Good morning, everyone.

Uh welcome to the Finance and Business Committee.

There might have been a little quick little switch up there, just so you know that's what if you are tuning in, that's what you're tuning in to right now is uh Finance and Business Committee today on Tuesday, July 14th.

And my name is Sedana Gonzalez Gutierrez, I'm one of your council members at large and also chair of the committee.

We are going to start off with council member introductions, and then we will get into what's on today's agenda.

So with that, I will start over here to my left, and then I know we have virtual participation as well.

Um actually let's start with virtual participation.

Is Councilwoman Lewis online?

Okay, we'll start to my left.

Good morning, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver, District 4.

Good morning, Paul Cashman, South Tendry, District 6.

Good morning, Garrett Watson, fine district nine.

Good morning, Amanda Sanibon, Northwest Denver District 1.

All right.

Um thank you, everyone.

We do have a packed agenda that we are anticipating.

We may need to go over to for today's committee, which uh notice was given.

Uh the first action item that we have up today is regarding the decision on the North Sorry, Broadway Park North Metro District number one.

And I want to just give a disclaimer so that everyone is on the same page here.

So today's item differs from most committee action items because there is no resolution attached to this request, right?

So we're not getting any recommendations from any city agencies.

What we are being provided is simply information.

But that is because the decision to grant or deny a property tax exemption, which is what we are here to discuss today, is solely the decision of city council, and no resolution can be drafted until this committee provides initial drafting guidance to the city attorney's office.

As such, instead of asking for a motion to approve sending this to the full council, we will be asking that a motion with a recommendation of approval or denial of the property tax exemption be sent to the floor.

That is the decision that we is before us today.

It's not whether or not the space itself should exist, right?

This decision does not bind council members who sit in this committee or council as a whole to this decision, but rather it acts as an initial guidance to the city attorney's office to draft a resolution to be filed.

And again, that decision is whether or not to deny uh or to approve or deny.

A member that disagrees with this committee's decision is encouraged to reach out to our legislative services and legislative council team to draft an amendment to the resolution that would result in a different recommendation than what this committee approves.

If a legal guidance, if legal guidance is required for council members today, the committee will enter into an executive session to receive that privileged advice and then return to committee to continue our policy deliberations in public and vote.

So just to be very clear where those lines are drawn.

And again, we are not deciding on whether or not the space itself should exist.

We are talking about the tax exemption solely.

We will have public comment today, 15 minutes, and so that will follow the presentation, and then we will go into questions from council members and continue that business.

So with that said, I will turn it over to our folks at the end of the table.

You could please introduce yourselves and proceed with your presentation.

Council members, I will take a cue from all of you, but then we will get to those after the public comment portion.

Thank you.

My name is Josh Bushner.

I'm the commercial manager in the Denver County Assessors Office.

And I'm Jonathan Norloff.

I'm the Denver County Assessor.

Thank you all for being here today.

I'll uh go through my presentation rather quickly.

Um we're here today to discuss a property tax exemption resolution request.

Uh some quick background.

This is based on House Bill 251289, which went into effect last year.

Uh deals with metropolitan district leases and property tax exemptions, and uh lease property requested for property tax exemptions.

Uh just a reminder the assessor's office locates appraises and records all of Denver's real and personal properties in accordance with the Colorado Constitution, state statutes, and Board of Equalization Procedures.

Uh quick overview of House Bill 25 1289.

It was a bipartisan bill that created new requirements for privately owned real estate lease to metropolitan districts seeking a property tax exemption.

Generally, property was used for a public purpose as leased by a governmental entity as exempt from paying property taxes for that portion of the property used for public purpose.

House Bill 251289 increased required transparency and closed a property tax loophole such that if board members of a metropolitan district also own the underlying property being leased to the metropolitan district.

Certain information must be shared with the city and city council will determine whether the leases are being used for a public purpose or not, and thus subject to property taxation or not.

The new law requires information be provided whenever a conflict arises, they must provide the metro district's use of the leased property, the metro district's authority to use the leased property for metro district purposes, any use of the leased property by a private person for private purposes, and written disclosures by members of the Metro District District's board of directors for any potential conflicts of interest.

The process, once a legally sufficient statement is filed by the Metro District, the assessor's office has 14 days to submit the statement to city council.

City Council has 63 days from receipt of the statement to issue a written decision, including findings of fact and a conclusion as to whether the leased property is used for public purpose.

And the assessor's office sent uh this information to City Council on June 26th.

The exemption review process, any exemption granted will be reviewed by the assessor's office annually.

The exemption remains valid as long as the exempt use exists.

And if the exempt use ends before the end of the lease term, the exemption will go away as well.

Council's decision provides no private right of action to the property owner and is not subject to appeal.

And the reason we're here today is a property tax exemption request for the parcel located at 363 South Broadway.

It's known as Broadway Bark.

It's being used as a dog park.

The 2025 actual value on the property is 4,110,100.

Leases between Broadway Park Metro District No.

and BMP Northwest LLC.

Lease was entered into on November 10th, 2023 for a one-year term, continued on a year-to-year basis with 60-day written notice to terminate by either side.

Considerations being paid of $1 per year.

The amount of the tax exemption based on the 2025 value and the Denver mills as well as the mills for the Broadway Metro District amount to just over 160,000.

And the statement was submitted to the assessor's office detailing the conflicts of interest, the board members that disclose an interest in the property, BMP Northwest LLC, Warren P.

Cohen, James S.

Frank, and Daniel M.

Cohen.

This is just an aerial view of the subject property.

And a quick history.

Waste bags were stocked at the time of the visit.

The site did appear to be fully sprinklered, although there was no grass at the time, which is not surprising.

It's very difficult to keep grass in the dog park.

This is just an excerpt from the Metro District's service plan, which does grant them to write the right to authorize parks and recreation improvements.

And then site visit photos, signage, fence, lighting, benches, shaded areas, the additional fenced area, and just side of the sprinklers.

Um saving the park or keeping the park open, and they did have signage along the fence with the QR code so they could go to the website.

Uh legislative timeline uh is detailed here.

Uh we're on the second one, July 14th.

Um, and then the resolution uh should go to council by July 27th.

And the final deadline is August 24th, based on the 63-day timeline.

That's the end of my presentation.

All right, thank you so much um for the information.

Uh we have 15 minutes for public comment on this matter.

All speakers will have two minutes and should begin the remarks by telling the council their names and who you are representing.

Uh and if you are able to provide you know where you live in City and County of Denver, if you have signed up to answer questions only, state your name and note that you are available for questions of council.

Speakers will have two minutes.

Uh speakers must stay on the topic at hand and must direct their comments to the committee as a whole.

Please refrain from profane or obscene speech and refrain from individual or personal attacks.

Um we have a list of folks signed up, and so it will be 15 minutes total running for public comment.

So if we don't get to you, um I will switch over to get to our queue here.

And first uh person that we have signed up in person is Caitlin Braun.

Is Caitlin Brawn here?

Please uh walk up to the microphone, please.

Hello.

My name is Caitlin Braun.

I'm the executive director of the Broadway General Improvement District, and I'm also a Baker resident.

Um board voted unanimously to support the exemption for the Broadway Bark Park.

So I wanted to also come to speak in person today.

I'll keep it brief because I know a lot of people want to speak.

Um, and though our park the park is not in our district, but an adjacent one, it's a huge huge asset to the corridor and the community overall.

Um it's a deliberate community investment.

It's well built and well run, and I have visited the park and seen people not just who live there but from all over the neighborhood and beyond who gather there daily.

They know one another by name, they know the dogs by name, um, and I've also been invited to a really big WhatsApp group where people um communicate daily, build friendships, and find dog sitters, which is really cool.

Um, I know a lot of people sign leases there, and also um at the neighborhood at large because of the park.

I know that Daily Park is also safer because of this dog park before there was a lot of off-leash dogs in Daily Park, and we couldn't grow grass there.

So there was a huge investment to make Daily Park better.

Um, and it was kind of run down because of the dogs that were loose there, and that's gotten a lot better because of this dog park where people can safely bring their dogs to play off leash.

Um, and all of that, uh, the JID understands that like activated open spaces are really necessary in a thriving community.

We want to see more of that as an improvement district, and I think that this model is a really good example of what we could do with other vacant spaces, and it would be really um interesting to us as a district if this model could be replicated for other places that are a blight on our community right now.

So I would encourage you guys to uphold um what D4 is doing with this space and also maybe streamline the process for future uh districts to make this easier and not need this kind of hearing every time um to do something that improves the communities instead of making it you know hearing by hearing.

Um that's all thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Dan Cohen.

Uh good morning.

My name is Dan Cohen.

I'm a district board member and an owner in the property.

The question before you today is simple.

Does a park serve a public purpose?

Denver itself operates hundreds of parks.

More than a thousand residents petitioned for the reinstatement of the tax exemption on this one, and the surrounding ROs all provided support letters.

The answer should be self-evident.

We invested several hundred thousand dollars to build this amenity to provide a community benefit, and because the exemption existed.

Economically, the park is awash.

Operations and maintenance are funded by additional taxes on our own surrounding property, and the tax exemption provides some offset to that cost.

Without the exemption, there is no park.

The conflict of interest disclosure that triggered this review is what built the roads, the utilities and open spaces in this area, enabling over a thousand units of housing and paid for by our taxes, so the city didn't have to.

What is concerning here is the city's process.

All information the assessor's office requested from us, it already had available to it.

Rather than alerting us of a gap, it simply revoked the exemption.

The deeper flaw here is structural, and you can fix it.

The statute expressly allows this council to appoint a designee.

So these determinations can be handled administratively against clear published criteria.

Is there a private use?

Is the space open to the public?

Is the use uh authorized for the district to provide it?

Instead, every exemption now faces a political hearing after the investment is already made.

Certainty is what creates these spaces, uncertainty guarantees they're never built.

I asked two things today.

Affirm the reinstatement of the tax exemption and designate an administrative pathway with clear criteria so Denver keeps getting these spaces instead of losing them.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Next is Valerie Wilson.

Well, hello, everybody.

Um, my name is Valerie Wilson, and I live directly next to the Broadway Park with my two-year-old dog Dave.

I don't do this very often, so I apologize for my banter.

Um I live as a single income household, and with Denver's rent rising, the cost of living increasing.

Um, I have to work well over 40 hours a week just to maintain my home and provide for Dave as well, including giving him proper exercise.

And it's really difficult.

Um, but the Broadway Park gives Dave um a safe place to exercise, socialize, and simply just be a dog.

Um for me, this park is not just a convenience, it is a part of how I responsibly care for him.

But what I did not expect was how much this park would also be taking care of me.

Outside of work, I honestly do not have much of a social life.

Uh my schedule makes it difficult to regularly see my longtime friends or family.

Um, the people I have met at the Broadway Park are often the people I see the most.

They know me, they know Dave.

Everybody knows Dave, but um, and they notice when we're not there.

Um we check on one another, share advice, laugh together, and look for each other's dogs.

This park has given me a sense of community that I did not realize I was missing.

In a city where so many people are working long hours just to afford to stay, shared spaces like the Broadway Park matter.

They bring together renters, homeowners, families, single adults, and people who otherwise may never have met.

It is made a large and increasingly expensive city feel more like a neighborhood and more like home.

I'm asking you to please support the property tax exemption and help preserve the Broadway bark when considering this decision.

Please do not only see a piece of property or a financial issue, please see the people, animals, friendships, and community that exists every day in a large city.

Losing this oh, yeah, sorry.

Next up is Janet Namcom.

Hi everyone, my name is Janet Namcung.

I'm a daily user of the um Broadway Park, and I want to share that my partner and I very intentionally chose to live in the area because sit because it sits right next to the park.

We have three beautiful high-energy dogs who love to play, and on average we spend about two hours a day there.

Without exaggeration, it is the center of our lives.

But here's the thing I didn't expect.

They don't just go to play with the other dogs, they go to greet the humans who've become their surrogate parents at the park.

Neighbors who know their names, their quirks, which one needs a minute to warm up, and have the same relationship with their dogs as well.

That's what Broadway Park actually built, not just the dog park, a neighborhood.

Um, in under two years, it's become a real community infrastructure when a couple who were regulars were in uh a serious car accident, the park community organize and raise funds for their care.

We watch each other's dogs, we check on each other, we know our neighborhoods, which is really not a common thing in urban areas anymore.

As of yesterday, 1,700 people have signed the petition that happened in a matter of weeks.

That number should really tell y'all something, and that I'm not alone in what this park means to us.

Many residents have said plainly that if it closes, that they will move out of the area.

In terms of numbers, that might be helpful.

Dunfort Denver has more dogs and children, roughly 160,000 dogs versus 140,000 kids.

Half of Denver residents have a dog, only 20% have children under the age of 18.

And yet the city has 13 off-leash parks covering just about 15 acres, concentrated in the northern half of the city.

The city's own dogmaster dog park master plan names that South Denver is very underserved, and that's exactly where we are, Broadway Park, one block away from the Alameda Light Rail Station.

As housing costs rise, and more of us live in apartments without yards, shared off-leash uh space isn't a luxury.

It's basic neighborhood infrastructure.

So the question before you is narrow is this land used for Republicans?

Thank you so much, Janet, for your comments.

Next, we're going to go virtually uh to Jordan Bentley.

And Jordan, um there will not be a timer on this on the screen for you.

I apologize, but I will give you a 30-second warning.

Okay.

That that sounds good.

I think I can keep it pretty short.

Um, I appreciate the opportunity to speak.

So first, I just like to say I live like a seven-minute drive away from the park.

So it's not, you know, I'm not in one of the buildings directly next to it.

Uh I go just about every day.

I've lived in Denver for about seven years now.

I've been to uh Cheeseman, I've been to Wash Park a ton.

I don't know of any other third space that creates the type of community that Broadway Bar does.

So I mean, I know like 15 to 20 people that I would consider friends just from going there all the time.

Uh and I'll share an interaction that happened just in the past few days of like the type of community that this place builds.

So I am working on breaking in to tech sales.

So I I'm currently employed, but not in that industry.

One of the guys I know there, Mike, had unfortunately he's a software engineer who got laid off recently.

So yeah, I shared some resources I found to be helpful as far as like the interview process and all that stuff.

Um Friday, I just so happened to meet a guy who used to work at the company that I'm interviewing with.

And so he's sharing advice for me.

Um, telling me about you know what I can expect, what other companies might be good to look at.

So that's just a a random interaction that I've had recently.

But uh I think it's safe to say like that type of thing.

37 seconds.

Thank you.

Um, and yeah, I I you know, as far as like the validity of it being a park or not, I can't imagine that interaction ever happening at like cheese bed.

So um again, I appreciate the opportunity to speak.

Thank you so much.

Um next uh and final person signed up is Sarah Guthrie.

Hey there, my name is Sarah Guthrie.

Thank you all for your time and letting us come speak today, and thank you to the Coens and landowners uh for making this investment in the community.

Uh similar to the other testimony, I would just simply like to share my personal story about how this uh park impacts us and is really enriching the community.

I live in the apartment complex called Cortland uh next to the dog park.

I move there mainly for the dog park next door.

I have a large 80-pound two-year-old dog and a small 10-pound 12-watt dog.

Um, and the the members of the dog park help me train my dog.

Basically, the large one can be a little bit difficult.

Um, and the whole community that within the park um helps me with with both my dogs.

Uh, they've become great friends.

And um, Janet, who's sitting over here, she actually took me to the emergency room one morning whenever I had a health episode and I was able to call her.

Um, and so we make great friends, both the dogs are friends and the humans are friends.

Um, and my life in particular, it's been so substantially enriched from this park and the community and the people who inhabit it.

So I I would hope or my ask of the council is that you would please affirm the uh tax exemption so that the landowners can continue to provide for our community.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Um, I'll ask the room since we have a few minutes left of the 15-minute total time.

Is there anyone else here present that would like to speak to this matter?

Okay, not seeing anyone.

Great.

Um, council members, there is an open queue, and so we will go to questions from council, starting with uh council pro tem Romero Campbell.

Uh thank you, Madam Chair.

Um, in the presentation, you mentioned, and I had missed this in the briefing that there's lighting that has been set up by the property owner to keep the dog park open.

Okay, and then what are the hours of the dog park?

Uh I don't I didn't see any hours posted.

I don't know.

Okay.

I think it's right now.

You have to come up to the microphone.

Sorry.

If you could come up to the microphone and please state your name.

Thank you.

Dan Cohen.

Uh right now, I believe hours of operation are 8 a.m.

to either 7 p.m.

or 8 p.m.

It's eight to eight.

Eight to eight.

Thank you.

Um well, just one more question.

And is that seven days a week?

Yes.

Okay.

And the lights go on.

They're on a solar timer.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you, Gatela.

Okay, thank you.

Councilwoman Albidas.

Thank you so much.

And thank you to everyone that came to testify and all those who have put in work to share why this is important.

I will say to my colleagues, this is a very important part of our district.

The part about Daily Park in particular, there's a lot of people with small children that don't feel comfortable with dogs running around, and we don't have a lot of parks.

We have beautiful Washington Park nearby, which is very populated, and also still people don't want dogs just running around the park at all times.

So I just wanted to share from the district seven perspective, this park is really important to the neighbors.

Um close and far.

And I know that some of the petition signers come from other districts as well.

Um because now that we have gotten so much attention and so much love for the park, um, my concern is one day it will eventually close, right?

That is the long-term plan.

And so to just want to name that and name what the long-term park goals are for the district.

Sure, yeah.

Ultimately, uh again, Dan Cohen.

Uh ultimately the infrastructure master plan that the the city has approved identifies this as a development parcel.

When we invested in the infrastructure to create the park, the timeline for development was unknown.

It remains unknown today.

That was three years ago that we started the design and implementation of the park.

It is very likely that it will be at least several more years, potentially five years, ten years that this site will develop.

Uh so you know that that sort of gives you the the time frame.

And there's also a long-term plan to have parks in the district, correct?

Absolutely.

Yeah, the infrastructure master plan identifies a whole open space program.

I think what's unique about this, we delivered another open space that's adjacent to it.

It's a hardscape plaza.

This was an opportunity on a vacant development parcel to turn it into a park that has a community benefit in the inner room while that future use remains to be determined.

I appreciate that.

Thank you very much.

That's all I had.

Um thank you.

And just to the assessor, um, you when you went, um, it was completely public and open use, is that correct?

That was what you observed.

Wonderful.

Awesome.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Thank you, committee chair.

Thank you, councilwoman.

Council President Sandoval.

Thank you.

Um, I don't have any questions, it's questions and comments, right?

I I appreciate everyone coming here.

I love hearing about dog parks.

We are in a budget deficit.

I don't feel comfortable taking 160,000 from our coffers for one entity to get a dog park because of a state statute.

That can pay for someone's job in the city.

That can pay for someone in community planning development to review the plans.

I because I feel like this sets a precedent, so I just want everyone to hear me.

I'll be a no going throughout this whole entire process as long as this they as long as this will come.

I will not, even if it comes in my council district.

If there is a entity that comes and tries to get property taxes that don't come into our coffers in the in Denver, I will be in I don't support this.

I I don't like it.

I it's taking money from the residents.

Um, and I just disagree with that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council President Sandoval.

Any back in the queue.

Councilman Alvides, go ahead.

Um can you speak to where the tax dollars that would be paid would go and what that looks like?

The it's broken up into two parts.

The Denver Mills, which is for 2025 is about 88,000.

That just goes in public schools.

I mean, what you see on the the normal which is broken down to different um and then the Broadway metro mills go back to the metro district itself.

And then one more question is looking backwards.

This was already a tax exemption before this law passed, correct?

It was exempt partially in 2023 when the lease was signed from that date going forward, and then it was exempt on all of 2024.

All of 2024.

And so this is for 2025 that we're looking for.

This would be retroactive for 2024.

Which it was understood by the landowner to be tax exempt until this law passed, correct?

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

I appreciate that.

Thank you, committee chair.

Thank you.

Um wanting to make sure that nobody else has questions.

Okay.

I have uh just a few questions real quick on that front.

Um so really quick on the the exemption or because of the law that passed.

Um just trying to better understand.

So every year, we can you remind everybody every year this process will need to happen for tax exemption, or is it in?

This is a one-time.

If an exemption is granted, we internally, the assessor's office will just verify that the use is still in place and the exemption will continue on until the use changes.

Okay.

But you will not have to vote on this ever again.

Gotcha.

Well, I don't want to.

If I guess if it were denied and something else were to change, but it's it's a one-time thing.

Okay.

Um and so that is so the the assessor your folks, you go out to the property.

How do you have a timeline when you well Dan's been kind enough to uh be in touch with our office regularly?

I mean, I would just shoot him an email and say, can I get an updated copy of a lease and my drive by?

I mean, we have a number of properties that are exempt that we keep an eye on.

And additionally, we status property at the beginning of the year, all properties, so it would be part of that check too, just as an overall for the whole county.

Okay.

And can you remind me how much again you just said to Councilman Alvidres, how much goes back to the Metro District?

Uh for 2025, the Metro District would have been about 71,840.

Okay.

And Dan, would you be the right person to talk to from the Metro District?

Yes.

And ask you just a quick question.

Sure.

Um, what's the total amount?

Do you know can you tell us like the total amount that you all get in your taxes as a metro district from your residents?

Uh the well, the taxes are generated from our properties, not not just residential properties, but also commercial properties in the area.

I don't have the total figure.

Uh I would like to provide one clarification, the the portion of the taxes that are specific to the district.

So I think it was 88,000 that the is the is the portion that's exempt from the city's perspective.

The district portion 71,000 or so.

We we actually are paying a payment in lieu of taxes.

The private ownership is to the district.

So that portion of the exemption for all intents and purposes is not being enjoyed, so to speak.

But I don't have the overall operation.

I think our operations and maintenance budget is about half a million dollars a year, the district, which includes the uh maintenance of Alameda Station, which we do on behalf of RTD, this park, another park or open space that's within the district, all of the public streets there, etc.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you so much.

Uh council Pro Temer Mario Campbell, you have one more.

Thank you.

Um, I do have a question.

I they there was a question about um you know, a lot of apartments around I've driven by the area, I know the area, but can you just give a context of like what's the density in the area, like for the different apartments and kind of city area?

Yeah, over the last 10 years, there's been three.

I mean, really, if you look north of Alameda, there's been about five new multifamily communities that have been built there.

There's probably about 1,500 units within a block of the park.

Um, there is an infrastructure master plan that the city has approved, which ultimately calls for several thousand units in that area that'll be phased over time.

So the the rest of the area is largely commercial.

There's retail, uh, there's some office, there's medical office, there's commercial office.

So about 1500, so that's also by the light rail station, is that correct?

Yeah, 1500 multi-family units, and then you know, the Baker neighborhood is fairly dense from a single family perspective.

Westwash Park, Platte Park, on the other on the other side of uh the highway is you know, Ruby Hill, Valverde.

Yep.

All right, thank you.

Um thank you.

Thank you so much.

Um well, I do um before we go into I guess making a motion on whether or not to moving for the procedure here, because it's like it's whether or not we accept or approve or deny.

John, do you want to give us some guidance here?

Legislative council.

So right, so the motion will be motion to approve for filing with a recommendation of approval or denial of the property tax exemption that will give city attorney's office enough information to then draft the resolution that will be coming to the floor.

Okay, great.

Thank you so much.

Um I just want to say I still have a lot of I guess outstanding concerns with you know just the fact that with a metro district, you become a metro you uh try to you go towards getting a metro district to finance right your um development and that cost then gets incurred on to the folks who eventually reside in that metro district.

Um I guess a big thing that comes to my mind is whether or not that means that this dog park could exist with or without the city getting giving a tax exemption, right?

And so I think that that is still um a question that you know it remains unanswered.

Um and um you know, I right now have a hard time wanting to approve this going, you know, as as recommended as approved, so I just want to be very clear and upfront about that.

Um so with that said, I will entertain a motion, and I I would need a motion of approval with a recommendation of approve or a recommendation of deny.

So um council members that are voting members of the committee.

Uh let me make sure we know who that is.

Um who can make that motion?

Uh we have councilman Cashman uh Heinz, who's not here, Romero Campbell, um Watson, and Council President Sandoval.

So I will entertain a motion.

Councilman Watson, committee chair.

I uh I've I've listened to all the comments.

Obviously, have had discussions with a council member that resides um that where this resides, and I would like to make it a motion in the affirmative to approve um for the I have all the words in front of me, but this is uh uh a motion to approve to approve their the recommendation.

Can we have a roll call vote?

Yes.

Um so the what's on the floor right now uh is a motion to approve uh with an approve recommendation to the full body.

That is correct.

Would you do a roll call vote?

I'm sorry, I missed the second.

We need a second.

Oh, is there a second?

Second, council pro tem Romero Campbell.

Um Cashman.

Romero Campbell, all right.

Sandoval, no Watson?

Aye, Madam Chair.

I will say no.

No three ayes.

Motion motion passes.

Okay, with that with three ayes, the motion passes.

Uh and we'll go to the full body with a recommendation of approved.

And that is it for this item.

Thank you so much for all who uh participated for that.

We will go to our next uh our next uh agenda item.

So we'll give a moment for transition.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Is that correct?

363 South Broadway.

I think they could I think they market it as like 360 online and talks about true.

They can have the number of addresses associated.

But in your files, it's 363.

All right.

Next we'll have our department of finance folks joining us at the table.

I don't care about the use.

This is for the private activity bonds.

How I say that.

If folks can please uh move on from outside the doors so that we can continue our business.

Thank you.

They're not making money.

Okay.

So we're gonna get started on our next agenda item.

Um if you could please introduce yourself and proceed with your presentation.

Council members, please uh let me know if you have any questions and I'll put you in the queue.

Um good morning.

Council, yeah.

Um thank you for this time today.

Uh my name is Dennis Wujenick.

I'm an analyst in the capital management financing team in the Department of Finance.

Um, here to give a uh kind of three presentations sort of merged into one, uh, all pertaining to private activity bonds and um some inducement resolutions for specific projects.

So uh I'll sort of jump into it.

We'll start off with a um I'll start off with a high-level overview of the three council actions that are working its way through uh right now.

Um I will uh spend some time going over the carry forward resolution in just a quick little crash course on private activity bonds just as a refresher, and then I'll pivot over to just some uh the the two specific projects that are seeking the inducement resolution, which I will explain uh what that is again uh during the presentation.

So and after that we can open up for questions.

Uh so the three council actions are the carry forward resolution, which is 26-096.

Uh so the three council actions are the carry forward resolution, which is 26-0996, and so that is just uh requesting the approval to carry forward uh a little over 49 million in private activity bonds that were issued to this uh city in uh 2026.

Uh then I will go over uh 26 0998, which is the inducement resolution for the Lincoln Pen uh project, and then uh 26 0997, which is the inducement resolution for the Green Valley Vistas project.

So starting off with the carry forward resolution, just as again, as I mentioned, I'm just gonna do a quick little crash course on the private activity bonds.

Um and so private activity bonds or PABs are a bond issued by local or state governments uh for the purposes of financing a project that is owned and operated by a private party.

And so the benefits of this is that the uh interest on the uh the interest paid on the bonds is exempt from federal and uh state taxes, and so this allows uh the uses of PABs, allows uh uh makes the projects that are being financed by the PABs much more affordable for the developer.

Um, and so this is critical for affordable housing across the city.

Uh so um one of the things, and I'll go over this in the next slide is that the internal revenue service uh limits the amount of tax exempt PABs uh that are allocated to the state, which are then divvied up to various municipalities and counties and other entities across the across the state based on population and some other factors.

So I have a nice little waterfall slide right here.

And so uh the total PAB awarded to the state of Colorado in 2026 was 800, a little over 811 million.

Uh 50% of that goes to state authorities like uh Chaffa and uh Cow Agriculture Development Authority, and then 48% of the cap gets uh issued to local issuers, both counties and cities, uh municipalities I should say.

And so Denver, you know, being the largest county and city in the state of Colorado receives the largest percentage at that 49 million, which is what we're looking to carry forward uh for the next uh few years.

So and then at the very bottom, about 2% of the cap goes to uh this this fluctuates a little bit every year, but about 2% of the cap goes to the statewide balance, which then can be applied for later on if it's not allocated to uh other projects.

And so uh I already kind of went over a lot of these bullets in that first slide, but just the main point here that I want to reiterate is that PABs are not voter-approved bonds, pledging the city's full faith in credits.

So this does not actually count towards the city's um debt or anything like that.

It's ultimately the city is just sort of a conduit issuer that um awards these uh PABs to projects to help make them more affordable.

Um text in this slide here.

Um the main thing I want to go over here is that uh part of the appeal of these projects is that it uh allows the projects to be awarded 4% lie tax, low income housing tax credits.

That uh, and so one thing that changed over the last uh it I believe is in 2025, but the the big the big beautiful bill changed the rules that required 50% of the project to be financed by PABs uh to be uh available for to qualify, I should say, for the 4% lie tax, is now that's now decreased to 25%.

So the requirement for total paybees that needs to be awarded to a project has decreased.

Um we're ultimately still kind of evaluating how that affects the market and and the projects, but uh that's just one thing I wanted to flag as a change that um occurred at the federal level uh when when that bill was passed.

And so when it comes to private activity bonds, there are kind of two there are two main roles that city council uh uh uh fills with this uh process.

And so the first is the inducement resolution, which is just sort of the formal process which which with which CAP uh PAB CAP is awarded uh is um I guess reserved for projects is the other word I should be using.

Um and so that ultimately allows developers and and sets a uh it's it sets an IRS date where the developers can look back about six months for um reimbursable uh expenses.

Uh and then this the second action, which is the formal uh bond ordinance, is the if that's the formal action that usually happens closer to closing on the projects uh that uh formally uh approves the issuance of the bonds to the project.

So right now we're just here for the inducement.

Um I'll get into this a little bit later, but the projects are uh both kind of slated to likely close in in the fall of this year, and just given the uh uh challenges with committee times and everything like that.

We want to make sure we use this as an opportunity to get in front of you all and and council just to uh go over the projects and and uh fill you in on what's going on.

And so, yeah, like I said, this uh just reserves the PAB capacity for both projects, and um there will be a formal action closer to closing for the actual issuance of the bonds.

Uh and that, like I said, that's likely Q4 this year, but could always be you know delayed till Q1 of 2027.

And so the two projects I will be going over, like I said uh at the beginning are Lincoln Pen, uh kind of being developed by Lincoln Avenue Communities, and so the the PAB we're looking to award them is an amount not to exceed 19.4 million dollars.

And then the second project is Green Valley Vistas being developed by Brickwell, uh not to exceed 27 million dollars.

So I'll go I'll now shift over to some specific project slides.

So the Lincoln Pin project, it's a new construction of a transit-oriented affordable housing development in Fox Park, uh Council District 9 at Fox Street and West 42nd Ave.

Um it's like I mentioned it's to be developed by Lincoln Avenue Communities on a point a little over 0.5 acre parcel.

Uh the project is expected to have seven stories of affordable housing located adjacent to 41 uh 41st and Fox RTD station.

So there's just a quick little map of where it is.

Uh and then here's just a mock-up of what the you know the property would uh potentially look like when it's completed.

So the project uh includes a total of uh 149 units, uh 71 of those are studio apartments, 50 of them are one bedrooms, 14 two bedrooms, and 14 three bedrooms.

The uh underlying uh AMI for the uh AMI limits will be 30 units at 30 percent AMI, 67 units at 60 percent AMI, 14 units at 70 percent AMI, and 38 units at 80% AMI.

The community average AMI is roughly 60% across all those units.

Like I mentioned, it's located adjacent to 41st and Fox Street RTD station.

Um it features an on-site leasing office, fitness center, uh uh in the unit laundry, community rooms, bike storage, rooftop decks, outdoor courtyards, a lot of uh amenities.

Um every unit would have uh uh you know AC refrigerators, um, dishwashers, all those typical amenities you would look to see for in uh individual units.

And like I said, it uh given its location is located in proximity to several parks and schools as well, which is just a benefit for uh in that community.

Shifting over to Green Valley Vistas, uh, so that is a new construction of affordable housing in Green Valley Ranch Council District 11, located at Tower Road in East 50th.

Um, like I said, it's developed by Brickwell with um some partnership with Denver uh Housing Authority.

Uh it's a 3.6 acre parcel with 141,000 square feet of residential space and an additional 5,700 square foot early childhood education center on site.

So here's uh uh a little graphic that they set up for me, which is helpful with uh giving you just a sense of where it is at Tower Road and uh uh 50th.

And then here's just another mock-up of what it you know would uh likely look like upon completion.

And so uh again to some of the details of the units, there uh would be a total of 156 units, uh, 38 of those studio apartments, 45 one bedrooms, 24 two bedrooms, 25 three bedrooms, and 24 four bedrooms.

So um one of the appeals of this project is just the um larger unit size available um for you know more uh uh you know um multiple res and multi uh you know larger family uh affordable housing units.

Uh the proposed underlying AMI for the uh limits for the property would be 24 units at 30%, 52 at 50 percent, 57 at 60 percent, 13 at 70 percent, and 10 units at 80 percent.

The community average across this property is roughly 54 percent AMI.

Uh like I mentioned, there's a 5,700 square foot early childhood education center on site, um, planned to serving up to 60 children with five classrooms available.

Uh there's also an adjacent 3,500 square foot playground, um, and other medis include a dog run, club room, community garden, uh picnic outdoor grill area, um, as well as 175 on-site parking spaces, uh, seven ADA spaces, and um you know 12 EV charging stations, uh charging spaces.

Uh so uh again, just to clarify this is the inducement resolution.

So this is just sort of the action that allows these developers to set up their look back for IRS purposes uh for of eligible reimbursable expenses, uh, and a close um and so we have this going to committee for the first and only reading, sorry, going to council for the first and only reading and July 27th.

Uh and then, like I said, the closing for both projects is currently anticipated for Q4 of this year, and so there would be an ordinance action going through some time uh uh approaching that closing uh for the formal issuance of the bonds, um, but that's yet to be determined, and so again, we just want to use this opportunity to get in front of you and and uh give you some details on the projects ahead of time.

So, with that uh I conclude my presentation and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Great, thank you so much.

Um we'll start off with Council President Sandwell.

Thank you.

So for the park Fox Park redevelopment one, can you pull up the slide again with the details?

Sure.

The the the units or the units.

So how does that so with the trip track the tip the trip tracking that we have in the trip count?

How does that get built with the other redevelopment?

Because I thought that there were only so many trips left, and I thought they were all accounted for.

Um so I'm wondering how do how has this worked with CPD's trip count and what we have for that area because the developer, the other developer way down, has to build a bridge to my council district for any app thing else to be built.

So I thought all the trips counts were taken.

Um I'm just wondering how we're getting the money.

I mean, I like I know this project, I remember the rezoning for this project.

I'm just wondering how this all ties in with the trip count.

Uh yes, we have a member here from the development team who can kind of help answer some questions about that project.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Uh yeah, Ben Taylor with Lincoln Avenue Communities, representative and developer for this project.

Uh, to answer your uh question.

Council member.

Uh this project's been in the entitlement process for over three years, and so it does have an allocation of trips that were received many years ago, and we did receive our site development plan approval in February this year.

Okay.

And we'll be submitting for permit uh in about two weeks.

How many trip counts does yours take up from all of the allocations?

If I recall, I don't have the specifics, but I do think that the allocation is actually greater than the eventual numbers of units that were allocated.

So I think there is going to be a surplus once we are through the permitting on this project.

Can you send me that before it goes to city council?

Like the trip count that you are yours is because you're probably in the hole now, because I don't think there's any left.

Um, because my communities, we've been waiting for the bridge to be built so that we could see that whole everything take off, right?

It's so essential.

Um, so I would love to get that before I get to um city council because this is a great project and a great allocation of dollars for that project that we've been talking about for a really long time.

I just want to make sure things always have said they'll get built over there, and then they don't because of this trip count.

This is really challenging.

Okay.

We'll get it to you later today.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

Councilman Watson.

And Madam Chair, my question was going to be on trip count as well.

I was gonna say I spoke with Professor Honorable Chris Nevitt on the trip count once I was informed that this was happening, and he described the calculation.

So I'll wait for your information to come to me.

So I don't have any questions, committee chair.

Oh, okay, great.

Um, any other questions on these items?

Okay.

Um so I just need to need a motion.

We can we can do this in a block.

Um, so is if folks are good with that.

I see councilman Watson raises hand.

You move council president Sandoval seconds for these in a block.

Is there any need for a roll call vote?

All right, seeing none, this uh we'll move forward to local council.

Thank you so much.

Thank you all.

Good job.

Get better every time.

Yeah, this is fine for the agenda.

Surprised so far.

There's another development that's doing the extension of so they didn't trip just for future.

Um they voted on the use of the cross dogs.

Yeah, that's part of it.

So we're gonna transition over to the pocket park conversation.

No, we're just gonna wait.

Are we done?

No, we're done.

Oh, that's right, we are done.

I'm so sorry.

Yeah, pocket park.

Okay, that's what I thought.

Okay, yes.

Attorneys, we should do it.

Thank you.

We just had a little transition moment there.

And before we get started, I did fail to express on the last um action item.

Councilwoman Gilmore did express that even though she wasn't able to be here, that she really did support um the project that was happening in her district in district eleven, and so I just wanted to make sure folks knew that uh for the record.

Okay, well, we'll go ahead and um switch over to um our next presentation, and so you all could introduce yourselves and proceed with presentation, and I will um take a cue for council members.

Good morning, Lisa Lumley, director of real estate.

Uh Luke McKay, Assistant Director of Real Estate.

Owen Wells, Assistant Director for Perks Planning, Demeter Perkson Rick.

Uh good morning.

Uh so this is a presentation on the potential acquisition of 1028 Accoma Street and Civic Center neighborhood uh for parks and rec.

For our agenda this morning, we'll go over the requested city council action.

There's two requested council actions for this project.

Uh we'll then provide a brief overview of park acquisitions uh from 2019 to 2026.

So since the inception or passage of the uh 2018 parks and open space sales tax measure, uh we'll provide an overview of the property and the acquisition, uh our business case, why are we recommending this property for or why is Parks and Rec recommending this property for acquisition, a timeline of the project, and then um discussion and questions at the end.

So the two council actions before you this morning.

The first is a resolution to approve a purchase and sale agreement for $2,999,340 between the city and county of Denver and 1028 LLC to acquire 1028 North Ocoma Street and Council District 10.

And then we have a companion ordinance to approve a recession and appropriation of 3,195,280 from the Parks Legacy Special Revenue Fund, that's fund 15828 to make a transfer and appropriation to the Parks Legacy Improvements Project Fund, which is 36050 to be utilized for the acquisition of 1028 North Oklahoma Street.

And the um just so you all are aware, and we can talk about this later, the difference between the purchase price and the resolution and the transfer and appropriation ordinance is to include additional allocations or budget for vision plan, which is really DPR's effort to do like initial concept design and planning for the for the property upon or after acquisition, and then real estate's uh due diligence, excuse me, and transactional costs.

So brief overview of acquisitions since um 2019 to now.

So since 2019, DPR has grown the urban park system by 645 acres.

A large part of that includes the den open space, which was an expanded agreement between Den and DPR for DPR to take on management of the open space between Panya Boulevard and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, not uh National Wildlife Refuge, and then our park mountain park system by 615 acres, which is primarily uh the donation of Axon Ranch, uh 448 acres in Jefferson and Gilpin counties, and then the joint acquisition along with Jefferson County of the Elk Bergen property in Jefferson County, and that was 167 acres.

The addition of new urban parks has provided approximately 9,600 households, 10-minute walk or roll access, and the estimated total number of housing units with access to parks has increased by about 10,000 since 2019.

And on the map uh here in front of you, we show you kind of our most, I think there's a little over 20 here significant acquisitions since 2019 by council district.

And as you'll see, uh the only acquisition project that DPR has done uh in the downtown area, greater downtown area, is the vacation of uh Bannock Street, right outside uh this building here.

So an overview of the the property.

Uh again, the address is 1028 North Ocoma Street, it's about um just under half an acre, 0.4 acres.

There is an existing building on site, uh it's um a little over, or sorry, a little under 2,000 square feet.

It's in council district 10.

Uh neighborhood again civic center, zoning is DGT, the sellers 1028 Ocoma Partners LLC, and the purchase price is 2,999,340 dollars, and the funding source is the Parks Legacy Fund.

And I'm gonna ask Luke to pause for a minute.

There's one thing that I want to make sure that I just notify all of you, and that is this is a time where we have an appraisal.

The appraisal is less than the purchase price uh by about half a million dollars.

And Owen will speak to that and Luke in the presentation on why Parks made the business decision to go ahead and go forward with this.

I'll tell you just real quickly.

As you can see up there, it is there are very few parcels left in this area that have not been truly developed.

So the way we looked at this was um if we were to buy another parcel, the demolition costs could well exceed more than half a million dollars, depending on where we'd be.

And so again, um Owen can speak to the density needs here, and this is something they've been looking in this area for more than 15 years.

But I wanted to flag that for you so that you knew up front.

Thanks, Luke.

Yeah, and as Lisa pointed out, you can see here the um I failed to mention that the existing building on site is the former credit union.

Um, and it's it takes up about you know 10% of the drive-through that they had.

It's about uh less than 10% of the total area of the property.

So why is why does DPR want to acquire this property?

Uh first we all the department always looks for alignment with existing plans, and so advances to DPR acquisition focus areas, the five-minute walk or roll and downtown high density and growth areas as identified in the parks legacy fund five-year plan, uh DPR strategic acquisition plan, and the outdoor downtown plan.

Uh acquisition will help close the five-minute walk or roll gap in a high density neighborhood that has few viable acquisition opportunities for future park expansion.

Uh the future neighborhood park for civic center residents.

Um, again, there's only one other park in this neighborhood that's Civic Center.

Uh the future park is estimated to serve uh 3,800 households in a five minute service area and about or a little over 10,000 households within a 10 minute service area in a high growth area, according to Blue Parent Demper.

Uh we really want to emphasize that particularly that 10,000 number if you recall on the earlier side, uh the combined acquisitions that the department has done since 20 um uh 2019 has uh provided access or 10 minute walk or roll access to about 9600 households.

So this acquisition alone will provide more access than all those previous projects combined today.

Uh and then in the interim, the the existing uh drive-through um credit union building uh could be used uh by DPR operations or or forestry, as many of you can appreciate.

You know, uh security is always top of mind once we acquire uh a property for public purpose, and so uh the best way to secure a site is to occupy it, and so that could be an in-term uh interim use uh by oper DPR's operations or forestry staff.

And then a timeline of the project, so committee today, uh mayor council next week, city council on July 27th.

That will be the first and only for the uh purchase and sale agreement resolution, uh, and then the first reading for the transfer and appropriation uh ordinance uh in our contract.

We have a outside closing date of September 30th, and then DPR uh would target uh community engagement and taking off that vision plan process uh beginning in Q1 of 2028.

And with that, we can answer any questions that you may have.

Thank you very much.

Um we're going to be starting with Council President Sandoval, followed by Watson and Albivitas.

So you said the the appraisal price is what?

Uh approximately 2.49 million, so about half a million under the actual purchase price.

So okay, and so we're crying it for almost three.

How much would it take to get into a park?

Development of it?

Yeah, how much we are we looking at.

That's a good question.

First, we need to figure out what kind of park it needs to be, like what the character we should be in that war and eventual concept of vision planning.

So it was a rule of thumb when I often use for like our standard parks is about a million five an acre for developing sort of a raw piece of property to park for an urban dense park like this.

You're probably gonna need to up that a little bit.

Um, but this is a relatively small site, half acre.

Okay.

And um each council district has like a park deficit.

Is council district 10 in deficit of parks?

You want to try to go back to that slide if you can.

Yes.

Uh I will need to pull the actual per thousand per capita ratio, but I think the important piece for us here is the walk gap.

That's one of our main strategic acquisition themes.

Um, and I know we have a massive park deficit in downtown, and I just don't remember what that specific ratio is.

I can pull it for you afterwards.

Um, but this is a location, this particular part of downtown that we've been searching for since my colleagues have since before I've been around.

Um, so at least 15 years, probably more to try to find something to fill in that yellow that is our five-minute walk gap.

Um so it's a really kind of outsized impact for us, that 10,000 households, and that's an actually a dated number.

This part of the town is still growing.

So I expect the households serve to actually be a lot even more by the time we develop this park.

Um so yeah, we have both a per capit, we have both an acreage deficit and a walk gap, and this helps with both of those.

Council president, and I can tell you Gordon and I were talking about this.

I want to say it's been 10 years at least.

Where we actually tried to transact something in the general area, and the transaction we were not able to move it forward, but there was um there was a parcel that we were trying in the general area.

Okay.

And then the last question will there be budget um in the 2020.

Is there budget in 2026 or will there be budget in the 2027 for planning for this park?

Is there your money earmarked?

There is a little bit for the concept planning visioning, uh, earmark is you can hit that slide.

Um so the planning work we'd be able to start.

Um we would need to start working into the five-year capital plan, the actual development work.

So this, if this goes, if this passes, this would be added to the five-year capital plan, TIP fund, because there's lots of projects that probably are.

There are a lot, exactly.

Happen on that plan for a long time that, and then if this we just acquire this, then it goes to the top.

That seems it won't go to the top, and you can see on the on the last schedule slide.

Um, I don't anticipate probably even starting those kind of community planning conversations until 2028 because of that reason.

We've got other um just park rehabs park development projects we have other acquisitions that we have completed that still are working in community planning processes now so it's just being able to sequence it it won't jump to the top of the queue it needs to go in sequence.

And then for real estate how's the building with the building condition is it like there an office in there and that and that's why I think that we've talked about certainly for this interrupt period of time to know that it's occupied is the best way we could ensure of having ice on the site and protecting that building for that interim period until the visioning process really is kicked off and they understand what the park will be.

Okay.

Yeah there's some um good interim value to there there's a garage there's a the office teller space up front which is fine there's a little bathroom restroom kitchen break room and then there's a little garage in the back so right now our downtown operations team is working with a couple of massive construction projects happening at Civic Center in Skyland so being able to have some place for vehicle parking some equipment storage while they're a little bit in um a little bit displaced for the next year and change and it's kind of hits two two things keeps that building safe and makes it easier to secure and actually helps them out in the interim.

Okay thank you madam chair thank you councilman Watson uh quick question thank you madam chair quick question um Lisa on the building and uh existing condition um to add on to what council president was asking for um you are not anticipating any environmental stuff any as fast design PHE out there we're still yeah we're still completing our due diligence due diligence uh councilman um in addition to like a limited asbestos survey we're also doing a facility uh condition assessment which we uh almost always do on any acquisition of a a building especially a building of the city is that timeline done prior to closing or yes okay yeah we we do as much as we can up front just because our timelines are so protracted working with contracts through council but again it's within that due diligence period that has to happen before we close so if there are any red flags that's where we know that either we adjust a price we walk away from it or we go forward because we know that it is a minimal issue that we address or nothing at all.

And I appreciate I know if this goes through goes through the readings that your team's going to come back to council and provide that information if there's any existing conditions that causes you know environmental impacts.

So on a dedicated funding for parks what's the annual amount that's accumulated now on average oh and I don't know if you have that uh the parks legacy fund on average uh still use the old name sorry yeah to a yeah I don't have that exactly it's uh it was about 30 wasn't it yeah it's around order you're 40 to 50 um and how many projects are we uh estimating that we're funding through um park legacy fund right now how many other parks are we that's a great question we have at any one time we have plus or minus a hundred capital projects happening um the majority of those are being supported by parts legacy fund our capital budget annually you know plus or minus is about 50 million dollars and I would say probably about 33 to 35 million of that is legacy and about 15 is our other capital CIP sources so I'd have to dig up like which one's been specifically assigned but it's the bulk of them.

Okay.

And the 10 minute walk roll in district 10 is that offset by Civic Center and other things where this is located at or that yellow circle that's the gap that yellow that you see on um Luke's slide even with Civic Center and we do do a few you know we are um we take a close look at our system so that does reflect barriers right you'll see the Sunken gardens actually as the crowflies close but Spear Boulevard to us is a substantial barrier that kind of does not mean that that functions if you live in that part of Pacific Center that I wouldn't consider that like your neighborhood park that you have walking access to it.

Yeah the only other question I'll ask and I don't this is I mean we have time for this but just to verify as far as um park maintenance and park continued support so park ranger spread um this is an urban park it's you expect that use is going to be a lot more than you know full of park in in district nine um where you you could have a park ranger once every month or something and you're fine would love to see kind of what the tactical you know strategic focus is on this urban park is it if it is built it will be very much use so we'd love to gotta get your strategic understanding of that in city forestry tree planting any of that stuff that you all have would be helpful not pertaining to my vote on this but just it'll be good to know that it's very timely we're having those conversations internally with the skyline SIM center's life going to be different with those massive capital investments and thinking about how we are going to need to deploy rangers and ops teams a little bit differently right they how they as you know our ranger team is relatively light and primarily through the rest of the cities operates on sort of like a call basis downtown operates a little bit differently but we don't have like stationed rangers but we're gonna have to think about as we have more intensity and more activity in downtown what's the most efficient and effective way to protect them.

They how they know our ranger team is relatively light, um, and primarily through the rest of the cities operates on sort of like a call basis.

Downtown operates a little bit differently.

Um we don't have like stationed rangers, but we're gonna have to think about as we have more intensity and more activity in downtown.

Um what's the most efficient and effective way to protect them?

Yeah, your ranger team is in a horrible office in web building, no one goes in there, no one can get through security.

Maybe that's a temporary site for your rangers to move to as well.

Yeah.

Uh thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Alvidra is followed by Councilman Cashman.

Thank you.

Um I would definitely like to see just the park deficit for dog parks specifically.

I'll say um this is very close to District 7 as well, where there has been a lot of requests for this as we add density and as we add more residents.

Um that there's a higher need.

I'm obviously very concerned that district seven hasn't gotten any investment for the parks legacy fund.

Can you speak to that?

Um I'm sure there's been investment from the Parks Legacy Fund in some district seven capital projects I need to pull them out specifically.

Whether we have an acquisition, I don't believe we've had one in seven yet, so we're always looking.

Um and it is a little bit of an opportunist real estate is a little bit of an opportunistic uh game.

Um but yeah, where there's 10 minute walks and where we can fulfill any of those other themes from the acquisition plan, like we want to we want to act on those opportunities citywide.

So there's high density growth, uh, we have some resiliency um objectives and goals that might be also relevant in seven since we've got the river going right through there.

Um so yeah, we're we are always on the hunt if someone is sees a property or knows something that maybe isn't on the market yet, but you know someone uh in the real estate that would be willing to have a conversation with parks urban and understand what it takes to work with the city and but as a somewhat of a civic vent, we are more than welcome to have any of them.

Any of those conversations to get someone that we haven't had a park, you know, um at it, it's how who's gonna have experience working with the city that owns land in district seven.

That's a challenging question to ask.

There are a couple districts that have not that have been a focus that we are keeping our eyes out on.

So I will just say that.

I'd love to have an update on that because it's very disappointing to see as we are adding a lot of density and a lot of high rises in district seven.

Um but uh my qu one of my questions is just w if we did purchase this property, where does the money come to build the park?

That will need to come out of our capital plan, and so we'll work that into that five or six-year vision.

Um so we have a little bit set aside from this transaction if it goes through to begin that conceptual planning.

What should this be?

Should it be sports courts?

Should it have a tiny dog park?

What's what should the character of that space be?

What could it look like?

And that will help us dial in, you know, like a very more specific construction cost, and then we work that into our five-year plan.

I would say I'm very concerned about that in general.

I think a lot of our rec centers are in dire need, and we're having this rec center plan that is going to elevate a lot of capital improvement needs in parks, and so um that's very concerning to me.

Thank you, committee chair.

Thank you, councilwoman.

Councilman Cashman.

Thank you, committee chair.

So um Matt, on the fly, you said you're we're paying 500K more than the appraisal.

Right.

So are we governed?

Do we have freedom to pay what we want to pay?

Or is there some sort of a can't go above 20% over appraised value?

No, I think it is a best practice.

So we have almost always are at or below our appraised value.

Um there are very few moments, but in this case, this is a moment um that it is a significant that what I'll say, councilman, is there's a place when you're looking at appraisals that a plus or minus almost up to 10% is still considered reasonable on either side of an appraisal.

Anything over that then, that's where it becomes a business decision, and it's just a matter of the other factors that have been that are involved.

Does it is it important enough to the city that it's still a worthy purchase?

And um that was again where we look to our partners from a business decision.

Yeah, I'm not arguing with the wisdom of this.

I just want to but not legally, is there something that we have to do?

You know, the parcel I'm thinking about in my district, unfortunately, is way more of a reasonably overpriced.

But there is some freedom, that's all I wanted.

Thank you, committee chairman.

Thank you so much.

Um I just I wanted to just re-up the well, first, are there any other council members that would like to ask questions?

Okay.

Um I just want to re-up the request for the parks per capita.

And so you know, I I have some concerns there as well.

Um although, yes, I get the 10-minute walk roll and and that accessibility to a park, um, you know, in this situation, we have a very big park um civic center, which is just right outside of that order that you all had on that um page.

And so that just, you know, I just and I get it, like when opportunities arise that you like have to decide whether or not to take that opportunity, but I also have concerns that we're paying over the appraised amount.

Um, and so it's like how do we how do we outweigh all of these things?

Um, and you know, I think we've talked about it a lot of where we're at with our finances.

You know, we have um things coming before us and they're gonna continue to come before us, and we have to make these decisions and be um you know, thinking about people across the entire city and how we're you know using our funds in a smart way, um and also maintaining equity at the same time.

And so I I will say that I have you know concerns with this going forward.

Um and I know today's um action is whether or not this moves forward to the full body.

Um and so um with that said, I'm I'm going to ask for a motion for the these it's a it's a uh block for both of these items.

So councilman wants to say moving.

He's first okay, Councilman Watson has made the motion.

Councilman Cashman is second.

Um is there a need for a roll call vote of voting members?

Okay, so folks are good with this going forward for the full body, um, where we will then continue deliberation.

So thank you so much.

Um council members, we have two items on consent.

Uh and welcome toward as well.

And with that, we are adjourned.

Good job, everybody.

I'm many turns.

There's a lot of stuff.