OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Pueblo City Council Regular Meeting Summary – August 10, 2026

City Council — Monday, August 10, 2026
BodyPueblo, Colorado
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, August 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:12:33

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Recording in progress.

0:33

Welcome and thank you for coming tonight.

0:36

I'm going to call to order the regular city council meeting.

0:40

Today is Monday, August 10th, 2026.

0:44

And I think it's a beautiful rainy day in Pueblo right now.

0:49

Councilor Boston tells me he can hear the rain.

0:51

I can't hear it.

0:54

First up is our invocation.

0:55

I'm going to invite uh Pastor Ken Wood of the Avenue Church to lead us.

1:00

Uh then we'll do the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:03

Anyone who wants to join us, please stand.

1:07

Thank you.

1:08

Let's pray.

1:09

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to gather as a community as a city to uh uh participate in the governance of our city, and we pray for wisdom for our leaders for each man and uh each man and woman who uh who sits on this council, Lord, we pray for wisdom and discretion and discernment, Lord, to know how to best serve our city to best uh use the funds that are limited and that are uh necessary uh for their operations, Lord.

1:36

We uh we just pray for that.

1:38

We pray for each citizen who might be sharing concerns tonight that you would give them clarity of thought and purpose, and uh pray that that all the ears would be ready to hear and uh ready to listen to those concerns and uh God, we want to thank you for the help that's come in to our community from all over the nation to help with the fires, and uh we pray as the uh many of our neighbors and friends continue to rebuild their lives that you uh we would continue to be thoughtful and um uh help in any way that we can.

2:07

Uh and so God, we also want to just lift up our uh first responders, and especially our police, as they are putting their lives on the line uh to protect us and to serve us.

2:17

So we thank you for them.

2:18

We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.

2:20

Amen.

2:22

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which one under God with liberty and justice for all.

2:37

Thank you, Pastor.

2:38

Uh Mr.

2:39

Clerk, roll call, Mark A.

2:41

Left here.

2:42

Brett Boston.

2:43

Here, Roger Gomez.

2:44

Yeah.

2:45

Joe Latino here.

2:46

Ted Hernandez.

2:47

Here, Diane Dante.

2:48

Here.

2:48

Selena Ruiz Gomez.

2:50

Here.

2:51

Everybody's here and accounted for.

2:52

There are no special recognitions.

2:54

We go to public forum.

2:56

There's one person signed up, Mr.

2:58

Martinez, Elvis Martinez.

3:00

Come on down.

3:01

I can hear the rain.

3:06

Thank you for coming.

3:09

Thank you, Mr.

3:10

President.

3:12

Okay, several topics like always, so let's just start by getting the elephant out of the room.

3:18

I say the wrong city employee resigned, as I said in the past, two other employees should resign, and I could add two more to that, but uh not tonight.

3:27

To move on.

3:29

I I know that there's gonna be talks about the budget here soon.

3:32

I think next week.

3:34

Uh Madam Chair said that last week.

3:37

So if you guys could possibly add in the future to the mayor's budget, because that's the executive branch.

3:45

That's probably the most important department that this people should hear about, and also your guys' budget too for next year.

3:56

Two of those are left out as of right now, unless you guys are gonna have those in.

4:02

So you guys could schedule that on a Tuesday or Wednesday, a special meeting to hear about those.

4:08

Now moving on to Pierre.

4:10

As we all know that Pira is possibly gonna move in just right down the hall from here.

4:14

I'm a thousand percent against that because of potential conflicts of interest, because people call me, I see people in the store that know me, receive text messages.

4:24

I'm not gonna name names.

4:26

But it was the mayor's idea for Pierre to move in, and she's the voting member, and it was public that it was six to five votes, so that's almost split right down the middle.

4:37

So I I would have been a no-vote if I was on that board, but I'm not.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████23%
Public Safety████████████████████20%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Public Engagement█████5%
Technology and Innovation█████5%
Economic Development█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Pueblo City Council Regular Meeting – August 10, 2026

The Pueblo City Council met in regular session on Monday, August 10, 2026. After approving an amended agenda and consent calendar, council heard public comment and acted on emergency construction contracts, contingency sponsorships, grant acceptances, ballot referrals, and other resolutions and ordinances. Unless otherwise noted, votes were 7-0.

Consent Calendar

  • Council approved the consent agenda 7-0. It included revocable permits for the Grassroots Gravel Bicycle Event and Expo, CSU Pueblo's 5K Walk/Run/Roll, Pueblo Community College's Welcome Back and Hispanic Heritage Month events, and the HARP Authority Riverfest; reappointments to the ADA Advisory Committee; the joint Pueblo-Boone Southern Colorado Building Commission Board of Appeal appointment; a September 11, 2026 abatement assessment hearing; and first-reading ordinances covering donation of surplus property to Chihuahua, the Leonardo da Vinci Museum Economic Development Agreement (ED2602, $885,000 from the Sales and Use Tax Capital Improvement Projects Fund), and four separate November 3, 2026 ballot referrals for 0.25% sales and use taxes for parks/recreation, roads, nonprofits/key contractual entities, and fire/public safety technology. Public hearings were set for August 24, 2026, and ordinances were ordered published by title.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Elvis Martinez, in public forum, said he was “a thousand percent” against the proposed relocation of the entity he referred to as “Pierre”/“Pira” near City Hall, citing potential conflicts of interest; pressed council for budget hearings; criticized lack of response from some council members and the mayor to his emailed budget suggestions; requested corrections to agenda attachments for event dates and the SCBC appointee’s name; expressed concerns about enforcement of the shopping-cart fee; and again called for Chief Noble’s resignation, noting 29 days since the killing of Brian Hund.
  • Councilor Joe Latino described homelessness, panhandling, vandalism, and public safety concerns he said he witnesses at night, and urged a coordinated community plan.
  • Councilor Roger Gomez expressed concern that the mayor’s administration blames council for fiscal mismanagement and said council should not be seen as directing how funds are spent; he also said he would investigate LLC arrangements involving public funds and opposed bypassing a 42-year-old voter mandate.
  • Councilor Selena Ruiz Gomez announced upcoming city budget work sessions and said conversations on Flock and speed cameras would begin at the next work session.
  • Councilor Diane Dante reported on a Colorado Connection passenger rail town hall.
  • A resident, Ms. Bertoli, spoke on Q5, asking that Prairie Avenue in front of the fairgrounds not be neglected when funds were transferred away from the Prairie Avenue project.
  • On Q6, Elvis Martinez suggested lowering the proposed CSAC cap and limiting nonprofits to one source of city funding; Christina Trujillo, executive director of the Steelwork Center of the West, supported the cap as a way to distribute limited funds more broadly.
  • On R8, Elvis Martinez spoke in favor of referring the Pueblo Zoo sales tax question to voters, citing recent zoo funding cuts.

Discussion Items

  • Agenda amendments: Council pulled M1, M2, M10, and N1 to the regular agenda and postponed R10 indefinitely. The amended agenda passed 7-0. The July 27, 2026 minutes were approved 7-0.
  • M1 – Emergency sewer repair at 109 Vernon Place: Ratified an emergency construction contract of $210,648.29 with Parker Excavating, Inc., after a sinkhole was discovered during a manhole inspection. Passed 7-0.
  • M2 – PUB Taxilane Rehab and New Hangar: Set $70,000 in contingencies for Project 25-020. Passed 7-0.
  • M10 – Abandoned shopping cart fees: Council discussed the proposed impoundment and storage fee schedule and postponed action to August 24, 2026 on a 4-3 vote.
  • N1 – CATPA BATTLE grant: First-reading ordinance accepting the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority grant of $125,059 for the BATTLE auto-theft team. Council pulled it for discussion of ALPR data sharing; police officials defended the grant and ALPR use, citing a 38% reduction in auto thefts and a 30-day retention policy. Passed 6-1, with the public hearing set for August 24, 2026.
  • Q1-Q4 – Council contingency sponsorships: Approved $750 for Grassroots Gravel (increased from $500), $1,700 for Wreaths Across America, $1,000 for the Adelante Writers Conference, and $1,000 for the 4th Annual Suicide Memory Walk.
  • Q5 – Court Street asphalt improvements: Established SR2601, transferred funds from completed street projects, and awarded a $717,000 contract to Caraveo Construction, Inc., with $90,000 in contingencies. Passed 6-1.
  • Q6 – CSAC grant cap: A resolution to cap Community Services Advisory Commission grants at $75,000 annually failed on a 4-3 vote after debate over whether the CSAC board or elected bodies should set the rule.
  • R1-R9 – Final-reading ordinances: Approved an IGA with Pueblo County for the November 3, 2026 coordinated election; TP2601 rural transportation planning funding of $16,000; a $275,384 Division of Criminal Justice grant for CIT co-responder positions; a $1,099,282 Clean Transit Enterprise grant; a $2,848,959 Federal Transit Administration grant; an E911 routing MOU with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office; a $5,000 El Pomar Foundation grant for El Centro del Quinto Sol youth recreation; referral of the citizen-initiated Pueblo Zoo 0.167% sales tax question to the November ballot; and an airport industrial park lease with L.B. Foster Company generating about $18,000 annually. All passed 7-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda amended by pulling M1, M2, M10, and N1 to the regular agenda and postponing R10 indefinitely (7-0).
  • Consent agenda approved (7-0); public hearings for consent ordinances set for August 24, 2026.
  • M1 and M2 passed 7-0.
  • M10 postponed to August 24, 2026 (4-3).
  • N1 passed 6-1; public hearing set for August 24, 2026.
  • Q1-Q4 approved: Q1 at $750, Q2 at $1,700, Q3 at $1,000, Q4 at $1,000.
  • Q5 approved 6-1; Q6 failed 4-3.
  • R1-R9 all approved 7-0.
  • Council moved into executive session 7-0 for negotiations/legal advice regarding the 2026 Black Hills Colorado Electric rate case (Proceeding No. 26AL-0232E).

Meeting Transcript

Recording in progress. Welcome and thank you for coming tonight. I'm going to call to order the regular city council meeting. Today is Monday, August 10th, 2026. And I think it's a beautiful rainy day in Pueblo right now. Councilor Boston tells me he can hear the rain. I can't hear it. First up is our invocation. I'm going to invite uh Pastor Ken Wood of the Avenue Church to lead us. Uh then we'll do the Pledge of Allegiance. Anyone who wants to join us, please stand. Thank you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to gather as a community as a city to uh uh participate in the governance of our city, and we pray for wisdom for our leaders for each man and uh each man and woman who uh who sits on this council, Lord, we pray for wisdom and discretion and discernment, Lord, to know how to best serve our city to best uh use the funds that are limited and that are uh necessary uh for their operations, Lord. We uh we just pray for that. We pray for each citizen who might be sharing concerns tonight that you would give them clarity of thought and purpose, and uh pray that that all the ears would be ready to hear and uh ready to listen to those concerns and uh God, we want to thank you for the help that's come in to our community from all over the nation to help with the fires, and uh we pray as the uh many of our neighbors and friends continue to rebuild their lives that you uh we would continue to be thoughtful and um uh help in any way that we can. Uh and so God, we also want to just lift up our uh first responders, and especially our police, as they are putting their lives on the line uh to protect us and to serve us. So we thank you for them. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which one under God with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Pastor. Uh Mr. Clerk, roll call, Mark A. Left here. Brett Boston. Here, Roger Gomez. Yeah. Joe Latino here. Ted Hernandez. Here, Diane Dante. Here. Selena Ruiz Gomez. Here. Everybody's here and accounted for. There are no special recognitions. We go to public forum. There's one person signed up, Mr. Martinez, Elvis Martinez. Come on down. I can hear the rain. Thank you for coming. Thank you, Mr. President. Okay, several topics like always, so let's just start by getting the elephant out of the room. I say the wrong city employee resigned, as I said in the past, two other employees should resign, and I could add two more to that, but uh not tonight. To move on. I I know that there's gonna be talks about the budget here soon. I think next week. Uh Madam Chair said that last week.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com