Open houses put Cedar Rapids flood-recovery plan on display

Greg Eyerly says City Hall's open houses Tuesday and Wednesday are the “sexy” part of flood recovery.

What the city's flood-recovery director means is that now it's time for the public to weigh in on months of city staff and consultant work and analysis of the city's key flood-damaged buildings, as well as its park and recreation system.

“These decisions impact our whole quality of life,” he says.

No one who attends the open houses will doubt that a lot of work has gone into getting city officials to this point in making decisions about key flood-damaged buildings like the Veterans Memorial Building, the home to City Hall, or about the future of the city's parks and recreation system.

Greeting those who attend will be more than 60 people - a mix of city staff, elected officials, appointed officials and consultant representatives - and 126 posters, each 2-by-3 feet and with some piece of information or analysis about options for the future.

Don't let the display overwhelm you, says Dan Thies, president/CEO of OPN Architects Inc. of Cedar Rapids. OPN's job for City Hall has been to help communicate all the study to date that has gone into the buildings.

Thies says the display includes summary posters for those who just want an overview and detailed boards for those who want more about the options for the Veterans Memorial Building/City Hall, the central fire station, main library, animal control shelter and public works operation.

Open houses

Open houses

Tuesday: 4 to 7 p.m. in the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.

Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., same location.

What you will see, too, is the set of options and cost estimates for each facility. The cost estimates factor in construction costs, ongoing operating costs and flood insurance costs.

Production of the posters cost $4,309, but City Manager Jim Prosser is the first to point out that the professional effort by consultants and city staff that went into the content of the posters has come at a much higher cost. OPN is being paid $400,000 for its work, and other consultants have been involved.

The public-issue open house wasn't invented by Prosser, but in his three years here, he has made it a regular part of the city landscape.

Prosser says the open house lets a large number of people talk one-to-one with representatives of City Hall during a decision-making process, including those who might not want to come to a microphone and talk in front of a large group of people.

For anyone who thinks decisions have already been made, Prosser points to two previous open houses - one involved selling a part of the Twin Pines Golf Course, and another had City Hall trying to re-imagine Westdale Mall - where public questions and anger prompted the city to set aside the ideas.

Eyerly says there's no perfect way to plan, but public input is vital. “A dictatorship is very efficient,” he says, “but this is democracy, and we need to hear the voice of the people.”