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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/15/2019 04Ai Council Mentorship - Internship Program Report 't..an,gtntj ka d E$A aY 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 2 Lotter rc itiontumbiu and interrchip urogram dated 10-1- 10Ia,2019 Backup Material 19 3 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 4 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. 5 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. 6 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