Larimer county commissioner - john kefalas

Larimer County Commissioner - John Kefalas

District: 1 | Role in 2026: Chair Pro Tem, Board of County Commissioners

2026-05-15

Sources:
- John Kefalas Won't Seek Re-Election as Larimer County Commissioner — North Forty News
- Dan Sapienza is running for Larimer County commissioner in District 1

2026-05-18

Sources:
- Who's running: A 2026 election guide for Fort Collins, Northern Colorado — Rocky Mountain Collegian

2026-05-21

Sources:
- Bringing it Home: Public Service in Larimer County — North Forty News

2026-05-25

Sources:
- 2026 Larimer County Commissioner Election — IndivisibleNOCO
- Who's running: 2026 election guide for Fort Collins / Northern Colorado — Rocky Mountain Collegian

2026-06-08

Sources:
- Residential Property Appeals — larimer.gov
- Upcoming Commissioners' Meetings — larimer.gov

2026-07-21

Sources:
- Larimer County extends fire restrictions (July 21, 2026) — larimer.gov
- Interactive fire-restriction map

2026-08-13

Sources:
- Clarification on AI misinformation on federal property tax benefits — larimer.gov (Aug 11, 2026)
- Larimer County Spotlights

2026-08-14

Sources:
- VALE Board Opens 2027 Grant Applications for Victim Services — North Forty News
- Larimer County Spotlights

2026-08-15

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Hybrid Listening Session: Draft Camping & Parking Ordinance (May 18, 2026) — larimer.gov
- Larimer County commissioners consider camping ban, abandoned car rules — Coloradoan via AOL
- Major Infrastructure Improvements Complete at Horsetooth and Carter Lake Reservoirs — larimer.gov (Aug 14, 2026)

2026-08-17

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Spotlights — larimer.gov

2026-08-21

Sources:
- Temporary Moratorium on Data Center Facilities — Larimer County

2026-08-22

Sources:
- Local governments in Colorado enact moratoriums on data center development — Colorado Newsline (Aug 10)
- Upcoming Planning Meetings and Agendas — Larimer County
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-23

Sources:
- Colorado Data Center Policy — Server Country
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Upcoming Planning Meetings and Agendas — Larimer County

2026-08-24

The County's Data Center Framework Draft Surfaced

The consultant report behind the moratorium is readable for the first time — "Data Center Planning Framework, Larimer County & Fort Collins," Full Draft v6, May 12, 2026, prepared for Scott Benton and Kassidee Fior at the county. It reached the public through Fort Collins' Aug 25 work session packet, not through any county page.

It is a working draft with its key section empty: "KEY THRESHOLDS" contains only the notes "Similarity to Definitions?" and "See Spreadsheet? Appendix?" Author to-dos are still highlighted throughout.

Proposed definitions: Qualified = 5 MW+, Large Load = 20–50 MW, Article 10 (1041 Powers) = 50 MW+. A five-tier regulatory menu runs from Tier 1 (lenient enough to "invite data centers") to Tier 5 (NDA ban for officials, caps at 1–2% of the county's annual water or power). The county's main lever is identified as its 50% local Business Personal Property Tax rebate, plus noise ordinances as an indirect way to push projects onto the grid rather than onsite gas turbines.

Full breakdown in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.

Comments still go to the record at engage.larimer.gov/datacenter, datacenter@publicinput.com, or the commissioners at bcc-admin@co.larimer.co.us / (970) 498-7010. The moratorium runs to Feb 25, 2027 — confirmed independently this run by Fort Collins staff.

No individual news for Kefalas. Fire restrictions in unincorporated Larimer County remain in effect through 11:59 PM Sept 8, 2026.

Sources:
- Data Center Planning Framework draft, in the Aug 25 Fort Collins work session packet (PDF)
- Data center engagement portal

2026-08-27

0.3% sales tax referred to the November ballot

At the Aug 25 Administrative Matters session the BOCC referred a 0.3% county sales and use tax to the Nov 3, 2026 ballot — ~$30M/yr for wildfire mitigation, disaster preparedness, watershed protection, and road and bridge safety, effective Jan 1, 2027. Groceries, gasoline, diapers, prescription drugs, and feminine hygiene products are exempt. Details in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.

This will be decided after Kefalas leaves office — his successor Shane Atkinson inherits whatever the voters decide.

Red Feather Lakes Community Conversation — today

Thursday, Aug 27, 12:00–1:30 PM, hosted by Kefalas. This is the standing District 1 community conversation format; the county publishes it only on the commissioners' schedule, with no separate agenda. Contact for location and to attend: jkefalas@larimer.org, (970) 498-7010.

Fire restrictions in unincorporated Larimer County remain in effect through 11:59 PM Sept 8, 2026.

Sources:
- Sales tax issue heads for Larimer ballot — BizWest (Aug 26)
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-29

Wellington Community Conversation — Thursday, Sept 3

The commissioners' schedule lists Kefalas hosting a community conversation in Wellington on Thursday morning, Sept 3. Same District 1 format as the Aug 27 Red Feather Lakes session: no separate agenda published, location and attendance details from the office — jkefalas@larimer.org, (970) 498-7010. A State Board of Human Services meeting follows Friday.

These are the remaining direct-access opportunities with the District 1 commissioner before Shane Atkinson succeeds him.

The tax announcement is out

The county published its first official notice of the November sales tax measure on Aug 28 — the Community Resilience and Needs Sales Tax. Kefalas's position and the vote count are still not public.
Detail and the TABOR comment mechanism in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.

Fire restrictions in unincorporated Larimer County remain in effect through 11:59 PM Sept 8, 2026 — ten days out.

Sources:
- Larimer County Commissioners Place Community Resilience and Needs Sales Tax Measure on November Ballot — larimer.gov (Aug 28)
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-30

A Fire Inside the Restrictions Window

The Moose Mountain Fire burned 1.5–2 acres north of Pinewood Springs off Highway 36 starting around 1:00 PM Friday Aug 28. Evacuations went voluntary → mandatory → lifted entirely by 7:00 PM the same day; 50% contained Aug 29. Roosevelt National Forest, Larimer County, Boulder County, and Pinewood Springs Fire Protection District responded.

Pinewood Springs is in District 1 — Kefalas's district. The fire restrictions he voted to extend 2-0 on July 21 expire 11:59 PM Sept 8, and a renewal vote is not on any published agenda. Sept 8 is a Tuesday; the Sept 1 Administrative Matters meeting is the last scheduled BOCC session before the expiration.

Evacuation alerts: NOCOAlert.org.

Community Conversation, Wellington — Thu Sept 3

Still no separate agenda published. Location and time from his office: jkefalas@larimer.org, (970) 498-7010. Note the commissioners' schedule shows no formal BOCC meetings Sept 3–5, so this is an individual-commissioner event rather than a board meeting.

Schedule

Tue Sept 1, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM — Administrative Matters with Legal Matters, County Attorney William Ressue, Hearing Room, 1st Floor, 200 W. Oak. First 30 minutes are public comment. In-person and email comment need no registration; phone participation requires registration by 4:30 PM Mon Aug 31 — bcc-admin@larimer.org, (970) 498-7010.

Work sessions Mon Aug 31 (Community Justice Alternatives 10:00 AM; Special Event Land Use Code Update 1:30 PM) and Wed Sept 2 (Caring for Our Spaces 1:30 PM; Xcel Targeted Underground Project 4:00 PM), all in the Commissioners' Conference Room, 2nd Floor — no public comment period.

No individual news for Kefalas.

Sources:
- Moose Mountain Fire 50% Contained Near Pinewood Springs — North Forty News (Aug 29, 2026)
- Evacuations lifted for Pinewood Springs over Moose Mountain Fire — KDVR
- Wildfire prompts evacuations in Pinewood Springs — Colorado Springs Gazette (Aug 28, 2026)
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-09-01

The Wellington Community Conversation Now Has a Time and an Address

Previously logged with neither. From the commissioners' schedule:

Thu Sept 3, 7:30–9:00 AM — Avuncular Bob's T-Bar Inn, 3803 West Cleveland Avenue, Wellington. Listed as an open topic discussion, hosted by Kefalas for the District 1 community. He "will host" — not a may-attend calendar entry. It is the only unstructured, in-person access to your commissioner on the calendar, and this is his last year in the seat.

A Public Meeting Tonight That Nothing Else Is Reporting

Tue Sept 1, 6:00–8:00 PM — Colorado Parks and Wildlife public meeting on relocating the Foothills Wildlife Research Facility and the Wildlife Health Lab. Leeper Center, 3800 Wilson Avenue, Wellington. Kefalas is listed as possibly attending.

The Foothills Wildlife Research Facility sits west of Fort Collins and houses live wildlife used in CPW research; the Wildlife Health Lab is the state's diagnostic operation for diseases in free-ranging wildlife, including chronic wasting disease. Relocating them is a siting decision with a host community, and this is a scheduled public meeting on it. No outlet has covered it — it surfaced only as a line on the commissioners' schedule, and no CPW page for it was findable. For detail before going, call the commissioners' office at (970) 498-7010 or CPW's Northeast Region.

It conflicts with the 6:00 PM City Council meeting.

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Wildlife Health — Colorado Parks and Wildlife

2026-09-02

Two Meetings Today, Then Wellington Tomorrow

Wednesday Sept 2 gives him the only table where all three of Aaron's local governments sit together:

Thu Sept 3, 7:30–9:00 AM — Community Conversation, Avuncular Bob's T-Bar Inn, 3803 W. Cleveland Ave, Wellington. Open topic, District 1. He hosts rather than attends. Still the only unstructured in-person access to Aaron's commissioner on the calendar, and he is not seeking reelection.

Worth bringing: Ballot Issue 1A has no sunset. The full text published this run shows a permanent 0.3% tax with a Justice Center line item and an "other County priorities and emerging community needs" catch-all — see Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally. The board's roll call on the referral is still unpublished; he was in the room for it.

Fire Restrictions Still Lapse Sept 8 — Trap Checked

A widely-surfacing CBS Colorado story headlined "Larimer County will let fire restrictions expire in unincorporated areas on Aug. 29" is dated August 23, 2022. It does not describe this year. The current restrictions, adopted May 6, 2026 and extended by a 2-0 board vote in July, still run to 11:59 PM Sept 8, 2026 across all three fire management zones. No renewal item has appeared on any BOCC agenda.

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Larimer County extends fire restrictions — larimer.gov (Jul 21, 2026)
- Larimer County will let fire restrictions expire — CBS Colorado (Aug 23, 2022)

2026-09-05

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County
- Larimer County extends fire restrictions — larimer.gov (Jul 21, 2026)
- 2026 Elections — Larimer County Clerk

2026-09-12

Sources:
- Larimer County extends fire restrictions — larimer.gov (Sept 10, 2026)
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-09-13

Sources:
- Owl Canyon Improvements — larimer.gov (Sept 10, 2026)
- Larimer County to Administer Local Emergency Food and Shelter Program — larimer.gov (Sept 10, 2026)

2026-09-16

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-09-19

Sources:
- Larimer County Voters to Decide 0.3% Sales Tax Increase in November — Johnstown Republic (Aug 29)
- 2026 Elections — Larimer County
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-09-20

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-09-27

The 2026 TABOR notice is published — and it closes most of the Ballot Issue 1A questions this file has carried open since August. The Clerk has posted both the mailed Notice of Election and the signed referral resolution. Ballots mail Oct 2; the notice mails to every address with an active registered voter.

The ballot question, verbatim:

SHALL LARIMER COUNTY TAXES BE INCREASED BY UP TO $34½ MILLION ANNUALLY (ESTIMATED FIRST YEAR INCREASE STARTING JANUARY 1, 2027), AND BY ANY ADDITIONAL AMOUNT GENERATED EACH YEAR THEREAFTER, TO FUND COUNTY PURPOSES INCLUDING:
- WILDFIRE, DRINKING WATER SOURCE AREAS, AND NATURAL HAZARD RESILIENCE, INCLUDING PREVENTION, MITIGATION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, RECOVERY, WATERSHED PROTECTION, FOREST HEALTH, AND OTHER PROJECTS THAT REDUCE THE RISKS OR IMPACTS OF DISASTER;
- MAINTAIN, IMPROVE, AND CONSTRUCT COUNTY BRIDGES, ROADS, PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACES AND OTHER RECREATIONAL LANDS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, ACCESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE; AND
- COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, INCLUDING EMERGENCY SERVICES, WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION, ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING OF PUBLIC BENEFITS, JUSTICE CENTER AND OTHER FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND OTHER COUNTY PRIORITIES AND EMERGING COMMUNITY NEEDS;

BY ESTABLISHING A 0.3% (30 CENTS ON $100 PURCHASE) COUNTYWIDE SALES AND USE TAX, EXCLUDING SALES OF FOOD FOR HOME CONSUMPTION, GASOLINE, DIAPERS, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND CERTAIN OTHER ITEMS EXEMPT BY LAW; WITH ALL REVENUE SUBJECT TO AN ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT; AND SHALL THE COUNTY BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN AND SPEND ALL REVENUES FROM THIS TAX WITHOUT LIMITATION BY ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION (TABOR), ALL AS PROVIDED IN THE RESOLUTION REFERRING THIS BALLOT ISSUE?

Resolved from the signed resolution (adopted Aug 25, 2026; signed by Chair Shadduck-McNally, attested by the Deputy Clerk, approved as to form by the County Attorney):
- No sunset — confirmed in the operative text, not just inferred. Sections 1, 2 and 6 all read "beginning January 1, 2027, and continu[ing] thereafter." There is no expiration date anywhere in the resolution. This had been an open question in this file since Aug 27
- The Board cannot change the exemptions on its own. Section 20: the commissioners "may not add or eliminate exemptions without further voter approval," except to track optional or mandatory changes in state law adopted after this resolution
- Revenue is walled off. Section 7 limits spending to the purposes in the resolution; Section 8 requires the money be "accounted for, budgeted and appropriated separately from other revenues"
- The exemption list is longer than the ballot title suggests — 11 categories: food for home consumption; machinery and machine tools; residential gas, electricity and fuels; low-volume charitable sales; farm equipment; vending-machine food (not candy/soft drinks); certain medium/heavy-duty vehicles; renewable energy components; manufactured, modular and tiny homes; incontinence products and diapers; period products. Plus construction materials where a local use tax is already paid, food bought with SNAP, and food bought with WIC
- The document records no roll-call vote — a chair-signed resolution, consistent with the Aug 25 session where this file has you absent. The individual vote count remains unpublished

Fiscal table printed in the notice:

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022
County spending $406,355,266* $385,165,961 $384,097,636 $328,437,342 $304,095,093

Change 2022→2026: +33.6% / +$102,260,173. Estimated 2027 spending without the tax: $446,990,793. Maximum 2027 increase authorized: $34,500,000. (*estimated)

Both sides' arguments, as they will appear in your mailbox. FOR: "about 3¢ per $10"; the Cameron Peak Fire as the case study; "every dollar invested in proactive mitigation can return as much as seven dollars"; ~80% of Coloradans rely on forested watersheds for municipal water; the county has done the studies and "what we need now is dedicated funding to put those plans into action." AGAINST: the increase is ~$90 per household per year in reduced buying power; sales-tax revenue already grows automatically with inflation and population, so "rate increases are not necessary for the County to do what it is supposed to be doing"; the de-Brucing means the county keeps windfalls "instead of refunding it (and instituting a tax-cut to keep faith)"; it follows the 2025 child-care tax and a property re-valuation windfall — "a pattern of predation by County government."

Also on Larimer ballots but not yours: Wellington 2A (0.5% sales tax, ~$995K/yr for law enforcement — no comments filed against), Berthoud 3G ($28M parks bonds, $60M max repayment — no comments either way), Weld RE-5J 5A (extending an expiring $4M/yr mill levy). Fort Collins itself referred no city ballot issue this year.

Your week ahead (BOCC schedule):
- Mon Sept 28, 3–8 PM — Land Use hearing (hybrid, Hearing Room 1st Floor or Zoom): Coffelt and Lehner Amended Plat, Graff Special Review and Appeals, Shankar Short-Term Rental Amended Special Review, Winslow Planned Land Division Rezone and Appeal, Mazur Planned Land Division and Rezone, and LifeQuest Campus and Retreat Center Rezone — the item continued from Aug 24. It is finally on a live agenda
- Mon Sept 28, 1:30 PM work session with Lesli Ellis on a Special Events Land Use Code update plus Community Development and infrastructure updates
- Tue Sept 29, 9 AM — Administrative Matters, including Legal Matters with County Attorney William Ressue. This is the same agenda line that produced the Aug 25 tax referral; phone-comment registration normally closes 4:30 PM the day before
- Wed Sept 30, 9:30 AM — Black Hollow Sun Solar Complex ribbon cutting, Severance (Kefalas)
- Thu Oct 1, 4–6 PM — CSU Veterinary Hospital and Education Complex grand opening, 300 W. Drake Rd (Kefalas + Shadduck-McNally)
- Thu Oct 1, 5–7:30 PM — Fort Collins Human Relations Commission Belonging Mixer, Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Dr (Kefalas + Shadduck-McNally)
- Thu Oct 1, 6–7:30 PM — 2026 General Election Community Kickoff, Larimer County Administrative Services Building, 200 W. Oak St. Open event the night before ballots mail; Kefalas and Shadduck-McNally attending
- Also: Mission ReConnect veteran coalition (Sept 29), Protect Colorado's Future Coalition (Oct 1), Northern Colorado Equality Pride at the Senior Center (Oct 3), The Family Center/La Familia Fiesta Gala at Odell (Oct 3)

West Nile survey coming to Fort Collins doors, Sept 28–29. The Health Department is running a CDC CASPER door-to-door survey in randomly selected Fort Collins households, roughly noon–7 PM both days, on how residents protect themselves from mosquitoes and what they think of local mosquito control. LCDHE staff and CSU student volunteers, all carrying official ID; ~15 minutes, voluntary, any question skippable, no identifying information collected. Not all neighborhoods will be visited. To verify that someone at your door is legitimate — or to ask questions — call or text 970-498-6708. Contact: Kori Solt, ksolt@larimer.org.

Sources:
- Notice of Election / TABOR notice, Nov 3 2026 (PDF)
- Ballot Issue 1A signed referral resolution (PDF)
- 2026 General Election sample ballot (PDF)
- 2026 Elections — Larimer County Clerk
- Health Department to conduct community survey about West Nile virus (spotlight, Sept 25)
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

Stale-source warning: the top search result for opposition to "Larimer County Ballot Issue 1A" is a substack post titled "VOTE NO on Larimer County Ballot Issue 1A" — it is dated October 22, 2024 and argues against the 2024 transportation tax (0.15%, $17.2M/yr, 15-year term). Different measure, same number. The real 2026 opposition argument is the AGAINST summary in the TABOR notice above.

2026-09-29

Sources:
- County warns development review applicants of phishing scam (Sept 28)
- 25-ZONE3797 LifeQuest Campus and Retreat Center Rezone — PublicInput
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-10-03

Sources:
- 2026 Larimer County Parking Ordinance — PublicInput
- Poudre School District adds meeting on school closures — Coloradoan (Oct 2)
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-10-09

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-10-10

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County
- 2026 Larimer County Parking Ordinance — PublicInput

2026-10-12

Sources:
- New Floodplain Maps Take Effect This November — Larimer County (Aug 24)
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-10-13

Sources:
- Oct 12 land use agenda — CivicClerk
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County
- Parking ordinance — engage.larimer.gov