City Council Pre Session – April 16, 2024

Video Description:
City Council Pre Session – April 16, 2024

Note: The following is the output of transcribing from a video recording. Although the transcription, which was done with software, is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or [software] transcription errors. It is posted as an aid to understanding the proceedings at the meeting, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.

Read along below:

Speaker 1 0:00
So people are listening. The Stewart row called you want to start.

Unknown Speaker 0:05
Councilmember Martin? Mayor pick, Councilman grist councilmember

Speaker 1 0:12
Shama, Croydon. Council member, Robert will be absent tonight. And councilmember Adama fairy will be here shortly. So we’re just going to give updates on boards and commissions and talk about whatever you want to talk about. And then after that, I want to bring up the duty because I have some concerns. So I’m just gonna open it up to the liaison reports. You want to go Marcia? Yes. First names only, by the way, oh,

Speaker 2 0:51
no, continue. So I guess the team’s liver are built upon is that the airport is having an air show. It’s not for a while yet it’s in October. Enough time that the exact dates even though it’s already nailed down, I can tell you that later. But after having missed quite a few for several different reasons, they really seem to have gotten their act together. They are reaching out to the aerospace firms in the area. And come Susie places

Unknown Speaker 1:35
a little pillow

Speaker 2 1:43
and a variety of different planes. They’re hoping to have an electric training. Although I think that’s not confirmed yet. But the have a lot to see. And the board is is working well to you know, contribute with volunteers without violating any laws. And so I’m, I’m really excited that that’s going to happen first year, I was on council. The first full year I was on the council, they had an air show. And it was great. You could climb on the airplanes and you know, mess up your paint job with your gravel and your shoe and stuff like that. But this one, this one should be amazing. And that will 2018 London’s I believe the last one they have. So yeah. Yeah, because they really only have them every two or three years anyway, for budgetary reasons and volunteer recruitment reasons and all that stuff. So you know, just it’ll be it’ll be a good thing. And I hope we have great news about the airport to energize that event. Nothing, I don’t think anything special is going on. And other than that, everybody’s just doing their stuff.

Unknown Speaker 3:14
Okay. So let’s see if we get settled.

Speaker 3 3:24
On the asset forfeiture committee with the mayor, we have nothing so far. But I just want to say there’s been some things in the private sector will come up some will get called up for that. Walmart and Economic Development Partnership. Interesting meeting, we talked about the House bill. Can butene 1030 or 50. But what about transportation, and they’re interested in participating and taking a position on legislative issues, so some discussion about that. The vote was to support it. And then the north I 25 coalition that came up also in the vote was to not support it until amendments came through some interesting, different perspectives.

Unknown Speaker 4:25
Diane, what were their objections that they wanted demand?

Speaker 3 4:29
For, you know, as afraid somebody was going to ask me that question, because there was quite a list. And so I’m saying I’m not going to remember all of this. But the concerns are, the time of commute is one of them. So I guess that would go to the speed of the train. I don’t know that. That that can be amended, but maybe a more defined path or SOPs would be would be helpful. That is the north I 25 corridor. shouldn’t sell, they’re also working on the busting at the same time. So the comparing, you know, as the training be more advantageous to that. So that’s basically what they’re looking for. There was a short list of some of those kinds of details. Just curious, and not something that I necessarily was reading. Above about that some. So they’ll be supportive, with certain things. The visit long haul, and we reviewed our, our CEO, she got high marks, they’re still planning the climbing competition in February. When you think about it in August, that’s only six months away, hoping that the micro transit will be very available then and to have maps so that people that attend that can participate in all the businesses within Longmont. See, we meet tomorrow. So we’re actually going to be we’re having an orientation for new board members, because we also took on some staff, as consultants with this along. The mayor and I are on the fire, police pension boards to what it’s been interesting about that we we met back in February, but the city contracts with a third party that gives us market information. And one of the things that I keep coming back to is out of all the that the Federal Reserve has done to control inflation. In in their graphs that they gave us, the only two things that have been affected have been automobiles, and fuel. Energy, so fascinating, in terms of bringing down the price, and so on it just I just keep coming back to it and in discussing with you know, long run economic developments about business situations with supply chain and with some of my clients also, back in the 70s say, when it was persistent inflation, they call it stagflation. Yeah, it’s kind of a funny name, but having nothing to do with male deer, but we’re single, yeah. But what’s interesting about that, I guess, is at this time in the year after April 15, everybody’s kind of reviewing their budget and considering you know, their purchases for the next year, and how are they going to manage expenses. And at the same time, I’m, and maybe you all have received some constituent concerns about, oh, the newest one was fee that next slide imposed on someone that put their service on hold. And, you know, all these little things add up to maybe 100 more dollars per month, for a household. So one of the things that the city can do, looking back at when there was a period of stagflation, one things the city can do is hold the line and not react to the market. Because it’s something that the city and the government can, can provide. where the market is being dirty. And there was even some heard recently, is that someone did not get their delivery of diet, Pepsi. That’s an odd thing to be short on squat. Thing is,

Unknown Speaker 8:38
did they bring that to you as a council person?

Speaker 3 8:41
was? Yeah, was a business. Oh, yeah. And they said, you know, we

Speaker 4 8:46
just haven’t been able to get our diagnosis of delivery.

Speaker 5 8:55
Tom, and we’ve had this conversation about supply chain, there’s some

Speaker 3 9:02
withholding. And so the price, you know, achieves whatever they feel like they need to make.

Unknown Speaker 9:12
Well, as a way to say

Speaker 3 9:14
they’re adjusting their budget or their, you know,

Speaker 6 9:17
their city, their problem in Europe. Yeah, there’s cost cover.

Speaker 3 9:21
And so I’m just saying, as a city, we need to always look at let’s just stay level, not react to the market. That’s the only things we can do for our constituents. That’s all that’s all I’m involved in.

Speaker 7 9:39
Well the golf board was cancelled last month, and they haven’t had the meeting this month. Grab the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board had their meeting in the requirements some land up near bedrock. Some logical look humans tend to kind of keep that area more controlled by Longmont, which is I think, probably a good thing and it’s good purchase of land and keep it in for the open space purposes, and that’s a location that is pretty logical, then the Longmont public media they met last night in short, we are working on more of some bylaws and rules we’re trying to this board has got a couple of folks that haven’t shown so we’re trying to get some, some more fresh new faces on the board, we expanded to about seven, and then my capacity to be probably more of a non voting member. Like the other, many of us survive, which is probably a good thing, because they already have a financial board. And so we don’t need to, and particularly when they have contract with the city, I think it’s probably wise for us to have a person there. But not necessarily somebody who’s who potentially could affect their financial status since they’ve been disabled. That was the city’s heavy influence from the city council members on like that, so it’s probably wise to not have us as voting members in that sense. So they’re trying to get seven members total in the council. And then they’ll have Sergio or some surrogate or Sergio, therefore, to run the Meet the art to be the kind of staff please, they miss anything on that Marsha

Unknown Speaker 11:50
not run the meeting.

Speaker 7 11:53
But be there to kind of be as staff support. Yeah. And then the last one, why I left it to last as a consortium of cities, they had some interesting folks to talk about their how they’re dealing with some of the sharps and other things that they’re finding, and that they’re putting on all their county buildings and everything. And a couple of things they were doing in regards to provide people because you’re much more likely apparently, to have a very serious overdose from injection than you are from if you smoke. Things like crack and other things like that. And so they’re providing actual pipes and bins, in case people are sharing that sort of thing, which, by everybody’s eyes, you know, in all these cities, sort of like what, you know, their eyes got super big. But they said, our, our data and the research that we’ve done, and everything says this is probably safer data, give them provide them with that, and then provide them with the needles and everything. So that was kind of interesting. They showed us the box of display things he talked about, you know how to get some of these supplies for the smaller communities and others in the big issue was around the minimum wage issue. And I’ll tell you, the smaller communities like Erie superior Lewisville and Lafayette, they keep saying they’re talking about it, but like severe said, we’ve got potholes to fill, and we’ve had this little problem in our community, you know, Marshall fire, so they were really kind of putting it off. And so they’re they’re, they’re putting it off maybe until the summer. I talked to Sandy. And she emailed me that we might see some sort of update in July. And I think many of you felt it was the issue with that was that we had gotten enough data back we we knew what we had done here with the with the interviewing some businesses, and of course many businesses. I repeated that many businesses, you know, one are saying we would just precious, we’ll take our business and go elsewhere. You know, as I told them there, I said, this is the market. The market is long run. They’re going to wherever our beast is. I don’t think their boys are going to follow them. I told them I didn’t think there and that their customers would necessarily fall out that way. And if we implemented a minimum wage, you know, progressive minimum wage like we were proposed, we’re going to, they’re not going to have employees there either, because those employees are going to come this way, where they’re actually from places that are not supporting minimum wage. So that’s, so their argument for it’s gonna crush it, it’s probably not not likely to be there, what they need to probably stop doing is there many of them are taking, they’re part of, of what they make. And then they’re taking some of their employees, part two, which is in the form of reduced wages. So that’s, that’s where they need to get kind of filled in, they’re released up, stop trying to take employees, for part that shouldn’t be going to some of the employees that probably in a fair and equitable situation, they probably probably find that they could not have a $20 Hamburger situation or some sort of like that. So I don’t think that’s necessarily Absolutely. Across the board in all cases, but there was, oh,

Speaker 1 16:23
well, wait a minute. Can we have everybody reported and we’ll open it up? Because

Speaker 2 16:28
yeah, I just had a question on that topic. Good. Should keyed in since Yeah, let’s wait.

Unknown Speaker 16:33
So is that the only one you reported? Okay.

Speaker 8 16:39
Oh, Susie, did you want to go? I don’t want to step over here. No, that’s fine. You sure? Okay.

Unknown Speaker 16:48
I came last week. Okay.

Speaker 8 16:52
So last night, we had transportation and very interesting because we have our team there last night. And I can’t remember who was the guy was on the board. Eric Davidson. Yeah. He was talking about. They were going to support Senate Bill 184, which was funding intercity passenger rail car team, you know, they’re leading RTD is leading the study for that. And also they were opposing House Bill 1447. Which is a transit reform bill. They said it was the structure of Libya was concerning to them. She was talking about the long term financial outlook of, you know, for the everyday their programming, as far as like the youth is, is free for RTD. Right now. 75% is dependent on the sales on the sales tax right now. The Tabor expiration right now, the extension for that refinancing. These are like short notes that I took some of you don’t understand all of it. I’m sorry. They were saying what’s at risk right now is the 40 million, they may have to be fine through the taper. One or the other if they have a new police chief that’s been there, that I didn’t know RTD had a police chief. So I was getting rid of that. Me too. Oh. Maybe new, because they did. Yeah, they have a new one. He’s only been there maybe for about a year. They have a problem with retention of drivers due to high level of assaults to employees and increase the drug use and criminal activity. And also, they need to train officers. So they put a lot of money for the you know, for the officers, and also mental health clinicians and the escalating training for that officers. And so and then also fit now, use has increased as well. And so they’ve not sure about keeping the youth program keeping that free for the EU. And at the board member Wakelin ask, how much are they paying employees because they’re, like I said the retention rate. They can’t keep their employees, and they said they’re almost $26 an hour. But once they get them to the training, they get their CDL license and they’re like, bye bye. Yeah, so that’s the issue

Unknown Speaker 19:56
right now.

Speaker 8 20:00
And so I asked, because they can’t even tell us how many of you can actually use it the buses? They won’t keep the data. They’re not. Yeah, they don’t have the data for that. So ask, why don’t you for the summertime like, get you some ball, let them paint the buses have some type of travel program for the youth on the buses? What are they doing as far as the unhoused that are traveling on the buses? Because you? I mean, I’m sure that’s a deterrent to you to get on the buses and the you know, if it’s low passenger rate for us, that are not utilizing it. So how are you? If you can’t tell us how many youth are using the buses, then he doesn’t matter if this for you. So, and then they had what’s her name? Start with a man. She was speaking about? Italy? Yes, she was speaking about the the priority, the next priority has happened to route going towards the hospital, by Costco area and all of that by the Walmart. So but that’s priority, but they don’t have a day. So anyway, I say what I have to say to them, because she just kept referring to everything about Boulder, Boulder Boulder, and I said, Oh, interesting. You know, in our comp plan, where we’re talking about reducing the carbon footprint, and we’re talking about electrification and all of that, I said, if I was a new resident coming into the city of Longmont, and I’m looking for a place and I believe in the Complan of our goal for you know, our environmental goal. And I want to be somewhere where I can just hop on the bus and there happens to be out there I can’t I have to have a car. If I’m working at the hospital. You know, in I live out west of long mine, I have to have a vehicle to get to work. And then you’re talking about having a car an electric car, but we’re the the charging stations. So you are what have you all are doing it nothing. There are no bus routes going up for the high schools either. I say you want to talk about boulder. So today I will have buses at their high schools. We don’t have buses at our high schools. And they’re feeling jumping. That’s what we’re doing my country. I said exactly. I said why don’t we we’re have we have to think outside the box to do this. And I said you know, anyway, I understand. So we thank you for all you do. But I’m still complaining just like in the emails too. So good. And let’s see assuming l Sister Cities everything that’s going on with Sister Cities, everything is on plan on point, I guess right now. We got our dates for Japan, finally, July 14 through the 26th. And so we’re supposed to right now we’re trying to we don’t know how much the tickets are. They’re probably around 3000 per person right now. And it will be nine of us going to chaperones and seven students and Arapaho. Everybody’s practicing doing their thing. Each supposed to have a dance that there’s an American dance that they’re going back to each location to do American dance and trying to practice last year in Japan. They did put loose in it wasn’t that great. So if you all know of some choreographers, I told him to find a one because they’re representing the city. Yeah. So anyway, that was good. I also want to say I did not make it to downtown Long my District Association. I mean, our authority I mean, LD da da da because I was at the funeral and but you know, we the hotel, they should be closing on that by the end of the month. Everything was working on that. What else I’m on? I didn’t go to the NATO NATO. I didn’t I wasn’t able to go and that’s next Thursday. The next meeting and I just want to say the life skills was amazing. Idea put you in you on air possible you is collaborating, but next year, so they do want to do it again. I have a meeting on Friday with the superintendent to see if he’s willing to. He was very supportive of the life skills here. And so just making sure he’s still welcome. Yes, that’s why we needed on Friday. Thank you. Yes, exactly. Okay.

Speaker 2 25:29
Okay, so the library was last night, so there was that one. So most, and I noticed that museum and library, it was really talking about recruiting people for the board, people are getting anxious that we’re not going to get enough people to fill these these spots. So our current chair of the library board is term limited social media will be done next month, or last, and then June. So there’ll be electing a new chair.

Unknown Speaker 26:05
There in June, it goes through June 3 June.

Speaker 2 26:09
And then Yep, so the five Yeah, June is the final meeting with current board members. So in the directors report and updates, we just got a chance to see, you know, the work that the library is doing, I think some of the challenges that they’re facing is, and people have been, you know, they’ve been getting some people have set items are on hold for a longer period of time. Because what they’ve had to do is really cut back on the number of items that they’re able to, in their collections that they’re able to purchase. So for digital materials, the prices have gone up. So they’re not able to purchase more digital materials, or copies of a certain book or item. And so then when people place it on hold, they’re having to wait longer for it to come in. So that’s, that’s been a hiccup in what they’re trying to try to keep it functional. You know, there had been something that the board really wants me to understand and share out with you all is that the trajectory that it’s on, it’s not really sustainable, in the fact that they have a lot of part time employees, or they have people who are doing a lot for a community our size. So we’re really, you know, we’re staffed as the way we were maybe 20 years ago. But the demand and the increase in population is, it’s not sustainable. So last Wednesday, I went to that it was on the 10th. But pie that bothers me a little bit, I listen to diversity on their annual celebration. And Lillian from the library was their outreach coordinator. And she was out there, and she’s working with families and just getting the stuff done, but it was one person. So really, to be able to have a team and so really, you know, just emphasizing the importance of a sustainable and well funded library. And as a teacher, I’m speaking from the heart on that one. So that’s, you know, we discussed that, you know, a point that they wanted to bring to me was, you know, we’re in desperate need of funding. And so that’s, you know, that kind of what they wanted us to, to be to have an understanding on the annual report will be presented to council on April 30. So they’ll be coming at that time to to share more about going on at the library and outreach and all that on May 17 library will be closed all day for in all staff training, and focusing on trauma informed care allyship dealing with in coping with microaggressions that are occurring, you know, being front library and certain things that you have to deal with public, you know, how to navigate those situations professionally and also taking care of themselves. So that will be happening on the 17th I think it’s not a Saturday 17th Friday or Saturday. So there Yeah, there was a day where people will phrase Friday, Okay, that’ll be the day that the library’s closed all day. And let’s see, they did revise their form for people to submit if they want to have a book or an item evaluated. They did revise They’re the form. And actually, as I looked at it from this time to last time, it seems like it’s more user friendly. And it’s it. It’s rather than just people just filling out this whole blanket page of grievances. It’s more, you know, it’s just more itemized. And so people were really, you know, that will force people to become really clear on what they’re trying to get across. It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s based on these factual pieces. This is why I want this book review. So we had a chance to look at that. And that was based on what other public libraries are doing and utilizing throughout the state. For the museum, the expansion is going as as, as anticipated, closing my street, they’re closing. So they’re working on the inner courtyard, it’s been graded for drainage and hardscape. And their slab has been poured for the new performance performance pavilion. So you know, they’re doing they’re still getting donations in and so that’s, it’s everything seemed like it’s coming along pretty well. We discussed your revenue and attendance. So it looks like discovery days, attendance from February of 2023. They had 896. Participants this time, 1132. auditorium, sales have nearly doubled from last year to this year. And Gift Shop sales have increased by $1,000. From last year, February to this year, February. So, you know, they seem to be seem to be doing well. You know, again, they were talking just concerns about getting board members, and having those seats filled. And then there was the question, I moved on to the answer this around, or current board members, is it crossing any kind of line for them to go out and promote people applying? So I said no, I know best thing. But I don’t wanna I don’t want to. I will double check. I will confirm, but it seems like you know, anybody can. And

Speaker 6 32:28
we say that every time we sit down recruited secretaries and liaisons, please vote your board members ask them to answer

Speaker 2 32:39
it. I didn’t hear it so much at the museum advisory board. But at the library, there was a lot of concern around the the ethics, you know, just concerns about how that language is going to impact, you know, their ability to say anything about. So I think that’s where that question came up, like a read aloud to to promote applying because I didn’t know if it was packed and you know, so they saw the language that was library, the library? Yes. So I said now I don’t

Unknown Speaker 33:11
cross any

Speaker 2 33:12
ethical, ethical violations of that. So just keep recruiting it and then I think the archive was cancelled last month because of spring break. Like there was a lot of conflict, but people couldn’t attend. So we are meeting at the end of this month, and the Arts in Public Places. Last time they met we had our Longmont Housing Authority meeting. So I wasn’t able to attend. But it is this Thursday. So I’ll fill you all in on the next. And Youth Council. They had a debrief of the life skills fair. And I think they were working on helping applications, filling out applications and just working with these numbers. You know, that that group? Would I attend those meetings? It’s more like a working group. So I’m just kind of sitting on the side and, you know, I might answer, you know, given the council update, but that’s pretty much us Council Youth Council. Yeah, they do their, their thing

Speaker 8 34:21
after that, something really sexy. Ooh, sec to go for it. That Becky doll. And this. I don’t remember. Consulting people are and we’ve given the app. They it’s a pilot program for the app to let let someone know when the train is coming. So they did a demo last night, a demonstration so it would let you know where the train is where the train was stop. And all you have to do is just look and see where it is in the city and What time it should be over when it’s moving? What time? So it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool. And so I can’t believe I forgot that part. But that’s especially after last week. So yes, the pilot program, and I don’t know when it will be completed. But Becky Doyle is the one who’s leading that because, you know, kind of partner was the one who created the whole app in a way that we got awarded for knowledge and with national league.

Unknown Speaker 35:30
But yeah, I know.

Speaker 1 35:35
So okay, I’ll go fast to the questions. So I’m going to hit everybody. I was surprised that Natalie said that they were working on buses from east to west, I guess, when we’ve been asking for Alex one to be restored for years and her say she says the same thing to me. We’re working on

Speaker 8 35:58
it. That’s what she said last night. About Alex one. Yeah. She said, We gave them back. They just don’t know what it’s all about

Speaker 1 36:05
resources. Well, it’s supposed to be less than timber. Yeah. And then it was supposed to be December and then January. You know, I’ve worked with Natalie for nine years now.

Speaker 8 36:13
Well, we’re supposed to have coffee, so we can have all three of us can have coffee.

Unknown Speaker 36:17
Are you going to set that up?

Unknown Speaker 36:18
Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 1 36:23
Somebody else is working. I love it. So we had a meeting this morning with the executive committee for FRP. Er, and we are working on what we know is that we need to move really, really fast. And I think that our manager, Andy Carsey, and with these bills has kind of had a stick poked at him and saying, Your, you’re too slow, are you doing? So we talk, we’re getting a survey out a poll as to what people want. We’re working on the ballot language, which is going to be a lot of a lot of input, because the district has so many different populations in it, that it’s very important that that ballot language addresses everybody, not everybody’s needs, but everybody’s ability to interpret the language. And that’s what screws up a lot of ballots is that people just don’t understand. So we worked on that. We’re also talking about the tax what what will the tax for these districts be? So though, the SB 184, which is the big bill, which basically tells RTD that you need to finish the Northwest corridor. And it also says that once you finish it from Denver to Longmont, then FRP er takes it over because of the different pots of money that can be used. RTD cannot use federal dollars because they are under transit, not not federal. So if our PR has the dollars, but what the bill is going to do that you’re saying that they are building American 184 No, all

Unknown Speaker 38:16
the other 14 Point assignment 1440s.

Speaker 1 38:20
So I understand why RTD doesn’t like that bill, it is a bill to re manage RTD to cut that board down 15 to seven people. And part of SB 184 says that RTD C dot and FRP are have to work together and either come up with an IGA that is three way IGA or come up with a transit authority type of deal. The ctio got through with an amendment I’m sorry, if the 184 got through with an amendment that said the original way it was written was that there would be a $3 fee on all rental cars. And they didn’t like that. Because those dollars are going to go into CTIA which is a which is a group where our it used to be Hu TF dollars. It’s very confusing, but they wanted only they wanted all Colorado residents to be out of the rental car fee $3 a day. And I don’t think that passed because everybody uses our roads. But the way the bill was set up was that those dollars were to be used for rail first. So there was a lot of pushback on that and they said the projects that are in place should use those dollars first, and then it should go to rails. that, you know, that’s all got to be worked out. But as soon as, as soon as the governor signs SB 184 And 14 been heralded, I talked about having a community conversation to explain all of this, because it’s very confusing, and everything I read as a different slant on it, so that nobody really understands how the whole thing is going to work. But I think it’s really exciting. And it is going to come whether people like it or not, I just said, Harold and Phil, a document telling instructions or ideas on how RTD and Amtrak and BNSF want the train, I call it a depot station has to be done with with certain standards, according to BNSF. So just for fun, and this is what we talked about is that, you know, that little red train station that is by the transit station departments, we talked about moving that and using it as the train station, because it’s historical, and it’s old, and it’s cute. And adding on to it, of course, but having that be our train station,

Unknown Speaker 41:26
that’s the depot, little liquor store,

Speaker 1 41:29
not the one that is on every other side. No, it’s not on. It’s on sec. It’s on first by the railroad track. Cheese importers across the street. And it is in that little red trailer. So you don’t have to take a little ride in Yes.

Unknown Speaker 41:54
I mean, it’s like sandstone.

Speaker 1 41:58
Now she’s paying. I don’t know. So that that is to be honest. That’s what I’m really working on most of the time, because the timeline for this has been pushed up to three to five years instead of 20. So it’s like, whoa, we better get busy and start building this. But again, until the governor signs these bills, there’s nothing in stone. And he needs to say and probably in may remind me what bill, SB 184 that just passed both houses with amendments. And 1447 is the one that hasn’t really gone to committee yet is being hashed out. And I know that our TV doesn’t like it. And the one thing I don’t like about that bill, is that the governor said that he’s going to have two or three at large directors. But the RTD district is huge. In art at large director. There’s no way they can cover that I think that they should be appointed to a district or to a certain area to represent not everybody’s going to be designated

Unknown Speaker 43:17
some area. Yeah, it’s gonna be

Speaker 1 43:19
really hard. And the other thing I didn’t like is that he wants to cut this board down to size pretty soon. We have a lot of historical knowledge there. And you know, Eric Davidson is so smart. And he’s turned that around. We’re the only RTD transit agency that is not in the red. Yeah. And it’s taken him four years to get it in black. You know, it’s like when you buy when we bought our house, I wanted to do all kinds of fun things. But we had to replace the water heater, we had to fix some stuff. So we put a lot of money into the house, but we couldn’t see any improvement. It was still the old house. So that’s why I feel about our TV at this point. They’ve made a lot of changes and are working hard. But just based upon what Natalie said, is why I think it needs to be regenerated totally and supportive. 1447. So that’s about it. I’m on the Historical Preservation Committee, we had a meeting and I am at this point learning a lot. So I sit quietly and thank them for their report. Because nobody’s come to us with a project at this point. And so Okay, Marsha.

Speaker 2 44:47
I have I have questions on it seems like it would be good to discuss the minimum wage, because, you know, the small towns don’t have to buy in, we can still have a reason Regional District if it’s just one month and Boulder and Boulder County, that’s good enough.

Speaker 7 45:07
The problem is, is that Boulder County didn’t bother to ask certain, when they push this do these in as two of our largest employers in the county, that Boulder Valley School District or the Simi Valley School District, what they thought of that net seems to me like a glaring mistake on their part not to have done that. But I think there’s other things that need to be fixed on this. It’s kind of got some issues, if we’re going to do it regionally, then there’s certainly aspects of it that I think should be part of it. But that’s just my opinion. Well,

Speaker 2 45:47
I I think that that, first of all, the commissioners are going to be the commissioners, I have stopped having expectations about the commissioners. But But Longmont can pass a minimum wage and say no, with you, Boulder County. And we don’t need any help to do that. Although it would be great if the city of Boulder would do the same thing, right. But I am looking at it from another way, not the logistics of getting it passed, but rather, the impact on our businesses, because pretty much everybody in the chamber hates the idea. But, you know, when we were in the pandemic, and all those businesses were afraid of failing, and it turns out that most of the businesses in the chamber have very little clue how to run a business. And so we have we helped, we helped them to, you know, during the pandemic, we hit we and the chamber or the EDB, and all of that, the DBA, mostly, I think, and help them with them, that was helped to figure out how to do a PPP loan and, you know, stuff like that, well, you know, I talked to successful businesses that are not yet huge. And they kind of agreed with me that there are things that you can make fairly minor changes in your business, like if you are a retail business, just making a 10% change in your line of offerings, for example, could raise it, if you do it carefully and start off with selling something profitable with a high margin. It can, without changing the character of your business, increase your margins, enough that you can be you only have three employees that are minimum wage, you know, you can, that it gives you enough to keep your business the same shape as before, but pay that higher wage. And it seems to me that that was we if we could find some sort of funding, and collaborate the with the chamber, and probably some some mover and shaker type businesses, you know, the ones that are that are run by MBAs or you know, people with a strong investment heritage or whatever, you know, they’re people with knowledge in the city. And we could have seminars, classes on how to improve your margins, either either by finding ways to save or by by changing your your product line, if you’re retail, you know, I’m not that kind of a business person. So I couldn’t necessarily come up with 15 examples. But I think that the courses could be developed and offered. And then the businesses or are will at least they will lose their fear and understand that they have a support system. It’s not that different than what sustainability does with small businesses to get them to adopt sustainable practices in your business. That you know, when they usually end up saving, they just need somebody to tell them it’s possible. So

Speaker 1 49:28
I think it’s a good idea, but I don’t think the city should run it. This would be a good thing to bring to LLDP and I to the chamber.

Speaker 2 49:37
Yeah. Because the EDP is for they don’t have a problem with mostly the IDI the NP businesses understand that our economy will improve. If we raise the minimum wage, it’s the chamber people that have problem with it

Speaker 1 49:55
well so I talked to clearly We had a coffee and she said that she stated that she was way too early and went way too far with a minimum wage. And I told Martha lotioning because she, you know, I said, My problem with it off the bat is our nonprofits. And I said, I felt really, really bad because I thought, as long as you’re the one doing it, and I emailed Erin Brockovich, and he said, No, they’re not gonna support it. And then Lafayette, Lewisville, they all were going to support it. So I felt better that okay, maybe there’s something else there. The nonprofits are the ones that I’m concerned about mostly in some of the small businesses that because of the family insurance that the governor has, or the state does now, and they have to buy into it, or at least have a provide something of their own like we do. They said their costs have gone up because of that. And a lot of the nonprofits are not getting grants, or donations for two reasons. Number one, a lot of the write offs on federal income tax came from donations and fill up that throbbing type of things. But now that it’s been raised to $15,000 is the standard deduction, none of those donations count,

Unknown Speaker 51:26
you have to be a big giver for that account,

Speaker 7 51:29
because like, right, so they don’t bother giving their little donations that would add up to maybe $2,000. And with property taxes going up with this stuff, so I believe in the minimum wage, I just don’t think that’s the time. Right now, well, I’ve done what I think about this to run with you. And I, I think that the issue is, is that the big corporations will be able to live their lives. And so that’s, that’s a given. The issue is that if that’s the only types of businesses that we want to hear, but that’s probably not the case, so small, you know, businesses need to have some sort of support to what Marsha saying, I’m concerned about not having any tools for localized inflation. In the process here. I as an educator, I’m a strong believer in some sort of, like a certification type of thing where it’s tied to it. But that’s not in the legislation. And I think that’s something that I would like to see. Because I think if you have to be a first aid certified, you know, and lifeguard training and everything like that we live here should be paid a little bit more, because you’re taking on a bigger, more responsibility to the IRS certified bookkeeper, same thing. You’re taking on a bigger responsibility. Well, training, but yeah, so they have

Speaker 1 53:05
to be certified to even get the job. Well, it’s not like you’re, you’re a lifeguard.

Speaker 7 53:13
So they won’t. And so some of them were low. Other ones are like, you know, for foodservice folks that have to have, say, certain training, and certification and view or so whether you’re at a gas station, or a grocery store, you probably have to be in tip streets and know what the new licenses and stuff like that. So there’s certain things that take

Speaker 1 53:34
that might be illegal, let’s run that past, Eugene, we can’t get into businesses until they can’t

Unknown Speaker 53:44
sell them. And it’s hard liquor license process,

Speaker 1 53:49
but then white, but then they couldn’t hire any. Like, my point is, I think they do train

Unknown Speaker 53:58
people to just like,

Unknown Speaker 54:01
start our walk.

Unknown Speaker 54:04
So we would have nothing to do with, we just

Speaker 7 54:07
think that it’s certified, which shouldn’t be paid more. And we also have to look for fact that if somebody’s bookkeeper, and they’re getting paid $25, now that the difference is rendered $9, that they need to be paid better at those locations, or people would be like, why am I doing this? You know, I need to be paid at least higher than somebody doing minimum wage if I’m taking on this deeper role. And so that’s that’s the only issue I think, I think, though, if you’re going to pursue it has to be a public vote. People have to have an idea of not just us going to say we’re going to go ahead and move forward with this. And I think there’s some mistakes that county commissioners realized they made on this and I think they’re going back we’re going to try to correct but I think there’s It didn’t pass in Fort Collins with researchers didn’t pass him in Boulder. There’s really only one member of Boulder Council that’s really pushing it. And so I just don’t know if this is where we’re at. Unfortunate. Wait, I just don’t know. I agree.

Speaker 2 55:20
I think we’re handicapping ourselves by not preparing for it, you know, whether it’s three years or or two years or something, I still think that I want to correct something that you said, assumed about what I was suggesting. I don’t think the city should have organized a class. Oh, I felt I think there’s no the city should put money in it and mandated, but the mandate would mandate having such cutbacks. Make sure that it makes sure that it exists, make sure it is made available, like the chamber, but I’m saying that this the city, the city needs to be the instigator and the pusher. But but not the administrator and not the brains of the outfit because we don’t have that kind of expertise within the city.

Speaker 3 56:13
But okay, just to clarify, who are we mandating for? The business owner,

Speaker 2 56:17
we’re mandating that it exists. The business meant the business owners don’t have to take it. But they, they should realize that, that if they think they can’t ever pay a higher wage, they’ve got a problem isn’t their business? Not? us, but we’re done. Okay.

Speaker 1 56:36
So I do have one really fast question. When Sergio when lpm and Sergio gave their update this real fast one, one sentence, he said that they want all of the

Speaker 7 56:50
way we increase the fee. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 56:54
they want all of that funding really fast. What do you

Speaker 2 56:59
have to prepare? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 57:03
Oops. Wait,

Unknown Speaker 57:05
yeah, it feels like there’s more.

Speaker 9 57:07
Or think the funding that we get from the franchise fees. I think Council has already given us that direction. I think what they’re wanting is additional funding, which will have to come from the general fund allocation. There’s more to it right now. And he didn’t

Speaker 10 57:25
he did say sounds right to me. But I’d want to go double check. Okay. Yeah.

Speaker 2 57:32
That was a deeper discussion. Yeah. Okay, John, I do have something to say about that, though. What really quick, that I told Sir, do something different. When he asked my advice about making I said, you know, you’re doing that wrong? Like, what would it take? They’re not going to have an answer for you, you should be setting out some goals. That’s some concrete measurable goals, and then challenge the council to say, if we achieve this goal, would we could we get extra funding from the council both to support that goal and to support the next goal? So in other words, he should be asking for something concrete and measurable instead of just saying please, sir, may I have similar? Yeah, so I

Speaker 1 58:18
appreciate that anything about it, but I look at it differently. This is a this is a business, if he is saying we’re going to offer more under your contract, and then that’s going to cost more. And then we would have that discussion, but just to have more money to increase the other side of their business. That’s what I’m thinking of. So come back with the contract, and tell us Do we need any more that’s a conversation they need to have with operations, because you don’t know a better contract? Way

Speaker 3 58:55
weigh in on this. But don’t over watch him. And I’m like, Bobby. Yeah. When he asked, what would it take, actually responded to that? Because what I noticed is that the the paid, memberships are going up, but they are maybe 1%, more than total. So it needs to be a higher percentage of the whole. So there’s a measurable, yeah, that would, that would provide more content

Speaker 2 59:28
because they all make if they have a large increase in paid memberships, they don’t

Speaker 7 59:33
use a little concern that the in marshy can speak to this to that. They’re dealing they’re competing with the Tinker mill. A little bit. So this

Speaker 3 59:43
I did have conversation about lpm with some of my clients and some that aren’t even my clients were just businesses. And the thing The truth is that small business owners work 60 to 80 hours a week. So doing it themselves is very hard for them. They really want to be able to pay a student maybe at lpm to do it for them, but they liked the idea and the pricing is good for a small business to utilize. So my other suggestion for Sergio would be impacts businesses channel, that would be very helpful

Speaker 2 1:00:16
to the city. Oh, that’s a good idea. I think if if what you mean is, is lpm should have product offerings, that it staffs, and then with business visits or volunteers, because you don’t have to be a student to volunteer?

Unknown Speaker 1:00:31
Yeah, so I’ll seem young to

Unknown Speaker 1:00:34
be a two year old.

Unknown Speaker 1:00:38
I will. But

Unknown Speaker 1:00:39
anyway, but yeah, so but

Speaker 2 1:00:43
choose one from column A one from column B, instead of instead of having to do all the creatives yourself.

Speaker 3 1:00:49
And then I’m going to throw out for the small businesses, not every business is meant to have a large margin product. A good example of this is Walmart and I hate to talk about Walmart, but they are their whole business models built on volume with small

Unknown Speaker 1:01:05
margins, right? The Walmart’s

Unknown Speaker 1:01:07
not a small business, because they

Speaker 3 1:01:09
were very successful successful for him with it. And another organization that also works on small margins, or stockbrokers, you know, so you can get well, there’s actually a lot of money in small margins because they both of those examples,

Speaker 2 1:01:23
it’s not that small margins are the be all and end all of the answer. Increasing part of your margins is is one way of make making a business more viable enough pay a higher minimum wage. The example is Miko coffee versus Zs because Miko has a few really high margin things going on in that store. And therefore, they’re more resilient business than some of the others.

Unknown Speaker 1:01:53
So this is five

Speaker 3 1:01:56
years, it takes five years to achieve profitability, often has an average. And there’s a good reason for that.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:04
Is this what you wanted to word one zoom?

Unknown Speaker 1:02:06
All right, if I have

Unknown Speaker 1:02:10
time for executives.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:13
Let’s, let’s transition.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:18
So the best thing to talk about?

Speaker 1 1:02:25
Thank you. So June 10, I loved you teeth. But here’s my concern. Do we want to make it before this council turns over? Think about, we don’t need to answer it now. But think about how can we put this in perpetuity kind of like Cinco Demayo that we continually funded either out of council contingency? Or do we try to put it into the budget? Because it is a very successful event? And if not, they’re going to have to come back every year to a different Council, if they have a different mindset. They may not want to,

Speaker 6 1:03:06
except for them. You just clarify the pieces of the sponsorship that you all approved. That puts Juneteenth on the list for for the rest of time. For those pieces, and I can’t recall them off the top of my head, you might check that out. So sponsorship, those pieces would follow no matter the cost.

Speaker 8 1:03:31
So the stage and have to do that every year, Your Honor. Right. And the use of Roseville Park and or any city facility, and also the trash. Okay, so that part?

Speaker 6 1:03:45
Yeah, so Council pays the first year in the sponsorship policy of the county contingency and then we budget then for the the next year. So that becomes supported in perpetuity.

Speaker 2 1:03:59
At least Okay, unless the council comes back and says

Unknown Speaker 1:04:03
no changes were made.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:05
So they have to make a concerted

Speaker 1 1:04:06
effort, right effort to overturn. Okay. I didn’t understand that. I thought that. So you only come to counsel contingency for things above and beyond the cost. Yeah,

Speaker 8 1:04:18
because, you know, the first year yeah, there was nothing. I started from nothing. Yeah, yeah. My paycheck. You know, it’s something you all supported last last year, and then this year. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:36
Thanks. Thanks for that clarification.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:42
We’re out of time. We

Unknown Speaker 1:04:44
aren’t but I don’t see any attorneys

Speaker 6 1:04:47
are supposed to. You’re gonna join a different team. Molly’s gonna log in, right? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:04:52
they need to beat you right now. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:57
There are people in the hall

Unknown Speaker 1:05:00
I have to get off of it

Transcribed by https://otter.ai