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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Read Before Packet - 2/6/2024 - Memorandum From Heather Walls Re: Leadership Planning Team (Lpt) Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 City Clerk 300 Laporte Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: February 6, 2024 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Heather Walls, Interim City Clerk RE: Leadership Planning Team (LPT) Meeting Mayor Jeni Arndt, Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis, City Manager Kelly DiMartino, City Attorney Carrie Daggett, Deputy City Manager Tyler Marr, and Interim City Clerk Heather Walls met online via Teams on Monday, February 5, 2024. The following summarizes the discussions that began at 8:00 a.m. February 6, 2024 Regular Council Meeting • The published agenda for this meeting was reviewed. • The consent calendar was reviewed which includes 1 set of minutes for approval, 9 second reading ordinances, 22 first reading ordinances, and 2 resolutions. • Two items are listed for discussion: Resolution adopting Council Liaison Appointments and the Polestar Development Appeal. • Item 15 Appropriating Philanthropic Revenue Received Through City Give for Park Planning and Development to Fund Pickleball Site Feasibility and Community Engagement – Regarding questions on this item, City Manager DiMartino indicated the Recreation Department has been clear to the donors that this agreement does not guarantee the City will fund a pickleball facility. The donation would fund the City’s hire of an external consultant. The City Give program procedures provide guard rails for what donors can expect. Attached is a City Give Q&A for further explanation of our gift acceptance. Other examples of this type of donation include Eastside Park, Whitewater Park, and The Hand that Feeds. February 13, 2024 Work Session • The draft agenda was reviewed. One staff report and three discussion items are planned. 6-Month Calendar: • A Work Session discussion of Phase 2 of the Land Use Code is scheduled for June 11. The description will be reworded to clarify its intent. • No staff report should be scheduled for April 23 to allow time for the scheduled topics. Interim City Clerk Heather Walls • It was agreed the LPT meeting scheduled for March 11 will be cancelled due to leadership attending the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, DC. Leadership Planning Team Meeting February 6, 2024 Page 2 of 2 Deputy City Manager Tyler Marr • No additional items. City Attorney Carrie Daggett • A new prosecutor, Doug McDonald, started today in the City Attorney’s Office. City Manager Kelly DiMartino • So far 57 speakers (as of Tuesday morning) have signed up to speak at tomorrow night’s meeting. Staff will provide additional seating around the outside of the room to accommodate all attendees. o A significant number of those signed up plan to speak to support a ceasefire resolution. There are also speakers signed up to discuss their concerns related to the Mennonite Fellowship. • Encampment Cleanup – Recently, the Natural Areas and HOPE teams cleaned 30 sites at 17 locations which included 104 bags of waste, seven sharps, four tires, a propane canister and eight shopping carts. • Noted gratitude to the Streets crew that worked unexpectedly over the weekend to manage the impacts from the snowstorm. Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis • No additional items. Mayor Jeni Arndt • Noted she was sponsored by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) to attend the Transatlantic Local Journalism Dialogue event in Washington, DC. A project that was highlighted was the Detroit Documentation Project that trains and pays people to attend public meetings and then post a summary of information from the meeting on a documentation website. The Mayor will share a summary of the event. o City Manager DiMartino added that Steven Bosacker, Sr. Vice President of Innovation for GMF, reached out to do a segment on the Futures Committee.  CivicLex may be a topic for a Futures Committee meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:35 a.m. DOES MY DONATION END UP IN THE GENERAL FUND? No. Charitable gifts to the City can only be used for the intended purpose. Charitable gifts to the City of Fort Collins are delivered directly into the budgets of benefiting projects, and can’t be redirected by elected officials or City staff. DOES CITY GIVE CHARGE A FEE ON CHARITABLE GIFTS? No. Philanthropic gifts are not charged administrative fees by City Give or the City of Fort Collins. All gifts to the City go fully and directly to the project or program you choose. IS THERE A RELIABLE PROCESS FOR GIVING TO THE CITY? Strong oversight of philanthropic gifts is a priority, and the City of Fort Collins has created multiple layers of accountability and transparency for donated funds and the projects receiving donated funds. City Give is subject to the City’s policies and regulations, including the City’s accounting and conflict of interest policies. IS A DONATION TO THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TAX DEDUCTIBLE? Yes. Per IRS code 26 U.S.C. 170(c)(1), a gift to a local government entity is tax deductible if the gift is for public purpose. All donors receive a charitable tax receipt verifying each gift. CAN I MAKE AN ANONYMOUS GIFT? The City will work diligently to protect and maintain the confidentiality of a donor’s name and privileged information at a donor’s request. And, City staff will not disclose privileged or confidential information to unauthorized parties at any time for any purpose. However, the City of Collins as a public institution, may be required legally to provide details of a charitable gift under the Colorado Open Records Act in Title 24, Article 72, Part 2 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (CORA). The City of Fort Collins has long been the beneficiary of charitable giving: The Senior Center, Inspiration Playground, conservation easements, The Lincoln Center. And, most recently, the Poudre River Whitewater Park and improvements to Eastside Park. And, there are countless ways charitable giving impacts City services: climate action, parks and recreation, performing arts, and the list goes on. IS THIS A WAY FOR DONORS TO CREATE PET PROJECTS WITH THE CITY? No, charitable giving is not a political vehicle or beyond the scope and transparency of the public oversight. Charitable gifts must reflect the priorities and needs of the City of Fort Collins, and align with City Plan and the City’s strategic objectives. WHY DID THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS CREATE CITY GIVE? We heard from residents, colleagues and donors that we needed to “get our charitable house in order” and that is exactly what we did. This new structure to facilitate municipal giving reflects considerable thought and conversations within Fort Collins and with other communities across the country. Our unique model creates an organized, transparent structure for quickly getting charitable gifts directly to the projects that can best benefit from support. IS COMMUNITY GIVING A “WORK AROUND” TO FILL GAPS IN THE CITY’S OPERATING BUDGET? No, however community needs are always deeper than any City’s budget. Charitable gifts are a vehicle to expand and enrich City pro- grams and services: from youth recreation to public art, from neighborhood park improve- ments to urban gardens, from the performing arts to the preservation of open spaces. HOW DOES CITY GIVE MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY? When you donate to City Give, it is an invest- ment in the potential of what our City has to offer. Fort Collins will continue to grow and change, and we want to keep – or even expand – the same level of excellent service and experiences for which we are known. HOW DO I MAKE A GIFT TO THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS? Checks can be made payable to City of Fort Collins, 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80524, Attention: City Give. Or, contact Nina Bodenhamer, City Give Director at 970-221-6687. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CURRENT CITY GIVE PROJECTS? The City Give portfolio includes a growing range of giving opportunities, including the future 9/11 Memorial Park; Restorative Justice, a juvenile diversion program; and, our parks and trails. City Give also hosts online giving campaigns including, Give to Serve and Share Some Shade.