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Bronwyn's Council Preview |
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Usually some of the agenda items will have a period where members of the public may briefly speak to Council.
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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.
- 11. Resolution approving salaries for Council Appointees for FY 2026/27.
This is an annual item approve salaries for the two Council appointed positions (City Manager and City Attorney). - 31. Staff presentation on overview of Lightedge Data Center Project and request to negotiate a lease of Airport property.
A request from Lightedge came to Council in May, and knowing that it would be of high importance to the public, Council decided to put it on an agenda to discuss. We also voted to put a special listening session about data centers on our schedule of meetings, because we wanted to dedicate a whole meeting to public input. In addition, we asked the Legal Department to return in July with a memo about our ability to limit data centers in Ames more generally. So this item will be a public presentation of the proposal as we know it, with an opportunity for Council to ask clarifying questions about this proposal. Then, June 30th at 6 p.m. we will hold the public listening session, but still take no action. The meeting on July 14th is when we are expecting the report from the Legal Department about our legal mechanisms to pause, limit, or otherwise regulate data centers more generally.
The proposal itself is for Lightedge to build a secure data storage facility, known as a colocation center (also a type of data center), to be used for companies to host data. The facility is proposed to be 3 MW to start, then 6-10 MW after a few years, with an eventual 10-year buildout of 25 MW. According to the staff report, they plan to use a closed loop cooling system, which would use a few thousand gallons of water to fill initially, but then wouldn't require much ongoing water. Other considerations include sound, backup power generators and the sound and exhaust they create, and stormwater drainage.
- 32. Renewal of Ames Regional Economic Alliance Contract.
During this year's budgeting time, Council asked for a more detailed report about our contract with the Ames Regional Economic Alliance. - 33. Staff Report on Pedestrian Crossing along Lincoln Way at South Russell.
This staff report was generated in response to resident requests regarding safety along Lincoln Way at South Russell. Staff outline several options, such as improved pedestrian crossing treatments or lighting. - 34. Resolution awarding a contract to CB Solar, Inc., of Des Moines, IA, to install solar panels on the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center and the Steven L. Schainker Plaza building in the amount of $463,760.
As part of our Climate Action Plan, we have aimed to improve the renewable energy infrastructure on City property. These bids for solar at the two locations mentioned were under the estimates, and staff recommend moving forward with both. - 35. Request to Initiate Plan 2040 Land Use Designation Amendment for 300 Airport Road.
This request came to us from the owner of 300 Airport Road, who has used the site for industrial purposes, and wishes to continue that type of use. (On a related note to item 31, there has been some rumor about this being a backdoor way to allow Lightedge to locate at this site, but the power transmission issues still remain at this location, so rezoning alone wouldn't be enough to allow Lightedge to locate at 300 Airport Rd.) - 36. Hearing on rezoning to amend the approved Floating Suburban Residential Medium Density (FS-RM) with Master Plan for The Bluffs at 4899 Everest Avenue .
- 37. Hearing on Zoning Text Amendment modifying the Northeast Gateway Overlay District (O-GNE) Standards.
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.
Council Packet Summary. Note interesting item for the City Manager about TIF and property taxes.
Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
Ames City Council, Ward 1
