Old Iowa City council had spunk

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – Former Iowa City Mayor John McDonald died Wednesday at age 65 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

We’ll have a story and the obituary in Friday’s paper.

McDonald was on the City Council from 1982-93. He was Mayor from 1984-85 and 1988-91, according to City Clerk Marian Karr.

McDonald’s tenure on the council was well before my time, but I’ve heard stories about how those councils in the late-’80s and early ’90s could be, depending on your perspective, pretty entertaining and at times divisive. 

There were some strong personalities with differing views on the council. I asked Darrel Courtney, who was on the council from 1986-93 and served as mayor, about this Thursday when we were talking about McDonald.

It was “always very verbal,” was Courtney’s polite way of describing the meetings. As mayor, McDonald had a calming effect and was great at building consensus, he added.

I went back and looked in our archives and found some support for this.

Iowa City Council to get chicken petition

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – If the word “chicken” is directed at the City Council at tonight’s meeting, it probably won’t be an insult.

After three months of collecting signatures, organizers plan to submit a petition asking that people be allowed to keep chickens in residential areas. As of a couple of weeks ago, several hundred people had signed the petition.

Supporters of backyard chickens – which, along with urban chickens, is what the movement often is called – want city law to be changed to allow people to keep up to five hens, but no roosters, at their homes.

Click here for more background.

I’ll be covering the school board meeting tonight, but we’ll have a reporter check in on whether the petition is turned in.

The issue should not be discussed in any detail because it is not on the council’s agenda. Organizers plan to submit the petition during the public comment portion of the meeting.

City staff is collecting information on the matter for the council’s consideration, possibly later this month.

 

Iowa City franchise fees and city manager search update

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – The City Council is ready to move ahead on franchise fees but will wait awhile on the city manager search.

Those were the main takeaways from Monday night’s work session. See stories here and here.

Because it was a work session, no formal action was taken. But the council made itself clear on those two issues.

On the franchise fees, the closest anyone came to speaking against them was Matt Hayek saying the fees shouldn’t be seen as a “panacea” for the city’s budget problems. Also, a few council members said they’d only support the fees if the money went toward public safety, including the hiring of more police officers and a staffing new fire station. But those are high priorities for the city anyway. 

On the city manager search, many of the council members said they saw the merits both to starting the search now and waiting until early next year, when the council potentially will have three new members following this fall’s election. A combination of being happy with interim City Manager Dale Helling and wanting one council to make the big decisions on the hire led the council to decide to wait.

The council fired former City Manager Michael Lombardo in April for undisclosed reasons.

Iowa City mayor: freeze council salaries

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – Iowa City is facing a serious budget crunch.

For relief, the City Council has looked at cutting services, generating new revenue, implementing franchise fees.

Now, Mayor Regenia Bailey is suggesting the council look at itself by freezing its own salary starting Jan. 1.

At a savings of just $998 for the year, the effect would be minimal, she admits in a memo released by the city today. (See below.) But at a time when the council is considering reducing the salaries of staff, the council should follow suit, she says.

Council members currently make $7,072 annually. The mayor earns $8,070.

She also wants the council to reduce its IT expenses.

In somewhat related news, the council is to vote Tuesday night on a proposal to increase the salaries of the city attorney and city clerk by 2 percent each.

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Should Iowa City ban plastic bags?

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – City staff’s answer to the that question, is no, a ban on plastic grocery bags is not necessary.

They’ve been studying the matter since the start of the year, and they say they are seeing reduced use of the bags and more recycling. See the details below in a memo released by the city today.

In January, the council discussed outlawing plastic bags but ultimately decided not to pursue the idea. Council member Connie Champion had suggested looking into a ban after reading about a ban in San Francisco.

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More on franchise fees

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – A bit more on franchise fees.

In a memo released by the city today, interim City Manager Dale Helling goes into more detail on the fees and lays out some questions for the City Council to consider. Read the memo below.

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Iowa City bar in the news again

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – An Iowa City bar with a history of trouble is in the news again.

Iowa City police were called to Los Cocos early Sunday morning for a report of woman who had been stabbed in the stomach.

Just last week, the City Council voted unanimously to give the bar an six-month liquor license rather than the usual 12 months. Police Chief Sam Hargadine recommended the abbreviated term, citing the high number of calls his officers have received about the bar.

Some council members said they wanted to see big improvements from the bar at its next review, and it’s probably safe to say that isn’t the kind of start they or the owners were hoping for.

If you’re wondering why the council didn’t just deny the liquor license renewal, there are a couple of reasons. First, Hargadine said he believed the bar’s management was working to improve the situation.

Also, when a license is denied, a bar can appeal. Bars get to stay open during an appeal, and the process can take a long time. A couple of council members said they thought the six-month license would allow the city to revisit the matter sooner.

Iowa City, council sued over development

IOWA CITY — The city of Iowa City and the City Council has been sued by a man who is against a proposed housing development north of Rohret Road.

In a lawsuit filed in Johnson County District Court earlier this month, Robert Hegeman, of 44 Tucson Place, contends that a development planned for the west side of town was scaled down in an effort to invalidate a protest petition filed by neighbors.

In the lawsuit, he objects to the rejection of the petition and says the city should have given formal notice and held a separate public hearing on the revised project.

A petition signed by more than 20 percent of nearby landowners was filed with the city earlier this year. It would have required a supermajority of at least six council members to approve a rezoning request.

The original proposal called for 170 lots. After the public hearing was closed, the project was downsized so that the petition had signatures from less than 20 percent of adjacent property owners, meaning only a simple majority of council members had to approve it.

The council OK’d the rezoning with a 5-2 vote in May. Click here and go to Pg. 65 for a transcript of Hegeman’s argument before the council, City Attorney Eleanor Dilke’s response and the council’s discussion.

Assistant City Attorney Sara Hektoen said in an interview that the council reduced the area to be rezoned in response to the residents’ concerns, not to circumvent the petition. Because the project was downsized, no additional property owners were affected, so the council did not need another public hearing, she said.

Hegeman, who lives near the proposed development and is representing himself, declined to comment.

Law keeps new bars out of downtown IC

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY – The City Council Tuesday night approved a new law that essentially prevents new bars and liquor stores from opening downtown.

The council voted 5-2 in support of the third and final reading of an ordinance that requires a distance of 500 feet between drinking establishments anywhere in the city and 1,000 feet between downtown liquor stores that make 25 percent or more of their gross yearly income from alcohol sales.

Existing establishments will be grandfathered in.

The 500-foot and 1,000-foot limits cover the entire downtown area.

The change is the latest effort by the council to address binge drinking and the concentration of bars downtown, where the number of establishments with liquor licences has increased by more than 50 percent in the past 10 years.

Council members Matt Hayek and Mike O’Donnell cast the dissenting votes. They have said the distance required between bars would affect businesses outside of downtown that are not the target of the new law.

A copy of the ordinance can be seen after the jump.

Realtor declares for IC Council

By Gregg Hennigan

IOWA CITY — A real estate agent who is a big supporter of historic preservation announced on Monday his candidacy for a seat on the City Council.

Mark McCallum, 48, of 932 E. College St., is running for the District B seat currently held by Connie Champion. Champion, who has served on the council since 1998, said Monday she was undecided whether she would seek re-election.

McCallum said he wants to offer bonuses to developers to encourage diverse housing options downtown and in multifamily zones, delay the property tax recalculation for exterior improvements approved by the Historic Preservation Commission and waive fees required for siding and window replacements in historic and conservation districts.

“I think I can add something to the local debate about how Iowa City develops,” he said. “And if you look at my history, I’ve been involved with some creative projects around town and I look at things a little bit differently.”

McCallum is the original developer of the Brown Street Inn bed and breakfast and also owned and operated Brick House Apartments on College Street. He’s also known for having tried to save a 125-year-old house being used as a law office near downtown from demolition before the April 2006 tornado destroyed the building.

His current project involves converting a former sorority house to studio apartments.