The Ames City Council kicked off the budgeting process for Ames after the informal presentation of the five-year capital improvements plan (CIP) Tuesday night.

The CIP proposes $458.36 million in expenditures and includes improvements to public safety, utilities, transportation, culture and recreation, community development and general government.

Priorities

Ames City Manager Steve Schainker selected four projects to be prioritized in future CIPs.

“I want to emphasize we’re not asking you to take any action tonight,” Schainker said. “Typically, we wait until the next council meeting to get public response, which will be next Tuesday.”

The relocation of fire station number two is one of the priorities. The proposed relocation to Iowa State University property west of State Avenue aims to improve response times and avoid Campustown congestion. A fourth fire station is planned to be built as well.

Another priority is the development of Ontario Park. The new 50-acre park along Ontario Road will include trails, shelters, restrooms and other amenities.

Plans for a new indoor recreation center with courts, a running track and play areas seek to meet the growing demand for indoor recreation.

Public safety

In all, $6.7 million will go to public safety, with $3.48 million toward working on relocating an existing Ames Fire station or constructing a new one. Ames Fire Chief Rich Higgins spoke to the council about replacing or refurbishing fire engine number two and a new fire engine with the construction of a fourth fire station in the future and the relocation of fire station two.

The CIP includes a replacement for the station alerting system, which enables 911 dispatchers to “automatically and instantaneously” send emergency response vehicles and contact Mary Greeley Medical Center for ambulance assistance. The current system is 17 years old and has reached the end of its life.

Ames Deputy Fire Chief Karen Tapper previously told the Daily that the age of the system did not delay response times, but a new system could improve them.

The final improvement toward the Ames Fire Station is replacing equipment, specifically the self-contained breathing apparatus which provides breathable air to protect firefighters. 

The Ames Animal Control Shelter relocation effort is budgeted for $3.25 million in the plan, as the current location has insufficient space.

Utilities

“We’re looking at three main priorities,” Director of Electric Services Donald Kom said. “Reliability of the system, in other words, keeping people’s power on. Affordability, we don’t want rates to go up higher than what our customers can handle. We also want to look at sustainability.”

More than $280 million of the funds outlined in the CIP goes toward utilities, specifically electric, water, sewer, stormwater and resource recovery.

In terms of electricity, the plan devotes $19.17 million to transmission improvements,

Distribution improvements are budgeted for $8.72 and $141.11 million for electric production improvements to existing infrastructure.

Some specific initiatives include constructing three new thermal generating units at the Coal Yard. Also, electric transmission line projects like Prairie View 161 kV substation, Prairie View 161 kV line expansion and Boone Junction 161 kV line improvements will be backup services if Ames loses two other main transmission lines in an unexpected event. 

The new renewable energy project aims to add approximately 50 megawatts of wind power to the energy portfolio, boosting renewables from 15% to 31% as part of the council’s Climate Action Plan to cut carbon emissions.

Projects for water utilities total $34.95 million and comprise water plant facilities improvements, well field standby power, physical and cyber security improvements, SAM pump station improvements, wellhead rehabilitation, lime lagoon improvements and water treatment plant pumps/drives. The costliest project for the water utility is the construction of a one-million-gallon water tower at the Prairie View industrial center. 

In addition, the water system improvements program will focus on replacing aging water mains in areas affected by rusty water, frequent main breaks and low-pressure or circulation issues.

The sanitary sewer utility CIP is slated for $53.92 million. The most prominent focus is meeting the Iowa Department of Natural Resources mandate, which requires wastewater facilities to meet nutrient removal targets. The nutrient reduction modifications project allocates $33.49 million in the first two years toward an estimated total cost of $62.51 for phase one of the project.

The watershed-based nutrient reduction project supports practices to improve water quality while reducing flood risks, managing drought, creating recreation opportunities and earning credits for future regulatory requirements. The plan also supports watershed projects that improve water quality, reduce flooding and control drought.

Maintenance efforts include WPC plant facility improvements, lift station improvements, clarifier maintenance and upkeep of the cogeneration system for processing food waste into electricity.

The sanitary sewer system improvements program will focus on repairing old sewer lines and utility holes. The goal is to reduce clean water from entering the system and lowering unnecessary treatment costs.

Stormwater Utility is outlined for $9.95 million, and key concerns include overland flooding, bank erosion affecting water quality and the need for developable land to support growth.

Programs such as stormwater erosion control, stormwater improvements, stormwater quality improvements, low point drainage improvements and stormwater detention and retention maintenance are slated in the CIP to address these issues.

One notable project is the South Skunk River improvements, which will stabilize riverbanks between South 16th Street and East Lincoln Way to protect a planned north-south bike path.

Resource recovery utility is facing a significant shift in its waste management approach. Since 1975, the Resource Recovery Plant has processed Story County’s waste, converting some into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for the Power Plant. 

New federal regulations and aging equipment will make RDF burning unfeasible shortly. The city will partner with an alternative landfill to address this and develop a resource recovery and recycling campus. This facility will separate recyclables and solid waste, filtering for additional recyclables before sending waste to the landfill and recyclables to market.

Maintenance and repairs at the current plant are being scaled down as the transition progresses.

Transportation

The city of Ames has allocated $156.68 million in the CIP to address resident priorities for transportation improvements. Nearly half (43%) of these projects will be supported by federal and state grants.

CyRide receives $26.6 million in the plan, with 20 new buses and five battery-operated buses. Facility improvements will support growing routes and electric buses, with upgrades for safety and sustainability. Real-time information regarding arrival times will be installed in some bus stop locations, and a new bus system will display upcoming stops. Seventy-five percent of the funding will be federal and state funding.

“DOGE’s goal is to cut $2 trillion dollars out of the federal budget, and I think it’s naive to think this is not going to affect transportation,” Ward 2 Rep. Tim Gartin said. “It’s hard for me to imagine a CyRide without federal funding.”

Gartin commented on having a contingency plan if transportation funding is cut but also recognized the unknown of the situation, saying, “It’s hard to budget for what you don’t know.”

Street and traffic plans, which add up to $85.9 million, include:

• Asphalt street pavement
• Concrete pavement
• Seal coat pavement
• Collector street pavement
• Alley pavement
• Right-of-way restoration
• Arterial street pavement
• Downtown street pavement
• CyRide route pavement
• Campustown public improvements

Preventive maintenance efforts, such as slurry sealing and patching, will extend the lifespan of roadways and reduce future costs.

A significant project is the replacement of the Lincoln Way bridge, flagged for full reconstruction within five years. Additionally, traffic system upgrades will address intersection capacity issues, with new signals and an intelligent transportation system to better manage traffic flow.

Shared use paths are also allocated $7.03 million with shared use path expansion, maintenance and multi-modal roadway improvement projects. These upgrades reflect priorities from the Walk Bike Roll Plan.

Ames Municipal Airport projects total $37.1 million and focus on resurfacing and expanding runways, taxiways and aprons. Other improvements include relocating the National Weather Service Automated Observing system and the Fuel farm and expanding parking. 90% of the funding is expected from federal and state sources.

Culture and Recreation

The CIP dedicates $10.9 million to enhance quality-of-life amenities in Ames, focusing on parks, recreation and community facilities. 

The Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center, a $28.3 million project, will open in January 2026. Other upgrades include replacing playground equipment in 13 parks and renovating restrooms, shelters, parking lots and fountains across the park system.

The trail will be upgraded to concrete at Ada Hayden Heritage Park, creating a new child-friendly fishing spot. Moore Memorial Park will receive a pedestrian bridge connecting trails across Ioway Creek. Homewood Golf Course will replace the bridge on Hole 9 to improve safety for golf cart users.

Funding will also support ADA improvements across the park system to create a more inclusive community.

$150,000 is also going towards installing a new fence at Ontario Cemetery and adding three columbaria at Ames Municipal Cemetery to meet increased demand for cremation services.

Community Development 

The city council budgeted $875,000 for the Downtown Façade Program, Campustown Façade Program and Neighborhood Improvement Program to support revitalization efforts. 

General Government

The plan allocates $375,000 for mechanical, electrical, sprinkler and structural updates to maintain City Hall and Veterans Memorial infrastructure. These upgrades address systems installed in 1990, including sidewalk and parking lot improvements.

To view the entire draft document, click here. The council will not make any final decisions until the budget meetings wrap up in February.