HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - CCC Minutes 04/05/21MINUTES
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY COMMISSION
Meeting was held via Zoom due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ames City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue
Ames, IA 50010
Monday, April 5, 2021
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:09 pm by Eric Abrams
Members Present: Debra Lee, Eric Abrams, Mason Zastrow, Pete Englin, Sandeep
Stanley, Tom Lindsley, Warren Madden
Members Absent: Karin Chitty
Staff Liaison: Deb Schildroth
Approval of Minutes: Eric Abrams moved approval of the February 22, 2021 minutes.
Tom Lindsley seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Forum: There was no one present for Public Forum.
City Council’s Direction on Addressing Tenant/Landlord Issues:
A. Update on the revamp and promote Rent Smart Ames website and other
forms of informational material
• Landlord and Student Survey Results: Commission members briefly
recapped the results of the Landlord survey that were discussed at the
previous meeting.
The Commission then moved into reviewing the student data. Two hundred
eight-eight (288) students responded to the Rent Smart Ames Survey. Of
those students twenty-two (22) were previously aware of the website.
Students indicated how they found their currently living situation with
“Friend, roommate, family member” and “Apartment/Property Management
website” being the most popular responses and “Facebook/other social
media” following not far behind.
Students were asked to review the website and comment on what
information included is the most helpful. “Apartment locator” topped the list
with “Tenant rights and responsibilities” and “Tenant education” following
closely behind.
The Commission reviewed the open-ended responses before opening the
floor to discussion.
Zastrow started the conversation noting that even though students said they
would use the Rent Smart Ames Website for the future housing search,
there is a lot of outreach to students from Zillow and apartments.com in
addition to the outreach that landlords do themselves. From the open-ended
responses, Zastrow sees value in tenant education as students would like
to see information on more of the procedural processes.
Chair Stanley agreed with Zastrow mentioning that the landlords did not
show interest in engaging with the apartment finder or apartment
comparison leading to the idea that the Rent Smart Ames website could
cater more to students.
Lindsley commented that there is still no proof that students would choose
to come to this website.
Abrams stated that to get people to come to the website , the material should
focus on the best practices that renters in Ames should know. Reinventing
the website from scratch with the top themes reported in the Student Survey
would allow the website to gain traction. This would also give the
Commission the opportunity to identify the audience so the website can
evolve to cater to that audience.
Madden commented that he believes the Commission is trying to solve a
problem that is not theirs to solve. Before making the revision to the website,
the Commission must identify the need that they are trying to serve. It could
be that listing community resources is all that the website needs to provide
because it is difficult to balance education and legal advice besides the fact
that the site isn’t currently being utilized.
Englin stated that the goal of the website is to start a conversation between
students and landlords. The difficulty is that landlords do not want to place
their properties on a site where comparison can take place. It would be best
for the website to lean into student lea sing information and best practices
with community links and get away from providing the function of an
apartment finder.
Discussion was paused to take time to examine the available apartment
finders currently being advertised to students, specifically the partnership
Iowa State Daily and College Pads called the Off-Campus Housing
Marketplace.
After reviewing the apartment locators, the Commission took time to discuss
the housing market noting that there is a reduced number of students
attending campus so that market has shifted from a sellers’ market to a
buyers’ market.
Lee began the conversation again about the Rent Smart Ames Website
stating that there are two categories to address: apartment search function
and information about being a tenant. The apartment search function is
available to students and is difficult to maintain. It is not the category that
the Commission is needing to serve. What the Commission can do is be a
useful resource in tenant education.
With that idea in mind, further discussion was had on what changes should
be made to the website to add value and to make it a resource that all Ames
area renters would utilize.
Assistant City Manager Schildroth noted that when this website was
created, there were not many similar sites available, but now that market
has significantly changed.
Discussion shifted to address what the Commission would recommend to
City Council based on their conversation thus far.
Motion by Lindsley, seconded by Abrams to present a report to Council with
the suggestion to revamp the Rent Smart Ames Website with best tenant
practices. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Englin, seconded by Warren to include in the report to Council to
further investigate mediation services. Motion carried unanimously.
The Commission directed Lindsley to draft the portion of the report on the
Rent Smart Ames Website revamp and Englin to draft the portion of the
report on the further investigation of mediation services.
B. Update on the potential expansion of the Story County mediation pilot
program: No update available.
Commissioner Comments: Time was dedicated to introducing the new Commission
member representing the Neighborhood Association, Debra Lee.
Next Meeting: April 26, 2021 at 6:00pm
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 7:14pm