|
|
|
 |
6 P.M. June 10, 2002
ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Burkholder called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Lakewood Civic Center South, 480 South Allison Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado.
ITEM 2 - ROLL CALL
Those present were: Mayor Steve Burkholder, Presiding
Tom Booher
Ray Elliott
Jackie Herbst
Carol Kesselman
Bob Murphy
Jean Saum
Debbie Koop
Mike Stevens
Cheryl Wise
Barb Martin
Others in attendance: Mike Rock, City Manager
Roger Noonan, City Attorney
Full and timely notice of this City Council meeting had been given and a quorum was present.
ITEM 3 - PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ITEM 4 - PROCLAMATION - DUNSTAN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
Mayor Burkholder presented a Proclamation to the Dunstan Middle School Science Olympiad students for winning the fourth consecutive State Science Competition. There were two teams of students honored for their creativity in the field of science and mathematics.
ITEM 5 - PRESENTATION - LAKEWOOD LEGACY FOUNDATION GRANTS
Chairperson of Lakewood Legacy Foundation, Eileen Schurmann, thanked the Lakewood
community for supporting their annual golf tournament and, in particular, thanked
Fox Hollow Golf Course for their generous support. Eileen Schurmann granted
funds to Destination Imagination teams from Lakewood High and Rooney Ranch Schools
and to C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
ITEM 6 - PRESENTATION - POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
The agenda was changed and Item 6 was moved to Item 17 - General Business.
ITEM 7 - RESOLUTION 2002- 36 - RE-APPOINTING MEMBERS TO THE LAKEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION
Councilman Stevens made a motion to adopt Resolution 2002-36 re-appointing Andrea Hollen and Edward Petersen to the Lakewood Planning Commission. It was seconded by Councilman Elliott. All Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 8 - PUBLIC COMMENT
Margaret Holben - 3343 S. Nelson Court - Lakewood, Colorado
Margaret Holben stated she was the spokesperson for savemountcarbon.com. Mount
Carbon is her backyard vista. Packets of material were distributed to City Council
members. She stated her and her husband frequently visit Mount Carbon. The toilets
on the golf course are a concern to her and her husband. She suggested City
Council draft policy to rectify the situation and help protect against similar
situations that involve building structures on vistas of prominence such as
Mount Carbon. Margaret Holben addressed the behavior of her husband and stated
that his heart is in the right place regarding the toilet structure issue and
that his words and intent have been interpreted wrongly and too harshly. She
stated he is not an extremist who needs to be investigated by the police. Ms.
Holben stated that regarding the topic of extremists, on February 22nd, many
properties were pelted with rock-filled bags containing racist literature, and
the perpetrators of this incident have earned the label of extremists. She stated
that although her husband may have not chosen the best words in dealing with
City employees, he is not an extremist. Savemountcarbon.com is about golf course
toilets on Mount Carbon, not her husband's personality. She requested City Council
move the toilets downhill onto the golf course property and take action to have
City employees avoid a similar situation in the future.
Steve Holben - 3343 S. Nelson Court - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Holben stated that he feels it is a serious error on the part of Lakewood
in regards to erecting the golf course toilets on the summit of Mount Carbon.
He voiced his concern about the interruption of an existing 360-degree sightline.
Documents were distributed to City Council. He asked that City Council relocate
the toilets off the summit and out of the sight line. He stated he expects Lakewood
to demonstrate a responsible stewardship that shows respect for Lakewood's amenities.
Mr. Holben stated that he has gained 100% support from the people he has spoken
to regarding this issue. He stated that the Sierra Club as well as 5 of the
7 Planning Commission members are in support of relocating the toilets. He asked
City Council to recognize the damage being done to the amenity that is Mount
Carbon and the image of Lakewood and show everyone that Lakewood respects and
cares for its earthly given amenities as much as any other community. Again,
he asked to have the toilets relocated.
Gary W. Maxfield - 8965 W. 20th Avenue - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Maxfield stated that it has been 95 days and they are still doing their
shopping out of the City. He stated he has met with the Mayor and his Council
members and he is hopeful that there will be some solutions to the traffic problems
on 20th Avenue. He stated he appreciated that traffic enforcement had been increased.
He stated he would continue to shop out of the City until he sees something
concrete regarding the traffic on collector streets. Mr. Maxfield stated there
is no reason for anyone to be driving 40-50 M.P.H. down any collector street
in the City. He asked City Council to keep this in mind when they bring shopping
areas into the community. He stated he would like to see Lakewood as a place
he can be proud to live in again. He stated he is not proud to live in Lakewood
anymore, but he will continue to live here and he will continue to follow-up
on the traffic issue. Mr. Maxfield stated that another option would be to extend
the boycott or contact insurance companies and let them know what is going on
in the streets. He said that if someone does get killed, maybe insurance companies
could fight the City.
Councilman Murphy stated that the Mayor, Councilwoman Koop, and he met with Gary Maxfield. That meeting was followed up by a meeting with Police Chief Burns, Public Works Director Dick Plastino, Traffic Department's Allen Albers and Dave Basket, and others. Another meeting is scheduled with Gary Maxfield on Thursday to offer some possible solutions for 20th Avenue and other collector streets in Lakewood. He stated that the City is being as responsive as possible in hopes of making things better.
Newt Vaughn - 8663 W. Hawaii Drive - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Vaughn asked the citizens of Lakewood to be extremely careful regarding
campfires due to the many fires around the state. He stated that last week he
made a comment requesting that salaries be frozen and a comment from Councilor
Saum was that salaries are based on what other cities pay. Mr. Vaughn stated
that he doesn't know if he could find another city manager with a better compensation
package anywhere in the United States than the one Lakewood's has. He stated
that it obligates future councils and future mayors to an automatic 4% raise
of which they decided to give him a 5% raise last year. Mr. Vaughn asked Council
to freeze salaries, realizing the contract with the City Manger may not allow
for that. A statement can be made that the City Manager makes a lot of speeches
at seminars and is well recognized and he may be the best city manager we have
ever seen in this country. The citizens of Lakewood cannot afford it. Mr. Vaughn
stated that they should look at his accomplishments: a city hall which the citizens
voted against; a cultural center, which less than 1% of the people in the City
of Lakewood take advantage of; the Villa Italia is gone, there is no shopping;
the Villa Professional Plaza is gone; a K-mart store moved from one location
to another; another clothing store moved from one location to another. Blight
is created in one area and now there is a proposal to move a Wal-mart store
to another location. He asked what was planned for the location they are currently
in. Musical chairs are being played with the store. There is no place for shoppers
to go in the City of Lakewood, maybe when Mills opens, but he stated he didn't
know what they could offer people like him who would have to drive 6-8 miles
to get there. Mr. Vaughn stated he does not know what his real accomplishments
have been for the City of Lakewood. He asked that Council look at the top management
people in this City because the City is under a budget crunch and Council should
think about freezing salaries until things get better or the Mills proves to
be a better area than we are proposing.
Dave Lumbarger - 3053 South Oak Way - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Lumbarger stated that he doesn't get a lot of exercise, but he does play
golf and he likes to hike to the top of Mount Carbon. When he stops at the top
he wants to be able to see his goal. He stated the City planners have done an
excellent job of positioning the toilets. Mr. Lumbarger stated it is better
than catching a cyclist with his spandex down.
Bob Dunwoody - 5575 South Union Court - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Dunwoody stated that he is not an expert on toilets and he loves vistas
of over 1200 square miles and he is sorry it has been reduced to 1100 square
miles. He stated he is sure that many very wise people have looked at this project
over the last 5-7 years, spent a lot of money on it, a lot of time, and the
bikers and golfers should learn to give and take a little bit. He stated there
would be benefits to each by having a bathroom there.
John Sbarbaro - 2943 South Oak Way - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Sbarbaro stated that he has lived in Lakewood for 38 years and five years
ago he moved over to the Fox Hollow Village, so he is in the middle of the argument.
He stated that history repeats itself, remembering the argument around the Fox
Hollow Village and how it was going to destroy the community and how the area
was going to be denied to animals. He stated that now that he lives on the golf
course he sees more animals, more birds, and more people, all enjoying the same
environment. Mr. Sbarbaro stated that the same problem has been made a press
affair rather than a community affair. A few people have an interest one way,
but an awful lot of people can use that facility, use the area, and enjoy the
community, without a loss of vista. He stated he sat on the Colorado Air Quality
Control Commission for ten years and heard the same arguments regarding how
people could sit on the top of Mount Evans and look out and see smoke and should
get rid of every power plant in the entire state. He stated it was very nice,
very welcome, but people need electricity. He stated that human needs also have
to be met with environmental needs and individual vista needs. Mr. Sbarbaro
urged the Council to leave it the way it is and allow the community to enjoy
itself.
Jim Micus - 3073 S. Oak Way - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Micus stated that he lives on the third fairway at Fox Hollow and he had
a problem with people urinating in public at Fox Hollow. From his deck, he could
see one tree that everyone used and it was hard when he had dinner parties.
He stated he kept track of it and one out of every foursome was urinating in
public there. Four times an hour, 30 per day, it is about 6,000-8,000 people
per year. Mr. Micus stated he went to Fox Hollow and they put up a sign and
they stopped it. He thanked them for that. Therefore, he was thankful to see
where they put the new facility. He stated he jogs, cycles, and golfs up there
and the position of the facility is in such a place that both cyclists and golfers
can take advantage of it. If the facility is moved down the hill, the cyclists
aren't going to be able to take advantage of it. He stated it was environmentally
friendly and it looks very good. He stated it was comforting that it was up
there because the closest facility is 20 minutes down in the Morrison Area in
the state park or to go back into the golf course area. Mr. Micus stated that
it would be a terrible waste of taxpayer's money if the City did move it and
he thanked the City for putting it up there.
Johann Cohn - 1208 S. Brentwood Street - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Cohn stated that in 1982 he appeared before a committee of Council members
and one of the questions he was asked was, "Would you favor a public relations
type newspaper for the City?" He stated the paper was needed and it could
point out certain facts and events that are often missed in the media or buried.
He stated that he warned that such a public relations sheet could become a monster
of positivism, stating the City could do no wrong and it could also drown out
opposition to City measures and could be very one dimensional. He stated that
he now opens the newspaper and reads positive things about the Heritage Center
and there is no mention of contradiction about an issue that he has opposed.
He stated that he does not represent a cast of thousands, yet, but Council and
staff do not know what people feel about Belmar Park and to simply drown them
out is not good public policy. He stated that the City should acknowledge that
there is some opposition to what is going on. A lot of money is being spent
because it is available, because the staff has gotten it for you, and he appealed
to Council to tell the staff what to do, do not listen to everything staff tells
them. There are some things Council needs to rely on staff for, but everyone
knows public taste. He asked Council to please take another look at Belmar Park
before putting something in it that has all the ambiance of a British petroleum
filling station.
Dave Bass - 2234 South Everett Street - Lakewood, Colorado
Regarding the restrooms on the top of Mount Carbon, Mr. Bass stated that he
hikes there every morning. The building being put up is a very attractive building
with a shake shingle roof and it looks fine and it serves golfers, hikers, and
bikers. He stated it serves a fine purpose.
City Manager Mike Rock stated that regarding the restroom issue at Homestead Golf Course, the testimony heard tonight reflects the City's experience in most projects, and that is there are many different opinions on issues. The City has six capital improvement projects underway and they will be opening throughout the summer. The Homestead Golf Course will have its grand opening on the 29th of June. He stated that one of his responsibilities is to ensure the projects are kept on track and on budget. He stated that he does not expect to have 100% agreement on all the components of every single project. He stated the Homestead project is on track and the restroom facilities are complete. The project is located on property that was owned or controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers and/or by the Denver Water Board. On Mount Carbon,there is already a bike path and picnic shelter. The City believes that this restroom location meets the needs of hikers, bikers, and golfers and avoids conflicts between those groups. It is not located near any residential houses and the restroom reflects the best balance between those needs. All necessary approvals have been received for not only the project, but also actually the restroom facilities. All the building inspections are complete. When Mr. Holben questioned the placement of the toilet, a number of the managers in the organization revisited the site and still believe this is the best location. Mr. Rock said that despite websites and flyers and bumper stickers, only three negative comments have been received by the City regarding this matter and two are from the Holbens. City Manager Mike Rock stated that an open house was conducted regarding the Heritage Center and Belmar Park. Those open houses were an opportunity to obtain public input and comments and many HCA members attended that open house.
Councilman Murphy stated he felt that some members of staff and golf course staff are waiting for some direction from your policy makers, which is the City Council. He stated that he could not stretch his imagination to include this issue in the arena of policy and therefore stated that things should be left alone and as is.
Councilman Elliott stated that an individual had mentioned that they didn't feel like the City is very responsive to individual issues. He stated he has been incredibly impressed with the amount of effort the City takes when an individual citizen expresses a concern. Everyone on Council gets a service report ona weekly basis of all the requests that come into the City for things that citizens want us to address. Councilman Elliott stated that in his ward alone, he sees approximately 100-200 requests each month and that each one of those is responded to by City staff. Many times citizens bring up issues that the City may not be aware of and other times the City may be aware of them. He stated that that doesn't mean that the citizens always get what they want. Councilman Elliott stated that sometimes it feels that if a citizen doesn't get what they want, they feel like the City doesn't listen to them. Council represents 144,000 constituents and Council cannot do what everybody wants or there would be mass chaos. He stated that he is impressed with the amount of effort and time this City staff goes through in addressing those issues to try to respond to individual complaints and he wanted to make sure that the public is aware of that and that the City does not disregard any comments made by any citizens at all.
Mayor Burkholder stated that individual customer inquiries are handled, not
through boilerplate answers to issues, but by answering each individually. He
stated the City takes each inquiry very seriously and answers all of them.
CONSENT AGENDA - The following items from the Consent Agenda were read into
the record by the City Clerk.
ITEM 9 - RESOLUTION 2002-37 AUTHORIZING A REVOCABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD AND HUTCHINSON HOMES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SOUTH GLADIOLA WAY AND SOUTH BEAR CREEK BOULEVARD
ITEM 10 - RESOLUTION 2002-38 AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF POLICE VEHICLES
ITEM 11 - ORDINANCE O-2002-17 ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 2.05 RELATING TO THE REMOVAL OF MEMBERS OF THE LAKEWOOD CITY COUNCIL
ITEM 12 - RESOLUTION 2002-18 ORDINANCE TO VACATE THE 8TH AVENUE RIGHT-OF-WAY EAST OF INDIANA STREET AND WEST OF GLADIOLA STREET LOCATED IN THE SOUTHWEST ONE-QUARTER OF SECTION 6, TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 69 WEST OF THE SIXTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, CITY OF LAKEWOOD, COUNTY OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF COLORADO
ITEM 13 - ACCEPTING MINUTES OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Heritage Culture and the Arts Commission April 17, 2002
Heritage Culture and the Arts Commission May 15, 2002
Lakewood Liquor and Fermented
Malt Beverage Licensing Authority January 24, 2002
Lakewood Liquor and Fermented
Malt Beverage Licensing Authority February 28, 2002
Senior Citizens Advisory Commission November 14, 2001
Senior Citizens Advisory Commission January 9, 2002
Senior Citizens Advisory Commission March 13, 2002
Senior Citizens Advisory Commission April 10, 2002
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to approve the Council minutes; to accept the minutes of Boards and Commissions; and ordered all ordinances introduced on first reading to be published in the Lakewood Sentinel with public hearing set for the dates included in the ordinance; and ordered the adoption of resolutions, all of which were included in the Consent Agenda items introduced into the record by the City Clerk. The motion was seconded by Councilman Elliott.
Vote: 11 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 14 - ORDINANCE O-2002-16 - AMENDING SECTIONS 9.52.160 AND 9.52.190 AND REPEALING SECTION 9.52.180 OF THE LAKEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING THE ISSUANCE OF SOUND-AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT PERMITS BETWEEN THE HOURS OF TEN PM AND MIDNIGHT
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to adopt Ordinance O-2002-16. It was seconded by Councilman Elliott. Vote: 11 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM15 - HEARING - AT&T FRANCHISE VIOLATIONS
Ken Fellman, Telecommunications Attorney for the City, reported the following:
Attorney Fellman stated that a hearing was scheduled for tonight on a violation
with your cable franchise with AT&T Broadband. In the last week, an agreement
was worked out that is being proposed to City Council this evening. (The proposal
was distributed to City Council members.) This issue involved extending the
AT&T cable system into the Belmar Commons subdivision. This is a subdivision
that has private streets but public easements. When the streets were first put
in, the other utilities were put in, but for whatever reason, the cable system
was not put in. Reading the Franchise suggests that there was an obligation
to put that system in and is an obligation, currently, to be providing service
there. AT&T had not done that and a hearing was scheduled for tonight to
present evidence to you and allow you to consider whether, in fact, there was
a violation of the Franchise and if so, what the remedy should be within the
framework of your cable franchise with AT&T.
The Settlement Agreement, the stipulation that was just provided to Council, states that AT&T will construct its cable system into the Belmar Commons neighborhood. They are going to complete that and have service operational by July 15th. As new homes are built in that area, they are going to continue to extend the cable system and provide service. AT&T has agreed to reimburse the City all of its legal costs and fees that have been incurred in dealing with this problem since last fall. If the conditions of the stipulation are not met, there is a provision where the City would give AT&T notice of the failure to meet a condition. If it was not brought into compliance within ten days, the City would at that time start imposing the damages/remedies of their Franchise and not have to go through the whole hearing process all over again. In consideration for that agreement, the City would be agreeing not to hold the hearing and while there has been an allegation on the City's staff's part that the Franchise has been violated, AT&T has denied that, and by not having the hearing, there will not be any finding made that there actually was a violation.
The one caveat is that the way AT&T is going to get this system operational by July 15th is through an agreement with another company that has empty conduit in the ground. Therefore, they will not have to dig up the streets and put in their system from scratch. They have worked out a deal to use another entity's conduit. They have not, as of tonight, physically inspected that conduit, to convince themselves that it's in a condition to allow them to make the system extension. Everyone believes that it will be. This is a brand new subdivision; the conduit is, likewise, very new. However, AT&T wanted to leave the door open, that if they find out, once they do get in the ground, that this conduit is not acceptable for whatever reason, they will come back to the City, ask for the shortest reasonable extension, and based on whatever the facts and circumstances of this hypothetical may be, the City would then be able to use its discretion, not unreasonably withhold an agreement to extend, but it would be within the City's discretion based on the facts and circumstances as to what the extension should be. At the same time, we don't want to wait until the day before July 15th to find out that there is a potential problem, so AT&T is obligated to complete its physical examination of that conduit no later than June 17th, one week from today. If they haven't concluded their agreement with the other company that owns the conduit within ten days of that, and in no event, can they notify us for the need of an extension later than June 28th. If there is a problem, the City should find out very quickly. Everyone is hoping and expects that there will not be a problem.
Attorney Fellman stated that he has worked very closely with Joni Inman on this and both are in agreement and recommending to Council that this is a good way to get service up and running quickly. Months ago, we demanded service be up and running by July 15th and here tonight on the night of the hearing, there is a proposed stipulation that service will be up, with this one caveat, by July 15th.
Attorney Fellman stated that it was the Council's discretion whether they wanted to accept this stipulation or proceed with a hearing. AT&T's authorized individual has signed the agreement so Council can see that AT&T has agreed to this.
Councilwoman Kesselman stated that nowhere in the agreement could she find the length of time requirement between a customer requesting service and AT&T providing that service.
Attorney Fellman agreed that it was not written in the stipulation. He stated that it is contained in the City's Customer Service Standards. The Customer Service Standards are adopted in addition to the Franchise Agreement.
Joni Inman stated that she received the initial complaint from the developer back in August that AT&T had been asked to provide service and there were some problems. This actually goes back many months from the first request for service from a resident living in that area. It has been far more than the ten days.
Councilwoman Martin asked why the company that currently has cable under ground could not provide cable service. She asked that if they did not have a Franchise, how they could put that conduit in place to begin with.
Joni Inman stated that the other company is Wide Open West and they are just beginning their service in Lakewood. They currently serve about 1000 customers in the southwest area. There is a plan for continuing that build-out to the north, but they are not yet providing any service in that area so they are not activated in that area. When they are, we will be requiring that they, too, provide service. AT&T has reached the area and there is a requirement in the Franchise that when the density of a new area reached 30-35 residential units within a certain radius that they must provide it.
Councilman Elliott asked if AT&T Broadband had acquired the conduit already. He asked for the status of that conduit.
Attorney Fellman stated that it is his understanding that Wide Open West's key person left him a voice message confirming what AT&T had already told him, that they had a deal. He stated that there were some other issues going on, unrelated to Lakewood, between AT&T and Wide Open West and he expected he would be signing the agreement today. Based on the size of the conduit, it appears that it would be acceptable. The only problem as AT&T explained it to him, was that if they physically look at it and for some reason it's become damaged. Based on the capacity and what they know is in the ground, there is not going to be any hang-up on that issue.
Councilman Stevens stated that he assumed this must have been an oversight that AT&T missed this because it would be much more expensive to go in and have to tear up the roads and try to put the conduit in afterwards. He asked if there was mechanism in place with the new developments in Ward 4 and Ward 5 so this activity can be monitored and the City can keep this from happening in other parts of the City.
Joni Inman explained that AT&T was notified and they chose not to do that in the hopes that they could enter into a private development agreement with the developer at a later time and require a written agreement with the company to provide exclusive service there later. That was in conflict with the City's Franchise and AT&T was notified of that as well.
Councilman Stevens asked if that was a deliberate move rather than an oversight.
Joni Inman stated that she could not speak on behalf of AT&T.
Attorney Fellman stated that Council is being asked to pass a motion authorizing the Mayor or City Manager to sign and enforce the stipulation agreement.
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to endorse the stipulation agreement as presented
and direct staff to sign and enforce the agreement. It was seconded by Councilman
Elliott. Vote: 11 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 16 - RESOLUTION 2002-39 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, COLORADO, CONSENTING TO THE TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF THE CITY'S CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM FRANCHISEE TO AT&T COMCAST CORP
Attorney Fellman stated that AT&T is in the process of merging with Comcast Corporation. The City's Franchise states that the City has the ability to approve or disapprove of the transfer of a franchise or a transfer of control. AT&T has a number of subsidiaries. There is an entity that holds the City's franchise that is a subsidiary of AT&T Broadband, which is a subsidiary of AT&T Corporation, which is the 1890s entity. AT&T Broadband is being spun off from AT&T Corporation and then it is merging with Comcast to provide a new parent company that will be called AT&T Comcast. The entity that holds the franchise is staying exactly the same. The officers and bylaws are not changing. The same franchise operator is in place. The parent company that has ultimate control over it is what is changing. In a franchise transfer or a change of control situation, franchising authorities are allowed to investigate the transaction and make a determination as to whether the transaction will impact the company's legal, technical, or financial ability to comply with these obligations under the City's franchise. Lakewood is a member of the Greater Metro Telecommunications Consortium which is a group of 28 cities and counties in the Metro Area that work together on telecommunications issues. Through the GMTC, the communities in the region carefully examined this transaction. Attorney Ken Fellman stated that he worked closely with GMTC as their counsel in this matter. Based upon the examinations of the transaction, a model resolution was drafted which is the basis for the resolution before Council tonight. A Memo was distributed to Council listing a number of conditions as well as a replacement resolution which changed the entity name that holds the franchise from Mountain States Video, Inc. to AT&T Mountain States Video, LLC. That is the correct legal name of the franchise holder. That is the only change in the resolution. Attorney Fellman stated that he and staff are recommending approval of the transfer with the conditions contained in the resolution.
Joni Inman stated that there was a representative present from AT&T to answer any specific questions regarding the resolution.
Councilwoman Kesselman stated that the customer service standards are referenced in the resolution and asked that better responses are gotten than have been seen in the past.
Joni Inman stated that the customer service standards are part of the Franchise. They are the same customer service standards that have been adopted by every County Commissioner and every City Council member in the entire Metro Area and they call for a specific time periods for service, fines for lack of compliance, and a replenishable line of credit that allows the City to repair property if damaged and if AT&T is not responsive. Joni Inman offered to make copies of the customer service standards available to the Council members for their use.
Councilman Murphy stated that a hearing was almost held on an alleged violation and now Council is being asked to approve a merger. He asked Joni Inman to talk about the timing of these two issues.
Joni Inman stated that the City was served with official notification of the pending merger and the City is required to take some action within a specified period of time or Council consent is assumed. The City knew there was a franchise violation hearing that needed to go before Council, so staff did delay the approval of the resolution until it could be determined whether the franchise violation would be cured. There are only three criteria which can be used to evaluate the merger and stated that it was her opinion that AT&T Comcast fulfills all of the criteria.
Councilman Stevens asked if the transfer had not been pending, if a solution would have occurred regarding the possible violation hearing.
Attorney Fellman stated that he has represented cities approximately six times where franchise violation hearings were scheduled with Council and settlements were reached at the last minute. When it gets close to the time to put the evidence in front of the City Council and defend their actions, people tend to get more willing to sit down and figure out a way to avoid having to do that. He stated that he is confident that even if the transfer were not pending, the matter would have been resolved in an amicable way.
Joni Inman added that a provision exists in the transfer resolution that Comcast will assume any franchise problems that currently exist, therefore not letting them off the hook in the merger. In fact, the resolution calls for written acknowledgement of that by AT&T Comcast within 30 days of Council's approval of the merger. AT&T Comcast, the new entity, will know the status of the franchise at that time and acknowledge it to Council in writing.
There was no public comment.
Councilman Wise made a motion to adopt Resolution 2002-39 as amended. It was seconded by Councilman Elliott. Vote: 11 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 17 - GENERAL BUSINESS
A. PRESENTATION - POLICE ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
Chief Ron Burns stated there were five scholarships to be presented to outstanding
youth from the Lakewood Police Athletic League. Chief Burns explained that these
funds come from direct donations from Lakewood Police Agents' paychecks. During
the year 19 sporting teams were sponsored and in 2001 $7800 was given to youth
programs. Every year scholarship nominations are obtained from the four high
schools as well as parent participants of the Police Athletic League. There
were 50 submissions for scholarships. Chief Burns introduced the Board of the
Police Athletic League: Division Chief Al Youngs, Sgt. Michele Tovrea, Agent
Donn Kraemer, Agent Dave Adams, Mr. Don Lewis. He thanked them for their support.
Sgt. Michele Tovrea introduced the following recipients and they were presented
with their scholarship certificates: Julie Phillipson, Allison Campy, Summer
Applegate, Alysa Burnell, and Ashley Newcomber (not in attendance).
B. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Councilwoman Wise made a motion to hold an Executive
Session following this Regular City Council Meeting for the purpose of developing
strategies for negotiations relating to economic development projects, Colfax/Wadsworth
Public Financing Agreement, Mount Carbon Bankruptcy, and an IGA regarding Juvenile
Sex Offenders pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(e) and Section 2.15(2) of the Home
Rule Charter. It was seconded by Councilman Elliott.
Vote: 11 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 18 - REPORTS
Mayor Burkholder
Announced his receipt of letters and notes thanking Lakewood for the recent
SCRUB DAY event.
Announced a free slide lecture by members of the 10th Mountain Division who fought in World War II. The lecture is being held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 13th, in the Cultural Center and he invited the public to attend.
Reminded everyone that fireworks are illegal in the City of Lakewood and appealed to the public to please not use fireworks. The City has taken a zero tolerance stand on the use of fireworks this year.
Councilman Elliott
Reminded Council that the Study Session scheduled for June 17th was cancelled.
Announced his visit to the Carmody Recreation Center. He stated that Lakewood has done a phenomenal job on incorporating all the different venues and it is very impressive. He encouraged everyone to visit the newly remodeled center.
Announced his attendance at the Heritage Center Open House on June 6th.
Councilwoman Wise
Announced her attendance at a Town Hall Meeting last Saturday with state legislators.
There was education provided at the meeting regarding the Tabor Amendment. She
stated her disappointed in the State dropping the juvenile diversion program.
The program kept some juveniles from being incarcerated, which cost approximately
$60,000 per child per year. She stated it doesn't take long to recoup the money
that has been eliminated from the budget. She stated that the Tabor Amendment
would adversely affect the local level programs by the decisions that the State
Legislature and the Governor are going to have to continue to make. The citizens
need to become very informed about the adverse effects that Tabor is having
now on our programs. It is a very complicated issue and frequently misunderstood,
but Tabor did not take into consideration the economic cycles. Councilwoman
Wise stated she would like to take the lead in putting together some sessions
to further educate citizens about Tabor, not only at the local level, but at
the state level as well. She thanked the legislators for organizing the Town
Hall Meeting sessions. The guest speaker was a representative from the Big Horn
Center for Public Policy.
Councilwoman Saum
Recognized the retirement of a friend and former professional colleague of hers,
Marilyn Saltzman. Marilyn Saltzman is stepping down after 20 years as Public
Relations Spokesman for the R-1 School District. Councilman Saum wished her
well.
Councilwoman Koop
Announced her attendance of the Grand Opening Celebration at the Carmody Recreation
Center. She encouraged everyone to stop by and see the remodeling.
Announced her attendance at the Heritage Center Open House. Her family attended with her and enjoyed the presentation.
Councilman Stevens
Announced his attendance at the dedication and reopening of the Carmody Center.
He stated it was a wonderful facility and encouraged the citizens to visit it.
Councilwoman Martin
Announced her attendance at the Heritage Center Master Plan Open House held
on June 6th. There will be another Open House on site on June 20th from 4-7
p.m. The public is invited to attend. June 20th is also the opening of the Summer
Concert Series at the Amphitheater.
Councilman Murphy
Congratulated South Lakewood on the opening of the Carmody Center. He stated
that the Whitlock Center is nearing completion and will be open this fall. It
is located near Colfax and Dover.
Announced the Colfax Community Association monthly meeting of Wednesday, June
19th at 7:30 a.m. at the Mark Starr Center on 16th & Yarrow.
Councilwoman Kesselman
Announced that Governor Owens banned all open fires in the State of Colorado.
Announced her attendance at the Grand Opening of the Carmody Recreation Center.
Announced her attendance at the Grand Opening of the Parks Maintenance Facility on Estes Street. She stated it is a beautiful facility and encouraged the residents to stop by and see it. Councilwoman Kesselman stated that it was a significant improvement to the property which was in shambles for many years. She congratulated Community Resources for their hard work in getting the facility built.
Councilwoman Herbst
The South Alameda Neighborhood will be hosting a fair on Saturday, June 22nd
from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Ray Ross Park. It is being sponsored by Alameda
Gateway Association, the City of Lakewood, and the neighborhoods. There will
be balloons, face painting, and games for the family. She invited everyone to
attend.
ITEM 19 - ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Burkholder
adjourned at the meeting at 7:37 p.m.
Submitted by
Margy Greer, City Clerk
 |
||
Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Notice |
||
