Gaga for Google

West Des Moines is part of a nationwide competition to win a Google pilot Internet project. As part of their Fiber for Communities program, Google has expressed a desire to install new Internet connections with data transfer rates faster than 1 Gigabit per second (extremely fast) in the selected communities. In West Des Moines, we hope that our existing infrastructure, commitment to helping the project work, and highly engaged citizens who would truly be able to utilize this faster network will help us stand out. We are focusing our campaign on you. If you want to help West Des Moines catch Google's attention, check out our website news item on the subject for ways to get involved.

Library Survey

The West Des Moines Public Library is currently mailing a survey to 1,000 homes in West Des Moines and the surrounding area. This survey is part of the library's strategic planning effort being conducted by the nationally known library consulting firm Himmel and Wilson. The households receiving this survey were selected randomly. Citizens are encouraged to complete it and return it so the library will have a better understanding of the community's needs. The library will also conduct a web survey during March that will be available from a link on their website and will be distributed electronically.

New Beginnings

The City feels that the future growth and development of West Des Moines is dependent on creating an environment where small businesses can thrive. The City of West Des Moines and Mid Iowa Small Business Development Center along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are pleased to sponsor entrepreneur classes for current business owners or those considering an entrepreneurial endeavor in West Des Moines. Twelve scholarships are available for the program, called "New Beginnings" – and there is an application on our website.

Comprehensive Plan Update

The draft Comprehensive Plan, which the Plan & Zoning Commission recommended for approval on September 30, 2009, will be taken to City Council beginning with a public hearing on February 8, 2010. The City Council is scheduled to use six public hearings to complete its review and final adoption of the City's new Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan will take effect immediately after the City Council's adoption. Information on the update process, as well as the draft plan itself, is available on the City's website.

If you are not involved in development, you may be asking "what exactly is a comprehensive plan?" The Comprehensive Plan is a statement of the City's policies and intent toward development of the City. Once adopted, it services as a guide for decision-makers regarding future development and redevelopment. It is meant to be a flexible document in that it responds to the changing needs of the City, including changes in development patterns and adjustments necessary to maintain or improve the quality of life to which our citizens are accustomed.

It is truly a tool for long-range planning - our current plan was adopted in 1993, and because we have followed its intent but made the right changes along the way it has served us well. Updating this plan is a complicated process because we must balance the benefits of potential development with the costs and impacts on the character of the community. To us, this is a welcome challenge, and one we feel well-equipped to handle in West Des Moines.

NLC Prescription Drug Discount Program

The City of West Des Moines is taking advantage of a great program through the National League of Cities to help our residents out with the cost of prescription drugs. The city is making free prescription drug discount cards available to city residents through a program sponsored by the National League of Cities (NLC). The discount cards offer an average savings of 20 % off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs for residents without health insurance or a traditional benefits plan, and for residents with insurance or benefits that have prescriptions that are not covered by insurance. One great feature of this program is that discount cards may be used by all residents of West Des Moines and there are no restrictions based on your age, income level, or existing health coverage. Based on a list of participating pharmacies on the NLC website, the card can be used to buy prescription drugs at 79 pharmacies around the metro, and it's also good at participating retail pharmacies across the United States.

Check out our NLC prescription discount card website page for an FAQ regarding the program, as well as links to printing the card yourself or picking one up at a location in the city.

Email Notifications

Metro Waste Authority is now providing automatic email updates on recycling services, garbage collection, and yard waste for member communities (including West Des Moines). Residents can sign up to get notified when service is interrupted, when new services become available, and more.

Email notification has become a high priority for most organizations that deal with customers - including the City of West Des Moines. Our extensive eUpdates system provides information about meetings, news, job postings, and RFP announcements to interested parties. We are regularly looking for ways to make better use of technology, and this is a feature that is both popular for those who want the information and useful for us because (we think) it reduces questions coming in.

WDM Only City Featured in New Products Listing

West Des Moines was recently the only city credited by Better Roads magazine with one of the Top 20 rollouts for new products in the highway and bridge industries.

Better Roads selects the top 20 new products of the year based on their significance and whether they "change the way work gets done or bring new standards to an industry."

The City of West Des Moines and Monroe Snow & Ice Control were recognized for developing a roller mill system salt slurry spreader, which we call the Salt Slurry Generator. The excerpt from Better Roads:

"The city is blending a liquid de-icer product that contains 80 percent salt brine, 10 percent Fusion or GeoMelt and 10 percent calcium chloride. The system is a look into the future: more liquid and reduced granular usage to lessen the overall chloride load on the environment."

Take a look at the article for all twenty new products.