Bronwyn's Council Review

The Ames City Council meets earlier than usual on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. in City Hall, February 11, 2020. Here's the agenda. We begin with Council votes to proceed with and/or modify the staff's budget recommendations. 

My notes on motions and vote counts will appear in red. Note: These are not the official City Minutes, just my own record of the meeting.

• 2. Public Input on Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and Budget.  This agenda item gives members of the public a formal opportunity to make statements to Council about the proposed CIP and budget that will be recorded on video and appear in the official minutes. However,  the Mayor and council members are reachable by email and telephone, and those kinds of conversations are generally more effective in obtaining information and influencing decision-making than formal statements made right before voting begins.
  • (video) No public input was given on the proposed CIP. Regarding the budget, one question was asked about the Ames Citizens' Academy program, if it was still going.

• 3.d. Vote on motion to approve Adjusted Budget for FY 2019/20, as amended. A Supreme Court decision (South Dakota v Wayfair) led to states collecting sales tax from Internet sales just like they do from "Main Street" businesses. Since collection began in Iowa in January 2019, Ames's sales tax revenue is up by about 5%. If we approve the adjusted budget for the current fiscal year, we'll designate $130,000 of that towards development of a Climate Action Plan. We had not expected these funds to be available until next fiscal year, so this is good news. And, in a particularly appealing use of Internet sales revenues, we'll also set aside $125,000 for a possible feasibility study to evaluate the role that the city could play in improving Internet service in Ames. These are both shown on p.198 of the Draft Budget. 

  • (video) This item passed 6-0.

• 3.g. Motion  to set February 25, 2020, as date of public hearing to adopt a Maximum City Property Tax Levy for FY 2020/21. A state law change last year requires extra steps when a city's property tax revenue grows more than 2% (using a specific formula); this agenda item begins that process. The law is likely to require these same steps every year. First, inflation (CPI) was 2.3% in the Midwest last year, so that alone exceeds the 2% limit. Second, when a city like Ames is growing with brand-new homes and businesses, those new properties require additional city services and bring in extra tax revenue even if the tax rate stays flat. Last year, Ames's taxable valuation due to new properties grew by 3.4%. Ames will use the additional tax revenue for increased employee salary and benefit costs and the addition of new employees for police, fire, and parks and recreation.
  • (video) This item passed 6-0
• 5. Resolution approving 2019 Resource Recovery Plant Annual Report. Recommended reading for those who are interested in the Resource Recover Plant's operations.
  • This item passed as part of the consent agenda. (All consent agenda items 1-17 passed with a vote of 6-0, with the exception of item 17a, which was pulled by staff.)
• 18. Resolution approving policy regarding parking meter waivers for special events. At a recent meeting, Council tentatively agreed to the following policy: "Effective July 1, 2020, metered parking fees will not be waived for special events. Any event organizers intending to provide free parking or to close metered parking spaces must reimburse the City’s Parking Fund for the lost revenue. The City Council may consider waivers to this policy on a case-by-case basis for parking spaces that are obstructed by the event area (not for area-wide free parking)." At the same time, Council agreed to provide the parking funding for events we contractually support, such as Snow Magic and the Art Walk in Downtown and Summerfest in Campustown. Now that it has been written up, Council will review this policy and decide whether and how to move forward with it.
  • (video) With a vote of 5-1 (Gartin voting nay), Council moved to set a policy not to waive area-wide parking meter fees, and to consider on a case-by-case basis requests to waive parking meter fees for spaces that may be occupied by an event. Council also voted 6-0 to direct staff to incorporate parking meter waivers for organizations such as Ames Main Street or Campustown Action Association into our Outside Funding Request system. 
• 22. Clarification of motion regarding Growth Scenarios in Ames 2040 Plan. On January 28, Council voted to accommodate projected Ames growth by emphasizing infill development, Tier 1 developments in all directions (shown in blue in the map below), and Tier 2 developments (green) in the south and "west". Later it became clear that some council members understood "west" to include only the depicted area in West Ames north of U.S. 30, while others understood it to include West Ames areas both north and south of U.S. 30. (Both interpretations are reasonable, given the documents and discussion to date.) During this meeting, we'll deliberate on which interpretation to move forward with.
  • (video) After voting 6-0 to reconsider our prior motion, several members of Council clarified their intention on the original vote, and we discussed some of the pros and cons of including the area south of Hwy 30. Council voted 6-0 to direct staff to explore tier 2 in the area north of Hwy 30, and voted 2-4 (Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Junck, and Martin voting nay) to include tier 2 development in the area south of Hwy 30. 
    
    
     
• 26. Resolution approving FEMA grant Funding Agreement with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Flood Mitigation - River Flooding Project. Following the floods of 2010, the City Council established a goal of mitigating the impact of future flooding in Ames. FEMA has now announced a $3.7 million grant to Ames for flood mitigation in the Squaw Creek channel near the South Duff Avenue bridge. This project is estimated to reduce the water surface elevation of a 1% annual chance flood (a “100-year” flood) by approximately two feet on South Duff Avenue, a major damage center.
  • (video) One member of the public, Jim Howe, spoke about this project and the importance of informing and involving property owners in the area and downstream, as it abuts his property at Howe Welding on South Duff. Council voted 6-0 to approve the FEMA grant funding agreement.
• 27. Hearing on 2019/20 Traffic Signal Program (Lincoln Way & Beach Avenue). Unfortunately, no contractors submitted a bid on the planned traffic signal improvements at this intersection. Council is being asked to consider a longer timeframe for completion to attract bidders.

Non-Agenda Packet: The following items are requests and communications to the council that are not on the agenda for full discussion.  This includes staff reports and communications or requests from constituents and 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 (taking no further action). Council generally processes these requests and communications during the agenda portion called "Disposition of Communications to Council." 

(video)

• 802 Delaware land use request. Council voted 6-0 to put this item on a future agenda.
• Ames City Auditorium fees. During Agenda item 3e (Amendments to the proposed 20/21 Budget), Council voted 6-0 to allow a 30% discount for non-profits using the auditorium
• Ames High School building permit fees. Council voted 6-0 to take no action on this item.
• Inclusion crosswalk update. No action was required on this item. If no further direction is given, the Public Works Department will maintain the crosswalks with paint, possibly seeking the help of volunteers to assist in the repainting.
• Letter - Lois Lehmkuhl traffic study Stange Rd Harrison To Weston. Council voted 6-0 to refer this item to the Traffic Department for study.
• Letter - Malachi Rothlisberger vehicles in front yard. Council voted 6-0 to take no action on this item.

Council Comments (video)

Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
Ames City Council, At Large