Ian Bell focused on improving the build reliability and repository hygiene of the cockroachdb/geos module during December 2024. He addressed a persistent build system issue by ensuring CMake could always locate geos-config.cmake using an absolute path, regardless of the working directory, which reduced cross-environment build failures. To further streamline development, Ian updated the .gitignore configuration to exclude generated CMake files, minimizing unnecessary version control noise. His work demonstrated strong skills in build system configuration, configuration management, and Git, resulting in more maintainable builds and cleaner repository history. These targeted improvements enhanced onboarding and accelerated code review processes for the team.