Around Des Moines

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie attended the March 11, 2008, Des Moines Public Schools School Board meeting to promote the Super Block. This is the stretch of land on the southern edge of the city that runs from SE 14th Street to SW 9th Street and from Army Post Road southward to County Line Road. There are two schools sitting in this giant block and the city wants to acquire some of the school district’s land.

The proposal before the school board was to approve the Super Block and to authorize district staff to negotiate further with the City of Des Moines. The city wants to acquire approximately 47 acres of the school property next to Studebaker Elementary and McCombs Middle Schools. No member of the public spoke on this portion of the meeting agenda. In addition to the mayor, Terry Rich, chief executive officer of the Blank Park Zoo, and a representative of the Polk County Conservation Board attended the meeting to lend support to the plan. The board’s vote was 6-0.

Members of the school board made sure to clarify that the city would be purchasing the property for fair market value. Board Member Patty Link said she heard over and over that there is growth on the south side. She and other board members wanted to make sure that if the land were sold there would still be room for the district to expand facilities. Link also inquired about horticultural opportunities for students at the A.H. Blank Golf Course. DMPS’ Chief Operating Officer Bill Good said the golf course is “enthusiastic” about working with students and that he believes there will still be “good growth potential” for school programs. Board Member Connie Boesen said she spoke from experience as a person who has sat on the zoo’s board. She believes the plan utilizes space well and that there are horticultural opportunities at the zoo, too. There was also a board member suggestion that students might be able to learn golf.

Board Member Jeanette Woods compared all the activities planned for the Super Block to the isolation of the Botanical Center. “I really like the idea it’s connected,” she said. She also thinks the entire plan is a good idea but she is concerned that Lincoln High School is overcrowded. In a response to Woods’ inquiry about the status of a demographic study, Good said a draft has been prepared and it should be ready in about a month. (The demographic study was authorized at an earlier board meeting and will look at projected growth in the district, with particular attention paid to the south side.)

The Super Block issue will appear before the school board again when terms of the land sale are finished. The Super Block vision is to stimulate economic and social growth on the south side, as well as to develop a signature a so-called green sustainable project.

Personal Note: As I have written on AroundDesMoines.com in regard to other development projects, residents throughout the city should be concerned about and involved in projects regardless of where in the city they are being proposed. This Super Block is just one of many plans the city has for the south side. In addition to the Super Block, the city is planning reconstruction of Indianola Avenue and development of the Highway 5/North River area that currently is outside of the city’s limits. All of these projects and the public meetings that have been held for some of them, merit far more comprehensive media coverage than they have received.

M.R. Field covers school board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com.