West Des Moines City Manager Blog

New and Improved Fuller and Grand

2009-06-29T10:42:00.004-05:00

The intersection of Fuller Rd and Grand Avenue is now open for travel on the south, west, and east sides. The north leg is still closed for the next phase of the Grand Avenue project. This project is part of a larger reconstruction of Grand Avenue from the Raccoon River Park entrance to Railroad Avenue as a four and five-lane section. The new intersection allows for safer traffic movements through the intersection and roadway, and includes traffic signals.

Although the intersection officially opened up last Wednesday afternoon, we had to close it again at times on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for Hy-Vee elite and age group races.

Grand Avenue was originally paved in the early 1930s, so this rehabilitation is very much needed. The overall project involves a widening of the street to increase traffic capacity and wider lanes (12 feet). All three phases are described below.

Phase 1: This phase of the overall project involved reconstruction of the Grand Avenue/Fuller Road intersection, including the installation of signals. Construction in 2008 included relocation of public utilities as well as construction of the retaining wall south of Heatherwood Drive. Construction began March 23, 2009 for the 2009 Construction season and involved the remaining utility work, full pavement removal and replacement, and construction of new traffic signals at the Grand/Fuller intersection.

Phase 2: This phase will include construction of the four and five-lane section of Grand Avenue from the limits of Phase One northerly to the railroad tracks north of Delevan Drive. Phase Two will be constructed during the 2009 construction season.

Phase 3: This phase includes construction of a similar pavement section from the limits of Phase One southerly to just beyond the entrance to Raccoon River Park. The construction timelime for Phase Three is yet to be determined.

Tri Weekend in WDM

2009-06-24T14:59:00.007-05:00

June is always a busy month in West Des Moines, and one of the biggest events in the city is quickly approaching.

The Hy-Vee Triathlon will fill up Raccoon River Park this weekend. On Saturday, hundreds of kids will participate in a shortened version of the event inside Raccoon River Park. In the afternoon, the world's top male and female triathletes will compete for an impressive prize purse. On Sunday afternoon, they will represent their countries again as part of the World Championship Team race (a new event for the sport of triathlon that we in West Des Moines will be the first to see)!

Earlier on Sunday, nearly 2500 amateur athletes will test themselves by swimming, biking, and running through the park and on some of our city streets. Due to the number of people participating in this race, the route must be longer to avoid problems that frequent lapping would cause.

This is a tremendous event for the City of West Des Moines and the greater Des Moines metro area. Here are some questions we are often asked at the City regarding the event:

Q. Which streets are impacted?
A. This year, the race impacts the portion of Grand Avenue from S. 35th St to Fuller Rd. for about an hour Friday (during elite practice) and from 12 - 6 pm Sunday, the elite race.

On Sunday, the bike portion of the race will take place on Grand from the park entrance out to Raccoon River Drive, continuing into Dallas County and back. The run will then go up Grand Avenue to Fuller Road, west to S. 35th, north to Mills Civic, and turn around short of the Valley Stadium west entrance. Sunday's closure starts at 5 am. Grand west of S. 35th will open as soon as the last biker leaves the road, and should be open no later than 10:30 am. The rest of the route will remain closed until noon. For road closure maps and route maps, view the Triathlon news item on our website.

Q. Where should I park to see the event?
A. Hy-Vee has done a lot of advertising of its shuttle routes for the event, and that is the best way to park without hassle and without having to navigate the road closures. You can park and ride at Valley High School and Valley West Mall.

Q. What impact does this have on Raccoon River Park?
A. Portions of the park have been closed during event-setup, and the entire park will be used during the triathlon weekend. There will be some lingering impact as the event is taken down as well. View a graphic showing the park impacts here. Other impacts that may be of concern to residents include aesthetic changes to the park or changes to the natural beauty of the park. Hy-Vee has committed to leaving the park as good as or better than it was prior to the event.

Q. Who pays for this event to take place?

A. This event (including any overtime costs incurred by the city) is entirely funded by Hy-Vee, and any proceeds they recover go to Variety - the Children's Charity and other designated nonprofits. Although there is some city administrative staff time involved in planning for the event, it is a worthwhile investment of time because of the community benefit and the impact of bringing visitors and participants to our city for an elite competition. Although the amateur event creates some inconvenience for residents because of its size, which necessitates holding part of that race on city streets Sunday, it is this part of the event for which West Des Moines residents - and people around the state -- spend months preparing. Many of us know someone participating. As a city, we must weigh the costs of some temporary road closures with the benefits of providing a location for this community activity to occur. We have tried to minimize the inconvenience to residents in the area to the best of our ability.

Q. What does it cost to attend?

A. The event is free for the public.

Please view the Hy-Vee Triathlon news item on the City website or http://www.hyveetriathlon.com/ for any additional questions you have about the 2009 Hy-Vee Triathlon.

Fuller and Grand Construction Update

2009-05-28T12:12:00.009-05:00

Due to great weather last week, the contractor was able to make great progress in paving operations at Fuller Road and Grand Avenue. Below are some photos taken last Friday morning.

Fuller Road Looking East:

Grand Avenue Looking North:

Grand Avenue Looking South:

Currently the intersection is scheduled to be open in time for the Hy-Vee Triathlon, although it will be closed to thru traffic for most of that weekend. For important information regarding the Triathlon weekend including park impacts, road closings information, and more, visit the Triathlon News page on the city website.

Site Selection Recognizes the Greater DSM Partnership

2009-05-13T13:32:00.002-05:00

Site Selection magazine, which recognized Jordan Creek Town Center earlier this year as a development that creatively combines retail and entertainment options, recently gave the Greater Des Moines Partnership an Honorable Mention as one of the Top Economic Development Groups of 2008. The Microsoft Data Center slated for West Des Moines is mentioned in their discussion of the Partnership's work.

The article in Site Selection is also interesting because it suggests that the "jobs of the future" are headed to Middle America. The author notes that, based on Site Selection's data, communities in the central United States are leaders in job creation and corporate investment in facilities.

Site Selection's choices for the top economic development groups were based on numerous criteria: total capital investment; investment per capita; total jobs created; jobs created per capita; the contributions of the local or regional economic development organization toward the attainment of these numbers; overall economic vitality; depth and breadth of economic strength; diversity of industry; ability to generate breakthrough deals; and the ability to provide documentation for all projects.

Another sign that Central Iowa is considered a strong and vital economic power! Thanks to the Partnership for their continued commitment to attracting and retaining businesses in our area, assisting business expansion, and developing our workforce.

If you haven't visited the Partnership's website recently, I suggest you view the Partnership's Workforce Attraction Video or get information about their recent I Believe campaign.

Employees Mark Earth Day

2009-05-04T08:58:00.006-05:00

Last Wednesday, ten West Des Moines employees took an hour out of their day to collect garbage and litter near Interstate 35 between Mills Civic Parkway and Grand Avenue. They collected over 20 bags of trash in that short time. A commendable effort that I know mirrored the efforts of numerous groups, organizations, and individuals who demonstrated their commitment to making our community more sustainable on Earth Day.

Another group of city employees is working to develop a comprehensive sustainability strategy for the City organization, which will serve as a year-long reminder that we need to be cognizant of the effects of our present-day activities on the future.

Relocation Source Spotlights WDM

2009-04-24T15:09:00.003-05:00

West Des Moines was named one of America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2009 by Relocate America, a website that provides relocating consumers and area residents with access to local community resources. The award is based on outlook for future growth, visionary leadership, improving or thriving economies--including housing--and realization of "green" initiatives. Congratulations to our community members for being active participants in and contributors to our education systems, community events, and business community. It is only by being a successfully well-rounded community that West Des Moines appears on these lists.

Online Services Review

2009-04-09T10:46:00.002-05:00

At Monday's City Council meeting, we reviewed the first year of the West Des Moines website, which was launched March 31, 2008. For those of you who missed the meeting, here are the highlights from that report.

From approximately March 31, 2008 to March 18, 2009) over 272,000 “sessions” were recorded on the West Des Moines website. That resulted in an average of 772 sessions per day. A 'Session' is defined as a series of clicks on the site by an individual visitor during a specific period of time. During that same time, over one million page views were recorded on the West Des Moines website. That resulted in an average of 2,892 page views per day.

In all, 135,218 unique visitors came to the West Des Moines website in that timeframe. A Unique Visitor may have more than one session during the date range, but is only counted once.

According to the 2008 Citizen Survey, citizen satisfaction with the website increased 7% from 2006 to 2008. 40% of residents were “very satisfied;” 45% of residents were “satisfied;” and
14% of residents were neutral.

37% of residents reported having used the website to get information in the last year.

Some new features we've added this year include:

Online Development Center
eUpdates
Restaurant listing/hotel listing
Email to a Friend - available on any page
Add to Outlook - available on calendar items
Report a Crime Online
File a Traffic Complaint Online
Online directory of parks
Awards and Recognitions page
Publications and Reports page
Online RFP and Bid listings
Online holiday sponsor form
Online Human Services volunteer application
Small Business/Entrepreneurship assistance
Comprehensive new resident guide
City Council Meeting video online
Online magazine/document viewing (page turning program)

Our next steps will involve more e-commerce options for residents on the website.

Our most frequently viewed pages on the website in that timeframe were:

1) Employment
2) Parks and Recreation
3) Adult Sports Info
4) City Calendar
5) Valley View Aquatic Center
6) Contact Us
7) GIS and Maps
8) Raccoon River Park
9) Parks Facilities and Matrix
10) Directory of Parks

WDM Magazine Arrives This Week!

2009-03-30T10:52:00.002-05:00

West Des Moines residents and businesses: watch for Issue 18 of the WDM Magazine to arrive in your mailbox this week. This is our biggest issue yet - evidence of the quality programs we continue to promote and the high level of communication we want to maintain with our customers - you!

Among other things, the Spring/Summer 09 issue of the magazine contains:

information on this year's A-MAY-Zing Days celebration;
a description of the Hy-Vee Triathlon event planned for June 27-28 this year;
2008 Citizen Survey results;
news on the new single-stream recycling program, Recycle and Roll;
info on the yard waste season;
eco-friendly tips for the home;
a sign-up request for the City's new text messaging program; and
many more interesting news items about city services.

Like every issue, the magazine includes information on the Library, Human Services, and Parks and Recreation programs taking place over the next few months.

Notable - Jordan Creek Town Center

2009-03-18T10:15:00.002-05:00

In case you don't read Urban Land, a publication of the Urban Land Institute (which our Community and Economic Development department keeps up with), Jordan Creek Town Center was recently named one of ten developments internationally that creatively combine retail and entertainment.

The article, entitled "Entertainment/Retail Synergies," names Jordan Creek along with developments across the US and in Tokyo, Portugal, China, Finland, and Switzerland as examples of creative, well-designed regional malls and lifestyle centers that offer shopping intertwined with entertainment options.

You can download a PDF copy of the article to see the feature on Jordan Creek and other examples around the globe.

Westcom Moving Today

2009-03-10T14:31:00.003-05:00

If you receive the West Des Moines section of the Des Moines Register, you may have noticed that the Westcom Dispatch Center is moving today.

If you're not familiar with Westcom, the Westcom Dispatch Center is a consolidated public safety dispatch facility that receives public safety related calls and dispatches police, fire and EMS for the cities of Clive, Urbandale, and West Des Moines. The name Westcom was derived from the fact that all three cities are western suburbs of Des Moines and it is the communication center. Until today, Westcom was located in the West Des Moines Law Enforcement Center at 250 Mills Civic Parkway.

Prior to January of 2001, all three cities had separate public safety dispatch centers staffed by city employees 24 hours every day. The consolidation of these independent dispatch centers into one contributed to a big improvement in communication between the three public safety agencies involved because it put us all on one trunked radio system. The merger allows us to directly communicate with one another during large-scale incidents/accidents. The three communities share expenses for the center based upon a percentage breakdown of the total calls for service received by the center. The policy oversight body for Westcom is a committee made up of representatives of the three cities and chaired by a city manager. West Des Moines EMS Chief Jeff Dumermuth serves as Director of Westcom.

As noted in the article, Westcom is moving to its new communications center in Public Safety Station #19 today. Housed in the basement of the station, Westcom will have a great deal more space and more assurance that their equipment and dispatchers can operate without seeking an alternative shelter during a weather emergency.

As the western suburbs have grown, our three-city dispatch operation has outgrown its old location in the Law Enforcement Center. The entrance to the Police Department has been enhanced to handle the change. After today, residents who enter the police department on weekends, holidays, or after 4:30 PM will remain in the front vestibule (the area between the front doors and another set of inner doors, which will be locked) and communicate with Westcom in their new location via phone, with dispatchers responding via intercom.

The dispatcher will view the caller via cameras that will be installed in the entrance, listen to the resident's needs, and dispatch police personnel to the location if necessary as they have done in the past. If the individual is seeking immediate refuge at the police department, Westcom will be able to remotely open the inner doors and immediately close and lock them.

Top 10 Affordable Suburbs

2009-03-06T16:55:00.000-06:00

BusinessWeek has again included West Des Moines in one of its "top communities" list. This time, it was named one of the Top Ten Most Affordable Suburbs, which factored livability (short commutes, low pollution, green space), education (well-educated residents, high test scores), crime (low personal and property crime), economy (high job growth, low unemployment rate, high family income), and affordability (median household income, cost of expenditures) into its ranking.

This story was featured on the homepage of MSN.com today!

Leading the Way to Sustainability

2009-02-18T17:11:00.002-06:00

The City of West Des Moines recently directed some of our Curb It! Revenue Sharing funds toward sponsorship of the Center on Sustainable Communities Building a Sustainable Iowa Workshop. The events taking place here in West Des Moines at the Raccoon River Park Nature Lodge include an Advanced Building Workshop and a leadership forum.

I think that the leadership forum will be an exceptional opportunity for area individuals, businesses, government entities, and organizations to dialogue about our current efforts and how we can make more progress toward sustainability in Central Iowa. The City of West Des Moines will have staff in attendance.

Here is the description of the forum from the COSC website:

"As Iowa’s leading resource on sustainable building education, COSC is conducting a Leadership Forum with Marc Richmond for Iowa’s business leaders, community leaders, state agency leaders, and policy makers. The session will define the key components of sustainable building and illustrate strategies for building sustainable communities based on national models. "

Schedule:

9:45 am Registration, Networking
10:00 am Welcome by Kevin Nordmeyer, New Director of the Iowa Energy Center
10:10 am What exactly is Green Building and Sustainable Design . . .
and why is it important to you?
11:00 am Where are we in Iowa?
12:00 am Luncheon
12:30 pm How do we move forward effectively?
1:30 pm Open Discussion and Wrap-up

I would encourage any Greater Des Moines community leader to consider signing up. I know that our staff members look forward to participating in the conversation.

The WDM Difference

2009-02-10T14:48:00.004-06:00

Click the graphic above to virtually browse through the City of West Des Moines' newest development guide, The WDM Difference. The guide was distributed to Business Record subscribers in January.

This guide serves as an economic development tool for the City's Community and Economic Development Department as they work to recruit and retain businesses in the city. In my opinion, it's also a pretty interesting read for residents of West Des Moines because it encompasses so many different aspects of our community. A map highlighting land uses and development areas is available halfway through the online publication.

Request a hard copy of the development guide.

Crime Free Multi-Housing

2009-02-04T08:10:00.006-06:00

Many people don't realize that multi-family housing (apartment, town home, and condominium) is a strong component of West Des Moines' residential inventory. Over 18,000 of our residents (35%) live in multi-family dwellings.

Although residents report a very high "feeling of safety" on our citizen surveys, we continue to work in all parts of our community to improve how we deliver public safety services. One important element of that service is crime prevention.

Approximately 10% of the Police Department’s calls for service are to apartment communities. Although that is just a percentage of overall crime, we try and work through management groups and associations to affect a large number of people in multi-housing developments. All of these efforts take shape in the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program (CFMH).

CFMH is a partnership between the WDM Police Department and local apartment complexes. It is essentially a coalition of police, property managers and residents of rental properties working together to reduce crime. This concept was developed in Mesa, Arizona in 1992 and introduced in the Des Moines area in 1996. Our department received its initial training in 1997 and certified its first apartment community, Sun Prairie Apartments, in 1998.

The main tenants of the program are that effective property management can have an impact on the health of the community and that simple, legal, and fair techniques exist to deal with illegal activity. There are three phases to the program - management training, crime prevention through environmental design (which involves inspections and meeting security requirements), and tenant safety training. A complex must complete all three phases to be fully certified. Eight apartment complexes have done so. The Police Department has developed partnerships with an additional 42 apartment communities in West Des Moines to work towards that goal.

Learn more about the phases and tools involved in the program on our website. For more specific information on Crime Free Multi-Housing, you can contact Officer Jeff Hartshorn in the Police Department's Special Operations Unit at 222-3369.

False Alarm!

2009-01-26T16:37:00.011-06:00

We hear the word "change" a lot now, and it's a word with both good and bad associations. In West Des Moines, we work hard to ensure that all change is positive - although that can be an elusive goal!

There are several small ways we try to encourage change in the City. Here is one small example. Let's call it a "motivational tool."

Over the years, the number of alarm calls for service has been a concern for our Police Department. An overwhelming majority of those calls turn out to be false alarms that unnecessarily consume city resources. A false alarm is any call from security, fire or other specialized electronic or mechanical alarms or alarm systems that is not triggered by an actual safety issue or event. There are bound to be a number of false alarm calls, of course--it would be impossible to eliminate them. To examine what the City could do, we simply got a small group of employees together under the umbrella of our quality program (which emphasizes continuous improvement) and considered options to reduce the number of false alarm calls. That group's recommendations came to fruition in 2002, when we enacted a False Alarm Ordinance. That year, the Police Department received 2,470 false alarm calls. In fact, 6.4% of ALL calls for service directed to the Police Department were false alarms.

Fortunately, the number of alarm calls has decreased consistently since 2002 thanks in large part to the ordinance. Among other things, the ordinance increased the penalty for false alarms, assured that businesses take responsibility for recurring false alarms in the same 24 hour period, required an alarm function that can deactivate a bad sensor or alarm zone, required alarm companies to be licensed with the city, and set up an appeals process for contesting false alarm violations.

The change over time is evident:

2002 - 2,370 alarm calls
2003 - 2,185 alarm calls
2004 - 1,800 alarm calls
2005 - 1,819 alarm calls
2006 - 1,683 alarm calls
2007 - 1,665 alarm calls
2008 - 1,457 alarm calls

Since the ordinance, the percentage of calls for services due to alarms has decreased to 3.0%. Alarm calls are at their lowest level since 2000, the earliest year from which we have data, and have decreased 41% since 2002. In 2008, the PD received 1,457 alarm calls for service, 72 of which were recorded by WestCom dispatch as "good" alarms needing officer follow-up. So while the majority of alarm calls (in 2008, 95%) are still false alarms, we have taken action to limit the resources spent on those calls, which frees officers up to respond to more urgent calls for service.

Citizen Academies - making safety more exciting

2009-01-15T14:17:00.024-06:00

As a citizen of West Des Moines, you are no doubt interested in the safety of your home, neighborhood, and community. Our biannual citizen survey attempts to measure the feeling of safety in the community, and in 2008 95% of residents reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the feeling of safety here. The remaining 5% were neutral. It is extremely important to our public safety staff at the City to provide as many educational opportunities as possible to residents and business owners so that you are equipped to prevent problems from occurring or prepared to respond to problems when forced to.

One manifestation of that goal are the citizen academies held by our police and fire departments. Both are in the process of recruiting candidates for the next class--the police academy will hold its 8th annual class beginning in March, and the fire academy will hold its sixth class at a date to be determined.

These citizen academies contain both classroom style learning and active, hands-on opportunities to learn what your public safety personnel are trained to do professionally. They both provide an exceptional opportunity to get to know your city police officers or fire fighters, and to get a better idea of what it takes to keep a community safe.

If you are interested in either of the upcoming academies, you can read more on our website about the police academy or the fire academy, and learn how to apply.

Find Your Address on a FEMA Flood Map

2009-01-13T14:39:00.003-06:00

Did you know you can search for your property on the FEMA website to identify where you are located in relation to a floodplain or flood hazard zone? You can create and print maps online through FEMA's website. All you need are some basic instructions (which you can find on the City website), your property's address, and a little patience to go through the steps on your computer and adjust the maps views. Given last year's abundance of water in Iowa, it is worth taking a look at any areas where you own property.

Raising Kids in WDM?

2009-01-12T17:21:00.001-06:00

Even though BusinessWeek named West Des Moines as one of the cities likely to be hardest hit by the financial crisis (an article we rebutted on our own website and that I mentioned here), they included West Des Moines on their Best Places to Raise Your Kids in 2009 listing for being "kid-friendly" and "cost-friendly." Read why West Des Moines was chosen or the full article text.

Sustainability Effort Moving Ahead

2009-01-02T15:23:00.003-06:00

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.

Building Continues in WDM

2008-12-22T11:36:00.005-06:00

While times are tough...there are bright spots. West Des Moines is still one of them.

2008 will prove to be West Des Moines' best year ever in terms of building permit valuation. In November 2008 alone, the City issued 79 permits with a total valuation of $203,351,682. That amount is higher than annual valuations for some cities and for West Des Moines in the past. Our current year-to-date valuation is $486,866,205, compared to $184,538,064 at this point in November 2007.

This year's building permit valuation is so high in part due to the two new hospitals going up in our community. These facilities will be a tremendous asset to West Des Moines and will complement the excellent system of health care we currently have in the greater metro area. There are still a favorable number of permit applicants for retail buildings, single family homes, and apartment buildings in the mix this year as well.

Restoring Youth Offenders to the Community

2008-12-15T09:47:00.005-06:00

When a West Des Moines student between the ages of 11 and 18 commits a crime in West Des Moines, police officers may refer them to the City's Youth Justice Initiative (YJI) program instead of to the formal juvenile court system. Cases are accepted by YJI based on the seriousness of the crime, risk factors, willingness of the youth to admit wrongdoing, and the commitment of the youth's family to help implement all of the program's recommendations for the youth.

YJI bases its approach on the principles of restorative justice. The program focuses on accountability, education, and support for the youth offender and their family, which is achieved partially through ongoing community justice conferences--called "circles"--with the offender, family members, the victim, and other community stakeholders. It is important that the victims of the crime have a voice in the process and participate in the circles. Without this group's involvement, youth offenders are likely to continue to commit crimes or experience increased substance abuse, mental health issues, academic failure, family issues, risk-taking, and gang involvement. An article in the 1998 Journal of Quantitative Criminology estimates that the monetary value of saving a high-risk youth is between $1.7 to $2.3 million.

From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, the West Des Moines YJI program provided services for cases involving 70 youth. Nine additional youth received partial services. By the end of that fiscal year, 40 of the full service cases had closed and 30 were continuing. The breakdown of charges included:

31 Drug/Alcohol charges;
26 Theft charges;
10 Fire-related charges;
2 Burglary charges; and
1 miscellaneous criminal charge.

YJI continues to meet its goals for youth in the community. Over that same time period, 95% of juvenile offenders completed their reparation plans, including restitution and community service where appropriate. 5% of youth finished YJI unsuccessfully. 98% of youth who completed the program reported an understanding of the injuries caused by their offending. Altogether, the youth performed over 1,254 hours of community service. 87% of offenders did not re-offend during their YJI program. As of November 2008, 94% of the youth that had completed the program had not re-offended.

High risk youth in the program also showed improved risk factors. 64% of youth with high academic risk significantly improved performance based on school reports. 100% of youth with substance abuse problems maintained six consecutive months of abstinence prior to finishing the program (56% of YJI youth have significant substance abuse issues). Families also site that the Family class they take as part of YJI improves their communication and leads to positive family functioning.

You can read overall results from the last seven years of YJI on the City's website. This program is a unique and effective effort to bring our youth offenders together with their families, their victims, and other community stakeholders in order to prevent future crimes and involvement with the criminal justice system. As an attempt to help our youth offenders become functioning and contributing parts of our community, it is an overwhelming success.

Salt for any season

2008-12-11T10:44:00.004-06:00

After months of planning and preparation by several Cities, the first salt will be delivered to our new metro salt storage facility today. The first building of the structure, the joint cities building, was recently completed. The City of Des Moines building should be complete within a couple of weeks. We will start filling today and begin using our new building immediately, as we obviously have a need for salt given the snowfall we've already seen.

The salt storage facility is a tremendous example of what can be accomplished when agencies work together for a common need. This multi-agency salt storage facility allows nine area cities to store 22,000 tons of salt at an industrial area site in Grimes. The Metro Waste Authority agreed to finance the project and to allow the agencies to utilize 10 acres of land they had purchased for a transfer station that may be constructed in the future. One of the biggest challenges that governmental agencies have faced in past winters is the lack of salt availability during peak snowfall months. Last year was particularly bad; many cities ran out of salt early in the season. This facility will allow the cities to reserve the salt they need in storage before the winter months begin, which also means we can purchase the salt when it's at its lowest price of the year, no matter when that occurs.

The first delivery of salt may attract some news coverage today, so watch for more information and a chance to view the facility yourself.

Connected Through Giving

2008-12-08T17:01:00.003-06:00

We just wrapped up the 2008 portion of our military care package program at the City. Over the course of the year, we collected items from employees and sent care packages (using the US Postal Service military care kits) to five soldiers - one employee from our Fire Department and four immediate family members of employees who were in active combat overseas. Our employees are a generous bunch. They donated enough items right off the bat to send out several packages. One employee collected cards from her daughter's third grade class for the soldiers, which they especially liked.

Items collected during our initial care package drive earlier in 2008

I am happy to report that all of the soldiers we sent care packages to are now home, or at least back in the United States. Some are set to be re-deployed, and we will resume sending care packages to those soldiers if/when that occurs. We are also going to use some of our leftover items to send holiday packages to extended family members of employees who weren't part of the regular program, and the rest will be donated to West Des Moines Human Services. It is heartening that even in troubled economic times, people are willing to give to those in need or to those who are working honorably on our behalf.

Your Next WDM Dining Experience

2008-11-19T11:06:00.003-06:00

The next time you plan to dine out in West Des Moines, take a look at the restaurant guide the City's Community and Economic Development department recently created. You can download the listing online. Visitors can take a look at the accompanying map to see the areas in West Des Moines with the largest concentrations of restaurants.

The categorized listing with contact information is a helpful reminder of the numerous options out there in our city, and may trigger a memory of a great place or help guide you to something new.

View the guide now or visit www.wdm-ia.com and look under Visiting, Dining in WDM.

Online Traffic Reports

2008-11-04T17:20:00.003-06:00

In our latest attempt to provide more services online, the West Des Moines Police Department has enabled an online traffic reporting form. The form can be used for non-emergency traffic violations including but not limited to speeding violations, stop sign violations, school zone violations, handicap violations, and illegal parking. In addition to making the reporting process more efficient and more easily tracked, this system allows you to report a continuing violation that the department can monitor and update.

To find the form, click the link above or follow these steps:

Visit http://www.wdm-ia.com/
Under Your Government, select Police, then Services
Choose the "File a Traffic Complaint" form

Since we launched the new city website in March, city staff have been able to add value piece by piece through small additions like this, enabling you to do more through the web. We will continue to find other opportunities to provide self-service options to our residents where it makes sense.