City of Des Moines, Iowa 2022 Des Moines City Council, 1 Nov 2022

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From YouTube: 11-1-22 City Council quarterly work session

Description

Des Moines City Council quarterly work session on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.

Strategic Discussions:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:02:55 Central Iowa Shelter and Services (CISS) Update
01:00:51 Parking Upgrade/New Meters
01:39:51 Traffic Calming
02:09:22 Vision Zero
02:24:41 FY2024 Budget Timeline
02:46:31 Equity Update
04:02:11 Block Challenge Grant Program/Results
04:35:58 Council Board Updates

View the agenda: https://DSM.city/CouncilMeetings

A

Good morning, everybody Welcome to our quarterly strategic session, we're going to jump right into it. We've got a number of things to discuss today, Scott, let's get going we're going to start with the central Iowa, shelter and Services I think yeah.

B

I'll go ahead.

A

And have Melissa come on.

B

Up, it's really just a series of updates that we have for you this morning and we're going to start with our one of our outside agencies that we partner with pretty closely so Melissa.

C

Good morning, everybody well I thought I would start this off a little bit. Different uh is Josh here he is here, so uh we're gonna wait just a second I'll. Do this a little bit later on, but we decided that, in order for people to truly understand the amount of Courage it takes to come in the door at ciss, we would actually give you an experience.

C

uh So, while I appreciate the fact that this is a four hour meeting and you want to be gone by noon, the reality is, is I actually have a 15 passenger van waiting outside for you inside that van. What we intend on doing is we intend on heading out to a Ropes Course, in which case I'm, going to give you a helmet and a harness and ask you to climb a 60-foot telephone pole and go ziplining Into the Woods.

C

Now, if your heart's not pumping just a little bit yet I appreciate the fact that there are also people online watching so go ahead and get your stuff ready. There are people online watching today and those people that are online watching today. I'd like you to do me, a favor I'd like you to take out a sheet of paper, uh the plain white sheet of paper, if possible and I'd like you to grab a pen and paper and I'd like you to do the exact same thing.

C

Only this time, I want you to draw the house. You grew up in those council members that are now drawing you're, not getting out of the zipline experience.

C

So here's why I bring this up because there's an element of choice that takes place when someone's experiencing homelessness, there's an element of choice that has to look at the internal values that a person has, as well as the external pressures that our community places on a person.

C

So you think I'm kidding about the 15 passenger van look out the window.

C

Because something tells me you're a little scared that you might actually have to climb a 60-foot telephone pole and go ziplining into the wood.

C

All right, your heart might be pumping just a little bit now. The reality is, is most people who check into our emergency shelter. Don't want to be there.

C

It's a series of life decisions that take place that lead somebody into homelessness and unhoused, some of them out of their control completely others within their control and recognizing that they made a bad decision. So today, I'm going to talk a little bit about the central Iowa, shelter and service, our history and as a low barrier shelter. We do a lot of other things within our community. I think council is aware of, but today we're going to focus on Shelter and So within the elements of choice.

C

We want to meet people where they're at without any preconditions to whether or not somebody enters our building. The reality is is just like. I asked you to put on a helmet climb a 60-foot telephone pole and go ziplining.

C

The same physiological chemical response takes place in your body when you knock on the door of our emergency shelter and ask to come inside it's the same physiological response that takes place when you enter into a crucial conversation with a peer where your heart might start pumping just a little bit, and you actually have to take a deep breath and control your emotions.

C

Most people who enter our shelter exit in less than 14 days and 54 percent of them find permanent housing within those 14 days.

C

The numbers are staggering when you actually look at the data in the amount of individuals that we serve, who find housing within our community as well as going back from a Workforce Development standpoint. So, let's dive into this a little bit I want to make sure everyone here and those of you online. You can quit drawing now, but the reality is this is the same thing is when I asked you to draw the picture of your home as a child.

C

Growing up, you have experiences, you have memories, you have life that has happened to you and some of those things are really good, and some of those things are a little bit scary and that's the reality is that I'm asking you to face is that every single one of us have a background.

C

Every single one of us can think of a point in time where we might have been just a little bit nervous and scared about what our future would be like everyone that I know that I talk to within our emergency shelter and our services and our programming are no different than everyone here sitting in this room and the people that we see online, they have the same dreams, the same aspirations, the same goals, and they don't want to be inhibited by a bunch of rules or laws that didn't allow them to necessarily reach their purpose and their passion in life.

C

So ciss. If we can show the screen here, uh founded in 1992 as a low barrier, shelter, 92, eight churches in downtown community came together and they basically said enough. Five people had perished on the streets of Des Moines, all after being denied shelter from other organizations within our community.

C

Those eight churches used to drive around in Vans and pick people up off the streets and they would rotate from church to church to church across our community to shelter adult singles, especially those with mental health and substance abuse as it evolved in 1995 Bill Nat built the original shelter, the first shelter on Mulberry Street, which is directly across the street from where we're at and demarc's former facility.

C

That facility was only opened during the evening and had 100 beds uh evening. Churches and meal groups came and provided meals in the evening time. They still do that today in order to provide substance and food for individuals a healthy, nutritious meal, at least twice a day dinner and breakfast in 2010. Some of you were a part of this discussion, but there was a discussion, obviously about moving the facility, knowing we needed a larger facility to accommodate the growing population in central Iowa, and originally that was designed to go to key away again.

C

I know: there's people watching online and that's its own. Another post-traumatic stress right there for those people that were a part of that agenda item, but in 2010 that project was shut down and it was determined uh God willing, Nationwide, as well as the fire department agreed to be our neighbors and mayor County. I. Think you probably remember this.

C

They moved and built the facility that we're currently in today, Jim County, stepped up along with several other community leaders and built that facility to be 150 emergency shelter beds and an all-inclusive One-Stop shop for anyone marginalized by our society. We are designed to be a low barrier, shelter and we're going to talk about what that means.

C

That all-inclusive includes a clothing closet, a food pantry, a computer classroom in order for people to fill out job applications and housing applications to help get their SNAP benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, social security, income, Social, Security, disability income, anything that you can do online that computer lab can be utilized for we provide breakfast lunch and dinner and two meals, two snacks. Throughout the day.

C

On top of what we do within our community Kitchen meal program, we also provide three job training programs for those who immediately want to get back to work within our facility as a low barrier employer. We also partner with people out into the community who are looking for people in employment. In fact, our downtown neighborhood has been phenomenal. I cannot thank our neighborhood community leaders around us, both small business and big business, to really helping support and lift up individuals who are looking not only for housing but also looking for a Workforce within our community.

C

So as a low barrier, shelter and our mission I want to get into a little bit about what that means. So there are five key pieces to it. The first one is: we take a housing first approach. We want to make sure that we have safe and appropriate diversion and Rapid resolution.

C

We are immediate access to the low barrier, so very few rules, rules upon getting into the facility a housing focus with rapid exits and the last one is data and to measure our performance and we're going to talk about each one of these five bullet points, the first one housing first, so we want this to be as shortest day as possible and I think that's something we can all agree to.

C

We want it to be one time and we want to make sure that we provide immediate access to housing, which is also why we have the 81 apartments above us, uh so those 81 apartments in partnership with Des Moines Municipal housing, as well as the VA, allows us to House people quickly, especially those that have high barriers or high vulnerabilities. Those are Apartments have been 100 full for almost two years now, as soon as those 24 units were built and added on to our facility within a short period of time.

C

We worked with the housing agency and those units were filled. Those units are filled with individuals who aspire to have the same thing. Many of them have gone through a recovery and a treatment and a substance, abuse program or a mental health program, and these apartments serve the hardest of the heart. So we want to make sure that when individuals first start experiencing homelessness, that we have immediate access to our emergency shelter and then get them into intake process that intake process happens with primary health care. It's centralized intake here in Polk County.

C

If an individual aspires to leave Polk County, we do have access to coordinated entry and they can do an intake in order to go home where they came from We're oftentimes Emergency Shelters are not available in rural Iowa. They will utilize our shelters and we will get to that Connie in a minute. We've got some great data for you. Okay, so save an appropriate diversion. One of the things that took place and highlighted quite a bit of during covid-19 was the importance of diversion.

C

We knew that mass Sheltering within our facility was not going to be a healthy solution and by the support of the city council and the Polk County Supervisors. We obviously operated those hotels for two additional years that took quite the burden on our staff and we'll talk about the capacity issues that we have as a staff when it comes to running multiple different facilities and hotels across our region. But that also became quite a blessing.

C

We never had a covid-19 outbreak and when we did, it was actually our staff that got sick oftentimes because they were out traveling around the community. We would have one-offs here and there with our clients, but nothing significant enough where the state or Polk County Health Department had any major red flags. It was oftentimes our staff, so just to debunk that covid-19 rumor in the appropriate diversion you'll see that in our data, that about a quarter of the end of visuals that knock on our door and ask for help never have to enter shelter.

C

When we started in 2016, we served over 2 000 people within our emergency shelter over the last two years, we're riding around 1700 people and that's simply because we're able to serve people in their hometowns help them find housing.

C

Help them learn how to have crucial conversations with family members in order to allow them to stay on their couch or stay into somebody else's housing doubled up, that's not a long-term solution, but that does eliminate the number of people that have to sleep on our streets are in our emergency shelter and hopefully reduces homelessness long term.

C

So I'm going really fast. Any questions on the first two bullet points.

C

All right so immediate access to low barrier. uh This is actually interesting. The data actually comes from the National Alliance and homelessness. uh Janiece Alford, our VP of operations, who's joined me here today uh routinely does Town Hall meetings with individuals residing within our emergency shelter and meets with individuals who are unsheltered around our facility. uh The team would tell you that these are the exact same things that we hear on a regular basis as to why people don't want to enter our emergency shelter. The two crowded might be true in other facilities.

C

It's not in ours. Over the course of the last two years we have had less than 150 people in our emergency shelter and we've had beds available uh Janice. You have the data for today come here in our shelter 165.. So now the temperatures are getting colder. You are going to start seeing more and more individuals come in and our building was set up for overflow. So while we have 150 emergency shelter beds, to be honest, not everybody wants a bed. Sometimes people have a bad back.

C

Sometimes people uh want to get up and move around a little bit more and they don't want to disturb other people, so we allow them actually to sleep in chairs. We have 15 chairs that are in our North lounge and by the blessing of Prairie Meadows they've allowed us to purchase another 90 chairs in order to ensure that their medical grade Trails chairs, so that we can continue to meet your overflow needs within the community.

C

Our day, room, Our, Community Kitchen program is also equipped to allow individuals to even sleep in our day room if the Beds Are full and the chairs are full okay, so overcrowding has not been a recent issue of ciss. It was an issue when I started in 2016-2017. the data. What I'm about to show you here in a little bit would show that we would have well over 230 people in our emergency shelter and when you don't have the appropriate staff, your staff to client ratio starts to pick up.

C

Some of the other issues like safety. I can tell you that bed bugs no longer exist within our facility. That was an issue when I started in 2016 they've been eradicated. We don't have that issue. I would also put the cleanliness of our kitchen up against absolutely any restaurant in the downtown community. I know Joe Connie, you've both served in our kitchen and I hope. You can appreciate the fact that the cleanliness of that kitchen is absolutely top grade.

C

Other things that you will see in our janitorial program, I give all the cudas to Karen Overton our head of janitorial services and the trainees as to why we did not have covid-19. They kept that facility. Crystal Clear, wiped it down on a consistent, regular basis and took so much pride in making sure that Health was managed within our facility, the covid's not our greatest concern.

C

Our greatest concern is hepatitis, tuberculosis, flu, strep throat, and so, while you wear masks uh because of covid-19, we wear masks because we want to make sure that we're not spreading other diseases and illnesses throughout our facility when covet started. We already had the mass we had the mass, because we were prepared for the fluid for stress, and so some of those things that we look at on a regular daily basis, um sometimes are often forgotten. Okay, we offer flu shots in the building uh two times a year and then as needed.

C

We allow people to get up to Polk, County Health Department, to get a flu shot. If they're interested um we'll talk a little bit about safety, I know that's a concern that consistently comes up. People say they don't feel safe within our facility. We have a Des Moines officer that for the previous five years prior to covid-19, was in our building for four hours every single night. Unfortunately, we are not immune to inflation. We are not immune to the rising costs that it has to have an off-duty officer within our facility.

C

Our clients appreciate that they have a direct opportunity, especially if they're a victim of a crime, to report something to the officer, and it's actually done a great job towards community policing. Those individuals have relationships with them and when they see them out into the community, whether they're panhandling, whether they're tent camping they've, already come to know them and have a great relationship so that they can report any safety concerns directly and immediately and we can handle those things as far as a theft within the building. Let's address that I can't put cameras in dormitories.

C

I cannot put security cameras in bathrooms. Most of the belongings that are still own within our facility are oftentimes in the dormitories. So we say: okay, we'll provide a padlock if needed, to individuals to lock up their belongings, except one of the things that has been highlighted. Is it's really easy to put a padlock inside a sock and use it as a weapon, so things that we do to help support and to provide rules and Safety and Security?

C

Unfortunately, we have individuals who also take it the other direction and that's something that our team has to routinely and regularly balance, and so we lock the dormitories and people can only get into them during those overnight sleeping hours or shortly after lunch. If they need to go in and grab something so that it's supervised by our staff during that time, as far as selective other belongings, we respectfully ask people if you're going to carry a backpack with you. Please keep it on you at all times.

C

Don't leave your back plaque on the floor and walk away if you're going to plug your phone into the wall, please don't plug your phone into the wall and walk away. You're gonna have to stay there next to your phone, while it's charging, and so we can routinely ask people and remind people of this, but unfortunately there are other individuals in our community that take advantage of those things.

C

Okay, but this data that you see from National, Alliance and homelessness is no different than the concerns uh the journeys and our street Outreach team share on a regular basis and I, don't believe it's any different than the report. uh That was just done by Drake University, that's still being wrapped up.

C

So immediate access to low barrier, the shelter is open, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People do not have to line up to get a bed. Each night. Check-In is between three and six as long as you're there, between three and six to check in for your bed, then you're guaranteed that bed back.

C

uh What we do ask is if an individual is working late, that they just let us know, we document that and so that we can make sure that, if they're in after six o'clock that they still have a bed and that they have a hot meal, we do also do the same thing early in the morning.

C

Okay, uh one of the things that we look at as well no drug or alcohol testing to get in no criminal background check to get in no income verification to get in, and you are not required to be housing ready. What that means is you not do not have to have a driver's license? You do not have to have a birth certificate. You don't have to have all those things in order to be housing ready. We will help you get them and acquire them if they're needed. Okay, so I want to be clear.

C

We are open to everybody all right. uh The simplest way to explain our rules is just be kind to one another be respectful of one another, especially when you have so many people within a congregate facility, especially those who come in uh into our streets off our streets in order to take showers to grab a hot meal, especially if they want to stay unsheltered. Okay, so I want to be clear that, just because we're low at barrier does not mean no rules.

C

Okay, we also talking to pause for a second before we get to this one. We talked a lot about compassion and accountability. Okay, we cannot bow down and have unlimited amounts of compassion. We are going to hold people accountable, but one of the beautiful things about compassion is that we can meet you where you're at and what your goal is. If you walk into our building- and you say- hey Miss, Janiece I just want a job. If you can help me get a job, I will take care of the rest of this on our own.

C

The first thing we're going to do is get you with our job code and he's immediately going to help you get back to work. We just recently had an individual who was in our facility for 90 days, which is an arbitrary number and you'll understand why, in a second 90-day length of stay, he was in for 90 days. He worked full time that entire time he saved three thousand dollars and he paid for his own security deposit first, the month, rent in stably house, because that's what he wanted.

C

He didn't want us to just house him and figure out the rest later, which is the housing first approach, so we met them where they were at their choice and we helped lean into that and help him get that because he wanted to do it on his own. Okay, we have some individuals who come in who have a social security income. Unfortunately, we don't have enough nursing homes, sometimes to take the individuals that we're serving. We have a young lady I'm, not exactly young, but she has 1700 a month in Social Security income.

C

She wants nothing more than to move into a long-term assisted living facility. Unfortunately, our staff has to play that role, so, while they're social workers, they also provide nursing and medical care, even though that's not in their job description.

C

Okay, we have individuals who just can't find affordable housing that make twenty four hundred dollars a month in disability income, most of our diversion and homeless prevention efforts right now are for senior citizens who might even own their home, but can no longer afford their sha or HSA or their taxes or their medical care or their transportation, and so they're talking about giving up their housing in order to get those other things met.

C

So I started this conversation about the elements of choice. Okay, we understand that every individual has their own set of values and beliefs and we want to meet them where they're at and their values and beliefs, when we have to talk to individuals about giving up their housing because that's what they want in order to meet everything else.

C

They're valuing something else more than they're valuing their housing, and so the reason why I share this with you is: there is a vast array of complexity that happens with every individual person that we serve and we look at them truly as individuals. We can't look at this as a collective blanket. It's also to the reason why no one has solved homelessness finland's the closest and we use finland's housing plans inside our facility, because it mirrors the compassionate accountability in meeting people where they're at and their goals and teaching crucial conversations.

C

So we use finlinks as the only country. That's done it. We can talk mental health. We can talk substance abuse. We can talk, livable wage jobs. If you really want to break your heart. Let's talk about the fact that we have no place for children under the age of 18. So if a family can't find shelter and somehow gets DHS involved, the parents come to me and the kids go someplace else now you're creating secondary traumas, it's completely unnecessary.

C

So there's a reason. Nobody has done this, but I do believe that we've got the right Minds in the room. We have amazing core of community nonprofit Partners, who are fighting every single day to solve one of society's hardest problems. It's a challenging topic, and it's not one. That's real sexy to talk about, but the reality is.

C

Is everybody here in this room most likely knows somebody who struggles with mental health or substance abuse or struggles every day to make ends meet and I've even heard each of you starting to talk about the fact some people have to work, two jobs right and if they're working, two jobs, who's watching the kids I know, you've got some other crucial conversations about. How do we help with our child care and our preschools, because you really want to end homelessness? Let's make sure every child can read at a third grade level.

C

Let's make sure that every child going through our educational system is met where they need to be not it's not an advanced manufacturing line like it was when education was originally established. Let's look at experiential education. Let's look at project-based learning because most of the individuals we serve within our emergency, shelter struggled in school and maybe we've got some amazing teachers. I know that my father was a teacher. He was home a missed home, a lot because he was helping tutor kids at all different levels, meeting them where they were at I know.

C

We've got some amazing teachers and that's on your agenda as well. We want to end homelessness, Let's help our kids Let's help our family structure, so equal access rule our building is open to everybody, regardless of your ethnicity, your race, your age and your demographics. One of the things that we worked really hard to do over the last six years is make sure that our staff nears the population that we serve so when it comes to the demographics of our building. Yes, you'll see this in the data in a few minutes.

C

Yes, we have a higher proportionate number of African Americans, okay, 27 percent. We also make sure that our staff mirrors that so that we have the right person meeting with the individual as they enter our shelter. If an individual is Asian, we make sure we have an Asian staff member if they're Hispanic, they have an Hispanic staff member. We make sure that if somebody has struggled with substance abuse that we have somebody as a peer support, who's recovering from substance abuse same thing with houselessness and homelessness.

C

If we have people with lived experience on the streets that are also there coaching and guiding and supporting those individuals within our shelter same thing, with food insecurity, we have people in our building who have lost their job lost, their income lived on the streets, and so we have an equal access rule to make sure that everybody has met where they're at If somebody walks into our building, transgendered or gay or bi.

C

We allow them to pick which dormitory they want to sleep in and if it's not safe, we actually have another space available to them. It's still one percent or less of the population that we serve and the national battle will tell you that there are quite a few individuals lgbtqia who have experienced homelessness and are questioning, doesn't mirror.

C

We really appreciate the work that Homeward and The Institute of Community Alliance in the state of Iowa is doing on Dei, making sure that the questions that are being asked within intake processes don't create any barriers or stigma to in for people entering our emergency shelter, so that work is actually being done by Hogwart and I. Appreciate Angie coming today and that's a big part of making sure that what we're doing within our shelter and within our programs allow access for everybody. Okay,.

D

You have a question: uh yeah I, just um wanted to say: I wanted.

E

To clarify, first of all, it is split by gender, but you said there is a third space, um so fourth space, fourth space, okay, so um it is still split by gender, though.

C

Yeah, so traditionally male female, as this has evolved in our time over the last six years. If an individual presents a female uh we'll just simply, and they say I'd like I'm gay I'm, a male transgendered, we will allow them to move into the men's dorm. If that's what they ask. Okay. Now, if safety is a concern, we actually have another space that we will allow them to move into. Some people will not take that space, but it is available limited, but it is available and.

E

um I just want to say that um and like compassionate accountability in the spirit of compassionate accountability, the term transgendered is an old term that can be triggering to some people and I feel like people prefer to be referred to as transgender, okay. Okay, that's.

C

All thank you, I appreciate it any other questions.

C

All right, I've kind of gone all these a little bit, but what low barrier doesn't mean? um If you want me to dive into this a little bit more I think you guys can read that a little bit on your own. uh The simple rules, no guns, please be respectful. uh Please know: Shanks are weapons. We ask people to turn those in we'll even store knives for individuals upon entry or, if they've made a shank we'll serve those in a locked cabinet.

C

uh No substance abuse allowed on the premise um we do if you choose to use outside and come in intoxicated, that's fine, we'll support you where you're at in that. um We would appreciate a continued dialogue and conversation around the detox and sobering facility. Oftentimes Exemplar care who operates in the back of our facility serves in that role and capacity right now, uh even our overnight officers sometimes serve in that role. Right now, so continue. Dialogue on that is much appreciated from our side.

C

All right, we've been two years of less than a 30-day length of stay within our emergency shelter. Average length of stay is 29 days right now, when I ask them to pull the data from the last year. But if you actually look back the last two and a half years, people are in and out of our facility very quick and stably housed. uh The reason why this is important is when we measure ending homelessness within our community uh with nationally it's looked at as a 30-day window.

C

We want to House people faster than they come in the system and within 30 days. Our data on average within our facility meets that guideline, and it has for over two and a half years we're going to continue to strive and to get better in August of this last year. We're super excited.

C

When we saw we had a 22 length of stay for the month of August, okay, so again, meeting people where they're at helping them get where they want to go based on those intrinsic motivators that they value and they believe by the way when we started 75 days, we've come a long way.

C

Now this graph can be a little bit overwhelming so I'm going to simplify it. The top four lines are pre-covered.

C

This was the trend, so we look at this trendline data, even as we prepare for weather amnesty, we know that between April and August, usually we get a little bit of a slow time to bring in new staff and to train new staff after that numbers within our emergency shelter increase quickly as soon as uh no offense, but a political leader gets cold.

C

I start getting phone calls about what we're doing the reality is is the cold is actually not as hard on individuals who are unsheltered as the heat is heat is actually worse, and if you talk directly to the Polk County Health Department, they can provide you a lot of data as to why that is the case. You can only take so many layers off in the cold you can put layers on. You can provide heating sources. You can provide overnight shelter.

C

People are more likely to come inside, but wanted to share this data, because I think it shows the impact that the cares act. Funding, in particular the impact that our Community Partners have done on eviction Court, the impact of our youth homeless, demonstration Grant and our other Community Partners efforts through the cares act. Funding the arpa funding that have been available have drastically reduced the number of people staying within our emergency shelter.

C

On top of that, our homeless prevention diversion efforts, as well as the compassionate accountability that comes with a housing plan, has really helped drastically reduce the people. We serve the numbers that you see. On the left hand, side. Those are the total number of people we would serve that month. So, while Janiece said, we had a little over 160 people in shelter last night, you can see that we still serve in September 270 people within our shelter. That just goes to how people are exiting quickly.

C

Okay, we had an individual that I was working with last week that stayed in the building for 60 days and I asked him. I was like he's like everyone else is out here in 30 days. Why am I not out of here in 30 days and when I asked him more questions? What I found is this gentleman was working 70 hours a week, 70 hours a week for another organization within our community to save the money and I said hey how bad do you want housing when your next paycheck they got him into housing.

C

The very next day in a two-bedroom one-bath apartment at Carlisle. He just had to work on his housing plan. He had to. He mentally emotionally had to be ready. We were ready for him. We had housing lined up and he got his next paycheck and he's out. Okay, so yeah.

F

This actually raises a little bit of a flag in the sense that, if you look at our point in time, count numbers uh what we. What we're seeing like the overall homeless, which includes you, know the person living on the couch yep. uh The person in a shelter and the unsheltered that that hasn't been hot I mean we're sort of in the range we've been in. But the the one piece uh that are July point in time count.

F

We hit a record number of unsheltered, but the number of folks that you're serving hasn't changed and that that to me is it's.

C

Actually dropped significantly the number of people we deserve right.

F

But if the number that our low barrier shelters serving is dropping at the same time, our.

C

Unshelter is increasing yes, yeah. So let's talk about that going on so early in 2000 2021. As soon as we had a mass mandate, we had individuals within our emergency shelter who did not want to wear a mask if you're going to stay within our emergency shelter, we had to follow the same CDC guidelines and you, as elected officials, had to follow about the mask mandate.

C

We have individuals who are victims of crime who may have been raped where hand was put up over their mouth and now we're saying you got to cover your own mouth that signals all those other traumas which was a great when we had the hotels available. So we had a lot of individuals who did not want to enter shelter just simply because it appears around covid-19 and the fact that they had to wear a mask right. But that's I mean that's a large number of individuals Josh who did not want to enter our shelter.

C

For that reason, but.

F

But we didn't see the corresponding climb in the number of unsheltered. At that point, it's right now, right now it was July 2022 right so I don't know. If you still have a mask. We.

C

Actually, just re-implemented it, uh we took it out for two weeks and we just re-implemented it because in those two weeks we had a large breakout and strep throat and flu. So.

F

You've been pretty constant, yeah.

C

We took it off, I think it was roughly two weeks ish and all of a sudden. We had an increase in uh sickness throughout the facility, and so we put the mask mandate back on.

G

E

Will say: I also had a flag on that um I have the numbers actually is the um point in time count. The total was 628 um for this summer, but the unsheltered was 184 and hearing that you consistently have 150 I can't imagine that this reason is the reason for everybody who's not coming in and staying in the shelter um but saying consistently staying consistently at 150 160..

E

um While the unfiltered is climbing and we've got 115 chronically um uh homeless, who 77 are unsheltered, and so these those numbers did raise flags for me as well. When I heard you say that you're, the amount of people that you're serving has uh stayed even, but that like it, doesn't seem to line up with being low barrier. So.

C

These are just shelter numbers. First of all, these are just people: who've entered our emergency shelter, that's not the people we are serving unsheltered or through Rapid, rehousing or through the other 15 counties that we manage today, I'm only focusing on shelter.

C

So, while I appreciate and I see the same trends that you guys see, which is why every single program we have mirrors both Street Outreach and Emergency Shelters, so whether it's a program focused on substance, abuse or re-entry from prisons or rapid resolution, rapid exits, everybody's responsible, our veterans programs, everyone's responsible for Street, Outreach and emergency shelter- to continue to break down those barriers and to welcome people into our facility. I I can't control whether or not somebody wants to come in or doesn't want to come in.

C

We can continue to offer these things for our community offer these things for our clients, but the reality is, is I can't force them to come inside, nor am I going to force them to come inside.

F

Right it and I guess my question: I, don't expect an answer today, but I I feel like this flag's a larger question.

F

If the numbers in coming into and seeking shelter are lower than they've been historically, but the number of unsheltered is higher than it's been historically, that represents something different that we need to to understand what is going on there and how we, how we feel that that service, Gap or and and it's not anyone's fault right things just change, but it means that we need to figure out figure out what we can do as a community to make sure that we are. We are reaching more folks and some of it you know another.

F

Another data point that we are seeing is the number of people who are unsheltered have more barriers than they've had um I.

C

Would say your chronically homeless numbers are still inaccurate when we have access to both centralized intake and coordinated entry. Somebody may present, as first-time homeless here in Polk County, but are chronically homeless across the state of Iowa.

C

So our systems don't talk, and so one of the things we have to look at when somebody enters our building is we're looking to see. Have they accessed shelter, someplace else and are they actually chronically homeless?

C

So I would even say your chronic homeless numbers are wrong and I think what you're both doing right now is highlighting the complexities around this. We can reduce our length of stay. We can House people faster. We can divert people, we can get people into permanent housing. I can get people into jobs at a higher rate than we've ever been able to do it. Yet still, we haven't solved the problem right. This is an extremely complex conversation and it is well more than just ciss.

C

This is a vast array of other service providers. That can be a part of the same conversation that we're having specifically about our data within our facility. It.

E

Is an extremely complex situation and even if our chronic homeless numbers are wrong, we still have the numbers of unsheltered versus sheltered and the totals and I I do think that Josh was pointing out. Just a gap is appearing if your numbers are staying the same, but the unshouldered numbers are going up and the people who are unsheltered are not getting into the shelter and whether that's their barriers or your barriers or whatever is happening. It is a gap that we maybe need to address.

E

I guess the question: is you as part of a larger system um here in Polk County and in Des Moines? Are we willing to make those adjustments? Are we willing to look at our practices and potentially change yeah.

C

So you mentioned Indira are our barriers. So let's talk about that a little bit, because one of the things I often hear from our people is I'm not allowed to go back to ciss. So let's talk about that. uh I pulled the data and Scott and I talked about. It actually went back to 2013.. So from 2013 there are only 60 people total that have ever been permanently denied services from ciss. So what does that mean? You guys remember the person who drove their vehicle through our Lobby in 2019.

C

not allowed to come back the two people that set the building on fire with the intent of killing everybody in the building they're not allowed to come back. We have other people that have also starred fires, but those two were specific. We have people that have stabbed other people because of a disagreement around a card game that they were playing in the building, so those safety concerns are real and so the individuals that have been denied shelter, even those who cannot do their activities of daily living.

C

You know we can work with somebody four five six times, but if you continue to defecate in the middle of the day room floor and make it unsafe and unclean for other people, I'm not going to allow you to stay within our facility, especially if we've given and provided many opportunities for medical treatment or for other medical supplies to be for that individual.

C

So those 60 individuals, even when I sat down and drilled our team about, would what would it take for us to allow those individuals back in and it's just a conversation right and most of those individuals deal around mental health and substance abuse. Even the individual I said hey. If this guy is 2019, he knocks on our door and he drove through our building and he wants to come back in.

C

Would we let him- and they said well- he'd- have to sign a behavioral agreement that he wouldn't do it again right, but he doesn't want to.

E

And you and I have had that conversation about specifically the people who are no longer allowed in a shelter. um That's not really the barrier that I'm talking about and Josh pointed out like people's own barriers as well, and are the barriers increasing for people and does that make it harder for them to come into shelter. But, um additionally, uh you talked about um immediate and on the slide it side of media and low barrier access.

E

um You talked about it not being an issue, it says so an issue other places for it to be too crowded or having too many rules, um and you also mentioned the study that Drake was doing. um This is like it's an ongoing conversation, because this study is still you know in progress um which.

C

Is why we didn't use that data.

E

Yes, but those are some, those two specifically are some initial results that we received was that that those were some barriers that people had, and so there are just I'm, just I guess putting it on the table like are we willing to adjust? Are we willing to change.

C

What are you asking to adjust and change that, like like I'm, saying, Community or just ciss, both.

E

I mean that's an ongoing, it's an ongoing conversation right, but it's just some of the things that we're hearing today is going to be in the conversation when we get this finalized report from sure Drake and with The Gap that we're seeing with the um issues that is rising with literally the highest. We were told largest of all time.

E

The point in time count for the summer was the largest of all time and on sheltered excuse me: yes, unsheltered excuse me, um and so we as a system need to change and of course you guys are a big part of that yeah.

C

And I would encourage us to consistently look at incremental improvements. One percent incremental improvements over time. I, don't think we need to switch the pendulum so far. The other direction that we have an adverse effect that we're not anticipating, of course, but small, incremental changes. Creative problem solving innovative solutions need to consistently be brought to the table because as much as they're as best practices around our country and really the entire world trying to work on this issue, we haven't done it yet.

C

So we need new voice to come to the table and honestly, some of the best problem solving can take place in our day room. Our clients are brilliant, absolutely brilliant, they think of things uh in their perspective on things, it's just so much great information, not only because of their current situation because of the history and lived experience right. So it's it's amazing. When you sit down just have a coffee in our day, room and I know. Many of you have done that and dear I'd continue to welcome you to come.

C

Have a coffee in our day room um a lot of the other council members have done so and you'll find that uh what we're doing with our rules and our access is because that's what they're wanting and what they're telling us.

C

So that's where the report is super helpful and I think there's always ways to take information and improve and grow as a system. It's not just ciss.

H

Do you have some specific solutions that you're asking for, or are you just pointing out that that we need to do some changing I just wondered I.

E

Mean do you have like I said it's an ongoing conversation because we're going to have that report coming out from Drake yeah.

H

I'm, just asking you personally: do you do you have some solutions I'd like to hear them.

E

Like I said, it's an ongoing conversation we'll have this report coming.

H

Out, that's not Solutions! That's just.

E

H

Just throwing grenades and and criticizing that you know we.

E

I know that's what you're pointing out. Let's continue.

I

Where we're at I.

E

Think Joshua I.

I

Think the biggest issue is that we understand that it's not one organization's issue. It's many organizations if we hear the rest of it because I know, there's point in time counts that you guys have because you're on the council that you're getting information that we don't know so I think for what service they cover. If we get through and kind of see and then come up with salute, because this is multi-faceted or we wouldn't have a whole group of agencies that come together and.

C

To your point, it's system-wide: we are seeing a higher increase in Substance Abuse and Mental Health across our entire Society. It is not unique to just this population, okay, so I'm gonna. This is uh we typically do this. It's just a basic statement, conditional statement, current reality- uh and this is our current data from the last fiscal year and so generally I say you know: participants, typically white non-hispanic age 25 to 54., and when my staff told me that I'm like that is a really big range.

C

Like you telling me, that's that big and they said well most of the data yeah, so 22 at 45 to 54 22 percent at 35 to 44 and 23 25 to 34. so yeah. It's actually that big of a range 25 to 54 within our program in our facility.

C

um So then we said, let's break it down a little bit more ethnicity, non-hispanic, and this is uh where we would say we have a little bit disproportionality between what we see in the state of Iowa, the county, the city and those who are experiencing homelessness in our building.

C

Okay and let's just call it out for what it is, and let's continue to make sure that we have a staff, that's equipped and trained to mirror that uh that our board of directors mirror that, and then we continue to look at the work that Homeward is doing to make sure that the questions that we're asking continue to break down these barriers when needed uh and then veterans, six percent of the individuals we serve are veterans.

C

One data point that wasn't included in here is re-entry uh from our prisons and from our jails, and that is still around that six percent number as well, so working a lot with re-entry as well.

C

uh So uh we put this one in here Connie because I know you asked me this question all the time and I wanted to make sure I. Provided you an answer. 88 of the individuals we serve are from the state of Iowa 54 of the individuals we serve are from the city of Des Moines.

C

The rest of it comes from other individuals uh and you'll, see in different counties, and the counties that you see listed here uh about 50 percent of these counties are strategically uh being looked at uh with our Rolling Hills Coalition and our team outside of Polk County. So we also have four professionals who work outside of Polk County to serve them to reduce the number of individuals who are entering our facilities uh from those programs. The state of Iowa has given well over two million dollars to ciss to support people in rural communities.

C

Over the last two years. We still have an additional million dollars in funds that we will be expending again to serve and support people in those communities through homeless prevention, diversion Street, Outreach, rapid resolution and permanent Supportive Housing all so that they don't come to Polk. Now on that side, right, because people come to, the urban cares, of course, for support Exemplar care uh who operates now in the back of our facility. We have a shared Staffing model with them.

C

They also have three medical professionals that are joining us for all Street Outreach efforts, so they are going to hotels with us in the same rural communities, just like they're going to camps with us here in Polk County, so that we can meet the medical needs of the individuals that we're serving as well. So it's a shared Staffing model when it comes to Street Outreach efforts which allows us to go further when it comes to Too, Deep leadership. I, don't have to have two Street Outreach workers. I can one of theirs in one of mine.

C

Okay, so I wanted to highlight this as far as funding a lot of the other community. Municipalities also contribute to ciss's general fund and they look at the ZIP code data and what they're doing is they're, looking specifically at how many people that they serve from their community and they most of them go well and Beyond.

C

What I'm, even asking for the city of West Des Moines, for example, uh gave us twenty five thousand dollars, which was roughly a thousand dollars per person that we serve from their Community, which exceeds the 29 day length of State, get them housed and that meets that Financial need. Okay,.

J

H

You go back yeah so does Warren County in Marshall, County and Webster County, and all of that.

C

The counties do not give hardly any funding to Tiss and I'm just say counties in.

H

C

H

Operational, how do they, how do they get there? How do they get? How does someone from Blackhawk county is it Sheriff.

C

It could be a sheriff.

H

C

Be a police officer could be another social worker or housing agency that brings an individual uh could be somebody from a church. It's just a concerned citizen. What's that it could be dark right. It could be a variety of different ways that an individual gets to they're.

H

Just dropped off the front door and.

C

uh Usually um they're just dropped off and Denise is laughing because there's a lot of skid marks out front of our building for people that have just been dropped off and then the people run away. Pretty quick I will say that uh these strategic Partnerships uh powishi County I'm, going to call out specifically you don't see them on the list. They have actually done a phenomenal job. Pouchy County in the city of Grinnell, of being proactive and supporting unsheltered individuals coming off I-80 the city of Newton is another great example.

C

uh They've done just a terrific job, they've even hired social workers as a part of their law enforcement to address housing needs for individuals who are unsheltered unhoused in our community. So there's been a lot of great efforts that have taken place in these communities as well. I-80 seems to be a big Corridor, obviously I-35. So we do get a lot of human trafficking. A lot of human trafficking passes through this Corridor and we're able to intercept a few of those people that enter armors shelter. Our team is really good, they're victim Advocates.

C

They know how to identify and address it and serve that. But that's another big need of where we see people coming to.

I

All the Metro communities contribute to not.

C

All of them, but if you'd like me to Rattle them off I, can no.

I

Just I just wondered, which ones didn't.

C

um There are three that I can top of my head: that don't: okay, three communities that don't contribute financially.

K

Three Polk County communities, three.

I

Metro metro I mean.

K

Metro communities that don't contribute I mean I, mean.

H

I'd like to hear who.

C

They are oh, they know who they are so: city, city, banking, okay, city of Johnston, City of Urbandale,.

H

And I imagine no no police officers are dropping anybody off at your front door right from either one of those any of those communities correct and I'm. Looking at you.

C

Ever yeah look at her for the non-publicly correct answer: yeah.

K

Yeah, that's why I looked at her.

I

No, it's just I think it's a reality that we again trying to solve the issue of what we're talking about. It's multifaceted, which takes dollars and every Community should participate. Yeah.

C

Well and I think there's uh there's a misnomer that if somebody contributes Capital funds, even if they contributed Capital funds through 2080 agreement to our shelter when they were built in 2012., that's great, but it doesn't support ongoing operations, for they continue to drop individuals off at our facility. So um it's kind of this misnomer that, just because you Provide Capital funds doesn't mean that that's going to support it long-term operationally other services or other services, correct, yep yep.

C

uh We do zip code data ICA, writes us a special instituted, Community Alliance I apologize, writes us a great report that we can look at and share that information with you guys on an annual basis. I share with all the other municipalities on a regular basis, um Connie's, usually the only one that asks me for it. So yeah.

I

C

Has a hand in this everybody's involved, uh so this is.

K

Do you mean everyone should be involved.

C

Let's not shoot on ourselves: okay, okay,.

G

C

Everyone needs to be involved in this conversation if for us to truly come together as a community to end this as a community, everyone needs to put their hand into it and make sure that they're a part of the conversation right. It's not one agency, it's not one Community. This is a something that we can all generally come around and do and if you travel to any other municipality you're going to find uh that we are actually doing really really really well uh compared to other communities.

C

In fact, we're having lots of conversations with the regional about how we're able to to do what we're doing within our shelter and being two years plus under 30 days, but the reality is, is we see it every single day, because your shelter is in downtown Des, Moines, right and so you're going to see it more in downtown, Des Moines, the further you get away, the more hidden it becomes right.

C

So it's not that they don't have homelessness, it's just more hidden because you're not right next to our facility in downtown Des, Moines, zip code data I. Think this answers your question Linda.

C

So this is specifically to Polk County. uh We didn't include anybody that had less than five.

C

And you guys know your ZIP code better than I do.

C

You know you also have some of the biggest camps.

C

To buy provide immediate access to shelter uh to those who are marginalized by our community and who are at the greatest need. We do that to the best of our ability to reduce any barriers to access to within our facility, while also maintaining the cleanliness and safety for everyone involved within the building, not always an easy task. Lots of sleepless nights for myself and for our staff to ensure that we don't have a repeat of what happened in 1992. now.

C

What's interesting is I've started to read we're in our 30-year anniversary this year and I started to read the newspaper articles from 1992 and, what's so saddening about it is the fact we're still having the same conversation. We need mental health care. We need substance, abuse care, we need affordable housing, we need livable wage jobs, we need child care, we need an educational system that works for everybody, the same conversations 30 years later so as I leave you guys here today.

C

I have to challenge our communities, not just here in Des Moines, but the metro area and all of our Community Partners to say enough. When is enough enough? What is 2052 going to look like in the next 30 years? Are we going to be having the same conversation about the fact we don't have enough affordable housing? We don't have mental health care, we don't have substance abuse treatments.

C

Is this gonna be the same conversation or do we actually want to put a stake in the ground and change it for the better? Not just one percent incremental steps, but actually be bold in our decision-making processes. In order to do something, that's unprecedence across other cities, counties and states, you have a choice and I think what you guys are pointing out.

C

Is it's not just ciss, it's all of us and we can all do it when we actually come together with a shared mental model about what we want our future to look like we're already doing pretty well compared to the Metro areas around us. I think we can do better. I know we can do better and we're willing to be a part of that so happy to answer any other questions that you guys have and um to be here as a resource for you, even after the meeting, if needed,.

D

um I had a question about some of the days you mentioned 90 days.

E

As an arbitrary number earlier, you said the average length of stay was 29. at one point, I thought you said the average length of say was 14. yep.

C

So the goal is 14 days.

E

C

We want people to exit within 14 days. That's that's what our client Advocates and our street Outreach teams are thriving to do. They want to get people in and out as quickly as possible. Okay, our current average length of stay for people who have left our building and those still residing within our building is 29.42 so 29 days we round down and.

E

The the 90 days is that.

C

So we have a 90-day length of stay, but because our and we still hold by that- but because the average is 29 days, most people are out anyway, like you can have a length of stay and if you look at low barrier, shelters and the national lineston homelessness built to even tell you like, don't put a length of stay on there that you're not going to hold anybody accountable to. We put it, but most people are out before then anyway and they're stably housed.

C

We have a few right just like anybody, there's a that five to ten percent that hits the 1980s and are still not interested in. They just want to go outside and that's fine. We meet them there, um but it's really not a number that we're concerned about.

E

Okay and then the um you said, your goals working days, your average is 29.4 and.

D

When people exit 54.

E

And go into housing. um The remaining. Do you know kind of like what's happening with that other we.

C

Don't, uh unfortunately, you know, and even the 54 I want to be clear- those are the 14 days. Okay. So when you look at the total population of the 1722, the exit to permanent housing is actually about 25 I. The 54 is only focused on those 14 days and, first time, homeless.

C

Okay. So when you're looking at the bigger 25, uh the national, what we look at is a data point is no more than well, not no more. We always want more, uh but 10 is what our goal is and we're hitting 25..

C

Okay, so most times within an emergency shelter, um you're having about a 10 exits, permanent housing and that's actually like really good and we're at 25 percent.

D

Okay, so the 54 percent.

E

Just the people who are out in 14 days and that's in and they're out, usually people who are first time homeless.

C

Yep yep, thank you. Yeah go ahead. Carl yeah.

K

And so, if they've, if, uh if an individual has uh timed out, what's the gap on the number of days or weeks before uh they can come back in 90.

C

Days unless it's weather amnesty and then they usually.

K

Come okay! Thank you. Yep.

A

All right Melissa. Thank you very, very much appreciate your service and your dedication thanks.

D

J

A

Let's move on to parking upgrades and new meters.

B

Actually I, don't I saw John earlier yeah here he comes I, don't know.

B

So we have actually three topics to cover with uh dealing with uh John Davis, so we'll just let him take over.

L

Good morning, mayor and members of council, my name is John Davis I'm, the city traffic engineer, and this morning, as Scott indicated, I'll be talking about three topics. The first is one of my favorites parking system update.

L

L

Just to give a recap: uh we've been coordinating development with two vendors uh Flo bird, which is the vendor for the pay station and uh or the kiosks, and then Park Mobile, who is the vendor for the uh the mobile app? uh The pay stations were programmed ahead of the launch date and their shipments of pay stations were delivered to the baker group for installation.

L

These installations also included concrete pads uh for the base stations at some of the locations throughout the downtown, where sidewalk space was not available uh about 240 pay stations have been activated to date and overall, we'll have roughly around 3 400 parking space, uh markers and stickers uh that will be installed. Those have been put into production and 2011 uh have been installed. As of uh as of now.

L

The park DSM mobile app, which is what we call uh or our white labels uh Park mobile application, uh has been available for download on the Apple and Google App Stores uh and the use of that app started with the conversion of spaces in April of this past year. uh On a on a block by block basis. We also communicated the new system and pay app through our website: social, social media and media Outlets, as well as Distributing uh materials to businesses and Community Partners.

L

uh One item to note that we discontinued The Smart Card replenishment back in December of last year and the, uh but the cards are still usable at the meters that are in the East Village right now. Those that aren't able to use Smart cards and that'll that uh used will cease. Once we pull out the very last meter uh and we started the the announcement of that program or the retirement of that program uh over a year ago, in August of 21.

F

Percentage of uh people paying with the mobile app at this point, I'll be getting to.

L

That okay, so this was our plan. uh Originally we were going to start on the west side and move to the east, uh and uh it was varied a little bit in that the plan was to uh not completely do everything on the the west side, but do the bulk of the West side, then the East Village and then pick up the balance that hadn't been done in the west side. uh So far to date, uh you can see in the purple. Those are the metered spaces that are being controlled by the new system.

L

It accounts for about 2011 spaces and roughly 240 base stations. uh We will ultimately have somewhere around 400 pay stations that will be uh installed once the Final Phase is completed so phase one uh is, is pretty well done and uh we're we're moving forward.

L

uh This project, as as you can imagine, when you're doing a complete changeover, has had some project challenges. uh One of the first challenges that we had dealt with the space numbering. We use an alphanumeric system. For example, Grand Avenue would have been G, followed by a number that represented uh coincided with the street. Addressing because the uh mobile pay app world wants to minimize uh errors in entries, uh they don't use Alpha Characters, so we converted all of our spaces to uh numeric characters.

L

uh That actually is an advantage for us in that we are one of the few cities or operators that has six digits for our uh space numbers. So uh if you enter in all the six digits, you're pretty well assured you're finding a space in Des Moines, uh there's a there's a few spaces in Washington DC for some reason: a legacy system that has six digits and we've been getting payment from some spaces in Washington, DC.

L

It's amounted to roughly about 170 dollars a month. uh The Curious Thing is that the spaces I've seen people initiate a parking session, extend a parking session and then make a new parking session in the afternoon. This is back in January before we even converted any of our systems, so it wasn't even available to our Parkers in in in in in Des Moines, so I'm not sure what the level of enforcement is in DC.

L

That does still allow that to to occur, but uh that was one of the the advantages, the the thing that people have to watch out for when they do use the mobile app is if they try to enter in a number that is on our individual meters.

L

That is anything less and those are typically uh four to five digit numbers. They will pay for parking someplace in the United States likely suspects are Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tampa, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona or Sacramento California, but the app does indicate where you are parking, but if you're in a rush, you may miss it twice in the in the app so at the beginning and at the end right before you, you finally make payment.

L

The other challenge we had was in the sign marker fabrication. Unfortunately, we were not immune to the supply chain delays that occurred because of the global pandemic. uh We also had issues with the theft for some reason, someone coveted our stall markers more than we did and they were the first. The very first shipment of about 150 markers was stolen, someplace in transit from Florida to here. As far as I know, those markers have never been recovered.

L

uh Flowbird our vendor did file a claim with the carrier and I've not heard that they've ever found those.

L

The other issue that we had was in Hardware. There were some that the the push button, the start button or the Wake button- you might call it that's on the machine you press it. There was a I'll call it a design flaw with it in that there's it. It attaches to an adhesive by an adhesive to the back of the faceplate.

L

That adhesive uh does not stay, uh and so the button is not operable. uh Sloberg has now uh come up with a solution to that and they are replacing all those buttons all the buttons for phase three that were expecting delivery on and soon we'll have that new uh button uh installed. This was not a issue that was unique to the city of Des. Moines Minneapolis had the same issue so did Indianapolis and Columbus Ohio.

L

Those are three communities that have the same machines that we have and Indianapolis and Columbus most recently went through their installs earlier this year. Minneapolis did their install last year uh and they've had the flowberg product for over 10 years prior, so we've been gleaning a lot of information from the City of Minneapolis staff. As far as uh issues and the like. Unfortunately, we also had some issues with door: sensors that drained batteries. We had some credit card terminals that did not operate well and some challenges with cellular communication.

E

Dude, are we still experiencing any of these issues.

L

The good news is no not to this, and and not to the scale that we had so now, I'll get to that in a little bit. Okay, uh there were also some software issues uh this that at times, the machine struggled to credit to process credit cards to a very simplified uh example is that there are handshakes that are required in the system in the process to ensure the Integrity of the data and also the security, and when the these handshakes do not take place in a timely fashion.

L

The machine says no I'm not going to accept this. This transaction- or it will say we no longer have a credit card reader that is operable at this pay station and an assessment in assess. In essence, the machine becomes a coin machine. Only uh some of this is a timing factor that and what else is happening with the the machine and uh as we probably most of us have experienced at times whether there are cell phones, another mobile device or a computer.

L

The computers get busy so busy that they kind of freeze up uh and they're doing too many things, and we found that this was some of the the issues that we were seeing with uh early on with with the flowberg machines. This is primarily in July a little bit into it started in May. It exacerbated itself uh in June. All these issues, compounded were were causing challenges in processing uh credit card uh payments. These issues have been resolved, flobird has had staff in uh they've had from what I understand.

L

They've had meetings daily uh over the last uh two to three months to resolve these issues, and so what we're seeing today is a far cry from what we saw say uh a month ago or two months ago. uh That being said, we have paused and have not proceeded with phase two, which would be the East Village, uh because, quite frankly, we knew we had some issues with credit cards. We didn't want to take those over and and and have them on, the on the east side of the river uh the.

L

But these issues have been resolved, but we're going to defer in terms of installing phase two, which is the East Village until after the holiday season and shopping season is done so we don't have we don't. The time frame, in my estimation, doesn't feel long enough and the confidence level we're building confidence in the machines, so we're going to defer that until after the first of the year that way, we don't have to have issues that to deal with uh in terms of the East Village.

L

However, we are going to try to take advantage of the right now in seasonably warm weather, uh to complete phase three, which is all the areas that haven't been changed out in uh on the west side of the river.

L

uh One thing to note is that, uh up until last week, we had not authorized any payment to flobird save an initial payment for roughly four machines that was early on, so twenty four thousand dollars was roughly the only payments that we had made because we have seen progress. They have met the criteria in the agreement. We have authorized a partial payment on the phase one uh as of August 25th.

L

uh Last week,.

D

E

We're we're not installing phase two. You said we are finishing up phase three because just to fill in.

D

L

Yeah, so we've we've got all the the pay stations are out on the street in phase two in the East Village, but we're not going to convert those spaces to the new system until after the holiday season after the first of the year. Instead we're going to receive uh delivery of the pay stations for phase three okay and convert those, probably over the next uh month month and a half roughly depending on weather. So.

D

Software and hardware issues we're not having those issues anymore or.

E

Is it just lessened.

L

You'll still have some issues periodically at some of the pay stations, because that's just the nature of the of the of the of the device you're dealing with a device that is cellular communicated, so you have what's happening with self the cellular network, and then you have essentially a very hardened computer that is out on the street, so you can't you'll expect some issues you may have some coin jams and the like, but but to the degree that we were seeing where we were seeing at some stations that more credit card transactions were being rejected than were being completed and in some no credit card transactions were even being accepted.

L

Okay, those were not seeing. Okay and some of those you do expect some credit card rejections because of error of the the individual placing their credit card. Maybe the credit card is not valid, it maybe doesn't have sufficient funds. There are some of those those issues that you will see. Some of those rejections because.

E

I I just have seen just general chatter about you, know people being frustrated with the new system and not working for them consistently, and things like that. So I like I'm, not saying that that's a whole system idea I wanted to kind of get the idea of where we were at with that I guess I'm just wondering like how do we deal in two-part?

E

How do we deal with when the new pay stations are being installed um when the time before they become operational in between when the um old heads are coming off and the time they become operational is their enforcement during that time, where we just kind of pull the enforcement and then when something is not working, how do we deal with enforcement parking enforcement? When somebody has had an issue.

L

It depends on the issue. Typically, when we, when we start the the conversion process, we'll still have enforcement, because there are other things that that we we monitor in terms of enforcement. uh We're going to look and see is someone parking, correctly positioning their vehicle in an appropriate fashion, because sometimes you get a parking ticket, not because you're I haven't paid the meter or your overtime is because you're occupied two spaces and you shouldn't have uh the other.

L

But in terms of looking at the uh the the meter or the the time, uh if everything's, okay, then that's fine. But if it's not we'll we'll gauge it on a on a case-by-case basis, we may be a little bit more lenient or we were when we first started out. But now we've had about six months worth of of uh of use of that.

L

So I think people have gotten used to it, but we also whenever we get an appeal, and we always encourage folks that if they do get a ticket to appeal it, we look at that and we'll look at the data about that machine or the machines.

L

The pay stations that are in that area to make sure that they're all working uh correctly at that time because you may have had a a transaction, occur right before the ticket or right after the ticket, so it kind of seems it makes sense that it probably was working there, but we'd look at it on a case-by-case basis through the primarily through the appeal process. Okay,.

E

So somebody has an issue with the machine they have to just receive a ticket and then appeal to uh people to report that issue, or is there a different way to report it.

L

There there's a way to report it. Every machine has a phone number on it: okay, that they can report. uh If there's an issue- and we encourage people to do that as we have been with the individual meters, there are phone numbers on each of those individual meters to let people know uh who to call, and they will be calling our offices we'll record that and we'll have a technician, go out and check it, but we also record that so that it's available to the clerk's office, an appeal is made.

L

We also try to talk through people uh what their different options are, because there are other options. Besides the pay station that they can use to pay for their space.

E

Okay um and how quickly does the technician get out when you guys get a report? I'm, sorry, sorry! How quickly is a technician able to come out when you get a report.

L

We try to get the same day it or or I mean they they're out on the street throughout the day. Okay,.

M

Thank you all right.

L

um One of the Project's successes that needs to be mentioned is the mobile app. As I said, this was uh installed or activated at day, one which for Park Mobile. They had never done an installation from day one they've always come after the fact.

L

A city or Community has changed over to a new parking system, or they have an existing parking system. Then they bring in the mobile app. We brought the mobile app in from day one, and it proved to be a very good move uh and to our advantage, uh the by and large, we've not had any issues with the the mobile app.

L

The advantages of them is that it does allow the the uh the user to have a map of where spaces are, and they can find that their their space number on the the map, that's on their device and that can easily help them to create a parking system or a parking session. The uh we did have a little bit of a confusion. We have a QR code, that's on the machines. It's also on the space markers. It is used to direct people to the city's website for information.

L

It's not for payment, a legacy version of the the park mobile app had a button. If you will, on the the it was in the app that allowed someone to press, it would open up the scanning app on your your smartphone. If you were using a smartphone and you could import a QR code well, the industry has moved away from that.

L

Most vendors or most operators are no longer using a QR code for an individual payment uh means or to identify a Zone and parkmobile actually moved away, and the current version of the app that you download or is uh upgraded, and this is system-wide for them. This is not only Des Moines. This is, would be in Milwaukee, Iowa, City, St, Louis, uh Ames, Minneapolis or any generic app will not have that feature anymore.

L

uh We lobbied hard to get rid of it because it wasn't benefiting us and causing more confusion. uh The other thing to note is that we were expected. A usage of about 20 percent.

L

uh Park Mobile thought that that would be a good. They would be excited about that. uh It took Minneapolis, they didn't reach. They'd had their app for about five years.

L

uh They finally reached 30 percent uh in uh during the pandemic and from the from the get-go and I'll touch on this a little bit in a few moments as well, we're up to roughly 50 percent and higher of the transactions being made to the mobile app, uh the other advantage of using Park Mobile. If you travel to Ames uh to Iowa, State and now to Iowa City and the University of Iowa, they are all now uh clients of Park Mobile. So you can use your Park DSM app in any of those communities.

L

You don't need to have another app uh in those at the either the the two institutions or the two communities. We had a uh I think a rather robust uh communication plan. uh This was uh and facilitated over 10 000 mobile app downloads. In the first month, and as I mentioned, the utilization of Park DSM uh has been the highest that uh Park Mobile has seen, and they they really look at us as a model for future watches of their uh of other apps.

F

Some of the utilization could be because of the issues we had on the hardware.

L

Piece: the oh, yes, yes, definitely so.

F

So maybe that piece isn't a model but on the whole, uh on the whole I've had very good feedback on the mobile app and that that has been a upgrade. That I think folks have been pretty happy with so glad to see it's getting good use.

L

So, as far as uh the transaction percentages, looking at really the month of August September and into the very first week of October, uh we were seeing a total transactions uh around 253, 000 or so uh roughly. Over half of those are through the mobile app and the the balance are at the pay station, either using coin or uh credit card. The aborted transactions are either when someone either couldn't make a payment uh using their credit card, or they decided for some reason to cancel it uh either or cancel the coin.

L

So every any activity is recorded in the system and we we have an idea of what that that that rejection might have been roughly we're, seeing uh on a month-to-month basis between 50 to 60 percent utilization using Park Mobile uh that has been as high as on any day. I I recall, saying: 70 of the transactions again, that was In fairness because credit cards at the machines. Some of the machines, are the high leverage.

L

High volume machines were not necessarily being consistent, uh but the expectation what we're seeing in coinage is about what we expect, which is roughly around 12 percent 13 and then the balance of credit card usage at the pay stations accounts for around 28 to 30 percent uh on a monthly basis. uh So we're seeing that people like the the the mobile app they like the opportunities they like the variety of ways that you can pay um use, Apple pay on that. You cannot use Apple pay on the mobile app yet okay, uh they.

L

Our folks in treasury could explain it much better in the process, but they anticipating it to be certified with our credit card processor sometime in the early part of next year. Okay,.

E

Can you use a scan like a scan card or Apple pay at the station.

L

I believe you can okay, okay, just not at the not the app. You know, they're two different things: I.

F

Have a question one thing sort of jumped out, so you said there. We know the number of people who use the actual app like the number of individual users, and you said that was around 10 000.. Well,.

L

It's it's. In the first month we had 10 000 downloads.

F

Okay, do we know what that number is now multiple months in? Are we at I mean what what I'm curious about is is if it's the same users that just use the app and if there's room to grow or I mean because ultimately, I think the the goal is to it. I mean it'd, be nice to to get more people using the app as a uh and taking advantage of that service and understanding that that piece of it.

L

Yeah, that's something that I'd have to follow up with Park Mobile to learn what their growth is. I know that they see us as a growth area. uh The aisle Events Center, for example, is uh going to add a park mobile reservation system, so your Park mobile app will be allowed, will allow you to pay for parking uh at the Event Center at their surface, Lots I've had conversations with Drake University they're going to do the same for their surface Lots.

L

We are looking uh and working with our Revenue control uh system provider in in the garages. The city garages to add that feature uh as well, so that essentially the mechanics of it is is that someone receives a ticket when they they enter the facility, and then they can transfer that ticket over to parkmobile, and so they can pay through the park mobile app or the park DSM app in our case, uh instead of having to go to a pay on foot station or pay at the gate when they exit the garage. What.

F

I and I think all that is great and and the ultimate goal all right, I mean I, think sometimes you you get stories about people being confused about parking and they'll, say I, don't want to come downtown with that and once you get them integrated into the system, particularly if it's the same system they're using it great for the event center or other other places, we're just reducing that barrier um and that that's the piece that you know I want to track and understand how we can reduce that barrier and just make the experience easier for more people yeah and some of it.

F

You know some people might not have a smartphone or not want to use use their phone for that purpose. But if we have data that can help us improve the service, let's use it.

L

Yeah I know part mobile had a representative that was uh that had a food that the uh farmer's market, uh the first Saturday in October and field of questions, so they they definitely see us as a as a growth marker uh from our standpoint, but I'll I'll follow up on that. It's a question to get more information.

K

Okay, John I have two questions. One um do you happen to know what service fee the card processor charges for our um credit card payments.

L

That I do not know off.

K

The top of my head, but I guess at some point, it'd be nice to know what they're charging for it.

K

John the other question I know this has been a lot more painful than anyone expecting and I appreciate. You haven't uh Flo bird intelligence recently. Do you know how much more staff time this is taken then projected.

L

That I do not know uh it's. That's really. It's a challenge to to to to to identify what, because we're now kind of in that overtime area right now, kind.

K

Of over time, yeah.

L

Kindness, well, the agreement had had looked at an ending date sometime in October. That's when we we thought the project would be concluded.

K

Right and we were attempting to spread out the payments, so it was uh easier for our budget, but just like.

K

Yeah we didn't pay them that worked out, okay, but but but I'm just curious. How much more uh time that this has taken your staff to you know all of the checking back and forth. um Then we anticipated.

L

Yeah I I don't have a ready answer, a lot, probably I, I guess right. A fair amount, I would say, but but also keep in mind that, in addition to not paying for the installation, we've not paid any of the monthly charges uh so that, if you're looking at roughly it's about nine thousand dollars a month and uh we've got uh May April or maybe a little bit of April May uh June July August September, roughly about five months, we're somewhere around forty five thousand dollars. That may be.

L

We use a hundred hundred dollars an hour roughly for a labor rate. That's uh maybe 450 hours uh that would be offset so.

K

All right thanks, John I, appreciate the clarification.

J

I haven't a couple of questions: I I just pulled up my Park mobile app and my Mark DSM app both of them on one of mine. Apple pay is my default and it says on the park DSM that it takes Apple.

J

L

J

There it is, and I I know that I've used it.

H

American Express Master discovered.

J

N

J

um Mine says if.

L

You and the part DSM, probably if the customer got if you're looking at that. That's that's the park mobile, which, which is the green green at the top and the bottom that they probably they may accept Apple pay. But it depends on the operator and the credit card processor that that operator.

J

Is using yeah, okay, we.

L

In some instances, uh Park mobile, they are, they engage the credit card processor for a community. In our case, we get such a good volume rate for our credit card processing. We engage the credit card processing.

J

But then, and then also on the apps like when I use when I travel I use Park Mobile. But it gives me a history. So I would think somebody would be able to determine how many times it's the same user, because it.

L

Shows, oh yeah.

J

On mine, okay, yeah.

L

They can I just don't have that at.

J

The right, oh okay, okay,.

L

Yeah, because what we've we've had issues, we have a question uh part, but we we will ask Park, Mobile and their representative can say well, this is a very new user or one has been experienced. They have information that we don't have access to uh but, for example, the date that they first oh okay, have created their account and they can. They can tell they.

J

Can I love the app when I travel I mean it works great.

E

Can I bug you with one more question: um how does the city and then the uh software company Park Mobile? How do they deal with user data.

L

They are subscribing to the uh the the privacy uh requirements uh that uh are the the best practice standards like.

E

They have a privacy agreement that you agree to when you sign up for the app okay um and do we get any of that data and what do we do with it and I like we get specified user data, or do we just get General Trend data.

L

We get General, we get general information, okay,.

E

So we don't have access to the user data, it's just a software company, okay um and so signing up for a Park Mobile account um they have their own privacy standards.

E

um I was getting a complaint that they were sending out emails that people were unhappy with, but that would just be an issue with the software company that they would have to right.

L

And then maybe a user element that you can opt out of those okay.

E

So if anybody just didn't want to deal with those sorts of things, they would just use the kiosk as a regular pay station and not use not sign up for an account and things like that. Okay, thank you.

L

So, as far as the current project status, I've already touched on some of these, where uh the production of the the space, markers and space stickers is complete for the East Village and we do have them in in hand locally. So we know that they're not going to be attractive to anybody that that might want them in transit. As our very first batch was.

L

uh We we've conducted inspections of the the pay stations in the East Village in August and September, uh but, as I mentioned earlier, do the upcoming holiday season we're going to defer uh the the conversion in the East Village uh to after uh January 1st and we're going to proceed with the activation uh and deployment of uh of the system in the balance, which is the phase three, which is really uh those meters that are primarily uh 25 an hour meters on the west side of the river?

L

uh So if whether it remains reasonable, uh which we know that the likelihood of that may be a challenge but we're anticipating that the uh the the full conversion will uh be uh completed by end of January early February of next year,.

J

So people can continue to use their smart Parts. Yes,.

K

If they have money on it, you can't you can't reload. That's.

L

L

So that concludes my remarks on this topic.

E

One last time are they do they need to go to Park Mobile, to resolve those issues, or are we able to help them with that? It's.

L

Probably best that someone uh contacts Park, Mobile, okay and uh to resolve it because many times that that is the best source uh we have had. But if someone is not completely satisfied, they completely call our office and then we will communicate with parkmobile. Okay, uh with the the specifics.

M

A

Any other questions I want to thank you very much for working on this and getting this implemented.

A

uh I for one have been working on this for over a decade and you have stepped up and got her done and uh with the department, and thank you because, as was pointed out earlier, Point here is to make it more friendly for all of our residents and users downtown to you know, be able to access places to bark and not get a ticket and be able to take care of it as conveniently as possible. So thank you. You're welcome.

A

Let's move on traffic calming.

L

All right so uh on the next topic uh traffic calming uh about five years ago, we, the city as I, understand it because I've only been here a little over three years now uh implemented a traffic calming program and a policy, and so uh we thought it would be best to kind of take a step back uh review the uh the progress to date, the program and uh uh see, if there's any need for tweaks or uh or modifications to it, so going to provide some information here on the program overview.

L

As I mentioned, we established it. It was established back in 2017 because there was no one of the number one neighborhood concerns and the the goal was to define a clear process for evaluating implementing projects with the objectives or goals to reduce vehicular speeds, discourage cut through traffic and also promote a more livable neighborhood uh that encourages walking and biking. The annual budget for the traffic common program is at 250 000.

L

This includes evaluation and studies conducted to validate the complaints or the concerns that staff receives and also the construction, so 250 000 boils down to maybe about a hundred and sixty thousand uh roughly, depending on the complexity of the project uh and the budget confront again two to four projects each year, depending on.

L

What's what's involved in the complexity of it, yeah I will get to that. So these are some examples of uh features that have been completed. uh The median Islands some are pre-date. The actual the program raised, crosswalks speed, humps traffic circles uh recently completed a raised intersection and then also curb extensions.

L

How to get a sense of the data of the inquiry since December 2017 through October of this year, we've had 136 informational uh or that it really informational. Only out of the 185 inquiries. 24 have resulted in traffic studies. Another 21 uh projects have been completed and we have four projects that are in process now, uh I'll get into it in a little bit, actually where these various projects are in terms of studies and also uh in process. But you can kind of see that we have Peaks and valleys of that.

L

The quarters two and three seem to be a little bit more popular for requests and that's likely because people are getting out and about the warmer weather.

D

What is um information only? Can you clarify that information.

L

Only really is that someone called up they want. They have a concern. They want to find out more about the program what's involved and once they get that information. That's all.

E

That's done is that what they're requesting or is that all that we've done? That's.

L

They're they're they're curious as to okay: what's the criteria what's involved with it, uh the the process uh and that's either in the case where maybe the the road segment does not qualify because too high volume, or that we we already know that information, but there no steps are. It does not move forward into the process at all and.

E

That's just based on our limitations or.

L

Sometimes it's more the it's in some cases, it's a decision of the of the the individual who's calling or the okay. They just they say, okay. Well, no, it's not quite we're not ready or we don't want to proceed.

D

Okay, so does that, but that includes requests that we.

E

Like you said things that don't qualify, or maybe it's just something that we haven't gotten to.

D

F

L

So the next two slides uh and I'll I'll pass out a map uh that, but this this shows the northern part of the city and the various uh locations that we've had uh uh projects and the second one is uh the Southern half of the city.

L

We have bigger Maps, so if you could just password yeah.

G

L

But that just gives you an idea of where the various projects have been implemented are in progress uh over the uh over the the course of the program.

N

H

Studies done um is that just then it goes into the queue because yeah.

L

So this slide shows a little bit about the the construction costs that we've been seeing. uh The projects where the cost estimate is grade uh involves uh more work than just traffic calming, and it also involves funding that are beyond the CIP sheet that we have just that that we use for uh traffic calling measures, foreign.

L

Guidance, uh we have a policy that is that the the council approved back in 2017..

L

The initiate the initial way into the process is either through a request forwarded to us by the mayor or uh any other member of the council, uh neighborhood association or a petition. That's signed by 60 of the property owners on the proposed Street and uh roughly the the vast majority of them come through uh Council uh and then the rest uh come through uh have come through neighborhood associations and then about five have come through a petition process and.

D

um The 60 uh petition, if.

E

Someone is renting um on that street. Are they able to be counted in that petition.

L

At present, uh no, we just the the current proposal or current uh policy is just property owners.

E

Would we be willing to change that to just people on.

G

The street okay.

L

L

The other guidance that we have in terms of reviewing we look at speed and volume uh in class and the the street has to be have an observed. 85Th percentile, which is 85 percent of the vehicles or.

L

Are traveling five miles an hour over five miles, an hour of the posted speed limit, and then volume has to be between 500 vehicles and 4 000 vehicles, so the anything greater than 4 000 vehicles per day. uh We uh would not qualify in this program and this seems to be uh bringing forward about the right number of projects that really deal with from a safety standpoint uh as well.

L

Other guidance that we utilize, uh we use information from Federal, Highway, Administration uh that they have on traffic calming the uh from the National Association of city transportation, officials called Natco and also guidance from The Institute of Transportation Engineers uh for uh recommended practices for Speed reduction techniques or traffic calming.

L

Some of the Lessons Learned uh over the five years has been that all requests are unique. There is not a cookie cutter approach that can be applied uh because you have unique characteristics and individuals in each of our neighborhood associations and on the various streets. uh It's important to follow the process and the guidelines, because, if you don't someone will find out, you didn't and will hold your feet to the fire. uh We prioritize, based on the order, received uh the process, typically from initiation to really first con from first Contact to the plants.

L

Ready for construction is about two to three years. Some of that is because the neighborhood associations or the community groups- they maybe they, don't meet on a regular basis. uh Maybe they don't want to deal with the topic they're issues that are beyond our control to process or move uh a request forward. We do track staff time.

L

We've been doing that over the last a couple years now, and we've also found that it's advantageous from a construction cost standpoint to bundle the projects together as opposed to having this project over here by itself and another project by itself.

L

Someplace else we try to bundle them together, ideally in similar geography areas, so that you can get better pricing and on the from the the contractors we've developed engineering design, details based in part from the standard practices or best practices that Natco and The Institute of Transportation Engineers has produced, but also through other uh standards that we use, such as that are promoted by Iowa DOT, and we include those. So we have consistency in the application of speed humps, for example.

L

Another lesson that we've learned is spacing does matter for physical measures such as speed humps, you don't have them in a in an appropriate fashion.

L

You will not get the desired results and we've we've seen that recently on a street that initially speed humps, where there's the spacing was a little far between devices, and so in that middle ground, where there wasn't a device, we saw speeds creep up above what was desired when we installed the speed Hub in that spot, we now see more uniform speeds and at a desirable level throughout that that stretch of roadway can.

D

You uh talk about the prioritization a little bit. um I was wondering how we.

E

Did pick which projects to do for only allowed to do over on the able excuse me to do two for a year and um I was wondering we don't prioritize based on like severity or like increased speed like higher speeds on it, like higher than five miles an hour over or anything like that. Not.

L

Really and it's it's more the nature of the process and the engagement in that you have a for example, a neighborhood association, a request comes in neighborhood association, there working through the process to gain consensus or approval and and what one neighboring Association might they may not may not be embracing it or they might not have reach a consensus in as timely a fashion, as someone else does so it's.

E

So it's just whatever it gets to you pretty much yeah yeah.

L

To prioritize it, otherwise you really can't force it through uh and if you try, you probably are going to get things thrown at you.

E

So the process isn't really just the taking the doing the study and then being like okay, we're going to do something, there's a lot of like conversation that has to happen exactly.

L

Exactly so, uh it involves a conversation up for once we do the study we develop. A concept lay out some ideas: we vet those through the neighborhood association or the or the the residents on a street. What do you want to see are? Do you favor, chicanes versus speed, humps parking? Is there available parking? Is that something that's an option again? It's! It's goes back to that all requests are unique and we work with what we have out there in part to try to to reach the the goal of managing or mitigating speed. Okay,.

E

You don't want to do something that people are going to then be upset with and you've done all this construction and everything yeah.

L

Speed humps every place may not be the the the answer. Okay, but there may be some opportunities that you can mix and match uh different devices. All.

D

Right. Thank you.

J

Associations, I have to just say that I am so glad that this program is in place and your staff has been phenomenal. Jeff Wiggins, the poor guy, comes to every one of the neighborhood meetings and sometimes you know, there's no consensus, so he has to come back the next month. I've seen him get beat up pretty bad at a couple of neighborhood meetings and he stands tall and he works through the process. So what you're doing works and it works well, so thanks and thanks, Jeff I know I know it's not always easy.

J

Just you know they they get, they get sideways. You know they. Well, let's make the sidewalks. Let's let's do this. Let's do that and Jeff is really good at explaining. No, that's not what the traffic calming is about we're, not we're not talking about sidewalks here we're talking about the calming process. So it's it works good and thank you.

L

So again, some of the in review of the program. Some of the challenges are that uh the the CIP sheet that we we draw funds from or used to account for them uh also co-mingle's funding for for other studies. So it's not completely dedicated to uh traffic calming activities. uh We will use a combination of In-House versus consultants for the study. uh Consultants allow us to get more detail, uh but they also are a little bit higher cost than uh in-house staff.

L

uh We've learned that these measures are typically not applicable to higher speed and higher volume streets and that more projects than Avail there's more projects that are available for the funding. So here's what our current backlog is a work in progress. The first line, the study phase, those dates are looking at data collection years uh and then the the next three bullets uh projecting out those years to uh where uh construction might take place.

L

So we've got uh four that right now are pending construction on 56, these Douglas Guthrie and high uh we've got six that are in design and so we're projecting right now into uh 2024.

L

uh in terms of of a project work.

K

uh So John when when uh uh well maybe this is a question for Steve. When you go working on your uh budget requests, are you going to be requesting more for a traffic calming projects more dollars, I mean if you had more dollars, could you do more and and uh speed this up, yeah uh speed up the slowing down, yeah.

O

uh Honorable mayor member city, council, Steve neighbors, the engineer uh I think we will continue to evaluate it and, as more requests come in, we would put them in uh consider maybe requesting those more outer years. It does take. uh You know, roughly two to three years to get to a construction project uh right now. The two to four uh seems to be what we're doing uh some of these up here.

O

Actually we have requested funding for larger scale projects, so so we have actually requested so East 22nd is one, for example, where uh it became a larger calming project. So we actually didn't draw from the funds and requested separate uh amount of money for it. So so I guess to answer your question. We have actually already for some of the isolated, larger projects, so we didn't draw away from the uh the smaller projects, uh but we will continue to evaluate that as we move forward.

K

Or so well, okay, let me try it a different way: yeah if you had more dollars for traffic calming projects, is there an appetite from the residents to do more.

O

I think I think we probably say that there is, uh but then we'd also have to look at the scale for even even our staff workload, because it does take an enormous amount of effort with all the neighborhood uh meetings that we have to tend to go into the process. So I I would probably guess that from our experience, yes, speeding does seems to be one of the most brought up. Topics uh and I think you all are hearing that too, and so um so that's something we would have to look at. You know well.

K

I

K

To slow you, if you would have to look at it or you would or is I mean, is there? Is there an appetite within uh engineering to ask to do more.

O

Well, I mean I, I mean in terms of is there you know again. We there's two challenge. There's a couple challenges we face. One is our staffing, but we can do uh what would we like to slow traffic down more? Yes, absolutely uh to be honest, if we're you know, looking holistically at just safety, I would I would like to continue through the vision, zero process to kind of see.

O

Where should we focus our efforts uh and should it should that be something that be increased um uh but again answer, because we, you know, we we have the the 250 000 a year. If you really look through the past, when you look at the projects that are up there, we have added at a considerable amount of projects, I mean and money toward it, um but.

K

Maybe maybe that's a little bit of a softball pitch to okay, let's move on to vision, zero, but.

O

uh Well, that is my hope and I know. John John is yeah. Right is going to talk about Vision, zero. Next, but I'll be honest. That is my hope to try and continue to see where we should focus on our energy to try and to try and Tackle safety uh and so I I. Don't know that the answer is at this time. Is it? Do we just put more money in the in the traffic calming I? Think? Yes, we hear a lot from residents, but we are doing again.

O

We've done quite a few projects as John showed on the map and we have added additional larger scale projects to address traffic calming uh such as East 22nd, Street, and so we're still talking 20 seconds. We're still out two.

H

Years on the border.

O

On the on some of these on Porter.

O

Yeah and I'm not sure if there was anything you know, Jeff or Johnny.

H

For you, what is I mean the neighborhood review is what they're the ones that brought it up. So we have to have a review. What we're going.

O

To do yeah, that's typically, the process is, is that you know the first of concerns brought forth. We evaluate is there is the concern validated and then, and then our staff uh developed what what could be some options to remedy to the issues and then bring them back to the neighborhood and as John mentioned that you know, some of the neighborhoods do maybe Donald agree with all the different measures or or want to talk about them. Some more. We I'm not sure about Porter, but we have had my neighborhoods.

H

Now that's part of the issue combined to one yeah, so you don't need to get that in front of them.

O

J

I'm shocked as I think Jeff was. We had one street over in my ward, East 29th. It would have been the perfect traffic calming it was. He had a great plan and and the neighbors sent their postcards back saying we don't want any changes.

G

J

Completely shocked me, why would you not want traffic to be calm, but that's what they did.

O

Yeah we did have multiple. We had multiple neighborhood meetings on that and then that's when people talked about, they didn't want the space restricted. Some of the residents brought up some I guess they had boats and they were backing out their boats and they wanted the space to.

E

um So, to clarify on Linda's Point, um it's 60 of property owners in the area are able to um initiate a request, but it's also required for 60 of property owners to accept a traffic calming measure. Okay,.

L

So, based on the review, we're we're coming we'll. We have some recommendations and we'll be coming forward with these recommendations to a to a council meeting uh coming up future. But this is kind of a preview of this is where we, the the changes, would be to change to use the move. Dsm street topologies instead of functional classification uh in labeling, the uh or classing the the various streets. We would change the initiation petition to include residents.

L

uh However, we would not recommend changing the final decision to Residents, because the property owners are the ones that have the more longer term uh investment if you will stake in there. uh But that being said, we are going to modify or clarify that our data collection effort is more as at least 48 Hours. Instead of a representative time period, we put our. We have different equipment now, so we uh than what we had five years ago. So we place these devices out and we are able to collect the larger amount of data.

L

We typically do it during the week, but we can have because we have equipment that does not involve someone sitting there with a radar gun right. We're able to do it more cost effectively and do it we can span it over a weekend. Certainly can I know that I've had neighbors.

H

Ask for that and they've said no.

O

uh So we did do, we did add some I think on one street I think you know yeah. We did at that request. Add that we didn't okay, yep on Southeast 18.

L

We're specifically are suggested to identify specific partner partner entities for project coordination, Dart and Des Moines Public Schools, for example, uh were it will include language that will clarify the process for requests on streets that might be outside of a neighborhood association.

L

uh We will look to provide a a a a a sentence that will say that if a project is rejected, we're not going to reconsider it for five years, and that's primarily just to from a staffing standpoint. We just can't have people coming back and back you. The decision was made.

L

We gotta draw the line, someplace, uh look to try to clarify funding mechanism and availability in terms of developing a a singular sheet for in the CIP for traffic. Calming measures further clarify that temporary requests are not eligible. These would be requests that might be associated with some construction activities that are in the area and and not including those because the the changeability or the variability of the construction traffic, as well as the construction activities, uh those types of requests really become very problematic and and almost impractical at times are.

E

You talking about like a detour route or something okay,.

L

And then look and then streets that have a a daily volume, greater than 4 000 will evaluate those more through. What's called A Safe Systems approach that uh I'll touch a little bit on in the vision, zero presentation, but it's a different approach. It's geared more towards arterials, collect major collectors and it's more appropriate in that fashion and we're also seeing more information or more research being done on an industry standpoint as well.

L

And then I'll be passing out at the conclusion: a Redline copy of our changes so that you you have reading that you can do at your leisure. uh We are going to be upgrading and updating our web page to provide better guidance, more uniformity, and this is just a sample of uh what the web page that will be uh implementing uh in the in the the near future and with that, uh if you have any more questions, I can entertain them or I can move on to my next topic.

A

Anybody anything would.

E

It um specific Ally, neighborhood streets and not those arteries and collectors, should be clarifying that on the website like neighborhood traffic calming versus just traffic calming or do we want everything to go into that spot?.

L

uh We we can certainly look into that and see.

F

A thank you on this I I mean I I Echo. What councilmember westergard is said, I mean I, think this is popular with our with our residents. uh I think it is consistent with what we're trying to do with vision, zero as well um so I I mean I. I am supportive of this program and and I think to council member voss's point.

F

Maybe we should have a larger conversation about about this in the context of our budget, but uh you know this keeps our residents safer and and I think it enhances our neighborhoods as well. So I see a lot of value in it and a lot of positive feedback from the results of it. So we should I know it's.

F

It's tough work too, because it works to get consensus with the neighbors, and you know Jeff is on the front lines doing that and it requires a lot of Staff time, but I think the investment is is worth it.

A

All right, let's move on to Vision zero, all.

L

Right and just before we move on I would like to recognize Jeff as as councilmer westerard and Manuel have he does a yeoman effort? Sometimes he needs uh uh battle, pay.

J

Yes, he does foreign.

L

Topic which is kind of a companion of traffic coming because it deals with safety, is uh Vision zero. uh We we're in the uh the process of that, but just everybody make sure everybody in the room is on. This has an understanding of what the transformation Safety, Action, Plan or Vision zero is about. Is that it's a development of a plan that will help Envision?

L

That is envisioned to end traffic, related deaths and serious injuries among all streets users in the city, in somewhere in the 15 to 20 year time frame, prioritizing safety and accessibility and Street design for people of all ages and abilities, and it's it will require collaboration and Leadership to improve Mobility through engineering, Enforcement, Education, evaluation and equity, and the action plan will approach using safe is an approach to safer streets that supports the common good enhances, the overall quality of life for residents and visitors of Des Moines, and the plan will include Community engagement and public Outreach.

L

So to give you an update of where we are on this right now with our consultant, which is tool, Design Group has been engaging uh residents uh and citizens and and other officials. Since June of this year, uh we've had a number of uh and they've also done some analysis of of our crash data. So what I have here before you is a just a sample. It's a it's. Our high Injury Network map and I will email the the map in Greater details so that you can dig into it.

L

But if you simply go to the website, dsm.city uh Slash Vision, zero you'll find all the information. Essentially what the high Injury Network does. It's a tool that helps us to identify those segments that are greatest and have a greatest crash risk in Des Moines and it's created by weighting the severity of the crash. So, for example, a fatality or major uh injury. Severe injury would be weighted with a three and then other crashes are going to be weighted with a one.

L

So you you multiply that the number of fatalities by three and the number of all other crashes, uh that or property damage or low severity uh by one and then you use that analysis to identify through a use of a sliding window analysis where the hot spots are or where those where's. The density of that is, uh and it's it's a the ability of this- will allow us to Focus resources uh in areas to eliminate crashes, that kill or seriously injure people.

L

We've also been conducting a series of community meetings, we've had five public workshops uh with Des Moines residents, uh roughly 100 or 1200 residents, either attended in person or visit the website between September 20th and October 24th.

L

uh The uh the five public workshops we held the first one was kind of a trial uh to see how things went it was. It was in June uh uh down at the central library, and then we had four subsequent workshops or listening sessions that were held in each of the wards: uh East Side Library, the Columbus Pioneer Rec, Center, South, Side Library, and then the Franklin Avenue library and City staff and Tool design uh were present and we had a large map.

L

That was there that, if you recall and individuals were allowed to place a star where they felt comfortable that they felt safe and a DOT where they didn't feel safe. They we also had a virtual version of that online. uh That is, you can still View and it you were. Individuals were allowed to put comments to their that either their their star or their dot or in the virtual sense it was a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

L

Emoji uh right now, tool design is in the process, with their subconsultant uh Confluence to sifting through all that information, all that feedback that was uh received either virtually or in person, and we're going to create a map. That's going to Overlay with the high Injury Network map and compare and contrast. So the feedback is what's perception and then the the map is more data. Driven so we'll see how those match up.

L

We are also planning to have discussions with Iowa DOT and the governor's Traffic Safety Bureau staff, so that we make sure that our whatever our plan creates is in sync with what the state strategic highway safety plan is, as it relates specifically to the interstate system, but also the U.S and state highways and Roads that travel through Des Moines.

L

Right now, we're looking to uh as I said, we're analyzing, the data assessing it uh we'll likely have will be developed.

L

Some some early uh action plans, uh we're assessing best practices and also as existing policies that are in place with the city, and we will likely have a couple more public meetings depending on how things progress over the next month, maybe in December, but more likely in January after the first of the year, once everybody kind of settles out of all the the holiday festivities and and busyness that occurs at that time, and this will be another opportunity for the public to get out and see the uh action plan or the what's, the framework that's being proposed and how the feedback relates.

L

More specifically to the data points that we have through the high Injury Network Maps. We also have work sessions with the transmission, Safety, Committee and we'll come back to this group uh to present the and discuss the findings and the elements of the action plan. Looking at plan and adoption sometime in the first quarter of next year by March, the 23 and again, we have more information, that's available uh on the website and here's the web address.

L

We think timing wise that this will position us well uh to make an application for implementation funding, grant funding that is uh anticipated to have a deadline of the fall of next year. uh The safe, uh safer streets uh program that usdot has it's a discretionary program.

L

We are very well positioned right now now, from a timeline perspective to uh look for implementation. Grant uh monies come uh September of this year coming year and with that uh I'll entertain any more questions, but I don't have another topic after this John.

K

um How are you working with both Des Moines, Public, Schools and all of our um private or parochial schools? I mean? Are they getting a chance to weigh in I I know that the Des Moines uh police who do traffic? They say they are busiest times of the day- is not the um going home and uh I'm sorry to and from work, but uh is actually when the schools dismiss.

L

Yes, from the public schools perspective, uh they have a representative, that's on a working group that we have as well as they have a representative on the transportation, Safety Committee. Okay, we have from a staff level. We have meetings with them uh at least on a quarterly basis, so we've been keeping them up to date on it, so those are the the to their representation in the development of the plan.

L

Oh great, they will have direct uh input with that uh from the parochial schools we'll need to reach out to them a little bit more, but then we will make pointed effort to make sure that, uh for example, uh the Archdiocese is aware of the upcoming public meetings that they can provide a representative if that, if they choose so and if that's appropriate from their standpoint, okay.

K

H

You do we have someone working I know the principal was at one of the neighborhood meetings for Lovejoy school and do we have anyone working because I know Bill Good's gone and I? Don't I, don't know the current person. That does that.

H

um But I know that the question came up about signage crosswalks on that street and you know some type of sidewalks and I know it's in our Priority One, but it's not in the budget for the next couple years, but particularly signage. So if you guys can look into um and correspond with the Des Moines Public School about Lovejoy, that would that would be helpful and just send me an email or get back to me.

L

And we do, as I said we we correspond, we we meet on a quarterly basis, more frequently with Bill Goods replacement and from Bill's perspective. It takes three people to replace him and we have three people that meet well. We meet with and and I think we're getting very, very good coverage, and we we try to uh make them aware of requests. We get directly as well as they get requests and they bring them to us from the the very well I prefer.

H

To reach out to the districts and she's part of the district, but I also said that I would pass it on foreign.

D

um The high injury um Network map, how.

E

uh When is the timeline of this data because there have been there's some streets on there where, like projects have taken place like a stretch of university, for example, where we went, we did a I just forgot, the name of it went down to like less Lanes.

E

um So when is do we know if that has made a difference yet or like? Is this old data, or is it like a this whole span? It's.

L

It's really a five-year period for 2017 to 2021.. uh There are some uh roadways on here that we know we've made some improvements. Hubble is one of those, uh so it we need to.

L

We keep that in mind when we, when we look at the data- and we may uh adjust some things a little bit in that respect, okay, uh but uh you're, able to see the challenge that you have with fresh data is that you usually like to look at three to five years worth so if you've had an improvement that was in 21 or 22, we just haven't quite got the trends, the the mass the data to look at that. So we we try to look at different techniques. We're also going to break these.

L

These Maps down into uh by uh mode for vulnerable users, walk pedestrians, bicyclists and also motorcyclists, in addition to Motor Vehicles, okay,.

D

um Break down into mode of transportation, okay, um the other question I had was um it so plan and adoption? You said that we went.

E

It's coming before city council, sometime between January and March. um How is that going to play into uh the budget that we're asked to approve is? Is this going to be like? Is there going to be a bunch of requests along with that um that will be included in our next budget.

L

I I think we'll have to see what would come. What comes out of the the plan uh that will and we'll we'll get a better sense of that in December in January and see how we can one identify projects that are maybe a physical infrastructure concrete stuff in a new fifth year and also will identify current projects that we have going. This will give us an opportunity to say: okay, something we've got settled for 24 or maybe 23 can't we insert something in there.

L

That is a safety ish that will help address safety, or it will reaffirm what we're already doing, because we have on a routine basis. We keep safety at the Forefront. This is just giving us a tool that really looks at the data and that can can point things out that maybe we that that kind of slid a little bit or what weren't as discoverable, uh otherwise so.

E

So you feel like um we will have a good idea of what we need to be, including in that budget, when the plan is completed.

N

E

Okay, perfect. Thank you.

A

All right, speaking of budget, thank you very much. We're going to move on to our budget timeline and I see a gentleman. That's approaching that uh I think has all those answers so.

B

Mayor council, it is that time of year again- and so I've asked Nick to uh present just very briefly on what we're looking at for our schedule and somewhat of a reminder that there are quite a few steps that involve the council that need to be taken into account. This is an exercise every year in essentially working backwards from the requirement to have the the budget done towards the end of March, so Nick I'll turn it over to you.

H

P

Good morning, mayor and Council, um as as we kind of start off the the budget that is more visual to the council and and to the public, um it kind of starts off with today, where we do our uh just discussing the timeline and what we're kind of foreseeing in in this upcoming budget.

P

As you can see, we kind of try to work back um to try and get to the ultimate requirement date that we have to have our certified budget to the county auditor, on March of of March 31st and trying to work back on that. We try to hold that hearing prior to the the spring break time frame. So with the current schedule that we have for the council meetings that would be holding that budget hearing on on March 6th.

P

To do that, we would then have to go through the series of set hearings and hold hearings that puts it into setting the hearing prior to that. The meeting prior to that, and then there has to be that 10 to 20, day notice and that's kind of highlighted by the gray area and then that step before the actual budget is the setting the max property tax dollars.

P

So that's creating that that ceiling at which you have that hearing to show what the property tax was received in the prior year and what that increase would be as a maximum level.

H

The assessments that come out in the county will will know what the increase will be before when did. When? Did you tip it? When do we typically get that? Where is that on this timeline?.

P

Technically, the the ones that the county is currently talking about is actually the one one uh 23 number that's coming that they're projecting that actually isn't a part of this budget. Okay, that's actually the fiscal year 25, so not this year, but next year. Okay, so we don't get final numbers for 1 122., um so the beginning of this year we won't actually get those until December um as finalized numbers from the county through the appeal process and- and everything like that, so it takes a full year.

P

They have legally all the way they don't have to until December 31 to.

H

Finalize clarify because I know, there's been already talked in the neighborhoods. You know going up, 22 percent, so everyone realizes that is not for this current budget cycle that we'll be voting on. That's correct, yeah.

P

Okay, that is absolutely correct, um and one of the things that we are going to incorporate in the information that we put together is addressing that concern as well, because we are looking at trying to just talk about the 2022 11 2022, that is our fiscal year. 24 uh property taxes. So it gets very confusing with the timeline. I know that, but but yeah we're going to try to address that within our within our informational videos and and.

H

Trying to do that I would continue to do that, because it's more come out about that, and even at that point when it does come out we're not that's not part of this. Yes,.

E

Just for full clarity, this is an assessment here, where the percentage will change right. What we're going to get um the 1 122 we're gonna. Have it's it's one of the years where the percentage changes it's a non-assessment year. Non-Assessment year, non-assessment, your gotcha yep.

B

The rollback that takes you from your market value to the value that you're at that does change.

P

And that is one where this one will actually see the the last um the last step in the change in the multi-residential, so we'll actually see the multi-residential roll black going from like 6364 um down to whatever the the residential rollback is which um this current fiscal year so fiscal year 23. That rollback was about 54.

P

But if you go back to the history of of the rollback, it's anywhere from 40 to 80 percent in the last 20.

H

Years but just so the last one.

P

For the multi-res yeah, this one will.

I

And that means how much in millions.

P

um Eyes for an annual loss in comparison to what it was. What was the 90 you're, looking at probably three to four just between that, but the annual change is another million billion and a half to the budget to the budget yeah, so I just want to make sure three.

Q

To four million.

P

uh Total because it used to be taxed at ninety percent, now.

H

Going before I just want yeah annually annually, right yep for the folks watching at home that, yes, four million annual yep.

P

um The the other part of it, too, is, as that, uh as that rollback was, was going, is being phased in. That drop was anywhere. It was uh 3.75. Each year was dropping uh this year. It is not related to any level drop it. It just Dr matches whatever it is. So if we were to stay, if we were to stay at this current rollback of fiscal year, 2023 um that it would actually be a drop of 10 percent uh for a rollback on the multi-residential and.

H

We we haven't seen rent decrease to that that amount at all, we've actually seen rent increase. That's correct, clarify for folks that are listening.

I

They will just say that they didn't raise it any higher, but.

G

I

Goal of it was to keep rent of this well. Our Levy raid has right.

E

I just uh realized: we don't have a copy of the schedule on the screen for anybody to look at online.

N

P

E

Got it memorized you've got it memorized.

J

I have a question because it goes back to the last question.

J

Then last year we lowered our Millie and we said oh over here yeah they did.

J

J

so I know when we do our whatever.

G

J

Just look at then, just in one short month, assessments will begin.

J

Depending on what the world's back I get that, depending on the role. But we.

G

Know the difference.

J

Between 21 and 20., so what we were then.

G

When the assessments.

J

J

Look at our taxes.

P

It does, but we don't have final numbers from the county for 1 122. Yet so.

R

P

Will be able to when we actually get to the later part of the budget process. We would be able to give you that example of what, uh given the rollback uh change there really shouldn't have been a an assessment change between the 1121 to the 1122, um so that the the base valuation for most residents would not have changed between the 21 to 22..

B

P

Now but that's going to be for 1 123. yeah.

P

We'll we'll have that example that.

H

Information yeah plus we're going to have the sales tax information of where yeah.

I

We're financially.

H

Where that's been spent and then at that point in time, is when we can, whether we adjust the levy rate at that point,.

A

Well, and also everybody has to remember that, while we're talking about our budget there's a whole lot of other budgets that they receive a bill for ours is about what 30, 35 35 in the balance. uh 65 comes from other entities. That also are on that. So we can lower ours exactly um and we don't know what anybody else is going to do so. Sometimes people when we go to these neighborhood meetings. They say my property taxes are going up and whatever sometimes it's not it's, not the it's, not the city of Des Moines,.

P

So from when we got local option, we did drop from from an overall millage rate of 1724 down to now 1661. and every year, when we're looking at our local option and and what, uh when we get final numbers from the county, um it will allow us to kind of talk through where what we're seeing with with with that.

P

This is really all the different yeah. What we try to do, at least during the um budget processes, is show the the prior year number, because that's the only one that we have the final num, the final Levy rates for, and we usually break that out into a a dollar chart. So everybody can kind of see uh for every dollar that you pay for property tax, that this is how much is going to each.

H

One of the entities and we're still the lowest mileage rate we've had in 20 years yeah. Yes, in the city.

E

um I think I need clarification on. Something um is the 121 assessment. Is that does that apply for the entire fiscal year budget? Or we don't get like a surprise in the middle of.

M

E

Of the year of the fiscal year that someone's.

P

There might be drawn out appeals that might affect it, uh but usually that's but.

E

The general like homeowner property owner, is going to have the same assessment and rate throughout the fiscal year.

P

Yeah so the way that that works is um once we get that final number uh certified from the county uh for the 1122. Those are going to be what we base our uh Levy rate on and all the other taxing entities do and then that's. What's going to get paid in September of uh 23 and March of 24., okay,.

M

E

It's gonna be the same assessment and that September and that March payment for people. Okay, thank you. The.

P

The the rule of thumb that I've tried to look at is um when you look at the assessment year. That's the one one 22 and then the payment is September of 23 and March of 24. So it's 22 23 24.. So yes, it's it's! It's definitely a confusing time timeline that that it that we try to uh try and get that out as much as much as possible to explain.

P

Yeah and we try and do that to where we can kind of show what an average home would be during our budget process too, to kind of show um how much of if your property was assessed at a I, think it's two hundred thousand dollars and what that means to what actually is taxable and how much your tax bill is just from all tax ending entities as well as what what the city's portion of it is.

E

And I know we do um public meetings to kind of explain these complicate complications, but do we publish um maybe in a bridge version or sort of the same information in the City Source before, uh but maybe Al can answer that question I, don't know I.

P

Think in the past we have included some information in the City Source. Okay, as it relates to budget okay. um One thing that we uh Our intention- and you can kind of see off of here- is um with it being kind of a status quo kind of budget with non-non-reassessment.

P

uh We were looking at doing, uh inform informative videos and then having that public input available and then responding to those frequently asked questions that we receive um through that um the the videos I believe we were going to look at doing is is the property taxes that kind of explains what what everybody's seeing and it kind of explain that breakout and that timeline issue um as well as kind of talking about what our budget process look looks like and then uh touching back on local option and kind of some of the stuff that we did with arpa and how that is progressing.

P

D

Are we not planning public meetings this year.

P

um I'll, let Scott talk about that. A little bit.

B

Well, actually, what we were thinking is this informational videos would be the best way to get the information out. We've also got an opportunity to for Nick and I to go out and about to Neighborhood requests.

B

um The key here is that, when we've gone out, especially in this last cycle, uh most of the discussion, in fact, nearly all the discussion was about the arpa or the questions from our residents, so we've we've got that taken care of so I think that is what we're looking for input from from councils. You would have your Workshop, which date was that yeah.

P

We'll be on the next.

B

Yes, it's the very first of February, um which is a you know, a public meeting as well.

E

But that's not a public meeting that we can receive comments at though so we're not planning on we're just going to report comments online is the plan correct.

H

Or you guys would come to like uh you.

B

Know by requests.

H

In a meeting where all the neighborhood leaders from uh by requests like the South Side, are all that they requested a specific you know you would have information for them. Absolutely we're always available right, I, I! Think that's!

H

E

Not the answer.

H

More we've had more staff meetings. People show up at any budget meeting. We've ever had yeah ever in the nine years that I've gone through this process.

P

But I think there was a lot at the arpa at the center of the Opera last year, yeah that was I, think that was the one, the one time I think I. Remember that being not the case.

F

I mean I agree: we've had more staff at the meetings, but I don't think that means it I mean it I, don't think we should give up on doing the public meetings and trying to figure out how we better engage the public I, don't know the answer to getting the public there, um but but it is an important part of being accessible and and transparent and I appreciate the other pieces, the the presentation, the the work you know, all all of the pieces to it.

F

I I, just I, continue to be open to the public meeting and want us to just continue thinking about how we can better engage. Folks- and some of that is not I- mean it's not for lack of of effort that that we've made as a staff um but I just want to say that I still think there is value in doing that. Even if we don't get public showing up.

E

I agree with that and and that I believe that the public meeting is not necessarily the focus should not necessarily be on. In information, I mean there should be an element of information, but the emphasis should be on getting that feedback from the public on the budget.

E

um I think that in the past, maybe we have spent a lot of time on the informational piece. um We had a lot of feedback about arpa, um but trying to put an emphasis on asking the public. What I know that you guys have talked about doing like activities where, like you, spend 100 and make your own City budget type of thing? um I wonder if you know looking for ways that we can get feedback from the public I think we should still be making those efforts.

B

And we can continue to have those conversations.

I

I would just suggest, too, if we're going to go out to tie it in to some of the larger neighborhood meetings and invite people to come in as the public maybe to come into those or you already have a group of people not waiting to see. If you get four or five yeah.

S

I

To where you have a group of people that you invite the public to come into those meetings, no matter where they live, they could still possibly come. So we could talk to some of the people where you already have a base, uh but I think I know one year you did the the game or whatever, and it was probably you know again. It was very low attendance but I think if we could tie it where we already have people there and invite others in I.

E

Think it would be beneficial to have it be like an official meeting like something where we all can attend, um then it would be published in the same way as any of our meetings are, like you know, as a town hall or something like that, but like it could be published in the way that any of our meetings are in that way we can attend and the public can attend and we can get that feedback well. It is.

I

A neighborhood meetings are really public. Well,.

E

I

We're more than three of us.

E

For more than three of us to attend: well, we should be able to go to a neighborhood.

I

Meeting without having to list it, I they're publicly listed it's a public. Any meeting, I believe.

B

His head, I, don't know as long as there's not an.

I

Interview yeah we're not discussion, we're not doing policy we're listening to whatever so I think we should be able to go to any listening.

Q

I

Asking neighborhood meeting as long as we're not discussing policy or city, if we're here to listen, if.

Q

If it's, if the council's there in attendance and only listening, that's probably not a public.

M

Q

We'll be given the discussion of issues if Council starts any one of you would start to talk with answer questions, um then it's probably going to become a public meeting that has to be noticed in accordance with the Iowa open meetings.

E

Blog, which we probably would I I, assume that one of us would accidentally break that at any point.

I

Well, I mean I'm, just thinking beneficent is invited, they're asked questions, so the award person is the one who usually answers. So it's not really uh well. No, but I. Think yeah.

I

So when we go to a neighborhood meeting, we shouldn't say anything: what.

E

I'm saying no, if there's, if there's more than three of us there, what I'm saying is I think it'd be beneficial to have an official council meeting that we can list so that would be available in the same place that are yeah I'm. Just saying it would be available in the same place that our meetings are listed. So anybody who is paying attention to those things would also be seeing like that. We have a public meeting where we're there to hear about the budget, not the official hearing, but like a public meeting.

J

Assessor has a lot of information on their website to explain Texas a lot of times, I've just printed out some of their fact sheets and take it and hand it out. You know that that there's an awful lot of information to determine how our taxes are are divided up in what we use them.

E

Looking for public input, as well as as communicating information.

Q

Okay, we'll continue to.

B

Give me input so that I can put some dates on the calendars as necessary. We have good ideas of where uh we know there's already going to be people that is usually the best options.

B

O

I

That way, you could go to every part of the city too. You can cover every. You know, go to the top meetings that and see if they would incorporate it within their meeting.

P

B

You thanks next.

K

Connie you're, not thinking 53, neighborhood meetings.

I

No, no, no, no just take like four yeah. If you had, if you want to cover each quadrant or whatever, we.

A

Used to do one in each Ward right.

N

Yeah we did it too.

N

I

A

All right, Equity update.

T

Morning, I was wondering if you needed a little break but I'm guessing no we're good. Okay,.

A

Let's keep moving.

T

All right, good morning, mayor members of the city council, my name is Manisha. Patel I am the equity officer for the city, while the slides are loading up. We're really here to when I say we I actually have with me members of our Equitable Services team. Some are presenting and some are actually here so I want to acknowledge everybody.

T

um There are four presenters here: Jeremy Jason, Ashley NMR who's, actually not a member of the Equitable Services team, but has utilized the equity toolkit and is actually centering equity in all of his work and, of course, all of the work in Parks and Recreation Malcolm Hankins is also a member of our Equity Equitable Services team. So is Lisa Krebs and then Elijah Williams, who is an intern in the equity office?

T

So um I am not going to be talking a lot, because I would like um for my colleagues here to provide you with a brief update on how they're centering Equity or what, how they're, really advancing Equity within their work in their Department.

T

As you see in front of you, this is our definition as a city that you all um listen to and adopted in October 2019 when you adopted the equity framework again, the definition for us as a city is a social Equity is a social condition and process which deliberately provides choices, access and opportunities to all people to fulfill their basic needs, Advance their well-being and achieve their full potential.

T

You may recall this illustration: if not, this was presented to you a couple years ago, um where, if we're not currently impacted by negatively impacted by inequities, we're still all in the same boat and we will um likely experience the oops the impact of it at some point in our lifetime.

T

This is a nationally utilized process for institutionalizing equity and what that really means is adopting Equity normalizing Equity as a priority as uh as a again a part of our process within our institution, so in local government again, normalizing is a piece of the it's. It's actually a really big piece, which is where we were a few years ago.

T

This is about leadership, acknowledgment and priority discussion, driven learning where we're actually discussing um what it means to be equitable, uh frequent use of equity, lens we're questioning ourselves of who's, negatively impacted who's positively impacted by our decisions, and then the next sort of step to this is organizing, where we have organizational and Community assessment- and this is actually currently in process where um we're reviewing RFP submission um from a few Consultants to do an organizational Equity assessment for our organization creation of resource materials, which is the framework and toolkit that I actually have copies of our Equity toolkit that I'm happy to pass around.

T

Yes, let me start here: um I can send it. Yes, yes, best practice. Research sharing- and this happens quite a bit within our organizations. um Many of us just share. You know we see something happening in another Community. We share with each other within our organization. Among our colleagues work group, Department, specific learning, and this is happening through our Equitable Services team- we're all Department um have uh Representatives uh majority.

T

Actually, almost all of them have two Representatives on our Equity team and then operationalizing, which is really creating of the action plan which we hope to create once the assessment is done, use of equity toolkit and decision making, and that is the toolkit. That's in front of you. There are a series of questions that we ask ourselves as we're making decisions, and it could be a very simple decision about something as simple as right um deciding to eat lunch somewhere or catering from a or a restaurant.

T

Two major decisions, such as budget decisions or CIP decisions.

D

um So talking in organize.

E

The work group Department specific learning, you said the Equitable Services team, which has representatives from each department. um Do we know how those Converse like when uh you guys leave this work group, how those conversations are happening in the Departments themselves, like how that's brought back.

T

So some of them so before the four colleagues here they'll present on that um that is the idea is the two members that are on the Equitable Services team. And now we have a newer group, uh meaning there are new members. They would go back to their organization to their department and talk about how what they've learned and also make it a part of their normal conversation um again going back to that normalized piece.

T

It's it does take time, Seattle's been doing this city of Seattle's been doing this for 22 23 years now, and they're still doing they're still in the normal normalizing, organizing and operationalizing um stages, because we can't really leave one for the other. So yes, that that is the intention is that they go back to their department and um engage in that conversation also decision making. Thank.

M

T

Okay Equity framework: this is what was adopted in October 2019 and then the two, the last two pieces, which is number seven, eight action plan and implementation and impact evaluation and Reporting. This is again becoming a part of the national conversation. Around equity in local government is that we need an action plan and Implement that and evaluate the impact and provide reporting on that, because we can't just create an equity plan and then leave it there. We need to ensure that the impact is as intended.

T

So this is the equity toolkit. That's in front of you- and these are just some of the questions that we ask and and um I will add, that the toolkit is just a it's like the Skeleton version right. Each department will change some of these questions or make modifications to these questions based on their Department specific work. So library has made some changes to the equity toolkit to ensure that it caters to their work and to their needs. um So it is open for modifications and it's it's really a living document.

T

At this point, um this is the Equitable Services team, the very first team in 2019., and then this is the new team of 2022..

T

Three years later, we're still engaging in conversations again as new we're uh individuals join the team. um We engage in some learning process and we'll continue to do that because not everybody has the same shared understanding or language around Equity. So we want to make sure that everybody's sort of on the same page of what it means to advance equity in local government- and this is just a very brief um slide around. How are we centering equity in city of Des Moines now, and these are different departments and what they've shared there.

T

I will tell you that, there's more than this for some departments- and this is literally just a single one or two items- that the members of the Equitable Services team have shared about either the use of the toolkit and or just the conversation around.

T

What are the inequities that may be created because of our decision or what? How can we make this process of ours? Our project of ours, more equitable.

D

Do you know Public Works forestry, how what what kind of Equitable so.

T

They're talking about tree Equity, okay um and so um oftentimes, we're engaged in conversation around, obviously the equity mapping of where um the tree canopy. It's not just about Urban Tree canopy, we're also talking about density I'm in the types of tree and those that are prone to disease and who takes care of them, especially if it's a rent, higher renter area.

T

So we're talking, Beyond, just planting trees.

T

Oh and so now, I'm gonna ask um our first member Jason, sorry Jeremy um thanks.

R

Manisha uh Jeremy Karen sustainability program manager and just to add on to that tree piece and how it ties into the climate action plan. uh Expanding the tree canopy equitably means it can help better manage uh heat waves and reduce heat island effects across the city, especially in communities that um haven't had as large of a tree cover to work with, but um adapt DSM is the city's first. Climate action and adaptation plan. uh Historically, climate action planning a decade ago was more of a tabletop technical exercise.

R

um Looking at engineering and science-based strategies that could be deployed to reduce emissions and to adapt to a changing climate. That's evolved over the last decade and now uh climate action planning recognizes that the impacts of climate uh touch on our economy touch on social systems, uh touch on the Health and Welfare of the community.

R

So if you're not including equity and and Justice in your climate, action planning, you're really failing your community uh in that planning effort, because you need to make sure that you're recognizing the needs of Frontline Community members who face the largest impacts from climate change disproportionately to other areas and then also minority and underserved populations.

R

And so we've committed to equity in our planning process, we developed an engagement and Outreach plan early on in the planning process and have been following that throughout our engagement process and really working to build relationships with community-based organizations that can help us engage with the groups of folks that we need to hear from in this planning process and it's an evolving strategy and one where we're uh you know.

R

Recently, we've decided to pump the brakes a little bit and step back and retool so that we can get some more engagement of the voices that we want to hear, and so I'll talk to that in a moment here as well, uh our engagement goals, Equity centered, ensuring that a diverse group of voices are heard in the community.

R

uh It's really uh focused on making sure that our plan is culturally and Community responsive uh and that it really guides our planning process at at all levels, um looks at the co-benefits that can be accrued to the broader community and we're doing this across multiple mediums. Our Outreach and engagement efforts aren't just through surveys and small meetings, but we're doing surveys specific focus groups coordinating with those community-based organizations to pull in uh folks from neighborhood associations, uh minority-based groups um we're we're also looking at some faith-based organization engagement as well.

R

We've done an online Workshop in the in the early summer we have an open house coming up, November 16th at the Central Library from four to six, so I'd encourage you all to reach out to your constituency and let them know that's happening, that's a great opportunity for the public to come and provide their feedback for the planning process and then we're also collecting personal Stories We want to know people's lived experience a lot of times.

R

Why people we see people not engaging in climate action planning it's because they don't think their subject matter experts, so they don't think that they're being impacted by it, but all of us have lived through floods over the last decade. Here all of us have experienced a couple of the ratios: we've seen heat waves.

R

All of these things are exacerbated by climate change and projected to increase, and so it's that lived experience and those stories that we want to pull into this process too, so that we can put a human face on on the impact of this in the plan and then community events are being held were held over the summer for engagement, and then we've got a ton lined up for the fall and I'll talk about those I think on this next slide. How.

E

um Have you been interacting with like climate activist groups or anything like that in building this climate action plan, yeah.

R

uh So we've created uh for this climate action plan, we created a steering committee and a technical Advisory Group, and we have formal representation from a number of the advocacy organizations as well as Mid-American Energy uh local businesses.

R

We made sure that that was representative of the broad community, and so they provide direct oversight for the planning process and recommendations for us in ways that we can better engage with the public and improve the plan um and then they're certainly all invited to participate and engage in all of our public events and activities that we're holding and come and and provide feedback there. And then, as part of our Outreach effort, we created a community climate allies, email list and distribution list where we send regular updates at different stages of the planning process.

R

So we wrapped up engaged the first phase of Engagement in early September and we just launched the second phase of Engagement. So about a month ago, 50 or 60 different organizations and individuals across the city were distributed. All the information in a packet with you know, draft newsletters that they can send out to their uh the folks that they represent email content.

R

um Social media posts things like that that they can help raise awareness in their in their Community too. Okay,.

E

Building that the and the community climate allies, um are they representative, like? How did you guys use equity to.

D

Build those yeah.

R

um So we ran through the toolkit with um that Manisha introduced a few moments ago and used that, at every step of the process, to kind of make sure that we're weaving in that representation uh from a diverse set of community members.

R

um We also um made sure that we were partnering with civil and Human Rights Commission in minutia to identify different groups and organizations that they've all engaged with in the past that they thought were helpful to uh providing feedback to planning processes or that they thought would have an interest in participating in this planning process. And then we have a number of City staff from other departments that are on our technical, Advisory Group and we have a core project team.

R

That's made up of 10 or so internal staff that meets fairly regularly as well, and so we've gotten some great recommendations from the planning department on ways to better pull in perspective from folks and distribute information to folks. So we've worked all of that into the the process. Also,.

E

That's awesome. Thank you. So much.

R

uh So survey one results. uh We had a couple of targets that we were focusing on uh looking at trying to get one one thousandth of the community represented in participants. We exceeded that with 326 participants, but one of the big lessons we learned is um there are a lot of older white women that were interested in responding to the survey and not as much uh of the youth Voice or the senior Voice or as diverse of a respondent population, as we would have liked to have seen.

R

We got pretty close on that that uh diversity Target that we were aiming for, but we did have good distribution across all income groups. We did have decent distribution across all of the zip codes, but our engagement strategy for the second survey uh is has been modified so that we can try and pull more folks into that process. We're working with the sustainability task force to schedule, specific meetings with different groups and help facilitate workshops, small sort of focus group workshops, and you can see a couple of the events that have happened there.

R

The women's international league for Peace and Freedom was one that happened just two weeks ago and that one was also attended by some Drake students and by a couple of neighborhood associations as well. uh We also made sure that we reached the accent neighborhood uh meeting a few weeks ago and then we're working with Neighborhood Services to um do Outreach to the neighborhoods getting in the newsletter.

R

We've sent direct emails to all of the neighborhood association leadership, as well, with all of the Outreach information for the plan and links to the survey and we'll be sending one out here soon about the public open house also. But you can also see a number of the engagement events that we had over the summer and some that are upcoming here. It was really tough to engage with the student population over the summer.

R

As you can imagine, and now that everyone's back in school we've got probably five or six different events across the community that we're lining up with students to get youth input and feedback into the planning process. And then we've scheduled one with the Iowa Interfaith uh Coalition 2 and are working to get into the faith-based communities, and then we're also open to everyone's ideas about groups that we should engage with and ways that we can get into uh organizations or populations like of the front line communities that we want to hear from.

J

Those emails do I, get those you're.

R

You're, not you weren't, the council, members weren't on the distribution list for the community climate allies, but I am working on putting together a mailing and then an email that I'll send out to all of council. So you can distribute that to your okay.

J

It sounds like there's some really good information that we could share yep, but I just didn't know if I'd missed the information or if it just wasn't, no.

R

We wanted to get a little further along in the process, so we could package together the information and have something that looks a little more polished and organized that you can share with your constituencies so we'll be giving that out to you either later this week or first.

J

Thing next week, and is it something that we could then like take to our neighborhood association.

R

Meetings yeah- and we have you- know, handouts and stickers with little QR codes that you can bring to your meetings as well.

U

R

Folks, so that they can just scan it with their phone. You know, I think the pandemic made a lot of us more capable of using those those QR codes. So that's another tool that you could utilize as well to to get your constituency to participate. We've.

D

R

Yeah cute with the QR codes and the website address for the climate action plan, and um so those have been pretty popular, especially at some of the events. People grab those and it's easy for them. Yeah. Let.

D

Me guess my love: um what what time is the community open house on the 16th.

R

Four to six pm 46, okay at Central Library, and then you know one of the things we're working on trying to do right now is create a buy lingual, uh Spanish version of our survey and get that out into the community as well. That's one of the challenges we've noticed in this process is uh being able to find the services we need affordably either.

R

um You know, there's limited I, think resources in-house that we've been able to utilize so far for that, um but we've made some good Connections in the community and uh we're looking to put that survey together and get that live in the next couple of weeks. Here are.

E

You only looking at Spanish for Translating that.

R

um We were looking primarily at Spanish, but we're certainly open to other suggestions for language. It comes down to staff, time and resources and our Consultants resources to then take and convert all of that back into English and get it into our planning process and make sure that it's accurately being recorded.

E

um Scott we haven't completed our language access.

M

um Policy have we okay, so that might be something.

R

So that was one of the Lessons Learned I wanted to share. That um I think would be helpful for Council to think about with our planning efforts, not just this planning effort but broader planning efforts as well.

J

R

M

R

J

We're just putting it I think we're all putting it in our calendars for.

R

November, 6th and I think that gets through the bulk of everything that I have um happy to take any other questions and we'll be providing more updates to Council in the near future. Here on the Adept DSM planning process,.

A

Could I ask one question: just this is I guess to ask you to personally maybe accommodate me. Could you move that open house to the following week.

R

J

R

Already been announced, it's all out there in the public and has been for a couple of weeks now well,.

A

There's this International event that maybe some of these people would like to have some update on and I think there's an attendee, that's sitting on this thing that might want to share that kind of stuff. Yeah.

R

A

Think and that that was scheduled over a year ago, maybe.

M

H

R

Mayor this is more of an opportunity for it's kind of like when they did the downtown um plan and they had the open house where people came in and interacted with the storyboards around the different strategies and provided their input.

A

No I understand yeah.

R

um And so I think we can come up with some good engagement strategies for after the open house that we can get your input our feedback out to the public and talk more about the importance of participation in the climate. Action planning.

A

Process and to your point, it's so important that we get it from the full of the community, yep and uh pages and in sectors and everything absolutely.

E

But we'll have lots of opportunities uh for these conversations, and this is just one of them right right.

R

Awesome Yep all right. Thank you. Thank you.

S

I, don't know that you heard that good morning, mayor council, uh Jason Van nessen, with the city's planning staff I'm going to cover our effort um on the historic preservation plan. You know the last time the city prepared. One of these was clear back in 1995, so it's an exciting opportunity for us to take a pause and and look at our historic resources uh in the community and how how to protect those and incorporate them as we move forward as a as a community.

S

uh We're not doing this in a in a vacuum or a silo nationally.

S

um You know a lot of effort and a lot of dialogue is occurring on the notion of how do you bring Equity uh into the historic preservation discussion ensuring that we're thinking very broadly about um what is uh significant to all parts of our population? So uh what you might you know be significant to? You may not match up with others, but all of it is important in telling the story of the community as a collective, so very exciting time.

S

We've for I've done a variety of things to try to bring that Equity, Equity discussion or lens into the process, including thinking about uh who and what processes we use to do. Outreach that started with our advisory committee, making sure that the makeup of that committee is reflective of the demographics of the city of Des Moines from both race perspective, but also make making sure that we have folks from different backgrounds, whether that's development, non-profit and the like. So we've had a few different meetings with the advisory committee we're pushing about halfway through the process.

S

We actually have a meeting tomorrow morning with them we're going to go. You can see there at the bottom, um I've been doing an online survey. We did that bilingually, English and Spanish. We'll have results for that that just wrapped up that we'll go over with that advisory committee early in the process. We did some traditional meetings, but we recognized that we to get those involved that aren't um accustomed to participating in those kind of General open houses. We've looked at online we've also looked at how? How do we make connections?

S

How do we get to the right people that can connect us with? Maybe some of the the groups in the population that we aren't hearing from and so I think out of that middle box there? The most exciting item is the Outreach cohort and what we've done there is we've recruited about 10 individuals. A little over.

S

Half of them are actually Hoover High School students that we are training to go out to their communities and ask the question of What's significant to you and they'll, bring that back to us and report to us and it'll be part of the process. So we just kicked that off just got a training and put that together and very excited about seeing where that takes us in this process.

S

That's the engagement part and how we're trying to bring Equity into it. The other part of the equation is to look at our programs and our ordinances and do an equity audit and try to understand how we can improve those that really we call it Equity audit, because it is through the lens of equity, but I equate it to it's a quality. You know improvement process Improvement where you take a you, take a step back. You first acknowledge what was the intent of this ordinance or what was the intent of this process?

S

What are we trying to achieve and then think through? Where are the challenges that are coming out of that? So we've been working on that? We will share the results of that with our advisory committee uh this week and then that will kind of come up through the process, but just quickly. The things that we're touching on are the designation process for local historic districts, um how we go about issuing certificates of appropriateness or that process of applying.

S

So that's where we do the design review in the local, historic districts, how historic surveys have been conducted in the past, you know: are there stories or parts of the city they've been overlooked and how we've done that? We also have the demo review ordinance and how that functions, and we've partnered with the neighborhood services department to look at some of their programs that touch historic resources, so that's their rehab Assistance programs and then Blitz on blight.

D

Can I ask about the advisory.

E

Committee, um when you're saying diversity, is it diversity of uh background economic diversity, racial diversity? Do you have an economic diversity perspective.

S

We have um from an economic diversity standpoint. We have some folks that are from the non-profit community that support um you know more entry-level housing, but the broader focus is really uh kind of a racial and ethnic mix and then also just industry mix. So whether that's a contractor, uh somebody with historic preservation background how to bring in those different perspectives.

E

uh Do you have an indigenous perspective in this process.

S

We do not have anybody on the advisory committee.

E

In any of the Outreach, have you gotten any indigenous perspectives on looking for um input on the plan? Sure.

S

uh Not to date, yeah I haven't really um I, don't know the results of our survey and that sort of thing, but I would imagine that we probably haven't picked up that perspective there, so something we could definitely take a look at because I I, don't we haven't had any we've had some small group meetings uh not even focused on that uh and then at the larger community meeting. I. Don't remember getting any of that perspective brought to us. Okay,.

E

We can look into definitely linking you guys up with some people and sure.

S

No that'd be great um any suggestions that anybody has of folks that should be plugged in this process. I appreciate hearing it.

S

Should never use a laptop you're not used to all right.

G

F

Where's, the page up there sorry.

D

While you were figuring that out, you're like I.

E

Realized um the we don't need to go back, but the equity and historic preservation, National dialogue didn't have anything in it. I mean is that just because we're not National so we're not having.

S

No I I, just um I, wanted I was mostly focused in the presentation on kind of what we're doing here locally, but I did want to acknowledge that nationally there there is a lot of effort to look at um how historic preservations operated in the past. um You know if you look at both around the country, the national register of story, places or other community larger communities have done analysis of their own local landmarks.

S

For instance, I think it's safe to say that ours are the same way and the fact that those designation processes there's an over-representation or are predominantly you- know, high-end architecture and they're and they're listed more about the the individuals which typically are white male, um that funded those Endeavors or were the Architects behind designing them. So you know there are some communities in the brought in the country that are um doing survey work.

S

That's focused on you, know the Hispanic, Community or African-American community, and just going through the process of kind of documenting what what stories haven't been told yet and and what buildings and places uh aren't being haven't like been designated in a way that protects them for the future.

S

um So I imagine those kinds of things will be stuff that we'll be doing as well. But that's just in a brief nutshell kind of what's going on Country-Wide.

E

It's great to be part of that National Trend yeah.

S

Absolutely the I think moving forward the couple things that we're gonna have to keep in mind.

S

Is uh you know that Outreach cohort was a I think a really important effort, but it took a lot of work for us to get to the point where we were able to find individuals that we could partner with to get out in the community and a lot of our early struggles in doing that was kind of building that Rapport making connections and that that lack of trust in our process, so I think it's gonna be really important for us, as we move this plan forward that we look at some of the implementation activities that come out of it and we follow through with actually doing those things and a lot of those are what I've just mentioned that you know the survey work that looks at some of the communities that haven't been identified as far as historic resources uh and just following, through keeping the dialogue going on the audits, um I think we will be making tweaks that are, some are small, some perhaps greater, but it's until we have the plan completely finalized.

S

It's kind of hard to say, I, think low hanging fruit type things would be to have uh information in multiple languages. You know right now. The application process versus certificate appropriateness, for example, is only in English uh things. Beyond that you know, may Encompass um you know, funding programs that can help folks through the process or or seeking grants from the state historic preservation office to do survey work, for example, and with that, if there's any other questions, I'd be happy to answer those otherwise I'll turn it on the next presenter.

S

Hopefully they know the computer a little better than I do, but the mouse is black, so it kind of Blended in down here I'll.

E

Just say, I'm really excited for how you guys are approaching this and I'm really glad that you're taking an equity lens with it. Thank.

S

V

I'm, not an expert with the computer, so please bear with me.

V

There we go all right uh good morning, uh Amara nagusi I'm, with the city of Des, Moines Parks and Recreation Recreation supervisor over our newly created Equitable Services Division I'm, going to touch on a few different programs that we have. uh They really highlight our uh commitment to equity at the in our Parks and Recreation Department.

V

So the first one is our summer camp fall program. uh Summer camp was uniquely designed to serve children in our community by providing Equitable Recreation services within our city parks. This program was intended for youth looking to have the day camp experience uh in 2022 the first year of this program, uh we had over 200 kids sign up and attend uh with a total attendance of 3303., uh estimating our savings to our residents of over 250 thousand dollars.

V

uh This is important because a lot when we look at the areas that we program these summer camps in uh they fall in some of the lower socioeconomic areas of our city, where maybe a summer camp might not be affordable. We took did a lot of research into this and we found that summer camp in other places, was costing 200 to 250 a week. When you start talking about parents with multiple children, it just would not be affordable to them.

V

So, by providing this service, we were able to to really just provide Recreation services in some of the most underserved areas of our city. uh Also, we expanded the access to Quality programming at no cost, uh with our Falls, with our fall after school program to really achieve that same Mission, using the same resources that we had before. So not only did we do summer programming, but moving into the fall.

V

We chose 10 locations and 18 different programming dates with over 60 hours of contact contact services for our children in the city, to just continue that mission of providing Equitable Recreation services and, as you can see, some of the pictures that we have on the on the right hand, side of the slides. These are primar summer camp program and we're where we were able to take our kids really all over the city.

V

Another program, we have two scholarship programs, uh the youth recreational scholarship program and the greater Des Moines Regional activity, scholarship program, uh otherwise known as grasp grasp currently has 355. This past year had 355 households with 1 388 individuals signed up, for which really allows them uh not only to to receive scholarships for Youth Sports, but also shelter. Rentals. uh Other activities like trips to the zoo in the science center was really an inclusive, an inclusive program that we have.

V

Our youth recreational scholarship program is offered in partnership with the Des Moines Public Schools, which allows students who are on free, reduced lunch to receive a five dollar swim. Lessons and youth sport experiences are those Sports basketball, football, volleyball soccer and also, once again, the five dollar swim less.

V

uh This year we had one thousand five kids use the youth recreational scholarship program for sports registrations, and that number has grown over the past uh over the past two years. We've had the program uh to this being the highest number that we've had so far. We will continue to really just push that to include to make sure that any and everybody that wants to participate that actually money is not a barrier to participation.

V

When we start talking about youth sports uh swim lessons through our youth recreational scholarship program, we were able to provide over 1 100 swim lessons, uh putting just under thirty thousand dollars back in the pockets of our residents in the most need, and also allowing access to our Swimming Pools by teaching necessary uh skills.

V

Now this is important because, um just based on some on some facts, a 2017 study by the United States swimming Foundation, found that 64 percent of minority children cannot swim, which means they are six times more likely to drown um in a swimming pool, uh as opposed to right around 40 of white children who cannot swim um so by providing access and by providing. You know by breaking these barriers, uh eliminating these barriers to swim lessons.

V

uh We are able to to teach kids how to swim and just being uh coming from our summer camp program where every kid got a free swim lesson. One of the things that we saw was that the kids who took the swim lessons were more comfortable around the pool they wanted to go back to the pool they encouraged their parents to take them to the pool and really just teaching that necessary skill of swimming uh to the children. You could also it uh increase our lifeguard applications in the future.

V

So um really just a holistic approach to to uh you know, to teach to to a skill that may not be seen, may not be seen as necessary, but it's also is a life-saving skill. uh Every kid gets a ball with the every kid gets. A ball program presented by the friends of Des, Moines, Parks and Recreation.

V

um Each participant uh in the youth sports program uh was provided a ball specific to that sport, for free removing barriers to participation and allowing participants to nurture a love for the game year round. This is very important because uh initially our program was designed at Evelyn Davis and at Evelyn Davis Park. We would come up there and we would see kids come to the park with no basketball, no football, no soccer ball um to play and by providing the kids who participate in the Youth Sports these balls.

V

You know he wouldn't believe how many of the friends balls we see at the parks nowadays, so just uh breaking that breaking that barrier of of six kids showing up to a park to play basketball with no ball. So now, six kids showing up to a park to play basketball and each of them has a basketball. It's a big difference.

I

How many balls did you guys give up.

V

um So I don't have the exact total, but every kid got one, um and so just if you think about it, every kid that participated in the youth sports program, whether they're a scholarship participant or not, they all got balls so I mean I, could definitely get the numbers for my participation numbers. But yes,.

E

Over 3 000. between all four Sports over 3000, that's impressive.

I

They pay for all of it all of them.

I

V

Absolutely yes,.

V

G

V

Our friends group does an amazing job. They also need to swim lessons. Yes, they they do provide swim lessons for some of the children on Earth.

V

Yes, in partnership with yes in partnership with Des Moines, Public Schools.

J

Is making these those those Sports balls available? Yes, who are you absolutely? We have a lot of people that you know give friends of Des Moines money.

V

Oh, absolutely absolutely so.

E

I'm super impressed by these numbers. These scholarship numbers I'm wondering how people uh hear about the program.

V

Oh absolutely engagement. We are talking about the program all over the place. um My team, specifically we go to just about every Elementary School uh that has a uh Boogie on the blacktop or a parent-teacher conference or anytime they're having any type of event will show up and set up a table and we'll actually sign people up right there. On the spot. We work with the community school coordinators.

V

We work with a lot of the Des Moines Public School brass, to push out the information just to make sure that nobody, because one of my goals is for anybody to come up and if they say they've never heard about the program, I'm not doing my job. We want to make sure that this program is known by everybody and be able to be successful any and everybody we work. uh We just rolled out a new uh sign up program, Civic rep and we're working.

V

We have been working diligently to get people up to date with Civic wreck and learning how to to sign up and actually register for the programs. So it's very seamless where you just go online sign up and it's five dollars right there for you. So it's a it's a concerted effort by our whole department, our Athletics team, the Equitable service team and really any and everybody who touches. You know the Parks and Recreation Department is talking about the scholarship program everywhere we go.

V

Our neighborhood liaison program is a very strong program that we use all of our different neighborhood Liaisons. Take this information to their neighborhood groups, who in turn spread it out to their neighborhoods um just so. We want to make sure everybody knows about this, because it's such a wonderful program.

E

Yeah, that's absolutely fantastic. um Do we know if uh participation in Youth Sports swim, lessons has increased since we implemented this? Oh absolutely, absolutely.

V

um Specifically saw a 32 percent increase uh in numbers from last year, going from just under 900 all the way up to over 1100 um during this just from last year to this year as far as Youth Sports numbers I could get those for you, I just don't have those offhand. That's fine. I just happened to speak with uh in canoes in our aquatic supervisor right before I came here so, but.

E

We just we know that, like the participation in the programs has increased because of access. Yes, absolutely, okay, more than doubled, yeah.

V

Wow, even when we start talking about our summer camp program, which was formerly our Evelyn Davis program, when we start when we look at our the signups that we had as soon as we opened up, we open up our signups on April 1st of 2022 of this year and within two weeks our programs were completely full and we started a waitlist, and it's I mean I'm happy to say that everybody who signed up for a program whether they were on a wait list or they signed up for the actual program, was able to participate.

V

So really it was one of the great uh Feats of our department to make these things happen. So so.

H

As we continue to grow, this I mean I, I, guess my question, and maybe you can't answer it, but Ben would have to answer it. It I mean. Are we able to grow it with the staff that we have, or are we going to need to look at that as the budget as we go forward through the budget? Let's.

I

Just say: add: more.

H

I I, just because I I know these programs are going to grow and they need to grow. I mean this. Is you know this is what we hear from this.

I

Is in Paris that.

H

There's nothing for kids to do well. We want to be able to provide this and I just you know as someone that coached my kids and and you know, coached a lot of kids throughout. You know youth sports. For many years, I mean this is a real positive thing and I want to make sure that we can continue to grow it because I know that we're still not. We can reach probably five times that amount.

W

I think that's that's a really great question mayor members of the council, Ben Page, Parks and Recreation director. One of the challenge now is just bandwidth right. You know you have a youth, Sports Coordinator. What's one position, uh this has been really good. I was just talking in the back to know about how we've grown the program uh we this all started, because we had 300 kids in basketball five years ago and to me that was a problem. You know we have 30 000 kids in Des, Moines, Public, Schools and only 300 do the percentages.

W

There. uh We started meeting the school. We found two problems right, Transportation or access to gyms, and so we knocked those down, and then we found the funding piece with the city council. Today, that's been amazing work that you've all supported at five dollars. Nobody else in the nation is doing five dollars through a city function. That number is now over a thousand kids playing basketball. It's just one example, and that's the issue right.

W

So we found a way to make sure these kids that come from most of the time, a single family household can practice in the same Elementary or middle school that they go to school at so hopefully they can still walk there and get there if Mom or Dad can't get them to practice. The challenges twofold now is getting the word out and doing more engagement like we have to look for coaches.

W

We use volunteer coaches, 100, no paid coaches so far so good, but we need to do more engagement on recruiting coaches and and training those coaches too. It's not as simple as just getting coaches out there right. They have to go through a background check. We have to teach them. We have to work with athletic directors to make sure they're teaching the right things and then it's finding more people to talk to Omar does a great job, but he's only one person too Omar will literally knock on the doors this summer.

W

He made sure all these kids knew about these programs, because most of them had not heard about it, and so we need to find a way to gauge a community. More I think do.

H

You require them to go through the coaching certificate. We.

W

H

Own protocol, we.

W

Do our own training there there's a group out there that we've worked with in the past. It's a national youth course, coaching organization, okay, uh we tried them really good, but we're just able to find what they did and break build their own program for free instead of pay. Somebody else for it. So, yes, okay,.

K

Ben going back to the summer camp, you know I gather you have a lot of contacts around the country. There are probably a lot of pre-summer camps like this around the country. Aren't there there.

W

Are no camps that are free that are like this you're, the first in the nation. uh Last we heard Minneapolis was calling us ask us how we did this so we're leading the nation again I.

K

I promise Amara softball yeah.

H

I should have give to him. You know yeah, look at the song.

K

So this is the only known program around.

W

The country, that's free, that we've seen that's run by a city again thankfulness to the council and the city manager's office, for supporting that this will give this for years, like youth basketball, and you just see how big we can grow this. We have room again engaging and finding staff for seasonal staff finding coaches at our next challenge, we'll need help with that and don't forget one more plug. We have a bridge the Crescent Marcy Coleman Bridge, where we sell blacks at one thing you also did. This is more for the the Press.

W

If they're listening is we sell 200 plaques all that money goes back to feed this program instead of going back into a general fund and subsidizing something else? It's a pretty cool idea. Another National great idea that nobody else was doing is feeding Youth Sports to help subsidize kids and families that can't participate. I.

K

I ran across the bridge this morning. There's plenty of room for more plaques.

H

Once we get stuff on the other side, people will start using the the bridge, much more and so I'm sure we'll sell a lot more, not.

I

That I need to know, but what is the breakdown of the ages? That's, why I'd be curious? Are we reaching that middle school age that we know or that.

W

We are k through eight uh most of the time, seven to eight no higher than eight that's when the school usually takes things over. It's eighth grade, we've had great conversations. I just met with the interim superintendent last week, Matt Smith. uh They want to know how they can create a better partner within this deal and roll the numbers too. They have their own goals, one being to have one Tech each kid. In Des, Moines schools have one extra cookware activity.

W

They see us as a natural partner there, how we can get these kids more involved, I always like to quote George Davis. He gave me a quote a long time ago. He said a kid in sports stays out of the court, so this is a great program, the more that we can do for kids to find healthy, positive activities. The better our community will be, and maybe someday they'll have some of the chairs you're sitting in. If we do the right way, sure.

E

I can I ask, um did you have another slide uh or was the next slide? Library yeah I do have one more that I'm gonna wait all right. Thank you.

V

All right so breaking down barriers. uh One of the goals of our programming uh for of our department is to eliminate disparities through programming. uh We wanted to provide access to the entire city, the number of children that we see in some of the neighborhoods that we serve that have not been to some of the parts of our city, our beautiful city and seeing Ashworth Park Ewing Park. You know uh some, the the greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens.

V

The number of those kids that haven't been to those locations is, is it's really alarming, and so by breaking down these barriers and getting the kids all throughout the city?

V

um We're really just helping serve that underserved Community, um bringing programs through our traditionally on underserved communities and also partnering with outside organizations to bring unique and engaging programs. We know we can't do everything ourselves, so we have to partner with non-profit organizations, uh organizations around our city, who are doing great work, to bring programs into our parks to really just enhance our offerings and make sure that we can just do the most with what we have so is. Are there any other questions? Okay, thank.

D

E

um I was wondering uh with youth sports and summer camp and everything like that. um How we've taken a gender Equity lens I know that there are like uh sports groups uh in forming in Des Moines that are like um open to trans, kids and and uh non-binary kids, and things like that. But as far like the one that I know about specifically has to go out and play in West, Des Moines against like VSA, and you know these like really hard teams and I wonder if that is something that we can bring to.

E

The city is having some you know like gender, inclusive uh teams. Oh.

V

It's definitely something we can look at and one of the the big things about our summer camp is we're. We are inclusive to everybody any and everybody can come and we actually have an environment where everybody's treated the same and treated fairly and people really enjoy being around them. You know our counselors go through specific training to uh you know just to understand. You know everything. That's going on the world around them today and really just we.

V

We make a very concerted effort to be inclusive and and be loving and be caring and really just show the kids, uh the people who come to our program a great time whether they're, the kids or whether the parents who drop off the kids or even the people in the park who just may be in the park and you know see something going on. um We have have to have some great Partners on one of the things I didn't say: I didn't talk about is how we feed we feed our children.

V

Our children got three meals a day. um You know through this program, uh which was one of the highlights of of our summer, is making sure that kids get fed um and really people in the park. You know just our partner, our great partner, Central, Iowa, shelters and Services I was able to bring food every day, I'm plenty of food at that to where, if somebody was in the park and they were hungry, we were able to help them out so just to provide those social services and provide that equity-based programming.

V

um It was a big thing for us.

E

That's really amazing, I'm very impressed by everything that you do and what the department is doing with the equity lens. It's really great.

V

Well, thank you. Thank you very much.

E

Thank you. Thank you.

V

All right well with that I'll turn it over to just.

T

To answer, thank you question around. um Thank you. Thank you. Mark I, before it actually goes, I just wanna. No I just wanted to um give a huge shout out to the parks and rec, um no friends at part, uh Des Moines Parks as well, when they went through their strategic planning and they actually had um I had asked me to review their mission vision statement um and they did their research to look at whether their statement, what they were really going for, was Equitable and I thought. That was that's.

T

That's huge right because that's where they started was to say: okay, are we actually going in the right track so really huge shout out to to them for doing that? um I just wanted to come and respond to the question around gender equity and and Equity around gender identity. So what we've learned from other cities as well other communities is that it's it's a Non-Stop work right, leading advancing Equity doesn't really end, so we wanted to start with racial ethnic equity and then understanding um intersectionality.

T

We want to move on to other identities as well, um because it's it's hard work and it's challenging and that normalizing piece is really complicated. So what we want to do is you know moving forward. We want to address the gender Equity issue. We want to focus the the really based on Equity based on religion, age, right ability. We don't. We don't normalize the conversation around abilities still to this stage so or disability, so I just wanted to respond to to that notion of as Equitable Services team and as an organization.

T

We want to ensure that other identities are also brought to the conversation so that we're not focusing on one area, but it's plus, and so thank.

E

T

Much and I think that with amar's work and then work of others will ensure that that is also centered. Awesome.

X

Thank you, Manisha for being the buffer between me and Amar.

X

A friend of Rosie.

X

Library and I'm going to run through just a few of the initiatives that the library has going on um over the past couple years. So what are the first things that that I want to talk about? Is the updates that we've made to our library card application itself.

X

So in the past, and if anyone used the library in the past, you might have come up with some pretty harsh and um we didn't have a lot of flexibility. You needed to present your photo ID. You needed your proof of address, uh and then we had the form and we needed your photo ID so that we could put your legal name into your account, um a lot of barriers in that process, and so we've tried to address some of those. For example.

X

Now, if you don't have your photo ID, you can still have a limited access card so that we're not preventing you from using the library. But we are kind of couching the amount of loss that we might have so to get a full Open Access library card, allowing you to check out 50 items. You would need a photo ID, but we don't turn people away who don't have access to a photo ID a couple other changes we now lead with allowing people to put down their pronouns.

X

If they'd like to we have removed sex from the application. We didn't use it as a library system. An addition also is preferred name, and that is followed by legal name. So if your preferred name, for whatever reason, is not what is on your legal ID, we will communicate with you, and your holds, for example, will be under your preferred name and that way we're communicating with you in a way that feels comfortable um for the person who signed up for a card, and then we have our information in English and Spanish in the library.

X

So something that's so. We've talked about with our Spanish translations. Internally is how do we translate language when they're gendered?

X

So if we were to say welcome to everybody in Spanish, it would be Bienvenidos and that's gendered masculine, so there's conversation about how do you do this with language and we internally at the library, are using gender neutral language in Spanish, which is a learning curve and opportunity for us to engage with Spanish-speaking members of the community as well. So for us we use the letter e.

X

So on our welcome brochure instead of being benidos, it's be a mini days um but again everybody's in a different place, with their language Youth and um their journey of understanding identification. So it is an opportunity for us to talk to people about how language evolves we you know we will probably evolve in how we translate moving forward as well, um but these are our current applications.

X

I have packets, okay,.

X

I just brought Five of Everything I'm. Sorry and I'll send these around first foreign there's some information coming that's going to come up coming slide here.

X

Oh I can set everything up: okay. Well, this is not necessarily related to your package. I'm, sorry! So now, I've distracted you with that. We had the opportunity, because the African-American Museum of Iowa, which is located in Cedar Rapids, is closed for renovations. Currently, in all of 2023, we had an opportunity to bring in one of their traveling exhibits and it's titled suspended systemic oppression in our schools, and it is eight by eight. It's three double-sided panels um and you can kind of see on the right hand, side there. That picture.

X

That's that's the the exhibit itself, um and so when we got the exhibitor when we knew it was coming in, we had a meeting with dmps I'm, just really pleased with how they've embraced this exhibit. So they wanted to and have now brought in the middle school principals are currently at Central viewing it all of the elementary principals associate principals and the teaching and learning curriculum for K-12 have come into view.

X

The exhibit and then have a full day professional development day at the library, that's not hosted by the library, that's their internal, but they're, using our space and they're. Taking advantage of having this exhibit available to them and then the other photo of the books, uh that was a curated collection so that, as their leadership teams came into the library, they understood that beyond that day, at the library we have a collection that supports that professional development that supports their teaching team within their schools um and actually, just this morning, I got a beautiful email.

X

You can see the book on the right side shows the back of a girl's head. It's called push out, and somebody just emailed me from one of those teams and said I read that book after seeing it on the table, and it was well listen to it because they were dyslexic and so listening to the book was easier, um but it at the end of the email. It said this book changed me and they changed how I approach education, and we know that there is power in books and in access to information.

X

But does everybody know what value the library has for them and that's what my next slide will be?

X

Well, did you have any questions on the exhibit I will say this after you go to Jeremy's presentation on 11 16 at the Central Library, please scoot over to the Franklin library right at six o'clock, we're having a community panel discussion around topics that are presented by the exhibit.

X

Okay, so to to the point that libraries are a treasure and if you know about them, you know how useful they can be for you as an individual, for a family and for a community.

X

But not everybody for a variety of reasons feels like the library is their space or has explored the library or would know how to tap into the resources. So that is the handout that you have now so in 10 languages. We now have what is the library and it's very, very simple, so it's not something that needs to be updated every time we change a service or a policy at the library.

X

But it's your invitation that the library is a place that you can come to think work and study that it's a place you can come by yourself or with your family, um of course, there's so much more to discover in a library, but once people are in the door, we can talk through some of the next uh resources they can access.

X

um So many questions on those. In particular, this.

D

Is very impressive, like the spread of languages.

E

Is like something that it's hard to find this many like any resource in this many languages, and that's really amazing I.

X

I will say it was a learning opportunity for us, because what what really became is the non-roman languages when we, through the software itself, even when we received the translation to put it in the design process, would sometimes mess up the formatting, and so it took us quite a bit longer than we had anticipated. I.

E

See one of them has to: is it a different which has to be the full page yeah.

X

Yes, because we couldn't so that's the only one where, even when we downloaded the font in word, when we try to put it into our design software, it continued to create issues for us. So we have to be flexible and that's something for our graphic designer you know bless her. She wants everything to be so beautiful um and so we've had to kind of adjust our expectations for what we can do, um but but yeah to make that one available. We had to go with a full page document, as opposed to the other half page.

E

Do you um in kind of like this experience, um and you had to get all this translated as well? Do you kind of bring that back to the Equitable Services team and have that conversation about here's, something that we did?

E

um Here's our experience, here's how we got it translated and bring those opportunities to other departments that might benefit from knowing that information and being able to follow the same path that.

X

Is an excellent question: there is a language access subcommittee group that, when it was up and going I was had volunteered to be a part of two just because I do have an interest in logistics and how we do this um I, don't think. We've talked about it as an Equitable Services team as far as process- and this does involve I mean I'm glad you say that because this is every step is a translation service, but it's several individual translators too, and so each time we design them. We send it back for proofing.

X

You know it's just a it's a laborious project, it's a long process, but it's worth it. You know, but but you have to really dedicate yourself.

I

I did use when I was at Polk County. Actually this school district to translate some paperwork so reaching out to them too, not that they have a lot of extra time, but they can do the proof you know possibly and work in conjunction with them.

X

Instead of the translator surface, do you say the school district? They use the snapconnect app, and that translates any information we would send out into preferred language. So when we did and I'll get into the early literacy, when we when they send out our early literacy materials to families, the message that they put into their Connect app is translated into whichever language preference the family has. So that was really beneficial for us, too. Yeah.

I

E

They so when we you're partnering with the school, they allowed you to use the snapconnect app for your resources. Let.

X

Me, let me advance a select yes yeah there you go okay and many of you heard about our simple Steps early literacy initiative last week, um so to expand on that a little bit in 2017 we received funding from Polk County early childhood Iowa to create a public awareness campaign and consistency and messaging, and how not just parents but caregivers people who were in direct contact with the birth to five-year-olds could just in very simple ways, incorporate pre-literacy skills into daily routines and out of that came to simple steps initiative.

X

um So this past year, since since we got the money in 2017, we had commercial, we had Flyers. It was just time to update our photos. um So we took that Plunge in May and we got 11 families to participate in the photo shoot.

X

um What was important to us was that we represented the important role that fathers play, that grandparents play um and that community members play so hopefully visually. That's something that's hard to do, because how do you differentiate between a parent versus an educator, but hopefully through the uh the environment and the visuals of the photos? You can see some of that too, um and then what you have in front of you are the early literacy activity sheets and those we send out to some of the Community Partners that we support.

X

So, for example, uh for example, Foster Squad creates care packages for kids that are entering the foster care system and they incorporate our early literacy package into that care gift so that there's an early literacy element going to foster kids.

E

I have a visual is that Manisha in that photo right. There yeah.

X

X

um So I mentioned dmps preschool. We go there with our Rosie reader. They, the preschoolers of 1300, get a Rosy reader visit twice a month from our full-time Outreach librarian. So once a year, they send home a simple steps package to all families, and it includes that activity sheet. That has those things that are so easy to do around the house or while you're out and about running errands, but it really emphasizes for people who are in those caregiving roles.

X

Why those little things that you do matter and also how can you do it in a way that doesn't require you to set aside yet another? You know time we're all asking of people too much um so anyway, when we did this with dmps, they sent home a message to their family, saying your child received a Rosie reader visit, and here are some packages that are coming home and they even linked to a YouTube video. So not everyone knows this is a dance scarf I like that, your eyes. That way, thank you.

X

um But why do we put this in? Because at our story times we use the dance scarves to teach kids? How to do those start and stop directions so so we'll incorporate it with a song and everybody tosses their scarf in the air and then stops and holds it so those little things that we incorporate. Of course a kid doesn't need to be told how to use this they'll use it.

X

However, they want, but what dmps did was send a YouTube video link, so parents had a suggestion for how they could use the manipulative they got with their child and then I do want to show you because I lugged it here an example of one of our circulating, simple steps kits. So, in addition to the materials we would send out to Community Partners to help bring that early literacy message into their work.

X

We also have kits that you can check out for free at the library that do contain books, of course, but also some of the Hands-On things that either families may not want to invest in or have access to. So in this particular one.

X

Thank you. There isn't an entire kitchen set and there is a book on pizza and then in the kitchen, such as pizza and so I was hosting a tour for a couple of um English learning classes for from LSI. They were adult learners but beginner and intermediate, and we had every language represented, except for one with our handouts. So we missed one, but we start the tour with what is the library, because it's too good to be true, come in?

X

It's free, don't tell us why you're here, you don't need a card or you want to take that home free, but here's a free card. You know so so we break down how the library functions um and then there are a couple of women from Afghanistan and they were signing up for their card and I showed them these kids and they were enamored by this one in particular and they're.

X

You know the English proficiency was pretty low, but they immediately were like kitchen kitchen kitchen, and then you know, there's the shape sorter and then this one is just your being able to write on the board, but they love this one in particular, and that's going to help those kids with their fine motor skills and so kids again don't need instruction on how to do it. Just having access to it will allow kids to work those finger muscles.

I

So you check out that hole. The whole thing the whole thing so.

X

On that tour that very day, she walked out to go catch, the bus with the rest of the group holding her tote in hand- and it told me, but we also explained through the translator that was with them. This could be returned to the Franklin library because she lived closer to that branch and on the lid which I got lost.

X

It's a visual of everything that's in here and we have several of those throughout this system. We also have stem kits. In fact, as Jeremy was talking about climate, we have a climate activist kit for little leaders.

X

For everything, um oh okay, well, I've already discussed it, but here's a visual of it. Your whole name in hand, and so the activity sheets then are in 11 languages. We don't have it in French, but we do have it in. There is some difference in language, but I it's going to be lost on me right now, all right! Well, that's some of some of the equity work that the library is doing. Do you guys have any questions.

J

Energy is just overwhelming.

X

Great, it's all right, I do have one more thing.

X

We sent our Rosie reader there to have all those camps and when she goes out particularly over the summer, every kid got a book. So we passed out through our summer reading program over 8, 000 brand new books and then through a wonderful donation from the playhouse another 1100 books, so just under 10 000 books were distributed, and we know that building those personal libraries are so important for kids. So, yes, checking out our free books is great, but knowing that they have books that they want to read and have access to right at home.

X

That's a huge part of our summer mission, in particular.

H

Great any other questions or comments.

T

So last I know we're into an hour now yeah I. Just remember so really. The last point that I will make as the equity officer is. This demonstrate that when we Center Equity, when we prioritize Equity, everybody does benefit and it's it's. It feels good right and not every result will be seen immediately. There are some programs where we may not even see the impact for years and years to go but um and kudos to each one of them for really leading the way, and this is something that I would hope to see.

T

All 1700 of my colleagues and our community members really prioritize and and Center equity and see that it does. It is to benefit our entire community and um become the best example as a community and as a city in the nation. So um thank you so much for your time and I really appreciate everyone for being here and and know that these four individuals are not the only ones that are prioritizing and centering equity in their work.

E

Speaking on that Manisha, uh thank you so much like this is a very impressive presentation and I'm very impressed by the work that all four of you are doing in your department.

E

um I guess this is more a question for you Manisha and Scott, but how do we kind of take this work that Manisha and Equitable Services team is doing, and how do we ensure that other departments that we haven't seen here today are also taking those into account and are using that Equity toolkit are having of conversations regularly like how do we sort of view that uh and how that progress is going.

B

So all departments are represented in this process and are bringing those conversations back. I think it's There's an opportunity to lean forward when there are strategic plans being reviewed. Actually we got some examples of that today um and really, even within their budget development, making sure the lens is used to do so. We can continue to lean forward, but I want this team to be able to bring their ideas up through the organization.

M

E

I guess, um as a council member I I, you know want to make sure that I know that Equitable practices and and that we're getting Equitable outcomes as well through all of our departments um and we've gotten an amazing representation here. But that's only you know, for departments out of I, don't know the number, but um but yeah is there just kind of like a? Is there a way that we can track that in a way? And so we have results that are coming back to us.

B

We can figure out ways to better communicate. What is going on because there's more much more going on yeah.

T

Right and I think the inter the organizational Equity assessment will highlight some of the areas for improvement. um Again. We do see this as an opportunity to improve, not to say that anybody's doing it wrong, but that how do we become better from where we are so that we want to use that as our Baseline really right? We haven't really had a baseline data to understand where we are as an organization and then measure ourselves two years five years down.

T

The road um and I also welcome the council to look at the equity toolkit and utilize that, in your decision, making even your strategic planning um in in ways that you interact with the public and also with each other right so I think um that there's that opportunity, but I would say that the organizational Equity assessment will hopefully identify certain areas for different departments where they could Advance Equity even more, um and then we can present that back to the council again to say Hey.

T

You know this is where engineering is, and you know, they've looked at Equity toolkit for the sidewalk info, Gap yeah project or sidewalk Gap infill project, and so what does that? Look like five years down the road or what does that process look like when the equity toolkit is used? So um yes, but I just wanted to provide more context in terms of or waiting on an assessment and then we'll create sort of a plan based on that informed assessment. Okay,.

E

Yeah I'll really be looking for that um and you brought up kind of the other um point that I was thinking about during all of this was that, like kind of the one Department that isn't really involved in this? Is parent Council, not that we're officially a department, but that I wonder how we can be incorporating Equity into our policy making, because that's going to inform a lot of what the Departments are doing as well and not just in the practice of the Departments but I mean is I.

E

Want I wonder if we should explore ways for you to be uh your program and project to be implemented through Council policy making as well or if it's just kind of up to us I mean. Maybe we need no.

B

But we can actually give you skills and training.

E

Yes, exactly well.

B

So we can look at that as we're looking at some of the other governance training. Okay,.

E

H

Thank you, um I think our next one. We have the block challenge grant program results. Heather is going to give us a little presentation.

B

Thank you for your patience to those involved in this last conversation as we're running a little late.

B

Keep it short thank.

G

H

B

H

I have another: you have 45 minutes of my time or.

U

H

Minutes because I'll have to walk down the street.

U

All right we'll go ahead and get.

H

Started another meeting down at the Armory here at 12 members.

U

Of council, my name is Heather Tammy I'm, the neighborhood Outreach coordinator I'm, here today to talk about the 2022 block, challenge Grant results as well as looking for recommendations regarding the 2023 program before I get started. This program does fall under the auspice of Neighborhood Services and the federal funds. Division I. Think a lot of you are used to seeing me out talking about the program, but we have two wonderful staff that I also work very closely with.

U

We have Ryan Switzer who's right behind me, he's an assistant planner with the federal funds division, but Ryan also split up the information sessions that we held and he reviewed nearly 231 applications that came in this year and we have Kaylene Swearingen. Who is our Administrative Assistant? She also helped with information sessions. She helped keep 231 applications going and kept us organized and she's, also leaving the reimbursement process and Lisa Krabs is our federal funds administrator and she is our go-to.

U

Although this is the second year in the program, I would say it's still in its infancy stage, and so she keeps us moving forward so wanted to recognize them as we get started today. Also I did bring the sign. Apparently the sign was supposed to be brought last year, but if you've seen the sign throughout the city throughout the neighborhoods, this is the program that we're talking about today and all right.

U

So just as a reminder, the mission of the program, what I tell people is to come outside, you know, kovid kept the neighbors inside it kept people from Talking. The mission of the program is to get neighbors to come outside start talking again and then start working together on completing exterior Home Improvement projects that will benefit their neighborhoods.

U

So, just a quick program overview again. This program started in 2001. As a matter of fact, it began on day two of Kayleen and Ryan's employment and they managed the program in 2000. Sorry 2021., um we partnered with invest DSM and best DSM really worked side by side. They really administered a lot of the program and then they uptrained the staff in 2022, sorry, 2022, um the city administered the program and best DSM is our fiscal sponsors, our Fiscal Agent. So they write all of the reimbursement checks. So we've really taken over that program.

U

Piece I, always like to remind residents that the funding stores for this program is through the local option, Sales and Service tax. When they ask me where the money comes from um and then just a few eligibility program requirements for the program, so the property needs to be located within the city of Des. Moines projects have to be exterior improvements that are at least partially visible from the streets.

U

um The applicant must be the homeowner on record or, if they're, a renter have permission from the homeowner on record each property. So we have teams, you have to be able to see at least one team member from the front of your house. You don't have to see all team members, but one I always tell them. If you can stand out in your front yard and have a cup of coffee in the morning and wave to one of your neighbors, they can be on your team and then the program is again team based.

U

So we offer matching grants. If you have a team of five to nine households, each household can receive up to one thousand dollars in a matching Grant and teams of 10 to 19 households. Each house household can receive up to 2 500 in matching gram.

E

Is it Captain 19, uh the largest groups, Captain 19.,.

U

We generally try to cap it at 19. We did have one group this year that came in at 21 and we allowed it because they were highly organized, but what we know this is the larger the team, the harder it is for the team captain to organize.

U

So here's a list of some of the eligible projects that we allow for this program, I will say going back to those matching numbers. It's really important to know that if you're on the team, let's say a five to nine and you're eligible to receive up to the one thousand dollars you don't have to meet that Max.

U

You can do some of these smaller projects, mailbox and house numbers for a hundred dollars and receive a fifty dollar match match where maybe your neighbor is doing a new roof at five thousand dollars and they're going to get that full match.

U

So I think when we look through the list of eligible projects it it can be trying to. You know, get yourself up there to meet and take advantage of that, but we also encourage neighbors to be at the project and price point that they're the most comfortable with. If.

E

Someone participates in the block challenge. Grant. um Are they ineligible to participate again.

U

At this time they are ineligible to participate again unless Council were to provide different direction. Gotcha I think when we talk about the wait list: okay, yeah so just a quick overview of the pro process, so you usually have somebody in the neighborhood who cares about the program and they're the self-appointed team captain they try to gather neighbors together.

U

They work with me to schedule an information system, information, section, I, don't know. Clearly it's lunch time, I stopped being able to talk um either Ryan or Kayleen and I go out to their homes and literally stand in their driveways meet with the team and review the program and the requirements.

U

What we have learned through this process is I. Think I I know that the purpose is to meet neighbors, but I always thought that oh, they know who all their neighbors are, but they don't so a lot of times you get into the driveway, and you see people who are introducing themselves or saying. Oh I see you walk your dog down the street every day, so it's just a really good first opportunity for those neighbors to learn about each other. We have them talk about the projects they're going to do that.

U

Helps us curtail what we're going to be presenting that night, but essentially we just walk them through that application process. The idea is, they know and understand the program and that they're completing applications appropriately the first time around. So following that meeting, if the team does wish to participate, they submit a team application. It tells us who's going to be on the team and who we're going to be talking to each member of the team does need to submit an individual scope of work.

U

It's a very quick application, tells us who you are where you live. What you're going to do with that application? You need to submit a contractor estimate or you need to submit a list of the project costs we always say: go to your favorite.

U

If your DIY go to your favorite home improvement, store, put all your items in the cart print out the list, but don't purchase anything yet so we just want to know how you're getting to the numbers, and then you submit before photos of the project After, we receive the information for each team member, our team, Ryan reviews all of the projects.

U

um If we have questions, we go back and forth with the homeowner until we have the completed application, but then, once that application is reviewed, they have 90 days to complete the projects. I will anticipate that you're going to ask me how that worked out this year and with supply chain issues and contractor schedules. We have been working with all of our residents who participated in the program, so we will get them through put one by one.

U

um When their projects are completed, they submit a reimbursement form which tells us you know the finalized numbers. They submit a copy of the paid contractor invoice or the materials, the receipts for the materials and then the after photo and then the most fun of all. Is we encourage them all to have a block party and I know it's been happening because I've been invited to a few.

U

So we did make a few enhancements this year, based on the feedback that was received from Council from the 2020 year program, most notably um in 2021. We had eight teams participate of those teams. None of them were in low to moderate income areas.

U

So, under the recommendation from Council, we reserved at least 50 percent of funding, specifically for low to moderate income neighborhoods.

U

In addition to that, we also offer the greater match for those who might have income-based assistance, so we did offer a 75 match for those residents. We had five households that participated with that and received the greater match. So let's say you put in that mailbox and those house numbers for a hundred dollars. Instead of getting the fifty dollars, you would get a 75 match. We did keep those maximum match amounts, though so, once you receive hit the one thousand dollars for the 2500 limit, you were just at that limit.

U

We also worked closely with the neighborhood Finance Corporation. So if I went out to a meeting or an event to talk about block challenge, we would invite NFC to come out and they would talk about their front door program and how, if someone wanted to participate in the front door program, how that could marry into the block challenge program.

U

So far, we've had three households that have participated in that and initially, when they received for their reimbursement. We just write out that reimbursement check it's applied to their principal loan and it goes directly to Neighborhood, Finance Corporation.

G

U

So quick overview of the program timeline. The program opened on May 1st, which was the Sunday uh this year and I, say that, specifically because by noon on, Sunday I couldn't handle it anymore and I logged in to see what was happening.

U

What we realized is we had 17 spots that the staff could do in the month of May, where we could do those information sessions.

U

All the spots were taken. If you emailed between midnight and 6 a.m, everything was done on. First come first served, so if you emailed at midnight, you were the first person that we reached out to to RSV and schedule your spot and so on.

U

All those that emailed us between midnight and 6 a.m received information sessions in the month of May everything after. That is what started our wait list. So if we were surprised, I think we were surprised and not surprised at the popularity of the program this year and how many people knew about it.

U

um Our program funds were exhausted by May 24th. Those primarily went to the teams that had information sessions within the first two weeks of May I did want to note, because we're going to talk about a wait list, we actually had the wait list in 2021. So out of those nine teams that were first approved by May 24th, three of those teams came off of the 2021 wait list.

U

um So we completed our information sections in the month of May. We just kept adding to the wait list, as interest came in interest kind of slowed down around mid-june, although we still receive calls throughout the process, we were able to secure the additional funding through the city council approval, and then we were able to get the rest of our teams in by the September 30th program date.

U

So this is my favorite slide, because I like to go to the bottom number and I think what we're most excited about is, first of all, the program more than doubled, we had you know increased number of teams with increased number of households.

U

We did not double in neighborhoods which we're going to talk about, um but that total project cost. We had a 1.6 million dollar impact into our neighborhoods this year and I. Think that is uh again surprising and not surprising, as you saw everything come through. So this is probably my favorite slide as we compare it to 2021.

E

So people are going a little bit above that 50 match yeah.

U

Well, we had some really big projects that kind of make some of the numbers skewed. So, for example, we had some driveways that came in and they were, one of them specifically was 65 000., so very easy for them and they got the 2500 match. So we had really big projects that contribute to to the bottom line of that 1.6. So, as you look across, especially on the slide where I try to break down the impact per neighborhood, it's hard to match up that 50 exactly because some of them just did really big projects.

U

U

Great looking driveways out there, oh no.

U

Oh no, this is going to be a really great slide. I, don't know what happened to it.

U

It's very colorful.

E

Is there a place we can see it online.

U

Laura, if I plug in my flash drive somewhere while I disrupt everything that you've done.

G

U

Oh, no still there, okay! Well, it's an amazing. It's an amazing slide. It's going to be hard to see. I was trying to show you is, first of all where all the teams were in 2022.

U

um That was indicated by some blue dots. So here's what I'm gonna do I'm going to tell you that most of the teams were still on the west side of the city. We had quite a few over in the Drake and Beaverdale areas. We expanded somewhat. We had a few over in Woodland Heights.

U

um We had three over in Riverbend and then we had four down the Grayslake. We did not have any teams this year in Wards, two or four, then the next beautiful slide that was going to come up.

U

No doubt so, but yeah. So this is where my beautiful slideshow, all my blue dots were to represent. Who was up for 2022., then there's an orange dot kind of over there by Fairmont Park, and that was a 2021.. So what I tried to do was overlay the 2021 recipients over the 2022, which will still show you the outside of the one in Ward 2 in year, 2021, almost all of the other seven teams were over on the west side of the city, so they were still over in Ward. One.

U

Yeah I think Ward, 2 and Heather will partner up so.

I

I I did talk to a woman going door-to-door this weekend. They just done their driveway and I said. Did you know about the black challenge? So she already went to the website properly. She took it down because they are going to do more work in their house, so you might as right around where his team was.

J

To see and get some of that paid for I mean some of it is absolutely forgiven right. So it's a really.

U

Great partnership yeah it is, and then the red the little talk boxes are everywhere. That I was so that just kind of shows you, where I was around the city, I'm, really trying to demonstrate that we made an equal effort among all Wards in the city. I did do some Outreach to those where I you know had spoke to, but then maybe we didn't get any traction to see what we could do better next year. Some of it came just down to marketing and getting out in front of organizations earlier is.

J

There, a handout that we could is.

U

It we are going to redo the marketing okay yeah, or do you want this handout? Oh.

J

I, don't okay, yeah I, don't care just something that I can information can take out to to give something? Yeah talk talk more about it. We.

U

Are going to be redoing the marketing piece and then I'm happy to get that out to all of the council members.

E

It when you um find a version on the map that isn't corrupted I would love to uh have that.

U

Oh, it was my favorite slide. Yes again, here's the breakdown, so you can see what you couldn't see on the map, but here is a breakdown of where all the funding went per neighborhood. So you can see the number of teams that came out of each neighborhood this year, the city funding and then the total project costs that went into each.

J

And the applications that are out there now because it's closed correct so did we hit our Mark of 51 of it going to low and moderate income neighborhood? We.

U

Did so we actually had we had 19 teams in total of those 19 11 were in the low the moderate income neighborhoods yeah there you go and then that equated to more than 50 of the funding. So um with that we had in the low the modern income neighborhoods we had 240 595 dollars of the City match, went into those neighborhoods as compared to the other. Eight teams which received 198 591.

U

So we we hit the target.

U

And then just a quick overview of the types of projects that we saw. Clearly Landscaping was the most popular project, but we did see a lot of paints window and door repairs a lot of concrete work which were those driveways and sidewalks. We had several residents take advantage of the fact that they had to replace their sidewalks, so not the sidewalks leading up to their front steps but the but the front sidewalk um and then everything right down to siding. So we saw a really good variety of programs this year.

U

Oh I wanted to point out too. It was just a point of interest that the contractor worked versus DIY, so we we're trying to calculate how much was maybe going back into the market how much we were flooding the contractors I did want to put up a few examples of each of the projects that we saw. This one is over in riverbends.

U

I will say that each of the team going to name themselves. So some of these team names that you see going through are funny I, like the Sixth Avenue Avengers, but I live with the 12 year old.

U

um So this is just an example of the Landscaping project. This is about 18.9 of the projects that we saw, I also like it. But if you look on the after, you can see one of our I'm investing in my city yard signs, which again, is another example of how we help get the word out.

U

This is a great I love this one. It's another great host project, a painting project again with a nice example of the yard. This was down over at the Grays Lake neighborhood.

U

U

So this is another one where you can see that the total project cost was the 34 000 because they have probably put in all their windows an example of that driveway and sidewalk repair down on the grace lake neighborhood.

U

A really great example about a roof repair in Riverbend, so.

E

You do do rough sales account as visible from the street or.

U

Is it just kind of like this example? You do your roof. Do the whole roof? No, yes, but it doesn't count. No I know I, didn't know. If that counted. Sorry, that's why I answered we. So the roof does count, but we also we get the question like. um If we do siding, do we just do the siding, that's visible inside your whole house paint your whole house with your whole house, but we do count those projects, okay, cool foreign.

U

This is a great example. We saw a lot of trees this year, so you can have tree removal or Tree Care. The caveat is, if you do have tree removal that you do have to plant a new tree.

U

And retaining walls, we saw a lot of retaining walls. This is a beautiful outcome and Tuck, pointing which I learned a lot about it. It's the one DIY I haven't tried so we're okay, yeah.

J

So the trees we could use it for the emerald ash. Yes,.

U

We did actually have a few of our households that used it. Yes,.

U

uh Survey results: uh there was not a survey in 2021, we did have a survey with our program participants. This year we had a 28 response rate I mean. As you can see. This is a great program.

U

People who are participating have a great outcome, they're enjoying their experience and they're feeling like it's meeting its Mission, bringing neighbors together and increasing the neighborhood appearance.

U

We had asked our team captains how they had heard about the program, so those were the ones that really started the teams. They had heard primarily of the program through yard signs, either through the 2021 and best DSM councilman council member boson was on all three of the river bend. So they heard you when you spoke to them and then our team member for the Grays Lake they heard about through their neighborhood meetings, but I thought that this was also interesting.

U

How team captains heard about it versus how residents heard about the program- and it also says to me that they're doing their job they're hearing about the program through their neighbors. So once you get an advocate on board, they really are going out or reaching out to their neighbors to get everyone involved.

U

I think the other interesting thing is the percentage of residents who would not have completed projects this year, but for the matching dollars. So it's very impactful and almost everyone is very likely to recommend the program going forward.

U

I did include a slide that you can read at your own, just I thought. Some of these comments were really great about what program participants were saying, but again, I just think it isn't a testament to how much they really just love the value of the program. The biggest critique we had was either more funding or more funding.

U

So a few areas that our team would like to address and we had a few recommendations for discussion, but again for a second year, although you couldn't see it in my map, almost all the teams were in Wards one and three. We primarily had white middle-class homeowners as a part of the program, and we did notice that for some the language barrier, which is the legal language that was on the application, felt a little cumbersome or they didn't quite understand where we were going with that language.

U

We've talked about the wait list right now. We have 21 teams on the wait list for the program, so we were able to get 19 in with the funding that we had at the 450 000 level.

U

We have 21 teams on the wait list on the wait list right now. Three of those teams have had info sessions, so they did have their information session in May, but they were in non-non low, moderate income neighborhoods. So we ran out of funding or came close to running a funding out of that bucket, so they did not make it in this year.

U

We have four teams on the wait list that are in low to moderate income areas that I just thought. It was interesting. We broke out the team that we have of the wait list. 14 are in Ward one. We have one in ward, two, six and Ward three and nobody in Word four.

U

D

E

Is kind of making me think? First of all, do we have a map of the low to moderate income areas in the city that we can just like?

E

um Yeah I would love to see that um and then you took the approach previously on the map. That was a little bit messed up, that we uh of like the even blanket of conversations I'm just kind of wondering if to meet that goal scene like 17 of the 21 teams on the waitlist um and the the demographic breakup breakdown.

E

um If we need to be focusing your efforts more in those low to moderate income more in those um uh more diverse areas, uh just to try to get that side up and- and you know like maybe like over, emphasizing Ward four since Ward one seems to know about it.

U

Fourth, one doesn't seem to know, but I think a lot of it is because invest DSM has been over there, so heavily I mean that's part of our recommendation as well. We wanted to talk about how to tackle this wait list, but then also what are the marketing strategies going forward and I think that our team is in line with that thinking. You know, first of all, let's look at those low. The moderate income areas. I think that we need to work with other Community Partners.

U

So right now it's gone out through the neighborhood associations, but what are those additional Community Partners out there I know, council member boss had given me a list when I started of different organizations that he thought might be really good Outreach, so whether those are through faith-based or other community-based organizations to help us get that word out.

U

There I think too that focusing on the low to moderate income areas, it's just a little bit more of an ump to get organized and so then allowing some additional time and resources and working with those team captains to really understand what that organization process is like to get the other Neighbors on board and.

H

Then in Ward, four well starting in January 1, we won't have invest I, don't have any investors, yes in World War, um so I know that uh my colleagues are going to look into that along with the Polk County Supervisors of expanding that, hopefully to to be a part of somewhere and work for um I. Think that that definitely helps helps us tremendously, and you know: I have many low to moderate areas that they're not investing in their in their home.

H

They don't have it especially not right now, right and so that's that's part of the issue that that we're running into yeah a thousand dollars is great.

H

But when you're doing a six thousand dollar roof- and you don't have the other five thousand well I mean you don't do it right, and so um you know I guess we'll we'll see as we get the recommendation from staff of what things need to be done to the outsides of everybody's home and trying to find out how we can help in the in in these Wards in Ward 2, specifically and in Word four, where we can see where we can, we can actually come in and help and and do some of those things and the best DSM can come in and help also.

D

E

I was also wondering how we're going to use the ion um survey of in this program and how we're gonna. We.

U

Get talked about that, but we haven't fully flushed it out. I think we're waiting to see what the results are, but I think it's similar to trying to map out the areas that might need the most help where this this particular program is a niche program as.

M

U

So to your point, you know if some people just can't afford to even.

H

Do the hundred dollars to.

U

Do the 50 yeah.

H

U

So then you try to figure out yeah.

H

In in the folks that I talk to, they just don't believe it's free money, they don't believe.

U

H

Like you know, what's the catch.

U

Right, what's the catch, um we also received some feedback where some homeowners don't want to invest because they believe it's going to raise their property value.

I

They don't want to improve their home.

U

Or they don't want their house to look nicer than the neighbor's house.

G

U

Heard that just feedback that we received so.

N

U

So I think with this. What we're looking for as well is um how we want to tackle that wait list. So the staff recommendation was those three teams that have already had the info sessions that we work directly with them. We know that those are teams that are still anxious and want to participate in the 2023 program and that we also work with those four low to minor income teams that are on the current wait list.

U

Our idea was then, to communicate with everybody else on the wait list, the same way that we communicate with the community as a whole about the program. So no promises made on anybody who's on the current wait list, but that the program again becomes the First Commerce program, with some focused efforts on how we again try to Market in the low to moderate income neighborhoods and some more focus on boards, two and four to try to spread out that investment opportunity.

I

So on your waitlist, you know what the costs you know, there's an estimate.

U

There is an estimate.

I

So that would be a starting point as to possibly what dollars would be needed, which would probably be more than what we have so to that point of more money for what this program is generating and if we get into these others I think we need to look at that too.

B

It's an understanding that logistically this the cap.

Q

Right right, yeah.

J

I think it's a matter of just getting the word out. More I mean if you own, a home. You've got to do gotta, do things here and.

H

You got to talk to your neighbors.

J

Well, you gotta! Well, you gotta put on a new.

H

Day and you gotta organize it or.

J

Even a new mailbox or something so I think I think as you move on the program will grow and will become more popular. You get this new marketing information. We can get it out there on our social media sites and.

I

The problem is that it's getting so popular that you can't afford I mean we can't keep up with the Demand right now, because you had 17 teams.

J

But it's not popular and that's where we need to focus at least.

H

I think you should take care of the ones on the waiting list. Yeah, let's see where we're at I mean you're going to get what's the application process open again, May 1st, and so, if you fill the ones that you have the waiting list. Does that use up all of the the budget? uh Next year's budget.

U

If we did all 21 that are on the wait list, the budget would be gone. That's about a half a million dollars, so we would not get a low amount, but we would not hit the low mileage.

H

Yeah because it's 50 of it correct.

J

So keep those on the wait list but open.

D

J

Sure that we hit the low mud.

E

I'm wondering if uh we can sort of analyze this program when we have more of the data of like how expensive it's going to be to upgrade some of those houses that um have more issues, um and so we end up seeing exactly what portion of the population this program is helping and if we need to you know yeah, like what programs do we like? Where, where do we have gaps into? Can we create programs to supplement those gaps and is this program? That's going to be doing that or not it.

I

Really could be more, the ion.

B

Program exactly yeah.

I

This is a different type of that.

B

But we need to have that conversation.

I

B

Bring back the different Lanes of each of the programs that we have and.

E

See if we're just not serving somewhere and.

J

You've got MSC.

E

Right exactly and combine that as well, we.

B

Will have that discussion? The next quarterly cool.

H

All right any questions. Thank you. Any questions, there's one last thing: if anybody had any uh updates or many boards um or commissions that we serve on I, I should probably share one uh I'll go ahead and share it.

H

I did get the email that uh there was one bid received for the water trails and it was uh 40.9 million, which is of nine hundred thousand dollars over the budget, so they will be moving forward on that and that is uh for Scott, Street and uh I think it is part of Harriet, but you know it it's just it's only Scott Street in water and outside of the water.

B

Just just in River Scott.

N

uh Let's see here, okay, they'll.

H

Be coming back for the rest, but they had 40. They had 40 million. uh Yes, for that for that project.

N

H

That was awarded today I think we have a special mpo meeting next Tuesday that it will be, it will be awarded so we'll get to use at least the bill Grant, but we will need to still do some other stuff to satisfied the bill Grant in Prospect and bertland.

E

uh In Josh's absence, I'll just say from homeless, coordinating Council that uh the surveys, uh the survey for the um unsheltered study has been completed in the um uh interview responses have been completed, that's all being compiled right now, and so it should be to us very shortly um from.

N

What study, what study were you talking about, because I haven't heard anything about any study that you're waiting for yeah.

E

The Drake study that we were talking about earlier um is that we yeah the homeless, coordinating Council, um got funds to do a study on um emergency shelter and uh just unsheltered populations during emergency weather conditions, and so the council will be uh seeing that it'll be made public um very soon. I, don't know if I have the date exactly, um but uh from Impact as well. I just wanted to.

E

Let people know that, due to the new uh regulations from the food bank, about needing to have uh the three days of or uh to have a certain amount of food being given out in other entities that partnered with the food bank not doing that in that way, uh three have signed on out of I. Think about 20 um impact is one of those that did not sign on to that agreement and so we're just kind of waiting to see uh what happens with that.

I

And I mean investors haven't, got a czb done a group overview and said what we've done on invest. Dsm was pretty amazing in the short amount of time during covet, people have really been similar to what the block challenge you see the amount of people, what they're investing and how much it really has people doing something to their homes and investing in their neighborhoods.

E

uh Mid-November for the release of that report, so this month I'm sure.