Corrections were made to this article Sept. 24, 2005 at 3:04 p.m. CDT. The Daily regrets the error.

There were no ISU students present during an opening press conference Monday, which kicked-off a week-long of events for Ames’ first-ever downtown charrette Monday.

Approximately 10 students, though, participated in community review sessions held throughout the day.

“Considering that ISU students make up over half of the city’s population, participation has been a lot smaller from students than from the rest of the community,” said city of Ames Fleet Services Director Paul Hinderaker.

Meanwhile, organizers re-emphasized the importance of student input for the project.

“The input from younger people is extremely important to us,” said Matt Flynn, director of the Ames Planning and Housing Department. “We have heard some concerns that the city of Ames isn’t appropriately catering to the 18- to 25-year-old group.”

The objective of the Ames downtown charrette project is to gather differing perspectives of community members before developing and implementing efforts to improve the city of Ames, Flynn said.

There have been significant efforts made during the charrette’s six-month planning period to include ISU students in the process, including working with ISU student organizations, making arrangements for convenient student transportation downtown and holding the event during the fall, Flynn said.

“We really need to know what students want to see happen,” said Main Street Cultural District Director Angela Moore.

“Students, get your voices heard!” Moore said. “If 1,000 students showed up saying ‘this is what we want,’ the city of Ames would really listen.”

With or without student participation, the effects of the charrette could reshape downtown.

“We’re going to change the looks of downtown Ames with the efforts here this week,” said City Councilman Daryle Vegge during Monday’s informal conference, marking the beginning of the event. “These changes are so important to the health of the city, as both a business and social center, and the charrette is a good vehicle to bring the neighborhoods of Ames together.”

Ames City Council members have identified several goals that they would like to see addressed with the charrette project, one being the “commercial revitalization” of downtown Ames, Vegge said.

“In order to accomplish this council goal, we must have input from all the parties that are necessary to the success of a downtown project,” said City Manager Steve Schainker.

“We look forward to property owners, developers, residents and patrons coming together to fashion an exciting project that will energize our town.”

Flynn said the charrette process is more open than other forms of development.

“The charrette is different than how most development works,” Flynn said.

“Normally, the bulk of the development occurs behind the scenes, and feedback is asked for afterwards. The charrette is trying to mold a project by bringing people together first, and including their suggestions and concerns as we move toward the implementation phase.”

The project will focus mainly on listening to the public and city of Ames community members, said Peter Musty, spokesman for CharretteCenter Town Design of Minneapolis, Minn., which was given a $37,000 contract to organize the event.

“I think it’s great that enough interest is there with the city of Ames and the community to improve things,” said Brian Smith, owner of Everts Flowers & Home Gifts, 329 Main St.

Smith said there were several things he was hoping to convey to the city during his scheduled interview, including the importance of finding new ways to promote downtown businesses, the benefits a community pavilion would have for Ames community members and revitalizing communications between ISU students and the city.

One aspect of the charrette project is to compare the city of Ames to comparably sized cities throughout the nation, with the objective of identifying new and successful strategies being used in the business sector, Musty said.

“I hope the charrette is successful, and the input the city receives does not fall on deaf ears,” Smith said.

“With the money they’ve spent on this project, I hope it accomplishes what they have set out to do.”