The Ames City Council discussed the importance of the Campus and Community Commission, otherwise known as the Student Affairs Commission, at its meeting Tuesday night.

The goal of the commission is for individuals or groups to provide input and advice to the City Council regarding issues that would primarily impact students.

These members can come from the Ames Community School District, Iowa State and Student Government, or can simply be members of the city community.

Fifteen members have provided representation in the past, ranging from Ames High student council co-presidents, Iowa State student affairs representatives and off-campus student leaders.

Members of the commission are either appointed by Mayor Ann Campbell and approved by the council or appointed by Student Government.

But work on the commission has been non-existent since last spring.

A lack of student involvement and difficulties getting appointed to the commission halted the program.

After speaking with Student Government and campus administration last year, the commission returned to Tuesday’s meeting for the council to decide whether to continue the program.

Some members of the council had reservations because of the lack of tracking that the commission has had in the past.

Council member Tim Gartin asked how it would be possible to tell if the program was making a positive impact on the schools and the community as a whole.

Council member Gloria Betcher proposed an annual report to be a requirement of the commission, adding to the overall charge of the program.

“We need to be able to report what has been accomplished at the beginning of each year,” Betcher said.

Another reservation toward the commission included how involved the council would be in the program.

One suggestion was creating joint task forces between the council and the commission as issues of interest came up. The two groups would work separately whenever a task was at hand and then meet to discuss and act accordingly.

Council member Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen said council approval of the commission and working together with those in the program will help the entire operation “organize tasks.”

The objective of the program and City Council involvement is to “make things work for Ames in a positive way,” Beatty-Hansen said.

Discussion wrapped up with the decision that three additional representatives would need to be appointed by the mayor in the future.

While no motion was carried on the specifics of the representatives, the council discussed that representatives would hold staggered terms in the future.

A motion was carried to include a Main Street cultural district to the commission to represent local businesses in the program, as they cater to the community and to students.

Another motion was carried to repeal the current ordinance on file for the commission. The commission will reappear on the City Council’s agenda in the coming months.