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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
Tom Booher
Ray Elliott
Jackie Herbst
Bob Murphy
Mike Stevens
Cheryl Wise
Jean Saum
Barbara Martin
Absent: Carol Kesselman
Debbie Koop
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 - ARBOR DAY
Mayor Burkholder proclaimed April 28, 2003 as Arbor Day and presented the Proclamation
to Keith Woods with the Colorado State Forestry. Mr. Woods presented a plaque
to the Mayor and the City of Lakewood in honor of Lakewood meeting the standards
to be a Tree City USA. Mayor Burkholder gave the plaque to City Arborist John
Dzialo and thanked both Mr. Dzialo and Mr. Woods for their assistance with the
City trees, especially during a year of drought.
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ITEM 5 - PROCLAMATION - MENTAL HEALTH MONTH
Mayor Burkholder proclaimed April as Mental Health Month and presented the Proclamation
to representatives Darla Gurry, Ryan Dixon, and Carey Ellis from the Jefferson
Center for Mental Health.
ITEM 6 - PRESENTATION - LAKEWOOD LEGACY FOUNDATION GRANTS
Lakewood Legacy Foundation Chairwoman Eileen Schurmann presented a check in
the amount of $5,000 to the Green Mountain Area Partnership. Lakewood Police
Department Division Chief Clarene Shelley accepted the check on behalf of the
organization.
Ms. Schurmann also presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to Mr. Brian Nielsen,
Environmental Services Manager for the City, for use with a Two Creeks Neighborhood
pilot environmental program.
ITEM 7 - RESOLUTION 2003-26 - APPOINTING MEMBERS TO THE LAKEWOOD BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
Councilman Murphy made a motion to approve Resolution 2003-26. It was seconded
by Councilwoman Herbst. Vote: Nine Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 8 - RESOLUTION 2003-27 - RE-APPOINTING MEMBERS TO THE LAKEWOOD BOARD OF
APPEALS
Councilman Murphy made a motion to approve Resolution 2003-27. It was seconded
by Councilwoman Herbst. Vote: Nine Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 9 - RESOLUTION 2003-28 - RE-APPOINTING A MEMBER TO THE LAKEWOOD LIQUOR
AND FERMENTED MALT BEVERAGE LICENSING AUTHORITY
Councilman Murphy made a motion to approve Resolution 2003-28. It was seconded
by Councilwoman Herbst. Vote: Nine Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 10 - PUBLIC COMMENT
Fred Taake - 10251 W. Exposition Drive - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Taake invited the public to participate in a golf tournament fundraiser
to benefit the Lakewood Legacy Foundation. He also spoke about Legacy Partners
charitable giving campaign.
Barb Heckle - 388 Vance Street - Lakewood, Colorado
Ms. Heckle invited the public to attend the O'Kane United Walk on May 12th.
Proceeds are being given to the Lakewood Legacy Foundation.
Walt Heidenfelder - 13009 W. Ohio Avenue - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. Heidenfelder stated that he attended a Town Meeting held in the Lakewood
City Council Chambers last Friday, April 25th. It was attended by members of
Congress and a large number of citizens. This forum was used to try to sell
the idea that we should scrap the present tax system and replace it with a flat
tax of 17%. Mr. Heidenfelder stated that all citizens would pay the same rate
under that system. Under that system, seniors would lose their mortgage interest
deduction on top of the 100% property tax increase they just got from the Colorado
State Legislature. A flat tax is a regressive tax. A greater share of the tax
burden would be on the middle class worker and on seniors. The wealthy would
once again benefit by lower taxes. Schemes to transfer wealth from the middle
class to the rich have never produced the promised results. That was found out
with Ronald Reagan's trickle down theory that produced trillions of dollars
of debt. Nobody has figured out how to make the rich individuals and rich corporations
do things we want them to do, such as job creation. There is no contractual
obligation for them to do so. If they want they can take the money and go to
the Bahamas, and many of them do. There are ways of simplifying the tax system
and we would all be glad to see the IRS eliminated. Whether we tax income or
consumption, it has to be done with a tax structure that includes different
rates for different levels of wealth in order to be fair. Any tax based on consumption
must exclude food and other items needed for survival. Should a family pay the
same tax rate for their groceries as Mr. Gates pays for his 15th Mercedes? Graduated
progressive income taxes do treat all tax payers equal. Every tax payer pays
the same rate on equivalent layers of income. People in higher brackets don't
pay the higher rate on the entire income, only on the portions of income in
the higher layers of marginal income. People, not dollars, are treated equally.
Discussion regarding the importance of taxation should continue, but without
sleazy salesman from other states coming to Lakewood to insult our intelligence.
Our citizens deserve better. Rather than a sales pitch from a Congressman from
a state where flying a Confederate flag and back country bigotry are still in
vogue, we would appreciate the City's effort to bring economics and taxation
experts with different view points to City Council Chambers so we can have a
balanced debate on tax reform. As a resident of Lakewood, I would like to know
how the City was compensated for the use of City Council Chambers for the political
meeting last Friday. Please provide an answer. Thank you.
Michael O'Beirne - 25 North Cody Court - Lakewood, Colorado
Mr. O'Beirne commended City Council and City staff for philosophical statements
like Resolution 2003-29 that allows us to change the consciousness of our community
towards energy conservation. He stated that hydrogen is the most common element
on the periodic chart. There has been a lot of bad press about hydrogen when
the Hindenberg went up. It was actually the envelop, it was the skin of the
Hindenberg that had burned so intently when it exploded. It was not the hydrogen.
The reason this is mentioned because there are a lot of myths that surround
hydrogen. We know that the President has endorsed the fuel cell initiate, but
has only distributed $300 million to it. The United States did not sign the
Kioti Treaty to limit creating in-house gases, instead we trusted private enterprise
to initiate alternatives. Here we are in the world of initiatives back to Lakewood.
All around us are government entities that have been exploring the issue of
fuel cell technologies and also hydrogen as a combustible fuel source for a
lot of transportation. The Western Area Power Authority that controls a large
concentration of hydro-electric dams and it's the only way to commercially produce
hydrogen with the least consequence to the environment and the largest quantities
to be distributed on a commercial basis. There is the National Renewable Energy
Lab that is pioneering different forms of fuel cell technology for commercial
application. At the fire house at Washington Park at the corner of Virginia
and Franklin, we have the fuel cell provided by Plug Power from New York. It
supplies all the power for the fire station and makes the doors go up and down
and the lights go off and the air conditioning work. One of the residual benefits
is that it also keeps the firehouse warm. I'm very heartened and encouraged
to see these philosophical statements emerge, but there are also public and
private formats to facilitate a greater push towards implementation of this
technology, with no strings attached. I know that people are sometimes concerned
about doing business with federal bureaucracies. There are no proprietary issues
and there is a lot of respect in the process. It is a three-tiered process where
industry is allowed to maintain their technologies, but enhance it through public
incentives. So, I'm very heartened to see this statement and I hope that we
go forward with using alternative energy sources that are here and now. Thank
you.
Mayor Burkholder stated that having the Congressmen in the Council Chambers is an open invitation whether you are a Republican or a Democrat. The Congress people and Senators represent the same people as the City Council represents. Lakewood is the fourth largest City with a population of 145,000. It gives people the opportunity to come and listen to what is said by their particular Congressional Delegation. We were fortunate to have two meetings last week. One on Monday with Senator Campbell and Representative Beauprez and on Friday, we had our Congress people: Representative Tancredo, Beauprez, and a representative from Georgia. We will continue to have these meetings.
CONSENT AGENDA - The following items from the Consent Agenda were read into the record by the City Clerk.
ITEM 11 - RESOLUTION 2003-29 - ENCOURAGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO CREATE A FEDERAL TAX INCENTIVE TO PROMOTE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT; AND TO ENACT AN ENERGY BILL THAT INCLUDES DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS THAT EMPLOY GREEN BUILDING TECHNIQUES; AND TO SPECIFICALLY REQUEST THAT THE BELMAR PROJECT IN LAKEWOOD, COLORADO BE ONE OF THE PROJECTS DESIGNATED
ITEM 12 - RESOLUTION 2003-30 - ESTABLISHING AN AD-HOC YOUTH COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD
ITEM 13 - ORDINANCE O-2003-12 - TO VACATE A PORTION OF THE 24-FOOT SERVICE AND EMERGENCY VEHICLE ACCESS EASEMENT ACROSS LOT 2, BLOCK 1, FIRSTBANK HOLDING COMPANY SUBDIVISION FILING NO. 2, AT 1530 VIEWPOINT ROAD, CITY OF LAKEWOOD, COUNTY OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF COLORADO
ITEM 14 - ORDINANCE O-2003-13 - AUTHORIZING AN EASEMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY FOR AN UNDERGROUND GAS LINE AND RELATED FACILITIES FOR THE MAIN GAS LINE LOCATED IN THE HERITAGE CENTER AT BELMAR PARK LOCATED AT 801 SOUTH WADSWORTH BOULEVARD; FURTHER ACCEPTING TWO QUIT CLAIM DEEDS FROM PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY TO THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD FOR PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY'S INTEREST IN TWO EXISTING EASEMENTS ACROSS BELMAR PARK, LAKEWOOD, COLORADO
ITEM 15 - ORDINANCE O-2003-14 - TO REZONE LAND LOCATED AT 8303 W. COLFAX AVENUE, CITY OF LAKEWOOD, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
City Clerk Margy Greer stated that Ordinance O-2003-15 is the revised Ordinance dated April 28, 2003, that was distributed to City Council members this evening.
ITEM 16 - ORDINANCE O-2003-15 - AMENDING CHAPTER 5.47 OF THE LAKEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO THE REGULATION OF ADULT BUSINESSES; FURTHER DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
ITEM 17 - ACCEPTING MINUTES OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Heritage Culture and the Arts Meeting February 19, 2003
Lakewood Housing Authority Meeting February 24, 2003
Lakewood Planning Commission Meeting February 19, 2003
Lakewood Planning Commission Meeting March 5, 2003
Public Comment: 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 Martin asked the revisions to Ordinance O-2003-15 be explained.
City Attorney Roger Noonan stated that the revision deals principally with Section 7. The Ordinance received on Friday had a provision in it that would allow for the process to assure a judicial determination of a denial would be a "stay" of the denial and then would allow it to go to District Court for determination. While it was pending that determination, the applicant's license, in effect, would be a provisional license. They would be able to go forward until the Court made a determination. That concept has been withdrawn completely and the revised Ordinance places the appeal of the denial before the Municipal Court and provides that the Municipal Court must make a determination within a set period of time. That's done to comply with the recent Littleton Court decision in the 10th Circuit Court where their ordinance was held "unconstitutional" because it failed to provide a judicial determination and Lakewood's existing ordinance is parallel to the Littleton case. The present provision in our ordinance has been held unconstitutional. The revised ordinance proposes that City Council place the next step decision for the denial of an adult entertainment facility at the Municipal Court level.
City Manager Mike Rock reminded City Council that all questions from City Council should be clarifying questions. There will be a second reading for further discussion.
Councilman Stevens asked if the timeline would work for Lakewood Municipal Court.
Roger Noonan stated that it will be approximately 75 days from the actual filing of the appeal. There is a briefing schedule, a replay brief, and motions. The 75 days should be sufficient. He stated he is meeting with the Presiding Municipal Judge tomorrow to discuss that with him.
Mayor Burkholder stated that he is pleased to have the resolution regarding the Build Green Bonds brought forward. He stated he has been back to Washington several times with Belmar. We have worked very closely with our Congressional delegation. We have the support of both our Senator and Representative on this particular issue. Mark Falcone of Continuum Partners met one-on-one with the Governor. He is very highly supportive of this. We have a very unique project with Belmar. The mixed used development is unique, not only in this area, but throughout the United States. From day one, Continuum Partners has said that building green was a part of their project. By being able to participate in these Build Green Bonds, essentially, they'll be able to escalate that participation. The exciting portion is that you can save energy costs anywhere from 40%-50%, which in the long term is very positive. It is one of the issues brought forward in Public Comment tonight, these are some things we certainly need to be taking a look at.
Vote: All Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 18 - 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
Councilman Murphy made a motion to adopt Ordinance O-2003-11 on second and final reading. It was seconded by Councilwoman Herbst.
Vote: All Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
ITEM 19 - GENERAL BUSINESS
A. Councilman Murphy made a motion to hold an Executive Session following the adjournment of the Lakewood Reinvestment Authority to receive legal advice on potential litigation pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b) and Section 2.15 (4) of the Home Rule Charter. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Herbst.
Vote: All Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried.
City Attorney Roger Noonan stated that at the conclusion of the Executive Session, the regular City Council meeting would not reconvene.
ITEM 20 - REPORTS
Mayor Burkholder
Mayor Burkholder reported that every month the Economic Development Director
and he visit existing business to see if there is any way the City can improve
the business climate within the City. It is always very rewarding to do this.
He announced that the arts community met last week and it was refreshing to sit and visit with the various groups such as the Rocky Mountain School of Art & Design or Red Rocks Community College, R-1 School, HCA, and various chorale groups. The arts are so important to Lakewood and Jefferson County.
Mayor Burkholder announced that last weekend he was invited to visit Boston to participate in the Lincoln Land Institute discussion on tax policy. It was two full days and good to share ideas and thoughts with other elected officials and people in academia throughout the United States.
Councilwoman Herbst
Councilwoman Herbst stated that last Thursday was "Take Your Child to Work
Day." This day was energetic, comical, entertaining, and fun. She thanked
Ms. Greer and other staff members for their help in putting the event together.
They held a mock City Council meeting with the children and the children had
a terrific time.
She reported that she attended the Town Meeting last Friday. It was an honor for her to meet with them and get a chance to introduce them. They were very happy and grateful to be here. The Council Chambers was full at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon and there was standing room only.
The Colorado Firefighters Memorial was held on Saturday morning. There were people from all over the State of Colorado as well as people from California. She stated it was a pleasure for her to be representing the Mayor at this event.
She announced the Youth Job Fair scheduled for Saturday, May 3rd, 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. There is no pre-registration for the kids. There will be a lot of give-a-ways and she looks forward to seeing the kids there on Saturday.
Councilman Murphy
Councilman Murphy announced the 13th Avenue Framework Plan meeting scheduled
for tomorrow night at the Clements Center from 6-8 p.m. That is a meeting where
we will talk about the City's responsibilities along the 13th Avenue Light Rail
Corridor.
He announced that there will be a lot of construction at the intersection of Wadsworth and Colfax this weekend from Friday evening following rush hour, all the way through the weekend until Monday morning just preceding rush hour. There will be only one lane open in all directions. Alternate routes are advised.
Councilwoman Martin
Councilwoman Martin stated that she has been serving on the Union Station Advisory
Committee, which is Denver's Union Station. They are going through the same
process for the draft EIS that the City has been going through with the West
Corridor. June 5th will be the date of a large town meeting for hearings regarding
the Environmental Impact Statement.
There is a Historical Society garage sale on May 9th & May 10th. Watch for those items. There should be a lot of collectables and antiques at the sale.
Councilman Stevens
Councilman Stevens announced that the Audit Committee met last Tuesday and received
an update on the new financial and accounting reporting package and how the
implementation will take place. Council will receive a memo on it and will receive
more of a briefing as the year goes on. They also received an update on investment
options, third-party investment managers, and investment vehicles for City funds
that many municipalities are looking at.
He stated that Citizens for Lakewood's Future's annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 8th, 7 p.m. at the Learning Source, which is the former Villa Library and everyone is invited to attend.
Councilwoman Wise
Councilwoman Wise reminded everyone that RTD still has their public comment
period on the Draft EIS for the proposed light rail down 13th Avenue. That period
ends May 5th. For those citizens who have not made those comments and submitted
them yet, she reminded them to do so before May 5th.
ITEM 21 - ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Burkholder
adjourned at the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Submitted by,
Margy Greer, City Clerk
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