City staff presented highlights from the recommended 2026 capital budget and answered council questions on several projects, including Live Oak Park, 29 Road final design, North Avenue multimodal improvements, and the streetlight municipalization study.

Live Oak Park: Staff reviewed a low-cost renovation concept intended primarily to reduce water and maintenance costs at the underused parcel historically used as park/open space. Parks staff said the project’s estimated cost is roughly $80,000 and the Colorado Water Conservation Board has provided a grant to cover about half. Parks estimated the water-and-labor savings to be approximately $21,700 per year, yielding a roughly two-year payback. The city attorney noted long-standing title complications for the parcel: the city holds it for right-of-way purposes with practical park use, and prior ballot measures have shown electorate resistance to selling the site. Council discussed whether to postpone renovation while investigating a potential sale; staff said concept design selected a minimal-investment option and the grant reduces the city’s net cost.

29 Road final design and related corridors: Staff explained a plan to advance a multi-phase final design for 29 Road and associated interchange work so the project is shovel-ready and competitive for grants. The design work budget discussed will fund progression from concept through 100% design and right-of-way coordination; staff emphasized the project will require property acquisition in places and will address safety, sidewalks, drainage, and multimodal elements. Council members asked about noise mitigation, eminent domain concerns and timing of neighborhood outreach; staff responded that federal environmental review (NEPA), noise analysis and public outreach are part of the design process and that staff plans to engage property owners as the right-of-way phase begins.

Streetlight municipalization study: Council asked about the status of a previously discussed municipalization of streetlights. Staff said a full separation study — including modeling costs and operations to separate city streetlights from existing utility contracts — would be significant (previous estimates referenced an approximate $11 million capital estimate for municipalization with an 8-year payback) and required consultant work; given budget constraints staff deferred the study from 2026 to a later year to preserve capacity for higher-priority projects.

Other transportation and campus projects: Council and staff also discussed Colorado Mesa University-sponsored improvements (median and crosswalk work on Twelfth Street, possible signal relocation), North Avenue multimodal corridor and the timing of Safe Streets funding requests. Staff noted many of the transportation projects carry outside grant funding or are contingent on grant awards and emphasized that some projects are already funded and moving toward advertisement.

Ending: Council asked staff to continue outreach on right-of-way matters for major corridor projects, to move forward with low-cost Live Oak Park improvements given grant funding, and to continue monitoring grant outcomes for major transportation projects. The streetlight municipalization analysis was deferred to preserve capital planning flexibility.