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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6-21-21 hybrid1 STUDY SESSION NOTES CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO Hybrid - Virtual Meeting June 21, 2021 Mayor Bud Starker called the Study Session to order at 6: p.m. This meeting was conducted both as a virtual meeting and hybrid, where some members of the Council or City staff were physically present at the Municipal building, and some members of the public attended in person as well. All eight members of Council were present in Council Chambers for this session. Mayor Starker welcomed the Council, other elected officials, staff and interested citizens. The Mayor also explained the new virtual/hybrid meeting format, how citizens will have the opportunity to be heard, and the procedures and policies to be followed. Council members present Zach Urban, Amanda Weaver, Judy Hutchinson, Korey Stites, Leah Dozeman, Valerie Nosler Beck, Janeece Hoppe. Councilmember Rachel Hultin excused herself as she is traveling out of the country and has limited Internet access. Councilmember Hoppe also excused herself. Also present: City Manager, Patrick Goff; City Clerk, Steve Kirkpatrick; City Treasurer Chris Miller; Chief of Police, Chris Murtha; Director of Community Development, Ken Johnstone; Renewal Wheat Ridge Executive Director, Steve Art; Assistant to the City Manager, Marianne Schilling; Wheat Ridge Localworks Executive Director, Kate Cooke. The Mayor opened the session expressing our condolences and sending our thoughts and prayers to our suffering neighbors in Arvada. A shoot-out in Olde Towne Arvada this afternoon left on Arvada police officer, one innocent bystander deceased. The alleged perpetrator also died. Citizen’s Right to Speak Guy Nahmiach, 3650 Ward Road. Attended to lend support to Localworks for their excellent work as a pro-business, non-partisan and thoroughly pro-Wheat Ridge organization. Note about Wheat Ridge Speaks: Citizens may visit the Wheat Ridge Speaks website and enter written comments of up to 1,000 words on any Council agenda item. The deadline for citizens to submit comments is 12:00 Noon Mountain Time on the day of a Council session so that Council members, other elected officials and City Staff have time to review the comments before the meeting on Monday evening. The City Clerk’s Office transcribes those Wheat Ridge Speaks comments into these minutes, placing each comment along with the record for that agenda item, 2 including items that include a public hearing (verbatim, if the comments do not contain lascivious language or unlawful hate speech). The following comments appeared in Wheat Ridge Speaks for this meeting. Re: Localworks, Item 2, Study Session on June 21, 2021 Localworks was established as a quasi-official branch of Wheat Ridge City government to "Advance Wheat Ridge as a vibrant and sustainable community." It was initially called Wheat Ridge 2020, and then later Localworks. Much of what 2020 was initially founded to do has now been accomplished. The City no longer has foreclosed upon, empty homes with unkempt lawns in every neighborhood. Instead, our real estate is selling for premium amounts, houses have been flipped and renovated, and businesses have new, modern facades. Once empty lots and building sites are now developed into new apartment, townhome and condominium communities. In short, Localworks has fulfilled its mission--Wheat Ridge is now a vibrant and sustainable community. Our City has an active, accomplished Cultural Commission capable of taking over some of the Localworks' existing projects, such as placing works of art in the community, developing an artisan center, and hosting various art events throughout the year. Wheat Ridge now has a well-organized business group to provide assistance and advice to new businesses, to encourage business growth within our City, and to plan activities and events to bring customers to these businesses. This group also oversees a successful loan project to encourage investment in our community. As a citizen, I would like to know the total cost to our City of Localworks, including in-kind contributions from the City, cash contributions from the City to Localworks, and any grants from outside organizations. I've reviewed the tax form on Localworks' web site, but still have questions concerning salaries, rents and other expenses and how those expenses are paid by Localworks. June 21, 2021, 11:58 AM Kathryn Havens 7060 West 39th Ave Wheat Ridge, 80033 I believe the banks in Wheat Ridge should be the provider for loans. I believe that a 501c3 is not in the business of providing loans and that grants should be used if a nonprofit is loaning money. How does that work? Is there payback of the loans? At what rate of interest and payback time? Maybe at study session there will be specific details than what I read from the material provided thru the city webpages. Possibly my thoughts will be addressed at the presentation tonight. I also think that there are enough groups: WR Business District, WR Business Association, LocalWorks and the WR Chamber/visitor center, that it would make sense to place all of these types of WR groups under the Chamber of Commerce. Most people in the city or contemplating WR for their location, call the Chamber for knowledge and answers to their questions. Most citizens have knowledge of a "chamber" in cities and towns to use to access furthering their own businesses. The City should be "giving" money to where it is best needed for furthering the benefits of its citizens and businesses and economic development. Thank you, Vivian June 21, 2021, 10:17 AM VIVIAN VOS 6920 W 47 PLACE WHEAT RIDGE, 80033 3 1. Jefferson County Multi-Hazard Plan presentation This item postponed to a future Study Session due to a staff illness. 2. Strategic Priority – Review vision/mission/funding for Localworks Discussion began at 6:33 pm, approximately :02 minutes into the session. Issue At the strategic planning retreat on February 20, 2021, City Council identified the need for a discussion about the mission, vision and funding of Localworks. Staff is requesting feedback on a proposed workplan to realize this priority. Staff reports Mr. Goff gave a detailed presentation to describe the Strategic Priority of this item and brief history of the organization when in 2005 City Council authorized the formation of Wheat Ridge 2020, now Localworks, as a non-profit corporation, for the purpose of assisting the City in bringing about community revitalization and setting the direction for and implementing the nine strategies contained within the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy: Repositioning Wheat Ridge report. Councilmembers had questions and comments: Councilmembers asked for an explanation of the forward-looking funding plans, given that Localworks does such good work and that the City’s fiscal position looks sound coming out of the pandemic. Ms. Cooke gave a detailed answer. Councilmembers also asked for a description of how Localworks and the City’s Economic Development team collaborate and coordinate their efforts. Mr. Goff provided a brief overview of how the relationship began, how it has evolved and how their joint efforts will move the City forward into the near-term future. Councilmembers commented that the heavy dependence on the City for funding creates a risk that Localworks would be wise to address. There was also a discussion of how Localworks can supplement its City funding through fund raising. Council also discussed how to even more effective leverage the relationship between the City and Localworks. Noting that Localworks agreed to reduce its ask for City funding, councilmembers asked what would be possible with a higher level of funding. The discussion focused not only on the needs Localworks meets but also the increasing costs of everything. Council asked further questions and made comments about specific functions or organizations in City government that might help support the joint effort between Localworks and the City. 4 Councilmember Urban proposed a consensus for staff to review and bring to Council the Localworks’ budget request for 2022. Consensus attained. 3. Overview of Relationship Based Policing Discussion began at 7:25 pm, approximately 0:55 minutes into the session. Issue Community Policing methods have evolved over the last 30 years and become the cornerstone of crime prevention and problem-solving policing efforts. While great strides have been made using these methods, this model does not always meet all the needs of the communities in which it is practiced. Issues that have been highlighted during the past year, including civil unrest and distrust between police and the public, had some communities demanding that police departments evaluate current approaches to determine if better policing methods exist. With that idea in mind, the Wheat Ridge Police Department is pushing the bounds of Community Policing through a new concept known as Relationship Based Policing (RBP). Staff reports Chief of Police Chris Murtha and Division Chief Darrell Guadnola spoke how community policing is based on the principles of partnership, transparency, and legitimacy. These are important concepts that involve two distinct parts of the community coming together to “create” a partnership and allow those partners to participate as well as view what the police are doing in order to be determined as legitimate. That approach has been somewhat successful and an advancement in thought over the types of policing models used in years prior. However, it is the belief of the Wheat Ridge Police Department leadership that the foundation of policing, Community Policing, can and should be advanced using a concept that not only allows for partnerships but demands that the lines between police and community are blurred to the extent that trusting relationships between the police and the community are built through collaboration to keep the community safe. It is only through better and more meaningful relationships that we can accomplish our goal to “be the community” and not just be a resource to the community The City of Los Angeles is widely credited with inventing and starting the concept of RBP. The concept is still in its infancy and it has not yet been fully developed to the point of reaching its maximum potential. The Los Angeles Police Department has seen great early success as it transitions to this next evolution of Community Policing. The Wheat Ridge Police Department can create and advance the foundational principles outlined by the Los Angeles Police Department and create a more tailored approach to policing in our community. That approach demands we find opportunity for engagement and relationship building in every interaction that occurs. The opportunity to understand the community and for the community to know its police department at a more individual level is a foundational 5 principle. It is the core of the concept of RBP. We know that some of the concepts of Community Policing work, but we realize that the public is not satisfied, and the proof lies in the frustrations observed over the last year. We will reach out and look for opportunities to make good relationships great, to make bad relationships better, to build relationships where none currently exist, and it will be the job of everyone, not just the Chief of Police, to go out and make that happen during our daily interactions. Even when we issue a citation or make an arrest, we will try, through respect and communication, to enhance that interaction and relationship. At its very core RBP gets back to the concepts that existed when officers walked the beat and knew the people they worked for and with. It resonates a time when officers were committed to professionalism and to relationships. Wheat Ridge is already a leader in many of these areas, but we can’t become complacent. We hope to be a national model in policing and to lead the next step in police concepts through our work within the RBP model. Councilmembers had questions and comments: Councilmembers thanked Chiefs Guadnola and Murtha for an excellent presentation. Councilmembers asked about how much training the WRPD provides its officers and command staff. Chiefs Murtha and Guadnola gave a detailed answer, explaining that the WRPD emphasized training and devotes much more time and effort to training than required. As an example of how WRPD approaches training, Chief Guadnola reviewed the extensive firearms training the WRPD conducts for all sworn officers quarterly. Councilmembers expressed their gratitude and their pride in the amazing job our WRPD has done, especially during the challenging months during the pandemic. Chief Murtha thanked the Council for its strong compliments and support, and described his plans going forward now that the pandemic is apparently ending. His emphasis on RBP is now front and center, and Wheat Ridge is among the first agencies in the country and the state to adopt these principles. Council also asked how the WRPD will measure success in RPB. Chief Murtha gave a detailed answer with examples. The Mayor asked how the elected officials in Wheat Ridge can help advance the Chiefs’ plan for RBP. His answer focused on regular, candid feedback and funding the necessary investments in the Department. 4. Staff Report(s) Nothing this evening. 5. Elected Officials’ Report Councilmember Weaver thanked those who attended and participated in the goat herd walk last Saturday. 6 She also mentioned the Regenerate Wheat Ridge begins soon with a class on soils and how to improve them. Councilmember Dozeman expressed condolences to the Arvada Police Department for the loss of one of their sworn officers. Councilmember Urban also express his empathy for the Arvada PD and the impact today’s events will have on that agency. The Mayor thanked the staff and guest presenters who came this evening and contributed to a very productive meeting. ADJOURNMENT The Study Session adjourned at 8:25 p.m. APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON June 28, 2021 Steve Kirkpatrick, City Clerk Janeece Hoppe, Mayor Pro Tem tttttttteveveveveveveveveeeeeee eee Kirkp Janeece Hoppe