HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - February 13, 2024, Regular Meeting of the Ames City Council1.Motion approving payment of claims
2.Motion approving Summary of Minutes of Special Meeting on January 16, 2024, and Regular
Meeting on January 23, 2024
3.Motion approving Report of Change Orders for period January 16-31, 2024
AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE AMES AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING
ORGANIZATION (AAMPO) TRANSPORATION POLICY COMMITTEE AND REGULAR
MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
*AMENDED*
COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL
FEBRUARY 13, 2024
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: The Mayor and City Council welcome comments from
the public during discussion. The Standards of Decorum, posted at the door and
available on the City website, define respectful conduct for public participation. If you
wish to speak, please fill out the form on the tablet outside the door to the Council
Chambers or scan the QR Code to the right to fill out the same form on a personal
device. When your name is called, please step to the microphone, state your name for
the record, and keep your comments brief so that others may have the opportunity to speak.
CALL TO ORDER: 5:15
FY 2024/25 BUDGET WRAP-UP
1. Council Budget Presentations:
a. Public Art
b. Arts Funding (COTA)
c. Human Services (ASSET)
d. Outside Funding Requests
e. Other Requests
2. Public Input on Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and Budget
3. Final Council Decisions
a. Amendments to 2024-2029 CIP
b. Vote on motion to approve 2024-2029 CIP, as amended
c. Amendments to FY 2023/24 Adjusted Budget
d. Vote on motion to approve Adjusted Budget for FY 2023/24, as amended, including
interfund transfers
e. Amendments to proposed FY 2024/25 Budget
f. Vote on motion to approve proposed budget for FY 2024/25, as amended, including
interfund transfers
g. Motion setting April 9, 2024, as date of final public hearing to adopt a property tax levy for
FY 2024/25
REGULAR MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL*
*The Regular City Council Meeting will immediately follow Budget Wrap-Up
CONSENT AGENDA: All items listed under the Consent Agenda will be enacted by one motion.
There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a request is made prior to the time the
Council members vote on the motion.
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4.Motion approving Civil Service Candidates
5.Motion approving Ownership Update for Special Class C Retail Alcohol License - Clouds, 119
Stanton Avenue
6.Motion approving new Special Class C Retail Alcohol License - Perkins #1025, 325 South Duff
Avenue
7.Motion approving new 5-Day (March 14 March 18, 2024) Special Class C Retail Alcohol License
- Lucky Wife Wine Slushies, 2601 East 13th Street, Room B
8.Motion approving the renewal of the following Beer Permits, Wine Permits, and Liquor Licenses:
a. Wal-Mart Supercenter 4256, (534 South Duff Ave), Class E Retail Alcohol License
b. Buffalo Wild Wings, (400 South Duff Avenue), Class C Liquor License with Outdoor
Service
c. Noir LLC (405 Kellogg), Class C Liquor License with Outdoor Service
9.Resolution setting date of public hearing for February 27, 2024, for the sale of Mary Greeley
Medical Center property at 2310 East 13th Street, Ames, Iowa to Hunziker & Associates
10.Resolution approving amendment to the Ames Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 28E
Agreement
11.Resolution approving the agreement extension with ISU Community and Regional Planning Class
regarding Community Engagement
12.Resolution approving approving amendment to the RISE grant agreement for Iowa State
University Research Park Phase III roadway improvements.
13.Resolution approving amendment to the Ames - MidAmerican Energy Joint Pricing Zone
Agreement
14.Resolution approving Change Order No. 1 with Tri-City Electric Company for Electrical
Maintenance Services Contract for the Power Plant in the amount of $65,000.
15.Resolution approving a Sole Source Procurement of Ultraviolet Lamps for Ames Water Pollution
Control Facility from Trojan Technologies in the amount of $54,888
16.Resolution approving modification to FY 2023/24 Childserve ASSET contract
17.Resolution approving Iowa State University Research Park, Phase III, Sixth Addition, Integrated
Site Plan Subdivision Major Final Plat
18.Resolution waiving formal bidding requirements and awarding a contract to Eaton Corporation, of
Chicago, Illinois, for the purchase of Combustion Turbine #1 Motor Control Center buckets in the
amount of $149,732.28
19.Resolution approving preliminary plans and specifications for the 2021/22 Stormwater
Detention/Retention Maintenance Program - (Northridge Heights Pond) project, setting March 6,
2024, as the bid due date and March 12, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing
20.Resolution approving preliminary plans and specifications for the 2023/24 Arterial Street
Pavement Improvements (Airport Rd - University Blvd to S. Riverside Dr) project, setting March
6, 2024, as the bid due date and March 12, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing
21.Resolution approving the plans and specifications for the 2023/24 Concrete Street Pavement
Improvements Program, setting March 6, 2024, as the bid due date and March 12, 2024, as the date
of Public Hearing
22.Resolution approving the plans and specifications for 2023/24 Intelligent Transportation System
Program (Phase 3), setting March 19, 2024, as the bid due date through the Iowa DOT and March
26, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing
23.Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center
a. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 03-1 Building Concrete Work with
All Star Concrete, LLC of Johnston, IA
b. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 04-1 Unit Masonry Work with
Forrest & Associate of Des Moines, IA
c. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 06-1 General Carpentry Work with
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Lansink Construction, Inc. of Johnston, IA
d. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 07-3 Membrane Roofing & Sheet
Metal Flashing Work with Central States Roofing of Ames, IA
e. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 08-1 Entrance, Storefront,
Curtainwall & Glazing Work with Orning Glass Company of Ames, IA
f. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 09-1 Gypsum Board Assembly,
Acoustical Ceiling, Paint & Coating Work with Hilsabeck Schacht of West Des Moines, IA
g. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 13-1 Swimming Pool Work with
Sande Construction & Supply Co. of Humboldt, IA
h. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 21-1 Fire Suppression System
Work with Midwest Automatic Fire Sprinkler Company of Des Moines, IA
i. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 22-1 Plumbing & HVAC Work
with Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Co., Inc. of Des Moines, IA
j. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 26-1 Electrical, Communications,
Electronic Safety & Security Work with Van Maanen Electric, Inc., of Newton, IA
k. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 31-1 Demolition & Earthwork with
Con-Struct, Inc. of Ames, IA
l. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 32-1 Paving & Sidewalk Work
with Lakeside Contractors LLC of Ames, IA
m. Resolution approving contract and bond for bid package 33-1 Site Utility Work with Iowa
Pipe & Grading, LLC of Ames, IA
24.Resolution approving contract and bond for 2022/23 CyRide Route Pavement Improvements
(Lincoln Way) with Con-Struct, Inc., of Ames, IA
25.Resolution approving contract and bond for 2023/24 Asphalt Pavement Improvements Program #1
with Manatt's, Inc., of Ames, IA
26.Resolution approving contract and bond for 2023/24 Asphalt Pavement Improvements Program #2
with Con-Struct, Inc., of Ames, IA
27.Resolution approving contract and bond for 2023/24 Seal Coat Street Pavement Improvements
with Manatt's, Inc., of Ames, IA
28.Resolution approving contract and bond for CyRide Security System Upgrade Phase II with
Commonwealth Electric of the Midwest, of Des Moines, IA
29.Resolution approving contract and bond for HVAC Replacement at the Power Plant with
Mechanical Comfort, Inc., of Ames, Iowa
30.Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation - (US HWY 69)
a. Resolution approving Change Order No. 3, the balancing change order, a deduction in the
amount of $148,716.01.
b. Resolution accepting the Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation - (US HWY 69) project as
completed by Jet Drain Services LLC, of Ames, Iowa in the amount of $1,249,017.99.
31.Resolution to Approve the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ended June
30, 2023
32.Hearing on Ash Pond Closure and RDF Ash Pond Construction
PUBLIC FORUM : This is a time set aside for comments from the public on topics of City business
other than those listed on this agenda. Please understand that the Council will not take any action on
your comments at this meeting due to requirements of the Open Meetings Law, but may do so at a
future meeting.
FINANCE:
HEARINGS:
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a. Motion accepting report of bids
33.Hearing on rezoning with Master Plan of 102 & 116 Hyland Avenue from Residential High
Density (RH) to Neighborhood Commercial (NC) with the O-(UIW) West University Impact
District
34.Hearing on rezoning of 210 South 5th Street from Agricultural (A) to Highway Oriented
Commercial (HOC) with an Environmentally Sensitive Overlay
35.Second reading on Preapproval of Industrial Tax Abatement for a R&D Building at 300 South Bell
Avenue
ORDINANCES:
DISPOSITION OF COMMUNICATIONS TO COUNCIL:
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
ADJOURNMENT:
Please note that this agenda may be changed up to 24 hours before the meeting time as provided
by Section 21.4(2), Code of Iowa.
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To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Approval of Mintues
Item No. 2
MEMO
Attached are the minutes for the Special Meeting held on January 16, 2024 and the
Regular Meeting held on January 23, 2024 for your review and approval.
/cmw
ATTACHMENT(S):
C24-0116 Summary.pdf
C24-0123 Summary.docx
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
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SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF THE
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA JANUARY 16, 2024
The Special Meeting of the Ames City Council was called to order by Mayor John Haila at 5:15
p.m. on the 16th day of January, 2024, in the City Council Chambers in City Hall, 515 Clark
Avenue, pursuant to law. Present were Council Members Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, Amber
Corrieri, Tim Gartin, Rachel Junck, and Anita Rollins. Ex officio Jeff Clark was absent. Council
Member Gloria Betcher entered the meeting at 6:01 p.m.
WORKSHOP: City Manager Steve Schainker began the staff presentation of the recommended
five-year Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) for fiscal years (FY) 2024-2028. Staff divided the
presentation into five categories: 1) Public Safety, 2) Utilities Program, 3) Transportation
Program, 4) Culture and Recreation Program, and 5) Other.
Fire Chief Rich Higgins discussed the Public Safety component of the CIP, highlighting the three
projects included in the CIP for the Fire Department. The Utilities Program followed with
Electric Services Director Don Kom reviewing the Electric Services projects that were divided in
the major groups of beneficial electrification, transmission/distribution, and power plant related
activities. Director of Water and Pollution Control John Dunn continued the Utilities Program
with discussion of projects related to Water Production/Treatment and Water Pollution Control.
The Utilities Program was completed by Director of Public Works John Joiner who provided an
overview of Water Distribution, Sanitary Sewer System, Stormwater Management, and Resource
Recovery projects.
Director Joiner continued, transitioning to the Transportation Program with input from Traffic
Engineer Damion Pregitzer. Jointly, they discussed Street Improvements, Shared Use Paths,
Traffic Improvements, Street Rehabilitation, and Airport activities. Transit Director Barb Neal
concluded the Transportation Program with discussion of the Transit System projects before
turning it over to Director of Parks and Recreation Keith Abraham to review Culture and
Recreation Programs. Mr. Abraham reviewed facility and user improvement projects for the
Parks and Recreation activities as well as the Cemetery.
City Manager Schainker concluded the presentation with review of Library projects as well as
the Downtown and Campustown Façade Program and Neighborhood Improvements Program.
He then reviewed five new projects that were not included in the CIP but would need to be
prioritized by the City Council within the next year. These projects included: Animal Control
Shelter (new), Fire Station #2 (relocation), Fire Station #4 (new), Indoor Recreation Center
(new), and Ontario Park Development (new). He also discussed debt capacity comparisons with
input from Director Goodenow.
The members of the City Council engaged with City staff during each section of the presentation
to gather clarifications on project specifics and inquire about status updated for current projects.
The Mayor closed the workshop portion of the agenda by thanking City staff for their time and
efforts.
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DISPOSITION OF COMMUNICATIONS TO COUNCIL: Mayor Haila noted that there was
one item from Lee Anne Wilson regarding the Climate Action Plan which did not require action
by the City Council.
COUNCIL COMMENTS: The Mayor and Council Members reported on various meetings
attended, upcoming meetings, community events, and items of interest.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Betcher, seconded by Corrieri, to adjourn the meeting at 7:58
p.m.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
__________________________________ ____________________________________
Carly M. Watson, Deputy City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor
__________________________________
Renee Hall, City Clerk
Subject to change as finalized by the City Clerk.
For a final official copy, contact the City Clerk’s Office at 515-239-5105.
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SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE AMES AREA METROPOLITAN
PLANNING ORGANIZATION (AAMPO) TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE
AND THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA JANUARY 23,
2024
The Ames Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO) Transportation Policy Committee
meeting was called to order by Ames Mayor and voting member John Haila at 6:01 p.m. on the
23rd day of January, 2024. Other voting members present were: Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, City of
Ames; Tim Gartin, City of Ames; Rachel Junck, City of Ames; Anita Rollins, City of Ames; Jeff
Clark,Ames Transit Agency Representative; Linda Murken, Story County Board of Supervisors,
and Shawn Bryant, Boone County Board of Supervisors. Gloria Betcher, City of Ames, joined the
meeting telephonically.
CONSENT AGENDA: Committee Member Murken requested to pull Item No. 1.
Moved by Bryant, seconded by Junck, to approve the consent agenda less Item No. 1.
1. Motion approving Annual Self-Certification for FY 2025
2. RESOLUTION NO. 24-048 approving designation of AAMPO representatives to the
Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA)
3. Motion supporting the Iowa Department of Transportation's Roadway Safety Targets
4. Motion approving Transit Asset Management Targets
Roll Call Vote: 10-0. Motions/Resolutions declared carried/adopted, signed by the Mayor, and
hereby made a portion of these Minutes.
ANNUAL SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR FY 2025:Committee Member Murken asked when
the last Ames Area Metropolitan Planning Organization process review by the Federal Transit
Administration and Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Engineer Kyle Thompson stated
that the last federal review was in 2020, and the federal government was moving away from that
process to self-certification.
Moved by Murken, seconded by Rollins, to approve Annual Self-certification for FY 2025.
Vote on Motion: 10-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
UPDATED METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREA BOUNDARY FOR THE AAMPO:
Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Murken, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-049 adopting updated
Metropolitan Planning Area Boundary for the AAMPO.
Roll Call Vote: 10-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and
hereby made a portion of these minutes.
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TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE BYLAWS: Moved by Bryant, seconded by
Junck, to approve an amendment to the Transportation Policy Committee Bylaws.
Vote on Motion: 10-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
AMENDMENT TO THE AAMPO'S ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT: Moved by Beatty-
Hansen, seconded by Rollins, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-050 approving amendment to the
AAMPO's Articles of Agreement.
Roll Call Vote: 10-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and
hereby made a portion of these minutes.
POLICY COMMITTEE COMMENTS: None.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Murken, seconded by Bryant, to adjourn the meeting at 6:18 p.m.
Vote on Motion: 10-0.Motion declared carried unanimously.
**REGULAR MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL**
The Regular Meeting of the Ames City Council was called to order by Mayor John Haila at 6:24
p.m. on the 23rd day of January, 2024, in the City Council Chambers in City Hall, 515 Clark
Avenue, pursuant to law. Present were Council Members Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, Amber
Corrieri, Tim Gartin, Rachel Junck, and Anita Rollins. Ex officio Jeff Clark was also present.
Council Member Gloria Betcher joined the meeting telephonically.
CONSENT AGENDA: Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Gartin, to approve the consent
agenda.
1. Motion approving payment of claims
2. Motion approving Summary of Minutes of Special Meeting on January 6, 2024 and
Regular Meeting on January 9, 2024
3. Motion approving Report of Change Orders for period January 1-15, 2024
4. Motion approving Premise Update for Class E Retail Alcohol License - Caseys #4314,
1118 South Duff Avenue
5. Motion approving Premise Update for Class E Retail Alcohol License - Caseys #4315,
3218 Orion Drive
6. Motion approving the renewal of the following Beer Permits, Wine Permits, and Liquor
Licenses:
a. Fareway Stores, Inc. #093, 3619 Stange Road, Class E Retail Alcohol License
b. Fareway Stores, Inc. #386, 619 Burnett Avenue, Class E Retail Alcohol License
c. Dog Eared Books, 203 Main St, Class C Retail Alcohol License
d. Blaze Pizza, 2320 Lincoln Way, Special Class C Liquor License with Outdoor
Service
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e. El Azteca, 2727 Stange Rd, Class C Retail Alcohol License with Outdoor Service,
Pending Dramshop Status
f. Ge' Angelo's (M2S2 Enterprises LLC) 823 Wheeler St #9, Class C Retail Alcohol
License with Catering Privilege
g. Fuji Japanese Steakhouse, 1614 South Kellogg Avenue, Class C Retail Alcohol
License
h. Chipotle, 435 South Duff Avenue, Class C Retail Alcohol License, Pending
Dramshop Review
7. RESOLUTION NO. 24-010 approving Quarterly Investment Report for Quarter Ending
December 31, 2023
8. RESOLUTION NO. 24-011 approving appointment to Campus and Community
Commission
9. RESOLUTION NO. 24-012 to adopt business and market changes to City of Ames
Depository
10. RESOLUTION NO. 24-013 approving Amendment to Iowa DOT Iowa Clean Air
Attainment Program agreement for the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program (Phase
3)
11. RESOLUTION NO. 24-014 awarding a contract for software licensing and support for
Microsoft Office 365 with Insight Public Sector, Dallas, Texas, in the amount not to
exceed $215,351.80
12. RESOLUTION NO. 24-015 awarding contract to DGR Engineering, Rock Rapids, Iowa,
for Engineering Services for 69kV Transmission Line Reconstruction, in the amount not-
to-exceed $612,756
13. RESOLUTION NO. 24-016 awarding contract to Core & Main of Grimes, Iowa for the
purchase of water utility supplies in the amount of $75,508
14. RESOLUTION NO. 24-017 approving preliminary plans and specifications for the
2021/22 Storm Water Erosion Control (Bloomington Waterway Channel and Bank
Stabilization) and 2021/22 Stormwater Quality Improvements project, setting February
21, 2024, as the bid due date and February 27, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing
15. RESOLUTION NO. 24-018 approving preliminary plans and specifications for the
2023/24 Pavement Restoration – Slurry Seal Program setting February 21, 2024, as the
bid due date and February 27, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing
16. RESOLUTION NO. 24-019 approving preliminary plans and specifications for the
2023/24 Campustown Public Improvements – (Welch Avenue and Chamberlain Place)
project, setting February 21, 2024, as the bid due date and February 27, 2024, as the date
of Public Hearing
17. RESOLUTION NO. 24-020 approving preliminary plans and specifications for the
2023/24 Collector Street Pavement Improvements – (6th Street) project, setting February
21, 2024, as the bid due date and February 27, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing
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18. 2021/22 Water System Improvements Program (US Highway 69: S Duff Avenue, Grand
Avenue)
a. RESOLUTION NO. 24-021 approving Change Order No. 2, the balancing change
order, an increase in the amount of $40,351.71
b. RESOLUTION NO. 24-022 accepting the 2021/22 Water System Improvements
Program (US Highway 69: S Duff Avenue, Grand Avenue) project as completed
by Synergy Contracting LLC, of Des Moines, Iowa in the amount of
$2,347,765.51
19. RESOLUTION NO. 24-023 accepting the 2022/23 Seal Coat Street Pavement
Improvements and Neighborhood Curb Program – (Murray Dr – Northwestern Ave to
Grand Ave) project as completed by Manatt’s Inc. of Ames, Iowa in the amount of
$714,728.49.
20. RESOLUTION NO. 24-024 accepting the 2022/23 Shared Use Path Maintenance
Program as completed by Mid Iowa Enterprises, LLC of Story City, Iowa in the amount
of $109,046
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Motions/Resolutions declared carried/adopted unanimously, signed by the
Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these Minutes.
PUBLIC FORUM:Mayor Haila opened the Public Forum.
Richard Deyo, 505 8th Street #102, Ames, requested that the City Council consider limiting
political figures’ access to the City of Ames.
Shawn Kenney, 2012 Prairie View East, Ames, requested reimbursement for sidewalk repairs he
had made to his property and asked for clarification to the legal standing of the Sidewalk Safety
Program.
Mayor Haila closed the Public Forum when no one else came forward to speak.
STAFF REPORT ON SIDEWALK SAFETY PROGRAM:Public Works Director John Joiner
and Public Works Operations Manager Justin Clausen presented the Council Action Form (CAF).
Mayor Haila opened the Public Input.
Grant Olsen, 3812 Ontario Street, Ames, explained how sidewalks connect the transit system and
have an impact on accessibility in the City. He also urged the City Council to consider the equity
aspect of the Sidewalk Safety Program.
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Shawn Kenny, Ames, shared his support for the City of Ames’s requirements coming in to line
with other peer communities. He urged the City to think through the liability of any changes to the
program.
Mayor Haila closed the Public Input when no one else came forward to speak.
Moved by Betcher, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, that Public Works return with parameters of how
many miles of sidewalks the Public Works Department would be able to inspect per year if the
City Council were to pursue that option.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Gartin to ask staff to develop an estimate on the cost to the City for facilitating
anticipated sidewalk repairs and come back to the City Council with more information on having
a contractor providing that service.
Seconded by Beatty-Hansen after Gartin accepted a friendly amendment to add “and report on
subsidies” to the end of the motion.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Rollins, to place the item on an agenda in March to allow
for Public Input to be collected.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
2024-2029 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN (CIP):Director of Finance Corey Goodenow
and Budget Manager Nancy Mastellar presented the CAF.
Mayor Haila opened the Public Input.
Kevin Bourke, 3618 Fletcher Circle, Ames, requested that the City Council consider making the
indoor recreation complex a CIP priority.
Mayor Haila closed the Public Input when no one else came forward to speak.
PARKING TICKET AND ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE COLLECTIONS:Director
Goodenow and Utility Accounts Supervisor John Odenweller presented the CAF. Director
Goodenow stated that this was a 28E agreement that would be in place perpetually, unless the City
decided to pursue another agreement.
Moved by Junck, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-025 to approve
Agreements with the State of Iowa and Story County for Parking Ticket and Accounts Receivable
collections.
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Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Rollins, seconded by Junck, to request staff come back to the City Council with
recommendations for a minimum payment threshold for those who may be at-risk in the
community.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
CAMPUSTOWN SHOWDOWN:Mayor Haila noted that the City Council was working from
an amended agenda with the addition of approving RESOLUTION NO. 24-026 and Assistant City
Manager Brian Phillips presented the CAF.
Mayor Haila opened the Public Input.
Christian Calliham, 5100 Zeandale Road, Manhattan, Kansas, explained how event organizers had
worked with the Ames Chamber of Commerce and Discover Ames to coordinate efforts to put on
the Campustown Showdown.
Grant Olsen, 3812 Ontario Street, Ames, expressed his concerns over the clean-up aspect of the
event.
Mayor Haila closed the Public Input when no one else came forward to speak.
Moved by Rollins, seconded by Junck, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-026 approving closure of
Welch Avenue from approximately 100 feet south of Chamberlain Street to Knapp Street, and
Hunt Street from Chamberlain Place to Welch Avenue, between 11 a.m. and 11:45 p.m. on April
20, 2024.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
CACTUS, 223 WELCH AVENUE: Chief of Police Geoff Huff presented the CAF.
Mayor Haila opened and closed the Public Input when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to approve a new 12-month Class C Retail License -
Cactus at 223 Welch Avenue, Pending Dram Shop review.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
PURCHASE OF TWO FORD POLICE INTERCEPTOR UTILITIES: Director of Fleet
Services Corey Mellies presented the CAF.
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Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-027 waiving formal
bidding requirements and awarding the purchase of 2 Ford Police Interceptor Utilities, to Stiver's
Ford of Waukee, IA, in the amount of $90,068.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION (HPC) 2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND
WORK PLAN 2024: Planner Eloise Sahlstrom and HPC Member Scott Huffman presented the
CAF.
Moved by Betcher, seconded by Gartin, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-028 approving the 2023
accomplishments of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and the Work Plan for 2024 as
described in the 2023 Certified Local Government (CLG) Report.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
HEARING ON PREAPPROVAL OF INDUSTRIAL TAX ABATEMENT FOR A R&D
BUILDING AT 300 SOUTH BELL AVENUE: Council Member Junck stated she would be
abstaining from this item due to conflict of interest.
Mayor Haila opened the Public Hearing.
Grant Olsen, 3812 Ontario Street, Ames, spoke to his concerns about the equity of providing tax
abatement to profitable companies.
Mayor Haila closed the Public Hearing when no one else came forward to speak.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to pass on first reading an ordinance on Preapproval of
Industrial Tax Abatement for a R&D Building at 300 South Bell Avenue.
Vote on Motion: 5-0-1, Junck abstaining. Motion declared carried unanimously.
HEARING ON FITCH FAMILY INDOOR AQUATIC CENTER: Mayor Haila opened and
closed the Public Hearing when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Rollins, to accept report of bids.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to reject all bids for bid package 03-3 Precast Concrete &
Structural Steel and direct staff to rebid.
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Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Corrieri, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-029 approving
preliminary Plans and Specifications for the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center Project, Bid
Package, 03-3 Precast Concrete & Structural Steel, setting February 15, 2024, as the bid due date,
and February 20, 2024, as the date of Public Hearing and award of contract.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Rollins, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-030 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 03-1 Building Concrete Work contract to
All Star Concrete, LLC of Johnston, IA, in the amount of $671,500.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Gartin, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-031 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 04-1 Unit Masonry Work contract to
Forrest & Associate of Des Moines, IA, in the amount of $84,275.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-032 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 06-1 General Carpentry Work contract to
Lansink Construction, Inc. of Johnston, IA, in the amount of $1,016,000.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Betcher, seconded by Gartin, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-033 approving final plans
and specifications and awarding bid package 07-3 Membrane Roofing & Sheet Metal Flashing
Work contract to Central States Roofing of Ames, IA, in the amount of $806,300.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Rollins, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-034 approving final plans
and specifications and awarding bid package 08-1 Entrance, Storefront, Curtainwall & Glazing
Work contract to Orning Glass Company of Ames, IA, in the amount of $726,526.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
15
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Rollins, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-035 approving final plans
and specifications and awarding bid package 09-1 Gypsum Board Assembly, Acoustical Ceiling,
Paint & Coating Work contract to Hilsabeck Schacht of West Des Moines, IA, in the amount of
$519,250.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-036 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 13-1 Swimming Pool Work a contract to
Sande Construction & Supply Co. of Humboldt, IA, in the amount of $4,326,187.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Betcher, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-037 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 21-1 Fire Suppression System Work a
contract to Midwest Automatic Fire Sprinkler Company of Des Moines, IA, in the amount of
$130,100.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Rollins, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-038 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 22-1 Plumbing & HVAC Work contract
to Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Co., Inc. of Des Moines, IA, in the amount of $4,184,363.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Rollins, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-039 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 26-1 Electrical, Communications,
Electronic Safety & Security Work a contract to Van Maanen Electric, Inc. of Newton, IA, in the
amount of $1,477,436.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Rollins, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-040 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 31-1 Demolition & Earthwork a contract
to Con-Struct, Inc. of Ames, IA, in the amount of $532,975.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
16
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Rollins, to accept letter of withdrawal on bid package 32-
1 from low bidder Jordison Construction, Inc. dated January 16, 2024.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Beatty-Hansen, seconded by Betcher, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-041 approving
final plans and specifications and awarding bid package 32-1 Paving & Sidewalk Work a contract
to Lakeside Contractors LLC of Ames, IA, in the amount of $351,588.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Rollins, seconded by Corrieri, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-042 approving final
plans and specifications and awarding bid package 33-1 Site Utility Work a contract to Iowa Pipe
& Grading, LLC of Ames, IA, in the amount of $385,700.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a
portion of these Minutes.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to request that staff come back to the City Council
with possible additional improvements that could be made to the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic
Center with the projected construction savings.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
HEARING ON CYRIDE SECURITY SYSTEM UPGRADE PHASE II: Mayor Haila opened
and closed the Public Hearing when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-043 approving final
plans and specifications and awarding contract to Commonwealth Electric of the Midwest of Des
Moines, Iowa, for the base bid plus bid alternates #1, #2, #3, and #4, for a total cost of $179,361.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
HEARING ON 2022/23 CYRIDE ROUTE PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS (LINCOLN
WAY): Mayor Haila opened and closed the Public Hearing when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Rollins, to accept report of bids.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Betcher, seconded by Junck, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-044 approving final plans
and specification and awarding contract to Con-Struct, Inc., of Ames, Iowa, in the amount of
$2,584,689.20.
17
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
HEARING ON 2023/24 SEAL COAT STREET PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS: Mayor
Haila opened and closed the Public Hearing when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Rollins, seconded by Corrieri, to accept report of bids.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Gartin, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-045 approving final
plans and specification and awarding contract to Manatt's, Inc., of Ames, IA, in the amount of
$1,828,001.36.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
HEARING ON 2023/24 ASPHALT STREET PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM
#1: Mayor Haila opened and closed the Public Hearing when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Rollins, to accept report of bids.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Gartin, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-046 approving final
plans and specification and awarding contract to Manatt's, Inc., of Ames, IA, in the amount of
$1,764,990.07, including base bid and alternate.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
HEARING ON 2023/24 ASPHALT STREET PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM
#2: Mayor Haila opened and closed the Public Hearing when no one came forward to speak.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to accept report of bids.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Corrieri, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 24-047 approving final
plans and specification and awarding contract to Con-Struct, Inc., of Ames, IA, in the amount of
$706,554.20, including base bid and alternate.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
18
THIRD READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 4517 ON TEXT
AMENDMENT FOR PUBLIC NUISANCE "PROPERTY MAINTENANCE" RELATED
TO CHANGES TO THE AMES MUNICIPAL CODE: Moved by Rollins, seconded by Gartin,
to pass on third reading and adopt ORDINANCE NO. 4517 on Text Amendment for Public
Nuisance "Property Maintenance" related to changes to the Ames Municipal Code.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these Minutes.
THIRD READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 4518 ON ZONING TEXT
AMENDMENT TO PAVING STANDARDS FOR BASIC UTILITY USES AND OTHER
SIMILAR USES: Moved by Rollins, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to pass on third reading and
adopt ORDINANCE NO. 4518 on Zoning Text Amendment to Paving Standards for Basic Utility
Uses and other similar uses.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a
portion of these Minutes.
DISPOSITION OF COMMUNICATIONS TO COUNCIL:Mayor Haila noted that there were
five items for City Council consideration. The first was a request for repairs at North Grand Mall
from Katelyn Hart.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Rollins, to refer to Public Works staff to respond to Ms. Hart.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
The next two items were from Rick Sanders, with requests for a land use map amendment and a
zoning text amendment.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Rollins, to refer to Director Diekmann for a memo.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
An email detailing concerns about snow removal for pedestrians from Kyle Poorman was the next
item to be considered.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Junck, to refer to Operations Manager Clausen to respond to Mr.
Poorman.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
A memo from Director Diekmann about Denny Elwell Companies’ request for Zoning
Amendment was the final item to be evaluated.
Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Gartin, to place the topic on an agenda in March with the Planning
and Housing Department Work Plan.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
19
COUNCIL COMMENTS:The Mayor and Council Members reported on various meetings
attended, upcoming meetings, community events, and items of interest.
Moved by Gartin, seconded by Beatty-Hansen, to request City Attorney Mark Lambert to reply to
Mr. Kenny regarding the legal standing of the Sidewalk Safety Program.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Corrieri, seconded by Rollins, to adjourn at 8:45 p.m.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Subject to change as finalized by the City Clerk. For a final official copy, contact the City
Clerk’s Office at 515-239-5105.
20
REPORT OF
CONTRACT CHANGE ORDERS
Department
General Description
of Contract
Contract
Change
No.
Original Contract
Amount Contractor/ Vendor
Total of Prior
Change Orders
Amount this
Change Order
Change
Approved By
Purchasing
Contact
(Buyer)
Transit Purchase of Reconditioned
Bus Engines
1 $116,737.78 Trivista-Iowa $0.00 $4,103.90 J. Rendall QE
Public Works 2022/23 Sanitary Sewer
Rehabilitation Project (US
Hwy 69 Spot Repairs)
2 $1,353,819.00 Jet Drain Services LLC $38,915.00 $5,000.00 B. Phillips KS
Public Works 2022/23 Seal Coat Street
Pavement Improvements
Project (Murray Drive)
1 $722,863.45 Manatt's Inc. $0.00 $4,399.20 T. Peterson KS
Public Works 2022/23 Seal Coat Street
Pavement Improvements
Project (Murray Drive)
2 $722,863.45 Manatt's, Inc. $4,399.20 $-(12,534.16) T. Peterson KS
Water
Pollution &
Control
Construction of the North
River Vally Well Field &
Pipeline
3 $10,200,955.80 Keller Excavating, Inc. $258,689.80 $-(17,304.95) J. Dunn KS
$ $ $
Period: 1st – 15th
16th – End of Month
Month & Year: January 2024
For City Council Date: February 13, 2024
21
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
AMES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
AMES, IOWA JANUARY 25, 2024
The Regular Meeting of the Ames Civil Service Commission was called to order by Chairperson
Kim Linduska at 8:15 AM on January 25, 2024. As it was impractical for the Commission members
to attend in person, Commission Chairperson Kim Linduska, Commission Members Mike Crum
and Harold Pike, were brought in telephonically. Also in attendance was Commission Clerk, Vicki
Hillock and Human Resources Director, Bethany Ballou.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 16, 2023: Moved by Pike, seconded by Crum,
to approve the Minutes of the November 16, 2023, Regular Service Commission meeting. Vote on
Motion: 3-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
CERTIFICATION OF ENTRY-LEVEL APPLICANTS: Moved by Crum, seconded by
Linduska, to certify the following individuals to the Ames City Council as Entry-Level Applicants:
Public Safety Dispatcher Noelle Flugard 79
Joshua West 79
Sydney Lively 75
Jonathon Wilson 73
Vote on Motion: 3-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
REQUEST TO REMOVE NAME FROM POLICE OFFICER LIST: Moved by Linduska,
seconded by Pike to remove name from the Police Officer entry-level certified list.
Vote on Motion: 3-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
DISCUSSION: Question was asked of HR Director, Ballou how recruiting was proceeding.
Ballow responded the overall environment is improving locally and statewide with applications and
qualified candidates trending upwards.
COMMENTS: The next Regular Meeting will be held telephonically or in-person, depending on
weather, on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at 8:15am.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:19 AM.
__________________________________ _______________________________________
Kim Linduska, Chairperson Vicki Hillock, Commission Clerk
22
To:Mayor and the City Council
From:Grace Bandstra, Deputy City Clerk
Date:January 23, 2024
Subject:Ownership Update for Special Class C Retail Alcohol License - Clouds, 119
Stanton AvenueÂ
Item No. 5
MEMO
Please see the attached documentation for an Ownership Update for Special Class C
Retail Alcohol License - Clouds, 119 Stanton Avenue.
gb
ATTACHMENT(S):
Clouds Ownership Update.pdf
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
23
Page 1 of 2
Applicant
NAME OF LEGAL ENTITY
Clouds Coffee LLC
NAME OF BUSINESS(DBA)
Clouds
BUSINESS
(515) 247-0040
ADDRESS OF PREMISES
119 STANTON AVE
PREMISES SUITE/APT NUMBER
Suite 701
CITY
Ames
COUNTY
Story
ZIP
50014
MAILING ADDRESS
3405 SE Crossroads Drive
CITY
Grimes
STATE
Iowa
ZIP
50111
Contact Person
NAME
Linda Crowley
PHONE
(515) 247-0040
EMAIL
accounting@frandsonandassociates.com
License Information
LICENSE NUMBER
BW0096504
LICENSE/PERMIT TYPE
Special Class C Retail Alcohol
License
TERM
12 Month
STATUS
Submitted
to Local
Authority
EFFECTIVE DATE
Feb 22, 2024
EXPIRATION DATE
Feb 21, 2025
LAST DAY OF BUSINESS
SUB-PERMITS
Special Class C Retail Alcohol License
PRIVILEGES 24
Page 2 of 2
Status of Business
BUSINESS TYPE
Limited Liability Company
Ownership
Individual Owners
NAME CITY STATE ZIP POSITION % OF OWNERSHIP U.S. CITIZEN
Ted Frandson Story City Iowa 50248 Owner 100.00 Yes
Yann Queckenstedt Ames Iowa 50014 Owned 0.00 No
Insurance Company Information
INSURANCE COMPANY
MOUNT VERNON FIRE INS CO
POLICY EFFECTIVE DATE POLICY EXPIRATION DATE
DRAM CANCEL DATE OUTDOOR SERVICE EFFECTIVE
DATE
OUTDOOR SERVICE EXPIRATION
DATE
BOND EFFECTIVE DATE TEMP TRANSFER EFFECTIVE
DATE
TEMP TRANSFER EXPIRATION
DATE
25
To:Mayor and City Council
From:Grace Bandstra, Deputy City Clerk
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:New Special Class C Retail Alcohol License - Perkins #1025, 325 South Duff
Avenue
Item No. 6
MEMO
Please see the attached documentation for a motion approving new Special Class C Retail
Alcohol License - Perkins #1025, 325 South Duff Avenue.
/gb
ATTACHMENT(S):
Perkins #1025 - New License.pdf
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
26
Page 1 of 2
Applicant
NAME OF LEGAL ENTITY
PERKINS LLC
NAME OF BUSINESS(DBA)
Perkins #1025
BUSINESS
(937) 227-3517
ADDRESS OF PREMISES
325 South Duff Avenue
PREMISES SUITE/APT NUMBER CITY
Ames
COUNTY
Story
ZIP
50010
MAILING ADDRESS
5901 Peachtree Dunwoody
RoadPerimeter Center
CITY
Atlanta
STATE
Georgia
ZIP
30328
Contact Person
NAME
Riviere Duffy
PHONE
(937) 272-3517
EMAIL
rduffy@taylorenglish.com
License Information
LICENSE NUMBER LICENSE/PERMIT TYPE
Special Class C Retail Alcohol
License
TERM
12 Month
STATUS
Submitted
to Local
Authority
EFFECTIVE DATE EXPIRATION DATE LAST DAY OF BUSINESS
SUB-PERMITS
Special Class C Retail Alcohol License
PRIVILEGES
27
Page 2 of 2
Status of Business
BUSINESS TYPE
Limited Liability Company
Ownership
No Ownership information found
Insurance Company Information
INSURANCE COMPANY
Travelers Indemnity Company of
Connecticut
POLICY EFFECTIVE DATE
Apr 30, 2023
POLICY EXPIRATION DATE
Apr 30, 2024
DRAM CANCEL DATE OUTDOOR SERVICE EFFECTIVE
DATE
OUTDOOR SERVICE EXPIRATION
DATE
BOND EFFECTIVE DATE TEMP TRANSFER EFFECTIVE
DATE
TEMP TRANSFER EXPIRATION
DATE
28
To:Mayor and City Council
From:Grace Bandstra, Deputy City Clerk
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Motion approving new 5-Day (March 14Â March 18, 2024) Special Class C
Retail Alcohol License - Lucky Wife Wine Slushies, 2601 East 13th Street,
Room B
Item No. 7
MEMO
Please see the attached application for new 5-Day (March 14 March 18, 2024) Special
Class C Retail Alcohol License - Lucky Wife Wine Slushies, 2601 East 13th Street,
Room B.
/gb
ATTACHMENT(S):
Lucky Wife Wine Slushies 03.14.24.pdf
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
29
Page 1 of 2
Applicant
NAME OF LEGAL ENTITY
CLOUD WINE, LLC
NAME OF BUSINESS(DBA)
Lucky Wife Wine Slushies
BUSINESS
(515) 368-0295
ADDRESS OF PREMISES
2601 East 13th Street
PREMISES SUITE/APT NUMBER
room B
CITY
Ames
COUNTY
Iowa
ZIP
50548
MAILING ADDRESS
2601 East 13th Street
CITY
Ames
STATE
Iowa
ZIP
50548
Contact Person
NAME
Dawn Thompson
PHONE
(515) 368-0295
EMAIL
luckywifewineslushies4@gmail.com
License Information
LICENSE NUMBER LICENSE/PERMIT TYPE
Special Class C Retail Alcohol
License
TERM
5 Day
STATUS
Submitted
to Local
Authority
TENTATIVE EFFECTIVE DATE
Mar 14, 2024
TENTATIVE EXPIRATION DATE
Mar 18, 2024
LAST DAY OF BUSINESS
SUB-PERMITS
Special Class C Retail Alcohol License
PRIVILEGES 30
Page 2 of 2
Status of Business
BUSINESS TYPE
Limited Liability Company
Ownership
Individual Owners
NAME CITY STATE ZIP POSITION % OF OWNERSHIP U.S. CITIZEN
Dawn Thompson Ames Iowa 50010 owner 100.00 Yes
Insurance Company Information
INSURANCE COMPANY
Founders Insurance Company
POLICY EFFECTIVE DATE
Mar 14, 2024
POLICY EXPIRATION DATE
Mar 19, 2024
DRAM CANCEL DATE OUTDOOR SERVICE EFFECTIVE
DATE
OUTDOOR SERVICE EXPIRATION
DATE
BOND EFFECTIVE DATE TEMP TRANSFER EFFECTIVE
DATE
TEMP TRANSFER EXPIRATION
DATE
31
To:Mayor John Haila and Ames City Council Members
From:Lieutenant Mike Arkovich, Ames Police Department
Date:January 21, 2024
Subject:Beer Permits & Liquor License Renewal Reference City Council Agenda
Item No. 8
MEMO
A review of police records for the past 12 months found no liquor law violations for Wal-
Mart Supercenter 4256 and Buffalo Wild Wings. The Ames Police Department
recommends the license renewal for these businesses.
A review of police records for the past 12 months found an investigation in April
2023 where Noir was not following Iowa laws regarding the sale of mixed alcohol
drinks in to-go cups. They were selling mixed drinks to patrons of a nearby business
for consumption in that business. Iowa Alcohol Beverage Division was involved in
this investigation as well as the City Attorney’s office. It was determined the best
course of action was education. The management of Noir was notified of the
violations and educated about the Iowa laws and city codes. There were no other
alcohol violations at Noir. The Ames Police Department will continue to monitor
their performance. We recommend their employees attend the ID training, the I-
PACT training provided by the State of Iowa, and conduct their own compliance
checks. The Ames Police Department recommends the license renewal for this
business.
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
32
To:Mayor & City Council
From:Mark O. Lambert, City Attorney
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Sale of MGMC property at 2310 East 13th Street to Hunziker & Associates
Item No. 9
MEMO
Mary Greeley Medical Center (MGMC) is planning to sell real property at 2310 East
13th Street in Ames to Hunziker & Associates.
Although the Iowa Code and the Ames Municipal Code both authorize the city hospital to
sell its property on its own, the title to MGMC’s properties are in the name of “The City
of Ames, d/b/a Mary Greeley Medical Center, a city hospital.” Because of this, the City
Attorney has advised MGMC that, in addition to the MGMC Board of Trustees
approving a sale, it is best for the City Council to also approve the sale of any MGMC
property.
The Iowa Land Title Standards tells lawyers reviewing abstracts to document that a
city council has passed a resolution approving the sale of city property. At times,
MGMC has sold properties without Council involvement, but situations have arisen
where when the property is being sold again later on, and a lawyer requests the
Council to pass a resolution after the fact giving its approval to the sale, to ensure
that the title is clear. (Other attorneys have accepted our explanation that MGMC has
the authority to sell property on its own, after we have pointed out the law to them).
But by having the Council approve the sale in conjunction with the MGMC Board
of Trustees approving the sale, this should avoid the Council having to retroactively
approve the sale of property down the road to satisfy an attorney reviewing an
abstract.
The MGMC Board of Trustees is also in the process of approving the sale. Therefore,
Staff is requesting that Council set a public hearing for February 27, 2024, for the
sale of the 2310 East 13th Street property to Hunziker & Associates.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Res 24-02 Proposing Sale of Land-Signed.pdf
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
33
34
ITEM #:10
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:PW
SUBJECT:AAMPO ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT (28E)
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The Ames Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO) was officially designated as the MPO
of the Ames urbanized area by the Governor of Iowa in March 2003. An "Articles of Agreement"
document (28E) was established at that time between the AAMPO’s member agencies to: 1) establish
the MPO, 2) designate its powers and purposes, 3) establish its member agencies and membership
procedures, 4) provide a framework of organization for the MPO, and 5) establish how the MPO would
be financially supported by its member agencies.
These original Articles of Agreement were filed with the Secretary of State as a 28E Agreement on
April 4, 2011 (see Attachment A). The City of Ames, Story County, Boone County, Ames Transit
Agency (CyRide), Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) were listed as participants in the 28E Agreement.
Since the original Articles of Agreement were established with the formation of the MPO, the MPO has
undergone several changes regarding how it operates, as well as changes to its membership with the
addition of the City of Gilbert as a voting member and Iowa State University as a non-voting member
in March 2013. The addition of the City of Gilbert was a result of the previous expansion of the
AAMPO Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) Boundary in November 2012. However, the 28E was not
revised at that time to reflect these changes.
To better define and reflect how the MPO currently operates as well as to account for the
addition of the City of Gilbert and Iowa State University as member agencies of the MPO, an
amended and substituted Articles of Agreement 28E was approved by the Transportation Policy
Committee on January 23, 2024 (see Attachment A). The following are the primary changes from
the original Articles of Agreement:
Membership & Representation:
Clearly defining that membership to the AAMPO shall be contingent upon: 1) acceptance
of the Articles of Agreement by the governing body or administration of the agency
seeking membership, and 2) the inclusion of at least one representative on the
Transportation Policy Committee (which would be done through the amendment of the
Transportation Policy Committee’s Bylaws).
The composition of the Transportation Policy Committee, which was previously stated
directly in Article VI of the existing Articles of Agreement, would now only need to be
specified in the Bylaws of the Transportation Policy Committee. This change simplifies the
process for a new member agency to formally join the AAMPO, as the Articles of
Agreement would not need to be amended to reflect changes in Transportation Policy
Committee composition.
35
A proposed change includes a requirement that member agencies enact a measure of
approval for any amendments to the Articles of Agreement within 60 calendar days of the
approval of the amendments by the Transportation Policy Committee. This change is
reflected in Article VIII.
Finances & Staffing:
Under the current Articles of Agreement, the AAMPO is supposed to require payment of
an annual assessment of each member agency to fund the local share of the MPO planning
activities. If member agencies do not pay this assessment, the agreement states that they
would be ineligible to receive MPO project funding. Because the proportionate share of
each member is a de minimis amount and all the projects awarded have been within the
jurisdiction of the City of Ames, the AAMPO has been financially supported totally by the
City of Ames. The proposed updated Articles of Agreement would directly designate the
City of Ames as the primary fiscal sponsor of the MPO, which reflects the current practice.
This responsibility would include providing administrative, planning, and accounting
services to the MPO, as is current practice.
A section is proposed to be added to detail which member agencies are responsible for
staffing the MPO. The City of Ames would provide the MPO with the services typically
performed by an Executive Director and Transportation Planner. The Ames Transit Agency
would provide the MPO with the services typically performed by a Transit Planner. These
staffing requirements reflect how the MPO is currently staffed.
All AAMPO member agencies must approve the amended Articles of Agreement (28E
agreement) within 60 calendar days of approval by the Transportation Policy Committee.
Therefore, the City of Ames must approve the amendment before March 23, 2024. Once all
measures of approval are received from each member agency, the amended Articles of
Agreement will be submitted to the Secretary of State.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the amendment to the AAMPO's Articles of Agreement.
2. Do not approve the amendment to the AAMPO's Articles of Articles of Agreement.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This amendment to the AAMPO’s Articles of Agreement improves overall clarity, better defines the
roles and responsibilities of the AAMPO and its member agencies, simplifies the membership process
for the AAMPO, and modifies the financial support and staffing responsibilities to better match how the
AAMPO operates today. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City
Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as noted above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A - AAMPO Articles of Agreement.pdf
36
1
AMENDED AND SUBSTITUTED ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT
ARTICLE I – ESTABLISHMENT
The Ames Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (hereinafter referred to as “AAMPO”) is
hereby established and created to serve as the official Metropolitan Planning Organization of the
Ames urban area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
The purpose of the AAMPO shall be to carry out metropolitan transportation planning processes
and activities for its member agencies in accordance with procedures established by applicable
federal, state, and local law.
ARTICLE III – POWERS
Section 1: Pursuant to the provisions of Iowa Code Section 28E.4, the AAMPO shall have the
powers to carry out the purpose established in Article II.
Section 2: The AAMPO shall have the power to cooperate with, contract with, and accept and
expend funds from federal, state, and local agencies, public or semi-public entities, private
individuals, profit, and non-profit corporations, and all other legal entities for the purpose stated
in Article II.
Section 3: This Agreement shall not remove or otherwise limit the powers of the AAMPO’s
member agencies.
Section 4: The AAMPO, acting through the votes of its governing body, is solely responsible for
the official actions of the AAMPO. No member agency, AAMPO representative, committee of the
AAMPO, or staff member can act in the name of the AAMPO without duly delegated authority.
ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Membership in the AAMPO shall be open to all eligible governmental agencies located
wholly or partially within the AAMPO’s adopted metropolitan planning area.
Section 2: Membership of an agency in the AAMPO shall be contingent upon the acceptance of
these Articles of Agreement by the governing body or administration of the agency seeking
membership and inclusion of at least one representative on the Transportation Policy Committee
established in Article V.
37
2
Section 3: Member agencies may terminate their membership by filing written notice to the
AAMPO no later than March 1 of any year, to take effect on July 1 of the following calendar year
(sixteen (16) months minimum advance notice).
ARTICLE V – REPRESENTATION
38
3
ARTICLE VI – FINANCES AND STAFFING
Section 1: The Transportation Policy Committee shall approve a budget for each fiscal year
annually through the AAMPO’s Transportation Planning Work Program.
Section 2: The City of Ames shall be the primary fiscal sponsor for the AAMPO. Other member
agencies may annually provide additional support to the AAMPO as deemed appropriate.
Section 3: All staff responsibilities, services, and duties to be performed by the AAMPO shall be
performed by employees of the City of Ames and Ames Transit Agency. The City of Ames shall
provide to the AAMPO the services typically performed by an Executive Director and
Transportation Planner. The Ames Transit Agency shall provide to the AAMPO the services
typically performed by a Transit Planner. Member agencies may provide additional staffing and
services to the AAMPO as needed.
Section 4: The City of Ames shall provide accounting services and an accounting system for the
AAMPO’s finances.
ARTICLE VII – TERMINATION
Section 1: This Agreement and the AAMPO may be terminated upon an affirmative vote of the
Transportation Policy Committee.
Section 2: Upon termination of this Agreement and the AAMPO, should that occur, any assets and
liabilities shall be distributed to or liquidated by the member agencies in proportion to their
respective fiscal contribution to the AAMPO during the previous five completed fiscal years.
ARTICLE VIII – AMENDMENTS
Section 1: These Articles of Agreement may be amended upon an affirmative vote of the
Transportation Policy Committee.
Section 2: All member agencies shall enact a measure of approval of any amendments to these
Articles of Agreement or shall forfeit their membership in the AAMPO. Member agencies shall
be granted sixty (60) calendar days from the approval of amendments to these Articles of
Agreement by the Transportation Policy Committee to provide the AAMPO their measure of
approval.
ARTICLE IX – APPROVAL AND DURATION
Section 1: Member agencies shall execute this agreement by enacting a measure of approval.
Section 2: This Agreement shall be of perpetual duration except that it may be terminated in the
manner described in Article VII or amended in the manner described in Article VIII.
39
ITEM #:11
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:ADMIN
SUBJECT:RESOLUTION APPROVING THE AGREEMENT EXTENSION WITH ISU
COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING CLASS REGARDING
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
One of the City Council’s goals was to develop, test, and evaluate strategies to improve community
engagement, particularly as it relates to underrepresented groups in the community. To respond to this
goal, the City Council approved a contract with ISU for Dr. Alenka Poplin and her Community &
Regional Planning students to test the "Play Ames" concept as a means to effectively obtain input
regarding important issues to the City.
Phase I
The major task was for Dr. Alenka Poplin and her Community and Regional Planning classe(s) at ISU
to host a “Play Ames” festival at identified central locations throughout the city. This assignment was
completed in the fall of 2021, and a report was presented to the City Council. (See Attachment 1)
Phase 2 A&B
After completing this assignment, Dr. Poplin agreed to build upon this initial this research with a
second phase. This time, rather than identifying central locations and expect the underrepresented
groups to come and participate in playful engagement activities, a mobile pop-up van staffed by ISU
students would: A) go to underrepresented groups in their neighborhoods, as identified through the
Census, and B) go to facilities of trusted entities, such as faith-based organizations. In this way it was
hoped that a comparison could be made in regards to the effectiveness of all three approaches.
In addition, this second phase of their research was to identify leaders and influencers and to develop
strategies to establish a network the City can turn to for input from underrepresented groups. This task
was to be accomplished through the distribution of a Rational Survey.
In August, 2022 the City Council approved a contract in the amount of $10,000 for these
additional two research phases. In the fall of that year, Phase 2A with its five pop-up events were
accomplished. Attachment 2 reflects the report highlighting this experience.
The class then moved on to test the effectiveness of going directly to faith-based entities.
Unfortunately, they were only able to convince one entity, the Korean church, to host/sponsor an
event. While Phase 2B of their research was accomplished, it was hoped that a graduate student(s)
would write the final report for this phase, but apparently no one volunteered. Therefore, Dr.
Poplin will have to complete the write-up on this phase. As a result, the following amendment to
their contract must be approved to allow ISU to draw down the remaining $3,362 of the $10,000
contract. (See Attachment 3)
ALTERNATIVES:
40
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the attached amendment to the Design Outreach Studio Sponsored Project agreement
allowing the remainder of the original contract, $3,362 to be drawn down to pay for Dr. Poplin’s
time to complete the Phase 2B report and extending the contract performance date to August 31,
2024.
2. Not approve the amendment to the Design Outreach Studio Sponsored Project agreement and,
therefore, not receive a final report for the Phase 2B experience and the Rational Survey results.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
In accordance with the City Council’s goal to improve community engagement efforts, especially with
the underrepresented groups in the city, research was performed by ISU Community and Regional
Planning students on three phases studying an active play concept. In order to complete the third phase
of this research with a final report, the existing agreement with ISU must be modified.
While the total contract amount will not be modified, the amendment will allow the remainder of
the original contract, $3,362 to be drawn down to pay for Dr. Poplin’s time to complete the Phase
2B report and extend the contract performance date to August 31, 2024. Therefore, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative #1.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment 1.pdf
Attachment 2.pdf
Attachment 3.pdf
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1st community engagement festival in Ames, Iowa
September 25, 2021
FINAL REPORT
Course: CRP 455/555 Smart and Sustainable Cities, Fall 2021
Participating students: Shiva Afshari, Jacob Bolten, Max Gula, Jake Hall, Hailey Holder, Zachary
Huggins, Thomas Kosacz, Anna Mullen, Robert Pechman, Marco Perla, Brock Radke, Emily Rizvic,
Andrew Snyder, Jeev Sodhi, Kaleb Stevens, Madison Stolen, Daunte Thompson, Spencer
Thompson, Timothy Tobin, Sarah Walker, Noah Watson, Eli Wilson, Amber Wittrock, Benjamin
Woeber, and Nicole Yi Wen Yap.
Team leaders: Stella Schroeder, Natalie M. Jacobson, Fatema Nourin, Vishnu Priya Sairamesh
Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alenka Poplin
Funding: City of Ames and Community and Regional Planning Department Collaborative
Interdisciplinary Fund, College of Design, Iowa State University
Item No. 21
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Dear readers,
It is our pleasure to be able to present this report to you. It summarizes our experience organizing
the first community engagement festival Play Ames: Imagine your City. The festival was organized
on September 25, 2021 in the City of Ames. It was the result of the collaboration between the City
of Ames and the Community and Regional Planning Department, College of Design at Iowa State
University. In January 2020, the City of Ames and Iowa State University agreed on a collaboration
which was summarized in the document titled Request for Assistance (RFA). The City of Ames is
represented by Steve Schainker, City Manager, and Dr. Gloria Betcher, City Counselor. The
Community and Regional Planning Department (CRP), Iowa State University (ISU) is represented by
Dr. Alenka Poplin. Play Ames: Imagine your City community festival was developed as an idea based
on the work accomplished by the previous classes:
• Spring 2020, DSN564 Interdisciplinary Option Studio. Report: Sustainable Mobility for Smart
Cities: Studies of Ames, Iowa
• Fall 2020, CRP532/432 Community Planning Studio. Report: Engaging Residents in Urban
Planning: Focus on Ames, Iowa
The main ideas of the festival were to:
• Create a series of playful learning engagement methods and techniques to engage residents
and that may engage underrepresented and marginalized communities
• Bring engagement into the neighborhoods
• Evaluate the implemented engagement methods and techniques
The festival was organized at four different locations in the City of Ames. For each of these locations
a student team leader was responsible for the generation of ideas, organization and implementation
of the engagement activities. They worked closely together with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alenka Poplin, ISU
instructor. The team leaders for the respective locations were:
• Reliable street: Stella Schroeder, a PhD candidate and specialist in place-making at the PhD
candidate at University del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile
• Franklin park: Vishnu Priya Sairamesh (graduate student). Sensory urbanism as an
engagement method
• East 7th Street: Fatema Nourin (graduate student). Engaging residents with spatial thinking
and mapping
• 5th Street and Burnett: Natalie M. Jacobson (undergraduate student). Engaging residents
with creative painting and learning about painting techniques
This festival would not have been possible without their dedication, hard work, inspiration and
positive spirit! Thank you to all!
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An event like that cannot be organized without an amazing support from many people who we thank
for their dedicated work, inspiration, generation of ideas, and financial support. The students
enrolled in the Fall 2021 CRP455/555 course Smart and Sustainable Cities were amazing. All thanks
goes to them for the excellent implementation of these ideas.
The inspiring students that significantly contributed to the success of the festival were: Shiva
Afshari, Jacob Bolten, Max Gula, Jake Hall, Hailey Holder, Zachary Huggins, Thomas Kosacz, Anna
Mullen, Robert Pechman, Marco Perla, Brock Radke, Emily Rizvic, Andrew Snyder, Jeev Sodhi,
Kaleb Stevens, Madison Stolen, Daunte Thompson, Spencer Thompson, Timothy Tobin, Sarah
Walker, Noah Watson, Eli Wilson, Amber Wittrock, Benjamin Woeber, and Nicole Yi Wen Yap.
Climate Change Action Theater and ISU FLEx Forward Learning Experience mobile STEM program
were amazing collaborators. Thank you to Vivian M. Cook for her passion for climate change and
theater and to Peter Evans and Yamille X. Perez for their dedication to virtual reality, STEM
education and women in science.
Special thanks go to the students engaged in the CRP Undergraduate Club including Joshua
Stephens, Michael Blank, Matthew Smith, and Christopher Craig. Their help was essential for the
success of the festival. Two additional wonderful and very helpful volunteers at the festival were
two students enrolled in the CRP251 Fundamentals of GIS, Keegan Haines and Imran Maszeri. Thank
you to Maria Freeman for the language improvements of this text. ISU Alumni, Kishor Kumar Sridhar,
contributed great pictures – thank you!
Thank you also to Prof. Dr. Francis Owusu for his continuing support. With his help, the festival was
funded by the CRP Collaborative Interdisciplinary Fund which combined with the funds from our
RFA provided by the City of Ames made this festival possible.
Our immense thanks go to the representatives of the City of Ames. Steve Schainker, the city
manager, and Dr. Gloria Betcher, city councilor, were our amazing collaborators and were very
inspiring and supportive. They provided the needed information regarding the city and its needs
and regularly met with us to provide the information and support needed for the success of this
project! Thank you also to the mayor of Ames, John Haila, for his enthusiasm about the project and
genuine interest in its success.
Lastly, thank you to the residents – end specially to the kids - of the City of Ames for your courage
to participate and your interest in sharing your experience, visions, and ideas with us. You were our
inspiration! Thank you for the opportunity!
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alenka Poplin
Community and Regional Planning Department
Iowa State University
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary 6
1. Play Ames: Imagine your City festival | Locations and Activities 12
1.1. Location 1: Reliable Street 12
Guerrilla gardens. Creating green cities 13
Origami. Wishes and ideas for your city 15
Urban planning board games. Playful learning 17
Highlights and recommendations 19
1.2. Location 2: Franklin Park 23
Breathing Game. Sense the city, sense yourself 24
Barefoot Path. Sensory exploration 27
Climate Change Action Theater 27
Highlights and recommendations 30
1.3. Location 3: East 7 th Street 34
Digital mapping. Benches 35
Paper mapping. Unsafe places 39
Pop-Up Van. Virtual reality 42
Highlights and recommendations 44
1.4. Location 4: 5 th Street and Burnett Avenue 46
Art Alley. Paint by number mural 46
Highlights and recommendations 49
2. Evaluation of the Implemented Engagement Methods 50
2.1. Photo Ethnography 52
2.2. Engagement Survey: Methodology 66
2.3. Engagement Survey: Results 68
2.4. Kids-Friendly Survey 77
2.5. Highlights of the Festival as Perceived by the Participants 78
2.6. Demographics of the Participants 79
2.7. Conclusions and Recommendations 81
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3. Lessons Learned 82
3.1. Engagement activities 82
3.2. Engaging underrepresented/marginalized residents 87
3.3. Selected locations 88
3.4. Children and families 90
3.5. Involving city officials and urban planners 91
3.6. Advertising 92
3.7. Critical reflection 93
4. Visions for the Future 94
4.1. Mobile pop-up van community engagement festival 94
4.2. Topical festivals 94
4.3. Families, kids and students friendly Ames 95
4.4. Students for the city and with the city 95
4.5. An organization and a budget 95
4.6. Strategic plan for a successful engagement 96
5. Conclusions 96
Appendixes
Appendix A: Advertising Materials 99
Appendix B: Example of the Engagement Survey 100
Appendix C: Example of the Kids-Friendly Survey 102
Appendix D: Barefoot Path Questionnaire 103
Appendix E : Example of Instructions: Breathing Game 105
PS: All pictures included in this report were taken by ISU students. They were taken at Play Ames: Imagine
community engagement festival. The pictures should not be shared or reproduced. They can only be used for
the internal report and cannot be published in any other publication without the participants’ consent.
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COLLABORATION: THE CITY OF AMES AND IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY (ISU)
In January 2020 the City of Ames and Iowa State University agreed on a collaboration which was
summarized in the document titled Request for Assistance (RFA) as follows: “describes a mutually
beneficial relationship between the City of Ames and classes taught by the Iowa State University
Department of Community and Regional Planning and the College of Design. The circumstances of
the RFA will enable the City of Ames to enhance its community engagement strategies to better
solicit the involvement of residents while the students and faculty of the College of Design
participate in a living lab experience in the City of Ames that will enhance learning and research
opportunities.” The City of Ames is represented by Steve Schainker, City Manager, and Dr. Gloria
Betcher, City Counselor. Iowa State University is represented by Dr. Alenka Poplin.
The main focus of this collaboration is on developing, implementing, testing and evaluating
community engagement methods, strategies, and technologies. The main goals of this collaboration
can be summarized as follows:
• Explore methods, strategies, and technologies of engagement with the community
• Focus on underrepresented and marginalized groups
• Develop novel methods, strategies, and technologies of community engagement
• Test and evaluate methods, strategies, and technologies of engagement
• Give feedback to the City of Ames about successful engagement methods,
strategies, and technologies
The work accomplished so far in two previous ISU studio courses was summarized in the following
reports shared with the City of Ames:
• Spring 2020, DSN564 Interdisciplinary Option Studio. Report titled: Sustainable Mobility for
Smart Cities: Studies of Ames, Iowa
• Fall 2020, CRP532/432 Community Planning Studio. Report titled: Engaging Residents in
Urban Planning: Focus on Ames, Iowa
The work planned for the Fall 2021 semester was accomplished within the CRP 455/555 Smart
Cities course and three additional Independent Studies. The three Independent Studies were
completed by the following students in Community and Regional Planning:
• Natalie M. Jacobson (undergraduate). Engaging residents with creative painting and learning
about painting techniques
• Fatema Nourin (graduate). Engaging residents with spatial thinking and mapping
• Vishnu Priya Sairamesh (graduate). Engaging residents with sensory urbanism and sensory
path methods
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Additionally, Stella Schroeder, a PhD candidate and specialist in place-making at the PhD candidate
at University del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile joined the team in the phases of project preparation and
implementation.
OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The main objectives were to:
• Develop engagement methods, strategies, and technologies which may attract and engage
underrepresented or marginalized communities to participate in the discussions about their
city and urban planning activities
• Test the developed and implemented engagement methods, strategies, and technologies in
the selected neighborhoods
• Develop criteria for the evaluation of the implemented engagement methods, strategies,
and technologies
• Evaluate the engagement methods in order to provide feedback to the City of Ames about
the most promising and successful engagement methods, strategies, and technologies they
can use in the future
• Target neighborhoods specifically with underrepresented or marginalized groups of
residents. In the previous work these groups were identified as follows:
LGBTQ, Senior citizens, Racial minorities, Cultural minorities, Gamblers,
Substance abusers, Youth, Kids, Persons living in poverty, Previously incarcerated
people, People with disabilities, Rural communities, Homeless, College students,
Renters, Domestic abuse survivors, and Indigenous
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research concentrates around three main research questions:
• What is the most adequate method, strategy, and/or technology for engaging
underrepresented or marginalized residents in urban planning?
• How well are the playful engagement methods, strategies, and technologies accepted by the
residents? Do they feel attracted to participate? Who participates? For how long? Which
activities are the most interesting for the residents?
• How can the implemented engagement methods, strategies, and technologies be
evaluated? According to what criteria? How can success be defined and measured? Can
technologies, such as Photovoice, be used as an evaluation tool?
INNOVATION IN THE SUGGESTED APPROACH
The main idea is to engage residents in a playful way following the idea suggested by Poplin (2012)
in her journal publication titled Playful Public Participation. The engagement strategies suggested
for the Play Ames community engagement festival aim to bring joy, fun, and enjoyment to the
residents. Through the playfulness, trust and connections are established, and one can also talk and
discuss more serious topics after or during the playful activities which are designed to engage all
residents. We suggest organizing a festival to implement and test a set of engagement methods,
strategies, and technologies at the selected locations in the City of Ames. An important component
in all the activities is playful learning.
PLAN FOR THE FALL SEMESTER 2021 | PLAY AMES: IMAGINE YOUR CITY FESTIVAL
The main idea for the Fall 2021 semester was to organize a city festival on September 25, 2021 titled
Play Ames: Imagine your City. The festival targeted underrepresented and marginalized
populations in the City of Ames. It concentrated on a set of experimental activities at four selected
locations. The locations and planned experiments are listed below and described in more detail
within this document.
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IMPLEMENTED PLAYFUL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES WITH LEARNING COMPONENTS
Location 1: RELIABLE STREET
Guerilla gardens. Creating green cities
->Learn about gardening, seeds, plants, and perennials
Origami. Wishes and ideas for your city
-> Learn about engagement, planning, and the city
-> Share visions for further development of the city
Urban planning board games. Playful learning
-> Learn about urban planning
Location 2: FRANKLIN PARK
Breathing game. Sense the city, sense yourself
-> Learn how to breath and learn about yoga
-> Learn about meditations and expressing emotions
Barefoot path. Sensory exploration
-> Learn about different senses
-> Experiment with senses
Supporting activities: Yoga program, Climate Change Action Theater
Yoga. Practice mindfulness
-> Learn about meditation, breathing
-> Learn about basic yoga poses
Location 3: EAST 7TH STREET
Digital mapping. Benches
-> Learn about scale and resolution
-> Learn how to map with mobile devices
-> Learn how to think spatially
Paper mapping. Unsafe places
-> Learn about maps and how to map
-> Map places that evoke images, memories and emotions
Supporting activities: Pop-up van with virtual reality
Pop-Up van. Virtual reality
-> Learn about novel technologies
Location 4: 5th STREET AND BURNETT AVENUE
Art Alley. Paint by number mural
-> Learn about colors and painting
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Smart City talks. City officials and urban planners were present at the first three locations which
targeted underrepresented and marginalized populations. Residents were able to talk with them,
ask questions, communicate with them, get to know them and express their wishes for future
changes in the city.
SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION RESULTS
An important goal of the festival and the planned experiments was to test the implemented
engagement methods, strategies, and technologies. Two amin evaluation methods were developed
for this purpose: Photo ethnography, Engagement survey. Additionally, a Kids-friendly survey was
added to gain some responses from the kids. They were applied across all engagement methods,
strategies, and technologies. The main idea was to apply the same evaluation methods to all
engagement activities.
This report summarizes the main results gained by organizing Play Ames: Imagine your City, the first
community engagement festival in Ames. Below is a very short summary of the experience.
The key-findings:
• The festival brought positive atmosphere, engagement, and playful learning opportunities
to the residents
• Residents that participated enjoyed the engagement activities
• The most successful engagement activities were activities that were creative and enabled
the participants to see the results of their creation: painting mural, painting stones, and
origami
• Experiential activities were also very successful as they enabled participants to gain new
experiences: barefoot path, paper-mapping, digital-mapping, Spot-the-Differences game,
and yoga
• The locations that were smaller, and locations placed into the neighborhood (rather than
into the “outskirts”), attracted more underrepresented and marginalized communities to
join the festival
• Neighborhoods we visited more often in person before the festival, and in which we invited
the resident to join us at the festival in person, attracted more local resident
• The ISU students felt more integrated with the city, gained lots of new knowledge, and were
fully present at the festival
ORGANIZED IN COLLABORATION OF
• City of Ames
• Community and Regional Planning Department, College of Design, Iowa State University
• Community Engagement Living Lab
Guests and collaborating partners: Climate Change Action Theater, ISU extension STEM program
FLEX Forward Learning Experience, and Yoga teacher Michelle Flattery
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BUDGET
Dr. Poplin acquired $5,000 from the CRP Collaborative Interdisciplinary Fund. There was also
approximately $1,000 left over from the agreement (RFA) with the City of Ames. This money was
spent on the visit of Stella Schroeder and the materials needed for Play Ames: Imagine your City
festival.
ADVERTISING
Advertising was very important. We created a website, a dedicated Facebook and Instagram page,
print flyers, announcements in Iowa State Daily about our activities, and organized festival T-Shirts
and stickers. The poster below was created by Stella Schroeder.
Please check out our new website at: https://www.communityengagementll.net/
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Four different locations in the City of Ames were selected for Play Ames: Imagine your City, the first
community engagement festival in Ames. Several engagement activities were implemented, tested,
and evaluated at each of the selected locations. They are described more in detail in the rest of this
document. The four selected locations were: Reliable Street, Franklin Park, East 7th Street and
Downtown Ames.
1.1. Location 1: RELIABLE STREET
Led by Stella Schroeder, PhD candidate at University del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile
Email: stella.schroeder@gmx.de
Engagement activities and students involved:
• Guerilla gardens (Jacob Bolten, Amber Wittrock)
• Origami (Madison Stolen and Nicole Yi Wen Yap)
• Urban planning games (Zachary Huggins and Brock Radke)
Evaluation:
• Photo ethnography, Engagement survey, Kids-friendly survey
Present at the site:
• City officials and urban planners
1. PLAY AMES: IMAGINE YOUR CITY | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FESTIVAL
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OBJECTIVE
Guerrilla gardens aim to green up drab spaces in local environment, engaging neighbors
Heightening the
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
Location: Reliable Street, Lockwood Café. Part of the sidewalk of the café was
garden area. The goal was to improve the sidewalk and the existing green area around
WHAT
Urban gardening with native and winter-resistant plants. Activity included explanation on
GUERILLA GARDENS. CREATING GREEN CITIES
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HOW
A small area for the garden activity was prepared and resident could participate in planting bulbs
g were daffodils and crocuses. The activity was
of all ages to take part.
s.
A second activity was connected to the gardening. This activity focused
t
s to indicate the bulb the
LEARNING COMPONENT
Residents learned about plants, urban planning, green spaces, and planting in general
hey could adopt a plant which encouraged them to take care of the plant after the activity. It wa
residents share a certain space of the garden.
ake them feel like part of the city and to take responsibility for the urban green spaces. A
ve material was provided to inform people about local plants.
TIME NEEDED
The preparation time took about four hours. We had to till
so the ground was prepared for planting during the festival.
PREPARATION
Included selection of the urban gardening area and preparation of the area, o
d plants, design of the instructions, and printing information with
PERMISSIONS
No permission on the past of the city was needed. Coordinated
lanting on their property.
MATERIAL
• Table and small plates
• Bulbs and clay
• Water
• Gardening tools
• Stones, colors, and brushes
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
City officials and urban planners were present on the site during the duration of this activity.
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information table, a desk with maps,
city officials and urban planners. It can also be combined with a
residents feel positive emotions, places they like in Ames
to visit more often, and what the characteristics of such places are.
OBJECTIVE
Origami aims to engage neighbors and the residents of Ames by expressing the
implementation of these changes for the city. Increases sensitivity
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
Location: Reliable Street, Lockwood Café. An area was needed for a
ORIGAMI. WISHES AND IDEAS FOR THE CITY
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WHAT
The residents contributed their ideas about the City of Ames. These ideas were written on the
colored papers and folded into an origami. Four folded papers formed an origami flower that was
then placed in the planted garden. They created a garden of dreams, visions and ideas that can later
be given to the city officials and urban planners.
HOW
Collection of ideas: A set of three questions were selected, each using paper in a different color
• What is your favorite place within the city?
• What can be improved in the city?
• What is your vision for the city of Ames?
Origami sidewalk of dreams. Through this
re folded into paper flowers. The installation of a colorful paper flower garden
LEARNING COMPONENT
Residents learned about creativity, urban planning, and could reflect upon their city. In
participants, they could learn about their collective experience. They
, and how
s to involve everyone – children, adolescents, and adults – in a collective reflection
opportunities and possibilities in the City of Ames.
TIME NEEDED
Time needed for task (write idea and fold origami): 10 minutes.
PREPARATION
• Coordinated with Lockwood café and identification of local institutions.
• Prepared origami exercise
• Learned about origami (shapes)
• Printed colored paper with different themes
PERMISSIONS
We got all the needed permissions needed by Lockwood Café.
MATERIAL
• Paper (120g) different colors
• Pens and markers
• Wooden sticks
• Tape, glue, tables and chairs
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COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
City officials and urban planners were present on the site during the duration of this activity.
: City officials and urban planners may organize sessions titled
” City planners from the City of Ames can be part of the origami creation process
residents, introduce themselves to them,
city and its developments.
also engages in a
displays.
OBJECTIVE
Urban planning games can bring urban planning and development challenges together in a fun
interactive way.
and get to know one another. Playing urban planning games can teach them about
.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
Area at Lockwood Café with tables and chairs. The wooden structure combined with a table
URBAN PLANNING BORAD GAMES. PLAYFUL LEARNING
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WHAT
People were invited to use the board games and play together.
assisted and explained the rules of the games. Participants were able to gather
large groups without a time limit.
TIME NEEDED
Each board game has a duration of around 45-60 minutes.
COMMENTS
The team leaders had to learn how to play the game. They tested the game play and the way
ts while playing. Outside spaces are not
n the future it would be better
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by Stella Schroeder
The engagement activities planned at Reliable Street worked well together and complemented each
other. There was a great atmosphere created by having these activities combined at the
site. Residents of all age groups participated.
Stone painting was a definite highlight. The participants liked seeing the immediate results. Kids and
adults painted rocks and put them into the garden close to their bulbs. Residents got engaged very
quickly, it was an easy activity, and it was easy to quickly see results. Similarly, the colorful flowers
of the origami activity had a nice effect in the garden. Participants enjoyed the fact that their ideas
will be given to the city after the festival.
Because of the autumn season, bulbs were used and were not visible immediately. Fall is not the
best season for participatory and community engaged gardening. The ground needs to be well
prepared otherwise planting is very hard. We recommend preparing a choice of different flowers
and trees. It is important have a good mix, and that people can see the immediate results of their
community engagement activity.
Regarding origami, on the one hand, the questions about favorite places in the city were easily
answered by everybody. On the other hand, kids usually do not have specific ideas about what to
change or visions for future developments of the city. More adults responded to these two
questions. For future activities, we recommend choosing origami figures that can be created with
only one paper, instead of four. The questions on the origami papers should be more
concretely related to what the residents would like to change in their city.
We also learned an important lesson about playing board games outside. The activity of playing
board games seems to be too long for the participants as there is a substantial time that needs to
be invested when learning how to play the game. It does not seem adequate for an outdoor
community engagement festival. Participants prefer shorter activities and seeing immediate results
of their creativity.
We also highly recommend involving the local residents before the festival to strengthen their
interest in the activities. It is important to have a very visible location for the activities. The best
option would be to choose locations inside the neighborhood, or in a park, or a street that are
located inside the targeted neighborhood.
Highlights
Gardening • Stone painting was the highlight. The people like to see immediate results.
• Kids and adults painted rocks and put them into the garden close to their
bulbs.
Origami • Have flowers with four leaves and put them into the garden. Participants
enjoyed the fact that their ideas will be given to the city after the festival.
RELIABLE STREET: HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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• Colorful flowers had a nice effect in the garden. Good color choices
were used (yellow, red, and blue).
• Participants got engaged very quickly, it was an easy activity, easy to see
results.
• Activity for everybody, both kids and adults.
General • Activities Origami and Gardening complemented each other.
• Great atmosphere to have the activities together and not separated.
• Nice, cozy area, and quiet area. The
activities.
• Participants from all age groups.
Observations
Gardening • Bulbs are not visible immediately.
• Ground was very hard, not easy to plant. The activity needs to be well
prepared.
• Fall is not a good season for gardening.
Origami • Questions about favorite place in the city were easy for everybody to
answer.
• Kids did not have ideas about
more adults responded to these two questions.
• Not all kids knew how to write.
• The prepared description on how to create an origami flower did not work
well; it was better to explain how to fold the paper.
• 4 leaves are too many, people would like to see an immediate result.
• It was not easy to glue leaves together with a tape, another solution would
have been better.
• 4 leaves were needed for a flower, but only three questions and three
different paper colors were prepared.
Planning
board games
• Too long. People do not want to stay for such a long time and play a game.
They prefer shorter activities.
• Too windy, did not work well outside in the sun and wind.
General • Not a lot of interaction with neighborhood. The last row of houses faces
away from location and built a barrier between neighborhood and location
of the event.
• Few participants were from the neighborhood.
• Residents that participated came from other parts of the city or visited the
Café.
• The Café is not connected with the neighborhood; it is somewhat isolated
and offers activities that attract people who do not live in the area.
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• On the other side of the location is a railway track, building a barrier as well
(city ends).
• Short and quick activities work well.
• After 3:30pm, only few participants joined the festival. Lockwood café
closes at 3pm.
What could we do differently?
Gardening • Have different flowers and trees. It is important to have a good mix, so that
people can see the immediate results of their activities.
Origami • Flowers could be bigger. It would be great to have flowers which can be
folded with only one paper to see quick results.
• Bigger sticks and figure out a better way of piecing papers together and on
the stick.
• Questions on the origami papers could be more concrete; for example,
would residents would like to see changed?
Planning
board games
• Needs an area which is protected with shade and good furniture.
• Needs more advertising.
General • Always need a minimum of two leaders per activity. It’s important to work
as a group, not as separated activities.
• Have shade.
• Not depend on café or local businesses to attract participants.
• Be located more inside neighborhoods, at a more visible location.
• Instead of all
neighborhood.
Visions for the future
Gardening • Gardening is better in the spring.
• Seed Bombs: seed bombs can be prepared and people can “bomb” the city.
• Creation of community gardens that benefit the whole community. Fruit
trees can be included.
Origami • Installation of origami garden at night and put lights on.
• Different origamis and different questions.
• Have some of the origamis done before the event with the local community
that can help motivate neighbors to come to the event and works as
advertising.
Planning
board games
• Create more simple short games, games that do not take so long to play and
to learn.
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• More playful and more participatory games. Maybe a mapping activity or
games on the ground would be more successful.
General • Another location more integrated in the neighborhood could work better in
attracting more underrepresented and marginalized communities.
• An active and strong advertising of the planned activities before the festival
within the neighborhood
work very well. Think about going to local school or local sports clubs,
churches, or other organizations.
• Neighbors do not come to us; we have to go to their neighborhoods.
Activities in a more central and visible location aid in this endeavor.
• Organize a neighborhood-focused festivals and the focused neighborhoods
can change each year.
• Start coordinating with the community early on to understand their needs
and understand the people in the community.
• Festival for kids might work very well and can potentially bring lots of
parents and families to the festival.
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1.2. Location 2: FRANKLIN PARK
Led by Vishnu Priya Sairamesh, ISU Community and Regional Planning graduate student
Email: svpa@iastate.edu
Engagement activities and students involved:
• Breathing game (Anna Mullen, Marco Perla)
• Barefoot path (Eli Wilson, Jack Hall)
Supporting activities: Yoga program, Climate Change Theater Action
Evaluation:
• Photo ethnography, Engagement survey, Kids-friendly survey
Present at the site:
• City officials and urban planners
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OBJECTIVE
The objective was to explore the senses, the breathing, and
exercising different breathing techniques. Feeling the body. Different stops on the game path
encouraged participants to engage in a variety of activities.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
We needed a space for the game experience and a separate space for the yoga experience.
BREATHING GAME. SENSE THE CITY, SENSE YOURSELF
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Participants were encouraged to learn, practice, and implement deep breathing and explore its
effects on their bodies. The breathing game included some fun activities as well. The breathing
game was combined with yoga exercise and experiences. Yoga was led by the
Michelle Flatter. The program for yoga was as follows:
• 12:30 pm Body scan
• 1:00 pm Walking meditation
• 2:00 pm Mindfulness eating
• 2:30 pm Gratitude meditation
• 3:00 pm Kids meditation
HOW
The Breathing game was designed as a combination of 10 activities. Each activity encouraged the
participant to understand their Breathing pattern through an exercise, to connect their breathing
and the sense of self with the sense about the city. The activities were:
1. Sit, relax, and meditate
2. Jumping Jacks (increased the heartbeat)
3. Sitting or standing, the participant had to close their eyes and report what they heard
around them (encouraged the participant to sense what they don’t see but rather hear or
feel)
4. Spin Clockwise and Anti Clockwise, each 5 times
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sense of ‘balance’)
6. Go around the park and find materials that they could imprint on a piece of paper with
paint, they could
surroundings)
7. Write on a piece of paper what their favorite and least favorite place in Ames were
8. Showcasing a set of images of the city, participants were asked what they felt when they
saw a specific picture
9. Skipping or Blowing balloons (this is to again increase the heartbeat)
10. Finally there was a swing for kids and 1 for adults (this is for the participants to float, their
feet not touching the ground, where they can hear their own heartbeat because of the
exercise they performed previously)
LEARNING COMPONENT
This experiment was created to bring awareness of breathing, sensing the self and one’s
TIME NEEDED
20-30 minutes to complete the whole cycle.
materials or would like to paint more than one picture.
PREPARATION
We needed to design the activity, purchase materials, chose pictures to be displayed and get them
printed along with preparing the posters elaborately explaining the process, with images of each
PERMISSIONS
No specific permissions were needed.
MATERIAL
• Posters explaining each activity in the game
• Wooden Beam
• Paint, Brushes, Paper
• We need to select and print the pictures
• Board to pin up the pictures
• Sticky notes for people to write upon
• Swings, skipping rope
• Tables, chaires, beverages
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Vivian M Cook. Graduate student in CRP and Sustainable Agriculture coordinated the activities
organized by Climate Change Action Theater. They performed twice at the site and attracted great
audience. Vivian works as a member of The EcoTheatre Lab and the Ames Climate Action Team. She
is also a co-producer of Focal Theatre Lab and ISU’s One Day Plays, and volunteer for
The Community Academy.
Charissa Menefee, professor of English and theatre and the production’s director this year, cast and
ensemble of Iowa State students and alumni. During early rehearsals, the team reflected on skills,
stories and experiences they can contribute to the international Climate Change Theater Action
inciative and how to engage the community in contributing those same types of resources to local
climate action planning.
OBJECTIVE
Sensory Urbanism calls for greater exposure of residents to their senses. They can observe how
the city looks and experience how it feels, smells, and sounds. In the end, sensory urbanism is
about delving deeper into what makes up a “city's texture.”
increasingly similar but feel different as the residents experience them by walking, cycling, or
driving through them. In this experiment, the residents were asked to walk through a barefoot
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
City officials and urban planners were present at the location. The mayor of the City of Ames
visited our location as well.
BAREFOOT PATH. SENSORY EXPLORATIONS
CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION THEATER
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sense - pictures, pebbles, water of varied temperatures, grass, pavement, etc. along with activities
to be done separately or together with other participants.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
A neighborhood with underserved or marginalized community populations.
WHAT
In this activity, residents were involved through the use of a sensory experiment of Touch. They
were instructed to walk on a set of pre-selected materials and then asked a series of questions to
help them identify the materials and recall memories associated with them.
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HOW
We first evaluated and selected the materials that symbolized various textures of the city we
encounter on a daily basis. They ranged from Industrial and Playful (bubble wrap) to Construction
(brick, rubber mulch), Farmland (hay, grass), Nature (sand, a combination of pebble and water),
and a box of Playful material for the conclusion (Orbeez/water beads).
LEARNING COMPONENT
The barefoot path concentrated on exploring experiences in a city through many different senses.
We asked questions related to the memories connected with the materials and the feelings about
the experienced materials. The learning component was related to learning more about the
perception of the city by the participants and also about the materials used and their likability.
We also asked the participants about their experience in the City of Ames, what they like about
Ames, and what they would like to be improved.
TIME NEEDED
Time taken per individual was roughly 10 - 20 min.
PREPARATION
Selection of the materials and design of the order of the materials. Purchase of the Barefoot path
materials. Preparation of the barefoot path at the site. Set up the site with tables, chairs, and
beverages.
PERMISSIONS
No city permissions were needed.
MATERIAL
• Bubble Wrap
• Stone Brick
• Rubber Mulch
• Hay
• Sand
• Pebble and water
• Orbeez
• Wet towels
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
The activities can be used to inform people of the various public services within the city. To
educate and attain views on how the city could be designed to be more efficient.
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by Vishnu Priya Sairamesh
Highlights
Barefoot path •
times.
• The transition of textures in the game worked well.
• There were many playful suggestions for varied textures that
people wanted to try out in the future.
Breathing game •
explored the park with different materials and were very excited
to make something colorful that they could take back home.
Talk with your city
planners
• There were 3 city officials at the site. They were very
approachable and helpful.
Yoga for all •
stretching, meditation, etc. Participants explained how refreshed
they felt after finishing with a session and many said they would
be happy to sit again for more if they had enough time.
Virtual Reality •
set up, it gave the chance for participants to explore the
technology.
Climate Change Action
Theatre
• Very educational and creative. The talented group did 3 sets of
performances. They talked about climate change and how we as
the public need to understand the importance of it and can act
upon it. A petition was requested to be signed by all interested in
the support of the climate action plan. During their break, they
also happily participated and explored the other activities.
Observations
Barefoot path •
much / as playful that they would do it again. There was more
excitement and suggestions from kids than from adult
participants. The majority of the participants enjoyed the Bubble
Wrap and Orbeez the most.
FRANKLIN PARK: HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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•
try the barefoot path.
Breathing game •
completely by 7/10 participants, others went directly to the
painting or the swing.
• Many enjoyed exploring the park, finding something
to sketch with paint on a piece of paper. Many suggested
their favorite place to be parks, which tells us how important
Franklin Park was for the community even though it was not
crowded most of the time.
• At times, it seemed that the game did not attract many
participants. The instructions were written on the posters. We
would need a few people being engaged in entertaining the
participants and showing them different postures. This would
attract more people to try the prepared exercise.
Talk with your city
planners
• I did not recognize if the people who visited benefitted from this.
This was an excellent idea to have them on site. But it felt like
there needed to be an icebreaker.
Yoga for all •
enjoy it. I got feedback saying how some participants feel content
after the session.
Virtual Reality •
the chance for participants to explore the technology.
• At times the station seemed to be empty. More energy needs to
be created around a small setting like that. Big posters or a more
entertaining approach so that the participants can see the benefit
of trying the equipment.
Climate Change Action
Theater
• I felt the theatre group or the public in general would have been
even more benefited if we were able to get more locals to
participate in the event.
What would you do differently?
Barefoot path •
interesting, I would probably redesign the activity, add more
playful textures that people can touch with their hands, that
could taste, etc.
• And have a board where people could use a sticky notes or draw
their vision for the space (in this case Franklin Park).
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Breathing game •
The painting, breathing game, and swing were all good and
people enjoyed it, but some skipped the questions regarding the
city. How can we improve the game such that people are more
aware of their breathing? Maybe having just yoga & painting
would have sufficed? This needs to be re-evaluating and testing
of these activities beforehand.
Talk with your city
planners
• Maybe request a set of city planners to walk around and merge
with the population while also asking them questions.
Yoga for all •
from this.
Virtual Reality •
people questions related to the future development of a space.
• Reaching out more to the locals and including the VR in
advertising, whether it was a small or large set up. It is important
to acknowledge the efforts of the people in charge and the
amenity.
Climate Change Action
Theater
• Advertise beforehand, reaching out and inviting people.
• Having a discussion or feedback on climate change
session.
Many local residents noticed the activities but were not aware that they were “welcome” to the
event. We were trying to meet with the local community leaders (if any) and people in the
community personally. Creating awareness of the initiative beforehand may help local residents
understand and participate more.
Visions for the future
Barefoot path •
well as how these ideas interact and are beneficial.
• Using the experiment to raise awareness while also asking
participants questions about the city.
Breathing game •
• The breathing game and Yoga for all was supposed to make
people more aware of their breathing patterns of self and the
relation of breathing to a space.
Talk with your city
planners
• It is important to understand and concentrate on one major goal.
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•
development of a space (Franklin Park). We could have 8-10
people gather and have a discussion together.
Yoga for all •
• Creating a good habit through such engagement strategies would
be truly fruitful for the public and for organizations that teach or
represent the same habits.
Virtual Reality •
questions in people's minds regarding the future development of
the space and its relation to their lives.
Climate Change Action
Theater
• Creating awareness on climate change and the importance of
shifting to sustainable and renewable strategies in daily life – solar
roofs, vegetable gardens at home, etc.
• Awareness on city level and house level of climate problems and
possible solutions would be very educational and useful. Having a
small discussion session with the city officials regarding the
Climate Action Plan of the city would also be good.
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1.3. Location 3: EAST 7TH STREET
Led by Fatema Nourin, ISU Community and Regional Planning Graduate Student
Email: fnourin@iastate.edu
Engagement activities and students involved:
• Digital mapping of benches (Timothy Tobin and Jimmy Pechman)
• Paper-mapping of unsafe places (Thomas Kosacz and Max Gula)
Collaborators: ISU Pop-up van with Virtual Reality equipment
Evaluation:
• Photo ethnography, Engagement survey, Kids-friendly survey
Present at the site:
• City officials and urban planners
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OBJECTIVE
The main objective was to engage the residents of East 7th Street to
information systems, the possibility to use an online application for data collection, and to learn
how to map benches through digital mapping. Additionally, the objective was to explore spatial
representations.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
The dedicated location is at East 7th Street, Ames, Iowa. Specifically, we were
intersection of the East 7th Street and Carrol Street to be visible to the residents.
It is important to be seen by the residents so that it wa
community. All the space we needed for the activity was one table, where we created our mini
DIGITAL MAPPING. BENCHES
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needed a few chairs for some of our elderly participants.
WHAT
We used a table as a “prep station” where we initiated the paper mapping task with the Spot-the-
Differences game. We used three versions of the game: 1. different representation of the same
location, 2. different scales for the same area, and 3. different layers. We showed the pictures as
part of the preparation for the digital mapping activity and
representation, scale, and accuracy. In the last picture, showing two layers vs. one layer
discussed that in the next step, we are going to create a layer of benches. Then, we passed around
the QR code used to access the digital mapping tool. We provided a short demonstration about
how to deal with the mapping component and the questionnaire component. The participants
then walked to the bench, mapped the location into the digital map and inserted the attributes
into their mobile device. At the end as a reward for the completion of the task, we offered candies,
fruits, balloons, and inflatable globes to the participants, depending on the age of the participant.
HOW
1. Explaining spatial scale: We prepared two paper maps. One with a scale of 1:100,
another with a scale of 1:10,000. The participants had the task to observe on which map they
could see more detail and why.
2. Explaining spatial accuracy: What is the meaning of accuracy and why it varies.
3. Teach them about ArcGIS Survey 123.
4. Teach them how to use ArcGIS Survey 123; how just one tap can demarcate a bench location
and how they can take a picture so that they can contribute to creating the inventory whenever
they have time.
5. Take them around the neighborhood to map the benches.
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LEARNING COMPONENT
In the Play Ames festival, the residents perceived the digital mapping as learning opportunity. So
the parents wanted their kids to participate and learn about scale and accuracy. We also observed
that some participants were intimidated by the learning component, so they explored the other
activities on the East 7th Street instead.
The participants knew their favorite places in the neighborhood, where they liked to spend time
with their friends and family, and where they think needs some improvements. They can use their
outdoor time by contributing to the neighborhood resource inventory through digital mapping.
TIME NEEDED
We conducted the activity on September 25th as an ongoing activity from 1:00 PM to 4:45 PM
instead of conducting the activity in cycles as the scale of the event was small. But for the future,
the recommended time would be about three hours at the duration of this activity at a festival.
Time needed for one cycle of the tasks (teaching about scale, accuracy and how to take pictures
of a bench): around 10 minutes, but if we walk a bit more around the neighborhood, it will take
longer. Also, it is recommended to conduct this activity with a small group of people instead of
conducting it with individuals for increased efficiency.
PREPARATION
Fatema Tuz Johra Nourin, Timothy Tobin, Robert Pechman put together six GIS maps as pictures
for the Spot-the-Differences game. The ArcGIS Survey123
participants could access it on their mobile devices. They were able to access it through the QR
code given to them. 100 copies of QR codes were printed and given to the participants. Also, the
graphical steps were printed in paper to be able to show them to the participants.
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PERMISSIONS
We needed the permission and help of the city of Ames to close the intersection for our
engagement activities.
MATERIAL
• Paper maps represented as the Spot-the-Differences game.
• Pen and paper for a tally of the participants.
• Smartphones, both ours’ and the participants’.
• QR codes to access the digital mapping tool.
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•
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
Digital mapping can help city planning in many ways:
• A festival can act as preparation to teach the residents how to participate in a digital
mapping activity. These residents can help the city to create inventory of roadside
resources of benches, poles etc.
• Electronic inventory can help to indicate which resources require maintenance.
• Updated inventory can help the help the city to plan ahead which resources to repair
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to collect the locations and descriptions of unsafe places; places at which the
residents do not feel safe. We concentrated on the City of Ames.
PAPER MAPPING. UNSAFE PLACES
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LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
The location identified for this activity was East 7th Street. We needed a table and some chairs for
this activity.
WHAT
The idea was to invite the residents to share their personal experiences with places in Ames. We
were particularly interested in places they consider unsafe. Additionally,
describe these places and also select the emotions they feel at these places from a list of emotions.
HOW
We used a big paper map covered with a transparent layer that allowed it
Additionally, there were paper questionnaires available to be filled out. Each questionnaire was
associated with a number and the same number was given to the selected unsafe places indicated
on the map. This data was then be inserted into a GIS database in order for the team to be able
to visualize the gathered results in a GIS map. The pictures above show the locations of unsafe
colors. We collected 46 places and intend to continue with the experiment in order for us to gather
some more data and be able to start noticing some patterns.
LEARNING COMPONENT
The residents learned how to use a paper map and how to navigate and search for places on a
paper map. They could also share their experience and learn about other residents’ experiences
with safety in the city in which they live. They learnt to orient and navigate in their imagination
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emotions and affects related to their selected unsafe places.
TIME NEEDED
The activity took about 30 minutes for the participant to engage with the paper map and fill out
the questionnaire.
PREPARATION
• Printed a paper map
• Bought a transparency and pens to write on it
• Designed a questionnaire
• Printed paper questionnaires
• Selected the location for the festival/activity
• Organized a desk and chairs
• Organized little giveaways for the participants
PERMISSIONS
The city had to allow us to organize this activity in the middle of an intersection.
MATERIAL
• Printed paper map
• Transparency and pens to write on it
• Printed questionnaires
• Pens and pencils
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
A city councilor was present at the site with a painted bike. She gave rides to the participants, and
it was fun and enjoyable. Several city officials and urban planners joined the site. Also, there was
a police officer/chief at the site. The topic of safety engaged many participants and residents of
the neighborhood, and it was nice to see them in a conversation with the police officer and city
officials. This is a good topic and may open up doors for collaboration, discussion and sharing. It is
important to everyone to feel safe and appreciated in their own city.
The activity can also encourage discussions about places the residents really like, things they really
like in the City of Ames and perhaps talk about the opposite; the issues and problems they see.
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OBJECTIVE
• Demonstrate the new, virtual reality technologies.
• Talk about planning and novel technologies.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
The initial location was at East 7th Street, Ames, Iowa. However, any location with a possibility to
park a van, enabling access to the van by the residents, would be appropriate.
WHAT
Flex Forward Learning Experience. FLEx
technology benefitting 3rd through 12th grade students and beyond in a 21st century paradigm.
Structured around STEM, design thinking, 21st Century skills, and University Constructs (4 C’s),
this environment extends distant educational offerings by delivering full-
virtual visualization, digital to real prototyping, circuit bending and visual programming.
Iowa State University design outreach program for Iowans, FLEx can vi
POP-UP VAN. VIRTUAL REALITY
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complement the learning environment and event.
HOW
By using the pop-
about virtual and augmented reality.
LEARNING COMPONENT
• Learn about novel virtual reality
• Test virtual reality equipment
• Optional: Play an online game
• Optional: Learn about urban planning
TIME NEEDED
Participants can stay as long as they wish, but should also be aware of other and give them the
opportunity to participate in the activity.
PREPARATION
Contacted Assist. Prof. Pete Evans (https://www.design.iastate.edu/faculty/pmevans/),
Coordinator for FLEx (Forward Learning Experience) – a mobile design & STEM outreach program.
PERMISSIONS
Permissions to park the van needed by the City of Ames.
MATERIAL
FLEx program opportunities:
• Interactive Virtual Reality
• 3D Printing
• Augmented Reality
• Immersive visualization with Oculus Rift
• Circuit Bending with Little Bits
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
Connect with mapping experience and talk about places in Ames. Combine with a questionnaire.
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by Fatema Nourin
Highlights
• Getting participants from the Eastwood apartments to attend. In person invitations were
effective.
• Getting participants from all age groups.
• Both younger and older participants were fascinated by the virtual reality.
• More younger participants participated in the digital mapping and the Spot-the-Differences
game.
• A major number of participants mentioned “Stange Road” as one of the dangerous paces for
biking.
• The giveaways - balloons, candies, fruits, inflatable globes - worked well as a reward for
participation.
Observations
• Some older people were intimidated by the “digital mapping,” so they let their younger
family members participate. They were perceiving digital mapping as a learning tool for their
younger family members.
• In general, people did not seem to be very interested in creating a data inventory of the
city and helping collect data.
• Generally, they were rather interested in knowing how they can be benefitted from this
activity in the future.
• People like to know that “we care“ about them rather than getting another task that they
should care for or about (for example, building a bench inventory).
• They perceived the paper mapping of “unsafe places” as a notion that we care about their
safety.
• Being on the street made us “seen” and approachable, which could be one of reasons for
better turnout at this location.
What would you do differently?
• I believe, instead of hosting events in 4 different parts of the city, the festival could have
benefitted if located in the same vicinity (at least in the nearby blocks) by the laissez-
faire effect.
EAST 7TH STREET: HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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• We got a suggestion from one of our participants that some fun transport like the man
pulled cart that the city of Ames provided (even paid), would be a fun way to transport
people from one activity booth to another activity booth.
• The 5-hour long activity was very tiring. I recommend preparing people in groups for
maximum 2-3 hour to be on the site.
• A large digital display (easily visible) of the live digital mapping (through a laptop or projector
or any digital displayer), would make the task less intimidating and more interesting and
inspiring for the participants.
Visions for the future
• Hosting this festival “yearly” as people like to use opportunities like this to express
their opinions about the city and where they want to see changes - for example, many
people mentioned that they feel unsafe on Stange Road.
• Each year, there could be a different location with a different theme.
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1.4. Location 4: 5th STREET AND BURNETT AVENUE
Led by Natalie M. Jacobson, ISU community and regional planning undergraduate student
Email: nmjake@iastate.edu
Engagement activities and students involved:
• Art Ally (Jeev Sodhi, Kaleb Stevens, Hailey Holder)
Supporting activities
• Local Artist Siricasso
Evaluation
• Photo ethnography, Engagement survey, Kids-friendly survey
OBJECTIVE
The main objective was to bring the residents together in a collaborative painting activity. This
location consisted of an interactive paint by number mural the residents of Ames filled in. The
usage of collaborative art in this setting gave insight to the unifying front
communities. This was an exercise in place making and the power of art to bring people of all ages
together in one space. This location also provided an educational exper
ART ALLEY. PAINT BY NUMBER MURAL
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of the paint colors.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
The location selected was in the downtown of the City of Ames on the east side of the buildings
on 5th Street and Burnett Ave. Since it was on private property, the business owner worked closely
with the team to strategize and alleviate any potential hazards of the working site. The building
owner gave us permission to design and execute the mural.
WHAT
The main idea was to establish an art alley concept for the City of Ames. Different locations around
the city can be given to artists students to organize collaborative paintings and engage residents
in this exciting and creative endeavor.
Inspiring examples of other cities:
• Rapid City: https://www.artalleyrc.com/
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•
museum
• South Dakota: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/art-alley
• San Francisco: https://www.sftravel.com/article/guide-san-francisco%E2%80%99s-
mission-district-murals
HOW
For the first experiment in Ames:
1. The base coat needed
numbering of the design in sharpie.
2. A color sheet was presented so participants knew which color corresponded with each number.
3. Participants were able to select the color of their choosing and a worker would fill their cup with
a small amount of paint.
4. Brushes and aprons were set out for participants to use.
LEARNING COMPONENT
By actively participating, the residents received hands on experience in painting a mural. When
they finished, they understood the process and skill level needed to paint and were able to feel
accomplished when they saw the finished product. During this time, students and artists were
available to answer questions and provide information about murals, paintings, color theory, and
different art styles.
TIME NEEDED
The time it takes to complete the mural depended on the number of participants
engagement in painting. It also depends on the size of the mural. We started the event at noon
and were finished with the majority of the painting by 2:30 pm. The finishing touches were then
applied and the mural was completed by 4:30 pm that same day.
PREPARATION
Included:
• Purchasing paint and equipment
• Securing mural location
• Priming the wall
• Preparing the outlining and numbering of the mural design
PERMISSIONS
Permission of the owner of the building was needed.
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COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
This time, city officials and urban planners were not present at the site throughout the activity.
They did stop by briefly to watch the process and see the final result.
Possible topics for the next time: Talk about beauty, colors, things they like and enjoy. What do
the residents like? Which places do they like? Why? Where do they like going in Ames? Where
would they never go? How can we, together, create an Art Alley in the City of Ames?
by Natalie Jacobson
Highlights
Following the day of the event, seeing everyone, regardless of age, smiling and participating in
painting the mural was honestly very fulfilling. We received a lot of compliments about how much
fun and how accessible the event was. By far my favorite comment that we got was “Thank you so
much for doing this. You made it very accessible and not intimidating to be a part of. You all were
so welcoming and engaging.” Which made every single obstacle my team and I had to work through
all worth it. At times, this project was stressful and had its bumps in the road; however, seeing my
team members being excited and really working towards making this event the best we possibly
could was a rewarding highlight all in its own.
Observations
• A great atmosphere, everybody seemed to be in a good mood, good music
• Very enjoyable collaborative activity
• Lots of participants from Farmers Market
o Handed out flyers during set up hours (11:00-12:00)
o Some didn’t even know and were just walking through to get to their cars
• Great place making and opportunity for conversations
o Some of the people did not want to participate but their friends did, yet even as they
were sitting there was always conversations being held
o Some with strangers who were sitting on the chairs nearby just watching the process
o Some were sitting with our team members
• The flow of participants seemed chaotic at times
• People were in and out in 15 minutes, so a short turnaround time
What would you do differently?
If I were to go back and do this project again, I would first take more time explaining to the students
what exactly it is we are doing and what we are trying to accomplish. I just jumped into the event
and planning because I assumed they had gotten a clear picture of the festival when that was not
5th STREET AND BURNETT AVE: HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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the case. Secondly, I would spend more time, overall, laying out logistics. Some things fell apart as
we got closer to the start and finish time and there was a lot of confusion on whose role was what.
Where does this go? How should we set this up/layout the event? Who is picking up what? When
are they going to be here to do so? When my team asked me these questions, I had no clue what to
say. So personally, having a better game plan and clear timeline is essential to a successful and well
put together event. With the timeline, I would also make sure that the marketed events can be
realistically implemented in the time frame, and if not voicing the time concerns and how that will
not fit into the scope of the project. Live music was a great idea; however, with no money to pay
the bands not many people were willing to come and play. On top of that we did not give them
enough notice as many bands and people like to have a month or so to prep and pull together a set
list before performing. Thirdly, having more activities at the site to enable participants to hang
around a little longer would be beneficial. Like I noted in my observations there was a
quick turnaround time and so while they were having good conversations.
Visions for the future
With the positive feedback we received, I think this has potential to be very useful in gathering
people for quick information checks. Participants did not hang around all that long, so having more
there for participants to do would increase time for conversations and civic engagement. Whether
that be live music, an open mic where residents can just walk up and showcase their talents, smaller
side crafts, or even more artists out there creating and showcasing their work, all would be very
beneficial to the overall turnout of the event. I would love to see this being done in other cities. I
feel it is a great way for the public to feel connected to their community. Residents drive by and
point out “hey I helped make that” and feel like they have made their mark on the city they call
home.
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Evaluation of the methods used is a fundamental part of this festival. The goal was to establish
evaluation methods that may help identify which engagement methods work for which activities,
locations tasks and residents. We decided to experiment with Photo ethnography and an
Engagement survey to get feedback about the engagement methods and their acceptance by the
residents of the City of Ames. Additionally, a kids-friendly survey was developed for the kids to be
able to express their preferences and share their experience with us.
• PHOTO ETNOGRAPHY
A research group of four students explored the method of taking pictures and studying them for the
purpose of engagement and involvement of the residents into the activities presented to them at
each location.
• ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
A research group of four students designed an engagement survey and surveyed participants at the
four locations. The survey consisted of a set of questions related to the likability and playfulness of
each of the engagement activities.
• KIDS-FRIENDLY SURVEY
Additionally, a kids-friendly survey was designed with the aim to ask kids about their preferences
and their experience of the engagement activities.
2. EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTED ENGAGEMENT METHODS
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By Ben Woeber, Andrew Snyder, Noah Watson, Sarah Walker
The main goal of our research was to better understand the demographics of the members of the
community who participated in the Play Ames community engagement festival. By taking pictures
of participants throughout the festival we were able to identify the demographics of those at the
different festival locations and those partaking in the various activities. We hope future community
engagement events in Ames can use our data to make more informed decisions about where sites
should be located throughout the city and which activities should take place to better attract a more
diverse segment of the population or targeted groups. To achieve our goal, we took photos of
community members participating in different activities throughout the event and developed
a spreadsheet with a set of categories participants would be divided into to see which categories
are the least or most representative of the overall group of participants in the festival.
The categories we divided participants into included their age range, gender, race, whether they
came to the event with family members, their level of engagement in the activities, which activity
they were participating in at the time of the photo, the type of apparel they are wearing such as
casual, dress up, or athletic wear, and if they interacted with the planner on site. Some of these
areas of evaluation allow for more confidence in the accuracy of the data than others. For example,
age can be difficult to gauge from a photo. To try to solve this problem age was divided
into broad categories but some degree of inaccuracy still exists. Other areas such as gender, race,
and apparel type are easier to be sure of but can still contain misidentifications. For example, those
who are not gender binary, of mixed races, and wore a combination of apparel types.
Additionally, family members and planners may be standing away from an activity which is
being photographed making it difficult to tell if individuals are part of a family or if they interacted
with a planner.
Reliable street: by Noah Watson
At Reliable Street, I received little backlash on involvement in photos and it was a pleasant
experience overall. There was a family that preferred no photos and a couple of
families that preferred to have the photos remain purely analytical, but mostly participants were
eager to offer up photos of their engagement.
In the following analysis of Reliable Street, I will cover the basic attendance, demographics, and
engagement of participants located at the site. I will provide a few photos for reference as well
as some charts to give visual comparisons of the data collected.
2.1. PHOTO ETNOGRAPHY
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Reliable Street had a successful turnout of about 39 people throughout the day. This was great
considering the location was quite far away from the other sites. Within these 39 people, we saw a
variety of ages, genders, and engagement, but not a lot of variation in race, with participants being
predominantly white/Caucasian. In the graph below, you can see the divide between races amongst
the participants.
In terms of participation, 31 of the 39 total participants were white. This was very disappointing to
see since the goal of this festival was to engage people from all ranges of backgrounds. When we
take a minute to look at age and gender, we can see a little more variation. In the following graphs,
you will see age ranges of participants as well as the gender distribution.
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As you could see in the previous graphs, the ages varied relatively evenly across the board except
for those who were 70+ years old. More people aged 18–30-year participated than any
other group, which was perfect for our activities. The goal of the origami activity was to gather
feedback for the future planning of the city, and individuals falling into this age range can sometimes
be the hardest to reach. When looking at gender distribution, you can see that there was only a 3-
person difference between male and female participants which was exciting to see. Overall, our site
had diversity except when it came to the race of participants.
When collecting this data, I initially attempted to do a 15-minute round to each activity, but this
strategy was quickly abandoned for a different one. Instead, as people would make rounds to
activities, I would simply follow and capture their involvement. As new participants showed up, I
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would switch to them and ensure I captured a photo of their engagement. Thankfully, all
activities used the most at Reliable Street took some time and allowed me to run between them
with ease.
Two of the three activities located at Reliable Street received a lot of attention and those were
origami and gorilla gardening. The board games, on the other hand, received little love except for
one family (pictured below) that decided to sit down and learn. Volunteers at the site concluded
that it would be best to switch this activity next time in favor of a more hands-on and creative
activity.
By the end of the festival, every volunteer at Reliable Street seemed happy with the result. We did
not receive the diversity that we were hoping for, but for the debut of the event there was a good
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turnout. Many of the participants who came were actively conversing with the students, planners,
and each other, which displayed to me the genuine interest they took in this event. Those who
chose to come participate left with smiles on their faces and a new perspective on the city of Ames.
The photos captured during the event will provide a good insight into what has been done right and
what can be improved upon for the future events and I am excited to see what comes next.
Franklin Park: by Andrew Snyder
Franklin Park attendees were very open and engaged when participating in the activities at the
location. Although there weren’t as many participants as we were hoping for, those that
did come were all relatively open to being photographed and surveyed. When
photographing participants, I tried to ensure that it attempted to capture the categories for analysis.
Some pictures however weren’t able to answer these things, such as if they interacted with the
planner at each site or their level of engagement in the activities. There were many pictures that
were able to help us better understand who was attending the festival and whether or not they
were enjoying their time at the festival.
I will highlight five photos that encompass the feelings and attitudes of the festival goers thoroughly.
The first photo shows what looks to be two children participating in the sensory walking path
attending the festival with what looks to be their parents or grandparents. The kids look to be
between the ages of 7-10 and their guardians look to be between the ages of 40-60. The kids look
to be very engaged in the activity while the parents are standing to the side, which seemed to be a
trend throughout the whole day. The man has his hands in his pockets indicating that he is unsure
or hesitant about something, possibly participating in the activity.
In the second photo we see a presumably teenage girl also participating in the walking path activity.
This photo captures many different people who appear to be of a variety of different races, which
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is what the festival intended to achieve. The girl participating in the walking path appears to be
either Asian or Latina, hard to tell because she is not facing the camera. There is what looks to be 2
Indian men on the left side of the photo. The two individuals on the far left of the photo are showing
no engagement in the activity, which seemed to be a trend at the walking path and breathing game.
Only children and teenagers seemed to have an interest in participating in those events.
In the third photo we see a presumably teenage Latino male participating in the breathing game
activity. The painting portion of the breathing game seemed to be the most popular section
of Franklin Park, but most participants skipped the remaining portions of the activity. This individual
specifically was one of the only festival attendees that was a person walking by that decided
to participate. Many of the festival goers seemed to have some prior knowledge of the festival,
because most people who attended drove there rather than stumbled upon it just walking by. The
main goal of the festival was to attract people from these neighborhoods, and I am not sure if there
were many participants from the Franklin Park neighborhood.
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In the picture above we see two children who are participating in the painting. In this activity,
participants were tasked to paint with objects found in the park, so the boy in the picture is seen
with what looks to be a pinecone. There is also a person in the background of the photo who appears
to be holding several previous paintings, showing that these children had made multiple paintings
already. This activity seemed to appeal very much to children because it let them express
themselves through colors and objects from the park.
The last photo I will assess is of festival attendees watching the climate change action theater show.
This show ran twice during the festival and took a lot of attendees' attentions away from the other
activities. Everyone in the photo is very engaged with the show, and there is no one in the
background participating in the other festival activities. The two times the show ran, there was no
engagement in the other festival activities which was an issue that was not prepared for. Although
the theater actors also participated in the festival activities between shows it was hard to tell who
was there from the theater crew and who came to the festival out of their own will.
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An additional photo I included just because it captured enjoyment of the festival activities. Although
there were not as many people as some expected, the people who did attend seemed to really enjoy
the activities that we had.
Overall, the festival was a success because it was intended to draw in minorities from
underrepresented communities. Although I’m not sure how many of the people that attended the
festival at Franklin Park were from the neighborhood, there were a lot of people from diverse
cultural backgrounds. It felt like there were people of all different social classes and income
brackets. There were also a lot of encouraging words from people who attended saying that they
really enjoyed the festival activities, which was very encouraging.
Some things that could be improved are that the activities could appeal to both children and adults.
It seemed like most of the parents of the children did not want to join or did not see the point of
the activities. I’m not sure exactly why that was, but one possibility was the fact that in most
activities you had to go barefoot. From what I remember, only one parent participated in the
sensory path activity, and that is likely due to them not wanting to take their shoes off. I also noticed
that the VR station at Franklin Park didn’t get much usage, which surprised me because it is a
popular technology that appeals to most people.
A few things that I would do next time to improve the overall experience and quality of the festival
would be to place it close to a major road or walking path. The issue with our location is that it was
too secluded from any road, so we were not able to attract many people passing by. There were
only a couple people that came up who had no prior knowledge of the festival, and they were there
at the park to play basketball. I also wouldn’t have the theater section next time because I felt like
it took away from the engagement of other festival activities. I remember one specific instance
where I was trying to encourage someone to participate in the breathing game and she told me she
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was only there to watch the climate change theater. Lastly, I think one location rather than
four separate locations would be beneficial to attract more people overall. I’m not sure about every
other site, but Franklin Park did not have that many people attend, which was because of multiple
reasons, but one being that there were three other locations with a variety of different activities.
I liked my role in the group, but I feel like the survey and photovoice groups should have been one
large group from the start. There was much communication between the groups before the festival,
and Spencer (from the survey group) and I found out that there was a lot of overlap between the
two groups' work. Overall, the festival was an immense success and I think with a few changes it can
continue to grow and be highly successful in the future.
East 7th Street: by Sarah Walker
At the East 7th Street location, the activities revolved around GIS mapping and technology. There
was a surprise activity brought by one of the Ames City councilors that was a bicycle with a rickshaw
type seat. This activity was popular with both children and adults who came to the site.
The other activities at the East 7th Street site were divided in appeal between adults and children.
The mapping activities were predominately completed by adults while the virtual reality and 3D
printing were the activities the children were interested in. With the exception of 2 white
men both over the age of 50, 2 white women both over the age of 50, and 2 African American
women both between the ages of 18-30, all adult participants engaged in all of the activities
provided at the East 7th Street location. Of those who did not participate in all activities, 1 of the
men only participated in taking the engagement survey and the virtual reality simulation. He
did however watch his wife participate in all of the activities. The other man who did not do all the
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activities only did the virtual reality simulation. Both the 2 white women and the 2 African American
women only did the safety map activity. Of the children who participated, 2 white male children
participated in the safety map activity, but no female children participated. For the GIS simulation
activity, 6 white male children, 1 African American male child, and 1 Asian male child as well as 2
white female children, and 1 Asian female child participated. Demographically, more
women participated in the site activities and the overwhelming majority of participants were
white.
While there was a good turnout at the site, the length of the activities allowed me to photograph
each participant at each activity. This created multiple photos of the same participants making
analysis of data difficult to code. The planned methodology was to rotate every 15 minutes between
activities. However, the setup of the site resulted in all the activities being very close together or
sharing a table space. As a result, I did not have to move around to see all the activities and could
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photograph each participant at each activity. The setup was at an intersection with tables on 3 of
the 4 sides. The engagement survey and the city planners were at a table directly perpendicular with
the table for the safety map and GIS similarity map activities. Across the intersection was the virtual
reality van and 3D printer table. This setup was conducive for the participants to talk with the city
planners since the planners were there striking up conversations with the participants as
they waited to do an activity or as the next progression in the line of activities for the participants
to complete.
While the setup at the site was well designed to accomplish discussions with the city planners and
had a good flow to direct participants to each activity, the location was somewhat out of the way.
It was not easily seen by passing motorists or pedestrians who were not already on the street of the
location. It was suggested to me by some of the participants I spoke with that food trucks or music
would improve the site’s appeal for participants. There were also multiple comments about 2 sites
that had virtual reality activities being located too far apart and the desire to not want to drive that
far to participate in the activities.
5th Street and Burnett Avenue: by Ben Woeber
At the mural painting located near the intersection of 5th St. and Burnett St. in downtown Ames, it
was difficult to take pictures of participants that would yield the most helpful data since they were
turned toward the wall and had their backs to the camera. Determining which age category the
participants fell into was especially difficult when they were facing away from the camera. To
mitigate this, I tried to take pictures of participants as they walked to and from the mural and when
they were getting painting supplies.
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When looking at the pie chart below, which shows the gender makeup of participants at the 5th
Street and Burnett Street mural, we can see the majority of participants are female at 69%
compared to 31% which are male. This is perhaps due to the proximity to the Ames Farmers Market
where two groups of college females had come from previously as well as the pervading sentiment
that painting and art in general are more feminine activities, which I don’t agree with but
unfortunately is a viewpoint I know exists.
The race of participants who painted a section of the mural, shown below, was
overwhelmingly White/Caucasian with 32 of the 42 people photographed being white. The rest of
the racial groups do not exceed five participants.
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The chart above represents the broad age ranges of those who participated in painting the mural.
It shows that two age groups, those aged between 18-30 and those between 30-50, were the most
represented at the location. Perhaps this is also representative of the same age ranges who
attended the farmers market or are likely to shop downtown?
The other categories were much more homogenous in terms of the results. For example, at the
mural location the planner was not present for very long so almost no participants interacted with
her. The participants who painted a section of the mural were generally enthusiastic about the
painting while those who were not were not photographed as much since they were
not participating in the event. However, it can be difficult to determine enthusiasm from pictures
as well. Only one family participated in the mural painting. Additionally, most participants had
casual clothing on, with a few participants wearing athletic apparel, and none in business clothing.
Overall, the participants at the mural painting near 5th St. and Burnett St. were mostly female, white,
and between the ages of 18-50. The 18-30 age category was higher than it otherwise might have
been due to classmates inviting their friends to participate in painting the mural. Those
who participated in painting a section of the mural were enthusiastic and enjoyed it. By dividing the
mural into sections, it made it very accessible to people of all skill levels, which made people feel
more comfortable and willing to participate. A longer more horizontal mural also allowed multiple
participants to paint at once. The music being played at the site was helpful at getting people to
come and check out the mural, especially since it was not in the most visible location.
In the future, time lapse photography may be useful in gathering images of participants in events.
This would be less labor intensive and allow an additional person to engage with participants as
opposed to being on the side taking pictures. Getting closer to the wall and taking more side view
photos would also have been helpful in being able to better identify participants’ characteristics.
This may however require more participants to sign photo consent forms since their faces would be
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more visible. Filling out forms would also take time away from the photographer and add to
the amount of forms/questionnaires participants are asked to fill out.
I really enjoyed my role in the group. I liked making graphs and charts from the excel spreadsheet I
made with the data about individual participants. I also like how the graphs were able to show
visually the disparities between groups of participants and show what can be improved upon in the
future. By making graphs and charts using the data I collected on individual participants I was made
more aware of the disparities that exist in the groups of participants and it helped me notice things
I did not while at the festival.
by Emily Rizvic, Shiva Afshari, Daunte Thompson and Spencer Thompson
2.2.1. Introduction
The Play Ames: Imagine your City festival represented an opportunity for the City of Ames to
connect more deeply and closely with the city's neighborhoods. Our research aimed opinions and
perspectives of participants about the festival and the engagement activities. The original purpose
of the Play Ames idea was to engage underrepresented communities in Ames and to get them to
feel more comfortable vocalizing their opinions to community leaders. Without formally collecting
data, it becomes almost impossible to try and evaluate the success of the festival. That is why an
engagement survey is so necessary to this sort of project. Using the data that we collected, we were
able to access the opinions the participants expressed about the festival. Their feedback will be
helpful to the future festivals in Ames or in other places.
2.2. ENGAGEMENT SURVEY: METHODOLOGY
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2.2.2. Methodology
The research methodology consisted of the following parts:
1. Developing a standardized paper questionnaire which utilized Likert scale questions
and open-ended questions
2. Developing a kids-friendly, picturized survey which was utilized to provide responses
to activity enjoyment and focused on kids
3. Surveying participants at all four locations with the help of a dedicated team-member
4. Evaluating and analyzing the results
5. Summarizing the results in a report
Additionally, we developed a Kids-Friendly survey that targeted the young participants of the
festival. Participants were asked to respond to a survey at each festival location. The survey was
developed to capture the participants’ demographic information, their interactions with city
officials, and their overall experience, engagement, and learning from the activities. With their
responses, our group could analyze participation by different age ranges and different racial and
ethnic backgrounds. Additionally, responses allowed to analyze participant enjoyment and
engagement with the activities and their interactions with city officials.
With the demographic information, we could evaluate the overall participation in the festival
activities by analyzing the number of participants from each demographic group and their
percentage of the total number of participants. In order to evaluate the engagement and enjoyment
of each activity, analyzed the scoring of each activity by the participants using the Likert scale. This
report compiles all the Likert scale responses for each activity and reports the number of
participants who fell into each section on the Likert scale, providing an overview of the activity. We
also evaluated the engagement of each participant with city officials by providing the number of
participants who indicated they spoke with at least one city official present at their festival location.
• Paper questionnaire
The one (1) page, front and back, paper questionnaire was provided to participants at all four
locations to those who were willing to take the survey. A total of fifty-six (56) paper questionnaires
were received. A copy of the paper questionnaire is provided in Appendix B. The form included
questions regarding the following topics:
1. Level of engagement and enjoyment of activities provided at the festival locations
2. Interactions between participants and City of Ames staff members and councilmembers
3. Demographic information of participants
4. How close participants lived to the festival location
5. Festival highlights
Participants were more willing to fill out the survey after an activity or after conversing with other
participants. Additionally, participants were more likely to talk to City of Ames staff and council
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members after encountering Question #2 “Did you talk to City Officials? How was that experience?”
as at this point, participants were likely to ask the surveyor where the city staff members were
located.
• Kids-Friendly Survey
The picturized survey allowed kids to indicate their enjoyment of the festival's activities. There were
four different attitudes represented and they could place a sticker in the box for each activity
indicating how they felt. Similarly, if they did not participate in an activity, they could indicate that
by placing a sticker in a “Did not participate” box. The point of this survey was to implement an
alternative method to a paper survey, which may not be accessible to all persons, particularly
children. Each of the locations had the activities listed in the survey and the level of likability of the
activity indicated with the emoticons in different colors. Below is an example developed for Franklin
Park.
Reliable Street
Of the eight (8) paper survey respondents from the Reliable Street location, a majority indicated
that they “sort of” enjoyed the activities or “really” enjoyed the activities. Respondents indicated
that they enjoyed the Origami and painting a rock for the Guerilla Gardening activity. Figure below
shows two younger participants of the event creating origami at the Origami Sidewalk of Dreams
2.3. ENGAGEMENT SURVEY: RESULTS
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table. Participants in the festival ranged from younger populations such as two (2) and up to
participants over the age of sixty-five (65). Participants of all ages indicated in the survey that they
had enjoyed the activities that were present at the festival.
Participants were given the following statements and asked to indicate whether they agreed or
disagreed with the statements:
“I felt engaged”
“I enjoyed the activity”
“I learned something new”
Respondents were given a scale between one (1) and four (4). Respondents also were able to
indicate if they did not participate in the activity. It should be noted that board game activities were
cancelled due to the wind.
Reliable Street Activity Assessment
Disagree Agree Participate
Guerilla
Gardening
I felt engaged 0 0 2 3 3
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 2 4 3
I learned something new 1 1 2 1 3
Sidewalk of
Dreams
I felt engaged 0 1 1 4 2
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 1 5 2
I learned something new 0 1 0 5 2
Games
I felt engaged 0 0 1 1 6
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 1 1 6
I learned something new 0 0 1 1 6
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Participant Interactions with the City of Ames
Of the eight (8) paper survey respondents from the Reliable Street location, only two (2) indicated
that they had met with and spoken to a representative of the City of Ames. These two responses
indicated that the experience was good and that they learned something interesting. One (1)
participant specifically stated that they met with councilwoman Rachel Junck.
At Reliable Street, councilmembers and City of Ames staff were provided a table with four (4) chairs
and some brochures. Visibility for the City of Ames at the event could possibly be improved by
bringing tablecloths with the City’s logo or having a standing poster. Interactions between
participants and the City of Ames could be boosted by having a potential activity involving council
members and staff from the City moderating those activities. This might encourage conversations
to organically form between residents of Ames and City Officials.
Franklin Park
The Franklin Park location for the Play Ames festival was in a public park located rather deep within
a neighborhood. The overall theme of the location was to engage participants in playing with their
senses and to get them to get in touch with their environment. The primary events were: a 10-step
breathing game, a barefoot sensory path, climate change action theater, and yoga. There was not a
large number of people who volunteered to take the survey, but those who did complete the survey
overall seemed to quite like the activities. Residents who participated in the activities really seemed
to enjoy them.
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Franklin Park Activity Assessment
Disagree Agree Participate
Breathing
Game
I felt engaged 0 0 1 2 0
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 1 2 0
I learned something new 0 1 1 1 0
Path
I felt engaged 0 0 0 1 2
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 0 3 2
I learned something new 0 0 0 1 2
Yoga
I felt engaged 0 0 0 1 2
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 0 2 2
I learned something new 0 0 1 0 2
Change
I felt engaged 0 0 1 0 2
Theater
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 1 1 2
I learned something new 0 1 0 0 2
Participant Engagement
Overall, at Franklin Park, we faced a unique challenge that most of the other locations did not have
to deal with as much, which was a lack of overall activity participation. We decided to make the
threshold for surveying to either approach someone who had completed one full activity all the way
through, or someone who had partially participated in multiple activities. With this bare minimum
set, that actually quite limited the amount of people we could actually complete the survey (less
than 15). On top of this low number of qualifications, we had multiple people say no to filling out
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the survey and those who did volunteer only filled out minimal details about the festival. Only 3
surveys were fully filled out and the data collection from them was quite limited.
However, the one area that excelled at with surveying at the Franklin Park location was the kids-
friendly survey. Due to the way the events were set up, we placed the sticker-based survey next to
the art station in the breathing game. This section of the breathing game was VERY popular with
children and, just by chance, we think the location ended up inviting the children into taking the
survey. The event set them in a very arts-and-crafts mood and the survey followed that vibe so the
children were much more willing to participate, granted unknowingly, in a formal survey about their
opinions of the festival.
East 7th Street
This festival was located on East 7th street. This location can be described as a neighborhood
surrounded by residential homes. Although some participants heard about the activities through
friends, social media, and posters, many had joined the event after noticing it on their routine walk
through the neighborhood. There were three activities in East 7th Street, which included: 1) Digital
Mapping; 2) Paper Mapping; and 3) Virtual Reality.
For the digital mapping activity, a combination of participants’ phones and correlated paper maps
to get participants acquainted with the GIS and Mapping activities was used. The non-digital
mapping activity included a large printed map accompanied with a printed questionnaire. The focus
was on mapping unsafe places. The virtual reality and 3D printing activities were provided through
a pop-up van.
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Participant Engagement
The East 7th Street location had more than fifty (50) participants and twenty-six (26) paper surveys
were collected. The majority of responses indicated that the activities were enjoyable, engaging,
and informative. Children who participated in this location indicated that they were primarily
interested in the virtual reality and digital mapping activities.
21 of the 26 surveyed participants indicated that they “somewhat agreed” or “agreed” that they
were engaged by and enjoyed the Digital Mapping activity. It is noticeable that the other 5 people
indicated that they didn’t participate in this activity which means that “all” the people who
participated and filled out the paper survey enjoyed and were engaged by the digital mapping. For
the part of learning something new from this activity, 18 of the 26 “agreed” that they learned
something, 3 participants “disagreed” or “somewhat disagreed,” and 5 people didn’t participate.
For the activity of Mapping, similarly, 21 of 26 surveys “agreed” or “somewhat agreed” with the
enjoyment of and engagement by the Mapping activity. Regarding learning something new, 20
participants said they “agreed” or “somewhat agreed,” which matched the digital mapping activity
assessment based on participant rate but was more informative in the distribution of responses.
Lastly, for virtual reality, 14 of the 26 surveys indicated that the participants “somewhat agreed” or
“agreed” that they were engaged, enjoyed the activity, and learned something new. The other 12
survey participants did not actually participate in this activity. Compared to other activities, it
showed lower participation rates, but all of the participants rated it as enjoyable, engaging and
informative.
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East 7th Street Activity Assessment
Disagree Agree Participate
Digital
mapping
I felt engaged 0 0 3 18 5
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 3 18 5
I learned something new 1 2 7 11 5
mapping I felt engaged 0 0 2 19 5
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 6 15 5
I learned something new 0 1 6 14 5
Reality
I felt engaged 0 0 1 13 12
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 3 11 12
I learned something new 0 0 4 10 12
Overall, at this location, there was a great participation and communication of participants with city
officials and students
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5th Street and Burnett Avenue
This festival was located in downtown Ames on the wall of a business located at 5th Street and
Burnett Ave. A block over from this location, the Ames Farmers Market was taking place at the same
time. The group at this location handed out flyers for the festival while the farmers market was
happening, which resulted in the people leaving the farmers market and those who received the
flyers to stop by to participate. This location was advertised to have three activities: 1) Mural
painting by number; 2) Live music from local artists; and 3) Artists meet and greet.
Participant Engagement
All 20 surveyed participants of the mural at this festival indicated that they “somewhat agreed” or
“agreed” to enjoying the activity. They all indicated that they “somewhat agreed” or “agreed” to
being engaged with the mural, and 14 of the surveyed participants “somewhat agreed” or “agreed”
to having learned something new. 16 of the 20 surveyed participants indicated that they “somewhat
agreed” or “agreed” to enjoying the activity for the music part of this festival location. Of the 20
total surveyed, 16 of them “somewhat agreed” or “agreed” that it was engaging, and 16 of the
surveyed participants “somewhat agreed” or “agreed” that they learned something new. Lastly, 19
of the 20 surveyed participants indicated that they “somewhat agreed” or “agreed” to having
enjoyed the activity. Those same 19 also indicated that they “somewhat agreed” or “agreed” to
finding this activity engaging, and the same portion indicated they “somewhat agreed” or “agreed”
to having learned something after participating.
Overall, this location seemed to be well received by all participants. This festival location benefitted
from occurring at the same time and in proximity to the farmers market happening that morning.
However, this resulted in the mural being finished in the first few hours of the festival, bringing
another suggestion to make the mural larger. It should also be noted that this festival location had
no city officials present after the festival's grand opening and that there was not a sticker and picture
survey offered.
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5th Street & Burnett Ave Activity Assessment
Disagree Agree Participate
Mural
painting
I felt engaged 0 0 0 20 0
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 0 20 0
I learned something new 0 0 6 14 0
I felt engaged 0 2 3 13 2
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 2 16 2
I learned something new 0 2 6 10 2
and greet
I felt engaged 0 0 3 16 1
I enjoyed the activity 0 0 2 17 1
I learned something new 0 0 4 15 1
Collaboration with city officials and urban planners
Question 2. When asked if participants talked to officials from the City of Ames, only 27% of
respondents indicated that they had. Of those, respondents described the experience with city
officials as the following:
1. “Fine. Interesting.”
2. “Very brief”
3. “Very engaging and nice to touch base
with them again”
4. “Feel good”
6. “Helpful”
7. “They were friendly and encouraging”
8. “Rachel”
9. “Good”
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The following is the complete results for the kids-friendly survey. The data was not collected for 5th
Street and Burnett Ave festival site.
Reliable Street
this Activity Enjoy this
Activity
this Activity this Activity Participate
Guerilla Gardening
Origami
Urban planning games
Franklin Park
Breathing game
Barefoot path
Yoga
Climate Change Action
Theater
East 7th Street
Digital mapping
Paper mapping
Virtual Reality
2.4. KIDS-FRIENDLY SURVEY
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Question 4. Participants of the festival were asked what the highlight of the festival was for them
and if they would attend the festival again in the future. The following are full written responses
from participants:
I didn't want to take my shoes off for
activities
2. Loved the creativity. I would come to a
festival like this in the future
3. Painting rocks and talking to Zach
(Volunteer)
4. Enjoyed the origami craft & chatting with
folks
5. Talking to everyone about why they are
here & learning the cause - Yes i'd come
back!
6. The guerilla art was cool, would love to
come again
7. I liked my friends being involved in the
program which is why I attended
8. I enjoyed seeing people of all ages
interacting and participating in civic art
on a sunny day
9. Yes - I enjoy participating in city
activities. It is especially nice to have
something happening in West Ames as
there aren't many activities, etc. in this
area which can be very frustrating and
isolating
10. Yes - It was fun and relaxing. Good vibes!
11. People were friendly and engaging. The
paint by numbers was simple and still
fun. I would come to something like this
again
12. So engaging
13. Enjoyable and come again
14. Engaging
15. I like GIS mapping
16. I love it. way to highlight the concepts of
city planning
17. great outdoor activity
18. I love virtual reality
to another festival like this in the future.
Thank you for doing this! :)
23. Loved meeting the students, painting and
meeting other residents of Ames.
24. The local art
25. Fun activity for a weekend, enjoyed painting
with friends and meeting others. Yes, I
would come to a festival like this in the
future. It was very engaging and a good way
to meet people in the community.
26. Loved the local artist. YES!
27. Very fun! Would love to come paint again =)
28. Yes! -outdoors + paint = a really good time
29. Learning the culture of different states
30. Yes, would come again. Friendliness of
painting/activity.
31. So fun! It will be cool to drive by and see it!
Yes!
32. Yes! It was so sweet to feel like I got to
engage with my community and contribute
to my home!
33. Socializing
34. Live music, food, art
35. The mural painting and live music was very
fun! I would come again.
36. So engaging
37. I love virtual reality
38. So engaging
39. Integration of isu with the community is
great
40. Proud of the City
41. Had fun
42. VR was a big interest
43. Good student communication
44. VR and mapping were great
2.5. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FESTIVAL AS PRECEIVED BY THE PARTICIPANTS
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20. Learning new stuff
21. Kids were active and I love the local
The graphs below summarize the demographics of the participants of Play Ames: Imagine your City
community engagement festival.
2.6. DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PARTICIPANTS
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How did you find out about the festival?
Question 3. Participants were asked how they found out about the festival. A majority indicated
that they found out about the festival from word-of-mouth techniques (e.g. friends, family, or
volunteers of the event). Posters and flyers used to market the event were the second highest
indication of how individuals learned about the festival.
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Conclusions
Comparing the four locations illustrate that there was greater participation at the East 7th Street
and 5th Street locations compared to the Franklin Park and Reliable Street locations. This may be
attributed to nearby activities that were already taking place, such as the Downtown Ames Farmers
Market near 5th Street. Another example includes that Reliable Street was located outside of
Lockwood Café, so those making purchases at the café had noticed the event taking place.
Based on survey results, it can be concluded that overall the activities present at the festivals were
enjoyable and engaging. In contrast, survey results were mixed on whether or not participants were
learning something new. For example, the Origami Street of Dreams activity received more feedback
that participants had learned something new whereas those participating in the Guerilla Gardening
activity did not feel the same way.
Overall, it seemed that participants enjoyed the festival and that they would participate in such a
festival again. Group members collected a few recommendations for future execution of similar
events that may improve the experience generally or may specifically improve the surveying portion
of the event.
Recommendations
The following is a list of recommendations that our group puts forward which may improve survey
engagement and response collection or may improve overall participation in the festival activities:
1. Develop a surveying methodology that breaks away from standardized survey taking and is
more playful and fun, similar to the Origami Street of Dreams. Alternative surveying methods
may look like having a large surface area where participants can write down an idea or
thought.
2. Focus on having one festival location with designated times and plan to move the locations
to the targeted neighborhoods throughout the day or week.
3. Encourage more activities and events within West Ames.
4. Ensure visibility of the City of Ames city council members and staff during the event. This
may look like setting them up with a specific activity or having dedicated signage. This might
also include having a tablecloth with the City of Ames logo.
5. Consider having City Officials assist in moderating activities to encourage organic
conversation to occur between participants and the city officials.
2.7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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by Alenka Poplin
3.1. Engagement activities
3.1.1. Creative engagement activities
Creative activities were activities that engaged the residents by creating something which resulted
in a visible product. These activities were very attractive for many of the participants. They included:
• Painting stones
• Creating origami
• Paintings with the help of local materials from nature
• Collaborative mural painting
These activities were very beloved. The participants felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction
in seeing their creativity. Some also resulted in a product that could be taken home with them and
keep as a memory. Creating their own products brought a sense of achievement, a sense of
satisfaction upon seeing a stone you painted on your own, a beautiful piece of origami, a picture
made with the help of leaves and materials from the local park. The activity that asked participants
to go to the park and find materials with which they could paint was particularly well received.
Collaborative painting while enjoying the sun and good music was found to be very enjoyable. The
atmosphere at these locations was amazing and residents felt naturally attracted to join the activity.
Observing participants:
“ A little girl painting the stones for her mom as her mom couldn’t join the festival”
Another participant is sharing with us:
“Look what I did. I created this picture right here at the festival. What do you think?”
3. LESSONS LEARNED
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Gardening had the potential to be one of these activities but planting the bulbs did not result in a
visible change of the environment. A visible change from planting leafy plants or trees would result
in even more happiness for the residents. Planting plants or trees would be a more effective activity
in the spring than in the autumn.
3.1.2. Experiential engagement activities
Experiential engagement activities are those that enable participants to gain some specific
experience, try something, experience it. These engagement activities included:
• Barefoot path
• Yoga, breathing and mindfulness
• Spot-the-Differences game
• Virtual reality
• Digital or paper mapping
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Participants were immersed into trying out different materials and feeling them on their feet
(barefoot path), experiencing mindfulness under the guidance of a yoga teacher, were immersed in
a roller coaster in the virtual reality pop-up van, experienced spatial thinking experiments in Spot-
the-Differences game, and engaged in digital or paper mapping. All these activities were very well
accepted by the participants.
3.1.3. Technology enhanced engagement activities
Engagement activities based on technologies attracted participants that were open to novel
technologies. They included the following two engagement activities:
• Digital mapping
• Virtual reality
Most of the families suggested to their younger members to engage with these activities. These
activities can be used to target younger populations of residents and those that are curious to try
something new. Generally, they should be combined with non-digital methods to be able to engage
all participants that visit the site. Using just technology-based engagement activities would exclude
many potential participants.
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3.1.4 Engagement activities focused on participants’ perception
These were engagement activities that were designed to inquire about participants’ opinions,
perceptions and ideas. These activities included:
• Origami
• Paper-mapping experiment with unsafe places
The origami activity asked participants the following three questions: What is your favorite place
within the city?; What can be improved in the city?; What is your vision for the city of Ames? The
participants were happily answering these questions about the city and were very engaged in
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creating origami. Next time, the origami task should be designed in a way that one origami
represents a final product already instead of four leaves forming a flower. In this way the
participants will see an immediate result. Mapping unsafe places was also very inspiring.
Participants enjoyed sharing their experiences of the city, the places they felt to be unsafe and how
they perceive places in Ames. Sometimes the paper-map is just a tool that helps to initiate a
discussion and involves participants in thinking about the city. More such engagement activities
should be developed in the future and connected with the real-world issues city officials and
planners are facing at that moment.
3.1.5. General observations about engagement activities
• Engagement activities need to be short, active and well displayed and presented.
• Engagement activities should be easy to grasp and learn. Those that take too much time to
learn and master do not work best for a community engagement festival. Board games were
not successful as they would have taken time to learn how to play the game and then also
taken time to actually play. Next time, the games should be designed in a simple and easy to
learn way.
• Engagement activities need to be simple and creative. Too complicated activities did not
attract big audience. Those with a steep learning curve require more time and attention for
them to be executed. Breathing games involved too complicated instructions, not enough
clarity, too many steps and not enough guidance by the leaders. More assistants should be
assigned to engagement activities with more steps to accomplish. Board games require a
longer investment into learning and most of the participants prefer to move to the next
activity fairly quickly.
• Some engagement activities can be better performed outside and some others inside.
Playing board games is easier inside; inside spaces are quieter and allow for more
concentration and an exchange among the actors. Strong winds can also prevent participants
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from playing. Some parts of board games may get lost in an outdoor space. Mural painting,
on the contrary worked well, but also because of the wonderful weather.
3.2. Engaging underrepresented/marginalized residents
A one-time festival cannot result in a miracle. It represented a first step towards establishing more
connection and trust with residents. It is a first step on a longer path towards co-creation and
collaboration. No relationship was established by meeting just once; one has to continue meeting
to get to know the other person/party/organization. Long-term planning and continuity is needed
to declare this process successful. We are making baby steps and this was one of our first steps. This
baby needs nourishing, care and continuing communication.
We experienced many interesting participants, but not necessarily from the targeted
neighborhoods. The set-up of the locations had an immense impact on the success of attracting
local underrepresented and marginalized communities. The most successful location in this respect
was East 7th Street which managed to attract many local residents. It was located at the entrance to
the street, very centrally in the neighborhood. We visited the location several times, posted
postcards several times, and also talked to the local residents and gave them the cards in person.
This was very successful. The site at the festival was relatively small, concentrated, and well-
advertised with posters and fliers placed all around the site. Franklin Park was a big site and not
easily accessible. The festival was organized in the middle of the park and most visitors did not feel
invited to join. There was a certain disconnect to the neighborhood. The same happened with the
Reliable Street location.
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The most valuable lessons and take-aways gained from the 1st community engagement festival in
Ames:
• Personal visits to the neighborhoods and personal talks with the residents before the festival
were very helpful. All whom we met in person in their neighborhoods came and joined the
festival. They felt appreciated and invited. Additional visits to the targeted neighborhood
before the festival are highly recommended for a stronger presence of the local residents at
the festival and therefore greater success in engaging underrepresented and marginalized
residents.
• Developing activities together with the neighborhoods would be a wonderful idea. Getting
them involved in the festival as organizers or co-creators could be something interesting to
try.
• Work closer with the neighborhoods after the festival. Develop action projects together with
the neighbors and help them beautify and improve their neighborhoods. Help them clean it,
plant flowers, plant edible plants or trees, paint walls, create playgrounds for children, draw
games on side-walks, etc.
• Develop place-making ideas together with the residents of the targeted neighborhoods.
Prepare a plan to engage them. Select targeted neighborhoods and work with them over a
longer period of time.
• Think about establishing infrastructure for representing the neighborhoods: leaders of the
neighborhoods. Leaders of the neighborhoods are trustworthy and respected residents that
talk with their neighbors and represent their wishes and opinions. They are the link between
the residents and city officials and urban planners. They can get connected in a network, a
grid across the city, and exchange ideas in their meetings. Perhaps a beginning of the direct
democracy for the city.
• Options of direct democracy and successful case studies – such as examples seen in
Switzerland – need to be studied in more detail to be able to understand what worked well
for them and what could potentially be implemented in our cities as well.
• Work with the neighborhoods longer, more intensely, and much earlier in the process in the
weeks leading up to the festival. Small events can be organized in the neighborhoods, a pop-
up van may visit the neighborhoods several times before the festival so everyone feels
invited, heard, and respected.
• More work needs to be done on a continuing basis to establish the trust of and work with
the neighborhoods.
3.3. Selected locations
There was something special about this festival. All locations were very alive, engaging, and the
students involved were very optimistic and contributed beautifully to the festival. This is something
to think about for the next festival. A festival like that could also be solely organized by the students
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in a collaboration of the Undergraduate and Graduate Urban Planning Students’ Clubs. This could
be a fantastic opportunity for the students to get more integrated with the City of Ames.
Observations:
• All locations were alive. The students were present and in a good mood.
• The students generated a lot of positive energy around the festival.
• The grand opening worked very well. It created a wonderful start and motivation for the
festival. The invited speakers were very encouraging and gave a broader perspective to this
collaboration which additionally motivated students in their work at the festival. Coffee and
cookies were a good idea as well and the sunny weather was very helpful.
• Everybody made a great/huge effort to make this work. It is because of the dedicated work
of all the students that this festival was so successful.
• All locations were wonderful in their own way! Everything planned was also executed in a
practical way. It was wonderful to see it in reality.
• The students created enthusiasm, positive energy, and great opportunities to meet, mingle,
talk, and exchange ideas.
Specifics about the locations:
• Locations placed in the neighborhoods enabled an easier access to the underrepresented
and marginalized populations (East 7th Street). The closer a location is to the heart of the
neighborhood, the more the residents felt invited to take part in the engagement activities.
• Locations which we visited more often and met some people in person prior to the event
attracted more underrepresented and marginalized populations from that neighborhood
(East 7th Street).
• Locations distant from the actual neighbors (with natural or artificial barriers) did not attract
as many participants from the neighborhoods (Reliable Street and Franklin Park). The festival
was organized in the middle of the park and not close to an entrance or a street. This created
a certain invisible barrier and was not close to the neighborhood. The Reliable Street event
was organized in front of the Lockwood Café. The café seems to be more like an isolated
island in the neighborhood and the local residents do not seem to visit it very often. The
population gathering there seemed to be more ISU staff and students rather than local
underrepresented residents with families.
• Big locations (Franklin Park) may be just too big and the residents may not feel invited to be
part of it or dare to come closer. Smaller and more contained locations (East 7th Street and
Reliable Street) worked better as they were more connected and integrated. Activities that
are closer are easier to accomplish by the residents, they give the feeling of connectivity,
integration, and ability for the participants to mingle, talk, and exchange idea in a smaller,
contained space.
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• Parks can work well if they are not too big. It is also important to think about placing activities
close to the entrance or the street. This enables an easier access to the site for the
underrepresented and marginalized groups of participants.
Thinking about locations is fundamental for the success of a community engagement festival. The
preparatory work in advance and placing the activities directly into the neighborhoods seem crucial
for the success of a festival like this, especially when targeting underrepresented and marginalized
communities.
3.4. Children and families
Two groups seemed to particularly enjoy the activities: families with children and students. Children
were quickly immersed into the creative and experimental activities. They loved all of them and
were very enthusiastic about them. Students brought their optimism, ideas, and positive energy and
were very involved in the preparation and implementation of the activities. This brought good
feelings and atmosphere to the locations as one could feel the enthusiasm and immersion of the
kids in the activities. The children felt safe and engaged which also gave parents time to chat with
other participants, urban planners and officials, and the organizing students. The organizers may
think about the next festival being dedicated specifically for families with children.
Observations:
• Children really enjoyed the engagement activities, mostly the creative engagement activities
and the experiential engagement activities. The barefoot path was a highlight. Several of
them were very willing to share during kids-yoga experience. They got immersed in
gardening, painting stones, and painting with the help of the local materials such as flowers
and leaves. It was a pleasure to observe them getting so enthusiastic about all these
activities.
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• The City of Ames is asking how to engage underrepresent and marginalized populations.
Students represent almost half of the population in Ames. A festival like this is an
opportunity for the City of Ames and the students to collaborate and jointly work towards
common goals. Together, they can work towards integrating the residents, preparing,
executing and implementing activities. Ames can become a very vibrant integrated and
connected community.
3.5. Involving city officials and urban planners
City officials/councilors and urban planners had a strong presence at three of the locations: Reliable
Street, Franklin Park and East 7th Street. They were very visible, open and ready to talk with the
participants of the festival and the organizing students. One of the council members brought a
colorfully painted bike-ricksha to the East 7th Street location and drove participants around the site.
This was a very fun way of promoting the work of the city council and many participants really
enjoyed it. Also other city officials were very engaged and showed lots of interest for the festival
and contributed to its success. We have to mention the very active support of the City Manager
Steve Schainker who helped organize the closing of the streets leading to the East 7th Street location
and was present and visible at several locations. City Councilor Dr. Gloria Betcher not only supported
the process of organizing of the festival, but also actively contributed to the success of the festival
by being present at all locations and available to talk with the residents and organizing students.
The Mayor of the City of Ames, John Haila, was enthusiastic about the opportunities this festival can
offer to the residents, students and to the city. He visited all locations of the festival and actively
talked with the students, residents, other city officials and urban planners. It was nice to see his
enthusiasm and experience his positive energy.
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Recommendations:
• Better integrate city representatives with the engagement activities.
• Design engagement activities with the goal to help with topics of interest to city officials and
urban planners.
• Design engagement activities with the goal to help with topics of interest to the residents.
Conduct activities in the neighborhoods before the festival to identify those together with
the residents. Develop a common plan, in collaboration with city officials and urban
planners, of the topics of interest and engagement activities planned to engage
underrepresented and marginalized communities in Ames.
3.6. Advertising
We advertised in many different ways. Here just some examples: a digital screen at the College of
Design and a poster created for the neighborhood advertising.
In a very short time, we created the following:
• A logo for Play Ames: Imagine your City
• Community Engagement Living Lab and its logo
• Website for the project Play Ames: Imagine your City and the Community Engagement Living
Lab. The website can be viewed here: https://www.communityengagementll.net/
• We selected the color identity and presence with bright and vivid colors.
• We organized a Facebook pages for Play Ames: Imagine your City and for the Community
Engagement Living Lab and actively advertised on these platforms
• We got connected with the Climate Change Action Theater group
• Designed postcards and distributed them in the selected neighborhoods and at ISU
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• Designed posters and fliers and distributed them in the selected neighborhoods and at ISU
• We got connected with event organizers at ISU and distributed the information through the
channels of ISU
• City of Ames placed the event in their event calendar and advertised it on their website
• Iowa Stat Daily and Ames Tribune prepared articles before the festival and after the festival
• We placed advertising posters around all neighborhoods
3.7. Critical reflection
A community engagement festival is a good start in building trust and connection with the residents.
It would be more helpful when and if it becomes a tradition. In this case the residents will get used
to it, will be more open to come and better informed. A word of mouth will spread around and there
will be more knowledge about it available in the community. It will build on the experience from the
previous years.
Things we could do differently next time:
• One could think of fewer locations at one time. This would give the students the opportunity
to enjoy all locations as well, see them, try them and enjoy the. It would be easier to
organize. It all depends on the budget for the festival and staff dedicated to it.
• An interesting approach would be to have these activities spread around the same
neighborhood. This may work very well; to concentrate on one neighborhood with several
“stations” of activities in the same neighborhood, located not too far away from each other.
• More concentrated on one, max two locations at a time may work better.
• Advertise earlier and more extensively.
• Use more of social media for advertising.
• Create specific street posters that can be re-sued for several years, but big and visible to
everyone
• Prepare an IRB and conduct some useful research to be published
• Combination with the class dedicated to another topic was not optimal. Students were
stressed in the phase of preparation. A whole class needs to be dedicated to place-making
and the festival. A studio class would also be a good option which will give more time to
everyone to be able to develop the activities and their connection with the selected sites. At
the end all worked well and it seems that the students learned a lot and enjoyed the festival
as well.
• Possibly create a dedicated course/ studio for the festival and place-making and
engagement. Offer it in spring to support the festival in spring.
• Get a more substantial funding for the festival and hire staff that can help with the logistics
of the festival. There is a substantial logistic involved in the organization of a festival like that.
Also, there is cost connected to it. The cost is mostly the cost of the materials needed for the
engagement activities.
• Involve schools and other organizations and form partnerships with them.
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Advertising:
• Start advertising earlier
• Organize a more aggressive advertising campaign
• Visit neighborhoods more often and earlier in the process and talk with the neighbors in
person inviting them in a personal conversation
• Grow our social media presence intentionally and gain more subscribers on our social media
platform
• Record more videos, life streaming on youtube, social media and Instagram, or other
selected platforms
by Alenka Poplin
The festival was an inspiration for many people. We believe it should continue, get refined and
repeated in the improved version of it. There are a few things that come to mind when thinking
about the future of community engagement in Ames and in particular to the expansion of the idea
of a community engagement festival. Below is some food for thought, a list of ideas about how this
festival could look like in the future.
4.1. Mobile pop-up van community engagement festival
A mobile version of a community engagement festival could be developed. The way we envision it
would be with the help of a well-equipped pop-up van. We call it a Mobile Community Engagement
Festival. The pop-up van could be equipped with simple equipment such as colored paint, stones,
pencils, origami, plants to be planted, etc. These materials will help to get the residents engaged in
specific, dedicated topics. It could additionally involve high-tech equipment for quick visualizations,
rapid design of the alternative developments for residents and teach them how to use this
equipment for the benefits of experimenting with alternative designs of their neighborhoods for the
future. This pop-up van could then visit different neighborhoods at different days and park directly
in the neighborhood.
A combination with a food and coffee truck may be of interest as well and would additionally bring
some services to neighborhoods that have no or very little services on their own. The same activity
can be repeated in several neighborhoods. The engagement activities can be specifically designed
around specific topics of interest to the City of Ames. Additionally, this would give the residents the
opportunity to share their concerns, issues, and inspirations. It could be a fantastic way of regular
communication of the City of Ames with the residents of the city.
4. VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE
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4.2. Topical festivals
The festivals could branch into more topical festivals, dedicated to one particular group of
unrepresented and marginalized residents or dedicated to a particular topic of interest. We could
envision a festival dedicated to families with children: Ames Family Festival or Ames Children
Festival. This would be a wonderful opportunity to envision or declare Ames to be “family-friendly”
city and dedicate a festival to promoting this message.
Other possible topics that could be selected as a topic of the yearly festival could be:
• Sidewalks
• Climate change
• Sustainability, etc..
A similar topical festival is organized yearly in Munich, Germany. Their main topic is sustainability
and vendors come from across the whole state to share sustainability ideas. More research can be
invested in other similar examples of such festivals. Similarly, the City of Ames could select a specific
topic for each year and dedicate the whole festival to this specific topic. The topics could be related
to the city plan, transportation plan, climate change action program, or other topics of interest to
the City of Ames.
4.3. Families, kids, and students friendly Ames
Declaring Ames as a family and student friendly city could be one of the strategies the leadership
may consider. It seems natural to advertise and promote it this way. We strongly believe in the
success of a festival like Play Ames: Imagine your City geared for families and children. Organized by
the students of ISU, it could lead to a better integration of these groups of residents. We envision
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this wonderful flow of knowledge and experience from students to the kids and families. And
flowing back from the families and kids to the students and consequently to the City of Ames public
officials and urban planners. There are many exciting ways in which kids can be involved. As well
there are many exciting ways in which these activities could be prepared by the students in
collaboration with the city officials and urban planners.
4.4. Students for the city and with the city
A festival like this could also be solely organized by the students in a collaboration of the
Undergraduate and Graduate Urban Planning Students’ Clubs or even in a collaboration with other
student organizations or clubs. This could be a fantastic opportunity for the students to get more
integrated with the City of Ames and showcase what they know and have learned at ISU. It could be
a great opportunity for an exchange and a lively celebration of accomplishments. It can be very
rewarding for the students, residents, and the public officials and planners.
Supporting classes could also be organized that enable students to develop and implement ideas
related to place-making and tactical urbanism. Alternatively, studio options may be designed
specifically to support the collaboration of ISU with the City of Ames. One could think of formalizing
these ideas in a form of a continuing collaboration, perhaps a 5-year plan of collaboration with a
bigger budget that would help to develop additional activities and would be predictable for both
involved parties.
Similar community engagement festivals can be implemented in other cities. The City of Ames can
serve as an example of successful implementation.
Additional research in different engagement strategies, methods and technologies should be
dedicated into festival evaluations. Grants for such research can come from a variety of foundations
or even National Science Foundation (NSF).
4.5. An organization and a budget dedicated to the festival
Similar to the Octagon Art Festival, one could think of establishing an organization that would
organize an annual festival like that around city planning. To be successful and professionally
organized, one could think of enabling such an organization to hire staff and be able to pay for
organizational and logistic services. Hiring a festival coordinator seems like a wonderful idea and a
necessary step if the city decides to follow up with the idea of an annual festival.
A dedicated budget would be helpful in terms of assuring the continuation of the project. This is just
another option which could be developed as a vision for the expansion of community engagement
in the City of Ames.
4.6. Strategic plan
Strategic plan and strategic decisions would be helpful in providing consistency for the City of Ames,
its residents, students, and ISU staff. A collaboration on the topic of community engagement seems
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like a wonderful idea. A strategic plan may define levels and topics of collaboration. Clearly defined
goals of engagement and also the festival are crucial for its success. Further development of this
vision and the vision of the festival may involve additional local partners such as other ISU
departments, schools, and perhaps even food trucks. The collaboration and involvement of City of
Ames staff and urban planners should be prepared ahead of time and well in advance. We
recommend a vey food integrations with other activities.
Overall Play Ames: Imagine your City was a great success. It inspired students, residents and city
officials and urban planner. It expanded the idea of community engagement and created playful,
learning, experimental, and creative opportunities for all residents. The opportunity for everyone
involved is to build on the existing ideas and develop a more comprehensive plan of community
engagement in the City of Ames. The City of Ames can become an exemplary city and serve as a
role-model for community engagement across the US.
It is our pleasure and honor to be able to create this opportunity for everyone. We hope that this
report can inspire future implementations of a festival like that.
Many people helped us to make this festival happen. The location leaders – Stella, Vishnu, Fatema,
and Natalie – were very dedicated to make this festival a successful story. They were not only
involved in preparing the ideas and designing the festival engagement activities – they also practiced
their leadership skills. They coordinated the implementation of the ideas and led groups of students
5. CONCLUSIONS
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from the CRP455/555 class, instructing them how to implement these ideas. This festival would not
have been possible without their dedication, focus, hard work and inspirations the brought to the
team.
Thank you to all who supported the festival and thank you to all students who invested their time
and creativity in making this festival happen. They brought their positive spirit, their innovative
ideas, and very good energy and substantially contributed to the success of this festival!
Thank you for this wonderful experience, that we created!
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Appendix A: Advertising materials
Play Ames: Imagine your City Logo: all credits for the design and implementation to Natalie
Jacobson, and help with generation of ideas to Vishnu
Community Engagement Living Lab logo: all credits for the design and implementation go to Natalie
Jacobson
Community Engagement Living Lab website: all credits for the design and implementation go to
Fatema Nourin, and help with the initial set up to Vishnu Priya Sairamesh:
https://www.communityengagementll.net/
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Postcards and posters were designed by Stella Schroeder
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Appendix B: Example of the Engagement Survey
Play Ames: Community Anonymous Survey – Reliable Street
Activity Question Strongly
Disagree
Somewhat
Disagree
Somewhat
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Did Not
Participate
Guerilla
Gardening
I felt engaged 1 2 3 4 *
I enjoyed the
activity
1 2 3 4 *
I learned
something new
1 2 3 4 *
Origami of
Dreams
I felt engaged 1 2 3 4 *
I enjoyed the
activity
1 2 3 4 *
I learned
something new
1 2 3 4 *
Board
Games
I felt engaged 1 2 3 4 *
I enjoyed the
activity
1 2 3 4 *
I learned
something new
1 2 3 4 *
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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•
Media
• •
friends
• •
Participant Information (all voluntary)
Age(Circle One): Gender(Circle One): Race(Circle One): Did you come with anyone?
• Under 18
• 19-30
• 31-50
• 51-65
• 65 and over
•
• Female
• Non-binary
• Trans
• Other • White
• Black or
African
American
• Asian
• Hispanic
• Native
American
• Pacific
Islander
•
• Family
• Alone
• Other
with?: __________
What street do you reside on? ________________________________________
Additional Notes
What were the highlights of the festival? Would you come to a festival like this is the future? Why/or why
not?
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Appendix C: Example of the Kids-Friendly Survey
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Appendix D: Barefoot Path Questionnaire
Male/ Female : Age (Roughly):
What do you think this material is? What does it remind you of / an experience associated
with it ?
1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4.
5.
Which material did you ‘enjoy’ the most? Why? Would you like to see that in public spaces
to play with?
What materials would you like to see next ?
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What development do you see for Franklin Park in future?
List of Materials Used
1. Bubble Wrap
2. Stone Brick
3. Rubber Mulch
4. Hay
5. Sand
6. Pebble and water
7. Orbeez
8. Wet Towel
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Appendix E: Examples of Instructions/Posters: Breathing Game
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Play Ames 2.0 | Pop-up moving community engagement in Ames, Iowa
Fall 2022 |FINAL REPORT
Course: CRP 455/555 Smart and Sustainable Cities, Fall 2022
Participating students: Farhad Aghasi, Ian Baio, Vyankatesh Chinchalker, Kailyn Hogan, Ahillan
Kumar, George Lyons, Choloe McAninch, Kristen Peka, Chasey Sedam, Elizabeth Smith, Fatemeh
Yazdandoust
Student researchers: Keegan Haines, Kevin Paszko, Matthew Smith, Max Gula
Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alenka Poplin
Funding: City of Ames and Game2Work ISU PIRI project
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Dear readers,
This report summarizes the work on Pop-up moving community engagement and its
implementation in the Fall 2022. It represents the continuation of the collaboration between the
City of Ames and the Community and Regional Planning Department, College of Design at Iowa State
University. Its main goal is to test different community engagement methods, strategies and
technologies and report to the City of Ames about their usability for the engagement of marginalized
and underrepresented residents of the City of Ames. In the Fall 2022, the following locations were
selected for the pop-up moving community engagement:
• South Meadow
• E 7th St Cul-De-Sac
• 215 S Sherman
• Hutchison Park
The engagement activities tested were organized in four main groups and were developed by the
students enrolled in the CRP 455/555 Smart and Sustainable Cities (Fall 2022):
• Ames rocks! included origami, painting rocks and ecological painting
• Chutes and Ladders with the game board and mini games
• Mobility map concentrated on mapping and mobility
• Mural makers were dedicated to recycling, recycling materials, creativity and art
The pop-up moving community engagement was executed with the help of student researchers
Keegan Haines, Kevin Paszko, Matthew Smith, Max Gula, student volunteers, and the CRP
Undergraduate and Graduate Clubs. Thank you to the president of the club Sean McDermott for his
support. Thank you also to Prof. Dr. Francis Owusu, the CRP department chair, for his continuing
support and encouragement and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rosanna Rivero, the University of Georgia for her
knowledge of urban planning, sustainability and GIS tools .
Our immense thanks go to the representatives of the City of Ames. Steve Schainker, the city
manager, and Dr. Gloria Betcher, city councilor, continue being our great partners. Deb Schildroth,
assistant city manager and Susan Gwiasda, public information officer, helped shape the project by
coming to the class sharing ideas about sustainability. Thank you also to all city councelors and the
mayor of Ames, John Haila, for his enthusiasm about the project and genuine interest in its success.
Lastly, thank you to the residents – end specially to the kids - of the City of Ames for their courage
to participate and their interest in sharing their experience, visions, and ideas with us. You were our
inspiration! Thank you for the opportunity!
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alenka Poplin
Community and Regional Planning Department, ISU
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
1. Background and history of Play Ames project…………………………………………………………………………….9
2. Play Ames 2.0 moving pop-up community engagement……………………………………………………………10
3. Selected locations and justifications for the selection………………………………………………………………13
4. Play Ames 2.0 engagement activities………………………………………………………………………………………. 36
5. Tools for the evaluation of the implemented engagement activities………………………………………..52
6. Lessons learned………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..61
7. Conclusions and reflections ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..79
Appendix A: Analysis of Data gathered with the Punch/Sticker Card ............................................... 85
Appendix B: Raffle Entry Questionnaire and Results ......................................................................... 98
Appendix C: Mapping Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 105
Appendix D: Rational Ignorance Survey ........................................................................................... 107
PS: All pictures included in this report were taken by either Alenka Poplin or ISU students at Play
Ames: Imagine your City pop-up moving community engagement events. The pictures should not be
shared or reproduced. They can only be used for the internal report and cannot be published in any
other publication without the participants’ consent.
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Play Ames 2.0 Pop-up moving community engagement was executed in the Fall 2022. The
engagement activities were developed by the students enrolled in the 3-credit course CRP455/555
Smart and Sustainable Cities taught by Dr. Alenka Poplin. Additionally, the project resources enabled
to hire four students Keegan Haines, Kevin Paszko, Matthew Smith, Max Gula to support the work
on the project. Additionally, the CRP Undergrad and Grad Club were engaged and contributed many
volunteers who managed to join the activities that were planned outside the time reserved for the
course.
The main idea of this semester was to select locations in areas with low income, low
educational level and mixed-race. Contact property managers and get an allowance to set-up
community engagement activities as developed by the students in the course. Kee gan Haines was
responsible for the logistics of the pop-up events and communication with the property managers.
Additionally, Matthew Smith and Max Gula were tasked with the research on effectiveness of the
developed community engagement activities. Kevin Paszko was hired as an assistant to Dr. Poplin
in everything related to the execution of Play Ames 2.0 activities.
The team in collaboration with the city officials with city manager Steve Schainker very present,
identified the following locations: South Meadow, E 7th St Cul-De-Sac, 215 S Sherman, Hutchison
Park. The community engagement activities presented at these locations were devloped by the
students enroled in the CRP455/555 course and included (more details can be found in this report):
• Ames rocks! included origami, painting rocks and ecological painting
• Chutes and Ladders with the game board and mini games
• Mobility map concentrated on mapping and mobility
• Mural makers were dedicated to recycling, recycling materials, creativity and art
The main findings of this experiment can be summarized as follows:
• Setting up a pop-up in the neighborhood can be a very positive experience. It enables deeper
discussions with the residents, taking more time to talk with them and connect. It can be a
great tool for building quality relationships, trust and communication. They enable the
engagement team to spend a lot of time with residents and dedicate their attention to them,
their sharing and issues.
• However, if the goal is to attract many residents, this is not the best engagement method.
Play Ames city festival organized at 4 locations in the city attracted over 250 residents, while
Play Ames 2.0 pop-up moving community engagement activities attracted only 55 residents.
• The main idea of these events was to set them up outside in the neighborhood. The
disadvantage of this idea can be the weather. In cold and windy days this is not pleasant for
Play Ames 2.0 Pop-up Moving Community Engagement Fall 2022
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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anybody. In the next step, such activities can be planned in enclosed inside rooms and
spaces.
• Setting up even just four locations required a lot of logistics. A huge effort needed to be
dedicated to identifying the areas, checking them locally (visiting them) and overviewing and
discussion if they are appropriate for pop-up moving community engagement as the team
envisioned. Additionally, all allowances need to be in place: by the property manager and by
the city.
• All events were advertised locally at the locations where it was allowed to do so. However,
the residents do not seem to read the posters or cards. Most of them need to be specially
invited to join the team. It is not obvious to them that they are invited to join.
• Repeated events in the same neighborhoods enable to build trust, communication and
deeper discussion. A good example was E 7th Street where the event happened for the
second time. There was a higher awareness of this event in the area and many residents,
building on the previous positive experience, joined with great pleasure. Repeating events
in the same neighborhoods is the first step towards building connection, trust and honest
sharing of ideas and issues.
• Kids have a special role to play. Events dedicated to kids can free parents to be available for
discussions and do not have to worry about the safety and engagement of their kids.
• Motivation for urban planners and city officials needs to be part of the city system so that
they too are motivated in taking part in such activities. This is an important point to think
about for the future.
• Providing food was appreciated by everyone. Several times the team ordered pizza and
shared it with participants. Eating together is also sharing common space of comfort and joy.
The question of how to measure the success of such activities remains an open question. It
seems to us that we are learning what it means to build trust and connection. This does not
happen by visiting once and also not by designing specific engagement activities. It is similar to
dating and marriage. Both involved partners have be involved in this forever give and take
process and both have to meet often, listen to each other and share. Meeting often, getting to
know your residents and their wishes and getting yourself known to them is the key to a
successful relationship between government and residents. If they get the feeling that they have
been heard, their wishes are recognized, and they can help co-create the city, they may open up
and help the city when the city needs their input.
The following pages of this report elaborate in detail the work accomplished by Play Ames
2.0 team.
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1.1. COLLABORATION: THE CITY OF AMES AND IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
In January 2020 the City of Ames and Iowa State University (ISU) agreed on a collaboration which
was summarized in the document titled Request for Assistance (RFA) as follows: this collaboration
“describes a mutually beneficial relationship between the City of Ames and classes taught by the
Iowa State University Department of Community and Regional Planning and the College of Design.
The circumstances of the RFA will enable the City of Ames to enhance its community engagement
strategies to better solicit the involvement of residents while the students and faculty of the College
of Design participate in a living lab experience in the City of Ames that will enhance learning and
research opportunities.” The City of Ames is represented by Steve Schainker, City Manager, and Dr.
Gloria Betcher, City Counselor. Iowa State University is represented by Dr. Alenka Poplin.
The main focus of this collaboration is on developing, implementing, testing and evaluating
community engagement methods, strategies, and technologies. The main goals of this collaboration
can be summarized as follows:
• Explore methods, strategies, and technologies of engagement with the community
• Focus on underrepresented and marginalized groups
• Develop novel methods, strategies, and technologies of community engagement
• Test and evaluate methods, strategies, and technologies of engagement
• Give feedback to the City of Ames about successful engagement methods,
strategies, and technologies
1.2. OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The main objectives are to:
• Develop engagement methods, strategies, and technologies which may attract and engage
underrepresented or marginalized communities to participate in the discussions about their
city and urban planning activities
• Test the developed and implemented engagement methods, strategies, and technologies in
the selected neighborhoods
• Develop criteria for the evaluation of the implemented engagement methods, strategies,
and technologies
• Evaluate the engagement methods in order to provide feedback to the City of Ames about
the most promising and successful engagement methods, strategies, and technologies they
can use in the future
• Target neighborhoods specifically with underrepresented or marginalized groups of
residents. In the previous work these groups were identified as follows:
1. BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF THIS PROJECT
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LGBTQ, Senior citizens, Racial minorities, Cultural minorities, Gamblers, Substance
abusers, Youth, Kids, Persons living in poverty, Previously incarcerated people, People
with disabilities, Rural communities, Homeless, College students, Renters, Domestic
abuse survivors, and Indigenous
1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research concentrates around three main research questions:
• What is the most adequate method, strategy, and/or technology for engaging
underrepresented or marginalized residents in urban planning?
• How well are the playful engagement methods, strategies, and technologies accepted by the
residents? Do they feel attracted to participate? Who participates? For how long? Which
activities are the most interesting for the residents?
• How can the implemented engagement methods, strategies, and technologies be
evaluated? According to what criteria? How can success be defined and measured? Can
technologies, such as Photovoice, be used as an evaluation tool?
1.4. WORKING STEPS: ENGAGEMENT WITH PLAY-MAKING AND INNOVATION
Figure 1-1. Working steps
The main idea of this project is to engage residents in a playful way following the approach
suggested by Poplin (2012) in her journal publication titled Playful Public Participation. The
engagement strategies suggested for the Play Ames community engagement aim to bring joy, fun,
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and enjoyment to the residents. Through playfulness, trust and connections can be established, and
one can also talk and discuss more serious topics after or during the playful activities which are
designed to engage all residents. An important component in all activities is playful learning. These
activities can be implemented in a variety of ways. This Fall 2022 semester is dedicated to testing
the idea of a pop-up movable engagement.
1.5. HISTORY OF THIS COLLABORATION AND THE MAIN ACCHIEVEMENTS
The work on the project started with some background research on successful engagement
methods used across the country and on analyzing underrepresented and marginalized
communities in Ames. This work was accomplished in two ISU studio courses was summarized in
the following reports shared with the City of Ames:
• Spring 2020, DSN564 Interdisciplinary Option Studio. Report titled: Sustainable Mobility for
Smart Cities: Studies of Ames, Iowa
• Fall 2020, CRP532/432 Community Planning Studio. Report titled: Engaging Residents in
Urban Planning: Focus on Ames, Iowa
Fall 2021 semester was very exciting with the focus on organizing Play Ames: Imagine your City
community engagement festival. It was organized on September 25, 2021. The festival targeted
underrepresented and marginalized populations in the City of Ames. It concentrated on a set of
experimental activities at four selected locations. The team leaders for the respective locations
were:
• Reliable street: Stella Schroeder, a PhD candidate and specialist in place-making at the PhD
candidate at University del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile
• Franklin park: Vishnu Priya Sairamesh (graduate student). Sensory urbanism as an
engagement method
• East 7th Street: Fatema Nourin (graduate student). Engaging residents with spatial thinking
and mapping
• 5th Street and Burnett: Natalie M. Jacobson (undergraduate student). Engaging residents
with creative painting and learning about painting techniques
The students enrolled in the Fall 2021 CRP455/555 course Smart and Sustainable Cities created
activities presented at these locations. The festival included the following playful engagement
activities: Guerilla gardens. Creating green cities, Origami. Wishes and ideas for your city, Urban
planning board games. Playful learning, Breathing game. Sense the city, sense yourself, Barefoot
path. Sensory exploration, Yoga. Practice mindfulness, Digital mapping. Benches, Paper mapping.
Unsafe places, Pop-Up van. Virtual reality, Art Alley. Paint by number mural.
Smart City talks. City officials and urban planners were present at the first three locations which
targeted underrepresented and marginalized populations. Residents were able to talk with them,
ask questions, communicate with them, get to know them and express their wishes for future
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changes in the city. The report summarizing these activities and findings was submitted to the City
of Ames. Additional collaborators included Climate Change Action Theater, ISU FLEx learning, and
the CRP Undergraduate Club.
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THE MAIN PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH
The main idea behind pop-up moving community engagement follows research done in previous
semesters. This research suggests bringing engagement into the neighborhoods and meeting
residents where they are instead of inviting them to the city hall or any other public building in
which public officials reside. Additionally, it aims to implement the idea of just pop-ing up in the
neighborhood and engage residents on the spot.
Play Ames 2.0 team decided to test this approach in Ames. The main steps included the following:
• Expand the studies of the area – the City of Ames – and find low income, low education level
and racially mixed areas.
• Find property managers and agree on the possibilities to set up Play Ames 2.0 pop-up moving
community engagement in their area.
• Visit the proposed areas and evaluate their suitability for pop-up moving community
engagement.
• Work with students enrolled in the CRP455/555 Smart and Sustainable Cities course for
them to gain understanding of the goals of the project. Invite public officials and particularly
the city manager Steve Schainker to talk to the students and explain the needs of the City of
Ames regarding the engagement of underrepresented and marginalized communities.
• Task students to develop innovative, playful and learning engagement activities and
methods that can be used in Play Ames 2.0 pop-up moving community engagement project.
• Test the developed engagement methods in the classroom first and get comments by the
city manager and city officials on their usability for the goals of the project.
• Organize volunteers mostly coming from the CRP Undergraduate and Graduate Clubs. Train
them to be able to lead engagement activities even though they did not participate in
developing them.
• CRP455/555 students enrolled in the course need to produce materials in a way that can be
used by the volunteers. Clear instructions have to be provided on how to perform
engagement activities; in a written form and with the help of video instructions.
• Meet with the City of Ames officials regularly to discuss their goals and the proposed
community engagement activities. Figure below shows the meeting with Deb Schildroth,
2. PLAY AMES 2.0 POP-UP MOVING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
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assistant city manager and Susan Gwiasda, public information officer, who shared their
ideas about sustainability and helped shape the project by coming to the class. The team
additionally invited Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rosanna Rivero, The University of Gerogia, to share her
perspectives on sustainability.
• Plan the logistics of Play Ames 2.0 pop-up moving community engagement in a coordination
with the property managers, course students and club volunteers.
• Purchase all needed materials. Prior to that: make the list of the materials needed.
• Additionally, develop methods with which the efficiency of the engagement methods can be
measured.
• Organize student workers that will help support the project; find them; hire them;
coordinate them; instruct them.
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• And finally executed the planned Play Aames 2.0 pop-up moving community engagement by
pop-ing up at the selected locations, setting up the engagement activities, and engage
mostly underrepresented and marginalized residents of the City of Ames.
• Discuss the results with the City of Ames. Present the results and discuss the next steps on
the project.
This report summarizes the background for the selected locations, describes the developed
engagement activities, the tools for their evaluation and lessons learned with this part of the project.
Additional materials, pictures and descriptions can be found on the Community Engagement Living
Lab website following the link: https://www.communityengagementll.net/.
Special thanks go to student collaborators for their fantastic and dedicated support of the project:
Mathew Smith, Keegan Heines, and Kevin Paszko. They were of great support and help and also
contributed some of the sections of this report. Their names are added to the sections they
contributed.
We all wish you an enjoyable and insightful reading!
Your Play Ames 2.0 team
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Prepared by Keegan Heines and edited by Alenka Poplin
This section provides an overview of how the spatial analyses and coordination was done that
resulted in Play Ames 2.0 event site pursual and selection methodologies, reviews the criterion data
and how they were used, then summarizes all the sites’ investigatory context, narra tive, and
justification to select them. We break the sites out by those where an event was conducted, where
an event was not conducted but could be in the future, and a separate section specifically for
communities of faith. An important content of this chapter is the contact information at the end of
each section, with remarks about the status of coordination in case the site may be considered for
an event in the future.
3.1. Criteria, Methodology and Choosing Sites
Sites were proposed based on a list and maps provided by the City of Ames, Ames Area Metropolitan
Planning Organization, and Iowa State University. If a site was on the city’s list, it was considered for
further investigation and tested against the spatial criteria, some sites not on the list were also
chosen.
These are the documents and their content in terms of how they were used to choose sites:
• Low Rent & Subsidized List. A list of 8 low-income properties provided by the City of Ames
to target low-income populations, it also shows if a property is for elderly, disabled or
families.
• Communities of Faith List. A list provided by the City of Ames of 5 churches across a variety
of faiths intended to provide access to minority congregations, especially black and Korean
populations. Islamic and Jewish churches were added later bringing the total to 7.
• Environmental Justice Populations Map – Forward 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
A map provided by the City of Ames, created by the Ames Area Metropolitan Planning
Organization, showing low-income areas, ‘minority clusters’ and ‘minority populations.’
According to the plan, minority populations are more significant concentrations than
clusters.
• Minority Populations Map Census 2020. A map provided and created by the City of Ames
for Play Ames with a dot density map of target underrepresented populations in Ames (black,
Asian, and Hispanic) by Census Block, with the intent of helping choose candidate locations.
• CRP 532_432 Final Report Fall 2020. A collection of 7 maps provided by Dr. Alenka Poplin
created by her CRP 532 class in Fall 2020 finding underrepresented residents in Ames. The
maps show, by census block, total population, average household income, minority
populations, elderly and children, and a few maps combining some demographics such as
‘low-income minority populations.
To start choosing locations, the maps were overlayed in Geographical Information System (GIS) and
visually examined to find where suitable criteria overlayed on each map: primarily a low -income
concentration of minorities. Total population in the area was also a major consideration. The
3. SELECTED LOCATIONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS FOR THE SELECTION
ENGAGEMENT
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following map, Figure 3-1, omits some total population and minority population data provided by
the ISU maps, but they were consulted in final location proposals. The link to the web map on ArcGIS
online can be found following the link https://arcg.is/Xbb1f.
Figure 3-1. Site Criteria Map
Information about population and income was collected and combined on the map (Figure 3-1). The
layers in the site criteria were examined visually to figure out candidate sites. Some sites were
chosen directly from the city list, including all faith-based institutions which were contacted. Some
of the Low Rent & Subsidized housing were not contacted because they were found to be
retirement homes (The Rose of Ames), not in low-income areas (Regency and Keystone), not true
housing (Story County Housing Corporation—an office), and finally some were not chosen in favor
of sites that matched more of the other criteria maps; other properties from the city list could still
be considered in the future.
Areas of Ames where features of the criteria maps overlapped showing there was a heavy
concentration of low-income populations and high minority population were investigated. To
choose a physical location in space in these areas, we used imagery (google maps and GIS) to see if
there was an area of public property (road segment, intersection, or park) or private property
(parking lot, courtyard, or private road) that could be used to host a Play Ames event.
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After the site was investigated with imagery, a site survey was done to view locations on foot,
choose specific site setups, create mockup site diagrams, and figure out the parties that would need
to be contacted to secure the location for an event (the Ci ty of Ames or a property owner).
Then began the investigative process to find property owners’ information online, contact them and
pursue an answer of whether we were allowed to conduct an event at the site. Some property
managers were communicative, with others communication went cold and no final confirmation
was reached. In the following section we will start by viewing a map of the successful locations
where we hosted events, then a closer analysis of each site against the sources in the criteria map,
and then list the contact information and remarks. We will do the same for potential future
locations. The last section is dedicated entirely to the proposed events at the city’s list of desired
communities of faith.
3.2. Part I. Overview of the selected locations and justifications for the selection
This map (Figure 3-2) shows locations of completed Play Ames events with their site name as they
were used for reference during scheduling and organization. The selected locations included the
following sites:
• South Meadow
• E 7th St Cul-De-Sac
• 215 S Sherman
• Hutchison Park
Figure 3-2. Completed Event Locations
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Next, we will look at site familiarization for each event location and supply the justification in terms
of spatial analysis against the criteria map, which was used to ‘score’ the location for suitability and
justification, as well as any other real-world contextual factors that may have been considered in
choosing these locations. The specific site layouts were chosen through site survey and later with
tcoordination with the primary contact for the owners of the site by communicating about needs
and opportunities for use of the spaces, including specific setup of any other materials like cones,
barriers, tables, chairs, etc.
After each site familiarization we will include a snip of the site criteria map with the location and a
list of the criteria that were considered in the site’s choice. For this, we will use consistent
terminology referencing the four main sources (layers)—the city list, ISU maps, AAMPO map, and
the city map—and refer to the site's proximity to the sources’ designation of where the target
populations are found (within a low -income area, near high concentration of x race, near x feature
on the list, etc.).
3.2.1. 215 S Sherman
Narrative. 215 S Sherman is a vacant apartment building recently bought by the homeless support
non-profit The Bridge Home for renovation into temporary support facility, and the owners
approved the back-alley parking lot for our use as an event space. It is in a low-income, high minority
census block, with a high population. Site analysis presented a tricky scenario due to th e target
population living in apartment complexes next to the property we had permission to occupy (see
Fig 3-3), but the property owner for the surrounding properties did not want us advertising to their
residents. Nonetheless the site was accessible, safe and in advantageous proximity so it was
chosen.
Figure 3-3. 215 S Sherman Site Familiarization
Justification. This private property event site is one of the few in Ames in an area firmly coincident
within each of the maps’ hotspots for underrepresented populations, as seen in Figure 3-4. The area
was first found using maps, and then during the site survey we found the parking lot in the alley that
could be a good spot if we could get approved to use it, which we did. Even though the site is not
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near one of the properties on the city’s list, we presented it as a possibility to Steve Schainker, the
city manager at a meeting, and he agreed it was a practical location, and we decided to pursue it.
Figure 3-4. 215 S Sherman Criteria Analysis
Criterion considered
• Low income according to ISU maps and AAMPO map
• Minority population according to AAMPO map
• High Asian and African American population according to Ames map
• Not near any of the housing developments on the City list
3.2.2. 215 S ShermanE 7th St. Cul-De-Sac
Narrative. This is a unique location because, while it does not meet as many of the spatial criteria
as other options, it provided an opportunity for continued relationship building in the community
because we conducted an event near this area (a block west) at last year’s inaugural Play Ames
event. It also supplies direct access to one of the premier low-income housing developments
included on the City list.
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Figure 3-5. E 7th. St. Cul-De-Sac Site Familiarization
Justification. The site was chiefly chosen for its access to the low-income housing owned at the end
of the Cul-De-Sac owned by ‘Community Housing Initiatives LLC.’ Upon site survey, noting the
property owner did not want us on their property (shown in Figure 3-5 as ‘Eastwood of Ames
Apartments’), we pursued the advantage of public space, and exercise city authority to use half of
the Cul-De-Sac next to the entrance to the property. With the city public works department’s help
in blockading some are off from traffic, it supplied a safe, accessible, and highly visible event area.
Figure 3-6. E 7th. St. Cul-De-Sac Criteria Analysis
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Criterion considered
• Not low income according to ISU maps and AAMPO map
• Not a Minority population according to AAMPO map
• Not a significant concentration of minority populations—Ames map
• Supplies access to housing on the City list
• Was a location at last year’s Play Ames, offering relationship building
Figure 3-7. E 7th Street set-up for all activities
3.2.3. South Meadow on 321 South 5th Street
Narrative. South Meadow is an apartment complex consisting of 3 buildings on South 5 th St (Fig 3-
8). In the face of a challenging timeline and desperate to get events on the schedule, this site
presented lucrative opportunity to make much needed forward progress on the planning of the
project, as one of our Play Ames student assistants had a personal contact within the property
management company.
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Figure 3-8. South Meadow Site Familiarization
Figure 3-9. South Meadow Site Familiarization
Justification. This is another site not on the list provided by the city, but it was the first site on
private property that we had approval to use, and the approval happened very quickly due to the
personal connection, so we decided to take advantage of that to get some thing on the schedule
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mere weeks before the event was due to be held. During the in-person site survey, we assessed the
space would be comfortable, accessible, and highly trafficked, and overall found the on-the-ground
conditions to be highly suitable. It is in an area that effectively meets the project criteria based on
overlapping designation as low-income and minority population on each of the criteria maps.
Note that South Meadow and 215 S Sherman are close. However, each location provided
access to different populations and therefore it was considered perfectly practical to hold events at
each, especially given the context of the project management and coordination process that was
happening with property owners at a variety of locations which left some other options off the
table.
Criterion considered
• Low income according to ISU maps and AAMPO map
• Minority population according to AAMPO map
• High Asian and African American population according to Ames map
• Not near any of the housing developments on the City list
• Quick to get approved and scheduled due to connection with property owner
3.2.4. Hutchison Park
Narrative. This city park is on the northwest side in the Ontario neighborhood (Fig 3-10), it has a
good spatial orientation and despite its drawbacks (somewhat set back from target residences)
presented an opportunity to salvage a successful event in the face of timeline complications with
other candidate locations. It is close to where an event was held at last year’s Play Ames, the
Lockwood Café.
Figure 3-10. Hutchison Park Site Familiarization
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Justification. With only a few days prior to the last scheduled event and no location secured, we
decided to make the safe choice of a city park, for which approval could be granted quickly.
Communication with private properties for sites in preferable areas was running dry or we were
being denied, and we needed to execute another event, so we chose somewhere familiar with
decent levels of access to the target populations. While not meeting a lot of the spatial criteria as
strongly as other options, and not near any of the properties on the City list, this area was noted as
having a significant minority population and being near a minority cluster on the AAMPO map.
Criterion considered
• Within 2 city blocks of low-income according to ISU maps
• Near minority clusters according to AAMPO map
• Intermediate minority populations according to Ames map
• Not near any of the housing developments on the City list
• Quick to get approved and scheduled due to city property
Figure 3-11. Hutchison Park Criteria Analysis
3.2.5. Event Location Contact Table
This table summarizes the corresponding contact persons at each of the selected locations. It may
serve well for future references and in case such events are organized at these locations once again.
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Name Address Class Owner Contact Email Phone Remarks
215 S
Sherman
215 S
Sherman
Ave
Private
Property
The Bridge
Home
Shari shari@
thebridgehome.org
515-
969-
0902
Not allowed
to advertise
to
surrounding
complexes
E 7th St
Cul-De-
Sac
337-327 E
7th St
Public
Property
(Road)
City of Ames Justin
Clausen
justin.clausen@
cityofames.org
515-
239-
5279
Not allowed
on CHI LLC
property
South
Meadow
321 S 5th
St
Private
Property
Haverkamp
Property
Management
Christina
Jorgenson
christinaj@haverkamp-
properties.com
515-
309-
6426
Hutchison
Park
4517
Hutchison
St
Public
Property
(Park)
City of Ames Justin
Clausen
justin.clausen@
cityofames.org
515-
239-
5279
Table 3-1. Contact persons for the properties at the selected locations
3.3. Part II. Overview of the selected possible locations for future pop -up events
This section covers sites we pursued but that did not work out for several reasons, and they would
be good candidates to try for future locations because some of the investigatory process is already
completed with coordination process started.
Figure 3-12. Possible Event Locations
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The map (Figure 3-12) shows the locations of the possible sites which include the following:
• West Court Apartments
• Windsor Pointe Apartments
• Tripp Apartments
• Laverne Apartments
• Various communities of faith
You may reference the contact table at the end of this section for site POC (person of contact) data
and take care to read the coordination status for the site to understand our current relationship
with the property owner, and to see where communication left off previously.
West Court Apartments
Narrative. The northern segment of Delaware Ave. is a somewhat suitable location. Although not
as highly supported by the criteria maps as some options, it still supplies decent access to target
populations. The site survey revealed a tricky environment to host an event. Ultimately, we settled
on this circular driveway of an apartment complex owned by Hunziker Property Management
(Figure 3-13).
Coordination status. On 26 Sep 2022 we initiated contact with Hunziker Property Management.
Some emails were exchanged to figure out the correct individual within the company to handle our
request. The most recent communication was from the manager of the West Court Apartment s,
Andy Grove, on 7 Oct 2022, saying he is open to the idea and asked for the proposed dates. After
sending him the proposed dates, he did not respond. Due to time constraints, we later chose
Hutchison Park to replace this location. It may be possible to contact Ryan later for another attempt.
Figure 3-13. West Court Site Diagram
Justification map. Although not near any properties suggested on the city list, and not low income
according to the maps, the site is still a minority cluster, and has a high population overall. Also, due
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to the distance away from the university, it is likely we would get responses from permanent
residents which is preferred over student populations.
Criterion considered
• Not low income according to the ISU maps or AAMPO map
• Near minority clusters according to AAMPO map
• Intermediate minority populations according to Ames map
• Not near any of the housing developments on the city list
• High non-student population (assumed)
Figure 3-14. West Court Criteria Analysis
Windsor Pointe Apartments
Narrative. Windsor Pointe (Figure 3-15)is a lucrative opportunity as it is a low-income subsidized
housing complex on the city list, and there are relatively few opportunities to access those
residences directly preferred by the city. It is also well supported by the demographic criteria on the
maps. Site-survey, as usual, presented a difficult spatial arrangement to comfortably host an event.
We were able to see from the parking lot that the property does have a courtyard that opens out
into the street, which could be a location for an event that is comfortable for residents and
accessible.
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Figure 3-15. Windsor Pointe Site Diagram
Coordination status. On 26 Sep 2022 we initiated contact with TWG property management. After
some coordination to find the proper person within the company to take our request, we received
a definitive answer. On 29 Sep 2022, property manager Mike Carter responded that they were
currently performing renovations to the property, and it would not be a suitable time to further
disturb residents. He said they might be up for taking part in Play Ames in the spring if we want to
try again.
Justification map. The site meets all criteria on all maps, including the city list. Some possible
drawbacks include the accessibility factor, the feeling of isolation in the space from other properties,
and the limitations of only being able to reach four apartment complex es due to it being set back
from the road. Additionally, it’s possible this area generally has more student populations, although
we have not explored the data.
Criterion considered
• Low income according to ISU maps and AAMPO map
• Minority population according to AAMPO map
• High Asian and African American population according to Ames map
• Included on the City List
• Possibly high student population in proximity (not confirmed)
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Figure 3-16. Windsor Pointe Criteria Analysis
Tripp Apartments
Narrative. Tripp Apartments are a backup choice to Windsor Pointe Apartments that we decided to
pursue after taking another site-survey trip to the area to see if there were any other opportunities
to reach the important level of target populations in the area. We found this green space belonging
to West End Property Management that was right across the street from Windsor Pointe (as can be
seen in Figure 3-17), so we thought it to be desirable in combination with the other appealing
features of the green space like accessibility, comfort, remarkably high visibility and proximity to the
road.
Figure 3-17. Tripp Apartments Site Diagram
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Coordination status. On 30 Sep 2022, we initiated contact with West End Property Management
using an email on their website for a gentlemen listed as overseeing this property. After a few days
of not hearing back, we called the company and they had us forward those emails to their general
info org box so they could reach higher level review (sent on 6 Oct 2022). After a few more days of
not hearing back, we decided to give up on this location because the timeline became too short for
advertising and planning. It may still be possible to hold an event here, but the owners were not
very communicative, and in the future, it is recommended to call aggressively until answers are
received.
Justification map. The site meets the spatial demographic criteria on the maps and is close to the
Windsor Pointe apartments and may provide some access to those populations. Due to the open
and comfortable placement of the event on a green space close to the road and away from buildings,
the site presents a neutral and comfortable/inviting space (in theory). This may make it possible to
entice some people to cross the street to check out the event. If both property owners (TWG and
West End Property Management) agree to let us advertise to their residents, it may aid in that
effort.
Figure 3-18. Tripp Apartments Criteria Analysis
Criterion considered
• Low income according to ISU maps and AAMPO map
• Minority population according to AAMPO map
• High Asian and African American population according to Ames map
• Across the street from the Windsor Point apartments on the city list
• Probably high student population (not confirmed)
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Laverne Apartments
Narrative. We did not pursue this location, but it is still included here because of its good potential
as a potential future site. It was overlooked at first due to an error in spatial analysis, we thought it
was not an extremely high concentration of minority popul ations; after fixing the error it has been
found this may be a suitable location. It is on the city list and provides high access to target
populations. The property has a playground, green space on-site, and there is a city park nearby (in
the top-left corner of Figure 3-19).
Coordination status. We did not start coordination with this site. It was not on our radar initially,
but it is most likely worth looking into as a potential future site. An in -person site survey and site
diagram would be needed to choose a specific setup, notice how there is no red square showing any
such area in Figure 3-19. The suggested contact information is provided in the contact table, but it
is not confirmed whether those are the best email/phone for coordination, more investigation is
needed.
Justification map. This site does not meet all the criteria on the maps, but since it is on the city list,
it is a high priority. It’s possible the site was missed by the AAMPO map as a minority population in
error, because the golf course and a shopping center make up a huge proportion (over 90%) of the
land area of the census block. In Figure 3-20, the census boundary has been adjusted to remove the
area of the golf course and shopping center, so it more accurately reflects the minority population
density of the inhabited geography.
Figure 3-19. Laverne Apartments Site Diagram
Criterion considered
• Low income according to AAMPO map but not according to ISU maps
• Not a minority population or cluster according to AAMPO map
• High African American and Hispanic population according to Ames map
• On the city list
• Possibly high student population (not confirmed)
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Figure 3-20. Laverne Apartments Criteria Analysis
Possible Site Location Contact Table
Name Address Class Owner Contact Email Phone
Remarks
West
Court
1205
Delawar
e
Private
Propert
y
Hunziker
Property
Managemen
t
Ryan
Grove
ryang@hunziker.com 515-
450-
0878
Did not
give
definitive
answer
Windsor
Point
3803
Tripp St
Private
Propert
y
TWG
Property
Managemen
t
Mike
Carter
mcarter@twgdev.com 515-
268-
9100
Invited to
try in the
spring
Tripp
Apartment
s
3812
Tripp St
Private
Propert
y
West End
Property
Mgt
Nathan
Bolkema
info@jensengroup.net 515-
233-
2752
Never
responded
Laverne
Apartment
s
919 S
16th St
Private
Propert
y
Velair
Property
Mgt
Unknow
n
info@velairmanagement.co
m
612-
243-
3111
Contact
not
initiated
Table 3-2. List of contact persons at additionally identified locations
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Communities of Faith
This section is formatted differently due to the reduced spatial component of the logistics for the
communities of faith. This is for a few reasons. First, we anticipated working with the church leaders
to choose the on-site arrangements since they know the particularities of their congregation and
property. Second, we did not make it far enough in the scheduling process with any faith -based
institution that any site diagrams were warranted. Finally, in attempting to engage with a church
membership we do not consider the demographics of the populations residing near the church,
because its attendees will come from a wide area, so comparison to the criteria maps is not needed.
All institutions are hand-picked from the city list save for a few which we felt appropriate in adding.
In the next few pages, we will cap of this chapter by presenting the map of the communities of faith
for spatial reference, summarizing the narrative, coordination status and recommendations for
each, provide the faith-based institution contact table and then concluding remarks.
The faith-based institutions on this map were chosen because they provide access to membership
populations of underrepresented racial demographics in Ames. The city chose five, project staff
added two; we will specify which in the location descriptions in the next section. The final pool
consists of 5 Christian churches (3 black and two Korean), one Islamic Mosque and one Jewish
Synagogue. Note that the Play Ames fall round of events did not visit these locations because our
attempts at coordination did not result in any success. Communications were either ignored or
denied. Some locations politely asked to take a rain check and it may be possible to reignite some
communication in the future. We noted it may be more effective to try a different approach, like
more ‘face-to-face.’
Figure 3-21. Communities of Faith Location Map
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Communities of Faith Coordination Statuses
Here we will list all of the organizations, any progress that was made toward securing a Play Ames:
Imagine your City pop-up event opportunity and describe the last known status of communications.
For all organizations, we called the phone number on google, sent an email if they had a website
with one available, and sent a Facebook message if the organization had a Facebook page.
Body of Christ Church. Pastor Toran Smith, who the Ames city manager mentioned by name in a
meeting, answered the Facebook message and gave me a good email to send the information. After
some time for deliberation, the ‘BCC Pastoral Team’ decided that due to the short timeline and their
“space limitations,” they had to regretfully decline. They said “keep us in mind for the future.” This
might be a promising lead for an event in the spring when we can hold the event outside. We
recommend starting communications as early as possible and using email to contact.
Friendship Baptist Church. After leaving a voice mail, sending an email and Facebook message, we
did get a Facebook response presumably from pastor Moses Ward, saying “I’m out of town that
weekend, so let’s look at another date.” We responded with alternative options, but we never
received another response from their Facebook account. We tried again two more times with a few
days between each message, but there were never any additional replies. There was no progress
and no promising outlook for future events but might still be worth trying to meet them at their
church for in-person interfacing.
House of Refuge Church. Similar to the previous two, only Facebook was effective. A one Bishop
Orlando McClain identified himself when responding for the church account and was interested in
Play Ames and asked for more information. He wanted to talk to discuss more. We gave him a way
to reach us by phone as well as offered to meet in-person, and the last thing he said was “alright, I
will let you know.” After that we never heard back again. Very similar to Friendship Baptist Church,
we sent follow-up prompts every few days and all of our messages went un-responded to. Unknown
potential for future events.
Darul Arqum Islamic Center. This organization was not originally on the city list, we added it to
broaden potential opportunities for a successful event and felt it matched the demographic variety
the city was aiming for with its other choices. The center responded via email they were interested
but were in the middle of elections to their board and could not discuss participation in Play Ames
until elections were complete, which was not until after our first round of events. This organization
is promising a possible event in the future, and we would recommend using email to contact them.
Ames Jewish Congregation. Similar to DAIC, this organization was not on the city list. Their only
contact options were telephone voicemail and website contact request, and they did not respond
to either. Uncertain potential for future events.
Ames Korean United Methodist Church. The voicemail box for this organization was unavailable so
the only contact option was Facebook, but the account looked inactive, and our message was
unread. There is no active church website, so the only way to pursue this organization might be in -
person, if the organization is still active.
Ames Korean Christian Reformed Church. There was a voicemail box available for the listed phone
number, but they did not return our call. There was no website, email, or Facebook account
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available at the time, but we have since found some better data online and have included it in the
contact table. We might consider trying in-person or reaching out on the newly found website and
email account. potential for a future event is completely unknown.
Communities of Faith Contact Table
This contact table is different than previous sections because there is no single best point of contact
for any of the faith-based organizations, so this is a list of the methods we tried and whether or not
they were successful. There are no remarks in this table because all remarks and communications
statuses and recommendations are contained in the preceding section.
Name Address Pho
ne
No.
Voice
mail
Email Website Faceboo
k
Pastor or
Represent
ative
Body of
Christ
Church
114 5th
St.
515
-
296
-
035
6
Yes info@every1one.org https://every1one.org/ BCC -
Body of
Christ
Church |
Faceboo
k
Pastor
Toran C.
Smith
Pastor
Holly
BCC
Pastoral
Team
Friendshi
p Baptist
Church
2400
Mortens
en Rd.
515
-
292
-
453
9
Yes Use website contact
req
http://fbc-ames.org/ Friendsh
ip
Baptist
Church |
Faceboo
k
Pastor
Moses
Ward
House of
Refuge
Church
405
Northwe
stern
Ave.
515
-
709
-
068
7
Yes houseofrefugeames
@gmail.com
https://www.houseofrefu
gechurch.org/
House of
Refuge |
Faceboo
k
Bishop
Orlando
McClain
Darul
Arqum
Islamic
Center
1212
Iowa
Ave.
515
-
292
-
368
3
Yes info@arqum.org https://www.arqum.org/ Darul
Arqum
Islamic
Center |
Faceboo
k
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Ames
Jewish
Congreg
ation
3721
Calhoun
Ave.
515
-
233
-
134
7
Yes ajciowa@gmail.com https://ajciowa.org/ Ames
Jewish
Congreg
ation |
Ames IA
|
Faceboo
k
Ames
Korean
United
Methodi
st
Church
4911
Lincoln
Way
515
-
233
-
443
6
No Unknown Unknown Ames
Korean
United
Methodi
st
Church |
Faceboo
k
Ames
Korean
Christian
Reforme
d
Church
1416
20th St.
616
-
570
-
968
9
Yes amescrc@gmail.com https://www.ames-
kcrc.org/
Korean
Christian
Reforme
d Church
of Ames
|
Faceboo
k
Seong-Jun
Kim
Table 3-3. Contact persons of the communities of faith
3.4. Conclusions
This section has provided the background to why we conducted events where we did, and the
strategies we employed to secure those opportunities. Selecting sites and locking in event times and
locations was a fast-paced dynamic task. We juggled information from different sources to form our
criteria, weigh our options and pursue leads. We simultaneously managed coordination and real -
world limitations to plan events in a very constricted timeframe, which led to certain compromises
and the team quickly pursuing every opportunity to get our volunteers and researchers on the
ground to execute the engagement strategies.
The selected sites served the purpose of a pop-up mobile community engagement event. Their
layout enabled Play Ames: Imagine your City to just pop up at the locations, set up tables and
activities with an attempt to engage residents at these locations. They most satisfactorily met the
requirements of the project targeting low-income residents, minorities, underrepresented and
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marginalized communities. They also allow the team to get the necessary approvals to keep the
events on the schedule while dealing with the coordination of site design, recruiting volunteers,
advertising, gathering materials, securing transportation, and more in a matter of weeks. The
ArcGIS Online web map for viewing locations and criteria data is located here: https://arcg.is/Xbb1f.
For a lot of organizations and property owners, the lines of communication are open and there is
potential to capitalize on this work with a ‘foot in the door’ for future events. The timeframe to find,
survey and get approval from property owners at sites meeting many criteria, especially the City
list, presented a challenge. Some sites that did not work out will be discussed in the next section.
Despite aggressive follow-up and the endorsement of the city to incentivize dialogue, a few property
managers did not respond entirely, and others politely denied our request. Despite that we were
able to work well on the selected sites which enabled us to test the idea and concept of a pop -up
moving community engagement events in the selected neighborhoods.
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Students enrolled in the CRP 455/555 Smart and Sustainable Cities course (Fall 2022) were tasked
to study previous engagement activities developed withing Play Ames project by the students in
previous semesters. They were then requested to develop their own ideas, build on the successful
examples from the previous semesters. Four groups of students were formed to enable them to
work in interdisciplinary mixed teams. These groups implemented the following engagement
activities:
• Ames rocks! included origami, painting rocks and ecological painting
• Chutes and Ladders with the game board and mini games
• Mobility map concentrated on mapping and mobility
• Mural makers were dedicated to recycling, recycling materials, creativity and art
Their concepts are described in more detail in this section. They were all implemented and tested
to engage underrepresented and marginalized communities in Ames in the Fall 2022.
OBJECTIVE
The ‘Ames Rocks!’ activity is designed to learn more about the Ames community, specifically
underrepresented community members, and their current sustainability journey regarding
household practices. This activity allows people of all ages to engage in fun , sustainable craft
activities while also providing a short survey related to housing for Ames homeowners or renters to
fill out. This activity will also includes a raffle to incentivize participants to complete the survey as
well as continuing to participate in the prepared activities. Educating the Ames community about
sustainability in addition to learning more about the underrepresented community members
current sustainability practices. These planned engagement activities aim to engage community
members in fun tasks while simultaneously gaining helpful data. Invovlement in these activities will
result give participants the chance to beautify their community through fun art projects, such as
painted rocks, origami, and eco paintings. The pictures show the painted stones and a child in action
at the East 7th Street.
4. PLAY AMES 2.0: IMAGINE YOUR CITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
4.1. Ames Rocks!
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LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
There needs to be enough space for one or two tables with chairs, space on the ground for one or
two medium sized tarps, and enough room in order to ensure the community members are
comfortable. Table(s) are utilized for housing surveys and the raffle, as well as a hard surface for
people to fold origami. Ground space will be utilized for eco -painting and painting rocks. A grassy
area would be preferred to ensure comfort due to participants painting on the gr ound, but a
concrete surface would suffice. The site needs to be located in or around an underrepresented and
marginalized community. The pictures show participants at the East 7th Street being engaged in
pating rocks activity.
WHAT
With tese developed activities residents create sustainable arts with materials provided to them
and needed for painting rocks, eco-paining and origami. Resident can complete these crafts
individually resulting in painted rocks located around their community, sustainable art, and an
origami art pieces that can be showcased somewhere special in the resident’s community.
The survey and raffle portion of the activity were focused on housing and sustainability. The survey
was anonymous and included questions, such as: ‘Do you rent or own a home?’, ‘What sustainable
practices do you practice in your home currently?’, ‘What sustainable practices would you like to
partake in relating to your home that you currently do not?’, and ‘What is preventing you from
partaking in these practices?’. Once a participant has completed a survey, they have the chance to
enter in a raffle which took place every 30 minutes at each site. Prizes included sustainable
household products, like reusable bags, cups, and/ or straws. Once community members completed
their survey, team leaders wrote a number on the back of their survey while giving participants a
slip of paper with the corresponding number. Team members then collect surveys upon completion.
HOW
Rock Painting: People of all ages can use their imagination to paint fun, whimsical designs on rocks
which they can later place in their community to beautify their neighborhood. Participants can later
post a photo of them with their rock implementing a sustainable prac tice which can be posted to
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Ames city webpage and/or social media outlets. First the participants choose a rock of their choice
and then a volunteer can write on the bottom of the rock ‘#AmesRocks’. Once the participants rock
is completed and dry, volunteers can be in charge of spraying the rocks with clear coat spray
provided. The goals of this activity is to give people the chance to creatively beautify their
community while also getting residents go out into their neighborhood and document their own
sustainable practices with their rock and share them with the rest of their community through social
media.
Eco-Painting: Residents are encouraged to explore thair neighborhood and find loval materials
which they can incorpórate into their paintings. Additionally volunteers can collect some of the
materials in advance and place it on the tables to get it ready for some of the residents that are not
particularly mobile. They Will be able to paint using materials found around our table. Materials
could include, but are not limited to, pinecones, sticks, leaves, grass, etc. Residents are free to
experiment with this exciting and nove art form using unconventional materials that can create
whimsical patterns and enable them to explore the quality, shape and structure of natural and local
materials that can be found in their neighborhood.
Origami: The third activities concéntrate on origami. Participants are encouraged to create origami
choosing from three options provided. The options were shown through examples of completed
origami figures as well as posters that demonstrate the step-by-step processes through photos. The
three options included creating hearts, stars, or butterflies. Volunteers and team members were
expected to watch the videos provided to help one fully understand how to complete this craft so
they were able to successfully teach others. Volunteers assisted the process of creating origami in
ensuring that the paper provided is cut into a perfect square which is crucial for success. All scrap
paper from origami was saved and reused for scrap paper for the raffle portion of the activity. All
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completed origami figures can be collected from each site and later used to create an art piece
housing the origami figures at the end of all site visits. The picture shows two girls cereating origami
in Huchison park.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Volunteers and team mebers facilitated a conversation around sustainability while participants
were able to explore novel ways in which they can implement more sustainable practices in their
homes and everyday lives.
TIME NEEDED
All activities are creative projects that do not have a time requirement but can last 15 minutes 5to
several hours depending on the interest of the reseident and willingnes to engage in these
creatievve endavors. The raffle took place every 30 minutes.
PREPARATION
Team members and volunteers had to set up one or two tables for origami, the survey, and raffle.
Tables were equipped with project materials, surveys, pens, and potentially any extra materials.
Along with tables, team members and volunteers also had to set up chairs and a tarp on the ground
next to the tables. The tarp housed paints, paper, rocks, paintbrushes, and any other materials for
rock painting and eco-painting.
PERMISSIONS
No city permissions needed for activity.
MATERIAL
Set-up:
• Tables
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• Chairs
• Tarp
Rock Painting:
• Rocks
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Googly eyes
• Clear coat
• Sharpie marker
Eco-Painting:
• White paper
• An area where people can find natural materials to paint with
• Paint
Origami:
• Square pieces of paper
• Scissors (optional for butterfly origami)
• Poster tutorials
Raffle:
• Slips of paper (scraps of paper from origami)
• Pens
• Surveys
• A bag to hold raffle tickets
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
This activity used sustainable craft projects to get the community engaged and educate them about
sustainability while also collecting valuable information related to housing with underrepresented
community members.
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OBJECTIVE
The objective of Sustainability and Ladders activity is to provide a fun learning experience for
individuals that attend Play Ames. The game of chutes and ladders works to provide a fun way to
do this for both adults and children, being that it is a very cherished childhood game of many
adults. It also concentrates on learning about residents’ knowledge and experience regarding
sustainability. It additionally aims to teach ways to improve their sustainable lifestyle.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
Within the area provided for Play Ames, it requires space for a 5x5 foot area for the game mat
that is placed on the ground, and enough space for players to stand around it and throw a large
dice for playing.
WHAT
In this activity participants play a beloved childhood game of snakes/sustainability and ladders.
The players are questioned on sustainability in day-to-day practices for both the learning
experience of the players as well as the exchange of practices related to sustainability.
4.2. Chutes and Ladders
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HOW
1. Players sign an entry slip providing basic information about themselves in terms of
demographics (age/ethnicity/basic information)
2. Players take turns rolling a die and moving the corresponding number of spaces indicated by
the die.
3. If the player lands on a space with a question mark, they are asked a question that relates to
sustainability. The answer can be true or false, multiple choice, or yes/no.
4. Depending on whether the player gets a right or wrong answer decides how the game
progresses. If it is correct, the game continues on normally. If the answer is incorrect, the player
moves to a mini game. The player is then provided with a labeled ball that they have to throw
into the correctly corresponding bucket. The buckets are labeled by the name of the waste bin
that corresponds to the color of the bucket. If the player puts the ball into the correct bucket,
they can progress further up the ladders. Otherwise, they remain in the same spot. The figures
below show the basic principles of the game structure.
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LEARNING COMPONENT
The game helps learning for both the players as well as the individuals conducting the game.
Players learn new things about sustainability that might not have been previously known to them,
while the people administrating the game learn what the players know about sustainability and
what they could know more about. The questions that were used within the game were the
questions that the class has been provided by the City of Ames and address issues of
sustainability.
TIME NEEDED
The game can vary in length depending on how many players are playing, how players progress
through the game, and how many questions players initially get right. The approximate time for
the game is from 30 minutes up to an hour or even more if the players get excited and immersed
in the game.
PREPARATION
Time for gathering materials such as the game board and pieces needed for playing. Time to
create questions that the players will be asked for better knowledge of players’ understanding of
sustainability. Time to purchase and organize materials needed for the game.
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PERMISSIONS
No special permissions needed.
MATERIAL
Material needed for the game includes:
• Cards with questions
• Chutes and Ladders playmate
• Four buckets
• Soft balls
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
City planners can get involved as observers or active members of the game play. The answers
given by the players can help to gain insight as to what residents generally know about
sustainability. It works both ways, to educate the residents as well as the leading team and the
planners as to what more information can be provided to citizens for Ames’ sustainability plans.
Figure above shows playing the game at 215 S Sherman location.
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OBJECTIVE
The goal of this engagement activity is to learn what modes of transportation residents are using
and what it would take for them to switch to a more sustainable option. It is also aiming to
understand what improvements residents want to see in Ames’s transportation systems.
In this activity, adult residents are asked what three places in Ames they frequent the most and
what kind of transportation they use to get there. Stickers related to the transportation type are
placed on top of these three places. They are also be asked to share any positive experiences with
transportation they have had in other cities or countries and any suggestions they have for Ames’s
transportation. The children may want to play with puzzle maps and transportation-related
coloring sheets. The materials for that is ready to be used. Figure below shows the activity as
performed in Hutchison Park.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
The focus is on a neighborhood with a marginalized and underserved community; such
neighborhoods have to be carefully studied and selected . A stable table is needed with at least
two chairs. It is also important to pay attention to the weather. This activity, if performed outside,
needs to be performed on a warmer day and without too much wind.
4.3. Mobility Map
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WHAT
In this activity, residents are encouraged to know where in Ames they visit most often and how
they get there. They are presented with a big, printed map with points of interest and major roads
clearly marked for their orientation. The map is associated with a questionnaire printed on a
paper. Some pencils and stickers are also needed. Stickers are used for the participants to indicate
the most frequently used places. Some participants used pencils to draw those places on the map
and even indicated how they get there by drawing their routes.
HOW
Survey Part: adult residents
Participants are asked the following questions to gain insight into preferred transportation in
Ames:
- What three places in Ames do you visit most often?
- What form(s) of transportation do you use to get there?
- Do you own a vehicle? If so, what kind?
- What would make you consider using other methods of transportation?
o CyRide
o Bike
o Walk
o Other
- Share positive experiences with transportation in other cities or countries.
- What suggestions do you have for the improvements of Ames’s transportation?
Game Part: youth residents
Children at the event will have multiple games to choose from:
- Puzzle Map of the Globe
- Puzzle Map of the United States
- Transportation-related coloring sheets
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LEARNING COMPONENT
The participants are asked questions about transportation in other cities and ways Ames’s
transportation could be improved. They share information about their experience in the city and
volunteers, team members and city planners can learn from them and discuss ways in which they
can improve infrastructure in a way that it can better serve the residents.
TIME NEEDED
Participants need about 10-15 minutes per individual survey to ask questions, gather data, and
map data. Sometimes the map becomes a tool and initiates discussions around transportation,
experiencing the city, biking, walking and issues residents experience regarding transportation in
the city. The map is often not the main goal, but rather becomes a tool for encouraging residents
to share their experience.
PREPARATION
A paper map of the city, including CyRide routes, needs to be printed prior to the engagement
activity. Paper forms of the survey have to be designed and printed. The flyer with the QR code
for participants who prefer to fill out the survey online needs to be designed and printed.
PERMISSIONS
No city permissions needed.
MATERIAL
Material needed for this engagement activity:
- Writing utensils: pencils, pens, markers
- Printed flyer with QR code
- CyRide map flyers
- Map of Ames
- Candy
- Puzzles/games for children
- Printed survey forms
- Table and chairs
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
This engagement activity can give the city of Ames information about chosen modes of
transportation. It may educate residents and obtain views on how the city can improve their
transportation systems.
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OBJECTIVE
One of the six main objectives of the Ames Climate Action Plan is Reducing Waste Emissions.
There are two facets of this approach: reducing the waste that is generated in the first place, and
more responsible waste disposal.
This engagement activity strives to inform Ames residents, particularly those from
underrepresented communities, of waste reduction initiatives around Ames and how they can
get involved. Kids get to play and enjoy fun activities while parents gain information that they
can use and share with their friends. Raising awareness about sustainability is relatively simple,
but maintaining that interest is hard. This playful activity was designed with the goal to instill a
sense of accomplishment in the kids, persuade them to pursue a sustainable life and show their
parents what they can do. It is suitable for all age groups, and residents are able to contribute to
a group-effort, community-focused mural. Figures below show the activity presented at E 7th St
Cul-De-Sac location.
LOCATION AND SPACE NEEDED
There needs to be enough space for people to comfortably complete the activity along a sidewalk
or parking lot. Preferably, next to a park or place with trees and vegetation. Tables and chairs
would be ideal for ensuring people’s comfort and may even be necessary for community members
with physical disabilities, but the activity could also be completed while sitting on a chair.
WHAT
Create art from recyclable materials with materials provided at the stand, like plastic bottles,
cardboard, and/or paper. The kids can contribute to a group recycled mural, that can be installed
4.4. Mural Makers
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in a highly viewed area within their community. The mural consist of a center portion with the
question: Do you recycle or compost? This question is then surrounded by a recognizable symbol
for composting or recycling. The empty space is available for the residents to add their relevant
piece to the mural. By adding a piece to the mural, the residents answers the question; they can
paint their pieces and add their name if they like. If they do neither, then they are asked, which
is easier? Then they take the corresponding piece, mark it with an ‘E’ and place that piece onto
the mural.
By the end of each event, the mural will become the database. Therefore, a picture of the mural
must be taken once completed. As the mural grows with engagement, the organizing team will
be able to observe community awareness of these initiatives.
HOW
1) Collect recycled materials, include reasonably thick/corrugated cardboard and plastic
2) Flatten cardboard, remove any sensitive information and non-cardboard elements
3) Calculate total square feet of cardboard
4) Divide total square feet by the number of planned ‘Play Ames’ locations, this is the approximate
square feet of each mural
5) Cut into manageable standardized tiles (I cut into 1'x1' tiles), to maintain the integrity of the
cardboard cut at edges
6) Staple the tiles together, at least two staples per edge
7) Paint the center image and write the question
LEARNING COMPONENT
Participants can learn what items are compostable or not through discussion of various items they
can put on their mural, and conversations with parents can determine awareness of the Ames
Food Waste Diversion Program, recycling and how to get involved. The activities hope to instill a
long-term habit of practicing recycling and composting practices through the games and play.
They will also hopefully gain an appreciation for community activities and to feel proud of their
creations and group mural.
TIME NEEDED
These projects can take as much or as little time as each person wants to put into it. Any paint or
glue will take a little bit of time to try, but the activities should not take more than 20 minutes or
so.
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PREPARATION
To prepare the activities, the organizing team needs to set up a table (or multiple, depending on
the expected number of people) and supplies. Collection of cardboard materials can be done at
the docks of ISU facilities and other recycled materials can be collected at International Paper in
Ankeny, Iowa. Contact Steve Kohtz, the Iowa State Recycling and Special Events Coordinator at
515-766-0877 for more information.
PERMISSIONS
It would be good to get permissions for placing the mural in an apartment complex community
space or prominent location in a neighborhood.
MATERIAL
The materials needed includes:
• Corrugated and Thick Cardboard
• Cardboard Cutter or Knife
• All-Purpose Gorilla Glue
• Staple Gun and Staples
• Acrylic Paint and Brushes
• Collected Recycled Materials
COMBINATION WITH CITY PLANNING
The mural project aims to encourage residents of all ages to think about the differences between
recycling and composting and how feasible it is to implement each practice into their home. They
can also gain an understanding, through informal discussion s, of barriers to adopting such
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sustainable practices and how city officials can promote recycling and composting programs
among underrepresented communities. Figure above shows the leading team organizing the
mural activity at East 7th Street.
HOW TO RUN THIS ACTIVITY
Scenario A: Resident recycles, composts, or both
Host (you): Hello! Would you like to add to our recycling art mural?
Resident: Sure. What do I need to do?
Host: Do you recycle or compost?
Resident: I recycle/compost!
Host: Awesome. You can grab a picture of a recyclable/compostable item, decorate it the way
you’d like, and add it to the mural!
Note: If people recycle and compost, feel free to invite them to add a piece of each. However, try
to keep it to one “vote” per person for data accuracy. For small children, encourage them to add
leaves or sticks or other scenic components that they find. Also note that people are not required
to write their name as part of this activity. They are welcome to, but there will be no way to
identify who gave each response.
Scenario B: Resident does not recycle or compost
Host (you): Hello! Would you like to add to our recycling art mural?
Resident: Sure. What do I need to do?
Host: Do you recycle or compost?
Resident: I don’t do either of those.
Host: Okay! Which one do you think would be easier? This would open up conversation about the
respective programs, how to get involved, etc. In general, Scenario B will probably take more time
than Scenario A because of the additional discussion component.
Resident: I think composting would be easier for me.
Host: That’s so exciting! Go ahead and grab a picture of a compostable item, decorate it however
you’d like, and add it to the mural! First, I’ll note that you think this one would be easier, just for
our data purposes. *Host marks the item with an E in the corner- not huge, but easy to see when
we are collecting data later.*
IMPORTANT: TAKE A PICTURE OF THE MURAL BEFORE DISASSEMBLING. This is so important for
the data collection component!
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Finding proper evaluation methods is also part of this research. The goal is to find fun, innovative
and reliable evaluation methods that do not add additional burden to the participants. This research
concnetrates on the testing of methods that may help identify effective evaluation methods.
5.1. Punch Card/ Sticker Card (Appendix A & C)
In order to evaluate the activities, the team decided to develop a simple punch card which can be
used by the participants to place stickers on the activities they took part in and also to be able to
evaluate them. The card was printed two-sided and can be reviewed below. The front side was very
colorful, and the back side asked about the demographic data of the participant. See Figure 5-1.
Figure 5-1. Punch/sticker card
5. TOOLS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTED ENGAGEMENT METHODS
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This card was then combined with a raffle and participants could win a variety of presents. They had
to bring their punch/sticker card with them and were allowed to turn the wheel of luck. This was a
very beloved and fun activity and participants were willing to use the punch/sticker card in order
for them to qualify for the wheel of luck. Figure 5-2 (left) shows the raffle and the wheel used for
the ruffle, and the right one shows a situation in which the team members explain the use of
punch/sticker card to the young participants.
Figure 5-2. Raffle (left) and Instructing participants how to use the punch/sticker card (right)
Appendix A and C summarize the results gained with the help of this evaluation tool. In
short, it was fun to use it and participants really liked collecting tickets and placing them on the
activities evaluating them. The main results can be summarized as follows:
• All engagement activities were liked, but some were more liked than the others. The
best evaluations were given to Eco-Art. Everyone liked it. Other very well evaluated
were Rock painting, Origami and Chutes and Ladders game.
• Mobility Map was well liked, and some were a bit critical about it. However, by
observing residents communicating with the help of the paper map one can conclude
that it is a great tool for building trust, exchange on the issues and opportunities and
communicating.
• Mural Makers will have to be changed in order for the participants and urban
planners to get the most out of it. The suggestion is to combine the activity with some
learning materials so the residents can learn about recycling options in general and
more specifically in the City of Ames.
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5.2. Raffle Entry Questionnaire (Appendix B)
Raffle entry questionnaire was a very short, one-paper survey entailing sustainability questions and
demographic questions including race, age, gender, educational status, employment status,
occupancy. It mostly targeted adault participants with questions specifically asking about
participants taking steps to lower their utility bill, what practices they do to achieve that, and if there
was anything the city could do to help them increase their sustainability further. The one (1) page,
front and back paper survey was available at each of the four locations to any participants who were
willing to complete the survey. A total of eight (8) paper surveys were completed in all. This number
is to low to make any particular conclusions. It is also not posible to generalize these results.
The positive aspects of this “snapshot” were the following:
• The majority of the respondents indicated that their race was “Black or African American”
• All respondents specified renting a home and taking steps to help lower their utility bill as
well as denoting which listed actions they take to assist in lowering their bill.
In general, the short questionnaire combined with a raffle worked very well. It was easy for the
participants to respond to just a few quesitons. Combining it with a raffle was very motivating and
fun for the participants. This cocnept can be used in furth er community engagement Events and
was considered being successful by Play ames 2.0 team.
5.3. Mobility Map Engagement Activity
By Kevin Paszko
The methodology for the mobility map and survey consisted of the following:
1. Creation of a paper questionnaire that asked participants about demographic
information and gauges participants’ views on modes of transportation in Ames
2. Ensure the survey is able to be understood by a range of ages
3. Creation of a map of Ames for participants to plot locations they frequent
4. Collect data at all locations through the team member in charge of the survey at
every location
5. Analyze and evaluate the results
6. Summarize the results in a report
The questionnaire for the mobility map had greater length to it than any other survey except
for the rational ignorance questionnaire. Despite the length, it did not add difficulty in terms of
clarity or comprehension for any respondent regardless of their age. Participants were encouraged
to respond to the survey at every event location. The survey was a multi -part format which asked
respondents to identify their three (3) most visited places in Ames and write the answers in a table.
They would then place a colored dot sticker on a map of the Ames city limits to show where the
locations were spatially. Each color corresponded with a certain event location. The remainder of
the survey inquired about respondents’ views of modes of transportation in Ames, seve ral
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qualitative feedback questions, and demographic information. The two (2) page, front and back
paper survey was available at each of the four (4) locations to any participants who were willing to
complete the survey. A total of twenty-one (21) paper surveys were completed in all.
Results
In evaluating the results of the twenty-one (21) surveys, it was evident that the mobility map was
one of the most well-received activities and had the second highest response rate for a
questionnaire right behind the rational ignorance survey. There were several locations that made
many people’s lists of their three (3) most traveled locations. Among those were Iowa State
University, Walmart on Grand Avenue and/or South Duff Avenue, and Ames Public Library.
However, the vast majority of responses were unique to individual respondents. This is evident due
to most locations only having been listed as a response once.
Observations by Kevin Paszko
I personally worked the mobility map twice, at the first and last events that were held, and I found
it to be a very rewarding experience. First, I think that is very valuable data to collect in a city as
unique as Ames, not only for its diversity, but also for its public transit system. Second, I believe it
was of critical importance to establish a dialogue with the people who participated in the activity to
gather further insight than simply what they answered on the questionnaire. While that data tells
part of the story, it lacks proper context without having talked about the responses with the person
filling it out in front of you. For that reason alone, it was my favorite activity that I had the pleasure
of working thus far.
Taking a step back and evaluating both my time working the activity and seeing others work it, I
think both components of the activity work very well. All of the people I personally engaged with
seemed to enjoy the activity and having a conversation about certain questions on the survey. I
didn’t ever get the feeling that someone was uncomfortable or guarded about sharing their
responses with me. I also didn’t ever encounter anyone who thought the survey was too long or
complex for them to complete. The usage of the large map of the Ames city limits and CyRide routes
were used a few times when I was working the activity but was not widely used overall. I obviously
can’t speak to the experiences of the two other people who worked the activity, but I ended up
putting the colored dot stickers on after the respondent had already finished their survey and
moved on to another activity. The maps are definitely a great resource to have available if a
respondent wants to use them.
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Figure 5-3. Results of the mapping engagement activity
Location data (not asked of respondents):
Out of the twenty-one (21) respondents, ten (10) were from East 7th Street/South Meadow
Apartments on October 9th, five (5) were from South Sherman Avenue on October 15th, four (4) were
from Hutchison Park on October 22nd, and two (2) were from South Meadow Apartments on
October 7th.
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Figure 5-4. Location data
Demographics asked of respondents:
D: Gender
Out of the twenty-one (21) respondents, twelve (12) indicated that they are female, seven (7)
indicated that they are male, and two (2) indicated that they identify as another gender.
Figure 5-5. Gender
D: Employment Status
Out of the twenty-one (21) respondents, ten (10) indicated that they work full-time, six (6) indicated
that they are a student, two (2) indicated that they are unemployed, one (1) indicated that they
work part-time, one (1) indicated that they are retired, and one (1) did not indicate their
employment status.
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Figure 5-6. Employment status
D: Age
Out of the twenty-one (21) respondents, six (6) indicated that they are 18 -24 years old, five (5)
indicated that they are 25-34 years old, four (4) indicated that they are under 18, two (2) indicated
that they are 35-44, two (2) indicated that they are 55-64, one (1) indicated that they are 45-54
years old, and one (1) did not indicate their age.
Figure 5-7. Age
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Q: Do you own a vehicle?
Out of the twenty-one (21) respondents, eleven (11) indicated that they do not own a vehicle and
ten (10) indicated that they do own a vehicle.
Figure 5-8. Vehicle ownership
Q: If yes, what type?
Out of the twenty-one (21) respondents, twelve (12) did not indicate that they own a vehicle or
they don’t own a vehicle and nine (9) indicated that they own a gas or diesel vehicle.
Figure 5-9. Vehicle type
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5.4. Rational Ignorance engagement survey (Appendix D)
The research group of four students designed an engagement survey and surveyed participants at
the four locations. The survey consisted of a set of questions related to their engagement with the
city and urban planning, the issues they experience, how they would like to be contacted and in
which area of the city they live. The survey can be found in the appendix of this report. Below one
can see the QR code card which was broadly distributed to attract the residents of Ames and invite
them to respond to the survey.
Figure 5-2. QR code of the engagement survey with the focus on rational ignorance
This survey was able to attract residents with low income. However, the majority of resondents have
a College degree. Out of 13, there were 9 white and 4 Black or African American. Other conclusions
include:
• Although we only received 13 responses, each response was received from an individual who
was able to most likely never engaged in dialogue with the city before.
• Our respondents claim they don’t know how to participate and would like an advance notice
of the events.
• The City of Ames must find a way to ensure that their outreach tactics are effective. This
could involve, letters in the mail, expanding social media etc.
This survey, or a slightly improved and changed version of it, will be redistributed in the 2023 Spring
Play Ames Event in order to expand our sample size.
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This section summarizes the main lessons learned in Play Ames 2.0 pop-up community engagement
experiment.
6.1. Community engagement activities
Engagement activities developed by the students enrolled in the Fall 2022 course CRP455/555 Smart
and Sustainable Cities included the following:
• Ames rocks! included origami, painting rocks and ecological painting
• Chutes and Ladders with the game board and mini games
• Mobility map concentrated on mapping and mobility
• Mural makers were dedicated to recycling, recycling materials, creativity and art
All of them were quite different from each other. Ames rocks! Included creative activities that
enabled participants to paint and explore local materials and fold their own origami figure. Such
activities proved to be very beloved in the past and this event confirms it. Additionally, participants
like seeing the final product and sometimes seen taking it with them home. There is a particular
satisfaction in getting involved in such creative activities. Figure 6-1 shows origami activity at 215
South Sherman.
Figure 6-1. Origami with kids
Chutes and Ladders was a very unique activity and also brough quite some fun to the
participants. The big play-amt was enjoyable as well as throwing the big dice involved fun and
6. LESSONS LEARNED
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playfulness. Participants were asked certain questions that were related to sustainability. Some
questions were given to the team by the city administrators and leadership. In case of a correct
answer the player could make the next move in the game. Very playful was also the idea of four
buckets which served as a game-in-the-game. Participants had a lot of fun throwing the balls into
the buckets.
The disadvantage of this activity was at times the complexity of the questions and at other
times it was difficult for the game guide to ask the question, handel all the cards, register the
response and lead the game. In the case of four players this task was overwhelming for one person.
It almost felt like every player needed an assistant game-guide that would hold all cards and register
responses. Another disadvantage was that the questions that were asked and consequently
answered did not necessarily present a complete picture. In other words, some fields on the game
required to ask some questions and at times some of the fields were passed by/not used in case the
player progressed in the game in a different way than the other players. There is, therefore , no
systematic data collection possible with the current design of this game. Figure 6-2 shows the setting
of the game in Hutchison park.
Figure 6-2. Chutes and Ladders game
The game itself, without the sustainability questions, holds obvious appeal for children since
the point of the game is to ascend to the top of the board. The dynamic of the activity changes
completely when the sustainability questions are used because the children may not understand
the questions as they are worded and originally aimed for adults. The team ended up improvising
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on the fly to make the questions simpler if a child was a
participant. We also had to adjust when someone would
be asked one of the questions because too few were
being asked in the original form of the activity.
Additionally, we were not able to collect any data from
the activity due to the listed problems. This resulted in
a more patchwork quality to the activity and its
functioning as the events went on. Changes need to be
made to ensure the team is getting the information
needed from the activity as well as providing another
fun and engaging game for the younger event
attendees.
Figure 6-3. Mobility map
Mobility map was one of the very interesting activities (Figure 6-3). It often served as a tool
for conversations. It was not only used by the older generation, but also intrigued (in a positive
sense) the younger generation. Elementary age children did just fine with the mobility map after
having explained the purpose of it in easier to understand terms. Overall experience with this
approach was very positive. Participants respond to it very positively as it is a very sincere activity
and associated with a meaningful questionnaire which enables us to systematically gather data. This
type of activity can be used for a variety of topics, and we can only suggest using it at every event.
The activity had a table dedicated to it with a big, printed map presented to the participants who
were able to take time and sit on a chair to communicate with and through the use of a map, share
their experience and stories and answer the questions in the survey associated with the map. The
satisfaction results indicate that the mobility map was one of the more popular activities with a high
response rate. It enabled open conversations and unique engagement. Having more in-depth
conversations with the respondents made the activity more meaningful and people seemed to open
up more when I expressed interest in their responses.
Mural Makers was the least understood activity and also liked the list by the participants
(Figure 6-4). As one of the volunteers describes his experience in the following way: “Mural makers
was very tedious to set up, did not look professional due to the time constraints of the preparation
such as stapling cardboard and painting that were instructed by the class group who created it. One
lesson we can take away is for future activities there should be no setup that involves crafting or
building on-site but rather limit setup to spatial arrangements”. The positive aspects of this activity
include the use of recycling materials and participants could learn more about recycling. Additional
materials would need to be developed that would educate residents about the possibilities of
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recycling in their city. This activity missed the opportunity to include educational material and
sharing the possibilities available to the residents in terms of recycling.
Figure 6-4. Mural Makers at E 7th Street
Appendix A summarizes the likability of these activities. It is based on a small sample of 11
participants that actually filled out the punch/sticker card and submitted it. The positive aspect of
these participants is that the team managed to attract a significant number of Black or African
American participants. 60% of our responders where White. 33% were Black or African American,
and 6% identified as more than one race (Figure 6-5).
Figure 6-5. Rase of the respondents using punch/sticker card to evaluate the activities
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Based on this analysis, the activity that was liked the most was the Eco-Art activity. The Eco-Art
activity was a creative activity where the participant created mixed -medium pieces of art, which
included paint, leaves, sticks, and other pieces of nature. 8 respondents engaged in this activity and
strongly enjoyed it. Most of the respondents were young or very young and only a few older people
filled the punch/sticker card out and participated in the raffle. Everybody who took part in this
activity “strongly enjoyed” it (see Figure 6-6).
Figure 6-6. How much did you enjoy the activity? The result for eco-art
6.2. Engaging underrepresented/marginalized residents
Ames is a city of students and predominantly white people most of which are involved with the
university or the hospital and are therefore rather highly educated and better well of in terms of
their salary and their overall standard. Nevertheless, the project team worked hard to identify the
areas in which underrepresented/marginalized people live. They were defined by th eir low level of
education, low income and/or specific ethnicity including Asian and African American residents that
are usually difficult to reach by the city administration.
In doing that, the organizing team faced some challenges in this Play Ames 2.0 pop -up
moving engagement ideas. Based on the experience, using census data is nearly irrelevant in
choosing pop-up locations because it is only possible to target one apartment building per event.
This means the apartment may or may not give access to a representative sample of the census
block that it occupies. One needs to somehow evaluate whether the apartment building consists of
the targeted demographic or not. Census data might be one indicator, but individual attributes of
the property such as rental rates might be another; one must be careful of how presumptuously
one profiles the residents if the concrete data is unavailable.
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If it is possible to somehow get people to attend the event from a wider area in the census
block around the selected property, this is less of an issue, but on-site spatial conditions are often
not conducive to this. It is difficult to attract people across separate housing developments with
physical or social boundaries; this is primarily due to distance, but also the inconvenience of on -
foot navigation across streets or around barriers, as well as implied social rules abou t not entering
another’s property, even if permission is extended. We have bolded the previous sentence because
it is a key finding. One cannot go to a property or on-site location as a pop-up engagement team
and expect to reach the demographic makeup of the census block it is in. The list from the City of
Ames indicating low-income properties was key in circumventing this limitation. Utilizing public
space may trade-off direct access in exchange for mitigating the problem of physical or implied
property boundaries.
Figure 6-7. Connecting and sharing (E 7th St Cul-De-Sac)
On the positive side, it was quite remarkable to experience some of the targeted population
and get in touch with them. The most valuable conversations happened informally in connecting
and sharing. The feeling of trust, vulnerability and authenticity emerged on several occasions with
a diverse number of people. Figure 6-7 shows a situation that touched our hearts. While the little
boy was first painting the stones and got involved with origami activity, his mom and her sister
shared their personal stories. The little boy was then eagerly eating mandarins that one of the team
members pilled for him. These were the moments of deep connection and trust. Very rare and very
valuable. It happened at the location the team visited before: E 7th St Cul-De-Sac.
At 215 S Sherman first just one family from Somalia joined with two little kids. They then
called all other relatives and family members they knew who also joined. They had an older mom
(grandmother to the kids) and the team again experienced a very similar situation. While some
members of the team worked with the kids and engaged them into play, their parents were free
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and available for conversations, surveys and sharing. Also at this locations there was a feeling of joy,
positive Exchange, building trust and connection (Figure 6-8).
Figure 6-8. Mom with her kids playing Chutes and Ladders (left) and painting stones activity (right)
(215 S Sherman)
Involvement of this family was incredible as well as of their kids. They were very happy to
get the attention of Play Ames 2.0 pop -up moving engagement team. They were willing to share
their experience with the team. It is a special pleasure and honor to engage families that do not
have many other opportunities. The children wanted to try all activities and they were eager to learn
from the team, experiment and play. Their mother called their relatives and one by one they joined
the team. It was a bit cloudy, windy and chilly on that day. In spite of that everyone seems to be
enjoying the activities and what Play Ames had to offer to them. Figures 6-16 show the very engaged
children and their pride in painting and winning Play Ames t-shirts as a reward for their activities.
These numbers are rather low per each location. The effort and cost of these activities in
thse initial efforts are rather high. They can be possibly considered a Good investment from a
persepctive of building a network and relationships, but they cannot be justified with the number
of participants reached with pop-up moving community engagement methodology no matter what
kind of engagement activities were developed. On the positive side, the big majority of the engaged
residents fell into the category of underrepresented and marginalzied. In this sense, the pop-up
moving community engagement activity can be considered successful. However, the numbers or
engaged residents are rather low in comparison to the Community Engagement Festival which
attracted over 250 residents. It really depends on the goals and the audience one wants to reach
with tese activities.
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In summary, the observed numbers of engaged residents for each of the location are as
follows:
Location
Observed number of engaged residents
South Meadow
About 5 white residents participated on two days. This was
not a particularly successful site.
E 7th St Cul-De-Sac
About 22 out of which all were underrepresented and
marginalized, and half of them were Black or African
American. There were about nine kids engaged at this
location and the majority fo them were Black or African
American. All adaults were female.
215 S Sherman
About 10 people out of which all were underrepresented and
marginalized. tHey were all Black or African American except
one white male. Around 5 black or African American kids
participated in all activities.
Hutchison Park
About 15 out of which 1 was Black or African American man
and 5 kids. There were slightly my more women than man but
predominantly white.
Observed togehter
Around 52-55 residents were reached with Play Ames 2.0
pop-up moving community engagement. All of them were
underrepresented and marginalized base on the definition
taken in this report and as discussed with the City of Ames
officials.
Table 6-1. Estimated numbers of residents engaged in Play Ames 2.0. pop-up moving community
engagement
6.3. Selected locations
The following specific locations that were selected for Play Ames 2.0 moving pop-up engagement
were: South Meadow, E 7th St Cul-De-Sac, 215 S Sherman, and Hutchison Park. Each of the locations
had specific characteristics. Some results were surprising to the organizing team.
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South Meadow location is a set of apartments, and they are all arranged in a way that seems
very inviting and enclosed. Figure 6-9 shows the setting. All apartments have windows towards Play
Ames 2.0 event, and we expected a huge participation. The event was very well advertised and also
well in advance. The organizing team placed big and colorful posters printed in all “courtyards” and
placed them in very visible locations.
Figure 6-9. South Meadows location
E7th St Cul-De-Sac location was used for the second time and the team noticed the
difference of just coming to the same locations for the second time (Figure 6-11). Many residents
knew about the project and some of them already had a positive experience and good memories
from the previous time. The location works also because many residents drive by, and they have to
drive very slowly. This enables the organizing team to talk to them. Sometimes they stop the car
and ask what is going on and some other times the team members observe where they park, walk
towards them and encourage them to join Play Ames 2.0 moving pop-up event. The weather played
a role too. The day on which the event was planned was sunny, beautiful, and very pleasant without
any strong wind. It seemed like a very nice day, just the right one for some engagement activities.
Play Ames 2.0 team ordered pizza and served the underrepresented and margin alized communities
with a treat in the form of food. The event was well advertised with posters placed all around along
the streets. Additionally, over 200 postcards were printed and placed in the little libraries and on
the doorways and entrances into the apartments and houses. Figure 6 -10 shows examples of
placements of the posters and postcards.
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Figure 6-10. E 7th Street advertisement
Figure 6-11. Black and African American kids getting involved in the activities (E7th St Cul-
De-Sac location)
All participants fell in the category of underrepresented and marginalized residents. The
majority were Black or African American and low income and low educational level. Figures 6 -11
shows kids involved in the Mobility Map survey (left) and rock painting (right).
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To the surprise of the team expecting many underrepresented and marginalized
communities living at 215 S Sherman location we were told by a family from Somalia that there are
not many families living there (Figure 6-12). They shared that they miss that and that they miss
environments that would be kids friendly. They then called everyone they knew in their community.
It took a little bit of time for this location to develop more activity. Mostly moms with their kids
joined and had a good time. They loved our contribution, and we could play with kids and talk with
the adults while kids were playing. They were all eager to get involved in all the activities presented.
They were playful and curious. We ordered pizza and they celebrated the event with us. We know
we could return anytime soon, and they would remember us and be willing to collaborate in the
future in case we would need anything.
Figure 6-12. 215 S Sherman location engaging kids in origami (left) and showing the set-up
at the location (right)
Hutchison Park was the last location Play Ames 2.0 team visited (Figure 6-13). The park is
located nicely and centrally in the middle of the residential area. It is small enough for the visitors
to see the whole area and big enough that many different activities can be put in the park. This is
the second park the team gained experience with. Last time we set up activities in Franklin Park
behind West HyVee. This time the experience was similar.
Many residents using the park do not think that the activities prepared aim at engaging them.
Even though we distributed the posters around the park, residents do not seem to read those or
pay attention to them. When the organizing team invited people that passed by, they seemed to be
surprised that these activities are for them and that they are invited. It is not obvious to the park
users that they can just simply join the activities. The team had to walk around the park and keep
on inviting the residents to take part. Additionally, it was a very windy day. Strong winds were
blowing on the paper map, the game mat, questionnaires and other materials. The team decided to
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finish the activity just a bit earlier due to these weather conditions. On that day it was also quite
chilly, and residents did not opt to hang around long. Figures 6-14 show activities at Hutchison park.
Figure 6-13. Hutchingson park (left) and the poster placed in the park (right)
Figure 6-14. Activities and participants at Hutchison park: rock painting (left)
More in general conclusions about the process of selecting locations. Selecting locations
was difficult due to the constraints about finding areas that invite people to traverse spaces such as
roads, parking lots and lawns to spontaneously engage with Play Ames team (much more lucrative
engagement than a pre-arranged time or place that residents intentionally travel to). Within the
suitable areas of the city identified by the criteria from the City of Ames (see the chapter on site
selection and mapping for more information on these methodologies), it is a subjective process t o
choose physical sites in which to engage. Most site opportunities are on private property, and one
must weigh considerations such as permission from the owner, whether the owner is known and
reachable, whether the site will yield engagement based on its layout and proximity to residences,
etc.
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There is not a secret formula, but the characteristics that yielded some success from this
limited sample size of events were sites on public property near specific residences the team wanted
to reach. Critically, there are finite locations, property owners and residents in Ames . It would be
beneficial for engagement projects if city could establish a working knowledge of the space itself to
understand where targeted engagement can be done successfully, while simultaneously nurturing
the symbiotic relationship with the property owners and residents. This seems crucial for the
success of engagement in which the city comes closer to the residents and meets them at their
locations.
Figure 6-15. Play Ames 2.0 team at Hutchison park
If the city wishes to undertake the relationship building required for long-term targeted
engagement this study may be a building block, and results would grow more desirable over time.
It is a lot of work per pop-up location and an inherent gamble on attendance at each event, but if
the process becomes familiar to all parties involved over time, it could grow more successful. The
work required to do this consistently may or may not be within the scope of capabilities of the city,
financially speaking. We do not think that spontaneous one-time or infrequent guerilla community
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engagement at peoples’ residences by an authoritative figure such as the municipality or its
representative will yield desired results. Results might be better with more time to establish
relationships, visit more often and adequately advertise and/or reach out to the residents.
6.4. Children and families
Children loved the activities presented to them (Figure 6-16). They were joyful, playful and eager to
learn new things. They are easy to engage. They particularly enjoy ed activities such as eco-art and
rock painting since they could do something hands-on and take it home if they wished to. Despite
the issues outlined about the chutes and ladders game, both children and adults very much enjoyed
the activity, and light competitiveness even was present between parents and their children. This
provided an extra layer of fun that made the game all the more enjoyable not only for them but for
us as well. Participants also enjoyed the pizza when it was provided at the locati ons.
Figure 6-16. Engagning ckildren in Play Ames (215 S Sherman)
This is an aspect of Play Ames that could be explored further. Engaging children in activities
also enables their parents to feel free and have time to get engaged in informal and formal
discussions. This time can be used with parents to ask them to fill o ut a bit longer surveys and/or
talk to urban planners about serious issues of their concern. The team finds this a very valuable
point.
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Ideas for the future, related to children and families, are numerous. The city could think of a
special festival or engagement activities tailored specifically for children and accompanied with
more serious community engagement activities for the parents. Urban planners could be present at
the event specifically targeting the parents. Discussions with parents could be organized in several
different ways: semi-structured interviews, communication with a map, regular surveys, wish
boards, or other activities. The organizing team sees ample opportunities in this concept.
6.5. Involving city official and urban planners
Play Ames 2.0 team closely collaborated with the City Manager Steve Schainker. The concepts of
the activities as well as the questions were discussed with him. Additionally, Deb Schildroth,
assistant city manager and Susan Gwiasda, public information officer, joined the course
CRP455/555 Smart and sustainable Cities and shared their understanding of sustainability and
relevant questions students could ask the residents of Ames. From a planning point of view the only
involvement was from the city manager clarifying their criteria and desires for demographics to
target, similarly for one meeting with the assistant city manager and public information officer to
clarify their goals and the background story behind commissioning us for the research. Beyond that,
no urban planners were involved. No city staff came to any of the events excep t for the visit by the
city manager Steve Schainker. Dr. Gloria Betcher, city councilor, continued being a great partner
and supporter of the project. The majority of Play Ames 2.0 activities were planned during the
weekend or later in the afternoon on Fridays. These are mostly times outside working ours for the
majority of the city officials. The team did inform them about the planned activities but did not
receive any further response or suggestions for their active involvement.
Play Ames 2.0 team did appreciate the support received. City staff was primarily involved in
a logistical capacity for getting permission to use city property for events and clarified some
questions about advertising rights. Working with the city for acquiring permission to do events on
city property was convenient, however, one lesson learned is that the appropriate authorities could
have been delineated in advance of needing permissi on for something such as, for example,
performing the event in the E 7th St Cul-de-Sac. There was some delay in approval because we went
to the city manager first; if there had been a delegate in place beforehand, it may have alleviated
his need to fit us into his busy schedule.
6.6. Advertisement of the Play Ames 2.0 community engagement
The main effort related to advertising was to invest in creating big posters and smaller postcards
and distributing them around the sites planned for Play Ames 2.0 moving pop -up engagement. All
four locations were advertised locally by placing the posters at the selected location and around the
location. Additionally, postcards were placed on the doorways, in the little libraries (where
available), and in some instances on the windshields of the cars parked in the vicinity of the location.
The advertisement was only possible once the locations were selected, agreed upon with the
property managers and confirmed by the city officials. Sometimes this process lasted longer than
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expected. All locations, except for 215 S Sherman, allowed advertising on the property and around
it. Figure 6-17 shows posters placed in South Meadows location.
Figure 6-17. South Meadows: placing big posters around the location
Other advertising channels were used as well to reach a broader population. The team
advertised on the Community Engagement Living Lab (CEL2) website
(https://communityengagementll.net/). However, this website is not viewed by too many residents
of Ames. Additionally, the team created Facebook specific pages for the CEL2 and for Play Ames.
We linked them with other pages active in Ames and for Ames and hoped many residents of Ames
would see the activities advertised. More could be done in this respect, especially in the
collaboration with the City of Ames utilizing their networks, flyers, programs, and their website.
Often, there was a huge lack of time and resources for everything that needed to be accomplished.
Surprisingly even people living in the areas in which we set up the posters told us that they
passed by and did not even pay attention to the posters. How often did something like that happen
to us as well? This is something that needs to be explored further. What is the best way to reach
residents and let them know about the planned activities? Greater time to have advertising up and
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around the locations the team visited may increase the chances of greater turnout, but obviously
nothing is guaranteed to coax people to the events.
Figure 6-18 shows advertising around E 7th Street using car windows as another possibility
for advertising. The smaller cards were a very useful tool. They were small enough to be used in a
book as a reading sign, sent as a postcard or given to the residents that just passed by.
Figure 6-18. E 7th street advertising
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Play Ames 2.0 pop-up moving community engagement engaged around 55 underrepresented and
marginalized residents. This section summarizes the main results of this experiment.
7.1. Quantity or Quality
There is a particular value in reaching many residents. However, the methodology to do that will be
different from the one that specifically targets underrepresented and marginalized residents. The
decision that needs to be made is quantity vs quality. An engagement process will depend on th e
goals. Quality means also more dedicated time to each of the residents, specific activities designed
to attract underrepresented and marginalized people and an approach that is tailored for them.
Engagement in this case becomes an opportunity for establi shing trust and connection. Trust and
connection are important and lead to more smooth communications next time. As the residents
feel heard and respected, they also feel more invited and accommodated next time when there is a
need for their input. There is not one single method, methodology or strategy that can be used in a
variety of cases. This experiment showed that pop-up moving community engagement requires high
investment in the preparation of activities, reservation of places, and it does not yield in a very high
number of participants reached. On the positive side, the relationships were deep, the team spent
lots of time with the participants and had the opportunity to play, engage and also discuss very
serious topics of concern.
7.2. Descide on Priorities | Benefits for the Residents
Priorities of the engagement event or engagement activities need to be clearly defined and stated.
Whom to engage and what are the goals of this engagement. Also, always think about the benefit
for the residents. What can possibly be a benefit for them to get engaged and spend the time to do
so. Sometimes this may be the opportunity for their kids to get involved in meaningful activities and
feel safe for them doing so. Additionally, it is a relief for the parents and an interesting activity their
kids can get involved with. This means a lot to many parents. During that time, they have time to
share and answer surveys. Another benefit for these communities may be to get some food,
presents and treats. Many enjoyed pizzas and appreciated the food and gifts given to them. Some
found the benefit.
Another very valuable reward is “being heard and listened to”. Residents enjoyed sharing
their experiences, their life stories and wishes. There is a special reward in the feeling of being heard
and it is also very rewarding to be on the other side and just listen and take in what residents have
to share. It is a process of building trust and connection and at times it was really very deeply
satisfying to be able to be part of this process.
7. CONCLUSIONS AND REFLECTIONS
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Figure 7-1. Joy of being engaged
Some residents really enjoyed being engaged. They felt a special satisfaction in being part of
something bigger and contributing their ideas. Also, they like to share the issues they experience in
the city and hope expressing and sharing will also contribute to finding solutions. Several residents
of Eastwood apartments (E 7th Street) shared how far away the bus station is. Several of them do
not own a car and depend on the bus. In the cold and long Iowa winters the bus station seems
particularly far away.
Willingness to help may also be an intrinsic motivation for engagement and participation.
Some residents feel invited and are willing to help researchers and city officials find better ways of
engaging them. They are in general happy to be asked to help and more than willing to help, share
and contribute.
7.3. The Role of Public Officials
Public officials can be more or less actively involved in engaging residents. If establishing a
relationship is the goal, then something needs to be done in this respect. The current engagement
methodologies, strategies and techniques do not necessarily build on the idea of trust and
connection. They mostly serve the need of urban planning process to get comments and suggestions
by residents on a draft plan and proposed changes. This is the moment in the urban planning process
in which city officials/urban planners reach out and ask for input. Recently they experienced very
low participation, especially by the underrepresented and marginalized communities. Rethinking
the goals of community engagement activities and the role public officials/urban
planners/developers can play in the process takes time and effort. Sometimes the process itself
imposes restrictions. Other restrictions and limitations include time availabl e for community
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engagement activities, resources such as people and money. Lack of resources often leads to
pragmatic solutions of community engagement which may prevent public officials from developing
novel, innovative and more engaging methods, strategies and techniques. Figure 7-2 shows an
activity that can be very useful to urban planning. It is combined with making origami and focuses
on collecting wishes for changes in the city in which residents live. An opportunity for urban planners
to gather priorities for changes as seen by the residents.
Figure 7-2. Activities that can serve and help urban planners understand residents
7.4. Course Projects and their Limitations
Previous work on this project was accomplished within two studio projects. Studio projects usually
concentrate on real-world problems and students often work with a client. They are 6 credits
courses in which students work in mixed teams. Studio classes give more time to the student to
work on the selected topics. 3-Credits lecture class has a very different concept. It is dedicated to
lectures and assignments all connected with the main topic of the course. Usually, they do not entail
working with a client or meeting with the course instructor outside the times dedicated for the
lectures.
Lecture classes represent a logistical problem for the Play Ames project. This project requires
the team to meet and schedule activities outside the classroom in order to meet residents where
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they are and at times at which they can be available. This often includes Saturdays, Sundays and/or
later afternoon or even evening hours during the week. This is not something that can be easily
accomplished with the students enrolled in the lecture class . Pop-up moving engagement is
especially challenging with long hours spent at one location at times that are not reserved for the
course. This represents a serious obstacle for this project.
Figure 7-3. CRP student volunteers helping with the logistics of the project
However, the work outside the class was accomplished with the help of many volunteers.
Volunteers were friends of the students enrolled in the course, previous Play Ames champions and
those that wanted to continue working on the project and many members of the CRP
Undergraduate and Graduate Student Club. Without all this volunteer work, this project would not
have been successful. Working with volunteers was additionally challenging and time consuming.
They had to be trained and educated about the goals of the project and most importantly on how
to run the engagement activities developed by their colle agues enrolled in the Fall 2022 Smart and
Sustainable Cities course. Several meetings were needed because at each location and at each of
the times Play Ames 2.0 ended up with a different group of volunteers that all had to be trained.
Their rewards for the engagement and work were Play Ames t-shirt and a pizza. Many thanks go to
these young, engaged professionals and their willingness to support this project. Without their help,
it would not have been possible to execute it in the way it was planned and, what the team thought,
the most beneficial for the residents and the City of Ames.
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7.5. Complex Logistics
The logistics of moving pop-up eventswas substantial; allowances by the property managers have
to be in place; locations selected; the weather has to be good, warm and inviting. Many things have
to come in place for a pop-up event to be successful. Entering a longer-term relationship with the
city including property managers, residents, and increasing staff knowledge about successful site
arrangements may yield results over time, but it would be an investment. This process needed to
be started further in advance to yield more accurate results about how pop -up targeted community
engagement at peoples’ residences really works. It is difficult to find locations in space that
organically entice people to come engage spontaneously, and almost any location is limited to
reaching the residents that physically reside on that property, which makes it difficult t o target
whole census blocks based on known demographics; choosing public spaces may mitigate this issue.
Figure 7-4. Playful postcards with the printed Play Ames 2.0 program
7.6. The Power of “Play”
Play Ames 2.0 team recognized the power of the world “Play”. Many adults associate play with
children. The world Play Ames, for many adults, indicates that the event is specifically developed for
the younger generation and kids. Adults do not think they could play, or activities of a serious nature
could be “packad” as playful. There seems to be a conflict between the intention to attract adult
residents and their understanding of play (and advertising the event as playful). This aspect needs
further considerations and possibly a change of advertising depending on who the main audience
is. Adults seem to respond better to a more serious approach. In fact, they quite like to be asked
about their wishes and preferences and often do not mind responding to surveys if presented to
them in a respectful and meaningful way.
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7.7. Building Trust and Connection
On the positive side, often the team was able to attract the targeted population. Residents of color
and low income were joining us at the events. They were open to discussions and spending time
with the team. They brought their kids and additionally called their friends, neighbors and relatives.
All this gave a good feeling. The team managed to have success in getting some number of residents
to come out and be open about certain aspects of their life, and in activities like the mobility map
they were glad to do so. A core part of having success with this project, not only this year but in
years to come, is to establish trust between the Play Ames team, city officials and the residents the
team is seeking to engage with. However, it needs to be clearly recognized that it takes some time
to really gain people’s trust.
Having more time for each participant and less pressure of needing to serve many residents
gives the opportunity for deeper discussions and also for just enjoying the time together. This is a
real opportunity if used correctly and wisely by the engagement team. Residents open up and share
their ideas, concerns, troubles and life stories. They are especially happy if the team is listening and
engages them in conversations. In case the kids are taken care of, the adults feel more relaxed and
ready to share. Such iterations can lead to authentic and open conversations and building trust and
connection. It takes time and repetition to build such a connection. It is like with a friendship or
even a romantic relationship. It takes time to develop, and it takes time to get to know each other
and build trust and connection.
The Play Ames team noticed a big difference in pop-ing up at the location visited before such
as E 7th Street. The number of people participating was remarkable, their sincere response and the
feeling of connection was very rewarding. Visiting places more often can lead to great relationships
that are based on an honest and sincere connection and exchange. This seems to be an important
aspect of building trust with communities. Trust cannot be built with one visit, but with a
continuation of the relationship and balanced giving and receiving.
Having more time for each participant and less pressure of needing to serve many residents
gives the opportunity for deeper discussions and also for just enjoying the time together. This is a
real opportunity if used correctly and wisely by the engagement team. Residents open up and share
their ideas, concerns, troubles and life stories. They are especially happy if the team is listening and
engages them in conversations. In case the kids are taken care of, the adults feel more relaxed and
ready to share. Such interactions can lead to authentic and open conversations and build trust and
connection. It takes time and repetition to build such a connection. It is like with a friendship or
even a romantic relationship. It takes time to develop, and it takes time to get to know each other
and build trust and connection.
Thank you for your trust!
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Appendix A: Advertising materials
Play Ames: Imagine your City Logo: all credits for the design and implementation to Natalie
Jacobson, and help with generation of ideas to Vishnu
Community Engagement Living Lab logo: all credits for the design and implementation go to Natalie
Jacobson
Community Engagement Living Lab website: all credits for the design and implementation go to
Fatema Nourin, and help with the initial set up to Vishnu Priya Sairamesh:
https://www.communityengagementll.net/
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Appendix A: Analysis of Data gathered with the Punch/Sticker Card
Prepared by Max Gula
Play Ames Activities
The Fall 2022 Play Ames event offered a variety of activities for the attendants. The activities were
designed to engage the participants in a creative, and educational way. Our activities included rock
painting, origami, chutes and ladders, eco-art, and mural making. Participants at the event were
handed a scoring card, where they will rate each game from Strongly Enjoyed, Enjoyed Somewhat,
Neutral, Did Not Enjoy, and Disliked. On the back of the score card, we had questions about the
participants background, such as race, age, gender, education, and employment. This information
gives us a general idea of the participants of our event, and their attitude toward out activities.
Participants
Race
60% of our responders where White. 33% were Black or African American, and 6% identified as more
than one race (Figure 1.1).
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Age
Our respondents were diverse in age. 5 out of the 15 respondents were 9 years old or younger. 5
out of 15 were between 10 and 17 years old. 3 out of 15 were between 18 and 35 years old. 1
respondent was between 56 and 75 years old (Figure 1.2).
Gender
5 of our respondents identified as Male, 4 identified as Female, and 1 respondent identified as Other
(Figure 1.3). This question has received 13 responses.
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Education
Only 5 responders have filled out the question about education. 3 of these answers said the
respondent had a college education, and 2 had a college education. The remaining 10 respondents
were not in high school yet.
Employment
Only 6 respondents answered the question about employment. 3 were employed, 1 was
unemployed, 1 was retired, and 1 was a student.
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Attitude Toward Activities
Rock Painting
Rock painting offered rocks to participants with paint and paint brushes. This activity was popular
among people of all ages in the 2020 Play Ames Festival, so we decided to use it again here. rock
painting is a creative activity that gives the participant something to take home. 12 of our 15
respondents have participated in rock painting 9 claimed they strongly enjoyed it, and 2 enjoyed it
somewhat.
Origami
Similar to rock painting, Origami is a creative process that gives the participant something to take
home. Origami is more complex, and wasn’t offered at every Play Ames location. 5 of the
respondents that engaged with the Origami have strongly enjoyed it. 1 respondent enjoyed it
somewhat.
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Chutes and Ladders
Play Ames offered a version of Chutes and Ladders that included trivia questions that were related
to planning. 9 respondents to our survey played Chutes and Ladders. 8 of these respondents strongly
enjoyed Chutes and Ladders, and 1 respondent enjoyed it somewhat.
Eco-Art
The Eco-Art activity was another creative activity where the participant created mixed -medium
pieces of art, which included paint, leaves, sticks, and other pieces of nature. 8 respondents engaged
in this activity and strongly enjoyed it.
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Mural Makers
Mural Makers, like Eco-Art, was a mixed-medium art piece which combined art and recyclable
materials. The mural was shared between all participants. Only 4 respondents participated in Mural
Makers. 2 respondents strongly enjoyed the activity while 1 enjoyed somewhat and 1 disliked the
activity.
Mobility Map
The Mobility Map was a mapping activity where the participant will interact with a map of Ames.
This activity was dialogue between our team members and the event participants. The activity was
less of a creative outlet, but provided us with information about what people think of Ames. More
details on the Mobility Map are included in Mobility Map Final Report. 11 respondents engaged with
the Mobility Map. 4 Strongly enjoyed the activity, 6 enjoyed somewhat, and 1 respondent disliked
the activity.
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Conclusions
The activities at the Fall 2022 Play Ames event have received positive feedback from the
participants. Play Ames 2.0 team was able to engage with a diverse age ranging from children to
seniors, and a mixture of male and females. The engagement activities sparked creativity and each
received input from the community. The scores of activities that did not have the participant ‘bring
something home’ received lower scores, but were still positive overall. This information will be used
to determine what will be included in the Spring 2023 Play Ames event, and what engagement
activities will be changed and how.
By Kevin Paszko
The methodology for the satisfaction survey consisted of the following:
1. Creation of a paper questionnaire that asked participants a few demographic
questions and to rate their satisfaction with each activity
2. Ensure the survey is able to be understood by a range of ages
3. Collect data at all locations through the team member in charge of the survey at
every location
4. Analyze and evaluate the results
5. Summarize the results in a report
Due to the short length and ease of use of the satisfaction survey, it ensured that participants of all
ages could complete the survey with no difficulty. Participants were encouraged to respond to the
survey at every event location. The survey largely asked participants to rate their enjoyment of each
activity using a Likert scale to gauge whether a person did or did not enjoy an activity. A choice was
also given for activities that a respondent did not participate in. Also included were a few
demographic questions.
The one (1) page, front and back paper survey was available at each of the four (4) locations to any
participants who were willing to complete the survey. A total of fifteen (15) paper surveys were
completed in all. A copy of the questionnaire is provided below.
Results:
In evaluating the results of the fifteen (15) surveys, it was evident that people tended to gravitate
toward certain activities over others. The standout activities were Rock Painting and Mobility Map
which both had eleven (11) respondents, ten (10) of which responded in a positive manner. This
would indicate that those specific activities were very well -received and participants had a positive
experience with the activities. Those activities also had the lowest number of non -participation
among respondents which would also further validate the reception of those activities. The activities
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Origami, Eco-Art, and Chutes and Ladders had lower numbers of engagement but were viewed
positively nonetheless. This may indicate that some improvement may be needed to better draw
attention to those particular activities. Mural Makers was the only outlier in that it received the
lowest amount of participation with only three (3) participants, one (1) of which responded in a
negative manner. This would indicate widespread unpopularity with this particular activity and
further consideration as to why it performed this way is needed to improve and refine how the
activity currently operates.
Overall, the findings suggest that the current slate of activities tends to be effective when it comes
to engaging participants, and the data shows that people appear to experience great enjoyment
most of the time, with the sole exception of the Mural Makers activity.
Demographics asked of respondents:
D: Race
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, eight (8) indicated that they are White, six (6) indicated that
they are Black or African American, and one (1) indicated more than one race.
D: Age
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, five (5) indicated that they are 0 -9 years old, five (5) indicated
that they are 10-17 years old, three (3) indicated that they are 18-35 years old, one (1) indicated
that they are 56-75 years old, and one (1) did not indicate their age.
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D: Gender
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, seven (7) indicated that they are male, six (6) indicated that
they are female, and two (2) indicated that they identify as another gender.
D: Educational Status
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, five (5) indicated that they are in middle school, four (4)
indicated that they are in elementary school, three (3) indicated that that have college or more
education, two (2) indicated that they are in high school, and one (1) indicated that they had no
formal education.
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D: Employment Status
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, nine (9) indicated that they are a primary school student, two
(2) indicated that they are employed, one (1) indicated that they are unemployed, one (1) indicated
that they are retired, one (1) indicated that they are retired, and one (1) did not give a response.
Questions asked of respondents:
Q: How much did you enjoy Rock Painting?
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Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, nine (9) indicated that they really liked the activity, two (2)
indicated that they liked the activity, and four (4) did not respond and/or did not participate in this
activity.
Q: How much did you enjoy Origami?
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, five (5) indicated that they really liked the activity, one (1)
indicated that they liked the activity, and nine (9) did not respond and/or did not participate in this
activity.
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Q: How much did you enjoy Eco-Art?
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, eight (8) indicated that they really liked the activity and seven
(7) did not respond and/or did not participate in this activity.
Q: How much did you enjoy Chutes and Ladders?
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, eight (8) indicated that they really liked the activity, one (1)
indicated that they liked the activity, and six (6) did not respond and/or did not participate in this
activity.
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Q: How much did you enjoy Mural Makers?
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, two (2) indicated that they really liked the activity, one (1)
indicated that they liked the activity, one (1) indicated that they really disliked the activity, and
eleven (11) did not respond and/or did not participate in this activity.
Q: How much did you enjoy Mobility Map?
Out of the fifteen (15) respondents, four (4) indicated that they really liked the activity, sis (6)
indicated that they liked the activity, one (1) indicated that they really disliked the activity, and
four (4) did not respond and/or did not participate in this activity.
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Appendix B: Raffle Entry Questionnaire and Results
by Kevin Paszko
Introduction
The methodology for the raffle entry questionnaire consisted of the following:
1. Creation of a paper questionnaire that asked participants about demographic
information, as well as a few sustainability questions
2. Ensure the survey is able to be understood by a range of ages
3. Collect data at all locations through the team member in charge of the survey at
every location
4. Analyze and evaluate the results
5. Summarize the results in a report
Due to the short length and ease of use of the raffle entry survey, it ensured that participants
of all ages could complete the survey with no difficulty. Participants were encouraged to respond to
the survey at every event location. The survey largely asked demographic questions including race,
age, gender, educational status, employment status, occupancy, and a few sustainability questions.
Those questions included inquiring about participants taking steps to lower their utility bill, what
practices they do to achieve that, and if there was anything the city could do to help them increase
their sustainability further. The one (1) page, front and back paper survey was available at each of
the four locations to any participants who were willing to complete the survey. A total of eight (8)
paper surveys were completed in all. A copy of the questionnaire is provided below.
Questionnaire
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Results
In evaluating the results from the eight (8) surveys, it was evident that even though the sample size
was small, there was a fair amount of diversity in the demographic data points. A majority of the
respondents indicated that their race was “Black or Afri can American,” and the age of the
respondents almost exclusively fell below the age of thirty-five (35). Half of that group indicated
that they were in primary school, which signals that the respondents were skewed towards a very
young demographic. All respondents specified renting a home and taking steps to help lower their
utility bill as well as denoting which listed actions they take to assist in lowering their bill.
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Demographics asked of respondents:
D: Race
Out of the eight (8) respondents, five (5) indicated that they are Black or African American, two (2)
indicated they are White, and one (1) did not give a response.
D: Age
Out of the eight (8) respondents, four (4) indicated that they are 18 -35 years old, two (2) indicated
that they are 0-9 years old, one (1) indicated that they are 10-17 years old, and one (1) indicated
that they are 36-55 years old.
D: Gender
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Out of the eight (8) respondents, six (6) indicated that they are female and two (2) indicated that
they are male.
D: Educational Status
Out of the eight (8) respondents, two (2) indicated that they are in elementary school, two (2)
indicated that they have a professional degree, two (2) indicated that they have a professional
degree, one (1) indicated that they are in middle school, and on e (1) indicated that they are in high
school.
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D: Employment Status
Out of the eight (8) respondents, four (4) indicated that they are a primary school student, two (2)
indicated that they are employed, one (1) indicated that they are unemployed, and one (1) indicated
that they are a secondary school student.
Questions asked of respondents:
Q: Do you own or rent a home?
Out of the eight (8) respondents, all eight (8) indicated that they rent a home.
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Q: Do you currently take steps to lower your utility bill?
Out of the eight (8) respondents, all eight (8) indicated that they do take steps to lower their utillity
bill.
Q: If yes, what do you do?
Out of the eight (8) respondents, eight (8) indicated that they turn down their thermostat when
they go to sleep, seven (7) indicated that they take shorter showers, seven (7) indicated that they
turn lights off when they leave a room, five (5) indicated t hat they cover their outlets, four (4)
indicated that they use LED light bulbs, and three (3) indicated that they wash their clothes in cold
water.
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Q: Is there anything the city or your community could provide to help you be more sustainable
and lower your utility bills?
Out of the eight (8) respondents, all eight (8) indicated a response to the question and are located
below.
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Appendix C: Mapping Questionnaire
Participant Number ______
Dear Participants,
You are invited to join us and participate in a survey that identifies common modes of transportation in
Ames. Your responses will help the city of Ames identify what modes of transportation are used in the city
and their areas of improvement. This survey is anonymous; your personal information will not be revealed
at any point. Your participation is also voluntary. Thank you in advance for your collaboration! For further
inquiries, please feel free to contact Dr. Alenka Poplin, Department of Community and Regional Planning,
Iowa State University. Email: apoplin@iastate.edu
What places in Ames do you visit most
often?
What form(s) of transportation do you use to
get there? (car, CyRide, bike, walk)
1
2
3
Do you own a vehicle? Please circle.
Yes No
If yes, what kind? Please circle.
Gas/Diesel Hybrid Electric Other
What would make you consider using other methods of transportation?
For you to use CyRide more...
Select all that apply.
❑ Shorter wait time between buses
❑ Less crowded bus conditions
❑ Fewer students on buses
❑ Cheaper bus fare
❑ More accommodating bus routes
❑ A closer bus stop
❑ Shorter commute time
❑ Improved buses (cupholders, tables, outlets, storage, monitors, etc.)
❑ Improved bus stops (shelters with doors, heated/cooled, tables, etc.)
❑ Allowed to eat food
❑ Other ___________________
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For you to bike more...
Select all that apply.
❑ Connected bike routes
❑ More bike lanes
❑ Less car traffic
❑ Rentable bikes/bike sharing
❑ More ideal weather conditions
❑ More bike parking
❑ Less bike theft
❑ Separation between bike lanes and cars
❑ Other ____________________
For you to walk more...
Select all that apply.
❑ Less car traffic
❑ Closer destinations
❑ More free time
❑ More ideal weather conditions
❑ Updated sidewalks (fixed cracks, wider, etc.)
❑ Separation between roads and sidewalks
❑ Other ____________________
Share positive experiences with transportation in other cities or countries.
What suggestions do you have for the improvement of Ames's transportation?
Participant information:
1. What is your gender (circle)?
Male Female Other Prefer not to answer
2. Employment status (circle):
Student Unemployed Part-time Full-time Other
3. Age (circle):
Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+
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Appendix D: Rational Ignorance Survey
Graphics: Matthew Smith, text: Alenka Poplin
The survey was responded by 13 residents. This is not a significant number and the results are not
reliable nor statistically significant. They serve as an example of what this survey could give to the
tema would it be executed on a bugger scale. However, Play Ames 2.0 team only focused on
underrepresented and marginalized residents. So, perhaps, there may be some value in presenting
these results here representign a Good start of this research that will continue in the next steps of
this project. Please consider these following pages just representing a beginning of this project
survey and do not make strong conclusions base on just 13 surveys/residents.
The trend shows that residents never or very rarely engage in the discussions about the
future of the City of Ames with city officials. This confirms the basic hypothesis and the problema
city officials fase engaging their residents in planning for the future of the city.
Answers on what prevents you from engaging are interesting. The main reasons are:
• I don’t know how to participate
• Not being informed about the engagement activities
• Learnign about the discusión topics is time consuming
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In general, residets are satisfied or very satisfied with the opportunities to get engaged. It
doesn’t look like they miss somethign in this respect. 4 out of 13 expressed some level of
dissatisfaction. They are also satisfied with the opportunities presented ot them (see the graphics
on the next page.
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On the question what would motivate you to becoem more engaged the majority of the
respondstns want an advance notice about the activities and 6 want to know if their opinions will
be heard. The third one on the list is “easy to find learning materials/background information about
the discusión topics. Other answers do not show any additional and more specific pattern.
The issues that are the most important to the residents (in this order) are unfriendly
neighborhoods, lack of Transportation infrastructure, neighborhood safety, public Transportation,
lack of services and facilities/restaurants/schools, and issues with sidewalks. Sidewalks do not seem
ti be an issue for the 13 surveyed residents.
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The prefered way of contacting the residents is via mail, followed by email, pone and social
media. Nobody selected City of Ames website. This may be of interest to the City of Ames thinking
about the use of their website in the future and utilizing alternative ways of contacting the
residents.
The residents are generally very satisfied with ways the city communicates with them. The majority
find the communcation good (7) and excellent (1). Only 4 marked it as “poor”.
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It is very interesitng to learn that the majority of the interviewed residents (10 out of 13) do
not know how to contact their local officals to address their cocnerns.
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The majority of them also do not know anybody who could be nominated as a
neighborhood leader.
Three suggestions were received on how the City could encourage residents to participat in
the discusión about the future of the City of Ames. These suggestions are:
• Use of social media
• Free food and money
• Organize events that attract people, at those events discuss the future of Ames.
Things that may enefit the participants
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The question about overll impresión oh how the City of Ames addresses community concerns
and issues gave interesting responses (see below). Thery refelct well what residents feel about
community engagement and its possibilities.
Participants of this survey
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DESIGN OUTREACH STUDIO SPONSORED PROJECT AGREEMENT
AMENDMENT TO PLAY AMES 2.0 ORIGINALLY DATED 8/10/22 AND UPDATED 12/28/2023
This agreement is for performance of a project by and between IDRO
(Institute for Design Research and Outreach),and City of Ames.
Sponsor has proposed a project in collaboration with IDRO as detailed
in Exhibit A and detailed budget attached hereto,deemed incorporated
into and made an integral part of this agreement.
The parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1 Scope of Work
The scope of work,timeline and budget for the project are detailed in
Exhibit A and incorporated herein.
ARTICLE 2 Grant Period
The grant period for this agreement is August 10,2022 to March 31,
2024.
ARTICLE 3 Key Personnel
Sponsor's principal investigator (PI)for the agreement is Steve
Schainker,City Manager,City of Ames and ISU’s PI for this project
shall be Alenka Poplin,Associate Professor,Iowa State University.
Contact information for Sponsor is provided in Attachment A.
ARTICLE 4 Reports and Other Deliverables
The Sponsor shall render any reports as listed in Exhibit A.
ARTICLE 5 Payment Terms
As compensation,Sponsor agrees to pay IDRO a fixed fee of
$10,000.00 in a manner as specified in Exhibit A.In the event that
Sponsor cancels for any reason,except for extraordinary causes
beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor,Sponsor shall remain
obligated for the full amount set forth in this paragraph unless notified
by ISU.
ISU shall issue an invoice or invoices to Sponsor,and the Sponsor
shall pay such invoices within thirty (30)days of receipt.Checks
should be made payable to Iowa State University of Science and
Technology.Customer shall submit the payments to ISU at the
following address:
ISU Treasurer's Office
1220 Beardshear Hall
515 Morrill Rd
Iowa State University
Ames,Iowa 50011-2103
If payment is not received from Sponsor when due,ISU may terminate
this Agreement.In addition,the full account balance may be
accelerated.To the extent permitted by law,ISU may also impose a
late payment charge computed at a periodic monthly rate of 1%per
month on the balance or an annual percentage rate of 12%when
computed from the billing date.The unpaid account may be referred
for collection,and Sponsor shall pay all collection costs and
reasonable attorney's fees if ISU must take action to recover any past
due amounts.ISU reserves the right under Iowa Code §421.17(27)to
offset State of Iowa tax refunds,lottery winnings or vendor payments.
ARTICLE 6 Costs
All costs in Exhibit A (original document dated 8/10/2022)includes all
direct and indirect costs of ISU.Exhibit A below includes updates.
ARTICLE 7 Rights in Data
ISU shall have the right to copyright,publish,disclose,disseminate
and use,in whole and in part,any data and information received or
developed under this Agreement.Sponsor shall have the right to
duplicate and use the Reports and Other Deliverables as listed in
Exhibit A for any public or governmental purpose.It is also agreed by
Sponsor that it will not under any circumstances use the name of
IDRO,ISU,ISU Extension or its employees in any advertisement,
press release or publicity with reference to this Agreement,without
prior written approval of IDRO.
ARTICLE 8 Termination
This Agreement shall terminate upon completion of the Services.
Either party may earlier terminate this Agreement by providing the
other party written notification thirty days prior to the proposed
termination date.In the event of termination,Sponsor shall pay ISU for
Services provided and non-cancelable obligations incurred prior to
the termination date and ISU shall provide Sponsor with Results
completed as of the termination date for which payment has been
received.The foregoing shall be in addition to any other remedies to
which the parties are entitled.
ARTICLE 10 Force Majeure
Neither party shall be deemed in breach of this Agreement or liable for
damages if its performance of any obligation under this Agreement is
prevented or delayed by causes beyond its reasonable control,such
as acts or omissions of communications carriers,energy shortages or
outage s,strikes or labor disputes of other’s workforces,fires,floods,
inclement weather,acts of God,war,terrorism,civil disturbances,or
acts of civil or military authorities
ARTICLE 10 Entire Agreement
This Agreement,including any exhibits,attachments and provisions
incorporated by reference,constitutes the entire agreement between
the parties hereto and supersedes all prior agreements,
understandings and arrangements,oral or written,among the parties
hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
11.Counterparts;Authorization
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and
delivered by electronic transmission in PDF format.Each party
represents and warrants that the person executing this Agreement on
its behalf is authorized to do so.
ARTICLE 12 Assurance of Nondiscrimination
In compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent rules
and regulations,Iowa State University must have written evidence that
it does not conduct programs for,nor cooperate in conducting
programs with,any public or private agency,organization,or group
that discriminates on the basis of race,color,or national origin in its
membership requirements,or in any services offered.
Iowa State University must also have evidence that it does not conduct
programs for,nor cooperate in conducting programs with,any public or
private agency,organization,or group that discriminates on the basis
of physical or mental disability in compliance with Section 504 of the
1973 Rehabilitation Act.
Furthermore,it is inconsistent with Title IX of the 1972 Education
Amendments for Iowa State University to provide significant assistance
to any public or private agency,organization,or group that
discriminates in its membership requirements or in any services
offered on the basis of sex.
For the full non-discrimination statement or accommodation inquiries,
go to www.extensionJastate.edu/diversity/2020.
By signing below,I also certify that the City of Ames has a policy
and/or practice of non-discrimination in its membership or in any
services offered because of race,color,national origin,handicap,or
sex.
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY City of Ames
Signed:
Printed Name:Alenka Poplin
Title:Associate Professor,Community &Regional Planning
Date:
IDRO:
ISU FEIN:42-6004224
Signed:
Printed Name: John Haila
Title: Mayor
Date:
IRS FEIN:
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ITEM #:12
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:Public Works
SUBJECT:AMENDMENT TO RISE GRANT AGREEMENT FOR IOWA STATE
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARK PHASE III
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
On October 14, 2014, the City approved a RISE grant of $4,010,728 from Iowa DOT to assist with
roadway improvements for Iowa State University Research Park (ISURP) Phase II. These
improvements included the reconstruction of University Boulevard from Airport Road approximately
2,500 feet to the south, North Drive, and Plaza Loop (see Attachment B). This grant was contingent on
the creation of 365 new jobs within three years after completion of the roadway. Additionally,
associated capital investment within ISURP was to be a minimum of $26,350,299.
On June 24, 2016, the roadway improvements were opened to traffic. As of July 2021, it was
determined that the job creation criteria had not been met, with only an average of 137 total jobs
being created (of the 365 jobs required). In accordance with the RISE program rules, if the job
creation goal is not met, the maximum grant reverts to the 50% State funding, and the difference,
up to the 80% of the State award, must be refunded by the recipient (City of Ames).
However, in July 2018, the IDOT Commission adopted a new program specifically for Research
Parks that provides 70% state funding without any job creation requirements. In August 2021,
the IDOT Commission agreed to apply the new 70% Research Park policy retroactively as the
baseline for repayment rather than the 50% that was in place at the time of the original
agreement (see Attachment C).
The method of calculation and amount of proposed settlement of $280,313 was provided to the
City and is being paid back to Iowa DOT over five years (2021-2025). In accordance with the
development agreement with ISURP, that amount of repayment is split equally between the City
and ISURP. Additionally, ISURP is required to monitor job creation and capital investment for a
period of ten years and report annually to Iowa DOT.
The addendum (see Attachment A ) proposed with this action formally amends utilizing the 70%
repayment credit and the ten-year monitoring/reporting requirement into the original RISE
agreement.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the amendment to RISE grant agreement for Iowa State University Research Park Phase III
roadway improvements that incorporates the 70% payment credit and the ten-year monitoring/reporting
requirement into the original RISE agreement.
2. Request revisions to the amendment being proposed by the Iowa DOT.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
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The Iowa DOT has previously approved the RISE grant repayment calculation utilizing the 70%
research park credit provision. The City Council accepted these terms and began repayment in 2021,
invoicing ISURP for half of the annual amount (half of $56,062.63). This addendum merely amends
the previously approved action into the original RISE agreement. Therefore, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as noted above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Att A - Addendum 2014-R-013-A to ISURP RISE.pdf
Att B - Original ISURP Ph III Agreements.pdf
Att C - ISURP III Job Repayment.pdf
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Addendum to
Iowa Department of Transportation
Agreement 2014-R-013 for a
Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy Program (RISE) Project
RECIPIENT: Ames
PROJECT NO: RM-0155(686)--9D-85
IOWA DOT AGREEMENT NO.: 2014-R-013
ADDENDUM NUMBER: 2014-R-013-A
This is an addendum to the agreement between city of Ames (hereinafter referred to as
Recipient) and the Iowa Department of Transportation (hereinafter referred to as the DOT).
Whereas, the Recipient and the DOT previously entered into Agreement No. 2014-R-013 for the
above referenced project;
Whereas, the roadway constructed though execution of the above referenced project was opened
to traffic on June 24, 2016;
Whereas, on December 11, 2018, the Iowa Transportation Commission adopted a University
Research Park RISE Local Development program allowing the reimbursement of up to 70
percent of eligible project costs without job contingencies in exchange for the submission of
annual reports by the research park project sponsor documenting business development and job
creation in the research park, the relocation of businesses and jobs to other locations in Iowa
from the research park, and the use of interns for 10 years.
Whereas, the award of RISE funding was contingent on the creation of 365 jobs within 3 years of
completion of the roadway and as of July 2021, the job contingency was not met and partial
repayment of RISE funds paid to the Recipient was required;
Whereas, calculation of the repayment settlement approved by Transportation Commission
Order TD-2022-13 on August 10, 2021, gave credit for 70 percent of the actual RISE eligible
costs in accordance with the adopted University Research Park RISE Local Development policy
and gave prorated credit for jobs created for the funds reimbursed beyond 70 percent of eligible
costs;
Whereas, application of the University Research Park RISE Local Development policy toward
the above referenced project also requires the Recipient to comply with the 10 year monitoring
requirements.
Now, therefore, it is agreed as follows:
1. The Recipient will submit annual reports for 10 years documenting business
development and job creation in the park, the relocation of businesses and jobs to
other locations in Iowa, and the use of interns, see attached Exhibit A. The settlement
utilizing the 70% credit from the University Research Park policy and prorated credit
for created jobs was approved by Transportation Commission Order No. TD-2022-13
on August 10, 2021. See attached Exhibit B.
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2. This addendum is not assignable without the prior written consent of the DOT.
3. If any part of this addendum is found to be void and unenforceable, the remaining
provisions of this addendum shall remain in effect.
4. It is the intent of both parties that no third party beneficiaries be created by this
addendum.
5. This addendum shall be executed and delivered in two or more copies, each of which
so executed and delivered shall be deemed to be an original and shall constitute but
one and the same addendum.
6. This addendum, as well as the unaffected provisions of previously executed
Agreement No. 2014-R-013 referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement
between the DOT and the Recipient concerning this project. Representations made
before the signing of this addendum are not binding, and neither party has relied upon
conflicting representations in entering into this addendum. Any change or alteration
to the terms of this addendum shall be made in the form of a subsequent addendum.
The addendum shall become effective only upon written approval of the DOT and the
Recipient.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has executed
Addendum No. 2014-R-013-A as of the date shown opposite its signature below.
RECIPIENT: City of Ames
By: Date , _______
Title: ___Mayor_______________________________
CERTIFICATION:
I, , certify that I am the Clerk of the city, and that
(Name of City Clerk)
, who signed said Agreement for and on behalf of
(Name of Mayor/Signer Above)
the city was duly authorized to execute the same by virtue of a formal resolution duly passed
and adopted by the city, on the day of , _______.
Signed: ___________________________________________
City Clerk of Ames, Iowa.
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Transportation Development Division
800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010
By: _____________________________________ Date ______________ ___, 20__
Garrett Pedersen
Director
Systems Planning Bureau
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9-2021
ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT FOR
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARKS
Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) Local Development Project
Recipient
(City/County) Date Prepared
Project
Number
Agreement
REPORT CONTENTS
Section 1 – Jobs Assisted
Report all current development in the RISE eligible development area. Zoning map
and additional maps identifying business location in RISE development area required.
Report full-time jobs that have been retained and/or created by each
business, industry, or site within the RISE Eligible Development Area. If applicable,
include those specifically mentioned in the approved RISE Project application and
others having located in the project area since the date construction started. Report
should also track businesses/jobs that have relocated from the Research Park to
another location and identify where they have relocated to by city and state.
Section 2 – Capital Investment
Report total amount of public and private funds expended in the project area on non-
road economic development activities: buildings, equipment, etc.
Section 3 – Development Summary
Identify the summary of what has been undeveloped, developed without businesses
and developed with businesses.
Section 4 – Certification Statement
Sign and complete the certification statement.
EXHIBIT A
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Section 1 – JOBS ASSISTED
Complete a separate line for each business, industry or site that has developed in the RISE development area.
Report only businesses specifically within the RISE development area. Reproduce this page as needed. Report
only jobs specifically assisted by the RISE project. Do not include RISE project construction jobs or indirect
“multiplier” jobs. Retained jobs are those existing as of the Commission Approval date or that have moved from
another location in Iowa. New jobs are those created since the Commission Approval date. If business is not able
to provide actual job or wages then write “X” to identify it is unknown. When identifying a business that has been
relocated from the Research Park, identify where the business has relocated to by city and state and the approximate
month and year the relocation occurred. Interns will also need to be tracked in the report. The Iowa Department of
Transportation may request payroll or State Employment reports as an additional means of employment validation.
Retained New Average
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Section 2 – CAPITAL INVESTMENT
Total Capital Investment includes investment for infrastructure to serve the development and other capital
investment associated with the development that occurred during the reporting period. Infrastructure includes
water, electricity, natural gas, telephone, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, buildings, equipment, land and non-RISE
transportation facilities (i.e. rail spur).
1. Cumulative amount of Private funds expended by existing and new business and industry on non-RISE in the
project area; (Do not include the amount of private funds, if any; used to match the RISE funds.)
2. Cumulative amount of Public funds expended on non-Rise activities to support existing and new business and
industry in the project area. (Do not include the amount of public funds used to match the RISE funds.)
Section 3 – DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY
Complete the below information for development only within the RISE development area. All development needs to
be noted, not just RISE eligible development. Do not include development outside the RISE development area.
Note: Total acres of 3 questions below should match the total number of acres as part of the RISE eligible
development area.
Number of Lots/Acres Developed but unoccupied (infrastructure in place,
Number of Lots/Acres Developed and occupied by a business (Additional
*Attach map showing locations of business(es) within the RISE development area.
Section 4 – CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
Please have it signed by the appropriate City, County or Research Park Official.
I certify that the information provided in this accomplishment report is complete and accurate to the best of
my knowledge.
Email fully signed and completed Accomplishment Report (including all necessary attachments) to:
Jennifer.Kolacia@iowadot.us
RISE Program Manager
Systems Planning Bureau
Iowa Department of Transportation
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Form 102110wd
07-19
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
COMMISSION ORDER
Division/Bureau/Office
Transportation Development Division
Order No. TD-2022-13
Submitted by Craig Markley Phone No. 515-239-1027 Meeting Date August 10, 2021
Title Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) Project Settlement - Ames
DISCUSSION/BACKGROUND:
On April 8, 2014, the city of Ames was awarded a RISE grant of $4,010,728 to assist with the
reconstruction of University Avenue at Airport Road and approximately 800 feet to the south, as
well as the construction of approximately 2,500 feet of new roadway along University Avenue
extended south, approximately 800 feet of North Drive, and Plaza Loop.
Commission approval of this project was contingent on the creation of 365 new jobs within three
years after completion of the roadway. Associated capital investment was to be $26,350,299.
On June 24, 2016, the roadway was opened to traffic. As of July 2021, the city of Ames had not met
the job creation contingency. The department was advised that an average of 137 total jobs were
created.
The method of calculation and amount of proposed settlement was provided to the city. The city of
Ames has agreed to repay the proposed settlement of $278,223.
PROPOSAL/ACTION RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the Commission approve the project settlement and proposed payment to the city
share of the RISE Fund of $278,223 for the city of Ames.
COMMISSION ACTION:
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Tom Rielly Sally Stutsman
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
EXHIBIT B
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ITEM # __1a____
DATE: 10-14-14
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH PARK CORPORATION FOR PHASE III EXPANSION
PROJECT
BACKGROUND:
Many of the recent economic development successes we have experienced in the City
of Ames are attributable to the presence of the Iowa State University Research Park
within our city limits.
In years past, the City of Ames played a major role in the development of the initial two
phases of the Research Park. Because of specific covenants contained in past
development agreements, not only does the City reap the benefits of the increase in
high quality job opportunities from businesses locating in the Research Park, the City
has also benefitted because 1) the improvements continue to generate property tax
revenues to help fund City operations, and 2) fully developed land can be offered to
attract prospective companies as an incentive at a below market rate.
With Phase II of the Research Park nearly full, it is now time to begin development of
the next phase. To assist with this new venture, the Research Park Corporation is once
again seeking substantial financial assistance from the City. Staff has attached the
proposed Development Agreement that outlines the parties' responsibilities to
accomplish Phase III. The agreement is basically patterned after the previous
agreements for the initial two phases of the Research Park, as well as after the
development agreement for the Ames Community Development Park in east Ames; and
anticipates that City funding will come from a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) incentive.
A summary of the development agreement are outlined below:
The Project (See Exhibit B of attached agreement)
Phase III will include a total of approximately 79 gross acres, with approximately
34 acres of this total available for development. Through the financial assistance
from the State of Iowa, $12 million was appropriated to the Research Park for
construction of the first building in this phase. It is anticipated that most of the
economic development support offices that are currently spread throughout the
ISU campus will be centralized in this new Hub building. In addition, many of the
tenants occupying buildings adjacent to the Hub building will be businesses that
provide professional and commercial support services to Research Park
companies and employees. For this reason, the City Council will need to
approve a new zoning classification for the Research Park to accommodate
these types of mixed uses (industrial/commercial/retail) in order for their
plan to be accomplished.
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The City's Responsibilities
Section IV(A) of the agreement outlines the City's responsibilities for designing
and installing the water mains, sanitary sewer mains, and street improvements.
The street improvements will primarily be funded by IDOT through a RISE grant,
which covers 80 percent of the costs up to $3,778,833. This covers
improvements related to street lighting, associated storm water facilities, a
sidewalk on the west side of University Boulevard, on-street bike paths, and
roundabouts.
Although the parking areas along North Drive were included in the approved
RISE grant application, IDOT staff recently informed City staff that RISE funds
cannot be used to pay for this parking. Unless that interpretation is altered, the
parking costs will need to be borne locally. In that event, the agreement provides
that the City will pay one third and the Research Park will pay two thirds of the
cost of providing on-street parking.
The only other responsibility beyond those described above is to share
equally with Iowa State University in the cost of one off-site traffic improvement
project. This is the signalization of the west bound off ramp at Highway 30 and
University Boulevard, which is estimated to cost $250,000.
Based on the most recent cost estimates, the financial obligation
associated with this Phase III agreement is $2,897,324 for the
improvements reflected below.
Street
RISE Grant from IDOT $3,978,833
City of Ames $ 944,708
$4,923,541
On-Street Parking (Hub Loop)
City of Ames $ 83,334
Research Park Corporation 166,666
$ 250,000
Water
City of Ames $ 900,000
Sanitary Sewer
City of Ames $ 505,000
Contingency for Projects
RISE Grant from IDOT $ 31,895
City of Ames 339,282
$ 371,177
Total TIF Funded City
Obligation $2,772,324
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Off-site Traffic Improvements
Iowa State Research Park $ 125,000
City of Ames (Road Use Tax) 125,000
$ 250,000
Total City Financial Obligation $2,897,324
The Research Park Corporation's Responsibilities
Section IV(B) of the agreement specifies that, in addition to paying for two-thirds
of the cost of the on-street parking area for the Loop Drive, all other
improvements needed to fully develop Phase III are the responsibility of the
Research Park Corporation. Therefore, the design and installation of these other
improvements will be accomplished by the Research Park itself or else delegated
to some other entity through a separate agreement.
For example, it is important to note that Story County has been considering
creative ways to become a partner in this type of economic development
because of the positive financial impact this project will have on the County as a
whole. To accomplish this participation, it is anticipated that the County will
finance the improvement of the large open space situated between Phase II
and Phase III. This area will serve as a naturalized storm water conveyance
area for Phase III, and will also provide green space for the development.
Therefore, this area will be designated as a County park to be maintained
by Story County.
Job Creation
In order to qualify for the RISE grant, the City must guarantee to the IDOT that
365 new jobs will be created at Workiva (formerly WebFilings) within three years
of the completion of the road improvements reflected in Exhibit B. Failure to
accomplish this job creation would subject the City to a financial penalty.
While we are very optimistic that Workiva will continue to experience success
with its corresponding job growth, there is still a risk to the City by entering into
the RISE grant agreement. To mitigate this risk, Section VII of the agreement
provides for the Research Park to share equally in any amount the City is
required to reimburse the State for non-attainment of jobs.
Cap On Land Price
The City's justifications for financial participation in the development of our
research and industrial parks include the to facilitate growth in high
paying jobs, to provide below market land cost as an incentive to companies new
to or expanding within the community, and to permanently expand our property
tax base.
In order to assure that the lots within our TIF districts are not sold for the going
market rate, even though their development costs were reduced substantially by
City subsidy, our TIF area development agreements have historically included a
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provision that caps the amount for which the land can be sold. That helps assure
that the subsidy provided by the City is passed on to the companies creating
jobs, rather than being retained by the land owner.
Due to the reduction in State support over the years, proceeds from the sale of
land have become a major source of revenue to finance the operations of the
Research Park. Therefore, Section VI of the agreement offers a unique twist to
our standard approach that will allow the Research Park and City both to
generate additional operating funds from the sale of land.
A per acre selling point of $72,000 has been established that will allow the
Research Park to recapture the cost of their land-related responsibilities
specified in Section IV(B). This includes such expenses as land, rural water
buyout, natural gas, electric and landscaping. In accordance with Section
VI, the Research Park will thus be entitled to retain the first $72,000 per
acre in land sale price. However, it is further agreed that the parties will
share equally in proceeds from the sale of land that exceeds $72,000 per
acre. The City will agree to utilize these funds for incentives to encourage
existing businesses to expand or new businesses to locate in the Research
Park, or to reduce our debt service obligation.
Property Taxes
As was stated previously, the City's financial investment in this project is justified
in part because of the on-going property taxes that will be generated. This
revenue stream will help cover operating costs to serve this area,
which include street maintenance, snow removal, fire/medical assistance
services, police protection, etc.
In order to assure that the growth within this area pays property taxes, Section IX
of the agreement was included. According to this section, all improvements on
the land in Phase III will be subject to real estate taxes, even if they obtain a tax
exempt or abatement status. Should the land and improvements become tax
exempt, the Research Park Corporation will be required to pay to the City an
amount equivalent to the tax receipts the City and other taxing jurisdictions would
have received had the property not become tax exempt or abated.
Research Park officials feel very strongly that at least a portion of the first
building constructed, the Hub building, should be tax exempt. This building will
house many of the economic development support University offices that are
currently scattered throughout the ISU campus.
In breaking with previous requirements, this agreement allows the Research Park
Corporation to apply for tax exempt status for the Hub building. However, for that
portion of the Hub building that becomes tax exempt, it further requires them to
make payments in lieu of tax until the time that the TIF debt incurred to pay
for the public improvement costs specified in Section IV(A) is totally retired.
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Minimum Assessment
Two techniques have been utilized in previous agreements to minimize
risk associated with this type of TIF-funded venture. These were to establish
minimum assessments, and to require that the developer build speculative
buildings to assure there is some level of taxable value to pay a portion of the
annual debt payment. In this case, the annual debt service is estimated to be
approximately $300,000.
Section X of the proposed agreement once again provides for a minimum
assessment for all buildings that are constructed within the TIF District, except for
the Hub building. For these other buildings, the minimum assessment agreed to
is $500,000 per acre.
Furthermore, even if the Hub building gains some level of tax exempt or tax
abatement status, this agreement provides for the Research Park to make
property tax payments to the City based on a minimum value of $11 million. That
obligation will continue until the City's debt for the outstanding public
infrastructure is totally retired.
In return for these minimum assessment commitments, the agreement specifies
that 1) for every additional dollar of non-abated taxable valuation added in the
TIF district for all lots except the Hub building, the minimum assessment on the
Hub building will be reduced by $.50; and 2) the minimum assessment and
payment requirement for the Hub building will not take effect until January 1,
2016, for taxes payable beginning in September 2017.
TIF District
that the City Council enter into "deals" that result in a
ten year payback for TIF funded projects. Since there are only four developable
lots in Phase III to generate TIF proceeds, staff will be recommending that the
TIF district be extended to include the majority of the undeveloped lots in Phase
II of the Research Park.
It is hoped that the addition of these lots will assure an earlier payback of the TIF
debt. However, it is important to note that the Phase II agreement includes no
prohibition for tax exemption for the lots that phase. Therefore, the incremental
taxes generated in from Phase II lots will be delayed due to the availability of
five-year industrial tax abatements.
Rural Water Buyout
Section XII(E) requires the Research Park Corporation to pay the Xenia Rural
Water District for any buyout of service territory. Even though City staff strongly
believes that the right to serve the northern portion of Phase III was never
transferred to Xenia, the Research Park has felt compelled to negotiate a buyout
agreement with Xenia whereby Xenia will be paid $687,234 to release their
claims to the Phase III and Phase IV land. Because of the urgency of completing
the HUB building by June 2016 as required by the State appropriation, the
Research Park does not want to become involved in protracted City/Xenia
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negotiations or legal actions to verify the City's right to serve the northern half of
Phase III. As is the case with most of their other development costs, the
Research Park Corporation will cover this expenditure out of proceeds from the
sale of lots in this phase.
Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments
In order to accomplish the proposed Phase III expansion as envisioned by
Research Park officials, the City Council must be willing to make two significant
changes to our Zoning Ordinance.
First, the existing Research Park is currently zoned Planned Industrial (PI). The
new vision is to locate a limited array of retail and commercial land uses within
the Park to provide services to Park tenants in close proximity to their offices and
laboratories.
laundries and child care facilities, among others. This vision will necessitate
the creation of a new zoning category that will be unique to Research
Parks.
but adding commercial may fit the parameters of having additional services
available to neighborhoods and districts. It is likely that the new zoning would
apply to both the existing Research Park and to the new expansion area, and
would require a master plan for implementation. A draft zoning ordinance will be
presented to the Council this winter. Therefore, the HUB building will
originally be started under PI zoning and end up being completed under the
new zoning distict.
Second, in order to reap the efficiencies of combining Loop Road with parking for
the Hub building, the Hub building has been designed without off-street parking.
Instead, it is envisioned that all parking needs for this centralized facility will be
accommodated with expanded public parking around the Hub loop. This will be
similar to the parking arrangement found in many county seat communities
where the centralized County Courthouse is surrounded by on-street parking.
Here again, a special provision will need to be added in the Zoning
Ordinance to relieve the Hub building from any on-site parking
requirements and to consider the adjacent on-street parking supply on the
Plaza Loop. As is shown in Section XII(F), it is contemplated that the Research
Park will assume responsibility for maintaining Loop Road and for administering
its associated parking spaces. The parties have agreed that, should the IDOT
not provide RISE grant funding for this on-street parking, then the City will
pay one third and the Research Park will pay two thirds of the cost of
constructing this parking area.
During the staff's discussions with the Research Park officials, an inquiry was
made regarding the possibility of including mixed-use housing in Phase III.
However, after checking with the City's bond attorney, it was determined that the
Iowa Code places more restrictions when TIF financed projects include a housing
component. Two critical requirements are that the TIF must be completely paid
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off within ten years, and that a certain percentage of the TIF proceeds must be
directed to affordable housing and not to pay off the infrastructure debt. Since
there is not a specific housing proposal to analyze at this time, it was
agreed that the Urban Renewal Plan/TIF project for Phase III will only allow
for industrial/commercial/retail uses. However, staff has indicated its
willingness to consider a housing component once a specific proposal is offered
that can be analyzed for compliance to the Iowa Code.
Off-Site Transportation Improvements
As the City Council would expect, a traffic study was conducted to identify off-site
traffic system improvements that might be needed due to the growth of Phase III.
It appears from this study that only one off-site location will need improvements
due to Phase III growth. This is the intersection of US Highway 30 and University
Boulevard, where motorists have challenges on the westbound off-ramp when
attempting to turn south. The addition of a traffic signal at this intersection will be
needed by the time Phase III is built out, at an estimated cost of $250,000.
It should be noted that the traffic study indicates that the current situation already
justifies this traffic improvement because of traffic from Phases I and II of the
Research Park and other city traffic. Therefore, Phase III will make a challenging
situation even worse. Realizing that both the City and the University have
some responsibility for this traffic improvement, Warren Madden, Senior
Vice President for Business and Finance, has indicated that the University
is committed to share equally in the cost of this traffic signal. The City's
share of this project will be programmed in the next Capital Improvements Plan
from Road Use Tax funds. Any other needed future traffic improvements will be
studied prior to the Council's approval of subsequent phases of the Research
Park.
Next Steps
After this development agreement and the RISE agreement are signed, the City Council
must take a number of additional actions in order to facilitate Phase III. These steps are
time sensitive, since construction on the HUB building must begin early next spring in
order for it to be completed and occupied by June 2016. With annexation already
completed, the following subsequent steps must also take place:
Establish Urban Renewal Area (URA)
Establish Tax Increment Financing District
Hire engineering firm to design streets, water and sewer infrastructure
Award contract for construction of infrastructure
Rezone one existing parcel to Planned Industrial to facilitate Hub building
Approve minor site development plan (administrative action)
Issue building permit for Hub building (administrative action)
Develop zoning text amendment to create new Research Park zone
Rezone entire Research Park to new zoning designation
Staff is also bringing the URA to City Council for action on October 14. This includes a
draft Urban Renewal Plan detailing the intended uses for the area and the types of
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projects anticipated in support of economic development. It is anticipated that the URA
process and creation of the TIF District can be completed by November 10. Creating a
TIF District requires adoption of an ordinance, and that action on November 10 will
require Council approval of all three ordinance readings in order to authorize
expenditures for the engineering design contract that same evening. Engineering design
must begin in November in order for infrastructure bids to be taken in January or
February. Installation of the water main will hopefully begin in March, since construction
on the Hub building requires a public water supply. Prior to approval of the building
permit, the Hub lot must also be rezoned to Planned Industrial and the site plan must be
approved.
ALTERNATIVES:
1) The City Council can approve the attached development agreement with the ISU
Research Park as proposed.
This alternative should be supported if the City Council is satisfied with a) the
development concept that has been proposed for Phase III, b) the amount and source
of City financial support that is required in the proposed agreement, and c) the unique
changes that will be required in the Zoning Ordinance to accomplish this expansion.
2) The City Council can approve the attached agreement with the ISU Research Park
after making modifications specified by the City Council.
This alternative should be supported if the City Council desires changes to the proposed
agreement. Specific direction from Council regarding changes will be required under
this alternative.
3) The City Council can decide not to approve an agreement with the ISU Research
Park that obligates the City to financially support the development of Phase III.
This alternative should be supported if the City Council determines that the extent of the
financial support that is being requested, the risk that is associated with this venture, or
the needed changes to the Zoning Ordinance are unacceptable.
TION:
It must be emphasized that the ISU Research Park has become a foundational
component of the City's economic develop strategy. The prudent use of City funds to
assist in the development of Phase III is justified because of the additional high quality
jobs, property tax revenue increase, and collaboration with ISU in economic
development that will result from this expansion.
It appears that the most viable source of funding for this phase is through a Tax
Increment Financing incentive. Staff has warned the Council in the past that use of this
incentive poses a level of risk should the property not develop as quickly as hoped. The
risk is heightened when a debt is incurred to build public infrastructure in advance of
sufficient incremental tax valuation growth to cover the debt payments. While the staff
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has included many provisions in this agreement that somewhat mitigate this risk, it still
remains. However, given the overwhelming success of Phases I and II, the benefits
associated with the further expansion of the Research Park outweigh the level of risk
involved with this next phase.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve
Alternative #1, thereby approving the attached development agreement with the ISU
Research Park as proposed.
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DO NOT WRITE IN THE SPACE ABOVE THIS LINE; RESERVED FOR RECORDER
Prepared by: Judy K. Parks, Ames City Attorney, 515 Clark Ave., Ames, IA 50010; 515-239-5146
Return recorded document to: Ames City Clerk, P.O. Box 811, Ames, IA 50010
AGREEMENT FOR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
AND OTHER WORK PERTAINING TO
THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARK
PHASE III
THIS CONTRACT AND AGREEMENT, made and entered into this 14th day of October,
2014, by and between IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARK (an Iowa non-
profit corporation hereinafter called "Research Park") and THE CITY OF AMES, IOWA
(hereinafter called the "City");
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, it is the intention and representation of the Research Park to undertake an
expansion of the Iowa State University Research Park, heretofore known as Phase III,
at below market cost located in the City of Ames, Iowa; and,
WHEREAS, the Research Park has applied for annexation of the Phase III real estate
into the City, and the City Council and Stat
approved said annexation; and,
WHEREAS, the Research Park desires that the City assist the aforesaid project by
designing, constructing, financing, and facilitating certain public improvements and other
work to serve Phase III of the Iowa State University Research Park; and,
WHEREAS, the
public improvements be abated by an increment in the property taxes based on the
progress of the project as well as by funding from the Iowa Department of
Transportation's Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE) program; and,
WHEREAS, it is found that the work and improvements related to Phase III of the Iowa
State University Research Park will serve the public purpose of economic development
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by encouraging private development that will increase permanent employment
opportunities, add revenue support for government services, and expand the property
tax base; and,
WHEREAS, the Research Park controls the land necessary to accomplish Phase III
expansion of the Iowa State University Research Park.
(See Exhibit A for Legal Description)
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of these premises and of the mutual promises
hereinafter set out, the parties hereto do agree and covenant as follows:
I
PARTIES
A. The Parties to this agreement are the City and the Research Park. No other parties
shall be admitted to this agreement, nor shall there be any assignment of this
agreement without the express written consent of the existing parties hereto.
B. It is not the intention of the parties to this agreement that any new legal entity be
created by virtue of this agreement, and the provisions of this agreement shall not be
deemed to have created a partnership, trust or other legal entity.
II
DURATION
This agreement shall endure and remain in effect until all parties agree in writing that its
purpose has been fully and completely served, or mutually agree to terminate this
agreement sooner for whatever reason and on whatever terms the parties may then
agree to.
III
PURPOSE
A. In general. The purpose of this agreement is to provide for a joint and cooperative
effort by the parties hereto, in the prompt development of Phase III of the Iowa State
University Research Park, by performance of the respective tasks and duties stated in
this agreement.
B. Research Park Development. The Research Park, either directly or by means of
agreements with other parties of its choice, shall construct and market facilities and
sites on land shown on the Conceptual Development Plan attached hereto as Exhibit B,
and by this reference incorporated herein and made part hereof. Said Plan may be
amended by written agreement of the parties hereto.
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The Research Park covenants that all structures on and other improvements on land in
Phase III as generally described on the Conceptual Development Plan shall be done in
compliance with the ordinances, policies, and rules of the City of Ames, Iowa, and all
said requirements for plans, permits, or approvals shall be adhered to by the Research
Park.
The Research Park shall comply with all other federal, state, and local regulations
applicable to the development of the said Phase III of the Iowa State University
Research Park. This obligation expressly includes compliance with the City's Zoning
and Subdivision ordinances, and applies both to the original uses and any future reuses
of land within Phase III of the Research Park.
The making of agreements by the Research Park with developers of its choice shall not
relieve the Research Park of the obligations, duties, and tasks stated in this agreement
that are not expressly those of the City.
C. Official Platting. The Research Park shall prepare and submit for final City approval
an official plat of subdivision lots as generally shown on the aforesaid Conceptual
Development Plan.
D. Design. The Research Park will be responsible for the design of all infrastructure
and building improvements within the area reflected on the Conceptual Development
Plan, except for the design of the City public improvements specified in Section IV(A).
IV
INFRASTRUCTURE
A. City Public Improvements. As generally shown on Exhibit C, the City shall be
responsible for the design and installation for the following public improvements to
complete Phase III:
1. Water mains.
2. Sanitary sewer mains.
3. Street improvements funded through the IDOT RISE grant, including street
lighting, street related storm sewer facilities, sidewalk on the west side of
University Blvd., on-street bike lanes, and roundabouts.
In the event that the IDOT RISE grant does not cover the cost of constructing on-street
parking adjacent to Loop Drive, the City shall be responsible for one third of the cost of
such parking areas.
The Research Park shall convey to the City, without cost, all land needed for City
funded infrastructure improvements, including streets, sidewalks, utility easements,
rights-of-way, and other public facilities as determined by the City's Public Works
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Director. The Research Park shall also convey to the City, without cost, any easements
needed to facilitate construction of these street improvements and utilities prior to
platting. These conveyances shall occur prior to the City awarding each contract for
public improvements specified in this section.
In accordance with the RISE grant program, the Research Park shall cooperate with the
City to meet the following requirements:
1. Acquire all rights-of-way in accordance with 761 Iowa Administrative Code,
Chapter 111 and the Federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real
Property Acquisition Act of 1970;
2. Obtain IDOT environmental concurrence before acquiring or conveying all
rights-of-way; and
3. Certify that any needed environmental permits have been received and all
environmental regulations have been met prior to letting of RISE funded
public improvements.
B. Other Improvements. For the area shown on Exhibit D, the Research Park shall be
responsible for funding or otherwise procuring the design and installation of all other
improvements necessary to complete Phase III, which shall include, but not be limited to
the following:
1. Storm water management and drainage facilities not funded by the RISE
grant.
2. Open space and natural areas.
3. Natural gas distribution system to bring natural gas to each platted lot.
4. Construction of all streets, sidewalks, and walking/bike trails not funded by
the RISE grant.
5. Signage.
6. Telecommunication facilities to serve each platted lot.
7. Electric distribution system to serve each platted lot.
For that portion of the Research Park served by the Ames Municipal Electric
Utility, the City will contribute to these electric facilities in accordance with
current City policies applicable to all new development.
8. Gateway features.
9. Grading of the site.
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10. Hub Square.
11. Landscaping, including completion of all landscaping materials to be installed
in the public right-of-way that are not funded by the RISE grant. Said
landscaping shall be installed within two years of the final acceptance of the
RISE funded project by the City.
In the event that the IDOT RISE grant does not cover the cost of constructing on-street
parking adjacent to Loop Drive, the Research Park shall be responsible for two thirds of
the cost of such parking areas.
V
URBAN RENEWAL AREA AND TAX INCREMENT FINANCING
The City agrees to be responsible for establishing a new urban renewal area pursuant
to Chapter 403 of the Code of Iowa. At a minimum, the urban renewal area will include
all property identified in the legal description of property shown on Exhibit A to this
Agreement, as well as all property upon or through which any of the City Public
Improvements shown on Exhibit C to this Agreement will be constructed or installed.
The City reserves the right to include other property in the urban renewal area that the
City determines would be beneficial to the purposes of this Agreement. In accordance
with commitments made in this Agreement by property owners to pay property taxes,
the City may make provisions to collect incremental property tax revenues generated
from a Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) which may be established within the urban
renewal area and may devote those tax revenues to pay principal of and interest on
debt incurred by the City to finance the construction of the City Public Improvements as
described in Section IV(A).
The City shall not be responsible for any other development cost associated with the
development of the Phase III of the proposed Iowa State University Research Park
expansion.
VI
ALLOCATION OF PROCEEDS FROM SALE OF LAND
The Research Park has the right to set the price charged for land in the Phase III
expansion. In recognition of the significant land value that the Research Park has
assembled for this expansion, it is agreed that the Research Park shall be entitled to
charge and retain the first $72,000 per acre, or an equivalent lease rate, for lots shown
in the Conceptual Development Plan.
In recognition of the significant investment made by the City in public infrastructure to
serve this expansion for lots shown in the Conceptual Development Plan, it is further
agreed that both parties will share equally in any proceeds of land sold at a price
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greater than $72,000 per acre, or an equivalent per acre amount calculated as part of a
lease agreement.
For land sales, the Research Park shall pay the City one half of this added increment
after closing on any such land sale. For land lease agreements, the Research Park shall
pay the City one half of the land cost greater than $72,000 per acre that has been
calculated in any such monthly lease rate. Payments under this lease obligation for
each calendar year shall be accumulated and paid to the City by December 30 of each
year.
In order to determine how each land lease rate compares to the aforementioned per
acre land sale amount, the Research Park shall provide to the City each such lease
agreement, along with the calculation for land cost included in such agreement. Such
agreements and calculations shall be provided to the City upon signing of each lease
agreement.
The funds received by the City in accordance with this section will be reserved by the
City to be used as incentives to encourage existing businesses to expand or new
businesses to locate in the Iowa State University Research Park, or to be used to pay
obligation for improvements specified in Section IV(A).
VII
JOB CREATION
As a condition of the RISE grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation to help
finance certain public improvements in and adjacent to Phase III, the City will be
required to covenant that, within three years after the completion of the RISE funded
projects, the number of additional persons employed at the Iowa State University
Research Park as required by the RISE grant shall be not less than 365 full-time
equivalents. If the City is required to make any payments due to non-attainment of the
aforesaid job creation goal, fifty percent of the amount of such payment shall be
immediately reimbursed to the City by the Research Park.
VIII
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The City shall not be under an obligation to award a contract related to any of the public
improvements identified in Section IV(A) until after the City has received:
A. Written evidence from the Research Park that written commitments have been
made or funds have been secured to finance the costs of all other work referred
to in Section IV(B), and
B. A signed agreement between the City and the Iowa Department of
Transportation for a RISE Grant to pay 80% of the total costs for all
transportation related improvements specified in Section IV(A).
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IX
PROPERTY TAXES
It is expressly understood, covenanted, and agreed by the parties hereto that all of the
land encompassed by the aforesaid Phase III Conceptual Development Plan and any
and all improvements now or hereafter pertaining to said land, shall be subject to any
and all taxes on real estate that normally would be generated as a commercial or
industrial classified parcel, regardless of actual classification or exempt
status; and that the Research Park shall not claim or apply for any exemption from or
abatement of property taxes for said land or improvements. In the event that said
property in the Iowa State University Research Park, or any portion thereof, becomes
tax exempt or receives tax abatement, by legislation or other process, the Research
Park, its successor or assigns, shall make payments to the City in lieu of taxes in such
amounts as are equivalent to the tax receipts the City and other local taxing jurisdictions
would have received had the property not become tax exempt or received an
abatement. This obligation upon the Research Park applies regardless of ownership of
the property subject to tax exemption or abatement.
Consistent with the above restrictions, after the total debt incurred by the City to pay for
(A)
has been totally retired and the property is no longer subject to payments-in-lieu of tax,
the owner of the Hub Building designated on Lot 3 may apply for, or make a claim for
property tax exemption per the provisions of Chapter 427.1 of the Iowa Code.
All payments in lieu of taxes shall be due and payable in accordance with the statutory
schedule for payment of property tax and any minimum assessment agreement then in
effect.
The Research Park agrees to allow and cooperate with the City Assessor as the City
Assessor calculates the assessed value of any properties within Phase III that may be
tax-exempt.
The Research Park further agrees to include clauses in all ground leases and real
property sales agreements which notify the lessees or buyers of the obligations under
this subsection.
X
MINIMUM ASSESSMENT
In conjunction with this agreement, the Research Park hereby enters into two separate
Minimum Assessment Agreements (Exhibits E and F) with the City for all lots within the
boundaries of the TIF district that authorize the City Assessor to accomplish the
following tasks:
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A) Establish an assessment for the first building constructed in Phase III
designated as the HUB building on Lot 3 of Exhibit B, at an assessed value of at
least $11,000,000. This minimum assessment requirement will be reduced in
accordance to the following formula as other assessed value for building
improvements are added within the TIF District established under Section V.
i) For every additional dollar of non-abated assessed valuation added
in the TIF District for all lots except Lot 3, the minimum assessment
for the HUB building on Lot 3 will be reduced by $.50. The minimum
assessment will be adjusted in accordance with this provision on
January 1st of each year.
This minimum assessment requirement will terminate once the total debt incurred
by the City to pay for the costs associated with the
specified in Section IV(A) has been totally retired. These costs include, but are
not limited to the design, construction, inspection, principal, interest, bond
issuance cost, etc. The minimum assessment for the Hub building on Lot 3 will
not take effect until January 1, 2016 for taxes payable beginning September,
2017.
B) For all other lots on which buildings are constructed in the TIF district,
establish a minimum assessment value of at least $500,000 per acre.
XI
TIMELINE FOR CONSTRUCTING BUILDINGS
The parties agree that the purchasers of lots within Phase III of the Iowa State
University Research shall make improvements promptly and not hold the property in an
undeveloped state or delay making improvements. Therefore, if the purchaser of any lot
within Phase III of the Iowa State University Research Park does not complete
construction of all buildings within twenty-four (24) months of taking title to the land,
then the Research Park shall make payments to the City in lieu of taxes in such
amounts as are equivalent to the tax receipts the City and other local taxing jurisdictions
would have received had the property been assessed at $500,000 per acre.
XII
MISCELLANEOUS
A. Maintenance. The traveled portion of the City streets within the area reflected on
Conceptual Development Plan shall be maintained by the City. The Research Park shall
maintain the landscaped area on both sides of those public roadways. In addition, all
green space, storm water management areas, and trail system (off-street bike and
pedestrian paths) within the area reflected on the Conceptual Development Plan
(Exhibit B) shall be maintained by the Research Park or its assigns.
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9
B. Records. The parties hereto shall keep all contracts, change orders, invoices,
payroll time sheets, memoranda, and other accounting documents needed to document
and substantiate the actual cost of designing, constructing, and financing the said City
public improvements specified in Section IV(A) for a period of at least five years
following completion and acceptance of said improvements. Photocopies of all such
documents shall be exchanged by the parties on request.
C. Land Covenant. This contract and agreement, and all promises and covenants
herein expressed, shall be a covenant running with the land described herein and be
binding on the Research Park, its successors and assigns, and upon the Research
Park's grantees of rights in said land, including tenants and mortgagees, except the land
granted to the City for streets, utility easements, and other right-of-ways shall not be
subject to said covenant.
D. Time of the Essence. It is agreed and understood by the parties to this
agreement that time is of the essence in performance of any action provided in this
agreement.
E. Rural Water Buyout. Research Park agrees that it is responsible for payment of
any amounts that may become due and owing to Xenia Rural Water District as a result
of annexation of the land within the Conceptual Development Plan or connection of any
lot to City water, including but not limited to the buyout of territory and demolition or
removal of infrastructure, as provided in Iowa Code Chapter 357A.
F. Loop Drive. It is recognized that a City zoning code text amendment will be
needed to allow parking for the Hub Building to be located on Loop Drive, a public
street, rather than on the Hub Building parcel
code. Upon passage of that zoning code text amendment and approval by the parties of
a separate use agreement, Research Park shall assume the following responsibilities
for Loop Drive and the adjacent parking areas: ongoing surface maintenance, snow and
ice control, and the administration and enforcement of said parking.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be signed
and sealed by their authorized representatives as of the date first above written.
ISU RESEARCH PARK CITY OF AMES
By:_____________________ By:______________________
Steven Carter, President Ann H. Campbell, Mayor
Iowa State University Research Park
Attest:___________________
Diane Voss, City Clerk
297
298
5.45 acres
LOT 4
2.92 acres
LOT 3
9.41 acres
LOT 12
1.81 acres
LOT 1
2.30 acres
LOT 2
38.56 acres
OUTLOT A
9.80 acres
LOT 11
11.40 acres
LOT A
HUB
BUILDING
SITE
EXHIBIT B
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
299
SAN
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
5.45 acres
LOT 4
2.92 acres
LOT 3
9.41 acres
LOT 12
1.81 acres
LOT 1
2.30 acres
LOT 2
38.56 acres
OUTLOT A
9.80 acres
LOT 11
W
SAN
HUB
BUILDING
SITE FUTURE R.O.W.
EXHIBIT C
CITY PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
WATER MAIN
FIRE HYDRANT
SANITARY MAIN
MANHOLE
UTILITY LEGEND
300
5.45 acres
LOT 4
2.92 acres
LOT 3
9.41 acres
LOT 12
1.81 acres
LOT 1
2.30 acres
LOT 2
38.56 acres
OUTLOT A
9.80 acres
LOT 11
11.40 acres
LOT A
HUB
BUILDING
SITE
EXHIBIT D
AREA COVERED FOR OTHER
IMPROVEMENTS
TRAIL
ROUNDABOUT
301
DO NOT WRITE IN THE SPACE ABOVE THIS LINE; RESERVED FOR RECORDER
Prepared by: Judy K. Parks, Ames City Attorney, 515 Clark Ave., Ames, IA 50010; 515-239-5146
Return recorded document to: Ames City Clerk, P.O. Box 811, Ames, IA 50010
Exhibit E
MINIMUM ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT FOR PHASE III HUB BUILDING
This Minimum Assessment Agreement is entered into this _____ day of ____________,
University Research Park (an Iowa non-
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, on or about __________________, 2014, City and Research Park entered
into an Agreement for Public Improvements and Other Work Pertaining to The Iowa State
regarding certain real property located in the city of Ames, Iowa; and
WHEREAS, it is contemplated that pursuant to said Agreement, Research Park controls
the land necessary to undertake an expansion of the Iowa State University Research Park,
heretofore known as Phase III, located in the city of Ames, Iowa (hereinafter referred to as
See Exhibit A of the Phase III Agreement for Legal Description
and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 403.6 of the Code of Iowa, as amended, City and
Research Park desire to establish a minimum actual value for the improvements to be constructed
or placed upon the Property by Research Park pursuant to the Phase III Agreement, which shall
be effective upon substantial completion of such improvements and from then until this
302
Minimum Assessment Agreement is terminated pursuant to the terms herein, and which is
intended to reflect the minimum actual value of such improvements, exclusive of the value of the
unimproved land; and
WHEREAS, City and Assessor have reviewed the preliminary plans and specifications,
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties to this Minimum Assessment Agreement, in
consideration of the promises, covenants and agreements made by each other, do hereby agree as
follows:
1. Upon construction of the first building constructed pursuant to the terms of the Phase III
Agreement, designated as the HUB building on Lot 3 of Exhibit B of the Phase III
Agreement, the Assessor shall establish an assessed value of at least $11,000,000. This
minimum assessment requirement will be reduced in accordance with the following
formula as other assessed values for building improvements are added within the TIF
District established under Section V of the Phase III Agreement.
i) For every additional dollar of non-abated assessed valuation added in the
TIF District for all lots except Lot 3, the minimum assessment for the
HUB building on Lot 3 will be reduced by $.50. The minimum assessment
will be adjusted in accordance with this provision on January 1st of each
year.
This minimum assessment requirement will terminate once the total debt incurred by the City to
of
the Phase III Agreement has been totally retired. These costs include, but are not limited to the
design, construction, inspection, principal, interest and bond issuance cost. The minimum
assessment for the HUB building on Lot 3 will not take effect until January 1, 2016, for taxes
payable beginning September, 2017.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their
authorized representatives as of the date first above written.
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
By________________________________
Ann H. Campbell, Mayor
Attest_____________________________
Diane R. Voss, City Clerk
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH PARK
By_________________________________
Steven Carter, President
By__________________________________
Dick Johnson, Secretary
303
STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF STORY, ss:
On this ________ day of _______________, 2014, before me, a
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa, personally appeared Ann H.
Campbell and Diane R. Voss, to me personally known, and who, being
by me duly sworn, did say that they are the Mayor and City Clerk,
respectively, of the City of Ames, Iowa; that the seal affixed to the
foregoing instrument is the corporate seal of the corporation, and that
the instrument was signed and sealed on behalf of the corporation, by
authority of its City Council, as contained in Resolution No. _____
adopted by the City Council and the ________ day of _____________,
2014, and that Ann H. Campbell and Diane R. Voss acknowledged the
execution of the instrument to be their voluntary act and deed and the
voluntary act and deed of the corporation, by it voluntarily executed.
_________________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa
STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF STORY, ss:
This instrument was acknowledged before me on ______________,
2014, by Steven Carter and Dick Johnson, as President and Secretary,
respectively, of Iowa State University Research Park.
________________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF ASSESSOR
The undersigned, having reviewed the plans and specifications for the improvements to
be constructed upon the land described in the Agreement for Public Improvements and Other
Work Pertaining to The Iowa State University Research Park Phase III, and the market value
assigned to such improvements, and being of the opinion that the minimum market value
contained in the foregoing Minimum Assessment Agreement appears reasonable, hereby certifies
as follows: the undersigned Assessor, being legally responsible for the assessment of the
Property as described above, upon completion of improvements to be made on it and in
accordance with the Minimum Assessment Agreement, certifies that the actual value assigned to
land, building, equipment and other improvement shall be _______________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
($____________________________), until termination of this Minimum Assessment
Agreement pursuant to the terms hereof.
Dated this ________ day of ___________________, 2014.
______________________________________
Gregory P. Lynch, Ames City Assessor
STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF STORY, ss:
On this ________ day of _______________, 2014, before me, the
undersigned, a Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa, personally
appeared Gregory P. Lynch, Ames City Assessor, to me known to be
the identical person named in and who executed the foregoing
instrument, and acknowledged that the executed the same as his
voluntary act and deed.
_________________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa
304
DO NOT WRITE IN THE SPACE ABOVE THIS LINE; RESERVED FOR RECORDER
Prepared by: Judy K. Parks, Ames City Attorney, 515 Clark Ave., Ames, IA 50010; 515-239-5146
Return recorded document to: Ames City Clerk, P.O. Box 811, Ames, IA 50010
Exhibit F
MINIMUM ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT FOR PHASE III TIF DISTRICT BUILDINGS
This Minimum Assessment Agreement is entered into this _____ day of ____________,
2014, by and between the City of
University Research Park (an Iowa non-
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, on or about __________________, 2014, City and Research Park entered
into an Agreement for Public Improvements and Other Work Pertaining to The Iowa State
Phase III
regarding certain real property located in the city of Ames, Iowa; and
WHEREAS, it is contemplated that pursuant to said Agreement, Research Park controls
the land necessary to undertake an expansion of the Iowa State University Research Park,
heretofore known as Phase III, located in the city of Ames, Iowa (hereinafter referred to as
See Exhibit A of the Phase III Agreement for Legal Description
and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 403.6 of the Code of Iowa, as amended, City and
Research Park desire to establish a minimum actual value for the improvements to be constructed
or placed upon the Property by Research Park pursuant to the Phase III Agreement, which shall
be effective upon substantial completion of such improvements and from then until this
305
Minimum Assessment Agreement is terminated pursuant to the terms herein, and which is
intended to reflect the minimum actual value of such improvements, exclusive of the value of the
unimproved land; and
WHEREAS, City and Assessor have reviewed the preliminary plans and specifications,
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties to this Minimum Assessment Agreement, in
consideration of the promises, covenants and agreements made by each other, do hereby agree as
follows:
Upon construction of any buildings constructed in the TIF District pursuant to the terms
of the Phase III Agreement, the Assessor shall establish an assessed value of at least $500,000
per acre. This Minimum Assessment applies to all buildings except the building designated as
the HUB building on Lot 3 of Exhibit B of the Phase III Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their
authorized representatives as of the date first above written.
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
By___________________________________
Ann H. Campbell, Mayor
Attest________________________________
Diane R. Voss, City Clerk
STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF STORY, ss:
On this ________ day of _______________, 2014, before me, a
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa, personally appeared Ann H.
Campbell and Diane R. Voss, to me personally known, and who, being
by me duly sworn, did say that they are the Mayor and City Clerk,
respectively, of the City of Ames, Iowa; that the seal affixed to the
foregoing instrument is the corporate seal of the corporation, and that
the instrument was signed and sealed on behalf of the corporation, by
authority of its City Council, as contained in Resolution No. _____
adopted by the City Council and the ________ day of _____________,
2014, and that Ann H. Campbell and Diane R. Voss acknowledged the
execution of the instrument to be their voluntary act and deed and the
voluntary act and deed of the corporation, by it voluntarily executed.
_________________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH PARK
By___________________________________
Steven Carter, President
By___________________________________
Dick Johnson, Secretary
STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF STORY, ss:
This instrument was acknowledged before me on ______________,
2014, by Steven Carter and Dick Johnson, as President and Secretary,
respectively, of Iowa State University Research Park.
________________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa
306
CERTIFICATE OF ASSESSOR
The undersigned, having reviewed the plans and specifications for the improvements to
be constructed upon the land described in the Agreement for Public Improvements and Other
Work Pertaining to The Iowa State University Research Park Phase III, and the market value
assigned to such improvements, and being of the opinion that the minimum market value
contained in the foregoing Minimum Assessment Agreement appears reasonable, hereby certifies
as follows: the undersigned Assessor, being legally responsible for the assessment of the
Property as described above, upon completion of improvements to be made on it and in
accordance with the Minimum Assessment Agreement, certifies that the actual value assigned to
land, building, equipment and other improvement shall be _______________________________
($________________), until termination of this Minimum Assessment Agreement pursuant to
the terms hereof.
Dated this ________ day of ___________________, 2014.
______________________________________
Gregory P. Lynch, Ames City Assessor
STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF STORY, ss:
On this ________ day of _______________, 2014, before me, the
undersigned, a Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa, personally
appeared Gregory P. Lynch, Ames City Assessor, to me known to be
the identical person named in and who executed the foregoing
instrument, and acknowledged that the executed the same as his
voluntary act and deed.
_________________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Iowa
307
1
ITEM # ___1b_
DATE: 10-14-14
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: RISE GRANT FOR IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARK
PHASE III EXPANSION
BACKGROUND:
On April 8, 2014, the Iowa DOT Transportation Commission approved a Revitalize
conomy (RISE) grant to the City of Ames associated with the Phase III
expansion of the ISU Research Park. This grant will include improvements to
reconstruct the intersection of University Avenue and Airport Road into a roundabout, to
widen and extend the paving of University Avenue south through the newly planned
intersection with North Drive, to construct North Drive through Plaza Loop, and the
construction of Plaza Loop. Additional items included in the RISE grant funded project
are on-street bike lanes, an off-street pathway (sidewalk) on the west side of University
Boulevard, relocation of the electric lines, street lighting, on-street storm sewer
facilities, and a bus stop pad. (See Exhibit C from the ISU Research Park Phase III
development agreement.)
The costs for roadway design, construction, and administration for the RISE project
were approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation in the amount of $5,013,410.
The RISE grant cannot exceed 80% of the total eligible cost, or a maximum of
$4,010,728. The City is responsible for the 20% local contribution of $1,002,682, as well
as for any amount above the $5,013,410. The local match and any additional amount
above the original estimate will be funded through General Obligation Bonds that will be
abated through Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from the area. As evidenced in the
previous Council Action Form, the current cost estimate for the RISE funded road
improvements is $4,923,541 without any contingency.
This grant funding is tied to the creation of at least 365 new jobs at Workiva (formerly
known as Webfilings). Within three years of the road improvements being constructed
and open to traffic, the City must certify that these jobs have been created. The City
must also certify that these jobs have been maintained for six continuous months during
this three year monitoring period and that the jobs satisfy the average wage requirement
of $18.34 per hour.
It is currently anticipated that plans and specifications will be approved for bidding in
January 2015 with the project bids received in February. This will make it possible for
construction to start as early as March with completion expected in Fall 2015.
In addition to street-related work under the RISE grant, additional infrastructure required
of the City to complete Phase III includes water mains and sanitary sewers. This work is
estimated to cost $900,000 for the water mains and $505,000 for the sanitary sewer
mains. Here again, these costs will be paid for through a TIF financing strategy.
308
2
It should be noted that the original RISE grant application included on-street parking
along Plaza Loop as a requested item. Although the cost for that parking was included
in the application approved by the Iowa Transportation Commission, IDOT staff has
since informed the City that the parking is an ineligible cost. In the event that
determination by IDOT is not altered, the Research Park development agreement
provides for the costs of this parking to be paid one third by the City and two thirds by
the Research Park.
financing.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the IDOT RISE grant agreement associated with the Phase III expansion of
the ISU Research Park.
2. Direct staff to request changes to the RISE grant agreement.
3. Reject the RISE grant agreement.
:
The Phase III expansion of the Iowa State University Research Park is anticipated to
create many new, high-paying jobs and to expand our local tax base. Phase III will
create an administrative support center, as well as a few developable lots. Acceptance
of the RISE grant will leverage 80% state funding for the critical roadway infrastructure,
which could be as much as $4,010,728 in state funding for the Park.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative No. 1, thereby approving the IDOT RISE grant agreement associated with
the Phase III expansion of the ISU Research Park.
309
Iowa Department of Transportation
Agreement for a
Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy Program (RISE) Project
RECIPIENT: City of Ames
PROJECT NO: RM-0155(686)--9D-85
IOWA DOT
AGREEMENT NO.: 2014-R-013
This is an agreement between the city of Ames (hereinafter referred to as Recipient) and the
Iowa Department of Transportation (hereinafter referred to as the DOT). The Recipient
submitted an application to the DOT for funding through the Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy
(RISE) fund under Iowa Code Chapter 315 (2011), and the application was approved by
Transportation Commission Order No. PPM-2014-52 on April 8, 2014.
Pursuant to the terms of this agreement, and applicable statutes and administrative rules the DOT
agrees to provide funding to the Recipient for the authorized and approved costs for eligible
items associated with the development of an expansion of the Iowa State University Research
Park; facilitating the creation of 365 new jobs at Workiva (formerly WebFilings).
In consideration of the foregoing and the mutual promises contained in this agreement, the
parties agree as follows:
1. The Recipient shall be the lead organization for carrying out the provisions of this
agreement.
2. All notices required under this agreement shall be made in writing to the DOT's and/or
the Recipient's contact person. The DOT's contact person shall be Jennifer Kolacia,
Office of Systems Planning, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, 515-239-1738, email
Jennifer.Kolacia@dot.iowa.gov. The Recipient's contact person shall be John C. Joiner,
P.E., City of Ames, 515 Clark Avenue, Ames, IA 50010, jjoiner@city.ames.ia.us.
3. The Recipient shall be responsible for the development and completion of the following
described project:
Infrastructure improvements include: the reconstruction of University Avenue at Airport
Road and approximately 800 feet to the south, as well as the construction of
approximately 2,500 feet of new roadway along University Avenue extended south,
approximately 800 feet of North Drive, and Plaza Loop. The associated economic
development is the creation of 365 new jobs at Workiva (formerly WebFilings) with an
average wage of at least the current average laborshed wage of $18.34/hour. See Exhibit
A.
310
4. Eligible project costs for the project described in Section 3 of this agreement, listed
above, which are incurred after the effective date of this agreement shall be paid as
follows:
City RISE Funds (Grant): $4,010,728
City Local Contribution: $1,002,682
Project Total: $5,013,410
5. The local contribution stated above may include cash or non-cash contributions to the
project. The Recipient shall certify to the DOT the value of any non-cash contribution to
the project prior to it being incurred. For right of way contributions, the recipient shall
submit an appraisal from a qualified independent appraiser. The DOT reserves the right
to review the Recipient's certificate of value and has sole authority to determine the value
of the Recipient's non-cash contribution for the purposes of this agreement. If, as a result
of the DOT's determination, the Recipient's total cash and non-cash contribution is below
that stated in the terms of this agreement, the Recipient shall increase its cash
contribution in order to complete the Recipient's local contribution, or the grant and/or
loan amount associated with this project shall be reduced accordingly.
6. The portion of total project costs paid by the grant shall not exceed the amount stated
above ($4,010,728) or (80) percent of the total cost of the eligible items, whichever is the
smaller amount. Any cost overruns shall be paid solely by the applicant.
7. Project activities or costs eligible for funding include only those items (including the cost
items identified) set out in Exhibit B which is attached hereto and by this reference
incorporated into this agreement, and which are necessary to complete the project as
described in Section 3.
8. Activities or costs ineligible for funding include but are not limited to those items set out
in Exhibit C which is attached hereto and by this reference incorporated into this
agreement.
9. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this contract, if funds anticipated for the
continued fulfillment of this contract are at any time not forthcoming or insufficient,
either through the failure of the State of Iowa to appropriate funds or discontinuance or
material alteration of the program for which funds were provided, the DOT shall have the
right to terminate this contract without penalty by giving not less than ninety (90) days
written notice.
10. The DOT reserves the right to delay reimbursement of funds to the Recipient if necessary
to maintain a positive cash flow. If such a delay is necessary and lasts more than five
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working days, the DOT shall so notify the Recipient in writing and shall give the
Recipient an estimate of when reimbursement might be expected. The DOT shall
establish a system to equitably make reimbursements to all Recipients so affected.
11. At the time this agreement is executed, the project implementation schedule is as set forth
in Exhibit D. The Recipient shall
implementation schedule is revised.
12. The Recipient must have let the contract or construction started within three years of the
date this project is approved by DOT. If the Recipient does not do this, they will be in
default for which the DOT can revoke funding commitments. This agreement may be
extended for periods up to six months upon receipt of a written request from the
Recipient at least sixty (60) days prior to the deadline.
13. If any part of this agreement is found to be void and unenforceable, the remaining
provisions of this agreement shall remain in effect.
14. It is the intent of both parties that no third party beneficiaries be created by this
agreement.
15. This agreement shall be executed and delivered in two or more copies, each of which so
executed and delivered shall be deemed to be an original and shall constitute but one and
the same instrument.
16. This agreement is not assignable without the prior written consent of the DOT.
17. If the project described in Section 3 of this agreement crosses a DOT primary road, then:
A. The Recipient shall convey title to the State of Iowa, by quit claim deed, to any
right of way necessary for the primary road crossing, all at no cost to the DOT.
However, the DOT shall prepare detailed legal descriptions and plats. The
general configuration of the right of way to be conveyed shall be agreed to by the
Recipient and the DOT prior to the survey.
B. The Recipient shall submit six copies of plans for all primary road system
crossings to the DOT contact person for review and approval by the District
Offices for necessary permits, Offices of Road Design and Maintenance with
regard to crossing design and location, signing, fencing, safety, maintenance,
compliance with access control policy, etc. Said approval shall be obtained
before the Recipient proceeds with the construction of any primary road system
crossing.
C. The use of primary highway right of way for this projects' purpose shall be
subject to any rights enjoyed by any existing utility lines presently within the right
of way. If excavation of a utility line over which this project has been placed is
necessary for any reason, the utility shall be responsible for proper backfilling of
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said excavation to ground level. The Recipient shall be responsible for any
necessary resurfacing or restoration.
D. The use of primary highway right of way for this projects' purposes shall be
subject to any future plans for reconstruction, improvement, maintenance, and/or
relocation of the highway by the DOT. Any relocation of this project necessary
because of said plans shall be at the expense of the Recipient, all at no cost to the
DOT.
18. The Recipient shall acquire the project right of way, whether by lease, easement or fee
title and shall provide relocation assistance benefits and payments in accordance with the
procedures set forth in the DOT's Right of Way manual. The Recipient shall contact the
DOT for assistance, as necessary, to ensure compliance with the required procedures,
even if no federal funds in the right of way purchase are involved. The Recipient will
need to get environmental concurrence before acquiring any needed right of way. With
prior approval, hardship and protective buying is possible. If the Recipient requests
Federal-aid participation for right of way acquisition, the Recipient will need to get
environmental concurrence and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) authorization
before purchasing any needed right of way.
19. The Recipient shall comply with the Policy for Accommodating Utilities on City and
County Federal-aid Highways Right of Way and the Policy for Accommodating Utilities
on Primary Road system when on the DOT's right of way. Certain utility relocation,
alteration, adjustment, or removal costs to the Recipient for the project may be eligible
for Federal-aid reimbursement in accordance with the FHWA rules applicable to the type
of utility involved and Iowa Code Chapter 306A.
20. The Recipient shall be responsible for obtaining any permits, such as the Right to Occupy
and/or Perform Work Within the Right of Way, Permit of Access, Utility
Accommodation, Right to Install and Maintain Traffic Control Devices, and/or other
construction permits required for the project prior to the start of construction.
In addition, the Recipient shall certify to the DOT's contact person that all known
required environmental permits have been received and that all environmental regulations
have been complied with before funds are reimbursed or credited.
Neither the approval of the project application for funding nor the signing of this
agreement shall be construed as approval of any required permit from DOT.
21. Traffic control devices, signing, or pavement markings installed within the limits of this
project shall conform to the "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and
Highways" per 761 Iowa Administrative Code Chapter (IAC) 130. The safety of the
general public shall be assured through the use of proper protective measures and devices
such as fences, barricades, signs, flood lighting, and warning lights as necessary.
313
22. In the event that right of way is required for the project, said right of way will be acquired
in accordance with 761 IAC Chapter 111, Real Property Acquisition and Relocation
Assistance, and the Federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended.
23. The project plans, specifications and cost estimate shall be prepared and certified by a
professional engineer, architect and or landscape architect (whichever applies), licensed
to practice in the State of Iowa. The Recipient shall submit the plans, specifications and
other agreement documents to the DOT for review. This submittal may be in divisions
and in the order of preference as determined by the Recipient. However, the plans,
specifications and other agreement documents for each division must be submitted at
least thirty (30) days prior to the project letting of each division. The DOT shall review
said submittal(s) recognizing the Recipient's development schedule and shall, after
satisfactory review, authorize in writing the Recipient to proceed with implementation of
the project. The work on this project shall be in accordance with the survey, plans, and
specifications on file. Any modification of these plans and specifications must be
approved by the DOT prior to the modification being put into effect.
24. The recipient shall be responsible for the daily inspection of the project. For projects let
to contract, the Recipient shall compile a daily log of materials and quantities. For
projects constructed with local forces, the Recipient shall compile a daily log of
materials, equipment and labor on the project. The DOT reserves the right to inspect
project activities and to audit claims for funding reimbursement. The purpose of the
inspection or audit is to determine substantial compliance with the terms of this
agreement.
25. The Recipient shall maintain all books, documents, papers, accounting records, reports
and other evidence pertaining to costs incurred for the project. The Recipient shall also
make such materials available at all reasonable times during the construction period and
for three years from the date of final reimbursement, for inspection by the DOT, FHWA,
or any authorized representatives of the Federal government. Copies of said materials
shall be furnished by the Recipient if requested.
26. The Recipient may submit to the DOT periodic itemized claims for reimbursement for
eligible project costs. Reimbursement claims shall include certification that all eligible
project costs, for which reimbursement is requested, have been completed in substantial
compliance with the terms of this agreement.
27. The DOT shall reimburse the Recipient for properly documented and certified claims for
eligible project activity costs less a retainage of not more than ten percent, either by state
warrant, or by crediting other accounts from which payment may have been made
initially. If, upon audits of contracts, the DOT determines the Recipient is overpaid, the
Recipient shall reimburse the overpaid amount to the DOT.
28. Upon completion of the project described in this agreement, a professional engineer,
architect and or landscape architect (whichever applies), licensed to practice in the State
314
of Iowa, shall certify in writing to the DOT that the project activities were completed in
substantial compliance with the plans and specifications set out in this agreement.
In addition, prior to final reimbursement for the project the Recipient shall furnish three
sets of "as-built" plans of the project to the DOT.
Final reimbursement of funds, including retainage, shall be made only after the DOT
accepts the project as complete.
29. If, in the opinion of the Recipient, the specific provisions of this agreement requiring the
services of a professional engineer, architect and or landscape architect (whichever
applies), licensed to practice in the State of Iowa, prove to be burdensome to the
Recipient or otherwise not in the public interest, and if the Recipient decides that the
provisions of this agreement can be otherwise complied with without endangering public
safety, the Recipient may request that said provisions be waived on all or specific parts of
the project identified by the Recipient. Such request shall be made in writing to the
DOT's contact person who shall, after consultation with other DOT staff, as necessary,
make the final determination concerning said waiver. If said waiver is granted, all
provisions of this agreement requiring the services of a professional engineer, architect
and or landscape architect (whichever applies), licensed to practice in the State of Iowa,
shall be performed by the Recipient's contact person or designee.
30. The Recipient agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the DOT harmless from any action
or liability arising out of the design, construction, maintenance, placement of traffic
control devices, inspection or use of this project. This agreement to indemnify, defend
and hold harmless applies to all aspects of the DOT's application review and approval
process, plan and construction reviews and funding participation.
31. This agreement may be declared to be in default by the DOT if the DOT determines that
the Recipient's application for funding contained inaccuracies, omissions, errors or
misrepresentations; or if the DOT determines that the project is not developed as
described in the application.
32. If the Recipient fails to perform any obligation under this agreement, the DOT shall have
the right, after first giving thirty (30) days written notice to the Recipient by certified mail
return receipt requested, to declare any part or all of this agreement in default. The
Recipient shall have thirty (30) days from date of mailing of the notice to cure the
default. If the Recipient cures the default, the Recipient shall notify DOT no later than
five (5) days after cure or before the end of said thirty (30) day period given to cure the
default. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of Recipient's notice of cure, the DOT
shall issue either a notice of acceptance of cure or a notice of continued default.
33. In the event a default is not cured the DOT may revoke funding commitments and/or seek
repayment of funds loaned or granted by this agreement. By signing this agreement the
Recipient agrees to repay said funding if they are found to be in default. Repayment
methods must be approved by the DOT Commission and may include cash repayment,
315
installment repayments with negotiable interest rates, charges against the Recipient's
share of road use tax funds, or other methods as approved by the Commission.
34. In case of dispute concerning the terms of this agreement, the parties shall submit the
matter to arbitration pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 679A (2011). Either party has the
right to submit the matter to arbitration after ten (10) days notice to the other party of
their intent to seek arbitration. The written notice must include a precise statement of the
disputed question. DOT and the Recipient agree to be bound by the decision of the
appointed arbitrator. Neither party may seek any remedy with the state or federal courts
absent exhaustion of the provisions of this section for arbitration.
35. The Recipient shall maintain, or cause to be maintained for the intended public use, the
improvement for twenty (20) years from the completion date in a manner acceptable to
the DOT. Failure to comply with this provision may be considered a default of this
agreement.
36. The Recipient shall comply with all provisions of the equal employment opportunity
requirements prohibiting discrimination and requiring affirmative action to assure equal
employment opportunity as required by the Iowa Code Chapter 216 (2011) and IAC 160.
No person shall, on the grounds of age, race, creed, sex, color, national origin, religion, or
disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise
subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which the Recipient
receives state funds from the DOT.
37. The Recipient shall use positive efforts to solicit bids from and to utilize Targeted Small
Business (TSB) enterprises as contractors and ensure that the contractors make positive
efforts to utilize these enterprises as subcontractors, suppliers or participants in the work
covered by this agreement. Efforts shall be made and documented in accordance with
Exhibit E which is attached hereto and by this reference incorporated into this agreement.
38. The Recipient shall conduct the project development and implementation in compliance
with applicable laws, ordinances and administrative rules. For portions of the project let
to bid, the Recipient shall advertise for bidders, make a good faith effort to get at least
three bidders and hold a public letting for the project work. Prior to awarding the
contract, the Recipient shall provide the DOT file copies of project letting documents
within five (5) working days after the letting. The Recipient must wait for DOT
concurrence before making the final award.
39. The Recipient shall include in their Notice to Bidders that Sales Tax Exemption
Certificates will be issued, as provided for by Iowa Code section 423.3, subsection 80.
The Recipient shall be responsible for obtaining the sales tax exemption certificates
through the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance. The Recipient shall issue these
certificates to the successful bidder and any subcontractors to enable them to purchase
qualifying materials for the project free of sales tax.
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40. The Recipient shall notify the DOT's contact person within thirty (30) days of the date the
RISE project was constructed and open to traffic. The Recipient will provide an initial
payroll from Workiva (formerly WebF
baseline from which to measure job creation and retention. The Recipient shall certify to
the DOT's contact person within three years of the date the RISE project is constructed
and open to traffic that the associated economic development has been substantially
completed. The Recipient will certify that jobs created are maintained for a six-month
continuous period during the three-year monitoring period and that said jobs satisfy the
average wage required in this agreement. This certification by the Recipient is subject to
audit by the DOT and the DOT has sole authority to determine whether the associated
economic development has been accomplished.
The DOT shall monitor the progress of the associated economic development following
the construction of the RISE project. Failure to certify the associated economic
development shall be considered a default under this agreement.
41. This agreement as set forth in sections 1 through 41 herein, including referenced exhibits,
constitutes the entire agreement between the DOT and the Recipient concerning this
project. Representations made before the signing of this agreement are not binding, and
neither party has relied upon conflicting representations in entering into this agreement.
Any change or alteration to the terms of this agreement must be made in the form of an
addendum to this agreement. Said addendum shall become effective only upon written
approval of the DOT and Recipient.
317
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has executed Agreement No.
2014-R-013 as of the date shown opposite its signature below.
RECIPIENT: ______________________________
By: ______________________________ Date: _____________ ___,20__
Title: ____________________________
I, __________________________________, certify that I am ___________________
_________________________, and that _______________________________, who
signed said Agreement for and on behalf of __________________________ was duly
authorized to execute the same by virtue of a formal Resolution duly passed and adopted
by __________________________________, on the _________ day of
_________________________, 20__.
Signed: ________________________________ Date: ______________ ___, 20__
Address: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Planning, Programming and Modal Division
800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010
By: _____________________________________ Date ______________ ___, 20__
Craig Markley
Director
Office of Systems Planning
318
Exhibit A
319
Exhibit B
Project activities or costs eligible for RISE funding include only the following:
a. Roadway resurfacing, rehabilitation, modernization, upgrading, reconstruction or initial
construction, including grading and drainage, paving, erosion control, pavement overlays
and shoulder widening and stabilization.
b. Bridge and culvert repair, modernization, replacement or initial construction.
c. Roadway intersection and interchange improvements including warranted traffic
signalization when it is integral to the improvement.
d. Right of way purchase.
e. Construction or improvement of motorist rest areas, welcome centers and information
centers.
f. Design engineering costs and construction inspection costs associated with RISE-
financed projects.
g. County and City bond principal and interest payments associated with RISE projects. No
financing expenses incurred prior to funding commitment shall be eligible.
h. Storm drainage and storm sewer costs to the extent needed for draining the roadway.
i. Eligible Cost Items included in the project cost estimate as approved by the Commission:
Mobiliza on
Traffic Control & Staging
Clearing and Grubbing
Loca ng Tile Lines
Removal of Sign
Relocate Mailboxes
Remove & Replace Research
Removal of Paved Driveway
Removals of Mainline Paving
Removal of Sidewalk
Removal of Gravel Road
Remove Light Pole
Relocate U lity Pole
Telephone Ped Reloca on
Relocate Bus Stop & Pour Pad
Temporary Bypass Pavement
Removal of Temporary Bypass
Removal of Exis ng Structures
Fire Hydrant Adjustment
Water Valve Box Adjustment
320
Sanitary Sewer, Manhole
Repair, Drainage and Subdrain
Subdrain, 8 inch Diameter
Subdrain, Cleanout
Storm Sewer, 15 Inch Diameter
Storm Sewer, 18 Inch Diameter
Storm Sewer, 24 Inch Diameter
Intake, Single Open Throat
Storm Manhole
Culvert, 8' x 8' RCB
Apron, 15 Inch Diameter
Apron, 24 Inch Diameter
Revetment, Class E
Topsoil, Strip & Stockpile
Topsoil, Respread
Excava on, Class 10, Roadway
Fly Ash Treatment
Engineering Fabric
Median, P.C. Concrete, 6 IN.
Pavement, PCC, Truck
Detectable Warning Panels
PCC Tes ng
Ligh ng Poles
Pavement, Sidewalk/Trail, PCC
Reinstall Sign as per Plan
Painted Pavement Markings,
Grooves Cut for Pavement
Grooves Cut for Symbols
Permanent Signage
Erosion Control (Silt Fence)
Silt Fence, Cleanout
Seeding, Mulching & Fer lizer
Urban Seeding, Mulching
Electric Reloca on 1.0
321
Exhibit C
Activities or costs ineligible for RISE funding (except for the items that have been identified in
Attachment B) include but are not limited to the following:
a. Any and all costs incurred prior to a funding commitment by the Transportation
Commission except advance right of way costs to protect or preserve a project corridor.
(1) If there is an extreme urgency involving right of way acquisition, a potential applicant
may formally request from the department a written waiver which, if granted, will permit
the applicant to acquire the right of way immediately without jeopardizing the eligibility
of the acquisition costs for future RISE funding. Granting of the waiver shall not imply
or guarantee that a subsequent application which includes the acquisition costs will be
funded. The request for the advance eligibility must include justification regarding the
urgency of the acquisition, a description of the land to be acquired, and a map showing its
location.
(2) The advance eligibility waiver must be requested and approved prior to the applicant's
acquisition of the land in question, and the RISE application which included the
acquisition costs must be received by the DOT within two years following the granting of
the waiver, or the waiver is not valid.
b. Routine roadway, bridge and culvert maintenance, including pothole filling, crack
sealing, seal coating, patching, shoulder maintenance, gravel or earth roadway
maintenance, and bridge painting.
c. Winter roadway and bridge maintenance, including snow plowing, sanding and salting.
d. Overhead and operating costs associated with eligible project activities, including
auditing.
e. Expenses associated with the preparation and submission of applications for RISE
funding.
f. Pre-design engineering expenses.
g. Traffic signalization, except as an integral part of a roadway project.
h. Pavement marking and traffic signs, except as an integral part of a roadway project.
i. Electric, water, natural gas, telephone and other utility construction, reconstruction or
adjustment except when utilities located on private property are replaced or relocated for
project construction.
j. Safety appurtenances, except as an integral part of a roadway project.
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k. Lighting, except as an integral part of a roadway project.
l. Lighting energy and maintenance costs.
m. Sidewalks, bicycle paths and railroad-highway crossings, except when replacing those
facilities in service and affected by the project, or as an integral part of a roadway project.
n. Parking expenditures, including those for structure, lots, meters and marking.
o. Non-roadway transportation expenditures, including those for railway, aviation, public
transportation and inland waterway facilities and equipment.
p. Purchase of furnishings, construction equipment and personal property.
q. General government expenses and expenses associated with the provision of any public
service which are not eligible for RISE program assistance.
r. Sanitary sewers.
s. Water mains.
t. Donated right of way.
323
Exhibit D
Commission Approval Date: April 8, 2014
Construction: March 2015
Project Closeout: September 2015
324
Exhibit E
CONTRACT PROVISION
Targeted Small Business (TSB)
Affirmative Action Responsibilities
on
Non-Federal Aid Projects (Third-Party State-Assisted Projects)
April 2012
325
April 2012
Page 1
CONTRACT PROVISION
Targeted Small Business (TSB) Affirmative Action Responsibilities
on Non-Federal-aid Projects (Third-party State-Assisted Projects)
1. TSB DEFINITION
A TSB is a small business, as defined by Iowa Code Section 15.102(5), which is 51% or more owned, operated
and actively managed by one or more women, minority persons or persons with a disability. Generally this is a
for-profit small business enterprise under single management, is located in Iowa and has an annual gross income
of less than 3 million dollars computed as an average of the three preceding fiscal years.
2. TSB REQUIREMENTS
In all State-assisted projects made available through the Iowa Department of Transportation, local governments
have certain affirmative action requirements to encourage and increase participation of disadvantaged individuals
in business enterprises. These requirements are based on Iowa Code Section 19B.7 and 541 Iowa
Administrative Code Chapter 4. These requirements supersede all existing TSB regulations, orders, circulars and
administrative requirements.
3. TSB DIRECTORY INFORMATION
Available from: Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals
Targeted Small Business
Lucas Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 515-281-7102
Website: http://dia.iowa.gov/page7.html
4. THE CONTRACTOR'S TSB POLICY
The contractor is expected to promote participation of disadvantaged business enterprises as suppliers,
manufactures and subcontractors through a continuous, positive, result-oriented program. Therefore the
contractor's TSB policy shall be:
It is the policy of this firm that Targeted Small Business (TSB) concerns shall have the maximum practical
opportunity to participate in contracts funded with State-assisted funds which are administered by this firm
(e.g. suppliers, manufactures and subcontractors). The purpose of our policy is to encourage and
increase the TSB participation in contracting opportunities made available by State-assisted programs.
5. CONTRACTOR SHALL APPOINT AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) OFFICER
The contractor shall designate a responsible person to serve as TSB officer to fulfill the contractors affirmative
action responsibilities. This person shall have the necessary statistics, funding, authority and responsibility to
carry out and enforce the firm's EEO policy. The EEO officer shall be responsible for developing, managing and
implementing the program on a day-to-day basis. The officer shall also:
A. For current TSB information, contact the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (515-281-7102) to
identify potential material suppliers, manufactures and contractors.
B. Make every reasonable effort to involve TSBs by soliciting quotations from them and incorporating them
into the firm's bid.
C. Make every reasonable effort to establish systematic written and verbal contact with those TSBs having
the materials or expertise to perform the work to be subcontracted, at least two weeks prior to the time
quotations are to be submitted. Maintain complete records of negotiation efforts.
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TSB Affirmative Action Responsibilities
Page 2
D. Provide or arrange for assistance to TSBs in seeking bonding, analyzing plans/specifications or other
actions that can be viewed as technical assistance.
E. Ensure the scheduled progress payments are made to TSBs as agreed in subcontract agreements.
F. Require all subcontractors and material suppliers to comply with all contract equal opportunity and
affirmative action provisions.
6. COUNTING TSBs PARTICIPATION ON A PROJECT
TSBs are to assume actual and contractual responsibilities for provision of materials/supplies, subcontracted work
or other commercially useful function.
A. The bidder may count:
(1) Planned expenditures for materials/supplies to be obtained from TSB suppliers and
manufacturers; or
(2) Work to be subcontracted to a TSB; or
(3) Any other commercially useful function.
B. The contractor may count:
(1) 100% of an expenditure to a TSB manufacturer that produces/supplies goods manufactured from
raw materials.
(2) 60% of an expenditure to TSB suppliers that are not manufacturers; provided the suppliers
perform a commercially useful function in the supply process.
(3) Only those expenditures to TSBs that perform a commercially useful function in the work of a
contract, including those as a subcontractor.
(4) Work the Contracting Authority has determined that it involves a commercially useful function.
The TSB must have a necessary and useful role in the transaction of a kind for which there is a
market outside the context of the TSB program. For example, leasing equipment or purchasing
materials from the prime contractor would not count.
7. REQUIRED DATA, DOCUMENTS AND CONTRACT AWARD PROCEDURES FROM
BIDDERS/CONTRACTORS FOR PROJECTS WITH ASSIGNED GOALS
A. Bidders
Bidders who fail to demonstrate reasonable positive efforts may be declared ineligible to be awarded the
contract. Bidders shall complete the bidding documents plus a separate form called "TSB Pre-Bid
Contact Information". This form includes:
(1) Name(s) of the TSB(s) contacted regarding subcontractable items.
(2) Date of the contract.
(3) Whether or not a TSB bid/quotation was received.
(4) Whether or not the TSB's bid/quotation was used.
(5) The dollar amount proposed to be subcontracted.
B. Contractors Using Quotes From TSBs
Use those TSBs whose quotes are listed in the "Quotation Used in Bid" column along with a "yes"
indicated on the Pre-bid Contact Information form.
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TSB Affirmative Action Responsibilities
Page 3
C. Contractors NOT Using Quotes From TSBs
If there are no TSBs listed on the Pre-bid Contract Information form, then the contractor shall document
all efforts made to include TSB participation in this project by documenting the following:
(1) What pre-solicitation or pre-bid meetings scheduled by the contracting authority were attended?
(2) Which general news circulation, trade associations and/or minority-focused media were
advertised concerning the subcontracting opportunities?
(3) Were written notices sent to TSBs that TSBs were being solicited and was sufficient time allowed
for the TSBs to participate effectively?
(4) Were initial solicitations of interested TSBs followed up?
(5) Were TSBs provided with adequate information about the plans, specifications and requirements
of the contract?
(6) Were interested TSBs negotiated with in good faith? If a TSB was rejected as unqualified, was
the decision based on an investigation of their capabilities?
(7) Were interested TSBs assisted in obtaining bonding, lines of credit or insurance required by the
contractor?
(8) Were services used of minority community organization, minority contractors groups; local, State
and Federal minority business assistance offices or any other organization providing such
assistance.
The above documentation shall remain in the contractor's files for a period of three (3) years after the completion
of the project and be available for examination by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.
8. POSITIVE EFFORT DOCUMENTATION WHEN NO GOALS ARE ASSIGNED
Contractors are also required to make positive efforts in utilizing TSBs on all State-assisted projects which are not
assigned goals. Form "TSB Pre-bid Contact Information" is required to be submitted with bids on all projects. If there
is no TSB participation, then the contractor shall comply with section 7C. of this document prior to the contract award.
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Page 4
Form 730007WP 7-97
Contractor _____________________________ Page#_________________
Project# _____________________________ TARGETED SMALL BUSINESS (TSB)
PRE-BID CONTACT INFORMATION
County _____________________________
City _____________________________
(To Be Completed By All Bidders Per The Current Contract Provision)
In order for your bid to be considered responsive, you are required to provide information on this form showing your Targeted Small Business contacts made with your bid
submission. This information is subject to verification and confirmation.
In the event it is determined that the Targeted Small Business goals are not met, then before awarding the contract, the Contracting Authority will make a determination as
to whether or not the apparent successful low bidder made good faith efforts to meet the goals.
NOTE: Every effort shall be made to solicit quotes or bids on as many subcontractable items as necessary to achieve the established goals. If a TSB's quote is used in
the bid, it is assumed that the firm listed will be used as a subcontractor.
TABLE OF INFORMATION SHOWING BIDDERS PRE-BID
TARGETED SMALL BUSINESS (TSB) CONTACTS
SUBCONTRACTOR
TSB
DATES
CONTACTED
QUOTES RECEIVED
QUOTATION USED IN BID
YES/
NO
DATES
CONTACTED
YES/
NO
DOLLAR AMT. PROPOSED
TO BE SUBCONTRACTED
Total dollar amount proposed to be subcontracted to TSB on this project $_________________
List items by name to be subcontracted:
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April 2012
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UTILIZATION OF TARGETED SMALL BUSINESS (TSB) ENTERPRISES
ON NON-FEDERAL AID PROJECTS
(THIRD-PARTY STATE-ASSISTED PROJECTS-LET LOCALLY)
In accordance with Iowa Code Section 19B.7 and 541 Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) Chapter 4, it is the policy of the
Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) that Targeted Small Business (TSB) enterprises shall have the maximum
practicable opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts financed in whole or part with State funds.
Under this policy, and for locally let projects, the Recipient shall be responsible to make a positive effort to solicit bids or
proposals from TSB firms and to utilize TSB firms as contractors or consultants. The Recipient shall also ensure that the
contractors or consultants make positive efforts to utilize TSB firms as subcontractors, subconsultants, suppliers, or
participants in the work covered by this agreement.
1. Obtaining the names of qualified TSB firms from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (515-281-7102)
or from its website at: http://dia.iowa.gov/page7.html.
2. Notifying qualified TSB firms of proposed projects involving State funding. Notification should be made in
sufficient time to allow the TSB firms to participate effectively in the bidding or request for proposal (RFP)
process.
3. Soliciting bids or proposals from qualified TSB firms on each project, and identifying for TSB firms the availability
of subcontract work.
4. Considering establishment of a percentage goal for TSB participation in each contract that is a part of this project
and for which State funds will be used. Contract goals may vary depending on the type of project, the
subcontracting opportunities available, the type of service or supplies needed for the project, and the availability
of qualified TSB firms in the area.
5. For construction contracts:
a) -
Federal Aid Projects (Third-Party State-
This contract provision is available on-line at:
http://www.dot.state.ia.us/local_systems/publications/tsb_contract_provision.pdf
b) Ensuring that the awarded contractor has and shall follow the contract provisions.
6. For consultant contracts:
a) Identifying the TSB goal in the Request for Proposal (RFP), if one has been set.
b) Ensuring that the selected consultant made a positive effort to meet the established TSB goal, if any. This
should include obtaining documentation from the consultant that includes a list of TSB firms contacted; a list
of TSB firms that responded with a subcontract proposal; and, if the consultant does not propose to use a
TSB firm that submitted a subcontract proposal, an explanation why such a TSB firm will not be used.
The Recipient shall provide the Iowa DOT the following documentation:
1. Copies of correspondence and replies, and written notes of personal and/or telephone contacts with any TSB
positive efforts and it should be placed in
the general project file.
2. Bidding proposals or RFPs noting established TSB goals, if any.
3.
Recipient and forwarded to: Iowa Department of Transportation, Civil Rights Coordinator, Office of Employee
Services, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50010.
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April 2012
Page 6
CHECKLIST AND CERTIFICATION
For the Utilization of Targeted Small Businesses (TSB)
On Non-Federal-aid Projects (Third-Party State-Assisted Projects-Locally Let)
Recipient: ______________________ Project Number: ________________________
County: ______________________ Agreement Number: ____________________
1. Were the names of qualified TSB firms obtained from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals? YES NO
If no, explain ____________________________________________________________
2. Were qualified TSB firms notified of project? YES NO
If yes, by letter, telephone, personal contact, or other (specify) ____________________
If no, explain ___________________________________________________________________
3. Were bids or proposals solicited from qualified TSB firms? YES NO
If no, explain_________________________________________________________________
4. Was a goal or percentage established for TSB participation? YES NO
If yes, what was the goal or percentage? ______________________________________
If no, explain why not: __________________________________________________________
5. Did the prime contractor or consultant use positive efforts to utilize TSB firms on subcontracts? YES NO
If no, what action was taken by Recipient? ________________________________________________
Is documentation in files? YES NO
6. What was the dollar amount reimbursed to the Recipient
from the Iowa Department of Transportation? $______________
What was the final project cost? $______________
What was the dollar amount performed by TSB firms? $______________
Name(s) and address(es) of the TSB firm(s)_____________________________________________________
(Use additional sheets if necessary)
Was the goal or percentage achieved? YES NO
If no, explain ___________________________________________________________________
As the duly authorized representative of the Recipient, I hereby certify that the Recipient used positive efforts to utilize
TSB firms as participants in the State-assisted contracts associated with this project.
_____________________________________
Title
_____________________________________ ____________________________
Signature Date
331
1
ITEM # _ 4___
DATE: 08-03-21
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: PARTIAL REPAYMENT OF RISE GRANT FUNDING TO IOWA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
BACKGROUND:
The previous ISU President, Steven Leath, was able to secure a special $15,000,000
appropriation from the Iowa Legislature to fund the new Hub Building at the Iowa State
University Research Park. This new facility was intended to consolidate all of the
various economic development related support offices that had traditionally been
scattered throughout the campus into one location. By locating this building at the
southern end of the Research Park, City infrastructure was required to service this new
building. In addition, this new infrastructure would also open up other lots in the Park for
development.
In keeping with our past practice, the University requested that the City build the
infrastructure through a Tax Increment Financing strategy with an agreement that the
properties in the Research Park would remain subject to paying property taxes.
In order to mitigate the amount of City money needed to accomplish the required
infrastructure improvements, the City sought funding for a Revitalize Iowa’s Sound
Economy (RISE) grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT). On April 8,
2014, the IDOT awarded a RISE grant to the City of Ames for up to $4,010,728 to
help fund the roadway and other utility improvements associated with the ISU
Research Park Phase III development. This phase included the extension of
University Blvd. south to Collaboration Place with the addition of three
roundabouts. The financial award was based on 80% State funding, with a 20%
local match requirement from the City.
The RISE grant award was conditioned on the creation of the additional 365 jobs
projected in Workiva’s growth strategy, with a weighted average wage of $18.34/hr. In
accordance with the RISE program rules, if the job creation is not met, the maximum
grant reverts to the 50% State funding, and the difference up to the 80% of the State
award must be refunded by the recipient (City of Ames).
It should be noted that a standard RISE grant without a commitment to job creation is
funded at 50% State and 50% local match with no requirement for repayment. In order
to maximize non-City funding for this phase, a decision was made to pursue the
80% funding tied to job creation. The City’s financial exposure related to this
strategy is reduced substantially as a result of a separate agreement with the
332
Iowa State Research Park that requires them to share equally, if the City is
required to make any payments to IDOT due to non-attainment of jobs.
Compliance with the job requirement is measured by reviewing and calculating a
weighted average number of jobs created using payrolls from the beginning and end of
any six-month period from the time funding was awarded (4/8/2014) to three years after
the RISE improvement was complete and open to traffic (6/24/2019) to document the
existence of the jobs along with a baseline payroll at the time the project was awarded.
The final count of jobs created by Workiva during this reporting period was 138,
which is 227 jobs shy of the 365 required.
Iowa DOT staff has been very helpful in identifying options to assist the City with the job
creation and repayment requirements. The IDOT Commission recently adopted a new
program, specifically for Research Parks (RP’s), that provides 70% state funding
without any job creation requirements. This policy was relied upon for our most recent
phase in the Research Park where the remainder of Collaboration Place and S.
Riverside Road was constructed. At their July meeting, the IDOT Commission
agreed to apply the new 70% Research Park policy retroactively as the baseline
for repayment rather than the 50% that was in place at the time of the agreement.
They also agreed to allow partial credit for the 138 jobs that were created by
Workiva. The IDOT Commission will make their final decision regarding the repayment
settlement at their August monthly meeting.
Below is an illustration of the repayment calculation using the modified requirements
noted above.
Final eligible construction costs $4,487,459.75
Original 80% RISE agreement $3,589,967.80
Base RISE of 70% for RP’s $3,141,221.83
Difference to be repaid $ 448,745.97
Jobs Not Created vs. Jobs Promised 227/365 = 62%
The total estimated amount to be repaid to IDOT with credit for created jobs:
$448,746 x 62% = $278,223. This repayment would be split equally between the
City and Iowa State University; approximately $139,111.50 each.
In addition, the IDOT has offered the following options for the repayment:
• Repayment in one lump sum
• Repayment in installments for up to 5 years with an interest rate of the Prime
Rate minus 3% (As of 6/30/21 the Prime Rate was 3.25%)
333
3
ALTERNATIVES:
1) The City Council can decide to accept the recommendation of the IDOT staff and
repay the State approximately $278,223 plus an interest charge equal to the
Prime Rate minus 3% over a five year period, with reimbursement from the ISU
Research Park for 50% of this repayment.
2) The City Council can decide to accept the recommendation of the IDOT staff and
repay the State approximately $278,223 in one lump sum payment, with
reimbursement from the ISU Research Park for 50% of this repayment.
3) The City Council could request that City staff show up at the August IDOT
Commission meeting in an attempt to convince the State to accept some lesser
amount of repayment.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The IDOT staff has been very fair in determining how much the City should reimburse
the State. It is highly unlikely that the City staff can make a convincing argument to
reduce further the amount owed to IDOT.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative #1 and agree to repay the State approximately $278,223 plus an interest
charge equal to the Prime Rate minus 3% over a five year period, with reimbursement
from the ISU Research Park for 50% of this repayment. This option will: 1) help the ISU
Research Park which does not have a significant fund balance to pay a lump sum for
this unbudgeted obligation and 2) allow the City to retain the declining debt balance
over a five-year period and invest the remaining funds at an interest rate greater than
the rate for the repayment charge.
334
ITEM #:13
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:Electric
SUBJECT:APPROVE REVISION NO. 4 OF JOINT PRICING AGREEMENT WITH
MIDAMERICAN ENERGY
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The City's Electric Utility participates in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)
organization. MISO provides the system for its participating utilities to purchase and sell electricity and
to maintain the reliability of the electric grid.
The City of Ames, together with Cedar Falls Utilities and Missouri River Energy Services (MRES), are
parties to a Joint Pricing Zone (JPZ) agreement with MidAmerican Energy. This transmission
agreement affords Ames the rights to be a Transmission Owner within MISO and receive a
revenue allocation for the use of Ames' transmission facilities. MidAmerican currently allocates
transmission revenues collected by MISO for transmission services provided over the Parties’
transmission facilities in the MidAmerican Pricing Zone.
The JPZ agreement has been modified from time to time. Approval of a fourth revised JPZ
Agreement is now necessary to add a new party to the agreement. The Municipal Energy Agency
of Nebraska (MEAN) will become a MISO transmission owning member in the MidAmerican
Pricing Zone on June 1, 2024. All existing parties, including Ames, are being asked to approve the
amended agreement.
The addition of this new transmission assets and municipal utility load is small in size compared to the
existing members. Therefore, direct impact on Ames is hard to quantify. However, MEC will benefit
by having these MEAN transmission assets managed under a single contract with other municipals.
Staff has been in communication with the other municipal members of the agreement, and all support
the addition of MEAN as the newest member to the JPZ. Following the approval by Ames and the
other parties, the agreement will be sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the Amended Joint Pricing Zone Agreement with Mid American Energy
2. Do not approve the amended agreement
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This amendment to the Joint Pricing Zone Agreement is necessary to add additional municipal electric
utilities into the agreement. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City
Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as noted above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
MEC-CFU-AMES-MRES-MEAN JPZ Agreement _01-26-2024 Final Execution Package.pdf
335
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 1
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
JOINT PRICING ZONE REVENUE ALLOCATION AGREEMENT
This Joint Pricing Zone Revenue Allocation Agreement ("Agreement") is made and entered
into as of the __ day of ____________, 2024 by and between MidAmerican Energy
Company, an Iowa corporation ("MidAmerican"), the Municipal Electric Utility of the City
of Cedar Falls, Iowa ("Cedar Falls"), a municipal utility organized under the laws of the state
of Iowa, the City of Ames, Iowa (“Ames”), a municipal corporation, with offices in the City
of Ames, Iowa, Missouri River Energy Services (“MRES”), a municipal joint action agency
under the joint action laws of the States of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South
Dakota, and the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska ("MEAN"), a political subdivision
organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and any successors thereof, which are
referred to herein collectively as "Parties" and singularly as "Party," with respect to the
allocation of certain transmission revenues that the Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc. ("MISO") distributes to the MidAmerican pricing zone (a zone that includes
facilities and loads of MidAmerican, Cedar Falls, Ames, MRES and MEAN, hereinafter
referred to as "MidAmerican Zone") and charges for (1) transmission services and (2)
payments among the Parties for network use of each other's transmission facilities in the
MidAmerican Zone that are not billed by MISO.
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, MidAmerican and Cedar Falls became MISO Transmission Owners
with transmission facilities in the MidAmerican Zone on September 1, 2009; and
WHEREAS, Ames became a MISO Transmission Owner with transmission facilities
in the MidAmerican Zone on June 1, 2014; and
WHEREAS, MRES is a MISO Transmission Owner and is an agent for the city of
Atlantic, Iowa and the city of Pella, Iowa and both Atlantic and Pella have transmission
facilities in the MidAmerican Zone; and
WHEREAS, MRES does not own any transmission facilities in the MidAmerican
Zone; and
WHEREAS, MEAN will become a MISO Transmission Owner with transmission
facilities in the MidAmerican Zone on June 1, 2024; and
WHEREAS, MidAmerican, Cedar Falls, Ames, MRES and MEAN take
transmission service under the MISO Open Access Transmission, Energy and Operating
Reserves Markets Tariff ("Tariff") for service sinking in the MidAmerican Zone; and
WHEREAS, the revenue requirements for each Party's transmission facilities in the
MidAmerican Zone are included in the MISO transmission service rates for the
MidAmerican Zone; and
336
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 2
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
WHEREAS, the City of Waverly, Iowa and the City of Indianola, Iowa own
transmission facilities which are integrated with the MISO transmission system and are
assigned to MEAN solely for the purposes of administration of revenue credits pursuant to
Section 30.9 of the MISO Tariff;
WHEREAS, MISO collects revenues for a pricing zone and remits those revenues to
a single Transmission Owner regardless of the number of Transmission Owners within that
zone; and
WHEREAS, MISO distributes all revenues to MidAmerican for the MidAmerican
Zone; and
WHEREAS, the city of Montezuma, the city of Tipton, the city of Eldridge, and the
Iowa Public Power Agency (“IPPA”) own transmission facilities in the MidAmerican Zone
and have assigned any rights to transmission revenues recovered for such facilities to Cedar
Falls; and
WHEREAS, the city of Atlantic and the city of Pella own transmission facilities in
the MidAmerican Zone and have assigned any rights to transmission revenues recovered for
such facilities to MRES; and
WHEREAS, the City of Waverly and the City of Indianola each own transmission
facilities in the MidAmerican Zone and receive consideration for such ownership via the
provisions of Section 30.9 of the MISO Tariff which result in Waverly’s and Indianola’s
facilities being considered as part of MidAmerican’s facilities for the purposes of this
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, MISO does not bill Ames, Cedar Falls, MRES and MidAmerican and
does not collect revenues for the MISO network transmission service provided to Ames,
Cedar Falls, MRES and MidAmerican in the MidAmerican Zone; and
WHEREAS, MISO does bill MEAN and does collect revenues for the MISO
network transmission service provided to MEAN in the MidAmerican Zone for the loads of
MEAN, including the loads of Indianola and Waverly, with the loads of Indianola and
Waverly being eligible for Section 30.9 credits; and
WHEREAS, MISO does not bill all of the parties who have assigned their
transmission facilities to Cedar Falls and MRES for MISO network transmission service and
does not collect revenues for the MISO network transmission service provided to such
parties; and
WHEREAS, this Agreement addresses the allocation of MISO revenues among the
Parties identified herein so that each Party will recover its proportionate share of these MISO
revenues; and
WHEREAS, this Agreement also addresses payments among the Parties, as well as
the parties who have assigned their transmission facilities to Cedar Falls and MRES, for
337
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 3
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
network integration transmission service in the MidAmerican Zone that are not billed by
MISO.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants set forth herein, the
sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
Capitalized terms used in this Agreement without other definitions will have the
meanings set forth below or, if not set forth below, as defined in the Tariff:
Agreement: This Joint Pricing Zone Revenue Allocation Agreement, including any
attachments hereto, or amendments thereof.
Annual Transmission Revenue Requirement ("ATRR"): The net ATRRs for
each Party's facilities in the MidAmerican Zone will be the amount represented on Line 7
of Page 1 of the respective Parties’ Attachment O rate templates as posted by MISO on its
website. In the case of Cedar Falls, the ATRR of the facilities owned by Cedar Falls,
Montezuma, Tipton, Eldridge, and IPPA shall be summed to determine the Cedar Falls
ATRR. In the case of MRES, the ATRR of the facilities owned by Atlantic and Pella shall
be summed to determine the MRES ATRR. The MRES ATRR shall only include the
ATRR of the facilities owned by Atlantic and Pella and shall not include the ATRR of any
facilities owned by MRES or any other party. In the case of MEAN, the MEAN ATRR
shall only include the ATRR for the facilities owned by MEAN within the MidAmerican
Zone and shall not include the ATRR of any facilities owned by MEAN not within the
MidAmerican Zone. Additionally, the MEAN ATRR shall not include the ATRR of any
facilities owned by Indianola or Waverly.
ATRR Allocator: The pro rata share of each Party's ATRR relative to the Zonal
Revenue Requirement, expressed to two decimal places and computed annually (and
recalculated whenever there is a change to any Party's ATRR).
Attachment O: Attachment O to the Tariff. For each month that this Agreement is
in effect, MidAmerican will use Attachment O data on which the Zonal Transmission Rate
for that month is based to determine the Facilities Value, Annual Transmission Revenue
Requirement, and Network Load for each Party.
Facilities Value: The gross book value of the Transmission Facilities in the
MidAmerican Zone owned by, or assigned to, each Party, as reflected in that Party's
Attachment O. Each Party’s gross book value shall be determined by summing its gross
transmission plant in service and, with respect to MidAmerican, its Construction Work in
Progress (“CWIP”) for Certificate of Need Projects as reported on its Attachment O Page 2
Lines 2 and 18a, respectively. The resulting sum will then be reduced, as applicable, by both
338
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 4
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
the gross transmission plant as reported on its Attachment GG, Page 2 Line 1 and by the
gross transmission plant as reported on its Attachment MM Page 2 Line 1. In the case of
Cedar Falls, the gross book value of the facilities owned by Cedar Falls, Montezuma, Tipton,
Eldridge, and IPPA shall be summed, and will then be reduced, as applicable, by both the
gross transmission plant as reported on their Attachment GG, Page 2 Line 1 and by the gross
transmission plant as reported on Attachment MM Page 2 Line 1 to determine the Cedar
Falls Facilities Value. In the case of MRES, the gross book value of the facilities owned by
Atlantic and Pella shall be summed to determine the MRES Facilities Value. The MRES
Facilities Value shall only include the gross book value of the facilities owned by Atlantic
and Pella and shall not include the gross book value of any facilities owned by MRES or any
other party. The MEAN Facilities Value shall only include the gross book value of the
facilities owned by MEAN in the MidAmerican Zone and shall not include the gross book
value of any facilities owned by Waverly or Indianola or any other party.
FERC or Commission: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or its
successor.
FPA: The Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 791a-825r, as amended by Pub. L. No.
109-58, 119 Stat 594 (2005).
Gross Book Value ("GBV") Allocator: The pro rata share of each Party's
Facilities Value relative to the Zonal Facilities Value (in terms of gross book value),
expressed to two decimal places and computed annually.
Governmental Authority: Any court, tribunal, agency, commission, or similar
governing entity having jurisdiction over the applicable Party or subject matter.
Imputed Transmission Charge ("ITC"): The imputed charge for network
integration transmission service utilized by each Party not otherwise billed for MISO
network transmission service by MISO to serve its Network Load in the Joint Pricing Zone.
Inter-Zonal Revenues: Transmission revenues collected under Tariff Schedules 7,
8, and 9 for transactions outside of the MidAmerican Zone or sourcing in the MidAmerican
Zone and sinking outside of the MidAmerican Zone. Inter-Zonal Revenues are collected by
(or on behalf of) MISO under the Tariff, distributed to MidAmerican for the Joint Pricing
Zone, and allocated among the Parties using the GBV Allocator.
Intra-Zonal Revenues: Revenues received under Tariff Schedules 7, 8, and 9 from
transmission service provided within the MidAmerican Zone for transactions inside the
pricing zone or sinking in the MidAmerican Zone. Intra-Zonal Revenues are collected by
(or on behalf of) MISO under the Tariff, distributed to MidAmerican for the Joint Pricing
Zone, and allocated among the Parties using the ATRR Allocator.
Joint Pricing Zone or JPZ: The MidAmerican Zone, which includes transmission
facilities owned by the Parties hereto or facilities for which all rights to receive revenues
which have been assigned to a Party.
339
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 5
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
MISO Adjustments: Adjustments to Intra-Zonal Revenues or Inter-Zonal
Revenues made by MISO after such revenues have been distributed to MidAmerican.
Credits or debits made by MISO to revenues for periods during which this Agreement is in
effect will be added to, or subtracted from, the total amount of Inter-Zonal Revenues and
Intra-Zonal Revenues available for distribution among the Parties.
Monthly Network Revenues: The pro rata share of revenues associated with the
Imputed Transmission Charge to which each Party is entitled, which is allocated using the
ATRR Allocator.
Net Revenues: The amount that each Party is entitled to receive (if this amount is
positive) or obligated to pay (if this amount is negative) under this Agreement each month.
Network Load: The 12-month average of each Party's system coincident peak load
in the MidAmerican Zone, as reflected in that Party's Attachment O, excluding any load that
already pays Tariff Schedule 9 charges directly to MISO. In the case of MRES, the Network
Load of Atlantic and Pella shall be summed to determine the MRES Network Load.
MidAmerican Zone: Zone 24 of Schedule 9 of the Tariff.
Parties: The signatories to this Agreement, including any entities that become
signatories pursuant to Section 6.2 of this Agreement.
Revenue Share: The revenues to which each Party is entitled prior to deduction of
its Imputed Transmission Charge, which includes its Monthly Network Revenues, its share
of Inter-Zonal Revenues, and its share of Intra-Zonal Revenues, as calculated on a monthly
basis.
Tariff: The Open Access Transmission, Energy and Operating Reserves Markets
Tariff for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. on file with the Commission
as MISO FERC Electric Tariff, Fourth Revised Volume No. 1, or any successor tariff.
Transmission Owner: A signatory to the MISO Agreement that meets the criteria
for the term "Owner" set forth therein.
Transmission Owners’ Agreement or MISO Agreement: Agreement of
Transmission Facilities Owners to Organize the Midcontinent Independent System Operator,
Inc., a Delaware Non-Stock Corporation, on file with the FERC as Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc. FERC Electric Tariff, Rate Schedule No. 1, or any
successor agreement.
Transmission Facilities: These facilities shall include (i) all Parties’ non-radial
facilities at or above 69 kilovolts (hereinafter “kV”) and (ii) all non-radial transformers
where the two (2) highest voltages qualify under the voltage criteria of item (i) above.
Zonal Facilities Value: The sum of the Parties' Facilities Values.
340
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 6
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
Zonal ITC: The sum of the Parties' Imputed Transmission Charges.
Zonal Transmission Rate: The rate for monthly service provided in the Joint
Pricing Zone under Tariff Schedule 9.
Zonal Revenue Requirement: The sum of the Parties' Annual Transmission
Revenue Requirements.
ARTICLE II
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MISO AND THE PARTIES
2.1 Relationship between MISO and the Parties. As the Tariff administrator and
independent operator of a regional transmission system that includes the facilities in the JPZ,
MISO distributes Inter-Zonal Revenues and Intra-Zonal Revenues to MidAmerican.
Pursuant to the Transmission Owners' Agreement, each of the Parties is entitled to a portion
of such Inter-Zonal Revenues and Intra-Zonal Revenues.
2.2 Relationship among MidAmerican, Cedar Falls, Ames, MRES and MEAN.
(a) MidAmerican will bill, allocate and distribute all amounts due to, or owed by,
the Parties under this Agreement. Cedar Falls shall be responsible for
determining the amounts to be retained by itself and the amounts it will distribute
to Montezuma, Tipton, Eldridge, and IPPA and for distributing such amounts to
such entities. MRES shall be responsible for determining the amounts it will
distribute to Atlantic and Pella and for distributing such amounts to such entities.
MEAN shall be responsible for determining the amounts to be retained by itself
and the amounts it will distribute to other entities with whom MEAN has an
agency agreement for purposes of administration of revenue credits pursuant to
Section 30.9 for distributing amounts due to such entities.
(b) Cedar Falls will pay any amounts owed under this Agreement to MidAmerican.
Cedar Falls shall be responsible for determining the amounts it is required to pay
itself as well as the amounts to be paid to Cedar Falls by Montezuma, Tipton,
Eldridge and IPPA.
(c) Ames will pay any amounts owed under this Agreement to MidAmerican.
(d) MRES will pay any amounts owed under this Agreement to MidAmerican.
MRES shall be responsible for determining the amounts it is required to pay itself
as well as the amounts to be paid to MRES by Atlantic and Pella.
(e) MEAN will pay any amounts owed under this Agreement to MidAmerican.
MEAN shall be responsible for determining the amounts it is required to pay
itself as well as the amounts to be paid to MEAN by other entities with whom
MEAN has an agency agreement for purposes of administration of revenue
credits pursuant to Section 30.9 for payment of such amounts owed.
341
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 7
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
2.3 Services Provided by MidAmerican. Each Party shall pay MidAmerican
$240/month for billing and accounting services associated with MidAmerican performing
its obligations under this Agreement. Such payment shall be reflected in the monthly
payment/receipt in accordance with Section 3.4.
ARTICLE III
REVENUE DISTRIBUTION METHOD
3.1 Periodic Calculations. As necessary to reflect changes to Facilities Values or
ATRRs, the Parties will update their respective Attachment O templates. MidAmerican will
use that information to calculate the following:
(a) Zonal Facilities Value; GBV Allocator. To determine the Zonal Facilities
Value, MidAmerican will calculate the sum of all Parties' Facilities Values.
MidAmerican will determine a GBV Allocator for each Party based on the pro rata
share of that Party's Facilities Value relative to the Zonal Facilities Value.
(b) Zonal Revenue Requirement; ATRR Allocator. To determine the Zonal
Revenue Requirement, MidAmerican will calculate the sum of all Parties' Annual
Transmission Revenue Requirements. MidAmerican will determine an ATRR
Allocator for each Party based on the pro rata share of that Party's Annual
Transmission Revenue Requirement relative to the Zonal Revenue Requirement.
(c) Imputed Transmission Charge. To determine the Imputed Transmission
Charge for each Party, MidAmerican will multiply that Party's Network Load by the
Zonal Transmission Rate.
(d) Zonal ITC. To determine the Zonal ITC, MidAmerican will calculate the
sum of all Parties’ Imputed Transmission Charges (Cedar Falls Imputed
Transmission Charge + MidAmerican Imputed Transmission Charge + Ames
Imputed Transmission Charge + MRES Imputed Transmission Charge).
(e) Monthly Network Revenues. To determine each Party's Monthly Network
Revenues, MidAmerican will multiply that Party’s ATRR Allocator by the Zonal
ITC.
3.2 Distribution of Periodic Calculations. The computations detailed in Section 3.1
above will be calculated at least annually and recalculated any time there is a change in
Attachment O impacting any Party's Facilities Value, Annual Transmission Revenue
Requirement, or Imputed Transmission Charge. MidAmerican will provide this calculation
to Cedar Falls, Ames, MRES and MEAN within thirty (30) days of a change in the
Attachment O data and calculations posted by MISO.
342
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 8
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
3.3 Monthly Calculations. The following computations will be made on a monthly
basis:
(a) Revenue Shares. To calculate the Revenue Share for each Party,
MidAmerican will determine the sum of the following three (3) numbers, as
illustrated below:
(i) the product of the Inter-Zonal Revenues for the preceding month (net of
MISO Adjustments) and that Party's GBV Allocator;
(ii) the product of the Intra-Zonal Revenues for the preceding month (net of
MISO Adjustments) and that Party's ATRR Allocator; and
(iii) that Party's Monthly Network Revenues.
Revenue Share (Illustration)
=
Cedar Falls
GBV Allocator
x
Inter-Zonal
Revenues
+
Cedar Falls
ATRR Allocator
x
Intra-Zonal
Revenues
+
Cedar Falls
ATRR Allocator
x
Zonal ITC
Ames Revenue Share =
Ames
GBV Allocator
x
Inter-Zonal
Revenues
+
Ames
ATRR Allocator
x
Intra-Zonal
Revenues
+
Ames
ATRR Allocator
x
Zonal ITC
MRES Revenue Share =
MRES
GBV Allocator
x
Inter-Zonal
Revenues
+
MRES
ATRR Allocator
x
Intra-Zonal
Revenues
+
MRES
ATRR Allocator
x
Zonal ITC
MEAN Revenue Share =
MEAN
GBV Allocator
x
Inter-Zonal
Revenues
+
MEAN
ATRR Allocator
x
Intra-Zonal
Revenues
+
MEAN
ATRR Allocator
x
Zonal ITC
(b) Net Revenues. To calculate the Net Revenues for each Party, MidAmerican
will subtract that Party's Imputed Transmission Charge from its Revenue Share.
3.4 Monthly Payments. The following payments will be made on a monthly basis:
(a) Cedar Falls Payment/Receipt.
343
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 9
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
(i) If Cedar Falls' Net Revenues are positive, then MidAmerican will pay
an amount equal to Cedar Falls' Net Revenues to Cedar Falls.
(ii) If Cedar Falls' Net Revenues are negative, then Cedar Falls will pay
an amount equal to Cedar Falls' Net Revenues to MidAmerican.
(b) Ames Payment/Receipt.
(i) If Ames' Net Revenues are positive, then MidAmerican will pay an
amount equal to Ames' Net Revenues to Ames.
(ii) If Ames' Net Revenues are negative, then Ames will pay an amount
equal to Ames' Net Revenues to MidAmerican.
(c) MRES Payment/Receipt.
(i) If MRES' Net Revenues are positive, then MidAmerican will pay an
amount equal to MRES' Net Revenues to MRES.
(ii) If MRES' Net Revenues are negative, then MRES will pay an amount
equal to MRES' Net Revenues to MidAmerican. MRES shall make a
single payment on behalf of itself as well as for Atlantic and Pella. In
no event shall MRES fail to make a payment to MidAmerican on the
basis that Atlantic and Pella, failed to make a payment to MRES.
(d) MEAN Payment/Receipt.
(i) If MEAN's Net Revenues are positive, then MidAmerican will pay an
amount equal to MEAN’s Net Revenues to MEAN.
(ii) If MEAN’s Net Revenues are negative, then MEAN will pay an
amount equal to MEAN’s Net Revenues to MidAmerican. MEAN
shall make a single payment on behalf of itself and for any entities
with whom MEAN has an agency agreement for purposes of
administration of revenue credits pursuant to Section 30.9 for receipt
or payment of revenues. In no event shall MEAN fail to make a
payment to MidAmerican on the basis that an entity with whom
MEAN has an agency agreement for purposes of administration of
revenue credits pursuant to Section 30.9 failed to make a payment to
MEAN.
(e) Timing Of Monthly Payments/Receipts. MidAmerican shall make
payments to the Parties within 10 days of receiving revenues from the
Midwest ISO. The Parties shall make payments to MidAmerican within 7
days of receiving the monthly statement of Net Revenues from
MidAmerican.
344
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 10
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
3.5 Illustration of Revenue Allocation. Distribution of Joint Pricing Zone revenues
under this Article III is illustrated in Attachment A hereto.
3.6 Provision of Information. Within 10 days of receiving the monthly revenue
statement from the Midwest ISO, MidAmerican will update the information in Attachments
A for the preceding month and distribute it to the other Parties, including the calculations
for Revenue Share and Net Revenues for each Party, as well as calculations for Inter-Zonal
Revenues and Intra-Zonal Revenues for the MidAmerican Zone.
3.7 Data and Records Requirements. MidAmerican will maintain records
substantiating all revenues that it allocates, distributes, or receives under this Agreement.
Cedar Falls, Ames, MRES and MEAN will maintain records substantiating all information
they provide to MidAmerican and documenting all amounts that they pay or receive under
this Agreement. The records maintained by all Parties pursuant to this Section 3.7 shall be
subject to the audit requirements of Section 8.9.
ARTICLE IV
TERM AND WITHDRAWAL
4.1 Effective Date. The allocation and distribution of revenues set forth in Article III of
this Agreement will be deemed effective in the following manner:
(a) The calculation of Imputed Transmission Charge and Monthly Network
Revenue will be deemed effective as of the effective date approved by FERC for all
Parties having an Attachment O approved by MISO; and
(b) The calculation of Intra Zonal Revenues and Inter Zonal Revenues will be
deemed effective as of the date approved by FERC for all Parties having an
Attachment O approved by MISO.
4.2 Termination. This Agreement will remain in effect for two years after the date set
forth in the first paragraph hereof and continue thereafter so long as the rates for service
under the Tariff are zonal-based rates and MidAmerican and at least one of the other Parties
is a Transmission Owner. Starting on the second anniversary of the execution of this
Agreement, any Party may terminate its participation in this Agreement by providing two
(2) years' prior written notice of its intent to terminate.
4.3 Withdrawal from MISO. Notwithstanding the requirements of Section 4.2, upon
one year's prior written notice to the other Parties, a Party may withdraw from this
Agreement if such Party is withdrawing from MISO. Up to and after its withdrawal, the
withdrawing Party will be entitled to receive, or obligated to pay, revenues in accordance
with Article III for the period up to its withdrawal. All of the withdrawing Party's other
rights and obligations hereunder will terminate upon withdrawal, subject to financial
settlement for the period ending on the date of termination. This Agreement will remain in
effect for any Party not withdrawing unless (i) MidAmerican withdraws or (ii) all Parties
345
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 11
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
except MidAmerican withdraw. In the event that MidAmerican withdraws from MISO,
MidAmerican will negotiate in good faith with the other Parties to effectuate an equitable
allocation of the revenues and costs covered by this Agreement, applying a methodology
that is consistent with the principles established by this Agreement. Nothing in this
Agreement will be construed as affecting the rights of any Party hereto to: (i) unilaterally
make an application to FERC to withdraw from MISO; or (ii) challenge such withdrawal
from MISO by any other Party.
4.4 Material Changes to MISO Tariff. In the event that the Commission approves a
change to the MISO Tariff that has a material impact in the sole judgment of the affected
Party on the revenue-sharing provisions in Article III of this Agreement, the Parties shall
negotiate in good faith to amend this Agreement. If the Parties are unable to reach agreement
on amendments to this Agreement, any Party may terminate its participation in the
Agreement upon one year's prior written notice to the other Parties.
ARTICLE V
OTHER TARIFF SCHEDULES AND CHARGES
5.1 Revenues Collected Pursuant to Other Tariff Schedules. Unless specifically
addressed by this Agreement, revenues collected by MISO pursuant to Tariff Schedules that
are in effect at the time of execution of this Agreement, but are not explicitly referenced in
this Agreement, will not be distributed under this Agreement. In the event that the
Commission approves new Schedules to the Tariff which result in additional revenues being
collected based on transmission investment and distributed to MidAmerican in part on behalf
of the other Parties, the Parties will negotiate in good faith to establish an equitable
methodology for allocation of revenues collected thereunder, applying the principles
established by this Agreement.
5.2 Revenues Collected for Wholesale Distribution Service on Distribution
Facilities. Revenues received by MidAmerican for Wholesale Distribution Service
provided by any Party other than MidAmerican shall be remitted by MidAmerican to the
appropriate Wholesale Distribution Service provider.
ARTICLE VI
AMENDMENT AND NEW PARTIES
6.1 Amendment. This Agreement may be amended only by a written instrument duly
executed by all of the Parties. No modification to any of the provisions herein will be binding
on any of the Parties unless approved in writing by all of the Parties.
6.2 New Parties. In order to share in distribution of revenues on a comparable basis
with the other Parties to this Agreement, a new Transmission Owner in the Joint Pricing
Zone may become a Party to this Agreement, as amended to include such new Party.
ARTICLE VII
346
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 12
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
7.1 Dispute Resolution Process. Any dispute or controversy relating to this Agreement
shall be referred to one or more designated representative(s) of each affected Party for
resolution on an informal basis as promptly as practicable. Any Party may initiate this
process by providing written notice of the dispute to the other Parties. In the event that the
Parties are unable to resolve the dispute within sixty (60) days of such written notice, the
dispute may be referred to formal alternative dispute resolution processes if mutually
agreeable to the Parties. If no satisfactory resolution is reached, the processes set forth in
this provision will terminate. Thereafter, such dispute or controversy may be submitted to
any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction under applicable law.
7.2 Reimbursement. Any amounts owed by any Party upon the resolution of a dispute
shall be paid within ten (10) days following resolution of that dispute, including interest from
the original due date at a rate equal to the FERC Electric Interest Rate, unless otherwise
agreed by the Parties.
ARTICLE VIII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
8.1 Descriptive Headings. The descriptive headings in this Agreement have been
inserted for convenience of reference and shall not affect the construction of this Agreement.
8.2 Governing Law and Venue. This Agreement shall be interpreted and enforced
according to the laws of the State of Iowa, except to the extent preempted by the laws of the
United States of America. Any action arising hereunder that involves questions of state law
shall be instituted and litigated in the courts of Iowa.
8.3 Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, and be
binding upon, the Parties' successors and assigns.
8.4 Delivery of Notices. Notices required under this Agreement shall be in writing, and
shall be sent by certified mail/return receipt requested, overnight courier, or other reliable
and verifiable means. Any notice required under this Agreement will be deemed to have
been given either: i) upon delivery, if sent by certified mail/return receipt requested or
overnight courier; or ii) upon confirmation, if given by other reliable means.
8.5 Entire Agreement; Non Waiver. This Agreement, including any attachments
hereto, constitutes the entire agreement among the Parties with respect to the subject matter
of this Agreement, and its interpretation shall not be affected by previous or contemporary
oral or written representations made by any Party unless such representations are contained
in this Agreement. Waiver or failure to insist upon strict compliance with such obligation,
covenant, agreement, or condition will not operate as a waiver of, or estoppel with respect
to, any subsequent or other failure.
347
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 13
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
8.6 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, all of which will
constitute one agreement and will have the same force and effect as an original instrument.
8.7 Section 206 Right. Each Party will retain all rights it may have pursuant to Section
206 of the Federal Power Act., 16 U.S.C. § 824e, amended by Pub. L. No. 109-58, §§ 1285-
86, 119 Stat. 594, 980-81 (2005).
8.8 Section 205 Right. During the term of this Agreement, the provisions hereof will
not be subject to any changes pursuant to the provisions of Section 205 of the Federal Power
Act, 16 U.S.C. § 824d, absent the agreement of all Parties hereto. The standard of review
for any changes other than those expressly provided for herein will be the "public interest"
standard of review set forth in United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. Mobile Gas Service Corp., 350
U.S. 332 (1956) and Federal Power Commission v. Sierra Pacific Power Co., 350 U.S. 348
(1956).
8.9 Audits. The Parties will maintain and retain for six (6) years the books and records
needed to substantiate the calculations performed pursuant to Article III, and all data
substantiating allocation of revenues or costs under this Agreement. Any Party may conduct,
at its own expense, audits of any other Party's books and records that relate to this
Agreement. Such audits will be conducted at reasonable, mutually agreed-upon times, and
the Parties will cooperate in good faith to effectuate such audits.
8.10 Regulatory Approval. This Agreement is subject to regulatory approvals. In the
event that FERC or any Governmental Authority disapproves or refuses to accept this
Agreement in whole or in part, this Agreement will cease to be effective, except that the
Parties will be obligated to attempt expeditiously and in good faith to negotiate a substitute
agreement that addresses the reasons for such refusal or disapproval. In negotiating a
substitute agreement, no Party will be required to accept any change that would reasonably
be expected to reduce its expected economic benefit from the transaction.
8.11 Limitations. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to create an association,
joint venture, trust, or partnership. Each Party will remain liable for its share of charges or
assessments incurred under the Tariff or MISO Agreement, including congestion costs, lost
revenue charges, exit fees and comparable costs.
8.12 Indemnification. Each Party shall indemnify and save each other Party harmless
from all damages, losses, claims, costs, legal fees, and/or expenses for injury to or death of
any person, or damage to any property, resulting from the operation of facilities controlled
by it within the Joint Pricing Zone, unless and to the extent caused by the negligence or
intentional wrongdoing of one of the other Parties.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the Parties, by their duly authorized agents, have hereunder
executed this Agreement.
348
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 14
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
MIDAMERICAN ENERGY COMPANY
An Iowa Corporation
By: __________________________________________________________
Dehn A. Stevens
Vice President – Transmission Development and Planning
Date____________________
THE MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC UTILITY OF THE CITY OF CEDAR FALLS,
IOWA
An Iowa Municipal Utility
By: ____________________________________________________________
NAME: ________________________________________________________
TITLE: ________________________________________________________
Date____________________
THE CITY OF AMES, IOWA
A Municipal Corporation
By: ____________________________________________________________
NAME: ________________________________________________________
TITLE: ________________________________________________________
Date____________________
349
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 15
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
MISSOURI RIVER ENERGY SERVICES
A Municipal Joint Action Agency
By: ____________________________________________________________
NAME: ________________________________________________________
TITLE: ________________________________________________________
Date____________________
MUNICIPAL ENERGY AGENCY OF NEBRASKA
A Nebraska Political Subdivision
By:
NAME:
TITLE:
DATE:
350
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 16
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone
Average 12CP Load
(kW)
Zonal Transmission
Rate (Monthly)
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone Imputed
Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
87,117 2.466$ (214,799.58)$
Imputed Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone ATRR
Allocator
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone Share of
Monthly Network
Revenues
MidAmerican 11,333,400.67$
Ames Sub-Zone 240,626.20$
MRES Sub-Zone 158,581.51$
MEAN Sub-Zone -$
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 214,799.58$
Zonal ITC 11,947,407.96$ 2.29%273,355.16$
Inter-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone GBV Allocator
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone Share of Inter-
Zonal Revenues
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - GBV Basis 755,261.74$
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - TPF Basis -$
MISO Adjustment to Inter-Zonal Revenues (158.79)$
Total Inter-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)755,102.95$ 1.35%10,201.13$
Intra-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone ATRR
Allocator
Cedar Falls Sub-
Zone Share of Intra-
Zonal Revenues
Intra-Zonal Revenues 2,084,294.33$
MISO True-up to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
MISO Adjustments to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
Total Intra-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)2,084,294.33$ 2.29%47,688.39$
Gross Book Value (GBV)2023/2022 Fac Value GBV Allocator
MidAmerican 2,109,588,537$ 95.44%
Ames Sub-Zone 37,966,384$ 1.72%
MRES Sub-Zone 22,315,570$ 1.01%
MEAN Sub-Zone 10,623,074$ 0.48%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 29,860,975$ 1.35%
Zonal Facilities Value 2,210,354,540$ 100.00%
Annual Transmission Revenue Requirement (ATRR)2023/2022 ATRR ATRR Allocator
MidAmerican 134,780,070$ 91.89%
Ames Sub-Zone 4,478,049$ 3.05%
MRES Sub-Zone 2,831,501$ 1.93%
MEAN Sub-Zone 1,234,165$ 0.84%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 3,356,015$ 2.29%
Zonal Revenue Requirement 146,679,800$ 100.00%
DEFINITIONS
TPF - Transmission Participation Factor
GBV - Gross Book Value
ATTACHMENT A: REVENUE-SHARING ILLUSTRATION FOR CEDAR FALLS SUB-ZONE
August 2023
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone Imputed Transmission Charge (ITC)
Zonal ITC
(Cedar Falls ITC + Cedar Falls Monthly Netw ork Revenues + Cedar Falls Share of Intra-Zonal and Inter-Zonal Revenues)
Total Due To Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 116,445.09$
Joint-Zonal Revenue Sharing
GBV and ATRR Allocator Calculations
351
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 17
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
Ames Sub-Zone
Average 12CP Load
(kW)
Zonal Transmission
Rate (Monthly)
Ames Sub-Zone
Imputed
Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
97,592 2.466$ (240,626.20)$
Imputed Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
AmesSub-Zone
ATRR Allocator
Ames Sub-Zone
Share of Monthly
Network Revenues
MidAmerican 11,333,400.67$
Ames Sub-Zone 240,626.20$
MRES Sub-Zone 158,581.51$
MEAN Sub-Zone -$
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 214,799.58$
Zonal ITC 11,947,407.96$ 3.05%364,747.42$
Inter-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
Ames Sub-Zone
GBV Allocator
Ames Sub-Zone
Share of Inter-Zonal
Revenues
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - GBV Basis 755,261.74$
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - TPF Basis -$
MISO Adjustment to Inter-Zonal Revenues (158.79)$
Total Inter-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)755,102.95$ 1.72%12,970.10$
Intra-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
Ames Sub-Zone
ATRR Allocator
Ames Sub-Zone
Share of Intra-Zonal
Revenues
Intra-Zonal Revenues 2,084,294.33$
MISO True-up to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
MISO Adjustments to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
Total Intra-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)2,084,294.33$ 3.05%63,632.29$
Gross Book Value (GBV)2023/2022 Fac Value GBV Allocator
MidAmerican 2,109,588,537$ 95.44%
Ames Sub-Zone 37,966,384$ 1.72%
MRES Sub-Zone 22,315,570$ 1.01%
MEAN Sub-Zone 10,623,074$ 0.48%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 29,860,975$ 1.35%
Zonal Facilities Value 2,210,354,540$ 100.00%
Annual Transmission Revenue Requirement (ATRR)2023/2022 ATRR ATRR Allocator
MidAmerican 134,780,070$ 91.89%
Ames Sub-Zone 4,478,049$ 3.05%
MRES Sub-Zone 2,831,501$ 1.93%
MEAN Sub-Zone 1,234,165$ 0.84%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 3,356,015$ 2.29%
Zonal Revenue Requirement 146,679,800$ 100.00%
DEFINITIONS
TPF - Transmission Participation Factor
GBV - Gross Book Value
ATTACHMENT A: REVENUE-SHARING ILLUSTRATION FOR AMES SUB-ZONE
August 2023
Ames Sub-Zone Imputed Transmission Charge (ITC)
Zonal ITC
Joint-Zonal Revenue Sharing
Total Due To Ames Sub-Zone 200,723.61$ (Ames ITC + Ames Monthly Netw ork Revenues + Ames Share of Intra-Zonal and Inter-Zonal Revenues)
GBV and ATRR Allocator Calculations
352
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 18
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
MRES Sub-Zone
Average 12CP Load
(kW)
Zonal Transmission
Rate (Monthly)
MRES Sub-Zone
Imputed
Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
64,317 2.466$ (158,581.51)$
Imputed Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
MRES Sub-Zone
ATRR Allocator
MRES Sub-Zone
Share of Monthly
Network Revenues
MidAmerican 11,333,400.67$
Ames Sub-Zone 240,626.20$
MRES Sub-Zone 158,581.51$
MEAN Sub-Zone -$
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 214,799.58$
Zonal ITC 11,947,407.96$ 1.93%230,632.29$
Inter-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
MRES Sub-Zone
GBV Allocator
MRES Sub-Zone
Share of Inter-Zonal
Revenues
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - GBV Basis 755,261.74$
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - TPF Basis -$
MISO Adjustment to Inter-Zonal Revenues (158.79)$
Total Inter-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)755,102.95$ 1.01%7,623.46$
Intra-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
MRES Sub-Zone
ATRR Allocator
MRES Sub-Zone
Share of Intra-Zonal
Revenues
Intra-Zonal Revenues 2,084,294.33$
MISO True-up to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
MISO Adjustments to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
Total Intra-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)2,084,294.33$ 1.93%40,235.13$
Gross Book Value (GBV)2023/2022 Fac Value GBV Allocator
MidAmerican 2,109,588,537$ 95.44%
Ames Sub-Zone 37,966,384$ 1.72%
MRES Sub-Zone 22,315,570$ 1.01%
MEAN Sub-Zone 10,623,074$ 0.48%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 29,860,975$ 1.35%
Zonal Facilities Value 2,210,354,540$ 100.00%
Annual Transmission Revenue Requirement (ATRR)2023/2022 ATRR ATRR Allocator
MidAmerican 134,780,070$ 91.89%
Ames Sub-Zone 4,478,049$ 3.05%
MRES Sub-Zone 2,831,501$ 1.93%
MEAN Sub-Zone 1,234,165$ 0.84%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 3,356,015$ 2.29%
Zonal Revenue Requirement 146,679,800$ 100.00%
DEFINITIONS
TPF - Transmission Participation Factor
GBV - Gross Book Value
(MRES ITC + MRES Monthly Netw ork Revenues + MRES Share of Intra-Zonal and Inter-Zonal Revenues)
GBV and ATRR Allocator Calculations
Total Due To MRES Sub-Zone 119,909.37$
ATTACHMENT A: REVENUE-SHARING ILLUSTRATION FOR MRES SUB-ZONE
August 2023
MRES Sub-Zone Imputed Transmission Charge (ITC)
Zonal ITC
Joint-Zonal Revenue Sharing
353
MidAmerican Energy Company Original Sheet No. 19
Fourth Revised FERC Rate Schedule No. 111
Issued by: D.A. Stevens, VP, Transmission Development and Planning Effective on: June 1, 2024
Issued on: January 26, 2024
MEAN Sub-Zone
Average 12CP Load
(kW)
Zonal Transmission
Rate (Monthly)
MEAN Sub-Zone
Imputed
Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
- 2.466$ -$
Imputed Transmission
Charge (Monthly)
MEAN Sub-Zone
ATRR Allocator
MEAN Sub-Zone
Share of Monthly
Network Revenues
MidAmerican 11,333,400.67$
Ames Sub-Zone 240,626.20$
MRES Sub-Zone 158,581.51$
MEAN Sub-Zone -$
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 214,799.58$
Zonal ITC 11,947,407.96$ 0.84%100,525.59$
Inter-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
MEAN Sub-Zone
GBV Allocator
MEAN Sub-Zone
Share of Inter-Zonal
Revenues
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - GBV Basis 755,261.74$
Basic Transmission Service Revenue - TPF Basis -$
MISO Adjustment to Inter-Zonal Revenues (158.79)$
Total Inter-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)755,102.95$ 0.48%3,629.06$
Intra-Zonal Revenues and Adjustments
MISO Monthly
Revenues and
Adjustments
MEAN Sub-Zone
ATRR Allocator
MEAN Sub-Zone
Share of Intra-Zonal
Revenues
Intra-Zonal Revenues 2,084,294.33$
MISO True-up to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
MISO Adjustments to Intra-Zonal Revenues -$
Total Intra-Zonal Revenues (net of adjustments)2,084,294.33$ 0.84%17,537.27$
Gross Book Value (GBV)2023/2022 Fac Value GBV Allocator
MidAmerican 2,109,588,537$ 95.44%
Ames Sub-Zone 37,966,384$ 1.72%
MRES Sub-Zone 22,315,570$ 1.01%
MEAN Sub-Zone 10,623,074$ 0.48%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 29,860,975$ 1.35%
Zonal Facilities Value 2,210,354,540$ 100.00%
Annual Transmission Revenue Requirement (ATRR)2023/2022 ATRR ATRR Allocator
MidAmerican 134,780,070$ 91.89%
Ames Sub-Zone 4,478,049$ 3.05%
MRES Sub-Zone 2,831,501$ 1.93%
MEAN Sub-Zone 1,234,165$ 0.84%
Cedar Falls Sub-Zone 3,356,015$ 2.29%
Zonal Revenue Requirement 146,679,800$ 100.00%
DEFINITIONS
TPF - Transmission Participation Factor
GBV - Gross Book Value
ATTACHMENT A: REVENUE-SHARING ILLUSTRATION FOR MEAN SUB-ZONE
August 2023
MEAN Sub-Zone Imputed Transmission Charge (ITC)
Zonal ITC
Joint-Zonal Revenue Sharing
(MEAN ITC + MEAN Monthly Netw ork Revenues + MEAN Share of Intra-Zonal and Inter-Zonal Revenues)
GBV and ATRR Allocator Calculations
Total Due To MEAN Sub-Zone 121,691.92$
354
ITEM #:14
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:ELEC
SUBJECT:ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES CONTRACT - CHANGE ORDER
NO. 1
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
Electric Services’ two high-pressure steam turbine electric generating units within the Power Plant are
referred to as Unit No. 7 and Unit No. 8. These units require regular professional maintenance and
repair. This work consists of emergency service, as well as regularly planned repairs and services
during scheduled outages. The repair of these generating units requires professional trade crafts such as
boilermakers, electricians/control techs, steam/pipe fitters, and millwrights, to list a few. The units
operate under environmental conditions with high heat and high pressure.
Due to these operational conditions; numerous circuit breakers, relays, and electrical circuits are
necessary to safely and reliably operate the Power Plant. All of this equipment must be professionally
maintained, serviced, adjusted, repaired, and rebuilt. Specially trained personnel perform this work.
On May 9, 2023, City Council awarded a contract to Tri-City Electric Company of Davenport, IA in the
amount of $110,000 for the Electrical Maintenance Services Contract at the Power Plant. Under this
contract, invoices are based on contract rates for time and materials for services actually received. Tri-
City has performed several projects within the plant but there is more work than originally
anticipated. The funds approved under the existing contract have been exhausted.
Change Order No. 1, in the amount of $65,000, is being requested to perform additional work.
Specific projects that are anticipated to be completed include:
1. Load center breaker rebuilds - Normally two to three breakers are rebuilt each year. This year,
several additional breakers are anticipated to be rebuilt to ensure compatibility with a load center
replacement capital project.
2. Unit 7 Sump Pump Control Panel Installation - Two sump pumps are used to remove rain and
process water from the plant sub-basement. These pumps are controlled and powered by an
outdated control panel. A replacement panel is needed to ensure reliability and safety.
3. Permanent Electric Heater Installation - In order to provide a safe working environment for
employees and to keep pipes from freezing, heaters must be operated in the Power Plant. Electric
heaters are being installed throughout the plant to replace steam heaters, which only operate when
the plant has a boiler in operation. Portable electric heaters have been used, but these are a
temporary solution. Permanent conduit and wiring need to be installed by a contractor for this
project.
Staff anticipates these additional projects, as well as some funds for any emergency situations, will
not exceed $65,000. The additional funds for electric heater and load center breaker rebuilds will
come out of the FY 2023/24 Power Plant Operations and Maintenance Budget, Building
355
Maintenance accounts, where there is $40,000 available for this work. The funds for the sump
pump control panel installation and additional emergency funds will come out of the Unit 7
Auxiliary equipment account where there is $25,000 available.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve Change Order No. 1 in the amount of $65,000 to Tri-City Electric Company, of Davenport,
IA, bringing the total contract total to $175,000.
2. Do not approve the requested change order.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This work is necessary to properly maintain circuit breakers and electrical circuits and to carry out
emergency and scheduled repairs resulting from equipment failures. Therefore, it is the recommendation
of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as described above.
356
ITEM #:15
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:W&PC
SUBJECT:PROCUREMENT OF UV LAMPS FOR WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
FACILITY
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
In 2010, the Water Pollution Control Facility's (WPCF) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Permit required for the first time that the treated plant effluent be disinfected prior to
release into the receiving stream. As result of this new requirement, the WPCF installed an ultraviolet
(UV) light technology to disinfect the effluent. UV is critical to the treatment process, serving as the
primary method for deactivation of pathogenic organisms’ ability to reproduce and cause illness. The
effectiveness of a UV disinfection system depends significantly on the intensity of UV radiation. The
primary factor affecting the intensity is the age of the lamps which have a limited hours life for effective
treatment. As lamps age, the light intensity falls off and reduces their efficiency.
The manufacturer recommends replacement of the lamps after 12,000 hours of run time. Since the
system operates only between March 15 and November 15, the replacement frequency is approximately
every two years. Staff has the lamps on a staggered replacement schedule to help spread the cost
between fiscal years.
In the past, staff has purchased non-OEM aftermarket lamps, but found that they worked poorly
and led to operational difficulties. It is staff's understanding that ongoing patent infringement
litigation has resulted in no suppliers other than the original manufacturer (Trojan Technologies)
currently marketing bulbs that can be used in the system installed at WPCF. Council first
approved sole sourcing of the lamps from Trojan in 2021. The quoted price last year was $454.29 per
lamp, and the quoted price this year is $451.90 per lamp; a modest price decrease. The total cost will be
$54,288 for the lamps and $600 for freight charges, for a total price of $54,888. Staff has budgeted
$145,000 in the FY 2023/24 WPCF operations budget as a pool for equipment parts/supplies, and the
purchase of these bulbs will come from that allotment.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve a sole source procurement of OEM lamps from Trojan Technologies in the amount of
$54,888.
2. Do not authorize the procurement of replacement UV lamps from Trojan Technologies at this time.
However, it should be noted that replacement bulbs are not available from any other vendor. Failure
to replace the lamps will
ultimately result in increased bacterial contamination of the South Skunk River and a violation of the
WPCF's NPDES permit.
357
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
As UV lamps age, the light intensity decreases along with the efficiency for disinfection of the effluent.
Proper maintenance of the UV system, including timely replacement of the lamps, helps protect the
water quality of the South Skunk River and ensures continued compliance with the NPDES permit. The
Trojan Technologies lamps have a proven track record of disinfecting for the rated 12,000 hours.
Currently, they are the only source of replacement bulbs that work in their system. Therefore, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1.
358
ITEM #:16
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:ADMIN
SUBJECT:REQUEST TO MODIFY FY 2023/24 ASSET ALLOCATION TO CHILDSERVE
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
Childserve has submitted a request to the City to modify its FY 2023/24 ASSET allocation by
transferring $928 from the Daycare – Infant program to Daycare – Children (2 – 5 year old) program.
Childserve has exhausted its allocation of funds for the Daycare – Children program due to higher than
anticipated utilization of that program. City funds allocated to the Daycare – Infant program have not
been fully drawn down due to lower than anticipated utilization.
The revised allocations appear in the table below.
Service Original Allocation Change Revised Allocation
Daycare - Infant $ 6,600 - $ 928 $ 5,672
Daycare - Children $ 17,600 + $ 928 $ 18,528
TOTAL $ 24,200 $ 0 $ 24,200
If the request to transfer funds to the Children program is approved, the unit rates of both programs will
remain unchanged. The number of units purchased will increase for the Children program and will
decrease for the Infant program.
Childserve has made similar requests to transfer City funds in the past. This type of request is not
unusual as the number of families with children requiring financial assistance fluctuates.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the request to modify the City's FY 2023/24 ASSET contract with Childserve by
transferring $928 from Daycare-Infant to Daycare-Children.
2. Do not approve the request.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Childserve submits its budget to ASSET based on estimates of the number of children needing
assistance. Due to an increased demand for Daycare – Children this fiscal year, Childserve is requesting
that funds be transferred from the Infant program, where utilization has been lower than anticipated.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1,
as described above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Request Letter from Childserve
359
5406 Merle Hay Road | Johnston, IA 50131 | 515.727.8750 | FAX 515.27.8757 | www.childserve.org
February 5, 2024
City Manager’s Office
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, Iowa 50010
To whom this may concern:
I am writing to request a change in the allocation for ASSET funds approved for day care
services. City funds have been used as follows from July 2023 through January 2024.
Service $Approved $Spent $Balance
Dary Care-Infant $6,600.00 $5,667.20 $932.80
Day Care-children $17,600.00 $18,528.89 -$928.89
We have experienced higher than anticipated utilization for children 2-5 years of age and
lower than anticipated for infants 0-24 months of age. As a result, I am requesting that
$928.89 be reallocated from Day Care-Infant to Day Care-Children to assure that funds
are available through the end of the fiscal year for the children using the city ASSET
funds. This does not change the total amount of funds requested and approved. We will
have expended the funds approved for Day Care Children from the other ASSET funding
agencies by the end of the year.
We currently continue to serve 6 Day Care-Children who will need funding from
February through June 2024. All children reside in Story County.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Lisa Pagel
Director of Grants
360
ITEM #:17
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:P&H
SUBJECT:RESOLUTION APPROVING IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PARK,
PHASE III, SIXTH ADDITION, INTEGRATED SITE PLAN SUBDIVISION
MAJOR FINAL PLAT
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
Iowa State University Research Park has submitted a final plat for Iowa State University Research Park
Phase III, Sixth Addition, which includes approximately 5.926 acres, for two lots. This is a replat of
Parcel 'D', Lot 5, Iowa State University Research Park, Phase III, First Addition (see Attachment A –
Location Map). The proposed Plat is parted on an Integrated Site Plan that modifies development
standards for individual lots and applies them to the whole of the site before division.
The City’s subdivision regulations are found in Chapter 23 of the Ames Municipal Code. After City
Council approval of the final plat, it must then be recorded with the County Recorder to become an
officially recognized subdivision plat. The final plat must be found to conform to the ordinances of the
City and any conditions placed upon the preliminary plat approval.
The undivided property is currently home to Ames Fitness Center, South. On November 14, 2023, City
Council approved both a Preliminary Plat and Integrated Site Plan that breaks off one acre on the west
side of the property. This property, Lot 1, is planned for development to contain Ames Play Yard, an
indoor playground. The remaining acreage, Lot 2, will contain Ames Fitness Center. The Integrated Site
Plan allows for a property to be split, but with shared development standards and shared infrastructure.
The shared features of the plan include the parking, access, and reduced internal setbacks for building
connection of a hallway that will cross the shared property line between the two structures (see
Attachment B – Proposed Final Plat).
Note that the although the two lots are treated as one site for zoning and subdivision compliance,
each building must conform to Building Code requirements individually. Prior to development of
the new Play Yard building fire separation requirements and agreements for shared use of the
hallway crossing the property line will be required by the Ames Inspections Division. These are
building code requirements and are not conditions of the Final Plat.
As this property is currently a platted lot, all infrastructure is currently installed except for a sidewalk
along University Boulevard, which will be extended and constructed along with the new Ames Play
Yard. Each building will be served separately by its own utilities. No financial security is included with
this Final Plat.
ALTERNATIVES:
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1. Approve the Final Plat of Iowa State University Research Park Phase III, Sixth Addition based upon
the staff ’s findings that the Final Plat conforms to relevant and applicable design standards, ordinances,
policies, and plans and acceptance of financial security for completion of public improvements by the
developer, ISU Research Park.
2. Deny the final plat for Iowa State University Research Park Phase III, Sixth Addition if the City
Council finds that the development creates a burden on existing public improvements or creates a need
for new public improvements that have not yet been installed.
3. Refer this request back to staff or the applicant for additional information.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The proposed Final Plat for Iowa State University Research Park Phase III, Sixth Addition is consistent
with the Preliminary Plat approved by the City Council and the plat conforms to the adopted ordinances
and policies of the City as required by Code. Development of the site must be consistent with the
approved Integrated Site Development Plan and meet building code requirements. Therefore, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council accept Alternative #1, as described above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A.pdf
Attachment B.pdf
Attachment C.pdf
362
Attachment A
Location & Zoning Map
363
Attachment B
Proposed Subdivision
364
365
Attachment C
Applicable Laws
The laws applicable to this Preliminary Plat Subdivision include, but are not limited to, the following:
(verbatim language is shown in italics, other references are paraphrased):
Code of Iowa Chapter 354, Section 8 requires that the governing body shall determine whether the
subdivision conforms to its Land Use Policy Plan.
Ames Municipal Code Chapter 23, Subdivisions, Division I, outlines the general provisions for subdivisions
within the City limits and within two miles of the City limits of Ames.
Section 23.302(10): City Council Action on Final Plat for Major Subdivision:
(a) All proposed subdivision plats shall be submitted to the City Council for review and approval.
Upon receipt of any Final Plat forwarded to it for review and approval, the City Council shall
examine the Application Form, the Final Plat, any comments, recommendations or reports
examined or made by the Department of Planning and Housing, and such other information as it
deems necessary or reasonable to consider.
(b) Based upon such examination, the City Council shall ascertain whether the Final Plat
conforms to relevant and applicable design and improvement standards in these Regulations, to
other City ordinances and standards, to the City's Land Use Policy Plan and to the City's other
duly adopted plans.
(c) The City Council may:
(i) deny any subdivision where the reasonably anticipated impact of such subdivision will
create such a burden on existing public improvements or such a need for new public
improvements that the area of the City affected by such impact will be unable to conform
to level of service standards set forth in the Land Use Policy Plan or other capital project
or growth management plan of the City until such time that the City upgrades such public
improvements in accordance with schedules set forth in such plans; or,
(ii) approve any subdivision subject to the condition that the Applicant contribute to so much
of such upgrade of public improvements as the need for such upgrade is directly and
proportionately attributable to such impact as determined at the sole discretion of the City.
The terms, conditions and amortization schedule for such contribution may be incorporated
within an Improvement Agreement as set forth in Section 23.304 of the Regulations.
(d) Prior to granting approval of a major subdivision Final Plat, the City Council may permit the plat
to be divided into two or more sections and may impose such conditions upon approval of each
section as it deems necessary to assure orderly development of the subdivision.
(e) Following such examination, and within 60 days of the Applicant's filing of the complete
Application for Final Plat Approval of a Major Subdivision with the Department of Planning and
Housing, the City Council shall approve, approve subject to conditions, or disapprove the
Application for Final Plat Approval of a Major Subdivision. The City Council shall set forth its
reasons for disapproving any Application or for conditioning its approval of any Application in
its official records and shall provide a written copy of such reasons to the developer. The City
Council shall pass a resolution accepting the Final Plat for any Application that it approves.
366
Section 23.704. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTEGRATED SITE PLAN SUBDIVISION.
(1) An Integrated Site Plan Subdivision must include a descriptive title for the subdivision, and a
descriptive title for the associated Integrated Site Plan.
(a) The subdivision title must be clearly shown on the face of the plat as:
“[Descriptive Title] Integrated Site Plan Subdivision”, and
(b) The site plan and associated documents must be clearly titled as:
“[Descriptive Title] Integrated Site Plan”.
(2) The Integrated Site Plan Subdivision plat shall include all of the following declarations on the
plat:
(a) Circulation and Parking - Unless otherwise specified, all driveways, parking areas,
roadways, fire lanes, sidewalks, plazas, courtyards, and other vehicular or pedestrian
ways or spaces identified on the approved Integrated Site Plan associated with this
Integrated Site Plan Subdivision are for the common use of the owners, tenants,
customers and related operational interests associated with each lot contained within this
subdivision.
(b) “Maintenance Area. Unless otherwise specified, a maintenance area is provided within
10 feet of any building or structure identified on the approved Integrated Site Plan
associated with this Integrated Site Plan Subdivision, even when said area extends onto
other lots within this subdivision, provided that disturbance of improvements or
landscaping shall be minimized and repaired/replaced if damaged.” “All development
and use of the land described herein shall be in accordance with this subdivision and the
associated [Descriptive Title] Integrated Site Plan, as they may be amended with the
approval of the City of Ames, and in accordance with such other governmental permits,
approvals, regulations, requirements, and restrictions that may be imposed upon such
land and the development and use thereof.”
(3) Building and Structures. All buildings and structures contained in the Integrated Site Plan
Subdivision are subject to the following setback provisions:
(a) Setbacks along the outer perimeter of the subdivision plat shall conform to the setbacks
of the underlying zone.
(b) Setbacks are not required from interior property lines within the Integrated Site Plan
Subdivision. However, property lines may not bisect buildings unless a firewall is located
along said property line.
(c) Building Coverage and Floor Area Ratio (FAR). Shared maximum building coverage and
floor area ratio standards may be approved for the overall site.
(4) Landscaping. The landscaping standards of the underlying zone apply to each lot within the
subdivision, except as follows:
(a) Minimum area landscaping calculations and landscaping percentages may be based on
the area of landscaping in the entire subdivision rather than the area of landscaping on
individual lots within the subdivision subject to conformance with phasing provisions in
Section 23.705.
(b) Required parking lot perimeter landscaping along interior property lines may (subject to
conformance with phasing provisions in Section 23.705 be relocated to the other areas
of the subdivision, provided that:
(i) the total amount of parking lot landscaping is not diminished from that which
would be required if each lot were platted and developed independently; and
(ii) Any required landscape medians and islands are provided in all parking areas.
(5) Frontage Improvements. All Integrated Site Plan Subdivisions shall include street improvements
specified in Section 23.403.
(6) All circulation and parking improvements defined on the face of the plat or on the associated
Integrated Site Plan, as well as exterior lighting fixtures, landscaping, signage, fixtures and other
367
improvements required by the provisions of the Integrated Site Plan, and/or which serve multiple
lots within the subdivision, are to be included in or owned by an association or legal entity in
which the owners of each lot or parcel in the divided property have a legal or beneficial interest.
(7) Maintenance of Improvements. All improvements required to comply with the minimum
provisions of the Integrated Site Plan, including areas and features on individual lots that
collectively contribute to total compliance with minimum standards for parking, circulation,
pedestrian access, landscaping, as well as any improvements that are for the collective use of all
property owners and/or tenants (such as signage, fixtures, dumpster enclosures, etc.), shall be
maintained by an owners association or other legal entity, in which each property owner has a
legal interest and obligation. Maintenance obligations shall be included in covenants and
restrictions that are administered by the association or legal entity, and which run with the land.
The City shall be furnished for review and approval the covenants and restrictions and the legal
instruments creating the association or legal entity as part of the Integrated Site Plan Subdivision
approval process.
(8) The property owners must execute written agreements which are recorded against the affected
property, ensuring that all lots within the Integrated Site Plan Subdivision will continue to
function as one site for any number of purposes, including but not limited to: lot access; interior
circulation; common utilities; open space; landscaping and drainage; common facilities
maintenance; and coordinated parking. Such approved Integrated Site Plan Subdivision and
associated Integrated Site Plan is recorded in the county in which such land is located.
368
ITEM #:18
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:ELEC
SUBJECT:REPLACEMENT BUCKETS FOR COMBUSTION TURBINE #1 MOTOR
CONTROL CENTER
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
Electric Services is currently performing a CIP project to replace outdated operational controls on
Combustion Turbine #1 and #2 (CT1 and CT2). While developing the specifications and reviewing
the current infrastructure, it was determined that the current Motor Control Center (MCC) used
for CT1 must also be updated. The existing MCC utilizes a proprietary communications protocol
that is no longer supported by the manufacturer and replacement parts are difficult to locate,
with only used parts available.
Replacement of the MCC will necessitate the replacement of the electrical "buckets". A bucket is
a housing that contains communications and controls equipment to start/stop and monitor the status of a
single piece of equipment used by the power generating unit.
City staff, along with AP4, the consultant for the CT Controls Upgrade project, prepared a scope of
work to procure engineering services to develop a design for the MCC retrofit. The MCC Retrofit
project was awarded to Zachry Group. Zachry Group helped the City determine the two most cost-
effective paths to make the required changes to the MCC buckets:
Option 1: Retrofit equipment within each of the 23 buckets needing updates, or
Option 2: Replace 20 existing buckets with new buckets that contain the required equipment and
fit within the existing MCC, and swap communications modules in the remaining three buckets.
During initial discussions, Zachry Group proposed consulting directly with the original MCC
manufacturer, Eaton Cutler-Hammer (now known as Eaton), to accomplish Option 2. Because Eaton
is the OEM, it is able to provide bucket replacements that fit the existing cabinet spaces and are
compatible with the existing infrastructure of the MCC, while maintaining warranties for all
equipment in the MCC.
Zachary estimates the cost of both options to be comparable. However, Option 1 (retrofitting each
bucket) is complex work that is very labor intensive and comes with a higher risk of scope creep
and unanticipated costs. Option 1 also threatens the unit reliability due to much longer lead times,
not using equipment standard to the rest of the unit, and no equipment warranty because of
retrofitting equipment from different manufacturers. Therefore, staff proposes pursuing Option 2
(replacing 20 existing buckets with new buckets, and swap communications modules in the
remaining three buckets).
369
City staff received a quotation from Eaton for the replacement buckets in the amount of
$149,732.28. The quotation includes 20 new replacement buckets that contain the required updated
equipment and fit within the existing MCC, and parts to update communications on three additional
buckets. The quotation is only for equipment, as Eaton does not perform installation. The City will need
to separately bid the labor portion of the project to install the new MCC buckets. A project budget
including these additional costs is shown below:
Expenses: Funding Sources:
Design (AP4)$149,670
CT Generation
Improvements CIP
(Current)
$750,000
Design (Zachry Group)$96,000
CT Generation
Improvements CIP (FY
2024/25)
$600,000
Control Equipment &
Installation (Estimate)$1,650,000 RDF Bin Renovation
Project Avail. Balance $902,480
Replacement Buckets
(This Action)$149,732.28
Bucket Installation
(Estimate)$23,500
TOTAL $2,068,902.28 TOTAL $2,243,330
The approved FY 2023/24 CIP includes a balance of $750,000 to update the controls on both
Combustion Turbines. The proposed 2024/25 CIP contains an additional $600,000 for a total
amount of $1,350,000. After receiving input from the project consultant, AP4, it is estimated that
an additional $149,732.28 will be needed to cover all expenses. Funding to supplement these
additional costs will come from savings from the RDF Bin Renovation project, which contains an
available balance of $902,480 as a result of a highly favorable construction bid, as outlined above
in the table.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Waive the City’s purchasing policy requirement for formal bidding procedures and award a contract
to Eaton Corporation, of Chicago, Illinois , in the amount of $149,732.28
2. Do not award a contract at this time.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
During the CT1 Controls Upgrade Project, staff learned that it will be necessary to replace MCC
buckets in order to complete the project. The most effective and reliable option for replacing the buckets
is to work with the original equipment manufacturer. Opening the specifications to other equipment
suppliers would require a complex redesign of the MCC and extensive labor to retrofit a majority of the
existing equipment. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative No. 1, as described above.
370
ITEM #:19
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:PW
SUBJECT:2021/22 STORMWATER DETENTION/RETENTION MAINTENANCE
PROGRAM - (NORTHRIDGE HEIGHTS POND)
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
New developments within the community are required to provide stormwater management quantity
control, maintaining stormwater runoff discharge at pre-developed conditions through use of extended
detention and/or retention. As a standard provision of developers' agreements, the City of Ames has
responsibility for the long-term maintenance of many of these facilities in residential areas. As these
facilities age, sediment accumulates, volunteer vegetation becomes more prevalent, erosion occurs, and
structures need to be improved. This annual program addresses those concerns.
This project includes improvements to the large detention pond in the southwest corner on
Northridge Heights, along the curve of GW Carver Avenue. Staff sent letters to all residents
adjacent to the pond and met with several property owners to discuss the project scope, obtain input on
staging, and construction timing. Comments were received and incorporated into the project design.
CGA of Ames, Iowa and City staff have completed plans and specifications for this project. Revenue
and expenses associated with this program are estimated as follows:
Funding Source Available Revenue Estimated Expenses
21/22 Stormwater Det/Ret Maintenance Program
(Stormwater Utility Fund)$ 150,000
Construction (Est.) $ 84,972
Engineering $ 50,000
TOTAL $ 150,000 $ 134,972
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the plans and specifications for the 2021/22 Stormwater Detention/Retention Maintenance
Program (Northridge Heights Pond) project and establish March 6, 2024, as the date of letting and
March 12, 2024, as the date for report of bids.
2. Direct staff to revise the project.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
By approving these plans and specification will result in a more permanent control of erosion around
the pond and will reduce recurring maintenance cost. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City
Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as noted above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
371
Project Map.pdf
372
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Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, Inc
1523 S. Bell Ave. Suite 101
Ames, Iowa 50010
Ph 515-232-1784
www.cgaconsultants.com
SHEET NO.
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DATE:
DATE:
APPROVED:DATE:
PROJECT NO.DESIGNED:DATE:REVISIONNO.DATEBY DATEBYREVISIONNO.
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C.201
23-WR-0073
AMES, IOWA CONSTRUCTION BOUNDARY
JMG
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CONSTRUCTION NOTES:
CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCE. TO BE RESTORED AFTER PROJECT
COMPLETION.
CONSTRUCTION LIMITS.
A
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GENERAL NOTES:
ALL AREAS WITHIN CONSTRUCTION LIMITS SHALL BE RESTORED TO
ORIGINAL CONDITIONS OR BETTER.
THIS PROJECT IS LOCATED IN A HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION COMMON
PROPERTY. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL USE CAUTION TO NOT DISTURB
INDIVIDUAL HOMEOWNERS PROPERTY OUTSIDE OF THE PROJECT
LIMITS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC DURING
CONSTRUCTION.
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
STABILIZED CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCEC.501
3
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ITEM #:20
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:PW
SUBJECT:2023/24 ARTERIAL STREET PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS (AIRPORT RD -
UNIVERSITY BLVD TO S. RIVERSIDE DR)
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
This annual program utilizes repair and reconstruction techniques to improve the City's arterial streets
with asphalt or concrete. These pavement improvements are needed to restore structural integrity,
serviceability, and rideability. Targeted streets are reaching a point of accelerated deterioration, but by
improving the streets prior to excessive problems the service life can be extended before complete
reconstruction becomes necessary. This project will be on Airport Rd from University Blvd to S.
Riverside Drive. Construction will include replacing the existing westbound street pavement with 9”
concrete pavement (base bid) and full depth patching along the eastbound lanes (alternate bid).
Staff contacted the impacted businesses regarding staging, construction timing, and special access
needs. Comments were received and incorporated into the project design. The project will be staged to
maintain through traffic during construction (see attached map).
City staff has completed plans and specifications for this project. Revenue and expenses associated
with this program are estimated as follows:
Available
Revenue
Estimated
Expenses
2023/24 Arterial St. (G.O. Bonds)
2018/19 Low Point Drainage (Storm Water Fund)
$ 1,500,000
200,000
Construction (Base Bid)
Construction (Alternate 1)
Engineering/Administration
$1,300,838.40
63,592.50
200,000.00
TOTAL $1,700,000 $1,564,430.90
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the plans and specifications for the 2023/24 Arterial Street Pavement Improvements
(Airport Rd - University Blvd to S. Riverside Dr) project and establish March 6, 2024, as the date of
letting and March 12, 2024, as the date for report of bids.
2. Direct staff to revise the project.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
374
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This project will result in lower street maintenance costs, improve area drainage, and provide a better
neighborhood aesthetic. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council
adopt Alternative No. 1, as noted above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Airport Rd Project Map.pdf
375
2023/24 Arterial Street
Pavement Improvements
Open trenching Sanitary Force main
on South side of East Lincoln Way
Lift Station
Single Lane
Alternating Traffic
North Side of intersection
LINCOLN WAY
ROSS RD
WEST ST
ONTARIO ST
PAMMEL DR
OSBORN DR
OAKLAND ST
WOODLAND ST
ST
A
N
G
E
R
D
WA
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BI
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BEYER CT
STORY ST
FA
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ELLIS ST
SC
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ANNEAR ST
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MA
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MO
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¯Project Location Airport Rd - University Blvd to S. Riverside Dr
Construct access in halves or full if
the west North Loop Dr is fully open.
Construct access in halves to maintain
access to S Riverside Dr at all times.
Construct access in halves or full if
the east North Loop Dr is fully open.
AIRPORT RD
S
R
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V
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UN
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GREEN HILLS DR
OAKWOOD RD
SOUTHERN HILLS DR
376
ITEM #:21
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:Public Works
SUBJECT:2023/24 CONCRETE STREET PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM
(PRAIRIE VIEW EAST AND PRAIRIE VIEW WEST)
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The Concrete Street Pavement Improvements Program is the annual program for the removal and
replacement of deteriorated pavements from concrete streets and replacement with a new pavement
surface. This program restores surface texture and corrects structural deficiencies. These improvements
result in reduced maintenance costs, better riding surfaces, increased safety with improved surface
texture, and increased life expectancy of streets. This project will take place on Prairie View East
and Prairie View West. The Prairie View East section is planned to have a mill and overlay with new
asphalt surface, while the Prairie View West section will have areas of concrete patching and full
reconstruction.
A public meeting for the project was held for the project on January 30th at the Ames Public Library.
The meeting gave residents the opportunity to review the project, ask questions, and express concerns.
Minor adjustments to the phasing for the project were made based on feedback that was received to
improve property access during construction. City staff has completed plans and specifications for this
project with a summary of revenues and projected expenses, shown below.
Funding Source Available
Revenue
Estimated
Expenses
2023-24 Concrete Street Program (GO Bonds)$900,000
2023-24 Asphalt Street Program (GO Bonds)$500,000
Engineering/Administration $ 200,000
Construction (Estimate) $1,165,303
$1,400,000 $1,365,303
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve plans and specifications for the 2023/24 Concrete Street Pavement Improvements project
and establish March 6, 2024, as the date of letting and March 12, 2024, as the date for report of bids.
2. Do not approve this project.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approval of the plans and specifications will continue to keep this project on the March 6, 2024, letting
schedule. This project will provide an improved street surface, thereby reducing future maintenance
costs. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative
No. 1, as described above.
377
ATTACHMENT(S):
Prairie View East and West Location Map.pdf
378
379
ITEM #:22
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:PW
SUBJECT:2023/24 INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PROGRAM (PHASE 3)
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program provides for the installation of infrastructure for a
traffic adaptive signal system that will conduct real-time optimization of traffic and pedestrian flow at
signalized intersections. Traffic adaptive systems provide a significant improvement in efficiency and
will optimize travel times during all times of the day. Completion of the network is programmed with
six phases (an overall phasing map is attached). Traffic signal improvements rank as one of the highest
priority areas from the Ames Resident Satisfaction Survey.
This project is for Phase 3 of the program which will primarily expand the ITS network along Grand
Avenue (US HWY 69) and also extend the network north on Duff Avenue from 13th St to Grand
Avenue. Staff has been working with HR Green and GBAsi, the consultant team developing this
project. Plans and specifications have been completed with total estimated revenues and expenses for
this project shown in the table below:
Estimated Expenses Available Revenue
Design $ 172,620.00
Construction (Est)$1,705,220.68
Administration $ 150,000.00
Road Use Tax Fund $ 549,700
G.O. Bonds $ 468,300
ICAAP Grant*$1,495,280
U-STEP Grant**$ 400,000
TOTAL $2,027,840.68 $2,913,280
*The ICAAP Grant is for 80% of eligible construction costs up to a maximum of $1,495,280.00
**The U-STEP Grant is for 55% of eligible construction costs along HWY 69 up to a maximum of $400,000.00
This project is scheduled to have a March 19, 2024 letting, conducted through the Iowa Department of
Transportation (DOT). Construction is anticipated to occur beginning in 2024 and be completed early in
2025.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve plans and specifications for the 2023/24 Intelligent Transportation System Program (Phase
3) and establish March 19, 2024 as the date of letting through the Iowa DOT and March 26, 2024 as the
date for the report of bids.
2. Do not approve this project.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
380
This project will facilitate improvements to traffic management and reduction in emissions along
project corridors. Approval of the plans and specifications will continue to keep this project on the Iowa
DOT's March 19, 2024 letting schedule. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that
the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as described above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
ITS Cumulative Phase Map.pdf
381
38
2
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 23
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center project. City
Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is simply fulfilling a State
Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
383
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 24
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the 2022/23 CyRide Route Pavement Improvements
(Lincoln Way) project. City Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is
simply fulfilling a State Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
384
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 25
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the 2023/24 Asphalt Pavement Improvements
Program #1. City Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is simply
fulfilling a State Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
385
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 26
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the 2023/24 Asphalt Pavement Improvements
Program #2. City Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is simply
fulfilling a State Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
386
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 27
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the 2023/24 Seal Coat Street Pavement
Improvements project. City Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is
simply fulfilling a State Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
387
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 28
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the CyRide Security System Upgrade Phase II
project. City Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is simply fulfilling
a State Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
388
To:Mayor and City Council
From:City Clerk's Office
Date:February 13, 2024
Subject:Contract and Bond Approval
Item No. 29
MEMO
There is no Council Action Form for the HVAC Replacement at the Power Plant project.
City Council approval of the contract and bond for the project is simply fulfilling a State
Code requirement.
/cmw
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
389
ITEM #:30
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:PW
SUBJECT:SANITARY SEWER REHABILITATION - (US HWY 69)
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
This is the annual program for the rehabilitation/reconstruction of deficient sanitary sewers and
deteriorated manholes at various locations throughout the city. The goal of this program is to identify
and remove major sources of inflow/infiltration (I/I) as means of lowering the peak wet weather flow at
the treatment plant. By eliminating I/I in these mains, the sanitary sewer system will also regain needed
capacity.
On July 11, 2023, City Council awarded the contract to Jet Drain Services LLC, of Ames, Iowa in the
amount of $1,353,819. Two change orders were administratively approved by staff. Change Order No.
1 was approved in the amount of $38,915 for additional sanitary sewer spot repair. Change Order No. 2
was approved in the amount of $5,000 for additional traffic control at the intersection of Lincoln Way
and S. Duff Ave. Change Order No. 3 (this action) is the balancing change order resulting in a net
contract deduction of $148,716.01, which reflected savings in several major work items.
These savings included:
Granular backfill is typically used in excavating point repairs as a contingent material if existing
material is not suitable for re-use. The existing material was in good condition, therefore, the
contractor elected to use the existing material instead of new granular backfill.
Reconstruction of sanitary tap: City records indicated several services along S. Duff Ave, but the
contractor did not encounter as many services as anticipated.
Removal and replacement of water services crossing: Less quantity was need during construction.
Replacing casting/chimney masonry manhole flat top: Iowa DOT will be reconstructing all the
existing manholes along US 69 with its resurfacing project in 2024; therefore, several manhole
flat top replacements planned with this project were eliminated.
Removal and replacement of 12" PCC: The contractor was able to remove less pavement area
than anticipated during construction, which resulted in significant savings.
City staff and Jet Drain Services LLC were able to work together to agree on these changes that resulted
in significant project cost savings. Construction was completed in the amount of $1,249,017.99.
Revenues and expenses associated with this program are as follows:
Revenue Expenses
Sanitary Sewer Rehab (State Revolving Fund)$4,050,000
Sanitary Sewer Rehab (this project)
Sanitary Sewer Rehab (Est. future phases)
$1,249,017.99
$2,500,000.00
Engineering/Administration (Est.) $ 300,000.00
TOTAL $4,050,000 $4,049,017.99
390
ALTERNATIVES:
1.a. Approve Change Order No. 3 a deduction in the amount of $148,716.01.
b. Accept the Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation - (US HWY 69) project as completed by Jet Drain
Services LLC, of Ames, Iowa in the amount of $1,249,017.99.
2. Direct staff to pursue changes to the project.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This project removed major sources of inflow/infiltration (I/I), which helps lower the peak wet weather
flow at the treatment plant. Work was completed in accordance with the approved plans and
specifications. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative No. 1, as described above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Project Map.pdf
Project Map 2.pdf
Certification Letter 2021-22 Sanitary Sewer Rehab US HWY 69.pdf
391
Sanitary Sewer
Rehabilitation - (US HWY 69)
Open trenching Sanitary Force main
on South side of East Lincoln Way
Lift Station
Single Lane
Alternating Traffic
North Side of intersection
LINCOLN WAY
ROSS RD
WEST ST
ONTARIO ST
PAMMEL DR
OSBORN DR
OAKLAND ST
WOODLAND ST
ST
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WA
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BEYER CT
STORY ST
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ELLIS ST
SC
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WANDA DALEY DR
ANNEAR ST
WE
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MA
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¯Project Location US HWY 69
13TH ST
8TH ST
7TH ST
10TH ST
MAIN ST
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392
Sanitary Sewer
Rehabilitation - (US HWY 69)
Open trenching Sanitary Force main
on South side of East Lincoln Way
Lift Station
Single Lane
Alternating Traffic
North Side of intersectionS 16TH ST
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393
Smart Choice
Public Works Department 515.239.5160 main 515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
515.239.5404 fax Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
February 6, 2024
Honorable Mayor and Council Members
City of Ames
Ames, Iowa 50010
Dear Mayor and Council Members:
I hereby certify the 2021/22 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation (US HWY 69) project was
completed in an acceptable manner by Jet Drain Services, LLC of Ames, Iowa, in the amount
of $1,249,017.99 and was inspected by the Public Works Department of the City of Ames, Iowa.
Sincerely,
John C. Joiner, P.E.
Public Works Director
JCJ/lbc
cc: City Clerk, Finance, Contractor, Administrative Services, Project File
394
ITEM #:31
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:FIN
SUBJECT:ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR
ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The Code of Iowa requires the City of Ames to publish a complete set of audited financial statements
presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. These financial statements,
referred to herein as the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), serve many purposes,
including the following:
Provide information needed for both financial decision-making and the assessment of financial
stewardship
Lend insight into the financial health of the City
Preserve public and investor trust through financial transparency
Demonstrate compliance with public decisions concerning the raising and spending of public
monies
Demonstrate the extent to which operating objectives are met efficiently and effectively, using all
resources available for that purpose, and whether it can continue to do so
Demonstrate compliance with finance-related legal and contractual provisions
The ACFR comprises many sections and contains information that may seem confusing even to those
familiar with private-sector accounting reports. The main difference between private sector accounting
and governmental accounting is the use of fund accounting. Fund accounting is a tool used by
governments to organize and present data about financial resources to show the fact that certain
resources have been segregated for specific activities or objectives in accordance with special
regulations, restrictions, or limitations. The constraints on how financial resources can be used are
either imposed externally (grantors and creditors) or internally through the budget adopted by the City
Council.
Governmental accounting regulations require that the statements contained in the ACFR use methods of
accounting that don't completely match the method of recording transactions in the accounting software,
which is primarily on a budgetary basis for tracking and control against the Council-approved budget.
An extensive amount of time is required to close out the accounting records and make the numerous
adjusting entries that are required to convert to the accounting basis required for the ACFR. Because of
this, the City produces this financial report only on an annual basis.
Eide Bailly LLP, Certified Public Accountants, has audited the City's financial statements for the year
ended June 30, 2023, and expressed its opinion on these statements based on the audit. In the auditor's
opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position
of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, the aggregate discretely presented
component unit, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City as of June
30, 2023, and the respective changes in financial position and, where applicable, cash flows thereof for
the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America with the exception described below.
395
AUDIT OPINION AND REPORT
The auditor’s report on the financial statements is an unmodified or “clean” opinion. There were
no significant deficiencies, but material audit adjustments were made. These adjustments were
agreed on between the auditors and the staff and were completed during the audit.
Adjustments to the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA):
Two State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans included federal pass-through grant dollars from
the Iowa Finance Authority, which were not included in the initial presentation of the
SEFA.
A disaster mitigation grant incurred expenses and received grant dollars in previous fiscal
years. In FY 2022/23, the City received additional grant reimbursement funds and failed to
include the associated previous year expenditures in the SEFA as required.
The Home Investment Partnership Program was initially identified as state funding, and
therefore not included in the SEFA. Upon further review, the funding was part of a federal
pass-through program, which should have been included in the City’s SEFA.
An underbilling of utility revenue occurred due to a billing error, which was subsequently
recorded in the FY 2023/24. Given the timing of identifying the error, the revenue should
have been recorded in FY 2022/23.
It should be noted that staff invested considerable time in the preparation and presentation of the City’s
capital asset information, resulting in no adjustments.
Also included with the report is the management letter that discloses any findings, difficulties in
performing the audit, misstatements, disagreements with management, and other issues that
arose during the audit. The letter confirms that there were no other issues to report related to the
June 30, 2023 audit. It does include a statement related to the adjustments mentioned above.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Accept the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report as presented.
2. Request further information.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The City is required by state law to have an annual audit of its financial statements. The City Council
needs to accept the audited financial statements so they can be submitted to the state and other users of
the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager
that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, thereby accepting the Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report as presented.
ATTACHMENT(S):
2023 Ames ACFR.pdf
CAF - City of Ames 2023 Governance Letter.pdf
396
ANNUAL
COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
397
ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
Anyone looking for a city with lots of activities and events
would be impressed by Ames in 2023! Our community
planned, organized, and hosted a year of diverse,
entertaining, and well-attended options. Celebrating
together fosters connections with each other and
cultivates public pride. This past year showcased Ames, its
neighborhoods, parks, facilities, and people.
City of Ames opportunities like the Smart Business
Challenge Luncheon, the Boards and Commissions
Annual Appreciation Luncheon, and our City Employee
Appreciation Luncheon started the year. As the weather
warmed, the activities flourished. Spring clean-up
events were held around Earth Day. The Bike-to-Work
Week Breakfast in May provided dedicated cyclists an
opportunity to snack and chat with City Councilmembers.
This was followed by the Mayor’s Bike Ride, which
attracted more the 75 riders for a 10-mile loop around the
community and frequent stops to provide project updates.
Into the warmer months, the events really ramped
up with parades, picnics, and pool parties. The Ames
Municipal Band concerts and City Council Night at the
Bandshell provided hundreds of attendees with evening
entertainment including watching the band play under
colored lights.
Summer events culminated with the 50th anniversary stop
of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa
at the end of July. Thousands of cyclists, support vehicles,
charter buses, and visitors from around the country
journeyed to Ames, rode their bicycles through Jack Trice
Stadium, camped at a local park (or had a homestay visit),
before packing up and heading out en masse the next
morning. The events continued with Rummage RAMPage,
the week-long community garage sale at the Ames
Intermodal Parking Ramp, and the return of Iowa State
University students in August.
The EcoFair returned in the fall to the City Hall parking
lot with exhibits, booths, live music, food trucks, and
more. Hundreds of attendees learned more about energy
reduction tips, City rebates, and ways to become more
sustainable. The Great Pumpkin Disposal program diverted
23,300 pounds of food waste from the landfill.
Whatever the season, Ames experienced an exciting,
enthusiastic, and event-filled year. While the community
was busy in 2023, it looks as though 2024 is shaping up to
be even more fun!
A VERY BUSY YEAR
398
ii
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED
JUNE 30, 2023
Prepared by:
Department of Finance
Accounting Division
399
Mission
Statement
We are caring people, providing quality
Programs with exceptional service to a
community of progress
We Value…
Continuous improvement in our organization and our services.
Innovation in problem solving.
Employee participation in decision making.
Personal and professional development.
Each other as we work together to serve the community.
We Are…
Proud to provide superior services to our community.
Professional and objective as we address public concerns and needs.
Fair, flexible, and helpful in our actions.
Efficient and fiscally responsible.
Proactive in reviewing and evaluating the type and focus of our services.
Caring People, Quality Programs, Exceptional Service
400
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JUNE 30, 2023
i
INTRODUCTORY SECTION
Letter of Transmittal ..................................................................................................................1
GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting ...............................4
Organizational Chart ..................................................................................................................5
List of Elected and Appointed Officials ....................................................................................6
FINANCIAL SECTION
Independent Auditor's Report ....................................................................................................9
Management's Discussion and Analysis ..................................................................................13
Basic Financial Statements:
Government-Wide Financial Statements:
Statement of Net Position ............................................................................................26
Statement of Activities .................................................................................................28
Fund Financial Statements:
Balance Sheet – Governmental Funds .........................................................................29
Reconciliation of the Balance Sheet of Governmental Funds to the
Statement of Net Position ......................................................................................30
Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances –
Governmental Funds ..............................................................................................31
Reconciliation of the Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in
Fund Balances of Governmental Funds to the Statement of Activities .................32
Statement of Net Position – Proprietary Funds............................................................33
Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position –
Proprietary Funds ...................................................................................................35
Statement of Cash Flows – Proprietary Funds .............................................................36
Statement of Fiduciary Net Position ............................................................................38
Statement of Changes in Fiduciary Net Position .........................................................39
Notes to the Financial Statements ......................................................................................40
Required Supplementary Information:
Schedule of the City's Proportionate Share of the Net Pension Liability (Asset) – Iowa
Public Employees' Retirement System ........................................................................94
Schedule of City Contributions – Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System ...............95
Schedule of the City's Proportionate Share of the Net Pension Liability (Asset) –
Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa ...............................................96
Schedule of City Contributions – Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System
of Iowa .........................................................................................................................97
Schedule of Changes in Total OPEB Liability and Related Ratios ...................................98
Budgetary Comparison Schedule – Governmental and Proprietary Funds .....................100
Budgetary Comparison Schedule – Budget to GAAP Reconciliation .............................101
Notes to the Required Supplementary Information .........................................................102
Combining Fund Financial Statements and Schedules:
Combining Balance Sheet – Non-Major Governmental Funds .......................................108
Combining Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund
Balances – Non-Major Governmental Funds ............................................................109
Combining Balance Sheet – Non-Major Special Revenue Funds ...................................110
401
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
ii
Combining Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund
Balances – Non-Major Special Revenue Funds.........................................................112
Combining Statement of Net Position – Non-Major Enterprise Funds ...........................115
Combining Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position –
Non-Major Enterprise Funds .....................................................................................117
Combining Statement of Cash Flows – Non-Major Enterprise Funds ............................118
Combining Statement of Net Position – Internal Service Funds .....................................121
Combining Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position –
Internal Service Funds ...............................................................................................122
Combining Statement of Cash Flows – Internal Service Funds ......................................123
STATISTICAL SECTION
Financial Trends:
Net Position by Component .............................................................................................128
Changes in Net Position...................................................................................................129
Fund Balances of Governmental Funds ...........................................................................132
Changes in Fund Balances of Governmental Funds ........................................................133
Revenue Capacity:
Assessed and Estimated Actual Value of Taxable Property ............................................134
Property Tax Rates – Direct and Overlapping Governments ..........................................135
Principal Property Taxpayers...........................................................................................136
Property Tax Levies and Collections...............................................................................137
Debt Capacity:
Ratios of Outstanding Debt by Type ...............................................................................138
Ratios of General Bonded Debt Outstanding...................................................................139
Direct and Overlapping Governmental Activities Debt...................................................140
Legal Debt Margin ...........................................................................................................141
Pledged-Revenue Coverage .............................................................................................141
Demographic and Economic Information:
Demographic and Economic Statistics ............................................................................144
Principal Employers.........................................................................................................145
Operating Information:
Full-Time Equivalent Employees by Function ................................................................146
Operating Indicators by Function ....................................................................................147
Capital Asset Statistics by Function ................................................................................148
COMPLIANCE SECTION
Independent Auditor's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and on
Compliance and Other Matters Based on an Audit of Financial Statements
Performed in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards....................................152
Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance for Each Major Federal Program and
Report on Internal Control Over Compliance Required by the Uniform Guidance ........154
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards........................................................................157
Notes to the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards ...................................................161
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs
402
INTRODUCTORY
SECTION
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404
1
February 1, 2024
To the Honorable Mayor, City Council Members, and Citizens of Ames, Iowa:
The City of Ames, Iowa (City) is required by the Code of Iowa to publish a complete set of audited
financial statements presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
Pursuant to these requirements, the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the City for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, is hereby submitted.
Management assumes full responsibility for the completeness and reliability of the information
contained in this report, based upon a comprehensive framework of internal control that it has
established for this purpose. Because the cost of internal control should not exceed anticipated
benefits, the objective is to provide reasonable, rather than absolute, assurance that the financial
statements are free of any material misstatements.
Eide Bailly LLP, a firm of licensed certified public accountants, has issued an unmodified
(“clean”) opinion on the City’s financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023. The
independent auditor’s report is presented as the first component of the financial section in this
report.
Management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A) immediately follows the independent auditor’s
report and provides a narrative introduction, overview, and analysis of the basic financial
statements. The MD&A complements this letter of transmittal and reads in conjunction with it.
Profile of the City of Ames
The City was incorporated in 1864 under the laws of the State of Iowa, later amended in July 1975
under the Home Rule City Act. The City is located in central Iowa, 30 miles north of Des Moines.
Ames is the ninth largest city in Iowa and serves a population of 66,427, according to the 2020
census. The City is empowered to levy a property tax on real property located within its boundaries.
It also is empowered by state statute to extend its corporate limits by annexation, which occurs
periodically when deemed appropriate by the governing council.
The City operates under a mayor-council form of government with an appointed manager. Policy-
making and legislative authority are vested in the governing council consisting of the mayor and
six other council members. The council members serve four-year staggered terms with three
council members elected every two years. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. Four of the
council members are elected by district. The mayor and the two remaining council members are
elected at large.
The City provides a full range of services, including police and fire protection; snow removal;
construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other infrastructure; recreational and
cultural activities; library services; community development; electric, water, and sewer systems;
parking lot facilities; resource recovery; a municipal airport; transit services; and a municipal
hospital. The City is also financially accountable for a legally separate hospital foundation reported
405
2
separately within the City’s financial statements. Additional information on the hospital
foundation can be found in the notes to the financial statements (see Note 1.2 Reporting entity).
The annual budget serves as the foundation for the City's financial planning and control and is
prepared by function. The City Manager is responsible for developing a budget proposal for
presentation to the City Council in January and February of each year. In most years, the City
Council is then required to hold public hearings on the proposed budget and adopt a final budget
no later than March 31 for the fiscal year beginning the following July 1. Any amendments to the
budget must be prepared and adopted in the same manner as the original budget.
Local economy
The City is supported by a diverse economy that includes both the private and public sectors. Ames is
home to several large governmental agencies including Iowa State University (ISU), Iowa Department
of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Animal Disease Center and National
Veterinary Services Laboratories, and a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory. ISU and other
government employers add significant local economic stability.
In July 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Ames metropolitan statistical area
(MSA) unemployment rate of 1.5%, below the Iowa and national unemployment rates of which were
at or above 3.2%. The City has also experienced steady growth in population, increasing from 58,965
in the 2010 census to 66,427 in 2020, a 12.65% increase over ten years.
Ames has continued steady, moderate, and sustainable growth in both population and property
valuation. The assessed valuation for property in Ames grew by 4.4 % from January 2020 to January
2021. ISU student enrollment for Fall 2023 is 30,177, an increase of 208 students from Fall 2022.
The City continues to work with the state of Iowa and a local developer to make significant
enhancements to the City’s downtown area through the redevelopment of the Lincoln Way Corridor.
The proposed project includes a City constructed indoor aquatics center as well as private commercial,
retail, and housing. This project, which will transform a highly visible sections of the City, was
awarded a $10 million Iowa Reinvestment District Grant by the Iowa Economic Development
Authority.
Long-term financial planning and major initiatives
In 2013 the Iowa Department of Natural Resources released the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
This strategy required the largest municipal wastewater facilities in Iowa to install process changes for
nutrient removal. To comply with the updated requirements, the City has identified a staged approach
to compliance which is expected to be materially under construction in the upcoming three fiscal years.
To avoid placing significant financial burdens on the utility’s customers, the second phase of the project
is currently expected to begin design in FY 2035/36. Additionally, the City is in the process of
developing a Climate Action Plan which establishes a community carbon reduction goal and develops
a relevant, achievable, and cost-effective strategy, timeline, and metrics to track progress toward
achieving the goal.
Relevant financial policies
The City Council has adopted a comprehensive set of budget and fiscal policies, including financial
management, general revenue management, user fee cost recovery goals, enterprise fund fees and
rates, grant funding, revenue distribution, investments, fund balance designations and reserves,
capital improvement management, and capital improvement financing and debt management.
406
3
The minimum fund balance requirement for the General Fund is 25% of operating expenditures
less pass-through amounts. The City met this requirement and adhered to all other financial
policies established by the City Council.
Awards and acknowledgements
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded
a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Ames for its
Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. This was the first
consecutive year that the government has achieved this prestigious award. In order to be awarded
a Certificate of Achievement, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently
organized annual comprehensive financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted
accounting principles and applicable legal requirements.
A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year only. We believe that our current
annual comprehensive financial report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program’s
requirements and we are submitting it to GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate.
The City received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its annual budget
document for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023. To qualify for this award, the City's budget
document must be judged proficient as a policy document, an operations guide, a financial plan,
and a communication device. This was the 38th consecutive year the City has received this award.
The preparation of this report would not have been possible without the skill, effort, and dedication
of the entire staff in the Finance Department. We wish to thank all the City departments for their
assistance in providing data necessary for this report. Credit is also due the Mayor and members
of the City Council for their interest and support of our efforts in conducting the financial
operations of the City in a responsible and progressive manner.
Respectfully submitted,
Steven L. Schainker
City Manager
Corey Goodenow
Director of Finance
407
Government Finance Officers Association
Certificate of
Achievement
for Excellence
in Financial
Reporting
Presented to
City of Ames
Iowa
For its Annual Comprehensive
Financial Report
For the Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 2022
Executive Director/CEO
408
CITIZENS AMES
CITIZENS
HOSPITAL BOARD
HOSPITAL BOARD
Mary Greeley
Medical Center
Mary Greeley
Medical Center
Legal
Legal
City Clerk
City Clerk
City Manager
City Manager
CyRide
CyRide
Assistant
City Manager
Assistant
City Manager
Public Relations
Officer
Public Relations
Officer
Assistant
City Manager
Assistant
City Manager
Fleet Services
Fleet Services
Finance
Finance
Administration
Distribution
Engineering
Tech Services
Production
Energy Markets
Administration
Maintenance
Program
Replacement
Program
Facilities
Administration
Accounting
Customer
Services
Meter Reader
Information
Services
Print Shop
Purchasing
Electric
Electric
Fire
Fire
Police
Police
Public Works
Public Works
Water and
Pollution
Control
Water and
Pollution
Control
Fire
Station #1
Fire
Station #2
Fire
Station #3
Administration
Inspections
Prevention
Sanitation
Support
Services
Patrol
Criminal
Investigation
Support
Services
Animal
Control &
Shelter
Administration
Water Plant
Water Pollution
Control Plant
Water Meter
Laboratory
Services
Planning
& Housing
Planning
& Housing
Housing
Planning
LIBRARY BOARD OF
TRUSTEES
LIBRARY BOARD OF
TRUSTEES
Library
Library
MAYOR &
CITY COUNCIL
MAYOR &
CITY COUNCIL
TRANSIT BOARD
TRANSIT BOARD
CONFERENCE
BOARD
CONFERENCE
BOARD
City Assessor
City Assessor
Health
Promotion
Risk
Management
Parks &
Recreation
Parks &
Recreation
Administration
Ames/ISU
Ice Arena
Aquatics
Cemetery
Community
Center
Homewood
Golf Course
Parks
Maintenance
Forestry
Human Resources
Human Resources
Administration
Airport
Engineering
Parking Meter
Repair
Resource
Recovery
Streets
Traffic
Utility
Maintenance
409
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
LIST OF ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS
JUNE 30, 2023
6
Elected Officials:
Mayor John Haila
Council Member – Ward 1 Gloria Betcher
Council Member – Ward 2 Tim Gartin
Council Member – Ward 3 Anita Rollins
Council Member – Ward 4 Rachel Junck
Council Member – At Large Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
Council Member – At Large Amber Corrieri
Council-Appointed Officials:
City Manager Steven Schainker
City Attorney Mark Lambert
City Manager-Appointed / Council-Approved Official:
City Clerk Renee Hall
City Manager-Appointed Officials:
Assistant City Manager Vacant
Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips
City Treasurer Roger Wisecup II
Director of Electric Utility Don Kom
Director of Finance Corey Goodenow
Director of Fleet Services Corey Mellies
Director of Human Resources Bethany Jorgenson
Director of Parks and Recreation Keith Abraham
Director of Planning and Housing Kelly Diekmann
Director of Public Works John Joiner
Director of Water and Pollution Control John Dunn
Fire Chief Rich Higgins
Police Chief Geoff Huff
Other Officials:
Director of Transportation Barbara Neal
Library Director Sheila Schofer
Hospital Administration:
President / Chief Executive Officer Brian Dieter
Vice President / Chief Financial Officer Gary Botine
410
FINANCIAL
SECTION
411
8
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Independent Auditor’s Report
To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Ames, Iowa
Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements
Opinions
We have audited the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business‐type activities,
the discretely presented component unit, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund
information of the City of Ames, Iowa (City) as of and for the year ended June 30, 2023, and the related
notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the City’s basic financial statements as
listed in the table of contents.
In our opinion, based on our audit and the report of other auditors, the accompanying financial
statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of
the governmental activities, the business‐type activities, the discretely presented component unit, each
major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City, as of June 30, 2023, and the
respective changes in financial position, and, where applicable, cash flows thereof for the year then
ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We did not audit the financial statements of the Mary Greeley Medical Center (presented as an
enterprise fund), which is both a major fund and 56 percent, 54 percent, and 65 percent, respectively, of
the assets, net position, and revenues of the business‐type activities. We did not audit the financial
statements of the discretely presented component unit, which represents 100 percent of the assets, net
position, and revenues of the discretely presented component unit. Those statements were audited by
other auditors whose report has been furnished to us, and our opinion, insofar as it relates to the
amounts included for Mary Greeley Medical Center and the component unit, is based solely on the
report of the other auditors.
413
Basis for Opinions
We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States
of America (GAAS) and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing
Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States (Government Auditing Standards). Our
responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the
Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are required to be independent of the City
and to meet our other ethical responsibilities, in accordance with the relevant ethical requirements
relating to our audit. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate
to provide a basis for our audit opinions.
Responsibilities of Management for the Financial Statements
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; and for the
design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair
presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or
error.
In preparing the financial statements, management is required to evaluate whether there are conditions
or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the City’s ability to continue
as a going concern for twelve months beyond the financial statement date, including any currently
known information that may raise substantial doubt shortly thereafter.
Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report
that includes our opinions. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute
assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with GAAS and
Government Auditing Standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. The risk of
not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error,
as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of
internal control. Misstatements are considered material if there is a substantial likelihood that,
individually or in the aggregate, they would influence the judgment made by a reasonable user based on
the financial statements.
In performing an audit in accordance with GAAS and Government Auditing Standards, we:
Exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.
Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due
to fraud or error, and design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks. Such
procedures include examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures
in the financial statements.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an
opinion on the effectiveness of the City’s internal control. Accordingly, no such opinion is
expressed.
414
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant
accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluate the overall presentation of the
financial statements.
Conclude whether, in our judgment, there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate,
that raise substantial doubt about the City’s ability to continue as a going concern for a
reasonable period of time.
We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters,
the planned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal control–related
matters that we identified during the audit.
Required Supplementary Information
Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require that the management’s
discussion and analysis and other required supplementary information listed in the table of contents be
presented to supplement the basic financial statements. Such information is the responsibility of
management and, although not a part of the basic financial statements, is required by the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board who considers it to be an essential part of financial reporting
for placing the basic financial statements in an appropriate operational, economic, or historical context.
We have applied certain limited procedures to the required supplementary information in accordance
with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, which consisted of inquiries
of management about the methods of preparing the information and comparing the information for
consistency with management’s responses to our inquiries, the basic financial statements, and other
knowledge we obtained during our audit of the basic financial statements. We do not express an opinion
or provide any assurance on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with
sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.
Supplementary Information
Our audit was conducted for the purpose of forming opinions on the financial statements that
collectively comprise the City’s basic financial statements. The combining nonmajor fund financial
statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards required by Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for
Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) are presented for purposes of additional analysis and are not a
required part of the basic financial statements. Such information is the responsibility of management
and was derived from and relates directly to the underlying accounting and other records used to
prepare the basic financial statements. The information has been subjected to the auditing procedures
applied in the audit of the basic financial statements and certain additional procedures, including
comparing and reconciling such information directly to the underlying accounting and other records
used to prepare the basic financial statements or to the basic financial statements themselves, and
other additional procedures in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United
States of America. In our opinion, the combining nonmajor fund financial statements and the schedule
of expenditures of federal awards are fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the basic
financial statements as a whole.
415
Other Information
Management is responsible for the other information included in the Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report. The other information comprises the introductory and statistical sections but does not include
the basic financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. Our opinions on the basic financial
statements do not cover the other information, and we do not express an opinion or any form of
assurance thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other
information and consider whether a material inconsistency exists between the other information and
the basic financial statements, or the other information otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If,
based on the work performed, we conclude that an uncorrected material misstatement of the other
information exists, we are required to describe it in our report.
Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards
In accordance with Government Auditing Standards, we have also issued our report dated January 31,
2024 on our consideration of the City’s internal control over financial reporting and on our tests of its
compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other
matters. The purpose of that report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control over
financial reporting and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the
effectiveness of City’s internal control over financial reporting or on compliance. That report is an
integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering
the City’s internal control over financial reporting and compliance.
Dubuque, Iowa
January 31, 2024
416
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
13
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
As management of the City of Ames (City), we offer readers of the City’s financial statements this
narrative overview and analysis of the financial activities of the City for the fiscal year ended June
30, 2023. We encourage readers to consider the information presented here in conjunction with
additional information that we have furnished in our letter of transmittal, which can be found on
pages 1-3 of this report.
Financial Highlights
The assets and deferred outflows of resources of the City exceeded its liabilities and
deferred inflows of resources at the close of the most recent fiscal year by $1,084,796,228
(net position). Of this amount, $540,137,500 represents unrestricted net position, which
may be used to meet the City's ongoing obligations to citizens and creditors.
The City’s total net position increased by $58,175,774, most of which was attributable to
business-type activities, including Mary Greeley Medical Center.
As of the close of the current fiscal year, the City’s governmental funds reported combined
fund balances of $78,831,777, an increase of $4,820,765 in comparison with the prior
year’s balance. 15.56% of this amount ($12,262,989) is available for spending at the
government’s discretion (unassigned fund balance).
At the end of the current fiscal year, unrestricted fund balance (the total of the committed,
assigned, and unassigned components of fund balance) for the General Fund was
$16,124,410, or 45.63% of total General Fund expenditures.
The City’s total long-term outstanding debt increased by $1,325,264 during the current
fiscal year.
Within the City's business-type activities, revenues exceeded expenses by $42,817,655.
The City policy is to set rates that fund operational expenses of business-type activities and
most capital improvements. The majority of the increase in net position represents Mary
Greeley’s nonoperating investment gains of $20.579 million.
Overview of the Financial Statements
The discussion and analysis provided here are intended to serve as an introduction to the City’s
basic financial statements. The City's basic financial statements consist of three components: 1)
government-wide financial statements; 2) fund financial statements; and 3) the notes to financial
statements. This report also includes other supplementary information intended to furnish
additional detail to support the basic financial statements themselves.
Government-wide Financial Statements. The government-wide financial statements are
designed to provide readers with a broad overview of the City's finances, in a manner similar to
private-sector business.
417
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
14
The statement of net position presents financial information on all City assets and liabilities, and
deferred inflows/outflows of resources, with the difference reported as net position. Over time,
increases or decreases in net position may serve as a useful indicator of whether the financial
position of the City is improving or deteriorating.
The statement of activities presents information showing how the City’s net position changed
during the most recent fiscal year. All changes in net position are reported as soon as the underlying
event giving rise to the change occurs, regardless of the timing of related cash flows. Thus,
revenues and expenses are reported for some items that will only result in cash flows in future
fiscal periods (e.g., uncollected taxes and earned but unused vacation leave).
Both government-wide financial statements distinguish functions of the City that are principally
supported by taxes and intergovernmental revenues (governmental activities) from other functions
that are intended to recover all or a significant portion of their costs through user fees and charges
(business-type activities). The governmental activities of the City include general government,
public safety, public works, health and social services, culture and recreation, and community and
economic development. The business-type activities of the City include the hospital, electric,
sewer, water, transit, storm sewer, parking, resource recovery, an ice arena, and a golf course.
The government-wide financial statements include not only the City itself (known as the primary
government), but also a legally separate medical center foundation for which the City is financially
accountable. Financial information for this component unit is reported separately from the
financial information presented for the primary government itself.
The government-wide financial statements can be found on pages 26-28 of this report.
Fund Financial Statements. A fund is a grouping of related accounts that is used to maintain
control over resources that have been segregated for specific activities or objectives. The City, like
other state and local governments, uses fund accounting to ensure and demonstrate compliance
with finance-related legal requirements. All funds of the City can be divided into two categories:
governmental funds and proprietary funds.
Governmental Funds. Governmental funds are used to account for essentially the same functions
reported as governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements. However, unlike
the government-wide financial statements, governmental fund financial statements focus on near-
term inflows and outflows of spendable resources, as well as on balances of spendable resources
available at the end of the fiscal year. Such information may be useful in assessing a government’s
near-term financing requirements.
Because the focus of governmental funds is narrower than that of the government-wide financial
statements, it is useful to compare the information presented for governmental funds with similar
information presented for governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements.
By doing so, readers may better understand the long-term impact of the City’s near-term financing
decisions. Both the governmental fund balance sheet and governmental fund statement of
revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances provide a reconciliation to facilitate this
comparison between governmental funds and governmental activities.
418
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
15
The City maintains 25 individual governmental funds. Information is presented separately in the
governmental fund balance sheet and in the governmental fund statement of revenues,
expenditures, and changes in fund balances for the General Fund, capital projects fund, and debt
service fund, all of which are major funds. Data from the other 22 governmental funds are
combined into a single, aggregated presentation. Individual fund data for each of these non-major
governmental funds is provided in the form of combining statements in the combining fund
statements and schedules section of this report.
The City adopts an annual appropriated budget for its general, capital projects, debt service, special
revenue, and enterprise funds according to the Code of Iowa. A budgetary comparison schedule
has been provided as required supplementary information to demonstrate compliance with this
budget.
The basic governmental fund financial statements can be found on pages 29-32 of this report.
Proprietary Funds. The City maintains two different types of proprietary funds. Enterprise funds
are used to report the same functions presented as business-type activities in the government-wide
financial statements. The City uses enterprise funds to account for its hospital, electric, sewer,
water, airport, parking, transit, storm sewer, ice arena, golf course, and resource recovery. Internal
service funds are an accounting device used to accumulate and allocate costs internally among the
City's various functions. The City uses internal service funds to account for fleet services,
information technology, risk management, printing, messenger, and health insurance. Because
these services benefit both the governmental and business-type functions, they have been
apportioned accordingly in the government-wide financial statements.
Proprietary funds provide the same type of information as the government-wide financial
statements, only in more detail. The proprietary fund financial statements provide separate
information for the hospital, electric, sewer, and water, all of which are major funds of the City.
Data from the other six enterprise funds are combined into a single, aggregated presentation.
Individual fund data for each of these non-major enterprise funds is provided in the form of
combining statements in the combining fund statements and schedules section of this report.
Conversely, internal service funds are combined into a single, aggregated presentation in the
proprietary fund financial statements. Individual fund data for the internal service funds is
provided in the form of combining statements in the combining fund statements and schedules
section of this report.
The basic proprietary fund financial statements can be found on pages 33-37 of this report.
Fiduciary Funds. Fiduciary funds are used to account for resources held for the benefit of parties
outside of the government. Fiduciary funds are not reported in the government-wide financial
statements because the resources of those funds are not available to support the City’s own
programs. The City maintains one type of fiduciary fund. One custodial fund reports resources
held by the City in a custodial capacity for individuals, private organizations, and other
governments.
The basic custodial fund financial statements can be found on page 38-39 of this report.
419
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
16
Notes to the Financial Statements. The notes provide additional information that is necessary to
acquire a full understanding of the data provided in the government-wide and fund financial
statements. The notes to the financial statements can be found on pages 40-92 of this report.
Other Information. In addition to the basic financial statements and accompanying notes, this
report also presents required supplementary information concerning the City's net pension liability
(asset), obligation to provide other post-employment benefits to its employees, and budgetary
comparisons. Required supplementary information can be found on pages 94-104 of this report.
The combining statements referred to earlier in connection with non-major governmental funds,
non-major enterprise funds, and internal service funds are presented immediately following the
required supplementary information. Combining fund statements and schedules can be found on
pages 108-124 of this report.
Government-Wide Overall Financial Analysis
As noted earlier, net position, may serve as a useful indicator of a government’s financial position
over time. In the case of the City, assets and deferred outflows of resources exceeded liabilities
and deferred inflows of resources by $1,084,796,228 at the close of the most recent fiscal year.
The following chart summarizes the government-wide assets, deferred outflows of resources,
liabilities, deferred inflows of resources, and net position of the City.
The largest portion of the City's net position (46.89%) reflects its net investment in capital assets
(e.g., land, buildings, machinery, and infrastructure) less any related outstanding debt that was
2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022
Current and other assets 139,853,431$ 134,704,297$ 606,775,103$ 578,133,854$ 746,628,534$ 712,838,151$
Net capital assets 214,483,440 202,712,338 499,992,533 494,871,959 714,475,973 697,584,297
Total assets 354,336,871 337,416,635 1,106,767,636 1,073,005,813 1,461,104,507 1,410,422,448
Deferred outflows of resources 5,686,420 5,831,028 21,811,776 18,931,059 27,498,196 24,762,087
Long-term liabilities outstanding 95,146,434 76,666,355 216,908,819 176,993,292 312,055,253 253,659,647
Other liabilities 8,863,871 9,808,591 34,307,622 33,073,623 43,171,493 42,882,214
Total liabilities 104,010,305 86,474,946 251,216,441 210,066,915 355,226,746 296,541,861
Deferred inflows of resources 37,280,936 53,398,786 11,298,793 58,623,434 48,579,729 112,022,220
Net position:
Net investment in capital
assets 164,358,181 156,680,795 344,255,162 347,429,640 508,613,343 504,110,435
Restricted 33,350,851 39,812,571 2,694,534 10,993,096 36,045,385 50,805,667
Unrestricted 21,023,018 6,880,565 519,114,482 464,823,787 540,137,500 471,704,352
Total net position 218,732,050$ 203,373,931$ 866,064,178$ 823,246,523$ 1,084,796,228$ 1,026,620,454$
Net Position
Governmental Activities Business-Type Activities Total
420
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
17
used to acquire those assets. The City uses these capital assets to provide a variety of services to
its citizens. Accordingly, these assets are not available for future spending. Although the City's net
investment in capital assets is reported net of related debt, it should be noted that the resources
used to repay this debt must be provided from other sources, since the capital assets themselves
cannot be used to liquidate these liabilities.
An additional portion of the City's net position ($36,045,385 or 3.32%) represents resources that
are subject to external restrictions on how they may be used. The remaining balance of
$540,137,500 is unrestricted and may be used to meet the City’s ongoing obligations to citizens
and creditors.
At the end of the current fiscal year, the City can report positive balances in all reported categories
of net position, both for the government as a whole, as well as for its separate governmental and
business-type activities. The following shows the components of net position for the years ended
June 30, 2023 and 2022:
Governmental Activities. During the current fiscal year, net position for governmental activities
increased $15,358,119 for an ending balance of $218,732,050. Taxes are the largest source of
governmental revenue with property taxes of $35,258,374 and local option sales taxes of
$11,513,149 in 2023.
Governmental activity expenses increased $10,600,250 from 2022, or 18.98%, mainly due to
additional Public Works projects. The following chart shows the expenses and related program
revenues for the functions of governmental activities:
- 100 200 300 400 500
Net investment in capital assets Restricted Unrestricted$
M
i
l
l
i
o
n
s
2023
2022
421
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
18
CITY OF AMES
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENSES, AND CHANGES IN NET POSITION
2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022
Revenues:
Program revenues
Charges for services 5,918,928$ 5,535,224$ 338,256,726$ 325,823,138$ 344,175,654$ 331,358,362$
Operating grants & contributions 13,483,090 22,525,675 7,233,367 15,205,764 20,716,457 37,731,439
Capital grants & contributions 6,698,533 1,882,523 14,010,493 8,366,793 20,709,026 10,249,316
General revenues
Property taxes 35,258,374 35,243,169 - - 35,258,374 35,243,169
Other taxes 14,391,539 13,647,503 - - 14,391,539 13,647,503
Unrestricted grants & contributions 5,203 16,152 - - 5,203 16,152
Investment earnings 2,068,855 (1,582,910) 22,739,276 (40,796,262) 24,808,131 (42,379,172)
Other 4,391,044 75,019 4,254,898 3,744,892 8,645,942 3,819,911
Total revenues 82,215,566 77,342,355 386,494,760 312,344,325 468,710,326 389,686,680
Expenses:
General government 4,195,286 3,343,575 - - 4,195,286 3,343,575
Public safety 19,606,339 16,610,543 - - 19,606,339 16,610,543
Public works 23,486,400 17,447,329 - - 23,486,400 17,447,329
Health & social services 1,688,515 1,634,556 - - 1,688,515 1,634,556
Culture & recreation 11,819,080 11,306,025 - - 11,819,080 11,306,025
Community & economic development 4,364,534 4,030,738 - - 4,364,534 4,030,738
Interest on long-term debt 1,287,664 1,474,802 - - 1,287,664 1,474,802
Mary Greeley Medical Center - - 232,168,581 220,771,985 232,168,581 220,771,985
Electric - - 66,344,987 62,489,331 66,344,987 62,489,331
Sewer - - 8,938,924 6,788,649 8,938,924 6,788,649
Water - - 12,296,648 9,720,409 12,296,648 9,720,409
Airport - - 682,709 971,080 682,709 971,080
Parking - - 825,546 757,891 825,546 757,891
Transit - - 15,344,049 13,663,553 15,344,049 13,663,553
Stormwater - - 1,397,657 840,274 1,397,657 840,274
Ames/ISU Ice Arena - - 596,755 540,335 596,755 540,335
Homewood Golf Course - - 281,547 266,379 281,547 266,379
Resource Recovery - - 5,209,331 4,500,088 5,209,331 4,500,088
Total expenses 66,447,818 55,847,568 344,086,734 321,309,974 410,534,552 377,157,542
Increase in net position before
transfers 15,767,748 21,494,787 42,408,026 (8,965,649) 58,175,774 12,529,138
Transfers (409,629) (965,845) 409,629 965,845 - -
Increase in net position 15,358,119 20,528,942 42,817,655 (7,999,804) 58,175,774 12,529,138
Net position, beginning (as
previously reported)203,373,931 192,125,054 823,246,523 821,966,262 1,026,620,454 1,014,091,316
Net position restatement - (9,280,065) - 9,280,065 - -
Net position, beginning 203,373,931 182,844,989 823,246,523 831,246,327 1,026,620,454 1,014,091,316
Net position, ending 218,732,050$ 203,373,931$ 866,064,178$ 823,246,523$ 1,084,796,228$ 1,026,620,454$
Governmental Activities Business-Type Activities Total
422
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
19
The following chart shows revenues by source for governmental activities:
Business-Type Activities. The net position for business-type activities increased by $42,817,655,
from 2022. A large portion of this increase is attributable to the hospital’s Construction in progress
increasing $8,221,391 and fair market investment adjustments being positive for fiscal year 2023.
The following chart shows the expenses and related program revenues for the functions of
business-type activities:
Financial Analysis of Governmental Funds
As noted earlier, the City uses fund accounting to ensure and demonstrate compliance with
finance-related legal requirements.
Governmental Funds. The focus of the City’s governmental funds is to provide information on
near-term inflows, outflows, and balances of spendable resources. Such information is useful in
assessing the City’s financing requirements. Unassigned fund balance may serve as a useful
measure of a government’s net resources available for discretionary use as they represent the
portion of fund balance that has not yet been limited to use for a particular purpose by either an
external party, the City itself, or a group or individual that has been delegated authority to assign
resources for use for purposes by the City Council.
423
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
20
The City's governmental funds reported combined fund balances of $78,831,777 at June 30, 2023,
an increase of $4,820,765 from the prior year. 15.56% of this amount ($12,262,989) constitutes
unassigned fund balance, which is available for spending at the City's discretion. The remainder
of the fund balance is either non-spendable, restricted, committed, or assigned to indicate that it
is 1) not in spendable form ($1,174,470); 2) legally required to be maintained intact ($2,084,809);
3) restricted for purposes ($50,409,425); 4) committed for purposes ($11,077,465); or 5) assigned
for purposes ($1,822,619).
The General Fund is the chief operating fund of the City. At the end of the current fiscal year,
unassigned fund balance of the General Fund was $14,301,791, while total fund balance increased
by $2,010,238 to $16,339,815. The ending fund balance is 46.23% of the fiscal year expenditures,
exceeding the City's goal of 20% of expenditures.
The Capital Projects Fund had an increase of $1,626,272 in fund balance during the fiscal year,
which put the overall fund balance at $24,138,571. Some of the capital projects for the year
included CyRide fleet vehicles, water system/plant improvements, sanitary sewer improvements,
as well as annual street maintenance and improvement.
The fund balance in the Debt Service Fund is $2,352,740 at the end of the fiscal year, an increase
of $262,201 from the prior year.
The fund balances of non-major governmental funds increased by $922,054 from the 2022
balances. A large part of this increase is in the Local Option Tax fund increasing $1.2 million.
424
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
21
Proprietary Funds. The City's proprietary funds provide the same type of information found in
the government-wide financial statements, but in more detail.
The combined net position of the enterprise funds at June 30, 2023, totaled $853,494,321, of which
59.35% ($506,544,625) is unrestricted. This is a $42,780,783, or 5.28%, increase in net position
from last fiscal year’s balance. The net position of the internal service funds is $34,982,022, a
$482,402 increase in net position. Unrestricted net position accounts for $25,496,767 (72.89%) of
the total internal service fund net position balance.
Charges for services for the internal service funds increased 4.15% over the prior year.
General Fund Budgetary Highlights
Original Budget Compared to Final Budget. There were two amendments to the City's 2023
budget. The first amendment was approved in September 2022, primarily to reflect carryovers of
capital project expenditures from the prior year. The second amendment was approved in May of
2023 to reflect year-end expenditures and revenues more accurately.
The main source of variation in the General Fund budget is the carryover of funds from fiscal year
2022 for capital projects that were not completed.
Capital Assets and Debt Administration
Capital Assets. The City's investment in capital assets for its governmental and business-type
activities as of June 30, 2023, amounts to $714,475,973 (net of accumulated depreciation), an
increase of $16,891,676 from prior year capital assets. The investment in capital assets includes
land, buildings, infrastructure, plant and distribution systems, machinery, and equipment.
425
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
22
Some of the major capital asset additions include:
$3.2 million in sanitary sewer improvements
$3.5 million in arterial street improvements
$5.6 million in water line system and plant improvements
$6.5 million CyRide fleet vehicles
$7.7 million in Street Network improvements
Additional information on the City's capital assets can be found in Note 4 - Detailed notes on all
activities and funds, Capital assets on pages 55-56 of this report. The following shows capital
assets, net of accumulated depreciation.
Long-term Debt. At the end of the current fiscal year, the City had $165,921,566 in outstanding
bonded debt, as shown in the following chart. Of this amount, $71,585,953 is debt backed by the
full faith and credit of the government and $94,335,613 is revenue bonds issued by proprietary
funds.
The City's total debt increased by $1,325,264 (0.59%) during the current fiscal year. Revenue
bonds also decreased due to no new issuances resulting in the full principal and interest payments
lowering the balance.
State statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt an Iowa city may issue to five percent
(5%) of the actual assessed valuation at January 1, 2021, related to the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The
current debt limitation for the City is $275,601,992. A portion of the outstanding general obligation
debt is abated by revenue sources other than the property tax levy. Additional information on the
City's long-term debt can be found in Note 4 - Detailed notes on all activities and funds, Long-
term obligations on pages 79-85 of this report.
2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022
Land 16,137,769$ 13,237,769$ 17,030,519$ 17,028,319$ 33,168,288$ 30,266,088$
Other non-depreciable assets 632,826 622,326 - - 632,826 622,326
Depreciable assets 166,390,733 164,006,482 445,744,435 441,879,461 612,135,168 605,885,943
Construction in progress 31,322,112 24,845,761 37,217,579 35,964,179 68,539,691 60,809,940
Total 214,483,440$ 202,712,338$ 499,992,533$ 494,871,959$ 714,475,973$ 697,584,297$
Governmental Activities Business-Type Activities Total
2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022
General obligation bonds, net 68,682,219$ 65,692,675$ 2,903,734$ 3,575,334$ 71,585,953$ 69,268,009$
Revenue bonds - - 94,335,613 101,662,284 94,335,613 101,662,284
Loans payable - - 60,876,173 54,542,182 60,876,173 54,542,182
Total 68,682,219$ 65,692,675$ 158,115,520$ 159,779,800$ 226,797,739$ 225,472,475$
Governmental Activities Business-Type Activities Total
426
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
23
ECONOMIC FACTORS AND NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET AND RATES
The following economic factors were considered in developing the fiscal year 2023 budget:
The City of Ames MSA employment remains strong and other economic indicators such
as retail sales and new construction generally indicate a strong local economy. Largely
supported by several large institutions.
An 8% increase in water rates to fund a portion of a capital improvement projects, and
estimated operational expenses
No change in storm water utility fees to cover the cost of maintaining the existing storm
water system and cover the necessary cost for capital improvement plans.
No change in the per ton tipping fee to support projects identified in the City’s five-year
capital improvement plan.
No rate increases in electric or water pollution control rates.
An increase in property tax rate from $9.83 to $10.20 per $1,000 of taxable valuation
largely due to modifications to the State of Iowa’s modifications to the property valuation
system.
A modest increase of $57,220 in the amount of the City's support for transit to continue
existing service levels and minimize the impact on ISU student fee support.
An increase in full-time equivalents by 3. 5 positions with additions of a new Sustainability
Coordinator, Adult Services Librarian, and Park Maintenance Worker. Additionally,
increased position by .5 to continue the work related to transit technology.
An 8.0% increase in health insurance costs due to increases in claim activity and cost for
prescription drugs and stop loss coverage. The strong fund balance in the self-insured
health insurance fund will help to absorb any fluctuations in claims
Estimated 5% growth in local option sales tax, primarily resulting from the increased
growth of internet sales and general consumer sentiment.
Requests for Information. This financial report is designed to provide a general overview of the
City's finances for all those with an interest in the government’s finances. Questions concerning
any of the information provided in this report or requests for additional financial information
should be addressed to the Director of Finance, 515 Clark Avenue, Ames, Iowa, 50010.
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BASICFINANCIALSTATEMENTS
429
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF NET POSITION
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
26
Governmental Business-Type Component
Activities Activities Total Unit
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 17,775,234$ 22,995,410$ 40,770,644$ 1,691,746$
Investments 84,763,305 94,127,420 178,890,725 -
Taxes receivable 87,858 - 87,858 -
Special assessments receivable 238,101 - 238,101 -
Accrued interest receivable 304,563 510,801 815,364 -
Accounts receivable, net 857,717 43,831,573 44,689,290 -
Lease receivable 3,080 973,006 976,086 -
Pledges receivable, net - - - 223,595
Intergovernmental receivable 7,514,388 6,047,628 13,562,016 -
Loans receivable 904 - 904 -
Internal balances (9,042,726) 9,042,726 - -
Inventories 1,078,481 11,651,253 12,729,734 -
Prepaid items 226,808 3,912,182 4,138,990 -
Restricted current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents - 1,452,782 1,452,782 -
Investments - 1,208,976 1,208,976 -
Accrued interest receivable - 22,504 22,504 -
Total current assets 103,807,713 195,776,261 299,583,974 1,915,341
Non-current assets:
Investments - 23,100,311 23,100,311 15,018,241
Succeeding year taxes receivable 34,748,203 - 34,748,203 -
Long-term loans receivable 1,233 - 1,233 -
Long-term special assessments receivable 818,277 - 818,277 -
Other assets - 14,383,418 14,383,418 -
Net pension asset 13,874 10,272 24,146
Lease receivable 464,131 2,774,839 3,238,970
Non-depreciable assets 48,092,707 54,248,098 102,340,805 -
Depreciable assets, net of accumulated
depreciation & amortization 166,390,733 445,744,435 612,135,168 -
Restricted non-current assets:
Long-term investments - 370,730,002 370,730,002 -
Total non-current assets 250,529,158 910,991,375 1,161,520,533 15,018,241
Total assets 354,336,871 1,106,767,636 1,461,104,507 16,933,582
DEFERRED OUTFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred charge on refunding - 4,521,541 4,521,541 -
Deferred outflows related to OPEB 492,258 619,651 1,111,909 -
Deferred outflows related to pensions 5,194,162 16,670,584 21,864,746 -
Total deferred outflows of resources 5,686,420 21,811,776 27,498,196 -
Primary Government
430
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF NET POSITION (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
27
Governmental Business-Type Component
Activities Activities Total Unit
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable 4,894,617 16,727,654 21,622,271 459,235
Accrued payroll 291,126 8,933,264 9,224,390 -
Accrued compensated absences 137,131 657,392 794,523 -
Accrued interest payable 190,455 261,929 452,384 -
Retainage payable 1,009,644 1,491,763 2,501,407 -
Customer deposits 602,588 1,028,426 1,631,014 -
Intergovernmental payable 196,129 315,622 511,751 -
Claims payable 418,892 2,059,959 2,478,851 -
Loans payable - 3,910,094 3,910,094 -
Accrued other - 1,638,223 1,638,223
Lease liabilities 5,747 563,915 569,662
Subscription based IT asset liabilities 198,614 390,921 589,535
Bonds payable, net 9,251,134 8,232,533 17,483,667 -
Unearned revenue 1,260,420 1,850,782 3,111,202 -
Accrued landfill post-closure costs - 15,432 15,432 -
Total current liabilities 18,456,497 48,077,909 66,534,406 459,235
Non-current liabilities:
Accrued compensated absences 2,499,207 8,282,090 10,781,297 -
Accrued other post-employment benefits 1,644,657 5,305,513 6,950,170 -
Net pension liability 21,582,923 42,314,300 63,897,223 -
Loans payable - 56,966,079 56,966,079 -
Bonds payable, net 59,431,085 89,006,815 148,437,900 -
Lease liablities 10,519 639,832 650,351
Subscription based IT asset liabilities 385,417 555,751 941,168
Accrued landfill post-closure costs - 68,152 68,152 -
Total non-current liabilities 85,553,808 203,138,532 288,692,340 -
Total liabilities 104,010,305 251,216,441 355,226,746 459,235
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Succeeding year property taxes 34,748,203 - 34,748,203 -
Deferred charge on refunding 420,727 9,736 430,463 -
Deferred inflows related to leases 430,245 3,589,023 4,019,268
Deferred inflows related to OPEB 218,062 810,788 1,028,850 -
Deferred inflows related to pensions 1,463,699 6,889,246 8,352,945 -
Total deferred inflows of resources 37,280,936 11,298,793 48,579,729 -
NET POSITION
Net investment in capital assets 164,358,181 344,255,162 508,613,343 -
Restricted:
Expendable for:
Debt service 4,118,203 2,684,262 6,802,465 -
Capital projects 14,699,123 - 14,699,123 -
Public safety 405,756 - 405,756 -
Employee benefits 81,326 10,272 91,598 -
Library services 411,666 - 411,666 -
Aquatic center 95,768 - 95,768 -
Community welfare 4,820 - 4,820 -
Housing services 8,150 - 8,150 -
Economic development 1,662,216 - 1,662,216 -
Community betterment 9,779,014 - 9,779,014 -
Mary Greeley Medical Center - - - 11,327,848
Non-expendable for:
Perpetual care 1,084,809 - 1,084,809 -
Aquatic center 1,000,000 - 1,000,000 -
Bliss Cancer Endowment Fund - - - 253,390
Unrestricted 21,023,018 519,114,482 540,137,500 4,893,109
Total net position 218,732,050$ 866,064,178$ 1,084,796,228$ 16,474,347$
Primary Government
431
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
28
Operating Capital
Charges for Grants and Grants and Governmental Business-type Component
Functions / Programs:Expenses Services Contributions Contributions Activities Activities Total Unit
Primary government:
Governmental activities:
General government 4,195,286$ 163,714$ 52,013$ -$ (3,979,559)$ -$ (3,979,559)$ -$
Public safety 19,606,339 3,835,808 262,325 - (15,508,206) - (15,508,206) -
Public works 23,486,400 62,722 9,021,094 6,698,533 (7,704,051) - (7,704,051) -
Health and social services 1,688,515 - 23,732 - (1,664,783) - (1,664,783) -
Culture and recreation 11,819,080 1,838,259 567,245 - (9,413,576) - (9,413,576) -
Community and economic development 4,364,534 18,425 3,556,681 - (789,428) - (789,428) -
Interest 1,287,664 - - - (1,287,664) - (1,287,664) -
Total governmental activities 66,447,818 5,918,928 13,483,090 6,698,533 (40,347,267) (40,347,267) -
Business-type activities:
Mary Greeley Medical Center 232,168,581 228,820,061 - 337,004 - (3,011,516) (3,011,516) -
Electric 66,344,987 69,947,197 36,789 - - 3,638,999 3,638,999 -
Sewer 8,938,924 10,008,845 245,614 2,462,697 - 3,778,232 3,778,232 -
Water 12,296,648 13,679,655 19,662 3,171,433 - 4,574,102 4,574,102 -
Airport 682,709 196,590 118,310 167,366 - (200,443) (200,443) -
Parking 825,546 787,312 - - - (38,234) (38,234) -
Transit 15,344,049 7,559,823 6,812,992 6,570,005 - 5,598,771 5,598,771 -
Stormwater 1,397,657 1,966,491 - 1,261,988 - 1,830,822 1,830,822 -
Ice arena 596,755 548,860 - 40,000 - (7,895) (7,895) -
Golf course 281,547 450,887 - - - 169,340 169,340 -
Resource recovery 5,209,331 4,291,005 - - - (918,326) (918,326) -
Total business-type activities 344,086,734 338,256,726 7,233,367 14,010,493 - 15,413,852 15,413,852 -
Total primary government 410,534,552$ 344,175,654$ 20,716,457$ 20,709,026$ (40,347,267) 15,413,852 (24,933,415) -
Component unit:
Mary Greeley Medical Center Foundation 2,489,641$ -$ 2,891,425$ -$ 401,784
General revenues:
Property taxes 35,258,374 - 35,258,374 -
Sales taxes 11,513,149 - 11,513,149 -
Hotel/motel taxes 2,878,390 - 2,878,390 -
Unrestricted grants and contributions 5,203 - 5,203 -
Investment income 2,068,855 22,739,276 24,808,131 925,516
Other income 4,347,957 4,364,976 8,712,933 -
Gain on disposal of capital assets 43,087 (110,078) (66,991) -
Transfers (409,629) 409,629 - -
Total general revenues and transfers 55,705,386 27,403,803 83,109,189 925,516
Change in net position 15,358,119 42,817,655 58,175,774 1,327,300
Net position, beginning 203,373,931 823,246,523 1,026,620,454 15,147,047
Net position, ending 218,732,050$ 866,064,178$ 1,084,796,228$ 16,474,347$
Primary Government
Program Revenues Net (Expense) Revenue and Changes in Net Position
432
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
BALANCE SHEET
GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
29
Total Total
Capital Debt Nonmajor Governmental
General Projects Service Funds Funds
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents 2,419,866$ 2,619,444$ 361,928$ 7,621,713$ 13,022,951$
Investments 12,281,642 21,515,276 1,926,082 29,318,506 65,041,506
Taxes receivable 54,632 - 27,476 5,750 87,858
Special assessments receivable - 238,101 - - 238,101
Accrued interest receivable 126,418 76,684 20,935 10,373 234,410
Accounts receivable, net 269,957 16,500 - 267,089 553,546
Intergovernmental receivable 1,297,124 4,437,730 16,319 1,704,050 7,455,223
Loans receivable - current - - - 904 904
Lease receivable - current 3,080 - - - 3,080
Due from other funds 1,838,599 - - 1,663,988 3,502,587
Inventories 13,831 - - 933,831 947,662
Prepaid items 201,574 - - 25,234 226,808
Succeeding year taxes receivable 23,628,352 - 11,119,851 - 34,748,203
Lease receivables - long term 464,131 - - - 464,131
Long-term loans receivable - - - 1,233 1,233
Long-term special assessments receivable - 818,277 - - 818,277
Total assets 42,599,206$ 29,722,012$ 13,472,591$ 41,552,671$ 127,346,480$
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable 772,114$ 1,986,431$ -$ 1,646,925$ 4,405,470$
Accrued payroll 150,626 14,337 - 108,395 273,358
Retainage payable 82,108 409,970 - 517,566 1,009,644
Customer deposits 26,034 - - 576,554 602,588
Intergovernmental payable 101,753 - - 22,780 124,533
Due to other funds 1,047,072 371,129 - 1,175,764 2,593,965
Unearned revenue - - - 1,260,420 1,260,420
Total liabilities 2,179,707 2,781,867 - 5,308,404 10,269,978
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Unavailable revenue:
Property taxes 23,628,352 - 11,119,851 - 34,748,203
Special assessments - 1,056,378 - - 1,056,378
Charges for services 14,443 - - - 14,443
Leases 430,245 - - - 430,245
Licenses and permits 6,644 - - - 6,644
Grants - 1,745,196 - 243,616 1,988,812
Total deferred inflows of resources 24,079,684 2,801,574 11,119,851 243,616 38,244,725
FUND BALANCES
Non-spendable 215,405 - - 3,043,874 3,259,279
Restricted - 24,815,784 2,352,740 23,240,901 50,409,425
Committed - 1,361,589 - 9,715,876 11,077,465
Assigned 1,822,619 - - - 1,822,619
Unassigned 14,301,791 (2,038,802) - - 12,262,989
Total fund balances 16,339,815 24,138,571 2,352,740 36,000,651 78,831,777
Total liabilities, deferred inflows of
resources, and fund balances 42,599,206$ 29,722,012$ 13,472,591$ 41,552,671$ 127,346,480$
433
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
RECONCILIATION OF THE BALANCE SHEET OF GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
TO THE STATEMENT OF NET POSITION
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
30
Amounts reported for governmental activities in the statement of net position (pages 26-27) are different because:
Fund balance - total governmental funds (page 29)78,831,777$
Capital assets used in governmental activities are not financial resources
and, therefore, are not reported in the funds.205,012,059
Revenues not collected within 60 days of the end of the fiscal year are
not available to pay for current period expenditures and, therefore, are
unavailable.
Special assessments 1,056,378
Other revenues 2,009,899
Pension-related deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of
resources are not due and payable in the current year and, therefore,
are not reported in the governmental funds.
Deferred outflows of resources 4,996,030
Deferred inflows of resources (1,396,857)
OPEB-related deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of
resources are not due and payable in the current year and, therefore,
are not reported in the governmental funds.
Deferred outflows of resources 451,960
Deferred inflows of resources (199,927)
Internal service funds are used by management to charge the costs of
fleet management, information services, risk management, and health
insurance to individual funds. The assets and liabilities of internal
service funds are split between the governmental and business-type
activities in the statement of net position.22,412,165
Long-term liabilities, including bonds payable, are not due and payable in
the current period and, therefore, are not reported in the funds.
General obligation bonds payable (62,503,725)
Interest payable on general obligation bonds (190,455)
Deferred charges on general obligation bonds refunded (420,727)
Unamortized premiums on the issuance of general obligation bonds (6,178,494)
Lease liabilites on lease assets (16,266)
Subscription liabilites on subscription assets (251,044)
Accrued compensated absences (2,483,128)
Total other post-employment benefits payable (1,508,821)
Net pension liability (20,888,774)
Net position of governmental activities 218,732,050$
434
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES
GOVERNMENT FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
31
Total Total
Capital Debt Nonmajor Governmental
General Projects Service Funds Funds
REVENUES
Taxes 21,051,915$ -$ 10,761,609$ 17,836,389$ 49,649,913$
Special assessments - 239,370 - - 239,370
Licenses and permits 1,473,446 - - - 1,473,446
Intergovernmental 528,886 6,669,153 52,013 13,341,808 20,591,860
Charges for services 4,302,925 - - 17,412 4,320,337
Fines and forfeitures 34,741 - - - 34,741
Investment income 713,058 727,837 128,875 63,084 1,632,854
Interest revenue 23,424 - - - 23,424
Miscellaneous 293,064 3,999,687 - 55,210 4,347,961
Total revenues 28,421,459 11,636,047 10,942,497 31,313,903 82,313,906
EXPENDITURES
Current:
General government 3,169,431 107,077 - 786,028 4,062,536
Public safety 20,517,001 - - 192,710 20,709,711
Public works 1,062,724 - - 7,046,525 8,109,249
Health and social services 1,412 - - 1,687,110 1,688,522
Culture and recreation 8,988,846 - - 691,900 9,680,746
Community and economic development 1,053,629 - - 3,344,141 4,397,770
Debt service:
Principal - - 9,217,861 - 9,217,861
Interest and fiscal charges - - 2,376,328 - 2,376,328
Capital outlay 546,621 23,010,226 - 6,847,263 30,404,110
Total expenditures 35,339,664 23,117,303 11,594,189 20,595,677 90,646,833
Excess (deficiency) of revenues
over (under) expenditures (6,918,205) (11,481,256) (651,692) 10,718,226 (8,332,927)
OTHER FINANCING SOURCES (USES)
Transfers in 11,801,827 425,000 913,893 166,615 13,307,335
Transfers out (2,977,205) (584,783) - (10,154,976) (13,716,964)
General obligation bonds issued - 12,440,000 - - 12,440,000
Premium on general obligation bonds - 827,311 - - 827,311
Subscription financing 103,821 - - 192,189 296,010
Total other financing sources (uses)8,928,443 13,107,528 913,893 (9,796,172) 13,153,692
Net change in fund balances 2,010,238 1,626,272 262,201 922,054 4,820,765
Fund balances, beginning 14,329,577 22,512,299 2,090,539 35,078,597 74,011,012
Fund balances, ending 16,339,815$ 24,138,571$ 2,352,740$ 36,000,651$ 78,831,777$
435
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
RECONCILIATION OF THE STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND CHANGES IN
FUND BALANCES OF GOVERNMENT FUNDS TO THE STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
32
Amounts reported for governmental activities in the statement of activities (page 28) are different because:
Net changes in fund balances - total governmental funds (page 31)4,820,765$
Revenues in the statement of activities that do not provide current financial
resources are not reported as revenues in the funds.
Special assessments (209,239)
Other revenues (942,544)
Contributed capital assets do not provide current financial resources.597,779
Governmental funds report capital outlays as expenditures. However, in the
statement of activities, the cost of these assets is allocated over their estimated
useful lives and reported as depreciation expense.
Capital outlay 23,066,883
Disposals (51,919)
Depreciation expense (11,463,921)
The issuance of long-term debt (e.g., bonds, leases) provides current financial
resources to governmental funds, while the repayment of the principal of long-term
debt consumes the current financial resources of governmental funds. Neither
transaction, however, has any effect on net position. Also, governmental funds
report the effect of premiums, discounts, and similar items when debt is first
issued, whereas these amounts are amortized in the statement of activities.
This amount is the net effect of these differences in the treatment of long-term debt
and related items.
Current year premium on issuance of bonds (827,311)
Amortization of bond premiums 1,059,906
Amortization of deferred charges on refunding debt 47,834
Proceeds from issuance of bonds (12,440,000)
Principal payments 9,217,861
Interest payments (19,076)
The change in deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources is
not recorded in the governmental funds.16,538,945
Some expenses reported in the statement of activities do not require the use of current
financial resources and, therefore, are not reported as expenditures in governmental
funds.
Increase in accrued compensated absences (105,498)
Increase in accrued other post-employment benefits (33,483)
Increase in net pension liability (14,344,393)
The internal service funds are used by management to charge the costs of fleet
management, information services, risk management, and health insurance to
individual funds. The net revenue of certain activities of internal service funds
is reported with both governmental and business-type activities.445,530
Changes in net position of governmental activities 15,358,119$
436
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF FUND NET POSITION
PROPRIETARY FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
33
Governmental
Activities
Mary Greeley Other Internal
Medical Enterprise Service
Center Electric Sewer Water Funds Totals Funds
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 8,558,636$ -$ 3,577,854$ 3,045,874$ 7,096,764$ 22,279,128$ 5,468,565$
Investments - 32,915,752 15,833,813 14,420,717 28,071,335 91,241,617 22,607,602
Accrued interest receivable - 295,462 57,202 55,492 92,512 500,668 80,286
Accounts receivable, net 31,924,717 8,110,114 1,121,396 2,134,813 526,909 43,817,949 317,795
Lease receivable 865,352 - - 44,978 62,676 973,006 -
Due from other funds - 133,719 456,240 201,977 265,660 1,057,596 494,325
Intergovernmental receivable - 419,952 367,263 1,230,343 4,030,070 6,047,628 59,165
Inventories 5,062,949 5,673,548 - 515,262 399,494 11,651,253 130,819
Prepaid items 3,712,852 153,284 - 25,056 20,990 3,912,182 -
Restricted current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents - 1,030,401 91,523 330,858 - 1,452,782 -
Investments 1,208,976 - - - - 1,208,976 -
Interest receivable 22,504 - - - - 22,504 -
Total current assets 51,355,986 48,732,232 21,505,291 22,005,370 40,566,410 184,165,289 29,158,557
Non-current assets:
Investments - 23,100,311 - - - 23,100,311 -
Other assets 14,383,418 - - - - 14,383,418 -
Net pension asset - - - - 10,272 10,272 13,874
Lease receivable 994,069 - - 509,765 1,271,005 2,774,839 -
Capital assets:
Land 4,470,719 2,223,783 3,862,800 2,678,902 3,794,315 17,030,519 -
Land improvements 1,629,806 - - - 20,239,741 21,869,547 192,433
Plant and distribution systems - 232,762,602 105,139,095 132,563,728 - 470,465,425 -
Buildings 254,657,452 - - - 44,912,952 299,570,404 1,148,632
Equipment 121,272,263 - - - 48,437,562 169,709,825 21,871,946
Leased equipment 2,388,224 - - - 36,701 2,424,925 -
Subscription based IT assets 1,493,384 340,794 7,892 27,968 16,975 1,887,013 501,230
Construction in progress 17,814,301 2,322,770 6,059,117 4,219,111 6,802,280 37,217,579 -
Less acc. depreciation/amortization (221,727,707) (140,718,978) (61,468,195) (30,893,305) (65,374,519) (520,182,704) (14,242,860)
Restricted non-current assets:
Investments 370,730,002 - - - - 370,730,002 -
Total non-current assets 568,105,931 120,031,282 53,600,709 109,106,169 60,147,284 910,991,375 9,485,255
Total assets 619,461,917 168,763,514 75,106,000 131,111,539 100,713,694 1,095,156,664 38,643,812
DEFERRED OUTFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred charge on refunding 4,521,541 - - - - 4,521,541 -
Deferred outflows related to OPEB 219,431 167,438 42,808 52,200 136,589 618,466 41,483
Deferred outflows related to pensions 14,686,704 421,432 152,908 118,492 1,275,117 16,654,653 214,063
19,427,676 588,870 195,716 170,692 1,411,706 21,794,660 255,546
Business-Type Activities
437
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF FUND NET POSITION (continued)
PROPRIETARY FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
34
Governmental
Activities
Mary Greeley Other Internal
Medical Enterprise Service
Center Electric Sewer Water Funds Totals Funds
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable 7,870,162 5,168,336 575,839 1,009,989 2,080,603 16,704,929 511,872
Accrued payroll 8,496,488 151,921 8,347 38,684 237,824 8,933,264 17,768
Accrued compensated absences 572,074 32,416 6,982 11,991 33,147 656,610 9,044
Due to other funds - 1,012,851 520,354 459,014 335,705 2,327,924 132,619
Claims payable 777,201 - - - - 777,201 1,701,650
Retainage payable 1,036,209 200,189 14,919 220,327 20,119 1,491,763 -
Customer deposits - 1,028,426 - - - 1,028,426 -
Accrued interest 125,263 23,865 31,256 79,016 2,529 261,929 -
Loans payable 95,082 - 775,207 3,039,805 - 3,910,094 -
Intergovernmental payable - 127,018 9,620 62,699 116,285 315,622 71,596
Accrued landfill post-closure costs - - - - 15,432 15,432 -
Accrued other 1,638,223 - - - - 1,638,223 -
Lease liabilities 551,374 - - - 12,541 563,915 -
Subscription based IT asset liabilities 292,221 84,909 3,886 4,335 5,570 390,921 159,370
Bonds payable, net 6,597,236 956,998 362,319 118,050 197,930 8,232,533 -
Unearned revenue - - 1,840,143 - 10,639 1,850,782 -
Total current liabilities 28,051,533 8,786,929 4,148,872 5,043,910 3,068,324 49,099,568 2,603,919
Non-current liabilities:
Accrued compensated absences 6,737,673 562,095 128,893 221,595 622,767 8,273,023 154,015
Accrued other post-employment benefits 3,989,678 554,082 145,706 172,716 439,874 5,302,056 139,293
Net pension liability 35,430,939 1,255,925 537,653 383,714 4,669,240 42,277,471 730,978
Loans payable - - 13,490,000 43,476,079 - 56,966,079 -
Accrued landfill post-closure costs - - - - 68,152 68,152 -
Lease liabilities 633,391 - - - 6,441 639,832 -
Subscription based IT asset liabilities 363,179 165,302 - 18,633 8,637 555,751 173,617
Bonds payable, net 83,840,583 3,072,893 1,096,180 270,956 726,203 89,006,815 -
Total non-current liabilities 130,995,443 5,610,297 15,398,432 44,543,693 6,541,314 203,089,179 1,197,903
Total liabilities 159,046,976 14,397,226 19,547,304 49,587,603 9,609,638 252,188,747 3,801,822
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred charge on refunding - - - - 9,736 9,736 -
Deferred inflows related to leases 1,723,801 - - 524,968 1,340,254 3,589,023 -
Deferred inflows related to OPEB 637,089 73,476 19,455 22,933 57,404 810,357 18,566
Deferred inflows related to pensions 5,995,605 280,065 80,462 57,047 445,961 6,859,140 96,948
8,356,495 353,541 99,917 604,948 1,853,355 11,268,256 115,514
NET POSITION
Net investment in capital assets 94,153,945 92,650,869 37,873,117 61,668,546 57,908,685 344,255,162 9,471,381
Restricted for debt service 1,231,480 1,030,401 91,523 330,858 - 2,684,262 -
Restricted - - - - 10,272 10,272 13,874
Unrestricted 376,100,697 60,920,347 17,689,855 19,090,276 32,743,450 506,544,625 25,496,767
Total net position 471,486,122$ 154,601,617$ 55,654,495$ 81,089,680$ 90,662,407$ 853,494,321 34,982,022$
Adjustment to report the cumulative internal balance for the net effect of the activity between the internal
service funds and the enterprise funds over time 12,569,857
Net position of business-type activities 866,064,178$
Business-Type Activities
438
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENSES, AND CHANGES IN FUND NET POSITION
PROPRIETARY FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
35
Governmental
Activities
Mary Greeley Other Internal
Medical Enterprise Service
Center Electric Sewer Water Funds Totals Funds
Operating revenues:
Charges for services 228,820,061$ 69,947,197$ 10,008,845$ 13,679,655$ 15,800,968$ 338,256,726$ 22,923,389$
Operating expenses:
Cost of goods and services 175,198,312 57,928,977 6,578,066 8,221,218 17,227,463 265,154,036 21,248,400
Administration 35,880,570 2,506,610 385,571 446,751 2,789,388 42,008,890 -
Depreciation 17,140,759 5,816,940 1,794,796 2,662,816 4,346,577 31,761,888 1,648,251
Total operating expenses 228,219,641 66,252,527 8,758,433 11,330,785 24,363,428 338,924,814 22,896,651
Operating income (loss)600,420 3,694,670 1,250,412 2,348,870 (8,562,460) (668,088) 26,738
Non-operating revenues (expenses):
Intergovernmental - - 234,628 - 6,907,356 7,141,984 -
Reimbursements - 36,789 10,986 19,662 23,946 91,383 -
Investment revenue (expense)20,579,835 1,061,250 259,784 332,475 505,932 22,739,276 436,001
Interest expense (3,948,940) (62,834) (194,404) (975,929) (16,685) (5,198,792) -
Gain (loss) on disposal of capital assets (108,792) 9,414 (4,000) - (6,700) (110,078) 19,663
Miscellaneous - 2,716,668 766,796 831,593 49,919 4,364,976 -
Total non-operating revenues (expenses)16,522,103 3,761,287 1,073,790 207,801 7,463,768 29,028,749 455,664
Income (loss) before capital
contributions and transfers 17,122,523 7,455,957 2,324,202 2,556,671 (1,098,692) 28,360,661 482,402
Capital contributions 337,004 - 2,462,697 3,171,433 8,039,359 14,010,493 -
Transfers in - - - - 2,747,694 2,747,694 -
Transfers out - (2,338,065) - - - (2,338,065) -
Change in net position 17,459,527 5,117,892 4,786,899 5,728,104 9,688,361 42,780,783 482,402
Net position, beginning 454,026,595 149,483,725 50,867,596 75,361,576 80,974,046 34,499,620
Net position, ending 471,486,122$ 154,601,617$ 55,654,495$ 81,089,680$ 90,662,407$ 34,982,022$
Adjustment for the net effect of the current year activity between the internal service
funds and the enterprise funds 36,872
Change in net position of business-type activities 42,817,655$
Business-Type Activities
439
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
PROPRIETARY FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
36
Governmental
Activities
Mary Greeley Other Internal
Medical Enterprise Service
Center Electric Sewer Water Funds Totals Funds
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Receipts from customers 226,877,022$ 70,723,263$ 10,753,525$ 12,087,861$ 18,256,008$ 338,697,679$ 23,100,644$
Other receipts 1,644,852 2,753,556 986,770 834,482 73,865 6,293,525 -
Payments to suppliers (96,689,636) (48,179,525) (2,963,657) (3,405,073) (5,505,699) (156,743,590) (18,248,645)
Payments to employees (120,463,525) (11,210,144) (2,248,855) (3,387,210) (12,279,430) (149,589,164) (2,337,177)
Payments to other funds for services provided - (2,281,904) (1,950,812) (1,048,348) (2,622,865) (7,903,929) (847,799)
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities 11,368,713 11,805,246 4,576,971 5,081,712 (2,078,121) 30,754,521 1,667,023
CASH FLOW FROM NON-CAPITAL FINANCING
ACTIVITIES
Operating grants - - (156,417) - 6,907,356 6,750,939 -
Interest revenue - - - 16,773 - 16,773 -
Transfers in - - - - 2,747,694 2,747,694 -
Transfers out - (2,338,065) - - - (2,338,065) -
Net cash provided by non-capital
financing activities - (2,338,065) (156,417) 16,773 9,655,050 7,177,341 -
CASH FLOWS FROM CAPITAL AND RELATED
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Acquisition and construction of capital assets (15,636,284) (3,059,420) (1,134,114) (3,080,781) (7,390,754) (30,301,353) (718,903)
Capital grants - - 182,057 - - 182,057 -
Proceeds from the sale of capital assets - 17,365 - - - 17,365 3,359
Proceeds from the issuance of bonds - (2,637) - - - (2,637) -
Principal paid on capital debt (7,036,831) (847,400) (323,756) (106,657) (174,326) (8,488,970) -
Interest paid on capital debt (3,290,150) (135,927) (66,887) (22,303) (38,020) (3,553,287) -
Proceeds from loans - - 7,652,207 2,165,884 - 9,818,091 -
Principal paid on loans - - (443,000) (2,927,000) - (3,370,000) -
Interest paid on loans - - (138,584) (963,156) - (1,101,740) -
Interest paid on leases - - (2) - (934) (936) -
Capital contributions 337,004 - 156,417 - 7,976,809 8,470,230 -
Net cash provided by (used for) capital and related
financing activities (25,626,261) (4,028,019) 5,884,338 (4,934,013) 372,775 (28,331,180) (715,544)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of investments (90,811,133) (29,963,077) (14,448,177) (1,399,700) (12,101,243) (148,723,330) (16,332,568)
Proceeds from sale of investments 93,756,681 23,912,963 5,639,124 546,303 4,723,116 128,578,187 14,533,880
Other liabilities (10,018,102) - - - - (10,018,102) -
Interest on investments 11,099,720 610,807 211,881 295,478 440,841 12,658,727 383,219
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities 4,027,166 (5,439,307) (8,597,172) (557,919) (6,937,286) (17,504,518) (1,415,469)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (10,230,382) (145) 1,707,720 (393,447) 1,012,418 (7,903,836) (463,990)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning 18,789,018 - 1,916,562 3,459,467 6,084,346 30,249,393 5,932,555
Cash and cash equivalents, ending 8,558,636 (145) 3,624,282 3,066,020 7,096,764 22,345,557 5,468,565
Plus: beginning amount reported in restricted assets - 1,030,546 45,095 310,712 - 1,386,353 -
Less: ending amount reported in restricted assets - 1,030,401 91,523 330,858 - 1,452,782 -
Cash and cash equivalents, ending - statement of net position 8,558,636$ -$ 3,577,854$ 3,045,874$ 7,096,764$ 22,279,128$ 5,468,565$
Business-Type Activities
440
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (continued)
PROPRIETARY FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
37
Governmental
Activities
Mary Greeley Other Internal
Medical Enterprise Service
Center Electric Sewer Water Funds Totals Funds
Reconciliation of operating income (loss) to net
cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Operating income (loss)600,420$ 3,694,670$ 1,250,412$ 2,348,870$ (8,562,460)$ (668,088)$ 26,738$
Adjustments to reconcile operating income (loss) to net
cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation expense 17,140,759 5,816,940 1,794,796 2,662,816 4,346,577 31,761,888 1,648,251
(Increase) decrease in accounts receivable 1,677,561 (115,177) (123,701) (719,063) 82,047 801,667 (153,693)
(Increase) decrease in lease receivable 227,885 - - 36,446 (1,296,226) (1,031,895) -
(Increase) decrease in due from other funds - 6,796 (406,806) (71,486) 472,206 710 359,320
(Increase) decrease in intergovernmental receivable - 823,738 932,211 (655,313) 1,894,458 2,995,094 (28,372)
(Increase) in inventories (364,388) (1,529,166) - (153,045) (34,256) (2,080,855) (2,861)
(Increase) decrease in prepaid items 548,606 (126,542) - (23,909) (2,740) 395,415 35,337
(Increase) decrease in deferred outflows of resources (3,827,129) 8,435 1,512 2,194 3,804 (3,811,184) (14,469)
Increase in accounts payable 402,817 928,930 53 837,045 1,111,841 3,280,686 193,742
Increase (decrease) in accrued payroll 242,526 (13,881) (2,317) 4,621 21,614 252,563 508
Increase (decrease) in accrued compensated absences - (6,088) 15,230 13,554 8,779 31,475 24,899
Increase (decrease) in due to other funds - 564,893 230,537 200,205 (571,093) 424,542 1,867
Increase (decrease) in other long term liabilities 92,353 - - - - 92,353 (315,600)
Increase (decrease) in retainage payable - (665,666) (351,059) 133,886 (218,962) (1,101,801) -
Increase in customer deposits - 78,074 - - - 78,074 -
Change in estimated net settlements due to third-party payors (995,020) - - - - (995,020) -
Increase (decrease) in intergovernmental payable - 25,272 2,464 8,062 93,771 129,569 (13,675)
Change in accrued landfill post-closure costs - - - - 1,008 1,008 -
Increase in unearned revenue - - 342,976 (182,378) 2,168 162,766 -
Increase in post-employment benefits 6,234 12,425 2,480 3,724 14,347 39,210 2,644
Increase in pension liability 35,785,967 2,065,903 450,856 693,998 3,755,026 42,751,750 519,356
Change in non-operating revenue - 2,753,556 986,770 834,482 73,865 4,648,673
Change in deferred inflows of resources (40,169,877) (2,517,866) (549,443) (892,997) (3,273,895) (47,404,078) (616,970)
Total adjustments 10,768,294 8,110,576 3,326,559 2,732,842 6,484,339 31,422,610 1,640,284
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities 11,368,713$ 11,805,246$ 4,576,971$ 5,081,712$ (2,078,121)$ 30,754,521$ 1,667,023$
Schedule of non-cash capital and related financing activities:
Capital asset contributions -$ -$ 2,306,280$ 3,171,433$ 62,550$ 5,540,263$ -$
Business-Type Activities
441
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF FIDUCIARY NET POSITION
FIDUCIARY FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
38
Custodial Fund
City
Assessor
ASSETS
Current assets:
Intergovernmental receivable 1,756$
Total current assets 1,756
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accrued payroll 1,636
Intergovernmental payable 120
Total current liabilities 1,756
NET POSITION
Restricted for:
Pensions -
Postemployment benefits other than pensions
Individuals and organizations -
Restricted for debt service -
Unrestricted -
Total net position -
-$
442
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN FIDUCIARY NET POSITION
FIDUCIARY FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The notes to the financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
39
Custodial Fund
City
Assessor
Additions
Contributions:
Private contributions 681,554
Total contributions 681,554
Total additions 681,554
Deductions
Benefits 165,413
Payroll 515,987
Recruitment 154
Total deductions 681,554
Net increase (decrease) in fiduciary net position -
Net position - beginning -
Net position - ending -$
443
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT
JUNE 30, 2023
40
NOTE 1 - Summary of significant accounting policies
1.1 Description of government-wide financial statements
The government-wide financial statements (i.e., the statement of net position and the statement of
activities) report information on all of the activities of the primary government and its component
unit. Governmental activities, which normally are supported by taxes, intergovernmental revenues,
and other non-exchange transactions, are reported separately from business-type activities, which
rely to a significant extent on fees and charges to external customers for support. Likewise, the
primary government is reported separately from certain legally separate component units for which
the primary government is financially accountable. The one fiduciary fund is excluded from the
government-wide financial statements.
1.2 Reporting entity
The City of Ames, Iowa (City) was incorporated in 1864 under the laws of the State of Iowa, later
amended in July 1975 under the Home Rule City Act. The City is a municipal corporation
governed by an elected mayor and six-member governing council. The accompanying financial
statements present the government and its component units, for which the City is considered
financially accountable. Blended component units are, in substance, part of the primary
government's operations, even though they are legally separate entities. Thus, blended component
units are appropriately presented as funds of the primary government. Each discretely presented
component unit is reported in a separate column in the government-wide financial statements to
emphasize that it is legally separate from the government.
Blended component unit. The City is the sole owner of a non-profit, municipal hospital, Mary
Greeley Medical Center (hospital). A separately elected board of trustees governs the hospital's
daily operations. The powers of the trustees are established by City ordinance, which limits both
the separate legal standing and fiscal independence of the hospital. The hospital is reported as a
blended component unit (an enterprise fund) under Governmental Accounting Standards Board
(GASB) Statement No. 80, Blending Requirements for Certain Component Units. Financial
statements for the hospital are available at Mary Greeley Medical Center, 1111 Duff Avenue,
Ames, Iowa, 50010.
Discretely presented component unit. The Mary Greeley Medical Center Foundation (foundation)
is a legally separate component unit of the hospital. A majority of resources, and income thereon,
which the foundation holds and invests, are restricted to the activities of the hospital by the donors.
The foundation’s financial statements are available at Mary Greeley Medical Center, 1111 Duff
Avenue, Ames, Iowa, 50010.
444
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
41
1.3 Basis of presentation - government-wide financial statements
While separate government-wide and fund financial statements are presented, they are interrelated.
The governmental activities column incorporates data from governmental funds and certain
internal service funds, while business-type activities incorporate data from the government's
enterprise funds and the remaining portion of the internal service funds. Separate financial
statements are provided for governmental funds and proprietary funds.
As discussed earlier, the City has one discretely presented component unit. While it is not
considered a major component unit, it is nevertheless shown in a separate column in the
government-wide financial statements.
Generally, the effect of inter-fund activity has been eliminated from the government-wide financial
statements. Exceptions to this general rule are payments in lieu of taxes where the amounts are
reasonably equivalent in value to the inter-fund services provided and other charges between the
business-type functions and various other functions of the City. Elimination of these charges would
distort the direct costs and program revenues reported for the various functions concerned.
1.4 Basis of presentation - fund financial statements
The fund financial statements provide information about the government's funds. Separate
statements for each fund category – governmental and proprietary are presented. The emphasis of
fund financial statements is on major governmental and enterprise funds, each displayed in a
separate column. All remaining governmental and enterprise funds are aggregated and reported as
non-major funds. Major individual governmental and enterprise funds are reported as separate
columns in the fund financial statements.
The City reports the following major governmental funds:
The General Fund, the City's primary operating fund, accounts for all financial resources
of the general government, except those accounted for in another fund.
The Capital Projects Fund accounts for the acquisition and construction of the City's
capital facilities, other than those financed by proprietary funds.
The Debt Service Fund is used to account for the accumulation of resources that are
restricted, committed, or assigned for the payment of principal and interest on long-term
obligations of governmental funds.
The City reports the following major enterprise funds:
The Mary Greeley Medical Center Fund accounts for the operation of a municipally
owned, full-service medical care hospital.
445
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
42
The Electric Fund accounts for the operation of a municipally owned electric plant, which
generates and distributes electrical power to residents of the City and some contiguous
areas.
The Sewer Fund accounts for the activities related to the operation of a sanitary distribution
system and the sewer treatment plant.
The Water Fund accounts for the operation of the City-owned water plant, which provides
water services to residents of the City and some contiguous areas.
The City reports the following fiduciary fund:
The City Assessor accounts for the funds used to hold assets that will benefit the City
Assessor. These resources are not owned by the City and cannot be used to support any of
its programs. The City holds these assets until it is determined how and where these
resources should be appropriated/redistributed. These funds are not included in the
government-wide statements because the assets are not owned by the City.
Additionally, the City reports the following fund types:
Internal service funds account for the fleet services, information services, risk
management, printing services, messenger services, and health insurance for City
employees. These services are provided to other departments and agencies of the City on a
cost-reimbursement basis.
During the course of operations, the government has activity between funds for various purposes.
Any residual balances outstanding at year-end are reported as due from/to other funds. While these
balances are reported in the fund financial statements, certain eliminations are made in the
preparation of the government-wide financial statements. Balances between the funds included in
governmental activities (i.e., the governmental and some internal service funds) are eliminated so
that only the net amount is included as internal balances in the governmental activity’s column.
Similarly, balances between the funds included in business-type activities (i.e., the enterprise funds
and some internal service funds) are eliminated so that only the net amount is included as internal
balances in the business-type activities column.
Further, certain activity occurs during the year involving transfers of resources between funds. In
the fund financial statements, these amounts are reported at gross amounts as transfers in/out.
While reported in the fund financial statements, certain eliminations are made in the preparation
of the government-wide financial statements. Transfers between the funds included in
governmental activities are eliminated so that only the net amount is included as a transfer in the
governmental activity’s column. Similarly, balances between the funds included in business-type
activities are eliminated so that only the net amount is included as a transfer in the business-type
activities column.
446
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
43
1.5 Measurement focus and basis of accounting
The accounting and financial reporting treatment is determined by the applicable measurement
focus and basis of accounting. Measurement focus indicates the type of resources being measured
such as current financial resources or economic resources. The basis of accounting indicates the
timing of transactions or events for recognition in the financial statements.
The government-wide and proprietary financial statements are reported using the economic
resources measurement focus and the accrual basis of accounting, as are the proprietary fund
financial statements, and the fiduciary fund statements. Revenues are recorded when earned and
expenses are recorded when a liability is incurred, regardless of the timing of related cash flows.
Property taxes are recognized as revenues in the year for which they are levied. Grants and similar
items are recognized as revenue as soon as all eligibility requirements imposed by the provider
have been met.
The governmental fund financial statements are reported using the current financial resources
measurement focus and the modified accrual basis of accounting. Revenues are recognized as soon
as they are both measurable and available. Revenues are considered available when they are
collectible within the current period or soon enough thereafter to pay liabilities of the current
period. For this purpose, the City considers revenues available if they are collected within 60 days
of the end of the current fiscal period. Expenditures generally are recorded when a liability is
incurred, as under accrual accounting. However, debt service expenditures, as well as expenditures
related to compensated absences, and claims and judgments, are recorded only when payment is
due. General capital asset acquisitions are reported as expenditures in governmental funds.
Issuance of long-term debt and acquisitions under capital leases are reported as other financing
sources.
Property taxes, sales taxes, franchise taxes, licenses, and interest associated with the current fiscal
period are all considered to be susceptible to accrual and so have been recognized as revenues of
the current fiscal period. Only the portion of special assessments receivable within the current
fiscal period is considered revenue of the current fiscal period. Entitlements are recorded as
revenues when all eligibility requirements are met, including any time requirements, and the
amount is received during the period or within the availability period for this revenue source
(within 60 days of year-end). Expenditure-driven grants are recognized as revenue when the
qualifying expenditures have been incurred, all other eligibility requirements have been met, and
the amount is received during the period or within the availability period for this revenue source
(within 60 days of year-end). All other revenue items are considered measurable and available
only when cash is received by the government.
1.6 Budgetary information
Budgetary basis of accounting
State law mandates that annual budgets for funds other than internal service funds be certified to
the County Auditor no later than April 30 preceding the fiscal year beginning July 1.
447
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
44
The review and adoption of an annual budget is handled in accordance with state laws, as there is
no City ordinance governing the budget process. Preliminary review of all operating budget
requests is conducted by the City Manager at a City government function level. A five-year capital
improvements plan is prepared annually, and the first-year portion of the plan is considered as the
capital improvements projects budget for the annual budget. The City Manager's budget,
considered as a plan of financial operation along with proposed sources of revenues, is presented
to the City Council at least six weeks prior to certification. The Council holds hearings with the
City Manager, Budget Officer, department heads, and boards and commissions, as well as the
public prior to adopting the budget.
Amendments to the budget are considered three times per year, only if revenue sources are
available (i.e., unanticipated revenues or budget surpluses). There can be no additional levy of
property taxes. The actual amendment process, as prescribed by state law, is identical to the
procedures followed for the original budget, including certification. The budgeted amounts
presented in the required supplementary information reflect the original and the revised budget.
Budgets are monitored throughout the fiscal year by function, especially by major classifications
such as personnel, capital, contractual, and commodities expenditures. Special revenue funds are
budgeted at the aggregate fund level. Monthly reports are prepared by function, and major
deviations by classification within a function must be approved by the City Manager. The legal
level of control (the level on which expenditures may not legally exceed appropriations) is the
function level for all budgeted funds in total. The budgetary comparison and related disclosures
are reported as required supplementary information.
The City prepares its budget on a basis consistent with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America, except that the enterprise funds do not budget depreciation
expense and do budget for debt service expenditures and capital outlay. Internal service funds are
not budgeted.
Appropriations in all budgeted funds lapse at the end of the fiscal year, even if they have related
encumbrances. Encumbrances are commitments related to unperformed (executory) contracts for
goods or services (i.e., purchase orders, contracts, and commitments).
Encumbrance accounting is utilized to the extent necessary to ensure effective budgetary control
and accountability and to facilitate effective cash planning and control. While all appropriations
and encumbrances lapse at year-end, valid outstanding encumbrances roll forward and become
part of the subsequent year's budget.
1.7 Assets, liabilities, deferred outflows/inflows of resources, and net position/fund balance
Cash and cash equivalents
The City's cash and cash equivalents are considered to be cash on hand, demand deposits, and
short-term investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of acquisition.
448
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
45
Investments
Investments of the City are reported at fair value (generally based on quoted market prices).
Inventories and prepaid items
Inventories are maintained on a perpetual basis. Materials, supplies, medical supplies, and drugs
are priced at an average cost. The cost of such inventories is recorded as expenditures/expenses
when consumed rather than when purchased. Real estate held for resale is priced at cost.
Certain payments to vendors reflect costs applicable to future accounting periods and show as
prepaid items in both the government-wide and fund financial statements. The cost of prepaid
items is recorded as expenditures/expenses when consumed rather than when purchased.
Capital assets
Capital assets, which include property, plant, equipment, right to use leased assets, right to use
subscription-based information technology assets, and infrastructure assets (e.g., roads, traffic
signals, bridges, and similar items), are reported in the applicable governmental or business-type
activities columns in the government-wide financial statements. The City defines capital assets as
assets with an initial, individual cost of more than $5,000 and an estimated useful life in excess of
one year. Right to use leased assets and subscription-based assets are recognized at the lease
commencement date and represent the City’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term.
Right-to-use lease assets and subscriptions are measured at the initial value of the lease liability
plus any payments made to the lessor before commencement of the lease term, plus any initial
direct costs necessary to place the lease asset into service. Right-to-use lease assets are amortized
over the shorter of the lease term or useful life of the underlying asset using the same method
amortizing the debt. The amortization period varies from 3 to 5 years.
In the case of the initial capitalization of general infrastructure assets (i.e., those reported by
governmental activities), the City chose to include all such items regardless of their acquisition
date or amount. The City was able to estimate the historical cost for the initial reporting of these
assets through back trending (i.e., estimating the current replacement cost of the infrastructure to
be capitalized and using an appropriate price-level index to deflate the cost to the acquisition year
or estimated acquisition year). As the City constructs or acquires additional capital assets each
period, including infrastructure assets, they are capitalized and reported at historical cost. The
reported value excludes normal maintenance and repairs, which are essentially amounts spent in
relation to capital assets that do not increase the capacity or efficiency of the item or increase its
estimated useful life. Donated capital assets are recorded at acquisition value, which is the price
that would have been paid to acquire a capital asset with equivalent service potential.
Land, public art, and construction in progress are not depreciated. The other property, plant,
equipment, and infrastructure of the City are depreciated using the straight-line method over the
following estimated useful lives:
449
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
46
Capital Asset Class Life in Years
Buildings 25-45
Improvements 20-40
Machinery and Equipment 3-50
General Infrastructure 15-50
Plant and Distribution System 25-50
Lease receivables
Lease receivables are recorded by the City of Ames as the present value of future lease payments
expected to be received from the lessee during the lease term, reduced by any provision for
estimated uncollectible amounts. Lease receivables are subsequently reduced over the life of the
lease as cash is received in the applicable reporting period. The present value of future lease
payments to be received are discounted based on the interest rate the City charges the lessee.
Deferred outflows/inflows of resources
In addition to assets, the statement of financial position will sometimes report a separate section
for deferred outflows of resources. This separate financial statement element, deferred outflows of
resources, represents a consumption of net assets that applies to a future periods and is not
recognized as an outflow of resources (expense/expenditure) until then. The City reports deferred
outflows of resources for unrecognized items not yet charged to pension and OPEB expense and
pension contributions from the employer after the measurement date but before the end of the
employer's reporting period. The City also reports deferred charges on refunding in this category,
which results from the difference in the carrying value of refunded debt and its reacquisition price.
This amount is deferred and amortized over the shorter of the life of the refunded or refunding
debt.
In addition to liabilities, the statement of financial position will sometimes report a separate section
for deferred inflows of resources. This separate financial statement element, deferred inflows of
resources, represents an acquisition of net assets that applies to future periods and is recognized
as an inflow of resources (revenue) until that time. The governmental funds report unavailable
revenues from property taxes, special assessments, charges for services, grants, licenses and
permits, and lease payments. The government-wide statement of net position reports unavailable
revenues from property taxes, changes resulting from assumptions made in the actuarial valuations
for pensions and OPEB. These amounts are recognized as an inflow of resources in the period that
the amounts become available. The City’s government-wide statements and proprietary funds
financial statements also include a deferred amount on refunding which results from the difference
in the carrying value of refunded debt and its reacquisition price. In addition, deferred inflows
related to leases where the City is the lessor is reported. The deferred inflows of resources related
to leases are recognized as an inflow of resources (revenue) over the term of the lease.
Pensions
For purposes of measuring the net pension liability (asset), deferred outflows of resources and
deferred inflows of resources related to pensions, and pension expense, information about the
450
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
47
fiduciary net position of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) and Municipal
Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (MFPRSI) and additions to/deductions from
IPERS's/MFPRSI's fiduciary net position have been determined on the same basis as they are
reported by IPERS/MFPRSI. For this purpose, benefit payments (including refunds of employee
contributions) are recognized when due and payable in accordance with the benefit terms.
Investments are reported at fair value. The net pension liability (asset) attributable to the
governmental activities will be paid primarily by the General Fund.
Total other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liability
For purposes of measuring total OPEB liability, deferred outflows of resources and deferred
inflows of resources related to OPEB, and OPEB expense, information has been determined based
on the City's actuarial reports. For this purpose, benefit payments are recognized when due and
payable in accordance with the benefit terms. The total OPEB liability attributable to the
governmental activities will be paid primarily by the General Fund.
Long-term obligations
In the government wide financial statements, long-term debt and other long-term obligations are
reported as liabilities in the applicable governmental activities. Bond premiums and discounts are
deferred and amortized over the life of the bonds using the straight-line method.
In the fund financial statements, governmental fund types recognize bond premiums and discounts,
as well as bond issuance costs, during the current period. The face amount of debt issued is reported
as other financing sources. Premiums received on debt issuances are reported as other financing
sources. Premiums received on debt issuances are reported as other financing sources, while
discounts on debt issuances are reported as other financing uses. Issuance costs, whether or not
withheld from the actual debt proceeds received, are reported as debt service expenditures.
Net position flow assumption
Sometimes the City will fund outlays for a particular purpose from both restricted (e.g., restricted
bond or grant proceeds) and unrestricted resources. In order to calculate the amounts to report as
restricted and unrestricted net position in the government-wide and proprietary fund financial
statements, a flow assumption must be made about the order in which the resources are applied. It
is the City's policy to consider restricted net position to have been depleted before unrestricted net
position.
Fund balance flow assumptions
Sometimes the City will fund outlays for a particular purpose from both restricted and unrestricted
resources (the total of committed, assigned, and unassigned fund balance). In order to calculate the
amounts to report as restricted, committed, assigned, and unassigned fund balance in the
governmental fund financial statements, a flow assumption must be made about the order in which
the resources are applied. It is the City's policy to consider restricted fund balance to have been
depleted before using any of the components of unrestricted fund balance. Further, when the
451
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
48
components of unrestricted fund balance can be used for the same purpose, committed fund
balance is depleted first, followed by assigned fund balance. Unassigned fund balance is applied
last.
Fund balance policies
Fund balance of governmental funds is reported in various categories based on the nature of any
limitations requiring the use of resources for specific purposes. The City itself can establish
limitations on the use of resources through either a commitment (committed fund balance) or an
assignment (assigned fund balance).
The committed fund balance classification includes amounts that can be used only for the specific
purposes determined by a formal action of the City's highest level of decision-making authority.
The City Council is the highest level of decision-making authority for the City that can, by
adoption of an ordinance prior to the end of the fiscal year, commit fund balance. Once adopted,
the limitation imposed by the ordinance remains in place until a similar action is taken (the
adoption of another ordinance) to remove or revise the limitation.
Amounts in the assigned fund balance classification are intended to be used by the City for specific
purposes but do not meet the criteria to be classified as committed. The City Council has authorized
the Finance Director to assign fund balance through the approval of the annual budget. The City
Council may also assign fund balance as it does when appropriating fund balance to cover a gap
between estimated revenue and appropriations in the subsequent year's appropriated budget.
Unlike commitments, assignments generally only exist temporarily. In other words, an additional
action does not normally have to be taken for the removal of an assignment. Conversely, as
discussed above, an additional action is essential to either remove or revise a commitment.
1.8 Revenues and expenditures/expenses
Program revenues
Amounts reported as program revenues include 1) charges to customers or applicants who
purchase, use, or directly benefit from goods, services, or privileges provided by a given function
or segment; and 2) grants and contributions (including special assessments) that are restricted to
meeting the operational or capital requirements of a particular function or segment. All taxes,
including those dedicated for specific purposes, and other internally dedicated resources are
reported as general revenues rather than program revenues.
Property taxes
Property taxes are attached as an enforceable lien on real property and are levied on July 1 prior
to the fiscal year for which they are to be collected. The tax levy is divided into two billings with
one-half due September 30 and the other half due March 31.
452
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
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49
Net patient service revenue
Net patient service revenue of the hospital is reported at the estimated net realizable amounts from
patients, third-party payers, and others for services rendered. Retroactive adjustments under
reimbursement agreements with third-party payers are accrued on an estimated basis in the period
the related services are rendered and adjusted in future periods as final settlements are determined.
Net patient service revenue is reported net of provision for bad debts, which the hospital also refers
to as uncompensated care.
Compensated absences
The City's policy permits employees to accumulate earned but unused vacation and compensatory
time benefits, which are eligible for payment upon separation from government service. The
liability for such leave is reported as incurred in the government-wide and proprietary fund
financial statements. A liability for those amounts is recorded in the governmental funds only if
the liability has matured because of employee resignations or retirements. The liability for
compensated absences includes salary-related benefits, where applicable.
Sick leave. Accumulated sick leave in excess of 720 hours may be paid out at 25% of the
accumulated hours upon retirement only.
Proprietary funds operating and non-operating revenues and expenses
Proprietary funds distinguish operating revenues and expenses from non-operating items.
Operating revenues and expenses generally result from providing services and producing and
delivering goods in connection with a proprietary fund's principal ongoing operations. The
principal operating revenues of the enterprise and internal service funds are charges to customers
for sales and services. Operating expenses for enterprise and internal service funds include the cost
of sales and services, administrative expenses, and depreciation on capital assets. All revenues and
expenses not meeting this definition are reported as non-operating revenues and expenses.
NOTE 2 – Reconciliation of government-wide and fund financial statements
2.1 Explanation of certain differences between the governmental fund balance sheet and the
government-wide statement of net position
The governmental fund balance sheet includes a reconciliation between fund balance - total
governmental funds and net position of governmental activities as reported in the government-
wide statement of net position. One element of that reconciliation explains that "Capital assets
used in governmental activities are not financial resources and, therefore, are not reported in the
funds." The details of this $205,012,059 are as follows:
453
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
50
Another element of that reconciliation explains, "Internal service funds are used by management
to charge the costs of fleet management, information services, risk management, and health
insurance to individual funds. The assets and liabilities of internal service funds are split
between the governmental and business-type activities in the statement of net position." The
details of this $22,412,165 are as follows:
2.2 Explanation of certain differences between the governmental fund statement of
revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances and the government-wide statement
of activities
The governmental fund statement of revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances
includes a reconciliation between net changes in fund balances - total governmental funds and
changes in net position of governmental activities as reported in the government-wide statement
of activities. One element of that reconciliation states that, "The internal service funds are used
by management to charge the costs of fleet management, information services, risk management,
and health insurance to individual funds. The net revenue of certain activities of internal service
funds is reported with both governmental and business-type activities." The details of this
$445,530 are as follows:
Land 16,137,769$
Public art collection 632,826
Construction in progress 31,322,112
Buildings 34,653,065
Less: accumulated depreciation (12,692,931)
Leased equipment 27,214
Less: amortization (10,948)
Subscription-based IT assets 296,010
Less: amortization (44,966)
Equipment 14,309,682
Less: accumulated depreciation (8,618,540)
Infrastructure 294,035,230
Less: accumulated depreciation (165,034,464)
Net adjustment to increase fund balance - total governmental funds
to arrive at net position in governmental activities 205,012,059$
Net position of the internal service funds 34,982,022$
Less: Internal payable representing charges in excess of cost to
business-type activities - prior years (12,532,985)
Less: Internal payable representing charges in excess of cost to
business-type activities - current year (36,872)
22,412,165$
454
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
51
NOTE 3 – STWEARDSHIP, COMPLIANCE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
3.1 Deficit fund equity
At June 30, 2023, the Printing Services fund, a non-major internal service fund, had a deficit fund
balance of $3,456.
NOTE 4 – DETAILED NOTES ON ALL ACTIVITIES AND FUNDS
4.1 Cash deposits with financial institutions
Custodial credit risk - deposits. In the case of deposits, this is the risk that in the event of a bank
failure, the City's deposits may not be returned to it. The City does not have a deposit policy for
custodial credit risk. As of June 30, 2023, the City's deposits were entirely covered by federal
depository insurance or collateralized in accordance with Chapter 12c of the Code of Iowa. This
chapter provides for additional assessments against the depositories to ensure there will be no loss
of public funds. The amount of pledged collateral is based on an approved method for non-interest-
bearing deposits and the actual current balance for interest-bearing deposits. Depositories using
this method report the adequacy of their pooled collateral covering uninsured deposits to the State
Treasurer, who does not confirm the information with the City. Because of the inability to measure
the exact amounts of collateral pledged for the City under this method, the potential exists for
under collateralization, and this risk may increase in periods of high cash flows. However, the
State Treasurer enforces strict standards of financial stability for each depository that collateralizes
public deposits.
4.2 Investments
The following table identifies the investment types that are authorized for the City by its
investment policy. The hospital is guided in the selection of security investments by Chapters 12b
and 12c of the Code of Iowa and policy, as approved by the board of trustees. The City's investment
policy classifies certificates of deposit (CDs) as investments and all CDs purchased by the City
are non-negotiable. However, under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), non-
negotiable CDs are cash deposits instead of investments. The table also identifies certain
provisions of the investment policy that address interest rate risk, credit risk, and concentration of
credit risk.
Change in net position of the internal service funds 482,402$
Less: gain from charges to business-type activities (36,872)
Net adjustment to decrease net changes in fund balances - total
governmental funds to arrive at changes in net position of
governmental activities 445,530$
455
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
52
The City categorizes its fair value measurement within the fair value hierarchy established by
generally accepted accounting principles. The hierarchy is based on the valuation inputs used
to measure the fair value of the asset. Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for
identical assets. Level 2 inputs are significant other observable inputs. Level 3 inputs are
significant unobservable inputs. All the City's investments are valued using level 1 inputs,
except for U.S. Agencies and U.S. Treasuries, which are valued by the custodians of the
securities using pricing models based on credit quality, time to maturity, stated interest rates,
and market-rate assumptions (level 2 inputs). There have been no changes in valuation
methodologies at June 30, 2023, compared to June 30, 2022.
Interest rate risk. One of the ways that the City manages exposure to interest rate risk is by
purchasing a combination of short- and long-term investments and by timing cash flows from
maturities so that a portion of the portfolio is maturing, or coming close to maturity, evenly over
time as necessary to provide the cash flow and liquidity needed for operations. Investments are
purchased with the intent to hold until maturity.
The following provides information about the sensitivity of the fair values of the City’s
investments to market interest rate fluctuations:
Maximum Maximum
Maturity for Maturity for
Operating Non-Operating Maximum Maximum
Funds Funds Percentage Investment
Authorized Investment Type (Days)(Years)of Portfolio in One Issuer
U.S. Agency securities 397 7 n/a n/a
Certificates of deposit 397 7 n/a n/a
Prime banker's acceptances 270 270 days 10%5%
Commercial paper 270 270 days 10%5%
Repurchase agreements 397 7 n/a n/a
Joint investment trusts 397 7 n/a n/a
Warrants of improvement
certificates of a levee or
Investment Type Fair Value Maturity
U.S. Agency coupon securities 123,910,433$ 08/17/21-06/12/26
U.S. Treasury obligations 70,491,203 07/15/21-09/30/24
Commercial paper 7,876,054 07/01/21-12/15/21
Municipal bonds 58,432 01/01/24-02/15/24
Mutual funds 370,895,849 n/a
Corporate debt 698,043 02/01/24-05/25/33
573,930,014$
456
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
53
Credit risk. The City will minimize credit risk by using the following measures:
1. Limiting investments to those authorized by the investment policy,
2. Pre-qualifying the financial institutions, broker/dealers, intermediaries, and advisors with
whom the City will do business,
3. Diversifying the investment portfolio by agency and issuer so that potential losses on
individual securities can be minimized, and
4. Holding a minimum of 5% of the total portfolio in highly marketable, short-term
treasuries, checking accounts with interest, government pooled accounts, or a
combination of all three.
The following shows the actual ratings as of June 30, 2023, for each investment type:
Concentration of credit risk. The City's investment policy provides limitations on the amount
that can be invested in any one issuer, which is approved by City Council. Investments in any
one issuer that represent 5% or more of total City investments are as follows:
12 Months 13 - 24 25-60 More Than
Investment Type Fair Value or Less Months Months 60 Months
U.S. Agency coupon securities 123,910,433$ 58,509,335$ 46,783,476$ 18,553,818$ 63,804$
U.S. Treasury obligations 70,491,203 32,240,031 17,614,297 20,636,875 -
Commercial paper 7,876,054 7,876,054 - - -
Municipal bonds 58,432 58,432 - - -
Mutual funds 370,895,849 370,895,849 - - -
Corporate debt 698,043 38,962 24,185 248,631 386,265
573,930,014$ 469,618,663$ 64,421,958$ 39,439,324$ 450,069$
Remaining Maturity
Investment Type Fair Value Rating
U.S. Agency coupon securities 123,910,433$ AAA
U.S. Treasury obligations 70,491,203 not rated
Commercial paper 7,876,054 A1/P1
Municipal bonds 58,432 AAA-AA1
Mutual funds 370,895,849 not rated
Corporate debt 698,043 AA1-BAA
573,930,014$
Percent of
Issuer Investment Type Amount Portfolio
Federal Home Loan Bank U.S. agency securities 78,455,724 13.67%
United States Treasury U.S. treasuries 70,491,203 12.28%
457
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
54
Custodial credit risk - investments. For an investment, this is the risk that, in the event of the failure
of the counterparty, the City will not be able to recover the value of its investments or collateral
securities that are in the possession of an outside party. The following outlines the requirements in
the City's investment policy to limit the exposure to custodial credit risk for deposits or
investments:
1. All trades, where applicable, will be executed by delivery vs. payment (DVP) to ensure
that securities are deposited in an eligible financial institution prior to the release of
funds. Securities will be held by a third-party custodian as evidenced by safekeeping
receipts,
2. City investment officials shall be bonded to protect loss of public funds against possible
embezzlement and/or malfeasance, and
3. The Investment Officer is responsible for establishing and maintaining an internal control
structure designed to ensure that the assets of the City are protected from loss, theft, or
misuse. The internal controls shall address the following points:
a. Control of collusion,
b. Separation of transaction authority from accounting and record keeping,
c. Custodial safekeeping,
d. Delivery versus payment,
e. Clear delegation of authority, and
f. Confirmation of transactions for investments and wire transfers.
As of June 30, 2023, the City’s investments in the following were held by the same third-party
custodian that was used by the City to buy the securities and evidenced by safekeeping receipts:
Foreign currency risk. Foreign currency risk is the risk that changes in exchange rates will
adversely affect the fair value of an investment or deposit. As of June 30, 2023, the City had no
exposure to foreign currency rate risk, nor did the Medical Center as dollar denominated,
international mutual funds (9.6% of the total investment portfolio) are not subject to such risk
pursuant to guidance in GASB 40.
The City has a written investment policy, approved by the City Council, which addresses the
different areas of risk. The policy is available for review in the offices of the City Clerk and the
City Treasurer, and on the City's website.
Percent of
Issuer Investment Type Amount Portfolio
Federal National Mortgage Association U.S. agency securities 8,909,032$ 1.55%
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Co.U.S. agency securities 16,024,336 2.79%
Federal Home Loan Bank U.S. agency securities 78,455,724 13.67%
Federal Farm Credit U.S. agency securities 20,521,342 3.58%
United States Treasury U.S. treasuries 70,491,203 12.28%
458
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
55
4.3 Foundation investments
The foundation follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards. As such,
adoption of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 40, Deposit
and Investment Risk Disclosures, was not required by the foundation and, accordingly, no such
disclosures are presented here.
All of the foundation's investments are valued using level 1 inputs. The following is a detail of the
foundation's investments at June 30, 2023:
4.4 Receivables
All utility and hospital accounts receivable are shown net of an allowance for uncollectible
accounts. Property tax receivable is shown at a gross amount since they are assessed to the property
and collectible upon sale of the property.
4.5 Capital assets
Capital asset activity for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, is as follows:
Investment Type Fair Value
Equity mutual funds 12,521,593$
Bond mutual funds 2,496,648
15,018,241$
Balance Balance
Governmental activities:June 30, 2022 Increases Decreases June 30, 2023
Non-depreciable capital assets:
Land 13,237,769$ 2,900,000$ -$ 16,137,769$
Public art collection 622,326 10,500 - 632,826
Construction in progress 24,845,761 14,409,756 (7,933,405) 31,322,112
Total non-depreciable capital
assets 38,705,856 17,320,256 (7,933,405) 48,092,707
Depreciable/amortizable capital assets:
Buildings 35,531,968 269,729 - 35,801,697
Leased equipment 112,653 - (85,439) 27,214
Subscription-based IT assets - 797,240 - 797,240
Equipment 35,055,378 1,370,715 (244,465) 36,181,628
Infrastructure 281,189,897 13,124,382 (86,616) 294,227,663
351,889,896 15,562,066 (416,520) 367,035,442
Less accumulated depreciation/amortization:
Buildings 12,563,638 935,140 - 13,498,778
Leased equipment 47,678 48,709 (85,439) 10,948
Subscription-based IT assets - 213,209 - 213,209
Equipment 19,345,733 2,576,677 (227,533) 21,694,877
Infrastructure 155,926,366 9,411,178 (110,647) 165,226,897
187,883,415 13,184,913 (423,619) 200,644,709
Total depreciable/amortizable capital assets 164,006,481 2,377,153 7,099 166,390,733
Total capital assets 202,712,337$ 19,697,409$ (7,926,306)$ 214,483,440$
459
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
56
Depreciation expense was charged to functions of the governmental activities of the primary
government as follows:
4.6 Pension obligations
The City participates in two public pension systems, Iowa Public Employees Retirement System
(IPERS) and Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (MFPRSI). The following
sections outline the pension-related disclosures for each plan. The aggregate amount of recognized
expense for the period associated with the net pension liability for both plans is $1,599,961. Other
aggregate amounts related to pension are separately displayed in the financial statements.
General government 733,124$
Public safety 684,628
Public works 9,172,772
Culture and recreation 2,589,968
Community and economic development 4,421
Total depreciation expense - governmental activities 13,184,913$
Balance Balance
Business-type activities:June 30, 2022 Increases Decreases June 30, 2023
Non-depreciable capital assets:
Land 17,028,319$ 2,200$ -$ 17,030,519$
Construction in progress 35,964,179 22,867,978 (21,614,578) 37,217,579
Total non-depreciable capital
assets 52,992,498 22,870,178 (21,614,578) 54,248,098
Depreciable/amortizable capital assets:
Plant and distribution systems 450,864,739 19,731,248 (130,562) 470,465,425
Buildings 301,153,272 620,043 (2,202,911) 299,570,404
Leased equipment 32,932 3,064,115 (672,122) 2,424,925
Subscription-based IT assets - 1,887,013 - 1,887,013
Equipment 166,228,200 12,674,458 (9,192,833) 169,709,825
Improvements 20,985,137 889,591 (5,181) 21,869,547
939,264,280 38,866,468 (12,203,609) 965,927,139
Less accumulated depreciation/amortization:
Plant and distribution systems 222,928,535 10,174,964 (122,611) 232,980,888
Buildings 135,966,505 11,238,608 (2,186,731) 145,018,382
Leased equipment 5,101 1,641,745 (507,054) 1,139,792
Subscription-based IT assets - 470,529 - 470,529
Equipment 127,385,949 8,942,686 (7,639,323) 128,689,312
Improvements 11,098,729 790,253 (5,181) 11,883,801
497,384,819 33,258,785 (10,460,900) 520,182,704
Total depreciable/amortizable capital assets 441,879,461 5,607,683 (1,742,709) 445,744,435
Total capital assets 494,871,959$ 28,477,861$ (23,357,287)$ 499,992,533$
460
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
57
The City’s total pension liability is a liability as of June 30, 2023. However, when allocated to
individual funds, the city has reported both net pension liabilities and net pension assets.
Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS)
Plan description. The City participates in IPERS, a cost sharing, multiple-employer, defined benefit
pension plan administered by the State of Iowa. IPERS provides retirement, disability, and death
benefits to eligible members and beneficiaries. State statutes authorize the State to establish and
amend all plan provisions. The State issues a publicly available financial report, which includes
financial statements and required supplementary information. This may be obtained either at
www.ipers.org or by written request to IPERS, P.O. Box 9117, Des Moines, IA, 50306-9117.
Funding policy. Iowa state law requires participating employers and members to contribute to IPERS.
The Iowa Legislature and the Governor determine the positions of employment in each membership
class and the benefits provided. Most members (95%) are regular members. The other 5% are special
service members who work in public safety jobs.
IPERS sets the regular member contribution rates using an annual actuarial valuation, which is a
snapshot of IPERS's finances; however, the combined employer and member rate may not change by
more than 1.0 percentage point each year. Rates for special service members are actuarially
determined each year.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, regular members contributed 6.29% and the City
contributed 9.44% of covered wages. Rates for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, are the same.
Emergency responder members contributed 6.21%, and the hospital contributed 9.31% of covered
wages for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. As of July 1, 2023, the rates for emergency responders
are 6.21% for members and 9.31% for the City. The City's total contributions to IPERS for the years
ended June 30, 2023, 2022, and 2021 were $11,205,032, $10,223,542, and $9,131,127, respectively,
and were equal to 100% of the required contributions for each year.
Pension liabilities, pension expense (income), and deferred outflows of resources and deferred
inflows of resources related to pensions. At June 30, 2023, the City reported a liability of
$49,488,498, of which $35,431,000 is Mary Greeley Medical Center’s proportionate share of the net
pension liability. The net pension liability was measured as of June 30, 2022, and the total pension
liability used to calculate the net pension liability was determined by an actuarial valuation as of that
date.
The City's proportion of the net pension liability was based on a projection of the City's long-term
share of contributions to the pension plan relative to the projected contributions of all employers
participating in IPERS, actuarially determined. At June 30, 2022, the City's proportion was 1.3058%,
which is an increase of 1.3438% from its proportion measured as of June 30, 2021.
For the year ended June 30, 2023, the City recognized pension expense of $333,473. At June 30, 2023,
the City reported deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to pensions
from the following sources:
461
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
58
$11,205,032 reported as deferred outflows of resources related to pensions resulting from City
contributions subsequent to the measurement date will be recognized as a reduction of the net
pension liability (asset) in the year ended June 30, 2024. Other amounts reported as deferred
outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to pensions will be recognized
in pension expense (income) as follows:
There were no non-employer contributing entities at IPERS.
Actuarial assumptions. The total pension liability in the June 30, 2022 actuarial valuation was
determined using the following actuarial assumptions, applied to all periods included in the
measurement:
Inflation rate 2.60% per annum
Payroll increase assumption 3.25%
Projected salary increases 3.25%-16.25%, depending upon years of
service
Assumed investment return 7.00%, compounded annually, net of
investment expense, including inflation
Deferred Deferred
Outflows Inflows
of Resources of Resources
Difference between expected and actual experience 2,391,227$ 684,410$
Changes in assumptions 41,481 117,754
Net difference between projected and actual
earnings on pension plan investments - 5,342,279
Changes in proportion and differences between
City contributions and proportionate share of
contributions 5,034,113 1,434,775
City contributions subsequent to the measurement
date 11,205,032 -
18,671,853$ 7,579,218$
Year Ending
June 30,
2024 (3,700,881)$
2025 (2,741,037)
2026 (5,954,476)
2027 11,845,066
2028 438,931
(112,397)$
462
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
59
The actuarial assumptions used in the June 30, 2022, valuations are based on the results of the
quadrennial experience study from 2022. This study included information on mortality, retirement,
disability, and termination rates for the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2021.
Mortality rates were based on PubG-2010 mortality tables with future mortality improvements
modeled using scale MP-2021.
Several factors are considered in evaluating the actuarial assumed investment return, including
long-term historical data, estimates inherent in current market data, along with estimates of
variability and correlations for each asset class, and an analysis in which best-estimate ranges of
expected future real rates of return (expected returns, net of investment expense and inflation) were
developed by the investment consultant. These ranges were combined to develop the actuarial
assumed investment return by weighting the expected future real rates of return by the target asset
allocation percentage and then adding expected inflation. The actuarial assumed investment return
reflects the anticipated returns on current and future plan assets and provides a discount rate to
determine the present value of future benefit payments. The target allocation and best estimates of
arithmetic real rates of return for each major asset class as of June 30, 2023, are summarized in the
following table:
Discount rate. The discount rate used to calculate the total pension liability is 7.00%. The
projection of cash flows used to determine the discount rate assumed that contributions from
employees and employers will be made at the contractually required rates, which are set by the
Contribution Rate Funding Policy and derived from the actuarial valuation. Based on those
assumptions, the pension plan's fiduciary net position is projected to be available to make all
projected future benefit payments of current plan members. Therefore, the actuarial assumed
investment return was applied to all periods of projected benefit payments to determine the total
pension liability.
Sensitivity of the City's proportionate share of the net pension liability to changes in the discount
rate. The following presents the City's proportionate share of the net pension liability calculated
using the discount rate of 7.00%, as well as what the City's proportionate share of the net pension
Target Long-Term Expected
Asset Class Allocation Real Rate of Return
Domestic equity 22.0%3.57%
International equity 17.5%4.79%
Global smart beta equity 6.0%4.16%
Core-plus fixed income 20.0%1.66%
Public credit 4.0%3.77%
Cash 1.0%0.77%
Private equity 13.0%7.57%
Private real assets 8.5%3.55%
Private credit 8.0%3.63%
100.0%
463
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
60
liability would be if it were calculated using a discount rate that is one percentage point lower
(6.00%) or one percentage point higher (8.00%) than the current rate:
Pension plan fiduciary net position. Detailed information about the pension plan's fiduciary net
position is available in the separately issued IPERS financial report, which is available on the
IPERS website at www.ipers.org.
Payables to the pension plan. At June 30, 2023, the City reported a payable to the defined benefit
pension plan of $1,719,781 for legally required employer contributions and employee
contributions that were withheld from employee wages but not yet remitted to IPERS.
Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (MFPRSI)
Plan description. The City also participates in the MFPRSI, which provides retirement, disability,
and death benefits for firefighters and police officers. MFPRSI was created under Chapter 411 of
the Code of Iowa, effective January 1, 1992, to replace the fire and police retirement systems in
87 local systems in 49 of Iowa’s largest cities. It is a cost-sharing, multiple-employer defined
benefit pension plan. A board of nine voting and four non-voting members is the policy-making
body for the system. MFPRSI issues publicly available financial reports, which include financial
statements and required supplementary information for the plan. The reports may be obtained by
contacting MFPRSI at 7155 Lake Drive, Suite 201, West Des Moines, IA, 50266.
Funding policy. The contribution rate structure is established by Chapter 411 of the Code of Iowa.
The member contribution rate, currently at 9.40%, is set by state statute. The rate for the City is
established each year by the board of trustees following the completion of an annual actuarial
valuation. The City's rate for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, was 23.98%. The City's total
contributions to MFPRSI for the years ended June 30, 2023, 2022, and 2021 were $2,197,536,
$2,268,424, and $2,200,185, respectively, and were equal to 100 percent of the required
contributions for each year.
If approved by the state legislature, state appropriation may further reduce the employer's
contribution rate, but not below the minimum statutory contribution rate of 17.00% of earnable
compensation. The State of Iowa, therefore, is considered a non-employer contributing entity in
accordance with the provisions of GASB Statement No. 67 - Financial Reporting for Pension
Plans.
There were no state appropriations to MFPRSI during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
Current
Discount
1% Decrease Rate 1% Increase
(6.0%)(7.0%)(8.0%)
City's proportionate share of
the net pension liability 93,226,691$ 49,488,498$ 10,668,118$
464
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
61
Pension liabilities, pension expense, and deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of
resources related to pensions. At June 30, 2023, the City reported a liability of $14,408,725 for its
proportionate share of the net pension liability. The net pension liability was measured as of June
30, 2022, and the total pension liability used to calculate the net pension liability was determined
by an actuarial valuation as of that date. The City's proportion of the net pension liability was based
on the City's share of contributions to the pension plan relative to the contributions of all MFPRSI
participating employers. At June 30, 2022, the City's proportion was 2.5658%, which is a decrease
of 0.1097% from its proportion measured as of June 30, 2021.
For the year ended June 30, 2023, the City recognized pension expense of $1,266,488. At June 30,
2023, the City reported deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to
pensions from the following sources:
$2,197,536 reported as deferred outflows of resources related to pensions resulting from City
contributions subsequent to the measurement date will be recognized as a reduction of the net
pension liability (asset) in the year ending June 30, 2024. Other amounts reported as deferred
outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to pensions will be recognized in
pension expense (income) as follows:
Deferred Deferred
Outflows Inflows
of Resources of Resources
Difference between expected and actual experience 894,748$ 18,528$
Changes in assumptions 40,418 -
Net difference between projected and actual
earnings on pension plan investments - 170,720
Changes in proportion and differences between
City contributions and proportionate share of
contributions 60,191 584,479
City contributions subsequent to the measurement
date 2,197,536 -
3,192,893$ 773,727$
Year Ending
June 30,
2024 ($75,079)
2025 ($405,229)
2026 ($1,137,022)
2027 $1,842,972
2028 ($4,013)
$221,629
465
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
62
Actuarial assumptions. The total pension liability in the June 30, 2022 actuarial valuation was
determined using the following actuarial assumptions, applied to all periods included in the
measurement:
Rate of inflation 3.00% per annum
Rate of salary increases 3.75 to 15.11%, including inflation
Investment rate of return
7.50%, net of investment expense,
including inflation
The actuarial assumptions used in the June 30, 2022 valuation were based on the results of an
actuarial experience study for the 10-year period ending June 30, 2020. There were no significant
changes of benefit terms.
Mortality rates were based on RP 2014 Blue Collar Healthy Annuitant table with males set forward
zero years, females set forward two years, and disabled persons set forward three years (male only
rates), with generational projection of future mortality improvement with 50% of Scale BB
beginning in 2017.
The investment policy and decisions are governed by the board of trustees. The long-term
expected rate of return on pension plan investments was determined using a building-block
method in which best-estimate ranges of expected future real rates of return (expected returns,
net of pension plan investment expense and inflation) are developed for each major asset class.
These ranges are combined to produce the long-term expected rate of return by weighting the
expected future real rates of return by the target asset allocation percentage and by adding
expected inflation. Best estimates of geometric real rates of return for each major asset class
included in the pension plan's target asset allocations are summarized in the following table:
Discount rate. The discount rate used to measure the total pension liability was 7.50%. The
projection of cash flows used to determine the discount rate assumed that plan member
contributions will be made at the current contribution rate and that City contributions will be made
at rates equal to the difference between actuarially determined contribution rates and the member
Long-Term Expected
Real Rate of Return
Broad fixed income 3.50%
Broad U.S. equity 6.70%
Global equity 6.80%
Broad non-US equity 7.00%Managed futures 5.10%
Emerging markets 7.20%
Real estate-core 6.40%
Opportunistic real estate 11.00%
Global infrastructure 6.80%
Private credit 8.60%
Private equity 12.00%
Asset Class
466
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
63
rate. Based on those assumptions, the pension plan's fiduciary net position was projected to be
available to make all future benefit payments of current plan members. Therefore, the long-term
expected rate of return on pension plan investments was applied to all periods of projected benefit
payments to determine the total pension liability.
Sensitivity of the City's proportionate share of the net pension liability to changes in the discount
rate. The following presents the City's proportionate share of the net pension liability calculated
using the discount rate of 7.50%, as well as what the City's proportionate share of the net pension
liability would be if it were calculated using a discount rate that is one percentage point lower
(6.50%) or one percentage point higher (8.50%) that the current rate:
Pension plan fiduciary net position. Detailed information about the pension plan's fiduciary net
position is available in the separately issued MFPRSI financial report, which is available on the
MFPRSI website at www.mfprsi.org.
Payables to the pension plan. At June 30, 2023, the City did not have a payable to the defined
benefit pension plan.
Ames Municipal Utility Retirement Plan
Plan description. The Ames Municipal Retirement Plan (utility plan) was created by resolution of
the City Council and is administered by the City. It is a single-employer, defined contribution plan
for employees who regularly receive more than 10% of their compensation from a utility fund of
the City. The City Council has authorization to amend plan provisions and contribution rates. An
eleven-member board monitors, reviews, and evaluates on a continuing basis, the performance of
the utility plan. The board submits a written report of its findings and recommendations at least
once each fiscal year. These reports may be obtained at the City's offices.
Summary of significant accounting policies - basis of accounting and valuation of investments.
The utility plan uses the accrual basis of accounting. Plan member contributions are recognized in
the period in which the contributions are due. The City's contributions are recognized when due
and a formal commitment to provide the contributions has been made. Benefits and refunds are
recognized when due and payable in accordance with terms of the plan. All plan investments are
reported at fair value. Securities traded on a national exchange are valued at the last reported sales
price. Securities without an established market value are reported at estimated fair value.
Funding policy. Participants contribute 5.40%, and the City contributes 7.93% of eligible
compensation. Participants may also make voluntary, unmatched contributions up to 25% of the
Current
Discount
1% Decrease Rate 1% Increase
(6.5%)(7.5%)(8.5%)
City's proportionate share of
the net pension liability 26,077,106$ 14,408,725$ 4,741,312$
467
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
64
participant's annual compensation. Participant contributions were $309,116, and City contributions
were $453,941 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
4.7 Other post-employment benefit (OPEB) obligations
The City participates in two OPEB plans, the City's OPEB plan and the hospital's OPEB plan. The
following sections outline the OPEB-related disclosures for each plan. The aggregate amount of
recognized OPEB expense for the period associated with the total OPEB liability for both plans is
$364,791. Other aggregate amounts related to OPEB are separately displayed in the financial
statements.
City's OPEB Plan
General Information about the OPEB Plan
Plan description. The City provides health and dental care benefits for retired employees and their
beneficiaries through a single-employer, defined benefit plan. The City has the authority to
establish and amend benefit provisions of the plan. No assets are accumulated in a trust that meets
the criteria in paragraph 4 of Statement 75. The plan does not issue a stand-alone financial report.
Participants must be at least 55 years old, have been employed by the City for the preceding four
years, and be enrolled in a sponsored insurance plan at the time of retirement. Benefits terminate
upon attaining Medicare eligibility. Retirees under age 65 pay the same premium for the medical,
prescription drug, and dental benefits as active employees, which results in an implicit rate subsidy
and an OPEB liability.
The contribution requirements of the City are established and may be amended by the City. Plan
members are currently not required to contribute. The City funds on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Employees covered by benefit terms. At June 30, 2023, the following employees were covered by
the City's benefit terms:
Total OPEB Liability
The City's total OPEB liability of $2,960,490 was measured as of June 30, 2023 and was
determined by an actuarial valuation as June 30, 2022.
Actuarial assumptions and other inputs. The total OPEB liability in the June 30, 2022 actuarial
valuation was determined using the following actuarial assumptions and other inputs, applied to
all periods included in the measurement, unless otherwise specified:
Inactive employees or beneficiaries currently receiving
benefit payments 36
Active employees 603
639
468
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
65
Salary increases 3.25% per annum
Discount rate 3.65% per annum
Retirees share of benefit-related 100% of projected health insurance premiums
The following annual health care cost trends are based on the current HCA Consulting trend study
and are applied on a select and ultimate basis. Select trends are reduced 0.25% each year until
reaching the ultimate trend rate.
Expense Type Select Ultimate
Pre-Medicare Medical and Rx benefits 7.25% 4.0%
Medicare Benefits 6.25% 4.0%
Stop loss fees 7.25% 4.0%
Administrative fees 4.0% 4.0%
The discount rate was based on the Bond Buyer 20-Year Bond GO index.
Mortality rates were based on the Pub-2010 mortality table with generational scale MP-2021.
The actuarial assumptions used in the June 30, 2022 valuation were based on the results of an
actuarial experience study for the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
Changes in the Total OPEB Liability
Sensitivity of the total OPEB liability to changes in the discount rate. The following presents the
total OPEB liability of the City, as well as what the City's total OPEB liability would be if it were
calculated using a discount rate that is one percentage point lower (2.65 percent) or one percentage
point higher (4.65 percent) than the current discount rate:
Balance, beginning of year 2,891,232$
Changes for year:
Service cost 199,160
Interest 105,760
Changes of benefit terms -
Differences between expected and
actual experience -
Changes in assumptions or other inputs (30,021)
Benefit payments (205,641)
Net changes 69,258
Balance, end of year 2,960,490$
469
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
66
Sensitivity of the total OPEB liability to changes in the healthcare cost trend rates. The following
presents the total OPEB liability to the City, as well as what the City's total OPEB liability would
be if it were calculated using healthcare cost trend rates that are one percentage point lower or one
percentage point higher than the current healthcare cost trend rates:
OPEB Expense and Deferred Outflows of Resources and Deferred Inflows of Resources Related
to OPEB
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, the City recognized OPEB expense of $358,557. At June
30, 2023, the City reported deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related
to OPEB from the following sources:
Amounts reported as deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to
OPEB will be recognized in OPEB expense as follows:
Discount
1% Decrease Rate 1% Increase
(2.65%)(3.65%)(4.65%)
Total OPEB liability 3,238,000$ 2,960,490$ 2,709,000$
Healthcare Cost
1% Decrease (6.00%Trend Rates (7.00%1% Increase (8.00%
Decreasing to 3.0%)Decreasing to 4.0%)Decreasing to 5.0%)
Total OPEB liability 2,604,000$ 2,960,490$ 3,390,000$
Deferred Outflows Deferred Inflows
of Resources of Resources
Difference between actual and expected experience 336,687$ 253,092$
Changes of assumptions or other inputs 555,792 138,354
892,479$ 391,446$
Year ended June 30:
2024 53,638$
2025 53,638
2026 53,638
2027 53,638
2028 53,638
Thereafter 232,843
501,033$
470
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
67
Hospital's OPEB plan
General Information about the OPEB Plan
Plan description. The hospital sponsors a single-employer health care plan that provides self-
insured medical and prescription drugs to all active and retired employees and their eligible
dependents. The hospital also provides a flat $2,500 life insurance benefit to retired employees.
Employees must be a minimum of 55 years old, have been employed at the hospital for the
preceding four years, and currently have hospital health insurance at the time of retirement.
Benefits terminate upon attaining Medicare eligibility. Eligible retirees receive health care
coverage through one medical plan. This is the same plan that is available for active employees.
Contributions are required for both retiree and dependent coverage. The retiree contributions are
based on the historical full cost of active members. Retiree expenses are then offset by monthly
contributions.
Funding policy. The hospital, with assistance from the third-party administrator, establishes and
amends contribution requirements for both active and retiree members on an annual basis. The
current funding policy of the hospital is to pay health claims as they occur. This arrangement does
not qualify as OPEB plan assets under GASB for current GASB reporting.
The required contribution is based on projected pay-as-you-go financing. For the fiscal year ended
June 30, 2023, the hospital contributed approximately $368,000. Retirees receiving benefits
contributed approximately $323,000 through their required contributions. Inactive members
receiving benefits contributed through their required monthly contributions of:
Employees covered by benefit terms. At June 30, 2023, the following employees were covered by
the benefit terms:
Total OPEB Liability
The hospital's total OPEB liability of $3,989,678 was measured as of January 1, 2023 and was
determined by an actuarial valuation as of that date.
Employee 710$
Employee + spouse 1,418
Employee + children 1,302
Family 2,159
Inactive employees or beneficiaries currently receiving
benefit payments 435
Active employees 1,250
1,685
471
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
68
Actuarial assumptions and other inputs. The total OPEB liability in the actuarial valuation was
determined using the following actuarial assumptions and other inputs, applied to all periods
included in the measurement, unless otherwise specified:
Inflation 2.00% per annum (effective January 1, 2023)
Salary increases 4.80% for less than 1 year of service, 3.80% for 5 years of
service, 3.00% for 10 years of service, 2.50% for 15 years
of service, and 2.00% for over 20 years of service
Discount rate 4.31% (effective January 1, 2023)
Health care cost trend rates 7.50% for medical and prescription benefits for 2023,
decreasing 0.50% per year to an ultimate rate of 4.5% for
2029 and later years (effective January 1, 2020)
The discount rate was based on the 20-year Bond Buyer GO index.
Mortality rates were based on the Pub-2010 Headcount-weighted Total Dataset Mortality Table
fully generational using Scale MP-2021 for general employees and Pub-2010 Headcount-weighted
Contingent Survivor Mortality Table fully generational using Scale MO-2021 for surviving
spouses. It is assumed that 45% of active employees with current coverage are assumed to continue
coverage at retirement and no active employees without coverage are assumed to elect coverage
at retirement.
The actuarial assumptions used in the January 1, 2022 valuations were based on the results of an
actuarial experience study for the period June 2012 through June 2018.
Changes in the Total OPEB Liability
Effect of assumptions changes and inputs for the year ended June 30, 2023, reflect a change in the
inflation rate from 3.00% to 2.00% and a change in the discount rate from 2.25% to 4.31%.
Balance, beginning of year 4,384,841$
Service cost 236,111
Interest 103,468
Differences between expected and
actual experience (59,957)
Changes in assumptions or other inputs (629,822)
Benefit payments (44,963)
Net changes (395,163)
Balance, end of year 3,989,678$
472
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
69
Sensitivity of the total OPEB liability to changes in the discount rate. The following presents the
total OPEB liability of the hospital, as well as what the hospital's total OPEB liability would be if
it were calculated using a discount rate that is one percentage point lower (3.31%) or one
percentage point higher (5.31%) than the current discount rate:
Sensitivity of the total OPEB liability to changes in the healthcare cost trend rates. The following
presents the total OPEB liability to the hospital, as well as what the hospital's total OPEB liability
would be if it were calculated using healthcare cost trend rates that are one percentage point lower
(6.00% decreasing to 3.50%) or one percentage point higher (8.00% decreasing to 5.50%) than the
current healthcare cost trend rates:
OPEB Expense and Deferred Outflows of Resources and Deferred Inflows of Resources Related
to OPEB
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, the hospital recognized OPEB expense of $6,234. At June
30, 2023, the hospital reported deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources
related to OPEB from the following sources:
The amount of $69,320 reported as deferred outflows of resources resulting from hospital
contributions subsequent to the measurement date will be recognized in the net OPEB liability in
the year ending June 30, 2024. Other amounts reported as deferred outflows of resources and
deferred inflows of resources related to OPEB will be recognized in OPEB expense as follows:
Hospital
Discount
1% Decrease Rate 1% Increase
(3.31%)(4.31%)(5.31%)
Total OPEB liability 4,276,143$ 3,989,678$ 3,734,535$
Healthcare
Cost Trend
1% Decrease Rates 1% Increase
(6.0%(7.0%(8.0%
Decreasing Decreasing Decreasing
to 3.5%)to 4.5%)to 5.5%)
Total OPEB liability 3,681,294$ 3,989,678$ 4,338,323$
Deferred Outflows Deferred Inflows
of Resources of Resources
Differences between expected and actual experience 129,625$ 153,089$
Changes of assumptions or other inputs 20,486 484,000
Contributions made subsequent to measurement date 69,320 -
Total 219,431$ 637,089$
473
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
70
4.8 Construction and other significant commitments
Construction commitments. As of June 30, 2023, the City's commitments with contractors were:
All of the remaining commitment amounts above were encumbered at year-end. As discussed
earlier in Note 1 Budgetary Information - budgetary basis of accounting, the encumbrances and
related appropriations lapse at the end of the year but are re-appropriated and become part of the
subsequent year's budget because performance under the executory contract is expected in the
next year.
Encumbrances. Budgetary basis of accounting, encumbrance accounting is utilized to the extent
necessary to ensure effective budgetary control and accountability and to facilitate effective cash
planning and control.
At year-end, the amount of encumbrances expected to be honored upon performance by the vendor
in the next year was as follows:
Year ended June 30:
2024 (257,050)$
2025 (229,928)
Thereafter -
(486,978)$
Spent Remaining
Project to Date Commitment
Streets & bridges 5,813,458$ 5,776,686$
Shared use paths 260,325 277,184
Fire - 11,703
Parks 409,547 2,989,065
Electric 1,469,776 4,179,697
Water 3,446,608 1,898,068
Sewer 1,780,700 4,986,903
Stormwater 114,550 8,079
Transit 174,680 108,119
Traffic signal 1,596,993 2,203,589
Housing 68,238 28,207
15,134,875$ 22,467,300$
General fund 2,235,941$
Capital projects fund 12,687,088
Non-major governmental funds 3,470,518
Electric 7,173,752
Water 12,825,349
Sewer 6,215,925
Non-major business-type funds 3,630,105
48,238,678$
474
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
71
4.9 Risk management
The City is exposed to various risks of loss related to torts: theft of, damage to, and destruction of
assets; errors and omissions; injuries to employees; and natural disasters. The City uses the risk
management internal service fund to account for and finance risks for workers' compensation,
general liability, and property damage. The risk management fund provides workers' compensation
coverage for all City employees and funds the deductible for general liability insurance.
Commercial insurance is purchased for all other risks of loss.
Risk management fund. All funds of the City participate in the workers' compensation insurance
program and make payments to the risk management fund based on a charge against employee
payroll. The charge is calculated based on past claims experience of City departments. The risk
management fund pays all workers' compensation claims, claim reserves, the deductible for
general liability insurance, and administrative costs from its revenues, and holds excess revenues
for reserve against future claims.
The City is a member of the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), as allowed by the Code
of Iowa. ICAP is a local government, risk-sharing pool whose members include various
governmental entities throughout the state of Iowa. It was formed for the purpose of managing and
funding third-party liability claims against its members. It provides coverage and protection in the
following categories: general liability, automobile liability, automobile physical damage, public
officials' liability, police professional liability, property, inland marine, and boiler/machinery.
There have been no reductions in insurance coverage from prior years.
ICAP's intergovernmental contract with its members provides that in the event a casualty claim or
series of claims exceeds the amount of risk-sharing protection provided by the member's risk-
sharing certificate, or in the event that a series of casualty claims exhausts total members' equity
plus any reinsurance and any excess risk-sharing recoveries, then payment of such claims shall be
the obligation of the respective individual member. As of June 30, 2023, settled claims have not
exceeded the risk pool or reinsurance coverage since the pool's inception.
The City also carries commercial insurance purchased from other insurers for property (buildings
and content) and boiler and machinery coverage. The City assumes liability for any deductibles
and claims in excess of coverage limitations. Settled claims resulting from these risks have not
exceeded commercial insurance coverage in any of the past three fiscal years.
Changes in balance of claims liabilities during the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 were:
2023 2022
Liability, July 1 1,448,395$ 1,180,056$
Claims incurred & claims adjustments 760,530 987,824
Claim payments (926,167) (719,485)
Liability, June 30 1,282,758$ 1,448,395$
475
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
72
Health insurance fund. The City maintains a separate internal service fund to account for health
benefits. The City carries excess health insurance of $125,000 through the risk pool of Blue
Cross/Blue Shield of Iowa for specific claims each year and 125% of aggregate claims. The
estimated liability for probable losses as recorded in the health benefits fund was:
The hospital carries professional liability insurance on a claims-made policy. Should the claims-
made policy not be renewed or replaced with equivalent insurance, claims based on occurrences
during its term, but reported subsequently, would be uninsured. The hospital has accrued $200,000
as an estimate for professional liability claims that were incurred but not reported as of June 30,
2023.
The hospital is self-insured for health care coverage of employees and covered dependents and
carries stop-loss insurance coverage, which assumes liability for claims in excess of $175,000 per
individual claim and 120% aggregate of expected paid claims. Accrued costs related to health care
coverage amounted to $1,512,000 at June 30, 2023.
The hospital is self-insured for workers' compensation coverage of employees, and carries stop-
loss insurance coverage, which assumes liability for claims in excess of $500,000 per occurrence.
Accrued costs related to workers' compensation coverage were $484,000 at June 30, 2023.
Changes in the balance of the hospital's accrued claims for professional liabilities, health care, and
workers’ compensation coverage for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:
2023 2022
Liability, July 1 568,855$ 918,335$
Claims incurred & claims adjustments 9,777,380 8,386,338
Claim payments (9,927,343) (8,735,818)
Liability, June 30 418,892$ 568,855$
2023 2022 2023 2022
Liability, July 1 185,253$ 178,519$ 1,329,885$ 1,244,958$
Claims incurred & claims adjustments 24,899 12,643 13,113,303 11,534,102
Claim payments (10,349) (5,909) (12,931,505) (11,449,175)
Liability, June 30 199,803$ 185,253$ 1,511,683$ 1,329,885$
2023 2022
Liability, July 1 266,292$ 443,518$
Claims incurred & claims adjustments 637,038 205,181
Claim payments (419,581) (382,407)
Liability, June 30 483,749$ 266,292$
Professional Liability Health Insurance
Workers' Compensation
476
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
73
4.10 Leases
Lessee
As of June 30, 2023, the City was a lessee for several equipment leases. The City recognizes
lease liabilities and intangible right-to-use lease assets (lease assets) in the fund financials for
proprietary funds and government-wide financial statements for governmental funds. At the
commencement of a lease, the City initially measures the lease liability at the present value of
payments expected to be made during the lease term.
Thereafter, the lease liability is reduced by the principal portion of lease payments made. The
lease asset is initially measured as the initial amount of the lease liability, adjusted for lease
payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus certain initial direct costs.
Thereafter, the lease asset is amortized on a straight-line basis over its useful life.
Key estimates and judgements related to leases include how the City determines (a) the discount
rate it uses to discount the expected lease payments to present value, (b) lease term, and (c) lease
payments.
a. If known, City uses the interest rate charged by the lessor as the discount rate. When the
interest rate charged by the lessor is not provided, the City uses its estimated incremental
borrowing rate as the discount rate for the leases.
b. The lease term includes the noncancelable period of the lease.
c. Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability are composed of fixed
payments and purchase option price that the City is reasonably certain to exercise.
The City monitors changes in circumstances that would require a remeasurement of its lease and will
remeasure the lease asset and liability if certain changes occur that are expected to significantly affect
the amount of the lease liability. Lease assets are reported with other capital assets and lease
liabilities are reported with long-term debt on the statement of net position.
Lessor
As of June 30, 2023, the City was a lessor for several leases. The present value of the leases are
aggregated on a fund basis. All funds record lease receivable on the fund level Statement of Net
Position and are rolled into the government-wide Statement of Net Position.
At the beginning of a lease, the City initially measures the lease receivable at the present value of
payments expected to be received during the lease term. After, the lease receivable is reduced by
the principal portion of lease payments received. The deferred inflow of resources is initially
measured as the initial amount of the lease receivable, adjusted for lease payments received at or
before the lease commencement date. Thereafter, the deferred inflow of resources is recognized
as revenue over the life of the lease term.
477
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
74
Key estimates and judgements include how the City determines (a) the discount rate it uses to
discount the expected lease receipts to present value, (b) lease term, and (c) lease receipts.
a. If specified, the City uses the interest rate identified in the contract as the discount
rate. If no interest rate is specified, the City uses its estimated incremental borrowing
rate as the discount rate for leases.
b. The lease term includes the noncancellable period of the lease
c. Lease receipts included in the measurement of the lease receivable are composed of
fixed payments from the lessee.
The City monitors changes in circumstances that would require a lease remeasurement and will
remeasure the lease receivable and deferred inflows of resources if certain changes occur that are
expected to significantly affect the amount of the lease receivable.
Lease payable
Beginning on March 21, 2022, the City entered into a five-year lease agreement for the right-to-
use Golf Cars. The City is required to pay $12,968 per year distributed between March through
October. The lease has no stated interest rate so the City’s incremental borrowing rate for 3 years
of 3.22% was used. An initial lease liability was recorded in the amount of $32,932 plus an
additional $3,769 for additional carts in future years. As of June 30, 2023, the value of the right-
to-use asset is $36,701 with accumulated amortization of $17,719, and the value of the lease
liability was $18,982 ($6,441 long-term and $12,541 current).
Beginning April 16, 2021, the City entered into a 60-month lease for the right-to-use three Xerox
VersLink C7025T, 1 Xerox PrimeLink C9065, 1 Xerox EX-I Print Server, 1 PaperCut MF, and 4
Badge Readers. The City is required to pay $516 a month. The lease has no stated interest rate so
the incremental borrowing rate for 4 years of 3.26% was used. As of June 30, 2023, the value of
the right-to-use asset is $29,051 with accumulated amortization of $12,267, and the value of the
lease liability was $16,266 ($10,519 long-term and $5,747 current).
The future principal and interest lease and subscription-based information technology
arrangement (SBITA) payments as of June 30, 2023, are as follows:
Fiscal Year
Ending June 30,Principal Interest Total
2024 1,159,197 35,619$ 1,194,816$
2025 897,948 27,318 925,266
2026 542,534 14,934 557,468
2027 90,769 6,970 97,739
2028 60,268 5,329 65,597
2,750,716$ 90,170$ 2,840,886$
478
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
75
Lease receivable
General fund
On July 1, 2021, the City entered into a 279-month lease as Lessor for the use of Verizon Tower
Site. An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $472,700. As of June 30, 2023,
the value of the lease receivable is $467,211. The lessee is required to make monthly fixed
payments of $2,026. The lease has an interest rate of 5.0000%. The value of the deferred inflow
of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $430,245, and the City recognized lease revenue of
$20,331 during the fiscal year.
Airport fund
On July 1, 2021, the City entered into a 312-month lease as Lessor for the use of Hap's Air
Service. An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $42,101. As of June 30, 2023,
the value of the lease receivable is $36,058. The lessee is required to make annual payments
according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 5.0000%. The value of the
deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023 was $38,863, and the City recognized lease
revenue of $1,619 during the fiscal year.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 300-month lease as Lessor for the use of 2516 Airport
Dr. (Brian Aukes). An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $26,532. As of
June 30, 2023, the value of the lease receivable is $25,272. The lessee is required to make annual
payments according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 2.3657%. The value of
the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $25,471, and the City recognized lease
revenue of $1,061 during the fiscal year. The lessee has 4 extension option(s), each for 60
months.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 300-month lease as Lessor for the use of 2514 Airport
Dr. (Viking Aviation). An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $26,532. As of
June 30, 2023, the value of the lease receivable is $25,272. The lessee is required to make annual
payments according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 2.3657%. The value of
the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $25,471, and the City recognized lease
revenue of $1,061 during the fiscal year. The lessee has 4 extension option(s), each for 60
months.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 300-month lease as Lessor for the use of Ames Hanger
Club. An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $46,433. As of June 30, 2023,
the value of the lease receivable is $44,228. The lessee is required to make annual payments
according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 2.3657%. The value of the
deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $44,576, and the City recognized lease
revenue of $1,857 during the fiscal year. The lessee has 4 extension option(s), each for 60
months.
479
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
76
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 600-month lease as Lessor for the use of 2475 Airport
Drive. An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $199,405. As of June 30, 2023,
the value of the lease receivable is $193,350. The lessee is required to make annual payments
according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 2.3657%. The value of the
deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $195,417, and the City recognized lease
revenue of $3,988 during the fiscal year. The lessee has 9 extension option(s), each for 60
months.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 300-month lease as Lessor for the use of 714 Airport Rd.
An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $61,910. As of June 30, 2023, the value
of the lease receivable is $58,970. The lessee is required to make annual payments according to
the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 2.3657%. The value of the deferred inflow of
resources as of June 30, 2023, was $59,434, and the City recognized lease revenue of $2,476
during the fiscal year. The lessee has 4 extension option(s), each for 60 months.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 180-month lease as Lessor for the use of Central Iowa
Air Services. An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $1,003,791. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the lease receivable is $936,491. The lessee is required to make annual
payments according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 1.3940%. The value of
the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $936,872, and the City recognized
lease revenue of $66,919 during the fiscal year. the City has 1 extension option(s), each for 180
months.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 300-month lease as Lessor for the use of 2512 Airport
Dr. (Plane Crazy). An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $14,740. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the lease receivable is $14,040. The lessee is required to make annual
payments according to the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of 2.3657%. The value of
the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $14,150, and the City recognized lease
revenue of $590 during the fiscal year. The lessee has 4 extension option(s), each for 60 months.
Water fund
On July 1, 2021, the City entered into a 156-month lease as Lessor for the use of Tower -
MAC(Sprint). An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $259,013. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the lease receivable is $234,095. The lessee is required to make monthly
fixed payments of $1,825 in accordance with the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of
4.0000%. The value of the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $219,165, and
the City recognized lease revenue of $20,101 during the fiscal year.
On July 1, 2021, the City entered into a 65-month lease as Lessor for the use of Tower Lease -
Western. An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $118,513. As of June 30,
2023, the value of the lease receivable is $78,173. The lessee is required to make monthly fixed
payments of $1,749 in accordance with the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of
3.3200%. The value of the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $74,812, and
the City recognized lease revenue of $21,882 during the fiscal year.
480
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
77
On January 1, 2022, the City entered into a 174-month lease as Lessor for the use of Tower -
BRET(Sprint). An initial lease receivable was recorded in the amount of $257,644. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the lease receivable is $242,475. The lessee is required to make monthly
fixed payments of $1,825 in accordance with the rent schedule. The lease has an interest rate of
5.0000%. The value of the deferred inflow of resources as of June 30, 2023, was $230,991, and
the City recognized lease revenue of $8,958 during the fiscal year.
Subscriptions payable
For the year ended June 30, 2023, the financial statements include the adoption of GASB
Statement No. 96, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements. The primary
objective of this statement is to enhance the relevance and consistency of information about
governments' subscription activities. This statement establishes a single model for subscription
accounting based on the principle that subscriptions are financings of the right to use an
underlying asset. Under this Statement, an organization is required to recognize a subscription
liability and an intangible right-to-use subscription asset. For additional information, refer to the
disclosures below.
On January 1,2023, the City entered into a 36-month subscription for the use of Attendance
Enterprise. An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $16,975. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the subscription liability is $14,207. The City is required to make monthly
fixed payments of $490. The subscription has an interest rate of 2.6560%. The value of the right
to use asset as of June 30, 2023, of $17,475 with accumulated amortization of $2,768.
On April 1, 2023, the City entered into a 72-month subscription for the use of Ames on the Go.
An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $101,481. As of June 30, 2023, the
value of the subscription liability is $83,481. The City is required to make annual fixed payments
of $18,000. The subscription has an interest rate of 2.5600%. The value of the right to use asset
as of June 30, 2023, of $101,481 with accumulated amortization of $18,000. The City has 5
extension option(s), each for 12 months.
On January 13, 2023, the City entered into a 13-month subscription for the use of MaintainX
Software. An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $7,892. As of June 30,
2023, the value of the subscription liability is $3,886. The City is required to make annual fixed
payments of $4,008. The subscription has an interest rate of 3.1440%. The value of the right to
use asset as of June 30, 2023, of $7,892 with accumulated amortization of $4,006 is included
with Software on the Subscription Class activities table found below.
On January 24, 2023, the City entered into a 132-month subscription for the use of Laserfiche
Software. An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $108,789. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the subscription liability is $97,429. The City is required to make annual
fixed payments of $11,360. The subscription has an interest rate of 2.8940%. The value of the
right to use asset as of June 30, 2023 of $108,789 with accumulated amortization of $11,360.
The City has 10 extension option(s), each for 12 months.
481
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
78
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 48-month subscription for the use of SCADA Software.
An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $310,468. As of June 30, 2023, the
value of the subscription liability is $230,213. The City is required to make annual fixed
payments of $80,255. The subscription has an interest rate of 2.2750%. The value of the right to
use asset as of June 30, 2023 of $310,468 with accumulated amortization of $80,255.
On March 31, 2023, the City entered into a 72-month subscription for the use of Trimble Unity
Remote Monitoring ArcGIS Connector Tier 2. An initial subscription liability was recorded in
the amount of $27,968. As of June 30, 2023, the value of the subscription liability is $22,968.
The City is required to make annual fixed payments of $5,000. The subscription has an interest
rate of 2.8940%. The value of the right to use asset as of June 30, 2023 of $27,968 with
accumulated amortization of $5,000. The City has 5 extension option(s), each for 12 months.
On January 31, 2023, the City entered into a 36-month subscription for the use of MS Enterprise
Agreement. An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $487,631. As of June
30, 2023, the value of the subscription liability is $320,808. The City is required to make annual
fixed payments of $166,823. The subscription has an interest rate of 2.6560%. The value of the
right to use asset as of June 30, 2023, of $487,631 with accumulated amortization of $166,823.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 72-month subscription for the use of Traffic. An initial
subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $28,767. As of June 30, 2023, the value of
the subscription liability is $23,767. The City is required to make annual fixed payments of
$5,000. The subscription has an interest rate of 1.7100%. The value of the right to use asset as of
June 30, 2023, of $28,767 with accumulated amortization of $5,000. The City has 5 extension
option(s), each for 12 months.
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 72-month subscription for the use of TransCad. An
initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $8,630. As of June 30, 2023, the value
of the subscription liability is $7,130. The City is required to make annual fixed payments of
$1,500. The subscription has an interest rate of 1.7100%. The value of the right to use asset as of
June 30, 2023, of $8,630 with accumulated amortization of $1,500. The City has 5 extension
option(s), each for 12 months.
On August 1, 2022, the City entered into a 72-month subscription for the use of MicroStation.
An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $44,821. As of June 30, 2023, the
value of the subscription liability is $37,048. The City is required to make annual fixed payments
of $7,794. The subscription has an interest rate of 1.7100%. The value of the right to use asset as
of June 30, 2023, of $44,821 with accumulated amortization of $7,773. The City has 5 extension
option(s), each for 12 months.
On September 1, 2022, the City entered into a 36-month subscription for the use of AutoCAD
Software. An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $30,326. As of June 30,
2023, the value of the subscription liability is $19,998. The City is required to make annual fixed
payments of $10,328. The subscription has an interest rate of 2.1840%. The value of the right to
use asset as of June 30, 2023 of $30,326 with accumulated amortization of $10,328.
482
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
79
On July 1, 2022, the City entered into a 72-month subscription for the use of Permit Solutions.
An initial subscription liability was recorded in the amount of $17,120. As of June 30, 2023, the
value of the subscription liability is $14,367. The City is required to make monthly fixed
payments of $250. The subscription has an interest rate of 1.7100%. The value of the right to use
asset as of June 30, 2023 of $17,120 with accumulated amortization of $2,753. The City has 5
extension option(s), each for 12 months.
4.11 Long-term obligations
General obligation bonds
The City issues general obligation bonds to provide funds for the acquisition and construction of
major capital facilities and equipment. General obligation bonds have been issued for both
governmental and business-type activities. General obligation bonds are direct obligations and
pledge the full faith and credit of the City. These bonds are generally issued with maturities ranging
from 10 to 20 years. Debt service on general obligation bonds is paid from the debt service fund.
General obligation bonds outstanding at June 30, 2023, are as follows:
Outstanding
Sale Original Final June 30,
General Obligation Bonds Date Borrowing Maturity 2023
Corporate purpose 2014 9,395,000 2.000-2.500 %2026 2,190,000
Corporate purpose/refunding 2015 15,670,000 3.000-5.000 2035 4,080,000
Corporate purpose 2016 9,020,605 2.000-5.000 2028 3,239,016
Corporate purpose/refunding 2017 10,975,000 2.000-5.000 2029 3,835,000
Corporate purpose 2018 7,490,000 3.000-5.000 2030 4,790,000
Corporate purpose/TIF 2019 290,000 1.500-5.000 2031 225,000
Corporate purpose 2019 10,230,000 1.500-5.000 2031 7,065,000
Corporate purpose 2020 9,500,000 1.000-5.000 2032 7,415,000
Corporate purpose/refunding 2020 7,929,118 1.000-5.000 2032 2,753,650
Corporate purpose 2021 9,850,000 1.375-5.000 2033 8,425,000
Corporate purpose/refunding 2021 9,372,505 1.375-5.000 2034 7,246,059
Corporate purpose 2022 12,440,000 4.000-5.000 2034 11,240,000
112,162,228$ 62,503,725$
Governmental Activities
Interest
Rates to
Maturity
483
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
80
On November 22, 2022, the City issued $12,440,000 of general obligation, corporate purpose
bonds for improvements to street, bridges, and fire vehicles, which had interest rates of 4.000% to
5.000%. Maturity dates on the bonds range from June 1, 2023 to June 1, 2034. Debt Service
payments are scheduled to be paid semi-annually in amounts that range from $1,337,850 to
$1,519,777. Bonds due after June 1, 2030 may be subject to call prior to maturity at the option of
the City.
Revenue bonds
The City also issues revenue bonds, where the City pledges income derived from certain assets or
programs to pay the debt service. Revenue bonds outstanding as of June 30, 2023 are as follows:
On November 19, 2019, the hospital issued $35,000,000 in revenue bonds to provide additional
financing for the expansion and remodeling of certain portions of the medical center facilities.
The 2019 series bonds are payable through June 15, 2034 and carry interest due at 1.99% (plus
an adjustment to the medical centers credit rating on June 30, 2021).
The hospital has pledged future net revenue to repay the 2012 and 2016 revenue bonds with
original borrowings of $26,000,000 and $64,790,000, respectively. Net revenue is defined in the
Outstanding
Sale Original Final June 30,
General Obligation Bonds Date Borrowing Maturity 2023
Corporate purpose 2014 300,000 2.000-2.500 %2024 35,000
Corporate purpose/refunding 2015 1,860,000 3.000-5.000 2027 730,000
Corporate purpose 2015 915,000 3.000-5.000 2027 630,000
Corporate purpose/refunding 2016 2,629,395 2.000-5.000 2028 755,984
Corporate purpose 2019 255,000 1.500-5.000 2031 195,000
Corporate purpose/refunding 2020 435,882 5.000 2024 116,350
Corporate purpose/refunding 2021 417,495 5.000 2025 208,941
6,812,772$ 2,671,275$
Business-Type Activities
Interest
Rates to
Maturity
Outstanding
Sale Original Final June 30,
Revenue Bonds Date Borrowing Maturity 2023
Hospital improvement
and refunding 2012 19,945,000$ 2.070 %2027 1,910,000$
Electric 2015 9,500,000 2.125-5.000 2027 3,625,000
Hospital refunding 2016 64,790,000 3.000-5.000 2036 57,125,000
Hospital expansion/remodel 2019 35,000,000 1.990 2034 27,180,000
129,235,000$ 89,840,000$
Interest
Rates to
Maturity
484
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
81
supplemental master trust indenture of trust dated November 1, 2012, and in the supplemental
trust indenture dated June 1, 2016, as operating revenue, less operating expenses plus
depreciation. The purpose of the 2012 and 2016 bonds is to refund the 2003 and 2011 bonds,
respectively, and to finance the expansion and renovation of the medical facility. The bonds are
payable solely from net revenues and payable through 2027 and 2036, respectively.
Total principal and interest remaining to be paid on hospital bonds as of June 30, 2023 is
$107,167,436. Principal and interest paid during the fiscal year was $9,017,196 and net revenue
for the same period, as defined above, was $17,741,179.
The City has pledged future net revenue to repay the 2015 electric revenue bonds. Net revenue is
defined as operating revenue less operating expenses, excluding depreciation. The total principal
and interest remaining to be paid on the bonds as of June 30, 2023, is $3,865,294. Principal and
interest paid during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, was $966,556 and net revenue for the
same period, as defined above, was $9,511,610.
Landfill post-closure costs
The City stopped accepting solid waste at its landfill effective June 30, 1992 and has since been
closed. One hundred percent of the capacity of the landfill has been used.
Federal and state laws and regulations establish landfill closure and post-closure care requirements.
The state specifies financial assurance requirements in the Code of Iowa enumerating various
allowable financial assurance mechanisms to meet the costs of closure and post-closure care. The
City satisfies this requirement with the rating on its most recent bond issues.
The liability for post-closure care costs is based on the landfill capacity used to date with no
remaining life. The estimated liability for post-closure care costs is $83,584 at June 30, 2023, with
a current portion of $15,432.
The City's written landfill post-closure plan includes estimates of costs of all equipment and
services required to monitor and maintain the closed landfill. There is a potential for changes in
estimates because of inflation or deflation, changes in technology, or changes in applicable laws
or regulations. Unanticipated future inflation costs and costs that might arise from changes in post-
closure requirements may require adjustment of the liability in future years.
Revenue capital loan notes
The City has a revenue capital loan note agreement with the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) in an
amount not to exceed $76,325,000. Proceeds from the loan were used for paying the cost of
planning, designing, and constructing improvements and extensions to the water utility. The loan
bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee
of $100,000 was withheld from the proceeds and added to the amount owed by the City.
Repayment of the loan came from the water fund. The City received its final disbursement for the
loan during fiscal year 2021, with total proceeds, including the loan initiation fee, totaling
485
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
82
$68,081,339. No amounts were borrowed during the fiscal year. The amount of principal
outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is $44,494,000.
The City has a second revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to exceed
$3,500,000. The funds are to be used for demolition of the old water plant at the end of its useful
life. The loan bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A loan
initiation fee of $17,500 was withheld from the proceeds and added to the amount owed by the
City. Repayment of the loan will come from the water fund. The City borrowed $2,105,079 during
the fiscal year, and the amount of principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is $1,961,079. The
City has $1,394,921 in capital loan notes still available as of June 30, 2023.
The City has a third revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to exceed
$12,161,000. The funds are to be used for the North River Valley Well Field and Pipeline project.
The loan bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A loan
initiation fee of $60,805 was withheld from the proceeds and added to the amount owed by the
City. Repayment of the loan will come from the water fund. The City borrowed $60,805 during
the fiscal year, and the amount of principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is $60,805. The City
has $12,100,195 in capital loan notes still available as of June 30, 2023.
The capital loan note agreements above require the water utility to produce revenues to meet the
operation and maintenance expenses of the facility and to maintain net revenues at a level not less
than 110% of the amount of principal and interest on the revenue bond and any other obligations
secured by a pledge of the net revenues falling due in the same year. In the fiscal year ended June
30, 2023, net revenues were $5,011,686 and principal and interest due of $3,890,156.
The City has a fourth revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to exceed
$3,121,000. The funds were used to pay for a new ultraviolet light disinfection system for the
Water Pollution Control Plant, which is required under the terms of the discharge permit for the
facility. The loan bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A
loan initiation fee of $15,605 was withheld from the proceeds and added to the amount owed by
the City. Repayment of the loan will come from the sewer fund. The City received its final
disbursement for the loan during fiscal year 2015, with total proceeds, including the loan initiation
fee, totaling $2,474,250. No amounts were borrowed during the fiscal year. The amount of
principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is $1,262,000.
The City has a fifth capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to exceed
$5,700,000. The funds were used for planning, designing, and construction improvements and
extensions to the sanitary sewer system. The loan bears interest at 0.86% per annum plus a
servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee of $30,375 was withheld from the proceeds
and added to the amount owed by the City. Repayment of the loan will come from the sewer fund.
The City received its final disbursement for the loan during fiscal year 2021, with total proceeds,
including the loan initiation fee, totaling $5,581,055. No Amounts were borrowed during the fiscal
year. The amount of principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is $4,339,000.
486
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
83
The City has a sixth revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to exceed
$797,000. The funds were used for improvements to two wastewater lift stations that were nearing
the end of their useful lives. The loan bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of
0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee of $3,985 was withheld from the proceeds and added to
the amount owed by the City. Repayment of the loan will come from the sewer fund. No amounts
were borrowed during the fiscal year. The amount of principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is
$429,000.
The City has a seventh revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to
exceed $1,001,000. The funds were used for a new mechanically cleaned bar screening system at
the Water Pollution Control Plant. The loan bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee
of 0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee of $5,005 was withheld from the proceeds and added to
the amount owed by the City. Repayment of the loan will come from the sewer fund. No amounts
were borrowed during the fiscal year. The amount of principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is
$585,000.
The City has an eighth revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to
exceed $8,357,000. The funds were used sanitary sewer collection system improvements. The loan
bears interest at 2.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee
of $41,785 was withheld from the proceeds and added to the amount owed by the City. Repayment
of the loan will come from the sewer fund. The City borrowed $7,631,852 during the fiscal year,
and the amount of principal outstanding as of June 30, 2023 is $7,630,852.
The City has a ninth revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an amount not to exceed
$4,071,000. The funds are to be used for Sanitary Sewer rehabilitation near Ames High School
and Veenker Golf Course. The loan bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of
0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee of $20,355 was withheld from the proceeds and added to
the amount owed by the City. Repayment of the loan will come from the sewer fund. The City
borrowed $20,355 during the fiscal year, and the amount of principal outstanding as of June 30,
2023 is $19,355. The City has $4,050,645 in capital loan notes still available as of June 30, 2023.
The capital loan note agreements above require the sewer utility to produce revenues to meet the
operation and maintenance expenses of the facility and to maintain net revenues at a level not less
than 110% of the amount of principal and interest on the revenue bond and any other obligations
secured by a pledge of the net revenues falling due in the same year. In the fiscal year ended June
30, 2023, the sewer fund had net revenues of $3,049,208, and the amount of principal and interest
due was $581,584.
Legal debt margin. State statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt an Iowa city may
issue to 5% of the actual assessed valuation at January 1, 2021, related to the 2022-2023 fiscal
year. At June 30, 2023, the outstanding debt of $65,175,000 is below the limit of $275,601,992,
leaving a debt margin of over $210 million.
Changes in long-term liabilities. Changes in the City’s long-term liabilities for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 2023, are as follows:
487
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
84
Historically, liabilities for compensated absences and other post-employment benefits are
generally liquidated by the General Fund, Local Option Sales Tax Fund, Road Use Tax Fund,
Public Housing Fund, Internal Service Funds, and the Community Development Block Grant.
Historically, lease liabilities and subscription-based information technology agreements (SBITAs)
are liquidated from its respective fund which it is included within the financial statements.
Balance Balance Due Within
June 30, 2022 Additions Deletions June 30, 2023 One Year
Governmental activities:
Bonds payable:
General obligation bonds 59,281,586$ 12,440,000$ (9,217,861)$ 62,503,725$ 8,481,518$
Premium 6,411,089 827,311 (1,059,906) 6,178,494 769,616
Total bonds payable 65,692,675 13,267,311 (10,277,767) 68,682,219 9,251,134
Compensated absences 2,509,545 3,665,802 (3,539,009) 2,636,338 137,131
Lease liabliity 64,975 - (48,709) 16,266 5,747
Subscription liability - 797,240 (213,209) 584,031 198,614
Governmental activities long-
term debt 68,267,195$ 17,730,353$ (14,078,694)$ 71,918,854$ 9,592,626$
Balance Balance Due Within
June 30, 2022 Additions Deletions June 30, 2023 One Year
Business-type activities:
Bonds payable:
Revenue bonds 96,475,000$ -$ (6,635,000)$ 89,840,000$ 6,885,000$
Premium 5,187,284 - (691,671) 4,495,613 655,434
Total revenue bonds 101,662,284 - (7,326,671) 94,335,613 7,540,434
General obligation bonds 3,288,414 - (617,139) 2,671,275 638,482
Premium 286,920 - (54,461) 232,459 53,617
Total general obligation bonds 3,575,334 - (671,600) 2,903,734 692,099
Total bonds payable 105,237,618 - (7,998,271) 97,239,347 8,232,533
Compensated absences 8,988,663 11,094,352 (11,143,533) 8,939,482 657,392
Lease liability 1,412,904 593,957 (803,114) 1,203,747 563,915
Subscription liability - 1,547,123 (600,451) 946,672 390,921
Loans payable 209,182 - (114,100) 95,082 95,082
Capital loan notes payable 54,333,000 9,818,090 (3,369,999) 60,781,091 3,815,012
Business-type activities long-
term debt 170,181,367$ 23,053,522$ (24,029,468)$ 169,205,421$ 13,754,855$
488
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
85
The debt service requirements for the City's bonds are as follows:
Year Ending
June 30, Principal Interest
2024 8,481,518$ 2,285,460$
2025 8,053,692 1,925,749
2026 7,828,849 1,575,787
2027 7,361,187 1,258,012
2028 6,558,479 962,612
2029-2033 22,930,000 2,021,113
2034-2038 1,290,000 51,600
2039-2042 - -
Total 62,503,725$ 10,080,333$
General Obligation Bonds
Year Ending
June 30, Principal Interest Principal Interest
2024 638,482$ 104,246 6,885,000$ 3,096,107
2025 506,307 77,982 7,130,000 2,857,764
2026 406,151 56,194 7,380,000 2,608,276
2027 418,813 39,344 7,640,000 2,346,344
2028 231,522 21,894 6,445,000 2,068,984
2029-2033 350,000 48,500 35,670,000 6,913,546
2034-2038 120,000 5,850 18,690,000 1,301,709
Total 2,671,275$ 354,010$ 89,840,000$ 21,192,730$
Year Ending
June 30, Principal Interest Principal Interest
2024 3,815,012$ 1,253,258$ 95,082$ -$
2025 3,805,000 1,176,281 - -
2026 3,873,000 1,099,384 - -
2027 3,943,000 1,021,063 - -
2028 4,016,000 941,289 - -
2029-2033 21,190,000 2,456,418 - -
2034-2038 18,191,079 1,266,479 - -
2039-2042 1,948,000 148,110 - -
Total 60,781,091$ 9,362,282$ 95,082$ -$
General Obligation Bonds Revenue Bonds
Capital Loan Notes Loans
489
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
86
4.12 Fund balance
Minimum fund balance policy. The City establishes and maintains fund balance levels based on
evaluation of each individual fund. The minimum fund balance is set at a level that is considered
necessary to maintain the City's credit worthiness and to adequately provide for:
1. Economic uncertainties, local disasters, and other financial hardships or downturns in the
local or national economy,
2. Contingencies for unseen operating or capital needs, and
3. Cash flow requirements.
In addition to the designations noted above, fund balance levels will be sufficient to meet funding
requirements for projects approved in prior years that are carried forward into the new year; debt
service reserve requirements; reserves for encumbrances; and other reserves or designations
required by contractual obligations, state law, or generally accepted accounting principles.
The minimum fund balance level for the General Fund is 20.00% of operating expenditures.
Year Ending
June 30, Principal Interest Principal Interest
2024 11,433,576$ 4,453,611$ 19,915,094$ 6,739,071$
2025 11,441,308 4,112,027 19,495,000 6,037,776
2026 11,659,151 3,763,854 19,488,000 5,339,641
2027 12,001,813 3,406,751 19,363,000 4,664,763
2028 10,692,522 3,032,167 17,251,000 3,994,779
2029-2033 57,210,000 9,418,464 80,140,000 11,439,577
2034-2038 37,001,079 2,574,038 38,291,079 2,625,638
2039-2042 1,948,000 148,110 1,948,000 148,110
Total 153,387,449$ 30,909,022$ 215,891,173$ 40,989,355$
Type Activities
Total Business -Total Primary
Government Debt
490
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
87
The details for the City’s fund balances are as follows:
Capital Debt Special Permanent
General Projects Service Revenues Funds Total
Nonspendable:
Inventory 13,831$ -$ -$ 933,831$ -$ 947,662$
Prepaid items 201,574 - - 25,234 - 226,808
Perpetual care principal - - - - 1,084,809 1,084,809
Aquatic center endowment - - - - 1,000,000 1,000,000
Total nonspendable fund balance 215,405 - - 959,065 2,084,809 3,259,279
Restricted:
Debt service - - 2,352,740 1,765,463 - 4,118,203
Aquatic center - - - - 95,768 95,768
Street construction - - - 9,040,596 - 9,040,596
Environment and economic betterment - 2,141,912 - 11,213,704 - 13,355,616
General obligation bond projects - 19,157,257 - - - 19,157,257
Housing assistance - - - 8,150 - 8,150
Public safety - - - 405,756 - 405,756
Public safety pension - - - 67,452 - 67,452
Library - - - 411,666 - 411,666
Parks and recreation - 3,516,615 - - - 3,516,615
Project Share - - - 4,820 - 4,820
Developers' projects - - - 227,526 - 227,526
Total restricted fund balance - 24,815,784 2,352,740 23,145,133 95,768 50,409,425
Committed:
Bike trails - - - 10,026 - 10,026
Parks and recreation - 1,361,589 - 143,423 - 1,505,012
Housing assistance - - - 179,783 - 179,783
Green energy projects - - - 12,036 - 12,036
Environment and economic betterment - - - 9,366,626 - 9,366,626
Public Art Donations 3,982 3,982
Total committed fund balance - 1,361,589 - 9,715,876 - 11,077,465
Assigned:
Administration 6,128 - - - - 6,128
City Hall maintenance 9,806 - - - - 9,806
Police operations 7,760 - - - - 7,760
Parks and recreation 18,430 - - - - 18,430
Parks and recreation maintenance 1,621,330 - - - - 1,621,330
PW/Airport 28,472 - - - - 28,472
Fire 130,693 - - - - 130,693
Total assigned fund balance 1,822,619 - - - - 1,822,619
Unassigned 14,301,791 (2,038,802) - - - 12,262,989
Total fund balance 16,339,815$ 24,138,571$ 2,352,740$ 33,820,074$ 2,180,577$ 78,831,777$
491
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
88
4.13 Inter-fund receivables and payables
The composition of inter-fund balances as of June 30, 2023, is as follows:
The outstanding balances between funds result mainly from the time lag between the dates that
inter-fund goods and services are provided, or reimbursable expenditures occur.
Receivable Fund General Fund
Capital
Projects Electric Sewer Water
Major Funds:
General Fund -$ 5,688$ 330,012$ 99,515$ 114,733$
Electric 74,776 - - 28,648 30,279
Sewer 117 - 398,973 - 57,150
Water - 656 42,196 158,227 -
Non-Major Funds:
Permanent 17,656 - - - -
Special Revenue 704,414 348,500 15,426 212,041 208,717
Enterprise 75,053 14,596 163,856 2,159 -
Internal Service 175,056 1,689 62,388 19,764 48,135
Total 1,047,072$ 371,129$ 1,012,851$ 520,354$ 459,014$
Payable Fund
Receivable Fund
Non-Major
Special
Revenue
Funds
Non-Major
Enterprise
Funds
Internal Service
Funds Total
Major Funds:
General Fund 1,014,043$ 147,861$ 126,747$ 1,838,599$
Electric 16 - - 133,719
Sewer - - - 456,240
Water 898 - - 201,977
Non-Major Funds:
Permanent - - - 17,656
Special Revenue 39,121 124,080 (5,967) 1,646,332
Enterprise 3,155 - 6,841 265,660
Internal Service 118,531 63,764 4,998 494,325
Total 1,175,764$ 335,705$ 132,619$ 5,054,508$
Payable Fund
492
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
89
4.14 Inter-fund transfers
The composition of inter-fund transfers for the year ended June 30, 2023, is as follows:
Inter-fund transfers are authorized in the City budget and usually involve transfers from the fund
receiving the revenue to the fund through which the authorized expenditure is to be made. For
example, the road use tax funds are received into the special revenue fund and are transferred to
the capital projects fund where the funds will be spent.
4.15 Donor-restricted endowment
Earnings from the investment of the Furman Aquatic Center endowment of $95,768 at June 30,
2023, are shown as restricted net position. These funds can be used at the aquatic center to
minimize the City’s ongoing operational costs, to fund future repairs and enhancements, and to
replace equipment. Chapter 540A of the Code of Iowa permits the City to appropriate an amount
of net appreciation as the City determines, in good faith, while considering the duration and
preservation of the endowment fund, the purposes of the City and the fund, general economic
conditions, the possible effect of inflation or deflation, the expected total return from income and
the appreciation of investments, other resources of the City, and the investment policy of the City.
4.16 Urban renewal development agreements
The City has entered into various development agreements for urban renewal projects. The
agreements require the City to rebate portions of the incremental property tax paid by the developer
in exchange for infrastructure, improvements, rehabilitation, and development of commercial
projects by the developer. The total to be paid by the City under the agreements is not to exceed
$4,552,335. Certain agreements include provisions for the payment of interest.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, the City rebated $711,857 of incremental property tax
to developers, which was all for principal. The total cumulative principal amount rebated on the
agreements is $3,141,998. The outstanding balance on the agreements at June 30, 2023 was
$1,410,337.
Transfers In General Fund
Capital
Projects Electric
Non-Major
Special Revenue Total
Major Funds:
General Fund -$ -$ 2,338,065$ 9,463,762$ 11,801,827$
Capital Projects 325,000 - - 100,000 425,000
Debt Service - 584,783 - 329,110 913,893
Non-Major Funds:
Special Revenue - - - 166,615 166,615
Enterprise 2,652,205 - - 95,489 2,747,694
Total 2,977,205$ 584,783$ 2,338,065$ 10,154,976$ 16,055,029$
Transfers Out
493
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
90
The agreements are not general obligations of the City and due to their nature, are not recorded as
a liability in the City's financial statements. However, the agreements are subject to the
constitutional debt limitation of the City.
Certain agreements include an annual appropriation clause and, accordingly, only the amount
payable in the succeeding year on the agreements is subject to the constitutional debt limitation.
The entire outstanding principal balance of agreements, not including an annual appropriation
clause, is subject to the constitutional debt limitation.
4.17 Tax abatements
GASB Statement No. 77 defines tax abatements as a reduction in tax revenues that results from an
agreement between one or more governments and an individual or entity in which (a) one or more
governments promise to forgo tax revenues to which they are otherwise entitled and (b) the
individual or entity promises to take a specific action after the agreement has been entered into
that contributes to economic development or otherwise benefits the governments or the citizens of
those governments.
The City provides tax abatements for urban renewal and economic development projects with tax
increment financing as provided for in Chapters 15A and 403 of the Code of Iowa. For these types
of projects, the City enters into agreements with developers, which require the City, after
developers meet the terms of the agreements, to rebate a portion of the property tax paid by the
developers, pay the developers an economic development grant, or pay the developers a pre-
determined dollar amount. No other commitments were made by the City as part of these
agreements.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, the City abated $711,857 of property tax under urban
renewal and economic development projects. The City's property tax revenue was not reduced by
any amount under agreements entered into by any other entities for the year ended June 30, 2023.
4.18 Implementation of GASB Statement No. 96
As of July 1, 2022, the City adapted GASB Statement No. 96, “Subscription-Based Information
Technology Arrangements”. The objective of the Statement is to define Subscription-based
information technology arrangements (SBITAs), providing greater consistency in practice,
establish capitalization criteria and improve comparability with other financial reports. The
implementation of this standard added certain asset and liability accounts related to SBITAs,
however, had no effect on beginning net position.
4.19 Prospective Accounting Pronouncements
GASB has issued statements not yet implemented by the City. The statements which might impact
the City are as follows:
494
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
91
Statement No. 100, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections – an amendment of
GASB Statement No. 62.” The requirements of this Statement will take effect for financial
statements starting with the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2024.
Statement No. 101, “Compensated Absences.” The requirements of this Statement will
take effect for financial statements starting with the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2024.
Statement No. 102, “Certain Risk Disclosures.” The requirements of this Statement will
take effect for financial statements starting with the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2025.
4.20 Contingencies
The City's Legal Department reported to management that, as of June 30, 2023, claims and lawsuits
were on file against the City. The Legal Department estimates that the portion of these potential
claims and lawsuits not covered by insurance would not materially affect the financial position of
the City. The City has authority to levy additional taxes outside the regular limit to cover cases
resulting in an uninsured judgment.
The City participates in various federal grant programs, the principal of which are subject to
program compliance audits pursuant to the Single Audit Act, as amended. Accordingly, the City's
compliance with applicable grant requirements will be established at a future date. The amount of
expenditures that may be disallowed by the granting agencies cannot be determined at this time,
although the City anticipates such amounts, if any, will be immaterial.
Hospital contingencies
Laws and regulations. The health care industry is subject to numerous laws and regulations of
federal, state, and local governments. Compliance with such laws and regulations can be subject
to future government review and interpretation, as well as regulatory actions unknown and
unasserted at this time. These laws and regulations include, but are not limited to, accreditation,
licensure, government health care program participation requirements, reimbursement for patient
services, and Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse. Recently, government activity has increased
with respect to investigations and allegations concerning possible violations of fraud and abuse
statutes and regulations by health care providers. Violations of these laws and regulations could
result in exclusion from government health care program participation, together with the
imposition of significant fines and penalties, as well as significant repayment for past
reimbursement for patient services received. While the hospital is subject to similar regulatory
reviews, management believes that the outcome of any such regulatory review will not have a
material adverse effect on the hospital's financial position.
Current economic conditions. The current labor market conditions have challenged employers to
make adjustments to health insurance plans, and thus services provided to self-pay and other
payors may significantly impact net patient service revenue, which could have an adverse impact
on the Medical Center’s future operating revenue, which could have an adverse impact on the
495
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
92
Medical Center’s future operating results. Further, the effect of economic conditions may have an
adverse effect on cash flows related to the Medicaid program.
Given the volatility of current economic conditions, the values of assets and liabilities recorded in the
financial statements could change rapidly, resulting in material future adjustments in investment
values and the allowances for accounts and contributions receivable. This could negatively affect the
hospital's ability to meet debt covenants or maintain sufficient liquidity.
Health Ventures is in the process of constructing a surgery center, and the Medical Center has
committed to pay for 50% of the construction costs of the surgery center in the form of equity
contributions to Health Ventures. The Medical Center’s portion of the estimated costs of the surgery
center project is approximately $15,000,000, of which the Medical Center has contributed
approximately $2,268,000 as of June 30, 2023 with the remaining to be paid through September
2024.
The Medical Center has committed a transfer of approximately $4,000,000 to the City of Ames for
funding the City’s aquatic center.
4.21 Related party transactions
In May 2019, the Medical Center entered a direct borrowing financing arrangement for the
acquisition of computer hardware. This note, which is due to Health Ventures, a related party, carries
no interest and requires monthly payments of $9,508 and matures in fiscal year 2024. The note is
secured by the computer hardware.
4.22 Subsequent Events
On November 9, 2023, the City issued $12,110,000 of general obligation, corporate purpose bonds
for paying the cost of constructing improvements to streets and bridges, fire apparatus replacement,
and an intelligent transportation system. The interest rates on the bonds are 5.00% with final maturity
on June 1, 2035.
On August 18, 2023, the City entered into a revenue capital loan note agreement with the IFA in an
amount not to exceed $2,150,000. The funds will be used for sanitary sewer rehabilitation. The loan
bears interest at 1.75% per annum plus a servicing fee of 0.25% per annum. A loan initiation fee of
$10,750 was withheld from the proceeds and added to the amount owed by the City. Repayment of
the loan will come from the sewer fund.
496
REQUIREDSUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION
497
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
SCHEDULE OF THE CITY’S PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY (ASSET)
IOWA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM
LAST NINE FISCAL YEARS
94
*Prior year amounts of covered payroll were changed to comply with GASB Statement No. 82, Pension Issues-an amendment of GASB
Statements No. 67, No. 68, and No. 73.
**The plan has 3 groups, regular, sheriff, and protective. In total, the Plan reported a net pension asset at June 30, 2021. The City only
participates in the regular and protective groups. The City’s portion of the regular group’s net pension liability at June 30, 2021,
exceeded the City’s share of the protective group’s net pension asset, resulting in the City reporting a net pension liability at June 30,
2022.
In accordance with GASB Statement No. 68, the amounts presented for each fiscal year were determined as of June 30 of the preceding
year.
Note: GASB Statement No. 68 requires ten years of information to be presented in this table. However, until a full ten-year trend is
compiled, the City will present information for those years for which information is available.
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information.
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
City's proportion of the net pension liability(asset)1.3057620%-0.0380697%1.1986846%1.1690479%1.1516658%1.1292958%1.1552370%1.1616104%1.2008652%
City's proportionate share of the net pension liability 49,488,498$ 131,427$ 84,204,424$ 67,695,565$ 72,880,234$ 75,225,392$ 72,702,712$ 57,389,174$ 47,625,187$
City's covered payroll*108,490,284$ 96,853,385$ 96,755,907$ 90,665,386$ 87,947,886$ 85,610,198$ 84,237,577$ 81,269,880$ 80,486,286$
City's proportionate share of the net pension liability as a
percentage of its covered payroll 45.62%0.14%87.03%74.67%82.87%87.87%86.31%70.62%59.17%
Plan fiduciary net position as a percentage of the total pension
liability 91.40%100.81%82.90%85.45%83.62%82.21%81.82%85.19%87.61%
498
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
SCHEDULE OF CITY CONTRIBUTIONS
IOWA PUBLIC EMPLOYEE’S RETIREMENT SYSETM
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
95
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information.
Contributions
in Relation to Contributions
Fiscal Statutorily the Statutorily Contribution City's as a Percentage
Year Required Required Deficiency Covered of Covered
Ended Contribution Contribution (Excess)Payroll Payroll
2023 11,205,032$ 11,205,032$ - 119,069,972$ 9.41%
2022 10,223,542 10,223,542 - 108,490,284 9.42%
2021 9,131,127 9,131,127 - 96,853,385 9.43%
2020 9,139,672 9,139,672 - 96,755,907 9.45%
2019 8,567,465 8,567,465 - 90,665,386 9.45%
2018 7,862,807 7,862,807 - 87,947,886 8.94%
2017 7,654,501 7,654,501 - 85,610,198 8.94%
2016 7,543,219 7,543,219 - 84,237,577 8.95%
2015 7,272,880 7,272,880 - 81,269,880 8.95%
2014 7,202,625 7,202,625 - 80,486,286 8.95%
IPERS - Combined
499
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
SCHEDULE OF THE CITY’S PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY (ASSET)
MUNICIPAL FIRE AND POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF IOWA
LAST NINE FISCAL YEARS*
96
*Prior year amounts of covered payroll were changed to comply with GASB Statement No. 82, Pension Issues-an amendment of GASB
Statements No. 67, No. 68, and No. 73.
In accordance with GASB Statement No. 68, the amounts presented for each fiscal year were determined as of June 30 of the preceding
year.
Note: GASB Statement No. 68 requires ten years of information to be presented in this table. However, until a full ten-year trend is
compiled, the City will present information for those years for which information is available.
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
City's proportion of the net pension liability 2.565791%2.675493%2.677595%2.663532%2.719769%2.651310%2.649945%2.696727%2.684406%
City's proportionate share of the net pension liability 14,408,725$ 6,008,465$ 21,356,506$ 17,470,814$ 16,193,599$ 15,549,272$ 16,569,071$ 12,669,610$ 9,730,925$
City's covered payroll*8,665,848$ 8,643,628$ 8,435,313$ 8,064,312$ 7,866,170$ 7,506,515$ 7,180,220$ 7,004,314$ 6,855,169$
City's proportionate share of the net pension liability as a
percentage of its covered payroll 166.27%69.51%253.18%216.64%205.86%207.14%230.76%180.88%141.95%
Plan fiduciary net position as a percentage of the total pension
liability 84.62%93.62%76.47%79.94%81.07%80.60%78.20%83.04%86.27%
500
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
SCHEDULE OF CITY CONTRIBUTIONS
MUNICIPAL FIRE AND POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF IOWA
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
97
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information
Contributions
in Relation to Contributions
Fiscal Statutorily the Statutorily Contribution City's as a Percentage
Year Required Required Deficiency Covered of Covered
Ended Contribution Contribution (Excess)Payroll Payroll
2023 2,197,536$ 2,197,536$ - 9,165,237$ 23.98%
2022 2,268,424 2,268,424 - 8,665,848 26.18%
2021 2,200,185 2,200,185 - 8,643,628 25.45%
2020 2,076,217 2,076,217 - 8,435,313 24.61%
2019 2,097,820 2,097,820 - 8,064,312 26.01%
2018 2,030,080 2,030,080 - 7,866,170 25.81%
2017 1,946,357 1,946,357 - 7,506,515 25.93%
2016 1,994,209 1,994,209 - 7,180,220 27.77%
2015 2,150,611 2,150,611 - 7,004,314 30.70%
2014 2,064,780 2,064,780 - 6,855,169 30.12%
MFPRSI
501
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
SCHEDULE OF CHANGES IN TOTAL OPEB LIABILITY AND RELATED RATIOS
LAST SIX YEARS*
98
Notes to schedule:
No assets are accumulated in a trust that meets the criteria in paragraph 4 of GASB No. 75.
Changes of assumptions: Changes of assumptions and other inputs reflect the effects of changes
in the discount rate each period. The following are the discount rates used each period:
* GASB No. 75 requires ten years of information to be presented in this table. However, until a
full ten-year trend is compiled, the City will present information for those years for which
information is available.
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information
City:2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
Total OPEB liability
Service cost 199,160$ 181,568$ 177,816$ 140,814$ 128,949$ 124,144$
Interest 105,760 56,886 57,031 74,532 76,772 75,321
Differences between expected and actual experience - 398,929 - (374,352) - -
Changes in assumptions or other inputs (30,021) (99,678) 11,592 746,954 70,173 (51,203)
Benefit payments (205,641) (197,042) (197,291) (150,412) (133,691) (97,725)
Net change in total OPEB liability 69,258 340,663 49,148 437,536 142,203 50,537
Total OPEB liability, beginning 2,891,232 2,550,569 2,501,421 2,063,885 1,921,682 1,871,145
Total OPEB liability, ending 2,960,490$ 2,891,232$ 2,550,569$ 2,501,421$ 2,063,885$ 1,921,682$
Covered-employee payroll 42,863,000$ 41,514,170$ 40,817,000$ 39,532,365$ 37,519,077$ 38,084,243$
Total OPEB liability as a percentage
of covered-employee payroll 6.91%6.96%6.25%6.33%5.50%5.05%
2017 3.58%
2018 3.87%
2019 3.50%
2020 2.21%
2021 2.16%
2022 3.54%
2023 3.65%
502
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
SCHEDULE OF CHANGES IN TOTAL OPEB LIABILITY AND RELATED RATIOS
LAST SIX YEARS*
99
Notes to schedule:
No assets are accumulated in a trust that meets the criteria in paragraph 4 of GASB No. 75.
Changes of assumptions: Changes of assumptions and other inputs reflect the effects of changes
in the discount rate each period. The following are the discount rates used each period:
* GASB No. 75 requires ten years of information to be presented in this table. However, until a
full ten-year trend is compiled, the City will present information for those years for which
information is available.
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information
Hospital:2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
Total OPEB liability
Service cost 236,111$ 227,329$ 201,432$ 171,392$ 183,570$ 230,410$
Interest 103,468 98,212 147,571 188,216 171,689 155,873
Differences between expected and
actual experience (59,957) (339,352) (432,129) (480,311) (518,903) 907,372
Changes in assumptions or other inputs (629,822) 61,467 349,124 211,750 (208,768) (448,839)
Benefit payments (44,963) (135,587) (235,143) (113,258) 57,836 (10,501)
Net change in total OPEB liability (395,163) (87,931) 30,855 (22,211) (314,576) 834,315
Total OPEB liability, beginning 4,384,841 4,472,772 4,441,917 4,464,128 4,778,704 3,944,389
Total OPEB liability, ending 3,989,678$ 4,384,841$ 4,472,772$ 4,441,917$ 4,464,128$ 4,778,704$
Covered-employee payroll 76,610,358$ 73,471,503$ 62,532,773$ 62,732,418$ 61,873,578$ 61,873,578$
Total OPEB liability as a percentage
of covered-employee payroll 5.21%5.97%7.15%7.08%7.21%7.72%
2017 3.81%
2018 3.44%
2019 4.11%
2020 3.26%
2021 2.12%
2022 2.25%
2023 4.31%
503
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
BUDGETARY COMPARISON SCHEDULE
GOVERNMENTAL AND PROPRIETARY FUNDS
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
100
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information
Governmental Proprietary Variance -
Funds Funds Total Original Final Actual to
Actual Actual Actual Budget Budget Final
Revenues and other financing sources:
Taxes levied on property 33,112,638$ -$ 33,112,638$ 33,537,181$ 33,526,132$ (413,494)$
Delinquent property taxes (109,585) - (109,585) - - (109,585)
TIF revenues 1,230,008 - 1,230,008 1,331,440 1,336,440 (106,432)
Other taxes 14,637,317 - 14,637,317 11,901,183 13,215,351 1,421,966
Licenses and permits 1,465,409 15,850 1,481,259 1,681,190 1,636,190 (154,931)
Use of money and property 1,809,124 3,765,013 5,574,137 21,748,881 20,301,389 (14,727,252)
Intergovernmental 22,814,709 22,099,337 44,914,046 33,707,771 59,672,060 (14,758,014)
Charges for services 2,165,903 329,656,450 331,822,353 323,729,280 336,143,151 (4,320,798)
Special assessments 239,370 - 239,370 236,763 236,763 2,607
Miscellaneous 4,950,932 3,970,561 8,921,493 8,511,828 4,991,033 3,930,460
Other financing sources 13,267,311 9,703,439 22,970,750 30,690,410 47,210,353 (24,239,603)
Transfers in 16,932,659 2,747,694 19,680,353 17,155,860 21,334,264 (1,653,911)
Total revenues and other financing sources 112,515,795 371,958,344 484,474,139 484,231,787 539,603,126 (55,128,987)
Expenditures and other financing uses:
General government 3,569,751 - 3,569,751 3,616,489 4,408,648 838,897
Public safety 20,728,491 - 20,728,491 21,772,603 21,472,859 744,368
Public works 7,898,282 - 7,898,282 8,089,396 8,192,940 294,658
Health and social services 1,688,521 - 1,688,521 1,757,204 1,774,698 86,177
Culture and recreation 9,636,502 - 9,636,502 9,753,369 10,069,421 432,919
Community and economic development 4,610,727 - 4,610,727 4,632,677 9,699,766 5,089,039
Debt service 12,342,909 - 12,342,909 12,334,750 12,358,322 15,413
Capital outlay 30,547,797 - 30,547,797 41,896,205 72,618,888 42,071,091
Total governmental expenditures 91,022,980 - 91,022,980 103,852,693 140,595,542 49,572,562
Business-type expenditures - 332,261,697 332,261,697 348,553,180 405,105,749 72,844,052
Total expenditures and other financing uses 91,022,980 332,261,697 423,284,677 452,405,873 545,701,291 122,416,614
Other financing uses 16,593,568 3,086,785 19,680,353 17,155,860 21,334,264 1,653,911
Total expenditures, other financing uses,
and transfers out 107,616,548 335,348,482 442,965,030 469,561,733 567,035,555 124,070,525
Excess revenues and other financing sources
over (under) expenditures, other financing uses,
and transfers out 4,899,247 36,609,862 41,509,109 14,670,054 (27,432,429) 68,941,538
Fund balances, beginning 100,989,960 852,560,154 953,550,114 768,320,165 694,227,408 259,322,706
Fund balances, ending 105,889,207$ 889,170,016$ 995,059,223$ 782,990,219$ 666,794,979$ 328,264,244$
504
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
BUDGETARY COMPARISON SCHEDULE
BUDGET TO GAAP RECONCILIATION
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
101
See Notes to Required Supplementary Information
Modified
Budget Accrual Budget Accrual
Basis Adjustments Basis Basis Adjustments Basis
Revenues and other financing sources 112,515,795$ (14,288,333)$ 98,227,462$ 371,958,344$ 12,216,220$ 384,174,564$
Expenditures and other financing uses 107,616,548 (14,209,851) 93,406,697 335,348,482 6,045,299 341,393,781
Excess revenues and other financing sources
over expenditures and other financing uses 4,899,247 (78,482) 4,820,765 36,609,862 6,170,921 42,780,783
Fund balances, beginning 100,989,960 (26,978,948) 74,011,012 852,560,154 (41,846,616) 810,713,538
Fund balances, ending 105,889,207$ (27,057,430)$ 78,831,777$ 889,170,016$ (35,675,695)$ 853,494,321$
Governmental Funds Proprietary Funds
505
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
JUNE 30, 2023
102
1.0 Pension Liability
IPERS:
Changes in benefits and terms. There were no significant changes in benefit terms.
Changes in assumptions.
The 2022 valuation incorporated the following refinements after a quadrennial experience study:
Changed mortality assumptions to the PubG-2010 mortality tables with mortality
improvements modeled using Scale MP-2021.
Adjusted retirement rates for Regular members.
Lowered disability rates for Regular members.
Adjusted termination rates for all membership groups.
The 2018 valuation implemented the following refinements as a result of a demographic
assumption study dated June 28, 2018:
Changed mortality assumptions to the RP-2014 mortality tables with mortality
improvements modeled using Scale MP-2017.
Adjusted retirement rates.
Lowered disability rates.
Adjusted the probability of vested Regular member electing to receive a deferred
benefit.
Adjusted the merit component of the salary increase assumption.
The 2017 valuation implemented the following refinements because of a quadrennial experience
study:
Decreased the inflation assumption from 3.00% to 2.60%
Decreased the assumed rate of interest on member accounts from 3.75% to 3.50% per year
Decreased the long-term rate of return assumption from 7.50% to 7.00% per year.
Decreased the wage growth and payroll growth assumption from 4.00% to 3.25% per year.
Decreased the salary increase assumption by 0.75%.
The 2014 valuation implemented the following refinements because of a quadrennial experience
study:
Decreased the inflation assumption from 3.25% to 3.00%
Decreased the assumed rate of interest on member accounts from 4.00% to 3.75% per year
Adjusted male mortality rates for retirees in the regular membership group
Reduced retirement rates for sheriffs and deputies between the ages of 55 and 64
Moved from an open, 30-year amortization period for the UAL beginning June 30, 2014.
Each year thereafter, changes in the UAL from plan experience will be amortized on a
separate closed, 20-year period.
506
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
103
MFPRSI:
Changes in benefit terms. There were no significant changes of benefit terms.
Changes in assumptions. The actuarial assumptions used in the June 30, 2022 valuation were based
on the results of an actuarial experience study for the 10-year period ending June 30, 2020.
The 2018 valuation mortality rates were based on RP 2014 Blue Collar Healthy Annuitant table
with males set forward zero years, females set forward two years, and disabled set forward three
years (male only rates), with generational projection of future mortality improvement with 50% of
Scale BB beginning in 2017.
The 2017 valuation added five years projection of future mortality improvement with Scale BB.
The 2016 valuation changed post-retirement morality rates to the RP-2000 Blue Collar Combined
Healthy Mortality Table with males set back two years, females set forward one year, and disabled
individuals set forward one year (male only rates), with no projection of future mortality
improvement.
The 2015 valuation phased in the 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table for post-retirement
mortality. This resulted in a weighting of 1/12 of the 1971 Group Annuity Mortality Table and
11/12 of the 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table.
The 2014 valuation phased in the 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table for post-retirement
mortality. This resulted in a weighting of 2/12 of the 1971 Group Annuity Mortality Table and
10/12 of the 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table.
2.0 Budgetary Information
The budgetary comparison is presented as required supplementary information in accordance with
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 41 for governments with
significant budgetary perspective differences resulting from not being able to present budgetary
comparisons for the General Fund and each major special revenue fund.
In accordance with the Code of Iowa, the City Council annually adopts a budget on the modified
accrual basis of accounting and follows the public notice and hearing requirements. The annual
budget may be amended during the year utilizing similar statutorily prescribed procedures.
Encumbrances are not recognized on the budget basis and appropriations lapse at the end of the
fiscal year.
Formal and legal budgetary control is based upon nine major classes of expenditures, referred to
as functions, not by fund or fund type. The nine functions are general government, public safety,
public works, health and social services, culture and recreation, community and economic
development, debt service, capital projects, and business-type activities. Expenditures of functions
required to be budgeted include expenditures for the General Fund, special revenue funds, the Debt
507
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NOTES TO THE REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION (continued)
JUNE 30, 2023
104
Service Fund, the Capital Projects Fund, and the enterprise funds. Although the budget document
presents function expenditures by fund, the legal level of control is at the aggregated function level,
not by fund.
Three budget amendments during the fiscal year increased budgeted expenditures by $97,473,822.
These amendments are reflected in the final budget amounts.
508
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
509
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NON-MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
106
Special revenue funds are used to account for specific revenue sources that are restricted,
committed, or assigned to expenditures for particular purposes.
Metro Coalition Fund – to account for the funds related to a group of cities in Iowa who have
pooled financial resources to fund legislative lobbying and monitoring services.
Local Option Tax Fund - to account for the funds generated by the voter-approved 1% local
option sales tax. Sixty percent is used for property tax relief and forty percent is for community
betterment.
Hotel/Motel Tax Fund - to account for funds generated through the imposition of a hotel/motel
tax. Proceeds are used for community betterment and economic development.
Road Use Tax Fund - to account for the City's share of state gasoline taxes received on a per
capita basis. Funds must be used for a purpose related to the construction or maintenance of
public streets.
Bike Licenses Fund - to account for funds generated by the sale of bike licenses to be used for
bike trails and maps.
Police Forfeiture and Grants Funds - to account for funds generated from the forfeiture of
property because of criminal activities and for government grants received for law enforcement
costs.
Housing Assistance Fund - to account for grant-funded housing assistance programs.
TIF Fund - to account for tax-increment financing revenues on abated debt.
Employee Benefit Property Tax Fund - to account for tax revenues used to pay the City's share
of selected employee benefits.
Police and Fire 411 Fund - to account for the funds remaining from the transition to Municipal
Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (MFPRSI). Funds may only be used to offset City
contributions to MFPRSI.
Parks and Recreation Programs Fund - to account for revenues used for specific park and
recreation programs and improvements.
Library Donations, Project Share, Public Art Donations, Police and Fire Donations, and Animal
Shelter Donations Funds- to account for donations to be used for specific purposes and
activities.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fund - to account for funds received from the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be used according to the CDBG
program.
510
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NON-MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS (continued)
SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
107
Developers' Projects Fund - to account for funds received from developers to be used for City
infrastructure.
Economic Development and Loans Fund - to account for funds from block grants and funds to
be loaned to businesses to increase development in the City.
Federal Relief Funds – to account for funds received from emergency related grants to cover
expenses associated with natural disasters.
Permanent Funds
Permanent funds are used to report resources that are legally restricted to the extent that only
earnings, not principal, may be used for purposes that support the City's programs.
Perpetual Care Fund - to account for principal amounts received for perpetual care. The
investment earnings are recorded in the General Fund and are used to maintain the cemetery.
Furman Aquatic Center Endowment Fund - to account for a donation to cover future operating
expenditures, fund future repairs and enhancements, and to replace equipment at the aquatic
center.
511
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING BALANCE SHEET
NON-MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
108
Non-Major Furman Total
Special Aquatic Non-Major
Revenue Perpetual Center Governmental
Funds Care Endowment Funds
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents 7,379,362$ 35,293$ 207,058$ 7,621,713$
Investments 27,401,229 1,031,689 885,588 29,318,506
Taxes receivable 5,750 - - 5,750
Accrued interest receivable 7,251 - 3,122 10,373
Accounts receivable, net 266,918 171 - 267,089
Intergovernmental receivable 1,704,050 - - 1,704,050
Loans receivable 904 - - 904
Due from other funds 1,646,332 17,656 - 1,663,988
Inventories 933,831 - - 933,831
Prepaid items 25,234 - - 25,234
Long-term loans receivable 1,233 - - 1,233
Total assets 39,372,094$ 1,084,809$ 1,095,768$ 41,552,671$
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable 1,646,925$ -$ -$ 1,646,925$
Accrued payroll 108,395 - - 108,395
Retainage payable 517,566 - - 517,566
Customer deposits 576,554 - - 576,554
Intergovernmental payable 22,780 - - 22,780
Due to other funds 1,175,764 - - 1,175,764
Unearned revenue 1,260,420 - - 1,260,420
Total liabilities 5,308,404 - - 5,308,404
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF
RESOURCES
Unavailable revenue:
Grants 243,616 - - 243,616
Total deferred inflows of resources 243,616 - - 243,616
FUND BALANCES (DEFICITS)
Nonspendable 959,065 1,084,809 1,000,000 3,043,874
Restricted 23,145,133 - 95,768 23,240,901
Committed 9,715,876 - - 9,715,876
Total fund balances 33,820,074 1,084,809 1,095,768 36,000,651
Total liabilities, deferred inflows of resources,
and fund balances 39,372,094$ 1,084,809$ 1,095,768$ 41,552,671$
Permanent Funds
512
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES
NON-MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
109
Non-Major Furman Total
Special Aquatic Non-Major
Revenue Perpetual Center Governmental
Funds Care Endowment Funds
REVENUES
Taxes 17,836,389$ -$ -$ 17,836,389$
Intergovernmental 13,341,808 - - 13,341,808
Charges for services - 17,412 - 17,412
Investment income 45,219 - 17,865 63,084
Miscellaneous 55,210 - - 55,210
Total revenues 31,278,626 17,412 17,865 31,313,903
EXPENDITURES
Current:
General government 786,028 - - 786,028
Public safety 192,710 - - 192,710
Public works 7,046,525 - - 7,046,525
Health and social services 1,687,110 - - 1,687,110
Culture and recreation 689,389 - 2,511 691,900
Community and economic development 3,344,141 - - 3,344,141
Capital outlay 6,847,263 - - 6,847,263
Total expenditures 20,593,166 - 2,511 20,595,677
Excess of revenues over expenditures 10,685,460 17,412 15,354 10,718,226
OTHER FINANCING SOURCES (USES)
Transfers in 166,615 - - 166,615
Transfers out (10,154,976) - - (10,154,976)
Subscription financing 192,189 - - 192,189
Total other financing sources (uses)(9,796,172) - - (9,796,172)
Net change in fund balance 889,288 17,412 15,354 922,054
Fund balances, beginning 32,930,786 1,067,397 1,080,414 35,078,597
Fund balances, ending 33,820,074$ 1,084,809$ 1,095,768$ 36,000,651$
Permanent Funds
513
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING BALANCE SHEET
NON-MAJOR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
110
Local Hotel/Police Police Animal
Metro Option Motel Road Bike Forfeiture & Fire Shelter Housing
Coalition Tax Tax Use Tax Licenses & Grants Donations Donations Assistance CDBG
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents -$ 2,045,773$ 290,099$ 1,688,187$ 2,142$ 36,138$ 1,152$ 39,627$ 39,273$ -$
Investments - 7,515,537 1,065,389 6,201,468 7,884 132,499 4,702 166,247 144,809 -
Accrued interest receivable - - - - - - - 587 - -
Accounts receivable, net - - - 57 - - 26,744 445 239,082 -
Intergovernmental receivable - 906,644 - 746,539 - 15,307 - - 5,048 20,512
Loans receivable - - - - - - - - - 904
Due from other funds - 44,121 683,936 918,028 - 247 - - - -
Inventories - - - 100,952 - - - - - 832,879
Prepaid items - - - 24,294 - - - - 470 470
Long-term loans receivable - - - - - - - - 1,233
Total assets -$ 10,512,075$ 2,039,424$ 9,679,525$ 10,026$ 184,191$ 32,598$ 206,906$ 428,682$ 855,998$
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable - 155,339 503,331 171,105 - 6,654 - 2,791 204 785
Accrued payroll - 6,964 - 93,722 - 1,018 - - - 233
Retainage payable - 25,753 - 19,473 - - - - 3,591 -
Intergovernmental payable - - - 17,248 - 2,297 - 645 2,590 -
Due to other funds - 545,005 101,403 212,135 - - - - 2,962 13,481
Total liabilities - 733,061 604,734 513,683 - 9,969 - 3,436 9,347 14,499
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF
RESOURCES
Unavailable revenue:
Grants - - - - - 4,534 - - 239,082 -
Total deferred inflows of resources - - - - - 4,534 - - 239,082 -
FUND BALANCES
Nonspendable - - - 125,246 - - - - 470 833,349
Restricted - 9,779,014 1,434,690 9,040,596 - 169,688 32,598 203,470 - 8,150
Committed - - - - 10,026 - - - 179,783 -
Total fund balances - 9,779,014 1,434,690 9,165,842 10,026 169,688 32,598 203,470 180,253 841,499
Total liabilities, deferred outflows
of resources, and fund balances
-$ 10,512,075$ 2,039,424$ 9,679,525$ 10,026$ 184,191$ 32,598$ 206,906$ 428,682$ 855,998$
514
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING BALANCE SHEET (continued)
NON-MAJOR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
111
Total
Employee Non-Major
Benefit Parks &Federal Economic Special
Property Police Recreation Relief Library Project Public Art Developers'Development Revenue
Tax & Fire Programs Funds Donations Share Donations Projects & Loans TIF Funds
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents 10,915$ 6,928$ 26,129$ 2,439,767$ 80,090$ 3,542$ 801$ 187,121$ 117,027$ 364,651$ 7,379,362$
Investments 39,833 60,302 111,338 8,962,379 347,292 12,724 3,181 691,818 430,139 1,503,688 27,401,229
Taxes receivable 5,750 - - - - - - - - - 5,750
Accrued interest receivable - 222 392 - 1,228 - - 141 - 4,681 7,251
Accounts receivable, net - - - - - 590 - - - - 266,918
Intergovernmental receivable - - 10,000 - - - - - - - 1,704,050
Loans receivable - - - - - - - - - - 904
Due from other funds - - - - - - - - - - 1,646,332
Inventories - - - - - - - - - - 933,831
Prepaid items - - - - - - - - - - 25,234
Long-term loans receivable - - - - - - - - - - 1,233
Total assets 56,498$ 67,452$ 147,859$ 11,402,146$ 428,610$ 16,856$ 3,982$ 879,080$ 547,166$ 1,873,020$ 39,372,094
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable - - 4,436 714,057 13,223 - - 75,000 - - 1,646,925
Accrued payroll - - - 2,737 3,721 - - - - - 108,395
Retainage payable - - - 468,749 - - - - - - 517,566
Customer deposits - - - - - - - 576,554 - - 576,554
Intergovernmental payable - - - - - - - - - - 22,780
Due to other funds 56,498 - - 136,723 - - - - - 107,557 1,175,764
Unearned revenue - - - 1,260,420 - - - - - - 1,260,420
Total liabilities 56,498 - 4,436 2,582,686 16,944 - - 651,554 - 107,557 5,308,404
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF
RESOURCES
Unavailable revenue:
Grants - - - - - - - - - - 243,616
Total deferred inflows of resources - - - - - - - - - - 243,616
FUND BALANCES
Nonspendable - - - - - - - - - - 959,065
Restricted - 67,452 - - 411,666 4,820 - 227,526 - 1,765,463 23,145,133
Committed - - 143,423 8,819,460 - 12,036 3,982 - 547,166 - 9,715,876
Total fund balances - 67,452 143,423 8,819,460 411,666 16,856 3,982 227,526 547,166 1,765,463 33,820,074
Total liabilities, deferred outflows
of resources, and fund balances 56,498$ 67,452$ 147,859$ 11,402,146$ 428,610$ 16,856$ 3,982$ 879,080$ 547,166$ 1,873,020$ 39,372,094$
515
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES
NON-MAJOR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
112
Local Hotel/Police Police Animal
Metro Option Motel Road Bike Forfeiture & Fire Shelter Housing
Coalition Tax Tax Use Tax Licenses & Grants Donations Donations Assistance CDBG
REVENUES
Taxes -$ 11,513,149$ 2,878,390$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$
Intergovernmental - - - 9,184,734 - 133,684 46,312 76,805 43,833 207,563
Investment income - - - - - - - 3,405 - -
Miscellaneous - - - - - - 1,000 - - 50,133
Total revenues - 11,513,149 2,878,390 9,184,734 - 133,684 47,312 80,210 43,833 257,696
EXPENDITURES
Current:
General government 41,692 259,243 30,000 165,551 - - - - 289,542 -
Public safety - - - - - 97,940 - 94,770 - -
Public works - - - 7,027,747 - - 18,778 - - -
Health and social services - 1,665,425 - - - - - - - -
Culture and recreation - 269,081 44,247 - - - - - - -
Community and economic
development - - 2,233,771 28,032 - - - - - 335,368
Capital outlay - 1,206,637 - 1,383,678 - - - - - -
Total expenditures 41,692 3,400,386 2,308,018 8,605,008 - 97,940 18,778 94,770 289,542 335,368
Excess (deficiency) of revenues
over (under) expenditures (41,692) 8,112,763 570,372 579,726 - 35,744 28,534 (14,560) (245,709) (77,672)
OTHER FINANCING SOURCES
(USES)
Transfers in - 164,644 - - - 1,786 185 - - -
Transfers out - (7,053,378) (411,610) - - (1,786) (185) - - -
Subscription financing - - - 192,189 - - - - - -
Total other financing sources
(uses)- (6,888,734) (411,610) 192,189 - - - - - -
Net change in fund balances (41,692) 1,224,029 158,762 771,915 - 35,744 28,534 (14,560) (245,709) (77,672)
Fund balances, beginning 41,692 8,554,985 1,275,928 8,393,927 10,026 133,944 4,064 218,030 425,962 919,171
Fund balances, ending -$ 9,779,014$ 1,434,690$ 9,165,842$ 10,026$ 169,688$ 32,598$ 203,470$ 180,253$ 841,499$
516
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES (continued)
NON-MAJOR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
113
Total
Non-Major
Employee Parks &Federal Economic Special
Benefit Police Recreation Relief Library Project Public Art Developers'Development Revenue
Property Tax & Fire Programs Funds Donations Share Donations Projects & Loans TIF Funds
REVENUES
Taxes 2,214,842$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ 1,230,008$ 17,836,389$
Intergovernmental - - 41,414 3,263,254 292,446 23,732 - - 28,031 - 13,341,808
Investment income - 2,254 2,344 - 7,372 - - 806 - 29,038 45,219
Miscellaneous - - - 60 67 - 3,950 - - - 55,210
Total revenues 2,214,842 2,254 43,758 3,263,314 299,885 23,732 3,950 806 28,031 1,259,046 31,278,626
EXPENDITURES
Current:
General government - - - - - - - - - - 786,028
Public safety - - - - - - - - - - 192,710
Public works - - - - - - - - - - 7,046,525
Health and social services - - - - - 21,685 - - - - 1,687,110
Culture and recreation - - 48,993 - 327,068 - - - - - 689,389
Community and economic
development - - - - - - - - 28,030 718,940 3,344,141
Capital outlay - - 5,904 4,251,044 - - - - - - 6,847,263
Total expenditures - - 54,897 4,251,044 327,068 21,685 - - 28,030 718,940 20,593,166
Excess (deficiency) of revenues
over (under) expenditures 2,214,842 2,254 (11,139) (987,730) (27,183) 2,047 3,950 806 1 540,106 10,685,460
OTHER FINANCING SOURCES
(USES)
Transfers in - - - - - - - - - - 166,615
Transfers out (2,214,842) (90,000) - (50,000) - - - - - (333,175) (10,154,976)
Subscription financing - - - - - - - - - - 192,189
Total other financing sources
(uses)(2,214,842) (90,000) - (50,000) - - - - - (333,175) (9,796,172)
Net change in fund balances - (87,746) (11,139) (1,037,730) (27,183) 2,047 3,950 806 1 206,931 889,288
Fund balances, beginning - 155,198 154,562 9,857,190 438,849 14,809 32 226,720 547,165 1,558,532 32,930,786
Fund balances, ending -$ 67,452$ 143,423$ 8,819,460$ 411,666$ 16,856$ 3,982$ 227,526$ 547,166$ 1,765,463$ 33,820,074$
517
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NON-MAJOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS
114
Enterprise funds are used to report activities for which a fee is charged to external users for goods or
services.
Airport Fund – to account for the operations of the Ames Municipal Airport.
Parking Lot Fund - to account for the operation of parking meters on streets and in designated
parking lots.
Transit Fund - to account for operations of transit services.
Storm Water Utility Fund - to account for the fees paid by residents for the maintenance of the
City's storm sewer system.
Ames/Iowa State University (ISU) Ice Arena Fund - to account for the operations of a
recreational ice facility, which is jointly operated by the City and ISU.
Homewood Golf Course Fund - to account for the operations of a nine-hole golf course.
Resource Recovery Fund - to account for the operation of the City-owned resource recovery
plant.
518
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF NET POSITION
NON-MAJOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
115
Total
Storm Ames / ISU Homewood Non-Major
Water Ice Golf Resource Enterprise
Airport Parking Transit Utility Arena Course Recovery Funds
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 775,429$ 265,892$ 4,141,494$ 1,509,884$ 111,975$ 100,748$ 191,342$ 7,096,764$
Investments 2,623,156 1,060,687 16,725,349 6,063,990 425,713 398,328 774,112 28,071,335
Accrued interest receivable 9,258 3,803 54,650 19,175 1,518 1,381 2,727 92,512
Accounts receivable, net 19,522 9,494 50,568 212,123 26,239 3,972 204,991 526,909
Lease receivable - current 62,676 - - - - - - 62,676
Due from other funds - 10,128 52,542 37,212 31 1,434 164,313 265,660
Intergovernmental receivable 260,171 2,821 3,304,966 6,096 - - 456,016 4,030,070
Inventories - 28,241 367,542 - 1,404 2,307 - 399,494
Prepaid items 650 - 19,244 806 - - 290 20,990
Total current assets 3,750,862 1,381,066 24,716,355 7,849,286 566,880 508,170 1,793,791 40,566,410
Noncurrent assets:
Net pension asset 10,272 - - - - - - 10,272
Capital assets:
Land 1,384,118 910,547 41,500 733,383 - 193,250 531,517 3,794,315
Land improvements 11,900,325 623,538 1,892,550 5,452,138 71,230 127,581 172,379 20,239,741
Buildings 4,978,610 - 26,658,363 - 1,870,329 21,053 11,384,597 44,912,952
Equipment 16,920 56,130 40,038,118 16,868 325,105 5,700 7,978,721 48,437,562
Lease assets - - - - - 36,701 - 36,701
Subscription based IT assets - - 16,975 - - - - 16,975
Construction in progress 515,860 - 358,400 5,928,020 - - - 6,802,280
Less accumulated depreciation/amortization (9,820,863) (649,248) (36,074,935) (701,609) (1,689,608) (158,436) (16,279,820) (65,374,519)
Lease receivable - long term 1,271,005 - - - - - - 1,271,005
Total noncurrent assets 10,256,247 940,967 32,930,971 11,428,800 577,056 225,849 3,787,394 60,147,284
Total assets 14,007,109 2,322,033 57,647,326 19,278,086 1,143,936 734,019 5,581,185 100,713,694
DEFERRED OUTFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred outflows related to OPEB 148 8,900 89,510 6,481 2,264 1,778 27,508 136,589
Deferred outflows related to pensions - 60,671 988,716 19,108 31,092 10,832 164,698 1,275,117
Total deferred outflows of resources 148 69,571 1,078,226 25,589 33,356 12,610 192,206 1,411,706
519
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF NET POSITION (continued)
NON-MAJOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
116
Total
Storm Ames / ISU Homewood Non-Major
Water Ice Golf Resource Enterprise
Airport Parking Transit Utility Arena Course Recovery Funds
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable 30,903 4,766 1,849,313 59,966 11,933 12,608 111,114 2,080,603
Accrued payroll 264 10,466 211,291 6,491 2,414 4,954 1,944 237,824
Accrued compensated absences 248 4,305 20,481 2,757 701 485 4,170 33,147
Due to other funds 2,043 24,888 64,022 92,790 3,024 2,902 146,036 335,705
Retainage payable - - 9,194 10,925 - - - 20,119
Accrued interest 1,593 - - - - - 936 2,529
Lease liabilities - - - - - 12,541 - 12,541
Subscription based IT asset liability - - 5,570 - - - - 5,570
Intergovernmental payable - 594 12,969 1,395 3,073 2,523 95,731 116,285
Accrued landfill post-closure costs - - - - - - 15,432 15,432
Bonds payable, net 46,744 - - - - - 151,186 197,930
Unearned revenue 2,268 8,371 - - - - - 10,639
Total current liabilities 84,063 53,390 2,172,840 174,324 21,145 36,013 526,549 3,068,324
Noncurrent liabilities:
Accrued compensated absences 6,212 64,615 436,810 39,961 9,043 5,933 60,193 622,767
Accrued other post-employment benefits 288 29,683 282,513 21,130 7,164 5,578 93,518 439,874
Net pension liability - 249,561 3,600,807 65,555 104,358 44,412 604,547 4,669,240
Accrued landfill post-closure costs - - - - - - 68,152 68,152
Lease liabilities - - - - - 6,441 - 6,441
Subscription based IT asset liability - - 8,637 - - - - 8,637
Bonds payable, net 604,187 - - - - - 122,016 726,203
Total noncurrent liabilities 610,687 343,859 4,328,767 126,646 120,565 62,364 948,426 6,541,314
Total liabilities 694,750 397,249 6,501,607 300,970 141,710 98,377 1,474,975 9,609,638
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred charge on refunding - - - - - - 9,736 9,736
Deferred inflow related to leases 1,340,254 - - - - - - 1,340,254
Deferred inflows related to OPEB 31 3,956 36,525 2,804 930 716 12,442 57,404
Deferred inflows related to pensions 3,701 31,804 285,473 38,010 14,107 1,650 71,216 445,961
1,343,986 35,760 321,998 40,814 15,037 2,366 93,394 1,853,355
NET POSITION
Net investment in capital assets 8,324,039 940,967 32,916,764 11,428,800 577,056 206,867 3,514,192 57,908,685
Restricted 10,272 - - - - - - 10,272
Unrestricted 3,634,210 1,017,628 18,985,183 7,533,091 443,489 439,019 690,830 32,743,450
Total net position 11,968,521$ 1,958,595$ 51,901,947$ 18,961,891$ 1,020,545$ 645,886$ 4,205,022$ 90,662,407$
520
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENSES, AND CHANGES IN NET POSITION
NON-MAJOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
117
Total
Storm Ames / ISU Homewood Non-Major
Water Ice Golf Resource Enterprise
Airport Parking Transit Utility Arena Course Recovery Funds
Operating revenues:
Charges for services 196,590$ 787,312$ 7,559,823$ 1,966,491$ 548,860$ 450,887$ 4,291,005$ 15,800,968$
Operating expenses:
Cost of goods and services 162,387 744,276 9,793,872 1,289,990 503,062 260,994 4,472,882 17,227,463
Administration - 76,307 2,442,808 10,290 - - 259,983 2,789,388
Depreciation 504,617 3,882 3,099,574 102,555 93,673 20,838 521,438 4,346,577
Total operating expenses 667,004 824,465 15,336,254 1,402,835 596,735 281,832 5,254,303 24,363,428
Operating income (loss)(470,414) (37,153) (7,776,431) 563,656 (47,875) 169,055 (963,298) (8,562,460)
Non-operating revenues (expenses):
Intergovernmental 118,310 - 6,789,046 - - - - 6,907,356
Reimbursements - - 23,946 - - - - 23,946
Investment income (loss)53,713 22,170 303,314 100,135 6,955 7,049 12,596 505,932
Interest revenue (expense)(19,208) - (172) - - (762) 3,457 (16,685)
(Loss) on disposal of capital assets - - (6,700) - - - - (6,700)
Miscellaneous - 1,900 39,546 2,525 3,440 - 2,508 49,919
Total non-operating revenues 152,815 24,070 7,148,980 102,660 10,395 6,287 18,561 7,463,768
Income (loss) before capital
contributions and transfers (317,599) (13,083) (627,451) 666,316 (37,480) 175,342 (944,737) (1,098,692)
Capital contributions 167,366 - 6,570,005 1,261,988 40,000 - - 8,039,359
Transfers in - 5,489 2,059,721 - 90,000 - 592,484 2,747,694
Change in net position (150,233) (7,594) 8,002,275 1,928,304 92,520 175,342 (352,253) 9,688,361
Net position, beginning 12,118,754 1,966,189 43,899,672 17,033,587 928,025 470,544 4,557,275 80,974,046
Net position, ending 11,968,521$ 1,958,595$ 51,901,947$ 18,961,891$ 1,020,545$ 645,886$ 4,205,022$ 90,662,407$
521
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
NON-MAJOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
118
Total
Storm Ames / ISU Homewood Non-Major
Water Ice Golf Resource Enterprise
Airport Parking Transit Utility Arena Course Recovery Funds
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Receipts from customers 687,447$ 777,391$ 8,470,273$ 2,436,814$ 593,429$ 448,576$ 4,842,078$ 18,256,008$
Payments to suppliers (259,644) (137,976) (1,381,248) (1,186,987) (239,061) (64,672) (2,236,111) (5,505,699)
Payments to employees (41,830) (532,193) (9,233,812) (407,208) (239,636) (159,243) (1,665,508) (12,279,430)
Receipts (payments) to other funds for services provided (256,158) (170,319) (630,277) (160,660) (34,841) (42,047) (1,328,563) (2,622,865)
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities 129,815 (63,097) (2,775,064) 681,959 79,891 182,614 (388,104) (2,151,986)
CASH FLOW FROM NON-CAPITAL FINANCING
ACTIVITIES
Operating grants 118,310 - 6,789,046 - - - - 6,907,356
Reimbursements - - 23,946 - - - - 23,946
Miscellaneous income - 1,900 39,546 2,525 3,440 - 2,508 49,919
Transfers in - 5,489 2,059,721 - 90,000 - 592,484 2,747,694
Net cash provided by non-capital financing activities 118,310 7,389 8,912,259 2,525 93,440 - 594,992 9,728,915
CASH FLOWS FROM CAPITAL AND RELATED
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Acquisition and construction of capital assets (184,286) - (6,869,534) (268,197) (8,830) (17,719) (42,188) (7,390,754)
Principal paid on capital debt (40,000) - - - - - (134,326) (174,326)
Interest paid on capital debt (21,119) - - - - - (16,901) (38,020)
Interest paid on leases - - (172) - - (762) - (934)
Capital contributions 167,366 - 6,570,005 1,199,438 40,000 - - 7,976,809
Net cash provided by (used for) capital and related
financing activities (78,039) - (299,701) 931,241 31,170 (18,481) (193,415) 372,775
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of investments (474,061) (15,980) (8,551,680) (2,465,051) (285,961) (234,539) (73,971) (12,101,243)
Proceeds from sale of investments 185,026 6,237 3,337,721 962,110 111,610 91,541 28,871 4,723,116
Interest on investments 47,285 19,775 264,132 87,153 5,777 6,002 10,717 440,841
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities (241,750) 10,032 (4,949,827) (1,415,788) (168,574) (136,996) (34,383) (6,937,286)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (71,664) (45,676) 887,667 199,937 35,927 27,137 (20,910) 1,012,418
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning 847,093 311,568 3,253,827 1,309,947 76,048 73,611 212,252 6,084,346
Cash and cash equivalents, ending 775,429$ 265,892$ 4,141,494$ 1,509,884$ 111,975$ 100,748$ 191,342$ 7,096,764$
522
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (continued)
NON-MAJOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
119
Total
Storm Ames / ISU Homewood Non-Major
Water Ice Golf Resource Enterprise
Airport Parking Transit Utility Arena Course Recovery Funds
Reconciliation of operating income (loss) to net cash
provided by (used for) operating activities:
Operating income (loss)(470,414)$ (37,153)$ (7,776,431)$ 563,656$ (47,875)$ 169,055$ (963,298)$ (8,562,460)$
Adjustments to reconcile operating income (loss) to net cash
provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation expense 504,617 3,882 3,099,574 102,555 93,673 20,838 521,438 4,346,577
Change in accounts receivable (11,075) (1,457) 4,055 463 (3,319) (2,059) 95,439 82,047
Change in leases receivable (1,296,226) - - - - - - (1,296,226)
Change in due from other funds 74,533 (9,689) (47,321) 5,913 147 (252) 448,875 472,206
Change in intergovernmental receivable 420,970 1,325 953,716 463,947 47,741 - 6,759 1,894,458
Change in inventories - (21,016) (12,857) - 119 (502) - (34,256)
Change in prepaid items (650) - (994) (806) - - (290) (2,740)
Change in deferred outflows of resources 66 274 2,745 143 93 58 425 3,804
Change in accounts payable (171,350) 952 1,613,111 (287,008) 844 4,853 (49,561) 1,111,841
Change in accrued payroll 44 3,255 16,780 1,696 615 603 (1,379) 21,614
Change in accrued compensated absences 72 20,779 (21,205) 11,920 2,707 1,055 (6,549) 8,779
Change in due to other funds (199,368) 11,018 21,060 26,742 (2,845) (2,746) (424,954) (571,093)
Changes in retainage payable (19,721) - (15,825) (183,416) - - - (218,962)
Changes in intergovernmental payable (1,766) (135) 2,818 399 2,918 1,548 87,989 93,771
Changes accrued landfill post-closure costs - - - - - - 1,008 1,008
Changes in unearned revenue 2,268 (100) - - - - - 2,168
Changes post-employment benefits 46 623 10,928 457 285 186 1,822 14,347
Changes in pension liability 11,756 166,039 2,863,771 113,129 69,661 45,908 484,762 3,755,026
Changes in deferred inflows of resources 1,286,013 (201,694) (3,488,989) (137,831) (84,873) (55,931) (590,590) (3,273,895)
Total adjustments 600,229 (25,944) 5,001,367 118,303 127,766 13,559 575,194 6,410,474
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities 129,815$ (63,097)$ (2,775,064)$ 681,959$ 79,891$ 182,614$ (388,104)$ (2,151,986)$
Schedule of non-cash capital and related financing activities:
Capital asset contributions -$ -$ -$ 62,550$ -$ -$ -$ 62,550$
523
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS
120
Internal service funds are used to account for services provided to other departments or agencies
of the government, or to other governments on a cost-reimbursement basis.
Fleet Services Fund - to account for capital equipment other than those accounted for in other
funds. A central garage is used, and appropriate charges are made to other City departments for
maintenance and replacement.
Information Technology Fund - to account for all information technology services provided to
City departments.
Printing Services – This fund is used to account for the revenues and expenses of the City’s
printing and messenger services.
Risk Management Fund - to account for the self-insured workers' compensation insurance and
all other insurance premiums and claims payments, other than for health insurance.
Health Insurance Fund - to account for self-insured health insurance claims payments and stop-
loss premiums.
524
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF NET POSITION
INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS
JUNE 30, 2023
121
Total
Internal
Fleet Information Printing Risk Health Service
Services Technology Services Management Insurance Funds
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 2,697,916$ 612,835$ -$ 716,282$ 1,441,532$ 5,468,565$
Investments 11,075,039 2,557,183 - 2,885,803 6,089,577 22,607,602
Accrued interest receivable 38,430 9,358 - 10,133 22,365 80,286
Accounts receivable, net 38,518 59 - 13,624 265,594 317,795
Due from other funds 362,617 65,561 64,587 1,560 - 494,325
Intergovernmental receivable 27,073 31,405 687 - - 59,165
Inventories 92,358 12,853 25,608 - - 130,819
Total current assets 14,331,951 3,289,254 90,882 3,627,402 7,819,068 29,158,557
Noncurrent assets:
Net pension asset - - 13,874 - - 13,874
Capital assets:
Land improvements - 192,433 - - - 192,433
Buildings 1,148,632 - - - - 1,148,632
Equipment 18,821,504 3,050,442 - - - 21,871,946
Subscription based IT assets - 501,230 - - - 501,230
Less accumulated depreciation/amortization (11,272,650) (2,970,210) - - - (14,242,860)
Total noncurrent assets 8,697,486 773,895 13,874 - - 9,485,255
Total assets 23,029,437 4,063,149 104,756 3,627,402 7,819,068 38,643,812
DEFERRED OUTFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred outflows related to OPEB 19,864 17,617 582 1,185 2,235 41,483
Deferred outflows related to pensions 96,637 84,905 15,931 16,590 214,063
Total deferred outflows of resources 116,501 102,522 582 17,116 18,825 255,546
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable 174,730 99,331 1,656 22,725 213,430 511,872
Accrued payroll 17,768 - - - - 17,768
Accrued compensated absences 3,145 3,758 1,007 782 352 9,044
Subscription based IT asset liability - 159,370 - - - 159,370
Due to other funds 20,481 11,521 89,226 952 10,439 132,619
Claims payable - - - 1,282,758 418,892 1,701,650
Intergovernmental payable 68,383 210 - - 3,003 71,596
Total current liabilities 284,507 274,190 91,889 1,307,217 646,116 2,603,919
Noncurrent liabilities:
Accrued compensated absences 50,378 76,800 13,758 9,067 4,012 154,015
Accrued other post-employment benefits 68,192 59,414 1,176 3,457 7,054 139,293
Subscription based IT asset liability - 173,617 - - - 173,617
Net pension liability 343,366 299,397 - 36,829 51,386 730,978
Total noncurrent liabilities 461,936 609,228 14,934 49,353 62,452 1,197,903
Total liabilities 746,443 883,418 106,823 1,356,570 708,568 3,801,822
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Deferred inflows related to OPEB 9,130 7,940 124 431 941 18,566
Deferred inflows related to pensions 49,496 - 1,856 30,106 15,490 96,948
Total deferred inflows of resources 58,626 7,940 1,980 30,537 16,431 115,514
NET POSITION
Net investment in capital assets 8,697,486 773,895 - - - 9,471,381
Restricted - - 13,874 - - 13,874
Unrestricted 13,643,383 2,500,418 (17,339) 2,257,411 7,112,894 25,496,767
Total net position 22,340,869$ 3,274,313$ (3,465)$ 2,257,411$ 7,112,894$ 34,982,022$
525
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENSES, AND CHANGES IN NET POSITION
INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
122
Total
Internal
Fleet Information Printing Risk Health Service
Services Technology Services Management Insurance Funds
Operating revenues:
Charges for services 4,602,842$ 3,085,190$ 218,478$ 3,064,147$ 11,952,732$ 22,923,389$
Operating expenses:
Cost of goods and services 2,894,123 3,183,125 215,394 3,025,596 11,930,162 21,248,400
Depreciation 1,257,149 391,102 - - - 1,648,251
Total operating expenses 4,151,272 3,574,227 215,394 3,025,596 11,930,162 22,896,651
Operating income (loss)451,570 (489,037) 3,084 38,551 22,570 26,738
Non-operating revenues:
Investment income 214,611 48,874 - 44,763 127,753 436,001
Gain(loss) on disposal of capital assets 19,663 - - - - 19,663
Total non-operating revenues 234,274 48,874 - 44,763 127,753 455,664
Income before transfers 685,844 (440,163) 3,084 83,314 150,323 482,402
Change in net position 685,844 (440,163) 3,084 83,314 150,323 482,402
Net position, beginning 21,655,025 3,714,476 (6,549) 2,174,097 6,962,571 34,499,620
Net position, ending 22,340,869$ 3,274,313$ (3,465)$ 2,257,411$ 7,112,894$ 34,982,022$
526
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
123
Total
Internal
Fleet Information Printing Risk Health Service
Services Technology Services Management Insurance Funds
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Receipts from customers 5,014,703$ 3,088,276$ 188,203$ 3,063,059$ 11,746,403$ 23,100,644$
Payments to suppliers (1,606,392) (1,735,821) (38,328) (3,076,250) (11,791,854) (18,248,645)
Payments to employees (964,292) (878,427) (177,123) (150,817) (166,518) (2,337,177)
Payments/receipts to other funds for services provided (374,659) (489,182) 27,248 (7,903) (3,303) (847,799)
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities 2,069,360 (15,154) - (171,911) (215,272) 1,667,023
CASH FLOWS FROM CAPITAL AND RELATED
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Acquisition and construction of capital assets (437,425) (281,478) - - - (718,903)
Proceeds from the sale of capital assets 3,359 - - - - 3,359
Net cash used for capital and related financing
activities (434,066) (281,478) - - - (715,544)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of investments (8,001,020) (1,847,402) - (2,084,811) (4,399,335) (16,332,568)
Proceeds from sale of investments 6,231,203 1,951,172 - 2,086,595 4,264,910 14,533,880
Interest on investments 188,528 43,197 - 38,483 113,011 383,219
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities (1,581,289) 146,967 - 40,267 (21,414) (1,415,469)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 54,005 (149,665) - (131,644) (236,686) (463,990)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning 2,643,911 762,500 - 847,926 1,678,218 5,932,555
Cash and cash equivalents, ending 2,697,916$ 612,835$ -$ 716,282$ 1,441,532$ 5,468,565$
527
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
COMBINING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (continued)
INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
124
Total
Internal
Fleet Information Printing Risk Health Service
Services Technology Services Management Insurance Funds
Reconciliation of operating income (loss) to net cash
provided by (used for) operating activities:
Operating income (loss)451,570$ (489,037)$ 3,084$ 38,551$ 22,570$ 26,738$
Adjustments to reconcile operating income (loss) to net cash
provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation expense 1,257,149 391,102 - - - 1,648,251
Change in accounts receivable 52,425 (59) 36 365 (206,460) (153,693)
Change in due from other funds 386,509 5,181 (31,048) (1,453) 131 359,320
Change in intergovernmental receivable (27,073) (2,036) 737 - - (28,372)
Change in inventories 4,479 722 (8,062) - - (2,861)
Change in prepaid items - 35,337 - - - 35,337
Change in deferred outflows of resources 244 (15,111) 281 65 52 (14,469)
Change in accounts payable 62,511 52,679 (1,038) (38,245) 117,835 193,742
Change in accrued payroll 777 (269) - - - 508
Change in accrued compensated absences 5,593 10,241 2,411 3,605 3,049 24,899
Change in due to other funds (48,925) 5,831 39,376 379 5,206 1,867
Change in claims payable - - - (165,637) (149,963) (315,600)
Change in intergovernmental payable (16,478) (200) - - 3,003 (13,675)
Change in post-employment benefits 1,041 1,026 198 186 193 2,644
Change in pension liability 276,957 121,258 26,732 44,540 49,869 519,356
Increase in deferred inflows of resources (337,419) (131,819) (32,707) (54,267) (60,757) (616,969)
Total adjustments 1,617,790 473,883 (3,084) (210,462) (237,842) 1,640,285
Net cash provided (used for) by operating activities 2,069,360$ (15,154)$ -$ (171,911)$ (215,272)$ 1,667,023$
528
125
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529
STATISTICALSECTION
530
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
STATISTICAL SECTION
127
This part of the City's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report presents detailed information as a
context for understanding what the information in the financial statements, note disclosures, and
required supplementary information says about the government's overall financial health.
Contents Page
Financial Trends 129
These schedules contain trend information to help the reader understand
how the City's financial performance and well-being have changed over
time.
Revenue Capacity 135
These schedules contain information to help the reader assess the City's most
significant local revenue source, the property tax.
Debt Capacity 139
These schedules present information to help the reader assess the affordability
of the City's current level of outstanding debt and the City's ability to issue
additional debt in the future.
Demographic and Economic Information 145
These schedules offer demographic and economic indicators to help the reader
understand the environment within which the City's financial activities take
place.
Operating Information 148
These schedules contain service and infrastructure data to help the reader
understand how the information in the City's financial report relates to the
services the City provides and the activities it performs.
531
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
NET POSITION BY COMPONENT
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
(ACCRUAL BASIS OF ACCOUNTING)
128
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Governmental activities
Net investment in capital assets 116,792,110$ 120,231,602$ 129,469,743$ 137,632,652$ 141,703,409$ 144,730,839$ 148,292,299$ 163,993,058$ 156,680,795$ 164,358,181$
Restricted 18,009,657 19,525,973 19,116,323 20,842,946 21,714,454 22,260,410 23,978,574 26,517,909 39,812,571 33,350,851
Unrestricted 15,726,615 (2,573,072) 871,100 783,394 1,139,151 3,346,885 3,029,850 1,614,087 6,880,565 21,023,018
Total governmental activities 150,528,382 137,184,503 149,457,166 159,258,992 164,557,014 170,338,134 175,300,723 192,125,054 203,373,931 218,732,050
Business-type activities
Net investment in capital assets 277,649,147 303,949,791 317,734,901 320,823,796 308,134,898 311,786,131 320,199,338 331,818,082 347,429,640 344,255,162
Restricted 1,015,822 1,027,652 2,262,200 2,425,524 2,458,169 2,554,924 30,006,410 21,349,489 10,993,096 2,694,534
Unrestricted 310,375,526 261,830,409 258,217,652 304,183,289 353,749,237 382,923,270 364,718,214 468,798,691 464,823,787 519,114,482
Total business-type activities 589,040,495 566,807,852 578,214,753 627,432,609 664,342,304 697,264,325 714,923,962 821,966,262 823,246,523 866,064,178
Primary government
Net investment in capital assets 394,441,257 424,181,393 447,204,644 458,456,448 449,838,307 456,516,970 468,491,637 495,811,140 504,110,435 508,613,343
Restricted 19,025,479 20,553,625 21,378,523 23,268,470 24,172,623 24,815,334 53,984,984 47,867,398 50,805,667 36,045,385
Unrestricted 326,102,141 259,257,337 259,088,752 304,966,683 354,888,388 386,270,155 367,748,064 470,412,778 471,704,352 540,137,500
Total primary government 739,568,877$ 703,992,355$ 727,671,919$ 786,691,601$ 828,899,318$ 867,602,459$ 890,224,685$ 1,014,091,316$ 1,026,620,454$ 1,084,796,228$
Fiscal Year
532
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
CHANGES IN NET POSITION
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
(ACCRUAL BASIS OF ACCOUNTING)
129
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Expenses
Governmental activities:
General government 2,915,560$ 4,165,152$ 2,686,082$ 3,136,291$ 4,044,800$ 3,141,379$ 3,304,608$ 3,722,100$ 3,343,575$ 4,195,286$
Public safety 15,943,465 12,730,107 15,524,747 17,292,304 18,202,532 18,951,047 20,956,310 21,464,000 16,610,543 19,606,339
Public works 12,721,868 12,482,265 13,650,452 13,698,162 15,667,469 16,929,643 17,259,469 11,484,497 17,447,329 23,486,400
Health and social services 1,078,118 1,161,242 1,180,361 1,342,880 1,293,038 1,499,781 1,463,008 1,387,924 1,634,556 1,688,515
Culture and recreation 8,536,548 9,857,775 9,770,521 9,872,288 10,989,672 11,059,949 11,257,074 12,452,132 11,306,025 11,819,080
Community and economic development 2,477,986 2,972,753 2,898,115 3,461,393 3,257,359 4,025,768 3,463,620 6,381,948 4,030,738 4,364,534
Interest 2,174,303 1,577,883 1,635,789 1,592,039 1,532,790 1,534,075 1,578,408 1,161,207 1,474,802 1,287,664
Total governmental activities 45,847,848 44,947,177 47,346,067 50,395,357 54,987,660 57,141,642 59,282,497 58,053,808 55,847,568 66,447,818
Business-type activities:
Mary Greeley Medical Center 161,792,473 168,891,942 176,918,607 182,728,675 185,267,383 186,917,186 194,116,951 208,743,252 220,771,985 232,168,581
Electric 54,791,141 53,024,205 54,906,155 58,618,483 60,617,830 62,322,757 58,345,295 59,123,227 62,489,331 66,344,987
Sewer 7,848,323 7,435,226 7,229,003 7,574,949 8,558,520 8,826,479 7,020,822 6,933,018 6,788,649 8,938,924
Water 6,894,305 6,866,001 7,383,824 8,122,396 11,766,957 9,841,869 10,620,259 10,563,721 9,720,409 12,296,648
Airport - - - - - - - - 971,080 682,709
Parking 876,916 888,452 900,939 887,679 891,229 975,126 999,414 842,179 757,891 825,546
Transit 11,391,087 11,859,395 12,216,003 13,208,178 13,794,474 14,004,166 13,842,640 13,624,865 13,663,553 15,344,049
Stormwater 467,378 644,411 557,890 1,231,885 420,171 270,883 796,588 662,387 840,274 1,397,657
Ice arena 578,163 584,702 605,291 602,774 651,714 650,947 665,247 557,566 540,335 596,755
Golf course 206,620 253,997 243,309 258,459 227,798 254,380 215,211 253,985 266,379 281,547
Resource recovery 4,670,459 4,577,441 4,320,344 4,619,859 4,485,732 4,478,297 4,493,593 4,709,977 4,500,088 5,209,331
Total business-type activities 249,516,865 255,025,772 265,281,365 277,853,337 286,681,808 288,542,090 291,116,020 306,014,177 321,309,974 344,086,734
Total expenses 295,364,713 299,972,949 312,627,432 328,248,694 341,669,468 345,683,732 350,398,517 364,067,985 377,157,542 410,534,552
Program Revenues
Governmental activities:
Charges for services:
General government 163,655 134,239 172,126 203,609 158,792 123,407 116,999 65,793 106,659 163,714
Public safety 3,433,170 3,652,787 3,345,400 3,768,480 3,421,439 3,476,553 3,865,956 3,306,460 3,406,960 3,835,808
Public works 295,874 715,898 277,437 268,565 2,737,534 310,035 314,576 310,887 119,170 62,722
Culture and recreation 1,974,037 2,029,655 1,939,498 2,135,274 2,131,253 2,158,429 1,414,160 1,497,606 1,879,755 1,838,259
Other activities 15,925 23,015 24,615 25,660 21,132 15,082 17,650 17,728 22,680 18,425
Operating grants and contributions 6,940,124 7,173,301 8,521,814 8,681,507 8,546,037 8,950,597 9,090,602 12,952,426 22,525,675 13,483,090
Capital grants and contributions 3,516,122 1,632,753 6,822,367 6,664,323 3,285,174 3,426,018 3,536,671 10,169,954 1,882,523 6,698,533
Total governmental activities 16,338,907 15,361,648 21,103,257 21,747,418 20,301,361 18,460,121 18,356,614 28,320,854 29,943,422 26,100,551
Fiscal Year
533
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
CHANGES IN NET POSITION (continued)
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
(ACCRUAL BASIS OF ACCOUNTING)
130
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Business-type activities:
Charges for services
Mary Greeley Medical Center 174,265,003 184,201,460 181,534,863 189,944,553 194,988,247 192,530,036 194,363,177 210,825,315 221,854,322 228,820,061
Electric 60,016,205 56,636,062 58,511,422 64,339,637 68,660,541 68,342,980 64,882,140 64,127,039 67,655,268 69,947,197
Sewer 7,491,746 8,267,051 8,370,811 8,856,136 9,175,876 9,172,812 7,754,405 8,775,009 9,027,049 10,008,845
Water 9,647,203 9,584,813 9,987,307 10,502,276 10,620,863 10,414,170 11,448,309 12,824,209 11,959,469 13,679,655
Airport - - - - - - - - 244,473 196,590
Parking 870,246 891,983 925,177 899,705 829,993 1,011,601 797,454 677,293 952,298 787,312
Transit 5,463,677 5,814,552 6,337,415 6,576,578 6,746,369 6,803,540 6,735,543 6,552,915 7,062,349 7,559,823
Stormwater 1,179,495 1,215,233 1,241,840 1,700,529 1,817,030 1,842,228 1,852,740 1,484,479 1,890,675 1,966,491
Ice arena 507,203 532,001 544,300 481,831 504,884 475,197 444,262 382,917 529,289 548,860
Golf course 256,221 248,853 268,440 191,186 184,601 179,367 150,549 232,826 348,492 450,887
Resource recovery 3,469,877 3,687,927 3,031,997 3,314,210 2,719,456 2,879,813 3,019,801 3,645,649 4,299,454 4,291,005
Operating grants and contributions 3,059,305 3,161,366 3,405,067 5,062,412 4,961,244 4,437,834 8,118,261 15,629,698 15,205,764 7,233,367
Capital grants and contributions 4,708,511 3,304,381 1,474,384 4,752,319 1,728,763 3,097,169 2,014,199 3,581,879 8,366,793 14,010,493
Total business-type activities 270,934,692 277,545,682 275,633,023 296,621,372 302,937,867 301,186,747 301,580,840 328,739,228 349,395,695 359,500,586
Total program revenues 287,273,599 292,907,330 296,736,280 318,368,790 323,239,228 319,646,868 319,937,454 357,060,082 379,339,117 385,601,137
Net (expense) / revenue
Governmental activities (29,508,941) (29,585,529) (26,242,810) (28,647,939) (34,686,299) (38,681,521) (40,925,883) (29,732,954) (25,904,146) (40,347,267)
Business-type activities 28,028,817 20,607,251 31,340,007 25,084,530 16,256,059 12,644,657 10,464,820 22,725,051 28,085,721 15,413,852
Total net (expense) / revenue (1,480,124) (8,978,278) 5,097,197 (3,563,409) (18,430,240) (26,036,864) (30,461,063) (7,007,903) 2,181,575 (24,933,415)
Fiscal Year
534
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
CHANGES IN NET POSITION (continued)
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
(ACCRUAL BASIS OF ACCOUNTING)
131
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
General revenues
Governmental activities:
Taxes
Property taxes 25,273,931 25,988,892 27,114,273 28,166,804 29,680,915 31,204,329 32,973,640 34,742,024 35,243,169 35,258,374
Sales taxes 6,648,615 7,996,943 7,831,295 7,711,124 7,681,519 7,991,619 8,470,509 10,351,681 11,231,768 11,513,149
Hotel / motel taxes 1,845,940 2,113,310 2,272,323 2,435,756 2,412,667 2,515,468 1,986,157 1,552,850 2,415,735 2,878,390
Unrestricted grants and contributions 17,819 19,108 20,527 20,565 22,146 23,589 54,366 21,126 16,152 5,203
Investment income 544,414 455,916 699,289 211,126 689,377 2,190,478 2,177,884 436,298 (1,582,910) 2,068,855
Other income 118,097 133,787 450,340 251,997 1,214,979 759,997 602,881 595,001 58,780 4,347,957
Gain on disposal of assets 25,501 63,228 140,825 118,389 6,039 - - (105,678) 16,239 43,087
Transfers (18,401) 117,020 (13,399) (465,996) (1,604,405) (222,839) (376,965) (1,036,017) (965,845) (409,629)
Total governmental activities 34,455,916 36,888,204 38,515,473 38,449,765 40,103,237 44,462,641 45,888,472 46,557,285 46,433,088 55,705,386
Business-type activities:
Investment income 26,013,566 8,201,914 1,001,761 27,543,163 18,271,065 19,708,701 8,135,196 79,779,629 (40,796,262) 22,739,276
Other income 66,660 64,714 40,083 417,879 427,961 337,470 647,271 3,786,658 3,744,892 4,364,976
Gain(loss) on disposal of assets 551,139 25,700 - 48,479 12,078 8,354 - (285,055) - (110,078)
Transfers 18,401 (117,020) 13,399 465,996 1,604,405 222,839 376,965 1,036,017 965,845 409,629
Total business-type activities 26,649,766 8,175,308 1,055,243 28,475,517 20,315,509 20,277,364 9,159,432 84,317,249 (36,085,525) 27,403,803
Total primary government 61,105,682 45,063,512 39,570,716 66,925,282 60,418,746 64,740,005 55,047,904 130,874,534 10,347,563 83,109,189
Change in net position
Governmental activities 4,946,975 7,302,675 12,272,663 9,801,826 5,416,938 5,781,120 4,962,589 16,824,331 20,528,942 15,358,119
Business-type activities 54,678,583 28,782,559 32,395,250 53,560,047 36,571,568 32,922,021 19,624,252 107,042,300 (7,999,804) 42,817,655
Total change in net position 59,625,558$ 36,085,234$ 44,667,913$ 63,361,873$ 41,988,506$ 38,703,141$ 24,586,841$ 123,866,631$ 12,529,138$ 58,175,774$
Fiscal Year
535
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
FUND BALANCES OF GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
(MODIFIED ACCRUAL BASIS OF ACCOUNTING)
132
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
General fund
Nonspendable 68,428$ 90,538$ 141,713$ 172,236$ 237,381$ 240,990$ 240,978$ 198,600$ 164,992$ 215,405$
Assigned 253,059 296,803 725,077 809,033 580,004 402,312 283,809 548,738 1,835,107 1,822,619
Unassigned 9,046,946 10,332,050 11,137,621 11,270,733 10,824,689 12,119,527 13,768,589 14,843,131 12,329,478 14,301,791
Total general fund 9,368,433$ 10,719,391$ 12,004,411$ 12,252,002$ 11,642,074$ 12,762,829$ 14,293,376$ 15,590,469$ 14,329,577$ 16,339,815$
All other governmental funds
Nonspendable 1,998,143 2,007,044 2,023,387 2,059,985 2,038,896 2,081,395 2,118,765 2,113,189 3,075,380 3,043,874
Restricted 30,630,963 31,882,923 30,000,397 31,507,537 32,769,654 35,581,189 43,100,229 45,804,577 57,406,305 50,409,425
Committed 1,461,826 1,397,635 2,013,730 1,978,585 1,988,318 2,064,956 2,213,310 2,276,719 2,388,405 11,077,465
Assigned - - 71,393 - - - - - - -
Unassigned (448,098) (1,811,003) (2,479,002) (2,741,760) (1,309,206) (2,483,786) (3,841,578) (6,760,549) (3,188,655) (2,038,802)
Total all other governmental
funds 33,642,834$ 33,476,599$ 31,629,905$ 32,804,347$ 35,487,662$ 37,243,754$ 43,590,726$ 43,433,936$ 59,681,435$ 62,491,962$
Fiscal Year
536
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE OF GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
(MODIFIED ACCRUAL BASIS OF ACCOUNTING)
133
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
REVENUES
Taxes 33,755,016$ 36,080,369$ 37,207,916$ 38,313,146$ 39,760,873$ 41,716,868$ 43,506,488$ 46,764,902$ 48,890,673$ 49,649,913$
Special assessments 16,590 362,306 222,895 298,227 564,860 321,318 303,643 244,640 250,101 239,370
Licenses and permits 1,892,634 2,017,035 1,687,317 2,059,688 1,635,289 1,554,088 1,856,585 1,146,818 1,204,048 1,473,446
Intergovernmental 10,658,992 8,277,965 14,500,743 10,983,498 11,815,543 10,242,731 11,293,897 19,562,865 25,733,276 20,591,860
Charges for services 3,393,715 3,517,164 3,596,467 3,798,813 3,914,432 4,066,129 3,413,036 4,063,867 4,287,041 4,320,337
Fines and forfeitures 146,485 138,720 93,652 67,584 65,504 43,614 28,276 29,083 30,690 34,741
Investment income 419,786 404,297 529,364 169,673 530,341 1,598,321 1,579,072 309,365 (1,165,866) 1,632,854
Interest revenue - - - - - - - - 23,510 23,424
Miscellaneous 863,337 825,429 852,639 930,506 1,856,014 1,231,347 1,064,583 595,063 348,975 4,347,961
Total revenues 51,146,555 51,623,285 58,690,993 56,621,135 60,142,856 60,774,416 63,045,580 72,716,603 79,602,448 82,313,906
EXPENDITURES
Current:
General government 2,720,623 3,308,736 2,655,547 3,520,312 3,806,110 2,965,150 3,031,260 3,405,595 3,527,579 4,062,536
Public safety 15,839,280 16,237,949 16,664,555 17,097,771 17,703,682 18,624,774 19,127,916 19,513,236 19,660,747 20,709,711
Public works 5,434,191 5,488,851 5,871,433 5,868,576 6,202,540 7,073,307 6,732,091 7,028,090 7,596,306 8,109,249
Health and social services 1,078,118 1,161,242 1,180,361 1,342,880 1,293,038 1,499,781 1,463,008 1,388,067 1,634,714 1,688,522
Culture and recreation 7,179,033 7,613,063 8,263,043 8,648,567 9,072,955 9,168,122 9,253,898 10,271,228 9,421,839 9,680,746
Community and economic development 2,481,609 2,875,879 2,909,942 3,464,575 3,249,583 4,028,589 3,448,039 6,376,268 4,098,763 4,397,770
Debt service:
Principal 7,671,776 7,364,829 13,142,882 10,481,762 8,657,150 8,862,109 8,973,882 17,879,527 19,221,616 9,217,861
Interest and fiscal charges 1,815,272 1,765,082 1,995,674 2,064,652 2,067,672 2,120,728 2,158,844 2,263,676 2,316,384 2,376,328
Capital outlay 22,817,899 14,294,598 24,428,030 12,119,780 11,983,901 11,432,322 12,147,899 21,961,944 17,863,931 30,404,110
Total expenditures 67,037,801 60,110,229 77,111,467 64,608,875 64,036,631 65,774,882 66,336,837 90,087,631 85,341,879 90,646,833
Excess (deficiency) of revenues
over (under) expenditures (15,891,246) (8,486,944) (18,420,474) (7,987,740) (3,893,775) (5,000,466) (3,291,257) (17,371,028) (5,739,431) (8,332,927)
OTHER FINANCING SOURCES (USES)
Transfers in 8,725,886 9,917,519 13,410,870 10,665,237 10,451,681 10,702,128 10,890,297 13,690,066 14,941,345 13,307,335
Transfers out (8,753,037) (9,879,039) (13,474,329) (10,940,973) (12,060,457) (10,924,967) (11,267,262) (14,726,083) (16,002,190) (13,716,964)
General obligation bonds issued - 9,395,000 11,435,000 6,890,605 6,985,000 7,490,000 10,520,000 9,500,000 9,850,000 12,440,000
Premium on general obligation bonds - 238,187 901,045 475,349 602,484 610,152 1,025,738 1,249,757 1,283,972 827,311
Subscription funding - - - - - - - - - 296,010
Refunding bonds issued - - 5,150,000 2,130,000 3,990,000 - - 7,929,118 9,372,505 -
Premium on refunding bonds - - 436,214 189,555 326,513 - - 861,282 1,280,406 -
Payment to refunded bond escrow - - - - (4,328,059) - - - - -
Total other financing sources (uses)(27,151) 9,671,667 17,858,800 9,409,773 5,967,162 7,877,313 11,168,773 18,504,140 20,726,038 13,153,692
Net change in fund balances (15,918,397)$ 1,184,723$ (561,674)$ 1,422,033$ 2,073,387$ 2,876,847$ 7,877,516$ 1,133,112$ 14,986,607$ 4,820,765$
Debt service as a percentage of
non-capital expenditures 21.0%20.0%28.2%24.2%20.1%19.6%19.8%31.4%30.9%17.2%
Fiscal Year
537
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
ASSESSED AND ESTIMATED ACTUAL VALUE OF TAXABLE PROPERTY
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
134
Taxable
Value as a
Fiscal Estimated Percentage of
Year Less:Total Total Actual Estimated
Ended Residential Commercial Industrial Multi-Other Military Tax Taxable Direct Assessed Actual Assessed
June 30,Property Property Property Utilities Residential1 Property1 Exemption Value Tax Rate Value Value
2014 1,343,486,699 836,448,468 130,392,785 18,309,505 - - 2,667,806 2,325,969,651 10.8578 3,536,735,367 65.77%
2015 1,420,669,916 791,068,230 125,969,430 18,255,332 - - 2,606,690 2,353,356,218 10.8554 3,604,369,966 65.29%
2016 1,552,353,357 757,802,880 120,629,790 16,686,705 - - 2,514,090 2,444,958,642 10.6294 3,789,598,226 64.52%
2017 1,647,904,615 696,992,705 136,333,800 16,846,075 106,897,191 441,500 2,350,188 2,603,065,698 10.3733 4,052,418,330 64.23%
2018 1,731,394,279 705,942,764 137,021,310 19,179,323 109,617,206 609,200 2,323,334 2,701,440,748 10.3759 4,180,898,134 64.61%
2019 1,909,559,823 794,219,367 153,921,400 19,793,507 174,954,300 - 2,287,220 3,050,161,177 10.0686 4,632,139,435 65.85%
2020 2,019,762,039 823,143,900 157,933,848 22,030,395 215,828,400 - 2,179,804 3,236,518,778 10.0256 4,837,411,018 66.91%
2021 1,984,198,690 781,158,318 139,481,242 22,413,794 187,161,924 - 2,127,948 3,112,286,020 10.1468 5,022,730,334 61.96%
2022 2,076,567,110 819,752,150 140,542,410 20,977,701 201,918,142 - 2,031,644 3,257,725,869 9.8736 5,187,510,467 62.80%
2023 2,107,012,157 925,371,686 152,892,690 20,497,504 195,899,734 - 1,972,380 3,399,701,391 9.8294 5,512,039,832 61.68%
Source: Story County Auditor
1 Fiscal year 2017 is the first fiscal year to have these classifications.
538
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
PROPERTY TAX RATES
DIRECT AND OVERLAPPING GOVERNMENTS
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
135
Total
Total Ames Consoli- Direct &
Fiscal Public Employee Debt Direct School dated Area Overlapping
Year General2 Transit Benefits Service Tax Rate 3 District4 County5 Vocational6 Rates
2014 5.85539 0.64949 0.75345 3.59946 10.85779 14.34904 6.50266 0.69120 32.40069
2015 5.83299 0.65719 0.78331 3.58189 10.85538 14.34759 6.39469 0.65724 32.25490
2016 5.77474 0.65200 0.71216 3.49047 10.62937 14.20276 6.72830 0.67574 32.23617
2017 5.60071 0.64261 0.71908 3.41087 10.37327 14.34101 6.21998 0.72334 31.65760
2018 5.65041 0.65194 0.72660 3.34694 10.37589 14.34129 6.24271 0.67458 31.63447
2019 5.50149 0.63361 0.71534 3.21813 10.06857 14.34179 6.29920 0.69468 31.40424
2020 6.05031 0.62811 0.67923 3.19314 10.55079 14.34142 6.50310 0.65249 32.04780
2021 5.66051 0.63633 0.69970 3.15027 10.14681 14.34107 6.36403 0.63533 31.48724
2022 5.54979 0.60847 0.71802 2.99735 9.87363 14.34470 6.29050 0.67789 31.18672
2023 5.51359 0.59831 0.64337 3.07409 9.82936 14.28616 5.89114 0.69448 30.70114
1 Overlapping rates are those of local and county governments that may apply to property owners within the City of Ames. Not all
overlapping rates apply to all Ames property taxpayers.
2 State law limits the maximum tax rate for the general fund to $8.10 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.
3 City Council sets the rate.
4 School district board of education sets the rate.
5 Story County board of supervisors, the county and city's assessors board, county agricultural extension board, and county hospital
board set the rate.
6 Area community college sets the rate.
Source: Story County Auditor
Overlapping Rates 1City Direct Rates
539
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
PRINCIPAL PROPERTY TAXPAYERS
CURRENT YEAR AND NINE YEARS AGO
136
Percentage Percentage
Taxable of Total Taxable of Total
Assessed Assessed Assessed Assessed
Taxpayer Value Rank Value Value Rank Value
Iowa State University Research Park 67,098,301$ 1 1.97%32,370,170$ 2 1.39%
Barilla America Inc. 49,627,090 2 1.46%34,389,050 1 1.48%
Clinic Building Company, Inc.37,204,290 3 1.09%20,475,255 5 0.88%
Campus Investors IS LLC 36,348,640 4 1.07%30,767,449 3 1.32%
FPA6 University West LLC 26,153,040 5 0.77%
Spirit Realty LP 23,447,160 6 0.69%
SZ Ames Apartments LLC 21,516,346 7 0.63%
GW Land Holdings LLC 20,239,127 8 0.60%
Dayton Park LLC 20,060,756 9 0.59%17,060,819 7 0.73%
West Towne Apartments LC 19,884,828 10 0.58%
North Grant Mall Partners, LLC 23,308,630 4 1.00%
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.18,050,000 6 0.78%
Cycloneball, LLC 16,413,150 8 0.71%
West Towne Condos, LLC 14,179,458 9 0.61%
University West Property Owner LLC 13,522,162 10 0.58%
321,579,578$ 9.45%220,536,143$ 9.48%
Source: Story County Auditor
2023 2014
540
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
PROPERTY TAX LEVIES AND COLLECTIONS
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
137
Fiscal
Year Tax Levied Collections
Ended for the Amount Percentage in Subsequent Amount Percentage
June 30,Fiscal Year Collected of Levy Years Collected of Levy
2014 25,261,403$ 24,795,918$ 98.16%2,516$ 24,798,434$ 98.17%
2015 25,557,159 24,772,538 96.93%13 24,772,551 96.93%
2016 26,000,394 25,108,284 96.57%- 25,108,284 96.57%
2017 27,044,391 25,919,190 95.84%- 25,919,190 95.84%
2018 28,137,151 27,044,258 96.12%- 27,044,258 96.12%
2019 29,467,293 28,805,839 97.76%- 28,805,839 97.76%
2020 31,041,345 30,109,340 97.00%- 30,109,340 97.00%
2021 31,838,298 30,756,123 96.60%- 30,756,123 96.60%
2022 32,428,985 31,361,804 96.71%- 31,361,804 96.71%
2023 33,548,230 31,685,079 94.45%- 31,685,079 94.45%
Sources: Story County Auditor and City Finance Department
Fiscal Year of the Levy
Collected within the
Total Collections to Date
541
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
RATIOS OF OUTSTANDING DEBT BY TYPE
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
138
General Leases, SBITAs and General Leases, SBITAs, and Total Percentage
Fiscal Obligation Other Financing Obligation Revenue Notes Other Financing Loans Outstanding of Personal Per
Year Bonds1 Arrangements Bonds 1 Bonds 1 Payable Arrangments Payable Debt Income 2 Population3 Capita
2014 59,811,442$ 4,191,151$ 86,942,752$ 568,517$ - 8,884,606$ 160,398,468$ 11.47%58,965 2,720
2015 61,891,291 4,001,571 84,078,724 122,457 - 14,519,773 164,613,816 11.77%58,965 2,792
2016 66,260,584 5,399,300 100,601,136 - - 35,976,370 208,237,390 14.66%58,965 3,532
2017 64,987,720 6,534,531 96,160,114 - - 66,093,486 233,775,851 14.35%58,965 3,965
2018 63,331,642 5,682,156 91,617,054 - - 66,796,145 227,426,997 12.60%58,965 3,857
2019 62,013,160 4,794,742 86,967,258 - - 68,697,475 222,472,635 15.12%58,965 3,773
2020 64,024,953 4,219,035 115,821,050 - - 65,182,044 249,247,082 14.17%66,258 3,762
2021 64,930,438 3,524,611 108,824,332 - - 57,503,000 234,782,381 12.86%66,427 3,534
2022 65,692,675 64,975 3,575,334 101,662,284 - 1,412,904 54,333,000 226,741,172 10.80%66,427 3,413
2023 68,682,219 600,297 2,903,734 94,335,613 - 2,150,419 60,876,173 229,548,455 10.75%66,427 3,456
1 Presented net of original issuance discounts and premiums and deferred charges
2 Personal income is presented on page 145
3 United States Census Bureau
Business-Type Activities
Governmental
Activities
542
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
RATIOS OF GENERAL BONDED DEBT OUTSTANDING
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
139
Percentage of
Estimated
General Less: Amounts Actual Assessed
Fiscal Obligation Available in Debt Value of Per
Year Bonds 1 Service Fund2 Total Property3 Capita4
2014 64,002,593$ 603,260$ 63,399,333$ 1.79%1,075
2015 65,892,862 594,468 65,298,394 1.81%1,107
2016 71,659,884 773,472 70,886,412 1.87%1,202
2017 71,522,251 1,173,608 70,348,643 1.74%1,193
2018 69,013,798 987,953 68,025,845 1.63%1,154
2019 66,807,902 928,447 65,879,455 1.42%1,117
2020 68,243,988 1,207,777 67,036,211 1.39%1,012
2021 68,455,049 1,210,217 67,244,832 1.34%1,012
2022 69,268,009 2,090,539 67,177,470 1.29%1,011
2023 71,585,953 2,352,740 69,233,213 1.26%1,042
1 General bonded debt of both governmental and business-type activities, net of
original issuance discounts and premiums and deferred charges
2 Amount restricted for debt service payments
3 See page 135 for property value data
4 See page 145 for population data
543
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
DIRECT AND OVERLAPPING GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITES DEBT
AS OF JUNE 30, 2023
140
Amount
Estimated Applicable to
Debt Percentage Primary
Governmental Unit Outstanding Applicable Government
Debt repaid with property taxes:
Ames Community School District 85,065,000$ 98.42%83,720,973$
Gilbert Community School District 22,235,000 51.16%11,375,426
Des Moines Area Community College 1 30,965,000 5.75%1,780,488
Nevada Community School District 8,265,000 0.24%19,836
United Community School District 1,320,000 3.64%48,048
Story County 4,741,912 59.49%2,820,963
Other debt:
Ames Community School District revenue bonds 16,072,000 98.42%15,818,062
Gilbert Community School District revenue bonds 4,646,000 51.16%2,376,894
Des Moines Area Community College revenue bonds - 5.75%-
Nevada Community School District revenue bonds 7,950,000 0.24%19,080
Nevada Community School District capital notes 513,000 0.24%1,231
United Community School District revenue bonds 1,995,000 3.64%72,618
Story County 1,181,181 59.49%702,685
Subtotal, overlapping debt 118,756,304
City direct debt 69,282,516
Total direct and overlapping debt 188,038,820$
1 New jobs training certificates payable primarily from credits and incremental property tax revenue
derived from jobs training program. The certificates are further secured by a back-up levy of general
taxes.
Note: Overlapping governments are those that coincide, at least in part, with geographic boundaries of
the city. This schedule estimates the portion of the outstanding debt of those overlapping governments
that is borne by the property taxpayers of the City. This process recognizes that, when considering the
City's ability to issue and repay long-term debt, the entire debt burden borne by the property taxpayers
should be taken into account. However, this does not imply that every taxpayer is a resident, and
therefore responsible for repaying the debt, of each overlapping government.
Source: Debt outstanding provided by each governmental unit. Applicable percentages calculated based
on assessed value data from the Story County Auditor.
544
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
LEGAL DEBT MARGIN
JUNE 30, 2023
141
Legal debt margin for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023:
Assessed value 5,512,039,832$
Debt limit (5% of actual value)275,601,992$
Debt applicable to limit:
General obligation bonds 65,175,000
Legal debt margin 210,426,992$
Percentage of net debt margin available 76.35%
Percentage of net debt margin exhausted 23.65%
Percentage of
Net Debt
Outstanding Margin
Year Debt Limit Debt Available
2023 275,601,992$ 65,175,000$ 76.35%
2022 259,375,523 62,570,000 75.88%
2021 251,136,517 63,235,000 74.82%
2020 241,870,551 64,305,000 73.41%
2019 231,606,972 63,290,000 72.67%
2018 209,044,907 65,480,000 68.68%
2017 202,620,917 68,230,000 66.33%
2016 189,479,911 68,825,000 63.68%
2015 180,218,498 64,110,000 64.43%
2014 176,836,768 62,260,000 64.79%
Note: State of Iowa statutory debt limit is 5% of total actual assessed valuation.
545
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
PLEDGED-REVENUE COVERAGE
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
142
Less:Net
Fiscal Gross Operating Available
Year Revenues 3 Expenses Revenue Principal Interest Coverage
2014 174,265,003$ 145,968,125$ 28,296,878$ 2,755,000$ 3,869,900$ 4.27
2015 184,201,460 147,149,250 37,052,210 2,825,000 3,803,608 5.59
2016 181,534,863 153,761,276 27,773,587 2,890,000 3,735,480 4.19
2017 189,926,814 162,011,472 27,915,342 3,070,000 3,172,934 4.47
2018 194,988,247 164,723,116 30,265,131 3,150,000 3,090,047 4.85
2019 192,530,036 169,574,256 22,955,780 3,235,000 3,004,771 3.68
2020 198,155,472 177,497,057 20,658,415 4,705,000 3,338,470 2.57
2021 210,825,315 183,857,117 26,968,198 5,525,000 3,494,356 2.99
2022 221,854,322 198,072,124 23,782,198 5,665,000 3,357,940 2.64
2023 228,820,061 211,078,882 17,741,179 5,800,000 3,217,196 1.97
Less:Net
Fiscal Gross Operating Available
Year Revenues Expenses Revenue Principal Interest Coverage
2014 -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -
2015 - - - - - -
2016 58,511,422 51,059,004 7,452,418 800,000 161,946 7.75
2017 64,339,637 53,697,044 10,642,593 625,000 343,556 10.99
2018 68,660,541 56,603,627 12,056,914 655,000 312,306 12.46
2019 68,342,980 58,076,088 10,266,892 685,000 279,556 10.64
2020 64,882,140 53,445,511 11,436,629 720,000 245,306 11.85
2021 64,127,039 54,062,711 10,064,328 760,000 209,306 10.38
2022 67,655,268 57,070,684 10,584,584 795,000 171,306 10.95
2023 69,947,197 60,435,587 9,511,610 835,000 131,556 9.84
Electric Revenue Bond
Hospital Revenue Bond
Debt Service 1
Debt Service
546
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
PLEDGED-REVENUE COVERAGE (continued)
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
143
Less:Net
Fiscal Gross Operating Available
Year Revenues Expenses Revenue Principal4 Interest Coverage
2014 7,491,746$ 5,809,744$ 1,682,002$ 128,000$ 20,300$ -
2015 8,267,051 5,334,578 2,932,473 131,000 38,999 17.25
2016 8,370,811 4,751,416 3,619,395 134,000 44,520 20.27
2017 8,856,136 5,147,061 3,709,075 169,000 42,951 17.50
2018 9,175,876 5,934,923 3,240,953 172,000 51,001 14.53
2019 9,172,812 6,575,420 2,597,392 414,250 89,827 5.15
2020 7,754,405 5,207,127 2,547,278 415,332 119,105 4.77
2021 8,775,009 5,216,226 3,558,783 410,827 112,402 6.80
2022 9,027,049 5,026,514 4,000,535 434,000 106,493 7.40
2023 10,008,845 6,963,637 3,045,208 443,000 138,584 5.24
Less:Net
Fiscal Gross Operating Available
Year Revenues Expenses Revenue Principal Interest Coverage
2014 -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -
2015 9,584,813 5,560,459 4,024,354 - 64,982 -
2016 9,987,307 5,771,458 4,215,849 - 454,561 -
2017 10,502,276 6,141,051 4,361,225 - 857,786 -
2018 10,824,699 6,211,833 4,612,866 2,870,000 1,294,591 1.11
2019 11,121,859 6,917,507 4,204,352 2,927,000 1,287,070 1.00
2020 12,004,634 7,004,160 5,000,474 2,986,000 1,243,815 1.18
2021 12,824,209 7,003,022 5,821,187 2,686,718 1,162,984 1.51
2022 11,959,469 6,271,197 5,688,272 2,736,000 1,000,260 1.52
2023 13,679,655 8,667,969 5,011,686 2,927,000 963,156 1.29
1 Debt service payments do not include payments to refund revenue bonds.
2 2013 was the year of issuance. Accordingly no principal payments were scheduled. Further, there
was not any debt outstanding in the previous nine years that was secured by pledged revenues.
3 Prior year gross revenues were restated to accurately reflect operating revenue.
4 2021 contains loan forgiveness for meeting Iowa Finance Authority building standards.
Water Capital Loan Note
Debt Service
Sewer Capital Loan Note
Debt Service 2
547
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONMIC STATISTICS
LAST TEN CALENDAR YEARS
144
Per
Capita
Calendar Personal Personal School Unemployment
Year Population1 Income 1 Income Enrollment2 Rate 3
2013 58,965 23,713$ 1,398,237,045$ 4,247 3.2%
2014 58,965 23,713 1,398,237,045 4,171 2.7%
2015 58,965 24,082 1,419,995,130 4,181 2.4%
2016 58,965 27,629 1,629,143,985 4,188 2.4%
2017 58,965 30,615 1,805,213,475 4,300 2.0%
2018 58,965 24,946 1,470,940,890 4,387 1.6%
2019 66,258 26,548 1,759,017,384 4,477 1.9%
2020 66,427 27,483 1,825,613,241 4,351 3.7%
2021 66,427 31,600 2,099,093,200 4,484 2.2%
2022 66,427 32,137 2,134,764,499 4,440 2.5%
1 United States Census Bureau
2 Ames School District
3 Iowa Workforce Development
548
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
PRINCIPAL EMPLOYERS
CURRENT YEAR AND NINE YEARS AGO
145
2023 2014
Percentage Percentage
of Total City of Total City
Employer Employees Rank Employment Employees Rank Employment
Iowa State University 9,000 1 15.25% 15,654 1 30.93%
Mary Greeley Medical Center 1,490 2 2.52%1,289 2 2.55%
Danfoss Corp.1 1,180 3 2.00%650 8 1.28%
Iowa Department of Transportation 975 4 1.65% 925 4 1.83%
U.S. Department of Agriculture 750 5 1.27%
McFarland Clinic, P.C.675 6 1.14%920 5 1.82%
Ames Community School District 650 7 1.10% 675 7 1.33%
City of Ames 572 8 0.97%1,281 3 2.53%
Workiva 550 9 0.93%
Ames Laboratories 415 10 0.70% 432 10 0.85%
Hy-Vee Food Stores 809 6 1.60%
Wal-Mart 440 9 0.87%
Total 27.53%45.59%
1 Formerly Sauer-Danfoss
Sources: United States Department of Labor, City of Ames, and company inquiries.
549
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEES BY FUNCTION
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
146
Function/Program 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
General government:
Management services 23.25 23.25 23.25 24.25 24.25 24.50 24.50 24.50 25.50 25.50
Finance 40.75 40.75 40.75 40.75 40.75 41.00 41.00 41.00 41.00 41.00
Planning and housing 8.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00
Administrative services1 - 6.50 6.00 6.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00
Fleet services/facilities 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50 9.50
Transit 75.95 81.55 84.05 84.05 84.05 84.50 85.50 85.50 85.50 87.75
Fire/inspections 68.50 65.00 65.00 68.00 70.00 71.00 72.00 73.00 74.00 74.00
Police/animal control/parking 77.65 77.65 77.65 79.65 80.65 82.15 83.15 84.60 85.05 85.05
Library 31.50 35.25 35.50 35.75 35.75 36.50 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.50
Parks and recreation 19.50 19.50 19.50 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 26.75 27.75 27.75
Water and pollution control 41.25 40.05 40.05 40.30 40.30 40.00 40.00 38.00 38.00 39.00
Electric 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00
Public works:
Administration 3.00 1.50 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00
Engineering 14.00 14.00 15.75 15.75 14.75 14.75 14.75 14.75 14.75 14.75
Resource recovery 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00
Streets 19.00 19.00 19.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 22.00
Utility maintenance 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 13.00 13.00
Other 13.00 13.00 13.00 8.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00
Hospital 1,082.00 1,050.00 1,071.00 1,067.00 1,082.00 1,086.00 1,117.00 1,143.00 1,168.00 1,222.00
Total 1,633.85 1,610.50 1,636.00 1,642.00 1,660.00 1,667.90 1,703.40 1,732.60 1,761.05 1,818.80
1 Administrative services was formed with employees from the planning and housing, fire/inspections, and public works admininstration divisions.
Source: City Finance Department
Position control register
Fiscal Year
550
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
OPERATING INDICATORS BY FUNCTION
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
147
Function/Program 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
General government:
Number of licenses/permits processed 524 617 559 714 635 752 561 598 546 547
Police:
Physical arrests 1,588 1,531 1,362 1,215 1,596 1,480 1,380 778 1,063 1,075
Parking violations 45,530 46,759 50,280 47,272 38,798 32,711 27,278 25,152 27,511 24,173
Traffic violations 2,543 2,981 2,451 2,614 2,834 2,328 2,092 1,667 1,803 2,219
Fire:
Number of fires 150 107 126 89 116 80 82 117 93 109
Number of ambulance assists 2,471 2,464 2,442 2,663 2,646 2,857 2,473 2,064 3,399 3,533
Inspections 1,263 1,205 1,435 1,074 831 501 582 322 535 486
Library:
Total circulation 1,205,620 1,255,953 1,304,434 1,280,305 1,222,360 1,220,180 961,602 854,397 1,043,230 994,326
Library visits 226,690 426,608 506,034 523,673 508,918 485,929 336,272 268,927 279,123 317,020
Parks and recreation:
Total number of participant visits 294,978 279,103 293,757 255,227 280,766 281,420 187,725 157,593 200,606 157,896
Total number of activities 160 175 187 194 196 200 175 325 806 171
Resource recovery:
Tons of refuse processed 27,878 50,035 41,646 45,598 37,124 33,173 33,511 40,040 40,040 44,634
Tipping fee per ton 52.75 52.75 52.75 52.75 55.00 55.00 58.75 58.75 62.50 62.50
Other public works:
Blocks of streets crack sealed 123 90 66 73 65 81 88 20 87 149
Blocks of streets slurry sealed 11 22 36 33 30 - 56 37 26
Blocks of seal coat reconstruction 8 4 16 - 10 6 - 4 4 3
Hospital:
Total admissions 8,289 8,298 7,867 8,368 8,510 8,267 8,230 8,082 8,355 8,446
Average percent of occupancy 52.1%50.5%49.3%49.7%50.2%50.6%52.1%53.7%54.5%55.0%
Electric:
Kilowatt hours produced at plant 282,348,784 278,471,640 243,388,530 244,149,566 222,873,411 167,189,716 176,914,000 245,972,108 304,668,733 303,304,598
Meters in service 25,353 26,023 26,232 26,475 27,324 27,348 27,613 27,701 27,735 27,848
Transit:
Passengers 6,619,182 6,711,665 6,785,479 6,658,027 6,572,065 6,121,023 4,577,482 1,862,274 3,669,894 4,142,196
Total miles driven 1,493,983 1,599,493 1,658,443 1,635,781 1,649,762 1,516,271 1,437,907 1,432,914 1,468,962 1,485,448
Water:
Billion gallons per year pumped 2.131 2.022 2.110 2.131 2.245 2.117 2.260 2.359 2.312 2.443
Utility locates performed 6,185 6,615 8,121 7,383 7,113 6,932 7,935 14,152 8,834 8,019
Water main breaks 47 19 19 18 42 46 19 29 25 24
Wastewater:
Billion gallons per year treated 1.936 2.389 2.690 2.427 2.141 2.706 2.291 1.849 2.108 2.100
Sources: City departments and Mary Greeley Medical Center
Fiscal Year
551
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
CAPITAL ASSET STATISTICS BY FUNCTION
LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
148
Function 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Police:
Stations 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Patrol units 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
Fire stations 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Parks and recreation:
Total number of parks 37 37 37 36 36 38 38 38 38 40
Total number of park acres 1,227 1,227 1,227 1,223 1,224 1,230 1,230 1,230 1,215 1,266
Total number of athletic fields 18 18 18 18 21 21 21 21 21 21
Other public works:
Miles of streets 290 291 291 300 305 305 249 252 252 252
Number of traffic signals 67 67 67 68 69 70 71 76 78 78
Number of signs 9,489 9,485 9,509 9,854 10,087 10,658 10,876 11,052 11,069 11,206
Hospital:
Beds in operation 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199
Transit:
Buses owned 93 104 105 104 105 104 89 90 90 92
New buses purchased - 6 9 5 3 1 - 3 6 9
Water:
Miles of water mains 243 247 254 247 249 250 250 252 253 255
Fire hydrants 2,700 2,771 2,847 2,906 2,948 2,977 2,995 3,029 3,054 3,087
Wells 28 28 28 25 24 25 25 25 25 22
Wastewater:
Sanitary sewer miles 203 204 204 210 211 212 212 213 215 215
Stormwater miles 260 263 271 276 277 278 279 284 284 284
Note: No capital asset indicators are available for general government, library, resource recovery, or electric functions.
Sources: City departments and Mary Greeley Medical Center
Fiscal Year
552
149
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553
COMPLIANCE
SECTION
554
Information to Comply with Government Auditing Standards
and Uniform Guidance
June 30, 2023
City of Ames, Iowa
151
555
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Independent Auditor’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and on
Compliance and Other Matters Based on an Audit of Financial Statements Performed
in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards
To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Ames, Iowa
We have audited, in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of
America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards,
issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, the financial statements of the governmental
activities, the business‐type activities, the discretely presented component unit, each major fund, and
the aggregate remaining fund information of the City of Ames, Iowa (City), as of and for the year ended
June 30, 2023, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the City’s
basic financial statements, and have issued our report thereon dated January 31, 2024. Other auditors
audited the financial statements of Mary Greeley Medical Center (presented as an enterprise fund), as
described in our report on the financial statements. This report does not include the results of the other
auditors’ testing of internal control over financial reporting or compliance and other matters that are
reported on separately by those auditors.
Other auditors also audited the financial statements of the Mary Greeley Medical Center Foundation,
the discretely presented component unit. Those financial statements were not audited in accordance
with Government Auditing Standards, and accordingly, this report does not extend to those financial
statements.
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements, we considered the City's internal
control over financial reporting (internal control) as a basis for designing audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinions on the financial statements,
but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the City’s internal control.
Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the City’s internal control.
A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow
management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or
detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a
combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material
misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a
timely basis. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control
that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged
with governance.
556
Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph of this
section and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be material
weaknesses or significant deficiencies and therefore, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies may
exist that have not been identified. We identified a certain deficiency in internal control, described in
the accompanying schedule of findings and questioned costs as item 2023‐001, that we consider to be a
material weakness.
Report on Compliance and Other Matters
As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the City's financial statements are free from
material misstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws,
regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a direct and
material effect on the financial statements. However, providing an opinion on compliance with those
provisions was not an objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. The
results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be
reported under Government Auditing Standards. However, we noted certain immaterial instances of
noncompliance or other matters which is disclosed in Part IV of the accompanying schedule of findings
and questioned costs.
Comments involving statutory and other legal matters about the City’s operations for the year ended
June 30, 2023, are based exclusively on knowledge obtained from procedures performed during our
audit of the financial statements of the City and are reported in Part IV of the accompanying schedule of
findings and questioned costs. Since our audit was based on tests and samples, not all transactions that
might have had an impact on the comments were necessarily audited. The comments involving
statutory and other legal matters are not intended to constitute legal interpretations of those statutes.
City’s Responses to Findings
Government Auditing Standards requires the auditor to perform limited procedures on the City’s
responses to the findings identified in our audit and described in the accompanying schedule of findings
and questioned costs. The City’s responses were not subjected to the other auditing procedures applied
in the audit of the financial statements and, accordingly, we express no opinion on the responses.
Purpose of this Report
The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and
compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the
entity’s internal control or on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit performed in
accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the City’s internal control and
compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other purpose.
Dubuque, Iowa
January 31, 2024
153
557
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Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance for Each Major Federal Program and Report on
Internal Control Over Compliance Required by the Uniform Guidance
To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Ames, Iowa
Report on Compliance for Each Major Federal Program
Opinion on Each Major Federal Program
We have audited the City of Ames, Iowa’s, (City) compliance with the types of compliance requirements
identified as subject to audit in the OMB Compliance Supplement that could have a direct and material
effect on each of the City’s major federal programs for the year ended June 30, 2023. The City’s major
federal programs are identified in the summary of auditor’s results section of the accompanying
schedule of findings and questioned costs.
In our opinion, the City complied, in all material respects, with the compliance requirements referred to
above that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major federal programs for the year
ended June 30, 2023.
Basis for Opinion on Each Major Federal Program
We conducted our audit of compliance in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the
United States of America (GAAS); the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government
Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States (Government Auditing
Standards); and the audit requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform
Guidance). Our responsibilities under those standards and the Uniform Guidance are further described
in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of Compliance section of our report.
We are required to be independent of the City and to meet our other ethical responsibilities, in
accordance with relevant ethical requirements relating to our audit. We believe that the audit evidence
we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion on compliance for each
major federal program. Our audit does not provide a legal determination of the City’s compliance with
the compliance requirements referred to above.
558
Other Matter – Federal Expenditures Not Included in the Compliance Audit
The City’s basic financial statements include the operations of the Mary Greeley Medical Center
(presented as an enterprise fund), which expended federal awards which are not included in the City’s
schedule of expenditures of federal awards during the year ended June 30, 2023. Our compliance audit,
described in the “Opinion on Each Major Federal Program” does not include the operations of the Mary
Greeley Medical Center because the Medical Center engaged other auditors to perform an audit of
compliance.
Responsibilities of Management for Compliance
Management is responsible for compliance with the requirements referred to above and for the design,
implementation, and maintenance of effective internal control over compliance with the requirements
of laws, statutes, regulations, rules and provisions of contracts or grant agreements applicable to the
City’s federal programs.
Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of Compliance
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether material noncompliance with the
compliance requirements referred to above occurred, whether due to fraud or error, and express an
opinion on the City’s compliance based on our audit. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance
but is not absolute assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance
with GAAS, Government Auditing Standards, and the Uniform Guidance will always detect material
noncompliance when it exists. The risk of not detecting material noncompliance resulting from fraud is
higher than for that resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions,
misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Noncompliance with the compliance
requirements referred to above is considered material, if there is a substantial likelihood that,
individually or in the aggregate, it would influence the judgment made by a reasonable user of the
report on compliance about the City’s compliance with the requirements of each major federal program
as a whole.
In performing an audit in accordance with GAAS, Government Auditing Standards, and the Uniform
Guidance, we:
Exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.
Identify and assess the risks of material noncompliance, whether due to fraud or error, and
design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks. Such procedures include
examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the City’s compliance with the compliance
requirements referred to above and performing such other procedures as we considered
necessary in the circumstances.
Obtain an understanding of the City’s internal control over compliance relevant to the audit in
order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances and to test and
report on internal control over compliance in accordance with the Uniform Guidance, but not
for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the City’s internal control over
compliance. Accordingly, no such opinion is expressed.
155
559
We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters,
the planned scope and timing of the audit and any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in
internal control over compliance that we identified during the audit.
Report on Internal Control over Compliance
A deficiency in internal control over compliance exists when the design or operation of a control over
compliance does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their
assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, noncompliance with a type of compliance
requirement of a federal program on a timely basis. A material weakness in internal control over
compliance is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over compliance, such
that there is a reasonable possibility that material noncompliance with a type of compliance
requirement of a federal program will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. A
significant deficiency in internal control over compliance is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies,
in internal control over compliance with a type of compliance requirement of a federal program that is
less severe than a material weakness in internal control over compliance, yet important enough to merit
attention by those charged with governance.
Our consideration of internal control over compliance was for the limited purpose described in the
Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of Compliance section above and was not designed to identify all
deficiencies in internal control over compliance that might be material weaknesses or significant
deficiencies in internal control over compliance. Given these limitations, during our audit we did not
identify any deficiencies in internal control over compliance that we consider to be material
weaknesses, as defined above. However, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal
control over compliance may exist that were not identified.
Our audit was not designed for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal
control over compliance. Accordingly, no such opinion is expressed.
The purpose of this report on internal control over compliance is solely to describe the scope of our
testing of internal control over compliance and the results of that testing based on the requirements of
the Uniform Guidance. Accordingly, this report is not suitable for any other purpose.
Dubuque, Iowa
January 31, 2024
156
560
See Notes to Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Federal
PassFinancial‐Through
Federal Grantor/Pass‐EntityAssistanceThrough FederalIdentifying
Grantor/Program or Cluster ExpendituresNumberListingTitle
U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Cluster
Direct program
Investments for Public Works and Economic
Development 204,34211.300Facilities $
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Direct program
CDBG ‐ Entitlement Grants Cluster
Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement 248,94214.218Grants
COVID‐19 ‐ Community Development Block
Grants/Entitlement Grants 14.218 9,622
Total CDBG ‐ Entitlement Grants Cluster 258,564
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Economic Development Authority
Community Development Block Grants/State's Program
and Non‐entitlement Grants in Hawaii 14.228 08‐CVE‐011 239,082
Direct program
Home Investment Partnership Program 14.239 5,048
Home Investment Partnership Program 14.239 7,282
12,330
Total U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 509,976
U.S. Department of the Interior
Direct program
Historic Preservation Fund Grants‐In‐Aid 15.904 14,000
U.S. Department of Justice
Direct program
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program 16.607 2,525
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 16.738Program 6,700
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 16.738Program 8,792
15,492
Total U.S. Department of Justice 18,017
U.S. Department of Transportation
Direct program
Airport Improvement Program 20.106 89,129
Airport Improvement Program 20.106 78,237
COVID‐19 ‐ Airport Improvement Program 20.106 20,288
COVID‐19 ‐ Airport Improvement Program 20.106 41,247
228,901
157
561
See Notes to Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Federal
PassFinancial‐Through
Federal Grantor/Pass‐EntityAssistanceThrough FederalIdentifying
Grantor/Program or Cluster ExpendituresNumberListingTitle
U.S. Department of Transportation (continued)
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Transportation
Highway Planning and 23MPO20.205Construction ‐285,779AAMPO$
Highway Planning and 20.205Construction TAP‐U‐0155(704)‐‐8I‐85,
21‐TAP‐159 159,000
Highway Planning and Construction TAP20.205 ‐U‐0155(709)‐‐8I‐85
22‐TAP‐311,478110
Highway Planning and Construction STP20.205 ‐U‐0155(690)‐‐70‐85
STP‐U‐0155(697)‐‐70‐390,12085
1,146,377
Metropolitan Transportation Planning and State
and Non‐Metropolitan Planning and Research 20.505 23MPO‐11,907AAMPO
Federal Transit Cluster
Direct program
COVID‐19 ‐ Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 1,865,971
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 46,662
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 183,858
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Transportation
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 IA‐2023‐003‐00 3,486,210
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 IA‐2023‐013‐01‐00 89,599
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 2019‐004‐02‐FY20 410,426
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 20.507 IA‐2019‐004‐01‐FY19 5,748
Federal Transit ‐ Formula Grants 201920.507 ‐004‐02‐FY20 (22975) 79,919
6,168,393
Direct program
Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive and
Low or No Emissions Programs 20.526 1,525,775
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Transportation
Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive and
Low or No Emissions 201920.526Programs ‐007‐02‐867,749FY20
Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive and
Low or No Emissions Programs 20.526 2019‐007‐01‐FY19 2,570
Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive and
Low or No Emissions Programs 201920.526 ‐007‐02‐FY20 (22 342,617975)
Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive and
Low or No Emissions Programs 20.526 2019‐008‐02‐2,164,101FY20
4,902,812
Total Federal Transit Cluster 11,071,205
158 562
See Notes to Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Federal
Financial
PassAssistance‐Through
Federal Grantor/Pass‐EntityListing/CFDAThrough FederalIdentifying
Grantor/Program or Cluster ExpendituresNumberNumberTitle
U.S. Department of Transportation (continued)
Transit Services Programs Cluster
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Transportation
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals
with 202220.513Disabilities ‐008‐37,40500$
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals
with 20.513Disabilities 2021‐018‐00‐FY21 35,404
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals
with IA20.513Disabilities ‐2023‐006‐01; 195,08200005213
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals
with Disabilities IA20.513 ‐2023‐006‐01; 00005246 38,883
Total Transit Services Programs Cluster 306,774
Highway Safety Cluster
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Public Safety
State and Community Highway Safety 20.600 PAP 22‐402‐M0PT
Task 01‐00‐00 1,997
State and Community Highway Safety 20.600 PAP 23‐402‐M0PT
Task 01‐00‐00 12,863
14,860
National Priority Safety Programs 20.616 PAP 22‐405d‐M6OT
Task 01‐00‐00 3,641
National Priority Safety Programs 20.616 PAP 22‐405b‐M1HVE
Task 01‐00‐00 228
National Priority Safety Programs 20.616 PAP 23‐405d‐M6OT
Task 01‐00‐00 9,384
13,253
Total Highway Safety Cluster 28,113
Total U.S. Department of Transportation 12,793,277
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Direct Program
COVID‐19 ‐ Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal
Recovery Funds 21.027 2,746,958
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Finance Authority
COVID‐19 ‐ Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal
Recovery Funds 21.027 SLFRP4374, 22‐05 25,640
2,772,598
159 563
See Notes to Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Federal
Financial
PassAssistance‐Through
Federal Grantor/Pass‐EntityListing/CFDAThrough Identifying Federal
Grantor/Program or Cluster Title Number Number Expenditures
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
Promotion of the Arts Partnership Agreements 190374745.025 ‐61‐22, 00032319 4,000$
U.S. Department of the Environmental Protection Agency
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Finance Authority
CWSRF Cluster
Capitalization Grants for Clean Water
State Revolving Funds 66.458 7,652,207
Iowa Finance Authority
DWSRF Cluster
Capitalization Grants for Drinking Water
State Revolving Funds 66.468 60,805
Total U.S. Department of the Environmental Protection Agency 7,713,012
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Direct Program
Assistance to Firefighters Grant 97.044 12,726
Pass‐through program from
Iowa Department of Homeland Security
BRIC: Building Resilient Infrastructure and 97.047Communities PDMC‐2018‐‐1,199,438011
Total U.S. Department of Homeland Security 1,212,164
Total Federal Financial Assistance 25,241,386$
160 564
City of Ames, Iowa
Notes to the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Note 1 ‐ Basis of Presentation
The accompanying schedule of expenditures of federal awards (the schedule) includes the federal award activity
of the City of Ames, Iowa, (City) under programs of the federal government for the year ended June 30, 2023.
The information is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
(Uniform Guidance). Because the schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of the City, it is not
intended to and does not present the financial position, changes in net position or fund balance, or cash flows of
the City.
Note 2 ‐ Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Expenditures reported in the schedule are reported on the modified accrual basis of accounting – when they
become a demand on current available financial resources in the governmental fund types and on the full
accrual basis of accounting – when expenditures are incurred in the proprietary fund types. Such expenditures
are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance, wherein certain types of
expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. The City received federal awards both
directly from federal agencies and indirectly through pass‐through entities. Federal financial assistance provided
to a subrecipient is treated as an expenditure when it is paid to the subrecipient. There was no assistance
provided to subrecipients during the year ended June 30, 2023.
Note 3 ‐ Indirect Cost Rate
The City has not elected to use the 10% de minimis cost rate.
161
565
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Part I: Summary of the Independent Auditor’s Results:
Financial Statements
Type of auditor’s report issued Unmodified
Internal control over financial reporting
Material weakness identified Yes
Significant deficiencies identified not
considered to be material weaknesses None reported
Noncompliance material to financial statements noted No
Federal Awards
Internal control over major programs
Material weakness identified No
Significant deficiencies identified not
considered to be material weaknesses None reported
Type of auditor’s report issued on compliance for major programs Unmodified
Any audit findings disclosed that are required to be reported in
accordance with Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.516 No
Identification of major programs:
Federal Financial
Name of Federal Program or Cluster Assistance Listing
Highway Planning and Construction 20.205
COVID‐19 ‐Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds 21.027
CWSRF Cluster
Capitalization Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds 66.458
Dollar threshold used to distinguish
between Type A and Type B programs $757,242
Auditee qualified as low‐risk auditee No
162
566
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Part II: Findings Related to the Financial Statements
2023‐001 Material Audit Adjustments
Criteria: A properly designed system of internal control over financial reporting allows entities to
initiate, authorize, record, process, and report financial data reliably in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles.
Condition: During the course of our engagement, we proposed material audit adjustments to
accounts receivable and the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards.
Cause: There is a limited number of office staff with varying levels of experience with the reporting
requirements. This significantly limits the City’s review procedures.
Effect: The effect of this condition was financial data not in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles.
Recommendation: We recommend that City staff continue to receive relevant training and that
additional review procedures be implemented.
Views of Responsible Officials: Management will ensure proper training will take place across all
areas within the accounting division to ensure there is understanding of policies and procedures.
Cross training will take place and detailed standard operating procedures will be created/updated
for every position within the accounting division to ensure proper controls are in place.
Part III: Findings and Questioned Costs for Federal Awards
There were no findings and questioned costs to report.
163 567
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Part IV: Other Findings Related to Required Statutory Reporting
2023‐IA‐A Certified Budget: Disbursements during year ended June 30, 2023 did not exceed the amounts
budgeted.
2023‐IA‐B Questionable Expenditures: We noted no expenditures that we believe may fail to meet the
requirements of public purpose as defined in an Attorney General’s opinion dated April 25, 1979.
2023‐IA‐C Travel Expense: No expenditures of City money for travel expenses of spouses of City officials or
employees were noted.
2023‐IA‐D Business Transactions: Business transactions between the City and City officials or employees are
detailed as follows:
Name, Title, and
Business Connection Transaction Description Amount
Dan Schmidt, Employee, Father is
owner of Ames Trenching and Excavating Services $ 292,452
According to Chapter 362.5 of the Code of Iowa, an officer or employee of a City shall not have an
interest, direct or indirect, in a contract with that City. The provision does not apply to transactions
that do not exceed a cumulative total purchase price of $6,000 in a fiscal year or to contracts made
by a city upon competitive bid. The transaction over $6,000 above was entered into through
competitive bidding in accordance with Chapter 362.5(3)(d) of the Code of Iowa.
2023‐IA‐E Restricted Donor Activity: No transactions were noted between the City, City officials, City
employees and restricted donors in compliance with Chapter 68B of the Code of Iowa.
2023‐IA‐F Bond Coverage: Surety bond coverage of City officials and employees is in accordance with
statutory provisions. The amount of coverage should be reviewed annually to insure the coverage is
adequate for current operations.
2023‐IA‐G Council Minutes: No transactions were found that we believe should have been approved in the
Council minutes but were not.
164
568
City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs
Year Ended June 30, 2023
Part IV: Other Findings Related to Required Statutory Reporting (continued)
2023‐IA‐H Deposits and Investments: No instances of noncompliance with the deposit and investment
provisions of Chapters 12B and 12C of the Code of Iowa and the City’s investment policy were
noted.
2023‐IA‐I Revenue Bonds: No instances of noncompliance with the provisions of the City’s revenue bond
resolutions were noted.
2023‐IA‐J Annual Urban Renewal Report – The annual urban renewal report was properly approved and
certified to the Iowa Department of Management on or before December 1. However, we noted an
instance in which TIF debt balances did not reconcile with City records.
Recommendation – The City should implement additional preparation and review procedures
relating to the Annual Urban Renewal Report.
Views of Responsible Officials – We agree with the auditor’s comments.
2023‐IA‐K Tax Increment Financing – the Special Revenue Tax Increment Financing Fund properly disbursed
payments for TIF loans and rebates. Also, the City properly completed the Tax Increment Debt
Certificate forms to request TIF property taxes.
165 569
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1
January 31, 2024
To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Ames, Iowa
We have audited the financial statements of the City of Ames, Iowa (City) as of and for the year ended
June 30, 2023, and have issued our report thereon dated January 31, 2024. Professional standards
require that we advise you of the following matters relating to our audit. We did not audit the financial
statements of the Mary Greeley Medical Center (presented as an enterprise fund) or the financial
statements of the discretely presented component unit. Those financial statements were audited by
other auditors whose report thereon has been furnished to us, and our opinion, insofar as it relates to
the amounts included for the Mary Greeley Medical Center and the discretely presented component
unit is based solely on the reports of the other auditors.
Our Responsibility in Relation to the Financial Statement Audit under Generally Accepted Auditing
Standards and Government Auditing Standards and our Compliance Audit under Uniform Guidance
As communicated in our letter dated May 24, 2023, our responsibility, as described by professional
standards, is to form and express an opinion about whether the financial statements that have been
prepared by management with your oversight are presented fairly, in all material respects, in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and to express
an opinion on whether the City complied with the types of compliance requirements described in the
OMB Compliance Supplement that could have a direct and material effect on each of the City’s major
federal programs. Our audit of the financial statements and major program compliance does not relieve
you or management of its respective responsibilities.
Our responsibility, as prescribed by professional standards, is to plan and perform our audit to obtain
reasonable, rather than absolute, assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement. An audit of financial statements includes consideration of internal control over financial
reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for
the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial
reporting. Accordingly, as part of our audit, we considered the internal control of the City solely for the
purpose of determining our audit procedures and not to provide any assurance concerning such internal
control.
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Our responsibility, as prescribed by professional standards as it relates to the audit of the City’s major
federal program compliance, is to express an opinion on the compliance for each of the City’s major
federal programs based on our audit of the types of compliance requirements referred to above. An
audit of major program compliance includes consideration of internal control over compliance with the
types of compliance requirements referred to above as a basis for designing audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances and to test and report on internal control over compliance in
accordance with the Uniform Guidance, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the
effectiveness of internal control over compliance. Accordingly, as a part of our major program
compliance audit, we considered internal control over compliance for these purposes and not to provide
any assurance on the effectiveness of the City’s internal control over compliance.
We are also responsible for communicating significant matters related to the audit that are, in our
professional judgment, relevant to your responsibilities in overseeing the financial reporting process.
However, we are not required to design procedures for the purpose of identifying other matters to
communicate to you.
We have provided our comments regarding internal controls during our audit in our Independent
Auditor’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and on Compliance and Other Matters
Based on an Audit of Financial Statements Performed in Accordance with Government Auditing
Standards dated January 31, 2024. We have also provided our comments regarding compliance with the
types of compliance requirements referred to above and internal controls over compliance during our
audit in our Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance for Each Major Federal Program and Report
on Internal Control Over Compliance Required by the Uniform Guidance dated January 31, 2024.
Planned Scope and Timing of the Audit
We conducted our audit consistent with the planned scope and timing we previously communicated to
you.
Compliance with All Ethics Requirements Regarding Independence
The engagement team, others in our firm, as appropriate, our firm, and other firms utilized in the
engagement, if applicable, have complied with all relevant ethical requirements regarding
independence.
Qualitative Aspects of the Entity’s Significant Accounting Practices
Significant Accounting Policies‐
Management has the responsibility to select and use apropriate accounting policies. A summary of the
significant accounting policies used by the City are described in Note 1 to the financial statements. As
described in Note 4.18, the the City changed accounting policies related to accounting for right‐to‐use
subscription assets to adopt the provisions of GASB Statement No. 96, Subscription‐Based Information
Technology Arrangements. Accordingly, the accounting change has been retrospectively applied to the
financial statements beginning July 1, 2022. The implementation of this standard added certain asset
and liability accounts related to SBITAs, however, had no effect on beginning net position. No matters
have come to our attention that would require us, under professional standards, to inform you about (1)
the methods used to account for significant unusual transactions and (2) the effect of significant
accounting policies in controversial or emerging areas for which there is a lack of authoritative guidance
or consensus.
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Significant Accounting Estimates
Accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are
based on management’s current judgments. Those judgments are normally based on knowledge and
experience about past and current events and assumptions about future events. Certain accounting
estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to the financial statements and because
of the possibility that future events affecting them may differ markedly from management’s current
judgments.
The most sensitive accounting estimates affecting the financial statements are self‐funded health
insurance, worker’s compensation, and long‐term disability insurance liabilities, other postemployment
benefits liability, and net pension liability.
Management’s estimates of the self‐funded health insurance, worker’s compensation, and long‐term
disability insurance liabilities are based on third‐party administrator's calculations and estimates. We
evaluated the key factors and assumptions used to develop the incurred but not reported liabilities in
determining that they are reasonable in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole.
Management’s estimate of the total OPEB liability, OPEB related deferred outflow of resources and
deferred inflows of resources and OPEB expense are based on a calculation of actuarially determined
contributions for health insurance benefits. We evaluated the key factors and assumptions used to
develop the OPEB related balances in determining that they are reasonable in relation to the financial
statements taken as a whole.
Management’s estimate of the net pension liability, pension related deferred outflows of resources and
deferred inflows of resources, and pension expense are based on plan level actuarial reports, allocated
to the City using annual employer contributions. We evaluated the key factors and assumptions used to
develop the pension related balances in determining that they are reasonable in relation to the financial
statements taken as a whole.
Financial Statement Disclosures
Certain financial statement disclosures involve significant judgment and are particularly sensitive
because of their significance to financial statement users. The most sensitive disclosures affecting the
City’s financial statements relate to the net pension liability and total OPEB liability.
Significant Difficulties Encountered during the Audit
We encountered no significant difficulties in dealing with management relating to the performance of
the audit.
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Uncorrected and Corrected Misstatements
For purposes of this communication, professional standards require us to accumulate all known and
likely misstatements identified during the audit, other than those that we believe are trivial, and
communicate them to the appropriate level of management. Further, professional standards require us
to also communicate the effect of uncorrected misstatements related to prior periods on the relevant
classes of transactions, account balances or disclosures, and the financial statements as a whole.
Uncorrected misstatements or matters underlying those uncorrected misstatements could potentially
cause future‐period financial statements to be materially misstated, even though the uncorrected
misstatements are immaterial to the financial statements currently under audit. There were no
uncorrected misstatements noted in performing the audit.
Misstatements identified as a result of our audit procedures have been disclosed in the attached
schedule.
Disagreements with Management
For purposes of this letter, professional standards define a disagreement with management as a matter,
whether or not resolved to our satisfaction, concerning a financial accounting, reporting, or auditing
matter, which could be significant to the financial statements or the auditor’s report. No such
disagreements arose during the course of the audit.
Circumstances that Affect the Form and Content of the Auditor’s Report
For purposes of this letter, professional standards require that we communicate any circumstances that
affect the form and content of our auditor’s report. We did not identify any circumstances that affect
the form and content of the auditor’s report.
Representations Requested from Management
We have requested certain written representations from management which are included in the
management representation letter dated January 31, 2024.
Management’s Consultations with Other Accountants
In some cases, management may decide to consult with other accountants about auditing and
accounting matters. Management informed us that, and to our knowledge, there were no consultations
with other accountants regarding auditing and accounting matters.
Other Significant Matters, Findings, or Issues
In the normal course of our professional association with the City, we generally discuss a variety of
matters, including the application of accounting principles and auditing standards, operating conditions
affecting the entity, and operating plans and strategies that may affect the risks of material
misstatement. None of the matters discussed resulted in a condition to our retention as the City’s
auditors.
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Other Information Included in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
Pursuant to professional standards, our responsibility as auditors for other information, whether
financial or nonfinancial, included in the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, does not extend
beyond the financial information identified in the audit report, and we are not required to perform any
procedures to corroborate such other information. However, in accordance with such standards, our
responsibility is to read the other information and consider whether a material inconsistency exists
between the other information and the basic financial statements, or the other information otherwise
appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work performed, we conclude that an uncorrected
material misstatement of the other information exists, we are required to describe it in our report.
Our responsibility also includes communicating to you any information which we believe is a material
misstatement of fact. Nothing came to our attention that caused us to believe that such information, or
its manner of presentation, is materially inconsistent with the information, or manner of its
presentation, appearing in the financial statements.
This information is intended solely for the use of the Mayor, City Council, and management of the City of
Ames, Iowa, and is not intended to be, and should not be, used by anyone other than these specified
parties.
Dubuque, Iowa
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City of Ames, Iowa
Schedule of Misstatements
Year Ended June 30, 2023
The following schedule of misstatements identified as a result of our audit procedures were brought to
the attention of, and corrected by, management:
Governmental/
Fund Business‐type
Statements Activities
Water Fund
To record additional billings found during
May 2023 for under‐reporting Flat Rate Billings 557,948$ 557,948$
Federal Federal
Financial Expenditures
Federal Grantor/Pass‐Through Assistance Increase
Grantor/Program or Cluster Title Listing (Decrease)
Home Investment Partnership Program 14.228 239,082$
Capitalization Grants for Clean Water
State Revolving Funds 66.458 7,652,207
Capitalization Grants for Drinking Water
State Revolving Funds 66.468 60,805
Pre‐Disaster Mitigation 97.047 1,122,782
Net Position Increase (Decrease)
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ITEM #:32
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:ELEC
SUBJECT:ASH POND CLOSURE AND RDF ASH POND CONSTRUCTION
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The City's Power Plant operated for over a century by combusting coal to generate electricity. The
combustion of coal (and since the mid-1970s refuse-derived fuel, or RDF) generated ash as a
byproduct. Although the Power Plant no longer burns coal, the combustion of RDF still results in ash
being generated. The ash from the Power Plant is conveyed from the boilers to an ash impoundment
pond several hundred yards to the east of the Power Plant.
On April 17, 2015, a Final Rule entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of
Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) From Electric Utilities" was published in the Federal Register,
which regulated the disposal of ash in surface impoundments and landfills resulting from the burning of
coal in electric utility boilers. Compliance with the CCR rule requires a major project to
reconfigure the existing ash site in which approximately one-half of the site with coal ash will
become a closed-in-place impoundment. The remaining half will be reconstructed as a new lagoon
to continue to receive ash from the Power Plant as it continues to burn RDF.
On November 28, 2023, City Council approved preliminary plans and specifications for Ash Pond
Closure and RDF Ash Pond Construction. Bid documents were issued to 28 firms and three plan rooms.
The bid was advertised on the Current Bid Opportunities section of the Purchasing webpage and a
Legal Notice was published on the websites of a contractor plan room service with statewide
circulation.
On January 24, 2024, eight bids were received as shown in the table below.
BIDDER BASE BID ALTERNATE BID
ELDER CORPORATION
Des Moines, IA $2,198,995.00 $1,862,980.00
ON TRACK CONSTRUCTION LLC
Nevada, IA $2,486,549.00 $2,612,872.00
JB HOLLAND CONSTRUCTION INC
Decorah, IA $2,606,093.15 $2,527,699.00
RACHEL CONTRACTING LLC
St Michael, MN $3,439,269.00 $2,923,705.25
RYAN INCORPORATED CENTRAL
Janesville, WI $4,605,956.75 $2,614,381.00
VEIT & COMPANY INC
Rogers, MN $4,505,704.99 $2,956,128.51
TETRA TECH EC, INC
Parsippany, NJ $5,127,723.00 $3,508,104.00
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CJ MOYNA & SONS LLC
Elkader, IA $5,692,085.40 $3,082,358.60
The Engineer's estimate for this project is $5,100,000 for the base bid and $2,100,000 for the
Alternate bid. Because of the federal requirements to encapsulate the coal ash, Electric Services
staff needs additional time to evaluate the bids to ensure the contractors have the necessary
qualifications and experience working with coal ash.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Accept the report of bids and delay the award to provide staff additional time for review.
2. Reject all bids and direct staff to rebid.
3. Award a contract to one of the bidders.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The completion of the ash pond closure project is a federal requirement. Electric Services would like
time to evaluate the bids and check references before recommending award. Therefore, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as stated above.
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ITEM #:33
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:P&H
SUBJECT:
REZONE OF PARCEL AT 102 & 116 HYLAND AVENUE FROM
(RESIDENTIAL HIGH DENSITY) AND O-UIW (UNIVERSITY WEST IMPACT
OVERLAY) TO (NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL) AND O-UIW
(UNIVERSITY WEST IMPACT OVERLAY) WITH A MASTER PLAN.
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
M & C Properties is requesting that the City rezone property located at 102 & 116 Hyland Avenue from
the current zoning designation of Residential High Density (RH) with the O-UIW (University West
Impact Overlay) to Neighborhood Commercial (NC) with the O-UIW (University West Impact
Overlay) with a Master Plan. This is the site of the business better known as Campus Garage. The
owner desires to improve the site with its nonconforming use of vehicle service facility. The proposed
rezoning is intended to facilitate site improvements for a future expansion of the parking lot for the
business to the vacant area north of the existing building.
The request follows City Council direction from Fall 2023 after the owner requested a response as
to which zoning designation is best to pursue under the current Urban Corridor Land Use
designation. The Urban Corridor designation is a new designation within Ames Plan 2040 and does not
yet have a specific implementing zoning district. Staff reviewed the purpose of the designation and
relationship to RH, HOC, NC zoning districts as interim conditions before new zoning could be written.
The City Council directed the applicant to apply for the “NC” Neighborhood Commercial rezone
with a Master Plan. The accompanying Master Plan controls the intensity of use of the site and
the site improvements to a greater degree than general zoning.
The subject site includes two parcels totaling approximately 0.39 acres. The north and east property
lines abut other high density residential zoned properties that include residential apartments. The
southern property line is frontage along Lincoln Way and the western property line is frontage along
North Hyland Avenue. (see Attachment A – Location & Zoning Map).
The existing building has stood at this location for nearly 55 years. It operated as a Vehicle Repair
Facility and included a gas station in the past. The RH zone designation has been applied to this
property for the past 24 years since the 2000 citywide rezoning. The RH zoning made the use
nonconforming along with the site improvements.
The existing use is classified as a Vehicle Service Facility. This use is currently a legal
nonconforming use in the RH zone. The Vehicle Service Facility use is also a nonconforming use
within the NC zoning district. Although the use will remain a nonconforming use, the owner
believes that the NC designation will give them more flexibility with a planned parking lot
expansion to the north.
Ames Plan 2040 designates the subject property as “Urban Corridor (UC)” (see Attachment C- Ames
Plan 2040 Land Use Designation Summary Sheet). The UC land use designation anticipates
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intensification of use along areas of Lincoln Way for residential intensification and commercial
development, or as mixed-use development. Importantly, the orientation of development is to
emphasize the relationship of buildings and uses to the multi-modal transportation character of Lincoln
Way. Redevelopment of existing properties is anticipated to fulfill the goals of the UC designation.
Within Plan 2040, Urban Corridor lands do not currently have any complete implementing base zones.
In some ways RH is consistent with the designation in that it allows residential and mixed-use
development, but it does not include design requirements supportive of the Corridor. Other commercial
zones allow too broad of use allowances and also lack the intended design requirements. Neighborhood
Commercial (NC) is treated as a zone that can be implemented within most land use designations where
a mix of commercial and residential uses is desired. NC is designed to be incorporated into or adjacent
to residential zones. Further, NC also allows for mixed use development, pedestrian oriented design
features, and limited commercial and service uses that are compatible with what is anticipated within
the Urban Corridor designation over time. (See Attachment F)
A Master Plan has been provided with the rezoning request to govern future site development of
the parking lot as a non-conforming use. Any future Site Development Plan must conform to the
Master Plan. Importantly, the property owner is obligated to make frontage improvements in
conjunction with any parking expansion to the north. Two driveways will be closed and landscape
buffering will be installed to improve the conditions along the street. (See Attachment D)
A rezoning agreement is being finalized with the property owner and will be brought to Council for
consideration no later than the third reading of this rezoning. The rezoning agreement will state the
requirements of the Master Plan and have the appropriate language to guarantee that the non-
conforming use operates according to the proposed NC zoning standards and all other zoning
standards.
Planning & Zoning Commission Recommendation:
At the January 17 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, the Planning & Zoning Commission
reviewed the proposed rezoning. Staff explained the request to the Commission. The owner of Campus
Garage and representative engineer addressed the Commission. The Planning & Zoning Commission
voted 6-0 to recommend City Council approve the rezoning request to rezone.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the request to rezone .39 acres at 102 & 116 Hyland Avenue from "RH” (Residential High
Density) with the O-UIW (University West Impact Overlay) to (Neighborhood Commercial) District
with the O-UIW University West Impact Overlay) and with a Master Plan subject to the condition t hat
a Rezoning Agreement for the Master Plan is reviewed and approved by City Council no later than the
Third Reading of the rezoning.
2. Deny the request to rezone .39 at 102 & 116 Hyland Avenue by finding the rezoning inconsistent
with Ames Plan 2040.
2. Defer action on this request and refer it back to City staff and/or the applicant for additional
information.
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CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Review of the rezoning request includes consideration of both short-term and long-term interests of the
City for land use in this area. The principal use on the site is not anticipated to change with the
rezoning, but site improvements are anticipated in support of the existing business and to improve street
frontage conditions at this time without significantly impacting future redevelopment or reuse of the
site. The rezoning to NC allows for future commercial or mixed-use development consistent with the
intent of the Urban Corridor designation.
The rezoning of this site will maintain the legal non-conformity from an RH designation to an NC
designation. Any future site development will require a Site Plan with conformance to the Master Plan
proposed and must be reviewed by the Zoning Board of Adjustment as part of a Special Use Permit as
an expansion of a non-conforming use. Rezoning will have no impacts on current infrastructure and
City services for this parcel. A rezoning agreement will be brought to the City Council for
consideration and approval no later than the Third Reading of the rezoning. Therefore, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative #1, as described above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Hyland Rezone Addendum.pdf
Attachment A- Hyland.pdf
Attachment B- Hyland.pdf
Attachment C- Hyland.pdf
Attachment D- Hyland.pdf
Attachment E- Hyland.pdf
Attachment E Hyland Cont..pdf
Attachment E Hyland Cont. 2.pdf
Attachment F Hyland.pdf
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ADDENDUM
REZONING BACKGROUND:
Existing Uses of Land. Land uses that occupy the subject property and other
surrounding properties are described in the following table:
Direction from
Subject Property
Existing Land Uses
Subject Property Vehicle Service Facility
North Residential Apartments
East Residential Apartments
South Campustown-High Density Mixed Use
West Residential Apartments
Ames Plan 2040 and the Future Land Use Map. Ames Plan 2040 is the City’s
Comprehensive Plan. The Future Land Use Map, which is part of the Plan, includes
designations that describe the character of an area and intended goals, guidelines and
actions that would further the Vision and Principles of the Plan. The Map includes
supplemental information, such as street layouts, public facility locations, flood plain, and
natural areas that are not in and of themselves land use designations. Attachment C
includes the applicable description of the Urban Corridor Designation and its intended
objectives for land use.
Additionally, Lincoln Way and Hyland are classified as “Avenue” and a Mixed -Use Avenue
for the street typology relating to the site defined within the Mobility Element Road
Network. Avenues have moderate to high traffic with an intent of design features o riented
to the street rather than large set back sites.
Urban Corridor Land Use Designation. This property is a non-conforming use in the
RH zone standards. The proposed rezoning to NC maintains the use as a non-conforming
use within the new NC standards. Thus, the use is changing zone designation but remains
non-conforming. However, the transition to NC does align more closely with the intent of
the Urban Corridor land use designation in that the NC zone allows for mixed use
development which the Urban Corridor designation anticipates will occur in the future.
While the NC zone designation can be applied to Urban Corridor, it is not listed directly
as an implementing zone, staff believes the rezoning request does not conflict with Ames
Plan 2040 and the Future Land Use Map in that NC designation reflects the use of the
property and can accommodate the intended mix of uses in the future that the Urban
Corridor designation anticipates at this site. Attached is a narrative from the applicant
requesting Rezoning that they believe address land use issues in the Ames Plan 2040
Comprehensive Plan. (See Attachment E)
Master Plan. A Master Plan is required in this case based on Section 29.1507(3)(b)(iv)
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when “The City Council determines that due to specific conditions that exist on or around
the area proposed to be rezoned, or due to situations that require more careful
consideration of how the layout and design of a site affects general health, safety, a nd
welfare, a Master Plan is necessary for consideration of the proposed zoning map
amendment.” In this case the site has a legal non-conforming use and is being rezoned
to another legal non-conforming use in anticipation of future parking lot expansion to the
north. The Master Plan shows parking shifting to the north of the building and landscaping
being installed along Lincoln Way and Hyland Avenue. The parking lot expansion will
require a Minor Site Development Plan accompanying a Special Use Permit which will be
subject to consideration by the Zoning Board of Adjustment as a result of an expansion
of a non-conforming use.
Existing/Proposed Zoning. The property is currently zoned “RH” (Residential High
Density) (see Attachments A & B- Existing/Proposed Zoning Map). Properties to the west,
north and east are zoned “RH” (Residential High Density). Properties to the south across
Lincoln Way are zoned “CSC” (Campustown Service Center). Property to the southwest
is zoned RM (Residential Medium Density).
The proposed zoning is “NC” Neighborhood Commercial zone (See Attachment B-
Proposed Zoning Map). The “NC” district allows for a mix of commercial and residential
uses subject to the Zone Development standards of the NC district. The site is also
located within the “O-UIW” West University Impacted Overlay District. Any future
redevelopment of this site will need to conform to the O -UIW standards in addition to the
NC standards. While the O-UIW standards are intended to be applied to commercial
properties the NC standards will provide a greater level of architectural scrutiny to any
new buildings while the O-UIW standards will require a general front door orientation to
abutting public streets and govern placement of rock size to a maximum ¾ of an inch on
site.
Public Infrastructure. City infrastructure is available to serve the site. All existing
infrastructure is adequate to serve the site. No additional infrastructure is anticipated.
Applicant’s Statement. The applicant has provided an explanation of the reasons for the
rezoning request in Attachment E.
Findings of Fact. Based upon an analysis of the proposed rezoning and laws pertinent
to the proposed map amendment, staff makes the following findings of fact:
1. The subject property is owned by M & C Properties. The rezoning request and
statement of justification is included as Attachment E.
2. Ames Municipal Code Section 29.1507(1) allows the property owner to initiate an
amendment to the Official Zoning Map.
3. The proposed rezoning is consistent with the designation of “Urban Corridor” as
identified on the Future Land Use Map included as Attachment D in that the use is a
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commercial/industrial use similar to the intended types of activities of the designation.
4. The proposed rezoning to “NC” (Neighborhood Commercial) zoning is appropriate
since the pre-existing use is legal non-conforming and the allowances in the proposed
zoning designation align with the long-term goals underlaying land use.
5. Development of the site will utilize standards which are compatible with the general
character of the area.
6. Rezoning will have no impacts on current infrastructure and City services for this
parcel.
Public Notice. The City provided mailed notice to all property owners within 200 feet of
the subject property prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in accordance
with the notification requirements of Chapter 29.
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Attachment A- Current Zoning
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Attachment B- Proposed Zoning
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Attachment C- Future Land Use Designation
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Attachment D- Master Plan
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Attachment E- Applicant Request
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Attachment F- Urban Corridor Goals & Guidelines Ames Plan 2040
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ITEM #:34
DATE:02-13-24
DEPT:P&H
SUBJECT:REZONE OF PARCEL AT 210 SOUTH FIFTH STREET FROM
AGRICULTURAL WITH O-E (ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE
OVERLAY) TO HIGHWAY-ORIENTED COMMERCIAL WITH O-E
(ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE OVERLAY).
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Story County has requested rezoning of a 3.22 acre property located at 210
S. 5th Street. The north property line has frontage along South 5th Street with residential properties
located across S. 5th Street. The south property line abuts City owned property which includes wooded
area, open space, and watershed land for Ioway Creek. The western property line also abuts City
property with wetlands and open space created by the City through the recent flood mitigation project.
The eastern boundary abuts commercial zoned land containing several commercial uses. The
Environmentally Sensitive Overlay applies to a southern portion of the site that is the floodway of
Ioway Creek. (Attachment A – Current Zoning & Location Map).
The Agricultural zoning designation has been applied to this property for several decades. The Boys &
Girls Club constructed its existing building under the Agricultural zone regulations in 1997. The
proposed rezoning to Highway-Oriented Commercial (HOC) is intended to better reflect the
existing use and to facilitate an expansion of the Boys & Girls Club. (Attachment B- Proposed
Zoning Map)
There is one existing building on the property. The existing use is classified as a Community Facility,
which is a permitted use in the HOC zone with review of a Site Development Plan. By contrast, a
Community Facility is only permitted in Agricultural zones subject to review of a request for a Special
Use Permit by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Additionally, setbacks are reduced within HOC zoning
compared to Agricultural zoning.
The subject property is situated adjacent to the Commercial Retail land use designation to the east, and
is part of the Open Space designation of Ames Plan 2040. The site is the transition of the two land use
designations (see Attachment C - Ames Plan 2040 Land Use Designation). The Open Space
Designation anticipates land that is predominately natural and unbuilt such as environmentally sensitive
areas and floodplains. The subject property is entirely within the floodplain and also has floodway
overlay on the southwestern portion of the site, which is consistent with the designation. However, the
built commercial component of the site is not representative of this designation.
Boundaries of the land use designations have flexibility as transition between designations and is not
always property specific. The proposed HOC zoning is supported by the Community Commercial Retail
Land Use designation that is to the east with the general transition of the land use to open space
occurring at this site, since this site was previously developed (See Attachments E & F). Regardless of
the base zoning, improvements are subject to floodplain development standards and the planned
addition will meet flood protection requirements of Chapter 9 of the Ames Municipal Code.
The property also lies within the O-E (Environmentally Sensitive Overlay). This overlay is applied to
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areas where Regulatory Floodway is located within the 100-year Floodplain. This property has
Floodway on the southwestern half of the property southwest of the building. The entire property is
located within 100-year floodplain.
Planning & Zoning Commission Recommendation
At the January 17 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, the Planning & Zoning Commission
reviewed the proposed rezoning. Staff explained the request to the Commission. The representative
engineer for the Boys & Girls Club addressed the Commission. The Planning & Zoning Commission
voted 6-0 to recommend that the City Council approve the rezoning request to rezone.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the request to rezone 3.22 acres of the property at 210 South 5 th Street from “A”
(Agricultural) with the O-E (Environmentally Sensitive Overlay) to “HOC” (Highway-Oriented
Commercial) District with the O-E (Environmentally Sensitive Overlay).
2. Deny the request.
3. Defer action on this request and refer it back to City staff and/or the applicant for additional
information.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The appropriateness of the rezoning should be considered in relation to the existing use of the site
and the continued use of the site facilitated by rezoning the site to HOC consistent with the zoning
abutting the site to the east. The current use of the site in this case will stay the same and be
operated in a similar manner as is currently done. Additionally, the future expansion of facilities
is consistent with current use. The Boys and Girls Club is a Community Facility supporting youth
services in nature and has been compatible with the surrounding uses as is. The change will
facilitate a more efficient future expansion of the current use while maintaining floodway overlay
with O-E (Environmentally Sensitive Overlay) on the site where required.
Rezoning will have no impacts to current infrastructure and City services for this parcel, whether
the site is a Community Facility as it is today or if it is used for another commercial purpose in
the future. Commercial uses in this area have also operated in a compatible manner with the existing
residential area to the north as well.
Staff believes that the boundary of the Open Space and Commercial Retail designation can be
interpreted to allow for the proposed rezoning without a Land Use Map amendment recognizing
this already developed site acting as a transition of land use. Therefore, it is the recommendation of
the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative #1, as described above.
ATTACHMENT(S):
210 S 5th Addendum.pdf
Attachment A.pdf
Attachment B.pdf
Attachment C.pdf
Attachment D.pdf
Attachment D Cont..pdf
Attachment E.pdf
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Attachment F.pdf
Attachment G.pdf
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ADDENDUM
REZONING BACKGROUND:
Existing Uses of Land. Land uses that occupy the subject property and other
surrounding properties are described in the following table:
Direction from
Subject Property
Existing Land Uses
Subject Property Child Daycare Facility
North Residential
East Commercial
South Open Space
West Open Space
Ames Plan 2040 and the Future Land Use Map. Ames Plan 2040 is the City’s
Comprehensive Plan. The Future Land Use Map, which is part of the Plan, includes
designations that describe the character of an area and intended goals, guidelines and
actions that would further the Vision and Principles of the Plan. The Map includes
supplemental information, such as street layouts, public facility locations, flood plain, and
natural areas that are not in and of themselves land use designations.
The boundaries between land use designations are intended to be general and not
property specific unless specified through an action by the City Council. The general
boundary allows for some flexibility regarding appropriate transitions between
designations through precise zoning delineations as determined by the City Council. And
it designates the extent of generalized land uses throughout the City.
Open Space Land Use Designation. The current land use designation for this property
is Open Space. The Open Space designation anticipates natural areas, woodlands and
other natural features. The Boys & Girls Club has existed at this location since before the
current land use designation. In this case the subject property borders a land use
designation on the abutting property that supports the proposed rezoning request while
the existing land use designation is not proposed to be changed and will remain open
space, the existing use more closely aligns with the HOC designation and the abutting
zoning designations to the north and east. (See attachment E- Open Space Land Use
Goals)
Staff believes the rezoning request does not conflict with Ames Plan 2040 and the Future
Land Use Map in that HOC designation reflects the use of the property. It does not alter
the use of the property that currently exists or transition the use of the property from one
type of use to another. In this case, the land use designation does not have to be changed
prior to rezoning as the existing use and facility on site is already better suited to a
commercial designation and is seen to reflect the land use designation immediately to the
east. Boundaries are meant to be property specific within Ames Plan 2040 for
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implementing zoning districts. Maintaining the Open Space land use designation reflects
the areas of the property to the south that cannot be developed in any significant way as
they are located in the Floodway portion of the 100 -year Floodplain. This maintains the
intent for the remainder of the site to remain open, natural and accommodate wetlands
and floodplain. Keeping the O-E Overlay is consistent with the Open Space designation.
Attached is a narrative from the applicant that they believe address some land use issues
in the Ames Plan 2040 Comprehensive Plan. (See Attachment D)
Existing/Proposed Zoning. The property is currently zoned “A” (Agricultural) (see
Attachment B- Existing/Proposed Zoning Map). Properties to the north are zoned “RH”
Residential High Density and properties to the east are zoned “HOC.” Properties to the
south and west are zoned as “A” (Agricultural). The proposed zoning is “HOC” Highway
Oriented Commercial zone (see Attachment C- Proposed Zoning Map). The “HOC”
district is reserved exclusively for structures and uses related commercial uses such as
retail, office and institutional which include uses such Community Facilities or daycare
facilities.
Floodplain & O-E Overlay. The O-E designation is being maintained where it already
exists on this property in accordance with the designated Floodway within the 100 -year
floodplain. The O-E is applied to the Floodway portion of the 100-year Floodplain. The
entire site is located within the 100- year floodplain, otherwise referred to as the Floodway
fringe. The fringe is the area of the floodplain that is able to be developed accordin g to
floodplain protection standards of Chapter 9. Any future development on this site must
comply with floodplain development standards and requires an Environmental
Assessment if any development is proposed in the Floodway. (See Attachment G)
Public Infrastructure. City infrastructure is available to serve the site. All existing
infrastructure is adequate to serve the site. No additional infrastructure is anticipated.
Applicant’s Statement. The applicant has provided an explanation of the reasons for the
rezoning request in Attachment F.
Findings of Fact. Based upon an analysis of the proposed rezoning and laws pertinent
to the proposed map amendment, staff makes the following findings of fact:
1. The subject property is owned by the City of Ames. The rezoning request and
statement of justification is included as Attachment D.
2. Ames Municipal Code Section 29.1507(1) allows the property owner to initiate an
amendment to the Official Zoning Map.
3. The proposed rezoning is consistent with the abutting designation of “Community
Commercial Retail” as identified on the Future Land Use Map included as Attachment
C in that the use is a commercial use similar to the intended types of activities of the
designation.
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4. The proposed rezoning to “HOC” (Highway Oriented Commercial) zoning is
appropriate since the pre-existing use and abutting zoning to the north and east are
also HOC zoned.
5. Development of the site will utilize standards which are compatible with the general
character of the area.
6. Rezoning will have no impacts on current infrastructure and City services for this
parcel.
Public Notice. The City provided mailed notice to all property owners within 200 feet of
the subject property prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in accordance
with the notification requirements of Chapter 29.
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Attachment A- Existing Zoning & Location
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Attachment B- Proposed Zoning
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Attachment C- Existing Future Land Use Designation
OS
Com-Cr
RN-5
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Attachment D- Applicant Request & Narrative
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602
Attachment E- Open Space Land Use Designation Goals
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Attachment F- Community Commercial Retail (Com-CR) Goals
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Attachment G- Floodplain and O-E Designated Areas.
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ORDINANCE NO. _________
AN ORDINANCE TO GRANT PRIOR APPROVAL FOR
AN INDUSTRIAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR AN
INDUSTRIAL PROJECT AT 300 SOUTH BELL AVENUE
BE IT ENACTED, by the City Council for the City of Ames, Iowa, that:
Section One:
“Renewable Energy Group, Inc., has proposed an industrial construction project for the
property located at 300 South Bell Avenue in Ames. The property owners have applied for prior
approval of the partial Industrial Tax Exemption per Iowa Code 427.B4(2).
A process for prior approval of an Industrial Tax Exemption for a particular property and
project is set out in Iowa Code sections 427B.4 and 427B.1, and that process has been followed.
The Ames City Council finds that the proposed project meets the requirements of Iowa
Code Chapter 427B, and Ames Municipal Code 24.8, and the project is in conformance with the
zoning plans of the City of Ames.
The partial Industrial Property Tax Exemption for this property and project is hereby
granted prior approval by the Ames City Council for a period of time ending December 31, 2027,
for completion of a building in substantial conformance to general site layout and building design
as determined by the City of Ames Planning and Housing Director, including a certificate of
occupancy from the City of Ames. The approved project will not be entitled to the exemption
unless/until the property owner files an application by February 1 of the year for which the total
value added is first assessed for the approved completed project and the project is found to be
qualified real estate.”
Section Two. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage
and publication as required by law.
Passed this day of , 2024.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
Renee Hall, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor
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