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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - November 2021 Monthly Project Highlights MONTHLY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 2021 Report Compiled by Carly Watson, Principal Clerk, City Manager’s Office 2 CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE Ames Human Relations Commission: The Ames Human Relations Commission (AHRC) is seeking nominations for its annual Humanitarian Award. The award recognizes and honors a worthy individual whose contributions to our community demonstrate extraordinary quality, including efforts to promote diversity, fairness, and equality. To be eligible to receive the award, the nominee must be a resident of Ames. The Humanitarian Award application is available on the City’s website at www.cityofames.org/AHRC. The application deadline is Friday, December 10, 2021. Climate Action Plan: Earlier this year, the City of Ames began a climate action planning and goal-setting process to provide concrete recommendations and a target for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Climate Action Plans are comprehensive roadmaps that outline the specific activities an organization, region, or community will undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A community-wide GHG inventory was completed in 2020 and provides a foundation from which to build a Climate Action Plan (CAP) and inform community goals for reduction. A survey to generate feedback from Ames residents on GHG reduction goals as part of the City’s climate action planning is now available. Participants are asked to take the survey one time to share their thoughts on this part of the planning pro cess. The survey is available at https://confluence.mysocialpinpoint.com/ames-climate-action-plan/engagement/ and will remain available through 5 p.m. on Friday, December 10. Paper copies of the survey are available at the Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue. The survey asks questions a series of questions about Climate Action Plan (CAP) goal-setting priorities. There are also opportunities for open-ended comments. Information gathered from the survey will be presented to the Ames City Council prior to the next CAP workshop at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 21. Commission on the Arts: The City of Ames Arts Capital Grant Program is a competitive grant program for capital projects that create and improve spaces in Ames for arts and artists to flourish and contribute to making Ames a fun and vibrant community. 3 Applications are now being accepted through Friday, December 3. This pilot program provides competitive grants to create and improve spaces in Ames for arts and artists to flourish. The City Council has budgeted $200,000 in total for these grants. Complete program eligibility criteria and application forms can be obtained at https://www.cityofames.org/COTA. Public Art Commission: The Ames Public Art Commission is committed to creating a visual and aesthetic environment that incorporates art into the lives of all Ames citizens. One way the Commission does this is through the Neighborhood Sculpture Program. The Neighborhood Sculpture Committee is proposing the selection and placement of pieces of art currently on display in the Ames Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition in the Ames Main Street Cultural District. The Committee wishes to collaborate with any Ames neighborhood that might be interested in acquiring one of these works. The artwork must be displayed in a “public” area that is open and can be accessed by the citizens of Ames, such as a neighborhood park or cul-de-sac. Safety considerations for both drivers and pedestrians will be a deciding factor in placement of the piece. Applications are available at https://www.cityofames.org/PAC. The deadline to submit application is Friday, December 17. 4 FIRE The Ames Fire Department was successful in securing a grant through the Denis Leary Foundation in the amount of $11,125. The grant money will be used to purchase a Challenger Forcible Entry Door and Saw Tree training prop. The new training prop is portable and can be moved from the Ames Joint Police & Fire Training Site to the Police Department and to all three Fire Stations. The training prop encompasses multiple door security features that Police Officers and Fire Fighters train to overcome in order to gain entry into a property during an emergency. This month, Ames Fire Department members took part in multiple live fire training evolutions. The evolutions were timed and encompassed multiple training exercises from throughout the year into one, large training exercise. Crews had to use their training and equipment to make split-second decisions. The live fire training evolutions focused on search and rescue, fire suppression, forcible entry, ventilation and resource management. 5 LIBRARY Holidays and Gift Giving: Ames Public Library is building community awareness for services that could help with the gift-buying this season. The Library’s subscription to Consumer Reports Online gives cardholders free access to product reviews and more. For book-related gifts, our own staff members are the experts. Customers can fill out a Personalized Picks form for a custom list of books based on the reader’s likes and dislikes. Library staff have also created their annual gift book lists for various age groups and genres. And of course, Literary Grounds Bookstore—right in the Library’s lobby—is stocked with gently- used books, games, gift certificates, and more! Serving Voters: Library staff demonstrated their creativity and innovation—and a whole lot of team work—when the front of the Library was blocked on October 30 due to a police investigation outside. The Library remained open for business as usual and served as a satellite early voting site by routing customers and 509 voters through the back doors and staff areas. Luckily, there were no such complications on election day, when we served an additional 440 voters. Staff Day: This year, the Library added a second all staff day of learning on November 11. We discussed updates to our Strategic Plan work and built on our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work with a professional trainer. Several staff also attended the Symposium on Building Inclusive Organizations organized by the Chamber of Commerce, City of Ames and Iowa State University. Study Space for Students: The Library has set aside space during Dead Week and Finals Week for students of all ages to get some quiet study time in. Our regular study rooms are also available. 6 PARKS AND RECREATION Ada Hayden Fishing Pier Repairs: Woodruff Construction Company, Ames, Iowa completed the renovation of the Ada Hayden Heritage Park Fishing Pier. Snyder & Associates provided the engineering and the construction specifications. The project included removing six pilings, removing all deck boards and wood subframe and replacing with new, new handrails, and new concrete sidewalk approaches. A ribbon cutting event was held November 3. Photo by Jacob W. of Woodruff Construction Company 7 Cemetery: Parks and Recreation staff along with City Electric staff completed placement of three columbariums at Ames Municipal Cemetery as part of the Ames Municipal Cemetery Master Plan. This phase of the plan included adding two new columbariums along with moving a columbarium from its previous location near the 11th St. entrance. Other improvements include the construction of a shelter pavilion next spring to replace the stage that was used for many years for Memorial Day events. Franklin Park Improvements: Staff completed the finishing touches on the renovations at Franklin Park. Staff installed a new 20’x24’ shelter and pad, new two- bay swing, concrete playground border, and a fountain. In the spring of 2022, Public Works will be working with a contractor to install a new 10’ wide shared-use-path connecting the west side of Franklin Park to the new Baker Subdivision, former site of the Ames Middle School. A ribbon cutting event was held on November 1 which included City of Ames equipment on display as well as individuals handing out treats for attendees. Ice Arena: A new ice resurfacer was recently delivered to the Ames/ISU Ice Arena. City Council awarded a contract in June of 2020 and it took 17 months for production. Fe atures include an 8 upgraded laser ice leveling system, hydrostatic transmission, and stainless-steel hydraulic piping. The purchase was funded through the Ice Arena Capital Replacement Fund. Recreational Programs: A new session of Fitness classes began Monday, November 15 with a total of 445 registrations. There are 356 in person registrations, 67 virtual and 22 outdoors. A new session of Deep-Water Fitness classes began Tuesday, November 1 with 17 registrations. Classes are held twice a week at Ames High Municipal Pool. New programs at the Homewood Clubhouse are being offered with the first session of cribbage starting Wednesday, November 17 with 13 participants (picture below). Euchre started Monday, November 22 with 6 teams. Other programs are being developed and will start in 2022! Kindergarten-2nd grade basketball wrapped up last week. The staff had a great time working on the fundamentals of basketball with this energetic group of young athletes. The next session starts January 17 at Kate Mitchell Elementary school. 9 Tahira and Labh Hira Park Development: The renovations to Tahira and Labh Hira Park are nearing completion. All concrete has been laid which included a partial playground border, shelter pad, grill slab, walking path, and basketball pad. All turf areas disturbed by construction have been seeded. The shelter has been completed and is waiting for an electrician to complete the lighting. The basketball hoops, grills, benches, and water fountain are installed. Yet to be completed is the construction of the trash enclosure. A ribbon cutting will take place in the spring. 10 PUBLIC WORKS Traffic: New Safety Features Alert! The new Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon at 13th Street & Clark Avenue was activated in late November. Motorists traveling on 13th Street should remember to adhere to the operations of the hybrid beacon. When the signal is dark, motorists can proceed as normal. Flashing Yellow indicates that motorists shall prepare to stop or clear the intersection if they are already within the intersection. Solid Red indicates the crossing is active and all motorists shall remain stopped. Flashing Red indicates Pedestrian Clearance time and motorists may proceed if the crosswalk is clear. Clark Avenue will continue to operate as a 2-way stop as it has in the past. The only exception is that when the “DO NOT ENTER” sign is illuminated, Clark Avenue motorists shall remain stopped until the sign is blank. At that point motorists revert back to having a stop sign and need to yield to 13th Street traffic. 11 Bicycles traveling along Clark Avenue shall use the new ramps up to the path to activate the signal. Video detection is being used for bicycles, so they need to stop where indicated to activate the signal. Pedestrians traveling along Clark Avenue can activate the crossing using the pedestrian push buttons. Standard pedestrian walk and clearance interval lights will be displayed while the crossing is active. The Navigator Pedestrian Pushbutton System will assist anyone visually impaired with voice commands to cross 13th Street.