The City of Ames is pursuing a partnership to send its solid waste to Carroll County.
City staff was authorized on Tuesday to submit an intent to negotiate letter and develop plans with the Carroll County Waste Management Commission for a longterm agreement of at least 10 years.
Ames currently transports much of its solid waste to the Boone County landfill on the southwestern edge of Boone off Highway 30. Story County annually disposes an average of 20,000 pounds of solid waste in Boone. The landfill has about 30 years before it reaches capacity.
The city’s solid waste agreement with Boone County expires at the end of 2025. Boone County is willing to extend the agreement for two more years – until June 2027 – while Ames transitions to a new partner.
The Carroll County landfill is located on the western each of Carroll, roughly 69 miles from the heart of Ames. The Boone County landfill, on the southwestern edge of Boone, is roughly 18 miles from Ames.
More: The Boone County landfill is filling up fast, officials predict only 30 years til capacity
Talks with Des Moines landfill fell through
City staff initially spoke with Des Moines-based Metro Waste Authority (MWA) this summer about possibly taking on Ames’ solid waste, recyclables and yard waste.
City staff eventually uncovered a few hurdles that brought the partnership to a halt, Public Works Director John Joiner said.
“Their core mission and goal is to serve their member communities, and in (serving us) we would be an additional waste flow into providing that service,” Joiner said.
MWA staff asked the city to consider building a landfill in Story County. Joiner said simply evaluating where that could be would require a lot of work, with no guarantee that they can find a feasible spot. The process would take longer than two years, Joiner said, extending past the agreement with Boone and possibly leaving the city without a waste management provider.
Ames staff ultimately explored potential partnerships with other landfill facilities, including Marshall County, Eldora and Waterloo. The city felt Carroll County provided the best option, viewing the agreement as a “true partnership” by allowing Ames a seat on its board.
“They’re a very well ran organization, very environmentally conscious,” Joiner said. “They share the same (environmental) goals that we share.”
Carroll County’s waste management commission operates under the umbrella of the West Central Iowa Solid Waste Management Association, which also serves Crawford, Shelby and Guthrie counties. The city of Ames will soon enter negotiations with Carroll County. Monetary costs have not yet been revealed.
An agility course may be coming to Carr Park in Ames. Taken Oct. 17, 2024.
Contracts awarded for new agility course
The Ames City Council also awarded contracts for a pair of notable park projects during Tuesday’s meeting.
The installation of an agility course at Carr Park will cost the city roughly $729,000. The new park will feature cargo nets, balance beams and ladders.
The project will be built at site of the former Carr Pool. It will include agility equipment as well as safety surfacing, a concrete border, a sidewalk connection along Meadowlane Avenue and a neighborhood park shelter.
The project is about $10,000 under budget, which will help pay for about 15 play components that will enhance lower and upper body strength.
One of three color options for the proposed Carr Park Agility Course.
The Ames City Council awarded the construction contract to three companies on Tuesday. The site work, playground equipment and shelter construction will be split among three companies. Site work will be done by Caliber Concrete LLC in Adel, who bid just under $444,000.
The equipment will be purchased from and installed by Outdoor Recreation Products in Gretna, Nebraska for $166,000. The shelter will be built by Boland Recreation in Marshalltown for about $25,000.
Construction will begin in the spring and will hopefully be completed in early 2026.
More: Once home to a public pool, Carr Park is transforming into an agility course following Ames council approval
The Ames City Council approved plans to construct a mini-pitch soccer court at Lloyd Kurtz Park by May 31, 2025. Taken Sept. 25, 2024.
Work on a mini-pitch soccer court will start in the spring
The construction of a mini-pitch soccer court at Lloyd Kurtz Park was also approved by the Ames City Council on Tuesday.
A mini-pitch is designed as a hard-surfaced court for fast-paced, small-sized soccer games.
The total project cost is about $318,000. The city has roughly $261,000 available to build the new mini-pitch, leaving a shortfall of around $57,000.
The project was initially bid in four packages and bids were received for three on Nov. 12, coming in at about $359,000. That included a $150,000 estimate on the package without bids.
More: Ames applies for an EPA grant while bids for a mini-pitch are high: More from the latest council meeting
The remaining package − which includes items for the mini-pitch court including fencing, goals, benches and gates − received a low bid of about $109,000, which was awarded on Tuesday along with packages for concrete and grading and electrical. The fourth package for water service was left out.
About $90,000 will be reallocated to the mini-pitch thanks to Capital Improvement Project (CIP) savings from a gym flooring project at the Ames Community Center.
Crews could begin installing the pitch in the spring, with a target date of May 31.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Why is Ames considering sending its solid waste to Carroll?