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Record of Proceedings

Denver Parks, Art & Culture Committee Meeting: Library & Parks Updates (May 5, 2026)

Council Committees — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodyDenver, Colorado
SessionCouncil Committees
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:51

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

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

0:10

Join us in the parts, Arts and Culture Committee starting now.

0:20

Good after good morning.

0:21

Welcome to the Parks Art and Culture Committee.

0:24

And we are so excited to have a presentation from the library today as well as Parks and Rec.

0:31

And we'll start in the room with introductions.

0:36

I'll start with the other council member here at the middle of the room.

0:40

I'm sorry, parody, one of your council members at large, and I know other people are working their way over from the committee room.

0:45

So yes, I apologize for that.

0:47

We were just in executive session in Mayor Council, but I know there are people that may be tuning in online and that will be here shortly.

0:57

But we'll start with you all.

0:58

If Erica, you want to introduce yourself and introduce your colleague, that would be a great start.

1:03

Yeah, good morning, everyone.

1:04

My name's Erica Martinez, and I'm the director of communications and community engagement.

1:09

I am just driving today, so I'm Nicole Davies, the city librarian and executive director for Denver Public Library.

1:15

And we're so excited to have you.

1:17

Can you share a little bit about how long you've been with the library and what you did before this?

1:21

You bet.

1:22

I've been in this role now since August of 2025, and prior to that I served as the state librarian for the state of Colorado.

1:28

Wonderful.

1:30

Thank you so much for sharing that.

1:32

Well, take it away with your presentation.

1:34

We're really excited to have you here for the first time at City Council and hear about all the great things that the library is doing.

1:40

Thanks for the opportunity.

1:41

Really appreciate it.

1:44

I also just want to recognize I have an amazing support system back here with lots of uh the team from Denver Public Channel.

1:51

Well, that'd be lovely.

1:52

Yeah, thank you.

1:52

If they could just step to the microphone and let us know who's here, and it's helpful in case there's any questions.

1:57

Yes, thank you.

1:58

Let's mean another faces.

2:00

Hi, Gina Dunn, and I'm the director of finance for the library.

2:06

Hello everyone, Will Shatner.

2:08

I'm the Chief Operating Officer for DPL.

2:11

Good morning.

2:12

My name is Valencia Colbreth.

2:14

I'm the Chief Equity and Strategy Officer.

2:17

Hello, I'm Katie Anderson, the executive director for the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation.

2:24

Good morning, Anthony Kaufman, Director of Facilities and Planning.

2:28

Wonderful.

2:29

Thank you so much for bringing the team.

2:30

That's very helpful in case we have questions.

2:32

Thank you, Councilwoman.

2:33

I appreciate it.

2:34

And thank you for letting them have the opportunity to introduce themselves.

2:37

This work could not happen every day without the team.

2:41

So we're gonna take you through a series of highlights, uh touch base a little bit on our strategic plan, update on our broad bond projects, um, which I'm sure everybody's really interested in.

2:51

Uh take some time to talk a little bit about the Denver Public Library Fund and then what is on the horizon for the future.

2:59

So we'll go ahead and get started.

3:01

Um, since the last time we saw you, which was back in August, uh, we've had a lot going on at Denver Public Library.

3:07

Um, starting in the fall, uh, shortly after I started, we were happy to host our staff day at Central Library, which is an event we bring our staff together roughly every other year.

3:17

Um we bring the entire team together for a day of learning and connection.

3:21

We had over 600 staff members in attendance at that.

3:27

Then we moved into our hosting our annual service awards, and those include the Latinos Community Service Awards and the 2026 Juanita Gray Community Service Award.

3:38

We also recognize blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame in we were able to do all of these major events in our new park view space, which is at the Central Branch.

3:49

Last year, um we were able to open, proudly open our 28th location.

3:54

That's the Lena Archaleta Branch Library in the Westwood community.

3:58

And you may know we have a first location there, so we were able to add a second.

4:02

And Lena Archileta, as you probably know, was Denver's first Hispanic female school principal, and she was dedicated to improving the lives of all people, especially Hispanic Denverites.

4:14

I think we had close to 500 people at that community celebration, which was really heartening.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████14%
Civic Infrastructure████████10%
Personnel Matters█████6%
Fiscal Sustainability████5%
Community Engagement███4%
Disability Rights██2%
Public Health Policy█1%
Environmental Protection█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Parks, Art and Culture Committee Meeting – May 5, 2026

On May 5, 2026, at 10:30 AM, the Parks, Art and Culture Committee of Denver City Council held a meeting to receive briefings from the Denver Public Library and Denver Parks and Recreation. Chair Flor Alvidrez presided. Members present: Chris Hinds, Shontel Lewis, Sarah Parady, Diana Romero Campbell, and Flor Alvidrez. Members absent: Amanda Sandoval and Darrell Watson. The committee also approved a consent item.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved an on-call contract with Matrix Design Group, Inc. for $2,500,000.00 with a four-year term and a one-year option to extend, for landscape architecture, planning, design and related services, citywide (PARKS-202683509).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the meeting.

Discussion Items

Denver Public Library Overview Presentation (26-0605)

City Librarian Nicolle Davies presented an overview of recent library accomplishments and challenges. Key highlights:

  • 2025 Operations: 2.7 million visits across 28 locations; nearly 73,000 storytime attendees (in-person and virtual); over 12,000 participants in Phone-a-Story (four languages); nearly 2,500 bookmobile stops; 850+ personalized reading lists issued.
  • New Branch: The Lena Archuleta Branch opened as the 28th location, serving the Westwood community. Construction began at the Globeville location (expected occupancy end of 2027, opening Q1 2028).
  • Programs: Relaunched One Book One Denver with over 5,500 participants; over 600 staff attended a staff day; Narcan overdose training – 80 staff trained in Q1 2026; 21 Narcan administrations in 2025, 5 in Q1 2026.
  • Bond Projects: Several branches are closed for renovation due to 2017 and 2021 bond funds. Challenges include deferred maintenance and inflation eroding 2017 funding. Closures have led to over 60 days of facility closures in 2025 and 29 days in 2026 (year-to-date). The library is supplementing with DPL Fund and Friends Foundation contributions (e.g., $750,000 for a branch renovation).
  • Southeast Denver Closures: Five branches in Southeast Denver are closed simultaneously. Timelines for reopenings: Schlessman – January 2027; Hampden – Q1 2027; Ross-Broadway – Q3 2027; Ross-University Hills – Q3 2027; Eugene Field – Q3/Q4 2027. Two new bookmobiles will launch in late May 2026 to serve the Southeast area, operating five to six days a week. A community survey will help determine stops.
  • DPL Fund: Established by 68% voter approval in 2022, the fund supplements general fund dollars. Examples: New York Times access (over 270,000 uses), streaming music, restroom upgrades, EV charging stations, and deferred maintenance.
  • ADA Compliance: Over 1,000 physical ADA barriers identified; 600+ remediated, ~400 remain. Director Davies noted that accessibility includes digital access as well.
  • Unionization: The library is navigating the city’s new collective bargaining ordinance. Staff union (CWA) has filed a petition with the American Arbitration Association (AAA). The Library Commission will determine next steps after AAA processes the petition. Councilmember Parady clarified that the library is not delaying; the process is ongoing.

Denver Parks and Recreation Annual Workplan (26-0606)

Executive Director Jolon Clark presented the 2026 workplan, organized around the Game Plan for a Healthy City framework (Adapt, Diversify & Grow, Reinvest, Connect). Key points:

  • Scale & Scope: 348 miles of trails and park walks, 2.76 million recreation users, 23 million park visitors, 110 active capital projects, 30 rec centers (soon to be 31), 14,000 acres of mountain parks.
  • Adapt: Drought management – Denver Parks is Denver Water’s largest customer, with over 1,000 accounts. Water savings of 20% are required; outdoor pools will be filled. Landscape transformation projects (e.g., City Park, City & County Building lawn) are using water-efficient plants. Tree watering is prioritized for young trees; residents are encouraged to water by hand (10-20 gallons per inch of caliper weekly). Emerald ash borer management continues. A new Fires (Focused Indigenous Restoration and Ecological Stewardship) pilot program in mountain parks employs youth for fire mitigation.
  • Diversify & Grow: New amenities include Heron Pond/Carpio Sanguinetti Regional Park, Bethesda Park (under construction), pickleball courts at Lowry and Rosemont, Swansea Indoor Pool (ribbon cutting late May 2026), Westwood Recreation Center (on schedule). Strategic planning for recreation centers, Park Hill Park, Garfield Park pathway, Kennedy Golf Course, and mountain parks.
  • Reinvest: All 17 Vibrant Denver bond projects will be initiated in 2026. Active construction: Civic Center Park, Skyline Park, La Raza Park, Ruby Hill Adventure Hub, CCC Camp mess hall. Consolidation of permitting (indoor/outdoor) into one system. Trash collection automation and data-driven portalet placement (using cell phone data) to improve equity. Vandalism of portalets and backflow preventers (scrap metal theft) remains a challenge; plastic backflows are being installed.
  • Connect: Mount Blue Sky reopening later May 2026; bison herd expansion at Highlands Ranch; pilot shuttle connecting Denver Mountain Parks, Jefferson County Open Space, and cultural destinations. Activation of downtown parks (e.g., Common Spark pilot). Food and beverage activations planned at Skyline Park and Sloan’s Lake Boathouse (RFP to come). Adaptive golf program hired full-time coordinator. Volunteer hours are up.
  • Q&A: Councilmember Romero Campbell raised older adult exercise equipment along trails; Parks confirmed three pilot areas being considered. Councilmember Lewis asked about impacts of cuts to park rangers and maintenance staff; Parks agreed to follow up. Councilmember Hinds asked about the financial model for park concessions; Clark stated the goal is user experience, not profit, but to cover costs and potentially generate revenue. Councilmember Parady asked about swim lesson registration equity; Parks noted they added 164 slots by pausing private rentals, and 10% of slots are set aside for walk-ins. Councilmember Parady also confirmed all outdoor pools will be filled despite drought. Councilmember Alvidrez asked about bond projects for rec centers (Eisenhower, Montbello); Parks said work will be done off-season and won’t close facilities. Councilmember Romero Campbell also asked about scrap metal theft; Parks reported moving to plastic backflows. Councilmember Alvidrez asked about tree protection from anticipated snow; city forester advised shaking young trees and reporting damage via 311. Flower beds will be planted as usual.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent item (26-0600) was approved by consent.
  • Both briefings (26-0605 and 26-0606) were heard and informational; no votes were taken.
  • Next steps: The library will launch bookmobiles and a construction dashboard in late May 2026. Parks will continue to implement the 2026 workplan, including bond projects, drought response, and park activations. The committee will receive follow-up information on deferred maintenance, park ranger cuts, and recreation registration equity.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome back to this monthly meeting of the parts Arts and Culture Committee of Denver City Council. Join us in the parts, Arts and Culture Committee starting now. Good after good morning. Welcome to the Parks Art and Culture Committee. And we are so excited to have a presentation from the library today as well as Parks and Rec. And we'll start in the room with introductions. I'll start with the other council member here at the middle of the room. I'm sorry, parody, one of your council members at large, and I know other people are working their way over from the committee room. So yes, I apologize for that. We were just in executive session in Mayor Council, but I know there are people that may be tuning in online and that will be here shortly. But we'll start with you all. If Erica, you want to introduce yourself and introduce your colleague, that would be a great start. Yeah, good morning, everyone. My name's Erica Martinez, and I'm the director of communications and community engagement. I am just driving today, so I'm Nicole Davies, the city librarian and executive director for Denver Public Library. And we're so excited to have you. Can you share a little bit about how long you've been with the library and what you did before this? You bet. I've been in this role now since August of 2025, and prior to that I served as the state librarian for the state of Colorado. Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that. Well, take it away with your presentation. We're really excited to have you here for the first time at City Council and hear about all the great things that the library is doing. Thanks for the opportunity. Really appreciate it. I also just want to recognize I have an amazing support system back here with lots of uh the team from Denver Public Channel. Well, that'd be lovely. Yeah, thank you. If they could just step to the microphone and let us know who's here, and it's helpful in case there's any questions. Yes, thank you. Let's mean another faces. Hi, Gina Dunn, and I'm the director of finance for the library. Hello everyone, Will Shatner. I'm the Chief Operating Officer for DPL. Good morning. My name is Valencia Colbreth. I'm the Chief Equity and Strategy Officer. Hello, I'm Katie Anderson, the executive director for the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation. Good morning, Anthony Kaufman, Director of Facilities and Planning. Wonderful. Thank you so much for bringing the team. That's very helpful in case we have questions. Thank you, Councilwoman. I appreciate it. And thank you for letting them have the opportunity to introduce themselves. This work could not happen every day without the team. So we're gonna take you through a series of highlights, uh touch base a little bit on our strategic plan, update on our broad bond projects, um, which I'm sure everybody's really interested in. Uh take some time to talk a little bit about the Denver Public Library Fund and then what is on the horizon for the future. So we'll go ahead and get started. Um, since the last time we saw you, which was back in August, uh, we've had a lot going on at Denver Public Library.

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