Des Moines City Manager’s Weekly Report for week ending March 1, 2024
Spring City Currents
The spring edition of the City’s quarterly publication “City Currents” has been released and should be arriving in your mailbox shortly if it hasn’t already. If you prefer a digital version, you can find it here. This magazine is a great place to find City updates, events and information on everything Des Moines.
Upcoming Communications Assessment Presentation
As a City, we have been working diligently to effectively communicate with our residents all of the events, opportunities and exciting news coming out of City Hall. To that effect, last year the City hired a communications consultant to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the City’s internal and external communications and engagement practices to learn how to better serve the evolving needs of a diverse and growing community. That draft assessment has been completed and will be presented to the public and the City Council at a Study Session on March 7 for additional input and consideration. Information on the meeting can be found here.
City Manager Recruitment Update
The City received six proposals from executive search firms to assist with recruiting and hiring our next City Manager. These proposals will be reviewed by the City Council over the next several weeks with the goal of making a selection in mid-March. At that point the formal recruitment will begin. Stay tuned for additional updates and opportunities to be involved in the selection process.
Land Stewardship Community Event
On Saturday March 9th, you are invited to join the Port of Seattle, its partners, and community members to support the Port’s Land Stewardship Program by restoring our urban forests. This event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on South 200th St. in SeaTac. Participants will remove ivy to protect existing mature trees and prepare the site for additional tree and understory planting. The Port will provide a light breakfast, hot drinks, gloves, and tools. Clothes and shoes appropriate for working outdoors are recommended. This event is family-friendly, and no experience is necessary. More info on the event and an RSVP option can be found here.
Meetings of Interest
In addition to day-to-day administrative duties, this week I met with Mayor Buxton to discuss upcoming City issues. I attended the Administrative Board meeting for the SCORE Jail Facility as the City’s representative. I met with the City’s Executive Leadership team to discuss current and upcoming City issues. I met with Councilmember Harris to discuss topics of interest to him. I attended an “all-staff” meeting with the City’s Police Department on Thursday evening. Finally, I met with representatives from Consor, the City’s communications consultant, to finalize the presentation for our upcoming Council Study Session on communication (March 7).
City Council Meeting Summary
No meeting this week as the Council generally does not meet on the fifth Thursday of the month. Our next meeting is a Study Session on March 7. The agenda and materials for that meeting can be found here.
Additionally on March 7th, the Finance Committee will meet at 4 p.m. and the Public Safety & Emergency Management Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Agendas and materials can be found here.
Sports Update
The “dark times” continue but today is the first of March, which means we are getting ever closer to March Madness. That beloved time of year when despite watching little to no college basketball all season, I become an expert, and proceed to invest my children’s future college funds into NCAA tournament bracket pools. At this point, they may need to go the Bill Gates route and skip out on higher education. But my gut tells me this is going to be Purdue’s year. I’m told the Washington State Cougars are also playing great basketball. We have a busy Saturday with Mariners Spring Training, UW and WSU basketball games, Kraken v. Oilers and the Sounders taking on Austin FC. 27 days until Opening Day!
Have a great weekend!
– Tim George
Interim City Manager
