Cedar Rapids City Hall in July. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
CEDAR RAPIDS – Starting Monday, visitors to Cedar Rapids City Hall will have to dial in using newly installed kiosks and will not be able to enter city offices without being accompanied by an employee as part of lobby modernization.
The security improvements are designed to better direct the public to their proper meeting places at City Hall (101 First St. SE) and reduce security risks for city officials by requiring identification to access the upper and lower floors of the building.
The change only affects City Hall, which houses the City Manager’s office, City Council members’ meeting rooms and offices, the Community Development Department and the Finance Department.
Assistant City Manager Amanda Grieder said Cedar Rapids and other cities have made more city hall doors accessible only by ID. As the city makes improvements to the City Hall lobby, this is the right time for security updates, she said.
In an April 5 memo to the City Council, City Manager Jeff Pomeranz wrote that the kiosks would be installed after a “routine security inspection of City Hall by the Police Department.”
How to use the kiosks
The doors on First and Second Avenue E leading to the stairs and elevators are closed. Visitors can now use the interactive kiosks to notify staff of their arrival.
The kiosks are equipped with touch screens and display office contacts at City Hall and provide assistance. The kiosks are available in three different languages – English, Spanish and Swahili.
The directory lists the names of the departments, shows which floor the department is located on, and includes a “Send Email” button that you can use to notify staff of your arrival. This button is to be used for pre-arranged meetings.
To the left of the department name is an “i” button that can be pressed to get more information about the department. The information screen also contains a QR code that can be scanned to call the department.
A new interactive kiosk is on display at Cedar Rapids City Hall on Monday. (Marissa Payne/The Gazette)
For example, Deputy City Manager Angie Charipar explained that visitors could register by calling the city manager’s office and the phone would then ring to notify city officials of their arrival.
There will be no change in access to public meetings of the Cedar Rapids City Council or city councils and commissions. Doors will remain open to all members of the public who wish to attend the meetings.
“We’ve found that people come to City Hall and maybe don’t know where to go,” Grieder said. “But the kiosk is a great way to help them get where they need to go and get to their appointments on time.”
She said city employees have been trained to use the new kiosks and know they are expected to greet their guests and direct them to the correct destination.
No kiosks in other municipal facilities
Other city facilities, such as the City Services Center at 500 15th Ave. SW, do not currently have kiosks installed.
Charipar said the City Hall building was an obvious place to put up kiosks. The entrances are on First Avenue E, First Street SE and Second Avenue E. The housing department on the ground floor has a window to interact with the public, so its customers are unlikely to use the kiosk.
At the City Services Center, 500 15th Ave. SW, there is a staircase across from the entrance that takes visitors directly to a reception area where they can check in with staff and be escorted to their appointments.
The building houses the City Assessor’s office, the Building Services Department, Building Maintenance, the Public Works Department, and the Solid Waste and Recycling Department. The Parks and Recreation Department is also located on the first floor and is accessed through its own reception area.
For most citizens, there will be no change in the way they interact with City Hall, Charipar said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the number of visitors to city buildings has dropped significantly, Charipar said, as Cedar Rapids officials have found ways to interact with customers virtually. Water bills are no longer taken in person on the ground floor, although there is a box downstairs where people can submit payments.
System will curb security problems
The system will also help staff better and safely interact with sometimes angry members of the public, Charipar said.
“Sometimes someone comes to us who is not having their best day or is upset about something,” Charipar said. “We want to make sure that we meet the person where they are and that we can have a good conversation with them and get them the support they need, whether that’s municipal support or some other type of support.”
This would allow staff to go down to the ground floor and speak to City Hall visitors in a more visible environment, she said. There is also an established process for recording City Hall visitors.
Charipar did not mention any specific incidents, but City Hall has recently experienced security problems due to angry citizens.
After a Cedar Rapids resident failed to appear in court last week, he was automatically convicted of third-degree harassment of Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell after the person allegedly came into the city manager’s office in May with a baseball bat and demanded to speak to the mayor. The incident followed social media posts in which the person threatened the mayor’s life last year. The kiosks were planned before the May incident.
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