A new class aimed at increasing student input in Campustown renovation could begin next spring, courtesy of a Government of the Student Body bill passed last Wednesday.

With the passage of a bill allotting $1,750 for a spring studio class in the College of Design and a resolution backing the money, GSB is facilitating student involvement in the renovation process.

Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design, met Monday with GSB senator Tony Borich, senior in community and regional planning and City Council ex-officio student member, and GSB President Angela Groh, senior in political science.

Engelbrecht said the possibility of setting up the studio class within the next few weeks is realistic, and he is aware of students and staff who would be interested in participating.

“What we would like to do is take the spring semester to start the process,” Engelbrecht said. “We would come up with a set of objectives as opposed to coming up with designs and just laying on it. You need a statement of informed intent to help formulate future projects.”

The studio would be open to seniors with the idea of incorporating students from disciplines across the university. And because it is a project that is unique in regards to preparation as opposed to just design, it will take particularly sophisticated and savvy students, Engelbrecht said.

Engelbrecht said past Campustown efforts have failed because they lacked a reliable base document of information containing the hopes and dreams of the community.

Chris Deal, GSB vice president, said he was happy with the process the Senate went through to pass the legislation and take action.

“They brought up a lot of good concerns,” said Deal, senior in mechanical engineering. “The students want what’s best for Ames and the community and I’m excited to see what happens.”

Deal said he was impressed with the work that Borich, Noah Wiese, Campustown senator and graduate student in materials science and engineering, and others put into the process.

“We want to do as much with this as possible,” Deal said.

After reviewing the legislation, Steve Schainker, Ames city manager, reacted in a positive manner about the student-led initiatives.

“I am glad that groups other than the City Council are interested in revitalizing Campustown,” Schainker said. “For it to be successful, other groups need to be excited about the effort.”

Schainker said he likes a student-led approach because students are the major market in the area. He said he was also pleased the resolution addressed concerns of neighbors and the community.

“The question is, where can we take this?” Schainker said. “We want it to be a beginning, not just a study. We need to make sure it gets a lot of support.”

Schainker said he supported bringing many areas of expertise into the process through the university, such as engineering in regards to traffic and business in regards to marketing.

After the downtown charrette process and the work to be done there, Schainker said Campustown is the next top priority.