HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - March 26, 2025, Joint Meeting of the Ames City Council and Iowa State University Student Government, Full MinutesThis joint meeting was called to order by Quinn Margrett at 5:06 PM.
● Roll Call
● Pledge of Allegiance
● Program
○ Welcome message from Mayor Hailia and President Hursh:
■ Mayor Hailia:
● We cherish the relationship we have
● We are more connected this year due to Emily
○ She has been dedicated to this job, and we appreciate it
● Looking forward to the conversation
■ President Hursh:
● Thank you to Emily as well as the city council
○ Run-through of the meeting agenda from Vice-President Margrett
■ 30 minutes each section
● Open Forum:
○ N/A
● Adopting the Agenda:
○ Moved and seconded
● Open Discussion:
○ Rachel Junck:
■ Campustown is a very important place in our community
■ Live, shop, play, and interact within the community
■ Fire station will be relocated off of Welch Ave within the next five years
■ What is your vision for Campus Town?
● Hursh: More diverse dining options, such as Raising Canes
● Snyder: A lot of people like the accessibility of the bars, and then
the people who live there are sometimes irritated with the people
who do go to the bars. What are your ideas for this area?
● Beatty-Hansen: It is dependent on the time of year. We are looming
over several parts of town to change how housing looks, especially
south of campus, which could use redevelopment. We can only
encourage rather than demand.
● Rollins: We aren’t developers, but there are things we can do to
encourage students and the remainder of the community to take
advantage of the area.
● Gartin: I think Campus Town looks as rough as it has in recent
years. We’ve had some challenges with homeless people on Welch.
There is only so much we can do, but hopefully, the chamber
alliance will help this be a place of belonging
● Halia: We are looking to incorporate more festivals or things to
celebrate, such as Chinese New Year. The council is not taking the
lead on that but wants to ensure that the partnerships you make can
be successful, such as temporarily closing roads.
● Pursley: A lot of students feel the loss of the CVS; it is a lot more
difficult for students to get groceries or medicine, etc.
○ Rollins: Council connect is a way for council members to speak with you about
topics that are of interest. This could happen anywhere, we are interested in
getting to know you and connecting around issues. Issues such as food insecurity
or unhoused students. We are willing to come to events and learn as well as speak.
We would love to connect with you if you speak another language so that we can
make sure everyone is heard. Where can we connect with students?
■ Schmitt: I think the Know Your Leaders event would be a good way to
connect you with the students
■ Snyder: One of the new programs the library is doing is the Cyclone
Support Days, and there has been lots of foot traffic and engagement. You
can meet people who need help (such as financial help).
■ Halia: I think this will be wonderful for others to hear each other speak
who are not in government
○ Pursley: Have you been facing budget cuts, and how has that impacted Ames?
■ Our major concern is making cities hold the line on expenditures. This
will impact local government, and it is tough to prepare for as there are
many different legislations. If the property tax is lowered, so too are the
services provided by the city. The question then becomes, what do you
want to cut in order to lower your taxes? The university is under the same
restrictions, and we are hoping to work through those.
■ Gartin: The federal government and DOGE have been aggressively cutting
services. This could look like a loss of employment in a thoughtless
manner for people who are doing a good job, such as the Ames Laboratory
and CyRide.
■ Halia: We are concerned about the cost of the new aquatic center,
specifically the maintenance. We want to build more facilities, but the
ongoing costs make us uneasy.
■ Junck: Even if you rent, you are indirectly paying property taxes, so I
encourage you all to continue to stay aware, as student advocacy is
important. This could cause talent to stay or leave.
● Downtown Engagement:
○ Momaney: I’m from Des Moines, and we have community gardens. I think this
would be something interesting in the downtown area so people learn how to
grow their own food.
○ Beatty-Hansen: We do have community gardens, but they are not downtown. The
library does seed exchanges, and that would be a good resource.
○ Pursley: Are you willing to work with student organizations to help them get
involved in Pride Fest?
■ Cassandra: The Ames Pride Organization is the one who does Ames Pride
Fest, so look to them if you would like to get connected. It is a partnership,
so we would love to hear from the community.
■ Gartin: the legislature is eroding the concept of home rule, the idea that the
city gets to decide how they run. We want this community to be a
welcoming one, regardless of legislation. ⅔ of our counties in Iowa are
declining in population, and the people here are getting older. We want to
encourage people to come here and stay here. Not everyone that comes
here is going to look and think like me, so we need to find out how we can
create a welcome state.
○ Gartin: Our new vision includes more options for housing in downtown, which
comes with new parking. There are a lot of cost benefits we have to have in mind.
A hotel or downtown living in the Link will be catalytic for downtown as well as
businesses. We are doing this for the next generation to hopefully stay in Ames.
○ Halia: We are looking at doing small things that create excitement, such as the
ability to open-carry alcohol in limited areas. It will take a substantial amount of
private investment, but it will be a great tool.
○ Neal: What logistically can we offer to make this process of festivals something
easier to accomplish?
■ Gartin: Some organizations are looking for funding, and we provide some
level of funding. Depending on the level of events, there are different
barriers to entry.
■ Halia: Advocating for and with the events would be very helpful. We need
manpower to help the policy we can pass.
● Climate Action Plan and Sustainability:
○ Beatty-Hansen: the action plan was put in place last year with seven
implementation steps. We want to increase our solar and wind power, so a
potential wind farm or something like that. There is a task force made up of
people all over Ames to drive our climate action plan.
○ Halia: Unless each one of us looks to make everyone feel welcome, we can set
policy but it has to be a matter of individual change. I’m interested in what we can
do to help you all?
■ Snyder: I live on Wood St and there are normally cans on the street. We
take sustainability very seriously so we drive to the resource center once
every other week. Other strategic locations could get us more progress, but
I am working on that as a personal project.
● Ames Boards and Commissions:
○ Boland: The transit board has two senate seats, which are currently myself and
Erik. There are a lot of different boards that would allow you to get involved and
know more about these boards and commissions.
○ Hursh: I think going to student organizations would be very helpful, as there are
many organizations that would be interested in speaking with you directly.
○ Halia: We have 19 different boards and commissions that have a wide range of
responsibilities. There are many ways for people to get involved, although some
of them have certain qualifications or backgrounds.
○ Junck: There is a virtual option, so cars are not required. There are opportunities
for students, there are a lot more people than student government to get volunteer
experiences. Our local affairs committee would be a great place to start if you
have any ideas.
○ Rowles: We have been trying to get students more involved in the Ames
committee and getting these boards out there.
○ Butler: Creating a one-year internship may incentivise people who already have to
complete a capstone project and may be a way to help people incentivise
involvement.
● Closing Comments:
○ Boland: I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do for this term. Let me know
if I can refer you to the right people.
○ Halia: Thank you for giving us two hours of your evening. We appreciate hearing
from you and if you have any ideas please let us know. I encourage you to stay in
Ames after graduation.
○ Margrett: I am so proud of the relationship we have started this year and hope this
is the start of a long