Iowa City buys townhomes, police add crime analyst, and more takeaways from City Council

The Iowa City City Council provided input on the future of a downtown property, purchased additional housing and approved the introduction of a brand new civilian position in the Police Department.

Here are three key takeaways from Tuesday's council meeting:

Police department to add civilian crime analyst

A brand new, non-uniformed police position will soon be open to applicants.

The council approved the addition of a civilian crime analyst on Tuesday, part of a small list of additional funding provided to the Police Department included in the FY25 budget. The city has earmarked $110,000 in wages and benefits for the position. The true salary will fall below that total.

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A full job description was not provided alongside the city's resolution, though some details were. The analyst position will examine law enforcement data, including police reports, incident maps and dispatch records. This will help "determine trends and help address issues with a data-driven approach to policing."

The position also will partner with groups in the community "to improve communication, data sharing and cross-sector collaborations aimed at finding solutions to challenges facing the community."

Councilors look to future of 21 S. Linn St.

Councilors shared their opinions about the future of a vacant downtown property that appears headed for a mixed-use development. That means it will include commercial and residential space.

"We're looking at the long-term health of the downtown," City Manager Geoff Fruin said. "We're not making short-term decisions with this project. We're really trying to add long-term value."

Fruin asked councilors to voice any concerns that would be deal-breakers in a developer proposal for the space. Each councilor wanted to ensure that this construction project aligns with the largely older, brick-built buildings surrounding the 21 S. Linn St. property.

Councilors voiced considerable appreciation for the sheer number of responses gathered during the six-week public input period. Among the responses, residents commonly asked for more spaces that are open late while not being alcohol-centric.

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Councilor Mazahir Salih said she appreciated city staff's focus on understanding and reeling in people who do not often venture downtown.

"If we can find (ways) to encourage people to come to downtown, people will come to the thing that they relate to," Salih said. "I think (adding) more BIPOC businesses downtown would be great. This way, we will draw people that are not normally coming to the downtown."

Staff will move forward with a request for proposals based on this feedback. Economic Development Director Rachel Kilburg Varley told the council at its last work session that, as with the Chauncey project more than a decade ago, this request will be intentionally broad, allowing additional scope for developer creativity.

Any future development, including site plans gathered by the city through the request for proposal process, will go before the council and include a public comment period before being approved by the city's seven-member governing board.

City uses ARPA money, approves federal funding on housing efforts

The council also approved the purchase of three townhome properties at 4673 Herbert Hoover Highway on the far east side of Iowa City.

The $969,700 purchase price is for three units. Iowa City will use some of its remaining American Rescue Plan Act grant money in one small effort to expand its "publicly owned housing supply." The city must grant or spend its remaining federal funding by the end of 2024.

The Iowa City Housing Authority will manage the properties and will set the rent for the three-bedroom townhomes at $1,372 per month. That price is 90% of the fair market rent as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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The housing authority provides for residents throughout Johnson, Iowa and Washington counties despite only bearing the Iowa City name. The council also approved the Fiscal 2025 Annual Action Plan on Tuesday night, allowing federal funding to be used on numerous projects throughout the area.

An estimated $300,000 in federal funding will go toward helping residents — especially those who are older or disabled — through the HOME Investment Partnership Program. Another $235,000 in money from a separate program, the Community Development Block Grant, would go toward housing rehabilitation.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City purchasing townhome, police department adding crime analyst