Update as of Thursday, August 21: The Denver City Council tells Denver7 it will in fact get a full refund for the payments it had made for the mountain retreat it had scheduled for next week but canceled in solidarity with laid-off city workers.
Original report:
Denver City Council says it is postponing plans for a swanky Park County retreat scheduled for next week that would have cost taxpayers $26,000.
Denver7 found the timing of the retreat was questioned amid layoffs happening at the city.
The Denver City Council's central communications office released this statement from City Council President Amanda P. Sandoval:
"This week has been an especially difficult time for all who work for the City and County of Denver," said City Council president Amanda Sandoval.
Sandoval said the city council's "full attention" must now be on supporting staff.
"With that in mind, and after consultation with the full Council, I have decided it is best to postpone our planned professional development and team-building workshop," Sandoval said.
The city, of course, announced on Monday that 171 workers would be losing their jobs. Another 665 vacant positions were eliminated, and the funding for another 92 positions will be transferred out of the general fund to another source. Among those laid off was Scott Gilmore, the deputy executive director of Denver Parks & Recreation and the husband of Denver city council member Stacie Gilmore. Denver7 spoke with Scott Monday evening.
Denver7 did some digging with the city to break down the costs of the retreat:
- The city told us the facility, meals and accommodations would cost $16,500. A potential refund for those costs was still up in the air Tuesday.
- The future of the $2,600 that would go toward transportation with ADA accommodations is also uncertain.
- The facilitator and assessment tool is another $7,600, which City Council confirmed can be moved to a future date.
All of this was paid out of the City Council central office budget. The payment for the team building exercise was made on May 8, 2025, before the mayor’s announcement of the city’s budget shortfall on May 22.
A city spokesperson confirmed to Denver7 Tuesday that the city reached out to the venue, the Lone Rock in Bailey, to see if it could get a refund or change the date, but neither was possible.
The retreat was scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 27 through Friday, Aug. 29.
Several city council members confirmed to Denver7 the Council was unaware of any upcoming layoffs when members signed the contract for the retreat this past spring.
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