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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWORK SESSION SUMMARY-05/13/2008-Work Sessiont Date: May 14, 2008 To: Through: From: Re: MEMORANDUM Mayor and City Council members Darin Atteberry, City Manager Brian Janonis, Utilities Executive Director � May 13, 2008 Work Session Summary Follow -Up Utilities electric • stomwater • wastewater • water 700 Wood Street PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6700 970.221.6619 - fax 970224.6003 -Too utilities@fcgov.com fcgovcom/utilities At the May 13, 2008 Work Session, Lynn Adams with RW Beck, presented the 2007 Market Research and Benchmarking Survey information for the Electric, Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Utilities. The purpose of this survey was to gather statistically valid information regarding customer satisfaction, attitudes toward renewables and conservation, track trends from previous surveys and benchmark our services with peer utilities. Key Discussion Points Electric, Water and Wastewater utilities had extraordinary levels of customer satisfaction. Stormwater service ratings lag those of the other utilities. However, it was pointed out that we have an aggressive stormwater program leading to higher fees. Price satisfaction for all four utilities lags behind most other attributes. Two gaps need to be addressed. A "green" gap exists where customer perception is that the percentage of renewable energy generation is higher than actual. Although our customers favor more renewable generation, further work would be needed regarding their willingness to pay. Infrastructure security was the other gap. This can best be addressed by informing our customers of actions being taken to make our utilities secure. Internet capabilities in customer functions lag behind others for both residential and rnmmerrial rnctnmrr ceomrntc Thic nPPric to he arirlreased where renewal is a way of life Next Steps The following actions will be taken to hold Utilities staff accountable for addressing these issues and reporting back to Council. I. A contract is being prepared, for Council approval in June, to retain CSU's Urban Water Center to help the Stormwater utility evaluate best management practices. The goal of this project is to be recognized by our customers, peers and City Council as a leader in stormwater management practices. 2. To address the "green" gap, Fort Collins Utilities has launched the Utilities for the 2151 Century/Enterprise Sustainability effort. A Core Sustainability Team and Advisory Team have begun to meet and train. Once we have completed a baseline assessment and developed our plan, we will schedule a Work Session to update Council on our findings and progress. 3. To address the renewable energy issue related to the "green" gap, Fort Collins Utilities staff and Electric Board are reviewing the Climate Task Force recommendations and plan to provide input to Council at their July 22 Work Session. Once Council adopts a new Climate Action Plan, scheduled for September, staff will bring forth a new Energy Policy. As a follow-up to our April 22 Work Session, we will also be forwarding to Council, under separate cover, a memo on energy efficiency best practices. 4. To address the infrastructure security gap, staff will submit a short memo to Council and start to emphasize our security efforts to our customers. 5. To address internet capabilities in customer functions, staff committed to having web based services for the Utilities' customers operational by November of this year. MEMORANDUM DT: May 15, 2008 TO: Mayor and City Council Members TH: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Diane Jones, Deputy City Manageq t FR: Marty Heffernan, Director of CPRE RE: May 13, 2008 Work Session Summary for Cultural Plan Staff presented the final draft of the Cultural Plan, including six primary goals and a prioritization of future cultural facilities. Staff was seeking general agreement on the primary goals and facility priorities from Council and the identification of any couceiiis in preparation for bringing the final plan back to Council for consideration of adoption. Staff clarified that adoption of the plan indicates Council's agreement with the six goals and facility priorities in general. Adoption does not bind Council to implementation and any implementation measure in the plan that requires Council action, would be brought back to Council for consideration on a case -by -case basis. This clarification will be included in the resolution adopting the plan. There was support for including additional history on the contribution of Colorado State University to the development of arts and culture in Fort Collins. Council also wants to see additional mention of Building on Basics and how this funding supports aspects of the plan. There was support for recreation/cultural community centers in the southeast and southwest parts of the City, while keeping in mind the need for a high concentration of activity in the downtown to serve as a destination. In general, Council showed support for the overall concepts and goals, but not all implementation recommendations. Council requested staff review the language of the plan to ensure it does not create a misimpression that Council intends to implement or fund an item when this may not be the case. Given the financial constraints and priorities where renewal is a way of life 1 of the City budget, such as Police, Fire, and Parks, Council cautioned that the plan is an overall vision, but is not funded, and did not want to raise expectations. There was interest in staff reworking the order of the goals to reflect prioritization and specifically to reword Goal 1 to place "quality of life" before economics and tourism. Staff was asked to review the prior Work Session Summary to make sure all concerns were addressed. Council identified that the plan covers a broader scope than just the City's role, and requested staff work on identifying the appropriate role for the City in creating a climate for success for arts, culture, and science. A caution was brought forth to understand potential future financial impacts the plan may have on other areas, such as transportation, and the level of public funds needed to mitigate these impacts should be limited. One suggestion was to have an ombudsman to help arts and cultural groups apply for grants. There was interest in possible studio or shared spaces for artists, but at a reasonable price, and not for free. Concerns about the City funding an arts council were expressed along with the idea that funding could be pursued through philanthropy. Council discussed the intrinsic value of arts, culture, and science to the community's quality of life, and the feedback mechanism of how investing in arts and culture is tied to economic health, and economic health feeds arts and culture. Collaboration and partnerships were also mentioned as key components. Council agreed that the plan should not support elitism and should encourage participation for lower -income community members. Pursuing collaboration and partnerships was also mentioned. Staff will revise the plan and return to Council later this summer for consideration of adoption. Js MEMORANDUM Date: May 16, 2008 To: Mayor and City Council Members Thru: Darin A. Atteberry, City Manager From: Mike Freeman, CFO RE: Council Work Session Follow Up on Metro District Discussion On May 13, 2008 the City Council discussed staff recommendations regarding the formation of Metro Districts in the City associated with development projects. The following items were discussed and staff is working on addressing these in the resolution that will be forthcoming to City Council in July. 1. Provide more pro and con information regarding the use of Metro Districts. 2. Provide a definition of mixed use for purposes of applying the Metro District policics 3. Better define what kinds of enhancements might be provided by Metro Districts including LEED certification, landscaping, etc. 4. Find out why Boulder does not allow Metro Districts. 5. Calculate the amount of foregone taxes to the federal and state governments through the use of tax-exempt financing by Metro Districts. 6. Ensure that the overall Metro District policy is not to prescriptive — there needs to be some flexibility built in for exceptions or projects the City Council may want to support but don't meet all the policy objectives of the Metro District resolution.