Thornton Civic Observatory

City Council Update and Meeting Replay for June 10, 2025

Written by

observer

in

Click on the agenda item in the menu to the right of the video to go to that part of the playback.

While the summary below is intended to be fair, it may contain errors and is ultimately one person’s interpretation. All interested parties are encouraged to view the relevant portions of the meeting recording to come to their own conclusions.

The summary is not comprehensive but notes highlights from the session.

Update Session

At the start of the session, Mayor Pro Tem Bigelow and Council Member Russell were not in attendance but were planning to call in. Council Member Sandgren was attending remotely.

A follow-up discussion on homelessness with Adams County representatives that was scheduled for 6/17 was postponed by the county.

State Legislative Summary

Council heard a summary of the state legislative session from Peggi O’Keefe of Clear Strategies,

O’Keefe noted the possibility of a special session to address Medicaid funding should proposed federal budget cuts go into effect and on AI legislation but did not expect other issues to be part of a special session should it be called.

The city took positions on 16 bills.

Council was asked for its thoughts on the session.

Council Member Ayala asked if the city could be provided information on the positions of other organizations beyond the business community. Ayala said that she felt as though she had to be the “voice for labor” in those bill discussions (19:13). Ayala specifically asked for information from homeless advocacy organizations.

Mayor Kulmann described feeling as if they were on the defense against attempts to take away local control and asked if there were ways to be more on the offense (20:56).

Update on Fiber Installations in the City

The city’s executive director of utilities and infrastructure briefed the council on fiber development in Thornton.

In 2023, Thornton and Ting entered into an agreement for citywide fiber. Ting encountered difficulties fulfilling that agreement, and in May 2025, Ting and Thornton amended the agreement to allow Intrepid to complete the majority of the construction of the fiber network.

Page 26 in the update packet depicts areas around Colorado Blvd between 120th and 104th Ave. where Intrepid will be installing up to 338,000 linear feet of fiber starting in summer 2025.

Other Fiber network companies are planning to or have installed fiber in Thornton: Lumen, Google, and Metronet.

Update on Charter Review

The city attorney described the findings of the review process thus far as indicating no substantive changes being needed. Instead, proposed amendments would clean up language within the charter.

The attorney sought input from the council on any changes they would like to propose. Attorney mentioned that one open issue is whether a partial term counts as a full term (28:20).

Changes to the charter can be started by citizen petition or by council vote. Either option results in the proposed change being placed on the ballot for voter approval.

The charter has been amended 17 times.

Page 33 in the update packet lists the suggested changes to clarify and update language in the charter. The city attorney explained that the changes are not urgent or necessary as the current charter language can still be interpreted.

The city attorney asked if the council wanted to start the process for placing amendments on the ballot for this year, delaying, and potentially creating a wider engagement process in 2026 that could include a temporary citizen committee to participate in the review process.

Council Member Ayala voiced support for a broader engagement process, particularly for any more substantive changes. She supported completing the clean-up changes for a November 2025 vote.

Mayor Kulmann noted that doing the clean-up this year would be cost-effective with a municipal election already scheduled. Council Member Martinez also voiced support for completing the clean-up this year.

Council Member Ayala also asked if a comparison could be made to other municipalities regarding the petition signature requirements for citizen-initiated amendments, voicing concern that the current requirements are impossible to meet (50:54).

Annual Public Art Update

The city’s public art coordinator brief the council on 2024-2025 public art projects.

2024 saw Thornton’s first public art tour: 12 pieces in a 27-mile loop. An online version of the tour is available. The city also maintains a digital art and history archive.

A Native American history and heritage sculpture project scheduled for Aylor Open Space did not originally get proposals from Native American artists. The city is working with 1st Tribal Consulting to re-work the call for proposals.

Council Member Ayala asked what policies the city has regarding guerrilla art, such as a mural being painted in the Grandview Ponds pedestrian underpass on 104th Ave.

The city is aware of who the artist is and is not planning to cover the mural at this time but does want to be able to channel the artist’s work into more appropriate avenues.

Council Meeting

Council Members Russell and Sandgren and Mayor Pro Tem Bigelow attended the meeting remotely.

The council considered resolutions for the following: declaring June 2025 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Colorado, declaring July 2025 as national Parks and Recreation Month; declaring July 2, 2025 as national Wildland Firefighter Day, and condemning the antisemitic attack in Boulder.

Beckie Bean, member of the Thornton Arts, Sciences, and Humanities Council and chair of the Pride event committee, gave a presentation the LGBTQ+ Pride Month resolution (13:13).

Bean noted how the city’s Pride and Juneteenth celebrations are scheduled just two days apart this year. She acknowledged the importance of intersectionality, describing the background of and reading a poem by Audre Lorde, “A Litany for Survival.”

During discussion of the resolution condemning the antisemitic attack in Boulder, Mayor Kulmann warned about hate being disguised as political speech.

Audience Participation

The first speaker spoke on how law in the U.S. has been weaponized against queer Americans, such as during the Lavender Scare. He said that if the council agrees to housing restrictions based on sex offender lists, then they will be persecuting queer members of the community.

The second speaker was Eliza Namazi, Dariush Namazi’s wife. She spoke of threats made against her and her husband made by city employees at Thorntonfest, including a threat to kill their pets. She accused Mayor Kulmann of lying in court testimony.

The third speaker was Dariush Namazi who described his experience of harassment while protesting at Thorntonfest, including how the people at the Adams County Republican table repeatedly threatened to bring Mayor Kulmann over to their table so as to intentionally get Namazi arrested again for violating the protection order the mayor has against him.

The fourth speaker was District 31 State House Representative Jacque Phillips (47:45). She said that people should come to her before a bill is heard in committee to share concerns.

The fifth speaker continued his ongoing objection to the land acknowledgment.

The sixth speaker, wearing a Jacque Phillips t-shirt, spoke of ongoing concerns with water quality as a resident at a mobile home park in Thornton.

The seventh speaker was Kathy Henson, former council member and current Adams County commissioner. She voiced appreciation for the work done on Pride Month and antisemitism, and she voiced concerns about city resources being used for a private event.

In reply to Henson, the mayor said, “It’s already been addressed internally” but did not elaborate (58:00).

Council Comment and Communication

Council Member Martinez celebrated the success of Thorntonfest. He thanked the speaker who asked questions about mobile home water quality. He described an upcoming planning event from the Colorado Department of Transportation where he will advocate for the city.

Council Member Salazar also thanked the water quality speaker. She offered appreciation for the street light replacement project on 88th Ave.

Council Member Ayala expressed concerns about how the conversation on immigration is being handled at the state and national level and expressed her commitment to human rights and immigrant justice.

Council Member Sandgren thanked the parks and recreation staff for their work at various city events. She also thanked the city’s budget team. She continued her protest of factoids against the land acknowledgment.

Council Member Unrein voiced appreciation for Thorntonfest and the work put into the event. He also reminded residents to be aware of construction projects that are serving to keep our city infrastructure healthy.

Council Member Acunto also thanked those who made Thorntonfest a success and reiterated his appreciation for support for the resolution condemning the antisemitic attack.

Council Member Russell described various events he had attended, including a neighborhood clean-up.

He reported attending the city council campaign kick-off events for Sam Nizam and Eric Montoya: “It’s very encouraging to see people step up and get involved in public service. Both those individuals have previously served on council, so they are coming back to continue the work they did before.”

[Point of clarification: neither Nizam nor Montoya are running unopposed. For more information on the 2025 municipal race, see this post. Some commentary is provided here, and candidate websites are linked here.]

Mayor Pro Tem Bigelow also thanked everyone for their contributions to Thorntonfest. She elaborated on her comments on the resolution condemning the antisemitic attack, emphasizing her record of consistently advocating for a Thornton where all residents feel safe and welcome.

She condemned those who only speak out against Israeli actions in Palestine and not other crises around the globe, such as Yemen, Myanmar, Ethiopa, or China. She described those people as “supporting the global intifada against free nations” (1:22:35).

She also said that “the job of the city council is not to weigh in on international issues” (1:23:11) and that “personally, I do stand with Israel” (1:23:20).

Mayor Kulmann offered thanks to the Thornton Community Band. She described various meetings she had attended.

Kulmann said that Dariush Namazi “aggressively targeted and harassed women working at the Republican booth.” She went on to describe how Namazi’s conduct is not protected speech but harassment (1:26:21). According to Namazi’s comments early in the meeting, police did not find his behavior unlawful.

She indicated that unnamed persons are “complicit” in Namazi’s behavior. She demanded all city council candidates condemn Namazi’s behavior.

When Namazi was arrested for allegedly violating Kulmann’s protection charge, the Adams County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charge after police body cam footage was released and failed to support a criminal charge as reported by Fox31.

For context, Namazi has a long-running protest, acting in a far-right caricature persona called “Danny Kulmann.” In that persona, he explicitly articulates positions that conservatives often shield behind a veneer of respectability and reasonableness.

Staff Reports

Staff provided an update on the Thornton Shopping Center, which is in the clean-up phase of the project. As of May 20, 2025, the project is on budget.

The city is working with Civistruct to manage the request for proposals for redevelopment projects of the site.

Council Member Martinez asked whether the site cleanup might interfere with the request for proposal process. Staff indicated that the process is proceeding as expected and that there should be no unexpected delays.

Martinez also asked about how the guidelines for the request for proposals guidelines were established in collaboration with the consultant. Staff indicated that they were running various scenarios based on the property and the zoning uses assigned to it. Council will be given an opportunity for input on those scenarios.

Council Member Unrein asked for an update on the post office. Staff indicated that no new updates were available.

Consent Calendar

Council passed the consent calendar items unanimously.

New Motion – Moving Audience Participation Earlier

Before the meeting was adjorned, Council Member Salazar moved to create an ordinance that would move audience participation at council meetings back to an earlier time in the agenda. Council Member Martinez seconded the motion.

Salazar noted that she’s consistently observed people leaving the meetings before the late time at which audience participation currently occurs.

Martinez said that although he had voted to move audience participation later, the know understands that to have been a mistake. He has also observed people leaving before audience participation and has received constituent feedback criticizing the later time.

Mayor Pro Tem Bigelow had supported the original change but said that she’d support audience participation as the first agenda item and public hearings as the second item. Bigelow moved for an amendment to reflect that order; that motion was seconded.

Council Member Sandgren objected to both versions because city council meetings are “business meetings.” She does not believe those giving testimony at public hearings should have to wait. She does not think the council should be making business decisions at late hours.

Mayor Kulmann said that the idea should have been presented at a planning session. She had a similar objection when Council Member Salazar moved to vote on the council code of conduct.

Bigelow’s amended motion passed in a 5-4 vote (Bigelow, Russell, Martinez, Salazar, and Ayala yes; Unrein, Acunto, Sandgren, and Kulmann no).

More posts