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Record of Proceedings

Denver Finance Committee Reviews Bond Issuance for Vibrant Denver Projects (Jan 13, 2026)

Council Committees — Tuesday, January 13, 2026

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionCouncil Committees

DateTuesday, January 13, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 30:43

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0:00

It's time for this bi-weekly meeting of the Finance and Business Committee of Denver City Council.

0:09

Join us for the Finance and Business Committee starting now.

0:17

All right. Well, welcome, everyone. Apologies for the start of this committee.

0:24

My name is Serena Gonzalez-Kietas. I'm one of your council members at large and chair of the Finance and Business Committee.

0:31

Today is Tuesday, January 13th, and we have really one big item on our agenda today, and this is regarding the bond issuance.

0:43

And so, you know, the bond that was just passed recently,

0:48

and so we're going to be going into conversations about that

0:51

and what the funding is going to look like and how that's going to roll out.

0:55

So I'm going to pass it over to our council members for introductions,

0:59

and then we'll pass it over to the folks who will be doing the presentation.

1:03

But to start off, I don't think we have anybody online.

1:06

Just want to double check.

1:08

All right.

1:09

I will start to my right.

1:12

Introduction.

1:12

Jenny Sandoval, Northwest Denver, District 1.

1:15

Hello, Diana Romero Campbell,

1:17

Southeast Denver, District 4.

1:19

Paul Cashman, South Denver, District 6.

1:21

Dr. Lewis, District 8.

1:23

Dale Watson, Vine, District 9.

1:25

Fantastic, I will hand it over to all of you.

1:28

We talked about maybe a brief presentation

1:30

and then I will be taking,

1:34

starting a queue for council members for questions.

1:36

Right ahead.

1:38

Hi, I'm Molly Scarborough,

1:39

Bond Program Manager, Dottie.

1:41

Patrick Riley, Bond Program Manager, Department of Finance.

1:46

And Christopher Federico, Capital Financial Administrator with Department of Finance.

1:52

Wonderful.

1:53

Thank you all for joining us today.

1:56

We're here primarily to present two actions for you all.

2:01

The first is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of two series of bonds,

2:05

a taxable and a tax-exempt bond issuance in regards to the vibrant Denver bonds

2:11

that were passed back in November.

2:13

The second is a resolution approving a proposed contract between the city and TriUnity Inc.

2:20

We'll go through the financing timeline and terms, quickly hit on the program management

2:26

contract, do a quick bond program update, and then get into the questions.

2:32

On November 5th, the mayor held a press conference and he outlined three promises.

2:38

The first and most significant, to me at least, was that all bond projects that are on the

2:45

bond will start in 2026 in whatever it's for each project's next stage is.

2:51

So if a project needs community engagement and planning, we're going to jump right into

2:55

that.

2:56

If it is ready for design, we will start design immediately.

2:59

If something can move into construction, we will go into construction immediately.

3:03

Second promise was that we will have a project dashboard online for the public.

3:07

by the end of quarter one, 2026.

3:10

And third was a commitment that all bond projects

3:12

will be complete and open to the public

3:14

no later than December 31st of 31.

3:20

For this first issuance, we are looking at $410 million.

3:24

This will keep us on track for hitting our six-year deadline.

3:30

This is where I'll call out that for the tax-exempt bonds,

3:33

we have certain spend requirements.

3:35

That is, 85% of those bonds have to be spent within the first three years, and there is a 100% spend requirement for those bonds at a five-year period.

3:46

This is why we would not just issue 100% immediately.

3:50

That same requirement does not apply to the tax-exempt bonds.

3:55

This is how we stay on track for the 2031 deadline, and this has no impact to the city's general fund.

4:02

A quick overview of how it breaks out across all of the portfolios, although we will hit that in a later slide.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████45%

Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████45%

Parks and Recreation███████7%

Procedural███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Denver Finance Committee Reviews Bond Issuance for Vibrant Denver Projects (Jan 13, 2026)

On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the Denver City Council's Finance and Business Committee, chaired by Council Member Serena Gonzalez-Kietas, met to discuss the first bond issuance for the recently approved Vibrant Denver bond. The committee reviewed a proposed $410 million bond issuance, a program management contract with TriUnity Inc., and the timeline for project implementation. Council members asked questions about taxable vs. tax-exempt bonds, communication protocols, and specific district projects.

Public Comments & Testimony

Council Member Lewis noted that constituents Mr. Murray and Ms. Ann, who were pioneers in securing the Senior Tech Lab, asked her to confirm that the space will still be used for the senior tech lab expansion. Lewis stated she told them, "over my dead body" that the project would not happen, and staff confirmed the project is in the first issuance and will move forward.

Discussion Items

Bond Issuance Authorization: Bond Program Managers Molly Scarborough and Patrick Riley, along with Capital Financial Administrator Christopher Federico, presented an ordinance authorizing two series of bonds (taxable and tax-exempt) for the Vibrant Denver program. The first issuance of $410 million is designed to carry the program through the end of 2027, with a closing target of March 5, 2026. A second issuance of $440 million is planned for late 2027, and a third issuance of $99 million is projected for around 2029. The tax-exempt bonds require 85% spend within three years and 100% within five years, which is why all bonds are not issued immediately.
Program Management Contract: The committee reviewed a resolution approving a seven-year, $45 million contract with TriUnity Inc., a Denver-based company, to provide program management services. The contract includes a 20% MWBE participation goal, increased from the 9% goal in previous bonds (Elevate and Rise), where 15% was achieved.
Project Timelines and Prioritization: Staff outlined Mayor Johnson's three promises: all bond projects will start by the end of 2026, a public project dashboard will be online by end of Q1 2026, and all projects will be complete by December 31, 2031. Projects are categorized into four buckets: big complex projects (e.g., West 38th, Park Hill, first responders training center), early wins (e.g., traffic signals), partner-led projects (e.g., art museum, zoo), and standard projects (e.g., libraries, pools, rec centers).
Community Engagement: Staff committed to quarterly Mayor Council briefings, project-specific community meetings, and one-on-one briefings with council members. They also expressed a desire to "co-create" communication plans with council.
Taxable vs. Tax-Exempt Bonds: Council Member Lewis asked about private use components causing some projects to be taxable. Staff explained that facilities with management contracts not qualifying as "qualified management agreements" (e.g., zoo, botanic gardens, Denver Health Westside, Denver Children's Advocacy Center) require taxable bonds to avoid private use limits. Lewis also clarified that the average annual debt service for the bonds is $15.8 million (tax-exempt) and $14.8 million (taxable) until maturity.

Key Outcomes

The committee voted unanimously to advance the bond issuance ordinance and the program management contract to the full City Council. The motion was made by Council President Sandoval and seconded by Councilman Heinz. The ordinance will go to first reading on February 2, 2026, and second reading on February 9, 2026, with the program management contract going to one reading on February 2, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

It's time for this bi-weekly meeting of the Finance and Business Committee of Denver City Council. Join us for the Finance and Business Committee starting now. All right. Well, welcome, everyone. Apologies for the start of this committee. My name is Serena Gonzalez-Kietas. I'm one of your council members at large and chair of the Finance and Business Committee. Today is Tuesday, January 13th, and we have really one big item on our agenda today, and this is regarding the bond issuance. And so, you know, the bond that was just passed recently, and so we're going to be going into conversations about that and what the funding is going to look like and how that's going to roll out. So I'm going to pass it over to our council members for introductions, and then we'll pass it over to the folks who will be doing the presentation. But to start off, I don't think we have anybody online. Just want to double check. All right. I will start to my right. Introduction. Jenny Sandoval, Northwest Denver, District 1. Hello, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver, District 4. Paul Cashman, South Denver, District 6. Dr. Lewis, District 8. Dale Watson, Vine, District 9. Fantastic, I will hand it over to all of you. We talked about maybe a brief presentation and then I will be taking, starting a queue for council members for questions. Right ahead. Hi, I'm Molly Scarborough, Bond Program Manager, Dottie. Patrick Riley, Bond Program Manager, Department of Finance. And Christopher Federico, Capital Financial Administrator with Department of Finance. Wonderful. Thank you all for joining us today. We're here primarily to present two actions for you all. The first is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of two series of bonds, a taxable and a tax-exempt bond issuance in regards to the vibrant Denver bonds that were passed back in November. The second is a resolution approving a proposed contract between the city and TriUnity Inc. We'll go through the financing timeline and terms, quickly hit on the program management contract, do a quick bond program update, and then get into the questions. On November 5th, the mayor held a press conference and he outlined three promises. The first and most significant, to me at least, was that all bond projects that are on the bond will start in 2026 in whatever it's for each project's next stage is. So if a project needs community engagement and planning, we're going to jump right into that. If it is ready for design, we will start design immediately. If something can move into construction, we will go into construction immediately. Second promise was that we will have a project dashboard online for the public. by the end of quarter one, 2026. And third was a commitment that all bond projects will be complete and open to the public

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