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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Authorizing the Mayor to Sign the Water Infrastructure Fund Grant Agreement with the Iowa Finance Authority and Providing $61,500 Towards the Cost of Retiring 40 Acres of Land West of Moore Memorial Park and Restoring it to Native Vegetation RESOLUTION NO. 22-177 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FUND GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE IOWA FINANCE AUTHORITY AND PROVIDING $61,500 TOWARDS THE COST OF RETIRING 40 ACRES OF LAND WEST OF MOORE MEMORIAL PARK AND RESTORING IT TO NATIVE VEGETATION FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS,in 1987,the City developed the eastern portion of what had been a 90-acre farm into Moore Memorial Park;the former farm property located west of Ioway Creek was not developed and has since been rented to Iowa State University for agricultural research; and, WHEREAS, staff has identified"land retirement"in the western portion as an opportunity to promote the City's sustainability goals; and, WHEREAS,land retirement is the conversion of land from row crop agriculture to perennial native vegetation; and, WHEREAS, in May 2021, staff contracted with I+S Group, Inc. (ISG) to design a land retirement plan and ISG worked with Water and Pollution Control,Parks and Recreation,and Public Works staff throughout the remainder of 2021 and provided a Land Retirement Plan that addressed the City's goals of.improved water quality and stormwater management;habitat creation/protection; and improved opportunities for passive recreation; and, WHEREAS, the recommended action from ISG was to convert the site from row crop agriculture to perennial native vegetation; and, WHEREAS, the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy recognized that "land retirement" conservation practices can typically achiever a 75% phosphorous reduction and 85% nitrate reduction; and, WHEREAS, the nutrient reductions accomplished by the Moore Memorial West land retirement will be "banked" as credit toward any future, more stringent nutrient reduction requirements imposed on the Water Pollution Control Facility; and, WHEREAS, in January 2022, Water and Pollution Control Department staff submitted a Water Infrastructure Fund grant application to the Iowa Finance Authority and recently, staff was notified that the grant request for$61,500 had been approved; and, WHEREAS, the grant funding would cover the mobilization, clearing/grubbing, and seeding/fertilization costs associated with the conversion to perennial native vegetation; and, WHEREAS, the Engineer's Opinion of Probable Cost for conversion of row crop to perennial native vegetation is $69,000 and the remainder of the project cost will be covered by the $200,000 budgeted in the FY 2021/22 Watershed-Based Nutrient Reduction Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) account; and, WHEREAS, the project bid documents will be prepared in-house in partnership with the Parks and Recreation Department, so there will be no additional fees for outside engineering; and, WHEREAS,future amenities such as trails would be funded out of other City programs;and, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the authorization for the Mayor to sign the Water Infrastructure Fund Grant Agreement with the Iowa Finance Authority providing $61,500 towards the cost of retiring 40 acres of land west of Moore Memorial Park and restoring it to native vegetation is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 12`h day of April, 2022. �Uxa& Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Betcher Seconded by: Junck Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Rollins Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 12" day of April, 2022.