Sustainable Design Assessement Team AppointmentTHE CITY OF
DUB E
MEMORANDUM
March 27, 2007
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Response to Four Mounds Foundation Reference Sustainable Design
Assessment Team
Planning Services Manager Laura Carstens recommends approval for Four Mounds
Executive Director Christine Happ Olson to serve on the Sustainable Design
Assessment Team Steering Committee.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
ti ~ ,-
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM/jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager
THE CITY OF
DuB E
~-~
MEMORANDUM
March 23, 2007
TO: Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager
SUBJECT: Response to Four Mounds Foundation re: SDAT
This memorandum transmits the response that you requested to the January 24, 2007
letter from the Four Mounds Foundation regarding the Sustainable Design Assessment
Team (SDAT) project.
1 enclosed a draft letter from Mayor Buol to Christine Happ Olson, Executive Director of
the Four Mounds Foundation regarding participation in the SDAT planning process.
I recommend that the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the letter responding to
the Four Mounds Foundation regarding the SDAT planning process.
Enclosures
Office of the Mayor
and City Council
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
Christine Happ Olson
Executive Director
Four Mounds Foundation
4900 Peru Road
Dubuque IA 52001
THE CITY OF
DuB E
~,°~-~-~
March 23, 2007
RE: Dubuque Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) Project
Dear Christine:
Thank you for your enclosed letter of interest in participating in the City of Dubuque's
Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) project, and offering to utilize the Four
Mounds site as a demonstration model for this planning process.
The Dubuque SDAT process will involve atwo-day preliminary visit by the SDAT team
leader and support staff, and then athree-day visit by the national SDAT. We have
identified the Four Mounds Estate as a potential meeting site for part of the preliminary
visit. During both the preliminary visit and the full SDAT visit, we can explore with the
SDAT members how Four Mounds can serve as a demonstration site.
The organization's focus on land stewardship, preservation, and education make the
Four Mounds Foundation an important stakeholder in the Dubuque SDAT process. We
invite you or a member of your Board of Directors to serve on the local steering
committee for the Dubuque SDAT project. I look forward to hearing from you. Please
contact me for more information or with any questions. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Roy D. Buol
Mayor
Enclosure
Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
Officers
fOUR MOUnDS fOUnDflTIOn
4900 Peru Road • Dubuque, Iowa 521101 •563-557-7292
January 24, 2007
~~~~
John Gronen
President The Honorable Roy Buol
' City of Dubuque
Pat O
Neill
Vice President 50 W. 13~' Street
Brian Houtakker Dubuque, IA 52001 ,
Treasurer
Mary Mulgrew Gronen Dear Mayor Buol,
Secretary
Dubuque deserves congratulations on winning the award from the AIA that
Trustees allows us to engage in the Green Sustainable Design Assessment Team
(SDAT) study. It's exciting to see this kind of emphasis being placed on a
Elizabeth Adams City Of Out' Size.
Jayne Banfiefd
Christine Chapin-Tilton Green design begins with reuse of existing resources. There are no other
Jennifer Clemens-Conlon cities in Iowa with the concentration of historic resources that Dubuque has.
Eric Dregne I have worked in the field of historic preservation across the Midwest and
James Gronen few cities of this size offer the kind of assistance that we provide towazd
Doug Horstmann retaining and revitalizing Dubuque's cultural and historic resources
Charles Huntley As chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, I supported an
Ann Michalski
City Appointed Trustee a ltcation to the AIA for SDAT artiall because een desi oes hand-
pp ~ P Y $t' gn $
in-hand with preservation. But 1 am writing you today on behalf of Four
Jim Mulgrew Mounds, which is a National Register Historic District and a City of
Michael Toskey Dubuque Landmazk Site.
Richard Weber
Four Mounds has been working with the City's Engineering Department, the
Dubuque County Soil & Water Conservation Boazd, state agencies and local
Management Staff volunteers to design an environmentally sustainable plan to minimize runoff
Christine Happ Olson as we move ahead with a major road and parking project over the next few
Executive Director years. Our site sits on top of a local watershed or divide, so rain gardens,
Marie FitzGerald permeable pazking, and sensitively designed features will help deter erosion
Inn Manager/Joii Coach and minimize runoff into the Mississippi River and the storm water system.
Ron Fritz
HEART Manager/Job Coach This is part of a larger focus our organization has had in the past decade to
Tina Hamel
DevelopmenbAdministrative move towazd a becoming greener site. Projects like ecological restoration,
installin hi
g gh efficiency furnaces, minimizing azeas to be mowed on our
Jay Potter
Y.E. S. Manager/Job Coach cultured grounds, and weatherization measures aze all ways we ve been
Ed Bauer working towazd this goal. It's our intent to improve our building and
Summer Day Camp Director o rational s stems in a wa that makes sense for the environment and our
Pe Y Y
Neil Winger budget. Four Mounds has also partnered with public and private agencies in
Wood Shop Job Coach recent years through the Responsible Redevelopment Initiative and HEART
to make a sizeable impact through lazge scale projects that revitalize and
reuse entire buildings. As I write this letter, we are installing a wood burning
furnace at our Barn/Garage, funded through grants from the DRA and
A Non Profit Foundation ® Preservation Education
DMASWA. This will not only save us over $3000 in fuel costs per year, but it allows
us to partner with local companies and utilize waste wood from our HEART site and
woodshop our in order to minimize negative contributions to our local landfill.
Because of our history with restoring the historic, cultural and ecological resources at
Four Mounds, we extend an invitation to the City and the SDAT team to involve
Four Mounds in the planning process and utilize our site as a demonstration
model. We would be pleased to have the opportunity to help out during this process
and also be involved as we move forward in the future to implement
recommendations.
Again, congratulations... we're excited to see Dubuque move forwazd with this new
initiative.
Sincerely,
/ ,'
l-~ - ~ _,._._..__ . ,
~hristin'e Happ Olson
Executive Director
cc: City of Dubuque City Council
Kevin Eipperle, Durrant Group