[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Suzanne's Council Committee Assignments

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Jones, Suzanne

Oops--one amendment/correction to my previous email:  I meant to say that I would be interested in serving on the board for the Dairy Center (I wrote BMoCA), altho BMoCA would be cool too if others have their hearts set on the Dairy board.


On Jan 11, 2014, at 9:50 AM, Suzanne Jones <JonesS at bouldercolorado.gov> wrote:



Dear Colleagues--


As requested, here are my thoughts on my desired Council Committees & Assignments to help further our retreat discussion.


For the past two years, I have served on the following outside committees, several of which I would like to continue on if the Council concurs, and a few which I would be willing to offer up or switch off with other Council members.  


Intergovernmental Assignments


1) Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG):  As discussed at our last Council meeting, this entity disperses all federal transportation funding within the region so it is an important assignment--especially as their is pushback against sustainability
 criteria being used--and involves investing in relationship-building with colleagues throughout the region in order to be successful. Given my past two years of service (first as alternate to KC, then as rep), I have made steady progress in establishing relationships
 and learning the myriad of mind-numbing bureaucratic funding and planning processes.
I would like to stay on this assignment as I think it makes sense for me  to keep this momentum, but as discussed, would propose dividing up the assignment with another Council member such that the alternate attends the Metro Vision Issue Committee if
 feasible. Whatever two Council members end up with this assignment need to devote a fair amount of time to strategizing with staff, building coalitions with other municipalities and counties, and attending/speaking up at the two monthly meetings down in Denver
 (as well as a two-day annual board retreat)--and should intend to serve for multiple years to make the time investment worthwhile.


2) Colorado Municipal League (CML): I have also served with Matt as the City's representatives to CML, along with Carl Castillo as an alternate. My academic background and work expertise is in legislative and administrative policy, so I have particularly
 enjoyed this assignment--and many of the relationships from DRCOG overlap with CMP so it is a nice complement--so
would like to stay on if possible.  CML's Policy Committee meets about a half dozen times a year for 4 hour meetings to discuss pending state legislation. In addition, there are two annual CML member gatherings --a one-day legislative workshop, and a
 two-day conference on the West Slope--although any City Council member can (and should!) attend these two events.


3) CU/CIty Oversight: I have served with George, as well as Ken before he left Council, on this committee, which meets a few times/year for two hours to discuss and update various CU and City stakeholders on efforts to address issues of joint concern
 such as alcohol use, police enforcement, etc. As a resident of the HIll, this has been an interesting and relevant assignment, but
would be willing to hand it off if someone else.


Local Organizations


4) Downtown Business Improvement District Board: Tim and I have served as co-reps for the past two years, taking turns going to every other monthly meeting (which are from 7:30-9:00 am on one Thursday a month). This has been a really interesting
 and enjoyable assignment to gain a much better understanding of all the work and effort that goes into maintaining a vibrant downtown district. As such,
I would highly recommend it to a new Council member, if someone else wants to take my spot.


BMoCA--Conversely, I would like to expand my exposure to and engagement with cultural/arts issues by trying my hand at BMoCA.


Internal City Committees


5) Legislative Committee:  I serve on the City's Legislative Committee with George, as well as Ken and Suzy before they left Council, which meets a couple times a year to help Carl Castillo fine-tune the City's legislative agenda before it is sent
 to Council for review. As noted above, legislative policy is a particular interest and expertise of mine and
I would greatly enjoying continuing to serve on this committee. I don't think there is a particular limit on number of Council members for this one.


6) Civic Use Pad Task Force:  I serve on this committee with Lisa and Mary, which meets every few months for several hours to try to move things forward on the Civic Use Pad. It feels like we are finally making progress, so this would be a good
 time for someone with energy and enthusiasm to join this group--if someone else wants my spot, I am willing to trade off.


Sister City Representatives


7) Jalapa, Nicaragua:  The Jalapa group mostly focuses on implementing water improvement projects in a region of Nicaragua. I appreciate the mission and the geography, but have not managed to engage much with this group beyond attending their annual
 fundraiser and checking in with them at our annual Sister Cities Council dinner, as they don't advertise their meetings and seem ambivalent about whether they need more Council engagement.
So happy to keep it, but could be convinced otherwise.