Members Present: Chris Berry, City of Lafayette; Doug Brown, City of Longmont; Karen Imbierowicz, Town of Superior; Ben Pearlman, Boulder County; Chris Perret, Town of Nederland; Mark Ruzzin, City of Boulder; and Staff Dickey Lee Hullinghorst and Sheree Stroud

Chris Berry, City of Lafayette, reported that four council seats will be filled at the election. All four incumbents decided not to run so there will be a lot of new faces. He was recently struck by the power of volunteerism when hundreds of people showed up to work on Phase II of Kids Park.

Mark Ruzzin, City of Boulder, discussed the fire training center. It was going to be built at Valmont Butte but they have concerns whether that is the proper location and so they are now looking at possible alternatives. The council will consider other options before they make a final decision. They are enjoying continued sales tax revenue growth. The 29^th Street development is progressing and some stores will open in the spring. Five seats are open for the election and four incumbents are running. They adopted resolutions supporting Referendums C and D and the County ballot issue 1A. Boulder received an EPA Award for being the best city for commuting. It is the fourth least expensive community in the country in which to commute.

Karen Imbierowicz, Town of Superior, told members they had a hearing on their Comp Plan and hope to finalize it by January. Their local ballot issue is a bond for open space for $12 million. They also passed resolutions in support of 1A and Referendums C and D.

Doug Brown, City of Longmont, reported that their multi-modal plan has been adopted. They’re now working on the Mid-Main development. There are lots of candidates for the election. Longmont is still working on their Strategic Plan. The Council just approved their first Metro District. Their revenue is only up 1.9%. They will dedicate the new neighborhood park this weekend. They are working on a Southeast Revitalization Plan and this will hopefully include transit oriented development. They are also considering a new parking garage. Their council is also in support of 1A and Referendums C and D.

Chris Perret, Town of Nederland, said they also support 1A and Referendums C and D. They have begun work on re-building the community center. They also had a walk-a-thon.

Ben Pearlman, Boulder County, said he thought the evening’s presentation on energy and climate change is timely. He thanked everyone who has been working on 1A, and if it passes, a portion of those monies will be dedicated toward energy and conservation efforts. He and the other commissioners attended a conference that included a Utah conservation and energy savings model that has been successful in getting business and government moving in that direction.

Commissioner Pearlman introduced Erin Minks from Senator Salazar’s office. She told members that the Senator likes to hear from local governments. She said that the appropriations season continues and Senator Salazar is advocating for $21 - $22 million in projects for Boulder County. He is closely monitoring the Medicaid cuts and food stamp program. Chris Berry had some questions about the Harriet Meier nomination for Supreme Court. Ms. Minks said the senator was moving cautiously and will do all he can to get all the pertinent information.

Mark Ruzzin moved to approve the minutes from the August 3, 2005, meeting. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously with the exception of Karen Imbierowicz who abstained from voting.

Stephen Saunders of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization gave a presentation. He explained that even modest temperature changes results in conditions that create much less snowfall. 85% of our water comes from snowpack. Less snow has economic repercussions also. There are steps that can be taken to deal with climate disruption. The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization is working to build a coalition that will work toward a broad-based effort to make recommendations to the next governor about steps that can be taken at a state level.

Commissioner Pearlman thinks it is important to present a united front and would like to see this issue taken to the local councils. Mr. Saunders pointed out that the steps that help this problem are also economically practical. For instance, when you reduce emissions through energy conservation, you are also saving money. Chris Berry agrees the effort must start locally. Karen Imbierowicz wanted to know what is needed by the coalition. Mr. Saunders told the group they engage partners in decisions – usually via e-mail – and normally want a liaison. This can be a staff member. Costs for membership are $500 to $1,000 depending on the number of employees in the organization.

Commissioner Pearlman said it’s important to know what concrete steps can be taken to deal with climate disruption. The Consortium could be an effective clearinghouse for ideas and options. Ben will propose that Boulder County join and hopes other communities will also consider it.

Mark Ruzzin, City of Boulder, said climate changes were a big topic at the Sundance Summit. Efforts that are made in our own backyards do have an impact. Municipalities across the country are banding together and can have a huge impact on reducing emissions and directing policy. The US Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution called the "Climate Protection Agreement". He passed a copy along to each mayor. He also stressed that climate change is not just environmental, but has economic and social impacts across the planet. Boulder is exploring steps that are commonplace but will also save taxpayer money, such as improving gas mileage or switching from diesel to bio-diesel. They are drafting a "Climate Action Plan" to develop programs and look at funding opportunities. They hope to educate the community and are conducting a branding exercise to develop the message. They would welcome any feedback.

Clark Misner, Boulder County Transportation, told the Consortium members that the Technical Committee is recommending a scope of work for the County-wide Transit Plan and is now asking the Consortium to act on: 1) authorizing Boulder County to proceed with a RFQ for the Boulder/Broomfield Transit Services Enhancement Plan, 2) authorize the RTC Technical Committee, in consultation with the RTC, to select a consultant team, and 3) request Consortium members to review preliminary cost allocation and provide the county with a degree-of-willingness to participate. The proposed cost is $80,000 and RTD will provide $10,000.

Will Toor, Boulder County Commissioner, added that at the last Consortium meeting, there was a focus on Weld County. He said they have met with the mayors and managers of Frederick and Dacono who are both very interested in the transit plan. They see the need for north-south routes to Denver and east-west routes to Boulder and Longmont. They think it is important to annex into RTD, but they are interested in the RTC because it gives them more input. So, RTC documents will be forwarded to these jurisdictions and the RTC will be open to their input. RTC representatives also met with both school districts and they are both quite interested in having input into the route design. They will have representatives on the technical committee. Commissioner Toor said they were very pleased that RTD has committed to funding. The RTC has not followed up with the Weld County Commissioners yet but they did talk to the Public Works Director and will set up a meeting at staff level.

Chris Berry told the group that he will have a new council who will require education on this topic. He’ll need some help from the task force in bringing them up to speed. He feels the Consortium should have the final say on the consultant selection.

Karen Imbierowicz moved to authorize Boulder County to post a Request for Qualifications for the Boulder/Broomfield Transit Services Enhancement Plan and also to authorize the Regional Transit Committee to select a consultant team from those submitting a Statement of Qualification and for the Consortium to approve an Issue to Proceed at the December meeting.

There was some general discussion on funding of Consortium projects. Commissioner Pearlman said that perhaps the group could consider a small allocation each year so funds are available if projects are appoved by a large majority. This would enable projects to move forward more quickly. Karen Imbierowicz thinks this is a good idea but would need some research on past expenses and what future projects the group anticipates. Mark Ruzzin agrees it’s worth looking at. Doug Brown said this would need to be proposed prior to annual budget prep. Chris Berry said that without buy-in from council, it’s hit or miss on funding.

The next meeting will be December 7 at the Boulder County Courthouse.