The names for the Ames mayor and city council seats on this year’s election ballot are familiar ones.
The Ames Voice sent out a questionnaire to all candidates in the Ames City Council election to find out who they are and what they want to accomplish on the city council. All of the candidates are running unopposed.
The general election is Nov. 4. Find your polling place here, register to vote online, find out who else is up for election here and keep up with Ames election information here at the Ames Voice.
Mayor
Voters will select one on the ballot for mayor.
John Haila
Years in Ames: 14 years
What year did you start as mayor: 2018
What term would this be for you: 3rd term
Day job: Graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in Architecture. After graduation I worked under an architect and then professional engineer for almost a decade. Thereafter, I founded and ran Haila Architecture Structure Planning, Ltd. for over 30 years. I sold my firm to three professional staff members in 2016 and fully retired December 2018.
City council Ward 1
Voters will select one on the ballot for Ward 1 representative to the Ames City Council.
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
Years in Ames: 25
What year did you start serving on the council: 2016
What term would this be for you: 4th term. I did two four-year terms as an at-large representative, and my more recent two-year term was for Ward 1.
Day job: My day job is at Wheatsfield Cooperative, where I have worked for 22 1/2 years.
City Council Ward 3
Voters will select one on the ballot for Ward 3 representative to the Ames City Council.
Gloria Betcher
Years in Ames: 32
What year did you start on the council: Elected in 2013, started in January 2014.
What term would this be for you: 4th term
Day job: I am a Teaching Professor of English at Iowa State University. This is my 32nd year at Iowa State. I started in fall 1993.
City council at-large
Voters will select one on the ballot for council at-large representative to the Ames City Council.
Amber Corrieri
Years in Ames: 25
What year did you start on the council: I was elected to the at-large seat in 2013
What term would this be for you: 4th term
Day job: I am the Chief Operating Officer for Mainstream Living, a multi-county non-profit organization that provides housing and supportive services to adults with intellectual disabilities and behavioral health needs.
What do you hope to accomplish during your next term?
Haila: Successful completion and commencement of operation of major city projects including phase one of the power plant, solid waste transfer station, Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center, Schainker Plaza; begin implementation of the Downtown Ames Guiding Vision; continue working on ways to encourage and/or facilitate increasing housing stock; strengthen relationships with local partners including Iowa State University, Ames Community School District, Story County Board of Supervisors and many other local entities that strive to make Ames a more welcoming and vibrant community.
Beatty-Hansen: I hope to continue to work toward making Ames a welcoming and vibrant community that values all people and celebrates our responsibility to care for the natural world. I am looking forward to following through on many projects that have been mentioned as goals (an indoor recreation center, for example), or that are already in progress (such as the creation of the new Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus, or R3C).
Betcher: The city of Ames has started to introduce new engagement methods, and I want to help the city continue to improve its outreach and engagement of under-represented groups, including ISU students. Revitalizing Campustown in the next few years will be another goal of mine, to get more residents throughout the community to think of Campustown when they are dining, drinking and shopping.
Corrieri: I’m committed to advancing the goals outlined in our Downtown Guiding Vision in a significant way over the next four years. My focus will be on helping to facilitate development of housing, supporting public improvements like the redesign of Main Street and Tom Evans Plaza, and working toward completion of an event center and parking facility. As a council, I hope we can further support public-private partnerships that can activate underutilized sites throughout downtown by working collaboratively with property owners, developers, downtown residents and other community stakeholders to transform the area in a way that meets our community’s needs and draws visitors.
Additionally, although the bond referendum for the Healthy Life Center failed several years ago, Ames is still desperately in need of an indoor-outdoor recreation center that can provide year-round space for recreation programs, fitness and social activities, youth sports and enrichment, and community gathering. I believe we are long overdue for a facility of this kind and we need to begin the planning process.
What impact will the new resource recovery center have on the average citizen in Ames?
Haila: Minimal impact. As a community, we will further reduce our carbon footprint by burning less garbage, although that will be offset in part by increased transportation of municipal solid waste to the Carroll landfill. The new center will offer expanded yard waste, food waste and recycling options for everyone to utilize.
Beatty-Hansen: The biggest difference for the average citizen will be moving our expectations from a system in which we throw everything in one bin to a system in which certain valuable recyclables are separated out of the garbage stream by residents, as they do in most other places.
Betcher: The new Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus, with organized and easily accessed drop-off lanes for cars and with its capacity for handling pick-ups of curbside recycling, should enable residents to scale up their home recycling and do more food waste diversion easily. As we get further toward the completion of this project and choosing a way forward with organized waste hauling in Ames that could reduce truck traffic and offer curbside recycling, Ames residents will likely see changes to their current waste collection. The plan for the future of waste hauling has not been determined yet.
Corrieri: The Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus (R3C) will help reduce the costs and environmental impact of waste management for Ames residents by keeping more materials out of landfills through improved recycling and waste diversion programs. This means more convenient recycling options for families and businesses. Beyond the R3C, I believe we should prioritize climate initiatives that directly benefit residents, including expanding rebate programs and retrofitting our municipal buildings to demonstrate cost savings that can be achieved. These approaches allow residents to participate in climate action on their own timeline and budget.
What changes, if any, would you make in the city’s budgeting process? Are we spending too much? Too little? Are citizens properly informed along the way?
Haila: I would not make any changes. The current system has been developed and refined over the past three to four decades. The overall process staff follows and the format they use to present the budget to council is outstanding. I believe we are spending about the right amount of money. I would like to see increased investment in community amenities and infrastructure to support new development and redevelopment in Ames.
The state legislature may make additional legislative changes in the coming years that will likely impact the amount of revenue the city can collect, which in turn will affect how much can be expended. City staff, under the leadership of the city manager and finance director, have worked tirelessly to minimize budget increases that impact property taxes. Staff and council are dedicated to fiscal stewardship of tax dollars while continuing to provide exceptional service at a reasonable cost.
Fiscal transparency has been a hallmark and commitment of council and staff, with citizens having easy access to budgetary information via the November town hall budget meeting; multiple public council work sessions in late January and early February where the budget is reviewed; public hearings and public forums prior to adoption of the budget; and easy access to all fiscal budget documents on the city’s website. Council consistently expresses their desire that more citizens attend the workshops and offer input. The budget information is available for those who want to access it. We are always open to suggestions on ways to better inform our constituents about not only the budget, but all other matters that come before council.
Beatty-Hansen: The city of Ames has been incredibly fiscally responsible during my time on council. If anything, I would change the unpredictability handed down to us by state and federal lawmakers. Opportunities for further educating the public about our budgeting process are always welcome, though!
Betcher: Ames runs on a pretty lean budget. I appreciate the ways that city staff in our many departments dig into projects to economize and offer council options for expenditures. It’s difficult to know what is “too much” to spend and what is “too little” when the constraints being placed on our ability to raise tax levies keep changing. The city does its best to inform residents of the budget process and to be transparent along the way, including our town hall budget meeting in November, multiple televised meetings of each department’s budget plan, and introducing new web pages that explain how we tax and what percentages of an individual resident’s property tax goes to the city. Sadly, we can’t make people pay attention to all the efforts made to communicate about the budget process. I wish more residents were engaged and providing input along the way.
Corrieri: Ames has earned its reputation for fiscal responsibility, thanks in large part to our city staff. Our budget process is transparent and inclusive, with multiple public meetings and numerous opportunities for resident input throughout the year. However, meaningful public engagement remains challenging in the era of social media and declining local news coverage due to corporate consolidation. I believe our overall spending levels are appropriate, but as Ames continues to grow, residents expect expanded services and amenities to match that growth. Unfortunately, the state legislature has increasingly limited our budgetary autonomy, making it harder to respond to local needs and priorities. With further legislative restrictions expected in the upcoming session, we must continue to identify opportunities for partnerships and identify other funding mechanisms to address our growing needs.
How would you approach finding solutions to homelessness in Ames?
Haila: The city is already actively providing funding and staff to reach out to those who are experiencing homelessness, seeking to understand individual and/or family needs and connecting them to available services and resources. We will continue to support, and through ASSET provide funding to, our local human service partners.
This is a complex issue that not only Ames, but our nation, is dealing with. While we are seeking to help those who are experiencing homelessness, efforts are being made and options explored to assist in preventing or minimizing the length of time that people are in a homeless state. This includes providing case management services, counseling, mental health and prevention of substance abuse services, and proactive measures within the school, community and university systems. There is not an easy answer to the wide variety of cases and needs of those experiencing homelessness.
The city will continue to work with the county, school district, university, medical community, and local nonprofit service providers and funders to address this challenge.
Beatty-Hansen: As experiencing homelessness (and being on the brink of it) continues to rise nationally and in Iowa, this is an issue with no clear end in sight. The Homelessness Action Plan calls for us to help service providers better coordinate their services, improve prevention of homelessness though our rental and utility assistance programs, and better bolster our offerings of shelter, temporary housing, and affordable housing. At the same time, we need to consider how to improve access to mental health care and drug addiction services so we can be both compassionate and also gently insist people use those services if necessary.
Betcher: The consulting report on homelessness in the community has offered us some ideas that can be investigated in phases. For example, providing a secure storage facility for the possessions of unhoused residents and creating a place for them to spend daylight hours may allow them some stability on which they can build to acquire jobs and housing. Likewise, peer navigators may help others to gain once we have the facilities for them to go to. I also greatly appreciate the efforts that are currently being made by the Homeless Outreach and Support Team (HOST) and would like to see us be able to scale up those efforts.
Corrieri: This is a challenging issue for many communities across the country and is even more worrisome given the continued increase in the cost of living. We need strong community providers that can operate sustainable services in emergency housing and rapid rehousing. We also need additional providers who can offer comprehensive behavioral health services such as home-based habilitation. These are challenges themselves because of an uncertain funding environment due to cuts in Medicaid and other state and federal programs that support these efforts. Additionally, many providers lack adequate staffing to be able to successfully deliver these kinds of services. I support all of the items on the Homeless Action Plan, but we simply cannot do it alone. Although the city has strong partners in the county, United Way and Mary Greeley, our entire system to support unhoused individuals, especially those with disabilities or behavioral health needs, is underfunded and understaffed.
Anything else you would like to address?
Beatty-Hansen: I do… two extra things to help keep residents informed of city council topics. First, before each council meeting I send out an email highlighting some of the topics on our agenda. To sign up, people can go to nl.amesnews.net and follow the links to subscribe to the Ames Council Preview. Secondly, after each meeting I post my notes and Doodles to Instagram (ames_councilor), on the Nextdoor app, and on Reddit on the Ames subreddit.
Betcher: I wish that more people were willing to run for city council. I hope that in future years there will be more participation in municipal governance, whether that be running for council or volunteering for city boards and commissions.
