[BoulderCouncilHotline] Airport clarification

From: Rivera-Vandermyde, Nuria <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, May 27, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Subject: [BoulderCouncilHotline] Airport clarification
To: CouncilMembers <[email protected]>, HOTLINE <[email protected]>
CC: Bailey, Blythe <[email protected]>, Davis, Pam <[email protected]>, Vences, Eric <[email protected]>, Tate, Teresa <[email protected]>


Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Council Members and Hotline followers -
 
At our last city council meeting, a speaker questioned a statement made from staff during the course of our conversation about the future of the airport site. I committed to reviewing the video to ascertain the full scope of the statement which was whether staff represented accurately information they understood to be CDOT’s position regarding grants in the event the airport’s future operations remained uncertain.

I’ve always been clear that we should own when we’ve gotten something wrong, and this case requires us to provide some clarification. Staff did say it was their understanding that “CDOT has indicated an unwillingness to provide this grant in the future without the city signaling the intention to operate the airport indefinitely." That information had been transmitted to our new staff in the department and not verified directly. Logically, staff believed that if CDOT had a 20-year grant to provide, it would not make sense to award that to a city that was ostensibly operating an airport for only 10-15 years. We should have confirmed that statement prior to speaking to it and for that, we apologize.

We have also heard from community that we did not provide you with sufficient information as to the feasibility of operating the airport without federal funds. Staff’s scenario 2 is precisely that scenario where staff speaks to operating the airport without the use of federal subsidies from the FAA. Scenario 2 does not negate the city’s opportunity to seek grants from CDOT, for example, as we have already successfully shown we are willing to seek grants that do not exceed our current grant assurance period. CDOT grants, however, still require the city to make a matching or additional investment that will require us to use monies under the Transportation or the General Funds. It is this fundamental financial situation staff was bringing to light as the decision to continue to use the airport for its current use – or not – leads us to entertain different funding scenarios.

I hope that provides some clarity and again, apologize for misspeaking about what we understood to be CDOT’s position.

Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde
City Manager
(pronouns: she/her/ella) What's This?

O: 303-441-3090
[email protected]

City Manager’s Office
1777 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80302
BoulderColorado.gov

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