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Residents urge wildlife protection, sustainability and better police follow‑up during public comment
Summary
During public comment at the May 12 Westminster City Council meeting, residents asked the city to protect burrowing-owl habitat on Woman Creek property, criticized proposed projects as unsustainable, reported suspected porch‑package theft and questioned police follow‑up, and urged more park maintenance.
Several residents used the May 12 public comment period to press the city on wildlife protection, sustainability practices, police responsiveness and park maintenance.
Burrowing owls and open space
Sherry Griffin told council that the city’s open space team and consultants had confirmed the presence of burrowing owls on the Woman Creek property. "The burrowing owls are back on the Woman Creek property," Griffin said, and she urged the city to "please continue to protect their habitat on the Woman Creek property." Griffin described meadowlarks and raptors she had observed locally and asked the council to keep existing social trails unimproved to encourage owls to return and flourish.
Sustainability and city projects
Karen Calabity criticized city projects she said are not financially or environmentally sustainable, naming the city’s planned water treatment plant site and a proposed municipal court building. She urged reuse over demolition at the Sheridan Green/Stratford Park site and recommended building to net‑zero energy standards and prioritizing reuse to lower embodied carbon from new construction.
Package theft and police response
Craig Russell reported finding a large number of undelivered and opened Amazon boxes in a private dumpster, which he believed were the result of porch thefts. He said a responding Westminster Police officer declined to treat the incident as a crime and expressed disappointment that the department appeared unlikely to follow up, despite video surveillance he said was available. "It just didn't seem like he was gonna follow-up on it," Russell said.
Parks maintenance
Jim Fenimore and other speakers pressed the city to invest in routine park maintenance, saying weeds and poor upkeep are degrading some park areas. Fenimore said city staff met him onsite and that he urged prioritizing maintenance of existing parks before adding new ones.
Staff response and follow up
City Manager Jody Andrews told speakers that staff follow up on requests: "If you do raise something where you require a follow-up, our staff will follow-up with each speaker that asks for that." Councilors also acknowledged the comments—Councilor Ireland urged consequences for theft and Councilor Carmelia thanked speakers for highlighting wildlife and other concerns.
Speakers at the meeting emphasized protecting habitat on the Woman Creek property, prioritizing reuse and low‑carbon strategies for city facilities, and ensuring police and maintenance follow‑up for neighborhood quality‑of‑life issues.
