Council issues Pride and Juneteenth proclamations; public commenters urge immigrant protections and equity audit

Wheat Ridge City Council issued two proclamations June 8: a June 2026 LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamation presented by Mayor Corey Stites and accepted by Dr. Alexis Hoffling, and a Juneteenth proclamation read and discussed by local residents. Dr. Hoffling framed Pride as both celebration and ongoing protest and urged vigilance as national debates continue to affect local communities.

During the public-comment portion of the meeting residents raised several civic issues. Charlie Meyers, a District 1 resident, said he was concerned by increased ICE presence and asked the council to consider four measures recommended at a prior meeting: (1) prohibit the Wheat Ridge Police Department from entering agreements with ICE or providing collateral support for ICE operations; (2) insist that immigration enforcement in Wheat Ridge rely on judicial warrants rather than civil detainers; (3) require ICE agents to be identifiable (unmasked) while conducting local operations; and (4) adopt other protections suggested in the council’s human dignity and civil rights resolution.

Guy Namash, representing a local neighborhood paper, thanked council for postponing the equity-audit decision to allow additional study time and relayed community feedback heard at Ridgefest on issues such as lighting, bike safety and vendor diversity. Morgan Richards, a parent and small-business owner, urged the council to proceed with the equity audit the council agreed to by consensus in January 2026, arguing the audit would provide factual information to protect vulnerable residents and may prevent costly legal or civil liabilities.

Council thanked speakers, acknowledged recent community events such as Ridgefest and the Taber Lake ribbon cutting, and reiterated that the proposed $9,600 equity-audit agenda item had been removed from tonight’s agenda to allow the idea committee to review scope before returning the measure for council action.

Council did not take immediate action on the public requests but recorded them in the public record and referred the audit scope back to the idea committee for review.