Speaker 6: increment financing strategy to fund large scale tourism projects. And. WHEREAS, the city and county of Denver has recognized the unavoidable need to change the current national Western complex and Denver Coliseum sites and facilities to chart a new course to meet the needs through public and private investment that creates a premier set of amenities for the city for the next 100 years. And. Whereas, in January of 2015, the National Western Stock Show celebrated 109 years of hosting Colorado's most important agricultural convention, tourism and Western heritage events at the National Western Complex, and recording its second highest attendance on record. 682,539 visitors. I'm going to read that again 682,539 visitors. And. Whereas, agricultural enthusiasts, cowboys, cowgirls, farmers and ranchers from around the globe gather at the National Western Concert Complex to share stories, conduct business and honor the spirit of the American West, representing an agricultural sector that generates up to $40 billion in economic impact for the state of Colorado and is responsible for more than 170,000 jobs. And. Whereas, The City and county of Denver has partnered with the Western Stock Show Association. Colorado State University, the Denver. Museum of Nature and Science in History, Colorado, in a collaborative effort to reinvent the national western complex and Denver Coliseum sites under one coordinated vision as part of retaining and increasing tourism and convention opportunities for the metropolitan Denver area in the state of Colorado. And. Whereas, the National Western Center represents a bold, visionary transformation of the National Western Complex and Denver Coliseum into a must see tourism, destination and regional asset that will enhance these historic landmarks through creative year round activities. And. Whereas, with a combined 130 acres of initial land for redevelopment, the National Western Center will support Colorado's global standing as a world class hub for the Western way of life by celebrating the pioneering spirit and promise of the West through our year round experience, our year round, experiential, lifelong learning, the arts, entertainment, competition, commerce, research, innovation and tourism. And. Whereas, the transformation of the National Western Complex and the Denver Coliseum into the National Western Center Complex Complex shall significantly support the implementation of the Globeville, Elyria and Swansea neighborhood plans and help to celebrate the cultural history of these communities. And. Whereas, the economic effects of redeveloping the National Western site will extend well beyond the boundaries of the city and county of Denver to benefit the many surrounding metropolitan areas. And. WHEREAS, the Colorado Regional Transportation Act, the RTA, authorizes only local governments to apply for the funding. The City and County of Denver intends on submitting an application to the Colorado Economic Development Commission for the National Western Center as a regional tourism project as defined in the RTA. Now therefore be proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one. The Denver City Council recognizes the extraordinary and unique nature of the National Western Center and how significantly this investment in these assets contributes into the state's economic development and workforce development opportunities. Section two. The Denver City Council applauds all the work and planning that has been done by its many partners in the past several years and honors the guiding principles in the National Western Center Master Plan that will focus on community and neighborhood integration, engaging the river and nature, celebrating Western heritage, promote health and wellness, and create fun and entertaining experiences to make the National Western Stock Show the World Premiere Center for America's Western Heritage. Section three The Denver City Council supports Denver's application for the Regional Tourism Act, funding for the National Western Center project as a testament to the significant benefit, both economic and cultural, that this project brings to the historically underserved communities of Globeville, Elyria and Swansea to Denver and the state of Colorado.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 3: Go to my next.
Speaker 6: Section four that the clerk of the city and county of Denver shall attest, and the fix a seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and that copies be transmitted to Mayor Michael B Hancock, Paul Andrews, President and CEO National Western Stock Shall Kelly, lead Executive Director of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative.
Speaker 4: Thank you. Council in Montreal. Your motion to adopt.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. President. I move that proclamation 16 be adopted.
Speaker 4: It has been moved in seconded comments from members of council. Councilwoman Monteiro.
Speaker 6: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to say that I'm thrilled to be able to offer the support of this part of the Council, hoping that it will pass for the RTD application for the National Western Center. I believe that this will be one of the major candlelit catalytic projects for global Illyria Swans here, the state and the region. We we have a great application moving forward and we wouldn't want to come to Denver and experience the urban Southwest unique combination of agriculture, industry and academic process while enjoying an exciting array of modern multi-use facilities integrated with the history and culture of the surrounding neighborhoods. This is the last chance for Denver and the metro area to take advantage of the Regional Tourism Act, as this is a final application process that will be funding projects under the statewide Act. I can't imagine a better project that could meet the desired outcomes of the RTD, RTA while preserving a Colorado treasure. As I mentioned earlier at the National Western Center, we have the base and momentum with our record breaking attendance at the stock show this year. Final attendance, as I said before, was 600 682,539. Which is 42,517 17 attendees higher than last year. We have a growing event and we want to build on and make it an even more attractive local, national and international event year round. This is very significant because part of applying for the RTA is that we're able to demonstrate that we want.
Speaker 2: Tourists.
Speaker 6: And we have the entertainment and all the possibilities and the leverage and the political will to have to have the National Western grow and be part of this. So this couldn't be more perfect for the RTA. The new vision for the National Western Center will become a must see tourist attraction that will give great hope, greater economic gains for our city. The National Western Citizens Advisory Committee that includes neighbors from Galerius wants you local neighborhood registered neighborhood organizations. Local Business Owners, Colorado State University, National Western Stock Show, Denver Museum of Nature and Science Focus Points, Family Resource Center. Visit Denver Historic Denver History, Colorado Groundwork Denver. Riverside Cemetery Clinica Ted Byock, Habitat for Humanity Rhino Arts in Grow House has written a letter of support for the RTA. A application as well. And we believe this application will help to uplift the neighborhoods through improved connectivity for local streets, educational and employment opportunities, open space including activation of the river and areas for community building and expertize at the National Western with our critical partners, co-founders, National Western Stock Show, CSU and the Globe Illyria neighborhood. We are building a creative culture that people will want to be a part of, and I look forward to seeing it.
Speaker 2: All.
Speaker 6: Come to fruition. Thank you, Mr. President. And I look forward to the support of my colleagues for this RTA application proclamation. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Thank you. Councilwoman Monteiro. Councilman Brooks.
Speaker 5: I thank you, Mr. President. And I want to thank Councilwoman Monteiro for bringing this proclamation forward. This is huge. This isn't just another application that we just get lucky to have in in the city of Denver. Number one, this is the last of its kind for the state. But number two, and Councilwoman Monteiro so eloquently put this together, it's bringing grass tops and grass roots together. Urban agriculture in our in our state is the number one industry. And we are developing an urban ag center here in our city in one of the most underserved communities in our city. And to see how this has been beautifully woven together, it just makes a lot of sense. And it's going to bring a lot of individuals here to the city who who don't live in the city and will spend money in this city. And so we are in I am incredibly supportive of this. We are incredibly supportive of this. But I want to thank Kelly LEED and his team as well for for putting this together. It has been a huge effort to bring all the resources to put this application together. It's very, very complex. You got to get a lot of support. And I want to thank all the regional partners and I hope you, Kelly, will talk about those regional partners. When you come up here who have said, you know what, we think this is good for the region, not just for Denver and Globeville, Elyria, Swansea, but for the metro area. So I'm really excited about that. And Paul Andrews, who's worked so hard to to be excellent in this facility that he's in currently and has just done a great job of envisioning what this thing can be. And this is going to be so much bigger than the National Western Stock Show. It's going to be the center is going to be the connection point in this city where all of these sectors come together. And I'm really excited to support this. So thank you. Thank you so much for putting this together and Councilman Monteiro for reading it. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilman Brooks. Councilman added.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Mr. President. I think Councilwoman Monteiro said it all. And what tiny bits that she didn't say, Councilman Brooks said. So I just wanted to add my enthusiastic support to this proclamation instead of just an I. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Thank you. Councilman Levitt, the other comments. Proclamation 16. Seen none. Madam Secretary, roll call.
Speaker 2: Montero. I never I Ortega. I Rob I Shepherd. SUSSMAN All right. Brooks, I. Brown I thought I had each. LEHMAN All right. LOPEZ All right, Mr. President, I.
Speaker 4: Madam Secretary, please first vote in and announce the results. 3939 as Proclamation 16 has been adopted. Councilwoman Monteiro, is there anyone you'd like to have come to the podium to receive the proclamation?
Speaker 6: Yes, I would like to invite Kelly Lead from the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative and also a representative from National Western. You can come on up.
Speaker 0: Counsel, thank you so much. My name is Kelly LEED, and I'm the executive director of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative. But I'm appointed the mayor overseeing six projects in this region. And I think the National Western Project exemplifies the vision of the mayor, of how we strategically align these projects and ultimately their implementation, because this is as much about connecting neighborhoods and reclaiming our river and a big part of our city that's at our front door. So this has been this is a long journey that we're on. And I think the the early efforts of so many people, hundreds of people, to pull this together. And, you know, we're taking the plan through council now and the RTA application will get submitted in February. And this is the first of many steps towards taking this plan to reality. But I am enormously grateful for council support and for all the work of Paul and his team and everyone that's been involved. And this has been a lot of fun. So I'm just excited about making it real and this is the first step to make it real. We are competing against potentially two other municipalities for what is two remaining slots of the RTA and there's no guarantee we have to put our best efforts forward and we're, as I like to say, we're running like we're behind and we're going to submit the very best application we can to the state. But I'm hopeful that this will start a bigger conversation about the importance of the National Western to our to our state and to our our history and more importantly, not just about our past, but what's in front of us. I mean, we're going to solve big issues as part of this. And one of the best examples comes from Tony Frank. And we're going to have to figure out how to feed 9 billion people by 2050. And we have an opportunity to bring a collection of public and private homes together to talk about how we feed 9 billion people. And some of those solutions are going to come from this facility and the conversations we have at this facility. So with that, I think that just as an example of all the cool things that are going to come out of this and Paul, would you like to say anything? One quick word. You know, I just want to add that it is an honor and a pleasure to be standing here, partners with the man to my right , partners with all of you. The city and county of Denver and the National Western Stock Show have been partners since 1906. And I'm the happiest guy in the room that that's going to continue for the next hundred years due to the greatness that this complex will bring, not just to the National Western Stock Show, but the entire city, as you all have pointed out. So thank you to Kelly. Thank you, Judy, for all your great leadership that we wouldn't be at this point without you. So thank you very much. And all that's left to do is build it. Thank you.
Speaker 4: Thank you both. Thank you. Counsel Monteiro. Councilman Brooks, you had a comment?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I just wanted to have Kelly talk about the regional. So I think it's 22 municipalities are supporting this as well.
Speaker 0: Yeah. So, you know, one of the things that makes this, I think a testament to it being bigger than Denver is as of this last week, we have 24 front range cities that are supporting the application through a proclamation the mayor developed. And then last count was over 20 other just general letters of support from public, private and nonprofit interests that run the gamut. So I don't know what the final numbers will be, but I think there will be a broad spectrum of both public and private support for the application as it goes forward.
Speaker 4: Thanks. All right. We are on to the resolution, Madam Secretary, and read a resolution.
Speaker 2: From technology and governance, 28 resolution empowering the mayors, a redeployment to a career service board.
Speaker 4: Next is Bill for introduction. Madam Secretary, please read the bills for Introduction.
Speaker 2: For Finance and Services 1031 Bill for an ordinance for any a mandatory agreement between City and county in Denver. Denver Preschool Program for Brady DB to extend his term in accordance with the extension of an increase in the tax provides.
A proclamation in support of the City and County of Denver’s Regional Tourism Act application for the National Western Center Campus Project.
 A proclamation in support of the City and County of Denver’s Regional Tourism Act application for the National Western Center Project.
