In the regular meeting of Ames City Council on Tuesday night, the council confirmed new students to sit on formerly vacant positions.

City council ex officio student liaison Sam Schulte is graduating at the end of this semester and will be stepping down from his role.

Robert Bingham was confirmed as the next ex officio student liaison to city council. Bingham, sophomore in political science, was chosen by Student Government to serve as Schulte’s replacement.

Juan Bibiloni and Steven Valentino were confirmed to sit as representatives to the Ames Transit Agency’s Board of Trustees.

Valentino was appointed by Student Government President Cody West, while Bibiloni was appointed by the Student Government senate. Bibiloni said he hopes to help bring a student perspective to the Ames Transit Agency.

“One of the things they’ve been talking about is changing CyRide routes,” Bibiloni said. “I hope to bring the thoughts and concerns of students to the board.”

Much of Tuesday night’s meeting was spent debating granting the group Ames VELO permission to hold a bike race on two separate nights on Main Street and at the ISU Research Park.

Ames VELO describes itself as a community-based cycling club that seeks to be a positive advocate for local cycling.

Ames VELO sought to host a race on Main Street on June 10 and another race at the ISU Research Park on June 11.

Although the group has received support from the Main Street Cultural District and the ISU Research Park, some members of the council felt there were issues with the location and timing of the events.

Council member Gloria Betcher pulled both items approving the events from the consent agenda in order to bring up concerns she heard in the community.

Concern came primarily from the event scheduled to take place on Main Street. There was concern among the council that businesses may lose out on revenue due to road closures in the area.

Another concern came from the amount of road closures Main Street has seen. Londonfest is one example of a recent event that constituted road closures on Main Street.

Ames VELO felt the race could be an opportunity to bring people into downtown Ames who woudn’t normally visit and help stimulate the local economy.

Many others, including council member Amber Corrieiri, felt the purpose of Main Street was to bring culture to Ames through events like this.

“I think events like this showcase our downtown and showcase what Ames is,” Corrieri said.

When put to a vote, Betcher was the only member of the council who voted against granting the request. Ames VELO will host its races June 10 and 11.