OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Denver Parks, Arts and Culture Committee Receives SCFD Update on Reauthorization Plan (February 3, 2026)

Council Committees — Tuesday, February 3, 2026
BodyDenver, Colorado
SessionCouncil Committees
DateTuesday, February 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:11:49
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Welcome back to this monthly meeting of the Parks, Arts and Culture Committee of Denver City Council.

0:08

Join us and the Parks, Arts and Culture Committee starting now.

0:17

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being here and joining us at Parks, Arts and Culture this morning.

0:22

My name is Flora Alvidrez. I have the honor of chairing this committee.

0:26

And we'll go ahead and start with introductions with council members to my right.

0:30

Good morning. Chris Hines, Denver's Perfect 10.

0:32

Morning. Chantal Lewis, District 8.

0:34

Good morning. Daryl Watson, Fine, District 9.

0:37

Awesome. Thank you, everyone.

0:38

We're so excited to have people from the SCFD here to give us an update on the plan.

0:44

So I'll let Andrea introduce yourself and then everyone else and take it away.

0:49

Thank you, Councilwoman, and thank you, members of the committee for time today.

0:53

We're really excited to share some updates about what is happening in the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.

0:59

otherwise known as SCFD.

1:01

I am Andrea Alvo, and I am the not-so-new anymore,

1:04

about five months in, Executive Director of SCFD,

1:07

and I'd love for my colleagues who will be co-presenting with me

1:10

to introduce themselves.

1:11

Greetings, everyone.

1:12

My name is Dana Mayo-Twani.

1:14

I'm an SCFD Program Officer.

1:16

I've been with SCFD for almost nine years.

1:20

And Tariana Navas-Nieves, Deputy Executive Director

1:22

for Denver Arts and Venues,

1:24

and a longtime partner of SCFD.

1:26

Happy to be here.

1:28

Yes.

1:28

Wonderful.

1:29

Thank you. Take it away.

1:30

All right. Wonderful.

1:31

So we thought we'd start with just grounding everyone with the context of the SCFD, how it started,

1:37

and just some of the beautiful impact that it's had on our regional community.

1:42

So back in the late 80s, the Denver metro area was facing a pretty significant economic downturn.

1:48

And so there was a need to think creatively, innovatively about what to do about that

1:53

in order to not only address the downturn but preserve the sustainability of arts, culture, and science.

2:00

And so some great minds got together and formed the special district.

2:04

So we are mandated by state statute and we reauthorize about every decade.

2:10

And we'll talk some more about that.

2:12

I think the important thing to also understand is when we get it more into the tier breakdown in a few slides from now,

2:18

The reason why some of this is anchored the way it was is because of the focus on the larger Denver-based institutions like the zoo, museum, nature and science, botanic gardens, etc.

2:33

So we fund a seven-county region through a special tax that is collected, and I'll share some more about that.

2:40

So you can see here the seven counties represented on the map.

2:44

I think it's also important to recognize just the special magic that happens with this model.

2:50

We are the only sales tax funded model that funds a seven county region in the country.

2:56

And we've been in existence for nearly 40 years.

2:58

And so that's pretty special.

3:00

We, in fact, have a lot of other cities that come to study the SCFD and try to understand how they can implement that in their respective home state.

3:09

So we're happy to always share and really proud of what that looks like in terms of our uniqueness.

3:16

So the structure of how we are governed, you can see here on our chart, you know, we ultimately are here to serve the public.

3:24

And so in that seven county special district, it's about the people.

3:28

And I will tell you over the years, while I'm newer to the organization,

3:32

I am so proud to see that the SCFD continues to keep EDIA as a focal point in the way that we lead our work.

3:40

We recognize that in that seven-county region, there are often folks that don't have accessibility for lots of reasons to be able to experience this.

3:50

And so it's really important to us that we help continue to keep those EDIA conversations alive and well and make sure we're living our values.

3:58

You can see here that we have a board of directors.

4:00

It's 11 members.

4:02

They are all political appointments, and so each of the seven counties receives an opportunity to appoint someone that represents their county.

4:10

And then there are four gubernatorial appointees.

4:14

We recognize that there's a lot of change in our midst, and so with the new governor and administration coming soon, we'll see how that transition has a ripple effect here.

4:25

but we have a great group of folks and they serve three-year terms and can serve two back-to-back

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████85%
Economic Development███5%
Budget Equity Analysis██3%
Public Engagement█2%
Animal Welfare█2%
Community Engagement█1%
Racial Equity█1%
Fiscal Sustainability█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Denver Parks, Arts and Culture Committee Meeting – February 3, 2026

This monthly meeting of the Denver City Council's Parks, Arts and Culture Committee featured a presentation from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) on its 2028 reauthorization plan. The committee heard an overview of SCFD's history, funding structure, economic impact, and the five-phase process leading to a 2028 ballot measure. Council members expressed strong support for the district and raised questions about equity, collaboration among tiers, and outreach to smaller organizations.

Consent Calendar

  • The committee had one item on the consent calendar. The chair noted it had not been called off, and the meeting was adjourned, implying the item was approved without discussion.

Discussion Items

  • SCFD Presentation and Q&A
    • Andrea Alvo (Executive Director), Dana Mayo-Twani (Program Officer), and Tariana Navas-Nieves (Deputy Executive Director, Denver Arts and Venues) presented.
    • SCFD was created in the late 1980s during an economic downturn to preserve arts, culture, and science. It is funded by one-tenth of one cent sales tax (one penny per $10 spent) across a seven-county region.
    • In 2024, SCFD funded 304 organizations with $85 million in grants, generating $3.12 billion in economic activity (more than all Denver professional sports teams combined).
    • Denver County contributed $24.1 million in tax revenue in 2024, with residents engaging SCFD-funded partners 4.5 million times. Denver public schools all received cultural programming.
    • The tiered structure: Tier I (five large Denver institutions) receives 64% of funds; Tier II and III organizations go through eligibility and county cultural council recommendations. Denver County's Cultural Council (11 members, nine of color, including LGBTQ+ and disability representatives) recommended $3.5 million in grants last year.
    • Highlighted organizations: Lighthouse (Tier II, literary arts), Museo de las Americas (Tier III, youth leadership), and Denver Center for the Performing Arts (Tier I, new play development).
    • The reauthorization process: Statute expires in 2030; SCFD will go to ballot in November 2028. A five-phase plan is underway: Phase 1 (data analysis and stakeholder interviews by consultant GBSM, through Q2 2026), Phase 2 (district-wide listening tour with questionnaire), Phase 3 (develop proposal options), Phase 4 (consensus-building with advisory committee), Phase 5 (final board action and referral to General Assembly for bill drafting in 2027–28 session). CATS (Citizens for Arts to Zoo) will lead the campaign once the bill is signed.
    • Council members raised questions about equity between Tier I and smaller organizations, back-office support for Tier III groups, the ballot process (must be on each county's ballot), and the need for greater cross-tier collaboration.
    • Councilwoman Alvidrez emphasized the importance of uplifting local artists and ensuring economic mobility. Councilman Hines suggested requiring Tier I organizations to mentor Tier II/III groups or share board members. Councilman Watson asked how SCFD leverages the CBCA economic impact study; Tariana Navas-Nieves noted it informs the Cultural Council's decisions.
    • Councilwoman Perry shared a personal story linking a Tier I play (Cowboys and East Indians) to her Wyoming childhood.
    • Councilwoman Romero-Campbell asked about support for organizational capacity; staff noted technical assistance, resources, and a discretionary grant program.
    • Councilwoman Alvidrez expressed concern about Tier I influence and called for intentional inclusion of all tiers in reauthorization discussions.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken on the SCFD update; the presentation was received for informational purposes.
  • The consent calendar item was adopted by default (not called off).
  • Next steps: SCFD will continue Phase 1 stakeholder interviews through Q2 2026, followed by listening tours. A Day at the Capitol is scheduled for February 24, 2026.
  • Council members committed to participating in future stakeholder interviews and supporting equitable outreach.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome back to this monthly meeting of the Parks, Arts and Culture Committee of Denver City Council. Join us and the Parks, Arts and Culture Committee starting now. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being here and joining us at Parks, Arts and Culture this morning. My name is Flora Alvidrez. I have the honor of chairing this committee. And we'll go ahead and start with introductions with council members to my right. Good morning. Chris Hines, Denver's Perfect 10. Morning. Chantal Lewis, District 8. Good morning. Daryl Watson, Fine, District 9. Awesome. Thank you, everyone. We're so excited to have people from the SCFD here to give us an update on the plan. So I'll let Andrea introduce yourself and then everyone else and take it away. Thank you, Councilwoman, and thank you, members of the committee for time today. We're really excited to share some updates about what is happening in the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. otherwise known as SCFD. I am Andrea Alvo, and I am the not-so-new anymore, about five months in, Executive Director of SCFD, and I'd love for my colleagues who will be co-presenting with me to introduce themselves. Greetings, everyone. My name is Dana Mayo-Twani. I'm an SCFD Program Officer. I've been with SCFD for almost nine years. And Tariana Navas-Nieves, Deputy Executive Director for Denver Arts and Venues, and a longtime partner of SCFD. Happy to be here. Yes. Wonderful. Thank you. Take it away. All right. Wonderful. So we thought we'd start with just grounding everyone with the context of the SCFD, how it started, and just some of the beautiful impact that it's had on our regional community. So back in the late 80s, the Denver metro area was facing a pretty significant economic downturn. And so there was a need to think creatively, innovatively about what to do about that in order to not only address the downturn but preserve the sustainability of arts, culture, and science. And so some great minds got together and formed the special district. So we are mandated by state statute and we reauthorize about every decade. And we'll talk some more about that. I think the important thing to also understand is when we get it more into the tier breakdown in a few slides from now, The reason why some of this is anchored the way it was is because of the focus on the larger Denver-based institutions like the zoo, museum, nature and science, botanic gardens, etc. So we fund a seven-county region through a special tax that is collected, and I'll share some more about that. So you can see here the seven counties represented on the map. I think it's also important to recognize just the special magic that happens with this model. We are the only sales tax funded model that funds a seven county region in the country. And we've been in existence for nearly 40 years. And so that's pretty special. We, in fact, have a lot of other cities that come to study the SCFD and try to understand how they can implement that in their respective home state. So we're happy to always share and really proud of what that looks like in terms of our uniqueness. So the structure of how we are governed, you can see here on our chart, you know, we ultimately are here to serve the public. And so in that seven county special district, it's about the people.

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