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HomeMy WebLinkAboutYouth Advisory Board - Minutes - 04/01/2009YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Regular meeting —April 1, 2009 7:00 p.m. Council Liaison: Lisa Poppaw Staff Liaison: Steve Budner, Recreation, 221-6861 Board Chairperson: Kai Stuckey Board Members Present: Lisa Parker, Brittany Belmarez, Vivian Acott and Kai Stuckey Board Member(s) Absent: Caroline Wockner Staff Members Present: Steve Budner, Administrator — Recreation Department Carol Fahring, Staff Support — Recreation Department Guest(s) Present: none Call meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Kai Stuckey at 7:10 pm. Approval of Minutes: The minutes from March 4 were approved after a motion by Kai which was seconded by Lisa (4-0). Agenda Review: There was no agenda review. Citizen Participation: The Transit Strategic Plan was presented by Kurt Ravenschlage and Nicole Hahn. The last BFO included funds for doing an update on the Transit plan. This involves the City of Fort Collins, the City of Loveland and Poudre School District. The plan needed to include the following: address city policies, foster dialogue with the communities involved, review service and performance standards, examine existing 4- phased approach to the grid transit network, and provide financial solutions. In addressing city policies, the plan needed to develop an expanded transit system, reduce carbon dioxide by 2020, enhance mobility for seniors and low-income residents, reduce roadway costs, provide funding recommendations and stimulate the economy through investment in infrastructure and operations. In order to foster dialogue with the communities, TransFort held open houses for both communities and Poudre school district and also held stakeholder briefings. Comments from the open houses included the need for more hours of service, more frequent service, a grid system, a regional transit system and more coverage in the cities and region. Phase 1 of the grid transit network in Fort Collins would include the addition of Max BRT and additional east/west service. The Mason Street corridor would have only bus traffic with new large special buses which would hold 60 passengers instead of 35 as the current buses do. A trip from the Downtown Transit Center to the south transit center would take 20 minutes, and buses would leave every 10 minutes. In Loveland there would be new bi-directional service and the number of buses would increase from 3 to 6. Also a new regional route would be added between Loveland and Longmont. Youth Advisory Board Minutes April 1, 2009 Page 2 In phase 2 Fort Collins would begin the transition to the grid network and both length of service and frequency of service would be increased. In Loveland both of those would be increased as well as the area of coverage. Also a route to Denver would be added. In phase 3 Fort Collins would transition to a full grid network with increased length and frequency of coverage. In Loveland an additional transfer facility would be added. Also routes to Windsor/Greeley and Longmont/Boulder would be added. Financial planning for a new system includes developing plans for each phase and a citizen financial advisory committee which would recommend a plan for funding. Currently the Fort Collins budget is $8 million per year. In 2011 for phase 1 the current shortfall is $3 million. For phase 2 in 2013 it is $8 million and for phase 3 in 2015 it is $11 million. For Loveland the respective shortfalls are $1 million, $4 million and $7 million. Therefore approximately $4.5 million extra is needed each year, plus money for new buses. TransFort hopes to get a grant for the buses. Mass transit builds the economy in several ways. It creates and sustains employment, enhances personal economic opportunity and saves individuals money. Every $1 billion invested in the infrastructure creates 47,500 jobs. The Mason street corridor will cost about $80 million and create about 4,000 jobs. Investment in transit provides a catalyst for real estate development and boosts the price of real estate. It reduces U.S. oil dependence and saves 1.4 billion gallons of gas annually. Mass transit also reduces carbon monoxide by 37 million metric tons annually. It benefits seniors because 25% of seniors don't drive and the number of seniors is increasing every year. It also helps low income individuals who cannot afford their own personal transportation. It reduces investment required for expansion of streets and relieves congestion and travel time. The next steps for the plan are to visit other boards. On April 28 it will be presented to City Council at a work session. On May 6, Kurt and Nicole will return to the Youth Advisory Board and present the financial plan. On May 19, they will request adoption of the plan by City Council. Chairman's report: Kai wondered if it would be possible to make a park out of the area by Fort Collins High School, McDonalds and Sonic. Other business: 1) Work plan specifics — Brittany said she would put a feedback box in schools to determine what the kids like, don't like and would like to see. She also would like to survey at least 20 students in each school and survey 2 schools each month. First she would decide which schools to visit and contact the principals. Also she would like to do a YAB promotional event which would incorporate outside groups, a fundraiser, get grants and sponsors which could donate gifts for a raffle. Another idea is a youth job fair which would include volunteer jobs. She would invite the police, mayor and city council. Local colleges could present information about financial aid. City facilities would also be represented. There also would be some form of entertainment. Still to be decided would be the date and location of the fair. Youth Advisory Board Minutes April 1, 2009 Page 3 Kai would like a Battle of the Bands in the Music Fest. Also she would like members to write press releases to be published in the Coloradoan every other month. They could be tied to the Speaker series. Some ideas for the speakers are magistrates, an expert on drug and alcohol abuse and motivational speakers on a variety of topics. Steve suggested that the board meet with Kristie Blackmon on Monday, April 13 at 4 pm to talk about the Music Fest. Other ideas for the work plan were to volunteer as a board, eg. at the Food Bank and to have a fundraiser at Barnes and Noble where they give a group a percentage of cheesecake sales. 2) Youth Recreation update by Steve Budner — Summer registration for classes begins April 16. At registration participants will be given a survey about the Recreator. The kite festival is April 25. 25,000 fliers about the availability of reduced fees were given out to children through the Poudre School District. 3) Agenda for May meeting — Kirk and Nicole will return for the funding presentation. We will have a final discussion and adoption of the work plan. We will discuss summer meetings and a retreat. 4) Vivian Acott submitted her resignation to open the way for another youth on the board. The meeting was adjourned at 9:09 pm. Respectfully submitted, Carol Fahring, Staff Support The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 6 at 7:00 pm at Northside Aztlan Community Center at 112 E. Willow Street.