After years of debates, the Ames City Council passed the retrofit sprinkler ordinance May 9. The council voted 4-2, with Ryan Doll and Matthew Goodman dissenting.

Katie Raymon, Alpha Omicron Pi recording secretary, said she had heard the greek community thought the sprinkler system was a good idea.

“The only problem is the expense of them, and that it has the potential to close some chapters,” she said.

Raymon said she was not familiar with each house’s budget, so she could not say which particular houses may be closed.

“The ones with the smaller numbers will have the highest potential for closing,” she said.

Raymon said her sorority is unsure of how they will pay for their sprinkler system.

“Personally, I don’t see this as being fair. There has to be another way to deal with this,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a necessity – there are other fire-alarm systems that would be a lot cheaper and a lot more practical.”

Jennifer Plagman-Galvin, director of greek affairs, said the sprinkler system ordinance was a question of when, not if.

“If we had a fire tomorrow and the ordinance hadn’t passed, then I guarantee there would be an ordinance in place to have the sprinklers in the next two years,” she said.

With the ordinance now, the greek systems have 10 years to implement the system.

“10 years is great,” Galvin said.

She said the time allowed all chapters to raise and save the necessary funds.

Funding will come from savings, fundraising and low-interest loans from national organizations.

Sprinkler systems will cost from $40,000 to $80,000, depending on the type of sprinklers and the square footage of the house.

“We have facilities sleeping 29 to 80 people. That’s quite a range in square footage,” Galvin said.

Ames Councilman Jim Popken said he thought the sprinkler system was a necessity.

“I think the fire chief laid out a good case for a sprinkler system,” he said.

Popken said he thought the tax abatement program would help the houses considerably.

The program reduces the taxes for the building to help the residents cope with the cost.

If improvements raise the value of the facility more than 5 percent, the taxes will reflect only the value of the house before the improvements. It was passed at the April 11 council meeting.