City Manager Steve Schainker recommended the delay of final approval of a max levy rate due to impending state property tax reform until April to give the city time to respond and make adjustments if necessary.

Director of Finance Corey Goodenow said there would be a change in plans for the council after further movement of legislation at the statehouse. Instead of approving a max levy rate on Tuesday, they would delay final approval after public hearings until April, but the council should approve the budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) next week.

Ward 2 Rep. Tim Gartin said delaying the max levy rate would not give the community time to provide proper feedback. Ward 1 Rep. Gloria Betcher responded by saying that it was not the council’s fault and that the state legislature forced them into this situation.

Amid uncertainty at the statehouse, the Ames City Council held its final budget hearing, which consisted of budgets and annual recaps from CyRide, the Community Development program and general government employees.

Notably, Mayor John Haila left during the meeting for a little over an hour to take a call with mayors around the state about budget concerns. During that time, Ward 1 Rep. Gloria Betcher led the chamber as mayor pro tempore.

CyRide

The transit board approved a budget requesting a $41,569 increase in funding from the city, totaling their contribution to $2.12 million or 14% of the total CyRide budget. Barbara Neal, the CyRide transit director, justified the overall $500,000 increase from their funding partners with increased costs in wages, fuel and parts.

According to city documents, CyRide is looking to add two full-time driver positions and increase wages for part-time drivers and lane workers. They also plan to maintain the clerk and technology coordinator positions which were added last year.

“We will continue to recognize the importance of technology,” Neal said. “It allows us to stay in line with the changing needs of the community, improve system efficiencies and our overall customer experience.”

Neal also highlighted a new software that allows riders to request rides from buses to certain places in Ames, like an on-demand ride-share app.

“This new software allows passengers to self-schedule rides on their phones much like you would do on Uber or Lyft,” Neal said. “It is only for our flexible services right now, which is the east Ames service area, and it’s also for Moonlight Express.”

Ridership, 90% of which are Iowa State students, has rebounded to 70% of pre-pandemic levels. CyRide is anticipating 4.1-4.4 million riders in fiscal year 23/24 which is an increase from 3.7 million riders in fiscal year 21/22.

As discussed during the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) meeting, Neal reiterated the plan to go forward with capital improvement projects, including efforts to reduce emissions, add infotainment monitors to buses and improve bus stops and route pavement.

Community Development

City Planner Kelly Diekmann said the city is building single-family houses at a slower rate than before the pandemic. Over the past two years, the city averaged nearly 70 single-family houses built, but the average prior was over 100.

Diekmann said he could not pick at one issue to describe why that number was declining, but Gartin said that communities like Huxley, Iowa, are increasing their number of housing permits, and the reason the cost of living in Ames is so high is that the city is not building enough houses.

The city is still waiting for feedback from Gilbert, Iowa, and Story County on the council’s updated urban fringe plan direction, Diekmann said. During the Jan. 10 meeting, Diekmann told the council the city was prepared to enter the agreement with one or both parties, and if neither party agreed, they would be done, and there would be nothing else to discuss.

Diekmann said the city council would hold workshops on council priorities for upcoming infill housing and affordable housing strategy.

Vanessa Baker-Latimer, the Ames housing coordinator, told the council that the city would implement the Slum and Blight Acquisition and Demolition Program. The program buys homes that have been abandoned, blighted, and have been or meet the definition of a dangerous building and demolishes them.

Betcher questioned what the willingness to sell was from the owners, to which Baker-Latimer said lately, homeowners have been relieved the city is willing to help them, adding that some owners have mental challenges that prevent them from working on the program with the city.

Due to a requirement by the Department of Housing and Development (HUD), to gain approval for funds from the American Reuse Plan, the city will have to go back to its 2021/22 action plan and amend it to include a Program Allocation Plan. Then, the city must approve a proposal that will be brought before the council during their March 28 meeting to be submitted to the housing development by March 31.

“I did find out today that some entitlements in Iowa had their plan rejected several times by HUD,” Baker-Latimer said. “I’m trying to shoot for getting it done right the first time.”

General Government

Public Information Officer Susan Gwiasda said the city would continue to deliver its two newsletters and be very active on social media. She said the city is also looking to improve its website and wants feedback on the look, feel and navigation of the website.

Gartin said with the decline of coverage from the Ames Tribune, he did not know how people would follow what is going on with the city if it were not for the press releases and social media presence.

“I want to also thank the Iowa State Daily, your coverage has stepped up big time over the last few months, so we really appreciate what you folks are doing,” Gartin said.

Betcher added that the Ames Tribune would no longer have a brick-and-mortar presence in Ames.

Gwiasda also said the Climate Action Plan is anticipated to be completed in the spring or summer of this year.

Kacie Schumann, the city’s health promotion coordinator, said it was really exciting that the city saved almost $17,000 by partnering with Iowa State University’s department of kinesiology on health screenings.