Cedar Rapids City Hall visitors will now be asked to use kiosks to check in

CEDAR RAPIDS — Starting Monday, those visiting Cedar Rapids City Hall will now be asked to dial in using newly installed kiosks, and won’t be able to access city offices without a staff escort as part of new lobby upgrades.

The safety improvements are intended to better guide the public to their proper meeting spots at City Hall, 101 First St. SE, and reduce risks to city officials’ safety by requiring badge access to the building’s upper and lower floors.

The change only applies to City Hall, which houses the City Manager’s Office, City Council chambers and council members’ offices, the Community Development Department and the Finance Department.

Assistant to the City Manager Amanda Grieder said Cedar Rapids and other cities have made more city hall doors only accessible using a badge. As the city makes improvements to the City Hall lobby, she said this seemed like the right time to make security updates.

In an April 5 memo from City Manager Jeff Pomeranz to the council, he wrote the kiosks would be installed after a “routine Police Department security review of City Hall.”

The contract for the kiosks with vendor TouchSource totaled $26,553, according to the city.

How to use the kiosks

The doors closest to First and Second avenues E, which lead to the stairs and elevators, will be closed. Visitors now may use the interactive kiosks to notify staff that they’ve arrived.

The kiosks feature touch screen interfaces and show office contacts within City Hall and offer assistance. The kiosks offer three different languages — English, Spanish and Swahili.

The directory lists department names, shows what floor the department is on and includes a “send email” button to notify staff of your arrival. That button is to be used for prearranged meetings.

To the left of the department name is an “i” button that can be pushed to learn more information about the department. The information screen also includes a QR code that can be scanned to call the department.

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For example, Assistant City Manager Angie Charipar said visitors may punch into the City Manager’s Office and the phone will ring to notify administrative officials there of your arrival.

For public meetings of the Cedar Rapids City Council or city boards and commissions, access will not change. The doors will stay open for all members of the public to attend meetings.

“We've found that people will come into City Hall and maybe they don't know the right place to go,” Grieder said. “But the kiosk is a great wayfinding tool, and so they'll be able to get to where they need to go pretty easily and get to their meetings on time.”

She said city staff have been trained to understand the new kiosks and know that they are expected to greet their guests and bring them to the proper destination.

No kiosks in other city facilities

For now, no kiosks have been installed at other city facilities like the City Services Center at 500 15th Ave. SW.

Charipar said the setup of City Hall made it natural to install kiosks. There are entrances facing First Avenue E, First Street SE and Second Avenue E. The first-floor Housing Division has a window to interface with the public, so its customers likely won't use the kiosk.

At City Services Center, 500 15th Ave. SW, there’s a staircase facing the entrance that leads visitors directly to a reception area where they can check in with staff and be taken to their meetings.

The building houses the City Assessor’s Office, Building Services Division, Facilities Maintenance, Public Works Department and Solid Waste & Recycling Division. The Parks & Recreation Department also is on the first floor and accessible with its own reception area.

Most members of the public won’t see a change in how they connect with City Hall, Charipar said.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Charipar said there’s been a significant downturn in the number of visitors to city buildings as Cedar Rapids officials found ways to interact with customers virtually. Water payments are no longer taken in person on the first floor, though there’s a box downstairs for people to submit payments.

System will curb security problems

The system also will help staff better interact with sometimes upset members of the public in a safe way, Charipar said.

“Sometimes we get somebody who's not having their best day, might be upset about something,” Charipar said. “What we want to do is ensure that we meet that person where they are and we're able to have a good conversation with them and get them the assistance they need, whether that’s city assistance or some other type of assistance.”

This way, she said staff can go to the first floor and speak with them in a more visible setting and there’s an established process to account for visitors to City Hall.

Charipar didn’t reference specific incidents, but City Hall has recently seen safety issues with upset members of the public.

After failing to appear for trial, a Cedar Rapids resident last week was automatically convicted of third-degree harassment of Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell after the individual allegedly came to the City Manager’s Office in May with a baseball bat demanding to speak with the mayor. The incident followed social media posts the person made last year in which they threatened the mayor’s life. The kiosks were planned before the incident in May.

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