March 24, 2026: $2.8 million into streets — and a pause on annexation
Streets & Neighborhood Upkeep
Moved the vote that put $2.54 million into repaving city streets — Approved Made the motion to approve the night's consent agenda, which awarded the 2026 pavement maintenance contract to Schmidt Construction Company at $2,539,865.60 — the lowest of nine bids and well under the engineer's estimate. The work covers milling and overlay, cracksealing, asphalt patching, surface seals and residential sidewalk repair on local and collector streets, plus a full rebuild of the western concrete stretch of Buffalo Trail. Staff put the program's total cost, including design and construction management, at $2,663,580.60 against a $4 million budget. It passed unanimously, and as a consent item it drew no council discussion.
Locked in street striping and crosswalk markings for the season — Approved Approved an on-call agreement with Colorado Barricade Co. for roadway striping and pavement markings, capped at $165,300 and billed job by job as the city orders work. Two firms bid; the other could not price several of the marking items. This rode the same consent agenda.
Put trail signs at the top of the parks board's list — Ongoing Reported that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met on March 19, honored its outgoing members, seated the new ones, and set trail signage as its working priority — trailhead maps and markers on the ground, so the names council adopted two weeks earlier mean something to a person standing on the trail. The trails are already mapped in the city's GIS. Naming the east-side segments was next, so the network reads as one connected city rather than two halves; the board named six in the Canyons in June.
Water & Drainage
Split the cost of a citywide stream study with the regional flood district — Approved Approved an agreement with the Mile High Flood District to assess the condition of every major drainageway in Castle Pines and rank what needs fixing first — looking for erosion, unstable channels and failing infrastructure. The study costs $200,000 and the district pays half; the city's share was already in the 2026 budget. It is the groundwork for deciding which stormwater projects get built, and for going after grants and partners to help pay for them.
Growth & the Crow's Nest Annexation
Voted to stop taking annexation applications until the city writes a policy — Approved Voted for Resolution 26-23, which halts the acceptance and processing of any new annexation application until council adopts an annexation policy, and accepts the Crow's Nest petitioners' withdrawal of their petition, ending those proceedings. Council amended the resolution from the dais to give staff 120 days rather than 90 to bring back a draft, and to strike two clauses describing the Crow's Nest land as an appropriate and logical place for future urban development. The vote was unanimous, with one member absent. The applicant's withdrawal letter takes effect only because the resolution passed, and expressly reserves the right to file again.
Said she would have kept a disputed clause, then voted to strike it — On the record Five residents spoke first, several for People Against Annexing Crow's Nest, asking council to delete the two clauses and to publicly explain any refusal. Salazar said she did not object to the language: the land is private property, it will be developed by someone — Castle Pines, Parker, Castle Rock or the county — and she did not want a Castle Pines resolution held against the owner's applications elsewhere. She then voted for the amendment that removed both clauses. She also backed the longer timeline, saying she wanted four or five months so residents could be educated, ask questions and be heard before a policy is written.
Moved to close out the Crow's Nest zoning hearing — Approved Made the motion to vacate the public hearing on initial zoning for the Crow's Nest planned development, case RPD-2025-001, after the applicant withdrew that application as well. With the annexation petition gone, the city has no jurisdiction to hear the zoning case. The motion passed.
Electric Bikes & Off-Road Vehicles
Pushed for a time limit on impounded dirt bikes — Ordinance in progress Council worked through a draft ordinance in study session — parent responsibility with a $250 mandatory minimum fine, a separate offense for fleeing a deputy, helmets for riders under 18, and authority for the sheriff's office to impound. Salazar asked whether the city should copy the provision another municipality uses that allows an impounded vehicle to be sold after about 90 days, so deputies are not left storing a garage full of bikes indefinitely; the city attorney agreed to check how the sheriff's office handles impoundment and bring it back. Staff also returned with the numbers Salazar asked for in March: the sheriff's office had logged only about ten reports, but called it by far the most common complaint it hears from residents. The ordinance had not yet come to council for a vote.
Public Outreach
Asked how the city will actually reach residents on the annexation policy — On the record Pressed the city manager on how outreach gets sequenced — how often the city holds open houses, whether they are aimed at one topic at a time as the recent economic development and parks sessions were, and what timeline residents should expect. Staff answered that there is no standing schedule, and that this one would be built as a sequence: education first, because it is hard to ask people about things nobody has explained to them, then surveys, then a draft released for public comment. “I do want the time. I do want four or five months to go through the process, do education, make sure community that wants to get heard is heard. People that have questions can have their questions answered, and the process is well done.”
— Council Member Kori Salazar, March 24, 2026
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 needed a second, confirming vote before it became 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.
Comments