City Of Ames: Volunteers Sought For Climate Action Plan Supplemental Input Committee

Press release from the City of Ames:

07/07/2021 3:00 PM

As part of the process of developing a community-wide Ames Climate Action Plan (CAP), Ames Mayor John Haila is seeking citizen applications for the newly established CAP Supplemental Input Committee. The committee will include representatives from a dozen community sectors including education, healthcare, business, faith-based, and non-profit representation.

An online application is available at www.CityOfAmes.org/Sustainability or a paper copy can be requested by the calling the City Manager’s Office at 515.239.5101. Applicants must be residents of Ames. The application process will remain open through Friday, July 23.

The Ames City Council has made encouraging environmental sustainability a goal, and progress continues on making Ames a greener community. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, a community-wide baseline for carbon emissions, was completed in 2020. The next step is creating a CAP, which serves as a detailed and strategic framework for reducing GHG emissions and related climatic impacts.  The Ames CAP will establish relevant, achievable, and cost-effective strategies to achieve reduction goals within a reasonable timeline, designate milestone reduction achievements along the timeline, and specify metrics to track and measure progress.

“Developing a successful, implementable Ames CAP requires a robust, inclusive community input process to encourage participation from every citizen who wants to be involved. We are seeking all voices to participate in this group and especially those who haven’t been involved in past City projects,” said Assistant City Manager Deb Schildroth, who serves as the Ames CAP project manager.

City staff is working with the Sustainable Solutions Group (SSG) to develop a customized CAP for Ames. In addition to the Supplemental Input Committee, there will be many other opportunities for public comments during the 18-month plan development as part of the community engagement process.

Appointments to the Supplemental Input Committee will follow the same process as applicants who seek to serve on City Boards and Commissions. Applications will be forwarded to the Mayor for appointment, and the slate of candidates will be approved by the City Council. There will be three additional representatives from Iowa State University, with two appointed by ISU administration and one appointed by ISU Student Government.

This press release was produced by the City of Ames. The views expressed here are the author’s own.