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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - May 2024 Monthly Project Highlights Contact the City Manager's Office at 515-239-5101 515 Clark Avenue, Ames, IA 50010 Report compiled by Jeramy Neefus, Principal Clerk City Manager's Office MAY 2024 MONTHLY PROJECTHIGHLIGHTS FIRE Driveway Access and Paving Permit Application Process Improvements: Since the Driveway Access and Paving Application process was established and made mandatory in January 2023, several refinements have made it more efficient. Staff receiving applications has developed a deeper understanding of the review criteria, allowing for more immediate feedback when elements are missing or more information will be requested by the formal reviewers. Staff also implemented a daily process of charting the status of and next steps for all pending driveway permits and sending the chart to the reviewers. • Over the past 12 months, the average time from application date to approval for a Driveway Access and Paving Permit was 11 days. • Over the past six months, the average time from application date to approval for a Driveway Access and Paving Permit was 7.4 days. • Over the past three months, the average time from application date to approval for a Driveway Access and Paving Permit was 5.9 days. The above averages do not exclude weekends or holidays. Typically, Access and Paving Permit applications submitted by experienced contractors can be approved more quickly than the average. Reviewers do not have to request resubmissions as often by contractors, who are more familiar with the requirements. Also, experienced contractors typically use software to generate detailed and precise plans that make it much easier for reviewers to assess than hand-drawn plans. Staff will continue to evaluate this process to identify ways to make more efficient and user-friendly. 2 LIBRARY Ames Public Library Designated as the Iowa Center for the Book : Ames Public Library is honored to announce its new designation as the Library of Congress Center for the Book Iowa Affiliate. The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is a community of 56 Affiliated Centers, promoting reading, libraries, and literacy through the Library of Congress and its Affiliated Centers across the country. These Centers also elevate and advocate for their state’s unique literary heritage. There is an Affiliate Center for the Book in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas. As the Iowa Center for the Book, Ames Public Library plans to host author and book events, promote other literacy-related programs happening around the state, highlight Iowa books and authors, and connect Iowans with great books and literacy resources. Find out more at www.AmesPL.org/IowaCenterForTheBook. “I Survived” Author Visit: Families are invited to a presentation and book signing with Lauren Tarshis, the award-winning author of the New York Times best-selling "I Survived" series, Monday, June 24, at 10:00 a.m. in Ames Public Library’s Auditorium. This free event is presented by the Iowa Center for the Book and Ames Public Library in partnership with Dog- Eared Books. Summer Is Here!: Summer is an especially busy time at Ames Public Library. 3 • The June calendar is full of special events for families to stay active and engaged. • The Summer Reading Challenge invites all ages to read for prizes beginning June 1. • Free Summer Meals for Kids and Teens begin Monday, June 3, with support from the Ames Public Library Friends Foundation, Chevron REG, and Mary Greeley Medical Center. • The Bookmobile has begun its summer schedule to accommodate visits to outreach events, the Farmers’ Market, and more. • The summer Book Sale is coming June 30 – July 3. • A brand new play structure will debut in the children’s area this week! Find out more at www.AmesPL.org/Summer2024. 4 PARKS AND RECREATION Ames/ISU Ice Arena: New carpet and baseboards were installed in the Ames/ISU Ice Arena offices. Aquatics: Staff certified over 35 lifeguards during the month of May. Additionally, nine individuals were certified for CPR and first aid and five were certified as Lifeguard Instructors. Homewood Golf Course: As of May 28, 2024, Homewood Golf Course has had 7,001 rounds played. By that date last year, Homewood had 6,074 total rounds played. The table below shows the current clubhouse rental hours and revenue amounts compared to the same time frame last fiscal year. July 1, 2022 – May 28, 2023 July 1, 2023 – May 28, 2024 Paid Event Hours 190.25 151.75 Revenue from Paid Events $19,340.50 $15,638.75 Non-Paid Events Hours 205.5 221.75 New Playground Equipment: Staff completed the installation of the concrete border, Engineered Wood Fibers (EWF), ADA ramp, connecting concrete walkways, and final grading and seeding as part of the Lloyd Kurtz Park Playground Project. Staff has now transitioned to 5 completing the Country Gables Park Playground and Christopher Gartner Park Playground Projects. Work is expected to be completed in June. Wellness: The first summer session of all fitness classes began Monday, May 13, with the classes and registrations shown below: Class Registrations Fitness Classes 423 (398 in-person and 25 virtual) Extreme Outdoor Bootcamp 13 West Coast Swing 21 Healthy Foot 5 A new Life Fitness treadmill was delivered in the Cardio Room. 6 POLICE Animal Control: The Ames Shelter & Animal Control hosted its sixth drive-up microchip clinic on Saturday, May 18. This clinic was unique, as a local animal welfare non-profit group called “Bailing Out Benji” sponsored the clinic to make it free for all attendees. Staff was able to place microchips in 144 animals in just three hours and located several microchips that animals already had of which owners were unaware. In these cases, staff assisted the owners in making sure the existing microchips were appropriately registered with the owner’s contact information. The microchip clinics have now placed microchips in 630 animals to date. Microchips are a critical tool in helping lost pets get back home to their owners. Staff has seen several cases where microchips helped reunite owners with pets who had been missing for as long as one year! 7 The shelter extends a special thank you to Bailing Out Benji for sponsoring the clinic and volunteering its time to help, along with volunteers from the Shelter Medicine Club at Iowa State University. And a special thank you goes to Water & Pollution Control for its generosity in allowing the use of the Water Treatment Plant for the microchip clinics. The event would not be possible without the use of the facility. 8 WATER AND POLLUTION CONTROL North River Valley Well Field: This project is to open a new well field in the alluvial flood plan north of East 13th Street and west of Stagecoach Road. The original design attempted to carefully locate three wells in this area, balancing the need to maintain a minimum of 500’ from the river and a minimum of 1,000’ between wells. Two of the new wells (No. 28 and No. 30) are being constructed on land owned by the City. To fit in the third well (No. 29) staff purchased a 400’ x 400’ plot from a private land owner. Despite three previous test wells indicating that the aquifer formation in this location was suitable, the final pumping test well failed to yield the desired volume of water. The pumping test resulted in a 60 gallon per minute (gpm) capacity, far short of the 1,000 gpm capacity that was planned. Staff pursued options with the local land owner to possibly relocate the well. Unfortunately, the State Historic Preservation Office has determined that relocating the well would trigger a full Phase 1 environmental and archaeological assessment due to “high potential for archaeological deposits and sensitive areas.” This would need to be done before construction of a new test well in a new location. Because of this, staff is currently evaluating options, including the possible elimination of Well No. 29 from the current project. Nutrient Reduction Modficiations Phase 1: After nearly two years of design, the Notice to Bidders for the Nutrient Reduction Modifications – Phase I project was issued by the City Council on May 14. Bids are due on June 26. The engineer’s Opinion of Probable Construction Costs is $47,770,000.