Grand Junction City Council Regular Meeting – November 5, 2025

The Grand Junction City Council met in regular session on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Auditorium, 250 North 5th Street. Council President Cody Kennedy presided. Present were Councilmembers Robert Ballard, Scott Beilfuss, Jason Nguyen, and Ben Van Dyke; Councilmember Anna Stout attended virtually; Councilmember Laurel Lutz was absent. The meeting included presentations from the Business Incubator Center and Sports Commission, board appointments, public comment, consent agenda approval, and public hearings on the CDBG CAPER and the proposed 2026 budget. The meeting adjourned at 8:49 p.m.

Presentations

• Business Incubator Center Update: CEO Dalida Bollig reported the incubator, founded in 1986, has assisted one in three businesses in Mesa County. In 2024 it worked with 526 businesses, helped create 519 full-time jobs, and had 84 businesses on campus; it currently houses 102 startups. It provided $2.02 million in direct loans and leveraged $3.18 million in additional funds, and has invested $4.26 million in 22 businesses year-to-date. Bollig highlighted $1.4 million in nonprofit and $3.5 million in for-profit Enterprise Zone tax credits and warned that downtown and 23-to-29 Road areas are being removed from the Enterprise Zone, with grandfathering available before year-end. She invited the public to the Small Business Holiday Expo on November 21.
• Grand Junction Sports Commission Update: Executive Director Ben Snyder said the commission is in its 10th year. It receives three-quarters of one percent of the 6% lodging tax, with about $577,000 estimated for 2025, and raises about $343,000 from events and sponsors. About $547,000 goes back into community events, including $48,000 in grants. Notable 2025 events included the World Wake Association event at Highline Lake ($427,000 direct spend), USA Cycling collegiate mountain bike nationals at Powderhorn (projected $950,000 direct spend, 462 athletes, 48 schools), the NCAA triathlon, and the Rim Rock Marathon. The commission partners with more than 72 events, owns/operates 8–10 events, and draws about 25,000 participants and over 200,000 spectators annually. Snyder said lodging tax is 62% of the commission's budget, and additional venues are needed.

Appointments

• The Council unanimously appointed Dave Fishell, Adam Nikirk, and Sidney Woods to the Historic Preservation Board for terms expiring December 31, 2029. The 6–0 voice vote included virtual participation.
• The Council unanimously appointed Christina Schultz and Dora Fang and reappointed Julie Shafer to the Visit Grand Junction Board for terms expiring December 31, 2028.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Seth Williams, speaking as a citizen and volunteer, expressed concern about rising housing costs and the impending closure of HomewardBound's shelter, which he said lacks funding after January 5, 2026 and has been closed on weekends since October. He argued the city has no clear plan for unhoused residents and called for policies such as Housing First used in Salt Lake City.
• Ed Kowalski, a 42-year valley resident, said he had been told bikes could ride anywhere on sidewalks but learned that is not true; he urged accurate information.
• Henry Brown criticized the city's housing affordability code task force, saying it felt like a 'protecting developers profit margins task force.' He argued that transportation and car costs affect affordability and asked the Council to consider broader livability and connectivity impacts.

City Manager Report

• City Manager Mike Bennett reported that Standard & Poor's assigned a AA rating to the city's upcoming general fund revenue bonds and a AA- rating to the certificates of participation, and affirmed ratings on existing debt. He quoted the ratings report praising the city's financial management, reserves, and low fixed-cost profile. (The meeting minutes describe both as AA; the transcript reports AA for bonds and AA- for COPs.)

Boards and Commission Liaison Reports

• Councilmember Beilfuss reported on the Historic Preservation Board's tour of a Second Street property, a Business Incubator Center board meeting, the Riverside Technical Corporation meeting, a Hilltop meeting, the affordable housing workshop, and the recent City Council Town Hall.
• Councilmember Ballard and Councilmember Van Dyke reported on the Town Hall; Van Dyke also echoed the need for businesses to apply for Enterprise Zone grandfathering.
• Councilmember Stout reported on Colorado Municipal League legislative positions and an upcoming Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting.
• Council President Kennedy reported on the Town Hall, modular housing conversations, Strong Schools/Strong Community, Museums of Western Colorado, and ongoing meetings regarding HomewardBound.

Consent Calendar

• The Council unanimously approved Consent Agenda Items 1 and 2. This approved minutes from October 6 and October 13, 2025 workshops and the October 15, 2025 regular meeting, and set public hearings for:
  • The Messick-Dangler annexation of 27.2 acres at 378 30 Road, with a public hearing on December 17, 2025;
  • Assignment of a city land lease from Gray Media Inc. to Scripps Media Inc., with a hearing on November 19, 2025;
  • Zoning and Development Code amendments on landscaping, buffering, screening, measurements, and definitions, with a hearing on November 19, 2025;
  • Wastewater System Code Section 13.04.090 mandatory sewer connection amendment, with a hearing on November 19, 2025.

Public Hearing: 2024 CDBG CAPER Review

• Housing Manager Ashley Chambers presented the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report for the 2024 Community Development Block Grant Program Year. The city has been a CDBG entitlement community since 1996. The 2024 year included a $398,577 allocation plus about $80,600 in reallocated prior-year funds, totaling approximately $479,000. Funded projects included $140,000 for Columbine Park, $77,000 for West Lake Park, and safe-routes improvements on Hermosa Avenue and Ellis Street (shown in the raw transcript as $160,004,000, likely intended as a smaller dollar figure). Accomplishments included $672,000 in CDBG spending on affordable housing from 2021–2023, mobile home repairs through Housing Resources of Western Colorado, and $89,000 in pre-development funding for Habitat for Humanity of Mesa County.
• The public hearing opened and closed at 6:35 p.m. with no public comments. No motion was required; the report will be submitted to HUD by November 26 after the 15-day public review period.

Public Hearing: 2026 Budget Introduction and First Public Hearing

• City Manager Mike Bennett presented the proposed 2026 budget of $316.4 million, a decrease from 2025 largely due to the completion of major phases of the Community Recreation Center and Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant projects and to operational reductions. The council-directed use of $668,443 in general fund reserves for attainable/affordable housing incentives and services for unhoused residents is included. The general fund balance is projected to end 2026 at $46.7 million, with $29.3 million (25%) held as the required minimum reserve.
• The budget includes a 9.7% increase in labor costs, 29 new positions (including 13 in public safety), 10 frozen vacant positions, a reduction of five positions, a 32% drop in capital spending, and $16.1 million in debt service. Public safety investments include five new police officers, a Bearcat tactical vehicle, continued ARCTIC real-time information center build-out, a future police annex using certificates of participation, a community paramedic program, three firefighter EMTs, a battalion chief, and a fire inspector, plus a 2026 fire academy.
• Other budget highlights included $32.1 million in engineering/transportation capital projects, water and sewer infrastructure replacements, the Salt Flats affordable housing project with more than 324 planned units, an accessory dwelling unit incentive program, $100,000 for Joseph Center and $250,000 for Hilltop for unhoused services, and $61,153 in CDBG funds plus about $13,000 for Grand Valley Catholic Outreach. Bennett also noted the proposed elimination of the vendor fee, continued tourism investment because visitors generate up to 30% of sales tax revenue, and utility/rate adjustments including water, sewer, golf, parking, and solid waste/recycling increases.
• Councilmember Beilfuss asked about housing and homeless funding. Bennett explained the budget includes $450,000 in one-time funds for services for unhoused individuals and referenced ongoing discussions with HomewardBound and Mesa County. HomewardBound has announced plans to close the North Avenue shelter on January 5, 2026.
• The public hearing opened at 7:48 p.m. and closed at 8:20 p.m. Speakers included Thomas Copp, Dennis Simpson, Portia Silverberg, Ramona Windkeller, Cynthia Zates, David Kenworthy, Peter Booth, Heather McKim, TJ Smith, Jeff Gustofson, and Andrew Price. Multiple speakers urged the Council to restore Commission on Arts & Culture funding from the proposed $40,000 to the prior $70,000, citing economic returns, community connection, free performances, youth theater, and arts-based tourism. Dennis Simpson, a former councilmember, argued the 0.75% sales tax should be considered available for housing and human needs, estimating about $20.4 million in that revenue.
• Council discussion focused on the arts funding cut. Councilmembers Beilfuss, Stout, Nguyen, and Kennedy supported restoring $70,000; Councilmembers Ballard and Van Dyke expressed reservations, noting other city arts investments including 1% for the arts capital funding, $700,000 in public art at the Community Recreation Center, and $60,000 for the Avalon Theater dressing rooms. Councilmember Stout also read a letter from a disabled resident asking the Council to maintain the $70,000 arts funding level. Councilmember Van Dyke nevertheless made a motion to introduce the appropriation ordinance with an additional $30,000 for the Commission on Arts & Culture grant program, bringing that line to $70,000; the funding source was not specified in the motion and staff was directed to identify it before the second hearing.

Key Outcomes

• Appointments to the Historic Preservation Board and Visit Grand Junction Board were approved unanimously.
• The Consent Agenda, including minutes and setting of future public hearings, was approved unanimously.
• The CDBG CAPER public hearing was held with no public comments; no motion was needed.
• The 2026 Budget Appropriation Ordinance was introduced by unanimous 6–0 vote, with the second public hearing and final adoption consideration set for November 19, 2025. The motion included an additional $30,000 to restore the Commission on Arts & Culture grant funding to $70,000; the funding source was to be identified by staff and reported at the second hearing.
• The meeting adjourned at 8:49 p.m.