Sustainability Effort Moving Ahead

In November, the Des Moines Register published the Green Cities segment of its climate change series, discussing what some Iowa cities are doing to become more sustainable. In West Des Moines, we are moving closer to hiring a sustainability expert to enhance our current efforts to make our organization more sustainable. In October, a small committee made up of representatives from the City Manager's Office, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and a Metro Waste Authority employee conducted interviews of three candidates who submitted proposals to serve as a Sustainability consultant. Two firms were interviewed and both had excellent resources to assist the City in this effort. An agreement between the City and ERM (Environmental Resource Management), an international firm that also has an office on Mills Civic Parkway, should be drawn up soon based on the Curb IT! Revenue Sharing funds that are available for use.

With the help of the consultant, a steering committee of city employees will be developed to lay out the vision and goals for this initiative. Then, smaller groups of city employees will be asked to head up projects based on their volunteered interest in the topic. Any initiatives that come out of this group will be submitted to the Curb It! Revenue sharing program for additional funding. Watch here for more updates on our program as it unfolds, and read the Green Cities article (find West Des Moines on the digital map) for more information on what we are currently doing as a City.