Amid so much change with federal government policies and international markets, City of Golden officials have said they’re moving forward with the programs and projects budgeted for 2025, albeit cautiously.
“There’s a lot of turmoil taking place right now,” City Manager Scott Vargo said. “We’re in a wait-and-see approach for the most part.”
Vargo told the Transcript on April 4 that the city’s being “deliberate and conscious of the changing environment that we’re operating within,” emphasizing how the City of Golden will continue to provide all its services and programs as planned.
As Mayor Laura Weinberg said at last month’s State of the City event, the City of Golden has strong revenue streams, well-thought-out expenses and deep reserves.
However, as Vargo confirmed, a few ripple effects from President Donald Trump’s policy decisions have already been felt at the city level.
Lena Gulch project
The first was how federal funding has been frozen or re-evaluated.
Vargo said there are several planned or ongoing city projects receiving federal dollars, describing how there’s a spectrum of vulnerability based on the federal funding source and the project status.
Vargo explained how several city projects are waiting on confirmation of previously-awarded federal funds, including a utility project at U.S. Highway 6 and Heritage Road. Of these, he said the most vulnerable project was flood mitigation work along Lena Gulch/West Colfax Avenue.
Public Works Director Anne Beierle confirmed work is nearly complete on Lena Gulch’s Phase I — replacing a culvert underneath Heritage Road at the intersection with West Colfax Avenue/U.S. Highway 40.
Beierle said the intersection should reopen by the end of April. (Click here for more information.)
Lena Gulch’s Phases II and III, which involves improving culverts both upstream and downstream of Heritage Road, were slated to start later this year. They are now on hold as Golden awaits federal funds.
The city and its partners received a $23.8 million PROTECT Grant for that work, as confirmed last year by President Joe Biden’s administration. Golden and its partners were set to match it with $6 million of their own.
Beierle said improving drainage along these sections of Lena Gulch is crucial to protect the people and property along West Colfax Avenue, remarking how it’s a “potentially scary place for a flood.”
Across Golden, there are typically properties in a 100- or 500-year flood plain; but along Lena Gulch, there are properties in the floodway right now, which she said is unusual.
Thus, if there’s any major flooding along Lena Gulch before this project is completed, the homes and businesses in the floodway could be seriously impacted, she explained.
Vargo confirmed Golden sent the paperwork necessary for the PROTECT Grant to the Federal Highway Administration — which is responsible for executing the grant — last year. It tried to push the application through and execute an intergovernmental agreement before the change in presidential administrations, but the application was delayed, he said.
As of April 14, the FHWA still hadn’t executed an IGA with Golden; and, according to Beierle, it isn’t the only Colorado municipality that’s waiting.
The Transcript emailed the FHWA on April 7 about Golden’s situation. In its April 14 reply, the agency said the Biden administration’s “misplaced priorities” had created an unprecedented backlog of unobligated grants.
The agency also pointed to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy’s comments at an April 2 U.S. Senate hearing:
“There are 3,200 announced projects at (USDOT) that don’t have signed grant agreements — 3,200,” Duffy said. “We are going to work through those projects … and I’m committed in a bipartisan effort to make sure we get those grant agreements signed and out the door, especially as we come into the spring building season. That’s a top priority for us.”
Golden has been in touch with its Congressional representatives about the issue, and both U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen said at a March 19 town hall meeting that they were aware of the delay. They said their offices were working to ensure Golden and other communities receive these already-approved funds.
Without the PROTECT Grant funds in-hand, Vargo and Beierle said Lena Gulch’s Phases II and III are on hold indefinitely.
“It’s a mystery,” Beierle said. “We haven’t been told that we won’t get (the grant funding).”
In the interim, Golden’s moving forward with Lena Gulch’s Phase IV, which will prepare the former Bachman property for future drainage work and has separate funding, Beierle said. The work includes doing a historical evaluation of the site and possibly an archaeological excavation next year, she added.
Depending on if or when Golden does get the PROTECT Grant funds, Beierle said work on Phases II, III and IV could be simultaneous.
The new municipal center
Another ripple effect the City of Golden has experienced is the Trump administration’s tariffs impacting the cost of construction materials.
Vargo said the biggest example thus far was the mass-timber costs for the forthcoming municipal center and police headquarters.
The city is set to break ground on the $60 million building at 311 10th St. sometime this spring or early summer. Vargo said preliminary site work is slated for this month, while the city and its consultants finalize design elements and costs.
Before the Trump administration announced tariffs against Canada this winter, Vargo said the city’s lowest bid for timber was from a Canadian company. Afterward, the company bumped up its prices so that it was no longer the lowest bid.
Thus, Golden switched its mass-timber vendor to an American company, which Vargo said was the new lowest bid, and the city’s now locking in its pricing.
The difference in price between the pre-tariff Canadian vendor and the post-tariff American vendor was about $100,000, Vargo said.
While he remarked that “every dollar counts” and that Golden must be a good steward of taxpayer funds, Vargo confirmed the city has built-in contingencies for a project of this size and scale. Thus, the $100,000 difference “isn’t enough to negatively impact our project overall,” he said.
Golden has additional contingencies built into the project for escalation and other economic factors, he added, but this tariff-timber situation was “one instance where we have to use that contingency.”
Vargo confirmed via email April 8 that the mass-timber vendor was “the only significant part of the (municipal center’s) building construction/supplies that is being locked-in at this time.”
Impacts for 2025, budgeting for 2026
As for other materials and other projects that might be impacted by the tariffs and the fluctuating markets, Vargo stated Golden was trying to anticipate where it might see challenges, and remain “flexible and adaptable as those changes come our way.”
For those who want to stay up-to-date on other potential impacts, Vargo said staff will be updating the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee and City Council on any significant developments.
Vargo reiterated that no city projects or programs have been canceled, but if there are any significant delays or cancellations, Golden will share that through its “standard channels,” including social media, he said.
Because most city projects are funded internally, Vargo said most 2025 items should be completed on time and on budget. For those that receive federal or outside funding, he said, “We’re continuing to push those forward where we can. … That’s all we can do right now.”
The city will start its 2026 budgeting process in June.
Vargo said there could be major financial impacts in 2026 and/or 2027, as grant-funding sources award less money and/or the city feels other economic pressures.
“We’re trying to be optimistic wherever we can be,” he said, “but it’s so full of uncertainty.”