The Ames City Council will hear the first reading of a proposal to create a Student Affairs Commission during its Tuesday meeting.

“This commission will serve in an advisory role to the City Council,” said Tony Borich, City Council ex-officio student liaison. “The council will be asking the commission to work on finding solutions to long-term issues with the goal of improving student-city relations.”

Ryan Doll, City Council member, said some of the first issues the commission would focus on include parking ordinances in the South Campus Area Neighborhood and Campustown development.

He said Ames needs such a commission.

“We have commissions that focus on all different aspects of the community,” Doll said. “The student perspective is an underrepresented side of the community, and it’s important to include that voice.”

A Government of the Student Body resolution unanimously passed during a Sept. 7, 2005, meeting endorsed the commission proposal.

The resolution states that “there exists a perceived and actual gap in representation and involvement of students within city government.”

Borich and GSB President Angela Groh co-wrote the proposal.

“Students play a unique role in the community,” Borich said. “In the past, it’s been difficult for students to participate in the decision-making process. Students are short-term residents, and younger students aren’t familiar with a lot of city issues. This commission will help bring students into the process.”

The commission would be made up of eight students and seven non-student Ames residents. Student leaders on the commission include the ex-officio member of the City Council, the GSB president, the Inter-Residence Hall Association president, the International Student Council president, a greek community leader and an off-campus student leader. There are two at-large spots for students residing off-campus.

Appointing primarily student leaders to the commission would ensure continual participation by students, Doll said.

“A lot of the time, people will disappear if a committee isn’t always active,” he said. “This commission will involve a group of people that will always be around. The council will know the leadership on the committee and will know where to find them.”

The mayor would most likely appoint all non-specified positions after candidates go through an application process, Doll said.

Borich said the commission’s structure may not be final.

“We may not have the right answer in terms of composition,” Borich said. “If there’s a concern that it’s too exclusive, we can take a look at that.”

Borich said the proposal’s development was influenced by the success of a similar commission in Davis, Calif., home of the University of California-Davis.

The commission is endorsed by ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, the One Community Implantation Plan Committee and the Campustown Student Association, according to the GSB resolution.

Doll said he felt the City Council would likely approve the proposal.

“I think it’s a good thing, and most people will agree to giving it a try,” Doll said. “I could see it easily passing with some oversight, with the next few years serving as a trial period.”

The Student Affairs Commission is a minor – although helpful – part of town-grown relations, Borich said.

“It’s a small step in the right direction,” he said.