Members Present: Chris Berry, City of Lafayette; Don Brown, City of Louisville; Doug Brown, City of Longmont; Clark Griep, City and County of Broomfield; Ken Lenarcic, Town of Jamestown; Ben Pearlman, Boulder County; Mark Ruzzin, City of Boulder; Lisa Skumatz, Town of Superior; Staff Dickey Lee Hullinghorst and Sheree Stroud

Ken Lenarcic, Town of Jamestown, reported the town has a large amount of mud. EPA is proposing a clean-up of some mine tailings within and around the town limits. On August 10, they will have Boulder County Day with the Commissioners.

Doug Brown, City of Longmont, told members that there has been a lot of public participation in their Strategic Plan. They just opened a neighborhood park and 400 kids turned up. They are building a parking structure in downtown and revenues are level.

Chris Berry, City of Lafayette, said that two council members are not running for re-election so there will be at least two new members. The council will work on the budget during the summer. Revenues are improving. There will be an update to the charter on the November ballot and a lot of housekeeping items that will cause confusion, but there are no big ballot issues.

Mark Ruzzin, City of Boulder, reported that the terms of five council members are up. There probably won’t be any ballot issues. The 29^th Street project is on target and will open in the first quarter of 2006. Tourism is up which has led to a modest increase in sales tax revenues. Boulder Valley School District closed two elementary schools and the Council will lease the Washington School for one year and determine whether it is useful for public and community use. If so, the council will consider a purchase. He also told members the council will take action on the Valmont Butte property on August 18 to be used as a fire training center. Other jurisdictions that will be using this facility may want to express their opinion prior to that date. Boulder will be reaching out to those colleagues with share in FRICO. Boulder wants to build a trail under Highway 93 and FRICO is not agreeable to this plan.

Ben Pearlman, Boulder County, told members about the Commissioners’ Initiatives. One relates to public service among employees, especially those on the frontline with the public. The second is interdepartmental cooperation to consolidate and collaborate on projects that cross over into other departments, and the third is energy use and sustainability and covers things such as the county fleet, buildings and how they are sited, heated, etc., how far employees drive and a vast array of other topics. The county hopes this initiative will be constructive and we will share the results with Consortium members. There are several ballot issues including term limit extension for several elected officials, including the Surveyor, Coroner, Assessor, Treasurer, Clerk and Recorder, and Sheriff. There will also be a de-Brucing question on county property tax revenues. If this passes, the county can continue providing current services and the county hopes everyone will support this measure. The Drop in the Bucket campaign is going well and citizens have been generous, donating $393,00 thus far.

Don Brown, City of Louisville, appreciates the efforts of the county of energy and sustainability and will be eager to hear about it. There will be three seats open in this November’s council election. Jay Keany and Arnie Levihn are term-limited. Michelle Van Fleet will run again. The 96^th Street Overpass is completed. They are at work on the new community park and the library is also under construction. The big issue is the Comp Plan and the council will likely finalize this on August 16. A use tax will appear on the November ballot. Most communities already have such a tax. Louisville was recognized as the 5^th Best Place to Live in America per Money Magazine. Louisville is working on an interchange with Superior taking the lead on this project. Construction is going well.

Clark Griep, City and County of Broomfield, said that the new events center project is still under negotiation. If it goes through, professional basketball and hockey teams are signed up to use the facility. Broomfield has not decided whether to take a formal position on Referendums C and D. They had the first meeting of the Broomfield Thriving Community Initative that is intended to promote a healthy and active lifestyle and prevent obesity and its related health problems. The driving force behind the initiative is Colorado on the Move.

Lisa Skumatz, Town of Superior, said their Comp Plan Update process is moving forward and has included impact modeling and a public input process. The next step is a citizen survey before finalization. There is a lot happening regarding open space and they may be approaching communities regarding purchasing joint properties. They are undertaking a bonding ballot issue for open space. Their new drop-off yard waste site is opening soon and there are a number of new business openings.

Chris Berry moved to approve the June 1, 2005 minutes. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Nederland Mayor Chris Perret addressed the Consortium members regarding their proposal to re-build the community center. Nederland hopes to create a safe, environmentally friendly and financially sustainable building that will be a much needed center of social, cultural and educational activity for Nederland area residents. The project will largely be a renovation of the old building of 30,000 to 40,000 square feet with about 6,000 square feet of the structure to be razed and replaced with new structure. It will house the library, senior center, Trustee meetings, and a theater, among other uses. Nederland has applied for $500,000 in funds through Department of Local Affairs Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Program. Their application details the impacts of mining on the town and Mayor Perret asked the Consortium for a letter supporting their grant request. Don Brown moved that the Consortium should write a support letter. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Clark Misner, Boulder County Transportation, presented a brief update on the RTC. He told members that the technical committee has tackled several projects, including fine-tuning information re: regional fixed routes —primarily in the east and Weld County, establishing corresponding para-transit service, and adding transit services (vanpool, low population service, senior service). In the next 60 days, they hope that the Technical Committee or a consultant can prepare a scope of services with more detailed projection/cost. They also need to refine ridership & costs for each scenario, refine route alignment, develop preliminary phasing plan and develop a proposal for a comprehensive TDM service plan. These proposals would be taken back to the RTC for review.

Tim Swope, Boulder County Transportation Department, told the Consortium that Boulder County’s role in trail development is to foster connections between municipalities and trails. Regional trails provide both a recreation and transportation function. He walked the group through the various planned trails (see attached map). There are many issues in completing trails including property/easement ownership, railroad crossings, and environmental issues.

DeAnne Butterfield, Executive Director of Boulder County Civic Forum, updated the Consortium on the task force. At the June meeting, they agreed that a task force would be appointed in the next two months. In the meantime, the larger county governments have been meeting to negotiate the expanding HOME fund. After meeting with HUD, it was discovered that the projected funds would be much less than anticipated and thus it became less attractive for the municipalities to share the funding. Some jurisdictions that had previously approved joining the Housing Initiative Task Force decided to hold off until the HOME fund issues were settled. In light of this issue, those spearheading the Housing Initiative Task Force agreed it was better to wait until January to convene. They hope to bring a report to the Consortium in the spring. Ms. Butterfield will come to the December meeting with an update on what has happened with the HOME funds. She hopes then that task force names can be ratified and contacted for a January meeting. The Consortium members thanked DeAnne for her hard work on this project.

The next meeting will be held October 5^th and Boulder will host. There will be a presentation on energy efficiency and conservation by Steven Saunders regarding the local effects of global warming. Mark Ruzzin told the group that Boulder has written a resolution regarding local action re: climate control and was invited to attend the Sundance Summit in early July. It is a kick-off to forming a national initiative to deal with climate change. He offered to report on that in October.