Cañon City City Council voted 4-2 on June 1 to formally withdraw from the Fremont County Recreation District’s pool project, directing staff to notify the district that the city will no longer participate in planning, financing, building, or operating the proposed facility. One week later, at a June 8 special meeting, council endorsed a panhandling-reduction campaign and approved first reading of a rezoning on Franklin Avenue, while staff confirmed the city would not renew its Flock Safety automated license plate reader contract.
The pool withdrawal came after months of debate over whether the city could find a sustainable funding source for the facility’s estimated $700,000 annual operating costs. Mayor Phil Lund told council he had examined insurance savings, software licenses, attorney budget, and building department revenues and found none could sustain a 25-year commitment. The 0.3% sales tax approved by voters generated approximately $1.6 million in 2025, but only about $750,000 went to the rec district for design, with the city holding approximately $835,000 under an intergovernmental agreement.
A member of the Finance Committee pool subcommittee told council only $450,000 of the 2025 tax collections actually reached the rec district, while $701,000 remained with the city. He said a 25-year $28 million bond would require $1.5 to $2 million per year in payments — more than the tax alone could cover even in a strong year. Bond payments are legally required and cannot be delayed; if revenues fall short, the obligation passes to the recreation district, which would then have to levy a property tax to cover it.
A recreation board member, speaking as a citizen, urged council not to treat the decision as all-or-nothing, saying even a partial city subsidy below the full $500,000 request might allow the rec district to scale down and build a smaller facility. Another speaker argued that children in the community have never learned to swim and that the Arkansas River poses a real danger without a public pool available. Mayor Lund responded that he believed the rec district had been inflexible on pool size and that resizing was the district’s responsibility.
The motion to withdraw passed 4-2. Voting yes: Toney, Reeves, Worthington, and Dennehy. Voting no: McCullar and Meloni. Mayor Pro Tem Amy Schmisseur, attending remotely, could not be heard during the vote; her vote was not recorded.
Immediately after the vote, Mayor Lund exercised his authority under city ordinance to form a study committee tasked with developing ballot language options for how to handle sales tax funds already collected. He named seven members: former attorney Robert Stovall, Brendan Pardue, Justin Banks, Jesse DeGroot, Tammy Nordyke, Councilmember Fred Toney as chair, and James Santilli. The committee is to deliver options to council by July 13 — one week before the July 20 meeting, the last opportunity before the August 1 ballot filing deadline. Lund said the committee’s role is neutral: it develops language options for council to consider, and nothing about its work predetermines whether the tax continues or the funds are returned to voters. Councilmember Dennehy objected that Stovall, who chairs the Royal Gorge Chamber Alliance, lives outside city limits.
On paid parking, council voted 5-2 to direct staff to proceed with implementing paid parking at city-owned lots only — excluding Main Street — and return with ordinances, fee schedules, and an implementation plan. Voting yes: Schmisseur, Worthington, Dennehy, Meloni, and McCullar. Voting no: Toney and Reeves.
Public Works Director Leo Evans had presented a feasibility study projecting approximately $750,000 in gross annual revenue across four city-owned lots — South 3rd Street, South 4th Street, the Peabody Mansion lot, and Veterans Park — plus five blocks of Main Street, at $10 per day on weekdays and $20 on weekends in the lots, and $1 per hour on-street. Evans acknowledged the study relied on limited observational data and flagged that roughly 60 percent of projected revenue was tied to the South 3rd Street lot, which the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway is planning to replace with its own dedicated parking facility — a risk to projections.
Council reached the 5-2 outcome only after two prior motions failed. A motion to table the parking discussion indefinitely failed 4-3. A motion to eliminate the discussion entirely also failed 4-3. Mayor Lund said on the record he believed paid parking was wrong for businesses and citizens, though as mayor he does not cast a vote. Several council members and downtown business representatives said Main Street parking meters would drive customers to neighboring communities.
Council also authorized City Administrator Ryan Stevens to sign an agreement with CityGate Associates for a development services review not to exceed $49,609, with council adding an extended on-site visit for in-person stakeholder interviews and an optional customer survey. The review will evaluate the city’s permitting processes, code structure, and development services against comparable jurisdictions. Mayor Lund said he wanted an honest, objective assessment free of bias toward any individual’s position.
Council received and filed the 2025 Agreed-Upon Procedures Report for the 2A Street Improvement Fund. The city’s outside auditing firm reported no exceptions, meaning expenditures from the fund during 2025 were made in compliance with Referendum 2A as approved by voters.
Council approved on second reading Ordinance 7, Series 2026, allowing powersports sales — motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft — in the Central Business District as a Special Review Use, and Ordinance 8, Series 2026, ending the city’s role in collecting fire protection and EMS impact fees on behalf of the Cañon City Area Fire Protection District. Both passed unanimously. Council took first reading of Ordinance 9, Series 2026, requiring soil testing for additions to residential buildings.
The consent agenda passed unanimously, including awarding Bid 45-26 for First Street and Four Mile Lane Bridge Engineering and Bid 69-26 for Magnesium Chloride to Envirotech Services in an amount not to exceed $20,000. Chief of Police John Schick reported that retired K-9 Radar had been placed with a military working dog trainer in San Diego and that a replacement dog, Goose, was in narcotics certification training.
A six-month review of the standing committee structure produced no vote and no change. City department heads told council through the city clerk that the committees were not achieving results, were creating redundancy and extra workload, and in at least one case appeared driven by a personal agenda rather than community need. Several council members said the structure was creating a silo effect — full council members were learning about agenda items by watching committee meetings on YouTube rather than at the dais. Mayor Lund said he remained committed to expanding citizen voices and was not prepared to reverse course.
At the June 8 special meeting, council conducted a public hearing and approved first reading of Ordinance 10, Series 2026, rezoning a parcel at 1718 Franklin Ave to R3 High Density Residential. The applicant sought to incorporate the parcel into an adjacent property at 320 North 16th Street. No public opposition was raised. Second reading is set for June 15.
Council voted unanimously at the June 8 meeting to endorse the Give Change That Counts campaign, a panhandling-reduction initiative modeled on a program in Savannah, Georgia. Chief Schick and the director of Loaves and Fishes presented the program, which redirects community donations from direct cash to panhandlers toward nonprofit service providers through QR-coded signs in high-traffic areas. Schick said the homeless count in the city has dropped from roughly 260–280 at its peak to fewer than 80, and that panhandling is constitutionally protected speech that cannot be addressed through enforcement alone. Mayor Lund said Fremont County and the City of Florence had both expressed interest in joining the campaign.
City Administrator Stevens told council the city would not renew its Flock Safety contract for automated license plate reader technology. The June 8 meeting was repurposed for a broader policy discussion on ALPR technology. Chief Schick had presented a series of cases in which the system aided city investigations, including the recovery of a stolen shed through vehicle identification and the apprehension of a suspect in a pattern of concerning behavior near schools and parks.
Council recognized two library technicians — Sam Nettles and Mandy Brown — for 10 years of service, both hired May 9, 2016, and recognized a city water department employee for five years managing the backflow prevention program serving approximately 25,000 customers. A proclamation declared May 18 as National Museum Day and encouraged residents to visit the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center.
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