Aurora City Council Returns for 2017

The Aurora City Council returned to city hall for their first meeting of the new year on Monday. The council began their meeting by swearing-in newly appointed and reappointed judges to the Aurora Municipal Court. Justice Richard Gabriel of the Colorado Supreme Court was in appearance to swear-in the newly appointed and reappointed judges. There were twelve judges being sworn-in at the meeting.

Newly appointed members of the Civil Service Commission, and the Building Code and Contractors Appeals and Standards Board were sworn in by Judge Shawn Day of the City of Aurora. The council also considered candidates to be nominated for the Public Defender Commission and the Planning & Zoning Commission. The three candidates nominated for the Public Defender Commission were appointed by a unanimous vote without discussion. There were two openings at the Planning & Zoning Commission but three were nominated. In order to decide which nominees are to be appointed, the nominee with the lowest number of votes does not become appointed to the commission.

A variety of contracts were considered in the meeting. One of which is single source contract not to exceed $550,000 to the Aurora Economic Development Council for services to develop Aurora’s economy. Another was a sole source contract of $108,286 to Malvern Instruments, Inc. for parts needed at the Griswold and Wemlinger Water Purification Facility. A contract of $2.9 million was considered for Central States Roofing Company in Colorado Springs to roof replacement services on city property. The Council also considered extending a contract not to exceed $190,000 with Albert, Frei & Sons, Inc. in Henderson for the purchase of “aggregate materials.” All of the contracts were considered without discussion and were approved unanimously.

The Council unanimously voted for a resolution to approve The Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Metro Gang Task Force. The memo was created to create a better understanding of the goals and mission of the Metro Gang Task Force.

A new improvement district organization was finalized during the meeting. The district will be called the Cobblewood Streets General Improvement District. The council voted to finalize the creation of the organization by a vote of 8-1, with Councilwoman Peterson voting against the finalization. Some Aurora residents may remember Issue 2A on their ballots from last November. This ballot issue won in a vote of 34-5, establishing the organization of the improvement district.

Council-member Mounier spoke of a report of an all-refugee Boy Scout troop started by a citizen in her ward (Ward I). Council-member Berzins used her report time to share her thanks to first responders over the last two weeks. Council-member Pierce spoke of the annual lunch the Aurora City Council has with the Denver City Council and remarked how enjoyable it was. The lunch was hosted in Denver this year and Council-member Pierce expressed an interest in hosting next year’s lunch at the newly-opened Stanley Marketplace. Council-member Peterson apologized to Council-member Roth for accusing him earlier in the meeting of unethical behavior. Council-member Roth graciously accepted the apology.