OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Brighton City Council Study Session Summary - August 11, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, August 11, 2026
BodyBrighton, Colorado
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:00:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:37

Fifteen seconds, Peter.

1:13

Good evening.

1:14

Let's call it order our study session for Tuesday, August 11th, 2026.

1:20

We'll have Council Member Carbajall lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:51

All right.

1:58

I'm gonna call up uh Ken Kreitzer and crew to come on over.

2:07

Yeah, come on over.

2:08

Don't worry about those nameplates.

2:10

You can be the imposters for the moment.

2:28

Make sure it's green.

2:29

It is green.

2:33

Dear friends, um, thank you for this opportunity to come before you tonight and give a report on the state of the Brighton Sister Cities organization with our dear friends Gembica Poland.

2:47

As you are well aware, we just returned from a very busy summer.

2:52

Actually, it's been two really busy summers, uh, celebrating thirty years as two as last summer we hosted um not only a group of students but adults, and this year a group of students and adults went to Jimbica in both uh places, celebrating thirty years of our organization.

3:11

Sister Cities International was founded by President Dwight D.

3:15

Eisenhower in nineteen fifty-six to promote peace through people to people diplomacy for nearly seventy years.

3:23

Now uh Sister Cities International and volunteers have established thousands of partnerships between U.S.

3:29

cities and cities worldwide, but none as good or spectacular as our agreement with uh Zembica Poland.

3:44

Henry Ross, the guy who flies around and gets in every ways everybody's way taking pictures, and we love him dearly.

3:50

Um he was in Poland and he was approached by then the mayor of Zembica, Richard Novak.

3:56

And they wanted uh they wanted a sister city in co in uh the United States.

4:06

But ultimately, um the agreement was made.

4:17

Some now uh thirty-one years ago, um, as we do this two-year back and forth exchange.

4:25

Originally it was designed to start a cultural experience that that focused around education, agriculture, medicine, and local government, and it became very quickly apparent that the uh the real blessing of the organization was the student cultural exchange.

4:45

And uh so we have focused, both cities have focused on that portion of the partnership for the past 30 years.

5:00

And in that past 30 years now, over 300 students from both Poland and the Brighton surrounding area have exchanged both when you go there, you live there, you live in their houses, and when they come here, they live in our houses, and you just truly enjoy uh understanding what it's truly like to be a citizen in that country.

5:18

Um maybe it's a little flamboyant.

5:21

We go on field trips every day, and you know, I it's it's probably a little uh not quite truistic, but when you sit at their tables and you eat their meals, and oh my god, when you eat their meals.

5:35

Um over the 30 years, uh Brighton and Jim Beetsa have been recognized by Sister Cities International twice with international awards, and uh we uh we plan to continue that.

5:48

Another really neat thing that's come out of that is um both cities have embraced it so much that they've granted honorary citizenships and in that past 30 years.

6:00

Now, nine of us from Brighton have been given honorary citizenship of Gymbica.

6:05

Henry Ross was the first one, Susan Petraco, Neil Fleshhauer, myself, Stephen Bonnie Simcox, and just this past visit.

6:15

And I'm gonna get emotional several times during this, but during this past visit visit, my lovely wife Judy and Dave and Jan Olson were uh recognized and granted honorary citizenship of Zambica Poland.

6:30

Brighton's always kind of been behind in being as good as they are, so it took us a while to catch on.

6:35

But we have given honorary citizenship of Brighton to Richard Novak, uh, who was that originally founding father, Raphael Sledge, who uh works for the city in Gambica, Maugosha Stadarik, who uh is a local entrepreneur and has run their uh their organization is called the Janine Association, um, named after one of our founders, Janine Slovinski.

7:01

Um, and uh uh Asha Schminkievich, and uh were given uh honorary citizenship.

7:09

And then this past year, while we were in Zambica, Mayor Mills, uh, we gave a honorary Brighton citizenship posthumously to uh Anthony Rubowski, who was the mayor of Jambica for several years, and he came to Brighton, I think three times, and many of you I think met Tony Herbrowski, just a great, great man.

7:29

So we've we've done some other really cool things.

7:32

We have a sister cities park, they have a sister cities park.

7:35

Um they got us kind of beat, they've got a sister cities roundabout that they just unveiled uh this last time.

7:43

Um we have the uh we have the replica up in our park of the Pachkov Gate at our sister cities park.

7:51

And uh I just telling Travis that I'd like to start talking about our our next project because they have the um Europe's largest ceramic sculpture, which is an eagle in their park.

8:05

It's the third largest ceramic sculpture in the world.

8:09

And Jambica always finds a way there, the organization always finds a way to beat us.

8:16

We we can put on the dog and pony show.

8:19

Now we had fireworks, and they just they they just always beat us.

8:22

So I told them I was gonna come home and propose that we do an eagle that's even bigger than theirs.

8:28

And uh Raphael said that's simple.

8:31

We'll just put a crown on ours so it's bigger.

8:35

So uh as I said this summer, where there were two exchanges.

8:39

Uh, first the adults went, and then uh when we left town, the students went in and terrorized the town uh a little bit.

8:47

And before I talk about the adult exchange, I'm gonna turn it over to Barbara and her students here and let them talk about their experiences and feel free to ask questions and so forth.

8:58

And then once they're done, I'll talk about the adult exchange and some things that we have going forward.

9:06

Barbara brought some swag.

9:10

Well, I brought candy.

9:12

Because one of the things that I think set the tone for our entire trip is when we each arrived at our host family's house, we had a giant gift basket filled with drinks and snacks and food and like not even enough food that we could eat in the three weeks that we were there.

9:30

I in fact had to bring home an entire extra suitcase for all of the food and maybe alcohol I brought back.

9:37

So it was, I mean, it the hospitality absolutely completely blew me away and blew the kids away.

9:44

Each of us had our like our own family that we stayed with, and then the school and the Janine Association provided transportation every morning for us to do things Monday through Friday.

9:56

And then on the weekends, the kids had the opportunity to have family time where they got to their their families planned events for them.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Transportation Safety███████████████16%
Economic Development███████████12%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%
Public Engagement███████7%
Historic Preservation█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management███3%
Procedural█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Brighton City Council Study Session — August 11, 2026

On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, the Brighton City Council held a study session beginning at 6:00 PM. Staff, consultants, and invited community members presented five agenda items: the Sister Cities 30th anniversary report, land-use scenarios for the city-owned Bridge Street property, the 80% draft Comprehensive Plan update, proposed Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) amendments for Articles 1 and 11, and floodplain-related Article 10 amendments. The session was informational and no formal votes were taken.

Sister Cities 30th Anniversary Trip Report

  • Ken Kreitzer, president of Brighton Sister Cities, reported on the 30th anniversary of the partnership with the city’s sister city in Poland. He noted that Sister Cities International was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 and that more than 300 students have participated in exchanges over 30 years.
  • The group completed two summer exchanges: adults earlier in the summer and students after the adult trip. Six students and two chaperones traveled this year; the next student hosting cycle will seek to host eight students and chaperones in Brighton.
  • Student delegates (Charlie, Ezra, Alohi, and Brevin) described highlights including Krakow, Auschwitz-Birkenau, castles, pierogi-making, an amusement park, and the hospitality of host families.
  • Adult trip activities included touring a vegetable freezing plant, a new sports hall, vocational schools, planting commemorative trees with Mayor Mills and Polish officials, attending the sister city’s annual celebration (drawing roughly 25,000-30,000 people to a town of about 10,000), and attending a formal ball and city council meeting.
  • Kreitzer presented the city with a Bell of Friendship from the Polish city and a 30-year time capsule, asking that City Hall display or rotate the bell to secure public buildings. The mayor stated that City Manager Martinez would find homes for both items.
  • Council and staff thanked the delegation; Mayor Mills said the city should continue to foster the relationship, and Councilmember Green said the students represented Brighton well.

Land Use Scenarios for City-Owned Property on Bridge Street

  • Summer McCann (senior planner) and Mazador Hussein (assistant director of engineering) presented two future land-use options for an approximately 90-acre city-owned property located north of East Bridge Street, east of North 19th Avenue, and west of Telluride Street.
  • Background: part of the site was annexed in 1989 and the remainder in 2002; the property is not platted except for the northern portion zoned public land; a high groundwater table limits traditional basements; the city acquired the property in 2010 and it is currently leased for hay and cattle farming.
  • Option 1 would keep the current parks/open space and public land designation. Option 2 would revise the future land use map to allow mixed-use development and further evaluate transit-oriented development (TOD). Staff noted existing RTD routes along Highway 76 and I-25, and the planned Boulder-to-Brighton (B2B) high-capacity transit service expected in early 2027 at a US 85 park-and-ride; extending transit centrally could support a multimodal center and reduce informal bus staging.
  • Councilmember Green said he liked option two and confirmed that changing the land use designation would not itself cost city funds and would not prevent continued farming leases.
  • Mayor Pro Tem supported option two, emphasizing the need to draw B2B service into the community, create a regional gateway, and shift development toward non-basement housing types.
  • Councilmember Carbajal stressed the importance of binding agreements ensuring residents actually gain transit access, rather than the city merely providing a storage or layover site.
  • Councilmember Worth was strongly supportive, citing regional connections, potential state and RTD funding, and a limited window to act.
  • Councilmember Fiedler said option one was effectively no action and supported option two; staff explained that a bus layover facility could range from a minimal gravel turnaround to a paved facility with amenities or a combined retail/transit site.
  • Planning Commissioner Ladon urged caution and delaying action until a written, notarized commitment is secured from RTD, citing historical distrust of RTD, potential construction costs from the high water table, resident trust, and drought concerns. Commissioner Home raised concerns about congestion, pollution, apartments next to a bus station, impacts on a neighboring nursing home, and traffic on Highway 7.
  • Staff indicated that any future development would require a sub-area plan, developer coordination, and further feasibility work.

Comprehensive Plan Draft Update

  • Chris Geddes and Emily Barrows of Design Workshop presented the 80% draft Comprehensive Plan and results from Engagement Window 3, which included an open house with about 35 participants and an online survey with about 230 responses.
  • Community priorities included protecting additional farmland, attracting more businesses, and improving water infrastructure. A trade-off game showed that support for farmland preservation declined when respondents were told it could mean higher taxes.
  • The draft plan simplifies the future land use map from 16 categories to 8, identifies four opportunity areas (downtown, Bridge Street TOD, North Brighton Industrial, and South Brighton), and designates two special study areas on the northwest and southeast.
  • The plan includes chapters on housing, parks and environment, economic development, water supply, community services, and implementation with measurable actions.
  • Council and planning commissioners generally said the plan was ready or nearly ready for public review, with several requested revisions. Councilmember Carbajal, Councilmember Fiedler, and Mayor Pro Tem expressed concern that the phrase 'small town feel' could be misunderstood as opposition to growth; Councilmember Fiedler offered alternative wording such as 'strong community feel.'
  • Mayor Pro Tem also asked that photos be replaced with actual Brighton images, and questioned whether the outreach captured the diversity of newer residents as well as long-time residents.
  • Planning Commissioner Ledon praised the process as exhaustive and ready to go out; Planning Commissioner Rollins/Wallins said the draft should go to public review.
  • A slide referenced 1,200 survey responses while presenters cited 230 responses for Engagement Window 3; presenters suggested the larger figure reflected responses collected over the course of the process.
  • Staff received informal direction to publish the revised 80% draft for public comment, with revisions to wording and imagery.

Land Use and Development Code Amendments — Articles 1 and 11

  • Stephanie Imes, associate planner, presented proposed LUDC amendments to Article 1 (code administration and use) and Article 11 (definitions).
  • Article 1 changes relate to amendments for planned unit developments approved before the 2020 code, references for defining terms, and clarifying measurement techniques. Article 11 changes would adjust definitions for clarity or state statute compliance.
  • The item was presented for study-session discussion; detailed redlines will be brought forward with any additional changes before public hearings.

Land Use and Development Code Amendments — Article 10 (Flood Control District)

  • Scott Olson, director of utilities, presented amendments to LUDC Article 10.02, which regulates development in the 100-year floodplain. He clarified that a 100-year storm has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.
  • Brighton joined the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on November 16, 1977. The city applied to the Community Rating System (CRS); FEMA and the Colorado Water Conservation Board conducted a Community Assistance Visit and recommended minor definition changes and one variance clarification.
  • Councilmember Green asked about a proposed restriction on variances for properties larger than half an acre; Olson confirmed the restriction and noted that only about seven structures in Brighton are currently in the floodplain.
  • The next steps are a Planning Commission hearing on September 10, 2026, City Council first reading on October 20, 2026, and final reading on November 3, 2026.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal motions or votes were taken; the study session provided direction for future staff work and public review.
  • Sister Cities: City staff will find appropriate City Hall locations for the Bell of Friendship and the time capsule; the bell may rotate among secure public buildings.
  • Bridge Street property: Informal council direction favored pursuing option two (mixed-use and transit-oriented development), with cautions from some commissioners. Staff will continue evaluating the TOD concept and land use designation; no immediate expenditure is planned and farming can continue.
  • Comprehensive Plan: The 80% draft should go out for public review after staff revises wording around 'small town feel' and replaces non-local images.
  • LUDC Articles 1 and 11: Proposed amendments will proceed through the public hearing process.
  • LUDC Article 10: Ordinance schedule set for Planning Commission on September 10, Council first reading on October 20, and final reading on November 3, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Fifteen seconds, Peter. Good evening. Let's call it order our study session for Tuesday, August 11th, 2026. We'll have Council Member Carbajall lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. All right. I'm gonna call up uh Ken Kreitzer and crew to come on over. Yeah, come on over. Don't worry about those nameplates. You can be the imposters for the moment. Make sure it's green. It is green. Dear friends, um, thank you for this opportunity to come before you tonight and give a report on the state of the Brighton Sister Cities organization with our dear friends Gembica Poland. As you are well aware, we just returned from a very busy summer. Actually, it's been two really busy summers, uh, celebrating thirty years as two as last summer we hosted um not only a group of students but adults, and this year a group of students and adults went to Jimbica in both uh places, celebrating thirty years of our organization. Sister Cities International was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in nineteen fifty-six to promote peace through people to people diplomacy for nearly seventy years. Now uh Sister Cities International and volunteers have established thousands of partnerships between U.S. cities and cities worldwide, but none as good or spectacular as our agreement with uh Zembica Poland. Henry Ross, the guy who flies around and gets in every ways everybody's way taking pictures, and we love him dearly. Um he was in Poland and he was approached by then the mayor of Zembica, Richard Novak. And they wanted uh they wanted a sister city in co in uh the United States. But ultimately, um the agreement was made. Some now uh thirty-one years ago, um, as we do this two-year back and forth exchange. Originally it was designed to start a cultural experience that that focused around education, agriculture, medicine, and local government, and it became very quickly apparent that the uh the real blessing of the organization was the student cultural exchange. And uh so we have focused, both cities have focused on that portion of the partnership for the past 30 years. And in that past 30 years now, over 300 students from both Poland and the Brighton surrounding area have exchanged both when you go there, you live there, you live in their houses, and when they come here, they live in our houses, and you just truly enjoy uh understanding what it's truly like to be a citizen in that country. Um maybe it's a little flamboyant. We go on field trips every day, and you know, I it's it's probably a little uh not quite truistic, but when you sit at their tables and you eat their meals, and oh my god, when you eat their meals. Um over the 30 years, uh Brighton and Jim Beetsa have been recognized by Sister Cities International twice with international awards, and uh we uh we plan to continue that. Another really neat thing that's come out of that is um both cities have embraced it so much that they've granted honorary citizenships and in that past 30 years. Now, nine of us from Brighton have been given honorary citizenship of Gymbica. Henry Ross was the first one, Susan Petraco, Neil Fleshhauer, myself, Stephen Bonnie Simcox, and just this past visit. And I'm gonna get emotional several times during this, but during this past visit visit, my lovely wife Judy and Dave and Jan Olson were uh recognized and granted honorary citizenship of Zambica Poland. Brighton's always kind of been behind in being as good as they are, so it took us a while to catch on. But we have given honorary citizenship of Brighton to Richard Novak, uh, who was that originally founding father, Raphael Sledge, who uh works for the city in Gambica, Maugosha Stadarik, who uh is a local entrepreneur and has run their uh their organization is called the Janine Association, um, named after one of our founders, Janine Slovinski. Um, and uh uh Asha Schminkievich, and uh were given uh honorary citizenship. And then this past year, while we were in Zambica, Mayor Mills, uh, we gave a honorary Brighton citizenship posthumously to uh Anthony Rubowski, who was the mayor of Jambica for several years, and he came to Brighton, I think three times, and many of you I think met Tony Herbrowski, just a great, great man. So we've we've done some other really cool things. We have a sister cities park, they have a sister cities park. Um they got us kind of beat, they've got a sister cities roundabout that they just unveiled uh this last time. Um we have the uh we have the replica up in our park of the Pachkov Gate at our sister cities park. And uh I just telling Travis that I'd like to start talking about our our next project because they have the um Europe's largest ceramic sculpture, which is an eagle in their park. It's the third largest ceramic sculpture in the world. And Jambica always finds a way there, the organization always finds a way to beat us. We we can put on the dog and pony show. Now we had fireworks, and they just they they just always beat us. So I told them I was gonna come home and propose that we do an eagle that's even bigger than theirs. And uh Raphael said that's simple. We'll just put a crown on ours so it's bigger. So uh as I said this summer, where there were two exchanges.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com