HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 10/19/1999MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA OCTOBER 19, 1999
The Ames City Council met in special session at 5:15 p.m. on the 19th day of October, 1999, at the Parks
and Recreation Administrative Office, 1500 Gateway Hills Park Drive, pursuant to law with Mayor Ted
Tedesco presiding and the following Council members present: Campbell, Cross, Hoffman, Parks.
CALL TO ORDER: 5:15 p.m.
REQUEST FROM ISU HOMECOMING COMMITTEE FOR FIREWORKS DISPLAY NORTH
OF MEMORIAL UNION ON OCTOBER 29, 1999: Moved by Cross,
seconded by Hoffman, to approve the request of the ISU Homecoming Committee for a fireworks
display north of Memorial Union to be held on October 29, 1999.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
REQUEST FROM ISU HOMECOMING COMMITTEE TO TEMPORARILY BLOCK
INTERSECTIONS AND STREET SECTIONS ALONG WELCH AVENUE AND STORM
STREET FOR THE ISU HOMECOMING PARADE TO BE HELD ON OCTOBER 29, 1999:
M o v e d b y
Campbell, seconded by Cross, to approve the request of the ISU Homecoming Committee to
temporarily block intersections and street sections along Welch Avenue (Lincoln Way to Storm Street)
and Storm Street (Welch Avenue to Stanton Avenue) for the ISU Homecoming parade on October 29,
1999, from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. subject to officials from the ISU Department of Public Safety or Ames
Police Department controlling traffic at the Lincoln Way/Welch Avenue intersection.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
FINAL PLAT FOR AMES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PARK, 3RD ADDITION: Moved by
Campbell, seconded by Hoffman, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 99-379 approving the final plat for the
Ames Community Development Park, 3rd Addition.
Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made
a portion of these minutes.
COMMENTS: Moved by Cross, seconded by Campbell, to refer to staff the letter from the First Christian
Church dated October 11, 1999, requesting that the City allow for a transfer of title to the abandoned
alley west of the Church.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Cross, seconded by Campbell, to refer to staff the letter from Attorney Jeremy C. Sharpe
dated October 12, 1999, requesting that the City abandon the utility easement under a portion of the
Daily Tribune building.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
CITY COUNCIL AND PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION WORKSHOP: Mayor
Tedesco introduced Beth Cross, Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Ms. Cross
introduced Jean Hagert Dow, Chuck Glotfelty, Brian Espeland, David Ferree, and Barb Peterson.
Commission Member Linda Emmerson was absent.
Kathleen Larson was introduced by Ms. Cross. Ms. Larson stated that she represented CD-DIAL, an
extension of the Sociology Department at Iowa State. CD-DIAL had been retained by the City to
conduct a survey of Ames residents, and subsequently analyze the data, concerning improvements
wanted or needed to the City’s recreational facilities. Ms. Larson advised the results of the survey and
how the analysis on the data was performed. She said that the data collected from the questionnaires
revealed a keen citizen interest in the development of a recreation center, an aquatic center, and trails
and paths.
Ms. Larson advised that CD-DIAL had also conducted four focus groups as part of the Recreation
Facilities Master Plan Study to help the City develop a master plan for recreation facilities through the
year 2030. She said the topics of discussion for the focus groups were derived from the results of the
quantitative survey questionnaires. These groups ranged in size from four to six individuals and were
comprised of people who were users of Ames recreation programs and/or facilities. A brief summary
of the focus group responses was presented by Ms. Larson. According to Ms. Larson, although the
focus group interviews do not produce a “scientific” survey, they are very useful in finding out what
people think and why they feel as they do.
Members present were advised by Ms. Larson that opinions expressed by the public were mixed as to
whether the City should attempt to share construction and operational costs with the Ames School
District. She said that some people felt that was the only way to make the projects affordable, but
others argued that a joint project would result in scheduling conflicts and an inability to accommodate
the needs of all age groups. According to Ms. Larson, most people favored retaining the existing City
Hall location for a gymnasium and other recreational activities.
Beth Cross advised that the Commission looked at all the information obtained from a variety of
sources before making their recommendation, i.e., the survey, the focus groups, and input offered
during user group meetings and the public meeting. She said that the Commission members also talked
to a lot of people in the community who had not been involved in any of the public meetings to
ascertain their opinions.
Council Member Parks left the meeting at 6:08 p.m.
Ms. Cross said that the Parks and Recreation Commission is recommending future recreation facility
development as follows:
2000 to 2010:
Multi-use recreation center (could include gyms, fitness/weight room, climbing wall, walking
track, etc.) with an attached aquatic center (could be an indoor and/or outdoor facility with
slides, zero depth entry, diving well, competitive pool basin, children’s splash pool, sand
volleyball courts, etc.).
Additional multi-use trails incorporated into the park system.
Skate park.
When asked how the fundraising was coming for the skate park, Nancy Carroll, Director of Parks and
Recreation advised that no private contributions have been received to date.
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Ms. Cross explained that if the Council concurs with the Commission’s recommendation, they would
like to conduct additional meetings with community groups (neighborhood and civic groups) and hold
more focus group and public meetings to determine the specific components of a multi-use recreation
and aquatic center. Based on the input received from those meetings, the Commission would then
address capital and operational cost estimates and location issues. Ms. Cross said the Commission
would also meet with other agencies, e.g., ISU, the School District, Mary Greeley Medical Center, and
the County, to assess their level of interest in partnering with the City to construct the multi-use
recreation and aquatic center.
Council Member Campbell asked to hear from Ray Richardson, the Ames Community School District
Deputy Superintendent, who was in attendance, as to the potential for a joint facility. Mr. Richardson
advised that he believes the School Board and administration think that it would be a mistake for the
two entities to not partner together regarding recreational facilities. He said that the School District
is keeping in mind that additional land will be needed to accommodate joint facilities when they are
attempting to find a site for a new middle school or high school. Mr. Richardson said that officials
from the School District will be happy to meet with City officials once they have determined a site and
have a plan in mind. Nancy Carroll said that timing may be a problem as the City may want to move
forward prior to the School Board being ready to commit to such a partnership. Mr. Richardson
believes that a decision as to the site and plan will be made by the School District between November
1999 and April 2000. Beth Cross indicated that the Commission has not set a timeframe; they really
want to make sure they hear what the public wants. Council Member Quirmbach feels that it is
important for the City to keep in communication with the School District.
Chuck Glotfelty offered his personal opinion that there is ample land surrounding the current Parks
and Recreation Administrative Office for the multi-use recreation and aquatic center. He also feels
that the potential exists for such a center to be built in stages.
Commission Chairperson Cross said they are asking for the Council’s concurrence with their
recommendation for future recreation facility development.
Moved by Quirmbach, seconded by Cross, to accept the recommendation of the Commission and
approve their request to proceed.
Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 6:17 p.m.
_________________________________ ________________________________________
Diane Voss, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, Mayor
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