Sunday, January 13, 2008

Ward Meetings-Other Activity

Yesterday I attended 1st Ward Alderman Nathan Brown's ward meeting. Good discussion on a variety of topics. Good attendance as well. Thanks Nate for allowing me to attend.

Ian Frink, Bill Lynn, and I will be hosting a budget meeting for the public (presented by our Finance Department) in early February at the Genesis Heart Institute. Details will be posted here, and published in the media. I also plan to hold a 6th ward meeting in the near future.

I met with Levee Commission Director Steve Ahrens on Thursday and received updates on riverfront activity. I also stopped by the Freighthouse on Saturday after Nate's meeting. Good to see some positive developments there. I think it's going to be a welcome change to that facility.

I also attended the Village of East Davenport Board meeting last week. Nice to see merchants in that area working together. I plan to stay actively involved with the group as they develop plans for their future.

On a side note, I attended the "First in the Nation Report" on workforce skills at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids on Friday. The Iowa City/Cedar Rapids community has done work-key assessments of a sample of the labor force in their area. They are using that information to help lure potential businesses. I asked the President of the college if they would be willing to share their study methodology with the eastern part of the state. He said "absolutely". This is a great example of business, education, and economic development officials working together to be proactive in addressing our workforce shortage. I have shared the study results with Eastern Iowa Community College, Davenport and Bettendorf Chamber and Economic Development leaders. I hope we can do something similar in our area.

Sincerely,
Jeff

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