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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - July 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 JULY 2024 MONTHLY PROJECTHIGHLIGHTS LIBRARY Mental Health Resources at the Library: Ames Public Library continues to provide valuable programs and resources for mental health issues in our community. The Library has partnered with Mary Greeley Medical Center (MGMC) to have behavior health staff available in the Library Mondays from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Visitors can speak to MGMC staff about inpatient and outpatient mental health services in the community. A July 8 event with YSS at the Library focused on resources for teens to build resilience and prevent suicide. The Library held an event on July 17 in partnership with Community and Family Resources on supporting a loved on struggling with substance abuse. Events for teens and their families in partnership with YSS will continue into the fall. Pub Fiction is Coming: The Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) is holding its annual Pub Fiction fundraiser Thursday, August 8. Participants can dress like a book character (optional) and visit participating downtown Ames businesses with different literary themes and specials for participants. APLFF and RAYGUN have also teamed up to offer a Pub Fiction T-shirt for sale, with $10 of every sale benefitting the Library. Visit www.APLFF.org/Pub-Fiction for more information. Summer Reading Challenge Update: Ames Public Library’s Summer Reading Challenge for all ages continues through August 22. Participation so far has been tremendous! In every statistic 2 (number of participants, number of minutes read) and every age group, June 2024 has been bigger than the entire summer of 2019. The pandemic interrupted regular summer reading, but the program has clearly rebounded. Terrific Tuesdays: Throughout the summer, Ames Public Library hosts Terrific Tuesdays. This series is sponsored by APLFF and features performers from all over the Midwest in a variety of acts. Families of all ages are encouraged to come participate and watch these amazingly talented artists and performers. Pictured are Magician Mikayla Oz from June 11 and the Absolute Science Laser Show on July 16. 3 PARKS AND RECREATION Ames/ISU Ice Arena: KCL Engineering, West Des Moines, Iowa, has been hired to design and oversee the installation of a new radiant heating system over the spectator seating and lobby areas at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena. The current system has been in place since the facility opened in 2001. The project is expected to be completed later this year. Aquatics: The last session of daytime swim lessons began on July 8 with 125 registered participants. Lesson Session Registrations 2023 Daytime (Session 1) 167 139 Evening (Session 1) 172 146 Daytime (Session 2) 146 129 Evening (Session 2) 189 146 Daytime (Session 3) 141 130 Daytime (Session 4) 125 140 Adaptive 8 N/A Total Lesson Registrations 948 840 The last swim camp for Junior Lifeguards began on July 22 with four registered. Swim Camp Session Registrations Camp (Session 1) 6 Camp (Session 2) 7 Camp (Session 3) 4 Total Camp Registrations 17 4 Christmas in July was held on July 25 with a total attendance of 198 patrons, including 64 non - passholders and 134 passholders. Homewood Golf Course: As of July 24, 2024, Homewood Golf Course has had 14,782 rounds played. By that date last year, Homewood had 13,447 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, 2023 – July 24, 2023 July 1, 2024 – July 24, 2024 Paid Event Hours 9.5 6 Revenue from Paid Events $997.50 $630.00 Non-Paid Events Hours 2 0 Maintenance Worker Recruitment: Over the last several months, there have been multiple staff vacancies within the department, including four Maintenance Worker vacancies. Staff has been 5 diligently reviewing applications and conducting phone and onsite interviews over the last month. Staff is pleased to report that four individuals will be offered positions to start in August. New Playground Equipment: Staff completed the installation of the concrete border, Engineered Wood Fibers (EWF), connecting concrete walkways, and final grading as part of the Christopher Gartner Park Playground Renovation. Below is a picture of the finished playground. Staff received almost 400 survey responses from Ames residents regarding their choice of playground equipment to be installed in Bandshell and Stuart Smith Parks. Play Pro Recreation, Clive, Iowa, will be providing two playground pieces and swings to be in stalled later this year. The playground equipment at Bandshell and Stuart Smith Parks has been in place for almost 20 years. Wellness: The second summer session of group fitness classes began Monday, June 24, with 314 in-person registrations and 15 virtual registrations. West Nile Virus Detected in Emma McCarthy Lee Park: The City of Ames contracts annually with Iowa State University Department of Entomology for mosquito surveillance and testing. Staff set up traps in multiple parks and has been fogging and larviciding since the end of June. In mid- July, staff was notified that a pool of mosquitoes that was tested in late June tested positive for West Nile Virus. Over the last several years this has become a common occurrence in multiple parks where traps are set up. In response to the positive tests, staff conducts extra fogging treatments throughout the week in the park where the positive test was identified. This program will continue through September. 6 PUBLIC WORKS Kitten Rescued at Resource Recovery: Staff found a kitten in the basement at the Resource Recovery Plant. Staff gave the kitten some milk, and one of the workers volunteered to take the kitten and give her a bath. He got the kitten connected with a veterinarian, who adopted her and named her Miley. Partnership with Metro Waste Authority: As of July 15, construction and demolition (C&D) waste from the area is going to the Metro Park East landfill through a new partnership with Metro Waste Authority of Des Moines, Iowa. C&D from Story County is longer accepted at the Boone County Landfill. Plastics Recycling: Participation in plastics recycling has been so strong that the Resource Recovery Plant has upgraded to new, much larger container! Plastics with twist -off tops, such as milk jugs, laundry detergent, and water bottles, are accepted at the 24/7 recycling drop-off station at 420 E. 2nd Street on the north side of the Resource Recovery Plant. Other recyclables that can be dropped off include cardboard, mixed paper, metal, food waste, glass, clothes, and shoes. 7 WATER AND POLLUTION CONTROL PFAS Litigation Claim: The City submitted its claims in a multi-district litigation action brought by water utilities against the largest manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals”). Two of the defendants have settled: 3M Company and Dupont. The settlements are designed to resolve claims for PFAS contamination by the defendants in public drinking water supplies. 3M has set aside a fund of not less than $10.5 billion and not more than $12.5 billion to settle its claims. Dupont has set aside $1.185 billion to resolve its claims. While the court is holding the exact payout formula as confidential, it did provide a rough matrix for utilities to estimate their potential payout. The exact amounts will be a function of: the number of settling systems; the capacity of the impacted water sources; and the PFAS concentrations in the impacted sources. Staff has made a crude attempt to quantify the possible payout to Ames, with a best guess of $5 million from the 3M settlement and $500,000 from the Dupont settlement. There is a supplemental “Special Needs” claim that staff is working on that will provide additional compensation to utilities who have already had to spend money to remediate PFAS contamination. Staff intends to submit a claim for the lost value of Well 17 and the proportionate cost to replace that water capacity in the North River Valley Well Field project currently under construction. The court has just given preliminary approval to a settlement with a third defendant, Tyco Fire Products. In the next few months, it is expected that the court will give additional approval to a suit against BASF Corporation. Staff intends to submit claims in those actions as well. Those settlement amounts are still to be determined, but are likely to be substantially less than the settlements with 3M and Dupont. North River Valley Well Field: Construction is underway for drinking water supply wells in the new North River Valley Well Field, located in the flood plain north of E 13th Street and west of Stagecoach Road. Test wells were drilled at the site of each of the three planned wells to confirm that the aquifer formation is suitable and will yield the volume of water intended. The site for Well 29 did not turn out to have an adequate capacity. Staff worked with a retired groundwater hydrologist from Iowa State University to evaluate possible sites to relocate the well. Unfortunately, the private landowner is not interested in selling or leasing the ground identified as an alternative well site. As a result, staff is working with the contractor on a change order to delete Well 29 from the project. Some equipment and materials had already been purchased for Well 29, and the City will take possession of those for use in a subsequent well field expansion project. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the State of Iowa received funds to be distributed to communities for “emerging contaminants,” including PFAS. City Well 17 has elevated PFAS concentrations and has been out of use for more than two years. Because the City had to stop using Well 17 because of the PFAS contamination, the State is providing loan forgiveness on the State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan being used to finance the project in the amount of $922,166. The 8 forgiveness will be in the form of principal forgiveness applied once the project is complete. City Council will be asked to take action on modifications to the SRF loan documents to incorporate the loan forgiveness. The only new obligation the City incurs as a result of accepting the loan forgiveness is to install a sign at the project site crediting “President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” Nutrient Reduction Modifications Phase 1: Bids were opened on June 26 and were significantly higher than the estimated cost. Staff continues working with the low bidder to evaluate the bid pricing. Consultants with Strand Associates discovered an error in the pricing of a piece of equipment, and if the project is awarded staff will bring an early change order to Council to accept a $200,000 credit. Staff is also working with the bidder to price a deduction to eliminate a small fire alarm system in the Raw Wastewater Pump Station that is not required by code. Final action on the bids will be requested by City Council on August 13.