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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - November 2022 Monthly Project HighlightsHIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 2022 MONTHLY PROJECT Contact the City Manager's Office at 515-239-5101 515 Clark Avenue, Ames, IA 50010 Report compiled by Carly Watson, Deputy City Clerk City Manager's Office FIRE This month Ames Firefighters utilized the new basement prop that they built using retired shipping containers at the City of Ames Training Site (COATS). Crews conducted hands-on, scenario-based training utilizing all of their skills to successfully rescue a trapped victim and put the fire out. Crews were evaluated on their ability to size up the fire conditions, conduct rescue, extinguish the fire and ventilate the structure using only the resources and personnel from one company. 2 LIBRARY Annual Report Available: Ames Public Library’s 2021-2022 Annual Report is now available online at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/useful-links/facts-figures. Here are a few highlights: • Ames checked out over a million items, averaging over 2,800 a day • The Library presented 1,478 in-person programs, 144 virtual programs, and 426 passive programs with a total attendance of over 36,400 people • People used the Library’s public computers 24,890 times, and borrowed Wi-Fi Hotspots 1,056 times Gift Ideas & Resources • Did you know your Ames Public Library card gets you free access to Consumer Reports online? It’s a great resource to research products before you buy. • Looking for a gift for a book lover? Ask a librarian for ideas or fill out our Personalized Picks online form for a booklist curated by our book experts just for you! • Literary Grounds Bookstore in the Library’s lobby has gently-used books, puzzles, and more at great prices. Find the perfect gift or buy a Literary Grounds gift card for your hard- to-shop-for list. Staff Training Day: Ames Public Library staff participated in a day of training Friday, November 11, 2022. Jamie Niman, Director of Student Accessibility Services at ISU, presented information on accessibility, disabilities, accommodations, and more. Staff also attended mini-sessions about APL-specific topics and projects and workgroup-wide meetings. The Library closes for two all-staff training days each year, so we pack a lot into each one! Winter Reading Challenge: Ames Public Library’s Winter Reading Challenge begins December 1st, 2022! All ages are encouraged to read 30 days this winter to win a prize. Pick up your reading log at the Library or Bookmobile or sign up online at amespubliclibrary.beanstack.com. 3 PARKS AND RECREATION Ames City Auditorium: Two December events kick off the Winter Concert Series! On December 9, 2022, at 7:00 p.m., the Ames City Auditorium will present Americana rockers Great Caesar's Goat. The "Goats" have deep roots in the Texas Hill Country. Founded by two songwriters, Chris Patterson and Spencer Braly, the band also features Greg Bruna on bass and Todd Cumming on drums. The band describes its music as Americana rock from the heartland…a strong mix of rock and country music focused on good storytelling. This will undoubtedly be a rocking good time! On December 17, 2022, at 7:00 p.m., the Auditorium will present a special night of holiday favorites from Felicity, a member of The Satin Dollz in Des Moines. The Satin Dollz present top-notch entertainment reminiscent of the WWII USO Camp Shows, and they are known coast-to-coast for their high-energy performances and excellent singing. This will undoubtedly be a fantastic way to kick off your holiday season! Admission to these events is $5 and can be paid by cash, check, or credit card at the door. Concert dates for January through March will be released soon! Cemetery Project: Staff completed the Cemetery Pavilion Project which included adding sidewalks, space for additional columbarium, and a 20’ x 40’ shelter pavilion located in the turf area east of the Cemetery Office. Pictures below show the completed project. 4 Elwood Pasture Bridge Plank Replacement: Staff recently completed replacing all the planks on the bridge located in the Elwood Pasture between 6th Street and Lincoln Way. 5 Ice Arena: The Ames/ISU Ice Arena hosted its first ever Learn to Curl classes on November 12th, 2022, with five participants and on November 26, 2022, with 13 registrations! The 1st Annual Skatesgiving 5K event was held on Thanksgiving Day with 17 individuals participating! Everyone enjoyed the activity as is shown in the pictures below. Staff recently completed repainting the east exterior of the Ames/ISU Ice Arena. Below are before and after pictures of the project. 6 Outdoor Ice Rinks: Staff erected two outdoor ice rinks in South River Valley Park for the winter season. Like last year, one rink is set for hockey and the larger rink is only for free skating. Staff will fill the rinks when temperatures are low enough for ice making. Staff will provide updates of when the rinks are open on the Parks and Recreation website and on Facebook. Programs, Parks, and Facility Guides: Stay active with Ames Parks & Recreation this Winter! The Winter Fitness & Wellness Guide and Winter Programs & Facilities Guide were released, and registration opened November 1, 2022. The Winter Guides include information on all classes, programs, and events from December 2022 to February 2023. To view the guides, go online to www.AmesParkRec.org. 7 PUBLIC WORKS Bird Friendly Community: The City of Ames has achieved “Sustained Flight” status for over 3 years of Bird Friendly efforts in our community. Throughout the year, numerous bird-related activities are held to educate about, track bird species in Ames, provide habitat and support birds in our area. The Bird Friendly Committee continues to meet and track events in working toward annual recertification and achieving the next level of “High Flyer” status. Ames could be the first to achieve this status in our state. Interested persons can contact Tracy Peterson at tracy.peterson@cityofames.org or 515-239-5160 to inquire about involvement with bird-friendly activities. Green Infrastructure Maintenance and Management Plan: Staff has been working with Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership to create a Green Infrastructure Maintenance and Management Plan. This plan is describing existing green infrastructure in our community, maintenance responsibilities, activities and schedule for each green infrastructure, checklists for staff inspections, existing and anticipated equipment needs, and estimated annual labor time to complete these activities. This has been a collaboration between Public Works Engineering, Operations and Parks & Recreation. The plan is anticipated to be finalized in early 2023. Pollinator Task Force: In meeting monthly during 2022, the task force members including collaboration between City of Ames Public Works and Parks & Recreation, Prairie Rivers of Iowa, Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership, Mary Greeley Medical Center, residents, ISU faculty, landscape architects, engineers, ecologists, and real estate professionals are finishing the City of Ames Pollinator-Friendly Community Plan. During the EcoFair held on October 1, 2022, attendees voted on actions they support to be taken in making Ames a Pollinator Friendly Community. The Plan will be released in early 2023 and committees will be formed for interested residents and professionals to contribute to making Ames more pollinator friendly. Interested persons can contact Tracy Peterson at tracy.peterson@cityofames.org or 515-239-5160 to inquire about involvement on committees. 8 WATER AND POLLUTION CONTROL Water Meter Division: After more than a year of supply chain disruption, staff thought a large delivery of water meters and radios signaled a return to more normal inventory levels. Unfortunately, that hasn’t turned out to be the case, with our supplier telling us that lead times are still ten months or longer. Water Pollution Control Facility: The conceptual design phase of the Nutrient Reduction Modifications project is progressing. A decision was made to adopt a conventional activated sludge biological nutrient removal technology. If you’re a water nerd, then you’d be interested to know that the technology is formally described as “simultaneous nitrification-denitrification with the ability to operate in a side-stream enhanced biological phosphorus removal mode,” or SNDN- S2EBPR. As the end of November neared, the design work was focused on options to implement the project in multiple phases, and a determination of how to site and construct the modifications while keeping the existing facility in full operation. Water Treatment Plant: As the hydrological Water Year 2022 came to a close at the end of October, the Water Plant experienced three consecutive months of record demands. The graph below shows the range of demands by month over the past 20 years as a blue ribbon. The red line shows the monthly demand for every month in the past 12 months. You can see that August, September, and October were all the highest monthly demands for each respective month; and August was an all- time high for any month. The interesting thing is that no one day during that stretch was in the top 10 single day demands. This indicates both the sustained nature of the drought experienced this summer, as well as an overall growth in the base demand by our customers. 9 Demolition of the old Water Plant is significantly complete. The contractor has pulled off for the winter, and will return in March to crush the concrete rubble and complete some site piping modifications. The plan to construct an addition to the Technical Services Complex (TSC) building that will remain has been put on hold temporarily while we wait both for construction costs to stabilize and for a clearer picture of the future uses for the utility campus to emerge.