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Minutes are not a verbatim transcription but rather an attempt to capture the intent of the speaker by the City Clerk.
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
Ed Peterson
Sue King
Mike Stevens
Vicki Stack
Bob Murphy
Cheryl Wise
Ray Elliott
Debbie Koop
Doug Anderson
Diana Allen
Others in attendance: Mike Rock, City Manager
Tim Cox, 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 - PRESENTATION - 2007 COLORADO COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION ASSOCIATION AWARD - COLFAX CENTRAL
Gail Spencer, Administrative Manager for the Community Planning & Development Department presented the 2007 Colorado Community Revitalization Association Award for Colfax Central at 7601 W. Colfax Avenue.
The City Clerk read the following Consent Agenda items into the record:
ITEM 5 - RESOLUTION 2007-51 - APPROVING THE 2008 OPERATING PLAN AND PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE ALAMEDA CORRIDOR BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
ITEM 6 - RESOLUTION 2007-52 - AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH T-MOBILE WEST CORPORATION REGARDING USE OF CITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
ITEM 7 - ACCEPTING MINUTES OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Lakewood Head Start Governing Board Minutes, May 14, 2007
Lakewood Housing Authority Minutes, May 21, 2007
Lakewood Housing Authority Minutes, June 25, 2007
Public Comment: None.
Councilwoman Wise: Made a motion for approval of the Council minutes, for acceptance of the minutes of the Boards and Commissions, and for adoption of Resolutions, all of which are included in the Consent Agenda items introduced into the record by the City Clerk. Councilman Murphy seconded the Motion.
Vote on the Consent Agenda. 11 Ayes. No Nays. The motion carried and the Consent Agenda was adopted.
Second Reading of Ordinances and Public Hearings
ITEM 8 - ORDINANCE O-2007-30 - LEVYING TAXES FOR THE YEAR 2007, TO DEFRAY THE COSTS OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, COLORADO, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2008, AND ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2008
ITEM 9 - ORDINANCE O-2007-31 - ADOPTING A REVISED BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2007 FOR THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, COLORADO, AND FURTHER ADOPTING THE ANNUAL BUDGET FOR THE CITY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING ON THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY, 2008, AND ENDING ON DECEMBER 31, 2008, ESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY NECESSARY TO BE RAISED BY TAX LEVY BASED ON SAID BUDGET SO ADOPTED, ESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO BE DERIVED FROM OTHER REVENUE SOURCES, SETTING FORTH THE APPROPRIATIONS FOR EACH FUND
Public Hearing was opened on both items 8 and 9 together.
Larry Dorr, City of Lakewood Director of Finance gave a brief overview of the budget process.
The City's Strategic Financial Plan through 2012 looks at income, expenses and the difference between the two and what's happening with the City's reserves. The reserves of the City are at a very productive level and are growing slightly in coming years and that means that revenues and expenses are very close to one another.
Council's target for a level of reserve is ten percent of expenses. In the past couple of years, those reserves were very close to that target and since then have improved and the outlook is good.
Since July 23, 2007, there have been a few changes to the budget. At the City Council's budget study session on August 20, 2007, Public Works Director, Dick Plastino presented an opportunity for the City to conduct some liquid de-icing pilot programs to assess the effectiveness of such a program and that additional expenditure was approved by City Council at that time. On August 27, 2007, at Council's regular meeting, there was an approval for the acquisition of a Police Department Evidence Storage Facility. Financially, as well as from a storage standpoint, it makes sense to own a facility where the City can accommodate its current amount of storage for the next several years. There is an opportunity to expand on the new site if necessary.
Council asked Staff to look at activities within the budget for 2008 that would create a situation where revenues were greater than expenses. What impacts the budget are the capital projects and the funding for one of the projects was slightly front-loaded to synchronize the expenses with the project construction, has resulted in a slight change which will require an amendment to the Ordinance however, it will not change the construction schedule of the project.
The funds are matched by Federal funds in completing very substantial intersection improvements at Kipling and Colfax which will add right turn lanes and medians which will move the traffic through more quickly and safely.
Public Comment:
Charley Able - 7707 W. 4th Ave., Lakewood, CO
Thanked Councilors Elliott, Stack, Allen and Anderson for reminding Council
of their promise of a balanced budget. He also thanked Councilor Wise for asking
Council to restore the Community Clean-up Program to the City.
City Hall has made some cuts and has added an Administrative position to coordinate the Boards and Commissions, which will cost approximately $100,000 per year and will give City Hall Administration a tighter reign on what Boards and Commissions do. He is opposed to this position and would like to take the $100,000 and help the face of the community. However, eliminating this position won't cover the entire cost of the clean-up program so he suggested that the Council make a gesture to show their commitment to a balanced budget and fund that program by foregoing the thirty percent raise that was voted in this year.
Dorothy Wisecarver - 8655 Meadowlark Drive, Lakewood, CO
Questioned where the 5.2 million dollars for Lakewood for RTD Lightrail will
show up in the budget. She understood Lakewood's portion was originally 3.7
million and now is being asked for 1.5 million more, stating it is an increased
cost to taxpayers. She wanted to see figures for all of the sources for the
5.2 million dollars asking what portion comes from the General Fund, the Capital
Improvements Fund, the Lakewood Sewer Fund, the Stormwater Drainage Fund, and
the Urban Drainage Fund. How much staff time is, and will be, devoted to this
and what is the dollar amount for that? How does that show up in the budget?
Is the City providing money through eliminating or crediting costs such as waiving
permit fees? What are the incline costs? What effect will this have on future
sewer, stormwater and urban drainage fees per citizen?
West Metro Fire District has lost revenue because the deal the City cut with the Belmar developers that led to a West Metro tax increase. Even after receiving a fifty percent sales tax increase and the Tabor tax refund, after selling the sales tax increase with the announcement it was needed to keep streetlights on, the majority of Council gave themselves raises and of course, another raise for Mike Rock yet cut out an outdoor pool in Ray Ross Park. Citizens on these Boards and Committees are intelligent, civic-minded individuals capable of coming to their own conclusions, conducting their own meetings and reporting their findings to the Mayor and the Council directly. They can be independent of a Coordinator who states everything for them. If the Committees need a Coordinator, they can find a volunteer who would love to do that.
Michael O'Beirne - P.O. Box 260313, Lakewood, CO
He was concerned with the business and occupation tax, 1.4 million dollars that
the City garners from fixed telephone lines throughout the City. He understood
its need but sees some troubling indications that may conflict with this revenue
stream. He doesn't like granting monopolies to companies that promote government
activities as a reason for their existence. Colorado Wireless Communities say
that the benefit to a community is digital inclusion in economic development,
education, e-government, public safety, government operations, healthcare, and
intelligent transportation. We budgeted 1.7 million dollars for a police communications
center, which means that our cameras at our intersections could potentially
be wired through our police communications center so that our faces and our
license plates and our whereabouts are known all the time. The President's Protect
America Act expires February 1, 2008, which gives the Government carte blanche
entering your house in unannounced searches, and he finds that troubling. He
also finds a troubling parallel with this budget element initiative, where on
October 15, 2007, AT&T is turning on its broadband network. The Colorado
Wireless Communities initiative becomes redundant and superfluous and we shouldn't
be granting monopolies when AT&T has the known capabilities and has done
this for a long time and the consortium for the Colorado Wireless Communities
has very little experience in what they're embarking in. He doesn't think it's
a wise initiative to grant, from the taxpayers perspective, a company unfettered
access to personal files and whereabouts all at taxpayers expense.
Public Comment Closed
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to adopt Ordinance O-2007-30 on second and final reading. Councilman Murphy seconded the motion.
Mayor Burkholder asked Kathy Hodgson, Community Resources Director to speak about the Ray Ross Pool and the process that was used to get there.
He also addressed the issue of the thirty percent raise for Council, which is for the Councilors that will be elected in the coming election two years from now and not for existing Council as well as the Mayor that will be elected this November.
Kathy Hodgson, Community Resources Director talked about the Alameda Pool (aka Ray Ross Pool) indicating that the site is going through a major overhaul. The existing pool, which is 40-50 years old, will be replaced with a water splash-down area which is more popular than the typical rectangular pools. The attendance figures for Alameda Pool have significantly dropped over the years. In 2007, we saw about 1800 kids through the entire summer, which runs for approximately 10-11 weeks, that averages between 20-25 kids per day. In comparison, in 2007 at the Morse Park Pool, we saw about 11,000 kids during the summer.
Councilwoman Stack asked about liability issues on a water park versus a pool. She was concerned about children running on wet cement, which is not allowed at pools.
Kathy Hodgson responded that the surface of the area is made so that it isn't slick. In terms of liability, these water splash parks actually don't need as much supervision as the rectangular pools do in accordance with Red Cross guidelines, which is what we follow. She added that there would not be continuous supervision at this site however, it is a very heavily used and programmed park so there will be staff there for other reasons so there will be secondary supervision at all times.
Councilman Murphy addressed the question regarding the lightrail match. There is a requirement for a 2.5 percent match however, when the City was first approached by RTD, they were requiring a five percent match and we were able to negotiate that down to a 2.5 percent match at very significant savings to the taxpayer. We have almost five years to come up with the exact monies for that match. RTD is close to reaching their full Federal funding agreement, which is when the cost of the project cannot go up any more. He asked staff to, as quickly as possible, put together and Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) that can be signed and will contain a dollar cap on the portion of Lakewood's local match share.
Councilwoman Allen wanted to address the new position for the Commissions and Boards. She stated that currently the Commissions get support from various staff members, which takes time away from their normal jobs and since we have consolidated into one large Commission with several subcommittees, the Commission deserved to have a staff person who supports them, takes minutes and helps with training and materials preparation. She realizes that some people are worried that this person will be a "gatekeeper" but she hopes that the new Commission will have more access to Council and vise-versa since the Commissioners will be expected to have a representative at Council meetings. That staff member will be easily accessible by both the Council and Commissioners so hopefully communication is clearer. The position will be reviewed in six months.
Councilman Stevens asked Joni Inman, Director Mayor & City Managers Office, if, when putting together the job description for this Coordinator, it included a secondary function to coordinate various volunteer positions for the City, which could pay for the salary of the position and save the City money.
Joni Inman, Director Mayor & City Managers Office confirmed that the first priority of the position is to support the Commission and then coordinating with Employee Relations to look at job openings and the pool of volunteers that we will have or be able to generate to see if there are any matches that can be made so that we would not have to spend additional tax dollars on new positions.
The salary study is complete and the range for this position goes up to $75,000 and with benefits, that could increase to $90,000 but the person will not be paid $100,000 per year.
Councilwoman Stack stated that when she first brought the IGA up to the Financial Director, he indicated that we were not expensing any funds over and above the 1.7 million through the sewer. She looked at the Ordinances and couldn't pull up anything addressing what she was looking for so she relied on a State Statute under local government. She questioned the City Attorney asking if it there is an IGA stating that if we have not appropriated the funds for this, that we cannot appropriate funds within that fiscal year stating that it would be in violation and would be void.
Tim Cox, City Attorney asked if the question was concerning the RTD share.
Councilwoman Stack stated that it was because there is a portion in the budget but it's not identified as part of the IGA. Since we have not put in the budget that we do have an IGA, are we able to dispense funds in 2008, over and above what we currently have in the budget?
Tim Cox asked which Statute she was referring to.
Councilwoman Stack indicated that, by Ordinance, Council agreed with the IGA in 2006 but it's only for a portion of the expense.
Mike Rock stated that in any given year, we could not spend more than what is appropriated in the budget. However, we would not appropriate all the expenditures between now and 2013 because those will come up year-to-year. Therefore, the yearly expenditures could not exceed the amount authorized and appropriated by Council unless there was a budget revision. It does not preclude having an IGA, which anticipates expenditures over a multiple year period as long as the funds are appropriated each year to meet the obligations under the IGA. If you fail to do that, then it would void the IGA.
Councilwoman Stack indicated that we have an IGA that is stated on this budget for $300,000 for Rooney Valley/Carma under the reserve. She asked if an IGA with RTD is considered the same thing?
Larry Dorr added that the draft IGA with RTD contains language relative subject to annual appropriation. Without that, the Statute would void an agreement where an appropriation isn't made. Both this agreement and the Rooney Valley/Morrison IGA have non-appropriation language.
Secondly, regarding the Rooney Valley IGA, the City made some commitments to set aside a small portion of reserves from year-to-year in order to provide for a level of services once the Valley begins to develop. The key is relative to language in a given agreement that says "subject to annual appropriation" and that is in both of these agreements.
Councilman Anderson commented that when he ran for office, his two priorities were the Police Department and the Parks Department in that order. He stated that he would have liked to have seen more being done for the reserves and for the Police Department. He added that there are some needs that were unaddressed in the budget regarding the Police Department.
Councilwoman Stack stated that in other budgets she has seen, they have had their reserve on the top line in revenue that they are able to bring forward and use which makes understanding the budget easier by taking less staff time to answer questions. What is the purpose for not putting that in our budget along with revenue instead of putting it in another area?
Larry Dorr indicated that the City follows the recommended guidelines as presented by the GFOA and also as understood by a generally accepted accounting principle. As presented, the City is organizing its budget as it has been which is beginning reserves, plus income, less expenses.
Mike Rock added that for next year's budget, we can work with the Budget and Audit Committee to create an additional one-page summary to be provided to Council that reformats it without violating the requirements under the general acceptable accounting practices that we have to follow in order to get our Auditor's review.
Councilwoman Stack expressed her gratitude for this offer. She also asked about the Business and Occupational tax stating that Council has asked for a revenue rate of two percent. For a couple of years, the revenue from this tax does not reach two percent so she asked if Council was restricted so that we have to budget on two percent or is there something that we can do to budget according to how the monies are coming in?
Larry Dorr answered that Council's guidance has been one of general anticipated economic growth being fairly conservative at the two percent level. The Budget and Audit Committee goes through each revenue line item in the budget and looks for things where general economic growth might not apply. For example, cigarette taxes have flattened or declined throughout a 7-year trend because people are smoking less and therefore, a two percent growth is not planned there. In the Business and Occupations Tax, from year-to-year, businesses are audited for their collections and small audits contribute to fluctuations in income. Property taxes are reassessed every other year so in a non-reassessment year, it would not make sense to apply a two percent growth rate because there is no reassessment. When looking at property tax and other sources of income, such as investment income, the interest rates, compared to 2002-2004, have gone up and the City is earning more money on its reserve.
Councilwoman Stack asked if the Business and Occupational Tax goes into planning or development or is it all expensed as General Funds?
Larry Dorr stated that conceptually, all revenues of the General Fund are pooled together for all of the general expenditures. One specific source of revenue is not connected to one program or one service.
Mike Rock added that the two percent could be three percent or one percent next year. It's a number that is developed in working with Staff, Council Budget and Audit Committee, State revenue projections and ultimately City Council. It was two percent this year but it could be higher or lower in future years.
Councilman Elliott: We had some discussion and passed an Ordinance regarding the Head Start Center, which was going to be funded with CDBG money financed over time. In the budget Capital Improvement Fund, there is a line item for a Head Start Center for $1,242,000.00 with the source coming from the Capital Improvement Fund. Is that the money that Council previously approved through CDBG or is that something in addition to that?
Larry Dorr responded that yes, the CDBG money is the only City funding for this project and the income from the borrowings from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are being deposited into the Capital Improvement Fund for the sake of organizing the expenditures of the project in one place.
There is also a second project related to Ray Ross Park but that is budgeted in a different place.
Councilwoman Allen provided a simple overview stating that our budget is roughly about 150 million dollars per year and of that about 88-90 million is some type of tax revenue (sales, property, etc.) and that the General Fund is pooled to different departments.
Mayor Burkholder added that as a result of a Committee that we had several years ago, in the Spring of 2008 we will have a budget condensation for our citizens (or anyone who wants to find it) that will be very easy to read to see where tax dollars are going.
Vote on ORDINANCE O-2007-30: 11 Ayes. No Nays.
Margy Greer, City Clerk reintroduced Item 9.
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to adopt Ordinance O-2007-31 on second and final reading. Councilman Murphy seconded the motion.
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to amend Ordinance O-2007-31 by amending the 2008 budget for the General Fund by reducing the financial uses by 300,000 and by amending the 2008 budget for the Capital Improvement Fund by reducing the financial sources and uses by 300,000. Councilman Murphy seconded the motion.
Mayor Burkholder stated that this amendment came about as a result of our discussion at a last week's City Council Study Session. He thanked the Community for their input and his fellow Councilors for the budget dialogue.
Councilman Elliott thanked Council for working to get the concerns about the deficiency between the revenues and expenditures resolved so that the revenues will exceed the expenditures for 2008.
Councilman Peterson echoed Councilman Elliott's comments. A lot of these dollars are Federally matched monies out of those programs through Colorado Department of Transportation. He asked for reassurance that this, in no way, jeopardizes that funding stream or puts us into another funding cycle either at the Federal level or at the State level.
Larry Dorr responded that the matching funds have already been secured and will not be impacted by this change in funding or timing. We will not be carried over to different cycles.
Councilwoman Allen asked Kathy Hodgson to discuss the Clean-up Program. She added that it does happen in some portions of town because they are eligible for Federal dollars but there are other places in town that don't get to have a clean-up because they don't have a Homeowner's Association that provides that service and they don't qualify for Federal dollars.
Kathy Hodgson provided a synopsis of the Clean-up Program, which was subject to budget reductions approximately 6-7 years ago. Other cities do this in different ways and many Cities don't do this at all. As an estimate, we are looking at $117,000 which is approximately $39,000 per site which includes all of the trash costs, the compactors, the employees of the trash company as well as City employees costs, promotions and signage.
Councilwoman Wise stated that Councilor Allen has had numerous inquiries about reinstating this program and brought it to Council. This is something that the Community is asking for and there is incredible value to it, not just in terms of the dollar but the quality of life in Lakewood. At the last meeting, she informed Council that she intended to bring forth an amendment to include this however; she is not going to be bringing that amendment forward because although she wants this to be reinstated, it might be premature to put it back into the budget. We created our Commission on the Inclusive Community and one of the tasks that we are giving those sixty members is to identify issues and needs in the Community and to work with the Community to bring forth the best practices and recommendations to Council. Ms. Hodgson presented information about the program as it was several years ago but she suggested that there are better ways to do this program and would like Council to give this task to that Commission and have them go out and inform us what the citizens really need and want and to develop that program from the ground up and then bring forth the recommendations with the appropriate budget. There is nothing to prevent the Commission from coming before the Council and asking for Council to make a budget amendment at that time. If we fund this this evening, we will have approximately $120,000 and a sense that we have to spend it and we may not be doing it in the best manner possible and we will be missing an opportunity to empower this new Commission.
Councilwoman Koop stated that this program was very much appreciated in our northeast part of Lakewood in our older neighborhood and it made a really big difference. One question that always comes up is "when are we going to do it again?" It makes sense to hold off on this but I do think it is something that the neighborhoods would appreciate having and maybe it's something that we can get in order before next Spring. I will still be on Council and would be "gung-ho" for putting this forward again.
She also thanked Larry Dorr, his staff, and the management teams for doing a wonderful job putting the budget together and coming back with solutions to some of the problems.
Councilwoman Allen asked if the $300,000 was to balance the police and the ice issues but not the Clean-up Program.
Mike Rock answered that if the amendment is adopted at $100,000 to the fund balance from the previous draft, when the audit is complete, there will be a better idea of what the ending balance is for this year and the combination of these two items are sufficient to provide funding for a program, should Council choose to adopt one. Council may want to give the Commission a target of February/March for recommendation because a budget amendment process requires and Ordinance so you have thirty to forty-five days to get that in place which would still allow you, if you chose to do so, to do something in May. If the proposed amendment is adopted, you've actually increased your ending fund balance by roughly $100,000 from the draft, you considered in August.
Joni Inman likes the idea however; she cautioned that the Commission's first meeting is in January so they will need more time than February/March for a recommendation.
Councilman Stevens supports Councilor Wise's recommendation. The de-icing program is something very critical to our citizens given the kind of winter we had last year and the police evidence storage is also something that we really have to do and both of these items put us in jeopardy of being over the projected income with our expenses even though we did have the reserves. Doing a mid-year revision next year, depending on how the year goes, could be a priority and would be a good time to bring it up and consider it and I hope we've budgeted correctly and forecasted conservative enough that we can put this back in and make it happen.
Mike Rock In terms of process, Council needs to vote on the amendment and then the Ordinance so you do have a budget and then by motion, you can direct staff in whatever fashion regarding a Clean-up Program and referral to the Commission.
Councilman Peterson concurred with Councilor Wise's recommendation adding that there are several options with respect to possible recycling efforts, other community efforts that can be brought into this and it's the perfect question to start off the new "Inclusive Communities" initiative with.
Mayor Burkholder stated that most of Council would say that the Community Clean-up Program is a good program but this is part of our job as Council is taking a look at the total needs of the Community and I think that what we're saying up here tonight is essentially, "let's wait and see" when we have a certainty as far as the dollars are concerned. He asked Councilor Wise to repeat the amendment.
Councilwoman Wise repeated the motion to amend Ordinance O-2007-31 by amending the 2008 budget for the General Fund by reducing the financial uses by 300,000 and by amending the 2008 budget for the Capital Improvement Fund by reducing the financial sources and uses by 300,000. Seconded by Councilman Murphy.
Vote on the amendment to ORDINANCE O-2007-31: 11 Ayes. No Nays. The amendment is adopted.
Vote on ORDINANCE O-2007-31: 10 Ayes. 1 Nay (Anderson). The Ordinance is adopted.
Mike Rock asked if Councilwoman Wise would like to make a motion directing staff regarding the Community Clean-up Program.
Mayor Burkholder asked if it needed to be a motion or if it could be a consensus of Council.
Mike Rock stated that it could be a consensus but a motion would be more substantive.
Councilwoman Wise asked for clarification as to what was being put into the motion.
Mike Rock stated that the question of how to best do a Community Clean-up Program would be referred to the Neighborhood Subcommittee of the newly created Commission, with the recommendation requested sometime in the Spring of 2008 and at the same time, staff has been directed to come back to Council with a financial update at the end of the first quarter plus year-end audit numbers and the Council will then consider a budget revision.
Councilwoman Wise made a motion to approve Mike Rock's recommendation as stated above.
Councilman Murphy seconded the motion.
Councilman Peterson offered an amendment to direct it to go to the Commission rather than the subcommittee because there may be other subcommittees that may have input into this.
Councilman Anderson asked if this issue could be tabled until the next meeting so Council could come up with more direct language and discuss it more fully among members. I absolutely agree with Councilors Koop and Wise as to the importance to certain neighborhoods to have Community Clean-ups and I think it would be more comprehensive if each Council member would present two ideas to be worked on by the Advisory Committee for City Council. If we have sixty people churning away on the placement of a couple of dumpsters, it might be under using their talents. I would like to hold back for a meeting and come to the more comprehensive list for the Inclusive Community Advisory Commission.
Mike Rock stated that there wasn't anything in this motion that would preclude that. I understood your discussion to be limited to the issue of a Community Clean-up. There also will be a change in Council in a month and there will be new Council members who also may have ideas for the Commission. I don't think you are limiting the work of the Commission to this single item, this happens to be the single item that you considered in the course of your budget, and certainly you could, in future meetings, come up with a number of other items and prioritize this higher or lower.
Mayor Burkholder agreed and said it was being made more complicated than it needs to be. The general discussion is the idea of a Community Clean-up. The other issue is actively involving members of the community and I say let's keep this as broad as possible and as we start to go down this path and the Commission comes back, the new City Council can certainly hash it out at that point.
Councilman Peterson wanted to be sure that his suggestion to amend the motion to refer it to the full Committee rather than the subcommittee is accepted by the Motioner and the Second.
Joni Inman stated that the way the Commission has been set up is that Council asks the Executive Committee of the Commission to look into an item, such as neighborhood clean up, but you give them pretty wide berth as to how they do it and what they bring back to Council. The Executive Committee makes the assignment to the appropriate subcommittees.
Councilwoman Wise offered to simplify the motion as follows: I move to have the newly established Commission explore and research the issue of re-establishing the Community Clean-up Project and to report their findings and recommendations to Council sometime early Spring 2008.
Councilman Murphy seconded the revised motion.
Mayor Burkholder asked if there is a motion on the floor.
Margy Greer, City Clerk confirmed that there were two motions on the floor.
Councilwoman Wise withdrew her first motion and repeated her second motion as stated above.
Councilman Murphy seconded the motion. He commented on Councilman Anderson's suggestion that each Councilor come up with two items for this new Commission to do. To me, that flies in the face of the spirit that this new Commission as it would be a top-down directive from Council and I would hope, that as this Commission starts to take shape, that they would be giving us ideas for what they want to see in the community.
Councilman Stevens asked if Council wanted to include any verbiage concerning the budget priority for this being put back in?
Vote on the motion: 11 Ayes. No Nays. The motion passed.
Mayor Burkholder thanked the Management Team (M-team) and City Staff. He stated that the budget process is not just a three-month project as it was when he first came on Council. He stated that it was a year-round process with a lot of community, staff and Council involvement.
What we do up here is try to create a better City and there's going to be some things that people agree with and some that don't agree but overall, we have to look at the City as a whole to figure out what is important as the elected representatives of our constituents. What type of City do we want to live in in addition to those that represent throughout the Community? I want to thank the citizens and I think all in all, the budget is in a lot better shape than it used to be.
ITEM 10 - GENERAL BUSINESS
None.
ITEM 11 - PUBLIC COMMENT
Fred Clifford, 11405 W. 17th Place, Lakewood, CO wanted to clarify his involvement in the upcoming election by stating that he was originally a candidate for City Council for Ward 1 and I decided to withdraw that candidacy in order to support Charley Able.
He thanked those who won't be here after the election for their service. For those who will be continuing to serve and the newcomers, he charged that they can, and should, be part of the needed change. Growth on a personal level is a good thing but growth takes honesty. To stay on the path of adherence to a high ideal can be difficult and the difficulty is increased exponentially when we don't recognize when we stray off of that path. We're not always going to agree with each other, just make sure that your position is your position, not "group think".
Michael O'Beirne, P.O. Box 260313, Lakewood, CO attended a development session that the Jefferson Economic Council put on and was disappointed that the City of Lakewood did not deliver a presentation to developers in the room.
He spoke earlier about some elements of the budget requests that the City bring forward AT&T's representative to speak about the wireless implications from AT&T's perspective from having clear wire do business with this City on a monopoly basis. He is not going to yield on that and will continue to present evidence that granting monopolies is not a good idea.
He thanked Councilor Stack for championing relations with Gambro to establish a foreign trade zone in the City of Lakewood. We were able to effectively get one of the world's leading wind producer, Vestas, to move into Northern Colorado to take advantage of a certain developer's foreign trade zone designation.
Joe Sanchez Candidate for Ward 4 City Council trying to understand what the purpose for this Public Comment is. It seems like the issues have already been predetermined, there's nothing that individuals can come up here and say against the issue to get overturned. It seems to me that by the time the public comes forward to speak their concerns about an issue, it's too late, you folks have already determined how you're going to vote. If you folks are always going to vote yes on everything, what is the purpose of your job?
Brian Wareing, Jefferson County Read a poem about serving the needy. He talked about the first time he attended a City Council meeting saying it was like watching fascism in action which is a corporate form of government. The last open meeting he attended, he watched it come full circle as you melded together with a multi-national corporation so that the two were completely unrecognizable. You had a situation where you were giving vestment for 15 years as if that was some kind of bargain. You made a deal with the Devil with the purpose of giving these people 15 years of non-liability exclusion. Why wouldn't you go to the lengths to do the exact same thing to a private builder?
Rita Bertolli, 13484 W. Oregon Court, Lakewood, CO Last Friday, area Police Departments and the Citizens Search efforts starting looking for a missing three year old girl who disappeared from our Lakewood/Denver border. Her body was found wrapped in plastic today around approximately 2:00 p.m. in an area of our City known as Lakewood Gulch. This area in Lakewood is where a bulk of the foreclosures are. The neighborhood is one our highest crime rate areas in our City and an area that has been perhaps neglected by the Administration. Councilor Elliott mentioned CDBG funds that are being allocated to projects. This is federal grant money that I'd like to see allocated in a greater portion to the eastern edge of Lakewood. I would like the Mayor to invite Police Chief Burns to speak about the crime rate on our eastern border because safety is an important need in our community. More importantly, we've got to give people hope that there is a reason to invest in Lakewood. We're witnessing a change of our American culture and what we see in Lakewood is a microcosm of that and I hope that the new change in Council this November will reflect an emphasis on discussions that are critically important to people and that address the massive issues that we face as a community, a State and a local City.
Cindy Baroway, 1860 Glendale Drive, Lakewood, CO running for Ward 2 City Council felt that many of the public comments were negative. She noted that one of the things she's seen in Lakewood over the past many years is good growth which she attributed to City Council, Mayor Burkholder and City Manager, Mike Rock.
She spoke about a conversation with a constituent who asked about the situation with Mike Rock. He stated that he believes Mike Rock is someone who brought in Belmar, Colorado Mills and the only derogative thing he's heard about him was about his salary. He qualified that by saying if someone like Mike Rock is bringing in that type of money to the City of Lakewood, then we should be paying him appropriately for that and you've got to find good quality people to run a City like Lakewood if we want to continue to grow in the fashion that it's been growing.
She thanked City Council for what they've done over the years to help get us to where we are and she hopes the new City Council will do the same thing. When she's been knocking on doors, she's heard very few complaints and people love living in Lakewood and what's going on in the City.
Public Comment closed.
Joni Inman explained the process for responding to those who come to the lectern during the City Council meetings who ask specific questions of interest to the general public. This would not be something specific to private property.
At the last meeting, we had a question about "what is Lakewood doing regarding sustainable energy and green building?"
Our staff, Becky Clark of the Community Planning & Development Department in particular, put together a report for City Council. Anyone can get a copy of this by contacting the City Manager's Office. In that report, there were some highlights of interest to the public. We have a very strong history of using alternative fuels in the City of Lakewood. We have several fleet vehicles that use alternative fuels; we have one underground storage tank that dispenses over 350,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel annually. In addition to using it ourselves, we also sell it to Jefferson County Schools and West Metro Fire District, which makes it a very cost effective way to use this type of fuel. We are also one of the leaders in the State of Colorado using recycled asphalt in asphalt paving. About thirty percent of asphalt is crushed up old asphalt that is reoiled and made into new asphalt. We are also piloting a street sand reduction program this fall and that will utilize the de-icing practices that the City Council approved this evening in the budget and that will help to reduce negative air and water quality effects in the City. We have converted all of our 12 -inch traffic signal indication lights from incandescent bulbs to light emitting deods, which also saves energy and dollars for the taxpayer each year.
Our new construction projects, such as the one done by the Housing Division for Creekside, features such things as solar photo voltaic recycling of heat from hot water usage, compact fluorescent lighting, e-glass windows daylighting and siding of the building for solar gain in the winter. As we are building our own facilities, we take into account those issues. We've also installed tankless hot water systems in another multi-family rehab that we did.
We have established an employee focus group that identifies and researches new ideas for green building and associated energy savings in the City. This particular group has just published a newsletter that outlines the City's sustainability efforts and goals. Anyone can call the City Manager's Office at (303) 987-7050 and get a copy of the City of Lakewood Community Planning and Development Sustainability and Green Bulding Report. A copy will be provided to Mr. O'Beirne who asked the question last week as well.
We also have long-term goals that we are working on such as developing incentive programs for builders, creating public recognition programs for those who do build green, encouraging and creating policies for green buildings, providing sustainability in green consulting assistance through grant and incentive programs for the City's small businesses that often can't afford to do this.
Mr. O'Beirne mentioned the Jefferson Economic Council this evening, we will be a partner with Jefferson Economic Council and in fact, are working on a video that promotes Jefferson County as the epicenter for renewable energy research. That's just a couple of highlights out of the report that was given to Council last Friday, if anyone in the viewing audience would like a copy, contact the City Manager's Office. The City of Lakewood is taking green building and energy efficiency very seriously.
Mayor Burkholder asked if the report would be on the website.
Joni Inman responded that the entire report would not be on the website but where to locate it will be.
Councilwoman Stack asked if Chief Burns wanted to address what Ms. Bertolli brought up this evening.
Mike Rock stated that we are not going to politicize what was a tragic death in Denver as it is part of an ongoing investigation. Although we're not certain this was a Denver event, we do believe the body was dumped in Lakewood but we're not going to turn that into any kind of political discussion.
Mayor Burkholder stressed that Lakewood Gulch goes all the way down to the Platte.
Ron Burns, Police Chief stated that in response to Ms. Bertolli, he was unable to give her specific information about what's going on on Lakewood's eastern side. Generally, in 2006, we received a three percent decrease in calls for service over the previous year and in terms of major persons crimes (i.e. assault, homicide, sexual assault and aggravated assault), we had about a three percent decrease. We had about a fourteen percent decrease in property crimes (burglary, theft, auto theft) over the previous year. Generally, crime and calls for service is going down a bit and though it will swing up and down a little bit, basically, we are holding very steady.
Councilman Peterson, Ms. Bertolli brought up the eastern side of Lakewood with Ward 3 being a part of that, sharing borders with Denver. Councilwoman King, George Valuck from Alameda Gateway Association and I have opened up discussions with Paul Lopez who is the City Council representative for Denver that borders our Ward and we will be meeting this week to discuss crime and graffiti and the continued cooperation that we would like to foster between the City of Denver, District 3 Police and our Police Department. Those discussions have just started and are as a result of the Alameda Gateway Association and Councilwoman King and I actually contacting the City and moving forward with that.
Councilman Murphy added that, northeast Lakewood, which he's had the great privilege to represent for fourteen years on the Planning Commission and City Council, is certainly different than the rest of Lakewood. It is the most historic part of our City and is home of the first subdivision aptly named, Lakewood. It is the oldest housing stock, the oldest population, the most ethnically diverse population, and the highest percentage of rental housing as opposed to ownership housing. It's also the home of the most active and hardworking neighborhood organizations in the City of Lakewood. There are some issues in this part of town that you don't see quite as much of in other parts of Lakewood and that's why, last year at this time, I worked closely with Chief Burns and initiated a budget addition to form Lakewood's first-ever gang unit which is a small but very effective unit that utilizes a very specific skill set that is required, not just in arresting people, but gathering intelligence through School Resource Officers and other units of it's type around the City.
He asked Becky Clark if CDBG funds have to be administered in low to moderate income targeted areas.
Becky Clark, Community Planning and Development Director confirmed that that was correct.
Councilman Murphy stated that given the demographics of Lakewood, most of those targeted areas are in northern and eastern Lakewood. This was confirmed by Becky Clark. He continued stating that most of the CDBG funds have been used in northern and eastern Lakewood.
Becky Clark confirmed this and added that one of those programs happens to be a community clean up and we have focused on that part of town.
Councilman Peterson apologized to and thanked Pete Roybal, a resident of Ward 3, who has constantly devoted hours to his community in the central east part of the City adjacent to Alameda and between Morrison Road.
ITEM 12 - REPORTS
Mayor Burkholder discussed what was codified with what Council approved in the Summer, the closure of the St. Anthony's City of Lakewood Federal Center land sale and also aboard was the Regional Transportation District (RTD). This was a milestone with the City of Lakewood and it is complete, Washington, DC has signed off and I feel it is so profound that this will have an impact on our community for the next century.
I was honored to have been involved with the Young Entrepreneurs Banquet at Belmar which is put on annually by the Daniels Fund who selects young people in various age categories that have very unique ideas and they are mentored by great people, such as Dan Ritchie, the CEO of Frontier Airlines and John Hickenlooper. This is a tremendous program and is a celebration of the youth of our Denver Metro Area and of the future of Lakewood and Colorado. We are very fortunate that we have the west branch of Young Ameritown here, which is part of the Daniels Fund, and it provides us with a better community.
Councilman Murphy discussed Festival Italiano at Belmar stating that is was very fun. He attended both days and there were over 100,000 people who visited our City and experienced Belmar, most of them from outside of Lakewood.
Mayor Burkholder and I attended the Second Wind Foundation event. It has been running for six years and is the nations largest fundraiser for the prevention of teen suicides. This is an event that has transcended the traditional fundraiser and it's a day that really elevates the spirit of the entire community.
Mayor Burkholder added that 702 teens were directly impacted by the work of the Second Wind Foundation this past year.
Councilwoman Wise reminded her constituents that the Applewood Homeowners Association meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2007 at 6:30 at the Church at 20th and Eldridge. 6:30 is a meet and greet for the neighbors and the meeting starts at 7:00.
She commented to the viewing audience that we are in the throws of a very active local campaign season. So many of us on Council are term-limited and as I sit up here, every time I meet with staff or go into the community, I'm always reminded that one of the most fulfilling rewards of having served the citizens, the constituents and the City as a whole, is to have had the opportunity to be part of such a forward-thinking City. Listening to some of the citizens that have come forward this evening, I feel compelled to offer a few words of advice to those that hopefully will be voting in the upcoming election. As information is being presented to you, as a voter, by candidates, please verify everything that they are saying, check them out. Is what they are saying really true? Is it valid? Is it accurate? Mr. Clifford mentioned group think and I think that applies to the general citizenry as much as it does anybody sitting up here. I really encourage our voters to exercise independent thinking and analysis of what is being presented by Candidates. It has been my experience up here that sometimes, things are not accurate and they're not exactly truthful. She gave an example of a picture of a car with the drivers hands on the steering wheel with the driver looking out the windshield and in the rear view mirror, there is a road advisory sign that says "dead end" which is behind the car and she suggested to voters that they vote that same way: look out the windshield, drive the car, looking out the windshield and not in the rear view mirror. What's past is past, what's been done 10, 15, 25 years ago is not applicable any longer. Vote for the candidate that represents this City, vote for those people that are forward thinking. Look forward, not backwards.
Councilman Anderson Spoke about four items in Ward 4:
Glennon Heights is having their annual picnic on September 30, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at the picnic area in Glennon Heights Park. There will be a small parade beforehand with a number of antique and vintage vehicles.
There is a privately run clean-up at Foothills Elementary School on September 29, 2007f rom 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This is a great benefit in getting memberships in the Mountainside Homeowner's Association and it brings in neighborhood businesses such as A-Z Rental, which is providing a wood chipper for those who have branches that have come down.
Kudos to Jeff Lamontagne of Second Wind. The program that they do is spectacular and the public participation and turnout was wonderful and the dollars raised, most importantly, go to a very good and worthwhile cause.
He thanked Janice Bradburn, who took the extra effort to bring forward to the City via the Jefferson County School Department, a problem with the school zone flashing lights around Foothills Elementary School. He thanked those who have taken the time to contact the City to notify them of things such as this that needs to be corrected.
Councilwoman Koop stated that graffiti has been the number one call that she's received recently. She reminded the public that next Monday at 7:00 p.m. there is a City Council Study Session that will include a report from our Graffiti Task Force. They've looked at this problem over the past 6-7 months and will be reporting what they have come up with. We've already implemented some different things such as reporting graffiti from the website and taking pictures of the graffiti and downloading them as an attachment to your report. That way, we can keep track of what's happening in the different areas and keep a better system going.
If you do want to be an informed voter this November, there are a couple of candidate forums coming up in the next week; the first one, for Mayoral and City Council candidates is going to be on Thursday, September 27, 2007at 7:00 p.m. in the United Methodist Church on 14th Avenue. Another one is the Lakewood Candidates Forum to be held Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design just north of Colfax from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. A question and answer period from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. is sponsored by the West Chamber, Alameda Gateway Community Association, Jewell and Wadsworth Business Association and the West Colfax Community Association.
Lakewood High School is going to have their dedication to their new building on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend and tours will be available.
Councilman Murphy and I will be meeting at the Village Inn next Monday, October 1, 2007 at 7:30 a.m. for morning chat.
Councilman Elliott commented on a memo from Paul Kennebeck regarding the "pocket rocket" bikes that appear in the City. He asked Joni Inman if something could be put onto the website for people that are interested in exactly what the regulations are, what's allowed and not allowed, can it be enforced?
He thanked Kathy Beard, the Citizen's Communications Specialist for the last eight years for making City Council look good and getting back to the constituents. We get a number of e-mails on a daily basis and Kathy does a great job in following up and getting back in a very quick and effective manner. We don't always give the citizens the answers they want to hear but we do always get back to them.
He added to Councilor Wise's comment stating that as you look at candidates, look at the ones that best represent you. There were some accusations tonight about fascism and we're here as elected representatives, we don't get here by someone appointing us, we get here because the citizens elect us as their representatives to represent what their interests are and I know in past campaigns that I've been a candidate, there are a lot of things that people throw out there and fling at you, especially if you've been on City Council, that are just plain inaccurate and interpreted the wrong way. Do your homework, don't just rely on other people, look at the individuals, ask questions and find out and be an informed voter.
Councilwoman Stack asked Councilwoman Koop if the Two Creek Iver Forum was for Ward 1 and Ward 2?
Councilwoman Koop clarified that she only stated that it is was Mayor and City Council.
Councilwoman Stack added that it was also for Ward 1 and Ward 2.
She asked City Clerk, Margy Greer, if, for the candidates who have pulled from the race, she was able to have them removed from the ballot?
Margy Greer, City Clerk responded that they had been removed from the ballot.
Councilman Stevens congratulated Mike Rock on the land closing and sale of the section of the Federal Center that now creates the reality for St. Anthony's West. He thanked him for his time, effort and perseverance to keep everyone at the table and said it couldn't have been done without him.
Councilwoman King stated that anyone who wants to join Councilman Peterson and herself at their Ward meetings, we will be having a change in location. We meet the first and third Monday of each month and beginning October 1, 2007, we will be meeting at Sunrise Sunset at 1424 S. Wadsworth at 8:00 a.m.
Councilman Peterson encouraged everyone to join them for these Ward meetings stating that it is a good opportunity for them, as their elected officials, to hear what you have to think about specific issues to answer questions or to address problems that you may have.
He offered his congratulations to Mike Rock as he has watched the project and it would not have happened without his skill, expertise and continued devotion not just to this project but to the community and City of Lakewood and its economic health.
Mayor Burkholder stated that he attended the closing representing City Council and heard from the other parties that were involved and this deal would not have happened without Mike Rock.
Tim Cox thanked Randy Funk of Sherman and Howard for his role in the closing.
ITEM 13 - ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council; Mayor Burkholder adjourned the meeting at 9:21 p.m.
Submitted by,
Margy Greer, City Clerk
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