City Council - Regular Meeting

I will go ahead and call to order the 1,639th regular meeting of the Thornton City Council. Before I begin, just like to remind everyone in the audience to please turn off or silence all electronic devices. The audience seating area is provided for observing council meetings from a seated position only. Audience members wishing to stand must stand in the aisle along the rear wall opposite the council dais. Also, if there's anyone in the audience who needs assistance in listening to and or participating in the meeting and has not indicated so on the sign-up sheet, you can raise your hand and a

Thank you. Item three is a moment of silence. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Item four is a land acknowledgement. Council Member Aote, would you please read the land acknowledgement this evening?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. The City of Thornton respectfully acknowledges the land on which we stand is the traditional territory of the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota, Navajo, Pueblo, Shoshone, and Southern Ute tribes and nations, and who were the original stewards of this land. We honor the history, culture, and contributions, both past and present, of these indigenous nations and tribes. We pay respect to their ancestors, elders, and present-day community members and extend our gratitude to the indigenous peoples for their ongoing care and stewardship of the land, water, an

Thank you. Item five is a roll call of the council. Clerk, would you please call the roll of council?

Item 6 is approval of the agenda. Are there any staff changes to the agenda this evening? Thank you. Council, are there any changes to the agenda? Hearing none, is there a motion to approve the agenda as presented? Second. Approval of the agenda as presented has been moved and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none, clerk, please call the council.

Thank you. Item 7 is Presentations. Item 7A is a resolution declaring September 15th through October 15th, 2026 as Hispanic Heritage Month in the City of Thornton, Colorado. Mayor Potamayala, would you please introduce this item and read it in its entirety?

Thank you. I'd like to introduce a resolution declaring September 15th through October 15th, 2026 as Hispanic Heritage Month in the City of Thornton. whereas America's cultural diversity has helped strengthen and define our country for hundreds of years, and whereas during National Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the millions of Hispanic Americans whose love of family, hard work, and community have helped unite us as people and sustained us as a nation, and whereas as entrepreneurs and public servants, scholars and artists, Hispanic Americans have provided wisdom, energy, and leadership

It's been moved and seconded to approve the resolution. I'll open it for discussion. Mayor Pro Temiola, you have the option to go first as you made the motion. Thank you.

Let's see here. I just had some comments here that I wanted to make about being specifically around our Hispanic heritage in Thornton and being here, sitting up here on the dais as a Chicana serving on city council. Latino Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month isn't just a calendar item to check off. It is deeply personal for me. Being a Chicana is about working class grit, taking care of our neighbors, and standing up when our community needs a voice. In Thornton, our community isn't just living here. We're out here working shifts in different areas, teaching our kids, running small shop

Thank you. So as a Hispanic resident and council member, This month, Hispanic Heritage Month, obviously means a lot to me. But I mostly just want to give a shout out to the city of Thornton for how much love we show to our own Hispanic community all year round. It's really awesome to live here in a city where we don't just talk about celebrating diversity. We actually do it. And you can literally see it all around town. For example, the sculpture Resilience in Bloom, it's been up for a couple of years now. And it was put in there at Pecos Park down on the west side. The artist is Beamer Torres

Thank you, Madam Mayor. As a fellow Hispanic, I want to thank Mayor Partamayala for her introducing the resolution this evening and for your comments, and also to my colleague, Council Member Martinez, for his comments as well. I'm Hispanic through my late birth father in California. And over the weekend, I got to see some of my birth family as my second cousin, who is Hispanic as well, Loretta Segura Flores, was married on Saturday. I want to give a special shout out to my first cousins who are also Hispanic in California, Mary Segura, Dan Segura, and Roy Segura. And I also want to thank the

Any additional discussion? I'll just say thank you to my colleagues. Would you please poll the council?

Thank you. Item 7B is a resolution declaring October 4th through October 10th, 2026 as National Fire Prevention Week. And I'll turn this over to Stephen Kelly, our fire chief, to present this item.

Any questions from Council? Council Member Russell, would you please introduce this item and read it in its entirety?

Yes, I'd like to introduce the resolution declaring October 4th through October 10th, 2026 as national fire prevention week. Whereas the president of the United States has designated October 4 through October 10, 2026 as national provide prevention week. And whereas the members of the fire department play an essential role in safeguarding the lives and property of the residents of the city. And whereas it is of major importance that the fire department. increases its efforts to reduce deaths, injuries, and property losses from fire. And whereas it is important that the residents know and under

Thank you. Approval of the resolution has been moved and seconded. I'll open it for discussion. Council Member Russell, you have the option to go first as you made the motion.

Yes, I just want to start off by thanking Thornton Fire Department for all their dedication in protecting our community, our residents, the time they take to educate young children in schools, inspect properties. You know, there's just a lot that goes into fire prevention. And it is the best and highest way to preserve life and property. It's always great that we have... A quick response team, and we're able to handle any incidents that may occur, but it's even better when we're able to stop them before they happen. And that's what this week really emphasizes. So I really encourage our residen

Yeah, I wanted to second that and thank our fire department, specifically calling out all the extras that they do, like the fire prevention week. They also do a whole bunch of services that you might not ever know about. They do food truck certification. They're scheduling several meetings out there with Ward 1 communities to talk about fire safety and prevention in our open spaces. And there have been a number of fires lately in Ward 1. So I'm glad that our fire department is taking a proactive approach to help educate people and make sure that we're being as safe as we can in our homes and i

Any additional discussion? I'll just say my colleagues have done a great job talking about our fire department. And thank you for the National Fire Prevention Week, because I think it's a great reminder to the community for all the great things you guys do. Would you please pull the council? Council, please cast your votes.

Thank you. Item eight is audience participation. This is a time for members of the community to speak on any item that is not on the agenda as a public hearing or going to be on a public hearing in the future. Pursuant to city council's rules of order and procedures, speaking time is limited to three minutes per person with a one hour limit on this segment of the agenda. In-person speakers will be heard first, followed by remote speakers registered before the end of the in-person comment segment. Residents of the City, as indicated on the sign-up sheet, will be given preference in the order he

All right. Thank you. Just a moment. Those who indicated that they would like to speak will be asked to come up to the podium to speak, and they will give me three minutes, and this segment of the agenda is limited to one hour. Please make sure that you watch the light on the podium. When it turns yellow, when you hear a single beep, you'll need to wrap up your comments. When it turns red and you hear multiple beeps, your time is up, and I'll have to interrupt you as your three minutes are over. When you are called, those in person, please come to the podium, and those who indicated on the web

No, you're just giving comments this time.

Thank you. Would you please call the next person?

Just one moment, if we could pause the timer.

So your comments cannot be specific to the actual project?

So, again, the comments cannot be related to the project at all. Okay. If your question's about procedural, then we can make sure that you're connected with our staff members to talk through procedures. Okay.

Thank you. And I think with both gentlemen, if we could have staff work with them on the procedures themselves.

So it looks like there are three that need to have conversations with staff. Would you please call the next person?

Thank you. I believe that was the last person that signed up. Yes, Your Honor. Is there anyone in the audience that wanted to speak but didn't know you needed to sign up or came in late? You can come to the podium now. Make sure you state your name.

Thank you. The next item is council comments and communications. We're going to start with Ward 4 tonight. Council Member Morris.

Good evening, everyone. I've had the chance to participate in a number of community events over the last few weeks, including ribbon cuttings and ground breakings. Always grateful for the opportunity to be out in the community. I especially want to recognize the 9-11 remembrance ceremonies I was able to attend. The first was at the Skyview campus, hosted by Mapleton's Air Force JROTC cadets. They did an outstanding job honoring the lives lost, the first responders, and other heroes, and the significance of that day for all those in attendance. I also want to thank our Thornton Fire and Police,

Thank you, Mayor. I, too, will take a few moments to share some of the events and activities that recently were able to attend. I was pleased to attend the grand opening for the Colorado 7 I-25 Interim Mobility Hub with Councilmember Morris. This was an important step into improving the mobility and connectivity within our community, especially across the North Metro area from Brighton to Boulder. So I really appreciate everyone that worked very hard on that project. And made a reality, and also in a very short timeframe, it was 16 months to get that project complete, which is pretty quick in

Thank you, Madam Mayor. A few things I wanted to mention. I attended the Economic Development Broker and Developer Golf Day. It was a great chance to spend time with the folks who are looking to invest here in Thornton, hear what they're seeing in the markets, and talk through how we can keep Thornton competitive without losing sight of what our neighborhood needs are. I also attended the 9-11 remembrance ceremony. Very grateful to all of those that put that together, to the first responders and families who continue to carry on that day. Thornton actually has a piece of the Twin Towers here.

The topic this month was water. Two of the renowned water experts in Colorado spoke to us. James Eklund of TAF Law and Shannon Wattis, who is the executive director of the Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center at CMU, gave us both historical and legal aspects of water policy. With six more weeks until the midterm elections, it will be crucial for whomever is elected as our next governor, our next attorney general, and our next state legislators to craft policy in collaboration with other government entities to protect our water rights and other important issues. I also attended the City of Thornto

Mayor Pro Temayala. Thank you. I just want to talk a little bit about our budget process because we're going through that right now. And... The big thing I wanted to cover is that budgets aren't just a giant spreadsheet that we look at. As my good friend Joanne Ruscha, who serves on the RTD board, taught me many years ago when I first was getting involved in politics with her, is that a budget is a moral document. It shows what we value as a community. Over the last few weeks, I've spent time talking directly with people who do the essential work in our city, the folks who maintain our streets

Tonight, I'd like to recognize and thank our city staff as well as our state representative, Dr. Phillips. for their incredible collaboration and hard work on a recent constituent issue at Pine Lakes Ranch. Those reached out needing assistance but faced a significant language barrier that easily could have stalled the process or left them feeling unheard. Instead of letting that stand in the way, Our city team and our state representatives showed true perseverance, patience, and dedication. Working together, they navigated the communication challenges, stayed with the issue every step of the w

It's always a heavy day, full of remembrance and reflection for me. I just want to recognize and honor all of the first responders who ran toward the danger that day and honor the memory of the victims we lost. And to remember the victims and to remember everybody who was a victim or a first responder of the 9-11 terrorist attacks against America, we will never forget. But that spirit, as mentioned by my colleagues of service, really carried over into the rest of the week. On the very next day, on September 12th, the city hosted our 9-11 day of service. We partnered up with JustServe. I have t

All right, I'll wrap us up with a few comments from me this evening. The city is currently advertising for the Election Commission for Ward 2, the deadline to apply is September 25th, and the Building Code Advisory Board for Ward 1, with also a deadline of September 25th, at 5 p.m. for both of these. So anyone interested in serving on a board or commission for the city, this is a great opportunity to get your name out there. The last couple of weeks have been very busy, but in a really good way. And one of the highlights was ceremonially breaking ground on the expansion of the future forward a

Approval of the consent calendar as presented has been moved and seconded. Clerk, please poll the council.

Thank you. Item 14 is action items. Item 14A is an ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on the submission, acceptance, processing, or approval of any applications to the City of Thornton. for any permit, license plan approval, or other type of approval related to new or expanding of data centers. I'm gonna turn this over to Jessica Whitney, our interim city attorney, to present this item.

Hearing none, Council Member Martinez, would you please introduce Item 14A for second reading?

Yes, I'd like to introduce an ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on the submission, acceptance, processing, or approval of any applications to the City of Thornton for any permit, license plan, approval, or other type of approval related to new or expanding of data centers, and I move for its approval. Second.

Approval of the ordinance on second reading has been moved and seconded. I'll open it for discussion. Council Member Martinez, you have the option to go first as you made the motion.

Yeah, thank you, Jessica for the statement. I am looking forward to learning all the, the output of the research that's going into it. And you can, everybody can expect me to, you know, have these conversations with the community and really think it's important that we engage the community and keep them.

up to date and aware of what the city is doing during this moratorium so thank you all for all the hard work and i'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of this thanks any additional discussion i'll just add that we said a lot two weeks ago i think that's all on the record i still do not support a moratorium but very much support updating our regulations so thank you staff for the work related to that would you please call the council council please catch your votes

Thank you. Item 14B is an ordinance adopting the Fifth Amendment to the 2026 budget, amending Section 1 of Ordinance 3751, making appropriations for the City of Thornton, Colorado, for the fiscal year 2026 for all funds, except that appropriations for certain individual projects shall not lapse at year-end, but continue until the project is completed or canceled. I'll turn this over to Erica Sanna, Budget and Operations Director, to present this item.

Hearing none, Councilmember Russell, would you please introduce item 14A for second reading?

Yes, I'd like to introduce an ordinance adopting the fifth amendment to the twenty twenty six budget of ending section one of ordinance three, seven, five, one, making appropriations for the city of Thornton, Colorado. For the fiscal year, twenty, twenty six for all funds, except that appropriations for certain individual projects. Shall not lapse at year end, but continue until the project is completed or canceled mass for its approval. 2nd.

Approval of the ordinance on second reading has been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the council. Council, please cast your votes.

Thank you. Item 15 is adjournment, and having no further business, we are adjourned at 8.07 p.m.