Fwd: URGENT MEETING PEOPLE NEED TO ATTEND

Community Meeting With Stakeholders

Updates and Your Questions Answered

Regarding The Evelyn Davis Center For Working Families

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Corinthian Baptist Church

Fellowship Hall

814 School Street

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie

and Project Leaders will be present

A Community Opportunity to Be Involved Make a Difference!

EVELYN K. DAVIS ROJECT

COMMITTEE MEETIN

Town Hall Forums on the Budget

Please share the following email with other members of your organization:

·         Infrastructure and Development Forum on Monday, October 17th

·         Community Enrichment Forum on Wednesday, October 26th

·         Public Safety Forum on Thursday, October 27th

The City of Des Moines is reaching out to the community to gather input on how residents want tax dollars spent and what city services citizens value the most.  Like many organizations and households today the City of Des Moines has tightened its budget.  Now declining revenues are projected to result in a funding gap, such that tough choices about service levels have to be made. 

We have set in motion a process by which departments are exploring options and we want your help.  Given the City has cut over $24 million from our operating budget over the past five years, we do not have the luxury of simply making a few  cuts here and there to balance the budget.  We are faced with considering which city services may need to be significantly reduced or eliminated entirely.

The City has worked hard to maintain essential services in spite of ongoing expense reduction.  The City Council desires citizen input to help shape the ultimate mix of services that will be provided by your city government.  To fully engage the public, we have set up a series of three town hall forums. 

Each of the forums will focus on one of three areas of service: public safety, community enrichment, and infrastructure and development.  In addition to the city service review, small group discussions will be followed by ranking exercises to gauge the priorities of the participants.  This is a great opportunity to influence city services in an educated and well informed manner.  Staff from the appropriate departments will be on hand to answer questions and take suggestions about potential changes.  All three meetings will take place at the Botanical Center and start at 6:00 pm.  They are anticipated to take 90 minutes. The dates and topics are as follows.

·         Infrastructure and Development Forum on Monday, October 17th

·         Community Enrichment Forum on Wednesday, October 26th

·         Public Safety Forum on Thursday, October 27th

Attached to this email is a media release that occurred on Friday, October 7, 2011 that contains details regarding the forums and special accommodations.

Again, I sincerely encourage you to attend and participate in these vital discussions about our City’s future.

Sincerely,

Richard A. Clark

City Manager

City of Des Moines

Fw: Minutes Cheatom Park 10/20/11

Meeting attendance:

Terry wells
Susan wells
Mike Lehman
Don l. Curry
Kelly kennedy---Kelly@themakkgroup.com
Michael Augugliaro---paintchip76@hotmail.com


From Drake University:
Amy Rasmussen
Chad Hepperly
Aaron Hurlbert
Karen DeMello
Jan Swinton




From Des Moines Parks and Rec:
Tim Smith


Mike Lehman reported that he is being relocated to the south side and that bob Reynolds will return as our representative. We were advised that the city is changing the process for reporting and filing property complaints.


Graduate students presented a plan for mitigating the "food desert" our neighborhood is currently a part of. The proposal includes community greenhouse and fish farm. The point would be go assist residents of distressed neighborhoods gain access to locally grown food through on-site production, community engagement, and agricultural outreach and education.

Terry Wells Presented information on a public meeting for the Top Value facility. The meeting will take place at the Corinthian Baptist Church 10/25/11.

Summit meeting for saturday 1 to 3 Neighborhood Summit--Rebuilding Together. Meeting is at United Way.

Parks and Rec: the statue in Goode Park --- there is no funding for the plan to move ahead. The city's budget currently holds no funding for development of Goode Park. Discussed what occurred with past plans and Tim will check to see what's out there.