- Meeting Agenda
- Watch the meeting streaming live starting at 6:30PM
- Attend the meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers - 911 10th Street - (map)
- Send comments on any of the following topics to PublicComments@cityofgolden.net BEFORE 3PM, or
- Provide in-person comment (limited to 3 minutes) during the meeting. If you want to comment on the green building policy or the proposed $52.5 million debt, you must wait till the public hearings. If you plan to speak about anything else, plan to do it at the beginning of the meeting, shortly after 6:30PM.
CONSENT MATTERS
Topics on the "Consent Agenda," will not be discussed unless one or more of the Councilors requests discussion.
- The City has a multi-year plan to turn West Colfax into a "complete street" (includes bike lanes and sidewalks. Construction of that project has been delayed in light of the adjacent Lena Gulch drainage project. The combined projects are considerably more expensive than originally planned, but the City has received two additional grants totaling $11.6M. Tonight, Council will be asked to approve an amended intergovernmental agreement with the Colorado Dept. of Transportation increasing the project funding from $7 million to $18.6 million. The meeting memo says the City will seek public input based on the greater scope of the project.
- Council will be asked to approve an update to City Fees for 2025.
Council will be asked to approve an $648,615.00 to redesign Arapahoe Street between 11th and 13th. This plan has been underway for several years. The West Downtown Plan, which was approved in 2020, originally called for a significant reduction in available parking.
This plan was approved by the Planning Commission on 2/5/20.
Meeting Video (at 1 hour, 28 minutes to 2 hours, 5 minutes)
It was discussed by City Council in a study session on 5/21/20.
Meeting Video (at 1 hour, 44 minutes through 2 hours, 9 minutes)
It was approved by City Council in a business meeting on 6/11/20.
Meeting Video (at 2 hours, 7 minutes)
On 10/28/21, the Mobility and Transportation Advisory Committee held a public hearing on 10/28/21 to decide the specific question of, “are sidewalk improvements on Arapahoe Street worth reducing parking?” No members of the public attended the meeting, but the board did receive letters from employees at the physical therapy business on Arapahoe Street, saying that their patients needed close-by parking. MTAB voted to approve the plan to widen sidewalks and reduce parking.
We haven't heard much about this plan since 2021, but tonight's meeting memo shows a different configuration of parking spaces. It's difficult to tell whether the total number has changed. I can't tell whether the sidewalks are being widened.
The meeting memo says "The proposed improvement designs were brought to the Mobility and Transportation Advisory Board at a public meeting for discussion. MTAB provided positive feedback, and designs were altered based on their suggestions. No other public outreach efforts were conducted." I looked for that discussion, but the meeting packets and recordings have not been posted for Sept, Oct, and November of this year.
- The new Finance Director will be appointed as a director of the Golden Capital Leasing Corporation, which is the entity used to finance the City Shops with Certificates of Participation.
PROCLAMATION
PUBLIC HEARINGS
- Council will be asked to approved a green building policy for municipal buildings. The Resolution states that all city-owned projects of 1,500 square feet or more should meet the new standards. This means that the current city hall would not comply with the policy.
- Council will be asked to approve a plan to incur $52.5 million in debt to build a new city hall and police station.
This is a controversial move, in that many citizens believe taxpayers should vote on such a large discretionary purchase. By using Certificates of Participation instead of a bond issue, Council is side-stepping the need for a vote by residents.
A group of citizens is currently circulating a petition to restrict Council expenditures (without a vote) to $20 million, but their petition process won't be completed until late January. By approving this Ordinance tonight, Council avoids the possibility of having to bring it to a vote of the citizens
LEGISLATIVE POLICY STATEMENT
Council will review the policies that the Legislative Subcommittee (2 council members) will be asked to support or oppose in state legislation. The document also goes into considerable detail about the roles and expectations of the Legislative Subcommittee.
