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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 03/26/2004 03/27MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA MARCH 26, 2004 The Ames City Council met in special session at 5:30 p.m. on the 26th day of March, 2004, in the Parks and Recreation Activity Room, 1500 Gateway Hills Park Drive, pursuant to law with Mayor Ted Tedesco presiding and the following Council members present: Goodhue, Goodman, Mahayni, Vegge, and Wirth. Council Member Cross arrived at 7:05 p.m. GOAL-SETTING SESSION: City Manager Steve Schainker facilitated this strategic-planning session. Mr. Schainker advised that the objective of this meeting was for the City Council, as a group, to identify those activities/tasks that all members of the team can agree to support, the end result to be unanimity of Council members on priorities and their willingness to take a proactive leadership role to ensure that they are accomplished. Each Council member gave his or her perspective on individual priorities, which of those priorities had been accomplished or not been accomplished, and shared his or her individual vision for the community. The meeting recessed at 7:32 p.m. and reconvened at 7:42 p.m. The Council members then identified their team vision for the community and their priorities for accomplishing the team vision. The City Council agreed to focus their energies on creating a community that: • is open and inclusive • is vibrant • fosters healthy and caring relationships among people with diverse perspectives • advances new ideas Council Member Mahayni left the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Team priorities were identified by the City Council as follows: • Commercial Revitalization (Downtown, Campustown, and other commercial areas) • Advancing the Bio-Economy Vision • Connecting our Community (with each other and with City government) • Strengthening our Residential Neighborhoods • Developing Affordable Housing Opportunities • Finalizing the Fringe Area Plan ADJOURNMENT: 10:00 p.m. ******************************************************************************** MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA MARCH 27, 2004 The Ames City Council met in special session at 7:00 a.m. on the 27th day of March, 2004, in the Parks and Recreation Activity Room, 1500 Gateway Hills Park Drive, pursuant to law with Mayor Ted Tedesco presiding and the following Council members present: Cross, Goodhue, Goodman, and Vegge. Council Member Wirth arrived at 7:10 a.m. Council Member Mahayni was absent. GOAL-SETTING SESSION: The meeting began with the Council members briefly reviewing the priorities set at last year’s goal-setting session held on November 19, 2002. The short-term tasks to accomplish the new team priorities were then identified, as follows: • Commercial Revitalization. - Within the next 30 days, the City Council will meet with the Downtown Cultural District Executive Committee to learn more about their overall plan. - No later than July 1, 2004, the City Council will meet to review this Cultural District Plan and develop an action plan in those areas where it is appropriate for them to take a leadership role in revitalizing the Downtown. • Advancing the Bio-Economy. - Within the next 60 days, the City Council will meet with representatives from ISU, Chamber of Commerce, Vision Steering Committee, and the Research Park to determine what other groups are doing to promote this economic development vision. - During this meeting, the City Council will explore the possibility of degree programs being created in the bio-technology-related areas. - Following this meeting, the City Council will develop a plan of action identifying those areas where it is appropriate for them to take a leadership role to accomplish the bio- economy vision for the community. • Connecting our Community. - The City Council will meet annually with the Government of the Student Body (GSB) at ISU (on the second Wednesday in September as recommended by the student representative on the City Council). - The City Council will receive the GSB meeting agendas. - The student representative on the City Council will make sure that the City Council is aware of important meetings and events sponsored by the students at ISU that would be of importance to the City. - A “City Government 101" program will be developed that will offer citizens of Ames an opportunity to learn more about the functions of their City Council and City departments. - Council Member Vegge agreed to work with the City Manager to develop a 2 concept for this program by June 30, 2004. - For major issues that appear to be controversial, the City Council agreed to delay making a final decision on the matter until the issue has been first discussed in a “round table or workshop” setting. It is expected that City staff will notify the City Council of any controversial issues. • Strengthening our Residential Neighborhoods. - No initial steps were identified. • Developing Affordable Housing Opportunities. - The City Council will utilize a major portion of the 2004/05 CDBG funding for housing program(s) that will benefit low- and moderate-income individuals. • Finalizing the Fringe Area Plan. - The City Council will meet with the Story County Supervisors and representatives of surrounding communities within the next 90 days to discuss the progress of the Fringe Area Plan. - The City Council will adopt a Fringe Area Plan by September 30, 2004. Mr. Schainker recommended that quarterly updates be held on the status of progress towards accomplishing these priorities. It was recommended by Council Member Vegge that these priorities and steps be laminated for each City Council member and that a copy of them be placed in the Council Chambers for public viewing. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 10:21 a.m. _______________________________ _______________________________ Diane Voss, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, Mayor 3