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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-07-07 (Regular) Meeting Minutes• • 1. Call to Order ENGLEWOOD CITY COUNCIL ENGLEWOOD, ARAPAHOE COUNTY , COLORADO Regular Session July 7, 2008 The regular meeling of lhe Englewood City Council was called lo order by Mayor Woodward al 7:56 p.m. 2. Invocation The invocalion was give n by Council Member Mccaslin. 3. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Mccaslin . 4. Roll Call Presen t: Absent: A quorum was present. Council Members Jefferson, Moore , Penn , Mccaslin , Wilson , Woodward Council Member Oakley Also present: City Manager Sears City Altorney Brotzman Deputy City Manager Flaherty City Clerk Ellis Deputy City Clerk Bush Director Gryglewicz , Finance and Adm inistrative Services Direclor Black , Parks and Recreation Recrealion Services Manager/Golf Spada , Parks and Recreal ion Streels Administrator Hagan , Public Works Direclor Kahm, Pub lic Works Chief Bu ildi ng Official Sm ith, Fire Direclor Ealon , Human Resources Director While , Community Developmenl Sen io r Planne r Langon , Community Development Sen ior Planner Graham , Community Development Po lice Chief Vandermee Fire Chief Pattarozz i Emergency Managem ent Coo rdinator Green , Fire Police Commander Watson 5. Consideration of Minutes of Previous Sesalon (a) COUNCIL MEMBER WILSON MOVED, AND COUNCIL MEMBER PENN SECONDED, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 16, 2008. Mayor Woodward asked if there were any modificalions or correct ions . There were none . • Vote results : Ayes : Council Members Penn , Mccaslin , Moore , Woodward , Jefferson , Wilson None Nays : Absent: Council Member Oakley Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 2 Motion carr ied . Council Member Moore said in consideration of our late start I wou ld like to make a motion to move Agenda Item 8 out of order and handle that now, then return to the regul ar items in order. COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE MOVED , AND COUNCIL MEMBER MCCASLIN SECONDED , TO MOVE TO CONSIDER AGENDA ITEM 8 OUT OF ORDER, THEN RETURN TO THE REGULAR ORDER . Mayor Woodward as ked if there was any discussion . There was none . Vote results : Ayes: Nays : Absent: Motion carried . Council Members Penn , Mccaslin, Moore, Woodward , Jefferson , W il on None Council Member Oakley 8. Communications , Proclamations and Appointments (a) A letter from Holly Montague announcing her res ignation from the Keep Englewood Beautiful Commission was cons idered . Council Member Mccaslin sa id she has been on KEB Commission and is a very, very wonderful person and we are go ing to miss her. • Mayor Woodward sa id I would j ust like to mer.:;Qn that I served on the Commission with Holly and she was • very committed to Eng lewood, so, regrettully, I wifl su pport her res ignation. Mayor Woodward asked if there were any other comments . There were none. COUNCIL MEMBER McCASLIN MOVED , ANO COUNCIL MEMBER PENN SECONDED, TO ACCEPT THE RESIGNATION OF HOLLY MONTAGUE FROM THE KEEP ENGLEWOOD BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION . Ayes: Council Members Penn , Mccaslin , Moore , Woodward , Jefferson , W ilson Nays : None Absent: Council Me mber Oakley Motion carried . Mayor Woodward said next we have resolutions appointing members to our Boards and Commissions. Mayor Pro Tern Moore will be reading the names and those appointments and I will be down on the floor handing the certificates and pins to our members. COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE MOVED, ANO COUNCIL MEMBER JEFFERSON SECONDED , TO APPROVE AGENDA ITEMS 8 (b) THROUGH 8 (x) • RESOLUTION NOS. 42 THROUGH 64. Ayes: Council Members Penn , Mccaslin , Moore, Woodward , Jefferson , Wilson Nays: None Absent: Counci l Member Oakley Mot ion carried . (b) RESOLUTION NO . 42 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING NATHAN BARRAGAN AS A YOUTH MEMBER TO THE ENGLEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO. (c) RE SOLUTION NO . 43, SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING HEATHER BARTUNEK TO THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOO D, COLORADO. • • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Pago 3 (d) RESOLUTION NO . 44 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING SUSAN BAYLESS TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (e) RESOLUTION NO . 45, SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING MARJORIE BECKER TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (f) RESOLUTION NO . 46 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING DJANIRA COX TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWC D, COLORADO . (g) RESOLUTION NO . 47 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING NATASHA FISH AS A YOUTH LIAISON TO THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (h) RESOLUTION NO . 48 , SER IES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING JIM GIBSON TO THE KEEP ENGLEWOOD BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (i) RESOLUTION NO . 49 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING LINDA HART TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . 0) RESOLUTION NO . 50 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING JENNIFER HAYNES FOR ,.P}'OINTMENT TO THE ENGLEWOO [ HOUSING AUTHORITY FCJR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (k) RESOLUTION NO . 51 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING CHRIS HO AGLAND TO THE CODE ENFOR CEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (I) RESOLUTION NO . 52 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING JENNIFER JONES TO THE KEEP ENGLEWOOD BEA UTI FUL COMMISSION FOR TH E CI TY OF ENGLEWOOD . COLORADO . (m) RESOLUTION NO . 53, SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING JENNIFER JONES AS AN ALTERNATE TO THE TRANSPORT AT ION ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (n) RESOLUTlotl NO . 54 , SERIES OF 2008 • A RES OL UTION AP POINTING CHRIS TINA KRUK AS A YO UTH MEMBER OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COM MIS SION FOR TH E CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 4 (o) RESOLUTION NO . 55, SERIES OF 200 8 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING REBECCA LAUGHLIN AS A YOUTH MEMBER OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (p) RESOLUTION NO . 56 , SERIES OF 200 8 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING RICHARD LAY TO THE ENGLEWOOD LIQU OR LICENSING AUTHORITY FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (q) RESOLUTION NO . 57 , SERIE S OF 2008 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING MARGARET MCDERMOTT TO THE ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD (ACE) FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (r) RESOLUTION NO . 58, SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPO INTING GARY NORDLANDER TO THE KEEP ENGLEWOOD BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (s) RESOLUTION NO . 59 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING THERESA SABRSULA TO THE KEEP ENGLEWOOD BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (t) RESOLUTION NO . 60. SERIES OF 20 08 ,I RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING STEVEN SCHALK TO THE ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD (ACE) FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (u) RESOLUTION NO . 61, SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING DONNA SCHNITZER TO THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (v) RESO LUTIO N NO . 62 , SERIES OF 20 08 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING MAGGIE STEWART TO THE CULTUR AL ART S COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (w) RESOLUTION NO . 63, SER IES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING CAROLYNE WILMOTH TO THE FIREFIGHTERS PENSION BOARD FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (x) RESOLU TION NO . 64 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING CAROLYNE WILMOTH TO THE ENGLEWOOD LIQUOR LICEN SI NG AUTHORITY FOR THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . Ma yor Pro Tern Moore said in advance the Coun cil would like lo than k all of you for your co nt inu ed or • • upcomi ng service . II is a vital role lh e citizens pla y in se rv ing on the Bo ards and Commiss ions . Thank you all • very much . Th ere was applause . Mayor Woodward said lhank you John and thank you to all our appo int ees for their service and future service . • • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 5 6. Recognition of Scheduled Public Comment (a) Tom Ashburn , Manager of Commun ity and Government Affa irs for Xc el Energy and Adam Pe na, Vegetat ion Management Coord inator for Xcel Enorgy , were present lo address City Coun cil regard ing the remova l of trees at Broken Tee Eng lewood , Mr. Ashburn said good even ing Mayor , members of Council and City staff , I have with me this evening , Adam Pena , who is my contact expert ... he is the Vegetation Management Coord inator of :,ee l Energy , We are here th is even in g al your requ est to discuss actions Xcel Energy took concerning the removal of tre es under the Xcel Ene rgy transm iss ion lines , at the new redeveloped Bro ken Teo Golf Course . On behalf of Xcel Energy and its employees and con tractors , I want to apo log ize for th is Inci dent in the manner and process in wh ich it happened . We did not follow our procedu res and gu ide lines and we did not communicate very well , Th is necessary wo rk should have taken place in the appropriate manner and it didn 't, unfortunate ly, The tim ;ng was not good in light of the Golf Course reopening , The company regrets that we didn 't follow our proc edu re s and guidelines and we also didn 't communicate very well with the proper City personnel . If I cou ld, I would like to .iust bri efly give you just a little bit of bac kground on why we had lo take these actir,ns , Trees growing or failing into nearby transm ission lin es are the most common cause of power outages Since January of 2007 , Xcel Energ y has removed hundreds of thousa nds of trees from transm iss io n line corridors throughout the State of Colorado , This work is being done to ma intain ail of our electric transm ission rights-of-way in Co lorado . Bui the goal is to better ensu re electric system rel iability and t~ ensure our transm ission lines don 't contact trees . It is part of the re vise d Xcel Energy vegetation management Initi ative , wh ich incl udes removal of ail tail growing vegetation with in transmiss ion line corridors , The removal of tail growing vege tat ion best ensu res the delivery of safe , reliable electric serv ice to our customers , Removal of tall growing vegetation ensures compl iance with the requ irements of the National Elec tric Re liabil ity Corporation , Colorado Pub lic Uti lities Comm ission guidelines and the Na tional Electric Safety Code. Since January of 2008 , Xcel Energy has inspected about 75% of our transm ission lines In the State , We ha ve comp leted the removal of all tall growing vegetation , as required , on appro xi mately 950 mile s of these corridors , An inspecti on of the transm ission line segment across the golf course was recently conducted . The results of th is inspectio n, that measured the line clearance of the trees , found ail 11 trees were not meeting the clearance standards , The trees in question were not compa tible with a safe and reliable ope ratio n of the electric facili ti es cross ing the golf course , The height of the trees and the clearance of the electric 11 nes requ ired complete removal and that was the motivation to get ii done . Unfortu nately , we didn 't commun ica te that very well as we proceeded through the process . We believe we ha ve had a long ter m pos itive wor ki ng relat ionsh ip with the City of En glewood on ail kinds of issues and we hope th is inci den t doesn 't jeopardize our relationsh ip, We recognize that we need to work eve n harder to regain your trust in the futu re and wor k on necessary co mmun ic ations with the proper City personnel for all future projects of th is nature , We will wor k with City staff regarding the restoration of plant mate ri als , as you requested. Agai n, on behalf of Xcel Energy, I apolog ize for the manner and the process in which the trees were removed and hope you ·•ill accep t our apology , Adam and I are here to answer any qu es tions you might ha ve , Counc il Member Mccaslin said reg ard ing transm issio ns , is it only on pub lic la nd ,,, you know , wha t about at a home ... if I hav e two tree s that are in the same condition , is it my re sp on si b1l ity .. ,if you came to me , would I cu t them down or would you cut th em down? Ho w does that work? Mr. Ashburn sa id I will let the expe rt answer . Mr, Pena sa id basically , yes , we are wo rking in res ident ial areas and on publ ic land and when you do ha ve trees that are in a transmission corridor, we would be respor.s lble for ma intain ing those trees , II actua lly wo uld be pretty dangerous for a homeown er lo try lo remove one of !hose trees himself . Coun ci l Member Mccaslin said right, that is my c'ncern , because I have been 11 Ing lo trim my trees and !hers are lines ... I don '! know if !hey are Pub lic Service , telephone or what. .. you don '! know who lo call , Mr . Ashburn said ca ll me and I will gel with Adam and we will look al ii. Mr , Mccaslin said okay , I will , Mr , Ashburn said I know ii is along the alley beh ind yo ur house , Mr. Mccaslin said th ank yo11 , Counci l Member Moore said are yo u ind icat ing a change in policy , In terms of now takiny dov. 1 all !all growing veget ,.ticn ? Mr . Ashburn sai d I wo uld n't call ii a change in policy , again I'll ask Adam lo he lp me a llllle b1! Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 6 You know lhe blackout , in the northeast a few years ago ... I don 't know how many mill io ns of customers were out. .. that was due to trees , We have always had the right and obligat ion , in our easements and corridors , to remove trees and maintain safety and reliability of the system . In light of w:1at is going on out there , we inspect these corridors to make sure that the height of the tree and the sag of the line .,. that there is enough clearance for safety. And so, a chang e in po licy? I would suggest no . But there is more foc us on the pol icy and more aggress iv e clean ing up of those corridors . Ag ain , th is is to ensure safe and reliable service . Council Member Moore said one of lhe unders ta r 1ings I have of lhi s situation is lhat, in the past , when lhere have been Issues like this we have been able to usua ll y work out some ki nd of solution . You have indicated tonight that it is the process lhal was lhe problem , but the outcome ... what I really hear you saying ... is the outcome would not have been any different. I am somewhat curious ... does that policy start ma ki ng it into our residential neighborhoods ? Trees that have been fine , just being trimmed or mainta ined ... are they going lo be eliminaled under th is more aggressive approach ? Mr. Pena said there is a definite differen ce between distribution and transmiss ion lines and bas ically this new legislation that was passed only refers to transmission lines . Mr. Moore said okay, so these are the massive lines and not the res id ential. Mr . Pena sa id exactly ... there is just so much voltage in those lines , so that is really what we are looking at. Mr. Moore said I wasn 't recognizing that distinction . Mr. Pena said and so basically I think there was some trimming in the past on t!1e Golf Course . Whal happened was In :!0 08 new laser tools were developed . So now we actually go cut and measure the trees and get exact distances and figure out exactly what the clearance standards need to be and what the trees actually are at that point in time . Before now we have never had that capability . II was a guesstimation , Council Member Mccasli n said could any of these trees have been saved ? Could they have just been trimmed instead of complete removal? Mr , Pena sa id really the trimming that needed to be done on these trees would have been really so aggress ive that most of them would have been ... possibly stumps ... so really • there was no trimming ou t... what we consider trimming out... in this si tua tion . • Council Member Mccaslin said but if you could save a tree and trim it below the transmission line ... I don 't know , maybe it is cost prohib itive to come back every 5 or 10 years to control the growth . Mr . Pena said , basically , we are already on a two year maintenance cycle and with these trees , they are a tall growing tree species ... that is what we would consider a knock down tree species, because ... lets say you get a high water year, you have a cottonwood and it could actually grow 15 feet. With that kind of a growth rate and how close these trees actually were to these lines , it was someth ing that we couldn 't afford to risk . Then not only that , if you go to the Vegetation National Speci fica tions booklet , the actual clear.:nces that we need to get on these tree s is ... say a cottonwood would be somewhere around 46 feet of clearance , which on th is line , it is a low line , and in some areas we only have 45 feet clearance from line to ground . Mayor Woodward said I'm sorry , I'm not hearing you , 36 or 35 , is that what you are say;ng or 46 ? Mr . Pena replied 46 . Mr. Wo odward sa id 46 feet clearance you need from the top of the tree or from the ground? Mr . Pena caid from the top of the tree to the line ... the transmission wire . Mr. Woodward sa id okay and my understanding of a Russian Ol ive is that is not a very tall tree . Mr . Pena said well they can grow to 40 or 50 feet ma x dnd these lines are only 40 feet from the ground . So , it is still a tree that can get in these li nes . Mr, Woodward said okay and you are a tree arbor ist , ha ve you eve r seen a 40 or 50 foot Russ ian Olive in Colorado? Mr. Pena said yes sir . Mr. Woodward sa id I ha,en't, and I don 't know if our open space manager has . I guess what really co ncerns me Is the way the process was handled . II is my understand ing that on a Fr iday afternoon there was a contact ~ade, our City 's attorney wa s try ing to get in touch with you ... had left you a message . On Monday morn ing a! 5 a.m. your contractor, and ev ident ly your supervisors , came iri and did not take no for an answer. They threaten ed to call the police to one of our , not high management people but to one of our grounds ma in te na nce supervisors . That process seems really unacceptable to me when it is pretty cl ear that the cha in of command within the City , which is printed on our website , wh ich Tom is very familiar with , because it is no different than 90 % of the other cities within the State of Co lorado ... yo u start with the City Manag er and you start mov ing down to Directors and on to Ma intenance Superv isor. No retum calls ... that is una cce ptable . By the time the staff at our end needed to know it , this work had been done . • There is a safety issue ... what I would cons ider as a golfer , and I th ink Tom is a golfer ... between the 16'" green and the 17" tee , I don 't think you would want to be standi ng there too long waiting at the 17" tee , where there were trees and it was set up to bl ock any balls that were knocked ove r the green . Ag.:iin , the tim ing just seems • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 7 :wfully odd too . There is noth ing north of tr.e Golf Course that we have seen , at least up until last week , that has been removed along the lines . It has b en all within the Golf Course . And why , right as we are getting set to open. what amounted to over a 10 milli or dc llar renovation and :,aving been closed since September of 2006 and planning this for well over three y~••S ... 3 to 4 years ... and I know Mr . Ashburn was fam iliar with that , and I also know that Tom was ·ut of town , because he was at the same place that Gary and I were at , so , I guess I am asking you Mr . Pena , w,,af kind of response is this from Xcel ? We have th is right and we are coming on your Golf Course and we r,,re going to cut down things and there are birds nesting there and we 're taking them too . n is against all thr, pol i;::P,1 that you have written . Mr. Pena sa id well I guess . you know , the re is not much I can really say about that besides apologize . I failed to notify the contractor that morning that they were not to come in , but did receive a message from the City 's attorney and I guess also an apology to Tom Ashburn . because I also spoke to him and he asked me not to proceed with the work . So basically , I guess the blame there is on my shoulders . As far as the birds that were nesting there , it is pretty difficult to see some of those birds some times. unless it is a large owl or something like that that is nesting there . Unfortunately, we didn 't see the bir1s uotil it was too late . As far as going in there in the morning and doing the work, the contractor just ,, d ,. :,at !~~, were Iola . We weren't able to stop them or I failed to stop them . So for that , I owe you ... the C";' .. < Eo ~'· ••,c1,,d ... and Tom an apology . Mayor Woodward said well the nesting birds ' part is contrary ,', yoc r uwn stutt. Mr. Pena said absolutely . Mr . Woodward said and I think for your information and from what I 1,nderstand from our staff, the parent birds were flying above t;ying to warn, trying to let these workers know that they should have known , it should have been their job to kno·• that tl'ce of thing so ... killing nesting birds i~ not accept .. ole . Mr . Pena said is not acceptable . Mr . Wooaward said I guess one of the things that I'm really looking at again is the safety issue and restitution for some of these trees . I think this could have been handled a lot differently, in my opinion, and I am not an arborist. Mr. Pena said absolutely, it could have happened much differently . Mr . Woodward • said I think the first things that have to be addressed ... and I don 't think it is the time to be planting trees , shrubs and that sort of thing in the middle of summer, would be my guess from what I know , but again between that 16" green and the 17'" tee , there is a safety issue there and it is something that needs to be addressed . Mr . Pena said we will work with staff. Mr . Woodward said I understand that companies have quirks in their system , be :ng a customer of Xcel but also being a minor shareholder of Xcel , the events as they unfolded were unacceptable . Mr . Pena said we acknowledge that and agree with that ccmplelely . Mayor Woodward asked if there were any o!her comments or feedback for these gentlemen . Council Member Wilson said the trees are going to be replaced , correct? Mr. Pena said no . Basically , touching on the safety aspect of the trees . the way they were , they were actually a safety hazard as well due to arcing . When the power line gets close enough , it doesn't even have to touch the tree , but when it gets close en ough to the trees , the electricity can actually j ump and find a path to the ground through the trees . So , that was actually a big safety hazard on the Golf Course itself and it may not have been for a number t •f years , because the trees were small and they grew up to th is point , but at this point In time . these trees were e·ctually not only a liability issue , bu t al. , a safety issue . Cou nc il Membe r Wilson sai d so you are not go ing to repla ce any of the trees? Mr. Pena said no . Council Member Wil :on said why? Mr. Pena said we are replacing hundreds of thousands of trees on these corridors all over the State of Colorado ... everywhere ... and we balance our environmental leadership with our requirement to provide reliable, safe and at the lowest poss ible energy that we can and hundreds of thousands of trees are a lot of trees to "specifically replace ." I saw a picture today that Adam showed me of a tree that had a clearance deal that actually the tree was blown up because the line got close enough and weather conditions actually arced down to the tree . And I have learned a lot about trees .n the last few weeks by the • way in these corridors but there was an equal safety hazard with those trees hsing where they were under a conductor . That is a 2~0 kil owatt line . So , we are looking at safe ty issues on all issues around that. Council Member Wi lson said so there is no tre e that could be plante d there? Ma~or Woodwan; said or vegetation ? E, glewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 8 Mr. Pena said there can be vegelation that · ;n be ptanled th ere ... there is a tow ground var iety that could be planted there . There are a couple of hillsi t'e ;;h;:h you wouldn 't want lo plant even tow ground trees on , becaus, that hill side actually raises tnem , 1dn closer to the tine . Council Member Wilson said I think it is ·10.:r respons ibility to replace those trees . And also . birds live in trees , that is pretty common knowledge . If you a•e going '.•J cut down a tree , there is a pretty good chance there may be a bird in it. So , I don 't know what the Ad: bon Society would think atiout it or PETA, but it is unac ceptable and we need to ha ve replacement of those .. 1t.e vt.:,c~atio n. Council Mer c..ier Moore sa id I'm sorry , Mr. Ashburn , I did hear yo u say you were going to work with our staff to replace the vegetation , didn't I, earlier? Mr . Ashburn said well the letter we received from the City asked about restoration and planting trees and I am not exactly sure what that means , our commitment is to work with staff and see what we can come up with . Mr. Mnore said okay . Trees are an absolule problem . Ms . Wilson said but they will replace them with something . Coun cil Member Moore said he understands the request... they will look at plants and vegetat ion . Mr. Ashburn said we understand the reques 1. and we will work with staff on that. Mr. Moore said we understand your concerns about treP.s . Mr . Ashburn said we are nol in a position this evening ... like to like tre e reptacementjusl doesn 't work on the program , but we will do something . Ms . Wilson said no , but you will replace something . Mr . .A.shburn s iid I don't know what that is , I can 't stand here and tell you exaclly what it is , but we are co ,-im itti ng to work with your staff to come up with some thi ng reasonable Ms . Wilson said okay . • Council M~mber MiCaslin said Iha! just brings up a fact. ts it the tree that comes first or the power tine that comes first? I me an , does anybody have a right over ... Mr. As,;burn said the power line comes first. For the most part, the power tin e corridor was establ,shed before the trees were planted and the easement was in • place . Mr. Mccaslin sa ,d okay, I was just wend, ,i ng . Mayor Woodward aske ;' if there were any oth er quest ions or comments . Council Member P nn said no , but I would just like to thank Tom and Adam for coming in and talking to us and hopefully we can cvntinue the relationship go in g and maybe we can get some things in line ... specific things ... that wr, know are going to happen , if something like this happens aga in. Mr . Pena said absolutely I agree . I think that what I am going to do on my part is make sure we are work ing with proper City personnel to ensure that we don 't have th is ty~e of issue ever aga in with the City of Englewood or any other mun icipality . Council Member Mccaslin said I would also like !o thank Tom himself for showing up . I know he could just have avo ided it and sa id, well that's too bad , but he stepped up to the plate . I have had conversations with Tom and I bel ieve he is an hone st and rel iab le manager ... stuff happens, but unfortunately it happened to us . We will see what we can do about that. Mr . Ashburn said I appreciate that , tim ing is everything and I just don 't know what else to say ex ce pt for sorry . Mayor Woodward said and I second that ... what Bob said with regard to Tom . We've got a working relationship and I kno1• for myself ii has been since 2004 , for John prio r to that and Ga ry for even longer than any of us , but we appre ci ate thal and I don 't lhlnk that we have had many pro blems , tiul this one was a big one ... a big, big one . Mr. Ashburn sa id we understand that. Ms . Wilson sa id thank you . Mr . Woodward said thank you for your time . Mr . Ashburn said than k you very , very much . • • Englewood City Council July t, ~008 Page 9 7. Recognition of Unscheduled Public Comment (a ) Linda Hart said I want to than k City Counc il for letting us do this ton ight. These are the members of the Dangerous Dog Task Fr,i cs : Lorena Beauregard , Cynth ia Searfoss , and Lisa Sickles . We spent !he last year in meet ings ... every week and a half ... deal ing with trying to get your ~angerous dog law put together so that you could pass it, which did hap pen th is last month . We wanted to giv e a Spllc la l thanks to someone who I ,e lped us get through thi s and was great to work with . I was wondering if Mike Flaherty would come up . Ms . Hart said we have a certificate of ap preciation for you . If you want to stand over he re , we will give you a few items , we got a list for you and then you can set them on the table if you want. This Is a cert ificate of apprec iation from the members of the Dangerous Dog Task Force for all the evenings you spent with us ... all the Thursdays with us ... fighting , laughing and kept us on tra ck and did a lot , f good for us . The gifts here are presented to you by the Dangerous Dog Tas k Force members in appreciation of your work , patience and gu idance over the past year. He gave us enough rope to get our opin ions vo iced , md discussed , but re igned us in when we got a little off track. We laughed at times and took staunch stands a' olhers, but with your guidance we were able to come to agreement on a very fine document to present to 11e City . We want to giv e you sincere thanks for your efforts . The gifts are for a future task force . They may be as rowdy a bunch as we were . The first gift is a glass bell . That is to politely rir.g when the discussion gets off trac k a little bit. There was laughter. Our next gift is a fog horn wh istle and it also lights up and you can put th is around your nec k. This Is to get attention when th ings ,,re getting a little bit intense and when the glass bell is be ing ignored . There was laughter . The next thing Is a puffer stuff ball . Th is is for you to squeeze when the stress is getting high and the group is getting out of control , but then can be thrown at the ma in offend ing person without phys ic al harm to get attentio n. There was laughter. After that , for when all the control is lost and there is no other way to get the discuss ion back on track, we have two fun bats . These can be distributed to the persons mos\ at odds so they can settle their dispute without injury and the group can move on . And then we have aspirin . That is for the headache that Mike •1ow has !Jr surviving this group and mai ntai ning peace . • There was laughter . And last but not least. an ap ole in appreciation and re cog nitio n tor Mike 's sk ill In educating and guiding us on med iation . He succeeded In taking us , taking a very diverse group and fo,m ing us into an effective task force , able to address a very complicated issue for the City . Thanks Mike . The ;e was • applause . Ms . Hart sa id and thank you to the City Council for letting us do this . Mayor Woodward said thank you . (b) Cynth ia Searfoss , an Englewood res ident , said I ar.1 here once aga in to address the emergency request for City Coun ci l Bill 35 . It is my opin ior, that the approach of the ord inance criminalizes objecls instead of actions , it is frau~ulently flawed and that there are numerous legal problems raised by the proposed amendment. The proposed amendment language needs to be spe cific . For example, what does "other such public assembly " legally mean and who determines this ? What is specifically defined by "any projectile lau ncher or other device which is commonly used "? If an item is commonly used ... as an examp le ... squ ,rt bottles and squirt guns , is it now unlawful in all slluations? What is spec ifically de fi ned by "any gas mask or similar device designed to filter all air brea ,hed '? Does this also Include oxygen masks .nd allergy masks? The languag P is so broad tha t it potentially outlaws baseball equipment , tennis equipmrmt , lac,·osse equipment , golf equ ipment , softball and hockey. It could also outlaw ma rc hing bands , as the batons and flagpoles cou ld be co nstrued as weapons . In a conversation after the la st City Coun ci l meeting , with Ch ief of Police Vandermee, he assured me they would never apply this Munic ipal Code at , say , the concert we hav e out here in the square , wh ich is a publ ic assembl y. However , once the law is on the books for a period of time , it may be used for all sorts of events , fo r which it was not originally conceived . The proh ibition is over bro ad in its scope and bans leg itimate activities and speech protecte d by the Firs t Amendment. lnstea J of making actions unlawful , the ordinance cr iminal izes t e possession or carrying of many legitimate , expressive objects , with no regard for the First Amendment. It limits the size and shape of mater ials widely used to ma ke props for use in protests . For example , protests often contain large , elaborate objects that serve as visual representations of the message . While a small sign can be constructed using wider materials , a larg er sign or larger demonstration prop , such as a cool ing tower for a nuclear protest, would requ,,s larger materials and these materials are crim inali zed by this prov ision , which would make it im pcssible for protesters to use such props , The ord inance criminalizes the carry in g, possess ion or wearing of ·any gas mask or similar devic e des ig ned to filter all air breathed ". That could include surg ical masks and bandan.s , among other th ings . Th e ~asks themselves can exp ress more than mere words and the wearing of such ma sks is fully protected by the Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 10 First Amendment. The ordinance also vesls police officers with unfettered discretion . Criminal statutes must be clear enough to give fair warn ing to the public as to exa ctly what is prohib ited . Parts of the ord inance fail to do so . The ordinance does not provide a specific list of prohibiled objecls . It provides calchall provis ions that permit an officer to designate virtually any object as unlawful. The prov ision does not limil where and when It can be enforced . lls current language can be directed at any publ ic gathering . In my cc,nclusion , there is no need for lh is ordinance . Englewood already has well conslructed laws on the books , v,;Ih clear specific la nguage that can be used to ensure publ ic safety and orderly protests . We have ord inances addressing the bloc king of access to businesses , obstructing streets and sidewalks , disorderly conducl and harassment. We also already have ordinances that prohibit carrying weapons on public property . The ordinance as drafted , and as passed upon first read ing , has serious constitutional flaws . For example , th is could be Interpreted as discrimin,,!ory •~alnsl the elderly who 1equire canes , walkers and breathing apparatus . It does not address the needs and concerns of the citizens of Englewood . I wge the City Counc il to recons ider their votes on th is ordinanc., and to car.sider holding a public hearing for citizen feedback . Thank you . Mayor Woodward sa id thank you . 8 . Communlcatlor,s, Proclamatlon■, and Appointments . This Agenda Item was moved foiward . See page 2. ~-Con1ent Agenda COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE MOVED, AND COUNCIL MEMBER McCASLIN SECONDED, TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 9 (a) (I), (II), (Ill), (Iv) and 9 (b) (I), (8) Approval of Ordinances on First Reading (i) COUNCIL BILL NO . 39, INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AN INTER'30VERNMENTAL AGREEMENT (IGA) ENTITLED "MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR THE LOCAL JURISDICTION REGULATION OF CONVEYANCES PURSUANT TO THE ELEVATOR AND ESCALATOR CERTIFICATION ACT TITLE 9 ARTICLES 5.5, COLORADO REVISED STATUTES " BETWEEN THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT , DIVISION OF OIL AND PUBLIC SAFETY ("OPS ") AND THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (ii) COUNCIL BILL NO . 40, INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT (IGA) ENTITLED 'COLORADO'S NORTH CENTRAL ALL-HAZARDS REGION HEAL TH AND MEDICAL MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTAND ING " (MOU) BETWEEN THE PARTICIPATING HOSPITALS LOCATED IN THE TEN- COUNTY MET ROPOLITAN AREA , KNOWN AS THE COLORADO ALL -HAZARDS NORTH CENTRAL REGION ("NC "), THE STATE AND LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS , THE 460'" MEDICAL GR C' 1P (460 MDG ) LOCATED AT BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE , AND THE LOCAL OFFICES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ANO THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO . (iii ) COUNCIL BILL NO . 41 , INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ·'IIOORE A BILL FOR AN ORD'NANCE AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF GRANT ENTITLED "STATE OF COLORADO DEPART:lllENT OF LOCAL AFFAIRS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANT AGREEMENT (EMPG) WITH THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD ". (vi) COUNCIL BILL NO . 42, INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE • • • • • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 11 A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE \MENDING TITLE 3, CHAPTER 4, SECTION 6 . SUBSECTION 1, DF THE ENGLEWOOD MUNIC IPAL CODE 2000. PERTAINING TO T HE NONEMERGENCY B/.PLOYEE RETIREMENT PLAN (NERP ). (b) Approval of Ordinances on Second Reading (i) ORDINANCE NO. 30 , SERIES OF 2008 (CO UNCIL BILI NU . 33 INTRODUCED BY COUI/CIL MEMBER MOORE) AN OI1DINANCE APP ROVIN•; AND AUTHORIZ IN G THE EXECUTION OF THREE IN T ERGOVERN MENTAL SUBGF\!\NTEE AGREEMENTS (CD BG ) FOR THE YEAR 2008 BETWEEN THE ARAPAHOE BOARD OF COUNTY :::nMMISSIONERS AND THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD , CO LOR ADO . Vote results : Ayes: Nays : Absent : Motio n carried . Council Members Penn , Mccaslin , Moore . Woodward . Jefferson . 'Nilson None Council Member Oakley (c ) Resolutions and Mot ions There were no additional resolutio n or motions . (See Agenda Item 1 , \C).f 10 . Public Hearing Items (a ) COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE MOVED, AND COUNCIL MEMBER PENN SECONDE il, TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER TESTIMONY ON COt;NCIL BILL NO . 37 , AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO TITLE 16 : UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS PERTAINING TO MUL Tl-UNIT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS . Ayes: Council Members Penn . Mccaslin, Moore. Woodward . Jefferson , Wilson Nays: None Absent: Council Membe r Oakley Motion carried and the publ ic hearing opened . Mayor Wrodward sa id Tr ic ia Langon , ou r Sen ior Planner from Community Developmenl , will be presenting . All witnesses were duly sworn . Se nior Pla nner Langon sa id for your consideration tonight is a Public Hearing lor Council Bill No. 37 , amendments to Title 16 , the Un ified Developmen t Code. Those amendments pertain lo multi-un it resident ial distr ic ts . I've already submitted , for the record , the proof of publication that this public hearing was noticed in the Englewood Herald on June 20 , 2008 and also the Council Communication lhal you have. As part of lhe background for these amendments . for ap proxi mately 50 years , multi-unit development in th e City required a minimum lot width of 25 fe at per un it. With lh e adoption of the Un ified Development Code m 2004 , that minimum requ ire me nt increased to 30 feet per unit. These prop osed amendments tonight are antici pat ed to remedy drawbacks and shortcomings related lo that 30 foot per un it m inimum lot wid lh requirement. Thal 30 foot per unit requirement , though it was orig in ally intended to im prove ho us in g qu ality in the far northwest Englewood areas , really had little effect on that ar~a . because most of the lots in the far northwest Engl ewood were already platted al 60 feel or wider and could meet the new requ iremen t. Instead , the unintended consequ ence in the rest of the City, in multi-un it zone districts throu ghout the City , wa s lhal the residential properties that were platled at 25 foot incremen ts , were really limited to single or one un it dwellings on a 50 foot le,. wh ic h makes up the majority of properties in the City . In other words, for all intents and purposes , most properties in multi-un it districts were ~dow 1,-zone d· to sing le uni t use . The effect was that ready land in the City was not ava il able to assemble enc..uyh land to meet that new lot width requ l,·ement. Affordable rt:idevelopment opt ions were not finan ci ally viable , because people were not able to develop on single un it properties Res1dent 1al revital ization efforts were hampered and th e City 's older , deteriora ting hou si ng stock Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 12 remained in place . The proposed amendments deal wit h minimu m lot width requirements for multi •unit dwellings in the multi-un it zone districts . Th ey established dev elopm ent standards for such units and they also update the definitions related to mu lti-un it dwell ing s. There are a number of associated amendments that deal with clarity and cons istency within the ordinance and those ma inly deal with Table 16-5-1 .1, the Table of Allowed Uses , and Table 16-6-1 .1 Summary Tabl e of Dimen sio nal Requirements for Princ ipal Uses an d Structures . The proposed amend men ts apply to the mull i-un,I districts . There are no R-1 distr icts affe cted, so there's only R-2-A & B and the MU-R-3A & B districts . On pag e two of you r Council Commun ication , is th J crux of the amendments and they 're really two sections , two key differences In the proposed amendments . Those deal wilh the first properties that had alley access : on those properties , the lot wi dth requirement will n1 returned to th e 25 foot historic requ irement and that would affect most of the multi -unit res idential propertie 3 ,n the City . Key to that is no driveway or park ing areas would be allowed in the fron t setback, so access for garages or park ing would be only from the rear, through th e allay . The other area would be the properties with no alley access and th is would mainly be pro?erties in the far northwest portion of the City , the area that actually initiated the 30 foot requirement. In those areas , the property requirement for per unit would rem ai n "' 30 feet and we 're proposing to add development standards dealing wi th driveways , garages , and parking pads , that would affect the visual nature of those .. garage , concrete and vehicles in th e front ya rds . She said jest to summarize , the proposed amendm ents are intended to re-establish the lot width stand ard that coordinate with the historic lot. So it would be 25 feet pe; unit, based on the 25 foot increment standard for mnst of the lots in the City . The amendments are proposed to or intended to re-estabil sh th , 1, ;,N ie multi-unit us " for t,.: 50 foot lots that are in the majority of the multi-unit di stricts . We would propose tc ·. ntinue the City's task of clarifying and s;mplify ing the zoning code and those are, those changes that I mtr,li oned to the various tables . And the proposed amendments are ant icipated to remedy drawbacks and shortcom ings related to the 30 foot per unit lot require ment that were adopted in the UDC in 2004 . If you have any questions , I'd be happy to answer them . Mayor Woodward asked if there were any questions . Mayor Woodward sa id I have one and that would be , if one had 75 feet of frontage in an R-2-A Dist rict , would th ey be allowed thre e-25 foot un its? Ms . Langon repl ied in R-2 -A, the maximum number of un its is two , so even with 75 feet , no matter thb frontag e the ma x would be two units . Mayor Woodward said okay . The r R- 2-B and above , would allow three un its at 75 feet. Would that be correct? Ms . Langon answered correct. Mayor Woodward said thank you for that clarificat ion for me . Mayor Woodward asked if there were any other quest ions . There were none . Mayor Woodward said nobody liJs ~ig ned up for the pu bli~ hearing . If there is an yone who wishes to speak they are welcome to ccme to the podium now . There w,.s no one . COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE MO VE D, AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILSON SECONDED, -o CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING CONSIDERING TESTIMONY ON COUNCIL BILL NO , 37, AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO TITLE 16 : UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDME NTS PERTAININ •3 TO MULTI- UNIT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS . Ayes : Council Members Penn , Mccasli n. Moryre, Woodward , Jefferson , Wilson Nays : None Ab se nt: Council Member Oakley Motion carried and the public hearing closed . Mayor Woodward said thank you Tricia . 11 . Ordinances, Resolution and Motions (a) Approval of Ord inances on First Reading (i) Senior Planner Graham presented a recommendation from the Commun ity Develo pm ent Departn,ent to adopt a Bill for an Ord inan ce authorizin9 the purchase of designated Colorado Department of Transporta ti on surplus property and sale of same for developing an amu seme nl park . He said • • • • • • Englewood City Coun cil July 7, 2008 Pag e 13 Counc il Bill 44 before you, is a request to author ize the C,ty Manager to be able to execute do cu ments to buy and sell pro perty in an econom ic development project that has tieen brought to our attention . Th is is th e COOT property that is on either side of the Lon don Motel . To give you a little ba ckgrou nd , these properties have been disc ussed by Council before , originally as potential RTD parking , after that as a potent ial amusement park . Part of these propert ies were authorized by Council to be obtained for an exie nded stay hote l and the se are the la st of the two remain ing parcels that COOT is willing to convey to the City , under an arrangement that we part ici pated in, whereby we rece iv ed a first right r,; refusal option by respond ing to their init ial request if we were interested in the properties . In th is ca se, Jon Cook has come to us ask ing us to part icipate in th is transaction so that he can subsequently co nv ey the property . What he gets out of it is the opportunity to redevelop another property on Broadway and Dartmouth . So , the staffs reco mmendat ion in th is case is that Coun cil authorize the City Manager and do that for the purpose of economic devel opment benefits that the public would get from this . Mayor Woodward asked if there were any questions for Mark at th is po int. Council Member Jefferson said is there anything In this transaction that relies upon Mr . Cook and Mr. Elino ,~s transact ion on Broadway and Dartmou th? Or is that j ust a totally separate transaction? One that is just ment io ned in this . Senior Planner Graham said Dan , can I turn that back to yo u? City Atto rney Brotz man said and the answer is that Mr. Cook would not be ask ing to do thi s without the transa ctio n on Broadway . So, yes there is a reliance on Mr . El inoff and Mr. Cook 's transaction . Counc il Member Jeffe rson said okay . Council Member Jefferson sa id so we 'd wait , to push this forward . until they closed on that deal? Is that correct? City Attorney Brotzman said I should clarify one th ing ; we 've had a verbal comm erit from Mr. Cook that there may be a prob lem with this transa ct ion , so this n,ay not be coming back to you rig ht away on second read ing . If the ir transaction does work out , we would ask that th e ordinance be passed and then they would close on their propert ies after that. II would be cond itioned on th at. Council Membe r Jefferson said, if say, the ir deal were to go south , would we still retain that right of refusal and offer it to another pers on that might step forward to purchase th e new London and COOT pro pe rt ies toge ther ? City Attorney Brotzman sai d yes and we 'd bring that entire transac ti on back to you . Coun cil Member Jefferson sa id okay . Thank you . Coun cil Membe r Wilson sa id has Mr . Cook , I don 't know what the problem was , but has he tal ked about what he wants to put on the property , at South Broadway and Dartmouth? Senior Planner Graham respon d•d ii is my understanding , from talk ing to Mr. Cook , is he has no proposed use for the propr,rty, o\he, :hJ n tu tran sfe r it to Mr . Elinoff , in exchange for the right to develop Mr. El inoffs property on Broadway . Council Memb er Wils on said what could that property be developed as ? Se nior Plann er Graham repl ied it's a comb inat ion of mixed us e B-2 zo nin g, wh ic h is com merc ial along Broadway , and some propert ies to the west , wh ic h are currently two duple xe s. There is some potential that it could be re -zoned , to be all commerc ial , if it's all contiguous . B-2 is a very broad comm erci al zone that allow s both resi dential and commercial uses . The size of the pr,,perty is unusually large . If the property to the west were to be co mmercially zo ned, it would be exc ept ional , with a full movement inter section on one of the streets that also has good access to Santa Fe . It's a ;;r'me retail corn er. Counc il Member Wilson said okay , thank you . COUNCIL MEMB ER JEFFERSON MOVED , AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILSON SECONDED, TO APPROVE AOFND ITEM 11 (a) (l)-COUNCIL BILL NO. 44. COUNCIL BILL NO . 44 , INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER JEFFERSON A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE APPROVING TH E PUR CHAS E AND SALE OF TWO COLOR ADO DEPARTMi:NT OF TRANSPORTATION (COOT ) SURPLUS PROPERTIES LOCATED ALONG SOUTH SANTA re DRIVE BY THE CITY OF ENGLEWOO D, COLORADO FOR THE PROPOSED REDEVcLOPMENT . Mayo r Woodward as ke d if th ere was any further discu ssio n. Th ere was non e. Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 14 Vote results : Ayes : Nays : Absen t Motion carr ied . Counc il Members Penn , Mccasl in, Moore , Woodward , Jefferson , Wi lson None Counc il Member Oakley (b) Approval of Ord inances on Second Reading (i) Coun ci l Bill No . 34 authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with U,e C, • •.•:,,• County of Denver for the provision of services and aid in preparation for and during th e 2008 C,~moc,: ,,c Na ti onal Con ve ntion was considered . COUNCIL MEMBER WILSON MOVED , AND COUNCIL MEMBER McCASLIN SECONDED , TO APPR<WE AGENDA fTEM 11 (b) (I) • ORDINANCE NO . 31, SERIES OF 2008 , ORJI NANCE NO . 31 , SERIES OF 2008 (COUNCIL BILL NO . 34 , INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMfJER WILSON) AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT ENTITLt:D 'INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES AND AID IN PREPARATION FOR AND DURING THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION ', BETWEEN THE Ct TY OF ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO AND THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO . Mayor Woodward asked if there were any questions . There were none . Vote results : Motion carri ed . Ayes : Nays : Absen t Counc il Members Penn , Mccaslin, Moore , Woodward , Jefferson , Wilson None Counc il Member Oakley (ii) Council Bill No . 35 amend ing the Englewood Municipal Code to proh ibit the possession of or carrying of certain objects at picket lines and other publ ic assemblies was considered . COUNCIL MEMBER McCASLIN MOVED, AND COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE SECONDED, TO APPROVE AGENDA ITEM 11 (b) (II)· ORDINANCE NO . 32, SERIES OF 2008 . ORDINANCE NO . 32 , SERIES OF 2008 (COUNCIL BILL NO . 35 INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER McCASLIN) AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 7, CHAPTER SB , SECTION 3, OF THE ENGLEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE 2000 , Ph OHIBITING THE POSSESSION OR CARRYING CERTAIN OBJECTS AT PICKET LINES AND OTHER PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES . Ma yo r Woodward asked if there was any discussion . Counc il Member Mccaslin sa id I hear you Cynthia ... what you 're say ing ... but , as a teache 1 ,· ,e gotten a lot more limited as to what kids can b •ing to school and society is be com ing more aware of da ous elem ents that can happen in groups . You never know what sets a person off. And in talk ing to Chiel ,Jndermee , I th ink his intention was just to protect the innocent people that were there for the same reason that the person with • • the weapon is or what we consider a weapon . Alcohol plays a part in it. When people get fired up or angry , • some people are good at controlling the ir emotions and some people are not , so I think it gives leeway to give the discretion to the police officer who 's trained in these matters to look into the situation . I understand your concern , but I still bel iev e that they 're not do ing th is to pick on certain people . It's for the prote cti on of th e • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 15 innocent , the peopl e who might be 1n dangPr by a person who gets out of contro l. , c;r, s~e both sides , but I'm going to err on the side of safety . Tha t's where I see it. Council Member Jefferson said I have some co ncerns about the bill as it's written . I do agree with the spirit of th e law and we do need to allow for our police officers and whatnot to ensure the pub lic safP './. I do have som e con cerns also about the scope and some potent ial express ions of speech is~ut1 ~ and things li ke that. Da n, do you want to comment at all on expression of speech issues? City Attorney llrc,ii:man said one of the issues you have wi th this , I believe Denver and Arapahoe County , are requesting ·, um'orm bill. We could make lots of changes , but one of lhe things ... Council Member Jefferson said th is is wh3t we have in front of us . the unifom, bill? City Attorney Brotzman continued saying it is the uniform bili th ot 1s being proposed for the DNC so all of the officers will be working with the exact same language '.hrou gh ~ut th e communities . Council Member Jefferson sa id I just thin k it has a scope iss ue . Do you not sae a s,•r ll" issue ? City Attorne y Brotzman sa id if you are ask ing if it is constitutional. .. is it legal , then the answer is , ,s. Arp, there some th ings in there that I may not recommend orwe might do differently , the answer is ... probably . But aga in, you are beisg requested to approve a uniform bill , so all law en forc ement throu ghout the jurisdictions have the exact same language . Council Member Mccaslin said so it's not j ust our City adopting this ... we 've adopted it from the other cities . Is that correct? City Attorney Brotzman said that's correct. Aga in ii you read the Englewood Herald this last week , Arapahoe Cou nty just passed th is exact same language . And , Mayor Woo dward sa id, there was controversy with that. City Attorney Brotzman sa id correct. Council Member Jefferson sa id especially with all of these inte rgovernmental agreemenls ... , don't know . It jus t seems like there should be a little bit more due diligence to ensure that it's not...Council Member Mccaslin sa id what are you looking for? Are you looking to identify each weapon that a person could use ? What is the complaint? That people are go ing to be carrying an umbrella an d it could be considered a weapon? Sure , it could be a we apon . You could use it as a weapon . Isn 't there discretionary use? Peopl e used to bri ng pocke t knives to school and now, they say , if you bring a pocketknife to school , you 'll be expelled . Before , when I was growing up , you'd take a pocket knife to Boy Scouts , you 'd take it to school ; you didn t get expelled for that. So , times have changed and I think what we're look ing at is the nature of the beast right now. We're not looki ng r-;ty years ago , when you could leave your fronl door open . There are some safety concern s. I don 't know what the big issue is. If we go too far on the other side of safety and \\.e are not safe enough , then that's my concern . I don 't know why we wouldn 't want to protect people who are IM ocent , who are there maybe for a protest, or freedom of speech and get caught up with a guy who has an umbrella and uses it as a weapon . Counc il MPmber Jefferson sa id nobody 's adv ocati ng going against publ ic safety here . Like I sa id, I'm all for public safe ty here . My issue is that you 're going to crimina li ze things that don 't necessarily have a criminal intention . You know , 1 think some of those expressiv e speech issues are ... let me give you an examp le . Lei's say some environmental organization wa nt s to wear gas masks as ;i form of expressive speech . That seems to me like thal would be unconstitutional. I don't know . Perhaps If we vote this down , we ca n spur some energy to rewrit e th is Co uncil Member Mccaslin ssid I don 't know where you are going to go with weapons . To me , a pencil or a pen could be a weap~n . Do y,,u have to lis t everything ? Counc il Member Jefferson said exactly and lhat's the po int , so why are we atte~~t!:-19 to :rim lnalize th ese partic ula r ... Mayor Woodward sa id can I ask Chief Vandermee , have we as a police department exper ie nced any problems with the ex isting ordinance ? Chief Vandermee said to date , no , we have not experienced those kinds of problems . The recommended changes address only those ite ms that one carries or posses ses at a demonstration . rally , picket line , or other such public assembly . • Council Member Jefferson said which is defined just by three fo lk s, correct? Just tt ·ee folks . Ch ief Vande rmee said three or more persons . Council Member Jefferson sa id sta nd ing on a corner , with my stick or cane , or umbrella or whatever it may be , but doesn 't necessari ly have cr iminal intention . I could face some Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 16 cri minal liab ility here , corre ct? Am I misunde rstand ing ? City Attorn ey Brotzman expla ined Ms . Searfoss is right In that there are some ,,ems in here tha t...if you 've got a super-soaker ... real life exampl e .. obv iousl y it's no xious If it is fi ll ed with urine . That's a real li fe example . That's why it's pro hi bited in here. The policy line you are look ing for is ... do yo u want the office rs to be ab le io walk over and say no to that. Simply to have the ab il ity to conta ct them . because they are carrying that · "th them . You don 't want to see if any ol them have a squirt gun , and you 're in a demonstration , the offi cer is not going to do anyth ing . If the officer actually moves forward , the prosecutors are not going to follow up on that case . Ne xt up is ... even if that happens . the judge isn 't go ing to do anything with that case . Cou nc il Member Jefferson sa id is that how we should be formatt ing our polic ies ? Ci ty Attorney rrotzman sa id that's the quest ion that you 're look ing at...do you want to have that initia , contact , wh ich is what we ·,e ta lk ing about . because of thi s? That's what's being recommende d to you . These are real life examples that ha ve come up and caused harm in demonstrations . Council Member Jefferson sa id the penalty is , potentially , up to $1000.00 fine , correct? City Attorney Brotzman sa id that is our general penalty provi sion . wh ich Is $1000 .00 and /or 360 days in ja il. So , you could face , in all practically , someth ing like that. Is that ,eali stic? No . that's not realistic. Aga in, is that someth ing that you want to criminalize? Council Membe,· Jefferson said realistic , assum ing the current political agenda is what it is . I mean , my concern is that we pass something like this and then there 's a polit ically unpopular grcup or whatnot and suddenly we 're selectively enforcing this kind of a thing against those types of folks . That's how I kind of see it. • Mayor Woodward said I had brought up the question at the last meet ing , and I th ink I talked to the Chief about it, and that was , and th is is wh y I asked the question , was that if it is someth ing that is working , as ii has been, and yel this is really all about the DNC . The intergovernmental ag,eements , In regard to demonstrat ions . is it viable to do this as an emergency ordinance through September 30'" of this year or some date certain and • that 's the extent of this emergency ordinance and we go back to our regular ordinance , which we haven 't any prob lems with . Because I do have some of the same types of concerns as you when I look at some of these th ings . City Attorn ey Brotzman said one of the problems with that is you 're trying to get this in place before the DNC . You have several alternatives . You 're going to be hard pressed to pass th is, not as an emergency , and move forward to get it in twice before the DNC . You can pass th is as an emergency ordinance as it stands , with un ifo rm language , bring ii back after the DNC , and then modify it how you see fit . Mayor Woodward sa id modify it or repeal it? City Attorney Brotzman sa id correct. Mayor Woodward said can we put a date certain on it ton ight and it 's the same as first reading and second reading would be at the next meeting and it would be in place as of second reading? City Attorney Brotzman sa id as long as 11,ere are no publication problems . One of the th ings we 've built into this . and we try to build it into all of our ord inances. is if something goes wrong ... and this is why the ord inance was passed allowing for on-line legal publications ... is som ething is publ ished incorrectly at the paper . you may not ha ve it in place . Yes , if everything ,,~s perfectly , you 're going to meet that timeframe . If someho w, we miss a page in publicat ion ; you won 't have ii in place . Mayor Woodward said ol ay . So , then I hear you say ing , if we 're to go that way , you recommend repeal ing it as opposed to changing it to a date certain . City Attorney Brotzman said correc t. Counci l Member Mo 01e sa id I'll j ump in, for the record . Th is is a recommendation fro m our Chief of Police. see ii as protect ing the rights of the speech of the masse s. I don 't like the idea of go ing to a demonstrat ion and having the guy next to me pull out a gas mask . I think the purpose of th is is reasonable . It do es not impede the fre edom of speech and in fact , again , ii recognizes the safety of those also wishing to part icipate . So , I am completely comfortable moving forward with the recommendation that we received from our Chief of Police as It stands . Certa inly you can lo ok at repealing it later . but I th ink we need to move on with passing this tonight. Coun cil Membe r Jeffers on sa id that be ing sa id, I don 't th ink I could suoport ii as written . Mayor Woodward sa id yo u couldn 't supp ort it...Coun ci l Member Jefferson sa id I wou ldn 't support it as written . • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 17 Council Member Mccaslin sa id Joe , wh at did yo u mean by an unpopular politica l gro up comi ng into th e City ? Council Member Jeffers on sa id fo r examp le, we have different folks protes ti ng at gatherings . Some of them are more or less po litically popular than others, you know . And my suggest ion is just that if the com mun ity , for some reason , doesn 't like a part icula r viewpo int or some thing , and it is concerned , whe ther justified or unjus tifie d, about potential acts of violence or wha tnot. They co uld be subject to more fierc ~ enforcem ent of these types of th ings when their intent was the same as somebody else who gathers and is planning on pe acefully demonstrat ing . Counci l Member Mccaslin sa id sh ou ldn 't we en force someone who 's gett ing out of con trol ? Council Member Jefferson said definitely and our curren t ordinan ces do that. You know what I mean ? The only th in g that th is is do ing is add ing on a li st of items say ing that these are things that you can 't carry with yo u whe n you stand in a group of thre e or more Is tha t correct or am I in co rr ect? City Attorney Brotzman said tha t's absolutely correct. Co un ci l Memb er Mccaslin said if you try to list everything you could an d cou ld not ta~e to a group meet ing or a protest or whatever... Council Member Jefferson sa id that's what we're attempting to co here . Council Member Mccaslin said I don 't know . To m, that wouldn't be possible , would it ? How would you list eve ry thing tr.at could be a we apo n? A key from a ke yc t,si n co uld be a weapon . It 's endless . Council Member Jefferson said I agree . I th ink th e po int... Tom while you made th is recommendatio n; these are the list of items that you see as potential prob le ms . Is th at co rrect? Chief Vandermee said these are the list of item s that hav e been used in other parts of the count ry ... that once a disturban ce becomes a riot . are used as we apo ns aga inst the people who are in attendan ce ... clvilians , police officers , and other demonstrators . The intent of the ordinance is to remove those things that would be most harmful in a rk to .. s situa tion . 9 Council Member Wil son said as I read th is . I see every th ing is wit h the intent to be unlawful . I understand both sides of ii and I understand ju st having th is for just the convention , which is why this was brought up . But , it's the intent to do an unlawful act and I thin k th e first way to see if som eone is do ing th at is to approach them and ask and see where they are coming from . Am I correct Tom? I mean this gives you the opportun 'tt to go forward and talk to these people , if yo u th ink thei r Intent is unlawfu l. Chief Vanderrnee said there are any number of ways for a person to demonstrate intent. The, can do so verbally . They can do so under questioning . You can gath "r enough information to e: ,!isr. the ir inten t. You can also establish intent by thei r ac tions . Bui , Counci l Member Jefferson said, most of those act io ns. I guess , would already be crimi na lize d under our current code . I ro ea n, you can 't hit somebody over th e head . You ca n't gel rowdy . Yo u ca n't throw th ings . These are al illegal . I gue ss that's what I wanted to poin t out. Mayor Woodward said it's the inten t in part that's already wit hin the ordinan ce that is not new . Council Member Moore sa id let me clarify. The inten t does not apply to these sect ions . Th is is possession . Make no mistake . Seuion A talk s about intent... sections C, D and E are strictly po sses sion , but what that does is empower the pol ice to approach \hose ind ivid ual s and address that situati on . But , I assume the intent langua ge is very deliberately left ou t of this . City Attorn ey Brotzma n sa id correct. Cou ncil Membe:· Moore sa id so I don 't wa nt anyon e to th ink that inte nt is what is writte n into C, D and E. Cou nci l Membe r Jefferson said you ha ve to have intent plus th ose items . All yo u have to have is those items , in a group of three or more . Cou ncil Mem ber Moore said what you 're do ing is empowering the poli c, to approach th at situa tion . What I th ink Dan is try in g to high lig ht is witho ut that inte nt , th is may , in some view s, go too far in empoweri ng th e • pol ice . Bui without that intent , yo u'll ne ve r get through ... you like ly won 't have an issue with the pol ice beyond that fir st encounter. You still have lo clea r th e pro secut io n. You still ha ve to clea r the court . And so I t' :nk th at's a part of what you were high light ing Dan City Attorney Brotz man sai d correct. Co un ci l Member Moore s2 ·rt so we !rnve to accept that this is a relat ively empowering , or a very empowe ring law . Again , I'll go on Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 18 record . I'm very comfortable with 1I. I'm s ~ing here li slen ing lo the rec omme ndalion of our Ch ief of Pol ice and I'm cons idering all of those innocent people al lhese dem onstrat ions and I th ink th is is prudent and powerful . So , it's clear where I'm go ing to be vol ing , w1 ,en we finally gel to the vote . Council Member Mccaslin sa id I agree . Council Member Penn said I also agree . Mayor Woodward asked if lhere were any other commenls . Council Member Wilson said I was in Chicago , for the big Democratic convention , and there v,as a lot of destruction . So I'm well aware ... ! lived lhere, I wasn 'I protesting . So , I'm aware of the dange•-I have a ha rd time having ii go beyond the convenlion , but I feel very comfortable with ii happening during the convention . So , I ~on 't know if we can look al this afterwards or how that would work . Counc il Member Jefferson said if this wt to pass , I would definilely be interested in looking at reviewing ii afterwards . Counci1 Member Moore said any Council n'. mber is free lo bring up lhat appeal for co ns ideration . Council Mamber Wilson said okay . Mayor Woodward said anybody who voled for ii, correcl? With utilizing th, word repeal? City Attorney Brotzman s?id in all honesty , if you wanted to do a motion to bring thal back at a date certain, we can certainly do thal as well. Mayor Woodward said okay . • City Attorney Brotzman said JOU could pass the ordinan,,e and then simply do a motion, a verbal motion, lo • bring it back after the DNC .. anytime . Council Member Jefferson said again, that being said , my thought is II just generally oversteps lhe bounds of discretion and I do understand the need for public safely , but I have issues with the ordinance as written and I will nol support ii. No disrespect to Tom or lo our Police Department. I have the utmost respect for you guys and you know , I have the utmost interest in uphold ing our public safety . But I do have issues wilh the way that ii is worded . Mayor Woodward asked if there was any further discussion . The re was none . Vote results : Ayes : Nays : Absent : Motion carried . Council Members Penn, Mccasli n, Moore, Woodw2rd , Wilson Council Member Jefferson Council Member Oakley (c) Resolutions and Motions (i ) Director Eaton presented a recommendal io n from the Department of Human Resow ces Departme nt lo adopt a Resolution approving the Collective Bargaining Agreement ~etween the Enylewood Fire Fighters Assoc iatio n and the City of Englewood for the years 2009 , 2010 and 2011 . She said the contract covers approx imately 45 employees . At a prev ious Study Session , we discussed the background analysis and alternalives . I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding that previous discussion , if you have any lhis evening . Mayor Woodward asked if there were any questions . There were none . COUNCIL MEMBER PENN MOVED, AND COUNCIL MEMBER McCASLIN SECONDED , TO APPROVE AGENDA ITEM 11 (c} (I} -RESOLUTION NO . 65 , SERIES OF 2008 . • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 19 • RESOLUTION NO . 65 , SERIES OF 2008 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONTRACT BETWEEN THE ENGLEWOOD FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL NO . 1736 AND THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD FOR THE YEARS 2009 , 2010 AND 2011 . Mayor Woodward asked if there •1as any discussion . Mayor Woodward sa id I just wa ~ to comp li ment you Sue on the work that you , Mike , lhe rest of .-'aff and lhe Firefighters Associatio n have cone to get to this point. Ms . Eaton sa id th ank you . Vote result■: Ayes : Nays : Absent : Motion carried . Council Members Penn , Mccaslin , Moore , Woodward. Jefferson , ,Ison None Council Member Oakley (ii) Director Eaton presented a recommendation from the Human Resources De partment to adopt a resolut ion ;ipprov in g the Collective Bargain ing Agreement between the Englewood Poli.:e Benefit Assoc iation an~ the City of Englewood for the years 2009 and 201 0 . She said we discussed the particulars of this contract at a previou s Study Session and if anybody has any questions regarding those details , I'd be happy to answer them now . COUNCIL MEM;:;ER JEFFERSON MOVED , AND COUNCIL MEMBER PENN SECONDED , TO APPROVE AGENDA ITEM 11 (c) (II) • RESOLUTION NO . 66 , SERIES OF 2008 • • RESOLUTION NO . 66 , SE"IES OF 2008 A RESOLUTI ON AUTHORIZl~G THE PROVISIONS OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONTRACT BETWEEN THE ENGLEWOOD POLICE BENEF'T ASSOCIATION AND THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD FOR THE YEARS 2009 AND 2010. Mayor Woodward asked if there was any discussion . There was none . Vote results: Motion carried . Ayes . Nays : Absent: 12 . General Discuaslon (a ) Mayor's Cho ice Council Members Penn , Mccaslin , Moore , Woodward , Jefferson , Wilson None Council Member Oakley (i ) Mayor Woodward said t'n li ke to congratulate the Fire Department and the Poli ce Department on the succes s of the 4" of July celebration at Belleview, Cor nurstone and Progress Parks . I put in my hours there , all day and night. I thi nk it was really a success for what we had to work with . Kra ig Stovall has done a very good job . Please pass that on . (ii) Mayor Woodward said I also want I~ mention the Sounds of Summer concerts that are com ,-~ up , out on the piaua, 0•11 here . On the 10" of July , the Groove Society ; on the 17", Dej a Blu ; and on t.1e : . the Golden Eagle Coocert Band . These are at 6:30, right outside CityCenter here on the piazza • outdoo . 1mphitheater. Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 20 (iii) Mayor Woodward said I'd !il<e to me,,tion that August 5" is National Night Ou t and there is a need for block parties in Englewood , wh ich is pretty 1Ttuch a tradition . Citizens can armni:;~ clock parties by contacting Ton , Geier, our Community Relations Sp6ciallst. (b) Cooncil Members' Choice (i) Council Member Penn: 1. He said I've been attending Colorado Rail Authority meetings . Gary, have you passed any of that info rm ation on that I've e-mailed to you? City Manager Sears repl ied th at, qu ite honestly, I don 't know that I've gotten any e-mai:s from you . I know that you sent me something in the mail. Council Member Penn sai•J it's an Authority that is looking into mass transit going from Golden to Grand Junction . It's a few doll~;-. ... it's probably about a 20 billio n dollar project. II is in the feasibility study stage right now. If anybody would like tt,at information , I can e-mail ii to you . One of these days they are probably go ing to ask for dues. They haven't yet, but they m ight. It's an interesting group, so hopefully that continues. 2. He sa id I did get to use the Golf Course last week. It's probably in need of repa ir, as bad as I am. II was an excellent opportun ity to get out there and to use the driving range and use the Golf Course. 3. He sa id I'd also like to thank everybody w~o worked on the 4'" of July celebration . I had a great time . Un lik e Mayor Woodward , I didn't do any work. I just had a picnic all day and it was a great lime to see everybody down there al the park. Everything seemed to go really well . Please pass on my thanks to them. 4. He sa id one commant on the Sounds of Summer. Everybody al the restaurant said bring back Elvis , • all right? Bring back Elv is. II is already requested • 5. He said I will see everybody in about 3 weeks. (ii) Council Member Mccaslin: 1. He asked if Study Session items should be brought up right now. Mayor Woodward sa id right now. Council Member Mccaslin said I r•nderstnnd that there is a group out in our C ity called "Englewood Citizens for Open Government•. I also understand that they have representatives at Study Sessions, interviews for commirsions and Council meetings , which are open to the pu blic. I don't know what th eir agenda is or their complaints are conce rni ng decisions made by City Council. I've heard that they have regular meetings with their groups, but these meetings are by invita only, to the ir select few. I guess what I would like to ask this group is to have an open dialog ue or some open dialogue or invite us to their meeting , so we can work in the best Interest of the citizens ,.nd not just special interest groups. My concern is that. .. I've never heard ... I've ta lked to a lot of people ... who know a few people who've bee• 1r; !his group. I don't like the direction that it's going , but I wish there was more open dialogue between City Council and what their agendas were . 2. He said I'd like to entertain with the Council. .. I met with Frank Weddig last ye ar concerning three te rm s. Arapahoe Coonty passed ii, 60% to 40% last year, for Arapahoe County Commissioners . Just getting Into the politics and doing it, you gel l o love ii and ii takes you about four years just to get on board. By about the second or third year, you're looking to run again already . So, the re 's a pretty good learning curve . I think once you get good people on Council, you 'd like to keep them for awhile . I know that we used to have unl imited or did we have a \hree term limit before? How long has this term limit been In effect, does anyone know? Has it been awhile ? He said I guess I don't need to know now. I would like to make a proposal either to se e how many on Cou ncil would be interested in looking al putting a question on the ballot for a three term limit. I wouldn 't want to go unlimited . But, I also feel that if you have someone you know is really not doing the ir job, they don 't li ke , they can always be voted out. I'd like to see that three term limit come back. Mayor Woodward asked so are you mal<ing a motion then lo make a Charter change? • • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 21 City Attorney Brotzman said you 're request ing a Chart er change and actuall y I should clarify , prior to th e term lim it, it was unl imited . Coun cil Member Mccaslin said right ar,d to be fa ir, it would t , nice , .. ·t I don 't kno w if I would want to go unlim ited . But I th ink three terms ... that's twelve ye ars of serving your C. ,i an d I kn,'w or ,ce you get involved and you real ly wanl to do the right th ings . So , do we limit it to three? Can we ha ve some discuss ion on this? Ma yor Woodward said''" you want to make a motion on th is? Council Member Mccaslin ca id I'll mak e a motion that... walk me through lhis . Council Member Moore said Council Member Mccaslin would like to make a motion to add a referendum item to ask the voters to cons ider a Charter change that would up the two term limit to three term s. Council Member Mccaslin said and I'll forgo the unlim ited , the no term limit to balance of the three term limit. Council Member Jefferson asked so if we pa ss it , we can get it on the ballot automatically ar,d it just needs to pass by a majority of the voters . Is that correct? City Attorney B,otzman said correct. Council Member Moore asked if it was just a ma;ority for a Charter change . City Attorney Brotzman said correct. Council Member Moore asked if it was an opt ion to get that done by this November . What timeframe could th is be put into place? Mayor Woodward sa .vould be to Lou . City Clerk Ellis said right now, we have noth ;n g going on th e ballot in November. If you went on the ballot this November , we would incur the costs just for that question . The deadline we had for the ballot questions ... we 're there now . There'd be no referendum period after a ballot quest ion has passed . I mean , we 'd be squeezing it In , but it's doable . Council Member Moore sa id I'm the only one t!· 1 :i mlted th is next election . Council Member Penn ~aid is that correct? City Clerk Ellis said John is the only one who is lerm limited for the 2009 elec ti on . Ccuncil Member Moore said I know my wife will get angry if she sees this on the ballot th 1s year. She's already paid her dues . It's just a thought for you ; you can either try to rush it for this yoa r or certainly work on getting It on the ballot for November 2009. The on ly person that would be impacted , I beh~ve , would be me and I'm certa inly willing to say that it's not an issue for me ; I'm not in a push to get this th ing rushed through th is year. Counc il Member Jefferson sa id just for clarification purposes then , you have to fill two consecutive full terms to be term limited? Is that correct? Council Member Moore said if you g~t appointed or serve le ss than a majority of a term . Is that right? City Clerk Ellis said the rule is \hat if you are appointed or elected to fill a vacancy and serve at least one-hal f of a term of office, you would be considered to have serv ~d a full term in that office . This became effective Novemter 5, 1991 . Coun cil Member Jefferson said I'm sorry so that j ust sa id if you fill more than one-half of a term , then it counts as a full term. City Clerk Ellis said at least one-half of a term . Council Member Moore sa id Jim, as an example, you were appointed and served a year or less than two years in terms the Mayor was eligible to run two times . Counc il Member Mccaslin said when I ran ; it was a two year term , which is considered a full four year term , Council Member Moo re said you currently , under the current term limit , cannot run for re -election . Council Member Mccaslin sa id that's correct. Mayor Wood w9rd said you nave a total of six years . Council Member Mccaslin sa id I'd be term limited . Council Member Moore said the motion ',; there and I th ink what we're clarify ing is whether or not it's a motion to get it on this year's ballot or not . Council Member Mccaslin said I'd like to see it on this year 's ballot. I don 't know. Is there anything we can do to help? Or is it the money issue ? City Clerk Ellis said it 's going to cost us . RlgM now we have no cost for elections this year , so it will cost us . Council Member Moore said rough nurr bers Lou? City Clerk Ellis responded it wouldn 't be TABOR , so I don 't know, maybe $10,000 .00 . We • don 't know what the costs are going to be , there an ;a many variables . Counci l Member Mccaslin , 1id so if we wa it unt il next year, there won 't be a cost. City Clerk Ellis sa id well , we are partic ipating anyway . Council Member Moore said far less than incremental costs next year than to do it th is year. Council Member Jefferson said assuming there are more items on the ballot next year ? C:\y Clerk Ellis respo,1ded we have Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 22 Council candidates next ye ar , so we will be participat in g ne xt year anyway . Counc il Membt'r Moore said Englewood is j11sl nol on lhe ball ol lhis year . City Clerk Ell is said it do es n't add that mu ch t,; ad d a qco stion . What's going to add lo the cost is if we have a TABOR issue ne xt ye?r . That almost do uble s our cost. Council Member Jefferso n said tha t ma kes sense . I wo uld probably support holding off until next ye ar. Council Member Moore said you can st ill make a motion ... yJu wtuld r.learly like to get the item to the fore front. Council Member Mcc as lin said that's correct. Coun cil Member Moore said so even if you accept the cost issues and the ot her and st ill push fo r 2009, ii still may be worth while to have the motion that puts it up fc,r consideration and you can still pu sh lo, th is yea r. Mayor Woodward sa id you could have the motion put up for consideration in 2009. • Council Memb er Moore sa id give n the cost issues , do you want to push f,,r th is vear's ballot or not? Council Member Mccaslin sa id no . City Clerk Ellis said I ha ve to tell you .. .for a ,;hart e question , there are deadlines . I mean you can only do it so early . You 're not going to be able to set it tonight. Mayor Woodward sai d okay . City Clerk Ellis said in the State Statutes , so many days after th is Charter que stion Is passed on fin al , I have to hold an elec tion . So you are go ing to have to hold off on that until next spring , If you wanted to actually set the question for the 2009 election . But you can have the discussion , you can say this is your intent , you can get the PR out. Counc il Member Moore said I'm sorry , can we state that in tent with a motio n or does th e motio n itself formal ize it too mu ch? City Clerk Ellis said the Intent is to co ns ider putting a Charter question on the ballot... Dan it that co rrect? City Attorney Brotzman said correct. City Clerk Ellis said to actually set th e question starts a tim eframe and we 'd be in a mess . We 'd have to go ahead and hold an electio n if you do this . Mayor Woodward said so, wit h that in mind , would you like to withdraw the question and mark ii down on your calendar to bring up at ... Council Member Mccaslin said no . City Attorney Brotzman sa id let us do this . Let us draft the Charter change . We'll put it on the next agenda . At the same time , we 'll do a Cour,cil Communication th•t expla ins the costs and all of the timing involved . You could sim ply not vote it in on th e next agenda , if you so choose . That way you have the question before you, you have all or the information • spelled out in front of you, and then you can make a mare informed dec ision on it. That wou ld be mo re helpful than having the motion before us . It is simply to put it on the agenda for yo u. Council Member Moore said the other thing that would support withdrawing your motion , it is just we , as Council , don 't normally put a motio n to vote without any warning . Coun ci l Member Mccaslin sa id oka y. Council Member Moore said so I thin k you 've identified the desire, Dan can prov ide th is oth er in format io n and I th ink you 're comfortable too in what you really want to do is to push it in No vember 2009 . Counc il Member Mccasl in said right , so I would like to wit',draw my ... Council Member Moore said referendum and then co nvert it into a request for information . Council Member Mccaslin said okay, that's what t want to do . (iii ) Council Member Wils on : 1. She said I went to the 41" of July celebration over at Be lleview . The park looks great; the new playground, th e new struc ture . It all loo ked very nice . 2. She said I apprec ia te the work that , Mik e, the Fire Chief and Tom , th e Pol ice Ch ie f did over th o weekend with the fire and then with the pol ice be ing at the oark, but be ing very low key acd •1ving a low profile th ere, which is the way lh ey work anyway . (iv) Council Member Jefferson said I'll just seco nd ev erybody 's opinion . Great work on the firewor k's show. Th ere were lots of folks there , all ove r, it really see med like . I showed up right al the end there , when the firework were go ing off. II was tough to get in the re and to fi nd a spot to put down my blanket. Sn kudos to everyb ody . 13. City Manager's Report City Manager Sears said we have a number of items that we ne ,d to go back to if Co uncil would consider • do ing th at. The fir st one is the outdoo r seating . Council Member Moore sa id Gary , if I may ask , if we nee d to get through ea ch and every one of these , we 'll make the time, but certainly to th e extent tha t thes e can be • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Pag• 23 r eferred , I know I'll have a better bra in later . If ii nee ds lo be done , that's fine . Cit y Manager Se ars sa id I guess, I th ink the y can go re lal ively rapidly , if Co un cil would cons ider those . (a) City Manager Sears sa id I th ink under the outdoor seat ing , we just needed some direct ion from Co uncil so we can move on putt ing th is onto the ne xt Co unc il Agenda . There were two ord inances lhal were look ed at. I th ink our recom mendation is lo do more the Denver, more comprehens ive approach lo things . We didn 't have lhal when we met last time . I know accord ing to Rick and our people , we 'd like lo move , I think , in that direct:on , because ii would , I think , clean everything up and not just maKe seating and then furniture , outdoor railings , and everything else separa te. So , if that is the direction that the Council would like to move on , we could br ing that ordinance back at the ne xt meeting on the 21 ". Council Member Moore sa id so clarify for me , I th ink as I was look ing at th is, I th ink you 're recommend ing wha t proves to be a much shorter change . Righi? Far less , and I'm sorry, I didn 't catch all of the differences . The main th ing is leaving much mo re discretion with the City Manager. All of those things we had laid out in th e other vers ion , how are they be ing ad t 'ressed he re? City Attorney Brotzman sa id the ord inance is much shorter . The rules and regulations that are going to be taken from Denver are by far more comprehensive on what furn iture is going to be allowed . You're not just dealing with eating establishments now. You 're dealing w,;h everything that's go ing to go on the s:1ewaik. You have things com ing up from the BID , such as planters . Those will be in the regui;1tions that are be in~ drafted by lhe departm ent. Council Member Moore said okay . We had talked about g,,ng as far as fenc ing n:aterials and whether that's removable or not , and those types of th ings . City Attorney 8 «,ur.an sa id those items ,•_.;11 b• covered in the rules and regulations . Council Member Moore said the rules :,r ,, regulations . He sa id I'm sorry ... Coun cll does or does not approve the rules and regulations? That's •· ,;,1 minislrative fun ction , right? City Attorney Brotzman said that's admin istraliv~. Council Member Wilson said so before we were JU Jl •Joing to do restaurants, and that's all that we were go ing • to talk about. City Attorney Brotzr.1an said an d now you are dealing with , instead of the item, instead of a restaurant , you're dealing with furniture on sidewalks . So, it's sort of a philosophi cal change . Mayor Woodward said you 're not dea li ng with any type of specific business : you 're dealing with all businesses. City Attorney Brotzman said your dt ,ling with what's in t ie right-of-way . Council ~:ember Jeff erson sa id so instead of writing one specific t~ what the restaurams are do ing , we want lo write one that's speci fic lo all of the right-of-ways in that area , tnat other types of retail bus inesses could ha ve. City Attorney Brotzman sa id correct. Council Member Moore said so Dan , in essence , the more detailed one that we were looking at , maybe becomes somewhat of a r tarting point for the rules and regulations . City Attorney Brotzman said co rrect. Council Member Moore !,aid so to the extent that we want to see specifics about fencing material, again , staff would put it into the rules ~nd regulat ions ... then Council would just be , ess entially , leaving that detail to staff and just setting up a much broader ... it is interesting and comprehensive , but a far less detailed approach to this . Counc il Member Jefferson said I'm sorry , just for cla rification so then that would leave a lot of those specifics of how tall this could be , what color th is has lo be , to be handled adm inistratively? City Attorney Brotzman sa id correct. Counc il Member Jefferson sa id and so then is there an adm inistrat ive co urt or somelh ing tha t's go ing lo hear like a violation ? Counc il Memb er Moore asked if ii would come ba ck lo Coun ci l for appeal . City Attorn ey Brotzman said I believe , yes . The appeal Is back to Coun cil. Mayor Woodward said any a:,peals from staff, den ial of an encroachment , shall be made to the City Coun cil . That's from staff . City Al1orney Brotzman said ii would come ba ck to Council on tho se. Council Memb er Moore said it wa s the ott•er ord inance that ex plicitly sa id go back to City Council ... that ap~eal s fro m staff den ials would go to City Coun cil. I do.,·t see any similar lhing in the Denver version . I might be mis sing it. It 's D. Appea ls from staff de ni al of an en croachm ent shall be mad e to City Coum ii. Now, I guess , pick ing up from wh at Joe said , goes beyo nd th e perm it. What ~out the regu lations ? I guass that is certain ly one way lo characterize that it Is just like any other rule . Counc ,l doesn 't no rmally get inv o!ved in the enforcement of other rules and regu lations Council Member Jefferson said normally we wr ite a:1 ,r the rules , and that's why it was kind of an agency th ing , right? Wh ere you would have lo have some sort of ager,cy , hearing these kinds of dis r Jles . • Coun ci l Memb er Wil so n said do we perceive anr kind of pr obl ems wi th what the BID wa nts lo do ? City Attorn ey Brotzman said no and in fact, one of the th ings that ~ubl ic Works was looki nr, at is , com ing on heels of all the restaurant s, are going to be requ ests for planters . And our proMam Is lhal ••e're try in g not lo dr aw Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 24 out the pro ces s. Plant ers are not cu rrently covered , so we 'd ha ve to co me ba ck to Council anywa y. And staff's recommendation is rather than tak ing this in bit s and pieces , let us do furn it ure and write regu lat ions . Council Member Wilson sa id oka y. Ma yor Woodward sa id the defin ition : street furniture Is defined as an y appurtenances pla ced in the public rign t-of-w ay . So , you 've covered bik e racks , plar.:s, al l of these differe nt items ju st by that one simp le definition . It also addresses owner or occupant , where the other one just addressed the owne r. City Man age r Sears sai d that one is a license . An ap proa ch for that would be to have a license for that , a revocable lice nse , under the proposed shorter ve rs ion . Coun cil Member Moore said I'm okay with th is recommendation . I would expect tc, see Council 's input sought at 2 Study Session on what rules and regulat ions may develop , because I think a lot of great concerns were brou ght up in our dis cussion , but as long as there is good opportunity for input in the dratting of those adm ini strative rules , I'm okay with this ... proceeding with this less spec ific approach . Co un cil Member Jeffe rson said I am too and my only concern is , like I sa id, dea li ng with what is or is not wit hin the rule s in th e future . Ma yor Woodward said okay , what if at our next Study Session we bring th is back? Alan , can you have rule s and regs put togeth er? Director White sa id I th ink so . Mayor Woodward sa id or by the 21 " Study Session , because that's when it was going to come 'o Coun cil. .. when it was scheduled to come as an ord inance . • City Attorney Brotzman sa id the nice part that I have is that the ordinance is now done . The hard part is Alan has to ... Denver is by far more encompass ing on what they have done in the ir furniture . It covers signage . It covers a whole bunch of things . So, one of the th ings staff , meaning CD and Public Works , are going to have • to do is strip out all of the signage in those issue s from the Denver ordinan ce that kind of have that as a starting point. I'd sa y probably the 21" is more realistic. Mayor Woodward said yeah , that 's what I meant. Bring it for the 21" because we can discuss this . Council Member Moore sa id and isn 't it also acceptable if we enter th is, if we get the ord inance in rlace and we get rules that work for th is year, or maybe for the ta rgeted situation s, knowing those rules both get expanded and maybe refined over the co urse of the ne xt year . But still go in and say , there are certa in, maybe even more lib eral gu id ance , that fa cili tate s actio n immed iately th is year as long as ail part ie s und erstand . I mean this is the beauty of this right? It is our un il ateral right. the Ci ty's unilateral right , to change these perm its . City Attorney Brotzman sa id that is correct. So , Mr. Moore sa id, if we start off by saying do some kind of fence and later say do a gre en fen ce, so be it. Mr . Brotzman said correct. Mr. Moore sa id I don't th ink we have to have every nuance figured out. Ali of th ese things we can focus on ... focus on the res taurants , if those are an xio us to get go ing this season , hel (l 1/lat group along . May or Woodward said realistically , it will not. if it goes through two rea dings and JO d,ys, it's September 21 . don 't know how muc h anybody 's going to do , especially with th e paseo under co nstruction righ t there. But bi ke rac ks, and th ings like that certainly could be put in place. Ordering of planters and that sort of th ing . City Mana ge r Sears said we 'll put that together for the 21 ", with the regs , in the best mann er tha t we ca n and come back to you , If thai 's okay with the Council ? Council Member Moore said I'm so rry . Will th is be on the regu lar agenda ? Will the ord inance be on the agenda forthe 21"? City Attorne y Brotzman sa id yes . Coun cil Member Moore said we were talk ing about the Stud y Session . City Attorney Brotz man sa id and attached with that will be draft regulations . Council Member Mo ore said but the ordinan ce v:1 11 be on the formal agenda ? City Att orn ~y Brotzman said correct. .Ji City Manager Sears sa id the other items , th is is just fo r information and I guess a comment by • Coun ci l. It's kind of an internal ch ange . Th is is wit h our Po lice Departm ent. Unfortunately , Tim Mitchell will be reti ring . Good for him. I've asked Ch ief Vandermee to put together information about per sonnel changes as a result of tha t. Getting to support th e SRO . Tom , if you 'd like to ma ke just a coup le of comments about this . It • • Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 25 is budgeted . Th is is administrativ e and this is an area where we were going to make a change and we wanted lo alert Council of lhis . Police Chie f Vandermee said re cogni1-1ng Coun ci l's inleresl in maintaining the SRO program , as ii was communicated lasl year during lhe budget session , we have since then mainta ined two part lime posit ions as School Resource Officers : Tim Mitchell being one and Don McLennan being the othe r. With Mitchell's announced retirement , what we are requesting to do , within existing budget dollars , is axpand the SRO program to one full lime police officer and maintaining McLennan , albeit at about hali ,!what he's doing now . He 's a hail-time an officer now , so he 'd be a quarter-time officer . That would give us exte nded hours for SRO duties , plus put that in a position of using much more experienced police officers . It wouio' be posted as a special assignment to existing personnel , who would fill thal role then with a Class I police officer. Somebody who has experience , who wanls lhat posilion ... and then hire a recru it officer lo fill that void on the patrol. Questions? Counc il Member Jefferson sa id what does the SRO do again? Chief Vandermee said the School Resource Officers . I'm sorry . They are in essence responsible for maintaining lhe liaison between lhe Police Department , lhe communities surrounding the schools and lhe schools themselves, as well as the sludenls . They are the face of the Police Department. Anything lhal occurs in lhe neighborhoods surrounding the schools ... whether it's a neighborhood problem or a resident who has problems with students loitering or whatever. .. interacting with the students at the middle school and al the high school. So , they are the direct liaison between Police Department and the School District and lhe students . Mayor Woodwarj said lhey actually spend time at the schools . Chief Vanderrnee sa id most of the other schools dislricls fund a large part of lhis effort and our school resource program is in our budget. I think between Mitchell and McLennan, they've done an excellent job of attending to the needs of the schools, particularly the middle school and the high school and lhe allernalive high sch ool . Cily Manager Sears said well because of our relationship wilh the schools, and the fact lhat you may hear about this change , we just wanted lo let you know be ca use the schools are absolutely important to us to mainta in a fa ce and we 'll keep you informed as we go through the selection process to put somebody inlo this position . Again , we wanted to lel you know and if anybody has any questions , ple ase iel me know afterward ... or Tom . (c) City Manarier Sears said the second ilem Is in regards to sales tax . Again, you have the letter from Frank Gryglewicz , to the County . Since it is going to the County and it is our feeling that this is a policy lhal we should not pan ici pale in , I thought thal I'd let you be aware of lhat. Frank , is there anything you can add aboul lhe lette, and lhe reason why we've taken thal direction? Director Gryglewicz said this is kind of an unusual request , actually . 'f you look at lhe second paragraph in lhe letter from Nancy Doty , it actually does say that we're going to lose .. u.iey and generally we 're opposed to that. What happens ie this is if someone would go up to Wyoming or some other state and say they paid one - half a percent ,a1es tax up there on a vehicle , lhey could come back here and get it licensed and nol have to make up 1:-:e ad ditional 3%, as they do now . il's not so much reciprocity , as it is sal es lax forg ive ness . And so I had just drafted the letter and gave it to Gary slating lhat I didn 't think it w~s in the best interest of the City at this time . I think it's more of an administrative issue wilh lhem , that they don 't want lo go through collecting the ta x and remitting it lo us . I Just think , al this lime , forgiving any revenues , just because someone goes to another stale is probably not in lhe best interest of the Cily . Council Member Moore said I'm sorry Frank . Can you clarify the difference between an Englewood citizen • buy ing it in Longmont versus buying ii in Wyoming? I'm miss :,,g the delail aboul how those two transactions would work . Director Gryglewicz said if you bought it outside of the Cily, but when you came to register it, you would have lo pay the sales tax : the 3.5% to Englewood . But in lhis scenar io, if you went to anoth er stale and bought ii, you wouldn 't have to do that and you could pay as little as ... say you paid 1% lh ere, when you registered ii, you would not have lo make up that 2.5% to the City of Englewood . Council Member Moore said Englewood City Council July 7, 2008 Page 26 in buy ing it in Longmon t...! guess the other difference is, in the Wyomi 1.g situation , you 're paying sales ta x to Wyoming or the City or whatever hypoth etical it is . If you buy it in Longmont , yo u don 't pay Longmont sale s tax because yo u will be pay ing Englewood 's sales tax . Right? Director Gryglewicz sa id correct. Council Member Moore sa id I don 't see why we would reward ... Mayor Woodward said especially when it gets into recreational vehicles, th ere was a big thing about that where people were buy ing recreat io nal veh ic les in Montana , because there was no tax and bring ing it back to Colorad o and you kn ow, I don 't know wh y we would be paying somebody to bu y the ir vehicles out of state . I support the letter. City Manager Sears said we 'll send that off. Just in case there's any rep ercussion , I thought Counc il should be aware of that. (d) City Mana ger Sears sa id September 20'" ... 1 think everybod y was in agreement that we do the workshop on that day and there is no problem from the staff side , so that will be the official date . And then I did include in the packet a list of my performance gu idelines , the main Issues that I've been involved with and a list of Items that wa s In the newsletter ... of areas I think staff and myself will be primarily working on for th is next year. So, if you have any comments or questions about where I've been focus ing my time and attention and where I'd like to move IL, I'd appreciate any feedback from Council. 14 . City Attorney's Report City Attorney Brotzman did not have any matters to bring before Coun cil. 15. Adjournment ODWARD MOVED TO ADJOURN . The meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m. d~· • • •