Workshop on Climate Action Plan and a Farewell
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David's Council Preview |
https://www.youtube.com/ameschannel12
https://www.cityofames.org/channel12
or watch the meeting live on Mediacom Channel 12
Usually some of the agenda items will have a period where members of the public may briefly speak to Council.
TO REACH THE MAYOR AND ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL:
Send email to MayorCouncil@AmesCityCouncil.org
(Note that emails to elected officials are generally subject to Iowa Open Records requests)
The Ames City Council meets on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The agenda includes the following. Note that you can generally click on individual agenda items below to get the full staff report or other explanation.
- Workshop on Climate Action Plan. In this meeting, the Climate Action Plan (CAP) project team will update Council on where we are in the CAP process and report the results of a recent community survey on climate goals. Council is now being asked to select an emissions reduction target to guide the further development of the plan. As our Sustainability Solutions Group consultants state on one of their slides, "A target does not guarantee success or a pathway forward." Rather, a target is a broad orienting feature—a "north star"—that we agree will serve to guide us in the development and implementation of the plan.
The numerical survey results point to a strong community preference for the "science based fair share" target, which aims for the most rapid reductions in emissions among the spectrum of options we've been discussing. But it's important to note that the survey was not performed via random sampling of the community; rather, the survey was broadly promoted and individuals decided individually whether to participate. As the introductory memo states, "Selecting an emissions reduction target for Ames has engaged many citizens with strong feelings about the appropriate goal for this community. The need to balance the perspectives of those who want to take aggressive action in conjunction with others who are concerned about financial impact remains challenging." The more than 50 pages of written comments attached to the survey results are fascinating reading. They reveal both a strong sense of urgency from many and a notable amount of opposition to implementing change (albeit in smaller numbers).
The project team has also met with and heard from Supplemental Input Committee members, who were invited to engage with people from representative sectors throughout the community (business, schools, health care, faith communities, etc.). In light of all of this feedback, including their previous conversations with Council, SSG is recommending an "evidence-based" approach, described as "a process to develop a bottom-up pathway for the city to inform a target that reflects local circumstances in Ames and the effort required to address climate change." It's hard to predict where Council deliberation will go during this meeting.
Note: given that separate, intentional community outreach efforts on this topic are being presented, I think it's unlikely that the public will be invited to speak during this part of the meeting. You can always reach the Mayor and Council through the email address listed above.
Communications to Council: None this week!
Transition News: As I've mentioned, my council term is very near its end. This will also be my last Council Preview newsletter. I've written over 60 of these since taking over the role in January of 2020 and it has truly been my pleasure to be able to reach and engage with so many of you. But you will be in very good hands! Starting in January of 2022, council member Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen will once again resume authorship of the meeting previews, with council member Rachel Junck writing the reviews of what actually happened during the council meetings. I know that Bronwyn and Rachel pay close attention to council topics and I'm glad to be able to rely on them as I keep up with the news from Ames.
I'd also like to include my huge thanks to former council member Jim Popken, who provides the newsletter email and website infrastructure and has recruited volunteers to write these newsletters for the past several years, while also maintaining a long-term archive of City documents. This has never been an official City activity—it's just great community outreach.
Farewell! Take good care of yourselves and each other!
David Martin
Ames City Council, Ward 3