Members Present: Chris Berry, City of Lafayette; Don Brown, City of Louisville; Doug Brown, City of Longmont; Clark Griep, City and County of Broomfield, Karen Imbierowicz, Town of Superior; Ben Pearlman, Boulder County; Mark Ruzzen, City of Boulder; and staff Dickey Lee Hullinghorst and Sheree Stroud

1. Reports from Cities and Towns

Doug Brown, City of Longmont, reported they are working on their Strategic Plan that includes downtown development and re-development. There will be a major mixed use project on Colorado Hwy 66. They are also working with Weld County on urban boundaries.

Clark Griep, City and County of Broomfield, said they recently dedicated the new Dog Park. It’s 1 acre with a chain link fence and it’s divided into sectons for small and large dogs. Broomfield is starting to see some development in Double Creek now named "Anthem" by Pulte Development. They are planning a summit for section s of I-25 where Weld County,Westminster, Thornton and Broomfield are involved. DRCOG may also join the summit.

Karen Imbierowicz, Town of Superior, told members that the Board is conducting a partial review of their Comp Plan west of McCaslin and considering school, traffic, and financial projections. They are gearing up for the Town Center development across from Town Hall. The IGA with Louisville is complete and they are in the process of amending their annexation agreement.

Don Brown, City of Louisville, reported that thy Hwy 42 By-Pass will open in two weeks and should relieve downtown congestion. They are now focusing efforts on the area east of the railroad tracks, adjacent to downtown. They want to accommodate a train station in the future. They are creating an Urban Renewal Authority although it will have a different name. They broke ground on the community park north of downtown. It will include a dog park and areas for events such as town festivals. It will also include bocce ball courts. They also broke ground on the new, two-story library. It will include underground parking. Louisville’s new Comp Plan has some proposed changes, including adding some residential zoning.

Chris Berry, City of Lafayette, said they are working on three parks. They have broken ground on Southpoint (across from the new hospital). The Old Town Park is next on the list and a Citizen’s Committee will report on their research with regard to a Dog Park. Lafayette completed their open space and trails master plan with the county. They hired an architect for the new police station. They hope to enhance Old Town, hoping for a more pedestrian feel. The Vitamin Cottage recently opened.

Ben Pearlman, Boulder County, told members about the TABOR Refund Project. There is $2 ½ million collected in taxes that must be refunded due to TABOR limits. The county is giving taxpayers an opportunity to donate their refund to non-profits. Half of the refunds are less than $11 and 90% are less than $30. There is a wide range of choices for donation. The information went out with the Assessor’s Notice in May. The county would like to see resolutions in support of this measure from each municipality. A draft resolution will be sent. The county has undertaken a public process to solicit help in modifying the Land Use Code. They want as much feedback as possible and envision this is a multi-month process. The county recently had an open space bond sale and raised $41.3 million. 85% of this will be spent in the next three years, so expect lots of activity. Any suggestions can be directed to Ron Stewart. The county is also trying to figure out a method to fund a Household Hazardous Waste facility. There is $700,000 set aside from the Recycling and Composting fund, but a new facility will require more than that. A memo was sent to the cities regarding various funding options. Chris Berry said that Lafayette supports the monetary donation. Clark Griep mentioned that hazardous wastes end up in sewer systems, not just landfills; so proper disposal is a safety issue, too.

Mark Ruzzin, City of Boulder, arrived after the reports from the cities and towns.

2. Approval of Minutes

Chris Berry moved to approve the February 2, 2005, minutes. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously with Karen Imbierowicz abstaining.

3. Election of Vice-Chair

Chris Berry nominated Don Brown to serve as Vice-Chair. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

4. Report/Direction on Boulder County Affordable Housing Initiative

DeAnne Butterfield, Executive Director of Boulder County Civic Forum, updated the Consortium of the progress of the Regional Affordable Housing Initiative. Over 200 people with diverse representation and good energy attended the Summit. The group discussed the next step that would be convening a Regional Housing Task Force. She also discussed proposed federal budget cuts and the impacts. The complexion of regional strategy will be different if federal funding is reduced; this would be a facet of a task force’s recommendation. The task force does not have a specific goal but could come up with a single, consolidated plan. It will be the bridge between ideas, research and staff and policy percolation. If they only came up with a toolkit, it is still better than the current system. The task force needs to be elevated beyond staff members. DeAnne will draft a memo for Ben to send out to Consortium members, giving them time to consider the commitment and appointees.

5. Continued Discussion of Consortium of Cities’ Priorities/Projects

Commissioner Pearlman commented that in studying the prioritization of the cities and towns, there appear to be two clusters of interest. He believes that the results show the Consortium should focus on transit oriented development, revenue sharing, a regional library authority, and energy. There was discussion about how some of these measures could tie in with what other groups are doing. For instance, if the Metro Mayors Caucus is working on TOD, then the Consortium shouldn’t duplicate. Mark Ruzzin suggested we get details and then perhaps the Consortium could augment those efforts. Chris Berry thinks the Consortium could coordinate TOD efforts or at least be a clearinghouse. Ben would like a discussion of using TOD as a first step at looking at revenue sharing. Dickey Lee mentioned that the US 36 EIS is studying TOD, too. The group agreed there needs to be some research on what others are doing before the Consortium decides what role they want to take. Don Brown suggested hosting a cocktail party to get conversation flowing re: TOD/revenue sharing. Commissioner Pearlman said they need to bring maps to the table to see where possibilities for revenue sharing are and set up a system to provide incentives not to build. He likes the idea of an event with panelists where elected officials can learn and speculate some ideas. There was discussion on a library authority. The library groups are already pretty far along in their planning. The Consortium would like them to come before the Consortium with a game plan and options. The Consortium also wants to be sure all cities and towns are properly represented in this effort. The library presentation will be in August. Dickey Lee and Ben will contact Sam Hartman and discuss specifics re: a mechanism to get this rolling. The group discussed energy next. Ben told about his recent meeting with BREEE and the interesting ideas they posed plus the opportunity to save money. Mark Ruzzin mentioned that there is a lot of citizen interest in Boulder County in energy savings so there is a strong base to build from. The Consortium will discuss this further in August.

6. Other Business

Don Sandoval, Department of Local Affairs, introduced himself to the Consortium members. He told them that DOLA sponsors two grant programs. – Community Development Block Grant Program that is an ongoing cycle and the Energy Impact Assistance Program, which has three application cycles per year. They are also sponsoring the Rural Health Care Initiative and the Wireless Initiative. He mentioned that revenue sharing or TOD efforts might qualify for grant assistance.

The next meeting will be June 1 in Louisville.