UFR TPR March 5th, 2026 Meeting Minutes
Larimer County Administration Building Boyd Lake Conference Room, 200 West Oak Street, Fort Collins, CO 80522
Attendance: REP. CON. GABE EVANS OFFICE Adrienne Sandoval, LARIMER COUNTY Kristin Stephens, Eric Tracy, MORGAN COUNTY Tim Malone, WELD COUNTY Lynette Peppler, Evan Pinkham, Denise Staley, Samantha Brown, CDOT Chris Boespflug, Christa Curtiss, Dan Mattson, Gina Fox, Hannah Marians, Heather Paddock, Jim Eussen, Jamie Grim, Josie Thomas, Katrina Kloberdanz, Lou Keen, Medora Bornhoft, Rich Christy, Spencer York, NECALG Charles Bunnell, NFRMPO Elizabeth Relford, CITY OF BRUSH/TOWN OF HILLROSE Dale Colerick, ESTES PARK David Greear, FORT MORGAN Tom Acre, FORT LUPTON Chris Cross, KEENESBURG Mark Gray, PLATTEVILLE Troy Renken, WELLINGTON Brian Mason, Cody Bird, Kelley Beyers, Nathan Ewert.
Introductions and Determination of Quorum - Chair Malone
Chair Malone called the meeting to order at 1:02pm. Introductions were made around the room, and a quorum was determined to be present.
Entities present
Weld County, Larimer County, Morgan County, CDOT, City of Brush/Town of Hillrose, Estes Park, Fort Lupton, Fort Morgan, Keenesburg, Platteville, and Wellington.
Approval of UFRTPR December 4, 2025, Meeting Minutes – Chair Malone
Motion: Approve December 4, 2025, Meeting Minutes. Motion was moved by: Commissioner Stephens and seconded by: Troy Renken. Motion passed unanimously.
Legislative Updates (CDOT) Hannah Marians
Hannah Marians began with the items that CDOT is currently supporting starting with House Bill (HB)26-1237 (Transportation Safety Modifications) concerning modifications to select statutory provisions to improve transportation safety. This bill has been introduced and is scheduled for the Senate on March 11th, 2026, and will update statutory references relating to vehicle or traffic collisions to use the term "crash" or "incident" in addition to or in place of the term "accident". Next is the HB26-1076, the Transportation Statutory Clean-Up Bill. This bill passed out of the House and is going to be CDOT’s “Clean Up Bill” including adding Broomfield County to a Transportation Commission (TC) district and clarifying the commercial vehicle restrictions in the left lanes. This bill is scheduled to go to the Senate on March 18th, 2026. HB26-1127 (Reporting After Fatal Car Crash) passed its second reading on the House floor and requires coroners to report toxicology data to CDOT quarterly. HB26-1101 (Criminal Offenses Related to Critical Infrastructure Metals) passed down to the house Judiciary Committee and creates a felony for those who steal commodity metals from critical infrastructure but has not been scheduled in the Senate yet. HB26-1086 (Adjust Subdivision Access to State Highway Systems) was postponed indefinitely as well as Senate Bill (SB)26-024 (State and Local Unmanned Aircraft Regulation). HB26-1071 (Local Government Vehicle Identification System on Interstate Highways) passed the House. HB26-1266 (Repeal Retail Delivery Fees) was introduced by Senator Pelton and Representative Woog. CDOT is working with the governor’s office internally to develop a strategy as this was a bill they opposed last year.
CDOT’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC) figure setting was held on February 6th, 2026 The JBC took action on CDOT’s Multimodal Transportation and Mitigation (MMOF) decision item to increase spending authority to align with fund balance for Fiscal Year (FY) 27. They approved the decision item and the JBC’s staff recommendation to extend roll-forward authority for each annual appropriation from three additional FYs to six. Unfortunately, they also voted to sponsor legislation to permanently eliminate the annual $10.5 million-dollar general fund transfer to the MMOF. This was not a recommendation of the department or the Pollis Administration, and the JBC indicated that they support the MMOF program but were forced to a make difficult decision this year due to the state’s budget constraints. Members reviewed a draft of this recommendation yesterday, March 4th, 2026, and approved the introduction of the bill where the decision was made by the JBC to make the production permanent. The General Fund transfer provides half of the annual revenue for the MMOF, while the remaining half is generated from the Retail Delivery Fee. Of the total allocation, the state receives fifteen percent to support Bustang services, and local entities receive the remaining eighty-five percent. The JBC expressed the desire for the general fund transfer elimination to lessen the impact on Bustang service and voted to pursue a draft to change the allocation of the Retail Delivery Fee to hold Bustang harmless. This was not a recommendation of the administration and has not been viewed by members. They are not sure yet how this will impact all of the local agencies, but they will provide updates and work with local partners as they come. Nothing is set in stone, but they are already preparing for how they can support their local partners if this moves forward.
Commissioner Stephens: As a board, we should be thinking about how to make up for this loss and other ways you can fund those projects or if they can be pushed out to later years.
Evan Pinkham: We will be working with the project sponsors and as more information becomes available, they will make sure the group is informed and will work their way through this to make the impact be as little as possible.
Transportation Commissioner Announcements (Cecil Gutierrez, CDOT)
Heather Paddock spoke on behalf of Commissioner Gutierrez. The 10-Year Plan is intended to go in April for final approval and public comment is currently open. There has been a lot of discussion from the Transportation Commission (TC) about Bustang funding and other possible funding sources. Bustang received one time funding from SB22-180 and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that allowed them to double down on the round trips they provided on the north, south, and the west line. Everyone really liked the service, but they do not have sustained funding to support that level of service, and anticipating that with population growth will be facing a $30-50 million dollar shortfall. One possible funding option discussed was using the Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO) enterprise and allocating a portion of the rental car fees that currently support rail projects to be used for Bustang. Another option would be to allow toll revenue to be used for Bustang operations. These two approaches appear to be the primary ideas that have gained traction in recent conversations.
Presentation and Adoption of the UFRTPR 2050 Human Services and Transit Plan (Christa Curtiss, CDOT)
Christa presented to the group the final version of the UFRTPR 2050 Human Services and Transit Plan with changes as requested by the group. This Plan began as an appendix of the Transportation Plan but became an independent need as federal law requires projects to be on this Plan in order to qualify for 5310 funds which are for Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities. One change was on the Regional Snapshot on page six and seven where the wording was changed to prioritize vehicle transportation and some of the wording was removed and updated. Another change on this page was the title: Transit that serves all Coloradans to Transportation that Serves All Coloradans. On pages eight and nine, it was requested to specify that the map was based on Census data from the American Community Survey, and this note was added to the bottom right of the page. On page eleven, showing the telephone town hall comment, it was requested to be updated to TPR specific data instead of statewide data. They were not able to find that information at this time but will keep this in mind for the next time. Comment was received to remove the Greeley – Sterling Outrider Route on page 15 since it ended in January, however, after talking with their Bustang team they decided that since the route was in-use during their state-wide analysis for these plans they would prefer to keep it in to have an accurate snapshot of what they were looking at when they analyzed this data. The route will be removed when they redo the analysis. On page thirty-three on the priority project list for this region there was the question of which projects are operating and which are capital, so they added a column to identify what type each project is. Christa asked the group if there were any other items they would like to review in the Plan.
Evan Pinkham added that he appreciates Christa and her team for receiving comments and feels that the Plan represents the region well.
Commissioner Stephens agreed and she is comfortable approving this Plan and adopting it at this time.
Elizabeth Relford referred to the Priority Project List and commented that the group had asked for clarification on the differences between projects 3150 and 1768 and would like to know where funding would be prioritized since they are so similar.
Christa responded that this does not have to be a fiscally restrained list and does not have to be in a rank order. It is more important that both projects are on the list so that they will both be eligible for the funds.
Elizabeth responded that from a North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) perspective, it is hard to know where to put funding towards if they have the opportunity to partner on one of the projects.
Spencer York added that on the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) the project list is more of a condensed list that would be better to refer to for that purpose, and this list is more for making sure they are eligible for the 5310 funds.
Motion: Approval of the UFRTPR 2050 Human Services and Transit Plan. Motion was moved by: Commissioner Stephens and seconded by: Troy Renken. Motion passed unanimously.
Review of the updated 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (Spencer York, CDOT)
At the December 2025 meeting, the group spent time going through the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and made a list of changes and updates that would better reflect the TPR Some of the changes included removing and updating some language, switching around data so that vehicle travel would be prioritized, adding some context for recorded crashes, and adding highlights to differentiate projects by county.
Josie Thomas requested Spencer to update the Chair of the UFRTPR from Commissioner Ross to Commissioner Malone in the Plan.
Presentation of the SB25-30 Transit and Active Transportation Project Inventory (Medora Bornhoft, CDOT)
Medora Bornhoft works at the office of Multimodal Planning and provided the group with a presentation of the SB25-30 Transit and Active Transportation Project Inventory. This bill was passed at the last legislative session and requires CDOT and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to create an inventory of transit and active transportation projects in order to identify gaps in transit, bicycle, and pedestrian networks that improve connectivity and safety, reduce emissions, and increase mode choice for people walking, biking, rolling, and taking transit. This effort is to be coordinated between state, regional, and local entities. The deadline for MPO’s and CDOT to provide this inventory is July 1, 2026. Member and local agencies need to submit forms and spreadsheets of active transportation and transit 2050 RTP projects to CDOT to be included in the inventory by April 3, 2026.
Local Agency Project Status Report (CDOT)
This report provides project status updates for the UFRTPR projects that have received funding from federal-aid transportation programs, and whether or not the local agency is in compliance with guidelines set by each program. Josie urged the group to check on their projects and to keep an eye on their Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) end date because it is very difficult to get these dates extended once they expire.
Heather added that at the federal level they are focusing on whether agencies are meeting these criteria so please work with your project managers to stay on the active list and spend money when it is available or it will be spent elsewhere.
Community Roundtable
Larimer County (Commissioner Stephens) Commissioner Stephens reported that with the MMOF and CMAQ funding received, work continues on the Owl Canyon Road Project on Larimer County Road (LCR) 70 between LCR 11 and LCR 13. Design and Right of Way (ROW) acquisitions are underway, with construction anticipated to begin in fall 2026. For the segment of LCR 70 between LCR 13 and LCR 15, design and ROW acquisition are also in progress, and construction is expected to begin in fall 2027. In addition, they are advancing a roundabout project at LCR 15, with construction projected for early 2028. The project for LCR 9 to LCR 11 has been removed from the 5‑Year Plan following the rejection of the proposed 0.15% sales and use tax increase for HSIP‑funded projects, guardrail installation on LCR 56, LCR 74E, and LCR 38E will begin on Monday. Additional guardrail work on LCR 74E and LCR 69 is planned for fall 2026, along with the Bingham Hill Widening Project.Under the Bridge Investment Program (BIP), the Pingree Park Bridge Study grant is complete, and they have been authorized to proceed.
Wellington (Cody Bird) Wellington is in the midst of their Transportation and Mobility Master Plan. They have completed phase one; public engagement and are now moving on to gathering input from stakeholders and regional partners. The community is very anxious for the construction work to begin for the Main Street Revitalization project hopefully in May of this year.
Platteville (Troy Renken) Platteville has upcoming road improvements for this year, and the Advisory Committee will be discussing the possibility of hiring a part-time Main Street Manager to help move this process along. They are anticipating MMOF money but are currently in a holding pattern. Once available they will move on to design and survey and will pursue CDOT permits for the Main Street sidewalks.
NFRMPO (Elizabeth Relford) The North Front Range submitted an air quality enterprise grant application on Tuesday to see if they could get funded for an ozone conference later this fall in Northern Colorado and they appreciate those that supported that application and hope to hear back soon on that decision. They also want to thank the communities that helped support their State Highway Safety grant application and they are hoping to use that funding if awarded towards hosting a safety conference in 2027.
CDOT (Rich Christy) Rich wanted to thank Morgan County for being willing to be the applicant for this last round of grants and that the grant application has been submitted for the 144 Interchange and their teams are really excited to get their 10-Year Plans going.
CDOT (James Usher) James gave a quick update on the US 287 Safety Project. They have a couple of intersections that will go to advertisement this month including Red Mountain Road and Bonner Springs Ranch Road and these projects will be underway this coming construction season. This fall they will go out with another package including shoulder widening and passing lanes.
Weld County (Evan Pinkham) Weld County is kicking off their Transportation Master Plan Update and will be identifying a stake holder group. Evan also introduced Denise Staley as a new Transportation Planner for Weld County. The Planning Department is underway on their Comprehensive Plan Update and will be wrapping that up by the end of the year. One project to note is on the I-76 Frontage Road and WCR 51 where they are looking to make some road improvements.
Morgan County (Chair Malone) Morgan County voters will decide on Tuesday whether they decide to move forward with the Home Rule and are excited for the outcome.
Fort Morgan (Tom Acre) Fort Morgan is getting ready to start their Ensign Street Storm Sewer project. They are starting on Ensign Street next week and will impact I-76 interchange underpass starting the first full week of April with pipe install, then manhole work starting the week of the 13th if all goes as planned.
Keenesburg (Mark Gray) Keenesburg is through the agreement process with CDOT on the roundabout at CO 52 and WCR 59 and are going out to bid for relocating their utilities at this intersection. They have also completed the agreement with CDOT for their grant to put the sidewalks under I-76 and are in the design phase on that project.
Public or Additional Comments: No additional comments were made. Next meeting is June 4th, 2026, in Weld County.
Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 2:01 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Samantha Brown
Secretary