Lafayette officials are gathering community feedback on different options to fund the construction of a new civic center and expansion and renovation projects for the Bob L. Burger Recreation Center and the city’s utilities service center, which houses maintenance equipment for Lafayette’s utilities, streets, parks and open space.

The estimated cost to fund the three projects is $74 million, and the city has hosted two community meetings — on April 2 and Wednesday — to inform residents about the potential projects and potential fund sources. Lafayette residents might vote on a ballot initiative this year or in 2026 that could help determine how the city would pay for the projects.

The third meeting will take place 6-7 p.m. May 15 at Lafayette City Hall, 1260 S. Public Road, and will go over sustainability and environmental stewardship regarding the projects. A questionnaire residents can answer is available at lafayette-listens.com/capital-bond and is open through May 16.

Details of possible changes

The proposed projects include a $34 million renovation and expansion of the recreation center, a $34 million construction project for a new civic center to be located in the Old Town area, and a $6 million renovation and expansion of the service center. The city could fund the potential projects either through a sales and use tax increase or a property tax increase, to help the city pay off a bond debt fee.

The city maintains over 30 facilities, Deputy City Manager Megan Davis said at the Wednesday meeting, but city staff determined the three projects as the top priorities to invest in. The civic center would house municipal court, city council chambers and staff offices, as many departments like technology or sustainability services have been created since the construction of Lafayette City Hall in 1985. If crews build a new civic center, the future of today’s city hall building is currently undetermined, according to Debbie Wilmot, a city spokesperson.

The expansion of the service center would help with service quality for utilities the city provides. Lafayette is a full-service city, providing water, stormwater and sewer service, among other things.

The pool and aquatics complex at the recreation center has reached the end of its life and needs to be renovated, according to the Lafayette Listens website.

Looking at funding

About 23% of the city’s $121 million budget for 2025 is dedicated to capital projects, like road and utility maintenance, according to Morgan Walton, interim chief financial officer. She said the funds are primarily dedicated for routine maintenance and replacement of infrastructure but are not enough to fund all improvements necessary.

“To go through all of this, it shows that the current capital funding sources are not sufficient to complete all the improvements that were discussed,” Walton said.

The current city sales tax is 3.87%, with the majority of that tax going to the city’s general fund, Walton said. In Lafayette, the total combined rate with the state, county and other tax rates results in a sales tax of 9.055%. As an example, Walton said for every dollar of sales and use tax, about 44 cents go to Lafayette.

To fund the potential projects, a minimum increase of 0.85% to the sales tax is needed, Walton said, which brings the proposed new city sales tax to 4.72% and the total sales tax to roughly 9.9%.

Alexander Nelson, city manager assistant, spoke about raising property taxes as an option to fund the projects. The total city mill levy of 15.873 was adopted in the 2025 budget. A “mill levy” is the official term for a property tax rate. Each “mill” is $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value on property. Nelson explained that for every dollar of property tax collected, 18 cents goes to Lafayette, with the rest going to Boulder Valley School District and other local government entities. The estimated property tax addition would be $48 for every $100,000 of home value, or an additional $296 on the average Lafayette home, which is valued at $685,500, Nelson said.

Other potential funding sources include grant funding from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the Colorado Energy Office, Xcel Energy and other sustainability and energy efficiency grants. Nelson said potential city funding sources also include fee revenues or unanticipated growth revenue.

City Manager Kady Doelling said the reason for having the bond exploration conversations so early is to get resident feedback on the projects.

“We recognize this might not be the right time, but want to get in front of the community that these are needs,” Doelling said.

She said the longer the city waits to do capital projects, the more expensive it becomes.

The city is conducting community engagement for the process, with the results to be presented to the City Council during its May 27 meeting. Davis said if directed by the council to proceed, there would be a ballot language certification process before the election either this year or next.