David's Council Preview

The Ames City Council meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. this Tuesday at City Hall (note the earlier start time). Here are some of the agenda items:

• 20. Resolution approving preliminary plans and specifications for South Grand Avenue Extension from S. 16th Street to new 5th Street Extension setting February 18, 2020 as bid due date and February 25, 2020 as date of public hearing. By passing this resolution, contractors will be able to bid on this $20 million phase of the South Grand Ave. Extension project, which is the substantial north-south segment running through Coldwater Golf Links. If appropriate bids are received, Council could award the construction contract to a bidder on February 25. The funding sources include state and federal grants and city tax proceeds.
  
  

• 21. Resolution approving preliminary plans and specifications for East Industrial Utility Extension Project;  setting March 4, 2020 as bid due date and March 10, 2020 as date of public hearing. Similarly, this resolution puts us on track to spend $5.3 million on water and sewer infrastructure to support the East Industrial Area, also known as the Prairie View Industrial Center. Funding sources include water and sewer utility fees. Council also previously voted to establish an assessment district for new industrial customers in order to help pay for this infrastructure.

• 29. Ames Comprehensive Plan 2040 Preferred Land Use Scenarios (Tabled from 1/14/2020). We were going to take on this item during our previous meeting, but we ran out of time.
  
  Council is now being asked to deliberate and possibly make its most significant decision to date in the 2040 comprehensive planning process: what is our preferred land use option to accommodate 15,000 new residents who are expected to look for a home in Ames by 2040? For example, one option is to plan for land use in each of the four corners of the map shown below (annexing land into the city as owners become willing to do so), in order to take advantage of remaining capacity in the already-built streets and sewer and water infrastructure. These areas are called "tier 1" growth areas and are shaded blue in the map. The other colors are for tiers 2-4 and correspond to significantly more infrastructure improvement costs. Another option would be to plan for more substantial growth in one particular direction that could lead to a more distinctly new type of place in Ames, rather than adding onto all of the existing edges a little at a time. It's a big puzzle.
  
  There is also a lot of interest in encouraging infill (e.g., building vertically and/or redeveloping existing sites) rather than growth at the edges, both from council members and from members of the public. Our consultants guessed that there could be room to accommodate about 3,000 of the new population with infill development. But it's harder for at least one obvious reason: there are more property owners per square mile inside the city than out in the country, which means there are more owners, neighbors, costs, and interests involved in every attempt to increase housing. Not impossible, but slower, harder, and less predictable than annexing large tracts of agricultural land and putting neighborhoods on it.
  
  These are fundamental questions for us to discern: What are Ames's priorities for investment and growth planning? Are we going to be investing internally or on the perimeter or both? In which perimeter directions? This will be an interesting and consequential conversation.

• 30. 2020-2025 Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) Public Input. On January 21, Council heard presentations from City departments describing their capital projects for the next five years and took questions from the Mayor and Council members. The agenda item tonight provides an opportunity for the public to speak on issues related to the CIP.

• 31. Discussion on Policy regarding Waiver of Downtown Parking Meter Fees for Special Events. On occasion, Council supports community events by waiving parking meter fees. For example, the Ames Main Street Farmers' Market obstructs a number of metered parking spaces with tents and other attractions; Council passes resolutions to waive the lost parking meter fees. In this agenda item, Council will review and perhaps modify our policy for waiving meter fees. I'm particularly interested in discussing our policy on meter fee waivers when the concerned parking spots are not obstructed; in other words, when the waiver is requested simply in order to attract people to come downtown for an event even though the parking spots remain usable. Last year, Council denied such an application for the Ames Pride event, yet  approved an application for Summer Sidewalk Sales in the same dollar amount. Adopting a clear policy could help us treat applicants more consistently.

• 32. Discussion regarding renaming of Squaw Creek. The U.S. Board on Geographical Names (BGN) is considering renaming Squaw Creek, due to a citizen request based on the observation that the word "squaw" has been considered offensive by many for quite some time. The BGN contacted the City of Ames and other jurisdictions of the creek to determine interest. The Ames City Council voted to respond that Council would recommend a new name for the creek, but that we did not support the original applicant's proposed name "Story Creek." Meanwhile, the Story County Supervisors had consulted with the State Archaeologist and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers to ask for their recommendations. Although these parties unanimously recommended that the creek name be changed, they did not resolve the issue of what the name should be. The Supervisors later recommended two possible names, "Ioway" and "Sauk." Both the Ioway and Sauk tribes have substantial history in central Iowa. When the BGN asked the Supervisors for a single name rather than two alternatives, they confirmed that their single final recommendation is the name "Ioway Creek."
  
  At this meeting, the City Council may decide whether to recommend the name "Ioway Creek" in agreement with the Supervisors, to recommend an alternative, to investigate further, or to recommend no name change at all.

Non-Agenda Packet: The following items are requests and communications to the council that are not on the agenda.  This includes memos, staff reports, and communications/requests from constituents/developers. Typically the council will ask city staff for more information (a memo), put the item on a future agenda for deliberation and possible action, or just accept the communication and take no further action. Council generally processes these requests and communications during the agenda portion called "Disposition of Communications to Council."

• 1228 Grand for 13th Grand Project. This memo concludes that acquiring the property on the southeast corner of 13th and Grand would not be beneficial or necessary for future intersection improvements to improve traffic safety and efficiency.
• AUFP Papa's Towing Caremoli site. This memo lays out options for the Council regarding a request received to modify the Ames Urban Fringe Plan as it concerns the Caremoli site.
• Fireworks text amendment. This memo lays out options for the Council regarding a request received to allow fireworks sales at the North Grand Mall (currently prohibited by zoning).
• HYSC lease extension. This memo informs Council that staff is working on a lease extension agreement for the Hunziker Youth Sports Complex.
• Human Service capital funding. This memo provides an update into how the City's Human Services Agency Capital Funding is working.

Thanks for reading,
David Martin
Third Ward Council Member