Finance & Services Committee - Regular Meeting

Join us for the finance and business committee starting now.

Alright. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the finance and business committee. Today is Tuesday, April 14. My name is Serena Gonzalez Gutierrez, and I'm one of your council members at large. We'll start with, introductions from council members, and then we'll go into what's on the agenda for today. I'll start to my right.

Okay. Thanks. Perfect.

Good morning. Stacy Gilmore, district eleven.

Good morning. Paul Cashman, South Denver, District six.

Good morning. You met in Sanderville, Northwest Denver, District 1.

Good morning. Darryl Watson, fine, district nine.

Good morning. Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver, District four.

Alright. I don't know that we have it doesn't look like we have anybody participating virtually right now. And if they do, we'll, we'll patch them in. With that said, we have three items up for action today. We'll be starting with department of finance presenting on a real estate acquisition in District 10, and then we'll have, again, department of finance presenting on the five points bid renewal, and then we have the janitorial services contracts with general services. So we'll kick it off with department finance. If you all can introduce yourselves and proceed with your presentation.

Sure. Great. Hi. I'm Molly Scarborough with the Vibra Denver Bond program.

Patrick Riley, Vibra Denver Bond.

Lisa Lumley, director of real estate.

And Laya Mitchell from the Department of Housing Stability, director of development and catalytic partnerships. Thanks. So we'll just jump right in. Super. Well, thank you for, hearing us today.

As you know, November, Denver voters voted overwhelmingly to support the vibrant Denver bond ballot questions, including funding for housing and sheltering. So today, I'll describe the vibrant housing investment process for allocation of the 45,000,000 for the affordable housing project developments. Lisa Lumley will be here to discuss our first recommended investment opportunity at 251 East 12th Avenue. And then we are asking you to decide if you approve to move this forward to the full council. I understand you have a full agenda, so we're gonna walk through this quickly, but we will open things up for questions later.

So vibrant housing goals focus on the mitigation of displacement of existing residents by providing affordable housing in proximity to city investments or other projects that could otherwise have the potential to spur displacement. We are targeting investment in five to seven properties, site improvements, or building acquisitions to support as many units as housing as possible with requirements for long term affordable housing within each project. Our housing investment process first, I wanna thank all council members for helping us, revise, this process, to get to you today. So thanks for all that feedback along the way. Our process starts with our Department of Finance real estate office identifying opportunities.

These opportunities come from their regular scan of potential, properties available across the city as well as from the host, affordable housing pipeline. As we identify whether those opportunities have the potential to meet our vibrant Denver bond goals for investment, then the real estate office can forward it to a housing advisory committee. We have set that committee up to include members from host, from DDo, from the Department of Finance Real Estate, mayor's office, as well as CPD, Community Planning and Development. As real estate forwards potential opportunities to the advisory committee, they also notify the council president, the district, and at large council members, so the district in which that opportunity resides. If the advisory committee, they will review it for criteria for sites and projects criteria, which I will review with you next.

If they decide to recommend the property, it then goes to our Vibrant's oversight and leadership team. That team has direct responsibility for delivery of Vibrant projects. For the housing recommendations, we also bring in executive directors from host, from DITO and CPD to join our VOLTER, our vibrant oversight leadership team. If they concur that the recommendation should move forward, then we bring it to the executive sponsors for the Vibrant program, which includes the CFO, Nicole Doheny, as well as mayor's office, Jeff Dolan, and the council president, again, the district in which that property resides, as well as the council president. If they concur, we bring it here to committee and then to the council process.

Should council approve this acquisition, then we would have ninety days to issue an RFP for housing partners to provide the affordable housing. That ninety days is sort of our max time. We hope to get those out sooner if possible. And so the advisory committee really focus on project and site selection criteria as they are reviewing the projects. I'm not gonna go into this in detail just because I we did present this at mayor council.

I understand your interest in moving forward quickly, but really focusing on sites that are in proximity to services, sites that could potentially have the opportunity to spur displacement, making sure that no more than two vibrant bond funded affordable housing projects are in one district, and then some site criteria. Should this property be acquired, council agree, then we have some housing RFP criteria that we would pursue. All proposals are required to include the development of long term affordable housing. We have various options for those development types. They could be affordable housing only, mixed or minimal income housing, mixed use buildings.

We really want to provide opportunities that are right for that site in that area. And now I'm going to turn it over to Lisa.

Thank you. So we are going to look at the 251 East 12th Avenue building. This is owned by the state of Colorado. It is the parcel itself is just under an acre at 43200 square feet. The building itself is 91,470 square feet.

District 10, zoning is CMX eight. The purchase price is $4,500,000 and again, the source of funds would be the vibrant bond. This would support then affordable housing and as was just mentioned, mitigate any involuntary displacement. The property could be we're we're working through whether we would do a ground lease or actually sell it to a partner to own with a covenant on it. And this will be kinda dependent upon how we we're trying to be flexible at whether this could be a conversion, whether this is something that developers feel like it would need to come down, or whether they can keep the building converted and build on top of it.

So when we do our RFP, we will not be restrictive in that way. This is I'm just looking here too. Oh, yeah. So this is though a great location in terms of walkability. It is going to be transit friendly with the Qualfax BRT especially. It is zoned for high density but has not seen any new affordable housing units since before 2020.

As we brought this through the process, the advisory committee recommended this project for approval, again recommending that $4,500,000 in bond funds for the acquisition. The project meets the site selection and location criteria. It's close to the new Colfax BRT, Civic Center Park, 16th Street, new DDDA investments, all of which could be drivers of potential displacement. It's located within a half mile of public transit, first last mile infrastructure, schools, parks, libraries, rec centers, childcare, food services, and employment opportunities. So there are a lot of services in the area.

Other considerations that were discussed is there is a high demand for affordable rental units in District 10. And so the RFP would really allow flexibility in housing approaches to meet those needs. So last slide, potential timeline. We are here today at Finbiz. If you choose to move this forward, we would go to mayor council April 21, city council on April 27. And then, again, that RFP would be issued within ninety days of closing of the property. Great.

Questions? Alright. Thank you. I have a couple council members in the queue. So council members, if you have questions, please let me know. We'll start off with councilman Hines followed by pro temer Marrow Campbell.

Thank you, committee chair. Miss Loonley, thank you for the invitation to to visit the the site. I have been by the Colorado Department of Education building thousands of times. I mean, just my in my twenty years of living in Colorado, I've lived inside the district 10 footprint that entire time. So I think it's an amazing location.

I think it's, you know, it's right there, part of the capital complex, and so it would be ideal for state employees who, for better, for worse, you know, they make a difference in in impacting how our state operates, but they do it for the love, not for the money. So just as one example of, I think, a potential market for for affordable housing could be the state employees in the state complex. There are also it was just a like, it's actually in the the Capital Complex, but even just a couple blocks away, there are a bunch of city owned buildings and and jobs. This is a it's such a beautiful spot. It's, you know, within a block of the state capital, and so you'd see an unobstructed view of the Gold Dome.

If you're above, basically above the Ground Floor, you get to see a, you know, a view of the state capital. You're right. The median age of Capitol Hill is 34. Median income is about $44,000 a year. I don't know how, you know, Denver is the third most unaffordable housing for rent market in the nation, so I don't know how the people of Capitol Hill make ends meet.

And and as I talk with constituents there, they they say that they're, you know, one, maybe two paychecks away from being unhoused themselves, which is part of the reason why there's a lot of sympathy and empathy for for our unhoused, particularly in Capp Hill. I I think it's a good location. I think that, you know, the site has good bones. I think that there are some there are some reasons why this is not an ideal spot as is. So I think it's I think we would be fortunate to have this opportunity to to purchase.

You mentioned you haven't decided between a ground lease or selling. I would strongly encourage a ground lease even if it's ninety nine years. You know, I I can't I think most developers don't imagine that they're going to build a structure that will last a hundred years, but but as we saw with the renegotiation of the BNSF rail line west through the tunnel, that was a ninety nine year conversation that came up for renewal this year or last year. And so, you know, we know that it won't happen in our lifetimes, but but it has happened that ninety nine years have come up in, you know, in our lif times from things that have been negotiated a long time ago. And I'd love to preserve the ownership of the land for for the future generations of council members that make decisions.

So I wanna Yeah.

Councilman, if I can say, I I think we agreed that actually a a grand lease is always our preferred option, and that is 90% of the time the way we go. So I think we just recognize that there could be we've seen it on one property where there could be some challenges. And so I think that's why we just don't have a definitive answer right now. But I think we're pretty consistent with Host that ground lease is definitely what would be our our normal option.

Yeah. And then just the last comment. You mentioned no new affordable housing since 2020. There's been a lot of interest in affordable housing, including First Baptist Church, which is a block away. They wanted to put in affordable housing in their parking lot.

And unfortunately, the parking lot has been designated historic, so we had a conversation about that. About Knights of Columbus. I apologize again to my colleagues for not doing all the research that I should have with that property, but here we see First Baptist Church wanted to put in affordable housing, could not do so because of the historic nature of the parking lot. So there certainly is interest in affordable housing, and I see this as an opportunity to realize some of that very needed affordable housing. So thank you. Thank you, madam chair.

Thank you. Council pro tem Romero Campbell.

Thank you, madam chair. I just have a few questions, and it's more on process. So of the total dollars that are being allocated for housing, we have

10,000,000 roughly? It was 45.

45,000,000. Okay. So a portion would go towards this acquisition. How exactly do we decide which ones come through first? I think as a broader strategy across the city. Again, love affordable housing. We need it. We we wanna find all the locations. Is can you tell me more about how this one is surfacing first?

Sure. So I think and we are super sensitive, I will say, to recognizing we want to make sure that we can look across the city to find opportunities. This is an opportunity that actually the state contacted us to see if we would have interest. And so I think the, know, the challenge is if we wait to try to have all of them at once, we will lose opportunities at the same time. Right?

And so it is each time there is a new opportunity as it is vetted through real estate to make sure it meets basic criteria, then that is where it will go through the advisory committee committee to determine whether it still meets criteria, including now is it in a new geographic area, is it still meeting all of those other requirements. I mean, I'll stop there for minute and see if there's anything you guys want to add as well.

I just want to add that the advisory committee looked at that as well. We recognize that things will come up potentially one at a time. They have an interest in looking across the city as a whole. As I said, we're targeting about five to seven properties is what we're guessing. The 45,000,000 can accommodate. This is 4,500,000 of that, and so there are still other opportunities as they may come up. But we don't have the luxury of seeing all of the opportunities at once and then choosing between them. We would need to respond as those opportunities come up.

Thank you. And then I might have missed this in the presentation, but this would be

a conversion, a building conversion? Eventually. And so when we do the RFP, we have plans that from the state that we can provide as well. And I think the opportunity is there. We're not trying to limit the developers on what they can do. We want to see what great ideas can come forward. So they could recommend that they would tear it down and just start with all new product. Again, we're encouraging them to look at conversion. And like I said, it appears from what we're hearing that potentially they could build on top of it too. And so we are trying to encourage any and all ideas from that standpoint. And

then thank you. And and then I'm just those are all my questions for now. I'll hop back in the queue if I need.

Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman Gilmore.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the briefing and everything. A couple clarifying questions. So having been council president in the past and managing those bond funds, two, actually I think three as we were closing out one, it was always set up that there was an executive committee. And so Jane Fisher was the dedicated person in DOTI or in Department of Finance that managed the whole portfolio. Who is responsible? Who is the new Jane Fisher in this scenario with this bond?

So it's a right now, it's split between Molly and myself, so it depends on what the role is. So I take primarily the delivery responsibilities. Molly takes more of the operational responsibilities. So it depends on what the task is. We have complementary skill sets, so we're able to match.

Perfect. And so the two of you, Molly and Patrick, are responsible then for managing and facilitating the executive committee. For everybody's edification, would you do a quick overview of who exactly is on that executive committee? Because I don't know if the public exactly understands the process maybe. And I'm trying to understand because this is granted a new process and there's $45,000,000 on the table. And so yeah, who's on that?

And so we're calling it the Vibrant Oversight and Leadership Team. It is executive directors who are more directly responsible for delivery of the Vibrant projects. And so that includes the Parks and Rec executive director, Dolan Clark, Amy Ford, department of transportation, Gretchen Holra, arts and venues. It also includes mayor's office and department of finance, so Nicole Doheny from mayor's office representing Heather Dreyer. We have Neelo Brown from the city attorney's office.

And then, again, for these housing discussions, joining them includes formerly Molly Urbina from Department of Housing and Stability and now Kurt Cole. Cole. Sorry. Cole

Chandler. Chandler. Sorry. Just announced. Cole Chandler from host as well as Brad Buchanan from CPD. Okay. Great. So with that advisory committee or whatever, the leadership committee, is council leadership represented on there? Is that council president Sandoval? Uh-huh.

So we that is a internal executive leadership committee that reviews these things. And then as we said, the next step, and we can show this slide, is following those reviews, then we do bring it to executive sponsors, so CFO and CBO, chief projects offers officer from mayor's office, Jeff Dolan, to council president as well as the district's council member in which the opportunity resides. Okay.

I'm not sure. Well, if you could producer, if you could keep that slide up because I think it's a really good point that needs to be made. Then I want my council colleagues who are newer, who have not been council president before, understands the power of the position. So the council president needs to be on that advisory committee. That

is

not appropriate because the council president is the pivot point within Denver City Council to mitigate concerns that were having come up this morning because council members have not all been briefed. When I served on that leadership committee with Jane Fisher, with Happy Haynes, with Brad Buchanan, lots of people in the city still know how that worked, And it was my responsibility as the council president to say, well, you know what? Somebody wants this. Somebody wants this. We're gonna need to coordinate and as council president pivot and make sure that there are not glitches as you're trying to roll out these funds.

You are gonna see today what happens specifically when the council president is not on that committee and not thereby responsible to the rest of this body, to all of us, to advocate for our communities and for our needs, but also to inform us. So as council president, I would say, don't you even try to bring that to committee because you first need to brief all of my council colleagues. You need to let them know what's up, and then I need to have the opportunity to hear what their concerns are so that it is not postponed in committee because not all council members feel like they have been briefed on it and that we've got a big wide city here. And I know that you think this is a tiny amount, but it's no longer mayor Johnston's general fund dollars. These are voter approved bond dollars that people voted on.

And so I would respectfully ask. And, you know, let's widen the leadership responsibility. Put the council pro tem on there as well so that you have a team because council president is not going to be in for more than six more months, so you're gonna have that transition. You've got six years to do this bond. And so I would just highly recommend that so that we are informed and so that this is not a firestorm, every single thing that you're bringing through.

And so I will respect the conversation. But at the end, I understand your need and want for this, Councilman Hines. But I would also ask that we make sure that everybody is brief so that we can have equity, accountability, and transparency for it. So I know you probably have great reasons why. It's awesome.

But at the end of the conversation, I will be making that motion to postpone because I would like to also know what the plan is. And I can't trust the mayor's administration to make those decisions and then trickle it down to the council president and the two at large members. And then if it all blows up, it who is responsible for it? So I will stop there and when it's for time the postponement, thank you.

Councilor McGillmore. And I wanna give an opportunity for you all to respond. And I know that I had asked prior to this coming. As you all know, I had asked for there to be outreach to council members to be briefed prior to this coming to committee. And I I know that I had a briefing about the process where I raised concerns around council involvement throughout the process because, originally, there was not that extra arrow on that second box there.

And then I raised it again when we were all briefed again at mayor's council. So mayor council, we had individual briefings offered, at least I can only speak for my own office offered, but then also we had it presented in mayor council where we had opportunity again to ask questions. And I again asked at that point, why is it a arrow and a we're notifying versus part of the conversation. And so to that point, councilwoman Gilmore, I did raise that issue at that time and asked where is that involvement piece. As far as the project that's before us today, I think, you know, there are, there are questions from other council members we know about the selection process and how we're deciding to acquire, buildings when there might already be buildings, properties owned by the city, and why are those not being considered?

And so I just wanna put that out there because I know that has been expressed as a question and concern. But I will pass it to council president Sandoval so that, she could also respond. But if there's anything else you'd like to add from what I just said, please do, and then we'll pass it to council president Sandoval.

Yeah. I just wanted to add, this process, and thank you. We did offer, briefings to all council members to discuss the process, and we did take that feedback and integrate it along the way. Thank you for pointing that out. A couple key integrations is that notification as things go to advisory committee with the intent of council members being able to raise any questions or concerns along the way.

We also added, following your mayor council recommendation, recommendation at mayor and council, the box after the vibrant oversight leadership team reviews when it goes to executive sponsors, council president, and the district council member reviews. So that adding that into addition, ahead of our mayor council where we also presented the process, Carolina Flores, from Department of Finance also shared information specifically around this property, to all council members ahead of mayor council so that questions could be asked at that time as well. So just wanted to give that update on how this process has evolved over time. You. So

my I have a similar question to councilwoman Diana Romero Campbell, pro selection? Because we own land in Denver. We own several parcels. So I don't understand why a city parcel isn't coming first. Why are we using acquisition dollars instead of building on land we have?

Well, I can answer that. So when we got into the actual language that that was included, it says the project would allow us to invest in land, buildings, or site preparation to provide affordable housing and mitigate displacement. The city will invest in land, buildings, and or site preparation to support development and acquisition of affordable housing to mitigate involuntary displacement land or buildings maybe leased to partners or city owned depending on the specific details of the project. The city expects to use this capital leverage capital to leverage additional investment to deliver on these projects. So that is the language that was was in the project description. So

Yeah. I I I get that. I worked on that language to get it into the I'd

say we're Into the bond to as exact.

But my question again is, it takes so much to get projects up and going. Right? We have have we done a heat assessment? Have we done an assessment, an audit of all of the land that we own in the city and county of Denver and help get those pads prepared for for that because we own land. I know specifically one in a different council district that has three story zoning.

It's vacant. We could use some of that money to actually get the pad prepared for developers go out for our again, I understand that we have that language in there for acquisition a 100%. I agree with that. I'm just under I don't understand the process of how this one came first and we're not utilizing city owned land that we already have. Councilwoman council president, if I can respond. So,

we do have we probably don't have as much as everybody thinks, but we do have a couple sites. I was not party to certain conversations recently that were, I think, referred to this morning. But I do know that I think there had been some ongoing conversations about how that site could be used short term versus long term. So I think long term, there always has been a commitment to housing. And I will say, as far as I'm concerned, because I do have kind of that city list that you're referring to as well as then being aware of other opportunities out in the market, that we do have a city list of one parcel in particular that was referenced.

But I think there's some other host conversations to have, and it was more a matter of timing. And I would say that that probably goes on another site that I'm thinking of as well. It was a matter of timing versus whether it actually could be a project or not. The issue of project isn't the issue, it's timing.

Okay.

And then related to the process for the bond executive committee which still meets monthly, this is a total that you the administration created. This is a total separate process for the 45,000,000. Is that accurate? Because when we met, we don't have this process when we're doing parks and recreation. We don't have this process when we're doing, like like, projects. We don't have this process. You all created, meaning you all, meaning the administration. You all created this process separate for the $45,000,000. Correct? Right.

The flow right. And how why when I gave you all feedback about not, like, taking apart the executive bond committee Mhmm. This is exactly what I was talking about. I'll never forget. I was literally in January in my pre meeting before the bond meeting, I said you cannot dismantle the executive bond committee because it does not create checks and balances in the bond. I I specifically remember telling you that, Molly. And then you all came with this separate idea. So where did this idea come from to create a separate stream in the executive bond committee?

So this stream is for the

No. I understand that. I'm not asking that question. Let me say it a different way. All of the rest of the money how much was the bond? 900 and 950,000,000. 950,000,000? Mhmm. So you have a separate stream for $45,000,000. That's not part of the executive bond committee. Why did you create that is what I think councilwoman Gilmore's question is. Why did you create that separate process? What was the what was the what was the intent? Because with the rest of the bond, 905,000,000,000.

Mhmm. We

have an executive bond committee for. So what was the intention of creating a whole entire new mechanism, separate stream, second set whole different approval process, doesn't bring it to the executive bond committee? No one in the executive bond committee votes on it. What was that intention? Why?

So the bond executive committee that you were referring to for Elevate and RISE focuses on allocation of purpose contingency for Elevate and RISE. This is not purpose contingency. This is the allocation of the project funding. So typically, for projects, for any projects, whether they're Elevate, RISE, Vibrant, the department and the project manager identifies the process for how we spend funds on the projects within that area. And so in this case, for the housing, because of the direction that was passed as part of this project.

We decided that this project needed a specific process with an advisory committee initially vetting it, bringing forward to executive directors, bringing forward to yourself and the district, that process that I showed earlier is that allocation of the project funding specifically. This is not allocating purpose contingency overall. This is allocating the project funding. And so because this project is unique, we have not done this in the same way in the past. We think it needed a special process to allocate that 45,000,000.

I would say

I'd say I think the the actual question is why are we not doing the same thing we did on rise and elevate?

And I'll say the reason why Mhmm. Is because you're leaving out the voting body that that has updates for that. And so I think that that was the the feedback that other council members were giving you. It's the feedback I attempted to give you in January, and you all decided to do this separate process. So I can't vote on an administrative process. Right? I can vote on bills that come to us. Mhmm. I can provide you feedback. My colleagues can provide you feedback.

You can take all the briefings and then the administration can use their executive authority, which I've been told, and do what they need to do. I'm once again, that's why I was concerned in January when you talked to me about make creating a new process is because it leaves the executive branch or the the the legislative branch out. And the only way that this bond got to the ballot was through us. And so I think that you're fundamentally missing the pieces, the checks and balances in all of this by creating this new system. It's just odd.

I'll just have to say I don't know any other system where you don't have someone from city council. All of our task force, all of our working groups, like you name it, it usually has a council person on it.

So I think the the main the main difference in in what we were attempting to do is when you look at, like, a a rise or elevate where you have hundreds of projects and you have these citywide buckets, which we heard loud and clear during the bond process from this body, you did not want to see repeated. You wanted very discreet and defined projects. You want this project in this district and you didn't wanna see citywide pedestrian improvements. You didn't wanna say citywide sidewalks or citywide bikeways. You wanted to see District 11 signals.

You wanted to see Evans Avenue. You wanted to see, you know, this pool, not citywide pools. So we have in particularly named pool improvements, in particularly named signal improvements. What we were attempting to do through this was we have a a much more defined there's 58 projects. The only real kind of bucketed project we really had was the housing.

So we were in in an attempt, and I'm hearing you clearly right now, wanna be very clear with that, what we were trying to do was actually increase the transparency of this and we're coming to the body as a whole more often. We're briefing more often. We're coming to you at mayor council once a quarter. It was less of trying to cut the legislation out and more of coming to the legislative body as a whole more often. So I'm I'm hearing you clearly that we may have missed that mark, but it wasn't it wasn't from a lack of effort. It was from a feeling like we were trying to increase the transparency.

I hate that. Can I respond, please? Absolutely. And then I'll I'll be noncom madam chair. It just oftentimes feels like with that process that you said so thank you for that, Patrick. I appreciate that ex explanation. The sausage making is done. So when you're on the executive bond committee, I'm able to actually look at projects and then call my council members and say, hey, this is gonna come up for next month. I'm I'm I'm tracking things. What's your input?

If you don't have counsel on that group, there's no way to trap the counsel person who's responsible, who can have conversations with 12 other colleagues be able to track that because the sausage making is already been decided and we just get briefed where it would feel better on the front end to have an elected official in that group because in that group that you all said, there's not one elected official. And you have to respond differently to to people when you're elected. You do. Mhmm. You all are our city workers. You're under career service. You have peppers. You have all these and things. We don't. We have to be responsible to the voters.

And so that's what I think I'm you're missing is having an elected official and all of the people that you have on there are all appointees from the mayor's office. So they're all gonna lead the direction of what the mayor says and we may not always have the same responses to mayor. We might actually respectfully disagree. And so that's actually a really good dialogue to have someone in there who's not always on the same agenda because they're not an appointee, they're elected and then they're within the body and they might have a different perspective. And it's really good to always have different people at the table to make sure that you're getting all of the different perspectives when things come to the body because then we can give you ideas of what's working, what might not work, what our council members are feeling.

So just some food for thought. I think that's why you got so many questions this new process for the 45,000,000 because at our retreats, in our workshops, affordable housing is the number one issue that we have been talking about since I have been here since 2012. Never gone away. Never. And we were proud to get the $50,000,000 in there. And so I think that that process could be shored up and just improved. Thank you, madam chair. Thank you. Councilman Cashman.

Thank you, madam chair. I'll make it very quick. I think the work you've been doing on bond money is outstanding. I think you're all as confident as we could ask for. I think it sometimes gets lost that counsel comes at times from a different perspective. And I would just support what councilwoman Gilmore brought up that if if there's an executive committee on anything going on in the city, less this type of an expense, that the courtesy be given to involve the legislative branch. So thank you, madam chair.

Alright. Thank you. Councilman Hine, we so we're at 11:25. Yep. We are probably going to have to reschedule one of our other action items because we're just not going to have enough time, and so I just wanna be mindful of that. I wanna try to at least get one other action item in. So

Yeah. Thank you, committee chair. There's always a a pleasure and a risk of being first in the queue. I I wanna thank you for I felt in the loop, but but just because I'm in the loop doesn't mean council's in the loop. And so I support the current and past council president, and we should have the legislative branch in the process. And I hear a lot of executive branch names and not any legislative branch names. So thank you. Thank you, committee chair.

Thank you. And I'll just say that I I think this is a worthy project. Right? I think we all have talked ad nauseam about affordable housing and having it throughout our city. And, you know, I raised the concern I raised earlier, and I think that warrants follow-up for sure around and council president also raised the same question around existing property and how we can, you know, look at some of those as options as well.

Not saying necessarily noted this option, but hearing there is a concern still on the table about process. And I appreciate the fact that you have incorporated some of that feedback, but I think it's still as we have seen, there's still a lot of unanswered questions and unresolved concerns. So with that said, I'm gonna turn to councilwoman Gilmore. I think you had a motion.

Yes, thank you, madam chair. I'd like to postpone postpone this item until May 12 and have it come back then. And it is resolution 26 dash zero one two zero.

You second council pro tem Romero Campbell. Okay. Motion by councilwoman Gilmore, seconded by council pro tem Romero Campbell. Sorry. I know it was a tie. With that said, do we need a roll call vote? Not seeing any roll call vote. Alright. Thank you so much for the information. We will see you all again on May 12.

With that said, I believe we are going to need to, I'm so sorry, postpone the janitorial contracts because I think that will have a lot of dialogue. And so I apologize greatly for all the folks that may have joined us for that action item, and we'll be working with Melissa Mata from our policy team to help us in in getting that rescheduled. So I apologize to those of

you who came down for that.

With that said, we are going to pivot now to our next item for action, which is the five points bid renewal. So if those folks could join us at the table. Hello. Alright. We're gonna turn the information over to you now. If you could introduce yourselves and go on with your presentation, and then I'll be taking a queue for questions. Thank you.

Excellent. I'll just I'll start off. Dennis Rudjenik with capital management financing in the in the department of finance, and I'll hand it over to these two to introduce themselves.

Hi. My name is Norman Harris. I serve as the executive director of the Five Points Business Improvement District.

My name is Sarah Cullen, and I'm with Sidecar Public Relations, the communications support for the bid. Excellent.

So well, we we have probably don't have to rush quite as much as we initially thought, but we'll we'll jump into it and and and get this get through this pretty quickly and get to a q and a. But, ultimately, we are here today just to discuss the ordinance to approve a renewal of the 5 Points Business Improvement District for an additional period of ten years, which will conclude at the 2036. As you may recall from previous renewals, you know, when these districts were created, they have a requirement to seek renewal after an initial ten year period. And so part of that process is in the ninth year of the district's existence, they are required to hold a public hearing. And and if that board of directors votes to approve a renewal of that district, they then submit a resolution to the city and county of Denver, which ultimately kicks off this renewal process.

And so earlier in March well, actually, I'll start and say that this the Five Points BID held a public hearing back on 02/18/2026 where the board voted to seek an additional ten year renewal. And then shortly after that, they submitted resolution to the city, which then kicked off this process. And so we did have the resolution to schedule a public hearing go through council earlier in March, which set a public hearing date from May 11, so coming up here in just a few weeks. And then this is ultimately the formal action to approve that renewal. And so we have, you know, the first reading coming up here in a few weeks and then the public hearing on May 11.

So those are the two main council actions associated with this. And so ultimately, to speak to what the district has been doing and some of the things they have planned, I will hand it over to Norman and Sarah to talk about all the, yeah, all the great things going on in Five Points.

Well, thank you, Dennis, and thank you all for the opportunity to speak about the great things happening in Five Points. Again, my name is Norman Harris. I serve as the executive director of the Five Points Business Improvement District. We're a quasi governmental agency that oversees the marketing, maintenance, and general improvement of the Welton Corridor, which is in the historic 5 Points neighborhood. The streets that we represent or that we service are between 20th And 30th On Welton Street.

So if you're looking at this map, it's that green area. The Five Points Business Improvement District was started in 2016 and actually began operating in 2017. Fairly humble beginnings when it first began. I believe that first year, our operating budget was barely a $100,000. So outside of maintenance, there wasn't much that the Business District was doing, but really just preparing for the future.

Between 2016 and 2019, there was a tremendous amount of momentum that was built up on the Welton Corridor. Then COVID came, and it really kinda disrupted the advancement in Five Points along with the rest of our city. Between about 2022 to 2024, the Business Improvement District was administered by the Downtown Denver Partnership, which provided a great service in terms of administration. But, really, what lack was on the ground boots on the ground, really an intentional leadership. So the board of the business improvement district, made the decision to, hire an executive full time director.

Currently or during that same time frame, our my family, we purchased a brewery on called Spangling on twenty seventh and Walton Street. I've also been organizing our city's Juneteenth celebration since 2012, so it's this will be year 15. I say both of those experiences really gave me the understanding and perspective of what was needed at a macro level to really help the equitable advancement of the Welton Corridor. So when I saw the job open up for the executive director, I said that this was something that I was meant to do. So I applied for the job in October 2023, and I took on leadership in early twenty twenty four.

In that first year, just really spent a lot of time listening. And really what my goal was was to really align the business improvement district's priorities with those of the many stakeholders and the folks that we represent. So what that looked like was on top of providing day to day services such as, you know, cleaning and maintenance, snow removal, what we really looked to do was to unify our corridor under one vision, which was what we see as it really being a modernized cultural marketplace. And so we began working with city agencies such as Denver Arts and Venues. We began working with state agencies such as OEDIT and really working to provide business support for some of the really unique businesses that are along the corridor.

And so I think when you look at this this slide here, it really illustrates some of the accomplishments that we've made over the last two years. One is that we've we've secured, again, support for small businesses through working with the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, who's provided much needed working capital for businesses such as Welton Street Cafe and for Urban Sanctuary. We've also worked with the state's oetic department securing those same types of resources. On a larger scale, what we've also done is we've advanced the conversation of what the look and feel of Walton Street should be like. As I mentioned, the business improvement district had been in existence since 2016 where there have been conversations about just what the future of the street should be like probably since before I was born.

But most importantly, one of the big conversations is the light rail and the airline. Since what we believe is 2011, there have been countless studies, countless conversations about just making Welton Street a a main street character. There have been countless studies that have occurred, have been published, literally made it to the back of folks filing cabinets. But since we've come into leadership, what we've been able to do is get the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure in the same room as RTD, in the same room as City Planning Development, and with the great leadership of our council of our our councilman, Darryl Watson, we've advanced the discussion of the future of the light rail. And so RTD and DOTI have committed to at least, I believe, somewhere between about 3 quarters of 1,000,000 to $1,000,000 for a study to really kind of make a decision on what's gonna be best for our community.

So what I'm really proud to say is that over the last three years, we haven't had a business close on Welton Street. We currently are supporting over 60 commercial businesses, of which I believe 16 are African American owned. We service over 90 commercial properties. And, again, we really have unified this community under one vision. So what we're coming to you today is hopefully for your support and for your approval.

On May 11, you are going to be asked to renew the business improvement district for the next ten years. But really what I believe you're gonna be renewing and what you're gonna be supporting is the great momentum that we're seeing on this corridor. You know, I mentioned when I say momentum, some of the other projects that are coming online that are gonna be in front of you. One is going to be for approving TIF financing for the Rossonian Hotel, which is probably one of the most culturally relevant landmarks in, I believe, our city. And so, you know, I'm turning 50 years old this year.

Wish I wish wish wish I wish I could say I was turning wish I could say I was 30 years old. But in my fifty years of running up and down the Welton Corridor, I have never seen the Rossonian Hotel functioning. And, you know, when you talk about momentum and you have the Rossonian Hotel, you have the resurgence of the Welton Street Cafe. You have several new culturally unique and relevant businesses such as Spangling Brewery, such as the Culture Bar, such as just so many different businesses up and down the corridor that I think they really start to tell a great story for this city that we really have a true place that is the Harlem Of The West. And so by, one, supporting the renewal of the Business Improvement District, but two, hopefully, and I'll probably be back in front of you talking about the Rossonian Hotel, which is a completely separate initiative, that when you guys are voting in support of that, what we really are doing is we are stopping the compounding effect of us saying we'll get to Welton Street next.

And since I've been born, I can say that, unfortunately, that Welton Street has not been a top priority for our city and for our state, and now is the time. So we're certainly open for any questions and comments, and I just appreciate the time to to talk today.

Thank you so much. Is that the that's the end of the presentation?

Yeah. I'm not sure.

That's besides we can short. He's Yeah.

We're knew

that we had time.

I appreciate it. I'm gonna go to councilman Watson. And if there are others that would like to join the queue, let me know.

Committee chair, thank you so much. Thank you so much, Norman. Thank you so much, Sarah Colleen. You didn't get to introduce yourself. Thank you, Dennis and the team.

The Five Points bid, as mister Harris shared, has been instrumental in really elevating once again the delayed actions that this corridor has been asking for from since mayor Pena stated that he was going to reopen the Rossonian. That was mayor Pena in 1983. And so I have been so impressed, mister Harris, with you and the board and your leadership in two parts, which I think matters most when it comes to bid renewal. First, coordinating with the existing owners to make sure that we retain and are not having black business owners lose businesses on the corner under your leadership. You have been engaging one on one with those discussions and strategically to ensure that we receive funds, for example, from the city and county of Denver to make sure for storefronts, to make sure if there are needs for grants.

I saw you in there actually with a hammer when Walden Street Cafe was actually trying to be reopened, hammering and painting. You're not a contractor, but you were in there, and I appreciate that. I appreciate your vision as well, and I think that's an important part for a bid, especially in a historic neighborhood that does not have the millions that some of these other bids may have. We have very scant dollars having a vision tied to actually plans within the city. So when you look at the storm water process within 5 Points, that may seem small, but right at the point every single year in April, we will have floods.

For fifteen years, you couldn't walk across connector in 5 Points because of the flooding. You looking at and coordinating to ensure that those investments were sticky, that we had storm water drainage that was updated, that we have connectivity for those businesses to some of the undergrowth, under the tracks of the airline to the street to make sure that they can actually have AC and have all of the other connections from Excel and lighting working collaboratively with those folks. Those are strategic things that may seem small, but they're extremely important. And then finally, our grand discussion on the next step study. I think that is important.

We had a wonderful discussion with some travel reporters. I can't remember the name of the group, mister Harris. So it was that group that came to Spangolang that we had this discussion on, a whole host of folks. I think Sid Wilson set it up.

With with Visit Denver.

Through Visit Denver. Yeah.

Through Visit Denver, just my colleagues. And and and it it I've lived in the points since '97. I've lived in Denver since '87, I would come to Capri Chicken, and I would do all that stuff back in the eighties when I was a little rug rat running around Denver. And I've known this city, but to sit in a room with I think there was about a 100 travel reporters that came to Denver to understand what is the historic significance and importance of Denver. And they chose Five Points, and they chose Spangolin, and they went back to their far flung communities on the Western Slope, the Eastern Plains, I think someone from Nebraska and someone from Wyoming, to sit and listen to them about just the the dream state they're in when they come to Five Points, when they think of the Harlem of the West, and they think of where our communities were not only permitted to live, but that we were celebrated in our history for so long.

And just to listen to just how much awe they had at a place where as we sit and we look at the delayed maintenance, the delayed support from the city, all of the delayed stuff, but they were just in awe. And that's the work of your team and of all the businesses on 5 Point. So I asked my colleagues strongly to support me. We have a whole book of letters of support from former presidents to folks who own little shops across the corridor begging for us to give this bid ten more years so we can do it we can deliver on the promises that we've made to this community for for a generation. So thank you, committee chair. Thank you to all three of you for your wonderful work on this this corridor.

Thank you, councilman. Councilman Haines.

Thank you, committee chair. Thank you, council member Watson, for your for your comments. I said earlier in this committee, but in a different briefing, that I I've lived in Denver for twenty years, and all of it in the footprint of District 10, fifteen of it was at 20th And Logan. So I could look across the street, look out my window and see District 9 from from where I was in District 10. Half a block is neither horseshoes nor hand grenades.

It doesn't matter if I was close. I was in District 10, but there was a lot of confusion, you know, but about where I another candidate in twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen canvassed my neighborhood just, you know, because it was a big close. Anyway, I wanna I wanna thank you for the briefing. I wanna thank you for the conversation that that multiple conversations that we've had. I when I started going to the five points of five points twenty years ago, it looks different.

Some of the buildings, but the people look a lot a lot different twenty years ago than today. And the Harlem of the West, I I hope that I can help you lean into managing mitigating displacement because because we wanna celebrate as a saxophone former saxophone player, played saxophone for a decade. You know, we talked about Welton and and the vibrant, you know, jazz community that was there. I'd love to help through, you know, council member Watts. I don't wanna step on your district, but or trample all over your district, but but I'd love to to help and support, and I wanna thank you for that.

One other thing that I learned recently is I I knew that Downtown Denver Partnership, which is in District 10, had had some skin in the game with the five points bid in the past. Mhmm. While that might have made sense in the past, I really I wanna thank you for your leadership and what is good for downtown doesn't always translate to other places. So so with your leadership, I'm glad that we're able to allow downtown to focus on downtown and for Five Points, focus on Five Points. So thank you for that education as well. Thank you.

Anyone else in the queue? Okay. So this does require action. I believe we need a motion. We have councilman Watson motion, council president Sandoval second. Any need for a roll call vote? Not seeing any. This will move forward to the full council. Thank you so much. Council members, if you could just hold on hold tight for a moment because we need a mother yeah. We need to have a motion to postpone o five zero four, the general services contracts for janitorial services.

So moved.

Okay. Moved by councilman Cashman, seconded by council pro tem Romero Campbell. Any, need for a roll call vote on that? Nothing. Alright. Not so many. That will be postponed, and we will get a new date for that contract. With that said, we have one item on consent. That item will also move forward to the full body. We are adjourned. Thank you.