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City Council <br />Special Meeting Minutes <br />October 8, 2013 <br />Page 4 of 12 <br />Susan Honstein, 727 Pine Street, Louisville, CO addressed the Conservation Trust <br />Open Space and Parks Fund and noted the purpose of the tax was for the acquisition of <br />open space, parks and trail. She suggested the City track those operational costs. <br />John Leary, 1116 LaFarge Avenue, Louisville, CO voiced his concern over the general <br />fund supplementing other funds. He noted the general fund can be used without <br />restrictions however other programs are funded by other sources and do have <br />restrictions. He stated it is the up to the Council's full discretion as there are no <br />ordinances or resolutions restricting the general fund. He stated the open space fund <br />and the historic preservation fund were not intended to cover the entire costs of the <br />programs, nor was it the will of the voters and it is not a matter for the City Manager and <br />the Planning Director to decide how the Historic Preservation Funds are spent. He <br />addressed the addition of two new police officers and stated there was no justification <br />for the request and there is no detail of the paving plan in the repaving budget. <br />Jean Morgan, 1131 Spruce Street, Louisville, CO sent a letter to Council relative to the <br />staff's failure to request the Historic Preservation Commission's input on the sale of the <br />grain elevator. The Historic Preservation Commission conducted a meeting to discuss <br />the use of HPC funds to pay the salaries of the Planning staff as they were not asked to <br />present a recommendation to the City Council. The budget proposes that HPC funds <br />be used to pay 70% of the salary for Planner I. She felt this position's time on historic <br />preservation be documented and the proposed projects be presented to help justify the <br />funding. She agreed the Open Space Tax was proposed for the acquisition of open <br />space and not for salaries, maintenance, underpasses, a new building and equipment. <br />She felt there should be a certain percentage set aside for open space land acquisition. <br />Aquiles La Grave, 379 Peerless Street, Louisville, CO, Historic Preservation <br />Commission member, addressed the budget proposal to use HPC Funds for 70% of the <br />salary of Planner I, 20% for the Senior Planner and 5% for the Administrative Assistant. <br />He compared the staffing levels for the City of Boulder's Historic Preservation <br />Administrative staff of 1.5 FTE to the City of Louisville's Historic Preservation <br />Administrative staff request of 1.34 FTE. He noted Boulder is five times larger than <br />Louisville and has over 600 properties landmarked or within historic districts, which <br />those 1.5 FTE employees support. He did not agree with the staffing request. <br />Planning Director Russ reported on conducting a special meeting with the Historic <br />Preservation Commission on the budget requests. The Commission requested four <br />issues be brought to the City Council's attention: 1) Clarification on the payback from <br />the Historic Preservation Fund to the General Fund for the grain elevator. The 2014 <br />budget reflects a $500,000 payback instead of $250,000. 2) Clarification on the cost <br />for facility maintenance for the Historic Museum and the Art Center out of HPC funds. 3) <br />Balancing the HPC demands on City staff versus Chapter 15.36. 4) The timing of board <br />input. <br />COUNCIL COMMENTS <br />