Mayor and Denver City Council Weekly Session - April 30, 2024

The meeting began with roll call, announcements, and a roundtable where each council member presented their top district priorities. The session concluded with a unanimous vote to enter executive session to discuss legal advice regarding events at Auraria Campus.

Announcements

• Councilman Cashman announced the first District 6 Community Academy on May 21st at 5:30 PM at Cook Park Recreation Center, bringing together city agencies to answer resident questions.
• Councilman Watson announced: First Friday Jazz at Sonny Lawson Park in Five Points on May 3rd from 5:30 to 7 PM; Community Conversations on Safety on May 8th from 5:30 to 7 PM at Astrick (1075 Park Avenue West); and First Saturdays at Clayton on May 4th from 12 PM to 6 PM at Cohesion Brewery.
• Councilwoman Lewis announced virtual office hours on Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Discussion Items: District Priority Roundtable

Council members shared their top priorities for their districts. The following summarizes their stated positions and requests:

• Councilwoman Sandoval (District 1): Advocated for follow-up and enforcement of DOTI's Curbside Access Plans in Northwest Denver, noting tension between business owners and employees. Called for maintaining Sloan's Lake (visited 535,000 times last year) and ensuring bond projects like basketball court resurfacing are completed.
• Councilman Flynn (District 2): Prioritized resolving an affordable housing project with recent difficulties, reallocating homeless outreach teams to outlying districts (citing increased need along Sanderson Gulch in Southwest Denver), and funding traffic calming on Raleigh Street (from Dartmouth to Bear Creek Park entrance), which he described as a frequent drag strip.
• Council President Pro Tem (District 3): Highlighted major bond commitments on Morrison Road (design) and Westwood Rec Center, noting the loss of an impact investment fund for businesses. Called for resuming the small area plan for Burnham Yard, which was left out of the neighborhood plan.
• Councilwoman Campbell (District 4): Emphasized completing Elevate bond projects: the Highline Canal underpass at Holly and Yale, sidewalk improvements on Yale, and DOTI projects (hot crossings, flashing beacons near Bible Park). Also requested progress on a skate park, Bethesda Park design, and a study on acquiring the Highline Canal.
• Councilwoman Sawyer (District 5): Stated that crime and traffic are top issues for her residents. Requested investment in street lighting based on a crime-light overlay map (specifically at 880 South Oneida, a hot spot where a street light was denied 18 months ago). For traffic, noted that needed traffic calming measures on 6th, 8th, Exposition, and Dayton would cost less than $500,000, but only one has been built in four years.
• Councilman Cashman (District 6): Focused on traffic calming: Louisiana Avenue (between Colorado Boulevard and Holly Street) near a new affordable housing project (151 units and a 100,000 sq ft King Soopers); a rapid flashing beacon crossing at Mexico Avenue on Downing Street (no controlled crossing for half a mile); and University Boulevard near Cherry Creek shopping center redevelopment. Also requested repairs to Garland Park road and acquisition of a 9-acre Arapahoe County parcel (Cherry Tree Estates) for parkland to address a park desert.
• Councilwoman Alvidrez (District 7): Prioritized the Alameda Underpass bond project, which is deteriorating and unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. Asked for funding to activate a makerspace (600 sq ft space coming from a developer). Also requested neighborhood identity signs (e.g., for Lincoln Corridor), support for local businesses using right-of-way for patios, monitoring of micro-community success, and funding for community engagement in the neighborhood planning process.
• Councilwoman Lewis (District 8): Called for an East Colfax Library and Recreation Center, a cultural festival for District 8, and traffic calming around schools: 23rd and Oneida, Denver School of the Arts (where additional housing for migrants is proposed), and 47th and Arlington/Joliet (DSST high school where students risk their lives to catch the bus).
• Councilman Watson (District 9): Advocated for the 38th Avenue underpass (long-pending, now more expensive), the redevelopment of the triangle across National Western (brownfield remediation and community process), and traffic calming on 26th Avenue between Downing and York near Manual High School (no calming measures despite the school). Also joked about diverting funds from District 10 to District 9.
• Councilman Hines (District 10): Presented downtown priorities: downtown provides 8.5% of city sales tax and 65% of lodging tax revenue, and is a hub for tourism, arts, and transportation. Emphasized transportation mode shift to reduce car dependency and ensure emergency access, noting roads cannot be widened.
• Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez (At Large): Called for capacity building for behavioral health care (inpatient, outpatient, harm reduction), including social workers at rec centers (from youth violence prevention town hall). Also asked for better DOTI responsiveness to community, installation of lights on all school zone signs, and stable funding for the Office of Children's Affairs to support youth without requiring system involvement. Additionally, advocated for no-cost parking for city workers downtown.
• Councilwoman Perry (At Large): Supported seed money for mixed-income rental housing in the next bond package (on a Montgomery County model), acquisition of Park Hill Golf Course, remediation of the triangle at National Western, funding for unfunded participatory budgeting projects, and a physical space for El Centro Humanitario (the only worker center in the city). Also suggested purchasing and forgiving medical debt as a way to obligate ARPA funds. Emphasized investing in connectivity of green spaces (Highline Canal, 5280 Trail, Sloan's Lake) and creating a tiger team to fund these needs.

The mayor thanked the council for their input and noted the team would work on making these priorities happen.

Key Outcomes

• No votes were taken on the district priorities; the discussion was informational.
• The council unanimously voted (no opposed) to move into executive session pursuant to DRMC 234A3 and 7 to discuss legal advice regarding potential claims and defenses related to conduct at the Auraria Campus over the prior weekend. A two-thirds majority of members present was required, and the motion passed.