DENVER — Republican Douglas County Commissioner George Teal on Tuesday said discussions are underway with Denver to move forward with the county's purchase of Daniels Park.
"I'm speaking to members of the Denver City Council. I'm happy to meet with members of the Denver city staff. I'm going to be meeting with Mayor Hancock. I am satisfied where my discussions are going," he said at a commissioners meeting.
"I don't think we have any hard and fast commitments that we can make right now. They have work that they need to do with their colleagues, and so I don't want to undercut that or undermine that, kinda cool -- I think we may see some interesting work product from them in the next couple weeks."
Daniels Park, near Castle Pines, is known as a place for celebrations hosted by Indigenous people. It's also home to a bison herd. While geographically outside of Denver, the park is part of the Denver Mountain Parks system.
RELATED: DougCo commissioners consider plan to take park land from Denver in retaliation for gun control laws
Teal announced last week he wanted Douglas County to purchase the park from Denver. A social media post and previous meeting agenda indicated the decision is in response to a new Denver law that prohibits concealed carry guns in parks.
According to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's office, no one on the mayor's staff has spoken to Teal about the park, and there isn't a meeting with Teal on the mayor's calendar. Based on 9NEWS' conversations with some city council members, it seems that at least one of them has spoken to Teal about Daniels Park.
Regardless, those conversations may not matter. The Denver City Charter says that no park may be sold without Denver voter approval.
There's also the issue of cost. The value of the land is estimated to be $800 million, coming in at about $300 million higher than Douglas County's entire budget for 2022.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark