HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 09/17/1991MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA SEPTEMBER 17, 1991
The Ames City Council met in special session at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17, 1991, in
Conference Room #235 of the City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Curtis
presiding and the following members present: Campbell, Hoffman, Parks, and Wirth. Council
Members Brown and Hertz arrived late.
SOFTFORCE, INC.: Moved by Parks, seconded by Campbell, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 91-
345 approving amendments to the current Revolving Loan Fund contract between the City of
Ames and SoftForce, Inc. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously,
signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes.
ISU RESEARCH PARK: Moved by Wirth, seconded by Campbell, to adopt RESOLUTION NO.
91-346 approving the P-I Plan Amendment for the Wayne R. Moore Technology Transfer
Building No. 2, Phase 2, at the ISU Research Park with the following stipulations:
1. That an easement be described and recorded for the water main extension prior to
occupancy of the building addition.
2. That any industrial use comply with any requirements for waste disposal in the sewer and
industrial pre-treatment requirements of the City, the Iowa Department of Environmental
Quality and/or the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Proper permits and
approvals shall be received prior to issuance of building permits.
Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and
hereby made a portion of these minutes.
Council Members Hertz and Brown arrived.
WORKSHOP ON STREET ISSUES: City Manager Schainker emphasized that the Council
would only be briefed on street issues at this meeting and no decisions would need to be made.
Paul Wiegand, Director of Public Works, provided the Council with information about
engineering fees charged by the City for Special Assessment Projects. The Council
discussed the possibility of allowing developers to use private engineers for special
assessment projects, with the City retaining inspection rights, to help lower the costs of
such projects.
Mr. Wiegand also educated the Council on default fees for special assessment projects and
suggested that the City develop a policy such that if the method of interim financing does not
involve the sale of special assessment bonds, the default fund collection would be based on 2%
rather than the existing level of 10%. If the project were to be financed with special assessment
bonds, then the default fund should be set at 10% of the construction cost to insure the lowest
rate possible on the bonds.
Mr. Schainker and Mr. Wiegand educated the Council on the sidewalk safety program. They
discussed the possibility of developing a policy statement requiring properties that do not have
sidewalks, but are in blocks where the other properties have walks, to construct sidewalks during
their inspection year of the six year cycle. Those areas of full blocks without sidewalks would
stay as is unless petitions were filed in accordance with the present policy. It was the consensus
of the Council to leave the Sidewalk Safety Program as it is now and not require fill-in sidewalks
unless petitions are filed.
Mr. Schainker updated the Council on the Utility Relocation Policy and suggested that the
Council might want to direct Staff to prepare a policy statement for Council action to require all
utilities, including the City, to cover the cost of relocation of their facilities in public right-of-
way when they conflict with street construction. The Council agreed that Staff should do so.
When Mr. Wiegand explained how the City sometimes shares part of the expense for new
development in situations where oversized utilities are required, he pointed out that if the total
cost of the project is more than $25,000, the bidding process must be used, even if the City's
share is very small. This slows down the project and may increase its cost. Mayor Curtis said
that he would contact the League of Iowa Municipalities about this matter and look into getting
that requirement changed so that the bidding process would have to be initiated only if the City's
share of the whole project was over $25,000.
Mr. Wiegand summarized street design standards for the Council including sub-bases, sub-
drains, paving thickness, and street widths. He commented that he has been working with the
Cy-Ride Director to come up with ideas on how to prolong street life. The Council agreed that
an upgrade of pavement standards should be considered and that discussions should continue
with Cy-Ride to work on solutions to minimize City costs for street construction.
As part of the Street Condition Report, Mr. Wiegand showed slides of various streets in Ames
and gave their Pavement Condition Index (PCI), a score derived from a rating system that was
developed to recognize the characteristics and pavement distresses that are unique to each type
of pavement. Funding alternatives were discussed to allow the City to meet the following set
of goals for the street network.
1. Fund 100% of routine maintenance needs in order to maintain a high level of service.
2. Concentrate major maintenance on the streets in worst shape.
3. Target the average PCI values for arterial streets at 80, collector streets at 75, and
local streets at 70.
4. Phase out seal coat surfaced bus routes.
The Council determined that all issues discussed during this workshop on street issues should
be pursued and brought back to the Council for action except changes in the Sidewalk Safety
Program. The City Manager said that he would obtain input from the Economic Development
Commission and developers during this process.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
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Nancy Dionigi, City Clerk Larry R. Curtis, Mayor