Pueblo City Council Regular Meeting - October 14, 2026

Council met for the regular meeting on the date provided in the meeting metadata, October 14, 2026; the agenda and transcript identify the meeting night as Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Six council members were present; Councilor Brett Boston was excused. The meeting was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and adjourned around 11:09 p.m. after the invocation, special recognition, public forum, agenda and minutes approval, executive session, consent agenda, resolutions, two rezoning hearings, final ordinance hearings, and a late-night airport hangar discussion.

Call to Order and Special Recognition

• President Mark Aliff called the meeting to order. Michael Atlas-Acuna of Temple Emanuel gave the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Council presented a proclamation declaring October 15, 2026 as Shiloh House Pueblo Day Treatment Celebration Day. Jesse Sena and Michael Botello accepted and said the new day-treatment program is the first in Pueblo since 2012, will be located at the former St. Mary-Corwin tower, and will serve students with behavioral health needs. They also noted Pueblo currently has no psychiatric beds.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Herbert Comboy expressed serious concern for children's safety at City Park, citing rusted amusement ride parts and hazardous cracks in the skate park. He urged the city to repair the park, preserve Parks and Recreation staffing, and rehire workers who had been let go.
• Alvis Martinez urged residents to vote, asked council members to recuse themselves from votes involving donors, proposed a veterans Walk of Heroes, criticized the mayor's conduct, and said an elected official had threatened him. He later asked council to reduce the Humane Society sponsorship and spoke against moving demolition funds out of District 4.
• George Consilio updated council on the City Park bathhouse restoration: a $250,000 state historic fund grant had been secured, nearly $150,000 in private donations raised, and nearly 300 engraved bricks sold at $100 each. He also urged rebuilding the Horseshoe Lodge at Pueblo Mountain Park rather than demolishing it, citing the park's national historic landmark status and community support.
• Tom Slavonik, a longtime flight instructor, spoke about the Pueblo Memorial Airport hangar dispute. He asked council to remedy the situation and consider an emergency stay of the writ of restitution, saying tenants acted in good faith and should not be evicted for a dispute they were not party to.
• Brad Vernon said the Lime Road capital improvement project approved almost a year ago had been slow-walked, criticized $750,000 in airport legal fees, and asked council not to advance airport litigation funds. He supported the bathhouse restoration and volunteered to help with the Horseshoe Lodge effort.
• During the R1 rezoning hearing, supporters including Steve Riggus, Marissa Lopez, Anjali VanWay, Catherine O'Grady, and applicant Brandy Adakai said Rocky Mountain SER provides a food pantry, workforce development, commercial kitchen, and small business incubator services. Adakai submitted 16 support letters. Opponents Julie Fairman and Carla Hendrickson said the rezone would change the residential neighborhood permanently, cited prior zoning violations and a religious-service concern, and noted the Planning and Zoning Commission had voted 5-2 not to recommend approval. Alvis Martinez asked council to postpone for more information.
• During the S1 HIDTA grant hearing, Marissa Lopez, Teresa from Center for Health Progress, and Sally Moore opposed accepting the grant because of executive-order compliance language, potential conflicts with state law, audit and debarment risks, and administrative costs. Sally Moore also cited new federal grant rules taking effect December 1.
• During the S5 hearing, Alvis Martinez opposed moving $600,000 out of District 4, saying the money should remain available for demolitions in that district.
• During the S8 annexation hearing, Matthew Cerodi said his produce company is considering Pueblo as a western hub, and Kareem Mayub, an owner's representative, said the project depends on the annexation and could bring hundreds of jobs.

Council Member and Mayor Commentary

• Mayor Graham reported that an officer involved in a shooting on Saturday had been released from the hospital and was expected to make a full recovery. She thanked the community for its support. She also said the $8 million Lime Road funding was tied to the Project Falcon economic development project and that airport legal fees were spent to protect a city asset at council's direction.
• Councilor Latino thanked Pueblo police officers, firefighters, and the mayor for helping him earlier in the day.
• Councilor Ruiz Gomez echoed gratitude for first responders, thanked Shiloh House for addressing mental health gaps, noted the lack of psychiatric beds in Pueblo, supported the bathhouse project, and asked for parks and recreation pool data in a future work session.
• Councilor Dante said Lime Road should have been fixed for other businesses even if the Project Falcon deal had not moved forward.
• Councilor Hernandez said he would work with CDOT and the city on overgrown weeds along Northern Avenue/Highway 78, thanked public works for painting parking spaces near Central High School, and said the airport tenants' concerns were being heard.
• Council President Aliff strongly criticized Black Hills Energy, saying proposed increases of 15 percent and 8 percent combined with a prior 7-8 percent increase would total roughly 31 percent. He estimated $38 million per year could be pulled from the local economy and urged political candidates to address community choice energy and PUC policy.

Agenda, Minutes, and Executive Session

• The agenda was amended by moving item M7 to the regular agenda. The amended agenda was approved 6-0.
• Council approved the September 28, 2026 meeting minutes as distributed by a 6-0 vote.
• Council went into executive session under C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(e)(I) to instruct outside counsel regarding settlement negotiations of pending claims, then reconvened.

Consent Agenda

• The consent agenda was approved by one motion. It included the vanpool marketing contract, two emergency sanitary sewer repair contracts, appointments and reappointments to city boards and commissions, revocable permits, and first-reading ordinances including a Police Department Automated Enforcement Coordinator position, a Lamar Advertising public-private partnership sign agreement, a Project Falcon option-to-purchase agreement, and mechanical contractor license classification changes. Public hearings for the consent ordinances were set for October 26, 2026.
• M7, moved to the regular agenda, authorized a revocable permit to Geologic Services & Consulting for groundwater monitoring wells along the western boundary of Elmwood Golf Course to monitor petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. It passed 5-1.

Resolutions Q1-Q6

• Q1, establishing Project CI2621 and transferring $300,000 from CIAN18 for airport litigation, failed 5-1 after council debate. Councilors Gomez and Dante opposed the funding source. Staff said the CIAN18 balance was about $324,000 and had been dormant for years.
• Q2 transferred $500,000 from the E911 Projects To Be Determined account to the E911 equipment, software, and support project for dispatch radio consoles. Passed 6-0.
• Q3 approved $1,200 from council contingencies for the Latino Chamber of Commerce's 15th Annual Festival of Trees on December 10, 2026. Passed 6-0.
• Q4 approved $505.44 for the Bessemer Historical Society's Bessemer Trunk or Treat on October 29, 2026. Passed 6-0.
• Q5 approved $2,500 for the Pikes Peak Humane Society's Whisker Brunch on November 14, 2026. An attempt to reduce the amount to $1,500 did not succeed. Passed 6-0.
• Q6 approved $1,700 for Wreaths Across America at Mountain View Cemetery on December 19, 2026. Passed 6-0.

Quasi-Judicial Rezoning Hearings

• R1 rezoned 2.95 acres at 330 Lake Avenue from R3 residential to CCN Commercial Charter Neighborhood for Rocky Mountain SER's Empowerment Center. Staff said the neighborhood-scale zoning would still require special-use permits for many uses. Council approved the rezone 4-2.
• R2 rezoned 3.601 acres north of West Pueblo Boulevard from I-2 Industrial and A-4 Agricultural to B-4 Central Business District. No public testimony was offered. Passed 6-0.

Ordinances - Final Presentation

• S1 accepted the 2026 HIDTA sub-recipient award, described by staff as approximately $24,000 to support three DEA task force vehicles. After public opposition and discussion about executive orders, Chief Noller said the department follows state and federal criminal law and does not enforce civil orders. Passed 5-1.
• S2 accepted a $241,620 Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 capital grant for two Pueblo Transit city lift vehicles. Passed 6-0.
• S3 accepted two Caring for Colorado grants totaling $110,000 to fund the Kid Rides Free program for three years. Passed 6-0.
• S4 approved Amendment No. 2 to the Elmwood Golf Course restaurant management agreement with Bregar Golf LLC, allowing approximately $12,000 in kitchen equipment repairs to be accepted in lieu of rent. Passed 6-0.
• S5 transferred $600,000 from the Convergys site redevelopment account to the Demolition of Unsafe Structures account after the underlying Circle K transaction fell through. Councilor Gomez urged keeping the money in District 4. Passed 5-1.
• S6 approved a 10-year hangar ground lease with Donald E. Staruh at 309 Skyway Street at Pueblo Memorial Airport, with a 10-year renewal option. Passed 5-1.
• S7 certified Abatement Assessment Roll No. 2026-1 to the county treasurer. The roll included about 260 liens worth about $214,000; more than $34,000 had been collected, and the program has collected over $1.3 million since 2015. Passed 6-0.
• S8 annexed 168.2 acres of city-owned land known as Pueblo Memorial Airport West. Staff estimated annual sales and use tax of about $1,110,000, property tax of about $586,238, and personal property tax of about $58,624. Passed 6-0.
• S9 transferred $400,000 from the Airport Fund's unencumbered balance to Project CI2621 for airport litigation. Councilor Latino amended it to $700,000 from the general fund. The amendment passed 6-0 and the ordinance was approved as amended.

Airport Hangar Enforcement Motion

• After the final ordinance, Councilor Gomez moved to postpone enforcement of the writ of restitution for three weeks. City Attorney Sykes said the writ had 49 days to execute, city staff had negotiated with most tenants, and a stay would undo work done at council direction. Councilor Gomez withdrew the motion after council discussion, and council agreed to pursue a meeting involving council members, city staff, and airport tenants.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda amended and approved 6-0; minutes approved 6-0; executive session held.
• Consent agenda approved, with M7 considered separately and passed 5-1.
• Q1 failed 5-1; Q2-Q6 passed.
• R1 passed 4-2; R2 passed 6-0.
• S1 approved 5-1; S2-S8 approved by the recorded votes above; S9 approved as amended.
• No formal stay of the airport writ of restitution was adopted; council instead agreed to continue tenant negotiations.
• Public input identified follow-up items including City Park safety repairs, Lime Road work, Northern Avenue vegetation, Mountain Park community meetings on October 20 and 22, and a possible PUC hearing in early December.