HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2016-09-13
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado September 13, 2016
Minutes of a Study Session meeting of the TOWN BOARD of the Town of
Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in the
Board Room in said Town of Estes Park on the 13th day of September,
2016.
Board: Mayor Jirsa, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Holcomb,
Martchink, Nelson, Norris and Walker
Attending: All
Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Assistant Town Administrator
Machalek, Town Attorney White, and Town Clerk Williamson
Absent: None
Mayor Jirsa called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
AGENDA SETTING POLICY.
Administrator Lancaster stated the current Town Board Governance Policy 105
Agendas was adopted January 2016 to outline the process and procedures for
preparing agendas. Staff uses the policy as directed by the Board to prepare the
agendas. It would be at the Board’s discretion to update or change the policy as
needed. Policy Governance was developed for non-profits and does not always
address the special needs of local government; therefore, policies need to be developed
to outline certain procedures.
Mayor Jirsa reviewed John Carver’s Policy Governance model which outlines the
Board’s role to do means. These means should be the responsibility of the Board, and
therefore, the Board’s agenda should be set by the Board and not the Town
Administrator or the staff. He reviewed the process utilized by the School Board in
which items from staff are forwarded to the Board for approval and reviewed with the
Superintendent before the Board Chair finalizes the agenda. The current policy
appears to be working but he questioned the Board linkage to the owners, the need to
focus on written Board policies and the written performance of the Administrator as the
key functions of the Board.
Discussion followed among the Board members and has been summarized: the current
agenda policy established has provided staff with the direction needed to produce an
agenda for the Board’s review prior to publication; information comes from many
sources and would be difficult for the Board to keep track of the needs and timeframes
for each item; and agenda items are placed on the agenda per the Board’s policy.
Mayor Jirsa suggested the Board should provide additional authority to the Town
Administrator to complete day-to-day activities. Mayor Pro Tem Koenig questioned the
intent of providing more authority to the Administrator; i.e. to streamline processes.
Further discussion was heard on the value of the study session meeting discussions
and the need to hold the meetings in the Board room in an effort to televise the
meetings. The Board agreed the seating arrangement in the Board room is not
conducive to roundtable discussions. Staff would evaluate the cost of adding cameras
to the upstairs meeting rooms and televising the meeting either live or record them for
future review by the community.
Town Board Study Session – September 13, 2016 – Page 2
POLICY GOVERNANCE MONITORING REPORT FORMS AND BOARD POLICIES
MONITORING PROCESS. Policy Governance was adopted by the Town Board in
2013, and per the policy, the Town Administrator must report on a regular basis their
compliance with the staff limitations outlined and adopted by the Town Board. Mayor
Jirsa has expressed some concern on the format of the reports as prepared and
recommended the Board revisit the format. The proposed revised report format would
include a statement of the policy, the Town Administrator’s interpretation of the policy,
data and evidence to support the Town Administrator’s statement of compliance, and a
report from the Town Administrator explaining the reasons for the report of
compliance/non-compliance. Currently the monitoring reports are reviewed under the
Town Administrator’s report and no formal action has been taken to approve the report
by the Board. The Board could formally accept each monitoring report through the
approval of a line item in the Consent Agenda or as an Action item. After further
discussion by the Board, it was agreed to move forward with the new report outlined
above and to have each report approved as a Consent Agenda item.
OFF CYCLE REQUESTS FOR FUNDING FROM OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS.
The Town has been approached during budget years from outside entities for financial
support outside of the normal budget cycle and without applying for funding through the
Community Service Grant process. Some of the requests are the result of opportunities
or issues that were not apparent at the time the budget was prepared. The Mayor
receives a number of requests throughout the year to fund local groups as well from the
Mayor’s contingency fund. The Board does not have a policy or process for responding
to these requests, which are handled on a case by case basis.
Board discussion followed and has been summarized: a policy or procedure on how to
address these requests would provide clarity for the Board and those requesting
funding; off cycle requests should only occur once and then the group should request
annual funding through the budget process; outlining the purpose of the Mayor’s
contingency fund would be beneficial in reviewing requests; having requests submitted
through the budget cycle provides the Board the ability to evaluate all requests at the
same time and determine how the request meets the Town’s goals and strategic plan;
and off cycle requests should be limited to emergency situations in the future.
Administrator Lancaster would forward a previously drafted policy for the Board’s review
TRUSTEE & ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS & QUESTIONS.
Trustee Walker presented an overview of the expenses versus revenues summary for
the Event Center for 2016 and proposed 2017. He stated the loss ratio appears to be
decreasing; however, the Center would never generate enough revenue to offset the
cost of operations. Mayor Pro Tem Koenig commented the Performa prepared for the
Center stated it would not break even.
Trustee Norris stated he would support the recent request of the Board to approve a
Resolution in support of Restoring Americas National Parks. This campaign would
advocate the federal government to allocate funding needed to address over $11.9
billion in deferred maintenance at National Parks throughout the United States. Staff
would provide a draft Resolution for the Board’s review. Mayor Jirsa would not support
the Resolution without specific details on where the funding would come from. Trustee
Walker would abstain as he has a concession agreement with the Park system.
Trustee Martchink commented the Town should bring forward the discussion of taxing
vacation homes at commercial property tax rates to the Colorado Municipal League
(CML) meeting on September 29, 2016. Trustee Norris stated the local
accommodations would support this change to bring equity to the industry. The change
would not impact the Town’s collection of property tax because of the low mill levy but
could make a significant impact for the special districts such as the School District. The
Board consensus was to bring the item forward at the CML meeting.
Town Board Study Session – September 13, 2016 – Page 3
Mayor Jirsa proposed the Board consider opening up the Board’s email for public
inspection on the Town’s website to provide further transparency. After further
discussion the Mayor requested staff review the issue further and set the item for a
future Study Session.
Mayor Jirsa stated he has been working with both Attorney White and Municipal Judge
Brown on establishing a performance review. He stated the review process would be
brought forward for the Board’s review at an upcoming meeting.
FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS.
Administrator Lancaster requested direction from the Board on the review process for
the upcoming Local Marketing District (Visit Estes Park) 2017 Operating Plan. The
Board consensus was to bring the item forward to the October 25, 2016 Town Board
meeting.
Sam Mamet/CML has requested to attend the December 13, 2016 Study Session to
update and discuss issues being addressed by CML. The Board concurred to add the
item to the agenda.
There being no further business, Mayor Jirsa adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m.
Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk