Front porches adorned with weather-stained couches have gone the way of all-you-can-drink specials. The Ames City Council passed an ordinance banning outdoor placement of indoor furniture at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The ordinance quietly passed with a unanimous vote from the council and no follow-up discussion. Ex officio student member Mike Banasiak said he believes students have mixed opinions of the ordinance.

“I think the students who disliked the couch ordinance had valid concerns,” he said. “But I think the city also had valid reasons to outlaw outdoor couches because they wanted to keep the neighborhoods looking nice. Besides, I think most of the controversy of this issue has passed over.”

Banasiak said students haven’t been too upset about the recent ordinance because problems with the old couch ordinance were fixed by the council.

The revised couch ordinance, which affects all houses in Ames — not just rental properties — “met the concerns of students,” Banasiak said.

The council also announced that the Resource Recovery Plant will accept household items for free disposal April 26. Garbage, carpets and household furniture —including excessive couches — can be dropped off at the plant, located at 110 Center Ave.

Mayor Ted Tedesco also proclaimed April 10 National Alcohol Screening Day for Ames.

“National Alcohol Screening Day is a day to provide preventative measures [to excessive drinking] and educate the public on the effects of alcohol,” he said.

He recognized Wendell Mosby, hospitality coordinator at Big Shots, 2522 Chamberlain St., for spearheading Screening Day in Ames.

Before the ban on unlimited drink specials was passed, Mosby was an active opponent of the ordinance.

“I’ve been working on [preparing for National Alcohol Screening Day] since last November,” he said.

Mosby will be in Campustown between 11:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday to administer screening tests at five different bars.

“The tests are a questionnaire designed to determine if someone has problems like alcohol dependency. [It’s] one way I’d like to give back to the community,” he said.

The council unanimously passed a resolution approving agreement with the Story County Conservation Board for development of natural areas of Ada Hayden Heritage Park. The new park is under development and is located on the site of an old rock quarry.

“Our bids for park construction came in about $400,000 under budget,” Tedesco said. “Hopefully the park will be completed by December 2003.”

Paul Wiegand, public works director, described the scope of the park’s construction.

“The creation of the park involves a reconstruction of some of the wetlands that surround the lakes in the area. When we’re finished, we’ll double the amount of the wetlands on the site,” he said.

The next City Council meeting will begin at 7 p.m. April 22 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.