The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About~Master - August 2023 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 AUGUST 2023 MONTHLY PROJECTHIGHLIGHTS ELECTRIC Fire at ISU Power Plant: On August 24, the Iowa State University (ISU) Power Plant sustained a fire near one of its generating units. Ames Fire responded promptly, fighting the fire for an hour before it was completely extinguished. Ames Electric supplied energy to the campus to make up for lost electric production and shared a spare condenser to assist in restoring chilled water for campus air conditioning. New Electric Demand Peak: Electric Services reached a new electric demand peak on August 22 at 5:00 p.m. The total demand was 138 megawatts (MW). This exceeded the previous peak of 130.7 MW set on July 25, 2012. Energy demand for the next day, Wednesday, was forecasted to reach more than 143 MW. But though a total community effort, including employees across the City, consumption was reduced enough to keep the peak below 138 MW. These efforts will delay the need for future electric generation and save customers money. 2 LIBRARY Pridefest at the Library: While the annual Ames Pridefest festival will take to the streets in front of the Library on September 30, there will be plenty of activity inside the Library, too! The Library will host a teen Chalk the Walk, a panel discussion for caregivers working with trans youth, a workshop on youth activism, an update on legislation affecting the LGBTQIA+ community, a storytime celebrating pride and self-expression, and more. Visit www.amespubliclibrary.org/events for the full schedule. Pub Fiction Fundraiser: The Ames Public Library Friends Foundation pulled off another fabulous Pub Fiction event. It sold tickets to 122 enthusiastic book lovers, who dressed as literary characters and spent the evening visiting participating Downtown Ames businesses. Summer Reading Wrap-Up: The 2023 Summer Reading Challenge has ended, and the results are in: Ames loves to read! • Over 3,100 people participated in the challenge. That is about 11% more than the previous year and 40% more than the 2019 summer reading challenge. • Almost 30% of the readers were adults (setting a great example for younger readers). • Readers logged a total of 5,665,245 minutes. That is over 94,000 hours! Welcome Back, ISU!: The Library welcomed ISU students with a prize wheel and prize drawings during Cyclone Welcome Weekend. In just three hours, staff talked to 100 people and registered 30 of them for Ames Public Library cards! In September, the Bookmobile’s weekly campus stop will be lively, featuring fresh popcorn, stickers, and extra staff to help sign up students and faculty for Ames Public Library cards. 3 PARKS AND RECREATION Ames/ISU Ice Arena: In partnership with the Public Art Commission, a mural was completed at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena in August. The mural was created to celebrate, encourage, and represent the diverse people and use of the arena. Themes of community, athleticism, and teamwork are present throughout the design. There is a sense of movement and cohesion between the figures and the sports they represent. Josh Eller and Emma Gottschalk are artists and designers living in St. Paul, Minnesota. Eller was born in Guatemala, raised in Spain, and moved to the United States for college, while Gottschalk has lived in Minnesota her whole life. The two met and started their creative partnership at Bethel University, where they studied fine art and graphic design. Since then, the team has completed murals throughout the United States and Spain, the largest being a project for the city of Castle Rock, Colorado, on the theme of positivity. They have also recently completed public art projects for Georgetown, Texas, and the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota. They are passionate about fostering a sense of community through their work. Industrial Ice Inc., Clearwater, Minnesota, was contracted to complete the Ames/ISU Ice Arena Sand Leveling Project. The project included assessing existing sand conditions, realigning coolant lines, releveling sand floor, and providing a new sheet of painted ice with markings. As the project reached the ice making and painting stage, staff started to observe inconsistencies in the ice, and it was thought that the coolant lines were leaking. Industrial Ice has been tasked with identifying the problem and correcting it. A timeline has not been determined for when the rink will reopen. Country Gables Park: Staff recently started renovating the shelter area at Country Gables Park. The improvements that will be made include making the shelter ADA accessible by adding a concrete walkway to it and adding a concrete grill slab. Also, staff will be installing a new roof to the shelter. Another improvement that will be taking place at the park is the replacement of the 4 playground. Staff is reviewing playground proposals and will be making a recommendation to the City Council in the near future so the playground structure can be purchased and installed in spring 2024. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Tree Replanting: A contract was awarded for the annual EAB replacement tree planting. This fall Country Landscapes, Ames, Iowa, will replace 75 ash trees removed by City staff and contractors due to EAB. Residents who had an ash tree removed from their adjacent right-of-way strip this past winter and summer will receive a letter from the City Forester explaining the replacement process planned for this fall. Country Landscapes is also responsible for watering the trees through the next growing season. Forestry Work Activities: Staff continues with scheduled pruning, hazard tree removals, and urban tree inventory updates across town. Seasonal staff are gaining experience using chainsaws, forestry equipment, aerial lifts, and GIS equipment and software. This valuable opportunity to develop new skills and further the mission of the department benefits not only seasonal staff but also the community! The pictures below show the training of seasonal staff by Matt Rochford, Maintenance Worker, and Gabbi Edwards, City Forester. 5 Homewood Golf Course: The course opened April 1 and business has been good so far. As of August 28, 2023, there have been 17,463 rounds played, compared to 13,813 rounds played during the same time frame in 2022. Inis Grove Restroom Repair: HPC, LLC., Iowa, has started renovating the Inis Grove Park Restroom after it was damaged by fire in July 2022. The project includes replacing the roof trusses, metal roof, electrical system, interior wall surfaces, lighting, exterior limestone, siding and gutters. The project is expected to be completed this fall. The picture below shows the progress as of late August. Scholarship Duck Derby: The Parks and Recreation Department is excited to present the inaugural Scholarship Duck Derby at Furman Aquatic Center. The purpose of this event is to serve as a fundraiser to benefit the City of Ames Parks and Recreation Scholarship Program. The Duck Derby at Furman Aquatic Center will take place on the final day of the 2023 season, Monday, September 4, at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place on the Lazy River, where up to 2,000 rubber ducks will be released to race through the current channel. Parks and Recreation will work with community partners to donate prizes for winners to select. Rubber ducks are available for 6 adoption in-person or by phone at the Community Center (515 Clark Avenue, 515-239-5350) or onsite at Furman Aquatic Center (1635 13th Street). Parks and Recreation Department offers scholarships to assist youth with program registration fees. Currently, up to 50% of the program registration fee is forgiven through the scholarship, up to $60 per calendar year. Scholarships are also available to families to purchase seasonal swimming passes, with 50% of the season pass fee being forgiven through the scholarship. Duck Packages Flock 25 ducks $100 Quacker’s Dozen 13 ducks $50 Quack Pack 6 ducks $25 Lone Duck 1 duck $5 Tom Evans Plaza: A group of members from Leadership Ames XXXVI assisted with renovating the landscaping at Tom Evans Plaza in Downtown Ames. City of Ames staff trimmed and removed vegetation and the Leadership Ames group placed landscape edging, planted perennial plants, and installed mulch. Pictures below show the completed work by Dan Devine, Dan McClanahan, Frances Conley, and Maddie Casady. Tree Grant: City Forester Gabriele Edwards applied for a $6,040 grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The grant is intended to be added to a $5,000 grant received by The Ames Foundation from Trees Forever to plant a total of 58 trees this fall in Ontario Cemetery, Sunset Ridge Park, Parkview Park, and along 5th Street Downtown. 7 Volunteers at Hira Park: Volunteers as part of the annual We Heart Ames volunteer event assisted City Forester Gabriele Edwards at Hira Park on Saturday, August 26. The group removed the deer fencing put in place last fall, replaced two trees that had died, added new mulch to all the young trees, and added new trunk protection cages. The park looks wonderful, and the help and dedication of the volunteers is appreciated. Wellness: A new session of wellness classes began in late August with the following registrations: Program Registrations Fitness 350 (In-person) 32 (Virtual) 18 (Outdoor) Aqua Fitness (ISU Forker Pool) 83 Taekwondo 130 The floors of the weight room and group fitness room were cleaned August 7-9. From August 14 to 18, 31 free classes were offered for the community to promote wellness offerings. Approximately 240 participants came to the free classes and 32 bags of food were collected for the local food pantry. 8 PUBLIC WORKS Rummage RAMPage: More than 200 volunteers from 47 Story County non- profit agencies staffed another successful Rummage RAMPage in 2023! Over $62,000 was raised through sales for those agencies – the percentage of hours worked is the percentage of money they will receive. Of 162,323 pounds (81 tons!) donated, only 7,480 pounds (3.74 tons) ended up in the landfill. Despite the heat, hundreds of people shopped and bought 154,843 pounds (77.4 tons) of stuff to furnish their new digs this school year. Venmo was used for 998 transactions in addition to countless cash transactions! Massive thanks to Bill Schmitt, Susan Gwiasda, Merry Rankin, Lorrie Hanson, Kristy Marnin, Courtney Hinders, Natalie Rekemeyer, Laura Colebrook, Jeramy Neefus, Leah Zuber, Carly Watson, Curtis Spence, Don Kom, Casandra Eames, Amber Christian, Liz Calhoun, Heidi Petersen, Dominic Roberge and United Way. 9