Joint Meeting Minutes June 30, 2010

Joint Meeting
Johnson County Board of Supervisors
City of Iowa City
City of Coralville
City of North Liberty
Iowa City Community School Board
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
North Liberty Community Center

Minutes

Introductions.  Elected officials present: Johnson County Supervisors – Janelle Rettig, Rod Sullivan, Terrence Neuzil, Pat Harney, Sally Stutsman; City of Iowa City -  Ross Wilburn, Matt Hayek, Terry Dickens, Susan Mims, Regenia Bailey, Elliott Higgins; City of Coralville – , Jim Fausett, Bill Hoeft; City of North Liberty – Tom Salm, Gerry Kuhl, Coleen Chipman BrianWayson; Iowa City Community School Board – Patti Fields, Tuyet Dorau; and city of Tiffin – Royce Phillips.

Others present included Dale Helling, Ryan Heiar, Ellen Habel, Rick Fosse, Marian Karr, Nick Bergus, John Yapp, Andy Johnson and other interested parties.

Redistricting Summary. (ICCSD).  School Board member Fields presented an update regarding the year of redistricting.  A third high school of some fashion will be constructed when the sixth grade class reaches 925-950 students.  Garner Elementary is opening this fall.  In 2012, students that attend Lincoln and Hills Elementary will attend City High unless they have siblings at West High or are already students at West. Camp Cardinal Road school boundaries will be determined in the next year. A committee regarding elementary equity has been formed. A committee regarding the repurposing of Roosevelt Elementary has been created.  The opening of the Camp Cardinal school has been put off one year.

Incoming Superintendent. (ICCSD)  Superintendent Plugge’s last day was last Friday.  Superintendent Steve Murley  starts tomorrow.  On July 13, 2010, a welcome reception will be held at the Central Administration Office from 4 – 6 p.m.

Summer Programming for at Risk Children. (ICCSD)  Pearson and ACT put together a pilot program for this summer.  Roosevelt, Kirkwood, Grant Wood and Twain were all included in the pilot for summer programming and transitioning back to school in the fall.

North Liberty Road. (Johnson County)  Supervisor Stutsman stated that North Liberty Road north of Dubuque Street needs to be upgraded.  She asked if there would be any cooperation from North Liberty to address the road.  It is the County’s policy to not upgrade roads when they abut a city.  Mayor Salm reported that the city’s street plan considers this an arterial. There are no City plans to upgrade the road at this time.  Stutsman asked if there could be a cooperative effort between the City and County to upgrade the road like Oakdale Boulevard with Coralville.  Salm asked Stutsman to contact Ryan Heiar to begin the conversation.  Neuzil stated it looked like there was some progress with North Liberty and Coralville coming up with a fringe area agreement.  John Yapp of JCCOG was asked about the study of the roadway (south of Dubuque Street). Yapp reported that the data was all gathered, but JCCOG is waiting for the settlement of the annexation issue for determination of development density.  The School Board was asked about the building of an elementary.  The School owns the land, but does not have plans to develop.  If the school is not built, the land can go back to the Scanlons.  A County resident presented the elected officials with census and traffic volume information and asked for the City of North Liberty to participate in the upgrade of the roadway.

Consideration of joint purchasing for local governmental entities. (Johnson County). Supervisor Sullivan reported that Linn County has a purchasing manager on staff that makes bulk purchases for several entities.  He asked if there was interest in pursuing joint purchasing in Johnson County.  State contracts were discussed. Expansion to all communities in Johnson County was presented.  Iowa City School District and the City of Iowa City both expressed interest.  Sullivan encouraged any other interested entity to contact him.

Justice Center update. (Johnson County). Supervisor Neuzil presented a Justice Center update.  The County is looking to acquire property adjacent to the existing courthouse to construct a new Justice Center, courthouse and jail, that would be connected either on the side or behind.  Over 200 inmates are the responsibility of Johnson County each day.  Of that 200, 116 are housed out of county.  The cost is $4,700 per day or $1.735 million per year.  The county is composing a committee of police, elected officials, and staff to put together a plan for the Justice Center.

TIGER II grant for trails. (Johnson County).  Supervisor Rettig indicated the County is interested in creating a bicycle trail from Coralville through Tiffin to Kent Park and eventually to the Iowa County line.  The County is working with JCCOG and Sherri Proud (Coralville) to draft a TIGER II grant application for funds to construct the trail halfway to Kent Park on land already owned/available to Coralville, Tiffin and Johnson County.  She reported that for every $1 spent installing trails, the immediate economic impact is a $3 return.  Iowa City is a Bronze in Bike Friendly Communities. Coralville is applying this year. Councilor Wilburn thanked the Supervisors for expanding the trail system. With the connection to Linn County, Johnson County trails will be a part of the Cedar Valley Trail system.

Joint Emergency Communications Center update. (Johnson County).  Supervisor Harney reported that the JECC is operational.  There are glitches that are being worked out. The entire system will be fully functional and operational in October.  The Chamber’s Local Government Affairs committee will be meeting there on 2nd Tuesday of July at 7:30 a.m. Small tours with notice can be provided. With the new system, storm sirens will be tested on the first Wednesday of each month instead of Monday.

Next Meeting Date & Host.  Iowa City will host the next meeting on October 20, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.   The group discussed expanding the group to include the Clear Creek Amana School Board and Tiffin.

Adjourn.  The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.