Winter 2012 Policy Meeting

Resources

Energy Conservations Measures, Neil Mann, Jason Geddes, and Joyn Flansberg, City of Reno, NV, October 20th, 2008. Read more.

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Initiative, Jason Geddes, City of Reno, NV, March 1st, 2011. Read more.

Reno, Nevada: 2010 Smarter City – Energy, Lindsey McCormack, Natural Resources Defense Council, July 19th, 2010. Read more.

High-Strength Wastes Boost Biogas Production, Diane Greer, BioCycle, March 1st, 2009. Read more.

Case Study – Sheboygan, WI Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Treatment Plant, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, April 1st, 2011. Read more.

Memorandum of Agreement Regarding Health Benefits for 2007-2009, King County and Unions Representing King County Employees, May 19th, 2005. Read more.

National medical journal documents success of King County employees in losing weight through innovat, King County, November 15th, 2011. Read more.

King County Health Reform Curb Costs by Raising Quality, King County, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

A Platinum Well Workplace Case Study, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Green – Clean – Sustainable, City of Reno, NV, Amaresco, January 1st, 2012. Read more.

Free Advice for Struggling Governments, Charles Chieppo, December 1st, 2011. Read more.

The Municipal Fiscal Crisis and Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits, Daphne A. Kenyon and Adam H. Langley, April 1st, 2011. Read more.

Jobs Idea #6 Retrofitting Institutions, James Irwin, Satya Rhodes-Conway, Sarah White, and Joel Rogers, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, January 1st, 2012. Read more.

Speakers

Craig Lowe was elected as Gainesville’s mayor in April 2010 and began his first term as mayor in May 2010. Before serving as mayor, he was elected to the City Commission for a one-year term in May 2003 and unopposed for a three-year term beginning May 2004 and again re-elected for a second three-year term beginning May 2007.

Mayor Lowe currently serves as Chair of the Commission’s Audit, Finance & Legislative Committee.  Mayor Lowe is also a member of the Regional Utilities Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency, Gainesville/Alachua County Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization, Homelessness Implementation Committee, Alachua County League of Cities, and the Combined Communications Center Executive Board.

Dale Doerr has over 30 years’ experience in wastewater, most recently as the Wastewater Superintendent at the Sheboygan Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. He is an experienced instructor and has served as a licensed operator, supervisor, and superintendent for municipal water and wastewater facilities in Wisconsin and Texas.

While managing Sheboygan’s regional wastewater facility, he implemented a 2 cogeneration projects that reduced annual building heat cost by > 75 percent while producing > 90 percent of the plant’s electrical energy.  He also initiated a project to automatically monitor and control chlorine bleach and sodium bisulfite feed that reduced chemical usage for effluent disinfection by 75 percent.

John Flansberg, PE, Civil, has been with the City of Reno since 2005 and currently serves as the Director of Public Works.  The Department of Public Works is responsible for the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of public streets, storm drainage, sanitary sewerage, and City buildings.  Flansberg began working in local government in 1997 with the City of Carson City, Nevada where he held several positions including Street Superintendent, Street Operations Manager, Transportation Manager, and Deputy City Engineer.  Flansberg previously worked for Granite Construction Company, a heavy civil contractor, as a Project Manager/Estimator.  Mr. Flansberg earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University in 1990 and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Nevada.

Ron Rakow has been Commissioner of the City of Boston Assessing Department since 1992, and took on the additional role of the Deputy Chief Financial Officer in 2011.  The Assessing Department is responsible for determining the fair market value of over 135,000 parcels of real and personal property annually.  In Boston, the annual property tax levy of $1.6 billion accounts for nearly two-thirds of the City’s total revenues.  He was appointed in 2010 to the Board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, and is currently serving as the Chair of the Research Committee of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO).

Mr. Rakow holds a degree in economics from Boston University as well as a certificate in administration and management from Harvard University (either or both of which could soon be revoked due in part to the payment in lieu of tax program).   He has been a frequent speaker on property tax and municipal finance issues to many groups including the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the International and Massachusetts Associations of Assessing Officers, Greater Boston Real Estate Board, The Appraisal Institute, and the Boston Bar Association.

Rebecca Rhynhart was appointed Budget Director of the City of Philadelphia effective November 1, 2010. She is responsible for the City’s $7.3 billion annual operating budget, including the $3.5 billion General Fund operating budget and the operating budgets for the Water Department, Aviation, Grants, and Behavior Health. She also oversees the City’s $9.0 billion 6-year capital program budget. Prior to her appointment as Budget Director, Ms. Rhynhart was appointed City Treasurer in 2008. Her responsibilities included oversight of all activities related to the issuance of debt by the City, managed the investment of operating and bond funds as well as managed the City’s depository banking. Ms. Rhynhart previously served as the Deputy Finance Director for Debt Management from February 2008-July 2008. Prior to joining the City, Ms. Rhynhart headed up the Tax-Exempt Group in Bear Stearns’ Global Credit Department, assessing the creditworthiness of municipalities and not-for-profit organizations for derivative trading. From 2001-2005, she worked as a credit analyst for Fitch Ratings. Ms. Rhynhart received her Masters of Public Administration from Columbia University and her Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College.

Resources

Making a Case for Government, Patrick Bresette, January 20th, 2012. Read more.

Lessons from the Field: What We Are Learning and Teaching, Dēmos Center for the Public Sector, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Talking About Taxes, Dēmos Center for the Public Sector, March 12th, 2010. Read more.

Building Support for Government, Dēmos Center for the Public Sector, May 6th, 2010. Read more.

Making a Case for Government, Dēmos Center for the Public Sector, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Government’s Role in the Economy: Making the Case, Demos Center for the Public Sector, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Speaker

Patrick Bresette is Associate Program Director of the Public Works program at Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action.  As part of the Public Works team Patrick is responsible for taking the work of the program out to the states and interested partner organizations.  He leads the efforts to translate the research that Public Works has conducted into Americans’ perceptions of government into practical applications by interested individuals, organizations and coalitions.  Patrick works with diverse partners across the country to imbed new lessons and strategies into the everyday work of the many stakeholders for an effective public sector.  Over the last two years Patrick has worked in a number of states to apply the Public Works approach to budget and revenue debates in support of adequate funding for public services and a more rational discourse about taxes and public spending in an economic downturn.  Bresette joined Dēmos in 2004 after thirteen years as Associate Director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin, Texas and before that as a legislative aide in the Texas House of Representatives.  He brings with him a broad understanding of how to work with and within the public sector for positive social change.  Patrick has an M.P.A. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin, 1991 and a B.F.A in Sculpture from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, 1982.  Patrick is the 2009 Wurf Fellow.

Public Works has been working for more than six years to build a new understanding among Americans of our public systems and structures and of their role as stewards of our nation’s quality of life.  Our country must support a public sector that acts effectively for the common good, that plans for our future, and that builds and maintains the structures and systems necessary to confront the challenges we face together as a nation.  For our public sector to succeed, the public must comprehend its critical mission and view themselves as having a role and a responsibility as citizens to ensure that this mission is realized.

Resources

Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper: A Low-Cost, High-Impact Approach, Project for Public Spaces. Read more.

Above the Trinity River, Playing and Talking and Eating and Sitting on a Bridge Meant for Cars, Robert Wilonsky, Dallas Observer, October 23rd, 2011. Read more.

Crowdsourced Street to Become Permanent?, Neil Takemoto, Cool Town Studios, April 27th, 2010. Read more.

How to Build a Better Block, Jason Roberts, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

It’s easy to enjoy yourself at VIVA Vancouver all summer long, City of Vancouver, BC, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Hold This Site, Cathy Lang Ho, Architect Magazine, March 24th, 2010. Read more.

Temporary uses can enliven city neighborhoods, Eric Fidler, November 8th, 2011. Read more.

Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action, Long-Term Change, Vol. 2, Mike Lydon, Dan Bartman, Ronald Woudstra, Aurash Khawarzad, The Street Plans Collaborative, March 2nd, 2012. Read more.

Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action, Long-Term Change, Vol. 1, Mike Lydon, Dan Bartman, Ronald Woudstra, Aurash Khawarzad, The Street Plans Collaborative, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Check out NYC’s Hottest Pool Party in a Vacant Parking Lot, Bonnie Hulkower , September 4th, 2011. Read more.

Presto, Instant Playground, Alec Appelbaum, August 13th, 2013. Read more.

Brooklyn Receives First DOT Sanctioned “Pop-Up” Cafe, Mike Lydon , January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Eleven Principles for Creating Great Community Places, Project for Public Spaces, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

NYC DOT Launches Design Competition for Temporary Plazas in Times Square, Initiates Capital Design P, New York City Department of Transportation, March 3rd, 2010. Read more.

Sold Out: The PDX Pop-Up Shop Project, Marjorie Skinner , The Portland Mercury, November 19th, 2009. Read more.

Niagara Holiday Market, City of Niagara Falls, December 31st, 1969. Read more.

S.F. Parklets: A little tour of a major trend, John King, SF Gate, December 29th, 2011. Read more.

Douglas Burnham, Jennie Nunn, San Francisco Magazine. Read more.

City’s little boxes, but these look pretty good, John King, San Francisco Chronicle, November 13th, 2011. Read more.

The Rise of Tactical Urbanism, Allison Arieff, Urbanist, December 1st, 2011. Read more.

Broad Possibilities, Jonathan Devin , The Daily News Memphis. Read more.

What Makes a Successful Place?, Project for Public Spaces. Read more.

Speakers

Fred Kent is a leading authority on revitalizing city spaces and one of the foremost thinkers in livability, smart growth and the future of the city. As founder and president of Project for Public Spaces, he is known throughout the world as a dynamic speaker and prolific ideas man.

Fred travels over 150,000 miles each year, offering technical assistance to communities and giving talks across the US, as well as internationally, on the importance of place. Each year, he and the PPS staff train over 10,000 people in Placemaking techniques.

Over the past 35 years, Fred has worked on hundreds of projects, including Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square in New York City; Discovery Green in Houston, TX; Campus Martius in Detroit, MI; Granville Island in Vancouver, BC, Canada; and a series of major destinations in Perth, Australia.

In addition to projects, Fred has led trainings across the world for audiences such as the Urban Redevelopment Agency and the National Parks Board in Singapore, representatives from the City of Hong Kong, the Ministry of Environment in Norway, the leading Dutch transportation organization in the Netherlands, Greenspace in Scotland, UK, numerous transportation professionals from US State DOTs, and thousands of community and neighborhood groups across the US.

Before founding PPS, Fred studied with Margaret Mead and worked with William H. Whyte on the Street Life Project, assisting in observations and film analysis of corporate plazas, urban streets, parks and other open spaces in New York City. The research resulted in the now classic ‘The Social Life of Small

Urban Spaces’ published in 1980, which laid out conclusions based on decades of meticulous observation and documentation of human behavior in the urban environment.

In 1968, Fred was Program Director for the Mayor’s Council on the Environment in New York City under Mayor John Lindsay. In 1970, and again in 1990, Fred was the coordinator and chairman of New York City’s Earth Day.

Jason Roberts is the President and founder of the Oak Cliff Transit Authority, originator of the Better Block Project and co-founder of the Art Conspiracy and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff. In 2005 Jason developed the Art Conspiracy, a project that brought 100 artists to a blighted, vacant theatre in the Oak Cliff region of Southern Dallas, and revitalized the space as a temporary arts venue.  In 2006, Jason formed the non-profit organization, Oak Cliff Transit Authority, to revive the Dallas streetcar system, and later spearheaded the city’s effort in garnering a $23 Million dollar TIGER stimulus grant from the FTA to help reintroduce a modern streetcar system to Dallas. In 2010, Jason organized a series of “Better Block” projects, taking blighted blocks with vacant properties in Southern Dallas and converting them into temporary walkable districts with pop-up businesses, bike lanes, cafe seating, and landscaping. The project is now being duplicated throughout the country and was recently awarded a 2011 ASLA Award.

Paul Dyster was born and raised in Niagara Falls. He has a PhD in International Relations and Law from Johns Hopkins University, and spent the first half of his career as a college professor. He directed the Catholic University of America’s International Affairs Program, and worked on arms control negotiations for the State Department in Geneva, Switzerland. Since 1992, he has been co‐owner with his wife Becky of Niagara Tradition, a distributor of supplies for beer and winemaking. From 2000 to 2003, Paul served on the Niagara Falls City Council. He then served as president of the board of the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, as president and chairman of the Niagara Experience Center, and on the executive board of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. In 2005, he became chairman of the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Niagara River Greenway Commission. In 2006, he was named Citizen of the Year by the Niagara Gazette and Conservationist of the Year by the Niagara Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club. In 2007, Paul was elected mayor of Niagara Falls in a landslide. He won almost 80% of the vote, and won in every electoral ward in the City.

Douglas Burnham is principal and founder of envelope Architecture + Design, a collaborative design firm whose work reconceptualizes modes of living and building in ways that advance new models of public/private space and craft compelling visions of the emerging urban condition. A practicing architect for over twenty years, Mr. Burnham’s work encompasses residential, educational, commercial, civic, and hospitality building and renovation projects as well as the design of exhibitions, products, and furniture. Recent projects of note include an entry for the Emeryville Center for the Arts competition, which builds on the polycentric nature of Emeryville by distributing a network of art and performance throughout the city as an open arts construct; and proxy, a temporary two-block construct occupying vacant lots in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley and composed of locally-based pop-up stores. Conceived of as a “content machine,” proxy is an investigation into the potentials of impermanence while it seeks to re-establish the urban fabric through a combination of frame, fabric, mesh, wall and volume. Mr. Burnham was also the lead designer of the Pilara Family Foundation Pier 24 Photo Warehouse, a renovation of an historic San Francisco pier structure to house a critically acclaimed private photography collection. The design respects the raw warehouse quality of the historic structure to posit a range of relationships between storage and display. His hospitality projects include numerous celebrated Bay Area restaurants such as Delfina, Delfina’s Pizzeria’s, Locanda, Contigo Restaurant, Commis in Oakland, and Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley.

Heather Deal was first elected to Vancouver City Council in 2005 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2011. Before that, she served as a Vancouver Park Board Commissioner from 2002-2005 and was Chair of the Park Board in 2003.

Heather brings her passions for sustainability, arts and culture, accessibility and affordability to City Hall. She has brought forward green initiatives including waste reduction in the region, programs supporting artists and expanding creative spaces in the city, increasing number and type of food carts in Vancouver, improving accessibility throughout the city, heritage retention and increasing pedestrian safety.

Heather is a professional biologist and an environmental educator and activist. She sings in the Vancouver Bach Choir, has served as President of the choir’s Board of Directors, and worked with the Portland Hotel Society to bring the Bach Choir to the Downtown Eastside for free concerts.

Born in England and raised in Michigan, she received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1982 and moved from Cleveland to Vancouver for a medical research job in 1984. After receiving her master of science degree from the University of British Columbia in Microbiology/Immunology in 1988, she did cancer research for several years before changing her career path to focus on environmental issues. Heather has developed science/environmental programs for UBC Continuing Studies, designed and taught courses for people restoring fish habitat in rivers for the Province of BC and worked on marine habitat issues with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Heather is an avid cyclist, camper, hiker, and enjoys gardening on her Kitsilano balcony.

Resources

Preparing Minnesota’s Workforce, City of Minneapolis, January 10th, 2012. Read more.

Great Streets – Neighborhood Business District Program, City of Minneapolis, April 17th, 2007. Read more.

Sustainable Connections: Linking Sustainability and Economic Development Strategies, National League of Cities, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

San Antonio and its Municipal Utility Join Forces to Establish a Clean Technology Cluster, Robert Crowe, Selection Magazine, September 1st, 2011. Read more.

America’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model, Sarah Treuhaft, Angela Glover Blackwell, and Manuel Pastor, Program for Environmental and Regional Equality, November 1st, 2011. Read more.

Job Creation on a Budget: How Regional Industry Clusters Can Add Jobs, Bolster Entrepreneurship, and, Mark Muro and Kenan Fikri, Brookings, January 19th, 2011. Read more.

The Role of Local Elected Officials in Economic Development, Christiana McFarland and Katie Seeger, January 1st, 2014. Read more.

Industrial Strategies for Distressed Urban Economies, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, September 1st, 2009. Read more.

Anchor Institutions and Urban Economic Development: From Community Benefit to Shared Values, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, October 26th, 2010. Read more.

Comparative 
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, March 15th, 2009. Read more.

Economic Development Strategy: Two Year Status Report, Portland Development Commission, July 1st, 2011. Read more.

Portland Economic Development Strategy Clusters, City of Portland, OR. Read more.

Pearson Eco-Business Zone Policy Toolkit, Partners in Project Green. Read more.

Speakers