DATE: June 14, 2016
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Manager
SUBJECT: Approval to Participate in the 2016 National Civic League - All-America
City Award Competition
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council authorizes the City Manager to form a delegation from the City, in partnership with other community representatives, to participate in the 2016 National Civic League’s All-America City Award Competition in Denver, Colorado, June 16 - 20, 2016.
SUMMARY
Last fall, the City submitted an application to compete in the National Civic League’s 67th Annual All-America City Award competition. The All-America City Award showcases local communities that successfully mobilize cross sector partnerships in order to address local challenges. The goal is to identify successful strategies used in the field and share that information broadly in order to inspire other local communities that face similar challenges, and to recognize local communities that are doing innovative and effective civic engagement work.
On March 24, 2016, the National Civic League (NCL) announced that the City of Hayward was a Finalist in the 2016 All-America City Award competition. A copy of the proposal submitted which brought us to this stage of the competition is provided as Attachment I.
The next step in the competition is to send a delegation to Denver, Colorado from June 16 to 20, 2016 to present and showcase the work of our community before a jury of judges. Ten communities will ultimately be designated as this year’s All-America City Award winners. The Press Release issued by the National Civic League, which includes a list of the twenty Finalists, is provided as Attachment II.
BACKGROUND
The All-America City Award celebrates and recognizes neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties, tribes and regions that engage residents in innovative, inclusive and effective efforts to tackle critical community challenges. The All-America City Award Program began in 1949 after a journalist approached the National Municipal League (now called the National Civic League) about an idea to name the top ten best-governed cities in America. Recognizing the difficulty of making such a judgment and understanding the vital role of civic engagement in community success, NCL leaders decided to initiate the award program to recognize communities for civic achievement.
Since the program’s inception, NCL has continued to learn from the field about what makes a city successful. As a means of sharing the lessons learned, the NCL created the “Civic Index”. This tool outlines the key variables that communities can use to evaluate and analyze their civic strengths, weaknesses, and collective efforts to solve problems and/or envision a better future. The Civic Index consists of seven areas where successful communities have demonstrated strong capabilities, including: 1) Community Leadership; 2) Public Participation and Civic Engagement; 3) Diversity and Inclusiveness; 4) Networking, Information Sharing, and Communication; 5) Decision Making and Consensus Building; 6) Partnerships and Collaboration; and 7) Community Vision and Pride.
This year, the focus of the All-America City Award competition is on communities that have taken innovative action to engage residents in ensuring that all children are healthy and supported to succeed in school and in life. The goal of the NCL is to showcase local examples of innovative and effective community problem-solving strategies that recognize the various influences that negatively impact the success of children, and which inclusively utilizes all sectors of the community to address those barriers. School attendance and healthy school projects that benefit students were identified as particular interests to showcase in the 2016 competition.
DISCUSSION
Applicants were asked to describe local initiatives that:
A) Improve school attendance;
B) Foster the health of children, parents, and/or the community;
C) Utilize positive discipline interventions;
D) Address transportation barriers;
E) Work to reduce and counter-act the effects of poverty;
F) Foster healthy food access;
G) Create job opportunities (for students, parents, and other community members);
H) Create affordable and safe housing; and/or
I) Support safe and healthy natural environments.
This year, applications were sought from communities that described not only work that has been accomplished, but which also describe current, ongoing, or near-future projects, programs, and/or visioning processes that are underway and are designed to address one or more of the areas noted above.
The Hayward Story
Applicants were asked to demonstrate how cross-sector partnerships have been utilized to successfully address pressing community challenges in the past, as well as current and future initiatives, by “telling their story.” The Hayward community’s application described several projects and initiatives conducted by the City in collaboration with other local public agencies, community and faith-based service organizations, local residents (youth and adults), as well as local business representatives.
City community engagement programs such as the Hayward Neighborhood Partnership Program and #Connect Hayward; the Hayward Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program; the Keep Hayward Clean and Green Task Force, and the Adopt-A-Block program; the work of the Hayward Youth Commission; and the environment and conservation initiative, called Hayward Unite2Green, operating under the auspices of the City’s Utilities and Environmental Services Department, were all included in our application. HUSD’s Parent and Student Engagement programs, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center’s Promotoras community health and adult leadership development strategy, and La Familia’s Hijos de Sol (youth leadership development) programs were also highlighted in the application. Through these initiatives, we demonstrated how our community utilizes cross-sector stakeholder engagement strategies to gain community members’ support for and active participation in, neighborhood development and community improvement projects. Examples described include: the Hayward Mural Program; the creation of a pedestrian-friendly downtown with a balanced mix of housing, retail shops, offices and restaurants; the South Hayward BART Development Project that includes affordable and market-rate housing as well as retail property; and the recently initiated South Hayward Family Center Project.
The Hayward Promise Neighborhood Initiative was another example of our community’s significant cross-sector partnerships which have made demonstrable progress toward improving the education pipeline, from cradle to career, for Hayward students and families. The Hayward Promise Neighborhood Resident Engagement Strategy and the Neighborhood Health and Empowerment Network were strategies that the NCL application reviewers identified as noteworthy. Application reviewers also cited the following items as strengths in our application:
A. The 21st Century Learning Centers conducted by the Hayward Library in conjunction with the Hayward Unified School District and hundreds of community volunteers and service-learning students from California State University-East Bay and Chabot Community College;
B. The Adult Technical Education courses offered by Eden Regional Occupational Program that are offered as part of a multi-generational anti-poverty strategy;
C. The various HPN supported parenting classes and wrap-around services designed to help young children become Kindergarten-ready; and
D. The Alameda County Office of Education’s Project EAT (Educate, Act, Thrive) - conducted in collaboration with HPN, the City, and the Hayward Unified School District. The reviewers were particularly impressed with the creation of paid culinary workforce development internships for high school students, and the opportunities created for them to impact local urban agriculture public policies.
Three Highlighted Projects:
Each applicant was required to identify three projects that best exemplify how cross-sector resources and perspectives are used to address complex community issues. This year, applicants were directed to describe local efforts that help to ensure the success of all children in our community through health, healthy community, and/or education related strategies. Work that highlights the improvement of student attendance in school and/or reflect the intersection of health and education were also areas of particular interest.
The three projects highlighted in the Hayward application include:
1. South Hayward Fire House /Health Clinic: This collaboration between the County, the City, and Tiburcio Vasquez Community Health Clinic stood out as being unique and innovative. The reviewers were particularly impressed with the way that the project leveraged community trust in firefighters to respond to a community health need. They noted that community leaders took ample time to gather residents’ input and plan the project to ensure that it was sustainable, and they felt that this reflected in a genuine way the community’s needs and desires, including the need to continue to provide dental and mental health services in the South Hayward area in the future.
2. Healthy Families: This section of the application focused on the Hayward community’s creative approach to joining after-school education support, youth and adult literacy programs, access to healthy meals for low-income families, and strategies to bridge the digital divide - all aligned within the Hayward Promise Neighborhood collaboration framework. The engagement of students and parents in the planning, promotion, and evaluation of services, and the use of data in determining program effectiveness were noted as important elements of our work.
3. Hayward Youth and Family Services Bureau: The Hayward Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Bureau (YFSB) - and its many programs, services, and partnerships - was the third initiative highlighted in our application. This was described by the application reviewers as another example of the Hayward community’s innovative approach to serving at-risk youth and their families. Highlighted YFSB programs included:
a. The Junior Giants Summer Program, where Hayward youth have the opportunity to participate in skill building, team building, and character development activities while receiving healthy food and educational support while developing positive, fun, relationships with law enforcement officers who volunteer as coaches; and
b. The Our Kids Our Families Program, which is YFSB’s school-based mental health service provided to students and their families. This service is conducted in partnership with the Alameda County Behavioral Health Services Agency.
In addition to the All-America City Award, which honors the whole community, each Finalist had the opportunity to submit applications to recognize local youth between the ages of 14 and 25, who:
1. Exemplify the All-America City criterion of: impact, inclusiveness, innovation, collaboration, and civic engagement;
2. Had an impact on the wider community by making a positive difference;
3. Inspired others to get involved and undertake comparable efforts; and
4. Demonstrate the insight and courage to collaborate across lines that usually divide people.
Hayward is the only Finalist that nominated four applicants for the 2016 All-America City Youth Award. The Cities of Indio and Las Vegas each nominated three applicants, and eight other communities submitted one nomination each, for a total of 18 nominations. The names of Hayward’s nominees, and a description of their accomplishments, are provided as Attachment III.
A committee of national experts will review the Youth Award applications and interview the applicants during the All-America City Awards conference. The winner will be announced Sunday night, June 19, 2016, at the All-America City Awards conference.
While at the conference, the delegation members from each of the twenty Finalist communities will have an opportunity to attend workshops, meet in small groups with one another to share community improvement ideas and strategies, and showcase their respective communities in a trade-show type environment, as well as celebrate and have fun.
The Hayward delegation is made up of thirty-four community members. In addition to the City, the delegates will be co-sponsored by: the Hayward Unified School District, the Hayward Adult School, California State University East Bay, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Moreau Catholic High School, and support from private Hayward community members. The roster of delegation members is provided as Attachment IV.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Local communities that win the prestigious All-America City Award benefit from national exposure which in turn serves to attract and retain local businesses and residents. Past winners of this award report that they experienced increased tourism, grants, and enhanced bond ratings. They also report that cross sector partnerships have been strengthened and civic engagement and community pride was enhanced as a result of participating in this national competition.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff would like to sponsor ten members of the delegation, including: the Mayor, the City Manager, the Fire Chief, the Neighborhood Services Manager/Assistant to the City Manager, the Education Services Manager, the Volunteer Coordinator, and four community members. The maximum cost to the City would be an amount not to exceed $15,000. No additional allocation is needed, as these expenses will come from available resources already in approved Departmental budgets.
Estimated Delegate Cost:
1. Event Registration: $100 per person
2. Airfare: $360 round trip
3. Hotel: $825 per person for four nights
4. Food: $140 for three days in Denver.
5. Ground Transportation: $ 20 round trip: Airport to Hotel and back.
6. Sub-Total Per Person: $1,445
7. Sub-Total Delegation Exp.: $14,450 ($1,445 x 10 City Sponsored Delegates)
8. Presentation Supplies and Equipment: $550
9. Maximum Expense: $15,000
Each delegate’s cost will vary depending on their length of stay in Denver, whether the delegate shares a hotel room, and whether they are included in the group airfare, or are paying an individual rate. To help off-set the delegation expenses, the City applied for and received a $1,500 scholarship from the National Civic League. This scholarship made it possible for some of the Hayward students and community members to participate.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Contact was made with the organizations and individuals noted on Attachment IV in order to obtain sponsorships for the Hayward delegation. Additionally, the National Civic League issued a Press Release (Attachment II) nation-wide in March when the twenty Finalist communities were announced. Local press releases and a social media campaign is planned for release the week of June 20, after the Hayward community stands poised to bring home the 2016 All-America City Award.
NEXT STEPS
The Hayward delegation, along with the other 19 Finalist communities, will present the “Hayward Story” to a jury of nationally recognized business, local government, and philanthropic leaders in Denver on Saturday, June 18, 2016. The winners of the competition will be announced Sunday evening, June 19th.
Prepared by: David Korth, Assistant to the City Manager
Recommended by: Kelly McAdoo, Assistant City Manager
Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments:
|
Attachment I |
Hayward Application for the 2016 All-America City Award |
|
Attachment II |
Press Release - 2016 All-America City Award Finalists |
|
Attachment III |
Hayward, CA, All-America City Youth Award Nominees |
|
Attachment IV |
Hayward, CA - All-America City Award Conference Delegation Roster |