Council Bluffs City Council Meeting - November 3, 2025
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Council Bluffs City Council Meeting - November 3, 2025
The meeting included a study session and regular session covering the approval of a development agreement assignment, discussion of hunting regulations and homeless shelter ordinance, and approval of several resolutions and ordinances. Public testimony addressed safety concerns regarding urban hunting and support for the hotel development agreement assignment.
Consent Calendar
- The consent agenda was approved without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Brenda Mainwaring (Iowa West Foundation) spoke in support of Resolution 25-267, requesting council consent to assign the development agreement for the hotel property. She explained that the TIF structure was designed to return funds to the community and that selling the hotel would allow Iowa West to focus on its core mission.
- Amy and Mark Anderson (residents at 565 Cogleywood) testified in opposition to current hunting regulations. They requested a minimum setback of 50 yards from property lines, restrictions on trail cameras, and better communication from hunters, citing safety and privacy concerns after a hunter was positioned near their property.
Discussion Items
- Development Agreement Assignment (Resolution 25-267): Council discussed the TIF structure, obligations, and continued collection of TIF after sale. Staff confirmed that the buyer must assume obligations. Resolution was approved later in the regular session.
- Hunting Ordinance (Ordinance 6662): Staff proposed a 10-yard setback from property lines for hunting stands. Residents argued for 25-50 yards and regulation of trail cameras. Council noted the program’s success but also the need for safety. After discussion, no motion was made on first reading; the matter was moved to study session for further research on distance, camera regulation, and Iowa DNR consultation.
- Homeless Shelter Ordinance: City attorney Tony provided an update. He identified 21 legal issues, including that sobriety requirements would violate federal law. Council agreed to focus on physical safety provisions and continue refining the ordinance collaboratively with shelter operators and stakeholders before bringing it for first reading.
- Treehouse Development (Resolution 25-279): The plan changed from 38 townhomes to 48 apartment units to reduce curb cuts on 2nd Avenue. Staff recommended the change. Council approved despite disappointment, noting increased units and maintained minimum assessment.
- Casey’s Incident (Dodge County): City attorney reported that Dodge County deputies left a handcuffed individual at a Casey’s, violating bond conditions. A preservation letter was sent. The matter will be placed on the next agenda for further deliberation.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 25-267 (consent to assignment of development agreement) approved by voice vote.
- Ordinance 6660 (snow routes) and 6661 (beer/liquor control) approved on first reading.
- Ordinance 6662 (hunting regulations) died for lack of motion; moved to study session.
- Ordinance 6658 (urban revitalization plan amendment) approved on second reading; third reading waived.
- Resolutions 25-268 through 25-281 (TIF certifications, designations, etc.) approved.
- Applications for permits approved by roll call (5-0).
- Shelter ordinance to continue development; no vote taken.
- Council will discuss Casey’s incident at the next regular meeting.
- Election day reminder given.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Um we are going to review the agenda. Um does the council have any questions regarding the consent agenda. If not, how about public hearings? Yeah, I had question on this. I asked Brenda, you can come up with it. The city should be out of it too, right? If they're selling the property, but I I guess it goes to the developer, right? Um it actually was not for the hotel, it was to help supplement the cost of the field. That's right. It just go ahead, Brenda. Yeah, uh kind of just to bring everybody up to speed. Only a couple people were here when this whole thing was put together. So 2016 development agreement. Um, I think as I understand it, there were a lot of community meetings about how to reinvigorate the Mac. There was a decision that something had to happen with a retail spine, that a full service hotel was an important addition to activate the Mac, and that something athletic, which ended up being the field house, would really boost that area. And so Iowa West committed to making the investment. Um it was about 40 million dollars all in for the investment for all three of those. Was a development agreement between the city of Council Bluffs and Iowa West that Iowa West would make the investment, and essentially using funds that otherwise would have been used for the benefit of the community. This was clearly for the benefit of the community, but unlike a TIFF with a private entity, the agreement was that the city would TIF and that Iowa West would commit any income from the TIFF and hotel motel taxes back to the community. So essentially, if we were going to invest funds that otherwise would have been used for the benefit of grants to the community, we put those into a development agreement, then we could regain whatever was possible through the normal TIFF process, put it into an account which would be reserved and replenish that ability to grant back to the community. So the money that we have received for our investment in all three of those properties, and they all have different structures, the money we've received is kept in a separate account and allocated specifically for projects that benefit council bluffs. So unlike a typical TIF where the city does an agreement to incentivize a private developer, developer who needs a higher profit margin, this is essentially the city saying, hey, if Iowa West will use some of its resources now to do these things, then the money that can come back off of that investment can be reinvested in the community later. And that's essentially what we've been doing. So I wasn't there. But I can say in the five years I've been here, the money that we are are getting back from the TIFF and the hotel motel, we talk about that a lot when we're talking about investing in the city. As we continue to pay off these relatively large debts, it's very helpful to have the the extra money coming into a protected account where we know that is reserved for the the community to use. That partnership did not work out very well. Um we terminated that partnership in 24, and since then have been trying to kind of get the hotel into a a good enough condition where it is marketable and can be sold, which was our original intent, because we don't do hotels, we do foundation work, and we want to get back to the business that we do, being able to pay back that investment that 40. We will we will never get anywhere near 40 million dollars worth of investment, and that was never the intent. But having some money back into our accounts that we can then send back out to the community has been extremely beneficial for us and for the community. I think you and I were probably the only ones up here at that time that I remember when we did the TIF, and it was it's nice that it was the first time we had done that, where it's specific monies collected would come back to council bus, whereas if we didn't do that, that money could have been to Southwest Iowa to Nebraska, different places. Whereas if we didn't do that, that money could have been to Southwest Iowa to Nebraska, different places. So I do remember doing that. That was important. I so if you sell the property, you will continue as the developer of the even though it's already fully developed, the hotel in person, like the hotel itself, I guess. So that's my understanding of typically what a typical TIFF is. If somebody's gonna step forward at the at the initial point and say, okay, we're in for the 40 million to make sure that this works, but until we're gonna take back as much as we can of that investment in order to recoup what we what we donated in advance. I think that's kind of typical that when a TIFF obligation is made to a developer, the developer receives that regardless of what happens because it was a developer who made the initial investment. I could be all wrong on that, but that's how I understand it. So now it will be taxable with the sale, right? Different than the nonprofit. No, it was always taxable because it's an income earning. That's why it's TIFF because it's taxable. The field house is mostly um not for profit use and not taxable, and so obviously the TIFF on that is different virtually nothing. Yeah. So you'll continue to collect the TIFF going to the same fund. Absolutely. And the developer or the new owners will just operate the hotel. Exactly.
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