HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Packet of Communications to Council May 22, 2026City Manager’s Office 515.239.5105 main 515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
515.239.5142 fax Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
MEMO
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Renee Hall, City Clerk
Date: May 22, 2026
Subject: Packet of Communications to Council
Listed below are the communications to the City Council known to staff as of May 22,
2026:
1.Lisa Kuehl, Ames Resident – February 24, 2026
RE: Request for formal adoption of the City’s Pollinator Plan
2.John Burnett, Ames Resident – May 11, 2026
RE: Residential Development on Ontario Street
3.Mark Lambert, City Attorney – May 12, 2026
RE: Annual Appropriations Clauses – TIF Agreements
4.Kathy Kiesling, Ames Resident – May 19, 2026
RE: Proposed speed bumps on Northwestern Avenue
5.Ericka Eregbu, Ames NAACP Branch President – May 21, 2026
RE: 2026 Ames/Story County Juneteenth Celebration
6.Kathy Ridnour, Ames Resident – May 21, 2026
RE: Ada Hayden Rules
7.ACAT – Ames Climate Action Team – May 22, 2026
RE: Solar Farm
1
Hall, Renee
From:Lisa Kuehl <lkkuehl@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, February 24, 2026 3:32 PM
To:City Council and Mayor
Subject:Request formal adoption of the City's Pollinator Plan
[External Email]
Hello!
I volunteer on the City of Ames' Pollinator Friendly Plan Education Committee. I recently
learned through others involved with the plan that the City Council has not yet formally "adopted" this
plan and I wish to request that you do. The Pollinator Friendly Ames Plan was started in 2023, with
ambitious goals of creating more pollinator habitat within the City of Ames over the next 7 years, as we
are now starting Year 3 of the proposed 10 year effort.
Please let me know the next steps to a formal adoption of this wonderful plan by the City Council.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Lisa K. Kuehl
Lisa K. Kuehl
5225 Cervantes Drive
Ames, IA 50014-6919
(515) 451-1039 cell & text / (515) 450-5551 landline
"FaceTime" me with your Apple device at lkkuehl@gmail.com
"You can find excuses...or, you can find a way."
1
Hall, Renee
From:Burnett, John M [NREM] <jburnett@iastate.edu>
Sent:Monday, May 11, 2026 12:19 PM
To:City Council and Mayor
Subject:Residential Development on Ontario Street
[External Email]
As a local homeowner, I would like to express my concern with the planned development of a parcel of
land on Ontario Street adjacent to Scholl Road. This property, recently purchased from Iowa State
University, has been used for agricultural and research purposes over the past several years before being
sold to a residential developer. I understand that they have brought forth a plan that if approved would
add over 100 residential units to this property. This seems extremely concentrated for such a small
area. I am sure it will have several impacts - to traffic, noise, waterflow into nearby natural drainage and
to the local wildlife. I urge you to reject this proposal and seek a smaller plan with significantly less
potential impact to the property and surrounding areas.
While reviewing this proposal, I noticed that the developer requested TIF funding to address
improvements to Scholl Road north from Ontario to the railroad tracks. Based on the recent legislation
from the State of Iowa regarding property tax limits and TIF funds, I encourage the Council to use caution
before committing funds that might not be available in the near term for TIF projects.
Respectfully submitted,
John Burnett
Caring People Quality Programs Exceptional Service
515.239.5146
Legal Department
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
Motion: Moved by Gartin, seconded by Rollins (passed 6-0), to request a memo
from the City Attorney “on the propriety and legality of appropriation clauses that
require annual approval.” At the time of the referral, Council asked that our office
bring its analysis of the issue prior to the time that tax increment financing (“TIF”)
agreements for the LINC project were under consideration.
This motion resulted from a complaint lodged by the Developer of the North
Dayton Avenue Industrial Park. As the Council may recall, this Developer
requested TIF rebates associated with the development of the North Dayton
Avenue Industrial Park. Under the terms of its agreement with the City, the
Developer paid up front to install public infrastructure in this industrial subdivision,
which included the following: water main, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, street
paving, sidewalks, and shared use paths. The form of TIF utilized by the City
Council allowed the Developer to receive back the incremental TIF revenues
generated from developing the project to repay the developer for its upfront public
infrastructure costs.
At the time, Developer objected to making the annual TIF payments subject to
annual appropriation by the Ames City Council. Developer expressed concern
about being reliant upon the decision of a future Council and initially refused to
enter into the desired TIF agreement with the City, which contained an annual
appropriations clause. See March 22, 2022, agenda, item 27. At a subsequent
meeting, City Staff provided support for the removal of the annual appropriations
clause and justified approving Developer’s request to enter into a TIF agreement
without an annual appropriations clause. See April 12, 2022, agenda, Council
Action Form, item 30 (“[I]n this particular situation, the elimination of an annual
non-appropriation clause may be supported.”). Ultimately, the annual
appropriations clause was included in the agreement when the Developer waived
his request that the City eliminate the annual appropriations clause. See October
11, 2022, agenda, item 26(b) (“The developer is now in support of the annual
appropriation clause which benefits the city in that the rebate amount will not
count against the City’s debt limit.”).
Cities include annual appropriations clauses in TIF agreements for one
particularly important reason: TIF rebate agreements that guarantee rebate
payments to a Developer are counted against and reduce the City’s constitutional
debt limit. In a case from 1975, the Iowa Supreme Court held that tax increment
debt must be counted against a city’s (or county’s) constitutional debt limit.
Richards v. City of Muscatine, 237 N.W.2d 48 (1975).
As the Council may recall, the constitutional debt limit imposed on cities is set by
the Iowa Constitution, Article XI, sect. 3 (setting debt limit at no more than five
percent of the aggregate taxable value of property within the city). With respect
to the North Dayton Industrial TIF Agreement approved by the City Council, the
document set the aggregate of all TIF rebate payments at roughly $3.0 million
total over a 13-year valuation period. Because of the annual appropriations clause
which subjected rebate payments to approval annually by the City Council, the
whole amount was not counted against the City’s debt limit to reduce our ability
to borrow. Attached to this memo is the relevant annual appropriations clause
included in the TIF Agreement approved by City Council on October 11, 2022.
Cities throughout Iowa utilize annual appropriations clauses so that the needs of
one developer do not reduce and compromise the ability of an entire community
to borrow. Bond counsel has recommended their use for these reasons, and
communities throughout the state use them. Also attached to this memo is a slide
addressing this topic from a presentation made a few years ago at the Iowa
Municipal Attorneys Association annual meeting by the City’s former bond
counsel, the late Robert Josten.
Each year, typically in November, staff brings forward resolutions for the City
Council to authorize the annual appropriation amount. After approval, staff
certifies the amount authorized by the Council with the County Auditor.
For the reasons set forth above, my conclusion is that annual
appropriations clauses in TIF agreements involving developer rebates are
proper, legal, and recommended.
Sample Annual Appropriations Clause
North Dayton Avenue Industrial Park
TIF REBATE PAYMENTS. TIF Rebate Payments will be made on December 1 and June 1
of each fiscal year, beginning in the first fiscal year for which the City receives
incremental property tax revenues with respect to an increase in the taxable valuation of
the Property over the valuation shown on the tax rolls as of January 1, 2023, and
continuing until December 1, 2035, or until such earlier date upon which total payments
equal to $2,968,264.00 1 have been made (the “Developer Rebate Schedule”). The
payments shall not constitute general obligation debt of the City but shall be made solely
and only from incremental property tax revenues paid that are attributable to the Property
and other real properties within the North Dayton URA that are received by the City from
the Story County Treasurer. For example, if an increase in taxable valuation of the
Property is placed on the Story County tax rolls as of January 1, 2024, the first payment
will be made on December 1, 2025.
1 The City Council was asked at its June 25, 2024, meeting to increase the maximum rebate amount to
the Developer to $3,119,951.05. The request was approved. See June 25, 2024, agenda, item 45.
1
Hall, Renee
From:kathy Kiesling <kathyc25@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 19, 2026 10:43 AM
To:City Council and Mayor
Subject:Proposal of speed bumps on Northwestern Ave.
[External Email]
Hi,
I propose adding speed bumps to Northwestern Ave. Particularly the section from 13th Street to 6th
Street. I know a speed sign has been added on the section between 9th street and 6th street, but too
many people speed down that section at high speeds. With the traffic, children and parked cars, it is very
dangerous.
Thanks for your consideration.
Kathy Kiesling
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Unit #4120 – P.O. Box 529 2026 Ames/Story County Juneteenth Celebration
Ames, Iowa 50010 Saturday, June 13th
May 21, 2026
Ames Mayor and City Council
c/o: Renee Hall, City Clerk
PO Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
Greetings Mayor Haila,
First and foremost, we want to thank the City of Ames for sponsoring the 4th Ames/Story County Juneteenth
Celebration Event. Because of your support, we were able to provide free food, games, and entertainment to
approximately 260 attendees and complimentary tables and chairs to 25 vendors to showcase their products
and/or programs.
We are finalizing the planning our 5th Annual Ames/Story County Juneteenth Celebration. Below are some of
the highlights:
• Saturday, June 13th, will be our Juneteenth Celebration at Bandshell Park, from 12:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
We are planning again to provide free food, games, and entertainment, and we are soliciting more
organizations and vendors to showcase their products and programs.
• We plan to expand our educational outreach, and again where we are excited to partner with downtown
businesses again this year and the Ames Public Library to continue the “Story Walk” activity that will highlight
the history of Juneteenth and the contributions of local citizens of color to our community. Posters and game
cards will be in shop windows (available at the Ames Public Library [APL] and some shops). When completed,
the cards can be traded for a prize at APL.
• This year’s there will be a Financial Literacy Component in partnership with the Riser Brothers who wrote
a book to promote financial literacy called “Eden’s Money Magic Learning About Finances. They will
participate in a Storytime and a parent lecture that will take place on Saturday, June 27th .
• Also, we are excited to add a “Mural Project” in partnership with Jordan Brooks (local artist) and the
Octagon, where children will participate in creating a mural art project that we hope to display in libraries
across story county and possible other locations.
Most importantly, one of the major benefits for having our 5th Ames/Story County Juneteenth event is the
opportunity to provide “free” food to families and individuals, for which this could be there only meal for the day .
Again, we are excited to have the opportunity to have this type of impact on the needs of citizens in our
community, in addition to other fun activities being planned. We know that the City of Ames embraces helping to
address food insecurities by promoting events that foster that philosophy. Below are the 2026 Sponsorship Levels
with Benefits. We hope that we can again count on your sponsorship of a minimum of $1,000 for this year’s event
so that we can continue to foster community participation and engagement in this nationally celebrated holiday.
We want to thank the City of Ames in advance for your consideration of this partnership and sponsorship
opportunity. Checks can be made payable to the Ames Branch of the NAACP, Unit #4120, and sent to PO Box 529,
Ames, IA 50010. We look forward to hearing from you soon. For event updates, visit our website at
www.amesianaacp.org or our Facebook page @naacpames4120.
If you have questions, need additional information, or an invoice, and would like a table at the event, please
contact Vanessa Baker-Latimer at juneteenth4amesstory@gmail.com.
In partnership,
Ericka Eregbu, President
Ames Branch of the NAACP
From:Kathy Ridnour
To:City Council and Mayor
Subject:Ada Hayden “Rules”
Date:Thursday, May 21, 2026 9:08:07 PM
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[External Email]
I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding the new guidelines posted at Ada
Hayden Heritage Park. I speak from experience after a 39-year career at the Iowa DOT as a
Transportation Planner in the area of trail and shared-use path planning and also as a walker
and bicyclist on this path. These new guidelines are counterintuitive, unnatural and just
plain wrong. It appears their creators did not consult standard shared-use path protocols that
are effectively used across the U.S. I would like to know which national standards
were used to determine that this method is actually safer (as stated in your Facebook
post) than the previous typical guidance.
I would also like to know WHY these changes were made. Were there hundreds of
crashes and an extremely high number of problems among users? Widening the path
to the standard 12 feet is a big improvement that should safely accommodate all
users without the need for a whole new set of user guidelines. To me, it would
make better sense to wait and see how the wider trail functions before jumping into
major traffic-flow changes. As a user, I just don't see any problems with how things
were operating before.
With this being a two-way path, the guidance is highly ineffective, very impractical,
creates many more points of conflict, and causes users to change which sides of the
path to travel on throughout their visit, and then crossing the bridge and its
approaches has another level of chaos and confusion.
As you should have seen, your Facebook post has at least 150 comments and 99.9%
of them are opposed to the new guidance. This should serve as a heads up.
If you take a look at the City of Ames' Shared Use Bike Path Map, the new guidelines
are completely contrary to the sections describing Path Etiquette and Safety
Tips. https://www.cityofames.org/files/content/city/v/29/my-government/departments/public-
works/traffic-engineering/shared_use_bike_path_map_2021_web.pdf
All other trails and shared-use paths, in the city of Ames, throughout the state and across
the nation follow the previous guidance with great success. (see attached) It’s natural
and intuitive to walk on the right (think of all the sidewalks in Ames and throughout the
entire United States), and bike on the right (even RAGBRAI has a slogan--Ride
Right!) and then pass on the left. It’s actually very easy. Even the road systems use this
method of driving on the right and passing on the left.
I'm very surprised these guidelines were approved by the Parks and Recreation
Commission and/or the City Council. Implementation is not going so well. I walked
there today and not a single user was following the new guidance. I think people
prefer to use common sense and walk/ride on the right as they were taught as
children.
I look forward to your response.
Kathy Ridnour
3929 Aldrin Avenue
Ames, IA 50014
515-460-3290
May 22nd, 2026
RE: Ames Airport Solar Array Planning
Mayor and Council,
The Ames Climate Action Team is pleased that the mayor and council voted to pursue the
revocable lease to consider a solar array on municipal airport property. The expansion of solar
for our community continues to be a top priority for our group and many Ames residents. Our
community needs to expand and diversify its energy portfolio and this solar array project is an
opportunity that we cannot pass up.
However it has come to our attention that the May 12th motion approved by council
[it was requested to communicate to the developer that the city council has a strong
preference that no solar be installed in the areas that were earmarked for future
development on the Airport Master Plan]
Is being interpreted by the developer and staff as ‘remove any airport areas designated as
future development areas’. This interpretation leaves the solar project dead in the water. It
becomes unrealistic and unaffordable. We might be able to squeeze in 14-18 MW in smaller
and scattered spaces, but the fragmented dispersion makes the whole project too costly.
It is the position of the Ames Climate Action Team that city master planning is highly valuable,
but it must also be a living document. The city and the developer have committed a great
amount of time to this project and it would be an absolute shame if 20+ year out future plans for
private businesses on city-owned land won out over the benefits of affordable and reliable solar
energy for the community.
ACAT is convinced that there is a high level of public interest in supporting this solar initiative;
that the developer has acted in good faith and shouldered an enormous amount of risk to try to
make this project viable; and that we must take significant action toward our city goals for GHG
reduction. Further, solar installations are relatively easy to install – and uninstall if future
economic conditions and priorities for our land use shift in favor of other uses. In the meantime
we would still have the advantage of city-owned, diversified power in our portfolio.
Please add the airport solar array and land use discussion and reconsideration to the city
agenda on May 26th. Let’s take the opportunity to discuss these implications and clarify what
we are really willing to support. To do less is disrespectful to both the community and the
developer. Ames has the opportunity to make this solar array development a reality but time
continues to be of the essence.
Thank you,
Lee Anne Willson, Caitlyn Lien, and Jeri Neal
on behalf of the Ames Climate Action Team