Our View - Urban chicken issue not going away in Iowa City

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Feb. 16, 2010.

Iowa City residents' discussion of urban chickens is going to go on whether the Iowa City Council takes up the issue or not. That's because the New Pioneer Food Co-op is going to host two free public forums on the topic next month ("Urban chicken debate returns," Feb. 11).

At this point, it seems that there are not enough City Council votes to revive the chicken discussion ("Chickens lacking council's support," Feb. 12). We've previously editorialized that "the council is chicken when it comes to chickens" and pointed out that, with hundreds of petitioners asking the council to consider the issue, councilors should be responsive.

Our guess is that there is going to be far more clucking about this whole thing because the council won't take up the issue than there would be if it just made a decision, one way or the other.

New Pioneer education and member services manager Theresa Carbrey said the co-op is trying to encourage more local food production.

"This is as local as it can get -- in your own backyard," she said.

The first forum titled "Raising Urban Chickens" will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 2 at the Coralville co-op. It will feature speaker Misha Goodman, director of the Iowa City/Coralville Animal Care and Adoption Center. She will offer tips raising urban chickens.

The second forum titled "We Love Backyard Chickens" will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 11 at the Coralville co-op. It will feature speakers Stacey Driscoll and Alicia Diehl of IC Friends of Urban Chickens. A pro-urban chicken event, it will look at the joys and challenges of urban chickening.

We suggest the council commit to taking this issue back up within the next year, put it to a vote and then move on.

Our View - Strong leadership for 'weak mayor' council position

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on Jan. January 5, 2010.

How do you show "strong leadership" in a "weak mayor" system?

That's the riddle Matt Hayek will need to solve for himself if he is going to succeed in his new role as mayor of Iowa City.

Hayek, of course, can turn for advice to past mayors and city councilors -- people such as John Balmer and Ernie Lehman as well as Writers' Group members Karen Kubby, Jim Throgmorton and Bob Elliott. But their advice merely highlights the many tightropes on which every Iowa City mayor needs to learn to balance himself.

Everyone seems to say the Iowa City mayor needs to be "a good listener" who is respectful when the public and his fellow councilors voice their opposing opinions. But the mayor also needs to ensure that the meetings are run smoothly and that the council actually gets through its agenda in an efficient and productive manner.

"That's the trick for the person who is in the middle chair conducting those meetings and leading the discussion," Balmer said. "It's very critical for that person to be able to assemble the team, to be the captain and to get the teammates to follow."

Everyone points out that the mayor is the "voice" of the council and the "face" of the city. But they also say the mayor needs to remember that he also is "just one of seven," "the first among equals" and "no more or less powerful than anyone else." The mayor has to be approachable enough to work with his fellow councilors and the public, but he can't be overly concerned with being "well-liked" by everyone.

"You always have to listen to what the public has to say," Lehman said. "They may be dead wrong, but you have to let them have their say. ... And you can't retaliate."

Everyone agrees that the mayor has to be able to trust the facts, figures and "on the ground" reports provided by city staff -- otherwise the council starts to make the mistake of micromanaging the staff. But the mayor also has to know when staff members are taking too narrow of a view on a topic or when they are so excited about the benefits of a program that they forget about the program's costs.

"It's very difficult to get four councilors to say 'no' to something that sounds wonderful but that the city can't afford," Kubby said.

Everyone agrees that being a good mayor requires a lot of time and attention -- Balmer goes as far as to say that the mayor is "basically on-call 24-7." Yet the token salary for the position means the mayor winds up working for about minimum wage. That means that Hayek, as a partner in a local law firm and as the father of two small children, also needs to balance his public obligations against the demands of his personal and professional lives.

"There are positions around that country where people run for public office because they can't get a job anywhere else," Lehman said. "Luckily nobody runs for council in Iowa City for the money. ... They do it out of a sense of commitment to the community."

Hayek seems smart enough to recognize that he has signed up for an almost impossible job. He's assuming his new office at a time when the city is facing some very painful budget discussions that will leave very few people happy. He also now has to help find a city manager who is a "good fit" with Iowa City's unique brand of local politics.

We think the council made the right choice by voting unanimously for Hayek. And we count ourselves among the many local residents who are optimistic that the new mayor will find a practical, personal solution to the riddle of Iowa City government.

But given the difficult balancing act every Iowa City mayor is asked to perform, we also think it's time to have Iowa City voters start electing their mayor directly rather than have the councilors choose from among themselves.

Our View - After Iowa City curfew goes into effect tonight

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Dec. 23, 2009

Our View - After Iowa City curfew goes into effect tonight

It's 10 p.m. Do you know where your 13-year-old is?

It's 11 p.m. Do you know where your 15-year-old is?

It's midnight. Do you know where your 17-year-old is?

You should.

Because tonight Iowa City's curfew goes into effect.

According to the city, unless your children are engaging in one of a number of exempted activities, that means those younger than 14 have to be off the streets by 10 p.m., 14- and 15-year-olds by 11 p.m. and 16- and 17-year-olds by midnight.

Both police and city officials are still working out some kinks in how the ordinance will be enforced. Right now it seems Iowa City police -- at least until March 1 --will be issuing only warnings, not citations, for curfew violations. (Although the police, as always, will be citing for other illegal activities that juveniles are engaged in after hours.)

The council, however, has required the police to keep records of all their curfew-based interactions. The idea is that the information will help the city determine whether the ordinance itself is discriminatory in that its enforcement shows a disparate impact on minority populations.

The ordinance gives police officers discretion as to whether to cite a teen for being out after hours or whether to let the teen off with a written warning. But it's unclear whether the record-keeping requirement would prohibit officers from pulling up alongside a group of teens, rolling down the window and giving an informal verbal warning like, "Hey, guys, it's after hours. Time to go home."

Because the ordinance requires officers to keep a record, they presumably would have to stop everyone and start writing down names. That increases the potential for what otherwise could be an informal warning to turn into a much uglier interaction.

And while the city and police figure out how best to implement the curfew, the Iowa City Council still has more to do to fully live up to its rhetoric of having this curfew be just one component of a larger vision for improving the quality of life in the city's southeast neighborhoods.

We hope city councilors continue to work with the Safe Neighborhood Coalition and other neighborhood groups to ensure that they are responding to the requests made by the people who live in the affected neighborhoods.

We hope the city and the police work together to develop more community-based crime prevention positions like that of Officer Jorie Bailey as well as to implement a youth officer.

And we also think the city might look into how it can help support the development of second- or third-shift child care programming located on the southeast side. That way, the parents affected by this ordinance might have more options for how to avoid leaving their young children home without adult supervision.

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Oct. 30, 2009

Our View - Vote Champion, Dickens, Mims for Iowa City

On Tuesday, Iowa City residents should elect Susan Mims and Terry Dickens to the two at-large seats on the City Council and re-elect Connie Champion to the District B seat.

At-large

Iowa City voters have four choices for replacing outgoing at-large councilors Amy Correia and Mike O'Donnell:

• Dan Tallon: A University of Iowa student and member of the Iowa National Guard, Tallon knows firsthand what it's like to grow up in subsidized housing and to rely on government programs and services to keep a family intact. Although he sometimes had trouble focusing his answers in candidates' forums, he brings an energetic "let's throw everything to the wall and see what sticks" attitude when it comes to streamlining city government.

• Jeff Shipley: The council's current liaison with the University of Iowa Student Government, Shipley basically is asking residents to give him a vote and thus force the rest of the council to take his ideas seriously.

Although we appreciate the number of ideas that Tallon and Shipley bring to this debate, they have suggested many non-starters that show they don't yet have a pragmatic sense of what's politically viable (selling the Senior Center), economically feasible (selling the parking ramps even though they are making money) or just good policy (relying less on employees and more on volunteers to staff the city's services from recreation centers to fire stations.)

• Terry Dickens: A home-grown Iowa City business owner who understands firsthand the issues downtown and who, as a former student of Mark Twain Elementary, has a personal investment in addressing issues on the southeast side.

• Susan Mims: The most seasoned candidate of the bunch, Mims already knows what it's like to suffer the slings and arrows of public life. In her time on the School Board -- which ended in 1999 with an unsuccessful attempt at re-election -- Mims dealt with many of the same issues that will face her as a city councilor. As a financial adviser, she has the necessary attention to detail and the bottom line. And, having raised four black children of mixed heritage in Iowa City, she knows the challenges and opportunities in the cross-cultural issues facing the city.

At this point in the Iowa City's history, we think the council and the city would be served best by Dickens and Mims.

District B

With the five first-time council candidates throwing out so many suggestions for cutting the city's budget, we've appreciated incumbent Connie Champion's ability to explain what options are feasible, what options are worth further study and what options are non-starters.

In fact, over the past 12 years, Champion often has asked probing questions and made statements that cut to the heart of the complex issues facing the council. We don't think her votes always live up to the answers to her tough questions, but we've appreciated her no-nonsense style.

Her challenger, Mark McCallum, has done very good work renovating old buildings to become jewels, rather than eyesores, in their neighborhoods. And he brings up many good points about the concerns local business owners have with the proposed franchise fee to pay for more police and firefighters. Unfortunately, McCallum hasn't been able to answer pragmatically Champion's question about what more can be cut from the city budget to allow for the new police and firefighters that could come with the fee (a fee that Champion acknowledges is basically a backdoor tax).

We endorse Champion for re-election and we hope she helps the council finish its unfinished business.

Our View - Issues at stake in the Nov. 3 city elections

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Oct. 27, 2009

Our View - Issues at stake in the Nov. 3 city elections

Local residents have exactly one more week to learn about the candidates in various city races before Election Day, Nov. 3. The Press-Citizen Editorial Board will be endorsing in the following contested races: North Liberty City Council (Wednesday), Coralville City Council (Thursday) and Iowa City Council (Friday).

In North Liberty, we're looking for councilors who can help the city put behind North Liberty's Wild West days of free-for-all development and personal political feuds and become an effective major player in the corridor and the state.

In Coralville, we're looking for councilors who can help the city:

• Start a new period of Coralville history, one that builds on the city's past 25 years of aggressive economic development but also responds to new opportunities.

• Open up city government to more active participation by the newer residents who have moved into this vibrant, growing city.

And in Iowa City, we're looking for councilors who can help the city:

• Cut the budget so voters can have confidence in the council's ability to make painful but necessary sacrifices on quality of life issues in order to provide for improved public safety and essential city services. (Especially now that the city is looking to impose a 2 percent franchise fee that will be passed along to utility users.)

• Address the many concerns that have been raised about the city's public housing program and the other subsidized housing programs overseen by city staff. (And address them in a way that doesn't belittle the average residents who might not know all the intricacies of city government.)

• Overcome the council's reputation for being anti-business and work to attract economic development opportunities to grow the city's tax base.

• Improve public safety so that southeast residents no longer feel afraid in their own homes, northeast residents know they have a fire station close enough to respond quickly to emergencies, and downtown patrons can walk around without having to worry that someone's going to pick a fight with them.

At 6:30 p.m. today, Iowa City residents have a chance to hear firsthand how the six council candidates plan to address issues and concerns about the city's southeast side. The Press-Citizen and Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County are co-sponsoring a candidates' forum at Grant Wood Elementary. (For more information, contact Jeff Charis-Carlson, Press-Citizen opinion editor, at jcharisc@press-citizen.com or 887-5435, or Sue Freeman, program director for Neighborhood Centers, at sue-freeman@ncjc.org or 354-7989.)

Our View - The good, bad and ugly of franchise fees

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Oct. 8, 2009

Our View - The good, bad and ugly of franchise fees

There are few "good" features about the franchise fee the Iowa City Council is considering:

• First, the council is only talking about imposing a 2 percent fee -- state law would allow the fee to be as high as 5 percent.

• Two, the proceeds are being used for long-overdue public safety efforts to hire more police officers and to staff a new fire station in the city's northeast corner -- although, if the city were to get someone else to pay for those projects, then the money would be used for "public infrastructure for industrial/commercial economic development."

• Three, rather than have the city look to property owners alone for more money, the fee would allow the city to diversify the money it collects for city services to include individuals and entities that not pay property taxes.

But the overwhelming bad news is the utility companies will pass the cost along directly to their customers, so the "franchise fee" amounts to a backdoor tax.

Despite the council having trimmed about $1 million from this year's budget, it still seems odd for the city to hope to pay for needed public safety services out of new revenue options rather than pay for those services first and then, only if money is available, to look to fund the city's more elective "quality of life" services.

It likewise seems odd, as a backup plan, to use money from a franchise fee -- one that local business and industry owners say only worsens the city's anti-business reputation -- to try to attract more businesses and industries to the city. Interim City Manager Dale Helling has proposed paying down the debt of the city's 420th Street industrial park project if the city gets a grant for the new fire station.

The council's first consideration of the franchise fee is scheduled for Nov. 17. Councilors have until then to persuade a skeptical public that imposing this fee is a necessary step and not just another way for the council to stave off making the hard decisions as it faces what is sure to be another tough budget year.

Our View - Vote Bazzell Dickens, Mims, Shipley

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Oct. 3, 2009

Our View - Vote Bazzell Dickens, Mims, Shipley

On Tuesday, Iowa City voters will go to the polls to winnow the field from five at-large city councilors to four. As city residents decide which names to keep on the ballot for the Nov. 3 city election, we suggest they vote for:

• Jared Bazzell, a full-time student at the University of Iowa who works in the UI business manager's office;

• Terry Dickens, a downtown business owner;

• Susan Mims, a financial adviser and former president of the Iowa City School Board; and

• Jeff Shipley, UI Student Government liaison to the Iowa City Council.

The remaining candidate, Dan Tallon, would bring an interesting perspective to the council. As a University of Iowa student who has grown up in subsidized housing and has served in the Iowa National Guard, Tallon's life experience is very relevant to some of the thornier questions facing the council. But his answers during his Editorial Board interview suggest that he is not as familiar with the specific issues facing the city as:

• Bazzell, who is coming to the end of his studies at the university and is looking to stay in Iowa City;

• Dickens, who has spent a lifetime in the city and has worked well on downtown issues;

• Mims, whose school board experience makes her well prepared for dealing with budgets as well as for dealing with intense criticism that comes with being an elected official; and

• Shipley, whose responsibilities as UISG liaison basically means he has served as a non-voting member of the council.

Regardless of which at-large candidates move on to the next round, city residents need to continue their current level of public engagement long after the elections are over and the campaign signs have been taken down.

As City High student Hussam Albrasy writes in his letter on today's Opinion pages, "We citizens are the ones who can change these problems. ... Write letters, organize meetings and do whatever you can to let the government know what you want. But don't just sit back and watch without doing anything."

Over the next month, the candidates and their supporters will explain why they are the best qualified to help the city:

• Improve public safety so that southeast residents no longer feel afraid in their own homes, northeast residents know they have a fire station close enough to respond quickly to emergencies, downtown patrons can walk around without having to worry that someone's going to pick a fight with then.

• Cut the city's budget so voters can have confidence in the council's ability to make painful but necessary sacrifices on quality of life issues in order to provide for improved public safety and essential city services. (Especially now that the city is looking to impose a 2 percent franchise fee that will be passed along to utility users.)

• Address the many concerns that have been raised about the city's public housing program and the other subsidized housing programs overseen by city staff. (And address them in a way that doesn't belittle the average residents who might not know all the intricacies of city government.)

• Overcome the council's reputation for being anti-business and work to attract economic development opportunities to grow the city's tax base.

We urge readers to get out and to vote for the candidates they think will live up to those promises. But we also urge them to stay vigilant and well informed to ensure that the candidates actually do live up to their promises.

Our View - Curfew isn't an inappropriate response

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Sept. 19, 2009.

Add us to the list of reluctant converts to a citywide curfew.

We still have concerns about the degree to which the ordinance actually will address the issues raised by the Iowa City police and many residents of the city's southeast side. But police officials said Tuesday that the curfew could be a "helpful tool" in responding to the neighborhood problems identified by southeast residents, and some parents report that a curfew could give them more leverage over their children's behavior.

Besides, the restrictions are hardly draconian -- kids younger than 14 have to be off the streets by 10 p.m., 14- and 15-year-olds by 11 p.m. and 16- and 17-year-olds by midnight. And the ordinance is full of justifiable exemptions.

Police likewise say that they plan to issue citations only as a last resort -- after verbal warnings and other strategies have been used. And even the fine associated with citation ("not in excess of 50 dollars") is worded vaguely enough to give magistrates discretion based on the specifics of the case and, presumably, on the ability of the minor's family to pay.

But we're now reluctantly supporting the curfew ordinance because we think passing it would help put the City Council into are more active mindset -- as opposed to local government's usual "let's not do anything that we are not absolutely sure will solve each and every problem we have" mentality.

We know that no one on the council thinks the curfew in itself will solve all the problems in the city -- especially on the southeast side. But the councilors need to be able to respond to some thorny short-term issues before they can move on the even thornier long-term issues about public safety and neighborhood inclusiveness.

Despite our concerns about whether a curfew will de-escalate problems on the southeast side, the proposed ordinance seems a tempered and appropriate response to residents' concerns. And if problems come up in the implementation of this ordinance, then those problems can be addressed by the council and, if necessary, the council can remove the curfew altogether.

Zero tolerance for crime -- tempered by acceptance, inclusion and genuine compassion for all individuals -- will do more for the safety of our community than any well-intended laws. We hope the latter is always the servant of the former.

In the meantime, however, the city needs to show residents that the elected officials, the police, juvenile court officers and neighborhood activists can work together to help make sure that no residents have to feel unsafe in their home.

Our View - Hold off on chicken rules until next year

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Sept. 11, 2009.

Two Iowa City staff members are presenting a mixed recommendation to the Iowa City Council concerning whether in-town property owners should be allowed to raise chickens in their backyards. The council will discuss the matter Monday.

Both Douglas Boothroy, director of housing and inspections services, and Misha Goodman, director of animal services, agree on an extensive list of minimum standards they think should be put in place if the council does decide to allow backyard chickens. In addition to detailed instructions about how the birds should be housed, the list includes:

• Requiring residents to apply for an annual permit that will include an inspection,

• Limiting backyard chickens only to properties whose primary use is single-family dwelling,

• Requiring residents to notify all abutting property owners before a permit is issued and

• Limiting the number of birds per property to four hens, no roosters.

But Boothroy and Goodman disagree on whether the city should allow chickens in residential areas at all. Goodman said the chickens wouldn't present any more difficult problems for her staff than other animals do. She said her staff would handle problems with owners who mistreat or abandon their chickens just as they handle similar situations with the problem owners of dogs, cats, iguanas, etc.

"To me, there has to be a good reason for this not to happen," Goodman said. "We have a lot of citizens requesting the ability to keep chickens in their backyards. It's not something that is harmful in most ways. So I don't see a reason not to do it."

But Goodman also said she knows whenever the city council implements a rule, someone, somewhere, violates it. So she is asking the council to wait to make any changes in the current policy until at least next year. Because animal control is still dealing with the aftermath of last year's flood, she is concerned about giving any additional responsibility to her officers right now.

Boothroy goes even further and recommends the council not approve backyard chickens at all because his department doesn't have the staff to deal with the complaints. He said he also worries that, because it's been decades since chickens were allowed in city residential areas, backyard chickens would spark additional feuds between neighbors who differ in their perceptions of whether chickens are a threat or a benefit to the quality of their lives and to the value of their property.

We side with Goodman in this debate. The rules she and Boothroy have suggested would provide clear guidelines that owners can understand and that city staff can enforce. And because the permits would have to be approved annually, chicken owners -- and their neighbors -- will have ample opportunities to re-evaluate whether the birds are as beneficial as once thought.

We hope the council sees fit to approve the restrictions ironed out by Goodman and Boothroy and to have Iowa City join the growing list of cities that are allowing residents to raise a limited numbers of chickens in their backyards.

Our View - 'Chicken or egg' questions and flood mitigation

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Sept. 2, 2009.

Building a levee at Taft Speedway and No Name Road is one of dozens of potential flood mitigation options being considered by Iowa City officials. The city has applied for community development block grant public infrastructure money for the estimated $10 million project. There is no guarantee, of course, that the money will be approved, and even then, the Iowa City Council still would have the final say in whether the project would move forward.

Jeff Davidson, Iowa City director of planning and community development, said that raising Taft Speedway would allow the city to address two issues simultaneously:

• Provide emergency access to the rest of the Peninsula area. Davidson said about 500 people, whose homes were otherwise "high and dry," still had to be evacuated for nearly two weeks last year after water poured across Foster Road, the only access to their homes.

• Help protect Parkview Church and the 92 residences in Idyllwild. Because those residences are part of a condominium association, Davidson said Iowa City was unable to use federal money to buyout any of the properties unless the owners of all 92 properties concurred.

Unfortunately, the proposal would leave some other property owners -- owners who said "no" to the city's offer for a buyout -- on the wet side of the levee. Davidson said those owners were apprised, at the time they rejected the city's offer, that there could be some flood mitigation project that could leave them on "the wrong side of it." Yet we think those property owners still are right to worry about how the levee would worsen the effect of future floods on their property.

And city officials don't have exact details on what the effect the levee would have on those properties in the floodplain. That level of research and design won't take place unless and until the project receives enough outside funding.

The debate over this specific proposal illustrates "the chicken or the egg" question that comes up with nearly every city project. City staff members don't always have the time and resources to fully research the consequences of a project unless and until there is a good possibility the project will receive outside funding. Yet the city can't really know if the project is feasible politically and of practical benefit until city staff spends the time and money to research all the consequences.

Although city staff keeps saying, "The City Council will make the final decision," it becomes much more difficult to halt a project once outside funding has been secured. Even when the project has clear negative consequences -- as this one would for some owners whose property has been in their families for generations -- the institutional inertia usually is on the side of those working to see the project completed.

If city staff members are successful in securing enough outside funding for this project, the Iowa City Council still needs to proceed with caution and to make sure it's not protecting some property owners to the absolute detriment of other property owners.

Because these property owners rejected the city's buyout offer, we think they should not be eligible for further government assistance if and when their property floods again. But neither should the city take steps to make flooding worse for them.

Our View - Take it slow on curfew, other ordinances

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Sept. 1, 2009.

The increasing severity and number of crime incidents in Iowa City's southeast side show that the current laws on the books are not enough to help police, city officials and neighborhood activists turn the tide in the neighborhood. Police say they need more authority to pick up juveniles for causing trouble, and they need more discretion on whether to take the kids home or to the police station.

While some residents have called on the Iowa City Council to impose a curfew citywide , Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine last month told the Iowa City Council he would prefer the council pass a delinquent behavior ordinance. Rather than lock down on every teenager in the city, Hargadine said, such an ordinance would allow the police to focus on the juveniles who are causing problems.

Hargadine makes a good case for the benefits of a delinquency behavior ordinance over those of a curfew. Charges under the delinquency ordinance would be simple misdemeanors and wouldn't necessarily be sent to the magistrate court, as those under the curfew would be. Instead, the type of ordinance he has in mind would give the juvenile court system jurisdiction. And, to be used most effectively, the ordinance would require Iowa City police and juvenile court officers to improve their communication.

A majority of councilors seem generally open to implementing both a curfew and some version of a behavior ordinance, but they are waiting to see the specifics of the plans before giving support. The police have provided a list of possible offenses to be included in such an ordinance, and the city attorney is looking through the list to identify which offenses already are on the books in some way, which offenses the city could add to the code and which offenses might conflict with constitutional or other statutory provisions. The issue is scheduled to be discussed next at the a special council meeting on Sept. 10.

Although some residents want the council to move more quickly toward passing these ordinances, we think it's right for the city to take a few weeks to evaluate the police department's recommendations. The process will require much communication and cooperation between the police, the city legal department and county prosecutors. And because city police officers would have discretion on whether the ordinance has been violated, the council will have to consider how to address the inevitable disproportionate implementation of the ordinance in some neighborhoods and on specific racial or socio-economic groups.

Our View - Curfew to curb crime in city's southeast side?

Printed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Aug. 18, 2009.

"I feel like this neighborhood is out of control," said Brandi Mastain during a meeting Saturday in which more than 120 Grant Wood neighborhood residents met at Fairmeadows Park to share concerns about the neighborhood.

For months, Mastain and other residents have been expressing their frustrations about:

• Being awakened many times during the night by rowdy neighbors,

• Children being left on their own to roam at all hours,

• Streets and sidewalks being blocked by large groups of teens, and

• Gunfire -- most recently in the area of Lakeside Drive and Regal Lane about 11 p.m. Aug. 5.

The participants gave a variety of perspectives on the causes and solutions for the neighborhood's safety issues:

• Some said the issues were more important than the binge and underage drinking issues downtown.

• Some challenged the Iowa City Council's priorities by questioning the benefits of parks and bike paths if people are afraid to walk down the street.

• Others encouraged their neighbors to call the police if they see a gathering of kids they are concerned about.

• And still others expressed their discomfort at all the hyped-up language of "that side" or "those people."

Several neighbors said they have appreciated how, since the reports of shots fired on the Aug. 5, the police department has assigned additional investigators and patrols to the southeast side. But the police cannot maintain those patrols without additional staffing -- especially when university classes start up soon and the downtown pedestrian mall again fills with mobs of college-aged bar patrons at various stages of inebriation.

Indeed, the current laws on the books don't seem enough to turn the tide in the neighborhood.

While some neighbors were calling on the Iowa City Council to impose a curfew, Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said he would prefer the council pass a delinquent behavior ordinance. Rather than lock down on every teenager in the city, such an ordinance would allow the police to focus on the juveniles who are causing problems.

Hargadine, who was scheduled to discuss the issue with the Iowa City Council Monday night, makes a good case for the benefits of a delinquency behavior ordinance over those of a curfew. Charges under the delinquency ordinance wouldn't be required to be sent to the magistrate court, as those under the curfew would be. Instead, the ordinance he has in mind would give the juvenile court system jurisdiction. To be used most effectively, the ordinance would require Iowa City police and juvenile court officers to improve their communication -- which as been less than ideal in the past -- but Hargadine said some preliminary steps to that effect have been taken.

Although we understand the appeal of the delinquency ordinance over that of a curfew -- and although something needs to be done to address these public safety concerns -- the council still has to ask many questions and to hammer out many details if it decides to follow the chief's recommendation. Specifically, because police officers would have discretion on whether the ordinance has been broken, the council will have to consider how to address the inevitable disproportionate implementation of the ordinance in some neighborhoods and on specific racial or socio-economic groups.

In the meantime, we commend the organizers of and participants in Saturday's forum for facilitating such a candid discussion. We urge them to keep working on this until all discussion leads to practical solutions and broader community involvement.

Our View - City Council should rename Sand Lake Recreation Area in honor of Terry Trueblood

(Iowa City Press-Citizen "Our View," July 11, 2009)

For a brief glimpse of how Terry Trueblood approached his job as director of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department, watch the October 2008 interview he did for "The Community Voice" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9mRR5wY2u4).

You'll see a little bit of the patience and thoroughness he brought to every aspect of his job.

You'll see the quiet, thoughtful demeanor that made it so easy for him to negotiate among different departments and between city staff and the public.

You'll see a man who not only loves his job but who also knows it well and who has performed it exceptionally and without fanfare for more than two decades.

But you'll also see a man who already has faced two bouts with cancer (prostate and colon) and who soon will have to take an extended sick leave for a bout with pancreatic cancer that eventually will take his life on July 3.

"We've had seven months to prepare for this, but we just didn't think of it like that," said Mike Moran, who has spent 23 of his 26 years with the department under Trueblood's leadership. "I fully expected him to come walking through that door like he's done before."

Moran said that he knew of Trueblood by reputation long before the Colorado native first arrived in Iowa City in 1986.

"When I heard he was going to take the job in Iowa City, I thought, 'What a coup,'" Moran said.

Finding the department in some financial trouble, Trueblood began implementing the meticulous standards that he had become known for. Soon, he not only had helped the department out of its financial troubles, but he began spearheading efforts to fund Mercer Aquatics Center, Scanlon Gym, the Kickers Soccer Complex, Waterworks Prairie Park and Thornberry Off-leash Dog Park.

"Our previous director had everything running about 99 miles per hour," Moran said. "Terry slowed things down to 50 and made sure things got done and got done well. ... He didn't do anything half-baked."

Even a partial list of the projects Trueblood helped to fully "bake" in the past 23 years proves the old adage, "Slow and steady wins the race."

John Westefeld, University of Iowa psychology professor and chairman of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission, was so impressed with Trueblood's leadership style that in 2007 he nominated the public servant for the Press-Citizen Person of the Year.

"He had an amazing ability to bring groups of people together for the common good," Westefeld said. "He was one of the unsung heroes of city government."

Although Trueblood is gone, his vision for parks and recreation will continue through the recently released master plan for the department. Producing a master plan had long been a priority for Trueblood, and the final report relies heavily on his insight. (To view the plan, visit www.icgov.org.)

Not surprisingly, the master plan is both ambitious and expensive. It will require a huge commitment from the community if it is going to be implemented over the next decade. But Moran said Trueblood didn't want the department to be "a burden on the taxpayers" and was working on a plan to make the department less dependent on property tax dollars.

"He knew we would never be able to fund ourselves totally," Moran said, "but we could fund ourselves at a higher level ... through getting people to cooperatively do things for us that wouldn't cost as much."

That's why Trueblood's vision will require more than just city tax money. It will require the types of intergovernmental partnerships that allowed for the construction of the Grant Wood gym -- what Moran called an ideal blend of school district and Community Development Block Grant money. And it also will require the type of public/private partnership that enabled the construction of the city's dog park.

Given today's economic conditions, Iowa City's elected officials must view park development as of lesser priority than public safety, and they must make their budget decisions accordingly. But they also should follow Trueblood's example of working cooperatively and creatively -- at a slow but steady pace -- to enhance the city's recreation areas.

In the meantime, the council at least should approve the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Commission and rename the Sand Lake Recreation Area in Terry Trueblood's honor.