Too Long Didn’t Listen

* The FAA grants for Vance Brand Airport finally passed, 6-1. Council voted to accept two federal grants covering 95% of the cost to reconstruct the airport’s taxilanes. Mayor Pro Tem McCoy was the only vote in opposition.

* The city is moving forward with buying the YMCA. Council voted unanimously to direct staff to proceed with the $4.5 million purchase, funded by Recreation Impact Fees. Closing expected around October 9th.

* A public safety tax is heading to the November ballot. Council voted 6-1 (Crist opposed) to refer a 50/50 split of sales and property tax increases to voters for 10 years to fund public safety staffing needs.

* Ranked choice voting is also heading to the November ballot. Council voted 6-1 (Crist opposed) to refer a ballot question on ranked choice voting. First Reading August 11, Second Reading August 25. If it makes it to the ballot and voters approve, it would take effect starting with the 2029 elections.

The Big Ones

The Airport Grants Passed

Quick recap for anyone just tuning in: Vance Brand Airport’s two taxilanes, the paved paths aircraft use to get from the runway to the hangars, are at the end of their useful life. The FAA offered to cover 95% of the roughly $726,000 reconstruction cost. The city covers the rest from the Airport Fund.

The reason this took months: accepting FAA grants comes with conditions. The 2026 version requires the city to certify the airport doesn’t operate DEI programs (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs) that violate federal anti-discrimination law. Some council members worried about how broadly that language could be interpreted, and whether programs like a free flight initiative for young female pilots hosted at the airport could be seen as preferential under a broad reading.

Before the meeting, council held a pre-session specifically on the airport’s long-term vision. Several council members said it helped clarify their thinking. Prieto, who had been cautious in June, decided to vote yes with a long-term goal of making the airport more financially self-sustaining. Popkin said declining was fiscally irresponsible since the city is already obligated to do this repair regardless. The city had also already accepted FAA money for the design phase of this same project in 2025, so declining now would mean that work goes to waste.

McCoy voted no. He said the long-term vision conversation isn’t fully resolved and he wasn’t comfortable committing to more grant obligations until it is.

Passed 6-1, McCoy in opposition.

The City Is Buying the YMCA

The Longmont YMCA recently announced it’s closing. City staff spent about a year in quiet discussions about whether the city should buy the building. Longmont voters turned down bond measures for new recreation facilities in both 2019 and 2023. Staff formalized those conversations with a non-binding letter of intent last month, and tonight asked council for direction. Council voted unanimously to proceed.

Key details:

Purchase price: $4.5 million. Funded by $8.4 million in Recreation Impact Fees, which are fees collected from developers specifically for new recreation facilities. These fees legally cannot be used to fix up existing facilities, which is why some public comment speakers’ suggestion to use the money for Centennial Pool repairs instead isn’t actually an option.

Capital improvement needs: $7.96 million over 10 years. Projected cost recovery within four years of city operation. Closing expected around October 9th.

It reopens as a city recreation facility, not a YMCA. The community space stays. The brand doesn’t.

Growing Gardens, the community farm on the YMCA property that provides roughly 11,000 pounds of free produce annually to Longmont residents, was on many people’s minds. About four speakers came specifically for Growing Gardens. Staff will negotiate a separate agreement on the farm’s future. Nothing confirmed yet.

The meeting was standing room only. Two Spanish-speaking residents spoke through a translator. Council voted unanimously to proceed. Marsing moved, Popkin seconded.

Two November Ballot Measures Are Moving Forward

Public Safety Tax

The city faces a $2 million current deficit in the public safety fund, projected to grow to $20.8 million over ten years. Firefighters are averaging 400 hours of overtime per year. Council voted to put a 10-year 50/50 split of sales and property tax increases on the November ballot.

The sales tax portion: an additional 0.19%. The property tax portion: roughly 3.16 mills, about $97 per year on a $500,000 home. Crist opposed, partly because Longmont’s combined sales tax rate is already around 8.7-8.8% when you add city, county, and state, and any increase would push the total over 9%.

Passed 6-1. Ballot language goes to Council August 11th and August 25th. Voters decide November 3rd.

Ranked Choice Voting

Council voted to put a ranked choice voting question on the November ballot, split into two separate questions so voters can decide each independently.

A quick explainer on how Longmont’s council works, because it matters here. There are seven council members total. The Mayor represents the whole city. Three ward seats each represent a specific geographic area. Three at-large seats represent the entire city, and all Longmont residents vote for them. Two of those at-large seats are elected in the same race at the same time, meaning voters pick two winners from one pool of candidates.

That’s where ranked choice voting gets complicated. The standard version of ranked choice voting works for races where one person wins: you rank candidates, and if nobody hits a majority, the last-place candidate gets eliminated and their votes redistribute until someone wins.

Council chose to move forward with a ballot measure for ranked choice voting for all races. Plus a reorganization of which seats appear on the ballot in which year, so similar seat types run together. One cycle would have the Mayor and all three at-large seats. The other would have the Mayor and all three ward seats.

Passed 6-1, Crist in opposition. Ballot language goes to first reading August 11th and second reading August 25th. If passed by council, voters decide November 3rd. Takes effect with the 2029 elections if approved.

Timestamps

01:09 Cruise Night Proclamation

01:59 Consent Agenda

03:01 Reset and Public Comment Begins

04:22 YMCA and Growing Gardens

07:24 Ranked Choice Voting Crowd

09:54 Airport Grants and Surveillance

12:35 FAA Grants Vote

15:25 City Moves to Buy the YMCA

19:22 Public Safety Tax to Ballot

25:51 Ranked Choice Voting Ballot Plan

31:11 Final Public Comment

What Passed on the Consent Agenda

The consent agenda is where council votes on routine or non-controversial items all at once. Tonight these all passed unanimously:

O-2026-43 — Additional city budget appropriations for FY2026. Ninth additional appropriation of the year across 11 funds. First reading; second reading July 28th.

O-2026-44 — Additional appropriations specifically tied to the FAA grants and local match for the airport project. First reading; second reading July 28th.

R-2026-40 — Return of $339,771 in excess museum grant funds to the Stewart Family Foundation. The Foundation donated $400,000 in emergency funding for the museum in July 2025. With the project coming in under budget, the unused portion is being returned. The Foundation has donated over $6.7 million to the Longmont Museum total.

R-2026-41 — Distributed energy resource agreement between Longmont, Platte River Power Authority, the Town of Estes Park, the City of Fort Collins, and the City of Loveland. This coordinates how solar panels, battery storage, and other distributed energy resources are managed across the PRPA service area.

DDA board reappointments — Wes Parker and Jim Wardell reappointed to the Longmont Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors through June 30, 2030.

The Rest, Quickly

Dickens Farm Nature Area — The conservation easement on this city-owned open space area in Boulder County had an error: some Street Fund-owned acres were accidentally included. Council chose to fix the error AND add adjacent open space acres to the easement, giving more land permanent protection. Passed unanimously.

Longmont Cruise Night — A proclamation designated July 25th as Longmont Cruise Night, and council approved city co-sponsorship including flags, one-time fireworks, and staff support. The Mayor has already staked out her folding chair spot. Passed unanimously.

First call public comment — Nearly 40 speakers, standing room only. Ranked Choice Voting Longmont sent about 13 coordinated speakers who presented like a relay race, each picking up where the last left off. YMCA supporters and a few opponents showed up in force. There were also speakers on the airport, surveillance cameras, and public safety funding. Two Spanish-speaking residents spoke through a translator. Lance was there: National Nude Day, Mac and Cheese Day, Cow Appreciation Day, and Tape Measure Day.

Final call — Almost 1am, and people were still in the room. An airport-adjacent speaker from the Longmont Pilots and Owners Association congratulated the city on its progress. A few speakers thanked council for their work. A couple raised concerns about AI and research responsibility. The meeting ended shortly after.

What’s Coming Up at Longmont City Council

(A not-perfect but hopefully still helpful list)

All dates are subject to change. Check longmontcolorado.gov/agendas for the most current meeting agendas.

July 28, 2026

* Second readings on O-2026-43 and O-2026-44 (budget appropriations from tonight).

* Open space ballot question — first reading.

* Airport rates and charges study expected back from the consulting firm.

August 11, 2026

* Open space ballot question — second reading.

* Public safety tax ballot ordinance — first reading.

* Ranked choice voting ballot ordinance — first reading.

August 25, 2026

* Public safety tax ballot ordinance — second reading.

* Ranked choice voting ballot ordinance — second reading.

If all three ballot measures pass their readings, voters will decide on open space protections, a public safety tax, and ranked choice voting on November 3rd, 2026.

Coming up — dates not yet confirmed

* YMCA purchase appropriation — staff returns with formal authorization for the Mayor to sign the purchase agreement before the October 9th closing.

* Smaller data center standards — through study sessions first.

* Short-term rental rules for major events — staff still drafting.

* Community engagement referral policy — coming back for further discussion.

* 2027 human services funding recommendations — staff returns in December.

Show Notes Links

Ranked Choice Voting Longmont:

https://www.rcvforlongmont.org/

Visible Government League: visiblegovernmentleague.org

Longmont City Council Meetings: https://longmontcolorado.gov/government/city-council-meetings/

Coffee with Council: https://longmontcolorado.gov/government/coffee-with-council/

Mayor and City Council Members: https://longmontcolorado.gov/government/mayor-city-council-members

Finding Your Council Representative: https://longmontcolorado.gov/government/mayor-city-council-members/mayor-or-city-council-representative/

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