Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rocky Flats Greenway topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents, health groups press Westminster for clear Rocky Flats signage and monitoring; city staff to present timeline
Summary
Multiple residents and public‑interest groups urged Westminster leaders to require radiation warning signage, barriers and air monitoring for the Rocky Mountain Greenway connection to Rocky Flats. City manager said staff will present a signage process and timeline at a future meeting and may work with community experts.
Residents and public‑interest organizations urged Westminster city leaders on April 28 to adopt more direct warnings and monitoring for the Rocky Mountain Greenway adjacent to the Rocky Flats site, citing public‑health concerns and an unclear public record about contamination.
Speakers from several organizations called for internationally recognized radiation symbols, clearer language about plutonium contamination and routine air monitoring. "With or without a physical barrier, it's imperative that strong and clear signs warning people of the contamination of the refuge with plutonium be used," Dr. Deborah Segaloff, a retired biomedical research scientist speaking for Physicians for Social Responsibility Colorado, said during public comment.
Giselle Herzfeld of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center thanked the council for a prior vote to withdraw Westminster land from Greenway development and urged the city to go further by installing informative signage and installing air monitoring. "Informative signage could include the internationally recognized radioactive symbol," she said. Chris Allred, also with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, urged a QR code linking to the Rocky Flats Right to Know website and referenced language from past state legislation that would have required specified warning signs.
A resident, Sherry Griffin, raised a series of questions about the status of the bridge over Indiana Street and whether any sampling or monitoring had paused construction. She asked whether counties or partners intended to avoid direct warning symbols and whether the refuge's buffer zone had been adequately remediated.
City manager Jody Andrews and staff responded that signage and public outreach are under active staff review. "We do have staff working on that, and we will have something back shortly that we can engage with city council. I do plan on presenting at the next meeting an update on the project. It will include... a process and a timeline around the signage," Andrews said during council comments.
What the city will do next: staff told council they will return with a proposed process and timeline for consistent signage and public outreach. Andrews also said staff might work with community members who offered to help review signage drafts.
No ordinance or binding policy change was adopted during the meeting; council directed staff to provide an update and consider community input on sign language and monitoring.
