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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - January 2021 Monthly Project Highlights MONTHLY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS JANUARY 2021 ANIMAL SHELTER The numbers are in and Animal Shelter staff are proud to report our statistical data for 2020. All of the updated reports can be reviewed at www.AmesAnimalShelter.org. We have maintained our No-Kill status as we continue life-saving efforts to do all that we can for the residents and animals in our community. Even during the Coronavirus Pandemic with the closure and limited operations, staff have been able to successfully reunite pets with their people and find new forever homes for so many others. • 100% Live Release Rate for all Puppies, Rabbits and Small Pets such as Guinea Pigs • 96.13% Live Release Rate for all Cats and Kittens • 97.63% Live Release Rate for all Dogs six months and older • The overall Live Release Rate for all Cats, Kittens, Dogs and Puppies is 96.67% • 363 Cats and Kittens arrived at the shelter - 262 were adopted and 74 were returned to their owners • 182 Dogs and Puppies arrived at the shelter - 37 were adopted and 130 were returned to their owners • 51 Rabbits and Small Pets arrived at the shelter - 35 were adopted and 4 were returned to their owners ELECTIC The City’s first Community Solar Farm went into commercial operation on December 23 rd. This 2,000 kilowatt “sun fired” power plant will produce green energy for the next 20+ years. City Electric customers can directly participate in the solar farm by purchasing “Power Packs”. Then each month a Power Pack owner will receive a credit a on their energy bill bas ed on the electrical output of the solar farm. PARKS AND RECREATION Auditorium: The Virtually Anywhere concert series live from the Auditorium Stage began January 14. This series is featuring local artists and will run every Thursday through March for a total of eleven concerts. Two goals for this series are 1) To promote the Ames City Auditorium to people who may not know much if anything about the Auditorium; and 2) Generate some revenue for the artists and the Auditorium. The February schedule is shown below: The Auditorium, Bandshell, and Community Center Manager applied for financial support through the Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program, administered by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. The City of Ames (Auditorium & Durham Bandshell) was awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000! Since the Auditorium and Bandshell are government owned facilities, the only expenses the City of Ames could claim had to be directly related to COVID-19 and not anything previously budgeted. Thus, the artist’s fees of the Municipal Band replacement (virtual) concerts in Summer 2020 were reimbursed and livestreaming equipment for the Auditorium was purchased with the grant monies. Aquatics Programming: As the pandemic continues, aquatics programming has included swim lessons (parent with child for most levels), lap swimming (one to two swimmers per lane), and some rentals. Shown below are figures for December & January (month-to-date): December January (month-to-date) Lap Swimming: Daily Paid Admissions 108 59 Swim Pass Visits 1024 789 Total Lap Swimmers 1,132 848 Private Rental Hours 8 9.5 Swim Lessons: January Session Start Date Enrollment Saturday 1/16 22 Mon/Wed 1/25 31 Tues/Thurs 1/16 26 Session Total 79 Youth Programming: The recital session of dance and gymnastics started the week of January 25. All participants and staff are wearing masks during classes. The children are excited to be back and staff are thrilled to be teaching in a safe environment! Fitness Programming: A new session of fitness classes, both virtual and in-person, began Monday, January 4. The winter sessions will be four weeks long so participants can easily switch from one to the other if needed. There is a total of 218 virtual registrations and 141 in- person registrations. The winter session of aqua classes began both at the Municipal Pool and ISU Forker Pool. Forker Pool classes meet three times per week with 31 registrations and the Deep-Water classes at the Municipal Pool meet twice per week with 12 registrations. Both virtual and in-person Tae Kwon Do classes began on Tuesday, January 12 with in-person classes held at the Community Center. There are 36 in-person registrations and 32 on Zoom. The cardio and weight rooms continue to be open for public use. Reservations must be made prior to using the facility to limit the total number of people who can be in the cardio and weight room at one time. Homewood Golf Course: Construction continues with the new clubhouse and updates are shown below: • Interior framing has been completed as well as the installation of the door frames and windows. • Electrical and plumbing contractors are making progress completing their respective responsibilities including electrical circuits for lights, audio visual, data, fire alarm, water lines and duct work for HVAC. • Next steps include completing all electrical and plumbing rough-in, installation of insulation and drywall, shiplap installation on the ceiling, and staining of the exposed ceiling trusses. PUBLIC LIBRARY From Curbside to Lobby Grab & Go: Ames Public Library will be switching from curbside service to holds pickup and “grab and go” services in the Library’s lobby on February 1. While staff have been happy to offer curbside service, it has certainly been an intense process! See how library curbside works behind the scenes in this video from the fantastic staff of Media Production Services/Channel 12: https://youtu.be/KJYymmoq89E. Live Chat with the Library: Library staff answer a lot of questions, from “are my books ready?” to “where can I find records for a person who died in Ames around 1850?” They come on the phone, by e-mail, in-person, and now via online chat! If you visit the Library’s website, you’ll see the new “Live Chat” button on the lower right side, which opens up a chat window with an Ames Public Library staff member. (The button shows “unavailable” outside of Library hours.) This service is made available to Ames Public Library through the State Library of Iowa. Travel Iowa Event: Ames Public Library is partnering with Iowa State University’s Writing and Media Center for a special series of virtual events called “Travel Iowa.” Participants will take virtual tours of points of interest in Ames, from restaurants to parks to med ical facilities. We’ll share local lingo and useful phrases especially for people new to the U.S. or English. More information is available at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/events/travel-ames-1. WATER AND POLLUTION CONTROL A ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned for early May to celebrate the completion of the North River Valley Low Head Dam Improvements. The completion of this project provides increased recreational opportunities both in and adjacent to the South Skunk River, provides an improved aquatic habitat via a fish ladder, preserves the important water supply purpose of the original dam structure, and most importantly mitigates a serious safety risk posed by the old dam. The FY 2020/21 well rehabilitation program has been concluded, and Council will be asked in February to accept the work as complete. Later in the spring, Council will be asked to award the fifth and final year under the current well rehab contract . Bids are currently being accepted for modifications to the lime pond underdrains and are expected to be brought to Council for action at the second meeting in February. An on-line public meeting will be held on February 11 to share plans with neighbors for the demolition of the old Water Treatment Plant. A second public meeting will be held later in the spring to provide neighbors with an opportunity to give input into the new conference room and storage space addition that will be built where the old administrative offices are currently located. In February, a Notice to Bidders will be issued for the replacement of pumps, valves, pipes, and painting in the Sludge Pumping Building. Nearly all of these items are original to the construction of the facility in 1989. Also in February, Council will be asked to approve the purchase of replacement ultraviolet bulbs for the disinfection system. As bulbs age, the light intensity drops off, reducing the efficiency of the disinfection process. Since there are numeric permit limits associated with the performance of the disinfection process, timely replacement of the bulbs helps ensure continued permit compliance. Staff is monitoring three pieces of legislation that have been introduced at the Statehouse as of January 26. 1. SF 22 would require the 25 largest drinking water systems in Iowa to test for PFAS compounds on an annual basis. In testing performed statewide a few years ago, there were two detections of these compounds at any water utility in Iowa, and the proposal would come at a cost to utilities but would seem to offer little to no additional benefit to consumers. 2. HF 84, SSB 1063 would require utilities to undergo a prescribed public notification process prior to being allowed to discontinue the practice of fluoridation. It seems to be in response to a single small system that stopped fluoridating last year as a cost -saving measure but did not give any notification to their customers. 3. SF 135 would require that when utilities send a delinquency notice to a cu stomer who is a rental tenant, the same notice must be given to the landlord and/or property owner. The landlord would then be permitted to pay the bill, deducting the amount from the retained security deposit. Old Water Plant, circa 1956 Original pumps and piping in the Sludge Pumping Building RESOURCE RECOVERY We've had an increase in Food Waste Diversion and have now upgraded the containers! The new container (pink) and the yellow glass bin have both been moved to the Northeast corner of our property at 110 Center Ave for easier access and customer drop off. Vehicles will now be able to pull in off the street for disposal of glass and food waste. Resource Recovery Plant staff has initiated the process of reviewing post closure permits of the City of Ames Sanitary Landfill. If approved by the IDNR this will transition the closed sanitary landfill site from being subject to closure permit rescission and final site use. This may reduce the amount of ongoing monitoring at the landfill. The DNR believes that by implementing an environmental covenant it will continue to provide adequate protection of public health, safety, and the environment. Closed landfills must have a covenant attached to the property to rescind a closure permit. This will ensure, among other things, that current and/or future property owners, adjacent lando wners, and the environment are reasonably protected.