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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Read Before Packet - 9/1/2020 - Memorandum From Delynn Coldiron Re: Leadership Planning Team Meeting Minutes - August 31, 2020 City Clerk 300 LaPorte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: August 31, 2020 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Delynn Coldiron, City Clerk RE: Leadership Planning Team (LPT) Meeting Mayor Wade Troxell, Mayor Pro Tem Stephens, City Manager Darin Atteberry, Deputy City Manager Kelly DiMartino, City Attorney Carrie Daggett and City Clerk Delynn Coldiron (all by video-conference call) met on Monday, August 31, and the following summarizes the discussions that began at 7:32 a.m. 9-01-2020 Regular Meeting: The September 1 agenda items were reviewed. • There was brief discussion about meeting logistics. All Councilmembers are anticipated to be present in person in Council Chambers. Public participation will be available in four ways: in-person, by phone, online through Zoom, and by email. Staff will continue to provide reports, present, and answer questions remotely. • Election Code Changes – Council will consider two ordinances related to this item. Ordinance 109, 2020 includes all items the Election Code Committee reached consensus on and is part of Council’s consent calendar. Ordinance 112, 2020 includes changes that better align local codes with the state related to limited liability company contributions and limitations on contributions to Political Committees. This is a discussion item on Council’s agenda. • 2021 Budget - The City’s Code requires the setting of hearings to occur after the budget has been delivered. Copies of the budget are scheduled to be delivered to the City by tomorrow and will be delivered to Council as part of read-before packets. If, for some reason, the Council does not receive the recommended budget before the meeting, Council will consider a motion to adjourn the September 1 meeting to September 8 to consider this Resolution at that time. • COVID-19 Staff Report – This will focus on women in the workplace, school choice and childcare. Jennifer Henderson of Tilt (a new start-up company), and Tina Todd of Simply HR are the expected speakers. • Temporary Homeless Shelter at the Food Bank – City Manager Atteberry reported that the process used to get this item completed was intentional and solid. Staff looks forward to providing Council with more information about this tomorrow night. There was discussion about some of the emails that have been received related to this item. Staff will have information at the meeting about Urban Renewal Authority activity/improvements and developments that have occurred along North College Avenue. A fair amount of public participation is expected for this item. Leadership Planning Team Meeting August 31, 2020 Page 2 of 4 It was reported that the Homeless Services & Housing Opportunities Advisory Committee will be meeting in September to review its findings and to start forming recommendations. It is anticipated that, based on its work, a good strategy will be in place by the time the City exits the arrangement with the Food Bank this April. • Sales Tax for Remote Sellers – There was a question about why this item is on discussion. This is a good news item but does include significant changes that everyone needs to be aware of. The item aligns with the work done by the Colorado Municipal League (CML) related to this. On a separate note, there was a question about how many people were able to attend the CML virtual conference. Recordings of all sessions and session materials remain on the CML conference application through September 27. • Other Business: o The first item under Other Business will be for Council to adjourn the Regular Meeting to move to the General Improvement District (GID) meeting. Once the GID meeting is adjourned, Council will return to its Regular Meeting. o The next item under Other Business will be for any other business Council would like to discuss. Councilmember Summers’ resolution expressing support for law enforcement and the right to peacefully assemble will be added to the agenda. Public participation on this item will be directed to this portion of the meeting. Staff is asked to have the resolution that formed the ad hoc Community Impact Committee, as well as the Community Trust Ordinance available to be displayed. o The last item under Other Business will be for the Hughes Stadium site executive session. Councilmembers and the City Manager will be present in the Council office for this session. All others should plan to be remote. Council will be discussing real property acquisition and legal issues related to the site. 6-Month Calendar: • November 3 and 4 o The Regular Council meeting has been moved to November 4 (Wednesday) due to the national election. A formal motion will be needed from Council on this item. City Clerk Coldiron: • Noted that the City Clerk’s office continues to work with the PATHS representatives on their citizen initiative. It is anticipated that their petition will be approved sometime in the next week or so and that they will begin to collect signatures. • Noted a memo sent by the Land Conservation Stewardship Board regarding the Hughes Stadium site (attached). This was included in Thursday Council packets and is relevant to the upcoming executive session. Leadership Planning Team Meeting August 31, 2020 Page 3 of 4 Deputy City Manager DiMartino: • Noted staff has been working with a large coalition of local governments preparing a joint letter to the Attorney General regarding how opioid abatement funds would be distributed. The AG’s office is in settlement negotiations regarding nationwide opioid litigation that will result in funds for the State, to be distributed in part to local governments or regions, to be used for the education, treatment, prevention, and mitigation response activities related to this. The City Manager plans to sign the letter supporting the coalition’s efforts. There was interest in seeing if the funds could be used for clean-up efforts in parks and City restrooms to remove drug paraphernalia and with education and treatment related to other drugs. • Reported that the City was awarded a $200K DOLA grant to add solar capacity and battery storage at Northside. A 50% match is required and will be coming to Council for approval on its consent agenda at the September 15 meeting. There was a question about whether this solution could provide backup power to the Streets department and whether conversations have continued related to battery storage as part of a neighbor support element within the electric system. Staff is asked to follow up. • Noted that a response to a Service Area Request (SAR) related to commuter parking in the Sheely Neighborhood is expected to go out today. To date, only one commuter permit has been issued in the area. These permits are $40/month and are issued for up to three-month periods. Councilmember Cunniff is planning neighborhood outreach in this area about this and other concerns. Staff will be asked to participate in that outreach effort. • Noted that Colorado State University (CSU) has a dashboard available that provides information on COVID cases. The site also includes County and State data. The link can be found at: https://covidrecovery.colostate.edu/. City Manager Atteberry: • Noted he has signed a Stage 2 fire ban that is in place now and will be sent to the Council today. • Noted the criticality of the land acknowledgement work and shared concerns about the resourcing this will take. Additional conversations with Council about this topic are expected. • Noted he and Tyler Marr will be speakers at the upcoming ICMA conference around encouraging cities to think big and on how to integrate this throughout an organization. The Futures Committee, Baldrige and broadband will be items they plan to speak about. A virtual Q&A session has been added for their session. • Noted he has been working with Laura Valdez, the Museum of Discovery Director, regarding the Mind Matters exhibit that is coming to Fort Collins. The exhibit will be here October 3 through January 10, 2021. Because the exhibit will be here for a short amount of time and because the subject matter is so timely, staff is exploring the potential of utilizing a portion of the CARES dollars ($150K) to support the exhibit so that people can attend for free. The exhibit is a great introduction into mental health and behavioral health and will help deepen community understanding regarding the challenges of mental health. Leadership Planning Team Meeting August 31, 2020 Page 4 of 4 Mayor Pro Tem Stephens: • Noted there is a group that has been formed to advocate for awareness of the experience of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) that has asked whether the City can provide them with some conference and office space. Staff has identified space that might work. The group is asked to send a formal request to the City. • Asked about the Blue Lives Matter stickers that people were seeing on police cars. Chief Swoboda is working on a SAR response that will go out today. • Noted a march held at the Colorado State University oval that lasted for several hours. She attended and noted she is also aware that Councilmember Cunniff attended. The event was peaceful, the speeches were respectful, and things were well done. People shared personal experiences and are wanting to make changes. They want to stay engaged and make things better. She expressed her gratitude for how our community is engaging in such a positive way. She asked that CSU be included in related conversations. • Noted that she has a neighbor who is a Vietnam Veteran who is interested in talking to Chief Swoboda regarding the militarization of police. She shared her thanks about the Chief being so open to the hard conversations that are occurring. She added that the community is supportive of him and the way he is handling issues. Mayor Troxell: • Attended a Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) Board meeting along with Councilmember Cunniff. At the meeting, the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) was presented. Over 50 members of the public provided comments about the Plan. He and Councilmember Cunniff expressed concerns related to the recommended option. It is anticipated that the issues mentioned will be resolved when the Board considers adoption of the IRP at its next meeting. • Participated as a panelist for the Intel Conference and spoke about using technology to transform electric systems related to distributed energy resources. He did this as the Chair of PRPA and as a representative of the City. Meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m. Mayor City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com August 27, 2020 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board c/o Zoe Shark PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Board Members: On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing City Council and me with the August 26, 2020 memorandum regarding “Former Hughes Stadium Property” wherein the Board urged the Council to extend and expand Natural Areas in the area adjacent to the parcel. Thank you for pointing out your perspective about a gradual transition from natural to more developed lands, including interpretive kiosks, and incorporating Nature in the City elements as well. We understand the Board is suggesting that the City purchase the entire property. The Council is scheduled to review this item at the September 1 Executive Session. Thank you for your feedback on this important topic. Best Regards, Wade Troxell Mayor /sek Cc: City Council Members Darin Atteberry, City Manager Natural Areas Department 1745 Hoffman Mill Road PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416-2815 970.416-2211 - fax fcgov.com/naturalareas naturalareas@fcgov.com Memorandum To - Mayor and City Council From - Land Conservation and Stewardship Board (LCSB) Date: August 26, 2020 Subject - Former Hughes Stadium Property Our understanding is that negotiations among CSU, the developer that made an early offer on the Hughes Stadium property (Lennar), and the City, in its role as zoning authority, have stalled and may have been abandoned. Thus, the City may now have an exceptional opportunity to fully determine the fate of this unique land parcel. We see that the City’s strategy for the Hughes property will be discussed in Council Executive Session on 1 September. For more than 40 years the City has owned the Maxwell Natural Area, one of the City’s original Natural Areas. Maxwell, together with its neighbor Pineridge (another of the first Natural Areas), is one of the most accessible, often used, highly appreciated, and visible of our Natural Areas. With timely action, the City may now have the chance to extend and improve upon the legacy of these early Natural Areas that lie adjacent to the Hughes parcel. Such opportunities occur rarely, given the Hughes property’s location in the community and proximity to existing protected land. e urge City Council to consider the unique long-term public benefits of the Hughes property if its future is carefully and creatively planned. The site’s historic traits—wildlife, native vegetation, native-American occupancy, and early agriculture by the Maxwell family—are foundations for its future. We view the best outcome as a graceful and gradual transition from natural to more developed conditions. We imagine a future that includes expansion of the Maxwell Natural Area; nature trails featuring the environmental transition from high plains to Rocky Mountain foothills; a park-like zone including interpretive kiosks that reflect on the area’s natural and human history; and carefully designed and located high priority housing. We do not advocate that the entire Hughes property be acquired for Natural Area purposes, and Natural Areas funds should be used only to the extent that Natural Areas are extended and enhanced. Other transitional elements should be funded from Nature in the City and other appropriate sources. he best way to assure an excellent outcome—and to make good on a rare opportunity—is for the City to purchase the entire Hughes property. City ownership would secure full control over the uses of the land, so that its destiny can be inspired by public benefits. This is the surest path to a future that honors the site’s rich natural and historic heritage while aligning the reuse of the property with the values of the City and its residents. w T