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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Family Advisory Board 2020-08-06Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, August 6, 2020 Minutes of a regular meeting of the Family Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held virtually on Google Meet, on the 6th day of August, 2020. Present: Rachel Balduzzi Laurie Dale Marshall John Bryant Jodi Roman Christy DeLorme Also Present: Cindy Younglund, Town Board Liaison Jason Damweber, Assistant Town Administrator Suzanna Simpson, Recording Secretary Absent: Nancy Almond Michael Moon Sue Strom Guests: Chris Douglas, EVICS Chair Dale Marshall called the meeting to order at 3:36 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None TRUSTEE LIAISON REPORT Trustee Younglund provided an update from the last Town Board meeting, including the vacancy on the Town Board and appointment of Scott Webermeier, Director Gonzales providing a variance update and that the Town Board approved fee waivers for a workforce housing project. Assistant Town Administrator provide an additional update on the variance, given the recent news that it is no longer in jeopardy. Additionally, he encouraged the board to view the dashboard on Larimer County’s website. APPROVAL OF JULY MEETING MINUTES: It was moved and seconded (Roman/Bryant) to approve the July meeting minutes (with spelling correction) and the motion passed unanimously. **Upon further review after the Family Advisory Board – August 6, 2020 – Page 2 meeting it was noted and agreed by Chair Dale Marshall that no spelling correction was needed REVIEW OF CHILDCARE FUNDING GUIDELINES Assistant Town Administrator Damweber presented the draft policy for childcare funding guidelines for both capital and non-capital funds to the board. His recommendation was for the Family Advisory Board to vote formally to support the guidelines in order to present it to the Town Board with this level of support. Member Roman stated that she feels encouraged by the policy and appreciates the work. Discussion took place around the funding deadline and how it would be more advantageous to provide flexibility. Further discussion took place on the availability of funding for in-home providers and concern about the level of financial documentation required, which may exclude them. Assistant Town Administrator Damweber does not think that the guidelines were designed for in- home providers, but does not want to exclude them, and agrees with the concern. It was suggested to put a caveat in the document regarding financial documentation and distinguishing between a larger entity and an in-home provider. More discussion took place regarding assurance that capital funds would be used specifically for childcare needs. Chair Dale Marshall asked if it would be possible for the Estes Valley Childcare Collaborative to review these items that need more work. Assistant Town Administrator Damweber will amend the statement to the Town Board regarding Family Advisory Board support by saying that they are in support of the guidelines rather than having the Family Advisory Board take a formal vote. He will work with Chair Dale Marshall and make revisions to the document and send it back to the board for review prior to the Town Board submission. REVIEW & DISCUSSION OF DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS The board discussed the draft recommendation to pivot the focus of the group to a more community-based advisory board rather than keeping the focus on families. Chris Douglas offered the suggestion of changing it to the Community and Family Advisory Board. Chair Dale Marshall reiterated that the work of the board will not change. Trustee Younglund and the board discussed the advantages of using both “community” and “family” together and the board is in support of this recommendation. The second recommendation is the Childcare Funding Guidelines which were previously discussed and the board supports this recommendation. The third recommendation is to keep the Community Initiative Funding at the 2020 level. The board feels this is vital to ensuring there are no gaps in services provided to community. Assistant Town Administrator Damweber added that given the budget concerns, he feels that it is an appropriate step for the Family Advisory Board to make this statement. Family Advisory Board – August 6, 2020 – Page 3 The fourth recommendation was an endorsement to participate in the Safe Space sticker campaign, which is not yet complete and not in a place to make the recommendation. Chair Dale Marshall expects this to be ready in September and will keep the board posted. It was moved and seconded (Bryant/Roma) to accept the Family Advisory Board recommendations one and three with the addition of the word “Family” to recommendation one, and the motion passes unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Member Bryant led the discussion regarding the school board’s announcement on cloud- based learning. He shared that he has been contacted by the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club regarding possible cohort options to assist parents. Chris Douglas stated that EVICS is interested in joining the discussion and Member DeLorme is also interested. Chair Dale Marshall asked Member Bryant to keep the Family Advisory Board in the loop to help engage in the problem-solving. Member Bryant also added that this year’s cloud- based program will be more structured than what was available in the spring, expecting students to be engaged for more hours throughout the day. OTHER BUSINESS: Seeing no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Family Advisory Board will take place Thursday, September 3 at 3:30 p.m. The format will be virtual through the Town’s Zoom account. Suzanna Simpson, Recording Secretary