Reflecting on the Past Week and looking ahead to the Week ahead ...

Last Monday, our Rotary Club held it's first meeting at our new location, the Scottish Rite Temple. The Cedar Rapids West Rotary have been meeting there, since The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library was knocked out by the Flood of 2008.

For the past 32 years, the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids held meetings at the Five Seasons Hotel in the Ballroom. The Ballroom, which has been part of the Five Seasons Center, now U.S. Cellular Center, was closed recently for redevelopment of the arena, hotel and completion of a new event center, which will have a new ballroom and convention space for our community.

Ironically, the movie "Cedar Rapids" was released this week in our Community. The hotel in the movie doesn't exist in our community. Originally, they were going to film in Des Moines, but due to the film tax credit scandal, the filming of the movie was moved to the State of Michigan. Like the movie "Ice Castles", which portrayed Cedar Rapids in the 1970s as having an indoor ice facility at the time, Cedar Rapids remains in need of a true convention center. The Events Center is the latest plan to overcome that shortcoming.

On Tuesday afternoon, the City held a neighborhood meeting at First Lutheran Church to discuss the traffic changes and road improvements associated with the closing of Second Avenue SE between 10Th and 12Th streets and the new PCI medical mall. The taxpayers of Cedar Rapids are contributing to this project with $13.24 million.

• Improvements to 13Th Street SE at corner of Third Avenue SE


• Traffic pattern changes on Third Avenue SE from 10Th Street to 13Th Street SE from one-way to two-way


• Third Avenue SE lane marking changes from Seventh Street SE to 13Th Street SE


• Improvements of intersection at Eighth Street SE at Second Avenue SE


• Changes to Tenth Street SE from First Avenue to Third Avenue, which will begin and continue to be completed throughout the construction of PCI.

Second Avenue SE will likely close as early as April 1, 2011 between 10Th and 12Th. By the end of May 2011, Third Avenue SE should be ready for two-way traffic between 10Th and 13Th per the City's comments at the neighborhood meeting.

A community activist brought up the following web site in our community early in the week. On Tuesday night, at a meeting I was attending, I ran into some of the people associated with that web site. I was told that it mirrors another community's alternative media. In 2004-05, when I served on the Home Rule Charter Commission that formulated our current form of government in our community. The following group began to provide me with information, while I served on that commission. It will be interesting to see, if I begin to hear from them again, if I am appointed to the Charter Review Commission? I haven't heard from them lately, other than one of the members wrote a column on Dr. Ralph Plagman and our local schools. The group was against the SILO for Linn County schools in February 2007.

"Urban Legend" comment on Wednesday in Cedar Rapids ...

On Wednesday, Mayor Ron Corbett was the luncheon program for the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors. He gave a very well organized presentation on the local economy, the three sides in flood protection funding (Federal, State and local) and his reasons why he wants to place a public measure for a Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) extension, with new ballot language on May 3Rd. The current LOST was approved in March 2009 and will run through 2014.

The official ballot language has not been defined yet by the City Council, so we don't know how well written the public measure will be? On Wednesday, people commented to the Mayor about the ballot language. The community on May 3Rd will likely vote on whether to extend the LOST another 20 years for flood protection walls and repairs on existing public roads in Cedar Rapids. The rest of Linn County will be voting on May 3Rd for language and use for the municipal or unincorporated area they live.

Plenty of visits about taxation began on Monday at Rotary and continued throughout the week of February 14Th, St. Valentine's Day. How should flood protection walls and deferred existing road maintenance be paid in our community? Property taxes vs. sales taxes?

The public policy discussion and the need to develop opportunities to encourage a community dialogue continues to be strong in Cedar Rapids. As we look out at the Middle East and Northern Africa to Madison, WI and onto the State House, there are a lot of challenges ahead.

On Saturday, Vivace did well in Davenport at a show choir competition there. All three Washington High School show choirs performed in Davenport's competition.

On Sunday, NASCAR will start the 2011 racing season with the Daytona 500, with Cedar Rapids native finishing strong in Nationwide race.

This coming week ...

Local Realtors have a government affairs meeting on President's Day to discuss proposed Chapter 69 changes with Leonard Sandler, a University of Iowa Law professor working with the local civil rights commission. Then, a bus-in for Iowa Realtors to the State Capitol on Tuesday for our annual visit with the State Legislature and other members of State Government.

Tuesday night, the City Council Regular Session will be held. The Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2012 City Budget and ten year capital improvement program is the #1 item on the Agenda for the February 22Nd City Council meeting.

Wishing all a safe and enjoyable week ahead.

Robin Tucker