October 5, 2023 — City Council Regular Meeting

Transcript

Captions from City of Boulder YouTube recording.

[0:00] yeah was mostly goodat roosevel we would appreciate you texting Kelly for us that would be great thank you you're starting candy already that's first at 9 I know you got chis treats two of them I didn't see what dessert was what was it I miss

[1:05] now I'm curious to go how do you like it I love it picking up dirt a little bit Yeah so it gets dirty because if you throw it in there I found people you know what's going to happen is like a thousand years from night some archaeologist is going to dig this up and going who the hell was Tera everywhere they're not everywhere I only got 250 of them they can't they seem like they're everywhere CU they're orange STI out or one of my it I did you like my brookin comment today I did I like here just make sure you keep it I keep it in a plastic bag so it doesn't get dirty

[2:07] should be the worst thing that happens the orange pick up dirt I don't know I looked no I don't think so huh are did you want some company I'm happy what would happen if I there this is where it's almost six o'clock

[3:00] do is it's that is fast do we have am I is this on it seems to be on do we have Channel a ready for us is this m Channel wa is ready sir excellent all right it is six o'clock so if we could start recording please be righte okay okay everybody it's six o'clock it's time for this week's

[4:01] presentation of the Boulder City Council welcome everyone to the Thursday October 5th 2023 member uh meeting of the Boulder City Council we're going to kick it off with an announcement this is about the better public meetings project so the city of Boulder is partnering with the national civic league on a nationwide effort to make Council meetings more engaging and satisfying for everyone who participates as part of this effort we want to hear about your experiences with our meetings including this one we invite community members who are either in person or online for Council meetings starting tonight and running through our December 7th meeting to rate your experience we have an online scorecard that takes about 2 minutes to fill out the link to it is on the screen right now and for the online audience we're putting a link and QR code into the chat you may complete the scorecard once for each time you participate in a council meeting over the next three months and our uh bonuses are going to be based on these ratings so if you could be kind to us I'd appreciate it that that's a joke

[5:00] we don't we don't get we don't get bonuses and with that if we could uh I will go ahead and call the meeting to order and if we could do the roll call please all right thank you sir and good evening everyone we'll start tonight's roll call as usual with council member Benjamin present virtually mayor bronet present council member Furs present friend here Joseph here Speer present mayor Pro Tim wall present virtually council member Wier present and Yates right here mayor we have our Cornel thanks so much Elicia and so I'm going to kick it off with a motion to amend the agenda so I move that we amend the agenda to add two items item 1B a National Domestic Violence month declaration to be presented by mayor Brockett and item 8A a not of five for safe outdoor spaces

[6:00] still moved second we got a motion and second all in favor raise your hand okay that's unanimous so the agenda has been amended and so our first item is indigenous people's day declaration to be presented by council member Wier indigenous people's day declaration October 9th 2023 with indigenous people's days coming on Monday October 9th the Boulder City Council wants to recognize the importance of the indigenous people's day resolution in our community in 2016 the Human Rights Commission and community members drafted the indigenous people's day resolution resolution number 1190 which which was presented at the August 2nd 2016 Boulder City council meeting and adopted by the city of Boulder their Collective and collaborative work in 2016 set a crucial

[7:01] foundation for the city of Boulder to reckon honestly with its past and for how we can honor serve and celebrate indigenous Nations and Indigenous communities and Indigenous organizations in Boulder the Boulder City Council believes it is critical to underscore key acknowledgements in the resolution along with additional information we have learned implementing the resolution which continues to guide the city in indigenous related work indigenous people in Boulder respect the interdependence of all humanity and living things and celebrate a vast enrich tradition through ancestral recognition and diversity of knowledge and perspectives including sustainable practices indigenous people in Boulder have as in all parts of the Americas endured centuries of Cruelty exploitation and genocide Boulder has benefited benefited and continues to benefit directly from

[8:02] Indian Removal policies that violated human rights broke government treaties and forced many people from their Homeland for example in 1858 Arapaho Chief nwat and other Arapaho peoples told a party of gold seeking gold Seekers camped in what is now known as Boulder they they could not remain on indigenous land as defined by the 1851 Treaty of Fort laramy however those then stayed after gold was found west of Boulder in January 1859 many of those same gold Seekers helped found the boulder toown company on February 10th 1859 in violation of the 1851 Treaty of Fort laramy in August of 1864 nearly one nearly 100 Boulder County residents mobilized into company D of the third Colorado calvalry of us volunteers at Fort Chambers this company of 100 men trained at the

[9:02] Fort before participating in the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29th 1864 from which the boulder troops enjoyed a hero's welcome upon their return among those killed in the massacre were women children elders and Chiefs including Chief nyatt and Cheyenne chief White amelo today Boulder is honored to be home of several prominent native organizations ations including the Native American rights fund founded in 1970 which is the largest nonprofit Law Firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes organizations and individuals Nationwide the resolution also States the city acknowledges that those now living on these ancestral lands recognize that harm was done and acknowledge that we have a shared responsibility to forge a path forward to address the past and continuing harm to the indigenous people and the land as

[10:02] we marked this year's indigenous people's day we recognized we must ensure ongoing work to acknowledge and address the past to help Inspire education and reflection and initiate meaningful action to help support indigenous Nations communities and organizations this work is Guided by the city's indigenous people's day resolution the city's racial Equity plan guidance from American Indian tribal Nations agreements the city shared with tribal Nations the open space and Mountain Parks master plan and engagement with indigenous communities and Indigenous organizations in Boulder Community members can learn about ongoing indigenous related projects through the city website bouldercolorado.gov Services indigenous people- projects we the city council of the city of Boulder Colorado declare October 9th 202 23 as

[11:00] indigenous people's day and urge all community members to begin or continue the process of listening to indigenous peoples reflecting on the indigenous presence in the Boulder Valley that has existed since time immemorial and learning about the violent colonization of indigenous lands while the city is collaborating with tribal Nations on several ongoing projects we know we have more work to fulfill the indigenous people's day resolution and help support indigenous Nations and Indigenous communities and organizations in Boulder we value their guidance and the opportunity to listen and learn from all of them as we reckon with and address our past with hope that will make our Collective communities stronger and more resilient thank you so much for that Tara um and we're getting some some audio issues if everyone can make sure

[12:00] that their mics are off okay you got all thosea all right that seems to be a little bit better okay so next we will have item 1B which is the National Domestic Violence month declaration presented by myself people of all ages genders and races can fall victim to domestic violence sadly numerous victims of domestic violence are forced to remain silent due du to safety concerns societal pressures and many other factors a report by the nsw Council of Social Service found that 60% of domestic violence victims do not go to the police many survivors feel helpless and are afraid that if they speak out they will be further victimized by authorities National Domestic Violence month aims to shine a light on domestic violence in our community and highlight the resources available to victims according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline more than one in three women and one in four men in

[13:01] the country will experience rape physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner homicide is one of the leading causes of death in the US for women under the age of 44 and nearly half are killed by a former or current intimate partner moreover the co 19 pandemic worsened the domestic violence epidemic by increasing Financial tensions and stress levels among countless people and families domestic violence can tear families apart and leave lifelong scar on its victims it is essential that we work together to fight the prevalence of domestic violence in both our city and our country already there are several organizations leading the effort in our community for example the safe house Progressive Alliance for non-violence span provide shelter and resources to victims of interpersonal abuse with the goal of ending violence against adults Youth and children the National Domestic Violence Hotline provides survivors of domestic abuse with with resources the necessary resources and support that

[14:01] they need via phone to help them live out their lives free from abuse no one deserves to experience the pain and Trauma caused by domestic abuse while considerable progress has already been made much more is needed to continue the fight to end domestic violence and we must work together to build a culture that has zero tolerance of abuse of any kind we the city council of Boulder Colorado declare October 23 as National Domestic Violence month and urge all all of our community members to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in it in its observance thank you very much mayor just apologies we have a new audio mixer and we're as you can see experiencing some adjustments so little patience and Grace would be terrific from you and all our um those that are listening to us on Zoom of course thanks for that n okay now we'll move to open comment and if um Brenda ritar can go

[15:01] over our public participation guidelines please sorry just had to unbury all my buttons uh thank you so much we are displaying the bilingual version of our guidelines tonight because we anticipate we may have some Spanish speakers in our audience this evening I will not be reading them in Spanish however because I'm not as skilled or talented as our mayor but um we can display them there for you in Spanish the following are examples of rules of guidelines sorry nope that's not it it's very tiny on my screen the city has engaged I got it with community members to co-create a vision for productive meaningful and inclusive Civic conversations this Vision supports physical and emotional safety for community members staff and City Council

[16:02] Members as well as supporting democracy for people of all ages identities lived experience and political perspectives for more information about this vision and the community engagement process please visit bouldercolorado.gov the city's website and type into the search bar productive atmospheres the following are examples of rules of decorum found in the boulder Revised Code and other guidelines that support this Vision these will be upheld during tonight's meeting all remarks and testimony shall be limited to matters related to City business no participant shall make threats or use other forms of intimidation against any person obscenity racial epithets and other speech behavior that disrupts or

[17:00] otherwise impedes the ability to conduct the meeting are prohibited and participants are required to sign up to speak using the name they are commonly known by and individuals must display their whole name before being allowed to speak online currently only audio testimony is permitted online we also ask it's not on the slide but we ask that participants in person refrain from um from shows of support or um disagreement that are audible so we encourage you if you support something someone else has said and would like to express that to use American Sign Language Applause or sometimes we call it jazz hands and that is back to you Mr Mayor thanks so much Brenda all right we've got um 13 people signed up up in person and one three virtual each of you

[18:01] will have 2 minutes to speak I'll say three names at a time as your turn is coming up if you can start moving down towards the front that would be awesome our first three speakers are Keegan Parker Susan Adams and Sasha mcclan hello my name is Keegan Parker and I am the President of the University of Colorado's rowing team I'm here today to express how the current fees associated with rowing at the boulder Reservoir are affecting our team and its future as a club on campus we provide an opportunity for students of all backgrounds to be part of an amazing community that makes it easy to make new friends and enjoy the beautiful environment that Boulder has to offer while also giving them a recreational Outlet however with the cost increases at the reservoir this has become less and less attainable for students on campus just last year our team's dues were 300 $ less than they are now and our team has gone

[19:01] from 80 members to just 40 part of our cost increases comes from having to row outside of hours most public recre centers have hours that are the same in the summer as they are in in the winter but the reservoirs hours decrease in the shoulder Seasons even when they are there are activities still taking place on and at the reservoir however even if we Contin continue to row outside of ours the use cost we are paying is higher than the actual cost of facilities and services of the reservoir that we use for example last fall we paid $80 an hour um in just and in just one year that cost has risen to over $200 per hour that means we're paying over $2,000 per week just to row on a public Reservoir with this cost increase our dues have gone have grown to be 300% higher than any other club comparable to ours on campus making Ro rowing Out Of Reach for many students on campus I ask that you take into consideration how the current policies around the fee

[20:00] structures at the res in the hours are affecting the community of students negatively and I thank you for your time thank you Keegan now we have Susan Adams SATA mimat and Aiden Sterns hello mayor Brockett and City Council Members my name is Susan Adams and I live in Boulder County and am on the board of directors of Boulder Community Rowing and its affiliate Colorado junor crew I'm here tonight to ask ask that you advocate for an increase in the reservoir's regular open 00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m. in the flank Seasons that's known as April May September and October currently the boulder Reservoir does not 00 a.m. 7 days a week and closes at 700 p.m. blocking high school students college students and community members from recreating during the most glorious morning hours and in the evening hours when they do not have class or work responsibilities this means we're forced to pay an exorbitant rental fee to to open up the reservoir for our Juniors and Collegiate students to practice

[21:01] their sport which is robbing them of gaining scholarships and access to a team-based fitness program that supports their mental health and enhances their Wellness those fees have gone from $100 an hour to a promised $380 an hour next year which will shut all the local non-motorized fitness programs permanently this includes Boulder Community Rowing Colorado Junior crew CU Boulder crew and Boulder aquatic masters programs mayor Brockett you great graciously responded to my email last March stating that you believed advocating for an increase in open hours for the reservoir was a worthy action step but that you understand that there are staffing issues I ask you now again to please consider speaking with Stacy Cole Stephanie Monroe Scott schuttenberg and Ali roads to move the open hours of the reservoir back to what they were prec coid this not only aligns with our neighbors and longm at Union Reservoir but we believe the community will benefit from access to its land and resources unfettered thank you thank you Susan now we have saasha mccliment Aiden

[22:01] Sterns and Mitchell Bradford good evening my name is Sasha mclimont I am a member of the board of Colorado Junior crew and a parent of a rower I am here today to Advocate on behalf of the rowing community in Boulder County being a rower in Colorado does not happen by accident this is not the first activity that our athletes have tried but at CJC many of them have finally found a sports team that provides them with a sense of Bel longing and self-confidence which is extremely important to their emotional mental and physical well-being rowing is a full body workout whose rhythmic Strokes exhaust the muscles while calming the Mind CJC has given my son a sense of power in his body a drive to accomplish something through unrelenting physical exertion and positive relationships with mentors and students Beyond his high school rowing is cherished for the peace of mind being on the water brings particularly in a landlock state but the policies and fees at the res are likely to end this access for our students and

[23:00] the community we would like to request a return to the previous after hour fee rates and protection for non-motorized sports our afterhour use fees at the 00 p.m. in the spring have almost doubled from $85 an hour in 2022 to 162 an hour in 2023 with further increases planned for 2024 to bring the rate to almost $300 with such a dramatic cost cost increase CJC will not be able to continue to row at the res this spring which is the primary racing season for high school we cannot simply move our practices earlier since our athletes are in school without an economically feasible plan our rowing Community will have nowhere to practice and will cease to exist the current fee structure places an unjust burden on our sport which uses a bare minimum of servic services really a gate agent and a water safety guard we ask that you reduce the fee to a rate that is in line with the minimal cost to run the reservoir during our usage times rather than a pro-rated fee that includes High summer and indoor

[24:01] facility costs we also request that rowing clubs be categorized under the PB draft free policy oops as either a community or Recreation program thank you thanks very much Sasha now we have Aiden Sterns Mitchell Bradford and Jacob Carl good evening City Council Members my name is Aiden Sterns and I've lived Boulder since 2019 I'm here this evening to talk about pollinator Gardens and Pathways pollinator Gardens use native plant species to attract and support bees butterflies beetles hummingbirds and other important po pollinators supporting these species is critical to maintaining a healthy ecosystem in recent years the discussion around incorporating native plants into landscape design and Colorado has become more important for example in 2017 house joint resolution 17- 1029 was adopted concerning the designation of Interstate

[25:01] Highway 76 as the Colorado pollinator Highway that resolution encouraged sedot to implement integrated roadside vegetation Management in order to better manage Highway RightWay to promote pollinator habitat Additionally the city of Boulder has the pollinator Garden Project which educates and encourages community members to plant pollinator Gardens the Project's also involved in the Planning and Building of the first pollinator Corridor in Boulder called latiera K the the Alternatives analysis that occurs during Transportation Improvement projects is one area where I believe pollinator Gardens can and should be included as a factor when evaluating landscape design Alternatives given the city of Boulder's demonstrated interest in promoting development of pollinator Gardens I wish to encourage the city to further promote or develop policy encouraging or requiring pollinator Gardens to be incorporated through the Alternatives analysis process in future Transportation Improvement projects this past week was the ribbon cutting for the new fully protected intersection at Colorado and

[26:01] 30th there are several areas of landscaping around the intersection with new trees primarily surrounded by mulch areas such as this are prime locations for alternative landscape design choices that incorporate diverse native plants to support wild pollinators I appreciate your consideration on this topic and the City of Boulder's commitment to developing pollinator corridors thank you for your time thank you Aiden now we have Mitchell Bradford Jacob Carl and Michelle Rodriguez good evening community members and council members my name is Mitchell Bradford and I'm a graduate student at the University of Colorado now enjoying my second year living here in Boulder I'm here tonight to ask the Boulder City Council to consider finding new ways to improve the nighttime visibility along the Boulder Creek path particularly in the area between 30th Street and Foothills Parkway many of my friends current roommates and colleagues utilize the Boulder Creek path to travel between in central Boulder and cu's east campus for classes and lab um and lab use

[27:03] personally I've used the tra the path to travel to class and use it almost daily um to run like many other community members I believe this portion is an important area of the path connecting East Boulder to the more Central areas of Boulder and currently the stretch of path between 30th and Foothills Parkway has very few lamp posts to light the area the majority of these lamp posts that do exist are concentrated around a single Bridge which connects to a university parking lot this still leaves many portions of the path poorly lit for working community members as well as students that may have early or late commutes and this issue is especially evident as the days get shorter and force more people to commute during darker hours in my experience here in Boulder the creek path is an amazing resource and I believe improving the lighting through the addition of more overhead lamp posts would increase the Comfort level that many students and community members feel when traveling at low light times in the mornings and evenings I appreciate your consideration of this topic and any efforts that could be made made to improve the Boulder Creek path as well as the accessibility

[28:00] and safety of all of Boulder's public Pathways thank you for your time thank you Mitchell now we have Jacob Carl Michelle Rodriguez and Natalie tickman good evening city council my name is Jacob Carl and I love off 20th in Bluff Street I'm a graduate student at the University of Colorado and I've been living in Boulder for a little over a year I here today to ask for a safer intersection at the corner of 20 3 in Bluff Street this intersection has one stop side on each side of Bluff Street however 23rd does not have stop signs on either side while both sides with stop signs have additional signs warning that traffic does not stop I have personally experienced many near accidents Whittier is a neighborhood with a high amount of pedestrian traffic often moving in the direction of Bluff Street rather than up 23rd additionally there are many parked cars and trees along the street Bluff Street is very narrow making navigation of the street routinely involve pulling over to allow other cars to pass due to

[29:02] distractions both in driving and on the side of the road it can be easy to miss the signs marking that traffic does not stop finally Bluff Street has a series of intersections which contain stop signs for traffic that is entering Bluff Street but 23rd goes against this trend stopping traffic in the opposite direction as a result this intersection is confusing to both drivers and pedestrians making this intersection a four-weight stop would benefit the community by prot ing bikers Walkers and joggers who may not notice that traffic on 23rd does not stop while it may increase traveling time for those on 23rd it might lessen congestion and confusion on the already narrow Bluff Street by providing stability and increased safety for drivers additionally there's no clear crosswalk at 23rd Street which is an issue as oncoming traffic goes down a hill before entering the intersection often going faster than other traffic in the neighborhood introducing two new stop signs would increase safety for people in the area and improve the neighborhood thank you for your time thank you Jacob

[30:00] now we have Michelle Rodriguez Natalie tigman and Evan rabbits hi guys um I'm here tonight to reflect on a a conversation I had with somebody who um supposed to be a pretty important person in the policing the police board and the NAACP I'm talking about Darren oconor um he made some some posts on his his social website this week uh regarding um I think it was headed from lolai to Red Fern where he's trying to um have the NAACP follow up on asking the chief to resign and red fern to resign in response to actions or inactions they did or didn't take in response to that I said well let's talk

[31:01] about this lolai thing um as Darren well knows um he settled and um apparently made it a part of his settlement agreement that my name be redacted from a list of use of force of 80 people long 81 82 with myself August 25th of 2018 would be my date the news article Boulder be. news um in response resps to my request to ask him why was my name redacted why was my case Rodriguez versus lolai never touched by the police and the police board um why did I never get any justice why did you post my pictures on NAACP website with Sammy and then say we'll tell you about her story later why did you have my post removed saying I didn't meet the NAACP standards because I wasn't lifting a person of color in the light I have my post removed I have my little happy badges removed and I was told that um to

[32:01] correct it if it didn't include something about that um by the way he had my my name redacted from that he accuses the Boulder Police when I asked about that he says Michelle that's confidential file that never was public hell yeah it was public I read it myself on the news and I wasn't there it was the only case amongst 82 cases use of force found not guilty by reason of self-defense and not investigated thanks for that Michelle if you want to email us additional comments please do thank you now uh Natalie tigman Evan rabbits and Phoenix saloo Mr Mayor and council members uh my name is Natalie tigman I'm resident of the Goss Grove neighborhood and a graduate get a little closer to the mic there sure is that better you're lean down a little bit sure there you go and then uh yeah so I don't own a car I'm a graduate student I ride my my bicycle to get anywhere and living in gr GS Grove I

[33:00] have to bike along fome Street very frequently riding along there if you have on a bike is quite the experience it some of the intersections have riffles potholes loose sand and I found myself asking what is being done to improve this I ended up looking up and I was happy to find that there will be improvements being done in this section very soon and that makes me really excited at the same time I still ride on this street every day and I know that this project won't start for another two years so I encourage you in the future when you approve projects like this to also set aside some money to clean up the street especially in those bike lanes for those most vulnerable passengers thank you so much thank you Natalie now Evan ravitz Phoenix Salo I understand Megan Matson with Drew and after that will be uh Katya stokeley so Evan to quote some more from my formerly homeless friend Mike hner who went on the city's big

[34:00] trip to Oregon in 2016 quote at the tiny home Village in Eugene Argan there was a pastor in charge the grounds had few people around Boulder mayor Jones asked the pastor where everyone was he turned to her and said they're at work where would you expect them to be when people get housed even in a tiny home or a tent they can hold a job which they can't when the city is chasing them from misery to misery most can't hold a job either when they have to show up at the shelter at 400 p.m. many can hold a job although the city's Relentless persecution especially in extreme weather has killed and physically and mentally disabled hundreds besides bed bugs there are many good reasons people won't use the shelter and prefer even a tent you can't

[35:01] sleep in the shelter because of the noise the lights the smell the fear of being ripped off or molested Etc so let's find places for them to get their lives together like America did in the 30s with Hoovervilles across the country it's coming again thanks to greedy landlords like Governor Jared polus who has also promised to veto rent control to succeed the city has to stop lying whether it's saying there are always enough shelter Beds which the city had to admit was false in the ACL lawsuit or claiming that a campground would cost more than hotels as Kurt ferer has said at this meeting that's not a campground that's a concentration camp thanks seven Phoenix U Katya stokeley and Patrick

[36:06] oror hi Phoenix IO um I recently took a trip over to the thorn nature experience and got to have a wonderful talk with elder Oak and he shared with us a story of the work that he did in gathering so many voices and support and economic support and all of these things in order to protect the Mesa and um at that time I believe he said around the 60s or 70s somebody was going to come in and build a massive Resort in lots of houses and he gathered so many people together to protect the land bringing up the 1910 um green Bel felt and really bringing in a lot of awareness around

[37:02] the Environmental Protections in Boulder so I wanted to give honor and respect to all those who are speaking today on environmentalism aspects around Boulder as well as safety and um just give some honor to Elder Oak and the work that many many people did to come together so for this time around I'm just giving a call out in general just to really give emphasis around what it takes for us to come together and begin really stepping into the environment and saying that we are sharing our voices in this space so for any more projects that are happening in Boulder I would love more communal reach Outreach and being able to be part of any projects that we can so thank you very much thank you Phoenix now we have

[38:02] Katya stokeley Patrick oror and Paul tweedley and ma'am do you need a little assistance there thanks Elicia good evening my name is kutya stokeley I a Boulder County resident I am also a rower I Row three times a week with my team at the boulder Reservoir rowing and other water sports are fantastic for everyone there's physical activity there's getting out in nature there's working with and socializing with other people in your crew and these things are especially good for athletes and people with disabilities who may be isolated who may be experiencing significant trauma who may have fewer outdoor recreational opportunities so why do we not see more people with disabilities in Boulder County rowing

[39:01] paddling canoeing and kayaking there are a couple of big barriers at the boulder reservoir one is physical access there is a lot of opportunity to improve access at the reservoir there's a lack of permit parking spaces a lack of accessible restrooms and a lack of accessible routes to the water I do want to say that today I learned that ADA Compliant access mats were installed across the sand at the Docks that the water sport uh users use and I want to thank Stacy Cole Lena da and the whole staff of the boulder reservoir for installing those mats today the second big obstacle is cost and open times as you've heard opening the reservoir at 600 or 7 a.m. during the shoulder season would not just help with the exorbitant cost to the rowing Community but it would also be good for those who have to get to work those who might have trouble with crowds those who have trouble with the hubub of motorboat

[40:01] traffic and this population especially includes some in our disabled veteran Community I would love to see the boulder Reservoir make changes to serve our whole Community thank you so much thank you very much Kya our last two inperson speakers are Patrick oror and Paul tweedley good evening good evening city council mayor Rockett um I'm Patrick oror from historic Boulder tonight I'm going to speak a little bit about the process that's going on with the Civic historic district application um we submitted to the city of Boulder six months ago our concern is that uh phase two of the Civic Center or the East bookend is well underway and two reports have been issued uh first of all the RFP that was sent out which is a $500,000

[41:00] expenditure by the city of Boulder to reimagine the the Civic area in that RFP the application wasn't noted was that an oversight or was it intentional don't know but it should be looked into more importantly last week or two weeks ago which is when I was speaking here last uh you had in your packet an update dated September 20 21st of which it should have been comprehensive about what's going on with the U reimagining the the bookend or that part of town the application wasn't mentioned in that 12-page report um I'm not sure why it's is it an oversight or was it intentional um there's a thing called Drift when facilities doesn't want to uh have something happen they they generally tend to to eliminate it from reports and personally I believe

[42:00] that's what was happened on another note twice in the last 6 months the finance department has announced that they're planning to sell at one meeting it was eight buildings I think that was about at the April meeting and and I think it was two or three meetings ago it's the recommendation to sell nine buildings here in central Boulder is there an opportunity to identify those buildings specifically if they're historic we would want to know about it before it goes on The Chopping Block thank you thank you Patrick Paul tweedley good evening my name is Paul tweedley I live in Boulder I'd like to discuss the proposed plan I'd like to comment in the Pro proposed plan to look at decare here here in Boulder and it was originally a plant a daycare I should say for drug addicts here in

[43:03] Boulder homeless drug addicts to be specific the original plan was to Lo locate it and fome but you know the residents like they were not having it you know in May 50 of them turned up here and they said no drugs kill kids I know because I know a boy 18yearold Jack and I buried him in Mountain View Cemetery along there he died of a fentol overdo us the proposed plan where is the where is the money coming from this project I just read today that you know we've got a grant from the state the state that you it's providing 2.5 million to locate a homeless no no a a drug care a day care for drug addicts

[44:01] here in bould you know this is the state telling the city what to do they're offering US money and what do I want I'll tell you what I want I want you to tell the state these guys have messed up Denver and now they're trying to ruin Boulder as well I want you to tell the state to go stuff themselves to keep keep their money and we will decide what's best and Boulder drugs kill kids as council members it's your job it's your duty to protect kids and if you vote if you vote for this there will be consequences least of all perhaps ATI I will sign the petition to have anyone and let me finish here actually everybody only gets 10 two minutes Paul so we try to be fair to

[45:00] everybody okay one last sentence I will sign a petition for your recall if you do not protect our kids you can send us more in an email if you'd like have a good evening okay we're going to our uh remote participants now we've got Lynn seagull Bridget Hogan and Matthew Hannah Lynn yeah Lyn seagull um if I if you can't hear me say something immediately um I guess first of all I'll say once again this 8,000 foot house um 6.1 million bucks was put through the FasTrack called landmarks design review committee so that the landmarks board doesn't have to handle a lot of cases this is the house in 1940 and then in 1922 about you know the most that could have been added to the house was a couple ,000 ft it's 8,000 ft total it has not changed the it has not

[46:01] compromised the Integrity of the of this the structure to have this addition um I've watched ldrc for many years now um and there was a on the front of the house Facing East there was some coverage where you come in the front door that's all that was added not compromised it's a a architect of Merit um James Hunter and an archaeologist from CU that built it so why why do we have this kind of thing going on where I can't even see the lanmark design Review Committee recording they don't even record their meetings they say it's administrative a house like this 6.1 million bucks on the open space a rock house fireproof is just demolished like that without the environmental Advisory Board looking into it and you could fit uh 18 homeless

[47:01] people into a house this size and and we're allowing this kind of a thing in Boulder I I don't understand um the other thing is I was um going to the municipal building and when I was there uh $360 and my computer bag was stolen within 5et of me in the lobby when almost no one was in the lobby um they caught a city of Boulder employee hyping my stuff on camera and I can't even see the camera the video footage it's pretty ly your time is up but but thank you for your testimony you can email us the rest of your thoughts if You' like um next is bridg Hogan but I'm not sure that Bridget is in the meeting uh Bridget are you out there Brenda do we know I don't see Bridget at the moment I do have have a caller on the phone who I've not been able to identify so as we go next to

[48:00] Matthew Hannah maybe if that caller is Bridget you could or if Bridget is here with a different name listed you could raise your hand if you are on the phone you can press star n to do that um but at the moment we should move to Matthew Hannah okay uh Matthew Hannah you're up oh and the H did get raised so we'll go to the phone call the person on the phone next hello everyone my name is Matthew Hannah I have a road design concern on southbound State Highway 93 in between State Highway 170 and State Highway 128 traveling south from Boulder CO 93 turns into a three-lane road that merges at the crest of a hill right after the lookout two lanes travel southbound and one travels Northbound currently c93 southbound merges from right to left I believe that the merge at the top of the hill should go from left to right first the current design disincentivizes motorists to follow the posted Colorado

[49:00] traffic law which requires motorists to keep in the right lane unless passing many motorists Drive in the left lane to avoid having to merge at the last minute this proposed change which would merge from left to right would incentivize motorists to stay in the right lane while traveling southbound especially if they're familiar with the road this should make the merge easier since everyone should already be traveling in the right lane it would also make it easier to follow the keep in the right lane law second this proposed change would likely make motorists feel safer this is a curved uphill road with an unmarked merge Zone merging on this road is stressful enough on a sunny day and even worse when raining or snowing moreover drivers often go over the speed limit up and down the hill merging from left to right would force Speeders to adjust to the flow of traffic instead of requiring drivers in the right lane to account for speeding car in the left lane in order to merge merging from left to right would also create a lane of insulation between the northbound lane and the

[50:01] outer southbound lane in the interest of adhering to Colorado traffic laws and keeping Boulder motorist safe please advocate for changing the merge Direction on c93 to left to right thank you thank you Matthew all right I think we've got Bridgette Hogan on the phone so we can get Bridget forward please bridet you should be able to unmute you may need to press star 6 on your phone can you guys hear me yes we can great my name is Bridget and I have two daughters whove been rowing with CJC since spring of 2022 Colorado and Boulder in particular is not a place most associate with a robust run Community however in 2007 our community was blessed with the passion and vision of dedicated parent volunteers who created the CJC my eldest daughter is a high school senior here in Boulder she stepped into a boat for the very first time with CJC

[51:00] in April of 2022 in less than 18 months she has developed from a novice rower to a student athlete who has been offered a spot on the rowing team of four colleges including significant scholarship access he has accepted a spot at a division one team in Southern California growing offers a unique opportunity to participate in an outdoor water-based team oriented sport it promotes health and well-being these benefits align with Boulder recreation's mission to promote the health and wellbeing for the Boulder Community rolling is a sustainable low impact activity the reservoir has recently informed all of the user groups that the fee for the after hours use will more than double school hours do not accommodate an earlier practice start time for CJC this increases substantial and will be a material factor in determining the cjc's ability to continue offering progam programming there is no permanent infrastructure available to rowers and the reservoir

[52:00] does not offer any of the rowing or non-motorized clubs any Services of or facilities there is no boat house lights or bathroom facilities the opportunity to try rowing here in Boulder has been a life-changing event for my daughter it has the potential to have a similar impact on many Boulder student athletes but only if the CJC is able to continue operating with a user fee agreement that is sustainable for our members if the fee is doubled our program will be in Jeopardy I would like to invite city council and the boulder Reservoir to seize the opportunity to partner with invest in and support our Grassroots volunteer-based Junior Rowing crew and after hours sorry and provide student athletes in the Boulder Valley with ongoing sustainable access to the reservoir and Rowing thank you thank you thank you Bridget appreciate that all right that brings us to the end of open comments I'll turn to uh City staff to see if there are any comments thanks thanks so much mayor a lot of variety today in our open comment um and before

[53:00] I invite our director of Parks and Recreation to come address some of the rowing concerns and appreciate the voices that have been shared today um I just wanted to say follow up on a few there's been a lot of conversations about Transportation needs um and just want to say I appreciate it our director of transportation and Mobility cannot be with us currently until little later on but she is listening and says she welcomes uh some of the comments and we'll be looking into each and every one of them as we move forward so wanted to thank her for that um I also wanted to uh share I know that our investigators have been working with Miss seagull on what is a truly regrettable incident I won't comment on the details um as uh it is an active investigation but certainly we are looking to make Miss seagull whole um as her bag was um stolen out of our building here or taken out of the building I should say um and then finally just wanted to invite uh director rhs to come up I

[54:01] don't know if Council has additional questions I know the issue of um phase two of the Civic area and so forth the issues that Patrick oror brings up are known to council We are continuing to work on them but I know there have been a lot of conversations about rowing tonight and the person who best knows these issues is Miss RS well we have a great team that knows more than I do but I'm going to try and represent them good evening and Al roads and the director of Parks and Recreation um I have some comments prepared I was listening carefully to the public comment but if you'd prefer I can just take questions maybe start with your comments and we'll see about followup questions um first I just will thank the folks for coming to speak tonight I know coming down on a Thursday night is um not easy and I appreciate it I specifically appreciate the comments around accessibility it is a value for us that everyone has access and we need to keep doing better and we are going to be spending um even more next year to make the reservoir even more accessible to everyone Beyond just the ramps and the accessible docks so um I appreciate that

[55:01] you noticed what we've done and we're going to keep doing better uh as it comes to fees so first I want to remind everyone that the boulder Reservoir is first and foremost water storage for our community it is different from the Land of 10,000 lakes where I'm from where there is a lot of water that anyone get get on at any point our water is very precious and everything that we do on it while we value the recreation has to protect water quality first um we have some of the most rigorous water quality standards in the um state for protecting our Recreation access and um they are costly and they have so far mostly been effective um just this week I heard from colleagues in the city of Twin Falls where they are having to um insert a very toxic copper product into 16 miles of the Snake River because there are quag muscles and it will it's it's catastrophic but it's for the long-term health of the I just all that to say the water quality is first and and foremost so comparing the reservoir to other bodies of water where can you can row it's simply not Apples to Apples it's

[56:00] different here in an arid state where our Reservoir is water storage um next as you all have heard before and we'd had a study session in April we've been working for a very long time to understand the costs of delivering Parks and Recreation in Boulder and setting fair and consistent fees in April we got your input on a fee policy that the prab unanimously approved approved in July that fee policy will guide the fee schedule that we develop for 2024 and Beyond as a general rule Boulder parks and recreation does not subsidize adults adults with an ability to pay that's across the system and so for the rowers and specifically the adult rowers of Cu crew and Boulder Community Rowing that means they have to pay the direct costs of yes the Staffing that is there when they are there outside of ours but also they have to contribute to the direct cost of operating the facility the folks that work there that pick up the trash that operate the bathrooms that are open um when they are on the water the the

[57:00] flank season hours is absolutely a challenge in the spring and the fall most people are not going to the boulder Reservoir kids are not on break they're in school and so the beach is not open we don't have staff because um so many of our student staff high school and college age folks are in school and so we've aligned the reservoir hours with when most people go to the reservoir um 00 a.m. we looked at those pre mic numbers as we've returned Services we had to be very careful about both money and people and over 90% of the visitation in those early morning hours is the user groups and so those hours are not included in general operating hours and they are expected to recover the full costs those costs don't include any of the indirect costs my time the cost of Human Resources it um finance and it still I understand it's a significant expense we do have flexibility to work with um Colorado Junior crew but beyond that um to reclassify these user groups or to offer

[58:00] any kind of a discount would be unfair to the adults across the system that are paying full price um I'm not aware of us announcing a doubling of fees for next year I don't think that's accurate I know that we're finalizing the fee schedule for 2024 now and I know that we've committed to not have anyone's fees increase by more than 10% so that people have time to plan and to alleviate the burden and in some areas that means we're going to have to figure it out because our costs are skyrocketing the costs of Labor not just minimum wage and living wage but just this the incredible standard staff we have across the department those costs are skyrocketing but we understand we're trying to make this work with the community and um so I'm not aware of any doubling of fees I don't think that's happening and and looking at my notes to see what I've missed I think that's everything that I had I missed anything let me know thanks s i I had a question but did you not on this okay um just it's so if you

[59:00] wouldn't mind getting back to us with the details of the fees when when you're able to check on the exactly what those are that'd be helpful and then just one thing because I heard an interest in additional hours at the shoulder season but also you're talking about the uh how that's expensive so are the are the the hours the early hours happening but they're expensive or are they not happening because so right now our analysis so everything we've offered as we've brought Services back in the pandemic we've done with our standard business practices an analysis of who comes how much they pay um the analysis of visitation in the Years prior to the pandemic showed that most of that early 00 to 9:00 a.m. is the user group so that those are not part of our standard operating hours because then the fees would be spread to all the users the cost of those access the user groups are being charged those cost for those flank season outside of the operating hours but but the facility is open during those hours not they are renting it and they are paying all of the cost for that access so I meant something different by open it is

[60:00] available for these made it available for their rental correct yes but they're renting it rather than it being kind of paying the entry fee that one would pay during normal operating hours now I understand thank you for clarifying that other anybody else have something for Ali I got both of you I appreciated um your original your first question Ain and I just wanted to make it a little bit more specific I was hoping that when we have those fees finalized that they could show up in our um informational items in our packet sure the prab is going to review the fee schedule at their October meeting and so what maybe would be best is to include the October packet in an IP at whichever meeting is appropriate based on the timing when it's available that would be great thank you got Nicole then Mark and I think I brought this up last year when we were having this conversation but do we ever consider students as you youth or old it would take some work to analyze the costs of that because it

[61:00] would be another group that we're discounting and if that were the direction of council certainly we could consider that for 2024 y okay and is there another time that we'll we'll have to talk about that or well we're talking about the budget tonight and the fee structure is actually included in the budget so we could definitely talk about that tonight okay great thank you Mark uh thanks um uh Ally if we're not doubling fees do do you have any sense of where that impression came from it seems to be a a a misunderstanding on the part of of the user groups um Can can you speak to how they got that impression I can't but I can find out and get back to you thank you appreciate it very good any anything else for Ally good thanks so much for being here and then n's got another followup just one more thing that I forgot and I wanted to thank um Mitchell for his comments wanted to say that um I believe we'll be talking a little bit uh about additional lighting uh in some of our streets and

[62:00] transportations it is an ongoing concern of ours as well so just wanted to thank you for highlighting that and know that we will be working on it and just were there questions on the Civic area historic district uh I think just one can we get the information on the eight or nine buildings that are potentially on The Chopping Block make that public is that different certainly I mean I I think um we have brought and we have talked some of that with our facility's master's plan but I will follow up and make sure that we um share with you and I believe it was also part of the conversation in the July study session on buildings not me so much but the person Patrick who is asking for it absolutely thanks all right um naria you brought up the sort of bike path lighting and I had a sort of I had a more general question about that I noticed that the section between 30th

[63:00] and foothills is mostly across the university property and I was wondering if that's still if this the city is in charge of street lights in that area if that is something that we should um make sure is flagged for our University neighbors certainly and I um I'm trying to think now about the entire stretch and would have to get back to you on but there are certain aspects of that that are certainly part of the University compendium and or campus and so we will continue to talk with our University Partners we do already we have plans to think about lighting across a variety of corridors and we'll continue to partner with the university on it yes Rachel I think my first is the same as Lauren just asked like can we can we partner with CU in the same way that we just did for the 30th underpass to split cost basically for lighting some of those corridors and there is more than that one I think that's relevant there um and also wanted to share with

[64:01] everyone who spoke about transportation that that will be a I think several of us have have brought up Transportation um Financial improvements or or um giving more money to that aspect of the budget tonight so you might want to stick around and and see that discussion uh and and wanted to really plus one both the the path being dark in that area that's described also some other areas in south and east Boulder um and it is I understand that we have the Dark Skies ordinance but also where cars go gets lit very well and where bikes go and I think you're a little bit more vulnerable and precarious we don't light the paths and so I I think that that is something that that that needs to be prioritized um and also to Natalie's point about fome I mean that there is no way to to bike safely in the bike Lanes on fum at this point there are so many potholes and areas where you you're in that sort of Rift between where you know the curb

[65:01] kind of you know has one type of of of Street and then it it cracks and turns into something else and you I think I said it last week too you're either going to bump into the curb when you try and avoid a pothole or you're going to go into a car so it's a a huge problem and and vulnerable users are the ones who are going to end up paying the price um and then just wanted to invite uh Nua Maybe um if if it's appropriate or if you want to just to address Michelle Rodriguez mentioned something about the NAACP and um one of our officers and I don't know if that's something that staff wanted to um address head on but wanted to invite it thank you council member um I believe uh many of the concerns that um Miss Rodriguez was ringing up were really focused on an NAACP member so it would be inappropriate for me to comment on those uh particular comments um but there was reference and thank you Michelle for your comments as we hear them there was reference to um a recent

[66:01] article that we saw um in the papers and a letter that we received from the NAACP regarding um one of our Deputy Chiefs um and alleged um alleged misconduct uh as he was an officer in the Aurora Police Department during the Elijah McAn um During the period in which uh the incident and the death um tragic awful death of Elijah mclan took place um we have responded to that and in depth um I am happy to read uh the statement I shared with um the NAACP and those that have inquired about it but I will say that uh we believe that the that the characterizations um in in the letter that we received are inaccurate um we are thoughtful and being very careful about what we say

[67:00] publicly because the trial is ongoing and we would hate in any way um to impact the trial but we believe that deputy chief um red Fern's testimony he is testifying as an expert witness for the prosecution um speaking to his acts while he was um a member of the Aurora Police Department something that um he of course disclosed to the city when he was being hired here it is part of everyone's resumee where they were in the past um but his statements regarding police procedure and um his actions um are on the record and we stand by deputy chief Redfern we do not believe there is um any evidence of wrongdoing we believe that frankly were it not for deputy chief redferns categorizing this incident as a critical iCal incident we may not have seen a fome investigation and I think I'll stop there for the moment and again I'm happy

[68:02] if if Council would like to read the entire statement um but I will say that the city stands with deputy chief Redford and just for clarification you mentioned a trial could you just tell people what trial you're referring to the Elijah mlan trial well the officers who are involved in the certainly being pred for the for the death of I apologize yes um for those that don't know there was um an incident in Aurora and where I don't want to get into it right no I just just that the trial is is the trial of the officers yes because of their involvement in the and uh deputy chief Redfern is speaking on behalf of the prosecution against the officers involved in the death of young Elijah mlan everything that I wanted to say say um was already said by Rachel and Lauren but I do want to thank all the students and young people that came here tonight

[69:00] to talk with us during open comment it's always wonderful to have students and young people here and we listen and we appreciate your input especially in regards to fulam street by the way my daughter just got hit by a car on fulam street and um I agree with you about the lighting and we'll hopefully get something happening in the next year or two we hope okay yeah really appreciate everybody who came out tonight and for your um very perceptive and informative testimony so thanks thanks everyone and with the uh rowing folks we will be following up so appreciate your thoughts and with that uh we will move on from open comment and I'll just note before we go to our consent agenda unfortunately um juny Joseph's uh internet connection has not been stable enough for her to stay in the meeting so just FYI she's not currently in attendance but we hope it'll firm back up again and she'll be able to rejoin later uh so if we can move on Elicia please all right thank you sir the next item on tonight's agenda is our consent

[70:00] agenda item item number three and it consists of items 3 a through 3G thank you and I think before we get into that we do have I believe a short presentation on item 3D um so perhaps we can have uh open space director Dan Burke come up to talk to us a little bit about that and Emily we have a a little slide deck that we'll be showing tonight well we get we get booted up with the presentation um I'll just uh say a few remarks and then turn it over to Heather my name is Dan Burke uh Open Space Mountain Parks director and I'm joined uh to my right by Heather Swanson our interim deputy director of resource stewardship who will uh uh provide you with a brief presentation uh we wanted to take a few minutes tonight to uh provide you with a uh a brief overview of a review that open space staff recently undertook uh to assess our management approach over the last three years of of of the effectiveness of reducing conflict uh between prairie

[71:01] dogs and uh our osmp irrigated agricultural lands I am pleased to report that overall osmp is making tremendous progress in reducing this conflict uh we're restoring health back to some of our most impacted agricultural properties all the while we're continuing to support a very robust and healthy prairie dog population throughout our system which was a goal overall of this management approach while osp's program assessment found that our management approach is working quite well and we are making strides in reducing that conflict in our assessment of what is working well and what could be be refined staff did identify a few management refinements that we're intending to make to improve the effectiveness of the program and two of those refinements actually require Council uh approval and that's why uh we have an item on the consent agenda tonight and I will turn things over to Heather Swanson who will walk you through uh a little bit high level of that management assessment and then the

[72:01] two items that are before you tonight thanks Dan hi Council um so Dan gave you a nice sort of overview of what I'm going to talk about I wanted to provide a few more details so you understand what's on your consent agenda and where it's coming from next slide so perog Management on osmp lands has been something that the city and the Boulder Community have been working on for several decades and our most recent management guidance comes from the open space and Mountain Park grassland ecosystem management plan which was approved by City Council in 2010 currently on our osmp system we have over 5,000 Acres of prie dog occupancy and that's actually the highest level that we've seen since we began mapping on open space lands in 1996 the grassland ecosystem management plan lays out how we will manage prie dogs on all osmp properties and lays out

[73:00] areas for conservation which are our grassland preserves prairie dog conservation areas and multiple objective areas and areas where there might be conflict between prairie dogs and other priority Land Management designations and so th those are the transition and removal areas next slide and back in in 2018 and 2019 um staff at the urging of the community and our open space Board of Trustees began to assess very high levels of conflict that we were seen especially in the northern part of our open space system on those transition and removal areas where we have irrigated agricultural um production that happens on those least lands and so in September of 2020 Council took action based on the staff and open space Board of Trustees recommendations and one of the findings as part part of that discussion was that irrigated agriculture is a public Improvement project and that was important because prairie dog management

[74:01] um is regulated within the wildlife protection ordinance and public Improvement projects are one of the situations in which lethal control under certain circumstances may be an appropriate way to control Wildlife so at the time a special permit for lethal control and capture of the prairie dogs as well as for some limited burrow damage and destruction was issued um within the confines of the ordinance and this was confined to what was at the time defined as the northern project area which is this this piece shown on the map which is generally um Northwest of the diagonal Highway and North of J Road and this was really the area in 2020 where we had the highest level of conflict and we're starting to see high levels of degradation of our irrigated agricultural lands next slide so so as Council discussed what was called the preferred alternative from staff and the open space Board of Trustees next what this contained um was

[75:01] discussion and a recognition that irrigated agricultural lands are the best opportunity for agriculture on open space and Mountain Parks we also have large acreage of properties that are under different types of agricultural production especially um grazing on Native grasslands that was not the focus of this conversation this was focused on those agricultural Parcels that are reliant on irrigate irrigation water that's applied by agricultural producers so these are the best opportunities on open space for agriculture and reducing conflict on these irrigated lands warranted the use of lethal control part of the direction from city council was that open space and mount parks would undertake this removal and irrigated lands within that Northern project area I just showed you and described next annually we would re we would reload locate 40 acres of prairie dogs and between 100 and 200 Acres of prairie dogs through lethal control

[76:00] next after removal we use barriers to discourage recolonization which has the impact of reducing ongoing lethal control after removal next and we're undertaking restoration following removal on properties where the either the irrigation infrastructure the soil or some other aspects of the property are heavily degraded and so restoration is necessary before agriculture can be returned to the property next and in those areas where we haven't yet removed pergs or where parod do removal isn't isn't going to be happening in the um immediate future we're using coexistence to help control weeds improve or maintain vegetation cover improve soil health and prevent erosion and and that's done through a number of different um things that staff are engaged in including a lot of experimental things to see what what might work in the presence of prairie dogs um to meet some of those goals next and so since that direction from Council and 2020 staff have been implementing the program which has

[77:01] resulted in the removal of 4 over 457 Acres of prairie dogs from irrigated agricultural lands restoration complete restoration of 72 acres to agricultural production with another 290 acres in progress and the rest of those acres are ones that um already had a Lessie on the land and could just simply be returned to agricultural prod action without a heavy restoration need first we've installed over 71,000 linear feet of barriers overall the cost of the program has been over $1.8 million prog management and barriers especially are quite expensive and we had made a commitment in 2020 to assess the program after three years since a lot of this were was stuff that had not been done previously on open space and Mountain park lands to make sure that that it was being implemented in the most efficient and effective way possible and to look at any lessons that we might have learned through implementation next so we did do this assessment um

[78:02] earlier in in the year and what we've learned is that overall the program has been quite successful and is really functioning as intended we are making some minor changes within the management direction that we received from Council as far as how we Implement um things such as bringing lethal control in house rather than through contractors um which will result in a lot of efficiency and cost savings we also saw that the burrow disturbance that was allowed of 6 in did not seem to impact our perog occupancy at all and we also looked at current conditions across the system and found that there are also high priority opportunities for prog removal and agricultural land restoration outside the project area again on irrigable lands on open space next so we went to the open space Board of Trustees to discuss expansion of the preferred alternative systemwide and that really is limited to

[79:00] those areas that are irrigable lands designated as transition and removal areas as I said we're really not changing the management of our conservation areas at all with this program it's really focused on those best opportunity agricultural areas next and as we saw in our assessment not all of the best opportunities were within that Northern project area so at this point we would like to um have the opportunity to take to take some of those best opportunities to take advantage of some of those those best opportunities while continuing removal in the northern project area and making progress on those conflicts next and outside of the project area notably there are some areas where very small prog colonies have become established in currently productive irrigated agricultural fields and those are really great opportunities to remove remove a small number of perie dogs and prevent the conflict from becoming far more substantial resulting in Far More

[80:00] Parry dogs being removed and a lot more degradation to the property next and in addition to the removal as part of that that project um we're also hoping to allow that six Ines of ground disturbance that was allowed as part of the program in the northern project area as part of typical ongoing agricultural activity due to the fact that we didn't see negative impacts to the prairie dogs of that in addition with appropriate notification um for some specific circumstances 12 Ines of disturbance to Burrows um would be allowed next and so here is uh what appears on your consent agenda um what we what we would like to request of city council tonight um I'll give you a minute to read through that if you need to and I'm certainly happy to answer any questions thank you heather uh any questions for Heather or Dan on this topic yes

[81:01] Nicole I just have one question as we're moving to more um regenerative agriculture models for some of these spaces will that naturally help out with some of these issues that we're having it will so on those areas that don't have the prairie dog conflict that certainly is a great strategy to be addressing um soil law Lo soil degradation um and you know effective use of the irrigation water that we have um and so in a lot of these properties that is exactly what's happening after the prairie dogs are removed we are experimenting um with some coexistent strategies related to regenerative agriculture and there's um actually a one of our leses and a community group associated with them is working on um kind of fullscale regenerative agriculture and the presence of pradoo to see what strategies might work well and others that might not um but in general at this point it's after prie doog removal that regenerative agriculture is really

[82:02] valuable seeing no other questions thanks so much Heather and Dan for presenting to us on this topic um any other questions or comments about the consent agenda I got Rachel and then Bob just one on Three F which is the police oversight um Boulder Revised Code 1981 in our packet there were two versions um of the of the revised Ordinance one is the one that's being recommended and then the other is pretty annotated with recommendations from people who worked on it and um you know a couple pages of their thoughts and then some notes in the margins and things and I I don't know that that uh was sort of uh cobbled together in a meaningful way for us in the uh packet so just wondering will we have um a representative from that working group at our meeting for second reading and and get some time to compare and understand and so the community can uh testify and we can ask questions sure

[83:00] thank you so much council member um in addition to uh our consultant Farah muskin who'll be here on the 19th to talk through it we will have um representatives for our working group we've invited them as well and uh they uh will be available to respond to questions yep thanks Bob Matt um my comment is on item 3E which is a proposed letter from city council the County Commissioners I just want to thank our colleague Matt Benjamin for writing the letter on behalf of council and I hope that we um adopt it tonight thanks Matt yeah thanks for and just uh well I'll call on Matt and then on myself go ahead Matt uh thanks Aaron appreciate the kind words Bob I just wanted to reference that the um letter as was in the agenda for the last few days since posted has since been updated to reflect the edits that um our Council colleagues made at the September 22nd meeting um and the fact that the County Commissioners did indeed fund the day shelter so um edits

[84:00] by council member friend and others U have been made to that so just for people wondering where that might be it has been updated with such um and my expectation is if adopted on consent that um staff will kind of do another flush of edits and get it looking pretty um and then get it uh formal for submission thanks for that Matt to clarify the county commissioner's added funding for the um B shelter for the homeless correct sorry did I say day shelter you did yeah it shows you what's on my mind we live to make everything look pretty and uh I'll just note I was um just speaking with county commissioner Clare Levy uh yesterday uh the Commissioners are looking forward to receiving the letter and do plan to send us a response um after some period of time and so just want to check n are we going to tomorrow we going to kind of formally email that over once we've gotten this approved uh once it's approved we will certainly be sending that over immediately okay great thanks Nicole um so juny and I just wanted to

[85:02] speak for a moment about um item 3C the council employee evaluation process it's now an appropriate time to do that yes okay excellent um so Nua and Teresa um we just wanted to say we recognize it's not an easy job that you two are tasked with doing you're leading our staff at a time when we have a lot of competing priorities and fewer resources to address them all when we're pushing the edges of many Community conversations and often setting new precedents and when we're dealing with natural disasters and social injustice and systemic failures that make everything harder through all this challenge you both are fearless in your willingness to step into these hard spaces and help us navigate a path forward from this evaluation process we know that the nine of us on Council your staff and your peers in other cities see and appreciate the exceptional work that you're doing we all appreciate you both for your humility and willingness to learn and grow in your positions and your compassion and care for this community

[86:00] your courageous leadership is exactly what we need right now and we're very grateful that you're working with us you're here absolutely thankk Jun thank you for your your words uh Nicole and I just wanted to Echo her thanks and to let the community know how grateful I am and honored to be a member of this committee with my friend and fellow council member and to see the great work that our City attorney and our city manager has been doing on our behalf we know that it is not easy to work for the people of Boulder because they are very active community members and they expect so much uh from us and I can tell you based on the evaluation that these two Council employees have done such a such a great and excellent job and I'm just grateful to be a part

[87:01] of the committee and to know that the city is in great hands so thank you so much and thank you to all the council members for responding to all the uh the questions and we've send in over time and also to all the city staff as well uh for answering um the evaluation so I'm just grateful to have had this opportunity and uh thank you thank you mayor I I um I'll say I I was not necessarily expecting there to be a conversation about this um but I want to say that uh on a personal level um and I think I can speak for Teresa as well although uh certainly she can step in but it is a privilege to serve this community it is a privilege to serve what I truly believe is in partnership with each and one of of you on Council this work is hard and does not get done by only one uh side of the equation this work has to be done in conjunction and

[88:00] in partnership with policy makers and along with staff and I will say that I pale uh and I appreciate the kind words I pale in comparison to the extraordinary talent that we have in our staff team the leadership team and I I call leadership uh amongst the entirety of the city organization they are amazing um in all the work that they do and each and every staff member uh deserves all the credit for the things as we move forward so I am humbled by your thoughts and frankly humbled to serve this organization um and I'm really privileged to do so so it is appreciated um thank you ter I just see you unmuted there yes that's right um so I Echo n as sentiments it's a real pleasure to serve this community and it's my honor to do so um while it is challenging to serve such an active Community I wouldn't have

[89:00] it any other way uh certainly our team the the people um who work for the city of Boulder who have servants hearts and unending dedication and commitment um and put in countless hours and Blood Sweat and Tears uh really make this a terrific team to work with and and I really appreciate the partnership and working hand inand with our talented Council and so thank you very much for the opportunity and I appreciate the kind words well uh thanks for those words uh Nua and Teresa you are both exemplary in every way and it is an honor and a pleasure to work together so grateful for the partnership and wanted to say a big thank you to U Nicole and juny uh on the evaluation committee for this is not a small amount of work to get to this point so really appreciate everything the two of you did uh to get us here and with that maybe somebody might

[90:03] be interested in a motion on the consent agenda I make a motion to pass the consent agenda second motion and a second can we do a roll call please Elicia yes sir thank you tonight's roll call for consent agenda items 8 through through G we'll begin with mayor protim wallik uh my vote is um Yes except for item G on which I am going to vote no thank you sir council member Wier yes Yates yes Benjamin yes mayor bronet yes council member fuls yes friend yes Joseph yes and

[91:02] spear yes the cazen agenda items a through G are hereby passed unan unanimously with the noted nay for item G for mayor protim wall great thanks very much and if we can go to our first public hearing please yes sir thank you tonight's public hearings are number five on the agenda 5A is the consideration of the following items that are related to a petition to Annex a property at 3 30333 street with an initial zoning designation of residential low 1 rl1 is referenced under L 202-4926 setting forth the findings of facts and conclusions and we we have second the second reading and consideration of a motion to adopt ordinance 8582 which is annexing to the city of Boulder approximately 0.27 acres of

[92:04] land wonderful you all set wonderful we have uh Allison Blaine with us tonight and Council as always uh uh lovely and reminder uh that we have somebody who's presenting for the first time um and so I know that will be lovely and gracious with her as we go into this next item Alison thank you welcome Allison thanks uh good can everyone hear me great uh good evening city council and members of the public the item there we go uh the item before you tonight is the annexation of approximately 27 acres of land with an initial zoning designation of rl1 located at 30333 Street and to provide a quick uh history and background of the process to date uh on August 17th Council considered the annexation petition and first reading of

[93:01] ordinance 8582 tonight council is considering second reading of annexation ordinance and the adoption of resolution 1333 which requires a public hearing uh formal feedback from the public was received and sent directly to council uh that individual vocalized support for the annexation planning board reviewed the proposed annexation and initial zoning on August 1st and the board voted to recommend that Council approve the request uh the site is located on the western boundary of City Limits along Third Street between Evergreen AV and Delwood AV uh properties along Third Street have been annexing to the city for the past um couple of years and the majority of the site is located in area 2 which refers to land that may be annexed per the bbcp uh a small portion is in Area 3 which refers to land that may be annexed for preservation purposes uh the blue line also runs through the site and the area um 3 to the west of it is subject to an existing

[94:01] Scenic easement from 1981 uh which requires that the portion remain undeveloped and preserved in its rural State uh the site is already connected to City Utilities and will be redeveloped with a single family home upon annexation um however no development can occur uh to the west of the blue line um the applicant is requesting rl1 zoning consistent with the surrounding properties adjacent to the site the rl1 district is described as single family detached residential dwelling units at low to very low residential densities an annexation agreement is required as part of the process and annexation terms are written to anticipate any future development of the property uh two of these terms uh include um the area 3 preservation uh and conveyance which states that area 3 portion will remain in its natural and rural State per the existing Scenic easement upon request the area 3 portion of the property must be conveyed to the city and the second includes inclusionary housing uh which states

[95:00] that for each new market rate or non-aff unit constructed the property owner will uh pay two times the applicable cash in Luffy uh these are the uh three factors that are reviewed for annexation shown here um staff and planning board found that the application compliance with State annexation statutes it meets the six contiguity requirement and there is community interest Annex the majority of the site is within area two and has the potential to be developed and provides Community benefit in the form of cash and L fees and preservation uh and therefore meets BBC policy 1.17 D and last the application is consistent with the proposed Zone um as rl1 supports detached single family uses um all future development will need to comply with City solar and energy requirements as well as compatible development standards um staff and planning board find the proposed annexation consistent with State statutes the bbcp and initial zoning and therefore recommends Council

[96:00] adopt the following motion and that's it very nicely done uh any questions for Allison I am not seeing anything Lauren did you have something you wanted to say yes so I did want to make a disclosure as I've mentioned in the past I have previously done work for the property owners given the amount of time that has passed um and I I do not um feel conflicted in this matter okay thanks seeing no questions let's go to the public hearing we have one person signed up which is Lynn seel Lynn you have three minutes to speak I no longer see Lynn on the online list has she perhaps joined us in

[97:02] person I don't believe so so uh we will then close the public hearing okay and bring it back to city council anybody any comments or you know a motion I mean I can jump right in here if people don't mind um so I'll go ahead to there's two motions here the first motion is to um I move that we adopt resolution 1333 setting forth findings of fact and conclusions regarding the annexation of a 2.27 acres of land generally located at 30333 Street to the city of Boulder second and I'll just speak briefly that this seems very straightforward and it's a good good to bring Edge properties like this into the city when we have the chance so great uh grateful for the partnership with the property owners uh roll call yes sir thank you we'll start this roll call for resolution the adoption of resolution 1333 with council member Wier

[98:04] yes Yates yes Benjamin yes mayor bronet yes Furs yes friend yes Joseph yes spear yes and mayor Pro Tim wallet yes resolution 1333 is hereby adopted unly great I'll move on to move that we adopt ordinance 8582 annexing to the city of Boulder approximately 027 Acres of Lane with an initial zoning designation of rl1 as described in chapter 95 modular zone system amending the zoning District map forming a part of said chapter to include said property in above mentioned zoning district and setting forth related details second uh motion is second I don't feel the need to make further comments so if we could have a vote please yes sir we'll start the vote for ordinance 8582

[99:02] with council member Yates yes Benjamin yes mayor bronet yes council member fer yes friend yes Joseph yes spear yes mayor Pro Tim wallik yes and council member Wier yes ordinance 8582 is hereby adopted unanimously very good welcome to the city of Boulder um Allison I can't um I can't promise that every single one of your items will be this straightforward but but we can hope right thanks for joining us all right next public hearing please this one is maybe we'll need a little bit more time yes it's a mouthful so I I'll talk slowly our next public hearing is item 5B on tonight's agenda it consists of

[100:01] the consideration of the following items relating to the 2024 budget first we have the introduction of ordinance 8595 which is adopting a budget for the city of Boulder second we have the introduction of ordinance 8596 which is establishing the 2023 city of B property Mill levies item number three is the introduction of ordinance number 8597 which is appropriating money to defay expenses and liabilities of the city of Boulder and last is or is number four introducing ordinance 8598 which is amending various ta various chapters related to fees and tax imposed on non-residential development and legislative intent and definitions thank you so much um and I'm I'm so sorry to interrupt we need to start interpretation for this item um and we

[101:02] just need a moment to do that I apologize we did not get a chance to do it before the meeting started um and I would like to let folks know who are online how they can access the language of their choice so I am going to add our interpreters and then I will launch the function I am now launching the function and you should see an icon at the bottom of your screen and that icon um is what you click on to choose the language of your choice that you would like to experience this item in tonight I am just going to show a quick slide so that those instructions also appear in Spanish as we've mentioned I am not able to read them in Spanish myself but want to be sure that those in the audience who

[102:00] speak Spanish can see that also this is a good opportunity to remind everyone speaking during tonight's item including council members staff and the public who are participating in the hearing we invite you to speak slowly so that our interpreters May accurately interpret you into Spanish also we may have community members who are participating and speaking in Spanish this evening and that will be interpreted into English through Zoom um and you who are in person will hear that interpretation we will do it consecutively meaning the person speaking Spanish will speak and then The Interpreter will say what they said in English afterwards and so that is how that that will but it will also come through Zoom so you should be able to hear it well and we appreciate everyone in participating in Greater language access

[103:01] in our city processes here at the city of Boulder thank you so much uh let me just test that function please uh just making sure that our interpreters can hear me again we appreciate your patience as we make sure the tool is working I'm going to switch into English and we'll look for a thumbs up from both of our interpreters to make sure that they can hear me Rosel can you hear me I have a hand up yes did you need to check in with us rosabel or Kelly great thank you so much I appreciate it you guys are fantastic thank you for

[104:00] being here and again for um increasing our language access here for our business processes and thank you for this moment I'll turn it back over to you thanks Brenda so glad we're having interpretation services for this important item and so I will turn to Nua to get us started please thank you so much mayor I I just had a flashback of perhaps one day we'll be doing this all in Spanish first and then doing it in English uh at another time um or maybe that's a forward Vision not a flashback um I want to just uh thank Council this is um we're coming again uh to you with budget I know we had a large presentation a long presentation at the previous study session um but this is uh one of the most important um documents that we bring before you um for action I'll say that we want to appreciate uh all your comments and your um ability to let us know some of your thoughts about

[105:00] the budget some of your potential additions some of the modifications you might want to make so and then I want to mostly thank the finance team who has been extraordinary um alongside with departments that are moving this forward they were quickly able to um hear what you had to say get your comments and your input and um translate that I'm going to turn it over to Cara uh to really kick us off and I'll say that you'll note that we have um Mark wolf here currently in his same position as a budget officer we decided not to let him off the hook until the budget ended um but as you know he has been uh recently selected and promoted to be our next assistant city manager so thank you thank you niia car Skinner Chief Financial Officer sir and this will be a quick uh intro as Nia mentioned we did have a lengthy presentation of the budget of the seven September 14th budget session and we answered many

[106:01] Council questions and then we did develop a process for you all to share your proposed changes so I will shortly hear hand it over to Mark to walk through a very highlevel uh budget overview and then to walk through those proposed changes that you shared with us um but before I do that as nura mentioned um I just wanted to do a special shout out to Mark and all the contributions that he's made to the budget process in the two years that he has been with our team he really had the vision and uh developed an incredible three-year plan to implement the budgeting for resilience and really executed on the first two years of that plan so super thankful for that the good news is he built a tremendous team so we'll be able to continue that work as he uh shifts down to the tape building but we know where he is and we know how to get a hold of him so uh with that I will hand it over to mark thank you car thank you both I really appreciate those words and uh

[107:02] humbled by the opportunity uh super excited to continue to serve this uh community in this organization uh so much appreciation and looking forward to the challenge uh ahead um I I also get a chance to you know every time we're up here lift up the work of the budget staff as car mentioned and uh budget staff across the entire organization so um really looking forward to to doing that again uh this evening and walking through our uh 2024 budget uh briefly uh so as uh We've mentioned we've spent a lot of time with you talking through the 2024 uh recommended budget um tonight we'll touch at a high level on that budget uh and then we'll also talk about the council proposed uh changes uh before we turn to questions of staff and then we'll have our public hearing uh and then I believe council members will have an opportunity at that point to to talk uh speak to any proposed changes to the recommended

[108:01] budget and that is the agenda that I just talked through so uh at a high level uh the 2024 recommended budget uh is a $14.8 million budget across all funds uh as we've discussed before that represents a slight decrease over the published number last year that is because of a change to in how we are appropriating Bond proceeds so a better number to look at is the total budget excluding utilities which represents about a 4.7% increase year-over-year and then we talk a lot about the general fund because it is uh maybe our most constrained in terms of competing priorities uh but also our most flexible the general fund is a $16.1 million proposal for 2024 which represents just over 4% increase over the 2023 budget this slide you have seen before uh it is maybe the thing we watch the

[109:00] closest within the general fund is the difference between our ongoing sources of funding uh versus the ongoing uses uh meaning that the the ongoing uses such as Services the people that provide those Services need to have a corresponding ongoing source of funding so think sales tax or property taxes coming in uh we have been able to make a lot of uh Investments That meet Community needs especially over the past two years and including this budget uh as we look ahead and utilizing the projections as they stand today uh we are looking at a very uh constrained environment as you have heard uh over the next uh several years in the general fund we'll talk a bit as we have about long-term Financial strategy to hopefully help with solutions to this issue uh but certainly something that that we'll highlight um as long as this um issue process and that last slide pres uh was showing what would happen if um 2A as

[110:00] proposed on the ballot this November were to pass so that 0.15 expiring sales and use tax um was was approved to be extended uh this November uh we don't presume voter action in the budget so our our fund Financial for the general fund is published uh looks like this which is not a a picture uh the bottom line is fund balance after reserves and you'll see that number growing into the negative this is if the 0.15 is not renewed so that would mean 2A would not pass this November and then it would be allowed to expire at the end of 2024 so just to be clear there would would be one more opportunity in 2024 to renew the 0.15 sales and use tax if it is not renewed uh we are in a pretty dire situation in the general fund so just noting that that's how the the fund finan will look voters will have a chance to weigh in on that um this scenario would indicate we'd have to make some significant structural changes to the general fund as it sits

[111:01] today now to the positive side is looking at our 2024 budget highlights um we are uh excited by the many Investments that we were able to make uh within this 2024 budget this uh boils down a very uh complicated uh budget into a few uh highlights there are many awesome uh items that we covered in the last study session and hopefully Council and Community have had a chance to peruse open goov to see some of the many other investments in the 2024 budget some specific highlights include our continuation of Behavioral Health response um program dollars including our crisis intervention teams both The CARE andert program our non-law enforcement and co- law enforcement response programs uh funding in human services basic needs and Community funding including expanded Health Equity funding uh funding for Home Improvements uh at uh within manufactured home communities uh continued implementation of our

[112:00] community Wildfire resilience efforts including the implementation of our community Wildfire protection plan and new community uh Wildfire mitigation grant program coming in 2024 uh continued work in safe and managed public spaces including the proposal to continue the Ambassador and urban park rangers uh aspects of that program continued investments in our city employees this includes an update to the living wage uh to reflect our current conditions and wage adjustments in support of recent employee union contracts and last but not least um implementation of key Capital Investments especially within our community culture resilience and safety or ccrs tax including Investments at the East Boulder Community Center Civic area Phase 2 and uh fire stations 2 and four over the next uh six years and a little bit more detail on the 2024 through 2029 Capital

[113:00] Improvement program or CIP in 2024 the planned investment is 141 million 93 million over the course of the six-year CIP and that includes our ccrs investments has outlined in addition some significant Investments for Alpine Balsam utilities uh and transportation I will try and slow down for our long-term uh financial implications and strategy I won't go into uh long detail since we've discussed much of this with Council previously uh this is to say that we know we're in a constrained environment within the general fund uh and we will make plans to to figure out some strategies in the future on how to improve uh the Outlook uh that includes um having a deep understanding of our unfunded needs certainly we've talked at

[114:02] different points about especially core maintenance uh needs and also the Investments that are called for in many of our current uh accepted Master plans we will continue to implement budgeting for resilience moving towards data-based decision- making U that is a work in progress but as we continue to align and lean into that work we hope that will help identify areas where we make current Investments that may not meet our goals or outcomes in the best way um possible and so maybe there's ways to realign resources as that work continues we are in the middle of efforts to create a city-wide strategic plan we again hope this will help with prioritization there will be some continued engagement with city council um on that work and that will help inform the future of Master planning and ultimately replacing that tool something especially from a financial perspective could be more helpful and I mentioned um intersection

[115:02] with uh city council we hope that this these tools will be helpful in uh future priority setting and last but certainly not least is continuing work with the financial strategy committee and the development of a long-term Financial strategy uh we think this is is key to uh the Financial Health of the organization and our ability to make those key Investments and react quickly to community needs uh this work is also underway we'll continue through this fall and winter and we look forward to in fact a conversation in a couple weeks with financial strategy committee on this strategy development all right and as outlined uh on September 14th we did request uh a specific process for uh Council proposed changes to the recommended budget uh we asked for those changes to be submitted by September 25th that was so that we could include those changes in the

[116:00] council packet thank you to those of you who have submitted those we were able to um include uh in in the packet uh that that doesn't mean that that's the end certainly it is under uh council's discretion to review the recommended budget and proposed changes uh this evening as a financial strategy committee members outlined on September 14th uh we would like uh those um funding proposals to come with an appropriate um trade-off or a specific funding identification especially important is that the source of funds match the type of expense so if it's a one-time uh expense so only in 2024 cap capital in nature typically uh those could be supported through a one-time use of funds one-time revenues uh for on ongoing for services service expansions we would need to identify an ongoing source of funding so just noting that and certainly appreciate um the conversation coming later this evening

[117:01] um another example that if we do need a a large expansion or or different uh use of funds in terms of ongoing funding that we would need to be aware of that don't necessarily need to solve that this evening but just making sure that we're mindful of the the the source of funds as we U make potential changes to the 20 24 budget all right and I'll go through these quickly I'm not going to um get into the the merits of each of these Council proposed changes you all will have a chance to speak to that uh later this evening uh we have provided some additional information to help with the consideration of these changes and I'll just run through those really quickly for ease of um identification this evening U I'll speak to these as the number we've outlined of course responds to the number that we have in the memo as well so for for the number one council member folko my understanding is uh this is a uh realignment of current uh safe and managed public spaces or

[118:01] samps program funds to support additional parks and wreck Investments so that would be a budget neutral if those were um realigned within the funds where um those uh dollars are currently programmed uh number two council member friend additional payment management uh we will have a conversation about um the funding level and and source and we are prepared to speak to that this evening uh we do have transportation staff ready to go for that conversation uh for uh number three council member spear looking at um reallocating a portion of council travel budget uh to support additional dollars for Community connectors and residents so this would be a realignment and budget neutral uh number four uh five and six from Council memb spear are related to different uses of the SS program dollarss um give you a chance a little bit later to speak to that um again would be budget neutral as long as those were realigned within the funds that are corresponding to where those current Investments are uh number

[119:02] seven is from council member wallik looking at deferring uh spending on FAA related projects at the airport uh we believe we've accomplished the the spirit of that uh which we're happy to speak to without uh reducing that appropriation uh we can get into that a little bit later um number eight from council member Wier is looking at um funds for pavement um man additional funds for pavement management as well again we will speak to that uh and then uh also from uh council member Wier number nine looking at underpass uh additional funds for underpass lighting and maintenance and again we have transportation staff ready to speak to that and last but not least is looking at number 10 uh from council member Yates uh look for additional funds to support the ambassador program uh via the uh Central Area General improvement district this would be a net en enhancement within CID and we'll speak to that in in a moment and then last and apologies this

[120:00] categorization is not in your packets but I'll explain this really quickly hopefully this will help inform discussion tonight uh we've tried to um not weigh in individually on on council member proposed changes um we certainly will help with the discussion tonight as prompted um we thought this may be helpful and trying to categorize um these uh proposed changes in different ways starting with what may have more limited budget and policy uh impact number three and 10 starting with the reallocation of a portion of council's travel budget uh again our understanding is it doesn't expand the program of community connectors per se wouldn't impact um Council travel at least from a historical span so from a policy implication standpoint there's limited impact there and then with the uh proposal to support additional dollars for the ambassador program via kid there is uh kid as a fund can support that uh and our understanding is that does not represent an expansion of the Ambassador

[121:00] Pro program but to to um fund it as it currently stands so from a policy perspective three and 10 are a little bit more limited in scope um 28 and n related to Pavement management and underpass lighting and maintenance uh depends it depends on the amount of resources that would be requested in that area area we're happy to help guide that discussion we have some thoughts especially related to Pavement Management on what the fund what the transportation fund could potentially support and then um items 1 four five and six uh relate to the repurposing of the safe and managed public spaces program uh funds and again the the recommended budget did include funding for samps uh staff believes that that work um should continue and so from a policy perspective certainly under the purview of council to say you know what that program isn't working let's look at these other uh Solutions so just be aware that that represents a policy shift and we'll need to talk through the one time versus ongoing sources of funds

[122:00] for those uh and then last but not least the item number seven and again related to the FAA related project spending at the airport um if we were to reduce the the appropriation uh there would be some implications there but again we believe we've found a solution um that would wait for a policy decision um related to the airport before um pursuing additional uh spending additional FAA dollars so just as a note there um so that gives you a little bit of an overview of how um staff is looking at proposed changes and again we have staff from just about everywhere tonight uh to talk through any of these or other questions that come up and that is the end of our presentation thanks so much Mark and so Council here here's what I Pro propose um is for the council suggested changes that we talk about those during Council discussion including questions to the council members who propos them or to staff regarding um the proposals but to give under discussion to give council members a chance to speak briefly to

[123:00] each proposal then we can talk it through including questions so I would what I would say is right now ask questions that are not directly related to um the council proposed changes would be what I would suggest Lauren I would like to start off by breaking that role just because I have a point of clarification around um one of my proposed change um I think that you know as you were speaking to that slide um you suggested that it would have it would be a major sorry I forget the wording m a major policy change um did that take into account the fact that mine was not removing all of the Sam's funding as your what you said sort of suggested and apologies if I mischaracterize that um are you you're referring to the the one-time dollars that you were looking at um I was thinking that it would be um the $1.3 million increase that we made last

[124:04] year that's the part that I would like to take yeah so to and I I I think we'll get there um I believe we have about $900,000 this year proposed for 24 that would extend with onetime dollar is the ambassador program and the uh Park Rangers program um so so that those um those programs those aspects of the program funded with onetime dollars is that what you'd like to reallocate I would like to bring the program back to the 2021 funding levels of $1.8 million as opposed to to the 3.1 million that is proposed in the current budget got you okay that that's a helpful clarification and I'll have the team make sure we have the the right numbers

[125:01] for consideration as you get to that part of the discussion yep general questions Nicole yeah I just had a question because I couldn't remember this number and I thought maybe you all might because you're better at remembering numbers than me um if 2A doesn't pass and our original extension ballot measure goes on the ballot in 2024 as we were initially going to do for this year and it passes with a full renewal how much money do we have then in our kind of wiggle room for the next four five six years it's a good question so believe you're you're asking if um essentially the expiring 0.15 were to be extended as it currently is as a as a general fund on dedicated tax I'd have to look up the exact number I think it's between $2 and $3 million of of room uh annually from an ongoing perspective that we'd be able to to add or take on within the general fund okay thank you yeah that was a r where I was thinking I just couldn't remember the numbers thank you

[126:02] Matt thanks Aaron uh my question is kind of around the um budget implication for um removing um the samps and I think maybe Lauren's question clarified but I'm not sure that that represents everybody's suggestion with regards to removing the s's budget which is is I would imagine the utilities department is still going to have significant expenditures with regards to Waterway cleanup that is essential anyway regardless of whether the samps program in the form we've defined it currently exists so I'm I'm kind of wondering where the utility department is going to get the funds to do the cleanup that it's going to have to do regardless of whether samps exists or not um so I'm sort of I'm not understanding how it can still be budget neutral if there's still an expense to be incurred on that front hi council member Benjamin thanks for your question I I may phone a friend on some of the the mechanics I you are correct that utilities um will certainly

[127:02] have General Waterway cleanup needs uh I think we'd have to dive into the details if it were council's will to um essentially repurpose all of the the $3 million that about $3 million that is the s's budget um so that does include some work within the storm Water Utility Fund and so any budget neutral expenditure would have to be within that fund there there is also additional um cleanup activities uh that are funded through the general fund that are operated by utilities um so certainly that could be expended in the general fund of a repurpose but just to make the point that um for for the encampment management aspects of this program those are funded with ongoing dollars so essentially you have people in seats um for those um so either those those folks would have to find empty seats or we would be eliminating those those positions in order to reallocate those resources what regardless of what fund it is with it does that

[128:02] help no um I mean I get the repurposing I think maybe just the answer is is that is the expense that the utility department is going to have to incur to continue to clean up just absorbed other places or is there still some leftover money that needs to be spent there I mean are we to be budget neutral are we taking that money from somewhere else to sort of be budget neutral or is it actually an added expense and so it's not budget neutral I'm I'm I think that's what I'm asking and so we have Joe tauchi coming to save the day here and and give an answer to the question maybe save that thought until after I speak I'll give it a shot so I'm Joe tedi I'm the director of the utilities department and I I think what Matt is asking is if the if the s's budget was removed and the and the utilities crew the nine team members who do that work in their trucks and

[129:00] vehicles um went away but there's still some cleanup along the flood and drainage ways maybe associated with with with camping like how would that work get done and and where would that money come from and I think in our overall budget proposal we also have um five new staff members if I'm remembering correctly for the flood and Greenways program that are aimed at at maintenance and so we could potentially move some people around and we do still have to maintain the flood and drainage ways and um trash racks and things like that if debris whether it's from encampments or storm or anything those have to be cleaned up so we would still have to do that work I appreciate the clarification so so so really it means that we to some extent we'd be pulling people from doing work in other parts of the city in order to compensate for the lack of work that the samps would be doing perhaps along Boulder Creek where we have some of those acute issues is that kind of a

[130:01] correct way to evaluate that more likely probably moving people around within utilities to to do uh different kind of work but elements of it would be similar to what happens in samps and cleaning up trash and debris that's in the flood and drainage ways but not not probably not the way it's it's in the form that it's in now thank you for that you did save the day nice work thanks Rachel just a followup question on that so you don't think that we would we would continue to do that inhouse because previously we were hiring serve pro and one of the benefits for and I think it's a little bit broader maybe than um you know utilities floodway you know if there's people were on a bike path or you know wherever there's uh things stuff um you know needles debris whatever it is um would that

[131:01] still be in house and if so or I guess the first question is that still going to stay in house I think that may get to some of the proposal details and the policy implications that you'll speak to later and um for those listening serve pro is an outside vendor that used to help us before we had an internal um crew with the camping cleanup but it w that work that they did was really associated with the camping ban that the city has and so that kind of depends on on your discussion later in the night okay I'll ask lat whether there's a role for them or not okay um not seeing any other questions so we can go to the public hearing we have seven people signed up to speak in person and four people virtually everyone will get three minutes to speak um if you are um needing interpretation

[132:00] uh then that simult it's not simultaneous this what what is the term for it uh the consecutive interpretation uh there will be six minutes granted to so that the speaker and their interpretation can be incommoded within the 6-minute period um otherwise you have 3 minutes and our first three speakers are un I'm going to jump in and interrupt again I'm so sorry everyone I'm not usually this rude um I just would ask that the speakers please identify if they're going to speak Spanish before they begin speaking um so that we can't we're going to have to do a little interpreter Zoom magic that we didn't anticipate um so that'll help us do that in order to make sure that we can fully hear your speaking this evening thank you great so Alando was a little bit wrong but bear

[133:00] with me okay so that's uh our first three speakers are Ana Kasa iara Jamal Gilmore and salasi atasi Anna anak Kasa hello as you know my name is anak Karina kasaar I'm going to speak in English um I have lived in Boulder for over 24 years and tonight I appreciate the opportunity to speak and I ask you to please hear our voices we may not be reach white people who donate thousands of dollars to your campaigns but our voices matter or lives matter we didn't choose to be born in the places or circumstances in which we were born but we all have the right to fight for a better life to work for a

[134:00] better life in this country it is okay to exploit or labor but we when we demand rights and benefits we get demonized immigrant communities documented or undocumented mostly with mixed status families leing in Boulder working here paying taxes are F fundamental to the economy of the city and we deserve to live here but we continue to be driven out by the unaffordable homes and high rent thank you for allocating funds to affordable home projects but it is not enough it is not enough in different ways it is not enough funding and these projects are not really affordable inclusive or Equitable to our community as a whole take for example the project in Ponderosa there is approximately $2.3 million dollars allocated to this project for next

[135:01] year but I ask you do you really know what happened in this community the city came in with so many promises for the residents the city was going to build affordable homes for all the residents and the immigration status did not matter that's what they were told then the city partner up with Habitat for Humanity an organization that require a nine-digit number I want you to ask how many families were displaced how many families were forced to leave how and now the project has taken so long that families who may have qualified for were forced to live because their homes were in such bad shape they could not stay there anymore the residents who are left are tired of waiting and now they are scared

[136:00] because the homes being built may not be a affordable for them and on top of their mortgage they are going to pay a $300 $300 a month HOA so make sure that these families and individuals who are still there stay there please please allocate funding for affordable housing that would really make a difference in our community affordable housing that is Affordable for ownership not just for rent create an affordable housing program and project that is really Equitable inclusive and accessible to all community members thank you thank you so much anak Karina now we have Jamal Gilmore salasi atasi and jono palacos hero how's it going I'mma speak in English uh my name is Jamal Gilmore I've been in town for about 25 years uh I've been a part of the uh affordable home housing Pro uh property

[137:01] ownership program I did it twice it was uh I have some concerns with it though I loved it it was great I thank you for it um but the uh I think it's called the Ami I believe that's really out of proportion to what people are paid here in town even city workers so I think that should be lowered that I think that will help more people to identify or be a part of the middle low-income housing program uh I also think that we need to have more um advocacy and uh help when people are purchasing these homes uh I think they I think we as uh a community need to reach out to other community members that are our new homeowners and to be able to help them through some of the navigate some of the ups and downs of home ownership which I guess you know if you've been in a family that's owned a

[138:00] home before previously you know more about a home ownership just instinctually but if you've never and if you just rented your whole life you don't know these things and so I think um mental health around that would help out a lot not just like psychother stuff but you know just some just help out you know just get in there what do you need what can we do for you how can we help you further and when disasters do happen I think that we need to have more uh funding for people that got into a property where wasn't investigated well enough and that they have like mold or any health issues that comes out of this they can be helped with that as well uh I think that would help out tremendously especially in the uh affordable housing program cuz once you get into that and you have mold and you have to go into the house it now is not affordable at all at that point and uh if there's anything we can do about the raising uh the rise of uh the HOA fees in town uh

[139:03] some of that is it's it's kind of gangster is you know like there's not much more that's being done but the the value goes up and if you've bought into that system that is not affordable anymore uh that's all my time and thank you all for such a wonderful job I know it's really hard to listen to everybody thanks Jamal it's not hard at all people have great things to say uh salasi hero palacos and Tupac BPL good evening Council my name is Salas atasi originally from Ghana I've lived in Boulders since 2003 and this is my first time speaking to council today I am here to represent my African migrant community and I I appreciate you giving me the moment to share with you what my

[140:01] community is saying and feeling unfortunately my community has been shrinking in Boulder over the years due to socioeconomic reasons my African migrant Community is made up of family who are resourceful and resilient despite all the socioeconomic challenges and disadvantages that my community faces many families take take on multiple jobs to be able to cover rent alone while others also manage to take care of their families here in Boulder and also financially support their relatives and families that still live in the various countries where they migrated from from by working multiple jobs I have tried multiple times encouraging few community members to to whom play who play leadership roles in

[141:00] our communities to get engaged in local government so they can help make their challenges known firsthand to you Council and authorities in the city the response I often hear is this what's the point when it's not going to change anything or make a difference those in Authority don't really care I can't afford to waste my time trying to engage with local government when I should be spending my time and energy working to take care of my family the bottom line is that there's a significant amount of distrust between community members and local government again the general feeling is that the city has no interest in our well-being as a result commune members either move away or have little interest in engaging in the city's local government due to this distrust so today I'm here to encourage

[142:02] you to determine ways through which this community among other historically marginalized communities can begin to build trust in the city's local government I hope you will consider making room in the 2024 budget to provide IDE some economic opportunities and Financial Security that will benefit historically marginalized communities if rent and housing becomes more affordable there will be no need for parents and Guardians to take on multiple jobs I know there are Provisions in the 2024 budget addressing affordable housing and and I encourage you to do more much more of such Provisions thank you thank you salassi next we have hono palacos Tupac BPL and then Adriana paa palasio Luna do we have hanono with us

[143:01] tonight um and then how about Tupac BPL good afternoon City Council Members I am T Luna I have come to share my my conerns my concerns about what I think is missing from the city budget proposal in the city we always find many in the city we always find many resources for children I have benefit from them into I turn 18 years old as a young Al I'm on the spectrum of autism I don't know I don't find that many resources and support for me or I don't know where I'm where to find them what I would like to see is one number one C sponsors scholarships number two interships for the Youth of my age now that I'm 18 and

[144:00] a college student number three support on how to navigate systems and resources in the city mental health that and number for mental health that are not only happy related thank you everybody and good night Thank You Tupac we really appreciate you joining us and sharing that testimony with us uh next we have Adriana paa palasio Luna followed by Julie van dlin I'm going to read so I have my time hello my name is Adana paa Luna she here a and I want to acknowledge the city's effort to address the housing crisis but I think it's um it is very important to see a lot of different categories related to affordable housing

[145:01] in the proposed budget and also I want to highlight the importance of nonprofit organization being able to be supported by the city's budget um and no yeah like fa and growing up Boulder are organization with a long history supporting family and children in the city however this is insufficient nonprofits have emerged through history to cover those needs that governments cannot um cover and coordinated and Allied work is crucial in that sense however non nonprofits work with a charit charitable focus in extreme Pro poty that's necessary but on the other hand um I insist that is insufficient I believe that it's a potential for the city to create and subsidize a comprehensive program that actually allows all people in the city to access resources and services that ex stranden capabilities for self-sufficiency inves in housing

[146:00] youth well-paid jobs mental health and so on to ex strength people capabilities so they don't have they do not have or we do not have to depend on charity the Panorama I know is very complex and charitable organizations should be born with the idea of eventually having to see to exist yet we have not managed to do something as a society to achieve that and people continue to depend on charity it's very important that organizations that are getting the funds should Define accountability mechanisms to guarantee that these funds will be D Equitable because we know sometimes uh people have been denied their support depending of the case manager that is attending them so the government should be uh working very close with the organizations but also should be providing different other resources so actually uh the people that do not need to be on charity yeah we need a better Housing Programs to support all people thank you thank you

[147:00] Adriana uh last in person speaker is Julie van dumlin I have a presentation oh there we are um good evening I'm Julie just get the mic up I'm tall too um speaking in English is that see our interpreters coming through on the main line see I've not been made an interpreter so no I don't need it continue yeah no thank you um I I was keeping you out in case we needed you to interpret into English in the general Channel um but for now we need you to not interpret and I can put you back in the tool if you need to switch I'll go ahead and plug you back in Kelly thank you thank you Brenda so Brenda are we good to go with

[148:00] just English and having translation in the back yep yep go ahead thank you thank you okay good evening I'm Julie van dlin I'm the exe I'm the executive director at [Music] EA it really wants you in Spanish I mean give it a try it be fun in okay I think we're good Julie we do really want to hear from you so please please go ahead um okay good evening I'm Julie vanin I'm the executive director at effa the emergency family assistance association I want to thank the budget um of the city uh for increasing the funding for keep fames housed by 137,000 I saw in the budget and I want to tell you what you're going to get for that money um as many of you know but not all of you might know what key family's housed is it's a program to prevent family homelessness and to promote essential investments in families and children it started with the city Boulder and effa in 2017 and uh families with kids can receive rental assistance payments up to

[149:01] $1,000 three times a year the first payment is based on need only and the next two are um based on essential Investments that the family makes in their children for example uh visits to the doctor and the dentist visits to a financial um counselor all come with wraparound services and resource referrals from effa um next slide we just received our um pre- and post survey results for the last year next slide please that's okay I'll I'll keep going um that tells about the program's outcomes and I want to share those with you because the program has been fully preventive of homelessness um uh no family at the post post survey was experiencing any kind of homelessness about 10 to 20% were in some type of homelessness prior when they started the program um the families reported um reductions in difficulty paying rent and utilities the yell the

[150:02] Orange is um post and the blue is at Baseline um and uh I don't have time tonight to go through all the um impacts but we saw significant reductions in food insecurity as well as increased economic stability like less debt less use of pawn shops and payday loans when the um uh participants were asked what they used the money um besides rent uh 58% said it helped them buy more food 46% said it helped them pay off debts etc etc improve mental health improve physical health improve save money um this is a incredibly successful program it's much cheaper to prevent homelessness than treated afterwards um and it has a a positive effect on children but this is a budget hearing so I want to go to the next slide and talk about the financial Outlook of this program um since before coid uh households in need have grown

[151:00] significantly since coid it we did 390 households in Boulder um in F our fy19 to uh about 548 households last year uh rents have increased so the program costs have gone from 420,000 to8 178,000 the city pays about 300,000 and the rest comes in from fha's private fundraising um the issue we face right now is for a SE take a few more seconds since we had tech for $700,000 Budget we have this year we spent 300,000 in the first quarter so we're projecting a $500,000 deficit in this program um we hope to have a good fundraising season like we did last year but we don't think we'll fully be able to f fill that given the level of need that we are seeing that's about 7% of the households with families families with kids in Boulder came through our doors last year for this program um so if you have any extra money um I'm hearing you don't but if

[152:01] you come across any we we we' really appreciate uh increase in funding in this program thanks Julie and for the work that you all do I just want to say congrats on that that 100% outcomes that's amazing thank you yep right our um first three virtual speakers are Maran Shipley Gabriela Galindo and Lyn seagull cool hi everyone I'll be speaking in English so yeah hi everyone I'm Marian shiple uh this is my first time participating in a public Hearing in Boulder so thank you so much for this opportunity um it's really I feels so um like wow that we're having having these conversations with city council with the budget but Boulder has a lot to work to a lot of work to do welcoming to be a welcoming space for black indigenous Latino and lowincome U families from lack of representation and

[153:01] economic equalities to literally people not having access to clean drinking water we as a community need to do a better job celebrating and supporting our lowincome and bipac people together uh personally I've been Liv Liv in the city for 5 years that to me is not a lot of time and I just saw an insane increase of homeless people I live um near the river um sorry not the river the creek um the I've seen the cost of living being increased and a disgusting lack of attention to our lower inome communities um especially now as we know climate change climate chaos is upon us our people need resources they need protection people need a roof over their heads protection from the extreme heat heat and Winters I don't know I don't know if you know he is already killing more Americans than any other weather or killing people um more than any other weather related event um and we need access to Mental Health Services access

[154:01] to outdoors and of course more rization improvements to homes um I want to say too we can't continue to let our people suffer and quite frankly die from the consequences of systematic RAC ISM and again at this point climate change um yeah it's a civil responsibility I think we should all uphold together and with that um I think these programs are a great step again it's very you know like wow that we're um taking these steps and having these conversations and all good and although this sounds good on paper um as we've been hearing this evening it isn't enough um there there's constant consquences to these programs as in Ponderosa people are being displaced um we have families and people living in fear of being priced out of their homes that they've been living for decades and they um I Echo that there needs to be

[155:01] protection for those being displaced systems of accountability that actually hold weight Equitable income protection against higher rate U um higher rent HOAs and more um authentic engagement with these communities to learn their stories and build trust in relationships thank you thank you marann now we have Gabriela Galindo ly seel and Ryan shuart good evening City Council Members I am Gabriela Galindo and right now I'm sorry that I could not be there I wanted to be there um I'm in a community mental health workshop with my community and I'll come back to that that's one of my important points thank you all for being here in your time and hearing the concerns for the first time of community residents through the community connectors program I'm really glad that it that it exists that it happens and grateful to have connections with the community connectors I cannot overstate

[156:03] the how important it is to have Community engagement and I really want to shift that narrative from our communities of color and marginalized and indigenious communities as that we're vulnerable and that we don't have expertise and so if we shift that narrative that our input is incredibly valuable and that we should be compensated for our time and our efforts and the data that we share with you that helps form um for example this budget formation formulation and um and a lot of the times we've been approached in extractive ways and so I'm happy to see that Community connectors and many other programs are beginning to compensate us for our knowledge and our expertise in areas where we've traditionally been excluded from so I do ask for the funding that the community connectors and residents are asking for and for the communities that they uh engage with to

[157:01] be compensated as well and I also state that um you know it's really just I'm just thinking of wow it's really hard for one person to represent the needs of an entire Community I'm bilingual and I'm triculture and I just couldn't imagine having the work and the burden of representing one Community much less too and I'm also really happy to see the recommendation for community events to raise awareness of civil rights you know I feel um the work that I do at at government levels with CU and and um yeah just some of the community that work that I've been doing is really there's a lot more awareness around the atrocities committed against a rapo and Cheyenne people here in order to wrongfully establish Boulder and many of inst institutions here including the city council and you know there there's narratives that it's the past and that it's time to

[158:01] move on and I would really feel like funding these opportunities that have been presented to you by Community connectors and the community engagement is a is a real way to write some of those current and historic wrongs and so it's really important to invest in indigenous people's day and organiz there's so much land here and I would really love to see processes uh where that land is gifted back to indigenous people free charge and I know I have a few seconds left I'll just wrap up briefly but uh Community Mental Health that is led by community and I can tell you that for myself and many in my community that many of the mental health especially as we're in a mental health crisis would not work for my community so please fund culturally appropriate trauma informed and responsive mental health care and holistic health systems for your time thank you Cabella uh last two speakers are Lyn seagull and Ryan

[159:03] shuart ly seagull I'm 70 years old my taxes just went up $3,000 a year the sighting on my house is melting away because someone installed a gutter that aimed towards my addition that has Masonite on it and it's just melting um apparently I used weatherization in 2011 so I'm not getting any more so I don't even have air ceiling on my house yet I'm eligible for leap leap is this year not pay electricity all they're pain is gas so I'm stuck calling about 10 different other phone numbers to try to get aid for electricity um in 2016 I tried to set up my place to get solar and redirected my resistive heat

[160:01] which I never use anyway it I'm 45° in the addition of my house 45° all winter do you know what it's like to really live in Colorado I don't think so because I doubt any of you at 45° I do and guess what I don't want to go out into 30° or 20° when I'm already 45 Dees then I have some City employee stealing $360 from me when I go down to to an appointment with nuura at the at the city building when I can't even get my phone answered or my email answered as to the specification of when my 00 I knew it was one of the to apparently it had been lost but the only reason I came down there was for that only to be have my computer case and my $360 stolen um the library district that's $300 a year I

[161:03] haven't got money for that these people that have got um um HOA fees it's utterly ridiculous and I'm a single parent I had to pay a custody suit to keep you know to be able to bite my my uh partner for my kids and yet all I've done all my life is save every cent so I could get a house in Boulder in 1992 and still look at me 70 years old I can't fix the siding on my house you know someone that worked on my house came in ripped out all the ins olation in the old part the 1949 part of my house I found out he'd been in jail he had to get out of my job and now my house has no insulation in the part that was going to be finished into an attic

[162:02] so you know these are the kind of problems that you're dealing with with people that live in this Society my mom and dad met here my dad came in 48 to 52 from mechanical engineering at Lynn Lynn your time is up thank you for your testimony final speaker is Ryan shuart tting we can hear you okay great good good evening council members my name is Ryan shuart pronouns are he him he's speaking in English I am one of 10 candidates running for city council working to earn the chance to inherit this budget you're deciding on I'm also a member of the transportation Advisory board but tonight coming to you purely as a resident uh and first I'd like to recognize Gabriela galinda who just spoke um about the importance of community connectors and continuing and increasing our investments in that program and I enthusiastically support

[163:02] her eloquent comments um okay so next I'd like to spend my time addressing the matter of budget constraints uh I'm going to leave the details of allocating funds in your hands but would just like to speak to the bigger picture where in such a wealthy community we might find money in the future in short Boulder has a system of land use that despite some really incredible Transportation amenities is is still oriented very heavily around most people needing private Passenger cars to go most places most workers in Boulder having to drive in and we collectively socializing the costs of unnecessarily large amounts and unnecessarily large sizes Vehicles so I worked up a list of eight ideas to find money and I'm going to read them now number one replace parking minimums with maximums to create more potential to add both to our tax base and our base of user revenues to fund public transportation number two continue to have plentiful on street parking but recognize we are in some of

[164:00] the most expensive real estate in the country and ask users to start to pay more of their fair share for it number three accelerate Investments to drive meaningful increases in ridership of bicycles which cause essentially zero impact in creating Pooles and wearing out our roads number four make users of oversized Vehicles internalize the impact they're having on our roads number five make step improvements in the safety of our streets which will reduce the cost of enforcement and other services number six move some of our public process that currently happens around street by- street improvements to city council and makes city council be more of a heat shield for staff in order to free up staff time number seven increase service hours of public public transit to make that mode more competitive with cars which will lower the overall cost of transportation to Residents and number eight increase the headcount in our transportation department so that our staff has more time to think about Innovation around say safety Pilots automated technology

[165:01] and Transit and Behavioral Science in doing our transportation demand Management Programs so those are just a few quick examples that illustrate that there is money to have if we Orient towards a a plan of more Mobility options greater accessibility for all in all months of the year streets that are more inviting for people of all ages to Wi B and roll um and we would have more money both as individual residents as property taxpaying households and as a municipality and our transportation department could be an engine for generating it thanks very much for your time thanks Ryan so that's it for public testimony I just want to give a very heartfelt thank you to the speakers tonight I appreciated we heard from at least two people who had not spoken to council before and and from a number of our community connectors uh whose work is so incredibly valuable uh here in our community so thanks thanks to everyone who came out and spoke to us tonight on the budget uh Rachel do you have follow up on that I did want to just um point out that uh again we heard a couple

[166:03] comments about engagement and maybe ways that the city could be more uh inclusive and engaging and so wanted to remind people there is an opportunity to give feedback on that tonight through our better public meetings link and so maybe we could uh just uh make sure that everybody gets emailed that and also to the people who um spoke about affordable housing just you're probably all aware but in case there is a county tax right now and if this is something you're passionate about you might want to also make your voice heard to the Commissioners about how they spend that tax assuming that it passes um because there are a variety of housing types that are needed and and affordable housing can mean different things in different contexts and to different people so happy to talk offline but just wanted to encourage people to uh reach out to Commissioners and then last I just wanted to is this okay time for question well I'll just mention that's County tax measure 1B 1B um and yet the next step was going to be questions so uh for staff that isn't specific to the

[167:01] council proposal so feel free to ask one so just we heard about um Ponder Ponderosa displacing families and I wondered if we could get some follow-up information not necessarily tonight but maybe at the next meeting on what what happened there and and um if there are actions we maybe need to take as a city and I've fallen that specifically about undocumented commune members not being able to access that housing that's I had not heard that before that's alarming so if we can get the followup on that please absolutely okay thank you thanks for that Rachel okay um so what what I'm going to propose is that we go through the council proposals I would if we could get the slide that had them kind of grouped in terms of of magnitude um I think that would be a good way to address them does anybody have before we get into the line byon on this does anybody have any followup questions for City staff on anything else seeing none um why don't we tackle

[168:01] this so what I'm think is I'm going to as we hit each one I will turn to the council member that brought that forward and asked them to speak briefly please no long speeches but just a quick uh little bit of um what you're proposing here uh for Council discussion so going through this list the first one is proposal number three from Nicole yep so this came out of um some of the conversation we had with the community connectors at our study session where they were noting how hard this work is in so many ways it's not just hard for them but just to to listen to some of the stories from the community the second third fourth level trauma um so the the idea is just to give them 20% a 20% increase on their budget that could be used for um whatever it is that they decide is needed for um just kind of keeping themselves well and whole in in as as much as possible and trying to do this work great um clarifying questions for Nicole I I actually have have one sort

[169:00] of a question slash request which is um Nicole I love this idea thank you for bringing it forward and specifically you were proposing this come via reduction in the council travel budget um and so I was just wondering because I do feel like Council um does not get too many benefits and the travel budget can be helpful for folks to learn from other communities um and do their work better so I was wondering if we could consider maybe taking that $110,000 from another source instead um I I think that's fine I just being on the financial strategies committee what's the source where is it coming from all turn to Mark we really don't have much so what our options might be there there appreciate the question uh because it is smaller in scale So 20% of that budget is $10,000 uh first clarifying question back to all of you would be whether or not this would be a onetime or an ongoing expense um one time we could

[170:00] absorb $10,000 you could add $10,000 to the budget for one time we would be able to accommodate that um for ongoing there's a few different options I think probably the the most painless would be to spread that out across multiple departments we would probably Target U miscellaneous purchase services or something like that that you could direct us to to essentially do that generally and we would administratively find the room to do that since it wouldn't involve a budget number change this evening and um just to that point I would like this to be ongoing and not just a one-time um expense but kind of a a consistent increase to the program so maybe I could straw pole uh yeah yeah yeah go ahead question I'm just um into the mic with the that's I'm thinking of Julie's request and I'm wondering as a second option to give that so so part of me thinks if we could take a little bit from everywhere we can help Julie raise

[171:02] some of that money so I don't know is that crazy she's talking about I know but you know you just keep taking a little bit and it adds up like say you know like social Street I think we I think we could come back to to that question maybe t a little later but if we just stick to the 10,000 now it's not a kind of either or Rachel this isn't as much a question as a concern about um kind of lack of looking holistically like I have previously made a request that we um give some benefits to boards and commissions members I think we've looked at uh po um expenses and and or or you know lifting that up to include some of this too so it it feels a little bit like we are we have not considered this in the context of like all the volunteers that we have in the city I'm sure that we have volunteers that we don't even see

[172:01] at Council so we're not aware of whatever um you know labor and emotional labor that that they are putting in and that's kind of the answer that I've gotten for boards and commissions even though there are uh a number of people who really could um benefit from something like an RTD pass or even an email account like I tried to get emails and couldn't get that for our our boards memb so I I'm I'm a little bit concerned about not doing this as part of the conversation that we're teeing up to have I think around uh a broader context of how we want to make sure that we are um being inclusive to people who want to volunteer and give time to the city so I'm not against this I it just feels a little bit like picking one thing when we have 99 others and I'm not not sure that's that's fair got it I got Jannie Lauren and then Mark thank you I support uh this request and I hope to be able to vote

[173:02] Yes on it and my only pause was I didn't hear anything specific that you were asking Nicole um but setting that aside wanted to know um or maybe not know based on my experience with this Council and even with the prior Council by the way I see that my lips are moving and it's not moving at we can hear we can we can hear you fine okay good thank you so I do know that not all council members use their traveling funds so is there an opportunity Maybe to take $5,000 but then again the idea is that council members do not get paid much and if they want to build their capacity by learning from other council members from across the state and Across the Nation

[174:01] they should also have that opportunity and I know um and I can speak further at a later time on how much learning from other communities and from other Council members have built my C my capacity as a council person so um I would be willing to vote for this $5,000 and find the other 5,000 somewhere else because ultimately I think what you're trying to do is a great idea Nicole um but I also don't want to hurt the ability of council members to utilize the fund to uh go out there and build their own capacity as as leaders in our community and we know that's very important that we learn from other communities uh so that we can better Serve the People of Boulder thank you thanks jie uh Lauren Mark then Matt um I I could I I like this idea and

[175:02] I hope to be able to support it one of my questions is around you know if this could be kind of a pilot program like could we look at one term or one year spending now with the idea that we could evaluate it and look to make the decision about ongoing spending um in another in a the next year I guess that's a question for Nicole it's also kind of a question for financial strategy for Mark because I think I guess I was wondering what's typical in this kind of a scenario if running it as a pilot pro project could be um typical yes uh good question council member fol so I think one option could be to especially since um we haven't had

[176:01] a chance to have dialogue with Community connectors to um propose the 10,000 as a one time and work with uh Community connectors over the next several months and make a proposal for what that looks like maybe permanently in the 2025 budget so certainly an option cool good point Nicole do you want to spra to that real quick oh I okay let's let other people talk Mark and then Matt I agree with Rachel's comments I I think you need to look at this a little bit holistically there are any number of boards and commissions that really um we should be considering uh providing a degree of financial support if you look at what plan planning board goes through uh their their meetings are longer than ours in some cases they work extraordinarily hard um obviously the community connectors the people who are working on the oversight panel um I would prefer to make this a work plan

[177:01] item and and review this in total rather than simply um uh doing this uh as a oneoff um we ought to be looking at at all of the people people who spend substantial amounts of time volunteering uh to serve the city not just one group of people um and so I I I do think a more systematic look is is the better way to go rather than trying to scr the uh uh the $10,000 this year and I also do agree with with juny that there is a value uh to being able to travel uh to other places and learn from colleagues and counterparts elsewhere I haven't used my travel in in uh a couple of years but uh I certainly would like to be able to do so if if the opportunity presented itself that was something I could benefit from and uh I don't want to Discount that it's

[178:02] not I don't want to view that as some sort of boondoggle um certainly not when we're getting paid at the levels that we're getting paid um it's hard to convince me that that's an inappropriate um thing to be able to access when the opportunity is there um so uh I I I want to be in support of what Rachel said I'd look to like to look at this in a more systematic way um early in the new Council uh rather than simply um jumping on it now and and doing a one-off smart Matt some good comments um I I mean I support well first off uh uh in our community pilot is synonymous with Perpetual um so um I'm sure we go for a pilot but we always know where that ends up um so I I I think this could be a yes and and I and I'm curious

[179:01] about uh from a financial perspective I know we don't want to be I know there's concerned maybe about tapping the travel budget I mean for in I mean I'll be tapping the financial budget or the travel budget uh this November to speak in DC um but you know maybe it's one of those things that at the end of the year we make those expenditures whole that maybe get as as Mark wolf was referencing maybe we take a little and spread it everywhere else but at the end of the year if all of a sudden there's $115,000 left of unspent travel budget we feed the we feed that difference back into those budgets to make them whole again and and in which case we kind of it's a yes and approach um to that extent cuz I'd hate to see us not have that money for travel but then at the end of the year if we don't use it why don't we back fill where other where we sort of being the the expenses are being spread out I don't know if that's good Financial practice or not but I don't see any reason why if you have money left we can't use that to pump it back into the system or pay it

[180:00] forward right as a as oh we we didn't use 10 or $10,000 in travel 2024 okay maybe we pay that difference forward um in that capacity and just take those savings year in and pump it into these programs so I I I I don't see a reason why we couldn't start with the community connectors and then to Mark's um wallet council member wall expain have a work plan item next year we talk about more holistically I don't think we have to hold uh the smaller launching of this up in order to have a bigger holistic uh uh uh conversation thanks Matt so Nicole do quick response to to what you've you heard yep thank you um you know so I I did advocate for you know paying board and commission members as part of this last work plan I hope that's something um we can think about with the next Council but um I think with with this particular budget item it's meant to be a reflection of the unique challenge that people with historically marginalized identities

[181:00] face when they're working within our system and that what that's what makes it different from some of the other boards and commissions we have that are majority white straight abled homeowner um folks who who haven't faced those same challenges so so that's that's it um it's it's you know it's not meant to be it's just a small increase 20% we did a 20% increase on a budget last year that was hundreds of thousands of dollars this one's just 10,000 um and as for specifics the idea is really to let people choose what they need so we're breaking out of this mindset where we're constantly trying to control the small amounts of money that we're giving out to um folks especially people uh with historically marginalized identities and it's it's kind of meant to be a sacrif on our part so that was sort of why I had pulled it from our Council travel budget which as I understand we even pre pandemic I don't know that we were necessarily using the entire thing um every year but you know taking from something that benefits us and um investing in the value U recognizing the

[182:00] value of the voices that aren't here with us on the dis um and and you know it's I I hope it's an ongoing need um I hope it's something that we will try and we won't it won't go away but if the only way to get this through is a one-year pilot then that is okay thanks for that Nicole so what what about this which would be that with a with a onetime funds we can just take it from fund balance so there's no need to pull from anything else in next year's budget but Mark also mentioned how that could then roll into next year and a plan could come back to fund it with ongoing dollars in the 2025 budget and forward and so how how would that be as an approach yep that's fine thank you so thank you for that so in that case I will straw poll whether people would like to proceed with what I just said one time one year one time dollar and they'll look at potentially rolling in in for 2025 and on using ongoing dollars um did you want to say or can I just stopple stle okay all in favor raise your hand I

[183:01] got seven I think eight eight okay so we We'll add that to the list but I I do want to add like I I I think it's uh a little bit of unfortunate governance for us not to look at this holistically because we do already pay only Community connectors right now like of the volunteers like we we have um made that commitment and I think it's an awesome commitment and I totally support it and I think before we just continue adding we need to look at a lot of other volunteers and we have a lot of like part of our goal is to get community connectors to recruit people to be on boards and commissions and so it is very hard work to do those things and some of them are are incredibly emotionally challenging so I know we're getting to that next soon I just no yeah I just wanted to um to lift up we do in fact also uh pay a ipens who are um police oversight members um and I know that the issue of compensation has come up from many of you uh in the past and we are looking at that with a consultant we

[184:00] will be bringing that to you uh as part of the package of conversations we'll be having about boards and commissions in November great to say one thing I hope that it's just I think we it's fine for a one time but as somebody just said was that Mt how it one time becomes forever I really think we should look at it holistically it's just just picking them just um they do awesome work I just think we we really have to look at the bigger picture so fa point for next year okay uh the next one is from Bob about kid you want to speak to that Bob sure it's actually not from me this is from one of our boards is from the downtown management commission which is um suggested that we um increase the funding for are I think three or four year-old um ambassador program the ambassadors are are folks that with the B bright blue shirts that work primarily downtown although they've expanded now up into the hill um you might remember that this um program which started a few years ago is funded um from three

[185:00] different sources some from the city some from downtown Boulder and some from the University of Colorado and the ambassadors do a number of things including um interact with our unhoused people um in those areas um keep our areas um uh clean um some of the ambassadors um at least in the past have been formly unhoused people themselves um who have provided that service and so are good interactors with other currently unhoused people um this is as was stated earlier this is not an expansion of the program 103,000 that the downtown management commission um recommended rather um there's a little of an anomaly in our in our system as we talked about three weeks ago we're we're raising the minimum level of compensation for contractors to the city to a living wage of 2244 for next year unfortunately because um even though the city pays a little bit more than half of the of the of the cost for the the ambassadors the contract is not held by

[186:01] the city so technically it's it's a little b a loophole they they miss out on that 2244 and so the compensation that most of them are paid is actually $20 an hour so this $13,000 is being recommended would would um lift um these ambassadors up and they actually still wouldn't get to 2244 they it would get them to about 50 cents to a dollar an hour more for those ambassadors and so that's what our downtown management um commission has recommended to us I'm just the channel for that it's also been supported by downtown Boulder and so uh and and as far as the source of the that's the use of the funding $113,000 as far as the source of the funding it's my understanding that kid has available funds and I see Chris is here if he wants to speak to that um and so this would not be a um impact on on our general fund budget but rather um a supplement provided by Kid for that 103,000 to get those ambassadors up to $20.50 or $21 per hour thanks Bob any questions for Bob about the proposal

[187:01] Rachel I'm not sure if this is for you Bob or for staff but are they the you know you said they were sort of a a loophole that didn't get lifted up to the the wage that we taking everyone else who works for the cities is there anyone else in that category does this make is there are there any other people who've been Lo s might might ask for some help um so the living wage uh policy refers to a specific resolution where uh certain contractors were defined um by that resolution so there there's a whole bunch that that don't qualify under that resolution it's pretty specific to um contractors that would be a service that the city would provide otherwise with with in-house staff uh so so good example is uh janitorial uh contracts um Landscaping contracts um items like that so those other groups are not going to get up to 22 they're not covered by the policy I I

[188:00] I would say it depends on the type of service uh we certainly look at each individual contract and and uh work with our vendors to determine what is um what we can manage between uh the vendors U ility and and our requirements depending on the service uh but everything that's doesn't fall under that policy is individually reviewed I'm going to interrupt for a second to remind everyone to speak slowly and to breathe between sentences so that our interpreters can keep up thanks I'm a fast talker I'm sorry uh so is this distinguishable in any way is it because we partially directly reimbursed or something like that like what pulls this group into a different category that we would look at funding as you can see I'm trying to look at everything holistically yeah I don't know you want to speak to that I'm not sure I can I'm just I'm like I said I'm channeling this is the only one that's come to my attention um and that this again came from the downtown management commission one of our boards um I don't know if

[189:01] anyone has looked holistically across all of the contracts where the city is either holding the contract or as in this case the city is a primary fun of the contract but the contract is not in the city so I'm I'm sorry Rachel I don't have the answer to what other what other contractors either direct or indirect contractors might um have employees that make less than 2244 this is the only one that came to my attention uh council members I'm going to take Mr mesek up on his our Deputy city manager up on his um offer to maybe speak to it as he has the resolution open I know that we do have a variety of other contractors um I know Recreation has a variety of recreational contractors um that would not fall within this but Chris Mr institutional member sure uh good evening Council Chris Muk Deputy city manager uh in I believe it was 2016 Council adopted a living wage resolution that then got updated um but what the living wage resolution does is it it identifies who specifically is eligible um for the living wage program

[190:03] um and what it says is that it is uh uh applies to all standard full-time part-time uh and specific temporary employees of the city and also to City contracts for custodial landscaping and Emergency Medical Service Providers um so that's where it identifies those specific contracted Services um and so those are the ones that we apply the current uh living wage rubric too clear as mud thank you yep I might just offer I did look at the memo that adopted uh that most recent resolution and the rationale was that those were services for which we could inhouse and I think that that's what um Mark mentioned so we we contract for a lot of services that we wouldn't necessarily consider it to be an in-house option and so those were the three that we could have um provided

[191:03] inhouse any other questions for Bob y um I was wondering what other kinds of things would we use kid money for so you know there's always a tradeoff and I want to know what what that trade-off might look like it's a good question I will add that downtown management commission while Chris get settled did have a discussion about what some of those trade-offs may be acknowledging what uh council member Benjamin said earlier that our ability to do a pilot and then stop doing a pilot is is limited um so some of that conversation came up at at DM good evening Council Chris Jones director of the community Vitality Department we support the general Improvement districts for the city so yes as Mark mentioned this was a discussion uh at the downtown management commission we are still looking at this as a one-year continuation of the pilot

[192:01] and we are hoping for continued thought around the appropriate use of funds for the longterm because G funds we do turn to primarily for Capital Improvements so long-term strategic thinking around uh uh more Capital campaigns not ongoing um operations we lean on the downtown Boulder partnership and the business improvement district for the annual operations for things that make the place cleaner uh safer more welcoming through events so uh we're looking forward to the conversation in the year ahead um open to the discussion about kid being uh leaned on for ongoing operations but um hoping that at least for the next year will be able to continue the program great um so I might call for a straw poll unless people had additional comments to make on The Proposal mayor if I might just quickly just to clarify if there is Council support for this there would not be a

[193:01] need to incorporate the additional funds this evening in a motion we bring our general improvement district budgets uh in two weeks and so we would just note the change this evening and bring forward the correction uh appropriation appreciate that um I would just like to say that given that um I have the concern about sort of holistic and continuity I guess it coming from CID internally and it being a purpose that they want to use it for does probably distinguish it from the other classes that are maybe still stranded fair point I'll just call on myself the ambassadors are doing phenomenal work and I'd certainly love to see them get uh as close as possible to that that wage that other uh people are being paid so um all show of hands for who supports this proposal I got uh looks like unanimous okay that's that'll move forward all right uh next so Rachel and Tara made very similar requests for payment management funds would you all

[194:01] like to speak to that we didn't even compare notes we didn't um so yeah I guess I will just you know many times over the last one to two years I've complained about potholes specifically and this has not been a problem I think five and 10 years ago and this is a I think a newer uh issue in the city in terms of like I remember I used to visit Boulder and be like Oh Our roads are you know this is amazing here and and such an improvement from what I was um dealing with in Indiana and now we're we're feeling a lot more like no offense to Indiana but Indiana and so I I I just want to say I I don't believe it's part of my job to say where the additional funds should come from I'm a I'm a part-time council member uh and and I don't again I don't think that that it is within my purview to say what is the best spot to take the money from so I

[195:00] did not do that um I would say I think on sort of a a bird's eye level there are certain things that only the city can do and that we have a a chartered duty to do and that includes roads because nobody else can do that if we don't do that there are certain things I think the county can be doing sounds like there are certain things that the the state needs to be doing with its own roads that are in the city of Boulder um but I you know things like getting our water to homes safely and cleanly would be another thing that only the city can do and so I I I would like for there to be spots in the budget where it's like we're not looking at at the other stuff until we have established what is the the core things that we have to do and I would say that safe roads is one of the core things that we need to do and and it doesn't necessarily need to be from within the transportation budget that additional money comes from because I think there are some things that are less core and less safety oriented uh and less taking care of vulnerable users

[196:01] um throughout our our systems but this is just something that I think we are at a point where I was talking to someone this week who has taken their car in twice in the last month because of pothole issues like you know goofed uper car it is becoming less and less safe to bike and bike Lanes um and and so I I I just think we have to make the space for whatever I get that it costs more money and we don't we have not identified and we don't have the staff to do it but I believe that if we paid enough money uh we would have potholes filled or hired at a at whatever the wage needs to be to have one to two more people who are doing road maintenance we could get the pavement management where we need to and I just think it's a a a critical thing for a city to provide it's it's like a a number one thing that a city needs to do with taxpayer dollars over to Tara and and and we'll go to Tara and then I'll invite Natalie Stiffler um just May respond to this I

[197:00] think it's also an equity issue because I tried I can afford to fix my bike but not everybody can and when it comes to Sixth Street which is right where the Justice Center is I cannot go across I don't even think it's Pooles it's the entire street that is torn up so and that goes with Fifth Street and that goes for Fourth Street and it's just making it impossible to bike without harming your bike or falling off I already fell off my bike from gravel and from what is that street arapo by Third and so I feel like it's a big deal honestly on every level that this is what we should be doing the students also are really impacted because they do a lot of biking and it's it's uh just difficult right now thanks that and before I go to other counselors i' just invite our transportation director Natalie Stiffler to to speak to this if you wouldn't mind Natalie sure happy to good evening Council Natalie Stiffler director of transportation and Mobility um yeah I think you know

[198:01] there's a number certainly hear everything that's being said tonight and recognize I mean our staff is fing it we're all filling it that it's um the condition of our pavement is um um at a place where it needs a little bit more attention there's a couple you know we've tried to kind of in the memo summarize some of this information um we actually have an ebike safety memo and an IP tonight attached to your packet um which also speaks to this but it's a you know there's multiple variables that are kind of aligning together that are creating a bit of The Perfect Storm with our pavement condition um and and we we recognize that there's kind of the reactive need around potholes that we need to be able to address and that's really a staffing challenge for us right now um also contractor availability you know when when we can't hire staff we would look to contractors but we can't even get contractors to do the work right now um and so there's that kind of side of it and that's the more reactive

[199:00] work that we could be doing and then there's the pavement Management program and you saw probably in your memo tonight for this item that staff recommends you know if council is interested in investing more in pavement management that that we do that through our pavement Management program that's really where um we're making a long-term investment that um you won't you know you're not going to get kind of the immediate gratification of seeing the um resolution you know tomorrow but but IT addresses the long-term health of our system and and frankly we need to be probably investing more in our pavement Management program um to to meet the the needs of round level of service for our community um and and that's going to become that's going to continually become more of a challenge for us as the climate um changes and the impact that has on our pavement we're already seeing that I think that's part of what we're seeing this year um after the freeze thaw Cycles through the spring and a really wet summer um it was really hard on our system and we're going to continue to see that so um I think if we

[200:03] want to have a higher level and provide a higher level of service then we're going to need to invest more in our pavment Management program and with that you know we mentioned in the packet that with that comes trade-offs because it's a zero some game and um our fund balance is where that funding comes from and it means that there's less capacity to address enhancements to the system which is you know all the things that we like to be able like 30th of Colorado and the corial network so um I think that's just something to keep in mind and that's what we're keeping in mind as we try to put together a budget thanks Natalie just to when you say from fund balance so if there were direction to allocate some additional to the payment management um program what what would be the trade-off there exactly just less available funding for potential future improvements in other areas yeah and Mark feel free to chime in here too so so rather than but rather than you know not doing something that we have already planned it would be about reducing our capacity to add additional things that's yeah that's

[201:02] correct it it constrains it constrains your future conversations so as those as the planning efforts for the larger projects that Natalie spoke to uh that's where we would see see some constraints so I think what Natalie's proposal is is somewhere around that $500,000 threshold um would would be significant enough to make an impact again over time uh and would not constrain the the future um ability to look at those larger projects anything above that then you really start getting into that tradeoff conversation and certainly if Council was interested in that broader conversation would be something we' be happy to to bring back okay I got Matt and Mark queued up but did you have a quick followup yeah I just want to clarify like again we could give Council a direction that we would like this to come in addition to transportation from a whole different department right there's there's nothing that says we have to take from core arterial Network to fill potholes and do pavement maintenance right again I'm not

[202:00] I I'm not prepared tonight to say what that should be but we don't have to take from Natalie to give what we need for roads you are correct that I'm presuming that that is from the Transportation fund it does not have to come from the Transportation fund we we would need to identify uh a tradeoff especially if um you're thinking general fund right I've got Matt and then Mark thanks and Rachel I appreciate you bringing this up because I think this speaks to a larger philosophical um conversation or restructuring of how we think about budget the fact that we're kind of in the 11th Hour having this dialogue about what are the core services that that this city provides and what are the extras that we would like to do uh we hope to do but aren't core and when we look at the beautiful layout of open gov it'd be nice to know exactly what that is and maybe that's Council that defines what are our core things and what are the extra that we would like to do and

[203:01] when the core isn't being met right I mean department heads are having this conversation in like this early second quarter of every year about what's that next budget conversation and so I would love to know in first budget meeting are we meeting all of our core obligations and if not what does it take to and then what do we have like and then having staff tell us that means some of that extra stuff that we've gotten used to needs to come away in order to do that but I I'm worried that it's at the 11th Hour that we're saying yeah our roads suck and we need to provide more money for it like that that I I just that should be slid way earlier in the conversation because if it's a core need that should never come at the 11th Hour it should be done at the beginning of the conversation all the cor needs so I I'd like to know that and I think the community would like to know what's core and what's extra and what do we H do about that so I don't know if that's answered tonight but I think in the next budget process that's that's a philosophical thing that I'd like to see us build into it um but but uh but overall to Rachel's point it's important that we do the core stuff um and figure

[204:02] out where that money comes from thanks Matt Mark well I'm I'm I'm pretty sure that the maintaining filling potholes got to be pretty po uh by anybody's definition um and I'm very supportive of of Rachel's suggestion because that that is such a core function um and we hear about it every year um that we're not even maintaining our roads or our medians um and that that is really just a fundamental function of what we ought to be doing I have a question for uh Natalie um as of to day is your basic restraint lack of funding or lack of contractor availability or are they just intertwined no it's not so much intertwined um so right now we have funding we have capacity within our kind of Street Maintenance budget that

[205:01] addresses that more reactive maintenance that I was talking about and that's where we're really seeing our staffing capacity issues and that's where we're also seeing the contractor availability so we actually have some capacity there to address potholes but we don't have the people to do it um and and that's something that obviously you know I'm talking to the city manager's office and HR about and how do we kind of address that problem um we're trying to get creative on the staff side about how to attract contractors and like build relationships out there in the community in the industry um so but but that's a different issue than funding our pavement Management program which is that long-term health of the system um that that likely needs more investment if we want to provide a higher level of service in the community and then there just the final thing I'll say that is in the packet but I think it's worth saying here too is that so much that's wrong with our system in the city of Boulder are seed do highways and and we do not maintain the long-term health of those systems that's cot's responsibility we

[206:02] do maintain it on the reactive side on poth holes um but that's really challenging because we're we're basically dumping money into potholes on the SE do system and those aren't being taken care of in a long-term way um the most recent example is easto seot is planning to do East arapo next year from 28 to 63rd we all know the condition of that of that part of the system um but that's been six years in the making um and we can name other corridors right that need that kind of attention so I think that's an important piece that um even investing in the payment Management program doesn't address the SE dot highways and that's where a lot of people are filling issues on our system oh if we gave you more money today you might not actually be able to use it is that correct because of of Staffing and and contractor constraints we we have the availability on the other side on that pavement Management program we have Staffing capacity and contractors want to do that work it's bigger it's bigger ticket items for contractors so they're

[207:01] willing to come and do that work potholes are less you know smaller ticket items and and they have enough work you know in the industry that they don't need to bother themselves with potholes um but to do this right how much would you need on the pavement management side um so I think in our in our packet what we what we put in there was you know you could invest in another $2 million a year um that comes with Ser serious trade-offs on to our fund balance and the transportation fund um and I also think it's a bigger conversation about what is the level of service that we want to provide in our in our community um and so we set a a condition index number of 75 for our streets that we take care of um and and we are kind of meeting that across the system but I think what we're hearing is that that's an average and I think what

[208:01] we're hearing is that there's a desire for a higher number right like maybe it's 90 that this community wants and if it's 90 then we need to figure out what that costs to provide that well I don't have that number for you tonight then then then my last comment would be I'm I'm in favor of uh Rachel's proposals to provide that that funding um I agree with Matt that we need to sometimes make these tradeoffs and the basic trade-off we need to make is to perform our core functions and uh present our residents with a well-maintained road system uh even if it is at the cost of further down the line of more grandiose projects you have to walk before you run um and right now I'm not sure we're even walking so um uh I would like to uh provide you with the money that you need to take whatever

[209:00] actions are possible uh next year to U remediate the conditions the basic conditions of our roads because it it's just not uh tenable to continue on in this fashion quick response from Rachel and then Nicole just a super quick cqu it's so nice that people are supporting me but it's it's me and Tara point taken Nicole thank you um so I think one of the things that I'd like to understand is um how much of the kind of increase in pothole work Natalie do you think is related to increased volatility in the climate um because to me this seems like something that is going to continue getting worse as our climate gets more volatile in the coming decades and I am concerned that if our strategy is to take a bunch of money and direct it toward filling more potholes um this year than what happens next year

[210:00] what happens in 10 years um and so I'm just wondering about a long-term strategy uh for doing maintenance how that includes thoughts about climate equity and those kinds of things um because I am just really concerned that um if we are just putting more money in now uh rather than thinking with a long-term picture we're just going to be in a situation where we're having to do this over and over again and it's going to be taking more and more money yeah I think I mean thanks for that question I I think anecdotally it's what we're seeing it's it's kind of too soon to to really have a lot of scientific research out there there I I bet in a in a few years there's going to be more data out there that's supporting that this is um you know true for for cities across the you know country and across the world um and I think what you know we have what I'll just say is we have an amazing team of you know our capital projects team our pavement

[211:01] Management program um our pav pavement man Management program manager James Smith is probably one of the best people to be doing this work for us um and and and he will be thinking about these things we'll be thinking about these things as we kind of plan for the future for the payment Management program um and it's just a little bit too soon for us to really know like what is that economic impact it's going to have um on the system and how are we going to keep up with it you know from a as as the climate kind of continues to impact the the the pavement system thank you um it sounds like there's not um I mean this wasn't sort of a clear need that you had identified as something that fits into the overall strategy of how we are maintaining our roads and um bikeways and things in the coming years is that right I mean thinking about how to sort of add more to this particular program are are you saying it is identified or it wasn't so no it wasn't

[212:02] I'm just trying so so I mean it it has been identified we but but as I said you know we're trying to balance the overall transportation fund and we recognize that there's a desire for constraints you know the expect or for enhancements there's an expectation by our community that we're enhancing the system and so every year we're trying to balance what can we what can we do to take care of the system and what can we do to enhance it um and and so that's kind of what we're the puzzle we're trying to work with each year and so we took we said okay for 2024 we're going to increase our our pavement Management program budget by about I think we we increased it by about $500,000 already from over 2023 so we're bringing it up to 5.4 and we said in 2025 we're going to do that again we're going to bring it up for another 500,000 so we recognize there's a need I mean of course in a best case scenario we would have another $2 million a year I think we talked about

[213:01] that at one point through the ccrs funding that we would invest another $2 million a year in the payment Management program um and but the but the reality is is there's just it's as everyone says it's a constrained budget and so we are trying to just do the best with what we have within the transportation fund and and that's what we proposed okay so just to make sure crystal clear on this basically that this this next year's budget is already 500,000 over what it was for last year and you have a plan to be increasing the amount that we're spending on um on pavement Management in the coming years as well so for one year we do for for one more year 202 okay thank you um Rachel did you want to say I've got a couple comments as well go ahead great well um yeah I appreciate you both bringing this bringing this up and so I mean this this is something that I'm interested in as well I really appreciate what Natalie is saying about the payment Management program because

[214:00] um after a road is resurfaced there are no potholes right like it is it's making the system much much better in an overall sense and for those of us you know who who've noticed the repave roads this year year it's made an enormous enormous difference um such a pleasure to to bike or walk or drive along those and so that's making kind of some fundamental progress so I I'm hearing from Natalie that we could bump that up another $500,000 uh from transportation funding without seriously impacting our ability to take advantage of other projects that sounds really interesting to me um so that that's kind of where I'm going from this I I would be Rachel I hear you saying let's let's not decide ourselves maybe kick it back to staff and they can figure figure out where to take it from um but I we don't um we have a constrained budget so I I'm sure that taking $500,000 from another uh sector of the budget could involve some significant cuts to programs that that we value so I'm kind of interested in Natalie's approach here um Bob and then we can yeah I agree with with Rachel I

[215:01] mean with Nicole and and um Aon on this I I I think Natalie does have a a two-year plan for increasing pavement management um we're not where we none of us are happy with where we're at we're looking at the this is a fun group of people Colorado asphalt pavement Association there really is actually oranization and they they they rate cities with's called the PCI the pavement condition index and we are at 77 on 100 scale which is better than some cities and worse than others I think we'd like to see ourselves up in the 80s like like cities like Superior and and golden are but it sounds like Natalie has a long term plan I think Matt made a good point about we need to be talking about this in the spring and not in the fall um and I also a agree with um with Nicole that we need to have a longer term funding source we can't just be no pun intended patching this year bye we need to we need to think about this and and maybe maybe there is I mean this is Mark's right this is um you know it's up there just just maybe in second or third place after Public

[216:00] Safety as one of the principal responsibilities of government and if this is something that people really really want us to spend more money on and other communities do then maybe this is this is worthy of a special tax this is a discuss that we should have next year and if if community members feel that the quality of their roads is of exceptional um priority to them then maybe they'll be willing to pay for that um otherwise the buy is is only as big as it is and it's zero sum and so um adding more money to this as worthy as it is means we spend less money on something else so I think Natalie's got a good plan I think we should stick with it but we should also Pat's discussion or point we should also have this discussion earlier in the year and for Nicole's good point we should also have a longer term view I I got Lauren and then Nicole had additional comment yeah I appreciate um Tara and Rachel you guys bringing this up I know that this is a concern that's top of mine for many um and I also really

[217:00] appreciate Natalie the detail that I now know so much more about our our funding and our plans for that and I I do support the the plan that you have in place um and I think Bob what you brought up of potentially you know seeing what the community support is for this in the long term I also think that you know we did have a particularly difficult year this year for road maintenance and that might be what we see ongoing in the future but we don't know that for sure and so I I also think that we need to understand what you know how our climate is changing and how that will impact this over time as well thanks Nicole I just had a quick clarifying question um so it sounds like tonight we wouldn't necessarily know what we're saying goodbye to if we were to say yes to this extra is that correct

[218:00] that's correct there is not a specific trade-off that would be necessary and we would just need to identify or clarify whether this is a a one-time addition or an ongoing addition which have has different implications okay thank you so what what do you all think of this this kind of approach I guess just one clarifying question for Natalie I I understood your memo was saying we do need to dedicate some more money to this and then over like the next seven years we could be in a better place right like but if we don't take some proactive action things aren't really going to get better based on where we are budgeted for this year was that accurate yeah I think that's right um and I you know I'll just say say if if we went with just 500,000 for 2020 for I think it's worth having a conversation next year I mean Lauren you'll you'll get to learn more about payment management but you know we could have a more in-depth conversation about what is the level of service that is appropriate to set and how do we fund that um and so

[219:01] you know that could be more of a long-term you know Financial strategy discussion and and we can approach it with just 500,000 one time for 24 so so then what I'll I'll say is um then maybe we can straw pull or we got Mark with a comment and then we we can move to just very just very briefly I I would support the one time increase have I would support the conversation next year um and then we can have a much longer term plan going forward but I in terms of what people want I don't know about the emails that anybody else is getting but I'm getting plenty of emails that basically you're saying you know you guys are boneheads because you can't even keep the streets paved um uh so I you know I'm not really questioning the community interest in this topic um uh and I would very much encourage us to have that longer term conversation next

[220:01] year but if there are funds that we can dedicate towards this purpose this year that don't have a longer term impact I would do that great so thanks for that Mark so if I can straw pull the The Proposal is the one-time allocation of $500,000 additional to the pavement Management program uh all in favor and that's in addition to what was in the initial budget yeah so how many I I don't understand the proposition are we are we supporting what Natalie is proposing are we asking 500,000 over and above that so I could I couldn't hear Bob I don't know if his mic I'm sorry yeah my microphone was off I'm I'm confused about the question question so so the the qu the The Proposal that I believe is uh is to add 500,000 additional over what is in the staff proposed budget that would come out of the transportation fund because that's been identified by the transportation department as an amount that they could accommodate without endangering other projects and is that

[221:00] that what's Natalie is recommending well I think Natalie's I don't know if you're recommending it but you're saying it wouldn't impact other projects I don't know do you want to give a further opinion on it Natalie I think that that would be a good idea if that's what council desires very artfully put did they give you a whole class on that yeah um Tara oh you want to do your straw pole first I would love to do the straw pole so so is it now clear what we're what we're talking about okay so all in favor of of this idea right we got one two 3 four five six seven8 okay real quick comment um Natalie this might make no no sense whatsoever might be as bad as my last comment confusing $10,000 with $500,000 so just let me know if it makes no sense but I'm thinking about chiaka right now and how they uh told us the board because I'm on that subcommittee that those big Western Disposal trucks are tearing up those roads those roads up there are to you

[222:00] can't even bike or ride up there it's so bad um do you think that there are things like heavy trucks besides just the snow and ice that are affecting um our roads as well or do you think that's not have anything to do with it I think heavy trucks definitely impacts the the pavement condition um and it's you know I wonder if we can get funding from heavy from The Heavy Truck World the industry and I just wonder if we might focus our comments on the specific proposals oh yeah okay in front of us tonight um and I'll just note I I looked up can we get some of the money I looked up um Bob's the the asphalt um group that has all the numbers and so we're at 77 their number of communities in the 40s and 30s I won't shame them by mentioning their name here but who there's some cities who are doing a lot worse than we are so just FYI folks but we have to aspired to be Sheridan Colorado which has a 94 score they're also like two square miles so it's been

[223:02] easier but anyway good for Sheridan all right um I just said we should focus our comments on what we's in front of us so I should probably do that okay so um uh Tara has another um proposal on this about this is I think also one should be one of our core services for a city uh I VOD through a bike tunnel that was completely dark there was not one light that worked in it so what I'm asking is not for the greatest ever lighting like we have at 30th at our new underpass which is so great but I feel like as a city we should fix the dark the tunnels the underpasses that are now completely dark at least and that's a core service especially for CU students that are walking through those tunnels uh sorry underpasses at night and our tunnels are so dark that it takes what is that night sky to a whole different level Matt did you like that one okay so that's my request is that we can at least fix the

[224:01] completely dark underpasses and I guess so questions for Tara do do we have a a a dollar amount uh in mind here or or where it's coming from or I have no idea listen Rachel and I did a free check we did a free ride along we went through every single underpass in this city and we we have a very extensive report that we're not charging you for the city of Boulder so so but I can't tell you how much that will cost I'm just asking just to fix what is completely broken I know that it's retrofitted Natalie I understand that I know it's expensive sure question from Rachel and then I might turn to Natalie for thoughts I am wondering what's already in like coming down the pike on this and and it may be nothing but I just want to know because I thought Nia you mentioned that we were working on some things maybe Natalie or nura whoever whoever can answer that also what is is see you looking at things with us and and I think I would

[225:01] probably broaden it a little bit to just areas that are on really dark paths at night cuz I will say bike lights don't really get you as far as need to go with good safe lighting sometimes in some spots um I have to say that I have really enjoyed this conversation tonight where we've been focusing on core services and foundational Services because we've been talking a lot about what that looks like um as we move forward and there will be a lot of conversations about what expectations are and um in our community for a variety of things um as we move forward uh I'll invite Natalie and Joe if they want to talk about it but what I was referencing a little bit lat later I know that we have been talking about um additional lighting maybe painting um some additional ways to make some of the underpasses a little safer uh as we move forward and know that there have been conversations about what we can do this year and perhaps what we can do next year and so I'll leave it to Joe or Natalie to see um how you want to add to

[226:01] what is perhaps your thought on what's coming down the pike what you all have been thinking about and then we'll also always have to think about how we pay for that I can't see the room so Joe do you want me to start and then we can Joe says yes Joe's still sitting down okay um well so I'll start with just saying we we have um 12 locations that are lit 247 20 we have 12 underpasses on the system that are lit 247 um today and then we have and we spend about 207 $27,000 a year on the energy cost to light the underpasses um and that's in total so for the ones that we just do From Dusk to Dawn um we spend $27,000 a year if we wanted to uh go to 247 lighting for all

[227:03] underpasses that would cost us $30,000 another $30,000 per year um so that's an option I think to put out there if we think that um the existing underpasses and and the lighting that we have available there if we want to keep those lit that's a potential option um around the something that we tried this year that um anecdotally it sounds like has been um somewhat successful I mean we we didn't really conduct a full evaluation of it but we painted an underpass with um just white paint to ease that transition from the brightness of the sun into the underpass um and anecdotally we're hearing that that it does seem to improve kind of that experience for your eyes to adjust as they as you enter into the underpass um so there's a there's a possibility to do more of that um I'll say that that was

[228:00] fairly expensive for what we we thought you know we were doing I think we spent $115,000 just painting the the underpass and our concern with that paint which hasn't been an issue yet but our concern was that it would attract um graffiti and um but that hasn't apparently that hasn't been an issue yet so but that's something to keep in mind that as we expand that it may require more maintenance um and and that's just obviously more of a funding need so um so there's an option to expand that you know we could do uh an expansion of a few more underpasses with paint we could uh do 247 lighting um to us those are kind of the two options we also do quarterly inspections right now um and we do that within kind of the the constraints of our current budget if we wanted to increase our inspections if we feel like you know we're not addressing the issues that are happening out in the system quickly enough you know as you

[229:01] just mentioned there was there was you know outages under an underpass that you visited um we we really tried to do those quarterly inspections and then rely on as people um just submit tickets to us that's how we fix those issues so if we want more inspections that obviously comes with a cost um but that's another option where I think we see where we could have a increased level of service and then finally just the retrofits I know that that's been an interest and and I'll just say that that's very challenging the to be able to retrofit existing underpasses that that all that conduit was built into the concrete of that underpass um it would be a massive infrastructure project and and and we do not have the capacity to to take something on like that right now Joe did you want to add to that uh yeah just just a little bit that was a

[230:01] good report from Natalie on the numbers and and what's involved I would just add that this comes up um for some of the samps work and the the encroachments on the underpasses and and people sleeping and and living and kind of being stationary there and so the lighting and the the paint definitely helps with that issue uh just for the safety and Natalie and I have had conversations around that there's also um for some of the uh underpasses a utilities function of flood conveyance so we can certainly continue to have discussions and and think about where funding would come from in future budgets so um thanks for that I guess I would start off with a question so Natalie you presented some options of steps to take that that can help with this and some like the retrofit is really just not it's just Out Of Reach but the others seem relatively doable if

[231:01] we were interested in doing more of that we just we just tapped the transportation fund right for some other things what what are our options do we have some incremental capacity in in this area yeah I mean and Mark certainly jump in here I think from from kind of my perspective of the fund balance that something the 30,000 is something that we could um we could take on if we wanted to go to 24/7 lighting and then um we could look at expanding a couple additional underpasses um you know say that's another 30,000 so we're looking at maybe 60,000 but Mark I don't know if you have other thoughts on that as far as just the capacity of the fund balance yeah again um just clarify whether or not it's ongoing or one time um or what portions would be ongoing one time um in in either scenario we feel pretty confident as council's aware we did the dedicated funding analysis and provided some summary results of that the transportation fund could could

[232:00] support that um whether that's 30 or $60,000 so Tara how is how is that sounding to you is did did you so happy with that I really am I'm not asking for much I just want to like no I'd be happy with that I would and there there was 30 and 60,000 were mentioned as numbers to well I guess Natalie do you think that it's silly to paint the underpasses before you see how this first one goes I don't want to waste your money with my dreams well I think you know I I think what we should do is probably do a bit of an analysis have the team take a look at it and just really make sure that this is something that we would want to expand um so we can have the flexibility to do that next year um that's something that I think we could we could do if that's something we decide based on kind of an

[233:00] evaluation so then 31st and then evaluate yeah Yes sounds good so one if I can straple this is that right with folks right so straple the additional 30,000 spending in these underpass improvements say yeah Nicole question first though and so where is what is cutting then what is or Natalie this is what you're going to look at as decide what where this is going to come from yeah for this one it would just it would just come from the fund balance okay great yeah to to clar yeah so other things are not being cut and to folks who are following this just this is all within the transportation fund balance right so it's not like we're taking money from other things or that could be used for things other than Transportation it's all just within Transportation so all in favor of that additional Direction I got nine okay um so there there's that very good um thanks for

[234:01] that terara so uh Now we move on to the significant policy implications I'm going to do a take a look at our time we're coming up on 10 o' we got the the uh some of the bigger ones here to visit with so I just keep everybody in mind that we're it's getting later um and then I just wondered uh one of them is from Mark about the fa related projects but it sounds like you'll have kind of taken this off the table as an issue did did I understand that correctly yeah and I'll let council member Wallock speak to it I believe uh he and uh Natalie had a conversation U so that we would not need to reduce that appropriation but I want to make sure I'm characterizing that correctly people don't mind if I jump to this because it seems like it might be simpler than we might have thought I am perfectly content with what Natalie has uh proposed no conversation is required great so in other words specifically we wouldn't expand FAA funds until we had made a policy decision as a community in Council that's correct and I think that's a great solution uh as I said no further

[235:01] conversation is necessary U at least by my standards okay great since I don't know what the compromise struck was I just want to know by not taking this money will we then have to take money from transportation in two years because we didn't pay for basically the pavement management at the airport while we could have gotten the funds and we'll still presumably have to keep them so I think I think it's just we would defer accepting the grants until after the community had decided whether we are moving forward with the airport as a use it still doesn't answer my question though like so let's say right now there's something that has to be done at the airport that okay I'll look to Natalie then so Natalie can could you address that please sure so we are not we're not needing to defer any projects um and we don't plan to take anything out of the CIP we will have we will get through q1 with the community conversation and then we'll continue

[236:02] furthering the projects in the CIP at the airport um if that's the result of the conversation from Council okay thanks the transportation fund is not being impacted thanks did you have some on that Bob if we're done with that I wanted to make a maybe a process suggestion since items 1 14 five and six all relate to um reducing some of the samp's funding I wonder if we could have a quick discussion about whether there is a majority interest I'm sure the the uses of the funds are all good ones we can certainly hear about those but if there's if there's not um a majority in Council that um would like to reduce the Sam funding that realizing that could could shorten the conversation yeah well I would like to give Lauren and Nicole a chance to describe what they're proposing but we could then you know move yeah after we hear those proposals maybe maybe we could have a quick discussion about whether there's an interest in reducing

[237:01] stamp's funding and and then if there is then we can go proposal by proposal to see what what money could be reallocated if there's not then might be kind of the end of the discussion Fair Point okay so uh Lauren do you want to your your number one on this one do you want to describe yours and then Nicole will turn to you to for you describe your ideas I think since Nicole's were a little bit more um encompassing I was thinking that it might make sense for her to go first and then sure I'll follow sure um so we have a lot of alternative things that we could invest in to try to end the camping in our public spaces and minimize the impacts that camping is having on our Creek paths and public spaces we've been trying to get rid of homeless encampments by sending teams and trucks to clean after up after people um repeatedly and we're now spending over $3 million a year on this work when we just heard an hour maybe two at this point ago um about the dire need that so many in our community are having with not being able to afford food not being

[238:01] able to afford housing um and and so many other things so you know we know from research these encampment cleanup um programs don't help reduce homelessness they don't help reduce encampments or related issues they're just moving people around and we know from research from an shoots earlier this year they decrease the life expectancy of the people who are moved around um so to me this is not of satisfactory use of funding when we have so many people who are struggling with homelessness and so many me people who are needing support to stay housed so the idea is not to stop cleaning up but to find more cost-effective ways to clean up so we can put more funding into things like public restrooms rooms incentives for unsheltered people to engage with Services New services like a safe outdoor space cleanups that encourage people to clean up after themselves um and more funding for programs like keep family house that we um heard about tonight that will actually prevent homelessness thank you thanks and just a clarifying question this I think this would as I

[239:00] understand would uh take all funding away from the program right so kind it would disband the Sam's program entirely right okay thanks for that um and Lauren did you want to then but again can I just clarify it is not saying that we're not going to be taking care of things it's saying that we're going to be finding different approaches to clean up to end people having feces show up on the doorsteps of their businesses things like that okay thank you Lauren you want to speak chers yeah so um similarly to Nicole I um think that while it's essential that we ensure the cleanliness and safety of our public spaces it's also equally important to ackowledge that encampment removal is at best a temporary solution it doesn't address the root causes of homelessness nor does it provide long-term support and assistance to individuals that experience homelessness continually pouring funds into this program is like putting a stack of Band-Aids on a gunshot wound instead we

[240:01] need to make a meaningful investment in our community's well-being this program started 2 and a half years ago with annual budget of 1.8 million this year we are planning on spending more than three in the last 12 months we've REM removed approximately 400 encampments and our point in time count shows only 171 people living unsheltered in our community this is more than $188,000 per person I would like to redirect 1.8 million towards initiatives that can genuinely transform lives in our city the two areas that I had targeted were um parks and wreck related with funding for um to to try and reduce the amount of the costs of service access for rec centers and um as we heard our uh

[241:00] Reservoir but and and also public restroom access I still really would like to see the a large amount of that funding spent on um public restroom access but after hearing comments today and seeing posts uh seeing the proposal from Nicole I would like to instead allocate sort of the remaining funds towards um basic needs assistance all right thanks for that uh Lauren so so yeah so what I might look to council for is a threshold question of whether there's interest in redirecting a significant uh percentage or all of the samps funding to other uses and if there's a majority interest in that we can delve into the details of what how that might be done Rachel I I think I'd like to ask staff some questions first because I'm not sure like I'd be curious Joe and Ali's take like as as parks and utilities are are I

[242:02] think heavily implicated are they uh do they have concerns support and and I guess Matt had asked an earlier question that I was wondering about Joe and you said I should hold it as I recall about because I think everybody's saying we wouldn't stop cleaning up public spaces so what what would happen if SS went away what would that then look like as you're all aware Sams is a collaborative effort again I'm Ali rhods director of Parks and Recreation so I'll speak to a few elements and then I think Joe will step in and speak to others um the urban park ranger program was the Parks and Recreation team's number one priority across the department so we have seven service areas but the ranger program has seen a positive benefit to all of them in the ability not just to support safety uh in their downtown area but to protect water quality at the reservoir to protect uh um closures that protect some of the Raptors that we have

[243:01] we've had great success this year with the Raptors at the boulder Reservoir so not having that program I think would have an impact across the department similarly not having the public Space Team um would have a significant impact on our downtown team prior to that team that area was had the most turnover of our Park maintenance teams and we've seen that stabilize a little bit now that they're able to focus on their core duties and maintenance D maintenance work um and the cleanup team can do more yeah and so I what I would add to that is I I think earlier I mentioned the crew and so if the the entire s's budget went away um all that team does is is works with our police department and and deals with cleanups around camping they're they're not doing other utilities work and so if the entire budget for that went away I guess I'm I'm not sure where

[244:02] where the cleanups would would occur we have other positions and utilities open we could make available to those staff members to do other things but that's that's how I'm thinking about it unless you wanted to leave some limited budget and and would invite the city manager or others if I'm if I'm not thinking about this correctly but that's that's how I see it I appreciate it Joe and I I think you're right I think this is a philosophical and a policy conversation and I appreciate it it is a choice and if the s's budget goes away I want to be really clear that currently we don't have budget to do that work that is the budget that is intended to do the cleanups around the city um if there is a desire for that money to be reallocated for other purposes and I understand the reasoning for that um we want to be really clear that we don't have additional monies that we will be able to then backfill for um the work

[245:00] that is currently being done I just want to clarify again it's not saying we're not we would not be picking up after people it would be um we've had community members write Us in about this about putting out more trash cans um doing more frequent pickup of of those trash bases it's just kind of having the teams of people who are moving people around the city um where they're needing to set up different encampments that is that is sort of the um the idea it's not it's not a this this particular proposal for the the money that I put um in the slide here was was really about about finding cheaper ways to do the trash pickup than the really intense you know8 8 to 10 person team that we have now um with you know trucks and vehicles and things like that too can we start encouraging people through the use of more trash cans public restrooms um to not have such a messy place to begin with so just just want to clarify and I get that it is a

[246:01] philosophical question absolutely 100% um I just just want to be very clear I'm not saying we just leave trash there thank you and I think I I would just add to that if there's if there are more dumpsters or or more bathrooms or or things like that there there would still be costs with that that we'd have to discuss right uh we give Matt and Mark then we can come back to Rachel thanks Aaron I I'm struggling with the con I think I think we're maybe referencing trash and cleanup to ubiquitous ly you know trash cans I think are great but we're not talking about a Snickers wrapper here right I mean what what we're talking about are the massive objects that get pulled into the downtown Corridor and Creek areas like shopping carts and parts of furniture and and office chairs I mean this stuff either ends up in the creek or is brought into some of these

[247:00] encampments and without a large truck to haul this stuff away trash cans and and and that and the such are just insufficient so I I I appreciate some of the desire to want to um create environments for some of that self- cleanliness to occur but uh but but the bulk weight of the stuff that we're dealing with here is stuff that is not going to fit in trash cans and will just accumulate and continue to pile up unless we have a means of of hauling that stuff out so I I I'm I'm not sure we're being really honest or clear about what this stuff is that is needing to be cleaned up um having seen those trucks this this stuff doesn't fit in trash cans it barely fits in dumpsters so I I'm trying to really understand what ending samps would do given the real stuff that's that's around these encampments that that ends up um needing to get cleaned up and then Mark and then I'm GNA move towards the straw pole here and Rachel yeah just just very briefly um you know

[248:02] I understand the motivation but I I think this is tant amount to abandoning portions of our public lands um from public use um because uh they will become um permanently blighted uh and among the the items that will be left behind are going to be needles along with the larger items that that Matt has um uh specified so I I this is a philosophical question and I'm stating my philosophical opposition to um uh moving away from the Sam's program that that's right Rachel maybe the piece that I'm missing is is part of the proposal that we are not having a camping band that people can camp wherever like that CU that I don't think that has to be it um it's just it's rather than trying to um kind of Chase people around

[249:00] with these cleanup teams it's really thinking about how are we incentivizing people um to to exist in a way that has less big stuff right I mean they they they um people are able to get mattresses and things from somewhere to wherever they are and they do that without a giant truck so they ought to be able to kind of get things out of places too and it's really just to try to shift it doesn't doesn't have to be related to the camping band it's really just thinking about is this continuing to invest more money um into following people around with trucks to clean up after them the most cost effective approach to the issue that we're having um and there's a lot of research that tells us it's not so okay okay so I'll go ahead and U call for the straw poll of who is interested in in reallocating a large percentage or all of the samps funding to other purposes show of

[250:02] hands uh I've got two so looks like we don't have majority support for that um but apprec um just want to say appreciate you all bringing the ideas forward for the discussion and I just want to say I think it's worthy of a of the philosophical conversation that is uh frankly a policy change and and so that somebody should ask for that discussion and vote not on a budget night I think would be worthy of it okay so that that gets us through the uh changes just the word yep yeah yeah go ahead um you know I I guess I feel like that's lumping both proposals together I don't think that my proposal is a policy change um you know in this program ran for a year with that funding um so I I would just say that I think

[251:00] that there are significant needs and it was an attempt to address some of those really significant needs you know I think restroom access like my my office is downtown we call the ambassadors basically only for human waste cleanup and if there were restroom public restroom facilities nearby we wouldn't have to do that so it's also I I would like to avoid a long discussion over this since we did just make a decision I am so I I agree I think we did lump stuff in and and so uh I think that's worthy of a again a continued discussion probably of of adding we're going to have another conversation at the end of the uh night but that might tuck in nicely okay okay so this gets us through every um Council proposal um did anyone have any additional

[252:00] thoughts Nicole yes um I'm just really hearing the need that we heard earlier about the struggles that people are having paying for housing um I Heard the other night about a friend who ran into a woman at a gas station um who's living in the car her car right now with her 12 and 13year old kids because they lost their housing we're hearing from effa that there is unprecedented need in our community and that a little bit of money could prevent our homelessness problem from getting a lot worse in this next year we've been hearing EA beg for this support for a year now frankly um and so you know we we found kind of $500,000 for potholes and I'm wondering if we can find $500,000 for people yeah um so uh I'll just if I I'll call it myself um so I I would certainly would would love to provide additional funding in this area as well I mean the

[253:00] as we were saying before the the potholes was specifically from Transportation funds as dedicated Transportation funds and couldn't be used for non-transportation purposes but what would be our options if we wanted to add that additional funding for that program thanks mayor uh I'll try not to give a super long answer but I think our first response would be to say that we put together recommended budget that we felt reflects Community needs and balanced a number of of needs across community and so we know that the available funding um does not meet the total need across community in a number of areas including uh Human Services um so I would say uh we don't have a specific uh dollar number or place that you would be able to pull again in the general fund um you know one-time dollars are a bit more flexible to to an extent um but uh we would also point out in the general fund that the the current numbers oppose a large repayment from

[254:02] the library district coming in in 2024 and so um you know those types of things don't be become realized we' we'd need to come back and find some Solutions in 24 so a longer answer but trying to get to the point where we feel like we've put together a good budget that reflects a lot of those needs if it is something that Council would like us to look at we could come back with um additional options um you know last year we we looked at um additional Arts funding uh during a a first adjustment in the new year um after we were able to look at um any potential savings at year end in the fiscal year so I I think there may be some other options outside of the 2024 budget adoption just because we're on the Fly and finding a $500,000 of additional general fund would be um more difficult um than than the transportation fund discussion okay Matt and then Tara uh so I mean I I'm not suggesting a

[255:00] new policy at the M moment but this is an opportunity to maybe get creative and I certainly support the eort to do so and finding that money again at the at the 11th Hour may be difficult but the conversation that maybe we can have soon is you know how do we think about our cash and L money it's to build affordable housing but is it also as important to think about keeping people in housing and so maybe we have an opportunity to think about a policy shift coming up where we say we spend up no more than say 5% of our cash and Li on programs to keep people in the very housing we have many of which is already affordable and so again I'm just throwing it out there I don't think it solves tonight but I'm thinking about how do we get creative with the pots of money we have that are in service of things that are commensurate with one another building new housing affordable housing for people and how it equates to keeping people in that very same housing um so I not to be distressed tonight but just to pose out there thinking about

[256:00] things differently or creatively to unlock pots of money that have similar outcomes um in the aggregate I terar first actually and then that's a great idea Matt I really like that idea um I do want to say what about Mark um Julie did say that she is going to be what $500,000 short but she can get some of it so a part of me thinks we remember I said why don't we give aund can we find $100,000 for um the Arts so a part of me things like anything that we can find I know you all laughed at me about $10,000 but that is Meaningful to people so anything that we can find even if it's $100,000 is better than nothing so if appreciate the question uh without um having a chance to consult with housing and human services staff I I think our our preference would be to take the conversation offline and try to find potential Solutions we don't have one

[257:00] off off hand I think we'd want to look at what the the proposed level of funding is for the organization in 24 we know that there is an increase specifically for the keep familyes housed program again reflecting really good programs and certainly not overall need uh but we're happy to take that conversation offline I know that's not an immediate solution but not prepared for a specific that's fair yep richel I love Matt's idea too it kind of reminds me of the newer discussion where you know we had this tax for eviction representation but then we broadened it to um you know preventing people from even getting to that step with with cash assistance basically for um rent so I like that and I'm wondering how you know could we could we maybe broaden that conversation a little bit to also uh cover you know some of the stuff that Lauren's talking about as well like the the uh out you know the toilets and things that people who um you know are living outside also have for basic needs

[258:02] so I think there are a lot of housing related things that that we could that could be interest to discuss there so I'd be curious what what staff might bring back good job Matt I love it so so then what I might suggest is that we take markup on his offer to investigate what the options might be for some additional funding in this area so maybe I can see straw pole um I see Mark you've got your hand up did you want to say something else before I get that straw poll just just very briefly I would be very leery of treating our cash and low L payments as some form of cash uh cow for purposes other than the creation of affordable housing that's what they're intended for uh we're doing a very good job overall I think of doing that um and it's a tempting thing to do to skim from that that uh flow of funds but I would be very very uh leery of doing so despite the good intentions and good purposes uh

[259:01] underlying the suggestion um and and Fair Point Mark I I don't think that's under discussion at this point I think we're it's really more about what additional funding might be found but fair point um that's right so um straw poll on asking uh staff to look at the potentials for adding some additional funding to this program got six seven all right so we'll look to your feedback next time um so and anything else good okay so here's what I got we have the um I'm sure you've been taking notes but we had the the the 10,000 on the community connectors we had the kid um the Ambassador thing the um pavement management Direction The Underpass um Direction how many of those I think

[260:00] that's those are the changes specific changes that we're asking for how many if any of those require a modification to the Motions that are in our packet most of them do uh the team we have a situation room downstairs uh they they have final numbers I just need to plug them into the proposed motion language so um I I'll need like two minutes um so happy to do that in a recess or if you just give him give me a moment uh how about we just give you a moment I hate to do a recess and then it takes us 15 minutes to come back so um Matt you got a dad joke of course I do come on now all right uh he since we were talking about the budget tonight uh did you hear about the person that made a lot of money investing in apples yeah turns out they were insider trading a minute I I I'm regretting my my decision

[261:03] to ask you actually I thought it was timely for the season as well it's very autumnal that's a good right a an SAT Word is they call it oh and Alicia process question do we need roll calls for first readings yes we still do so we'll need four separate motions and four roll calls okay okay I checked with Teresa earlier and she said yes okay thanks for clarifying could we start discussion on the final matter well Mark's scrunching the numbers something else we do have not a five I guess Mark are you needing one minute or eight minutes or I think we're good oh my goodness look at this amazing okay who who would like to to start

[262:01] making some motions if you can read it I I can break that the two slides if that's helpful yeah I think we kind of do I think you do yeah to get it on the record I'd like to make a motion to or am I doing this right yeah move i' like to move to order published by title o only ordinance 8595 adopting a budget for the city of Boulder Colorado for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of January 2024 and ending on the last day of December 2024 setting forth related details do you want me to keep reading yeah yes sure with the addition of $500,000 for additional pavement management yes and $330,000 to support to support underpass lighting gay to the transportation fund for a total transportation budget of 50 I'm sorry I can't see it 53 million

[263:01] 57234 and the addition of $10,000 to support Community connectors and res residents in the general fund for a total general fund budget of 196 m559 196 and a revised total budget of 6,388 078 second thank you and I to say Terry you don't need to visit your optometrist because we could you must be in good shape to be able to read that so uh roll call vote please Elicia yes sir catching up with you guys all right we'll start the roll call vote for ordinance 85 95's first reading and introduction with council member Benjamin yes mayor bronet yes council member Furs yes friend yes Joseph yes spear

[264:00] yes mayor protim wallik yes council member Winer yes and Yates yes 8595 is hereby introduced and approved do you want to keep going ter sure I'd like to make a motion to to order published by title only ordinance 8596 establishing the 2023 city of Boulder property tax Mill levies which are to be collected by the county of Boulder state of Colorado within the city of Boulder in 2024 for payment of expenditures by the city of Boulder County Boulder state of Colorado and setting forth related details second vote please yes yes sir we'll start this vote for 8596 with you mayor Brockett yes council member fards yes friend yes Joseph yes

[265:01] speaker yes mayor protim wall yes council member Wier yes Yates yes and Benjamin yes 8596 is hereby introduced and approved somebody else want to take over Terry you want to keep going all right well um I'd like to make a motion to order published by title only ordinance 8597 appropriating money to defay expenses and liabilities of the city of Boulder Colorado for the 2024 fiscal year of the city of Boulder commencing on the first day day of January 2024 and ending on the last day of December 2024 and setting forth related details and with the addition of $500,000 for additional pavement management and $30,000 to support underpass lighting to the transportation fund for Total Transportation appropriation of 53,5 72,3 42 and the addition of $110,000 to support Community connectors and

[266:01] residents in the general fund for a total general fund appropriation of 1996 million $196 m559 196 and the revised total appropriation of 6,388 78 second vote please Elicia yes sir we'll start the roll call for 8597 with council member fuler yes friend yes Joseph yes yes spear yes mayor protim wall yes council member Winer yes Yates yes Benjamin yes and mayor Brockett yes 8597 is hereby introduced and approved all right terara wrap us up I'd like to make a motion to order published by the title only ordinance 8598

[267:00] amending chapter 4-20 fees bold Revis code 1981 and section 383 tax am I reading this right yeah tax imposed on non-residential and residential development 891 purpose and legislative intent 892 definitions in 895 Capital facility impact fee to be earmarked B the revised code 1981 changing certain fees and setting forth related details second and actually I'm going to speak to this um because we had a conversation about fee Ally I'm just going to look over here at you we had a conversation about fees earlier and Nicole mentioned the possibility of investigating whether I think college students might be included in some of the discounts so this is actually just a maybe this is something you all could think about between now and and second reading and see if there's if that's at all feasible or would it have a big cost impact or I think it to do it appropriately we would want your direction to do the feasibility I do I think it would take

[268:01] more than a few hours um so it's I guess we have a couple of options we can make it so or we can consider it with the next budget or with an adjustment to base or another way I'd defer to you nura if you have a recommendation I appreciate that I do think um that it'll take more than than three hours so an out of three for more research or an out of five to have us think about it on the work plan cool um can I just offer one one one sort of perspective for colleagues um in talking to some of the rowers um I I think if the fees go up and they're not able to to do it this year that that will end the rowing program for um for them being able to row here in Boulder so so I think it is not sort of a thing they can wait necessarily a year um yeah just just offering that um okay so th this sounds a little bit separate then from what we're about to vote on I was thinking it was kind of

[269:00] more tied to it can I clarify Parks and Recreation fees are not codified they're set by city manager rule so you have some time oh that's very helpful to understand thank you cuz I was since we're doing fees yeah yeah great uh in which case I'll come back to it I withdraw the comment for from this vote and just ask for a vote please Elicia and I'll make a comment about Nicole here in a minute yes sir the vote for 8598 introduction and approval we'll start with council member friend yes Joseph yes spe yes mayor protim wall yes council member Wier yes Yates yes Benjamin yes mayor bronet yes and council member fols yes ordinance 8598 is hereby introduced and approved fantastic um before we say nice

[270:03] things I just need a motion to extend 30 so moved second all in favor showare your hands right approved um so now so all that's done oh my goodness amazing work you all are phenomenal the the depth of detail and the quality of analysis is just extraordinary so I just have to thank all the directors and all the budget staff and finance staff it just yall are amazing that situation room downstairs is just rocking it so thank you right yeah whoever came up with all those numbers like thato impressive Nicole yeah sorry I wanted to say this when we were making the motions but I'll just say it now instead um I just want to sort of acknowledge what a trolley problem we're in or uh this those who don't know the Char Charley problem philosophical debate right you have to decide um what what you're doing save five people or save um one person there

[271:01] there really seemed to be no good choices for a lot of the choices we're having to make right now and people are going to suffer no matter what we do um so choosing to do one thing is always a choice to not do something else and there is so much good in this budget the new process where we moving toward is exactly the right one we need to be moving toward it's a good one and while it's hard to approve these impossible choices as we have to do I know it's a lot harder to create them and so I just really want to thank staff for all the work that goes into this and not just the sort of time you spend with spreadsheets and meetings and things things like that but the hard emotional work of having to make these decisions it's rough and I can't imagine and thank you for for what you do to keep our city going well said all right we enjoy the rest of your what's left of your evening all right we got uh uh we got one more thing

[272:02] which is a matter of from mayor member of council thank you sir it's item number 8A on tonight's agenda as noted Matters from the mayor and members of council 8A is the not of five for safe outdoor spaces very good so this is uh coming out of um our discussion uh we asked for direction from Council about whether there's an interest in moving forward this idea there there was a majority of council that was interested in giving that direction and so in order for the city staff to do the work to then you know analyze exactly what this is going to take and come up with the next steps and and budget and things like that we would need a formal KN of five so we already had the discussion uh a week ago and the question is whether we can do a not of five to formalize that Rachel then Bob it it sounded like um staff and some colleagues wanted some more concrete uh exact verbiage maybe that we would be

[273:00] voting on so I might propose that um we and you know doesn't have to be what I say but I'm just going to put this out as a starting thing uh we propose a a pilot sorry Matt but I'm going say a pilot for a 25 uh person safe outdoor space sanctioned encampment um in the city of Boulder I think that as part of this pilot it and and I would also say that would be at the the bronze level not like I don't think we need to go for the the gold Platinum whatever the highest level is version of an an SOS for this pilot because the goal would be to do it um fairly quickly so that we can start getting uh data from the success and probably save some some people from either being physically harmed or maybe even dying who are living outside so my proposal is to take uh Matt's suggestion to use the uh savings that we had from operations from the day Services Center and shelter from

[274:01] 2023 and stand up a 25 person pilot I think also within that money uh given that scale and bronze level we could also fold in what Lauren was looking for which is some additional and and Nicole I think they were aspects of both of yours with some um additional uh were they called port Portland lose Portland L and um trashes uh in in remaining areas so that would be my proposal for an out of five I got Rachel do you mind if I add to that a little bit just with some specificity if you don't mind I yeah I I was trying to be specific but let's hear what you got just some more just to add just again to give that that that detailed Focus if you uh to to staff since I wasn't president last week's meeting I what I'd add to this is um 25 it sounds great basic infrastructure portable showers we

[275:00] know I I I did a rough costing out of this infrastructure which you can buy easily um there's inventory out there even a place in Colorado that offers that stuff you know mobile bathrooms outdoor indoor cooking those sorts of things we can do that within the confines of $800,000 to to Rachel's point it can be that bronze level it doesn't have to be a cattleac right off the bat we can evolve to get there and to blay some other concerns you know you know how who are the individuals we're serving here well it it's not the high system utilizers we're referring to these are the people that maybe judge KH is referring to who are more or less higher functioning they're they're just caught up in the the municipal court system because they don't have a home and they're sleeping on the streets and so to get them in that stability where they can then stabilize job and then get get get that housing get that voucher is is really key so I think we can do that um you know what I would really do is model the 1220 River Street um safe transitional sleeping or transitional

[276:01] camping program that Santa Cruz has that's low hanging fruit it's low operational cost and it's having great results in not just getting people exited out of homelessness but more importantly solving the other side of this equation housing solves homelessness Sheltering solves our sleeping problem and so I think that's that's that's what's key there so look no further we can connect staff with the folks at Santa Cruz that mayor Brock and I have been talking to but we don't need to Boulder eyesee this and overthink it reinvent the wheel let's copy what works get that started and tweak to meet our needs as they evolve um in that place so I let's let's keep it simple and and get that ball rolling um so that that's what I would just add to what Rachel was bringing up mat I got Bob Mark terara I I really had two things and and Matt and Rachel have addressed the first one because I looking more specificity so thank you for that and my second thing is is a really question for Nuria Nua if there's a positive vote on this

[277:00] tonight what um what happens next uh I think for us what happens next we have then uh received direction we will turn to staff and have them um do what we do with other work plan items and scope it out appropriately I actually appreciate the specificity because now we actually know what that looks like and we will come to you with cost I appreciate Matt's comments about Santa Cruz I think our temperatures are slightly different but it doesn't mean we don't talk to them and we think about it and we bring you options I don't know how quickly we can bring you options but because staff isn't here to to support that but we will get that to you and if this passes we will have to think of a financial plan we will have to think of a location we will have to think about um what of that wherever the location is what infrastructure needs there are to bring mobile bathrooms mobile showers I presume and and this is again good direction whether or not how much service you would want in your bronze plan um because that all of those cost

[278:01] money so we would need to come back with a financial and implementation plan for you markk I see your hand can I call AI on just a process question that's just referencing something I heard from from Mark wolf when he and I talked because this would be reallocating dedicated arpa funds do we need to have a separate process from which we are voting to reallocate that money to a different investment my only concern is if we don't at some point we have to I think formalize not just lifting up SOS but formalize the re investment of the arpa funds before they technically expire at the end of the year and then go sit in fund balance until the first ATB to which we could then either commit them or reallocate them so I just want to clarify on if there is perhaps another step on process in order to liberate the funds and keep this going versus have to address this yet again in a few weeks happy to just quickly clarify that

[279:01] um Matt's correct that any unused funds do go to fund balance at the end of the year um for day Services Center that is not arpa funds those are General funds so they would go to general fund fund balance we could handle this through the analysis through the financial plan come back with a recommendation whether that would be an adjustment yet this year or early next year depending on staff's analysis okay thanks for clarifying it's I got Mark and then can I go Mark and teror did you have some real immediate okay okay Mark Mark and then Matt are you suggesting that a requ requirement uh for occupancy in this facility will be being sober um that it's going to be restricted to um non high utilizers and basically people who simply have lost their homes for you know unfortunate economic reasons I mean is that going to be a requirement or is that simply a suggestion I I would defer to our our

[280:00] experts in HHS and who are our Outreach teams as to who would best be served by this program given the level of service that the that this uh transitional site would transitional housing site would offer um so so I don't want to predetermine that now uh based on what again we've heard from Judge Khan there's a number of people who are not deeply in in drug use or um and Andor in other states of having crippling behavioral and other uh mental health issues but are simply just needing to a place to transition and that's where this would sort of be that sort of phase one approach and as you get more Hands-On the cost skyrockets exponentially as we've heard and we know so this is that first order so I I don't want to predetermine that but but I would say that it would probably have some level of sobriety based on the level of service that we probably could only attain um in this early iteration of it but I would defer to HHS to

[281:02] determine ultimately how best to operate that yeah so TBD thank you terara so got to speak into so many mics to choose from what if it costs more than what we have left over are you going to then just do fewer people or what are your thoughts on that I mean sorry to play The Devil's Advocate but it seems to me like it how can it possibly cost what was it 800,000 or was it l can I just say I mean that would be you come back to us with that right so if we said yeah look into it and then it cost a million five oh can we can I then say uh no or am I promised to say yes to this thing Council always has discretion to yeah go in a different direction um yeah Lauren and no actually I had Rachel add of you if you don't mind and well that's okay she hasn't gone yet all

[282:01] right I guess related to Tara's question and you know I've also been wondering about safe outdoor parking and so I wonder sort of if I don't want to expand the scope too much but depending on what staff finds I feel like that might also be an appropriate thing to look at into so let me say this let me suggest this I get the end right and that is um uh always uh an interesting proposition um it it depends on what council would like us to do but what I'm hearing perhaps is Staff please come back to us as quickly as you can with the financial uh plan and um the details of what this would entail so that you can take a vote on it and if there is an opportunity to also bring back um what that looks like and maybe it's a

[283:01] separate conversation and a vote from you all if you if that in include safe outdoor spacing then you should let us know but I assume that you don't want us to hold up coming back to you with whatever the initial um request is which right now is safe outoor camping um to finish the end is that accurate yeah great that was one of the things I was going to bring up is can that be tacked on also as part of the pilot like I I doubt it's that much more money to have five parking spots wherever we're doing this so I'd be curious ious or we could come back as an and for that um also I would I would just say um super gently and diplomatically that we did ask for scoping for this in like February or March and we were told recently that staff had already identified spots and priced it out and stuff so I do think that that much of this has been scoped and I would hope it could come back on a on a a pretty tight turnaround um to

[284:04] Mark's question I would be very leery of um anything that that compels sobriety or puts up barriers like that is you know this is what oh oh we just we just said it would be TBD so we're not well I just but I guess I I would I would be bummed if if staff came back and said that this was a a sober living environment I think that generally these are successful when residents of the spaces make rules and and Community expectations and if we overlay ours on that that might uh make it not successful so TBD but I I think we should go with what has been uh historically worked and and that is in keeping I think with housing first which we're kind of considering this we can't quite get what we need out of housing first and and that is a a it's supposed to be a pretty low to no barrier um aspect of it okay uh Bob yeah um two things one just following up on Rachel's

[285:01] comment there um I guess one question which we're not going to answer tonight but presumbly staff would come back with is is if if you're talking about 25 spaces is it first come first serve in other words how do we determine who gets if there's 50 people to show up on the first day do we do we how do we decide who gets what that's that's not a question we're going to decide tonight but I just want to make sure that that's teed up as part of staff's analysis the second is is is what's the exit in other words this is the proposal is to rededicate some money that that won't be spent this year in the day shelter we're still going to do the day shelter so be really really clear about that but there's money that that won't be spent on the day shelter this year and I think the proposal is to take some of that unspent money and dedicate it to this proposal which I understand I'm I'm going to vote against it but I understand what you're doing there but that money will then be you know to teror point that whether it's 800,000 or 1.5 million or some other number that money will then run out do we close the camp at that point in time is that your proposal or what's what are you thinking there I am calling it a pilot so my hope is that it would be successful and uh

[286:02] perhaps there would be less expenditures elsewhere in the system because people are uh you know getting what they need in terms of of stability you know of of a nature and I think in Santa Cruz I'm told that they have a something like a six-month cap on how long six or nine months or something how long people can stay so it's a series of people getting stabilized and then getting into the other aspects of housing first I can't answer where the the budget will come from next year because I don't think we know what it's going to cost and and how how successful uccessful it be and what's the what's the Met because usually when we have a pilot we have a metric for Success we want to see what's the metric for Su is it fewer people in unsanctioned Campground camping I I I would think it's again I would look I think this is probably TBD but one that I would be looking for is are people transitioning to uh successful housing placements out of these encampments at at probably at a higher rate than people we already have the by the by name we

[287:01] know that a lot of people are are not getting off the streets right now now so are we getting a higher percentage that are getting placed into successful housing situations we we have that now so you're talking about incremental to what we do right now I'm I'm talking about good out better outcomes probably for for these F and and I again I think it depends on how you set it up but we were told at at the spot in Denver that they were having higher success with people that they had placed yeah okay because I I think we we heard a long list of things of successes from Kurt last week so I so be clear that the metric would be better than what we're doing right now right okay thanks yep okay great and then I'm just I'm going to call on on myself just with a a friendly amendment to say like approximately 25 cuz like if we had a site that supported 30 and you know it was affordable like maybe it's 30 or 28 or but just approximately 25 is that right I don't think I'm the end all be all here I've heard that there there are some kind of magic numbers of of what

[288:00] what can be too big for a place to succeed so whatever the data shows is works best just to say it's not absolute hard fin take the direction yeah okay great uh with that yes Nicole just want to be crystal clear so um what what we are about to do an out of five on is to first off to look into a proposal that would include numbers would include outcomes would include things like that and bring it back at some point when that's done and ready right yes and um I think that we will bring back back perhaps um information that speaks to the types of services and in order to get good outcomes it has to include some kind of Outreach and services it's what what helps with exits is shelter plus Services that's just the magic formula and so that may not come in a bronze level um and so we'll see what that looks like as we move forward but we

[289:01] want to give you the options and what the cost is without having to create um something that is the Cadillac version okay and and I would just kind of second Lauren's point about the um idea of as as we can thinking about safe parking um because I know that that was one of the things that Hab and HRC had recommended a couple years ago and what I took from that perhaps is that at the same site if there is space availability perhaps that is that may be a quicker way in which to achieve that but oh one of the things that I've seen in other places and that I understand there might be some capacity for in our community is the city supporting private property owners who are interested in providing that and so it might not be fully run by the city but instead just providing either a level of support um Financial or staff-wise to help

[290:01] facilitate that understood so can I go to the okay go ahead um so I I think I will be in favor of uh moving forward with thinking about this a little bit um but I also feel like it's a little bit feudal like I feel like staff is going to go forward and figure this out and we'll find out it costs a lot of money and we will work with our constrainted budget again and we'll kind of be back in a place where um where we're not really going to move this forward so just sort of want to name that um it's a little bit of a place of discomfort not really having a lot of faith in the next whoever the next council is whichever of us are there that this will be something that will be prioritized um but I'm I'm willing to figure out what the numbers are thanks for that Nicole and I'll I'll just throw in a quick comment on my own that I've been interested in moving this concept forward for a long time and so I'm glad we're taking this step tonight or hopefully taking this step tonight

[291:00] we'll see how the vote goes um so I think it it's potentially valuable additional service that we can offer in our community for people experiencing homelessness um yes one question is Junie still here because I know she has been pretty passionate about it too Jun is still here uh okay so now I will call for a a nod what how many people are interested in nodding show of hands Let's see we got um let's see juny are you are you available to pop up and and raise your hand or not I want to agree with Nicole on this I'm with Nico on this okay well we got a majority but uh juny juny hasn't weighed in but um that is a not of more than five so nuot you have what you need I do thank you very much we will get with the team um and we will see how quickly we can come to you again and fit it into

[292:00] the schedule knowing that we may have to bump something out and I know that's an okay thing we'll bring that to cic very good um Matt I just wanted to flag I have a another matter to bring up real quickly for everybody if we're ready to transition yes if as long as it's quick it is um it's just more of an FYI to me uh to our Council colleagues and staff um I've been asked um to be the chair of the uh Colorado Municipal League's policy committee committee um and that extends from October through March of next year the legislative session and so I just wanted to just draw attention one it's an opportunity that Boulder I don't think has ever had to sort of be in that position uh at CML to drive policy and the legislative legislative session in that sense and sort of work with all of our Municipal colleagues across the state but also it does um create a situation where um at the pleasure of council I've been serving on this community and hope to do

[293:01] so but being chair um would mean to would would also necessitate carrying over um into another term um and so hopefully um the next Council will be favorable and and allow me to sort of complete my term as chair and serve yet another year on the uh policy committee for CML thanks for that uh Matt and congratulations that's exciting news Rachel yeah congrats Matt good job um I just wanted to draw attention to something that I don't believe I'll be here for but I had asked for uh us to have a conversation on bike safety and named like six different concerns I had and we got an information packet tonight that I don't think really replaces the need for the conversation um a number of my uh concerns I don't think are are addressed by by what we got tonight and that's not a criticism just that I think it requires an out loud conversation because we have a lot more ebikes on paths and there's a you know just a lot

[294:00] more uh potential conflicts right now I don't know how the community feels about it but I know we hear a lot about concerns and I think we need to have the conversation so I don't know what to do with that but I'm name I'm going to name that one too let's just have two meetings a week I I would say I defer to CAC on this right it's certainly um something that was placed on there I think there was a conversation that we could maybe try an IP because we had such a packed calendar we continue to have a very packed calendar but it is at we we as staff defer to the will of CAC at this point and I'm not saying this I need to be at this ribbon cutting but that I think it's a conversation you all probably that the community is I think interested in us having thanks for that Rachel all right any other final thoughts seeing none I will gavis closed 51 p.m. thanks everybody for a productive meeting protecting you for a productive meeting I was like wow what did somebody

[295:00] protect me from something was there a police Sergeant uh get um