The Ames City Council will discuss possible improvements on city equipment and grid work Tuesday.

The meeting will be held jointly with the Electric Utility Operations Review and Advisory Board.

A special start time will allow for the presentation of the Integrated Planning Resource Study, a study done to review the power plant and to help the city prepare for electric services during the next 10 years.

“We do have some turbines that are fairly old that need to be upgraded or replaced,” said Mayor Ted Tedesco. “Also, we’re doing some interconnect with lines toward the Ankeny area on the grid in case of emergency.”

The projects will likely require considerable investment by the city, Tedesco said, which will need to be considered by the current council and future councils as the projects go on.

Tedesco said that the city will also look into the possibility of getting some of its electricity from wind power.

“We’re also working with Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory on the possibility of a wind-generated hydrogen cell, which would be probably one of the first in the nation,” Tedesco said.

A hydrogen cell is the essential part of wind generation that is left to be developed in order for it to be a reliable source of energy, City Manager Steve Schainker said. A hydrogen cell would be able to store the wind energy, which is not possible at this point.

The council will move into regular session after the presentation.

The city was expecting to place the design standards for the 13th Street Gateway Overlay District at this meeting, but Tedesco said they will probably appear on the next meeting’s agenda. He said the Planning and Zoning Commission is still working on fine-tuning the language of the ordinance.

The council will hear a presentation of the conceptual plan for the Duff Avenue. Transitional Park. The city is landscaping the former Munn Lumber property in order to create a green space and an entryway to the Main Street Cultural District. It will also help tie Bandshell Park and downtown together.

The council will use the presentation to determine whether it wants to pursue the project, in which case city staff will prepare a capital improvements plan and identify funding sources.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.