On Feb. 5th, the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) committee met and scored all 23 applications during a public meeting held in Council Chambers from 6 to 9 p.m. The preliminary scores are posted below as a pdf file. Citizens are encouraged to attend the final public meeting:
Monday, Feb. 9th
6 to 9 p.m.
Council Chambers
(Community Building, 20th Street)
During the Feb. 9 meeting, the CIP committee will be finalizing the scores. They will review and discuss the final report. The last meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers. Public comment will be accepted at the end of the meeting.
What process did the Committee use to score the applications?
There were 8 criteria that the applicants were required to address in their applications. The members agreed that the most appropriate method was for one criteria to be assigned to one committee member, and that it made sense to align the criteria as much as possible with that person's expertise or background. For example, the Public Information Officer scored the criteria for "documented public support". By using this method, no single member could suggest the complete score for any application*. The member scored their one assigned criteria for all 23 applications and took their score sheet to the Feb. 5th meeting. They had a few minutes to explain their scores to the other members and public. After each member had spoken about their individual criteria scores, the committee discussed whether or not they wanted to adopt the suggested score from the committee member as preliminary, or, proposed changes to the scores. In fact, during the Feb. 5th meeting, 12 scores on a variety of criteria and across several applications were discussed by the Committee. In most cases, the scores were updated to be a different (typically higher) score after gauging the consensus of the committee. The scores for that criteria were shown on a master spreadsheet projected onto a screen at the meeting for the audience to view and follow along as scores were discussed. After all scores were totaled, the committee considered other factors or modifications that might be appropriate for a particular application - for example, the amount of study funds requested for a Phase 1 application, or the application's scope of study. The committee then heard public comment before closing the meeting at approximately 9:30 p.m. Minutes of the Feb. 5 meeting will be posted here as soon as they are available.
It should be noted that there was a ninth criteria that allowed the Committee members to provide up to 4 additional points for special circumstances that they felt were not covered in the previous 8 criteria. The Committee took an average of all members' scores for the ninth criteria, and this is represented in the spreadsheet (download the pdf file below).
The Committee emphasized to the public that the Feb. 5 scoring is PRELIMINARY, giving all the Committee members a little more time to consider the results before returning to the Feb. 9 meeting and reviewing the final report. Committee members will be able to make any last suggested changes to the scores, or provide other comments, at the Feb. 9 meeting. Such items would be presented and need the approval of the entire committee to consider including in the final report.
*Citizen committee member Herb McClean agreed on Jan. 28 to score the criteria that had been assigned to Ralph Phelps (see explanation note under "Who's on the Committee ?"section below) which meant Mr. McLean scored all applications on 2 of the 8 criteria. The Committee felt this was the most appropriate response to the situation with Mr. Phelp's withdrawal, as it continued to support the goal of providing as much citizen input as possible into the process.
What happens next?
After the Feb. 9th meeting, the Committee’s recommendations (in their final report, which will be posted to the webpage) will be forwarded to the County Administrator for further review as part of the overall FY 10 budget process. Budget hearings will get underway in April with a series of regular and special Council meetings.The Council will make the final determination during these budget hearings about which applications receive funding, after considering the Committee and the County Administrator's recommendations, and after considering the overall budget for FY 10.
The budget meetings are set for April 20, 21, 23 and 28, 2009. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers. All of them will be broadcast on PAC 8 live and via internet streaming from PAC 8. It is expected that the CIP will be a major discussion item at one of the April meetings, and CIP applicants will be notifed and encouraged to attend. Final budget adoption will occur at the Council meeting on May 12, 2009.
Will the Committee continue to receive public comments about CIP applications right up until the Budget Hearings occur?
The Committee's role in scoring the applications ends with the submission of the final report to the County Administrator. The County's budget will be published on March 31st, and the County Administrator's recommendations (as part of the overall budget) will be contained in that publication. However, citizens are always invited and encouraged to participate in the budgeting process which is currently underway. Citizens can continue to e-mail comments about the CIP, or any other portion of the County's budget, to Chief Financial Officer (and Committee member) Steve Lynne at steven.lynne@lacnm.us.
Who's on the Committee?
The Committee members from the County are:
Rick Bohn, CDD Director
John Arrowsmith, Utilities Manager
Kyle Zimmerman, Public Works Director
Steve Lynne, Chief Financial Officer
Julie Habiger, Public Information Officer
The Committee members from the public are:
Herb McLean
NOTE: Lou Santoro was selected as a citizen participant but was not available to participate in any of the application reviews. Therefore he was removed from the committee. Ralph Phelps was the second citizen member. He attended all four review meetings in January. However, Mr. Phelps had to withdraw from the Committee on Jan. 27th, after being selected that evening as the councilor to replace Jim West on the County Council.
Can I read minutes of the public meetings held in January and February?
Yes. Minutes of the January 12, 2009 meeting (held in White Rock) have already been posted. Additional minutes will be posted here as soon as they are available. All minutes will also be included in the final report.
Will the Committee continue to follow the CIP applications as the proceed through Phase 1 or 2?
Yes. The County staff on the committee will continue to provide oversight and assistance to applicants. The citizen (Herb McClean) will not be asked to continue with the oversight process, due to the time commitment that would be involved over many months or years -- tracking so many CIP projects moving from the Study Phase to the Final Design and Construction Phase would take a considerable amount of time and additional meetings for the citizens on the Committee.
Can I still submit my feedback about any CIP application?
Yes. If you cannot attend the Feb. 9th meeting, but would like to voice your support (or opposition) after reviewing any particular application, please e-mail Rick Bohn in the Community Development Department. The Committee will still consider comments up through the last meeting on Feb. 9th, and there will be a public comment period of time at the end of the Feb. 9 meeting.
Are the applications still available for the public to review?
All originally submitted applications can be downloaded below as pdf files or citizens can visit the 311 Center or the reference desk of either library to review a hard copy. It should be noted that there is a large amount of information that was submitted beyond the original applications that can be viewed at 311 or the libraries. Many of the applicants provided powerpoint presentations, supplemental technical specs or information, updated or amended/corrected applications, and/or additional letters of support in the last few weeks. Many of them also provided more information and/or clarifications as the result of Committee questions that arose in the January public meetings. This information is NOT posted here on the webpage; the amount of information that would be posted and number of files to be downloaded would be voluminous and cumbersome to search through on-line. Therefore, to be sure that you are reviewing the very latest, complete set of information for any application, please visit the CDD office on the second floor of the County Annex (across from MariMac Plaza on Trinity Drive). They are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Additional Background about the CIP process and previous public meetings...
The Council reviewed and endorsed a new CIP Project Development Flow Chart for all CIP projects in July 2008. It included seven project phases plus a pre-project "Phase 0". Council asked the Staff to develop a new process which included a major emphasis on community involvement in early project stages, as well as more accurate project definitions and tighter controls on project scopes and budgets throughout the process.
The CIP cycle opened on October 20, 2008. Proposals could be submitted by individuals, County Boards and Commissions, civic groups, County departments, or by any combination of applicants and sponsors. The schedule was set up so that the County could have a CIP budget proposal that could be ready in time for the Council’s consideration as part of the overall FY 2010 budget next spring. This new round of applications would also allow the Council to review new CIP project proposals and gauge citizen interest in new projects that are desired for the future.
Two public meetings were held in October - one in Los Alamos and one in White Rock. The Los Alamos meeting was filmed by PAC 8 and available for replay or via DVD at the libraries. County staff met with applicants to review their applications and offer suggestions every Monday afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. during October, November and December, or met with applicants by personal appointment if needed. Information was also placed on the County's website and sent to local media. The funding cycle closed Dec. 31, 2008.
Four public meetings were held in January to review the 23 applications that were received. The first meeting was held in White Rock on Jan. 12th. The next three meetings were held in Los Alamos on Jan. 15, 20 and 23. A county/citizen CIP Evaluation and Oversight Committee hosted all four public meetings. The public was given the chance to comment on each application at each public meeting. The agenda for all four meetings was the same: the applicant was invited to give a brief overview of their project, followed by questions from the Committee, and then public comment in support/opposition to the application.
The week of January 26 through 30, 2009 was the one week where no public meetings were held. This was to allow the applicants time to answer any Committee questions or gather any last letters of public support.
For more info...
Additional details and an outline of the process are more fully explained in the County published CIP Manual and the CIP application forms. These materials are on-line (scroll down and open the pdf file "CIP Project Manual").
The Council discussed this year’s CIP cycle, especially as it related to the CIP and prioritization of existing projects, when they met in regular session on Oct. 14, 2008. The Council’s agenda for the October 14th item about the CIP process and prioritization of projects as well as a review of the Long Range Financial Plan is available when you link here.
If you missed the CIP application deadline...
Any citizen who did not submit an application, but is still interested in submitting a project for the Council to consider in the future, should note that the County anticipates that a second round of CIP application submissions will be invited during the next fiscal year (after July 1, 2009). Opening a second cycle will also allow successful Phase 1 projects to proceed with Phase 2 applications, although applicants should note that Council approval of a Phase 1 study application does not guarantee that the project will be approved during the Phase 2 approval process.
More details about the differences in the Phase 0, 1 and 2 processes are available in the CIP fact sheet or the CIP manual previously mentioned (download the files below).