Bronwyn's Council Review

As usual for the review, my comments are red and italicized in the context of the latest Council Preview by David Martin. 
 

The Ames City Council meets on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom. The agenda includes:
 

• 16. Discussion with ASSET Volunteers regarding FY 2021-22 ASSET Priorities. Ames uses the ASSET process to provide $1.5 million (this year) in human services funding out of our local option sales tax revenues. Together with Story County, the United Way of Story County, and the ISU Student Government, total ASSET funding is about $4.5 million. Historically, each of these funding organizations has set its own priorities for services they'd like to support, but last year, the funders agreed to aim for a set of shared priorities to help unify our visions and simplify funding decisions. However, due to the pandemic, the Community Needs Assessment that would help us determine these shared priorities has been delayed. While we wait for that process to complete, Council is being asked whether it would like to make any changes to the priorities that it last approved.
  
  After a presentation by staff, no changes to the funding priorities were suggested. 
  
  (video)
• 17. Discussion of Draft Face-Covering Ordinance. At the last meeting, Council voted to have the City Attorney draft a face-covering mandate ordinance and return it to Council for review. (Click here for the video of that discussion - though it's over two hours long.) In this item, we'll deliberate whether to edit and/or move forward with that draft ordinance. Assuming we do move forward towards enactment, the next step would be voting to add the first reading of the ordinance to a future meeting's agenda.
  
  Even though our City Attorney followed Council's direction to draft this ordinance, you may remember that he previously advised that cities do not currently have the authority for it. My understanding is that the objectionable part of the draft ordinance is in section 4, which states that violators may be penalized with a municipal infraction (basically a fine). I expect that we will discuss and possibly edit this section at the meeting before moving forward to see if the concerns can be resolved. Since the ordinance is still in the draft stage, many other edits are possible as well.
  (video)
  
  Council received extensive public input on this topic; via e-mail, social media, and during our Zoom meeting. Our first vote, to pursue a mandate with a potential $50 fine, failed with a vote of 3-3 (Betcher, Gartin, and Martin voting Nay). The next motion, to pursue a mandate but strike the penalty, passed 4-2 (Corrieri and Gartin voting Nay).
  
  Council will hold a special meeting next Tuesday, September 1st, to vote on passing the mandate.
• 19. Discussion of suspension of Vending Licenses due to COVID-19. Some food vendors have expressed an interest in resuming sales on city property (e.g., sidewalks), and Council is being asked whether to approve this request and issue the required licenses. However, "Staff continues to have concerns about the crowds that form at food vendors and the ability to maintain appropriate patron distancing and hygiene" and recommends continuing the suspension of vending licenses through December 31, 2020.
  
  Council voted to follow staff's recommendation, to continue to suspend vending licenses through December 31st, 2020, with a vote of 4-2 (Corrieri and Gartin voting Nay)
  
  (video)
• 20. Resolution approving Revised Contract for Economic Development Services between the City of Ames and the Ames Economic Development Commission for FY 2020/21. The City of Ames outsources its economic development activities to the Ames Economic Development Commission, rather than directly retaining staff for this purpose. This item includes the actual contract between the City and the AEDC, which is reviewed and renewed annually.
  (video)
  
  This item passed 6-0.
• 22. Staff Report regarding Status of Urban Revitalization Areas. The City's Urban Revitalization Area (URA) designation provides incentives for property improvements in targeted areas of the city by allowing owners to make certain significant improvements to their properties but not charging the owners the full corresponding property tax increase that normally comes with increased property value - that's a tax abatement. One way to look at this is that other property taxpayers subsidize the qualifying URA property improvements, amounting to an investment of about $600,000 for the current fiscal year. This lengthy staff report reviews all of our existing URAs, suggests some clean-ups to our designations, and poses some issues to consider in possibly repealing or changing some of the URAs. No new URAs are being currently recommended.
  
  Council followed staff's recommendation on this item, and also did vote 6-0 to reach out to current property owners in the URA comprised mostly of Greek housing for feedback on any projects they might be currently planning for before we alter their URA status.
  
  (video)
  
  

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)
 

• 27107 Timber Road. This staff memo provides context to a request to modify the Ames Urban Fringe Plan map to accommodate an owner's preferred property use.
  
  Council voted 5-0-1 (Gartin abstaining) to take no action on this item at this time.
• Annexation Permission Request. Verbio writes asking Ames to permit it to annex property to the City of Nevada. (It appears that we overlooked this item at a previous meeting.)
  
  Council voted 6-0 to place this item on a future agenda.

COUNCIL COMMENTS (video)

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

P.S. The continued uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic makes mail-in voting in the November general election a compelling option. If you live in Story County and would like to vote by mail, you can fill out and mail in a postage paid mail in ballot request form.  If you live outside of Story County, look for the correct information via the Iowa Secretary of State's absentee ballot site.

And if you're not registered to vote -- the November election will be here before you know it! You can register to vote or update your voter registration online using your Iowa a driver’s license or ID number at Iowa Secretary of State website.  Those without a drivers's license or ID number can get forms and information here https://www.storycountyiowa.gov/638/Voter-Information-Forms.