tuesday, November 3, 2026. No agenda or minutes were provided; this summary is based on the raw transcript. The mayor was absent. The transcript's opening absence list names Olson, Scott, and Todd, but Councilmember Todd later speaks and votes, so the transcript is internally inconsistent on attendance. The meeting included a National Adoption Month proclamation, an Area Ambulance Service update, multiple public hearings on urban renewal areas/TIF districts and capital projects, budget-related personnel actions, bid awards, ordinance readings, and public comment.

Proclamations & Presentations

• Councilmember Van Orney read a proclamation recognizing November 2026 as National Adoption Month in Cedar Rapids, citing over 77,000 children in the U.S. foster care system waiting for permanency and more than 15,000 teens transitioning to adulthood with an urgent need for adoptive families or permanent connections.
• Jennifer Peedon, Area Ambulance Service, presented an operational update. She said Area is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, 100% self-sustaining with no tax or hospital subsidy, and has provided pre-hospital care since 1971 under a 2006 cooperative agreement among five entities. In FY ending 2026, Area responded to over 32,000 calls, including 19,600 911 calls in Cedar Rapids; in the first four months of FY2027 it projected about 36,000 calls and 22,000 Cedar Rapids 911 calls, averaging about 100 calls and 76 transports daily. About 30% of transports were facility transfers. She described fractile response-time standards (90% threshold; 9 minutes for life-threatening and 12 minutes for non-life-threatening calls), said the system was running over 900 calls above budget, and outlined dynamic deployment, predictive AI dispatch, demand analysis, added unit hours, community partnerships, and a training center. Councilmembers asked about rising call volume and thanked the service; Peedon said she did not have a clear explanation for the increase.

Consent Calendar

• The agenda was approved as amended, moving item 14 from the consent agenda to the regular agenda at Councilmember Meyer's request. The consent agenda was then approved without discussion.

Public Hearings & Development Approvals

• Airport No. 1 URA along Wright Brothers Boulevard SW: public hearing held with no objections; resolution and first TIF ordinance reading approved. Staff said the airport-owned land is tax-exempt and marketed for aerospace/defense; future water-main extensions were identified.
• Airport No. 2 URA along Wright Brothers Boulevard SW: public hearing held with no objections; resolution and first TIF ordinance reading approved.
• Mallory URA at 1756 Mallory Street SW: public hearing held with no objections; resolution and first TIF ordinance reading approved.
• OFB LLC development agreement at 1756 Mallory Street SW: public hearing held; resolution approved. Staff described a 969,000 capital investment, demolition of dilapidated structures, four three-bedroom/two-and-a-half-bath townhomes with detached garages, rents below 80% AMI, construction spring 2027 to spring 2028, and a 15-year 100% tax rebate expected to generate 210,000 in total taxes with 160,000 rebated.
• Parks URA along Earhart Lane SW: public hearing held with no objections; resolution and first TIF ordinance reading approved. Staff said the property is owned by Hunter Parks and Christa Wolf and may support a future master-plan redevelopment and water-main extension.
• Stone Ridge URA along Stony Point Road SW: public hearing held with no objections; resolution and first TIF ordinance reading approved.
• Forge Inc. development agreement for single-family subdivision infrastructure along Stony Point Road SW: public hearing held; resolution approved. Staff described a 1 million public-infrastructure investment for 32 lots in the 300,000 to 350,000 range, with a 50% rebate of documented public-improvement costs up to 500,000 through new tax increment; construction spring to fall 2027.
• 34th Street SE from north of Terry Drive to Cottage Grove Avenue: public hearing held with no objections; resolution approved. Estimated cost 4.270 million for pavement reconstruction, water main replacement, storm and sanitary sewer improvements, and shared-use path; bid opening November 18, construction spring to fall 2027.
• Kirkwood Boulevard SW from Rolling Ridge Drive to 66th Avenue: public hearing held with no objections; resolution approved. Estimated cost 1.380 million for pavement patching/rehabilitation, diamond grinding, and ADA curb ramps; bid opening November 4, construction spring to fall 2027.
• Cedar Lake amenities, bid package 3B: public hearing held with no objections; resolution approved. Estimated cost 3.790 million for a nature-viewing platform/bird walk, floating vegetated islands, piers, shelter, trail reconstruction, benches, bike racks, signage, and habitat restoration; bid letting November 18, substantial completion September 2027, final planting establishment June 2028. Councilmember Todd noted the area will remain a construction site for at least another year, including a pump station and McLeod Run Trail connection.
• Ellis Boulevard NW levee and flood-wall improvements: public hearing held with no objections; resolution approved. Estimated cost 4.530 million, funded with Iowa flood mitigation funds, to complete the Ellis Boulevard realignment/levee and cul-de-sac; detour via O Avenue, Edgewood Road, and Ellis Boulevard; bid opening November 18, contract start end of March 2027, two-year completion October 2028.
• Item 12 was canceled at the public works department's request; no staff presentation or vote occurred, and no audience member spoke.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The clerk reported no written comments or objections filed for the public hearings. No one signed up for the first public comment period.
• Alex Frazier, Cedar Rapids, developer with OFB, supported the Mallory project. He said the TIF helps justify infill challenges, rising interest rates, and building-material supply costs; he was excited to add four units and thanked community input, city staff, and council.
• Bryce Rickliffe, Central City, developer with Forge Inc., thanked the mayor's office and council for programs enabling the Stone Ridge project. He said the project had been bought and drawn up about four years earlier but the numbers did not work for the target home price, and he looked forward to bringing 32 affordable homes to the community.
• Christina Akers, Cedar Rapids, submitted a written constitutional grievance and demands for compliance. She alleged the mayor unconstitutionally suppressed and cut off a document under an arbitrary three-minute rule on October 20, 2026; demanded the full packet be accepted into the public record unredacted and that council provide a formal written reasoned response; and cited Loper Bright, Jarkesy, Corner Post, and Ohio v. EPA while asserting constitutional limits on administrative procedures.

Discussion Items

• FY2028 budget and personnel actions: the city manager presented revenue pressures from the state's 2% property-tax growth cap, noting an 11-year average growth of about 2.6%; a new homestead exemption costing 3.6 million; elimination of the commercial backfill costing 1.43 million; and elimination of the residential backfill costing 0.37 million. He said these totaled over 7 million in annual revenue loss and could reach over 35 million annually by 2032 without action. The proposed response included not filling 16 vacant positions and laying off six employees, for about 24.75 positions affected, plus a proposed severance package of 12 weeks of pay and health insurance for eligible employees losing jobs, effective after January 1.
• The city manager said the item 14 seniority-rights resolution would remove statutory seniority rights for eligible civil-service employees, not police, firefighters, or employees covered by collective-bargaining seniority protections. He said it would let the city base staffing on operational needs and qualifications, avoid bumping chain reactions, and affect no more than six non-represented employees.
• Councilmember Meyer opposed the seniority change, saying workers deserve protections and that he struggled with taking earned rights from some employees while police, fire, and union employees retain protections. He said the city could address budget challenges without removing those protections.
• Councilmember Van Orney supported the change, saying the seniority right at issue is not statutory for non-covered employees, that the severance package is fair, and that managers should be empowered to retain the best team members.
• Councilmember Todd supported the change at this time, citing the tight budget and flood-protection obligations, while warning that the council must consider morale and long-term service impacts.
• Councilmember Overland asked about last-in-first-out bumping; human resources explained that an administrative assistant whose position is eliminated could bump the least-senior administrative assistant citywide, and could potentially use seniority in another classification to create a domino effect.

Bids, Ordinances & Other Business

• Item 31, FY27 large-diameter sanitary sewer inspections: four bids ranged from 805,128.90 to 1,568,350.00; low bidder Taplin Group LLC; estimated cost 900,000; resolution approved.
• Item 32, FY2027 tree and vegetation removal: nine bids ranged from 135,235.97 to 247,804.20; low bidder TLC Construction and Tree Service LLC; estimated cost 270,000; work timed before March 31 for northern long-eared bat compliance; resolution approved.
• Item 33, ordinance renaming G Avenue NW between First Street and Second Street, and Second Street NW between G Avenue and F Avenue, to F Avenue NW in connection with the Cedar Crossing Casino roadway configuration: second reading approved, three-reading rule suspended, third and final reading approved.
• Item 34, ordinance granting a change of zone at 475 10th Avenue SE and 1015 5th Street SE from U-VR and U-VG to T-RF-PUD with a planned unit development overlay, requested by Tyler Oswood/OFB LLC: second reading approved, three-reading rule suspended, third and final reading approved.
• The transcript also records approval of an unidentified ordinance on first reading, moved by Councilmember Overland and seconded by Councilmember Hager, but does not name the ordinance.

Key Outcomes

• All scheduled public-hearing resolutions for the URAs, development agreements, and capital projects were approved by voice vote with no public objections recorded; the related first TIF ordinance readings for the five URAs were also approved. Item 12 was canceled without action.
• The council approved item 14, the seniority-rights resolution, after debate; the transcript records at least one no vote, with Councilmember Meyer stating opposition. The transcript does not show a separate vote on the severance package.
• The council awarded the large-diameter sewer inspection bid to Taplin Group LLC and the tree/vegetation removal bid to TLC Construction and Tree Service LLC.
• Ordinances 33 and 34 were adopted on third and final reading after suspension of the three-reading rule. An additional unidentified first reading was approved.
• After the final public-input period, the council adjourned.