Click on the agenda item in the menu to the right of the video to go to that part of the playback.
While the summary below is intended to be fair, it may contain errors and is ultimately one person’s interpretation. All interested parties are encouraged to view the relevant portions of the meeting recording to come to their own conclusions.
The summary is not comprehensive but notes highlights from the session.
All members of council were present for the 4/29 meeting.
Public Finance Tools
Carolynne White of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP presented on economic development tools the city could use.
She started the presentation by noting that development projects can only succeed when compromise is reached among all stakeholders and that development must generate revenue for the city.
White described how urban renewal laws originally could be used to create affordable housing but that federal funding for such housing ended in the 1970s, leaving state and local governments responsible for funds (21:17).
She defined blighted areas as those that consume more city resources than they contribute.
[Commentary: This raises a question not considered in the presentation: How much revenue from development stays within the city vs. getting funneled outward and upward?]
White explained that Urban Renewal Authorities have bond authority that is exempt from TABOR votes.
Council Member Russell asked who makes the determination of a municipality’s primary business district under a Downtown Development Authority (DDA). He also asked whether a DDA can be created for an area that is planned to be a central business district in the future.
White answered that the city council makes the determination. She reported that several Colorado DDAs have been formed on the premise of a future location for central business.
According to the city manager, this presentation was connected to the “vibrant and purposeful development” language in the city council’s strategic plan.
Organizational Review
The Blackline consulting firm was hired from among 15 competitive bidders to provide an assessment of the city’s organizational structure.
The firm’s representative explained that they will be interviewing council members in May.
The firm plans to share its recommendations in August.
The presentation and question-and-answer were focused on the big picture. The city manager does mention potential “restructuring” and “consolidation” (1:04:57), but there were no concrete indicators of how many city jobs could be eliminated.
Update on Healthy Farmers Markets
The update was presented by a group of city and Adams county staff.
The funds the county has for produce vouchers are from COVID relief funding and will be spent after 2026. There are no current funds available for staffing of markets in 2025.
The county is conducting a study for future options for markets.
The presentation proposed two options: 5 partial day markets hosted at various Adams County locations with no funding required from Thornton or 5 partial day markets hosted in Thornton if the city can fund $19,443 for staffing. The second option would also provide 13 weekly pre-packaged boxes available for pickup.
The city funding would be allocated from reductions and savings to be identified elsewhere in the city’s recreation department budget for contract services. No specific cuts have been identified yet.
Multiple council members raised concerns about the city taking on funding responsibility for human services that could be seen as the county’s responsibility.
Staff reported that the markets have traditionally served mostly a Thornton population since the program started in 2018.
Council Member Sandgren called the proposal a “threat” to remove markets from Thornton if the city did not pay for staffing which the city has not previously paid for.
An county representative explained that different municipalities have reached out to the county regarding expanding markets in their locations and that the county would be request staffing funds from those municipalities.
Council Member Russell asked why volunteers couldn’t cover the staffing. Staff explained that the program currently uses many volunteers but that it hasn’t been able to get volunteers to stay the entire time from set-up throughout clean-up. Staff noted that current volunteers are older adults and that set-up required heavy physical labor.
Council reached consensus to move ahead with the staffing option.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Staff presented draft language for proposed values for the city government, seeking feedback from the council:
- Trust
- Collaboration
- Dedication
- Excellence
Definitions are available in the PDF packet linked at the start of this post.
The council was favorable to the proposed language.
General Updates from City Manager
The city hall first floor bathrooms are once again open and operational
The new police chief, Jim Baird, will be sworn in at the 5/27 council meeting.
The city will be launching a new promotion campaign encouraging drivers slow down to avoid accidents and injuring pedestrians.
Staff briefed council on the media and promotion plan for the virtual town hall scheduled for 5/14 at 7 pm. Questions can be submitted here.
The city will be boosting ads for the town hall on Facebook, Instagram, and Next Door. The city reported good engagement on Next Door.
Thornton Civic Observatory 