State auditors return to Joplin next week for followup

(Joplin City Manager Sam Anselm sent the following update to City Council members Friday.)

Good afternoon, everyone. Please see below for this week’s update.

Key Meetings 

-On Monday, I participated in a joint interview with radio stations from Tuscaloosa and Springfield to answer questions about our recovery.

-On Tuesday, I met with Phil Stinnett, representing the Joplin Sports Authority, to discuss the renewal of the lease between the city and JSA for their use of the Athletic Complex for JSA’s office needs. The current lease is set to expire in October, so Director Garrie and I will be working with JSA and our city attorney’s office over the next few months to bring that lease to the council prior to its expiration.

-Later that afternoon, Director Bolander, PIO Onstot, and I participated in a conference call with HUD officials to discuss the events planned around the five-year anniversary of the tornado, as well as their return visit for a follow-up discussion on homelessness and housing issues in Joplin. As dates are finalized we will keep you posted.

-On Wednesday, I had my regular meeting with Chamber President Rob O’Brian to discuss city/chamber topics, including the advanced training center, the progress of the Owens Corning project, and other projects.

-On Thursday, I had another phone interview with a magazine author to discuss my perspective on the role played by Joplin Schools during our recovery and the various efforts we worked together on.

-Later that afternoon I participated in the monthly meeting of the One Joplin initiative, where we heard updates from the three focus teams (health, human services, and poverty/homelessness), and began discussions about the next phase of our efforts to fulfill the group’s mission, which is to become the best non-profit community in the nation.

-Earlier today I attended the annual Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce board retreat, held at Downstream Casino. The retreat was facilitated by Ian Scott, vice president of communications and networks, with the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). We discussed their Horizon 2025 initiative and eight influences that will impact chambers of commerce, business, and other organizations in the next ten years, and how our own chamber can prepare and succeed in the face of the impacts within these areas. I invite you to view the ACCE website to learn more, with a link to their full report at the bottom of the page. The website is: http://www.acce.org/main/horizon-initiative-chambers-2025/. Personally, I walked away with several things to chew on, as many of the influences highlighted in the report are issues that our organization is already, or will be, dealing with in the near future.

Miscellaneous 

-For an update on public works projects, please see attached.

-The 2015 annual report from the police department is also included for your review.

-The staff at the Center for Priority Based Budgeting have closed the survey that you participated in to validate the Results that our organization is here to accomplish on behalf of our residents. I am currently reviewing the survey information and will share that information with you next week, but now that the results have been validated, the next step involving the city council is to add definition to those results. For example, one of the results that we have identified is a Safe, Secure and Prepared Community. But that result could mean a lot of things to a lot of people, so together we will begin the process of drilling down into the results and defining what they mean for Joplin. Thank you to those of you who participated in the survey, and stay tuned for more to come.

-Finally, as mentioned during our council meeting this week, the state auditors will be in town next week to perform their follow-up work. The field work for our regular audit concluded this week as well.