HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Session Packet 08/15/2011STUDY SESSION AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO
7500 W. 29th Ave.
Wheat Ridge CO
August 15,2011
6:30p.m.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to participate in all public meetings
sponsored by the City of Wheat Ridge . Call Heather Geyer, Public Information
Officer at 303-235-2826 at least one week in advance of a meeting if you are
interested in participating and need inclusion assistance .
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
.L Staff Report(s)
a) Lakeside Animal Hospital
2. Centura Health Check Passports Presentation
~ Xcel Presentation -Preston Gibson
1._ Mutual Planning Area Boundary between the City of Wheat Ridge and
the City of Golden
.§..,_ Discussion of Laser fiche online process-Gerald Dahl
~ ...
• Cityof
fP!:WheatBi__dge ~OFFICE OF THE CllY MANAG ER
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Memorandum
Mayor and City Council r-..J
Patrick Goff, City Managec~.)(J'
August 10,2011
Lakeside Animal Hospital
On July 25, 2011 Mayor DiTullio and Council Members Berry and Reinhart received an email
from Howard Jaidinger concerning a conversation he had with Dr. Kerry Foreman, the owner of
Lakeside Animal Hospital at 4243 Harlan in Wheat Ridge. During his conversation with Dr.
Foreman she communicated to him that she was dissatisfied with the encounter she had with the
City of Wheat Ridge during the conversion of a single-family structure i nto a commercial
veterinarian operation. After researching the issue, it was determined the main complaints were
related to a grant from the Wheat Ridge Business District and the approval of a monument sign
for the business. Following is a summary of both issue s :
Wheat Ridge Business District Grant
Lakeside Partners LLC submitted an application to Wheat Ridge Business District (WRBD) in
December 2009. At that time Lakeside Partners submitted a signed and notarized form
indicating they were seeking $11,000 for Fat;ade, Signage and Design Assistance. In subsequent
paperwork, one WRBD document extraneously noted "up to $3000 for awning improvements."
Lakeside Partners has claimed they are due an additional $3000 on top of the Fayade, Signage
and Design Assistance they have already received. WRBD has corresponded to let them know
as the y neither applied for nor constructed an awning, giving them any additional funds for work
never performed would be inappropriate.
Monument Sign
Lakeside Animal Hospital retrofitted an existing single family structure, including adding a
partial second story and making site improvements to the property on Harlan Street. The owner
worked closely with the City on a variety of issues related to the commercial conversion of the
building. The improvements were approved through a building permit process and the
Certificate of Occupancy was granted over a year ago, in June 201 0.
During the pre-application meeting process, the owner inquired about business signage. They
did not believe a wall sign would be architecturally appropriate or etfective for identification .
When looking at monument (ground) sign options and based on the location of the street right-
of-way/private property line , the options to locate the sign on their property would have
significantly impacted their parking and site circulation. The owner also felt that the location
they were proposing for a monument sign was set back from the street similar to ot~er signs
along this stretch of Harlan.
Staff researched other nearby signs along Harlan and found a mix of information. Some signs
had and some had not obtained permits. Some signs were located on private property and some
were actually located in the public street right-of-way, including some that had obtained permits.
Based on this information, and the fact that from a practical perspective, the logical location for
the business sign on this property was in the street right-of-way, staff initiated a code amendment
to create a limited number of instances in the City where private business signs could be located
in an adjacent public street right-of-way.
That code amendment was considered by City Council in a study session (where it was
supported) and then went through a public hearing process before the Planning Commission and
City Council. Ultimately, the property owner was allowed to construct the sign they wanted in
the Location they wanted.
The applicant/owner expressed frustration throughout that process at the amount of time it took
tor them to be able to install what they felt was a high quality sign in a location that mirrored that
of several nearby properties. We can appreciate that perspective coming from someone who is
unfamiliar with municipal codes and the code amendment process. We feel we made every
effort to accommodate their signage needs, including initiating a code amendment that addressed
the very practical realities of the property owner's circumstances.
~ ~ .(
" City of
rff.Wheat&_,dge ~DMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
Patrick Goff, City Manager c;j} THROUGH:
Heather Geyer, Administrative Services Director
FROM: Nathan Mosley, Management Analyst
DATE: August 9, 2011
SUBJECT: August 15 111 Study Session Presentation by Centura Health Passport Program
On Monday August 15, 2011 Liz Tredennick from Centura Health will present information on
their Health Passport Program. This presentation was requested by Cotmcil member Berry.
As part of the City of Wheat Ridge's strategic planning process Council created an action agenda
for 2011/2012. One of the high priority items was an aging population needs assessment and
plan. As part of this assessment we are assessing what services are currently in place for seniors
within the Wheat Ridge community. One such program is the Health Passport program through
Centura.
The Health Passport program offers Wellness activities, educational classes, social events, travel
and volunteer opportunities as well as free individualized health insurance counseling, a free
prescription discount program and free and low cost health screenings and immunizations. The
Health Passport program also provides information and help tmderstanding Medicare, Medicare
Part 0 and Medicaid .
The Health Passport program is free and open to any State of Colorado resident; although some
benefit services, such as the free Medicare counseling, have age restrictions. Additional
information can be found at www.myhealthpassport.org or by calling 303-629-4921.
/nm
~ ~ ~
"' City of ~WheatBL_dge ~OFFICE OF THE CnY MANAGER
Memorandum
TO: City Council
FROM: Patrick Goff, City Manager
DATE: August 11, 2011 (For Study Session of August 15, 2011)
SUBJECT: Xcel Energy Presentation
Preston Gibson, Xcel Energy 's Area Manager for Community and Local Government
Affairs , has asked to make a presentation to the Council regarding Xcel 's commitment to
Wheat Ridge.
Attachment:
1. Xcel brochure
SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
BUSINESS CUSTOMERS
TOTAL
Franchise
fees
$1,272,700
Calculated
tax
$1,224,949
ELECTRICITY
CUSTOMERS
14,433
2,553
16,986
Total
$2,497,649
GENERATING TAX REVENUE
Through both franchise fees and city taxes (including
sales tax, use tax, and property tax) Xcel Energy invests
a significant amount of money back into the communities
we operate in. In 2010, we generated over $2 million in
these two categories for Wheat Ridge.
All data from 2010 sales and operations
(l Xcel Energy·
ELECTRICITY NATURAL GAS NATURAL GAS
USAGE CUSTOMERS USAGE
8,529,355 kWh 11,321 1,359,759 THERMS
20,806,514 kWh 1,748 627,483 THERMS
29,335,869 kWh 13,069 1,987,242 THERMS
All numbers are approximations
CHARITABLE GIVING
We are proud of our community support through
charitable contributions, and are committed to using our
resources and skills to benefit the communities we serve.
Our employees volunteer thousands of hours to nonprofit
organizations each year, and give generously to various
organizations including United Way. In 2010 Xcel Energy
donated more than $14 million in charitable giving to the
eight states we serve, and was ranked the No. 1 corporate
giver in Colorado by the Denver Business Journal. Over
$10,000 was distributed within the Wheat Ridge
community in 2010, and and Xcel Energy donated
$1,098,690 to Mile High United Way. Focus Area
Grants,
$7,500,
201 0 Charitable Giving
9% 22%
PROVIDING CLEAN ENERGY
Renewable Energy
Wheat Ridge
Windsource*
496 Premises 1 1.7°5 ·001
kWh
Solar**
77 Installed I 778 kW
Systems
Protecting the environment is one of Xcel Energy's
corporate values, and environmental leadership is one
component of our corporate strategy. We are building a
clean energy future for our customers and the
communities we serve, while continuing to provide
reliable and affordable energy services.
'2010 Windsource program data
"'Total Solar applications as of 6/11/2011 Attachment 1
OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY EFFORTS
Energy Efficiency plays an important role in our environmental strategy. Xcel Energy offers about 120 efficiency and
conservation programs company wide that help our customers save money, as well as reduce power plant emissions
and conserve natural resources. Since we began consistently tracking energy efficiency results in 1992, our customers
have saved enough electricity to enable us to avoid building more than thirteen 250 MW power plants. We have
invested more than $1.1 million in rebates within the last five years through the partnership and participation of our
Wheat Ridge customers.
2006 2007 2008
EFFICIENCY
$26,437 $27,817 $29,154 REBATES
kWh SAVED 817,132 441 ,753 267 ,642
THERMS 0 0 SAVED 0
fl Xcel Energy·
0 2011 Xed [nc:r~ Inc. 1 l-800--181--1700 1 uC'Itnc-ru.com 1 Xul EnC"rl.)' U; :11 n:::.;stl'rtt:llnukm•rk of
Xu: I F.ntrttY htc. I Public St:nicc: Compa ny or Colorado. ou• Xcc:l E.ncfiY Comp:my
2009 2010 TOTAL
$65,039 $163,713 $312,159
1,019,462 2,797,531 5,343,523
21,321 3 ,539 24,860
All numbers are a~~roximati011s
~ 4 ,
.. ~ City of !C!:Wheat~,.e ~OMMUNilY DEVELOPMENT ~
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Patrick Goff, City Manager
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
BACKGROUND:
Ken Johnstone, Community Development Director
July 29,2011 (for August 15 Study Session)
Intergovernmental Agreement with Golden regarding a Mutual Planning
Area Boundary
The City of Golden has approached the City of Wheat Ridge about the potential to establish a
mutual planning area boundary between our two communities. Golden has drafted an
intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with an accompanying map that would establish a planning
area boundary between the two municipalities . Golden has long-standing, mutual planning area
intergovernmental agreements with both Lakewood and Arvada . Portions of the boundaries of
those areas are shown on the map (Exhibit A) attached to the draft IGA. Golden had actually
approached Wheat Ridge a few years back on this same topic; however, Wheat Ridge staff did
not believe it was the appropriate time to bring the issue forward during the processing ofthe
various land use applications associated with the Clear Creek Crossing development.
DISCUSSION:
Colorado Statutes expressly authorize municipal governments to enter into agreements for the
purpose of planning and regulating the development of land. Agreements of this kind are
common and can extend from just planning agreements to actually having more regulatory
authority. Agreements of this kind can be helpful in planning tor the City's long term land use
goals , as well as associated impacts on the transportation system and other municipal services
and utilities. Some communities have used this type of lGA tor the purposes of establishing
buffers or open space areas between their respective communities . In their simplest form , such a
planning area boundary establishes a line over which the other community agrees not to pursue
annexation.
The basic structure of the proposed IGA is as follows:
1. The mutual planning area boundary on the eastern edge of Golden and the western
edge of Wheat Ridge is established in the alignment of Mcintyre Street, which is
consistent with current extent of Wheat Ridge 's 3-Mile Plan planning area boundary.
2. Within our respective planning areas, we agree to comply with our respective
comprehensive plans and to provide written notice to the other party when
considering a development application(s) within 1,000 feet ofthe planning area
boundary.
3. The parties each agree not to approve annexations in the other party's planning area,
without the prior written authorization of that other party.
4. The agreement would be in effect until2025, or approximately 14 years, unless the
parties mutually agree in writing to void the agreement at an earlier date.
An IGA such as this is required to be considered by City Council after a public hearing with
p roper public notice. Based on direction we receive from Council , we will advertise for a
subsequent City Council meeting to conduct such a public hearing.
Attachments:
1. IG A draft wi th map
/kj
2
Intergovernmental Agreement (8-9-11 Draft)
Between the City of Golden and
The City of Wheat Ridge Regarding the Establishment
of a Mutual Planning Area Boundary
This Intergovernmental Agreement is made and entered into by and between the City of Golden
a Colorado municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as "Golden" and the City of Wheat
Ridge, a Colorado municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as "Wheat Ridge".
1.0 Recitals and Purpose
1.0 Part 2 of Article 1 of Title 29 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended, authorizes and
enables governments of the State of Colorado to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts.
1.1 Pursuant to Title 29, Article 20, Colorado Revised Statutes as amended, the General
Assembly of the State of Colorado has authorized and encouraged local governments to
cooperate or contract with other units of government for the purpose of planning and regulating
the development ofland, including but not limited to, the joint exercise of planning, zoning,
subdivision, building, and related regulations.
1.2 Pursuant to Title 29, Article 20, Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended, the General
Assembly of the State of Colorado has found and declared that in order to provide for planned
and orderly development within Colorado and a balancing of the basic human needs of a
changing population, with legitimate environmental concerns, the policy of the State of Colorado
is to clarify and provide broad authority to local governments to plan for and regulate the use of
land within their respective jurisdictions.
1.3 Pursuant to Title 29, Article 20, Colorado Revised Statutes as amended, the General
Assembly of the State of Colorado has designated certain powers to local governments: among
them the power to regulate the location of activities and developments which may result in
signiticant changes in population density, the power to provide for phased development of
services and facilities, the power to regulate the use of land on the basis of impact on the
community and the power to otherwise plan for and regulate the use of land so as to provide
planned and orderly use of land and protection of the environment, in a manner consistent with
constitutional rights .
1.4 Both Wheat Ridge and Golden have been involved in comprehensive land use planning for
areas within and contiguous to their City boundaries, and intend to further plan the areas between
their respective boundaries in conjunction with Jefferson County, special districts, and major
landowners.
1.5 The Parties agree that the matters herein set forth are reasonable conditions and requirements
and are necessary to protect, promote and enhance the health, safety and general welfare of the
residents of Golden, Wheat Ridge and the general public.
Attachment 1
1
No\v Therefore in consideration oftbe above recitals and of the mutual promises,
covenants and agreements of the parties, Whe at Ridge, and Golden hereby agree as follows:
2.0 Planning Areas The parties agree that they will not approve annex ations of property
lying in the Planning Area of the other party unless first authorized in writing by the party in
whose Planning Area the property to be annexed lies. The Planning Area of each City is shown
on Exhibit A.
3.0 Land Use The parties agree to comply with their respective comprehensive plans for the
two Planning areas. The parties agree to provide to each other written notice of any public
hearings at which their respective comprehensive plans are to be considered, a long with a copy
of the proposed plan or amendment thereto, as contemplated by CRS 24-32-3209 (2).
3. t The parties agree that they will provide each other with copies of any development plans
submitted within their Planning Areas, if the location of the property submitted said development
plan is within 1,000 feet ofthe Planning Area of the other. Such re ferrals shall include traffic
analyses when the development is projected to generate in excess of 200 new daily peak hour
trips on adjacent roadways. Such referrals shall be made within seven (7) days of the acceptance
date of the development plan application.
4.0 Enforcement This agreement is enforceable pursuant to the provisions of Section 29-20-
l 05 , as amended, of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
5.0 General
5.1 Notices Notices shall be deemed to have been sufficiently given for all purposes if sent by
certified mail or registered mail, postage and fees prepaid, addressed to the party to whom such
notice is to be given at the address set forth below, or at such other address as has been
previously furnished in writing, to the other party or parties. Such notice shall be deemed to
have been given when deposited for delivery by the United States Postal Service.
5.2 The parties further agree that a copy of this Agreement, and any amendments thereto,
shall be provided to the Jefferson County Board of County commissioners pursuant to CRS 24-
32-3209(2.3).
If to Golden:
If to Wheat Ridge:
City Manager
City of Golden
911 Tenth Street
Golden, CO 80401
City of Manager
City of Wheat Ridge
7900 W . 29th A venue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
2
5.3 Severability If one or more provisions of this Agreement should be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable in any respect, the remaining provisions contained herein shall not in any way be
affected or impaired thereby, provided that the remaining provisions are not determined to be
significantly impacted by the excluded provisions. If any party determines that such significant
impact has occurred then the parties agree to mutually resolve the issues in good faith, using the
intent of such excluded provision as a statement of intent.
5.4 Instruments of Further Assurance The parties covenant that they will do, execute,
acknowledge and deliver or cause to be done, executed, acknowledged, and delivered such acts,
instruments and transfers as may reasonably be required for the performance of their obligations
hereunder.
5.5 Assignment No transfer or assignment of this Agreement or of any rights herein or
hereunder shall be made by any party without prior consent of the others.
5.6 Binding Effect This Agreement shall inure to the benefit ot: and be binding upon, the
parties, their respective legal representatives, successors, heirs, and assigns.
5.7 Waiver of Breach A waiver by any party to this Agreement of the breach of any term or
provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent
breach of either party.
5.8 Effective Date and Term The effective date of this Agreement shall be the date that this
Agreement is recorded by the Clerk and Recorder for Jefferson County, Colorado. This
Agreement shall remain in effect until December 31, 2025 ; provided, however, that the
agreement may be voided at an earlier date by mutual action of all parties in writing.
5.9 Recording This Agreement shall be recorded with the Clerk and Recorder at Jefferson
County, Colorado, within 10 days after signature by all parties.
5.10 Governmental Authority The Parties shall comply with any and all valid, County , State
and Federal laws covering the subject of this Agreement and any and all valid orders, regulations
or licenses issues pursuant to any Federal or State law governing the subject of this Agreement.
6.0 Signatures
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed in their
respective names and attested by their duly authorized ofticers.
City of Golden, a Colorado Municipal Corporation
911 Tenth Street
Golden, Colorado 80401
3
By ________________________ _
Title: Mayor
ArrEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By: ________________________ _ By: -------------
City Clerk City Attorney
City of Wheat Ridge a Colorado Municipal Corporation
7900 W . 29th Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
By _____________ _
Title: Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By: --------------By: -------------City Clerk City Attorney
4
<-~' ~(
05/03/11
D City of Golden
D City of Wheat Ridge
Arvada IGA area
D Lakewood IGA area
MURRAY
DAI-IL
Ku ~e:c I-IE:N ME:1:5TE:R
R~<:NAUD LLP
i\1 f O RN EYS AT LAW
MEMORANDUM
TO:
CC:
FROM :
DATE:
RE:
Mayor DiTullio and City C~~il
Patrick Goff, City Manage6J}
Gerald Dahl
Brittany Scantland
July 25, 2011
Laserfiche documents
Following the Council 's study session on June 61h, City staff has endeavored to categorize and
review City documents which are now available on Laserfiche on the City 's website. Staff has
conducted the review with an eye toward what documents contain personal identifying
information and whether they can be separated from other documents available online . (For the
purposes of this analysis , personal identifying information has been interpreted to include name,
address, phone number and/or social security number).
Laserfiche as document retention
For many departments, the Laserfiche version of the document that is searchable online is the
department's official method of keeping its records . As a result, the Laserfiche document which
is available on the City's website is sometimes the only version the City keeps of the document.
Online information as an open record
All of the information which the City has currently made available online would be producible, if
a person came into City Hall and made a proper open records request pursuant to C .R.S. §§
24-72-201 , et seq. ("Colorado Open Records Act" or "CORA"). Pursuant C.R.S . § 24-72-204
(3), there are certain records which the City is prohibited from disclosing, regardless of whether
it has control of the records . Ex. confidential commercial or financial information, personnel
files, letters of reference, etc.
Documents currently online
Currently , there are 687,802 images available via Laserfiche , online . (Stated another way, there
are 687 ,802 pages available-each image is the face of a page). The documents available are
1
divided into three categories: City Clerk, City Manager and Community Development. Neither
municipal court documents nor public works documents are searchable via Laserfiche,
currently . To give a snapshot of how these three available categories are subdivided, we'll look
at each in turn:
City Clerk:
o annexations
o audit reports
o boards and commissions
o charter and code of laws
o city budget
o city council meetings
o deeds
o development agreements
o easements
o improvement agreements
o liquor authority minutes
o ordinances
o resolutions
o subdivisions agreements
o urban renewal
o public records request
City Manager:
o urban renewal
Community Development:
o Building Code Advisory Board
o Board of Adjustment
o Building Division
o Bus Benches
o Bus Shelters
o Census
o Housing Authority
o Planning Commission
o Planning Division
Each of these subfolders has not less than one set of documents (if not multiple subfolders)
under it. Some categories suggest that personal identifying information might be included -
such as deeds or easements. Some categories are less likely to include personal identifying
information, such as ordinances and resolutions. Unfortunately, there is no screen that can be
used to filter out all documents which might contain personal identifying information.
Current Laserfiche usage
The following is statistical information concerning the use of the City's searchable Laserfiche
database. Staff compiled the information from January 2010 to July 2011.
Total sessions: 170,595.
2
-Average sessions per day: 8.58 . A session includes anytime a person does a
specific keyword search in Laserfiche or manually browses each folder.
• Total searches: 1,781. A search is when a person does a specific keyword search in
Laserfiche (and excludes browsing)_
Options to consider
For purposes of discussion , six options are described below. Each could be implemented
individually or in combination with others. Staff has devised a 5-point scale to provide an
estimate as to how much staff time and resources will be used for each option _ The scale is as
follows :
1 =Major multi-year impact on staff and time
2 = Major single-year impact on staff and time
3 = Major impact on staff and time
4 = Minor impact on staff and time
5 = No impact on staff and t ime
The rankings assigned to each option were determined based on staff consensus .
1. Provide no documents online
The most drastic measure would be for the City to determine that no documents on file with the
City should be available online _ Each department would then need to remove all Laserfiche
documents currently searchable on the City's website . It is permissible for the Council to
determine to proceed this way_ Such action would be contrary to the direction that most
municipalities are moving and contrary to what is becoming expected by the public. A person
would have to visit C ity Hall in person and complete a CORA request form for each document
requested .
Score on sca le : 4-3
2. Removing information currently available
If the Council decides it wants no personal identifying information available to the public online,
the following process (or something similar) could be implemented. In order to determine which
documents (images) contain personal identifying information , each department would need to
review each of the 687,802 documents or images individually_ Then, one of several things
could happen: the department, upon identifying personal identifying information , would need to
pull each document with personal identifying information and/or redact the personal identifying
information and repast the altered document However, the department would need to keep an
original unaltered document Keeping that unaltered document could be done physically (which
will require more space) or the City could store the unaltered document electronically by
creating a separate department-only/intracity-only Laserfiche database. Likely , different
departments would have separate internal laserfiche databases (in addition to the online
database}, the contents of which would be subject to an open records request
Score on scale : 1
3
3. Policy moving forward
The Council could determine that from this point forward, it wants to limit what new personal
identifying information is available to be searched on the internet , leaving in place the
information that has already been made available online. The directive of the Council could
then be to require each department to create the two sets of records, as described above (by
the creation of two separate databases) for all new documents to be posted.
Score on scale: 1
4. Open records requests
Another alternative might be that a prerequisite to searching any documents online with the City
is for the searching party to fill out an open records request form before entering in the
database. There will be no way to trace each searching party's trail to ensure they only look at
and pull the stated information; however , such a procedure might create some kind of record .
Score on scale : 4
5. Intranet terminals
Finally, in conjunction with the idea of removing all documents from the internet and requiring a
non-internet based records request, the City could provide computer terminals in City Hall which
would allow for a search of City documents. Those terminals could be set up one of two ways:
(1) provide for all documents which the City currently produces online to be available on the
intranet system ; or (2) as described in option 2 above , the City could create a public-only
intranet system which would not contain any documents with personal identifying information.
Keep in mind that if this "clean" version of an intranet system is created which is devoid of
personal identifying information , the same person who is searching for documents at the
intranet terminal in City Hall, could walk up to the City Clerk's desk and request the documents
(so long as they are otherwise producible under CORA) from the City directly, and the City
would be required to produce the record, even if it was not available at the intranet terminal.
Score on scale : 1
6. Status quo
As described in the beginning of this memo, the City currently has a process by which it posts
documents related to the offices of the City Clerk , the City Manager and Community
Development. Staff believes that the current Laserfiche system serves the dual role of providing
fast , effective customer service , while freeing staff time. This option will continue to require staff
time to upload all public documents to the Laserfiche database . To date, staff has documented
only two privacy complaints related to this system.
Score on scale: 5-4
4