Larimer County Board of County Commissioners - Administrative Matters 5/14/24

For more information (including members in attendance) see the full notes document here.*

View the meeting agenda and packet.

When available, a video recording of the meeting will be on the Larimer County Government YouTube channel.

From the Board of Commissioners website:
“Larimer's three-member Board of County Commissioners is the main policy-making body in the County and works to represent the interest of the citizens of Larimer County at local, state and national levels. Commissioners are elected at large from one of three geographic districts for four-year staggered terms.  In Larimer County, Commissioners are limited to serving three four-year terms.”

Highlights

• Public comment raised the issue of support for children in foster care and called for more support for keeping children with families and services for children who leave foster care.
• County Manager Volker discussed the County’s priority to improve accessibility of information on the website and use of  plain language. 

After the Pledge of Allegiance, the Commissioners opened for public comment. Two people spoke in person. 

1. Matthew Gomez shared his experience as a former foster child with the Larimer County Department of Human Services. He stated that he was removed from his family at a young age and was trapped into giving a statement. As a foster child he was diagnosed with multiple mental health issues and placed on medication despite his opposition. He left the foster care system at 15 and quit taking medication. Gomez said he is now successful, but faced challenges and spent time in prison. He lost custody of his son and reported that the judge hearing his case partly based his decision on information from his time in foster care. Gomez concluded that there should be more focus on keeping children with their parents.
2. Rosemary Van Gorder referenced the County’s recent effort to elevate  foster care awareness and child abuse prevention months, focusing on service providers. She stated that the Commission needs to hear more from constituents who receive services – like Matthew Gomez. She called attention to the importance of supporting kids after foster care because lack of support leads many to not graduate from high school and to experience homelessness. Van Gorder said that most funds go to the foster care and adoption system.  She advocated for providing more funding to parents who may neglect children because of low incomes. 

Commissioners Stephens, Shadduck-McNally and Kefalas thanked Gomez for sharing his story and Van Gorder for coming to the meeting. They said they work toward accountability and would like to follow up at an appropriate time and forum to discuss the issues. They said the Administrative Matters meeting does not provide the opportunity for a back-and-forth conversation and would like to find a venue that accommodates the privacy and confidentiality rights of families. The Commissioners also mentioned the County’s priority for kinship placements, support for peer mentoring (an agreement was approved in the Consent Agenda), and a new shelter under development to provide services for youth in need.  

Public comment was closed. 

After approval of the minutes of the previous meeting and a review of next week’s meetings, Commissioner Kefalas reviewed the Consent Agenda that was unanimously approved.

The Consent Agenda included:  

• Two agreements on behalf of Larimer Regional Opioid Abatement Council, Region 2
  • $400,000 with Fort Collins Rescue Mission/Harvest Farms to expand housing capacity at Harvest Farms
  • $461,000 with Abundance Foundation to create safe spaces, opportunities to make social connections, and to provide supportive housing.
• Intergovernmental Agreement for $3,693.50 to provide Larimer County’s local match funding towards a Federal Transit Administration rural funds grant. Funding will be used to manage and deliver coordinated transportation services for older adults and people with disabilities in portions of Larimer County that are outside of the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization.
• Amendment to grant agreement with Colorado Parks & Wildlife to extend the deadline for one year to complete a segment of the Poudre River Regional Trail from Windsor to Timnath Final Connection.
• Business Investment Agreement for economic development between the County and Anheuser-Busch to provide a personal property tax incentive of up to $576,557 between May 14, 2024 and December 31, 2028. The company requested the tax reduction to help offset costs related to an investment of approximately $71 million for construction and equipment to implement carbon-neutral and other technologies to increase facility efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The completion of the project is estimated to retain approximately 400 part- and full-time employees.
• Contract for $380 thousand between the Larimer County Department of Human Services and Jacob Family Services (The Jacob Center) to provide child mentoring and family core services.
• Appointments
  • A midterm appointment of Adam Egglesten to the Planning Commission.
  • Appointments of Scott Hapner, JoAnn Herkenhoff and Richard Christensen to the Extension Advisory Committee. 
  • A midterm appointment of Margaret Long to the Extension Advisory Committee. A second individual withdrew from consideration.
• Human Services Expense Report for the quarter ending March 31, 2024.

County Manager Update. County Manager Volker reported on meetings with leadership groups and department heads that included a discussion of digital accessibility laws and implications for the County website (for example, information only available in PDFs that cannot be read by programs that visually impaired people rely on). Volker also discussed the county’s goal to create a culture of plain language to improve the accessibility of the website. The website is how most county residents access services. The Health Department gave a presentation based on initiatives already underway.

The Commissioners supported the work to improve digital accessibility and use of plain language. They asked about other aspects such as signage and ordinances.

Commissioners in the Community. Commissioners Shadduck-McNally, Stephens and Kefalas reported on meetings and community events they attended.

The meeting was adjourned for an executive session at approximately 10:05 am to consider two issues. The Commissioners agreed to change the order of the items on the Agenda. First, the Commissioners will determine positions, develop strategy and instruct negotiators relative to a public private partnership agreement for an event arena and youth sports training center (Ranch Events Complex). Second, Commissioners will hold a Conference with attorneys to receive legal advice and develop a strategy for negotiations regarding the Estate of Brent Thompson vs Lorenzo Lujan, 2024 CV 30299. No decisions are expected.

Next Meeting

May 21, 2024, 9 a.m. at 200 West Oak, Ste. 2200 80521 or live-streamed.

Questions to Consider

Who will judge if changes to the Larimer County website are effective at helping citizens find information and access services? 

What other ideas could Larimer County consider to improve support for children who age out of foster care?

*Citizen Observers further the commitment of the League of Women Voters to its principle of Citizens Right to Know, however, we are not acting as journalists. Omissions and errors are possible. It is assumed that users of this information are responsible for their own fact-checking. This could include contacting a government clerk, conversing with an elected official or staff, and/or asking us to speak to the Observer who attended.