OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Weekly Joint Meeting of Mayor and Denver City Council – January 13, 2026

Mayor-Council Meeting — Tuesday, January 13, 2026
BodyDenver, Colorado
SessionMayor-Council Meeting
DateTuesday, January 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 39:41
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Thanks for joining us for this weekly joint meeting of the Mayor and Denver City Council.

0:06

Follow along as the Mayor and City Council members hear updates from city agencies and projects,

0:12

discuss important city matters, and hear about what's happening across the Mile High City.

0:17

Join the discussion with your elected officials, starting now.

0:30

We'll be right back.

1:00

We'll be right back.

1:30

We'll be right back.

2:00

Mayor, council, thank you so much for being here.

2:06

Happy New Year.

2:07

We will start with introductions.

2:10

The very well brand new haircut.

2:17

One of us ready for mayor council this morning.

2:20

Distinguished gentleman from District 6, go ahead.

2:23

Can you say a lot again?

2:26

Good morning, Paul Cashman, South Denver District 6.

2:30

It's just pleased as punch to be here.

2:33

Jamie Torres, West Denver, District 3.

2:35

Amanda Sawyer, District 5.

2:37

Mayor, we don't get compliments from constituents like the compliment you just delivered, the distinguished gentleman from District 6.

2:43

So thank you.

2:44

Chris Hines, Denver's Perfect Town.

2:46

Good morning.

2:47

Diana Romero-Campbell, Southeast Denver, District 4.

2:50

Good morning, Darrell Watson, Fine, District 9.

2:53

Kevin Flynn, Southwest Denver's District 2.

2:56

Good morning, Amanda Sandoval, Northwest Denver, District 1.

2:59

Great to see you all.

3:00

I was waiting for the president to tell me that I need to get a haircut also,

3:03

because I figured that was the advice that was coming next, but also true.

3:05

Jamie says those things.

3:08

Council Torres keeps me in line.

3:10

All right.

3:12

We'll start with announcements that we have this morning

3:14

that any of the members would like to share for the public or for the folks here.

3:17

We do have a special proclamation we're going to go through in a few minutes

3:20

by the announcements that folks have in advance of that they'd love to share.

3:25

Yes, President Pro Tem.

3:27

No, no, no, no.

3:28

Go for us.

3:28

Yes, yes.

3:29

Thank you.

3:33

Two quick things about golf in Denver and specifically in southeast Denver.

3:37

The Kennedy golf course is going to get a new center, a new clubhouse.

3:45

And so we have a survey that's open.

3:46

It's on the website and there's a link to it.

3:48

And then also this year the Wellshire golf course is going to be celebrating 100 years

3:54

and we are working on a historic designation

3:57

that will go through the first process

3:58

through History of Colorado.

4:01

The presentation will be on Friday,

4:03

and then it'll go to the national level

4:05

for national historic designation.

4:07

So we'll be celebrating June 5th,

4:10

and a community celebration in the golf tournament as well.

4:15

Thank you.

4:15

Councilman Lawson.

4:17

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

4:19

On the 15th, which is Thursday from 5.30 until 7 p.m.,

4:24

we're hosting, I would say,

4:25

our sixth Mestizo Curtis Park Pool Community Discussion.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Procedural████████13%
Racial Equity████████13%
Fiscal Sustainability█2%
Affordable Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Weekly Joint Meeting of Mayor and Denver City Council – January 13, 2026

This weekly joint meeting of Mayor Mike Johnston and Denver City Council included a formal proclamation for the 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Marade, announcements from council members, and an extended discussion on cold‑weather sheltering operations, centering on the 4040 Quebec site and the city’s capacity to bring people indoors during extreme cold.

Proclamation – MLK Marade 40th Anniversary

  • Mayor Johnston proclaimed January 19, 2026, as Denver Marade 40th Anniversary Day, recognizing the state holiday effort and the annual parade as the largest Dr. King celebration in the nation. Councilmember Darrell Watson (District 9) introduced and read the proclamation. The event takes place on Monday, January 19, 2026.

Discussion Items – Cold Weather Shelter Update

  • Cole Chandler, Senior Advisor on Homelessness, presented an update. Key points:
    • Prior to this season, the cold‑weather activation threshold was lowered from 20°F to 25°F (thanks to council advocacy).
    • Last year the city provided 24/7 shelter services for the first time citywide.
    • For the current season, the city aimed for 900 single‑adult beds; 670 24/7 beds were created, with the remainder to be covered by overflow beds.
    • After a no vote on the 4040 Quebec contract on December 8, 2025, capacity dropped from 670 to 470 24/7 beds. People in northeast Denver, especially, have stayed outside.
  • Proposed commitments for 4040 Quebec:
    • Begin a planning process to fully activate full navigation center services by next cold‑weather season, meaning the ballrooms would not be used for shelter in future winters.
    • Lower occupancy from 200 to 100–150 and limit intake to northeast Denver residents who can walk to the site.
    • Maintain separate entrances and physical barriers between shelter and existing Urban Alchemy programming.
  • Councilmember Shontel Lewis (District 8) expressed strong concerns:
    • Stated that the commitment had been no cold‑weather shelter at 4040 Quebec, yet the site was opened anyway.
    • Argued the district is already overburdened with long‑term shelters.
    • Called for more creative citywide solutions (e.g., the Dream Center, the Coliseum, Salvation Army, McNichols building) rather than defaulting to 4040 Quebec because it is easiest.
    • Noted that the proposed capacity reduction to 150 is not good‑faith negotiation.
  • Mayor Johnston acknowledged the need for other options but explained contract limitations: the on‑call provider (Bayaud Works) can only staff seven facilities, and adding many small sites is not feasible this winter. He agreed this should be the last winter using 4040 Quebec for cold‑weather shelter.
  • Lisa Lumley, Division of Real Estate, added that finding public‑assembly space is difficult due to code, life‑safety, and partner resistance.
  • Councilmember Chris Hines asked about services beyond shelter; Jeff Kositsky (HOST Deputy Director) replied that resources are limited—medical care is provided when shelters are open >2 days, but no comprehensive assessments or pathways are offered.
  • Councilmember Amanda Sawyer identified a gap between the 25°F activation threshold and the zero‑degree emergency threshold, and asked about using a recent $50M emergency provider contract; Kositsky said that contract is reserved for polar‑vortex emergencies and is much more expensive.
  • Council President Amanda Sandoval urged solidarity and fair distribution of shelters across all districts, noting she has been searching for sites for years and is willing to take on more.
  • Councilmember Darrell Watson stressed the need for year‑round, transparent dialogue with all council members about cold‑weather planning.

Key Outcomes

  • The MLK Marade 40th Anniversary Day proclamation was officially signed and read; a group photo was taken.
  • No formal vote was taken on the 4040 Quebec changes. The administration requested council support for a new agreement with Bayaud Works but acknowledged that the contracting process will outpace weather deadlines, so the site will be activated in the interim on the next cold‑weather activation to save lives.
  • Councilmember Lewis reiterated that she rejects the current approach and called for genuine negotiation and a citywide search for additional sites.
  • The meeting concluded with a motion to enter executive session (pursuant to DRMC Sections 3 and 6) to receive legal advice on contract negotiations.

Meeting Transcript

Thanks for joining us for this weekly joint meeting of the Mayor and Denver City Council. Follow along as the Mayor and City Council members hear updates from city agencies and projects, discuss important city matters, and hear about what's happening across the Mile High City. Join the discussion with your elected officials, starting now. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Mayor, council, thank you so much for being here. Happy New Year. We will start with introductions. The very well brand new haircut. One of us ready for mayor council this morning. Distinguished gentleman from District 6, go ahead. Can you say a lot again? Good morning, Paul Cashman, South Denver District 6. It's just pleased as punch to be here. Jamie Torres, West Denver, District 3. Amanda Sawyer, District 5. Mayor, we don't get compliments from constituents like the compliment you just delivered, the distinguished gentleman from District 6. So thank you. Chris Hines, Denver's Perfect Town. Good morning. Diana Romero-Campbell, Southeast Denver, District 4. Good morning, Darrell Watson, Fine, District 9. Kevin Flynn, Southwest Denver's District 2. Good morning, Amanda Sandoval, Northwest Denver, District 1. Great to see you all. I was waiting for the president to tell me that I need to get a haircut also, because I figured that was the advice that was coming next, but also true. Jamie says those things. Council Torres keeps me in line. All right. We'll start with announcements that we have this morning that any of the members would like to share for the public or for the folks here. We do have a special proclamation we're going to go through in a few minutes by the announcements that folks have in advance of that they'd love to share. Yes, President Pro Tem. No, no, no, no. Go for us. Yes, yes. Thank you. Two quick things about golf in Denver and specifically in southeast Denver. The Kennedy golf course is going to get a new center, a new clubhouse. And so we have a survey that's open. It's on the website and there's a link to it. And then also this year the Wellshire golf course is going to be celebrating 100 years and we are working on a historic designation that will go through the first process through History of Colorado. The presentation will be on Friday,

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