Student Government met with Ames City Council on Wednesday for their semester joint meeting, largely discussing the proposed relocation of a fire station, recycling in Ames and crosswalk safety near campus.
On Nov. 4, Ames residents will be able to vote for a $10.5 million bond referendum that moves the location of fire station no. 2 from 132 Welch Ave. to 601 State Ave.
Fire Chief Rich Higgins attended the joint meeting and noted that moving the fire station is vital for decreasing response times.
“By moving our fire station to the west, we’re going to be able to reach 120 more calls for service within a five-minute window that we’re not able to reach right now. 120 calls is 120 opportunities that make a difference in somebody’s worst day,” Higgins said.
Higgins continued, explaining that the current location of the fire station on Welch Avenue also poses a risk for pedestrians and drivers on the busy street and makes it difficult to leave the station safely and quickly, constituting reason for a location change.
With the potential passage of the referendum, Higgins expects to break ground in 2026 and have the station completed sometime in 2027.
Off-campus students will also be seeing changes to their recycling, explained Assistant City Manager Brain Phillips.
For around the last 50 years, Ames has been utilizing its Resource Recovery System to burn combustible materials into fuel and sort the rest of the waste accordingly.
Phillips explained that for the last 10 to 15 years, that system has experienced difficulties, leading the city to replace the system with a new facility projected to open in July 2027.
The new system will continue to pull valuable recyclable materials out of solid waste before going to the landfill.
“But it also means that a lot of the efforts that we currently rely on our waste-to-energy system to achieve a lot of our landfill avoidance, and so many of you may have noticed, we don’t really have robust curbside recycling in Ames, as compared to other communities,” Phillips said.
The Ames City Council plans to discuss implementing a more traditional curbside recycling for single-family homes and small multi-family properties.
Those who live on Iowa State’s campus will not see a change to the current university recycling program. However, those who live off campus and in smaller residences will be impacted.
“If you’re off campus, if you’re in a house at some point here in the next six to 18 months, you’re probably going to see a recycling cart show up on your doorstep,” Phillips said. “And if you’re in an apartment, then it’s probably later down the line. But certainly, there are voluntary programs that you participate in to take your recyclable materials.”
City Council is currently unaware of what the cost of implementing curbside recycling would be for residents, nor what bill it would be reflected on.
A major concern of Sen. Brody Kuhse, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, is the crosswalk next to Jeff’s Pizza, at the intersection of Lincoln Way and Stanton Avenue.
“That’s the only uncontrolled pedestrian intersection where pedestrians cross Lincoln Way, all four lanes without a signal or indicator to drivers,” Kuhse said. “The issue is that vehicles, including buses, in some cases, do not yield to pedestrians who are waiting to cross or stuck in the middle of Lincoln Way.”
Kuhse conducted his own experiment to test the danger of the intersection, where two weeks ago he stood outside Jeff’s Pizza for ten minutes and counted the number of pedestrians wanting to cross the road and the number of drivers that failed to yield. Within the ten minutes, Kuhse counted 32 pedestrians wanting to cross and 92 drivers who did not yield.
To solve this problem, Kuhse proposed a lighted button-activated indicator to make it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross.
City Manager Steve Schainker noted that, in this case, pedestrians may not have the right of way.
“I believe campus is different, but I believe on city streets, drivers, I don’t think they have to stop or yield to pedestrians unless they’re in the crosswalk, in the street,” Schainker said. “If they’re waiting on the side, they don’t have to stop. They might not like that, but that’s that’s the way it is. So it isn’t convenient, but they don’t have to stop.”
Schainker also noted that in the 2029 Capital Improvement Plan for Ames, there is $400,000 set aside to include a self-actuated pedestrian crossing at the intersection by Jeff’s Pizza.
Kuhse voiced the need for urgency to make the crossing safer, but the city council members noted that they have a specific budget and timeline they have to work under.
Ward 3 Rep. Gloria Betcher recommended that pedestrians become more aware of their surroundings and stop wearing headphones while crossing the street.
Sen. Samantha Jones, a junior majoring in elementary education, asked the City Council a common question among students: “When will there be a Raising Cane’s location in Ames?”
“[Cane’s is] looking around for a potential spot to locate, and they understand the markets here, and I think they want to be here when they can find a spot that meets their budget, and in a spot they want, the location they want,” Schainker said. “It is yet to be determined, but they’re aware of it, and I think both the Economic Development Commission in the city and also city staff is working to make that happen.”
Senate meeting
Following the joint council meeting, the Student Government conducted its regular weekly meeting, approving six funding bills and seating nine students on committees and one student on the Supreme Court.
External matters
- Funding $100 to the ACI Student Chapter advertising and outreach.
- Funding $822.52 to the Collegiate Cattleman.
- Funding $954.73 to the Archery Club at Iowa State University.
- Funding $825 to Disc Golf Club.
- Funding $900 to the African Students Association.
- Funding $75 to Student Government participation in homecoming.
Internal matters
- Seating Adityapaul Lobana, a freshman majoring in software engineering, as an at-large to the public relations committee.
- Seating Evanger Wiley, a sophomore majoring in agricultural and rural policy studies, Ella Jicinsky, a junior majoring in healthcare management and Henry Rose, a senior majoring in agricultural studies, as at-larges to the legislative ambassadors committee.
- Seating Adison Williamson, a junior majoring in agricultural and rural policy studies, Brook Piekema, a sophomore majoring in agricultural and rural policy studies and Charlie Fisher, a sophomore majoring in microbiology, as at-larges to the legislative ambassadors committee.
- Seating Bayne Bernal, a freshman majoring in agricultural business, on the legislative ambassadors committee.
- Seating Amyah Graybill, a freshman majoring in psychology, on the legislative ambassadors committee.
- Seating Wyatt Anderson, a sophomore majoring in agricultural and rural policy studies as an at-large to the legislative ambassadors committee.
- Confirming Wyatt Anderson, a sophomore majoring in agricultural and rural policy studies, to the Supreme Court.
The next Senate meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Memorial Union.