November 12, 2024, Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Record of Proceedings

Foothills Park & Recreation District Regular Board of Directors meeting
November 12, 2024
A virtual attendance option was made available through Microsoft Teams.

Call to Order

Director Trimble called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Director Trimble led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.

Roll Call

Director Hanson, Absent; Director Lodice, Arrived 6:09 p.m.; Director Daughtrey, Present; Director Writz, Present; Director Trimble, Present.

Also in Attendance: Paul Rufien, District Counsel; Ronald Hopp, Executive Director; Becky Richmond, Director of Recreation; Derek Eberhardt, Assistant Director of Recreation; Colin Insley, Director of Parks, Planning and Construction; Randy Meyers, Director of Golf; Richelle Riley, Recording Secretary; other Foothills staff and members of the public.

Potential conflicts of interest were disclosed pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes 18-8-308(2), 24-18-109(3)(a), 24-18-110, and 32-1-902(3).

Approval of Agenda

Motion: Director Daughtrey moved that the Foothills Board of Directors approve the November 12, 2024 agenda as submitted. Director Writz seconded the motion. Poll of the Board: Director Daughtrey, yes; Director Writz, yes; Director Trimble, yes. The motion was approved.

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

Director Daughtrey had a correction to the October 22, 2024 board meeting minutes to replace the word platforms with the word parties on page 2 in the Executive Director’s Report section.

Motion: Director Daughtrey moved that the Foothills Board of Directors approve the minutes of the October 22, 2024 board meeting as corrected. Director Writz seconded the motion. Poll of the Board: Director Daughtrey, yes; Director Writz, yes; Director Trimble, yes. The motion was approved.

Community Comments

There were no community comments.

Decision Items

There were no decision items.

Executive Director’s Report

Highlighting the report provided, Ronald Hopp pointed out that Adolfson & Peterson, the general contractor for the Foothills Clubhouse, submitted the clubhouse project for an award with the Annual Excellence in Construction Awards hosted by the Contractors Association and received two awards. They won an Award of Excellence for Special Projects between $2M and $100M and Award of Excellence Project of the Year.

Mr. Hopp made the Board aware that staff are monitoring the Jeffco Schools’ decision to close schools in Jefferson County, two of them are within our district boundaries; Peifer Elementary and Colorow Elementary. Staff have had conversations with them about Peifer, but at this point in time there aren’t any decisions, he discussed. Mr. Hopp explained staff will continue to monitor the situation with both Peifer and Colorow.

Mr. Hopp said there have been conversations in the past about Deer Creek Golf Course. Some portions of the property have been sold; the water rights have been sold. The Plains Metro District purchased 64 acres on the north half of the golf course, Mr. Hopp discussed. The owner of Deer Creek Golf Course is retaining ownership of the south half of the golf course for some development potential. Mr. Hopp indicated some of that is in our District.

Mr. Hopp reminded the Board that the District holiday party is on Wednesday, December 4th from 9 – 11 a.m. at Foothills Golf Course. The theme is vintage ski attire. He called attention to the food and toy drive that is taking place at the facilities.

Mr. Hopp added that he, Randy Meyers, and Dennis Weiner met with Mike Morris, who is the owner of the restaurants at Foothills Golf Course and Meadows Golf Club, to talk about the potential of extending the agreement with him. Mr. Morris is contracted through 2024, Mr. Hopp discussed.

Regarding the order for Foothills attire, Mr. Hopp reminded the Board to place orders by November 20th.

Discussion Items

Item 1: November 5, 2024 Election Results

Mr. Hopp congratulated the Board and the District; the November 5, 2024 mill levy extension was successful with 75.68 percent approval. There were 44,507 in favor and 14,302 opposed. Mr. Hopp reiterated the election was extending the 2.75 mill levy that was originally passed in 2017 and was going to expire in 2026, so that extends it into perpetuity.

Mr. Hopp expressed that the District can continue moving forward in the positive manner that it has been doing, and continue to address capital and services and those types of things.

Director Trimble observed that 75 percent is overwhelming support for a measure like that. He said that is a huge compliment to the District to have that many people say they love the District, love what’s happening in the District whether they swim, golf, hike, etc. He echoed Mr. Hopp’s comments, the District does a fantastic job to have that kind of support from the community.

Item 2: 2025 Proposed Budget Presentations

Becky Richmond acknowledged and introduced Recreation staff who were in attendance. Referring to the 2025 Budget Book, Ms. Richmond presented total revenues and expenses and highlighted specific items for the overall Recreation budget. Ms. Richmond discussed revenues, expenditures and highlights for the individual Recreation areas including Arts, Events and Programs, which includes Active Adults programming. Regarding the future of the Hops in the Park event, she said there is likely a discontinuation of that program, but we are continuing to examine what our options are. Director Lodice expressed interest in being part of that conversation. Ms. Richmond continued with Children’s Programs; Edge Ice Arena and Penalty Box; Sports and Athletics; Indoor Sports; Facility Operations; Lilley Gulch Recreation Center; Peak Community & Wellness Center; Ridge Recreation Center; Climbing Wall; Fitness Programs; Facility Maintenance; Aquatics.

Colin Insley introduced Parks, Planning and Construction staff who were in attendance. Referring to the 2025 Budget Book for Parks, Planning and Construction, Mr. Insley highlighted overall revenues and expenditures for the department. He provided highlights for each area including Parks Administration; Fleet Services; Urban Parks Maintenance; Regional Parks Maintenance; Kipling Villas Sub-District; Park Rangers; Clement Park. In answer to Director Lodice, Mr. Insley and Ms. Richmond talked about the loss of the Unicorn Festival in Clement Park and trying to replace it.
Director Daughtrey asked if we can use reused water instead of potable water for any of our irrigation. Mr. Insley explained that the regional parks are irrigated with the cheapest water we have. Mr. Hopp clarified that Clement Park, Schaefer, Easton Regional Park, Meadows Golf Course, Foothills Golf Course, are irrigated with ditch water and lake water, not potable water. Where we have the ability to use non-potable water, we do. As we have gone through the rehabilitation of 32 parks and the parks that are coming up, we have done our best to try to reduce the footprint of the overall watering areas, Mr. Hopp explained. Mr. Insley pointed out there is also efficiency through replacing old irrigation systems.
In answer to Director Daughtrey, Ms. Richmond said the scoreboard for Aquatics is on the list for consideration for 2025, staff are working through current pricing. Mr. Hopp indicated the capital list is typically brought to the Board in January or February when it is finalized.
Mr. Hopp discussed budget items that will happen between now and the December 10th meeting, which is the second Tuesday of December. He asked that any changes the Board may have to be provided tonight so they can be incorporated into the final budget.
Mr. Hopp said there are two recommendations staff would like to make in our continued deliberation and discussion and analysis of how we compete with other agencies. Related to benefits, Mr. Hopp explained that the District has a district-funded life insurance plan that currently provides three times an annual salary up to $150,000, and that is thought to be what the District has offered since the early 1990s. We believe it would be prudent to move it up to $300,000, Mr. Hopp explained, and detailed the additional amount to the budget.
The other item, Mr. Hopp explained, is that staff would like to have the Board consider increasing the District’s contribution to the 401k Plan. Currently it is a five percent discretionary contribution for full-time employees if the employee contributes at least four percent on an annual basis, if it is less than four percent on an annual basis, they get two and half percent. Mr. Hopp said staff would like to increase that to six percent and three percent. He talked about how it compares to other entities like the District. Mr. Hopp reiterated this is an effort to try to be more competitive and be able to retain our employees. He detailed the additional amount to the budget.
If there is Board concurrence for those two items, Mr. Hopp said they will be included in the budget for consideration at the December meeting. The Board concurred to include the two items in the budget.

Adjournment

The regular meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m. The next regular board meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.

Submitted by: Richelle Riley, Recording Secretary