AURORA | Aurora City Council members drew international attention when they agreed to dedicated $4.5 million in recreational marijuana sales through 2018 to expand homeless services in Aurora. Now city lawmakers would like to see some of that money put toward the city’s first homeless day resource center.
At a study session August 22, Aurora City Council members agreed to move forward with creating at least a temporary day shelter for homeless individuals to be located at the World War II-era barracks that sit on the Anschutz Medical Campus and formerly served as the Aurora Police Department’s training center. The barracks were originally part of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Post.
Aurora Councilman Bob LeGare said he has been part of negotiations with city staff to potentially use the center to serve area homeless for the past year and expects the project to garner approval. He also proposed at the meeting raising the city’s marijuana sales tax in 2017 to fund the operation and maintenance of the day center. His proposal would increase Aurora’s marijuana sales tax in July of next year from 5.75 percent to 7.75 percent. City officials say the increase would be a wash for voters because in June of next year, the state sales tax on recreational marijuana will decrease from 10 percent to 8 percent, according to rules set by House Bill 1367 that was passed in 2015.
Not everyone on city council is sold on the idea, and the notion of accommodating homeless people in Aurora rather than working to find them permanent homes is controversial.
“If you want to get rid of homeless, you need to provide them with a place to live. Then they’re not homeless,” said Aurora At-large Councilwoman Barb Cleland, who said she wanted to see the city work on creating permanent housing for the homeless.
The building itself is beset with problems that must be addressed before it could be used if city lawmakers ultimately back the plan.
Aurora City Manger George “Skip” Noe said in an email the building’s heating system is a challenge because steam lines from a central plant have deteriorated and are unusable. He said the cost to construct a new steam-line connection would be $310,000, and that the city would need permission from the University of Colorado, who owns he steam plant on the Anschutz campus.
Noe’s said other costs couldn’t yet be anticipated because it was not decided what services would be provided at the day shelter and whether it would also be expanded as an emergency overnight shelter during cold- or hot-weather alerts. He said anticipated code improvements, such as updating the sprinkler and alarm systems as well as updating the restrooms would cost the city around $568,000. That cost would also include maintaining a separate workout facility for Aurora Police who would still use that part of the building.
Despite concerns, most city lawmakers said denying that homelessness in Aurora, especially along the East Colfax Avenue corridor, isn’t a plan.
“It is a need,” said Aurora At-large Councilwoman Angela Lawson, who said she supported the project. “Beyond this political stuff that goes on, we need this day center. It is essential as the homeless population is moving, is increasing. This is just one little piece of moving forward and dealing with this homeless issue.”
Aurora Ward VI Councilwoman Francoise Bergan said she would like to see a workforce development component to the center, while Ward II Councilwoman Renie Peterson said she envisioned the space housing lockers where homeless individuals could store their stuff and also get out of the cold for a while during the winer.
LeGare pointed out that Comitis Crisis Center, Aurora’s only overnight emergency homeless shelter that also has some temporary housing programs, is located right next to the gym on the Anschutz campus, and could easily expand its services to the new day shelter.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said the day center would be the first step in a comprehensive plan to address homelessness in Aurora. Unlike Denver, Aurora is not enforcing an urban camping ban, but is instead attempting to provide more resources for homeless people coming to the city.
“For 119 of 125 years, we didn’t even acknowledge anybody was homeless in Aurora,” Hogan said. “Now we’re at the point where we have to make some decisions about where to start. This is a long-term effort, this isn’t a one-year effort. We have to have housing, a day-shelter, all of those things.”