- 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.
* Note: The equipment in Council chambers has been broken for several weeks, but they are hoping to get it fixed this morning. If they're successful, you may be able to watch the meeting live.
5PM Study Session
The Junction Metropolitan District
Staff will brief Council on plans to form a new metropolitan district for the Junction, which is the property recently annexed at the north end of town. Metropolitan districts are created when a new development requires a lot of public infrastructure (water, sewer, streets, etc.). It provides a way for property owners within that district to pay for those upgrades over time with a special tax. Golden has two metropolitan districts at this time: the Overlook, which is a residential development west of the Fairgrounds, and Dinosaur Ridge, which is the area that includes Red Rocks Origin Hotel, Harley Davidson, Launch Coffee, etc. Learn more.
The Community Engagement Process
The City wants to ensure that residents' opinions are heard and factored into our projects. To that end, staff will provide an overview of the updated Community Engagement Guide and will explain how citizen input is brought back to Council. Learn more.
6:30PM Business Meeting
Public Comment:
The meeting begins with 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!).
Strategic Plan Update:
The Deputy City Manager will report on Council's Strategic Initiatives, including:
- Highway 93 North Alternatives Design
- Comprehensive Plan Update
- Funding Housing for All
- Regional Homelessness Projects
- Federal Policy Impacts and Adaptation
- Enhance Community Engagement Program
- Wildfire Management & Resiliency Planning Strategy
- Corridor Projects: Heart of Golden
Consent Matters:
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:
- Appointing Eric Hutchens as a Deputy Municipal Judge
- Approving the East Zone Amenity Plans
This document shows the changes planned for Parfet and Vanover Parks as part of the overall Heart of Golden project. They plan to expand Vanover Park across Tucker Gulch so it encompasses the new City Hall. - Appointing Joseph Allaire to serve as the new City Treasurer/Finance Director.
Mr. Allaire has been serving as the Acting Finance Director since the previous director left in December.
Proclamations:
Resolutions:
Res 3274 - Redesigning Ford and Jackson
Awarding a $2,480,000 contract to build protected bike lanes and miscellaneous corridor safety improvements along Ford and Jackson through the Central Neighborhoods. The Transportation Master Plan and Bike and Pedestrian Plan both concluded that Golden should have bike lanes. To that end, staff and their consultants are proposing a significant redesign of Ford and Jackson Streets from 14th-24th Streets.
The goal is to "increase ridership for all users—women, families, and less confident cyclists—by providing physical separation, clear intersection markings, and maintainable infrastructure."
Learn more about the project and view the plans on GuidingGolden.
Community Engagement:
Staff has gone through a lengthy public engagement process, and the public has been extraordinarily vocal in their concerns about this project. They have spoken at the open houses and at an MTAB meeting and they have written to City Council using the councilcomments@cityofgolden.net email address. The comments included:
From a Resident of Ford Street:
- It would be safer to move bike traffic to East Street.
- Other cities have built these dividers and later removed them.
- Concerned about cleaning--lots of accidents on Ford Street, so the bike lane may be strewn with broken glass and taillights.
- Parking is at a premium in Golden, and we're removing several blocks of it. There were 26(?) cars parked on East Street today. (Note: we will lose a total of 121 parking spaces with this project.)
From a Retired Firefighter and Jeffco Public Works Employee:
- Snowplows and street sweepers won't be able to clean beyond the dividing curb, so the bike lane will fill up with snow in the winter and trash in the summer, making it a dangerous surface.
- Some people need to leave their trash cans in the street. Will they be in the way of the cyclists, and how will the trash trucks get to the containers?
- Large trucks still need to use those streets (such as delivery trucks to Safeway). Will they be able to turn at the narrowed intersections?
- Can firetrucks safely operate on the narrowed streets?
- Commented that he drives those roads all the time, and he doesn't see that many cyclists, but there are lots of cars.
From an Avid Cyclist:
- Also concerned that the bike path won't be cleaned or plowed.
- Concerned that the concrete divider will leave them nowhere to swerve if they need to avoid a hazard.
- The bike paths that the city built on Heritage Road feel unsafe, so no one uses them. The traffic lane feels safer.
A letter sent by a long-time resident who drives those streets a lot:
- Most Golden employees are driving, not biking.
- People can't load up with groceries from the grocery store or bags of fertilizer from the hardware store on bikes.
- Cars won't have a place to pull out of the way of emergency vehicles.
A letter sent by a resident of Ford Street:
As the mother of two small children who will no longer be safe in their own front yard, and the other children and elderly people who will face similar risks (though not as frequently as my children), I struggle to understand how the City can ignore our concerns and eliminate the buffer that is the difference between a “scare” and a serious injury or fatality.... Spending $3M of taxpayer money to build a known safety hazard… I simply don’t get it.
Board Comment:
Our goals are to slow traffic and put a bike lane on every street in Golden.
Staff Responses:
- Keeping the bike lanes clean and clear. The City is changing their policy and commits to keeping bike lanes swept and plowed in the future (though they will have a lower priority than streets). They have machines that let them clear sidewalks and it would work in bike lanes. It will require more man-hours, but the equipment shouldn't be a stumbling block.
- Losing parking spaces. The people parking along Ford Street are primarily Mines students. They'll have to find somewhere else to park. That will continue to be a problem. The new residence hall will not include on-campus parking permits. Fewer students may have cars, but those that do will need to park them off-campus.
- Trash cans. They will see if alley improvements would make it possible for more people to put their cans in the alley. If not, there will be gaps in the concrete divider where the cans could go.
Board comment: trash cans fall over and blow over and will obstruct the bike lane. - Big trucks needing to turn. The designers would certainly have ensured that big trucks could make the turn, albeit with difficulty.
Board comment: if we design the intersections for truck turns, the wide streets are more dangerous for pedestrians trying to cross. - Firetrucks. Traffic planners worked with the emergency responders, and they said they can operate within this design.
- Speed. One of the objectives of the project is to decrease speed by making the street narrower. That is safer for both pedestrians and cars.
Board comment: Maybe we should ask the police to install permanent photo radar enforcement along this corridor.
The Mobility and Transportation Advisory Committee acknowledged the citizens' concerns but concluded that the goals of the Transportation Master Plan and Bike-Pedestrian Plan outweighed the concerns regarding this specific project. Excerpt from their letter:
We acknowledge that there are some aspects of the project that may raise concern among community members—such as changes to on-street parking or ongoing maintenance and snow removal. These concerns are valid and deserve thoughtful consideration and continued engagement. However, based on our review, we believe the long-term benefits to public safety, mobility options, and community well-being far outweigh the temporary disruptions or trade-offs.
Editorial
This was not a shining example of our "Public Engagement Process." The public appeared at several meetings and wrote letters and were left feeling that their efforts were a waste of time. None of their comments appeared in the meeting packet prepared for Council.
I asked one of the people who had submitted comments to staff whether they would come to tonight's meeting, to address Council. The response was, "At the end of the day, I don't think they care what the residents want. This is a pet project for staff...and they're going to move forward regardless of what we say. "
Res 3297 - Approving the City of Golden Water Efficiency Plan.
Golden has had a Water Efficiency Plan since 1996, as required by the State. This year, they are asking City Council to formally adopt the plan to make us all aware of the important of water conservation. The meeting packet also includes the City's Drought Management Plan.
Location:
City Hall Council Chambers
911 10th Street (Map)
