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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Mail Packet - 4/7/2020 - Memorandum From Delynn Coldiron Re: Leadership Planning Team Meeting Minutes - March 31, 2020City Clerk 300 LaPorte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: March 31, 2020 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Delynn Coldiron, City Clerk RE: Leadership Planning Team (LPT) Meeting Mayor Wade Troxell (by video-conference call), Mayor Pro Tem Kristin Stephens (by video-conference call), City Manager Darin Atteberry (by video-conference call), Deputy City Manager Jeff Mihelich (by video-conference call), Deputy City Manager Kelly DiMartino (by video-conference call), City Attorney Carrie Daggett (by video- conference call) and City Clerk Delynn Coldiron (by video-conference call) met on Tuesday, March 31, and the following summarizes the discussions that began at 9:35 a.m. This is a continuation of the Leadership Planning Team meeting that occurred on March 30, 2020. There was brief conversation about growing budget concerns due to the current COVID-19 crisis and similar sentiments being expressed by surrounding municipalities. A Council Finance Committee meeting is expected to be scheduled later this week to address concerns. City Clerk Coldiron: • Noted that a major priority for the Clerk’s office, and others, has been figuring out how to work remotely, including efforts related to producing the Council agenda and conducting remote Council meetings. Participation will continue with the project team tasked with finding technology solutions that will fully enable virtual meetings, including hearings for quasi-judicial items. • Noted that most boards and commissions have canceled their March and April meetings. One exception is the CDBG Commission which needs to meet in April to finish up the current funding process. Staff intends to bring forward a Council action at the April 7 meeting that would enable boards and commissions to meet remotely. It is expected to come as part of an update to the currently adopted Emergency Ordinance that was recently passed to allow remote participation for Council. There was a question as to whether any funding provided through the Cares Act would funnel to the CDBG; this is a possibility. Staff will keep Council informed as things progress. On a related note, there was discussion about how federal and other items such as this are being tracked; information from the Governor’s office, National League of Cities, Colorado Municipal League, Colorado City & County Management Association and Bloomberg were noted. The City Manager described the structure that is in place to ensure that the information gets distributed and that opportunities and deadlines are not missed. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 31, 2020 Page 2 of 5 • Noted that some distance concerns have been raised with customers standing in line at marijuana shops and liquor stores, as well as questions related to the various orders that have been issued by the State. Staff continues to work with business owners and residents to provide clarification and address concerns. Marijuana delivery is something being requested; staff is researching. Staff is asked to proactively reach out to the larger liquor and marijuana establishments to check in with them on how things are going. Deputy City Manager DiMartino: • Noted that there are a number of non-profit and for-profit entities that rent space from the City who are seeking rent abatement or assistance. For now, the City is doing the following: o Connecting them with resources that are available for small business owners; o Assuring tenants that no evictions or late fees will be pursued; and o Creating deferred payment plans. It was noted that all payment plans developed will be documented appropriately. • Noted that Community Services staff is finding some fun ways to engage with the community. Examples mentioned included: o The Farm using online platforms and social media to broadcast information about animals, including new arrivals; o The Gardens providing online classes; and o Recreation providing online Zumba classes. These things are advertised through social media channels and through email subscription lists. The Mayor noted there are various things bubbling up in the community such as the sunset howl; things that are organic and getting the community involved. Staff will be providing examples of these types of things in the weekly emergency operation updates that are being shared at Council meetings. Deputy City Manager Mihelich: • Asked whether there should be a pause on all quasi-judicial hearings due to the same issues being experienced by Council with regard to remote meetings; the Planning & Zoning Board was noted. Concern was expressed about keeping the development process moving forward since construction and infrastructure have been designated as essential services. Staff was encouraged to continue to explore viable options that could ensure fair, fully remote meetings. Staff will continue their efforts to identify a means of conducting quasi-judicial hearings that offer the required procedural safeguards. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 31, 2020 Page 3 of 5 • Noted that Zagster has removed all bikes from the City due to concerns about the virus spreading through various people touching the bikes and handlebars, etc. They are doing this nation-wide. Staff will provide updates on when or if the bikes will come back. • Noted that Bird has removed its scooters throughout the City for the same reason listed above. A few scooters were left on the CSU Campus. • Noted that staff will be proposing a temporary relaxation of the regulations of signs in the right-of-way. • Noted that staff will be proposing a temporary relaxation of certain types of parking enforcement. Enforcement will continue for red curb violations, no parking areas, ADA accessible areas, loading zones, blocked driveways and similar public safety concerns. As proposed, per hour parking areas and residential parking permit program zones will not be enforced. • Noted that the Metro District work session item will be placed on the unscheduled items list. The sole focus for Economic Health staff right now is to help small businesses through the crisis. At this point there are no discussions occurring for new metro districts. • Noted that Gallegos has made certain requests due to the changes that have occurred with trash hauling as a result of stay-at-home orders and other COVID-19 responses. The requests include: o A delay of 2-3 months for mandatory yard waste collection; staff agrees this would be a reasonable modification. o A delay of 6 months for business and multi-family recycling; staff agrees this would be a reasonable modification. o A relaxation of current requirements to allow residential trash overflow to be placed in bags and set out with containers; staff agrees this would be a reasonable temporary modification. o An equalization/adjustment of tip fees between recycling ($80) and landfill ($20). Staff agrees this may be a reasonable temporary modification; however, this is not a City decision. o Putting recyclables in plastic bags and then adding to trash; staff does not agree with this change, as the benefits of this are unclear and this would contaminate recyclables. There was discussion about whether bagged trash would be subject to overage charges and about the trade offs that are occurring between commercial and residential volumes of trash since people are working from home. Discussion around tip fees, and potentially these other items, should occur with the Wasteshed Policy Committee. A memo providing further detail on this topic will be included in Thursday’s packet. City Attorney Daggett: • Noted that her office has been successful in transitioning 100% of her staff to working remotely. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 31, 2020 Page 4 of 5 City Manager Atteberry: • Noted that he has been able to successfully work virtually for three weeks now, and his office is also essentially all working remotely. • Provided an update on the health of the organization. There are a lot of good, candid, honest and transparent conversations occurring and momentum is strong. He shared some concerns as the City moves from a health crisis into a possible financial one. Staff is considering strategic moves to reduce spending. All new capital projects are being reviewed and may be put on hold with the exception of Utility projects. As well, a hiring freeze has been put into place which will potentially impact recruitment for the Chief Financial Officer, the Utilities Executive Director and the Housing Manager. Staff will be providing Council with numbers and related trends as they become available. • Noted that the Mayor did a fabulous job as part of a town hall meeting held by Congressman Joe Neguse; he represented the City well. He also noted his appreciation for Congressman Neguse and the way he conducts himself. • Noted that a local business has reached out and plans to give $100K through the CityGives program to help the community heal. • Noted that D1 police are doing foot patrols in the Downtown area and leaving notes so that people are aware they are checking on things. Businesses have been very appreciative. • Noted that staff has discussed with the Larimer County Health Director some of the challenges at the Northside Aztlan facility related to cleanliness of that facility. Staff is working with the County to try to get an additional facility opened. There was a question about whether the Ranch would be used. It is staff’s understanding that this might be used for people who have confirmed cases of COVID-19. Staff is asked to provide a memo that Council can use as a resource for people who are asking about what is being done for the homeless. • Noted that the mental health facility letter from the Mayor and City Manager to the Larimer County Commissioners has been placed on hold. This does not seem an appropriate time to move forward with this. Mayor Pro Tem Stephens: • Requested that as much resource information as possible be translated into Spanish. • Noted that she is getting a lot of questions about the Poudre School District and related activities. She is hearing a lot of frustration about Base Camp, lunch provisions and support for students that do not have access. She asked about what secondary plans are in place to make sure that students don’t get lost in the shuffle and wondered how all of this works for non-English speaking students. The City Manager will reach out to try to get some answers. Mayor Pro Tem Stephens will also reach out to a member of the Poudre School District Board to see what they are hearing. Leadership Planning Team Meeting March 31, 2020 Page 5 of 5 Mayor Troxell: • Is participating in an ongoing meeting with regional mayors to discuss emerging issues related to COVID- 19 and other topics. • Noted that the telephone town hall was really good and encouraged staff to do more of these. • Noted that the ad-hoc Council Committee looking at the hiring process for the Judge has identified six candidates to move forward in the process. A resolution is expected to move forward at the April 7 meeting that would change the approved selection process so as to enable the Committee to interview all six candidates in hopes of reducing the pool of candidates to be interviewed by the entire Council. A public announcement of the candidates to be considered further by the Committee is expected on April 3. • Attended a Platte River Power Authority meeting last week. The meeting was largely virtual with only a handful of participants meeting in their new building. A tour will be provided at some point in the future. The Mayor was elected chair for the coming year. Meeting adjourned at 11:04 a.m.