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Record of Proceedings

Mayor and City Council Meeting – CATS Program and Informational Segments (April 22, 2025)

Mayor-Council Meeting — Tuesday, April 22, 2025

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionMayor-Council Meeting

DateTuesday, April 22, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 41:33

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

0:00

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

0:04

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

0:12

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

4:01

With the distinguished gentleman to my right.

4:09

Good morning, Amanda Sawyer, District Five.

4:12

Good morning, Serena Gonzalez Putnez, one of your council members at large.

4:16

Morning, Darrell Watson, fine district nine, and I've got my voice back.

4:19

It was allergies.

4:20

I was not sick.

4:30

Uh Councilman Watson, I do not have my voice back.

4:33

It is not allergies, it is the nuggets in the ass.

4:40

Um, okay.

4:42

Great to see you all this morning.

4:43

We have uh an update on deck about our fantastic keynote program at the airport.

4:48

But we first want to open up with announcements people have that they'd like to share for colleagues or the listening public who's tuning in.

4:55

Yes, Councilwoman Sawyer.

4:56

Thank you, Mr.

4:57

Mayor.

4:58

Um, two things.

5:00

Number one, I want to just wish our evs and our nuggets.

5:04

It was a tough, it was a tough night in Denver last night.

5:07

I gotta say, um, but both of them in the first round of the playoffs, we love them both.

5:12

We wish them all the best.

5:14

Um super excited that we've got two teams um in the playoffs right now.

5:19

So it's really exciting.

5:21

Um, second thing, not as exciting, but still really great.

5:24

Uh, District 5 community cleanup day is on Sunday morning at 8 30 a.m.

5:30

Um join us at Montclair Rec Center.

5:32

Uh grab some breakfast, grab the supplies, and then we will head out to clean half of the district five parks, and then we also um stand down and repaint a number of the bus stops in our district.

5:44

So we'll be doing both of those um on Sunday morning, 8 30 a.m.

5:49

Montclair Rex Center.

5:50

Join us.

5:50

Thank you so much, Councilman Sawyer.

5:52

Councilman Watson.

5:53

Uh thank you, Mr.

5:54

Mayor.

5:55

Uh, tonight we have a virtual community meeting on scrap metal theft and regulated sales.

6:00

It's going to be um, if you haven't signed up, um it starts from 6 to 7.

6:06

It goes from 6 to 7 p.m.

6:08

You can call our offices in District 9 and District 7 at first at 720 337 7709 or 720 337 7777.

6:19

We can sign you up manually, or you can just send us an email to District 9 at DenverGov.org.

6:24

I will sign you up.

6:25

So scrap metal meeting.

6:26

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, including your your your um input in this important piece of legislation tonight, 6 to 7 p.m.

6:36

Great.

6:36

Thank you so much, councilman.

6:37

Councilman Cashman.

6:39

I'd like to wish everybody a happy earth.

6:42

Yes.

6:43

Um we passed a council past proclamation last night, acknowledging uh the needs we still have to address the climate crisis.

6:54

And uh it is an absolute crime what the uh current administration in Washington is doing uh to disavow the science that I think is is is accepted by about 99.9% of the people on the face of the globe uh defunding uh hundreds of millions of dollars in important uh programs.

7:21

Uh you know, we can all the other things we do um uh to take care of our our constituents and our communities are are obviously important and as corny as it sounds.

7:35

If we keep letting the planet burn up, um we're not gonna have enough money to take care of the things we need to take care of.

7:42

So uh happy earth day.

7:44

Let's keep committed, and I'm really am proud of what Denver's doing.

7:49

Denver is a shining light uh uh compared to what's going on in the darkness of Washington, DC.

7:56

I appreciate that, Councilman Wilson.

7:58

Other announcements people have.

8:00

Oh, and hi, Alan.

8:01

Madam President.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation████████████████████████24%

Environmental Protection███████████████████████23%

Procedural█████████████████████21%

Aviation██████████10%

Public Engagement█████████9%

Historic Preservation████████8%

Sports and Recreation███3%

Community Engagement██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Mayor and City Council Meeting – CATS Program and Informational Segments (April 22, 2025)

The meeting began with roll call and announcements from council members, followed by a presentation on the Denver International Airport's Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS) program. After the presentation, the meeting was adjourned, but the transcript also includes pre-recorded informational segments on Denver Mountain Parks, the airport baggage handling system, and native plant gardening.

Announcements

Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer (District 5) wished Denver's NBA and NHL teams (Nuggets and Avalanche) well in the playoffs and announced a District 5 community cleanup on Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. at Montclair Rec Center.
Councilman Darrell Watson (District 9) promoted a virtual community meeting on scrap metal theft and regulated sales from 6-7 p.m. the same evening, with sign-up through his office.
Councilman Kevin Cashman (District 10) recognized Earth Day, criticized the federal administration's climate policies, and praised Denver's environmental efforts.
Council President Amanda Sawyer (a different member? Actually the transcript shows "Madam President" – likely the council president) offered condolences on the death of Pope Francis and shared a quote about serving others.

Presentation: CATS Program

Stacey Segman, Senior VP of Customer Experience at DEN, introduced therapy dog Olaf and his handler Brian Sieber (Denver Parks and Rec employee).
The Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS) launched in October 2015 with 28 teams; it now has 115 teams that donate over 3,500 hours annually.
Dogs are certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and Pet Partners, must pass tests including riding the train and ignoring distractions, and must be at least one year old.
Volunteers commit to a minimum of 10 hours per quarter, with sessions up to two hours between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The program holds the Guinness World Record for the largest animal therapy program at any airport, a title they actively maintain.
Dogs participate in community events such as Rocky Mountain Honor Flight, Denver Human Services Adoption Day, and hospital visits.
Council members expressed appreciation; Councilwoman Sawyer shared a personal story about her mother's anxiety being relieved by a therapy dog at the airport.

Informational Segments (Pre-recorded or other meeting components)

Denver Mountain Parks History: A narrated segment described the origins of Winter Park ski area, purchased by the city in 1939 with private and federal funds. It highlighted the role of George Cranmer, the construction of the first rope tow, the historic Balcony House (built 1955), the invention of slope grooming, and the National Sports Center for the Disabled (established 1970). The segment noted funding challenges and the protective city charter that prevents sale without a vote.
DEN Baggage Handling System: An explanation of the automated system measuring nearly 10 miles long with over 5,000 conveyors, processing more than 2 million bags per month (up to 12,000 bags per hour). It described the journey from check-in (Level 6) to screening (Level 3), sortation, and underground cart transport to gates, averaging 20 minutes from check-in to aircraft. DEN has 18 domestic and 3 international baggage carousels plus 6 oversized carousels.
Native Plant Gardening: Grace Johnson, Assistant Manager of Horticulture at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, discussed low-water native plants adapted to Colorado. She highlighted species such as Echinacea palata (regionally native), pearly everlasting, prairie dropseed, bee balm (Monarda fistulosa), milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and Cleome serrulata (called the "fourth sister"). She provided advice on converting turf to garden, watering schedules, leaving stems for pollinators, and avoiding fertilizer.

Key Outcomes

No votes or formal decisions were taken. The meeting served as an informational session where council members received updates on the CATS program and other city services. The council adjourned without an executive session.

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. With the distinguished gentleman to my right. Good morning, Amanda Sawyer, District Five. Good morning, Serena Gonzalez Putnez, one of your council members at large. Morning, Darrell Watson, fine district nine, and I've got my voice back. It was allergies. I was not sick. Uh Councilman Watson, I do not have my voice back. It is not allergies, it is the nuggets in the ass. Um, okay. Great to see you all this morning. We have uh an update on deck about our fantastic keynote program at the airport. But we first want to open up with announcements people have that they'd like to share for colleagues or the listening public who's tuning in. Yes, Councilwoman Sawyer. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, two things. Number one, I want to just wish our evs and our nuggets. It was a tough, it was a tough night in Denver last night. I gotta say, um, but both of them in the first round of the playoffs, we love them both. We wish them all the best. Um super excited that we've got two teams um in the playoffs right now. So it's really exciting. Um, second thing, not as exciting, but still really great. Uh, District 5 community cleanup day is on Sunday morning at 8 30 a.m. Um join us at Montclair Rec Center. Uh grab some breakfast, grab the supplies, and then we will head out to clean half of the district five parks, and then we also um stand down and repaint a number of the bus stops in our district. So we'll be doing both of those um on Sunday morning, 8 30 a.m. Montclair Rex Center. Join us. Thank you so much, Councilman Sawyer. Councilman Watson. Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, tonight we have a virtual community meeting on scrap metal theft and regulated sales. It's going to be um, if you haven't signed up, um it starts from 6 to 7. It goes from 6 to 7 p.m. You can call our offices in District 9 and District 7 at first at 720 337 7709 or 720 337 7777. We can sign you up manually, or you can just send us an email to District 9 at DenverGov.org. I will sign you up. So scrap metal meeting. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, including your your your um input in this important piece of legislation tonight, 6 to 7 p.m. Great. Thank you so much, councilman. Councilman Cashman. I'd like to wish everybody a happy earth. Yes. Um we passed a council past proclamation last night, acknowledging uh the needs we still have to address the climate crisis.

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