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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2025 Study Session NotesCity Council Study Session NOTES CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO 7500 WEST 29TH AVENUE, MUNICIPAL BUILDING  APRIL 21, 2025  Note:    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. Eight members of Council were present in Council Chambers for this session.  Before calling the meeting to order, Mayor Starker stated the rules and procedures necessitated by this meeting format.  1. Call to Order Mayor Starker called the Regular City Council Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Roll Call Council Members present: Scott Ohm, Rachel Hultin, Amanda Weaver, Korey Stites, Janeece Hoppe, Leah Dozeman, Jenny Snell, and Dan Larson. Absent: None. Staff present: Deputy City Manager Allison Scheck, Assistant City Manager Marianne Schilling, Economic Development Director Steve Art, Procurement Manager Whitney Mugford-Smith, and Sr. Deputy City Clerk Margy Greer. 3. Public Comment None. 4. Jeffco Economic Development Corporation Economic Development Director Steve Art recognized Council Member Janeece Hoppe’s membership on the Economic Development Corporation’s Board. He then introduced Jansen Tidmore, President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Tidmore introduced himself and the EDC. He gave a PowerPoint Presentation which included the business leaders on the Board, creating and maintaining jobs in Jefferson County, including the jobs created and maintained in the fields of Advanced Manufacturing, Aviation, Bioscience, Medical Device Manufacturing, Energy, Research Design and Engineering, and IT & Telecommunications. Tidmore spoke to the talent and collaboration amongst the County and the Cities within Jeffco. EDC is involved in Leadership Jeffco Classes, Alumni association, Youth Leadership Jeffco, The Peer Community Leadership Exchange Program, and Jeffco Matters. A discussion followed with Mr. Tidmore and Council Members regarding the robust programming of EDC, the differences between EDC and Chambers of Commerce, and how EDC and the city can work together to bring more businesses to Wheat Ridge. 5. Procurement Policy and Guidelines Update Deputy City Manager Allison Scheck stated that with the roll out of the new software program, it was a good time for Procurement Manager Whitney Mugford-Smith to review the Procurement Policy and Guidelines which had not been updated since 2018. Procurement Manager Whitney Mugford-Smith gave a PowerPoint presentation stating that the main Goal of the program being Source best value solutions for the City, encourage compliance, maintain transparency and public procurement ethics. She spoke to the current purchase thresholds and approval authorizations for each threshold. She then proposed updating the thresholds/approvals by increasing the purchasing limits and authorization authority. Council discussion ensued regarding the proposal to have the city Manager authorize and sign for purchases up to $150,000 and any purchases over $150,000 being approved by Council. Mugford-Smith recommended Council approve the revised Procurement Policy and Guideline to further expedite modernization Citywide; increase the limit and thresholds to support expedited procurement functions; and increase authorization authority to support expedited procurement and contracting, all as proposed in her presentation. Council discussed the threshold amounts and reached consensus on the amounts as presented except for Council wanting to raise the purchasing limit from the proposed $150,000 to $250,000 for Council-approved purchases and asking staff to set a certain number of years to review this policy. There was consensus to bring the amended Procurement Policy and Guidelines back to Council in the form of a resolution for adoption. 6. Council’s Vision and Mission Statement Deputy City Manager Allison Scheck stated that Council’s retreat was held on January 31 and February 1 of this year. During the retreat, Council spent a great deal of time working on their Vision and a Mission Statement. Council Members Hoppe and Hultin volunteered to pull all the information gathered during Council’s exercises at the retreat and put it into the format distributed to Council in the Agenda packet. Council Members Hoppe and Hultin presented the Vision and Mission to the other members. Council Member Larson distributed a paper to the other council members and stated that there are key words which he believed needed to be changed to ensure that people reading the Council’s Vision, Mission & Ideals are not upset by their usage. Council Members thanked Hultin and Hoppe and Assistant City Manager Marianne Schilling for their work on thoughtfully creating a document which reflected what was said and felt during the retreat. A few words were changed to clarify the meaning behind the statements. There was a consensus to move forward with formal adoption of the Vision, Mission and Ideals as amended. 7. Staff(s) Report Deputy City Clerk Allison Scheck reported on a grant opportunity available through the Lakewood Cultural Commission. They are offering up to $500 grants to enrichment programs that promote culture and arts in Wheat Ridge. 8. Elected Officials’ Report Mayor and City Council Members stated their pride in the City, thanked staff for their hard work, and reported on events and activities they attended over the past weeks 9. Adjournment There being no further business to come before Council, Mayor Starker adjourned the Study Session at 8:36 p.m. _________________________________ Margy Greer, Sr. Deputy City Clerk _________________________________ Korey Stites, Mayor Pro Tem