Remarks by Josh Cooperman
56 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
“Council Member Cooperman? Just one very short follow-up. I think part of that is also just how it's written. Like somehow the feel of the current descriptions have more of what Council Member Kern was emphasizing, and somehow the feel of the proposed descriptions lack that.”
“Just ask a clarifying question. So when we met with the Library Board of Trustees, we talked about how their role has kind of shifted this last year since we hired Director Cummings. Would you say that the way that they are functioning now is consistent with what's written into the code or what is desired under the proposed description?”
“Yeah. I'm going to ask a question here that's a little bit more general but is somehow more explicit. So, in the note at the bottom of your proposed description, right, you talk about a resolution to advise duties and replace existing code sections. So, just trying to understand, right, so right now we have sections of our code which state duties for certain boards, but maybe not for all boards. So is the idea that if we went this route, we would sort of strip out of our code basically all that stuff, and it would only be in a resolution, which would then show up in the handbook. Is that the…”
“Okay. And you think the main reason for doing that is the added flexibility to change roles if it's a resolution?”
“Yeah, one little thing about the Planning Commission. On the ones on the current description, it says suggests municipal code amendments to the City Council and that seems to have been replaced with may initiate zoning ordinance or zoning map amendment request. Are those supposed to be? Commensurate or? Or is that change purposeful?”
“Member Cooperman. Just a very quick follow-up. I'm also curious about asking for feedback on the new role descriptions. I actually feel like when I was on the sustainability board, we certainly talked about our bylaws and I don't know if it was a formal description or sort of an informal description, but there were discussions of that when I was on the board.”
“First a comment. The description doesn't seem to say anything about senior services on either side of the new or the old. And then I guess we've had some, I think there's been some discussion about the possibility of combining PPLAB with RAB, which I'm potentially interested in doing. I feel like, I don't know where that leaves senior services and the senior center though. So I think that's something to try to figure out if we move in that direction.”
“I was just wondering, the proposed description doesn't seem to say anything about the projects that this board has typically worked on or the volunteer events that are referenced in the current description. Is that?”
“Could you just say a word about how you chose 6 p.m.?”
“I'm just wondering, how are you going to deal with people who are currently on boards but who might not be able to make the new schedule?”
“councilman Cooper yeah on the minimum age requirement I'm just curious about why you think we should have that I didn't seem like there was much in the staff report about that in particular and then on the recruitment expectations I can't remember, do we typically have some kind of event where people can come and learn about the boards and commissions?”
“Okay. Okay. And then one comment. I felt like we didn't actually really discuss the proposed work plan process, and I'm interested in discussing that further, but that's a large conversation.”
“Yeah. Let's see. So I guess I like a lot of the suggestions, you know, in particular to sort of have a matrix that sets out a lot of the work plan for boards and commissions. I guess I feel like, I don't know, I don't think council should get sort of too much into the weeds in a sense. I think to some extent our boards and commissions should have some independence. We've selected these people to be enthusiastic or have expertise in these particular areas and I feel like I don't want to constrain them too much. And so then some of the suggestions about approvals or approving subcommittees,…”
“I guess one other comment that hasn't really come up. You know, when I was on the sustainability board, especially in the later years, I felt like we were often providing feedback to staff on staff projects. And I actually think that's a very good role for the boards to have, to kind of be advisory to staff. And I don't know, I just don't see that reflected anywhere in the materials. I don't know how staff feels, but at least in this particular instance, I felt like staff was coming to us because they wanted our advice, not because we were demanding that staff bring their projects to us. So…”
“Council Member Cooperman. I was also going to ask questions about the program number increasing, but I'll ask a very different question. I'm just curious, how does the library foundation raise most of its funds?”
“Actually, I'd like to ask a follow-up question first, sort of coming off the mayor's comments and questions. So you're called the Library Board of Trustees rather than, say, the Library Advisory Board. I don't remember from our statutes and such, but is the Library Board of Trustees more formal than an advisory board? And could you clarify that for us?”
“I don't know if anyone from the board would like to sort of comment on whether... I mean, you said you're learning a lot about how library law works in Colorado and so forth. So, I don't know, do you have any... thoughts or concerns about how you're functioning as a board of trustees currently or not?”
“Yeah, I would absolutely echo what... Council Members Hamilton and Heffner just said. I just wanted to add, I mean, on point number two, I would say, like, one of the things we're looking for from you is advice on that. I mean, I feel like you all are much more qualified to to advise on where we need to invest or not to invest for the library. And so I would say, sort of in line with number three, you should really feel free to provide us with that information. And I, for one, am happy to have conversations about that. Or I think if you just want to send us memos or emails or anything like…”
“Let's see. A couple of smaller questions. So on the, there's the map that shows all the open space properties and it has the different designations of types of open space. Are those currently established or are those suggestions?”
“Okay. And then another question about a map. So there's one of the trails maps showing existing conditions again. It seems like it shows some bicycle lanes, but not all the bicycle lanes. So I was wondering, you know, is it supposed to show all bicycle lanes or are there certain ones that have been emphasized or like are there actually ones that are sort of designated as parts of trails? I'm just not sure.”
“Okay. That's helpful. Okay. And maybe... I don't know. Maybe that's all for now. Thank you.”
“Okay. I guess, first of all, I sort of share Council Member Hafner's concerns. I do think, though, that Council Member Fahey's comment helps to allay that to some extent. I wanted to make a few more specific comments. So reading through both the trails and the and the PROS plans or whatever you might call them. So, you know, we have our guiding principles, we have goals, strategies, action items, but then we also have places where there are themes and where there are priorities and where there are recommendations and where there are challenges and opportunities and next steps. I just feel…”
“I mean, I guess we never maybe made it explicit in our previous conversations, but I just sort of assumed all along that we would eventually this would come to us and we would vote on whether or not to adopt it. So, I don't know, I do like the sort of the certainty that a formal adoption would give to staff. I think, I don't know, maybe I just need to think a little bit more about that question. But at the moment, I do think it would be helpful to our staff if we considered it for adoption.”
“I mean, the Staff can correct me, but the way that I look at that map with the possible future connections is like we went out to the community and we asked them where they want to see connections. And then we tried to summarize that, and this is the summary of that engagement. And so I don't have any problem just showing that. I just would want to be very clear. This is the status of that map. These are things that are ideas that our community had. But to move forward with any of them, we'd have to go through that process of figuring out should we actually go through with any of these? Just…”
“Great. Thank you. First, I was just wondering, are there any sort of timing issues with construction of the infrastructure external to the site and the development of the site itself? Or is that not really within any purview that we're considering?”