Council Bluffs City Council Meeting - November 17, 2025
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Council Bluffs City Council Meeting - November 17, 2025
The Council Bluffs City Council met on November 17, 2025, to address a proclamation for Human Rights Day, multiple consent agenda items, public hearings, and several resolutions. The most substantial discussions centered on the proposed endowment agreement for the Riverfront Revitalization (Rivers Edge Development) and the Adventure Tower license agreement, both of which were tabled to allow for revisions. The council also debated amendments to deer hunting regulations and discussed the process for filling an upcoming city council vacancy.
Consent Calendar
- The council unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included routine approvals and actions.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Phyllis Peterson, Chief Operating Officer of NeighborWorks, expressed gratitude for the council's continued support of affordable housing, highlighting the upcoming six workforce housing units.
Discussion Items
- Proclamation for Human Rights Day: Mayor Matt Walsh read a proclamation declaring December 10, 2025, as Human Rights Day in Council Bluffs, reaffirming the city's commitment to human and civil rights. Woody, representing the Council Bluffs Civil Rights Commission, thanked the council for the proclamation.
- Endowment Agreement (Resolution 25-287): Council member Roger Sandow raised concerns that the proposed endowment agreement for the Riverfront Revitalization project did not align with the original intent discussed in February 2021, which he believed was to make the project neutral to taxpayers. He noted that routine maintenance items (e.g., trash removal, bench cleaning, restroom winterizing) were excluded from the endowment, contrary to his understanding. City attorney Mimi Dobson explained that the endowment was intended for major, non-routine maintenance, and that the city had already budgeted for a parks worker. Sandow and other council members expressed concerns about the administrative oversight held by SYNC and the lack of a clear dispute resolution mechanism. Dobson noted that previous language favoring the city in disputes had been removed. Pete Tulipana (SYNC) stated that the endowment would be funded at $2.5 million, with an additional $500,000 from construction savings, and that they had budgeted for a five-year extended warranty on major systems. After extensive debate, the council voted to table the resolution to a special meeting on November 21, 2025, at 2:00 PM to allow for amendments, including adding a dispute resolution clause and clarifying the warranty coverage.
- Adventure Tower License Agreement (Resolution 25-286): Council member Sandow criticized the proposed transfer and assignment of the license agreement for the Mid-American Energy Adventure Tower, stating that the city would build the tower and then give it to Approach for five years of operation with no revenue sharing. He also questioned the lack of detail on free passes for low-income families and the definition of "low-income," as well as the cost of insurance. The council agreed to table this resolution to the December 15, 2025, meeting, allowing time for a site tour and further review of financials.
- Hunting Regulations: The council discussed proposed changes to the city's deer hunting ordinance. Council member Sandow initially suggested increasing the buffer zone from 10 yards to 25 or 30 yards, but after hearing from city staff that the current ordinance has resulted in few complaints over 18 years, the council decided to retain the existing restrictions. However, they added a requirement that all tree stands must face into the property on which the hunter has permission to hunt, to avoid shooting onto adjacent properties. The change was supported as a compromise to address a single complaint while maintaining hunter participation.
- Open City Council Seat: City attorney Mimi Dobson outlined the process for filling the council seat that will become vacant when Jill Schudak becomes mayor on January 2, 2026. The council could either appoint a replacement or hold a special election. Dobson estimated that a special election could cost at least $80,000. The council agreed to discuss the matter further at the special meeting on November 21, 2025, and potentially adopt a process resolution at the December 15 meeting.
- Other Items: The council also approved several resolutions, including those for sewer rehabilitation, engineering services, CDBG funding, and a purchase sale agreement for affordable housing lots. The second reading of an ordinance amending the beer and liquor code was approved after correcting a scrivener's error.
Key Outcomes
- Tabled Resolutions: The endowment agreement (Resolution 25-287) was tabled to November 21, 2025, at 2:00 PM; the Adventure Tower license agreement (Resolution 25-286) was tabled to December 15, 2025.
- Hunting Regulation Change: The council directed staff to amend the hunting ordinance to require tree stands to face into the property on which the hunter has permission to hunt, with no change to the existing 10-yard buffer zone.
- Approved Resolutions: All other resolutions on the agenda were approved, including those for public works, engineering services, tax abatement, workers' compensation settlement, and the sale of 22 lots for affordable housing (Resolution 25-294, with a roll call vote of 4-0-1, one abstention).
- Special Meeting Scheduled: A special council meeting was set for November 21, 2025, at 2:00 PM to address the endowment agreement and discuss the open council seat process.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. We're going to start with a proclamation for Human Rights Day. City Council Bless I office and mayor proclamation, whereas Human Rights Day is observed annually on December 10th to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. And whereas the City of Council Bliss affirms the inherent dignity and equal rights of all people and recognizes that the strength of our community depends on ensuring fairness, inclusion, and opportunity for every resident. And whereas the City of Council Bliss is committed to fostering an environment where all protected individuals are treated with respect and have equitable access to housing, employment, education, and public life in, whereas Human Rights Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress made, acknowledge the work still ahead, and celebrate the residents, organizations, and public service servants who work each day to uphold human rights and civil rights in the city of Council Bliss. Therefore, I am Matt Walsh Mayor of the City of Council Bliss. Do hereby proclaim December 10th of 2025 as human rights day and all residents to join in recognizing this day by renewing our shared commitment to the protection of human and civil rights with the seal of the city of Council Bliss. I do hereby proclaim you will just push the button to turn the microwave on. I just want to say on behalf of the Council Blife Civil Rights Commission, we appreciate the proclamation and the designation of December 10th, which is internationally recognized as Human Rights Day. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Woody. All right. Are there questions on the consent agenda? No. Any questions on the public hearings about uh ordinance for second consideration. On 6A and B. We're gonna flip those around so we're doing them in the right order. And I know you asked Pete to be here, and you got questions on the Yeah, I several questions on both A and B. So the and they kind of go together. I guess we're doing the endowment first, right? We're switching them, so um so we make sure we get the endowment in place before we do the other. Yeah, the the spirit to me of the endowment when we brought it up. I went back and watched the the February 8th and the February 21st meetings. The spirit of the endowment was to basically make it uh neutral cost to the taxpayers. Where it you know the we've had in the pastment, and then the city takes over and it it's it's at a huge cost, right? Whether that's uh sprinklers and in a median or whatever that may be, there or the pavilion, right? We put the pavilion in, and then we've had significant cost. The parking garage, another example. We don't have any costs on the parking ground. Yeah. IOS backs it today, right? Right. Right. So the the spirit to me was this would be at no cost to the taxpayer. The when we when I go back and look at it, you know, in section 2.2, it says, you know, site furnishings, benches, bike racks, trash receptacles, water fountains, typical main typically maintained by and replaced by park staff include or excluded from the endowment. I just I don't remember it being that way. I I don't think it I don't think it should be. Um and so I think that having those things excluded is was not the spirit of like why we asked for the endowment money. Um so I would disagree a little bit. They uh the endowment is for major um maintenance work. The city had agreed that we would assign uh a city parks worker to that area to do the regular um maintenance uh and then some of the maintenance will be done by the vendor um their um property that they manage, but the intent of the endowment was not to wean it down by um paying for somebody to dump the trash and um clean the benches. We we're gonna have a parks employee do that. It's exactly as you said for um uh major expense, and and then typically the um how these endowments work is there is no major expense in the first few years, and I think uh Sink is also talking about maybe uh purchasing a warranty for um the first three or four years. They'd put two million in the corpus of the endowment grows, um, and then if we were to have a major expense, then that back stops the taxpayer, not the well, and not the dumping of the trash and in the polishing of the benches and well, and we also have you know, I guess again, this is how I how I thought it would go to thought the endowment was for was for everything, and so that's that's a struggle for me. And with with the $50 million investment, you know, they want it to look nice, we want it to look nice, we want it to be successful. And so my another question was I I guess I thought, or I my question is has the endowment already been funded, right? Is it is it accruing the interest now? Like I thought that's what we talked about also. I didn't see it in the meeting. Uh endowment does not exist today because you are approving it tonight.
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