Keith Abraham, director of parks and recreation for the city of Ames, brought to the Ames city council an Ada Hayden replacement project during their special meeting Tuesday. 

This project is the implementation of a 12-foot wide concrete path. He brought the council two options.

“Option one is to close the entire trail during construction, and the second option is to close the trail in phases,” Abraham said. 

The council unanimously voted for the project to be completed all at once.

Completing the construction all at once would cost the city $1.1 million, while construction in sections would have cost the city $1.4 million. 

The city’s budget for the project is $1.4 million and they have already allocated $90,000 to WHKS, an engineering consultant in Ames. If the project is done in sections, the city would have “about $218,000 of a shortfall.” City staff has “not identified any additional funding sources,” according to Abraham.

With the decision of the continuous option, the city will have around $110,000 left over after completion of the project. 

The construction is slated to take place fall of 2025, as it’s a slower season for the park in terms of events. The total construction time would be about five weeks. 

The council then discussed zoning issues and how to simplify zoning for residents, as well as make language more user-friendly. They will selectively change the function of zoning, specifically with unzoned areas. Overall, zoning will not be altered, just the readability. 

The city aims to make zoning easier to understand, more consistent and update the way it’s communicated to the public.