Lafayette City Council Meeting – October 14, 2025: Budget Adoption, Indigenous Peoples' Day Proclamation, and Public Concerns
Lafayette City Council Meeting – October 14, 2025: Budget Adoption, Indigenous Peoples' Day Proclamation, and Public Concerns
Due to the passing of a city staff member, the Council postponed several agenda items (J, K, L, N) to a regular meeting before the end of 2025. The meeting proceeded with public input, consent agenda, a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples' Day, and the adoption of the 2026 budget. The Council also adjourned to executive session to discuss the City Manager's performance evaluation.
Consent Calendar
- Item A: September 16, 2025 City Council Meeting Minutes
- Item B: September 30, 2025 City Council Workshop Summary
- Item C: Second Reading / Ordinance No. 18, Series 2025 – Repealing court costs for motor vehicle insurance compliance failures in dismissal/acquittal cases
- Item D: Second Reading / Ordinance No. 19, Series 2025 – Granting utility easements for EV charging stations
- Item E: Second Reading / Ordinance No. 20, Series 2025 – Establishing term limits and term lengths for boards and commissions
- Item F: Resolution No. 2025-58 – Disposal, sale, or donation of surplus equipment
- Item G: Resolution No. 2025-59 – Approving public access easement for Coal Creek Tech Center
- Item H: Resolution No. 2025-60 – Approving Industrial City Addition No. 2 Replat B and public access easement
- All items were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sharon Stetson (Glenwood Drive resident, former councilor) requested the council accept responsibility for a sewer backup on March 8, 2025, that caused thousands of dollars in damage, and reimburse affected families. She stated the city denies liability.
- Ron Knox (634 Glenwood Drive) described raw sewage flooding his finished basement due to a blocked manhole. He argued that the absence of maintenance records indicates negligence, and under Colorado law, governmental immunity does not apply when negligence causes harm. He requested the council place the issue on a future agenda, direct staff to explain missing records, work toward fair resolution, and develop a proactive wastewater management plan.
- Karen Rabin (202 Sandler Drive) reported sewage backup into her rental property, with no insurance coverage. She stated the city had no documented maintenance records for the segment in the last eight years, and the city's insurance provider (SURSA) denied the claim. She requested council direct staff to work with SURSA for relief, and commission an independent audit of collection system maintenance, adopting a written operations and maintenance plan.
- Shelley Knox (634 Glenwood Drive) emphasized that the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA) does not protect the city when negligence in sanitation system operation occurs. She stated her family will pursue legal remedies if the city continues to deny the claim. She urged the city to resolve the matter promptly to avoid costly litigation.
- Thomas Glenn (resident) addressed aircraft noise from Rocky Mountain Airport flight schools. He stated that approximately 300,000 takeoffs/landings per year, with traffic routed over Lafayette, is causing noise pollution, impacts from leaded fuel, and effects on wildlife and open space. He asked for city action to mitigate.
- Miranda Fan (Vice Chair of Sustainability and Resilience Board, speaking as resident) urged that the 2026 budget does not adequately fund climate action items CR 3.2 (resilience hub), CR 3.3 (emergency preparedness), and CR 3.4 (vulnerability assessment) from the Climate Action Plan. She provided data on warming, insurance costs, and argued that disaster preparedness is an economic investment. She suggested property tax rebates for fireproofing if direct budgeting is not feasible.
- During the budget public hearing, Miranda Fan repeated her comments.
- Adam Gianola (311 North Cherrywood Drive) urged the city not to replace boilers like-for-like, but to conduct lifecycle cost assessments to choose more efficient units, thereby reducing emissions and saving money long-term.
Proclamation
- Indigenous Peoples' Day: The Mayor read and the Council unanimously approved a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day on October 13, 2025, honoring the contributions and history of Indigenous peoples.
Discussion Items
- Postponement of Items J, K, L, N: The Council approved a motion to postpone the Downtown Development Authority budget (J), Parks/Rec/Golf Fee Study (K), Collective Bargaining Ordinance (L), and Ballot Issue 2C Resolution (N) to a regular meeting before the end of 2025, subject to notice on future agendas. Adopted unanimously.
- 2026 Budget Presentation: The City Manager and CFO presented the recommended 2026 budget totaling $145 million, with $117 million in revenues. Key projections: 2% growth in retail sales tax, 3% in use tax, 4% in property tax. The budget includes personnel costs (3% merit increase, 10% health insurance increase), new positions (sustainability grant-funded code compliance, full-time court clerk, part-time open space outreach), and capital projects (street rehabilitation, water treatment plant planning, fire station design, etc.). Council questions focused on water fund actuals, conservativeness of revenue projections, inclusion of resiliency elements, and the need for a finance system upgrade. The Mayor questioned rising costs from other agencies.
Council Reports
- Councilor Barnes noted the Downtown Development Authority meeting on Thursday, October 16, 2025, where a draft grant program for local businesses and cultural activities will be discussed.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
- Indigenous Peoples' Day Proclamation: Approved unanimously.
- Postponement: Items J, K, L, N postponed to a future regular meeting before end of 2025.
- 2026 Budget Adoption:
- Resolution No. 2025-62 adopting the 2026 budget and establishing the mill levy passed unanimously.
- Ordinance No. 21, Series 2025 on first reading appropriating funds for FY2026 operations passed unanimously.
- Executive Session: The Council unanimously voted to adjourn to executive session to discuss the City Manager's performance evaluation (per CRS 24-6-402(4)(f)(I)). No return to open meeting.
Meeting Transcript
I will call to order the city council meeting for October 14th, 2025, and we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God with Liberty and Justice Brought. Clerk back, can we do a roll call, please? Mayor Monguette. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Wong. Here. Councilor Barnes. Good evening. Councilor Friedland. Here. Counselor Gallegos. Good evening. Councilor Sampson. Here. Councilor Tapia Vega. Here. Mayor, we have a quorum. Thank you. Apologize for the late start tonight. Just wanted to share with the community that unfortunately because unfortunately the city faced the passing of one of our city staff members. And so due to that, we will be adjusting our schedule for tonight and postponing certain items. And we will pick up some of these items at a later meeting that council will vote on and decide tonight when to move forward. So just wanted to give you all that background. So I'm gonna look to our city attorney here. Some of the items that we do still need to discuss tonight. Proclamation for Indigenous People's Day will be discussed tonight, item which is item I and the executive session item Q will occur tonight as well. All other items, um, and we'll do we'll we'll do the consent agenda as well. Um so items um J, K, L, and N. Uh we are seeking to postpone them to um a later date. Okay, mayor, in order to postpone those items, uh, I would recommend that the council uh make a motion to postpone the items and list them by the letter on the agenda and that you postpone those items to a regular meeting before the end of the year, subject to notice on an upcoming agenda. So what that will do is allow council to postpone those items uh to a it's not quite a date certain, but for sure before the end of the year, um, so that the public can know if they'd like to be here for one of those uh items on a future meeting agenda that they just need to check the meeting agenda um to see when those items are rescheduled. Uh but that would give our uh city manager and council the flexibility to uh set those agendas as there is room to accommodate those items. So to be clear, uh mayor, in summary, I do recommend that uh council make a motion to postpone these specific items you will list to a regular meeting before the end of the year, subject to uh notice on those upcoming meeting agendas. Uh go ahead. Um ready for a motion. Yep. I move to postpone items JK L to a future meeting um that will occur prior to the end of 2025. Second. All right, motion and second for the discussion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, none opposed, that passed unanimously. Okay, um, so we do have public input tonight still. Um, however, if you'd like to save your comments for a late in meeting, or um, please feel free to call council or email us. Um we'll do our best to respond to you. However, you're still of course more than welcome to speak tonight if you'd like. Um, so we will begin with uh Sharon Stetz. Good evening. My name is Sharon Stetson.
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