Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 11-09 CCM Study/Work SessionMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA STUDY /WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 9, 2015 CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Study/Work Session called to order by Mayor Tim Willson at 6:03 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Tim Willson and Councilmembers April Graves, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Lin Myszkowski, and Dan Ryan. Also present were City Manager Curt Boganey, Public Works Director/City Engineer Steve Lillehaug, Director of Business and Development Gary Eitel, Assistant City Manager/Director of Building and Community Standards Vickie Schleuning, and Denise Bosch, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS AND QUESTIONS None MISCELLANEOUS None DISCUSSION OF WORK SESSION AGENDA ITEMS AS TIME PERMITS BROOKLYN CENTER UNIVERSITY FOR YOUTH - BROOKLYNK UPDATE Mr. Boganey stated that pursuant to Councilmember Graves' introduction of an idea involving youth in the City's eight-week community engagement program known as BCU at the Study Session of September 17, 2015, he felt it would be helpful to invite Rebecca Gilgen, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth, to provide an overview of the Alliance and an in-depth presentation on BrookLynk. He stated that this presentation will be helpful in establishing a common understanding of what the City is currently doing in the area of facilitating employment and career growth opportunities for youth. Ms. Gilgen stated that the mission of the Alliance is to coordinate a system of high quality accessible and fully resourced opportunities in the after-school time that lead to an increase in high school graduation and pathways to college or career and reductions in young people's experience of violence. She pointed out the community partners that provide 90 staff to work with the Alliance and four strategies including building resources; access to programs; 11/9/15 -1- coordination of programs; and quality of programs. She highlighted two initiatives including Youth in City Government and Hennepin County Youth Sports Grant - Mobile Recreation. She stated that a joint application with the City of Brooklyn Park is being submitted to fund mobile recreation vehicles as a solution to transportation barriers. This would allow the Alliance to take the recreation program into places where there are the most kids that need it. She stated that she would turn the presentation over to BrookLynk Coordinator Luis Salado-Herrera who would share more information on the program. She stated that the Minneapolis STEP-UP program has been a technical advisor for the BrookLynk program. Mayor Willson stated that Commissioner Opat has been involved in the Hennepin County Youth Sports Grant-Mobile Recreation initiative as well. Mr. Salado-Herrera stated that BrookLynk is the first program in the area to provide paid internship opportunities for young people. He stated that his role is to support BrookLynk and to ensure that every person that goes through the program develops their own personal pathway to college and career. He provided statistics proving the program is in response to a community need. He stated that the Alliance board recommended that the program customize the STEP-UP model; determine the cost and benefits; and build resources. Ms. Gilgen stated that funding for the program involved tapping into the Hennepin County resource dollars that go to the City of Minneapolis or suburban Hennepin County. She stated that the STEP-UP program was asked to run the BrookLynk program but the STEP-UP funds are geographical so they needed to get the suburban dollars. The City of Minneapolis was helpful in finding a way to implement the program in a suburban context. She stated that the State of Minnesota was also excited about the model and how it leverages the private sector internships for young people. She stated that STEP-UP will be involved for the next year to help with transitioning. Councilmember Graves asked if it was harder to get the funding being in suburban Hennepin County. Ms. Gilgen replied that there are more dollars in Minneapolis and the competition for funding is at the State level. Councilmember Graves indicated her willingness to be a voice of support for the program. Councilmember Ryan asked what committees in the House and Senate are responsible for funding and who Councilmembers can contact. Ms. Gilgen stated that this is primarily a workforce development strategy and she is not sure about the policy partners but will check and report back. She asked Councilmembers for help in identifying other funding opportunities. Mr. Boganey asked about private grants. Ms. Gilgen stated that the Youth Prize Foundation, the United Way Foundation, the Pohlad Foundation, Boston Scientific, and about 15 other entities provided grants. She stated that the $100,000 match from Youth Prize Foundation was significant. She stated that for 2016, they are looking at sustaining the program and Youth Prize has said they are open to a discussion regarding another leveraging opportunity. 11/9/15 -2- Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked about similarities with the Tree Trust program. Ms. Gilgen responded that the program models are different. Tree Trust excels at project-based learning. The key difference is that the STEP-UP and BrookLynk models are based on the concept of the paid summer internship. Mr. Salado-Herrera stated that BrookLynk was launched in February 2015 for ages 14-19 who face barriers to employment. The two key components are comprehensive work readiness training and coordinated paid internship opportunities with employers. The program structure is modeled after the STEP-UP program. The three program opportunity tiers include exploring; discovering; and achieving. The interns represent over 20 different cultures; are first or second generation immigrants; will be the first in their family to attend college; and come from low- income families. He went over current employers and the plan to expand by 50 employers. Their goal is to expand in the areas of health care, STEM, finance, education, and parks and recreation. He shared BrookLynk survey results that showed high ratings and levels of satisfaction. Ms. Gilgen stated that she first met Mr. Salado-HelTera when he was a student and that hiring him was the best decision she has made. He has built close relationships with interns and has been a tremendous asset. She went over the next steps for the program including expansion to 50 internships for next summer; continuing to coordinate program expansion to get more youth involved and engaged by bringing a YMCA to the Brooklyns; supporting the Cities' mobile recreation; and supporting program improvement for partners and all afterschool programs in the Brooklyns. Mayor Willson commented that he is excited about the program and the progress it has made in the last few years and seeing kids build life skills. Councilmember Ryan thanked Ms. Gilgen and Mr. Salado-Herrera for their presentation. He stated his appreciation for their work and his 100 percent support in meeting this critical need and asked them to let the City Council know if they need anything additional going forward. Ms. Gilgen stated that they have learned that STEP-UP does not do all of the youth employment for the City of Minneapolis and she doesn't want to give the illusion that BrookLynk solves all of our problems. She said what they have learned is that many programs are needed to provide opportunities and this is pivotal point because BrookLynk is as magnet for resources and a step in the right direction. She stated that there will be major growth in workforce development in the next five years for youth up to the age of 25. Councilmember Myszkowski asked if there were any transportation issues getting youth to the employers. Ms. Gilgen stated that their budget includes bus passes and transportation was not the problem they thought it would be. Councilmember Myszkowski asked how many employers used interns in the past. Mr. Salado- Herrera replied that for 90% of the employers, it was the first time. 11/9/15 -3- Councilmember Myszkowski stated that it is very exciting that 100% of the employers are willing to continue their involvement in the program and their positive experience will likely be relayed to other employers. Ms. Gilgen stated that a lot of time is spent with employers to understand their needs, prepare them to have an intern, and ensuring the experience is successful for them. She stated that the time spent with employers is one of their constraints with expanding next year. Councilmember Myszkowski stated that there should be a support organization for businesses that take interns. Ms. Gilgen stated that this is a challenge for businesses and the coordination piece is very important. Councilmember Graves asked how they can connect with more partners and if there is a need for mentoring. She asked about the diversion program and juvenile corrections money. She also asked how much readiness there is with student loans and budgeting. ADJOURN STUDY SESSION TO INFORMAL OPEN FORUM WITH CITY COUNCIL The Study Session adjourned at 6:45 p.m. RECONVENE STUDY SESSION Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Graves seconded to reconvene the Study Session at 6:47 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. BROOKLYN CENTER UNIVERSITY FOR YOUTH - BROOKLYNK UPDATE Continued Discussion continued regarding the BrookLynk program with Ms. Gilgen responding to Councilmember questions. Ms. Gilgen stated that their priority is expanding and understanding their partnerships. She stated that they were waiting for the new police chief to come on board to work on diversion programming and they have just completed a scan of all the college and career resources in the community. She stated that she knows there is a need for a full spectrum of college preparation and there is an emerging body of work in the college access piece. She talked about a Gateway program that taps into the student loans to fund concurrent enrollment. She stated that that they are learning a lot about how the money trickles down so that young people can get what they need and how their program can partner to best benefit youth. Councilmember Graves talked about advocating for more funding for the Youth Council to implement programs in the past. She asked if that has changed or if anything had been decided. 11/9/15 -4- Ms. Gilgen replied that it had been decided and that the Alliance realized that they needed to allocate money for the Youth Council. She stated that their 2016-17 budget reflects this and there has been a grant proposal submitted with Youth Prize to expand youth engagement and data work. Councilmember Graves asked how youth workers are supported and if there was any work being done around organizing youth workers in BrookLynk. Ms. Gilgren stated that there isn't a professional development system for youth workers, and it is a problem when young people move through the various organizations. She stated that they coordinate the After School Quality Network, which is a place where youth serving organizations can connect. Councilmember Graves and Ms. Gilgen discussed the Northside Youth Worker Collaborative, a program that Councilmember Graves is involved. Mayor Willson suggested that Councilmember Graves investigate how to bring this program to the City. Councilmember Graves stated that she has been trying to connect groups in the Brooklyns with what is already going on in north Minneapolis. Ms. Gilgen stated that it is important to determine how to get in at the community level and build connections between caring adults in the community. Mr. Boganey asked what the total number of program participants were. Mr. Salado-Herrera stated that 234 youth applied to the program with one month of recruitment and 80 youth successfully completed the work readiness training. Forty-five (45) youth applied for the available internships. Mayor Willson commented on the successful first year for the program. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson seconded to close the Study Session at 7:01 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 11/9/15 -5- STATE OF MINNESOTA) COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER) The undersigned, being the duly qualified and appointed City Clerk of the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, certifies: 1.That attached hereto is a full, true, and complete transcript of the minutes of a Study/Work Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on November 9, 2015. 2.That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held at Brooklyn Center City Hall. 3. That the City Council adopted said minutes at its November 23, 2015, Regular Session. ) - 7 City Clerk Mayor Li 11/09/15 -6-