OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Brighton City Council Study Session – September 9, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, September 9, 2025
BodyBrighton, Colorado
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 9, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:16

Transcript — Verbatim
1:02

Good evening.

1:04

I'd like to call to order our city council study session for Tuesday, September 9th, 2025.

1:12

I'd like to request Councilmember Green to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:47

All right.

1:48

Thank you.

1:50

First item on our agenda.

1:53

Brighton Legacy Foundation 2025 update.

1:56

City Manager Martinez.

2:00

Thank you, Mayor.

2:01

At this time I will ask our friend Brighton Legacy Foundation to come on up and give us presentation, as you know.

2:06

They do wonderful things for our community.

2:09

And we're excited to hear what they have to say about all the great things they've done this year and looking ahead to next year.

2:14

And so with that, I will turn it over.

2:20

Thank you, City Manager Martinez and fellow deputy assistant city managers and council.

2:28

My name is Evette Martinez, and it's a pleasure to be here with you this evening.

2:32

And I am here joined by my fellow chairperson who's actually um co-director of our Brighton Legacy Foundation along with Mr.

2:42

Lloyd Wirth.

2:43

Riannon and I have served for a number of years.

2:47

Um probably too many to count at this point.

2:49

And the reason is we sincerely value what the Legacy Foundation does for our community.

3:00

And we have had the distinct pleasure of meeting many, if not all of our grant recipients at some point or another.

3:10

That number of recipients grows over the years, and we form relationships with these individuals that run these wonderful organizations.

3:47

So um with that, we have a presentation for you tonight.

3:51

It is brief.

4:37

Yeah, and that's Susan Chavez, who is the, yeah, very recently, who's the executive director of the Brighton Legacy Foundation here in town, founder.

4:45

And the wonderful Sue Corbett.

4:49

Thank you, Lloyd, for inviting both ladies.

4:51

I think it was you that recruited them, right?

4:55

Yeah.

5:00

Richard Lambert Foundation, what did I say?

5:02

You said uh Brighton Legacy Foundation.

5:04

I'm so sorry.

5:04

But she just joined the board.

5:06

Yes, she did.

5:07

And so she she wears now, she now wears that hat too.

5:10

And um, one member that recently resigned due to um many responsibilities that she is is taking on with her position uh is Kenlin Newman.

5:20

So Kenlin recently stepped down.

5:24

So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to my colleague and friend and co-director chairperson, Rihanna Collins.

5:32

You want to talk about you want me to hit those first?

5:34

Yeah, or I can do I can do mine.

5:36

Yeah, and then we can tag team.

5:37

Okay, okay.

5:38

Thank you.

5:41

Okay, so I want to touch on a few of the organizations that we have granted money to.

5:48

Um new and some over the years.

5:52

So um one probably that maybe not very many of you have heard of, and the other I think will will sound pretty familiar to everyone, but they have some really great programs that I just wanted to touch on tonight.

6:06

So the first one is um cultural brokers.

6:09

So cultural brokers was founded to bridge the gap between mental behavioral health resources and people of differing um cultural backgrounds.

6:19

So Anthony Johnson is the founder of this organization, and he really is a hustler.

6:26

He came um and interviewed with us because he was a new um applicant this year.

6:31

And um, a lot of us were really on the fence.

6:34

He's really in the infantile stages of this organization, and um, we did give him minimal funding, but I have been watching him this year and um reading his newsletters and following along, and he I just feel like he's doing great work.

6:49

He spends a lot of time at um two of our other grantees, almost home and precious child.

6:55

He's providing resources to those community members there and really spending some good time there.

7:00

He also spends a lot of time at FISH in Broomfield, which is another family resource center.

7:06

So I just kind of wanted to give him a shout out because um he was very new to it.

7:11

He's really navigating his way, and I think he's doing really good work.

7:14

So that is cultural brokers.

7:16

Um, the next organization I want to talk about is Reaching Hope.

7:20

I know a lot of you are familiar with Reaching Hope, um, but I just really um I really feel like they're doing good work too.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement████████████████████████████████████36%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Procedural█████████9%
Transportation Safety████████8%
Public Works███████7%
Fiscal Sustainability██████6%
Economic Development████4%
Public Safety████4%
Organizational Excellence████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Brighton City Council Study Session – September 9, 2025

The Brighton City Council held a study session on September 9, 2025, to discuss the Brighton Legacy Foundation's 2025 update and funding request, a maintenance agreement with E-470 Authority, and the proposed 2026 budget tied to the city's strategic plan. No formal votes were taken, but council provided direction on several items.

Discussion Items

  • Brighton Legacy Foundation 2025 Update & Funding Request

    • Representatives Evette Martinez, Rihanna Collins, and Lloyd Wirth presented the foundation's work, highlighting grants to Cultural Brokers, Reaching Hope, and Brothers Redevelopment. They noted a $25,000 shortfall between local nonprofit requests and available grants in the prior year. The foundation requested a $25,000 funding increase to cover the gap and meet growing community needs.
    • Council expressed appreciation for the foundation's work and noted that a similar request had been discussed in a prior budget study session. Councilmember Green requested a detailed list of all grant recipients and expenditures to justify the increase. The presenters agreed to provide that information.
    • The foundation also noted that its grant cycle opens in October, and council requested the presentation be moved earlier in the year to align with budget planning.

  • Maintenance Agreement IGA with E-470 Authority

    • The Public Works Director presented an intergovernmental agreement establishing ownership and maintenance responsibilities for new infrastructure at the E-470 ramp on Sable Boulevard. The city will maintain the Sable Boulevard crossing, traffic signals, a trail, and drainage infrastructure.
    • No immediate financial obligation, but future maintenance costs will be part of operating budgets. Construction is expected to be completed by end of 2026, possibly earlier (Q3/Q4 2026). Council expressed interest in placing this item on the regular agenda rather than consent calendar to highlight the achievement.

  • 2026 Budget and Strategic Plan

    • Budget and Innovation Director Katherine presented the proposed budget aligned with the city's seven vision areas. A notable change from the earlier budget draft was an additional $30,000 allocated to the Brighton Legacy Foundation (vs. the $25,000 requested). City Manager Martinez noted this is $5,000 more than requested, and sought council feedback on the amount.
    • Other budget highlights include:
      • Continued funding for water treatment plant, Let's Reservoir, and affordable housing coordinator.
      • RecPlex and Rec Center expansion, supported by a $3 million county grant; expected opening in 2027.
      • $100,000 additional for small business improvement grants and conversion of a part-time administrative assistant to full-time.
      • Continued funding for co-responder program (mental health), CALEA accreditation, and microtransit service (expected launch in December 2025).
      • New budget and innovation department, grant coordinator position, and inflationary increases across the five-year CIP.
    • Council discussed the need for an ADA compliance update on the website, the status of the microtransit service, and the need for prioritization of road projects from a list of 168 projects totaling $4 billion. Planning for a potential future revenue measure (e.g., public safety tax) was noted.

Key Outcomes

  • Legacy Foundation Funding: Council directed staff to consider the $30,000 increase (noting it exceeds the request). The foundation will provide detailed grantee expenditure data.
  • E-470 IGA: Staff will bring the agreement to a regular meeting agenda (not consent) for formal approval, allowing council to celebrate the project's ahead-of-schedule progress.
  • Budget Direction: The 2026 proposed budget and strategic plan were reviewed favorably; the $30,000 legacy increase was acknowledged. Council requested earlier timing for the legacy foundation presentation in future years.
  • Microtransit: Service is expected to launch in December 2025, after procurement and a kickoff meeting next week.
  • RecPlex: Design at ~60%; construction to begin early 2026 with opening in 2027.
  • Future Meetings: A combined study session with the Planning Commission is scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of September. A joint meeting with 27J schools is also planned. Due to limited study sessions in November and December, some routine items may appear directly on regular agendas.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I'd like to call to order our city council study session for Tuesday, September 9th, 2025. I'd like to request Councilmember Green to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. All right. Thank you. First item on our agenda. Brighton Legacy Foundation 2025 update. City Manager Martinez. Thank you, Mayor. At this time I will ask our friend Brighton Legacy Foundation to come on up and give us presentation, as you know. They do wonderful things for our community. And we're excited to hear what they have to say about all the great things they've done this year and looking ahead to next year. And so with that, I will turn it over. Thank you, City Manager Martinez and fellow deputy assistant city managers and council. My name is Evette Martinez, and it's a pleasure to be here with you this evening. And I am here joined by my fellow chairperson who's actually um co-director of our Brighton Legacy Foundation along with Mr. Lloyd Wirth. Riannon and I have served for a number of years. Um probably too many to count at this point. And the reason is we sincerely value what the Legacy Foundation does for our community. And we have had the distinct pleasure of meeting many, if not all of our grant recipients at some point or another. That number of recipients grows over the years, and we form relationships with these individuals that run these wonderful organizations. So um with that, we have a presentation for you tonight. It is brief. Yeah, and that's Susan Chavez, who is the, yeah, very recently, who's the executive director of the Brighton Legacy Foundation here in town, founder. And the wonderful Sue Corbett. Thank you, Lloyd, for inviting both ladies. I think it was you that recruited them, right? Yeah. Richard Lambert Foundation, what did I say? You said uh Brighton Legacy Foundation. I'm so sorry. But she just joined the board. Yes, she did. And so she she wears now, she now wears that hat too. And um, one member that recently resigned due to um many responsibilities that she is is taking on with her position uh is Kenlin Newman. So Kenlin recently stepped down. So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to my colleague and friend and co-director chairperson, Rihanna Collins. You want to talk about you want me to hit those first? Yeah, or I can do I can do mine. Yeah, and then we can tag team. Okay, okay. Thank you. Okay, so I want to touch on a few of the organizations that we have granted money to. Um new and some over the years. So um one probably that maybe not very many of you have heard of, and the other I think will will sound pretty familiar to everyone, but they have some really great programs that I just wanted to touch on tonight. So the first one is um cultural brokers. So cultural brokers was founded to bridge the gap between mental behavioral health resources and people of differing um cultural backgrounds. So Anthony Johnson is the founder of this organization, and he really is a hustler. He came um and interviewed with us because he was a new um applicant this year.

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