Sept 6: Join us for a Neighborhood Tour

Please let Doug - President of WHO (at: WHO@mediacombb.net) know if you are interested in joining in on a tour of our neighborhood and identifying potential opportunities for development.  This is an important step for our development plan and vision for the future.

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My name is John Dean, and I am the Team Leader for the Iowa State University Woodland Heights planning team.  My team is excited to meet you and to work with the residents of Woodland Heights.  

To gain a better understanding of the neighborhood, my team would like to go on a tour of the Woodland Heights area.  Would you, or another representative from the Woodland Heights Organization, be available to offer an afternoon walking tour of the neighborhood on Thursday, September 6th?  We are flexible in the length and content of the tour, however we hope that this tour will offer us a good perspective of the neighborhood in moving forward.  My team especially hopes to gain a better understand of the Ingersoll business area, as well as the schools in the neighborhood.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you in the near future,

John Dean
Graduate Research & Teaching Assistant

Masters in Community & Regional Planning

MS, Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa State University

County's Lead Paint Repair Program

The Lead Paint Repair Program is meant to help eligible owner-occupants with children under 6 remove lead hazards from their home. Participation in the program can also open up opportunities for assistance with other repair work to major systems like roofs, furnaces or plumbing.


Key items to determine eligibility:

• Was your home built before 1978?
• Do you have children under the age of 6 that live or visit the house?
• Is your income at or below 80% of Median Family Income?

Go to http://www.metroleadsafe.org/ for more information or call 515-286-3596.

Share Your Comments

The city has a new website that allows neighbors to share their vision and concerns for our neighborhood.  Make sure you share your comments today.  The information you share will help us plan for the future.

Go to: http://www.revitalizedesmoines.com/ .  Share it on Facebook!!

11/21 - City Council Meeting Tonight at 4:30 p.m.

The decision regarding the Neighborhood Revitalization Project which Woodland Heights has been recommended for, will go to the City Council for a vote THIS AFTERNOON, Monday, Nov 21st. The Council meeting begins at 4:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 400 Robert D Ray Drive.

We need WOODLAND HEIGHTS residents all who will all benefit from a portion of the $2 million we are hoping to receive to attend this afternoon / evening session of the Des Moines City Council. Our presence needs to influence the city council that we care enough to show up and be counted!!!

Reminder: Neighborhood Selection Dates

From Neighborhood Development Division -


Just a reminder that the decision regarding neighborhood selection will go to City Council on Monday, Nov 21st. The Council meeting begins at 4:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 400 Robert D Ray Drive.

The Polk County Board of Supervisors will also vote to approve neighborhood selection. I will give a presentation at their workshop on Wednesday, Nov 16 at 9:30 am. The vote will take place on Tuesday, Nov 29 at 9:30 am. Both meetings are held in the County Admin Building at 111 Court Ave, Room 120.

I would encourage all neighborhoods to send representatives to these meetings, particularly if you are being recommended for selection. There may be an opportunity for you to comment, and it is always good for the elected officials to see neighborhood groups out in support of the recommendation.

Our President, Doug on Channel Five

Check out the news story that featured our very own Doug McBride.  Woodland Heights is going to be an exciting place to live in during the next few years -- and BEYOND! Beginning mid-2012, the neighborhood will begin working with an ISU graduate student to chart out projects to enhance our neighborhood (because we were selected for the grant!!).  Items that we identified during the grant application process to tackle include (but is not limited to

• Woodland Heights Cemetary fence
• Chamberlain Park enhancements
• Gateway beautification
• Bike trails
• Linden Street enhancements
• Much, much more!

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Here's a note from Doug:
Congratulations to all of us who put together the presentation that lead the way to our being accepted into the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

I want to recognize the following residents for their efforts to lead the way to the revitalization of Woodland Heights.  The neighborhood owes these people a great debt of gratitude for their tremendous amount of hard work and commitment.

• Lyla Dozier
• Barry Tofteland
• Laura Tofteland
• Doug McBride
• Carol Lewis
• Dan Robbins

Also, thank you to the city of Des Moines and the NRB for all their work in putting together this opportunity for the selected neighborhoods. When we all work together, revitalization works.

Next Steps - Grant Money

Come out and support the neighborhood!


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Thank you all for your excellent presentations to the Neighborhood Revitalization Board (NRB). We appreciate the time and effort that you have put into this application process. It is clear that each of you has a strong commitment to improving your neighborhood…which makes our decision a tough one!

Now that the presentations are complete, Neighborhood Development staff will prepare a recommendation to present to the NRB that will take into consideration City and other resources available, as well as the strength of the applications and neighborhood groups. The contacts for each neighborhood will receive a copy of this recommendation around the end of October.

The NRB will discuss the staff recommendation and make a decision about which neighborhoods to select at their regular meeting on November 2nd. This meeting begins at 5:00 pm in the St Etienne Conference room of the Armory building (the same room where presentations were held). Neighborhood representatives are welcome and encouraged to attend this meeting.

After the NRB makes a decision, their recommendation will be forwarded on to the City Council and Polk County Board of Supervisors for their review and approval. Again, neighborhoods are welcome to attend. The dates and times are tentatively scheduled for:

Monday, Nov 21, 4:00 pm – City Council (Council Chambers, City Hall, 400 Robert D Ray Drive)
Tuesday, Nov 29, 9:30 am – Polk County Board of Supervisors (County Administration Building, 111 Court Ave Room 120)

As always, please let any of our staff know if you have questions.


Amber Lynch
City Planner
Neighborhood Development Division
City of Des Moines
602 Robert D. Ray Drive
515-283-4223 (phone)
amlynch@dmgov.org

10/13 - IMPORTANT MEETING TONIGHT FOR GRANT $

Our presentation begins at 7:40 pm this evening at the Armory Building 602 Robert D Ray Drive, St. Etienne Conference Room (basement level)

The presentation is Powerpoint and will be given by Barry Tofteland.

Laura Tofteland, Barry Tofteland, Dan Robbins, Carol Lewis, Lyla Dozier and Doug McBride did all the research and work to make this a very informative and incredible presentation.

Try to be there by 7:30 if at all possible. This will help determine how much and if we get a share of the two million dollars available to us.

The more Woodland Heights residents that show up, the better chance we have at receiving the grant money for our neighborhood.

If you have ever cared at all about what happens to our neighborhood, you will be there to support everyone in Woodland Heights.

We will see you tonight!

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Neighborhood leaders:


Thank you for your interest and application to the Neighborhood Revitalization Program! Please read the information below carefully.

The next step in the process is for each neighborhood to make a presentation to the Neighborhood Revitalization Board (NRB) and City staff. The NRB is a citizen board that oversees our program and advises City Council. Instructions for the presentation are as follows:

Date: Thursday, October 13, 2011

Time: 5:30-8:30 pm – SEE ATTACHED FOR YOUR SPECIFIC TIME.
Location: Armory Building 602 Robert D Ray Drive, St. Etienne Conference Room (basement level)
Other Instructions:
- Please plan to arrive and be ready to present at least 10 minutes before your scheduled time.
- Presentations should be limited to 10 minutes so that there is time for questions. The presentation should explain how your neighborhood has changed and why you would like to update your plan, how your neighborhood organization will engage other stakeholders in the process, and demonstrate how your neighborhood organization will take a leading role in plan implementation. (Basically a summary of your application.)
- You may bring as many members of your neighborhood as you would like. Just please limit the presentation to about 10 minutes.
- A laptop and projector will be available for those that would like to use it. A power point is not required. If you do plan to use a power point or pdf presentation, you must bring it on a USB/flash drive.
- Copies of your application have already been provided to the NRB members. You do not need to bring additional copies. Other handouts are not necessary.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.






Amber Lynch


City Planner
Neighborhood Development Division
City of Des Moines
602 Robert D. Ray Drive
515-283-4223 (phone)
amlynch@dmgov.org

Emergency meeting tonight - 7:00 p.m.

Don't forget to join us!

A large amount of money has been made available to Des Moines neighborhoods based on a grant the city received. The Department of Community Development asks that interested neighborhoods create a Neighborhood Plan focusing on issues in their neighborhood. Three or four neighborhoods in Des Moines will get accepted into this program.


We have three weeks to create a committee, discuss what needs attention in Woodland Heights and put together a 15 minute presentation.

We are meeting tonight (Friday, August 5th) at the cafeteria in Dahl's on Ingersoll at 7:00 p.m.

Anyone and everyone who wants to attend is encouraged to do so, as long as you reside and/or work in the Woodland Heights Neighborhood.

8/5 - Emergency Meeting Planned (7:00 p.m.)

A large amount of money has been made available to Des Moines neighborhoods based on a grant the city received.  The Department of Community Development asks that interested neighborhoods create a Neighborhood Plan focusing on issues in their neighborhood.  Three or four neighborhoods in Des Moines will get accepted into this program.

We have three weeks to create a committee, discuss what needs attention in Woodland Heights and put together a 15 minute presentation.

We are calling an emergency board meeting for Friday, August 5th at the cafeteria in Dahl's on Ingersoll at  7:00 p.m.

We will assemble a committee and take suggestions for items to be included in our new Neighborhood Plan.

Anyone and everyone who wants to attend is encouraged to do so, as long as you reside and/or work in the Woodland Heights Neighborhood.