The Ames City Council did not discuss the date for a special bond election to fund a new aquatic and fitness complex at its meeting Tuesday, despite requesting staff to propose one at the July 8 council meeting.

City Manager Steve Schainker said the delay was not caused by lack of interest.

A group of about 50 people have said they will be the support for a campaign for the new facility, he said.

“Just because [the group] didn’t make it for this night I didn’t want you to think there wasn’t any enthusiasm,” Schainker said to the council.

The group may be ready to discuss the aquatic and fitness complex as early as the Sept. 9 city council meeting, he added.

The city council previously proposed a master plan for the aquatic and fitness complex that would cost $23.6 million.

The complex would include an indoor pool with six competition lanes, an outdoor pool with a 50-meter, eight-lane competitive section, a climbing wall and a three court gymnasium.

The proposed location for the facility is near the intersection of Mortensen Road and State Avenue. If approved, it will be connected to the new Ames Middle School currently under construction.

Most of Tuesday’s council meeting was spent discussing the city’s land use policy plan, how well the city is following it and what changes may need to be made.

Brian O’Connell, director of the Department of Planning and Housing, presented the city staff’s findings on the policy.

“We’ve been experiencing growth and are planning to do so over time,” O’Connell said.

The growth rate is approximately .75 percent per year, O’Connell said.

“[This rate] is a very manageable, very moderate rate,” he said.

Among other recommendations, the city staff recommended to the council an involuntary annexation policy be adopted in the future.

“[For the city to continue to grow] there is going to be a need for additional land resources,” O’Connell said.

Voluntary annexation has caused problems with peculiar boundaries for Ames, he said.

“A lot of work needs to be done about how we approach annexation,” he said.

To make annexation more appealing, O’Connell suggested high utility and water fees assessed by the city to property owners who choose to be annexed be waived if the resident does not plan to use those resources.

Involuntary annexation does come at a cost, Schainker said.

O’Connell said possible costs would be the amount of money required to extend city infrastructures to the new areas and involuntary annexation could cause some property owners to have hard feelings.

“We recommend we take a more aggressive role in annexation, but it does not come without a cost.”

Councilwoman Judie Hoffman noted the city has not had a policy of involuntary annexation in “a long time.”

The last time a policy like this was used in Ames was in the 1960s, O’Connell said.

If the city council does intend to adopt any changes to the land use policy plan, changes should occur only after “extensive public involvement,” O’Connell said.