Northglenn councilmembers brief colleagues on NLC City Summit sessions covering small-business activation, first-responder tech and traffic safety

Mayor Pro Tem Lukeman and councilmembers who attended the 2024 National League of Cities (NLC) City Summit in Tampa presented a multi-topic debrief to the Northglenn City Council, summarizing vendor exhibits and policy sessions they said could inform local work on small-business activation, public-safety communications and road-safety technology.

The briefing, delivered during the council’s regular meeting, covered several sessions and vendor demonstrations. Lukeman said one session, “Save Our Town,” showed strategies for activating unused retail space through short-term pop-up arrangements designed to help small retailers gain customers without committing to permanent storefronts. “The whole point of this session was to talk about how to activate spaces that are unused, how to promote small businesses through means that don't involve using a lot of retail space,” Mayor Pro Tem Lukeman said.

The council also heard about FirstNet broadband — a federally authorized public–private program developed after the Sept. 11 attacks to prioritize first-responder communications during large incidents — and that individual first responders can enroll in FirstNet subscription services through carriers that participate in the program. Lukeman said the session described FirstNet as a “force multiplier” for on-scene communications during mass incidents.

Attendees highlighted traffic-safety technology discussed at the summit, including adaptive traffic-control systems (referred to in the briefing as ITRAZ) that pair intersection cameras and sensor data with software to identify high-crash locations and adjust signal timing to protect vulnerable road users. Lukeman recounted an example in which a system can delay a signal change if a pedestrian or wheelchair user is still in the crosswalk.

Councilmembers also summarized vendor exhibits of operational interest: Service Line Warranty, which offers household sewer and water-line replacement and is expanding coverage to water heaters; Text by Choice, a targeted multimedia messaging product for municipal outreach; and Brink, a private vendor promoting drones equipped to deliver medical supplies and support first-responder safety. Councilmember Kondo described a lease-to-own option for drones that includes midterm upgrades and loaner units during repairs.

Other sessions noted included the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer-protection materials for older adults and digital-security guidance, the What Works Cities certification program for municipal data-driven performance reviews, and constituency/networking meetings for Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander and women municipal officials. Councilmember McConnell reported work to form a Colorado Asian group of local elected officials after meeting national peers in Tampa.

Councilmembers discussed the value of bringing back vendor information and session materials to relevant staff committees; Lukeman said staff already had provided some materials to the business retention and expansion committee and the city’s public-safety staff. No formal council action was taken; the item was presented as informational and councilmembers asked staff to collect vendor materials and return any items that warrant further study.

The council’s discussion included several requests for follow-up: sharing FTC material with the city’s senior outreach coordinator; having staff review drone capabilities with the police department; and routing information on small-business activation to the business retention committee.

The debrief concluded with councilmembers urging the continuation of conference attendance for professional development and constituent networking.