CDBG

This year, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, administered by housing planner Christine Gordon in the City's Community and Economic Development department, is focusing on four areas as part of its 2007/2008 Action Plan. For those of you not familiar with the CDBG program, West Des Moines has been an entitlement community under this U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) sponsored program since 2005. The City qualifies because it is a local government with 50,000 or more residents.

In addition to administrative costs, this year’s CDBG Action Plan proposes funding for the Transitional Housing Program, Transit Pass Program, and the acquisition of Historic City Hall on 5th Street.

The Transitional Housing Program will continue to support two housing units. This funding is typically utilized to support the cost of rent and utilities.

The Transit Pass Program provides individuals or families with a one-year unlimited pass for DART. Qualified applicants can use the system throughout the entire metro area for access to employment, shopping and medical facilities. For FY 2005/2006, 130 passes were provided.

Acquisition of Historic City Hall is an exciting project for the City and will take place over two years, making this significant building the property of the City once again. At the May 21 City Council Meeting, the Council approved the Installment Contract for purchase of this building, which is located at 137 Fifth Street. Additional remodeling and rehabilitation will be necessary to create a useful space--many options for public use have been discussed, including a museum, City photo gallery, and small business center. I will write more about the plans for this building as they are finalized.

Aquatic Center Attendance

Parks and Recreation had a record breaking year in 2007 with aquatic center attendance. We reached over 100,000 visitors at Valley View. The warm weather kept the lifeguards busy and the swimmers happy--only once did we close due to weather, which is unusual. That adds up to a lot of hours of operation.

I have heard from a few citizens concerned that the pools were not open longer this year. Typically, we keep one pool out of the three (between Clive and West Des Moines) open through Labor Day. That condition is part of our 28E Agreement (intergovernmental agreement) with Clive. This responsibility alternates between the two cities yearly. This year, the Clive staff (with assistance from WDM Parks and Rec) worked to keep their facility open, but were not able to find adequate staffing to continue to operate safely. For reference, to leave the Holiday aquatic center fully operational, 20 staff are required. The pool can open with only some areas accessible with 13-14 staff.

Parks and Recreation is planning to meet with area municipal and private outdoor pool management to try and identify a strategy to address this challenge. This has become a metro wide issue with schools and school activities starting earlier each summer, and fewer students available to help lifeguard and staff the pools late in the season. This is a priority for us next summer.

Public Safety News

We have some excellent public safety initiatives coming through in September. I'll discuss a couple here.

The Police Department just launched an online report system. This system is not to be used in case of emergency, but is available to victims of some nonviolent crimes that occur within the city limits including theft, criminal mischief, lost property, harassment. The link is on our website at http://www.wdm-ia.com/ or here.

The Fire Department has designated the five Fire/EMS facilities in West Des Moines as Safe Places. This partnership with the Youth Emergency Services and Shelter (YESS) of Des Moines will allow youth experiencing a crisis of some sort access to the Fire/EMS stations around the clock. Staff at the facilities then contact a YESS Intervention Counselor to pick up the youth for professional care and follow-up. The stations that are now Safe Places (look for the big yellow signs) are:

Station #17 - 1401 Railroad

Station #18 - 5025 Grand Avenue

Station #19 - 8055 Mills Civic Parkway

Station #21 - 3421 Ashworth Road

Station #22 - 68th Street.