Connexion’s revenue through the third quarter of this year continues to outperform budget thanks to high customer demand and the work of the residential sales and marketing teams. Growth in internet revenue is 33% year over year through September. Video revenues are up 9% from the prior year, while phone revenues are slightly down. In total, revenue is $819,000 over budget through August and 34% ahead of last year.

Learn more and dive deeper into Connexion financials

In late July, Connexion hit an impressive milestone of 20,000 customers! To celebrate this accomplishment, Connexion randomly selected 20 customers to receive a free year of internet service beginning in October 2024 and ending in September 2025. To celebrate, the Connexion team hosted an event with Council and City leaders to honor the 20 winners.

The City is proud to wrap up another bee-autiful season of floral installations with the Downtown Flower Project. About 45,000 flowers and plants were placed this summer, with more than 250 different species included in the beds throughout Downtown. Highlights of this season include a new pollinator parkway, showcasing plants chosen specifically for their pollinator-friendly qualities, as well as an increase in perennials.

Summer was full of fun and community connections for so many City departments! We were thrilled to host our first-ever adaptive golf event for more than 50 participants, plant willows with the Native American community to celebrate Public Lands Day, sing along with another unforgettable season of live music at The Gardens on Spring Creek—including four out of five sold out shows—and deepen our appreciation for the diversity of identity and experience in Fort Collins with the return of the Human Library to the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. We had so much fun that we couldn’t list it all, so be sure to check out the City Summer Events & Public Engagement Metrics section of this report for a deeper dive.

The City's Equity & Inclusion Office partners with a variety of local organizations, businesses and community groups to host culturally significant events throughout the year that celebrate our vibrant community. Here are just a few recent examples:

• In June, the City recognized Pride Month with a proclamation and celebration featuring local drag performers, as well as raising the Pride flag at City Hall. The City also hosted a table at the Northern Colorado Equality PRIDE 2024, an annual event to celebrate, support and offer solidarity to local LBGTQ+ community members across the region.
• The City was also a sponsor of the community Juneteenth celebration where hundreds gathered for a vibrant and joyful event filled with live music, cultural performances, educational exhibits, vendor market, food trucks and family-friendly activities.
• In early October, The Gardens on Spring Creek hosted a community celebration of Latiné & Hispanic Heritage Month with a day full of free events including artmaking, live music, dancing and performances, storytelling, BIPOC vendor market, and more, highlighting the Latiné-Hispanic culture that enriches our Fort Collins community.

Learn more about upcoming community events

Officials published the City Manager’s Recommended Budget at the end of August and through the fall City Council reviewed and adjusted it in preparation for the adoption of the final budget in November. The community had opportunities to weigh in throughout, whether directly to Council at their Budget Hearings or through a variety of public engagement opportunities—including a series of community conversations hosted on social media and Our City, with more than 350 comments and ideas submitted. Officials combined public input with the results of the Community Survey and engagement efforts from the recent Strategic Plan update to provide insight and inform funding decisions that impact community priorities like housing affordability, transit options and transportation safety, a healthy local economy and climate resilience.

The International Economic Development Council recognized the City’s Economic Health Office as one of 83 economic development organizations accredited by IEDC as an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO). Earning the AEDO recognition tells our community and business prospects that the City has attained a measure of excellence assuring that their trust is well placed and their business is in good hands.

Q3 brought opportunities to celebrate, gather and educate around the importance of giving back to the community. NextGenServe, now in its fourth year, offered 32 teens hands-on experience with 15 City departments, promoting leadership and civic engagement among Fort Collins youth. The City also held the Volunteer Engagement Summit, which hosted 260 attendees for a day of learning and connection, culminating in a volunteer appreciation party celebrating more than 200 dedicated participants.

Following an open invitation period in early 2025, a randomly chosen, representative group of Fort Collins residents will be selected to serve on a Civic Assembly—a form of more deliberative engagement that transforms public participation in decision-making to help find consensus on complex issues—to inform the future of the Hughes property.

The group will learn about the site, hear from other residents, deliberate on options and ultimately provide a mid-year recommendation to City Council.

Learn more about the Hughes project

Completed in August, the asphalt art installation at the Canyon/Magnolia/Sherwood intersection spans approximately 16,000 square feet, making it the largest asphalt art installation in Fort Collins history. This project improves pedestrian safety and community concerns about right-of-way confusion, in alignment with the City’s Active Modes Plan and 15-minute city goal. The project has already resulted in a 22% reduction in vehicular speeds in the area!

While previous Open Streets events have focused on showcasing low-stress bikeways, the City hosted this year's event on Shields Street to help residents envision the potential of future street transformations recommended in the Active Modes Plan and included in the 2025-2026 City Manager’s Recommended Budget. Participation nearly doubled compared to previous Open Streets events: More than14,000 participants enjoyed a vibrant space for walking, biking and community connections. This event supports City Council’s priority to advance a 15-minute city by encouraging a shift to active modes as comfortable, easy and healthy alternatives to driving.

In support of Vision Zero, the City launched a new Road Safe campaign promoting safer driving by encouraging everyone to slow down and follow speed limits. This includes social media messaging, bus shelter posters and a bumper magnet with an edgy reminder: Slow the FoCo Down!

 To further support these efforts, Fort Collins expanded its camera-enforced speeding citation program, which can use radar and cameras at 18 key locations to catch speeding drivers and promote compliance—Fort Collins Police Services began issuing warnings Oct. 25 for violations of speeding 10+ mph above the posted limit captured by the cameras.

The City recently hosted a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, where eighteen community members learned basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, and team organization. Following CERT training, residents may join the Fort Collins Volunteer Response Team and attend additional trainings, drills and events to help increase our local disaster preparedness.

Sign up for CERT training

Sept. 30, the City began its new Contracted Residential Trash and Recycling Program for approximately 35,500 households. The program increases opportunities for diverting material from the landfill, provides consistent and transparent pricing, and increases safety and reduces emissions by reducing the number of trash trucks on residential streets. This program helps our community make strides toward our Zero Waste Goals outlined in the Our Climate Future Plan.

In August, the City submitted a 1041 permit application to Larimer County for the Halligan Water Supply Project. The local 1041 permit allows Larimer County to place restrictions and advise what they’d like to see as part of the reservoir expansion project before it’s authorized to begin.

With the construction of a replacement dam, the Halligan Project will store about 8,200 acre-feet of additional water to provide a safe and reliable supply to people in Fort Collins Utilities’ water service area into the future. The project will also bring numerous environmental benefits, including restoring minimum flows to the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River. Over the next few years, more critical work will take place including obtaining the remaining permits and a final Record of Decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Laporte Multimodal Improvements project delivered bicycle and pedestrian side paths to Laporte Avenue between Fishback Avenue and Frey Avenue in August; the final phase west of Fishback Avenue began in October and will finish in Spring 2025. The College/Trilby Intersection Improvements project completed its first construction phase in August; improving drainage, relocating utilities and work on road surfaces will begin in February. Meanwhile, the Centre Avenue Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements project finished asphalt resurfacing and installing pedestrian islands at pedestrian crossing locations in July, with separated bike lanes to be installed this fall. The Timberline/Vine Intersection Project is currently underway, adding a traffic signal and left turn lanes to the intersection of Timberline Road and Vine Drive.

The Oak Street Stormwater project successfully completed tunneling work in October, as part of the project’s efforts to resolve flooding issues in Downtown. The 200 block of Oak Street is set to reopen in November after crews complete backfilling and paving. With underground construction complete, crews moved the tunneling equipment to address the next part of the Downtown Stormwater Improvement Plan—Arthur's Ditch Tunnel—replacing more storm drain tunnel in the 500 and 600 blocks of Oak Street.

More than 14,000 people attended Open Streets, an all-time record!

The Gardens on Spring Creek were rocking with:

• 5 summer concerts (4 of 5 sold out)
• 6,795 total tickets sold

The Lincoln Center had lots of fun:

• 1,100 3rd graders attended “Sugar Skull! A Dia de Muertos Musical Adventure” 
• 1,707 community members attended the free Summer Children’s Series over the summer

Parks & Recreation staff were chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool with:

• More than 900 in-person engagements for the Strategic Trails Plan, including 189 at the Northern Colorado Trails Summit event
• Three summer “Chill Out with Rec” events at local parks, with roughly 375 participants
• 50 attendees at Adaptive Recreation Opportunities’ first-ever adaptive golf event, held at Collindale Golf Course
• 150 attendees at the Pickleball Feasibility Open House

Natural Areas stayed busy with:

• 27 community programs with 672 participants
• 24 outreach events and activities with 910 participants
• 21 partnership events with 848 participants
• 8 school field trips with 373 participants
• 13 special events with 1,273 participants
• 7 stewardship events with 85 participants
• 4 volunteer opportunities with 60 participants

Utilities opened doors and minds with:

• 1,548 people reached through 28 different events, tours and educational programs

City staff were out and about seeking community feedback with:

• 6 interactive Neighborhood Visits, where more than 40 attendees gave feedback on the variety of commercial hubs in Fort Collins
• The Registration Rodeo event, where 100 property managers attended and registered 135 rental properties