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Council committee delays vote on $15 million on‑call contract for citywide sidewalk program
Summary
The Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee postponed action on an on‑call professional services contract that would support Denver’s new sidewalk enterprise fund, master planning and early design work; committee members sought clearer deliverables and benchmarks before advancing the item to full council.
Denver — The Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday postponed consideration of an on‑call professional services contract meant to support the city’s newly established sidewalk program, citing the need for clearer deliverables and spending benchmarks.
The contract, which staff said they planned to award to HNTB, would create capacity for program management, communications, a citywide sidewalk master plan required by ordinance, and design/preconstruction services. Geneva Hooten, the city’s sidewalk program director, told the committee the contract would have a $15,000,000 capacity and a time frame of up to three years from notice to proceed. “The contract capacity is 15,000,000, and the time frame is up to 3 years from notice to proceed,” Hooten said.
Committee members pressed staff on how the contract would be spent, what concrete deliverables the city would receive in 2025, and how the work would tie to construction contracts. Councilmember Torres and others asked for a clear matrix of the suite of contracts and for milestones tied to the funds. Elena McWhorter, legislative liaison for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTTI), said the first two task orders would cover program management and communications and the sidewalk master plan would kick off this summer. Nick Williams (DOTTI) clarified that some neighborhoods had historically been treated as exempt under rules and regulations but that the ordinance authorizing the sidewalk program supersedes those exemptions.
Staff told the committee that revenue collection for the sidewalk enterprise fund has begun: the city has invoiced $8,100,000 and received $3,700,000 to date, with an operating budget for 2025 of $28,500,000. Hooten said the master plan itself will not cost the full $15,000,000; the larger contracted capacity exists so the city can move from planning into design and preconstruction for priority corridors without issuing a separate firm selection process for each scope.
Committee members also asked about ongoing construction mechanisms. Staff said an integrated construction contracting mechanism with a $75,000,000 cap is planned to carry the bulk of construction work and that spot repairs this year are being handled through a separate on‑call construction contract with roughly $3.5 million available for spot repairs requested through 311.
After extended questioning and requests for benchmarks tied to 2025 deliverables, Committee Chair Daryl Watts asked for a motion to postpone to allow staff to return with more specifics. Council President Anna Sandoval moved to delay; Councilmember Torres seconded. The committee voted by voice to postpone the item to the April 1 Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting. The postponement was approved by voice vote; no oppositions or abstentions were recorded.
The committee removed the item from immediate consideration to give DOTTI time to return with a clearer timeline, a matrix of contracting mechanisms, and more specific short‑term deliverables and benchmarks for how the first year of the contract would be used.
