The final regular Glenwood Springs City Council meeting of the year on Dec. 18 included a pair of items deferred from the last meeting related to new fees for non-emergent EMS calls within the city.
Absent was Mayor Marco Dehm, leaving Mayor Pro-Tem Erin Zalinski to run the meeting. All other Council members were present.
Following a late-afternoon work session, including an update on the City’s new speed enforcement program using traffic cameras, Council tackled the regular agenda.
Under general comments, two residents expressed concerns about the City’s use of Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras along Grand Avenue, South Glen and other streets.
Commenters said they don’t oppose the cameras being used for speed enforcement, but that the data collected could be used for other purposes that aren’t defined.
Bailey Leppek said the company that provides the systems has been criticized for possible security breaches, and for allowing data to be used for false accusations and immigration enforcement.
“There is no benefit to the public,” she said. Further, “there’s a lack of transparency … and no effort to educate the public about how the data is being used, and why.”
Glenwood resident Doug Winter underscored Leppek’s points, adding that he’d like to see the City reconsider the $60,000 budgeted for 2026 in support of the surveillance program.
“We don’t see a benefit for this and how these cameras are improving our lives,” Winter said. “We are seeing a really big downside to our security, and our privacy.”
In response, Council asked to schedule a work session with police officials after the first of the year to gather more information about how the data is being used beyond speed enforcement.
Land purchase
Council removed one item from its consent agenda for further explanation, regarding the City’s planned purchase of property at 1441 Riverside Drive.
The property, which sits on the Roaring Fork River to the northwest of Glenwood Springs High School, is bordered on either side by other City-owned land and makes sense for acquisition, City Manager Steve Boyd explained. The existing residence can also be used in the interim to house one of the City’s public safety workers, he added.
Council agreed 6-0 to proceed with acquiring the property.
EMS fees
Two items had to do with new fees for emergency services.
The first sets a new fee for assisted living or nursing facilities whenever an ambulance is called to deal with a non-emergent situation that does not involve transporting a patient.
Under the fee schedule approved unanimously by Council, there would be no charge for the first non-transport call within 12 months. However, a second call within a year would result in a $1,500 fee, and then $2,500 each for a third or more.
“I’m comfortable that these fees are below our actual cost for that service,” City Attorney Karl Hanlon said.
The second related matter sets a new fee schedule for malfunctioning alarm systems that result in emergency services being rolled out. In many cases, the systems go unfixed after multiple false alarms, Hanlon said.
It was reported that one property on Sixth Street had 39 false alarms through the first 10 months of this year. Car dealerships are also a frequent culprit, according to staff reports.
“As with most things, the first time people pay attention is when it comes with a dollar figure,” Hanlon said.
Henceforth, per Council’s unanimous approval, the first two false alarms will come with warnings to fix the system. A third false alarm will result in a $500 fee, $1,000 for a fourth and $2,500 each for five or more.
Under Council comments, Zalinski previewed a “State of Glenwood Springs” event coming up on Jan. 31, 2026. Stay tuned.
Due to the New Year’s Day holiday on the first Thursday of January, the next Glenwood City Council meeting is set for Thursday, Jan. 15.