Lakewood City Council Minutes for April 14, 2003

Lakewood City Council Minutes for April 14, 2003 MINUTES
OF
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF
CITY OF LAKEWOOD
7 P.M. April 14, 2003

ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Burkholder called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Lakewood Civic Center South, 480 South Allison Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado.

ITEM 2 - ROLL CALL

Those present were: Mayor Steve Burkholder, Presiding

Jackie Herbst
Bob Murphy
Debbie Koop
Cheryl Wise
Jean Saum
Barbara Martin
Ray Elliott
Mike Stevens
Carol Kesselman

Absent: Tom Booher

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.

Mayor Burkholder recognized Boy Scouts from Troop #514 and Troop #748 who were in the audience.

ITEM 3 - PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

ITEM 4 - PROCLAMATION - LINDSAY ELLIS DAY
Mayor Burkholder proclaimed April 14, 2003, as Lindsey Ellis Day in honor of her being the 2003 representative of the Chester, England Music Scholar Exchange Program. Lindsey Ellis played a flute solo for the City Council.

ITEM 5 - PROCLAMATION - WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD
Mayor Burkholder proclaimed April 14-18, 2003, Week of the Young Child. In honor of the Week of the Young Child, Ann Conklin of the City's Head Start Program, on behalf of the children in the program, read a poem and presented a potted plant to the Mayor. Ms. Conklin thanked the Mayor and City Council for their continued support of the children in the Lakewood community.

ITEM 6 - PRESENTATION - LAKEWOOD LEGACY FOUNDATION GRANT
Eileen Schurmann, Chairperson, Lakewood Legacy Foundation, presented a check in the amount of $5000 to the Eaton Terrace Music Program. The program offers music therapy for the seniors at Eaton Terrace. Mayor Burkholder thanked Eileen Schurmann and Lakewood Legacy for their continued support of community programs.

ITEM 7 - PRESENTATION - PROPOSED YOUTH COMMISSION
Two students presented a proposal for a Youth Commission to the City Council and asked for their support in adopting a resolution at the next City Council meeting to allow a pilot Youth Commission to be formed. Ms. Wong announced the upcoming youth job fair to be held on Saturday, May 3rd at the Cultural Center. City Council was asked to please review the proposal and forward any questions or concerns to the City Clerk before next Monday.

ITEM 8 - PUBLIC COMMENT

Kevin Moore, Lakewood High School Rocket Club, 9700 W. 8th Avenue, Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Moore stated he is a physics teacher at Lakewood High School and the sponsor of the Lakewood Rocket Club. There are seven team members in total and two of the students spoke about the Rocket Club. Over the school year, members of the Lakewood Rocket Club participated in the Aerospace Industry's Association Team America Rocketry Challenge. The objective of the contest was to design and build a rocket that would successfully launch a cargo of two raw eggs to an altitude of 1500 feet and safely recover both eggs and rocket. The Lakewood Rocket Club reached an altitude of 1495 feet, only five feet away from the target goal of 1500 feet. Because of the achievement, the team was invited to participate in the National Fly Off in Virginia. The top 100 teams in the Nation, from 32 states, have been invited to attend the Virginia competition. The team stated that $2000 needs to be raised for rocket parts and travel expenses. They asked the community to assist with fund raising. A short video of their rocket launch was shown.

Newt Vaughan - 8663 W. Hawaii Drive - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Vaughan stated that last week there was an article on the news about the Denver Police Reserve program. In Lakewood, there also is a volunteer program for volunteers to help in the Lakewood Police Department. One of the requirements is attendance of the Citizens Police Academy. He stated he attended it a couple of years ago and found it to be a very rewarding experience. Also, about two weeks ago, he attended his first class on surveillance and found it to be very informative. These volunteers perform a great many duties for the Police Department. They do speed control surveillance, school parking lot surveillance during proms, handicap parking patrol, and other duties. Mr. Vaughan stated that the community owes a debt of gratitude to the volunteers.

David Wiechman - 722 S. Beech Street - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Wiechman introduced his daughter, Michelle. He stated that due to Mr. Vaughan's comment, he would like to pass along the news that there is a Citizens Police Academy Alumni Meeting this Thursday at the Public Safety Building. All are invited to attend. He stated that he was in support of the Youth Commission. In his activities with Youth Leadership Jefferson County, and more importantly, with ten years with Citizens for Lakewood's Future, he stated he has had great opportunities to work with a lot of youth. Citizens for Lakewood's Future has a board member who is a designated youth representative. He recognized that youth member, Hailey Antencion, from the audience. She is a junior from Lakewood High School. Mr. Wiechman stated that if the City can do anything to work more with youth, he recommended they do it. He asked City Council to please support the commission.

Walt Heidenfelder - 13009 West Ohio Avenue - Lakewood, Colorado
He stated that at a recent City Council meeting about six weeks ago, he mentioned the plight of the Lakewood Rozicki Family. Their son, Matthew, had surgery for a brain aneurysm. Some of the citizens stepped forward and helped with their financial needs. Matthew is recovering well. Organizations and individual citizens of Lakewood stepped forward to help the family financially. Newt Vaughn and Mr. & Mrs. Stack helped as well. O'Connell Middle School had a fundraiser where students brought pennies to school. They raised over $200 in pennies and the students, staff, and teachers raised over $1000 for the Matthew Fund. In this year of budget cut for essential services, it is important to note that we have people in Lakewood that see the true meaning of patriotism as service to the community and helping fellow Americans. Mr. Heidenfelder showed a thank-you card which was sent to him, but meant for all of the citizens of Lakewood.

Michael O'Beirne - 25 North Cody Court - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. O'Beirne thanked the City Council members who attended the April 2nd meeting which covered citizen groups from Longmont, Morrison, Lakewood, and also garnered interest from Greenwood Village and Denver. In attendance were Senator Deana Hanna, Mayor of Wheat Ridge, and assorted citizens groups. First and foremost, he thanked Cheryl Wise for making it possible for us to continue a dialogue with Professor Marcie Hamilton, the Country's foremost expert on Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. She is also one of the premiere experts in this Country on the Establishment Clause. He also thanked Council President Bob Murphy for his attendance and Tom Booher. Professor Hamilton is a remarkable person. She's a Master of Philosophy, a Master of English, and a Master of Jurisprudence. He stated she has counseled the Executive Branch in France, Serbia, South Africa, and Slovenia as well. She also has a practice dealing in Intellectual Property. The information that she imparted on the citizens group and all interested parties is invaluable. She strengthened our view that comes to us from the Tenth Amendment, those powers not held by the Federal Government, are held by the States, which in turn, gives us fortitude to make local land use decisions. That was again reinforced through the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, where she won a case in October. It reiterated the fact that Municipalities have the right to make local land use decisions and it is not politically correct, but those decisions, by their very nature, are discriminatory. Municipalities can decide what is applicable in certain zoning, relative to what the atmosphere of a residential neighborhood and the climate is in a given area. He thanked the elected officials and citizen groups for their attendance.

The following Consent Agenda items were read into the record by the City Clerk:

ITEM 9 - RESOLUTION 2003-24 - RECOMMENDING SUPPORT FOR THE US6/SH 121 INTERCHANGE RECONSTRUCTION FEASIBILITY STUDY AND THE WADSWORTH CORRIDOR STUDY BEING ADDED TO THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE TEA-21 LEGISLATION.

ITEM 10 - RESOLUTION 2003-25 - SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT PREPARED FOR THE WEST CORRIDOR PROJECT WITH CONDITIONS AS NOTED

The City Clerk stated that the City Council would be voting on the corrected version dated April 14, 2003, that was distributed to City Council this evening.

ITEM 11 - ORDINANCE O-2003-11 - REPEALING SECTION 2 AND SECTION 3 OF ORDINANCE 0-2003-6; FURTHER AMENDING SECTION 1.16.040B AND 1.16.040C OF THE LAKEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE

ITEM 12 - APPROVING MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Regular City Council Meeting February 24, 2003
Regular City Council Meeting March 24, 2003

ITEM 13 - ACCEPTING MINUTES OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

Lakewood Liquor and Fermented Malt
Beverage Licensing Authority Meeting January 9, 2003
Lakewood Liquor and Fermented Malt
Beverage Licensing Authority Meeting January 23, 2003
Lakewood Liquor and Fermented Malt
Beverage Licensing Authority Meeting February 13, 2003
Lakewood Liquor and Fermented Malt
Beverage Licensing Authority Meeting February 27, 2003
Heritage Culture and the Arts Meeting January 15, 2003
Lakewood Senior Citizens Advisory
Commission February 12, 2003
Lakewood Board of Appeals Meeting March 24, 2003

Public Comments: None.

Councilman Murphy 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 date 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 Councilwoman Herbst.

Councilwoman Kesselman asked how the changes came to be regarding Resolution 2003-25.

Councilman Murphy stated that a citizen correctly pointed out that the MIS did not recommend a west terminus at the JeffCo Government Center, as the language in the original motion indicated.

Councilwoman Kesselman stated that the language should state it is for the 1997 MIS. She stated that the drainage way design currently is not as anticipated. There was some language that may be helpful in passing that resolution to be sure that we are addressing those issues. In Section 6, the last sentence probably should be replaced with "The proposed drainage way design is not satisfactory at this time. City staff will work with RTD through the final design to address the concerns." She asked staff to verify the correct changes.

Dave Baskett stated that the changes as stated by Councilwoman Kesselman were fine.

Councilman Elliott asked why the modification is being made. The original MIS planned on the light rail going down 13th Avenue and ending at the Denver Federal Center. Now, RTD is looking at extending that line from the Denver Federal Center to the JeffCo Government Buildings.

Dave Baskett, Traffic Engineer, stated that he originally wrote the resolution stating that the MIS said it would end at the Federal Center and then proceed out 6th Avenue to the Jefferson County Government Building. Actually, the MIS said that it would end at the Federal Center, but that if additional money was found, it could be extended to the vicinity of US 6 and US 40. It did not specify an alignment. In effect, there was Colfax being considered and US 6 being considered. The language was corrected to show what the MIS stated. The EIS eliminated the Colfax alternative.

Councilman Elliott stated that Council received a memo from RTD this evening. One of the concerns Lakewood had was one of the ways RTD was addressing the drainage issues around the maintenance facility. RTD has given Council a memo expressing some concern over a statement that was originally included in the resolution as to how we wanted that drainage way done. Council wants to work within the parameters of this resolution and not force the issue to be handled a certain way and leave it open at this time.

Councilwoman Wise stated that citizens have called regarding Section 5 of the resolution regarding the full integration of a D10 bike path in the corridor. There was some concern expressed at a neighborhood meeting last week about the grade separated bike path. She asked Dave Baskett to explain why a grade separation and how it will be an enhancement to the existing path.

Dave Baskett stated that there have been a few pedestrian fatalities that are directly related to crossing of major arterial streets, in particular, Kipling down to the area of Hampden. When it gets to these high speed, high volume roads, we think it should be grade separated as a safety feature. Also, in this particular case, we also see the need to have the connection that goes into the back of the Eiber School that addresses coming off the sidewalk at Kipling Street as well.

Councilwoman Wise stated that Light Rail is contingent upon the ridership and its imperative that we in Lakewood get riders to the Light Rail. We have worked extensively with the neighborhoods to try to minimize the impact in those neighborhoods. We are limiting the number of parking facilities that will be located along here. We are doing that on the premise that we are going to get ridership from pedestrian and bicycle traffic. It is vitality important that we address this as a
whole transportation issue, meaning we need to provide safe pedestrian walkways and safe bicycle paths. Without that continuous bike path, the grade separated bike path, we will not accomplish our goal. It is very important that the pedestrians and the bicyclists become the customer in this as well as the rider on the Light Rail.

Councilwoman Kesselman made a motion to amend Resolution 2003-25, striking the last sentence of Section 6 and replace it with, "The proposed drainage way design is not satisfactory at this time, but City staff will work with RTD through the final design to address these concerns." It was seconded by Councilman Elliott.

Vote on the Amendment: All Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.

Vote on the Consent Agenda: All Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.

ITEM 14 - ORDINANCE O-2003-7 AMENDING SECTION 2.20.050 F. OF THE LAKEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO COMPENSATION OF THE MUNICIPAL JUDGES

Public Comment:

Newt Vaughan - 8663 W. Hawaii Drive - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Vaughan stated that approximately one year ago he opposed this issue and he opposes it again. Public employees have a great benefit package and are becoming more aware of how good that package is as we have been studying in the trucking industry, what is happening to the economy of that industry and the insurance packages. He stated he would challenge these judges to go find themselves a job that pays any better than what they are making today, especially, when you consider there is probably some $17,000 to $18,000 worth of benefits a year included. We became quite aware, since my retirement, of what it's going to cost us for medical insurance to continue to work just a little part-time and they are being compensated very well. In today's economy, we should not be raising these salaries any more. I realize that there could be comments that it doesn't cost that much, but there are a lot of things that don't cost that much that's adding up to be millions of dollars. I think we need to take a lot of consideration in raising the upper City salaries at this time.

Councilman Murphy made a motion to adopt Ordinance O-2003-7 on second and final reading. It was seconded by Councilwoman Herbst.

Councilwoman Saum, Chair of the Judges' Salary Committee, stated that the Lakewood City Charter states that the adjustment of judges' salaries is the responsibility of the City Council. Every year the Mayor appoints a committee to evaluate the issue. Serving on the committee this year was Cheryl Wise, Ray Elliott, and Jean Saum. The area judges' salaries were researched and we are trying very hard to keep Lakewood salaries in line with all the other municipalities in the area and did come up with a recommendation that would grant a 2% raise for Lakewood's presiding judge and the two associate judges. The committee is also recommending that the part-time judges who are currently receiving $65.00/hour, be kept at that same salary. The compensation is well deserved and the committee feels like Lakewood has an excellent judicial team. Due to economic times, the committee felt it would be fiscally prudent to have a conservative compensation increase. This year a 2% increase is being recommended.