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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Mayor and Denver City Council Meeting: October 15, 2024

Mayor-Council Meeting — Tuesday, October 15, 2024

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionMayor-Council Meeting

DateTuesday, October 15, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 29:12

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

0:01

Welcome to this meeting of the mayor and Denver City Council.

0:05

At this weekly session, city agencies brief the mayor and council members on various proposals and projects across the city.

0:13

This meeting of the mayor and city council members begins now.

1:24

Survived budget, or we're still surviving budget.

1:27

We're not getting it.

1:28

I know it's so bad.

1:31

I know.

1:48

I think he uh he's traveling today.

1:51

I know where I get stuck with me.

1:54

You gave him the day off.

2:15

I think we're ready to get started.

2:17

I know we'll probably have some members trickle in.

2:19

So good morning, everyone to Mayor Council today on Tuesday, October 15th.

2:26

Um today we have a presentation from um from Den, but uh first we'll go around with the introduction.

2:36

Start with you, Councilman.

2:40

Good morning, Deputy.

2:43

Good to see you.

2:44

Paul Cash from South Denver District 6.

2:47

Not distinguished today.

2:51

I have my bad days.

2:55

After the distinguished gentleman from Council District 6, my name is Serena Gonzalez Buquerez, and I'm one of the council members at large.

3:11

Good morning, Amanda Sanval Northwest, Denver District 1.

3:14

Good morning, everyone.

3:15

I'm uh Deputy Mayor Armando Saldate.

3:18

Uh my day job though, is I'm the um public safety director for Denver.

3:22

Um any announcements.

3:26

Uh we have the Broadway Halloween parade on Saturday at 6 p.m.

3:32

So come out.

3:33

We'll be lots of people, lots of floats.

3:36

I'll be walking with Westwash Park.

3:38

They're doing Alice and Wash Park.

3:40

Alice is Alice and Wash Park like Alice in Wonderland.

3:45

Uh floats, so I'm excited for that.

3:47

Thank you.

3:50

Yeah, thank you, Matt.

3:51

Uh, Deputy Mayor.

3:52

Um this evening we're gonna have our final district six uh uh virtual academy uh looking at how how to keep uh our roadways more safe and reduce deaths and serious injuries uh virtually 6:30 uh p.m.

4:09

start.

4:10

Um we'll have representatives from the Department of Transportation Infrastructure, uh Chief uh Ron Thomas.

4:16

We'll have uh Jim Locantori from Denver Streets Partnership, uh Stuart Anderson from Transportation Solutions.

4:25

So we'll have well-rounded discussion of what Denver is doing and what Denver needs to be doing to bring the numbers down in the right direction.

4:34

Great.

4:36

Uh one more council person joining.

4:39

Councilwoman Lewis.

4:42

Good morning.

4:45

You're gonna go around the table.

4:49

Councilman Watson for no I've got uh two quick announcements.

4:53

Uh today the uh there's a delegation from uh Austin uh Texas, uh their homeless delegation team.

5:00

They have some elected officials, some folks who are focusing on um homelessness resolution, and they're gonna be at a dream center.

5:06

So I'm gonna sneak out of FinGov a little early, so don't talk about me.

5:10

So it starts at 11 30 uh to about 12 30.

5:13

I think they're gonna be going all day, but I'll be there with them, kind of listening to the work that they're doing in Austin and seeing what things we can maybe scale here in Denver.

5:21

Um, and we have a really exciting um event in uh Globeville on Thursday, the 17th, um, from 4 30 to 6 p.m., the Denver North Business Association is having a 2024 ballot preview event.

5:36

So all of the five million issues that are on the ballot, and I've got my I voted pin on because I voted already.

5:44

Um we're gonna be um listening and talking to the community about those ballot issues.

5:48

So it's gonna be at uh KOMAL Heritage Food Incubator at 1950 35th Street that starts 4 30 to 6 on Thursday the 17th.

5:58

So looking forward to the community coming out and talking about the ballot.

6:03

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

6:05

Any other announcements before we get to the one?

6:09

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Workforce Development████████████████████████████████████36%

Public Engagement███████████████████████████27%

Procedural██████████10%

Transportation Safety█████████9%

Aviation█████████9%

Youth Programs█████████9%

Summary of Proceedings

Mayor and Denver City Council Meeting: October 15, 2024

This weekly session of the mayor and Denver City Council featured a presentation from Denver International Airport (DEN) on the Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation (CIA), followed by Q&A and announcements from council members. The meeting took place on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

Announcements

Councilmember Paul Cash (District 6) announced the Broadway Halloween parade on Saturday at 6 p.m. and a virtual academy on roadway safety at 6:30 p.m. that evening.
Councilmember Matt Watson announced a delegation from Austin, Texas focusing on homelessness resolution visiting the Dream Center, and a ballot preview event in Globeville on Thursday, October 17 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at KOMAL Heritage Food Incubator.
Councilmember Serena Gonzalez Buquerez announced a similar ballot discussion event at Brother Jeff Cultural Center on October 16 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Presentation: Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation (CIA)

Denver International Airport Chief of Staff Maria Meliandes presented an update on the CIA, which is both a physical space (under construction, nearing 50% completion, expected by 2026) and a suite of programs launched in 2022. The presentation covered three main areas:

Business Development Training Academy (BDTA): A nine-week program for minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses, with 100/200/300 level courses. Since 2022, 32 student businesses had graduated; in September 2024, the largest cohort graduated 66 businesses. Tracks include concessionaires and AEC (architecture, engineering, construction).
Career Pathways: 15 workforce development programs, including:
- DEN Academy: Summer program for ~95 high school students each year.
- Internship program: 28 annual interns (high school and college) completing 1,500 hours with a 10-week research project.
- New Heights program (with Bayod Enterprises): 14-week program for justice-impacted individuals; 70 graduates with a 57% placement rate.
- Leadership DEN: 7-month leadership academy; 81 employees served since 2022.
- Eno Air Max program: First-of-its-kind knowledge exchange with other airports (Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia).
Research and Innovation: Focus on mega trends, innovation learning, and piloting. An innovation council was launched in 2024.

Meliandes also noted that CIA is part of DEN's Vision 100 strategic plan to prepare for 100 million annual passengers (up from 78 million in 2023 and an anticipated 82 million in 2024). A child care feasibility study is underway in three phases, with a small facility planned within the physical CIA space, and the study aims to address the broader child care desert.

Discussion and Q&A

Councilmember Amanda Sanval (District 1) asked how to ensure access for the most in-need residents from the west side. Meliandes responded that the team engages with community advisory committees and shares information via website and council.
Councilmember Manuel Metal Campbell (At-Large) asked about procurement training for small businesses and partnerships with higher education. Meliandes confirmed that procurement professionals are involved in BDTA, and that the research and innovation team works with CU Denver and other local universities. Campbell also suggested collaboration with Metro State's aviation program.
Councilmember Matt Watson inquired about DEN's community-facing partnerships with nonprofits. Meliandes explained that corporate responsibility is handled by the government affairs team, but there is collaboration with the CIA team.
Watson also asked about the child care study's progress. Meliandes stated that the team is still in the assessment phase, forming an advisory committee that includes council members, airline partners, and employers, with no data yet to share.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes or decisions were taken; the presentation was informational.
Next steps: Continued development of CIA programming and physical space, with completion expected in 2026. The child care feasibility study will proceed with advisory committee engagement. Council members expressed interest in broader outreach and collaboration with local educational institutions.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to this meeting of the mayor and Denver City Council. At this weekly session, city agencies brief the mayor and council members on various proposals and projects across the city. This meeting of the mayor and city council members begins now. Survived budget, or we're still surviving budget. We're not getting it. I know it's so bad. I know. I think he uh he's traveling today. I know where I get stuck with me. You gave him the day off. I think we're ready to get started. I know we'll probably have some members trickle in. So good morning, everyone to Mayor Council today on Tuesday, October 15th. Um today we have a presentation from um from Den, but uh first we'll go around with the introduction. Start with you, Councilman. Good morning, Deputy. Good to see you. Paul Cash from South Denver District 6. Not distinguished today. I have my bad days. After the distinguished gentleman from Council District 6, my name is Serena Gonzalez Buquerez, and I'm one of the council members at large. Good morning, Amanda Sanval Northwest, Denver District 1. Good morning, everyone. I'm uh Deputy Mayor Armando Saldate. Uh my day job though, is I'm the um public safety director for Denver. Um any announcements. Uh we have the Broadway Halloween parade on Saturday at 6 p.m. So come out. We'll be lots of people, lots of floats. I'll be walking with Westwash Park. They're doing Alice and Wash Park. Alice is Alice and Wash Park like Alice in Wonderland. Uh floats, so I'm excited for that. Thank you. Yeah, thank you, Matt. Uh, Deputy Mayor. Um this evening we're gonna have our final district six uh uh virtual academy uh looking at how how to keep uh our roadways more safe and reduce deaths and serious injuries uh virtually 6:30 uh p.m. start. Um we'll have representatives from the Department of Transportation Infrastructure, uh Chief uh Ron Thomas. We'll have uh Jim Locantori from Denver Streets Partnership, uh Stuart Anderson from Transportation Solutions. So we'll have well-rounded discussion of what Denver is doing and what Denver needs to be doing to bring the numbers down in the right direction. Great. Uh one more council person joining. Councilwoman Lewis. Good morning. You're gonna go around the table. Councilman Watson for no I've got uh two quick announcements. Uh today the uh there's a delegation from uh Austin uh Texas, uh their homeless delegation team. They have some elected officials, some folks who are focusing on um homelessness resolution, and they're gonna be at a dream center. So I'm gonna sneak out of FinGov a little early, so don't talk about me.

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