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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No.A.i.
For Meeting of: October 15, 2019
ITEM TITLE: Summary report regarding the 2019 Council Mentorship -
Internship Program
SUBMITTED BY: Helen A. Harvey, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Aaron Markham, Chief, Yakima Fire Department
John Carney, Information Technology Services Division Manager
Robert Peterson,Airport Director, Yakima Air Terminal-McAllister
Field
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
A report summarizing the conclusion of the 2019 Council Mentorship — Internship Program is
attached. The program is an opportunity for high school students to learn about and increase
their knowledge of government. Five students worked at the City in an internship during the
summer of 2019. One student worked with the Yakima Fire Department, two students worked
with the Information Technology Services Division, one student worked with the Legal
Department, and one student worked with the Yakima Air Terminal-McAllister Field. The services
that the Interns performed at the departments are summarized in the report.
ITEM BUDGETED: NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Neighborhood and Community Building
APPROVED FOR
/ ///
Interim City Manager
SUBMITTAL:
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
CliMemo to pity anal 10/ /2019 backup Material
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Lotter rc itiontumbiu and interrchip urogram dated 10-1- 10Ia,2019 Backup Material
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MEMORANDUM
October 8, 2019
TO: The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Cynthia Martinez, Interim City Manager
FROM: Helen A. Harvey, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Aaron Markham, Chief, Yakima Fire Department
John Carney, Information Technology Services Division Manager
Robert Peterson, Airport Director, Yakima Air Terminal-McAllister Field
SUBJECT: Summary of 2019 Internship Program
Background:
In 2016, the Yakima City Council established a mentorship and internship program for students
in high school in coordination with the Yakima School District. The program is an opportunity
for students to learn about and increase their knowledge of government. We believe this has
been a beneficial program for the students and for the City.
In 2019, five high school students participated in the program from the Yakima School District.
The students were selected by the Yakima School District, and the students were from Davis
High School, Eisenhower High School, and Stanton Academy. Each student was paired with a
City Council member for the mentorship part of the program in the 2019 school year. When the
students had attended three Council activities and completed the mentorship component of the
program, the students had the opportunity to apply for a paid summer internship with the City of
Yakima. The five students applied for an internship and worked at the City during the summer.
One student worked with the Yakima Fire Department, two students worked with the
Information Technology Services Division, one student worked with the Legal Department, and
one student worked with the Yakima Air Terminal-McAllister Field. Below is a brief description
of the services the Interns provided to the departments in which they worked.
Fire Department Internship:
The Intern was of great assistance to the Fire Department staff this past summer. The Intern
provided administrative support to the organization by assisting with the reformatting and
updating of Fire Department operational procedures and policies. The Intern also assisted the fire
prevention division by entering inspection reports in the records management system. Because of
the Intern's information technology abilities, the Intern assisted in updating and reformatting the
Fire Department's web-page and Facebook page. The Intern assisted the Department's
maintenance division with reorganizing files in a manner consistent with City's records retention
criteria. The Intern observed some emergency incidents, and assisted with some firefighter rehab
operations. The Intern actively participated in Fire Department staff and Command meetings that
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Memorandum to the City Council
October 8, 2019
Page 2
exposed the Intern to the operations and function of the organization. The Intern's work ethic and
positive attitude were an asset to the Fire Department.
Information Technology Services Division Internship:
The Information Technology Services Division enjoyed working with two Interns during the
summer internship program. The Interns' main responsibility was to continue with and complete
a large geographical mapping project at Tahoma Cemetery which was started and worked on by
two Interns last summer. As a result of the geographical mapping work performed by the Interns,
the mapping project at Tahoma Cemetery is now complete. Before this mapping project,
cemetery visitors could narrow the location of their loved ones to about a quarter acre. The
Interns mapped the interred down to their headstones, making it much easier for visitors to locate
their loved ones. The Interns also verified the data of the interred. In addition, the Interns also
worked heavily this summer on detailed mapping of the schools in the City. They were able to
complete this task for all the schools. The data was ingested into the base maps that the City and
the public use on a regular basis.
Legal Department Internship:
The Legal Department was pleased to support one Intern during the summer. The Intern was
efficient and helpful in assisting with some important responsibilities and was very professional.
The Intern assisted the Prosecution Division on several projects. The Intern learned and used
several computer programs in the Legal Department, including Microsoft Word and programs
which are used for the criminal justice system, including JustWare, JIS, and Spillman. The
Intern assisted the division with closing cases and updating the database system. The Intern
organized the evidence repository and assisted in transferring the evidence to the storage annex.
In the JustWare program, the Intern updated the database regarding attorney' designations. The
Intern also assisted with a file scanning project for the Civil Division.
Yakima Air Terminal Internship:
The Yakima Airport was pleased to work with an Intern during the summer. The Intern was
exposed to various administrative functions at the Airport including the opportunity to meet and
interact with various airport businesses. The Intern's work entailed reconciling administrative
reports including airport fuel flowage, airline landings, air freight deliveries, passenger car
rentals, and passenger vehicle parking lot data. In addition, the Intern reviewed daily airfield
inspection forms to ensure compliance with Federal Aviation Administration safety standards,
airport security badge applications and annual security audits and airfield driving training
procedures. The Intern assisted the Airport with receiving mail, answering phones while
providing customers with airline information, and delivering supplies during airport meetings.
The Intern was at meetings with our local Alaska Airlines team which provided firsthand
experience with customer service and aircraft ground servicing. At the end of the summer, the
Intern expressed an interest and appreciation for the aviation industry and the personnel involved
in the industry.
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Memorandum to the City Council
October 8, 2019
Page 3
Meetings and Trainings Attended by the Interns:
The Interns attended some City Council meetings during the school year in the mentorship
portion of the program. During the summer, Interns attended some or all of the followings
trainings and meetings.
• Intern Orientation with the Human Resources Department
• City of Yakima Contemporary Leadership Training (all day course)
In addition, depending on which department the Interns worked in, some of the Interns attended
the following meetings or trainings.
• Hearings and Trial in Yakima Municipal Court (Legal Department Intern)
• First aid and CRP training at the Fire Department (Fire Department Intern)
• Active Shooter Training (Fire Department Intern)
• Budget meetings with Fire Department Administration and Finance Department (Fire
Department Intern)
• Visit to the Air Traffic Control Tower (Yakima Airport Intern)
• Visit to Wings of Freedom fly-in, airport maintenance facility and Aircraft Rescue and
Fire Fighting facilities (Yakima Airport Intern)
• Tour of Yakima Air Terminal-McAllister Field property (Yakima Airport Intern)
• Several ESR1 training courses including "Basics of Map Projections", "The Language of
Spatial Analytics", and -Python for Everyone" (Information Technology Services Interns)
Summary on Use of the Funds:
The Interns' salaries were funded from a donation from the ACLU as part of the settlement in the
redistricting case. $75,000 was to be used for the mentorship - internship program of the City of
Yakima for Yakima School District high school students.
The Finance Department has reported the below information on the wages and benefits of the
Interns during the program. The benefits were for required Social Security, Medicare, workers'
compensation and unemployment insurance.
In 2017, $10,289.38 was expended for wages and benefits of the Interns during the summer of
2017. During 2018, $21,631.21 as expended for wages and benefits of the six Interns during
the summer of 2018. $43,079.41 of the $75,000 remained for the subsequent years of the
mentorship - internship program for high school students.
In 2019, $19,383.13 was expended for wages and benefits of the five Interns during the summer
of 2019 through September 30, 2019. $23,696.28 of the $75,000 remains for the subsequent
year(s) of the mentorship - internship program for high school students.
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OCT 7 2 1D
October 1, 2019
Helen A. Harvey
Senior Assistant City Attorney
Legal Department
200 South Third Street
Yakima, WA 98901-2830
ACLU Re:Monies and Arteaga v. City of Yakima—Annual Report from the City
per Settlement Agreement
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
FOUNDATION
Dear Ms. Harvey:
Washington
Thank you very much for the letter and annual report you recently sent to
901 Fifth Ave,Suite#630 John Midgley of this office. We at ACLU-Washington are very happy
Seattle,WA 98164
(206) 624-2184 with the way the City is using the money for mentorship and internships
aclu-wa,org and have read with interest the detailed report you provided. We much
appreciate the City's work on this part of the settlement agreement.
Tana Lin
Board President
Michele Storms Sincer ,
Executive Director
Michele
Cc:
Cynthia Martinez, Interim City Manager