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Des Moines Citizens Advisory Board reviews strategic-plan outreach after town hall drew 900 survey responses
Summary
City staff told the Citizens Advisory Board the public-input phase for the draft strategic plan closed this week with more than 900 survey responses and about 80 people at a town hall; members praised turnout but urged targeted outreach to underrepresented neighborhoods and families.
City staff reported to the Citizens Advisory Board that the public-input portion of Des Moines City’s strategic-plan process closed this week after collecting more than 900 survey responses and drawing about 80 attendees to a recent town-hall meeting.
The update, given during the CAB’s Dec. meeting, said consultants from Raptellus and senior city staff will synthesize the feedback in mid-January, produce draft work plans and present those to the City Council in a February workshop, with a final plan expected to be presented for adoption in spring.
Board members said the turnout demonstrated broad interest but flagged gaps. ‘‘We had about 80 people last night at the town hall meeting, which is pretty darn good,’’ a city staff presenter said, adding the online survey will remain open until Friday. Several CAB members said younger parents, residents near Pack Highway and some south-end neighborhoods were underrepresented and urged additional targeted outreach.
Members suggested rotating meeting locations, translating materials, distributing flyers at childcare centers and using CAB members to reach communities the city struggles to contact. One member recommended follow-up emails to town-hall attendees to continue the conversation and to provide educational context about projects already underway.
The conversation also included planning logistics for moving from community input to policy: staff said Raptellus will provide an initial synthesis and senior staff will draft work plans in January so the council can shape priorities in February. Members emphasized keeping outreach iterative — not only collecting wishes but also testing the fiscal and implementation realities of popular priorities.
The board also corrected one detail about prior minutes: an Arts Commission item should refer to the ‘‘International Sculpture Day Walk,’’ not ‘‘Art Walk.’’ The minutes were approved after that correction.
Next steps: staff will share the synthesized summary publicly, senior staff will develop initial work plans with the consultant in mid-January, and the council will workshop the draft in February before a spring presentation and potential adoption.
