Golden City Council Special Meeting — August 4, 2026

The City Council of Golden, Colorado, held a special meeting on August 4, 2026, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 911 10th Street. All seven councilors were present (Knecht, Cameron, Evans, Weinberg, Vitry, Pfau, and Kurzinski), and Mayor Laura Weinberg declared a quorum. The meeting focused on public comment about a racist incident involving a black doll found hanging by a noose in the Golden Fire Department and on Resolution No. 3344 to create a temporary council subcommittee to oversee a third-party investigation. Public comment ran from 6:31 p.m. to 6:50 p.m., and the meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.

Agenda Approval

• The agenda was approved as presented, with no changes.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ronnie Rosenbaum, Cutman Circle and REDI member, said the incident occurred in March and that it became public four months later, which she called awful and a lack of transparency. She urged city leaders to repair harm and restore justice.
• Jacob Smith, 6th and Cheyenne, described a black doll hanging by a noose as an act of violence and intimidation. He said the City Manager and Fire Chief should have given a stronger, more robust response and called the failure of leadership inexcusable, catastrophic, and possibly irreparable.
• JJ Trout, South Golden and former Golden City Councilor participating in REDI, said the city's response had been too procedure-focused. She asked for meaningful REDI input in selecting the investigator, protections against retaliation, a clear timeline, ongoing communication, and emotional honesty.
• Ron Benioff, 12th Street and president of Golden United, recognized trauma and loss of trust and recommended the city partner with the community on systemic anti-racism work, including possible historical plaques, a BIPOC scholarship fund, educational programs, and anti-racist signage.
• Holly Olivarez, South Golden and REDI community member, read a statement from the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership. It rejected the framing of the incident as isolated, called for full release of investigation findings with only legally necessary redactions, a community advisory process, a comprehensive workplace culture assessment, measurable benchmarks, and protection for employees who report racism.
• Saoirse Charis-Graves, South Golden, said healing also involves feelings and that children in schools may be affected. She said in a community where people belong to each other, no exceptions, this would not have happened.
• Matt Birdy, East Street, thanked the brave employees who brought the incident forward, asked anyone in leadership who knew before the rest of council learned of it on July 24 to recuse themselves or be censured, and apologized for what he called appalling leadership in the community.
• Mayor Weinberg acknowledged emailed public comments as part of the record.

Council/Staff Response to Public Comment

• Councilor Kurzinski acknowledged the courage of speakers and said the council must sit in the moment, seek root answers, and pursue systemic change, while acknowledging change will not happen overnight.
• Councilor Pfau said he was looking forward to the independent investigation and its recommendations.
• Mayor Pro Tem Vitry thanked everyone for their public comment.
• Councilor Evans shared emailed statements from city employees, including calls for executive leadership to take city values seriously and for transparency. She said she was committed to rebuilding trust and moving toward a better Golden.
• Councilor Cameron said he was devastated, had pushed for action, and believed employee complaints were sufficient grounds for action under the employee handbook. He stressed it was a noose on a black doll, apologized for the delayed response, and urged grace while working through the process imperfectly.
• Councilor Knecht thanked speakers, expressed frustration with procedural constraints, and said the investigation is one of many steps. She noted some optimism based on the community engagement work.
• Mayor Weinberg said the past weeks had been very difficult and that she had been sick to her stomach. She thanked city employees, community members, and the REDI task force.

Discussion Items

• Mayor Weinberg introduced Resolution No. 3344, explaining that a city-run investigation was not appropriate and that outside special counsel should conduct a true third-party investigation. The temporary council subcommittee would identify and recommend outside legal counsel, return to the full council for a public vote, and provide periodic public updates.
• Council discussion addressed the expectation that findings would be presented and discussed in a public council meeting, transparent progress updates, and community engagement. Council members acknowledged that a timeline could not be set until outside counsel was selected.
• Councilor Cameron said legal counsel alone should not design the growth and healing plan; he suggested engaging an anthropologist or ethnographer and said the community is broken now. He also noted that REDI has existed for about five or six years and remains ad hoc, without authority to make changes happen, and argued REDI needs more authority and support.
• Councilor Knecht called the investigation a first step, said the council should ask REDI and staff what they need now, and supported parallel work while the investigation proceeds.
• Councilor Kurzinski warned against acting too soon on the wrong root cause, suggested considering phased findings, and said HR should work in parallel.
• Mayor Pro Tem Vitry said she supported a parallel path and did not think it wise at this time to include all of the broader ideas, especially with REDI, in the specific investigation.
• The council agreed to support the parallel continuation of REDI's work and to publicly welcome REDI recommendations at any time, rather than waiting for the investigation to conclude. They did not fold REDI's internal practices into the scope of the outside investigation.

Key Outcomes

• Following a motion by Councilor Cameron and a second by Councilor Kurzinski, the Council approved Resolution No. 3344 unanimously. Vote: 7-0 in favor (Knecht, Cameron, Evans, Weinberg, Vitry, Pfau, Kurzinski); no votes: none.
• Following a motion by Councilor Kurzinski and a second by Councilor Evans, the Council unanimously appointed Councilor Knecht and Councilor Pfau to the temporary subcommittee. Vote: 7-0 in favor; no votes: none.
• The subcommittee will select outside special counsel and bring a recommendation, including scope, timeline, and expected updates, back to the full Council for a public vote.
• Councilor Cameron remained the council liaison to REDI and said he would focus on parallel efforts with the task force.
• Mayor Weinberg noted that an August 11 City Council meeting will include an executive session for legal advice on personnel matters involving the City Manager.
• Councilor Cameron mentioned that an Xcel Energy meeting had occurred the prior Wednesday in DeLong Park and advised residents to check their Xcel notification settings if they wanted notice of future utility work.