HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 10/9/2018 - Memorandum From Mike Calhoon Re: Council Work Session Follow Up From October 1, 2018 - Downtown MaintenanceParks Department
413 South Bryan Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6660
970.221.6849 - fax
fcgov.com/parks
Date: October 3, 2018
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
Thru: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kelly DiMartino, Senior Assistant City Manager
Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager
From: Mike Calhoon, Director of Parks
Re: Council Work Session 10/1/18 Follow Up-Re: Downtown Maintenance
Request
During the October 1, 2018 Work Session Mayor Pro Tem Horak and Councilman Cunniff
requested a list of expansions to the horticulture portion of the Downtown Landscaping and
Maintenance Offer 30.1 in the last six years and a description of reductions in the amounts of
$50k, $250k and $500k in Downtown Maintenance Offer 30.1.
Response
Offer 30.1 Downtown Landscaping and Maintenance requests $2,037,528 in the 2019 budget
request. This area is defined as College Avenue between Cherry and Mulberry Streets, and
three blocks east and west of College Avenue. Maintenance areas include street corners, tree
grates, medians, Old Town Square, Oak Street Plaza, parks (Washington, Library, Civic Center),
City facilities, Linden Street north to the Poudre River, and Downtown Development Authority
(DDA) renovated alleys.
The requested funding resources for offer 30.1 are:
General Fund Ongoing $1,531,155
Downtown Development Authority $277,393
KFCG $228,980
Expansion of Horticulture Program
The portion of Offer 30.1 that pertains directly to the horticulture program in the downtown
area is $288,000. In the past six years the horticulture budget has grown by 73%. There are
several drivers behind these cost increases. They include:
-Redesign of existing facilities (Library, Lincoln Center and Old Town Square). Even though these
areas are not new, the redesign included substantially larger shrub bed areas that require an
increased level of maintenance.
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-Expanded areas of responsibilities (Linden Street 300 thru 400 blocks,
West Myrtle Alley).
-Affordable Care Act cost increases for full-time hourly employees ($11k/yr per employee).
-Minimum wage increases. (10% increase each of the past three years).
-Commodities cost increases (plant material cost increases from local growers, Gardens on
Spring Creek no longer provides plant material due to maturation of their program).
$50k Reduction
A $50k reduction in Offer 30.1 could be accomplished by reducing the number of annual pots
throughout the downtown area that do not directly impact business attraction. The suggested
list of planting eliminations will include:
-13 large pots in the Downtown area
5 large pots N. Mason/Laporte
2 large pots Pine/Jefferson
4 large pots Remington/Mountain
1 large pot mid-block just north of Pueblo Viejo on Laporte
1 large pot Walnut/College (scheduled for removal already due to a new fire hydrant)
-11 large pots at 215 N. Mason.
-4 small pots at City Care.
-7 small pots at City Hall.
-9 large pots at the Library entrance.
These locations were selected based on their lack of proximity to the entrance of a retail
location. Between the cost of plant material, planting operations and continual maintenance
for the season a $50k reduction would be anticipated.
$250k Reduction
A $250,000 reduction in Offer 30.1 will reduce the level of service that the Fort Collins residents
have come to expect in the downtown core by 12.5%. These cuts would need to be deeper due
to the extensive reduction in resources. Services that will be eliminated and/or reduced will
include:
-The pots, hanging baskets and flower beds will be eliminated at all areas except Old Town
Square and the alleys that are funded by the Downtown Development Authority.
-The living wall on the east side of 222 Laporte will be taken down.
-The holiday lighting display will be reduced by 1/3.
$500k Reduction
A $500,000 reduction in Offer 30.1 will reduce the level of service that the Fort Collins residents
have come to expect in the downtown core by 25%. Services that will be eliminated and/or
reduced will include:
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-Water features in Oak Street Plaza Park, Lincoln Center and the
Mountain/College medians will be shut down.
-The maintenance in Old Town Square will be reduced by 1/3. Less trash collection, power
washing and horticulture support.
-The living wall on the east side of 222 Laporte will be taken down.
-The holiday lighting display will be reduced by 1/3.
-The flower pots, hanging baskets and flower beds will be eliminated at all areas except Old
Town Square and the alleys that are funded by the Downtown Development Authority.
-Power washing on the corners and between blocks will be eliminated.
-Daily trash collection will be reduced to 5 days per week.
-After hours snow removal at facilities will be eliminated.
Simply put, the downtown Fort Collins area will not look as it does today nor attract the
visitation that drives the 15% sales tax collections that the downtown area has historically
produced.
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