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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - September 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 SEPTEMBER 2023 MONTHLY PROJECTHIGHLIGHTS FIRE Elevator Emergency Training: Elevator emergencies are a serious but uncommon incident in the City of Ames. This week, Fire Crews got some hands-on time with two hydraulic elevators to refresh regarding how to safely remove trapped occupants. Skills included using drop keys to open hoistway doors, overcoming internal locks, electronic resets, and reviewing procedures to conduct a topside entry. Grant Award: The Ames Fire Department received a grant from Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel as part of their 2023 Community Betterment Grant. The grant supports a variety of organizations seeking to improve the lives of those in their communities. The Department was fortunate enough to be awarded $19,602 to purchase new battery-powered extrication tools. These new tools will replace older equipment powered by a gas hydraulic pump. The new tools offer increased tool speed, 2 ability to spread and cut different metals found in newer vehicles, and the versatility to go anywhere. 3 LIBRARY Ames Repair Café: Ames Public Library will host another Ames Repair Café Saturday, October 7 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. These popular events gather volunteers skilled in repairing various items. Members of the public can bring their broken items and volunteers will attempt to fix them at no charge. This time, there will be a new option for headlight repair. There will also be a seed giveaway/exchange. For more information, visit https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/event/repair-cafe-10-2023. Fall Outreach: Late summer and fall are full of outreach opportunities in Ames! The Library participated in Iowa State University (ISU) WelcomeFest at the beginning of the school year, and the Bookmobile has been at the Downtown Farmers’ Market once a month throughout the season. Library staff shared resources and information at the Mental Health Expo on September 25, and will also be at the upcoming Senior Expo and “Rock On In Retirement” event. Fresh Starts: For the Library, each new school year is an opportunity to meet a new audience, work with new students and organizations, and try out new programs. One of the new programs the Library tried in September was a Speed Friending event for adults to meet new people in a casual environment. It was a big success with good attendance, great feedback, and many comments from those who wished they could have come. Other new events include a monthly International Student and Family Meetup, a new book discussion group to chat about trending titles on #BookTok, and a new year-long reading challenge for adults. Library staff continuously evaluates programs to guide future planning. 4 Upcoming Event - Pridefest: Ames Pride’s annual Pridefest will be held at the corner of Fifth Street and Douglas Avenue on September 30 with a street festival from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. The Library will host several events, including a Teen Chalk the Walk the night before Pridefest, three presentations the morning of September 30, a storytime, a station to send a postcard to representatives, and more. Find the full schedule at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/events/month?keywords=pridefest. 5 PARKS AND RECREATION Ames/ISU Ice Arena: The Ice Arena reopened on Monday, September 25 after being closed since June for maintenance which included a Sand Leveling Project. This project included assessing existing sand conditions, realigning coolant lines, releveling the 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 coolant was leaking from the coolant lines. The ice was removed a second time and piping was inspected before ice was reinstalled and painted. The picture below shows the finished ice. Bandshell Free Movie Night: On September 1, Parks and Recreation presented its annual movie night for approximately 800 community members. The film chosen this year was “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” and as staff predicted, it was a popular title. Even though temperatures were in the 90s during the day, it cooled off to a perfect 60 degrees with no humidity and a nice breeze by the time the movie started. The event was sponsored by Duck Worth Wearing, Pyfferoen Pediatric Dentistry, and Lilypad Learning Center. The projector for the event was provided by Lutheran Church of Hope. Parks and Recreation staff also used this event as an 6 opportunity to advertise upcoming events to the captive audience and to sell ducks for the Scholarship Duck Derby. Fifth and Clark Fridays: Beginning September 29, the Ames City Auditorium will launch its concert series titled “Fifth and Clark Fridays” in partnership with KURE 88.5, the ISU campus radio station. Partnering with KURE has allowed the Auditorium to use many new methods of advertising on campus in an effort to get more students coming to these events. The Auditorium began presenting concerts in the spring three years ago; however, with the help of a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, the series has been extended to the fall. The concerts feature all Iowa based artists, and the series provides one of the only opportunities in the State of Iowa for local artists to perform in a large auditorium. It is a truly unique experience for them. Homewood Golf Course: The course opened April 1 and business has been good. As of September 25, there have been 20,472 rounds played, compared to 16,561 rounds played during the same time period in 2022. 7 Inis Grove Park Tennis Court Renovations and Brookside Park Pickleball Lines: Tennis Courts Unlimited, Nebraska City, Nebraska, completed renovations at the Inis Grove Park tennis courts in early September. Renovations included installing new net posts and anchors, crack repair, court resurfacing, and new boundary markings. The project also included repainting the pickleball lines at Brookside Park. The photo below shows the newly renovated tennis courts at Inis Grove Park. Steven L. Schainker Plaza: A contractor recently installed the transmission lines for the outdoor ice ribbon at the Steven L. Schainker Plaza. Work has also started on the spray pad portion of the project. The ice ribbon transmission lines and spray pad balance tank are pictured below. 8 U.S. Armed Forces Bands: Ames City Auditorium and Durham Bandshell presented two U.S. Armed Forces bands in the month of September. On September 2, the Air Force rock band ensemble “Raptor” played a free outdoor concert at Bandshell for around 400 community members. A lot of positive feedback was received from the event, and many residents and band members asked if they would be able to come back again next summer. On September 12, the Navy Band Great Lakes brass band “Side Boys” performed at the Ames City Auditorium for around 250 community members. Again, the feedback was positive and audience members requested that the City continue to host events like this. The military ensembles are highly skilled musicians that put on very entertaining shows. Both ensembles performed for no cost to the City, and the “Raptor” band even paid for the Bandshell staff person to be there for the event. 9 Wellness: Several wellness classes began in September with the following registrations: Program Registrations Yoga Basics 7 Healthy Foot 8 West Coast Swing Dance 13 Staff spoke to the Ames Women’s Club on September 11 regarding Fitness for Older Adults and fitness classes offered for older adults. Staff began teaching a Balance, Strength & Stretch class at Vintage Cooperative in September for their residents. Fourteen people have registered for the six-week session. 10 WATER AND POLLUTION CONTROL Demolition of the Old Water Plant: Demolition of the old Water Plant is nearly complete. In October, the City Council will be asked to approve a change order to remove and cap two large - diameter pipes discovered during the demolition. The lines are left over from a 1950s era temporary pump station. The lines were capped and buried under the floor slab of a storage building, but were never disconnected from the two-million gallon ground storage reservoir. During the removal of the concrete slab, one of the lines was struck and damaged. To eliminate the potential of contamination of the finished water stored in the reservoir, staff is recommending that an isolation valve be inserted on each of the lines immediately adjacent to the reservoir and the lines be properly abandoned. The former home of the Ames Water Treatment Plant is pictured to the right. The site has been seeded and for the immediate future will be maintained as a green space. The Technical Services Complex, which continues to house the Water Meter and Laboratory Services Divisions, is seen in the upper left. Hazard Mitigation Grant Funding Halted: The Department received disappointing news regarding its hazard mitigation grant application intended to help fund a new standby generator for the wells in the Hunziker Youth Sports Complex. In an August 29 Advisory, FEMA announced that it has temporarily halted awarding any hazard mitigation grants due to “other national emergencies” until the Disaster Relief Fund is sufficently replenished. The State of Iowa has advised that it typically takes one to six months before the funding is restored. This adds to the considerable delay that has already been experienced. The project was submitted to the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in January 2021. After nearly a year and a half of review at the state, the project was finally forwarded to FEMA in June 2022. Based on the current exceptionally long lead times for electrical components, it seems likely that the new generator may not be operational until sometime in 2026. 11 Late Summer Drought: Central Iowa experienced a moderate drought during the late summer of 2023. A peak water demand day of 9.39 million gallons per day was experienced in September, falling just short of the all-time peak of 9.48 million gallons per day. Several new entries were made in the peak three-day demand records for Ames. Fortunately, only a few of the wells were significantly impacted and there was never a need to consider any sort of rationing. This is a testament to the value of the water utility’s long- term source water management strategy. The image to the left shows the Iowa drought monitor as of September 14, 2023. Story County is highlighted in green. New Water Plant Superintendent: On September 15, the Water and Pollution Control Department welcomed its new Water Plant Superintendent, Calvin Forte. Calvin comes to Ames from Maryland, where he was previously the Assistant Superintendent of Water Operations with the Harford County Department of Public Works. He has a BS degree in Chemistry with additional coursework in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources. Calvin fills the position that became vacant following Lyle Hammes’ promotion to Assistant Director. North River Valley Well Field Project: Work on the North River Valley Well Field project is expected to begin in early October. Some preliminary clearing work has already been completed. The new wells are not anticipated to be operational until the second half of 2025 due to the extended delivery times for the electrical transformer. Water Pollution Control Facility’s Nutrient Reduction Modifications: Design work on Phase 1 of the Water Pollution Control Facility’s Nutrient Reduction Modifications has progressed to the 50% complete stage. Details are being finalized in the new and modified process spaces while design on the new Administration Building progresses. In a September 13 design workshop, the consultant provided their updated cost opinion, which remains the same as was presented to the City Council in May 2023. Depicted to the left is a 3-D rendering of the interior of the new grit handling facilities. 12 Water Treatment Plant Award: The Ames Water Treatment Plant recently received an award for excellence in water fluoridation. Each year the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issues this award to water utilities who “…provide high-quality water fluoridation for 12 consecutive months, representing a high level of operator care and accomplishment.” Show accepting the award are Water Plant Superintendent Calvin Forte, Assistant Superintendent Gary Eshelman, and Operators Emily Engle and Tad Stupp.