Guest post by Lenore Herskovitz
On March 1 and 2, 2024 City Council held its Annual Planning Meeting. Mayor Strom and Councilor Stewart organized the event. The City used the same facilitator as last year (Point b(e) Strategies) but unlike last year there was no recording of this meeting. Ironically, one of last year’s priorities was “Effective, accountable, transparent, and data-informed government”. This seems like an appropriate time to look back on how successful the Council has been in achieving its 2023 goals (3 of the 6 proposed goals will be discussed).
The first: Secure, inclusive, and affordable neighborhoods. The focus regarding housing was provided by the Strategic Housing Plan which was discussed in a Study Session in the beginning of 2023 and then at the end of the year. This is an ongoing process. Additionally, the Housing Policy Commission was going to take up where the defunct Development Dialogue Committee left off in April, 2022 targeting, in part, affordability and inclusionary zoning. The Housing Policy Commission spent close to a year formulating Short Term Rental (STR) legislation. Once this passed in March 2023 the Commission was free to take on the other housing issues. Their first meeting was held in May of last year. Two following meetings occurred ending in July, then nothing for the remainder of the year. Two proposed meetings were cancelled.
The second: Short and long-term solutions for the unhoused. There has been some progress in this area with the opening of RecoveryWorks Navigation Center and the establishment of an emergency cold weather sheltering program. This topic will also be an ongoing challenge for the future.
The third: Effective, accountable, transparent, and data-informed government. Two positives can be noted. The City has hired a Communications Manager, Angela Ramirez, who has been reaching out on various social media platforms in an effort to keep the public informed about citywide issues. Additionally, the Lakewood Police Department has begun posting a weekly activity summary called “Snapshots of Police Work” which includes calls for service, arrests, traffic stops, etc. This has been promoted on Nextdoor, Facebook, and in the Friday Report mailing.
In spite of these inroads, problems far outweigh any progress that has been made. It is still difficult to navigate websites with additions being made frequently. There is confusion between when and where notifications should be posted on Lakewood.org (the official city site) and Lakewoodspeaks. At last year’s annual meeting a “one stop shop” solution was suggested. It never went anywhere. Now “Looking at Lakewood” which is sent to every household in the city only features one Ward per issue. Previously all wards and Councilors had an entry in each mailing. This created a sense of connectivity between wards. Now that source of information has been removed. We must maintain our monthly Ward meetings. Coffee chats and office hours with our representatives should serve as a supplement not a replacement for community gatherings.
We are constantly hearing from staff and our elected officials how much they value and desire our input ( the latest buzz phrase is “community engagement”) on surveys, the Strategic Housing Policy and most recently the Comprehensive Plan to name but a few. Yet when it comes to turning suggestions and requests into actionable policy many feel it is an exercise in futility. Even obtaining information regarding this year’s annual meeting was difficult. Councilor Stewart told the attendees at the most recent Ward 3 meeting that the agenda and meeting information were available on Lakewoodspeaks. Evidently she had not verified this because the posting was on Lakewood.org without the agenda. The agenda was finally available to the public 24 hours before the scheduled event (this is all that is required). For years the public has wanted this meeting to be more accessible and transparent. Who decided not to record the event this year? And why? Where is the accountability? At its peak, nine members of the community attended the March 2 meeting in person. I attended part of the first day event (this was conducted by the Mayor with no facilitator present). I was the only community member there.
Communications between staff, council members and the public are insufficient especially when discussing controversial issues. The city is often reactive instead of proactive which leads to confusion, anger and resentment. Too many decisions are made behind the scene by “anonymous” staff which fuels the lack of trust. Misinformation runs rampant among community members and within our governing body. There is mixed messaging and omissions of pertinent information leading to blame-placing from both sides.
Council members have been negligent on following up on goals set last year. The City Manager was asked to provide quarterly updates on the established goals. Originally it was suggested that this be done in person but that was ignored and replaced by videos. The last available video that was posted on the city dashboard was from July, the end of the 2nd quarter (there are written updates but no videos that I was able to locate). The Council needs to provide oversight and hold the City Manager accountable when she doesn’t fulfill her obligation. This would hold true for any job but especially for someone who is our highest paid city official. The Council can weigh in on this when the City Manager’s evaluation comes up next month.
A broader look back shows there were only 7 study sessions last year. The calendar allows for an equal number of council meetings and study sessions each month. The Belmar Park West project highlighted many problems including the land dedication/fee in lieu process. There should have been annual reviews by Kit Newland, Director of Community Resources since 2019. NOT DONE! The City Council was suppose to review this policy by the end of last year. NOT DONE! This is now scheduled for a study session on April 15, 2024, 4 1/2 months after the deadline that had been set. Interestingly, it only took the Council 2 weeks this past summer to pass an emergency ordinance to sunset the Strategic Growth Initiative (SGI) in 2025. This was in response to HB 23-1255 which prohibited growth limitations. Although cities were given 24 months to comply, Lakewood passed their ordinance on August 7, 2023 the day before the bill became law. Neither Boulder nor Golden have taken such drastic action. Lakewood could have simply removed the 1% growth cap and retained the all important oversight portion of the Initiative thereby satisfying both the state requirement and honoring the voters who supported it. To reiterate, this took place within a 2 week period when 24 months were allotted before a change was required. Yet the “fee in lieu” which had a specific immediate deadline was placed on the back burner for 4 1/2 months.
Council members have a great responsibility to their constituents. Trust, truth, and transparency are in short supply. Councilors should represent the best interests of their community not their own interpretation of them. Questions need to be answered by Councilors and staff alike. Codes and ordinances need to be followed and enforced. If changes are made, they must be redlined. Appointed city officials should be available for in person town halls or open forums where they can explain and answer questions about their decisions that have a direct effect on the community. Goals are meaningless without oversight and follow through actions. Within a few weeks the official copy of new goals should be available. Only time will tell if progress is made.
