October 27, 2026: An $11.27 million bridge deal with the state and hard questions on license plate cameras
“Criminals are going to commit crimes and they’re going to find ways around this. So is the cost to the privacy of other citizens worth having this surveillance system in place when crimes will still happen?”
- Kori Salazar, October 27, 2026 study session
License Plate Cameras
Asked what license plate cameras have actually done in Castle Pines On the record
Pressed the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for local results at a study session on license plate reader cameras. The sheriff's office is ending its Flock camera contract and moving to Axon. Castle Pines' cameras are managed through the sheriff's office, so the city has told Flock its contract ends at the close of this year and is preparing an Axon contract. Council was asked whether it wants to keep the technology at all. Salazar asked how many Castle Pines cases the cameras had helped solve and what crimes they turn up here. The undersheriff did not have the figures that night and offered to get them to her. A sheriff's commander then reported 41 actionable hits in the Castle Pines area over the last three years, most often stolen cars, followed by warrant arrests, forgery, identity theft, motor vehicle theft and reckless driving. She asked whether the cameras were essential to those cases or just one more piece of evidence; the undersheriff said a hit is normally the first clue, and that hits on cars farther up the corridor, such as in Highlands Ranch, may not be counted in the 41. She asked how much say the city has over where cameras go and how many; the city manager said it is entirely the city's decision, and that Castle Pines has placed them at entrances to the city and near commercial areas. The sheriff's office confirmed the Axon system will substantially increase the number of cameras compared with the Flock contract, and said the Axon plate readers are not yet installed. This was a study session: council took no vote, and study sessions do not take public comment.
Pressed the sheriff on who can see the camera data, and for how long On the record
Asked whether the cost to residents' privacy is worth it when determined criminals find ways around the cameras. The undersheriff said it is, pointing to the sheriff's office's seven-day retention limit and its rule that the data be used only for criminal casework. Asked about cases that run longer than seven days, he said data tied to a case is saved to that case file and everything else is deleted after seven days with no way to recover it. Asked who outside the sheriff's office can see the data in those seven days, he said the sheriff's office gives no access outside Colorado and none to federal agencies; on whether Axon's own employees could get in, he said he would have to look into it. Asked about oversight independent of the sheriff and the district attorney, he pointed to the county's Public Safety Advisory Committee, made up of residents, which reviews projects like this one, and to a planned public log of drone flights. Answering her other questions, he said drone cameras stay pointed up until the drone reaches its call, that drone video is kept according to the type of call, and that the county employs a cybersecurity analyst. The sheriff's office audits camera use itself, sends the audit to the district attorney's office, and has a commander assigned to audits and to confirming that deleted data is actually gone.
District Lines & Canyonside
Moved final adoption of the new council district map Passed
Made the motion to adopt Ordinance 26-10 on second reading, and it passed 5–0 with two members absent. The new lines move 263 lots, about 747 residents: part of District 2 moves to District 1, and part of District 3 moves into District 2. The gap between the largest and smallest district drops from 11.8 percent to 99 residents, or 1.6 percent, and District 2 becomes the largest of the three. Staff said the map lines up with the county's voter precincts and keeps neighborhoods together. Before the vote Salazar returned to the question she asked in September about how residents whose district changes will find out, and staff said the city's communications director is putting together a plan to tell them and show them where to look up their new district. The mayor noted that under the city charter a sitting council member moved by redistricting keeps the seat and represents the district that elected them. No residents signed up to speak at the hearing. The city manager said to expect redistricting every two years while the east side grows.
South Havana Street Approved on 1st reading
Approved on first reading, on consent, Ordinance 26-11, which vacates (gives up the city’s public right-of-way over) the old stretch of South Havana Street left behind when the road was realigned for Canyonside Subdivision Filing No. 4. The developer paid for the realignment, the new road is open to traffic, and agreements the city signed with Douglas County and the developer in 2023 anticipated this step. Under state law the vacated land goes to the developer, North Canyons LLLP. The staff memo expects no added cost to the city, and the agencies asked to review it, including the fire district and the sheriff’s office, raised no objections. It passed without council discussion and needs a second vote at a public hearing.
69-lot Canyonside neighborhood Approved on 1st reading
Approved for first reading, on consent, Resolution 26-65, the final plat for the Canyonside neighborhood council reviewed on October 13. The plat is the legal document that creates its 69 home lots and 7 tracts for utilities, drainage, retaining walls and open space, and dedicates its streets, including a new street linking Sweet Creek Lane to Cross Canyon Trail. Staff found it follows the layout of the approved preliminary plan. To carry out the drainage condition council added on October 13, the city attorney will amend the subdivision improvement agreement so the developer installs chase drains in sidewalks wherever the city finds them needed, at no cost to the city, before the city grants final acceptance. It passed without council discussion.
Water
Castle Pines North Metro District Approved on 1st reading
Approved for first reading, on consent, Resolution 26-68, which divides a 15.83-acre city-owned tract east of Monarch Boulevard and north of Serana Drive, along the city’s northern border, into three tracts: 7.27 acres of open space that the city keeps and maintains, and an 8.56-acre utility tract that goes back to the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District for possible future water infrastructure, such as a water storage tank or an antenna for remote meter reading. This is the replat council authorized the district to file in January. The staff memo says the district has not decided whether a tank will be built here and would prefer to expand an existing tank site. Any construction would first need design approval from the Planning Commission. It passed without council discussion.
The Happy Canyon Interchange & Street Design
Voted to take over the Happy Canyon bridge in exchange for $11,267,834 from the state Approved
Voted for Resolution 26-72, an agreement with CDOT and the state’s Bridge and Tunnel Enterprise under which the city takes ownership of the existing Happy Canyon Road bridge over I-25, as-is, in exchange for a lump-sum payment of $11,267,834.32. The staff memo says the old interchange is not a CDOT replacement priority, so the city and Douglas County proposed buying it out instead: the city estimated what CDOT would otherwise spend to replace the bridge and maintain it, including design, construction management, construction and 20 years of upkeep, and CDOT accepted the figure. The city engineer said the estimate started from the bridge deck, foundations and girders and added standard percentages, such as 8 percent for traffic control and 9 percent for construction management, rounded up together with Douglas County. The money goes toward designing and building the two new bridges, and the city will set aside $1,000,000 of it in a separate budget line for future maintenance. The state pays once CDOT issues the access permit and the bill of sale is signed; from then on the city maintains the old bridge until the new one replaces it. The project cannot go forward without this agreement. Salazar asked how the city is covered if something goes wrong with the old bridge during construction. The engineer said CDOT inspects aging bridges more often, the agreement lets the city spend this money on maintenance, and the bridge contractor will be on site with the materials and expertise to make repairs. She also asked when work starts. The city manager said the city is waiting on one federal environmental approval; CDOT has said it will issue an interim notice to proceed, which he hoped to have the first week of November, and he expected equipment on site within about two weeks after that. Douglas County’s committed money can carry 12 to 18 months of construction. It passed 5–0.
Approved who maintains, plows and drains the new interchange Approved
Voted for Resolution 26-73, the maintenance and operations agreement with CDOT. The city will own and maintain the two new bridges, their abutments and Happy Canyon Road through the interchange, including its signs and signals; CDOT keeps I-25, all four ramps and their signs. A separate map settles which major signs belong to CDOT. CDOT first said it would stop plowing the interchange; under the agreement its plows keep clearing the ramps and much of the bridges, and city trucks plow Happy Canyon Road. The city will build and maintain a new permanent water quality facility at the northeast corner and a sand filter to the southwest, while existing stormwater facilities stay with CDOT. The agreement also carries commitments to cut traffic on the ramps: the city did not meet CDOT's 3 percent reduction goal, received a variance, and agreed to measures that can be triggered as early as 2030. The city engineer said he expects the city to fall short of the goal, could not say what the consequence would be, and described CDOT as reasonable so far; he said some of the measures are low-cost partnerships. Staff said the city and Douglas County negotiated with CDOT for nine months, and that because everything will be new, maintenance costs should be limited for the first few years; the $1,000,000 set aside from the bridge payment goes toward them. It passed 5–0.
Approved $285,000 to design the Monarch Boulevard rebuild by Buffalo Ridge Elementary Approved on 1st reading
Approved on first reading, on consent, Resolution 26-67, a not-to-exceed $285,000 agreement with JR Engineering to study and design the reconstruction of Monarch Boulevard south of Castle Pines Parkway, the next stretch in the city’s road plan now that Monarch north of the Parkway is rebuilt and the westbound Parkway work is nearly done. The staff memo says the work goes beyond pavement to pedestrian safety and traffic flow around Buffalo Ridge Elementary, which may mean coordinating with the school district, and that the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District is checking its waterlines in the area to see whether the two can share the project. It passed without council discussion.
Approved $165,705 to design the northbound I-25 gateway monument
Approved on 1st reading
Approved on first reading, on consent, Resolution 26-69, a not-to-exceed $165,705 agreement with DTJ Design for final design and engineering of the gateway monument at the Castle Pines Parkway northbound interchange at I-25, built to the stone-and-steel gateway design council adopted in 2019; the southbound monument is already up. The design covers the monument, signage, landscape walls and planting. Because the site sits inside the interchange, CDOT must approve it, and there is no irrigation water there yet, so staff will study how to bring water to the site. DTJ designed the city’s earlier gateway monuments. It passed without council discussion.
Budget & Community
Went through the 2027 budget with the finance director and city manager Ongoing
Salazar met with the finance director and the city manager on the day of the meeting to go through the budget and get answers to questions raised at the October 20 budget study session. Also attended the October 23 community bonfire, an event the city hosts and in which the Castle Pines Chamber participates.
Watch the recap
About this record
Every entry comes from a public Castle Pines City Council meeting; video and official minutes are available through the city clerk's office. Ordinances take two council votes: an entry marked first reading still needs a second, confirming vote before it becomes law. Resolutions, emergency ordinances and contract awards take a single vote. Matters still in process are described as such rather than claimed as outcomes. Dollar figures come from the staff memo or the record; none are estimated.
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