HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Regular Meeting of the Ames City Council 12/10/2002MINUT ES OF THE REGULAR ME E T ING
O F TH E A M ES C ITY C O U N C IL
A M ES , IO W A D EC EM BE R 10, 2002
The A m es City Council m et in regular session at 7:00 p.m . on the 10th day of D ecem ber, 2002, in the
C ity Cou ncil Cham bers in C ity H all, 515 C lark A venue, pursuant to law w ith M ayor T ed T edesco
presiding and the follow ing C ou ncil m em bers present: C ross, G oo dh ue, H offm an, Q uirm bach, V egge,
W irth.
M ayor T edesco m ade the follow ing ann o u n c e m ents: (1) U nd er the C on sent A gend a, Item N o. 4
pertaining to setting the A m es H ou sing G ov erning Board m eeting d a te h a s b een p ulled. (2) U nd er
P lann ing & H ou sin g, Item s 12 , 1 3 , a n d 1 4 r e lating to tex t chan ges to the Lan d U se P olicy P lan to
incorporate the policies of the adopted South Lincoln Sub-A r ea Plan; an am endment to the Zoning
O rdinance and rezoning property located along S outh 2 , 3 , and 4 S treets betw een Sherm an Avenuendrdth
and the w est side of W alnut A venue; and an am endment to the Zoning O rdinance and rezoning
property located along the east side of Sherm an A venue north of S outh 3 S treet, respectively, haverd
been pulled and w ill be reschedu led for Januar y 14, 20 03. He also pointed o ut that a letter fr om
E ugen e H arris had been placed aroun d the dais as had an agend a for the Joint F un ders m eeting.
CONSENT AGENDA: Moved by Goodhue, seconded by Hoffman, to approve the following items
on the Consent Agenda:
1.Motion approving payment of claims
2.Motion approving minutes of the regular meeting of November 26, 2002
3.Motion approving renewal of the following beer permits/liquor licenses:
a.Class C Liquor - Aunt Maude's, 543 & 547 Main Street
b.Class C Beer - Casey's General Store, 428 Lincoln Way
c.Class C Liquor & Outdoor Service Privilege - Cazador Mexican Restaurant, 127 Dotson
Drive
d.Class C Beer - Char's, 3100 S. Duff Avenue
e.Class C Beer & Class B Wine - Cub Foods, 3121 Grand Avenue
f.Class C Beer - Kwik Shop #542, 125 Sixth Street
g.Class C Liquor & Outdoor Service Privilege - O'Malley & McGee's Mexican Café,
716 South Duff Avenue
h.Class C Liquor - Tip Top Lounge, 201 E. Lincoln Way
4.RESOLUTION NO. 02-606 rescinding date of public hearing set for 1305 Coconino Road
Urban Revitalization Area
5.RESOLUTION NO. 02-607 approving request to subordinate the second mortgage lien for
property located at 916 First Street, Nevada, in connection with the Ames/Story County
Partnership Affordable Housing Program
6.RESOLUTION NO. 02-608 accepting completion of Ball Plastics Rail Extension Project
7.Westwood Subdivision, Plat 3:
a.RESOLUTION NO. 02-609 approving Covenant for Assessment of Costs of Improvements
b.RESOLUTION NO. 02-610 approving Major Final Plat
Roll Call V ote: 6-0. Resolutions declared adopted unanim ously, signed by the Mayor, and her eby m ade
a portion of these m inu tes.
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P U BL IC FO R U M: M erlin Pfann ku ch , 1 4 24 K ellog g A venu e, A m es, Iow a, ask ed the C ity Co un cil
to reco nsider its m o tion to app oint the C ou ncil m em ber for the F ou rth W ard . H e said that h e felt
it w as an em barrassm ent that a m em ber of the public needed to point o ut that to appoint the
represen tative is no t a good ex am ple of dem ocracy. M r. Pfann ku ch said that this m ay be seen as
a cunning w ay to keep anyone w ho m ay seriously question things off the Council. In his opinion,
it is curiou s that the one person w ho applied for the open ing applied b efore the C ou ncil decided
h ow it w as go ing to proce e d . H e is up set tha t th e City’s W eb site has n o inform ation ab ou t a
pen ding vacancy on the C ity Cou ncil or on ho w to apply for the v acant seat. M r. P fannku ch
re feren ced t h e recent City Side article on applying for Boards and Com m issions, yet w hen the
com m unity is faced with this m ajor decision, the C ouncil m oves to cut off public discussion of
the iss ues in fav or o f an ap p o in tm en t. H e said this is no t a goo d w ay to encou rage dem ocracy.
M r. Pfann ku ch also spo ke abo ut the C ity’s cam paign to reach 5 0,000 popu lation in the Censu s;
h e feels that a new C ou ncil m em ber w ill use the “goo d ‘o le bo ys and girls” netw ork. It seem s to
him that the Fourth W ard is entitled to elect its Council m em ber. M r. Pfannkuch advised that he
knows of som e people w ho are no longer bothering to apply for any City Boards or Com m issions
as they have applied repeatedly and never been chosen. H e feels that the City Council does not
understand fair process and how their actions appear to people w ho do not agree w ith them . M r.
P fan nk uch s aid th at the c ost o f a sp ecial election , i.e., estimated at $2 ,7 00 , is ap proximately two
p ercent of the cu rr en t C ity M an ager’s salar y o r sligh tly u nd er th e amou nt of h is last raise. He
pointed out that a special election w ould cost approxim ately a nickel per resident, and he
com pared the cost of the recent N ational Leag u e o f Cities Conference attended by the M ayor;
C ou ncil M em bers C ross, G oo dh ue, H offm an, V egge; and the City M anager to the cost of a special
election. M r. Pfannkuch asked that the Council reconsider its m otion at their D ecem ber 17 th
m eeting and m ov e to hold an election . A bsen t that, M r. Pfann ku ch said h e h o ped that enou gh
residents of the Fourth W ard would com e forw ar d to p etition for a special election.
Jes s E ide , 70 3-16 th S treet, A m es, said he believ es th at the “o ver-occu pancy” ord inan ce is
im m oral, un -C hristian, and un-A m erican. H e feels tha t the fact tha t the City C ou ncil b ro ugh t th is
on is a betrayal of goo d faith o f the sam e stud ents w ho m they app ealed to less than three years ago
to list Ames as their p lace o f residence. Mr. E id e feel s that the fact th at the ord in an ce became
effective just tw o m on ths after m ost stud en ts had m o ved in an d sign ed their leases is disresp ectful.
H e said to target those w ho can’t afford to live w ith few er than tw o roomm ates is not right and
should be an em barrassm ent for the City of A m es. M r. Eide also feels that the tenants should not
b e h eld resp on sib le to kn ow the zo ning law s o f a city su ch as A m es; if they are, h e feels that is
show ing h ow inh osp itable the C ity is to the sam e stud ents that they tried to attract.
M ayor T ed esc o again clarified that the W ard-eligible vo ters m ay p etition for a special election if
they so desire. H e stated that on e of the m ain reason s the C ou ncil considered appointm ent w as
the fact that notice has to be given to the C ou nty A ud itor 60 days prior to the election date after
a vacancy occurs; that vacancy w ill occur on January 2, 2003. The election could then be held no
earlier than M arch 2, 2003; that w ould take them completely through the budgeting process of the
City, and it is the feeling of the Council that the Fourth W ard should be represented and part of
that process. M ayor Tedesco r eiterated that this does n ot pr eclude 94 eligible registered voters
from that W ard petitioning for a special election.
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CLAS S C L IQUOR L ICE NS E FOR T HE CAFÉ , 261 6 NORT HRIDGE PARKW AY: M oved by
G oodhue, seconded by Cross, to approve the application for a new Class C Liquor License for The
C afé, 2 6 16 N or th ridge P ar kw ay.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
CLASS C B EE R PERM IT AN D CLASS B W INE PERM IT FOR HYV EE W INE & SPIRITS ,
3 61 5 LINCOL N W AY: M ov ed by Cross, secon ded by G oo dh ue, to appro ve the app lication for a new
C lass B W in e P erm it for H yV ee W in e & S p ir its , 3 6 15 Lin coln W ay.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
G . C A L V IN RIN GG EN BER G C ON D ITION A L BEQU EST: Moved b y Ho ffman , secon ded by
C ross, to reject the beq uest for p lacem ent o f flow ers, and su ggest that a tree or ben ch b e purchased
in M r. R inggenb erg’s m em o ry for placem ent in the cem etery.
C ou ncil M em b er Q uirm b ach ex p lained that the W ill of G . C alv in R ing gen berg w as w ritten in
1958, at a dollar figure that is not consistent w ith today’s cost of flow ers. H e pointed to the
im portance of honoring the bequest that had been m ade, and he hoped that the City w ould make
their best efforts to consult w ith any surviving m em bers of the fam ily as to the best disposition
of the proceeds in honor of M r. Ringgenberg. City A ttorney John Klaus advised that it w ill be up
to the trustee of the estate to decide w hat can be done w ith the pro ceeds.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
HEA R IN G O N SOU TH D U FF AR EA STOR M SEW ER R E C O N STR U C TION PRO JECT,
PHASE II (FROM SOUTH 3 ST REET AND HIGH AV ENUE TO W ES T OF S OUTH DU FFRD
A V E N U E O N SO U TH 2 ST R E ET : M ayor Tedesco opened the public hearing. T her e being no oneND
w ishing to speak, the hearing w as closed.
M ov ed by H offm an, seconded by Cross , to adopt R E S O LU T IO N N O . 02-6 12 app rov ing final
plans and specifications and aw arding a contract to KRI Com pany of A m es, Iow a, in the am ount
of $450,779.
Roll Call V ote: 6-0. R esolution declared adopted unanim ously, signed by the M ayor, and hereby
m ade po rtion of these m inu tes.
HEA R IN G O N SE 2 STREET PA V IN G PR OG R A M (SU M N ER AVENUE TO KINGSBURYND
A V E N U E A N D K IN G S BU R Y A V EN U E FR O M S E 2 S T R E ET T O L IN C O LN W A Y ): TheND
hearing w as opened by M ayor T edesco .
C larence M artin , 21 8 S ev en th S tree t, A m es, Iow a, stated that he w as o n e of the petition er s for this
Paving Program . M r. M artin said that he feels this is a good project for the City of A m es and the
local com m un ity. H e realizes that this P aving Program is expe n sive, but he do esn’t think that
the re w ill be a tim e w hen this project w ill hav e m ore sup po rt from the prop erty ow n ers. H is
property receives a lot of dirt and gr avel run-off fr om properties at higher elevations, and he thinks
pav ing w ill im pro ve all pro perties in that area.
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G ladys Peter, 519 M arley, Story City, Iow a, expressed her objection to this Paving Progr am . She
said she and her h usb and, W ilm er, feel that it w ou ld only be beneficial to tho se initiating it. M s.
P eter sub m itted a letter listing their ob jection s for the record . S he pointed out that the tax
ass essm ent fo r their p ro perty sp read ov er a ten -year p eriod w ill b ring the an nu al tax du e o n this
p ro perty (v alued at $63 ,2 00 ) to $3,37 3.48 (fo r the prev iou s p av ing pro ject) plus $4,10 0 (fo r th is
tax levy). In M s. Peter’s opinion, this assessm ent w ill create a tr em endou s financial bur den o n
her and h er husban d as w ell as the o ther p rop erty ow ners in the area.
The M ayor closed sam e after no one else w ished to speak.
Mov ed by Go od hu e, s econ ded b y Cro ss, to ado pt th e final RE S OLUT ION OF N E CE S S IT Y NO.
02-592.
Roll Call V ote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanim ously, signed by the M ayor, and hereby
m ade a portion of these m inu tes.
M oved by G oodhue, seconded by Cross, to adopt RES O LU TIO N N O . 02-6 12 appr oving the
C ov enan t for A ssessm ent of C osts of Im pro vem ents.
Roll Call V ote: 6-0. R esolution declared adopted unanim ously, signed by the M ayor, and her eby
m ade po rtion of these m inu tes.
ORDINANCE RE P EALING S E CT ION 1 .7 OF THE CIT Y CODE P ERTAININ G TO T HE
C ITY FL A G : J. A . “E arl” F ranz, 307 Orange, A m es, stated that he suppo rted the repealing of Se ction
1 .7 of the C ity Co de pertaining to the C ity flag. M r. F ra nz gav e the history b eh ind the co rp orate
logo flag. H e read a letter from K athy S vec, C hair o f the A m es P ub lic A rt C om m ission , w ritten
after V ete r a n ’s D a y 1 9 9 5, that referen ced his allegation that the pro cedu re used by the D aily
T ribune to select a flag design for the C ity of A m es did not include input from the public. M r.
Franz pointed out that one of his principal objections at that tim e w as that the m em bers of the
E ditorial Board of the Tribu ne w ere no t residen ts of the C ity. H e also read ex cerpts from the C ity
Side dated M arch/A pril 1997, w hich referenced “banners” displaying the C ity’s new logo b eing
flow n at C ity b uildings. M r. F ranz ad vised that the C ou nty has a policy in p lace that the F acilities
S u p ervisor m ay au th orize flyin g th e flag at h alf staff up on th e d eath of a C o un ty em p lo yee. He
po inted ou t that according to the A m es City C ou ncil, this is con trary to federal law , i.e., the flag
m ay only be displayed at half staff w hen the P residen t or G ov erno r declares it. M r. F ranz sees
this as th e C ou nty em ployees bein g placed at a sp ecial status on their flag po le; this is essentially
the problem that he has w ith the corporate logo flag of the City of A m es. H e feels it seem s to put
the C ity em ployees at special status. In discussions w ith m any C ity em ployees, he believes that
the y w o uld prefer to hav e a flag that rep resen ts their n eighb ors and their fam ilies, no t m er ely
the m selves as em ployees . M r. F ran z ad vised that he can find no preced en t for a m u nicipa lity to
be displaying a corporate logo instead of an o fficial city flag.
M ayor T edesco su ggested to M r. F ran z , if he really has an inte r es t in p u r su ing an official C ity
flag, that he contact the Public A rt Com m ission to see they have an interest. M r. Franz said he
felt it w ould be the process that w ou ld get the City a good flag. H e asked what m akes the
corporate logo flag so im po rtant that it is necessary to be flow n. M ayor Tedesco said that it w as
the C ity’s cho ice.
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M oved by G oodhue, seconded by W irth, to pass on first reading an ordinance repealing Section
1.7 of the C ity Cod e pertaining to the City flag.
R oll C all V ote: 6 -0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
ORDINANCE ES TABLISHING PARKING REGULATIONS IN LONGVIEW SUBDIVIS ION,
1 A D D ITIO N : M ov ed b y W irth, seconded by Cross, to pass on second reading an ordinanceST
establishing parking regulations in Longview Subdivision, 1 A ddition.st
R oll C all V ote: 6 -0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
ORDINANCE E S T AB L IS HING P ARKI NG R E G U L A T IO N S IN S O U T H F ORK
S U B D IV ISIO N : Mo ved by Hoffman, seco nd ed by W irth, to pass on th ird read in g ORDINANCE NO.
3695 establishing parking regulations in South Fork Subdivision.
R oll C all V ote: 6-0 . O rdinan ce declared ado pted un anim ou sly, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
m ade a portion of the se m inu tes.
COM M ENTS : M ayor T ed esc o suggested that the City Coun cil co nsider setting a special m eetin g w ith
the Ex ecutive Cabinet of the G overnm ent of the Student Bo dy to get their input on the “over-
occupancy” issue. H e stated that there is also a p ossibility of bringing together the Student
C ou ncil, w hich is com prised of m any organ ization s and residen ce halls.
M oved by V egge, seconded by Cross, to direct staff to schedule a special m eeting w ith the
E x ecutive Cabinet of the G overnm ent of the Student Body to get their input on the “over-
occupan cy” issue and the prop erty m aintenance ordinance.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
M ov ed by W irth, secon ded by H offm an, to sch edule the first reading of the p rop erty m aintenance
ordinance on the City Council’s agenda for January 14, 2003.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
S teve S chainker pointed out that the City Co uncil had form erly directed the City M anager to w ork
with neighborhood groups, property ow ners, and stud ents, on the “ov er-occupan cy” ordinance and
report back to C ou n cil b y Janu ary 28 . H e po inted ou t that because stud ents are inv olved, they
m ay not be able to have their first m eeting until after January 15 (follow ing the holiday break).
M r. Schainker advised that he is w orking on getting at least three student representatives to w ork
on this com m ittee, and the D ean o f S tud ents suggested that his office provide the nam es for tho se
representatives. Council concurred that staff should proceed.
M oved by H offm an, secon ded by G oodhue, to refer to staff the follow ing: letter from Eugene
H arris dated Decem ber 10, 2002, and letter from Bill and Julie H aas dated Decem ber 3, 2002.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
M oved by Cross, seconded by G oodh ue, to m ove the budget hearing from February 4 to F ebruary
3, 2003.
V ote on M otio n: 6-0 . M o tion d eclared ca rr ied un an im o usly.
A D JO U R N M E N T : 7:50 p.m.
_______________________________________________________________________
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D iane V oss, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, M ayor