Gerchard Pfau Newsletter April 1st 2026
This is the third of my monthly newsletters. I hope you find it useful. Please let me know what subjects you’d like to see in the future and if I misstated anything.
I appreciate the feedback and I’ve made a few changes. I’ve eliminated the details on council meetings from this email but they are available on my website. Go to www.gerchard4golden.com/past-monthly-summaries/ and select the month you are interested in to find them.
Looking back at March Events
State of the City
Read Across America at Shelton
Resident phone calls and meet ups
Golden High School Musical – Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
CSM Picasso Play
DRCOG
City Manager Checkin
Railroad Museum Updated Exhibit – check out the latest at the Colorado Railroad Museum
Shelton School Café – stay tuned for Shelton Fund Raiser in the Fall 2026
Board and Commission Interviews – thankyou to everyone who applied
Recent pedestrian/traffic accidents – please be careful, with the nice weather bikes and pedestrians are out.
Bringing to your attention
Water and Drought – If you are looking for more information regarding Golden’s Drought Status and restrictions please go to the following link Water Conservation. There you will find the current drought status and rules. I fully expect Golden (like our adjacent communities) will be in a stage 1 drought condition soon. The major rules will be delaying turf irrigation until the beginning of May and 2 days per week outdoor watering. Remember we are already under the no daytime watering between 10am and 6pm rule.
Mark your calendars – Drought Community Meeting, April 7th , 5:30pm @ Golden Community Center. In the meantime, I’ve copied the following from the Golden Website to share with you.
PREPARING FOR DROUGHT
- Golden’s year-round Waste of Water (WOW) rules remain in effect, including no daytime watering between 10 am and 6 pm, and no runoff.
- This spring and summer, expect 2-days-per-week outdoor watering restrictions.
- Delay turf irrigation until the beginning of May (brown lawns are acceptable).
- Use the cycle and soak method to reduce runoff.
- Hand water perennials once per week.
- Prioritize drip irrigation where possible.
- Water trees during longer dry spells. A general guideline is ~10 gallons per week per inch of trunk diameter (adjust by species). Drought-stressed trees are more susceptible to pests and diseases, so continue to monitor tree health regularly.
- Use Mulch to help retain moisture and reduce evaporation for all plants, including trees, shrubs, and gardens.
- Support Healthy Lawns by aerating and adding organic matter to improve root growth and moisture retention.
- Let Turf Go Dormant in severe drought conditions by reducing irrigation to about 0.5 inches every two weeks. Grass may brown, but it can recover later.
- Monitor your water usage with AquaHawk to help catch leaks and unusual use
Golden has begun planning for an update to the Hwy 93 north corridor – including possibly shifting part of the hwy to the west of the current route. Go to the link below to see options and scroll to the bottom to fill out a survey on what you think is needed for the Hwy 93 corridor.
https://www.guidinggolden.com/hwy-93-planning
Affordability was one of the key points highlighted in the Community Survey Results. There are several things you can take advantage of to help with Affordability today.
City of Golden Emerald Ash Borer Subsidy Program – this is a program that will cover 50% of the costs up to $500 for ash tree removal or preventative chemical treatments. Go to https://goldenco.rja.revize.com/forms/13360 and read the detailed requirements.
The City of Golden Sales Tax Refund. This is available for Senior (65 or older) Residents, Low Income Residents, and Disabled Residents. Go to
and review the detailed requirements. Remember this must be submitted to the city no later than April 15th, 2026.
The City of Golden Rebate Program. Go to
https://www.cityofgolden.gov/community/sustainable_golden/rebates.php#faq-questions-34
And read the details of what rebates are available and requirements. Note that Portable Electric Battery Power Stations along with Solar Power Systems and whole house backup Battery Systems are included in the rebate program – along with many other home improvements. Please note that the new rebates went into effect March 1st .
Did you know about the FREE Home Wildland Fire Mitigation evaluation available from the Golden Fire Department? Professionals from our Fire Department and Forestry Department will come to your home and evaluate/recommend what you can do to help ‘Harden’ your home against Wildfires. Go to
https://www.cityofgolden.gov/business_detail_T31_R191.php
to sign up and find out what you could do to help protect your home in the event of a Wildfire. By the way, I just did mine and have started working on ‘hardening’ my home.
Emily, Lisa, and I held our first Community Meeting on April 1st. Stay tuned for future meetings and come out and join us.
I am holding ‘office hours’ starting in April.
April 6th 9am – 10am @ Vellichor Coffee, 720 Golden Ridge Rd, Ste D Golden
I’ll be hanging out at one of the tables – outside if it’s nice! Come by and have a coffee with me.
April 20th 6pm – 7pm @ Beverly Heights Park, 2151 Lookout Mountain Rd
I’ll be hanging out at the Gazebo. Come by and watch the sun set over Lookout Mountain with me.
Heads up Colorado School of Mines E-Days are coming up – April 16th through April 19th. Cardboard boat races schedule for 4/18 at 9am at Clear Creek Whitewater Park and Fireworks 4/18 at 9pm.
Headsup – Extra Yard waste Collection scheduled for May 4th – 8th . Start gathering your yard waste.
Reminder: If you see suspicious behavior in our parks, please contact the police department.
I have redone my website and plan to update it on a frequent basis. Please go to www.gerchard4golden.com to see what has changed.
If you would like to talk to me, please reach out at my cell 720-593-0240, email at gerchard4golden@gmail.com or gpfau@cityofgolden.net. We can setup a time to talk or meet.
Please note the Public Safety Announcement from the Golden Police Department regarding two daytime sexual Assaults. Go to the link below:
https://www.cityofgolden.gov/alert_detail.php
Upcoming Meetings – mark your calendars
- April 1st, 6pm Community Meet & Greet, @Natural Grocers 2401 Ford St.; Meet your councilors – Lisa, Emily, Gerchard
- April 6th, 5:30pm, Cookies with Councilors, @ Astor House, 1133 Arapahoe St., An evening with Historic Preservation
- April 7th, 5:30pm, Drought Community Meeting, @Golden Community Center, Conversation about drought and water conservation
- April 14th, 10:30am Friends of the Front Porch @Golden Community Center
- April 14th, 5pm City Council @ City Hall
- April 25th, Marv Kay Day, Free Admission to the Golden Community Center sponsored by the Golden Civic Foundation plus more @Golden Community Center
- April 28th, 6:30pm City Council @ City Hall
- May 5th, 5:30pm Clear Creek Trail (formerly Peaks 2 Plains Trail) – Design Public Open House – @ Golden Community Center
For a full list of upcoming meetings please check the city calendar at
https://www.cityofgolden.gov/calendar.php?view=month&month=02&day=01&year=2026
Did you know that all council meetings and board meetings are available live via the web and recorded? You can watch from home and access the prereads for the meetings too. Go to:
https://www.cityofgolden.gov/government/public_meetings.php
and follow the links. If you need help, give me a yell.
The section below captures the actions from the last couple council meetings plus gives you a preview of the agenda for the next couple. To find out more details go to the links above and download the meeting prereads/watch the videos/or give me a yell. At the suggestion of a resident, I’ve added notes on my views regarding particular items.
Summary of Actions from the council meetings in March.
March 10, 2026, Tuesday 5pm City Hall – City Council Regular Meeting & Study Session
Study Session
• Council Review of Boards and Commission Work Plans
Twelve Committee’s, Boards, Commissions, and Authority’s presented their workplans for 2026. If interested in details please download the preread from the 3/10/2026 council meeting.
Regular Business Meeting
Consent Matters
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3290– A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden approving three easement agreements for purposes of emergency access and public infrastructure at Canyon View Apartments.
Passed and I supported
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3291 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between Golden and Golden Gate Fire Protection District regarding fleet maintenance services.
Passed and I supported. This will enhance our ability to service our own fleet by spreading the fixed costs across more vehicles. No additional staff needed.
Regular Business
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Ordinance No. 2288 – An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Golden repealing and replacing Ch 18.58, ‘Historic Preservation’, of the Golden Municipal Code with a revised and modernized ch 18.58.
Passed and I supported; 4 for, 3 against. I was surprised that the ordinance update was controversial within the council. The sticking point seemed to be that some on council wanted the updated Historic Preservation codes to have ‘more teeth’ allowing the historic board to enforce requirements. The old code had no enforcement provisions and was purely recommendations. The new code has slightly more enhanced enforcement. If the person accepts the recommendations for their property than they are required to carry through the recommendations.
Passed and I supported; 6 for, 1 against. Please note that the 1 vote against wasn’t targeting the new code but was cast because they preferred to invoke a more extensive map (Map C: Enhanced structural Protection Wildfire Map). The majority (including me) preferred the more limited map drawn by the State (Map A) because we were concerned about the unintended consequences to homeowner insurance rates, insurability, etc. The plan is to relook at the maps in approximately a year in order to assess what the consequences were and consider moving to the more extensive map at that time. I discussed this in last months newsletter. If you are interested in seeing the maps and reading about the new code enhancements, please download the meeting preread from the city council – or give me a call and I can email them to you.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Ordinance No. 2289 – An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Golden amending Ch 2.24 of the Golden Municipal code to add a new section 2.24.055 entitled ‘victim Compensation Fund’ and amending section 2.24.07 ‘restitution’.
Passed and I supported; 7 for, 0 against. I discussed this in detail in last month’s newsletter. It is self-funded, does not impact city budgets, and benefits victims. If interested in details please look at my newsletter from last month and download the meeting preread from the city council – or give me a call and I can email them to you.
Passed and I supported. Part of the implementation of the Victim Comp Fund.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3293 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden updating the Golden Comprehensive Fee Schedule.
Passed and I supported. Part of the implementation of the Victim Comp Fund.
March 17, 2026, Tuesday 5pm City Hall – City Council Regular Meeting & Study Session
Study Session
• Establishment of the Junction Metro District – (Lauren Simmons, Senior City Planner) – 30 mins
You may know that in 4Q 2025 the City Annexed an area called the Junction on the north edge of Golden. This is an overview of what is involved in a Metropolitan District that is planned for that newly annexed area. No decisions regarding the district was made but stay tuned for more as the year progresses. Read the preread online if you are interested.
• Community Engagement Guide – (Meredith Ritchie, Community Engagement and Comms Director) -15mins
Update to the community engagement guidebook. In particular, I like the ‘close the loop’ section with expected feedback to the council via the ‘Council Memo Requirement’. If you’d like more info download the preread for the meeting or give me a call and I’ll send it to you.
Regular Business Meeting
Update Council on Strategic Plan
Hwy 93 North Alternatives Design
Comprehensive Plan Update
Funding Housing for All
Regional Homelessness Projects
Federal Policy Impacts and Adaptation
Enhance Community engagement Program
Wildfire Management & Resiliency Planning Strategy
Corridor Projects: Heart of Golden
All are on track. I want to highlight the development of a Wildfire Mitigation page for the city website to improve comms should be out soon (Q2?) and the Bev Heights Emergency Egress is progressing. For a complete update go to the city council preread.
Consent Matters
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3295– A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden appointing Eric Hutchens as a deputy Municipal Judge
Passed and I supported– established backup if needed
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3296 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden approving the conceptual design recommendations prepared for the Heart of Golden East Zone Amenity Plan.
Passed and I supported since most of the funding for the study is coming from outside the direct city budget.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3298 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden appointing Joseph Allaire as the City Treasurer and Finance Director.
Passed and I supported – Joe has been great both in his past role as asst and in stepping into the temporary role when the previous City Treasurer left.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3281 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden approving Lena Gulch Reaches 1 & 4 Independent Cost Estimator Contract (PWCE-SA)
Passed and I supported – project is in budget and is the prep work needed for the Lena Gulch Channel Improvement Project
Regular Business
• Creek Season Overview and recommendations
Updates include 1) Emphasize comms and enforcement of rules with visile presence of code enforcement and ambassadors, 2) restrict tube rentals on Buffalo Bill’s Day, 3)Discontinue use of RFID tags – relying on camera data, 4) change yellow flag to begin at 600cfs instead of 700cfs. Full report available in the preread. During council I requested to also focus on yellow/red flags for the low end of cfs in an attempt to protect the creek environment. I worry the low snow pack will result in extensive reduced flow rates this season.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3274 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden approving the award to NORAA Concrete Constr. Corp. for the construction of the Forc and Jackson Protected Bike Lanes and Corridor safety Improvements….
Passed and I supported. The project was approved in 2025. This contract was competitively bid out, received 6 bids and is within the 2026 budget.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3297 – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden adopting the City of Golden Water Efficiency Plan.
Passed and I supported. I strongly urge everyone to review the online preread, Item 11, pg 281 through 381 for a review of Golden’s ‘Drought Management Plan’ and ‘Water Efficiency Plan’ as we enter the 2026 spring/summer/fall season with a record low snow pack. I look forward to upcoming updates to some of the older charts and assumptions. Many of our adjacent communities have declared Stage 1 drought conditions – I expect similar news from Golden soon.
Upcoming Council Meetings
Note that the agendas can change and are not firm until the Thursday before the scheduled meeting.
March 14, 2026, Tuesday 5:00 pm City Hall – City Council Study Session and Regular Business Meeting
Study Session
• Fire Department data analytics
Consent Matters
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. XXX – …approving a Multi-Jurisdictional Agreement for Emergent and Non-Emergent Ambulance and related medical Services
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. XXX – …approving an agreement for Georgetown Short-Term water Storage
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. XXX – …approving an agreement for Black Hawk Short-Term Water Storage.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. XXX – …approving a Multi-Jurisdictional Agreement for Soda creek Property Owners Association Short-Term Water Storage.
Regular Business
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Res No XXXX – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden adopting the Comprehensive Plan
April 28th , 2026, Tuesday 6:30 pm City Hall – City Council Regular Business Meeting
Consent Matters
• Introduction, first reading and consideration of a motion to order published – ordinance No. XXXX – An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Golden rezoning the Golden Terrace, and setting the public hearing for May 12, 2026.
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Res No XXXX – A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Golden approving a budget amendment.
Regular Business
• Consideration of a motion to adopt – Resolution No. 3294 – …approving contract with Weitz for CM/GC Construction Services for the Fossil Trace Golf Course Pump Station.
The content of the newsletter is my own and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the City Council or the City of Golden.