Safety was the main concern for the Ames City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting, when discussing the new roundabout at University Avenue and Airport Road. 

Costs and upgrades for a cycle track to go alongside the proposed roundabout are also a concern for city staff. Council member Tim Gartin injected more safety into the discussion.

“Safety has to be one of the factors that drives this,” Gartin said. “How do we balance the factors [the Ames Bicycle Coalition] is proposing and what the city’s proposing?” 

Dan DeGeest of the Ames Bicycle Coalition voiced concerns about the effect the roundabout will have on the biking community in Ames. DeGeest said the city needs to promote a safe environment for beginner and intermediate level bike riders instead of a roundabout “designed for 1 percent of riders who are willing to brave the street.” 

“I look at this and it scares me to death,” Gartin said. “With a light, I see red or green. You mean to tell me there are less decisions to make in this?”

Gartin said when he rides his bike, he’s more worried about a person texting and driving and hitting him. And although the plans and schematics looked intimidating, Ames Public Works civil engineer Eric Crowles said the roundabout will take the current 10 points of conflict down to 7 points of conflict.

When crossing the street, there will always be perceived risks. However, Crowles said the new roundabout section with DOT improvements will be safer than the traffic that goes through the area now.

Amber Corrieri raised discussion that there has not been a wide conversation in the community about what kind of Ames residents want to be in terms of a biking or pedestrian community.

At the end of a nearly hour long discussion, the Council moved to talk with property owners about future acquisitions and future discussion with the community on plans to move forward with the roundabout facility.

The cost of simply paving the entire corridor is estimated to be around $320,000, not including bollards to provide a mental separation between bikers and the actual road.  

The council also approved a motion for a holding period of all transactions that are considered “precious goods,” which allows police to better track down thefts. The holding period could be up to 10 days.

The new policy would require all dealers of secondhand goods to electronically report the purchase of any jewelry, precious metals, precious or semiprecious stones, tools or electronics. However, bullion would not require a holding period because the definition is too broad. Ames Police is working on defining what exactly bullion would encompass.

Last year, Ames Chief of Police Chuck Cychosz said nearly $150,000 worth of stolen property was reported. Cychosz said the “ability to recover is a forecasting issue” and that a holding period between negotiation and the actual sale of precious goods will help police track and convict more thieves.

“We can say already now that it’s working,” said Ames Patrol Commander Geoff Huff.

In January, Ames Police started using a program called Leads Online, which records the transaction of goods into a database. Places like Gamers, GameStop and EcoATM already use Leads Online.

Ames Police have been able to use information gathered from Leads Online to file charges in two felony cases — one conviction, one pending — an aggravated misdemeanor case and an ongoing criminal conduct case.

The problem businesses, such as Ames Silversmithing, see with the holding period is that both the seller and buyer take on a risk of what the market could do to the value of the item. Market values could go up or down, causing a buyer or a seller to potentially lose money on the transaction.

The City Council also approved resolutions approving NewLink Genetics’ request for extension of requirement for forgivable loan agreement; financial assistance for Barilla America, Inc.; Iowa Economic Development Authority High-Quality Jobs Program Contract for financial assistance for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.; and the Federal Reimbursement Regulation Resolutions for ISU Research Park improvements and the airport terminal projects.