HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Session Notes 04-18-16STUDY SESSION NOTES
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO
City Council Chambers 7500 W . 29th Avenue
April 18, 2016
Mayor Pro tern George Pond called the Study Session to order at 6:30 p.m.
Council members present: Janeece Hoppe, Monica Duran, Kristi Davis, Tim Fitzgerald,
George Pond, Zachary Urban, Genevieve Wooden, and Larry Mathews
Absent: Mayor Jay
Also present: City Clerk, Janelle Shaver; City Manager, Patrick Goff; Public Works
Director, Scott Brink; Administrative Services Director; Heather Geyer; interested citizens.
Councilmember Pond reported that the Mayor is absent due to damage at her house
caused by the storm.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
1. Staff Reports(s)
Building Inspector Mr. Goff reported that the new chief building inspector started today.
His name is Mike Arellano and he comes from Dallas with a broad range of experience.
He will be introduced to the Council in the future.
Bike/Ped Master Plan Mr. Brink reported that $25,000 was budgeted for the update of
the 2009-2010 bike/ped masterplan. RFP's were sent out and all replies were
significantly over budget, ranging from $45K to over $50K. Staff recommends the
proposal from Thule Design Group for $59,000. The study will have a robust public
process that reaches out to different groups in the City and will identify gaps in the
citywide system (e.g. Gold Line area). There will be money to cover this as the CIP
budget has some things that will be under budget.
Q: Reaching out will include the "postcard invite" meetings and also using social media,
identifying different stake holders, going out to businesses, be at events (Carnation
Festival, Criterium, etc.) and an interactive map on the website.
Q: How many years will it be good for? It will outline a 5 to 10-year capital improvement
plan, plus other things that can be done such as policy measures, ordinances, public
education, etc.)
Q: Why is current plan not sufficient? The needs of some corridors are not addressed;
no priorities are identified. The new plan will also identify other projects --streets,
drainage, etc.
STUDY SESSION NOTES: April 18, 2016 Page -2-
Q: Hasn't the field work already been done on the ADA transition plan? Yes. This
consultant will double check the work that was already done by student interns last year.
Q: Couldn't the ADA transition plan be combined with this contract? The ADA transition
plan will be a separate RFP. Four plans have already been submitted.
The contract approval will come back to Council as it is over $35,000.
Mayor pro tern Pond received approval from the Council to allow public comment from
some citizens who had arrived late.
Public comment
Kim Calomino (WR) thanked Council for taking up what she believes is the most
important issue facing the City -long term fiscal sustainability. She thanked staff for
the detailed and somewhat frightening report. There are things that need to be done and
Council should think about how to communicate these needs to the citizens. She
recommended neighborhood meetings to inform citizens of what it takes to maintain our
assets, what will happen if we don't maintain them, and how we might move forward with
ballot questions. She encouraged moving forward quickly on a ballot question to
increase sales tax.
Rachel Hultin (WR), resident for 4 years, is excited about the community. She believes
we have significant infrastructure needs and that we need to invest in our community.
Council needs to provide bold leadership so we can take care of our streets and
drainage/flooding issues, address safety, and maintain the level of service we have in our
parks and recreation. She advised the best way to find out what those things are is to
hold district meetings soon and find out what the people want. She expressed frustration
there's no money to advance biking and cycling; we need money to make the roads work
for everyone.
2. Long-term Fiscal Sustainability (Revenues/Fees, Expenses, Capital Projects) -
Part I
Mr. Goff stated this is the first of 3 meetings on this topic. Tonight's discussion is to be
general in nature. If we put something on the ballot the ordinance process would need to
start about August 1 because the wording has to be to the County by September 1.
a. DIRT Task Force recommendations
Ms. Geyer gave a history of the DIRT Task Force.
• DIRT stands for Drainage, Infrastructure, Roads, and Trails.
• Created by then-Mayor DiTullio in 2007
STUDY SESSION NOTES: April 18, 2016
• Consisted of a group of 18 that included 4 councilmembers and several
community members
• It was done over several months and included public and staff input.
• $143M in projects was evaluated, categorized and prioritized.
Mr. Goff distributed a larger, more detailed spreadsheet of the DIRT projects.
He went through the projects that have been completed or partially completed.
• Clear Creek Trail connections and trailheads -partially completed
Page -3-
• Land banking of two lots at 44th & Upham; now senior apartments -completed
• 261h-291h, Sheridan to Fenton; curb/gutter/storm sewer; part of Ashland Reservoir
project -done
• Park infrastructure upgrades (6 locations) -most are done
• Wadsworth reconstr, 361h to 461h; now 35th to 1-70, ongoing --partially completed
• Emergency warning system -done, and sirens are up
• Dispatch consoles, mobile and portable radios -partial, dispatch consoles in use
• CAD (computer aided dispatch) and RMS (records mgmnt regionalization) -done
• 39th & Depew --property has been developed (Perrin's Row)
Mr. Goff drew Council's attention to a list of 12 projects (Attachment 2, last page) -"2016
Additions" that are not now on the DIRT list, but may rise in priority. They include:
• Clear Creek Crossing (CCC) infrastructure improvements
• Gold Line area infrastructure improvements (Ridge Rd, Ward Rd traf signal, other)
• ADA transition Plan -infrastructure improvements
• Bike/ped improvements
• City-wide drainage (Storm Sewer)
• Streets preventive maintenance
• Traffic signal upgrades and improvements
• Public improvement projects (development related)
• Street improvement projects (reconstruct-non-overlay/maintenance)
• Bridge maintenance and rehabilitation
• Technology updates (Asset management, software, hardware, other)
• Trail replacement (specific section of existing Clear Creek Trail)
659
Council discussion points included:
• Revisit the DIRT list and update it; have a new group of folks look at it; how?
• Integrate Denver's bike path plans into ours
• Could we save the well house at the Ashland property? Mr. Goff will inquire.
• School site upgrades? We've partnered with schools on new playgrounds to allow
neighborhood use. May not be such a g high priority now.
• One of the reasons Clear Creek Crossing (CCC) is still not developed is because
there is about $45-SOM in public infrastructure that needs to be completed .
• CCC and Gold Line will likely require some public funds.
• We should consider funding sources. Are there any partners?
• Shouldn't do school projects before critical infrastructure
• Should be specific about the projects we put before the voters.
STUDY SESSION NOTES: April 18, 2016 Page -4-
• Fee vs mill levy increase
b. Maintenance (not operating expenses)
Ms. Geyer summarized Attachment 3, pointing out some of the larger items.
• Replacement of the Cisco firewall is a special non-yearly maintenance item.
• Preventive street maintenance is $1 .9M
• Total maintenance+ equip. replacement & repairs= $6.6M (14% of the budget)
(Maintenance $5.1 +M; Equipment replacement & repairs $1.4+M)
c. Ballot issues -What other communities are doing -Heather Geyer
Ms. Geyer highlighted Attachment 4, which included two lists:
1. Information on 5 tax increases for infrastructure that have passed successfully
(Commerce City, Denver, Oklahoma City, Boulder and Northglenn).
2. Information on 32 voter approved sales tax and mill levy increases in Colorado in
'13, '14, and '15 for a variety of purposes (road maintenance, street improvements,
rec centers, parks, trails, library needs, police station, etc.)
A common theme of successful ballot issues is being specific -telling people what they'll
get and when. Public engagement is helpful and sunsetting is a consideration.
Council comments/discussion/questions: 7;27
• People are currently paying more in taxes than they are for food , shelter and
clothing; the anti-tax sentiment is understandable.
• All contributions by citizens, regardless of the label, are taxes.
• Are we being good stewards of the money we do have? We expend about $1 ,365
per capita, but we aren't a full-service city. Need to first let people know we're
spending their money efficiently, then we can tell them why we need more.
• Communicate to voters: specific projects, the cost. timeline, and other funding
sources to be included. Sunsetting the tax makes it more acceptable to voters.
• Need to let citizens know how much their online purchasing is costing the City in
revenue.
• Important to let people know what their taxes go for. Educate folks. Tell them how
little of their property tax we get.
• We could do a sales tax increase and a property tax mill levy increase.
• We need to be transparent, talk to people, get info out to them, hit a lot of points
• What about Wadsworth? $6M is the City share, but there's a funding gap of $14M.
• We could consider an increase in marijuana sales tax.
• If we don't have the proper match for Wadsworth, we would lose the $25M grant.
• It's vital to have a good. logical priority list; should be need-based, not want-based.
Everyone seemed to agree we need to be specific.
STUDY SESSION NOTES: April 18, 2016 Page -5-
d. Stormwater fee -Scott Brink
Mr. Brink highlighted the packet material list of what other cities on the Front Range do.
• Fees range from $2-14 a month for a single family dwelling.
• Cities vary on how they use their stormwater fee: drainage projects, money to
match for grants, routine maintenance, water quality
There was discussion about how to collect the fee . Discussion points included:
• Some cities add it to the water bill, but we're not a full service city so not an option.
• Doing it in-house would require hiring another staff person and buying equipment
• Easiest would be to contracting it out, with the fee paying for that
• We'd be working with several different water and sewer districts
Staff will provide information on options.
Discussion followed about how to set the fees and/or putting it on the ballot.
• 13,600 households in WR; for rentals it just goes to the property owner.
• Flat fee may be simpler
• Several factors to consider: single family vs multi family, businesses large and
small, size of lot, amount of pavement. Can have a tiered system.
• How did we get here? What's gone on in the past to cause our current problems?
• We have lowest property tax, low sales tax, and no storm sewer.
• Create an ERU (Equivalent Residential Unit) by which to calculate bills, and some
similar formula for commercial/industrial units,
• Concern related to exempt categories (school district)
• Impervious surfaces: Encourage private property owners to mitigate their
impervious surfaces and possibly offer a credit. 7:58
• How much goes to administration?
• Having two/three different styles of tax increases is too complicated; won't pass.
• Storm water is important, but we need to prioritize our entire set of needs
• Sunsetting a stormwater fee doesn't make sense
There was general discussion about
• Whether or not to have a storm sewer utility
• If it should be a Council-approved fee or a voter approved tax increase
• If Council passes a fee without voter approval, it may increase the likelihood of a
sales tax question failing
• Should the tax be sunsetted or not?
There was consensus on the following:
• Council to have a mini DIRT task force at the next study session
• Staff to bring more specificity on projects and costs
• Staff to provide a cost matrix for different options on a storm water utility
STUDY SESSION NOTES: April 18, 2016 Page -6-
3. Elected Officials' Report(s)
Clerk Shaver offered some historic perspective regarding the capital budget. She
explained how for decades the City used one penny of sales tax for capital improvements
and our roads and sidewalks were in very good shape. That policy was changed; we
haven't had that one penny for several years. It could be changed back.
Monica Duran reported that some businesses have asked that the city staff host a
meeting with businesses on 381h to discuss the new plan that Crea Your 38 has
generated. They want to know expenses and costs. They'd prefer it be hosted by staff-
not the consultant.
Zach Urban reported from CML that SB177 is passing on through committees. There are
only 23 days left in the legislative session. -Regarding the request from business and
property owners on 381h Ave, they would like:
• Cost, timelines, impact, and curb cut impacts so they can provide feedback
• A 30-day process with design presented to allow time for feedback
• Assurances there are no other considerations that would prevent/impact the
completion of this project
• Assurance that the plan document has a rational basis based on reliable and
reasonable current data and scientific methodology -including safety
recommendations related to the narrowing of roadways and any impact on the
LOS (level of service) for traffic and overall capacity
He would like the Cre8 Your 38 planning document to include an estimate of construction
timeline, project zone, cost, and any potential funding sources. -Additionally, he has a
set of 15 questions related to the stakeholder engagement process. These questions are
about the process itself, not the content, so the Council can learn from this exercise --
regardless of the outcome.
Janeece Hoppe thinks it's important to get the businesses together in a meeting. From
her past personal experience, she believes it's valuable to see how things work for each
business.
Larry Mathews noted that the Littleton City Council is considering whether to dismantle
their Urban Renewal Authority.
Tim Fitzgerald announced there will be a District 3 meeting on May 21 at 9:00 at the Rec
Center. -He reminded folks there is a survey on the city website about ADU's
(accessory dwelling units). He invited people to take the survey.
Kristi Davis announced that postcards have gone out for the three neighborhood
meetings she will be having. -From the URA she reported :
• The Kipling Ridge project is a little over budget in revenues so the TIF is being
paid back quicker --and that's with one pad not yet rented.
• $150K in TIF funds will be available that must be spent on public improvements in
the 381h Avenue corridor.
• The URA hasn't met in a while.
• The second phase of Town Center Apartments is ready to open.
STUDY SESSION NOTES: April 18, 2016 Page -7-
Genevieve Wooden announced that May 7 is the 44th Avenue Cruise. Most of the events
will be at Anderson Park. A poker run is part of the event. -She reported hearing
astronaut Joe Tanner speak at the high school. -Students made picnic tables. Each
school will get a table to paint and they will be on display at the Carnation Festival. She
thanked Jordan's Lumber on Ward Road for donating the lumber. -The STEM team
leaves tomorrow for Detroit with their two cars. -She asked Council to consider a future
study session topic on rules of engagement for councilmembers at public meetings and in
different arenas, and also social media guidelines for councilmembers.
There was inquiry about the City's participation in a grand opening for the Gold Line.
Heather Geyer gave an update on the Gold Line opening. The City will be participating;
in July RTDF will give us a date -possibly in October. We've budgeted $20,000 for it.
As 'end of the line' we will host the grand opening ceremony on a Friday for dignitaries;
on Saturday we'll host something for the community. More information will be coming.
George Pond announced a tree branch drop off location in the parking lot behind the
Parks office 44th & Field . A map with directions is on the website.
ADJOURNMENT
The Study Session adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON May 9, 2016
(
George Pond, Mayor Pro Tern