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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Denver Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Meeting – September 16, 2026

Council Committees — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionCouncil Committees

DateWednesday, September 16, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:07:52

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Hey Denver.

0:01

It's time for this biweekly meeting of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of Denver City Council.

0:10

Join us for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee starting now.

0:26

Excited about several presentations, but I'd like to start with allowing your colleagues to introduce themselves.

0:32

Council President, would you like to start?

0:34

Sure, thank you.

0:34

Good afternoon, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver, District 4.

0:38

Chantalis, District 8.

0:40

Stacey Gilmore, District 11.

0:43

Denver's perfect 10.

0:44

Uh Kevin Flynn, Southwest Denver's District 2.

0:47

And as of now, we have no council members on Zoom.

0:51

Thank you to the airport for being here for our first presentation about lease agreements.

0:56

You want to introduce your team and take it away.

0:59

Absolutely.

1:00

Thank you, Madam Chair.

1:00

Good afternoon.

1:01

My name is Dave LePorte.

1:03

I'm the interim CEO for Denver International Airport.

1:06

I'm joined today by uh Chris Herndon and George Carrionakis as part of our team.

1:12

Um we are here today to introduce 10 use and lease agreements for airlines uh for signatory agreements at the Denver International Airport.

1:22

Uh we have a total of four airlines that have long-term agreements.

1:28

Those are our largest carriers or four largest carriers.

1:31

Uh the balanced 17 carriers have use and lease agreements that expire at the end of this year.

1:37

And so we have to um renegotiate and introduce those.

1:42

Traditionally, we have brought those in batches to City Council.

1:46

Uh, there are a total of 16 that we will be introducing.

1:49

Ten of those are today, though.

1:51

So it won't be all 16 today.

1:54

Um we have uh a short presentation that Chris Herndon is going to walk us through.

2:09

And I'll say for moving forward, I'll say ULA, so I don't have to say use and lease agreement every time.

2:14

The 10 that we're bringing forward to you for these signature air signatory air carriers, their current ULAs will expire at the end of this year.

2:21

What we're asking for release terms will be three years total beginning January 1st, 2027, each being one year with the option to do two one-year extensions uh based at the city's discretion.

2:32

Rates and charges will apply, and I'll explain how much revenue we've raised from use and leave use and lease agreements later on.

2:38

These are the list of the 10 carriers that we're asking you to move forward to the full council, Air France, Iceland Air, Luftanza, Turkish Airlines, WestJet, Keelime, Air Canada, Cayman Airlines, COPA, and Alaskan Airlines.

2:55

Next slide, please.

2:57

Just as some background, Den is required by the FAA to allow any carrier who wishes to operate at the airport to be able to do so.

3:05

And we do that in uh several different ways.

3:07

One of those ways are through use and lease agreements.

3:10

So all carriers at Den have the choice to sign a ULA and become signatory, offering them the opportunity to have preferential gate access, and they will pay reduced rates and charges.

3:20

Our domestic air carriers can generally become signatory by leasing space at the airport and to agreeing to operate a minimum number of flights over a particular period of time.

3:30

Our foreign air carriers, they can become signatory at DIN without any operating or lease requirements.

3:36

And air carriers that do not meet those requirements or they choose not to become signatory, they can still operate via a permit at Den.

3:45

The ULA has defined the business terms of relationship between the air carriers, Den since our aircraft is opened.

3:51

And our largest fork carriers have long-term leases at Den.

3:55

United Airlines, their current lease goes through February of 2035.

3:59

Southwest Airlines, the same February of 2035, and 2022, Frontier Airlines extended their ULA to September of 2034.

4:08

And this body, improved Delta Airlines, to go through February of 2035 as well.

4:13

So those are our four long-term carriers with the use and lead agreements, and the remaining 17 that we will bring to you have short-term ULAs, but we're only going to bring you 16, and I'll speak to that later in this presentation.

4:25

So as part of Vision 100, the ULA contracts align with our pillar of how do we expand our global connections.

4:31

We wish to provide every opportunity for carriers to take advantage of the ULAs to please do so.

4:36

We do value these contracts as they illustrate our commitment to these carriers in Denver as well as our overarching economic development and opportunity to serve the global community.

4:46

Dennis served 4.8 million international passengers in 2025, our highest total on record.

4:52

And these contracts will lease in payment terms.

4:54

They provide stability for airline revenues and instill confidence from the rating agencies and the bondholders in Den's financial future.

5:02

And as you can see in 2025, 471.9 million dollars in facility rentals and 231 million in landing fees we generated through our use and lease agreements.

5:15

So in conclusion, over the course of the end of this year, we're going to bring a total of 16 ULAs to City Council.

5:20

We have the 10 before you right now.

5:22

There will be six more that will be coming later this year.

5:25

And sadly, we will not be bringing forward Airlingus as they chose not to extend coverage Denver to Dublin in 2027.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████████24%

Miscellaneous███████████████████19%

Airport Lease Agreements██████████████████18%

Aviation██████████████14%

Contracts And Procurement███████7%

Procedural█████5%

Legislative Affairs████4%

Public Safety████4%

Community Engagement████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Denver Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Meeting – September 16, 2026

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the Denver City Council met on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 1:30 PM in Room 391 of the City & County Building. Chair Flor Alvidrez presided, with Vice Chair Kevin Flynn and members Stacie Gilmore, Chris Hinds, Shontel Lewis, and Diana Romero Campbell present. Member Amanda Sandoval was absent. The committee considered a block of 10 airport use and lease agreements (ULAs), a design contract amendment and construction contract for Denver Police District 6 replacement, and several consent items.

Consent Calendar

26-1308: Dedicated a City-owned parcel as public right-of-way at West 38th Avenue and North Stuart Street (District 1).
26-1310: Approved a $11,383,076.41 contract with SEMA CONSTRUCTION, INC. for construction of the 5280 Trail – Acoma Street Segment (District 10).
26-1324: Dedicated two City-owned parcels as public right-of-way at East Hampden Avenue and South Willow Street (District 4).
26-1326: Dedicated a City-owned parcel as public right-of-way for a public alley bounded by East 7th Avenue, North Grant Street, East 6th Avenue, and North Sherman Street (District 7).
26-1328: Amended a CMGC agreement with INTERLOCK CONSTRUCTION CORP., adding $6,121,415.25 for a new total of $6,662,151.25 and extending the schedule by 420 days to April 30, 2028, for the Ross-University Hills Branch Library Renovation (District 4).
26-1338: Amended a contract with WASTE MANAGEMENT DISPOSAL SERVICES OF COLORADO, INC., adding $2,500,000.00 for a new total of $8,500,000.00 and extending by two years to January 31, 2029, for compost processing services at DADS Landfill (citywide).
26-1344: Approved a $30,000,000 master purchase order with Advanced Network Management, Inc. for IT infrastructure at Denver International Airport (DEN) (District 11).
26-1345: Approved a $30,000,000 master purchase order with ePlus Technology, Inc. for IT infrastructure at DEN (District 11).
26-1346: Approved a five-year concession agreement with Flippit Corporation (d/b/a Flippit) for four Airport Mailing Service locations in the Great Hall at DEN, with a Minimum Annual Guarantee of $4,500 plus 10% of gross sales (District 11).
26-1347: Approved a $30,000,000 master purchase order with Trace3 Government LLC for IT infrastructure at DEN (District 11).

Discussion Items

Airport Use and Lease Agreements (Items 26-1348 through 26-1357)

Dave LePorte, interim CEO of DEN, and Chris Herndon presented 10 use and lease agreements (ULAs) with airlines: Air Canada, Air France, Alaska Airlines, Cayman Airways, COPA, Icelandair, Key Lime Air (d/b/a Denver Air Connection), Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, and WestJet. The ULAs are for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2027, with two one-year renewal options at the city's discretion. They apply standard rates and charges. Herndon noted that DEN served 4.8 million international passengers in 2025, its highest total on record. In 2025, DEN generated $471.9 million in facility rentals and $231 million in landing fees from ULAs. The presentation explained that signatory carriers receive preferential gate access and reduced rates; non-signatory carriers pay a 25% surcharge. The airport plans to bring 6 more ULAs later this year (total of 16 for the remaining short-term carriers), but Aer Lingus will not be renewed as it ended Denver–Dublin service in 2027.

Extensive debate followed:

Councilmember Gilmore asked what happens if the committee does not approve the ULAs. Staff replied that airlines would become non-signatory but could still operate, paying 25% more. Gilmore questioned whether that would be a moneymaker and raised concerns about the airport's ability to manage FAA investigations (citing a current Part 16 case). She expressed strong opposition to moving the items forward, particularly regarding Key Lime Air, and stated her belief that the city is culpable for allowing ICE deportation flights without adequate tracking. She noted that a December 2025 email from DEN staff denied knowledge of such flights, and criticized the lack of public discussion on cameras and badging changes.
Councilmember Lewis argued the items were not ready for full council because the airport had not provided specific dates for transparency measures (e.g., camera installation, badge changes) or accountability metrics. She wanted to delay to allow more time for the airport to report back and for other council members to weigh in. She expressed concern about creating false urgency by moving items out of committee before information was available.
Councilmember Hinds made a motion to move the block of 10 ULAs to full council, stating that members not on the committee should have an opportunity to vote and that he believed it was ready. He noted that most airlines likely participate in ICE flights, so separating one carrier would not address the concern.
Council President Romero Campbell asked whether passing the ULAs would affect accountability for ICE flights. Dave LePorte responded that ICE flights would operate regardless, but that an existing city ordinance allows DEN to take action against carriers that violate city laws. Council President Romero Campbell expressed support for moving forward, citing the leverage that ULAs provide and extensive executive session discussions.
Vice Chair Flynn argued that holding up the ULAs would remove the city's leverage over airlines, comparing it to

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. Excited about several presentations, but I'd like to start with allowing your colleagues to introduce themselves. Council President, would you like to start? Sure, thank you. Good afternoon, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver, District 4. Chantalis, District 8. Stacey Gilmore, District 11. Denver's perfect 10. Uh Kevin Flynn, Southwest Denver's District 2. And as of now, we have no council members on Zoom. Thank you to the airport for being here for our first presentation about lease agreements. You want to introduce your team and take it away. Absolutely. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. My name is Dave LePorte. I'm the interim CEO for Denver International Airport. I'm joined today by uh Chris Herndon and George Carrionakis as part of our team. Um we are here today to introduce 10 use and lease agreements for airlines uh for signatory agreements at the Denver International Airport. Uh we have a total of four airlines that have long-term agreements. Those are our largest carriers or four largest carriers. Uh the balanced 17 carriers have use and lease agreements that expire at the end of this year. And so we have to um renegotiate and introduce those. Traditionally, we have brought those in batches to City Council. Uh, there are a total of 16 that we will be introducing. Ten of those are today, though. So it won't be all 16 today. Um we have uh a short presentation that Chris Herndon is going to walk us through. And I'll say for moving forward, I'll say ULA, so I don't have to say use and lease agreement every time. The 10 that we're bringing forward to you for these signature air signatory air carriers, their current ULAs will expire at the end of this year. What we're asking for release terms will be three years total beginning January 1st, 2027, each being one year with the option to do two one-year extensions uh based at the city's discretion. Rates and charges will apply, and I'll explain how much revenue we've raised from use and leave use and lease agreements later on. These are the list of the 10 carriers that we're asking you to move forward to the full council, Air France, Iceland Air, Luftanza, Turkish Airlines, WestJet, Keelime, Air Canada, Cayman Airlines, COPA, and Alaskan Airlines. Next slide, please. Just as some background, Den is required by the FAA to allow any carrier who wishes to operate at the airport to be able to do so. And we do that in uh several different ways. One of those ways are through use and lease agreements. So all carriers at Den have the choice to sign a ULA and become signatory, offering them the opportunity to have preferential gate access, and they will pay reduced rates and charges. Our domestic air carriers can generally become signatory by leasing space at the airport and to agreeing to operate a minimum number of flights over a particular period of time. Our foreign air carriers, they can become signatory at DIN without any operating or lease requirements. And air carriers that do not meet those requirements or they choose not to become signatory, they can still operate via a permit at Den. The ULA has defined the business terms of relationship between the air carriers, Den since our aircraft is opened. And our largest fork carriers have long-term leases at Den. United Airlines, their current lease goes through February of 2035. Southwest Airlines, the same February of 2035, and 2022, Frontier Airlines extended their ULA to September of 2034. And this body, improved Delta Airlines, to go through February of 2035 as well. So those are our four long-term carriers with the use and lead agreements, and the remaining 17 that we will bring to you have short-term ULAs, but we're only going to bring you 16, and I'll speak to that later in this presentation. So as part of Vision 100, the ULA contracts align with our pillar of how do we expand our global connections.

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