Denver Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting - June 3, 2026
Denver Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting - June 3, 2026
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the Denver City Council met on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 1:30 PM under Chair Shontel Lewis and Vice Chair Chris Hinds. The committee considered an action item to approve a 10-year advertising concession agreement with JCDecaux Airport, Inc. at Denver International Airport, received a briefing on the Front Range Passenger Rail (Colorado Connector) project, and approved three consent agenda items.
Consent Calendar
- 26-0738: Approved a contract with KEENE CONCRETE, INC. for $3,424,371 to replace deficient sidewalk citywide to ADA standards (term: NTP + 220 days).
- 26-0739: Approved a contract with HDR ENGINEERING, INC. for $964,000 through June 1, 2028, to assess the Welton Street Corridor and develop transportation recommendations (Council District 9).
- 26-0740: Approved a revocable permit for Clifford Lee Beem and Kristi Conway Beem to encroach 1.1 feet into the right-of-way at 661 N. Williams Street (Council District 5).
Discussion Items
26-0755 – JCDecaux Advertising Concession Agreement at Denver International Airport Denver International Airport (DEN) staff presented a proposed 10-year concession agreement with JCDecaux Airport, Inc. (JCDecaux) valued at over $184 million in guaranteed base rent, with a minimum capital investment of $16 million. The agreement would replace existing advertising assets with fewer, modern digital screens to reduce visual clutter and improve passenger wayfinding. The base rent is guaranteed regardless of sales performance; additional percentage rent will be paid at 72.5% of gross sales, dropping to 62.5% after $30 million in gross sales is achieved. The current incumbent, Clear Channel Airports, had a minimum annual guarantee (MAG) of $3.3 million, with actual airport revenue of $16.5 million in 2025. The new contract’s year one MAG is $15 million.
Council members raised concerns about the lack of a finalized Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) goal, as the contract only includes language for an “up to 2%” goal pending recertification of firms after the U.S. DOT’s interim final rule. Council President Sandoval expressed strong discomfort, noting the city’s own ordinances could set goals and that the "up to" language allows zero percent. She also questioned the selection process, the international location of JCDecaux (France), and the adequacy of local economic benefit. Councilwoman Alvidrez and Councilman Hines requested additional information on competitor bids and contract details. Committee members also discussed the scoring criteria, with JCDecaux scoring nearly 15 points higher than the incumbent.
Council President Sandoval made a motion to postpone the resolution (26-0755) to the next committee meeting on June 17, 2026, to allow time to address concerns about ACDBE goals. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Hinds and passed unanimously (7-0). The committee will reconsider the item on June 17.
26-0761 – Front Range Passenger Rail (Colorado Connector) General Update Sal Pace, General Manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District, and Board Chair John Putnam provided a briefing. The district is planning a phased intercity passenger rail service branded “Colorado Connector” (Coco) from Fort Collins to Pueblo. Phase one, funded via a partnership with RTD and the state, will provide three round trips daily from Denver to Fort Collins by January 2029, serving eight stations at 79 mph. A term sheet has been signed with BNSF Railway, a novel arrangement where BNSF will contract Amtrak to operate the service. Phase two would expand to 10 round trips daily between Pueblo and Fort Collins, requiring a new revenue source via a potential ballot measure in 2026. The district is contemplating a sales tax of one-third of a cent within its boundaries (2.5 million residents across 20-25 municipalities). A “local return” program would send nearly 20% of tax revenue back to local communities for station area development, first/last mile connectivity, and infrastructure. For Denver, this could mean hundreds of millions of dollars. The district has engaged over 40,000 residents and is exploring special event stops at the new Broncos Stadium and South Broadway. Council members asked about rail safety, quiet zones, single-track constraints, and lessons learned from RTD’s Fastracks project. The briefing served as an informational update; no action was taken.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 26-0755 (JCDecaux contract) was postponed by a unanimous vote (7-0) to June 17, 2026, to address council concerns about ACDBE goals and contract details.
- Consent items 26-0738, 26-0739, and 26-0740 were approved without objection.
- The Front Range Passenger Rail briefing was concluded with no formal action; further updates are expected.
Meeting Transcript
Hey Denver, it's time for this biweekly meeting of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of Denver City Council. Join us for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee starting now. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Today is Wednesday, June 3rd. My name is Chantelin Lewis. I serve as your council district eight representative, and I'm excited to continue to chair this committee. We'll start with a round of introductions and we can start with folks online. Good afternoon, Stacey Gilmar, District 11. Thank you so much. And then we can start with you, Councilman Blink. Thank you. Sorry, there's lucky district five. Good afternoon, Paul Cash from South Denver. Good afternoon, Amanda Sandover, Northwest Denver District. Hello, Chris Hines, Denver's perfect time. Perfect timing. Thanks. All right, with that, we have an action item and a briefing. The first is an action item from Den. So I'll let you all introduce yourselves and then you get into your presentation. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm Chris Harden, Chief Commercial Officer at Dent, and I'll have him introduce themselves. Good afternoon. I'm Pamela Deshaun, Senior Vice President of Concessions at Den. Good afternoon, Councilmembers. My name is Brandon Zars, Senior Director of Concessions at Den. Madam Chair, we do have closing remarks, but I wanted to say before we go, on behalf of CEO Phil Washington and Den, we want to wish the very best of councilman parity for one of full health recovery as well as thanking her for all she's done for the city and county of Denver as well as Den. So we wanted to offer that. Okay. Don't let me forget your closing remarks because I forget sometimes. Okay. Certainly won't. So we have a four-year consideration to move to the full council and advertising contract. Um we will award the JC Decoe and Anne will walk you through that. I will speak to a letter that was received yesterday that we received that I'm sure your council members may have questions about, so we'll speak to that. And after that, we will have any questions, and we have several members of the DIM team that can address anything if we can't do it at this table. Okay. Okay, I'll begin. Thank you. We're here today together to present a significant non-aeronautical revenue agreement for Denver International Airport. This contract will reshape how advertising looks and fills throughout the terminal and concourses for the next decade. The total contract value of what we present today of over 184 million dollars represents the guaranteed base rent that Den will collect over the 10-year period. This base rent is guaranteed to the airport regardless of JC DeCoe's sales performance. This guarantee is a floor, it is not a sales and revenue ceiling. On top of the guaranteed base rent, the contract includes percent rent tied to actual advertising sales. In other words, Den will receive the greater of the guaranteed base rent or the percentage rent. So strong sales years will generate additional revenue above the guarantee while the airport is fully protected on the downside. The beginning percent rent is 72.5% of gross sales from advertising. Here is what JC Dakote is delivering under this contract, a minimum capital investment of over 16 million dollars. JC DeCoe is investing in the program up front.
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