HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Futures Committee - 06/29/2011 -
City Manager’s Office
City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
Date: June 29, 2011
To: Mayor Karen Weitkunat and City Councilmembers
ELT members
Through: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
From: Bruce Hendee, Assistant to the City Manager
Regarding: Futures Committee
The Futures Committee (Lisa Poppaw, Gerry Horak, Wade Troxell, and Bruce Hendee) met for
the initial organizational meeting on June 22 in Vail Colorado at the annual meeting of the
Colorado Municipal League. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the organization, intent
and schedule of the Futures Committee.
The meeting was a discussion by each of the three Councilmembers on their aspirations and
intent of the Committee. Following is a summary of the key points that were highlighted:
• The Committee should look into the future at least 30 years and further, if possible. The
intent would be to enable the community to better plan for the future and to align City
budget, finance strategies, staff, and Boards and Commissions to future endeavors.
• Planning should align with the 7 outcome areas which are described in Plan Fort Collins;
specifically economic health; environmental health; neighborhood livability; safe
community; culture, parks and recreation; high performing government; and
transportation.
• The committee membership will consist of a core group consisting of three city council
members, the city manager, and the assistant to the city manager. There may be
additional regular staff members and ad hoc staff members as required.
• The Committee should be system focused and directed to where we want to be as a
community, and not focused on how we are currently organized. In particular this would
be directed to:
o Where do we want to be as a community in the future?
o Are there measurable, clearly stated goals and objectives?
o What are the potential roadblocks to success?
o Is the budget aligned with the goals?
o Are advisory boards and commissions directly reinforcing the goals?
o Are City programs in keeping with the goals and objectives?
2
o Are the financial strategies to develop the funding for desired outcomes in place
and achievable?
• The Futures Committee should consider the larger regional context of our community in
Northern Colorado in addition to the specific local desires of the community.
• The Committee should develop a specific strategy and overall vision addressing social
issues such as homelessness and poverty. United Way has an overall structure that may
be useful to review.
• The City Open Space Plan of 1975 should also be considered as a useful model.
• Over the next year the Committee should establish the process to establish clearly defined
metrics.
• The Results Teams in the Budgeting for Outcomes process should involve citizens who
can provide oversight and represent a community perspective, perhaps eventually the
citizens become the Results Team.
• Advisory Boards have been constructed over the years on an ad hoc basis, rather than
being aligned with a stated goal and mission of the City. As part of the future planning,
advisory board structure and intent should be revisited and goals should be aligned with
the stated goals and mission of the Comprehensive Plan.
• We should recognize there are issues we have control over and issues in which we only
play a part.
• We should understand the relationship between capital costs, lifecycle, and operations
and maintenance.
• The Committee should stay at a high level and focus on systems, process, and metrics. It
should be data driven.
• Structure of the Committee
o Bi-weekly meetings
o There should be a rotating chair
o Two hour meetings initially
o Agenda and materials in advance
o Bruce to follow up on legal notice and other requirements with the City Attorney