[0:06] The regular meeting of the Aurora City Council for Monday,

[0:08] August 10th, 2026 is called to order with a clear please call

[0:11] the roll.

[0:12] Mayor Kaufman.

[0:13] Here.

[0:14] Council member.

[0:15] Andrews.

[0:18] Council member.

[0:18] Bergin.

[0:20] Council member.

[0:21] Combs.

[0:23] Council member.

[0:24] Gardiner.

[0:25] Here.

[0:27] Council member.

[0:27] Hancock. Here.

[0:29] Council member.

[0:30] Horton. Here.

[0:31] Council member.

[0:32] Jackson. Council member.

[0:34] Lawson. Here.

[0:35] Council member.

[0:35] Medina. Here.

[0:37] Council member.

[0:38] Wallace. Council member.

[0:40] Wiles.

[0:42] Here. There's a quorum.

[0:44] Council member Jackson is excused.

[0:47] Please join me in an invocation.

[0:51] Uh, our Lord, our God and our father.

[0:56] We come to you and we ask that you look upon this particular

[1:00] gathering tonight to keep us

[1:02] safe and guide us in our decisions.

[1:04] Bless our city with honorable citizens, industry, sound

[1:08] education and good government.

[1:10] Unite our community together.

[1:13] Even though we come from different backgrounds.

[1:15] We pray that there will be justice and peace in our city.

[1:18] Give the City Council and citizens the wisdom, direction

[1:22] and sensitivity to the business

[1:23] and proceedings before us tonight.

[1:25] Hear us, therefore, as we commit this meeting to the help

[1:29] of our entire community.

[1:31] Amen. Land acknowledgement.

[1:34] I'm sorry.

[1:35] Um. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:40] I pledge allegiance to the flag

[1:43] of the United States of America.

[1:44] And to the Republic for which it stands.

[1:47] One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:51] justice for all.

[1:54] A land acknowledgement.

[1:55] The city of Aurora acknowledges that we gather on the

[1:58] territories and ancestral homelands of the Cheyenne and

[2:01] Arapaho and Lakota peoples, past and present.

[2:05] We also recognize the 48 contemporary tribal nations

[2:08] that are historically tied to the lands that make up the

[2:11] state of Colorado indigenous peoples, and remain committed

[2:14] to the stewardship of this land over many centuries, as these

[2:18] words of acknowledgement are spoken and heard.

[2:21] The ties that these nations have to their traditional

[2:24] homelands and to their vital place in the ecosystem are

[2:27] renewed and reaffirmed, and we are called upon to be better

[2:30] stewards of the land we inhabit as we continue to work to meet

[2:34] the needs of our entire community.

[2:40] Our motion is in order for approval of the minutes for

[2:42] July 27th, 2026.

[2:44] So moved.

[2:46] Moved by Councilmember Hancock.

[2:47] Second by

[2:50] second by Councilmember Lawson to approve the minutes for July

[2:52] 27th seventh, 2026 discussion and seeing no discussion.

[2:57] Call for the question on approval of the minutes for

[2:59] July 27th, 2026.

[3:01] Mayor Kaufman.

[3:02] Votes yes.

[3:07] What did you say?

[3:08] Mayor Pro Tem.

[3:09] 13 a but let's see who's going to make the motion.

[3:13] Council member.

[3:14] Horton.

[3:15] Yes. Council member.

[3:17] Hancock. Yes.

[3:18] The motion passes unanimously to adopt the July 27th, 2026

[3:22] meeting minutes.

[3:24] Adoption of the agenda.

[3:25] Motion is in order.

[3:28] Mayor.

[3:29] Mayor Pro tem.

[3:29] So moved.

[3:32] Councilmember Wiles or Mayor pro tem?

[3:34] Was there something that was

[3:35] going to be removed from the agenda?

[3:39] So we have a motion to approve the agenda.

[3:42] Is there a

[3:44] second Councilmember?

[3:45] Mayor. I'll or sorry, City attorney Schultz.

[3:48] I'll make that as a friendly amendment.

[3:52] Um, so that would be sorry.

[3:56] Scroll down.

[3:56] So, yeah.

[3:57] Um, move to approve the agenda with item 13 A removed.

[4:02] Is there a second?

[4:04] Okay. Um, second.

[4:06] Move by Mayor Pro tem, seconded by Councilmember Wiles to, um.

[4:12] Is it?

[4:13] Item is that.

[4:14] I approve the agenda of removing item 13.

[4:16] A.

[4:16] Uh, approval of the agenda.

[4:19] Uh, minus item 13.

[4:22] Aye. Item number 13.

[4:23] A of discussion.

[4:26] Uh, I'm sorry, Mayor pro Tem.

[4:28] So just to clarify, the removal of 13 a, um, I have some

[4:32] amendments to the resolution

[4:35] regarding the data center moratorium.

[4:38] Um, that will would require significant modifications to

[4:44] the ordinance.

[4:45] So we're removing the ordinance and, um, going to vote on the

[4:52] resolution, as amended.

[4:54] Very well.

[4:56] Further discussion.

[4:58] Seeing none, call for the question on the adoption of the

[5:02] agenda, as amended.

[5:04] Mayor Kaufman.

[5:06] Yes.

[5:10] The motion passes unanimously to adopt the agenda with item

[5:14] 13 A removed.

[5:20] All right.

[5:20] Thank you, Mayor Pete Schultz and the city attorney.

[5:24] A couple of things.

[5:24] The council has asked me, is the parliamentarian for City

[5:27] council to read the the decorum statement?

[5:30] I know we don't like calling it that, but the public comment

[5:32] announcement, if you guys have signed up to speak during

[5:35] public comment, please make sure that it's on items that

[5:38] are not on the agenda.

[5:40] So, for example, if you're here to talk on the data center

[5:42] resolutions, please don't talk about that during public

[5:45] comment because it won't be part of the record to be used

[5:48] on those items.

[5:49] So if anything does end up getting appealed or later, your

[5:53] comments will not be included.

[5:54] And so if you do start doing that, either the city clerk and

[5:57] myself may remind you that this is not the appropriate time to

[6:00] make comments on agenda items.

[6:01] So City Council has established this public forum to receive

[6:04] input from the community.

[6:06] The public invited to be heard portion of the meeting is

[6:08] limited by council rules for a total of one hour, with each

[6:10] speaker allotted three minutes.

[6:12] Speakers signed up to comment on agenda items are also

[6:15] limited to three minutes, and comments must be related

[6:17] directly to that item on the

[6:19] agenda that is being considered.

[6:21] All participants are expected to observe the same standards

[6:23] of decorum as the City Council.

[6:25] Personal attacks, disruptive behavior, and demonstrations

[6:28] such as clapping, snapping, cheering, booing or similar

[6:30] actions are not permitted.

[6:32] Please show respect to all speakers, regardless of whether

[6:34] you agree with their comments, and allow everyone the

[6:36] opportunity to be heard.

[6:37] Speakers who exceed the three minute time limit reduce the

[6:39] opportunity for others to speak.

[6:41] Please be considerate of your fellow residents when preparing

[6:43] your comments, and we do ask

[6:45] that you refrain from using profanity.

[6:46] As you know, there may be children watching or others

[6:49] that are sensitive to profanity.

[6:51] So mayor public invited to be heard.

[6:58] And Schaffner followed by Agent Anderson.

[7:18] On July 31st, 2026, Rajan Belt Stubblefield would have been

[7:23] celebrating his 38th birthday instead of him being here to

[7:28] celebrate that with his family

[7:31] due to him being slain by the Aurora police.

[7:37] Another chapter of this tragedy opened itself up because on

[7:42] July 31st, 2026.

[7:46] Instead of there being a birthday celebration, that

[7:50] family received the news that the officer that killed Rajan

[7:56] in the street was indicted for

[7:59] murder two and reckless manslaughter.

[8:05] What I find interesting is that when the system seemingly

[8:10] affirms the narrative that the police do no wrong, or that

[8:16] when they shoot us in the

[8:17] street, somehow, someway it is justified.

[8:21] We don't see hesitation

[8:25] from a chief of police and some of the leaders on this dais to

[8:31] boldly speak up and affirm that narrative.

[8:35] But when something shifts and now there is a sense of

[8:39] accountability coming down through that same system that

[8:43] you affirm when they justify killing us.

[8:47] Interestingly enough, we don't see the same pattern

[8:51] of acknowledging that something is different.

[8:56] There is seemingly a protocol of the Aurora police to post a

[9:01] mugshot of someone that commits a crime in your city, along

[9:06] with a very descriptive

[9:08] narrative on your social media platforms.

[9:12] I've been scrolling since July 31st, and I have not seen

[9:17] Matthew Neely's mugshot or details about the charges of

[9:22] the crime that he has been

[9:24] accused of committing in your city.

[9:28] So I just want to say that some of you will likely rationalize

[9:32] in your head of why that's the case.

[9:35] But I'm here to remind you that history will not be kind to the

[9:40] A contradiction.

[9:43] You have a police chief.

[9:47] That is a walking contradiction,

[9:50] which simply means that he is not competent to serve in the

[9:55] position that he is in.

[9:58] So, as we have said before, and we will continue to say it

[10:02] again and again.

[10:04] Fire Chief Chamberlain,

[10:09] this is a live example of how this chief pretends to care

[10:15] about everyone, but clearly only cares about some.

[10:20] Anti Anderson, followed by Della Jordan.

[10:32] Tonight I have brought something that Mayor Kaufman is

[10:37] too familiar with a gavel because this chamber is going

[10:42] to be a courtroom for the next three minutes.

[10:44] And the matter before us will be the people of Aurora versus

[10:48] the City council of Aurora.

[10:51] Tonight, you are being charged with being complicit in the

[10:54] murders of your own citizens at the hands of the Aurora Police

[10:58] Department, and with operating and continuing a political

[11:02] protection system that shields

[11:03] police power from accountability.

[11:06] Let the record reflect that the people are ready to proceed.

[11:10] Our first witnesses are the families, the families who have

[11:14] walked into this chamber carrying photographs of their

[11:17] loved ones murdered by APD, the families who have come here

[11:21] with questions this government still refuses to answer.

[11:26] The families who have begged this city and this city council

[11:29] for accountability.

[11:30] And Mayor Kaufman.

[11:32] Those families know the sound of your gavel.

[11:36] Your time is up.

[11:38] Please conclude.

[11:40] Sit down.

[11:42] Order!

[11:44] Look at that.

[11:45] Government does work.

[11:47] Just apparently, when it is, a government does work.

[11:53] Just not when black families need it to work for them.

[11:57] So tonight, the roles are reversed.

[12:00] The families are not on trial.

[12:01] But you are.

[12:02] Todd Chamberlain is.

[12:04] The Aurora Police Department.

[12:05] Is the grief of families entered into evidence.

[12:08] Their testimony entered into evidence.

[12:10] The names of their loved ones entered into evidence.

[12:13] The videos of their loved ones

[12:15] being killed entered into evidence.

[12:17] The protests are entered into evidence and council members.

[12:20] Your record is entered into evidence.

[12:23] The people have presented their case.

[12:25] The city has had years to present its defense and

[12:29] frankly, the excuses continue to be repetitive.

[12:32] So now it is time for the verdict on the charge.

[12:36] On the charge of choosing

[12:37] police unions over accountability.

[12:39] We charge the city Council guilty on the charge of calling

[12:43] yourselves law and order while becoming allergic to the law.

[12:47] The second accountable accountability reaches someone

[12:49] wearing a badge.

[12:50] We charge the City Council guilty on the charge of

[12:53] treating black grief like disruption to municipal

[12:56] business, instead of recognizing that black grief is

[12:59] evidence of municipal failure.

[13:01] We charge the council guilty on the charge of having all of the

[13:05] titles, lawyers, staff, security, the entire machinery

[13:08] of the city government at your disposal, and somehow

[13:11] repeatedly proving the people that you are most comfortable

[13:15] exercising power against are the people who possess the

[13:18] least power in the room.

[13:19] We charge you guilty.

[13:23] No further questions.

[13:24] No motion to reconsider.

[13:26] No appeal to political convenience.

[13:29] The verdict stands.

[13:30] And with that, the people of Aurora rest their case.

[13:34] You want to do it together?

[13:35] Mayor.

[13:42] Della Jordan, followed by Jeffrey McFarland.

[14:09] This place was in compliance.

[14:39] Aurora Regional Navigation Center.

[14:42] Aurora Police Department.

[14:43] Dominant security.

[14:46] Mayor. Chief of police.

[14:49] Um. The uh Navigation Center CEO.

[14:53] Security chief.

[14:55] Don't want to meet with me.

[14:57] What about a press conference?

[14:59] Advanced pathways, male and female.

[15:02] Who refused to tell me their names but know mine.

[15:06] Melissa Aguila green Marlin.

[15:11] Single. I know your names and half your pictures.

[15:14] Mayor Kaufman, I have your picture.

[15:17] Also, it says you are a board member of Advanced Pathways,

[15:22] whose mission is to provide pathways to recovery that

[15:26] creates self-esteem, dignity, and independence for people

[15:30] experiencing homelessness.

[15:33] AP has missed and is missing their mark.

[15:36] Because AP is nonprofit doesn't mean that there are no stocks

[15:41] or bonds exchanging hands.

[15:43] Or has things changed since I studied law?

[15:46] Aurora residents use the use of internet research.

[15:51] This company.

[15:52] There is corruption in that

[15:54] company in that navigation center.

[15:57] Okay. Leave.

[15:58] Alicia. My African son.

[16:00] Kofi. Christian.

[16:02] And essay alone.

[16:03] If you want to attack me, go ahead and attack me.

[16:06] Because I'm at the age where I'm 70 years old and I can

[16:10] fight back.

[16:12] There is so much corruption

[16:13] going on in that building and there.

[16:16] I'm beginning to think that you are part of it because you are

[16:20] a board member.

[16:21] But when I studied law, you could not be a public official

[16:26] and then be a part of a private company.

[16:29] And you think that Feingold is a good guy?

[16:35] Not in that building.

[16:37] Not in that building.

[16:38] He's a little snip.

[16:40] He's a little snip that walk around.

[16:43] Um, manhandling females, old females like myself, chasing me

[16:48] around the building and asking me about my financial, uh,

[16:52] business and stuff like that.

[16:53] Why is that?

[16:54] Even any of his business?

[16:56] Then he had the nerve to say something stupid.

[16:59] Like, if I can't afford to buy an egg for 30 people, I can

[17:04] afford to get out and pay for transitional housing.

[17:08] I had to school the little fool because he didn't understand

[17:13] the difference between taking food stamps and spending $4.50

[17:18] for 30 people for one aid.

[17:21] And then he's talking about, well, if you can afford to do

[17:26] that, then you can afford to pay for transitional housing.

[17:29] Then he's going to tell me I cannot take my personal profit

[17:33] out there.

[17:34] I've been on my medication for over 30 days.

[17:37] My body is shutting down.

[17:39] My doctors have tried every which way they can to get my

[17:44] medication back.

[17:45] Then when it comes to my thyroid, a personal thyroid is

[17:49] between 2.5 to 4.0 9.1 every 100.

[17:58] I'm in the process right now to where I could have a stroke or

[18:02] a heart attack.

[18:04] Oh, and I have a package that's coming for each and every one

[18:08] of you, plus the police department key and the city

[18:14] attorney and the whatever, the attorney and the lawyers and

[18:20] whatever, whatever.

[18:21] But they have messed with the wrong person and they are about

[18:25] to find out.

[18:31] Jeffrey McFarland, followed by Cassandra Hill.

[18:46] She did?

[18:50] Oh, no.

[19:03] Good evening, Mayor and city council.

[19:04] My name is Jeffrey McFarland.

[19:06] As you know, I'm a resident of Ward one.

[19:08] I speak for no one but myself this evening, but I do.

[19:11] I would like to pass a message along from the AFSC of

[19:14] Colorado, Casa de Paz.

[19:16] Shut down Geo and pulse.

[19:19] They've put together a public health order they call the

[19:21] People's Public Health Order.

[19:23] Colorado state agencies, the governor and our city council

[19:26] have yet to use every tool available at their disposal to

[19:28] protect the best interest of the public health and

[19:30] Coloradans detained within the Aurora Health Facility.

[19:34] The inaction and lack of urgency from the governor's

[19:36] office and the CDF have lost our trust for the

[19:39] well-documented medical neglect inside the Aurora facility, it

[19:41] is clear that the for profit detention model will not keep

[19:44] people safe at the Aurora or the Bighorn facilities.

[19:48] We, the people of Colorado, are issuing a public health order

[19:51] to compel the Geo Group to allow a proper public health

[19:54] investigation of potential tuberculosis infection and

[19:57] disease spread within the Geo Aurora Ice Processing Center.

[20:00] A third party laboratory confirmed an active

[20:02] tuberculosis case on the June 22nd, 2026.

[20:06] This public health order is necessary as the Geo Group,

[20:08] under contract with the Department of Homeland

[20:11] Security, has denied entry since June 25th, 2026, to the

[20:14] Adams County Health Department.

[20:16] The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

[20:18] requested Geo comply with the order by July 17th.

[20:21] Jio has yet to grant access.

[20:25] On the 22nd, an active case of tuberculosis was confirmed at

[20:29] the Aurora Ice Processing Center.

[20:31] The Geo Group defied the Public Health Order of Adams County

[20:34] Health Department issued on June 25th, blocked the

[20:36] tuberculosis investigation, and has since confirmed another

[20:41] active case and noted up to 61 people who have potentially

[20:44] been exposed to date.

[20:46] The Geo Group and the Department of Homeland Security

[20:48] and Ice have not provided any contract tracing location data

[20:51] or access to the people who have potentially been exposed.

[20:54] I'm going to take the last minute here to kind of tie the

[20:58] threads together.

[21:00] If we can't call the cops to let us into the health facility

[21:05] where there's a there's a tuberculosis outbreak like a

[21:08] steamship era disease, uh, the type of disease that used to

[21:12] have a past tense Wikipedia entry.

[21:15] And now there's an outbreak of it and we can't get in.

[21:20] Why? Because they're feds.

[21:21] Because we need to comply with federal law.

[21:24] And make sure you think about that when you hit that

[21:27] dispensary on your way home.

[21:29] Uh,

[21:31] I really don't understand the the notion that the good guys

[21:35] want to put people in cages and keep them sick.

[21:37] The good guys keep you out of a

[21:39] facility so that nobody can be treated.

[21:42] Nobody can be quarantined.

[21:45] Nobody could be isolated.

[21:46] Symptoms can't be recorded.

[21:48] Uh, they had a press conference where they read that public

[21:51] health order down at the Capitol here this evening,

[21:53] about an hour or so ago.

[21:54] And I would like to reiterate the messages of shut down Geo

[21:57] fired Todd Chamberlain, and no

[22:00] new concentration camps in Colorado.

[22:02] That sounds like a good one to me.

[22:03] Thank you.

[22:06] Cassandra Hill, followed by Hashim Coates.

[22:22] Hello city.

[22:23] Council. My name is Cassandra and I am here with the Denver

[22:26] Community Action Committee, otherwise known as the CAG.

[22:30] We recognize the charging of former Aurora police officer

[22:33] Matthew Neely is a victory for the people.

[22:35] But the fight is far from over.

[22:38] This indictment of this killer cop was won not by the goodwill

[22:42] of anyone in the government, but by the relentless

[22:45] organizing, protesting, and

[22:47] demand for justice from the community.

[22:50] While the formal charges against Matthew Neely are a

[22:53] necessary step towards accountability, true justice

[22:56] requires more than a single court proceeding.

[22:58] It requires complete dismantling of the narrative

[23:01] and structural protection

[23:02] provided to violent officers by APD.

[23:06] We must address the role of Aurora police leadership,

[23:08] played in the attempt to cover up Rajan Rajan's death at the

[23:12] hands of Neely, Particularly the words and actions of Chief

[23:15] Todd Chamberlain.

[23:18] Chamberlain unconstitutionally led a campaign to smear Rajan's

[23:22] character immediately following his murder.

[23:24] In press conferences, he presented unverified claims as

[23:27] facts, attempting to justify Neely's needless violence by

[23:31] asserting that Neely's sucker punch was a de-escalating

[23:35] maneuver and recklessly speculating about Rajan's

[23:37] intent when he disarmed himself.

[23:40] Chamberlain's attempt to twist the facts, craft a protective

[23:44] narrative for his officers, and slander an unarmed victim

[23:46] before a full investigation was conducted is unacceptable.

[23:50] This behavior is consistent with Chief Chamberlain's long

[23:53] track record of controversy stretching back to his tenure

[23:56] with the LAPD, which includes high profile anti-Black

[24:00] discrimination lawsuits and systematic biases.

[24:03] Under his leadership, APD continues to violate the spirit

[24:06] of the state consent decree and demonstrate why public trust in

[24:10] this department remains broken.

[24:13] The Denver Award Community Action Committee demands

[24:15] justice for Jon's family and loved ones.

[24:17] Our charge is only the start,

[24:19] conviction and empowering the community.

[24:21] Control their police must follow so that wave after wave

[24:26] of police killings and crime

[24:27] can finally be stopped in Aurora.

[24:30] We demand you fire Todd Chamberlain, the next police

[24:33] chief selection.

[24:34] Be open to the community and democratic and give the

[24:37] community control over the police.

[24:39] Thank you.

[24:42] Hashem Coates, followed by Kristen Mallory.

[25:06] Before I begin, I want to recognize something bigger than

[25:08] any single one of us.

[25:10] Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is one of

[25:15] the founding civil rights protections for people with

[25:18] disabilities, and those protections are once again

[25:21] under attack.

[25:22] Nine states currently are challenging the update five

[25:26] section 504 protections, and the integration mandate that

[25:31] helps guarantee that people with disabilities have the

[25:33] right to live and participate in their communities, rather

[25:36] than being unnecessarily

[25:38] segregated or institutionalized.

[25:40] That should matter here in Aurora, because we've discussed

[25:43] disability access repeatedly in this very room.

[25:47] We saw an issue of that happening today, and in

[25:50] shameful truth, is that this chamber itself does not meet

[25:54] current Ada accessibility standards.

[25:57] Aurora's own consultant confirmed that civil rights

[26:01] can't be something that we celebrate nationally, or when

[26:05] we decide to give a proclamation.

[26:08] It has to be something that we recognize while people are

[26:12] struggling and provide them with the bare minimum.

[26:17] I don't want to.

[26:18] I do want to recognize that Aurora is finally moving

[26:21] forward with accessibility improvement process, including

[26:25] a public meeting that will be this Wednesday.

[26:28] Um, the power of voting and

[26:30] elections has caused this to happen.

[26:32] Um, and this work is necessary.

[26:35] That meeting will be this Wednesday, August 12th, 6 to

[26:38] 7:30 p.m..

[26:39] Right here.

[26:41] Um, but I also want to give a shout out to encourage people

[26:43] to go see the movie, the play 504, um, to the Family Theater

[26:48] company 500 for the musical is playing right now down at the

[26:51] Denver Center Performing Arts, and it's going from now until

[26:54] August 23rd.

[26:56] And it tells the story of disabled, excuse me, of

[26:59] disabled activists who are supported by the Black Panther

[27:02] Party and how they occupied a building in San Francisco for

[27:06] 25 days, and you all complain about us holding you here till

[27:10] 1 a.m..

[27:12] I encourage people to utilize their First Amendment rights to

[27:17] the fullest extent that they are granted to you, while we

[27:20] still have them, before some of your leaders erode away the

[27:24] 14th amendment.

[27:26] I encourage you all to stand up and let your voices be heard.

[27:31] Additionally, I want to echo what was said as it relates to

[27:36] the Aurora police officer being charged with murder.

[27:39] About damn time.

[27:40] And I want to give a big shout out to the 18th Judicial

[27:44] District D.A., Amy Patton, because that is what leadership

[27:48] looks like when we ask for these changes.

[27:50] And the people get out and they vote in their representation,

[27:53] this is what we get.

[27:54] I encourage people who are listening right now understand

[27:57] that elections are coming up for 2027.

[28:00] There is some trash that needs to be cleared out.

[28:03] There is a better way that needs to be made.

[28:06] I encourage you all to do so.

[28:09] Kristin Mallory followed by Aaron Futrell.

[28:19] Hello, Kristen.

[28:20] Mallory Ward three.

[28:21] Good to see you all.

[28:22] Um, I actually don't have anything written.

[28:25] I agree with everything that everyone has said so far.

[28:28] Um, but the reason I wanted to talk in open comment was about

[28:32] the Great Lawn and the fact that we took out all the turf.

[28:36] And now to replace the turf with a water wise solution, it

[28:40] will require us to use more water than we had to to get

[28:44] grass re-established.

[28:46] And I just find it really ironic that our mayor is

[28:49] driving around the city pointing the fingers at APS

[28:52] while we had a big, healthy lawn out front here, and

[28:56] instead of just letting it die naturally and then replacing it

[29:00] with a water wise grass, you did the most extreme thing

[29:04] possible and then posted videos about it.

[29:06] And so instead of a great lawn, we now have a great dirt pit.

[29:10] And I understand that the plan is to be a water wise solution,

[29:14] but there was just like a better way to go about it.

[29:17] And it's super irresponsible in the middle of the drought.

[29:20] Like, I went up to the mountains a couple weeks ago to

[29:24] where the reservoirs are supposed to be, and they're dry

[29:27] like, and now we're going to spend how many thousands of

[29:31] gallons to get our great lawn re-established, when we could

[29:35] have just let what was out there live until it couldn't

[29:38] live with water anymore.

[29:39] So that was a very extreme choice.

[29:42] And I don't know if it was the mayor or the city departments,

[29:45] but I'm very unhappy about that also.

[29:50] Yeah, Geo shouldn't exist.

[29:52] We need to hold our cops accountable, all the things,

[29:55] but we also need to be more responsible with water.

[29:57] And that will come up again Uh,

[30:00] here very shortly, so thank you.

[30:04] Aaron Futrell.

[30:06] Aaron Futrell, followed by Juan Marcano.

[30:19] All right.

[30:21] Good morning.

[30:21] Or evening Council.

[30:23] Mayor, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

[30:26] Probably going to sound like a parrot because it's been a

[30:29] week, especially with the news regarding John Bell

[30:33] Stubblefield and the officer being charged with second

[30:36] degree murder and reckless manslaughter.

[30:40] Uh, that development is significant.

[30:43] But tonight, I want to address something that has been

[30:46] consistently, conspicuously absent.

[30:49] An apology from chief Josh or Chief Todd, whatever you like

[30:52] to call him, if you know, you know, um,

[30:56] to the to the community activists who witnessed this

[30:58] incident recognized that something was wrong and had the

[31:02] courage to livestream what they were seeing.

[31:04] Let's be clear the community

[31:05] activists did not create this situation.

[31:07] They did not cause the confrontation.

[31:10] They did not pull the trigger.

[31:11] They simply documented what they witnessed.

[31:14] And yet, instead of acknowledging their role as a

[31:17] witness and treating them with dignity, A-p-d and its

[31:21] leadership spent far too much time attempting to undermine

[31:25] their credibility.

[31:26] And yet, instead of not now, I understand that the police

[31:30] chief has an obligation to stand behind our officers,

[31:34] especially when officers are doing their jobs professionally

[31:37] and honorably.

[31:37] And I have no problem giving APD credit where credit is due.

[31:42] When officers remove illegal guns, drugs, counterfeit money,

[31:45] find hit and run cars.

[31:48] They deserve recognition.

[31:49] But leadership cannot mean unconditional loyalty.

[31:53] Where is that same unwavering defense when a police vehicle

[31:56] was stolen during a burglary, and APD became the subject of

[32:00] national and local ridicule ridicule.

[32:03] Where was it when a school resource officer was accused of

[32:07] using his his space as a

[32:10] personal dating environment for years?

[32:12] In those situations, the chief appropriately condemned the

[32:16] conduct that was embarrassing and unacceptable.

[32:19] So why was this community activists treated differently?

[32:22] The grand jury report ultimately corroborated the one

[32:26] account there, the account that the activists had been publicly

[32:30] reporting that it is all paused for two years.

[32:33] We have heard community leaders, organizers, residents

[32:36] and yes, myself included, call for chief Josh Chief Chad

[32:40] Chamberlain to step down.

[32:41] Frankly, that conversation is becoming stale.

[32:44] Tonight, I'm asking for something far simpler and far

[32:46] more consequential.

[32:48] Todd Chamberlain needs to apologize publicly.

[32:51] Apologize to the community

[32:52] activists who attempted to discredit.

[32:53] apologized for the rhetoric that contributed to the

[32:56] mistrust, and acknowledge that community members should not

[33:00] have to choose between speaking up and being publicly vilified

[33:03] when they witness something going wrong.

[33:04] Chief, you cannot rebuild trust while simultaneously dismissing

[33:07] the very people who stress you need.

[33:09] If APD wants a fresh start with this community, then let's

[33:13] begin with accountability, humility, and transparency.

[33:16] You can stand with your officers when they are right,

[33:18] but when an officer crosses the line, when their conduct

[33:21] becomes reckless, excessive, and indefensible, you have an

[33:25] obligation to the community and the truth.

[33:27] Thank you.

[33:29] Juan Marcano, followed by Zachary Cotton.

[33:43] Good evening.

[33:45] My name is Juan Marcano, and I'm a resident of Fort Ford.

[33:48] I'm here to speak with you all tonight about the rules changes

[33:50] that y'all were discussing during study session.

[33:53] I want to begin by thanking you all for taking the time to

[33:55] review the council rules in their entirety.

[33:57] I know that there's been a lot of damage done to how this body

[34:00] conducts this business since 2021, and I'm really grateful

[34:03] that y'all are taking the time to repair that damage.

[34:07] I just wanted to highlight a couple of things that I think

[34:09] would make the people's House a little more inviting for all of

[34:12] our community members.

[34:14] For starters, I'd like to see the one hour limit on public

[34:17] invited to be heard removed.

[34:19] Listening to members of the public about items that are not

[34:22] on the agenda is an important part of your roles.

[34:24] If you're concerned about the length of public testimony, I

[34:27] encourage you all to address

[34:29] the items that you're hearing repeatedly.

[34:31] We've had, for example, families, grieving families who

[34:34] have been coming up through public invited to be heard for

[34:36] the better part of, what, three years now?

[34:39] If you want to get that to stop, I recommend that you

[34:41] actually address the grievances.

[34:44] That means take time to formulate a plan, add it to the

[34:47] agenda, and address those issues.

[34:49] That solves the problem.

[34:50] Number two, I'd appreciate, uh, I appreciate that y'all are

[34:53] trying to require council members to, and I quote,

[34:55] endeavour to appear in person, unquote, at council meetings

[34:59] while still allowing for remote participation.

[35:01] I think that's fair.

[35:02] Although I really want to see council members required to be

[35:06] on camera while they are participating remotely,

[35:08] especially when they are voting.

[35:10] And I would also ask that you extend that same courtesy to

[35:12] members of the public who wish to speak on agenda items, or

[35:15] for public invited to be heard, let them join remotely.

[35:18] We already have the technology to do that, and three, I would

[35:22] love to see y'all get rid of the stanchions and the security

[35:24] theater outside.

[35:25] Y'all should take a look at how much that contract is costing

[35:28] the city, and consider what message it sends to the public.

[35:31] None of this existed until after 2023, and I haven't come

[35:34] in to city Council meetings since 2015.

[35:36] None of that existed before.

[35:38] I have never felt unsafe in this chamber.

[35:40] You guys are about two feet higher behind a bullet

[35:42] resistant dais than anyone else out here.

[35:45] Y'all have nothing to be afraid of.

[35:46] Please get rid of the security theater.

[35:48] Save this a little bit.

[35:49] Save the city.

[35:50] A little bit of money.

[35:51] The only use I've seen come out of that is to selectively

[35:54] harass members of the community over water bottles.

[35:56] That's unacceptable.

[35:57] We can do better than that.

[36:00] And I want to end with a separate topic here.

[36:03] I encourage you all to check out the Denver Post today.

[36:05] They wrote a pretty scathing op ed about the repeated

[36:08] humiliation that APD brings upon the city, our reputation,

[36:12] the amount of money that they

[36:13] have cost us out of our general fund.

[36:15] There are better solutions out there.

[36:17] I have already spoken at nauseam, and I will continue to

[36:20] about looking at contracting with the Arapahoe County

[36:22] Sheriff's Department.

[36:23] They have a fantastic record.

[36:24] It would save you all money and allow us to make community

[36:27] investments while delivering a better public safety service to

[36:29] the city.

[36:30] Thank you.

[36:32] Zachary cotton, Zachary Cotton, followed by Jeff Brown.

[36:42] This is he getting asked for any station, Jeff Brown.

[36:49] No,

[36:50] he's after this guy.

[37:03] All right.

[37:03] Good evening.

[37:04] I'm asking you all, especially council members Andrews,

[37:06] Hancock and Medina on the Public Safety committee to join

[37:09] the public, state and county level bodies in providing

[37:12] pressure against the Geo Group, denying health investigators

[37:15] from looking into the tuberculosis cases in the

[37:17] Aurora Ice Processing Center.

[37:19] The fact that the Adams County Health Department is being

[37:22] prevented from prevented from knowing the full extent of this

[37:25] issue should be concerning for you all.

[37:27] We cannot trust the Geo Group

[37:29] to take care of this internally.

[37:30] People in this chamber have brought up the medical neglect

[37:32] that happens in this facility, and I personally have spoken

[37:35] with two people that have told me about the inadequate care

[37:37] that they receive or their door mates have received.

[37:40] I keep coming back to the Shut Down Geo coalition's report

[37:42] from this spring in particular that reports people receiving

[37:46] ibuprofen for serious conditions, especially the the

[37:49] physician who was sued for the same kind of neglect that he

[37:52] committed in 2024.

[37:54] The same physician is still working at this facility.

[37:56] So how can we trust this medical director to treat this

[37:59] current infectious disease with

[38:00] the speed and care that is required?

[38:02] I know that some of you will say that this is not your lane,

[38:05] and that there is not anything that you can do here, but I

[38:07] need you to speak up.

[38:09] Were you at the town hall meeting that the Adams County

[38:11] Health Department hosted on Friday?

[38:12] Have you shown any support for the House bill 261276 that

[38:16] would expand state authority in these investigations?

[38:19] Have you outlined any memorandums of understanding,

[38:21] establishing your place in this process between yourselves and

[38:24] other impacted bodies?

[38:25] Right now, all I see is that you're willing to be silent as

[38:28] as you, as you usually are.

[38:31] Uh, while the potential public health crisis is brewing.

[38:34] Um,

[38:36] so that's about the geo.

[38:37] I do also want to mention, uh,

[38:40] the contract with Integra Shore.

[38:43] That $4 million contract over four years for like 24 people

[38:46] working on that staff.

[38:48] Um, a lot of them were working with LAPD as well to kind of

[38:51] around the same time as Todd Chamberlain.

[38:53] So I would love for you all to ask the, uh, what is it, the

[38:58] city auditor, to actually look into that?

[39:01] She is able to look into that

[39:02] because it has passed a $10,000 contract.

[39:04] And when I when I emailed her about this, she mentioned that

[39:08] she really isn't going to look into it unless someone finds a

[39:11] conflict of interest.

[39:12] So I encourage everybody in this chamber, including all of

[39:16] the citizens, to look for those, uh, conflicts of

[39:19] interest, because I'm sure they're there.

[39:21] Uh, we know that the blue line is masculine and.

[39:28] Uh, so I really do encourage everybody to look into this.

[39:30] I will continue to look into this as well.

[39:32] But for the meantime, please shut down Jill.

[39:34] Please help prevent tuberculosis from spreading it

[39:37] within that facility and out to the community.

[39:40] Thank you.

[39:43] Jeff Brown, followed by Adam Shepard and Jeff Brown, has

[39:49] made an accommodation request that was approved by an Ada

[39:51] coordinator, and he will have four minutes to speak.

[39:55] Additional. Additional.

[39:59] She said.

[40:00] Four.

[40:00] Minutes.

[40:00] You said.

[40:01] I thought you said one minute.

[40:02] You said one minute of four minutes.

[40:03] Yeah.

[40:04] Katie.

[40:06] Katie.

[40:09] Yes.

[40:10] Thank you.

[40:10] Gentleman. Is information for.

[40:11] Me? Yes, thanks.

[40:15] Thank you.

[40:15] And good evening, mayor.

[40:17] City council.

[40:18] I'm here to talk about something different, something

[40:21] that you don't really talk about much recently.

[40:24] And I just wanted to kind of overlay a a pertinent fact at

[40:31] this point in time.

[40:33] A few months ago, a few weeks ago, you approved three

[40:36] increases to the sales tax or at least approved ballot

[40:42] measures to increase the sales tax.

[40:46] You did that after this.

[40:49] This body not doing anything in the past decade, the past

[40:54] decade, the past decade to improve the retail tax base.

[41:02] CIBC, where I served for over two years, repeatedly,

[41:08] repeatedly, repeatedly begged this body to take the lagging

[41:15] retail tax base seriously.

[41:17] And this body ignored ignored us.

[41:21] I've personally begged this body to take the lack of

[41:25] entertainment and the impact to to retail and dining

[41:32] seriously, and I've been laughed at.

[41:35] I've been defamed Enough!

[41:38] Enough! I submitted two resolutions to you on Saturday

[41:43] via email.

[41:44] Anyone want to look at it?

[41:46] Right here?

[41:50] I have hard copies.

[41:52] If anyone in the audience wants to see them, the first one is

[41:57] pretty simple.

[42:01] The retail

[42:03] activity per resident should be reported regularly to the

[42:09] people of Aurora and to you all every week.

[42:13] You guys are making decisions that are hostile to the retail

[42:18] tax base and use tax base as well.

[42:22] We can't afford it.

[42:24] This city can't punch its way, fund its way out of a wet paper

[42:29] bag and you're chasing business away every week.

[42:35] I'm not.

[42:35] Sure if you really, really.

[42:36] Realize that.

[42:37] Do you stop and ask yourselves, what is this doing to our

[42:40] retail tax base which is in the toilet?

[42:45] So again, the first resolution puts that metrics in the budget

[42:52] book every year with a full analysis every five years.

[42:56] It also states that tourism and then use our strategic tools to

[43:05] improve the retail tax base.

[43:07] The second resolution

[43:11] articulates City Council's desire and intent and direction

[43:16] to city staff, to both communicate to the governor and

[43:20] the legislature that the city of Aurora wants out of the

[43:24] Denver CFD.

[43:25] We're going to recreate it as a home rule city, which I believe

[43:31] we can do, And focus on what we need to fix our retail, our

[43:36] entertainment and our dining.

[43:39] So two resolutions.

[43:41] I have hard copies if you want to see

[43:46] electronic

[43:48] copies. Here you go.

[43:54] But right now, this group right now is more interested in

[43:58] having you pay higher sales tax than trying to get anything

[44:04] to attract visitors from around the region.

[44:07] Please address the council.

[44:08] Coming to d.A.

[44:11] To spend your taxing.

[44:13] You have us paying higher taxes

[44:17] then than actually encourage people.

[44:20] To get them.

[44:21] Entice people to come to our ward to spend here.

[44:24] And enough.

[44:26] Enough. You're caught.

[44:28] We're not.

[44:28] We're not voting for three taxable cases.

[44:31] Not going to.

[44:36] Adelina Shepard followed by Robert.

[44:38] Louis.

[44:51] Robert. Louis.

[44:52] Followed by Louis.

[45:12] I'm. Robert.

[45:12] Louis. Louis.

[45:14] Father. The one that y'all murdered.

[45:16] Well, your little officer murdered.

[45:18] And you didn't get no justice

[45:20] for my son, but he will get justice.

[45:23] Um, I think I don't really to much have anything to say to

[45:27] y'all, because there's nothing that you're going to listen to

[45:30] anyway, to y'all burning in hell.

[45:32] But, um.

[45:34] I'd be ashamed to live in Aurora.

[45:36] I was ashamed when I was

[45:37] little, when I used to live in Aurora.

[45:39] Because y'all some racists, no good, prejudiced bastards.

[45:43] And now I see all the other

[45:44] stuff that y'all are not doing right.

[45:47] You poor little helpless elderly lady.

[45:50] Y'all not even going to help her.

[45:52] But it's just a shame to see

[45:56] y'all sit up there like you're high and mighty and don't do a

[45:59] damn thing, but sit there and get paid by the state or city

[46:03] or whatever you work for.

[46:06] It's just a shame

[46:09] that none of y'all seemed to do the right thing, but you keep

[46:12] wanting to do the wrong things.

[46:15] But one day it's going to clash on you.

[46:21] And I just wish that I could do.

[46:22] Be the one to clash it on you.

[46:24] Because I'd make you pay.

[46:28] I make you pay real deeply.

[46:31] And not just for the mess y'all doing, Aurora, but just for the

[46:34] murder of my son.

[46:36] Because you backed this little murder and ass cop that should

[46:39] be dead or in prison.

[46:44] You know, and every other week I come down here and express my

[46:47] little emotions to y'all, which you don't even understand,

[46:51] because I wish I could get a clan of people together and

[46:53] just take your ass out

[46:56] and start all over again,

[47:00] you know, with somebody that would give a damn about their

[47:02] community and what's really going on and how you let these

[47:06] murdering ass cops have their jobs and still do what they

[47:09] supposed to not be doing.

[47:14] But I just wanted to let y'all

[47:15] know that a little bit about it.

[47:16] And the rest of y'all, the ones that don't have nothing to do

[47:20] with it, I understand, but y'all just really irked me and

[47:24] I really hate coming down here every other week, but I will.

[47:28] Because it's standing up for my son.

[47:31] And like I said, he didn't deserve to die like that no

[47:34] matter what the hell was going on.

[47:36] You don't shoot an unarmed man and the punk ass cop.

[47:40] Like I said, if I ever come across him, I killing myself.

[47:46] That's just a shame that I have to live my life like that and

[47:49] wonder why I have to deal with the little murder and ass cop

[47:52] that runs around here.

[47:53] Free as a bird

[47:55] and ain't paying nothing.

[47:58] Why y'all sit there and laugh?

[48:01] I'm not laughing.

[48:04] Sure. Dina Lewis.

[48:09] Sir Dina Lewis, followed by Paul Nelson.

[48:14] My name is Dina Lewis, and I'm the grandmother of Aaron Lewis.

[48:21] And Aaron Lewis was a calm, cool and collected person, and

[48:26] he was human when he said pledge allegiance to the flag

[48:30] of the United States of America, to the republic for

[48:33] which it stands.

[48:34] One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[48:37] justice for all.

[48:38] They need to take the liberty and justice for all off that.

[48:41] Yes, they've been killing black, unarmed black men and

[48:45] women, and they're getting away with it.

[48:48] Some of them are.

[48:50] So I

[48:53] graduated from Metropolitan State College with a degree in

[48:58] law enforcement and criminology.

[49:00] And I'm

[49:03] the professor that taught

[49:06] a class.

[49:08] And, um, her name was Joyce Stevens.

[49:11] And she said that there are a lot of gangsters

[49:21] Applying for the police force and getting a badge and hiding

[49:25] behind that badge and doing evil, and that they used to

[49:30] have boards a long time ago to check out the police force,

[49:34] what they were doing.

[49:36] And so there are racist police

[49:40] officers hiding behind the badge.

[49:43] And the thing is, you got to be careful around them because

[49:47] they're not to be trusted.

[49:50] And especially with black people, they don't.

[49:53] They can't be trusted.

[49:56] So I, I just say, um.

[50:00] They said they wanted to talk

[50:02] to him about attempted homicide.

[50:06] So we asked.

[50:07] I asked, what's the attempted homicide?

[50:09] Were you threatening to kill somebody or you killed somebody

[50:12] and they missed that.

[50:14] And Kylan was not that way.

[50:17] But how?

[50:18] Why would you kill them?

[50:19] You want to question why?

[50:22] Why would you

[50:24] talk about.

[50:25] You want to question him, and

[50:28] you kill him before you can question.

[50:31] What kind of questioning are

[50:32] you going to do with a dead man?

[50:34] He has no no defense for himself or what's going on.

[50:39] But they just killed him.

[50:41] Another thing.

[50:42] He was six foot two, very handsome, tall young man.

[50:47] And when they asked them, we saw the police cam, they asked

[50:50] them to get out of the car.

[50:51] And he got out of the car and his hands were up in the air.

[50:57] Up in the air like that one hand had a cell phone, so they

[51:01] wanted to say that might be a gun.

[51:03] A gun would be down here when you have a gun.

[51:07] Not way up in the sky.

[51:11] So the guy that shot me had other police officers there?

[51:17] Notice of the police officers being shot with just this, one

[51:20] officer thinks that it fits at the same time.

[51:24] Then when there's hands up in the air and they shot him in

[51:27] the stomach and he went down.

[51:28] He kept saying to them.

[51:30] Then he had his hands up in the air.

[51:31] I don't have anything, I don't have anything.

[51:35] I don't have anything in this.

[51:37] That one shot him when he went to the ground.

[51:41] It's just terrible.

[51:42] It's horrific.

[51:43] And I'll never forget that.

[51:46] So we have some good police officers, but there are quite a

[51:51] few police officers out there that's hiding behind the badge

[51:55] races and doing their dirty work.

[51:57] So I pray I will of God that they get those type of police

[52:03] officers off the street, and don't let them be a police

[52:07] officer any anymore, no matter where they come from.

[52:11] Thank you.

[52:17] Paul Nelson.

[52:19] Paul Nelson, followed by Tristan Hirst.

[52:35] Hello, Council.

[52:35] Thank you for the time.

[52:37] My name is Paul Nelson.

[52:38] My friends and associates call me Nels.

[52:40] I want to first address the fact that it's a damn good

[52:43] thing that this killer cop was indicted.

[52:45] And it wasn't because any of you did anything.

[52:48] It was actually because of the brave people in this room who

[52:51] have showed up for three years

[52:52] and have continued to demand justice.

[52:55] Justice has never been handed to people.

[52:57] It has to be one in struggle.

[52:58] And the people have struggled

[52:59] real hard for this small step forward.

[53:02] But it is an important one and it needs to be continued.

[53:05] Use. The Council should offer support towards the indictment

[53:08] of this criminal cop, and should call for the indictment

[53:10] of the other killer cops in the community.

[53:13] Um, it's plain and simple.

[53:15] You know, the Aurora Police Department is killing many

[53:18] black fathers.

[53:19] They're killing many children in our community.

[53:22] And it.

[53:23] And, you know, Todd Chamberlain is running rampant, destroying

[53:27] due process for people where they don't have innocent until

[53:30] proven guilty.

[53:32] Um, like we would all want under the accusation of any

[53:35] sort of crime.

[53:36] Right. That's that's supposed to be the rule of law.

[53:39] He has trampled upon that.

[53:41] He has abused his position to slander these people who have

[53:44] been murdered by the police department, using the media,

[53:47] using his his position as a

[53:49] police officer, as the chief of police.

[53:51] He has done this.

[53:51] It's irresponsible.

[53:52] And now the winds are changing and they're blowing in the

[53:55] other direction.

[53:55] He's been indicted.

[53:57] What are you going to do?

[53:58] The political winds are changing.

[53:59] A lot of you careerists up here ought to see that and recognize

[54:02] that it's time to call for his resignation.

[54:05] At the very least, you should

[54:06] call for Todd Chamberlain's resignation.

[54:07] He has no business being in this.

[54:10] Being in this community.

[54:12] You should do that.

[54:13] You're free individuals.

[54:13] You can make statements.

[54:14] You should at least be brave enough to do that.

[54:16] Add a little spine to this council because he was

[54:19] complicit in what is a cover up.

[54:21] These are cover ups that he he's engaging in after the cops

[54:25] kill, and he gets on the screen and begins to slander the

[54:28] people, slander the children.

[54:30] You know, he called it trans confusion as the basis of why

[54:33] that child was shot.

[54:35] The Mason child.

[54:37] And that's shameful enough to warrant a resignation.

[54:40] But there's been a dozen more cases.

[54:42] You should take this very seriously.

[54:44] And to reiterate some basic demands here.

[54:48] Neely needs to be convicted, not just indicted.

[54:50] We want to see this all the way to conviction and lock them up.

[54:53] He needs to be put away where

[54:54] he's not going to harm people anymore.

[54:56] And the same thing needs to be happening to the people who

[55:00] killed Kylen Lewis.

[55:01] That's Officer Deke needs to happen to the two cops who

[55:04] killed Corey Dillard.

[55:05] Needs to be happening to the cops who killed Rashad Johnson

[55:08] and the Mason child, as well as Cordell Richardson.

[55:12] Um, the same motion should be happening there, and you should

[55:15] call for it.

[55:16] You should call for an apology, for an apology from the APD and

[55:20] a resignation by this Tod Chamberlain individual who's

[55:22] complicit in crime.

[55:24] He's a criminal, and he's running a criminal organization

[55:27] of murderers when he covers up for him.

[55:29] Insofar as you allow that to persist in your community,

[55:32] that's what's happening.

[55:33] They talked about the op ed earlier, right?

[55:34] Maybe you should read that and finally, give us a community

[55:37] control over.

[55:38] The police department.

[55:39] It means.

[55:39] To hire and.

[55:40] Fire these crooked cops, give the community the power to hold

[55:43] them accountable.

[55:44] But currently, the power that nobody has, we're relying on

[55:46] police to police.

[55:47] Police? That's ridiculous.

[55:49] And it's never going to work.

[55:50] So we demand community control.

[55:53] Tristan Hurst, followed by Kiowa Lewis.

[56:10] Good evening, mayor and council members.

[56:12] My name is Tristan Ward, one resident of five years.

[56:15] I'm here with one request tonight, and I'll keep coming

[56:18] back until you hear it clearly.

[56:20] Fire! Todd Chamberlain.

[56:22] Not next month, not after another review.

[56:24] Now let's talk about who this man is again.

[56:28] Before Aurora hired him, Todd Chamberlain was turned down by

[56:31] at least three other police departments, rejected

[56:34] specifically because he was considered too racially biased

[56:37] to lead.

[56:37] Not inexperienced, not unpopular to racist.

[56:42] In fact, there was outrage in Chattanooga that he was even

[56:44] considered to be a finalist for their police chief.

[56:47] And yet our city manager, Jason

[56:49] Batchelor, handpicked him anyway.

[56:52] No community input, no town halls, no transparency in the

[56:56] most diverse city in the state

[56:58] one under a consent decree, no less.

[57:01] We had zero say in who polices us.

[57:04] That is not leadership.

[57:05] That is contempt.

[57:07] Since Chamberlain took over, what has changed?

[57:09] Nothing. The names keep piling up.

[57:12] Kylan. Lewis, Corey.

[57:13] Dillard, Rajan.

[57:14] Stubblefield, Rashad.

[57:16] Johnson, Avi Bal.

[57:17] Mason, Omar.

[57:18] Garlington. This didn't even start with Elijah McClain and

[57:22] the botched consent decree that arose out of it.

[57:25] A vast majority murdered by APD.

[57:27] Are our black and brown neighbors all unarmed?

[57:29] All deeply loved.

[57:31] Their families have shown up to every single one of these

[57:34] meetings faithfully, painfully, while you sit behind the dais

[57:37] and talk about decorum.

[57:39] Let me be blunt.

[57:40] You care more about procedure

[57:41] than about dead robins in the streets.

[57:43] And that is not an accusation.

[57:44] That is a fact proven by your refusal to act.

[57:48] We are asking for more than a liaison.

[57:50] We are not asking for a study.

[57:52] We are not asking for another committee.

[57:55] We are asking for his job because the single most

[57:58] powerful thing this council can do to restore trust, to show

[58:02] that black and brown lives actually matter here is to

[58:05] remove the man at the top who should never have been hired in

[58:07] the first place.

[58:09] You have the votes.

[58:10] You have the authority.

[58:11] You have the moral obligation.

[58:13] So I'll end this where I started fire Todd Chamberlain.

[58:17] Or explain to the people of Aurora and to Kaitlyn Lewis

[58:20] family why you chose to protect Chamberlain instead of, oh, I

[58:23] don't know your actual constituents.

[58:28] Kiowa. Lewis.

[58:32] Kiowa Lewis.

[58:33] Followed by Laura McLaughlin.

[58:58] So tonight, I'm gonna speak to all y'all in parables

[59:01] What that means is this is not a threat, but it is something

[59:06] to pay close attention for.

[59:09] Sorry. Pay close attention to simply because these are the

[59:14] things you need to heed.

[59:16] So I want to ask y'all who is ready to die tonight?

[59:21] Who is ready to die to their flesh and pick up your cross?

[59:27] When I tell you the curse that I had bestowed upon y'all.

[59:31] It doesn't come without consequences.

[59:35] You ask for forgiveness.

[59:36] Probably you may pay to some praise to some fictitious, you

[59:40] know, quote unquote God,

[59:43] but none of them is the Most High.

[59:45] Number one is Elohim or Yahweh or

[59:49] none of that.

[59:50] Right. So I want y'all to understand that as y'all sit

[59:53] here and continue to still let

[59:55] people get killed and families hurt.

[59:58] God sees all.

[59:59] Yahweh sees all of this, right?

[1:00:01] He ain't playing no games with it.

[1:00:02] So I ask y'all, who's going to pick up their flesh?

[1:00:06] Or pick up their cross and lay down their flesh?

[1:00:08] Die to your flesh.

[1:00:10] Um. Mike Kaufman, I feel so sorry for you, bro.

[1:00:13] I do, I do.

[1:00:15] Um, I hear the prayers that you actually is repetitive.

[1:00:20] And actually the scripture speak against that.

[1:00:22] Nothing that you say is is for the people.

[1:00:25] It's not, it's not, but you may feel it is.

[1:00:29] Um, but what I will say is,

[1:00:31] right now, so much is happening.

[1:00:35] People are getting turned into Peters.

[1:00:38] Y'all are safe right now.

[1:00:40] God allows y'all to navigate life on a day to day basis,

[1:00:44] because he's trying to give you all a chance.

[1:00:46] Like I told y'all before, on that day when there's no more

[1:00:49] chances, I'll be there.

[1:00:51] I'll be there for the sinner.

[1:00:53] All this is spiritual.

[1:00:55] I'm speaking of parables, and I need y'all to understand this

[1:00:58] is something that you don't want to mess around with.

[1:01:00] Because when that day comes and we don't know when it's going

[1:01:02] to happen, but just know when it does happen.

[1:01:06] I'll be there.

[1:01:08] And a lot of us who actually represent the Most High.

[1:01:11] So.

[1:01:15] With that being said, I want to sit here and

[1:01:19] tell people who have gone

[1:01:21] through this, please do not fret.

[1:01:23] Do not worry.

[1:01:24] You got people who represent and say that they're leaders,

[1:01:27] but yet they pray to people and worship with Joel saying, you

[1:01:31] know, and there's nothing against him.

[1:01:33] But the thing is, you always work goes deeper than just some

[1:01:37] scripture that people come on TV and talk about.

[1:01:40] So I want y'all to know it's not a game.

[1:01:43] Get deep into your word because it's coming closer.

[1:01:46] Closer. You know, neither one of y'all know what your

[1:01:48] spirit's a spiritual time clock expires, but when it expires,

[1:01:52] none of this is going to matter.

[1:01:56] Laura McLaughlin.

[1:02:09] Jordan Richardson.

[1:02:12] Colin. Lewis.

[1:02:14] Jaylen. See bronze and a list of others.

[1:02:18] Jordan was 14 years old.

[1:02:21] He was an eighth grader.

[1:02:24] I just want that to sit for just a second because I there

[1:02:29] was a news article and I read some really horrible stuff in

[1:02:32] the comments.

[1:02:33] But at the end of the day,

[1:02:35] Jordan was a 14 year old eighth grader.

[1:02:41] Um, I also want to speak about

[1:02:44] how I'm against the Save program.

[1:02:48] If you already have a community that fears your police

[1:02:52] Department, and you're sending police to speak to people who

[1:02:58] you are profiling

[1:03:01] that they're doing illegal activities.

[1:03:04] Well, you're not going to reach them with a police officer.

[1:03:09] The community fears the police out in Aurora.

[1:03:13] When they call the police, they're calling CDot to get

[1:03:17] some backup because the police don't know how to act until

[1:03:21] somebody has them on camera.

[1:03:23] So trying to reach youth through the police isn't going

[1:03:28] to work because you're youth.

[1:03:33] Are George Elwes friends that watched him murdered.

[1:03:37] It's on camera.

[1:03:39] They're all about to be seniors

[1:03:42] this year.

[1:03:43] George l should have been a

[1:03:44] senior starting his senior year.

[1:03:47] So the children that you're trying to reach or supposedly

[1:03:51] are trying to reach with the save program.

[1:03:54] Is it not going to work using your police officers?

[1:04:00] You're not going to reach these kids?

[1:04:03] Not with the police officers.

[1:04:06] And I have another question.

[1:04:09] As the city leaders,

[1:04:13] how can we measure the way the community feels about your

[1:04:20] police department?

[1:04:22] How can we move forward in fixing what is broken?

[1:04:27] Because you keep hearing family members, and you might not like

[1:04:31] the way they come about it or the words they say, but they're

[1:04:35] in pain because of what's happened.

[1:04:38] How can we fix what is broken?

[1:04:41] Because the police department's known around the nation for

[1:04:47] killing black folks.

[1:04:52] How can we fix it?

[1:04:55] Is my question to the city leaders.

[1:04:59] Because it's obviously I mean, the Denver Post just said five

[1:05:05] homicides is the way that it was listed.

[1:05:09] How do you fix Aurora's name?

[1:05:18] That was the last individual.

[1:05:22] Mayor. Can I request a brief recess?

[1:05:26] Very well.

[1:05:27] The time is now 705.

[1:05:31] We will stand in recess.

[1:05:32] Tell us we 15 minutes.

[1:05:35] Is that.

[1:05:35] Okay?

[1:05:36] Ten minutes.

[1:05:37] Tell us.

[1:05:37] Seven. 15.

[1:14:55] The regular meeting of the Aurora City Council for Monday,

[1:14:58] August 10th, 2026 is called and called back to order.

[1:15:03] Um. Motion is in order for the adoption of the consent

[1:15:07] calendar on motions item number ten C1 to ten C3.

[1:15:13] Uh, I'm sorry, Councilmember Hager.

[1:15:16] I might like to call 1185.

[1:15:18] We're just doing.

[1:15:19] We're just doing ten right now.

[1:15:20] Ten?

[1:15:21] Yeah. So ten a ten C one 310 C3.

[1:15:25] Just need a motion on that.

[1:15:26] Okay, fine.

[1:15:27] Motion is in order.

[1:15:29] A move that we adopt ten.

[1:15:32] See one through ten.

[1:15:33] C3 okay.

[1:15:34] It's been moved by Councilmember Hancock to adopt

[1:15:37] the consent calendar and motions.

[1:15:39] Tennessee one to Tennessee three and seconded by mayor.

[1:15:43] Second.

[1:15:44] Second by Mayor Pro Tem.

[1:15:46] Discussion.

[1:15:48] Seeing no discussion over the question on the adoption of the

[1:15:51] consent calendar on motions.

[1:15:53] Item number Tennessee one to Tennessee three.

[1:15:56] Mayor. Kaufman.

[1:15:57] Mayor. Vote yes.

[1:16:00] Katie, I'm a yes.

[1:16:01] I'm logging back into East right now.

[1:16:03] Okay. Thank you.

[1:16:04] The motion passes unanimously to adopt the consent calendar

[1:16:07] for motions.

[1:16:14] A motion is in order on the adoption of the consent

[1:16:16] calendar and resolutions and ordinances 11 A1 to 11 b two.

[1:16:22] Mayor.

[1:16:23] Um. Councilmember Hancock.

[1:16:25] I'd like to pull 11, 1185 and 1186.

[1:16:28] So we need a motion first to approve the consent agenda 1101

[1:16:32] through 1132 and then you can pull the specific item.

[1:16:35] So we need the motion first.

[1:16:36] Okay.

[1:16:39] So are you moving to approve the consent agenda from 1101 to

[1:16:41] 11 B2?

[1:16:43] Yes. And we need a second.

[1:16:44] First.

[1:16:44] Mayor.

[1:16:45] Second.

[1:16:46] Second by Councilmember Lawson.

[1:16:47] Okay. Now you can call Councilmember Hancock again.

[1:16:49] Councilmember Hancock.

[1:16:50] All right.

[1:16:51] Now, once more, a feeling we will.

[1:16:54] I'd like to pull 1185 and 1186.

[1:16:58] Okay.

[1:17:00] So now the consent agenda is 118, 11, eight, one through 11,

[1:17:03] eight, four and 11.

[1:17:04] B1 11 B2

[1:17:07] further discussion.

[1:17:11] We have individuals who would like to speak on items 11 A1

[1:17:15] and 11 B2.

[1:17:17] Oh very well.

[1:17:20] First individual for item 11 A1 is Agent Anderson, followed by

[1:17:24] Mahdi and Schaffner.

[1:17:29] So do we not?

[1:17:34] So we still have the motion.

[1:17:35] Councilmember Burger now we're just hearing public comment on

[1:17:37] those that signed up for the

[1:17:38] items that are still on consent.

[1:17:48] I believe that all I have to say is we just need to be able

[1:17:52] to uplift the testimony of Miss Della Jordan.

[1:17:55] I think that she has given you an insight to what she is

[1:17:59] witnessing at the Aurora Navigation Center, and why

[1:18:01] accountability metrics are important.

[1:18:04] And so I don't need to belabor you all on what she has said.

[1:18:09] Week after week after week, I would just ask that while you

[1:18:12] make this decision and why you make this vote, that you take

[1:18:15] into the words of what Miss Della Jordan has went through

[1:18:18] consistently for the last few months, and ask yourselves if

[1:18:23] you are comfortable with the current standards and the

[1:18:26] conditions of which this facility is in.

[1:18:29] So with the rest of that, I yield back.

[1:18:32] And I want to just again make sure that you understand.

[1:18:35] Miss Della Jordan is the reason why I am encouraging you to

[1:18:40] support this resolution.

[1:18:42] Thank you.

[1:18:45] Madeline Schaffner.

[1:18:50] Okay. And then for item 11 B2, we have Hashim Coates.

[1:19:27] I just want to be clear.

[1:19:28] I'm not against technology.

[1:19:32] I'm not against good, ethical, compassionate, non murderous

[1:19:36] law enforcement.

[1:19:37] And I'm certainly not

[1:19:39] advocating for a lawless society.

[1:19:41] Again, I want to give a shout out to Amy Patton for using the

[1:19:44] law for filing charges on the alleged murderer of the Aurora

[1:19:50] Police Department, officer Matthew Neely, who took the

[1:19:54] life of Rajan Belt Stubblefield.

[1:19:57] But I am equally opposed to surveillance society.

[1:20:01] Public safety and civil

[1:20:02] liberties are not opposing values.

[1:20:05] Good government has an obligation to protect both.

[1:20:09] Colorado law already says automated traffic enforcement

[1:20:12] systems should retain data only when a violation occurs.

[1:20:16] That means that if a law abiding person drives past one

[1:20:19] of these cameras.

[1:20:20] We should not be quietly being recorded.

[1:20:23] We should not be quietly being recorded.

[1:20:25] Colorado law assuming if that's Aurora's practice, then put

[1:20:31] that in the ordinance, but

[1:20:34] put it in the vendor's contract, audit it and make

[1:20:38] violations enforceable.

[1:20:40] And please do not tell

[1:20:42] residents it's only license plates.

[1:20:45] No, license plate is not a

[1:20:47] facial recognition, Aurora says.

[1:20:49] It's separate.

[1:20:50] It separates license plate.

[1:20:51] Readers do not capture faces, race, gender, ethnicity.

[1:20:55] But when enough time stamp license plates observations are

[1:20:58] connected together, they can reveal moment and identity.

[1:21:04] Where did I go?

[1:21:05] What should I attend to?

[1:21:06] What doctor's office did I visit?

[1:21:07] What protests did I visit?

[1:21:09] Who did I visit?

[1:21:09] Whose house did I leave from?

[1:21:11] To end up leaving my wife and marrying somebody else?

[1:21:14] What closet situation am I hiding out from it reveals all

[1:21:17] that personal information that should remain personal, that

[1:21:21] sensitive information.

[1:21:22] And Colorado lawmakers raise these exact concerns this year

[1:21:26] when considering statewide restrictions on license plate

[1:21:29] reader databases.

[1:21:31] Um, we don't have to.

[1:21:32] We shouldn't have to imagine what could happen as it relates

[1:21:36] to immigration enforcement in Denver.

[1:21:40] License plate data was searched nearly 1400 times for Ice or

[1:21:46] immigration related purposes by law enforcement agencies across

[1:21:49] the country.

[1:21:51] Ice didn't even need to direct access for the systems to

[1:21:54] become useful for immigration searches.

[1:21:58] I really implore you all to protect, expand upon, but no,

[1:22:04] just protect the Fourth

[1:22:05] Amendment at its very basic level.

[1:22:06] We have no idea what technology can do unless you guys are

[1:22:10] explicit with them as it relates to that and put firm

[1:22:14] guidelines into place so that they can't be used for

[1:22:17] nefarious purposes.

[1:22:19] You have to treat this system as if our worst enemy will then

[1:22:23] get Ahold of these systems, and then use it against us, no

[1:22:26] matter what side of the aisle that you're on.

[1:22:27] On that.

[1:22:30] That was the last individual.

[1:22:34] Okay. The question before us is the adoption of

[1:22:41] the consent calendar on resolutions and ordinances,

[1:22:44] with the exception of item number 1185 and 1186.

[1:22:51] Discussion.

[1:22:52] Mayor.

[1:22:53] Mayor. Pro tem.

[1:22:54] Just a question for the city manager or perhaps APD

[1:23:00] regarding the contract for the speed cameras.

[1:23:06] Um, do we have clarifications?

[1:23:08] Or maybe this is a question for the city attorney.

[1:23:10] I'm not sure Regarding kind of this state legislation,

[1:23:15] compliance with this state legislation, and collection and

[1:23:19] retention of data.

[1:23:20] So, um, one of the, um, big changes in the state law, which

[1:23:26] is what this ordinance does, is it brings us into conformance

[1:23:30] with the recent changes in state law.

[1:23:32] Um, within that and there was some discussion at the last

[1:23:35] council meeting.

[1:23:36] Um, prior automated vehicle identification systems included

[1:23:41] a picture of the driver's

[1:23:42] license or, excuse me, of the driver.

[1:23:44] And then there was a, um, a defense that could be made that

[1:23:47] I was not the driver.

[1:23:48] This the person in the picture is not me.

[1:23:51] Um, so because of that, the automated vehicle

[1:23:54] identification systems included a requirement that you needed

[1:23:58] to capture a picture of the driver.

[1:24:00] With the changes in state law

[1:24:02] that is actually no longer required.

[1:24:04] Actually no longer allowed.

[1:24:06] So we have already made that change.

[1:24:08] We're no longer capturing the picture of the driver.

[1:24:11] Um, and so this now removes that as an affirmative defense,

[1:24:15] that this brings us into conformance of law.

[1:24:16] And that's already our practice, given that the law

[1:24:18] has been changed.

[1:24:20] And real quick, this system is separate from the flock system

[1:24:23] or anything else, the license plate readers.

[1:24:25] It does not feed into that information.

[1:24:27] It's completely separate, used by the vendor only for issuing

[1:24:29] the citations.

[1:24:30] So it is not being kept as part of trying to document who goes

[1:24:34] by a certain area.

[1:24:35] Okay. And just for clarification on that.

[1:24:38] So once it's captured, you're in this place.

[1:24:41] Your citation has been issued.

[1:24:42] That data is only retained for the purposes of the citation

[1:24:47] and not used in any AI data

[1:24:50] systems or any other comparisons.

[1:24:53] Deputy city attorney plot.

[1:24:54] That is correct.

[1:24:55] Right?

[1:24:55] That's correct.

[1:24:56] Councilmember. And also, just for for clarity, it will be

[1:25:00] retained, obviously through the system throughout any personal

[1:25:03] service and collection processes that occur that are

[1:25:06] connected with the vendor, but it's not connected into any of

[1:25:09] LPR, other tools or artificial intelligence tools that has

[1:25:14] those capabilities.

[1:25:17] Um, sorry.

[1:25:17] And just and within the contract, because this is one

[1:25:20] item that we've heard about with respect to the LPR is it's

[1:25:24] also not permitted in the contract for them to use it for

[1:25:27] any kind of machine learning systems or any other purposes

[1:25:30] aside from the service of the citation.

[1:25:33] That's correct.

[1:25:34] Mayor Pro Tem, and we're updating all the business rules

[1:25:37] to be in accordance with the current state laws currently

[1:25:40] with varying mobility.

[1:25:43] Okay.

[1:25:44] And my understanding, you, Mayor Pro tem, is the police

[1:25:46] don't even have access to search that data at all to see

[1:25:50] who, what vehicles drive by or whatnot.

[1:25:52] It's only what's on the FLoC system that they have.

[1:25:55] Right. And APD is involvement even with the system, is going

[1:25:58] to be pretty limited now that they're not going to be issuing

[1:26:00] the, the, um, the overages for the six point tickets, because

[1:26:05] that's going to be automated as well now.

[1:26:09] Thank you.

[1:26:13] Further discussion.

[1:26:15] You can call for the question.

[1:26:29] Councilmember Jackson.

[1:26:30] Thank you.

[1:26:31] The motion passes unanimously to adopt the consent calendar

[1:26:34] for resolutions and ordinances

[1:26:36] with items 1185 and 1186 removed.

[1:26:40] Now, please read the title to item number 11 A5.

[1:26:42] Item 11 A5 is resolution 2020 697, directing the City Manager

[1:26:47] to implement data center regulations.

[1:26:50] Mayor and mayor.

[1:26:51] We do have individuals who

[1:26:52] would like to speak on this item.

[1:26:54] Very well, city Attorney.

[1:26:56] I'm pretty sure council is very aware of this, but 1185 and

[1:27:01] 1186 are in conflict, obviously.

[1:27:03] So this would not be a situation where both

[1:27:06] resolutions should pass because they are in conflict.

[1:27:09] I know you know that, but I'm just putting it on the record.

[1:27:12] And city attorney.

[1:27:13] Mayor. Point of order.

[1:27:14] Um, our amendments in order prior to public comment or

[1:27:19] subsequent to public comment.

[1:27:21] So what I would do is let's go and hear public comment first,

[1:27:24] and then we can have the motion and then amendments following

[1:27:27] the motion.

[1:27:29] Okay.

[1:27:31] Okay. The first person is Anita

[1:27:33] Kubrick, followed by Agent Anderson.

[1:27:41] Anita.

[1:27:44] Okay. Agent Anderson, followed by Medea and Schaffner.

[1:27:58] Excuse my language, but

[1:28:00] I'm so confused on how we should be given public comment

[1:28:04] before we hear any amendments or adjustments y'all are going

[1:28:07] to make.

[1:28:07] Because if that is substantial to what

[1:28:11] if you all are going to make substantial changes to this

[1:28:15] resolution, then I would respectfully like to hear what

[1:28:19] you all have to say and then be able to let you know if I'm

[1:28:22] supportive of it or not supportive of it.

[1:28:25] I just feel like this

[1:28:26] disenfranchised is public participation.

[1:28:29] So I mean, feel free to interrupt.

[1:28:31] I mean, I'll give a point of order real quick.

[1:28:33] So basically, because the agenda was published the way it

[1:28:37] was, it's the comments should

[1:28:39] be on all the agendas published.

[1:28:41] And what council should hear from you is what you think you

[1:28:43] should amend in the in the document after public comment

[1:28:47] so they can take your comments to build their amendments.

[1:28:49] I'm sure they have amendments that they already know that

[1:28:52] they they want to present, but if they use public comment to

[1:28:54] figure out what else they should, she should do.

[1:28:56] So this is the appropriate time for public comment.

[1:28:58] I understand your point, but

[1:28:59] we've got to go off the open meetings.

[1:29:00] All the agenda was published 24 hours ago, at least.

[1:29:03] And listen, the package should be the one that's presented.

[1:29:07] Well, great.

[1:29:07] Well, I guess I can't really do too much about my opposition to

[1:29:12] Curtis Gardner's A resolution

[1:29:14] because he never shows up to work.

[1:29:16] And so, I mean, I would say that I support what council

[1:29:21] member Wales has put forward to the council because we need to

[1:29:25] make sure that we are not having data centers just run

[1:29:28] rampant through the city of Aurora, and you all need to be

[1:29:30] coming up with some rules and regulations into which they are

[1:29:33] supposed to be at the bounds

[1:29:34] that they need to be operating in.

[1:29:36] Um, and the fact that Curtis Council Member Gardner, who

[1:29:39] again, doesn't show up to city council meetings, is offering a

[1:29:42] resolution and at a city council meeting, and it still

[1:29:46] is not here at said city council meeting, physically

[1:29:49] present at a meeting.

[1:29:50] It feels like he's trying to silence the voice of one of his

[1:29:54] female colleagues.

[1:29:55] But I, I'm I hope that wherever if he's listening from the home

[1:29:59] of him and Amanda Sawyer, I hope that he is able to hear

[1:30:03] the concerns that individuals have about his resolution being

[1:30:07] in direct opposition and

[1:30:09] competition with council Member Wiles.

[1:30:11] So, Council Member Wiles Resolution, and I hope to

[1:30:15] listen to more of your your

[1:30:16] amendments through this process.

[1:30:17] But this right here, this does not feel authentic just to just

[1:30:21] to be from this side of the dais, knowing what it means to

[1:30:24] be an elected official.

[1:30:25] If I would have pulled a gotcha when we were when we were

[1:30:27] debating on the Denver school board of like, we want to hear

[1:30:30] your concerns, but now we're

[1:30:31] going to pass a bunch of amendments.

[1:30:32] Our parents would be pissed off because what you are about to

[1:30:38] do is likely change one of these two proposals, and we

[1:30:42] will not be able to respond or

[1:30:44] give you our feedback in real time.

[1:30:46] But we're just supposed to be like, okay, here's our here's

[1:30:49] our opinion beforehand, and you actually might change

[1:30:52] drastically one of the two of these issues.

[1:30:54] So, Council Member Gardner, I

[1:30:56] hope that you're listening from you.

[1:30:57] And I saw your home show up.

[1:30:58] Show up to work.

[1:30:59] Show up to work.

[1:31:01] You forgot my gavel.

[1:31:04] Madison Schaffner, followed by Aditi Desai.

[1:31:10] Aditi Desai, followed by Verena Desai.

[1:31:36] Good evening, mayor and members of city council.

[1:31:39] My name is Aditi Desai and I reside in Aurora.

[1:31:41] And I'm here in favor of 11.8.5.

[1:31:45] I would like to comment on infrastructure considerations

[1:31:48] associated with large scale data centers data centers,

[1:31:53] particularly those supporting A.I.

[1:31:55] applications can require substantial electrical capacity

[1:31:59] and supporting utility infrastructure.

[1:32:02] We need to evaluate these projects in regards to grid

[1:32:06] capacity, transmission upgrades, long term energy

[1:32:10] demand, and how infrastructure improvements would be planned

[1:32:14] and funded.

[1:32:15] In addition to electricity demand, City Council needs to

[1:32:19] examine whether existing utility systems are prepared to

[1:32:23] accommodate future growth while maintaining reliable services

[1:32:27] for residents and businesses.

[1:32:29] These considerations can be important for long range

[1:32:32] planning and capital investment decisions

[1:32:36] as future projects are evaluated.

[1:32:38] I encourage consideration of independent infrastructure

[1:32:41] studies and transparent communication regarding

[1:32:45] anticipated utility needs well into the future.

[1:32:48] We need to consider long term sustainability for our

[1:32:52] communities, not just the

[1:32:53] economic benefits for large companies.

[1:32:56] Thank you for your time.

[1:32:57] I support the six month moratorium as residential and

[1:33:01] environmental impacts are further studied prior to

[1:33:04] approval of additional large scale data centers in Aurora.

[1:33:08] I have lived in Aurora for six years now and hope to continue

[1:33:11] my life here.

[1:33:12] Don't push residents like me out with quick decisions that

[1:33:16] don't consider neighbors in our long term well-being.

[1:33:18] Thank you.

[1:33:21] For reading.

[1:33:22] Desai.

[1:33:27] Followed by Arvin Martinez.

[1:33:38] Good evening, mayor and members of the city council.

[1:33:42] My name is Byron Desai.

[1:33:45] I'm a homeowner and resident of Aurora.

[1:33:49] I'm here for resolution 11.8.5.

[1:33:53] I would like to comment on neighborhood compatibility

[1:33:56] consideration related to large scale data centers.

[1:34:00] These facilities often operate continuously and may include

[1:34:04] cooling equipment, transformers, backup

[1:34:07] generators, and other infrastructure that can create

[1:34:10] operational noise.

[1:34:12] Some communities have raised questions about how such

[1:34:16] facilities interact with nearby residents, area schools, and

[1:34:20] community spaces.

[1:34:22] Additional considerations can include construction, traffic,

[1:34:26] visual impact building, scale lighting, and compatibility

[1:34:31] with existing zoning standards.

[1:34:34] Local governments sometimes review whether current

[1:34:36] development regulations adequately address the unique

[1:34:40] characteristics of modern data centers.

[1:34:44] Careful review of seating standards.

[1:34:46] Set back Landscaping, noise requirements and community

[1:34:50] input process can help inform future land use decision.

[1:34:56] Thank you for your consideration.

[1:34:58] Thank you for your time.

[1:35:00] I support a six month moratorium as residential and

[1:35:05] environmental impact are

[1:35:06] further studied prior to approval.

[1:35:08] Additional large scale data centers in Aurora.

[1:35:12] Thank you.

[1:35:14] Arvin Martinez, followed by Hashim Coates.

[1:35:23] Good evening, mayor and members of the city council.

[1:35:26] My name is Arvin Martinez and I live in Aurora.

[1:35:29] I would like to address environmental and resource

[1:35:31] planning considerations

[1:35:32] associated with data center development.

[1:35:35] Depending on their design and cooling technology, some

[1:35:37] facilities may have substantial water requirements.

[1:35:40] Water consumption can vary significantly based on facility

[1:35:43] size, climate conditions, and type of cooling systems use,

[1:35:47] and considering the drastic effect that we have had of

[1:35:51] record setting drought and lack of water and highest

[1:35:55] temperatures recorded in the United States history.

[1:35:57] We can't afford to spare water when there was an obviously big

[1:36:01] lack of this resource.

[1:36:03] Communities reviewing these facilities often examine

[1:36:05] projected water demand, conservation practices, and

[1:36:08] potential environmental impacts in areas where long term water

[1:36:12] management is an important public concern.

[1:36:15] Decision makers may seek additional information

[1:36:17] regarding resource use and mitigation strategies.

[1:36:20] And obviously, I think we should all take the time to

[1:36:24] consider what what's going to happen in the near future.

[1:36:28] Who's going to be blamed when there's even less water, and

[1:36:31] neighbors are going to be asked to sacrifice even more than

[1:36:34] they already are?

[1:36:36] The laws that they're trying to keep green and everything they

[1:36:39] need is a cut.

[1:36:40] Considering how the lack of water is affecting people, very

[1:36:45] little reviews can help provide greater understanding of how

[1:36:47] proposed facility may interact with local resources, and what

[1:36:50] measures may be available to reduce impacts.

[1:36:54] Ultimately, there is no long term impact of a simple delay

[1:36:58] in construction, but there are plenty of reasons to study the

[1:37:02] effects of a data center and the ability of residents to

[1:37:05] live in Aurora.

[1:37:06] Money can't make more water, but is unrestrained pursuit of

[1:37:11] money that could lead to a long

[1:37:13] term suffering for our neighbors?

[1:37:15] Thank you for my opportunity to speak.

[1:37:18] Thank you for your time.

[1:37:20] I support a six month moratorium as residential and

[1:37:24] environmental impacts are further studied prior to

[1:37:27] approval of additional large scale data centers in Aurora.

[1:37:31] Thank you again.

[1:37:36] Hashim Coates, followed by Juan Marcano.

[1:37:58] I want to start with something

[1:37:59] that shouldn't be controversial.

[1:38:01] Clean air should not be partisan, nor should clean

[1:38:06] water be partisan.

[1:38:09] It's wild to me that we both need water on both sides of the

[1:38:13] aisle for us to tell each other that the other one is wrong.

[1:38:16] We need clean air to do that as well too.

[1:38:20] So protecting the ability of future generations to live,

[1:38:24] breathe, and survive should not be dependent upon whether you

[1:38:28] are progressive, conservative,

[1:38:29] Democrat, Republican or independent.

[1:38:32] Those should be our basic non-negotiables.

[1:38:36] Um, Aurora is currently under a stage one water drought.

[1:38:39] Our residents are being asked to conserve water and our

[1:38:42] watering system is maybe at 50% full.

[1:38:46] We can add, if we ask families to change how they use water

[1:38:50] because conservation is necessary, then surely we can

[1:38:54] ask some of the wealthiest corporations in the world to

[1:38:56] wait while the city determines how resource intensive

[1:39:00] development should be regulated?

[1:39:03] Um, a moratorium is not a ban.

[1:39:05] Even though I would entertain a band.

[1:39:08] Um, it's the government basically just saying we make

[1:39:11] decisions that could affect generations that would possibly

[1:39:14] be irreversible.

[1:39:15] We're going to understand the consequences and write the

[1:39:18] rules first.

[1:39:20] Is that that elusive common sense out there?

[1:39:27] Aurora is not alone in this.

[1:39:29] Denver has stepped in and done this.

[1:39:33] Texas has even stepped up and paused certain new data center

[1:39:38] approvals while reviewing enormous demands that place on

[1:39:42] the electric grid.

[1:39:44] One thing that I agree with the mayor on is the water usage as

[1:39:47] it relates to grass.

[1:39:49] I hate grass, I think all golf course should be banned.

[1:39:53] I think that it should be

[1:39:54] illegal to water your front yard.

[1:39:56] Um, one grass produces nothing and two, it's trauma from my

[1:40:00] childhood of having an allergy and having to cut the yard.

[1:40:04] Some things just go with me to the grave.

[1:40:06] But we need to stop assuming that just because a corporation

[1:40:09] announces billions of dollars in capital investment,

[1:40:14] that, um.

[1:40:16] Excuse me, a capital investment that somehow those billions are

[1:40:19] going to trickle down and

[1:40:20] benefit to the people who live here.

[1:40:23] The research does not support that assumption.

[1:40:26] Recent economic research has found that the typical

[1:40:29] community receiving a major data center may gain only to

[1:40:33] 100, 100 to 200 jobs, with no measurable increase in wages.

[1:40:39] Capital investment is not the same as community investment.

[1:40:43] $1 billion building owned by $1 billion corporation does not

[1:40:47] automatically mean $1 billion benefits to aurora families.

[1:40:52] I believe that there should be economic growth, but one thing

[1:40:56] that we don't need, or one thing that we do need.

[1:40:58] We need a good environment.

[1:41:00] We don't necessarily need the data center.

[1:41:03] The harm that it's pulling to our intellectual value as

[1:41:06] Americans who thought we could go any lower, keep coming up

[1:41:10] with making things easier for

[1:41:11] people not to think we'll have it.

[1:41:14] And also, what's not spoken about is that these data

[1:41:16] centers are actually mining information.

[1:41:20] The observation centers.

[1:41:27] Juan Marcano, followed by Chad Johnson.

[1:41:41] Good evening again.

[1:41:42] My name is Juan Marcano and I'm a resident of Ward four.

[1:41:45] I want to begin by thanking Councilmember Wiles for the

[1:41:48] hard work and thorough research that she's done on Llms data

[1:41:51] centers and the socio economic impacts of this industry, and

[1:41:55] for being very responsive to the needs of her constituency.

[1:41:57] Since she's been elected to the Ward two seat.

[1:42:01] Issues like these are a rarity

[1:42:03] in our politics, especially today.

[1:42:05] Concerns about the impacts of high powered data centers and

[1:42:08] the impacts that they have on noise, emissions, water supply,

[1:42:12] water quality, energy costs.

[1:42:14] And I want to underline and italicize energy costs here in

[1:42:19] Colorado, as the public utilities Corporation or the

[1:42:23] PUC is not going to protect us from the impacts of these

[1:42:27] facilities will have, but also the impacts on wildlife, on

[1:42:31] employment and unemployment generated by people adopting

[1:42:34] this nascent technology.

[1:42:36] Sowing misinformation and more.

[1:42:40] Despite all of these things, we have broad support amongst

[1:42:44] cross-generational bipartisan lines on this issue.

[1:42:48] I also appreciate the distinction that this

[1:42:49] resolution draws between small scale facilities that serve as

[1:42:53] the backbone of the internet, and high power facilities that

[1:42:56] are used for llms to scrape and steal the collective output of

[1:43:00] humanity for the purpose of creating, to quote, tech

[1:43:02] oligarchy and likely sociopath Sam Altman.

[1:43:05] A future where intelligence is a utility like electricity or

[1:43:09] water, and people buy it from us on a meter.

[1:43:12] Dystopian does not begin to describe the intent that he and

[1:43:15] his contemporaries are espousing.

[1:43:18] This body is charged with protecting life, health,

[1:43:21] property, and the general welfare of Aurora.

[1:43:24] And this resolution and the accompanying ordinance

[1:43:27] ordinance does just that.

[1:43:29] It provides the city with the time to thoroughly evaluate and

[1:43:32] craft a set of protections for aurora and guidelines for

[1:43:35] industry to follow as this bubble continues to inflate.

[1:43:37] And it is a bubble, and when it eventually pops, I suspect it

[1:43:41] will pop soon.

[1:43:42] Because we're three years into this frenzy and there is still

[1:43:44] no path to profitability for this industry.

[1:43:47] Our city will be well served by the regulatory framework that

[1:43:50] will follow, and it will not leave Ward two with the burden

[1:43:53] of abandoned warehouses next to people's homes.

[1:43:56] I want to thank you again, Council Member Wiles, for your

[1:43:59] work, and I encourage the council to support this

[1:44:01] resolution and her ordinance for the moratorium.

[1:44:04] Thank you.

[1:44:06] Chad Johnson, followed by Kristin Mallory.

[1:44:19] Good evening.

[1:44:20] My name is Chad Johnson.

[1:44:21] I'm a resident of Ward four.

[1:44:24] I want to be clear, the residents of Aurora do not want

[1:44:27] data centers in our communities.

[1:44:29] I don't want data centers in my community.

[1:44:32] This sentiment transcends political ideology, background,

[1:44:36] and neighborhood.

[1:44:38] You will not find a single polled group that has a

[1:44:40] majority support for data

[1:44:42] centers in their neighborhoods nationwide.

[1:44:45] A much less year in Aurora.

[1:44:48] There are a few things that are as consequential to our

[1:44:50] community as this one.

[1:44:51] With record shortages of rain.

[1:44:53] Our reservoirs are depleted and Xcel Energy already raising our

[1:44:57] rates in route to roughly 1 billion in profits in 2025.

[1:45:01] We do not want or need another thirsty and power hungry

[1:45:05] technology competing with Aurora residents for basic

[1:45:08] needs like water and electricity.

[1:45:11] We don't want their massive amounts of pollution either.

[1:45:14] The new Amazon data center in Texas is set to become the

[1:45:17] single largest CO2 pollution emitter in the entire country,

[1:45:20] at 33 million tons of CO2 a year.

[1:45:24] We don't want even a tiny

[1:45:25] fraction of that here in Aurora,

[1:45:28] data centers have also been found to pollute nearby water

[1:45:31] sources, pollute air surrounding the facility, and

[1:45:35] creating a persistent noise disturbance 24 over seven to

[1:45:38] those that live nearby in dozens of municipalities.

[1:45:42] They are also a source of environmental racism.

[1:45:45] Several studies have found that their construction and

[1:45:47] operation disproportionately impacts people of color.

[1:45:52] For those on this council that think a couple of token

[1:45:55] standards would make it okay, or if the size of a data center

[1:45:58] is limited, that it would in turn make it permissible, they

[1:46:02] are sorely mistaken.

[1:46:03] I want to remind you that the average medium sized data

[1:46:06] center uses somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 gallons of

[1:46:11] water a day,

[1:46:14] just one day.

[1:46:15] That's that equates to almost 110 million, uh, between 110

[1:46:19] million and 182 million gallons a year, an amount we cannot

[1:46:23] spare, especially for a bubble like AI.

[1:46:26] Once again, I want to be clear.

[1:46:28] Data centers are a menace.

[1:46:30] The residents of Aurora do not

[1:46:32] want data centers here in our community.

[1:46:34] I urge you to put a moratorium in place immediately.

[1:46:36] Thank you.

[1:46:38] Sir.

[1:46:41] Kristen Mallory, followed by Kathleen Peterson.

[1:46:54] Hello, Council.

[1:46:55] Kristen Mallory, Ward three.

[1:46:57] First of all, everyone here said all the things that I was

[1:46:59] going to say.

[1:47:00] So I'm not going to repeat those, but this is probably the

[1:47:05] most important issue that you guys are taking up right now.

[1:47:10] Like this will determine the future generation.

[1:47:14] I don't many of you know, I don't have kids, but many of

[1:47:17] you do.

[1:47:18] And their water access to water, their electricity cost

[1:47:24] is going to depend partially on what you decide right now and

[1:47:27] what you decide in these next six months.

[1:47:30] Now, I'm so impressed by the work that Amy is doing because

[1:47:32] she didn't just say no, never.

[1:47:34] She said no, not for six months while we figure this out.

[1:47:38] That's really good governance.

[1:47:40] Let us put like take time to put policies in place that make

[1:47:46] sure that the next generation is protected and the next

[1:47:49] generation after that, and the next generation after that.

[1:47:53] Because our reservoirs are dry, our air is dirty.

[1:47:57] Our electricity, our

[1:47:58] electricity is already expensive.

[1:48:02] It is too much.

[1:48:04] And so it's really just part of me is really disappointing or

[1:48:09] disappointed that we're going to have industry come up here

[1:48:12] and tell you why they need this for business.

[1:48:14] And then we have community always telling you like just

[1:48:17] pause and make sure we're doing it the right way.

[1:48:19] And this is what it always comes down to every single

[1:48:22] time, and it would be really nice if industry for once

[1:48:26] didn't think about the dollar in their pocket, but thought

[1:48:29] about the dollar in their grandkids pocket and the earth

[1:48:33] that they're going to inherit.

[1:48:35] So I feel very strongly about

[1:48:38] this, that six months is so reasonable.

[1:48:40] And like Hashem, I wish that we would do a moratorium, but

[1:48:44] that's like a ban forever.

[1:48:45] But that's not the world we live in.

[1:48:48] Um, so the moratorium does give council something an incredibly

[1:48:53] important time, time to study the water impacts, time to

[1:48:57] understand the electrical infrastructure demands, time to

[1:49:00] establish meaningful environmental standards.

[1:49:03] Time, time to determine who's going to pay for this, who's

[1:49:06] going to pay for this infrastructure, and time to

[1:49:09] ensure that our zoning and development policies reflect

[1:49:12] the reality of this new industry.

[1:49:14] With all that being said, my brother wanted me to leave you

[1:49:18] with this quote.

[1:49:19] Love is abundant like an ocean.

[1:49:22] But you know what isn't?

[1:49:24] Water that runs out.

[1:49:26] Thank you.

[1:49:29] Kathleen Peterson.

[1:49:31] Followed by Christopher Fellows.

[1:49:38] Hello.

[1:49:40] I'm a resident of Aurora.

[1:49:42] Um, I.

[1:49:43] Live in Heather Ridge.

[1:49:46] Um, I went outside my door, and, uh, my electrical box was

[1:49:52] wrapped in artwork.

[1:49:55] Well, they call it artwork.

[1:49:56] I call it graffiti.

[1:49:58] I think it's very ugly.

[1:50:01] Uh, it looks like graffiti.

[1:50:03] And, um, once, uh, somebody ran over the electrical boxes.

[1:50:11] So these are brand new electrical boxes that I have,

[1:50:15] and they were, you know, Very nice.

[1:50:18] They were gray.

[1:50:19] They matched the, uh, the, uh, sidewalks and the environment

[1:50:25] around the plants, and and it even matched my house, which a

[1:50:30] townhome which is right behind it.

[1:50:33] And now I have to look at it looks like a big billboard.

[1:50:40] And, I mean, they never showed up before, but they do now.

[1:50:45] And, um, so I called Aurora, and, I mean, these guys were

[1:50:52] out wrapping it up, and I asked him if they had permission and

[1:50:55] they said yes, that they worked for Aurora.

[1:50:58] So I ran in and then I, uh, they said no.

[1:51:01] So I ran back out, and then they said, no, we really don't

[1:51:06] work for Aurora.

[1:51:08] Uh, but we do have this company.

[1:51:09] And then later, uh, come to find out, they did have

[1:51:13] permission, uh, that, uh, they're going to wrap all the

[1:51:18] electrical boxes in Aurora.

[1:51:22] Uh, I was I'm depressed.

[1:51:25] I mean, I look out on my patio and I am very, very depressed.

[1:51:30] It looks like a big billboard out there.

[1:51:32] And, uh, if you want to look, uh, you know, drive by on Yale

[1:51:37] and, uh, South Xanadu way right there at the golf course, there

[1:51:43] is this big electrical box that are two big electrical boxes

[1:51:48] that look like graffiti.

[1:51:50] And I think it's going to encourage, uh, graffiti.

[1:51:55] Um, and I since have learned that, uh, I guess Highlands

[1:52:02] Ranch has done this.

[1:52:03] Denver has done this.

[1:52:05] And I guess is I'm not sure if this is going to be a new

[1:52:09] policy, but I think it's going to make Aurora ugly.

[1:52:13] I think if you want to beautify Aurora, I think you should, uh,

[1:52:19] plant more trees or bushes or flowers.

[1:52:23] But this.

[1:52:25] It looks like kiddie land.

[1:52:26] It looks like kiddie land.

[1:52:28] It belongs in the zoo.

[1:52:29] Or it belongs maybe outside a library where there's a, um, a

[1:52:35] little fountain or something like that for kids to play in.

[1:52:40] Anyway, I hope you will consider taking that off the

[1:52:45] plate and not doing that.

[1:52:47] And I hope you'll take the wrappings off my my boxes.

[1:52:52] Thank you.

[1:52:52] Christopher Fellowes, followed by Nicholas Biden.

[1:52:56] Okay. If you give me your contact information.

[1:52:59] Yes.

[1:53:02] Christopher, fellows.

[1:53:07] Okay. Nicholas Biden.

[1:53:12] Okay. That was the last individual.

[1:53:15] Motions that were a presentation.

[1:53:19] Brief presentation by staff.

[1:53:23] Mayor.

[1:53:25] Mayor. Councilmember.

[1:53:26] Wiles.

[1:53:26] Yeah. I just wanted to read something really quick.

[1:53:29] Um, so when I announced I would be bringing this resolution

[1:53:33] forward, I was quickly told by some business partners and

[1:53:36] others who didn't ask me any questions, but rather made a

[1:53:39] lot of assumptions that I must be anti-business.

[1:53:42] This resolution is not anti-business.

[1:53:45] It's pro responsible business,

[1:53:47] and most importantly, it's pro community.

[1:53:50] I want businesses to come to Aurora.

[1:53:52] I want them to invest in Aurora, create jobs here, build

[1:53:56] and succeed here.

[1:53:57] But I also believe those businesses should be good

[1:53:59] partners to our residents who raise families here, own homes

[1:54:03] here, and who are building their futures here.

[1:54:06] When we make decisions that fundamentally affect their

[1:54:08] neighborhoods, we have a responsibility to ensure our

[1:54:11] regulations keep up with the changing landscape of the

[1:54:14] world, and that's what this resolution is about.

[1:54:17] This is not a vote against development or growth.

[1:54:20] It's a vote for getting our rules right.

[1:54:22] We have areas of the city that could easily accommodate easily

[1:54:25] accommodate these centers once

[1:54:27] rules are established, a tech spaceport.

[1:54:31] So why are we so determined to

[1:54:32] put them in the middle of neighborhoods?

[1:54:34] Some of the conversations I've

[1:54:36] had since announcing this resolution.

[1:54:38] So exactly why these changes matter.

[1:54:40] Representatives from a large international company whose

[1:54:43] projects won't even be affected by these changes reached out to

[1:54:47] me to say, what can we do to be better partners to the

[1:54:49] community and make them more comfortable with our center

[1:54:52] being here?

[1:54:53] We have a meeting next week to continue that conversation.

[1:54:59] Developers whose projects won't be subject to these

[1:55:01] requirements have told me we

[1:55:03] still want to do the right thing.

[1:55:04] How can we make our sites more community Friendly.

[1:55:08] That's the kind of partnership that we should want in Aurora.

[1:55:11] Responsible businesses should not be afraid of responsible

[1:55:15] standards, and responsible government should not be afraid

[1:55:18] to set those standards.

[1:55:20] For months, city staff and I have been doing this work

[1:55:23] meeting regularly, hosting town halls, conducting side visits,

[1:55:27] researching best practices, talking with residents and

[1:55:30] walking neighborhoods to understand the real impacts and

[1:55:33] listen to concerns.

[1:55:34] And through that work, we've discovered that our current

[1:55:38] CDOs simply were not written with today's hyperscale data

[1:55:42] centers in mind.

[1:55:43] In fact, months into this work, we just learned this past week

[1:55:47] that they can, in some instances, fall under the same

[1:55:51] zoning framework as schools.

[1:55:53] That wasn't intentional, but it shows how urgently our

[1:55:57] regulations need to catch up.

[1:55:59] Other communities are already learning from these lessons.

[1:56:02] I spoke with leaders in Loudoun County, one of the world's

[1:56:05] largest data center hubs, and they are now redesigning all of

[1:56:09] their guidelines because they realized that what they have in

[1:56:12] place does not work for a community.

[1:56:14] They are changing regulations for every data center to be

[1:56:17] considered special use and requiring public hearing.

[1:56:20] Something that I didn't even consider adding.

[1:56:23] They're changing neighborhood buffers and they're considering

[1:56:26] a moratorium.

[1:56:27] According to a 2026 study.

[1:56:29] Homes within a quarter mile to a half mile of these hyperscale

[1:56:32] centers have the potential to lose value by 6 to 7%.

[1:56:36] I wouldn't want that to happen to my home that I worked so

[1:56:39] hard to get, and we shouldn't accept it possibly happening to

[1:56:42] our community members homes, especially when we have

[1:56:45] available alternative sites.

[1:56:48] A temporary pause allows us to learn from communities like

[1:56:51] Loudon, Aurora, Illinois and others to make sure we don't

[1:56:55] repeat their mistakes and we learn from their successes.

[1:56:58] We have hundreds of acres out East land intended for tech

[1:57:02] uses, far from homes, far from schools.

[1:57:05] That is far more appropriate and responsible placement for

[1:57:08] large data centers.

[1:57:09] We're asked to be good partners.

[1:57:12] We ask our community members to be good partners, even at a

[1:57:15] potential detriment to their

[1:57:17] own home value or taxes they pay.

[1:57:19] And in turn, asking data centers to be good community

[1:57:22] partners shouldn't be too much of an ask.

[1:57:25] That being said, I'll call out a thank you to Danielle for

[1:57:28] proactively reaching out to me

[1:57:30] regarding the data center she represents.

[1:57:32] She didn't assume what was in this resolution, and said she

[1:57:36] sought to understand and then ask for feedback on how they

[1:57:39] could be good community partners.

[1:57:41] Also, to our development partners who reached out to ask

[1:57:44] questions of me over the past few days, I appreciate your

[1:57:47] engagement and your desire to do right by the neighborhoods

[1:57:50] you're building, the desire to get correct information and not

[1:57:53] make assumptions.

[1:57:54] And to the hundreds of residents who outreach over the

[1:57:57] weekend in various ways.

[1:57:58] Thank you for your feedback and support.

[1:58:00] To be clear, those who didn't reach out, what this resolution

[1:58:04] is and what it isn't.

[1:58:05] It's temporary.

[1:58:06] It doesn't affect active development.

[1:58:08] It's not anti-business or anti progress.

[1:58:11] It's simply an act to get the things right before we're two

[1:58:14] down the road.

[1:58:15] I believe we can balance

[1:58:17] community needs with business needs.

[1:58:18] And this resolution gives us a chance to do exactly that.

[1:58:23] Thanks.

[1:58:26] Um representation by staff or do you think it's covered?

[1:58:32] City manager, do you want to take this on or.

[1:58:34] Councilman, I can give.

[1:58:35] A brief presentation just for the audience.

[1:58:38] And so folks understand how we currently regulate, um, videos.

[1:58:42] I think that will be germane to

[1:58:44] both the two resolutions coming up.

[1:58:46] Uh, so currently, uh, data centers are defined use in the

[1:58:52] city's zoning and land use codes.

[1:58:55] Those allow the zoning districts where they are

[1:58:57] allowed include I1 industrial one I.

[1:59:00] Two. Industrial.

[1:59:01] Two. Airport.

[1:59:03] District or aid.

[1:59:04] As well as the Airport Protection Zone or APC, also

[1:59:08] known as the crash zone around Buckley.

[1:59:10] And then finally they are allowed in mixed use, um, uh,

[1:59:15] office institutional use.

[1:59:16] And so those are the five zone districts where they are

[1:59:19] allowed as a use by.

[1:59:20] Right. Um, and so that is how they are governed from a land

[1:59:25] use perspective, from a water use perspective.

[1:59:28] We heard lots of concerns on water use.

[1:59:30] The city's large water user guide governs these facilities.

[1:59:34] And so we have effectively, uh, eliminated the use for

[1:59:39] evaporative cooling.

[1:59:40] We heard some significant concerns on that because of

[1:59:43] the, um,

[1:59:45] um, large water user guide.

[1:59:47] Um, new data centers that have built in Aurora are using

[1:59:50] closed loop systems.

[1:59:51] So once they are charged with water in terms of that closed

[1:59:55] loop system, they are not using

[1:59:58] new water every day for cooling.

[1:59:59] So that is after an initial charge.

[2:00:02] They're only using water at that point for irrigation and

[2:00:06] for, you know, hand-washing and things like that.

[2:00:08] So there's there's not large scale water use for that.

[2:00:11] Currently, of the approximately nine data centers that are in

[2:00:15] Aurora, they account for approximately 0.3% of our total

[2:00:19] water usage on an annual basis.

[2:00:22] And so it is a it is a small water user.

[2:00:23] We've heard those concerns.

[2:00:25] With that said, um, the

[2:00:28] um, 1185 does direct us to bring forward an ordinance to

[2:00:33] explicitly outlaw evaporative cooling.

[2:00:36] Uh, we've worked with the Aurora Water Department and are

[2:00:39] prepared to bring that forward, um, and address that concern so

[2:00:43] that it is explicitly not allowed in the code.

[2:00:47] So we've done that, and we'll be prepared to bring that

[2:00:50] forward in terms of noise that we have from the facility's

[2:00:53] current development code does

[2:00:54] allow for noise and has noise standards.

[2:00:58] We're still looking at whether or not we think those are

[2:01:00] effective, what that looks like.

[2:01:02] Those noise limits within the code typically are set at

[2:01:06] different levels.

[2:01:07] There's a daytime standard and a nighttime standard, and then

[2:01:10] that standard also varies by what the adjacent land use is.

[2:01:14] And so it's going to be the lowest when that land use is

[2:01:17] adjacent to residential, it's going to be higher if you're

[2:01:20] adjacent land use or other

[2:01:21] industrial uses or things like that.

[2:01:23] So that's within the code.

[2:01:24] That's one of the areas we're continuing to to look at, to

[2:01:27] see the current

[2:01:30] land use codes do not require setbacks from neighborhoods.

[2:01:34] And the 1185 does direct staff to bring forward some

[2:01:38] recommendations or considerations for council in

[2:01:41] terms of potentially adding setbacks to those land uses.

[2:01:46] And then finally, in terms of the power, um, the PUC and is

[2:01:52] regulated by Excel.

[2:01:53] And so we currently don't have anything in our code regulating

[2:01:57] power usage because that is regulated at the state level.

[2:01:59] And they go through an extensive process in terms of

[2:02:03] determining what their power needs are and then what the

[2:02:05] cost of infrastructure is going to be to provide that.

[2:02:08] And the PUC and the Excel currently handle that through

[2:02:11] their regulatory process.

[2:02:14] So from a staff perspective, that's kind of the current, um,

[2:02:18] lay of the land.

[2:02:19] And we'll take any questions from council.

[2:02:22] Questions of staff.

[2:02:26] Mayor.

[2:02:28] Council member.

[2:02:28] Hancock.

[2:02:30] Horton.

[2:02:30] I'm sorry.

[2:02:31] Councilmember Horton.

[2:02:32] Sorry H.

[2:02:33] Um, yeah.

[2:02:35] City manager.

[2:02:36] Uh, Jason Batchelor, can you talk about the, uh, what

[2:02:40] benefit has this have they brought to the city job wise?

[2:02:44] Uh, any economic contributions of the nine that I know, not

[2:02:49] all nine are currently built, but of the nine, what do they

[2:02:52] offer the city?

[2:02:53] Yeah. So typically when these are coming in, they, uh, they

[2:02:56] represent large, uh, capital investments.

[2:02:58] And so there is significant, um, capital investment that's

[2:03:02] going in the ground.

[2:03:03] And so, uh, the property tax entities, of which the city's

[2:03:07] one are primary source is not property tax, but the school

[2:03:10] districts are funded by property taxes, and the

[2:03:12] counties are funded by property taxes.

[2:03:15] So they see significant, um, property tax revenue from those

[2:03:20] in addition to the jobs created both during construction and,

[2:03:24] um, during operations.

[2:03:26] So sorry.

[2:03:27] Clarification. So you just spoke about the property tax

[2:03:30] benefit for, uh, apps and the counties.

[2:03:35] What about for the city of Aurora?

[2:03:37] The city also sees some of that property tax, but we are also

[2:03:40] seeing, um, significant sales and use tax from these

[2:03:44] facilities when they are built.

[2:03:46] Um, they are often refreshing all of the equipment within

[2:03:49] that, depending on the end user.

[2:03:53] Refreshing that every few years.

[2:03:55] And so we continue to get sales and use tax from those

[2:03:58] equipment purchases for the facility.

[2:04:00] Thank you.

[2:04:02] Further further questions.

[2:04:03] Council member Lawson.

[2:04:04] Yeah, I'm for you, Jason.

[2:04:06] So I know one of the data centers that has been here for

[2:04:09] the longest, I think it's in Ward four.

[2:04:12] Is it I think is or is it a different one?

[2:04:15] It's flexible.

[2:04:16] Okay. Um, how long have they brought in?

[2:04:19] How long have they been here?

[2:04:20] And I know the answer.

[2:04:22] But how long have they been here?

[2:04:23] And how much revenue have they brought to the city?

[2:04:26] Um, they've been here decades.

[2:04:28] I don't know the number off the top of my hand, off the top of

[2:04:31] my head.

[2:04:31] But they've brought in

[2:04:32] significant revenue over the decades.

[2:04:34] They've been here both from a property tax payment and then

[2:04:36] use tax as they refresh those.

[2:04:38] Okay. And then, um, Aurora has already with the current ones

[2:04:42] that we have in the pipeline or ones that we've had from data

[2:04:46] since 2021.

[2:04:48] Um, we've already do, you know, and I'm bringing this up, that

[2:04:52] Aurora has received $24.3 million in tax revenue.

[2:04:57] Yeah, we had that request

[2:04:58] coming last week in advance of this.

[2:05:01] And so, yeah, we've we've received approximately $24

[2:05:03] million from the data centers in Aurora directly or from

[2:05:08] technology vendors associated that, again, are often, um,

[2:05:13] outfitting the equipment within those.

[2:05:15] Okay. And I bring up those two subject matters just for the

[2:05:18] for for the city manager is because we've had a data center

[2:05:22] that is in Ward four that has produced income and has we have

[2:05:26] never heard of anything about this particular data center

[2:05:30] since it's been in Ward four.

[2:05:33] Um, so I wanted to bring that up.

[2:05:35] And that's actually in a community, neighborhood area.

[2:05:39] So I wanted to bring that up.

[2:05:40] And then just how much tax revenue we do get from the data

[2:05:44] centers that we have from 2001.

[2:05:46] So I wanted to bring that up as questions for you.

[2:05:49] And just to reiterate that I'll probably have more as we move

[2:05:52] forward with the amendments.

[2:05:53] Mayor, mayor.

[2:05:54] I'm sorry, Councilor Hancock.

[2:05:56] I just wanted to ask.

[2:05:58] Um, and to your point about the Xcel Energy, it says I heard at

[2:06:04] the last town hall that council member Wiles held at the

[2:06:08] library, that Xcel Energy says that it can't serve large load

[2:06:12] customers before 2031.

[2:06:14] Can you?

[2:06:15] Can you confirm that.

[2:06:17] We've had communication with them, that, again, due to the

[2:06:21] regulatory process that they're under going through the PUC in

[2:06:24] terms of getting some major capital additions approved as

[2:06:28] part of their service within the state of Colorado, that,

[2:06:33] uh, given the current capital improvements that they have in

[2:06:37] place and approved through the PUC, um, that large scale

[2:06:41] hyperscale, um, improvement or power for data centers is not

[2:06:47] likely till or is very unlikely until 2030 or 2031 or beyond.

[2:06:51] Okay, with that said, I'm just I'm curious as to, um, I know

[2:06:56] this says resolution, but it really is a moratorium.

[2:06:59] It's just you just change the the name around.

[2:07:01] And so what I would like to understand is what specifically

[2:07:05] is the staff going to be able to accomplish in 60 days?

[2:07:09] What deficiency is there that the Udo isn't already

[2:07:13] addressing, and why can't we work these things alongside

[2:07:18] while the Udo remains in effect?

[2:07:21] And what do we expect to happen?

[2:07:23] What's going to happen in 60 days after you're done doing

[2:07:27] whatever it is you're going to do?

[2:07:29] I'm not sure where the 60 days come from.

[2:07:31] The moratorium refers to a six month.

[2:07:33] Six months, excuse me, six months.

[2:07:35] What are you going to do in six months?

[2:07:36] So at that time, um, per section one of the ordinance or

[2:07:40] excuse me, of the resolution we're going to bring forward

[2:07:43] ordinance is for council's consideration first, again

[2:07:46] around evaporative cooling.

[2:07:47] Um, explicitly outlawing that.

[2:07:49] Second would be to look at the land use regulations, um,

[2:07:53] including the zone districts that are currently allowed at

[2:07:57] as well as setbacks, buffers and potential conditional use.

[2:08:01] And then finally, if there's anything else that council or

[2:08:04] others identify, we would look at those matters.

[2:08:06] And so that is the direction in the resolution.

[2:08:10] So if it passes that's what we'll bring forward.

[2:08:12] So didn't Aurora water already determined that they would not

[2:08:17] approve any new data center developments unless they had

[2:08:21] closed loop systems?

[2:08:23] Didn't that essentially solve the problem?

[2:08:25] So so basically, we would just be codifying that by going

[2:08:29] through this other process, because they already indicated

[2:08:34] that they weren't going to

[2:08:35] approve any evaporative cooling systems.

[2:08:37] So again, right now the code is

[2:08:38] not specific to the cooling methodology.

[2:08:40] So the the Large User's Guide refers to the amount of water

[2:08:43] used per acre per day for for for large users.

[2:08:48] And so then it then looks at whether that use is consumptive

[2:08:52] or non consumptive and depending on um, the majority

[2:08:55] of that use whether it's consumptive or non consumptive,

[2:08:58] that gives us different capacities that kind of run

[2:09:01] afoul of the large user guide.

[2:09:04] But there could be somebody could try and thread the needle

[2:09:07] and still use evaporative cooling because we don't speak

[2:09:10] to that.

[2:09:10] So the explicit outlaw of evaporative cooling would um, I

[2:09:15] think something that I'll look at Marshall out there that, you

[2:09:17] know, staff thinks would be, um, supportive and a companion

[2:09:21] to the larger water user guide.

[2:09:23] What we've talked about is we think we've effectively

[2:09:25] outlawed, um, evaporative cooling just through the large

[2:09:29] water user guide.

[2:09:30] But an ordinance to come forward to explicitly, um, ban

[2:09:34] it is, you know, we're we're supportive of that from just,

[2:09:37] you know, making sure that we're being the best stewards

[2:09:40] we can.

[2:09:41] So then that's a yes.

[2:09:42] Yes.

[2:09:43] Mayor.

[2:09:44] Can I.

[2:09:45] Sorry, mayor.

[2:09:46] Let me let me correct one thing.

[2:09:47] So sorry.

[2:09:48] Jason. There's no timeline for the for the more the moratorium

[2:09:52] I'm using.

[2:09:53] Because that word is not used in the actual resolution that

[2:09:55] was in the ordinance that was pulled tonight.

[2:09:58] So it's not being considered.

[2:09:59] So I want to be clear that all this resolution does is it

[2:10:02] states that the city manager is directed to not accept new

[2:10:05] development applications that propose to establish a primary

[2:10:08] use, expand or otherwise increase the gross floor area

[2:10:10] of existing or new data centers.

[2:10:12] The effective date of this resolution.

[2:10:14] So again, what City Manager Batchelor has talked about.

[2:10:18] We've been in a lot of conversations.

[2:10:19] Obviously you know Jason and I talk all the time.

[2:10:21] We've been talking to Xcel Energy.

[2:10:22] We've been talking to Marshall with the water department.

[2:10:25] The fact of the matter is it takes about six months, right,

[2:10:28] for one of these applications to even get close to being

[2:10:31] ready to file with the city.

[2:10:33] And this resolution also Uh, it does say that it should not be

[2:10:37] applied retroactively.

[2:10:38] Development applications currently pending, or other

[2:10:40] contractual negotiations that were initiated prior to the

[2:10:43] effective date of this resolution, and again,

[2:10:45] including incentive agreements pursuant to City Code section

[2:10:47] 13298, shall be expressly exempted from this resolution.

[2:10:51] So what this would do, if passed, would direct Jason and

[2:10:55] the rest of city staff to have these ordinances that you're

[2:10:59] requesting through your stakeholder and everything else

[2:11:01] to come forward, to be evaluated by council so they

[2:11:04] can go into effect.

[2:11:05] But again, I with with what's going on with Excel, what's

[2:11:09] going on with the water, there will not be the ability for the

[2:11:12] city manager to accept an application well beyond this

[2:11:16] resolution's effective date, just because of those

[2:11:18] limitations that aren't bound by the city.

[2:11:20] So I just want to be clear that

[2:11:23] that's that's why this is the resolution.

[2:11:24] This is why I recommended that this is the way we do this,

[2:11:27] because it makes it clear, hey, we're just calling an elephant

[2:11:30] an elephant or a sheep or sheep, right?

[2:11:32] We're just dealing with, uh, what?

[2:11:34] What is going around us with power and water.

[2:11:37] And that's what the limitations are, not necessarily the city

[2:11:39] holding anything up.

[2:11:40] And that's what this resolution does.

[2:11:41] I want to be clear that there's no timetable.

[2:11:43] Mayor.

[2:11:44] I just want to clarify something as well.

[2:11:47] Was the difference between the data center and Ward four and

[2:11:51] the data centers that are being built now is size.

[2:11:54] So the newer ones are hyperscale.

[2:11:57] They are far larger.

[2:11:58] They use a lot more energy.

[2:12:00] They take up a lot more land space.

[2:12:03] Um, so to compare, a small data center that existed for ten

[2:12:07] years or 20 years even isn't really comparable to the big

[2:12:11] ones that are being built now.

[2:12:12] They're just very different in terms of needs uses.

[2:12:15] ET cetera.

[2:12:16] And then also the water ordinance is already done.

[2:12:20] Um, it should come forward soon.

[2:12:22] Uh, probably next meeting to

[2:12:24] study session or the meeting after.

[2:12:26] And then in terms of, um, the neighborhood buffer, we Jason

[2:12:32] and I have been working on that.

[2:12:34] We've been out on field trips, actually walking neighborhoods

[2:12:37] to see how long is appropriate.

[2:12:41] So that we're making decisions based on data and not just, um,

[2:12:46] external influence.

[2:12:50] Uh, further questions of staff.

[2:12:53] Mayor. Gardner.

[2:12:54] Councilor Gardner.

[2:12:56] Thank you.

[2:12:57] Yeah. This is a question for Marshall, GM of Aurora water,

[2:13:03] because we keep talking about water usage.

[2:13:05] And so I'm curious.

[2:13:08] Um, and I'm going to use the example because that's our

[2:13:11] largest data center that keeps being referenced.

[2:13:13] Does that data center use more water itself or does the

[2:13:17] landscaping requirements around it use more water?

[2:13:21] Yeah. Thank you.

[2:13:22] Councilmember Gardner.

[2:13:23] This is Marshall Brown, general manager of Aurora water.

[2:13:26] Um,

[2:13:29] Ice uses significantly more water for outdoor landscaping

[2:13:34] than they do for indoor process.

[2:13:36] Um, and pretty much any new data center that comes to us

[2:13:41] right now under the large water user guide that Jason talked

[2:13:45] about, is regulated pretty

[2:13:48] tightly on water use for process.

[2:13:50] And then they also have the landscaping standards, uh, from

[2:13:54] the water conservation ordinance that council passed

[2:13:56] in 2022.

[2:13:58] So the outdoor water use is

[2:14:00] pretty efficient, um, per our requirements.

[2:14:05] And the indoor water use is

[2:14:07] even more efficient than the landscaping.

[2:14:09] The landscaping is using more water.

[2:14:13] Thanks, Marshall.

[2:14:13] And, yeah, that's relevant.

[2:14:15] Obviously, I'm working on an ordinance to limit and or

[2:14:18] restrict any landscaping that utilizes water in industrial

[2:14:21] zoned areas, so that'll obviously take care of that.

[2:14:25] Um, and then a follow up for

[2:14:27] the city manager, can you clarify?

[2:14:31] Just to make sure we do not currently allow use by right

[2:14:35] data centers in residential zone districts.

[2:14:37] Correct?

[2:14:39] We do not.

[2:14:42] All right.

[2:14:42] That's all my questions.

[2:14:43] Thank you.

[2:14:45] Mayor.

[2:14:46] Mayor.

[2:14:47] I just have a couple of questions.

[2:14:48] One is for the city manager.

[2:14:51] Do we have any information about our current data centers

[2:14:55] with respect to ambient heat impacts?

[2:14:59] I think we've all experienced some a very hot summer.

[2:15:02] So just wondering if that's information we've collected.

[2:15:06] We do not.

[2:15:07] Not that I'm aware of.

[2:15:08] Okay. So that would be

[2:15:09] something we could be looking at.

[2:15:11] And then my other question is, um, kind of as a follow up to

[2:15:16] Councilmember Gardner's question, we don't allow

[2:15:20] data centers in residential zone districts, but are any of

[2:15:24] the districts that they are permitted in adjacent to

[2:15:28] residential zone districts with current or future planned

[2:15:31] residential development.

[2:15:35] Yes, there are several areas of the use by right districts that

[2:15:39] do abut residentially zoned properties.

[2:15:42] Thank you.

[2:15:44] Further questions of staff.

[2:15:47] Seeing none.

[2:15:48] Motion is in order.

[2:15:51] Mayor.

[2:15:52] Mayor Pro tem.

[2:15:53] Motion to adopt.

[2:15:56] 11. Eight.

[2:15:56] Five. And then I'll have

[2:15:59] amendments with this on the floor.

[2:16:00] Move by Mayor Pro Tem, seconded by

[2:16:03] second. Second by Councilmember

[2:16:06] Wallace to adopt item number 1185.

[2:16:11] Discussion.

[2:16:12] Mayor.

[2:16:12] Mayor Pro tem, thank you.

[2:16:14] So first I want to be clear that I absolutely support the

[2:16:18] work that Councilmember Walz has done and this ordinance as

[2:16:22] it is written.

[2:16:24] However, in conversations that Councilmember Wills and I have

[2:16:27] had together, conversations I've had with stakeholders,

[2:16:31] conversations I've had with colleagues, and things I've

[2:16:34] heard from Council member Wiles about concerns she's heard.

[2:16:39] I did want to bring forward some amendments to section two

[2:16:44] and section three.

[2:16:47] Um, so I'll start with section two.

[2:16:51] So on section two, the amendment would read, um, the

[2:16:57] city manager is directed to accept new development

[2:17:02] applications that proposed to establish as a primary use,

[2:17:06] expand or otherwise increase the gross floor area of an

[2:17:09] existing or new data centre as of the effective date of this

[2:17:14] resolution, only if it meets

[2:17:18] the following requirements and requirement.

[2:17:23] A is that, um, it be, uh, there be a half mile buffer from any

[2:17:33] current or planned residential development?

[2:17:37] Um, and requirement B is that we've heard everyone's already

[2:17:41] doing anyway, but that it uses closed loop cooling because we

[2:17:44] don't yet have that officially in code.

[2:17:46] So that's the First Amendment.

[2:17:48] I'd like us to take them, um,

[2:17:51] each individually, if that's okay.

[2:17:53] Mayor. So that's my First Amendment.

[2:17:55] Okay.

[2:17:56] Um, second move by Mayor Pro tem, seconded by somebody,

[2:18:01] Councilmember Walz.

[2:18:02] Um, discussion.

[2:18:07] Uh, then call for the question

[2:18:08] on the first mayor pro tem amendment.

[2:18:25] Councilmember Andrews.

[2:18:29] Thank you.

[2:18:30] Councilmember Jackson.

[2:18:35] Is she on?

[2:18:38] Councilmember Jackson, are you online?

[2:18:43] Councilmember Jackson is.

[2:18:44] Excused.

[2:18:44] No, she.

[2:18:45] Was.

[2:18:46] She.

[2:18:46] She's been online.

[2:18:47] Yes.

[2:18:47] I'm online.

[2:18:48] I'm online.

[2:18:49] Thank you.

[2:18:50] Um, the vote has a tie.

[2:18:53] So, mayor, you can break the tie vote.

[2:18:57] Yeah.

[2:18:57] We're we're.

[2:18:58] I have no idea what the the limit should be because.

[2:19:02] Or because we've not asked staff to come back and been

[2:19:06] able to to have a debate,

[2:19:09] knowledgeable debate about this.

[2:19:11] And so, um, whether it should be a mile or a half mile or a

[2:19:16] quarter mile, I don't know.

[2:19:17] And nor do I think

[2:19:20] anybody on this council knows.

[2:19:21] And so, Mayor Royce.

[2:19:22] No.

[2:19:25] You know.

[2:19:25] The motion does not pass to adopt the amendment.

[2:19:30] Okay.

[2:19:31] So we're back to the original motion on the floor with the

[2:19:33] resolution as written in the packet.

[2:19:37] Okay. Um, I would like to make the Second Amendment.

[2:19:42] Um, second proposed amendment, um, which is just to add into

[2:19:49] section three development applications currently pending,

[2:19:54] and just add the language, including those that have had a

[2:19:57] pre-application meeting, um,

[2:20:00] before and other contractual negotiations.

[2:20:09] Is there a second.

[2:20:10] Move by Mayor pro tem?

[2:20:11] Second by.

[2:20:12] Second.

[2:20:13] By Councilmember Wiles?

[2:20:14] Uh, discussion.

[2:20:18] Seeing none.

[2:20:20] Call for the question on the second.

[2:20:21] Mayor pro tem amendment.

[2:20:34] No, no.

[2:20:36] I'm sorry, Katie, just for the record.

[2:20:39] Those have had a pre-application meeting.

[2:20:41] Meeting? Okay.

[2:20:42] Thank you.

[2:20:42] I'll update that.

[2:20:43] Thank you.

[2:20:44] This is so included in a pre process.

[2:20:50] Councilmember Bergen.

[2:20:57] I voted on Friday.

[2:20:59] I'm sorry, I don't I'm not showing up on my end.

[2:21:01] How would you like to.

[2:21:02] Thank you.

[2:21:02] It just came through, mayor.

[2:21:04] Again? It's a tie.

[2:21:06] Yes.

[2:21:07] Mayor. Vote.

[2:21:07] Yes.

[2:21:08] The motion passes to adopt this amendment.

[2:21:17] I have no further amendments.

[2:21:22] So.

[2:21:23] So currently members of council.

[2:21:25] So we have section one and section two.

[2:21:28] As written in the packet.

[2:21:29] Section three is is currently pending.

[2:21:32] And those that have had pre.

[2:21:35] Application.

[2:21:36] Meetings.

[2:21:36] Pre-application meetings which again just to everybody's clear

[2:21:39] that is that the process is on is started.

[2:21:41] It's ongoing.

[2:21:43] So it may allow other develop other projects to come forward

[2:21:47] as the resolution is pending.

[2:21:49] So that is the only change as

[2:21:51] written in this particular resolution.

[2:21:53] 1185 that's what you're debating and we'll vote on.

[2:21:56] Mayor.

[2:21:58] Mayor pro Tem.

[2:21:59] Um, so I want to say first, just thank you to Council

[2:22:02] Member Wiles for being open to

[2:22:04] the amendments to the stakeholder.

[2:22:07] Um, to my colleagues who supported the amendments we

[2:22:12] have heard from our community loud and clear that actually,

[2:22:15] they want us to go further than what we've gone here.

[2:22:19] That the people who live in our

[2:22:21] city, who live in these neighborhoods,

[2:22:25] actually would rather we just go ahead and permanently ban

[2:22:29] data centers.

[2:22:30] The amendments were intended to create a compromise to ensure

[2:22:35] that business can continue,

[2:22:38] to ensure that workers can continue to have their jobs

[2:22:44] building data centers

[2:22:48] with reasonable restrictions, right.

[2:22:50] To ensure that we don't have data centers next to the homes

[2:22:56] of our residents.

[2:22:58] Across the street from our residents homes, which all of

[2:23:03] us have heard people today and people contacting us online are

[2:23:09] concerned about the fact that that is occurring.

[2:23:12] This isn't coming forward in a vacuum.

[2:23:13] And because nothing has

[2:23:15] happened that impacts our community.

[2:23:17] And so although my colleagues did not accept the amendment,

[2:23:22] which was intended in good faith to address the concerns

[2:23:25] that they raised, I do hope that the statements of our

[2:23:29] community members, the statements of our neighbors

[2:23:32] about what they want to see from us as the people elected

[2:23:36] to represent them,

[2:23:39] play a role in the decision that you now make.

[2:23:42] I urge a yes vote.

[2:23:45] Further discussion.

[2:23:46] Mayor.

[2:23:47] Council Member.

[2:23:48] Andrews, I do want to thank.

[2:23:49] Council Member Wiles on her effort here.

[2:23:53] I've been with Council member Wiles, and she's done a lot of

[2:23:57] work around data centers, doing a town hall.

[2:23:59] And I spoke with her this morning and we had a very long

[2:24:02] conversation about this.

[2:24:04] I support the stronger setbacks.

[2:24:06] I support water protections, noise limits, public review.

[2:24:09] But what I don't support is the the public not having an honest

[2:24:14] view of what we're doing.

[2:24:16] I do not support that and I will not support that.

[2:24:19] We talk about closed loop systems.

[2:24:22] We talk about electricity.

[2:24:24] We're talking about noise.

[2:24:26] How many of us have toured a data center?

[2:24:32] How many have heard the noise?

[2:24:36] Closed loop systems.

[2:24:42] This is not about for me and my vote.

[2:24:45] This is not about whether or not we can push the ball along,

[2:24:49] because we're going to push the ball further along to make sure

[2:24:52] we meet the things that we need to meet.

[2:24:54] This is a failure on our side of it to educate the public.

[2:25:02] So I am a no vote.

[2:25:05] Further discussion.

[2:25:07] Mayor.

[2:25:08] Um. Councilmember Horton.

[2:25:10] Yeah. Um, I guess, uh, one I'm I'm I'm concerned.

[2:25:18] Uh, what was shared.

[2:25:19] Councilmember Andrews.

[2:25:21] Uh, the premise of the argument of who I visited in the closed

[2:25:25] loop systems.

[2:25:26] Um, and also knowing and I know, you know, Councilmember

[2:25:30] Gardner has his resolution also on the agenda.

[2:25:34] And I haven't spoken to him and don't know the extent of the

[2:25:37] research he's conducted, but I have seen Council Member Wiles

[2:25:41] effort, uh, all the way from community engagement and and

[2:25:44] working with developers, working with business partners.

[2:25:47] Um, trying to thread a needle through a very sensitive topic

[2:25:52] on an issue that is, um, it touches a lot of realms, from

[2:25:59] our environment to residents

[2:26:00] livelihood to economic development.

[2:26:03] And I think based off of even what was shared earlier in the

[2:26:07] in the questions with our city manager, there are obvious

[2:26:10] economic benefits to data centers.

[2:26:13] And I think city council, previous city council have has

[2:26:18] invested tremendously in this particular area.

[2:26:22] We have we have seen the benefits of it.

[2:26:24] And at the same time, it is now five years later, where we have

[2:26:28] an opportunity to review and reassess what is working, what

[2:26:32] is not working, and do our due diligence like any good

[2:26:36] experiments, right?

[2:26:37] You do it for a while and you go back and you check the data.

[2:26:41] And I think this is what this resolution, at least from my

[2:26:45] interpretation, does, that it allows the city, allows the US

[2:26:50] as leaders to make sure that we have good governance, that we

[2:26:54] work alongside our business partners, our residents,

[2:26:57] developers to do right.

[2:26:59] And I really appreciate it.

[2:27:00] I don't know who said it during the comment section that this

[2:27:04] is not just a short term effort, right?

[2:27:07] That this this is going to continuously have long impact.

[2:27:10] And we know data centers are not going anywhere.

[2:27:13] We're in the middle of an AI boom.

[2:27:15] And so as a governing body we got to do right.

[2:27:20] And so that is my $0.02.

[2:27:22] And I just want to really thank Councilmember Wiles for all of

[2:27:26] her effort and work in her due diligence of making sure she's

[2:27:31] doing the research and and making sure that she has a

[2:27:35] qualified argument in front of her colleagues, and that we see

[2:27:38] that for what that is and that it is not about a it's not

[2:27:41] about politics, that this is about good governance.

[2:27:46] Further discussion.

[2:27:50] Seeing none call for the question on.

[2:27:55] 1185, as amended.

[2:28:07] Mayor. We have a tie vote.

[2:28:10] What's that?

[2:28:11] We have a tie vote.

[2:28:12] Very well.

[2:28:13] Um, I want to thank

[2:28:17] Councilmember Wallace for for bringing this forward.

[2:28:20] Um. It is.

[2:28:22] We will have another one coming up afterwards that basically

[2:28:30] when you take out the ordinance aren't really different because

[2:28:35] both of them say that they can take on additional issues.

[2:28:41] Uh, so that the difference between the two is procedural,

[2:28:45] that in one set.

[2:28:46] Well, now that the ordinance is out, there's really not a time

[2:28:51] limit, uh, to there's not a moratorium.

[2:28:54] It is how fast staff can get through these issues and get

[2:28:59] back to council

[2:29:02] on the.

[2:29:03] On the other proposal.

[2:29:04] I think what is different it says it provides a time limit

[2:29:08] for staff to come back to council at 30 days.

[2:29:12] And so if we come back and study session and we don't like

[2:29:16] certain aspects of it, we can kick it back and say, you know,

[2:29:20] you really need to look at this issue or you failed to look at

[2:29:23] this issue.

[2:29:24] I think at the end of the day, that will be a quicker process

[2:29:28] and that will allow council to engage earlier in this debate

[2:29:34] than we otherwise might.

[2:29:36] But again, these are these are very similar that what is

[2:29:40] different is simply procedural.

[2:29:44] Mayor votes no.

[2:29:46] The motion does not pass to approve item 11 a five.

[2:29:54] With the clerk.

[2:29:56] Now please read the title to 1186.

[2:30:00] Item 1186 is resolution 2020 698, directing the City manager

[2:30:06] to implement data center regulations and mayor.

[2:30:09] We have individuals who would like to speak.

[2:30:14] Very well.

[2:30:15] Agent Anderson followed by Madison Schaffner.

[2:30:51] The author of this resolution should be at work today.

[2:30:55] That's to start this off.

[2:30:59] If you are going to propose

[2:31:02] competing ordinances and resolutions, you should at

[2:31:06] least come and defend yourself in front of your constituents

[2:31:11] and not hide behind a zoom screen.

[2:31:15] That's the first point.

[2:31:18] The second point is I told you so.

[2:31:22] I think my commentary and others commentary would be

[2:31:26] totally different if we were able to have heard this

[2:31:29] fruitful discussion.

[2:31:30] People's concerns.

[2:31:32] They're walking through data center stories.

[2:31:35] We would have had a little bit of a different public comment

[2:31:41] than what we would than what we had prior to this vote.

[2:31:50] When we think about the impacts of adverse.

[2:31:58] Environmental when the when when we see.

[2:32:05] The environment impact our communities.

[2:32:08] What communities do you think they impact more.

[2:32:17] What communities do we think they impact more?

[2:32:29] I think we all know the answer to that.

[2:32:34] So I'm a little disappointed in the three Negroes that just

[2:32:38] voted to kill that resolution.

[2:32:44] I hope you're proud of yourselves.

[2:32:47] You too.

[2:32:47] I'm not surprised you would live next to Satan if he

[2:32:51] invited you.

[2:32:52] Rob, I am disappointed.

[2:32:56] Yeah I guess.

[2:32:58] But our conversations will be

[2:32:59] much more different than these two.

[2:33:04] Mhm.

[2:33:09] When the environment is under attack, it is impacting black

[2:33:15] and brown people more so than it is the white neighbors that

[2:33:18] live in Francois district.

[2:33:22] Francois neighbors don't have to worry about this stuff.

[2:33:31] The neighbors that look like us, that live near Gateway High

[2:33:35] School in Stephanie Hancock's district do.

[2:33:39] But again, the colored gals on the council don't talk about

[2:33:44] black and brown people because their donors have told them to

[2:33:48] do something else.

[2:33:51] Shame on you both.

[2:33:56] Midian. Schaffner.

[2:33:59] Followed by Hashem.

[2:34:00] Coates.

[2:34:02] Good luck.

[2:34:02] Hashem.

[2:34:03] Hashem Coates, followed by Kristin Mallory.

[2:34:23] I echo what was said.

[2:34:24] That Curtis should be here when he's proposing this.

[2:34:29] It blows my mind that you all have the audacity to ask the

[2:34:33] people to have the same decorum as elected officials, but yet

[2:34:38] the elected officials don't have to abide by the same

[2:34:41] regulations that the people do in order to speak here.

[2:34:45] Hypocrisy sucks.

[2:34:48] I echo

[2:34:51] the disappointment that I have that that was mentioned as it

[2:34:55] relates to the black members of this council, ignoring history

[2:35:00] of how environmental racism is

[2:35:02] real, no matter how much those who.

[2:35:07] Are.

[2:35:08] Pulling strings or those who have rejected you, and only to

[2:35:11] turn around to you and say yes.

[2:35:14] If you promise not to spit, you can come be one of us.

[2:35:19] I just don't understand why is it that people in the community

[2:35:25] always have to be the one to suffer?

[2:35:29] I don't get it.

[2:35:30] Especially understanding our history as being human capital.

[2:35:41] Also.

[2:35:42] Yeah. The closed loop watering system.

[2:35:47] That's cool.

[2:35:48] I don't think any water should be given to it.

[2:35:50] To hell with the grass.

[2:35:52] To hell with the data centers.

[2:35:53] But it was also given to us at in disingenuous manner,

[2:35:57] something that it was 20 years old versus something that would

[2:36:00] be newer and larger.

[2:36:02] Additionally, ignoring the impact on the heat, the impact

[2:36:07] on the electrical grid, the fact that the electrical grid,

[2:36:11] this incestuous relationship with Excel and other entities

[2:36:17] that thrive off of debt, that are joined in parasitic

[2:36:20] behavior, that require the grid to be built off of the people.

[2:36:24] But then the profits don't dwindle down to the people.

[2:36:28] Blows my mind.

[2:36:29] I understand that it's a cost to do business, but when you

[2:36:32] have record breaking profit, I don't really give a damn about

[2:36:37] the cost of your business because it's the people who are

[2:36:40] suffering, and it is the people who will not forget, and it

[2:36:45] will be the people who will be there in future endeavors that

[2:36:50] one might have politically,

[2:36:52] that we will remember the others.

[2:36:56] The corporations will discard you for the next piece of

[2:36:59] tissue that they can use, and you have the same value to them

[2:37:03] after they're done using you as toilet tissue does after it's

[2:37:07] been used.

[2:37:11] I ask you all.

[2:37:12] The environment is the thing that we never should have to

[2:37:16] argue about.

[2:37:18] What is what is the harm in waiting?

[2:37:22] What is the harm in doing the right thing?

[2:37:27] Kristen Mallory followed by Juan Marcano.

[2:37:38] Hello, Council.

[2:37:39] Kristen Mallory, Ward three.

[2:37:41] Since we're doing this, raise your hand exercise, I have not

[2:37:46] toured the data center, but raise your hand if you've hiked

[2:37:49] up into the mountains to see the empty reservoirs.

[2:37:53] And hear what they have to say.

[2:37:55] Raise your hand if you've gone to a state park that's supposed

[2:37:59] to have a lake and it is barren.

[2:38:03] Oh, okay, so we can play that game.

[2:38:06] Some of us didn't raise our

[2:38:08] hands because it's that important.

[2:38:10] Um, what frustrates me the most about this conversation?

[2:38:14] You said that we're not honest.

[2:38:16] You're not being honest.

[2:38:18] Using zero gallons of water for new data centers is less than

[2:38:22] whatever new is coming.

[2:38:24] And what we had 20 years ago is not the data centers that

[2:38:28] they're building today.

[2:38:30] It's not the data centers the

[2:38:32] AI is going to use in the future.

[2:38:34] And what we need to do, what you guys need to do is come up

[2:38:38] with parameters of good governance to make sure that

[2:38:43] these things are protected.

[2:38:46] A I believe our water manager talked about another large

[2:38:51] water user.

[2:38:52] Why are they a large water user?

[2:38:54] Why in a drought are we adding any large water users?

[2:39:01] Do those words not have meaning?

[2:39:04] Because the option is we could have like we already have large

[2:39:07] water users.

[2:39:09] We're already dealing with a bottling company.

[2:39:12] That blows my mind that they are taking our clean water,

[2:39:16] bottling it, and then selling it back in plastic, and that's

[2:39:19] something that you guys are already looking at.

[2:39:21] But yet here we can afford

[2:39:23] another large water user, a user.

[2:39:28] This is like you claimed that we were dishonest.

[2:39:32] I think you really need to hold a mirror up to yourself and ask

[2:39:36] if you're being honest.

[2:39:37] And like I said, I'm not having kids.

[2:39:39] My line is ending.

[2:39:41] This world runs out of water.

[2:39:44] That's fine.

[2:39:45] Me and mine.

[2:39:46] We have solar panels.

[2:39:48] We have a garden.

[2:39:49] We're doing drip lines.

[2:39:50] We're doing all the things to save the water.

[2:39:53] Your line?

[2:39:54] I don't know the next generation, I don't know.

[2:39:58] The kids in APS, I don't know.

[2:40:01] I don't know if they'll have water.

[2:40:03] Do you?

[2:40:04] Do you feel comfortable?

[2:40:06] I mean, these are the choices that we're asking the

[2:40:08] government to make for us right now.

[2:40:10] These are.

[2:40:10] This is the time.

[2:40:11] This is the issue.

[2:40:13] And really, we're running out of water.

[2:40:15] It's no joke.

[2:40:16] So I will take up the offer to go to our data center.

[2:40:20] I challenge you to go to our reservoirs.

[2:40:23] See how low they can go and when the tap doesn't turn on.

[2:40:29] And that's already happening in

[2:40:31] some places you can think of tonight.

[2:40:34] Thank you.

[2:40:35] Juan Marcano.

[2:40:37] Followed by Christopher Fellows.

[2:40:48] Good evening.

[2:40:50] My name is still Juan Marcano and I am still a resident of

[2:40:52] Ward four.

[2:40:54] This resolution, to put it

[2:40:55] plainly, misses the mark as drafted.

[2:40:58] It is designed to put business interests, which for anyone

[2:41:01] listening means potential campaign donors first, rather

[2:41:05] than putting the life, health, property and general welfare of

[2:41:09] Aurora first.

[2:41:11] The purpose of a municipal government is not to roll over

[2:41:14] and appease whatever fantasy wealthy speculators pumping a

[2:41:17] massive bubble might have.

[2:41:20] It is to plan for the next generation and the generation

[2:41:23] after that, to ensure that our city grows and develops in a

[2:41:27] way that is sustainable and equitable.

[2:41:31] Councilmember Andrews, I'm going to address you directly

[2:41:34] Your comments earlier reminded me of politicians drinking

[2:41:36] fracking fluid to convince their constituents that that's

[2:41:39] safe and good for us.

[2:41:41] Those antics did not protect their constituents from the

[2:41:43] health impacts of polluting industries.

[2:41:45] And these antics are not going to protect your constituents in

[2:41:49] Aurora, and especially where you live in Ward two.

[2:41:51] You should know better.

[2:41:52] I also couldn't help but laugh at one of the recitals about

[2:41:55] the Public Utilities Commission and energy pricing.

[2:41:58] The PUC has served as a rubber stamp for Xcel, which I will

[2:42:02] remind everybody listening.

[2:42:03] Everybody on this dais as well is a pyro is a privately owned,

[2:42:07] publicly traded for profit corporation.

[2:42:10] It is not a public utility by any stretch.

[2:42:14] They are excited to have these kinds of facilities in their

[2:42:19] service area, because that means more money for them at

[2:42:20] the end of the day.

[2:42:21] They don't give a damn about what happens to the rest of us.

[2:42:24] They're going to be raking it in.

[2:42:25] We're going to be paying more.

[2:42:26] So you need to think long and hard, sir, about your

[2:42:29] constituents, about your family, about the decisions

[2:42:32] you're making tonight.

[2:42:32] And I strongly encourage you at the next meeting at your

[2:42:35] earliest convenience.

[2:42:37] Reconsider your decision tonight and pass these

[2:42:40] protections for our community.

[2:42:41] You do not want this to be your legacy.

[2:42:43] Have a good night.

[2:42:45] Christopher. Fellows.

[2:42:53] Okay. That was the last individual.

[2:42:55] Thank you.

[2:42:55] Very well.

[2:42:58] Representation by staff.

[2:43:00] Mayor. I'm sorry.

[2:43:01] Jason.

[2:43:03] Point of privilege.

[2:43:04] Council member.

[2:43:04] Horton, I would like to continue this resolution for

[2:43:09] next city council meeting.

[2:43:11] Okay.

[2:43:12] Uh, the

[2:43:14] it's been moved by

[2:43:16] Councilmember Horton, seconded by.

[2:43:18] I can provide my rationale to.

[2:43:19] If that's helpful.

[2:43:20] Okay. Yeah.

[2:43:21] Second.

[2:43:22] Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem to

[2:43:23] continue this to the next, uh, council.

[2:43:27] Meeting, 24th.

[2:43:28] August.

[2:43:28] 24th.

[2:43:30] Yeah. August 24th.

[2:43:31] Mayor.

[2:43:32] Mayor.

[2:43:33] Mayor.

[2:43:33] Gardner. Discussion.

[2:43:34] Okay. Discussion.

[2:43:36] Councilman. Gardner.

[2:43:38] Yeah, I, I just I would definitely urge a no vote.

[2:43:41] Um, you know, we had an item that was sprung on our agenda,

[2:43:45] moratorium and resolution at the last minute.

[2:43:48] And we were told that it was an emergency and we had to address

[2:43:50] this issue right away.

[2:43:52] And so the hypocrisy of of now delaying doing anything when

[2:43:57] there's a strict timeline in the resolution I'm proposing to

[2:44:00] bring forward regulations on data centers is is insanity.

[2:44:06] Um, you know, there was a process.

[2:44:08] We have a process policy committee study session to have

[2:44:12] these conversations.

[2:44:14] Unfortunately,

[2:44:16] that wasn't done.

[2:44:17] I shared my resolution with the sponsor of that item weeks ago

[2:44:20] and offered to work together.

[2:44:22] Uh, we could have worked together.

[2:44:23] I want to work together.

[2:44:25] I think we have a lot in common on this issue.

[2:44:27] Um, but to go from being told this is an emergency and has to

[2:44:30] be done right away to now we can delay.

[2:44:32] It is the height of hypocrisy.

[2:44:36] Councilmember Horton, thank you.

[2:44:38] Uh, thank you mayor.

[2:44:40] Uh.

[2:44:41] I'm sorry.

[2:44:42] Councilmember Horton, then, Councilmember Bergen.

[2:44:44] But, Councilmember Horton, do you.

[2:44:44] Have the.

[2:44:45] Floor? Okay.

[2:44:46] Um, so I appreciate the transparency and your comments,

[2:44:50] Councilmember Gardner.

[2:44:52] I know I felt confident in my vote with the previous

[2:44:55] resolution, because Councilmember Wiles did share

[2:44:58] it with all of council, uh, a number of times asking for

[2:45:02] feedback through email.

[2:45:04] And I was very surprised to see this resolution also on the

[2:45:10] agenda today when we got the packets on Friday.

[2:45:13] And so my request, regardless of what did or did not happen

[2:45:19] between Councilmember Gardner and Councilmember Wiles

[2:45:22] previously, is in order to vote, at least for For me as

[2:45:27] the council member.

[2:45:28] Someone who sits on this dais, is that that that your work.

[2:45:33] Council member Gardner and council member Wiles compliment

[2:45:36] each other so we can vote on a resolution that is robust and

[2:45:42] that understands the complexity of this issue in real time.

[2:45:47] There are a number of partners here in this very room that I

[2:45:50] know attended the town hall a month ago.

[2:45:53] Um, you know, we we got documents from the Pipefitters

[2:45:57] EDC in the room.

[2:45:59] I think there's a there's a lot of key partners that I'm sure

[2:46:03] are have worked or will continue to work on this issue.

[2:46:06] And having it come from both council member Gardner and

[2:46:09] council member Wiles, I think, allows us to do our due

[2:46:12] diligence by the residents of Aurora and not have this very

[2:46:17] weird divide.

[2:46:17] This was not I did not particularly like that.

[2:46:21] We had two resolutions on the same topic it did.

[2:46:25] That just did not make sense.

[2:46:26] So my request is that we continue it until next day.

[2:46:30] Counsel for Council member Gardner and Council member

[2:46:33] Wiles to hopefully collaborate and and we can vote soundly.

[2:46:41] Um, I recognize oh, I'm sorry, Councilmember Bergen, that I

[2:46:44] recognize myself.

[2:46:46] Thank you.

[2:46:46] Mayor.

[2:46:47] Um.

[2:46:48] This is interesting.

[2:46:49] Because.

[2:46:50] There was.

[2:46:50] Collaboration between council member Gardner and council.

[2:46:53] Member Wiles.

[2:46:54] So that's.

[2:46:55] Not.

[2:46:55] True. Um, you know, in terms of, I believe he did.

[2:46:59] Reach out to council member.

[2:47:01] Wiles to work.

[2:47:02] Together.

[2:47:02] To co-sponsor.

[2:47:03] And it was not accepted.

[2:47:05] So, um.

[2:47:07] His resolution, why would.

[2:47:08] We delay it?

[2:47:09] It basically.

[2:47:09] Addresses what was in the.

[2:47:11] The prior resolution.

[2:47:12] And the fact that the moratorium was just.

[2:47:15] Pulled.

[2:47:15] Today was, you know, that that we were getting things at the

[2:47:20] 11th hour in terms of the amendments on the floor, we

[2:47:24] didn't get the amendments in writing.

[2:47:26] I would urge my colleagues to vote no on the delay.

[2:47:32] Mayor.

[2:47:34] I too would urge a no vote that these two resolutions were

[2:47:40] identical when it comes to water, and they're both open

[2:47:44] ended on every other issue that

[2:47:46] it's just the process is different.

[2:47:49] Where one says is there's not a time limit on how long it would

[2:47:55] take just to come back to council.

[2:47:58] On the Gardner one, there is a time limit for which

[2:48:02] staff has to come back to

[2:48:03] council, and that's within 30 days.

[2:48:05] And in 30 days we would have the ability to say,

[2:48:11] um, to opine on it, to say no, we want to look at additional

[2:48:15] things or this is insufficient, but it begins the process of

[2:48:20] going back and forth with staff.

[2:48:22] And I think that that is important.

[2:48:24] And so I don't think it's a it's there's any reason to

[2:48:28] delay this process for moving forward.

[2:48:30] Mayor.

[2:48:30] Point of inquiry.

[2:48:33] Um, I already asked the point of inquiry.

[2:48:35] Mayor.

[2:48:35] Uh.

[2:48:36] I'm sorry.

[2:48:37] What's important then?

[2:48:39] Mayor Pro tem?

[2:48:40] And then.

[2:48:40] Doesn't a.

[2:48:41] Point.

[2:48:41] Of.

[2:48:41] Order.

[2:48:42] Councilmember discussion.

[2:48:43] Council.

[2:48:44] Did you do a point of.

[2:48:44] I did a point of inquiry.

[2:48:46] Okay. Mayor pro.

[2:48:46] Tem. Sorry.

[2:48:47] Um, so, City Manager Batchelor, just a inquiry.

[2:48:52] Has a back and forth with staff on this topic.

[2:48:57] Already occurred with council members.

[2:49:01] Yes. I've heard from I think just about everybody on the

[2:49:03] dais at some point or the other in terms of, um, what's going

[2:49:07] on with, um, this discussion.

[2:49:10] Okay. And additional point of inquiry.

[2:49:12] And did you indicate to Council Member Wiles that it would

[2:49:16] likely take more than 30 days to complete the necessary steps

[2:49:21] to bring forward the the

[2:49:24] changes that are being requested.

[2:49:26] Yes, and I guess that's a good point of clarification.

[2:49:28] I am interpreting Council member, um, Gardner's, um,

[2:49:33] resolution to direct us to initiate that process.

[2:49:37] So, um, we will be to study session, um, in, um, the next

[2:49:42] two meetings to sort of discuss those.

[2:49:45] Uh, a couple of those items are more straightforward.

[2:49:47] As we indicated, the evaporative cooling, I think,

[2:49:50] can move forward pretty quickly.

[2:49:52] We're planning that as a change to the code section that

[2:49:56] governs water use.

[2:49:57] So it can go straight from study session, if that's a

[2:50:00] consensus of council to the floor.

[2:50:02] Um, any Udo changes would need to, um, go to the Planning and

[2:50:08] Zoning Commission.

[2:50:10] Um, and then since these are all ordinance changes, there

[2:50:13] has to be proper notification, uh, To publication dates.

[2:50:17] We've got to make sure we're meeting all those.

[2:50:19] They have.

[2:50:20] They're all ordinance changes.

[2:50:21] They require two readings.

[2:50:22] Introduction and then final reading.

[2:50:24] And then there's 30 days until they are effective.

[2:50:27] 30 days ish, 30 days ish.

[2:50:28] Thanks. That's a legal term.

[2:50:30] Thank you sir.

[2:50:31] Well, it's based on publication.

[2:50:33] Mayor.

[2:50:33] Point of order.

[2:50:35] Okay.

[2:50:35] Mayor Pro.

[2:50:36] Tem.

[2:50:37] I have an amendment.

[2:50:39] To the motion to continue.

[2:50:42] Oh, no.

[2:50:43] It's that it would be.

[2:50:44] Councilmember Horton.

[2:50:45] Yeah, this is the.

[2:50:45] That's not a point of order, okay.

[2:50:46] Councilmember Horton.

[2:50:47] Was not member.

[2:50:48] Horton.

[2:50:48] Yeah.

[2:50:49] Um, I would be.

[2:50:51] Comfortable with my amendment, um,

[2:50:55] amending that to moving it to study session.

[2:50:58] Um, I think government is slow

[2:51:00] because we have to do it with purpose.

[2:51:02] And if we have two council members who are working on this

[2:51:04] issue that haven't worked together or whatever dynamics

[2:51:08] have occurred.

[2:51:09] Uh, you I believe you owe the dais and residents to do your

[2:51:15] due diligence.

[2:51:15] And so I think coming to study session may give us a better

[2:51:18] opportunity to really hash through the details and make

[2:51:22] sure we're there's a there's a resolution that is more sound

[2:51:26] coming to a regular city council meeting.

[2:51:28] I'm sorry, sir.

[2:51:29] So the amendment to her motion to continue to be to change it

[2:51:31] to going to a regular council meeting and going to study

[2:51:33] session on August 24th, and Mayor pro Tem will use a second

[2:51:36] on that or who is the second?

[2:51:37] Yeah. Do you accept that from the amendment?

[2:51:40] Yes. Okay.

[2:51:41] So that's the motion on the floor.

[2:51:42] Now there is a motion to continue 1186 to a study

[2:51:46] session on August 24th.

[2:51:48] Well, doesn't have to.

[2:51:49] Okay.

[2:51:50] It's it's a motion that the council will vote on.

[2:51:51] Now, once the question is called.

[2:51:53] Okay.

[2:51:54] Discussion.

[2:51:56] Mayor. Council member.

[2:51:57] So I guess my question is

[2:52:00] to council member Wiles.

[2:52:02] And I know we don't go to policy committees anymore or

[2:52:04] whatever, but why didn't this go to a policy committee?

[2:52:07] Because maybe we could have averted a lot of this, this

[2:52:10] confusion and all of this?

[2:52:12] Um, I really don't understand.

[2:52:14] Councilmember Gardner's has.

[2:52:17] I mean, it seems like he tried to work with you, and you were

[2:52:20] like, no, you you were you were like, no, you didn't want you

[2:52:24] didn't really want to work with

[2:52:25] him because you wanted to be your.

[2:52:26] Okay.

[2:52:28] So am.

[2:52:29] I not entirely.

[2:52:30] True.

[2:52:30] Can I can I just finish so.

[2:52:33] So okay.

[2:52:34] But it seems like Council Member Gardner's.

[2:52:36] Excuse me.

[2:52:39] Um, that's just unacceptable.

[2:52:41] Really?

[2:52:41] He's rude to me anyway, mayor, but it's just rude.

[2:52:44] If it happens.

[2:52:45] Again, you're going out.

[2:52:47] You know.

[2:52:48] Somebody's going to send.

[2:52:49] You out.

[2:52:49] City manager will.

[2:52:49] I wouldn't love that.

[2:52:51] I guess what I'm trying to ask is Councilmember Gardner's has

[2:52:53] some of the same parameters,

[2:52:55] um, that you set forth in yours.

[2:52:57] Um, he put some safeguards in there.

[2:52:59] I'm just trying to figure out from your perspective what is a

[2:53:02] little bit different about yours compared to what we're

[2:53:05] seeing on Council Member Gardner's mayor?

[2:53:07] So it's this is not to the

[2:53:10] question of continuing the motion.

[2:53:12] Correct. Okay.

[2:53:13] It's not germane.

[2:53:14] The question is not germane

[2:53:17] to further discussion.

[2:53:19] Further discussion to the motion.

[2:53:21] Mayor.

[2:53:22] Um. Councilmember Bergen.

[2:53:25] It didn't go to.

[2:53:25] Study session to begin with.

[2:53:27] So why are we going to have it go to the study session now

[2:53:29] after we've had all this communication?

[2:53:32] I'm a no.

[2:53:33] Well. Mayor.

[2:53:34] Mayor.

[2:53:35] Mayor, I.

[2:53:36] Believe.

[2:53:37] A question.

[2:53:37] Kurtis Gardner.

[2:53:38] Did your resolution go to, um,

[2:53:41] a policy committee or study session?

[2:53:47] But this would go to this.

[2:53:49] This would go to this.

[2:53:49] This one will go to the study if this motion passes.

[2:53:52] Right. Yeah.

[2:53:53] Correct.

[2:53:54] This did not go to a policy committee or study session.

[2:53:57] Okay.

[2:53:57] Thank you for that clarification.

[2:53:59] I also believe it up to Council member Wiles.

[2:54:03] Uh, there's a lot of accusations thrown, and we're

[2:54:06] hearing, you know, very solidly from one side and perspective.

[2:54:11] So I don't know, council member

[2:54:12] Wiles, if you'd you want to say your.

[2:54:14] Piece.

[2:54:14] To the motion.

[2:54:15] We're going to stay with the motion here.

[2:54:17] Okay. Further discussion.

[2:54:21] Seeing none call for the question.

[2:54:23] Uh, on the motion to to send it to study session continue.

[2:54:28] 1186 to study session on August 24th, which is the next

[2:54:32] regularly scheduled council meeting.

[2:54:33] Okay.

[2:54:37] Mayor Kaufman.

[2:54:41] Um.

[2:54:44] Um. Mayor.

[2:54:45] Race. No.

[2:54:47] Council member.

[2:54:48] Jackson.

[2:54:51] Council member.

[2:54:51] Votes. Yes.

[2:54:55] The motion does not pass with five yes votes.

[2:54:58] Six no votes.

[2:54:59] To continue the item to the August 24th study session.

[2:55:03] About now or to the motion itself.

[2:55:05] Original motion.

[2:55:07] So there is no original motion.

[2:55:09] Uh, mayor.

[2:55:10] Uh, sorry.

[2:55:11] Yeah. So, uh, the next step, if council wants to hear from it,

[2:55:15] would be a brief presentation by Mr. Batchelor, because that

[2:55:18] was what happened.

[2:55:19] Okay.

[2:55:19] And then we would go into a regular motion.

[2:55:21] Presentation by staff.

[2:55:24] Thank you.

[2:55:24] So as I indicated in one of the earlier responses.

[2:55:27] Staff is interpreting this, um, to be in terms of that timeline

[2:55:32] that we would need to bring those items back to all of

[2:55:36] council at study session.

[2:55:38] Um, and so I do think I would request a slight amendment to

[2:55:43] this, uh, from the sponsor, it says 30 days.

[2:55:47] Um, I'd like to spread this out over two meetings.

[2:55:50] Um, so if we could get to 35 days, that allows us to get to

[2:55:53] the first meeting in September.

[2:55:55] Um, given the breadth of topics here, I think we could bring

[2:55:57] the evaporative cooling and some of the basic zoning

[2:55:59] questions to the second meeting in August, and then we would

[2:56:03] come back to the first meeting in September with a discussion

[2:56:08] of setbacks screening the other items noted in here.

[2:56:12] So I think that is staff's preference.

[2:56:14] Um, if it if it stays at 30 days.

[2:56:17] That gives us one meeting and we'd have to bring everything

[2:56:20] to the to the next meeting in two weeks.

[2:56:21] So that's a request from staff.

[2:56:25] And then as I indicated

[2:56:26] earlier, the water item can move.

[2:56:29] Assuming there's consensus, it can move directly forward to

[2:56:33] the council meeting.

[2:56:35] Anything that as in the Udo per code Planning and Zoning

[2:56:39] Commission needs to weigh in with the recommendation.

[2:56:41] So we would get it scheduled in, um, with the planning and

[2:56:45] Zoning Commission to make a recommendation, and we would

[2:56:47] bring that forward with the first reading.

[2:56:49] And then that would also give us time to do the appropriate

[2:56:51] public notices for the

[2:56:53] introduction of those ordinances.

[2:56:56] Very well.

[2:56:56] Um.

[2:56:59] For the discussion.

[2:57:00] Mayor.

[2:57:01] Uh, Councilmember Wilson.

[2:57:02] I just have a question.

[2:57:03] For the city, for Pete, about section two.

[2:57:06] I know that when we wrote mine, there were some specific

[2:57:10] language we had to use.

[2:57:11] So I'm just curious.

[2:57:14] Is section two like

[2:57:17] correct based on some of the discussions we had?

[2:57:20] Is it like legally defensible I guess, or I don't know.

[2:57:24] Just because based on discussions we had repeatedly

[2:57:27] about mine.

[2:57:28] Yeah.

[2:57:29] We awarded a certain way.

[2:57:30] That's a good question.

[2:57:31] What I would tell you is I would recommend that if council

[2:57:34] is is supposed to pass this resolution that we move, we

[2:57:36] remove section two altogether because this is a resolution

[2:57:40] and not an ordinance.

[2:57:42] Any changes to the code that come before a data center

[2:57:46] application is final?

[2:57:47] There's a site plan.

[2:57:49] Everything else will be affected by any code changes

[2:57:52] council brings forward.

[2:57:53] So unless otherwise addressed.

[2:57:55] Unless otherwise addressed.

[2:57:56] Right. But I just want to be clear.

[2:57:57] I don't want that.

[2:57:58] I don't want section two to as I'm reading it, and I don't

[2:58:01] want it to send any false promises to anybody out there,

[2:58:04] any developers that are looking to do a data center that they

[2:58:07] that they shall apply if they have not filed a

[2:58:10] pre-application meeting?

[2:58:11] Filing a pre-application meeting doesn't doesn't mean

[2:58:13] that there they put a stop gap into this is the code that I've

[2:58:16] got to comply with today.

[2:58:18] If it changes before they get their application in and

[2:58:20] submitted and approved any future changes by the City

[2:58:24] Council under the Udo.

[2:58:25] And correct me if I'm wrong, Deputy City Attorney Alan, um,

[2:58:28] would apply to the data centers that are that are forthcoming.

[2:58:32] So I just want to make sure that's clear.

[2:58:33] I would ask Council if you're going to pass a resolution to

[2:58:35] remove section two.

[2:58:37] Is that correct?

[2:58:37] Rachel.

[2:58:38] That's correct.

[2:58:40] Mayor.

[2:58:41] Mayor Pro.

[2:58:42] Tem.

[2:58:42] Well, there's no motion on the board.

[2:58:44] Well, I do have just a question about the legal component then,

[2:58:47] because my understanding was that section two was there to

[2:58:51] kind of assure counsel that people can't just hop in line

[2:58:56] to hold their spot for the current regulations.

[2:59:00] So if someone were to file before we adopt all of the

[2:59:06] regulations, then it would be

[2:59:09] considered legislating retroactively.

[2:59:11] If we tried to apply those regulations to an application

[2:59:15] that was already in the process at that time.

[2:59:17] If an application has been filed but a pre-application

[2:59:20] meeting does not mean an application is filed, it is

[2:59:23] meeting with staff to make sure that they have all the

[2:59:25] requirements that they need to

[2:59:26] plan to get their application done.

[2:59:29] They do have their application submitted and they submitted it

[2:59:32] into the current code before

[2:59:33] those ordinances go into effect.

[2:59:35] Yes. Then they would be subject to the code at the time that

[2:59:38] they submitted the application.

[2:59:39] But the way this is written with a pre-application meeting,

[2:59:42] it would say that that doesn't give anybody any safeguards

[2:59:45] because they don't have an application on file.

[2:59:47] Okay. So just to clarify, if we pass this resolution

[2:59:55] Anyone can still submit a data center application under our

[3:00:00] current code, all the way up until we've actually passed the

[3:00:05] subsequent codes.

[3:00:06] Correct. There is no moratorium

[3:00:08] language in this particular resolution.

[3:00:09] There is no, um, halting of applications.

[3:00:13] If somebody if a developer is able to get a completed

[3:00:16] application submitted and accepted by the city.

[3:00:19] And that's another key word that we're talking about under

[3:00:22] 1185 accepted by the city, which means water compliance,

[3:00:27] electric, all those things that we require, um, if they're

[3:00:30] required in the application

[3:00:31] process, then yes, they would be.

[3:00:33] They would rush to, to work

[3:00:36] away from any changes in the code.

[3:00:38] Again, we've heard from both discussions that these are not

[3:00:42] just file a single sheet of paper and get your application.

[3:00:45] And they're very you've got to make sure you have land that

[3:00:47] you either own or have a, uh, have a right to build on.

[3:00:51] You have to have a site plan.

[3:00:52] You have to have, Um, you know,

[3:00:55] meeting any master plan requirements.

[3:00:57] So again, I think that's one of the reasons why I won't speak

[3:01:00] for Council Member Gardner if he wants to speak up.

[3:01:02] I think that's one of the reasons why he had put the 30

[3:01:03] or 35 days into the resolution, as he wanted to get these

[3:01:07] things put in place quickly, because the reality is, is,

[3:01:10] under my understanding, from the legal side, the ability to

[3:01:13] get a data center completed application to the city is

[3:01:17] going to take a lot longer than 60 days, which would give

[3:01:20] council time to do what they want to do with the Udo, which

[3:01:23] is why I think Councilmember

[3:01:24] Gardner put the 30 days in there.

[3:01:27] Do we have a motion?

[3:01:28] Um, Councilmember Berger,

[3:01:32] um.

[3:01:33] Make a motion.

[3:01:33] You want to make the motion?

[3:01:34] Yeah, we want to make a motion.

[3:01:36] Okay. Um, I,

[3:01:38] I think staff offered some amendments.

[3:01:41] Um,

[3:01:43] uh, let me offer one amendment

[3:01:45] first and that by the city manager.

[3:01:47] Well, let's get a motion first.

[3:01:49] Okay. Um, motion is in order.

[3:01:52] Mayor. Motion to approve 1186.

[3:01:54] It's been moved by Councilmember Garner.

[3:01:56] Second by second by

[3:01:58] Councilmember Hancock to approve.

[3:02:00] Um,

[3:02:02] okay. All right.

[3:02:04] Okay. Um.

[3:02:06] So no.

[3:02:06] Amendments. Approve 1186

[3:02:09] amendments.

[3:02:12] Wait, don't we need a motion?

[3:02:13] It is.

[3:02:13] Moved. Okay.

[3:02:14] Um. Sorry.

[3:02:16] Uh, yes.

[3:02:18] So,

[3:02:21] Councilmember Gardner, as friendly amendments, the 35

[3:02:24] days requested by staff and the striking of section two.

[3:02:31] I'll accept those as friendly amendments.

[3:02:34] Okay. Very well.

[3:02:35] Um, okay.

[3:02:37] So now.

[3:02:38] So now the resolution your mayor eliminated six is section

[3:02:41] two is stricken.

[3:02:42] And then it does give the city manager 35 days to bring the

[3:02:46] ordinances forward.

[3:02:46] Okay. And we don't have to vote on that.

[3:02:48] It's friendly.

[3:02:49] It's friendly.

[3:02:50] Yeah. Okay.

[3:02:50] So. Okay.

[3:02:52] Um. Further discussion.

[3:02:54] Mayor.

[3:02:56] I have.

[3:02:56] A.

[3:02:57] Council member.

[3:02:58] I'm sorry.

[3:02:58] And then Mayor pro tem.

[3:03:01] Councilmember Burton.

[3:03:02] Well, I just wanted to talk about the actual resolution,

[3:03:07] but I'll wait until at 5

[3:03:09] million other amendments are made.

[3:03:11] To the resolution, as amended.

[3:03:15] Mayor.

[3:03:16] Mayor pro tem.

[3:03:17] So I do have an additional amendment.

[3:03:20] Um, and that is to section B.

[3:03:26] Um, one of the items that Councilmember Wiles included in

[3:03:32] her resolution that's not included here, that was

[3:03:35] specifically requested by staff

[3:03:37] as a topic that council should discuss.

[3:03:40] And to be clear, that's what section one entails is not what

[3:03:44] we're going to do, but what we need to discuss is special or

[3:03:48] conditional use permits within the zoning.

[3:03:51] So I would like to amend section B to include a special

[3:03:58] or conditional use permits after a.

[3:04:04] Um.

[3:04:08] A p zone.

[3:04:09] Districts.

[3:04:10] Okay. If I could ask this.

[3:04:12] Sorry.

[3:04:13] No. I'm sorry.

[3:04:13] It's a little bit weird.

[3:04:14] These I did not plan, so I'm trying to figure out.

[3:04:16] How to navigate on the fly, trying.

[3:04:18] To establish a special or conditional use permit.

[3:04:23] So that'll go before setbacks and landscape buffers.

[3:04:26] Let me.

[3:04:27] If I could just ask a quick question, the city attorney

[3:04:29] about that and that section C says address any additional

[3:04:35] issues as may be deemed necessary and appropriate by

[3:04:39] the city manager that are not

[3:04:41] inconsistent with the resolution.

[3:04:42] Okay. That says by the city manager.

[3:04:44] Sure.

[3:04:44] Correct. So this could be if the city manager could state

[3:04:47] that conditional use permits.

[3:04:49] Jason, I would say that you would find that, uh, as a as an

[3:04:54] interesting as a required thing to talk about.

[3:04:56] Is that fair?

[3:04:57] Yes, I think I think we've heard that.

[3:04:59] I think there's a couple other things that we will bring

[3:05:01] forward to study session for, um, discussion and direction.

[3:05:04] Okay.

[3:05:05] Is that accept your.

[3:05:07] Okay. So that covers, I think, what Mayor Pro tem was going to

[3:05:11] ask to be included.

[3:05:12] Okay. So we're not going forward with an amendment.

[3:05:14] Another amendment.

[3:05:15] Okay. Um.

[3:05:17] Further discussion.

[3:05:19] Seeing none, call for the mayor.

[3:05:21] I'm sorry, Councilmember Gardner.

[3:05:23] Thanks, mayor.

[3:05:24] Um, yeah.

[3:05:25] So a couple of things I just want to follow up on.

[3:05:28] Um, you know, I think I'm glad to see that there seems to be

[3:05:33] general consensus on this council, uh, in terms of

[3:05:36] addressing this issue.

[3:05:37] Um, you know, I'm not going to

[3:05:38] rehash the process issues, though.

[3:05:40] I wish the process issues has been followed.

[3:05:43] At this point.

[3:05:43] I'd prefer to not have policy committees since we don't use

[3:05:46] them anyways.

[3:05:47] Um, you know, I do want to thank Council member Wiles for

[3:05:50] her work on this because I know

[3:05:51] she's done a lot of work on this.

[3:05:53] Um, I, you know, and I will say I resent the implication from

[3:05:57] some of my other colleagues that I didn't and I don't know

[3:06:00] what I'm talking about and haven't done the work.

[3:06:02] Um, because that was said a couple times tonight, which is

[3:06:05] is rather offensive.

[3:06:06] Um, but that's fine.

[3:06:08] That's politics.

[3:06:09] Um, you know, I think in general, I'm looking forward to

[3:06:12] coming up with some appropriate safeguards to ensure that we

[3:06:16] protect both our residents and also ensure that Aurora stays a

[3:06:19] business friendly city.

[3:06:20] We have consistently over the last several months, and with

[3:06:24] more to come, done things to create uncertainty for

[3:06:28] businesses that operate in our city.

[3:06:29] And, you know, some people would say, well, those are just

[3:06:32] businesses we don't want here.

[3:06:33] But the thing businesses don't want is uncertainty.

[3:06:35] They want to operate within a certain environment.

[3:06:38] Uh, and they don't want they can handle regulation, but they

[3:06:41] can't handle this uncertainty.

[3:06:42] and at a certain point, we can run off all the businesses that

[3:06:45] we don't want here, and we're going to be left finding that

[3:06:48] no businesses want to come here because they realize that

[3:06:50] Aurora changes the rules midstream.

[3:06:52] And so, you know, I think we'll be able to come up with some

[3:06:56] safeguards that both protect our residents and that the data

[3:06:59] center community can live with.

[3:07:02] I've had a lot of conversations with those folks, and I think

[3:07:05] there's some reasonable things that we can come up with.

[3:07:07] We are in a different situation than some of our neighboring

[3:07:10] communities that have put moratoriums in place.

[3:07:12] We don't allow data centers in residential areas, for example.

[3:07:15] And so, um, you know, my hope is that going forward,

[3:07:18] Councilmember Wildes and I can work together on some of these

[3:07:21] issues because I think there is a lot of common ground, and I

[3:07:25] hope the rest of this council can can agree with some of the

[3:07:27] things we're able to come up with.

[3:07:30] Mayor.

[3:07:31] Councilmember Burger.

[3:07:33] Yeah, I just want to say that really, we should be we should

[3:07:37] ensure that any business that wants to locate in our city is

[3:07:41] compatible with zoning, water use restrictions and other

[3:07:44] environmental concerns.

[3:07:46] But this started out as a moratorium, and a lot of these

[3:07:51] businesses have already invested millions of dollars in

[3:07:53] choosing to locate in our city.

[3:07:55] So it's not.

[3:07:56] It's a really poor business practice.

[3:07:58] As Councilmember Gardner just

[3:08:00] alluded to in terms of predictability.

[3:08:02] And you don't have a business invest time and money, um,

[3:08:05] after meeting our zoning and understanding of our

[3:08:08] entitlement process and then change the rules also, um, you

[3:08:12] know, there's other businesses that also, um, could impact

[3:08:16] our, our different residential areas.

[3:08:19] So not just data centers.

[3:08:21] And we can change the Udo.

[3:08:23] Obviously, we're going to do this with this with this

[3:08:25] particular resolution.

[3:08:27] It could have gone to PD with

[3:08:29] those kind of changes to begin with.

[3:08:31] Um, we could have setback setbacks, noise mitigation.

[3:08:35] Um, as mentioned also earlier,

[3:08:37] we have that large water user guide.

[3:08:39] We're going to make it formal in terms of specifically to the

[3:08:44] closing system, but we don't currently allow any of the data

[3:08:48] centers to come into the city

[3:08:50] that don't have a closed loop system.

[3:08:53] Um, investments are not only to our city, but very significant

[3:08:59] investments to our county and to our school districts.

[3:09:02] And by the way, those do actually reduce our tax burden

[3:09:06] and support our city for all the resources that we provide

[3:09:10] to our to our, um, to our residents, um, investments

[3:09:14] range from several million dollars to over $2 billion in

[3:09:17] property taxes, city use taxes, construction jobs, and other

[3:09:22] high paying permanent jobs and infrastructure.

[3:09:25] And you can ask pipefitters local to 208.

[3:09:29] Um, they actually wrote an email to us, a letter that was

[3:09:32] provided that they were against a moratorium and that they, um,

[3:09:37] actually were, um, touting how many high paying jobs with the

[3:09:42] skilled labor that this, that these data centers provide.

[3:09:46] Um, and just as an example, we already have one built data

[3:09:49] center alone that is contributing $1.1 million to

[3:09:53] Aurora Public School District.

[3:09:54] Another one is paying $2 million to our public schools.

[3:09:58] Others are in the planning stages and are projected to add

[3:10:01] at least $86 million.

[3:10:03] That's just to our city.

[3:10:05] So this helps create a stable, long term tax base.

[3:10:09] And reliance on retail sales, as we know, is unpredictable as

[3:10:13] the economy fluctuates.

[3:10:15] So this actually does help secure our future.

[3:10:18] And we can mitigate all those

[3:10:20] other concerns that are valid concerns.

[3:10:23] Creating clear standards is desirable, and I certainly

[3:10:26] support making those changes.

[3:10:28] And so anyway I am in support of this resolution.

[3:10:33] Thank you.

[3:10:37] Further discussion.

[3:10:38] Mayor.

[3:10:39] Mayor pro tem.

[3:10:40] So the work that's being directed by this resolution.

[3:10:45] Absent a moratorium, is already happening.

[3:10:48] It's the work that the city manager and council member

[3:10:51] Wiles and city staff have already been doing.

[3:10:55] This moratorium was presented as and ah.

[3:10:58] This resolution was presented

[3:10:59] as an alternative to a moratorium.

[3:11:02] We don't actually need to do this to do the work.

[3:11:05] The work is already happening.

[3:11:07] Um, and so in my view, because this was proposed at the last

[3:11:14] minute for the purpose of simply heading off a

[3:11:17] moratorium, there's no need to support it.

[3:11:19] Staff can just keep doing the work they've been doing.

[3:11:22] I strongly disagree, I think that I mean, this brings it

[3:11:25] before city council, this brings it before the public.

[3:11:28] What you're talking about is individual discussions with

[3:11:31] with staff.

[3:11:32] I mean, I think the public needs to be involved in this,

[3:11:35] and this is one way the way this is currently written is

[3:11:39] that it brings it to a public hearing at the study session,

[3:11:44] where we'll have a presentation by staff and where we'll be

[3:11:47] able to have a debate about

[3:11:49] what direction we're going to take.

[3:11:51] I think that I think that the discussion seems to be that

[3:11:56] that everybody's mind is

[3:11:57] already made up and that it's done.

[3:12:00] It's not done.

[3:12:01] This is just the beginning of the process.

[3:12:03] But I think it needs to be a public process.

[3:12:05] And so this needs to pass.

[3:12:06] Mayor.

[3:12:07] Mayor Pro.

[3:12:08] Tem.

[3:12:08] We've already had the public comment.

[3:12:10] And what they said is they

[3:12:11] would like a moratorium or a ban.

[3:12:13] And that's not what

[3:12:14] Councilmember Wiles is bringing forward.

[3:12:17] Um, what Councilmember Wiles is bringing forward is a set of

[3:12:22] thoughtful regulations, which she's already put months into

[3:12:26] working on, and which if staff can bring them forward in 30 to

[3:12:30] 35 days.

[3:12:31] It's because they already did the work.

[3:12:33] So I just.

[3:12:34] Yeah, I don't think that this is necessary.

[3:12:38] It exists for the purpose of giving people something to say.

[3:12:43] They did.

[3:12:43] That's not a moratorium.

[3:12:45] It's an important deadline.

[3:12:47] Councilmember Hancock,

[3:12:49] uh, motion by Councilmember

[3:12:52] Hancock to call for the question.

[3:12:53] Mayor.

[3:12:53] Second.

[3:12:54] Second. By Councilmember Lawson.

[3:12:56] Non debatable motion.

[3:12:58] Call for the question.

[3:13:00] Oh, we have to.

[3:13:01] We have to wait to vote.

[3:13:02] We have to vote on that two thirds.

[3:13:03] Yep.

[3:13:05] Call for the question on the

[3:13:06] motion to call for the question.

[3:13:09] Mayor. Kaufman.

[3:13:10] Mayor.

[3:13:15] Council member.

[3:13:16] Jackson.

[3:13:17] Council member.

[3:13:18] Proudly votes no.

[3:13:22] The motion passes with seven yes votes for no votes from

[3:13:26] Mayor Pro Tem Coombs, Gardner, Jackson and Medina to end the

[3:13:30] debate and vote on the motion.

[3:13:33] Okay. Just to be clear for all council, what you're voting on

[3:13:38] is to changing.

[3:13:39] It's 1186 as in the packet with two amendments.

[3:13:42] One is striking section two, and the other one is changing

[3:13:45] the dates from the days from 30 days to 35 days for the city

[3:13:49] manager to be able to bring ordinances forward.

[3:13:53] Go over the question.

[3:14:05] Councilmember Jackson.

[3:14:09] Votes.

[3:14:11] The motion passes with seven yes votes, three no votes from

[3:14:14] mayor Pro Tem, Council Member Jackson and Council Member

[3:14:17] Medina to adopt item 1186, as amended.

[3:14:23] 15 A for the clerk.

[3:14:25] Now read the title of 14 a.

[3:14:27] Item 14 a Finalizing of Ordinance 2020 641 submitting

[3:14:32] to a vote of the registered electors of the city of Aurora,

[3:14:34] Colorado, at a coordinated election on November 3rd, 2026.

[3:14:37] A proposed amendment to section four of article two of the City

[3:14:40] Charter concerning municipal elections to direct that

[3:14:43] regular municipal election shall be held in even numbered

[3:14:45] years, and proposed amendments to section five of article

[3:14:48] three to provide for one time shortened terms of office to

[3:14:51] facilitate the transition to regular elections occurring in

[3:14:54] even numbered years.

[3:14:55] And may or we do have individuals who would like to

[3:14:57] speak on this item.

[3:15:00] From the public.

[3:15:01] First.

[3:15:02] First person.

[3:15:03] Anybody wish to be heard on this?

[3:15:04] Yes.

[3:15:06] The first person is Antti

[3:15:07] Anderson, followed by Hashim Coates.

[3:15:21] Rest of the council.

[3:15:24] And I know you like to troll

[3:15:25] people back, so my name is Antti.

[3:15:27] So just a heads up when you want to troll me back.

[3:15:30] Um, definitely support passing this, uh, and sending this to

[3:15:34] the voters, because this is a prime example of why there

[3:15:37] needs to be more participation in city government.

[3:15:39] And having even your elections will make sure that we don't

[3:15:42] have certain members on the city council anymore.

[3:15:44] And I am so thrilled about that day.

[3:15:47] Just remember the feeling in Aurora when we all woke up and

[3:15:50] heard Daniel was sent home.

[3:15:54] Not only was she sent home, she barely got into third place.

[3:15:58] So so many voters of the city did not want her.

[3:16:00] That was such a beautiful day for the city of Aurora.

[3:16:03] Such a beautiful day.

[3:16:05] And if you can only imagine the party we had when Danielle was

[3:16:09] kicked out of office.

[3:16:10] What type of party do you think we're going to have when y'all

[3:16:15] Francois Lawson, uh, Curtis and Stephanie, when y'all when

[3:16:21] y'all are gone, it's going to be Juneteenth level

[3:16:24] celebrations, like in the street partying.

[3:16:27] Actually, let me give this more to a black focus.

[3:16:30] Can't you feel a brand new day when.

[3:16:32] When the Wicked Witch of the West was finally melted in the

[3:16:37] in that pot, when Dorothy threw that water and everybody came

[3:16:40] about, they they costumes.

[3:16:42] And then it was just a whole brand new day.

[3:16:46] Brand new day.

[3:16:47] That is going to be what it feels like when there's more

[3:16:50] voter participation, because then we won't have to have

[3:16:53] these conversations around.

[3:16:55] Oh, I second this, and I want to call for the question here,

[3:16:59] and I don't want to hear the debate, and I want to bring a

[3:17:03] competing resolution with my colleagues, or even if I want

[3:17:06] to vote in the minority, I am not going to have anybody else

[3:17:09] with me to vote, because I don't have MAGA Republicans and

[3:17:12] MAGA donors helping me out.

[3:17:13] No, more like it's going to be

[3:17:14] such a brand new day, I can't wait.

[3:17:20] I can't wait.

[3:17:21] It's going to feel like Obama getting elected in 2008.

[3:17:25] It's going to feel like when Joe Biden dropped out of the

[3:17:27] presidential race and they said Kamala Harris was taken on the

[3:17:31] top of the ticket, it's going to feel, oh, it's going.

[3:17:35] This is the day that the Lord has made.

[3:17:37] Let us rejoice in the end and be glad in it.

[3:17:39] That's the type of energy it's going to feel like Jesus came

[3:17:42] back again in 2026.

[3:17:45] It's like we're going to all

[3:17:46] watch the stone roll away together.

[3:17:50] I am so excited for this resolution, or this ordinance,

[3:17:54] or this vote to the people so

[3:17:56] that they can have this decision.

[3:17:58] Because when the people

[3:17:59] participate, they don't elect Republicans.

[3:18:03] When the majority of your voters participate, you get to

[3:18:06] go home.

[3:18:07] You don't gotta sit here and listen to me talk to you for

[3:18:10] three minutes on every single item on your agenda.

[3:18:13] You get to be at home.

[3:18:15] Watch your Tyler Perry soap operas.

[3:18:16] I don't know, but I can't wait

[3:18:18] for the brand new day, so vote yes!

[3:18:21] Hashim Coats, followed by Kristen Mallory.

[3:18:25] Vote yes on.

[3:18:25] What?

[3:18:27] No, it's.

[3:18:32] Not your vote, but it does require hot.

[3:18:34] Mike's hot.

[3:18:35] My hot mix.

[3:18:37] Oh.

[3:18:38] Did you say.

[3:18:39] Hot?

[3:18:40] Hot mix.

[3:18:42] Oh, listen.

[3:18:44] There's.

[3:18:56] There's a very simple democratic principle behind

[3:18:58] this conversation.

[3:19:00] More people voting is better than fewer people voting.

[3:19:03] And on this question, the research is remarkably clear.

[3:19:08] Peer reviewed studies A study published in the American

[3:19:11] Political Science Review found that putting municipal

[3:19:15] elections on the same cycle As state and federal elections can

[3:19:19] roughly double local voter participation, it is also found

[3:19:23] that the resulting electorate becomes more responsive or,

[3:19:28] excuse me, more represented by race, age, and partnership.

[3:19:32] That matters in Aurora because research consistently shows

[3:19:35] that low turnout, off cycle municipal elections

[3:19:38] disproportionately elevate

[3:19:40] older, wealthier, whiter electorates.

[3:19:43] Younger voters and communities of color are more likely to

[3:19:48] disappear from the electorate when local elections are

[3:19:51] isolated from major election cycles.

[3:19:54] And we've seen the turnout difference right here in

[3:19:57] Aurora, Arapahoe County, where our state representatives are

[3:20:01] all Democrat.

[3:20:03] Turns out about 39%

[3:20:06] in the in the 2020.

[3:20:09] Excuse me in 2003, odd year election in the 2024 general

[3:20:12] election is appropriate.

[3:20:13] Approximately 76%.

[3:20:16] If moving the election allows 10,000 tens of thousands more

[3:20:20] residents to participate in choosing the people who decide

[3:20:23] policy, housing, transportation, development and

[3:20:25] water and how their tax dollars

[3:20:27] are spent and deserve serious consideration.

[3:20:30] So be it.

[3:20:31] And there's something here for progressives, conservatives,

[3:20:34] Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters.

[3:20:37] Aurora races would definitely remain nonpartisan.

[3:20:41] But also what this does is it allows Republicans to see who

[3:20:45] their true candidates are, because they would line up with

[3:20:48] the people that are Republican on the ticket with the

[3:20:51] affiliated races.

[3:20:53] That way, we won't have to worry about being lied to.

[3:20:56] Who's progressive, who's not progressive, who's unaffiliated

[3:21:01] when they were a Republican throughout the Obama years.

[3:21:04] Um, to what they are now.

[3:21:09] Um, so moving to municipal elections, to achieving your

[3:21:11] election gives voters more opportunity, and it lets us be

[3:21:16] able to distinguish the MAGA trash for what it really is,

[3:21:19] for those that will sell out their own kind for what they

[3:21:23] really are.

[3:21:29] There are political benefits to this because it will also free

[3:21:34] up some media time.

[3:21:36] We don't have to worry about

[3:21:38] seeing these election ads every year.

[3:21:41] Um, I cannot get up here and say that it would drop the

[3:21:44] reduce and spending and all that.

[3:21:46] That happens because it would probably be more.

[3:21:48] But if we get the turnout that is here, it will let them know

[3:21:51] that this market is not up for sale anymore.

[3:21:54] So I encourage a yes vote on this.

[3:21:59] Kristen Mallory followed by Juan Marcano.

[3:22:09] Hello, everyone.

[3:22:10] Kristen Mallory Ward three.

[3:22:12] I also serve on apps and I run on an off year election cycle.

[3:22:16] So very selfishly, I would like you guys to move off of our

[3:22:19] election cycle so that all you

[3:22:22] can, all the voters vote on is apps.

[3:22:26] Uh, on odd years.

[3:22:28] Um, I also want to just say it's even though you hear from

[3:22:34] the same group of us week after week, I would kill to have this

[3:22:37] type of participation at APS meetings when we're talking

[3:22:41] about reading and resources for our kids, because we don't have

[3:22:46] people who show up and talk to us about the things that we're,

[3:22:49] uh, we're voting on.

[3:22:52] And so I find it kind of refreshing that you have so

[3:22:54] much, uh, so much participation in your meetings.

[3:22:59] And, uh, I don't think you should take that for granted,

[3:23:02] but Hashem already laid out all the reasons why this makes good

[3:23:08] sense And to increase the electorate

[3:23:13] will probably change the election results.

[3:23:16] Some of you shouldn't probably like that very much.

[3:23:20] Um, but those of you who would benefit from a greater turnout

[3:23:25] should think about that.

[3:23:27] I also want to say congratulations to Ali, who was

[3:23:31] very thoughtful in how she went about, uh, changing the term

[3:23:37] limits and changing when you guys would get elected so that

[3:23:40] it didn't extend but shortened your terms.

[3:23:43] I thought that was very thoughtful.

[3:23:45] And again, this is another situation where what is being

[3:23:50] put in front of you is good governance.

[3:23:53] I hope that matters.

[3:23:54] After the last couple of things we've heard, I don't know that

[3:23:57] it does.

[3:23:57] But all that to say, uh, this is something that we've been

[3:24:01] dreaming of for a long time, it would be great to see it come

[3:24:05] to fruition.

[3:24:05] So vote your conscience and hopefully our values align.

[3:24:10] Thank you.

[3:24:11] Juan Marcano.

[3:24:24] Good evening again.

[3:24:25] I'm still Juan Marcano.

[3:24:27] I'm still award for resident.

[3:24:29] I want to once again thank council member Ali Jackson for

[3:24:32] sponsoring this ordinance.

[3:24:34] In an era where our democracy

[3:24:36] is under attack at the federal level.

[3:24:38] Strengthening our local democracy is more important now

[3:24:41] than ever.

[3:24:43] Moving our elections to even years will greatly bolster

[3:24:45] participation in our municipal elections.

[3:24:48] It will finally put a spotlight on what I believe is the most

[3:24:51] important level of government.

[3:24:52] And that's something that all

[3:24:53] of y'all should want to have happen.

[3:24:55] Every municipality that has done this across the country

[3:24:57] has seen a dramatic boost in voter turnout.

[3:25:00] Not only that, the ballot drop off that I've heard some

[3:25:03] concerns from y'all about, especially in the past when I

[3:25:05] was on the other side of that dais does not happen.

[3:25:09] In fact, Parker and Castle Rock, two of our neighbors to

[3:25:12] the south.

[3:25:13] They've actually had years where more people voted for

[3:25:16] mayor and city council than voted for president.

[3:25:18] So they left the top of that ballot blank, and then they

[3:25:21] went to the next page and voted for their council.

[3:25:23] I think that's really cool.

[3:25:25] I want the whole ballot to be filled, to be clear.

[3:25:27] But, you know, still and I want to give you all a couple of

[3:25:30] other national examples too,

[3:25:31] because this is not a local phenomenon.

[3:25:33] Baltimore, they went from 13% turnout in mayor in 2011, which

[3:25:38] is when their elections were at the top of the ballot.

[3:25:41] They went to 55% in 2016, 2020 and 24 during presidential

[3:25:47] years when they were on the back of the ballot.

[3:25:50] San Francisco used to do about 36% turnout for mayor.

[3:25:53] For example, in 2019 they went to 76% turnout in 2024, despite

[3:25:59] the mayoral race going to the 10th slot on the ballot.

[3:26:02] And that's below school board and they're on their ballot.

[3:26:05] Right. And El Paso, Texas.

[3:26:08] They went from 8%, 8% turnout in 2017 to 55% in 2020.

[3:26:16] And one thing that's really interesting here, the last race

[3:26:19] on their ballot is actually municipal judicial seat.

[3:26:22] Those are elected positions.

[3:26:23] They're here.

[3:26:23] I know we all appoint them.

[3:26:25] They received 660%

[3:26:28] more votes.

[3:26:29] By putting that on the even year ballot.

[3:26:32] So the additional benefit of this change is that it's also

[3:26:35] going to foster much better intergovernmental

[3:26:37] collaboration, because we're going to have municipal,

[3:26:40] county, state and federal races on the same ballot.

[3:26:43] That means that folks, candidates who are running for

[3:26:46] office, they're going to begin to develop relationships sooner

[3:26:50] on the campaign trail.

[3:26:51] They're going to probably knock doors together.

[3:26:53] They're going to hear from voters, and they're going to be

[3:26:55] able to work together to craft and prioritize policy in unison

[3:26:59] to address the needs of their constituencies.

[3:27:01] This should be a unanimous yes vote, y'all.

[3:27:03] This is a capital G good governance reform.

[3:27:07] Give us an opportunity to strengthen their democracy by

[3:27:09] supporting this ordinance.

[3:27:11] Thanks again.

[3:27:14] That was the last individual motion.

[3:27:18] Motion is in order.

[3:27:21] Mayor. So moved.

[3:27:24] Uh, mayor pro tem.

[3:27:26] I'm sorry.

[3:27:27] Uh, approve.

[3:27:29] Move to approve.

[3:27:29] Thank you.

[3:27:30] 14. Aye.

[3:27:30] Right. 14.

[3:27:31] Aye.

[3:27:31] Okay. Okay.

[3:27:32] Moved by Councilmember Horton.

[3:27:33] And seconded by.

[3:27:35] Combs.

[3:27:36] Seconded by.

[3:27:38] Blood. Jackson.

[3:27:39] Yes. Second by Councilmember Jackson.

[3:27:41] Discussion.

[3:27:42] Mayor.

[3:27:43] Councilmember. Hancock.

[3:27:45] So, um.

[3:27:48] The beauty of off year elections is that our cities,

[3:27:52] our candidates, and our local issues receive the attention

[3:27:55] they deserve.

[3:27:56] Local government should not be buried beneath the noise, money

[3:28:01] and partisan politics of a presidential election.

[3:28:04] I'm deeply concerned about moving municipal elections into

[3:28:07] a presidential election year.

[3:28:09] It's like the canary in the

[3:28:11] coal mine for something much larger.

[3:28:13] The increasing nationalization

[3:28:15] and participation of local government.

[3:28:17] Some would argue that this change is about democracy

[3:28:19] because presidential elected

[3:28:21] elections produce higher voter turnout.

[3:28:23] But democracy is more than about simply increasing the

[3:28:27] number of ballots cast.

[3:28:29] It's about an informed populace, competitive

[3:28:32] elections, accountability, and ensuring that local voices are

[3:28:36] actually heard.

[3:28:37] Higher turnout should not automatically be treated as

[3:28:40] justification for restructuring local elections.

[3:28:43] Candidates running for municipal office have a

[3:28:46] responsibility to engage their communities like we did in our

[3:28:50] last elections.

[3:28:51] Knock on doors, communicate ideas, inspire voters, build

[3:28:56] consensus and work hard to get those voters to the polls.

[3:29:00] That's what electioneering is.

[3:29:01] That's what we do when we run for office.

[3:29:03] And then the voters get to

[3:29:05] decide whether they want us or not.

[3:29:07] Either way, it is part of the process.

[3:29:10] We should be very cautious about changes that could allow

[3:29:13] national partisan politics or ideological agendas to

[3:29:18] overwhelm our non-partisan municipal elections, regardless

[3:29:22] of which party benefits today, concentrating political power

[3:29:25] and diminishing meaningful competition is not healthy, and

[3:29:29] it's not really part of representative government.

[3:29:31] Local elections belong to local voters.

[3:29:35] Let's keep the focus on our communities and our issues and

[3:29:39] the people asking us to serve them.

[3:29:43] Further discussion.

[3:29:46] Mayor.

[3:29:47] Mayor Pro tem.

[3:29:50] Oh, sorry.

[3:29:51] Um, I'll be quick.

[3:29:54] Um. Competitive elections are

[3:29:58] about more people voting, right?

[3:30:01] If you get more votes than you've been more successful at

[3:30:05] competing in an election.

[3:30:07] If you get the votes of more people, um, then you've been

[3:30:11] more competitive.

[3:30:12] It's fairly simple.

[3:30:13] And yes, greater participation is the hallmark of democracy

[3:30:19] and improvements to democracy.

[3:30:21] That's all.

[3:30:23] Very well.

[3:30:23] I don't think it has worked well for RTD directors being on

[3:30:28] the general election ballot, and I find it ironic.

[3:30:31] We had a school board member from Aurora Public Schools come

[3:30:34] up here and testify for the proposal for moving Aurora City

[3:30:38] Council to the general election ballot, but not the Aurora

[3:30:41] School Board.

[3:30:43] Um. Further discussion.

[3:30:46] Mayor.

[3:30:48] Uh.

[3:30:50] Council member.

[3:30:50] Bergen.

[3:30:51] Council member.

[3:30:51] Jackson.

[3:30:52] Jackson.

[3:30:54] Yes. Thank you.

[3:30:55] I just wanted to continue to say, as the sponsor of this,

[3:30:58] um, ballot initiative, that I just want to see a greater

[3:31:02] democracy being born and raised in Aurora, Colorado.

[3:31:04] I think that as we bloom into a beautiful majority,

[3:31:09] metropolitan, um, pushing 400,000 citizens, we really

[3:31:14] should see, you know, greater turnout in our elections.

[3:31:19] And so it is nonpartisan and it

[3:31:23] will allow for coalition building.

[3:31:25] It will allow for voters to get a break from mailers every year

[3:31:31] to every other year.

[3:31:32] It will give people an opportunity to hyper focus on

[3:31:38] politics every other year as opposed to one year.

[3:31:41] And so this is really just an opportunity to make our

[3:31:45] elections more effective, to run more smoothly and to give

[3:31:49] everybody a break in between year, odd, odd years and off

[3:31:54] years when it comes to elections.

[3:31:58] Further discussion of seeing none.

[3:32:02] Call for the question.

[3:32:15] The motion passes with six yes votes for no votes from Council

[3:32:19] member Bergen, Gardner, Hancock

[3:32:20] and Lawson to approve item 14 A.

[3:32:31] Let's see.

[3:32:36] Okay. Reports Councilmember Andrews.

[3:32:42] Yes, mayor.

[3:32:42] I need to we add a resignation on the CBC.

[3:32:47] Um,

[3:32:50] From Vida Brown.

[3:32:50] I need to appoint Matthias Amaru to the board.

[3:32:59] And, Katie, I'll give you information later on.

[3:33:01] Yes.

[3:33:03] Thank you.

[3:33:07] Okay. Um, Mayor Pro Tem Coombs.

[3:33:09] Thank you.

[3:33:10] Mayor. Um, so a few upcoming items for folks to keep in mind

[3:33:16] is that this Wednesday, there's the city council chamber

[3:33:18] accessibility meeting.

[3:33:20] Uh, 530 to 7:30 p.m..

[3:33:23] And that is in the Aurora room here in City Hall.

[3:33:27] Um, this Saturday the 15th, um, there will be a town hall on

[3:33:32] the renaming of the Central Library.

[3:33:36] Um, at 10:30 a.m.

[3:33:38] on Saturday.

[3:33:39] And then on next Thursday, a housing strategy community

[3:33:44] feedback session at 5:30 p.m.

[3:33:46] at the Central Recreation Center

[3:33:49] and the Central Library.

[3:33:50] Renaming on Saturday is at Central Library.

[3:33:53] Um, and then just in terms of recent events that I was able

[3:33:57] to attend last Saturday, the proclaiming Colorado's Black

[3:34:00] History Aurora exhibit opening, um, which had really wonderful

[3:34:06] participation from many folks in our community.

[3:34:09] Um, on Friday, I was able to attend a Purple Heart ceremony,

[3:34:15] um, with the mayor.

[3:34:17] Uh, here outside of City Hall, raising the purple purple heart

[3:34:20] flag in celebration of Purple Heart Day.

[3:34:23] Um, also on Friday, the Arapahoe County or sorry, Adams

[3:34:29] County Health Department had a community briefing in town Hall

[3:34:32] on the, uh, tuberculosis response at the Geo.

[3:34:35] Aurora facility.

[3:34:37] Um, and then finally on Saturday, I was able to spend

[3:34:40] some time with SEIU local 105 and their committee on

[3:34:43] Political Education, uh, advocating for working people,

[3:34:47] including home care workers.

[3:34:49] Airport workers and janitors in our community to have living

[3:34:52] wages and be protected in their workplaces.

[3:34:58] So that's.

[3:34:59] My report.

[3:35:00] Councilmember Gardner.

[3:35:02] No report.

[3:35:03] Councilmember Jackson.

[3:35:12] Councilmember Horton.

[3:35:14] Thank you.

[3:35:14] Mayor. A few things from Ward one.

[3:35:16] Updates. I've been having a number of conversations

[3:35:19] regarding Fletcher Plaza and some proactive response,

[3:35:23] working with multiple different city agencies

[3:35:27] and with the mayor, who also attended that meeting last week

[3:35:31] to address how we could best provide resources and make sure

[3:35:35] that all can utilize the library.

[3:35:37] The second piece is with the

[3:35:40] Community Development Corporation.

[3:35:42] The the official steering committee was launched.

[3:35:46] So if folks would like to join that effort and want to see

[3:35:50] revitalization in northwest Aurora and the prioritization

[3:35:54] of community voices, small business owners and all and

[3:35:57] non-profits, all that make up the area.

[3:35:59] Please let me know.

[3:36:01] Um, the also council, uh, Mayor Pro Tem Coombs, um, and I are,

[3:36:08] uh, on the resolution to rename our central library, uh, or to

[3:36:12] Atticus, uh, to honor Edna Wilson Mosley, who was the

[3:36:17] first African American city council member.

[3:36:20] Make sure it's on the screen.

[3:36:22] Um, and there are public comment sessions that's

[3:36:25] happening this Saturday, August 15th in person.

[3:36:28] And then again, a virtual option on August 25th.

[3:36:32] Uh, I do want to note, because it just does not sit well in my

[3:36:36] soul, that last conversation, um, around data centers.

[3:36:41] And this is something that I will hold myself to.

[3:36:43] And what I ask my peers on this dais, that if you are

[3:36:48] going to present an accusation that that person is allowed to

[3:36:54] defend themselves, and particularly if it is male

[3:36:58] leadership who is not presenting any facts, that that

[3:37:02] is that is such an that was just unjust and rubs me the

[3:37:06] wrong way as a as a woman, as a woman of color on this dais.

[3:37:11] Um, that that there was not an opportunity for Council member

[3:37:14] wiles, and I have no idea what she believes in this, but it

[3:37:17] was just my feelings.

[3:37:18] Um, and really, what we should hold ourselves to is do better.

[3:37:25] Uh, Councilmember Wiles.

[3:37:27] Um, so.

[3:37:27] First of all, I wanted to honor the life.

[3:37:30] Of Arthur Williams.

[3:37:31] Who was hit and killed by.

[3:37:32] A.

[3:37:34] Hit and run.

[3:37:34] Driver.

[3:37:35] Earlier this month.

[3:37:37] Um, police are still looking

[3:37:38] for, Uh, the person who hit him.

[3:37:41] And so all of the information is on the APD website and on

[3:37:45] their their social media page.

[3:37:47] Please, let's keep an eye out for this car.

[3:37:49] This family deserves justice.

[3:37:51] And they also deserve a sense of closure, knowing that the

[3:37:54] person who left their family member on the side of the road

[3:37:57] will be held accountable.

[3:37:59] So if you saw anything, please say something.

[3:38:01] There, I believe is an award a reward?

[3:38:04] I don't think there should need to be a reward to do the right

[3:38:07] thing, but hey, if it gets you to turn in the information you

[3:38:10] need, please do so.

[3:38:12] I also want to thank the reserve community who hosted me

[3:38:15] for their town hall.

[3:38:17] Ironically, they're right next to the data center that will be

[3:38:20] built in their neighborhood.

[3:38:21] So I.

[3:38:23] I hear their concerns, and I hope they know that I intend to

[3:38:27] honor my campaign promises to continue to advocate for them.

[3:38:31] Um, also August 22nd, Nelson Holland is doing a Highland

[3:38:35] Highline Canal cleanup.

[3:38:38] I hope to see everybody out there.

[3:38:39] It's a great time cleaning up our parks and our canal trails.

[3:38:45] And then obviously I would be

[3:38:47] me if I didn't mention Special Olympics.

[3:38:50] They need volunteers.

[3:38:51] The State Classic is also

[3:38:53] August 22nd, softball is August 23rd.

[3:38:56] And then there's the Plain pool on August 29th.

[3:38:59] So please sign up to volunteer and help them out, especially

[3:39:03] since now they are officially Aurora community members.

[3:39:07] Thank you, Councilmember Medina.

[3:39:11] Thank you sir.

[3:39:13] I was at the Colorado Black History Exhibit traveling

[3:39:16] exhibit over at the War History Museum, where I was able to get

[3:39:21] a proclamation for Ruben Sims Junior, the first African

[3:39:24] American firefighter for the city of Aurora.

[3:39:29] I had my town hall as well.

[3:39:30] We talked more about the Ada compliances around the city,

[3:39:34] what they're trying to do to start to comply with that, and

[3:39:37] also talked about what's happening here at council

[3:39:40] chambers, also went to the Delmar Park Community picnic,

[3:39:45] was able to talk to constituents about issues and

[3:39:47] concerns and have a little reprieve from the heat.

[3:39:51] Thank you.

[3:39:53] Councilmember Hancock.

[3:39:56] Thank you mayor.

[3:39:57] It's been a busy two weeks.

[3:40:00] Last week we attended the corium.

[3:40:02] On the 27th, we attended the Korean War Memorial as

[3:40:06] beautiful ceremony out at Generals Park.

[3:40:09] And it was just great.

[3:40:12] It was a beautiful ceremony.

[3:40:13] You and I, mayor, were at the Aurora Fire and Rescue training

[3:40:18] facility, and I got to tell you, your boss, mayor, you ran

[3:40:22] up those four flights with that £40 hose.

[3:40:25] I watched and took pictures, but I did other things with

[3:40:28] with the firefighters.

[3:40:29] And I think it's they have some of the toughest training that

[3:40:33] I've ever seen.

[3:40:34] And there was one lone gal that

[3:40:36] was there hanging with those fellows.

[3:40:38] It was really great to see these young people go through

[3:40:41] their training to become

[3:40:43] firefighters, to protect our city.

[3:40:46] Also, I also attended the opening reception at the Aurora

[3:40:50] History Museum.

[3:40:51] And one thing to note, I did personally know Reuben Sims

[3:40:55] back when, in our military days, my husband and myself, we

[3:40:59] all were together back in the day and I.

[3:41:02] It was great to see his son Jamie and his family attend

[3:41:06] that and hear the proclamation by um Councilmember Medina.

[3:41:10] Um, this Monday.

[3:41:12] This past Monday, I attend the Armed Forces Treatment Court

[3:41:15] and it was great to see Judge Day preside over this young man

[3:41:19] who did the hard work that it was necessary in the Armed

[3:41:22] Forces Treatment Court to, you know, you fall down sometimes,

[3:41:26] but this gives you an opportunity to get back up.

[3:41:29] And he was supported and helped and encouraged and he went

[3:41:32] through the program, 18 month program, and he's well on his

[3:41:35] way in recovery and success.

[3:41:38] Um, that was a really great program as well.

[3:41:41] Um, I also attended, along with Council member Andrews, the

[3:41:45] interfaith gala, uh, at the in Centennial, where they raised

[3:41:51] funds to provide meals for

[3:41:53] homeless individuals across the city.

[3:41:56] You can come in and they take really good care of you there.

[3:41:59] And it was great seeing the commissioners there as well as

[3:42:02] Council Member Andrews.

[3:42:05] I had a meeting today with Tamiya and I hope I didn't

[3:42:09] mispronounce your name, miss Tamiya Jackson of Aurora save.

[3:42:13] And we had a really great discussion about what the

[3:42:16] Aurora save does and what it doesn't do.

[3:42:18] And as the director of this program, she is instrumental in

[3:42:23] helping young people circumnavigate the stresses of

[3:42:29] making choices that sometimes are not in their best interest,

[3:42:32] but to help them make better choices.

[3:42:34] It serves young people from the ages of 14 to 24, and to help

[3:42:40] these young people to choose nonviolence.

[3:42:43] Um, you know, activities.

[3:42:45] And we talked a lot about resources as I went on a ride

[3:42:50] along a couple of weeks ago.

[3:42:51] You and I mayor, and talked to a young man, I think, uh, rode

[3:42:55] called straight and the save

[3:42:57] officers and the save coordinator.

[3:43:00] Really? I think they kind of got through to this kid.

[3:43:03] I could I could see his countenance change.

[3:43:05] And he seemed willing to really engage in his own future,

[3:43:09] because that's what these young people need to be able to be

[3:43:12] trained to do.

[3:43:13] Um, for the young woman who

[3:43:15] talked about, did we go to the reservoir?

[3:43:18] I don't know if she's still here, but we're actually going

[3:43:21] on the water tour tomorrow, so we're going to go and look at

[3:43:23] these reservoirs and see firsthand how water, um, water

[3:43:28] deprivation, how the drought, how our one day of winter has

[3:43:32] impacted our water resources here in this state.

[3:43:35] There's a lot more going on with water than meets the eye.

[3:43:38] The Colorado water compact and all of that that's going on.

[3:43:42] We supply water to us Nebraska, New Mexico, California, Nevada.

[3:43:47] Oh my goodness.

[3:43:48] It's a huge deal.

[3:43:49] But we want to be very good stewards of our resources as

[3:43:53] representatives on this council.

[3:43:55] And so the water tour, I expect, will be a great

[3:43:58] opportunity for us to learn more about that.

[3:44:01] Also this week we will be

[3:44:02] having the public safety meeting.

[3:44:06] And at what time is it 11 a.m.

[3:44:09] here in the Aurora room.

[3:44:10] So please tune in to that.

[3:44:12] And that's my report, mayor.

[3:44:14] Thank you, Council member.

[3:44:16] Lawson. Thank you.

[3:44:16] Mayor.

[3:44:17] I'm going to be having my Ward five town hall on August 18th

[3:44:22] at 630 at Mission Viejo.

[3:44:24] We're going to have planning and development, And also I'm

[3:44:27] going to have the one at Heather gardens.

[3:44:28] That one will be at Mission Viejo.

[3:44:30] The one on the 29th will be at Heather gardens.

[3:44:32] And we will also be talking about planning and development

[3:44:36] and retail, what's going on in Ward five.

[3:44:38] And that's my report, mayor.

[3:44:40] Thank you.

[3:44:41] Um. Councilmember burger.

[3:44:44] Mayor. No report.

[3:44:45] Thank you.

[3:44:47] Um,

[3:44:49] I want to encourage people to go to my Facebook page that's

[3:44:52] at, uh, Mike Kaufman Facebook.

[3:44:54] And I'm hoping, um.

[3:44:57] Um,

[3:44:59] Mr. McConnell has signed up our, um, district three

[3:45:04] transportation commissioner, I'd like an update on what

[3:45:07] you're doing to help us on State Highway 30.

[3:45:11] Uh, you're on that task force with, uh, uh, co-chaired by

[3:45:16] Councilmember Wallace and Councilmember Bergen.

[3:45:18] And so a great opportunity for you to update us.

[3:45:22] Uh, with that public invited to be heard.

[3:45:25] Auntie Anderson, followed by Hashim Coates.

[3:46:01] Excuse me.

[3:46:02] Um.

[3:46:05] Mayor Kaufman.

[3:46:06] You you threatened.

[3:46:07] To have me removed.

[3:46:09] You know, I don't like a challenge.

[3:46:12] So now I double dog dare you to do it.

[3:46:14] Because now, for the next three minutes, we're going to hear

[3:46:18] what it sounds like to be Mike Kaufman.

[3:46:26] This could have been avoided.

[3:46:28] But you threatened me.

[3:46:30] So now I have to double dog here.

[3:46:31] You might.

[3:46:46] Now is the Aurora City Council drumline.

[3:47:04] Okay. Okay.

[3:47:05] I'll see you at noon.

[3:47:06] Stephanie. This the one time.

[3:47:07] Stephanie I agree.

[3:47:18] That's her solo.

[3:47:19] Take it away.

[3:47:19] Here we go.

[3:47:35] We still got a minute and 30s.

[3:47:38] Oh, no.

[3:47:39] Y'all. Yep.

[3:47:39] No, we still got time.

[3:47:41] We set up a meeting this fall.

[3:47:43] All you have to do is leave me alone.

[3:47:44] But this is a consequence of the action.

[3:47:47] This is called the First Amendment.

[3:48:13] There's still 50s.

[3:48:14] Left.

[3:48:28] This could have been avoided if

[3:48:29] he would have just left me alone.

[3:48:34] No I wouldn't.

[3:48:39] 20s left still.

[3:48:40] Mike.

[3:48:42] You just have some fun with it now.

[3:48:50] You should.

[3:48:50] Be eating.

[3:48:51] Mike. We're coming up on your solo.

[3:48:53] Be ready.

[3:48:59] It's almost there.

[3:48:59] Mike.

[3:49:04] Hashim Coates, followed by Mahdi and Schaffner.

[3:49:16] Well.

[3:49:17] I can't.

[3:49:17] I just can't.

[3:49:29] Do that.

[3:49:34] That is interesting to follow.

[3:49:36] In all my years I have not followed.

[3:49:38] Anything like that.

[3:49:40] Um, but I guess in the true spirit of everything, I do want

[3:49:43] to say that Councilwoman Hancock, you did violate the

[3:49:45] quorum when you participated with him.

[3:49:49] So I'm just saying, um,

[3:49:53] I understand I'm not a white man.

[3:49:54] You're not going to respect me.

[3:49:55] So I want to say that leadership is hard.

[3:49:59] It is.

[3:50:01] Um, when you make that decision to get up and run, you're there

[3:50:05] for it all.

[3:50:06] Whether either votes or

[3:50:07] critiques or whatever it happens.

[3:50:10] Um, there have been some that I have been friendships over and

[3:50:15] depending on how they were attacked.

[3:50:17] Then I have come back in to be hot as hell on their asses.

[3:50:21] That's just what the job is of leadership, and I encourage

[3:50:25] people to lean into it and deal with the growth.

[3:50:28] But I do find it to be disrespectful and condescending

[3:50:32] to be like, hey, me, I appreciate blah.

[3:50:36] Blah blah blah, but.

[3:50:38] You.

[3:50:40] And that's exactly what happened.

[3:50:43] So also, if we could just get back to the days of when Mayor

[3:50:48] Hogan was here and how the building and things operated

[3:50:52] back then, those were the glory years.

[3:50:55] I am doing a part, a bipartisan type of acknowledgement on how

[3:51:01] things are run.

[3:51:02] There was more civility that was here, and the fact that he

[3:51:06] did not treat the people's building like a prison.

[3:51:09] I respect that the fact that when I come and other people

[3:51:14] come to speak at a city council meeting, we have to wait at the

[3:51:18] door to be let in.

[3:51:19] Blows my mind.

[3:51:21] The fact that the door can't be open for council hours and

[3:51:25] council business.

[3:51:26] I don't understand that.

[3:51:27] Also, I want to call the.

[3:51:29] There is a.

[3:51:30] The security is a joke.

[3:51:32] Honestly, if there was sincere intention about harm being

[3:51:36] done, it would happen.

[3:51:39] There are holes.

[3:51:40] APD can even attest to this.

[3:51:42] There are.

[3:51:42] Holes.

[3:51:43] In the security process that your safety, the stanchions,

[3:51:48] all of that stuff.

[3:51:49] It's a fraud.

[3:51:50] But what it does speak to is that people do not come here

[3:51:54] with the ill intent that is laid upon them to to create you

[3:51:57] all harm.

[3:51:58] Yes, your nerves and your feelings are in jeopardy, but

[3:52:01] that is because the people want to have their voices heard.

[3:52:04] If security was real, the screeners would not be down.

[3:52:09] As I went out to the restroom and came back in.

[3:52:11] They still would be up because you all are still here.

[3:52:14] Unless you all were afraid of the

[3:52:19] big oil people, the big money people, the the big center

[3:52:23] people that left after the votes that happened on that.

[3:52:26] So also I encourage people like get out and vote.

[3:52:31] Stephanie's ChatGPT rant did everything.

[3:52:35] Like supporting what.

[3:52:38] Councilwoman.

[3:52:39] Jackson.

[3:52:41] Measure wanted.

[3:52:43] More voter.

[3:52:44] Participation.

[3:52:45] Is the answer.

[3:52:48] Madison Schaffner.

[3:52:51] That was the last individual.

[3:52:56] Um,

[3:52:57] Council member McConnell.

[3:52:58] Our former.

[3:52:59] I would like that report next time.

[3:53:02] Thank you.

[3:53:03] Uh, seeing no further business before the Aurora City Council

[3:53:05] meeting is adjourned.

Regular Meeting of the Aurora City Council, August 10 2026

Transcript