Councilor Coleman requested to pull items C.5.a. and C.1.b. from Consent Calendar A and move to Regular Business.  Councilor Griego moved, seconded by Councilor Johnson to move items C.5.a and C.1.b. to be discussed under Regular Business.  The motion carried unanimously. 

The Historic Preservation Committee has one seat available, with a term ending 6/1/2019. Pat Bryson has requested reappointment.

The Planning Commission has two seats available, one for Ward 1, and one for a 1st alternate position, both with terms ending 6/1/2020.  Barbara Kruse has requested reappointment.  In addition, an application has been received from Scott Travis.  Ballots were cast with Scott Travis receiving fives votes for the regular seat and Barbara Kruse receiving two. 

The Tree Board has one seat available, with a term ending 6/1/2019, and one alternate position that has never been filled since its creation (there is no expiration that has yet been tied to this seat).  Audrey Liu has requested reappointment.  In addition, an application has been received from Benita Martinez.  

The Library Board has four seats available with terms ending 6/1/2017, 6/1/2018, 6/1/2019, and 6/1/2020.  New applications have been received from Dawn Krebs and Mary Walsh.

Councilor Griego moved, seconded by Councilor Stefano to reappoint Pat Bryson to the Historic Preservation Committee and Audrey Liu to the the Tree Board, and to appoint Scott Travis to the Planning Commission, for the regular seat and Barbara Kruse as the 1st alternate, Benita Martinez to the Tree Board, and Dawn Krebs and Mary Walsh to the Library Board. The motion carried unanimously.

Councilor Coleman recognized Pat Steenburg and the hard work he did on the work for these bids. He was able to purchase two pieces of equipment for the price of one and save the City $1,069.00 under the original budget amount.  He thanked everyone and stated that Council appreciate them. 

Councilor Johnson moved, seconded by Councilor Coleman, to approve the award of bid for the digital ally in-car video system, interview room system and born worn cameras along with the award of bid for the 2015 water/sewer department service truck.  The motion carried unanimously.

Pat Steenburg presented information to Council. This ordinance identifies the need to provide preference to local bidders and suppliers but the criteria used to determine that preference has been problematic and difficult at times to determine.  This amendment will change that criteria from distance(s) from City Hall to what staff feels is a more intuitive and logical method of determining which level of preference to provide by tying the location of bidder to municipal boundaries. It provides a 7 percent preference to bidders located within the city limits; a 5 percent preference to bidders outside of the city limits but within Alamosa County; and a 3 percent preference to bidders outside of Alamosa County but still within the remaining five counties in the San Luis Valley (Rio Grande, Conejos, Costilla, Saguache, and Mineral).

Council further discussed this ordinance.

Councilor Johnson moved, seconded by Councilor Stefano to pass Ordinance No. 9-2015 on first reading and set it for public hearing thereon on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.  The motion carried 5 to 2.

Pat Steenburg presented information to Council. The proposed subdivision is a logical and expected extension of River Trece Two - Phase 4 and is in substantial compliance with the previous preliminary approval. It is compatible with existing development in the area and will provide needed vacant residential lots in this area of the city.

Mayor Lucero opened the public hearing at 7:49 p.m. and asked for those wishing to speak on this matter.

There being no one wishing to speak, the hearing closed at 7:49 p.m.

Councilor Johnson moved, seconded by Councilor Vigil to pass Resolution No. 8-2015 conditional on the submission of the attached subdivision agreement.  The motion carried unanimously.

Heinz Bergann presented information to Council.  La Puente was contacted by the KaBOOM! staff to see if there was sufficient community interest to apply for a grant towards building a new playground within the city.  Parks staff has decided to partner with La Puente for this grant. The Community Recreation Advisory Board voted at their June 2015 meeting to support the KaBOOM! project for Zapata Park.

Councilor Vigil moved, seconded by Councilor Griego to authorize the City Manager to sign the Letter of Intent with KaBOOM! and allow staff to use up to $8,500 in anticipated savings from the Cole Park Walking Track Replacement Project to meet the KaBOOM! fundraising equipment.  The motion carried unanimously.

Heather Brooks presented information to Council.  During the Winter Retreat, Council expressed interest in receiving public input on a potential plastic bag fee program.  Information on this for public input was distributed through press releases, Facebook, Twitter, the City website, and letters to local businesses.  A public hearing was also held on May 27th. 

Council thanked Councilor Vigil for bringing this issue up and brought to the attention of the them and the community and discussed the issue further. 

Staff will bring something back to Council with more information and potential ideas regarding what the next steps of this program might look like. 

Heather Brooks and CBIZ presented information to Council.  In 2014 staff worked to update every job description and ensure consistency across departments.  The City then contracted with CBIZ Human Capital Services to provide a compensation analysis.  This involved conducting a salary and benefit survey, creating a pay plan based on those findings, and placing existing employees in the proposed plan.

CBIZ was conferenced in and presented the information to Council on what their role was in completing and conducting the market survey and pay plan for City Officers and Employees CBIZ matched the City's positions to positions in the market, developed new, open range salary structures and calculated the cost of incorporating the findings of the analysis into the City's human resource policies and practices. They also conducted a benefits review to assess the competitiveness of the City's benefits package. 

Ms. Brooks also presented the proposed pay plan with the ranges and grades. She also explained the implementation costs.  Out of 113 full-time and part-time employees, 49 were below their proposed minimum salaries and 2 were above their maximum salaries.  For those employees above the maximum salaries, they will be frozen until the pay plan catches up and they will only be eligible for one-time payments based on performance evaluations.  For those who are below the minimum salaries, it will cost $98,612.31 to bring them up to the minimum salaries for their respective grades.  Increases range from $8 to $5,352. 

She also informed Council of the 12 specific positions that the City Manager felt should be adjusted by one grade up or down based on internal equity considerations. These deviations from the market increased the cost of the proposed pay plan by $48,197.  The most significant aspect of these is the recommendation to establish the Police Officer position at a Grade 9 instead of Grade 8 based on discussions and recommendation from the Police Chief, Finance Director and Human Resources Manager. 

Ms. Brooks made Council aware that employee meetings were held last week to present to all employees the proposed pay plan. Council further discussed this ordinance.

Councilor Vigil moved, seconded by Councilor Coleman to pass Ordinance No. 8-2015 on first reading and set it for public hearing thereon on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.  The motion carried unanimously.

Heather Brooks presented information to Council.  During an executive session, Council provided direction to negotiators for the purchase of property located on 6th Street owned by Mr. and Mrs. Orozco.  Since that time, staff has had many conversations with the property owners about different options related to the property.  At this point in time, Mr. and Mrs. Orozco remain steadfast in their desire to preserve the same amount of parking they currently have. They are agreeable to swapping their private property for an equal amount of City-owned property adjacent to the Food Bank on 6th Street.  This is simply a property swap and does not involve money.

Councilor Stefano moved, seconded by Councilor Vigil to approve the motion authorizing the swap of land with Mr. and Mrs. Orozco located on the north side of 6th Street between State Avenue and Hunt Avenue.  The motion carried unanimously.

Heather Brooks presented information to Council.  State law regulates the burial of dead human bodies through the requirement to record information concerning all such burials, but does not limit the locations in which dead human bodies may be buried (see C.R.S. § 25-2-111).  This Ordinance prohibits the burial of dead human bodies within the city except in established cemeteries.

Councilor Gillaspie moved, seconded by Councilor Vigil to pass Ordinance No. 10-2015 on first reading and set it for public hearing thereon on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.  The motion carried unanimously.

Heinz Bergann informed Council of upcoming activities.

Councilor Coleman thanked the Honeycutt family for all the events they put on and also the business owners and sponsors that participated in the Artwalk.

Councilor Vigil talked about the CML Conference.

Councilor Johnson also echoed Councilor Coleman's comments and also brought up the issue that arose from the distribution of the rodeo ticket.

Mayor Lucero commented on the cattle drive, the Rodeo, CML, and also extended congratulations to Councilor Coleman.

Mayor Lucero informed there was need for an Executive Session only Pursuant to CRS 24-6-402 (4)(f) for Personnel Matters – Evaluation of City Manager.  

It was moved by Councilor Griego and seconded by Councilor Vigil to enter into Executive Session at 10:08 p.m. pursuant to CRS 24-6-402 (4)(f) for Personnel Matters – Evaluation of City Manager.  The motion carried unanimously.

When back in regular session, Mayor Lucero confirmed that the Executive Session was held solely for the stated purpose.

The meeting adjourned immediately following the Executive Session.

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Holly Martinez, City Clerk                                         Josef P. Lucero, Mayor