City Council

Minutes of Joint Session of Council of Ogden City, Utah, March 5, 2015 Page Minutes of the Joint Work Session of the Ogden City Council held on Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Work Room on the third floor of the Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Boulevard, Ogden City, Weber County, Utah. Present: Chair Richard A. Hyer Vice Chair Marcia L. White Council members Bart E. Blair (arrived at 5:47 p.m). Neil K. Garner Caitlin K. Gochnour (arrived at 5:38 p.m.) Doug Stephens Council Executive Director Bill Cook Council Policy Analyst Glenn Symes Communications Manager Amy Sue Mabey Excused: Council member Amy L. Wicks Also present: Mayor Mike Caldwell Chief Administrative Officer Mark Johnson Community and Economic Development Director Tom Christopulos Community and Economic Development Deputy Manager Brandon Cooper City Recorder Tracy Hansen Ogden School District: Board President Jeff Heinder Vice President Jennifer Zundel Board member Douglas Barker Board member Don Belnap Board member Shane Story Board member Susan Richards Board member Joyce Wilson Superintendent Sandy Coroles Business Administrator Zane Woolstenhulme Assistant Superintendent Brenda Ruffier Executive Assistant Annette Hancock Support Services Director Ken Crawford STEM Education Teacher Adam McMickell STEM Education Teacher Steve Merkley The purpose of the Joint Work Session is to discuss issues of mutual concern and Council business. Issues of Mutual Concern School Board President Heinder introduced the School Board members and School Board staff present. Council Chair Hyer introduced the Council members present. Chief Executive Director Cook introduced Council staff present, after which Mayor Caldwell introduced City Administrative Staff present. Meeting Overview: School Board Superintendent Coroles noted three years ago, past Superintendent Smith created a program known as Guarantees, Standards and Attitudes (GSAs) and the Board has decided to expand upon that program. She played a short video that compared the past and present goals and achievements of the School District entitled “Then and Now”. She reviewed the ‘road map’ for the District, which begins with the GSAs for the District and moves into programs; a very important program in the community is the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Program. The new school to be built in the District will be a STEM magnet school. Next is the data assessment cycle, which focuses on what students are learning in the classroom and how they will use that knowledge in the future. Next is professional learning committees, which meet weekly to share best practices, review student results, and model classroom environments. Last is the quality of the effective lesson plan and the culture the District wants to model in District schools. The roadmap will be provided to every student, parent, and community member in the next school year. She then briefly reviewed recently developed data indicating improvement within the District, which has ultimately led to increased college enrollment in the community. STEM Program: STEM Teachers McMickell and Merkley then used the aid of a PowerPoint presentation to review the STEM needs in the community. Mr. Merkley reviewed the history of the STEM program after which Mr. McMickell reviewed the objectives of the STEM program. Based upon available funding, the program targets the fifth and sixth grades, expands the Math Olympiad, creates a year-long competition for all elementary schools, and provides teachers with STEM materials and professional development. Mr. McMickell identified purchases that have been made to facilitate implementation of the STEM program in the District; funding has also been allocated to facilitate STEM competition events. Mr. Merkley then reviewed the STEM program timeline, which commenced prior to the beginning of the current school year when the District was awarded with a $100,000 grant to fund the program and ends May 15, 2015 with the Math Olympiad competition. He concluded by reviewing the support element for the STEM program; there is an online resource for teachers and it gets them very engaged in the program. Council member Stephens inquired as to how the District chose the teachers that were selected to participate in the STEM program. Mr. Merkley stated every fifth and sixth grade teacher in the District was offered the opportunity to participate in the program and approximately 50 percent took advantage of the opportunity. New Dee School Project: District Support Services Director Crawford then referenced the recent completion of the swimming pool project at Ogden High School and thanked those that were able to attend the recent tour of the facility; the grand opening celebration will be held March 16, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. and for the entire week of the event the community will have the opportunity to use the facility free of charge. He then referenced the new Dee School project and indicated there are plans for the new school to be a STEM hub within the District. He reviewed the architectural drawings for the project, noting the goal is to create a very unique learning atmosphere within the building. The building will have full Wi-Fi coverage with high access speeds for all wireless devices; each grade level will have its own set of wireless devices to be integrated into the learning process. Each classroom will also have a 70-inch LED display system and Mr. Crawford reviewed a short video clip that served as a demonstration for how the display systems can be used. Teachers and students will have the ability to connect to the device remotely and it will provide full mobility to be integrated into the learning system. There will be a large video wall in the main entry of the school and school administration will have the ability to broadcast messages on that wall as well as on the display systems in each classroom. He then focused on the layout of the building, with a focus on security measures, after which he concluded by noting he is willing to answer any questions regarding the facility. Superintendent Coroles then touched on the process the District will be using to select faculty and the administration staff for the school. The goal is to recruit highly skilled teachers with technology experience as well as teachers that have a STEM background. Mr. Crawford stated he is hopeful construction of the school will be completed in the spring of 2016 in order for it to be open for school in the fall of 2016. Business Administrator Zane Woolstenhulme commented that Hill Air Force Base (HAFB) has indicated there is a major demand for an educated work force, especially for engineers. In order for students to succeed as adults, they must have access to a high quality education. The STEM program is a proactive way of providing valuable tools to students throughout the District. Community Collaboration: Community and Economic Development Director Christopulos used the aid of a PowerPoint presentation entitled “The Importance of School and Community Collaboration” to provide an explanation of how the missions of the District and Ogden City are closely integrated. He noted the mission of the District is to ‘maximize educational opportunities for all students in a safe, nurturing environment’. The City’s mission is to improve the quality of life in the community, develop a place where people want to live, and improve economic opportunities. The Community and Economic Development Department’s mission statement is to ‘continually improve the quality of life…by increasing developing projects and programs that creates opportunities for citizens to improve their work, living and social conditions…by having the highest standards in citizen services, planning methods and community events will enhance the quality of living in the City’. He indicated he feels the importance of school and community collaboration can be summarized by a quote taken from the Need Leaders for Tomorrow’s Schools publication as follows: “When families, schools, and community institutions (e.g., local businesses, community colleges, and health agencies) collectively agree upon their goals and decide how to reach them, everyone benefits. …..look forward to an educated, responsible workforce. Benefits accrue to the staff of schools and community agencies as well: they can observe boosts in morale, heightened engagement in their work, and a feeling that their work will net results.” Mr. Christopulos noted he feels community collaboration equates to community financial support. He provided each member of the group with a handout summarizing the City’s property tax receipts adjusted for inflation over the past 20 years; property tax is not keeping up with the growth of the economy, which impacts both the District and the City relative to providing services to constituents. He also reviewed a conceptual map that highlights the City’s philosophical goals relative to addressing impediments throughout the community. The City’s has invested approximately $23 million over the past 10 years in the area around the new Dee School property, but there are plans to spend nearly double that over the next 10 years to improve vitality of the area. The goal is to increase the level of taxation through new tax development via the creation of redevelopment areas districts. The best way to overcome ‘dis-investment’ in the community is to have appreciation in the assets within the area or to reinvest the differential between the dis-investment and the real investment. One of the challenges in many of the ‘legacy’ neighborhoods of the City is that investment has been ignored for so long that it takes real financial support from the community in order to revive them. The area around Dee School is a prime example of an area in which investment is desperately needed and it is necessary to collaborate with the various partners in the community to take full advantage of any opportunities or resources that may be available. Mr. Christopulos indicated that over the next several months he will be visiting with many of the City’s partners to discuss particular project areas and why they are important and why community support is needed. He is focused on working towards meeting the City’s and the District’s financial needs as he believes both entities are directly linked. There was a general discussion regarding the trends shown in the handout summarizing the City’s property tax receipts, with a focus on the actions the State of Utah has taken in the past that have negatively impacted the property tax standing of both entities. Mr. Christopulos reiterated the best way to address those negative impacts is to increase property taxes or create redevelopment area districts to increase revenues to the City and the District in the long-term. General discussion among the group continued, with a focus on the recent collaboration that has occurred between the City and the District relative to the Dee School project. Concluding Remarks: Chair Hyer thanked the School Board and District staff for the information provided this evening and noted that he feels the STEM program is a great tool for the students in this community. Council member Gochnour referenced the Ogden High School pool project and stated it will be great for the community; she appreciated the opportunity to tour it recently. Council member Stephens stated he feels the new Dee School project will benefit the neighborhood and the District’s success enhances the success of the City, especially relative to business recruitment. The meeting adjourned at 6:33 p.m. ________________________________________ TRACY HANSEN, MMC CITY RECORDER ________________________________________ RICHARD A. HYER, CHAIR APPROVED: May 5, 2015