Golden City Council Terminates City Manager, Appoints Interim on August 11, 2026
Golden City Council Terminates City Manager, Appoints Interim on August 11, 2026
The Golden City Council held a regular business meeting on August 11, 2026, at 6:30 PM. The meeting began with an executive session (7:00–7:39 PM) for personnel review and legal advice. Following the session, the council unanimously voted to terminate at-will employee City Manager Scott Vargo and authorized the City Attorney to negotiate a separation agreement. The council also unanimously appointed Acting City Manager Carly Lorenz as Interim City Manager, with the Appointee Subcommittee directed to finalize an agreement. Public comment and council responses followed, along with updates on a third-party investigation and consent agenda approvals.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of July 28, 2026: Approved unanimously.
- Resolution No. 3339: Amended an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Federal Highway Administration for funding of the Lena Gulch Project. Approved unanimously.
- Resolution No. 3343: Approved the upfitting of three police responder vehicles (police interceptors) at a cost of approximately $100,000. Councilor Knecht noted the low cost as a pleasant surprise; Councilor Cameron expressed concern about pending litigation (California v. Duffy) affecting grant funding. Approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Saoirse Charis-Graves (Harmony Village neighborhood) commended the council for their difficult decision regarding the City Manager, acknowledging their bravery, deep consideration, and thoughtfulness. She submitted written comment as well.
- No other public speakers. Council acknowledged emailed comments received before 3 PM.
Discussion Items
- City Manager Personnel Matter: After an executive session (7:00–7:39 PM), council discussed the City Manager's performance and leadership. Councilors expressed loss of trust and noted an incident from March that was not addressed until two weeks prior. Councilor Pfau explained that administrative leave was not an option under legal advice, and his preference to wait for an independent investigation was overridden. Councilors described the City Manager as dismissive, lacking compassion, and failing to meet expectations. Mayor Weinberg stated the incident exposed an underlying system needing major change. Councilor Cameron moved to terminate Scott Vargo; the motion passed 7–0. Council then appointed Carly Lorenz as Interim City Manager; motion passed 7–0. The Appointee Subcommittee (Councilor Kurzinski and Mayor Pro Tem Vitry) will work with the City Attorney and HR on separation and interim agreements, to be brought back as resolutions.
- Third-Party Investigation Update: Councilor Pfau and Councilor Kurzinski, as the investigation subcommittee, reported they created a matrix evaluating four referrals from Colorado Municipal League based on cost, timeline, cultural competency, and subject matter expertise. Emails were sent to all four firms on August 9; three responses received. Interviews scheduled for August 12 with two firms. The subcommittee aims to complete interviews in 2–3 weeks and bring a selection to council.
- REDI Task Force: Councilor Cameron announced an employee listening session on August 12 from 5–6:30 PM at the Golden Community Center. The next REDI public meeting is scheduled for August 26.
- Community Events: Mayor Weinberg noted a Clear Creek Trail design meeting on August 13 (5:30–7 PM at GCC), the Fine Arts Festival at Parfet Park on August 15–16, School of Mines move-in days, and the first Golden Hour Mashup on August 12 (6–9 PM) with participating businesses.
- Officer Release: Councilor Pfau acknowledged the emotional release of Officer Greg Metzel from the hospital on August 9, expressing support for police and fire departments.
Key Outcomes
- Termination of City Manager Scott Vargo: Unanimous vote (7–0) to terminate at-will employee and authorize negotiation of a separation agreement. The Appointee Subcommittee will work with the City Attorney and HR to bring a resolution to council.
- Appointment of Interim City Manager: Unanimous vote (7–0) to appoint Carly Lorenz as Interim City Manager. The Appointee Subcommittee will draft an agreement and bring a resolution to council, potentially via emergency resolution to expedite.
- Consent Agenda Approval: Unanimous (7–0) approval of minutes, Resolution 3339, and Resolution 3343.
- Next Steps: The investigation subcommittee will continue interviews and report results to council at a future meeting. The council will receive resolutions for the separation agreement and interim city manager agreement. Future steps toward a permanent city manager will be discussed later.
Meeting Transcript
All right, it is six thirty, and I am going to get um our meeting started. This is the regular business meeting for City Council for August eleventh, twenty twenty-six. Councillor Connect. Here, Councillor Cameron. Councillor. Mayor Putin. Here. Councilor Fellow. Here. Councilor Krisanski. Here. Mayor you have a forum. Thank you. Um, next is approval of the agenda, and having received no changes to the agenda, it has approved as has been presented. And we'll go into a motion as the next order of business. Um, all those in favor, please say I. All right. The time is now 7:39 p.m. And the executive session has been concluded. The participants in the executive session were Sandra Yanis, Sandra Connect, Don Cameron, Patty Evans, Lisa Vittree, Gerhard Fowl, and Emily Krasinski, and myself. If any person who participated in the executive session believes that any substantial discussion of any matter not included in the motion to go into the executive session occurred during the executive session, or that any improper action occurred during the executive session in violation of the open meetings law, I ask that you state your concerns now. Hearing none, we resume the regular business meeting. Um before we move further in our meeting. So keep that simple. Thank you. Yeah. Anyone like to go next? Councillor Connect. At some point I'll stop playing the new person card. I don't know when. I don't know. Things keep being new. Among the myriad of other things that are top of mind right now, I've been really deeply moved by the conversations that we've been able to have tonight was the first time that we were able to have this conversation in executive session. And I'm moved by the sense of shared responsibility that I feel across the dais um for us to do what is right within our powers that are granted by the charter for council. And that even though I think that whatever the future may hold it is likely to be difficult, but I do take heart in the fact that we will be able to hold hands and make those steps together. And when I say we, I don't mean just these folks on the dais. I mean as a community, I'm really appreciative of the public comment, the sense of accountability that's been communicated to us, the reminders and where those responsibilities to do what is right is coming. And I just really wanted to express that as difficult as this is. Counselor Kevin. Yeah, I want to I want to thank all the people who reached out to me privately and trusted me to hear their how they're feeling about what's going on. Um I have many residents and employees who normally don't interact with city counselors, and they put their trust in me to have conversations really meaningful. And uh trust issue is is paramount. Um so as we move forward in our discussion tonight and you know take action. I think it's important that the employees know we care about this issue deeply, and I pushed for our meeting last week. I pushed for this investigation. Um I attended the ready meeting yesterday. There's uh another one later this week. We are committed, and I'm committed personally to helping the city heal. I really want to thank the people that have uh put their trust in me to just move forward, and that's what I hope to do. Thanks.
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