Council not listening to quiet voices

On Oct. 18, four members of the Iowa City Council (Megan Alter, Laura Bergus, Shawn Harmsen, and Janice Weiner) approved the Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan — despite the absence of details, cost information and a vision that is consistent with overwhelming public feedback in opposition to the proposed “repurposing” of the Robert A. Lee pool and the radical “concept” redesign of City Park Pool.

In approving this plan, the four Council members blindly accepted and repeated the city staff’s misinformation regarding public feedback on the aquatics portion of the plan. The city staff has consistently dismissed the feedback from community members who actually use and love these pools. Instead, they have emphasized “Phase 1” of their community engagement process because that phase allegedly represents the “quiet voices” in the community who often aren’t "heard.”

Who are these “quiet voices?”

According to the plan, Phase 1 involved focus groups, pop-up events, a “statistically valid survey,” and a community engagement website. See Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan, at page 24, available online at https://www.icgov.org/city-government/departments-anddivisions/ parks-and-recreation/master-plans. Of the 44 or 47 total participants in the focus groups, at least 14 were (and still are) city employees (30 percent of the total) — including the City Manager Geoff Fruin, Deputy City Manager Redmond Jones, and Assistant City Attorney Sue Dulek. City employees should not be characterized as among the “quiet voices” in this community who are not “heard.”

The Phase 1 “pop-up events” with the most participation were held at the Farmers Market, SodaFest, and Halloween Carnival (69, 49, and 36 respondents, respectively). See Master Plan at 22. None of these events appear to be designed to reach underserved communities.

The Phase 1 “Statistically Valid Survey” was comprised of 450 random households in the community. See Master Plan at 16. Of those respondents, 82 percent were white — and the largest age group was 65 and older. Id. at 17. It does not appear that these are the “quiet voices” in the community who are not “heard.”

Even worse, the plan’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) outcomes analysis was entirely based on input from Parks & Rec Department staff. See Master Plan at 65 (the consulting firm “asked Department staff members to rate their program areas” according to DEI factors). In other words — the “quiet voices” the Council members believe they’re listening to are actually the voices of the city staff. See Master Plan at 65-67, 126-27.

The City Council and staff have weaponized DEI language to serve their desired outcome without actually obtaining input from the “quiet” voices in the community — and without explaining how eliminating one pool and redesigning another serves the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

It is regrettable that four City Council members approved this plan without understanding the actual source of the Phase 1 feedback. This plan does not represent the needs or desires of the “quiet voices” in this community. This plan represents the desires of city staff.

Amy B. Kretkowski lives in Iowa City.