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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - March 2021 Monthly Project Highlights MONTHLY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS MARCH 2021 ANIMAL SHELTER The Ames Animal Shelter received three huge pallets of donated pet food from Theisen’s here in Ames. We received dry dog and cat food, supplements, can food for dogs and cats and a bunch of treats for the dogs. The food was Solid Gold, Natural Balance and Canidae. All three are high-end, great quality foods. Staff would estimate that this in-kind donation was probably worth well over $4,500. As the staff has done in the past, we shared this donation with our partner shelters including the Boone Area Humane Society and the Story County Animal Shelter & Animal Control. We also shared with the Ames Pet Food Pantry, Story City and Huxley pantries and a few dog rescue organizations. All the groups we shared with were so thankful and happy to receive the donated high-quality product. LIBRARY Reopening “The Stacks”: On March 15, Ames Public Library entered the next phase of reopening. Visitors can now browse the shelves on both floors. The computer lab has moved from the Auditorium back to the second floor. Grab & Go Bags and Quick Picks remain in the lobby for visitors who want to run in, check out a few things, and go. Visitors must wear masks covering their nose and mouth and maintain 6 feet of distance from staff and other visitors. Visitors should limit their time in the building to 30 minutes and refrain from eating or drinking in the Library at this time. More at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/COVID19. Black Book Nook: The Library has created a “Black Book Nook” collection with the goal of fostering education and community engagement with Black history, thought, literature, and culture. This collection was created in partnership with the Iowa State University Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Office of Equal Opportunity. More at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/books-movies-more/special-collections. AARP Tax Aide Program: The Library meeting rooms are not open for public gatherings yet, but AARP is making good use of them for their annual Tax Aide program. In this program, trained volunteers help people sort through their records and figure out how to file their taxes. More at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/tax. Library Notes: Do you like to read the “Library Notes” column in the Ames Tribune? If you missed a column or can’t remember the title of a book we recommended, you can find the articles online at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/LibraryNotes. FIRE Ames Fire crews have been busy during the month of March. Training for the month focused on ice rescue, grass/brush fire operations using our water tank/pump slide in unit, and rope rigging systems. Crews also spent some time in the classroom reviewing EMS skills for stroke detection and treating diabetic emergencies. There has been a noticeable increase in emergency calls for service this month. Ames Fire crews responded to nearly 400 incidents, six of which were working structure fires. Pictured are some of the incidents we responded to. 222 21st Street House Fire 305 Topaz Court House Fire ISU Horticulture Farm Woodchip Fire PARKS AND RECREATION 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 February & March (as of 3/19): February March (as of 3/19) Lap Swimming: Daily Paid Admissions 69 50 Swim Pass Visits 783 612 Early Bird Lap Swim 90 90 Total Lap Swimmers 942 752 Private Rental Hours 7.5 7 Swim Lessons: Winter Session Start Date Enrollment Saturday 3/13 19 Mon/Wed 3/1 15 Tues/Thurs 3/2 Cancelled (low enrollment) Session Total 34 Spring Session Start Date Enrollment to Date Mon/Wed 3/29 27 Tues/Thurs 3/30 31 Session Total 58 Ames City Auditorium: In April of 2020, Parks and Recreation scheduled a meeting to discuss the feasibility of an Ames based film festival. Unfortunately, due to COVID, the meeting was postponed. Now that community members are accustomed to meeting virtually, the meeting has been rescheduled for March 30, 2021. The idea of a film festival has been brought up by Auditorium patrons and users numerous times since Craig Kaufman was hired as the Auditorium, Bandshell and Community Center Manager in 2016. This meeting will allow community members to brainstorm ideas and to give feedback about what a festival could look like for Ames. Social Media posts and news articles about the meeting have generated a lot of interest, so it should be an exciting and interesting discussion! The Auditorium hosted four “Virtually Anywhere” livestreaming concerts (shown below) in March and will present the final two concerts of the series in April. The concerts have generated a lot of positive feedback from local musicians and community members. On average around 50 people have tuned in live for the concerts, however, most of the videos are being viewed over 1000 times once they are posted to Facebook and YouTube. The Auditorium has been seen by viewers all over the country who have tuned in for the performances and has gained numerous new followers and subscribers on social medial platforms. While revenue amounts have not been large, the concerts have generated some money for both the artists and the facility. These concerts would not have been possible without a grant from the Iowa Arts Council as part of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Arts and Culture Emergency Relief Fund. This grant allowed the Auditorium to purchase the equipment needed to stream the concerts. This equipment (pictured below) can also be used to offer video recording and streaming services to auditorium users in the future. Ames/ISU Ice Arena: The Ames/ISU Ice Arena hosted the Midwest League High School Hockey State Tournament March 4-7 with twelve Varsity and six Junior Varsity teams participating. The Arena was also the host site for the Midwest Youth Hockey League Championship March 12- 14 which had 40 teams in attendance. The Ice Arena will continue hosting private rentals, public skates and birthday parties until May when the building will be shut down for yearly maintenance tasks. Emma McCarthy Lee Park Pedestrian Bridge: Henkel Construction Company, Ames, Iowa, mobilized equipment in preparation to start the pedestrian bridge construction the week of March 15. Henkel confirmed that bridge pilings will be placed March 23. The bridge is currently being constructed in Montana and will be delivered once the bridge abutments are completed. Expected timeframe for completion of the project is approximately two months. Homewood Golf Course: Homewood Golf Course opens April 1, weather permitting. Due to delays in the slope stabilization project adjacent hole 4, holes 3 and 4 will be temporarily closed. For the new few weeks, seven holes will be open for a reduced greens fee. The new clubhouse is anticipated to open mid-April. Golf carts are not available to rent until the Clubhouse is open. Homewood Golf Course Clubhouse: Construction continues with the new clubhouse and updates are shown below: • Electrical work is nearing completion and most lights have been installed • Drywall installation and painting is complete • Duct work has been completed except for some touch up painting • Plumbing work is nearing completion with fixture installation needing to be completed after painting, tile, and counters have been installed • Outside concrete work needs to be completed and is very weather dependent • Outside stone work and vinyl siding has been installed and the cedar siding will be completed soon • Estimated completion date has been moved from April 1 to April 9 Recreation Programming: Indoor sports are finishing up and outdoor programs are beginning. Start Smart basketball (show to the right) is for youth ages 3-5 to learn the basic fundamentals of the sport using their parents as their partner. Soccer Skills Camp (shown to the left) was a new program for 3rd – 6th grade youth to hone their skills and prepare for the spring season. Registrations for the spring outdoor soccer programs are three times higher than the 2020 fall season! It is great to see that kids and families are starting to feel comfortable to come back and start playing. Wellness Programming: A new four-week session of Group Fitness classes began Monday, March 1. Classes continue to meet both virtually and in-person with 152 in-person registrations and 182 virtual registrations. Aqua classes continue to be held both at ISU Forker Pool and the Municipal Pool with 31 registrations at Forker and 15 registrations at the Municipal Pool. A new partnership with Reiman Gardens will begin this summer to offer a variety of mind -body classes held at the Gardens with Ames Parks & Recreation instructors leading the classes. Classes will begin May 24 with a variety of classes held throughout the week. PLANNING AND HOUSING Planning Division: Ames Plan 2040 review is continuing with staff and RDG. Staff recently provided updates to RDG on the Land Use Chapter addressing growth, land use, and Urban Fringe issues. RDG and staff are working to finalize a complete draft to deliver to the City Council in April. Developers of the South Duff Plaza (former K-mart) have met with staff to discuss construction of phase 2 of the development. Due to changes in stormwater treatment and building configuration, it will be processed as an amendment to the Integrated Sub division and require City Council approval. The draft Planned Unit Development Ordinance will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on April 7th. City Council is tentatively planned to review the ordinance on April 27th. This ordinance is in response to the City Council goal of allowing for additional housing options with small lot configurations. Staff is preparing a staff report for City Council consideration in April of potential administrative changes and corrections to both the Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance. The changes are needed to address inconsistencies and errors in the Codes, clarify notification processes, update certain procedures. Staff will also propose to streamline review of Plats of Survey with administrative approval and to adjust the ZBA voting procedures for a majority of a quorum to make a final decision rather than a majority of the Board. With City Council’s direction on these issues, separate ordinance updates will then be processed. Rose Prairie will apply for a rezoning and master plan change in April per City Council’s direction from March 9th. City Council will ultimately hold a hearing to address the changes to the Master Plan, Development Agreement, and consider a process of reallocating and dividing up the current street assessment costs. Planning staff and the City Attorney’s offic e believe the current assessment can be divided and allocated by City resolution per language of the Iowa Code without modifying the overall assessment schedule. This reallocation will be beneficial to the developer to complete payoff of the assessment by phase as they develop. It is similar to the approach described by staff in March. WATER AND POLUTION CONROL On April 2nd, the State Revolving Fund loan for the New Water Plant was credited $6,598,621.20 as a part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Green Project Reserve program. This long-expected credit is the result of the new treatment facility achieving LEED certification. This represents approximately 9.5% of the total project cost. Since 1987, the western 35 acres of Moore Memorial Park have been leased to Iowa State University (ISU) for agricultural research. During recent discussions with ISU, it was decided that the lease agreement would be terminated so the City could address erosion and water quality issues associated with this parcel. This land retirement will provide opportunities for nutrient reduction, aligning with W&PC’s goal of watershed- based nutrient reduction. In addition to nutrient reduction opportunities, the land retirement may provide increased recreational opportunities, improve wildlife habitat, and provide urban storm water management. Parks & Recreation and W&PC are working together to procure engineering services to develop a ‘master plan’ for the western portion of Moore Memorial Park. The selected firm will assist with evaluating various conservation possibilities for the site. This plan is expected to provide a framework for future projects and be a resource for grants associated with land/resource enhancement and protection. Project boundaries, contours, and parcels The Water Pollution Control Facility’s (WPCF’s) Annual Biosolids Report was recently submitted to the US EPA for Calendar Year 2020. One of the key parameters covered by the report is the heavy metal concentrations in the biosolids that are applied to the farm ground surrounding the WPCF. The exceptionally low heavy metal concentrations shown in the report not only document compliance with federal regulations, it also ensures that biosolids can be safe ly and sustainably land-applied to this ground far into the future. Achieving these low concentrations is due to a combination of having appropriate limitations placed on local industries through the Industrial Pretreatment Program, and from having outstanding compliance by Ames businesses with the requirements of that program. Parameter Ceiling Concentration Limit (CCL) Ames Water Pollution Control Facility 2020 Average Quarterly Results (mg/kg dry wt) (mg/kg dry wt) (% of CCL) Arsenic 75 11.0 14.7% Cadmium 85 3.8 4.5% Copper 4,300 723 16.8% Lead 840 25 3.0% Mercury 57 1.6 2.8% Molybdenum 75 13.0 17.3% Nickel 420 17 2.4% Selenium 100 13.4 13.4% Zinc 7,500 1,400 18.7% On February 24, 2021, staff executed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that will allow the City to “bank” nutrient reduction credits for voluntary watershed projects that the City participates in. The MOU reads in part: . “While the City is proud to do its part by working to achieve the point source goals of the Iowa NRS (Nutrient Reduction Strategy), it also recognizes that the overall goals of the NRS cannot be achieved without significant reductions from nonpoint sources in the watershed as well. The City desires to foster and encourage nutrient discharge-reducing activities upstream of the Ames WPCF by supporting the activities of willing landowners, and by undertaking projects itself where appropriate…” “…The goal of this MOU is to provide the City with regulatory certainty by allowing the City to utilize nutrient load reductions achieved through implementation of BMP’s and/or other nutrient reduction efforts in the watershed to offset nutrient reduction targets to be required in the City’s (current) and future NPDES permits, or to bank environmental outcomes of nutrient reducing practices to offset future permit requirements…” Staff recently approved a contract amendment with T-Mobile to replace their antennas on top of the Bloomington Road Elevated Tank (BRET). The work began in late March. Because this is an equipment “swap out” that will take no additional space on the tank, there were no changes made to the terms of the lease between the City and T-Mobile. Cellular antennas installed by Sprint and T-Mobile on the Bloomington Road Elevated Tank (BRET). Combined with a Sprint lease on the Mortensen and County Line Road (MAC) tank, these leases will generate $64,789 in revenue to the Water Fund during FY 21/22.