Tonight: Ames City Council Discusses Tax Deal for Proposed Auto Dealership

A divisive discussion over tax abatement for a new auto dealership could be resolved at the Ames City Council Meeting tonight after months of conversation.

The issue at hand is the discussion of tax abatement criteria for the construction of an auto dealership by . The proposed site at Southeast 16th Street and Dayton Avenue lies on low-lying land that has flooded in the past. In exchange for tax abatement, The Deery Brothers offered to donate 10 acres of land to the city as well as pursue flood mitigation projects.

The Ames council previously rejected the establishment of a tax abatement district, but voted to discuss the issue again at tonight’s meeting. Mayor Ann Campbell cast the tie-breaking vote at the May 22 meeting, allowing the discussion to continue.

“I think this could be do or die when it comes back to us next time,” Campbell told the Ames Tribune last month.

Matthew Goodman, city council at large representative, said in an email previewing the meeting that he believes abatement is inappropriate.

“Every investment in the community yields returns,” Goodman wrote in the email. “When we start giving select locations special treatment without some independently determined public good that will be achieved through the gift, it is unfair to other investors.”