Thread by @shayshinecastle

OK, gonna start a new thread for this one: A look at council's priorities, what's been achieved so far and what's coming up this year.

There's a presentation: www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/Council_P…

This will also include a look at Department work plans for 2021. Only 1 dept reported having capacity for additional work items: The municipal court.

3 departments have "limited" ability to do new things — utilities, communications and engagement, OSMP — and the rest are too busy for new work items.

Ugh I super don't want to tweet this when it's already in that presentation for ya'll, but I will.

Priority 1: Advancing Racial Equity
Anticipated Action: Adopt Racial Equity Plan - scheduled for Feb. 16

Priority 2: Xcel-Boulder partnership
This work is ongoing, but we'll get another update in early March

Priority 3: Climate Mobilization Action Plan
Action: Adopt revised goals.
This work is off track, but a second quarter update is planned.

Priority 4: Community Benefits Phase II
Action: Adopt that; planned for mid-2021

Omg I can't keep up with Meschuk on this.

Priority: East Boulder Subcommunity Plan
Action: Adopt that; work is on track but there's no real timeline shared for that. These things take a long time.

Council met its goal of starting a Financial Strategy Study Committee. Lots of interesting work here for that group, including analyzing possible taxes/funding mechanisms for the ballot.

Those are:
Community, Culture & Safety Tax renewal
Library districting
Transportation maintenance fee

Other finance work for 2021 includes:
o Master plan process – revisit three tiers
o Next phase of Budgeting for Resilience
o Next phase of integrating racial equity into resource decision making

Priority: Homelessness
Action: Evaluate complementary approaches to the Homeless Strategy that further housing, diversion and supportive services
Proposed new language: Evaluate and enhance services to further the Homeless Strategy for housing, diversion and supportive services

Next week is a city council discussion on that, and an annual update is planned for July

I realize the proposed new language is only slightly different from the old language, but it was highlighted in council's notes, and I think it's important to share. Maybe you can make more of it than I can.

Same with housing:
Action: Adopt ordinances related to Manufactured Housing Strategy
(Proposed new language: Update ordinance related to Manufactured Housing Strategy and further support approaches to security of keeping people housed)

One interesting update from this: the city's Middle-income down payment program is on hold, I believe over limits on the city's ability to make or guarantee home loans. boulderbeat.news/2019/02/23/bou…

Priority: Police Oversight
Action: Implement Police Oversight - which is partially done. The panel is being seated soon. Applications *just* closed.

My notes said that panel will be seated in February.

Work on CU South / South Boulder Creek flood mitigation is on track. Council OK'd a flood design in June 2020 and is working to establish annexation framework and schedule. A first-quarter update on annexation is planned. No date given.

I realize I'm way behind the live meeting feed. Apologies. It's just moving too quickly.

Last two priorities:
Use Tables and Standards (study session and public hearings are all planned to be done by mid-year)
Vision Zero (council already lowered the speed limit, so that's on track as well)

Moving onto department work plans and priorities.

Climate Initiatives
1. Xcel partnership
2. Update CMAP goals
3. Materials and Resources (work on circular economy, waste regs)
4. Ecosystems (work on carbon capture on open space)

City Manager
1. COVID response
2. Police oversight implementation (create policy/procedure guidelines, training)
3. Racial equity
4. Fold City Clerk, Central Records into city manager’s dept
5. New city manager

Communications & Engagement
1. COVID
2. Inclusive, bilingual messaging
3. New website, branding guide

Community Vitality
1. Economic/biz recovery (COVID)
2. Parking pricing, permitting
3. Parking system upgrades (pay station replacement, remote garage monitoring)

And just like that, I'm caught up. Gonna try to get ahead now.

Facilities & Fleet
1. Alpine-Balsam
2. Master plan (first ever)
3. COVID-related workplace transformation

Finance
1. Budgeting for Resilience implementation
2. NEWR implementation
3. New HR system (payroll)
4. Underserved biz (develop program)
5. Community, Culture, Safety tax renewal (ends in 2021; ballot item for renewal)

Fire-rescue
1. Advanced Life Support (revise contract with provider)
2. Regional agreements for special response (wildfire, water rescue, etc.)
3. Home wildfire assessments (at least 10% of homes)
4. Fire Station No. 3 (finalize design)
5. Union negotiations (new contract)

Housing & Human Services
1. NEWR (implement rental assistance part)
2. Mental health co-response (with police)
3. Ponderosa (continued infrastructure, housing improvements)
4. ADU evaluation (How’s it working? Maybe proposed changes)
5. Regional housing tax

Human Resources
1. Union negotiations (new contract)
2. Compensation structure implementation
3. New HR and payroll system

Innovation and Technology
1. New data management system
2. New HR, payroll system
3. Broadband
4. Move to the cloud

Library and Arts
1. Library district discussion
2. NoBo library construction
3. Public art permitting efficiencies
4. Alpine-Balsam public art
5. COVID relief for artists

Municipal Court
1. Grants (for work with unhoused offenders)

Open Space and Mountain Parks
1. Maintenance (forest health, fire mitigation, trail work, invasive species)
2. Preserve, restore habitats
3. Trail maintenance
4. Prairie dogs
5. Diversity (youth programs, tribal consultations)

Parks and Rec
1. Master Plan Update
2. Responsive and equitable service
3. Adapting to COVID with fewer resources

Planning and Development
1. East Boulder Subcommunity Plan
2. Use tables Phase 2
3. Community benefit and site review
4. Business process improvements, removing overlays
5. Parking code changes

Police
1. Master plan update
2. Accreditation of the dept.
3. Homelessness/encampments
4. Data

Transportation and Mobility
1. Vision Zero
2. Smart City (traffic signal automation, revisit timing)
3. Infrastructure (North Broadway, 30th/Colorado, 19th, CU South, Folsom bike lane)
4. Core functions (street sweeping, snow removal, potholes, etc.)
5. Tipton Report

Utilities
1. Aging infrastructure
2. Flood and Stormwater Management plan
3. Drought plan update

Meschuk: When staff starts to return to in-person work, that's going to look different post-COVID. The city has already terminated leases.

Boulder will also be doing its first facilities master plan this year. The city is looking to consolidate office space, which I imagine will be easer after COVID.

I *hear* the new trend is kind of like privately owned co-working spaces. Like, your company will have its own office, but it will look like co-working in that there won't be a space for every worker, and people can come and go as they like

(or on a set schedule, like in the office part-time and remote part time)

Which sounds so much better than having to be in the office every day.

Weaver asks that council touch on potential taxes/ funding mechanisms at the retreat — including a potential sales tax to fund homeless services. He also wants to talk about the balance of sales and property taxes. Again, at the retreat.

Swetlik: It's pretty clear based on the staff work load that we need more funding.

Weaver sharing a NEWR update that Tom Carr shared yesterday at the scheduling meeting: The city already worked to provide attorneys at Friday's eviction hearings (as well as mediation, rental assistance) to all 8 tenants.

Update on the library district discussion: Feb. 23 study session with public hearing in April (exact date TBD)

Friend: Why isn't CU South on the Planning Dept list of priorities/big projects? We're doing annexation this year.
Not a great answer from Meshuk, aside from: they know about it and it's on A list (just not this one)

Friend: I'm a little concerned about having homelessness and encampments as a police priority. "There's a lot of concern about over-policing."

Meschuk: "I appreciate that. As we've tried to ID priority areas, for many of that they involve many departments."

Weaver: "I agree with (Friend's) point. It probably does belong here but also elsewhere."

Herold: "I fundamentally agree and we can put (that) in other departments."

Random Boulder fact: The utilities dept manages $1.7B in collective assets, across water, wastewaster and stormwater services

Brockett: We heard from boards and commissions that many of them are interested in certain projects. What's our ability to request that things get forwarded to them to help with / weigh in on?

Friend echoes that: How do we use boards' expertise and make sure they're weighing in on things they're experts in?

"When EAB was speaking tongiht," Friend says, "I don't think I've heard from them at all in my year on council, and probably everything we (do) has an environmental" aspect.

We'll hear more about that (maybe) at the retreat

Bergman answering questions from Friend about how the retreat will work.

It will be different from the retreat in 2020 because it's a mid-term retreat; council not looking to add priorities or items to its workplan.

Bergman: What we don't want to do is create an atmosphere that suggests there's a lot a lot of opportunity for a lot a lot of new things.

Yates suggesting that council members create a list of new things they want to do, and suggestions for what old things they would stop/slow down to accommodate those. But also he's kinda discouraging members from doing that.

"There's three years of work here," he says. I don't want to suggest new things.

Suggested council members post their priorities on Hotline

Young also discouraging council from adding new priorities

"Here's an opportunity to live by the references we often make" about respecting staff and their time and creating a good environment for them.

That was Young, btw.

Wallach q to staff: Are there things you'd like to see deleted off the list bc you can't do them adequately? Is this what you reasonably can expect to accomplish this year?

Meschuk: This is what we can achieve this year with current resources, recognizing that there are multi-year projects on this list. 80% of the ongoing work is what it takes to run the city. "This is really just about the 20% of work that comes up and rises to a policy level."

He'll take that question back to staff.

Brockett: Council agreed a few months ago we were interested in looking at occupancy limits. I don't see this anywhere on the priority list, either staff or council's.

Meschuk: "It was not an oversight. We would anticipate and look forward to a conversation about occupancy at the retreat."

Weaver: "I'd comment on occupancy that I think one of the things that will need to be in that discussion is what would happen otherwise."

Weaver: "Not everything we'd like to see ... has to leave in staff's laps."

LAND in staff's lap... apologies.

Friend: My point wasn't to be adding things to the work plan. It just seems to me that we want to know what we're discussing at the retreat ahead of time. I don't understand why we wouldn't have advanced notice .... council has brought up a ton of issues so far.

Young: "I think it would be helpful for the occupancy discussion to know what the petitioners are thinking if that's going to come forward. ... Whether or not they are affects how our discussion moves forward."

Weaver, Brockett, Friend, Swetlik, Nagle all say (via show of hands) that they plan on suggesting more priorities or work plan items for staff, boards or council.

Bergman is directing council members to write those out and send to her, so there will be something formal and written ahead of the retreat. Possibly.

I actually think we are done for the night.

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thank you!