AS AMENDED a bill for an ordinance designating the projects to be undertaken and funded with the proceeds of any general obligations bonds authorized by voters at the November 7, 2017 election. Designates the projects and level of funding to be undertaken with the proceeds of any general obligations bonds authorized by voters at the 11-7-17 election. The Committee approved filing this bill at its meeting on 7-24-17. Amended 8-7-17 to reallocate a portion of the bond proceeds associated with the debt issuance for transportation and mobility projects by eliminating the Federal Boulevard Transit Infrastructure Project; thus, freeing up $9.8 million to be reallocated as follows: An additional $4.2 million for Morrison Road Improvements, bringing the total amount of bond proceeds to be dedicated to this project to $12,242,500. The addition of the following three projects that were originally listed on potential project lists, but were not included in the Mayor’s recommendation: Central Street Promenade (with an estimated cost of $850,000), Federal Boulevard Pedestrian Improvements (wi
I. Please close the voting. Announce the results. 13 eyes. 13 eyes. 818 passes. Now on to 819. And I fail to mention to those of you following along 812, the first bill we voted on was transportation, the largest bill. So I should have missed that. But 415 million. Okay. So 819 is the companion ordinance. And Councilwoman Gilmore, would you please put 819 on the floor? Yes, President Brooks, I move that council bill 819 be ordered published. All right. It has been moved and seconded. We are going to vote on the actual amendment. Councilman Lopez, go ahead and offer your motion to amend. Thank you, Mr. President. I move to amend Council 17 series of 1718 zero 819 in the following particulars. On page one, line 15 in the list of transportation and mobility projects to be funded with bond proceeds after, quote, Bucktown, Colorado Boulevard, improvements in quote at the project description of, quote, Central Street improvements, parentheses, Central Street Promenade, fancy and quote oh two on page two. And a list of transportation and mobility projects strike the quote, Federal Boulevard Transit Infrastructure quote project and substitute with the quote Federal Boulevard pedestrian improvements end quote on I so number three on page two and the list of transportation mobility projects add quote West Colfax transit enhancements quote after the project Washington Street 47 through 52nd reconstruction, end quote. All right. It has been moved and seconded by Ortega. Okay. Comes members of Council. Councilman Lopez. Thank you, Mr. President. Like I said earlier, the amendment is to reallocate a portion of the bond proceeds associated with the debt issuance for transportation and mobility projects by eliminating the Federal Boulevard Transit Infrastructure Project, thus freeing up $9.8 million to be reallocated as follows an additional 4.2 million for Morrison road improvements, bringing the total amount of bond proceeds to be dedicated to this project to $12,242,500. The addition of the following three projects that were originally listed on a potential project list but were not included in the mayor's recommendation. Central Street Promenade. With an estimated cost of the $50,000 Federal Boulevard pedestrian improvements, with an estimated cost of 2.85 million and West Colfax Transit enhancements with an estimated cost of 1.9 million. Here's the here's the thing. Those three project. The funds are kept on Federal Boulevard. And that's that's the thing. I want folks to understand that all of these projects keep the spirit and the intent of the original fund. The funds on Federal Boulevard that are kept are pedestrian improvements that are funded at two of the primary intersections. As was stated earlier in this meeting, 23rd and 26th from the Federal Boulevard Corridor study. So for folks to say that this moves money from Federal Boulevard is false. What we want to be able to do is highlight those projects that are absolutely critical to ongoing projects in our district. The other one is on West Colfax, where funds are moved for transit improvements. This will allow for West Denver to be connected to the bus. Rapid Transit may eventually lead to BRT on Colfax being extended to city limits, which is Sheridan. And we've talked about this before. And those of you who had been on the council, those I. Been at this for a while. When we started talking about BRT since and since its inception, I've always put out my hand and said, Wait, wait, wait, wait. You have another completely other side of town that we're forgetting. It would stop at her area. The city of Denver still goes on all the way to shared. Right. And if we're able to take it the BRT all the way to Yosemite and even past and all the way we go even past to into Aurora. And why shouldn't we able to do that and complete that in our own city and, you know, left and right to be able to get it done? Unfortunately, we were not successful. It is what it is. And here's the thing. We understand, okay, the study was done. The grant was applied for for just that section. No use chasing a jumbo jet. That's field and on the runway. So what we want to do is be able to prepare our side of town, West Colfax, for the same kind of opportunities. Right. And so that's why that is in there. You know, there's been great work that's been done by the West Colfax bid. You heard Dan Schorr's testimony and you heard Leslie check out his testimony for Federal Boulevard. You know, these are areas where they're absolutely critical. And when you look at the funds that that we want to keep in southwest Denver and Westwood, it's to do more than multi-modal improvements. And you heard that you heard that in great detail from Bukele West and from the folks that spoke there. It's it's increasing Morrison road improvements to the funding level that they should have. It was almost like a little like a tennis match was going back and forth and as in this process, we were watching it get funded and decreased. Funded and then decreased. And so in order for Morrison Road to Work, you got to fund, you got to complete the project. And when we were looking at this source of funds and you look at Federal Boulevard and you look at the. The original intent of this for the for the transit study. If we really wanted to make Federal Boulevard, that transit corridor, we really wanted to do that. It's not going to take $9.8 million. It's going to take a heck of a lot more investment. And it has to be programed. And that's why we picked that's why we saw this as, hey, what's going on with this? Asked these questions before and in previous council meetings and at this at this very floor without the detailed response. This is money that's not being programed. We don't know if it's for bus shelters. We don't know if it is for a bus lane. We don't know if it's. We've heard that it's for charging stations, for electric cars. We just don't know for certain. And when we asked. There's no designs and there's not it's not programed. We can they can not tell us what's going to be funded. And the detail that we. Right. And it's frustrating because here we have that. And on the other hand, we have these four projects that that absolutely are they we can program right away to complete four major projects in the city. Important transit corridor, important hubs. So that's that's you know, the one thing I really wanted about home and this is not money that we're allocated for another side of town or another. This is within the district. Right. And so this is something that a lot of the folks that you had here testifying, this is their work. This is the gaps that they that they realized. There's been tremendous work done. But you know what? This is about details. And and we want to make sure we get we get it right. If we're going to do it, let's get it right. There have been terrible accidents on Morrison with terrible accidents on West Colfax Federal. Seen a heck of a lot more improvement than what it ever had. And a lot of the things that talk about federal, you know, a lot of those actions that happened in that corridor and that stretch is not happening no more because of that federal boulevard reconstruction that we had. So. Yeah. All right. I want to allow other folks. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Lopez. Councilwoman. Yes, I have said all right to be asking questions. Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. Um, I'd like to ask Krissy to come up to the, to the thing. I just have a couple of questions. I understand that the Central Street Project, there was a question about whether it was bond eligible. Has that question become more clear or. I don't know about bond eligibility. So sorry for Central Laura. Would you know whether. So the initial scope of the project more focused on landscaping elements and streetscape along Central Avenue, and at that time we deemed that the useful life of that proposed project scope didn't align with on financing. And is that the case now? I mean, is it still maybe not eligible for bond financing? There is more clarity needed around the scope of work that's required for that project for us to determine the answer to that question. So if we were to approve this amendment and it was found to be not bond eligible. What happens to it? I mean, do we have some obligation towards it or what? What happens to it? If City Council approves the amendment, then it's incorporated into the bond. And we would essentially need to work to develop a scope of work that's in line with what is eligible for bond funding. Okay. Thank you. And and now, Kristie, I was going to ask you about the federal transit project that's going away here in this in this amendment. Yeah. How many? How long along the corridor was that? Transit. Was the transit project or is initially the transit project was intended to be the entire length of the federal boulevard corridor from city limit to city limit. Through the process, it was reduced to from Evans to 38th Avenue. From Evans to 38th. That's quite a distance. Yes. And is it true that there were. Not plans that were drawn up. For the project? So one of the things we've been thinking about with regards to transit is just how do we do sort of the bus rapid transit faster? There are things that we can do from a programmatic perspective, an operational perspective to actually help transit move more quickly through the corridor. And that's what we had in mind. So a lot of things with sign signals and markings and bus shelter improvements to actually enhance the transit along the corridor. It is the second highest ridership in the RTD system. It's on the Vision Zero High Injury Network system, and we thought we could bring a lot of those things together to actually address both transit and safety issues along the corridor. Okay. I think that's all my question is. Thanks very much. Thanks, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilwoman Sussman. Councilman Blair. Thank you, Mr. President. Unfortunately. I haven't learned that much about either of these proposals, the original one and the amendment. I had a brief meeting with Councilman Espinosa a few weeks ago, but most of what I've learned, I've learned tonight, and I trust Councilman Espinosa and Councilman Lopez for what they think should be in their district. Just because I think I know what's best for my district, but what I'm concerned about is federal, because we're always hearing about what a dangerous street it is. And it concerns me that we're we're not addressing that. And I understand that that we want to hold out for a BRT. But if we're spending 55 million or $60 million on Colfax, when are we going to have that kind of money? Again, for federal? We're probably not for another bond, which is in ten years. So I don't know how to weigh that decision. So Chrissy, can you provide me any guidance? And we also have great speakers on both sides of it. So I don't I don't really know how to make that decision. Well, you know, as you guys have all said this evening, there's there aren't a lack of projects that are good projects. It's hard. Decisions that we have to. Make when we're trying to think about transportation and how do we meet some of the goals that we have out there. And with regards to mode shift, several people have mentioned 73% of folks are driving to on their commute trips by themselves. And so how do we encourage people to move differently and meet the Mobility Action Plan goals that Mayor Hancock placed out there? We do think that enhancing transit and improving ridership are improving the service along these corridors will actually increase ridership and give people better options and serve a community that we're really working to better support and make sure that they through transportation, we're providing greater access to opportunity. We also know from our work with RTD that this corridor is on the first tier for improvements that they're identifying when they look at their system and where busses are getting stuck in the system and stuck in traffic just like everybody else, which makes it harder to prioritize transit and encourage that mode shift. So we do think that this project would give that opportunity to look at specific intersections where we would want to put in transit signal priority to jump planes if necessary, to a bus only lonely bus only lane that maybe in the peak period only. But we could certainly look at 24 hour. Those are the types of things that we are looking towards to move this forward and increase transit capacity on the corridor. So if you want to think about it along the lines of what Broadway Lincoln have done in the past with signs, signals and markings and prioritizing transit in that corridor, that's what we wanted to start with. But we've also learned a lot since we have implemented Broadway in Lincoln. To see what else we might want to do will be testing the red paint the red markings on Broadway starting this summer. Those are all things that would be eligible on this process, on this project, if we were able to move it forward. Thank you. So Councilman Lopez and Espinosa, I guess my question is for you, are you willing to sacrifice that for these other projects? My short answer, absolutely. It's not a sacrifice. It's a reinvestment only because it's a pilot you talked to. There was another. So when you talk about Federal Boulevard as being a concern. Yeah. At one point it was the most dangerous strip in Denver with with that Alameda, it was identified from Alameda to Sixth Avenue. Fifth Avenue to be to be to be honest. We addressed that. We widened it. You put in sidewalks, underground utilities. That was a big ticket item. And it was over 100. And I think. $36 million. It was a big deal just for that stretch. That's a small stretch. Federal. Huge. Right. Ten point I mean, $9.8 million wouldn't even. I don't know how many holes we could have dug with that on that strip. The other thing, Kendra, is that we are. Councilman Black, I'm sorry. Is this not over? We rebuilt. We reconfigured Sixth Avenue Bridges project, which was a big deal. Happened to tie right into that. And then what's going to be happening now is from Sixth Avenue all the way to Holden, where the Human Services Building is, that's going to keep widen third lane, put in medians, pedestrian refuges, things like that, better lights. That's another big ticket item. And you're only talking about maybe a mile or two max, right on Federal Boulevard. It's huge. You're looking at $9.8 million. I'd rather see hard cost. I'd rather see completed projects with those that that $9.8 million on Colfax, on those very intersections that we talked about rather than some pilot . Right. That's not programed money. And no, here's the thing. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Krissy from Barnum. Right. We talked about federal a lot. It's a matter of priority. And for ten years I was in the West Side. We know where the priority is there. Now, we appreciate that. We would love to have BRT, but you can't buy BRT on Federal Boulevard for $9.8 million. You just can't. So for us, it's just a smart investment on that side. But it's a fallacy to think that Federal Boulevard is not getting any love. Oh, my gosh. We're getting crazy love coming out pretty soon. So much that we're all going to be receiving phone calls about the traffic jams. Okay. Thank you. I would just like to insert one comment. Hampton needs a lot of love. And so to South Carolina. Thank you. More for for this. All right. To the. Chinese. That's the way. Oh, yeah. Councilman Espinosa, just. Just so you have the other half of that response as well. Yes. There is no design that were that were ready to go. That's shovel ready for for for federal. They're on this on this scale. And a portion of that is pilot, which begs the question of whether that had hits the ten year requirement, because it's something that could be tried and pulled away. But the key thing on the one sort of supportive comment tonight was and it's crucial it's crucial to federal it's crucial to Colfax. Is transit supportive land use? We do not have land use that would sort of fill in and start bringing new, new high concentrations of users. We need to this is and so that is actually one of the crucial things the disconnects that we didn't do in Blueprint Denver. We didn't follow through with Blueprint Denver. That Denver right. Update is going to be talking about. But we're a year from Denver. Right. Being adopted and we're two more many years from these neighborhoods being part of the neighborhood planning initiative. So we are. Probably a good decade from having true, you know, land. Use, transit supported, land uses, married with transit. So we actually have time. What we should be doing is for far less money doing the design, doing the studies and improving upon the recommendations of the plan so that we actually can can come forward and that can be done through our general fund. These other things are our long term needs. On West Colfax. We've we've have tall, very tall, high concentrations of senior living facilities. The city is now building one through DHS. So this is this is it is. Is as one of the public speakers. Put it, it's it's a Sophie's. Choice, but it is. Actually one that is is valuable valuable to to the pedestrian commute walking communities. I have a very high concentration of Jewish community on West Colfax as well. So these are all things that it is not ideal situation, but it is actually a net improvement and we can build towards the Federal Boulevard corridor, which was just done last year. So. And follow up with plans over the coming years. Thanks. Hey. Thank you. All right, Councilman Black, I think that gets at it. Let's go to Councilman Flynn. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm happy to support the Councilman Lopez and Councilman Espinosa in Reprograming these federal funds and other projects in our district. And I just want to remind Councilman Lopez, when he talks about the west side being sort of forgotten, that the farther southwest you go, we're even more forgotten and that Denver doesn't end. It doesn't go all the way to Sheridan. And in my district, it goes all the way to Kipling Street. And we had a neighborhood picnic there for Denver days just yesterday. And folks were reminding me there was a time when my predecessor, Councilman Hackworth, had to have the city issue, the folks in my neighborhood, Denver resident cards , because no one believed at the Southwest Rec Center that we actually lived in the city and county of Denver. So so with that in mind, I think it's very good that the representatives from the West Side get to determine their own priorities. And I'm happy to support this. Thank you. All right, Councilman Flynn, I'm going to jump to Councilman Knoop. Well, it looks like we're just equivalent over legitimate needs. Like Chrissy said, you know, it sure says something about a lack of a transportation system. So I'm hoping the Christie that you'll be supportive of putting this project in the operating budget for 2018. And we obviously need both of these projects and I'm sure you'll hear what you hear up here tonight. You're going to find support for increased transit funding. So I hope you'll consider that. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Councilman New. Councilman Castro. Thank you, Mr. President. And I'm really very pleased to hear all this love for the West Side, but want it want to give a yo for the East Side and East Evans Avenue needs a whole lot of love. East of Colorado Boulevard, especially. And I just wanted to add that Brandon is looking far too relaxed. And I want to I want to underscore a larger go for the minivan. So there you go. Councilman Cashman, did you said the east side? Yes, sir. You know, the east side is. Anyway, we'll talk about that later. All right. Let's do. Councilman Lopez, I think you can. Armando, don't do it. No, I need to ask a question. Ask your question. So I wanted to ask this question of David and possibly Laura. Now, although in the particulars that I asked, that, you know, that kind of renumbered stuff and adds Federal Boulevard Transit and all that stuff. So for the purpose and the intent of the amendment, even though it's not written in the actual language, how are we going to record and make sure that that that those those projects are actually the intent of the proceeds? And so I don't know whether or not I just want to make sure on the record that that that's the intent of. Yes. The Department of Finance will absolutely reallocate the funds within the transportation purposed as determined by City Council this evening. As you know, Councilman, we have transparently posted summaries on our website which reflect those projects which comprise each of the purposes. So we will certainly adjust all of our summaries to include the adjustment on Morrison Road. Okay. It's like David's not in his head. David Broadwell, Assistant City Attorney The purpose of the councilman's question is, as you all know, each of the projects doesn't have a number, a dollar number attributed to it in the companion ordinance. And it was easy to delay one project, add three. But the addition of the addition of the extra money to Morse and Road isn't really expressly in the language of the amendment itself, but is largest reflected that we understand the underlying intent. The budget for the Morris Road Project will be increased by the amount indicated in the explanation, even though it's not explicitly in the ordinance language . So we thought we would put that on the record. Thank you. Thank you. That's all I have. All right, set it up. Sure. Okay. Uh, Councilman Espinosa. No, that was okay. Okay, great. We are voting on the amendment for a 19. All right. It's been moved and seconded. Madam Secretary, real call. Lopez. I knew Ortega. Sussman. From Black Eye. Clark. Espinosa, I. Flynn. I. Gilmore. I heard in Cashman. I can eat, Mr. President. I police voting announce the results. 13 eyes. 13 eyes. The amendment passes. Now, Councilwoman Gilmore, we need a motion to publish as amended. Thank you, President Brooks. I move that council bill 819 be ordered published as amended. It has been moved and seconded, I assume no comments from the council. Madam Secretary Roker. Espinosa. Hi. Flynn. I. Gilmore. I. Herndon. I. Cashman. Kinney. Lopez. All right. New Ortega. Excuse me. Sussman. Black eye. Clark. Hi. Mr. President. I saw swelling in the results. 13 eyes. All right. 13 eyes. Constable 819 has been ordered published as amendment. All eight of these bills will be on second and final reading Monday, August 14th, when council is scheduled to vote on all these bills. On Monday, August 14, the Council will hold a required public here from Council Bill 810 approving the Emily Griffith Opportunity School Urban