Cañon City committee future debated; chair will draft resolution for June 18

Chair opened the meeting by saying the committee would discuss its future after council held a related discussion on Monday and tabled a final decision until June 18. “I am absolutely willing to be here and to engage and to try to move forward the work of this committee,” the Chair said, and added she will draft a resolution for council consideration on June 18 and circulate it to advisory-group members for feedback.

Committee participants described two primary models under consideration: a focused, single-project approach that completes one item before moving on, and a committee-of-the-whole workshop model intended to build council cohesion and shared context. A business owner who attends the committee raised concerns about whether the committee’s work had sufficient council support and asked how nonresident stakeholders should be treated; the participant said, “I’m a business owner in the city,” and argued business stakeholders bring important perspectives.

Staff feedback was a central concern: the city administrator surveyed senior staff and reported some officials believe the current committee structure is not the most effective way to move government work forward, though several members noted that citizen participation has improved since the committees began. Committee members and participants advocated keeping meaningful citizen input while reducing redundancy and giving council better context before Monday meetings.

The Chair said she will prepare a draft resolution that reflects the conversation and asked members to review a straw-man before June 18. The committee agreed to continue informal advisory engagement on targeted topics whether or not the formal committee structure is retained.