Prior to the Ames City Council meeting Feb. 10, the Council will be conducting a special meeting starting at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

The Council will meet two hours and 15 minutes earlier than the normal starting time to wrap up the 2015-16 annual budget. Items left to be discussed are arts funding, human services, public art and outside funding requests.

Most items for the 2015-16 year budget were discussed last week.

Residents of Ames may come to the meeting to provide any comments they have about the yearly budget or the Capital Improvements Plan.

Once the normally scheduled meeting starts at 7 p.m., one of the first things the Council will discuss is the possibility for a branding campaign. Ames already has ongoing efforts through the Public Relation Office to promote Ames through partnerships with organizations such as Iowa State University and the Ames Community School District.

The Council will discuss the option of bringing in a multi-year, consultant-led plan to bring awareness to Ames citizens and visitors.

Communications professionals have already provided questions the Council should agree on before making any decisions. Some questions included what the brand message should say and how the community’s response to that message will be measured.

Ames has had a branding-type plan before. In 2011, more than 6,000 people participated in a “community visioning of 2011.” Within the community visioning, the City of Ames logo and tagline were created. The Council will now work to move forward in promoting Ames on a larger scale.

Another important slot on the Council’s agenda will be looking at improvements to the Ames Municipal Airport.

It has been nearly 20 years since a major renovation of the airport terminal has been done and the Council will be working with Iowa State University to reach an agreement on how to fund the project.

An extension of the airport terminal is being asked for and, with the help of Iowa State University, the Council will discuss how to move forward at the Feb. 10 meeting. If all goes according to the proposed plan, design of the new terminal could start as early as March, carrying on through October. The new terminal construction is set for April 2016.

Other notable tickets on the City Council agenda include approving/motion the denying of the 2015 Urban Revitalization tax abatement requests and hearing on River Valley Park Complex Irrigation Project.

Katie Titus contributed to this article.