The Castle Rock Town Council met on July 16, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included extensive discussions and votes on a proposed 0.2% sales tax increase for public safety funding, approval of a metropolitan district service plan, and other routine and policy items. Key votes included unanimous approval of the budget amendment, the ballot measure for November 2024 (after amendment), and an intergovernmental agreement for bus unloading enforcement.
Good evening. We'll open with an invocation. Heavenly Father, we ask for your guidance, your wisdom, and your support as we begin this meeting. Pardon me. We gathered here today in intent to do good work. We were to present to represent fairly and to fairly and truly to those who have putting us in charge of this task. Help us engage in meaningful discussion and give us clarity and strength to use our best skills and judgment. Please bless this community, the residents, the businesses, and visitors, and help us continue doing good work in your name. Amen. Call to order roll call, please. Councilmember Hollingshead? Here. Councilmember Kavey. Yes. Councilmember Bracken. Present. Councilmember Brooks. Present. Councilmember Deeds? Here. Mayor Pro Tem La Floor. Here. Mayor Gray. Here. All they're present. Thank you. Please rise at the Pleasure of Leadance. Under God. Tonight I or I was kind of hoping to do uh kind of a nice recap of the Ford of July and a bunch of the concerts and that kind of stuff. Um but instead, you know, I uh it's uh kind of compels me to talk about violence. Um, unfortunately, um, you know, we're almost a country of almost 250 years of a republic, and we still can't figure violence out. And we cannot figure out how to uh talk through our problems. Um we can't talk figure out how to be civil. Um you go back to Aaron Burr and Hamilton. Um there's so many different uh assassination attempts and attempts on different people's lives because of religious views or because of political views. And it's just um I'm tired of being mad about it. I I'm just sad. I just I mean, over the weekend, that is just a horrible event that has not become commonplace, but man, it should be it should be so out outside the norm. You know, we we go back to to Lincoln, Garfield, Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, um, the attempt on Reagan, the attempt on Trump over the weekend, uh Pope, uh, you name it. Um, we as a civilization, um just can't get it right. And it's just it's really sad to me sometimes to think about that we cannot have uh civil discourse of disagreement um without turning to violence. Um you know, and and one of the things that you know council member uh deeds has mentioned before recently is a lot about is you know it is time to have love and compassion and it's and I try to talk about just about every council meeting, and it's just um you know I believe that that we do a good job here on this dias. Uh and I and I think we do a good job of respecting each other and hopefully um we can figure out as a nation and as as a country that to move forward. Um it's just it just uh it's it really really sickens me and it's super upsetting, and I didn't know what to say tonight about it, but it's just I just want to uh let you know that uh my heart goes out to our entire nation, but um I I want to make sure that our community um can talk to each other in a way that is respectful and loving and um having discourse and having a disagreement doesn't turn to um swearing or fighting or violence. Um it's just uh it doesn't need to be like this anymore. Um I'd like to follow up with a couple things. I know there's a lot of police and fire here tonight. You know, it is I mentioned it last night, it is a fact that our police and fire do a great job for our town. They are uh they have a ton of accommodations, they have uh a lot of a lot of respect in the community, but and and not not only in the front range, not only in Castle Rock, but but nationwide. Uh both of our chiefs are recognized as leaders across the country as well.