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Record of Proceedings

Erie Town Council Special Meeting on Transportation and Survey – June 17, 2025

Town Council — Tuesday, June 17, 2025
BodyErie, Colorado
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, June 17, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

So special meeting on June 17th, 2025.

0:18

With that, I will look to our town foot to review the pledge of allegiance first.

0:34

One nation undervisible with liberty and justice.

0:40

All right.

0:46

Council member.

0:49

Council member O'Connor?

0:51

Here.

0:56

Here.

0:58

President Council Member.

1:01

Here's here.

1:05

All right, wonderful.

1:06

And uh Mayor Pro Tem Bell will be joining us somewhere around 7 30 tonight.

1:13

Um let's see.

1:14

Um we need an approval of the agenda.

1:16

I'm going to see if I can get a motion to approve but amend to the agenda, and that is to move a portion of the transportation system update specifically around the feasibility study that was already underway, and then a proposed change to that.

1:31

We'll get through that, and then we'll go but go to the survey.

1:34

We'll go as long as we can, and if there's time, then we'll pick up the other parts of the transportation uh system update.

1:42

So move.

1:43

All right.

1:44

We have a motion.

1:45

Do we have a second?

1:47

Second.

1:48

All right, motion second.

1:49

Any further discussion on that adjustment that I was asking for?

1:53

Why are we doing this?

1:54

What exactly are we doing and what?

1:56

Um, so we may not have time to do all the transportation discussion tonight, depending on how long the survey goes.

2:04

And because of that, there's one piece that staff is looking for direction on.

2:09

So we're gonna do that first.

2:10

Exactly.

2:11

Yeah.

2:11

Do you great clarification?

2:14

Do you want to have to have those staff members stay around in case?

2:19

I mean, if we don't get to it, then that's that is a good question.

2:23

Let's see if we amend the agenda and then let's come back and see the questions.

2:29

You know, sit around because I do have another suggestion I'll talk about in just a second.

2:33

All right, a motion and second uh for to approve an amended agenda.

2:37

All in favor say aye.

2:39

Aye.

2:40

All opposed say no.

2:42

Okay, we have an amended agenda.

2:44

Um let's see, um public comment on non-agenda items.

2:49

Is there anybody here to speak tonight?

2:52

All right, seeing none, uh, we'll go past that and go straight to the general business.

2:57

Um I think what I'll do is just turn it over to David Pasek.

3:02

We'll do this first piece and then we'll come back to the um the survey.

3:08

I'll actually turn it over to our transportation manager John Ferruzi.

3:13

Hi, John Ferruzi, Transport Manager uh with the public works department.

3:18

Um joined with Miguel Aguilar, our senior transportation planner.

3:22

And uh yeah, we can jump right into a couple of items from the presentation that we're planning to uh provide on transportation in general, but more specifically related to north-south connective connections and connectivity uh to and from Colorado 7.

3:38

Um, just to kind of frame this uh a little bit, uh, just for broad uh uh understanding is that we have um uh a roadmap currently for how we are managing our uh and guiding our development developer and capital investments.

3:56

Uh that's captured in the transportation mobility plan.

3:59

It does currently show some locations where we have signalized intersection connections along Colorado 7 as well as some connection points to and from that particular highway.

4:10

Um along the way, we have while capturing this in our transportation mobility plan.

4:16

We understand that there are changes that happen uh in the process of uh uh evaluation, and that um it's occasionally necessary to come back and relook at some of the items that we've captured in the transportation mobility plan.

4:30

I should say that the TMP and the comp plan are linked because transportation and land use are linked.

4:38

And a lot of times what happens is that when there's census data that comes out that develops transportation analysis zones that we basically model to develop our planning around that, and then we bring both the public input and technical data together to be able to understand the feasibility of these uh types of decisions.

5:00

So with that said, we understand there's a need for connectivity to and from the highway networks, especially as we have growth in town.

5:09

And the more connections that we have, the better it is for our network in terms of operations.

5:36

So we've highlighted three major uh connection points here as uh potential uh option here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Engagement███████████████████19%
Transportation Safety█████████████13%
Budget Process█████████9%
Procedural█████5%
Economic Development████4%
Planning And Development████4%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Erie Town Council Special Meeting – June 17, 2025

The Erie Town Council held a special meeting on June 17, 2025, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The agenda was amended to first address a portion of the Transportation System Update regarding a feasibility study for north-south connectivity, then proceed to the review and approval of the Townwide Special Topic Survey. The meeting adjourned after 10:15 p.m. without completing the full transportation update.

Transportation Update: North-South Connection Feasibility Study

  • Staff presented three potential connection points to improve north-south connectivity and access to Colorado 7: County Line Road to Airport Drive, Sheridan to County Road 7, and Bonanza to Vista Parkway. A feasibility study for the County Line Road to Airport Drive connection was estimated at $137,000; a combined study for all three would be approximately $400,000.
  • Council discussed the urgency, benefits, and constraints of each option. Mayor Pro Tem Bell and Councilmember Mortillero expressed strong support for studying the County Line to Airport connection, citing potential economic development and traffic relief. Councilmember O'Connor requested to be included in future discussions since the proposed route affects her district. Some councilmembers raised concerns about cost and the viability of the airport as an economic driver.
  • Council voted to direct staff to bring back a resolution to fund only the County Line Road to Airport Drive feasibility study. The motion passed with all in favor (no recorded opposition). The resolution is expected to be considered at a future meeting, and the study would not include construction costs.

Townwide Special Topic Survey

  • Council reviewed Draft B of the survey with Communications Director Gabi Rae and Magellan Strategies’ Courtney Sievers. Discussion focused on housing questions (issues of question length, wording bias, education vs. perception, and trade-offs). Key changes included: removing questions 19 (education-based) and 33 (about the ERIE B service); revising question 18 to be more concise; adding a housing ranking question similar to a model from Gypsum; removing open space and trails from the parks/amenities list; adding a history museum option; and adding two sustainability questions (program support and a modest tax increase).
  • Council debated whether and how to compare priorities across discretionary items (parks, affordable housing, sustainability) but did not finalize a ranking question; staff will draft one for review. The final survey length was a concern; Courtney Sievers noted it was already at 50 questions and expressed caution about respondent fatigue.
  • Council voted to move forward with the survey, authorizing Mayor Mortillero and Councilmember Hoback to work with staff on remaining cosmetic adjustments, provided no substantive changes are made without council approval.

Key Outcomes

  • Transportation Feasibility Study (County Line to Airport Drive): Council directed staff to bring back a resolution for a $137,000 feasibility study, with funding to be identified. The study will evaluate multiple alignments and constraints (floodplain, landfill, topography, regulatory restrictions) and is expected to take place in 2026 or earlier if possible.
  • Survey Approval: Council approved the survey in concept, with specific edits as discussed. Finalization will be handled by staff and the designated council members, with the goal of mailing postcards before July 4 and presenting results by August 5, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

So special meeting on June 17th, 2025. With that, I will look to our town foot to review the pledge of allegiance first. One nation undervisible with liberty and justice. All right. Council member. Council member O'Connor? Here. Here. President Council Member. Here's here. All right, wonderful. And uh Mayor Pro Tem Bell will be joining us somewhere around 7 30 tonight. Um let's see. Um we need an approval of the agenda. I'm going to see if I can get a motion to approve but amend to the agenda, and that is to move a portion of the transportation system update specifically around the feasibility study that was already underway, and then a proposed change to that. We'll get through that, and then we'll go but go to the survey. We'll go as long as we can, and if there's time, then we'll pick up the other parts of the transportation uh system update. So move. All right. We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. All right, motion second. Any further discussion on that adjustment that I was asking for? Why are we doing this? What exactly are we doing and what? Um, so we may not have time to do all the transportation discussion tonight, depending on how long the survey goes. And because of that, there's one piece that staff is looking for direction on. So we're gonna do that first. Exactly. Yeah. Do you great clarification? Do you want to have to have those staff members stay around in case? I mean, if we don't get to it, then that's that is a good question. Let's see if we amend the agenda and then let's come back and see the questions. You know, sit around because I do have another suggestion I'll talk about in just a second. All right, a motion and second uh for to approve an amended agenda. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say no. Okay, we have an amended agenda. Um let's see, um public comment on non-agenda items. Is there anybody here to speak tonight? All right, seeing none, uh, we'll go past that and go straight to the general business. Um I think what I'll do is just turn it over to David Pasek. We'll do this first piece and then we'll come back to the um the survey. I'll actually turn it over to our transportation manager John Ferruzi. Hi, John Ferruzi, Transport Manager uh with the public works department. Um joined with Miguel Aguilar, our senior transportation planner. And uh yeah, we can jump right into a couple of items from the presentation that we're planning to uh provide on transportation in general, but more specifically related to north-south connective connections and connectivity uh to and from Colorado 7.

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