Usually, when a night ends at 1 a.m., it comes with a great story. But, not always.

Such was the case during Longmont City Council’s latest regular session, which nearly crossed the six-hour mark. However, some progress was made. Below is a brief overview of the biggest decisions made Tuesday night.

Asking voters to approve a new tax:

City council unanimously voted to direct staff to compile final options for a new question on the November ballot that would ask voters to approve a tax to fund nearly 100 new positions at Longmont Public Safety.

Last month, LPS staff sounded the alarm to city council on a chronic and rapidly worsening understaffing crisis in police and fire services. City council is eager to ameliorate the issue but division on where the taxes would come from persists. But, there is significant momentum for pulling from a mix of sources which could include:

City council will make a final decision in July.

Longmont rejects Superior:

City council unanimously voted not to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Town of Superior’s appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. Superior has been in the middle of a lengthy court battle against Jefferson County and Rocky Mountain Municipal Airport for excessive noise from aircraft. The town has been petitioning nearby governments to support their appeal.

The decision’s rationale remains a little hazy. Mayor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring said the following addressing the reason why:

“The reason why in conversations that I felt this is the direction we should go is going back to our vision. We have not had that conversation on vision. We have not had conversation on how we want governance and advisory board to look like…We own our own airport so we’re in a different position.”

Delaying a decision to accept federal & state grants to fund airport repairs:

This one is polarizing. Anti-airport sentiment has been on the rise as worsening aircraft noise continues to antagonize Longmont residents and that of many other towns and cities (see Superior).

Councilmembers debated whether to accept two grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and one from the State of Colorado to fund the reconstruction of taxilanes at Vance Brand Municipal Airport, which are at the end of their serviceable life.

Opponents to the grant maintain that the airport, which is owned by the city, needs to be financially self-sustainable and free from federal government interference.

But, rejecting the grant would come with a heavy cost. No matter what, the taxilanes need to be replaced. If the city rejects the grants, it will be on the hook to find $1.6 million to fund the project, which could come at the expense of other city services.

City council also…

Granted final approval to $5.4 million worth of affordable housing projects, abolished the Board of Adjustment & Appeals, and advanced a resolution on first reading to buy a 10-acre parcel of land north of Union Reservoir.