Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative

Taskforce for the City of Jamestown

Date: 1/11/17
Conveners: Mayor Sam Teresi Tory Irgang
Attendees:Jon Anderson, Shannon Bessette, Christina Breen, Krista Camarata Lori Cornell,Vince DeJoy, Luke Fodor, Katie Geise,Assemblyman Andy Goodell, Charlie Hodges, Liz Jones, Amy Rohler, Linda Swanson, Heather Turner
Agenda Item / Discussion / Action
Welcome & Intro
WCD Boys & Girls Club Highlights / Jeff Kroon offered highlights of the programming available at WCD Boys & Girls Club. The Club serves 5-18 year olds and offers a variety of activities, clubs and sports. Membership is $20/year but no child is ever turned away if they cannot pay. Many questions were asked including why children choose to attend Boys & Girls club instead of other places. Jeff disseminated a City of Jamestown map indicating where members and program participants live. This was of great interest by attendees.
Using a Process to Drive Change / Tory presented a process for Collective Impact, including stakeholder engagement. Tools were provided to trigger thinking and illustrate the steps the Taskforce should follow to arrive at the desired destination. / Taskforce will be given instructions prior to next meeting so that they can actively participate in Stakeholder Mapping process.
Employment Data / John Slenker from NYS Dept of Labor presented data regarding unemployment, education, salary and population. He indicated that Jamestown has a workforce issue not a job issue with an insufficient number of people aged 16-45 to replace existing workforce. He also stated high school graduation is key to moving out of poverty and “existing programs are a box of band aides not a cure or solution.”The Taskforce posted several questions regarding data presented.There was active dicussion regarding possible poverty solutions. / Amy Rohler requested data on the number of adults between the ages of 16 – 45 who are living in poverty.
Timeline Update / Tory discussed the timeline for completing the needs assessmentand the engagement of CGR to assist. It now seems that May will be an acceptable timeframe for completion of prioritization and July as a likely start for Phase II of implementing programming. / Taskforce members should bring the materials on Collective Impact to future meetings as reference.
Next Steps / A make up session will be held on 1/25 at United Way. / Invite Tim Mains and Mike McElrath to present on high school dropout and chronic absenteeism. Consider holding the meeting at Jefferson’s Administrative Building.
UPDATE: Attendees included Ann Abdella, Jana Anderson-O’Camb, David Conklin, Cory Duckworth, Bruce Dudgeon, Catherine Way