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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Ad Hoc Boards and Commissions Committee - 07/19/2023 -7/19/2023 – Minutes Page 1 Minutes Ad Hoc Committee for Boards and Commissions July 19, 2023 – 4:00 PM Remote Only via Zoom at https://fcgov.zoom.us/j/95883901057 Remote Participation Available A) Call Meeting to Order • 4:08 PM B) Roll Call • Committee Members Present: Julie Pignataro, Emily Francis (Chair), Tricia Canonico • Staff Members Present: Davina Lau, Rupa Venkatesh, Jenny Lopez-Filkins, Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Claudia Menendez, Aaron Iverson, Cortney Geary, Tyler Marr, Mike Calhoon • Members of the Public: Kelly Ohlson, Emily Gallichotte, Sara Arfmann C) Approval of Minutes 1. The purpose of this item is to approve the draft minutes of the June 15, 2023, Ad Hoc Committee for Boards and Commissions meeting. Committee Member Pignataro made a motion, seconded by Committee Member Canonico, to approve the minutes of the June 15, 2023 meeting minutes. The motion was adopted unanimously. D) Discussion / Informational Items 2. Review and discuss the Resolution forming the ad hoc committee, the Women’s Advisory Board, the Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Affordable Housing Board and the request from Housing Catalyst, an update from the Golf Board, the final draft of the Code of Conduct and complaint process, the final draft of Anti-Discrimination and Anti- Harassment Policy, and to formally vote on Committee recommendations. The purpose of this item is to review and discuss the Resolution forming ad hoc committee, the Women’s Advisory Board, the Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Affordable Housing Board and the request from Housing Catalyst, an update from the Golf Board, the final draft of the Code of Conduct and complaint process, the final draft of Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy, and to formally vote on Committee recommendations. Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh commented on the reason the ad hoc committee was formed. Committee Member Pignataro stated if Council finds that sunsetting, repurposing, or creating new Boards becomes such a frequent event that it is worthy of either setting up a permanent committee or rekindling this Ad Hoc Committee to discuss a more thorough process, that right exists. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh discussed the process by which three or more Council members could direct staff to go through the series of questions developed by the Committee related to sunsetting, repurposing, or creating a new Board. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh discussed the history of the Women’s Advisory Board noting it stopped meeting in January of 2022. In May of 2023, a community member requested a repurposing of the Board to include broader gender equity issues. She outlined the indicators 7/19/2023 – Minutes Page 2 that can be used to help Council make a determination of that type, including whether the Board provides recommendations to Council, quorum issues, and whether the scope of the Board could fall under another Board or Commission. In this case, she stated the Human Relations Commission could possibly be considered as an entity that would share the same scope. Claudia Menendez, Equity Officer, discussed a conversation with the Human Relations Commission (HRC) regarding adopting some of the concept and work of the Women’s Advisory Board. Additionally, the Commission felt that broadening the scope of the Board to include gender equity issues also has its own merit; therefore, the ultimate recommendation of the HRC was to reignite the Board in that fashion. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh discussed other communities with gender equity boards or commissions and further detailed the community member’s suggestion for such a board, including some proposed goals. She stated the Committee could recommend unpausing the Board, keeping it as is or repurposing it, or sunsetting the Board, and staff would request direction to bring back a more substantial recommendation for Council consideration. Committee Member Pignataro stated she would like to unpause and consider repurposing it into more of a gender issues board rather than gender equity board. Menendez stated the use of the word ‘equity’ would imply that issues are going to be addressed, and a variety of needs will be considered. Committee Member Pignataro suggested repurposing the Board as the Gender Equity Advisory Board as including the word ‘advisory’ may help set some expectations for members. She also suggested reducing the number of members to seven. Committee Member Canonico asked if the Board must be unpaused or whether it can be dismantled and started anew. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh noted Council did not make any formal action to pause the Board and therefore does not have to make any formal action to unpause it; therefore, the Board could be repurposed to something different in the Code. Jenny Lopez-Filkins, City Attorney’s Office, outlined the possible options for moving forward. Chair Francis stated a Gender Equity Board would have a different focus than a Women’s Advisory Board and noted there is still an equality gap for women; therefore, she suggested the possibility of the name “Women and Gender Equity Board” without the word ‘advisory,’ because no other Boards contain that name and there is no avenue for the Board to advise. Committee Member Pignataro noted the Natural Resources Advisory Board and Air Quality Advisory Board do exist and suggested the name ‘Women and Gender Equity Advisory Board.’ Chair Francis stated she would look at the proposed Code changes to determine whether ‘advisory’ makes sense under the proposed duties of the Board. Lopez-Filkins stated both the Charter and Code indicate all boards and commissions act in an advisory capacity to City Council. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh asked if Committee members concur on the Board having seven members. Committee members replied in the affirmative. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh asked if the County and CSU should still each appoint an ex officio non-voting liaison member. Committee Member Pignataro questioned how often that occurred. Committee Member Canonico suggested reaching out to the entities to see if they are still interested in those appointments. Committee Member Canonico asked about the staff liaison recruitment process. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh replied staff liaisons are typically assigned to a Board if it falls under the function of their department and this type of Board would typically look to the Equity Office for a 7/19/2023 – Minutes Page 3 liaison; however, there is currently not capacity to add an additional Board in that Office. She stated all City employees could be asked if they have interest in being the liaison and applications and interviews would occur. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the history of the Bicycle Advisory Committee and discussed its role as an advisory committee to the Transportation Board. She noted the make- up of the Committee is different in that it includes members from various Boards and Commissions and the City Manager is responsible for making appointments. She stated a request has been received from some members of the Committee to create a stand-alone Board, which was also a recommendation in the Active Modes Plan. She stated some items get delayed going to Council due to the hierarchical structure requiring the Committee to report first to the Transportation Board. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the original purpose of creating a stand-alone Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and requested input as to whether the BAC would fall under the purview of the Transportation Board, based on how the Transportation Board Code is written. She noted the Code language calls out one of the functions of the Transportation Board to be alternative modes planning, including bikeways, pedestrian facilities, transit, and vehicle carpooling. Cortney Geary, FC Moves and BAC staff liaison, discussed the recommendation of the Active Modes Plan to turn the BAC into an Active Modes Advisory Committee to be more representative of different modes of transportation, including people with disabilities. She outlined the initial feedback received from BAC members which included a desire to keep the focus on cycling; however, there was an understanding of the limitations of creating multiple committees with different active modes foci. She stated there was general consensus to move toward an Active Modes Advisory Committee and assessing needs for different types of representation. She outlined the current 16-person membership and stated staff will be engaging the Committee at its next meeting to develop a draft proposal of what the membership could look like if the Committee were to transfer to Active Modes. She also noted the current members have given the most support for the Active Modes Advisory Committee to remain a sub-committee while having the ability to make recommendations directly to Council. In terms of feedback from the Transportation Board, Geary noted members were questioning the purpose of the Board should an Active Modes Committee become a full Board and whether its focus would become only non-active modes. Committee Member Pignataro asked if there are other sub-committees. Davina Lau, Public Engagement Specialist, replied this is one of two, the other belonging to the Citizen Review Board. Committee Member Pignataro asked about the different types of active modes. Geary replied active modes include any human- or small electric-powered vehicle, including walking, biking, rolling in a wheelchair, E-bikes, scooters, skateboards, and one-wheels. She also mentioned the Committee includes three at-large members and specific representatives of other community organizations such as Bike Fort Collins, Fort Collins Bike Co-op, the Downtown Development Authority, Poudre School District, and Colorado State University. Chair Francis stated it makes sense to rename the Committee ‘Active Modes’ and that it also makes sense for the Committee to be able to more directly provide feedback to Council. She also commented on the value of having members from other Boards; however, she noted the proposed Code changes would allow for more coordination between Boards. Additionally, she noted there are instances wherein Board work overlaps and stated it would be helpful to have a Committee looking more holistically at active modes. 7/19/2023 – Minutes Page 4 Committee Member Canonico stated the Committee should shift to Active Modes, though she was unsure how it should be addressed in terms of structure. She stated there is value in having a larger membership number with representatives from outside groups. Chair Francis suggested the Board could become nine members with ex officio members. Committee Member Canonico noted the current members all have voting rights and demoting them to non-voting members could be difficult. Chair Francis suggested the Committee be a regular Board with additional ex officio members. She stated it seems too complicated to have the Committee remain with its current membership while also having a direct line of communication to Council. Geary suggested staff could discuss the possibilities with the BAC and Transportation Board at upcoming meetings and bring feedback to the August 8th Council work session. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the process under which Council would address a request for a structural change to a Board, including a memo from staff with background information then the need for Council to bring up the topic under Other Business for consideration. She stated a request was received from the Executive Director of Housing Catalyst regarding the organization having an ex officio, non-voting seat on the Affordable Housing Board. Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Social Policy and Housing Programs Manager, stated Housing Catalyst has wanted a seat on the Affordable Housing Board for many years; however, it was not a practical issue as Kristin Fritz has been a part of the Board for the past eight years, though she is now term-limited and is cycling off the Board. Some of the Board’s requirements, such as residency, have kept other Housing Catalyst employees from seeking a position on the Board, and occasionally the Housing Catalyst member has had to be recused from conversations, particularly those regarding competitive process funding. Beck-Ferkiss stated the request came in again to consider having an ex-officio, non-voting, advisory member from Housing Catalyst and members of the Affordable Housing Board support that idea and have seen value in having a Housing Catalyst member on the Board. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the proposed Code language that would allow this change and stated Council would not be a part of the interview process in this case because the appointment would come from Housing Catalyst. She requested a recommendation from the Committee members. Chair Francis asked why the seat would not be for any affordable housing developer rather than Housing Catalyst specifically. Beck-Ferkiss replied it relates to Housing Catalyst being the City’s Housing Authority which makes for a unique relationship. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh also noted the request came from Housing Catalyst directly. Beck-Ferkiss also noted the Board also has had other housing provider representatives on it, including CARE Housing. Committee Member Pignataro stated she would support the request and if having only a member from Housing Catalyst becomes a problem, the topic could be revisited. Committee Member Canonico concurred. Chair Francis also concurred and noted Housing Catalyst does coordinate other affordable housing developments and therefore has a good idea of the holistic view of the developments coming in. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh commented on the current status of the Golf Board noting there are only four active members. She noted staff members Mike Calhoon and Scott Phelps previously outlined reasons that it could make sense to consolidate the scope of the Golf Board 7/19/2023 – Minutes Page 5 within the Parks and Recreation Board and that the Committee gave a recommendation to move forward with that piece; however, there is a need to ensure the four active Golf Board members are given the opportunity to add the remainder of their term temporarily to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. At the last Golf Board meeting, Calhoon and Lau discussed that possibility with the members present. Mike Calhoon, Parks Department Director, stated only one of the current active Golf Board members is interested in shifting to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; therefore, that Board could be temporarily increased to ten seats to allow that individual to serve out the remainder of their term. Assistant City Manger Venkatesh asked the Committee members for input on that possibility. Chair Francis supported that change if it is temporary. Other members concurred. Lopez-Filkins discussed the new provision of the Code of Conduct that would prohibit Board or Commission members from actively participating in matters that interfere with a quasi-judicial Commission member’s ability to remain impartial in making decisions. Chair Francis stated supported the change given these are the same rules Council must follow with quasi-judicial matters. Committee Member Pignataro requested additional detail on the language. Lopez-Filkins replied the draft language requires a quasi-judicial Commission member to avoid actively participating in other matters that call into question their ability to remain impartial in the decisions they are making as a Commission member; it is not a matter of members recusing themselves from a decision, but is about actively participating in outside things. Committee Member Canonico suggested providing some examples or clarifying language. Lopez-Filkins replied that could be added. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the other large policy change the Committee has been considering: the document formerly known as Respectful Workplace Policy, which, if approved by the full Council, will be called the Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy. Lopez-Filkins stated the POWR (Protecting Opportunities and Worker’s Rights) Act, which goes into effect on August 7th, was recently signed into law at the state level; therefore, some changes to the Policy were necessary to align with that law, including a change to the definition of harassment, and clarifying what constitutes a violation of the Policy. She stated if the Policy is adopted, more changes may be necessary in the future as the law continues to develop with the new act being in effect. Committee members supported the changes. Assistant City Manger Venkatesh provided a recap of the work completed by the Committee and the specific recommendations that will be discussed by the full Council. She specifically discussed a recent Economic Advisory Board member who completed the exit interview survey which was provided to the staff and Council liaisons. Committee Member Canonico stated Councilmember Peel, who is the Council liaison, shared that exit interview with her today and asked what will come of the information provided by the former Board member. Lau stated the anonymous pulse check survey has been designed to determine how members feel about the general workings of a Board and whether members feel their work is valued. Lau noted she will begin making it clear that Board members will not be influencing policy but will be advising Council. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh noted those exit interviews will be discussed with staff liaisons immediately to ensure any identified issues are addressed. 7/19/2023 – Minutes Page 6 Committee Member Canonico asked if the orientation program for new Boards and Commissions members will also be rolled out to current members. Lau replied the onboarding program was shared with all staff liaisons and all members are invited to those meetings. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the items addressed by the Committee in its work, including those that will and will not need to be addressed by the full Council. Lopez-Filkins provided the list of eight item groupings that will need to be addressed by the full Council and stated, if members are in consensus, they can be grouped into one motion. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh outlined the eight items, including changes to the Youth Advisory Board, the Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct which must be adopted by resolution, Council liaison roles and responsibilities being moved into the Code, language that would make it easier for two or more Boards to have joint meetings, and extending current terms due to the calendar change for recruitment and appointment timing. Committee Member Pignataro made a motion, seconded by Committee Member Canonico, to approve recommending all eight Committee actions be considered by the full Council. Yeas: Francis, Pignataro, and Canonico. Nays: none. THE MOTION CARRIED. Assistant City Manager Venkatesh stated the other item that will be brought forward to the August 8th Council work session is changes to the Boards and Commissions Manual. Additionally, Council will consider ordinances at the September 5th and 19th meetings and resolutions at one or the other of those meetings. Councilmember Kelly Ohlson thanked members for allowing him to attend the Ad Hoc Committee meetings and commended the work of the members. E) Other Business F) Adjournment • 5:42 PM Upon request, the City of Fort Collins will provide language access services for individuals who have limited English proficiency, or auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities, to access City services, programs and activities. Contact 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Dial 711 for Relay Colorado) for assistance. Please provide advance notice. Requests for interpretation at a meeting should be made by noon the day before. A solicitud, la Ciudad de Fort Collins proporcionará servicios de acceso a idiomas para personas que no dominan el idioma inglés, o ayudas y servicios auxiliares para personas con discapacidad, para que puedan acceder a los servicios, programas y actividades de la Ciudad. Para asistencia, llame al 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Marque 711 para Relay Colorado). Por favor proporcione aviso previo cuando sea posible. Las solicitudes de interpretación en una reunión deben realizarse antes del mediodía del día anterior.