HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2013-04-23Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, April 23, 2013
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD STUDY SESSION
of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at
Town Hall in Rooms 202/203 in said Town of Estes Park on the 23rd
day of April, 2013.
Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Blackhurst, Trustees Elrod,
Ericson, Koenig, Norris, and Phipps
Attending: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Blackhurst, Trustees Elrod,
Ericson, Koenig, Norris, and Phipps
Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Assistant Town Administrator
Richardson, Town Attorney White, and Deputy Town Clerk
Deats
Absent: None
Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS.
Development Plan Review Process – Discussion of this topic scheduled for June 11,
2013, will include the sequence of the review process and changing or adding to the
application during the review process.
Discussion on the Evaluation of Special Events on May 14, 2103, will focus on an
analysis of special events related to event costs and benefits to ensure the Town is
receiving the best value for its dollar. An Overview of the Draft Economic Development
Report received from Downtown Colorado, Inc., will be added to the May 14th agenda.
Assistant Town Administrator Richardson will report on this agenda item.
A Special Town Board Study Session will be held on May 23, 2013, for discussion of
Strategic Initiatives and review of community feedback on “visioning”.
TOWN BOARD MEETING PROCEDURES/TOOL BOX.
• Policy 102 – Town Committees
The Board reviewed Policy 102 – Town Committees which was revised based on
discussion at the April 9, 2013, Town Board Study Session. Section 102.4.3
Recruitment was discussed. Town Administrator Lancaster pointed out that at
times recruitment is necessary when committee members with specific skills or
knowledge are needed, as is the case with the composition of the Board of
Appeals. The Trustees concurred that outreach and encouragement of members
of the community to serve on boards and committees may occur, however, it
should be made clear that the encouragement does not imply the individual will
be selected for the appointment. Section 102.4.3.4 Eligibility was discussed.
The Trustees requested that the age limitation and the word “legal” be removed
when defining eligibility, and discussed the Board’s ability to appoint an individual
to multiple committees. Related to Section 102.4.4 Selection Process, Trustee
Koenig suggested that the policy state that the Town shall have a defined
screening procedure in place and proposed that those selected to serve on the
interview team be allowed to establish a written process and selection criteria for
each specific situation. Applicants for committees and boards will be notified
promptly of their application status related to appointments. The word “conflict”
will be substituted for the word “diverge” in Section 102.1.18.1; and Colorado
Statute will be referred to in Section 102.4.19.1 instead of a specific dollar
amount as this amount can be changed by the legislature. Town Administrator
Lancaster will re-write the policy to include the Trustees’ comments.
• Policy 103 – Town Board Procedures & Tool Box
Town Board Study Session – April 23, 2013 – Page 2
The format of the document was updated and a timeframe related to the Motion
to Reconsider was added. The Motion to Reconsider may only be utilized at the
same meeting action was taken.
Mayor Pinkham called for a break for dinner at 5:08 pm.
The meeting resumed at 5:20 p.m.
POLICY GOVERNANCE II – BOARD/STAFF LINKAGES.
This section of the Policy Governance model focuses on Board/Staff linkages and
defines the Board’s expectations of the Town Administrator and the Town Attorney,
including how the Board will measure those expectations. The policy states that the
Town Administrator is the Board’s official link to the operation of departments of the
Town Government and staff. The policy outlines responsibilities delegated to the Town
Administrator and states the Administrator may make decisions within the limitations
that have been set by the Board. Discussion related to changing these limitations
should be brought up by a Board member at a Town Board study session. In addition,
the policy emphasizes that individual Board members do not have authority over the
Administrator but rather the Administrator is bound by majority decisions of the Board of
Trustees. The Trustees discussed the timing of annual reviews of the Administrator and
Town Attorney and their desire for these evaluations to be completed prior to the April
election timeframe. The evaluation shall include items outlined in Section 2.3.7. Town
Administrator Lancaster provided the Board with a sample of an internal monitoring
report which utilized a traffic light format with green indicating compliance, yellow
indicating problem areas or partial compliance, and red indicating non-compliance.
Policy 2.4 deals with the ethical obligations of the Town Attorney and coincides with the
Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys. An evaluation of the Town
Attorney will be performed annually in February.
The Board discussed how to handle differing opinions related to compliance, job
descriptions, and the upcoming classification and compensation study. Trustee Elrod
noted that attention should be paid to any changes in policy that may affect the
Municipal Code.
DISCUSS PROCESS FOR EVALUATION OF TOWN ADMINISTRATOR.
Town Administrator Lancaster said the Policy Governance document addresses
evaluation of the technical side of the Town Administrator position, but that there is also
a behavioral, or relationship aspect that is more subjective. He said the Board will need
to make a decision as to how to evaluate this and provided the Trustees with a copy of
the evaluation form utilized for Town staff holding supervisory positions. The Trustees
discussed utilizing 360 reviews, surveys, and evaluation forms as part of the Town
Administrator evaluation process. Following discussion it was determined that Trustees
Koenig and Norris would work together to create a draft evaluation process and bring it
back to the full Board for consideration at an upcoming Study Session. Mayor Pro Tem
Blackhurst said he would provide Trustees Koenig and Norris with information he
compiled when researching evaluations in the past. Mayor Pinkham said once a
process is decided upon and individual evaluations are completed by the Trustees, an
executive session will be scheduled to allow the Trustees to discuss the evaluation, and
then share the evaluation results with Town Administrator Lancaster. This will most
likely occur on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. It was noted that this is a performance
evaluation and it is not necessarily connected to additional compensation.
Compensation as it relates to the Town Administrator’s review is a separate issue and is
strictly at the pleasure of the Board.
There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:15 p.m.
Cynthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk