GREELEY, Colo. — City staff asked the Greeley City Council on a June 2025 work session to authorize formation of temporary subcommittees to provide deeper, more frequent review of large initiatives such as West Greeley development, major transportation projects and downtown civic campus planning.

Staff said the subcommittees would meet publicly, post agendas and report back to the full council so regular meeting agendas are not overloaded. “This will be much like the West Greeley updates that we did throughout that project where we met almost weekly,” a staff member said, adding the groups would be recommended to meet monthly and be reevaluated after six months.

The proposal calls for three initial focus areas: West Greeley, transportation projects including the merge project and the Highway 34/County Road 17 interchange, and downtown redevelopment and civic campus planning. Staff recommended committees of three to four councilmembers and said the intent is that committees would sunset with their projects. “These are intended to sunset with the project,” staff said.

Councilmembers broadly voiced support for limited, focused committees rather than creating many standing groups. “I do want us to not go down that road. I think that just becomes, like, a weird little clique about specific issues,” Councilmember Butler said, while acknowledging the three suggested committees are large enough in scope to make the approach useful. Councilmember Baden said three committees could spread workload so the same two members aren’t always doing the heavy lifting.

Staff also noted the mayor has authority under the city’s policies and protocols to appoint councilmembers to committees and recommended the council take formal action at a future regular agenda to nominate members. No formal votes were taken in the work session; staff will return with a nomination item for the council’s agenda.

Supporters emphasized transparency and efficiency: posted agendas and public meetings would replace the informal “two-by-two” member meetings some councilmembers said can feel like secondhand briefing. At the same time, multiple councilmembers asked staff to limit the number of committees and to ensure clear reporting and sunset language.

Next steps: staff will place a nomination item on a regular council agenda for official formation and appointment. The council asked that proposed membership, meeting frequency, and a six‑month review be included when the item returns to the full council.