City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. So, it's 5:30. This is the Durango City Council. Today is March 10th, 2026. Could we have roll call? Uh, councelor Kosovo here. Your lawyer. Mayor Pocham Woodruff, Mayor Yazy here. Councelor Gonzalez

present. The next item on the agenda is the reading indigenous land acknowledgement. Could we have the recording please, Tom? This is a call to honor and respect indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. As residents and visitors of Durango, we are called upon to educate ourselves about the history and cultural heritage of the land we inhabit. The city of Durango is situated on the ancestral homelands and territories of the Nu, Hickoria, Apache, Apache, Pueblo of New Mexico, Hopicome, Hopi, and Da Navajo nations. The original stewards of this land were forcibly removed and exposed to countless atrocities by the United States government, including repeatedly broken treaties, forced assimilation, the tragic legacy of Indian boarding schools, and the loss of ancestral homelands. We recognize lasting generational trauma exists within native communities today. We affirm the continuing importance of ancestral sites to descendant communities as integral to the living cultural landscape. This acknowledgement only becomes meaningful when combined with accountable relationships and informed actions. May this serve as a step toward inclusion and reconciliation.

The next item on the agenda is the introduction of the trans.

Hi, good evening. My name is Torres and I am here with my colleague Sam Guzman. We're here from the community language cooperative and thank you so much for practicing language justice so that everyone can hear in the language of their heart. If you're joining us from teams uh today, you please go to the more menu and you can select language and speech from there and you can select English or Spanish. Gracias. We can go ahead and get started. Sorry. Opening remarks by mayor and council. Seeing none, the next item is presentations and proclamations with a presentation from Durango High School Student Council. Uh, Dia,

hi there. Uh, my name is Dileia Bong and I am the executive student body vice president at Durango High School. Um, I'm here tonight just to represent DHS and give some updates to all the amazing things that we're doing. Um so first the Black Student Alliance um there they just hosted their fifth annual Black History Soul Food Dinner on Thursday, February 26th. The entire event was run by students including running the kitchen decorations, preparing the set list, and collaborating with the community to bring in guest performers. The money they raised at this event along with generous grants from the Durango Education Foundation and the DHSP PTO will help them go to Atlanta, Georgia on March 30th for uh Black History, Culture, and H.B.CU tour. Um the DHS strength and conditioning program now has a NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist on staff. the same level of certification seen at collegiate and professional levels. Uh for strength coaches, they are running programming before school all the way to 5:00 p.m. and have seen great successes in student athlete performance this first semester. Uh they saw a 73% increase in maximum power output through vertical jump testing and an 80% increase in change of direction speed through the pro agility test. One of our basketball coaches said how incredible the program has been not only in strength training but also confidence and drive. Um so we're building a stronger team and winning culture. Um the DHS orchestra along with the DHS band and the DHS choir will be performing tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11th for our DHS music department recruitment showcase. In the morning, fifth grade students from each of the

district's elementary schools will join us in the DHS auditorium to enjoy three or four pieces performed by each of our three performance ensembles. In the afternoon, seventh and eighth grade music students from Escalante and Miller Middle School will join us for the same concerts. Um, unified sports has been very active and is having a great semester. Um, we hosted a local basketball tournament, traveled to Grand Junction to play in the Western Regional Basketball Tournament hosted by Special Olympics Colorado, started a unified esports team playing Mario Kart against schools across the state, and competed in their first uh home track meet this last Saturday, March 7th. Uh, so Durango High School is doing great things for inclusion and those with disabilities in the classroom and through sports. Um, career and technical education, CTE, is excited to be wrapping up our inaugural year of the aviation pathway at DHS. Our students have learned aerospace fundamentals and will finish up their year taking the FAA private pilot ground test. Uh, for the 2026 2027 school year, we will be offering an introduction to aviation course in the fall and in the spring, we will offer advanced pilot pilot. Additionally, the four juniors from our class this year are eligible for exciting workbased learning opportunities. Um, and then finally, the DHS geology class will be holding a community game night at the powerhouse on April 23rd. This event will focus on how the local community responds to natural hazards such as drought. Um, I have a flyer if anyone wants to know more information about this. Um, and that's all I have. Thank you. Any questions?

That would be really cool. Yeah, thank you. Next up is city manager updates with the uh first update, the 911 technology framework overview.

Uh thank you, mayor and council. Really quickly before we do the uh 911 presentation, I just want to bring Zeta Fail up uh to introduce some special guests that we have that are here in the council meeting audience. Good evening, mayor and council. Zetafail with strategy and performance excellence. Uh this week we're really excited to have a team of reviewers here, examiners from the Sterling uh group that come in and help us through performance excellence. So, I'd like to introduce them. We're they're interviewing staff all week. Uh we're going to take facility tours this uh tomorrow and the next day. And the Sterling Group is a nonprofit organization that's committed to elevating performance excellence in organizations. You may remember that they we had a team here last year that gave us a lot of feedback and great ways to make uh an opportunities for improvement. U I would like to say they're only going to be here for a short while. So when you see them scoot out, it's not uh they've got lots of paperwork to take care of. So, if I could have them stand up and I'll introduce uh Jeff Cooper is the COO, the chief operating officer of Hemophilia of Georgia. He's a master examiner and has been with Sterling for eight years. So he's leading a team of 12 individuals from literally all over the world because we do have one examiner from Dubai that is helping us to evaluate and move forward and make progress. Thank you Jeff. Uh Brandon Thompson is the in charge of strategy for the USF credit union. He has been an examiner with Sterling for five years. And then we're very blessed to have Dion Guyger who is the president and founder of Sterling. So they're here doing everything they

can to help us serve our community better. So thank y'all. Okay. Next up, mayor and council, we do have our update from our 911 director, Katie Fox, on the technology framework overview.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Thanks for having me here tonight. Katherine Fox, During Emergency Communications Center Director, excuse me. As DEX director, I am responsible for the overall trajectory, governance, and performance of our emergency communication systems. This includes how technology, policy, and processes align to support the seamless operations and continual enhancement of 911 services across the broader public safety system. Tonight, I appreciate the opportunity to briefly explain how 911 technology is evolving, how we approach modernization at Deck, and how decisions about adopting new capabilities are made. While the core mission of 911 has remained constant since the first 911 call was placed in 1968, the environment within which we operate has changed pretty dramatically. Long gone are rotary phones, paperbased processes, and basic radio systems. We now live in a world of smart technology, shared radio networks, and automated public safety systems, all of which support quick, coordinated response. Public expectations for speed, accuracy, and service delivery have evolved accordingly. And modernization is about meeting those evolving expectations while preserving the core function of 911 to provide a swift and accurate public safety response when requested. Many of the considerations surrounding modernization are shaped by the industry's transition to next generation or NG 911. NG 911 is not a single tool. It's a nationwide effort to overhaul the infrastructure that supports how 911 receives information, routes calls, and shares data. NG 911 replaces older analog systems with secure interoperable platforms capable of supporting many new functions.

These functions can include multimedia information sharing in both directions, real-time location determination, smarter routing, stronger security, and interoperability, all within one connected system. NG 911 also provides a common foundation that allows 911 centers to evaluate technology as part of an integrated whole rather than adding tools in isolation. This supports disciplined decisions about what to adopt, how to implement it, and how to govern it before activation. Because NG 911 is largely funded at the state and local level, modernization decisions must be deliberate and built for long-term sustainability. At DEC, we make those decisions following a consistent four-part innovation framework, which I did briefly touch on at my annual council update last month. This framework is aligned with the city's strategic goals and objectives and focuses on the following four components. NG 911 compatible infrastructure. Interoperability across systems and agencies, intentional adoption based on impact and readiness, and datadriven decision-making guided by measurable outcomes rather than trends or pressure. Using this framework, we've already made intentional data-informed improvements across our 911 environment. Some examples. We're in the process of modernizing our 911 phone system for NG 911 capability. We're using a phased implementation approach to prioritize service stability um and internal training as well. We've also aligned closely with Durango Fire Protection District in the adoption of the Phoenix Station Alerting System. This decision was based on data showing the need for improved dispatch times for fire and medical emergencies. We've also strengthened our internal quality assurance and training processes through AI enabled tools that support interoperability, consistent review,

coaching, and performance standards. Performance data, including dispatch time, citizen feedback, and incident review standards, continues to guide where changes are needed and ensures our decisions are grounded in measurable impact and community expectations. One of the most salient examples of our four- tiered approach in action is our decision-making around the NG 911 capability for callers to share live video with 911 during an active incident. In Dex view capability does not equal automatic activation. And this functionality will be enabled only when policies, training, and governance including legal review, access control, retention parameters, and clear use boundaries are in place. As with all new technology in our center, use will be evaluated through robust data analysis, including response effectiveness, voice connection stability, workforce impact and wellness, which is a large consideration for us, responder feedback, and overall service quality. All of which will guide how this functionality is used over time. Just as importantly, if data or experience shows that a capability does not improve service, support our workforce, or operate within our standards, we will not continue its use. DEC is looking forward to continuing to innovate internally as well as work externally with our client agencies to partner in leveraging tools to keep our communities and first responders safer. You heard last week from chiefs current and black about additional modernization efforts underway. What I hope is clear is that these are not isolated tools. They're part of a broader shift towards faster, more accurate, more accountable information flow during emergencies. At DEC, technology is a tool, not the goal. And our responsibility is to make sure that new technologies are implemented with governance, training, and the measurable outcomes needed to preserve public trust while improving response and overall safety both for our citizens and our first responders. Thank you for

your time this evening, and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Oh, great. Thank you. Um, thank you very much for the for the update. Um, as I know we think about AI and all the potential, it does seem to me like a 911 operator could be replaced with AI of all of the services that we provide. How likely is that? That's a great question. Um so there are already companies who are rolling out AI call taking agents for non-emergency lines. Um right now in the industry um you know 911 calls don't generally follow the same uh cadence of a traditional customer service call. So I know you see a lot of call centers um call takers being replaced with AI bots. 911 calls can be really chaotic. um information comes in with a lot of background noise sometimes. So, the industry isn't there yet for emergency services calls. Um that is one of the potential tools that we ran through our framework. Um and Deck has decided not to implement AI call takers at this time. That doesn't mean that it's a future, it's not a future consideration, but there are definitely AI call taking software um out in the world currently going live for non-emergency calls coming into centers. So that's things like barking dogs, my neighbor stole my trash can, uh somebody parked in front of my driveway, etc. Um, I would think that would be like top of mind because I know I would imagine um that you know as we try to be the most efficient and cost-saving and all that that you know that could rise to the level. So I'm I'm glad we're not there yet. I'm afraid that we may be um

sooner than we are. Um, so I think in terms of this 911 technology, has Durango been like an early adopter or like middle late where do we fall into this scale of adopting new technologies?

Yeah, that's another great question and I will actually just to go back to your first question I answered regarding call taking. I think the likelihood of the dispatch function of 911 being taken over by AI in the near future is pretty low. Um it's a it's a pretty complex um high priority high urgency job. Uh and I have yet to see anything about dispatch function capability. So speaking on the radios to officers and responding units. Um to your second question which just left my mind. I'm sorry. I was I'm just asking is how quick has Durango been to early adopt technology?

Sorry, I got myself off track there. Um our aim is to be a conscientious adopter. So I um my team identified where we want to head as an agency um which is innovation collaboration with our client agencies, understanding their needs and providing these services to the community and our first responders um at a deeper more broad level than we have in the past. But uh as you can see from our fourpoint framework, our goal is to be conscientious leaders in the field. We want to redefine what dispatch looks like and we want to do that mindfully um and with the big picture in view. So not adopting technology just for technologies sake.

You're touching on this a little bit already, but but the technology is always going to keep going faster and faster and and the costs are insane. We heard from the drone program what kind of the costs are are are particular with that. So, how how are we balancing out the the ability to pilot test to to dip our toe in the water on some of the technology and ensure that it's going to deliver for the money that we're spending on it? Um, is that part of the equation in the conversations that you're having?

Absolutely. Fiscal considerations are I will say a big part is measuring costbenefit analysis. I know the annual costs for the drones are high and comparatively to um personnel and staffing if you get the benefit of sending those units those um robotic units in place of of a a human officer that can offset. So doing those costbenefit analysis for what you're going to gain from the technology is definitely a large part of the consideration. Um, another piece is a lot of these technologies, especially in 911, are being built into the systems that we already rely on to use. So, the new phone CPE or customer premise equipment that we're bringing in, um, we need to replace our phone system. Every phone system on the market has NG 911 capability now. So, it's not there. These aren't standalone things necessarily. they're integrated into the systems that we're already using. Yes, costs are rising, but then it's just about being a responsible leader in determining which product is going to meet your needs the best um in terms of cost and use.

Okay, great. Thanks.

You Katie, for um giving us that excellent presentation. I appreciate all the work you do. Okay. So, if I was going to call 911 and I was in an emergency situation, my preference would be to hear a human voice, of course. So, I just want to register that. Okay. So, thank you.

I appreciate that. And that's a large part, mayor, of our considerations in terms of automating systems up at 911. People are calling us when they're in distress, when they're in crisis, um in life or death situations. Um, I I believe that's a big part of why 911 automated call taking is not rolling out in the industry in the way that it is for administrative line because that human touch is important in emergencies. I appreciate you sharing that though. Any other questions? Great. Thank you.

Next up, mayor and council, we have a city hall police department project update that uh Erin Haidider will be introducing. Good evening, mayor and council. Erin Haidider, assistant city manager. Uh, tonight we'll have John Useri, who is our project manager and our owners rep from our TEAK group, who will be be providing a presentation uh, summarizing all of the themes and questions that we've heard from the community outreach that we have completed over the six to seven weeks um, as we updated the community on the alternative campus uh, layout. So, with that, John, I'll turn it over to you. Thank you, Erin. Thank you, mayor, members of the council for having me here today to describe those community outreach efforts in the conversations we had. Um, so again, as communicated during the bond effort, um, the city indicated designs could change from what was included in the master plan, and if so, there would be a formal effort to engage the community to discuss those revisions. um those efforts have taken place over the last month and a half. So we will touch on that, discuss some of the questions we received, uh the responses to that and then highlight upcoming opportunities for input from the community. So again, we want the presentation content for each of the community groups that the city engaged was largely based on the city council presentation from July 21st. As a quick reminder, this is the plan uh we showed. This is highlighting repurposing the city hall as previously defined in demolishing the 215 East 12th Street building and constructing a new police department behind city hall. Uh we would then construct parking lots on either side

and make sure to integrate that with multimmodal connectivity and Buckley Park improvements. Also honoring significant features for the community such as the Rose Garden. Another thing we've been communicating is the overall timeline for this project. So when we communicated on previous city council meetings, we've really taken the efforts from the 2023 master plan built upon that to carry this plan forward. However, this project has been in the works all the way going back to 1994. Um at that time the current site was considered to be a city hall. Uh that plan also considered demolition of the arts and science building at the time which is now 215 East 12th Street. Then in 2015, a different design group was engaged to also evaluate that site as a city hall. uh before that property was purchased by um the Durango Fire Department uh excuse me, Durango Fire Protection District, that land was then swapped with um the city of Durango in 2023, which began the master plan efforts in 2023 with Reynolds Ash and DLR Group. Then voters agreed to pass a bond to move the project forward in April of 2025. So again, wanted to recognize um there's quite a few community groups that were engaged as part of this effort. Um apologies, there's a a quick typo that I wanted to recognize that should be 100 club instead of 100th club. Um that said, uh these community groups, this

wasn't an effort spearheaded by outside consultants or the design team. This was really led by the city of Durango and specifically city of Durango leadership. Wanted to recognize um Aaron Haidider Brammer was the ones that really took on this initiative uh as representatives for the city to engage with these community groups. So, those meetings included the Historic Preservation Board, uh, Kowanas, the Daybreak Rotary Club, as well as the High Noon Rotary Club, the Financial Advisory Board, uh, the business improvement district, uh, meetings with past mayors, the Boulevard Neighborhood Association, and then the largest meeting was the Durango Engage forum held on February 24th, um, where members of the community were able to meet with city staff, but the main focus of that presentation was this project. So again, these are not all the questions that we received. Um we we have made extensive efforts working with city staff to consolidate those questions onto a list and make sure we are issuing the proper communication, but we wanted to highlight the most prevalent questions that rose to our attention. Um again, as alluded to in previous city council me meetings, a lot of people have connection um to the new proposed city hall going back to their time there when they attended high school. Um a lot of palpable memories and the formative years of their lives. So a lot of questions about how we'll rehabilitate not just the exterior of the building um but preserve a lot of the interior elements. So again, HDR has brought on a specialty consultant with architectural resources group that's doing a thorough analysis of um primary areas of historical significance in the building,

making sure we preserve those. Um also wanted to highlight the abilities of our contractor FCI constructors. A big reason why they were constructed is because they have that historical renovation experience. Uh most recently in Uray and Silverton. Another question, what will we become of the existing city hall and police department? Those will no longer be used um as offices for staff. Uh current plan is looking at options potentially to sell those properties. Um another consideration that was presented to city council is reusing those for other purposes such as parking. Um but currently we are looking at um the potential sale of these properties. two. Another question was why there's different team members associated with the project now as opposed to 2023's master plan. Um big reason for this is there's two separate procurements. The city of Durango has really been diligent about honoring the public procurement process. So for the master plan, there was a procurement for that scope of work. When the bond passed, um voters decided to move the project forward. there was a new procurement ran um that was an open procurement p process to the public um but different consultants were awarded that work through that competitive selection process. Uh what were some of the reasons for the updated design concept? Uh we touched on this pretty heavily in the January 21st city council meeting, but the biggest reason is we were able to get more information about the constraints for the site that we have to work in. This is budgetary. This is um being able to do more due diligence, understanding constraints of the site, constraints of the code, just being able to put in a lot more of that man power into due diligence to understand what we have to work with.

Uh what were the primary reasons for building a new PD compared to renovating 215 East 12th Street? Um again that building was constructed with the intent of being a school building. That is different from the program of a police department and with the risk category for structural improvements required. we saw a very comparable cost to constructing a new police department to renovating um 215 East 12th Street given that we could construct a new PD with a smaller footprint realizing those program efficiencies. Um so that we feel confident as a project team and our recommendation that that's going to lead to more long-term success for the PD just with greater efficiencies and how that building is used and future growth potentials. Another question, how will um construction activities affect the surrounding area? So, FCI is used to working on constrained sites with a lot of traffic flow um in used to working with active sites. So, they've already started on a phasing plan. We were able to share that with some groups showing the extent of the construction area. um how they will reserve some parking spaces, how will they will direct traffic flow for deliveries, so large trucks entering and exiting the site um in their commitment to adhering to the city's noise ordinance. Um questions about community involvement really around the financial advisory board and the historic preservation board. Um those two groups will have continued involvement through the project. The historic preservation board specifically will have oversight of the exterior improvements around the city hall building with that being registered as a landmark. How tall is the police facility? We're still working through the details of that. That's going to be a two-story facility. Um, but that will be shorter

than the existing the new proposed city hall. What are some of the advantages of having a police station on the same campus as the city hall? Um there's a lot of program efficiencies. One, um with municipal court being located next to the police station, opportunity for sheriff facilities, but but two, it's a great site for this purpose because it's so centrally located um with having the police department is available to the majority of your citizens as possible. Having this located in the middle of town with great um transit access is what we always trying to advise from a design perspective. Uh what sustainability efforts are taking part in the project. Um again we are adhering to 2024 IECC that's international energy code requirements. The goals of those are really twofold fold. one, you're going to see much better energy use index scores for these buildings. So, efficiencies with your building envelope, efficiencies with your HVAC system, um uh efficiencies with your electrification, that's going to really reduce your utility usages and two um futureproofing the buildings to allow for photovoltaics and electric vehicle chargers in the future. Um, another question. Are there environmental concerns associated with the site? So, there are not any hazards posed to staff or surrounding areas as it is now with the sites. What could be a potential hazard is if we begin demolition activities having asbestous containing materials being released into the air. Um we that is strictly managed by the state CDPHE in your local um county health jurisdiction. We have a

specialized team to test for ACM. That paperwork needs to be submitted to CDPHE before we begin any demolition efforts. Um, we will then bring specialized crews that set up containments for removal of any asbestous contained material and then we do air clearances to make sure none of that material has been released into the atmosphere. Um, so that's going to be very tightly managed on this project. And then the last item that came up, why does risk category 4 requirements necessitate higher structural requirements if we were to utilize 215 East 12th Street for a police department? Um that's really again as discussed before that police department needs to operate in the event of extreme weather events or seismic activities. Um so we would need to do structural improvements since that was originally designed with the intent of being a school. So next we wanted to highlight upcoming opportunities for the community to be engaged in the design itself. Um these will be focused meetings. So in May we will have a meeting to discuss landscaping around the project site. Another one to discuss campus connectivity to their surrounding community. And then in June, we're looking at a meeting to discuss the community spaces within the new police department and a separate meeting to discuss the community spaces within the city hall. With that, I would like to entertain any questions.

Um, thank you. Um, so I guess I the two items that concern me the most um are regarding the sale of the property and the parking. That seems to be what I've heard a lot of feedback from constituents. So I feel like it was presented to us that we needed to sell the property in order to financially complete the project. So is that um what how did we where did that leave off?

Uh by us the prior council uh it was discussed by the prior council when we were looking at the original cost opinion of some options that we could have uh to uh reduce the cost and one of that was that uh the properties could be sold uh as an effort to reduce that cost. Um, and that was just one of the discussions we had in regarding uh the opinion costs that we received before we went out to the election. Is that still on the table to sell the property? Yes.

Uh, that's still an option that we're looking at. Um, there's a couple competing things that are occurring at the same time. Uh while there was discussion in regards to uh possibly selling those properties to help offset the cost of these P PD city hall, uh there were also discussions and commitments made in regards to ensuring that we were able to handle and take care of all of our parking uh if we were going to the PD city hall as that was a concern that was brought up as well. So there's competing things going through. Uh what we have what we are working on today uh is a plan that allows us to uh have off-site parking which would be comparable to our land use development code and in compliance so I guess is a better word in compliance with our uh land use development code. Obviously that can change if the council seems fit that a variance would be uh preferable uh for this but that would be a policy decision on that side. Uh and then also as we continue through this process uh we are looking at different options as to parking. I know even with some of the parts of we continue discussions that maybe we could still uh not need both parcels but those conversations continue as we haven't found a um

okay a permanent solution.

So there we're that's still open. Okay. So I think that's just important because that's where I have heard I haven't been clear uh that that was still an option because I you know I think there is a lot of desire in the community myself included to see more economic development in this area. Uh and so you know hopefully we come to some resolution that that we can all support. Um and then the the other you know concern um well there there are two about the demolition of the building but that part I understand um so perhaps we don't have to um spend too much time on it. I understand that the purpose of the demolition of the building is to build a structure that's more suitable for a police department rather than trying to retrofit which I know I mean that's why we're in this building right this was what what was this purpose this building

I'm not exactly sure the original purpose somebody knows heard PD I believe was a car lot or alert I don't know specific on city hall but I do know PD was a car lot before

um and it's it can be tricky to try to retrofit something especially when we know there are modern technologies uh and issues related to efficiency. So that part makes sense to me. Um but I I did have the opportunity to tour the facility a few days ago. So thank you all for that. Um is there more opportunity to as I understand it the school has gone through a couple of iterations since 1913 or so. um to put in some of those historic details even though they are not there currently. Um and you know more as a as a attempt to bring back what was originally historic even though it's been modified many times. Yes, I'd say there's always the potential to try and I think that's that's part of the rehabilitation effort we're trying to go through is to see if we can reinccorporate some of those elements. Everything's going to be a costbenefit analysis, I think, on our side to make that determination. But I I do would encourage any member of the community that's interested in having input on that to uh attend the public meeting we're looking at in June to discuss uh what will be the future of city council chambers and courtroom. I think that's where we see the greatest opportunity to reinccorporate some of those elements.

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor John. Some of these questions are for you, some of them are not. So, we'll just kind of bounce back and forth. the the materials were not in the packet and so I didn't have much ability to kind of prep for this. Um so was that an oversight or was that Yeah, I I I apologize. I'll I'll make sure that's in the appropriate time for you moving forward.

You're taking a lot of the bullets on this one, John. All right. Thanks. Um and then um the meetings that were we've had have been relatively short duration, 10 minutes. I sat in four of those meetings. um they they weren't necessarily everything that I was hoping to see in regards to giving an avenue for folks to not only experience the changes for the first time, but then be able to come back after they had kind of molded over. I don't know if we've got more plans to do more meetings uh on the the changes that have been uh created at this point. So, I just wanted to ask if that was in consideration right now with staff probably. I don't know if that's you or not, John. I'd say currently our plan is to engage at that deeper level with those four design meetings we have. Okay. Um I don't think we have any imminently planned in terms of a a public forum to revisit the same content. We will advance the design where our intention is to communicate that with city council. as we get farther into it, we'll have better graphical representations with renderings, um, better ways to express what the building will look like. Um, and it's it's our intention to communicate that in in this form at least.

Then the four public meetings you'd present to council prior to those meetings then on on the changes or are they after those meetings that you would present back to council? That make sense? Yes. I we are intending to present to council in May. I anticipate those would take place before um those meetings. I don't I I can't commit right now to sharing the exact content um that will be included in those meetings focused on those areas.

So if there are concerns, questions, etc. that happen in these meetings. We've got enough time to turn around and redo the the the plan that that's built into the system. Correct. So, you're going to present a draft of some kind at each of these meetings if there's enough public feedback, if there are concerns on council, CDC, whoever else might be engaged in this. There's plenty of time that's built into it for us to go back and make some changes.

Yes. And I'll caveat that with it depends on the changes requested. If we're looking to increase the size of a room twofold, it may be too late to make that type of a change. If we're looking at making changes to the interior, what the space looks like, feels like, uh, we it is designed to accommodate the opportunity to make those changes based on public input. I I think that gets at the core of what my biggest concern is the first time that we see stuff, this has gone so far along in the process that if we want to see more community meeting rooms, if we wanted to see more substantial changes to the the structures uh or the way that the designs are to meet community needs and and you know, I won't step into what PD may need in its building or or the staff would need within city hall. I'm worried that we don't have enough time to make corrections after we see it for the first time. And you're telling me I think what you're saying is that we would not have time for anything significant. Moving walls. We could not move walls by the time you present.

And I would say where my head was at mostly with that comment is tied to city hall with the auditorium or the public hallways. I I think we would be hesitant to commit to moving major structural walls. Um probably through any phase. Um I think minor modifications such as uh the way a conference room lays adjacent to something there may be some wiggle room there, but um our goal would be to confine the input to that space as opposed to how the space fits into the larger building.

Are there restrictions that are related to access? I'm sorry I talked right over you there. Apologize. Are are there restrictions related to how some of the public meeting rooms might be accessed throughout the facility as well? Yes, we have to adhere to fire code requirements that um necessitate egress and and that's been a constraint for the city hall. It also will be for the police department.

Security access too. Not just fire egress, but security access. Um there's I I might overstep if I say there's code requirements to security access. Fire access is a code requirement we need to adhere to. Security requirements are are really what we would recommend as best practices. Um we we would highly suggest that as kind of a base requirement as opposed to a nice to have.

Okay. Well, I'll just leave with one last comment. I would like to see some rough idea of what the the the room types are going to look like, how this is going to structure with time that if we've got some concerns, if we feel like some of the community needs are not being met and and this is all a balance. I get that. Um, but I would like to see some of that come before council and I would really love to see some of that come before CDC or or historic preservation board members if they've got some time to provide some feedback that we may have to incorporate into it. So, I I'll leave it at that. I know in three weeks we'll talk more about presentations in front of uh the community. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Kip. Well, thank you, John, because um being on board with this project from the very beginning um having the first meeting with the fire department and trying to come to agreement about how we were going to approach buying the land, swapping the land, how much money it would cost, who's going to do what. and then finally making the purchase with NR and then figuring out how we're going to do that. Holding on to the land for a bit and getting all kinds of grief about why you holding on to this land and then finally getting the part of Buckley Park to fall into place so we can make a complete campus on top of that passing the bond issue. So, it's been a heavy lift by um the staff and city council to get this done. So from my perspective, it looks like, you know, we know what the uh constraints are with um the historic high school and we can't move any walls. We got to work with the the structural aspects of um maintaining that and you know getting community spaces in there, getting all the spaces for the staff because when we had to move all the uh staff over to the old high the mountain high school, was it mountain over there? I mean, that was a big lift, too. So, there's been a lot of movement here around this project. So, I do feel like going forward, since we know where it's going to go, we know how far the walls are. We know now that we need to put the high the police department behind the building and we know where the parking lots are going to be on the side that you have a good set of directives to work within. So, I think we can make our objectives um pretty smoothly. So, thank you for all your effort in

this. Thank you.

Um the various options that are around parking would would love to at some point see some kind of synopsis on what other opportunities we're talking about. I think um the um the mall at the bottom of the hill, sorry, where auto part zone is. What is that? Cross cross what's the where the old city market was? Does anybody in this room can you help me out? What's Thank you. Crossroads. I think I know it was cross something. So anyway, some ideas had cropped up in in some of the community conversations about uh parking overflow being down there much closer to the building. I think we had talked um the county has just um declined the two possible offers on the old post office and the Schlutoter floral parking behind there. Um again, it makes some sense for us to be talking to the county about potentially using those those lots as well. So, I don't know where I can get that information, but it would be nice to see what are the various options that are being considered and looked at just so we have an understanding of that moving forward as well.

Believe that's a new agenda item that'll be on the next council meeting that uh the mayor had proposed for uh support from the council. Okay. I apologize. You're ahead of me. Sorry, just a um something came to mind. Um, I guess because when I did the tour, I was surprised at how it was fairly bare. Like I was surprised not to see any historic features inside. It was pretty like um And so what what have the uses been since the high school moved out?

I would see if I can maybe help you on that one if I can, John, because yeah, it's more of historical side. uh typical with any kind of high school, they use it for administrative offices. So if you go in there, you will see that there was a lot of retrofitting, remodeling that was done to fit as many offices as possible in there. Uh so the use I think after the high school, I assume was maybe the administration building, but it's been the administration building for as long as I've known uh it being there. And so however they needed to utilize, maneuver, change uh those offices, you'll see that's why you'll see some drop down ceilings. uh they had to put in uh HVAC duck work afterwards and you'll see some of those portions, but they've been using it for the most part as an administration building.

Okay. As a high school, I mean as a school.

Okay. Um I just you know was I guess it surprised me because um you know having seen a number of schools retrofitted. Um the schools usually have like a lot of unique features still and I was surprised that this had like I didn't see any unique features except a few windows. Well, there was the balcony. I guess that was something that was like historic. Um that's why I was asking about trying to bring in some of the features that perhaps got taken out over the years as they've adjusted it for whatever purpose. Um so as we go through and you know I hope to see some of those features reinstalled. I understand the issue regarding value engineering and also AD accessibility which is something they didn't worry about um in 2013 or rather 19 1913 right was when the building was constructed.

1916 I think

16. So, you know, not a lot of concern for ADA, not a lot of concern for sustainability. Well, perhaps more concern because they didn't have AC at that time or heat probably. Um, but uh I just anyway, as as we go through, I I hope that we can try to retain some of those charming features that made the building so attractive. Um, it's my understanding that it's only the facade that we need to preserve. Um, but if there's potential to, you know, bring in some windows or doors or, I don't know, features that make it interesting, um, I hope we can do that because I I I think that's what makes this the place so special and why I imagine the city wanted to the citizens wanted to preserve it because it really is a beautiful space. Uh, and it's something that we can be proud of. I just was surprised by the starkness of it uh, over the years. So hopefully we can bring those in. Thank you.

Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you all.

Next up would be uh committee board and leaison reports. Just uh just a reminder that I do have my office hours tomorrow um at 11 to 12:30 at the library. Um and look forward to seeing anyone tomorrow. Thank you, Mayor. Go there. Okay. So on Saturday, um I attended the Native Lens program with the Durango Independent Film Festival and they had a great selection of um indigenous student projects showing up there on the screen. and we had a a a good presentation about how the uh students went ahead and made their projects, why they're making their projects, how they're trying to retain their um cultural heritage. So, um I was really um glad that the city of Durango, Durango Arts Center, KSU, PBS Rocky Mountain um work really hard on this project. So, um they have a website. I have a flyer if you want to um look at it. But, um it was real real nice. And also, don't forget we went to the Durangocape. Yeah. Um that was Friday. Um and by the way, I do see Kip a lot at these things.

Right. Okay. Thank you. Uh with that, the next item uh is public comment on items under consideration for adoption tonight. Um we do not have anyone signed up under this section. We do have one person signed up under item 13, but no one under item seven. Uh that would be under item 13. Um this would be items that council is voting on tonight. that. Okay, that would bring us to the consent agenda. Uh item 8.1 would be approval of minutes. Approval of the city council regular meeting minutes from February 18th, 2026. Uh final reading of ordinances with 8.2.1 and ordinance for the purpose of amending the zoning of Lightner Creek Commons real property located within the city of Durango, Colorado at 271 Twin Butes Avenue. 8.2.2 2 is an ordinance for text amendments to the city of Durango code of ordinances chapter 27 the land use and development code regarding fair share housing and related definitions 8.2.3 2.3 is an ordinance amending uh in part the Durango code of ordinances chapter 1 general provisions sections 1-16 general penalty continuing violations 8.3 is adoptions of resolutions by consent with 8.3.1 being a resolution authorizing the city manager to provide a letter of support for an application by homes fund for Proposition 123 down payment assistance funding. Uh 8.3.2 Two is a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a community use agreement with the Durango School District outlining a partnership between the city of Durango and the Durango School District as required for a grant application to the Colorado Department of Local affairs community schoolyards grant program.

There are no items under the administrative items and no request for public hearings. 8.6 is introduction of ordinances with 8.6.1 6.1 an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of a city-owned parcel located at 271 Twin Butes Avenue for workforce housing purposes. 8.7 is a request for excused absences with the first being a request for excused absences absence for Mayor Prom Woodruff for the um March 3rd meeting. Is that correct? Or should be that the March 10th meeting? March 10th.

That should be the March 10th meeting. Um, excuse me for that typo. Um, and then a request for excused absence for council lawyer from the March 10th meeting as well. Um, I will note that there was one typo in uh the minutes that has been corrected. Yes, that's today. So, I'm assuming it just got carried over. No, it's not a typo. He uh that was because if you recall last week he was asking for the meeting to be rescheduled because he wasn't going to be here for the 10th. Move we uh accept the consent agenda as read.

Second.

Would like to use the electronic voting or would you like to do a voice? Oh, let's go electronic. Voice cut.

Let's go crazy. The motion passes. Three in favor, Kip Koso, Shirley Gonzalez, Gilda Yazi. Two absent, Jessica Lawyer, Dave Woodruff. And with that, it brings us to um there are no public hearings under item 10. There are no resolutions under item 11. That brings us to item 12, consideration of ordinances. 12.1, an ordinance authorizing the city of Durango to lease a city-owned parcel located at 1050 Aadels to Advantage Treatment Center Incorporated for the purposes of providing community correction services.

Thank you. Uh, good evening, Madame Mayor and members of city council. Bob Bremer, assistant city manager. Uh, before you this evening is an ordinance authorizing a new lease for consideration. In 1983, the county commissioners authorized the southwest community corrections board. The city offered the parcel at 1050 avenue to do soul for a location on the social services campus as part of this program and partnership. Hilltop House was formed shortly thereafter and community corrections has been operating at this location ever since. Recently, Hilltop House is experiencing some budgetary shortfalls and is anticipating to run out of funding in late April or early May. Hilltop House along with the Southwest Community Corrections Board have sought out another community corrections provider to assume operations. Advantage Treatment Center is a reputable service provider in rural Colorado providing successful centers in Sterling, Montrose, Alamosa, and Lamar, and also providing outpatient clinics in Fort Morgan, Luna, and Craig. With this authorization, the new lease with the advantage treatment center um will continue to serve the Dango region in a successful model that's already been established and retain staff who are currently employed at Hilltop House. There are no changes to this lease and in the initial term will be for 5 years with the possibility of extension u for two 5-year periods after that. So, there's not any questions. I have a recommended motion for consideration. Move we approve Oh, sorry.

Uh I I just Yeah, we need a motion. Oh, I'm sorry. Um move to approve an uh ordinance authorizing the city of Durango to lease a city-owned parcel located at 1050 Avenue to Del Soul to Advantage Treatment Center Incorporated for the purposes of providing community correction services. Okay, thank you. Just some clarifying questions because I did visit with some folks from Hilltop some months ago. Um, so Hilltop lost its funding and so who is who is the new partner or what is the partner organization? Advantage treatment centers advantage and and they're partnering with whom?

They're their their own corporation. So they have different centers in different places in Colorado um which is advantageous to this program because Hilltop is just autonomous to Durango. Advantage Treatment Center has multiple facilities across the state um which have been successful. So they can be able to share that funding model across their different programs that they have. So this um the advantage treatment center is will take over all those services. Correct. And they'll stay in that same location. Correct. Okay. And um and you mentioned that some staff would be maintained. Yes, the staff is currently employed at Hilltop House. Yeah. They're just going to assume all operations. Just change the name um and updates it lease

and the lease. We own this facility. The city owns this building. We own the property. Um Hilltop House actually owns the building itself. They established it and between 1983 and 1985. Um and then if the lease is defaulted, then the property becomes ours. Okay. Um and so this is what is the location? 1050 Aanita del Soul. Okay. So it's a social services campus. It's right above Mana Soup Kitchen. All right. And um how many people do they serve? Uh it depends on how many clients they have at a particular time. I don't know the specific number of how many they have. There's also some out treatment patients that they have as well to serve there. But our only role is that we maintain the facility. Yes. Or we

Well, they maintain the facility. We're just giving them the lease to be able to operate on that property. Okay. I I guess I don't know. Why do we have the lease? I'm just still confused because we don't own the building. No, but we own the property that the building sits upon. Oh, I see. So, we own the land, correct? Okay. But the lease is still for the property to be um for them to be able to have that that use on that property. Okay. And do we m or the lease? But there's no financial transaction that happens. No. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Yes.

Very quickly, Bob, I just wanted to say it's great that we're not going to have a gap in services here. So, the the transition, however, that this was managed, I really appreciate it. And I think it's it's nice that we've got somebody taking over this role. So, thanks for that. Thank you, counselor. Are you ready for an electronic vote? The motion passes. Three in favor, Kip Koso, Shirley Gonzalez, Gilda Yazi. Two, absent, Jessica Lawyer, Dave Woodruff.

And that brings us to item 12.2, Two, an ordinance amending in pertinent part the Durango Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15, Municipal Court, Article One in General Section 15-17, Court Costs.

Um, mayor and council, this is at the request of the municipal court judge. The amendment allows the judge to impose fines in cases where default judgments are involved. So again, the state changed the law to allow us to take default judgments in traffic court cases. And this is the judge asking us to amend our code to reflect that and giving him the ability to pose fines on those default judgments. Move to adopt an ordinance amending in pertinent part the Durango Code of Ordinances Chapter 15 Municipal Court Article 1 in general section 15-17 court costs. The motion passes. Three in favor Kip Koso. Shirley Gonzalez, Gilda Yazi 2, absent, Jessica Lawyer, Dave Woodruff. That brings us to item 12.3, an ordinance enacting in pertinent part, the Durango Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15, Municipal Court, Article One in General, Section 15-22, Default Judgement Fes, and 15-23, collection fees. Uh this is a companion ordinance to the default judgment. Uh the first one dealt with a fine. This one deals with a fee. Um when a default judgment is issued, it takes effort uh extra administrative efforts to collect that fine. So the judge requests that we amend to add a fee for that. Move to adopt an ordinance enacting in pertinent part the Durango code of ordinances chapter 15 municipal court- article 1- in general- section 15-22

second the motion passes Three in favor Kip Koso Shirley Gonzalez Gilda Yazy two absent Jessica Lawyer Dave Woodri for I'll see if I can work that in.

Uh that brings us to item 12.4 for an ordinance repealing in part in part the Durango Court of Ordinances Chapter 16 noise section 16-9 exterior loudspeakers.

Um this does exactly like it sounds. It actually repeals a portion of our noise ordinance um that was specific to um amplification devices. There's a Colorado Supreme Court case that said ordinances like ours um are unconstitutionally vague. So we are cleaning up that ordinance. So, it's no longer vague. And you you will see a another ordinance coming um at future meetings where we're going to give some specific things as to the chief of police's ability to issue permits for certain noise things. That's super superolous. Now, this is just simply taking out the part of our ordinance that the court found to be um unconstitutional. Move to approve an ordinance repealing impertinent part the Durango code of ordinances chapter 16- noiseise- section 16-9- exterior loudspeakers

second the motion passes three in favor Kip Koso Shirley Gonzalez Gilda Yazi two absent Jessica Lawyer Dave Woodruff. And that brings us to 12.5, an ordinance amending in part in part the Durango Code of Ordinances, Chapter 24, Traffic and Vehicles, Article One, Application and Adoption of the Model Traffic Code, Section 24-3, Amendments to the Model Traffic Code.

This is probably my favorite one. Um, we found a little bit of a of a problem with the state statute that authorizes the automated vehicle identification system tickets or photo enforcement tickets, which are not flock, different system, different everything. It's photo enforcement of traffic tickets. But we realized that if someone was going over 25 miles per hour, um the state law prohibited a ticket being issued just based on the the photo and then mailing the citation out. So, what this one does is it it allows for us to actually site uh when those occurrences happen. It just requires that um that the the offending individual be served and appear in court to explain to the judge why they were caught on a video traffic camera going over 25 miles per hour and then he can fine at that point. So, and if I'm not being clear, typically when that system comes out, the way it will work is there will be a photograph of a license plate. So, we'll get a citation in the mail. I got one in veil recently. It's great, you know, $40. But um we figured out that that there was a loophole to where you could actually accelerate and go faster than 25 miles per hour and you couldn't get a ticket under the way the ordinance was written. So this is a correction to that that uh makes it so if you get caught on one of those video cameras whether you're going 25 or 10 or whatever over um you can get cited. Move to adopt an ordinance amending and pertinent part the Durango code of ordinances chapter 24 traffic and vehicles article one application and adoption of model traffic code section 24-3 amendments to model traffic code

second motion passes three in favor Shirley Gonzalez, Kip Koso, Gilda Yazi 2 absent, Jessica Lawyer, Dave Woodruff, and mayor, if I could just uh for Evan in the back, I just want to remind you that we've got to fix this situation where we can see the votes as they're cast. That needs to be concealed until all the votes are in. And I can't imagine what ever happened with this council, but some councils will vote count and then vote based on what they've seen the others counselors vote. So we want that to be concealed until all the votes are in and then it's revealed at the end with the actual vote.

Um that it's presented on the screen. Did can the public see? Can you guys see the votes? Yeah, we share the screen back here to so the online audience can see and the audience in the in person can see. Okay, I get HBO on one of the smaller screens.

That brings us to item 13, public comment on city matters not under consideration tonight. Uh if we could have the recording Public comment is encouraged on city related matters even if they are not set for consideration by the council on tonight's agenda. Please begin your comments by stating your city related topic, your full name. And if you are a resident of the city of Durango, make your comments directly to the council. Do not expect a response from the council or staff. Comments are limited to three minutes per person unless modified by council. Unused time is not transferable to other speakers. Comments must be specific to city matters. Profanity, hate speech, personally derogatory remarks or other speech that is disruptive to the meeting will be ruled out of order by the chair and any remaining time will be forfeited by the speaker. Exceeding the time limit infringes on the rights of others and is out of order. Only a majority vote of the council can modify time limits. Please note, you must sign up prior to the mayor calling the item on the agenda. Signing up after the item is called will result in your name not being called to speak.

I do show one person who has signed up to speak under this item. Uh Ted Wright. Uh, it does it it says he's attending in person, but I know he was on the online stream earlier. Can you see if he's online, Tom? He's unmuted online and can speak if he is able to do so. Ted, right? Are you able to unmute and give your public comment at this time? We haven't seen that he's attempted to unmute his mic. Uh while we're waiting for that, mayor, uh there was one additional person who did not see our signup sheet, Lori Bryant, who would like to speak if council would approve her to speak as well. Motion acclamation. Okay, Lori.

This is the fastest we've ever got to public copy. Hi. Uh, my name is Lori Brian and I'm a 33y year resident of Durango and taxpayer. Um, I want to bring up three things. One is there's homeless campers down on the trail by the island uh off of Riverview Drive. Um, and I it's a big big problem. They're camping their tents right in the middle of a huge amount of brush and it needs to be addressed by the city on a regular basis. They need to be going through there. I mean, those people are probably using little heaters and they're going to start a fire and then that fire is going to go up the hillside and all the houses on Riverview could end up catching on fire. So, that's a that's a big huge scary issue with our situation right now. Um, and I would like to have that addressed and just be, you know, somebody to go through there. Mornings are really good. Early mornings, that's when they're there hanging out and um, like they just they start multiplying. So, if you don't get on one, other people find out and before you know it, you've got a whole village down there, which happened one time. Um, the next thing is the crash that just happened at the roundabout. It just one more time I'd like to reiterate that this is a biking community. It's a huge biking community and we have done nothing to separate bike lanes from the road. I've requested this over and over again that we put concrete dividers between the bike lane and the cars. You know, we there's been deaths here because that was not done. We had a lot of money to do Florator Road and we did not do it appropriately and someone died a a a lieutenant at the fire department died because of that because we didn't do our

job. If we want to make this community more friendly to bicyclists, which is what we ought to be doing so that people stop driving so much. That's what we need to do is concrete dividers anytime that happen. And that woman was driving down. She took out three of those bikes. That could have been people. It has been people in the past. You know, anything we do in the future, it needs to be proactive. We need to put a concrete divider up. And it's not that tough. Just put the money in. More people will ride. I don't ride because of that. I don't want to get hit by a car. Um, and then the other thing is the uh flock camera in front of the ICE facility. I would like to know why that's there. That's owned by our police department and I would like to know why the flock camera is aimed at protesters who are legally protesting ICE. Um, I am a taxpayer. I own four properties here. I pay my taxes. I've always supported the police department. And I am not uh happy about finding out that this is going on.

Times up. Thank you. Mayor, I believe Ted Wright is now available.

You guys are very speedy this evening. Thanks for seeing me. Good evening, uh, council members and, uh, city clerk and city attorney. Um, I'm going to read this as much as as well as I can here. It's about the No Secret Police uh in Durango organizing committee. My name is Ted Wright. I'm one of the organizers and we're um issuing sort of the statement in response to the comments reported by the Drago Herald suggesting that the petition organizers ignored a version of the ordinance drafted by the city attorney. The city council hasn't been in possession of its attorney's alternative draft since before the citizens initiative began. If city uh if the council believes that the version is superior that version is superior or more legally defensible, nothing prevents them from introducing it uh immediately um well before they are required to consider the citizens initiative ordinance on April 7th if indeed it is successful. Uh, so we call on council to release their draft to the public at once and explain why they declined to consider it for adoption five weeks ago or why they continue to decline to do so now. It is inaccurate to claim that petition organizers refused to incorporate the city attorney's input. In fact, petition version does include language provided by the city attorney, particularly in the exemptions section. Both versions are legally defensible. The question is which is more defensible and that's a matter of opinion and not a fact. Uh there are two key differences between the drafts. The findings well the citizen initiative includes findings appropriate to a citizensdriven ordinance. The city attorney's findings reflect legislative intent that city council never adopted uh because city council never took it up as a draft. So legislative findings don't cannot exist

where no legislative section or no legis legislative action occurred. severability. We included a severability clause because that allows for interpretation that's uh uh let's say more flexible if it goes to court. So if one section is dropped, the other section is still good, then that then you can have that interpretation. So our committee has consistently attempted to work with the city. We propose that the council adopt uh this ordinance uh this form of ordinance back in December. They declined. Before finalizing petition version, we incorporated language as a result of meeting with the city attorney, I mean the city uh chief of police and regarding uh police department's ethical code. Uh the city attorney removed that language from his version. Uh early in the petition drive, our dialogue with the city uh council member, it became clear to us uh that the city council would not consider the the uh ordinance whether it was a city's version or the citizens initiative version. But basically uh adopt one or the other. Um Durango res and it's now the council's turn to sign off either way. Thanks.

No additional folks have signed up to speak tonight. Uh that brings us to item 14, other new business. I don't