Hughes Property Community Engagement

Aided by communities of interest, City of Fort Collins staff, and others, the Civic Assembly Delegates will engage in a learning phase in which they become informed on a wide range of community perspectives and land use possibilities. Through a series of collaborative discussions, input from community members, and internal deliberation on potential uses of the Hughes site, the Assembly will analyze multiple potential uses and build agreement for a preferred, holistic vision for the site that would have broad community support. The Assembly’s recommendation(s) set the stage for future decision making by the City Council.

To ensure this process is collaborative and community-driven from start to finish, residents throughout the city are invited to host conversations prior to the convening of the Civic Assembly.

This effort seeks to enlist interested parties to help:

1. Organize and conduct conversations with the community about their views on how the City of Fort Collins should use the Hughes site,
2. Learn about the types of information they think is important for delegates in the Civic Assembly to consider while they work to create recommendations for City Council, and
3. Engaging those who may not be able to participate in the Civic Assembly to ensure ensure a wide cross section of the community’s voice is heard.

In-person training opportunities will be provided by CSU’s Center for Public Deliberation(External link) to prepare you to host conversations with members of your community. Data from these conversations will be used to build out the information that’s provided to Assembly Delegates.

In exchange for your participation, you will receive a stipend of up to $250 based on your level of involvement in the program. After you complete the training, you will receive $100. You’ll then receive $25 for each conversation you host with a single community member and between $50 and $75 each for each group conversation you host with more than one person. The complete payment schedule is provided below. We hope to complete these conversations by March 5, 2025.

Please note the deadline to apply is January 22!

Who do we hope to involve?

This program is designed to ensure residents across the local community can be part of the conversation about the Hughes site and have a voice in the information the delegates receive. If you have participated in a previous iteration of Community Guides, you are welcome to join us again. However, this program is not limited only to previous Guides.

What will you be asked to do?

Participation in the program requires an in-person training, host your own conversations, and gather data from those conversations so that we can use it to inform future work during the Civic Assembly.

1. First, click on this link to apply(External link)! Those who apply early will be given priority and can begin work now, but we will accept applications until January 22. The application is very simple and primarily asks you to provide information about your intended level of involvement. We’ll get in touch within 1 week of receiving your application to let you know if you’ve been selected.
2. Attend 2 training sessions provided by the Center for Public Deliberation. Each training session will have a morning option and an evening option. The first training on Wednesday, February 5th will orient you to the wider Civic Assembly process and provide details on hosting your conversation. You can attend either a 10am-12pm session or a 6pm- 8pm session. The second training on Wednesday February 12th will focus on specific topics that will prepare you for your conversations. You can attend either a 10am-12pm session or a 6pm-8pm session.
3. You’ll then reach out to the folks in your life who want to talk about the Hughes site. These can be people you may have already had some conversations with about this issue or people that you haven’t connected with yet. You can host one-on-one conversations or group conversations. During the conversations, we’ll ask you to collect data about the discussion. The ideas you gather will help us ensure we provide robust and community-focused information to the delegates at the Civic Assembly. In exchange for your participation, you can receive additional compensation of up to $150. Each Community Guide can earn up to $250 for completing the training and hosting conversations in their community. We hope to have all conversations completed by March 5, 2025.
   1. One-on-one conversations: During these conversations, either you or your discussion partner will fill out a paper or online survey that will be used to record the main points of your conversation. For each one-on-one conversation, you will receive $25.
   2. Small group conversations: During these conversations, we’ll ask that each participant fills out the online survey to ensure that we hear from each group member. For each group discussion with between 2-5 participants, you will receive $50. For each group discussion with between 6-10 participants, you will receive $75.
4. Provide us with feedback on your experience. After this process has ended, we’ll ask you to let us know your thoughts on the Community Guide program. You’ll be able to fill out an online survey or participate in a debrief conducted by the Center for Public Deliberation. Your ideas and insights will be integrated into our engagement efforts moving forward.

Please note the deadline to apply is January 22nd.

Feedback from this survey will be compiled and shared with Civic Assembly delegates, alongside input gathered from previous engagement efforts, Community Guides and other sources, to ensure a diverse range of voices.

As you answer these questions, please keep in mind the parameters of the project:

• The Assembly will work to answer the question “Informed by the diverse needs of our community, what use(s) of the Hughes site will contribute most effectively to Fort Collins’ long-term vitality and meet the requirements outlined in the 2021 ballot measure?”
• The 2021 ballot measure states the City can “use said property for parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration, and further prohibiting the City from de-annexing, ceasing acquisition efforts or subsequently rezoning the property without voter approval of a separate initiative referred to the voters by City Council…”

Civic Assemblies can transform public participation and help find consensus on complex issues. They use a democratic lottery to select a diverse group of people to collaboratively develop policy recommendations. In April/May 2025, the Civic Assembly will meet to envision the site’s future, building on past engagement and the 2021 ballot initiative which states the site will be used for “parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration.”

Keeping this in mind, the Assembly will answer the question:

Informed by the diverse needs of our community, what use of the Hughes site will contribute most effectively to Fort Collins’ long-term vitality and meet the requirements outlined in the 2021 ballot measure?

Learn more about Civic Assemblies at fcgov.com/CivicAssembly