August 18, 2020 — City Council Regular Meeting

Transcript

Captions from City of Boulder YouTube recording.

[0:00] [Music] as well as a safe and efficient airport [Music] infrastructure our partnership with the ski Corporation is very tight they know that the lifeblood of their business is reliant on this airport even the people that work here how proud they are of the product they put out and uh the the care they take with the passengers that come through here it shows I couldn't ask for a a more talented and dedicated staff than I have and great Partners in the FBO next door it's important that we take pride in the airport and we take good care of the customers is we are the first impression for a lot of people so the first thing they see is when they get off the airplane here and they come through our terminal it's especially important at in Yampa Valley that we we keep the right attitude and we take good care of our passengers cuz we want them to come back and cuz they're a critical component of

[1:03] this [Music] community [Music] it's not by accident the hills and the mountains are protected and it's not by accident the city today is one of the most desirable

[2:04] cities our four fathers and four mothers had the foresight uh to see the value of protecting our natural lands and having that open space buffer Shaga itself was really founded in 1898 so Shak has been a part of Boulder for a very long time in fact um the buying of the bachelder ran which is where shiaka is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] today

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[8:20] here Gates here young present mayor we have a quum thank you very much so the first thing that we need to do tonight is to amend the agenda um the first thing that would be amended would be to move the presentation by Professor gross to um the item 1B and then we would move to separate item 8A into item 8B which is update on evaluations for City attorney municipal judge and item 8C which is appointment of the interim city manager and then we need to add an item 8A which is an update from the charter

[9:02] committee regarding emergency suspension of Charter Provisions so very good is there a second second great any objections hearing none the um motion to amend the agenda is approved unanimously and then I think we move on to um item one a which is a declaration by um council member juny Joseph mayor yes Debbie did you want to give the um the um update on the census or the oh is that here on my agenda uh yes it is thank you for the reminder um so one one announcement before um juny starts um the 2020 census is currently taking place Boulder County is at at a 73% response rate which is very good but

[10:02] there's still time to respond to the census and please don't be left out because your response matters um it's safe and easy to complete the census it is also secure and confidential no personal information is collected or given out it takes only a few minutes to complete the questionnaire and one of the reasons it's important to complete the census is because a great deal of um Federal and State uh funding depends on the population of the Cities applying for the funding please encourage uh your friends and family to respond by the September 30th deadline you can respond online at my 2020 census.gov or you can call 8443302020 thank you Debbie for the reminder and now we will turn to council member Joseph and her presentation joury thank you

[11:04] Sam it is an H an honor for me to be reading this Des this declaration this evening even though black women and other people of color did not gain access to The Ballot Box until nearly 50 years later but black people namely African-American women and countless others not mentioned in history greatly contributed to the women's suffrage movement thank you for the honor to today as a community we celebrate women's suffrage Centennial day August 18th 18th 2020 August 18th 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which guarantees and protect women's constitutional right to vote suffragists begin their organized fight for women's equality in 1848 when they demanded the right to vote during the first women's right

[12:03] Rights Convention in Sena Falls New York for the next 72 years women leaders organized lobbied marched went on hunger strikes picketed and protested for the right to The Ballot Box they were often heckled jailed and sometimes physically abused their efforts were realized when the 19th amendment was r ified on August 18th 1920 on November 2nd of that same year more than 8 million women across the United States voted in elections for the first time the 19th Amendment ultimately granted suffrage to racial and ethnic minority women and name only but women of color had to continue to fight another 45 years for the vote and their efforts were realized when the Voting

[13:00] Rights Act was enacted in 1965 today more than 68 million women vote in elections because of the Courage the courageous s suffragists who never gave up the fight for equality and therefore the city council of the city of Boulder declares August 18th 2020 as women's suffrage Centennial day in honor of the countless women whose courage and resolve have contributed and continue to contribute to the character and success of our nation we urge all residents to join us in the celebration of the universal rights of all people to participate in our democracy thank you juny and I believe here to accept the Declaration is Trudy Trudy yes hi thank you and thank you jie

[14:01] for those words I think you took most of what I was going to say and you've said it already um and I'm thankful for that um and thank you all for for supporting this and I had the pleasure of being involved in late 2019 with a group of 30 or more amazing women in Boulder County and we had planned an event um some of you know about that um and of course that event was to happen last weekend and it did not and um but there people are still involved which is the wonderful thing and and juny what you just said really having all of us look at the right to vote and it should be extended to all and extend the efforts of the suffragettes and the women who came after to our current electorate so I am accepting this declaration on behalf of not only these 30 women with whom I worked but women women of all color and indeed on behalf of every one

[15:01] of us and our right to vote for those of you who are interested in pursuing more of this celebration I know that chiaka has something coming up in November the DAR is working with uh CWA to do um uh with CU I'm sorry and The JCC is working with CWA and the Museum of Boulder has also um uh done a number number of events around the vote and um the other thing that we I think could all do is participate in trying to get out the vote in whatever way we can through the influencers through indivisible the why um and certainly the League of Women Voters so once again thank you very much for acknowledging this and bringing this to the city of Boulder well thank you very much Trudy for being here to accept that it's much appreciated um with that we will move on to item 1B

[16:02] which is the presentation by Professor gross of the comprehensive annual financial report David and actually uh Cheryl patelli our Chief Financial Officer is going to introduce Dr Gross thank you you on mute sing it there we go sorry about that so um first of all I just want want to thank the audit committee for all of their work this year with our audit um also my staff they've done an amazing job as well as all the staff within the city we had a great year and um I want to present Professor David Gross he will he's a member of the audit committee also a professor at CU and he is here to present the results to all of you so thank you very much uh Professor gross thanks yeah so my name is gross and I serve on the Boulder City audit

[17:01] subcommittee uh the committee consists of council members stick wallik Yates and myself and it's our job to assess and interpret the audit of the city's financial statements it is not the job of this Committee in any way to assess the financial position or financial activities of the city just comment on the audit and so the motion on the consent agenda for later this evening is to approve and accept the city of Boulder comprehensive annual financial report the caffer and the of this report uh note that this is the fifth year that Clifton Larsson Allen has audited these statements it's best practiced to consider switching Auditors after five years and the city has an RFP out for next year's audit uh in many years on the same evening the uh the city council would vote to um uh contract with the auditor to audit next year but because this is the fifth year there's the RFB so I'm going to give a brief description of the four-part process that led us to this point uh first and this is most of

[18:01] the work the city staff records all Financial transactions second the staff uses this information to prepare the financial statements and these financial statements are produced for each of the city's 40 funds including General and open space and transportation and Municipal property and for each of these there are three main types of financial statements uh like a pnl or an income statement there is the statement of Revenue expenses and change in net position Revenue expenses change in apposition so all revenue transactions are summarized and categorized by Source all expense transactions are summarized and categorized by type and from these the staff computes the resulting change in a net change in fund balance which would be sort of like a net income uh for for a different type of entity and then similar to a balance sheet they uh produce the statement of net position and these are the assets what the city owns the liabilities what the city owes and the net position which under other circumstances we called owner's equity

[19:01] and the difference between this year's net position and last year's net position is the net change in position from the statement we just talked about the the p&l type statement and then finally they produce a statement of cash flows it documents it it documents the sources and uses of cash over the year uh for example for entities that earn a lot of non-cash Revenue and pay a lot of non-cash expenses if they have a lot of transactions on credit then the statement of cash flows is an important addition to the other two financial statements to assess the true Financial Health of an entity it's not so important for the city of Boulder but it's still produced these financial statements are public they can be used by anyone to understand how the city of Boulder operates among the questions that can be answered are from where does the city receive its funds and where does the city spend its funds and how stable and sustainable is the city of Boulder now remember financially stable and sustainable uh those are the questions that can be answered but these and other questions can only be answered if the city is recording its transactions correctly and producing its

[20:01] financial statements correctly and that's the point of the audit so that's the third step these documents are given to the auditor in addition the auditor works with the city staff to gain an understanding of the process used to record transactions and prepare the statements and the auditor ensures that all of these are done in accordance with the rules set by the government Accounting Standards Board gby and well the results of the audit are a clean opinion and so the auditor examined all this looked at it and said yes this is a clean opinion this is the best possible result for the City so I'll just summarize the opinion on page 20 of the 315 page comprehensive annual report so you annual financial report uh and it says in our opinion the financial statements present fairly in all material respects the respective financial position of the governmental activities the business type activities each major fund and the aggregate remaining fund information of the city of Boulder so this is an excellent

[21:00] result now there was one notable non-financial issue it has been completely corrected and I'll describe that in a minute but just to talk about the process the Auditors look for three things they look for deficiencies and this is the flaw in the design of a process which might allow for errors it doesn't mean there's evidence of errors but the auditor issues a comment on the deficiency well for example in 2015 uh this is the 2019 audit so 2015 the auditor found 14 deficiencies all related to it processes uh the city's worked extremely hard to address these so from 14 down to 8 in 2017 four last year zero deficiencies this year so they were all corrected and there were no new ones so the next thing are significant deficiencies and this is a large deficiency or a combination of smaller deficiencies and there was one non-financial significant deficiency this year it's labeled a significant uh deficiency by the auditor it's not that that big a deal I'll talk about it in a minute and then the third thing that the

[22:01] Auditors look for are material weaknesses so deficiencies significant deficiencies material weaknesses and a material weakness is again a large deficiency or combination of smaller deficiencies but this time the auditor believes there's a reasonable possibility of recording and Reporting errors and there were no material weaknesses so just to recap uh the Legacy deficiencies related to it are at Zero from 14 and there are no new ones there were no material weaknesses let's talk briefly about the significant deficiency that they did find so here's what happened the auditor selected a highway program uh project to be audited and for this project the city received money from the Colorado Department of Transportation C do and it selected vendors for this project from the cot pre-qualified vendor list the list of who you can use but since the money had originated from the Federal Department of Transportation the city was also required to examine the federal department of trans transportations excluded party list system when hiring

[23:02] vendors so who you can't use and so yes the state tells you who you can use the feds tell you who you can't use and the city was also required to document this now it's my understanding that none of the entities that appear on the federal exclusion list also appear on the state's inclusion list but this is a bright line rule uh the city is not allowed to rely solely on the C pre-qualified vendor list it should have also examined the federal department of Transportation excluded party list system and document this its failure to do so required the auditor to find a significant deficiency again no Financial impact the city did not hire anyone on the excluded party list and so again a clean opinion uh so this was something that came up in the audit but it is the opinion of the audit committee that this has been dealt with and was not a uh was not a problem so again a clean opinion uh I'll also note for the 30th consecutive year and 30 years in total the city was awarded the

[24:01] certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting by the government Finance Officers Association uh this certifies that the city went beyond the minimum requirements and prepared reports that evidence uh the spirit of transparency and full disclosure so this is uh this was a great job by by the city again one sort of situation in which they relied on the seedot rule didn't quite realize they had to do the dot rule but nothing bad happened so that's the third step is the audit the fourth step is the audit committee interprets and acts on any recommendations from the auditor and apart from the above there weren't any recommendations for us to to act on uh the audit committee then makes a recommendation to the Council on whether or not to accept the comprehensive annual financial report of the caffer and the audit of the caffer and the audit committee so recommends we recommend that the council accept the report and the audit so thank you for your time very good

[25:00] David and thank you for your service and thank you for helping us out um by being the third party eyes on this um I would ask does anyone have any questions for David great we'll seeing none I will thank you again and we'll move on and we will vote on accepting the comprehensive annual financial report under the consent agenda oops Mary you have a question I just had a quick comment I wanted to thank Dr Gross um for his service thanks David and I also wanted to congratulate the finance staff and team for their 30-year running um recognition that is no small feat and um I have the privilege of working with those guys um alongside my colleagues Bob and juny um on the budget committee and um it's an outstanding team so thank you great thank you Mary Aaron well just to Echo that I mean the the city

[26:01] organization and the finances are so complicated and to get such a clean report is an extraordinary accomplishment so congrats to everybody and um thanks Professor Gris for for your time and helping us out with that great thank you all very much um Debbie I believe we're on to open comment is that correct yes we are on to open comment okay very good so um I believe everyone knows the rules we have two minutes of piece um tonight we have um 20 people who are signing up for open comment um and I will call three names and then come back to the first name and so the second and third will be up next and can get ready so tonight uh our first three commenters are Chris Hoffman Emily Reynolds and Ali Katherine wild Chris you're up just in case there's anybody

[27:00] here who is not familiar um you will be able to mute and unmute yourself after the mayor calls your name and I toggle you on as somebody who can speak so I'm toggling Chris on Chris you should be allowed to speak and you can unmute yourself okay can you hear me we can yes great so I will not be able to speak to you on the 20th because I have a prior commitment so I'm very happy to be to have this opportunity tonight there are so many powerful reasons not to put an Excel franchise on the ballot that it would be hard to do justice to them in two hours let alone two minutes but the bottom line is there's no bottom line there is no bottom line there has been no financial analysis of how much this will cost us I'm a retired Management Consultant but you don't need to be a Management Consultant to know that it's bad business to sign a contract without knowing the cost it would be like signing a lease with a landlord without knowing what the rent

[28:00] will be agreeing to this would most likely drive up both our taxes and our electricity bills taxpayers per state law would have to pay for all extra Renewables or resiliency needed to meet Boulder's goals plus there is nothing in the agreement about future rates for customers Excel plans to spend 7.5 billion dollars in Colorado over the next five years in an effort to drive up their earnings 5 to 7% a year electricity demand is flat so to make that kind of money they will most likely to continue to raise rates as they have done over and over again in the past the cost of Renewables keeps going down and our rate should too con Excel electricity bills would be too expensive it's not fair please say no to a Fran anchise with Excel finish the local power cost assessment first as

[29:03] was promised to the citizens allow time for a thorough analysis of the franchise after you have done that if a franchise still makes sense go ahead and put it on the ballot thank you Chris next up Emily Reynolds Alec Katherine wild and maren Eldridge Emily hi can you hear me we can thank you council members I appreciate you're putting the bedrooms issue on the work plan rather than the ballots so we can have a thoughtful deliberative process we've had many impressive Central density measures over the years Carriage Houses alley houses backyard houses mother-in-law houses auds tiny houses now investment companies want dorms in our family neighborhoods already already they're reconfiguring houses at Fourth and Cedar we see six separate front door

[30:03] entrances surrounding the house that way investors neighbors say they're from Dubai can bring in 1,500 per occupant or 9,000 per month what family is going to be able to pay $99,000 per month we need to support families here not in Dubai bedroom backers overgeneralize in their public comments in the same heavy-handed way that they bring a lawsuit naming council members because they didn't get their way they imagine that their 0.07% of unverified signatures is equivalent to quote the voice of the entire Community they say quote these people are supposed to be representing us I find Council represents me just fine instead of allowing bedrooms to Circ circumvent the Democratic process

[31:00] particularly when the discussion concerns a charter Amendment not easily reversed it's important to have Community input not just Jam another high density proposal on the ballot clearly it was a confusing process but bedrooms exploits this thank you for not allowing the shrieking voices of a tiny minority to manipulate the situation again thank you thank you Emily we have Ali Katherine wild maren Eldridge and Claudia team Ali Katherine hello everybody right this is Ally cffn wild and what I have to do again is start with gratitude I got to tell you it's hard to reach for gratitude right now but I have a mind that works and a mouth that can speak I'm from the disability Community

[32:00] Hallelujah the reason why I've come again is uh come again to address city council is to clarify things a little bit from one person's perspective um I no longer have housing in Boulder and although I could have had advocacy I didn't have the ability to make a good choice for housing and the reason is because I lived in Boulder housing right Boulder housing Partners city of Boulder subsidized housing three different sites five and a half years next to drug addicts who created chaos in the neighborhood that's a long time to live in housing like that five and a half years um the last time I was here I said that I didn't have ad access to getting a reasonable accommod ation to getting safe housing where I could breathe it

[33:01] turns out that the housing that I was offered by Boulder housing Partners was um not safe housing for me so but the hard part is Boulder housing Partners tried to get me to betray neighbors who had children and if these people lost their housing they might have lost their children children I want the City attorney and the city manager to take some responsibility and investigate some of these claims I can help thanks thank you Ali Katherine next we have Marine eldrich Claudia team and Michael Shriner Marine am I unmuted you are can hear you thank you thanks for your time this evening um my comments relate to item number four on the agenda the consideration of calling up the plot for

[34:01] the 2150 fome development I represent the developer later in the public comments you will likely hear from the attorney for a neighboring land owner who opposes this project this neighbor has been trying to block the project since 2015 litig ownership of a strip of ditch land on the Eastern edge of the property originally conveyed to the ditch Company by a deed in 1874 after several years of litigation it ended and the ditch company conveyed the property to the developer by a fe simple determinable deed the neighbors filed a second litigation in August of last year regarding this same 1874 deed that litigation was dismissed by the boulder District Court the judge dismissed this saying that all of the claims were already or should have been litigated in the 2015 case the courts have little interest in allowing litigants to keep coming back to the court with new legal

[35:01] theories for a second or third bite at the Apple despite the neighbors's attempt to block the cha block the project by challenging title they have been not been successful in the courts the decision on the plat is simple the code requires an update to the preliminary title report to show ownership the developer has more than met this requirement providing a preliminary title commitment the policy a title report and an updated title commitment a title company has put its money on the line regarding good title the neighbors are in essence asking to add requirements to the code making the planning board and the city council have the job of interpreting Deeds this is not in the code the developer has good title to the land and has shown this by more than meeting the requirements under the Cod there should not be any further delays on this project I'm happy to answer any questions you might have thank you maren next we have Claudia team Michael

[36:01] Shriner and Blake Stone Claudia good evening Council my name is Claudia Hansen theme I live in North Boulder to start I want to say I'm glad to see a few speakers from bedrooms are for people on the list tonight they can advocate for their cause so much better than I can but I do want to say I'm grateful for their vision of housing Justice and for their creative and tenacious organizing both of these things give me hope for Boulder's future what actually moved me to speak tonight though was council member friend's request to authorize an emergency encampment for people experiencing homelessness people who are now at high risk for displacement and loss of possessions due to increased police enforcement of Boulder's camping ban as a middle-class white mom always securely housed I likely share more background with people who complain about visible homelessness than I do with our unhoused neighbors and the activists who show up on the regular to protect their right to exist when I pass encampments I recognize and work against

[37:02] my own sense of propriety and I understand the desire to push the uncomfortable out of sight but at a certain point and we're well past it here in Boulder it's not about my comfort but about basic human rights where can people sleep and where can they spend their waking hours unmolested where can they let their guard down and breathe sweeping encampments especially when no legal alternative for residence exists is a form of brutality and it does not pass muster with this mom and no it's not easy to agree on a location or locations plural since it's ridiculous to assume that all unhoused people should live together I'm very familiar with neighborhood resistance to far less controversial things in Boulder but denying this conversation needs to occur is a sure sign of privilege and an active political cowardice so I want to thank council member friend for keeping this issue visible and to others who have the courage to discuss it here thank

[38:00] you thank you Claudia next we have Michael Shriner Blake Stone and Jim Terrell Michael can you hear me we can yes great so I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight I also want to thank you and advance for your service especially in these very difficult and tumultuous times um to minutes goes by fast so I'll speak quickly if I sound like an Auctioneer please let me know and I'll ratchet it back a little bit I'm here to speak regarding the bedrooms are for people ballot initiative and to ask you to continue to oppose placing the proposed Charter Amendment on the ballot there remains no compelling reason to put this measure on the ballot bedrooms chose to put this measure forward this year to take advantage of the higher turnout in even election years special election years it's absolutely clear that the charter requires requ Ires 10% of the average number of registered voters that

[39:00] voted in the last two elections they didn't hit that number even when given additional time it is also absolutely clear that an amendment to the Charter is governed by state law I was on the campaign Finance election working group when we worked to correct some oversights and unintended consequences created by ballot measure 2q in 2017 in those meetings it was unanimously understood that Charter amendments were governed by state law I don't know why the city attorney's office gave incorrect guidance I don't understand why that happened and there should be some consequences for that however given the knowledge of some persons affiliated with bedrooms who were also on that working group any Reliance and the guidance by the city attorney's office cannot be reasonable I want to comment quickly on some of the representations made by bedrooms for their argument that Charter amendment should be on the ballot first that 8,000 citizens support their initiative that's false as indicated in your packet almost 30% of been rejected by the court or the clerk second that the charter amendment

[40:00] is intended to address discriminatory housing practices that's also false the definition of family is Broad and Boulder and does not require as some have suggested that families can only be heteronormative I don't think we should equate passion with Worth to do so opens a Pandora's Box and creates a a precedent for placing any number of ill-conceived measures on the ballot again thank you for listening and thank you for your service thank you Michael next up we have Blake Stone Jim Chell and Eric Bud Blake hello can you hear me okay we can yes all right hi thank you for your time my name is Blake Stone and I am a 16-year resident of Boulder with roughly roughly half of those years living in an illegal Co-op I'm a volunteer with the bedrooms are for the people initiative and I'm here to clear up several misconceptions about what the initiative does and does not do one it does not apply to dependent children only adults two it does not alter or ease any

[41:00] existing regulations on Accessory dwelling units or building permits three it does not prevent the city from regulating developers or any new construction four it does not increase rent in order for rent to increase despite an increase in Supply there would need to be an even higher increase in demand that is a sudden and substantial increase in people willing to pay more than what anyone was previously willing to pay to live with multiple people since boulders population has been on the decline and the bedrooms initiative would merely unlock existing rooms not create new construction the law of supply and demand suggests the price would actually fall somewhat as those who are already living illegally know sharing a house is not for everyone the the initiative does not prevent the city from enforcing any ordinances that regulate health and safety standards six it does not prevent the city from making new regulations or taxes on the number of vehicles a household May own seven it does not increase traffic since most congestion in Boulder is a consequence of working workers commuting to and from

[42:01] Boulder this is obvious since Boulder's congested streets are often those that are on routes out of Boulder as well as the fact that Boulder's population hasn't increased while traffic has eight it does not require lgbtq people unmarried couples and others like myself to live illegally simply because their definition of family is non-traditional what the bedrooms initiative does do is limit the number of people per home to a reasonable level without using the Antiquated family model Ohio California New York New Jersey and Iowa have all found occupancy laws pertaining unrelated people to be unconstitutional for reasons of equality due process and privacy I hope you would reconsider thank you for your time thank you Blake next up we have Jim Chell Eric bud and Alana Wilson Jim can you hear me we can awesome hello my my name is Jim Tyrell I and I am the owner of 2150 fulam later this evening

[43:00] you will hear from my neighbor Neighbors attorney around agena item four which is labeled call up check-in my neighbor has been opposed to this project from the very beginning instead of addressing the aspects of this project that he didn't like since 2015 he has challenged titled to an adjacent strip of land at the planning board site review in June 2019 he said nothing about the size color shape or anything at all about the project he just asserted falsely that I didn't have have a good title the project was unanimously approved in June of 2019 by the planning board and the plat was unanimously approved at the July 30th planning board meeting all the code requirements have been met we have submitted everything the code requires and then some my neighbor's attorney Mr Maguire is trying to sell fear uncertainty and doubt about the 2150 fome title as you probably know title companies don't ensure property if the title is uncertain my neighbor is trying to delay this project in any manner he can find in the hope that I will just give up I won't give up I can't give up the project site is currently a couple of

[44:00] ramshackled buildings and weed trees my project would turn it into a beautiful set of homes and improve the block and neighborhood my neighbor hasn't been able to get the courts to do what he wants now he is trying to have the planning board and Boulder City Council get involved in interpreting the deed and delay the project why would otou and Maguire harass a future neighbor so vigorously no really why are they can you please ask them I just don't understand or get it all I want is for my wife and I to move into our forever home to stop this development today would set a new president and open up Boulder City Council to reviewing title for every project down the road do you really want to let litigation prevent housing development in the city of Boulder thank you thank you Jim next we have Eric Bud Alana Wilson and Linda Spar Eric hello my name is Eric bud I live in Boulder and I'm an organizer with bedrooms are for people a group trying to reform Boulder's discriminat occupancy limits as many of you know the district court judge made a ruling R

[45:00] case against the city of Boulder on Friday the judge ruled that the city repeatedly and consistently gave us wrong information the city clerk the C and their staff the City attorney and members of the city council but the judge ruled that he lacked the power to correct the wrongs perpetrated by the city of Boulder giving our campaign bad information about the deadline for submitting petitions because only a higher legal Authority can compel the city to place bedrooms off for people on the ballot we will now appeal our case to the Colorado Supreme Court which has the power to write this wrong in the response from you all Boulder City Council you take no responsibility at all over the weekend Blake F uh from The Daily Camera gave an official position from the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper once a group of citizens has launched a petition Drive council members and other City officials should at worst be neutral observers responding

[46:00] promptly and accurately to information and requests they receive the city's leaders shouldn't attempt to obstruct or tamper with petition drives after they have been launched and that's exactly what you've done at a time when the pandemic has caused millions of people jobs strain budgets and put people at risk of eviction we must work to pass our housing Equity measure to keep our community whole to keep people housed and to work toward a more just Boulder thank you thank you Eric next we have Alana Wilson Linda Spar and Claire Gallagher Alana Alana you're on the phone you may need to press star six to unmute yourself can you hear me we can can you hear me now we can okay thank you my name is Elena Wilson and I am an organizer with bedrooms are for people

[47:00] most of us here remember well the flood disaster our community experienced in the fall of 2013 we remember where we were living how we were impacted and the shock of seeing the devastating power of nature many people lost belongings and experienced damage to their homes some were displaced from their housing for indefinite periods of time with respect to an acute shock to our already severe housing crisis the fall of 2020 has Echoes of 2013 the economic impacts of the current pandemic leave many in our house Community vulnerable to eviction and make the situation of our unhoused community members all the more vulnerable unfor unfortunately the city of Boulder policies and laws unnecessarily exacerbate the impacts of such crises one mechanism of several is through discriminatory occupancy limits that restrict access to housing and make the situation of many thousands of us illegal in 2013 the house where I lived took in flood ref refugees and yet was maligned by some community members for being quote over occupied similar

[48:01] narratives are being used to undermine the work of bedrooms are for people what they decline to acknowledge is the ways that shared housing allows for living out the values we claim to hold resilience to crises like the flood and record unemployment sustainability through sharing resources and allowing people to live near where they work and a built-in community that each of us needs as social creatures for mental health and well-being I am asking you to align your actions with these values and in defense of democracy by putting bedrooms are for people on the ballot you know that we have received bad information and that the the rules are anything but clear which is why the district judge has asked you um to clarify those laws for future elections so please do the right thing and put us on the ballot thank you thank you Alana next we have Linda Spar Claire Gallagher and Dave reninger Linda hello can you hear me we can hello I'm Linda Spar and for 32 years I've lived

[49:02] with my family in the University Hill Neighborhood the University Hill neighborhood association of which I'm on the executive committee has for years worked in groups including homeowners renters students Hill Merchants the university and the city to ensure the continued vibrancy and safety of our neighborhood these past few years have been challenging as we are losing more and more family homes to the lucrative often predatory student rental housing market now with the pandemic and the high concentration of student rentals we Face an even greater crisis I urge city council to put the Hill Neighborhood on your working agenda let's work together for all stakeholders to determine how to create truly affordable housing oulder and to determine what occupancy limits make sense in the University Town we aren't the first University Town to face these issues the bedroom's proposed Charter Amendment does not create

[50:02] affordable fair housing or maintain healthy balanced neighborhoods I thank you members of city council for not putting the bedrooms Charter Amendment which did not meet the requirements on the ballot finally I thank you for your time and for your service to our community thanks thank you Linda next up Claire Gallagher David rad Rader and Joel Maguire Claire hey can you hear me we can great hi council members thank I think all of you have upheld our Collective duty to direct democracy my name is CLA Gallagher and I'm an organizer with bedrooms for people I'm disturbed that this Council has reigned over the city with personal opinions blocking de direct democracy when I voted for you Bob I never thought thought you'd vote to block an obvious display of direct direct democracy over 5,000 voters asked

[51:01] simply to vote on a measure that pretty much all of you on city council have said should be voted on not sent to a bu bureaucratic working group that will likely result in nothing we all watched the Council on July 21st it was beyond obvious that no one understood the laws and everyone felt remorse over the confusion but why should we care about this for one so many people right now are living illegally I am proof that over occupying to one person per bedroom does create affordable housing opponents like to talk about unintended consequences but I'll tell you an unintended consequence of the status quo people are not living legitimately as we speak it should not be considered a right of passage to live over occupied in Boulder I've been here for over four years and roughly three of those years were legal but I had zero plenty zero neighbor issues and I lived with plenty of space

[52:01] I just got lucky I never got evicted just now I'm on a lease after being able to afford more in rent I'm just now getting involved in local politics because as I heard that our city essentially condones living illegally by upholding the status quo we are engaging in a system that does not work we've missed out on wonderful potential longtime Boulder rights future stewards of our town due to these housing occupancy la I ask you all even though we're so embarrassed at what has happened due to this ballot measure to please still put it on the ballot you still have time and I just hope that Boulder can vote on it thank you Claire next we have David ruser Joel Maguire and Lisa Nelson David I'm not seeing David ruser in the meeting so I suggest we go on to Joel Maguire and David if you are in the meeting under a different name you can communicate with me through the Q&A box and I'll make sure that the mayor comes

[53:01] back around to you okay then next we have Joel Maguire Lisa Nelson and Kristen nordback so Joel can you hear me you can okay um I'm here to address the 2150 Fon project and I hope you had an opportunity to review my letter to the City attorney and perhaps some of the material the ditch company's rights in parcel 2 deriv from a 1874 document entitled deed right of way which granted a RightWay for an irrigation ditch running through Boulder County after getting the deed for the RightWay the ditch company never claimed that it owned the ditch property and did nothing on the property other than operate its ditch in 1900 Charles Cheney received a deed for land which included the ditch property it was subject to the ditch prop ditch company's right away but it granted fee title to Cheney Cheney later created the Pine Street

[54:01] Edition where my client's own property bordering the ditch on the east in 2015 the developer contacted the ditch company about buying parcel 2 the ditch company's own attorney asked a title company who owns the ditch the title company didn't know the ditch company then filed a quiet title action seeking to obtain title to parcel 2 through adverse possession it did not claim that it already held title based on the 1874 wi of way document the ditch company lost that case no court has ever found that the ditch company actually owns the ditch property we contend that it does not we hope that the action we filed which is in the court of appeals now will result in a decree determining who owns the ditch regardless the developer has not provided proof that it owns parcel 2 the so-called title report by

[55:00] its own terms does not prove ownership therefore the final plat cannot be approved if the so-called title report is found sufficient the ditch company could sell for development any other portion of the ditch property in Boulder County thank you thank you Joel next we have Lisa Nelson Kristen nordback and Paul colan Lisa can you hear me we can great uh good evening everyone my name is Lisa Nelson and I have lived on the hill for 30 years ever since I was a lost student at CU this only place I have ever wanted to live in my entire adult life to be a beautiful historic Dynamic neighborhood in the heart of our city and I have often thought that there is no better place to live I am also a long-term rener and I am keenly aware of the cost of housing I that my landlord charges under Market rent which enables me as an in Middle inome working professional to continue to live here one of the major issues driving up the

[56:01] cost of housing in my neighborhood is the overwhelming number of investors purchasing every available property this is driving out long-term residents friends and neighbors of mine including single parents working professionals and families and destabilizing our neighborhood property sell a premium because of the high rents that these investors get and the bedrooms there are the more rent they can bring in from the thousands and thousands of SE students whose parents will fund ever higher rent prices in experience the majority of these investment property owners are interested in their return on investment and not in building healthier thriving communities I believe the bedrooms for people initiative will only serve to exacerbate these problems in our community I care deeply about my community and I've spent many years as a volunteers supporting it I currently sit on the hill revitalization working group I just a five-year term serving on the University Hill commercial area management commission I worked number of years on the effort to create a special district for our neighborhood and I've for years on a public health Coalition addressing alcohol and substance abuse used in our

[57:00] community so I appreciate the time and energy each of you put into our community Through Your Service on Council I know many issues you are tasked with are complex and do not have easy or Simple Solutions the best ballot issue is the wrong solution for a complex problem facing our community good policym requires a thorough understanding of the issues policy makers need to make informed decisions in order to effectively address these Complex Community concerns including housing which everyone agrees is one of the most pressing issues issues we face I'm here to respectfully request that you put the hill and affordable housing on the work plan next year thank you so much thank you Lisa next up is Kristen nordback followed by Paul colan and Katherine Lair Christa hi this is Christen back with organizer with B bedrooms are for people thanks to council members Jo Joseph stick Brockett and friend for their support for direct democracy and keeping their word to put bedrooms on the

[58:01] November ballot now a song Boulder Boulder college town why are things so upside down mansions mansions on the hill but our friends are homeless still bedrooms are the for the people prairie dogs in colonies nests for birds and hives for bees and our squirrel friends live in trees but bedrooms are for people many bedrooms empty lie while the rent goes Sky High Boulder City Council why bedrooms are for people wind and rain and sun and snow petition Gathering we go pandemic tried to shut us down but voters signed from all around because bedrooms are for people city council said in May 5th of August is the day July came and then they said we meant June instead

[59:02] bedrooms are for people district judge said I don't know what the rules are so we go to the Supreme Court to find if the voters get to speak their mind for bedrooms are for people either way we ask you now to keep your word and make us proud let the voters have their put bedrooms on the ballot today bedrooms are for people everybody everybody sing along because when we're all singing this song bedrooms are for people city council city council here what we say as you can see we're not going away put bedrooms on the ballot today bedrooms are for people bedrooms are for people bedrooms are for people thank you Christa next we have Paul colan Katherine Lair and Corey

[60:01] Donahue Paul Paul you may need to unmute yourself there you go sorry I got too excited by that song uh it's tough act to follow I'm Paul colan 3555 silver plume Court in Boulder um covid-19 is a serious problem but it will pass we will reach a new normal in a year or two the city's budget shortfall is a problem and that too will pass global warming on the other hand will be with us for the rest of our lives for generations to come appropriately Boulder has declared a climate emergency we see the smoke global warming is here right now we know what we do now matters because our actions can make global warming worse every molecule of carbon dioxide

[61:00] counts Excel is currently emitting at the rate of around 19 or 20 million tons of CO2 per year they propos to attempt to cut that down to six million tons of CO2 in 2030 that adds up over the next 10 years to about 140 million tons of CO2 that will stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of years we should seriously evaluate our options to do better than that getting a franchise agreement with Excel is not an emergency Boulder can do better Boulder should do better Boulder must do better because as of yet unborn Generations are depending on us to these future Generations covid-19 will be at most a sidebar in the history books they will not care one bit about our little budget problem they will be living through much worse effects of global warming than we are experiencing today let's not make it any worse for them recommit yourselves to reaching Boulders climate goals one

[62:00] of which is 100% renewable generated electricity by 2030 thank you for your engagement on this issue thank you Paul last two speakers are Katherine Lair and Corey donu Katherine Katherine you there you go I'm here uh I'm Katie Lear I am not affiliated with anyone and I will not be singing uh I wanted to say that the people camping illegally in Boulder and those defending this Behavior many from outside of Boulder are creating an unbridgeable divide due to the high levels of criminality the resources of the police city manager city council and taxpayers is spent chasing impossible Solutions these Camp residents should not be confused with residents of Boulder in dire need those who want help and those who have fallen on Hard Times Squad in in a camp does not make you a resident at Boulder yet somehow commands the attention and resources in our town

[63:00] and the transients passing through somehow dampen the support for other homeless people and no one feels safe the business owners landlords students commuters the people trying to raise families we are victims of property crimes sexual misconduct and assaults every day many committed by the very people in these camps do we have numbers and data on how many people are living in the encampments and how they spend their days or does our privilege and desire and safety desires disqualify us from getting answers to these questions sadly we are the funders of the programs but we have been ignored in equal measure to what we have been told we must pay for our businesses are robbed facilities violated our homes have been burgled bikes stolen in broad daylight with bolt cutters and yet more of asked is is asked of us and we are told that we are lucky Advocates like the progressives for Boulder create a Schism in our town and it's a bright line some needs are considered and some ignored some people pay and some receive I say

[64:02] to you we don't want to be asked to tolerate a permanent Camp filled with soiled clothing human waste stolen goods and drug paraphernalia we don't believe permanent legal camps are an appropriate management tool to fight covid-19 the silent majority want to be able to enjoy the parks we have funded without getting stabbed with a needle or screamed at by a drug addict the silent majority has had it please listen to your constituents thank you thank you Catherine and the last speaker tonight will be Corey Donahue hello my name is Corey Donahue uh and I guess I'd like to speak that last person for being pretty gawy for the silent majority saying who who is not a resident of Boulder isn't for her to judge I was born and raised here I was born in the old B Boulder Community Hospital you know and there are people on our streets that do need our help and I think that it's kind of you know kind of rude of her to think that

[65:02] she's the only Boulder resident I mean you know talked about the people who lived here 100 years before anyway uh I'm looking forward to uh Cong or council member friends uh proposal to abolish the police she seemed to be really about that on Twitter so we waiting for that but I'd like to speak about the um you know bedrooms are for people we're talking about oh my God there's homeless people on the street they can't afford to live in Boulder we have bedrooms there's empty buildings can't do that passive vacancy tax I mean there's simple answers here one of you guys was some CEO of some you know Corporation you know you didn't do anything other people did they told you what to do but that's what we're telling you what to do because you don't know what to do you guys are I've like I said born and raised here traveled the world shamed every time I come back and see how bad you guys are treating people of Boulder you're silencing people's voices not letting us vote what do you take us for clowns like you live in our

[66:01] community Sam Weaver has a house in our community Bob Yates has a house in our community Jane brunett thank God you're leaving you initiated the no camping band this is your fault you did that unequivocally you did that without the vote of the people I was there in your office in 2010 you are a disgrace and I hope I pray I will celebrate the day you get out of this town you are a horrible human being and this is a majority of your fault because you just wanted to you know stop the Occupy protest good job now it's even worse city council thank you Corey that was very eloquent um I'd turn now to City staff and see if they have any comments and response no comments thank you I don't no and I don't see any hands up Council so I will assume that there

[67:01] is no um Council comment correct okay very good then we can move on Debbie Dam my hands up sorry I was a little bit late in putting it up this is Rachel I did want to comment on a couple things first I wanted to um thank Ally Katherine who um was an early commenter and shared that she has moved out of Boulder but was still um commenting um in ways that we could improve our services and I um it takes a lot to come to comment especially when you've moved I appreciate uh going that far to try and um help Boulder be a better place so thank you and happy trails wherever you've moved um and second um we had some commenters on my hotline post about um temporary sanctioned encampments during covid and I just wanted to let people know that we're not going to be be able to vote on that I think for two weeks because we can't do it tonight and I think next week's a steady session so

[68:00] it will probably be two weeks I think I'm seeing Jane n yes on two weeks um so just wanted to let the community know that that that won't be up tonight thanks thank you Rachel I don't see any other hands here so okay debb we'll try again on the agenda is the consent agenda you have items a through C very good and does anyone have any comments or questions about items on the eron so I had a financial question but are we doing the are we going to get into the financial update later so maybe I'll hold off on that there is a financial update coming later yes okay yeah so was part of the audit uh bit but I will just wait and talk about it during the financial update thanks okay very good uh then Mark I see your hand yeah I guess I have a question for staff on the mobile home ordinance um we're getting a

[69:00] number of comments from mobile home residents that indicate that it is their belief which may or may not be the case that um the proposed ordinances are actually weakening what currently exists um if that's the case we should discuss it but if that is not the case then I I suggest we have some better Outreach uh to those communities to explain why that is not so uh because we have gotten several um emails to that effect I don't know who wants to comment on that but yeah so with us tonight is Crystal londer and Crystal is part of our human services and housing department and she has been working with the mobile home community on this so Crystal can you answer those questions sure can you hear me yes okay great um so would you like my video on or does it matter you're good okay um

[70:02] so Mark the by the reason that um three of the items are being repealed from chapter 1012 or three of the provisions is because they now exist at the state level uh and I believe that's what that is referring to so those those items that I have seen address I don't know if that you've received additional emails that I wasn't copied on but those all now exist at the state level the program that exists there um is funded so they actually have um a $24 per lot um amount that um per for every mobile home lot in the state of Colorado that's funding that program staff is trained um in working with the mobile home park act um so I think you know those those are will be well serviced there and I believe that that's what they're referring to but I may not may have not seen the

[71:01] email to which um you're referring and I also have reached out to the two people that I did see um who included me I I have reached out to have a conversation with them look I found it improbable that we would be weakening our mobile home protections I was simply commenting that if that's the perception we need to be addressing the perception and and that's my comment Mark we'd be really happy to give you to provide more information in the second reading memo question and make sure that we have the detail that you need but I my Rec my understanding is that Crystal is exactly right we lobbied for some time to get the state law to to do some of the things that Boulder did they did so they're not necessarily in Boulder anymore um and we will do a better job of communicating it thank you thank you great Bob um there no more questions I was going to move the consent agenda very good okay there's been a motion and the

[72:01] second uh for the consent agenda this is a show of hands so is there anyone who does not want to pass the consent agenda seeing no objection it passes unanimously okay next on the agenda is your call-ups your first item is item 4 a call up consideration for 2150 fome the final plat very good and I'm looking for hands here I don't see any hands so does anyone have any desire to call this up I don't think so Debbie okay your second item is the call up consideration for 1750 15th Street Light review and Sloan walber is g to um do a presentation a short one about this item

[73:14] Clan I think you're on mute because I can't hear you H says you're not but we're not being a we're not able to hear you I'm wondering if your microphone is having difficulty would you like to call into the meeting and use audio that way okay I'm going to send you the phone number in the chat okay bear with us

[74:03] folks no sloanes presented before without any issue so Zoom is a little bit unpredictable sometimes okay Sloan I'm sending you the phone number in the chat box

[75:22] for I think that might be you Sloan you may have to press star six to unmute yourself I think we're good yes can you mute your computer though so you're not echoing okay does that work better hear you may turn your volume completely on your computer okay there we go all right

[76:02] sorry about that I had a little mishop with coffee in my laptop today trying to through it so tonight you're being asked to consider whether to call us a site review application for the Redevelopment of the properties at 1755 Street and 1580 Canyon Boulevard with a nearly 149 ,000 squ foot three-story mixed use building with approximately 14,000 ft of commercial space on the first floor and 147 residential units on four levels um so I don't know why doing that sorry guys all right um so the project is required to complete the site review because the development meets the threshold for

[77:01] required concept plan and site review in the downtown five Zone districts a concept plan was reviewed by planning board and city council last year and through site review The Proposal includes a request for a 31% perking reduction planning board reviewed the proposal at the end of last month and voted to approve the site review application summary of the board's discussion and the motion language was found in this um staff memo The Proposal was also reviewed by the design Advisory Board since the site is located within the interface area of downtown Boulder and is subject to the downtown Urban Design guidelines um so the appro proximately 2 Acre Site is located on Canyon Boulevard um east of 15th Street it's located approximately two

[78:02] blocks southeast of the Pearl Street Mall it is within the central area General improvement district also known as CED and is located within a downtown area that is expected to change given that underlying zoning of dt5 which allows for large scale development potential within the downtown core um in fact the allowable floor area ratio for dt5 is one of the highest in the downtown Zone districts the site is impacted by the 100-year flood plane and the high Hazard zone of Boulder Creek however the building would be located without those um outside of those zones within the 500e flood planes the site contains two buildings built in the 1950s and0 60s it's dominated by surface parking with limited interior Landscaping as you can see the North Boulder farmer Stitch runs

[79:01] along the south end of the property with some mature trees located along the banks of the ditch the proposal is for a mixed use development the ground foror commercial uses total approximately 14,000 square F feet the current proposal is for restaurants offices or retail sales in those spaces the residential portion is proposed to contain a mix of efficiency living units one bedroom two bedrooms three bedrooms and four bedroom units the apartments range in size from approximately 300 square feet to 1600 square feet in terms of parking um no parking is required for the non-residential uses since the site is located within CID and one parking space is required for each dwelling unit for a total of 147 the below grade parking garage contains 102 vehicular and 27 mad or motorcycle parking

[80:00] spaces thus um a 31% parking reduction has been requested the site design is for a generally piano shaped building primarily oriented toward Canyon Boulevard and 15th streets but addressing all Street bragas and the creek as I mentioned the parking garage is located below grade which is accessed by a ramp on 15th Street there are Direct commercial entries proposed on Canyon Boulevard and a loading and service access for the commercial uses is located on 16th Street a multi-use path is proposed along the north side of the ditch the portion of the building facing 15th Street has been pushed back from the street to accommodate an outdoor amenity and seating area bike parking and rain Gardens and two interior Courtyards are punched into the building to provide common open space the main residential

[81:01] entry on 15th Street would be transparent to provide a visual connection through the building to these interior Courtyards there's also a um third floor rooftop terce proposed on the northwest corner of the building the building is three stories and 38 ft in height the design is contemporary with a modern aesthetic the building has been broken into separate forms to break up the mass and scale building materials include storefront windows fiber cement sighting Sandstone lip panels um some metal clading and metal accents and there are generous glazing and masonry elements to define the commercial portion of the building along Canyon and as I described in the the memo staff and planning board find the project consistent with the goals objectives and recommendations of the comprehensive plan and also as well as

[82:00] all applicable site review criteria and as always I'm happy to answer any questions you might have very good thank you Sloan um Mary has her hand up and then Rachel and mark thank you slan and I see Charles here as well thank you um so just a comment I have no interest in calling this up and um I do have one question um regarding the alternative transportation fund I just wanted to learn more about that there I I didn't see much in the memo maybe I missed it but um but yeah I just wanted to learn more and see how it might be something that could apply to other um projects sure thanks for the question Mary um this is a bit of a first we typically see alternative transportation funds set up in projects where there's not enough units to

[83:00] actually support an ecopass program where we're not meeting the minimums for rtd's program 2150 fulsome which we just heard about is a a good example was a eight un project Eco passes so they did an alternative transportation fund so that they have regular Monies to support alt modes things like car share bik share so this is the first project we've actually seen in Boulder where we have an ecopass program as well as an alternative transportation fund um it was something that just came out of um discussions with the applicant and a desire to have a really robust TDM plan so we've used it in a handful of projects like I said that typically can't support an ecopath program so this is a bit of a first so um how is that managed where those funds live and how is it distributed it's all the um owner and management that's going to be responsible for um managing the funds

[84:01] and the yearly increase that was built in um so it was something that we would have to um be in enforce against if we heard complaints about but it would be up to the owner to continue to manage but it is a condition of approval so they would be required to do it and so those funds are made available to Residents um it's the management of the building from what I understand um that will administer the program but of so res that's correct that's correct residents have access to that to pay for things like um Bike Share or ride sharing those types of things okay and I would just add that the planning board added an additional condition or modified the staff condition to um require them to have a management plan that they would submit to the city so we could review how they're planning to do that okay great thank you I was unfamiliar with that option thank you Mary and just one more comment um yeah um the building is much

[85:03] improved from what we saw at concept so thank you to the applicant okay very good and then Rachel and then Mark Rachel um yeah thanks for the presentation slan I also do not want to call it up and I don't this may be a bit of a random question but um when I was reading it it's also Transportation related I noticed that there were like I don't know 92 bike parking spots or something like that and I was thinking with um the the reduced parking um spot allocation I assume we want people to be on bikes and public transit but a lot um of us are using ebikes and so I wondered um without having to take an ebike into your apartment is there a space that a lot of people will be able to charge ebikes in kind of those common areas and if not could that be looked at sure I'm not I'm not aware of them having that planned but um that is something they could accommodate in

[86:00] their long-term bike parking um but that's a good suggestion for the applicant for sure thanks great uh Mark uh two questions um the first one of your slides mentioned that the residential space um is on four levels but I I take it there's only three stories to the building how do we do that that's correct so there are some units proposed on um the garden level of the building so based on our definition of stories it is a three-story building but there are some units on the garden level adjacent to the parking garage and those are on the creek side of the building so due to the topography um they'll still have some daylighting of those units okay thank you um and by the way thank thank you and Charles for the presentation my other question is about parking the the 70% or the 30% reduction in parking how does that compare to what

[87:00] we have done for instance at Boulder Junction or projects like the park Mosaic or the Rev or what was planned for um Aline Balsam my question is are we are we actually going to be able to get people who don't want to use cars are we going to get 30% of the residents putting cars somewhere else in the neighborhood yeah I I mean I I can speak to the park Mosaic project they did ask for a parking reduction there but it was due to Tandem they have tanm parking spaces so if you counted the tanm parking spaces in the garage and they actually met the parking I think what's a little bit different in this circumstances the context um they are located in an area that is very easy access to Transit um you know to employment centers so that you know that's part of the parking reduction criteria uh what what did we do for parking reduction for instance at Boulder Junction you know I can't recall off the what the percentage was off the top of

[88:00] my head Mark but um it's pretty typical that we see between a 30 and 35% reduction in most of these types of projects um if you could give me a couple minutes I could dig it up but I don't know off the top of my head you can get back to me offline my my only uh I'm happy to have less cars I just want to make sure we actually have less cars and not just the same number of cars in different spaces I.E the neighborhood sure thank you okay I see no more hands up I will call on myself briefly I have no intention of calling this up um the building is much much improved over what we saw at concept so thank you to the Developers for that um and I do know that we got a analysis of why um affordable housing couldn't be on site here uh I am a little disappointed that we couldn't press ahead with something creative there because there were two properties so it would have been possible to put um

[89:00] different buildings on the different properties but on the whole this is a big improvement over what we saw at concept so thank you to everyone for that Aon yeah I'm certainly don't want to call it up either I'll just say um the project has come a long way and it's great to see this housing and this mix of housing types right in the center of downtown close to all the bus lines and with great walkability and such so much needed housing great to see it come through great okay Debbie I think that we don't have any desire to call either one of these up okay so our next agenda is the publics first public hearing this evening is the second reading reading of wance 8418 The Landmark designation of 26921 Street and Marcy Cameron is here to make the presentation Marcy good evening oh thanks

[90:02] Chris there we go all right so um good evening starting off with the um procedure for tonight's quaza judicial public hearing I'll give a staff presentation followed by the owner's presentation the public hearing is then opened for public comment and at the end the owner has a chance to respond to anything that was said the public scen is then closed and the city council discusses and a motion requires an affirmative vote of at least five council members um to pass the motion tonight um you may either approve or modify and approve by ordinance um or you may deny the designation the criteria for your review is found in 9111 and 9112 of the boulder Revised Code and that's whether the subject property meets the criteria for landmark designation um conformed with the purposes of the ordinance and is inbalance with the goals of the Boulder

[91:01] Valley comprehensive plan if designated this would be our 202nd individual Landmark the process is pretty straightforward the owners submitted the landmark designation application back in February the landmarks board um saw it in June and um recommended unanimously um to council that it be approved and it was on your consent agenda earlier this month and here we are in the public hearing the property is located on the northeast corner of Delwood and 11th um in the Newlands neighborhood the house was constructed in 1919 and is an example of a vernacular frame house with Bungalow elements and those elements include the exposed rafter Tales um hard to see in these photos but the um window surrounds are tapered and then there's also um an interesting use of um fo shingles along the base and um lap

[92:00] siding above and so while it's a um relatively simple building it does have these Bungalow elements um that I think is easier to notice as you walk by in the neighborhood than is um captured in the photos you also see that the front porch was removed um that happened in 1967 over 50 years old um and at that time it was replaced with the inry vestibule that you see today in terms of its criteria for landmark designation um it is significant significant for its state of construction in 1919 um and in its hundred-year history only two families have owned it William Katherine Austin um constructed the house in 1919 and lived there until 1945 they from Illinois and um he was a fruit farmer and then later a building Carpenter and then besties purchased the property in 1945 and over the last 75 years have and lived there um the SDS I

[93:02] hope you have a chance to read the memo which goes into a lot more detail um they moved from Missouri there's um an oral history from Bob esti that he arrived um in October as a young child um they came here with his family because his brother had asthma um but they camped at the Municipal Auto Park which is now evg Fine park and its snowed 8 Ines that night um he attended Boulder prep and later studied engineering at CU but dropped out when his father passed away unexpectedly and that's he um started in the printing business he worked for the Boulder County Miner and the Daily Camera and then purchased the Boulder County minor and farmer newspaper in the 1950s and open SD printing which some of you may remember um it's located on 14th in later 15th um so in terms of its architectural significance as I mentioned it's um an example of vernacular frame construction with

[94:00] Bungalow elements and it is one of the earlier houses in the Newland subdivision which was largely agricultural through um 1950 1960s and then um developed in that post-war era terms of its environmental significance the house is well integrated into its site it maintains its traditional landscaping and then as um it's located on the corner of 11th and delood it is a visual landmark in the [Music] neighborhood so with that the staff in the landmarks board recommends the boundary be established to follow the property lines which is what the owners have proposed and is best practices um so staff and the landmarks board recommend that the council designate the property as the Austin St house happy to answer any questions you may have very good thank you Marcy for the presentation do any council members have questions I see no hands up so I guess

[95:01] we can mark do you have a question just just a quick one I I assume this is being this is a a Cooperative effort with the owners of the house yes they've owned it for 75 years and submitted the application back in February thank you very good any more questions seeing none we can turn to the public hearing and I believe that we have one person signed up for the public hearing tonight and that's Lynn seagull Lynn you'll have three minutes Marcy I love your job I love your job God the fact that these people went to a parking uh Camp place at e fine Park and it snowed like how cool like our history around here is so great and we're going back to history um with this virus

[96:00] believe me but um yeah I support this 100% it sounds great um and the the the historical content of these folks in the printing industry and journalism and all is fabulous so go for it yeah sweet thanks done bye great thank you Lyn with that we will close the public hearing and bring it back to council for discussion or oh Marcy you have something sorry um the owner is here and um oh thank you like to speak great please Marcy is the owner in the meeting or do I need to bring the minutes a panelist um she's here as an attendee it's Janice estd okay thank you let me just bring her in for you

[97:16] then we can see you Janice you need to unmute there you go oh yeah I I just want to thank you all for considering this I want to thank the landmarks board and the historic Boulder people particularly Marcy Cameron for all the hard work that they did I'm so lucky to have lived in Boulder to have been born in Boulder my mother was born in Boulder and we lived in this wonderful house in this wonderful neighborhood and I'm pleased that you would consider landmarking our house as something that is not fancy but worthy of the working ethic of Boulder and good people thank you so much I appreciate it that's

[98:00] it very good thank you so much okay with that I think we bring it back to council right Marcy I miss meeting okay so um open for discussion or a motion Mary yes um I move um that we adopt ordinance 8418 designating the property at 2962 11th to be known as the Austin estd residence as an individual Landmark under the city of Boulder historic preservation ordinance Second Great Mary would you like to speak to this yeah um you know it's it's really a very simple um house but in its Simplicity it um is quite lovely and I appreciate that longtime owners have chosen to land market and um

[99:03] congratulations very good and Mark would you like to speak to this um no I really have nothing further to add I I I think it's a you know an elegant structure um it has historical connotations and I will be happy to have it approved as a uh uh as a historic clar very good thank you um seeing no other hands I will also say thank you to the owners for bringing this forward um this is a wonderful example of a workingclass home and we love to be able to preserve those and thank you to Marcy and all the staff for such a great job doing the historical research on this so with that we have a motion in a second and Debbie I believe this is a show of hands is that correct I believe we're passing that ordinance is that correct it's a roll call Sam a roll call okay very good all right so

[100:00] let's see council member young always catch me by surprise went on first um yes council member Brocket hi Bren yes Joseph yes Nel stick hi wallik hi Weaver yes Yates let's make it unanimous yes motion passes zero very good congratulations everyone thank you Marcy thank you Marcy Rachel um thanks I just wanted to flag for two weeks out that um we're all pretty enthusiastic that the um owner the first owner of this house was camping at eban G fine when he first got here and I think we um cleared that

[101:01] encampment today and I just want to make the point that um we have a tendency to stereotype and um look down on people who Camp here and this um individual went on to create a good working uh family home in Boulder and so I would just ask that we keep that in mind thanks okay Debbie okay um your second public hearing this evening is uh second reading a motion and a consideration of a motion to adopt ordinance 8411 which is the newer initiative or the second reading and consideration of a motion to order published by title only and adopt ordinance 8412 the newer alternative and I have a brief presentation

[102:03] okay so the background the this is a petition to amend the boulder Revised Code uh as opposed to some of the other measures you've discussed this is not a charter Amendment uh therefore it only required uh a number of signatures equal to uh 10% of the number of Voters in the last two municipal election that number was 3,336 the committee collected 3589 valid signatures Council must pass U ordinance 8411 you have no discretion because they met the charter standard um the the it does not have to be passed however if the committee decides to withdraw the C the council has been council members in the committee have been working on an alternative 8412 which is the second matter before you uh either as a substitute or if the committee withdraws as an alternative compete if committee does not withdraw as an alternative competing measure although council members have not shown any interest in putting this on as a

[103:00] competing measure to 8411 it would be dependent on the committee withdrawing the committee actually drafted this alternative uh we just put it together and I'm going to describe a little bit what the differences are um 8411 would require the city to provide legal representation to any tenant facing eviction including uh any legal procedure under state law any termination of section8 assistants and any appeal arising from those it would create a tenants committee which would oversee the legal services coordinator a person who's appointed to run this uh provide feedback on that person's performance it would have five members none of whom are tenants none of whom own real property and they would be paid a stipend of $1,000 a year the city manager's office and the city attorney's office would be required to provide support to the uh legal services coordinator and the tenants committee and there is an annual reporting requirement of about 15 items that would have to be reported every September 1st uh there's a fee included it's $75 for dwelling unit per dwelling unit on every R licensed rental property uh it's

[104:01] adjusted for inflation there's an exemption for owner occupied uh properties for rumors and to what I refer to as a spaical uh exception which is a one time or once every three or five years time that people can rent their home when they're away out of Boulder County for a period not to exceed 12 months um affordable housing is not exempt although there is some question that's been raised about whether or not under state law the fee would apply to affordable housing units this is the proposed ballot title for um ordinance 8411 which is included and was a dra was drafted by the committee uh 8412 is the council alternative uh it adds a rental assistance program and as I said it was drafted by the petitioner has all the same requirements as 8411 except it adds a rental assistance program this is the proposed ballot title again for 8412 uh there's an at 510 David gear

[105:02] posted on hotline another version of 8412 with which he's been which which was he's been working with with for the committee with the committee on uh it would convert the fee into a tax it includes Taber language uh it adds a tax provision to the code it would dedicate the tax to administrative cost eviction representation and rental assistance you'll notice in that version if you've seen it there is a blank in the number the required Taber language about how much will be generated in the first year um that's something we'd like Council to advice on how to fill in um there are approximately 23,000 rental units um dwelling units with rental licenses in the city um that that would generate $75 each would generate about $1.7 million um there's some likelihood that that number will grow in the next year so we would recommend something like 1.8 million or even 2 million to be safe you'll recall that under Taber if the

[106:01] revenue exceeds the the amount in the ballot title uh you either have to give it back or pass another ballot measure to retain it which we had to do with the sugar sweetened beverage tax this is a little bit easier to predict um so we we would recommend something in the order of $1.8 million Council questions very good apologies for that I've got Adam Bob Mary and Mark Adam Tom I'm not sure if you're the right attorney to ask this question too but um the language of dwelling units what does that mean for efficiency living units since they're generally not considered a single dwelling unit does that mean they would be pro-rated in some way no I think they are considered a um I'll look up the the definition of dwelling unit I have it right in front

[107:00] of me I think that they are included as a dwelling unit so if you're renting an efficiency apartment it would count as a dwelling unit okay I just know that sometimes they're not counted yeah I think for the purposes of rental licenses they are okay perfect that clears it up for me thank you great Bob thanks Tom two things first um as we as we consider what amount to put in for the Taber language if that's the P we go down uh I know that the um the ballot manager actually both of them have a CPI escalator um does that the amount that we put in for Taber purposes automatically go by that CPI or is it possible that after years and years of inflation we could hit that limit so the Taber amount is only the amounts collected in the first year got it the CPI would not kick in so if we picked $2 million um we pretty safe yes my my worry about going too high is that it that it could be considered a

[108:00] misrepresentation okay and so two million would would be uh a 6,000 increase in the number of I think that's right a 6,000 increase in the number of dwelling units in a city in one year I think that's unlikely so 1.8 would be better is safer great and remember um so one of the things I should also say is there's a stronger AR argument that a that affordable housing units are not certainly the ones run by BHP are not subject to the tax under state law so if it's a tax it's pretty clear that they don't have to pay it so it would be fewer dwelling units reduced by whatever number of units BHP runs so um that the number would go down a little bit too thanks and then um just to probably more of a comment I I think that the ballot um champions have referred to this as no eviction without representation but I noticed that the ballot title that's proposed is no evictions um you don't really have to comment on that but but when they speak of public hearing it would be helpful

[109:00] for them to let us know what ballot title they would prefer eviction versus evictions thanks very good Mary three questions um one has to do with the um administrator who is overseen by the committee would they also have a staff supervisor or would be would they be wholly supervised by the committee and has that sorry Mary I I didn't mean to cut you off no that's okay um that's my question my first question anyway okay so the initiative provides that they serve at the pleasure of the city manager so I would assume that there would be the city manager would delegate the uh the day-to-day supervision of that person to someone in the city so and then the the committee would um provide the feedback to whoever is overseeing that person that's the way I would interpret it also inconsistent

[110:01] with our Charter to have a city employee who could be hired or fired by someone other than the city manager right that that was my curiosity about it um and then um in the um in the list of things um it provides for a stip to the committee members and I'm wondering should that be listed in the list of uses for the tax well I think it would be the administrative cost okay so it could it's it's in the ballot title I believe okay um and then um the exemption for affordable housing um for BHP would that include other affordable housing um in and around Boulder I don't know I have not examined the state law um I know David has had some conversations with with Jeremy dorham on their position on that uh and it's a complex area of law we go back and forth with Boulder housing Partners on what they do have to pay and what they don't have to pay um I think as a any nonprofit is that's tax

[111:01] exempt uh would have an argument that they don't have to pay it okay um I think it would be helpful to um all affordable housing providers to have that Clarity going into the election of course thank you that's all I have very good Mark couple of comments couple question questions um I want to thank the sponsors of this for working with the city uh to what I think improves their U initiative considerably including um the table language um and the use of uh funds for uh rental assistance I think those things improv it greatly um my question Tom is it is quite clear you there's language in there that says we have to fully fund uh this program I assume there is no obligation to provide funds outside of what we collect that's correct mark my reading

[112:00] of the initiative is that it says the funds for this shall come from the fee or the tax okay and um do you feel I don't think anybody if this should pass we don't want to do this again I mean is is 1.9 million a little safer than 1.8 or is that running up against some of those other concerns no it's a judgment call on your there's no case law that says you can't go too high and I know some cities go very high I think you you might get an argument from the proponents that you were that you were discouraging people but from voting for it if you go with too high a number um or that it's a misrepresentation I know we went through this as I said with the sugar sweeten beverage tax it was impossible to figure out how much soda people bought in a year so the we we took a guess based on what the proponents told us and it was it it far exceed that I I think that since we know how many dwelling units have rental licenses in the city uh we anything in around 1.7 to two million is

[113:02] defensible then that would are just to consider the slightly higher number I don't think it will have any impact on its on the appeal of the initiative but it just it's a little more protection that we don't somehow end up having to do this again or give back money with to people we can't identify y just my thought and I would just cqu on that Mark that um when the proponents testify they might uh give us their opinion on what they would like to see the Taber limit set at okay I I just want you know if it's going to work I just want it to work and whatever they're comfortable with is fine very good Aon and then Adam Aon yeah so um Tom that it was um news to me that that the tax version versus the fee version of um the ballot initiative um would then um leave uh affordable housing providers not subject

[114:00] to it um you mentioned state law is there something specific in state law Beyond like the non-profit status of housing providers like can you go into that a little bit more please I I can't I I this is not something that we've done and I have not researched it yet that's David gear told me this afternoon that that's the position of BHP that they would not have to pay it he felt fairly certain but um remember this is not something that's come through my office I did this as a courtesy so I'm not really prepared to answer that Aaron so would the fee approach have the same implications do we know uh there is an argument I think that BHP takes the position that they're not subject to this fee um as I said whenever we do a BHP project we go back and forth on which fees they have to pay and which ones they don't okay so so their their position is that regardless of whether it's a fee or a tax that they would not be subject to it that's correct okay I'm just I just want to make sure that we we

[115:00] kind of um treat the the organizers fairly because we did you know have a productive uh small group meeting with them uh yesterday uh talking about the difference between a fee and a tax and uh there was no no distinction mentioned at the time about whether affordable housing providers would be subject to it you know as part that discussion so um I just want to make sure we're working with them in good faith um certainly also sensitive to the need of the housing providers as well but so I we don't know 100% for sure the legal case for them being exempt on a fee versus a tax but they feel like they're not they're not subject to it either way that's correct I guess it's a statement I guess okay we probably need to talk this through with the the organizers a little bit yeah and yeah I just wanted to cqu on that and um when we do find out more information on that I think that it would be helpful for everyone involved to um to get a hotline post um just so

[116:03] we're clear I I I'm not sure how much work we have the capacity to do on this Mary okay we're doing an awful lot of stuff right now and this was kind of given to us and we've done it because we were asked but to to I mean I can try but uh the as you probably know there are several big projects going on in our office right now and we're short staffed so right no I understand I understand um so that might be a better question for the um petitioners and um yeah it has an impact on where we set the level yes yeah and and we might just do some Outreach to BHP because it might be helpful to just get their their reasoning on on um on the subject I if if I'm recalling correctly there is a state law that exempts them from City fees um but there there is some ambiguity in it and as I said I've got some some recollection of going back and forth on building projects and which fees they have to pay and which ones

[117:01] they don't okay yeah it just be good to know if there's a distinction between the fee and the tax sounds like they feel like there isn't so it's a little hard to tell well yeah and the clar and and and it might be because they're Housing Authority versus um a nonprofit so that could have an impact too so it would be um useful to find out okay um that was that was all I had for questions great Adam I don't want to pile on Aon took my exact thought so uh yeah I had that exact same question um thanks juny yeah I am slightly confused by this discussion that we're having because I saw an email from newer that says after Consulting with city council members and attorneys the

[118:01] newer campaign has decided to change the funding mechanism for our measure from a fee to a tax so between this email that we 35 p.m. and now are we saying that we're still not sure of what it will be a tax or a fee are we somehow usurping their Authority for on okay so we're not usurping anybody's Authority they got back to us at about five today David sent them a draft this morning they got back to us at 5 and said it was acceptable after several changes throughout the day so we're doing this all at the last minute um I don't know what they're going to say about which draft which is why I presented both versions I suggest that we listen to them during open then the during the public testimony and see what they want to do um we my office is a scrivener in this case we we didn't draft any of this stuff uh we we've helped where we were asked to help but I

[119:01] mean to to expect us to to research during a day when there as you know there are several other things going on is really beyond our ability right now and I'll just jump in and say um juny generally speaking it is more defensible because of Taber to do a tax than to do a fee um so that was one of the points of discussion between the council members and the um petitioners the petitioners always had the right to put their original petition on so unless they choose to accept an alternative um because they got their signatures they can go with what they proposed initially I think the work that's being done is to make it a more attractive ordinance and to make sure that that it has um good defendability in court so I believe this is all being done with the petitioners not only knowledge but cooperation and collaboration so we'll hear from them I

[120:02] expect any other questions I don't see any so I think we're ready to go to public comment I just say before we jump into that that I think um my read of council is that there's hi Ree of disposition to kind of accept anything that the petitioners ask we've got some options here um but I also think the disposition of council is going to be to support this so we have 32 people signed up we definitely need to hear um for clarity from the uh petitioners themselves make sure that we're doing what they request but um I would just emphasize to folks that um Council seems disposed to support this so it's not a question of if it's a question of which version so with that said um uh yes excuse me so uh Chris mjuk just sent me the Colorado state law

[121:02] um it's CRS 294 227 this applies only to housing authorities it says an authority is exempt from payment of any taxes or fees to the state or any County city and county municipality or other political subdivision of the state all property of an authority is exempt from all local municipal taxes so I think it's pretty clear for at least for the B Boulder housing part okay thank you for that Tom um turning to the public comment um our first three are Nick Gman sidon Haynes and Mark gban so Nick you are up hi Council thank you for adopting an ordinance to give Boulder voters the opportunity to consider the no eviction without representation act this fall this pioneering citizens initiative is driven by a diverse Coalition of

[122:01] dedicated people who understand that stable and affordable housing is essential especially for the 50% of Boulder residents who rent their homes for the past year committed newer volunteers have selflessly dedicated their Fridays to observe and document more than 400 eviction court cases in Boulder based on that evidence and the examples set by other right to counsel programs in cities Nationwide they developed this groundbreaking ballot measure to help keep the most vulnerable members of our community housed the newer campaign has exemplified how the vital process of direct democracy in Boulder is supposed to work first they saw a significant problem that was harming thousands of their neighbors but was being ignored by our elected representatives then they proposed a solution and submitted a ballot petition to the city of Boulder next they

[123:00] followed the city's accurate election guidance to collect a specific number of voter signatures by a specific date in order to have their measure automatically placed on the ballot finally newer volunteers collected more than 3500 signatures from Boulder voters who support their carefully crafted ballot measure and want the entire Boulder electorate to vote on it in November Boulder residents both demand and deserve the opportunity to vote on urgent issues related to housing stability and affordability there's no better way to determine whether or not the majority of Boulder supports housing stability Solutions than by empowering us to vote on these measures in the 2020 election thank you thank you Nick next s Haynes Mark gband and Andrew Harris seron hello good evening this is Sarah Don South

[124:00] Boulder I am recalling Mary young and Lisa morelle amongst others who are really adamant to start a housing Advisory Board to start uh supporting Council navigating the housing governance issues along with other committees and Boards our community members research and help support the learning needed for the City issues city council depends on these working groups to tend to the great breadth of issues our city faces so it's remarkable to me that a group of really smart folks have volunteered to research for a year maybe more on what would support our vulnerable members in the community facing eviction they've drafted the ballot measure as informed organizers and their social media continues to educate and inform the broader community on the issue and I really appreciate that they've looked for precedences that have been occurring nationally newer knows their stuff it's with this that Council must acknowledge who the experts are in this conversation and vote to approve the Amendments that newer have

[125:00] consented on the campaign has the right to return to the original version of the ballot measure and will do so if Council attempts any additional changes in the amended legislation beyond the addition of rental assistance governance will be best by those who are most informed on the topic please trust their judgment and those of the community who are ready to vote on the measure as recommended by newer thank you thank you Saron Mark gelband then Andrew Harris and Jackie Richardson mark thank you Council I just want to say Sam it's nice to hear you say that uh you feel as if it's the disposition of council to support the committee and what their wishes are I hope that the the entire Council will stay true to that and I'm interested in hearing uh what the leaders of newer have to say about the differences among the the choices that have been proposed between tax and fee about whether they really

[126:01] want to have an affordable housing uh fund set aside and really I would like if if Council stuck to their previously stated comments about direct democracy and support the organizers of newer and what they wishes are for the ballot measure that they risk their lives to get on the ballot that's part A Part B I'd like to say that uh it was very clear to them what it was that they needed to meet and the criteria that they needed to meet and I want to add that I'm still disappointed that an equally as prepared if not even more prepared group in Boulder bedrooms has brought something forward with almost 3x the number of citizens support during a time of pandemic and Sam I'd ask you to go back and look at what you wrote seven years ago or what you said seven years ago in response to being asked about um a

[127:02] occupancy ordinance and how you said we had this wasn't about people this was about the associated um things that came along quality of life and that we have the ordinances on the books to deal with that you and Mary have both made comments about about zoning as well and our two biggest most iconic zoning laws are in the charter the height limit and open space so I'd like you to reflect on that hypocrisy and I'd like for you to reconsider Boulder bedrooms as well as you think about newer tonight thank you thank you Mark next we have Andrew Harris Jackie Richardson and Amanda Marcado Andrew hi thanks for the introduction I'm an aerospace engineer a CU grad student and a 5-year Boulder renter who campaigned with newer earlier in the spring before the pandemic forced me to stop due to health concerns uh at every

[128:00] step along the way I have been thoroughly impressed with the level of dedication and thought the campaign has put into the ballot measure uh not only have they gone out and you know put their bodies on the line collecting signatures during this pandemic uh but theyve put countless hours into trying to understand the causes and results of eviction within Boulder uh now more than ever with an economy in freef Fall federal aid non-existent and rent remaining due uh we're in the midst of an eviction crisis uh and you know the time is right for things like newer to be uh implemented um I understand that there are some changes going on with the language uh in light of that uh I think I I have no choice here but to firmly support uh whatever the campaign leadership recommends uh specifically to make sure that the measure is legally defensible uh whether that a fear attacks I think is is at their discretion and understanding thank

[129:02] you thank you Andrew next we have Jackie Richardson Amanda Marcato and Cameron Netherland Jackie hello um my name is Jackie I'm an organizer with newer and given this fairly dismaying last minute information about BHP I actually have a question for Tom Carr is he still on the call yeah and he can answer after your um after open comment's over so ask your question he will address it when the comment's over yeah thanks um so my question is given that housing authorities um appear to be legally exempt from taxes and fees is BHP currently paying the rental registration license fee because if so then fees might be the more legally defensible option moving forward for um oh I was the same timer uh hold on

[130:01] so next we have Amanda Marcato Cameron Netherland and ly seagull Amanda hi my name is amandaa I live in the city of Boulder and I'm also a volunteer with newer um I support this initiative because there is a clear power and balance and Boulder between renters and landlords and like people have said already in preparation for this initiative we've attended eviction Court um we've gathered data we have all of this research and data about evictions um currently only 2% of tenants have an attorney in eviction Court in Boulder while at the same time 88% of landlords have an attorney and by guaranteeing this representation for T newer is working to write this imbalance on we've seen that the number of evictions has increased in Boulder and with eviction moratoriums ending and more people facing unemployment a program like newer is needed now more than ever to prevent eviction for people regardless of age documentation status

[131:00] or income we are not in support of making the program means tested in any way as this would restrict who could benefit from a program like newer um finally as has been discussed tonight we've been in talks with Aaron bracket and other council members to add rental assistance to newer and this will only expand the utility of the program by providing funds which can support a tenant who might be momentarily short on rent we are definitely excited about this addition and we think that it can make newer um even more beneficial to their residents of Boulder and build a more robust program we hope that city council can approve an amendment that includes rental assistance without making additional undiscussed changes to the measure um and we are we can create one of the most comprehensive anti- eviction programs in the nation with council's help on this matter thank you thank you Amanda next we have Cameron Netherland ly seagull n rongo Cameron good evening I'm cam Netherland

[132:02] I'm a recent graduate of the University of Colorado law school uh I know you've heard a lot in recent weeks about no eviction without representation and the inaccessibility of eviction Courts for tenants uh I just wanted to highlight that for a moment the first time I attended eviction Court to data for newer I was completely lost even as a lost student with all of those classes and a basic understanding of how everything should work uh even after I had practical experience working in a public defender office uh I would have been hopeless had I been faced with an eviction at that time tenants in that situation are up against landlords nearly always represented by attorneys that are in eviction Court week after week uh they stand little chance to articulate whatever defenses they may have have as we've seen this often results in tenants not appearing to begin with assuming there's no point uh while it's wonderful that Boulder has court appointed mediators mediation does not rectify the situation mediators try

[133:01] to reach an agreement not resolve the dispute equitably this typically means extensions um of time to move out and while that can be essential and those few extra days or weeks can be the one thing that keeps someone from falling into homelessness it is nothing to acknowledge the tenant's actual rights or stabilize the power and balances between represented landlords and unrepresented tenants tenants can often have defenses and counter claims they're completely unaware of because the average person going through their life has no reason to have learned what those would be uh the landlord may have breached the implied warranty of habitability or failed to mitigate damages by refusing to take money from the tenant after uh beginning the eviction process I've seen tenants argue both of those things clearly to judges only to have otherwise um failed court procedures elsewhere and be sarily evicted tenants need representation we need newer and I ask that Council pass the amended language as a tax thank you thank you Cameron next Len seagull

[134:01] Roy Rango and Shelly [Music] bobbins yeah I support this reluctantly because $75 a year is a cheap tip this needs to be so much higher you know this reminds me of olive who was passed by you folks tonight which drives up homelessness and eviction rates by its high-end services and coming from its high-end de project you know at at liquor mart at Canyon and 15th and um $50 a year for them for a transportation alternate um fund um should be I calculated $125 to $800 per month depending upon the size of the unit at um Olive is the

[135:01] name of the place at liquor Mark the same thing this thing should be so much higher than 75 bucks the landlords run Boulder that the landlords are the problem you have in Boulder with affordable housing with homelessness with Rachel trying to get a camp made up for people you know you're building the problem bigger and bigger as you're you're standing up there and not you know putting this eviction legislation you know ballot measure straight through no holes barred you know the only problem is it's not nearly enough not nearly you know like I can't believe you people what are you doing what are you thinking the ones that are promoting all of this growth and expansion and the jobs housing imbalance more and more and then dealing

[136:00] with last minute things today at 5 o'clock it's no wonder you have everything last minutes fire Tom Carr fire him now done thank you ly next Rango Shelley bobbins and Charlotte pittz r hey everyone this is ruie I am uh live here in Boulder I'm also the chair of the no eviction without representation initiative and um I uh I think I'm surprised like a lot of other people on the call today during this meeting because there was no mention at all of a possible exemption for BHP from either fee or tax in the many Communications uh we had with the city about this um and it is uh it has never been our intent from the start to exempt BHP or affordable housing providers from the fear attacks that would fund newer because they evict

[137:02] people as a matter of fact Boulder housing Partners is one of the biggest evictors in the city um now if it is true uh that uh state law somehow super would would supersede um the initiative uh city law either in the case of a fee or tax we will still move ahead with newer as a tax because it's more defens in court um but it is a a grave disappointment um and an interesting emission I would say in our Communications with the city and if I might address uh Tom's comment the reason um the New York campaign uh did not get back to the attorney for five hours until 5 o'clock today is because we're working people and I work at a goddamn restaurant and I didn't have access to a computer so we're renters we're workers um we want to stand for stand for more renter and worker power

[138:00] in general here in Boulder and like I said we'll proceed with the tax um but it will be a grave disappointment if one of our City's biggest Victors um somehow manages to skirt around paying their fair share thanks great and I'm gonna pause here briefly just to make sure are there any questions for R from Council okay great seeing none the next three actually I was just a little slow raising my hand okay good guy yeah thanks for that ruy and um for the the collaborative work that you've been doing um with us here at the city to to get this across the finish line so so just to be clear then um that version that amended version that David gear 00 today is one that that you're comfortable with and your campaign is happy

[139:01] [Music] with so were you able to hear me just then Sarah is R back on great there you go all right yeah here I am um uh I I I would say yes um if you know I I would really love uh some input from Tom car here um now as as opposed to at the end of public comment as as to clarify whether or not um he feels BHP actually will be able to dodge the um the either fee or tax from newer um if that is the case then then yes um with no small amount of hesitation the campaign will go ahead with newer as a tax as detailed in the um most recent version of ordinance 8412 that you

[140:00] receive via the hotline today okay do we do we mind if Tom weighs in while ruy is here speaking since he's one of the organizers no that's that's of course fine um but it it I just comment that this legal advice is just what can be looked up on the Fly and is not binding um and it if it is fees and taxes both then maybe that's not the consideration Tom do you have any thoughts here yeah Sam you're exactly right I've looked at it once I know this is an issue I know that um BHP called David to talk about it today uh but we have not had the time to do any kind of analysis I do believe there's a good argument that they're exempt but as I've said before we've also argued that they have to pay fees and to answer the question about what whether or not they pay the rental licensing fee they do not they're specifically Exempted in the in the code so that's not a matter of state law it's a matter of okay and eron there's a line of hands

[141:01] do you have anything else no I just wanted to get that clarification thanks yep uh we've got Bob and then juny and then Rachel Bob I just had smaller question for ruy ruy um the proposed title says no evictions without representation but I think the The Proposal that you had made is no evic um no eviction without representation do you guys have a preference there uh yeah am I on yeah yes you're on okay yeah thank you uh yeah so the uh I I went back and forth with David on that earlier the correct title is no eviction without representation I did go ahead and I thought I'd edited all the s's out of the document uh but it's no eviction without repres resentation not no evictions with representation thank you for the clarification great thanks so much R okay Rachel and then juny Rachel um so wondered first can can ruie

[142:02] be um promoted to a panelist in case we have questions from the um petitioner as we go forward with this that was one question or or is he planning on getting off I don't know if he's been invited to to be on this call for the rest of the time and then then um I'm I'm a little bit um concerned also by the last minute uh BHP uh curveball so one question I have and I I don't know who can answer it is can BHP say they will pay it even if state law says they don't have to I'm not sure why but yeah I suppose they could voluntarily pay something they they don't generally because they you know they have limited funds and they're trying to provide affordable housing and right and and can they if they decided to do that is it legal for them to pass on hang on let's do one at a time please one at a time Rachel go ahead if they decided to pay that could they also charge tenants $75 the way I'm

[143:03] imagining um it will happen in other housing units I don't know it would depend on how much the tenants were paying there are limits on affordable housing and then if they either don't have to or choose not to pay their tenants would still have the benefits of newer correct yes regardless of whether they pay it the tenants would be allowed to take advantage of the services okay all right thanks thank you juny thank you my question is for my own understanding because from what I'm hearing from Rory he talks about how BHP is one of the biggest l Lords and Boulder I understand that and I can understand why he also wants them to pay their fair share but I think my question is whether how BHP is funded do they

[144:03] receive state funded is it a for-profit institution because if it is not I don't see where the issue is because even though they're the biggest landlord in Boulder but if they receive Public Funding and they're not a for-profit business I I don't see what's the real issue so that's my question to Tom so so I juny if it's okay if we hold that question um I I think we should see if we have any more questions for ruy and then I would ask ryy to stick around until the end because we may have more questions after public comment during our discussion so juny I think it's a good question if it's okay if we come back to that um at during the discussion um because I think we want to have a full kind of short explanation of the way BHP works and Bob's been on the BHP board among others so so um let's bookmark that BHP question for our

[145:00] discussion are there any other questions for royy at this point okay if not Roy if you can stick around till the end we'll move on to the um next commenters we have Shelley bobbins Charlotte pittz and William McGrew Shelly yes hi can you hear me yes hi my name is Shelley bobbins I live in North Boulder I'm speaking this evening in support of newer over the last years I've seen increasing numbers of evictions I've witnessed a disabled mom and her teenage son thrown out onto the streets over an issue a conflict regarding payments both still remain homeless today this eviction was entirely preventable had this mom been legally represented tragically stories like this are not uncommon to know these kinds of things have been happening in a town such as

[146:01] Boulder and even in affordable housing is incomprehensible to me because Colorado tenant landlord laws allow for very Swift evictions with 10 days from the time of the initial notice Panic often sets in without the needed time frame for a tenant to prepare for a renter already in hardship and crisis this becomes insurmountable for many people to handle on their own without an attorney Studies have demonstrated the majority of tenants are unable to mount the type of legal defense required to avoid eviction in response to hearing from many evicted ATT tenants last year I attended eviction Court as an observer what I witness shocked me in an assembly line of eviction that were all rubber stamped one one right after the next approximately three minutes a piece were given to each case mediation consisted of taking both parties out into a hallway with no privacy often allotting

[147:01] only a few minutes in an attempt to some form of compromise the unrepresented tenant was often no match for the landlord with the attorney we have very little systems in place that actually serve to help keep people hous we have a lot of work ahead of us in Boulder to see that this changes thank you thank you Shelley um next Charlotte pittz William McGrew and Laura Maguire Charlotte how do you hear me yep awesome um hey Council um good evening my name is charl Pitts and I'll keep my comments very brief um as a renter I cannot stress enough how important it is that we do everything we can in this city to reduce evictions at this time it's hard to stay at home when you don't have a home evictions also hurt landlords because they have to find nenant and studies show that evictions hurt the economy for everyone so everyone loses when it comes to eviction the no

[148:02] eviction without representation measure as it stands will provide the counterveiling force we need to help community members to get back on track and keep residents housed during this pandemic as for rental assistance this would provide and improve the measure um this would improve the measure by providing support for our most vulnerable before they face the threat of eviction while the revised measure or ordinance 8412 would improve in already great measure city council should not change anything else any other changes would weaken the measure and create unnecessary hurdles for all tenants studies demonstrate how people across the economic spectrum are currently facing debilitating Financial burdens because of housing costs this is not just a lower income issue so this program needs to be Universal and Encompass all income brackets let's not means test this any other changes beyond the proposed rental assistance um and other Provisions would lead to unnecessary conflict that would really torpedo this measure so please please

[149:01] respect the needs of the people and the work of petitioners lawyers and policy experts who diligently crafted this ballot measure I appreciate your time empathy and thoughtful consideration of ordinance 8412 and continued good faith collaboration with organizers of newer thank you so much thank you Charlotte next William mcru Laura Maguire and Eric Bud William hi I'm will McGrew I'm a volunteer with the no eviction without representation electoral committee and I live in the city of Boulder uh so we at newer modeled our Initiative off of successful right to counsel ballot initiatives from across the country comparable initiatives have been passed in recent years in several cities including Philadelphia New York City and San Francisco in every case that the initiative made it onto the ballot it passed by a large margin I think the reason why is clear providing legal representation for tenants facing

[150:00] eviction is overwhelmingly popular and common sense as an organizer for no eviction without representation uh I have spent much of the past eight months collecting signatures when a citizen stopped to talk I would explain that newer will guarantee legal representation for tenants fac eviction with funds raised by a fee applied to Boulder landlords the most common reaction I got was surprise surprise that legal representation was not already provided for eviction CA cases uh the simple fact is that the goals of newer are so eminently just that to engage honestly with the initiative is to recognize its value uh thanks and uh i' just like to to mention that um at newer it's it's pretty pretty challenging we're trying to come to grips with all of these last minute changes um but for what it's worth I agree with what ruy said earlier uh thanks thank you will next Laura Maguire Eric bud and Theodore coning

[151:05] Laura um hello am I muted we can hear you thank you um I would like to urge the city council to adopt the amended version of the no eviction without representation initiative and to cooperate with newer organizers on any questions of language please do not make any changes that newer organizers don't approve I and most of the people I know in Boulder are renters many of my friends and neighbors have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are worried about making rent adding rental assistance to the newer initiative will not only make a difference in their lives but will reduce the number of evictions going forward ultimately reducing both the devastation that evictions cause in individual lives and the negative effects of eviction on Boulder County as a whole thank you thank you Laura next we have Eric Bud Theo coning and Jake Brady hello I'm Eric bud I'm an

[152:00] organizer with bedrooms are for people um I personally collected several hundred signatures for the no evictions without no eviction without representation measure um and I absolutely support it in a personal capacity um one of the things that's most important about this measure is that it it is a fee that is going to be on landlords But ultimately some of that fee will be passed on to to tenants but it's really a fee a turn at the service of tenants it's one that is a it's a progressive whether it's a fee or a tax it is an absolutely Progressive measure um that helps the most vulnerable in our community and one one of the things that the the no eviction without representation campaign says all the time in all all of their studying of this issue is that evictions ruin lives and anything we can do to prevent one eviction is going to be worth a lot to our city um I I also say I I heavily

[153:00] support including rental assistance in this measure I think that's something that um potentially could be expanded with with additional funding sources in the future and otherwise uh I I would love for Council to defer to the organizers um you know beyond those measures and and go with um the direction that they're giving and so thank you very much thank you Eric next we got Theodore kig Jake Brady and Claudia team Theodore thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight I would like to begin by saying I was happy to help newer on addressing housing Justice and collecting signatures for their measure I confess that when I first heard about the newer measure I was originally concerned at the sufficiency of the budget even as I support the intent similar programs elsewhere have frequently run over budget however the organizers have prepared the measure very well and I have hope that the program will collect sufficient funds whether by a fee or by a tax I'd like to

[154:02] speak in favor of devoting excess funds to rental assistance the use of extra funds in this matter is in line with the overall aim of maintaining long-term residents for tenants and stability and uncertain circumstances I hope you vote to add those Provisions as the measure moves to the ballot along with possible changes to the tax or fee structure as agreed with the organizers I would like to speak against any further changes in particular any exemption on taxes or fees for the city affordable housing programs this is not a question of good landlords or bad landlords good tenants or bad tenants where there are questions of right and wrong that landlords and tenants cannot work out on their own those can be addressed by mediation or as a last resort in the courts that is what this is about when an outside Arbiter is called upon by both sides which uh can present be presented with something with closer to parity this is about addressing a disparity in power and resources and the affordable housing program holds a great deal of power whether it uses it for good or bad they

[155:01] may be Exempted by state law but should not be given any specific exemptions beyond that I encourage you to defer to the organizers and Originators on how they would like to proceed on other matters thank you thank you Theodore um next Jake Brady Claudia team and felici Hamilton Jake good evening council members my name is Jake Brady I'm a resident of Boulder and a renter like many of my peers I've never owned property in fact from where I stand this notion seems like a far away dream yet I'm one of the lucky ones according to dispatch logs police are sent to oversee the court ordered removal of evicted tenants and their families in the city of Boulder nearly once every two days I myself observed eviction Court just a few weeks ago there I watched as confused renters with no council fumbled their way through a process that was stacked against them from the very start and this is just the beginning according to the Aspen Institute at least 30 million Americans out of the 110 million who live in rental housing are at risk of

[156:01] eviction by the end of September Council you have a golden opportunity in front of you tonight last minute curveballs aside the amended version of newer up for discussion this evening strengthens the original language by adding in a rental assistance program along with the change to the funding mechanism Council should vote to put the amended version of newer on the ballot this fall with no other modifications trust that the leaders of this campaign have done their due diligence considering the hundreds upon hundreds of hours they have spent talking to activists around the country as well as attorneys to craft the very best measure possible in the book evicted author Matthew Desmond says it is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need decent affordable housing should be a basic right for everyone in this country the reason is simple without stable shelter everything else falls apart it is also hard to argue against putting this version of newer on the ballot tonight thank you

[157:00] for your time and service to the city thank you Jake next we have Claudia team Felicia Hamilton and Mike stingle Claudia hello again members of council this is Claudia Hansen theme I live in North Boulder and I support no eviction without representation eviction as the loss of housing puts people at immediate risk for homelessness job loss and educational disruptions but as a legal judgment against a tenant it impacts its impacts linger evictions complicate subsequent housing and employment searches and can lock people into precarious living in ways that parallel encounters with the criminal justice system I admire the work newer volunteers have been doing for a year before filing their measure and again since the courts reopened to truly understand how the evictions process might be improved for tenants their weekly reports from the Boulder County courts using the hasht eviction Court Friday show how renters benefit from representation when they face a housing emergency I was relieved when new were

[158:01] qualified for the November ballot without complication and I was pleasantly surprised when Council showed an interest in expanding the program to include rental assistance while some changes discussed earlier dilute n's potential this friendly Amendment provides Boulder an opportunity to create a comprehensive anti- eviction program in a time of urgent need please support it I understand newer organizers are also concerned about a legal challenge if their measure is passed as a fee as originally written rather than a tax this feels like a variation on an ugly theme Property Owners using lawyers to keep renters in their place this time invoking a regressive tax law it's an awful burden to take on it's awful rather to take on the burden of Taber language in order to avoid post-election lawsuits but if organizers want that change I hope you will facilitate it if not please follow their desires to stick with a fee through their research and Outreach newers team has earned the

[159:00] right to represent the boulder community's interest in seeing this measure and the program it seeks to create succeed thank you thank you Claudia next we have Felicia Hamilton Mike stingle and Bruce mock Felicia hi my name is Felicia Hamilton I am a volunteer with newer as well as a renter in Boulder any tenant can Testify the fact that renting your home means living with a power and balance as a renter for what it's worth I am at the mercy of my landlord if they were to decide to evict me they'd be able to do so with full legal support leaving me with little recourse I and many people I know already spend nearly half of our income on rent an eviction would leave me and those people destitute fortunately this isn't the case for me I personally am lucky enough to have a stable income but this is not the case for many of our most vulnerable neighbors here in Boulder most importantly the right to

[160:00] stay house not depend on luck especially during a pandemic which has immiserated the working class by taking our jobs our homes not to mention our loved ones we desperately need the legal protections provided by newer that will allow us to level the playing field between tenants and landord s and stay in our homes Universal right to council has benefited everywhere it has been implemented for example San Francisco and Philadelphia have seen lower rates of eviction since implementing similar programs and newer is even more comprehensive in scope than these programs since it will also be including a provision for rental assistance as a city where the average rent is $2,000 a month the poverty rate is two 22% and probably going at this point Boulder needs no eviction without representation 52 2% of the city is renters deserve the right to a lawyer in the eviction process we tendance are the majority of the of the boulder population and we only scan to gain by passing newer thank you for your time thank you Felicia next Mike stingle

[161:01] Bruce moach and LZ morasco Mike hi this is Mike you have me we can okay uh Mike stangle I'm a boulder resident homeowner uh thank you to all the council for spending your time and efforts and helping all of us Boulder citizens Through The Years um I'd like to just make a couple little points I'd like to talk about one term that's written into both the initiatives where it states um the face face the loss of housing in eviction that has been included in both ballot titles I find the term kind of inflammatory and unnecessary since the initiative is simply addressing eviction we all understand what eviction is voters Council landlords and tenants all understand this simple term and the

[162:00] added modifier um of the loss of housing paints a very different picture almost predatory um to a certain point and I think it I think voters could find it prejudicial and a little bit leading so I I'd like to at least ask that the council looks at the wording of the initiative to make sure that it's fair and balanced um in addition of course the program will add cost to our our current housing um and this will only solidify Boulders position as having the highest housing cost in the state of Colorado as according to a study published by the National lowincome Housing Coalition every person who rents and Boulder will be paying into this new fund each and every month year after year uh so I ask that you uh leave the inflamatory and campaign type of language off the ballot title so that Boulder voters can review the program in a fair and balanced

[163:01] manner thank you thank you Mike next we have Bruce mock Liz morasco and Vadim groys um Bruce Bruce you may need to unmute yourself there you go good evening my name is Bruce Mock I'm associated with the alliance of balanced rental regulations I own Mack property management company which has managed our properties our client's property in Boulder since 1966 I've owned the company for 30 years and and have also been a real estated attorney since 1981 my company has had to evict fewer than one half of 1% of our tenants over the past decades nearly all for non-payment of rent we've always worked with our tenants on behalf of our

[164:00] clients as much as possible and I don't believe they're having an attorney would have made a difference in those evictions I believe that proposed ordinance 8411 the original one is a solution in search of a problem the vast majority of tenants at face face evictions would not be aided by an attorney as they would still be unable to pay the rent the very few tenants that might benefit from legal representation should be able to receive it for a small fraction of the 1.8 million per year that the ordinance envisions under the original 8411 the charge is forign excess of a reasonable cost for services the charges have signed to defay there's no cap on the amount that would go into the fund and no prescribed use of the excess funds for a purpose related to the charge this raises a question of whether it' be considered a tax or a fee uh I understand that City council's

[165:03] approach helps resolve some of those issues with their alternative ordinance it helps avoid the Taber conflict and more importantly much more importantly attempts to solve the real problem by using excess funds for rent Aid and I hope that the amount used for rent Aid far exceeds um what's used for representation which I believe is less important thank you thank you Bruce next Liz morasco vad grao and Chelsea castiano Liz hi I'm Liz morasco I live in Boulder and I'm an organizer with the boulder chapter of showing up for racial Justice or surge Serge wholeheartedly endorses the no eviction without representation ballot initiative in its amended form as presented by the petition committee eviction as we know disproportionately affects poor communities and communities

[166:00] of color often sparing a long uphill battle of remaining house that can last a lifetime for this reason we also support the rental assistance to help keep community members in their homes when people suffer needlessly by facing eviction alone and without representation it hurts our entire Community the presence of an attorney will significantly alter the outcome of eviction hearings keeping people in their homes which is a goal shared by all of us I urge you to support this practical and compassionate B initiative our community needs to support thank you thank you Liz next fadim grao Chelsea castillano and Eric Johnson Vadim hello we can hear you it looks like he may have been

[167:00] disconnected from the call maybe come back to him if he joins three again we'll do um so next we have Chelsea castillano Eric Johnson and Ryan Seldon Chelsea hi I'm Chelsea Castellano I'm an organizer with bedrooms are for people but am here tonight to share my support for no eviction without representation when the stay-at-home order finally lifted our campaigns found ourselves both eager and worried to start collecting signatures in a pandemic but we knew that it was worth risking our own health our own lives for the greater good for the potential of making a positive impact for those in need when I was a junior in college at CU studying environmental science and sustainable development in 2011 one of my roommates didn't pay her portion of the rent and we received a final notice before eviction I didn't know what to do I didn't know who to turn to I didn't have the money to pay for the extra portion of rent and I didn't have money to pay

[168:00] for the extra late fees that were acing we needed newer then and we need newer now many of the speakers before me spoke eloquently of the importance of this measure I would like to touch on the importance of the organizers we are all very lucky that Megan and ruy and Jackie and Amanda and Andrew and William and the many more newer organizers who are working in this community our community to make it better more just to make sure that those with fewer resources are still represented when we can't rely on good representation from the majority on Council we should at least be able to rely on legal counsel apparently in the council agenda committee yesterday our Mayor Sam Weaver stated that quote if someone could get word to newer people that we don't need to hear from them or that many don't need to hear from that many of them at the public hearing that would be good end quote respectfully I disagree you and the majority on Council do need to hear from this group of people advocating on behalf of renters

[169:00] on behalf of the working class you need to listen and we need newer thank you thank you Chelsea I think we have Vadim gbo back on the line um Vadim you're up hi can you hear me you can yes all right hi uh my name is Vadim gbo and I'm an organizer for bedrooms are for people uh I think evictions are a traumatic experience for the renter being evicted and they are horrible for society as well having legal representation will prevent completely avoidable evictions where the tenant is in the right but simply doesn't understand our complex legal system if you want to see fewer homeless people you should support this measure I also o want to say that I don't believe this tax will increase rent for most people Boulders market rate rent is already as high as people can afford I don't believe that landlords can raise rent and are just waiting for a new tax to do so in a normal Market

[170:00] where new housing can be built to meet demand and rent has some relation to the cost of providing housing a tax might be passed on to the renters however Boulder's policy is to explicitly restrict the amount of housing built in the city meaning that landlords are making excess profits that have no relation to the cost of providing housing uh so I predict that landlords not renters will mostly pay the cost of this tax or fee uh thank you thank you Vadim next we have Eric Johnson Ryan Seldon and Mesa tour Eric Eric you're unmuted but we can't hear you I'm wondering if you're having difficulty with your um microphone apparently so see I figured

[171:02] out there you are we can hear you you're very faint but we can hear that thank you we still can't hear you Eric you need to probably be close to your mic if you can yeah the mic is right on my face so why don't I just uh say thank you for your work and I'll leave it at that thanks okay thank you Eric um next we have Ryan Seldon Misha and Megan arango Ryan hello hello can you hear me yeah we can sweet um my name is Ryan Seldon um and I just want to say now more than ever people deserve a real Fighting Chance at housing um sort now more than everyone people are facing more risks than they ever seen to all of their costs and especially housing and I want to say I'm in support of no eviction without

[172:00] representation um we really need to do everything that we can to make sure that our renters have the protection that they need who often don't have the uh the the funds to navigate the legal system which is incredibly incredibly complex I know because I've had landlords whove tried to steal from me um and trying to navigate that process prosay has been incredibly complicated um so these are people that really really need every ounce of protection that they can get so um I strongly support no evictions without representation and give people a fighting chance to have housing um and in the in the same vein please please support bedrooms are for people um but really today I want to encourage you guys to put no evictions without represent on the ballot thank you thank you Ryan next we have Misha tour Megan arango and Todd olrick Misha um can you hear me yeah okay I have a question for the council members

[173:01] what would you do right now if you lost your home imagine this meeting ended and 10 minutes later you heard a knock on your door policemen storm into your house shoving you out of the way and throw all your belongings haphazardly on the sidewalk what would you be able to carry with you do you have somewhere to go how long would that hospitality last how would you feel begging a friend to let you sleep on their couch just one more night without a home and Wi-Fi could you still go to work could your children get an education could you shelter your family from covid eviction ruins lives and we are running head first into an eviction crisis of unimaginable scale as elected officials it is your job to protect your people and you need to do your job you need to do everything in your power to help your constituents keep their homes and that means you need to approve the best possible version of newer adding rental assistance would make this program one of the best in the country this Aid is exactly what people need to avoid a spiral into extreme poverty not only is

[174:01] rental assistance good for tenants it would also be good for the economy and for public health you should also approve the funding mechanism Amendment since so that money hungry landlords will have a harder time challenging this ballot measure in court by finally this program needs to be Universal means testing only prevents vulnerable people from accessing Services they need I am urging you not to approve any changes that might restrict anyone's access to legal representation in eviction Court this service will literally save lives and it needs to be available to all thank you thank you Misha next three have Megan arango Todd Ock and Mark grusin Megan Megan in the meeting I'm assuming she's on R ru's line so I have um uh tweat him up again to speak but ruy or Megan you'll need to unmute hey she had her own phone so I'm gonna give

[175:00] it to her right now thank you okay great okay hi can you all hear me now yes okay uh sorry for the confusion and I do live together we are in fact married um so uh it's hard to follow Misha's comments um he he pretty well summed up uh all of our arguments and how we feel about newer I would just reiterate that we design newer after intensive study and collaboration with other Rights Council groups from across the country and we designed what we thought was the most elegant and simple uh solution to an obvious Community problem possible we are very much open to amendments that will make newer stronger and more uh defensible in to Legal challenge uh we're certainly troubled by some of the information that has come to light tonight um but we are still 100%

[176:00] willing to engage in you know collaboration and communication so I want to re reiterate that and thank uh the members of council who have met with us and worked with us on this um because this is an obvious Community good and uh we are really excited to get newer into law come November so thank you for your time thanks Megan next we have Todd oick Mark grusin and Austin Bennett Todd can you hear me now great uh thank you uh council members um my name is to I am the current president of the board of the boulder Area Rental Housing Association on behalf of the barab members we would like all stakeholders to know that we do not like evictions either uh landlord would much rather work with their tenant than bear the cost of an

[177:01] eviction um we would like to be part of the discussion for eviction prevention and not consider the other side of it we do have Decades of experience and we can offer that experience to help produce the to even lower level the the number of evictions we are seeing we understand that regardless of which option you pick there will be an initiative on the ballot regarding attorneys for tenants facing evictions it is encouraging that new the newer campaign has augmented their ballot language to include rental assistance Bara is supportive of working with tenants earlier in the process and focusing on earlier intervention education mediation and even providing rent relief there are problems with the new alternative it is missing vital details on how it works with the rest of the program the alternative initiative lacks important checks and balances for example the proposal has no cap on attorney's fees that are paid there's no criteria on who receives rental

[178:00] assistance who receives legal help and there's no income qualification requirements for the tenant these decisions are all in the hands of one city staff person and possibly the tenants Committee in addition it does not include education or augmented mediation both of which have proven to prevent evictions we want to take a deliberate and conscientious approach and a Cooperative one to prevent unintended consequences and work towards a viable solution thank you for your time and your work on this thank you Todd next we have Mark grusin Austin Bennett and Kristen nordback Mark good evening my name is Mark Bruce I have represented the boulder Area Housing rental Association for a while and much more recently as you know as you know agreed to represent the city of Boulder on an unrelated election matter I want to be clear about the capacity in which I appear before you tonight on

[179:01] behalf of the association only I have suggestions to improve the ballot title but I'm not suggesting any modifications at all to the proposal's text a ballot title's key function is to describe what the Supreme Court refers to as the measures Central features elements important for voters to be aware of so they make thoughtful decisions when casting their ballots whether they are as the court notes familiar or unfamiliar with an initiative in reviewing this measure I believe that the measure has three primary fun features first establishing a new city function providing legal services and rental assistance for those facing eviction second creating a revenue Source an annual charge on rental units and third administering this function using a program administrator who serves at the pleasure of the city manager the Supreme Court sometimes invalidates ballot titles that include a political catchphrase wording that is more likely

[180:02] to appeal to voter passions than lead to sub of voter understanding two phrases in the proposed title quote loss of housing end quote and vulnerable to eviction end quote rais these concerns both of these phrases characterize but don't Define who will benefit from these funds how these standards are to be used if this measure is enacted is open to interpretation in the election phase though these terms may have political appeal without providing any particular insight about the change in law at issue deleting these phrases from the title will help voters evaluate this measure on its merits I appreciate your consideration of these concerns thank you thank you Mark next we have Austin Bennett Kristen nordback and Dylan saterfield Austin let's go um my name is Austin

[181:00] Bennett I've lived in Boulder for close to a decade and watched most of my friends and neighbors be forced to leave this deeply diseased city newers starts this city towards rebalancing the power between tenants and their L it's a necessary reform that should have been passed at the beginning of this pandemic I only wish went further I wish it Bann predatory landlords I wish it outright ban ofs unlike Mr olich or Mr mock or I intimately know that evictions are violence they strip from their homes but families on the street they slowly poison entire neighborhood they're violence and it's violence whether it's BHP or Mr ol doing the eviction tonight you've heard honeyed words from landlords claiming that they want for their tenants they care about reducing evictions that they see us they

[182:00] hear us it's smoke in mirrors Opus especially after their organization Bara has threatened to sue the city if newer is passed eviction is the landlord's tool of discipline it's their weapon to guard their profits never mind the harm it causes Mr who spoke before me said to complete Colorado that he wants to see a healthy eviction rate healthy for him and his checkbook and a Scourge on those of us who actually work for a living the landlord's claims tonight have no grounding no data no godamn truth newer and his volunteers put in the work collect our data we put together a solid stud we've got the data the Anis the cas studies to say to say excuse me that this city and her tenants need no eviction without representation on the ballot thank you thank you Austin last

[183:01] two speakers maybe one's a singer Christa nordback and Dylan saterfield Christa hi this is Christen nordback Boulder resident and um bedrooms are for people organizer and you'll be happy to know no singing this time I helped collect signatures for newer and I waited watched senior citizens and other covid vulnerable people risk their lives to sign this petition so I just urge counil to respect the will of the voters who signed and not to add any changes to it that are not supported by the petition organizers that's it thanks thank you Christa we did miss your singing um last one is Dylan sat field Dylan hey can you hear me yeah thanks hi uh first of all I was very disappointed to see you cut Jackie Richardson off at

[184:01] less than 30 seconds she didn't even get close to two minutes to speak and she had a question and now I have to waste my time to call that out so she deserves another speaking slot she signed up just like the rest of us she should speak after me since I'm last this news about BHP exemption is very disappointing some might call it disingenuous Rachel raised the point about voluntary payment which seemed confusing to Tom as to why BHP might voluntarily pay it would be a show of good faith if there's no good faith I think that says it all why we're here tonight debating this people in affordable housing still need lawyers isn't that obvious as for the core ordinance as endorsed by the newer campaign it is a no-brainer listen to all the support tonight we haven't heard a single descent from a renter only from people who make their money off housing which is very arguably a human right that they are exploiting for profit you have 30 people begging you to pass this are you paying attention as we continue to battle a pandemic and also an eviction crisis in this country newer has never been more relevant no eviction

[185:00] without representation has been successful in the cities in which it's already been passed this will be beneficial for a huge number of people and frankly it's just the right thing to do people deserve legal representation in court it's been demonstrated that this model works and the groundwork has been done here in Boulder this may be the most powerful model in the country there's a groundbreaking opportunity for Boulder listen to ruy and Megan arango and the newer campaign's recommendation don't waste a good opportunity evictions really do ruin lives it's time to listen to newer and do your job landlords are the problem not the solution and this debacle with bedrooms are for people it's a disgrace on the city council thank you thank you Dylan and Dylan we agree that um we had a timer mistake here so um Sarah do you recall who it was that had the timer mistake and can you get them back yep I think it was Jackie Richardson and I will go ahead

[186:00] and cue her back up she still is in the meeting great hello can you hear me again we can okay great thanks um so I guess most of my questions have been answered um I think as far as they're capable of being answered right now but I would like to take a little extra time to express solidarity with bedrooms are for people um I think City council's decision not to just place them on the ballot by um decision given that they were provided incorrect information earlier is not only morally indefensible but also quite possibly legally indefensible once it makes it up to the state court so I would like to urge city council once again to support bedrooms or for people um place them on the ballot thank you great thank you Jackie and um ly SEO claim she signed up for this hearing yeah let's go ahead and call her up um we wouldn't want to miss the opportunity

[187:01] here Sam I am seeing she actually spoke number as number eight she says she signed up twice I don't know that our rules allow people to speak twice if they no they definitely do not that's right thank you for the reminder NOP with that we will close public hearing Rachel you have your hand up oh sorry that was uh just to say I also noticed that the timer was short on the speaker so I think we did that um but I'm I guess I can kick us off are we at questions right now no we're we'll pass questions we can do question discussion whatever um we got Rachel and then Aaron uh well as as most of the speakers um spoke to I support um putting this on the ballot with only the um revisions that newer is supportive of um I I don't imagine that they want to change the title because they are are the language that's in um

[188:01] that some people complained about not the S but the um other portion I I think we should stick with what they've agreed to offline and not try and do any kind of last minute Shen against because I think we're already dealing with the um BHP curveball and and I am concerned um about that I I don't remember the percentage but I think that BHP is a does do a fair amount of evictions um in the community um and it is um equally important for them to I guess I don't know I assume that they they have an attorney at evictions and so you know the spirit of this would be that landlords whether they be um affordable housing landlords or not the spirit of it would be to to uh equalize the playing field so it would make sense if they were paying in to me that's all I got for now thanks thank

[189:00] you Rachel Aaron Adam Mark and juny Aaron well before I speak I think juny had a question that um she was waiting to get answered maybe we could get that question answered and and then I could talk thank you Aon I had that bookmarked so jun's question was about Boulder housing partners and uh jie did you want to restate the question before we dive in thank you Ain um my question was I just wanted to know whether you have an answer as far as whether um BHP receives state or local funding because to me that's very important I understand you know that new is saying they're one of the largest landlords in Boulder but if they received already State funding and city funding so I think to me that makes a difference

[190:00] whether you know whether they want to force vhp to pay for that tax or that fee so I mean Bob or someone else who served on their board may know better than I BHP is the city's Housing Authority Under state law a city can have a separate and independent Housing Authority that operates to raise funds and provide housing so they they my my understanding is they generally operate through grants or funds or some sometimes tax credits to finance affordable housing I don't recall whether there's any money in the city budget the city is is required to provide certain services to them under state law we provide them legal services from my office uh but not as much as we used to we have an IGA with them that um that that turns out waves some fees and imposes some others um we we provide them with certain Services uh and perhaps Bob could elaborate or someone else who served on their board who might know their financing a little better than I do yeah I can answer jun's question that

[191:02] uh BHP our Housing Authority receives uh actually millions of dollars of funding from the city um the affordable housing um linkage fee and and the cash and L payments all go through the city and and go to Boulder housing Partners so it receives local um funding from the city does receive state funding and does receive federal funding so receives funding on all three levels as a matter of fact kind of the rule of thumb is for every housing unit the BHP provides about two-thirds of the funding of that comes from city state and federal uh assistance and about onethird of it is provided by BHP kind of rule of thumb juny thank you that's the question that I had and to me I don't understand almost the vilification of Boulder housing partner if its funding is already public or at least it's

[192:00] provided from C money I can understand why newer wants to include them but from my understanding they're already providing a service and yeah I just don't see if they can work it out whether it's whether they can maybe instead of I think the cap you mentioned was 1.8 million if having the 2 million they had requested in the first place so that they can have that carve out to leave BHP out because at the end of the day it's already providing a public service so to me me I just don't see you know the big yeah that's my comment and could I clarify that what the 1.8 million is I've heard a couple people refer to it as a cap it's a disclosure required by T and it it it

[193:02] effectively works as a cap on how much you can recover from the tax you you can't take in more than you put in the ballot measure so it's a disclosure to voters um and so you'll I'm asking you to decide what that number should be great thank you Tom Aaron yeah so you know I want to congratulate the newer organizers on um getting this done in an incredibly difficult year and but as it turns out it's also an incredibly timely year uh because I think we all realize the the potential eviction crisis that's coming our way here in the next few months and obviously if the voters approve it it you know the program won't be ready for a little while but I imagine those needs will still be very much present uh next year when the program does come online so you know thank you for your hard work and and congratulations um of course tonight you know we are obligated to put um one of these measures on the ballot um since they got all the signatures

[194:01] they needed and also really appreciate the work with the organizers to work to amend the original measure with some improvements um I'm really excited about the addition of the rental assistance to the program I think that may end up helping uh many many people over the years and I think that'll become an important program as well as the legal representation piece and hopefully reduce the need for the legal representation because uh people will have the funding they need to stay in their homes that that would be the hope and uh you know we did a you know some legal discussions in the last couple days and you know the organizers determined they felt like um the tax and Taber approach was more defensible so we've got a revised version of that here today and I am happy to put a motion on the table whenever it's council's pleasure very good eron we've got Adam Mark and Mary Adam and Aon I'd be happy that second that motion when you put it on um for

[195:01] all for all the same reasons you spoke of um I think this is really important and couldn't be more timely I wish we had done it long time ago um I find the whole Housing Authority thing interesting as well um yeah hopefully we can find some way to resolve that in the future because anyone who evicts someone probably should be responsible for who they are evicting in one way or another um that's all I'll say thank you you Adam Mark and then Mary yeah a couple of comments I'm I'm again I'm very happy that the uh sponsors uh have included the um rental assistance uh component of this which I think will actually end up being more effectual perhaps than than the uh legal representation component only one speaker Shelley bobbins pointed out that a good deal of the misery that we have

[196:00] with respect to evictions comes from our Colorado statutes which provide almost no protections for our tenants I I I hope I am wrong I don't know how effective uh the legal Council will be in dealing with those kind of situations uh and I'm happy that we can make rental assistance contributions because that may keep keep somebody out of the the eviction system entirely and and prove to be a greater benefit I do want to make one other comment and that's with respect to Boulder housing Partners there is no I I have the privilege of being the ex official member of of Council on their board there is nothing nefarious going on with Boulder housing Partners they have a statut to exemption from paying this sort of fee or tax nothing more nothing less there's been no maneuvering with respect to that and I also want to point out that that the imposition of this fee on Boulder housing Partners would represent a payment of about $105,000 a year because they they

[197:01] maintain about 1,400 units at the moment um that has a material impact on their ability to perform the service that they do which is to create affordable housing units and I also want to point out that during Co they have taken a policy of not evicting any of their tenants on the basis of non-payment doesn't mean they won't do it for other reasons and anyone who they do uh evict is going to be able to access these funds and obtain legal counsel um there's been frankly a lot of unwarranted hostility and criticism towards BHP tonight and I don't quite understand it because they're doing a job that that they are doing it in a um remarkably well um and I think we ought to be more appreciative of what they're doing um they are the largest single residential landlord in the city and it's all affordable and they are

[198:01] creating more by the day and I think there ought to be some recognition of that thank you thank you Mark Mary and then Bob and then I think all way in I pretty much agree with what's been said to this point and um you know I'll just reiterate that um I'm really grateful for the addition of the um the rental assistance um and I also appreciate the willingness to um include the Taber language and make it a tax um the fee as it was currently written would have led inevitably to a lawsuit and I appreciate that um they have um changed to attack so thank you you Mary Bob yeah I'll say a couple things first of all um um there were a few speakers who um said they didn't

[199:02] believe that providing lawyers to people who were in eviction would be particularly effective particularly when those um tenants um were in eviction because of um financial distress um I disagree with that actually I I was um I represented um low income tenants who were being evicted when I was in law school as a young lawyer and um most of them were in eviction because they were not able to pay their rent but as lawyers we were able to um buy them time in court um simply by virtue of being there and speaking to the judge and speaking to the landlord and speaking to the lawyer on the other side so um having legal representation does help regardless of the reason for eviction and even if it's just a matter of of buying that tenant an extra 30 or 45 or 60 days to get their Affairs in order to find another place to save up money for first and La last month's rent

[200:01] in another location so um I do believe the representation will make a difference does make a difference for for tenants regardless of the reason that they're in eviction first experience of that secondly um I am hugely grateful to Aaron and ruy for working together collaboratively to expand the program to include rent um eviction prevention um because I think that's the other side of the coin and is as important as legal representation and the more of that we do the less legal representation um we'll need um I don't think anything would make us happier than if we ended up spending no money on legal representation because we're doing such a great job on eviction prevention I think we're all big fans of a program we already have um that we uh administer through EA keep families housed and hundreds and hundreds of families have um avoided eviction and foreclosure due to the funding that the city provides to

[201:00] effa and effa uh a administers and I don't know if we'll use effa or some other organizations to um administer the eviction prevention program but we have seen it work time and time and time again where just a few hundred dollar in Aid makes the difference between eviction and um and staying housed and so I'm immensely grateful to ruy and to Aaron for um improving the program um for the flexibility that everyone has shown and I think that this ballot measure is really a testament to the collaboration of people in our community from the diverse backgrounds I think we're all trying to achieve the same thing which is to keep families keep people in their housing and to avoid um eviction or even the risk of eviction so I'm going to fully support this great thank you Bob and I agree with almost everything you said much of that was what I was thinking about saying I'll step back then and thank the organizers um first for carrying this

[202:01] petition in this tough time um and second for being flexible enough to hear ways to improve the program um just to reassure everyone we would at this point not do anything that the um um petitioners didn't approve of since they've qualified and you know it is completely their right to have this be the way they want it the Hope here of course is to make sure that if it does pass we don't get wrapped up in legal challenges for a year or more so that we can use the funding to help people rather than to fight legal challenges so all that is for the good I also do think that the the hope would be that the rental assist program can really reduce the need for the legal representation piece of this regarding BHP you know they are a um very important part of our community with the affordable housing they provide and the programs that they administer there's a lot of really good things there but just to emphasize for

[203:00] everyone listening the city of Boulder doesn't really control the boulder housing Partners organization we have one uh representative from Council who sits on the Board of BHP but it is an entirely independent organization so assuming that this passes which I believe it will um the administrator or the organizers or even before uh the election could approach BHP and have a conversation with them about how to fit them into this program so I I think you know it is unlikely that the difference between a fee and a tax will make any difference um as as to whether BHP is included or not they're probably exempt from both but they are a very um uh a very focused organization on helping people so to the extent that the organizers want to reach out to them and have a conversation I expect that they would be receptive and with that

[204:01] Aon I would turn to you and see if you wanted to make a motion great thanks Sam so I will go ahead and move that Council adopts ordinance 8412 submitting to the registered electors of the city of Boulder at the municipal coordinated election to be held on Tuesday November 3rd 20120 the no eviction without representation ballot measure and specifically the text uh included in David's hotline post from approximately 5 o'clock this afternoon and I with two uh small edits to that um on the first paragraph of the ordinance um it includes uh the phrase rental assistance for persons that are venerable to eviction that venerable should be changed to vulnerable um we want to protect our vulnerable community members as well but the vulnerable is the key key word there and then the other is to um in the ballot um title

[205:02] the language of the city Boulders tax is being anually bu I would propose the number 1.9 million second can I offer friendly Amendment yeah and could I make a suggestion um since you can't adopt it tonight that you what you're doing is amending on second reading and we'll set third reading for consent on September 1st if that's okay and then I'd also ask you to continue the final reading the second reading of 8411 because we do we don't have a formal notification from the committee that they're withdrawing so if we'll continue that to September 1st if they withdraw before then we'll pull it off great very good I'll use just the language that Tom described can I offer a friendly Amendment Erin I think one of the um requests of the committee had was um the ballot title be no eviction without representation I think that's actually was changed in the version that went out at 5 o'cl by the presentation that we saw tonight but if it says that then

[206:00] that's great yeah I'm looking at David Gear's thing and it it does not include that s thanks for mentioning that great and so Tom I just want to be super clear you're wanting the second reading hearing to be continued or do you want us to take a vote tonight I my preference would be that you continue second hearing on 8411 and that you vote to amend 8412 with the do with the version that David gear posted on hotline this afternoon as amended by Aaron's two changes and we we vote on that and pass 8412 tonight is that correct you pass it on second reading it doesn't need to be a roll call you just what you're doing is amending it on second reading and then you'll finally adopted on third reading on September 1st great do you need two motions do you need one to continue 8411 and then we vote on 8412 I I think Aaron made both motions and since neither requires a roll call you can do them both by H show of hands okay can I ask a question here so

[207:01] Tom what what's the mechanism for the kind of withdrawal coupled by final passage on third reading like do we get a like a letter from them what does that work I would ask that they send it an email to the clerk saying they're withdrawing the petition okay and could they do that like contingent on passage of 8412 at third reading just so clear about that that would be my recommendation that they say that that that is withdra on the final passage of 8412 as amended okay great and then just to clarify from process perspective then right that would be on third reading on September 1st and that would be on the consent agenda the idea that we would just pass it as a formality does that sound right okay yes and my only other question is so Bob I'll calling you in a moment is um I have on my notes that this is a roll call vote for the second readings is that correct or incorrect only if you

[208:00] were going to pass it as as passed on first reading since you're amending 8412 um and they you want to give them a chance to withdraw 8411 that's why I suggest the continuation and the vote to amend okay so the vote that we're going to take right now is to amend 8412 and we're going to continue um after that so okay so uh we need a bob do you want to speak before we take to vote yeah before we vote I I just want to make sure that we check in with ruy one more time because we've had a lot of discussion here and I just want to make sure I think ruy is the leader of the of committee and I I'd just like to ask him one more time if he's comfortable with what we're doing here tonight great bear with me I'm trying to get him back on the line okay

[209:00] sure okay ruy you should be able to unmute now hey here I am uh yeah thanks for the clarification Bob so uh um just quick note uh I'm not the leader of the campaign I'm only the chair um I think the uh the renting people and and workers behind me are are definitely um uh more vital uh but yeah we are uh fine uh with um accepting the uh ordinance 8412 the version that was submitted by David to the council outline earlier with those two um uh Minor Adjustments uh given by Aaron great thanks thanks for yeah thanks yep okay very good so what I need I believe is a show of hands for um modifying 8412 and continuing the hearing for second reading for both so

[210:00] um there's anyone Sam I think just be clear it's continuing the hearing for 8411 but uh passing 8412 on second reading is amended did I get that right yes yes okay so as Aaron restated my um mistaken uh summary is there anyone who objects to passing it that way seeing none it passes unanimously both okay very good thank you all and thank you to the newer supporters for coming out tonight and letting us know what you think okay ready are we ready okay the agenda is the Matters from city manager we have the financial and legislative update good evening again Council um

[211:00] Cheryl patelli here CFO for the city I have a very abbreviated version um next slide please I don't know who's thanks so uh the first thing on our agenda a very abbreviated version of the revenue update followed by a federal funding update which Carl Castillo will be presenting tonight and next slide please thanks so on this slide I just want to point your um attention to the chart on the bottom and just point out if you look at at March April and May you'll notice that the filings and collections continue to improve since the pandemic began um a lot of this uh is related to businesses um getting getting their filings in as well as staff uh working very hard on collecting

[212:00] from the businesses June you'll notice present filed is 85% this is preliminary data so we are having businesses uh give us uh filings um regularly so this number will go up just like the previous months have been going up next slide so this is normalized data for month over month for June as well as year to date and by normaliz we mean um if we did receive a late collection we put it in the month that it was earned so that's different from our revenue report which which is on a cash basis just so you can note that if you do look at the revenue report Jun saw businesses uh remain opening open but many had limited services so as you can see the results attive 15% um that is a significant decline over last year however compared to April

[213:02] and May it does look um significantly better just to point out a couple of our uh areas here computer uh I'm sorry construction sales and use tax was up we've seen a lot of uh homeowners do home projects so that's making that increase for um June as well as year-to date eating places are down 44% again that's significant however it has improved over the last few months um the reopening is slow uh limited capacity is well well as we've seen some restaurant shutdowns and just an overall reluctance of many people um related to dining out food stores is down slight slightly what we've seen here we saw that big spike early on during the pandemic but um B purchasing is really starting to flatten

[214:01] out and finally gen General retail um remains sluggish although we have had gains um from the online retail ERS they're offset by the declines in our brick and mortar retailers here in town next slide so accomodations tax continues uh to decline even um pretty sharply compared to last month and again the CVB estimate for the entire year is a $4.3 million decrease over 2019 next slide so overall our Revenue still is down in June for a lot of our funds the general fund as you can see is down as well as the recreation activity fund which is a fund um from Parks and wreck uh that's down as we know facilities programs cancellations those types of

[215:00] things I guess Silver Lining here uh Planning and Development overall their fund is up 3% year to date and a lot of this relates as you can see on this chart to the different types of permits that are seeing increases over last year next slide and this is my final slide it's the comparative cities for March year to date and Boulder is the first one in the yellow as you can see it continues to lag in most sectors we believe that has to do uh with our loss in tourism students in Comm commuters as well as our general retail mix or our lack of Big Box store um as a contrast while not on this chart the town of superior has actually reported an increase in sales tax revenue through the end of May um of 3%

[216:00] noting the covid stock up purchasing for the reason is you know they Costco they have Target and they have very few eating places they up only 4% of their total St tax revenue so that's when we talk about the retail mix um or our entities like that are fairing better than uh unfortunately the city of Boulder with that uh are there any questions on this no yeah I got Aaron I'm sorry oh [Music] Aaron mute thank thanks for the presentation I had a a leftover question from the um financial report that kind of bears on this a little bit I noticed that that our net position you know the um uh for the city the the net worth more or less of the city was up pretty substantially at the end of

[217:00] 2019 and wanted to see if that if that was you know kind of an accounting Quirk or did we uh end the year like with a fair amount more money than we started with and and I know we've been using fund balance to help cushion some of the difficulties this year and has that been helpful I think it's a little bit of B so the the majority of the increase related to capital projects that we had so we had the Bro Broadband fiber backbone if you recall we issued the bonds for that so that was a a pretty significant increase in in funds uh the also the remodeling of Scott Carpenter pool and some land Acquisitions so as it's becoming Capital that is more of an accounting issue but we also did end up as you I believe the general fund we came in four four million in excess as well as some other funds uh actually

[218:00] sales tax funds came in higher than what we had budgeted so it's a mixture good and so we've been I assume taking advantage of some of those additional funds we of the year to to cushion the the loss Revenue this year correct okay great thanks thank you good give me a moment here I didn't see any other hand Cheryl okay thank you all right good evening Council uh Carl Castillo from the city manager's office wanted to provide you a quick update two things um the prospects for the city securing new federal funding and how the city is planning on using the federal funding it has already secured next slide [Music] please so um as you all know the kazac provided funding for um local governments and

[219:00] states it was $150 billion total um the city that Boulder did not meet the qualification for getting direct funding um so at this point we are as as we'll be talking about in a minute uh we're receiving some money but it's a very very small money very insignificant so we we remain in a situation where the city Boulder and local governments throughout the country are sorely in need of additional uh financial aid from the federal government and this is why we've been advocating for this with our Congressional leaders uh since March we've actually sent a letter in April and in July and with the mayor's leadership we've joined many organizations who asked us to uh to reach out to our Congressional Delegation um and we are at this point you know we have a lot of support for delegation uh all you know both our congressmen and

[220:00] our two senators are on board however we're looking in particular to Senator Gardner to see if he can make a difference I think he's in a unique position to actually shift the Dynamics the Senate next slide please um so you know that I think you believe you you know that the heroes Act was passed by the house uh not considered by the Senate it would have provided $375 billion in flexible aid for local governments um in July the heels Act was passed in the Senate it addressed other needs it did not include any money for local governments and as you see on the on the PowerPoint slide there was an executive action or a series of executive actions that were taken by the president that did address a lot of issues many of them that may not uh continue or not be able to survive any challenges in court uh but again it did not address funding for local governments um so we're at a position we're at a point where we're

[221:00] looking for the next stimulus Bill we're looking for some compromise to be reached uh the negotiations that had been taking place broke down on August 7th at this Point our Democratic Leadership is holding strong on a package of at least $2 trillion doll that includes money for States and local governments um the Senate has recessed and they won't be back until September 6th however they have been told that they could be called to vote on what is called a skinny Corona virus relief bill uh this would basically bring them back for a 24-hour vote um this bill is less than the $1 trillion doll heals act IT addresses a lot of priorities like the US Postal Service unemployment insur insurance uh the public the payroll Protection Program liability protection uh funding for Education Public Health but again it does not include any

[222:00] funding for States and local governments so I know you're all following following the news I can't tell you anything more than than we're hoping for a um a settlement to be reached um and it probably will occur in early September at this point unless there's some a significant change in circumstances next slide please so moving on to how we're using the existing Federal funding that we received um the state of Colorado received $2.2 billion 1.7 billion went to the state and the state in turn developed a program administered by doola to allocate 219 million to the counties and municipalities that did not receive direct allocation Boulder County and its municipalities were asked to share a little more than 27 million and the breakdown on that was that it was um 55% of it went to the county 45% went to

[223:01] the remaining local governments on a per capita basis so the city now has 4.75 4119 available to seek reimbursement and what you see on this I'm sorry I need to if we can go to the next slide please thank you um what you see on this slide is the major requirements of how this money can be used and um the important things is to be reminded that we can't use it for back billion loss revenue and we can't use it for expenses that we're already account for in this year's budget um so next slide so we already have just over $1.1 million in funds that in expenditures that we've already incurred or that we anticipate incurring things that are already put into motion uh these are

[224:01] expenditures that we are very confident would be eligible for reimbursement uh the biggest examples uh that we that we can provide our rental assistance of 350,000 challenge grant for small businesses businesses 200,000 and other expenses such as the purchase of new software to continue City business 100,000 um so this is the portion that we will be moving forward and seeking reimbursement in the next coming months next slide please we also thought that it was important to reserve 15% of what's been allocated to us for 17 $713,000 um recognizing that there may be unanticipated covid related expenses that will be that we need to incur due to the public health emergency um and we think those will become more obvious the

[225:01] next month or two as the PO season begins um the way we're addressing this Reserve because we have to we have to have used all the money up by the end of the year so we want to have the reserve decreased by it by by a certain percentage over time until December so that by December we will have known of any expenses that we need to incur and we also will know about whether there's some expenses that we've already Ur already incurred that are eligible that we might not know about so for example guidance is still being updated on payroll and what situations uh pay for people who've shifted to do work on covid expens uh covid matters can be covered so with those new developments that's that's partly what we expect to use this Reserve next slide please so what you see here is a uh graphical depiction of what we're talking about so the pi represents the

[226:01] total amount allocated to the city it's broken down by the funds that are already accounted for which are the blue blue and the orange slices it's it includes the uh the reserve which is in the gray slice and then the large portion the yellow part is the funds that are still available to be used for other uses next slide please so we solicited some proposals from our from our department on priority projects that they would like to move forward would but they wouldn't be able to unless they knew they would be reimbursed and we we've reviewed those proposals using the criteria that you see here um I'll just walk through them you know it needed to be something in this very first trunch that had to be very urgent it had to be of course in response to the pandemic and the economic crisis it had to comply with the eligibility of of the the treasury guidelines that we received it had to uh

[227:02] further or be consistent with the city's sustainability and resilience goals and last but not least it had to for the city's racial Equity goals and on that topic I will refer you to page 710 in your packet which does provide a rapid response Equity assessment of the proposals we chose and explains why we believe they are consistent with our racial Equity goals next slide please so in some we have identified up to $1.58 million to be allocated during this first tranch of of expenditures uh we've broken it down into three primary categories um as you see 7 775,000 would be for business support 740,000 for direct Aid to Residents and 68,000 for City projects um almost all of it is direct

[228:00] economic support to the community next slide please and what we have here is a depiction again of what we're talking talking about the pie in the left represents the total amount that has been allocated to this city the brown part represents the amount available for new expenditures the pie on the right uh is the same amount broken down as follows so the business support section that the business support that we've talked about is represented in yellow the direct Aid to the residents in blue the city projects a very small proportion of it in green and and then the in Gray you see what would still be available even after the projects that we're about to talk about so I'm going to walk through next slide please the the projects very quickly because I know you've read them it's in your memo and I want to make sure that we allow for time for questions that you may have about these um the first one is

[229:02] a micro grant program and that would go towards small businesses with fewer than 100 employees um criteria will be developed and announced next week uh one important criteria that will be included is a preference for women in minority owned businesses the important thing to note here is that there'll be a lot of screening on the front end to make sure that these businesses are viable uh but that of course that they still need the money um and that they comply with the criteria but then afterwards there will be substantial flexibility and how they determine how best to use the money the second one described here is the safe Boulder Campaign which is really encouraging safe and responsible visitation to our businesses and and educational campaign about that next slide please so what we have here are um a series of direct Aid uh to Residents

[230:00] that we think are a huge priority right now the first is as you know the be their homeless ambassador program that you are brief briefed about basically this is conducting Outreach to people experience experiencing homelessness to ensure that they have covid-19 related information and resources and general navigation materials um the next three the food the financial and mental health mental Behavioral Health assistance these all go to augment the Health Equity and Human Services Grants that the city has already uh awarded earlier this year this is this will just provide additional amounts that we now think are necessary uh then there's the digital divide program that will increase online access for our residents and a housing hel line that will provide financial assistance and Social Services to help PE uh to help keep people housed next slide please uh then there are the the small amount that is uh for city city programs

[231:03] uh the first one is a h hyp chorus based disinfecting program for the fire department essentially would be providing funds for six additional electrostatic sprayers and also a system to to create this hypoc chlorus acid which is actually interestingly composed of salt vinegar and water so it's very sustainable and it is uh not so much for cleaning but for disinfection and uh something that they find to be very useful and important um then we also uh would spend 25,000 for fencing to discourage informal congregations of large groups on and approaching Flagstaff Mountain uh we would spend 19,200 for Porta pones and in in four open space areas where covid has resulted in increased visitation um and then finally we would widen the stairs at the chagua ranger station the area that leads to the

[232:00] meadow uh to support social distancing that's an area that right now sees a lot of crowding and wider stairs would be helpful um so after this meeting um and after hearing your comments and questions we will be notifying directors to move forward with these expenditures tomorrow uh we will continue to work with the county county collaborative essentially we're checking in with the county um to make sure that uh we have the additional benefit of understanding how they're going about using this money there is still proposals to work um collaboratively on economic support for businesses and on Human Services projects and so we we will be exploring that for the remaining tranches of of the funding um we expect to have made decisions by September or October on the remaining amounts of the funds but as as I said earlier it could very well be as late as December which

[233:01] would be December 31st would be our final deadline uh next slide please um so that that is the end of my presentation um I'm available for questions and I also wanted to note that uh the team that's been working on this is online as well and that includes Deputy city manager Chris Muk deputy director of housing housing and Human Services Christian Heiser uh business services manager Mark wolf tax and special special projects manager Joel Wagner and Senior budget analyst Samantha McQueen so with that I'd be uh happy to try and answer any questions great thank you Carl thank you you so much um that was a great presentation and I have one question if you go back a couple three slides to the housing support um piece of the presentation you had the be there program and then you had some um housing support my question is how are we going to get the word out about those programs

[234:00] are those going to go through existing programs or will they be will there be a a separate effort to um let people know about these so that's a good question mayor and I'd like to ask Kristen Heiser if he's available to answer that sure good evening Kristen Heiser deputy director of Housing and Human Services so the way that we're going to approach um disseminating these dollars is working with existing Partners so when it comes to the food assistance financial assistance mental and Behavioral Health funds that will be going out we will continue um to provide those dollars amending current agreements that we have with EA EA and other community agencies um and continuing promoting through the same means that we've been doing as well as probably expanding um our Outreach efforts to make sure people know where and how to access these dollars very good and then just to follow up with that with food assistance financial assistance I think I I understand how EA

[235:00] would use that who who would be receiving the dollars for be there and particularly for the digital divide so with the be there program we are looking at we'll be going through a procurement process to award those funds to a local nonprofit we're going through that process right now we're hoping to have the program stand stood up in September mid-september um and so we will be contracting with the local nonprofit and the dollars that we're receiving will reimburse the city for the costs that we are putting towards um part of the Staffing as well as some of the operating costs um as for the digital divide we are looking to distribute those dollars through our Older Adult Services our family services um program as well as we are partnering with the library and bbsd we actually have a meeting tomorrow to start um determining the best means of getting those dollars out I did want to clarify really quick with the digital divide it goes beyond just hotspots and Tech it it we're also looking at um that being helping people with their Internet fees um as well as

[236:02] um technical support um it might be some online programming to reach out to our uh residents so it's going to be a very flexible funding source great and I just want to compliment everybody um this is a great presentation very clear and um it's amazing how quickly staff has moved um we got confirmation of these dollars I believe at the end of July um so I'm sure you're planning before that but um good work everyone so I've got Adam Rachel and Aon Adam thanks Sam and thanks Carl for the presentation um my question is probably best for a vet and that has to do about the uh small business loans um I've seen in the news from the cares act at the national level a lot of those funds ended up going not to the best places to utilize them um so what are our preventative measures and our auditing system to

[237:00] ensure that those are going to the best places and I was wondering if um the 100 person cap does that only apply to how many employees they have in Boulder or is that a nationwide Statewide type cap thanks for your question and I'd like it if Mark could join me on the video to help answer this question hey Mark let me introduce you to my colleague who's been on the committee and working very hard so I'm often in front of you but I never want to take advantage of an opportunity to acknowledge other people who've contributed and continue to um I'm going to answer the first part of your question you're right um um a lot of organizations um did not receive or did not apply for PPP or Idol loans um and we unfortunately despite all the great efforts ofdc have not been able to get that information broken down to locally who has received those funds in Boulder to our satisfaction so we'll be using

[238:01] this process to get more information on that a lot is still in Quee and I know that Mark and I have been working the ently with other members of our team and our alliance Partners on criteria Mark what would you like to share about 100 people yeah I think the important thing that that we'd like to share with council is uh we're we've been working with the c Colorado Enterprise fund who we have an existing relationship to administer our microloan program U we feel it's important to have that that third party that expert in in vetting uh businesses to make sure that their viable that the use of funds is uh proper and in alignment with the federal criteria so we think that'll go along way I think opening it to uh 100 employees uh it's only uh rough excuse me roughly 150 businesses that are between that 50 and and 100 uh employee category uh we are

[239:04] also as a part of the criteria looking at um city of businesses that have their employment base here so the 100 employees would have to be here Adam um we are looking at other criteria again none of this is finalized but things like no publicly traded businesses um things like that because we really understand council's priority to think about things that are happening locally and small employers um you will recall that in the last tranch with the help of the Community Foundation and the boulder chamber it was 50 employees or less we got some feedback that there are people just slightly above that it you're really hurting so we're trying to just be a little bit more generous than that for most federal programs it is defined as 500 employees or less and some programs are 250 employees or less we're going slightly smaller than that hope we answered your question yes you did thank you both for that really appreciate it I follow on could I follow

[240:01] up on that question please um I just want to on thank you for that Evette and Mark I had a question about the application process and um is it a fairly simple thing is it a long form how does that work for people so we're talking about an online form and Mark and I I think spent an hour today um with Colorado Enterprise fund kind of going through that to talk about what might be next steps Mark did you want to describe um our general thoughts about how long form would be and the process yes we're we're trying to strike a a balance between getting enough information to be able to really drill down to the businesses that we're trying to Target but also for the application process to be intuitive uh for businesses so what we have discussed with CF is a a fairly simple online uh form uh where the scoring would be

[241:01] essentially automatic so there's not an extensive uploading of documents or writing in narrative that just trying to get the heart of of where you're at as a business what type of business you're at if you've received other sources of funding and that sort of thing so we haven't exactly finalized the number of questions what we're looking at is somewhere in the ballpark of 12 to to 15 uh questions that that hopefully will be pretty straightforward and as we did last time Mary it would be available in English and Spanish posted and posted to the city's website also promoted by our alliance Partners um and you know trying to make it as simple as possible because there will be some vetting of the businesses we do anticipate a little bit more financial information than previously uh requested about these businesses okay thank you and um if um people need it will there

[242:00] be assistance available to help them with the form um we certainly can look at that and I'll take that back to the alliance Partners we rely heavily on our partners for those kinds of assistance um but we can take that back to the group as part of the process yeah thank you very much thank you great and then we've got Rachel and Aon and back to Mary Rachel thanks for that presentation my question is on the 15% reserve of about $700,000 it says um reserved for expenses that may be uh become necessary by the end of the year and then it'll be a dropping percentage so just want to make sure like that whole 700,000 is not included in the current budget or numbers that we're looking at that's like a whole separate set aside but I think it all has to be spent in 2020 is that accurate um so yes it it all has to be spent by the end of the year and the 73,000 is distinct from the amounts that

[243:03] we talked about for the those three large buckets of businesses Direct a and City projects um does that answer your question or is there yeah yeah yeah I'm it seem you know there's not I mean 2020 has taken 78 years to get through you know the first half but really there's only like four more months left right like we're we're down to the second half or so in that amount of time I would think that that money will have to be allocated in the next couple months to be spent by December 31st exactly so so as I showed in that that last pie there's still a large amount that we haven't even identified what they use for the the reserve is sort of an addition to that as well the difference is the reserve is something that we're thinking for not so much new projects but things that are like forced upon us things that we have no choice just like the expenses that we that we've made up

[244:00] till now yeah but in a really like a narrow amount of time because I assume we'll have to like author it and spend it prior so just wanted to check on the timing there thanks and just to follow up on that um where does the covid recovery center fall on this is that those expenses covered was it too early is that going to be something that's covered by this so let me start off by answering uh the co Recovery Center is partly a countywide project so I believe that's one of the projects that we're going to ask the county to use some of their funds to cover um this is kind of an awkward way for them to hear about that we will be that request very soon um but there's also portions that I think are considered more City specific um Christen are you a available to answer that question yeah so um our intentions with the CRC is to pursue FEMA

[245:03] reimbursement because it's a it's a it's very much aligned with the use of Fe dollars we've also held back some of our cdbg CV dollars to cover any additional um if there are costs that FEMA will not cover um so right now we are hoping to get them reimbursed as much as we can using FEMA and other Federal sources great thank you and then Rachel did you have anything else NOP okay I was shaking my head sorry got it yep so Aaron and the Mary Aaron yeah my question was on the the reserves as well so just a little bit of a followup to that so Carl we we do have a kind of a tight time frame but one of the things I really appreciate about how this is structured as the direct Aid to small businesses and other people in the community who are struggling and those needs are are near nearly bottomless right I mean they're much greater than than these dollar amounts so is the

[246:01] in that um as we get near to the end of the timeline and any funds that we have not had a specific use for that we could redirect towards those direct Assistance programs so not necessarily the intention but certainly a possibility so if nothing else I think as you say there's an inexhaustible need in the community um whether that's businesses or individuals um so yes we will not leave any money on the table they will not be sending you know allow allowing money to return to the treasury that we could have used um but but we we are not necessarily foreseeing that as being the case um because frankly I think we don't want to overdo it for programs that maybe aren't designed to handle more than than the amount um so frankly one way of looking at this is we wanted to move forward really quickly which is what we're doing right now on funding that we knew was essential and we we

[247:02] thought it's it's super important to get it out there right away what you're bringing up is sort of the consideration of how do we go about evaluating the appropriate use of money for the remainder of the year so we're hoping to take a breath and then consider all the options and we also think that this next stimulus bill is going to include expanded um allowances for how the money is used so for example it might say you can use the money through the end of next year or the or the um I think there was one in the heels act that we actually talked about ex extending it to the fiscal year no actually it' be the end of next year so there's a variety of things that we expect to take place that would help inform how we spend the money first and foremost on how covid ends up uh you know continuing to be an issue more or less in in the months of September and October okay yeah so fair enough so it's it's not the intention to do what I said but the intention is to

[248:00] make sure that we put all of that fund to funding to good use exactly exactly great thank you and I would just as long as we're um talking about use of funds um you know the University of Colorado's students are back and I know there's a lot of concern in the community about that so I would just put out there the possibility for education and enforcement um program that could be used in areas where there's a lot of off-campus students I think CU seems to have a really strong program for students who are living in the dorms and their classroom and so on I think it's the off-campus impacts that we've been hearing a lot about from our community so just one thought would be how can we work maybe coordinating with CU to help buff up an education and enforcement program for um especially now when the students are just getting here we don't know how that's going to go that's a great

[249:00] idea so I don't see any hands up is there any other comments or feedback on this um seeing N I just want to thank staff for jumping on this I'm glad we have some funding Carl's right this was a big concern of of everyone's to see what we could get from the federal government to help mitigate the impacts of covid and I'm just really impressed with how well organized this is so um I would just suggest to Jane also that we make these somewhat regular just so we can keep track of like Rachel asked you know how much money's left and and you know what are we using it for and so on but this is a great start yep we can do that thank you very good okay thank you Carl and thank you that and everyone so I think we're ready to move on okay next on the agenda is um Matters from the city attorney and item a is the ballot me measures

[250:03] issue and so I I don't have much of a presentation uh this was schedule for council's further discussion of what to do with the pending ballot measures I do have one slide if we could put it up that just shows that the all the ballot measures that have been submitted this year and how many signatures they submitted and how many they got how many were validated and so this is that [Music] slide great okay very good so so this item was really a placeholder that CAC he put on some time ago and it seems like we've gone through pretty much every one of these the the one that's pending obviously is the bedrooms initiative and um so I guess just to make uh perhaps short work of this is there anyone who has changed their mind in how they are approaching the bedrooms initiative in

[251:01] other words is there any any uh thought that we should change our approach to that so that would require somebody to Chang their position okay well I don't see anyone let me look for comments here briefly Aaron I didn't raise my hand but this is our chance to save the city some money we could we could just get it done okay so that was a pitch I assume that you're not changing your position no I'm not uh so so seeing that um Tom thank you for the um summary I think we're ready uh oh Adam okay mine is uh on a separate issue actually that uh I sent to CAC and I just wanted to get a word in at the end of this okay um that's fine so then it seems like we're done with that so Adam why don't you tell us what your word is

[252:02] sure um just a recognition that um getting ballot measures online uh petitioning happening is still a priority by us um I believe I was told that our next update is going to be in October but uh I just wanted to hear um from Tom real quick that the process is still ongoing and that we're actually moving forward in the present moment yes and we can take the slide down now I guess uh we have we we reached agreement with Boulder County we have access to their database we have received the the ver the first version of the program our staff is currently testing it and doing updates with the vendor um we expect to have it fully on online and operational by the end of the year so it'll be ready tost ballot measures at the beginning of next year I will also be bringing forward at some point in the fall an ordinance where Council can decide U specifics of implementing

[253:00] it thanks for that Tom pleas Rachel I'm sound so excited um I just wanted to say that this has obviously been um a pretty um the bedrooms are for people ballot measure in particular pretty wrenching and um uh heartfelt uh issue for a lot of people in our community so I wanted to thank people for writing in and um coming and speaking again tonight and um I I think there's been some um intimation that they were you know they're they're not team players because they sued the city and um just wanted to to share that that uh I I appreciate um how that has been so botched in 2020 and um I I just want them to be heard so thanks great and I'll just wrap up with um CAC will be um looking at scheduling

[254:01] to bring back for discussion the entire bundle of election issues going forward so that includes electronic petitioning but it also includes making sure that we've got our dates and numbers right and that we have any ordinances that point to the state if we need to as well as um the possibility of having a group convene to look at rank Choice voting um more broadly than just the mayor so I think all of this is going to come back in the fall time frame we're kind of full right now just trying to get through getting the ballot set but I believe Adam that it's Our intention to bring all of this back before the end of the year I say Rachel thanks for that I just Echo whatever all the things you said thanks okay with that I think we're done with that it okay Matters from the mayor and members of council our first item is the charter committee update regarding emergency suspension of Charter

[255:02] Provisions uh so this is me the charter committee met and started discussing the provisions that we had brought forward on first reading to uh provide an amendment to the Charter that would allow Council to suspend certain Provisions during an emergency and the consensus of the committee was I think in unanimous view of the committee was that um it's not fully baked and that the best process would be to ask CAC to schedule a study session sometime in the fall or in the beginning of first quarter of 2021 to really do a deep dive into whether it should go whether it should go forward and what specific Provisions should or should not be included that trying to do it for this election cycle is too quick it much better to have a discussion uh get council's feedback more specifically on the provisions and then do it in a more orderly manner for perhaps the two 2021 ballot thank you and does anyone from the charter committee have anything to

[256:01] add to that great seeing nothing thank you Tom so Debbie the next item our next item is the update on evaluations for the City attorney and the municipal judge Mary would you like to take that I will start and then perhaps um Erin can fill in whatever I um Miss so um this is evaluation yes I'm sorry yeah I'm confusing myself too so one of the things that the the search committee um determined was that the evaluations committee and the search committee were actually two different committees and so the search committee will consist of Aaron and myself and the evaluations committee will continue to be Sam and myself and so um that was one of the determinations and um we um spoke with

[257:04] um Jen sprinkle the new um Human Resources uh director and she was going to follow up on the suggestion that Bob had made that we used the same consultant that U Boulder housing Partners used for a short quick evaluation and so she was um G to get going on that today and that's where we're at great and I would point out that Jen is on the line Jen would you like to um give us any thoughts about going forward yeah I did reach out um to the external consultant that you are considering for the performance evaluations and so I will be happy to support you with next steps as I hear back from that consulting firm okay great so we do have a plan now going forward on that which is progress um anyone have any questions Aon I see your hand still up is that on

[258:00] this nope okay any last thoughts just thank you to Jen yes thank you Jen happy to help okay all right our next item is the appointment of the interim city manager yep and on this item uh we all know that um Jane will be leaving the city unfortunately um coming up here in the short term so one of the things we need to do is appoint for interim city manager and I would turn now to Aaron and Rob Aaron it's actually Aaron and Mary um Mary do you want to start or should I why don't you um start please okay well so uh as as we all know that Jane's leaving us in just a few short months um and we wanted to be really clear about the kind of order of succession as soon as possible so both for the council and for the city

[259:00] organization um so uh this was made uh very easy uh because we felt like there was a very clear choice for the interim city manager uh which is uh Chris meschuk uh so he's done a very able job as the deputy city manager U for the last uh quite a long time and um Mary and I spoke individually with other council members and um there was unanimous uh agreement that that he was the right choice for this for this position so U Mary and I uh spoke with Chris um Monday afternoon and um he was interested fortun Ely for us um in taking that on uh with the stipulation is Chris is very much interested in doing this as an interim city manager position so um we assured him that the deputy city manager position was still there and waiting for him after we finish the search process and bring the new city manager online so I think um we can rest assured that that Chris would

[260:00] do a phenomenal job in this role and what we're looking tonight is for Council um to agree for us along with Jen to go negotiate a contract with Chris for that interim city manager position get that right Mary good so I've got Rachel and then Mark Rachel just wanted to um Express sincere gratitude to Chris for for being willing to take this on there has been I don't know how it is in other Council years but a lot of turnover in a really difficult year on this Council and um I think Chris provides some awesome stability and I'm just really grateful thanks great you'll have my full support Mark yeah I um I am delighted Chris will take this on I I can't think of a better choice uh to to perform this and I just want to say to Mary and Aaron I I agree wholeheartedly with your approach and your decision so thank you both very good

[261:00] Bob really a question Tom do we need a motion and if so I'd be happy to make one a motion would be good and and it should be effective upon Jam's departure right [Music] Bob I mov that uh Council appoint Chris meschuk as interim uh city manager effective upon Jane bram's retirement second that so um I think we should take a vote I think this is show of hands so is there any objection to Chris being appointed to the interim city manager position position great seeing n that's unanimous and Chris I look forward to all of us getting a chance to work with you in that role as well we we really appreciate your service thank you very much and well let's give Chris the chance to say a couple well chosen words while we've got him here on the screen be bet not to put you on the spot or anything Chris sure no thank you Aon and

[262:00] uh thanks to all of you for such kind words um it is truly an honor to be asked to ser as the interim city manager during this time period of transition uh and um we have an incredible team here at the city um and I really do look forward to partnering with um all of you on Council um with Jane and our leadership team to prepare for uh her her retirement and transition um as I was telling Aaron and Mary uh Boulder as a community and as an organization is is a place that I care so deeply about about and um to have the opportunity to serve the community in this capacity is is truly uh a true true honor so I'm very grateful so thank you so much great thank you Chris and we we are honored by your willingness to work with us on this so thank you so much and we're we're going to get a signature on that agreement

[263:00] before you can back out so you know don't go anywhere okay good enough so I think that brings us to the end of our scheduled items does anyone have any Deb for discussion items they want to bring up okay seeing none thank you all it was a very good meeting and we'll see you in a couple of days maybe I don't know what to do with myself for the next hour and a 00 pm start is that right no it is not I'm sorry I should have covered that um the earliest that we could start would be 5:45 and I don't think we should do something odd like that so let's just stick with the six o'clock start um one of the council members couldn't make it uh before six o'clock all right see y'all at 6 in a couple days Y at six on Thursday take good night good

[264:05] night [Music]