For three months at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, Golden's involved residents engaged in a discussion (sometimes heated, always interesting) about the proposed Jefferson Parkway north of town. Based on the community's ideas, City Council adopted a formal position: supporting an agreement with the tollway proponents if it would truly protect Golden and calling for litigation if we couldn't get an agreement. The City's negotiators Mike Bestor and Jacob Smith went back to the negotiation table with the February resolution as as their guideline. The negotiations were kicked into high gear when Governor Hickenlooper convened a confidential, facilitated process. Yesterday -- the parties came to a tentative agreement; now -- Golden must decide whether to enter into it. The problem -- City Council must reach that decision at a special meeting called for next
Thursday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m. and a formalized draft will not be available before Tuesday. Further, until the lawyers for all the jurisdictions have signed off on the exact language, we can't share any details. The timing is terrible, but there are very real reasons for completing the deal by the end of the year--and during the busy holiday season.
Here's the bottom line: under the agreement is Jefferson Parkway would not be allowed to begin construction until we have the $57 million required for the top three mitigation project priorities in Golden's plan: grade separation at the dangerous 19th/6th intersection; noise and pollution barriers on highway 93; and realignment of highway 93 away from neighborhoods. I've been involved in the negotiations and know that things can go awry at the last minute. But as of now, the parties have agreed to terms that meet all the essentials set forth in council's February statement. Further, as a lawyer, I believe that it's better for us to set the City's course ourselves rather than leave it in the hands of the judicial system.
The City has sent out an official release, copied below. You can follow the news on either
the City's website or
the beltway specific site (where you can sign up for email updates).
Marjorie Sloan
District 1 councilor and Mayor-elect
Golden City Council to consider Jefferson Parkway agreement at special meeting on Dec. 15
Agreement would provide $57 million for mitigation and transportation improvements for Golden
December 9, 2011
Negotiations between the City of Golden, Arvada, Jefferson County, the Jefferson Public Parkway Highway Authority and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) have resulted in the terms of a proposed agreement that will be considered by the Golden City Council at a special meeting on Thursday, Dec. 15. The negotiations were convened earlier this year by Governor John Hickenlooper and CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt in an effort to resolve a long-running conflict between neighboring jurisdictions.
Golden Mayor Jacob Smith and City Manager Mike Bestor, who represented the City over months of negotiations, are recommending that City Council approve the agreement assuming the final details are consistent with our expectations.
The City Council meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 911 10th Street, Golden. City Council encourages public testimony and comment, in person or in writing, prior to the Council vote. Comments can be emailed to
citycouncil@cityofgolden.net.
Under the agreement, construction on the proposed Jefferson Parkway would be permitted only after $57 million is secured to address traffic mitigation in Golden. In exchange for this commitment, Golden would agree to stop opposing the Jefferson Parkway and remove its competing application for right-of-way at the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge.
In February, the Golden City Council unanimously approved a motion to continue negotiations over the Jefferson Parkway. At that vote, the City Council considered comments from three hours of public testimony, an earlier series of four community meetings attended by a total of 470 people, and submitted through
GetTheFactsGolden.org. The comments from the community meetings and
GetTheFactsGolden.org will be provided to the City Council as part of their packets for the Dec. 15 meeting.
The February motion supported continuing negotiations towards a binding Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA). It directed city staff to “to seek an enhanced IGA that will provide greater certainty of funding for the priority elements of the Muller Plan; addresses noise and other pollution mitigation and monitoring for northern neighborhoods, including Mitchell Elementary; addresses improvements to Highway 93 north of Golden; addresses improvement of other arterials outside the city limits to disburse traffic; includes provisions for no non-compete agreements that will impact travel on other alternative roadways that serve the area; requires CDOT be a part of the process and agreement; addresses Rocky Flats contamination issues, particularly during construction if it occurs; and addresses timing of key roadway improvements in Golden and sequencing of those improvements before parkway construction begins.”
“This is a good agreement to fund the transportation improvements and mitigation Golden needs to protect the interests of Golden citizens. We’re recommending that the City Council approve it,” said Golden City Manager Mike Bestor.
“We had an extensive community outreach effort, we listened carefully, and we adopted a negotiating position reflecting what we heard,” he added. “Now we have an agreement that does what the community and City Council asked for.”
“We appreciate the leadership of Gov. John Hickenlooper and CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt, who helped bring the different parties to the table work constructively towards an agreement,” said Golden Mayor Jacob Smith. “However, it’s not final until we work out the remaining details and unless it’s endorsed by the Golden City Council and the other entities who participated in the negotiations. The dynamics of this issue require that the Golden City Council consider the agreement within a very short timetable. We’re committed to ensuring that Golden citizens receive additional details as soon as they’re available.”
Transportation and Mitigation Agreement
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December 8, 2011
In an effort to collaboratively address regional transportation and mitigation needs, representatives of City of Golden, Jefferson County, City of Arvada, Jefferson Public Parkway Highway Authority (JPPHA) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), are recommending to their governing bodies a proposed agreement that:
- Recognizes the need for mitigation in the City of Golden for traffic impacts of any new Jefferson Parkway construction;
- Commits $57 million to address traffic mitigation before the construction on the Jefferson Parkway;
- Immediately contributes $9.2 million in an escrow account to be used for implementing the mitigation projects; Golden may use up to $1.5 million immediately for the design of the mitigation projects;
- Removes the City of Golden’s competing application for Right-of-Way at the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge and removes the City of Golden’s opposition to the Jefferson Parkway;
- Facilitates regional cooperation to address additional long-term transportation needs of all parties;
- Implements the agreement before the end of 2012 as required by the Section 16 land purchase agreement at Rocky Flats
- Provides assurance of the terms of the Agreement though CDOT.
In summary, the Jefferson Parkway will be permitted to ‘move dirt’ only after the $57M for has been secured/committed for the mitigation projects in Golden; the Jefferson Parkway will not financially support any of Golden’s projects unless and until they have a concession for the project.
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