On June 2, Westminster City Council directed City Staff to begin a community-wide conversation about how to improve neighborhood streets and fire infrastructure.
In close collaboration with the community, the City is exploring funding within its existing budget and new funding sources that could support major investments in roadway maintenance, fire station construction, and emergency response capacity.
City leaders emphasize this is the start of an open, transparent conversation with residents and businesses about the City’s long-term infrastructure needs.
The City faces two challenges:
1. The City’s ability to repair and maintain our neighborhood streets to the level that our residents expect has declined due to the rapidly rising cost of concrete, asphalt, and other materials. At our current rate, the quality of our streets will continue to drop over the next 10 years.
2. The City’s need to build new fire stations in order to close service gaps. Without the necessary investments, Fire and EMT personnel may not be able to reach a victim within six minutes – which is the window between life and death.
“We’ve been turning over every stone to find internal funding solutions first to repair and maintain our aging streets,” said Public Works and Utilities Director Paul Knippel. “We’re repurposing staff positions, finding operational savings, and maximizing the use of existing dollars. However, the reality is that we’re still falling short of what the community expects and needs.”
Fire Chief Erik Birk echoed the urgency: “Our fire department is seeing more calls, more demand, and longer response times. New stations and facilities aren’t just nice to have—they’re essential to keeping residents and families safe.”
Over the next several weeks, the City will launch new opportunities for the community to engage, including a town hall that is scheduled for Thursday, July 24 at West View Recreation Center and a new engagement platform in early August. City staff will continue gathering public input as options are developed for City Council’s review this summer.
For more information about the town hall, please visit http://www.westminsterco.gov/counciloutreach.