City of Brighton
500 S. 4th Avenue
Brighton, CO 80601
Meeting Minutes - Draft
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
8:30 PM
Special City Council Meeting Following the Study Session
Virtual Meeting
City Council
MAYOR - GREGORY MILLS
MAYOR PRO TEM - MATT JOHNSTON
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
CLINT BLACKHURST, ADAM CUSHING,
MARK HUMBERT, KRIS JORDINELLI, MARY ELLEN POLLACK,
ANN TADDEO, TIM WATTS
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Mills called the meeting to order at 7:46 p.m.
A. Roll Call
Present: 8 - Mayor Mills, Mayor Pro Tem Johnston, Councilmember Cushing, Councilmember
Humbert, Councilmember Jordinelli, Councilmember Pollack, Councilmember
Taddeo, and Councilmember Watts
Not Present: 1 - Councilmember Blackhurst
Mayor Pro Tem Johnston arrived at 7:49 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF REGULAR AGENDA
Motion by Councilmember Humbert, seconded by Councilmember Watts, to approve the Regular Agenda as Presented. Motion passed by the following vote:
Aye: 8 - Mayor Mills, Mayor Pro Tem Johnston, Councilmember Cushing, Councilmember
Humbert, Councilmember Jordinelli, Councilmember Pollack, Councilmember
Taddeo, and Councilmember Watts
Absent: 1 - Councilmember Blackhurst
3. RESOLUTIONS
A. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRIGHTON, COLORADO, APPROVING THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN ADAMS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF BRIGHTON, COLORADO REGARDING DISBURSEMENT OF CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT FUNDS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY
Mayor Mills read the title of Items 3A, 3B and 4A into the record.
City Manager Jane Bais DiSessa introduced Assistant City Manager Michael Martinez and Finance Director Maria Ostrom.
Assistant City Manager Michael Martinez presented an overview of what Council authorized at the September 1, 2020 meeting, a review of the CARES Act funding allocation and spending to date, and to open discussion for further Council direction moving forward. In early September, staff presented three different testing options available at the time for Council consideration. Option 1 directed staff to build a lab facility; the cost for this option was significant. Option 2 directed staff to continue with current testing options for residents. There are multiple testing locations throughout Adams County and the Denver Metro region including Water World. Option 3 directed staff to pursue a new partnership to increase testing time and locations. On September 1, 2020, staff had begun the process and was working with Adams County to host a new mobile rapid testing site to help fill the gap from the testing that existed at the time to allowing the market to catch up so testing would be more widely available. Testing would occur for four to five hours on day per week at a location in the City. Eagle View Adult Center was chosen as the testing location; the testing location has since been moved to Riverdale Regional Park. Testing would be available to residents with or without symptoms and results would be rapid. At the time staff assumed that there would be the capacity to test 100 residents per day and the program would run through October. Based on staff estimates, the program would cost approximately $120,000 for one day of testing. The motion made on September 1, 2020 by Councilmember Blackhurst and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Johnston was to move forward with option #3 with the addition of a second day of testing per week for Brighton residents and anyone working in Brighton and to allow staff to spend up to $350,000 for testing programs, and to allow funds to be spent on existing programs that were already in place. Testing is taking place on Tuesday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The site was moved to Riverdale Regional Park last week to accommodate the increase in vehicle traffic. To date, 3,151 tests have been done at a cost of $95.00 per test. Assistant City Manager Martinez presented the testing numbers and stated that there has been an increase in positive tests.
Assistant City Manager Karen Borkowski Surine gave a history of the testing site. The site was initially set up at Eagle View Adult Center because the building is closed and it offered restroom facilities for staff. All staff are required to take a test prior to working with the public at the site so the building would remain a sanitary environment. Staff was asked to volunteer to work at the site and were given overtime, additional time if hours had been cut and PTO if they were salaried employees. Bilingual employees were encouraged to volunteer. Assistant City Manager Borkowski Surine managed the site on Saturdays and Laura Morris manages the site on Tuesdays. Citizens have been lining up two or more hours prior to the opening of the site. Public Works and Police Department staff have been helping with traffic issues blocking the Platte Valley Medical Center emergency entrance. Some of the volunteer staff have also been testing positive in the past few weeks. This is in addition to the City having an outbreak with twenty-five staff members testing positive. A local staffing company has since been hired to staff the testing site and one employee manages the site, which has been moved to the Riverdale Regional Park. Since a number of police officers have tested positive, the police department staff does not feel comfortable interacting with the community.
Assistant City Manager Michael Martinez presented an overview of the CARES Act Funding expenditures. To date the City has spent $324,718 on the mobile testing site. Staff has spent $2,958,542 of the CARES Act Funding to date, leaving $233,690 remaining. Things are changing and there is a vaccine candidate that is 90% effective. This may be available to administer in the next month.
Finance Director Maria Ostrom explained that $325,000 has been spent on mobile testing and the City will not have enough funds to reach November 21st at this rate. The testing site has been popular and the staff has seen the same people being tested multiple times. Staff is requesting direction from Council regarding the CARES funding at least through November 21, 2020. The testing has become more available to everyone and there are more options. One option would be to offer payment for testing instead of exposing staff at the testing site.
Assistant City Manager Martinez, City Manager Bais DiSessa and Director Ostrom answered questions from Council regarding:
• The number of people getting duplicate testing.
• The locations for testing in the City.
• The company staffing the testing site being medical professionals.
• Any way to help employees if they get COVID and run out of PTO.
• The cost of getting at test at a local pharmacy.
• The decision being made to have staff run the testing site.
• Anything that can be done moving forward.
• Rapid tests being provided at pharmacies.
• Masks being required for those getting a test.
• The kiosk test being a rapid test.
• The cost for a kiosk.
• The way the test is administered at a kiosk.
• The number of tests that can be administered at a kiosk.
• The number of non-residents being tested at the testing site.
• There being two kiosks in the State of Colorado.
• The CARES funding being able to be used for PTO for employees that contract COVID.
• The reason the funding is not sufficient to test through the end of the year.
• The number of tests left in stock.
• The site completing more than one hundred tests per day.
Director Ostrom explained that the City has received an additional million dollars from Adams County and they have authorized that these funds could be spent on business assistance, household mortgage assistance and testing. The Resolution before Council is to amend the IGA for CARES funding and to get direction from Council how to spend the additional funds.
City Manager Bais DiSessa, Director Ostrom and Assistant City Manager Martinez answered questions from Council regarding:
• The recommendation from staff regarding the additional funds.
• The testing ending on November 21, 2020.
• The approval of Item 3B not specifying how the funds would be spent and giving staff the ability to determine how much to spend on these items.
• The need to have testing by appointment only.
• The ability to use the additional funding for employee PTO.
Director Ostrom explained that all funding that is not spent by December 20, 2020 would have to be returned so staff is requesting that they be able to allocate the funds as needed. This is the reason it was not recommended by staff to divide the funding in thirds. Director Ostrom, City Attorney Jack Bajorek, Assistant City Manager Martinez and City Manager Bais DiSessa answered questions from Council regarding:
• The ability to control the number of tests one person could have with vouchers.
• The need for this discussion if it was determined that on October 20, 2020 the funds would be split in thirds.
• Winterizing for restaurants being an allowed use for the funding.
• Adams County not allowing the City to help businesses with winterization.
• The motion that was made regarding spending these funds on October 20, 2020.
• The use of CARES funding to be used for a short-term program like AFLAC for staff.
• Help to make a motion that the Resolution would match what Adams County would allow.
• The ability to change the Resolution to allow funding for winterization for businesses.
• The City putting these funds in jeopardy if delaying to vote to hear about funds for winterization.
Motion by Councilmember Cushing, seconded by Councilmember Humbert, to approve Resolution 2020-110. Motion passed by the following vote:
Aye: 7 - Mayor Mills, Councilmember Cushing, Councilmember Humbert, Councilmember
Jordinelli, Councilmember Pollack, Councilmember Taddeo, and Councilmember
Watts
No: 1 - Mayor Pro Tem Johnston
Absent: 1 - Councilmember Blackhurst
B. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRIGHTON, COLORADO, AUTHORIZING THE USE OF CARES FUNDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION, FUNDING, AND ADMINISTRATION OF COMMUNITY GRANTS AND FOR COVID-19 MOBILE TESTING
City Attorney Bajorek answered questions from Council regarding:
• The need for a new Resolution if the funds are not used in full.
Motion by Councilmember Cushing, seconded by Councilmember Jordinelli, to approve Resolution 2020-111 as amended to remove the word mobile and to allocate 1/3 to testing, 1/3 to residential mortgage and rental assistance and 1/3 to business mortgage and rental assistance. Motion passed by the following vote:
Aye: 8 - Mayor Mills, Mayor Pro Tem Johnston, Councilmember Cushing, Councilmember
Humbert, Councilmember Jordinelli, Councilmember Pollack, Councilmember
Taddeo, and Councilmember Watts
Absent: 1 - Councilmember Blackhurst
4. GENERAL BUSINESS
A. COVID Testing Discussion
5. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Johnston, seconded by Councilmember Jordinelli, to go into Executive Session at 9:53 p.m. for the purpose of determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategy for negotiations, and/or instructing negotiators, under C.R.S. Section 24-6-402(4)(e) regarding City Property Leases at 500 South 4th Avenue, 22 South 4th Avenue and 36 South Main Street, Parking Easement at the Southwest corner of 4th Avenue and Strong Street and the Possible Sale of Property at 575 Bush Street. Motion passed by the following vote:
Aye: 8 - Mayor Mills, Mayor Pro Tem Johnston, Councilmember Cushing, Councilmember
Humbert, Councilmember Jordinelli, Councilmember Pollack, Councilmember
Taddeo, and Councilmember Watts
Absent: 1 - Councilmember Blackhurst
Mayor Mills reconvened the meeting at 12:18 p.m.
6. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Mills adjourned the meeting at 12:20 a.m.
CITY OF BRIGHTON, COLORADO
_____________________________
Gregory Mills, Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________________
Natalie Hoel, City Clerk
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Approval Date