Mayor Nancy McNally compared her first year with City Manager Mark Freitag to the first year of a marriage.

“We were getting to know one another and how you handle it when you disagree, how you get your point across and how you listen to the other point,” McNally said at the Westminster State of the City address. “And so, getting used to a new City Manager is a little like a new marriage. And now, we are here, strong and good. We are solid and we are functional and so is our entire City Council.”

The two shared the stage Aug. 23 at the event at Westminster’s Double Tree Hotel, discussing their hopes for the city in the coming year as well as some of the challenges Westminster faces. The event was presented by the Westminster Chamber of Commerce.

Freitag himself was one positive for the mayor. The City Council hired Freitag in Aug. 2022 away from Janesville, Wisconsin where he had been the City Manager since 2013. McNally said Freitag is an upgrade for Westminster. One reason is that since Freitag started, the city has begun hiring staff to fill vacant positions, she said.

“Last year we had 30 or 40 empty staff seats,” she said. “This year we’ve hired a new police chief and an HR manager and we are recruiting right now an IT director, Public Works director and a City Engineer. The city staff vacancy rate a year ago was 12%-plus. Today, it’s 4.5% percent, so we have come a long way.”

Rather than giving a speech, the two took turns giving updates on city projects.

Infrastructure and planning

Freitag said the council was discussing water treatment options when he started and he said he’s pleased that they have agreed to build a new facility on Westminster Boulevard.

“That’s a major infrastructure improvement for the city and it comes with a bonus,” Freitag said. “Simultaneously the council has also agreed to replace the city court house. It’s a 62-year-old building down by the turnpike that used to be the old city hall. So the combination of these two projects are repairing current infrastructure and replacing infrastructure for a total of about $3 million. So these are significant investments by the community to keep this city moving forward.”

Freitag said the city also plans to increase the road repair budget by $3.5 million and $1.9 million in 2024.

“So the City Council and City staff are certainly listening to the community talking about the state of our roads and we are putting our money towards that,” he said.

McNally touted the fact that councilors had adopted a new comprehensive plan designed to guide city decisions based on realistic limits, specifically drinking water. The previous plan would have called for development would have need more water than the city owns now or can access, she said.

“We have a plan that is built around the water we own and not a drop more,” McNally said.

Westminster Downtown

Positives included work on the Downtown Westminster, the project to create an economic development engine north of 88th and Sheridan.

“One thing we did this past June, we dedicated dedicated an underpass that connects the downtown to the RTD station and also continues access to that Denver-Boulder bike path,” Freitag said. “So that’s a great edition.”

Developrs have completed more than 154,000 square feet of commercial space and nearly 1,000 housing units at Downtown Westminster. The area includes the Alamo Theater, JC Penney and the Tattered Cover bookstore now. More are way, Freitag said, including a gourmet grocer, Marczyck’s Fine Food and several restaurants.

“About 55% of that new commercial space is occupied, so there is lots of opportunity for growth and development,” Freitag said. “In the downtown currently there are 873 apartments in existence with more to come. There are 34 owner-occupied townhomes that have been built, new retailers and this is the stuff that’s coming and what gets me excited.”

But McNally said she’s most excited that Westminster plans to build a condominium development there.

“This is after a decade of not having condos — which we absolutely need,” McNally said. “I don’t want people paying rent. I want people to build equity, but we have not had this kind of housing stock for so long.”

Westminster Station

McNally took a swipe at Xcel Energy for not upgrading electricity station where RTD’s B-LIne ends. The city has big plans for the area, which is slowing by a lack of electrical power.

“We have $700 million in investment planned down there, but we need power,” McNally said. “We told them about two years ago but they have not moved.”

McNally said that work would involve building entry-level townhomes as well as retail in the area. Freitag the company plans to connect a feeder line to the Westminster Station, but not until 2026. He asked the chamber crowd to reach out to any contacts they have at the energy utility.

“This is just one of those things that’s a head-scratcher,” Freitag said. “It drives me crazy. City staff, legislators, our lobbyists and allies in the government office are trying to get some leverage into this. So if you have people you can talk to, we need help getting this turned back on. That’s two years with $700 million investment that are just sitting there.”

Challenges

Regarding homelessness, Freitag said the city will work to move people away from private properties. But the city will work with people camped on city open space land, giving them two weeks to move.

“We are going to offer you services and if you don’t respond to those, we are going to come back a week later,” Freitag said. “We’ll tell you need to accept those services or you are going to be told to move along. I think it’s a nice balance and kudos to the City Council and the staff that came up with this.”