- PDF packet – 317 pages
- Meeting replay – 03:15:26
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.
Meeting Start
Council Member Sandgren and Mayor Pro Tem Bigelow were not in attendance. Council Member Acunto attended remotely.
According to the city manager, this was the last planning session before the new council members are sworn in. There are no scheduled council meetings during November.
Agenda
Briefings
E-470 Public Highway Authority Presentation
E-470 Executive Director Joe Donahue gave an informational presentation on the E-470 tollway.
E-470 is a self-funded program that does not use tax dollars.
Council Member Unrein noted that the toll rate has remained flat. Donahue stated a commitment to keep tolls affordable, perhaps even decreasing rates in the near future (26:15).
Some of the former toll plazas that were abandoned after the switch to cashless transactions are being converted to convenience stores.
State of the City event research
Staff reviewed nearby cities and how they program their state of the city events.
They grouped the events in three categories (page 35 in the packet): public engagement, business-centric, and balanced.
Local chambers of commerce co-sponsor some cities’ events. Some events are ticketed without any charge.
None of the event summaries noted time for questions from the audience.
Council Member Ayala spoke positively on those events that were more community-oriented as being in line with other Thornton events.
The Thornton Chamber of Commerce is thinking of hosting an event at a hotel if the city wants to partner with the chamber (42:09).
Mayor Kulmann praised how chambers of commerce do all or most of the logistical work for other cities’ events (43:15).
Ayala raised concerns that hosting at a hotel may not be accessible to all Thornton residents.
Kulmann described different purposes for different events: a community meeting is to get the community excited about the city, and a state of the city is to get the business community excited (49:42).
Note: The current format for Thornton’s community meetings is similar to a business conference where different departments sit at tables and attendees circulate with brief speeches at the start of the event (49:45).
Ayala points out that there are many Thornton businesses that don’t tend to show up to chamber events and encouraged outreach to make those events more accessible to a wider variety of businesses.
Thornton also hosts ward meetings where attendees can ask questions of their ward’s council members.
Thornton Shopping Center Redevelopment Update
The presenters noted tension between the site vision expressed by community members and the development that the market would support.
For example, new retail development could require rents that the local market would not support, at least not without public investment.
Council was presented with five development scenarios, two of which were recommended as achieving the best balance (options C and D on pages 47-48 in the packet): C is an experiential retail/entertainment + food hall + high density residential, and D is a hybrid town center, which has slightly more space for retail and less for housing.
These options are most closely aligned with the community input but also require the most city investment.
To make the site attractive to developers, housing must be included with the commercial. This will require amending the site’s zoning.
About 20% of the community input objected to any housing, but development will not be viable for developers without housing.
Council Member Ayala raised concerns that new development could price out current residents (1:45:09).
Introductory discussion regarding affordable (essential) housing assessment of the Development Code
Staff and a consultant presented on revisions to the new code to expand essential housing options in Thornton.
Page 120 in the packet provides details on affordability.
In Thornton, 25% of owners spend more than 30% of household income on housing and 9% spend more than 50%. 28% of renters pay more than 30% of income for housing, and 24% spend more than 50%.
A project website with community input offerings should be online in a week or two.
Council Member Martinez suggested that that one measure of success could be targeted at the lower end of the income spectrum.
Council Member Ayala encouraged the city to use space already within city limits and emphasize more walkable housing so that people do not have to drive far for grocery shopping.
Organizational Review Update
The proposal includes three assistant city manager positions as new functions in the city’s organization (see page 141 in the packet).
The proposal also recommends elevating the role of IT services in the organization.
The consultant report in the packet includes detailed department reorganizations, including “realigned” roles.
Page 152 in the packet lists key messages that include “In very rare cases, positions may be eliminated.”
Amendments to Council’s Rules of Order and Procedure
Page 305 lists a summary of proposed council meeting rules changes, including requiring audience participants to address council not staff or other audience members and regulations on signage that can be held by audience members.
Council also discussed moving council comments to after audience participation.
Council Member Ayala supported the move as it would give council members an opportunity to respond to concerns raised in audience participation.
Council Member Russell advocated to leaving the order as is so that people wanting to give testimony on public hearings would be able to do so earlier during the meeting (2:56:52).
Council Member Unrein supported the move of council comments to immediately after audience participation.
Consensus was to move the council comments but to hold the option of eliminating council comments in meetings with lengthy public hearings.
Thornton Civic Observatory 