Rachel's Council Review

As usual for the review, my comments are in red and italicized in the context of the latest Council Preview by Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen. 
 

The Ames City Council meets 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.

Due to a technical glitch, this preview newsletter showed links/images, but no commentary.
 

• 23. Ames Urban Fringe Plan Update and 28E Extension.
  Betcher moved to direct city staff to prepare a modified proposal to share with Story County and Gilbert surrounding the southwest growth area, which failed 4-2 (Beatty-Hansen, Corrieri, Gartin, and Junck voting nay). Then council voted 6-0 to take no action in response to the proposals from Story County and the City of Gilbert, and let the current 28E agreement expire.
• 24. Persons living in their vehicles on City streets update,
  Council voted 4-2 to take no action on this item (Corrieri and Gartin voting nay). 
• 25. Resolution allocating FY 2022/23 City ASSET Reserved Funds for Housing Services ,
  Council moved to approve Alternative 1, which was to approve $5,575 in funding to ACCESS for emergency shelter services, $2,600 to the Salvation Army for rent and utility assistance for the months of April-June, and $3,477 to The Bridge Home for emergency shelter services. The motion passed 6-0.
• 26. Requests for Ames Pridefest on September 30, 2023,
  Council moved to approve the Ames Pridefest requests for Saturday, September 30th, including the waiver of fees for vending and all parking, and reimburse the lost revenue of $373 to the Parking Fund from the Council Contingency fund. The waiver of fees for parking will be considered a sponsorship of the event. The motion passed 6-0.
• 28. Resolution approving final plans and specifications and awarding contract to Keller Excavating, Inc., Boone, Iowa, in the amount of $10,200,955.80 for the North River Valley Well Field and Pipeline Project, contingent upon the Iowa Finance Authority approving the City’s construction loan.
  Council moved Alternative 1, which was to award a contract for the North River Valley Well Field and Pipeline Project to Keller Excavating. The motion passed 6-0.
• 29. Resolution approving the Nutrient Reduction Facility Plan and direct staff to submit it to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources,
  Council moved to table this item (and item 30) until the next council meeting on April 25th, 6-0.
• 31. Hearing on Maximum Levy.
  Council moved to approve the maximum levy amount of $23,666,001 and set the date of final public hearing and adoption of budget for FY 2023/24 to April 25th. The motion passed 6-0.
• 34. Hearing on Baker Subdivision.
  Council moved to approve the purchase agreement for the sale of City-Owned Lots 2-7 in the Baker Subdivision to Habitat for Humanity of Central Iowa (5-0-1, Gartin abstained for conflict of interest).

Thanks for reading,

Rachel Junck

Ames City Council, Ward 4