Centennial council hears neighborhood services update on grants, pet licensing and short-term rentals

Centennial’s City Council heard a Neighborhood Services update at its Dec. 10 study session, where staff summarized 2024 grant awards and community programs, previewed a parks-and-trails eligible partner grant package, and outlined animal-services and code-compliance activity.

The presentation, led by Neighborhood Services staff member Mr. Thompson, said the city distributed neighborhood engagement grants (up to $500) to about 100 communities and that staff ‘gave over $47,000 in grant funds this year.’ Mr. Thompson described the small grants as a largely first-come, first-served program capped at two awards per community and ineligible for private entities such as religious or political groups.

Amy Wiedemann, a neighborhood services team member, summarized the eligible partner project grant program, which partners with nonprofits, park and recreation districts and Arapahoe County Open Space. Wiedemann said the Open Space Advisory Board recommended four projects for funding after five applications were received (one application was outside Centennial and was not accepted). She told the council the total funding requests for those applications were about $860,000 and noted that the program’s level‑3 funding is administered under City Council policy 2020CCP‑4.

Staff also described the city’s large community improvement grants (up to $10,000), reporting 33 applications in 2024 and awards to 10 communities, up from eight the prior year. Thompson highlighted local projects, including a new monument sign in Centennial Heights, playground upgrades in Forest Park, and trail/parking repairs and a community bulletin board in Chenango — projects staff said spurred additional resident investment.

On animal services, Thompson reported 5,088 calls for service in 2024, about 113 investigated animal bites and roughly 63 potentially dangerous‑animal investigations. He said Centennial plans to roll out a DocuPets pet‑licensing program in early 2025, with marketing and promotional discounts planned for April–May. “DocuPets is coming in 2025,” Thompson said.

The short‑term rental program, Thompson said, is 'down to under a 100 licenses that are active,' and staff recorded only one documented complaint in 2024 (a trash‑can complaint resolved with code compliance and the property owner). He described the licensing workflow as intentionally proactive so new licensees receive information up front to reduce later problems.

On code compliance, staff characterized enforcement as education‑first and complaint‑based, with voluntary compliance at about 97–98 percent. Thompson said the code team closed 916 cases in the year and indicated roughly 1,023 cases were opened (the speaker hedged the opened total). He also noted the city’s abatement tool is an important enforcement mechanism in current practice.

Council members asked questions about selection criteria and equity for small grants, whether the city can produce a 2024 map showing where grants were awarded (staff agreed to provide it), and a breakdown of MyCentennial app reports versus call‑center complaints (staff offered to follow up with the numbers). Councilor Carnes asked why some small‑grant applications were denied; Thompson reiterated the two‑per‑community cap and the exclusion of private entities as common reasons.

No motions or votes were taken during the presentation portion of the meeting. Staff said they will return with follow‑up material, including the grant distribution map and app‑vs‑call‑center metrics, and that Neighborhood Services will continue outreach to HOAs and district meetings in 2025 to boost engagement.

Ending: The council thanked staff for the update; staff said more detail would be provided in the coming months and that the eligible partner projects will proceed through the city’s funding process for formal consideration.