HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 07/16/2014Minutes
City of Fort Collins
Economic Advisory Commission
July 16, 2014
CIC, City Hall
11:00am–1:30pm
For Reference
Blue Hovatter, Chair 493-3673
Karen Weitkunat, Mayor & Council Liaison 416-2154
SeonAh Kendall, Staff Liaison 416-2164
Dianne Tjalkens, Minutes 221-6734
Commission Members Present Commission Members Absent
Blue Hovatter, Chair Ann Hutchison
Denny Otsuga Michael Rechnitz
Jim Clark
Michael Kulisheck (Mike)
Linda Stanley
Glen Colton
Sam Solt
Guests
None
Staff Present Staff Absent
SeonAh Kendall, Economic Policy & Project Manager
Dianne Tjalkens, minutes
Bonnie Pierce, Environmental Data Analyst
Meeting called to order at 11:05am.
Logistics
Approval of minutes
Linda moved to approve the June 18, 2014 minutes. Mike seconded.
Motion passed unanimously, 5-0-0. (Jim and Denny arrived after motion)
Public Comment—None.
Commission Member Updates
• None
Staff Updates—MOR—
• SeonAh gave the following update:
o Finishing labor force study. She will give the commission an overview of the findings. It is
a countywide study which includes commuting patterns.
o October 28 Josh Birks going before Council with Economic Health Strategic Plan update.
Will take holistic sustainability view with economic emphasis
o Foothills Mall missed bond deadline. They are still moving forward, however.
Linda added that she is hearing comments the area does not look good. She
thinks staff should keep updated on these issues.
SeonAh said there is a newsletter that citizens can sign up for that gives
notifications such as tree removal, building demolition, etc. at
www.fcgov.com/foothillsmall . There is also a site www.fcgov.com/woodward
for updates on that project. Also developing sustainability monthly e-newsletter
that will have this kind of information included.
Glen asked about status of bike trail in Woodward area. SeonAh said there was
flooding on the trail.
Agenda Planning/6-Month Agenda Planning Calendar
• Blue asked about the plastic bags ordinance and asked why this topic did not go before EAC.
SeonAh let Bruce Hendee know that the commission was unaware the plastic bag ordinance was
going to Council. Although the plastic bag ordinance passed at first reading 5-2-0, Council asked
that public outreach be completed. The second reading will be August 19. Blue suggested
changing the date of the August meeting August 13 to cover this topic. SeonAh will email the
commission to verify changing the date and ask Susie Gordon to speak.
• Jim asked if this is within the commission’s scope. Blue said there is economic impact on grocers
and low income families.
• Linda added that it is a place to analyze negative externalities, and that, as an example,
Washington DC has information at registers with data on the decrease of plastic bags in their
rivers as a result of the ordinance adopted there.
• Parking Study is going to Council on August 19. September 30 is work session on BOB2.
Economic Health Strategic Plan is in October. Most of the agendas are in regard to the budget.
The commission has the option to submit a list of offers the commission supports before the
October Council meeting.
• SeonAh will ask Josh if he can present information on the Economic Health Strategic Plan before
October.
• Glen added that the overheated economy is bringing crowding and too much traffic and rising
house prices. Linda agreed that she is hearing complaints in the community about these effects.
Agenda Item 1: Overview of Sustainability Assessment—Bonnie Pierce
Bonnie is the City’s Environmental Data Analyst and is an environmental scientist. The sustainability
assessment is an internal tool to help balance the triple bottom line in decision making. The steering
committee has 18 members including City staff from all departments. The assessment will identify key
issues early in project planning for mitigation purposes. The assessments will foster connections
between local and global concerns. Other benefits include being more inclusive of disadvantaged voices,
making the process more transparent, etc. Staff looked at over 50 tools in their preliminary research,
reviewed literature, and participated in the Utilities’ TBL Analysis Map team meetings. The steering
committee formed three subcommittees to create a framework document, research for the Toolbox,
and develop a report of assessment results for the ELT and Council. The framework document is nearly
complete and one key decision in the document is that project managers will elect to use the
assessment, and if they choose not to, must justify that decision to Council. Tool screening includes
tiers: 1. Vetting early stage concepts and programs; 2. Rigorous analysis using metrics, scores, and
ranking; and 3. Specific tools that focus on particular disciplines. The use of data is encouraged when it is
available. Leadership has asked staff to eliminate tools that cost too much or require using a specific
contractor or consultant with an annual contract. The report includes results presented quantitatively in
graphs, key issues are identified, mitigation strategies are summarized and financial costs are identified.
Phase 2 includes outreach to departments and boards, continued testing of tools, and surveys and
website updates. Staff has determined that assessments work better when the project manager scopes
the assessment based on the size of the project. Therefore, a scoping document has been developed.
They also have checklists and other tools for a comprehensive assessment. Feedback will be brought to
the ELT late October or early September.
Comments/Discussion:
• Linda said the word balance bothers her. It suggests that there are trade-offs. She thinks using
the term integration is better, to show that we can do well with all criteria. Bonnie said the
steering committee has had that discussion. They are not talking about giving in any area; it is
about being proactive, building in sustainability early, to prevent imbalances. There is also focus
on mitigation and resilience. Early sustainability assessments were about preventing
degradation. Now we are talking about improving the three facets.
• Sam said the commission has been discussing the need for tangible assessment tools like this.
He and Glen have been discussing doing this kind of work outside of the commission. He would
like some insight into the tools the team is using. Bonnie said staff is waiting for direction from
the ELT and feedback from City leadership before giving specifics.
• Mike asked if they have defined what sustainability is? Bonnie said we need a community
sustainability plan. She was the project manager for the Star Communities project for the City. It
is a national program and Fort Collins collected data on over 700 metrics. The Star Communities
program then developed aspirational goals, with a roadmap on how to get there, including local
actions and outcomes. Star Communities has a technical manual and staff determined there is
no other system that offers this.
• Mike said the issue that continues to come up is growth. It is a value judgment about what kind
of growth is desired. Does this tool/program go into the room with a set of values that it is
imposing on decisions? Bonnie said in the absence of a specific City set of goals, we have a
detailed one determined by over 250 sustainability professionals. There can be discussion and
choice of metrics that can be determined by committees.
• Linda would like to see more detail and the specific indicators.
• Sam said he sees the columns, but also looks for the rows on a document like this. Bonnie said
an example under green market development is one metric of how many green buildings the
City has in stock and whether that number increases over time. These are options, not
dictations.
• Jim said it is easy to move from fact to opinion easily in sustainability. In issues of the economy,
the devil is in the details of what the action plans, measurements, and metrics are. A recent
building could have spent $200,000 more to get a LEED certification, or do the same measures
and not spend the money and not get the certification. If the City is to use this as a tool, how
much more detail will be provided before the decisions get made? Bonnie said there will not be
a formal adoption of the Star Communities metrics. It is one example of metrics that can be
used to flesh out the details. There are creative and progressive measures in all three areas.
• Linda said she would like to delve more into the economic health measures because the
currently available tools are blunt measures. We can make value judgments about how we want
our economy to look, and look for tools that get us there. Bonnie added that the metrics are for
progress toward an aspirational goal.
• Bonnie showed the Considerations Checklist that includes economic, social and environmental.
In the tools, there are links and contact information to learn more about how the tools have
been used in other communities.
• Glen said this community desperately needs these kinds of assessments as we are trying to be
everything to everyone. It will come down to whether we have enough resources for the
number of people we have. How can we be sustainable if we are adding 3000 to 4000 new
people to the community each year? We need a steady state economy, not based on economic
and population growth. Bonnie said that is a huge theme in ecology. Glen hopes that this kind of
tool will be used when we attract new businesses, where we are bringing in companies that will
use more water and bring in new people who will compete for housing. We don’t have a tool
that integrates how it is not all great when you are growing. No one wants to talk about
population until build out. If we are going to build out, we might have to decide it is okay if not
every business can come here.
• Bonnie said she recommended to our Sustainability Services Area is that when we develop a
sustainability strategic plan that they look at this and choose what we want, develop goals and
objectives.
• Mike said he is concerned that we keep going back to all these measures, which can easily lend
themselves to cherry picking the numbers and stats you want to justify anything. Bonnie said
the project has a framework that you cannot do this alone, that you must bring in multiple
perspectives.
• Sam said growth is exponential, not linear. Not all of the growth we are seeing is good. The
horse is out of the barn on this already. The steering committee should have influence outside
of City staff.
• Jim said 1. He thinks we are a community that needs to go beyond “my way or my way” and go
toward “our way”; 2. You will never take opinions out of this. However, if you talk about
reducing GHG without economic harm, that is positive integration; and 3. The private sector
needs to be brought into the discussion.
• SeonAh added that this conversation is being limited right now because staff is waiting for
direction from the Executive Lead Team.
• Glen hopes that a sustainability assessment will be required for projects, not optional. Bonnie
said putting the responsibility on the project manager and having them justify if not using would
be enough push to do this consistently. SeonAh added that the there is a checklist on the project
management website that can link to this assessment as well.
• Denny said that he thinks growth is a topic that everyone here has different options on and that
is good and healthy. When people talk about growth, he thinks it is an unavoidable fact of life.
What can we impact as governmental policy at the City level? No policy that we can influence
here is going to affect population growth. People have to go somewhere. We can’t close the
border at the City limit and stop people from coming here. He wants smart growth. Cities that
have no growth are dying. Bonnie said she doesn’t want these tools to be viewed as something
to measure a status. It is not just data. There are thinking questions asked in the tools. One tool
used by Eugene, OR, asked, “Have you considered the impact of growth on your project moving
forward?” It is not beyond the scope of City policy. It stimulates inclusiveness of various ideas.
• Denny said he is concerned that when tools like these are used it can become draconian and
hard lined. But if you have the checklist of things to think about, you get a reminder to think of
aspects outside of your area of expertise. He would not want every project to have to check
every box. Bonnie said the checklist is an optional document to help when pulling together a
team. The preliminary assessment asks questions about impact on gender, homeless, etc. It is to
stimulate thought; not a performance measurement.
• Glen said he thinks there are things we can do about growth at every level. We could do a better
job of saying we are at our limit instead of attracting more, or focus on attraction to smaller
towns that have water and resources. We have a responsibility to our leaders to let them know
our resources are reaching their limit and we should not attract more people.
• Denny said he does not think the City is going out to the world to recruit people, but we need to
consider growth and future infrastructural needs.
• Jim said we are seeing people moving here because they can work from home. You cannot use
economic policy to stop that. People are exiting New York and California. Linda said we don’t
need to provide places for them to work, though, by attracting more businesses.
• SeonAh said we are net exporters of commuters. People may choose to live here and commute
to other communities, or perhaps they cannot find jobs in this area. Linda said they have made a
lifestyle choice not to live where they work.
• Jim said the more you make this a great place, the more you attract more people.
• The commission requested quarterly updates from Bonnie on this topic.
Agenda Item 2: ¼ Cent Community Capital Project Matrix—SeonAh Kendall
SeonAh sent a spreadsheet and description of all the projects before the meeting. She received four
responses. She will resend the information as not all members submitted.
Comments/Discussion:
• Jim said one problem with this is that when you get into road improvements, the descriptions
don’t give enough information. He thinks the downtown restroom is a priority because he sees it
every day, but he cannot give opinions on roads he doesn’t often use.
• Linda said many of these items should come from the general fund. Denny agreed.
• Mike said BOB1 pays a number of things that should come from the general fund, but people
don’t want to pay taxes.
• Jim said we need a “blue bear.” Denver had a campaign when the zoo was going to close. The
zoo became iconic. In the last BOB we had the Museum of Discovery. Is there something here
that citizens think will be great for the community? Linda said the community market place
could be it. Jim said when we passed KFCG we had a problem and wanted to keep our
community going during hard economic times. Having a new City hall building front and center
is a mistake.
• Blue asked if there are infrastructure needs we won’t be able to meet if they are not included in
this. We need to make sure we maintain our infrastructure. We talk about the Mason Corridor,
but we don’t have funds to make it successful. It is not sexy to talk about bus lines and parking,
but this might be the only option to get these done.
• Linda said there were groups of things that could be packaged to market them. There are
neighborhoods that need improvements.
• Blue said the community marketplace got a high score, and is something the community can
grab hold of.
• SeonAh said she averaged the responses and highlighted anything over a 3 rating. One issue is
that the projects have estimated costs. When Ginny comes back, EAC can have an
understanding of what we’d like to recommend or get more information on. She also totaled the
costs of all projects that were ranked over a 3.
• Glen said when talking about cost for building out northeast Fort Collins, his perspective is that
the development should pay for it. The street oversizing fee should also cover impact to all other
streets in town, but Council did not raise the fees. He does not want to pay taxes to populate
the northeast part of town. He would rather put funds into projects that benefit existing citizens
and areas.
• Jim said the new people will pay taxes that will fund things for the whole City.
• Linda said new growth does not pay for itself historically. When you get a certain number of
residents the transportation needs to grow exponentially with connections, etc. Street
oversizing fees have not been looked at for a long time.
• SeonAh said the oversizing fee is for initial build, not for maintenance. Tax revenue has been
increasing. Businesses are reinvesting in their businesses in ways they could not during the
recession.
• Denny agrees with Glen on smart growth. If future need is anticipated, ways to pay for it should
be developed simultaneously.
• Blue said none of the top numbers were in street maintenance. We have an obligation to give
input on a tax that will be implemented.
• Denny said he would like to add another column with a divergence factor for the voting to see
ones that are highly bimodal. Blue said one idea behind this was to determine what we don’t
need to talk about because we all agree, and what we do.
• Glen would like a program to get solar panels on every roof. If we really want to get off of coal
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, let’s take all of the funding and put it into renewable
energy, or buy all the available land and put it into local agriculture to feed our citizens. These
are truly sustainable steps. We are nibbling the edges; we need to produce 25% of our food
locally and get jobs for the kids who want to do organic farming but can’t afford it. Let’s focus on
our priorities.
• Jim said the idea of doing one big thing that people can wrap their arms around to be truly
green has merit. If there is enough interest and this is what we need to do, with downstream
benefit that would make it even better.
• SeonAh said there is a solar program that had so much interest it had to go to a lottery system.
Jim said expansion of that project could go on this list.
• Blue asked why there isn’t something from the utility. SeonAh said they do not have their offers
here since Fort Collins Utility has their own enterprise fund.
• Linda said there is an imbalance between the department offers.
• Blue said this community has done an open space tax. We chose something we wanted to do
well and went for it. He would like to see something like that the whole community can get
behind, but he also does not want to see the infrastructure crumble because we are going for
some big cool project. Where is the citizen group that will put something together and lead? The
community can step up and think bigger.
• Mike said Ginny spent six months getting people to give us ideas and this is the result of the
input from our community.
• Linda said a group came to her a while ago about community gardens and a kitchen integrated
with social services. She told them to come to the City with their idea and they were too
intimidated to do so.
• Blue said the public open houses attract the same people every time, and they don’t feel like
places to give meaningful input.
• Jim said sometimes suggestions fall on deaf ears.
• Glen said when people are polled on what they want for natural areas, people want to buy land.
He would suggest using funds to purchase land, including for agriculture.
• SeonAh asked if Glen is involved in the local food cluster. She thinks that would be a good
conversation to have with them. Linda is working with them now and will bring it up.
• Mike said this list tells you that there are a lot of things that have to get done that our tax base
does not cover. We don’t have enough money in the budget to do the projects that need to get
done.
• Denny wonders if there is bias represented here because the input is based on what people see
is wrong every day. If you asked people about a large project they’d like to see, you would get
different responses. Mike said these come from the transportation department, these are not
ordinary people. It is hard for people to think big.
• Jim said he has never seen an initiative to do an overpass over the train tracks.
Agenda Item 3: Economic Health Budget Offers for 2015/2016—SeonAh Kendall
SeonAh forwarded recommendations from other boards to the commission. Budget Lead Teams are
meeting now and it would be good to have a recommendation from the commission get to them now in
order to have an impact.
Comments/Discussion:
• Blue asked if this topic should be bumped into August. SeonAh said the commission could give
comments to Council if waiting until the August meeting.
• The commission agreed to continue this discussion via email to give input on priorities. Each
member can forward top three offers. The commission will use a Drop Box method to collect
member input. SeonAh will set this up and send login information to members.
Meeting Adjourned: 1:37pm
Next Meeting: August 13, 2014 11:00am–1:30pm, City Hall, CIC Room
Approved by the Board on August 13, 2014
Signed
______________________________________ 8/13/2014
Dianne Tjalkens, Administrative Clerk II Date