If you talk to the city of Des Moines, they’ll tell you that the city’s biggest issue is a financial one caused by the state of Iowa. But I think the city of Des Moines has a bigger issue that will prevent it from moving forward in these changing times: a lack of imagination.
Nothing more perfectly encapsulates this for me than their handling of 515 Run Club.
Through social media energy and charisma, 515 Run Club often attract over 100 people to jog around Gray’s Lake.
Instead of seeing a momentum of energy to build from, the City of Des Moines stepped in to derail it: designating them an “organized group” and requiring them to pre-pay over $4,000 in fees to use the trails for the remainder of the year.
What the city should have said was “thank you.”
Because 515 Run Club’s model is one that is growing in the world of running, though mainly outside the US.
Indeed, in the UK, a program called “Park Run” is a free 5K each week in parks around the country. Running influencer Rob Dalto calls this program “the smartest running idea in the world… but the US still hasn’t figured this one out.”
Dalto notes the genius of Park Run is its simplicity ― no fees, no sponsors, no registration, no T-shirt (sorry, RAYGUN), no road closures, no complex one-off event.
I am convinced that if the idea for 515 Run Club had sprung from a San Francisco-based consultant hired to pitch ideas about “livability,” the city of Des Moines would have paid them $25,000, and then rolled out a branded program.
In this era of limited financial resources, Des Moines needs citizen ideas more than ever.
Ideas become projects, projects can become businesses, and businesses can pay property taxes and attract workers.
The city’s Economic Development folks know it needs the latter: this same week the city announced $7 million in TIF-backed economic grants for street-level businesses to open downtown.
Unfortunately, the city’s parks department is extinguishing the energy that may one day lead to a tax-paying project.
And if the parks department thinks it’s looking out for the financial well-being of the city, they should realize that to cover that $7 million small-business spend, Des Moines will need 515 Run Club to bring 220,000 $1-paying runners to jog every week for the rest of the year!
The city of Des Moines’ old economic playbook has been torn up by the state of Iowa. But they should view this is as an opportunity to build a new, more flexible playbook ― one that recognizes the value of energy and ideas that flow from our community.Let the collaboration between citizens and city begin! Let’s lace up our shoes and get moving!
Mike Draper is founder and owner of RAYGUN.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines can’t afford to turn up its nose at citizen ideas | Opinion
Reporting by Mike Draper, Guest columnist / Des Moines Register
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