The Ames City Council held a roundtable discussion with the Gilbert School Board on Tuesday to exchange goals during the next few years as Ames continues to grow to the north and as Gilbert’s school enrollment continues to climb. 

 “We have Gilbert students in Ames and Ames students in Gilbert, so it’s important to have discussions about infrastructure and public transportation,” said Kim Mosiman, Gilbert School Board member.

About 40 percent of Gilbert’s 1,400 students are Ames residents — a 50 percent increase since 2003. City Council and the Gilbert School Board discussed the importance of infrastructure and emphasized it should be a top priority for both parties. Bike paths, public transportation and the extension of Grand Avenue could all eventually come into play. 

 “Another one of our main priorities is a safe and quality learning environment that meets the changing needs of the students and staff,” said Tyler Holck, Gilbert School Board president. 

The Gilbert School District built a new high school three years ago, and it did so in a way that would allow for expansion in case enrollment were to rise even more during the next decade. Plans for development of the sports complex around the new stadium at Gilbert are also part of the vision for the future. 

Another topic discussed at Tuesday’s meeting was the option of the 15-month trial period for the time-of-use industrial electric rate ordinance, which was approved. 

To delay spending money on added capacity, the TOU rate ordinance would decrease the peak level of electric consumption by encouraging industrial consumers to run a majority of production at off-peak hours rather than on-peak hours — the hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.