Dan DeGeest's Council Review

The special meeting of the Ames City Council for November 29, 2016
Hi Friends,

• Often I don't write a review for City Council workshops but this one is an exception.  There was lots of interesting information and updates provided on some pretty big projects that I thought warranted sending out a review.  Workshops are generally around an hour but this one went well over three hours with discussions of flood mitigation and Grand Avenue Extension taking up the bulk of the time.  The last two items, bicycle/pedestrian trail projects, got little more than a mention, and the news was that both projects would be delayed which is a little disappointing but both are moving forward which is encouraging.
• No public input is allowed at Council workshops so I encourage anyone with ideas and thoughts on any of these items to attend future Council meetings when input is allowed and to contact City Council and the Mayor directly.
• Please see below for comments and as always, thanks for reading.

Dan DeGeest>>

The agenda included :
a. Localized Flooding on September 22, 2016 (PowerPoint Presentation)

• This storm event saw 5+ inches of rain within a matter of hours, and caused storm sewer backups, flash flooding on roadways, and property damage for some Ames residents.
• Staff has been compiling a list of reports of such damage, and will present on this as well as any potential remedies for future storm events.
• Localized flooding is flooding that follows an extreme weather event, like the five inch rainfall over 2 hours last September, that overwhelms the City's storm water sewer.  They tend to be short term but can be very severe and cause a lot of flooded basements and property damage.  The City is committing $8.3 million over the next 5 years to combat this issue, with the major expenditures focused on increasing the storm sewer capacity.  The presentation also included a lot of ideas how individual property owners can reduce their risk during these types of events and stressed that both efforts were necessary to successfully mitigate this issue.

b. Flood Mitigation - River Flooding

• In 2013/2014, Council undertook a study of flood mitigation options. This is an update on where we are on that, and what steps to take next
• River flooding is flooding that results from locally heavy as well as upstream rains that cause a river to leave its banks and flood the the area around it.  Ames has seen this happen many, many times, with 2010 being the most recent flooding event that caused extensive amounts of damage.  Several alternatives were presented to help mitigate this type of flooding in the future, particularly around the bridge over the Squaw Creek on South Duff.  On approach is to just handle more flood water, referred to as conveyance, and these projects ranged from a $1M channel restoration to over $12M for a new bridge.  Another approach would be investing money to reduce the potential for flooding in the fist place through watershed improvements which was discussed next.

c. Watershed Opportunities

• Watershed improvements could vastly reduce the amount of water that gets into the Squaw Creek and Skunk River, reducing the likelihood of river flooding events like we saw in 1993, 2010, etc. occurring in the first place. While they could be very effective, watershed projects will require lots of partners, potential land acquisitions, and other longer term and potentially harder work.  It's much easier to just build a bridge or building a few feet higher but those things might just be band-aids or even make the problem worse in the long run.  The city will keep pursuing this approach but no large monetary investments are planned at this time.

d. Nutrient Reduction

• Watershed improvements could also greatly improve the river water quality by reducing the flow of pesticides and other nutrient sources into the the water supply.  Some state and federal policies could have a big impact on these efforts but the city will continue to track this issue.

e. Grand Avenue Extension

• Most of Ames is waiting for an update on this project. Staff will present the current status of this project, as well as its schedule in the CIP over the next few years.
• The last two years of this project have been consumed with developing various route alternatives and doing the required environmental studies to get approval for certain funding sources and other sign off.  A few council members questioned why environmental study was necessary, but staff indicated that one archeological area was identified.  This site won't prevent the project from moving forward but could yield some interesting artifacts and insights into Ames history and was noted in the study. With this work wrapping up the actual design and other phases of this project can get started in the upcoming year.
• By the end the discussion about Grand Avenue it sort of felt like shopping in the Nieman Marcus catalog - should we get the $12M road or the the $18M road.  The price difference mostly depends on how high we want to build the bridge and the road.  High enough for a 100 year or a 500 year event flood event.  We have seen both flood levels in recent years and some on council think it clearly makes the most sense to throw as much money at it as possible to build it as high as possible.  Only Councilwomen Betcher wanted to take a step back and see if there could be a cheaper middle ground that would allow the savings to be invested in some of the flood mitigation strategies discussed earlier but in the end she could not gain traction with the other members.
  Motion by Gartin to direct staff to move forward with the most expensive option passed 5-1 (Betcher NO).

f. Vet Med Trail

• Paving this trail (between Airport Rd and South 4th/Grand Ave.) is a critical in connecting our pedestrian and bicycling network. It will provide a direct, not to mention beautiful, path from ISU's Research Park to downtown Ames.
• In addition, it is an important element in the success of our county-wide regional trail concept.
• The good news, City Manager Steve Schainker committed to fully funding this project whereas previously there was going to be some private fundraising required.  The bad news, this project will be delayed until 2020/21.  This trail will become the premiere greenbelt through Ames and a critical link in a regional trail system that will make Ames a trailhead community for other central Iowa trails.

g. Skunk River Trail

• In the CIP over the next few years the City is planning to connect this shared-use trail from Lincoln Way south to South 16th St.
• This will close another big gap in the Skunk River trail connecting South 16th to the portion of the trail that was completed this summer and currently dead ends at Lincoln Way.  Unfortunately, this project will also be pushed back with completion planned for 2019/20.

*Additional item #1: resolution approving Change Order for PowerPlant Unit #8 Feedwater Pump Inspection and Repair

• Motion passed

*Additional item #2: resolution/motion approving/denying Final Plat for Ringgenberg Park Subdivision, 5th edition

• This was a last minute add to the agenda and turned out to be an interesting item.  While normally a resolution on final plat is fairly routine, this applicant was asking for approval without the normal signatures and process for a legally binding contract.  Instead, the applicant had an email of intent to sign from the necessary parties and was asking Council to approve the plat based on this email with the needed signatures coming later.  The City attorney was hesitant, several council members were hesitant, and normal procedure would only require the applicant to wait two more weeks.
• Members of the City Council often talk about and worry about setting a precedent - if they do something for one person they will have to do it for all - but they didn't seem to be worried about that on this particular request despite clear hesitation from the City Attorney.
• Motion to deny and stay with the expected legal procedure failed 3-3 (Nelson, Gartin, Corrieri NO)
• Follow up Motion to approve plat without signed documents passed 4-2 (Betcher/Beatty-Hansen NO)