July 24, 2025 — City Council Regular Meeting

Transcript

Captions from City of Boulder YouTube recording.

[4:43] Well, good evening everyone and welcome to the Thursday, July 24th, 2025 special meeting of the Boulder City Council. I will go ahead and call us to order and welcome everyone back from council recess. I hope you got some downtime and a little bit of rest and relaxation.

[5:00] It's good to be back together. So, let's get that roll call going, please, Elicia. >> All right. Thank you, Mayor. And again, welcome everyone. We'll start tonight's roll call in alphabetical order by everyone's first name with Mayor Brockett >> present. >> Mayor Pro Tim Fulkurts >> here. Council member Benjamin >> here. >> Marquis >> here. >> Spear >> here. >> Adams >> here. >> Shuhar >> here. >> Wallik >> here. >> And Winer. >> Here. And last as usual, no matter which way you do it. Unfortunately. Yes, ma'am. Mayor, we have our quorum. >> Thanks so much, Elicia. If we can go to

[6:01] the consent agenda now, please. >> Yes, sir. Our consent agenda are items number two on tonight's agenda, and they consist of items 2 A through 2F. >> Do you have any uh questions or comments on the consent agenda? I just wanted to clarify a point of com uh point of order on I'm sorry I'm still uh getting used to where I put things >> the new system but no I'm I'm still not great in here um but it was the one on the council procedures and I just wanted to make sure it was just the first reading correct Teresa, do you want to address that? >> Good evening, council. Terresa Taylor Tate, your city attorney. Uh, this is a this is an reading um on emergency and

[7:02] so it would need to pass by 2/3 of a majority vote to pass on emergency and that would only require one reading. >> Okay. Then I would like to pull that from the rest of them and vote separately. Okay. To vote separately on that and we certainly can vote separately on that. Teresa, is that sufficient to just have that request and will vote separately on it? >> That's fine. Um Mark, >> uh yeah, I have um some concerns with respect to the council procedures. Uh in particular, um setting a hard and fast time limit on open comment and leaving people in the position where they're going to have to come back the following week. I really don't think that is fair to them. However, I'm prepared to go forward with it and sort of provisionally um let's see what happens. Let's see if it works. Um but if it's going to cause a lot of um difficulty

[8:00] for people who don't get the opportunity to speak and we're being told come back next week, whatever arrangements you made this week, you're going to have to make them again next week. If that causes a problem, I I hope we can revisit it at the appropriate time. But I will uh go forward with it tonight. Thank you. >> Thanks for that, Mark. And we can certainly look at how successful or not things are and adjust if necessary. >> Right. I'm not seeing any other hands, so let's move forward with a vote. Um Theresa and Alicia, would you recommend voting on item B first or the rest of the consent agenda first? Will there be a discussion or just a vote for 2 A? >> Uh, this this is 2B I believe. >> Oh, 2B. >> Actually, it's 2 A. >> Mayor, I believe it's 2 A. >> It is 2A. >> Uh, rules and procedures in my script are 2B. 2A is the square 250 ft

[9:02] disposal. Is that not H? >> Did I mess your script up? I have the same thing. Uh it is 2B in my uh document. >> Oh dear. >> That was my following description. So my apologies. >> See, I'm just uh going into the one meeting portal to see what we have there. Oh, the sale is 2A. Got you. Okay. >> I have 2A as well. Am I looking at the wrong thing? >> I have 2A. >> Yeah, in the portal it's 2A. >> Yeah, and I messed that up on the script because it 2A should have been the sale. So, we were struggling with the first

[10:00] agenda. So, my apologies. So it is in the actual agenda that is posted. It is 2A. >> Okay. So in the actual agenda, so the correct agenda then 2A is rules of procedures and the open space disposal is 2 C. >> Yes sir. >> Okay. >> My apologies. >> We got that cleared up. So 2 A is what's under discussion or up for separate vote. And then Teresa, we don't do this very often. So perhaps you could uh let us know the best way to proceed with that procedure. >> Um so mayor, you could take it in either order. Uh you would want to entertain a motion to um to pass the consent agenda items 2B through F. Um and then you could move on to 2A in the discussion. The attendant discussion >> works for me. So, I wonder if someone might contemplate a motion for the rest of the consent agenda. >> I move items uh 2B through 2F on the

[11:01] consent agenda. >> Dragon, >> we have a motion in a second. Alicia, can you do a roll call for that, please? >> Yes, sir. And again, my apologies for the script mishap. U we'll start the roll call with you, Mayor Brockett, for consent agenda items 2A through 2F. I >> think it's 2B through 2F. 2 B through 2F. Thank you. Grace, thank you. 2B through 2F. >> Yes. >> Mayor Pro Tim Ferritz. >> Yes. >> Council member Benjamin. >> Yes. >> Marquis. >> Yes. >> Spear. >> Yes. >> Adams. >> Yes. Shuhard, >> yes. >> Wallik, >> yes. >> And Winer, >> yes. >> The consent agenda items 2B through 2F

[12:03] are hereby approved unanimously. >> Thank you for that. And now we can take under consideration item 2A, which is the changes to the council rules of procedure. If anyone's interested in perhaps a motion on that one, >> I would like to move um 2 A. Second. >> A second. >> All right, we got a motion and a second. Um, and then yes, Lauren, you got your hand raised? >> I just wanted because we can make quick comments right now, right? >> You can. >> Um, so I um largely support this. I'm not a fan of not having video. I think that it's likely I think that there's if the internet has taught us anything, having people's faces matched with what they say is sometimes helpful in um

[13:03] making their comments more moderated, but uh I will be in support of this. Um, but I do hope, like Mark mentioned, that we listen to what the community is saying and consider making changes um, in the future. >> Thanks for that. And then Ryan, >> thank you so much. Um, you know, there's so much about this that I fully fully support. um you know uh and and unfortunately um there are components specifically the move this this false separation of open comment with the rest of the meeting as if it's a different part um and then of and then ultimately the decision to 30 which I think it makes it more difficult for people to

[14:00] join so not only are we um you know restricting to a very strict time period which actually I agree with because we do have a lot of additional items related um to the city. Um and you know I I believe that we need to have uh barriers to um you know to our time 30 makes it even more difficult for working families to be able to participate um in person and yes you can do virtual but it is different. Um some folks stay um throughout the meeting and wait for a break and we can talk with them. Um you know as a former commissioner for Colorado Parks and Wildlife um we would have meetings all across the state and it was incredible to see and it was all during the day during the workday and yet people drove for hours to be able to come and speak to us directly and it's powerful. um these kinds of relationships are absolutely more critical um now that we are in a world

[15:00] of divide and conquer um at at every level. And so unfortunately I will have to say um no and I appreciate um my council mates for uh um following procedure and allowing us to have this separate vote. I I appreciate the conversation and the robustness of that conversation and as I said I agree with majority of of what there is here. However, um that move I think disproportionately impacts uh lowincome and working families. Um and thank you very much. >> Also the video I echo the concerns by Mayor Prom um Fulkurt. >> Hey Ryan, >> thanks. Just briefly because I know we already hashed all this out. Um, yeah, I I share the concerns I've heard from Council Member Fulkurtz, um, from Adams Wallik. Um, and you know, I also think we're we have some problems to solve and I feel good about doing this, trying this if we can get to a world where we are not inundated with disruptions and

[16:01] recesses. I would be very happy to, yeah, take a look again at things. So, I would just offer that to the community that, you know, we're um this isn't necessarily forever, but we are trying to make some process improvements and we'll see what we get and then readress when we and if we have to. So, looking forward to voting yes on this. >> Great. Thanks. Yeah, and I'll echo my colleagues. I feel like this is a good package of changes. We'll give it a try and if things need adjustment, uh we can adjust them afterwards a little bit later, but I'm in support of packages as proposed. So, uh, not seeing any other hands raised, Elicia, can we do a roll call on this, please? >> Yes, sir. Thank you. We'll start with you, Mayor Rocket, for item 2A. >> Yes. >> Mayor Pro Tim Folks, >> yes. >> Council member Benjamin, >> yes. >> Marquis, >> yes. >> Spear,

[17:00] >> yes. Adams, >> no. >> Shuharm, >> yes. >> Wallik, >> yes. >> And wine, >> yes. >> Item 2A related to council procedures is hereby approved with a vote of 8 to one. >> Right. Thank you for that. That finishes out the consent agenda. So, can we go to our first matters item, please? >> Yes, sir. Our matters items are number three on tonight's agenda. 3A is the manufactured home, I'm sorry, manufactured housing strategy review. >> And with that, mayor, we're going to go straight to our director of housing and human services, Kurt Fernho. Thank you, Kurt. >> Uh, good evening, council. Um, again, Kurt Fernhaber. I support the Department

[18:00] of Housing and Human Services and um we're going to be doing a review of the uh the strategy that was approved by previous councils a few years ago um to support the manufactured housing community. I think what's changed over the years since we um initially adopted that strategy um back at that time it was primarily housing and services that were engaged with the work within manufactured local community. Now there's federal departments within the city that uh lean into the work of supporting um these community members. And so that's been a real growth um that we've seen um within our city and um I've been quite excited about the collaboration that's happened between um the departments and coordinating the work. So tonight um Molly Taylor will be doing uh her first rodeo at council and I'm presenting uh

[19:03] to you the update to our manufactured housing strategy. Thank you. It's all yours. >> Thank you, Kurt. Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Prom, members of council, and my colleagues. Welcome back. Um, I'm delighted to be with you tonight. Oh, we need a slideshow. Let's bring that on up. First things first. There we go. I'm I'm delighted tonight to um be with you to share an overview of the continued implementation of the manufactured housing strategy. As Kurt just mentioned, the strategy was adopted in 2019 and updated in 2022. Um attachment A in your packet contains a list of all of the original action items and a brief status update for each of those. I also want to start off by just o observing that the city of Boulder set a pretty high bar for

[20:02] support for manufactured housing communities. It's um pretty awesome to step into the learning role that I play in this right now and speak with other communities statewide and just see how much we do. Um and as Kurt said, it has become quite a collaboration across all of the city. Next slide, please. Tonight, um the the manufactured housing strategy is is reviewed as a council priority during the May city council um retreat. A a couple of you identified an interest of to check in on at least one of the action items and we will do so a little bit later. So, I'm going to start off with a review of the action plan and the accomplishments to date and illustrate for you a little bit about how the strategy has guided staff's support for our manufactured housing residents. Um, and then again at the end summarize a little bit of our meetings with private park owners to try and answer the question raised by Mayor uh,

[21:02] Brockett and Council Member Wallock regarding is there any opportunity for partnership with our private parks, especially in the interest of getting to um, rent stabilization. Next slide. This is a map containing all of the mobile home parks in the city of Boulder. There are five and it they are largely located on the north side of the city. If you look at the top northwest corner of our of our map and the top left corner of your um screen, you see Ponderosa. It is located at uh North Highway 93, Violet and Broadway. Um it is blue because the city of Boulder purchased it in 2017. So it is a publicly held property. Directly east of that, little less than a mile maybe, is Boulder Meadows. It is a private mobile home park and as you can see from this mapping, it's quite large.

[22:01] Going straight south from Boulder Meadows, you will see the Mapleton mobile home park. Um, it is in blue, not that we own it, but uh, Thistle does. It is held as a community land trust by Thistle Housing. East of Mapleton, couple miles. Orchard Grove is at the intersection of 30th and Velmont. And then a little further east is Vista Village. Um all of the pink properties are privately held mobile home parks. I also want to note that in addition to these five parks, there are um three additional parks adjacent to the city limits. They are all located in area 2. These are Coline, San Lazaro, and Table Mesa Village. Um, these parks could be annexed into the city. Further south of the city in area 3 is Sansusi. Sans Susi is a residentowned community. We we shorthand that as Rock. Um, the the residents of that community purchased

[23:00] that property in 2021. It is located in area 3 and does not qualify for annexation. I just want to mention that these last four parks are not we we have no jurisdiction over those. Next slide. The commitment by our city to the manufactured housing committees goes way back and um back in the 80s we find policy 709 which was a statement in support of we will do whatever we can to both preserve and expand the importance of this housing type as we continue to develop as a city. This is still in the comp plan update this year. I think some of the emphasis have changed and primarily where we go to work every day is in preservation. Um, one of the things that I want to note early on in this is that the operation and rules for manufactured housing commonly referred to as mobile home parks are set by the state. All of

[24:01] them are licensed by the state and all of the regulatory and enforcement framework comes from uh the department of local affairs. Next slide. This is a a snapshot um of the status of the housing and the census of housing in the parks in Boulder. Um the people inside of these parks um are all it it's kind of a mix. They're all very very diverse and the diversity is age, income, and cultural. Um so you can't really pinpoint any of it all. But in the most recent survey from our staff in front of the parks, 75% of our residents identified selfidentified themselves as having incomes below 40,000 a year. 41% of these are folks who are living on social security or some level of disability. And 60% of the housing overall in these

[25:02] mobile home communities is greater than 30 years old. and 50% of that um what you were showing seeing showing is 30% 37% of the total is over 50 years old. So um what we find as we get into the communities and get to uh visit with and and uh spend time with our neighbors is that many of the residents in our manufactured housing communities have been there for decades. Um, a lot of the residents are a pretty significant slice of our low and moderate income workforce in Boulder and um, now we have a lot of seniors there who are desirous of aging in place. Next slide. I'm going to dive into history and I'm not a great historian, but I have to tell you that the Carnegie Library has some really great information about all of this. So, um, I'll go back. Um we we start with a few photos, but early on you begin to see mobile home parks

[26:02] documented across the city by 1950. Um in fact there was a camp there was a veterans camp at 24th in Arapjo back before then. Um Mapleton Mobile Home Park shows up in 1954, though other historic records say it wasn't actually formally established until ' 63. In 58 at that little corner map, kind of grainy, it's kind of small. On the bottom right hand, you will find Ponderosa. You can see if you look at the west side of this Wonderland Lake um along the western edge of that picture, Ponderosa is a little teeny cluster of homes way up at the end of 93, right at the top of the edge of the photo. I couldn't make it any prettier, but it just shows you that a lot of these parks predate us. They've been here for a while. 1960. My my uh longer photo at the bottom is one of the first photos of Orchard Grove. Next slide.

[27:03] A sample timeline of the um going forward from from this history is that in the 1970s things really take off. Um there is a national mobile home boom and one in every four homes built in the 70s was a mobile or manufactured home. Um this was both welcomed for people looking for work, people exploring the manifest destiny of the United States postwar booming for truck creators and the um building industry. Um, but it also began the rejection of cities to the concept of the mobile home park. And you begin to see single family zoning in cities that challenge the development of these parks, which is probably why we largely see most of them on edges of cities and in rural areas. Again, in the 1980s, the city recognized the value of mobile homes and um added the notes and support in our comprehensive plan

[28:00] policies. And in ' 85, we actually instituted mobile home park zoning. It was not mandatory at that time, and a lot of the properties have opted in over time. I think Orchard Grove um actually uh changed their zoning in 2009. Next slide. And then that flood shows up in 2013. And um the impact to the manufactured housing communities in the Front Range was pretty devastating. Um during that time, Mapleton uh was significantly damaged and using uh some of our various um health and human services funding, we were able to purchase that property and begin that owner facilitate the ownership of Mapleton by thistle. In 2014, um the Ponderosa owners approached the city looking for funding because their as you can see in the background of this photo, their infrastructure was failing. And um over the next three

[29:00] years working with CDBG disaster relief funding um the city was working with the owner in in an attempt to upgrade the the facilities but we ended up purchasing Ponderosa in 2017. The biggest story moving forward from this era is that activism around the manufactured housing community, the residents interest, the safety and health of these communities um moves forward and you begin to see legislative action. Next slide. To dive into the strategy itself, um I wanted to focus in on the action items and look at this through the lens of legislation. which is a place where a lot of positive benefits have been have been um achieved in recent years. Resident support which is what our staff and our colleagues and partners in the community do daily. And then the that question regarding collaboration with our park owners. Next

[30:01] slide. This is going to be very high level but there is an attachment in your packet. it is um attachment B which gives you a a snapshot of all of the recent um Colorado legis Colorado legislation specific to mobile home parks and manufactured housing. So there's some um additional links there for you to to dig a little deeper. As I stated it earlier, mobile home parks are licensed and licensed and regulated by the state and thus much of the opportunity to affect the operating standards and the condition of these parks requires legislative action. We've been blessed um we've had um some state reps who've been working very hard on this and have been attending to the interests of this this um housing type. Um since 2019, lots of bills have been passed that addressed specific concerns. Um and specifically in 2020,

[31:00] the um HB221287 formed what is known as the mobile home park um u oh I can't think of EMPOP. It's where you can actually go in and file a complaint, get legal support. It um expanded greatly the rights of the residents and the education available to people who are um working with park owners. Next slide. Additional um highlights was is that we now have legislation that influences how park management communicates changes and policies across the residents. Um we ensure now that the information is provided in the resident's first language. There are requirements for adequate notice. There's requirements for portable water if there's a water disturbance or people being provided a different place to stay in the event of a longer term interruption. And then there's clarification around the right to buy and sell homes in parks. More

[32:02] recently, the state also passed new water quality provisions and uh the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been out in the past year testing all of the water distribution systems in all the parks. that have set up a dashboard for that. So, anyone wanting to see how they come out, it is available online. All of our parks on the city water system came in just fine. Um, some of our park owners have expressed that they have benefited greatly from a recent cap that the legislature put in place um exempting properties valued at less than 28,000 um from any continued taxation of their property. And that's been great. Again, the city advocates profoundly for this. Um, our our state legislative staff um has been at work on this for many years. And also, I want to shout out that our coalition of mobile home owners in Boulder, CMOB, has also been doing some

[33:01] advocacy at the state level. Next slide. Another part of the lens for how we look at this um the implementation of the tasks in the strategy is through um the work of our staff and very important to that has been a leadership role played by our community engagement staff um community outreach and community engagement. They did an amazing amount of work through CO 19 to make sure that each of the manufactured housing communities had great information navigators, community connectors, um people who were actually provided some stipended and support to be hands and helpers for their residents, for their neighbors. Um, this group also coordinates and hosts the coalition of mobile home owners in Boulder and supports a I think it's bimonthly meeting um for this organization for this group of advocates for the communities. And we provide up to 3,000

[34:00] annually for each of the park um neighborhood groups oftentimes referred to as homeowner association to do whatever they feel is most pressing and needing needed. Um we have community parks, we have um gardens and oftentimes a lot of community building events. Um we have one of the communities that has actually saved some of their money off so that they can help people in need um under climate and health and human services and the departments um who coordinate additional social service networking in our city. Um we see a lot of work specific to climate. There have been many, many years of home repair grants. They start off with um a series of grants that were held three to five years ago where um homeowners could get up to $10,000 for home repairs. Um that money has ended, but it has been replaced by other sources. We are we we

[35:00] don't have a consistent funding source for this work, but we have uh staff who are constantly um pulling together and investigating and doing what we can to support this Um I also want to note that there's a typo on this page um in my scan of the winterization support and Colorado care support and climates monies to um deal with the wind damage and other things that we have put resources into parks for um the actual total amount is 3.12 million that have been spent on manufactured housing grants in the recent years. Next slide. And then there's ongoing support from Housing and Human Services and our human rights staff and our code enforcement staff. As Kurt said, it it it probably all started out largely as a housing initiative, but now um we're all walking together um to get out in front of anything we can to support these communities. Um, we oftentimes have

[36:02] people come to us for or come to our our nonprofit partners for help with evction eviction prevention and rent assistance. Uh, the code enforcement staff is uh in front of residents who want to sell a home who need to get a certificate that there's of habitability and make sure that that home it can be transferred. Um and then more recently in in recent years um we been providing a lot of support at Orchard Grove. Um we had some residents in Orchard Grove that um did some home repair and remodels without permits and there's been some working backward to further repair and make those homes stable again. code enforcement's been out in front of the um work with residents answering questions, showing them how best to make things work again, make things right again. Um and we've also been working

[37:01] very closely with the ownership out there. So, it's been a partner between our city staff and the park owner as well. Um happy to report that most of the homes at Orchard Grove have been restored to habitability. Next slide. The big question coming from the retreat in May of 2024 is, is there an opportunity to create some form of rent stabilization and um partner with the private owners? And um right now in between February and May, Kurt Vernho, myself and Chrisville, who should also be available here tonight, went out and talked with the property owners. And the answer largely is they are not interested at this time. Um they don't have a need. They don't have any um need for investment in their plant. They have assured us that they have made significant um upgrades to their water

[38:01] distribution system. They have offered to send us copies of their maintenance schedules and offered to share their utility mapping system. Um they uh were very gracious and provided us a lot of good information about how their parks operate. Um but stopped short of the idea that they would begin to operate a um rent stabilization, some sort of a rent abatement or rent reduction program themselves. They did of course offer that they accept all sorts of housing vouchers and other forms of payment from our not for-profit community and church groups who help support some of their um residents in need. They were very enthusiastic about being in Boulder and how much they benefit from the parks and recck department programs for the kids and um all of the help that they have received from our city across the years. Next slide.

[39:00] So we continue this work. The strategy is in place. It is a living document and um it ensures that the work that we do on behalf of our residents is beneficial, appreciated and ongoing. Um coming up next, we have continued community engagement and the ongoing work to elevate the voices of these special communities. We continue to support and preserve aging homes as shown earlier in the presentation. Um these are kind of a locked little communities with locked set of housing type and so this need does not decrease over time. Um recently we received were award from the state of Colorado. We've received notice in the recent weeks that we're getting $2.84 $84 million from the Proposition 123 funds to stand up a program that our staff is calling Boulder Rehab and Replacement. And that will provide new funds to support rehabilitation of both manufactured

[40:00] housing and single family homeowners. Uh and then also the the big win for this is that that money can be used to replace manufactured homes. People can buy new homes with it. Um, we also will continue to stand up all any support we can for people who are facing landlord tenant issues. We have a guide and we have a lot of staff in the community mediation office that helps and we will continue to engage with those private property owners and uh keep that relationship going and we're planning right now on an annual check-in with them. That is the end of my presentation. Kurt Bird Hopper is with me as well as Chris Deville who is from utilities um and he also participated in the meetings with the property owners. So if you have any questions for us >> thanks so much for that Molly and it's great to have you at a council meeting. Welcome >> great to be here.

[41:01] >> Excellent. So, uh, council, this is our chance to ask clarifying questions of Molly, Curt, or any other member of the team. I got Ryan out of the gate. >> Nope, Ryan's handling. >> Sorry, Erin. That was a mistake. Nothing for me. Thank you. >> No worries. So, I got Nicole and then Taiisha. Yeah, thanks so much um for the presentation and summary and uh just it was really um it was really cool to see how many of the things we've checked off over the last um five, six, seven years uh on the the action plan. So just thank you for all your work on that. Um I just had a really quick question um for renters. The tenant advisory committee u recently generated sort of a tenants um handbook. Is there an equivalent for people who live in manufactured home communities and is that available say at the state level or something like that? I'm just wondering if people have questions what would be the best um

[42:00] place to send them um if say they're residents living in one of the parks or something like that. >> Um thank you for the question. Um we we do have a an equivalent to that. It is um in update right now. It given the fact that we are all working on accessibility for all of our documentation. It and we've had some staff changes in the past three or four years. It needed some updating and so it is available and it should be available publicly soon. But always um our tenants in any in any community in the city is welcome are welcome to come to housing and work with our staff and um our we will guide them through resources available from our not for-profit partners if needed. Yes, same applies to our manufactured housing residents. >> Okay, wonderful. Thank you so much. And yeah, just thanks again for all your work. It was uh disappointing to hear that there was no interest from the property owners um about u working with us on some rent stabilization, but I really appreciate you all for trying.

[43:00] >> Absolutely. All right, Taiisha, Tina, and Lauren. >> Thank you so much. That was um just so much wonderful work. Uh I really uh have had an opportunity to uh participate in one of the by- annual or by monthly meetings of the manu manu manufactured home or is it CMO? I don't know what CMO stands for. Thank you. Um and just again, you know, I I highly recommend um more time uh and opportunities for my colleagues as well to hear directly uh because I can anticipate there are going to be more needs um in in the months and years ahead. So to know that we've got such incredible work to build on, especially uh with the Boulder Mod and and Ponder Rosa, um the rebate program, you know, the obviously the the energy um support, the home repairs, there's just so much wonderful work. And so um I did have some concerns around the fiscal

[44:01] note, however, because it indicated that there was no or whatever the language was. I guess what I'm saying is um what I was expecting with the fiscal note is not having to go through all the slides to find out all the financial information related to what we're talking about. And so, but unfortunately there wasn't anything in the fiscal note and I had to do that and then crosswalk it with other things. And so it just would have been helpful to have more information in the fiscal note section around the investments that have been made, the expenses, um the revenue, you know, the $3,000 that go to community building, the 10,000 for home repairs, the 3.19 or two, you know, if there's sub substantial contributions from the state or um the feds. It just would be helpful to in grounding especially as we know we're fiscally restraint and we're going into the budget season to have more of that financial information uh would be very helpful and this applies to this and all of our topics moving forward. Um and perhaps there's a

[45:01] conversation that needs to be had or uh something where we can share more about the expectations for the fiscal note. Um but I know this is new and I'm just grateful to have it. Um I did have a question though about the equity analysis. I noticed it wasn't completed. So I was wondering well why it wasn't completed and then what were what is the criteria for that review given that this um uh project or item uh includes lowwealth lowincome uh el uh our aging and elder community as well as our racial and ethnically diverse communities. So just curious um to hear a little bit more why the equity review wasn't applied and what criteria is typically used to determine whether it will be applied. >> Thank you for the question counselor ODMS. Um I would offer that the strategy itself was put in place before the equity tool was brought online and but it is certainly something that we should do as an update as a check-in to see how are the action items lining up with

[46:01] given that current lens. >> Oh awesome. And I think I I'm sure the C the C mob group would would love to to participate and even perhaps lead that. Um so thank you for for that. Um I also had a question. Um I had I had an opportunity to hear um from some folks when I went to uh the the session with uh unity um and and how to have hard conversations. And um somebody mentioned that BHP has a a gu a micro gardening program. And I just thought I know that there had been some conversations around either community gardens for um on the different properties or ones that we have relationships with. Um and I'm just I'm lifting up the I'm referring rather back to our council chats with um on food access and uh food affordability. And there were um concerns and and around those issues and um seeing that

[47:03] that is is a successful program that's being operated. I just was kind of curious um perhaps in the next steps, you know, is there an agricultural relationship um that could be explored to support um not only food affordability, accessibility, but also um we know that there's science around mental and physical health and having gardens and those kinds of things. we know the biodiversity ad there given I think didn't one of them or some of them have to cut some trees and so really just thinking about how everybody can be a part of the climate solution um as well as addressing some of the food um access and issues so I wanted to just lift that up um and then lastly um just for the next steps I thought it was curious that there wasn't any identified next steps but I would just like to add one which is the upcoming budgeting season and just really making sure I would love to make sure that the SE mob has been engaged and involved um in

[48:01] providing feedback to to what is being proposed and and making sure that the um you know those that are are living the experience are are really in in the lead in in identifying um and making proposals around our budget um as well as uh any federal issues that may apply to some of the the folks that are living. So again, just the quality the the equity study information will be really helpful and you already have some of that information based on what you shared this evening. So those are my comments, but just in general over the moon and if anything would love to see this level of human support and less on um things that are not helpful and beneficial to our goals. Thank you. >> Thank you for Thank you for that guidance and for highlighting these interests. And um I just want to ask Kurt. Kurt, did you have anything to add regarding community garden and BHP's initiative at all? >> Sure. Yeah, thank you for that. Um >> I do know that some of the parks do have

[49:00] um a shared garden space. Um Ponderosa also started one. Um I think it was about three years ago. Um, and they use some of the, uh, city grant funding to build the beds and bring in some good soil, that sort of thing as well. So, there is there is some of that going on, but we we certainly hear you about trying to um increase and grow that that that opportunity for residents >> and we'll look for those opportunities. >> Awesome. Thank you. And hopefully I'll work real hard to try and see if we can squeeze out some money, maybe take some money away from uh garage renovations, right? And actually feed people and and and and our our nonhuman kins. So, thank you so much for all the work that you do um not just in, you know, space, but in building um the the opportun the building opportunities as well. I'm just really excited about where that's going to go. It's it's just so needed.

[50:00] >> Thanks. We got Tina and Lauren. Yeah, I just had a quick question and thanks for all the information um about the opportunity to buy mobile hopes homes uh mobile home parks by owners. Is there an equivalent strategy for apartment buildings that is structured that we can learn about? >> Do you want me to go in there? >> Please do. Yeah, >> I was >> so there there was uh state legislation passed um requires um those types of properties to notify um the the city that they will uh be putting their properties up for sale. Um there isn't the funding available, however, like there is manufactured home communities. um to help purchase those. So in those cases, we would primarily have to use

[51:00] our own resources. Um Prop 123 has identified that um as a possible a as a type of project that they could support. Um uh but I I haven't seen the uh the state support those types of projects yet. Um the one we do have some examples of that uh in in the city. Um uh the Tantra um community in South Boulder was purchased kind of through that very same uh process and um we we have in partnership with BHP over the years have purchased um existing um apartment buildings. Um currently we don't um have the resources to um purchase those now but um I would say two or three times a year we we receive a notice at the city um of such properties that are coming for sale.

[52:02] Thanks. All right. And then uh Tara, thanks. >> Thank you. And I'll echo the kudos you've already received from my colleagues. Uh it's really great work that has already been done on this. um items I noticed was there w that hadn't been checked off the list yet was um exploring updates to the city's mobile home zone. Um and it mentioned potential changes could enable new communities in additional zones advanced city values facilitate homeowner-driven home replacement and allow new housing options while avoiding gentrification. And so I was just um curious if that's something that's still in process and being worked on. I understand that that was not part of our work plan ask. So um

[53:03] but I guess just more in general is that part of something staff is working on in the background. And I was also curious about as we look into our comp planning process, Molly, you mentioned that um there are several properties that are just outside of city limits in area 2. Um and it seems like the city has some stricter regulations and and potentially supports than what the state has. And so it seems like it could be helpful to have those annexed into the city to provide those additional protections to people who are essentially community members even though they're just on a different side of a line. Um and so I wonder about through the comp plan process if we might think about making it easier or more

[54:03] um or incentivizing the annexation of those properties. I want to um pass that one in to Curt in a second, but just simply say that the annexation process itself is is instigated by the land owner. The you guys are all aware of that it's a negotiation that takes place um once we have been approached and we've begun working on the terms of that deal. Um I am not aware if it's of whether or not the comp plan has been looking at making some other um opportunities available or making it easy for these properties to come in. Can I call a lifeline? Anybody else from staff have any input on that? >> Yeah. So I can I can give a little bit more background as well. So >> and also I'm happy to get some follow-up information afterwards. >> Sure. Thank you. >> I get that that wasn't part of exactly what we're looking at tonight.

[55:00] appreciate it. >> So, um, as you heard at the very beginning, you know, the city of Boulder was one of the first um, in the country to actually create um, manufacture home zoning um, and that was intended um, to protect the communities from gentrification. Um in 2019 when the strategy was um put in place, um council was interested in um uh exploring if there was um developers that would be interested in opening um other other parks in the city. And um we haven't the high cost of land in the city. we we really haven't seen um developers that have had that interest. Um so at that time um in that council at that time there was interest and if there was an opportunity to um open another manufactured home community, you know, they would they

[56:01] would be open for that. So that's that's why that was um placed in there, but it hasn't we haven't quite realized um any of those opportunities. All right, that's good enough, Lauren. >> Yeah, and hopefully I can still get a little bit more detailed information in an offline followup. >> You bet. >> Thanks. >> All right, Tara and then Matt. >> Um, so first of all, Molly and Kurt. Molly, that was a great presentation. And personally for me, it's been really great getting to know the visiting the parks and getting to know a lot of the people that are there. That's been just great. I know a lot of the council members feel that way as well. Um, so I only have one question. What can you explain why there are those what seem like vast differences in the lot rents, although maybe they're not really, they just seem like it? >> That's my only question. So the question

[57:00] is the differences in lots. >> Yeah. The slide that had the lot rents, >> right? Right. >> That one there seemed to be the threes and then the nines and what would you say is the reason for such vast or is that not really that vast of a difference? It just seems >> Yeah. The differences in in the lot rents in the five parks inside of the city of Boulder are that um Ponderosa is owned by the city and so the lot rents have been raised only once during the years that we have owned that property and it it rests in the upper 500s. Um again, Thistle operates Mapleton Mobile Home Park as a community land trust and they do it in partnership in a little bit of a cooperative model with the residents and so they have a sliding scale. They actually do have a um uh AMI pricing plan for those residents ranging from 350 up into the upper 500s again. And then the three other parks are privately held. Um and I was pleased to see when calling in GA gathering their

[58:01] rents that none of them have broken $1,000. So that the glass is half full, half empty there. I don't know. It's yeah it's um but it is a concern and that is the ongoing challenge in the discussion you have all raised through this council priority and that is rents go up they go up somewhere between four and 5% a year often and right now they've been they've been more stable than not since the pandemic but um we know that this is a issue that's not going to go away and we will continue to engage Kurt thought. Yeah, that's um that's correct. It's really um based on the the ownership model of the park and um I think we've been pleased as a city to be able to influence um the lot rents and keep them very low at both Mapleton and Rosa.

[59:00] >> Hey man, Mark, >> thanks Aaron. Um, Molly, great great presentation. It's nice to get this update update since there, you know, we tend not to look at this very often and we've just been recently celebrating Boulder Mod and there's other other communities that certainly need some love and and are and are getting help in very different way different ways. Um, but first I just want to start with maybe a clarifying then I'll get to a question and then a comment. Um I just want to clarify that um in in in comments made earlier about and somehow a funding equivalency between money spent on garage renovations and money maybe used for um our our sort of manufacturing home communities. Uh the garage renovations and maybe this is a question for Nuria or community vitality. As far as I I know that those garage renovations are funded purely through kit which is then thus sort of non-discretionary funds and not from the general fund. So those are not really monies that that could move around in that manner. So I just want to clarify that. So community doesn't sort of pit our our cage investments against how we support our manufactured homes. >> That is accurate that our uh downtown

[60:02] garages and the maintenance we do provide to them are from gage and separate sources of funding. Yes. >> Wonderful. Appreciate that clarity because we don't want those misconceptions out or we're pitting our business community against our our manufactured home communities. We don't want to do that. Um so a question really follows a little bit on Lauren and maybe this will come again in a follow-up but just maybe clearly sort of around utility. I know that there's been some some issues and some discussions with Sansushi and uh wastewater issues and and them sort of having to be on their own in that sense and maybe us bringing utilities out towards uh Marshall Mesa. And so I just sort of curious as to how that plays out when there's a community that could really leverage our uh uh experience and and use of utility and tapping in and where that comes in and if there's a need. I know there's been some issues of budget for their wastewater system and that sort of thing. So I'd love to know that when when we talk about that if those things are brought into that sort of followup as well. Um so there's some like cost benefit of of where those conversations go with regards to the comp plan. So maybe not an answer but just flagging that for the future dialogue when when

[61:00] we have that. >> Yeah. See Chris come online. He may have some input into that particular situation. >> Yeah. Good evening council. Uh Chris Duville. I'm the deputy director of operations for utilities. So council member Benjamin. Thanks for that comment and we will keep that in mind. Um just just to emphasize I think what Molly covered. Yeah, San Sushi they are in a challenging situation. They're they're area three and they're currently not part of our service territory. So there would be some pretty significant policy and comp plan changes um to even even have them be eligible for any kind of city services. So we are aware of their challenging situation and empathetic. Um no no current pathway to do anything. um short term, but willing to keep that in mind. >> I appreciate that. Yeah, just you know, we want to keep our water quality top-notch, even if it's our responsibility or the waste or what goes into our our creeks and streams. So, I appreciate that. Um next is is really

[62:00] just a comment with regards to Boulder Mod. You know, I think our our first home should be rolling off here pretty soon and it would be great if there's a way for us to celebrate that. I know that we were all there in celebration at the beginning. Um, it would be nice for us to all celebrate when that first home rolls off and and is in in in in transit to be delivered. I think that would be a great a crowning achievement to celebrate the staff, the crews, the the high school students that have been putting in that work in Habitat Humanity. So, just a thought if that's maybe in the works, awesome. But if not, it would be great to celebrate that and that wonderful step that that we've taken and how quickly that's come along. So, I just put that out there and I think it would be great to celebrate the community and and everybody who's who's done the work to to get that to roll off the lot. Thank you for that. We will we will work toward that end. Matt, >> thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks again. >> Thanks, Mark. >> Yeah, just one question. First of all, Molly, great presentation. Uh, thank you very much. Um, uh, a couple of years ago, there was a

[63:00] fairly serious movement, and you may not be able to answer this, but there was a fairly serious movement at the legislature to try to institute some form of rent stabilization for paid rents. uh that died unfortunately um and and the governor was fairly adamantly opposed to it. Do you know if there are any um efforts to resurrect that kind of bill um and institute that kind of control over pad rents or is it simply a dead and buried subject at this point? Um we're we we will need to talk to our um legislative group and see what we can have put in place for the next session. Um as you know they start in December go till May. So we've got some time. We we just need to go hire that next Carl Castillo and make sure we have some more staffing in front of all of this. Yeah, it was unfortunate, Council Member Wallock, that you know, the 2022, I think it was

[64:01] 1287, um, the mayor stripped it out of a bill that ultimately passed and had other benefits for our manufactured housing parks. So, the objective would be to continue to reframe the ask and demonstrate again why this would be beneficial for this housing type specifically. >> I hope you will continue that effort and uh, and may the force be with you. Um, I think it's a worthy goal. Thank you. >> Just a clarification though, it was the uh the governor that didn't sign her man, but I'm just trying to protect Erin there. >> Yeah, don't don't look at me. It wasn't me. >> Oh, so sorry. >> Yeah, we >> No, I I don't mean to get you and the governor confused all the time, Erin. I'm sorry. >> No worries. Um, yeah, and we did support that bill at the time, and it is in our policy statement to support similar efforts. as uh we will continue to advocate for that down at the capital uh in the legislative session which I believe starts in January January to May.

[65:02] >> Thank you for >> uh Mark was that it >> is all there is. Thank you. >> Oh good. Okay, good. Not seeing any other hands raised. I'll just finish us out just to echo the thanks of all of my colleagues and it truly was incredibly inspiring to see all of those check marks on that manufactured housing strategy. So, huge thanks to uh you Molly, Kurt, the whole team uh for getting so many of those things done. And um I was one of the ones that that was advocating for this to be one of our council priorities and in particular to give another try at that rent stabilization potential deal with the the park owners. And so, while it's a shame that that hasn't worked out, I think it was definitely worth trying again. So, I really appreciate the effort in that direction. Who knows, maybe one of these days, um there'll be another opportunity in that direction. So, >> and we will continue to look at those unchecked boxes as well, >> the few that remain. >> Thank you very much. >> Okay, good. Well, again, thanks so much

[66:00] for all your work on um the presentation and this item and everything that this initiative entails. >> We'll say good night and go to our next matters item, please, Elicia. >> Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Um item 3B on tonight's agenda is advancing key economic development policy initiatives. >> And with this item, if my computer is uh cooperating with me, we will go to assistant city manager Mark Wool. Mark, take it away. >> Thank you, Naria. And good evening, council. We'll pop the slides up and I'll uh do a little intro here. All right. Uh, good evening. I'm Mark Wolf, assistant city manager. As Nuria said, we are happy to be joining you this evening to share progress on our economic vitality strategy implementation efforts, specifically on

[67:02] four initiatives to to support economic development activities that will require future council action. The proposed initiatives we will cover this evening help address council feedback from the April 24th study session, which called for greater urgency, increased specificity, and a focus on actionable steps that the city can take to address some of our economic challenges. Tonight, I am joined by Regan Brown, our senior project manager overseeing the downtown development authority project, and uh Jennifer Pinsino, our economic vitality manager. both of which you will hear from shortly. Next slide. As you know, uh, city council established supporting economic vitality, addressing commercial vacancies, broadening small business support, and expanding our economic development programs and tools as key

[68:01] priorities. This also included enhancing commercial area connections and vibrancy particularly between the hill and the downtown. Next slide. During the April 24th study session, we reviewed the updated economic vitality strategy which includes key pillars of equity, resilience, vitality, and innovation. We also discussed the commercial district commercial area district analysis which recommended exploring a downtown development authority and potential other tools like urban renewal, metro districts, and the expansion of general improvement districts. Council emphasized the need to address our economic challenges urgently and supported continued exploration of these district tools. staff committed to bring back implementation updates, especially those directly influenced by the city

[69:00] with a strong desire to support small businesses and align our economic development efforts with community values. Next slide. In addition to close coordination with our partner organizations such as the Boulder Chamber, the Latino Chamber of Commerce, Visit Boulder, CU Boulder, and Downtown Boulder Partnership. Staff has taken steps since our April conversation to leverage existing resources to implement the economic vitality strategy with proper urgency in in the efforts. Uh we have established a cross-dep departmental team including the city manager's office, economic vitality, community vitality, planning and development services and communications and engagement to advance efforts in business resources, district support and economic development. In the development of the economic vitality strategy, a key piece of feedback from small businesses was the

[70:01] varied knowledge and accessibility of resources available and the differing experiences in working with the city. Uh we have conducted a review of all potential touch points businesses may have with the city and are working on developing training materials for staff so that information is clear and consistent across those touch points. We all are also embarking on a review of potential barriers for small businesses in working with the city and how we can make important changes to how we support businesses in this way. For our commercial areas, this year's Broadway median project will help improve streetscape on University Hill. In addition, we have also taken steps to improve the customer experience related to maintenance items within commercial areas. This has included better coordination across departments and improvements to our inquire boulder processes. The city with our partners has also taken opportunities to make small but

[71:00] quick enhancements to address things like tree grates, weeds, and trash across the downtown. We are about to talk about the potential for expanded economic development tools uh for the city's tool belt. Uh in addition to that, we are continuing to work work to support key economic development projects such as the east bookend redevelopment and others and we are working towards better communication related to process improvement that has already occurred in the last 12 to 18 months and make sure that businesses are aware of those process improvements and that there are clear paths for continuous improvement across all city processes in the near future. Next slide. Tonight's presentation focuses on proposed initiatives to expand our economic development tools, including the continued exploration of the downtown development authority, which will provide an update on the progress of those efforts, updating our Boulder Urban Renewal Authority or Bureau,

[72:00] establishing a CHIPS zone in Boulder, and expanding our economic development incentive program. These initiatives represent new or enhanced tools for the city and its partners to invigorate economic activity, enhance commercial vibrancy, and foster inclusive economic growth. Each of these policy levers will require future council action, and represent opportunities to be proactive in addressing flattening sales tax and economic activity. Next slide. And just quickly as a reminder, we are seeking feedback and guidance on these strategies, especially since each item requires its own uh lift from a work plan perspective. Uh so we thought it was an important uh milestone to check uh the pulse of council on each of the four initiatives this evening. Now I am happy to turn it over to Regan Brown to provide an update on the downtown development authority.

[73:01] >> Good evening, council members. Can we go to the next slide, please? As Mark mentioned, I am here to provide an update on our exploration of creating a downtown development authority, also referred to as a DDA. This was one of the key recommendations to come out of the improvement district analysis that was just recently completed and was supported by council for further exploration during the April 24th study session. We are continuing to work with Progressive Urban Management Associates, also known as PUMA, to lead this next phase of work. A DDA is a highly effective governance and funding tool that can support infrastructure maintenance, programming, and operations improvements. It's a tool that can provide solutions to addressing high commercial vacancy rates. It can also be effective in its ability to increase commercial area vibrancy. Regarding the next steps in timeline, we

[74:02] are now kicking off a feasibility study in financial modeling with Puma. This includes several components beginning with the engagement kickoff. We'll convene a planning group made up of property owners, commercial tenants, residents, and community partners to really help shape and advocate for the DDA. Next, the potential scope. We will begin developing the draft plan of development which will guide the DDA's vision, strategies, and project priorities. The scope will also include mapping out potential DDA boundaries, financing mechanisms. We will be evaluating potential funding tools including tax increment financing projections. And then lastly, governance structure. We will be assessing the DDA governance structure, including potential impacts on existing districts. Next slide.

[75:02] Looking ahead towards the end of this year into the beginning of 2026, we will be conducting extensive stakeholder engagement with commercial property owners and brokers, businesses, residents, community groups, partner organizations, impacted taxing entities. Essentially, anyone who would be affected by the creation of a DDA, we will be conducting outreach to. Looking ahead to quarter 2 of 2026, we do plan to return to council with an update on the feasibility study findings, the initial DDA proposal, and potential recommended next steps. And if the concept is deemed feasible and has strong community support, the goal would be to bring the DDA proposal to voters in the November 2026 election. and eligible electors would include property owners, commercial tenants, and residents within the proposed DDA

[76:00] boundary. With that, we can go to the next slide and I will hand it over to Jennifer Pinso for an update on our other economic vitality initiatives. >> Thank you, Reagan. Tonight, I'll be providing a quick overview of two of the proposed initiatives. The first is an update on the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority or Bureau to create a more effective tool for encouraging investment and revitalization in various areas of the city. Since Bureau was established in the late 70s, state regulations regarding urban renewal authorities have changed. While bureau commissioners can meet and review projects in the city's two existing urban renewal areas, the authority is limited in its ability to support economic vitality. Updating Bureau to include additional commissioners, including representatives of other taxing authorities would allow Bureau to consider and establish additional renewable urban renewal areas. The mayor would continue to appoint commissioners

[77:00] who would be approved by city council. Um, next slide, please. We propose conducting additional research and planning over the next few months and returning to council early next year to provide a detailed proposal for an updated structure including bureau scope, authority, oversight, composition, and appointment process. Next slide, please. Staff has also been gathering information on a program that would support innovation and the growth of businesses in quantum technologies, semiconductors, and other advanced industries as well as businesses as further dis diversification of the local economy. State and federal chip zone programs provide financial incentives to businesses located in geographic areas specifically designated as chips zones. Several of the several communities

[78:00] including Longmont have received one or are in the process of applying for chip zone designation. Applying for and receiving a chip zone designation for areas in Boulder would make it possible for quantum semiconductor and other eligible businesses to access state and federal incentives while supporting the retention, expansion and attraction of businesses in emerging high growth sectors. Application to the state for chip zone would in require a form for formal resolution by city council and we propose returning to council within the next several weeks with more detailed information. Next slide please. We would also bring forth a proposed resolution for consideration. Should council approve the resolution, we would submit a chip zone application to the state. If the state approves, we begin promoting the zone in communications and outreach targeting

[79:01] advanced industry businesses. Thank you. Next, I'll hand it over to Mark. All right. Uh, the economic vitality strategy suggests expanding the city's economic development tools to address commercial vacancies and support vibrancy in in commercial districts. We are proposing to add an expanded incentive program that would be used strategically to support business attraction, expansion, and retention. Overall, it's important to frame why would we consider this? Boulder has a long history of using its beauty and reputation as enough of a natural incentive to attract and retain businesses. Over the years, our region has become more competitive and affordability challenges has made our challenge more acute. I can attest that we have had very difficult budget conversations this

[80:02] week and that our overall economic challenges in sales tax uh generally and property values are are very real. Together with the other strategies tonight and contained within our economic vitality strategy, we believe that an e an expanded economic development incentive program will help us improve our competitiveness as a community and help with our overall economic health. This new incentive program would supplement the existing flexible rebate program. The current flex rebate program is budgeted at $150,000 annually. While we have seen really excellent returns on our investments uh of approximately 10 to one and Jennifer certainly has some really great examples of how this uh program has been utilized over the years. The the program is limited in both its reach and capacity. No applications for rebates were

[81:01] received in 2021 22 24 or yet here in 2025. This expanded program framework would delegate day-to-day management and application review to staff for efficiency with individual incentives approved by the city manager and tied to measurable outcomes. The program would feature clear metrics and regular reporting to council on its effectiveness and return on investment. Next slide. Eligibility criteria for incentives would be designed to reflect community values and key opportunities that are appropriate for Boulder. Some potential criteria include optimizing commercial space utilization by reducing commercial vacancies, supporting affordability by encouraging the creation of affordable commercial commercial space and/or contributing to middle inome housing solutions,

[82:00] promoting equity and inclusivity by supporting diverse businesses and those committed to equitable hiring practices and procurement. Advancing sustainability and resilience by encouraging environmental stewardship. Encouraging job growth, especially highquality jobs with competitive wages and benefits. Diversifying the local economy by supporting growth in uh key industries identified in the city's economic strategy. Next slide. I'll also note uh appreciate council member Wallock's uh hotline to welcome us back from uh uh council vacation. Uh I I do want to acknowledge that the the program is con conceptual and uh does not have uh super fine detail at this stage. As I mentioned at the outset, um these uh programs, including the incentive program, uh are at a good point to get a pulse check from council

[83:00] and and certainly your feedback tonight, uh will help us frame the details to give a general idea of how this uh might work. We anticipate that a redevelopment proposal would uh apply for um a developer coming in doing a redevelopment would come in and apply for the program. staff would analyze the application based on the criteria and determine an appropriate incentive amount based on that criteria. This would likely be in the form of a fee waiver uh related to building uh permit fees. An agreement would then be uh signed with the business and reporting and tracking would continue from there. And again, if if council is uh generally supportive of the concept, uh we anticipate bringing back uh this for council authorization uh in the next uh few months. Next slide. All right, to wrap up, uh here is a summary of our anticipated uh timeline for council consideration. And again,

[84:00] we're um excited to do this work. It is it is um quite a lift. And so it'll um be great to get council's feedback at this stage. Uh if we do move forward on these initiatives, uh you will see these come back in rapid succession over the next several months. To emphasize, uh economic development is crucial for Boulder's overall well-being. A robust and growing economic base is foundational to the city's capacity to fund essential services such as affordable housing, safety net services, public safety through our sales and use tax, property tax, and other revenues. These four initiatives are a part of our larger and ongoing efforts to support our business community, but they do represent new policy tools that help expand our business support services overall. And with that, I believe we'll bring you back to the question for this evening that will uh help us establish some parameters uh for these four

[85:00] initiatives. I think we can take the slides down there and back to you, Mayor. >> All right. Thanks so much, Mark, and others for that uh very informative presentation. I will note that we have 20 minutes allocated for it, and you did it in 18. So, nicely done on the the stopwatch there. Um, okay. So, what I'll ask is, uh, council, if you have any clarifying questions, let's do that first and then after that we can give feedback to staff. So, any clarifying questions on the presentation or the memo, Tina, Matt, and Mark? >> Yeah, thank you for that um really clear description of the four different initiatives we're looking at. Um, when we're talking about the incentive program, would those be incentives for the whole city or would those be incentives that apply to a part of the city? >> It's a it's a good question. I we're anticipating be being able to use the

[86:01] incentive program citywide. I I think we what we referenced in potentially using um special districts or general improvement districts is we could look at certain areas to expand those incentives. um that that's an option for us. It would depend on the capacity of the the specific area, the general improvement district or tool. If we're looking at some of these expanded tools and and urban renewal uh or the downtown development authority, those also could use a similar criteria that that uh could come along. Um so it's both and but we anticipate that the the general concept of an expanded incentive program would would be applicable citywide. >> Okay. Thanks. Uh, can I call aqu on that, mayor? >> Yeah, go ahead, Tesa. >> Um, Mark, does that also include land or agricultural lands that are in the county when you say citywide? >> Not not for land that's not in the city

[87:00] limits proper. >> Okay. So then the agricultural um lands that we have in the county the those businesses would not be eligible for this but could they or is that is that a parameter that could be explored because those are critical businesses. >> Yeah it's a good question I the concept is that it would uh we would be able to wave fees that are paid to the city. So if they are not city limits then we wouldn't have a mechanism to provide an incentive. >> But if that's if that's the only one you're exploring I I think but by by closing the door now though wouldn't you make it impossible to find other options that could be available. >> Yeah certainly um >> something to consider. Sorry that to be on questions Mark so I apologize that I'll get back to that on comments but thank you for answering that question. That's is my only thank you for allowing me to qual.

[88:00] >> Okay, great. We'll get back to that later. So, we got Matt, Mark, Nicole, and Tara. >> Thanks, Aaron. I appreciate that that update. It's uh helpful to see us moving along. I know that last time we met and talked about this, talked about a little bit of urgency to get the ball rolling and here and the ball is rolling. So, this is great to see. Uh couple questions. One regarding the DDA. Um, I'm curious about where TDM fits in to to this. Um, I know we're going to be talking about AMPs and TDM in the September 4th meeting. Um, but it does is the DDA the appropriate mechanism from which we would bake in resources for TDM um or is that not standard? So, I just I just thought I'd ask um given that we're going to be talking about TDM and there's limited resources and how we approach that and support that. So, I didn't know if DDA would be a proper mechanism, and if so, do we bake that in early on into the process in terms of outreach and expectation setting? >> Thank you for the question, council member. I'm happy to jump in and and

[89:01] Mark, if you have anything to add. Um, it's a great question and fun the funding from a DDA certainly can be directed towards initiatives that support TDM. um that will really be informed through drafting the plan of development and identifying what uh priority projects the community would like to see in this plan of development which will guide the policy and the projects um that the DDA implements. >> Okay, I I appreciate that. Well, let's just let's let's maybe put a feather in that since we're going to come back and talk about TDM in September and so maybe DDAs are new vehicles in which we can consider that. So, I I I appreciate uh Rean you bringing that up and flagging that. Um the next question uh I have centers around the urban rural. I I see the timeline for that. I'm a little confused. Um is sort of the the bureau expansion proposal is in 2026. Is that the expansion of our capacity

[90:00] for operating a more another bureau per or another urban renewal authority? Is that is that what I get from that? I guess because I'm I'm asking maybe two ways. is that where we'll have the capacity to handle it and then really the the related question that's adjacent to that is at what point are we going to be ready to accept an application for a new uh URA? Um so I think they're sort of tandem. Do we have to wait for all that to be done before we can say hey we're ready for it or can we accept an application now just setting the expectations that we've got to get some of the capacity in place before we can take action and we can start to review it. That's a that's a great question. Thank you. Um and I think as far as whether or not and when we can accept applications, I think that might be a a legal question, but when we're looking at the timing and expanding, needing to recruit members and appoint members would probably be during the same um time frame that we bring members on board for

[91:02] all the cities, boards, and commissions. So that's why we're looking at that timing. I think between now and then we can be doing a lot of the groundwork and looking into, you know, how exactly we structure that. And we're not talking about a new urban renewal authority. We're just talking about bringing the current authority into compliance with state law. Can I call, please, and then I won't have a question and you'll have one less person asking a question. Good. All right. Um, is there no is there no way to do it faster? Or in other words, is there any like negative any uh negative consequences from not doing it faster? So, I get that we're not going to do it till really next March or April. That's a long time away. It's only one board. Is there a reason why we can't move it along a little faster? I'll help. I'm on that subcommittee. Well, one thing um

[92:01] appreciate the the question, Tara. I what we can look into is uh how we can sequence some of that. So, one element of this is making sure the board's in compliance so that it can be in the position to establish a new urban renewal area. There's a whole bunch of work that leads up to establishing uh a a new urban renewal area, doing a conducting a blight study, um putting together the rules of the road, if you will, for the the new board, um how we'll staff it and structure it and all of that kind of stuff. So, I I think we can certainly move in parallel so that we're ready, but at this point, we we don't have any uh proposals in or preparing any sort of study for for an area. So, um, we we can kind of look into the sequencing there, but certainly appreciate the point on on the urgency. >> All right. Thanks for that, um, question, Tara. Yeah. Anyway, so uh yeah, that's with the URA. Whatever we

[93:00] can do to keep moving the ball, I just know that there's some interest in maybe an application for uh expanding uh URA. So, just whenever we can wave our hands up and say we're ready to go, the sooner we can do that probably perhaps the better. Uh, last question. metropolitan districts. I know we talked about that as part of the Puma study. I didn't really see that here and so I'm kind of wondering where maybe that resides. I know that wasn't maybe an immediate thing, but I'm wondering if there's if it's still maybe percolating in scoping and seeing if there's some opportunity here down the road to explore that. >> Yeah, we I think just had the word in uh the document and the presentation. What we didn't mention is the the rest of the work that uh community vitality is leading and looking at all of the district tools which in include looking at metro districts and includes expanded use of general improvement districts. Um we are focused on our existing uh general improvement districts and the future and evolution of those which could include these other tools. Um so

[94:00] we are exploring metro districts as a part of that um process. uh UMA is helping us with that uh work as as well. Uh and so that'll be a is a part of the next phase of work over the next several months. >> Okay. Appreciate it. Thanks, Mark. That's it for me. >> I got Mark Nicole, Taisha, Lauren. >> Okay. I I just have one sort of two-part bifurcated question. The first part of it is to what extent are the projects under the CHIPS program um dependent upon state or federal grant monies? And the second part of that question is in light of the decline in support for these kinds of projects at the federal level um is the CHIPS program going to remain viable um for Boulder um uh if these projects do need that kind of support and that support is not going to be available or potentially not going to

[95:00] be available. Thank you for the question. I think that whether or not we have a chip zone or whether the um federal government continues to support those incentives, the state is supporting those incentives. So, they will come from the state. Um in order to have businesses be eligible for those state programs, we do need to have a chip zone. um we are monitoring it to see what happens with federal funding for that. But our ability to go um to to continue to talk with advanced industry businesses and to help support them. We're not supporting them financially necessarily and our incentive. If we have an incentive program and advance additional incentives, we would still be able to use those regardless of whether or not we had federal incentives to go along with those if that helps. Well, it it does, but in light of the state's budget, do we not have a similar problem

[96:01] in terms of getting support from the state? Um, you know, we're looking for various levels of support from entities that may not be in a position or have a desire to give us that support. >> I think that these are almost icing on the cake. Hopefully Boulder has enough in terms of uh many of the other assets and benefits that we offer to companies that they're not only coming to Boulder for incentives, but incentives do help us um attract some businesses and they also help keep us competitive, but that's not the only reason companies are coming to Boulder. >> May you be correct. >> Let's hope. >> Thank you. That's it. >> Hey, Nicole textur. >> Thank you. Um, and I continue to be amazed at how quickly you all are working through this. So, thank you for that. Um, questions. Um, they're really

[97:00] on the, uh, economic development incentives and I'm just wondering if these types of things might be in the ballpark of things that are being considered. So, one of them was around equity and inclusivity and support of women and minority owned businesses. And I was wondering about employeeowned businesses if that's anything that kind of could potentially fall in that same ballpark. Ye >> yes, in short, it it absolutely could. I think um you know based on council's feedback this evening, I that would be our next step is to develop more specific criteria and that would be a part of the approval process of the program is to allow you all to see exactly what that criteria is. if that is of interest to council, certainly happy to include that as um one of our one of our criteria. >> Okay, thank you. Um and then the other one I was wondering about is just around some of the shifts that are happening right now um like public to private um different industries kind of shutting

[98:00] down, others coming. Um is anything like workforce development or um kind of business supporting businesses that are working on transitioning say from um public funding to private funding is that in the category of things that might apply here or is that a little too far a field? >> Yeah, it's a good question. Jennifer might have some specific examples. I I know that our partners are in close uh conversation with some of those impacted IND industries, particularly those uh folks that are affiliated with our federal labs uh here in Boulder. I I think it's that type of industry specific support that we contemplate with these incentives. Um we can't support all industries and I don't think we would want to try to support all industries. And so again, what are those um specialized industries that have helped grow our economy to what it is and and to the degree we can anticipate some of those areas that we're really going to need in need to lean lean into over the next several years. Um that that's a part of um what we're trying to

[99:01] put together with identifying some of those key industries. We'll want some flexibility. Things change. We did not think that this would be a conversation 12 months ago. U and here we are. So I think there's some art in in having that flexibility but um certainly we are thinking about that type of support um w with such a program >> and we are working closely with the Boulder Chamber and the Boulder Valley School District and Front Range Community College as well as CU on workforce development programs and um yeah so that's that's continuing work. >> Thank you. Um and then my last question is it seems like this is within the um economic uh vitality strategy that we've been working on. Does this bump anything um to um move forward with some of these ideas? >> It it does not I think we we contemplated uh moving these forward. I think the the pace of which is something

[100:00] that we are trying to sequence in the in the right way. Um certainly uh all of these will will not be able to be accomplished by the end of this council term but you know we we will complete them as as quickly as we are able to. >> Great. Thank you. >> We got Taiisha Lauren Tara. >> Awesome. Mine is fairly quick. Um I agree with um um my colleagues comments regarding the CHIPS program and I just wanted to and it made me it connected with the question I had originally which is just around how the list was prioritized um and and yeah just wanted to hear a little bit more around specifically you know those strategies that will impact micro and small businesses versus large businesses. I'm just trying to get a sense um of of the prioritization of this list. >> Yeah, appreciate the question. Um I we

[101:01] that list is not prioritized at the moment as a part of finalizing the criteria. Uh we would um >> sorry, let me point of clarification on that Mark. I meant the list of number two the considerations of the proposal the um by the which quarter the activities were going to fall on. That's what I meant. And just what priority which why was this chips one first? Is it because it's a lower lift? It doesn't you know what I mean? And just I just wanted a little bit more of of what the rationale for. >> Yeah, sorry about that. Thanks for the clarification. Uh it it is about um the lift and sequencing of of some of these and not in kind of order of urgency. Uh chip zone is something that um several other regional cities have embarked on. The state is providing some some light technical assistance to us. So that that lift is a bit lighter. Um things like uh DDA, urban renewal are just a bit more comp complex, especially from the legal standpoint. And so um we're taking the

[102:00] steps that we can on those as quickly as possible. And again, just given the lift on those, that that's why we felt it was appropriate for a council touch point this evening. >> Awesome. Thank you. I'll save the rest for comments. >> And we have Lauren and then Tara. Thank you all for this presentation and for this speedy work. Um so these first couple of questions I think just like really quick answers hopefully. Um so the first one is DDA. Would the map of that match an existing boundary or is that something to figure out sort of through the engagement process? >> Um thanks for that question council member. It's the latter. We do have preliminary a preliminary study area that we're looking at right now that overlaps Eugid and KID kind of flag

[103:00] pulling up along Broadway. Um but again it's very preliminary and we will determine the potential DDA boundaries through the engagement. >> Thank you. um for the chips zone that mentioned um tax incentives from the state and federal level. Are there going to be impacts to uh city tax collection through the creation of that zone? >> Um thank you for the question. No, so the city is not required to offer an incentive to go along with there's no matching incentive requirement. What we're hoping is that if we're able to retain and attract new businesses, we would start to see some economic impact from that. >> Absolutely. Thank you for that. Um, and this might be a more complicated

[104:00] question and it's fine to get this offline align or as a future piece of information, but I was wondering about the flex our current economic development incentive program. You mentioned we had gotten 10 to one sort of return on investment through it, but I was hoping to get a little bit more information about kind of what it's has funded, how much it we typically spend annually. Um just kind of more details of what about our current program looks like. >> Yeah, certainly. And it has changed over the years and um participation in the program really went declined over the pandemic and it's slow and returning as things have have slowown slowed down. Um but we've our incentives have ranged from 5,000 to a 100,000. Um there were some years um when we saw a lot of development and a lot of interest as

[105:00] well as a lot of companies considering expanding outside of Boulder. Um there were years where we would do well over 300,000 and our uh budget used to be much higher. Um our average incentive per company is about 50,000. We've had 85 incentives since the program was launched in 2007. Thank you. That's really helpful. >> Um, in terms of key industries, would I saw creative industries listed, would that include fine and performing arts and maybe like local foods or would we need to like list the Okay, I'm seeing nodding of heads. So, that's >> sufficient. >> It's very good. >> Um, >> perfect. And then would it be possible to look at something like self- sustaining wage rates or anything around kind of wages particularly if we

[106:02] were looking at really um larger scale economic incentive programs. I think that we can consider that our current program, the flexible rebate program, looks at um both environmental sustainability and it also looks at social sustainability. And one of the criteria um it's it's kind of a complicated system, but one of the potential criteria is paying um more than 50%. It's paying at least an average wage for the whole county. >> So, we do look at wage ra wage rates. >> Yeah. And I'll just add, sorry, Jennifer, um is that we do have um some other grant programs in the city that uh look at criteria such as um wages, hiring practices, makeup of uh boards and leadership within uh organizations.

[107:02] And so I'm sure we could look at something uh like that. Have been contemplating something like that as a part of the criteria. >> Thank you so much. That's it for my questions. >> All right, Terry, you have a question after all. >> Yes, I did a quick one. And apologies ahead of time for not focusing on the answer to Matt's question. So, um yeah, I wasn't listening for a split second. Well, maybe a little more than that. Just kidding. Um, okay. Metro districts. Matt asked about metro districts. Um, what was the answer that you gave him? Do you mind just repeating that real quick? >> Yeah, happy to repeat. We we are looking into that. That is a part of the broader commercial uh district uh work that community vitality is is leading. Um we are looking at um our existing general improvement districts um and the evolution of those uh tools which include contemplating things like urban

[108:01] renewal which we're talking about more detail this evening but also also metro districts. >> So my question is about timing yet again. I'm in a big rush right now for this. Just kidding. Um, so when can looking at the timeline, when can a project apply for a metro district? At this point, when do you think that could happen? >> It's a it's a fair question. Uh, we would have some work to do if we determine that metro districts are a tool that we would like to use as a city. Uh, we would need to establish u some parameters via code. Uh so we would be working closely with Teresa and her shop on on that. Uh so I our first step is really to work with Puma, our our consultants, uh to help us um look at the different tools. There will be some kind of costbenefit analysis and we'll be bringing that forward to to council um at at a later point. Uh timing wise, I I I can't remember the exact timing of

[109:01] that next um touch point with council likely Q4 and early Q1 uh next year. >> Okay, thanks. >> Okay, that's all of our questions. So now the question that staff has for us is does council have any feedback or specific guidance on their proposed timeline, engagement strategies or key parameters for each of the four initiatives? And I'm gonna start uh with the presumption that staff has done amazing work and that we love their ideas because I think they're coming from a fantastic place. So what I would encourage folks is if you have any specific guidance past what they're proposing or proposals to maybe shift it a little bit um to offer those up. But if you just think, hey, this is all great um I think we could just start from that assumption uh to maybe control our conversation a little bit. All right, so we got Tina and then Nicole. Yeah, thank you and thanks for reminding

[110:00] me of that, Erin. Um, I uh the first is just the for the chips. I learned a little bit about the quantum opportunities in the New Mexico to Wyoming corridor and I think it's pretty exciting. So, I I would love to see that on a um on a faster timeline if possible or at least what you suggest is great. Uh but I think it's exciting and I'd like to see us able to participate in that effort. Um the second is when we're looking at the vacancy incentives. I'm curious um if it makes sense to look at how our requirements for creating new retail space with development might be um exacerbating that the vacancies that we have in our city. So, it's it's been um eye opening as we're looking at projects to see that we're looking at new retail requirements while current retail is sitting empty. So, if there's a recommendation that comes out of that, um I'd love to hear it, but of course only if it makes sense

[111:00] with the work that we're doing. Uh the other piece is on the incentive for the u particularly the downtown commercial space. Um I am personally interested and this is just one person speaking in any kind of um if people see an opportunity to convert second and third floor space into housing. I would like to there to be a lot of um incentives around that if possible or to explore it including the uh cash and loo for certain areas. Um the reason being that uh repurposing existing construction is our most eco-friendly uh pathway to creating housing if it's if it's going to stay vacant. And it also would hopefully have more people living downtown and uh taking advantage of the retail and restaurants that are down there. So that's a personal um preference to see a very rich incentive offering if someone could figure out that thorny problem of uh conversion of offices to homes especially in the downtown area. And then my last thought

[112:01] to explore um is just to understand when we look at the metro districts I've heard that there's some hesitancy uh from some from some groups that um that that they're not always successful. if there's a way to understand where they've been successful and what that structure looks like, uh, that would be great, but also to understand what are the the negative um impacts of that. So, if we, you know, I'm just really interested in learning in depth sort of the pros and cons and is there a way to do it better if we do decide to go that route. So, those are my thoughts and that's it. Thank you. And it all sounds terrific. >> All right, got Nicole, Taiisha, and Tara. Thank you. Um and yeah, thanks Erin for summarizing so we don't have to. Um I just wanted to say that I really appreciate um the timeline. This seems quite ambitious actually, especially since um I expect there are a lot of legal issues involved and I know a lot of our work plan priorities have already

[113:00] put a lot on the city attorney's office. So um I I just want to say like this this timeline even though it won't wrap up with this council still seems completely reasonable to me and even um pretty fast. So, thank you for for your work on that. Um, and I know that you all are working as as hard as you can to get it done quickly. Um, in thinking about the economic development incentives, uh, wherever it's possible, it would be really interesting to consider engagement with u workers or labor groups or thinking about this part of the economic development piece too um because workers are central to it. and Mayor Prom Folkarts mentioned um the idea of wages and you all mentioned we already have some things kind of around those but just thinking about how we can u make sure to include uh those kinds of perspectives in these things too where possible um is something that I would be really interested in in addition to everything that you've already said. So thanks again um for all the great work that you're doing. >> Thanks Aisha Tara Lauren.

[114:01] >> Awesome. Thank you. Um and so I would say um in general very supportive of uh the current direction um just feel would like to have uh agriculture be included for the incentive program. Um recognizing that they in my opinion are a key uh industry as well. Um, and I know it's not a storefront. I know it's not downtown, but many of our um, local farms sell um, downtown at our farmers market and could even play a bigger role depending on uh, the direction of the civic area and the work there. So, just really would love to see um, them being considered even when it comes to business development and training and all of the things that are are currently available to more traditional businesses. Um the other piece is around the equity um component and um just wanted to lift up and make sure that the

[115:01] uh black equity study um that's coming out of Colorado uh history Colorado is also um being considered in this effort as as a component of valid and reliable work that's being done in our area and I believe some initial findings are already available. I wanted to go back to the a statement and say back to my former co to my colleague um I'm aware of the restrictions on on the parking garages but though it is our you know not our fault um that those funds are available and they are restricted it is our responsibility um to ensure and it is our responsibility to tell our community the facts and that is the facts. So, um I'm and I'm hopeful you and many many others are committed to um strengthening that starved, pun, uh industry. And then lastly, um I just wanted to um again, you know, lift up the expansion of the of the urban renewal board. Um really excited to see

[116:01] that effort. um and am eager to make sure that all of the stakeholder groups that were referenced um have a meaningful seat at the table. So, thank you so much and look forward for um more information as the work continues. >> Thanks, Taran Lauren. >> Okay. Um just real quick, of course, you can tell I'm very excited about Bureau, Metro Districts, the DDA, etc. I don't need to say that because you already told us we don't need to. But I have a quick I have a quick question and that was what Tina discussed the ground floor retail. So I have been thinking about this as well and do we have to do anything as a council if we want to start dissuading groundf flooror retail from a lot of our new builds or do we just keep saying no to planning board? And this might be totally off the subject, but I figure I might as well ask if we should be doing something to whoever I should ask it to

[117:02] change the um how do I put it? You know, I don't need to say more. You know what I'm saying? Do you? >> Yeah, I I think so. Uh I think we'll have to get back to you with a little bit more detail. I think a lot of your uh downtown zones, commercial zones allow that type of use on the first floor. And so I I >> I'm not saying I don't want the use on the first floor. I just don't want it to be legis like we have to do it. And in a lot of our new builds, I'm noticing that we're having to have the ground floor retail that is sitting empty. >> We can we can uh get back to you and provide a little bit more information on that. That's it. Okay, Lauren, >> I saw Theresa's hand go up for a second. I just wanted to make sure

[118:00] that you don't >> I can follow up with a council member separately. Thank you. Um, I appreciate that staff is moving forward quickly on this, um, and the guardrails that they're looking at to make sure each one of these programs bring forward maximum benefit in alignment with our community's values. Um, I really appreciated Tina's comments both about the zoning um, requirements for first floor retail and looking at that and also potentially incentives to convert upper level commercial space to residential. Um, I support the fee waiver and inind services as part of economic development incentive program. um and appreciate the inclusion of creative industries, agriculture, and local foods um and would like to see some wage criteria included as part of that as

[119:02] well. Thank you. >> Thanks, Matt. >> I'll keep it pretty short. Uh it's all this is great. This is all good momentum. Um I would just say if there was only one comment, which is uh faster, please. Uh it's about it. But I know that there's limitations to that and so uh where where we can get some of those things going. But specifically DDA and and urban renewal and then hopefully metropolitan districts, these just ways to reinvest is going to be what really kickstarts a lot of areas. Um so so that is needed as fast as we can get it. Thank you. >> Thanks. All right. I'll go ahead and call on myself and just say a huge thank you to all of you for this amazing work. Uh we had a study session on this not that long ago and uh big thing we asked for for out of that was specificity and you clearly heard us loud and clear and these are four specific areas that I think are all very deserving of action and I think your timelines generally look good and I mean to Matt's point

[120:00] sooner is always good right so if that's possible that'd be fantastic but it's it's a really good set of actions so I very much look forward to all of these coming to fruition and I'll just call out the in terms of the incentive program. Um, fee wavers have been something that I've been interested in for a very long time, but it's never been something that we've been sort of willing as an organization to look at. So, I'm really excited to see that we're going to look at that now. And the criteria will of course be critically important. And so, you heard from Lauren about wages, um, the various other ways we want to be supporting projects that that fulfilled our values as a community. So, I know you have that message and that'll be very important to get those criteria just right. And I'm sure we'll have some feedback on the specifics as we get to that point. And then just the one other thing I'll mention about that is another area that I've always been interested in fee waivers is for affordable housing. So that's a little separate from economic vitality, but while we're talking about fee wavers, I just thought I'd get that out there. Um that that would be another great opportunity to look at potential fee wavers sometime in the future.

[121:01] And that's all I got. I don't see any other hands raised. So, um, staff, did that give you the guidance that you needed? >> It did. Thank you everybody. Appreciate it. >> Fantastic. Well, thanks again for all your amazing work and look forward to the results of the next stages. >> Well, Alicia, I believe that brings us to the end of our agenda. >> It does, sir. But I see Ryan has his hand up. >> Okay, Ryan, you got something for us? >> Thanks, Mayor. Yeah, just before we close, I wanted to take a minute and recognize the team who is behind the significant effort to develop the new format for memos and the agenda access system that launched tonight. Um, this new memo format is I think it's really exciting and it has a number of fields and notes in it that add a lot of new functionality for policym and for transparency. One of the things I think

[122:01] is especially exciting is that it has a note on climate resilience and sustainability which now goes to every proposal and every other item that comes to council. Uh and I also think the visual refresh looks great. So I'm taking a minute to say this because I think folks might not might not you know realize what what's what what's launching tonight. So it's really neat. Uh I know a lot of people worked on this a whole project team Pam Alicia Emily Megs IT colleagues and others and just want to recognize you and say that this is poised to help strengthen what we can achieve and it's a great new resource for the community. If I may, Ryan, a thank you so much for that. And there's and you're right, there's a whole project team, but while we've got E on camera, Elicia, uh I want to just give props because the launching of it just uh for the packet uh was just so much work. Uh and just wanted to give you some props, Alicia,

[123:01] while you're on camera because it was a huge lift. I know you got a lot of support, but man, that was a big lift. Um, so a whole project team behind to get us here. Uh, but thanks for helping to launch it and make it go live. >> Thank you all. We so appreciate that. And Nura, thank you for that, you know, that specific um, thank you to me. So, it's very heartfelt. Thank you so much. And I'm glad it's working out. I even like the behind the scenes part, so this is my first time monitoring. So, I'm really excited. So, thank you all again. >> Yeah. Thanks so much, Ryan. I'm really glad glad that you brought that up and we're just so so grateful. So, in keeping with our rules and procedures, how about a quick round of jazz hands and appreciation for all the amazing work. All right, and with that, that brings us to a close. So, I will go ahead and 59 p.m. 31 minutes early. Great meeting everybody. >> Good night. >> Good night.