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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - May 2023 Monthly Project HighlightsHIGHLIGHTS MAY 2023 MONTHLY PROJECT 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 ANIMAL SHELTER Drive-Up Microchip Clinic: The Ames Animal Shelter held its fifth drive-up microchip clinic on Saturday, May 20. Staff microchipped 37 cats and 74 dogs in just three hours thanks to the help of veterinary student and animal shelter volunteers. Staff and volunteers had so much fun getting to meet many adorable furry friends and their families, and everyone is excited to do it again. Shelter staff is planning another event for the fall (date/time TBD) - to be the first to know about the fall event, fill out an application at www.CityofAmes.org/Microchip. So far, the five microchip clinics have implanted microchips in 218 cats and 268 dogs. That is 486 animals that now have a permanent identification to help them find their way home should they ever become lost! Staff would like to give a special thank you to the City of Ames Water and Pollution Control Department for generously allowing use of the Water Treatment Plant for the clinics. Staff would also like to say a special thank you to David, Ari, Lin, Alex, and Maddie, who were our veterinary student volunteers helping hold animals and implant microchips, and to shelter volunteers Kristy, Eileen, Becca, Tarry, and Frances, who kept things moving. The Animal Shelter could not do what it does without such amazing volunteers! 2 FINANCE Collection Alternatives: The Finance Department has been working with the State of Iowa and Story County to identify alternative methods for the collection of past-due parking tickets, utility bills, and any other outstanding miscellaneous receivables. The State of Iowa offers what is commonly referred to as the “income offset program.” This program allows the city to certify with the State any outstanding receivables. Once on the list, any payments made by the State to a business or a person owing a debt to the City would first be reduced by the amount owed to the City. The funds collected would be sent to the City to pay the outstanding debt; any remainder is then sent to the person or business owed money by the state. This would primarily affect tax returns, vendor payments, and lottery winnings of the individuals with outstanding obligations to the City. Additionally, state code allows for the City to enter into a 28E agreement with the County for the collection of parking tickets. An agreement with the County would allow the County Treasurer to require anyone renewing their vehicle registration within Story County to pay outstanding parking tickets issued by the City of Ames, based on a list provided by City staff, prior to vehicle registration. The Iowa Department of Transportation is also a partner in the process. Staff is working on developing a potential timeline that would work for all entities involved before presenting either of these collection strategies alternatives for the City Council’s consideration. Payment Alternatives: In addition to exploring possible alternatives for collection, staff has also been working with current vendors to identify the cost and implications of offering the ability to take credit cards at the City’s customer service counter. Through the process, staff has reviewed other credit card contracts, rates, provisions, and miscellaneous costs associated with each vendor. While still under review, staff believes that the opportunity to offer credit card processing through an existing vendor or through the preferred vendor associated with our accounting system remains a viable option for customers looking for alternative ways to make payments. Additionally, the staff has reviewed the models of other cities currently offering credit card payments and the handling of the associated fees. Based on the preliminary findings, it appears a majority pass the fees onto the customer as a “convenience” or “processing” fee. Staff anticipates presenting the information to the City Council in the coming months. 3 FIRE MAYDAY Training: During the month of May, Fire crews refreshed and completed a variety of skills to instill confidence in themselves and their equipment when faced with life or death situations called a MAYDAY. Over the course of two weeks, crews practiced emergency bails out of a window, wall breaches, navigating wire entanglements, Rapid Intervention Teams (RIT) equipment review, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) use and operation, and downed firefighter drags. The training concluded with the use of the Fire Service Training Bureau's Mobile Breathing Apparatus Trailer (MOBAT) to allow crews to apply their learned skills in a difficult but controlled environment. The trailer allows for different configurations and obstacles along with the use of sounds, theatrical smoke, and complete darkness to provide realism to the training. 4 5 LIBRARY Downtown Ames Partnerships: Staff is pleased that Ames Public Library is an active community gathering space, and is very lucky to be located in an active downtown district that organizes many popular community events! This spring, the Library hosted musicians and artists for the Music Walk and Art Walk and offered book sales to complement the themes. The Library celebrated 515 Week with discounts in the used book store throughout the week and a poster for the History Walk night. The Bookmobile brings books and activities to Main Street Farmers’ Market once a month, and of course drives in the July 4th parade. All of these events are great opportunities to bring new faces to Downtown Ames and introduce them to Ames Public Library! Juneteenth Celebration: Ames Public Library will join in the community celebration of Juneteenth with an author event, movie night, and activities at the June 17 event at Bandshell Park. • Louisa Jagger, author of Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, will visit the Library June 16 at 4 p.m. to share stories she learned as she researched James Herman Banning’s time as an electrical engineering student and aviator in Ames, Iowa. • June 16 at 8 p.m. in Roosevelt Park: there will be a free showing of the new superhero blockbuster featuring a fictional African nation untouched by colonialism. • The Bookmobile will be at the Juneteenth festivities June 17 from noon - 4:30 p.m. in Bandshell Park with books and activities. 6 Summer at the Library: • Ames Public Library’s Summer Reading Challenge begins on June 1. All ages, from infants to adults, can track their reading online or on paper to earn prizes and entries into the big end-of-summer prize drawings. • Free Summer Meals for Kids and Teens will be served in the Library’s Auditorium weekdays from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. starting June 5. • Terrific Tuesdays for families kick off June 6 with “Choose Your Own M.E.S.S.,” a lively mix of science experiments, songs, and storytelling. • Teens and school-age kids are invited to tie-dye parties the week of June 5 at Bandshell Park. • The first Family Flick of the summer will be held Friday, June 9, at 2:30 p.m. • Find out about these and many more events at www.AmesPL.org/summer2023. 7 PARKS AND RECREATION Adopt A Flower Garden Program: Multiple community volunteers recently completed planting over 40 flower beds as part of the Adopt A Flower Garden Program. The flower gardens are located around park signs and other areas in the parks. For over 25 years, Holub’s Garden & Greenhouse has donated all of the flowers for the program. Below are some of the volunteers that adopted gardens. The picture on the left is Mayor John Haila with Abby and Stephanie Haila. The picture on the right is Gabbi Edwards, City Forester, her two children Soren and Perry, and Russ and Rhonda Frerichs. Ames/ISU Ice Arena: The Ames/ISU Ice Arena hosted the Iowa Games Figure Skating Competition on May 20 with 53 skaters from across Iowa competing in 52 events. The Ames/ISU Ice Arena also added a new drop-in activity called Power Skating, which allows skaters to enhance their skating skills through practice of skills such as body position, crossovers, turning while maintaining speed, stops, etc. It is offered on Sundays and averages nine skaters per session. Tennis on Ice was added at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena during the month of May. Tennis on Ice is played in skates and allows skaters to further enhance their skating skills through quick turns, hand eye coordination and hard stops. The Ames/ISU Ice Arena wrapped up the first ever Curling League with the team Curl Jam winning it all. All teams had a blast and cannot wait to participate in next year’s league. 8 Brookside Park Tree Carving: A walnut tree in Brookside Park that was identified for removal was recently converted into a work of art. Des Moines based chainsaw carver, Gary Keenan, carved the black walnut tree into a beautiful snag featuring many wild creatures who frequent Brookside Park. The carving was paid for by The Friends of Brookside Park. Carroll Marty Disc Golf Course: The Carroll Marty Disc Golf Course, 1500 Gateway Hills Park Drive, will be renovated this summer, which will include multiple new holes, baskets, tee signs, and tee off areas. There is $54,000 allocated to complete the project. Included as part of the project is to mow only fairways instead of the entire course. This creates more difficulty for the disc golfers, helps in directing golfers to the next hole, and reduces the amount of mowing staff must complete, reducing the City’s carbon footprint. The picture on the left shows hole 13 with the fairway mowed. Homewood Golf Course: The course opened April 1 and business has been good so far. As of May 24, there have been 2,796 rounds played, which is 729 more rounds played during the same time frame in 2022. 9 Miracle League of Ames: Miracle League of Ames summer season is off to a great start with 38 youth and adults participating! The program is for individuals with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, with games played on Saturday mornings at Miracle League Field at Inis Grove Park. Team Sponsors/Coaches this year include Rotary Club of Ames, Cyclone Country Aktion Club, Nevada Kiwanis, Ames Noon Kiwanis, Ames Golden K Kiwanis, and Ames Town and Country Kiwanis. Each player is paired with a “buddy,” and buddies this year include volunteers from groups such as Ames High Football Team, Gilbert Baseball and Softball Teams, and Triangle Fraternity and Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority. Thanks goes to all the sponsors, coaches, and volunteer groups for helping make this season a success! Miracle League of Ames was able to select two athletes this year to participate in the annual Miracle League All Star Celebration in November! Miracle League athletes from all over the country 10 will get together in Palm Beach, Florida, for games and festivities. Good luck to Erica and Blake as they represent Miracle League of Ames! National Recreation and Parks Association Agency Performance: Each year, the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) conducts an Agency Performance Review of its members. This information provides agencies, such as Ames, an opportunity to gauge how communities are doing compared to peers across the country. Below are a few of the metrics NRPA reviews. Metric National Average Ames Tree Plantings: Arbor Day was celebrated on Friday, April 28, at the Ames Municipal Cemetery. Volunteers and members of Ames Trees Forever planted an assortment of landscaping plants and trees around the new Pavilion. Ames Trees Forever donated $1,000 to the project. On Saturday, May 6, 11 trees were planted at O’Neil Park with BSA Scout Troop 160. Chevron REG donated 18 trees to be planted at North River Valley Park. Chevron REG employees, along with Ames Town & Country Kiwanis Club volunteers (pictured on the next page), came together to do the planting! 11 On May 20, 73 trees were planted in the Toronto Street neighborhood. This planting was funded through an Iowa Department of Natural Resources/United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Community Forestry Grant for $10,000. The Ames Foundation secured volunteers to do the planting for this event. 12 Ames Fire Department helped plant 27 trees across the Ames community in May. Each of the three Ames Fire Stations planted nine trees to help City of Ames Parks and Recreation staff. Parks and Recreation staff engaged students from Ames Community Preschool Center in planting five trees at the Ames Municipal Cemetery. Staff is testing a new system to aid in watering newly planted trees to promote increased survival rates. Five-gallon buckets were converted into slow-drain watering systems as shown on the next page. Each of the 178 trees planted in Ames this spring will have a bucket placed over the root zone. Staff will 13 fill each bucket twice per week depending on weather conditions. Be on the lookout for these buckets around town. Wellness: A new session of wellness classes began in May with the following registrations. Program Registrations *Parnership with Reiman Gardens 14 PLANNING AND HOUSING Affordable Housing Strategy Workshop: A City Council Workshop is tentatively scheduled for June 20. One item planned for this agenda is to discuss the City Council Goal and Task related to an Affordable Housing Strategy. The intent for the workshop is to talk broadly about affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households, both rental and ownership. The workshop will provide background information regarding existing affordable housing and projected needs. The City Council will provide direction on next steps to identify or prioritize specific policies that would support the production of additional affordable housing within the City, with or without City assistance. This may include support for LIHTC projects on a regular basis, policies for geographic dispersion, a strategy for future subdivisions or site development to include affordable housing options, defining targeted income levels for assistance, if or when the use of tax abatement is appropriate to facilitate a desired outcome, or an option to seek set asides/acceptance of Section 8 vouchers with development projects. Alliant Energy Substation: Alliant Energy is planning for the construction of large substation along Lincoln Way within the Prairie View Industrial Center. Alliant needs to add electric capacity in this area to serve future large energy users. The conceptual plan includes 40-80 acres of land owned by an Alliant subsidiary and will include at least 20 acres of land for a substation and high voltage transmission lines that connect to the City of Ames 161kV line and back to an existing transmission line along Lincoln Way. Alliant may subdivide the site and request City Council waivers or deferrals of water and sewer connection fees and sidewalk construction. C2C Plan: The Story County Board of Supervisors is considering how to amend its comprehensive plan, known as the C2C Plan, to establish land use policy for the Ames Urban Fringe Area. The Board directed county staff to designate much of the area surrounding the City as Urban Expansion, similar to the City’s mapping of growth areas and Urban Reserve Overlay. Areas north of 190th Street and to the southwest were proposed as Agriculture and Farm Services. Staff has some concerns about how county policies apply to rezoning for commercial and industrial development in these areas and continues to monitor the process. Staff will likely provide an update to the City Council at the June 27 meeting prior to County consideration of the changes in July. Downtown Redevelopment Workshop: A Downtown Redevelopment Workshop is planned for June 12 and 13 and will be held in the basement meeting area of the Chamber of Commerce. Two meetings are planned to hear interest related to development and redevelopment within Downtown as directed by the City Council. Notification will be provided to business and property owners the week of May 30. Substantial Amendment to 2022-23 CDBG/HOME Annual Action Plan: A 30-day comment period to request a Substantial Amendment to the City’s 2022-23 CDBG/HOME Annual Action Plan is available now through June 22. The document is available on the City’s website at 15 www.cityofames.org/housing. The City Council will conduct a public hearing on June 27 on the approval and submittal of the Amendment to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Transitional Living Family Apartments: The Bridge Home has submitted for approval of 18 transitional living family apartments at 207 Sherman Avenue. The Bridge Home controls this site and a site across the street, where it will propose remote parking for the transitional living facility and in the future plan to construct a new emergency shelter and office building. The City Council will be asked to approve the remote parking agreement in support of the transitional housing facility in June or July 2023. 16 POLICE Hall of History Dedication: The Ames Police Department held a friends/family/employees (past and present) Open House to dedicate the new Hall of History. Over the past year, the Department has assembled a display to showcase the rich history (125+ years) of the Department. There are pictures, news clippings, equipment, and uniforms from the past and present. Everyone is welcome to visit. The Hall of History is located between the Police Entrance on the north side of City Hall and the Main entrance of City Hall. 17 PUBLIC WORKS Tipping Floor Booth Replacement: Out with the old, in with the new! The Resource Recovery Plant replaced the tipping floor booth. The previous one put in more than 25 years of service! 18