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Record of Proceedings

Lafayette City Council Meeting - March 18, 2025: Climate Resolutions, Sustainability Programs, Administrative Reorganization, and Community Input

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, March 18, 2025
BodyLafayette, Colorado
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, March 18, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
4:21

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

4:23

I will call to order the Lafayette City Council meeting for march eighteenth, twenty twenty-five.

4:29

And we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:03

I see him.

5:08

He's he might be music.

5:10

Now the words here, but we can hear him.

5:12

Councillor Friedland.

5:14

Here.

5:16

Councilor Gayetos.

5:17

Good evening.

5:18

Counselor Sampson.

5:19

Yeah.

5:20

And Councillor Tapia Vega.

5:21

Sure.

5:22

Mayor, we have a quorum.

5:23

I want to do a quick sound check for Councillor Barnes.

5:26

Counselor Barnes, uh, can you hear us?

5:29

Yes.

5:29

Can you hear me?

5:31

Uh yes.

5:32

Do you mind um just I don't know, saying a quick sentence to make sure the sound volume is there?

5:39

The beginning of our council meeting.

5:42

We'll start off with the pleasure of it.

5:45

Thank you so much.

5:46

All right, we can hear you loud and clear now.

5:48

Thank you.

5:51

All right.

5:52

Uh welcome in everybody.

5:54

Uh tonight we'll begin our meeting with public input.

5:56

Uh, if you wish to speak during this time, um, please grab one of the white or yellow speaker forms that you can access to the class doors in the back, and then you can fill one of those out and then pass it over to clerk back here, and we can get you on the list of speakers.

6:10

Uh, you have five minutes to speak.

6:12

Uh, please state your name and address before you do so.

6:15

Um, and you may also call in as well.

6:18

Uh, tonight we will be beginning with Frank Archelletta.

6:26

Thank you, Mr.

6:27

Mayor.

6:27

Before I get into the speech here, I gave you all the information here.

6:31

You can all take it home.

6:33

There's too much information to gather here.

6:35

This is about the clerks here on Lafayette and about the cemetery and about black language.

6:39

Okay.

6:44

City council members and staff.

6:46

I will make myself clear.

6:48

I am here to defend Doug and my preferred historical plaque wording and language.

6:55

Language is very important in telling the true history of the Lafayette Cemetery, so the citizens can understand why and how 200 community members were not recorded or entered into the town record book or in the cemetery map by town clerk Henry Matthias and other clerks.

7:15

With that being said, here, basically, as far as the true history of Lafayette here, uh, we met with Megan here in uh Chelsea here, and Chelsea has been with our language for two years.

7:28

All of a sudden, we changed the language.

7:31

Our language is not considered right now at the time for some reason here.

7:36

Basically, it's not an option.

7:38

Doug, as far as all his research on that, does not believe in that.

7:42

Uh, I'm gonna go into why language is important, basically, but yet I have met with historians, I have met with you as far as professors from the University of Colorado in that, and they basically read our language and read through the packet, and they endorsed our language that we presented to the historical society here.

8:01

I've met with shared language with Melissa with Rachel Hansen and with their staff members, and those staff members they read the language, and they say our language is more appropriate than the historical society's language here.

8:14

Now, why Henry Matthias here?

8:16

I'm gonna the Klu Klux Klan Don made with politics and lawfield from the 20th to the 30s and even into the 50s and 60s here.

8:22

Now, Henry Matthias was with the citizens kick up, he was with the Ku Klux Klan there.

8:27

He was also with a marshal, he was a town clerk, and basically he went ahead and painted up the sign white trade only at the swimming pool in 1934.

8:36

He was also given the opportunity through town board to go ahead and map out and do record keeping.

8:44

He was a meticulous record keeper, basically what he was.

8:46

He was also the section of the cemetery all the way to 1963.

8:50

Now City Hall was like a 200 blocks of East Simpson Street, and down there on 600 was where the mortuary was for all these years.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Community Engagement██████████████14%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████13%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Climate Resilience████████8%
Youth Programs████4%
Housing And Transportation Communities████4%
Minimum Wage████4%
Transportation Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Lafayette City Council Meeting - March 18, 2025

The Lafayette City Council met on March 18, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting included public input, approval of consent agenda, staff introductions, a presentation honoring women in government, and several regular business items including resolutions on sustainability incentive programs, recognition of a global climate emergency, approval of a concrete rehabilitation change order, and a first reading of an ordinance authorizing the city manager to reorganize administrative departments. All votes were unanimous. The meeting adjourned to executive session to discuss potential real property acquisition.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved unanimously: Meeting minutes (March 4, 2025), workshop summary (February 25, 2025), second reading of Ordinance No. 04 (collective bargaining for police officers), contract for Library HVAC replacement (Holbrook Services), and contract amendment for HR/payroll software (Dayforce Services).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Frank Archelletta (resident) spoke about the Lafayette Cemetery historical plaque, advocating for language that includes references to the Ku Klux Klan and town clerk Henry Matthias, who he said was a Klan member. He stated that historians and the sustaining board endorsed their language, and that the historical society agreed to include 200 unrecorded names but not their proposed wording. He urged the council not to erase history.
  • Students from Peak to Peak Elementary (Drake Zayn, Giselle Mansauer, Amina Boddy, Lauren Ferrari, Aaron Patkar, and counselor Alexis Pa) reported on the Great Kindness Challenge. They stated that students documented 5,868 acts of kindness during the week, and thanked the council for passing the related proclamation.
  • Ron Spalding (resident) expressed support for the council's efforts against House Bill 24-1313 (housing and transit communities), noting that State Representative Kyle Brown voted against the bill. He asked what citizens can do to help protect home rule, and mentioned a March 22 town hall with the representative.
  • Catherine Goldberg (resident of Willoughby Corner) requested the city raise its minimum wage (currently $14.81/hour) starting in 2026. She cited a commissioned report stating that a self-sufficient wage is higher, that Denver's sales tax revenues were not negatively impacted by its minimum wage increase, and that Colorado law allows local governments to set minimum wages.
  • Rob McCler (resident and member of the Sustainability and Resiliency Advisory Board, speaking as an individual) supported the waste reduction resolution but urged the council to take more decisive climate action, particularly through electrification requirements for new and existing buildings and city facilities.

Discussion Items

Item H: Ordinance No. 05, Series 2025 - Administrative Department Reorganization

Deputy City Manager Megan Davis presented the first reading of an ordinance to authorize the city manager to establish, combine, reorganize, and abolish administrative departments, following an assessment of parks, recreation, open space, and library operations. The new Community Services Department will oversee these functions under a budget-neutral reorganization. The ordinance was passed unanimously on first reading (7-0).

Item I: Sustainability Incentive Programs

Sustainability Director BoCard presented two resolutions:

  • Resolution 2025-15 (Waste Reduction Incentive): Increases the Boulder County rebate for new recycling services to $1,150 per business/apartment (covering 6–9 months of service). A wait list of 22 businesses exists.
  • Resolution 2025-16 (Reusable Solutions): Provides a $1,000 annual incentive (up to 50% of project costs) for reusable dishware and a $330 incentive for indoor recycling/compost containers. Both resolutions were approved unanimously (7-0 each).

Item J: Resolution 2025-18 - Global Climate Emergency

Sustainability Specialist Lisa Evans presented the resolution recognizing a global climate emergency and affirming local action. She highlighted 2024 achievements including adoption of the Climate Action Plan, $174,000 in EV grants, and community diversion of 25,748 pounds of materials. Council members expressed support for continued local leadership despite shifting federal policies. The resolution passed unanimously (7-0).

Item K: Change Order No. 3 - 2025 Concrete Rehabilitation

Public Works Director and Civil Engineer Casey Carlson presented a $1.3 million change order for concrete work, including ADA improvements and sidewalk repairs. The overall $3 million budget covers both asphalt and concrete. The change order with Keene Concrete, Inc. was approved unanimously (7-0).

Key Outcomes

  • Approved consent agenda unanimously.
  • Introduced new Current Planning Manager Jacob Nitchals.
  • Received a poem from Poet Laureate Z and student Jesse honoring women in government, and a letter from Governor Jared Polis recognizing Lafayette’s female leadership.
  • Passed Ordinance No. 05 on first reading (7-0) to reorganize administrative departments.
  • Passed Resolution 2025-15 and 2025-16 (both 7-0) for sustainability incentive programs.
  • Passed Resolution 2025-18 (7-0) recognizing a global climate emergency.
  • Approved Change Order No. 3 for concrete rehabilitation (7-0).
  • City Attorney reported near-completion of transition to in-house legal services.
  • City Manager announced upcoming bond engagement meetings (April 2, April 30, May 15) and baseline safety improvements west of Highway 42.
  • Council agreed to place the life-cycle costing concept from SRAB on a future workshop agenda.
  • Adjourned to executive session (7-0) to discuss potential acquisition of real property on N. Public Road in Old Town.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I will call to order the Lafayette City Council meeting for march eighteenth, twenty twenty-five. And we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I see him. He's he might be music. Now the words here, but we can hear him. Councillor Friedland. Here. Councilor Gayetos. Good evening. Counselor Sampson. Yeah. And Councillor Tapia Vega. Sure. Mayor, we have a quorum. I want to do a quick sound check for Councillor Barnes. Counselor Barnes, uh, can you hear us? Yes. Can you hear me? Uh yes. Do you mind um just I don't know, saying a quick sentence to make sure the sound volume is there? The beginning of our council meeting. We'll start off with the pleasure of it. Thank you so much. All right, we can hear you loud and clear now. Thank you. All right. Uh welcome in everybody. Uh tonight we'll begin our meeting with public input. Uh, if you wish to speak during this time, um, please grab one of the white or yellow speaker forms that you can access to the class doors in the back, and then you can fill one of those out and then pass it over to clerk back here, and we can get you on the list of speakers. Uh, you have five minutes to speak. Uh, please state your name and address before you do so. Um, and you may also call in as well. Uh, tonight we will be beginning with Frank Archelletta. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Before I get into the speech here, I gave you all the information here. You can all take it home. There's too much information to gather here. This is about the clerks here on Lafayette and about the cemetery and about black language. Okay. City council members and staff. I will make myself clear. I am here to defend Doug and my preferred historical plaque wording and language. Language is very important in telling the true history of the Lafayette Cemetery, so the citizens can understand why and how 200 community members were not recorded or entered into the town record book or in the cemetery map by town clerk Henry Matthias and other clerks. With that being said, here, basically, as far as the true history of Lafayette here, uh, we met with Megan here in uh Chelsea here, and Chelsea has been with our language for two years. All of a sudden, we changed the language. Our language is not considered right now at the time for some reason here. Basically, it's not an option. Doug, as far as all his research on that, does not believe in that.

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