Communicating City Affairs to Residents
Do you know that the City plans to convert its inline skating rink into pickleball courts? (The skating rink lies just west of the Recreation and Senior Center along Via Appia.) If you did know before reading the first sentence, then did you know a month or even a year ago? For the past few years the City has been working towards siting and constructing pickleball courts. (I appreciate that these efforts have yet to yield any dedicated courts.) Stemming from the repurposing of the skating rink proposed in the City’s 2012 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan, permanently converting the skating rink into pickleball courts arose as a potential means to this end. Over the past year the Recreation Advisory Board, City Council’s Finance Committee, and City Council have discussed this project on multiple occasions, culminating in its inclusion in the City’s 2025-2026 biennial budget. (City Council approved this budget shortly before I was elected.) Despite all of this consideration, many residents were completely unaware of this project until quite recently: the news hit Facebook about a month ago, instigating an outpouring of letters to and comments before the Recreation Advisory Board and City Council. How could so many residents be completely unaware of a public-facing project that has been working its way through City channels for so long? Frankly, the City did not adequately communicate with its residents. Now, in response to this outpouring, City Council will revisit its decision to convert the skating rink into pickleball courts at its meeting this Tuesday (15 April). You can access the meeting packet here, and you are welcome to comment in person or virtually.
Unfortunately, failures to adequately communicate City affairs to residents, as in the case of converting the skating rink to pickleball courts, are not uncommon. Most notably of late, the City inadequately informed residents about plans to restripe Via Appia, Polk Avenue, and Dahlia Street; a pause on City Council’s unanimous decision ensued so that City staff could perform adequate public outreach. (Of note, the City’s current Comprehensive and Transportation Master Plans, adopted respectively in 2013 and 2019, speak to the possibility of such restripings.) Less notably of late, after City Council decided not to close Main Street to traffic for the summer of 2024, City Council received one of the largest outpouring of letters that I have encountered, all advocating for a closure. Evidently, many residents were completely unaware of City Council’s timeline for consideration of a closure. I could cite other examples of varying import, but these two examples probably suffice.
The City and City Council would benefit tremendously from a well and widely informed public. In particular, decision-making processes would proceed more productively, smoothly, and transparently if the City received all pertinent feedback from residents in a timely manner. Failures of communication create the (usually false) impression that the City and City Council make decisions without sufficient input from residents or, worse, prefer to make decisions without any input from residents. Reconsideration of previous decisions owing to failures of communication creates additional work for City staff, City Council, and residents. Based on my engagement over the past five years, the City and City Council certainly want and usually attempt to include residents as much as possible in the City’s decision-making processes. As a City Councilor I desire and value such input.
To be clear, the City is not legally at fault. Colorado State laws require the City to provide sufficient notice of all public meetings of the City Council, City boards, and City commissions. Based on my experience of reviewing meeting packets for the past five years, I can affirm that the City meets its legal notification requirements almost without fail. On the one hand, these legal requirements suffice: for instance, I have been aware of the City’s plans to convert the skating rink into pickleball courts for at least a year, and I have been able to comment publicly on this project. But, most residents have not looked at almost every meeting packet for the past five years; indeed, most residents do not pay any attention to meeting packets. So, on the other hand, these legal requirements do not suffice: the posted notifications do not broadly reach and inform the public.
To be clearer, the City does not stop at its legal notification requirements. Based on my engagement over the past five years, I can also affirm that the City makes concerted efforts to communicate with its residents. Especially for prominent projects like the ongoing Comprehensive Plan update, the City performs considerable public outreach. The City’s quarterly update, monthly newsletter, and email notification system regularly convey pertinent information. The City recently hired dedicated communications staff, who have made notable improvements. Later this year the City will begin to revamp its website, primarily to improve its capacity to communicate.
Still, the City and City Council should further improve the communication of City affairs to residents. At least two issues stand in the way: what to communicate and how to communicate. What upcoming decisions, policies, or projects should the City prioritize for communicating to residents? City staff and City Council cannot always divine which decisions, policies, or projects will garner attention, generate pushback, or sow division. Clearly, the City should have communicated more thoroughly about the skating rink-to-pickleball courts conversion, but, for instance, how thoroughly should the City communicate about its wastewater treatment plant expansion? What channels of communication would improve the City’s outreach to residents? City staff and City Council only have limited means of communication currently at their disposal. In certain instances, like the skating rink-to-pickleball court conversion, signage at the affected location would likely prove helpful. Local Facebook groups often prove useful for disseminating information, but, as an organization the City cannot typically post directly to these groups. Should City Councilors assume responsibility for posting about City affairs or at least sharing posts from the City? If you have any suggestions for how to improve communication of City affairs to residents, then please share your thoughts.
I have conveyed these concerns to our new City manager, and I am hopeful that the City will make further progress soon. For the moment I look forward to tomorrow night’s reconsideration of the skating rink-to-pickleball courts conversion, now informed more broadly and thoroughly by resident input.
