Premeeting comments on Ames City Council agenda April 14th, 2009

Sorry this is a little late. It took a little bit to recover from Easter weekend. The council meeting this Tuesday starts at 7:00 pm.  The agenda includes:
Regular Meeting of Ames City Council

• Item 28 -- Resolution approving 2009 Neighborhood Sculpture acquisitions. The designation of location for public art. This year there will be sculptures added to South Campus Area Neighborhood, The Old Town Neighborhood, and the Sommerset Neighborhood.
• Item 32 -- Property Maintenance Code. Item 32a covers how the city might help people who may not be able to afford to maintain their property. Item 32b is a city staff report suggesting six options in regards to a residential property maintenance code. I am leaning in favor of option VI. Option VI  is "Revise the Rental Housing Code to incorporate the recommendations of the Rental Housing Advisory Committee related to interior issues, and establish a citizen committee to work with city staff to recommend minimum exterior property maintenance standards for both owner-occupied and rental residential units."
• Item 33 -- Update on Power Plant coal supply options. This reports outlines the coal delivery options/costs the city of Ames electric utility. These options include a delivery location near Nevada. Speculation is that several other entities are also interested in having coal delivered from the Nevada location (like the ethanol plant).
• Item 37 -- Resolution providing for issuance of $6,995,000 General Obligation Refunding Bonds. Last meeting the council "refinanced" several of our outstanding bonds. This resulted in a cost savings of over $400,000 for the city.
• Item 42 -- First passage of ordinance increasing electric utility rate by 5% and increasing power factor adjustment from 85% to 90% effective July 1, 2009.  The utility needs to update equipment to meet added demand and environmental requirements. This action also includes a rate change for power factor adjustment. This will mainly effect the city's industrial customers. Poor power factors for the utility's larger customers lead to added capacity requirements for the entire system. This action should reduce the need for additional generating capacity. 

Jim Popken
City Council At Large
Disclaimer: My intent of this communication is to give you a heads up on items coming to the city council. I may state some of my impressions and leanings here. I will, however, try to avoid staking out a position on issues before the council meeting occurs. I feel that I should avoid committing to any positions until I have heard and considered all the public input at the council meeting before a vote.
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