Happy hump day, Longmont! Pour one out for anyone who attended the Longmont City Council meeting last night. It started a half-hour late and didn’t end until shortly after 1 a.m. Ahh, the thrills of local government.
Today, we’re breaking down the aforementioned city council meeting (a lot happened), a local wine bar’s new digs, and dropping home values in Longmont.
Let’s dive in.
TOP STORY
🌎City council approves ballot questions on ranked choice voting & a public safety tax
Dozens of young adults hanging out at a city council meeting past midnight sounds unlikely. Yet, it happened.
Longmont City Council hosted another marathon meeting last night that began with a 30-minute delay after a family emergency forced Councilmember Alex Kalkhofer to abruptly transition his presence at the meeting from physical to virtual. What followed was nearly six hours of trademark local government action.
City council voted to approve two new measures for the November ballot. The first would ask voters to implement ranked choice voting. The second asks voters to approve a new tax to fund more positions for the chronically-underfunded Longmont Public Safety.
Ranked Choice Voting:
City council voted 6-1 to direct staff to draft a ballot measure regarding RCV, with Councilmember Diane Crist in opposition. Before the vote, more than a dozen Longmont residents spoke in support of the move. More interestingly, nearly all of them appeared to be college-aged, or not far from it. Several people also urged rejecting the proposal.
Pros of RCV:
It allows people to vote for their favorite candidates rather than vote strategically. For example, if you don’t think your favorite candidate has a chance of winning, you may instead use your vote for one of the two perceived most popular candidates.
There’s strong evidence for a wealth of benefits. Mayor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring cited research from the American Bar Association that found RCV is associated with higher voter turnout, increased voter engagement, greater satisfaction with Democracy, and no strong evidence that voters are confused by the system, among other advantages.
Cons:
The cost: New estimates show implementation could cost up to $150,000 (liberal estimate), and annual costs would be roughly $7,000.
Election results may take longer to finalize.
For what it’s worth, some residents speculate RCV is a communist scheme.
If Longmont voters give it the green light, the new system would begin in 2029.
Public Safety Tax:
City council also agreed to place a measure on the ballot that asks voters to approve a new tax that would fund nearly 100 new jobs, over the next 10 years, for Longmont Public Safety, primarily for police and fire. The tax would pull from a mix of property and sales taxes.
Both measures will return to city council in August to finalize ballot language.
Headlines
3 Big Things
City council votes 6-1 to accept FAA grants: Despite widespread objections from many locals, Longmont will receive a $1.5 million grant to fund the reconstruction of taxilanes at Vance Brand Municipal Airport. Critics were concerned that accepting the funds would force the city to begrudgingly become obligated to follow federal guidelines that conflicted with city ethics. Most notably, the grant mandates that recipients cannot implement DEI programs that break anti-discrimination laws. However, Longmont’s City Attorney, Eugene Mei, reassured council that Longmont’s current order of operations already avoids conflict with federal rules. City council emphasized that accepting the grants is about the airport’s financial sustainability. If the grants were rejected, the city would’ve had to bear the full cost of reconstruction. Councilmember Popkin said the funds mark the largest amount of federal money the airport has been offered since as far back as 2000.
Longmont home values continue descent: Home values in Longmont are down 2.2% over the last year, now standing at an average of $557,628, according to new data from Zillow. It continues a largely downward trend seen since Summer 2022 when values peaked at over $612,000. Now, a new report from the Colorado Association of Realtors shows the Boulder County housing market is slowing earlier than expected, even as sellers proactively cut prices. Condos and townhomes saw an especially dramatic drop in price, falling about 15%. The report says rising HOA dues are having a significant effect on demand.
Kuper Wine Bar officially opens new downtown location: Today, Kuper Wine Bar completes its 300-foot move from 600 Longs Peak Ave. to 704 Main St. The downtown wine hub held a soft opening for its members last week, but it’s now ready for the rest of Longmont. It’s also hosting a grand opening celebration this Saturday with live music from Tribonacci. The new space has an expanded patio, new tasting room, and a club room. Make your reservations here.
Check this out
City council votes unanimously to buy Longmont YMCA building
In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, Longmont City Council approved the purchase of the Longmont YMCA building.
Last Thursday, the City of Longmont announced it had entered into an agreement with YMCA of Northern Colorado to purchase the Lashley Street property for $4.5 million. Ahead of the vote, about a dozen Longmont residents spoke out about the potential purchase. Resident opinions were split down the middle on whether the city should move forward.
Breaking it down:
Those opposed argue…
Funds should be used to support improvements and expansions to the aging Centennial Pool which often deals with overcrowding.
The YMCA building lacks the capacity and infrastructure to support the community’s needs.
The YMCA closed for financial challenges and the city will likely suffer from the same challenges.
A rebuke:
Jeff Friesner, Senior Director of Community Enrichment for the City of Longmont, said the city currently has $8.4 million in recreation impact fees waiting to be used. That’s a fund created in 2016 by city council to pay for future recreation needs. Friesner says that money is ineligible to be used in any capacity at Centennial Pool. Rather, the funds are earmarked for new recreational additions to the community.
Friesner adds…
The City of Longmont runs business differently from the YMCA. For example, the YMCA scarcely utilized drop-in fees, which account for 40-50% of revenue at the Longmont Recreation Center.
The city remains staunch in keeping Centennial Pool afloat.
Expansions down the road, like a year-round ice rink, are still on the table
City Manager Harold Dominguez said he also expects the purchase to open the door for other expansions, especially in youth sports.
Big picture:
The city has been working to address spiking demand for recreation services for years. Previous attempts to build entirely new recreation facilities were squashed by voters in elections. City leaders said similar attempts can always be made in the future, but the opportunity to address the demand for recreation options, not to mention increase the supply of childcare services, is an opportunity to valuable to forego.
Last Call
Average gas prices in Longmont-Boulder jumped again, now at $3.84, a 27-cent increase from last week, according to AAA.
Weather forecasts continue to show a sunny and clear week for Longmont. But there’s a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Sunday, per the National Weather Service.
Calling all kids: Longmont City Council wants to hear opinions from the city’s youth. Drinks and donuts will be provided at the event this Saturday.
300 Suns has returned the fan-favorite Teriyaki Burger to its menu.
U.S. Inflation eased in June to 3.5%. It’s the biggest monthly decrease since April 2020.
Until next time,
The Longmont Brief