Speak Up to Protect this 1870s Iowa City Icon!
On April 2, a standing-room-only crowd encouraged the Iowa City City Council to say yes to designating The Slezak property as a city historic landmark. Both the Iowa City Historical Preservation Committee and the Iowa City Planning & Zoning Committee have strongly approved the Landmark designation.
On April 16, despite reservations from Mayor Teague and Pro Tem Salih, the first of three positive votes was recorded – 7-0!
On May 7, Pro-Tem Salih – with a strong desire to see Iowa City do a better job supporting owners of historic properties via stronger financial benefits, added her YES vote, alongside the other five supportive council members. The only NO came from Mayor Teague, allowing the second vote to narrowly pass 6-1.
WHICH BRINGS US NOW TO MAY 21…
Here’s where we need you to help. 1) SPEAK UP & 2) SHOW UP…
1. SPEAK UP – CONTACT City Council Members – ALL letters, emails, phone calls etc. MUST ARRIVE in City Hall by 9 AM – THURSDAY, MAY 16!
To contact the entire council, email council@iowa-city.org. All correspondence addressed to the City Council becomes a permanent public record. The sender must include their full name & address. Unsigned correspondence will not be forwarded to the City Council. To contact an individual council member directly, email the member – see directory above. Mail should be addressed to: City Council, 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52240.
| Staff & MAY 7 VOTE | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teague, Bruce – NO | Mayor, At-Large | (319) 536-1200 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| Alter, Megan – YES | Councilor, At-Large | (319) 325-3787 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| Harmsen, Shawn – YES | Councilor, District B | (319) 853-8804 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| Bergus, Laura – YES | Councilor, District A | (319) 541-9677 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| Dunn, Andrew – YES | Councilor, District C | (319) 360-7682 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| Moe, Josh – YES | Councilor, At-Large | (319) 383-3099 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| Salih, Mazahir – YES | Mayor Pro Tem, At-Large | (319) 282-5188 | Go to ICCC Webpage |
| HERE IS A COPY OF MY LETTER TO THE CITY COUNCIL. Please feel free to incorporate any of these thoughts in your correspondence. |
2) SHOW UP – The next City Hall meeting is planned for Tuesday, May 21 – 6 PM. This will be the THIRD & FINAL VOTE to re-zone the Slezak property as a historical landmark…
Once more, we will need a strong showing to hopefully convince the Council of the urgency of saving the whole property. If two people would vote ‘no’, the Slezak is lost forever!
Please show up in person – at the Iowa City City Council public meeting. Tuesday, May 21st in the City Council Chambers in City Hall. The Council needs to hear why this property – made up of four buildings matter to Iowan Citians. You can learn more about the history of these buildings here. The 6 pm hearing is open to the public and the City Council wants to hear from Iowa Citians. If you care about this historic site, step up and say so. Comments should be brief (3 minutes)
A hearty thanks to everyone who has supported the effort to landmark the Slezak property. Our efforts have been very effective thus far and we NEED YOU TO CONTINUE for one more PUBLIC MEETING. Thank you for taking part to help convince Iowa City leaders that preserving important historic architecture and cultural heritage matters greatly!
- PLEASE PASS THE WORD! Let’s SAVE THE SLEZAK!
Great letter Marty and great format. M