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MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
This Ames City Council meeting is at 6:00 at City Hall. The council meeting agenda includes the following. Note that you can generally click on individual agenda items below to get the full staff report or other explanation.
- 32. Discussion on City Attorney job description and hiring timeline.
The current City Attorney has announced his upcoming retirement. Since this is one of two positions hired and overseen by the City Council (the other being the City Manager), Council is receiving a report from the HR Director about the City's process for filling this position. The application will be available starting on May 1st, with interviews and the selection process hopefully yielding a final candidate by the end of summer. - 33. Discussion on letter to legislators regarding HF 2541.
Council recently referred a request to submit an opinion on HF 2541 (a proposed law that would limit Municipalities from establishing any civil rights protections beyond the State's). Since the City is not a registered lobbyist, we can't submit any formal stance to the Legislature, but we could send our representative a letter, as was done recently by the City of Urbandale. (This letter is attached to the staff report as an example.) - 34. Residential Curbside Recycling Program.
This proposed program is the result of years of thought and evaluation. Once it became clear that our current system of waste diversion through incineration was no longer sustainable (neither environmentally nor economically), a new method of waste diversion is needed. (You can see a whimsical AI-assisted video I made about the topic HERE, if you are so inclined.) In order to meet our waste-diversion needs (as required by the State), we have been working toward a new R3C (Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus) and Curbside Recycling Program. Staff estimate a monthly cost of $7.75 per household to add recycling service for all single-family homes and apartments with 4 or fewer units. Council is being asked to approve a five-year contract with Aspen to perform this service in Ames. - 36. Resolution approving Climate Action Grant Program updates with an allocation of up to $150,000.
In addition to the existing community grant (up to $10k) for businesses/non-profits/groups and youth mini-grant (up to $500) programs, staff are recommending a residential owner-occupied sustainability grant program. This program would support LMI (low-to-moderate income) households who invest in solar panels or whole-home heat pump systems by providing up to 30% of the funding. - 42. Staff Report regarding Device Delivery Seller Permits.
The State passed legislation in 2024 that allows cities to restrict the sale of glass and metal pipes (corn cob pipes are still ok for snowman decorating purposes). Council is being asked if we intend to restrict these types of sales. There is a $1500 non-refundable fee for applying for this permit, so if Council does intend to deny these permit applications it would be more considerate to let the businesses know that ahead of time, thus saving them the $1500 application fee. - 45. Hearing on Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus.
Bids are in for the R3C, but costs came in higher than the estimated $16.8 million that Council was presented with in January. Since the bids came in at $19.6 million, staff are requesting more time to meet with the bidders to clarify cost estimates and negotiate project elements to reduce or modify. - 49.Hearing on Rezoning of Property located at 1323 Northwestern Avenue from Residential Low Density (RL) to Government/Airport District (S-GA) with a Master Plan
The subject property was purchased by the Ames School District, and they are requesting a change of zoning from RL (low-density residential) to S-GA, which would allow a wider range of school-related uses with only administrative approval rather than going through the Zoning Board of Adjustments. The School District plans to renovate the existing three buildings and potentially add two more.
- 50. First reading of ordinance to amend the Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa by enacting a new Section 24.21 thereof, for the purpose of creating Tax Increment Financing Districts within the Downtown Reinvestment District Urban Renewal Area.
Council is being asked to approve two TIF districts in the area of the Linc development. These districts would then allow the use of TIF as an incentive in this area. Establishing the districts is the first step, and does not yet commit the City to any specific funding arrangement for the Linc. (That would come later as part of a development agreement, which Council has not yet seen.)
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.
Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
Ames City Council, Ward 1
