Goodman, Gyroman, Councilman!

On December 2nd 2003, after I had door knocked every voter in the city, learned all there was to know(or so I thought) about couch ordinances, cigarette ordinances, malls, Worle Creek, over-occupancy and of course the LUPP, the Ames Community (at least 50% + 1 of you) trusted me with its future and has continued to do so for over a decade. Lets celebrate the end of an era together!

On Wednesday December 16th, please join me at the Ames Public Library for cake and punch from 4-5:30 followed by some amazing craft beers at Torrent Brewery from 6-8 PM where you can enjoy the food that started it all...GYROS!!! Hope to see you there!

The Ames City Council begins at 6:00 PM.  The agenda includes:
 

• 20. Resolution approving Plat of Survey for 535 South Duff Avenue. City Council will vote on approving the proposed plat of survey for the property.  An issue to consider during this process is if the property owner should update the existing sidewalk to meet the bikeway 8 foot wide shared use path requirements at the time of plat or in the future when redevelopment occurs.  Currently they could wait on this improvement which can and has historically led to gaps in our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

• 21. Options for regulation of e-cigarettes. Recent technology has resulted in a smoke free nicotine delivery system commonly referred to as the e-cigarette.  These devices are currently unregulated and reportedly safer then conventional cigarettes and do not produce second hand smoke.  However, the long term health impacts of these devices for users as well as second-hand exposure is not well known. City Council requested staff to report on how other municipalities have dealt with this issue and have come back with 4 possible options ranging from banning these devices in the same manner as conventional cigarettes to taking no regulatory action whatsoever.

• 22. Follow-Up Staff Report regarding number of clients turned away from ASSET. The ASSET (Analysis of Social Services Evaluation Team) process brings together five major funders of human services programs in a collaborative, volunteer-led effort to coordinate local planning, assess needs, and recommend funding for programs (see  http://www.storycountyasset.org/). For fiscal year 2016/2017 ASSET organizations have requested an additional funding request of 13.5% over the previous year for a total budget of $1,375,822.  Historically ASSET funding increases have been much more conservative, ranging from 2-5% on average. 
  
  To aid in a funding increase decision, Council requested staff to research how many agencies have been forced to turn away services and found thirteen organizations turned away clients in need of their services.  Of those 13 there were 5 that did not have capacity limits and a lack of available funds was the only reason that services were denied.  They further determined these gaps could be closed with a $66,152 (5.5%) increase over previous budgeted amounts resulting in an average 5% funding increase. The staff report will present a variety of options for increasing the ASSET budget from as low as 2% to the fully requested 13.5%.

• 23. Request from Ames Economic Development Commission for donors to Airport Hangar to be given first right of notification. The Ames Economic Development Commission has pledged to raise $1,000,000 in private sector money to finance the construction of a new hangar at the Ames Municipal Airport designed primarily as short-stay storage for corporate aircraft.  The AEDC is falling short on this goal and looking for additional ways to encourage donations of $50K or more for the project.  As such, AEDC seeks Council Approval to offer donors a "Right-of-Notification" in exchange for $50K or higher donation.
  
  A "Right-of-Notification" would require the FBO to notify these donors when space becomes available in the hangar for lease in addition any other notifications the FBO would undertake.  These donors would still pay the same market rate for the leased space.  The AEDC indicated that currently 4 company donors would qualify for this "Right-of-Notification". 
  
  It was not reported how short the AEDC is on the $1,000,00o goal or how many additional donors might be secured with this provision which leads to some questions of its effectiveness.  Furthermore, it is anticipated that there will only be room for 8-10 aircraft in the new hangar and the FBO must balance the space for visiting aircraft and long term aircraft storage. This project becomes less and less a community project, all the time.

• 26. Resolution approving Agreements with Hunziker Development and Skeye 1, LLC, to allow operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems within Ames airspace for Calendar Year 2016. City Council will be presented with alternatives for how to regulate the use of UAV or drones in Ames airspace.  Two local companies are seeking approval to fly such devices in the 5 mile area around the Ames Municipal Airport.

• 28. Resolution approving final tax abatement for 2320 Lincoln Way. Gilbane Development Company is seeking final approval of their Urban Revitalization Area in order to grant tax abatement.  Previously there were issues found with Gilbane not meeting the fixed window requirements of the URA.  They have worked with the City and staff to find an agreeable solution for the fixed windows which has been approved.

• 29. Hearing on Amendment to Campustown Urban Revitalization Plan. City Council is seeking to add Non-Formula retail requirements into the Campustown Urban Revitalization criteria used to determine tax abatement eligibility.  If approved, projects of certain sizes would be required to dedicate some percentage of retail floor space to tenants with 10 or less operating businesses, and that don't have the characteristics of formula retail (big chains) with common elements of appearance and services.

Thanks for reading,

Matthew Goodman

City Council At-Large

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