The Denver City Council held their latest meeting on Monday evening and passed several items affecting West Denver. If you missed the action, you can find full meeting agendas, minutes, and videos here.

Looking at the development of Re-Imagine Play at Paco Sanchez Park in West Denver, the council approved $259,726 in additional funding and a new end date of Dec. 30, 2020 for Phase II of the project’s construction, including facilities and recreational space around the playground. The council also approved a $3.3 million contract with Insituform Technologies LLC for a one year rehabilitation of sewer mains with structural deterioration problems in Council Districts 3, 7, 9 and 10, including much of West Denver.

In housing news, the council adopted an intergovernmental agreement with the Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver, to provide assistance to low-income homeowners participating in the West Denver Single Family Plus program in Council Districts 3, 7, and 9. The program will provide soft second mortgages for the construction of accessory dwelling units, to serve as an income-generation and anti-displacement tool.

On a similar theme, the council adopted a resolution to accept a $629,750 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide rental assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness through the Continuum of Care Bedrock program, citywide.

Besides the regular city council meeting, there was also a meeting yesterday of the Special Issues Marijuana Committee. The session included a briefing on cannabis social consumption special event permitting from the Department of Excise & License, a state legislative update by the Marijuana Industry Group, and a briefing on HB19-1230 — a bill before the Colorado General Assembly concerning marijuana hospitality establishments — and its impacts to Denver, by a representative of the City Attorney’s Office. If you missed the details, the video is available here.

And if you missed last week’s City Council meeting on May 6, the council adopted several other citywide initiatives relevant to West Denver. The council adopted a resolution amending a contract with The Salvation Army to provide additional outreach services to the homeless. The agreement adds $189,000 for a new total of $551,762 and extends the contract until the end of 2019, to provide additional after-hours programming and other services in collaboration with the Denver Street Outreach Collaborative (DSOC) and Denver’s Road Home.

The council also approved a proposed Memorandum of Agreement between the City and County of Denver and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. for in-kind technical assistance to implement climate programs and policies around transportation, electric vehicles and building codes. Also benefiting residents throughout the city, the council passed a bill establishing a new Public Art Contributions Capital Fund for expenditures related to planning, design and construction of existing or new public art, citywide.