City Council - Regular Meeting

Everybody, it's 6 o'clock. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Thursday, August 20th, 2026 regular meeting of the Boulder City Council. I'll go ahead and call us to order. Can we have a roll call, please, Alicia?

Thanks so much. All right, let's go ahead and get started. If I could get a motion to amend the agenda to do two things. One is to remove item 3D, which is consideration of two items related to a petition to annex a property at 1275 Cherryville and a property at 5995 McSorley Lane. That's a resolution 1383 and ordinance 8764. So we would remove that item 3D and then add item 3J, which is consideration of a motion to adopt resolution 1388 in support of the Boulder County early childhood care and education mill levy increase and voter approved revenue change and resolution 1389 indicating the ci

We have a motion and a second. All in favor, please raise your hand. That passes unanimously, 8-0. All right, let's go to open comment now. And Alicia, if you can do the public participation guidelines, please.

Thanks very much, Alicia. All right, we've got six people signed up to speak. Each person will get two minutes. I will be strict about those time limits in the interest of fairness. And we're going to start with Lynn Siegel in person and then Melinda Marquis and Laura Gonzalez in person. Do we have Lynn online?

Let's go ahead and mute Lynn and we'll come back to her. I think maybe things will come online for her soon. Okay, our next three speakers are Melinda Marquez, Laura Gonzalez, and Evan Ravitz.

Your time is up, but thank you for your testimony. We're going to go to Laura Gonzalez, Evan Ravitz, and Walt Morgan. Laura is virtual. Okay, let's go to Laura online then.

And I would ask other commenters to not make personal comments about individuals. All right, Evan Bravitz is next.

All right. Now we're going to go to Walt Morgan and then Rob Smoke, and then we'll come back to Lynn Siegel.

Thank you. OK we'll go to Rob smoke and then Lynn Siegel.

All right. Thanks. Let's go to Lynn Siegel online now.

Thank you. All right. That brings us to the end of our open comment speakers. I'll turn to city staff to see if there are any responses.

Any questions for city staff? Yes, Taisha.

Thank you, Mayor. I was reminded in Melinda's comment around the hunting and fishing on the request when we were having the ballot conversation about the hunting and fishing. I believe there was a note that y'all were going to follow up with staff on whether the hunting and fishing had implications for the work that we do. Obviously, Boulder Creek is one of the places that I fish, so I was curious about that. Thank you.

Okay. Any very brief responses from Councilmembers?

Sorry, I had another question about the process for the new readers. And I know there's a pause on that process, which I appreciate, but I was curious to know if there was any updates and or what would be the indicator for determining whether it is really a policy decision, which is council-oriented, or if it is an implementation, which is a city manager office. Thank you.

Okay. That brings us to the end of our open comment period. So we will take a brief recess and reconvene for the business portion of our meeting at 6.30 p.m.

I'm gonna go ahead and call us back into session. And just to note that there have been some power surges because of the fire that happened nearby here earlier today. So there is some chance that there will be some technical disruptions. If so, we'll handle it at the time. Just be aware, there's a possibility. And with that, let's go to our consent agenda, please, Elisha.

Thanks. Any questions or comments on the consent agenda? Tara?

All right. I've got some of them, but thanks, sir. Nicole?

And I know we're not having quite a back and forth, but Tara, I just wanted to make sure that when you say we, you're kind of talking about council, because staff has provided so much information on facilities, budget, how all of this works, why we've ended up here. Mark and I and some staff did a whole podcast about it. I just want to make sure it doesn't sound like staff is not doing this work, because they are. And I think we can help. TRANSLATE IT TO COMMUNITY THROUGH OUR GROUPS, BUT I REALLY HOPE THAT WE CAN NOT PERPETUATE THAT NARRATIVE THAT THIS INFORMATION DOESN'T EXIST BECAUSE IT DOES

YOU CAN GIVE A QUICK RESPONSE IF YOU WANT.

I WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW UP, I know staff certainly has worked very hard on the details of the finances and on the ballot measure. And one of the things Tara was raising was how we would work through the implementation and what the details would be in that and how that would be transparent to the community. So I wonder if you might speak to, should this bond measure pass, how we would work with the community on realizing the results of that.

I would. So can I comment on the bond and then ask for clarification on a different item?

Okay. So, you know, I've also been going back and forth on the bond and I do feel that we need to start moving forward. And so I think we can ask voters for it and we'll see what happens. I think it's not likely to pass based on the polling. However, it would be great if it did because we would be able to update our rec centers and Create a public safety building and I fully support as I think I've said too many times now some type of oversight committee for facilities The one piece I was actually really concerned about is what is it? What does it look like when on your ballot you have? Five o

All right, not seeing any other hands raised, perhaps a motion?

We have a motion and a second. Alicia, can we have a roll call, please?

Great. Thanks so much. Let's go to our call-up check-in, please.

Any questions or comments or desire to call this one up? Seeing none, we will not be calling that up, so let's move, well, actually, Let me next ask, I'm just going to go ahead and make a motion that we suspend the council rules or procedures for a six to allow for three public hearings this evening.

All right, got a motion, a second. All in favor, raise your hand, please. That's unanimous, 8-0, because we do have three public hearings on the agenda this evening. So if we can go to our first one, please.

Thanks so much, Garrett. Any questions for city staff? Seeing none, we will go ahead and I will go ahead and open the public hearing. We have one person signed up to speak, which is Laura Gonzalez. It says she's in person. Not seeing her present, I will go ahead and close the public hearing and come back to council for discussion or a motion. Tara.

Second. We have a motion to second. Any other comments on this? I'll just add to Tara's thank you for the fantastic work on this project and of the department. I just had the chance to bike along the new section of Folsom that was recently repaved. Very well done. Love the targeted improvements there. So y'all are doing great. With that being said, let's go ahead and have a roll call vote on this motion in front of us.

Fantastic. Well, let's roll right into the next public hearing. This carrot doesn't have to go anywhere.

Thanks so much. Again, Garrett, any questions for city staff? Taisha?

It's relevant for the last one and this one. Unfortunately, the renderings look like it's like Kentucky bluegrass, but I'm assuming that those are native plants and low water and all of the things that we work so hard to I do have some concerns of an extreme heat and that corridor in particular is not as, and with the construction, there's going to be less. So just wondering how that was being mitigated. Thank you.

See, yeah, Matt. Hold on just a second, we have to open the public hearing. Um, there's one person signed up to speak. Laura Gonzalez. Is she present?

Okay. In that case, we'll close the public hearing and bring it back to council. Matt.

Um, well, I'm gonna make a motion and then I'll say something about it. Um, I'd like to go ahead and make a motion to adopt ordinance 8772, authorizing and approving acquisition of property interest for the South 30th Street improvements project by negotiation and purchase or through the power of eminent domain and setting forth related details.

Just continuance of great work. It's good to see CAN continue to do its thing in the city. And, you know, it's evolved beyond what its sort of initial projects were. And it's now become kind of the ethos of a department. So it's just great to continue to see this working. So great job.

Thank you. I appreciate all the positive feedback. Yeah, absolutely. I just was talking to someone yesterday who said, when is 30th Street going to, when will the whole quarter be as good as the recently revised areas? And we're able to give them a schedule now. So appreciate all the great work. Seeing no other hands raised, roll call, please, Alicia.

Great. Well, thanks again, Garrett, to you and the team. All right. Let's go to our final public hearing now, please.

THANKS SO MUCH. I WILL GO AHEAD AND GET US STARTED HERE BY MOVING THAT WE RECESS AS THE BOULDER CITY COUNCIL AND CONVENE AS THE CITY OF BOULDER DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL DISTRICT FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE CENTRAL AREA GENERAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT CAGED BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR RAISE YOUR HANDS. That's unanimous, 8-0. So I am now hereby recessing the Boulder City Council and then reconvening us as the City of Boulder Downtown Commercial District Board of Directors. Can we do a roll call of the district board, please?

Thanks so much. I will now, as the board of directors, turn it over to our city manager, Nuria, to take us to the next step.

Thanks so much for all that information, Mark. Really appreciate it. Questions from council? Tina.

Yeah, I had a couple questions and thanks for the presentation. The first was I didn't receive feedback in my inbox from Visit Boulder. Are they supportive of the project? And, you know, sometimes we get presentations from the hotel community looking at what the demand is in the community and whether we met it. So I was just seeing if that analysis is out there.

Okay. And then... We also have the Trinity parking lot, which is also pretty close to the church. I know that that's more longer-term parking, but it seems like it's not fully utilized. Is that another option that we could help facilitate?

Okay, and at the end of the title report, you know, it suggested working with the hotel, the new hotel, and to reserve part of the spruce for their valet services, but could we consider doing that for other users so that there's a process that it doesn't favor just the new hotel and thinks about some of the other users in the community?

And then when we sell the lot, if we do, does that then end the relationship with this property in Cajun? It exists in Cajun, but there's no longer any contributing revenue to the Cajun.

And just to clarify, including the Cajet Mills, so there would be some additional revenue that would go into Cajet from the property tax? Yes, good question.

And then just going back to the accessing parking, it's just a thought I had because we know we're hearing from Boulder High as we start ticketing because of the meters near Boulder High, the students are going to be paying $13 to $15 a day to go to school if they're not accommodated in their parking lot. So I just want to make sure that we include other users like that into these conversations if we're starting to sort of dedicate parking. Thanks.

Yes, I had questions about how water was considered. So just the back of the envelope for a hotel, a boutique hotel of 110 could range as much as one Olympic size swimming pool per day.

So not so just again to clarify it is the current as of 2026 or current as of 2025 and also did not include the different scenarios that were outlined in the water supply reports that were provided last year.

Right, not seeing any other hands raised, I will go ahead and open the public hearing. We've got 19 speakers, so each speaker will have two minutes to speak. I will be strict about those in the interest of fairness. We have a few people pooling, and as long as the two people they're pooling with are also present, then those people will get four minutes to speak. So our first speakers are Susan Williams, then Christina Braudaway-Bauman pooling, and then Robert Mathias. If you can bring your mic down, please.

Thanks for your testimony. OK, now we're going to go to Christina Broadway-Bauman, who is pooling with Phil. Oh, and folks, no noise, please. If you hear something you want to support, you can do jazz hands silently to show your support. But Christina is pooling with Phil Broadway-Bauman and Robert Goodbody, if we can just see that they're both here. Very good. Thanks so much. You have four minutes.

Thank you. All right. Now we're going to go to Robert Mathias, then Karen Kumbo, and Laura Gonzalez.

Thank you. Now we'll go to Karen Kumbo, Laura Gonzalez and Pamela Chalice.

Ma'am, if you can speak into the mic, please.

Thank you. Now let's go to Lara Gonzalez, then Pamela Chalice, and Libby Black. Is Lara present? Not seeing her, let's go to Pamela Chalice then.

Oh, is Pamela present? Okay, go to Pamela online, please.

Thank you. Now we'll go to Libby Black and then Jean Nelson and Kittredge Marcy.

Your time is up, but thank you for your testimony. Now let's go to Jean Nelson, Kittredge Marcy, and Sarah Schulte.

Your time is up, but thank you for your testimony. Okay, we're going to go to Kittredge Marcy now, then Sarah Schulte and Peter Mortimer.

Thank you. Now let's go to Sarah Schulte, Peter Mortimer, and Melody Fuller.

Thank you. Now let's go to Peter Mortimer, Melody Fuller, and Ryan Diggins.

Thank you. Now we'll go to Melody Fuller, Ryan Diggins and Neil Cease.

Thank you. Now let's go to Ryan Diggins, Niall Cease, and Troy Blessing.

Thank you. All right, now let's go to Niall Cease, then Troy Blessing, then Christian Holden.

Thank you. All right, now let's go to Troy at Blessing Online, then Christian Holden and Sheikh Karam.

Thank you. Now let's go to Christian Holden, and then the last speaker will be Shay Karam.

All right, our last speaker is Shay Karam.

Thank you. All right. That brings us to the end of the public hearing. Thanks so much to everybody who came out and spoke to us tonight. We really appreciate hearing from you. So I'm now going to come back to council to see if anybody has a follow-up question for city staff or wants to get the discussion started on the proposal in front of us. Yep.

Matt. One follow-up question is for Mark. There's been a question about kind of the sequencing of process. And I think in particular one of them is regarding, you know, a site plan or a site review. And I want to sort of maybe have you sort of answer the typical way things work, or a better way to say, has anybody who doesn't actually own a property ever embarked on a discretionary site review process?

And so just to sort of follow up, all of the development projects that people are looking towards as sort of the process in which we follow are all predicated on the individual submitting that process actually owning the property at the front end. Is that correct?

The same as any other property in our city?

Sure. I just have some comments and a sort of nod to where I'll be going tonight. And colleagues, I hope it's okay if I take a little bit of extra time because I can't sit up here with my church community anxious and concerned and be all that concise. I wanted to thank you all so much for coming. It's so good to see you here. Welcome. Lemony Snicket said, someone feeling wronged is like someone feeling thirsty. Don't tell them they aren't. Sit with them and have a drink. I know many of you who spoke feel wronged tonight, and I'm not here to tell you that you shouldn't be feeling this way. I'm

Thank you for those powerful words, Nicole. Tara? Tara?

first thank you all for coming here tonight. It is an absolute privilege and honor for us. I would say to see so many new faces, uh, embark in the public process. Uh, it's just great. And so we hope that regardless of how this particular outcome plays, that you continue to engage in the process in the city. Uh, it's important for us to see and hear from as many people as possible, whether or not the, anything we're doing directly impacts you. We want to hear your opinions and perspectives. So just want to honor and say, thank you for being here. Um, Tonight, we are not approving the size, the

Yeah. First, I just wanted to thank all of you for coming this evening and thank you specifically for all the contributions you make to our community. Uh, I was at the church a couple of weeks ago to listen to David Skaggs and just understand the value of all the people that you bring into our community. Um, I, uh, my biggest concern, um, about this process has been just the general question of how do we declare a property surplus in the city and what is our process for disposal? And there are a lot of different ways to talk about this, and I hope that we define some clear pathways to do this.

Thank you. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for the work that has been done. I will start with what keeps me up at night is whether Boulder will have enough water for our children's children's children. The decisions that we make for 20 years is very different than several generations. And there is not a climate scientist or water expert that I have heard who estimates our water supply will ever be better than it is today. And to know that the projections used were not inclusive of what was provided in the 2025 water planning scenarios, which the most severe scenario indicated major decreas

Thanks, Tayshia. Anybody else want to go?

Thanks, Rob. Ryan, do you want to go or should I? I'll go ahead. Well, thanks so much to everybody for coming out. Really appreciate hearing from you. And what I want to say is that the strength of the community that you have in your congregation has really shown through very strongly. I've certainly spent time at the church over the years for one function or another, and I've seen firsthand the role that it plays in the Boulder community. So I'm really touched by how you've come together on this and really appreciate your engagement. I am supportive of this proposal. I think that that hotel a

Yeah, Nicole was very eloquent. All right, perhaps someone would like to make a motion.

I move to approve a purchase agreement between CAGED and MALR Boulder LLC for the disposal of CAGED owned real property located at 2121 Broadway and authorize the city manager acting as the general manager of CAGED to execute the purchase agreement and all associated documents.

Second. All right, we've got a motion and a second. Can we have a roll call please, Alicia, for the board?

Very good. All right. Well, thanks again, folks, for coming out. And there will be more steps to come. And city staff, thanks for all of your work on this project. Really appreciate it. I'm going to go ahead and adjourn the downtown commercial district board meeting and reconvene as the Boulder City Council. And then I'm going to go ahead and bring our meeting to a close since we have no further agenda items. All right. All right, I'll gavel us closed here at 8.21 p.m.