The Golden City Council met on June 9, 2026, convening at 5:00 p.m. for a study session and at 6:30 p.m. for the regular business meeting in Council Chambers at 911 10th Street, Golden, Colorado. All seven councilors were present: Knecht, Cameron, Evans, Weinberg, Vitry, Pfau, and Kurzinski. The study session covered the Junction Metropolitan District, economic development structure, and 2027-2028 budget priorities. The business meeting included public comment, a consent calendar, proclamations, a public hearing on Fossil Trace Golf Club financing, three resolutions, and an executive session; the meeting adjourned at 8:46 p.m.
So we got a full agenda with three major topics. The first one until 5:20 p.m. is the junction property metropolitan district. Um, so I talked to staff briefly before to get a quick summary, and what they're looking from us today is they want to provide high-level feedback on the junction metropolitan district service plan draft, as well as any questions on the hearing process and timing. The council will have the opportunity to receive legal advice and provide negotiating input on the details of the service plan in the executive session scheduled for later tonight. So, staff is that correct? Good there? Awesome. All right, we'll take it away. Thank you, counselor. Uh, this study session is brought forward to update city council on the junction metropolitan district service plan and application. Council gave staff initial direction on March 17, 2026, and this study session is intended to uh further uh receive uh direction on the general position of the service plan elements. Metropolitan districts in Colorado are independent quasi quasi municipal government entities that are established under the Special District Act, which is Title 32 of Colorado Revised Statutes. They are primarily created for developers to finance uh through particular uh specifically through bonds, most commonly to construct and operate essential public infrastructure within uh particular geographic areas that vote on that debt. Um there are three primary uh steps for the formation of a metropolitan district. The first is city council approves the uh formation of the district with the service plan that is initially scheduled after this meeting in July on July 14th. Uh the second step is there's an election by voters who are either district residents or owners and in the metro district to approve the mill levy and the applicable issuance of debt, and that typically occurs in November. Uh that will does occur in November. Um and that has to be filed for by in-district courts. They have to establish the district, and the district goes to district court and establishes um the paperwork for the election. And then in November, those elections are held, and after the elections are held, they come back to city council for an intergovernmental agreement uh to uh um with the metro district, so that way there's a relationship between the metro district and the city. In order to meet the November 2026 deadline, the applicant must complete legal notifications for those July 14th meeting, which is 20 days in advance. So we do need to um have a particular schedule um in order for that meeting to uh for the developer to make that meeting. Every metropolitan district must follow a detailed service plan. That's really the primary thing that you are all reviewing. It dictates what taxes can be collected and what services are provided for those taxes. Um the district service plan includes a very detailed financial section that goes through how those bonds, what those bonds are paying for, the cost of the infrastructure, and that is all estimated by an engineer and the the district's uh the district's representation. Um so staff has provided a draft service plan. This service plan is the second draft that staff has reviewed. The first draft was uh already we already um worked with the district to um district proponents for some changes based on initial council direction. So within the service plan, there's a number of sections, and I'm just gonna go through them briefly, and then if you have any questions on these detailed sections, we can go back to them. The first sections are kind of the setup, the introduction, the definitions, and the boundaries. That just establishes the definitions used and the language used throughout the document, the particular geographic area that the service plan is applicable to, and the most importantly, the purpose and intent of a metro district, which is which is something that you have to set up by state statute. So it has a particular purpose and intent. And that really outlines the expect expected assessed value based on the estimated population and land uses that are proposed for the district based on zoning. The assessed value sets up what are the potential property tax revenues and will they be sufficient to discharge the debt that the district is taking on through the bonds. One of the more detailed sections is the proposed powers improvement and services sections. These sections establish the specific powers and what those specific powers and authorities mean. So whether it's to uh to design plans to construct various elements of public infrastructure, maintenance of those public improvements, financing those public improvements, installation and maintenance. So there it kind of goes through each step of that public infrastructure life cycle. One of the most important sections is of course the financial plan. Those the numbers in that section establish the maximum mill levy and the maximum debt levy of debt levy imposition terms. So what are the terms of the maximum mill levy? What can it be spent on, those kinds of things? What are the finance financials behind the numbers? The metro district's debt, just be clear, is owned by the district alone. It is not the city's debt, it is the debt of the serve of the of the district, and the bonds are taken out to construct only only the bonds are only taken out to construct specific infrastructure and public improvements. So it's very clear on what the bonds can pay for. And the city is not responsible for that debt, is the metro district. Also sets a maximum operations mill levy.