HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 06/20/1996OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA JUNE 20, 1996
The Ames City Council met in Special Session on the 20th day of June, 1996, at 5:10 p.m. in the
City Council Chambers, 515 Clark, pursuant to law with Mayor Larry Curtis presiding and the
following Council Members present: Campbell, Hoffman, Quirmbach, Tedesco, and Wirth. Coun.
Parks was absent.
FIREWORKS PERMIT FOR IOWA MOTOR TRUCK ASSOCIATION: Motion by Tedesco,
Second by Hoffman, to approve request from Iowa Motor Truck Association for fireworks
permit for June 20, 1996 at Holiday Inn, Gateway Center, at approximately 9:00 p.m.
Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
PROPOSAL FOR URBAN REVITALIZATION AREA NO. SIX: Planning and Housing
Director Brian O'Connell reviewed the Staff Report and proposed time line for the process
involved in establishing an urban revitalization district.
The Council Members discussed their wish to have public input allowed at the time of first
reading of the ordinance, in addition to the July 23 public hearing on the proposed designation
and plan.
Motion by Tedesco, Second by Campbell, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 96-270 proposing Urban
Revitalization Area No. Six, directing preparation of Plan, drafting of ordinance, and setting July
23, 1996 as date of public hearing.
Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by
the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes.
AUTHORIZATION OF SOUTH FOURTH STREET BRIDGE REPAIR PROJECT: Motion
by Tedesco, Second by Hoffman, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 96-269 approving preliminary
plans & specifications for South 4th Street Bridge Repair Project; setting July 17, 1996 as bid
due date and July 23, 1996 as date of hearing and award of contract.
Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by
the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes.
FINAL PRESENTATION ON DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PLAN: Craig Amundsen
and Dave Showalter, BRW, Inc., presented the consultants' recommendations on the Downtown
Redevelopment Plan.
Mayor Curtis left the meeting at 5:50 p.m., and Coun. Campbell assumed the role of
Chairperson.
Mr. Amundsen reviewed a handout entitled "Estimated Project Funding Requirements for
Implementation," listing the projects by priority and estimated budget range. Mr. Showalter
noted the Council would receive the Implementation Strategy Report from Urbanics, Ltd. shortly
in draft form, and said the report would later be bound as part of the Plan.
The Council Members discussed the Plan and asked questions of the consultants.
Coun. Campbell asked for public input at this time.
Kathryn Zimmerman, 824 Kellogg, said she had moved to Ames last September and had picked
Ames over many other places to be her home. She said she was very partial to the way Ames
is at present, and felt it had a unique character. She said she hoped the Council will consider a
plan for Downtown that involves the least amount of change, and said it has been her experience
that "improvements" often have undesired consequences, such as increased costs of living and
higher crime rates. She suggested statistics on such consequences be studies if they are
available.
Rose Rollenhagen, RR2, said she was President of the Ames Farmers' Market. She said the
Market vendors would be concerned if there was consideration of combining the proposed
Market Pavilion with the proposed Civic Center on the east of City Hall site, as there would not
be enough parking available. She said at least 150 parking spaces were needed for Market
customers. She said she was concerned about the proximity of trains in the area south of Tom
Evans Plaza, and suggested some sort of sound barrier should be considered.
Motion by Quirmbach, Second by Hoffman, to accept the report, with the anticipation that the
Implementation Strategies report would be sent soon under separate cover, and that bicycle paths
and routes would be added to the Plan as discussed during tonight's meeting.
Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
COMMENTS AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Motion by Quirmbach, Second by Tedesco,
that a request received from Dick and Diane Roseland regarding traffic sight lines be referred
to Staff.
Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Coun. Quirmbach said he felt it might be an appropriate time for Staff to meet with flood-
affected businesses and inform them of some of the options discussed by the Flood Study
consultants for flood-proofing of buildings. He said the Chamber of Commerce had indicated
an interest in helping Staff conduct such meetings.
Coun. Hoffman said she had been out of state the past weekend, but wished to compliment Staff
for their hard work during the June 16 and 17 floods.
Coun. Hoffman said she had received concerns regarding trains parking for a long time behind
Eisenhower Avenue. There was discussion that if the trains were on the Union Pacific's right-of-
way, and not blocking the City's streets, they were not in the City's jurisdiction. City Manager
Steve Schainker said Staff would look into the matter however.
Coun. Tedesco said he too wished to thank citizens and Staff for their volunteer efforts, patience,
and cooperation during this week's flood episodes. He noted he had met with Governor Branstad
yesterday during the Governor's tour of the area, and said the possibility of establishing a
matching fund incentive program for businesses to construct flood-proofing improvements had
been discussed.
City Manager Steve Schainker said there were predictions of continued heavy rains in the next
several days, and he encouraged citizens to maintain the sandbags around their properties and
stay tuned to KASI radio for updates on possible flash flood episodes.
Coun. Wirth said she had received a phone call from a citizen wanting to know where a copy of
the draft Downtown Development Plan could be obtained, and wished to make certain Staff
would make copies available to the public upon request.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Sandra L. Ryan, City Clerk Larry R. Curtis, Mayor