Imagine Perry with streets that collect and store solar energy, lined by lamps whose color you can control. Imagine Perry residents coming together for community potlucks, dining on foods grown in their own community gardens and allotments.
Imagine a public wifi hub that gives the whole town high-speed internet connectivity. Imagine a smartphone app that lets you listen to last night’s high school concert or sporting event or that easily connects you with local volunteer opportunities or to paid jobs in the community.
These and similar dreams did not seem so far fetched when 20 students in Mark Ruelas’ Business 220 class took them on as part of a Smart Cities research project. The DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy students presented their bright ideas Wednesday afternoon in a series of presentations for seven city leaders.
“These are some great ideas,” said Perry Mayor Jay Pattee at the end of the presentations. “It’s exciting to see young people come up with such creative and also really practical ways to improve the quality of life in Perry.”
Pattee was joined at the Smart Cities talks by Perry City Council members Chuck Schott and Dean Berkland, Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson, Perry Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Hinds, Perry Public Works Director Jack Butler and Perry Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Wilson.
You could see the lights going off in the elders’ minds as the young people sketched out their plans for a green and pleasant Perry.
“These are just the kinds of improvements that will keep people in Perry or bring them back,” Peterson said. “You will soon fly the nest for college, and many of you might not move back to Perry after school, but we want to make Perry a place people want to move back to because of just these kind of innovations.”
Pattee drew a comparison between the idea of solar roadways and discussions the city has had along a similar line.
“These ideas are really not so far fetched,” Pattee said. “We’ve talked about building something like a carport above one of the downtown parking lots and mounting solar panels on the roof. These are ideas whose time has come and while we face some financial challenges implementing some of them, they are on the horizon, and you are the young people who will eventually make them realities.”
Wilson took up the one group’s idea for a smartphone app called “Go Hunt” that would connect volunteers with opportunities and job seekers with jobs. The group explained that PHS students need to complete 90 hours of volunteering in the community in order to qualify for the honors program, but places to volunteer can be hard to find.
“I had no idea that the kids felt like it was hard to find volunteer hours,” Wilson said. “So I learned stuff here today. It’s like, ‘Oh, so these kids need volunteer hours? Great! Now let’s find a way to communicate.’ It kind of all boiled down to communication and making sure everybody’s on the same page, which is something I think we all try to do.”
Peterson said the five teams’ presentations brought a lot of value to the table.
“They all had their own unique points of view that would add value to the community,” he said.
