Council Connects

Here's a link to tonight's feature about Marine Memorial plans. https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/05/24/marine-corps-memorial-golden/

I'm not attending the CML conference this year, but I advise "safety first" on the part of all those who do. This from the Washington Post:
A conference of local government officials in California turned violent when several attendees started throwing punches. Police officers were unable to identify those involved because “none of them were cooperative,” but they noted that one man was hospitalized for minor injuries. City of Commerce Mayor John Soria said he intended to press charges after he and a councilman were attacked “from behind by two individuals.” (Los Angeles Times)

One aspect of a Governor's meeting about Colorado fiscal policy I attended on Friday had some commentary relevant to council's discussion about referring a ballot measure in 2019 or 2020. Basic assumptions: 1. Competing measures will both fail; and 2. The more issues, particularly with regard to increased taxes, the more likely most will fail. On the 2019 ballot are two measures referred by the legislature: 1. Sports betting (predicted revenue $10-15 million) and 2. DeBrucing so state can keep TABOR refunds (predicted revenue $15 million). There is one initiated measure approved for collecting signatures -- reforming and increasing Oil and Gas Severance tax (predicted revenue $700 m). Other 2019 statewide initiatives are likely (and so those for 2020).

MUST SEE: Seattle is Dying. On April 14th, I received an email about this video. I finally took the time to watch it. Please watch it and let's continue our efforts to address addiction and the associated problems it creates - homelessness, crime and disintegration.

Singletrack trail trial in Parker: (For photos checkout Parker Parks and Recreation Facebook page)
Have you tried out the Cherry Creek Trail soft surface "test section" yet?
This 10-foot wide, soft-surface gravel trail segment, approximately 1,500 feet in length, will allow increased trail capacity while still maintaining normal safety requirements. Soft-surface trails are ideal for runners, joggers, pedestrians and even mountain bike users.
Any future expansion of soft-surface trails in Parker will be based upon feedback from the test section. So, try it out and give us your feedback on Let's Talk Parker: https://www.letstalkparker.org/soft-surface-trail #ParkerRec #TrailRide

NLC Civil Discourse continued:
Listen & be open to ideas
Buy in to decisions
Get people to engage
Have imagination, voice and commitment
Practice teamwork during times of transition and change

National League of Cities Meeting:
Civil Discourse:
Key takeaway - have the : Heart of a Lion; Skin of a Rhino; and Soul of an Angel

Best Practices:
1. play well together
2. have healthy, honest respect for others
3.

Water Now Alliance meeting: key takeaways from this conference were very congruent with our Sustainability Goals for water:
1. Drought & Resiliency Planning: development of this long term/ strategic document will prepare us for contingencies we could face. Using the "One Water" ( source water, storm water, reuse water, & best practices) approach, the city can develop solid options. Numerous One Water presentations were given.

2. Responsible Use: a key summertime use is landscape irrigation. A local Colorado company, Rachio, is teaming with the city of Spanish Forks, UT, to optimize use & agronomic rates. Using computerized sensors to ensure appropriate irrigation is making impact for this city. They are looking to reduce their requirements for max use reservoir levels, reduce utility bills and reduce water treatment plant costs. Such an approach in combination with our "Aquahawk" system should be considered. Other cities have systems like our Aquahawk that send customers alerts, identify leaks and higher use, thus saving water and dollars on water bills.

3. Resource Recovery and water shed protection: forward leaning plans on storm water, reuse and protection of the water shed were discussed. Efforts such as fencing, preventing foot and bike traffic and preventing dumping, which protect riparian areas along drainages and water ways, were emphasized. Our ongoing efforts along Clear Creek and our drainages should receive continue support.

4. Financing the enterprises (Potable water, waste water and storm water):

Sharing the webinar from Orton Heart & Soul (the people who helped us create Golden Vision 2030):

Civics, Civility, and Circles—How to Restore & Create Community

If you were not able to join the live presentation, we think you’ll find the recording timely and compelling and packed with valuable tools and strategies for strengthening community through cultivating civil discourse and boosting civic engagement. Our audience was also lively and engaged during the live webinar asking provocative questions and sharing resources via the chat window. Make sure to check it all out in the recording below:

Click here to watch the live webinar recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDn_DFifTlY&feature=youtu.be

Any interest in a "Do Not Knock List" such as the one just instituted in Parker?
Posted on: March 4, 2019
Sign Up for Parker's Do Not Knock List
Do Not Knock List logo
By ordinance, the Town of Parker requires all peddlers and solicitors engaged in door-to-door sales to register and obtain a permit to conduct business in Parker.

As a resident, you can request to have your home address placed on a Do Not Solicit List for commercial solicitations. You will need to fill out an online form and submit it to the Town Clerk’s office. Registration for the Do Not Solicit List will go into effect within 30 days after the registration form is received by the Town.

The Do Not Solicit List only applies to commercial solicitations. The following are exempt from the ordinance:

Those delivering newspapers, milk, bread, firewood and farm produce
Activities advocating civic, religious, charitable or political causes
Companies that have a franchise agreement with the Town
Members of a nationally recognized non-profit organization (such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, etc). participating in fundraising events
School children engaging in school-authorized or sponsored fundraising activities
For more information and to fill out the Do Not Solicit List registration form, visit www.ParkerOnline.org/Peddler.

We've probably all seen that a proposed Community Land Trust for Open Space and attainable housing funding will be presentation to GURA Monday, March 11.
Here is some information from a national source on the proposal, which appears to be a combination of traditional conservation and community land trusts:
Conservation Land Trusts are usually "focused outside of cities, [but] urban conservation land trusts are increasing in numbers.... They can include community gardens, formal gardens, parks, and natural areas.
Community land trusts are a more recent form of land trust. In contrast to conservation land trusts, they tend to be focused on the creation and preservation of affordable housing in urban areas.... They provide access to land and housing to people who are otherwise denied access, increase long-term community control of neighborhood resources, empower residents through involvement and participation in the
organization, and preserve the affordability of housing permanently.
There are increasing efforts to bring the two types of land trusts together. The Land Trust Alliance website now includes a lengthy description of Community Land Trusts, referring to them as an “exciting movement," integrating elements of each type of land trust .
Source: http://web.mit.edu/nature/projects_12/pdfs/LandTrustsPaper.pdf

This Denverite article provides a good explanation of financing affordable housing:
https://denverite.com/2019/02/21/affordable-housing-denver-where/?mc_cid=cae7fd8f97&mc_eid=fd63562c1e

Article from "Close to Home" newsletter on Jeffco "First Ever Comprehensive Homeless Count." http://closetohomeco.org/jefferson-county-to-conduct-first-ever-comprehensive-homeless-count/

This was a fun article to read. It made me think about how to "embrace" what is, to be creative in the midst of it all, and to design spaces where people can gather.

https://www.curbed.com/2019/1/24/18195876/winter-weather-design-architecture-canada

Some ideas from Mayors Innovation Project Winter 2019 Meeting

Climate Change and Transportation Emissions

Minneapolis: The Minneapolis 2040 plan upzones nearly the entire city, allow taller buildings with three units (with no parking minimums) in areas that were previously zoned single family. At present, more than 75% or residents live in areas that only allow single-family residences or small multifamily housing. The plan is designed to face an affordable housing crisis, allow equitable housing access, and serve sustainability goals.

Transit: Reducing transit-related carbon emissions is critical. All buses should be electric within a short period of time. Trash and delivery trucks (snow plows?), too. www.motivps.com/motivps/pressreleases/californias-first-all-electric-garbage-truck-headed-to-sacramento-equipped-with-motiv-all-electric-powertrain. To purchase, cities should look into co-op agreements to reduce cost.

LED street lights: By switching to LEDs, Takoma Park, MD, will save nearly $100,000 in energy costs and the equivalent of 912,031 miles driven by car, per year. There was controversy over the color and brightness of the lights. The City ordered 3000-kelvin lights as recommended by the AMA and compliant with Dark Skies initiative.

Seattle transit: Seattle is a leader in mobility trends. It is the only metro area where transit usage has increased in recent years https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/new-mobility-program

Community Engagement

General introduction: Cities can never communicate enough – just ask residents. More meetings are not the goal, empowering a broad group of people is. People who have been successful under the prior system will resist change and make their voices heard. One mayor referred to “civic arsonists.” Face-to-face is the gold standard, but cities may also use Facebook Live, Zoom (appears to be like Go to Meeting), or telephone townhalls.

Participatory budgeting: Many cities dedicate a portion of funding to be decided by age, neighborhood, or interest groups. Design of the process is important, as it is intended to build meaningful engagement and trust. The concept gives real people, real power, over real money. Preferred amount is 1-15% of local city budget; the more funds available the more impactful the process will be. Projects have included internet hot spots, art walls, playground upgrades, community gardens, street lighting, road repairs, and youth and senior programs. https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/what-is-pb/

New engagement software: City Swipe (Tinder for cities), allowing residents to give feedback about what they like in the city and what needs improvement with a left or right swipe.
Zen City, spiders through social media sites to collect mentions of the subscriber municipality and provides a report of what is trending. West Sacramento claimed that the tool allowed it to respond quickly to a series of mailbox thefts. Personal note – don’t try this at home. https://info.zencity.io/blog/use-cases-how-west-sacramento-is-using-data-to-address-the-challenges-of-democracy-in-the-modern-world

Local business community

Cities need to collect data on small businesses, engage with their owners, and advocate for them.

For small start ups, Kiva, the international crowdfunding organization, is available in the United States. Examples of loans to U.S. companies can be found at https://www.kiva.org/lend?country=us

Many cities have encouraged mixed-use buildings but the new retail/commercial space is sitting vacant due to expensive rents and untested locations. Oakland has devised a work-around with developers dividing the space into small stalls that are affordable to start-ups. Another city has its Business Improvement District sign the lease, divide the space, and sublease to small businesses. Boulder has set-aside space for affordable commercial as well as residential.

Message from Metro Mayors on exploration of transportation funding:
[A] transportation brown bag lunch meeting [was] hosted by Reps. Chris Hansen and Matt Grey and Senators Faith Winter and Rachel Zenzinger, with approximately 30 people in attendance. There were no handouts or draft bills.

The tone was very positive and the Reps expressed that they want to keep the transportation discussion alive and all of us engaged in finding solutions. They acknowledged that they have new pathways available for funding that have not been available in recent years (fees) and that they want to create a “balanced portfolio” that includes contributions from all users of the transportation system (including EV and [autonomous] AV). They see that it is within their power to get some things done this session.

They have set a preliminary target of $400M/yr for a $6B total package (not sure what that means - perhaps bonding?) I asked if/how the $400M would be allocated (H[ighway] U[sers] T[rust] F[und] 60/22/18 or just for CDOT?) but didn’t get clarification. I also noted that the local and regional needs are great and we encourage that in addition to pursuing a statewide solution, they also consider how to remove barriers to broader collaborations among cities and counties to support greater investment. Rep. Gray (Broomfield) pushed back a little about areas that would not be able to help themselves being left behind. As anticipated, we have some work to do with legislators on this front - i.e., defining the scope of local and regional needs and conveying the broader economic ramifications of our region being unable to make critical mobility investments. In the $400M fee menu scenario, we would likely contribute around $240M (60%)— and if the HUTF formula was used for distribution — then we would receive $160M (40%). For reference, a half cent sales tax in the metro area would return $364M in YR1 and YR 1 of 110 would have produced a combined $314M from the splits. So $400M, while nothing to sneeze at, is not enough to right the ship in our region and broader collaborations, while perhaps not feasible everywhere, should be encouraged where possible.

RUC [Road User Charge] was mentioned several times (both encouraging and not) but not enthusiastically received by the legislators as a primary solution. Herman Stockinger pointed out that Congress needs to reauthorize FAST next year and there are hopes for a multi-state RUC pilot. It was also noted by Hansen or Gray that attaching RUC to AVs and mobility services that already track location in real time would be low hanging fruit whereas RUC for all might be a waste of political capital at this point.

Finally, an interesting question was asked by Carol Hedges from the Colorado Fiscal Institute about recasting the gas tax as a user fee which would then be within the purview of the legislature to address. It already meets the criteria to be a user fee (logical nexus between payer and service provided).

All in all it was a really good first meeting and encouraging to hear that [legislators] are committed to looking at new options.

Info from DRCOG(Denver Regional Council of Governments)
1. 2017 Denver Metro Region Congestion Report
a. https://drcog.org/sites/default/files/resources/2017_Congestion_Report_0.pdf
b. Interesting report that addresses: data, ways to address congestion (mentions our Green Buses) and "Transportation in 2040"
2. Draft Active Transportation Plan
a. https://drcog.org/sites/default/files/resources/Draft_DRCOG_ATP.pdf
b. Comments are being requested on this first Metro-wide plan
c. PURPOSE of the plan is
to establish a common vision for bicycling and
walking in the region and to provide inspiration
and tools for local agencies to implement
projects in their respective jurisdictions.

And here's a link to his Center for Public Deliberation:

https://cpd.colostate.edu

Here is a link to a paper Martín Carcasson created as part of a presentation to the Colorado Municipal League about using the concept of "wicked problems" and deliberative engagement.

https://cpd.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/01/tackling-wicked-problems-through-deliberative-engagement.pdf

Here is the link that I referred to today about neighborhood groups. I have been encouraging engaged neighbors to reach out and form or re-activate their neighborhood group as a great way to get to know each other and share ideas and thoughts that can also be shared with the city. https://www.cityofgolden.net/government/departments-divisions/planning-and-development/neighborhood-associations/