The Ames City Council voted unanimously to approve the Arts Capital Grant Program during Tuesday night’s bi-weekly meeting. 

The Arts Capital Grant Program has been established as a one-time program. The Program is funded with $200,000 of surplus funds from the 2020 General Fund, which was voted on during a previous city council meeting. The creation of this program followed feedback from community members at the 2019 Town Budget Meeting and 2020 Workshop on the Arts. 

The Mayor and City Council also declared October 2021 to be “Watershed Awareness Month” and Oct.  3-9, 2021 to be “Fire Prevention Week,” honoring members of the Ames Fire Department.

The council also voted unanimously to establish the Resident Police Advisory Committee (ARPAC), which will be tasked with advising Ames Police Chief Geoff Huff on handling complaints made against officers, including harassment, excessive force, and discrimination. 

Now that ARPAC has been established, the application and recruitment processes will begin, in order to start the duties of the committee, according to Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips. 

Additionally, the Council voted in line with city staff recommendations to not move forward with the sidewalk infills during the reconstruction projects for Top-O-Hollow Road and Opal Drive. The staff recommendation to not alter the projects was due to the budget increase needed to add the sidewalk infills to the existing projects. 

Ward 2 Rep. Tim Gartin asked about adding sidewalks to other streets, such as Ross Road, that do not currently have sidewalks. The council and city staff agreed to include research into adding sidewalks onto streets that were being renovated in the future and if suggestions are made by community members.