HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Futures Committee - 04/10/2023 -1
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
FUTURES COMMITTEE MEETING
Date: April 10, 2023
Location: Zoom
Time: 04:00pm-06:00pm
Committee Members present:
Councilmember Tricia Canonico
Councilmember Susan Gutowsky
Additional Council members present:
City Staff:
Caryn Champine
Presenters:
Caryn Champine
Additional Staff present:
Kelly DiMartino, City Manager’s Office
Megan DeMasters, Environmental Services
Melina Dempsey, FC Moves
Ginny Sawyer, City Manager’s Office
Carrie Daggett City Attorney’s Office
Claudia Menendez, City Manager’s Office
Tyler Marr, City Manager’s Office
Terri Runyan, City Manager’s Office
Teresa Roche, Human Resource
Meaghan Overton, Social Sustainability
Amanda King, CPIO
Claudia Menendez, Equity Office
Dean Klingner, CDNS
Greg Yeager, Police Services
Kelley Vodden, Human Resources
Kristina Vencill, Human Resources
Sarah Meline, CPIO
Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Social Sustainability
Others present:
Kevin Jones, Fort Collins Chamber
Lucy Brady
Meeting called to order at 4:03pm
Approval of Minutes:
Councilmember Francis moved to approve the November 14 minutes. Councilmember Gutowsky
seconded. Motion passed 3-0-0
Chairperson Comments:
N/A
2
Selection of chair
Council member Canonico was selected as the new chair for the Futures committee.
Summary
Think Tank Item 1-2023: Reimagining Public Engagement: Building Capacity for the
Conversations our Communities Need, Dr. Martin Carcasson, founder and director of the CSU Center
for Public Deliberation (CPD)
Section 1: Polarization
• How Polarized Are We?
o Polarization is our number 1 concern right now- it erodes trust in people, institutions and
facts
• Two types of polarization
o Ideological – more divided by political party than by any other thing
o Affective
• Is polarization real- perception of polarization is more important than reality- people react to
perception
o A lot of polarization is exaggerated- false polarization and assuming the worst of the
other side
• 6 reasons why we are polarized
o Human nature – people are wired for adversary
o Political System- polarization is a useful political tactic
o Media
o Internet/social media
o Bad faith actors “conflict entrepreneurs”
o The limits of our conventional engagement processes
• Consider what we can do as individuals and as a community to move past polarization
Is there evidence that what is happening nationally affects us locally?
• There is more polarization at the national level- we do see this happening more in school boards
than in Cities
o Consider what identities are most important- consider if Fort Collins is tapping more of
the “us” side of this- identity to bring people together will impact types of conversations
we have.
Section 2: Kaner’s model
• Capacity we need to have different conversations.
• 3 stages for decision-making
o Divergent thinking
▪ False consensus when you don’t have enough divergent thinking
o Groan zone – listening to each other and engaging tensions
▪ Lots of resources and time
▪ To move past false polarization, need to provide lots of opportunities for
meaningful engagement
o Convergent thinking- prioritizing things
▪ To avoid paralysis by analysis….
Q&A/Discussion
• It is important to keep national politics out of local politics
• Shouldn’t focus so much on winning, rather focus on improving conversations
o Look at communities as a system
3
o Re-vitalizing local journalism
• Tips for improving Civic Capacity
o Consider what kind of leadership we have and how they are framing issues
o Think about how the City can serve as a bridging institution- local organizations that
bring people together – we have lost a lot of bridging social capital
o Create and sustain public spaces for people to come together to engage on issues
• Many issues span council terms (such as Climate, Housing, etc.,), the more we reimagine how to
build capacity and continue to work on it the easier it may get
• Continue shifting to more collaborative model N/A
Additional Items
Meeting adjourned by Councilmember Canonico at 5:12pm