Review: Watershed Report and Water Utilities Rates
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Rachel's Council Review |
As usual for the review, my comments are red and italicized in the context of the latest Council Preview by Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen.
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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.
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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.
- 1. Watersheds Update. (Highlights)
This will be an update on programs related to our watersheds. The City Council has a representative on the Ioway Creek Watershed Management Authority, and we have also set aside funding for improvements to the watershed. Some of these projects have been highlighted in recent Council Preview newsletters, such as the conversion of row-crop land west of Moore Memorial Park to native vegetation, or our collaboration with landowners for the installation of saturated buffers or bio-reactors to improve our watershed.
Council heard an excellent presentation from Dan Haug, Tracy Peterson, and John Dunn about the various projects and programs related to our watersheds in Ames and throughout Story County. Staff highlighted the collaborative efforts between the City of Ames, Story County, Prairie Rivers of Iowa, and several other organizations to reduce flooding and improve water quality in our watersheds. - 2. Water and Sewer Rate Overview.
On a related note, Council will be hearing from Water & Pollution Control Director John Dunn about sewer and water rates. This year there is a recommended 5% increase to sewer rates beginning July 1st, and staff have provided their rationale for this increase.
After reviewing the historical trends and comparable sewer rates in peer communities, Council moved to direct staff to proceed with the proposed 5% increase to sewer rates and prepare an ordinance to bring back to council, 6-0.
Communications to Council: The following items are requests and communications to Council that aren't published on the agenda, so we won't deliberate them substantially. This includes staff reports and communications or requests from constituents and developers. Typically, Council will ask city staff for more information, put the item on a future agenda for deliberation and possible action, or just accept the communication, taking no further action.
- Mowers and Eplin regarding ISU annexation near State Ave.
Council referred this item to staff to directly respond to the writers of the letter, 6-0. - Wilson regarding Stone Brooke Traffic
There was no council action taken on this item at this time.
Thanks for reading,
Rachel Junck
Ames City Council, 4th Ward