Dealing with Trouble: When Neighbors Organize

Yesterday morning I attended a meeting at Fairmeadows Park organized by neighbors of a group called "Bringing It Together" (BIT) headed by Brandi Mastain in the Grant Wood school area who are concerned by recent outbreaks in crime in their area. Also in attendance were four Iowa City Council members: Mike Wright, Regina Bailey, Ross Wilburn, and Connie Champion; Acting City Manager, Dale Helling; Police Chief, Sam Hargadine and several of his officers; Neighborhood Services Coordinator, Marcia Bollinger in addition to 125 to 150 people mostly from the area.

The group, made up almost entirely of homeowners, were concerned about lawlessness in their part of the community and their frustration with the city's efforts to curb it. About 1/2 when asked by a show of hands if they had witnessed young people "wandering" until after midnight in mass and being disruptive held up their hands. About a 1/10 had experienced "severe issues" such as property damage or other disturbances. What was of most concern were 6 reported cases of gunfire in the last year and 4 within the last month, as well as an increase in breaking and entering charges (43) this year and that crime generally was higher in their area than in all of others of the city.

According to Mastain, the seriousness of what is happening in their area of town is a "bigger issue than college kids binge drinking downtown." Many of the crowd expressed a frusttration that their area was not receiving more help because for the majority of Iowa Citians, it doesn't affect them.

They asked the Police Chief Hargadine if a curfew could be put in place. The chief explained that he recommended a delinquent behavior ordinance instead because of the enforcement issues of a curfew. When asked if the city council was considering this, Hargadine said it had not been formally brought to the council which elicited groans from the crowd.

Neighbors did commend the police department for having foot patrols in the community, but were concerned by the lack of coverage between 11 pm and 3 am due to policing calls from downtown bars. The Chief agreed that the force was spread thin, but did say if his office receives calls, his officers respond as quickly as they can. He did say that he was 15 officers short of the staff he felt he needed. A member of the audience asked the chief if residents in the area could assist the officers on patrol and Chief Hargadine encouraged the questioner to contact his office.

The neighbors commented on the amount of section 8 and public housing in their area. They mentioned the influx of out-of-state people showing up as unfair to Iowa City residents and Iowans who should receive top priority. They also mentioned the perception that people are being told to come here that there is a "billboard in Chicago advertising to come here." Mastain asked the person to bring proof of this. She said that property values are being devalued by the crime and presence of section 8 housing.

When pressed by Carol Kula, a high school teacher and resident in the area to give the crowd something concrete to take away from the meeting so they wouldn't feel like thy had "wasted their time being there," Mastain encouraged people to join their group and to go before city council on Tuesday night with their concerns. A neighbor mentioned that they should introduce themselves to their neighbors so that they would be able to know who was causing trouble in their neighborhood. Jarrod Gatlin said, "We need to know. Who are these kids?"

The organizers stressed that the meeting was about public safety, not the race of the kids involved in the crime problem, but stressed it was time for the neighbors to "make them uncomfortable; not allow them to make us uncomfortable."

As there were more than three members of the city council present, the members were not allowed to comment on the crowds concerns, but individually, the council members did stay after the meeting to listen and ask questions of those present.

As an observer, it was interesting to note the lack of renters at the meeting. I did speak to Royce Ann Porter briefly who heads a group called Iowa City Community School District Concerned Parents Committee who told me that her group represents low-income residents and has more to say. I'll follow up on this. I noted on the survey that was given to participants of the meeting that the questions were not specific to the type of respondent, but wonder if by the nature of it, only half the story is being told.

I hope that the BIT group will seek out input from the folks who were so clearly not present--I'd guess they would have a better outcome if they brought everyone together--more BITE, as it were.

Other accounts from the Press-Citizen and Gazette

Mason, Bailey, Council, and City Manager Shine in Time of Crisis

The flood of 2008 is rapidly becoming a memory for many in Iowa City, but for those impacted most severely, the results will be felt for a long time to come. Credit is due for the handling of the evacuation and flood relief efforts by the City council and, particularly, Mayor Regenia Bailey, and City Manager Michael Lombardo. They have been working tirelessly to make sure that city services did their best to stave the flooding and, more importantly, to insure that residents were safe.

Certainly there are questions to be answered about the flood plain designations and this, hopefully, will lead to redrawing the maps so that either a) persons living in those areas will have flood insurance or b) FEMA/city will purchase those parcels and reduce the likelihood that families will go through what the folks in Idyllwild, Normandy Dr., Thatcher/Maculis Trailer Park and other areas experienced.

For the city council, it is hoped that closer attention will be paid to developments and their impact on existing developments. Some unintended consequences of the University of Iowa's growth may have impacted the flooding situation.

For the university, the impact of the flood will take time to sort out. The funding needs alone to clean up the buildings that were flooded will cause class scheduling problems and housing concerns for the foreseeable future. Sally Mason's leadership in clearing the university is to be commended and was a good test of her leadership capabilities (though the test goes on as she will press for funding to assist in UI's recovery).

John Deeth offers more on the flood recovery here.

Election Reflection

The city elections in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty reflected that (some) change is good. With changes in leadership, there is the hope that more regional cooperation will occur from emergency communications and mass transportation decisions are made to planning for more affordable workforce housing.

As Iowa City is in the process of selecting a new city manager, citizens had an opportunity yesterday to meet with recruiter Bob Beezat from PAR Group who is the firm that is screening candidates for the job. At the session I attended, there were a number of thematics addressed but a common thread was that the next city manager should be customer-focused, helpful to prioritize community needs so that resources can be best used, that will work to increase cooperation between the city and the University, and will improve the transparency and accountability of Iowa City governance.

With Matt Hayek and Mike Wright being seated both of whom live and/or work in the central business district, it can be expected that downtown will be a focus of this council. The council will lose a fount of information with both Dee Vanderhoef leaving the council (although I imagine her phone will be ringing) and the amiable Bob Elliott. However, based on the issues that this campaign focused on (and one's that Bob and Dee championed), it is expected that a fourth fire station will be funded and staffed, that the police department will increase its staff, that historic preservation districts will be strengthened. Also, as the business environment of Iowa City is favorable, economic development efforts will be redoubled. It is also expected that affordable housing will continue to be prioritized and that finding funding for low-income rental housing, as well as seed money for 50 to 80% of median income homes will need to be found.

With regard to bars in downtown Iowa City, there will be a greater pressure to police themselves better, as the Que Bar recently learned. The referendum, while not close, did reflect in polling precincts that there is a tale of two cities and that many residents believe that enforcing the legal drinking age is important. Time will tell as to how this will go.

Finally with a permanent Police Citizen Review Board being approved, the next issue will be who serves on it and how do they earn their keep. Some politicking no doubt will occur and, again, time will tell how it goes.

What will be most interesting will be the wrestling match between popular vote topping current mayor Ross Wilburn and mayor pro tem Regenia Bailey, who has made it clear she would like to be the next mayor. A change in leadership in the city council would likely push the agenda in a different direction. As the mayor is selected by the council, it is anybody's guess how this will go.

In Coralville, newcomer Mitch Gross will join a council that is knee-deep in experience and with a mayor who is deeply entrenched. It will be interesting to see if the ideas that Gross proposed during his campaign will gain traction.

Finally, in North Liberty, James Moody, who has been in the center of controversy over governance there leaves the council and three new members join with moderate Mayor Tom Salm continuing in that position. Given the rapid growth in North Liberty and the newly passed hotel/motel tax, some of the infrastructural problems can be addressed.

After the Safe Streets Forum

Myself and around 90 other people were at last evening's forum that was moderated by Johnson County District Attorney Janet Lyness at the majestic Englert Theater. Panel members included both ICPD Chief Sam Hargadine and UIPD Chief Chuck Green, Ashley Peterson, and Iowa City Councilor Amy Correia. Current city councilors Bob Elliott and Regenia Bailey were in the audience. Also, candidates Matt Hayek and Mike Wright were there, puzzling were the absences of the other candidates.

A good deal of time was spent addressing audience questions and clearing up some miscommunications about safety. The university is starting up a van shuttle to bring home women who want to avail themselves of the service on Fridays and Saturday nights.

Kudos to the organizers of the event and to Chiefs Green and Hargadine for attending. Also, it was great to see a cross-section of the community at the forum, not ust students. Neighborhood leaders like Tim Weitzel were there, as well as bloggers like John Deeth who was liveblogging.

If you witness suspicious acts, do call the police 358-TIPS (8477). It is up to the community to make Iowa City safe, the police are doing the best they can.

Regenia Bailey Kick-off

For those of you who were not at incumbent District C and Mayor Pro-Tem Regenia Bailey's Campaign Kickoff last night (May 30th) at the vibrant Englert Theater --be sure to check out her campaign website. In what I believe is a local politics first, you can actually contribute to her campaign on-line.

No word if she will have opposition for her district seat this fall.

--I'm sure other folks could do with some "green building" themselves. Wright, Mike?

And Then There Were Four?

With Michael Wright set to announce his candidacy for an at-large seat on the Iowa City Council and Dee Vanderhoef and Terry Smith already in the running, the burning question is are there any other candidates in the running? The grapevine suggests that there is at least one more candidate lurking out there. Former Housing and Community Development Commission Chair and President of the Englert Theater Board, Matt Hayak is likely to announce his bid for the council soon. Hayak, an attorney and recent new Dad was responsible for leading the "scattered site" housing task group while on the HCDC.

At this time both Regenia Bailey and Ross Wilburn are seeking re-election in their districts without opponents.

This could be the first city council election without a primary since 1991 when Susan Horowitz, Randy Larson, Karen Kubby and Bill Ambrisco were elected to fill the A and C districts and two at-large seats.

Iowa City Council Connections Forum - No Surprises

I was ringside at Iowa City's Connections City Council Kickoff Forum moderated by Carlton Blackburn held last evening at the spectacular urban renewed Hotel Vetro. As expected, three incumbents and one uncontested at-large candidate appeared. Seasoned veterans Mayor Ross Wilburn, Mayor Pro-Tem Regenia Bailey, and three-term council member Dee VanderHoef took the podium with relative political neophyte and hero of the keep electricity a private utility coalition, Terry Smith. Each waxed philosophical (Dee waxing a bit more than the others) about such issues as:

- Opening statements with praise for the GLBT community (we love them, some of our best friends are GLBT...)

- TIF (Tax Incremental Financing = good, with judicious use)

- Affordable Housing (policy wonk VanderHoef enjoyed this one and mesmerized folks with thorough explanations about deed trusts--not)

- The 21 Ordinance ("we'll do what the people decide" was the popular favorite, though Wilburn and VanderHoef said they personally support the ordinance.)

- Health of Downtown ("mixed" answers, extolling the virtues of the "mix" and awaiting the results of a study about how to mix things better. Given the swanky digs we were in, I thought at least one would have gone with "shaken, not stirred". In a shocker, the word "vibrancy" was only used once by Bailey)

- The strangest question was about Wilburn and his former spouse and current councilor Amy Correia's relationship and whether it affected Wilburn's judgment. He gave a great Joe Biden-esque answer-- "no".

Other than a young African-American Obama local organizer being mistaken for the "hired help" at the cash bar, there was no hint of excitement. I left at 8:30.

Amenities: Great pastries and beverages--poor sound engineering

Forum Grade: C -

Winner: The pastries. No candidate hit it out of the park.

Non-winners: Dee VanderHoef - shorter answers are okay, save your policy details for the League of Cities (Moderator Carlton Blackburn - its your show, its okay to cut off a ten minute answer). Mayor Wilburn, for a guy who likes remind citizens that he doesn't address issues (like the anti-war resolution in 2002)that aren't local in nature, its probably not a good idea to sport the Obama button at a city council forum.

Rumor mill: Two other shadow candidates are theoretically hovering out there--if you are one of them, please get in the race, these folks deserve good, clean opposition. Where is Gary Sanders when you need him?

Press-Citizen said

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Connecting the Dots: It's the Reel Thing

Dot #1: The Iowa House voted Tuesday to approve state tax incentives designed to help Iowa compete with other states in attracting major movie productions that spur jobs, economic activity, community excitement and tourism.

Dot # 2: Marilyn Monroe* approved by Iowa legislature to serve on the Vision Iowa Board (Iowa City's council member Regenia Bailey also serves on this august board).

Dot # 3: This weekend (4/13-4/14) the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival at the Collins Road Twixtown Theaters (The only moviehouse with real butter in the popcorn) continues. April 20-22, the 5th annual Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival at the Bijou in the Iowa Memorial Union

* Okay, so its not that Marilyn Monroe (Or the symbolic Marilyn Dan Bern sings about). This one is from Johnston, Iowa and apparently a Chet Culver donor.