Weekly Mayor-Council Meeting: Quarterly Citywide Goals Update (August 11, 2026)
Weekly Mayor-Council Meeting: Quarterly Citywide Goals Update (August 11, 2026)
The Mayor and Denver City Council held their weekly joint meeting on August 11, 2026, featuring a quarterly progress report on six citywide goals for 2026. Council members provided feedback, asked questions, and shared announcements about upcoming community events and initiatives.
Announcements
- Councilman Sawyer announced the Mayfair Park 30th anniversary celebration on August 22 (5–8 p.m.), featuring the Denver Municipal Band, food trucks, and community activities.
- Mayor Johnston reported that the St. Patrick's Day Parade generated an estimated $20.7 million in economic impact and attracted 450,000 spectators. He thanked city employees Megan Sullivan, Jim Rose, and parade leaders Frank Holligan, Dave Anderson, and Mara Zzinski.
- Councilwoman Romero Campbell invited the public to the South by Southeast concert series at Bible Park on August 15 (4–7 p.m.), featuring the Don Elwood Big Band and the Thomas Jefferson High School Orchestra.
Discussion Items
Vibrant Denver (Economic Recovery) – The mayor highlighted progress on filling vacant commercial/retail space: 1.6 million square feet of office space filled (including 18 new retail openings in Q2 and 4 new downtown office deals), and 607,000 square feet of renewed leases. The Denver Jobs Agenda plan was announced with four components: Launch Denver, Build Denver, Open Denver, and Work Denver (a $40 million fund for higher-skill jobs). Major projects: Denver Summit Stadium construction begins fall 2026 (2028 opening), Burnham Yard small area plan continues, Spear Boulevard pedestrian bridge approved (2028 completion). Councilman Hudson noted that a CU Denver announcement at Independence Plaza (scheduled for August 12) would further boost downtown vibrancy.
Affordable Housing – Permits: 4,000 of 5,000 goal units permitted halfway through the year, helped by a council extension of a key deadline for 23,000 stalled units. Affordable units: 500 of 2,500 goal achieved, with most large projects opening later in the year. Permitting improvements: quick permits for single- and two-unit interior projects, and a streamlined “one and done” concept site plan process.
Safe City – Shootings and violent gun crime at Place Network Investigation sites dropped 33% (violent gun crime down 43%). A new PEN location launched at Colfax and Pearl. However, homicides are slightly up year-to-date (35 vs. 29 at same time in 2025), but still 40–50% below 2022 levels. The mayor emphasized that 2025 was a historic low. Councilman Watson asked about integrating traffic safety (e.g., crashes, road diets) into the safe goal; the mayor noted it is a DOTI goal and offered to have DOTI present. Councilwoman Romero Campbell raised concerns about multi-jurisdictional street racing; the mayor cited DPD’s successful use of license plate readers and nuisance laws to confiscate vehicles.
All In Mile High (Homelessness) – Unsheltered homelessness dropped 64% since 2023. Median response time to 311 reports is 1.8 days, aiming for 1 day by year-end. 812 people exited homelessness into permanent housing so far in 2026. Councilman Gonzalski requested clarification that “closed cases” in the dashboard mean the person is no longer reported in the area, not necessarily that the issue is resolved. Councilman Watson asked about transitioning from a point-in-time count to more frequent pulse checks; the mayor said HOST is exploring quarterly pulse checks. Watson also requested data on long-term shelter residents (more than 2–3 years) to ensure they are not “trapped” in the system; the mayor indicated non-congregate sites have no long-term stayers over a year, and will check congregate shelter data. Council President asked for disaggregated data on family homelessness and its link to child care.
Climate Resilient – 2,500+ of 5,000 goal for clean energy systems (electric water/space heating, solar, EV chargers, battery storage) installed. Green infrastructure projects (e.g., permeable surfaces, tree plantings) on track. Councilman Cashman called for better cooling centers for the unhoused, noting record July heat (29 days over 90°F).
Child Friendly – A comprehensive child care framework process is underway, with a community open house that evening (August 11) at Carla Madison. Nearly 50,000 young people engaged in out-of-school programming, and over 2,000 in summer work opportunities. Goal: 70,000 in programming and work by year-end. The mayor committed to prioritizing youth from diversion pathways and neighborhood safety services for summer jobs. Councilman Cashman praised the Office of Children’s Affairs for advancing youth representation on boards and commissions. Councilman Gonzalski requested age and neighborhood breakdowns of youth served; the mayor agreed to provide that data.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the meeting was informational.
- The mayor committed to provide follow-up data on: age breakdowns of youth in child-friendly programs, long-term shelter stayers, and quarterly pulse check plans for homelessness.
- The mayor offered to have DOTI present on traffic safety metrics at a future mayor-council meeting.
- Council members expressed support for continued collaboration on community benefits for the Burnham Yard/Broncos project (Councilman Cashman stressed the importance of a community benefit agreement).
- The city will continue to use 311 reports as a daily tracker for homelessness; the public is encouraged to report unsheltered individuals in need.
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. What's going on there, homie? Oh my god, like it's been five years. I feel like I do that to Cash Money. Do you like it? Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Mayor Council. Thank you so much for joining. We'll start off with some introductions and announcements, and we have a general session today to update folks on our quarterly report on our citywide goals. But we will start with introductions, and no better place to start than the distinguished gentleman to my right. Thank you, sir. Good morning. Paul Cash from South Denver District 6. And as usual, pleased as Punch to be punched. Good morning, Serena Gonzalez Coquietes, one of your council members at large. Darren Watson fine, District 9. Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver District 4. Well, great. Thank you all so much for being here. Thank you, members of the public, for joining us. Love to start with announcements if there are any announcements that council members have to share with the public at large or each other. Councilman Sawyer. Every year there's big party in the park put on by the neighborhood organization, Mayfair Neighbors. They're a fantastic city partners with us. So Denver Municipal Band will be playing. There will be food trucks, there will be community, bring a blanket. Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mayfair Park. It's 5 to 8 on August 22nd, which is Saturday night. Join us. Thank you, Mayor Johnston. We want to share two things. First, I last night I was remiss to thank uh Park Hill Pirates for another amazing event this past weekend. So Coach White and your entire team, all the honorees receive awards to hundreds of little kindergarten kids in in pads, knocking each other out playing. Fantastic, and then all the community members are out there. Show hats. It happens every year, and we're like, what a great event. I've got some information that shares why it's even a greater event. Um there's an economic impact study that we asked uh the St. Patrick's Day Parade um uh folks to do and in Councilmember Heinz and my district, and they provided some information. So you can have it in your newsletter as well. Thank you. But the uh St. Patrick's Day economic impact, um, it's 20.7 million dollars, they've estimated as far as economic impact to uh the city. 450,000 uh folks, uh spectators come downtown to uh Perfect 10 and find District 9 on that wonderful, usually cold day, but it's uh with one this year. Um I wanted to really reach out and thank some of the city employees that do um amazing work um within both of our districts for that um event. Uh Megan Sullivan with the Office of Public Event and Film permitting does a great job. Jim Rose with Denver Police does a fantastic job. And then the St.
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