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Resident urges clearer outreach on downtown curb plan; city staff urges coordination on fundraising
Summary
Ruthie Brown told council she feels attacked and complained that Centennial Park and downtown curb designs offered no alternatives; city staff responded that CDOT requires the secondary curbs for safety, that some donated projects may not proceed without staff coordination, and asked residents to consult staff before fundraising for city projects.
Resident Ruthie Brown used the public-comment period to criticize the city’s outreach on downtown design and to defend community fundraising she organized for flags and other projects. “I’m not going away,” Brown said, adding she had shared emails with more than 30 people and that 100 percent of them supported her concerns.
Brown said she saw only one plan option during a planning meeting and asked how many signatures it would take to remove the temporary curbs downtown. She also asked whether it was wrong to ask for community advice or to disagree with the city plan for Centennial Park and downtown curbs.
A city staff speaker responded that the city cannot stop members of the public from fundraising but emphasized that staff try to make clear when projects have not yet been approved so donors understand the risk that a project might not happen. The staff member said the city had asked Brown to clarify wording on a social-media post to avoid implying that a city project was guaranteed and said that, after consultation, staff placed a clarifying comment on the post.
On the curb question, staff told the council that the secondary curb configuration was included in the community-driven downtown plan and that Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has the long-term sidewalk extension on a 10-year plan; staff said CDOT considers the curb configuration a safety requirement and described the current curb as a temporary solution that would be replaced by a full sidewalk extension later.
Why it matters: the exchange highlights resident frustration about engagement and the practical limits of city authority where state agencies (CDOT) set engineering requirements; staff urged clearer communication to avoid misunderstandings in community fundraising and design expectations.
Councilors later urged staff to do more public outreach explaining CDOT’s role and the downtown plan timeline.
