Ready?

Yep.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

I will call to order the City Council meeting for September sixteenth, twenty twenty-five.

We will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Councillor Barnes.

Good evening.

Councillor Friedland.

Here.

Councilor Gayegos.

Good evening.

Councilor Sampson.

Good evening.

And Councillor Topia Vega.

Here.

Mayor, we have a forum.

Thank you.

All right, we'll begin tonight's meeting with our public input.

If you wish to speak during this time, please grab one of these white speaker forms that you can access to the glass doors in the back and pass it over to Clerk Beck, 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 so.

You may also call in as well.

So tonight we would we will begin with Angela McLean.

Good evening, Mayor and all of you city council members.

Thank you so much for being here.

And I'm here tonight to thank you for your support on the fall prevention proclamation that will be voted on tonight.

And this focuses on ways to improve safety.

Falls are a significant public health concern, especially for older adults.

They can lead to serious injuries and impact independence.

Awareness campaigns encourage individuals to take proactive steps to reduce their risk of falling, such as engaging in regular physical activity to improve strength and balance, making home modifications to minimize hazards, participating in community programs that are focused on fall prevention.

By promoting awareness and education, falls prevention awareness day aims to empower individuals and the communities to take action against falls.

We say stand up for fall prevention.

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related accidents and deaths that cause older people to end up in the EAR vis the ER visits.

Usually they're 65 or older.

Many of these falls are preventable.

As part of a countywide initiative, the City of Lafayette Senior Center and Boulder County Area Agency on Aging invite residents to take part in fall prevention seminars.

On September 16th at our own Lafayette Senior Center, older Americans, older, older seniors, or older people.

The September 30th, there will be Advent pain specialists coming to explain the link between pain and the cause for accidents when people are not feeling well and they fall down.

There are daily strength and balance classes at the senior center here in Lafayette.

They are offered Tuesday through Friday at the Senior Center, 1010 to 1055.

We have a lot of technology like smartphones, other devices, and their monitoring tools that support fall detection, and this prevents and actually helps people to find people if they fall down.

The Colorado Falls Prevention Coalition continues to raise awareness and promote practical evidence-based training so people can learn how to fall down and get up safely.

There is an older adults resource fair coming up on Friday right here in Lafayette at the Bob Berger Recreation Center.

Free admission, drop-ins are welcome, breakfast provided, and this is for all who are navigating the next stage of life for yourself or for a parent or someone you care for and you just don't know where to begin.

The 25 2025 Older Adult Resource Fair is a great place to start.

It is free, drop in.

It's an event that has over 40 local vendors and 12 expert-led presentations covering topics such as aging, caregiving, health, housing, financial planning, and more.

Whether any of you are planning ahead, seeking support, or exploring your options, you'll find helpful information and very meaningful connections all under one roof.

Enjoy a complimentary breakfast, connect with speakers and community organizations, and take home free vendor giveaways.

Plus, you can enter to win raffle prizes just for attending.

To help make this event more accessible, free shuttle service will be available for all residents of Willoughby Corner, Josephine Commons, and Affinity.

So once again, let's stand together to reduce risks and fall risk in our community.

And thank you once again for all of your support through the fall present prevention proclamation by our drum row.

Great city of Lafayette City Council.

Thank you very much.

Yes, of course, thank you so much.

All right.

Next up we have Beth Davis.

So I am Beth Davis.

I live at Silo neighborhood in Lafayette.

And I'm here tonight because I, and along with many of my neighbors and other Lafayette residents, am deeply concerned about the proposed 124 room extended stay hotel right next to our residential community.

This location is simply not appropriate for development of that size and type.

Let me highlight just a few reasons why.

First, safety.

A hotel this size could generate over 1,000 vehicle trip trips daily on neighborhood streets that were never designed to handle that kind of commercial traffic.

The worst part at all times of day while we are sleeping 200 feet away.

Third, it undermines the character of our neighborhoods.

Lafayette is known for its family friendly, community centered living, concerning a large commercial lodging operation right next to our homes, disrupts that balance.

Property values and quality of life.

Hotels, especially extended hotels next to homes, often lead to noise, light pollution, increased crime and safety concerns, all of which erode the stability and value of the neighborhood we've invested in.

Finally, this project is inconsistent with good planning.

A hundred and twenty-four room hotel is not neighborhood scale.

It does not serve the community that lives next door.

It makes our community worse.

We understand the need for growth, but we need to focus commercially, focused commercial building next to neighborhoods to be resident focused.

Shops, cafes, restaurants, breweries, any of the above are much better suited commercially zoned businesses that make sense within a couple hundred feet where people live.

We are not against development, but we're we feel that is in this it's in the wrong place.

Thank you for your time and your commitment to the safety and livability of Lafayette.

One last thing I'd like to add.

Um I'm concerned about my safety.

I'm concerned about uh increase in noise, both light pollution and traffic sounds, and I'm concerned about the quality of life living in Silo.

So thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Okay, uh next up we have Mary Farnon.

Hello, good evening, Council members.

My name is Mary Harnan.

I live on Eagles Nest Drive in Lafayette, and I'm here to ask for your support on the ageism awareness day proclamation.

Understanding ageism is tough sometimes.

Ageism is discrimination toward others based on their age.

It includes how people think, how they feel, and how they act toward older adults and people just based on their age.

So it harms the health, independence, and well-being of older adults while reinforcing inequality in health care, employment, housing, and media.

Older adults play vital role in families, communities, and workplaces.

Just look at all the contributions that the people who go to events at the senior center make toward the community, toward the police station and the health department.

And we the seniors they do a lot.

Their experience and contributions deserve respect and recognition.

Promoting intergeneral intergenerational inclusion, age-friendly policies, and lifelong engagement strengthens our entire society.

Challenging ageism is everybody's responsibility.

So join us, please, for understanding aging presentation at the senior center on October 22nd to learn how we can all work together to support positive aging.

And we also ask, please, for your support and your agreement on the proclamation that's before you on ageism awareness day proclamation.

Thank you very much, and thank you for all you do for the city of Lafayette.

Thank you.

All right, next up we have Rashid Kosari.

And please correct me if I mispronounce you mispronounced your last name.

That's fine, it's our Sheet Khashabi.

Good evening, Mayor.

Good evening, counselors.

My name is Rashid Khosravi, and I'm here to talk about safety issues in particular in the Wannaka Landing subdivision, particularly on Sandpiper Drive, where I live on.

And I'd like to hand out, if I may, a copy of the email that I sent to you all a couple of months ago, and I thought I would just read what I have in that email.

So I have been living on Sandpiper Drive in and the reason I'm handing this out in particular is I'd like to point to you to the map on um on page one of this handouts, and I'll get to it in a minute.

Um I have been living in um on Sandpiper Drive in Wanaka Landing subdivision since 2013.

And uh as I said, I'm here to talk about to bring to your attention the very serious traffic safety issues that have existed on this street for many years.

These concerns are shared by many of my neighbors as evidenced by a petition requesting mitigation measures that we presented to the public works director in 2017, and yet no action has been taken to calm the traffic on our street during these eight years.

Despite our follow-up efforts, which includes a meeting with the current public works director and city manager last year, our concerns are as follows.

One speeding vehicle traffic through Sandpiper, which, as the map below clearly shows, is a shortcut from Highway 42 and 96 to baseline road.

And I have I have marked the route, the shortcut route from Highway 42 to Sandpiper Drive to Wanaka Lake Trail and to Baseline Road with dashed red line.

And you can see it is a shortcut through the through the subdivision.

Um there are no speed mitigation devices on our street, not even speed limit signs.

Many drivers speed past the 90-degree curve on the straightaway going east to the stop sign on Wannaka Lake Trail.

They do the same in the opposite direction on the straightaway to the stop sign at Pascal Drive.

This behavior, which is particularly evident during the three daily rush hours, poses serious danger to the safety of residents, including many children, as well as bikers, walkers, and other drivers.

I have personally experienced a near-miss event around the curve going east toward my house when a minivan speeding in the opposite direction veered off her lane nearly and nearly hit me head on.

There are other accounts of similarly dangerous and aggressive driving on our street, as evidenced by um uh by a neighbor witnessing a speeding car passing a slower moving vehicle going in the same direction.

And just recently, another neighbor documented a teenager um driving at high speed.

We present um uh submitted that evidence to the police department who um uh who tracked the teenager and ticketed her.

And there are other instances of that.

I don't have very much time left.

So that the other issue is traffic volume through sandpiper, which again is a shortcut.

And um a study conducted by the public works department in 2017 showed that an average of 1,000 vehicles pass through our street daily.

That's in 2017, 1,000.

That's not a typo through a residential street.

A more recent study done by the public works department last year counted 1,200 vehicles through this um through our city.

20% of the growth of 20%.

So most of these drivers are passing through, they are not residents of our street.

I have even witnessed a 16-wheeler car carrying truck pass through our street.

This is, I'm not making this up.

So proposed solution is on this on the two straightaways on Sandpiper.

We need speed cushions.

Speed cushions would have slowed down that minivan that nearly hit me hit on.

And the student driver who was speeding at around 40 miles an hour or so.

So in conclusion, I ask that you please take our traffic safety seriously.

We don't want another incident like the one that happened on baseline to cause serious bodily harm or perhaps even fatal injuries.

Thank you for your attention.

Yes, of course, thank you.

Next up, we have Steve Reynolds.

Hi, Council.

Good evening.

Thank you very much for all your service.

Rashid and I are neighbors, so some of this may be redundant, but I'll try to make it as short as possible.

I hope you will conclude after our presentations that we have a traffic safety issue in Lafayette.

We do not have a traffic safety policy, nor do we have a program like Boulder, Lewisville, and Erie.

All right, because we don't have any money, right?

We have no money.

So the reason I'm here tonight is we need your help.

Back in 2016 in November, I presented a resident petition, as you will find in your packet to Doug Short, the City Public Works Director, which outlines the need for installing speed mitigation devices to slow traffic.

Traffic studies determined there were over a thousand vehicle trips per day on Sandpiper with a higher than average percent of speeding.

Resident emails explaining their traffic concerns are also included in your packet.

This led to action.

Doug bought two speed sensors for $15,000 and installed them on the Excel Energy's light pulps.

The sharp curve in the middle of the street was striped to give opposing traffic boundaries when navigating through the blind spots.

This effort helped, but speed cushions were also needed, and they did not happen because the city did not have the money.

We call the speed cushions our silent police, and they are very much in demand in Lafayette.

Unfortunately, the city removed all the speed sensors, not only on Sandpiper and Wanna Cake Trail, but also on baseline in 2020 because they were on Excel's light poles.

We never received an answer to why the city did not add new poles where the sensors could be reinstalled.

I know the city spent 15,000.

Not sure whatever happened to them, but they should be operational to use again.

In 2020, we met and walked Sandpiper with Lafayette's traffic engineer Joliet Woodson, who told us how she thought the street would be a good candidate for the city's pilot program to help improve traffic safety.

Unfortunately, Miss Woodson left the city before the program was enacted.

Email communication with Miss Woodson is also included in the packet.

It's our understanding in the current administration through emails and conversations, does not believe we have traffic issues that need to be addressed.

Obviously, this is very frustrating to see us regress in our traffic safety over the past five years.

I researched our neighbor cities, and they all have a formal traffic safety policy that has created a program to install speed mitigation safety policy or devices that include the following.

Boulder has reduced its neighborhood speed limit to 20 miles per hour.

Soleil cameras at heavy volume intersections, using striping to comb traffic, created roundabouts and speed cushions and photo radar to slow and reduce speeding.

Also, it uses plastic tubing to separate bike lanes.

Lewisville has made great strides the last five years.

I was driving on Pine Street, Dahlia, and Via Appia yesterday, where they have improved traffic safety by using speed cushions, vertical tubing across the crosswalks, multiple striping techniques, special lane configurations, raised medians and elephant ears.

It's amazing what their traffic engineer has successfully implemented.

Erie Council recently passed a new policy to create a program to improve their traffic safety.

Yes, Lafayette as well as our neighbor cities have received funding from Boulder County's Vision Zero.

Initiative for the deadliest intersections only.

I would think the two pedestrians that were hit and injured crossing baseline west of Highway 42 last year would have motivated the city from a liability standpoint to develop a much needed traffic policy and program to help make our streets safer.

Yes, money is always an issue.

But you know, the paid-off bond for the Great Outdoors Water Park that was recently that was recently paid off, could have been reissued to fund these expenditures.

There's all kinds of creative ways we can improve our city and make it more safe for everyone that drives here.

I want to thank you for all the help that you can give us.

This is an important issue, and I think the whole city will receive the benefits.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, next up we have Michael John.

Good evening, Council members and staff.

My name is Michael Johan.

I live at 1600 Wanaka Lake Trail, which happens to be at the corner of Wanaka Lake Trail and Caria.

From my home, I have a clear daily view of the traffic and safety issues at the pickleball courts.

The courts are a great asset for our city and very popular, but the way parking is handled around them creates serious hazards.

When cars, camper vans, large trucks park on both sides of the curve on Wanaka Lake Trail, drivers, including myself coming down the hill on Wanna Clake Trail cannot see oncoming traffic.

Pedestrians, including children on foot or bikes, often cross between the parked cars.

Pickleball players often step into the street with gear in hand, oblivious to the fact they're in a traffic lane.

Also, after games, you'll see the players standing in the street milling, talking about their game.

I have personally witnessed multiple close calls where accidents have narrowly been avoided.

It is only a matter of time before someone is injured.

These are not just neighborhood streets.

Wanaka Lake Trail and Caria are major connector roads with heavy traffic and even out-of-town visitors drawn by the courts.

Yet no traffic study was ever done when the courts were built.

The current parking setup is unsafe, unsustainable, and a liability for the city.

Prohibit parking on the inside curve by striping roughly 175 feet of curb and posting no parking signs at either ends.

A contractor estimated this work could be done for under 1,000 dollars.

And if the city were to do it in-house, it could be done for even less.

As a secondary measure, add a speed hump on the long straightaway above the courts to slow the vehicles.

This would improve sight lines, reduce risk for drivers and pedestrians, and allow emergency vehicles to navigate safely.

Finally, I must express disappointment.

Myself and others sent an email to all the council, which went unanswered, expressing these concerns.

Residents deserve acknowledgement and dialogue from our elected officials, especially on safety concerns.

I personally am willing to work with the city to help move these solutions forward.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Next up we have Tom Pringle.

Would it be you can come to the side too?

Yeah, you can come to the side.

I can also raise up.

Mayor Bang, Counselors that thank you for your time for uh allowing us to speak.

And I have similar concerns as the previous uh people from Wanaka Landing.

I live at 1648 Wanaka Lake Trail, and I have been there since uh 1995.

So uh one of the original members of the uh neighborhood, as well as I was the HOA president for the last 21 years uh except for this past year.

Anyway, I just wanted to uh I'm coming from a little bit different angle.

I mean, I've used the trails and I've walked the streets for those 30 years on a daily basis, and uh about here a guy's diagnosed with ALS and consequently uh now I'm in a wheelchair, and uh I have a little different view than a lot of people.

I uh is still one of use the trails, and I do, and uh and I also like to go down around the lake, and but biggest issue is trying to cross over a Wanaka Lake Trail right there at the pickleball courts.

We do have a crosswalk and does have ramps on it, which is nice, but on the other hand, uh the cars on the inside uh block my view, and I'm sure block to you had kids on bicycles as little as you know, four or five years old that are riding many by many more bicycles.

And uh if you know you're taking your life in your own hands when you when you try to cross over there, I can only go so fast, and I can only see so far down around the corner.

Uh so really what I'm asking for is a little bit of what Michael said is to uh uh put a uh no parking on that inside the curve so that we can see what's coming at us, and uh I think that's a real safety concern.

Again, it's it sounds like it's a really inexpensive way to fix it.

Uh there's a couple other things.

I know we put in new uh uh wheelchair ramps at every intersection in our subdivision, which is really cool.

Um there are two crosswalks that we actually is more than that, but the two main crosswalks that we see uh are the ones on Pascal between uh Portside Court and uh Sandpiper there.

There's a uh two upper creek and lower creek ditch going through there, and neither one of those have ramps.

I would like to see those uh be put in because otherwise you have to go half a block down and cross where there's no crosswalk, or half block up and there's no crosswalk to there either.

So anyway, uh I thank you for your time.

I hope that you here are pleased for have some help on this, and uh we can get some answers because I think a lot of the answers are fairly inexpensive to do and uh would go a long ways to help some people out.

Thank you much.

Thank you.

And uh next we have Ken Andrews.

Um good.

Pretty good at this thing.

Good.

It doesn't go beep beep beep.

Okay, okay.

Okay, uh good evening, Mayor Mangut, uh counselors and staff.

My name is Ken Andrews, and I live on Wanaka Lake Trail in Wanaka Landing.

As you've heard tonight from my fellow speakers, speeding crosswalk safety and overall street safety is a major concern to us.

We've been raising this topic asking for remedies for quite some time now, but we have basically been ignored or stonewalled at every turn.

This has to change within 200 yards north and east of my house.

There are 26 children aged 10 or under, with approximately half being under five years old.

I care deeply about these kids and their safety.

I've lost count of the number of times parents have raised the issue of speeding cars with me near their houses while the kids are out playing.

Let me as an example describe the aggregate safety issues, and I emphasize aggregate because it has a cumulative safety effect on Pascal Drive, which as we have heard runs from highway uh 42 or 95th Street through the neighborhood to Wanaka Lake Trail.

First, Pascal is a connector street.

As well as access for residents, we have people coming to and from Wanaka Lake Park, the Pickable Court, schools, churches, Balfour, Senior Living, where I'll be one day, King Supers supermarket, and more.

The street is sloping and has two diagonal crosswalks that connect busy trails plus the street curves, and that makes visibility difficult with uh several visibility issues, including parked cars on either side of the street.

Residents can park outside, and one resident residence is right on the uh crosswalk, and they often park right next to sometimes even on the crosswalk.

Several residential driveways are in that same area.

We have trees and fences, and throughout the day, there are shadows from these trees and fences.

There are several intersecting streets, and a neighbor of mine recently got T-boned by a car with a young driver coming out of one of those streets.

Now, when you drive, let's see, uh, east to west in the more in the uh in the afternoon, um, you find that the sun is directly in your face, and you have the opposite in the mornings, and then on top of that, when you're driving like this way, you have the pillar in your car on the front window, it obscures it.

So, unless you look around, you cannot see people coming in to the crosswalk.

So, on top of that, there is a school bus pick up and drop off by one of those crosswalks as well.

And many of those kids that I mentioned before, that's where they congregate, and they come across the crosswalk.

So that's what I mean by the aggregate or cumulative effect.

Now, the street also uh seems to be a favorite route of wannabe races with their loud cars.

We call them boy races in New Zealand, but I don't want to be sexist.

We often hear them coming as they race up carrier, then on to Wanaka Lake Trail, up Anchor, then out to Pascal and gone.

I have communicated these hazards on Pascal before, only to be dismissed by public works after a very short traffic volume measurement, evaluated against the generic standard, and basically saying that we didn't meet the minimum traffic volume.

So, as one drives around Lafayette streets, you can also see many signs that residents have put out on their mailboxes.

Slow down, kids at play, slow down.

This is a neighborhood, not a racetrack.

People are clearly concerned about speeding.

So we've heard about Lewisville, so I'll ask you have you driven through Lewisville lately?

If you haven't, um please do.

I'll take you if you if you need a run.

They've addressed hotspot safety areas promptly and effectively, and now they're doing major beautification work along Dillon and V via Appia.

Maybe the city won the lottery.

Or maybe they just all wear Nikes to work and therefore they just do it.

But seriously, I think they have the expertise, the leadership, and the financial acumen to allocate funds to do what is required for safety.

It's not just Littlefield.

Take a look in Boulder, Broomfield, and Erie.

There are many municipalities that are doing so.

How about Lafayette?

Today history shows that to get remedial safety action, someone has to get hit by a car.

Two kids on a baseline a while back, and angry mums here urging action.

Is this really how we want to run our street safety policy?

Let's cut to the chase.

We need a strategic shift and a funding change from council to address urgent safety needs.

It's not just the folks speaking here tonight who feel this way.

Remember the results of the 2024 Vision Vision Zero survey.

31 of respondents feel unsafe when driving, 37% when walking, and 51% when biking.

Those are big numbers, team.

Those are big numbers.

And Mr.

Andrews, you are your time, so if you could wrap it up.

I will wrap it up.

Yes.

So it's not just about motor vehicles, pedestrian safety must receive a significantly higher priority than it does today.

We don't want more kids hurt or anybody hurt or even killed.

So please take this into account when you consider what we've all been talking about tonight.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um, our next speaker is Christian Scheener.

Got the last name right too, thank you.

Good deal.

Um evening, everybody here, and thank you, City Council, for the opportunity speak and to speak for a heck of a lot of Lafayette residents.

I'm Kristen Shayner, my wife Lori and I moved to Colorado.

It was actually two years ago this month, so it's a special month for us.

We love it out here.

Um we had our eyes set on Boulder County from the start based on vacations and just coming out here.

And we did our homework, we did some research, lived experience, lived in a rental in Lewisville for a little bit.

We were actually in Evergreen for a moment.

Too much wild animal for us over there.

Um, and we decided on Lafayette.

We loved it.

We loved it for a lot of reasons.

Small town feel, charm, diversity, old town, distinctive neighborhoods, outdoor space, recreational opportunities.

I think probably all the things this room loves about Lafayette.

We picked it for character, for culture, for community centeredness, that's in short.

An extended stay hotel doesn't check any of those boxes.

In fact, it's it's actually crazy to be talking about it up here, and that's how the neighborhood feels.

There's no way Lori and I would have considered living in the silo community and in Lafayette if Echo Suites was there when we were looking around, it would have been a hard pass.

It's a threat to safety, and that's the number one reason we would have said no.

We're definitely not alone resident reactions to this proposal, and I know you guys have heard this in a variety of ways, right here in this room through emails, through petitions, it's disbelief, it's disappointment, it's confusion, and it's outrage.

And I know you've heard them.

The voice of the people is clear.

In fact, I looked at a petition that our neighbors did, they canvassed the neighborhood, and it was shared with the city, and it listed several reasons.

I'll give you the short list.

Why do we oppose it?

It's misaligned with the vision we were promised.

Um, sustainable family focused neighborhood where community and open space are valued and prioritized.

Increased traffic, it's a big risk, safety reasons, security reasons.

Those have been listed many times right here in this room.

Negative impacts on livability and property values, environmental concerns for habitat, and again, that's just the short list.

So I guess I'll I'll end with a personal story because I like to share lived experience.

This doesn't have a whole lot of data in it, but it's anecdotal, and I saw it happen before my very eyes.

I moved to Georgia in 2012 to help open a cancer hospital there.

We knew there was demand.

It was in the Metro Atlanta suburbs, um, a lot of growth in that area.

There was a lot of demand for our hospital from across the nation, and our hospital grew exponentially in two years.

So what happens then?

A developer says there's an opportunity to put an extended stay hotel in this area.

Patients and caregivers need a place to live, right?

We're going to be part of economic impact.

We're going to do these great things.

Well, what happened in front of our eyes was a tragedy.

And it was a tragedy, and it didn't take long.

And the fallout looked like this.

Transient dwellers who stayed for long periods of time.

An increase in drugs, crime, and noise level, negative impacts to local residents and the businesses around them.

The strain on local police for on public services like the police force.

Again, this is just the short list.

Quickly, many of our patients and caregivers felt unsafe, and they let us know as hospital administration, and they let people like you know because they felt so unsafe.

They felt not secure, and they had enough on them.

They were fighting cancer.

They didn't need stress and anxiety from this hotel.

But again, I share this because these are the unintended consequences that happened when in in Georgia, and uh this could very well happen here if we let this echo suites go up, and we just asked for your partnership in opposition to this proposal.

Thanks for your time.

Yes, thank you.

All right, next up is Jill Somers.

Hello.

Thank you for having us tonight.

You just heard from Kristen who shared her experience working near an extended state hotel in Georgia.

She spoke about what can happen when those facilities bring instability into a community, higher crime, unsafe conditions, and a neighborhood that no longer feels like home.

Her perspective is incredibly valuable because it was a lived experience.

She lived the negative impacts of this.

And while her story comes from several states away, I assure you that the same issues are unfolding right here in our own backyard.

I want to bring that reality closer to home because here in Colorado we've seen these patterns repeat themselves.

First, crime and police demand.

In Denver, the city shut down the Regis Motel on Coalfax after police documented drug dealing, stolen vehicles, illegal firearms, prostitution, and even homicide.

Weed Ridge officials reported that just nine hotels generated over 3,000 police calls a year.

They were forced to create a special licensing program simply to handle this situation.

Second, inability to remove problem tenants.

Once a guest stays 30 days or more, Colorado law treats them as a permanent resident.

And under the state's 2024 cause required eviction law, management cannot simply ask them to leave.

Eviction requires legal process, which means if a problem develops, it lingers, placing the burden on police and neighbors.

Third, decline into blight.

We know from afar how hotels can run down, but here it's happened as well.

Denver's Royal Palace Motel closed in 2013 after years of crime and then sat vacant and boarded up for more than a decade before demolition finally began this year.

In Wheat Ridge, the American motel became so run down, it's now an eyesore that attracts crime and trespassing, and it's finally being torn down.

These aren't isolated cases.

They show how properties like this can turn into blight that drags down entire neighborhoods and lowers surrounding property values.

I'm also in the Silos neighborhood.

These homes are brand new.

We chose that area specifically for safety and also for care space.

And yes, extended hotels can look affordable on paper, but those savings are exactly what draw high risk and unstable occupancy.

What looks like a bargain for some comes at the expense of the neighborhood's safety, stability, and home values for the rest of us.

The truth is this product adds absolutely no value to the community of Lafayette, as you've heard from previous people before me who have spoken.

It doesn't strengthen our neighborhoods, it does not contribute to long-term stability, and it certainly does not reflect the vision that residents have for our city.

When Lafayette truly needs our developments that enhance family life, create safety and welcoming spaces, and reflects our shared values of stability, community, and growth.

The proposed extended state does not do any of those.

So tonight you've heard experiences from afar and now from near, and together they tell the same story.

Extended stay hotels bring risk and stability and decline.

We should not wait until problems explode here.

On behalf of myself and our neighbors, we ask that you deny this proposal.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Seth White.

Oh, I have some visual aids, which uh to give to Letter.

So I'm uh Seth White, three Loveman East Chester Street, and I'm part of a group called Preserve Lafayette.

It is our goal to stop the annexation of the water properties at the southwest and northwest corners of 119th and baseline.

And as you've heard before, if this annexation is approved, we will collect signatures and bring the uh annexation ordinance to a vote of the people.

Um but instead of that, but first, you know, we're asking the city of Lafayette to reject any development application, and instead joined with the town of Erie and Boulder County to purchase these parcels as open space.

So tonight I'd like to talk briefly about our potential coal mine subsidence issues on these parcels.

I know you heard from Karen Norbach about this issue a few months ago, but tonight I'd like to add a few things.

First is a map from a 1975 survey called coal mine subsidence and land use in the boulder weld coal field.

This map shows the two moniker parcels, and it assigns those parcels a risk of subsidence between low and severe.

The severe category covers about half the land area.

It also shows the Lowe's parcel, which thank you is now open space.

And it also shows that it's moderate to or low to severe on that parcel, which is not surprising because they were all undermined by the Simpson mine at similar depth.

So tonight I'm considering these parcels as having similar subsidence risk.

So speaking of lows way back in 2008, the state mining engineer Al Amundsen wrote a brief opinion on this site.

Including an aerial photo overlaid with the Simpson mine workings and the Colorado Geological Survey subsidence hazard map.

And in that he described the subsidence risk in this area as quote, severe.

Also in 2008, one Raymond Bridge, author of the Geology of Boulder County, was retained to write a technical report on the matter.

He notes that subs that sub such subsidence hazard maps are, quote, intended for general planning purposes, and they clearly disclaim sufficient accuracy for specific site planning.

And so he has he had some specific warnings and advice for those intending to develop this kind of land.

And following are some quotes from his report.

Quote subsistence.

Significant subsidence problems has arisen over the years in a number of towns and cities where the mines were concentrated.

Marshall, Lewisville, Lafayette, and Erie.

These municipalities have adopted ordinances requiring developers to evaluate subsidence hazards prior to construction.

Groovy.

Next, various rules of thumb have been proposed contending that below some depth for E uses an example of 90 feet.

Subsidence becomes a negligible issue.

However, he quotes a number of studies of actual building cavens have disproved these assertions.

Subsidence originating at considerable depth can still destroy structures at the surface.

He also notes that the closest boreholes, which I understand are over a half a mile away, have shown relatively thin supporting sandstone layers and that the entire area is quote extensively faulted.

There's a long history of buildings disappearing into holes caused by subsidence in the Lafayette.

Yeah, there's another quote, over a hundred between Lafayette and Lewisville.

So when he says there is no question that a safe structure can be built there, but it is clear that any design that does not incorporate actual borehole actual data on the subsurface geology would be irresponsible.

In conclusion, without test boards at a number of locations within the site, it is not possible to do an engineering design that will ensure the public safety.

So if and when this uh council and our staff are presented with an annexation request, that really should include a detailed study of subsurface geology and specific details for professionals to explain how what they're going to build here is going to work.

We can't allow any hand waving that says, well, they're over 200 feet down, so no big deal.

And there must be, and so running out of time here.

Um skip ahead.

So I know that our staff and our city council will review these things.

Okay, but to my knowledge, we don't have anyone in City Hall with the kind of qualifications competently assess the quality of the geological studies or assess the proposed building designs against those studies.

Um I suggest we don't just take the developer's word for it.

They have teams that, for example, look at our code, but we still have planning commission staff in the city council to uh have a look anyway.

I suggest we give this the same scrutiny.

Um I would mention that Mr.

Amundsen noted that counties in Colorado often work with the Colorado Geological Survey on projects of this nature, but cities don't have to.

Um that avenue is open to us, so uh we could potentially use that.

Um, in here's the big picture though, last paragraph.

In her speech to you a few months ago, Karen Norbeck quoted a pamphlet from the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety, which doesn't mince words.

Quote, when serious subsidence hazards exist in undeveloped areas, construction of permanent structures should be avoided to set aside subsidence prone sites for open space and other non-structural uses.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, uh, next up we have Adam Gianola.

Good evening, council.

I'm Adam Giannola.

I live at 311 North Cherrywood Drive.

I'm here tonight.

And in particular, the financial assistance that they were able to secure to make this happen.

It'll be nice to have some additional fast chargers.

We only have a couple in town, so it'll be nice to have some more public facing chargers, especially fast chargers.

This ties in nicely to the energy efficiency proclamation that we uh will hear about tonight as EVs are often you know highly efficient, you know, compared to regular gas cars, helping us curb our local emissions in town.

Um so thank you, Director Bulkan, for your work on that.

Um, I'd like to just briefly talk about the range at Lafayette Annexation.

Um I understand tonight's discussion is a formality.

We don't have any uh actual uh development plan in front of us.

Um really just looking at some formalities pre-annexation.

I still think it's worth registering my um opposition on the record to the plan that's been circulating around the community.

Um it I look at this plan and that kind of doesn't make sense to me for uh the vision that Lafayette has for this land.

Uh the plan looks like it builds all the way out to the edges of the land with as much development as possible.

I don't see any green space, I don't see any open space.

Um it's a lot of residential development, and the plan or the the site is listed in the comprehensive plan is commercial mixed use.

So I'm kind of confused by the proposal that's uh the concept plan that's circulating out there.

So if that's the plan that comes before this the city, I'm hopeful that the council will decline to annex that land.

Um I hope the developer will take into consideration the community's uh opinions and revise their plan before they uh put put this forward for annexation if they really want to move forward with it.

Uh thanks so much.

Thank you.

Okay, next we have Thomas Glenn.

Uh good evening, thank you for your time.

I'm Thomas Glenn.

I'm in South uh 745 South Vermont Drive.

Uh met a couple of the council members about three weeks ago, brought up a noise uh problem of noise issue of aircraft flying over Lafayette.

Uh I'm kind of just doing an introductory discussion about it tonight just to get it on the agenda and on record.

Basically, uh we have many many flights that go over Lafayette, primarily from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and Broomfield.

And uh I live a few blocks off of 287.

They use 287 essentially as a guideway from north to south, and uh essentially there's hundreds of aircraft per day that can go overhead.

Uh it's ruining the quality of life for uh residents in Lafayette, and uh I know it's uh a subject that's being looked into further from discussions with a couple of the council members.

I appreciate that.

I hope that continues.

Um I did have a discussion with the FAA about two hours ago because I had put in a complaint about some uh low-flying aircraft, and I asked the person about the uh suggestions that they have because I brought it up as an issue for Lafayette as a whole, essentially.

And what they suggested was talk to the airport manager out, Eric Dahl at the Rocky Mountain Airport, call him directly.

Um the person was quick to say that Eric Dahl will say it's the FAA's problem, they tell us where to fly.

Uh the FAA person said that's not the case.

So uh what they suggested was you know figure out ways to apply pressure on the airport manager, figure out ways to call the uh flight schools that are at the Rocky Mountain Airport, uh, apply pressure on them, and also get involved with some of the local community groups that are opposing the issue.

I know Lewisville and Superior are both very unhappy because they've had some flight changes, uh, flight pattern changes, and what it boils down to is the airport needs to initiate flight path proposals, submit those to the FAA.

The FAA will uh review them and then approve them if they're good.

Uh and that was the direction from this FAA person uh as far as an approach on how to handle it.

So I sent a note to Crystal earlier today, kind of outlining a couple of those ideas.

Uh, one thing I've done in the last few weeks is I downloaded a flight app.

Um, there's several of them out there, and all the flights out of Jefferson County, which is the Rocky Mountain Airport, fly north over Boulder County, affecting our communities.

None of the flights go towards Rocky Flats, Arvada, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge that way at all.

It's just like it's a blank slate.

There's nothing flying over there.

Uh, what I mentioned to the FAA person is it'd be nice if they had at least split the load and take some of their aircraft out of their county and fly it over their county and not all particularly over Boulder County.

So that's essentially what I got.

So I appreciate your time again.

Uh, please take my uh concerns and uh elevate them.

I'm happy to get involved if there's groups that are gathering to uh uh help address the issue because I want to help Botfiette as a whole.

It's not just me and my house, it's the whole community has a problem with uh with the airplane noise.

Um there's also we got the company of the Erie Airport and the Longline Airport.

Uh they fly right over laughing frequently as well.

So some kind of mitigation would be nice.

It sure appears that uh a good chunk of Jefferson County has some kind of mitigation and agreement uh where they're not getting aircraft like we are here.

So thank you for your time.

Of course, thank you.

Okay, I am not seeing any more speaker forms in front of me.

Are there any other members of the public in person that wish to speak?

You Karen Norbeck, 800 East Geneseo.

Good evening.

I have a couple of people to talk about tonight.

But first, a shout out to the senior advisory board for taking the long-needed step to change the board name to Older Adults Advisory Board.

Another shout out for the return of open space day on September 27th.

This is a popular annual event we used to have back in the olden days.

It's a great opportunity for open space lovers to roll up their sleeves and work together to improve our public lands.

This year you'll be planting native trees to restore habitat along social trails.

Registration is required, but there isn't an easy URL for me to share.

So if you're interested, contact Holly Gordon, our open space coordinator at Holly Gordon at Lofayetteco.gov.

Next, I'd like to follow the lead of former councillor Stephanie Stephanie Walton, who was at your last meeting and spoke about Councillor Tanya Briggs and her unexpected passing two years ago.

I'm glad to see there is a proclamation about her on your agenda tonight.

Echoing Stephanie, I too am waiting to see some action by council to honor Tanya with something more solid than words.

Perhaps a sculpture in a local park or some other area that would reflect her commitment to animals and the outdoors.

As I said two years ago, Tanya cared deeply about this community and did her very best to represent us all.

Out of all the councils I have seen over the years, she was the one who most closely shared my views about so many issues, especially when it came to animals.

I didn't need to contact her to make my case on anything.

She was always making the same case on her own.

She took everything to heart.

In fact, the phrase wearing your heart on your sleeve could have been written about her.

Like Stephanie, she would listen closely to public comment and bring up speakers' concerns during the council comment section of the meeting.

Perhaps tonight someone might take that opportunity to address taking action to memorialize her and tell her us what is being done.

And now on to Chief Basher.

I've never had the opportunity to interact with him from the wrong side of the law, which depending on their point of view.

Some in town might see it's a good thing while others wish I had.

But all my interactions have been positive and left me grateful that he he was our police chief.

When I spoke to him about a personal matter some years back, I came away with one word foremost in mind empathy.

That is a quality we want in someone who holds such an important position in town.

He's always been quick to answer my emails, helping me quell rumors on social media.

No, the police are not hunting down and shooting coyotes within the town limits, to giving me information about a variety of police-related topics to share.

Here at council meetings, he's always been friendly and ready to talk.

But I think the recollection of him that I remember for a long time is when I arrived at a meeting early this year, and there was additional police presence in the lobby.

When I mentioned it to him with a twinkle in his eye, he said, that's because of you.

Yikes.

However, this was due to me encouraging people to come to talk to council about a specific topic when there might have been a need for crowd control, not that wrong side of the law thing.

43 years is a long time to work in one place.

How does one honor that kind of service?

I hope the city is giving you more than a hearty handshake and a gold watch.

May you find many new things to do in your newly acquired spare time.

But if you have a hankering to be back in this room on a Tuesday council night, there will always be a place for you in the cheap seats in the back row.

Just let me know when you were coming, and I'll hold a seat open for you.

And I am sure the Honorable Ron Spaulding would do the same.

Thank you, Chief Basher, for your dedication to our city and our residents.

You will be missed.

Thank you.

I am not seeing any more speaker forms, so I'm assuming there are no other people in person that wish to speak.

All right.

I do have one caller online that I do would like to call on.

Uh speak as well.

So call her with the phone number ending in 474.

Talking is now permitted, and you may speak when you are ready.

Hi, I'm Vicky Ulan, 303 West Simpson Street, and I'd like to talk tonight about our retiring police chief Rick Basher.

I'm sad I can't be in the council chambers tonight to see Chief Basher in his regular spot for the last time.

So I'll make do with paying tribute to him remotely.

I've never been a fan of the police, but that changed when I met Chief Basher.

I believe he truly personifies the serve in the police motto of serve and protect.

And that philosophy permeates the entire Lafayette Police Department.

Not only do our police officers keep our city safe, but every Lafayette officer I've encountered has been respectful and seems to have the understanding that they work for us, not the other way around.

I expect this entails a delicate balance between being authoritative and compassionate.

And under Chief Basher's guidance.

A few years ago, when there was a problematic duplex in my neighborhood, one side occupied by members of a car thief ring, and the other side home to an alleged drug dealer.

He worked with other law enforcement entities to raid the premises and make arrests.

One could certainly argue that he was just doing his job.

But what really struck me is what he personally did before and after that.

He checked in multiple times with a neighbor who was helping another police entity with their investigation, including after the arrests were made.

He gave the neighbor his direct phone number and made sure they were okay and kept up to date on the charges.

And he had other police officers check in on them as well.

He also spoke to the duplex landlords, who he knew personally about the issues with their renters.

I don't think this would have happened without his decades of involvement in the community and the relationships he's forged.

The upshot is that this duplex, which had been a problem for years, is now home to people who don't terrorize our neighborhood.

Also, when one of my friends reported animal cruelty to the Lafayette police and was subpoenaed to testify in the trial, I introduced them to Chief Basher and asked if there was anything he could do to protect them from retaliation.

Chief Basher personally called the DA's office to see if my friend did need to testify.

And when he was told that yes, they did, he showed up in the courtroom to make sure everything went okay.

He didn't have to do that.

Or he could have sent one of his officers.

But the fact that he did this personally tells me how much he cares not only about the physical well-being of the people he serves, but also their mental and emotional well-being.

I hope that whoever takes over Chief Basher's job continues to embody this philosophy.

He's left large boots to fill, and I'm great very grateful for his 42 years of service to our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Um, so I'm not seeing any more callers online, nor any speakers in person.

Uh so with that, I will close public input.

I am seeing a lot of new faces in the audience tonight, and so just so you all are aware.

Uh, council uh may address your comments during council comments, which is actually towards the end of the meeting.

Um, however, a member, a member of city staff or a council member may reach out to you directly via email or phone call after the meeting as well.

Uh, we we like to do our best to follow up with each and every resident, um, but we won't get into those discussions until the end of the meeting.

So you are more than welcome to hang out with us.

We do have several items to discuss, um, or you can uh head out now or or any time during the meeting whenever you feel you uh uh comfortable.

Thank you.

All right, so uh we do have a consent agenda to get to tonight.

Um so those items include uh item A, September 2nd, 2025, City Council meeting minutes.

Item B, second reading of ordinance number 14 series 2025, providing for additional appropriations during fiscal year 2025 for unanticipated 2025 revenues and expenditures required of the City of Lafayette, Colorado, specifically regarding modification of current 2025 budget line items.

Item C or second reading of ordinance number 17 2025 authorizing the sale of a portion of a city owned real property legally described as law 18, just a business park in the city of Lafayette, consenting to subdivision of Law 18 in connection with such sale and authorizing the city manager to take certain actions necessary to carry out such sale.

Item D, resolution number 2025-51, approving the vacant to vibrant permit fee and use tax rebate program as a two-year pilot program.

Item E, resolution number 2025-52 authorizing the city manager to execute documents necessary to provide $750,000 in funding to the city of Boulder for the acquisition and rehabilitation of at least two homes for the for the Boulder County Regional Housing Compliance Program.

Item F, resolution number 2025-53, authorizing the city manager to execute a contract to purchase an ambulance for the front range fire apparatus.

Item G, resolution number 2025-57 approving the conveyance of real property to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Item H, items related to Sundar Apartments Development, phase one and two.

Including resolution number 2025-55, approving the fifth amendment uh to the Sundar subdivision filing one development agreement phase one and resolution number 2025-56, approving the second amendment to the Sundar Subdivision of Filing 2 Development Agreement phase two.

Item I uh contract with statewide internet uh portal authority, Microsoft 365 Enterprise Licensing Renewal.

Item J, contract West Coast Systems uh for Indian Peaks Golf Course Makeup Air Unit.

And finally, item K, contract with DS Construction Group, LLC, Cherrywood Drive, and uh Keel Court Waterline Replacements projects.

Uh are there any items the council like would like to pull.

If not, we will take a motion, please.

I move to approve the consent agenda.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any further discussion?

All right, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

None opposed.

Uh that passes unanimously.

Thank you, Council.

Okay, uh, that brings us to staff introductions.

We have um several new members or or existing members uh taking on new positions here with the city uh in the communicate in the community services department, and we have our community services services director, Melissa Heisel here to get us started.

I am so excited about this item council.

Um as you all know, the community services department is newly created.

Um this year it integrates parks, rec uh library open space, senior services and golf into one um collaborative team, all of these really forward-facing services.

Um, as part of this reorganization, some deputy level leadership roles were created.

Um, and also a new team is under development.

That's the business services office, and that's going to provide service and administrative support to all of the community services divisions.

And so I'm excited tonight to introduce you to this team, some of whom are familiar faces in new roles, and others are brand new.

So, starting with Pamela Hamilton.

Pamela is going to be our administrative manager in the business services office.

She has um extensive experience in public nonprofit recreation management.

Um, she was hired originally as the library's operations manager, and over the past um several months, she served as the interim recreation manager here.

And so I just wanted Pamela, come on up and say hi.

Hi, thank you so much for having us.

I'm very excited about our new role and and for the opportunity to do so.

And we're we're I'm really excited that this is a new position that we get to um offer the support to the newly formed community services department and everything that uh several months of interviews and um interviews have been uh leading up to to support everybody in those five service departments.

So I'm excited.

It's so nice to see you all again.

Thank you.

Yeah, welcome to the city of Lafayette.

And I don't know if anyone on council has any uh welcoming comments or or questions for Pamela here, Councillor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just like to give shout out to all those people who have a degree in communication.

Okay, it's just two of us.

Mine is a minor.

I'm just kidding.

I I've I think the fact that you've worked in multiple rows over you know over time and seeing a lot of the internal operations here.

You need to uh because we have a lot going on.

I really really appreciate uh your being in this role to continue to uh make Lafayette's functioning robust.

So thanks for thanks for being here and thank you for everything you can and will do.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Anyone else?

Yeah, well, welcome to the city.

Happy to have you.

Thanks.

And next is another familiar face.

So Dennis Warrington has was hired as our parts and open space manager.

Um, and he has done a lot with the team in his tenure here.

He has experience in municipal parks management, and uh excited to welcome him to this new role where he'll be working with golf as well.

Yep, uh good evening, counsel.

I feel like it wasn't that long ago that I was up here doing this exact same thing.

But um excited to uh take on the role in golf and uh learn all about that and do what I can to help make it better.

And thank you for all you do too.

You're a fun counsel.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Yeah, I don't know if there was any comments and just for counsel or no?

Okay, well, thank you so much, appreciate it.

And next is Tammy Clausen.

Tammy is our new deputy library director.

She has a lot of experience in public library leadership, um, team building, customer service.

We're really excited to have her on our team.

And thank you, thank you.

Um, it's a great opportunity to um move the library forward for um all the work that Melissa has done over the years, and uh we're looking forward to doing some new um programs and services and and serve our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh questions or comments from council.

No.

Well, thank you so much.

I'm happy to see you together.

American history degree.

So that's awesome.

That's almost as good as a community.

And then finally, uh Justin Purdue.

Dustin can't be with us tonight.

He is presenting at the National Recreation and Parks Association conference in Florida tomorrow.

So if he can't be with us, he has a lot of experience in recreation.

Um, you'll get the opportunity to meet him during the Capital Improvements Tour and as we um advance um our recreation fee uh policy in the future.

Um but we are very excited to have Justin on the team.

He actually early in his career worked uh for Lafayette at the Barber Recreation Center.

So we're happy to have him back.

Um just question on um Mr.

Purdue.

Did he happen to come from the city of North Glenn?

Yes.

So I have gotten a lot of guff from Mayor Pro Town, Haramosa, as well as Counselor Condo that we are stealing their staff.

So um just make sure that we're cealing for good ones.

I don't mind the guff, but we are getting I've gotten some feedback from them that they're very excited for him, but are very good are good to miss him over in um Northlet.

So that's good to hear.

Thank you.

Great stuff, great stuff off the bottom of this.

I think we're all excited to meet him when he arrives.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Okay, uh well, that wraps up staff introductions, uh, which brings us to uh lots of proclamations.

Um just so um council and uh the public are aware, um, we um are pushing back our October meeting a week um to the 14th, uh, due to it due to a holiday taking place on October 7th.

And so we do have uh proclamations for both September and October that we are recognizing today.

That's why you that's why you you'll see a lot of them.

Um so we'll begin with proclamation M.

This is recognizing and honoring the service of police chief Rick Basher, and I'll pass it over to Mayor Pro Tem Wong to read the sign.

Okay, thank you, Mayor.

Whereas police chief Rick Basher began his career at the City of Lafayette in 1983, and whereas Chief Basher, in his near 43 years of professional service to the City of Lafayette and its residents, has served as a police officer, field trading officer, detective, master firearms instructor, and armor sergeant, field training sergeant, detective sergeant, SWAT negotiator, lieutenant, administrative commander, operations commander, and chief of police, and we're as during his tenure.

Chief Basher has been that has seen the department grow from 18 sworn officers serving a population of nearly 11,000 residents to 51 sworn officers serving a population of over 30,000 residents.

And whereas Chief Basher led and contributed to the advancement of the Lafayette Police Department and a professional police force that champions officer wellness and development, implementing state of the art policy and procedure program, overseeing the construction of a new police and court building, and creating a supervisor development training program and officer mental health support program.

And whereas Chief Basher has become a trusted figure in the community through his efforts related to community policing, engagement with businesses and residents, and the development of other community focused programs, such as the youth engagement program, co-responder program, and homeless liaison program.

And whereas perhaps most importantly, Chief Basher exemplifies integrity, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to public service and the city of Lafayette choosing every day to protect and serve Lafayette residents with honor and integrity.

Now, therefore, the mayor and city council of the City of Lafayette, Colorado, commend and honor police chief Rick Basher's service to the city of Lafayette and wish him the very best, including many sandy beaches and non-emergent phone calls in retirement.

Congratulations, Chief Basher.

Um, so moved.

You all right?

We have a motion.

Do we have a second?

Second, second.

All right.

Um is there any comments uh or questions from council?

Councilor Gallegos.

So I was born in 1983, and I think it's just incredible that you've served Lafayette as long as I've been alive.

So I just wanted to say thank you for your service and dedication and keeping everyone safe.

Thank you.

Uh Councillor Barnes.

Uh yes, I'd like to say I was really surprised when um in 2020 when I was on council for the first time, and in June of 2020 when uh George Floyd and Brianna Taylor were killed.

It really made me question how I feel about police uh just in general.

And with lots of conversations with Chief Basher, I got to the point of being able to defend Lafayette's police to our neighbors.

Um that's not something I it took me a while to get to that point because I had some really hard questions in the chief and I had some great conversations.

I really appreciate the openness.

And uh I hope people understand what it looks like to serve as a police officer the way Chief Basher and our officers do.

And I I can't thank you enough.

There I didn't expect what we have.

I was a little shattered when I heard you're gonna retire because I was like, this is not okay.

Um, but I know that the what you've built over the years, I mean decades apparently, um, is something that's number one hard to hard to replicate and is uh ingrained in who we are.

I I feel like how officers serve in Lafayette is a part of Lafayette, it's part of what makes Lafayette great, and I hope you know that uh I can convince people that we still it's not something that um is fly by night, it's part of who we are, and I thank you for the incredible hard work you've done to make that happen and the consistency, and uh I hope you do join uh the back row at some of the meetings everyone small.

Thank you for your service, and thank you for being who you are.

Thank you.

Other comments from counsel, Counselor Sampson.

You know, law enforcement is there to protect and to serve, but the only way that that can happen is when there's trust from the community, and I've watched under your leadership, what you have done to work with the youth, um, all the different activities that you have had um the police get involved with.

It's it's simple things that have really gotten out to reach out to community members, and at no time kind of bouncing off of what um my fellow counselor member said, and at no time did I ever feel um that there was that distance.

There was something that you have done to build it at the at from a strong foundational standpoint that people really truly feel that they can trust your team, and that is tough in all the things that come in our lives.

So I thank you.

Thank you for all of the people from all the people of Lafayette who have been served and protected by you.

Thank you.

Other comments from Council.

I just I just wanted to echo.

I know I read the proclamation, but Chief, everything that you've done, I think has been phenomenal.

I know that what wasn't on that on that proclamation actually of the long list of things and accomplishments was the resident of the police academy, which is um I don't know if anybody else on council's gone through it.

I would highly recommend members of council attend it.

Um it's a great program.

Members of the community, if you have to have the opportunity, you get to learn and understand what our the training that our police officers go through, the scrutiny and the stress that they go through the interview process and really how they have become successful within our community and how they are so ingrained in our community.

So thank you for your service, Chief.

Appreciate it.

And I wish you all the best in retirement.

I can't let my last meeting go without I was planning to invite you up, but um start the timer if you want.

Um covered up.

Uh thank you all.

Um, it's been a privilege and an honor.

Uh I wasn't gonna get choked up.

Um the support from you and the community has made me successful.

Um my deputy chief is here.

I thank him.

Uh we have worked hand in hand to develop what we've got, and it truly is community policing.

Um thank you for making me feel old.

When I started, I had all one color hair, and I had hair.

Um but I've cherished every moment of it.

It's there's it's been a ride, uh, it's been an adventure.

There's been good things and bad things.

We've had COVID.

Uh never thought we would experience something like a pandemic.

Uh, we made it through.

Um, George Floyd and the other uh crises throughout the country that we've all uh endured here locally, but uh it hasn't been without the support of council, uh city leadership.

Um I was counting the other day, kind of reflecting.

Uh I've served under 14 mayors and numerous council members over the years.

Um have been uh more supportive than others.

Um I would like to thank each of you for all of your support in recent years.

Um, but mostly my staff.

Um my command staff have worked hand in hand with me.

I think that uh we've accomplished a lot.

I think that they're set up to carry on what we've established and really support our community and enforce laws like our community expects them to be and interact with our community like they expect us to act.

Uh we are a small community.

Uh I think that it really has served me well to be a resident of the community.

Um learn my who my neighbors were, and you don't go to the grocery store without running across somebody you know or uh down the street at a restaurant and somebody uh that you've dealt with both positive and negative part of our community policing is procedural justice, and that is uh the tenants of that are building trust with our community and communicating with our community so that they know who their police officers are.

And as you probably notice when we have police officers in the lobby, uh they engage with the community that's coming in here.

They do that out on the street.

Uh, we hire for character and we train for competency, and I think it really shows in the staff that we have.

Um I think that uh at least I believe I'm leaving the department in good hands.

My goal when I became police chief was to leave the department better than I found it.

Uh, I believe that that has happened.

Uh, but I think the the men and women of the police department are gonna be able to take our vision on and serve with honor and integrity.

So I thank you for each of you for your support over the years, the community uh outpouring of positive comments over the last couple weeks.

Um retiring is hard work.

I've got more emails coming in, text messages, uh, LinkedIn comments, Facebook.

Um I'm glad it's kind of short-lived because I couldn't do my job as police chief uh having to answer all those emails, but it's great.

Uh it's very uh rewarding to hear that, and hopefully I've left a positive impression.

So thank you all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, and we uh would like to honor you as well.

Uh, we really appreciate um you know all your service.

I mean, 43 years um looking at like we've seen so many, not just new council members, mayors, uh, but city staff has changed.

You know, at this point, I'm one of the most longest tenured person on in the city, but I think that you know, for me, uh, you know, I met Chief Basha when I was when I was young, you know.

I used to get into a little bit of trouble when I was younger, still do.

Um, but I think that uh we worked uh you know countless hours through the empowerment center, these counting, a lot of work with the great Elena Ververe as well as several other community leaders, uh, specifically working towards the goal of bridging that gap and that relationship between team and youth.

Um it's you know, it's I'm gonna get emotional a couple times during this meeting tonight, but I think you know it's deserved because I I personally would not be uh where I am today if it wasn't for folks like you who took the time to invest in youth and create uh a culture or an environment where they feel empowered uh to be um to achieve uh to be strong and to be uh to question things that they feel are unjust or unfair, but to provide them with the education and the tools they need to look at those problems, identify real solutions to them, and then go into the community and actually do something about it.

And so um uh the city uh took the uh liberty of creating this for you.

We have a uh uh something you could hang up on on your wall here uh when you get home, um, and just to honor you as well with some words and and some signatures from the city council.

We of course are uh ecstatic to know that you will still be here in the city of Lafayette as a resident.

And as we spoke earlier, you know, there, you know, maybe one day you'll be in our seats, and we'll be standing there at the podium talking to you about city issues.

I will take that for me.

Uh decompress and relax and uh visit some beaches and uh just get to know my family again.

Um miss so many birthdays and anniversaries and uh all of that.

Um I got a rock solid family that I love dearly.

I want to spend time with them.

So most important.

Yeah, I appreciate your offer, but uh that's your political career in my uh immediate future.

Uh I appreciate Karen's offer for uh a seat, the cheap seats, but uh most seats aren't that comfortable.

Sorry, Karen.

Well, well, Chief, we're gonna go ahead and vote on that pro on this proclamation.

Uh, and then we'd love to obviously do a photo with you with this.

I do have a copy of the proclamation for you as well.

Okay.

So uh with that, we have a motion and a second on that.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, none opposed.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Oh, thank you.

This is kind of great.

I don't know how Debbie does that.

Wait, I'm not so nice.

Congratulations, gee.

All right.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

You're hanging out as well as that.

I'm gonna hang around while you're thanks.

All right.

Okay, um, well, thank you all so much for that.

Um, we do have uh many other things to recognize tonight.

Um so our next proclamation, and we do have seven, so it looks like each one of us is participating in this.

Um, our next proclamation is item N for fall prevention awareness week, September 23rd through the 27th for 2025, and I will be reading this one.

Proclamation for fall prevention awareness week, September 23rd through the 27th, 2025.

Where falls are not inevitable, are not an inevitable part of aging, and education, awareness, and community engagement can dramatically reduce the risk of risk of falls.

And whereas the City of Lafayette Senior Center and the Boulder County Area Agency of Aging present classes and seminars as we stand up for fall prevention as a country worldwide initiative.

And whereas falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among individuals age 65 and older, and the most common reason for emergency room visits and residents are encouraged to attend the Think First to Prevent Falls presentation at the Senior Center on September 16th.

And whereas pain management significantly affects the social, emotional, and physical well-being of older adults, and on September 30th, Advent Health Pain Specialists will discuss the connection between pain dynamics and fall prevention.

And whereas many falls are prevented preventable through evidence-based approaches such as regular strength and balanced exercises.

The senior center offers daily classes every Tuesday through Friday.

And whereas the Colorado Falls Prevention Coalition is working to increase awareness, promote multidisciplinary strategies, and to reduce fall risk and education and educate individuals on practical skills, including how to get up safely safely after a fall.

And whereas advancements in technology now allow for fall dedication and prevention through smartphones, wearable devices, and home monitoring tools.

Now, therefore, the mayor and city council of the city of Lafayette, Colorado do hereby declare September 23rd through the 27th, 2025 as Fall Prevention Week in Lafayette and encourage all residents to observe this week.

So moved.

Second.

We have a motion in the second on that.

Any comments or questions on this?

Councilor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just like to thank the senior advisory board for leaning into the creating a greater awareness of fall prevention and the senior services center is one of the perfect places for more questions.

If you have any questions about this, it is a significant uh can cause a cigar, a fall can cause a significant change uh as we age.

And um just like to say I'm glad we're making uh bringing this awareness up.

Thank you so much.

Councilor Samson.

I wanted to um express that it we do want to prevent falls, but if somebody falls, that they should feel okay to call for assistance and call for help.

I just heard a story over the weekend where um an older adult had fallen and felt too uncomfortable to call and so laid on the floor for a day before the fire department showed up.

So while we want to prevent it, we also want to make sure that everybody feels comfortable that you can call on family, you can call on friends, and you can call on those first responders to help in these situations.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Okay, we have a motion and a second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

None opposed.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you.

The next proclamation is item O.

This is on Energy Efficiency Day for October 1st, 2025.

Council of Freedom.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, so this is a good one that we do each year.

I mean, you know, when it comes to energy efficiency, right?

These are simple things that people can do, you know, at their homes and you know, keep from using too much energy, and then we don't have to worry about making more, right?

You could um replace light bulbs that are outdated, you could upgrade appliances, think about other improvements.

You know, these are small actions that can really strengthen our community's sustainability and resiliency efforts, but also you know, help your wallet.

Umergy Efficiency Day is a national movement that highlights the benefits of using energy wisely.

This proclamation reaffirms our city's commitment to energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting residents in adopting sustainable and resilient habits that make a lasting difference.

Energy efficiency day, October 1st, 2025, whereas on August 20th, 2024, the Lafayette City Council adopted the city's climate action plan, which outlines strategies such as beneficial electrification and other energy efficiency measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

And whereas smarter energy use reduces the amount of energy we need to power our lives, which helps avoid emissions that can harm our health, pollute our air, and contribute to climate change.

And whereas implementing energy efficiency and other clean energy policies and programs helps boost economic opportunities and job creation while continuing to move toward a sustainable and resilient future.

And whereas energy efficiency remains the quickest, cleanest, and most cost-effective solution to meeting today's and tomorrow's energy needs.

And whereas reducing energy waste saves American households and businesses billions of dollars annually on utility bills, and whereas Lafayette residents play a vital role in advancing our energy goals by participating in city programs, adopting efficient technologies, and practicing smarter energy use every day.

And whereas the City of Lafayette supports the ongoing work of our sustainability department and the Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Board and promoting energy efficiency, climate action, and community resilience.

Now, therefore, the mayor and city council of the City of Lafayette, Colorado do hereby declare October 1st, 2025 to be energy efficiency day.

We encourage all residents, visitors, and staff city staff to make energy efficiency a priority from replacing outdated light bulbs with LEDs to upgrading appliances and equipment, small actions taken together can yield significant benefits in lowering energy use, reducing utility costs, and cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

So moved.

Second.

Thank you.

Motion second, any comments or discussion?

Councilor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just like to say that the combination of concern that people have for the environment, their future really are addressed by energy efficiency.

This will give us a lot more time to become a more resilient community if everyone does think about the things they can do to conserve energy, and that's the entire family.

So please do uh take the moment to consider what is it that you could do.

Uh there's all kinds of technologies, there's also kinds of actions you can take.

And this is going to take a team effort, so um, please consider that.

Thank you so much.

Of course.

Thank you.

Anything else?

All right.

Uh, there is a motion and a second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

None opposed, that passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Uh on to proclamation uh P.

This is ageism, ageism awareness day for October 9th, 2025, Councillor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor, and once again, shout out to the uh the older adults advisory board for bringing that through and uh helping us understand that that change needed to be made, needed to be made, and for earlier members of the uh board mentioning uh ageism and awareness day on October uh 22nd, October 22nd at the Senior Center.

And our proclamation on awareness reads whereas ageism is a form of discrimination that includes stereotypes, how we think, prejudice, how we feel, and discrimination, how we act towards others based on age.

And whereas ageism negatively impacts affects, sorry, ageism never negatively affects the health, independence, financial security and well-being of older adults, and contributes to systemic inequity in health care, employment, housing, and media representation, and whereas addressing ageism is essential to ensuring that people of all ages are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness in all aspects of life, and whereas older adults continue to contribute meaningfully to families, workplaces, volunteer efforts, local economies, and civic life, and deserve to be recognized for their experience, wisdom, and value, and whereas promoting intergenerational inclusion, age-friendly policies, and lifelong engagement benefits the entire community, and creates more just, equitable, and resilient society for all.

Whereas it is a responsibility of all residents, institutions, and organizations to challenge ageist attitudes and practices and promote positive aging at every stage of life, and finally, whereas ageism awareness and preventing ageism is beneficial to all, so residents are encouraged to attend the understanding ageism presentation at the senior center on October 22nd.

So moved.

Second.

Thank you.

Motion and a second, any comments or discussion.

Okay.

If not, we'll take them.

Uh if not, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

None opposed.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Uh on to the proclamation Q.

This is breast cancer awareness month for October 2025.

Counselor Sampson.

Whereas October is national breast cancer awareness month, which aims to promote awareness, screening, and prevention of the disease.

And whereas breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the world, and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States, more than one in eight women and one in 833 men in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes.

And whereas approximately 30% of stage zero to stage three breast cancers will either turn into or return to stage four, which is when cancer spreads throughout the other parts of the body.

Whereas the American Cancer Society recommends annual breast cancer screening with mammograms starting at age 40.

And whereas many organizations continue to search for a cure through vital research, while physicians, public health professionals, and advocates continue to educate our community about the importance of and the innovative advancements in early detection and treatment.

And now, therefore, the mayor and the city council of the city of Lafayette, Colorado, do hereby declare October 2025 as breast cancer awareness month and encourage all residents to join in the national effort towards bringing awareness of the disease during the month of October.

So moved.

Thank you.

Do we have a second?

Second.

Motion and second.

Any comments or discussion on this one?

Okay.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

None opposed.

Nah.

Proclamation passes unanimously.

Unanimously.

Thank you.

On to uh proclamation R.

This is Hispanic Heritage Month for September 15th through October 15th, 2025.

Councillor Tapia Vegas.

Amazing.

A lot of great proclamations tonight.

I love it.

All right.

This is Hispanic Heritage Month.

Whereas National Hispanic Heritage Month, known as Mes de Herencia Hispana, is celebrated nationwide from September 15th through October 15th each year.

And whereas the observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to provide more time to properly recognize the significant contributions made in the United States by people of Hispanic heritage.

And whereas each year, Americans observe Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th, by celebrating the histories, culture, and contributions of community members whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

And whereas September 15 is a significant is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and 18, respectively.

And whereas persons of Hispanic heritage amount to over 5,000 residents, totaling over 15% of the City of Lafayette population, and have played and continue to play a vital role in our economy and workforce.

And whereas local Hispanic-owned businesses include restaurants, grocery stores, Catnicer's, salons, caterers, building contractors, clothing stores, specialty boutique stores, auto repair stores, and community nonprofits, many of which are part of the fabric of our old town area and greater community.

And whereas City Council adopted resolution number 2016-96 memorable memorializing Lafayette's commitment to building a diverse, inclusive, and just community, ensuring equal protection and services for all residents, and whereas the city of Lafayette is committed to recognizing Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx culture and heritage as an important part of our city and its community.

Now, therefore, the mayor and city council of the City of Lafayette, Colorado, do hereby declare September 15th through October 15, 2025 Hispanic Heritage Month, and encourage residents to explore Hispanic arts, histories, food, music.

So moved.

Second.

Motion and a second, any comments or discussion on this one.

Councilor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I would just like to point out the I believe in the proclamation, we say uh the 15% of the population is Hispanic and Lafayette.

As the council, current council member, uh representative to the downtown development authority, there's even a higher percentage in the DDA area.

Uh 27%.

So we are in the process of moving forward with the DDA and looking at a marketing plan, which I expect to consider that percentage as we move forward to ensure exactly what this proclamation mentions in the inclusivity of this city.

So looking forward to even more celebrating our community in the DDA.

Councilor Topi Vega.

Amazing, thank you.

I know I just read it, but I feel like I have to say something because this is incredibly important to me.

And I really love that the city is uh celebrating this with a proclamation, and I especially love that it's today, being uh I son of two immigrants from Mexico, uh, today's Mexican Independence Day, so it's very, very uh cool to me to be doing this.

But I just love the fact that we're celebrating this for so many reasons.

I mean, Lafayette would not be the city it is without uh Hispanic and Latino culture, it's just in our fabric, it is what we're kind of built on.

Uh, what would Lafayette be with our amazing Mexican restaurants and Latino restaurants uh when you're driving down public road without the amazing mural by Armando Silva, Lafayette would not feel the same.

So it's really just part of our city, and I I just love that we're doing this.

So I can talk about this all night, so I'll be really, really short.

Just I really appreciate it.

Yes, of course, thank you.

Anyone else?

And just for me personally, uh, as you echo it, I I thought our numbers were closer to 19% Hispanic population.

Um just growing up here, someone who is not Hispanic, um, I got to uh go to schools like Sanchez Elementary and Angela Middle School and Centaurus High School where most of my friends and people that I interact with were of Hispanic background.

I went to my first Gincinera before I went to my first Indian wedding.

Um most of my friends, you know, I still have uh to this day uh continue to educate me and teach me on your culture and background, and I love to teach about Mexican Independence Day and in the in in May to talk about single mayo and how it's not Mexican Independence Day to all my students in my classroom, and so I appreciate all the uh all the contributions of our community, Hispanic community, and encourage them to uh continue to uh get involved in the government here.

Um I I know Councilor Tapia Vega is always does his best, and I know a lot of us do to engage um with the Hispanic community.

I personally will continue to try to knock on doors and reach out to folks and uh talk to them about what's going on in the city and ask them to come to city council meetings and whether that's for positive reasons or or other reasons, uh just want to encourage all folks to come to city council meetings and be a part of the process.

Now we have a motion and a second.

All those in favor, do we have a motion and a second?

Yes, okay, great.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, none opposed, that passes unanimously.

Thank you.

And finally, we have uh proclamation S.

This is honoring the life and service of Councillor Tanya Briggs, Councillor Gallegas.

Proclamation honoring the life and service of Tanya Briggs, March 2nd, 1979 through September 16, 2023.

Whereas Tanya Joe Briggs was born on March 2nd, 1979, and passed away on September 16, 2023, at the age of 44.

And whereas Tanya was elected to the Lafayette City Council for a two-year term in November of 2019 and re-elected to City Council in 2021 for a four-year term.

And whereas over her two consecutive terms, Tanya served as the council liaison to the human rights board, Lafayette Open Space Advisory Board, Historic Preservation Commission, Waste Reduction Advisory Board, and Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Community Noise Roundtable.

And whereas Tanya lived in the Boulder County, lived in Boulder County for most of her life, and was a fixture in Lafayette for more than 14 years, alongside her husband, ran a local family plumbing business for roughly 12 years, playing a pivotal role in helping residents navigate through the 2013 flood.

And whereas Tanya served her city through its first ever global pandemic, national social unrest, and a catastrophic cyber attack.

And whereas Tanya left a lasting impression on our community through her selflessness, determination, and devotion to improving the lives of all living creatures.

And whereas serving in public office is both an honor and deep commitment for those who serve and their families, this kind, compassionate, and dedicated member of our community made contributions that will be remembered for years to come.

And whereas Tanya will always be sorely missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire us all to live from our hearts.

Now therefore the mayor and the city council of the city of Lafayette, Colorado, do you hereby honor the life and service of Tanya Briggs and encourage all residents to renew their inspiration by supporting the Good Life Rescue and Mother Gaia Rescue, wearing purple, Tanya's favorite color, and dancing as if nobody is watching.

So moved.

Second.

Thank you.

We have a motion and a second.

Any comments on this proclamation?

Councillor Gayez.

So I wouldn't be in this seat right now if it wasn't for Tanya.

So Tanya was one of my dance mom friends.

We met at the studio right across the street.

And I miss her every day.

And if it wasn't for Tanya, just planting the seed and showing me how just a mom in the community could make a difference.

And I just miss her fire.

I miss her spark, and I miss all of her contributions to Lafayette.

Thank you.

Councilor Samson.

And I remember thinking, how does somebody so vibrant all of a sudden disappear?

From our, I mean, she's still here in spirit, but they're not be able to go up and talk with this person.

And for me, I'm a very passionate person, as you all know.

And with Tanya, she was also quite passionate.

And we had some definite real ability to discuss things in a, you know, even though we'd be on different sides, there was this ability for her to stand up and say, I really believe in this, and this is important to me and important to the community, and here's why.

And we were able to hear that, consider those things.

And I I loved the fact that she was willing to be strong enough to do that.

Because I think a lot of people shy away from saying, This is important to me.

This is what I'm passionate about.

And I and I would hope that as we move forward, we all carry that with us.

That we think of what's important, what do we see that's of value, and we can't let that go and speak up about it.

Thank you.

Other comments from council.

Okay.

Um, well, then I'll just I'll just mention um uh you know the opportunity, of course, to work with Tanya on the city council for several years, and um it's it was you know, we we've never, you know, to our knowledge, you know, had a sitting city council member lose their life while serving the community.

Um, and so those of you that did not have the pleasure of meeting Tanya, um as mentioned during public comment and earlier uh from my fellow counselors, um undeniably passionate about what she cared about.

Her and I, like you all get to see us on the dice, you know, on Tuesday nights, but there's a lot that happens behind the scenes, um, you know, behind doors, conversations that we have one-on-one, or with city staff or members of the community.

Um it's not um the job isn't just voting yes or no, it's uh connecting over real issues that real people care about.

Um and even though her and I disagreed on on things uh from time to time, um it was we both knew that neither one of us was coming out of a place for um that was not truly imperially authentic from what we thought was best for the city of Lafayette.

We always maintained respect and care for one another.

I was always apologizing to her, she would apologize to me just about conversations we would have.

And but at the end of the day, we always maintain a great relationship, and I think that's because um I you know I recognize you know that it was never out of evil or harmful intention.

Um, if we disagreed on topics, it was always out of the best interest of the city and the people that we serve.

Um we are gonna continue to honor Tanya's legacy.

Uh I you know, uh famous Bill Daniels said, You can't live forever, but you can make a legacy that will.

And Tanya has continued to do that.

Uh the city will continue to recognize her and more than just a proclamation.

I know we have members of the community with the help of Councillor Barnes creating uh memorial for her and already have and already have done a lot of great work, so we will continue to recognize her.

And if you as a member of the public do feel like uh the city isn't doing enough or would like to do more, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to work with you, and I know the rest of our council will as well.

Um thank you all for um taking the time to recognize Tanya.

Um, and please continue to keep her her her passion and her thoughts and her mission alive.

So with that, we do have a motion and a second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

You know, Mr.

Mayor, just sitting here reflecting.

I a couple thoughts that I just want to share, and I apologize out of out of sequence, but um, as you were sitting there and you were speaking, I was thinking of Tanya um remembering the meeting that we had discussion regarding pigs, and she had a pig come into city council chambers and how amazing it was and watching her connect um with the public and just the information she knew about animals, and it was just a wealth of knowledge, and so um hearing you mention that or what you were saying made me think of that memory, and then also thinking of um probably the last time I think I saw Tanya was I used to run into Tanya.

And so hearing you mention that or what you were saying, made me think of that memory, and then also thinking of probably the last time I think I saw Tanya was I used to run into Tanya.

If any of you knew Tanya, her and her husband loved going out to dinner in Lafayette.

You'd run into them all over the place at all the different restaurants.

And I remember running into her at Chili's, and we sat there, we talked for a good 15 minutes while our parties were trying to get dinner going, and we were discussing it as a city council issue.

But it was always an honor to be able to have discussion with her and look at things from different perspectives.

So sorry, it's a little blink to the game, but just made me think about it.

So thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Um not easy to move on on the agenda.

Like I said, that put that last, but um I do know that something that Council Briggs did did truly value was the diversity of our city.

And I'm glad to see that we are continuing to make great strides in that area.

And so we do have to transition to the presentations for tonight on uh the topic of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in the city of Lafayette.

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

That is hard to follow all those proclamations, but it does feel like a natural sequence, and I'm happy tonight to come and speak and provide an update around our inclusion, diversity, equity, and access strategic plan.

Um, quite a bit of work has been on has been gone going on regarding this, but I know this is the first council update since the contract approval, so I'm gonna walk through a bit of the background to remind you all how we got to this point, summarize the work to date, and then outline some next steps for you all.

So, regarding the background, I've been um, as I've been presenting to others some other boards and staff as well, kind of starting with this slide that's grounding us in a lot of the work that the city has already done regarding IDEA well before this plan came into inception, um, beginning with a resolution that was actually noted earlier and a proclamation regarding Hispanic Heritage Month, resolution number 2016 96 that acknowledges and commits the City of Lafayette to be an inclusive and welcoming community.

And same that same year the city council established the human rights board, um which has made a number of notable achievements, for uh one of which is the naming of the Rosa Wares Aquatics Complex, the Bob Berger Recreation Center.

The city has also adopted a number of vision values at level of city council through our comprehensive plans and even um internally as our core values.

So city council adopted the strategic outcome of being a safe and welcoming community.

Our comprehensive plan addresses equity and diversity within that and to support our built environment, and then internally we've adopted core values that guide the work that staff do, which also address uh equity and diversity.

You were all aware of the number of our strategic plans that specifically address the issue of equity and diversity in our programs and delivery to residents, uh namely our arts and cultural resources department strategic plan and library uh strategic plan both acknowledge the concepts and the importance of diversity and equity.

We've also, in terms of operationally adopted a number of practices that support the accessibility of the work that the city does generally through things such as a language access policy and translating our city council agendas into Spanish to improve the access there, as well as some programs that the city has championed, such as the Mental Health and Human Services Grant Program and our water bill assistance program to support some of our most vulnerable community members.

And then finally, we've done quite a bit of work internally as well regarding our human resources and staff development.

So we've undergone uh classification and compensation study that helps to address some internal equity challenges, um, as well as promoting and building and continuing to refine a staff development training uh staff development and training program that will can be used as a kind of springboard for some of the recommendations that'll likely come out of this plan.

So regarding the purpose and the scope of the plan, as you'll recall, this came to be as a uh recommendation from the human rights board during a budget discussion.

It was ultimately supported by city council with funds to get a contractor or consultant team on board.

And it's a really exciting opportunity to build off of the work of the human rights board.

I'll also build off of the work that the city has already done that I just went through and really formalized our IDEA approach across the entire organization.

So the purpose of this plan is to integrate the principles of IDEA within our city's operations policies and programming with goals related to developing a clear understanding for staff about those principles and how we can embody them at all levels of the organization, creating a lens that we can use as staff to assess our policies and programs for IDEA, and then finally identifying our short and long-term organizational goals, strategies, and priorities, and specifically actions we can take to implement those.

So moving on to the work to date, as you may recall, last year we conducted a procurement process to get a contractor consultant team on board, and following that procurement process, council approved a contract at the end of last year with a group called the Carter Development Group.

They are a nationally recognized firm that specializes in assisting organizations with IDEA-related organizational assessments, strategic planning, and employee and organizational development.

So they've been critical in getting a lot of this work done to date.

And their work began by conducting an existing conditions analysis of a lot of the plans, policies, visions that I referenced earlier that are outlined here on the screen, but really to get as holistic of an understanding of where we are as an organization as a government, as well as to inform some upcoming recommendations.

Following the existing conditions assessment, the Carter Development Group conducted a pretty robust engagement process with both staff, boards, and commissions, and had the opportunity to engage with some city councillors as well.

So that process began with a survey where we had over 170 employees complete the survey, and then the intent of the survey was really to capture feedback on priorities related to IDEA as well as people's experiences as employees or board and commission members of the City of Lafayette.

So we had over 170 employees complete the survey, over 30 board and commission members complete the survey as well.

And then to augment the survey, they held a number of focus groups, both in-person and virtual.

Four of those focus groups were dedicated to boards and commissions.

We had one that was just for the human rights board, another that was just for the senior advisory board, and then the other two were open to all boards and commission members.

We held seven focus groups for staff, one was for department heads, and then three individual city council discussions were held.

And so throughout all of those focus groups and discussions, over 80 people were engaged in that process in addition to the survey.

So we heard a lot from those from that engagement process, but a lot of it really boiled down to a number of key themes or kind of general findings listed here.

So the first is we heard a noted acknowledgement of some of the organizational silos that are that exist in our city, likely in many other cities, you know, when we're in so many different businesses, it's hard and different facilities.

It can sometimes be hard to break break down those silos.

Um, and that was noted in these findings, as well as opportunities to improve interdepartmental collaboration.

We heard an opportunity and a commitment to, as an employee level and board and commission level, uh commitment to IDA and an opportunity to further refine the commitment for the city as a whole, in addition to all the work that we've been doing thus far.

We heard an interest in expanding staff training specifically related to DEI.

And then finally, we heard an acknowledgement of just the limited staff and board capacity and their scopes to advance some of the strategic initiatives at the city.

So the human rights board has been pretty involved in this process.

We've gone to them a number of times since the first focus group back in March.

So I wanted to summarize some of that work for you all for your awareness.

So again, this work with the human rights board began in March of this year with their focus group, and then the Carter Development Group went back in May to hold a SWOC or strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and constraints analysis.

And then we went back in July to kind of finalize and refine those findings from the initial discussion, as well as review some best practices of similar human rights boards across the country, and then finalize those findings as I mentioned.

And that's because part of the scope of this project was to refine the human rights board scope from what it currently is and update it once we have this plan in place and how they can kind of speak to one another and support one another.

So we went back in August to have a first discussion around the board's scope once we had those findings from the SWAC analysis, and I should note those findings were included in your packet.

And then I went just last night to the human rights board to provide an update on this plan as well as begin discussions about potential name changes for the board that might better align with their scope once that's all finalized.

So the engagement with the human rights board will continue.

We'll go back in the fall.

Our next kind of big lift, as you'll see, is to create this equity lens, and they'll be involved in that.

And also have an opportunity to provide feedback on the plan.

I mentioned a survey of other boards and commissions with similar scopes across the country and want to just kind of highlight some of those findings.

These are this is what was presented to the human rights board.

We looked at a variety of boards and commissions across a number of states and found that many of them were created as limited duration task forces to support the creation of plans like this.

And then also found that most of them are tasked with advising city councils on policy items related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Some, not all, but many uh did have specific community engagement functions called out within their scope, which is something we heard as a is an opportunity for our human rights board as well to improve and kind of more specifically call out the community engagement function.

And then I do note here that some had legal functions that just aren't generally permissible under our governance structure, meaning some of the especially larger communities that have adopted actual human rights ordinances.

Um they have human rights commissions that have kind of the authority to issue fines and penalties, and that's just not permissible within our um structure as them being advisory boards.

I will walk through the um general findings of the SWAC analysis again.

There's more detail about this in your packet for tonight.

Um but in terms of the strengths we heard uh there are a few members on the board who have been there since its inception.

So uh their dedicated membership was noted during these processes, as well as some of the successful advocacy that the human rights board has undergone this far, such as the Roslueris Aquatics Complex that I mentioned earlier, and then another theme was their appreciation of the strong staff support from their staff liaison.

Um some of the weaknesses or challenges that the human rights board noted were having um it says no clear scope of it's more more um explicitly that the scope is is a little more is challenging to implement for them, um, which is in a lot of instances resulting in high turnover.

We get people who are interested in serving on what they view as a human rights board and then um get to the meetings and don't feel like it aligns with what they're expecting, and so that's resulting in some turnover there.

Um, and then a theme that came up acknowledging that they are an advisory board and um working within this advisory structure to city council, uh noted that within that there's a limited authority and resources for the boards, just as that's noted here for human rights board, but that that applies to our generally all of our advisory boards.

In terms of opportunities for the human rights board, they noted an opportunity to um once their scope is is refined and this plan is under is complete to potentially utilize assistance of volunteers to support some of the initiatives in the plan.

Um again, they noted the improved engagement and um this general desire to be more action-based versus the advisory kind of strategy level of work.

Um finally constraints, and for those of you who might be familiar with this type of analysis, typically that would be called threats.

Um but either way, the idea is that it's kind of the external factors that are um considered might be considered weaknesses, but at an external level for the board, and so um they noted that because the human rights board is ultimately an arm or a component of a government body, potential lack of trust from community members to engage with the human rights board, and then finally noted again the advisory structure being a constraint to the work.

So before I turn it over to for any questions, I do just want to summarize some next steps for you all.

Beginning with uh we are going to continue refining and finalizing the recommendations from the Carter Development Group, and then I noted the equity lens, and so that's going to be developed uh next month with a number of uh staff and representatives from the human rights board and senior advisory board to take uh undergo some sessions to develop this lens that again staff can use to assess policies and programs as they are developed, and that's what we'll bring to city council for consideration of adoption, and at that same time uh we'll bring forward a potential uh name and or scope change for the human rights board with the equity lens so you can see how they might play together and work together.

With that, I'll turn it over to see if there are any questions.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you so much for that update.

Uh, questions from Council Councillor Sampson.

It's kind of hearing something in between the lines as you were describing, you know, the strengths and the weaknesses and all that.

Is this group considering that they might be more actionable if they were not tied to the city?

Maybe they were a separate entity almost like our Lafayette Historic Commission.

Oh, I they're not a commission.

Society, thank you.

Um I cannot say that I heard that as a theme from the entire board.

I heard one member note that but not a general theme in terms of consensus from the board itself.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Other questions or comments?

Councillor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I know the senior advisory board, which is now the uh older adults uh advisory board.

So maybe we might want to remember that.

Uh they were very interested in pushed our consultants to ask what exactly is the way to move the in consideration of uh issues regarding to older uh adults.

So as I'm hearing, the lens will be developed with the uh older adults advisory board that's um guidance, and I I appreciate that effort.

Um it's that's one of the one of the questions and comments that counselor Samson brought up is it's gonna be interesting interesting to see what we could possibly do that is trustworthy and has uh enough cloud.

So you know I look forward to the outcome of the next steps.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anything else?

All right.

Well, we appreciate that update.

We look forward to uh future conversations uh throughout the process uh and development of the plan.

Thank you, Mary.

All right, well, that wraps up presentations for tonight, which brings us to regular business.

Uh item U.

Uh, this is first reading of ordinance number 15 series 2025, repealing sections 55-84 of the Colorado of the chapter 65 of the Court of Ordinances of the Lafayette of Colorado regarding court costs uh for failing to comply with motor vehicle and insurance requirements for cases resulting in dismissal or acquittal of the charge.

Good evening.

I didn't see you were here.

Welcome.

Snuck up.

Yeah.

All right.

So today I'll just go over kind of the background and the timeline and ordinance of or an overview of the current ordinance and then questions.

Um in 2007, city council imposed this court cost.

Um, I don't think anybody here was around in 2007.

Um, I think it was there's at that time there's probably my guesses from my discussions in Federal Heights, which also had the same city attorney, I think at the time in 2007 was just trying to recoup city costs for administrative processing, right?

So a person gets a ticket, the case gets dismissed, and we're trying to figure out how much does it cost a city to process this ticket.

Um in 2017, the US Supreme Court actually passed a case that said that it's illegal to impose fines or fees on a case that has been dismissed.

Um, and then in 2021, I was employed, and um I just started waiving the line because or the fee because people, you know, they would submit their insurance letter, and then we'd say, hey, pay this 41 dollars, and then your case will get closed, and I'd say 50% of people just never paid the fine.

And so it seemed not just or a good use of our court resources to try to go get 41 dollars for somebody that was driving insured and just had an expired card in their car or was driving a friend's car or da-da-da-da-da.

And then um in 2025, well, then in 2024, we hired Genevieve Rotello, who's our court administrator who has a lot of experience, um, and then in 2025 at um her encouraging, we developed a new mission and vision statement because the last one I think from us was maybe in 2007, actually, by chance.

Um, so it just seemed like the right time to officially address the issue rather than me just waiving it.

And um, so that's kind of the timeline of where we're at.

So this ordinance says basically if your case gets dismissed, you still have to pay this administrative fee, even if you were lawfully insured at the time.

There is a defense that you won't impose the fee if you were like driving due to an emergency or something like that happened or there wasn't an accident, which is most of our cases.

Um that's kind of what the ordinance says.

And the the thing that is most important is these are people that were actually insured at the time they were pulled over.

So if you are driving uninsured and then you get insurance later, the charge doesn't get dismissed.

You still have to plead guilty.

The stand the mandated fine in the state court is $500, and it can be reduced to $250 if you're currently insured now.

And I follow that guidance of the state court, and I think that most municipalities through the state of Colorado follow that the state guidance.

So this is only people who were lawfully insured at the time that they were issued the ticket.

Um, and then the case law that I went over.

So this it was actually by chance a case out of Colorado.

It was not a traffic case, it was a person who was found not guilty on appeal, um, and then still had some lingering fees on, but I think me and my colleagues interpret this to apply to these types of fees.

Um, and then our new mission and vision statement for the Lafayette Municipal Court, which is something that we spent a lot of time working on.

Um, and it's to provide an independent and accessible or an independent, accessible, and responsible responsive forum for all court participants to be heard, or protecting the rights and liberties guaranteed by the constitutions of Colorado and the United States.

The court is committed to the City of Lafayette's promise to deliver community-driven services that are reliable, equitable, proactive, and dedicated to a high quality of life.

We strive to inspire positive change through accountability, transparency, and understanding.

In service of our mission, we commit to individual justice and individual cases, treating all court participants with dignity and respect, providing opportunities for meaningful participation for all court participants, utilizing and implementing evidence-based best practices for courts, efficient processing of cases, and providing uh final and timely resolutions to court participants, independent, bold, authentic leadership, and innovation.

And so Genevieve and I and our clerks believe that getting rid of this fee meets the vision of Lafayette, right?

We're not here to make money.

We do have court costs that we assess when people are being prosecuted and those get assessed against people, and we feel like that's the better place to, I guess, recoup administrative costs, but to impose a 41 dollar fee to a person who was lawfully driving with insurance and for whatever reason didn't have it with them, just doesn't seem um to support the law and then what this municipal court is trying to do when we're serving our community.

Um so that's why we're asking to repeal it.

Um any questions?

All right, thank you so much.

Um, questions from council or or any comments to share?

Councilor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'd just like to say thank you again for um looking at every piece of work that you're doing in the court for efficiencies.

And um I appreciate your bringing this to us.

Um $410.

Maybe that's not a great use of funds.

And we're not here to like what you're our residence like that.

That makes sense to me.

So I appreciate the findings.

Of course, yeah, 100% agree.

You're always uh looking at the systems as a whole and identifying inequities and addressing them.

So I really do appreciate that, and our city does as well.

So thank you.

Um, if there are no more comments, we can go forward with a motion, please.

I move to approve on first reading ordinance number 18 series 2025, repealing section 65-84 of chapter 65 of the code of ordinances of Lafayette Colorado regarding court costs for failing to comply with motor vehicle insurance requirements for cases resulting in dismissal or acquittal of the charge.

Second.

We have a motion second in for the discussion.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

None opposed.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Right.

Um, on to item F, or sorry, V.

This is items related to the installation of electronic vehicle chargers at city facilities, um, including uh first reading, ordinance number 19, series 25, granting utility easements to public service company of Colorado, and a second uh and second a motion to accept a grant from the Colorado Energy Office.

Uh, we have our sustainability director here to get us started.

Thank you.

Good evening, council.

I have two items related to the installations of electric vehicle chargers, also known as EV at city facilities.

So we'll first start off with the ordinance regarding the utility easements for the EV structure, EV infrastructure, and then we will move on to the public EV infrastructure expansion grant that the city was awarded by the Colorado Energy Office.

We'll then open it up to questions and discussion, and then last but not least, motion language.

So as I mentioned, we will start with ordinance number 19 series 2025 granting utility easements to public service company of Colorado.

I first wanted to start off saying that it aligns with our climate action plan.

I will highlight one of those actions specifically in the transportation section where we want to prioritize and enhance sustainable mobility options.

Um so this directly correlates with that action.

Staff is requesting approval to grant utility and maintenance easements on portions of four properties that the city owns.

Easements will provide access for installing, operating, and maintaining transformers, switch switch gear cabinets and electric utility lines that uh Excel needs to install in order to support all of the EV charging stations at each facilities.

And the city charter charter requires council to approve easements on city property granted by third parties like Excel.

So this is why you are seeing an ordinance today.

So the first is fire station number one.

This is right along 111th Street.

So you'll see the yellow lines is the proposed easement and the orange circle is the direct current, also known as DC fast charger.

Next we have Indian Peaks Golf Course.

Similarly, the yellow lines are the proposed easements at this location.

There will be two level two chargers identified by the green circles.

The Lafayette Library is next.

This location will have two DC fast chargers.

And lastly, we have the service center.

So similar to other slides, the yellow lines are the proposed easements, and then we have a combination of both fast chargers and level two chargers.

You may recall back in December of 2024.

I came to council to accept to uh get council to accept an award from the Colorado Energy Office for Colorado Fleet Zero.

So that is what is going to be at this facility.

I do want to highlight that this is just one half of the project.

There will be several other chargers installed directly on the building, but that easement is already in place.

So the next steps in the process, Excel is going to be boring at each of these facilities to ensure electrical wiring capabilities.

The four depth will be three or more feet depending on the existing utility lines.

That bore line will be sleeved.

And then Excel Energy will need to dig bore pits, and but they will restore the area to its original condition, and this process will have minimal impact on the existing landscape.

I do want to highlight that I worked very closely with each of the building operators at each of these facilities to ensure they are aware of this.

They are all in favor of adding electric vehicle charging stations and some potential construction that will occur on site.

Next, we will transition to the public EV infrastructure and expansion grant.

As I mentioned, the city was awarded from the Colorado Energy Office a charge ahead Colorado grant for 168,000 to support this.

Similarly, there is a lot of plan alignment with this grant, and I want to call out two specific actions.

So the first is expanding city owned EV infrastructure, and the next is improving regional EV charging network.

This charging network is really being led by Boulder County, but we want to support that with our construction.

So each facility is going to be receiving a new or upgraded transformer, switch gear, electrical wiring, compliance striping, as well as accessible design.

The picture on the screen is a picture of the DC fast charger that will be installed at a few of the facilities.

So the grant will cover three facilities.

That is fire station number one, which is one DC fast chargers, two charging ports, the Lafayette Public Library, which is two DC fast chargers, four charging ports, and Endingham Peaks golf course with two level two chargers with four charging ports.

All of the chargers are capable to charge cars simultaneously.

So if there are four cars needing a charge at the public library, all four vehicles can be charged.

You may have noticed there was another facility in the vendor quote.

This is not being funded through the grant, but we will be doing this construction at the open space and golf maintenance facility, which will include two level two chargers and four charging ports.

There's a picture of what those level two chargers will look like to support their electrification future.

The city partnered with them through their electric vehicle supply infrastructure program, also called EVSI, to reduce the cost burden on the city for all of these installations and new transformer, electrical wiring.

So there is a very limited cost, and it depends on the distance from the transformers to the chargers.

Next steps for the program.

So if approved on first reading ordinance number 19 series 2025 will be presented at second reading on the October 14th council meeting.

Staff is also working on creating contracts with Win Marion.

That is the state preferred vendor for EV installations that we have chosen to work with.

And then all sites will be on different timelines.

It truly depends on when material is able to get shipped and manufactured to us.

But we are anticipating late 2025 and then throughout next year.

With that, I would like to open up to questions.

Awesome.

Well, thank you so much for that presentation.

Turn it to council for questions.

Counselor Gallegos.

Will the charging station at Fire Station One be open to the public or just buyer vehicles?

It will be a public EV charger.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Other questions.

Councilor Topy Vega.

Yeah, just one question for me.

Actually, first off, thank you.

This is amazing.

I love this so much.

Electrification is really important to build like a resilient city.

And as someone who just my living situation doesn't really allow me to have like a place where I can, you know, reliably charge an electric car, something like this really helps.

So it's gonna help everyone.

So I really appreciate this.

It's amazing.

One quick question from me.

Uh, can you talk more about the locations and how they were chosen?

What other locations were kind of brought into and possibly looked at?

I'm speaking specifically of two, one that Councilor Gallegas brought up, which is a fire station, the other one is a golf course.

I feel like we all would agree the library is probably the one we would all chosen as well.

But I want to get a little more insight into why the fire station and why the golf course were chosen for the other two locations.

Yeah, so we actually cast casted a wider net.

Um we were also looking at City Hall.

However, the transformer and configuration here did not allow for that project that we wanted to come into fruition here.

We also looked at fire station number two.

Um, unfortunately, we did not move forward with that project either.

Um, that project is um different, it's not necessarily on city owned property.

Um so there were additional obstacles for that, but ultimately uh the county has an EV map where they are tracking all of the EV stations, and we were looking at locations that did not have easy access to EV chargers, and that is where the fire station was chosen as well as Indian Peaks Golf Course.

Um, and the library is has been identified as a um potential resilience hub.

So we wanted to make sure that they had enough charging there in case of any emergencies that occurred.

Um, we also did look at the recenter.

Um during this time, we were on a crunch time with Excel Energy.

They were discontinuing their EVSI program and modifying it for 2025.

Um, so luckily we were grandfathered into the original program rather than the program that they are currently offering municipalities right now.

Um, so it all came down and it worked out really great.

So I'm really happy that um it all worked out.

Amazing.

Thank you.

Thank you, Counselor Sampson.

Yes, thank you very much.

I love this program.

Um, and thanks to the state and the Colorado Energy Office because I think they put together a fantastic package for this.

So can you remind me?

Um the fast chargers charge at about how many, how many hours does it take to do that?

And then the level one, I think is several more hours.

Can you tell us what how long it would take to charge um some of my fellow counselors' cars?

Yeah, so the DC fast chargers that we are looking to purchase are 60 kilowatts.

Um, so that equals around an hour and a half to a full charge.

So we decided to um those chargers specifically.

We were looking at the community amenities that surrounded each of the facilities and thought an hour and a half is a great time frame for individuals to go to the library, check out books, or go to a local restaurant, um, go across the street from the fire station to the play fields.

Um, so roughly around an hour and a half, but it truly depends on individuals' car types and batteries.

Yep.

Um, and then level twos are um, I don't know the exact kilowatt off the top of my head, but if anyone has charged at City Hall, um ours is about a 6.2 kilowatt.

It's a level one charger, and these level twos are gonna have three times the charging current.

Um be three times faster than the one we have here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Other questions?

Council Friedland.

Well, uh, everybody else loves the project, so I'll just say I also love the project.

Um I think you probably knew that.

Um, are we doing any like EV capable construction for future installation as part of the project?

So we looked at each of these sites to see what the future like future proofing would look like.

Um the service center is a really great example of future proofing.

Um we are installing several chargers at that facility.

It is going to serve as our staff's fleet hub as more uh vehicles start to transition to um electric, which is very exciting.

Um we are confined to some parking limitations, so we are currently working with Excel on signage to appropriately sign those EV spaces.

Um and it may the signage may vary site by site.

For example, the Indian Peaks Golf Course on some days that parking lot gets full very quickly.

And our um golf staff member who I who's no longer here, but he explained that um real estate for parking is really important.

So that signage might have something along the lines of all the other parking spots are taken, and those EV spots are not taken.

Feel free to park in that EV location.

Um so we did look at future proofing, and I will say there are a lot more sites that the city owns that there may be more future expansion, but it would have to be a different um program later down the line.

For example, like the Rec Center has expressed interest in expanding their EV infrastructure, um, but that was not in this first round or this first wave of enhancing our EV infrastructure.

Got it.

That's great.

But like, for example, the library, um all the boring that they're doing, like we're not gonna do any additional like building of electrical capacity for future charging.

We'll do that when we need to do that, basically.

Yeah, awesome.

Um, thanks so much.

Yeah, I I agree.

Like I know bringing all of the pieces together, the the CEO money, the Excel money, like it it's it's a lot to like just get it all together to make it all fiscally make a lot of sense.

So well done and thanks for doing it.

Really appreciate it.

Awesome.

Okay, uh anything else.

Council Barnes.

I'm uh next in line, so I hate the project, right?

I don't like this project.

I love it.

Um dial it back.

Um we did we pick these locations based on the transformers that had enough amperage on them, or the XL just has it available, and when we pick the sites, they just have to find the closest transformer.

So in most cases, most of these sites will be getting a new transformer that's purely dedicated to the EV infrastructure, but there will be on occasion, for example, the open space and maintenance um shop will be receiving a transformer upgrade.

Um, and there is that capability of doing that.

So their engineers uh team at Excel Energy looks at all of that holistically.

Uh, but for the most part, they have on our sites they've requested a new transformer.

Thank you.

And is the power above ground and then it comes down to the transformers?

Is that how because I see the stretch and they're that's what it will connect from their existing electrical lines that are already underneath the ground.

Steven might know more about that than I do, but um, they are connecting to the main um electrical lines that are already laid.

That's kind of I was hoping they were already underground.

Yep.

That's great because that's a lot of amperage uh have floating around in the air, not floating up above ground.

So this is great.

The fact that they're already underground, we're just going from a transformer underground to a site where we want it.

Brilliant.

Thanks.

I'll add thank you.

Okay, well, I think that's all from council.

Um, so we can move forward, please.

Uh, with a motion, whoever feels ready.

I move to approve on first reading ordinance number 19 series 2025, approving and authorizing utility easements to the public service company of Colorado for utility lines and related facilities to serve electric vehicle charging stations on certain city-owned properties.

Second motion and a second.

Any comments?

Okay, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, none opposed.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you.

And now on to the acceptance of the grant.

I move to accept the grant from the Colorado Energy Office for charge ahead Colorado EV charging grant and authorize the sustainability director the two uh the accept the award on behalf of the city.

Is that second?

Uh motion and a second.

Any further discussion?

All right, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, none opposed.

Thank you all so much.

Thank you.

Yep.

Okay, on to item W.

This is first reading of ordinance number 20, series 235, establishing term limits and term lengths, repealing the sections of the code of ordinances of Lafayette, Colorado relating to boards and commissions, reenacting Article 3 of the chapter of chapter 5 of the code to consolidate any provisions regarding boards and commissions.

Hello, good evening again.

I'm here with uh first reading of ordinance number 20 series 2025 regarding some board commission and committee updates that we've been discussing throughout this year.

Um we held conversations most recently as August, so I'll begin with just a very brief background and then walk through the components of the ordinary ordinance before your consideration this evening and then turn it over with proposed motion language.

So as a reminder, in the last about 18 months, uh staff and city council have been working to develop some improvements to our board and commission program, began with some changes and updates to the board's scopes and name updates specifically to develop consistency across our boards and commissions.

Uh then we looked at aligning all the terms to end and start in the same day each year of their respective years, and at the same time transition to a semi-annual recruitment process, which I should make a plug is currently open.

Applications close on Friday, the 19th.

Um, and then now we're looking and council's been discussing uh imposing term lengths, consistent term lengths and term limits on our boards and commissions.

And most recently, at your two August meetings, we held discussions to get direction on those two items and heard support from council to implement generally consistent three-year terms for all boards and commissions except for the planning commission, which has four year terms per our charter, um, as well as exempting the youth advisory board and then implementing a term limit of three consecutive terms retroactively, but allowing one grace term for anyone who's in their uh final term.

So the ordinance before you is really intended to reflect all of that direction from council, but I will walk through the components.

Um beginning with the creation, what this ordinance did and uh presented the opportunity to create what we're calling a general provision section, which outlines all of the same kind of consistent requirements or expectations for all of our boards and commissions into one section versus having them scattered throughout the code with individual code sections that establish our boards and commissions.

Uh then we also heard direction from council to make some minor structural updates, such as removing alternates, and so we're reflecting those changes in this ordinance as well, and I'll walk through that.

And then with this holistic review, it did offer the opportunity to adjust and um reflect some minor cleanup items.

So I'll walk through those.

Beginning with the general provisions section, this is a new section of the code and uh reinforces and notes a lot of what's already in the code, such as that the advisory structure of our boards and commissions, and that they advise city council.

It of course establishes your authority as city council to appoint members to these uh boards and commissions.

It outlines the general expectations for our boards and commissions, and that's not related to their scopes necessarily, but more about um establishing and adopting rules of order, following Roberts rules, things like that.

It also outlines our quorum requirements, um establishing a simple majority of the seated voting members, and then what's new is the uh implementation of term lengths.

So, again, this um does uh impose the consistent three-year term length for all boards and commissions except for planning commission and the youth advisory board, uh, as well as the term limits three consecutive terms, allowing for one grace term for anyone who's in what would be considered their final term.

On to the structural updates.

Um, so again, council did provide direction to move forward with removing alternates and then made some minor adjustments to the number of board members to refer uh at the same time.

So, with uh beginning with the human or historic preservation commission, uh, this ordinance would remove their alternates but maintain the seven regular members that are currently uh allowed for that board.

It would also remove the alternate members from the open space advisory board but increase their membership of regular members from five to seven.

Uh it would remove the alternates from the senior advisory board but maintain their seven regular members, and then it would remove the alternates from the sustainability and resilience advisory board but maintain their nine members.

And two of these three boards that are allowed to have alternates currently have seated and appointed alternates, so this ordinance also includes language in one of the provisions that um effectively acknowledges those appointments through the end of their term until they either resign their term ends or they might choose to apply to a regular seat on one of the boards as they open up.

I mentioned the opportunity to address some other minor items through this.

Um is also reflected in this ordinance is a slight tweak to the the way the Cultural Arts Board and Public Art Committee were structured in the in the ordinance.

Um there's council direction, I believe, in 2023 to make some changes to that um structure of those two boards, and this the way it's it's written here is kind of further refines the structure of the two bodies.

Um it also allows the quasi-judicial commissions, such as the planning commission and historic preservation commission to hold special meetings outside of what would be considered a regular cadence, really for items that might be on tighter deadlines related to review matters, um, as we've heard in a number of council meetings and came up again tonight.

Uh, this ordinance would also reflect the name change from the senior advisory board to the older adults advisory board, and then finally, there was uh kind of an outdated requirement within the library board's scope that that required them to review um candidates for the library director position.

So this ordinance reflects the removal of that.

So I will pause there before motion language to see if there are any questions, and note that this was a joint effort with our deputy city attorney, so I might need to pull her in for some, but um happy to see what questions you might have.

Awesome.

Well, thank you so much.

Uh questions from council or council Samson.

So this is a question for more than staff.

Um it's also for council.

I noticed there's two things, uh at least there's one commission and one board that have identified that part of the membership is an ex officio member, including a city council member.

Um that's historic preservation commission.

And I was thinking one, because there's a commission, we shouldn't really have a city council member as that exoficio member.

All the other boards and commissions, it's not necessarily seen in there, and it and I think it's in the council bylaws that we are to be a liaison, right?

So it seems odd to have this in historic preservation commission when someone could, and correct me if I'm wrong, they could say, well, I didn't like what historic preservation commission said.

I'm gonna take it to council.

So it's it's not necessarily a legal problem because the historic preservation commission isn't entirely quasi-judicial.

They have a limited quasi-judicial rule to put temporary stays on um demolition projects.

Yes, but beyond that, they're an advisory board for council.

So I but I I really appreciate you raising that because that's something that they grapple with and and um that as we're you know, they're looking at some ordinance changes right now, too.

So these exact changes are coming up, or these types of issues are coming up.

But I I think in terms of um whether council has a liaison on that board, it doesn't present a legal issue, and I and that council member could even participate in the discussion on say an application to landmark city property and still participate in the discussion here on council as well without presenting any issues, but again, because they have a quasi quasi-judicial role, it's a limited quasi-judicial role.

It's it's worth um us looking at that, but I I'm not concerned about it presenting an issue for asking.

The other one that has that specifically states um that a council member would be an ex officio non-voting is the open space advisory board.

Again, that one wouldn't be and it also says and the city administrator.

So I would recommend in both of those that we would how many have you gone to?

It doesn't even say that.

But that's what I thought was interesting because there are some that say city administrator designed this that this says you're going, Katie.

So what I would suggest is that we remove the ex officio on those two for council, um, and on open space remove the city administrator, both they align better with all the other boards and commissions based on what that is.

Okay, yeah.

I don't know how to come back to us then separately then.

Well, you can amend on first reading, staff we can bring it back on second reading.

Okay.

As amended, yeah.

Okay.

You know me, I can do do we have any issues with that?

Questions?

Yeah, okay.

Thank you for looking into that, counselor.

Um, great.

Uh, any other questions?

Okay, we'll take a motion, Councilor Samson.

Do you would you like to since you know I can just uh write these on the fly.

Thank goodness I used to be a journalist.

Um I move to approve on first reading ordinance number 20 series 2025, establishing term limits and term lengths repealing sections of the code of ordinances of Lafayette, Colorado relating to boards and commissions, and reenacting Article 3 of chapter 5 of the code consolidating provisions regarding boards and commissions, including removal striking.

Do you hear which word strike the ordinance for second reading to remove the ex officio city council member from the historic preservation commission and the open space advisory board as well as the city administrator as an ex officio member of the open space advisory board?

So teamwork.

Thank you, Councilor McSelk.

Okay.

There is a motion that we have a second.

Second.

Second.

All right.

Any further discussion?

All right.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, unopposed, that passes unanimously.

Thank you so much.

All right.

All right, that brings us to fine our final um item on a regular business tonight, item X.

We're getting through the whole alphabet tonight.

We have resolution number 2025-54, finding the annexation petition for a 3.447-acre property located at the southwest corner of Highway 287 in Arapaho Road to be in substantial compliance with the state statutes and setting a public hearing on the petition in accordance with MINAS with the municipal annexation act of 1965.

Thank you.

Stephen Williams, Planning and Building Director as stated this annexation substantial compliance relates to the range at Lafayette.

It is the second of two annexation requests for this corner property.

And it's also previously referred to as the Kensington development is for clarification.

So tonight's public meeting agenda contains a staff presentation, opportunity for questions and discussion, as well as a motion or request for a motion.

The applicant is in attendance tonight but does not have a presentation of their own.

So if you have questions for them, they are also available.

One is that we're finding that the annexation petition substantially meets Colorado revised statute 30.

It's actually 31121071, and then establishes uh also establishes the eligibility hearing date.

What we're not doing tonight is actually a final action on the annexation request, and we're um not really speaking to the feasibility or the desirability of the annexation.

We're just reviewing it for its completeness.

So uh Lafayette uh the range at Lafayette number two is in the immediate southwest corner of Arapahoe and 287 reflected in red.

Um, the range at Lafayette number one, which you considered earlier this year, um, through the first two steps of the annexation process uh is reflected there in gray.

Um property immediately contiguous to Lafayette currently is the silo development that's uh to the west here, and then West Ridge development to the immediate south.

So the one kind of unique thing about this application is we'll be taking it as a series annexation.

Uh, so the range of Lafayette will act on that first and then we'll act on the second annexation in order to uh ensure we meet contiguous requirements or contiguity requirements.

Um, and then the last piece here is that the the sequencing of this is coming later because um until recently um that section in red was uh part of the town of Erie.

It has recently been disconnected and transferred to the current property owner.

Uh that's TBO partnership.

So the annexation process is a little bit more straightforward than the overall review process, and that's what's reflected here.

Uh staff received an annexation petition uh on August 21st.

Uh, we are here tonight to make a finding of substantial compliance.

Uh, if that is made, staff will prepare an annexation impact report uh and then notice uh the eligibility hearing for four consecutive weeks and bring back uh that eligibility hearing uh request to you at the end of October, uh, and then we go to planning commission for public hearings as well as city council actually uh enact and and make a final decision on an annexation proposal.

Uh the applicant has also clarified uh already, and we clarified this through the initial uh application as well that they intend to they're required to pursue their zoning, but they also intend to pursue a plan unit development and a plat, as well as uh site plan architectural review applications for their vertical development.

So this uh illustration is just kind of to help clarify how those uh different applications align and also to illustrate that there's a number of public meetings and public engagement opportunities and opportunities for public comment uh and a long kind of road ahead of us before we get to that final action uh on the annexation.

And this is just uh kind of a more simplified version, but also kind of clarifies the time frames that are associated and the city council meeting dates.

Um but again we're just asking for uh the initial step and again a non non-binding decision tonight.

Um so the petition requirements are all uh outlined here.

They include a handful of allegations that the application or the applicant must make.

Uh they are uh included here.

They include uh that the property is desirable and necessary to be annexed into Lafayette.

They also include requirements that they meet sections 3112, 104, and 105.

That is contiguity, and also a finding that it's uh community interest.

Um, and then we have a number of um of other requirements, including that the petition is filed by more than 50 percent of the property owners involved, and in this case it's 100% of the property owners, it's just one.

Um, and then we just so in addition, it's just actually that they're requesting to be annexed.

Um, and then um sorry, the next five are outlined here.

Uh, they're fairly basic.

We have to see that the mailing address has been included, that the legal description has been included, that the date for each signature has also been included along with uh affidavit, and then that the application also includes an annexation map, and all of those things have been uh included in this application and found by staff to uh substantially meet the state requirements.

Uh so as I already related, that petition was filed on the 21st.

Uh the property owners meet the requirement of more than 50 percent.

Uh the petition contains all of the allegations.

Uh, we're not voting on those allegations or making a determination on those allegations tonight.

We're just seeing that they're all they've all been made, and then that annexation map also complies with uh state statutes.

Uh and lastly, sorry, I didn't click through all of them.

I meant to remove that before getting here tonight, so apologies for that.

But um petitions also dated within 180 days of the filing.

So those are the uh the findings that have to be made.

Uh and then the other clarification, and this is the same from the first application is that the petition did include a right for them to withdraw, they have to include that uh up front in order to have that opportunity later on.

Uh so it's similar to our non-binding kind of position in the city.

If we go through this whole process and their request for entitlements aren't uh, you know, they don't agree to them, then they don't really have to follow through with the action either.

So now is the opportunity for any questions or discussion for counseling.

Great.

Well, thank you so much.

Uh we'll take questions from council or comments if there are any.

Um I would just like to reiterate as as we do uh for uh for the benefit of the public that tonight uh tonight's discussion and vote is not whether or not the city will be annexing this particular piece of land or not.

It is simply um to discuss the eligibility uh for to potentially be annexed within the city as met uh as as we look at the requirements to see if they meet um the standards for the state of Colorado under the municipal annexation act of 1965 as presented earlier today.

We did see um you know these are these are smaller things, you know, like signatures and uh meeting deadlines and and things of that nature.

Uh we are not discussing any development, we are not voting on any any of that, it is simply the eligibility of annexation.

Just wanted to clarify.

Next slide, please.

So, yeah, just as a next steps.

If you approve this tonight, we'll come back uh on October 28th for the eligibility meeting, uh, eligibility hearing, excuse me, and the eligibility uh following the eligibility hearing the applicant also may pursue with the city zoning and the rest of those development requirements are application uh opportunities, I guess I should say.

So here's the motion for tonight.

Okay, unless there are any other questions or comments, we'll take a motion, please.

I'll do it.

I move to approve resolution number 2025-54, finding the annexation petition for a 3.47 acre property located at the southwest corner of Highway 287 and Arapahoe Road to be in substantial compliance with state statutes and setting in a public hearing on the petition in accordance with the municipal annexation act of 1965.

Second.

All right, we have a motion to second me for the discussion.

Okay, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

None opposed.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you.

All right.

And thank you for hanging out with us tonight.

Appreciate your patience.

Yeah.

Thank you.

It's fun.

No, it's not.

All right.

Well, then we can wrap up tonight's meeting with uh staff reports.

Uh that includes uh beginning with the city attorney's report.

Thank you, Mayor.

I do have a brief update for council on an item tonight.

Um some of you were on council a few years ago when Lafayette signed on to the state's opioid settlement memorandum of understanding.

So that was back in 2021.

Um, and under that agreement, uh, we agreed along with 311 other Colorado local governments and the state of Colorado to basically maximize the proceeds from all of these opioid litigation settlements that were expected to come over the next well, then 18 years, basically through 2040.

Um, and so we signed off on that in 2021, and we also joined a regional council with Boulder County, which uh will receive pooled settlement proceeds from the various settlements that will then be used throughout the county for opioid abatement measures and various purposes, and and the county has been receiving funds over the last several years pursuant to that intergovernmental agreements.

My update for you this evening is that the state of Colorado has recently reached two new settlements.

Uh, the first one is a historic settlement with Purdue Pharma, and it's it's historic in the sense that it is one of the largest settlements ever reached in opioid litigation of um 7.4 billion at the national level.

And Colorado is expected to receive approximately 132 million of that, which will then be distributed uh to local governments through those regional councils.

The second uh new settlement that was recently reached is with eight secondary manufacturers, um, and that is expected to uh end up with about 12 million coming to Colorado among those new settlement proceeds.

So to maximize that funding and to ensure we get every possible dollar we can under those settlement proceeds.

The city does have to sign participation forms that is effectively release any claims that we could individually bring against these manufacturers, and those forms have gone to the city uh manager, and she has signed those this week.

So uh we wanted actually it was last Friday to be uh more accurate, but um, and that is an ongoing obligation as those come in.

The city manager signs those, and that ensures that we continue to participate in those proceeds.

Um, but we haven't had a new settlement in a while, and so I wanted to let you know that these two major settlements came in and that that effort uh towards opioid abatement using those funds continues in the county.

So that's it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, on to the city manager's report.

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

Good evening.

Thank you for a few updates tonight.

So, first is um we are very excited, and our public works staff and water team is very excited.

That upper right picture is the um filling of the third reservoir of Goose Haven after 14 years of construction.

We are finally able to uh begin filling that area that will um provide some needed storage space.

So while it's not new water, it definitely allows us because we have very senior water rights to be able to in what years capture and store um water to also be then offset for when we have dry years.

And so um we were out there last Friday, actually, as they turned on the crank.

I'm sure there's a very technical term for it, but uh the water started filling up the spicket and um anticipate that it should be uh filling up the water rights sort of uh in towards October, but we're gonna try to get as full as we can and be able to store it for come next spring.

Um, also we have two remaining cells that are expected to be completed and ready to begin filling in 2026.

So we'll provide more updates as those happen.

Nice.

Um, also want to thank the over 400 participants that joined our World Migratory Bird Festival this past Sunday.

It's a really beloved and uh super well attended event.

So really appreciate staff's work on that and the community coming out to celebrate that.

We have our annual older adults and now supported by the older adult adult uh board.

Uh resource fair.

This is Friday, September 19th from 9 to noon at the Barb Burger Recreation Center.

It is free admission, and you are um welcome to just walk in, but we do encourage registration so we can pre-plan because breakfast will be provided.

So registration opens up August 5th for residents and August 12th for non residents.

And then finally, we want we want to invite you in partnership with the uh Chamber of Commerce to the Wanaka Lake Mural dedication.

I'm sure many of you have walked by it.

It's that top left picture.

Um it is the Wanaka Lake Treasures Mural.

The event is at the pump house on the south side of the lake Wednesday, September 24th from four to six.

Um this meal really brings to life both the above and underwater ecosystem at the Wanaka Lake and celebrates over 30 local species and offers uh education value to the young and older community members.

Coming up, I do want to note that the September workshop, because it is typically on the fourth Tuesday, is moved to the fifth Tuesday because of our observance calendar.

So please note that it should be in your calendar invites, but also for the public.

This will be our annual CIP tour, and we'll be posting here shortly opportunities for the public to register to attend as well.

And then, as the mayor noted a little bit earlier as well, because of other holidays occurring in early October, we are doing our first regular meeting on the second Tuesday of the month, so October 14th.

This will be pretty much all budget all night.

So we'll be beginning with your downtown development authority 2026 budget.

It does look a little bit different for those that are familiar with Laura, where uh you all do not formally approve the Laura budget, you do for the DDA.

So we'll be doing a presentation and then bring back a resolution at a later date.

Also highlighting some of the work that's been done on our parks recreation golf fee philosophy, and then our annual budget hearing, public hearings for the resolution and ordinances.

Awesome.

Thank you.

And I'll note real quick we're gonna be doing a very um exciting staff celebration, but because it is Chief Basher's last meeting, I'd be remiss to also thank him, and I really appreciate the the ceremony that you guys provide to him tonight.

So thank you, Chief.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh well that brings us to Council Reports.

Uh to wrap up this evening, uh, beginning with uh Councillor Gallegos.

Nothing from me tonight.

Okay, thank you.

On to Councillor Barnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, just like to note the uh as was mentioned in the uh management's report that there will be a DDA report on all of what we've been doing.

And um just to give you an idea, we we have a fantastic new logo, and we are looking at the parking in in Old Town.

Uh we did have an interesting uh proposal uh about an additional an event like our night out, but uh that goes through the winter, so we're looking at that uh brand new idea coming forward.

So the DDA is active, and I'm super excited for you to see the marketing plan uh that's coming up in the presentation uh post-haste.

I I would like to read, I don't want to take a whole bunch of time, but and I I would like to read a letter that is regarding I mentioned the endangerment finding from the EPA.

Uh a letter, the local officials, and I'd like to invite my colleagues to sign on this letter as well.

CC4CA is um still trying to make sure everybody who wants to sign can sign.

And I'm just gonna read the letter to you so you have an idea of what this is all about.

On behalf of the constituencies represented by the Understand Undersigned Colorado State and Local Elected officials, we urge the Environmental Protection Agency to continue its 16-year history of implementing the endangerment finding.

This finding is a foundational underpinning to the regulatory framework that guides how the EPA protects our residences, residents, and businesses from the impacts of climate change.

Here in Colorado, science-based policy is especially important to how we grow our resilient clean energy economy.

Continue to enjoy the landscapes our community communities know and love, and ensure our residents have a healthy, safe, and prosperous life.

As you know, Colorado is a national leader in demonstrating how our economy and environment can thrive all while providing a strong combination of incentives and regulations to ensure industries minimize their pollution, and the most cost-effective solutions are prioritized.

And this approach is working.

Our electric utility rates are below the national average.

Coloradoans enjoy the fifth most affordable household energy expenditures in the country, and for nearly 15 years, Colorado has been among the top states for growth in personal income, employment, and overall economic growth.

We have accomplished all of this while leading on climate action, and we are proud that Colorado is projected to be the first state to reduce its emissions in half.

Yep.

At the same time, Coloradoans know firsthand the direct impacts of climate change and their health and their communities.

In a recent survey, nearly two million Coloradoans said climate change has directly affected their health.

This month alone, we have nine wildfires burning that have already consumed over 200,000 acres of land.

Our communities are experiencing the impacts of extreme heat.

And 2025 is projected to be the hottest year on record once again.

We've always we've also experienced destructive flooding, severe hailstorms, and extended droughts, which impact impacts our livelihoods, working lands, and environment.

More directly to this proposal.

Repealing this finding will ensure that the harms our society are already experiencing from climate change will only grow more frequent, more severe, and more deadly.

As elected officials that hail from every part of the state, we make choices every day that prioritize the health, safety, and welfare of our residents.

We urge you to protect the endangerment finding that is so vital to achieve all of these goals for our communities, our state and our country.

And there's an opportunity to sign on.

I've already signed on to it, but I just wanted to let all of you know that's an opportunity.

And uh I can send the link to the letter to our city manager, and then send that out if you're interested.

Yes, please do.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, uh Councilor Friedman.

Nothing to report tonight.

All right, thank you, Mayor for Kim Wong.

Yes, um, just a couple of items.

Um, first, the um just want to throw out there, and I'll send this out to my fellow counselors.

Um, that commuting solutions is putting together their 2026 sponsorship opportunities, and I know before we've gone to the legislative breakfast and the um the sustainable transportation summit.

So, what I'd like to do is send everybody the current package and see if there's an interest among council to sponsor individually or maybe as an annual membership.

So I'll be sending that out to all of you here on council.

Um, just wanted you to be aware of that.

And that's and that's what uh councillor Walton and former councillor Walton did mention at our previous meeting for sponsorship.

So there are several options we can pick and choose from, but just to see what council we want to get council's gauge of interest first before committing to which package we want to support.

And then um just a couple of comments um in regards to public comment regarding um traffic.

I think that especially the last six to nine months, it's been a very um consistent item that comes up that are different areas throughout our community, and I would just like to see if potentially at some point we work and define a clear um process that we um communicate to the community current priorities and where those are at.

Maybe it's more of a focus on the multimodal um transportation plan, in addition to any traffic studies, just something out there that makes it easier for our residents to find, and then also share any traffic studies we may have and um just potentially next steps to kind of focus on how we handle it as a community.

Um, just as a quick note, I don't personally I did just learn about that connector from highway 42 over to um the Wanaka Lake area.

Again, didn't had no idea what that light was, finally went down it, understood where they're talking about.

So I do see that there's a lot of traffic, and I know wherever water can go, traffic is very similar and it will go.

So I'd just like to kind of bring put that out there for fellow counselors to think about of potential things that we can look at in the future.

So I just want to put that out and address it.

Thank you, Mayor.

Yes, thank you.

Counselor Samson.

So supporting that um on the Wanaka Lake Trail that is by the Wanakie Lake um park area.

I will say that um I did hear you.

I I heard those before.

I have driven that.

I went out there and walked it because on the trail, you walk across the street, and the trail continues on the other side of the street.

I've also even done biking across it.

It is a problem because of the um parking on both sides of the street.

So I would support any sort of low-cost way to improve visibility in that area for all pedestrians and drivers because you do, you have to, you know, you really have to uh lessen your speed down to like seven miles per hour in order to make sure you're not running into little ones or or big ones like me.

Um so I also want to thank Thomas Glenn who came tonight.

Um many times uh in government we hear people talk about all the things that um are you know that they want the city to fix for them.

It is rare for somebody to reach out and call the FAA, and so that is a I just want to do shout-out kudos, thank you very much for you know saying I'm if this is so important to me, I'm gonna take it to the next step.

And so way to go, and I very much appreciated the information provided.

That was valuable information.

Historic Preservation Commission is currently working on their historic preservation review process, which is in the code.

You've heard me talk about this before.

They're they're still working on this.

They predict that they'll be back to City Council in the first quarter of 2026 with some ideas and suggestions on how to amend the code to better fit their process that they'd like to see moving forward.

Um and then the regional homeless task force, they go out of town, and I'm telling you, they went from quarterly to now monthly meetings.

So we're gonna be in a lot monthly meetings through December, and where they're going with this Boulder County Regional Homeless Task Force is to work on getting word out to the community uh about ADUs, accessory dwelling units.

How do you build those in your own home?

Um helping answer questions on that.

So they're making a request that individually, either um individual cities or cities combining together, do fairs or some sort of outreach.

So you will hear more maybe in the next couple months on that.

Thank you so much.

Yeah.

All right, Councilor Tapia Vega.

Thank you.

Uh tomorrow night is Amp your grant over at the collective.

So this is from Cultural Arts Board.

Uh, it should be a fun night.

We should have uh a lot of things going on and music, food.

Um it's uh an opportunity to uh kind of mingle with arts, uh, arts, artists, educators, uh, organizations, local funders, and really to uh learn more and discover funding opportunities for artists and for educators and for arts and communities, which is something that uh we all love here in Lafayette.

Um and then just to reiterate a few things from the earlier proclamations, happy Hispanic Heritage Month to everyone and Chief Basher.

Thank you so much for all your service, and we'll miss you.

Okay, and for me, uh just regarding airports uh or airpoint no airport noise.

Uh we do have some good news coming from Congressman Nagus' office uh through advocacy from a lot of members of the public uh here in the city of Lafayette.

Congressman Nagus is planning to introduce a bill to Congress uh soon here that would um uh that would allow uh local airports um to enact restrictions on uh lots of things related to noise.

Uh for example, um when aircrafts, uh like the timing of when aircrafts can fly in and out, uh the number of aircrafts that can fly in and out, um the uh including the type of aircrafts that are flying in and out, and just putting uh uh curfews and other restrictions on that without uh those um airports fearing a loss of federal grant funding from the FAA.

Um so you know, there may be some hesitation uh from some of these uh local airports, small airports to to comply or or to not uh ruffle any feathers in fear of losing that grant funding.

And so the bill he's introducing.

Um I don't have a timeline on it.

I know it'll be really um or it will be proposed soon.

Uh we'll clarify that the FAA can't withhold any funds uh for um uh airports when it comes to regulating noise uh or attempting to regulate that noise.

Um so that's something you know I think we should all be paying attention to on federal level and coming out and publicly supporting if you'd like.

Um so that's some uh some good news from the federal level.

Um and then uh looks like for me we we talked about the community solutions, so that was great.

Um so just be on the lookout from that email from Airport Tem Wonk.

Um, other than that, um we do not have an executive session tonight.

So with that, we will adjourn tonight's meeting.

Thank you all for being here and see you all next time.

Except for you.

Except for you.