Brighton City Council Study Session - April 22, 2025

The Brighton City Council held a study session on April 22, 2025, to discuss a legislative update from lobbyists, a pension record keeper change, strategic plan updates, and a waterline replacement project. No formal votes were taken, but several items were recommended for placement on a future consent agenda.

Discussion Items

Appointment to Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

• Deputy City Clerk presented the recommendation to appoint Joe ARP to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Council expressed no objections and will prepare a resolution for the next regular meeting.

Monthly Contract Update for March 2025

• Finance Director presented the monthly contract report. A clarification was made regarding a change order for a park project: the reported $2 million was the new total contract amount, not the change order value; the actual change order was $21,900 for regrading, water redesign, and soil amendments to address a gravel pit site.

Legislative Update

• Matt LeCrue and Ellie Reynolds of Purple Label Lobbying provided an update on state legislation with two weeks left in the session. They reported that about 50 bills affecting local government were tracked, with many killed. Key bills still in play:
  • HB25-1169 (YIMBY/Yes in God's Backyard): Allows administrative review for housing development on faith, school, or university land (limited to 5 acres, affordable requirement). City legislative committee is opposed. It passed the House, awaiting Senate debate with uncertain votes.
  • HB25-1272 (Construction Defects): Reforms litigation for condos, allowing builder mitigation, third-party inspection. Has bipartisan support, passed both chambers, pending House approval of Senate amendments.
  • HB25-1273 (Single Stairway Bill): Requires municipalities >100,000 population to allow single-stairway access in residential buildings up to 5 stories. City opposes due to fire safety concerns. Passed House, awaiting Senate committee (referred to as "kill committee"). Fire chiefs have neutral position after safety amendments; fire unions remain opposed.
  • HB25-1295 (Food Truck Operations): Creates reciprocal licensing for food trucks, preempting local regulation. City strongly opposes, working to gather 11 Democrat votes to kill the bill in the House. Local control and safety concerns cited. Councilmember noted an issue with unlicensed individuals selling food from cars, which competes unfairly with licensed businesses.
• State Budget: The state faces a $1.2 billion deficit. The $43.9 billion budget was passed with no amendments. K-12 and Medicaid mostly protected, but transportation projects delayed to 2030. Local governments face about $138 million in cuts, including $15 million from the severance tax fund for first responder radio programs.
• Councilmember commented that the legislative committee operates on two core principles: preserving local control and opposing unfunded mandates. Council members received the bill tracker link.

Pension Board Record Keeper Change

• Finance Director and Assistant City Manager presented the recommendation to switch from Mission Square to Empower as record keeper for the city's pension retirement plans (for non-police full-time employees). The change follows a five-year RFP process with five respondents. Empower was selected for lower fees (paid by employee contributions, not the city), better customer service (includes in-house record keeping, specific investment advice regardless of balance), and local presence in Colorado. Transition is expected to be smooth with employee communication. The plan document itself will be updated but with no major benefit changes. Recommended for consent agenda.

Strategic Plan Update

• Budget and Performance Management Analyst Pierce Miller presented proposed minor updates to the 2023-2027 strategic plan, incorporating feedback from the February council retreat. The only major change was adding a task to support the creation (not support of an existing) downtown development authority under the economic acceleration vision area. The plan is publicly available on the city website.

Core City Phase 2 Waterline Replacement

• Utility Staff Engineer Jamie Dempsey presented the project to replace aging water lines along 8th, 7th, and 6th Avenues between Southern and Bush/Skeel streets. Ten bids received; seven responsive. Staff recommends awarding to Wagner Construction (lowest responsive bid). Construction will block-by-block, approximately 2-3 weeks per block. Public notice through mail, door hangers, and electronic signs. Temporary above-ground water lines will minimize service disruption. Contractor will coordinate ADA access, driveway access, and trash service. Recommended for consent agenda.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken. The following items are expected to appear on the consent agenda of a future regular meeting: appointment of Joe ARP to Parks and Rec Board, pension record keeper change to Empower, and award of waterline replacement contract to Wagner Construction.
• The legislative update was received; council expressed appreciation for lobbyist work.
• The strategic plan update was accepted with a minor wording change ("support the creation of a downtown development authority").
• Council noted upcoming schedule changes: May 20 meeting may be canceled due to Brighton High School graduation; May 27 meeting may be rescheduled to May 13; November calendar has conflicts with election, Veterans Day, and National League of Cities Conference.