[5:45] That's probably probably err on

[5:46] the side of being able to. Just

[5:49] yell at me if it's out of

[5:50] whack. Yeah. Okay, great.

[6:07] Thank you.

[8:41] Good evening everyone. I called

[8:43] it word of the regular meeting

[8:44] of the Lakewood City Council on

[8:46] August 24th, 2026 at 7:04 p.m.

[8:50] to connect with the council

[8:51] meeting online, please use one

[8:53] of the following links at.

[8:54] Either Lakewood Speaks or

[8:56] Lakewood, Co. Gov videos. If

[9:01] you are tuning in tonight and

[9:02] would like to address, the city

[9:03] will be given the opportunity

[9:05] to do so at multiple points

[9:06] throughout tonight's meeting.

[9:08] That also includes general

[9:10] public comment for comments

[9:11] that are not relating to

[9:12] anything on tonight's agenda.

[9:15] For those who prefer to leave

[9:16] comments online, you may also

[9:18] post comments of any length

[9:20] that Lakewood speaks. That is

[9:21] our online online forum that

[9:24] includes the ability to submit

[9:26] comments and also supporting

[9:28] information on any of the items

[9:30] that we're discussing and

[9:32] talking about this evening.

[9:33] Lakewood Speaks is. I just said

[9:36] that. So back up to find that

[9:39] information or make a public

[9:40] comment online. Once you land

[9:42] on the website, select

[9:43] tonight's meeting and you'll

[9:44] then be able to select the

[9:46] agenda item that you're looking

[9:47] to learn more about or comment

[9:48] on. Public comment will be left

[9:51] open on Lakewood speaks through

[9:54] 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Will

[9:56] the clerk please start us off

[9:57] calling the roll?

[9:58] Councilors black. hear crews,

[10:01] I. hear crews K hear Furman

[10:04] here live your here. Hello.

[10:08] Here.

[10:08] Nystrom here.

[10:09] Ryan is absent. Sinks here.

[10:12] Sure as I hear. And Strom here.

[10:15] Great. You have a quorum.

[10:17] Thank you. And this is the

[10:19] point that if you are able to

[10:21] stand, I would ask you to

[10:22] please do so. To join us for

[10:24] the Pledge of Allegiance. And

[10:25] afterwards remain standing for

[10:27] a moment of silent prayer or

[10:29] reflection.

[10:31] Jesus to the flag of the United

[10:34] States of America and to the

[10:36] Republic for which it stands.

[10:39] One nation under God,

[10:41] indivisible, with liberty and

[10:43] justice for all.

[10:57] members of the City Council

[10:59] have the responsibility to

[11:00] comply with the terms of

[11:02] charter 7.2 B, and excuse

[11:04] themselves from voting on any

[11:05] matter in which they determine

[11:07] they have a personal,

[11:08] financial, or business

[11:10] interest. The City Council is

[11:12] empowered by charter 7.2 B to

[11:14] agree by unanimous vote,

[11:16] excluding the member issue, to

[11:18] excuse themselves of the

[11:19] council from voting on a

[11:21] matter. Um, I'm sorry to excuse

[11:23] any member of the council from

[11:25] voting on a matter in which

[11:26] they determine such member has

[11:28] a personal, financial, or

[11:30] business interest. Before we

[11:32] move on to the business portion

[11:34] of this evening. Um, one of our

[11:36] favorite traditions here is

[11:38] proclamations. And we've got a

[11:40] very special proclamation that

[11:42] we'll be reading tonight.

[11:43] Coming up next month. We have

[11:45] Love Lakewood Day. So Lakewood

[11:48] being a great city is not just

[11:49] something that is the task of

[11:52] the people that are sitting up

[11:53] here in front of you, or the

[11:54] task of the staff that operate

[11:56] the city every single day of

[11:58] the year. But it all is part of

[12:00] all of us showing up to do the

[12:01] good work across our city, for

[12:03] our neighbors and our other

[12:04] residents. Love. Lakewood Day

[12:06] is a way for us to do that, so

[12:07] we are very excited to have

[12:09] this proclamation this evening

[12:11] to increase awareness and also

[12:13] let you guys know that the time

[12:15] is is now to start looking into

[12:17] saving the date and signing up.

[12:19] So with that, we have, uh,

[12:23] well, I don't have the copy

[12:24] here.

[12:25] Let's see.

[12:27] Ah, we have the copy down here.

[12:28] We'll just read that. So, um,

[12:30] we'll meet you up front and

[12:33] we'll get started. Whereas the

[12:54] city of Lakewood values the

[12:55] strength of its community,

[12:56] which is rooted in compassion,

[12:58] service and civic engagement.

[13:00] And whereas Love Lakewood Day,

[13:03] held annually in September,

[13:05] brings together volunteers from

[13:06] all walks of life to serve

[13:08] neighbors, improve

[13:09] neighborhoods and uplift the

[13:11] entire city through acts of

[13:12] kindness and generosity. And

[13:15] Whereas, a coalition of civic,

[13:17] faith based, nonprofit and

[13:19] service organizations leads

[13:21] this effort by organizing

[13:23] meaningful projects that

[13:24] connect people through shared

[13:27] action. And Whereas, on

[13:29] September 19th, 2026,

[13:31] individuals and groups from

[13:33] across the city will come

[13:35] together to complete service

[13:36] projects such as beautifying

[13:38] local schools, cleaning public

[13:40] spaces, and assisting local

[13:42] nonprofits. And Whereas, Love

[13:45] Lakewood Day exemplifies the

[13:47] spirit of unity and the

[13:48] importance of giving back,

[13:50] making the city a more

[13:51] inclusive, supportive and

[13:53] thriving place to live for all.

[13:55] And whereas the city commends

[13:57] all volunteers, organizers and

[13:59] supporters of Love Lakewood Day

[14:01] for their commitment to making

[14:03] a lasting difference through

[14:05] collective action. Now,

[14:06] therefore, on behalf of the

[14:08] City Council and the people of

[14:10] the City of Lakewood, I. Wendy

[14:12] Strom, mayor of the City of

[14:13] Lakewood, Colorado, by virtue

[14:15] of the authority vested in me,

[14:17] do hereby proclaim September

[14:20] 19th, 2026, as love. Lakewood

[14:23] Day.

[14:31] Sure, sure. Yeah, like.

[14:35] Super excited. Thank you for

[14:36] all of this. Lake was a great

[14:38] city to live in and a great

[14:40] city to serve. And this is just

[14:42] a great way to come together.

[14:43] And, um. Yeah, make a

[14:45] difference together. It's

[14:46] beautiful. Thanks for letting

[14:47] us do this.

[14:49] Thank you guys. Thank you. Part

[14:50] of that. So we'll do a quick

[14:52] picture. Okay.

[15:26] All right. And that brings us

[15:28] to our presentation this

[15:30] evening from the Lakewood

[15:31] Advisory Commission on Tenant

[15:34] Support. And for that we have

[15:36] Robert Adams of the Lake

[15:38] Diversity Chair that will be

[15:39] giving a brief presentation.

[15:42] Welcome.

[15:43] Thank you. All right. So hello

[15:50] everyone. As was said, I'm

[15:52] Robert Adams, chair of the

[15:52] diversity committee of the

[15:53] Lakewood Advisory Commission,

[15:55] here to talk to you about our

[15:56] work on supporting tenants and

[15:58] mobile home residents. First, a

[16:00] quick thanks to the many LSC

[16:01] members who contributed to this

[16:02] work, a detailed presentation

[16:04] and the written report are on

[16:06] Lakewood Speaks already. So for

[16:08] now, I'll just give a very

[16:09] quick recap. This project was

[16:12] assigned by councillors I,

[16:13] Kruse and Ryan, who essentially

[16:15] asked us to research ways to

[16:17] strengthen protections for

[16:18] renters and ensure that they

[16:21] are treated fairly by

[16:22] landlords. For context, around

[16:24] 42% of households in Lakewood

[16:27] are renters. About 13,000 of

[16:31] them are both low income and

[16:33] cost burdened by their rent,

[16:35] and over 40% of renters are

[16:38] dissatisfied with their housing

[16:40] arrangement. Mobile home

[16:42] residents are in a unique

[16:43] position and that they own

[16:45] their homes, but rent the land

[16:47] underneath. That creates

[16:48] challenges that the report

[16:50] explores in detail. Slides.

[16:56] Eviction was a big theme. There

[16:57] are several thousand sorry,

[17:02] eviction was a big theme. There

[17:03] are several thousand evictions

[17:05] filed in Lakewood each year,

[17:06] and landlords have access to a

[17:08] lawyer, and around 77% of them,

[17:10] compared to 1% for tenants.

[17:13] This can lead to very skewed

[17:14] outcomes, and eviction is a

[17:16] major driver of homelessness.

[17:21] In theory, there are many

[17:22] protections legal protections

[17:24] for renters, most notably the

[17:26] warranty of habitability, but

[17:27] is up to tenants to advocate

[17:29] for themselves. And when

[17:30] landlords fall short on their

[17:31] obligations, um tenants are

[17:34] often on their own. Often,

[17:36] tenants lack money and

[17:37] resources to do that. Advocacy,

[17:39] so that can lead to poor

[17:41] outcomes. From our research, we

[17:45] outlined seven recommendations,

[17:47] which I will run through very

[17:48] quickly. Recommendation A is

[17:52] centralized housing support.

[17:53] Resources exist, but they're

[17:55] scattered across many entities

[17:57] having a single point of

[17:58] contact can close gaps between

[18:00] need and help. B is create a

[18:04] rental licensing program. It

[18:06] can help attract rental stock

[18:08] and ensure landlords operate

[18:09] legally. And it can be

[18:10] self-funded through fees

[18:11] without running into Tabor

[18:13] restrictions. C is establish an

[18:17] emergency Rental Assistance

[18:19] Fund. Short term help delivered

[18:21] quickly is a proven way to

[18:23] prevent displacement and

[18:24] homelessness. D is fund legal

[18:28] assistance and mediation.

[18:30] Representation dramatically

[18:31] increases the fairness of

[18:32] outcomes and reduces evictions.

[18:35] While mediation can resolve

[18:36] disputes before they reach

[18:37] court. E foster tenant

[18:40] associations comparable to

[18:42] neighborhood associations. They

[18:44] can give tenants a collective

[18:45] voice to better advocate for

[18:46] themselves with landlords as

[18:48] well as with policymakers. F

[18:52] prepare f prepare rent

[18:55] stabilization framework. State

[18:57] law currently prevents

[18:59] implementation. Uh, it's it's a

[19:03] band, but there is an ongoing

[19:04] chance that the ban will be

[19:05] repealed. And Lakewood can

[19:08] position itself to be ready for

[19:09] that possibility. G the final

[19:13] recommendation facilitate

[19:14] ownership pathways. Mobile home

[19:16] residents already have the

[19:17] right of first refusal when a

[19:18] park is sold, but need help

[19:20] exercising that right. Uh,

[19:24] detailed cost analysis was

[19:26] outside the scope of the work

[19:27] we did, but we did note some

[19:29] important points worth

[19:31] considering. One is that costs

[19:33] of some of these programs are

[19:34] often more than offset by

[19:36] overall downstream savings. So

[19:39] aside from the human impact,

[19:41] homelessness creates a lot of

[19:42] costs in terms of medical care,

[19:44] emergency medical care,

[19:45] shelters, and so forth. And so

[19:48] that's often much cheaper to

[19:49] help people before they reach

[19:51] that level of crisis. And there

[19:52] are a lot of studies in the

[19:53] report about that. And although

[19:54] it's not part of our work, I

[19:55] was encouraged to see that the

[19:56] Housing Policy Commission

[19:57] recently voted unanimously to

[19:59] move forward with a plan to

[20:01] fund housing solutions, and

[20:03] much of what was discussed

[20:04] overlaps with our

[20:04] recommendations. And of course,

[20:07] in the report, there are many, more details and

[20:10] references and so forth.

[20:12] Lastly, I'll just note that the

[20:15] report details connections

[20:17] between our recommendations and

[20:18] the envisioned Lakewood 2040

[20:20] Comprehensive Plan. So thank

[20:22] you for your attention, and

[20:23] we're happy to answer any

[20:25] questions we can.

[20:27] At.

[20:28] The end. Thank you, Mr. Adams.

[20:30] And the lake team that is here

[20:32] with you this evening. Council,

[20:33] do we have any questions?

[20:41] Councilor Lowe.

[20:44] I was waiting for Councilor

[20:45] Akers. Since this is her her

[20:46] request. Um, huge shout out to

[20:49] Councilor Cruz and Councilor

[20:50] Ryan for getting this off the

[20:51] ground. And Mr. Adams and your team. Fantastic work.

[20:57] Truly fantastic work. This

[21:00] report is so good. There is so

[21:03] much, you know, actionable,

[21:05] good recommendations. It's well

[21:06] presented. It's thoughtfully

[21:07] done. Um, I can't recommend it

[21:11] enough as a resource to the

[21:12] community for folks. And I've,

[21:14] we've heard a lot from folks in

[21:15] the community that want to see

[21:16] more done. Um, for our renters,

[21:18] for our tenants, for folks that

[21:20] you know, who who frankly

[21:22] struggle in the city. I've

[21:23] heard from constituents who are

[21:26] very frustrated in some cases

[21:27] by what their landlords are

[21:29] doing, um, and want to know

[21:30] what their recourses are, and

[21:32] there aren't enough good

[21:32] options. And, um, Mr. Adams,

[21:35] you and your team at the lake

[21:37] have. And the diversity

[21:38] committee at the LEC have given

[21:39] us some really actionable, uh,

[21:41] next steps here. So, um, I'm so

[21:44] enthusiastic about it. I know,

[21:46] council, I know we get a lot,

[21:47] and it's busy and everything.

[21:49] I, I'm sure many of you have read this in full, but if

[21:52] perchance you haven't had a

[21:52] chance to read the full report,

[21:54] please carve out 30 minutes to

[21:56] do it, because there's some

[21:57] really good stuff in here. And

[21:58] it's like, what is it, Mr.

[22:00] Adams? It's like 12 pages, huh?

[22:01] About 20.

[22:02] pages. But it it's a page

[22:04] turner. Didn't even feel like

[22:05] 20 pages. It goes right by. So do read this and I'm going

[22:09] to double down on what Mr.

[22:10] Adams said. A number of the

[22:11] there are, I think, some basis

[22:13] for action that could be taken

[22:14] right away. Like for instance,

[22:15] doing more to sort of combine

[22:16] these resources in a way that

[22:18] so that everything is sort of

[22:19] accessible in one place. But a

[22:21] number of the things that are

[22:22] discussed here, including

[22:23] funding, rental assistance and

[22:25] eviction prevention and legal

[22:26] assistance, um, and critically,

[22:29] also, you know, looking at sort

[22:31] of a rental, licensing

[22:32] registration program, all of

[22:34] which I really think we should

[22:35] do, all of that will be greatly

[22:37] enabled by the creation of an

[22:38] affordable housing fund. And as

[22:40] Mr. Adams mentioned, this is

[22:42] fortuitous timing because the

[22:43] affordable housing, the, um,

[22:44] the Housing Policy Commission

[22:46] just voted by 6 to 0 to move an

[22:48] ordinance forward that create

[22:49] the structure. To do that, we

[22:50] needed to fund the rental

[22:51] assistance. If we're going to

[22:53] do anything around, um, a

[22:55] rental registry and sort of

[22:57] rental licensing. And clearly

[22:58] that's going to take some staff

[23:00] infrastructure and some

[23:00] support. That's not going to

[23:01] happen overnight. I think

[23:02] having sort of a base of

[23:04] support and a funding mechanism

[23:05] and the plumbing that the

[23:06] housing ordinance would provide

[23:08] would be, would be essential.

[23:09] So, um, the timing of this,

[23:10] from my perspective, couldn't

[23:11] be better. I think that there's

[23:13] action we can take. I hope

[23:14] we'll have a chance to do that

[23:15] action. I really think we need

[23:17] to not let this thing sit on a

[23:19] shelf for the next year. Um,

[23:20] let's let's pass an affordable

[23:22] housing ordinance. Um, let's

[23:24] get a fund stood up, and then

[23:25] let's figure out how we can put

[23:26] that fun to work, actually

[23:28] funding and supporting some of

[23:29] these recommendations. And I

[23:30] want to do it by next year. So

[23:32] let's do it. Um, and boy, I

[23:35] you've you've said you've set a

[23:36] new bar for for excellence on

[23:38] lake work and, uh, it's it's

[23:40] really, really exciting.

[23:42] I guess on behalf of the many

[23:43] people who contributed, thank

[23:44] you.

[23:46] Mayor Pro Tem Qazi. Yes.

[23:49] Thank you. I would echo the

[23:51] enthusiasm from Councilor Lowe.

[23:53] Maybe not to that degree, but I

[23:54] am excited to see this and I

[23:57] appreciate the. This has been a

[23:58] long time coming and clearly

[24:00] some thoughtfulness. Um, I, I

[24:02] do think the recommendations

[24:04] like appreciate that there's

[24:05] some actionable stuff. There's

[24:06] some things that are going to

[24:07] take time to prop up. But I

[24:09] think option A is something

[24:10] that we could do pretty quickly

[24:12] and wanted just to flag that. I

[24:14] know that those aren't

[24:15] decisions that we make this

[24:16] evening, but I think that there

[24:17] is some, um, clear path to some

[24:20] easy solutions that are being

[24:21] presented here. The question I

[24:23] really have is for staff, um,

[24:26] one of the suggestions talks

[24:28] about mediation services. And,

[24:31] um, there was a number in the

[24:32] presentation of outside

[24:33] partners that were listed, but

[24:35] also there was some discussion

[24:36] about the mediation services

[24:38] that Lakewood does. And I

[24:40] wanted to understand, because

[24:41] I've heard that maybe we are

[24:42] backing off of that. And so is

[24:43] that still something that's

[24:44] going on in our community?

[24:47] I don't know the answer to that

[24:49] right now, but I can get back

[24:50] to you.

[24:51] Okay. Thank you. Thanks for

[24:53] this work. This is great. I'm

[24:55] excited to see this continue to

[24:56] move forward.

[24:57] Thanks.

[24:59] Councilor Cruz.

[25:02] Thank you. I just want to echo

[25:03] the enthusiasm, um, double down

[25:06] on Councilor Lowe and Mayor Pro

[25:08] Tem enthusiasm for this. And

[25:09] thank you and the committee for

[25:11] your work on this. Um, I know

[25:14] Councilor Ryan was sad not to

[25:16] be here. I think it's like the

[25:17] first meeting he's missed.

[25:19] Maybe ever. I'm not sure. Um,

[25:21] but I know he was really

[25:22] excited to see the report and

[25:23] really thrilled to see the work

[25:25] coming forward for, you know,

[25:26] the 42% of households in our

[25:28] community that often don't get

[25:29] 42% of our attention. Um, and

[25:32] are, as you really pointed to,

[25:34] some harrowing statistics about

[25:35] the struggles facing many

[25:37] renters in our community. And I

[25:39] think it's very timely, both

[25:40] with the work that the Housing

[25:41] Policy Commission is doing. But

[25:43] then also, you know, the two

[25:45] mobile home park communities

[25:46] and our neck of the woods are

[25:48] up for sale right now. And so I

[25:49] think that, um, there's there's

[25:51] a lot of work to be done on

[25:52] this. So I'm really grateful

[25:53] for for all of your work. So

[25:55] thank you. Um, an invaluable

[25:56] resource, I guess. Just a

[25:58] question for you, and maybe

[26:00] this is a bit of what the mayor

[26:02] pro tem brought up. And I know

[26:04] these aren't numbered

[26:05] recommendations, likely on

[26:07] purpose, but, um, from the

[26:09] discussions in the committee,

[26:10] would you say there are any

[26:12] things that you all would

[26:13] recommend us keeping top of

[26:15] mind? As you know, HPC does

[26:17] some of their planning and as

[26:18] we approach kind of our next

[26:20] phase of planning, uh, next

[26:21] year.

[26:22] Yeah. Like you said, they

[26:23] weren't exactly in order of

[26:25] priority or something like

[26:26] that, but there was something

[26:27] of an order, particularly that

[26:28] A is meant to be like a

[26:30] foundation for some of the

[26:32] others, because if you were to

[26:33] implement certain programs, um,

[26:36] it would it would make more

[26:37] sense if you could embed them

[26:38] directly in something

[26:39] centralized from the beginning.

[26:41] So, um, speaking just for

[26:43] myself, I mean, I think it a is a is a foundational step.

[26:48] And then that leads directly, I

[26:50] think, into a rental licensing

[26:51] program because, um, that's

[26:53] really a lens into rental

[26:57] conditions on a building by

[26:58] building basis that currently

[26:59] doesn't exist. And it also

[27:01] feeds, as noted in the report,

[27:02] like having just data on we

[27:04] don't know how many rental

[27:05] units exist in the city so far

[27:07] beyond even renter protections.

[27:09] Just having that kind of

[27:09] information for housing policy

[27:11] in general is is lacking. So I

[27:14] would say those two, from my

[27:15] personal perspective, would be,

[27:17] uh, two of the most important.

[27:19] Great. That's super helpful.

[27:20] And I think even just speaking

[27:22] to the importance and the

[27:23] urgency of maybe what might

[27:25] seem like low hanging fruit,

[27:26] maybe if the mayor pro tem

[27:28] said, but important is right,

[27:29] thinking about what do we have

[27:31] and how do we communicate that

[27:32] to the public? Because I know I

[27:33] get, um, constituents, probably

[27:35] all of us get constituents who

[27:36] are in a situation where

[27:37] there's a warranty of

[27:38] habitability issue, and there's

[27:39] a question about who's supposed

[27:41] to come check out the mold in

[27:42] their building or the roof

[27:44] that's falling in. Right. And

[27:45] so I think that that will be

[27:47] super helpful as we put this

[27:49] policy together. So I'm really

[27:50] grateful to you all for doing

[27:52] this work. And also grateful to

[27:54] Councilor Ryan for putting this

[27:56] question forward with me.

[28:00] All right. That's it. Thank

[28:02] you. Thank you so much again

[28:03] for your work on this topic.

[28:10] And that brings us to the first

[28:12] point in tonight's meeting,

[28:13] where the public is invited to

[28:14] address the City Council on

[28:16] items that are not on this

[28:18] evening's agenda. This initial

[28:20] period of public comment allows

[28:21] for up to ten speakers to

[28:22] provide comment on any matter

[28:24] other than an agenda item, and

[28:26] will prioritize those with

[28:28] special needs. Signing up to

[28:30] speak during this initial

[28:32] period of public comment does

[28:33] require signing up prior to

[28:36] this evening's meeting. There

[28:38] is no pool time during this

[28:39] initial public comment period.

[28:42] The goal of public comment is

[28:45] to create an environment that

[28:46] welcomes all stakeholders to

[28:48] share their thoughts and

[28:49] concerns. Whether your comments

[28:51] are left on Lakewood speak or

[28:54] here in chambers, I ask that

[28:56] all comments be directed up

[28:58] here to the City Council that

[29:00] anyone in attendance or online

[29:02] respect the decorum of council

[29:04] chambers and practice civility,

[29:06] and so that every speaker may

[29:08] be heard. I ask that everyone

[29:09] here in chambers refrain from

[29:11] audible or applause or audible

[29:13] support or discord with the

[29:15] speaker for anyone who in the

[29:18] audience may be uncomfortable

[29:20] speaking in front of the room

[29:21] again, you two are welcome to

[29:23] leave a comment online on

[29:24] Lakewood Speaker. Instead,

[29:26] anyone will be able to leave

[29:28] those comments until 10 a.m.

[29:29] tomorrow morning. And please

[29:32] note that in public comment, it

[29:34] is almost campaign season, so

[29:36] I'm going to say it. No

[29:37] campaigning is allowed during

[29:39] public comment per our campaign

[29:41] finance law, city resources are

[29:42] not able to be used for

[29:43] campaigning and that includes

[29:46] our meetings. If you are

[29:48] speaking and have any handouts,

[29:50] would ask that you share any

[29:52] handouts to share with the city

[29:53] Council would ask that you

[29:54] please provide them to the city

[29:56] clerk up here and and they will

[29:58] be distributed to city

[30:00] councils. After the meeting.

[30:02] The purpose of this time

[30:04] tonight is for us to hear from

[30:07] you. This is a listen only

[30:08] session. If you'd like to

[30:10] engage in a conversation with

[30:11] your councilors or with staff

[30:13] or myself, would encourage you

[30:15] to do so via phone, scheduled

[30:17] office visits, or email. Today

[30:19] is for us specifically to

[30:21] listen. For those planning to

[30:23] speak tonight. When you arrive

[30:24] up here up front, we'd ask that

[30:26] you start off by giving your

[30:28] name and your address, or your

[30:30] name, or your name and your

[30:32] ward, and the city clerk will

[30:33] get your clock started for

[30:35] three minutes. And that's where

[30:37] we are. I do have two folks

[30:39] that are signed up for this

[30:40] initial public comment period.

[30:43] Um, first one is Amanda

[30:45] Phillips. I don't believe I see

[30:47] her in the room. Amanda

[30:49] Phillips nope. Okay. Um, Beth

[30:54] Collins. Welcome.

[31:04] Thank you.

[31:06] Hello. My name is Beth Collins,

[31:08] and I'm a resident of Ward

[31:09] five. I know that you have

[31:12] heard at previous meetings from

[31:14] other members of our Lakewood

[31:15] Cultural Center dance

[31:16] community. I am here tonight to

[31:19] encourage you to consider

[31:20] supporting the expansion of the

[31:22] studio space for dance program

[31:24] programming at LCC. My friend

[31:28] Marlene Marlene Gordon, who I

[31:30] talk with, spoke about the

[31:32] importance of community

[31:33] connection and combating

[31:35] loneliness through our

[31:37] connections with dance. Joan

[31:39] spoke about the potential

[31:41] additional income through

[31:42] rentals for rehearsal and

[31:44] performance space that this

[31:46] expanded studio could also

[31:48] provide. I'm here to tell you

[31:51] how expanding the studio space

[31:53] can support resident engagement

[31:55] with the city. Like many young

[31:58] girls, I danced from a young

[32:00] age through my high school

[32:02] years. I started at Ethel

[32:04] Frills School of Dance. Ethel

[32:06] taught in her basement, um, at

[32:08] 10th and Kipling during those

[32:11] formative years, instead of

[32:13] large recitals in public halls,

[32:16] we performed at nursing homes

[32:17] across Lakewood. This included

[32:20] Villa manor and what's now

[32:22] known as Lakewood Villa. I

[32:24] enjoyed getting to connect with

[32:26] the older generation through

[32:28] dance. After Ethel finally

[32:31] retired at the age of 84, I did

[32:35] join a traditional dance studio

[32:36] for one year. It was not the

[32:39] same. I was not performing to

[32:41] benefit others. I continued to

[32:44] dance through high school

[32:45] musicals in Jeffco public

[32:47] schools. Like many dancers, I

[32:50] took much of my 20s and early

[32:52] 30s 30s away from performance

[32:54] dance. But after becoming a

[32:57] mother, I was yearning for

[32:59] something that was just for me

[33:01] again. My mother at the time

[33:04] had just joined the Rocky

[33:05] Mountain Ukulele Orchestra,

[33:07] which also performs at Lakewood

[33:09] Cultural Center, and she

[33:10] mentioned she saw a dance

[33:12] studio there when my youngest

[33:15] was six months old, I

[33:17] registered for my first adult

[33:19] tap class. In the nearly nine

[33:22] years since that day, I have

[33:25] watched that class grow from a

[33:27] class of one to regular

[33:30] attendance of 12 to 13 grown

[33:32] women. We have become close

[33:35] friends, confidants, and

[33:37] cheerleaders for each other. We

[33:40] have seen each other through

[33:41] career changes, marriages,

[33:43] divorces and that challenge

[33:46] called parenting. We have

[33:48] become Tap Lakewood as Tap

[33:52] Lakewood. We were one of the

[33:54] first adult groups to perform

[33:56] at the spring recital. With all

[33:58] those little bitties in tutus.

[34:01] We have had the opportunity to

[34:02] model for parents and the youth

[34:04] of Lakewood that you can indeed

[34:07] dance like a silly person

[34:09] through middle age and at any

[34:11] age. We've also gotten to cheer

[34:14] on as the dance community has

[34:16] grown to include performance

[34:18] troupes of youth and adults

[34:20] alike.

[34:20] Miss Collins, your time is

[34:22] expired. Dang it.

[34:23] Okay, we perform a lot. Please

[34:25] support.

[34:26] Us.

[34:27] We're back in two weeks.

[34:31] Alrighty. Thank you so much.

[34:32] And that is it for our initial

[34:34] public comment this evening.

[34:36] And we will start with or move

[34:38] on next to our consent agenda.

[34:40] Counsel, do we have any items

[34:42] that we wish to pull from this

[34:43] evening's consent agenda? All

[34:48] right. Seeing none, will the

[34:49] clerk please read the consent

[34:50] agenda into the record?

[34:51] The consent agenda is comprised

[34:53] of the following items.

[34:54] First reading on ordinance 2020

[34:56] 631. Enacting chapter 14.31 of

[34:58] title 14 of the Lakewood

[34:59] Municipal Code to adopt by

[35:00] reference the Colorado Wildfire

[35:02] Resiliency Code 2025 edition,

[35:04] with deletions and amendments

[35:06] and further adopting the

[35:07] corresponding 2025 Colorado

[35:08] Wildfire Resiliency Code Map

[35:11] item five, approving minutes of

[35:12] City Council meetings. Special

[35:13] meeting minutes from August

[35:14] 7th, 2026. Special meeting

[35:16] minutes from August 10th, 2026.

[35:18] Regular meeting minutes. August

[35:19] 10th, 2026.

[35:22] Thank you. And I have no one

[35:24] signed up to speak on tonight's

[35:26] consent agenda. Um, do we have

[35:30] any initial questions from the

[35:32] City Council? Seeing none.

[35:35] Please. May I have a motion?

[35:37] Mayor, I move for the approval

[35:39] of City Council minutes. Order.

[35:40] All ordinances introduced on

[35:42] first reading to be published

[35:43] in the Denver Post, with public

[35:45] hearings set for the date

[35:46] included in the ordinance, all

[35:48] of which are included in the

[35:49] consent agenda. Items

[35:50] introduced into the record by

[35:51] the City Clerk.

[35:52] Second.

[35:55] All right. We have a motion on

[35:56] the floor and a second. Any

[35:58] questions? All right. Please go

[36:02] ahead and cast your vote. And

[36:10] that passes ten yeses and zero

[36:13] nos. Will the clerk please read

[36:20] item seven A into the record.

[36:22] Item seven eight are 20, 26, 57

[36:24] approving a contract for City

[36:25] Manager services for the City

[36:27] of Lakewood with Jonathan Cain.

[36:30] Thank you. And I will now open

[36:33] the public hearing on our

[36:34] 202657. Um, do we have any

[36:38] initial questions from the city

[36:40] Council on this evening's topic?

[36:45] Nope. Okay. I do have one

[36:48] signed up for comment on this

[36:51] item. Uh, Natalie Minton.

[36:58] Good evening. Natalie Minton.

[37:01] Um, first of all, when I was on

[37:03] the RTD board for two terms,

[37:05] eight years went through three

[37:07] general manager hiring process.

[37:09] So do you have some experience?

[37:12] I'm going to speak about two

[37:13] things that I do not agree with

[37:15] in this contract. That would

[37:17] be, first of all, the term as

[37:19] far too long. Basically, we

[37:21] have a um, an employee going to

[37:24] be in a probationary period,

[37:25] but we've got a three year

[37:27] contract. Um, with out a lot to

[37:31] back that up. So I disagree

[37:33] with that. Uh, it's pushing it

[37:34] into future terms. Future

[37:36] council members, um, and should

[37:38] be a shorter term. Secondly,

[37:40] the dollar amount. I don't know

[37:42] how we got to these salaries.

[37:43] And I realize city council

[37:45] thought that was like on the

[37:46] low end of the range. But for

[37:48] what the average citizen is,

[37:50] um, getting for this and for

[37:54] the amount of the salary and

[37:56] considering comparable other

[37:57] salaries that are far larger

[37:59] jurisdictions, uh, this amount

[38:02] is is far too much, um,

[38:04] especially for somebody that,

[38:06] uh, is now we're committing to

[38:08] a three year term. So I posed

[38:09] this for both those reasons.

[38:11] And I did attend, um, the event

[38:14] at the Heritage Center. Um,

[38:16] thank you for putting that on.

[38:18] Wasn't required. So I

[38:20] appreciate that. It was a

[38:21] little bit challenging just

[38:23] with the volume in the room and

[38:24] so forth. Um, and did try to

[38:26] reach out. So I have been

[38:27] engaged citizen on this and I

[38:28] have the history far too long

[38:30] of a contract term, far too

[38:32] much money. Thank you.

[38:33] And that is it for

[38:37] public comment on this issue.

[38:40] May I please have a motion?

[38:42] Mayor, I move for the adoption

[38:43] of resolution 2020 657.

[38:47] Second.

[38:48] All right. We have a motion and

[38:49] a second. Any conversation now?

[38:54] Mayor Pro Tem..

[38:57] Yes. Thank you. Um, appreciate

[38:59] everybody that got engaged in

[39:00] this process. I'm really

[39:02] excited about our candidate. I

[39:03] know that we have a special

[39:05] guest tonight joining us to get

[39:06] a sneak preview of what's to

[39:08] come in this role. And I'm

[39:10] looking forward to having an

[39:11] intentional process to get Mr.

[39:13] Kane acclimated and situated in

[39:16] Lakewood. And just looking

[39:17] forward to working with him.

[39:20] Councilor Lowe.

[39:22] I would just echo that, um, you

[39:23] know, this this was an

[39:24] intensive, even exhaustive

[39:26] process for all involved. Uh,

[39:28] many members of this community

[39:29] certainly imagine for the the

[39:30] candidates participating, we

[39:32] had some great candidates, a

[39:33] lot of conversations, talked to

[39:35] so many members of the

[39:35] community that showed up at

[39:37] events, showed up at our joint

[39:38] Ward two, Ward three meeting to

[39:40] give us their feedback. Cared

[39:41] about this, I can speak, I

[39:43] think I feel confident in

[39:44] speaking for all of us. You

[39:45] know, we on council, we took

[39:46] this decision enormously

[39:47] seriously. This is a very

[39:48] consequential decision. We're

[39:50] hiring the CEO of the city.

[39:51] It's a hugely important job.

[39:52] All of us appreciate that. Um,

[39:54] we did a lot of due diligence.

[39:56] We really we really did. We had

[39:57] a chance to do our long

[39:59] interviews. Um, had multiple

[40:01] conversations with folks,

[40:02] checked, references reviewed,

[40:04] written answers, reviewed

[40:06] written materials, um, watched

[40:08] video interviews, talked to

[40:09] members of the community, etc..

[40:11] Um, Mr. Kane, I see you in the

[40:14] audience. Thank you for joining

[40:15] us today. We were just we were

[40:17] blown away by by the energy and

[40:19] the the thoughtfulness and, um,

[40:22] the level of thoughtfulness on

[40:23] multiple different really, tough, thorny issues

[40:27] that I think you're going to

[40:27] bring to this job. Um, this is a tough job. And I feel

[40:32] really good that we found

[40:33] someone that is just going to

[40:34] gonna going to take a really, great city to the next

[40:39] level. Um, and someone with the

[40:41] capacity for change management

[40:43] where changes need to happen.

[40:44] Um, I just couldn't be more

[40:46] excited to write the next

[40:47] chapter over the next couple of

[40:48] years. And I feel really

[40:49] enthusiastic about having found

[40:51] a, um, an energetic, dynamic

[40:53] leader to do it. So, Mr. Kane,

[40:54] we're we're very excited for

[40:56] you to start.

[41:00] And maybe little did you know,

[41:02] he's already started by

[41:04] attending First Friday on

[41:05] Colfax. So, um, I will go ahead

[41:09] and just say a few remarks. I

[41:11] don't have any additional hands

[41:12] up, but I would like to welcome

[41:15] you to the city of Lakewood. I

[41:16] could not likewise be more

[41:18] enthusiastic about you joining

[41:20] us. The coming in with the

[41:22] level of preparedness, the

[41:23] level of detail and just

[41:26] surveying what we have and the

[41:29] knowledge, like the intimate

[41:31] knowledge that you had about

[41:32] Lakewood. And it was obvious

[41:33] that it's a special place for

[41:35] you. And that means a lot for

[41:36] everybody in this room. That's

[41:38] obviously very invested in our

[41:40] community. So very much looking

[41:42] forward to working together.

[41:43] And with that council, we'll go

[41:45] ahead. Please cast your vote.

[41:54] And that passes ten yeses and

[41:56] zero no's. Thank you everybody.

[42:04] Okay. That leads us to our next

[42:07] topic. Sorry I got a little too

[42:14] enthusiastic. Apparently lost

[42:16] my place in my script, but we

[42:18] should be on item seven. Be

[42:20] correct. That's right. Okay,

[42:21] well, the clerk please read

[42:23] seven B into the record item.

[42:24] 7BR202658 to submit to a vote

[42:27] of the registered electors of

[42:28] the City of Lakewood at the

[42:29] state general election on

[42:30] November 3rd, 2026, a ballot

[42:32] issue for the purpose of

[42:33] authorizing an increase in the

[42:34] city of Lakewood sales, sales

[42:36] and use tax rate.

[42:41] All right. We'll go ahead and

[42:43] open the public hearing on this

[42:45] item. Um, oh, actually, we're

[42:47] not going to open public

[42:48] hearing. We do have

[42:49] presentation before we move

[42:52] into our presentation this

[42:53] evening. Um, council will

[42:55] consider a resolution to place

[42:57] a proposed revenue measure on

[42:59] the ballot for this November, 3rd. This follows

[43:02] several years of work by the

[43:04] Budget and Audit Board,

[43:04] examining the city's long term

[43:06] financial outlook and the

[43:07] challenges of maintaining the

[43:09] services that our community

[43:11] values, and is asking for. The

[43:13] Budget and Audit Board has

[43:15] recommended moving forward with

[43:16] a voter approved revenue

[43:18] change. I'd like to invite the

[43:19] chair of the Budget and Audit

[43:21] Board, Councilor Isabel Cruz,

[43:22] to provide some additional

[43:23] background on the board's

[43:25] recommendation.

[43:27] Thank you. Mayor. Um, so, as

[43:29] many of you I know have been

[43:30] following the Budget and Audit

[43:32] Board has spent considerable

[43:33] time reviewing the city's

[43:35] financial outlook and

[43:37] discussing potential options

[43:38] for addressing our long term

[43:39] funding needs and also

[43:41] addressing the priorities that

[43:42] we hear from our constituents,

[43:44] both, um, our citizen members

[43:46] on the board as well as the

[43:48] people that we all hear from

[43:49] every day. Um, and so as part

[43:51] of that work, the board

[43:52] reviewed the community survey

[43:54] that was conducted by Magellan

[43:56] Strategies back in the spring

[43:57] and discussed the results with

[43:59] City council and a joint study

[44:00] session in July. So you can

[44:02] check out that meeting for some

[44:03] in-depth conversation about

[44:04] what the results of. I think

[44:06] over a thousand people in

[44:07] Lakewood. Feedback was there.

[44:09] Um, and so tonight we have the

[44:11] final recommended ballot

[44:12] language for a voter approved

[44:14] revenue change. And I'm excited

[44:15] to talk with it about it. And

[44:16] I'm grateful to the board and

[44:18] to staff for all of the work

[44:20] that has gone on so far.

[44:22] Thank you. And for a very brief

[44:25] presentation on the topic, we

[44:27] have Matthew Wasserburg from

[44:29] our Budget and Financial

[44:31] Strategy Manager, who will

[44:32] summarize the ballot issue that

[44:34] we are discussing this evening.

[44:36] Great.

[44:37] Thank you. Good evening. Uh,

[44:39] I'll my guess my task tonight

[44:41] is to provide a short history

[44:42] on the process. Uh, that was

[44:44] taken to get this proposed

[44:46] resolution, uh, tax language,

[44:48] ballot measure, uh, onto this

[44:50] resolution. Uh, so with that,

[44:54] uh, the process started with

[44:55] city council identifying their

[44:56] needs, uh, at their February

[44:59] uh, council workshop, they

[45:00] asked the Budget and Audit

[45:01] Board to help evaluate, uh, how

[45:04] the city could help move this

[45:05] forward. Uh, the Budget and

[45:07] Audit Board was a natural

[45:08] partner for this because of

[45:09] their mix of, uh, council and

[45:13] resident representation. And it

[45:16] also had experience, uh,

[45:18] evaluating other revenue

[45:19] options, uh, and ballot

[45:21] measures, most recently in 2024

[45:23] with the Tabor extension. Uh,

[45:26] the budget and audit Board, uh,

[45:28] asked to look at the city's

[45:29] financial challenges first,

[45:31] rather than starting with any

[45:33] specific, uh, sales tax

[45:35] proposal. Uh, at their March

[45:38] 3rd meeting, uh, the Budget and

[45:40] Audit Board was presented with

[45:41] the financial picture that the

[45:43] city was facing at the time we

[45:45] presented this slide, uh, that

[45:47] showed that revenue was

[45:48] softening due to economic

[45:49] uncertainty. Um, at the same

[45:52] time, costs across the board

[45:54] were increasing. Um, those are

[45:57] costs for capital projects,

[45:58] supplies and services, as well

[46:00] as, uh, staff salary and

[46:01] benefits. Uh, and we were

[46:03] seeing some uncertainty in the

[46:05] grant world as the federal

[46:07] grant started drying up or

[46:09] changing priorities. Uh, we

[46:12] also experienced a significant

[46:14] one time, uh, impact from the,

[46:18] uh, business tax settlement,

[46:21] uh, that reduced reserves in

[46:22] the general fund and the Tabor

[46:24] fund. Uh, and we also lost

[46:27] about $3.7 million of ongoing

[46:29] revenue from that bank tax each

[46:32] year. At the same time,

[46:34] community, we kept hearing that

[46:35] there are more and more needs

[46:36] within the community. Uh,

[46:38] infrastructure continued to

[46:39] age. Uh, and city council

[46:41] identified numerous priorities

[46:44] around sustainability,

[46:45] homelessness and traffic safety.

[46:49] As the board began looking at

[46:50] potential revenue options, one

[46:52] piece of context was Lakewood.

[46:53] Current sales tax rate. Uh,

[46:56] Lakewood municipal sales tax

[46:57] rate is 3%. Uh, and as you can

[47:00] see, that's on the lower end,

[47:02] um, compared to other cities in

[47:04] the metro area, uh, it's

[47:06] important to note that Lakewood

[47:08] does not charge, uh, sales tax

[47:10] on groceries. And we have those

[47:12] little grocery basket icons on

[47:14] this chart to, uh, highlight

[47:16] some of the neighboring cities

[47:17] that do charge sales tax, uh,

[47:19] on grocery purchases. The

[47:23] Budget and Audit Board, uh,

[47:24] really wanted to understand

[47:25] what the community was telling

[47:26] us about their priorities and

[47:28] the willingness to consider

[47:30] additional investment. Uh, so,

[47:32] as Councilor Kruse mentioned,

[47:33] the board engaged Magellan

[47:35] Strategies to conduct a

[47:37] community survey. Uh, they

[47:39] reached out to 100 registered

[47:40] voters to better understand

[47:42] residents priorities and their

[47:44] views on potential revenue

[47:46] investments. Uh, the results

[47:48] indicated that voters see a

[47:50] need for additional investment

[47:52] in city services, in

[47:54] particular, uh, around public

[47:55] safety and homelessness, as

[47:57] well as traffic safety. Uh,

[48:01] based on the survey, uh, and

[48:02] Magellan's recommendations, the

[48:04] Budget and Audit Board

[48:05] ultimately recommended a ballot

[48:07] measure that would ask voters

[48:09] to increase Lakewood sales tax

[48:11] by one, uh, by one one half of

[48:14] 1%. The increase is estimated

[48:17] to generate $17.6 million each

[48:21] year for city services. Uh, and

[48:23] it is important to note that

[48:24] groceries are not subject to

[48:26] Lakewood, uh, sales tax. Uh, so

[48:28] this increase would also not

[48:31] apply to grocery purchases. And

[48:34] with that, I am here for any

[48:36] questions. Um, before turning

[48:38] it back over to you.

[48:39] Thank you. Council, do we have

[48:40] any questions? Councilor sinks.

[48:46] So not really a question, but

[48:48] just a statement that I'm so

[48:49] excited to put this to the

[48:51] voters. The voters and let the

[48:53] voters decide what kind of, um,

[48:57] sales tax we should have, what

[48:59] kind of benefits, what kind of,

[49:00] um, results we should see from

[49:03] a possible increase. So thank

[49:06] you very much for your work on

[49:07] this. Appreciate. And I'm

[49:09] excited about the possibilities.

[49:14] All right. I have no more hands

[49:16] up. So, Mr. Rosenberg, you may

[49:19] have a seat for now. Um, we'll

[49:22] go ahead and open the public

[49:24] hearing. I have two signed up

[49:26] to speak on this topic. First,

[49:28] James Ginsburg.

[49:37] Good evening. Thanks. I'm James

[49:39] Ginsburg. I'm the executive

[49:40] director of recovery Works in

[49:42] Ward one, and we're a nonprofit

[49:43] organization and just want to,

[49:46] um, speak in strong favor of

[49:49] this measure to increase the

[49:51] sales tax and sort of remind

[49:54] the council it's already been

[49:55] highlighted, but underscore

[49:56] some of the components of this

[49:58] that make it, um, very

[50:00] attractive. Of course, only

[50:02] going from 3% to 3.5%. So half

[50:06] a percent, very reasonable. It

[50:09] still keeps us below the

[50:11] average of other, uh, sister

[50:13] cities in the metro area. Um.

[50:18] And that it, uh, that the focus

[50:21] is fairly narrow and it's

[50:23] focused on initiatives that the

[50:25] public has said that we've

[50:28] wanted, which is public safety

[50:29] and other aging infrastructure.

[50:32] Uh, also wanted to highlight

[50:34] that, um, it doesn't include

[50:38] food, which was mentioned. And

[50:40] then finally, just to highlight

[50:42] with inflation, this is the

[50:44] first sales and use tax

[50:47] increase in 20 years. And so I

[50:50] think it's important that we

[50:52] highlight those issues. If this

[50:53] makes the ballot. And again

[50:55] strongly encourage you to vote

[50:57] for this. Thank you.

[50:58] Natalie Minton.

[51:11] Good evening again. Council

[51:13] Natalie Minton. Um, I'm glad

[51:15] food was mentioned so many

[51:16] times because that opens up the

[51:18] door for what I want to talk

[51:19] about. Um, I helped lead the

[51:23] 2009 2010 citizen push to

[51:26] repeal, um, taxes on food here

[51:30] in Lakewood. So I have a really

[51:31] long history on this. It's very

[51:33] important to me. I think it's a

[51:35] moral to to tax food. Frankly.

[51:38] So it says in this measure it

[51:40] will not tax groceries. I've

[51:42] heard will not tax food. But

[51:43] the reality is it actually

[51:45] increases. This measure will

[51:46] increase the sales tax on food

[51:50] in multiple ways. One, we're

[51:54] talking about when it says

[51:55] groceries. And you can look up

[51:57] code and you'll need to

[51:58] reference state law also to to

[52:00] figure out all the ins and outs

[52:02] of complex tax policy. I'll

[52:04] give you examples of where

[52:06] taxes would increase that hot

[52:09] rotisserie chicken that the

[52:11] parent picks up after work to

[52:13] feed the family. That is not

[52:16] exempt from sales tax. You will

[52:18] be increasing the sales tax.

[52:20] The six inch sub that somebody

[52:22] may grab in between their two

[52:23] jobs. You'd be increasing the

[52:26] sales tax on that food. Even

[52:30] sweetened apple juice at the

[52:32] grocery store. If it doesn't

[52:34] include over 50% content of

[52:38] fruit juice, it's considered

[52:40] pop and it's taxed. You'd have

[52:42] to go to state law to actually

[52:44] read that. So prepared meals

[52:46] and take out food are taxed

[52:49] right now and will be an

[52:52] increase on the taxes on those

[52:54] food products. So I'm just

[52:58] giving you a few examples of

[53:00] the complexity of this taxing

[53:01] policy. And these are not

[53:03] luxury items. These are food

[53:05] purchased by working people who

[53:07] may not have the time, money or

[53:08] ability to prepare every meal

[53:10] from scratch. The legal

[53:12] definition of exempt groceries

[53:13] does not match what ordinary

[53:16] people understand. The word

[53:17] food to mean, and the proposal

[53:20] also comes at the height of

[53:23] cost of living crisis. Let's

[53:26] call it Lakewood. Sales tax is

[53:28] already increased. You've

[53:29] already taken in more revenue

[53:32] off the pain that consumers are

[53:34] facing. And while I understand

[53:37] city will turn around and say,

[53:38] well, cost more to build a

[53:39] street or something, citizens

[53:41] are also right now paying more

[53:43] because food is more expensive

[53:47] and a whole long list of other

[53:48] things. The comparables

[53:52] Englewood. Edgewater was on the

[53:54] comparable list. Edgewater

[53:55] doesn't have a property tax.

[53:57] Lakewood does. So it's very

[54:00] hard. We'll go back to you

[54:02] literally. It's not an apples

[54:04] to apples comparison. Shouldn't

[54:07] be taxing food more. This

[54:09] measure will do it. And the

[54:11] title is, uh, misleading

[54:14] properly. Thank you.

[54:15] All right. I have no

[54:19] one else signed up to speak on

[54:20] this issue. So we'll go ahead

[54:21] and close the public hearing.

[54:24] And may I please have a motion?

[54:27] Mayor, I move for the adoption

[54:28] of resolution 2020 658.

[54:31] Second.

[54:33] All right. We have a motion on

[54:34] the floor and a second, any

[54:37] council questions? Discussions?

[54:40] Mayor Pro tem sure. Is I.

[54:42] Yes. Thank you. Appreciate the

[54:45] work that went into this. I

[54:47] also am a member of the Budget

[54:48] and Audit Board and appreciate

[54:50] the leadership of Councilor

[54:52] Cruz. This was, um, an

[54:55] opportunity for us to move

[54:56] forward, a priority that we

[54:57] found consensus on as a city

[55:00] council. Early in our year.

[55:01] We've consistently heard from

[55:03] voters that they need to

[55:04] decide, and that's all we're

[55:06] doing. We're sending this to

[55:07] the voters to decide the idea

[55:10] that the city needs to tighten

[55:12] their budget is just

[55:13] fundamentally flawed. When

[55:15] we're asked to do more and

[55:17] respond to an evolving need of

[55:19] a modern community and frankly,

[55:21] a little insulting and sort of

[55:23] feels along the lines of asking

[55:24] us to drink less lattes and eat

[55:26] less avocado toast. And that's

[55:29] going to sort

[55:29] To solve our affordability

[55:31] problems. The reality is things

[55:35] that cost money. And so whether

[55:37] I hope that my peers up here

[55:39] will join in supporting this

[55:40] and sending it to the voters,

[55:41] whether or not you agree with

[55:43] it or, um, or disagree, that's

[55:45] a decision you can make when

[55:47] the ballots are out in your

[55:48] house. Um, let's let Lakewood

[55:50] vote for this and help decide

[55:52] how we meet the community's

[55:53] growing needs and to maintain

[55:54] the quality of life that

[55:55] Lakewood and everyone deserves.

[56:00] Councillor labor.

[56:03] Thanks, mayor. Um, yeah, I was

[56:05] just going to comment. You

[56:06] know, in the ten or so years

[56:07] I've been involved with the

[56:08] council, you know, we've never

[56:10] asked for a tax rate increase.

[56:12] Whether you agree or don't

[56:15] agree with raising the sales

[56:16] tax. You know, I am excited

[56:17] that the Lakewood residents

[56:19] will have the opportunity to

[56:20] make this choice for

[56:21] themselves. Voters will decide

[56:23] on whether they want to invest

[56:24] more in public safety and

[56:26] streets and sidewalks and

[56:28] pedestrian and bicycle

[56:29] infrastructure. I think these

[56:31] are important investments in

[56:33] our community and ultimately,

[56:34] Lakewood residents should

[56:36] decide whether or not they want

[56:37] to make them. I think with

[56:39] this, with the passage of this,

[56:40] November will be their

[56:42] opportunity to weigh in. So I

[56:44] hope it passes. And, uh, hope

[56:46] the residents, you know, look

[56:48] forward to the opportunity to decide.

[56:51] Councilor Ike Cruz.

[56:54] Thank you all and appreciate

[56:56] the the remarks so far. Um, I

[56:59] just wanted to share a that I

[57:01] have really enjoyed the process

[57:03] of this work, both with our

[57:05] budget and audit board, with

[57:06] the great fellow members of

[57:07] council who are on that and

[57:09] with our citizen, our resident

[57:11] members, and really deep diving

[57:13] deep into what is the kind of

[57:16] prognostication of the city's

[57:18] finances. What do people want?

[57:20] How do we dig into delivering

[57:21] on that, and what kind of

[57:22] questions can we ask our

[57:23] community to figure out how we

[57:26] move forward? A shared vision

[57:28] of Lakewood. I think in this

[57:29] process, you know, we figured

[57:30] out it will take probably over

[57:32] 200 years to build all the

[57:33] sidewalks people want. Right?

[57:35] Um, with the current funding

[57:36] that we have, we know that, um,

[57:39] although the city and many of

[57:41] our partners, like those

[57:42] represented in the room, are

[57:43] doing a lot of great work to

[57:45] meet the needs of the on how

[57:47] the unhoused folks, you know,

[57:48] on West Colfax and across the

[57:50] city. Um, that the need is

[57:54] growing and we need to meet

[57:55] this moment and work towards a

[57:57] Lakewood where no one has to

[57:59] sleep outside. Um, and where we

[58:01] meet people's needs. And so I'm

[58:02] really excited with, uh, public

[58:04] safety and then also our

[58:06] traffic calming and pedestrian

[58:09] and bicycle infrastructure

[58:11] improvements that we have

[58:12] gotten so many requests for

[58:14] from people in the community

[58:15] across wards that we get the

[58:17] opportunity to have this

[58:18] conversation as a community.

[58:20] And that's really what this is.

[58:22] As many other folks on council

[58:23] have said, right? This is a

[58:24] question that we're asking

[58:26] folks, and I'm really excited

[58:28] for the opportunity for the

[58:31] democratic process to to work

[58:32] through. And I am hopeful that

[58:35] this can open up some new

[58:36] opportunities to build towards

[58:38] a more thriving Lakewood

[58:39] together. So excited to vote

[58:40] yes on sending this to the

[58:41] people. And and going forward

[58:43] from there.

[58:45] Councilor Lowe.

[58:47] Thank you. And thank you,

[58:48] Councillor Cruse, for for your

[58:50] leadership on this process as

[58:51] on so many other things. Um,

[58:53] also member of the Budget Audit

[58:55] Board, um, voted yes. Plan to

[58:57] vote yes tonight. Um, glad to

[58:59] see this move forward. And glad

[59:00] that we're giving our voters a

[59:01] chance to weigh in on this

[59:02] really important issue. Um, you

[59:05] know, look, if you go to the

[59:07] link, just a couple, I want to

[59:09] just one point, the the

[59:10] question was brought up about

[59:12] food and what qualifies as

[59:13] food. Well, the Lakewood code

[59:14] does define food. It defines

[59:16] food as food for home

[59:17] consumption means food for

[59:19] domestic home consumption as

[59:21] defined. And then they use the

[59:22] exact same definition that we

[59:23] use for the federal

[59:24] Supplemental Nutrition

[59:25] Assistance Program, which

[59:26] covers all groceries. It then

[59:29] stipulates that food does not

[59:30] include carbonated water,

[59:32] marketing containers, chewing

[59:33] gum seeds, and plants to grow

[59:35] food, prepared salads and salad

[59:37] bars, packaged and unpacked

[59:39] cold sandwiches, deli trays,

[59:41] and hot or cold beverages

[59:43] served in containers or cups

[59:44] that are vented by or through

[59:45] machines or non coin operated

[59:48] coin collecting food and snack

[59:49] devices. So there are a couple

[59:50] of exceptions, but they're

[59:51] extremely narrow. Food is

[59:53] carved out and and food the way

[59:56] that anyone conceives of food

[59:57] other than that very, very

[59:59] specific list of exceptions is

[1:00:01] exempt from the sales tax. So I

[1:00:02] did just want to want to speak

[1:00:04] to that since it came up in the

[1:00:05] comments. You know, the if you

[1:00:07] look at just the language of

[1:00:09] what we're referring, it says

[1:00:10] public safety purposes,

[1:00:11] including investing in crime

[1:00:13] prevention and homelessness

[1:00:14] response and traffic safety

[1:00:16] improvements, including

[1:00:17] maintenance and construction of

[1:00:18] streets and sidewalks, road

[1:00:20] improvements to reduce vehicle

[1:00:21] speeds, and pedestrian and

[1:00:23] bicycle safety enhancements.

[1:00:24] And, you know, we really do

[1:00:25] have a need in Lakewood for

[1:00:27] greater investments in both of

[1:00:28] those buckets. I'm really

[1:00:32] excited about the potential and

[1:00:33] the possibility of having a

[1:00:35] really, you know, robust,

[1:00:36] inclusive, community based

[1:00:37] process for how we could invest

[1:00:39] additional resources in

[1:00:40] effective, proven programs that

[1:00:42] actually reduce crime to

[1:00:44] prevent crime rather than

[1:00:45] addressing it. I think these

[1:00:47] funds would open up that

[1:00:48] possibility in a really

[1:00:49] exciting way. Um, we

[1:00:51] desperately do need more

[1:00:52] funding for sidewalks and

[1:00:54] traffic calming, more funding

[1:00:56] for traffic calming, much more.

[1:00:58] And this would really you know,

[1:01:00] I've heard that over and over.

[1:01:01] I can't tell you how many folks

[1:01:02] in Ward three have weighed in

[1:01:04] on their desire for more

[1:01:06] funding for speed bumps and

[1:01:07] speed humps and speed cushions

[1:01:09] and and bump outs and other

[1:01:12] design improvements that would

[1:01:14] reduce speed. And this funding

[1:01:16] would would potentially enable

[1:01:17] that. And final thought I'm

[1:01:21] going to be voting for this.

[1:01:22] And I'm I'm enthusiastic about

[1:01:23] saying this to the voters. I

[1:01:25] also do just want to name and

[1:01:26] acknowledge that, like our

[1:01:27] voters are concerned about

[1:01:30] affordability. And I get that.

[1:01:31] I genuinely get that. And I

[1:01:33] want to name that they are

[1:01:33] going to have a couple of other

[1:01:35] revenue measures on the ballot,

[1:01:36] too. And I think a number of

[1:01:37] those revenue measures are

[1:01:38] actually important. And I don't

[1:01:42] want anyone to read this vote,

[1:01:43] this referral to the voters as

[1:01:45] like us predicting that this is

[1:01:46] a slam dunk. I actually don't

[1:01:48] think it is. I think this is

[1:01:49] going to be a very this has the

[1:01:51] potential to be a very close,

[1:01:52] um, close election. I agree

[1:01:54] with what the mayor pro tem

[1:01:55] said. We're asking our voters a

[1:01:57] question. We're asking them,

[1:01:58] how do you feel about the sales

[1:01:59] tax going from 3 to 3.5%? It

[1:02:02] would still be one of the

[1:02:03] lowest sales tax rates in the

[1:02:04] metro region. And I think we

[1:02:06] should make that point. But

[1:02:07] ultimately, you know, under

[1:02:08] Tabor, the voters get a chance

[1:02:10] to decide. And I think, um, I

[1:02:12] think particularly given given

[1:02:13] everything on the ballot,

[1:02:14] that's that's actually healthy,

[1:02:16] uh, on on this question, um, I

[1:02:19] think it's good that the voters

[1:02:20] have the ultimate say on this.

[1:02:21] I don't know what we're going

[1:02:22] to get back. I genuinely don't,

[1:02:23] but what I'm voting for tonight

[1:02:25] is the chance to sort of not be

[1:02:27] gatekeeper on this present. You

[1:02:29] know, the the case, the, the

[1:02:30] funding opportunity, what it

[1:02:32] would fund to the voters and

[1:02:33] let our voters answer the

[1:02:34] question up or down, and we

[1:02:36] will see what they come back

[1:02:37] with in November.

[1:02:40] Councilor Fuhrman.

[1:02:44] At the risk of sounding.

[1:02:45] Redundant, um, I.

[1:02:47] Wanted.

[1:02:47] To see something.

[1:02:48] Very similar.

[1:02:48] To that which is essentially.

[1:02:50] While I had the same

[1:02:53] reservation because of people

[1:02:54] have expressed concerns about

[1:02:55] affordability, the belief that

[1:02:59] I might have a strong sense of

[1:03:00] what people do and don't want.

[1:03:01] Uh, I think is a bit of hubris.

[1:03:04] So I look forward to this going

[1:03:05] to the ballot, because I do

[1:03:07] think this is and I actually I

[1:03:10] know this has been narrowly

[1:03:11] defined based on the survey

[1:03:12] they've seen. And based on

[1:03:15] that, I think this should be a

[1:03:16] clear decision by the public.

[1:03:18] And so support the support the

[1:03:20] ballot.

[1:03:23] Councilor Kate Cruz yeah.

[1:03:26] So I guess a question I have

[1:03:27] for the budget, budget and

[1:03:29] audit board or staff, um, the

[1:03:32] resolution obviously exempts

[1:03:34] food. Was there any

[1:03:36] consideration to exempting

[1:03:39] anything else? So we know that

[1:03:41] OS Metro Fire District is

[1:03:44] putting something forward

[1:03:45] similar to a sales tax

[1:03:48] increase, but they exempt, um,

[1:03:51] medicine and gas. Was there any

[1:03:54] consideration when this was

[1:03:56] brought up to the board?

[1:03:59] Would you like to respond?

[1:04:01] Thank you and thank you,

[1:04:03] councillor K Cruz. I think that is a really important

[1:04:06] conversation. And so the scope

[1:04:09] of work that we all talked

[1:04:10] about was how are we thinking

[1:04:13] about approaching kind of

[1:04:14] revenue more broadly and less

[1:04:16] like how are we digging into

[1:04:18] the specifics of our sales tax?

[1:04:20] And so we didn't dive further

[1:04:22] with the time that we had to

[1:04:24] think about how to, uh, broaden

[1:04:27] those exemptions, which I do

[1:04:29] think is a conversation that I

[1:04:31] would like to have. And I know

[1:04:32] a lot of other cities have had

[1:04:33] with some of these pieces. And

[1:04:35] so I think that that was a

[1:04:36] missed opportunity. And I think

[1:04:38] that West Metro fire, this is

[1:04:40] the first time they're going to

[1:04:42] be charging sales tax. And so I

[1:04:43] think they had a little bit of

[1:04:44] a different starting position

[1:04:46] from what from the conversation

[1:04:47] that they could have. Um, and

[1:04:49] so I would love to kind of have

[1:04:51] a conversation moving forward

[1:04:53] about thinking broadly about

[1:04:55] the things that people exempt

[1:04:56] from sales tax. I know other

[1:04:59] municipalities look at diapers

[1:05:00] specifically or formula other

[1:05:02] pieces. And so I don't think I

[1:05:05] personally didn't think we had

[1:05:07] the, the time that that

[1:05:09] conversation merited to really

[1:05:11] think about it holistically.

[1:05:12] But I think it's an important

[1:05:13] piece and understand the

[1:05:15] concern around affordability

[1:05:16] for those essential items.

[1:05:19] So I guess the question I have

[1:05:20] is if we wanted to broaden that

[1:05:22] exemption, do we have time to

[1:05:24] do that? Or is tonight the

[1:05:28] final decision on the ballot

[1:05:29] question.

[1:05:29] Yeah. So I think we only have

[1:05:31] and correct me if I'm wrong,

[1:05:32] but I think we only have a

[1:05:33] couple of days before the final

[1:05:35] language would be due to the

[1:05:36] county. Um, and then I think

[1:05:38] that that would also put us in

[1:05:39] a position where our broader

[1:05:42] sales tax is collected in one

[1:05:44] way, and then this portion of

[1:05:45] sales tax is collected in

[1:05:46] another way, in a way that

[1:05:47] might create some, um,

[1:05:49] administrative issues that

[1:05:51] could make this a bit more

[1:05:53] challenging than potentially

[1:05:55] the next couple of days could

[1:05:56] take on. So, um, again, I think

[1:05:59] broader conversation and I, at

[1:06:01] least from my perspective, like

[1:06:02] now is a bit of a challenging

[1:06:03] time to do that.

[1:06:05] Okay. Thank you. You know,

[1:06:06] thinking this through also

[1:06:08] stakeholder with West Metro

[1:06:10] Fire, one of the biggest

[1:06:11] concerns I had was would there

[1:06:13] be competition? After speaking

[1:06:15] with government affairs

[1:06:17] individual with the department,

[1:06:19] they don't feel that that is

[1:06:20] the case, which made me feel a

[1:06:22] lot better. Um, I guess the

[1:06:24] biggest thing is just probing

[1:06:26] and putting to staff. If we

[1:06:27] could have that coordination

[1:06:29] conversation with West Metro

[1:06:31] Fire regarding approach and

[1:06:33] timing. Um, you know, I

[1:06:36] completely am supportive of

[1:06:37] sending this to the voters and

[1:06:39] letting them decide. I just

[1:06:40] want to make sure that the

[1:06:41] right stakeholder is done. Um,

[1:06:43] and that when it comes down to,

[1:06:46] you know, the items that we're

[1:06:48] selecting, uh, to exempt that list potentially gets

[1:06:52] looked at moving forward.

[1:06:55] Councilor Nystrom.

[1:06:58] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:06:59] Um, I just want to say thanks

[1:07:01] for the efforts that went into

[1:07:03] this. I know there was a lot of

[1:07:03] work done on this, and I think

[1:07:06] it is an imperative thing for

[1:07:08] the community at this point.

[1:07:10] Um, my concern remains with,

[1:07:12] um, if you look at the actual

[1:07:15] survey questions, um,

[1:07:18] sustainability initiatives was

[1:07:20] categorized as energy

[1:07:21] efficiency and water

[1:07:22] conservation. And that's great,

[1:07:24] except for the fact that we

[1:07:25] have a serious health crisis

[1:07:28] with our air quality. We've

[1:07:29] already had 42 air quality

[1:07:31] alerts this summer. And if you

[1:07:33] recall, during our winter, that

[1:07:34] wasn't really a winter. We had

[1:07:37] also air quality alerts during

[1:07:39] the winter months. Um, so this

[1:07:42] isn't air quality and

[1:07:45] initiatives that go along with,

[1:07:47] um, reducing our greenhouse gas

[1:07:49] emissions as a city and a

[1:07:51] community. These are not like

[1:07:53] survey questions. These are

[1:07:55] imperatives. Um, we have

[1:07:57] statutory requirements for

[1:07:59] them. And I would really, um,

[1:08:02] like to emphasize the fact that

[1:08:04] not allocating any of this

[1:08:06] money towards that is

[1:08:07] concerning to me. Um, but

[1:08:11] again, I want to thank, thank

[1:08:13] everybody for the work that

[1:08:14] they've done on this and

[1:08:15] appreciate that.

[1:08:19] All right. Before we move to

[1:08:21] our potential second round of,

[1:08:24] um, hands up, I will give my

[1:08:26] comments. Um, I am wildly

[1:08:30] supportive of putting this

[1:08:31] forward to the voters. My

[1:08:33] preference would be that we

[1:08:35] take a year and learn a little

[1:08:37] bit more about what the very

[1:08:39] detailed needs and desires are

[1:08:41] for our community. Um, you

[1:08:43] know, homeless is a perfect

[1:08:44] example there. We can we can

[1:08:47] look at that one. Um, some of

[1:08:50] our residents honestly might be

[1:08:52] dismissive about putting more

[1:08:53] money in that area. But I want

[1:08:55] to be really, really clear.

[1:08:56] That is the top thing that we

[1:08:59] hear from our community every

[1:09:01] single day of a request to

[1:09:04] solve a problem. This impacts

[1:09:06] our small businesses. This

[1:09:08] impacts our big businesses. It

[1:09:09] impacts all of our businesses.

[1:09:10] It impacts our residents that

[1:09:12] are here and in homes that are

[1:09:13] paying property taxes and sales

[1:09:15] taxes every single day. There's

[1:09:18] very much a need. I would love

[1:09:19] to see us coalesce around more

[1:09:21] specificity for this particular

[1:09:24] ballot measure. So I'll be a no

[1:09:27] tonight as far as just putting

[1:09:28] it forward for 2026. But I am

[1:09:31] very supportive of this

[1:09:33] conversation in general and

[1:09:35] moving forward. So I just

[1:09:36] wanted to be clear about what

[1:09:38] those intentions were. And that

[1:09:40] was all I had to say on that

[1:09:41] topic. Uh, Councilor Labor,

[1:09:43] your hand is back up.

[1:09:46] Oops. Thanks, mayor. Well, I

[1:09:48] was just gonna briefly comment.

[1:09:49] I think the about the exemption

[1:09:51] discussion that was brought up.

[1:09:53] I definitely think there's some

[1:09:54] opportunity in places to

[1:09:56] continue to have that

[1:09:57] conversation. I was trying to

[1:09:58] look up the old ordinance, but

[1:10:00] I also just had PTSD. When you

[1:10:02] mentioned exemptions, because I

[1:10:04] do remember in 2020, we had a

[1:10:05] robust conversation about

[1:10:06] exemptions. And one of the

[1:10:07] major topics, of course, was

[1:10:09] medical supplies, where I

[1:10:10] believe, and I was trying to

[1:10:11] look for the red line, where we

[1:10:12] did extend a number of medical

[1:10:15] exemptions. I also remember

[1:10:16] getting rid of a few as well.

[1:10:17] But anyway, just want to bring

[1:10:19] it up. I, you know, I think

[1:10:20] there's always room to talk

[1:10:21] about, you know, how to carve

[1:10:22] up these things. But, um, it

[1:10:25] did bring back some old

[1:10:26] memories of, of some of those

[1:10:27] discussions. Thanks.

[1:10:30] Thank you. And that is our last

[1:10:32] hand up. So with that, we do

[1:10:34] have a motion. Right. And a

[1:10:36] second already.

[1:10:37] I don't think so.

[1:10:39] Oh we went. okay okay. All

[1:10:42] right. We have a motion on the

[1:10:43] floor. And a second please go

[1:10:45] ahead and cast your votes. All

[1:10:53] right. And that fails or I'm

[1:10:57] sorry that that passes. Eight

[1:10:59] yeses, two nos. The nose being

[1:11:01] strong and Kate Cruz. Will the

[1:11:07] clerk please read item eight

[1:11:12] into the record.?

[1:11:15] Item eight B second reading and

[1:11:17] public hearing on O 2026.

[1:11:20] AA.

[1:11:21] Excuse me. Yeah. Thank you.

[1:11:23] Item eight second reading

[1:11:24] public hearing on O 2020 2629

[1:11:26] authorizing a supplemental

[1:11:27] appropriations to the 2026

[1:11:29] annual budget in the amount of

[1:11:31] $225,000 in general fund to pay

[1:11:33] for the expenses related to the

[1:11:34] general election to be held on

[1:11:36] November 3rd, 2026.

[1:11:39] Okay. Thank you. And we do for

[1:11:42] this topic. Have a staff

[1:11:43] presentation. I understand, Mr.

[1:11:46] Rob.

[1:11:46] Thank you. Mayor. Just quickly,

[1:11:48] um, you know, in response to

[1:11:49] the City Council approving

[1:11:50] three charter amendments that

[1:11:52] your previous meeting and

[1:11:53] tonight's sales tax question,

[1:11:55] um, all four of those questions

[1:11:56] will be on the ballot of the

[1:11:58] November 3rd, 2026 general

[1:11:59] election. Um, staff estimates

[1:12:01] that the cost of the ballot

[1:12:02] sent to Lakewood voters, um,

[1:12:04] could equal an amount not to

[1:12:05] exceed $225,000. Approval of

[1:12:09] tonight's ordinance, 2020 629

[1:12:11] will appropriate these funds

[1:12:12] from the General Fund reserves

[1:12:13] to the General Fund operating

[1:12:15] budget for the election

[1:12:16] administration costs that will

[1:12:18] be incurred by Jefferson County

[1:12:19] Clerk and Recorder's Office.

[1:12:20] Um, who you all know the city

[1:12:22] is coordinating with through

[1:12:23] the IGA that was approved at

[1:12:25] the previous meeting. Um, yeah.

[1:12:28] And I'll just I'll just leave

[1:12:29] it at that and defer to any

[1:12:30] questions you might have.

[1:12:32] Okay. Counsel, do we have any

[1:12:33] questions? All right. Seeing

[1:12:36] none, we'll go ahead and open

[1:12:37] the public hearing. And I don't

[1:12:39] have anyone signed up to speak

[1:12:40] on item eight a anybody any

[1:12:44] late arrivals want to speak on

[1:12:45] item eight? All right. We'll go

[1:12:47] ahead and close public comment

[1:12:49] on that. Um, may I please have

[1:12:52] a motion?

[1:12:54] Mayor, move for the adoption of

[1:12:55] ordinance 2020 629 on second

[1:12:59] and final reading.

[1:13:00] Second.

[1:13:03] All right. We have a motion on

[1:13:04] the floor. And a second. Any

[1:13:05] additional council discussion?

[1:13:08] Councilor Ike Cruz.

[1:13:10] Thank you. I just wanted to

[1:13:12] take this opportunity to just

[1:13:14] extend another thanks to our

[1:13:16] finance team. I know Miss

[1:13:18] Bjorklund and Mr. Whataburger

[1:13:20] and many other people were

[1:13:21] involved in figuring out how to

[1:13:22] make this supplemental

[1:13:23] appropriation possible. Um, and

[1:13:26] so from both the work that you

[1:13:27] and I know, our team at legal

[1:13:29] did on preparing all the things

[1:13:31] that are going to go to the

[1:13:32] ballot, to making sure that we

[1:13:33] can fund it on the ballot. I

[1:13:34] just wanted to say thank you.

[1:13:40] All right. And with that, I'm

[1:13:45] totally losing track.

[1:13:46] Did you do a motions or just a

[1:13:48] vote?

[1:13:49] All right. Um, please go ahead

[1:13:51] and cast your vote. That passes

[1:13:57] ten yeses and zero nos. Oh.

[1:14:02] It's not. Oh. We'll go ahead

[1:14:11] and try voting again. Please,

[1:14:13] everybody. There we go. Passes.

[1:14:22] Ten zero nos. Now moving on to

[1:14:31] item eight. B will the clerk

[1:14:33] please read eight B into the

[1:14:34] record?

[1:14:34] Second reading and public

[1:14:35] hearing for item 8BO202630. An

[1:14:38] Ordinance to Repeal and Replace

[1:14:39] chapter two point excuse me

[1:14:41] 5.29 of the Lakewood Municipal

[1:14:43] Code pertaining to commercial

[1:14:44] waste hauler licensing.

[1:14:48] All right. Thank you very much.

[1:14:49] And for this topic tonight, we

[1:14:51] do have a staff presentation.

[1:14:53] Um, for we're hearing from

[1:14:56] Katie McCain. She'll give a

[1:14:58] presentation. She is our

[1:15:01] sustainability planner manager.

[1:15:08] Will you give us our full

[1:15:09] title? I don't have it in

[1:15:10] writing here. What is your

[1:15:11] title? I am a.

[1:15:12] Sustainability manager.

[1:15:14] Thank you. Very well. And we

[1:15:16] have MJ here as well as our

[1:15:18] sustainability planner to

[1:15:19] answer questions. Thank you.

[1:15:21] And the floor is yours.

[1:15:23] Awesome. Well welcome everyone.

[1:15:26] Thank you so much for having me

[1:15:27] here tonight to explain this

[1:15:28] item that's on the agenda. So,

[1:15:30] uh, as you all know, Lakewood

[1:15:32] has a licensing code where we

[1:15:35] ask our haulers to be licensed.

[1:15:36] We make sure we have them

[1:15:38] licensed just for public safety

[1:15:40] and accountability. And it's

[1:15:41] basically just an

[1:15:41] administrative process and

[1:15:43] procedures. We have about 30

[1:15:45] licensed haulers on average.

[1:15:47] Um, about half of them are roll

[1:15:49] off companies. And then we have

[1:15:50] a whole bunch, um, there's

[1:15:51] about eight that are

[1:15:52] residential waste haulers. So

[1:15:57] this sustainability advisory

[1:15:58] committee started this fall, as

[1:16:00] you know, and they one of the

[1:16:02] big priorities of this

[1:16:03] committee was to help improve

[1:16:05] some of our residential waste

[1:16:06] programming and systems. So one

[1:16:09] of the big things that came out

[1:16:10] was looking at this new

[1:16:12] statewide program called the

[1:16:14] Extender producer, extended

[1:16:15] Producer Responsibility Program

[1:16:17] that was passed a couple of

[1:16:19] years ago and is recently

[1:16:20] coming into effect. So the

[1:16:23] committee actually reviewed

[1:16:24] this, reviewed the code in a

[1:16:26] lot of detail at four public

[1:16:28] meetings. There was a lot of

[1:16:29] opportunity for great public

[1:16:31] comment. And the committee

[1:16:32] ultimately unanimously

[1:16:34] recommended to take these

[1:16:35] changes to City council for

[1:16:37] your consideration. And that's

[1:16:38] where we're here tonight. So

[1:16:41] basically, the main update here

[1:16:42] is because of this EPR program.

[1:16:44] And basically this is just a

[1:16:46] the point is just to pass on

[1:16:48] free recycling to our

[1:16:49] residents. So if you haven't

[1:16:51] heard free recycling is coming

[1:16:53] to Lakewood. I know you've all

[1:16:54] heard this. Um, basically it's

[1:16:57] free because it's shifting that

[1:16:58] cost from residents and local

[1:17:00] governments to those producers

[1:17:02] that are creating the

[1:17:03] packaging. Uh, and that

[1:17:06] ultimately is incentivizing

[1:17:07] them to produce less, uh,

[1:17:09] packaging materials that can't

[1:17:10] be recycled. So waste haulers

[1:17:13] are reimbursed for these

[1:17:14] recycling costs through the

[1:17:15] statewide program. We just want

[1:17:17] them to participate in it. So

[1:17:18] this reimbursement makes it

[1:17:19] possible for the haulers to

[1:17:21] actually provide this recycling

[1:17:22] to residents at no cost. But

[1:17:25] the participation is voluntary,

[1:17:27] so haulers can choose not to

[1:17:28] participate. So without a local

[1:17:30] requirement, they don't

[1:17:32] necessarily have to participate

[1:17:34] in the program. And they could

[1:17:35] continue charging our Lakewood

[1:17:37] residents for recycling. And we

[1:17:38] don't want to see that. So that

[1:17:40] was really the the big purpose

[1:17:42] of updating this code. Uh, just

[1:17:44] requiring all the license

[1:17:45] haulers that already offer

[1:17:46] residential recycling to

[1:17:48] participate in the program and

[1:17:49] give it to our residents for

[1:17:50] free. There were a couple other

[1:17:54] smaller updates, so I just went

[1:17:55] over the first one, um, as the

[1:17:57] committee went through this,

[1:17:58] there were a few sort of

[1:18:00] outdated terms and some items

[1:18:02] that we really felt like we

[1:18:04] could strengthen in the code.

[1:18:05] So the committee made a couple

[1:18:07] other recommendations. So just

[1:18:08] a quick summary of other

[1:18:10] definitions. We adjusted the

[1:18:11] administrative process. So this

[1:18:13] is no longer a rolling

[1:18:14] timeline. When haulers can

[1:18:16] apply we'll do it at the same

[1:18:17] time every year. That's a lot

[1:18:19] easier for staff. It's a lot

[1:18:20] easier for the haulers. It's

[1:18:21] easier for everyone. Uh, and we

[1:18:23] added some enforcement, uh,

[1:18:24] ability into it too. So what do

[1:18:27] these changes mean for our

[1:18:28] residents? They they really

[1:18:30] residents really shouldn't

[1:18:31] notice any any changes. The

[1:18:33] biggest benefit is just

[1:18:34] expanded access to the free

[1:18:36] curbside recycling. Um, and

[1:18:38] another really neat benefit

[1:18:39] that's sort of a side benefit

[1:18:41] is now our online list of

[1:18:42] haulers will actually be very

[1:18:44] updated because we'll be doing

[1:18:46] the licensing process once a

[1:18:48] year instead of every couple of

[1:18:50] weeks when anyone or anyone

[1:18:51] applies. So, uh, we also

[1:18:53] reached out to our local

[1:18:54] haulers and said, hey, we want

[1:18:56] your input on this. We want to

[1:18:57] make sure we don't have any

[1:18:58] unintended consequences. And

[1:19:00] the haulers are actually really

[1:19:01] excited about this. It'll boost

[1:19:02] their business. So we think

[1:19:03] it'll be a really neat, smooth

[1:19:04] transition. There are a couple,

[1:19:08] uh, staff edits that we sort of

[1:19:10] looked at to clean it up a

[1:19:11] little bit after the

[1:19:12] Sustainability Advisory

[1:19:13] Committee move this forward.

[1:19:16] Uh, I'll run through them

[1:19:17] really quickly. And if you all

[1:19:18] would like to take action on

[1:19:19] them tonight, you certainly

[1:19:20] can. Uh, of course, don't have

[1:19:21] to. So these updates are not in

[1:19:23] the code currently. So, uh, a

[1:19:26] residential recycling service

[1:19:27] provider, we just added the

[1:19:29] words including multifamily at

[1:19:30] the end of this because in our

[1:19:33] code, uh, multifamily is

[1:19:35] generally considered commercial.

[1:19:37] Uh, and in EPR, multifamily is

[1:19:39] included in the free recycling.

[1:19:41] So we just want to make sure

[1:19:42] that that was captured. And I

[1:19:44] appreciate the leadership from

[1:19:45] Council Member Cruz for

[1:19:46] bringing that up. Uh, we also

[1:19:48] noticed a capitalization that I

[1:19:51] wouldn't usually correct, but

[1:19:52] because we've made waste with a

[1:19:54] capital W such a big word with

[1:19:56] A as an umbrella term, we felt

[1:19:58] like this was actually a pretty

[1:19:59] important capitalization to

[1:20:00] correct. Um, in that

[1:20:02] definition. Uh, so now we're

[1:20:05] saying waste is the top, and

[1:20:07] then we have recyclables,

[1:20:08] organics, and trash underneath

[1:20:10] those. And then in the waste

[1:20:12] hauler requirements, this

[1:20:14] actually came up with the

[1:20:15] Sustainability Advisory

[1:20:16] Committee. And I, I'm not sure

[1:20:18] how it didn't end up making it

[1:20:20] in the final version. But what

[1:20:21] happens if that program no

[1:20:22] longer exists? We don't want to

[1:20:23] have to go in and edit this

[1:20:24] code again. So we added this

[1:20:26] verbiage just to cover our

[1:20:28] bases there. Um, and then D

[1:20:30] again is just a definition. We

[1:20:32] want to make sure we're using

[1:20:33] the right term. Since waste is

[1:20:34] the umbrella term and trash is

[1:20:36] underneath. So those were the

[1:20:38] recommended changes. And if

[1:20:39] there are any questions I'm

[1:20:40] happy to answer them.

[1:20:42] Thank you Council. Do we have

[1:20:44] any questions. Mayor Pro Tem

[1:20:47] sure is I.

[1:20:50] don't mean to be first. Every

[1:20:52] time. Um, I had a couple

[1:20:55] questions. Thank you. Excited.

[1:20:58] In 2017 and I was at many a

[1:21:01] community table talking about

[1:21:02] the same topic. So excited to

[1:21:04] see the leadership coming out

[1:21:05] of the Sustainability Committee

[1:21:06] to bring this back. Um, you

[1:21:09] mentioned that haulers were

[1:21:11] talked to and there was no

[1:21:12] concern. So I just wanted like

[1:21:14] really double down on that

[1:21:15] point. We don't think that this

[1:21:17] is going to dissuade haulers

[1:21:18] from wanting to work in

[1:21:19] Lakewood.

[1:21:20] Correct.

[1:21:21] What what's the reasoning for

[1:21:23] limited? Um, EPR participation

[1:21:27] now, like, is it mandated now

[1:21:29] because you mentioned that they

[1:21:30] hadn't, um, registered to

[1:21:32] participate in the program?

[1:21:34] Haulers have the choice of

[1:21:36] participating. So that's why in

[1:21:38] this code, we're saying if you

[1:21:39] are doing residential

[1:21:40] recycling, we want you to

[1:21:41] participate.

[1:21:42] Got it. And then I so

[1:21:45] colleagues who maybe have a

[1:21:47] better understanding of the EPR

[1:21:50] code, I went back and looked at

[1:21:51] the 2022 legislation, and I was

[1:21:54] having a tough time. How do

[1:21:55] what's the insurance that the

[1:21:57] savings are passed on to the

[1:21:58] consumers and they don't remain

[1:22:01] with the hauler? I don't know

[1:22:02] if that's a question for staff

[1:22:04] or if someone on council can

[1:22:05] answer that.

[1:22:07] When the hauler signs up to be

[1:22:09] part of the program, they have

[1:22:11] a process. They get approved to

[1:22:12] be an approved hauler in the

[1:22:13] program, and then they have a

[1:22:15] reimbursement process where

[1:22:16] they show their receipts, and

[1:22:18] then the state reimburses them.

[1:22:19] So they there is proof needed

[1:22:21] to show that they're providing

[1:22:22] that benefit back to the

[1:22:23] consumer. Correct. Okay. Thank

[1:22:25] you.

[1:22:28] Councilor sinks.

[1:22:31] Yeah.

[1:22:32] Thank you for your work on

[1:22:33] this. Um, I'm excited to see

[1:22:37] this come about. Um, just a

[1:22:40] point of clarification. The

[1:22:42] other amendments, um, .020 and

[1:22:47] 060, is that also covered? So

[1:22:48] as we we vote on the commercial

[1:22:52] waste, taller licensing, do we

[1:22:54] need a is that are those

[1:22:57] definitions. And the small W is that covered or do we need

[1:23:02] an amendment to add that I'm

[1:23:04] getting a thumbs up.

[1:23:06] There would be amendments.

[1:23:07] That'll be an amendment.

[1:23:08] Yeah. Yes okay. Is it

[1:23:10] appropriate now to make an

[1:23:12] amendment. Or is somebody doing

[1:23:13] that.

[1:23:14] Councilor Nystrom, were you

[1:23:16] planning?

[1:23:17] Yeah.

[1:23:18] We got it covered.

[1:23:19] They got it covered, of course.

[1:23:20] Thank you very much. Thanks for

[1:23:23] your work on this. And, um,

[1:23:25] it's quite amazing. It's going

[1:23:27] to be a wonderful neighbor.

[1:23:29] Said thank you for free

[1:23:30] recycling. Well, I'm not the

[1:23:33] one, but, um, it's a team

[1:23:35] effort, and it's going to be

[1:23:37] really great to see that. Thank

[1:23:38] you.

[1:23:40] Councillor Lowe.

[1:23:43] Thank you, miss McCain. Um, you

[1:23:45] know, you and your team are

[1:23:47] just just awesome. And I've

[1:23:50] gotten such good feedback for

[1:23:51] the the work that the

[1:23:52] sustainability team is doing

[1:23:54] from many of my constituents.

[1:23:55] Folks are over the moon about

[1:23:57] the composting and how well

[1:23:58] that's been rolling out. I've

[1:23:59] gotten great feedback on that,

[1:24:01] gotten great feedback on a

[1:24:02] number of different programs.

[1:24:03] So kudos. Were just so grateful

[1:24:05] to you. It's I it's definitely

[1:24:07] an area of the city where I

[1:24:08] feel like the feedback is is

[1:24:09] overwhelmingly positive, which

[1:24:10] is quite a trick to pull off

[1:24:11] when it comes to local

[1:24:12] government. So, um, kudos and

[1:24:14] Councilor Nystrom congratulate.

[1:24:15] I know that a lot of work went

[1:24:16] into this. Thank you for for

[1:24:19] getting this to us and all your

[1:24:20] work on this. I'm really

[1:24:21] excited to vote yes on this.

[1:24:23] Um, I think this is great. 1 or

[1:24:25] 2 questions, miss McGee. I

[1:24:27] definitely don't wanna put you

[1:24:28] on the spot. I usually try to

[1:24:29] not do that. So if I if I do

[1:24:31] that inadvertently, apologies.

[1:24:32] Feel free to get back to me

[1:24:33] later. It's fine. Um, do do we

[1:24:37] very roughly know of the

[1:24:39] current Lakewood residents who

[1:24:41] utilize recycling? Like about

[1:24:43] how many of them currently have

[1:24:44] free recycling versus pay or

[1:24:46] pay through their HOA? Is it

[1:24:47] like, is it like. I mean, it

[1:24:49] sounds like there is a

[1:24:50] substantial chunk of the city

[1:24:51] that doesn't yet have access to the, you know, the the cost

[1:24:55] free recycling that this I, I'm

[1:24:57] just curious, like how many

[1:24:59] people are we talking about

[1:25:00] that will be able to to change?

[1:25:02] There are not many people

[1:25:03] recycling to begin with because

[1:25:05] it's a fee right now, and the

[1:25:06] program is starting to roll out

[1:25:08] this fall. But I don't imagine

[1:25:10] the free recycling will

[1:25:11] actually start. It all depends

[1:25:13] on when each residents hauler

[1:25:15] actually signs up and starts

[1:25:16] participating in the program.

[1:25:18] So that's going to start

[1:25:19] happening this fall through the

[1:25:20] winter. And it will all the

[1:25:22] rollout will all depend on your

[1:25:23] individual hauler.

[1:25:25] Got it. Um, what I mean, if

[1:25:27] it's if it's easy and feasible,

[1:25:29] it'd be is we communicate, you

[1:25:31] know, sort of the impact of

[1:25:32] this to constituents, I think

[1:25:33] would be helpful to just be

[1:25:34] able to say, you know, this is how many folks over

[1:25:38] overtime have sort of we can

[1:25:40] confidently say we've been able

[1:25:41] to, you know, help them access

[1:25:43] these free recycling services.

[1:25:45] It would certainly be

[1:25:46] interested in getting that some

[1:25:47] statistics like that, if those

[1:25:49] are gettable after this goes

[1:25:50] into effect.

[1:25:51] Absolutely.

[1:25:51] Um, you know, I, I totally

[1:25:54] understand that this is not the

[1:25:56] point of what we're doing

[1:25:57] tonight, but just while we're

[1:25:58] talking about sort of hauler

[1:25:59] licensing, um, you know, the, extended producer

[1:26:04] responsibility of the licensing

[1:26:05] changes we're doing, these are

[1:26:06] thoughtful. These are these are

[1:26:07] very well tailored. I mean, I

[1:26:09] know in parallel, not this

[1:26:12] ordinance, but in parallel,

[1:26:13] there has been a sort of a

[1:26:15] running conversation like, what

[1:26:16] about, gosh, we've got a lot of

[1:26:17] different, um, you know, there

[1:26:20] certainly are a lot of

[1:26:21] different large trucks that run

[1:26:22] through our roads and add to

[1:26:24] our missions and add to the air

[1:26:26] quality problem that Councilor

[1:26:27] Nystrom has. Um, has has zeroed

[1:26:31] in on, um, from this dais over

[1:26:34] the last couple of years. Um, I

[1:26:36] mean, I'm just I'm just

[1:26:36] interested generally in what

[1:26:38] we're talking about in curbside

[1:26:39] residential waste in, like my

[1:26:41] understanding is, is, is you

[1:26:43] all maybe have gotten some

[1:26:44] grants late lately and to sort

[1:26:46] of build on the this ordinance

[1:26:47] that there might be

[1:26:48] opportunities to sort of pursue

[1:26:50] a slightly more streamlined

[1:26:51] approach so that we don't have

[1:26:52] quite as many large trucks

[1:26:54] rumbling through our streets,

[1:26:55] adding to our emissions over

[1:26:56] time. Although I understand we

[1:26:57] want to do that extremely

[1:26:59] thoughtfully, intentionally,

[1:27:00] and in the right way. Could you

[1:27:02] just update us on, like, the

[1:27:04] your team's current thinking on

[1:27:05] that front?

[1:27:06] Sure. It's a great question. As

[1:27:08] staff, we hear that all the

[1:27:09] time too. So it's interesting

[1:27:11] that council hears the same

[1:27:13] concerns. We, uh, we because we

[1:27:16] hear it from so many people. We

[1:27:19] had applied for a grant to do

[1:27:20] some public outreach and

[1:27:21] engagement to try to understand

[1:27:24] what what does the community

[1:27:25] want? Would they like to see

[1:27:26] and how should we be improving

[1:27:28] residential waste collection?

[1:27:29] So, uh, we're in the process of

[1:27:32] contracting with that grant

[1:27:33] now, and we hope that process

[1:27:35] will start real soon and would

[1:27:36] love to keep you all engaged in

[1:27:38] that.

[1:27:38] Well, sometimes I feel like we

[1:27:40] use the word signal up here way

[1:27:41] too often. I want to I want to

[1:27:44] use the word signal a little

[1:27:45] bit less and use the word do

[1:27:47] and pass and and act a little

[1:27:48] bit more. But for tonight, I'm

[1:27:50] going to signal that I am very

[1:27:52] pro, uh, you know, having a

[1:27:54] chance to sort of continue to

[1:27:55] build on this work by, um,

[1:27:57] doing what we can to kind of

[1:27:58] streamline this process. It

[1:28:00] does feel to me like there's an

[1:28:01] awful lot of different large

[1:28:03] trucks run by many different

[1:28:05] vendors. It feels like a real

[1:28:06] opportunity for us to sort of

[1:28:07] make some progress toward our

[1:28:08] carbon reduction goals. That I know you are, are laser

[1:28:12] focused on, Councillor Nystrom.

[1:28:13] So I'm hoping that maybe as

[1:28:14] your team, does that work? Um,

[1:28:16] and funded by that grant over

[1:28:18] the next year, that it'll, tee up opportunities for

[1:28:20] further action on this front.

[1:28:26] Councillor Labour and then

[1:28:28] councillor Nystrom.

[1:28:30] Thanks, mayor. Yeah I just want

[1:28:32] to comment. Really, I don't

[1:28:33] have a question, but I just

[1:28:34] want to say I'm excited about

[1:28:35] this. I think updating our our

[1:28:38] hauler license is a is a big

[1:28:39] win for Lakewood. I think many

[1:28:41] people in the city and councils

[1:28:43] now and past have fought years

[1:28:45] to expand our recycling, um,

[1:28:47] and make it more accessible and

[1:28:49] move Lakewood towards a real

[1:28:51] zero waste future. So, you

[1:28:53] know, I think with this, we'll

[1:28:54] get, you know, more recycling,

[1:28:55] stronger accountability and

[1:28:56] lower costs for residents. So I

[1:28:58] think it's a big win. I'm

[1:28:59] excited to see it and looking

[1:29:00] forward to voting yes.

[1:29:04] Councillor Nystrom.

[1:29:05] Thank you, mayor. I just want

[1:29:07] to say thank you. Um, as

[1:29:09] passionate as Councillor Lowe

[1:29:11] is on many topics, I think MJ

[1:29:13] could probably match you on

[1:29:14] this topic. Um, and she came

[1:29:16] into this discussion. You know,

[1:29:19] she had it wired and was very

[1:29:21] passionate about it and really

[1:29:22] helped us through all the

[1:29:23] hoops. Um, we had a lot of

[1:29:25] support from staff and in the

[1:29:27] legal team as well. So I just

[1:29:29] want to express my appreciation

[1:29:31] for that and being able to pull

[1:29:33] this together in the limited

[1:29:34] time that we had to do it. So

[1:29:35] thank you.

[1:29:38] Councillor Singh's.

[1:29:40] , thank you. To follow up on

[1:29:43] something you said, like, when

[1:29:45] would residents see the

[1:29:48] savings? And you said something

[1:29:50] like, it depends on, uh, when

[1:29:53] the hauler implements it, is it

[1:29:57] uh, and I read through the

[1:29:59] ordinance and wondered, excuse

[1:30:02] me, is there a time frame? How

[1:30:05] long? Sorry. How long do they

[1:30:07] have?

[1:30:09] Yeah, it's a good question. Um,

[1:30:11] because of the program isn't in

[1:30:13] its final stage yet, it's hard

[1:30:15] to put a timeline to it,

[1:30:16] especially in the ordinance.

[1:30:19] But I hear your point.

[1:30:22] As soon as feasibly possible.

[1:30:24] Yes. How's that? I mean,

[1:30:26] technically, once they get

[1:30:27] their new license, they would

[1:30:28] have to follow the regulation.

[1:30:29] And I believe we put in, like a

[1:30:32] year of grace period. So

[1:30:33] everyone starts in January. So

[1:30:35] that's the timeline. Okay.

[1:30:39] All right. I have no additional

[1:30:41] hands up. So may I please have

[1:30:43] a motion?

[1:30:52] Um.

[1:30:56] First, we shall open the public

[1:30:58] hearing. I have no one signed

[1:31:00] up to speak on this item. Would

[1:31:01] anyone like to speak on this

[1:31:03] issue this evening? All right.

[1:31:07] Seeing none, we'll go ahead and

[1:31:08] close the public hearing. May I

[1:31:09] now please have a motion?

[1:31:11] Mayor, I move for the adoption

[1:31:12] of ordinance. Oh, dash 20 2630

[1:31:15] on second and final reading.

[1:31:17] Second.

[1:31:19] All we have, we have a motion

[1:31:21] on the floor in a second. Uh,

[1:31:22] Councilor Nystrom, the floor is

[1:31:24] yours for your First Amendment.

[1:31:27] Or if you wanted to bulk them

[1:31:29] together, that.

[1:31:30] Yeah, that was exactly what I

[1:31:31] was going to ask. Can we, um,

[1:31:34] make the changes in 020 and 060

[1:31:38] as one amendment, or does that

[1:31:40] need to be separately voted on?

[1:31:47] It's easier if you do it as

[1:31:49] separate amendments to track

[1:31:50] through the city clerk's record

[1:31:53] keeping. If we tie it all

[1:31:54] together, it just gets jumbled.

[1:31:57] So I think we could legally do

[1:31:59] it as one. But we we request

[1:32:02] that you do them. Each one.

[1:32:04] Okay. Thanks. All right. Um,

[1:32:06] mayor, I'd like to move that we

[1:32:08] accept the, um, changes to. We

[1:32:15] should we accept the changes to

[1:32:18] 5.29020 to include multifamily,

[1:32:22] and also to move waste to a

[1:32:26] lower case.

[1:32:28] Second.

[1:32:30] All right. We have a motion on

[1:32:31] the floor. And a second, any

[1:32:32] discussion on that? See? No.

[1:32:35] Hands up. Please go ahead and

[1:32:37] cast your vote. That passes ten

[1:32:43] yeses and zero no's.

[1:32:47] Okay. Um, I also am moving that

[1:32:51] we accept, uh, 5.29.060. Um,

[1:32:56] adding the sentence, as long as

[1:32:58] the program is in effect. So

[1:33:00] any residential recycling

[1:33:02] service provider shall

[1:33:03] participate in Colorado's

[1:33:05] extended responsibility

[1:33:06] Producer Responsibility program

[1:33:08] as long as the program is in

[1:33:10] effect and in item D, change

[1:33:15] waste to trash and same thing

[1:33:18] at the last line. Change waste

[1:33:20] to trash.

[1:33:22] Second.

[1:33:23] All right, we have a motion on

[1:33:25] the floor. And a second any

[1:33:26] discussion on that one. Please

[1:33:29] go ahead and cast your vote.

[1:33:35] That passes ten yeses zero noes.

[1:33:44] Is that the final one you had,

[1:33:46] Councilor Nystrom. Okay, um.

[1:33:49] All right, so the next vote

[1:33:50] would be the ordinance as

[1:33:53] amended. Any additional

[1:33:55] discussion on that? Seeing

[1:33:59] none. Please go ahead and cast

[1:34:00] your votes. That passes ten

[1:34:08] yeses and zero nos. Thank you

[1:34:12] to all of our staff and our

[1:34:14] sustainability committee for

[1:34:16] the work and a legal and

[1:34:18] planning and and counsel for

[1:34:21] all of your work on this issue.

[1:34:24] I remember years and years ago

[1:34:26] moving into Lakewood from

[1:34:27] Denver and being like, what I

[1:34:30] have to pay for recycling now.

[1:34:33] And now that gets to start

[1:34:34] changing. So thank you very

[1:34:36] much for being part of that

[1:34:37] change. All right. That brings

[1:34:39] us to our next portion of

[1:34:43] public comment on items not

[1:34:45] related to this evening's

[1:34:48] agenda. And first up, I have

[1:34:50] Celia Greenman and then Sal Jr.

[1:34:55] I apologize for the

[1:34:56] pronunciation.

[1:35:09] Good evening. Hi, I'm Celia

[1:35:11] Greenman from Ward two. In the

[1:35:14] fall of 2025, when the rezoning

[1:35:17] ordinances were being

[1:35:19] considered, concern was raised

[1:35:21] that there was not sufficient

[1:35:23] parkland protection and

[1:35:25] protection for trees. And

[1:35:27] Councillor Lowe stated that

[1:35:29] there would be time in the

[1:35:31] future to address these issues

[1:35:33] and indeed these were included

[1:35:36] in the eight items identified

[1:35:38] in the June 15th study session.

[1:35:41] So thank you for that. Based on

[1:35:44] the July 8th Planning

[1:35:45] Commission meeting, a majority

[1:35:47] of the commissioners were

[1:35:49] baffled by the question of

[1:35:51] parkland protection as there

[1:35:53] was no chance that parks would

[1:35:56] be developed. But parks do need

[1:35:59] protection from adjacent

[1:36:01] development and to be ignorant

[1:36:04] of the consequences indicates

[1:36:06] that only people are being

[1:36:09] considered in the equation.

[1:36:11] Even the smallest parks are

[1:36:13] sanctuaries for wildlife, maybe

[1:36:15] even bears. In August 2024,

[1:36:19] Planning Commission chair Kip

[1:36:21] Colt Meyer proposed a

[1:36:22] resolution that said the

[1:36:24] Lakewood zoning ordinance

[1:36:25] should be amended to add a

[1:36:27] specific criterion to be

[1:36:29] evaluated on developments

[1:36:31] adjacent to city parks. The

[1:36:34] Planning Commission recommends

[1:36:35] that in reviewing a major site

[1:36:38] plan application, the ordinance

[1:36:41] require the evaluation of the

[1:36:44] potential effects of a park

[1:36:46] adjacent development on the

[1:36:48] habitats within the park,

[1:36:49] including any demonstrable, effects on park

[1:36:54] flora and fauna. However, this

[1:36:58] resolution ultimately failed. 4

[1:37:01] to 1. No surprise there.

[1:37:04] Specifics such as bulk plane

[1:37:06] design and bird friendly glass

[1:37:08] are important to construction

[1:37:10] adjacent to parks because

[1:37:12] habitat does not end at a park

[1:37:15] boundary, it is. It would

[1:37:19] ideally just transition to

[1:37:21] people habitat. Now, on tree

[1:37:25] protection regarding tree

[1:37:27] preservation, yes, there is

[1:37:28] already an ordinance in the

[1:37:30] Lakewood Municipal Code, but

[1:37:32] this could better be labeled

[1:37:34] Tree Replacement Ordinance.

[1:37:36] When was the last time a

[1:37:37] developer presented plans to

[1:37:39] city staff that took into

[1:37:41] account mature trees? No.

[1:37:44] They're measured. They're sawed

[1:37:45] down. They're replaced with

[1:37:47] saplings in appropriate areas.

[1:37:50] These new trees do not provide

[1:37:52] habitat, shade, climate

[1:37:55] moderation and CO2 storage of

[1:38:00] their mature counterparts. And

[1:38:02] again at the July 8th Planning

[1:38:04] Commission meeting, a

[1:38:05] commissioner stated that tree

[1:38:07] should not be used to prevent

[1:38:09] housing supply. But why are

[1:38:12] there no creative designs that

[1:38:14] make use of these mature trees?

[1:38:17] It also should be forbidden.

[1:38:21] There's your time is expired.

[1:38:23] Thank you.

[1:38:24] Sal Giovinco.

[1:38:42] Hello, my name is Sal Giovinco

[1:38:44] I am a resident here of

[1:38:46] Lakewood and I have been for 20

[1:38:48] years. I came here today

[1:38:51] because there's been an ongoing

[1:38:52] problem in my neighborhood with

[1:38:54] homelessness, which I'm sure

[1:38:56] you guys are aware of. Um,

[1:38:58] basically it's just become so

[1:39:00] overwhelming. In the last

[1:39:02] couple of years, I've had to

[1:39:03] call the police over 50 times

[1:39:06] without any action really being

[1:39:08] taken. There's groups that are

[1:39:10] taking over our sidewalks, our

[1:39:11] bus stops, leaving my daughter

[1:39:13] no way to walk to school, no

[1:39:15] way for her to go to the store

[1:39:18] without drugs being blown in

[1:39:19] her face, or for fear of her

[1:39:22] being assaulted sexually or

[1:39:23] physically. Uh, she's 12 years

[1:39:26] old and she should have the

[1:39:27] right to grow up in an area

[1:39:29] that is actually safe for her

[1:39:31] to walk the streets. In the

[1:39:35] last two years, I've seen this

[1:39:36] town transformed into basically

[1:39:38] an embarrassment. I've had to

[1:39:40] call 911. As I mentioned over

[1:39:42] 50 times in the previous 18

[1:39:44] years that I've lived here,

[1:39:45] I've probably had to call the

[1:39:47] police maybe once or twice. My

[1:39:49] corner of Lakewood has been

[1:39:50] overwhelmed and overrun by some

[1:39:53] of the lowest level human

[1:39:54] beings imaginable. They are

[1:39:56] urinating and defecating

[1:39:58] anywhere they like, without

[1:39:59] consequence. When I have called

[1:40:02] the police on this matter, they

[1:40:03] consistently tell me there's

[1:40:05] nothing they should they can do

[1:40:06] and I should talk to the city

[1:40:07] council about it. I've had to

[1:40:10] be. I've had to call because

[1:40:12] I've witnessed too many people

[1:40:13] doing drugs to count. This

[1:40:15] includes people with needles in

[1:40:16] their arms and people that are

[1:40:18] passed out dying. I've had a

[1:40:22] man a couple of times passed

[1:40:23] out less than 100 yards from my

[1:40:25] daughter's window with a needle

[1:40:26] in his arm. He was treated and

[1:40:28] released into our neighborhood

[1:40:29] with no charges. I've witnessed

[1:40:32] people assaulting each other.

[1:40:34] I've been assaulted, and when

[1:40:36] police were called, nothing was

[1:40:37] done. Uh, this is just become

[1:40:40] such a huge problem. I feel

[1:40:41] like we're in a crisis right

[1:40:43] now. And I would hope that we

[1:40:45] would treat it as such. I've

[1:40:48] come here today as a long time

[1:40:49] coach, father, business owner

[1:40:51] and homeowner in Lakewood, and

[1:40:54] I would just like to really get

[1:40:56] some questions answered. Not

[1:40:58] obviously here, but eventually

[1:41:00] maybe they'll be taken up with

[1:41:01] you guys. Uh, just what is the

[1:41:04] plan to take our streets back?

[1:41:06] How are we supposed to be able

[1:41:07] to walk down our sidewalks

[1:41:08] again? What are the home or

[1:41:10] what are the elderly people

[1:41:12] supposed to do? The handicapped

[1:41:13] people, the children of our

[1:41:14] community that we're supposed

[1:41:15] to be protecting? I would like

[1:41:19] to make it a priority. I would

[1:41:20] like to see this council make

[1:41:22] it a priority to protect our

[1:41:23] greatest resource in this

[1:41:24] community, which is our

[1:41:25] children. And I would also like

[1:41:28] that this council consider

[1:41:30] protecting elderly and

[1:41:32] handicapped just as highly.

[1:41:35] Please let the very frustrated

[1:41:36] police department enforce our

[1:41:38] laws again. Please let them

[1:41:40] protect us. Please save our

[1:41:42] community. This is an emergency.

[1:41:47] Thank you.

[1:41:50] And that concludes our second

[1:41:52] portion of non-agenda. General

[1:41:54] public comment. And we move on

[1:41:57] to general business counselor

[1:41:59] Furman, you've got the floor.

[1:42:04] So with the.

[1:42:05] Request for council.

[1:42:06] Action, are the requests for

[1:42:07] information on these.

[1:42:09] I, you have to bear with me. Do

[1:42:12] I need to make a motion first

[1:42:14] or I describe it first?

[1:42:15] You can describe it first and

[1:42:17] then.

[1:42:17] Move it.

[1:42:18] So essentially.

[1:42:20] The request is for both a staff

[1:42:23] presentation and a study

[1:42:24] session around the use of.

[1:42:27] drone delivery within the city.

[1:42:28] Um, now that we've had

[1:42:30] businesses that have been

[1:42:32] seeking, uh, the use of drone

[1:42:36] delivery, uh, it is a topic

[1:42:39] that I think will become a

[1:42:41] concern if we don't take an

[1:42:43] opportunity to look at both the impacts, the benefits and

[1:42:47] drawbacks of, of allowing that

[1:42:48] and, and what it looks like to,

[1:42:51] uh, address the requirements,

[1:42:53] whether it's existing FAA or

[1:42:55] legal requirements and

[1:42:56] regulations around this. And

[1:42:59] it's strikes me as one of the

[1:43:01] areas in which, if it simply

[1:43:03] appears in our neighborhood

[1:43:04] without addressing it publicly,

[1:43:06] it will be something our

[1:43:08] community comes to us and asks

[1:43:09] the question of why we haven't

[1:43:12] addressed regulations around it

[1:43:13] sooner. And so essentially, my

[1:43:16] request is both a staff

[1:43:17] presentation and a study

[1:43:18] session around this topic. Now

[1:43:20] that it is being an open

[1:43:22] question from the businesses.

[1:43:23] So, um, is it simply a motion

[1:43:27] to request this? All right. So

[1:43:30] I move to request a staff

[1:43:32] presentation and study session

[1:43:33] around the use of drone

[1:43:35] delivery by retailers in the

[1:43:37] city of Lakewood.

[1:43:38] Second. Thank you.

[1:43:39] All right. We have a motion on

[1:43:41] floor. And a second, any

[1:43:42] council discussion before we

[1:43:43] vote? Counselor, I cruise.

[1:43:50] Thank you. And thanks,

[1:43:51] Councillor Furman, for thinking

[1:43:53] about this. I must admit that

[1:43:54] this is not something that has

[1:43:56] been on the radar for me. Um,

[1:43:57] so I would just love to

[1:43:58] understand, like, what do you

[1:44:00] think the timeline, um, for

[1:44:03] sort of some of these

[1:44:04] technologies rolling out in our

[1:44:05] communities or like timeline

[1:44:07] for this kind of conversation

[1:44:09] should be.

[1:44:11] I didn't turn my microphone

[1:44:12] off, so I'll just roll right

[1:44:13] into it. Uh, my understanding

[1:44:14] is they're open requests to be

[1:44:16] able to do drone delivery now.

[1:44:17] And so, um, and recognizing

[1:44:20] that it is something in a beta

[1:44:23] stage and a number of other

[1:44:24] communities, I think it is

[1:44:25] more, perhaps more imminent

[1:44:27] than we would like, uh, as it

[1:44:29] will take some time to address

[1:44:31] those concerns. I did a little

[1:44:33] research on my own regarding

[1:44:35] what it looks like around, uh,

[1:44:37] FAA regulations, and there are

[1:44:38] some that govern and create

[1:44:40] some protections. But obviously

[1:44:42] I am not knowledgeable enough,

[1:44:43] nor do I have the the time to

[1:44:45] get as knowledgeable as I need

[1:44:46] to. So that's a little bit of

[1:44:48] the reason for this request, is

[1:44:49] to make sure we understand what

[1:44:51] protections there are, what

[1:44:52] benefits or drawbacks there may

[1:44:54] be. So I think it's, um, good

[1:44:56] or bad, it is relatively

[1:44:58] imminent.

[1:45:00] Thanks.

[1:45:00] I'll add to that that over the

[1:45:02] last year, year and a half, um,

[1:45:05] many municipalities across the

[1:45:07] Denver metro area have had

[1:45:08] requests from a particularly, I

[1:45:11] know, at least one large

[1:45:12] retailer. And so as we see that

[1:45:15] move forward with one

[1:45:16] particular large retailer, I

[1:45:17] think we can all probably count

[1:45:20] on a full hand how many others

[1:45:21] will soon follow. So the

[1:45:23] question becomes, do we want

[1:45:24] little armies of drones driving

[1:45:26] around and dropping packages in

[1:45:28] our backyard? We need to have a

[1:45:31] discussion before that starts

[1:45:33] happening without us actually

[1:45:35] having it. So thank you.

[1:45:36] Councillor Freeman. Did that

[1:45:38] answer your question?

[1:45:39] One more. Okay.

[1:45:40] Um. Thank you. That's very

[1:45:41] helpful and enlightening for me

[1:45:43] as well. Thank you. Mayor and

[1:45:44] Councillor Freeman. I guess my

[1:45:45] second question is, are you

[1:45:47] aware or are other

[1:45:48] municipalities that are dealing

[1:45:50] with this? Um, these requests

[1:45:52] dealing similarly with like the

[1:45:54] autonomous vehicle

[1:45:55] conversation, or are those

[1:45:57] distinct conversations like a, like driverless

[1:46:02] autonomous.

[1:46:03] Vehicles?

[1:46:05] I will admit that's one of the

[1:46:06] things I hope to hear addressed

[1:46:08] with the staff presentation,

[1:46:09] because I don't know, obviously

[1:46:10] they have different regulations

[1:46:12] around them in general. So I

[1:46:14] would think it appears a little

[1:46:15] bit differently because of ones

[1:46:17] carrying packages versus

[1:46:18] people. So I think it's sort of

[1:46:20] a different family of

[1:46:21] regulations.

[1:46:24] Councillor Lowe, then

[1:46:25] councillor, Labour.

[1:46:28] Thank you and thanks for

[1:46:29] bringing this, Councillor

[1:46:30] Freeman. I'm going to support

[1:46:31] it. I think this is a good

[1:46:33] example of sort of thoughtfully

[1:46:34] trying to get get out in front

[1:46:37] of something rather than be

[1:46:37] reactive to it. So, so think

[1:46:39] it's smart to bring this in.

[1:46:41] Can I, can I ask a, a question

[1:46:44] that I, that usually other

[1:46:45] smart people on council ask,

[1:46:46] which is I do think we need to

[1:46:48] have a discussion about this.

[1:46:49] Can I ask the the interim city

[1:46:51] manager? It's not clear to me

[1:46:53] who on staff would be the

[1:46:55] person to help organize this,

[1:46:57] or would be the person that

[1:46:58] would pull together the

[1:46:58] presentation. But maybe that's

[1:47:00] clear to you. Or maybe that

[1:47:01] requires some internal

[1:47:02] discussion. First.

[1:47:05] I think whether he wants you or

[1:47:07] not, it's probably Travis

[1:47:08] Parker, and he's here, but

[1:47:12] we're not doing a presentation

[1:47:13] tonight, but it will probably

[1:47:15] be in Travis shop with support

[1:47:16] from, uh, Maria as well.

[1:47:20] Excellent. Well, already so

[1:47:23] many important things on on

[1:47:24] their plates. Why not add one

[1:47:26] more thing? Um, I, I think I

[1:47:28] saw him not nodding along when Councillor Fuhrman was,

[1:47:31] uh, was, was talking. So

[1:47:32] hopefully, hopefully it's not too out of left field. Um,

[1:47:35] well, as long as I while

[1:47:36] recognizing that there's a lot, on staff's plate, I do.

[1:47:40] And we want to be sensitive to

[1:47:41] that, as always, I do think

[1:47:42] that like having a discussion

[1:47:43] on this before we we get to the

[1:47:45] point where we're actively

[1:47:46] hearing from our constituents

[1:47:48] on this makes sense to me. So I

[1:47:50] think that would be useful.

[1:47:52] Councillor, the beer.

[1:47:55] I just want to comment that

[1:47:57] I've recently been watching a

[1:47:58] lot of TikTok videos of drones

[1:48:00] dropping packages in people's

[1:48:01] pools, so this does seem timely

[1:48:03] and, uh, looking forward to

[1:48:04] supporting.

[1:48:05] It. Yes.

[1:48:07] And dogs just saw one of those.

[1:48:11] I'll say it. Um, I have no more.

[1:48:14] Hands up. We have a motion and

[1:48:16] a second, so please go ahead

[1:48:17] and cast your vote. All right.

[1:48:24] That passes ten yeses. And

[1:48:26] serranos. We look forward to

[1:48:30] hearing a presentation on this

[1:48:31] topic. Thank you, Councillor

[1:48:33] Forman, for bringing that

[1:48:34] forward. Um, with that, that

[1:48:36] moves us into this evening's

[1:48:38] executive report.

[1:48:40] Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh,

[1:48:42] just a few items for you all

[1:48:44] this evening. Um, one, I wanted

[1:48:46] to let you know that we have

[1:48:48] speed cushions being installed

[1:48:50] on Alker Street. Uh, may have

[1:48:53] started in the end of last week

[1:48:55] and into this week, so that's

[1:48:57] exciting. Also, for those of

[1:48:59] you who saw the Friday report,

[1:49:01] uh, that came out last Friday,

[1:49:03] we had a great video that staff

[1:49:05] put together on speed cushions

[1:49:07] and shows them being installed.

[1:49:10] Um, so if you haven't haven't

[1:49:11] seen it yet, it was the number

[1:49:13] one clicked video for the

[1:49:15] Friday report. So join the

[1:49:16] crowd. It's pretty cool. Uh,

[1:49:19] and then also wanted to let you

[1:49:20] know that, uh, we received

[1:49:23] notice that, uh, we're getting

[1:49:25] a grant, uh, Florida Department

[1:49:29] of Public Health and

[1:49:30] Environment for seven new

[1:49:32] electric vehicles. Uh, five of

[1:49:34] those will be light duty

[1:49:35] vehicles, and then two will be

[1:49:38] electric street sweepers, which

[1:49:39] we're really excited about. Um,

[1:49:42] the electric street sweepers do

[1:49:44] require much higher voltage

[1:49:45] chargers than we have installed

[1:49:47] for other electric vehicles. So

[1:49:49] that requires a retrofit to the

[1:49:51] bays that those are kept in.

[1:49:53] Um, so staff is working on that

[1:49:55] as well, but pretty cool. Um,

[1:49:57] and then finally, uh, I think

[1:50:00] many of you saw this report,

[1:50:02] uh, the digital version is more

[1:50:04] interactive, but I just wanted

[1:50:06] to check in and see if council

[1:50:08] feels like the quarterly

[1:50:10] reports are more helpful in

[1:50:12] this format rather than, um,

[1:50:15] kind of the more spreadsheet

[1:50:17] format that we used to do. I've

[1:50:18] heard from a couple of you, but

[1:50:20] not now. Feel free to let me

[1:50:21] know if you feel like we're

[1:50:23] hitting the mark with these.

[1:50:25] We're certainly open to

[1:50:26] tweaking it, but, uh, we we're

[1:50:29] just curious. Um, they are more

[1:50:31] labor intensive, so hopefully

[1:50:33] it's working. Um, for you all.

[1:50:35] If not, we we can tweak it,

[1:50:37] though, that's all.

[1:50:40] right. Thank you. That

[1:50:42] brings us to our council

[1:50:44] reports, and we'll start this

[1:50:46] evening with Ward five.

[1:50:51] Um, yeah. So I'll jump in. Uh.

[1:50:54] Well.

[1:50:54] The main thing we just want to

[1:50:55] mention is our Ward five

[1:50:56] meeting is going to be, um,

[1:50:58] this Saturday, August 29th from

[1:51:01] 9 a.m. to 1030 in the morning

[1:51:03] at Westwood Community Church in

[1:51:06] Lakewood, of course. Um, so

[1:51:08] we're looking. Not really. All

[1:51:09] I have to share is that. And

[1:51:11] we're looking forward, of

[1:51:11] course, to having our, our

[1:51:13] regular sort of open

[1:51:14] discussion. We don't have a

[1:51:15] specific, uh, speaker this

[1:51:18] week, but that just means more

[1:51:19] labor for for Councillor

[1:51:21] Nystrom and I to put on a good

[1:51:23] show. So we'll do our best.

[1:51:24] Thanks.

[1:51:26] Ward, for.

[1:51:32] I feel like I'm.

[1:51:32] Jumping ahead, but, um, so.

[1:51:35] We have.

[1:51:35] Our Ward four meeting. Uh,

[1:51:37] before I jump into that, I did

[1:51:39] want to say, uh, the, um, I

[1:51:42] know the the people in our

[1:51:43] shire had been pushing for a

[1:51:45] long time for the traffic

[1:51:46] calming, the speed cushions. I

[1:51:48] also acknowledge I've gotten a

[1:51:49] lot of calls and emails from

[1:51:51] people who had their own

[1:51:54] concerns around it, and I

[1:51:55] appreciate, uh, the, the, uh,

[1:51:58] staff within traffic

[1:51:59] engineering who have been

[1:52:00] talking to a number of those

[1:52:02] people in Ward four, uh,

[1:52:04] explaining to them, you know,

[1:52:05] how how these came about for

[1:52:07] those people who were affected

[1:52:09] by because they live further up

[1:52:10] into Green Mountain, but

[1:52:11] perhaps we're unaware it was

[1:52:13] coming. And so I appreciate the

[1:52:14] work that staff is doing to

[1:52:15] talk to the community about

[1:52:16] that. And, and also recognize

[1:52:18] that it is obviously a change

[1:52:20] for a lot of them. And, and

[1:52:22] while I know the people in Alki

[1:52:23] are excited about it, others

[1:52:25] are impacted differently. So,

[1:52:27] uh, our Ward four meeting is on

[1:52:29] September 12th. Uh, 1232 and

[1:52:32] this is going to be with, uh,

[1:52:34] Commander Alden and Chief

[1:52:35] Smith, um, talking about

[1:52:37] policing issues, community

[1:52:38] safety. Um, so please come out

[1:52:41] and see this as an opportunity

[1:52:43] to talk to the police and find

[1:52:44] out about what, uh, what we're

[1:52:46] doing in the community to

[1:52:47] address those things.

[1:52:48] Thank you.

[1:52:50] Ward three.

[1:52:55] I don't have much of a report

[1:52:56] tonight other than that

[1:52:57] Saturday tickets have gone on

[1:52:59] sale. So, uh, it's my my my

[1:53:02] husband takes Saturdays

[1:53:03] extraordinarily seriously. He

[1:53:04] would. He would be pleased when

[1:53:06] I report back to him that I've

[1:53:07] invited all of council to

[1:53:08] Saturdays, although I know many

[1:53:10] of you will be there. So please

[1:53:12] join us on Saturdays. We'll be

[1:53:13] there both days. It's sort of

[1:53:15] one of one of my husband's

[1:53:16] highlights and mine too. It's a

[1:53:17] great, great event. So join us

[1:53:19] tonight, Saturday, as I'm sure

[1:53:20] we'll be talking more about

[1:53:21] that. We don't have a date for

[1:53:22] our Ward three meeting yet for

[1:53:24] September, but we will get on

[1:53:26] that and report back to you and

[1:53:27] get a date locked down for

[1:53:28] September. Um, I will just

[1:53:31] mention since council from I

[1:53:32] brought it up that I continue

[1:53:33] to hear a lot, I. I have lost

[1:53:36] track of how many Ward three

[1:53:37] residents um, have have raised

[1:53:40] concerns with me about speed.

[1:53:41] Um, and, uh, just really are

[1:53:45] looking for as energetic a

[1:53:46] strategy as possible to get

[1:53:48] folks to slow down. So

[1:53:49] continues to come up. Um, glad.

[1:53:52] I'm really glad to see that we

[1:53:53] have a study session on Avis on

[1:53:55] the books in September. I am

[1:53:57] looking forward to discussion

[1:53:58] about that. I did get a an

[1:54:00] inquiry from a constituent just

[1:54:02] today. Um, who asked about, um,

[1:54:04] speed cameras on Kipling and I, think it is very good that got calendar. So I will

[1:54:09] just mention that as something

[1:54:11] that's top of mind. No other

[1:54:12] updates.

[1:54:15] One little plug I'll do there

[1:54:17] when you since bringing up

[1:54:18] speed. Um, you know, uh, our

[1:54:21] students are back to school, so

[1:54:22] just being mindful, uh, in the

[1:54:24] school zones and neighborhoods,

[1:54:26] uh, keep an eye out and

[1:54:27] remember the speed limit.

[1:54:30] Word two.

[1:54:33] Um, just a couple of things.

[1:54:35] First, we have our September

[1:54:37] ward meeting coming up.

[1:54:38] Wednesday, September 23rd, from

[1:54:40] 430 to 6. We're excited about

[1:54:42] this one because we really want

[1:54:43] to encourage our families and

[1:54:45] our kiddos to come out to this

[1:54:47] ward meeting. So we're hosting

[1:54:48] it at Oken Park in Shelter two.

[1:54:52] And also we have the wonderful

[1:54:54] Henley, my daughter, my 11 year

[1:54:56] old daughter, who is not

[1:54:57] qualified to watch your child

[1:54:59] but will be leading a DIY craft

[1:55:01] project. So we really hope all

[1:55:04] of our families will come out.

[1:55:05] It's sort of a weave in and out

[1:55:07] of the meeting. Excuse me. Come

[1:55:09] and go as you please. Um, let

[1:55:11] your kids play at the park, at

[1:55:13] the playground and then come

[1:55:14] meet us, and, um, we welcome

[1:55:15] you to ask any questions that

[1:55:17] you have and just say hello.

[1:55:19] And then in that vein, I just

[1:55:20] wanted to extend a huge thank

[1:55:21] you to Jefferson County School

[1:55:23] System for taking my daughter

[1:55:25] back to school last week. And I

[1:55:29] really, though in all serious,

[1:55:30] want to say I wish that we

[1:55:34] lived in a society where we

[1:55:35] valued the education of our

[1:55:37] youth more than we do,

[1:55:39] seemingly in the United States,

[1:55:41] both in the ways that we fund

[1:55:43] our school systems and the ways

[1:55:44] that we pay our teachers, and

[1:55:46] also in the ways that we

[1:55:47] support the education of young

[1:55:49] people in our society. It is

[1:55:51] such a critical component of

[1:55:53] the ways that we grow in our

[1:55:54] humanity, and we grow in our

[1:55:57] culture, and we grow as a

[1:55:59] species. And so to undervalue

[1:56:00] or devalue, that continues to

[1:56:02] be so disheartening and

[1:56:03] heartbreaking to me. Our

[1:56:05] teachers are a critical

[1:56:07] importance and a critical need

[1:56:09] in this society and in any

[1:56:10] society. And I am incredibly

[1:56:12] grateful for the work that they

[1:56:14] do. Often underpaid, often

[1:56:17] unseen. And to finalize kind of

[1:56:20] the statement, it is deeply

[1:56:22] thoughtful, executive

[1:56:24] functioning, critical work that

[1:56:26] teachers do in the classroom

[1:56:27] every single day, and they do

[1:56:29] it in an environment where they

[1:56:30] are constantly needed by young

[1:56:33] people who are asking of their

[1:56:35] time and attention and energy,

[1:56:37] and they have to give that

[1:56:38] while also teaching young

[1:56:40] people how to learn, how to

[1:56:41] grow, how to be emotionally

[1:56:43] resilient and cognitive. And so

[1:56:46] just a huge, huge thank you to

[1:56:49] Jefferson County School and

[1:56:50] excited for the 2026 2027

[1:56:52] school year to start.

[1:56:55] Thank you. Um, appreciate the

[1:56:58] enthusiasm for our education

[1:57:00] system. And I think it speaks

[1:57:02] to why we're really excited to

[1:57:03] hopefully have some folks who I

[1:57:05] know it's challenging to make

[1:57:06] it out to meetings when you

[1:57:07] have younger kids, school age

[1:57:08] kids. So hopefully we'll we'll

[1:57:10] have some fun with our local

[1:57:11] tween led activities. So thanks

[1:57:13] to Henley for coming out with

[1:57:15] us. I just also wanted to

[1:57:17] highlight, um, there is yet

[1:57:19] another new neighborhood

[1:57:20] association in Ward two. Morse

[1:57:23] Park has restarted their

[1:57:24] neighborhood association, so

[1:57:25] they're going to be having

[1:57:25] another meeting, um, on

[1:57:27] September 1st. Um, I believe

[1:57:29] that they're going to be having

[1:57:30] staff to talk about sidewalks

[1:57:32] and some other important things

[1:57:33] in the community. So, uh, check

[1:57:35] out their meeting if you're in

[1:57:36] Morse Park. It's at 6:30 p.m.

[1:57:38] on September 1st at the Clemens

[1:57:39] Center. Uh, September 4th. Come

[1:57:43] comes back to first Friday. So

[1:57:45] always excited for all the

[1:57:47] great things that 40 West does

[1:57:48] for us. And just on a point of

[1:57:50] personal privilege, as I was

[1:57:52] working out in the last couple

[1:57:54] of weeks at the Charles

[1:57:55] Whitlock Recreation Center,

[1:57:56] there's been some construction

[1:57:57] there. The therapy pool is

[1:57:59] under construction. And so that

[1:58:01] has been a huge community

[1:58:02] effort, and I'm grateful that

[1:58:04] we were able to fund that in

[1:58:05] the budget last year, and that resource will be coming

[1:58:08] back online in the not too

[1:58:09] distant future. So we've just

[1:58:10] got to celebrate some of the

[1:58:11] little wins. And thanks to the

[1:58:13] staff who I know at Whitlock,

[1:58:14] who I know have been navigating

[1:58:16] some, some, some noise and

[1:58:18] other things with the

[1:58:18] construction. So really excited

[1:58:20] for that to come online.

[1:58:26] Ward one.

[1:58:28] Thank you. In keeping with our

[1:58:30] common practice, we're going to

[1:58:31] have our ward meeting the first

[1:58:34] Saturday in September. Yes,

[1:58:37] that is Labor Day weekend. When

[1:58:39] we checked about delaying it a

[1:58:40] week, the facility was not

[1:58:42] available that weekend. And so

[1:58:45] we we talked and yes, what

[1:58:47] better way could we spend Labor

[1:58:49] Day than to have a ward

[1:58:51] meeting. So, um, something else

[1:58:54] came up. Um, so right across

[1:58:57] from where we have the ward

[1:58:58] meeting on ninth and Kipling,

[1:59:01] there's been a vacant gas

[1:59:04] station, and we've looked at it

[1:59:07] this whole time and tried to

[1:59:09] find the the owner, etc. it's

[1:59:12] been quite a process. And so

[1:59:14] on. Lakewood Speaks, we saw a

[1:59:16] comment and um, the latest news

[1:59:18] that I have on that is this out

[1:59:21] of state owner is coordinating

[1:59:24] with Colorado Public Health and

[1:59:26] Environment's CDF to address

[1:59:29] the brownfield that's been

[1:59:31] created by this gas station. So

[1:59:33] it so it is quite a process and

[1:59:36] it's it's very sad that it's

[1:59:38] taken this long, but it is

[1:59:40] being worked on. And then one

[1:59:42] last thing. And that is this

[1:59:44] Sunday. Um, August 30th there

[1:59:48] will be the Meadow lark. Um,

[1:59:50] Community Association picnic in

[1:59:53] Meadowlark Park, of course. So,

[1:59:56] um, that's that'll be a fun

[1:59:58] event. Hopefully the weather

[2:00:00] will cooperate. Last year I

[2:00:01] think it was rained out. So

[2:00:03] anyway, that's all I have.

[2:00:04] Thank you.

[2:00:08] Councillor Nystrom, did you

[2:00:09] have your hand up?

[2:00:11] I just wanted to add two

[2:00:12] things. One is we do have a

[2:00:14] sustainability advisory

[2:00:15] committee meeting. Always

[2:00:17] action packed. 1230 on Friday

[2:00:19] the 28th. And also Southern

[2:00:22] Gables National Night Out is on

[2:00:24] Friday 28th at 5 p.m.. I

[2:00:27] believe Bruce McDonald sent

[2:00:29] invites to all of you, but, um,

[2:00:31] I want to encourage people to

[2:00:33] show up. It's it's especially great location for

[2:00:39] it at the elementary school.

[2:00:40] And they have a fantastic

[2:00:41] community garden. So it's a

[2:00:43] great opportunity to take a

[2:00:45] look at what can be done in a

[2:00:47] neighborhood with with the

[2:00:49] effort that they've put into

[2:00:50] it. Thank you.

[2:00:53] All right. I just briefly want

[2:00:56] to welcome all of our young

[2:00:57] people, all of the future of

[2:00:59] Lakewood back to school as that

[2:01:02] has just gotten underway. This

[2:01:05] week. We've got many tiers of

[2:01:07] parents. We've got, you know,

[2:01:09] probably tears of little people

[2:01:10] too, that would rather be at

[2:01:11] home still in front of their

[2:01:13] iPad or on a, um, something to

[2:01:16] some kind of fun play structure

[2:01:17] out in our park. So welcome

[2:01:19] everybody back to school. And

[2:01:22] just a last plug or another

[2:01:23] plug, and you'll hear it at

[2:01:24] least one more time for me

[2:01:26] about love Lakewood Day. For

[2:01:27] those that are not available on

[2:01:29] September 19th, remember we do

[2:01:31] also have Team Love Lakewood

[2:01:32] that provides opportunities to

[2:01:34] get involved and share with

[2:01:35] your community throughout the

[2:01:37] year. So with that, um, seeing

[2:01:39] no further business to come

[2:01:41] before the City Council at this

[2:01:42] time, I will go ahead and

[2:01:43] adjourn our meeting tonight at

[2:01:45] 857.

08-24-2026 Lakewood City Council Meeting Video

Transcript