Lafayette City Council Meeting - April 15, 2025
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Lafayette City Council Meeting - April 15, 2025
The Lafayette City Council held a regular meeting on April 15, 2025, beginning at 5:30 PM. The meeting included public input, consent agenda approval, a presentation from the Latino Chamber of Boulder County, first readings of two ordinances (budget carryforwards and history museum lease), approval of a memorandum of understanding with the history museum, staff reports, council reports, and two executive sessions. All votes were unanimous.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (Item A–G): Minutes of April 1, 2025; Ordinance No. 06 (Second Reading, Municipal Court amendments); Resolution No. 2025-22 (Intergovernmental Agreement with Lafayette Downtown Development Authority); Memorandum of Understanding for regional bikeshare; Contract with Independent District Engineering Services LLC for MS4 program support; Contract with Alfred Benesch & Company for Lafayette Sidewalks Project design; Change Order No. 3 with Elite Surface Infrastructure for street rehabilitation.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Barbara Padden (2389 Indian Peaks Trail, President of Indian Peaks Masters Association) described an "orphan lot" (Tract A) along Indian Peaks Trail that was never deeded after the developer's bankruptcy. The required split-rail fence between the lot and the golf course is 30% fallen down, creating a safety hazard. She asked the city to investigate acquiring the abandoned property or otherwise remedying the fence issue, noting that the golf course wants a barrier but no one can legally maintain it. She requested council and city attorney assistance.
- Chelsea Pennington Hahn (Director, Lafayette History Museum) presented the museum's 2024 annual report. The museum welcomed over 3,500 visitors, served over 400 school children, and holds a collection of about 5,000 objects. She noted that a new part-time collections employee was funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant and major donors. She highlighted ongoing projects including a new permanent exhibit and improved artifact storage.
- Lee Campbell Hale (President, Lafayette History Museum Board) provided additional history of the museum (founded 1976, housed in a former coal miner's house). He explained that the storage excise tax (passed in 2017) provides one-third of its proceeds to the museum. He advocated for future climate-controlled space and asked council to consider the museum's needs in upcoming bond discussions.
- Frederick Robinson (South Point neighborhood) observed that Whitetail Park's athletic field was free of dandelions while margins had many, suggesting herbicide use. He asked council to consider eliminating herbicide use on city parks, noting that Boulder and other jurisdictions have done so.
Presentations
- Latino Chamber of Boulder County Partnership (Item H): Isabela (city economic development staff) and Carla Colin (Executive President, Latino Chamber) presented a partnership overview. The Chamber, based in Longmont, serves Boulder County and offers services to all businesses regardless of ethnicity or membership. In 2024, 5% of their membership was from Lafayette; they supported 24 Lafayette businesses with technical assistance and participated in 7 community events. Services include data collection, event coordination (networking events, Cafecito y Platica, Empowered Women Group), and consulting. They are offering monthly consulting at Sister Carmen. Councilor Tapia Vega asked about crossover with Lafayette Chamber and common business needs (access to capital, licenses/permits). Councilor Friedland asked about collaboration with the new farmers market.
Discussion Items
- First Reading / Ordinance No. 08, Series 2025 – Budget Carryforwards and Supplemental Appropriations: Interim CFO Morgan Walton presented a $36.1 million budget amendment package. 91% ($32.8 million) consists of carryforwards from 2024 for encumbered projects (e.g., aerial fire apparatus, water bill assistance program, sidewalk missing links grant, ARPA funding for Starkey building and fiber optic backbone, water treatment plant design). Supplementals ($2.8 million, offset by $1.5 million in revenue) include an urban interface fire engine (funded from fleet fund, rural fire fund, service expansion fee), mobile vehicle barriers for event safety, and waste management fund correction for HOA units. The net fiscal impact is $34.6 million. Councilor Sampson asked about the service expansion fee. Council approved the ordinance on first reading unanimously.
- Items Pertaining to Lafayette History Museum (Item J): Deputy City Manager presented background on city-owned property leases, noting the museum had no formal lease since 1976. Proposed lease (Ordinance No. 07, Series 2025): 20-year term with 10-year extension, no-cost full-service gross lease, city maintains building (annual maintenance ~$10,000) and utilities, museum maintains liability insurance. A separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlines collaboration on programming, historic representation, and funding support; reviewed every two years. Councilor Barnes asked about letters of support, lease length, and building condition (no major renovations planned). Councilor Friedland asked about liability (tenant's insurance covers operations). Councilor Sampson asked about expanding historical representation; Chelsea and Lee explained the museum's efforts to include more voices and the need for climate-controlled space. Councilor Tapia Vega emphasized operational coordination with the library and community. Both the ordinance (first reading) and the MOU were approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda (Items A–G): Approved unanimously.
- Ordinance No. 08, Series 2025 (Budget carryforward and supplemental): Approved on first reading, 7-0. Second reading scheduled for May 6, 2025.
- Ordinance No. 07, Series 2025 (History Museum lease): Approved on first reading, 7-0. Second reading May 6, 2025.
- Memorandum of Understanding (History Museum research and services): Approved unanimously; mayor authorized to sign.
- Executive Sessions: Two motions passed unanimously (7-0 for first, 5-0 for second after two councilors recused). Councilors Sampson and Tapia Vega recused from the second executive session (state preemption and home rule) citing potential conflicts of interest.
- Next Steps: Second readings of both ordinances on May 6; fire apparatus contract authorization and other items also on May 6 agenda. Community meeting on capital bond financing April 30.
Staff Reports
- City Attorney: No report.
- City Manager: Announced that the Hard-to-Recycle event (Saturday, April 19, 8 AM–12 PM) moved to old King Soopers parking lot (Baseline & 287) due to church conflict; over 380 registered. Art on the Street installations scheduled April 21–24; large sculpture "Off to Work" to be placed at former Morrell's Printing site. Second community meeting on capital bond exploration April 30 at 6 PM; Lafayette Listen survey open until May 16; statistically valid survey mailed to registered voters.
Council Reports
- Councilor Friedland: No report.
- Councilor Barnes: Senior Advisory Board engaged on capital bond; Downtown Development Authority held first meeting April 14, elected Chair Joanna (Wild Center) and Vice Chair Faith Rogers (Ural Apothecary); Director Keating as executive director; DDA will meet second Monday monthly.
- Councilor Gallegos: DRCOG retreat covered affordable housing, state demographer presentation (Colorado population declined for first time but not sharply); DRCOG considering lobbying on home rule. Northwest Mayors and Commissioners Consortium was in DC lobbying for federal funding. Metro Vision Awards in August.
- Councilor Tapia Vega: Reminder of artist talk with Armando Silva (Art Mondo) April 19–20, weather permitting, at new mural and Collective Community Arts Center.
- Councilor Gallegos: Friends of the Library book sale raised $6,194 for summer reading program and other services.
- Councilor Sampson: Historic Preservation Board discussed larger grant program and code changes for demolition review; they will attend Art Night Out starting June.
- Mayor: Received letter of interest from mayor of Ecutos, Peru, for sister city partnership via nonprofit One Voice for Change; will present to council. Communication with El Salvador city ongoing but slower.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I will call to order the Lafayette City Council meeting for April 15th, 2025, and we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God. Liberty and Justice for all. Mayor Pro Tem Wong. Here. Councilor Barnes. He will be present by running a few minutes late. Councillor Friedland. Here. Councilor Gallegos. Good evening. Councillor Sampson. She will also be present and running previously. And Councillor Tapia Vega. Here. Mayor, we have a quorum. All right. Thank you so much. Okay. We will begin tonight's meeting with public input. If you wish to speak during this time, please grab one of the white speaker forms. That you can access to the class doors in the back and pass it over to the clerk's back. And we can get you on the speaker list. You'll have five minutes to speak. Please state your name and address before you do. And we will begin with Barbara Patty. Good evening, Council members. My name is Barbara Padden, 2389 Indian Peaks Trail in Lafayette. And I'm joined with my friend and co-board member Marion Hammond tonight. I am the pres current president of the Master Indian Peaks Masters Association, and Marion is the vice president. And we're coming here tonight to ask the council for help with an issue in our neighborhood that we think is sort of important. We have over the years uh Indian Peaks was developed by a PUD, and the PUD required that the perimeter we were the golf course wraps in and around Indian Peaks uh homes, and the PUD requires that there be a split rail fence between any homes and the golf course. We have a unique situation now, while it's been going on for 30 years, where there's a uh it's called Tract A. It's along Indian Peaks Trail. If you were to drive down Indian Peaks Trail, you would think it was part of the Master Association, but the but the land was never deeded from McStain to either the Master Association or the subassociation, which is right there. McStain retained the ownership of the lot, and he himself they themselves tried to build a house on it, uh, apparently. This is this is like 25, 28 years ago. And um the Lafayette turned them down. The my understanding is because the angle of the uh fairway 13 there would send the balls into the homes, and there had already been a lawsuit, I understand, I've been told, at hole 18, because so many of the balls were hitting people's houses, and at first nobody adjusted the golf course, and so they had to sue the city to have hole 1818 redone. So my guess is this is a guess that they didn't want to do it in that situation again. So they denied the building on this lot. Well, um, it's been not maintained for 30 years, including the fence, which is now 30 years old. The fence is probably 30 percent falling down, and the golf course wants a fence there for the protection of both the people on our side and and the golfers. In other words, they don't want when the balls come onto this empty lot, and I call it an orphan lot because um in the McStain um bankruptcy, they went bankrupt. Uh many many lawyers forgot to include this parcel of land. So the bankruptcy was settled and closed, and now this lot belongs to no one. It is an orphan lot, and the fence is falling down between the uh the this lot that's owned by no one and the golf course, and the golf course wants the fence, and our neighborhood would like the dangerous broken down nailed fence removed, but A, that would be trespassing, and B, when I was growing up, if you went and took something off somebody else's property, that was called stealing. So we can't do that. And we have tried everything.
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