HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - May 18, 2021, Special Meeting of the Ames City CouncilAGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS*
AMES CITY HALL
MAY 18, 2021
*DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THIS MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WILL
BE CONDUCTED AS AN ELECTRONIC MEETING,
https://zoom.us/j/826593023
OR BY TELEPHONE BY DIALING: US:1-312-626-6799 or toll-free: 1-888-475-4499
Zoom Meeting ID: 826 593 023
CALL TO ORDER: 6:00 p.m.
1. Resolution endorsing Iowa Economic Development Authority Application for Financial
Assistance for Perfect Flight with local match in the form of a forgivable loan
2. Discussion of future of City’s Face-Covering Ordinance
3. Discussion of in-person City meetings
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.
1
ITEM # _ 1 _
DATE: 05-18-21
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: ENDORSEMENT OF IOWA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR PERFECT FLIGHT
WITH LOCAL MATCH IN THE FORM OF A FORGIVABLE LOAN
BACKGROUND:
Perfect Flight, LLC is an agriculture technology company currently based in Sao Paulo,
Brazil that has developed a software application to track and analyze the arial
application of agricultural chemicals and integrate the information with other agriculture
technology platforms.
The company is in the process of moving operations to North America and has selected
Ames as the location for sales, marketing, and business development, with the intent of
making Ames the company headquarters. Perfect Flight has applied for economic
development assistance from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) with a
local match provided by the City of Ames and the Ames Economic Development
Commission (AEDC).
The project will include leasehold improvements to existing available office space in the
ISU Research Park and the addition of 60 new full-time jobs in Ames. Total investment
expected for the project is over $1.667 million, including a $250,000 forgivable loan from
IEDA. A local match is required in the form of a $50,000 forgivable loan funded half by
the City of Ames and half by the AEDC. The company has agreed to provide an
irrevocable letter of credit as security for the local match and will also be applying for
various tax credits available from the State of Iowa.
IEDA will review Perfect Flight’s application for assistance later this month. The local
match from the City will be contingent upon approval of the final agreement by the City
Council. For the IEDA to continue consideration of this project, the City Council must
adopt a resolution supporting the submittal of the Perfect Flight application for IEDA
assistance.
If Council supports the application for assistance, the local match for the project
will be a $50,000 forgivable loan to be funded with $25,000 from the City of Ames
(from the available balance in the Economic Development Fund) and $25,000 from
the AEDC. The AEDC Board has already authorized its commitment to the local match.
City staff’s analysis of Perfect Flight’s proposal utilizing an evaluation matrix for software
development companies indicates that the firm would qualify for our “best terms.” This
high score is influenced by high wages, a high number of jobs, and no requirement for
investment in City infrastructure.
2
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Adopt a resolution supporting the submittal of an application from Perfect Flight
requesting economic development assistance from IEDA with local match to be
provided in the form of a forgivable loan in the amount of $50,000 ($25,000 from
the City of Ames from available balance in the Economic Development Fund and
$25,000 from the AEDC).
2. Do not adopt a resolution of support for Perfect Flight’s application.
CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Perfect Flight is an established agricultural technology company with a fully developed
product and has selected Ames as the location to invest capital and establish
operations in North America, providing high paying jobs without the cost of additional
City infrastructure. In keeping with the Council’s goal to promote economic
development, this project will expand the number of quality jobs within the city.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative #1, as described above.
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Legal Department
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
This memo is in two parts: A) Responding to the motion made at the May 11,
2021 Council meeting for a memo on the interplay between the Story County
face-covering mandate and the City of Ames if the City’s face-covering
ordinance expires or is repealed; and B) Regarding the options for the future of
the face-coverings ordinance.
A.Interplay of Story County and City of Ames face-covering mandates.
Article III, Sec. 39A of the Iowa Constitution (the “Counties Home Rule” section)
states:
If the power or authority of a county conflicts with the power and
authority of a municipal corporation, the power and authority
exercised by a municipal corporation shall prevail within its
jurisdiction.
This provision makes clear that a city ordinance prevails over a county
ordinance on the same topic. Also, the “power and authority” of the county
government or municipal government is not limited to only ordinances.
Story County has a face coverings policy that is generally similar to the City of
Ames ordinance. The County mask mandate is actually a Story County Board
of Health regulation, which has to be (and has been) approved by the Board of
Item No. 2a
Supervisors and per the Iowa Code.1 The Ames ordinance is found at Section
17.37 of the Ames Municipal Code.
Because of the Iowa Constitution’s provision above, we know that the Story
County regulation currently is not effective within the corporate municipal
boundaries of Ames, since the City has its own face-covering ordinance.
The Story County face-covering regulation does not have an expiration date. It
will have to be repealed by action of the Board of Supervisors in order to
eliminate the county face-covering mandate.
The City’s ordinance is written to sunset on June 30, 2021. At that point, it will
no longer be in effect. With the newly-issued CDC guidance, there’s a
possibility that the ordinance could be repealed earlier.
Because the County Board of Health regulation is still in effect, once the City’s
face-covering ordinance is no longer in effect, the county regulation will become
effective in Ames, unless the Council takes some action.
Power and authority may be exercised by a city council by ordinance,
resolution, or motion2. The Council has the authority to reject the
implementation of the Story County mask mandate in Ames. But in order to do
so, merely repealing the City’s ordinance or allowing it to sunset/expire, would
not accomplish this goal. The City Council must take an affirmative step of
some sort. A resolution passed by the City Council saying that it is the policy
of the Ames City Council that the Story County face-face-covering mandate will
not be in effect within the City would establish that the Story County regulation
would not be effective within Ames. I have consulted with the Story County
Attorney’s office, and that office is in agreement that such a resolution would
result in the Story County Board of Health regulation not being in effect within
1 Iowa Code section 137.104
2 “A city council shall exercise a power only by the passage of a motion, a resolution,
an amendment, or an ordinance.” Iowa Code section 364.3(1).
Ames. If the Council desires to establish such a policy by resolution, I would
suggest that it be done at the last meeting held before the ordinance expires on
June 30, or if the ordinance is repealed earlier, at the same meeting where the
ordinance is repealed.
In summary:
1. If the Ames face-covering ordinance expires or is repealed before the
sunset date, the Story County Board of Health face-covering regulation
will become effective within the city limits of Ames.
2. If the Council wishes not to have the Story County Board of Health
regulation become effective within Ames, the Council has the legal ability
to do that, via a resolution establishing that Story County’s face-covering
mandate will not be in effect within the corporate boundaries of Ames.
B) Options regarding the City of Ames Face-Covering ordinance.
As a response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Ames City Council
adopted a face-covering mandate ordinance on September 1, 2020. The
ordinance became effective on September 4, 2020 and is codified at Section
17.37 of the Ames Municipal Code. The original expiration date was
December 31, 2020, but at its final meeting in December 2020, the Council
amended the ordinance with a new sunset date, June 30, 2021.
On Friday, May 14, 2021, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued
new guidelines regarding the wearing of masks or face-coverings for those fully
vaccinated. Though there are many subtleties to the CDC guidance, this
summary paragraph from the CDC encapsulates the main message of the new
guidance: “Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a
mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local,
tribal or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and
workplace guidance.” See: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html
In response to news coverage of the new CDC guidance, the Council and City
staff have received communications from citizens and businesses in Ames
asking about, or offering an opinion on, the City’s face-covering mandate now
that the CDC has changed its guidance.
The City’s face-covering ordinance is set to expire after June 30, 2021. If the
Council desires to extend the ordinance, it would have to amend the ordinance
to do so before June 30, which could be done in time with the first reading
taking place on May 25, 2021. The Council can tale no action, and simply allow
the sunset clause to make the ordinance expire after June 30. The Council
could repeal the ordinance through the standard three readings at three
different City Council meetings. That would involve first reading of an
ordinance repealing the face-covering ordinance at the May 25, 2021 Council
meeting; second reading would be at the June 8, 2021 Council meeting, with
third & final reading at the June 22, 2021 Council meeting. The repeal would
become effective on Friday, June 25, 2021. If the Council desires to repeal the
ordinance and to do so more quickly, the Council could schedule the first
reading on May 25, 2021 and then suspend the rules requiring three separate
readings at three separate Council meetings, as permitted by the Code of Iowa,
thereby adopting the repeal in one meeting. This would make the repeal
effective on May 28, 2021. Another option would be to amend the ordinance in
some fashion, rather than repealing it or allowing it to expire.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The Council can take no action, and the ordinance will expire and
become null and void after June 30, 2021.
2. The Council can direct the City Attorney’s office to draft an ordinance
repealing the face-covering mandate ordinance, with the first reading at
May 25, 2021 Council meeting.
3. The Council can direct the City Attorney’s office to draft an ordinance
repealing the face-covering mandate ordinance, with the first reading at
the May 25, 2021 Council meeting, along with an agenda sub-item to
consider a Motion to Suspend the Rules, which would allow the repealing
ordinance to be adopted on May 25, 2021.
4. The Council can direct the City Attorney’s office to draft an ordinance
amending the face-covering ordinance in ways the Council has
determined, and extending the sunset date if so desired, to be
considered for first reading at the May 25, 2021 Council meeting.
5. The Council can direct the City Attorney’s office to draft an ordinance
amending the face-covering mandate ordinance by extending the sunset
date to some date beyond June 30, 2021.
ALTERNATIVES REGARDING THE STORY COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
REGULATION:
1. The Council can take no action and allow the Story County Board of
Health regulation to become effective within the City of Ames upon the
expiration or repeal of the Ames face-covering ordinance.
2. The Council can direct staff to place a Resolution on the agenda for the
meeting at which the ordinance is being repealed, or at the last meeting
before the ordinance expires, stating that it is the policy of the City of
Ames that the Story County Board of Health regulation is not effective
within the corporate limits of the city.
Attachment 2
Interim Public Health Recommendations
From CDC For Fully Vaccinated People
Fully vaccinated people can:
• Resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except
where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and
regulations, including local business and workplace guidance
• Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or
self-quarantine after travel
• Refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international
travel (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine
after arriving back in the United States
• Refrain from testing following a known exposure, if asymptomatic, with
some exceptions for specific settings
• Refrain from quarantine following a known exposure if asymptomatic
• Refrain from routine screening testing if feasible
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City Manager’s Office
MEMO
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Deb Schildroth, Assistant City Manager
Date: May 17, 2021
Subject: Local Partners Input on Face Covering Ordinance
City Council implemented a face covering ordinance on September 4, 2020 as a public
health measure to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The ordinance was set to expire
on December 31, 2020. On November 24, 2020, Council incorporated input solicited
from local partners and medical advisors as part of the review in determining the
extension of the face covering ordinance. The local partners and medical advisors
included Story County Board of Health, Iowa State University, McFarland Clinic, and
Mary Greeley Medical Center. All four organizations responded in support of
continuing the face covering ordinance, and Council voted to extend the sunset date of
the ordinance to June 30, 2021.
At the May 10, 2021 City Council meeting, Council directed staff to collect feedback
from those same four local partners and medical advisors in preparation of revisiting the
face covering ordinance. A couple of days following the Council meeting, CDC
announced new guidance pertaining to face coverings. The guidance states that fully
vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a face covering or physically
distancing, except where required by federal, state, local rules including local business
and workplace guidance (i.e. healthcare settings, public transportation, prisons, and
homeless shelters). The question asked in the solicitation of feedback from Story
County Board of Health, Iowa State University, McFarland Clinic, and Mary Greeley
Medical Center, was what input or concerns does each entity have if the face covering
ordinance is allowed to sunset and not be extended. The general theme from the
responses was to follow CDC guidelines.
It’s important to note that if action is taken to repeal the ordinance, then any face
covering requirements that may continue in schools, businesses, stores, etc. is at the
discretion of those entities.
Item No. 2b
Additionally, the City’s transit service, CyRide, will need to continue wearing face
coverings due to the federal directive they are currently required to follow. This
directive also applies to riders on the buses.
Because CDC guidelines can change quickly, Council may want to consider a motion
supporting the continued monitoring of the CDC guidelines and information on
positivity rate, hospitalizations, and vaccinations from our medical advisors in Story
County.
Please find attached to this memo the responses from the local partners and medical
advisors.
Mary Greeley Medical Center
From: Dieter, Brian <dieter@mgmc.com>
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 8:44 AM
To: Schildroth, Deb <deb.schildroth@cityofames.org>
Cc: Deardorff, Amber <deardorff@MGMC.COM>
Subject: Re: City of Ames Face Covering Ordinance - Expires June 30 2021 - INPUT REQUESTED ASAP
[External Email]
We are supportive of following as closely as possible the CDC guidance. We are also cognizant of the
difficulty of having a mask mandate for those not vaccinated- that said, mandate currently in place
should be allowed to lapse-
Brian Dieter
Chair, Story County Board of Health
From: John Paschen <jpaschen@mcfarlandclinic.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:34 PM
To: Schildroth, Deb <deb.schildroth@cityofames.org>
Subject: Re: City of Ames Face Covering Ordinance - Expires June 30 2021 - INPUT REQUESTED ASAP
[External Email]
Deb, I would be more than happy to give you my thoughts. The world has certainly changed considering
COVID-19 over the past 48 hours and it seems we are all trying to catch up. I expect more changes
come out as the weeks go on. I will tell you the BOH will meet this week to discuss our own mask
mandate and how to handle that.
However, here are my current thoughts: It is important to know the CDC guidelines, though quite game
changing, ONLY apply to adults that have been fully vaccinated(though you could easily include
teenagers that have been fully vaccinated for COVID). A consideration the city council may consider is
recommending to businesses they allow people to be present without a mask if they report themselves
as being completely vaccinated. I think they can ask but, with the governors impending legislation that
we all expect her to sign, I do not think they should require proof.
I feel it is also important to support businesses in the decision to still require masks in their
stores. Individual employees may be nervous about having people present in a business without a mask,
or could not be fully vaccinating themselves,or have a medical condition that makes them at high risk for
COVID-19 complications. People in the service industry have suffered significant stress due to risks put
on them during this pandemic and support from all forms of government is reasonable.
Public transportation, homeless shelters, medical facilities and prisons should continue to require masks
of all present as per the CDC guidelines.
Please keep in mind, the impending legislation about vaccine passports may have a real impact on
whether businesses can ask about vaccine status so legal input(the BOH expects to get some) will be
needed.
A final thought--the CDC guidelines DO NOT say it is OK for children in school to go without a mask. The
teachers can go without a mask if they have been vaccinated(but I do not think they should as modeling
good behaviour for their students is important). Many schools are jumping on the band-wagon to stop
masks in school and I do not feel that should be supported in our schools. I expect the CDC to come out
with mask guidelines for schools soon.
Iowa State University
From: Baldwin, Erin R [AVPHS] <baldwine@iastate.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 8:14 AM
To: Schildroth, Deb <deb.schildroth@cityofames.org>
Cc: Vanderheyden, Brian B [WLNSS] <brianv1@iastate.edu>; Newton, Michael R [P SAF]
<mrnewton@iastate.edu>; Oliver, Clayton A [EHS] <coliver@iastate.edu>
Subject: RE: City of Ames Face Covering Ordinance - Expires June 30 2021 - INPUT REQUESTED ASAP
[External Email]
Hi Deb,
Happy Monday. Clayton forwarded me your email and I said I would be happy to respond. We are
finalizing a campus memo that will communicate how ISU plans to implement the new CDC guidance.
Either Clayton or I will be happy to forward to the memo when it is complete, and I’m hopeful it will
happen today or tomorrow morning so it can be helpful as the Council holds their special meeting. We
will be back in touch as soon as we have a document to share.
Thanks much,
Erin
McFarland Clinic
From: Roger Kluesner <rkluesner@mcfarlandclinic.com>
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 8:44 AM
To: Schildroth, Deb <deb.schildroth@cityofames.org>
Subject: Re: City of Ames Face Covering Ordinance - Expires June 30 2021 - INPUT REQUESTED ASAP
[External Email]
Deb,
The CDC explicitly excludes health care facilities from their 5/16 recommendation. McFarland Clinic will
continue to require masking for staff, patients, and visitors in all of our facilities. We do see patients who
are immunocompromised and/or cannot receive the vaccine therefore we will continue the masking
policy to maximize safety for all our staff/patients/visitors. We will continue to closely monitor the
CDC's guidance as our communities move from a mask mandate as a public health measure to a mask
recommendation as part of an individual risk assessment.
Roger K
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