Ric's StoryRic's Story
Ric was elected in November, 2005 to his first term on the City Council after a distinguished thirty-one year career with the City of Dubuque Fire Department as a Firefighter, Medical Officer and Emergency Medical Services Supervisor. He was one of Iowa's first paramedics and, despite his retirement from active duty, he remains a leader in the field today.
Ric currently does expert consulting in the areas of public policy and emergency response, is the drummer and leader of the Upper Main Street Jazz Band, and drives a bus for Dubuque Community Schools.
Ric is a certified instructor in all areas of emergency care, with an emphasis on trauma and advanced life support. He serves on the EMS Advisory Committee for Northeast Iowa Community College. He has taught classes on emergency care all over the United States, including a stint for the United States Department of Defense training troops prior to their deployment for the first Gulf War.
Ric was recently inducted into the Dubuque County Fire Association's "Hall of Flame," an honor that humbles him. Honorees have served the association with many volunteer hours to improve the fire service in and around Dubuque County.
The 2005 campaign was a pretty gentle one. Ric has a great deal of respect for his friend and former opponent Dan Nicholson, who held the seat for 16 years. The campaign was a positive one, focusing on the future.
Whether at the Council Table or at the drums with his jazz band or one of the community theater groups Ric performs with, he has fun and knows what he is doing. Ric knows the importance of being prepared. In either case, people are counting on him!
Left: Ric and Sue
Below: Their puppy, Fred
Ric also serves the following boards, commissions, committees, clubs and causes:
Vice Chairperson of the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency
Board Member of the Dubuque Racing Association
Board Member of the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau
Member of the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce
Member of the Chamber of Commerce Festivals Committee
Member of the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Transportation Study Policy Board
Board Member of Operation New View Community Action Agency
Member and Past President of the Dubuque Downtown Kiwanis Club
Committee Member of Make A Will - A Tri-State Initiative
32nd Degree Member of Dubuque Lodge # 3, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons
President of the Dubuque Shrine Club
Noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine, El Kahir Temple
Member of the Masonic High Twelve Service Club
Member of the Dubuque County Conference Committee
Past President of the Board of Directors of Hills and Dales
Member of the Jamie Barwick Hills and Dales Foundation Board
Member of the Winter Games Committee for Special Olympics Iowa
Member, Past Board Member and Past Public Policy Chair of the Iowa Emergency Medical Services Association
Founding Member and Past President of the Dubuque County EMS Association
Member of the Iowa Firemens' Association
Member of the Dubuque Retired Fire Fighters Association
Member of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
Member of the Administrative Board of St. Luke's United Methodist Church
Member of the American Civil Liberties Union
Member of Physicians for Social Responsibility
Member of Amnesty International
2009 City Elections: Tuesday, November 3, 2009, is Election Day. I plan to formally announce my intent to seek a second term on the Council late this summer. I am enjoying working with our visionary Mayor, Roy Buol and the other great leaders on the Council and would like to do so for another four years.
Dog Parks: We voted to close the Grandview Avenue Dog Park in April, 2010. This gives the neighborhood a date to resume the normal enjoyment of their homes. They built above a golf course and water reservoir. We removed the reservoir and added dogs. Dogs bark.
Kudos to Councilman Resnick, for crafting this compromise. I believe that the Council was ready to close the park immediately. This is a much better solution.
That being said, David Resnick and I are actively continuing to pursue new locations for one or more dog parks. Our sincere hope is to have one operational by the deadline we just set. I was disappointed that the council did not approve my request for a work session on dog parks at our June 1 meeting. David and I are having good conversation with the leadership of the Park & Recreation Commission. We are talking about things like smaller dog play areas in the larger existing City parks, allowing leashed, licensed dogs in the City parks, and new smaller dog parks in areas throughout the City. We are optimistic that we will be successful. The Park & Recreation Commission will be looking at sites and setting up neighborhood meetings to gather input.
I am a dog person and this is important to me.
Swimming Pools: Flora and Sutton Pools opened this year with new ultraviolet light disinfection to supplement the chlorination of the water. This state-of-the-art system not only will kill bacteria, but also larger parasites. We still need to stay away from the pools if sick, but the likelihood of transmission of illness such as cryptosporidium is almost nil with u/v disinfection of the water.
Downtown Parking: Even if IBM was not bringing 1,300 new employees downtown we have a parking problem. The Council recently voted to build additional public parking structures at 5th and Bluff as well as at 10th and Central. It is out hope that some of the other current surface parking lots will become developed, once the new structures are open. There are also plans moving forward for an additional 750 car intermodal parking facility in the Port of Dubuque.
The Budget: The budget for next fiscal year is complete and complex. We were not able to fund new positions at the Library which I believe are going to be needed when the newly renovated facility is complete. I plan to work to make library staffing a priority in our goal setting this fall.
IBM: IBM remains pleased with their choice of Dubuque. They have over 4,000 applicants and most are meeting their qualifications. They began limited operations on June 1.
Work is well underway on renovations to the historic Roshek Building, also known as the Dubuque Building, for IBM's use. They have signed a ten year lease on the facility. The City will be providing an incentive package that includes guaranteeing $25 million dollars in loans for the building renovation. This is a great thing for everyone in Dubuque!
Stormwater Management: The Bee branch creek restoration project is in the final design phase. Most of the needed property has been acquired. Upstream improvements at Carter Road and on West 32nd Street have significantly slowed the flow of stormwater down the hill. We saw drawings of the possible landscape plans early this month. This will be a linear park and an amenity for the entire neighborhood. And no more flooded homes in the flats! Negotiations continue with the railroad to get under their tracks, and design work continues.
Library Renovation and the Curtis Collection: The renovation of the Carnegie-Stout Library is underway! With some great behind-the-scenes work by Tim Conlon, Jeff Mozena, Dr. Darryl Mozena, Dr. Randy Lengeling and Mark Falb with an assist by Mike VanMilligen, the Curtis Collection will stay in Dubuque and the Library Renovation is underway. Kudos to all of them and the Library Board for this decision.
Sustainability: The City Council is working to make Dubuque a greener city. We will make every effort that we can afford to be successful at reducing the City's carbon footprint and improving the quality of life for all Dubuquers. We are using a few hybrid vehicles in the City fleet to determine if they are up to our vigorous tasks. The gasoline fleet is being migrated to E-85 use. The diesel fleet is currently using a soy diesel blend, with good results. We are budgeting for one hybrid trash collection truck. This will be our first experiment with a heavy-duty hybrid truck. The initial cost is high. We feel that we need to find out through an experimental purchase if this is the right answer for Dubuque.
Public Safety: Last year we added four sworn police officers, one of whom is assigned to the Housing Department to investigate concerns of criminal behavior or mis-representation of eligibility in the subsidized housing programs. Additional officers will be added in the coming fiscal years. We have entered a purchase agreement for the site of the City's seventh fire station, near the Northwest Arterial and Chavenelle Drive.
Water Pollution Control: We are at a point where major renovation is required at our Water Pollution Control Plant. There was a Council work session last April, where we heard recommendations from staff and our consultants. The options are basically to use anaerobic digestion to decompose the sludge and then land spread it on agricultural land or continue to incinerate the sludge placing the ash at the landfill. Both are reasonable solutions. Both are expensive. Anaerobic digestion seems more environmentally friendly, though both processes leave a carbon footprint.
The Council held a public hearing on July 7, 2008, to approve the further design and build elements of the facility development plan using anaerobic digestion and land application. We have determined that the anaerobic digestion process is less costly over the life of the facility and is slightly less of an environmental threat. The capital costs at the front of the project are somewhat higher, but there is a recovery of those costs due to reduced operating expenses. There may be an opportunity to capture and use the by-product gases for electrical generation at the facility, or other energy replacement.
Chlorine gas is currently used to disinfect the liquid material before returning it to the ecosystem. There is an opportunity to remove chlorine from the equation by using ultraviolet light to disinfect the material instead of the chlorine. Chlorine is a dangerous chemical to transport, store and use. For more information, click on this link to the Water Pollution Control Facility website.
Additional capacity improvements are being made to the sanitary sewer system to eliminate the need to pump sewage into Catfish Creek during high rain events. Currently, because of inflow of rainwater to the sanitary system, it is overwhelmed in the Key Way area. If the overcharge is not released, backflows occur into basements.
Streets: Last year's street construction program is history. Most significantly, Cleveland Avenue was rebuilt and Asbury Road got a new overlay. We continue to study and refine the "East-West Corridor Study," the implementation of which will change some lane markings, add traffic control devices and some turn lanes to Asbury Road and other east west thoroughfares. The new information we have is that unless we want to buy many homes and businesses along the corridor, there will not be a multiple lane road linking downtown to the west side. Much of University has only a 65 foot right of way. That's barely enough for two lanes of traffic, two lanes of parking and two sidewalks (not to mention two snow banks). So the goal will be to move traffic smarter and better, at least for the foreseeable future. The goal is also to get people less dependent on motor vehicles by making mass transit work better and improving and adding to bike and hiking trails.
Please contact the Public Works Department with street repair concerns. Potholes are generally repaired as soon as possible, but only once they have been reported.
Snow Routes: The Council unanimously passed a modified snow route ordinance that primarily changes the notification process. The City will use the Code Red reverse 911 system to notify all addresses affected when a snow emergency is declared. Vehicles will not be allowed to park on the designated side of the street until the end of the declared emergency. There is a provision to have a first ticket dismissed if a valid phone number is provided for subsequent notifications.
Inter-City Bus Facility: I introduced a discussion that the Council supports to have the City Staff investigate the possibility of providing some financial or infrastructure support for Burlington Trailways (and/or other operators) to continue long distance bus service to and from Dubuque. Many people depend on this critical link to travel for family gatherings, school, work, business and recreation.
Trailways has moved to the new location at 5 points. This is a great location for the bus company and the passengers they serve. The Council voted unanimously to provide a subsidy for the rent on this facility to enable the move. Our citizens will enjoy a safe, clean comfortable bus depot near shopping and restaurants.
Downtown Design Guidelines: we heard from the team that is developing recommended appearance guidelines for downtown building renovations. The work is exceptional. I favor a regulatory approach, where new building permits would require adherence to these guidelines. There are other options, including limiting access to incentives and grants to only those projects that voluntarily follow the guidelines, or, completely voluntary guidelines. We need to hear from you on the direction that you prefer. I remain open to the possibility that regulation may be too harsh.
