City Council - Regular Meeting

There would be a minute. Cody, can you tell Fred I'm ready to start? All right, good evening everybody and welcome to the regularly scheduled Evans City Council meeting for Tuesday, June 16, 2026. My name is Mark Clark. I'm the mayor. I'm going to call the meeting to order. Please stand and join me in the pledge. Roll call, please.

Mayor Clark. Here. Mayor Pro Templetka. Here. Council Member Simpson. Present. Council Member Neal. Present. Council Member Crabtree.

Here.

Council Member Delaney.

Here. All right, next item on the agenda is audience participation. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to address City Council on any item that's not on the agenda and or of a public hearing? If so, please step forward to the podium. State your name and address for the record. All right, seeing none, I'm going to move on to approval of the agenda. Looks like we have one change to the agenda. Item 7C is no longer a public hearing, so I would entertain a motion to approve the agenda. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda. All right, and that motion carries 6-0. All right, next item, consent agenda. I have to entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda. All right, and that motion carries 6-0. All right, next item, 7A, under new business public hearing, consideration of resolution number 12-2. 2026 approving the 2026 three-mile plan i'll open up the public hearing we'll hear from staff good evening mayor and council michael hall city planner give me one minute to uh get the click share going here

All right, so for your consideration, this evening is Resolution 12-2026. This is the 2026 Evans Three Mile Plan update. Council should consider this a routine, non-substantive update this evening. For context, the Evans Three Mile Plan is a long-range planning map that outlines various key boundaries, features, and areas that guide expansion potential in the city's sphere of influence relative to other municipalities and unincorporated lands. The primary purpose of a three-mile plan is to inform the city and the community on what lands are presently eligible for annexation with regards to the requirement that any city cannot annex land that is located more than three miles from its existing corporate boundaries within a one-year period. While the Colorado Revised Statutes indicate a variety of specific items to include in a three-mile plan, such as parks, public utilities, proposed land uses, and waterways, is the intention of staff to remove these more complex or specific features in the three mile plan to avoid unintentional conflicts with the Evans future land use map that contains many of those items as well as the comprehensive plan. The main takeaway here is that this is a high level long range planning document that is not meant to contain any future detailed plans. This approach will still meet the state requirements for a three mile plan, but will leave the details regarding land annexation to be covered by other adopted documents. And this is approach is already consistent with the 2024 plan or three mile plan, which is already in place and establish following adoption of the proposed 2026 plan. Community development staff anticipates future efforts to update that 2022 future land use map. Now we're five years out from that, as well as take a look at some other kind of long range playing documents, specifically the urban growth area. In both that future land use map and UGA, they get more into the detailed analysis of the future expansion potential in actual services in what the city is trying to offer to the community. The result of this growth is a simplified plan showing only the current municipal boundary limits of Evans. The urban growth area, or the UGA on record, it's the UGB, the last time it was ever formally updated was 2010, so it is due for an update. It's been showed consistently over time. But we really need to take a better look and probably have some outside studies that go into that so that's outside the scope of this. The map also has the calculated three mile buffer, which is the kind of the most important part in relation to doula for how. Basically, how much land, we can annex in any given calendar year other municipality boundaries and then major transportation networks and for reference that uga. that I mentioned is the area within that three mile buffer, but outside current municipal limits where Evans could potentially provide municipal services or could consider future incorporation. So it's kind of that golden sweet spot. It's within our three mile outside current and it's where we could go to in the future. The subject 2026 three mile plan does not update any features or amended boundaries relative to the 2024 three mile plan. And in this time, no conditions change which warranted a sooner update. So there is no 2025 plan. The state does look for these to be updated on an annual basis. There's really no risk or harm to a city in not adopting this on an annual basis as long as there's no annexations that are contentious or would otherwise press the need for an updated three-mile plan. And that's not the case for Evans. So this is really more of a best practice update to just keep a regularly somewhat of a pattern on adopting this map. For reference, did still notice this with the newspaper. This went out for published notice for Greeley Tribune in early May prior to both Planning Commission and the City Council hearing. This is the 2024 three-mile plan as adopted by City Council. You'll note it features, like I mentioned, many of, or it's a stripped-down version of what the state considers a three-mile plan. It still meets the requirements for that. This is what's on record right now with DOLA. You can see in green there are current municipal limits. The blue, the light blue is the UGA. And then it's kind of hard to see, but there's that skinnier green outline, which is the three mile buffer. Other municipalities are shown in gray. And then this is the proposed 2026 three mile plan update. This is more of standardized looking map and consistent with some of the other GIS maps that have been put out by the city and shows effectively the same information. None of these boundaries have changed. So the, I won't say none of them, the city limit boundary, the light green has changed following several annexations that have happened, but that has not affected the actual three mile plan or that buffer since it's just a radial buffer outside from the perimeter of the city boundary and none of that has changed. So we've added a couple other things in the base map. You can see some hydrology. railroad tracks, as well as transportation, just for reference purposes. Regarding financials, no component with this item. Planning Commission did approve this via PC Resolution 2026-01 on May 26, 2026, recommending approval of the 2026 Three Mile Plan to City Council, and Community Development staff recommends that City Council approve this resolution tonight, 12-2026, to adopt this 2026 Three Mile Plan and the motion is in the staff report. Thank you much, appreciate it, council.

Thanks, Michael, appreciate it. Any questions of staff? All right, I'm not seeing any questions of staff, so since this is the public hearing, I would ask if there's anybody in the audience that wishes to speak for or against the item, please step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record. Seeing none, I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing, entertain any council discussion and or a motion. Seeing no council discussion, so I would entertain a motion. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve resolution number 12-2026, adopting the 2026 Three Mile Plan as proposed. Go ahead and submit your votes. And that motion carries six nothing. All right, next item on the agenda is a public hearing consideration of ordinance number 865-26, municipal code for accessory dwelling units. First reading, I will open up the public hearing and we will hear from staff.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Michael Hall, City Planner. The subject code amendments contained in this ordinance 865-26 are presented to City Council for consideration and approval on first reading. The second reading is scheduled for July 7th, 2026. A work session was previously held with City Council on June 2nd, 2026 to revise advisory notice of the subject reinitiated code amendment process. The proposed draft ADU code amendments are materially similar to the previous draft ordinance as presented to City Council in November of 2025. The updated version before each night includes several legal edits and some expansion to text regarding city utilities and other practical considerations, which I will go over. The effect is the same, though, to define, regulate, and administer matters of ADUs in Evans Municipal Limits. ADUs are currently defined and regulated in chapter 18.02 or zoning chapter of the Evans Municipal Code. The existing language is in need of an overhaul to update and expand the ADU regulations and give more controlling code requirements to the city that would otherwise not be available should we not go through this code amendment process. As background, the regulation of ADU is a component of broader strategic growth solutions which aim to target complex issues that affect both the city and state of Colorado. By the City of Evans adopting improved regulations, we will provide consistency in ADU permitting among jurisdictions, as well as framework, processes, and procedure, and an expanded housing solution for residents that may be possible and feasible. To briefly cover this topic, housing affordability and attainability along the front range is a critical issue. As housing costs increase over time, alternative housing methods are becoming more common. Although not singularly, ADUs may contribute to this solution and help create some imbalances in them. and housing. The draft ordinance site retains existing language from the previous ordinance on a limited basis with proposed inclusions on expanding, refining, and organizing pertinent ADU standards and regulations. The updates in the subject ordinance include to chapter 18.02, which is our zoning, 18.03, which is procedures, 18.05, which is regarding residential development, and 18.11, which is our definitions. Speaking of definitions, probably the best place to jump off of and let you know exactly what we're considering in ADU as defined now in 1811, should the ordinance move forward. ADU would be defined as follows. Accessoring Dwelling Unit, or ADU, means any internal, attached, or detached dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more individuals, is located on the same lot as the proposed or existing primary single-family residence, and includes facilities for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. ADU does not include any motor home, trailer, or recreational vehicle, nor the use or modification of any such vehicle. So that last sentence Evans added in specifically in working with legal, the rest of that, should we not include that, would be the state definition. So that comes from the state definition. We have modified it to further control some of the interest for the City of Evans. Moving past the definition of an ADU, other notable modifications to the current code include new size limitations to ADUs. It's not all that significant. Currently it's 50%. Now we have a minimum at 500 with no maximum. It's just that it has to be subordinate to the principal residence. And that's consistent really for a couple reasons. A home in Nevels Crossing has a larger standard for their base area. So that may look different for other zone districts, other locations in different subdivisions. So it really, it's consistent with our existing accessory structure. Say if you want to put an outbuilding on your property, our outbuilding regulations that were adopted in 2024 state that the building just has to be subordinate in terms of use, scale, massing, orientation to that principal dwelling. So that follows a similar pattern to what we already have for accessory structures. now applied to accessory dwelling units. The expansion of permitted zone districts. Council is familiar with this one. Currently, we only allow these in R1E, which are our state and the Ag Zone District. This would expand to any zone district that allows for single-family residences. The next would be the eligibility, regardless of HOA or PUD restrictions. I know Council Member Delaney brought this up at the work session, but that is included in here, just to be clear. And it's not only HOAs, but even a PUD that was approved by the City of Evans with specific stipulated language on restrictions in their design guidelines, this would supersede that. The requirement for equal fee and utility provisions, this is more of just a protection of treating a single family primary home, the same as a single family accessory unit, or not a single family, but an accessory unit in terms of how we look at building permits and fees and going through the process there. Expanding clarified infrastructure language. We don't have anything in the code right now that details how we would evaluate the kind of demands or burdens that an ADU would put on our system. Updating parking standards specifically for ADUs. Really there are not any and we cannot oppose any unless there are a few certain kind of qualifying metrics that are in place in which case they would have to provide an additional parking space. An updated land development application procedure table and residential lot standards table to include and expand ADUs. Our code currently has ADUs listed. This would basically expand the zone districts that they're allowed in. The requirement and creation of an administrative ADU permit, including review criteria and procedures, would be similar to any of our other land use permits, such as site plans. mobile food vendors, special use permits, change zones, whatever happens to be in Chapter 1803 or procedures chapter. This is now a section dedicated for the administrative ADU permit. One of those interesting and important to note parts of this, we want to set people up for success. So it's not necessarily a prohibition, but we want folks to get through the ADU permit process before applying for a building permit so they're not you know, overly investing in the building permit process prior to actual land use approval. So they have to happen sequentially. We now have a section regarding the regulation of extraterritorial utilities for ADUs, say if Weld County, this recently came up in Arrowhead, it's unincorporated Weld County. They do an ADU permit. They're working through that with Weld County's planning office, but they use city utilities. So now we have an ability to say, okay, well, We want a referral for that, and we want to be able to account for the management of the city's interests with utilities in that case. So it'd be managed for that, for the outlay of additional utilities, exactly how it would be for properties that are currently in the city of Evans, but expressly charges us now with that ability to pursue that. A codified ADU definition, which I went over with that exception for the motorhomes, RVs, and trailers, and then overall, meeting the compliance with the adopted CRS update regarding ADUs. In addition to supporting clear and more flexible land use regulations that advance the goals of the City of Evans and its citizens, namely to expand those housing options, the draft code amendments do adequately conform to that House Bill 24-1152, which was adopted in 2024. In summary, the House Bill supports the proliferation of ADUs as a housing type, allowing them in any zone district that allows for a single family subject to a straightforward process uh, definitions and standards, which we all have, um, uh, included in the, uh, in the proposed ordinance. However, I should know is the express intention of the city of Evans that the subject code changes are pursued as an act of the city's leadership to administer the affairs of the city as a self-government and local matters, including land use and zoning regulations. The proposed code amendments have been cooperatively drafted by Evans Planning with input from building, engineering, public works, and legal staff and result from the purposeful evaluation of all the above state factors regarding ADUs. Published dual notice in the Greeley Tribune occurred in early May prior to both the Planning Commission and City Council hearings. Regarding financials, there's no direct financial input or outlay required from the city on this. The subject code amendments to the Evans Municipal Code were solely prepared by staff. However, at the administration of this, we still have to adopt an actual process now that we are assumed that we are moving through the ordinance process to get the actual code. We'll have to create an actual ADU permit, which will take some staff time. Otherwise, the financial aspect is limited to processing the ADU permit, which would have a fee associated with the application, as well as the building permit should an ADU permit be approved. Regarding recommendation, Planning Commission approved resolution PC Resolution 2026-02 on May 26th, recommending approval of the subject ADU ordinance to City Council. Planning Commission did not make any changes to the draft code ordinance. They did discuss those for a while, but they ended up landing on the proposed ordinance as drafted by staff. Community Development staff recommends that City Council approve ordinance number 865-26 on the first reading, and happy to answer any questions. Thank you for your time.

Great. Thank you, Michael.

Well, actually, I would like... To add one more thing, I took a note on this work session and prior council discussion regarding a verbal confirmation to Councilmember Crabtree about the practical application of utilities and how we regulate them differently in the detached versus attached structures. So I took some notes on that. Your question centered on how the city would equitably treat and enforce the need to dedicate additional raw water and other otherwise require additional service line or utility improvements, such as taps for attached ADUs, which are presumably less impactful than detached ADUs that would be proposed. So in reviewing the draft ordinance as already drafted at that time, I do want to confirm in the proposed section 18.03.150.B that there are adequate provisions to account for these differences, in particular, B2 and B3, which state respectively, B2, the property has existing water and wastewater service capacity to serve the ADU or new water and wastewater services provided. And B3, that the property has sufficient water rights or additional water rights have been dedicated if required. So essentially the city would evaluate the specifics of each request, including the scope of the proposed ADU and make a determination if the existing dedication is sufficient, if the existing lines are needed. Basically, how that could look is a water demand analysis is one of those common tools of, okay, here's the current and here's the proposed, whether that's bedrooms, bathrooms. However, we're going to evaluate that to be determined, identify that delta, and if there is enough capacity to handle that delta in what's already existing or if additional needs to be proposed or developed for the property. that would likely be more of a case for detached ADUs. It could potentially for a select property also be required for an attached, but there are provisions built in to treat them differently based on the scope of the actual project. So wanted to bring that, thank you.

All right, thank you, Michael. Any questions of staff? All right, I'm not seeing any questions for staff. All right, since this is public hearing, I'd ask if there's anybody And the audience that wishes to speak for or against this item, please step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record. All right, seeing none, I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing and entertain any comment and or a motion. All right, I will move. All right, I have a motion. I have a comment. Hold on. We already started the motion. Just going to have to back out of that. Go ahead, Council Member Neill.

I would like to state for the record that we were voting on this and we're to make these changes because the state has mandated these ADUs units and It is, we are making the changes as small as we can to meet the minimum requirements so that we are not being overpowered by the state that's trying to limit or do away with our home rule ability to manage these types of projects. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Neill. All right, I'd entertain a motion. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve ordinance number 865-26 on first reading to amend Title 18 of the Evans Municipal Code to define and regulate accessory dwelling units as proposed. And that motion carries 6-0. Thank you, Michael. Appreciate it. Thank you all. Appreciate it. All right, next item on the agenda is 7C, consideration of ordinance number 866-26, adoption of the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code first reading. We'll hear from staff.

Thank you, Mayor, members of council. In front of you, you have ordinance number 866-26, which is for the adoption of the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code on first readings. This is a follow-up to a study session that you recently had. The Wildfire Resiliency Code establishes statewide minimum standards to reduce wildfire risk in Colorado's wildfire urban interface, which is referred to as the WUI areas. The code requires new construction and certain major reconstruction in wildfire hazard areas to incorporate wildfire-resistant building materials, structure hardening measures, and defensible space requirements. The city may adopt its own wildfire map, or it may rely on the state's wildfire hazard map as its official map. And from the discussions we had with the fire district, you'll see that they've elected and recommended, and we recommend that you use the state's map rather than have your own map created. The areas that are involved for the City of Evans are pretty limited geographically, frankly. So the City of Evans contains some designated WUI areas within its boundaries, and the proposed ordinance is to adopt the wildfire resiliency code with certain amendments. Those amendments include designating the city's building official, as the code enforcement official responsible to enforce the Wildfire Resiliency Code in coordination with the Evans Fire Protection District. As we discussed at the recent work session, the Wildfire Resiliency Code, if it's adopted, will be implemented through an IGA between the city and the Fire Protection District. That IGA has been provided to the city, and we reviewed it at the staff level and made all the changes that we think it needs. So that will be brought to you at the next meeting if you approve the ordinance tonight. Just one comment on the process that you're following. This is kind of the Reader's Digest version of how you adopt codes by reference. I think most of you have done it before, but some of you may not have. Your ordinance doesn't set forth the entire Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code. Your ordinance says we're adopting that code that's set forth in what are called the CCR, the Colorado Code of Regulations, by reference, rather than setting it forth in full here. That is a two-step process, and that's why we made the change to the agenda that the clerk caught tonight. The first step is to read through the ordinance and make a motion to approve it at a meeting. Once the council has decided that it wants to approve the ordinance in its whatever form it decides to to approve it in then the second step is where you have your public hearing and people can come and comment on the code that you're adopting by reference as you've chosen to adopt it so that's the reason for the the slight change in your agenda tonight and that's the process anytime that you do adoption of a code by reference what you'll typically see that is when you're doing your building codes, your fire codes, those types of codes. So the staff recommends approval of the ordinance as presented, but I'll certainly be glad to answer any questions about it. Great. Thank you, Scott.

Any questions or comments for staff? All right. And I'm not seeing any questions or comments, so I would entertain a motion. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve ordinance number 866-26, an ordinance adopting by reference the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code as presented. And that motion carries 6-0. Thank you, Scott. Appreciate it. Thanks, Council. All right, next item on our agenda, 7D, Axon Contract Consolidation Technology Modernization and 10-Year Contract Agreement. We'll hear from staff.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. The Evans Police Department is requesting, I'm sorry, I'm caught up on the chair. The Evans Police Department is requesting City Council approval to consolidate six existing acts on contracts into a single 10-year agreement. The proposal would modernize the department's technology systems, provide long-term cost stability, simplify contract management, and add several new public safety tools and capabilities. The police department currently spends approximately $271,046 annually across six different Exxon contracts. Those agreements are for body-worn cameras, in-car camera systems, interview room technology, report writing software, transcription services, and related platforms to our software platforms. Under the proposed agreement, the annual cost would increase by $13,313 over the 10 years, each year over 10 years minus 2027. The cost remains exactly where it is for 2027 in our budgeted process. Some of the key benefits, locks in the technology rates through 2036, includes future equipment replacement cycles on our tasers and our cameras and our drones, reduces the need for large future capital purchases, and secures nearly a $500,000 discount pricing through Axon's current pricing programs over the 10 years. It improves public safety technology by providing AI-assisted report writing for officers to support our language line, so we're gonna be bringing in additional AI technology that supports foreign languages for our officers in the field, provides unlimited transcription services, four automated LPR systems, real-time crime center integration so that we can work regionally with our partners in Greeley, enhanced evidence sharing and live streaming tools, drone integration and infrastructure, as well as retail crime investigation tools. The increased operational efficiency, the department had an opportunity to evaluate that software that provides language line services to our officers in the field. We did a 60-day test. works exceptionally well for our primary language in the community, Spanish speakers. We have some additional languages that really are needed. It's going to take some time to get those implemented, but over the course of the next year or so, we do expect our Burmese language, Haitian language, and Creole languages, which are also a significant need in the community, those also to be included in the language services over the next year. So staff does recommend approval of the proposed 10-year Axon Enterprise Agreement. The agreement provides, again, long-term cost certainty, modernization, critical public safety technology, and operational efficiency. And with that, I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

Great. Thank you, Chief. Appreciate it. Any questions and or comments of staff? Council Member Neal.

Yes, Chief, I'm very glad to see that these contracts are being consolidated finally. I know that past staff has been working towards that goal for quite some time. And the new software innovations and the upgrade capacity over the next 10 years and a solid A fixed contract for 10 years with this company, I think, is just great. And I'm glad to see it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Council Member Johnson.

I wanted to add that I'm not in favor of this contract. And the reason why is solely because of the data integrity and data sharing component of it. Although I know you mentioned to me that it is a person and that you would ensure that we, the city of Evans, won't do that. and that we wouldn't compromise our integrity as a city. I'm gonna hold you to that. But I also wanted to mention, you know, there's a lot of concerns with the company. You know, I would prefer to see, to have a different company. I do understand the reasons in pursuing this contract, the consolidation and all the various aspects that will help. But I also wanted to mention that, you know, We do have close to 50%. It's probably like 4% shy of 50% of our community members are Latino or people of color. And it is known that these types of systems profile and also endanger our community, whether legal or illegal. And that's what I want to prevent. For me, safety is paramount. And I hope as we pursue this, contract and however the vote goes that we consider that population is specifically because the city of evans i mean we're we're probably the only municipality in i believe um well county that is close to 50 people of color and i just want to make sure that everyone in our community is safe all right so you know other questions or council member delaney

Chief, will this help you get the bad guys?

The technology is significant. The advancement is significant for our police department, right? There's a FUSIS center in this, which is a real-time crime center, meaning we can link all of our different cameras throughout the city. into our squad cars, onto the officers' phones. We can collaborate with the regional real-time crime center in Greeley, so it does provide a lot of that. The ALPRs are a fantastic tool for reducing auto theft. Full consideration of your concerns, and I will do everything I can within my power to make sure there is no misuse and that we follow our policies and that we have good data policies in place so that they're not misused. But that technology is significantly assisting in our ability to intervene in stolen automobile thefts when we have amber alerts, when we have senior alerts, silver alerts, and missing persons. So that technology is instrumental in increasing our clearance rates, recovering property for people who are victims of crimes. Knowing full well that that that's a significant concern for councilmember Johnson. Our diligently to make sure our policies are in place to to secure that data.

Then one other question yes or no on this one because you kind of just answered it will help protect the citizens of evidence, yes, absolutely, thank you.

Awesome all right see no other questions or comments that would entertain a motion. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve the 10-year Axion Enterprise Agreement as presented and authorize the mayor to execute all necessary documents associated with the agreement. Go ahead and submit your vote. And that motion carries 5-1. All right, thank you, Chief. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

All right, next on the agenda is the City Attorney Employment Agreement for Edward C. Bull IV. All right, so as you can see that we have reached an agreement with the With Ed Bull, if we approve this contract tonight, slated to start on Monday the 22nd, and the provision of the contract, I know there were some questions surrounding protections of the city. As you will see in the severance agreement, there is a four-month severance provision that's provided if he is terminated without cause. However, you have to be employed with it for at least a year for the city. That's all I have, unless anybody has any questions about the contract. And also, Cody, I know you want to make a comment on behalf of Ed.

Yes, Mayor and Council. I've had the privilege to talk to Ed a few times since you interviewed. I'm very excited to get him up here, to get him started. I think he's going to be a great addition to the team. We've had some very positive conversations. So I think he's going to serve the community, the team, the council very well. I'm very excited about that. He did send me a message today and asked that I pass on that he is very, very excited for this opportunity. And he and his wife are in the midst of packing the pods down in Texas to move this way towards the beginning of July. And so, like I said, we're very excited to have Ed here from the city's team perspective. We're very excited to get him up here and to get started in this journey together. So, Mr. Mayor, I'll go ahead and turn it back over to Council.

Great. Thanks, Cody. I also want to make a side note comment. I know that we're used to having people poached from our municipality to go work for their municipality or the county or however. This time we actually poached one away from D6. He was actually one of the finalists and was going to be one of the finalists for their District 6 attorney position. So we're lucky that we were able to poach somebody and bring him on to the City of Athens. So unless you have any questions or comments, I'd entertain a motion, but definitely looking forward to him starting with us next week. Council Member.

I would just like to say, give my thanks to Scott for being able to come up and serve as an attorney. And I'm a little missing. I was going to say that in council discussion.

Oh, perfect. Okay, actually, yeah, withdraw mine. Okay. I'll say it then. Agreed.

All right, any other questions or comments? I'm not seeing any. All right, I'd entertain a motion. All right, I have a motion and a second to approve the City Attorney Employment Agreement between the City of Evans and Edward C. Bull IV. All right, and that motion carries 6-0. All right, reports. City Manager, take it away, Cody.

Yes, Mayor and Council, I have a few things for you here tonight. First off, I will be out of the office next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the annual CML Conference in Westminster. So myself, Curtis, Shantanu, and Julie will all be attending the CML Conference. If you need me, I'll be available via cell phone, text, whatever the case may be. We're in the very beginning stages of the budget process. I know the finance team is working diligently to start bringing that document together and we'll start having budget work sessions here coming up very soon here in the next month or so. But with that, I just want to provide the city council with one of the directions that I've provided the finance team refers pertains back to our. General fund reserve. Right now, our general fund reserve is about 35%. It was 50%, then we lowered it to 40% to take care of some capital, one-time expenditures, and then went down to 32% after doing some due diligence on some projects, namely the municipalization of streetlights. That million dollars was added back into the general fund, brought it to about 35%. Right now, our unencumbered cash for the general fund is about 85% based on our conversation the other day. So the direction I've provided staff, understanding the importance of sales tax in the state of Colorado, especially for municipalities, the direction I've provided finances, let's start taking that general fund reserve back up. And so I'm providing direction to the team to shoot for 40% under the 2027 budget. My ultimate goal as city manager is to get that general fund reserve back to 50%. Because of our dependence on sales tax revenue, I think it makes more sense to carry a higher general fund reserve provides us with the liquidity and cash should we need it. Say we have an economic downturn, whatever the case may be. Those are the goals I'm shooting for. Over the next couple weeks, as we prepare for the general fund budget discussion, I encourage council to really think about it. And if you have a different number in mind other than 50%, then please provide that direction when we come to that discussion for the general fund budget work session. But just wanted to throw out to the city council that really at this point that is my as the goal that i'm working towards 40% for 2027 and then trying to notch it back up to that 50% level for that liquidity. let's see capital projects we've got a number of capital projects in work throughout the city, I did provide an update in the city. in the City Manager Update for City Council's consideration. Just to go through a couple of these projects, though. State Street Sanitary Sewer Project, so that project is underway. Professional Engineering Consultants was the selected contractor, the selected consultant for that project. In April 2026, we signed $167,000 $167,130 contract for the design services. Engineering staff and PEC held a project kickoff meeting on April 21st. PEC has completed field survey and are preparing for the geotechnical drilling and investigations that will support the final design. We anticipate that design will take through the rest of 2026 and then hopefully be able to bid it out for construction either very late 2026, more likely 2027. Just as a reminder, that project will will upsize the state street sanitary sewer from an eight inch to a 12 inch main increasing hydraulic capacity of not only for those residents around, but also for the Evans Junction as we continue that build out of that commercial development. One of the things that I've tasked the team with our capital projects moving forward is I want to have stakeholder public outreach meetings. That way we can host meetings here at City Hall. We can have the engineer, the design engineer, the consultant, the engineering team available to present the project to the public and then answer any questions that they have leading up to the construction. Hopefully being able to answer those questions before you know before the dirt work starts before the construction starts that way we can minimize the impact on the public and answer questions ahead of time as much as possible so we're going to start that most likely with this state street sanitary sewer project and then continue that with our various capital projects 37th street streetlight project is in design by kimley horn that is the contract amount Just to refresh the City Council, that is designing streetlights on 37th Street between 35th Avenue and 47th Avenue. That leg is a $67,540 design contract. I've also added in a photometric study from the roundabout north to the city limits on 47th Street. Total contract amount is $90,300. We have phase three design for 37th Street. That project has been posted to BidNet. We received seven qualified engineering bids for that project. The engineering team is evaluating those bids right now, preparing to interview three or four of the engineering firms so we can bring that back to city council for consideration an approval of that project. As a reminder, dovetailing into the MPO conversation we had earlier, we have $1.5 million in grant funding for that phase three project, and so that will have to be under construction in 2027, so we don't risk losing those funds. Jumping down the Ridge Pond 23rd Avenue stormwater outfall project, the state is currently reviewing that project. Shantanu and his team have got everything submitted to CDPHE to be able to review that project. We're awaiting comments back from the state on that project. Once we get the comments, we'll update the scope of work and get that posted to BidNet. County Road 394 emergency culvert repair. We've awarded the design contract to Sandbell in the amount of $96,183.59 to prepare the construction plans and supporting engineering documents for the project. Engineering staff and Sam Bell held a project kickoff meeting on June 8th. Due to the expedited nature of the project, the loan geotechnical drill hole was completed on June 4th. Construction plans are tentatively scheduled for completion by the end of June, so that project is being expedited and is moving forward. Following the completion of the engineering plans, then we will have that project transition into construction. Uh, let's see. We also have 23rd Avenue and 42nd Street traffic signal included in the budget this year is designed or funds for the design of a traffic signal at 23rd Avenue and 42nd Street. Uh, so $525,000 were, uh, were budgeted. Uh, and so that is, um, engineering is in the process of defining the scope. Uh, so we can post that to bid net as well and get that project, uh, in work. We also have, if you saw in your packet, I have an update for you for Heritage Day. So the tentative date for Heritage Day is September 19th. Recreation staff is working to plan not only the Heritage Day celebration, but also the city golf tournament on July the 24th. So they've got a lot of preparation work. The nice thing about Heritage Day is most of it is already planned from last year. We carry it over to the next year. And so there's a few things, parade entries, crafts and booths that morning, pancake feed, headliner. So they're working on a number of things. They're going to be calling a meeting with Tammy and Chris to continue through that planning phase and certainly looking forward to that. If you recall last year, we did not get to do the fireworks. We're going to carry the fireworks over into this year's show. So we'll have a $10,000 fireworks show. We're also adding another $5,000 to that fireworks show to include an America 250 piece and also a Colorado 150 piece to commemorate those two milestones for the state and for the nation. With that, let me jump back over to my notes here real quick. I'd also like to express my appreciation to Scott for the work that he's done over the last several months. You've been a huge help for the city team and I appreciate everything you've done for us. Lastly, with the update for the capital projects, over the last three and a half years, we've done a number of sewer projects, a number of water, a number of street projects, tried to scatter that out throughout the city as much as possible. But one of the things that I've asked Shantanu to do is take a look at the East Evans side, the streets over in East Evans, and really what are the challenges we are facing? I think it's important for the city council to understand that, number one, we cannot just put new asphalt on the ground, and Shantanu's gonna walk us through that here in a minute. We have a number of challenges. I don't know what the demand is for improvements on the east side, and so that's why I wanna start this discussion to see what council, ultimately what direction council's gonna wanna go whether it's this year or in future years. But these are important discussion points that we need to discuss because there's a lot of planning that needs to go into this. It's underground utilities that we need to be taking a look at before we can really consider anything on the surface and not understanding yet really truly what that demand is from the east side of the community i think we can start the conversation let that conversation evolve over time and then city council can provide direction when they feel the time is right i do not have the authority to go through and do a project a a massive project on anywhere in the community until the city council provides me the direction and the budget to do so. So with that, I'd like Shantanu to run us through a few slides that he's put together regarding this challenge that we have.

Thank you, Cody. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Shantanu Tiwari, Engineering Director. So today, briefly, we'll discuss the pavement improvement on the east side of the city, east of Highway 85. So just to refresh our memory, we did pavement condition index reporting back in, August of 2025, and we had the report in front of us in February of 2026. So any street within the city limit, 0 to 40 PCI is categorized as poor. Between 40 and 60 is marginal to fair. And then anything above 60 up to 100 is good condition street. So 64% of the city streets are in good to excellent condition. 12% fall in the marginal to fair category, and then 24%, about a quarter, falls within the category of very poor to poor that requires reconstruction. With that, this is a visual representation of PCI on the east side of the town. So you see 37th Street, and mostly south of 37th, you see a lot of reds. and dark reds, that means require full reconstruction. I would also like to point out Trinidad Street, close to 31st, and there's no PCI at that segment of Trinidad, and the reason being that segment of Trinidad is not paved, it's a gravel road. So we don't get a PCI for gravel roads. This map shows the underground utilities that we have on the east side. So the light green color is sewer, and we have a dark blue that's water. We have purple around the park that's non-pot line, and we have a light blue line that is stormwater, and then we have the orange line that's Evans Stitch. If you were to focus, you will see that we only have stormwater utilities along 37th, and we lack those utilities on the east side, especially on the south of 37th Street. This picture was specifically taken on June 3rd after a rainstorm, and it shows Trinidad Street, the status of Trinidad Street after a rain event looking south at 31st. So if you look in the picture, you see there's a lot of standing water, and then if you compare that to the utility map that we have, You'd see a water line. You see a light green color that's a sewer line, but the stormwater lines are absent. And that's the reason because we don't have storm on Trinidad Street. So if we were to make improvements on Trinidad Street, it's not as simple as Cody mentioned that putting asphalt on. We really need to look at underground utilities. We need to look at how shallow or the deep utilities we have, meaning water lines. and sewer lines, and if we don't have strong water, then we need to install those strong water lines so we can successfully convey the strong water to South Platte River or other places so we don't have that standing water deteriorating the asphalt. One more picture. This is Empire Street at 38, looking north towards the library. And as you can see, towards the bus stop, there's, again, standing water. So the same issue we have on Empire Street is that we do not have strong water. We do have non-pot, we have sewer, and we have water. So to make improvements on the east side of the town, I think we need to update our GIS. So with my GIS team, I'm continually working to update and map as accurately as possible all the utilities within the town but also we'll incorporate that data into our CIP master plan that would be strong and water. And then once we have that, you know, we can implement and execute those projects. And then we will move on with the payment and sidewalk improvements. With that, if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer those for you.

I didn't see the picture of Trinidad and the map and the one for Empire and the map. Could we get prints of those at the next meeting or something? I'd like to have a copy of those.

I can share the copies with Cody and then he can share with you.

The other question is kind of for On State Street, do we know what was spent? There was a study done at 62% or something, I thought, to do the storm sewer, or was it the sanitary sewer that they spent money on already for a study?

We did a mini stormwater study on the east side of town. I'd have to go back and see what that cost. I'd be happy to do so and share that with city council.

Appreciate that. Well, I'll let the people go with questions for Sean too.

I just wanted to mention that I do like the fact that using GIS to map it all out, because I think we want to ensure that every area in Evans is taken care of. But again, seeing these pictures really shows a different side of things, and it also lets us know you know, the order, how we should prioritize the area as well because you don't want to start paving and then water comes in and what happens? It deteriorates again. And so I think what you showed today is we need to be methodical. And we need to, in essence, gain information, you know, through Ward 1. Once we get the new Ward 1 member, maybe they can have a town hall or something so we can get an idea. And even if you know, board one wants us all to participate in it. I would be willing to participate as well in having, just gathering the residents in that area to see what, how would they see the area and what they would like Because again, we want that input. And I think it's important to also know that, to know how to prioritize the area as well, but also show them this is what's going on because information is important, right? And we all want things, but we need to know the truth too. And transparency is important. And also, although we don't like it, information is important to say, hey, this is what we're going to do. but first it's this because of all these things that we don't have and especially not having the infrastructure in place that's not gonna help that area at all and that's costly too exactly and so we need to also consider um how are we gonna pay for it what kind of funding there is and all of that but my question to you is um considering that there was a mini study um should we consider a study of the area first and see what that looks like? Or does that even make sense right now? Should it be the first step mapping it out and seeing what we should target and then a study kind of thing? Or first, I'm sorry?

That would be a discussion for a work session at a later date.

Well, yeah, I'm just curious to know what his thoughts are.

My initial thought would be, Councilmember, to look at our GIS map first, and then also verify that what we see on GIS map is accurate in the field or not. I think that'll be the first step. The second step would be putting together a cost estimate for installing strong water on whatever street that we decide to move on with. And then after that, we can again decide on whether to move on with that project or not, and also gauge the sentiment of the community. what they want to see in the future, sidewalk, no sidewalk, storm, no storm, and payment conditions, et cetera.

Well, considering with that information, I would suggest definitely doing a work session, but after gathering that information of what Board 1 wants.

Continue. Eric, do you have anything else?

That is all I have for you. Thank you.

Great. Thank you.

And I appreciate the discussion. I think the important thing that we're trying to share there is throughout wards two and three, it's easier to identify street projects. We either have roll curbs, we either have traditional curbs, whatever the case may be. We have infrastructure generally on the ground. I think it's important for the city council to see some of the challenges that we're seeing on the east side and what that really translates into when we're going through and identifying projects, when we're identifying pavement maintenance projects, it's not just as simple as identifying certain streets on the east side because of the larger magnitude of problems or challenges that we need to really work through before we can start putting that, before we can start building those streets over there. So I do appreciate City Council receiving the presentation just to see what are the conditions that we're actually facing. Mr. Mayor, with that, I have nothing further tonight.

Thanks, Cody. All right, city attorney.

Thank you, Mayor, members of council. First of all, thanks for having me back. It's been nice to get reacquainted with everyone and to work with the current staff, so thanks. And then second, there's one issue that was brought up during public comment at the last meeting that I wanted to update you on, and that's the Hunziker's concerns that they expressed to council. I want to let you know that staff has done a very thorough investigation of that. They've looked at the city's documents. as well as the documents that the Hunzikers provided and addressed all three of the concerns that they raised. And although I'm giving the report, the credit goes to Tyboreski and his staff because they really did all the work. But the first issue that the Hunzikers raised was whether or not the town, the city was entitled to remove the solar panels and destroy the barn that was on the property. And we look back at the documents. The property was conveyed to the city by General Warranty Deed. And in that General Warranty Deed, there's a provision that says exceptions. And no exceptions were listed. If they really thought that the barn was something they wanted to keep or the solar panels were something they wanted to have an interest in, they would have been listed in that exception section. So the property was conveyed to the town. And that's a conveyance of the property and all improvements. And it's an improvement if it is affixed to the property. so that would include the barn and the solar panels. So the barn and the solar panels were conveyed to the town, and from what we've seen, there was nothing documented that reserved any type of an interest in the Hunzikers. On the contrary, the agreement between the town and the Hunzikers is called a purchase and sale agreement, and that agreement had several warranties from the Hunzikers. It warranted that there are no encumbrances on any part of the property, that there are no leases or agreements of any kind related to any part of the property, and that there are no agreement or bases for any claims against the City of Evans from or related to the property. So it seemed pretty clear that the property was conveyed to the town and was conveyed free of any claims to the barn or to the solar panels. The barn and the solar panels were there for three years before they were destroyed. So there was plenty of time that if they wanted to come back and say, no, we want to get the barn or the solar panels, we could have entered into an agreement to do that. And there was some discussion of it, of moving the barn, but that never transpired. And in fact, if they had decided that they wanted to keep the barn and move it, then we would have reduced the amount that we paid them by the value of the barn. But we didn't do that. The full value of the property, including the barn, was paid by the city, indicating that the city was supposed to get the full property and the barn. So that was their first issue, was the barn and the solar panels. The second issue they raised was the right-in, right-out access. They were under the impression that they would be able to go out and turn left. So we did, when I say we, again, staff, talk to the right-of-way acquisition broker for the town, And they confirmed that in 2022, the design plans showing the right in, right out and the median were presented to the Hunzikers. So they knew that that was the design for the project well in advance of the actual construction. And then the last issue that they had was the loss of utility service. The city had never provided wastewater service to the property. Gas and electric are things that the city doesn't provide to there or anywhere on the property. So that really leaves only water. And the city's billing records show that there was no substantial water use over the last three years. Seems to indicate to city staff that there was probably a break, a substantial break in the service line three years ago that was never repaired. So there wasn't really any, and the service line is the obligation of the property owner. So There really isn't any basis for a claim with regard to the water as well. So I think based on that, and we'll certainly share these conclusions with the Hunzikers, I don't see any basis for a claim against the city at this point based on what they've provided so far. If that changes, we'll obviously look at it and let you know. But glad to answer any questions on that. Otherwise, that concludes my report. Thank you.

Great. Thank you, Scott. Appreciate it. That's pretty easy. All right. All right, moving on to council discussion. I'll wait for the request to speak to come up, but there it goes. Scott, I want to say thank you very much for being our interim city attorney over these last few months. It's been really appreciated by council and by staff, obviously, like that. We really appreciate all the legal advice and the service that you've provided us not only the last few months, but even over the years past that we had you as our city attorney and everything like that. So I want to say thank you very much. We really appreciate it. I'm sure your wife and your family are looking forward to having a little bit more time back from you, but we really do appreciate you being here. I figured that as much. Other than that, I will be out of town starting Friday for the next couple weeks. I will be remotely in for the next city council meeting in July. That's all I got. So, Mayor Pro Tem.

I have something for Cody, but for Scott, I hate to say goodbye a second time, but Goodbye. I'll miss you, but I'm going to keep your number just in case. And thank you for all your help. I know I had a lot of questions, and I appreciate you taking the time to do that. Thank you. Cody. Sorry, I had a rough day. So thank you for... I'm good. Take your time. I got sad about Scott and carried over. Thank you for the information about ward one. Just from what I saw, it looked like there was a lot of storm water, like drainage missing over there. I know you guys are gonna get more into detail. I saw that the last slide Shantanu shared was getting the data before we could do anything else. So I wanted to thank you guys for taking the time to do that.

And that's all. Councilmember Johnson.

I also want to say thank you, Scott. I know I preemptively last time said it, but I wanted to say thank you. You're like probably the most lawyer person that I know. And it's in a good way, though. you're approachable and any kind of comment or question or idea or anything, you're just very graceful about your response. And I appreciate that because granted, I don't know a whole lot about a lot of the laws, but you explain it in a very layman's term way that it's easy to follow. And I really appreciate the fact that you provided that type of, how can I, You had the ability to give us that kind of, I can't even speak today. Once I hear someone cry, it's like I'm just trying not to. But I just thank you for the grace. Thank you for the grace. Thank you for really helping us, helping the city. You're very knowledgeable. um granted i do agree that we may call you back again at some point because especially well in the sense of water law you know we'll say hey we may need you for stuff so just know that we'll keep your number um thank you for serving our city well uh you have been great um and the wealth of knowledge that you have it's invaluable and i hope we can keep it still here like you know filed in case we need it and so again that's why i'm keeping your phone number enough as i go along right yeah but it's been a pleasure and i do enjoy also the tidbits your 101s you know i still keep i still have the packets i literally have them in a binder because they were very useful and informative and i learned a lot through those and i hope that we continue that as we move forward but you'll be missed and thank you you're welcome and then for i'm kind of following uh what mayor putem stated Thank you for the presentation on the east side as well. I think that is important for us to know. I know Council Member Fred, you know, he's very passionate about his board, which he should be. And it's a way to support you in that area. I think every area and aspect of our city needs the attention equally. And I hope that this is like the beginning of that on how we can ensure that Ward 1 receives the level of service that it needs. But again, and thank you, Shantanu. I appreciate your presentation, the pictures, and you going out there and really during a storm and saying, hey, this is an opportunity to go and take pictures and see what that looks like, and providing that information to us so we can see also. Because I think most of us are visual learners. And that looks different or resonates with us differently. So I appreciate that. And I would also say that once we gather the information and maybe talk to that toward one, the board one residents, we can schedule a work session. That's all I have. Thank you. Bye. But I'll see you soon.

Council Member Delaney. Okay. I wanted to actually point out something that was on the consent agenda, but it wasn't worth pulling off the consent agenda. And that was the acceptance of the 2025 financial audit. Thank you to the finance team. I mean, the fact that we were okay with accepting that on consent agenda is because that audit was so good. So thank you. I know that's all because your diligence and your hard work. So I very much appreciate that. Secondly, in regards to Ed Bull, I am very happy he chose to come here. However, I do take a different stance from the mayor. I don't see things as being poached. D6 is an incredibly important partner to our community, and anything that makes them better makes us better. And also, same as for Jackie Trout leaving for the county. You know, I know Curtis is going to do a good job. We got a good hire, you know, and so we are all going to get better because everybody's getting better. So I'm glad he chose us. I'm glad he's coming here. But, you know, there's no competition between us. These are our partners, and I hope that they get somebody as good as Ed as well.

Well said.

Council Member Neill. Well, first off, I have a question for Cody. Do we have a sponsor yet for the fireworks? Are we still looking for a sponsor for the fireworks for Heritage Days? I'll find that out for you And in the matter of town halls It should not just be for one ward a town hall is should be inclusive of all the city residents Even outside residents in the county who may be affected By our actions We should be able to participate maybe and say have their say I feel that's another aspect of transparency that needs to be included A small community like Evans next to a larger community and a lot of area next to the county or inside the city's county, it affects us all. We have had numerous people who have come through from other areas of the country. They notice the difference between and it's hard to explain that this area is in the county and we can't do much about trying to get it the Condition of it corrected Because it's not in our city, but it's in our city city limits and it reflects badly on the community as a whole so We need to do something about getting these areas annexed into the city and see if we can get them, convince them that they need to do something to clean up some of the mess. I'm going to let Jeff get off here tonight and I'm going to end it.

So real quick, if I may. answer your question. I believe that these funds are coming out of the budget for Heritage Day. So the $10,000, as I mentioned, is a carryover from last year's show. And then the $5,000 for the expanded fireworks will, from what I'm seeing, is coming out of our budget. However, I do want to point out that staff are coordinating with community partners regarding several traditional elements, event elements. Discussions are ongoing with the Evans Fire Protection District regarding participation the pancake breakfast and then the evans area chamber of commerce has expressed interest in assisting with vendor coordination opportunities for collaboration will be further explored during upcoming heritage day planning committee meetings and then lastly staff for preparing a new round of sponsored a new round of sponsorship outreach sponsorship packets will be distributed to both existing and prospective partners with the goal of expanding community and business support for Heritage Day and strengthening the event's long-term sustainability.

It would certainly be nice if we could find a sponsor for the fireworks. I don't recall whether we had one for last year and then we had to cancel because of the weather. It's kind of hard to donate when you cancel the event.

All right, seeing no other things for council discussion, I'll call meeting adjourned. Thank you.