Des Moines City Manager;s Weekly Report for week ending April 19, 2024
Earth Day Celebration (April 21)
Celebrate early Earth Day with a Free Earth Day Celebration at Salt Water State Park on Sunday April 21st. Activities for all ages include live marine animals and creek macroinvertebrates, creek restoration work party, craft table for children and more! Event runs from 10:00a.m.-3:00p.m. More info can be found here.
Free Shredding Event!
Swing by the Des Moines Senior Activity Center (2045 S. 216th Street) on Wednesday, April 24, between 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m., to safely and securely get rid of any paperwork you may need shredded. Accepted items include paper, such as receipts, bill bank statements, cancelled checks (staples are ok), file folders and envelopes. Not accepted items include cardboard, newspaper, boxes, x-rays and plastic. Open to all residents. Maximum amount per person is 10 file-sized boxes of paper.
Submit a Complaint/Fix it Request
Do you know of an issue on City property that needs to be fixed? Do you have a code enforcement issue in your neighborhood that you want addressed? Need help with an animal concern? Our City’s website offers a place for you to report these matters for the appropriate staff member to review and take action. Please find the link here.
Tomorrow! SR3 Community Open House
Have you ever wondered what lies behind their fence? Come to the SR3 Rescue Center Open House on April 20th! Swing by between 10a.m. and 2p.m. and take a tour (22650 Dock Ave S.). This is a family- friendly event and there will be activities for youth as well as a chance to shop their adoption kids, t- shirts and other merchandise! More info can be found here.
RAVE Foundation Free Soccer Clinic
Join the RAVE Foundation and our Seattle Sounders FC for a free soccer-training clinic provided by community coaches on May 2 from 4:30-6:00pm. RAVE provides excellent programing that uses soccer to foster wellness and inspire joy. Although this event is free, registration is required. Sign up here.
Cool Summer Job Alert!
Apply today to join our 2024 Summer Camp KHAOS Team! Camp dates are June 24-August 30. More information and an online application can be found here.
I-5 Speed Limit Reductions
Beginning this week, the speed limit on I-5 just outside of Des Moines City limits has been reduced to 50 MPH to allow construction crews to work safely in the median of I-5 as they build the Veterans Drive Tunnel under northbound I-5. Creating the larger, safer work zone requires shifting the northbound HOV lane into a barrier-protected lane on the southbound side of I-5. More information on the speed reduction and the entire project can be found here.
Meetings of Interest
In addition to day-to-day administrative duties, this week I attended an additional interview for the vacant Public Works Director position. I met with Mayor Buxton to discuss upcoming City issues. I met with Mayor Buxton, Deputy Mayor Steinmetz and Councilmember Achziger to discuss upcoming Citizen’s Advisory Committee meetings. I hosted a roundtable discussion with the City’s Directors and senior management to discuss current and upcoming issues. I met with Councilmember Harris to discuss topics of interest to him. Finally, I met with the City’s Director of Emergency Management and other City staff to prepare our submittal to receive disaster relief funds resulting from the winter freeze and pipe burst at the Senior Activity Center.
City Council Meeting Summary
There was no City Council meeting this week, as the Council generally does not meet on the third Thursday of the month. The agenda and materials for the meeting on the 25th can be found here.
Also on Thursday the 25th, the Municipal Facilities Committee will meet at 4p.m. and the Economic Development Committee will meet at 5p.m. Agenda and materials can be found in the links.
Sports Update
NBA basketball took center stage this week as the play-in tournament kicked off to see which mediocre teams will make it through to get beat in the first round by teams that actually qualified for the playoffs. It’s a confusing set up they have but I’m here for it as every game matters. The universally despised Oklahoma City Thunder somehow got the #1 seed in the Western Conference so we will need an upset early to knock them out and ensure some semblance of justice. More to come. In the other NBA news, the Indiana Fever selected Caitlyn Clark with the first pick in the WNBA draft this week. Best of luck to her and all the ladies who were drafted! Congratulations to Scottie Scheffler for winning the 88th Masters Tournament on Sunday in dominating fashion. In extremely rare news, the Mariners haven’t lost this week and they will ride a 3 game win streak into the Mile High City to face Dinger and the Rockies all weekend. I’m predicting some homeruns! The Kraken season is officially finally over and the Sounders play Vancouver on Saturday night at Lumen Field. Enjoy this beautiful sunshine!
Have a great weekend!
Tim George
Interim City Manager
