The Edgewater City Council met on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024 for their regularly scheduled business meeting. The roll call was taken, and a quorum was present, with Councilpersons Iten and Berg not in attendance this week. As always, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the consent agenda was adopted unanimously.
With the new public comment rules now in place, public comment followed. First, a resident of Edge 26 took the podium, who I am intentionally choosing not to name given what they relayed this request to City Council. The resident spoke of persistent problems with their rental including loss of apartment space to encroaching renovations, plumbing problems that had left the apartment soaked, moldy, and unlivable, and a lack of response to the tenant when asked to rectify the problems. The tenant also spoke of last minute lock changes, with little notice and a small window to pick up the new key or be locked out of their own apartment for the evening. A move the tenant felt was retaliatory.
Edgewater resident Larry Welshon also took the podium during the public comment section. Mr. Welshon spoke on Home Rule, a topic that has surfaced frequently at recent meetings. Specifically, Mr. Welshon spoke about density, stating the need for housing is not going to let up, and asking the Council when the city will say “enough.” He also expressed concerns of ADUs, believing they will bring in outside investors, and exacerbate the housing crisis, not alleviate it. He implored the council to stop the State of Colorado from usurping the city’s home rule power, as protected in the state constitution.
Next on the agenda came communications from City Staff, Boards, and Membership Organizations. City Clerk Mills said she was working with the Edge 26 Resident who spoke during public comment to get her in touch with the state health department, as they are the agency that would address mold problems in rentals. City Manager Maples told the council that the Rec Center had been closed for a deep clean and gave thanks to Parks and Rec Director Amber Magee on a job well done. Mr. Maples also gave an update on the construction on 25th saying that they have gotten a lot of the concrete work done and are currently waiting on Xcel to move gas and electric lines. Mr. Maples said the work is going fast, even with the recent snow.
No Boards or Commissions had updates this week but Mayor Conklin had a DRCOG update along with a Metro Mayors Council update, saying both were currently in the process of reviewing pending state legislation. Mayor Conklin also read a statement from the Colorado Municipal League regarding affordable housing, sustainability, and protecting home rule. The League is seeking elected officials to sign on, and the Mayor stated he would be signing and encouraged others on City Council to do the same.
The Presentations and Awards portion of the meeting followed. Chief Sonstegard and Jenna Gottlieb, Director of Restorative Jeffco spoke about a new restorative justice pilot the city will be partaking in. The program is intended to divert offenders out of the criminal justice system. Youth in the program would be given a chance to fulfill a repair contract. The idea is that the offender will gain an understanding of the impact their actions had, as well as provide the victim a chance to feel heard. Postives of the program include higher empathy, reduced recidivism, higher satisfaction among the participants compared to going through the criminal justice system, and less cost. To be diverted into the program, the youth will need to be identified by a trained officer, as someone who genuinely feels remorse, and then be screened by Director Gottlieb, who has the final say on who is accepted into the program.
Up next came an update on Edgewater’s comprehensive plan. At almost 50 slides in the deck, the presentation was too detailed to cover here, but can be perused at: https://www.edgewaterco.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/3503/638463570629184792 . It’s important to remember that the comprehensive plan is intended as a guiding document, not a binding one.
Up next came the General Business items. Tonight there was only one, a change in the rules and procedures of the History, Arts, Recreation and Parks rules and procedures. After some discussion from the council, the new rules and procedures were approved unanimously.
Final Public comment followed. Edgewater resident Karen Hing took the podium to speak more on protecting Edgewater’s power to operate as a home rule city, encouraging all members of the council to sign the letter from the Colorado Municipal League read earlier in the meeting by Mayor Conklin.
Mayor and Council comments followed. There were thanks to the Edge 26 resident for sharing their issues. Thanks to the Mayor and staff on the work they did for the revised public comment rules and procedures. And some general statements on the importance of home rule.
After a brief discussion on upcoming agenda items, the business meeting was adjourned.
Edgewater City Council meets twice a month, usually the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. The meetings start at 6:30 PM and can be attended in person at the Edgewater Civic Center or virtually through the city website
I agree with Mr Welshon concerning ADU’s. We are a small landlocked city that should not look at increasing density. On street parking is already crowding our small streets and conversion of garages will make this worse. Higher density will overburden our infrastructure and require more city services. Do we really want to bring the same problems here that big cities have? We are a stones throw from 3 bigger cities better equipped for higher densities with affordable housing. Why the incessant push by a few to ruin the small town character of our city?