5PM City Council Study Session and Business Meeting @ City Hall

Meeting Agenda
Watch the meeting streaming live starting at 5PM
Attend the meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers - 911 10th Street - (map)
Send comments on any of the following topics to PublicComment@cityofgolden.net BEFORE 3PM
Provide in-person comment (limited to 3 minutes) during the business meeting, at 6:30.

5PM Study Session

Jeffco Public Schools
The Interim Superintendent will discuss the district's budget and revenue options.
Golden's Proposed Budget
The Interim City Manager will discuss the proposed budget for 2027-2028. Learn more.
Flock Cameras
The Police Chief will describe how the Golden Police Department is using Flock camera data. Flock cameras have come under scrutiny because they are operated by a private company that is accumulating data about the movements of all Americans--not just those involved in traffic law infractions. Learn more.
Banning Flock Cameras
Two councilors are proposing to eliminate the use of Flock cameras in Golden. If a third councilor agrees, the issue will be brought to a future City Council meeting for discussion. Learn more.

6:30PM Business Meeting

Public Comment

The City Manager discussion will be followed by public comment. If you want to address Council, you will have three minutes to speak. Any public comments received by email before 3PM will be posted in the meeting packet after 3 (so check back then!).

New Business

Update on the third-party investigation into "the incident" that resulted in the Fire Chief and the City Manager losing their jobs.
Summary of rental housing in Golden: 4081 total rentals (of which 67.6% are apartments; 18.6% condos; 13.8% single family homes). Learn more.

Items on the Consent Agenda are considered non-controversial, not needing discussion. Everything in this section will be approved at once, with one vote.

Any councilor wishing to discuss one of the issues can request that it be removed from the consent agenda and discussed and voted on separately.

These are the items on the Consent Agenda:

First reading of a new wastewater pretreatment ordinance (learn more)
Filling vacancies to the Sustainability Board (Travis Abbott) and Historic Preservation Board (Christopher Kaiser) (learn more)
Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Arvada to "borrow" a Battalion Chief (learn more)
IGA with Lakewood to temporarily outsource crime scene investigation (learn more)

Appeal of a Planning Commission Decision

On August 19th, the Planning Commission reviewed a plan to make significant changes to 2122 Jackson Street (map). The property currently includes a 2-story house, a 1-story cottage, and a 2-story garage with an appartment on the second floor. The meeting memo stated that "the applicant is proposing to subdivide the existing parcel into five lots, including the development of two compact cottage units and one compact cottage triplex."

The Planning Department had already approved the plan without seeking Planning Commission input, but two City Councilors requested that the case be reviewed. Planning Commissioners concluded that too much traffic was being planning for a so-called "alley stub." Adjacent neighbors commented that the increased density would not allow enough room for trash collection, snow removal, or parking. They were concerned about the plan to remove big trees and the resulting loss of privacy. They also wondered why they were only asked to comment on the plan after it had been approved.

The Planning Commission voted against the project. You can watch their deliberations here. The applicant is now appealing their decision to City Council. Learn more.

Public Hearing on the 2027-2028 Budget

Learn more.

Recruiting a New City Manager

Council will approve selection of a recruitment firm to find a new City Manager. The cost is "not to exceed" $18,000. A previous Council discussion projected that a statewide search would cost $10-12K and a nationwide search would cost $35-40K.

The job description said that "Golden is home to more than 20,000 residents within city limits and 40,000 outside city limits."

The anticipated salary is $248K-289K. "The City will work with the finalist on timing of residency and understands the challenges of the current housing market." The City provided low-interest mortgages to the last two City Managers. The job posting will close on November 1st. Learn more.