The Edgewater City Council met Tuesday, September 12 for their regular business meeting. As has been the case recently, the meeting began with a work session before the business meeting.
The work session began with public comment and the council chambers were full of family and friends of Adam Fresquez, the man shot and killed at the Edgewater Tesla charging station last May. Those that addressed the council expressed a deep frustration with Edgewater PD over the lack of charges in the case and how the case has been handled so far.
The meeting then moved on to several in depth slide deck presentations on Proposition 123 and affordable housing in general, which can be found on the Edgewater website.
With the work session adjourned, the night moved on to the business meeting. As always, the meeting kicked off with a roll call. All city council members were present and on the dais with the exception of Councilwoman Stierer (who had been present for the work session). The pledge was recited. When the time came to approve the consent agenda, Councilman Conklin motioned for the portion of the consent agenda regarding improvements to Citizens Park be moved from the consent agenda to the regular agenda, and the council agreed.
The public comment portion was moved up, after several citizens online felt they didn’t get to speak regarding the case of Adam Fresquez during the work session. Though no further comments regarding the case were made, several citizens did take the podium to address the council. Larry Welshon expressed frustration over an upcoming gun safety meeting excluding minors, Bruce Perry spoke about how he wants to live in a community that addresses both the housing and climate crisis, and Joseph Warner spoke about how he would like the council to remove regulatory barriers to developers so they could address housing issues by increasing supply.
Up next were City Staff comments. Chief Sonstegard spoke first, and talked about a recent commendation for EPD officers for going the extra mile with a man that had been found stabbed multiple times in the Edge 26 apartment complex. The officers provided first aid to the man, likely saving his life. The sustainability board also offered an update, welcoming new board member Scott Meyers and reminding the community about the urban forestry survey, photo contest, and tree walk.
Next on the agenda was Resolution 2023-11, a resolution to commit to increasing affordable housing units in the city by an average of 3% year over year by the end of 2026, in accordance with Proposition 123. This issue was discussed at length earlier in the evening during the work session, so there was not much more discussion on the part of the council. The resolution passed unanimously.
Next was the item moved from the consent agenda to the regular agenda regarding Phase 1 of the Citizens Park contract, which would authorize the city to bring in a contractor to submit designs for work to begin next spring. It passed unanimously.
The meeting was again opened for Public Comment. Larry Welshon spoke again, stating his concern that the council voted so quickly on affordable housing, having just seen the presentations earlier during the work session. Bruce Allen also spoke again, saying if anything the process should move as quickly as possible as people are getting priced out of homes with each passing day.
With that, the meeting wrapped up as always with comments from the Council and Mayor. The theme of the comments were condolences and thanks to the Fresquez family for attending the meeting and voicing their concerns and frustrations.
City Council meets twice a month on Tuesdays. The meetings start at 6:30 and can be attended in person at the Edgewater Civic Center or virtually through the city’s website. The next meeting is this upcoming Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
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