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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Denver Mayor and City Council Joint Meeting – Bond Program Updates – June 30, 2026

Mayor-Council Meeting — Tuesday, June 30, 2026

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionMayor-Council Meeting

DateTuesday, June 30, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 45:13

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

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, 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.

3:49

No, and I'm sure it has really good grades.

3:53

Good morning, everybody.

3:53

Welcome to the Mayor Council.

3:55

Thank you so much for being here.

3:56

Delighted that you were able to join us.

4:08

Um first to start with introductions.

4:10

The most distinguished channel with my right could just hear.

4:14

Good morning, everyone.

4:23

If you do it coming, this is the end.

4:33

Darrell Watson, fine, District nine.

4:35

Good morning, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver District Four.

4:39

Fantastic.

4:39

Uh, are there any announcements that members of the council would like to share with the folks listening at home or people here before we jump into our bond updates?

4:48

Councilman of Idris.

4:49

Thank you.

4:49

Um, I just want to share that my heart is with all of the affected by the wildflower fires that cross Colorado today and with the firefighters that we lost over the weekend.

4:59

That's all.

5:00

Thank you so much, Councilman.

5:02

Sure.

5:03

Please, Madam President Routin.

5:05

Thank you, Mr.

5:06

Mayor.

4:59

I agree it's it's very um the weather.

5:11

I guess to add to that as well, is also watch the weather index because outside the air quality is pretty bad, and if you need to wear a mask.

5:22

But uh it's starting to irritate, I think a lot of people, and so just something to watch out.

5:28

Um I wanted to uh take a moment of personal privilege.

5:32

Uh it's exciting, and also um a big week for um my family, but my son is getting married.

5:40

So um Heronimo and Aspen are getting married on Friday.

5:44

I mean on Saturday, excuse me, on Saturday, uh July 4th.

5:48

So there will be a lot of fireworks um for that, and we're just super excited and and um wishing them well in the future.

5:55

Um but I also have some You look remarkably composed for hosting a wedding.

5:59

I'm the mother of the groom.

6:03

Um, but I also have sad news to share.

6:06

Um, one of our community members in Southeast Denver District 4, um, Bruce Basket um has passed away.

6:12

Um and he is or was a tremendous uh friend and partner um in community, always providing impact, always um being that you know, agree or disagree, just always in for the good of the community and for Denver.

6:31

Um and I think it's a huge loss for um for district four.

6:34

Um there will be a memorial service for him um in July later uh next week.

6:40

But I just wanted to share um my deep gratitude and and um sadness about his passing.

6:46

Thank you for sharing that.

6:47

Oh, he was also a member of the he served on the pedestrian committee, the sidewalk committee, um, and there was a number of other things.

6:56

I think he's emailed every council member here as well as you, um, and probably everybody in the audience.

7:01

Um, actually, yes, yes, actively.

7:04

Councilman Watson.

7:05

Uh thank you so much, uh Mayor.

7:07

Uh uh my mom's uh Channel 8 super fan, and I just wanted to call her out this morning.

7:12

Today's her birthday, so she's gonna be extremely embarrassed.

7:15

So, Ma, happy birthday.

7:17

Um, we're gonna have some nice uh barbecue, if not tonight on Saturday, but looking forward to seeing you and thank you for being the greatest mom in Denver.

7:26

I want to share a little bit uh from District 9 uh this weekend, the largest park hill parade um in the, I think it's in the state of Colorado, maybe it's a city.

7:37

I mean it'll go so big.

7:38

The city of Denver, um, the uh Park Hill uh parade uh from one to three p.m.

7:44

starting at 23rd in Dexter.

7:46

Come and join my team to see neighbors, have a great time.

7:50

It's a big family event.

7:52

Um, and if you want to walk with um the district nine office, just reach out to my team on my website.

7:57

Thank you.

7:58

I will be at that same Fourth of July parade.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Civic Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████50%

Announcements███████████████17%

Community Engagement██████████11%

Procedural████████9%

Contracts And Procurement██████7%

Parks and Recreation█████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Denver Mayor and City Council Joint Meeting – Bond Program Updates – June 30, 2026

The Mayor and Denver City Council held their weekly joint meeting on June 30, 2026, to receive quarterly updates on the Vibrant Denver bond program and the Elevate and Rise bond programs. The meeting also included opening announcements from council members regarding community events, personal news, and condolences.

Opening Announcements

Councilman Washman expressed his heart for those affected by wildflower fires across Colorado and for firefighters lost over the weekend. Council President Pro Tem Routin added a note about poor air quality and reminded residents to wear masks if needed, and shared a personal privilege announcement about her son’s wedding on July 4, 2026, as well as the passing of community member Bruce Basket.
Councilman Watson wished his mother a happy birthday and promoted the Park Hill parade on July 4, 2026. Councilman Cashman noted that the Wash Park community would hold a July 4 celebration at the boathouse and that Watson would read Lincoln Portrait with the municipal band. Councilwoman Alvidres promoted the Interdependence Day celebration at Levitt Pavilion and other events including a World Cup watch party and a summer film series.

Discussion Items

Vibrant Denver Bond Program Update (Patrick)

56 of 58 projects are now started; the bond team is fully staffed. The team issued May and June newsletters, and the website received over 2,500 unique page hits in Q2.
Upcoming procurements: Garland Park and Platt Park RFQs released today. Selection completed for Red Rocks (SEH firm). Six projects have selected six different firms, two of which are MWBE firms.
The procurement for First and University (Councilwoman Sawyer’s district) will go out within 24 hours. Park Hill Park procurement is ahead of schedule (releasing in June instead of July).
Next update scheduled for September 29, 2026. Major contracts (Red Rocks, libraries) will require council actions in Q3/Q4 2026 and early 2027.

Elevate and Rise Bond Program Update (Elena McWarter)

Elevate Denver (2017 voter approval, 10-year, $937 million, ~500 projects) and RISE (2021, additional $80 projects) are on track for substantial completion by end of 2027.
Current portfolio: 566 projects, 76 standalone/named projects. 447 projects (80%) are complete and open to the public. Voter-approved $1.2 billion has been leveraged to over $2 billion total investment. Over 100 apprentices worked on these projects, earning $8.9 million in gross wages.
Recent 2026 milestones: groundbreakings for Skyline Park and Globeville Branch Library; ribbon cuttings for Cressmore Park playground, La Rassa Park improvements, and Swansea Rec Center pool. Major upcoming openings include Highline Canal Connections, Monaco Bridge over Cherry Creek, Colfax BRT soft launch, and Morrison Road reconstruction.
Procurement look-ahead: July/August for neighborhood transportation safety (NTSPI); September for community transportation network bike projects and park restroom improvements; November for Sloan’s Lake Boat House; December for park maintenance facility and bike infrastructure.
Council actions expected in coming months: construction contracts for Loreto Heights, DPR maintenance facility, Eugene Field Library, DPD-6 station, and new local maintenance districts for Morrison Road and 5280 Trail.

Council Member Questions and Positions

Councilwoman Alvidres expressed concern about the historic nature of the Decker library and asked how community engagement will differ from the Ross Broadway library. The presenters replied that a dedicated community engagement process is already being developed, involving both historic preservation groups and library users, and that they will brief council before engaging the community.
She also asked about public art integration in bond projects. The presenters confirmed that public art is embedded from the start (not bolted on), with a dedicated team working alongside bond project managers.
Regarding the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC), the presenters said it is part of the first tranche of FAAs coming through now, but the future use of the current building is not yet decided. Councilwoman Alvidres requested a briefing on that and on housing dollar allocation. The presenters clarified that the housing funds can be used for acquisition of vacant land, improvement of existing city properties, or preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing; a survey of council for potential properties was recently conducted.
Councilman Sawyer thanked the team for the detailed timeline (by month) and asked how council offices can partner in community outreach. The presenters replied that outreach plans will be developed with each council office, using different toolboxes per district (e.g., mailings, community meetings) and that outreach staff will contact offices soon.
Councilman Watson requested that slides be removed from the screen during dialogue so viewers can see who is speaking. He asked about the 38th Street underpass project; the presenters said the design procurement is scheduled for September 2026, with heavy public engagement to define scope (lighting, intersection improvements, but not widening). He also asked about the Mestizo-Curtis Park pool art allocation; the presenters said they would follow up with detailed information.
Councilwoman Romero Campbell asked about rapid flashing beacons at Bible Park; Brittany Price from DOTI confirmed they are part of a package of 14 locations going to construction in July 2026. She also asked about the Evans corridor signal improvements; presenters said the design contract is upcoming and they will work with her and Councilman Cashman’s offices.

Key Outcomes

Presentations were well received; council members praised the increased transparency and detailed timelines.
Bond office will coordinate community engagement with each council office as projects advance.
The next Vibrant update is scheduled for September 29, 2026.
Council members will receive follow-up briefings on the Decker library engagement plan, housing dollar allocation, public art specifics, and the future of the current CAC building.

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. No, and I'm sure it has really good grades. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the Mayor Council. Thank you so much for being here. Delighted that you were able to join us. Um first to start with introductions. The most distinguished channel with my right could just hear. Good morning, everyone. If you do it coming, this is the end. Darrell Watson, fine, District nine. Good morning, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver District Four. Fantastic. Uh, are there any announcements that members of the council would like to share with the folks listening at home or people here before we jump into our bond updates? Councilman of Idris. Thank you. Um, I just want to share that my heart is with all of the affected by the wildflower fires that cross Colorado today and with the firefighters that we lost over the weekend. That's all. Thank you so much, Councilman. Sure. Please, Madam President Routin. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I agree it's it's very um the weather. I guess to add to that as well, is also watch the weather index because outside the air quality is pretty bad, and if you need to wear a mask. But uh it's starting to irritate, I think a lot of people, and so just something to watch out. Um I wanted to uh take a moment of personal privilege. Uh it's exciting, and also um a big week for um my family, but my son is getting married. So um Heronimo and Aspen are getting married on Friday. I mean on Saturday, excuse me, on Saturday, uh July 4th. So there will be a lot of fireworks um for that, and we're just super excited and and um wishing them well in the future. Um but I also have some You look remarkably composed for hosting a wedding. I'm the mother of the groom. Um, but I also have sad news to share. Um, one of our community members in Southeast Denver District 4, um, Bruce Basket um has passed away. Um and he is or was a tremendous uh friend and partner um in community, always providing impact, always um being that you know, agree or disagree, just always in for the good of the community and for Denver. Um and I think it's a huge loss for um for district four. Um there will be a memorial service for him um in July later uh next week. But I just wanted to share um my deep gratitude and and um sadness about his passing. Thank you for sharing that. Oh, he was also a member of the he served on the pedestrian committee, the sidewalk committee, um, and there was a number of other things. I think he's emailed every council member here as well as you, um, and probably everybody in the audience. Um, actually, yes, yes, actively. Councilman Watson. Uh thank you so much, uh Mayor. Uh uh my mom's uh Channel 8 super fan, and I just wanted to call her out this morning. Today's her birthday, so she's gonna be extremely embarrassed. So, Ma, happy birthday.

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