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Council discusses bilingual texting service, parks planning, property concerns and judge vacancy
Summary
Council heard staff explain a planned 'Text My Gov' bilingual texting service tied to permitting and code enforcement, asked for a parks scope for Sombrero Loop, raised a code-enforcement driving concern, received an update on Maverick drawings and learned the municipal judge submitted a resignation received Feb. 10.
Councilor Marquez used the council discussion period on Feb. 23 to follow up on several community concerns and technology changes. He asked whether residents were notified about the council moving livestreams from Facebook to YouTube; staff confirmed notices were posted on social media and the city website.
Council and staff described a proposed Text My Gov integration with the city's iWorks permitting/licensing system. Municipal Clerk Jennifer said the service will let residents text keywords to initiate permit or code-enforcement reports and sign up for notifications; staff emphasized the feature supports automatic Spanish translation for outgoing messages and can translate Spanish replies back to English, creating a bilingual channel for residents. Implementation is not complete and staff said they will provide further details before activation.
Councilor Marquez raised a concern after witnessing a code-enforcement officer respond to a vehicle accident with lights on and driving quickly; he asked staff for the incident time so staff could investigate. Marquez also repeated prior requests to pursue a park at Sombrero Loop and recommended inviting Plan Collaborative to present a scope of work and fees; staff agreed to obtain a scope and try to schedule a presentation in March.
In other updates, Dr. Moore said the Maverick project had submitted final drawings to the state and that demolition could begin in March pending approval. Dr. Moore and the municipal clerk confirmed they had received a resignation from the municipal judge on Feb. 10 and will circulate the letter; staff will compile one or two candidate names for council consideration.
Council also discussed Springfest planning and the fire department's ability to participate depending on the wildland season; Fire Chief Andrew Tabet said the new rescue vehicle graphics are being proofed and the vehicle should be in service in the coming months.
No formal action was taken on these discussion items; staff committed to follow up with additional information and documents requested by council.
