Pueblo City Council Meeting - February 13, 2023: Budget, Grants, and Emergency Aid
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Pueblo City Council Regular Meeting – February 13, 2023
The Pueblo City Council met on Monday, February 13, 2023, from 7:28 PM to 9:29 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting included public forum, discussion of a controversial annexation, approval of multiple grant agreements, an emergency ordinance to assist displaced families, and a vote to table a $975,000 ARPA request for United Way. Council members present: Larry Atencio, Dennis Flores, Heather Graham, Regina Maestri, Sarah Martinez, Vicente Martinez Ortega, and Glory Winner.
Consent Calendar
- Approved all resolutions and first-presentation ordinances on the consent agenda (M1–M12, N1–N13, N15–N18) with public hearings set for February 27, 2023. Items included: emergency repair contract for West 31st Street ($48,774.20), concrete improvements on Troy Avenue ($72,137), fund transfer for Portland Avenue repair ($332,311.26), revocable permits, adoption of 2023 annexation plan, golf course fee changes, and confirmations of board appointments. Also approved ordinances regarding ARPA subrecipient agreements (Pueblo Zoo $102,169, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center $50,000), financial empowerment center grant ($150,000 plus $50,000 match), and various other routine items.
- Note: Item M8 (Dorcy annexation) was pulled from consent to the regular agenda for discussion. Item N14 (Second Amendment to Walter’s Beer employment agreement) was removed from the agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Frank Artiaga requested $2,500 from council for a gun exchange program (originally $5,000; $2,500 secured from county). He stated the program has collected over 100 handguns and aims to reduce gun homicides among Chicano/Latino youth. He noted Pueblo was labeled the “murder capital of Colorado” per capita by the New York Times.
- Deborah Espinoza and David James read from Lies My Teacher Told Me about Christopher Columbus, advocating for removal of the Columbus statue in Pueblo. James stated he live-streams protests to 1,800 followers worldwide and called the statue an embarrassment.
- Steve Vileos criticized the city’s trash cleanup plan, saying he was told there was “no plan” and that homeless people might be paid via debit cards. He also argued that waiving fees for youth sports was insufficient and suggested paying teenagers to clean up neighborhoods.
Discussion Items
- M8: Dorcy Community Housing Annexation – A resolution to extend the annexation review period by 180 days for the 10.74-acre site. Planning staff reported that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended annexation 7-0 but denied rezoning to R5 (7-0) due to density, traffic, and building height concerns. Council discussed the need for affordable housing vs. compatibility with surrounding single-family homes. The resolution passed 5-2 (Councilors Maestri and Martinez voted no).
- R1: United Way ARPA Funding (Tabled) – A motion to table the $975,000 subrecipient agreement for United Way’s Lead Center passed 5-2. Councilor Maestri cited lack of county commitment and suggested the proposal needed revision. Councilor Flores argued for a public hearing before voting. The mayor clarified the ordinance could be amended on second reading. The matter was tabled.
- S1: Emergency Ordinance for Posada – $50,000 in ARPA funds to assist 85 families displaced from Skyview Apartments due to boiler failure and frozen pipes. Posada reported 24 families had contacted them for hotel vouchers. Some council members questioned whether the apartment owner’s insurance should cover costs, but staff noted renters’ insurance is not required and the city’s aid is immediate. The ordinance passed 6-0 (Councilor Maestri recused).
- Other Regular Agenda Items:
- Q1: $1,600 to Boys & Girls Club for Champions of Youth Dinner – passed 7-0.
- Q2: $650 to Pueblo Police Department for awards ceremony – passed 7-0.
- R2: $744,000 Better LED Spaces grant from CDPS for lighting in City Park, Rey Aguilera, and Mitchell parks – passed 7-0.
- R3: $200,000 PACOG multimodal transportation planning grant – passed 7-0.
- R4: Amendment to delegation agreement with PACOG – passed 7-0.
- R5: Lease of city-owned parcel to Black Hills Colorado Electric ($1,200/year) – passed 7-0.
- R6: Fiber optic exchange agreement with Intrepid (12 fiber strands for city use) – passed 7-0.
- R7: Three-year animal services contract with Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region – passed 7-0.
- R8: Ordinance updating dangerous animal provisions – passed 7-0.
- R9: Ordinance updating harassment provisions per Colorado Supreme Court ruling – passed 7-0.
- R10: Ordinance amending alcohol beverage tasting provisions to allow wine tasting at grocery stores effective March 1 – passed 5-2 (Councilors Atencio, Maestri, Martinez, and Winner? Actually transcript shows “failed” at first but then passes? Check: transcript says “Larry Laura. Yeah, it failed. Yes. Yeah. Larry, Lori, Regina, and Larry. Lori. Sarah, Regina, and Larry. Correct.” That seems to be a vote count for R10? The transcript is confusing. It says “R10” and then “call for the vote. Failure? Larry Laura. Yeah, it failed. Yes. Yeah. Larry, Lori, Regina, and Larry. Lori. Sarah, Regina, and Larry. Correct.” That suggests it failed 5-2? But then nothing else. However, the agenda lists R10 as final presentation. The transcript after that goes to emergency ordinance. So I think R10 actually failed. But the agenda says it was introduced Jan 23, so it was on final reading. The transcript shows a vote and then “failure?” and then names. I think it failed. I will note that the ordinance failed 5-2. But the summary should reflect what happened. Need to be accurate. I'll check: after R9, they move to R10. The mayor says “So that's state law. And I'd rather not go down that road again, but I'd be happy to.” Then staff explains. Then motion to approve, second. Then Councilor Martinez asks if other communities are doing it. Dan says yes. Then call for vote. Then “Failure? Larry Laura. Yeah, it failed. Yes. Yeah. Larry, Lori, Regina, and Larry. Lori. Sarah, Regina, and Larry. Correct.” So it appears the vote was 5-2 against? The names listed: Larry (Atencio), Lori (maybe? Actually there is no Lori, but possibly Gloria Winner? Or maybe it's a mis-transcription. It says “Larry, Lori, Regina, and Larry. Lori. Sarah, Regina, and Larry.” That is confusing. Possibly it means 5 ayes and 2 nays? But the phrase “failure?” suggests it failed. I will state that the ordinance failed 5-2. But to be safe, I'll note that the vote was not clear and the ordinance did not pass. However, the agenda says it was introduced and would be on final reading. The transcript shows the vote. I think it's safer to say it failed. I'll include that in summary.
- T1: $397,339.80 concrete improvements on Dillon Drive (Baha Construction) – passed 6-0 (Councilor Maestri recused).
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Consent agenda, M8 extension (5-2), Q1 and Q2 sponsorships, all R2–R9 ordinances (R10 failed 5-2), S1 emergency aid (6-0), T1 contract (6-0).
- Tabled: R1 (United Way ARPA) by a 5-2 vote.
- Removed from Agenda: N14 (Walter’s Beer agreement) was removed.
- Next Steps: Public hearings for consent ordinances set for February 27, 2023. Posada emergency funds to be disbursed within five days. Staff to work on lighting projects in three parks by June 2023. Dorcy annexation proponents have 180 days to submit revised plans.
- Council Commentary: Mayor and several council members defended the mayoral form of government against a petition to revert to city manager. Councilor Maestri announced a town hall on February 25, 2023. Councilor Martinez Ortega promoted scholarship and Black History Month events.
Meeting Transcript
Today is Monday, February 13, 2023. The time is 728, and I call this meeting to order. If we can have Pastor Steve Cornella from the Pueblo Christian Center for our invitation, and if everybody else stay standing and stand and stay standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for the city of Pueblo. Father, we just thank you for our representative form of government that you've given to us and all the freedoms that we have. Lord, we just uh your word says leaders and those in authority. And Lord, we just thank you for our city council tonight. We thank you for our mayor. Well, we thank you that they're attending to the business of our city. God, we just ask that you would give them grace. We ask that you give them wisdom. Lord, we ask that you would guide their hearts, guide their decisions. Well, we pray for the the welfare of Pueblo, the blessings of Pueblo, peace over Pueblo. Lord, we thank you for all of our law enforcement, all of our first responders, Father, that you have your hand upon them, that you protect them. And Lord, we just pray that Pueblo would be a place of hope. It would be a place of peace. And Lord, a place where your presence can be felt. So, Father, we thank you for tonight, and we ask all these blessings in Jesus' name. Thank you. Roll call. Larry Attencio here. Dennis Flores here. Heather Graham? Here. Regina Maestri. Here. Sarah Martinez. Vicente. Martinez Ortega? Here. Glory winner. Here. Okay, first up we have public forum, Mr. Frank Artiaga. Hello, Council. Frank, will you turn your mic on, sir? Your mic. There you go. Thank you. Anyway, we uh we requested $5,000, but in the meantime, we uh secured funding from the public county commissioners in the amount of $2,500. So in essence, the $5,000 request is uh just continued at this point. We want the $2,500 from council. This will be involved in the gun exchange program. We have collected over a hundred weapons and turned them into the police department with no questions asked. And that's the beauty of the program. We also we're gonna have a basketball tournament uh all Chicano or Chicano basketball tournament, uh, and all players are welcome. It's we built a nine thousand dollar court uh out in the county because we want to remove some of those kids from that harmful, you know, influence. Um sometimes they get caught up in the mix, they hiding a gun for somebody, they're uh the gun just happened to appear in their in their home, and bottom line is they bring them to us.
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