Bronwyn's Council Preview

The Ames City Council meeting is at 6 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.

• 20. Motion approving/denying Renewal of 12-month Class E Retail Alcohol License - Neighborhood Liquor and Smokes, 3505 Lincoln Way, Suite 105.
  This item had been on our last agenda, but was delayed by the applicant. The following is copied from the last Preview newsletter:
  Back in November of 2022, Council denied a 12-month renewal for Neighborhood Liquor's liquor license, following repeated failed compliance checks (where the business sold alcohol to a minor). Neighborhood Liquor and Smokes appealed this decision, but in November of 2023, an Administrative Law Judge upheld the denial. In September 2023, Neighborhood Liquor and Smokes failed yet another compliance check, bringing their total to 4 failed compliance checks in 3 years. Iowa Code prescribes a license revocation in these cases, but the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division can't proceed with that until the appeals process has been completed. In the meantime, staff are recommending Council deny this latest application for a 12-month liquor license.

• 21. Staff Report regarding Short-Term Housing Task Force Recommendations 
  In July, a task force (convened by the Ames Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Commission) submitted a series of recommendations on how to increase "housing starts" (i.e. construction of new housing) in Ames. ("Short-Term" refers to the duration of the task force, and not the type of housing that they were considering.) The task force ranked housing types, with owner-occupied homes under $350k ranked at the top, followed by market rate rental housing, higher end owner-occupied and rental housing, and student housing. The group also came up with a list of barriers to new construction, with "lack of incentives" at the top of the list, followed by the development review process. Suggestions from the task force include things like developing a tax abatement program for new housing construction or having the City invest more in "pioneer infrastructure". Staff are asking for Council feedback on these suggestions from the task force.
   

• 23. Staff Report Regarding the Use of Tesla Power Walls in the Ames Electric Services’ System 
  Council recently got a request from a resident hoping to install a Tesla Power Wall. Their request was initially denied because Electric Services requires such devices to pass a "fast close/open anti-islanding test", which ensures a surge of electricity won't go back out to the grid when the device reboots. The Tesla device cannot display this setting locally, instead it relies on that setting being remotely programmed. Staff are allowing the installation, and if it can pass the test once installed, it can be placed in service.
   

• 25. Budget Issues/Guidelines.
  Every year at this time, Council gets a preview of what to expect during our budgeting time. This staff report describes the general economic condition of Ames (good, with increasing GDP and property values, and modest sales tax growth), and goes on to describe some changes prescribed by the State, including SF 718 and property tax rollback. This staff report highlights other areas of interest, such as funding for the recently-piloted ARCH program (Alternative Resources for Community Health), which diverts certain mental-health related 911 calls to a response team. Other considerations include our Climate Action Plan, and how we begin to fund the many things related to its implementation. Council will also give preliminary funding numbers to outside organizations such as Ames Main Street, the Ames Chamber of Commerce, Ames History Museum, and more.

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.

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• SpeedLimitReductionOn6thStreet .

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

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