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Record of Proceedings

Aurora City Council Study Session - March 10, 2026: Civil Service Commission Interviews and Resolutions

City Council — Tuesday, March 10, 2026
BodyAurora, Colorado
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, March 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:10

Mayor Kaufman here.

0:11

Councilmember Andrews.

0:13

Here.

0:13

Councilmember Bergen.

0:14

Here.

0:15

Mayor Protoum Coombs.

0:16

Present.

0:17

Councilmember Gardner.

0:19

Councilmember Hancock?

0:21

Here.

0:21

Councilmember Horton.

0:23

Here.

0:24

Councilmember Jackson.

0:26

Councilmember Lawson.

0:28

Here.

0:28

Councilmember Medina?

0:29

Here.

0:30

Councilmember Wiles.

0:31

Here.

0:31

There's a quorum.

0:34

Joshua Rodell, please take a seat at the end.

0:46

How are you doing?

0:47

Thank you so much for your interest in being a member of the Civil Service Commission.

0:52

You have one minute for introductory remarks.

0:56

Okay.

0:56

Uh my name is Josh Fidel.

0:58

I've been a Aurora resident for all but two years of my life for educational purposes.

1:03

I had to move out of the city, but been here my entire life, still am.

1:06

I live over in Blackstone now.

1:08

Um went to school Roar Public Schools all the way through.

1:12

Um I've served on multiple Aurora boards and commissions.

1:16

I was on the Oil and Gas Advisory Commission for three terms before I was term limited out.

1:21

Um I've also been on the uh an older variation of the independent review board.

1:26

I served on that for a while until they they revamped it.

1:29

Um I was a reserve police officer for Jefferson County, so I've been through this process.

1:35

I've experienced kind of what a civil service process looks like.

1:39

Um I served in that capacity for two years.

1:41

Uh and now I am the chief growth officer for a defense contractor called Synergy ECP that's based in DC, but we have offices here and other and elsewhere.

1:52

Thank you very much.

1:54

Um Councilmember Andrew uh Councilmember Andrews, you are now recognized for two minutes.

2:03

Thank you, Mayor.

2:04

Have a couple questions for you.

2:05

Sure.

2:05

So in this role, how do you see it um how do you see how do you see your role impacting the city?

2:11

So this is an important role just because it's a separate service that establishes the hiring process for Aurora Public Safety.

2:18

I take that very seriously.

2:19

Um the people that serve uh our community need to be vetted properly.

2:23

So the the processes that are in place to establish the right the right group of people are very important.

2:28

So to be able to have a an impact on ensuring that the practices and procedures are followed and then also perhaps offering possibilities and examples of how to improve it is something that is exciting to me.

2:41

Um as someone that's been through this process too.

2:44

It's it's I I I've been on I've been on the other side of it, so I understand I understand how nerve-wracking it can be for people that are trying to get into public safety.

2:52

So to be able to also create a fair process to ensure that the right people are on the on the streets supporting our community, I take that very seriously.

3:00

Follow-up question.

3:02

How do you ensure the right people are part of the process in our own uh you know if you look at the you look at the charter, I really I believe pretty strongly that the practices that have been put in place by the Civil Service Commission are very fair.

3:15

I think they're very thorough.

3:17

So I think the big thing is just maintaining um and ensuring that those those procedures are followed to the letter, right?

3:23

Um nothing gets no stone goes unturned and make sure that the investigative process is done, uh evaluate the evaluate the um the way that the personnel go through the process and then also ensuring that it's merit based.

3:38

This is supposed to be merit-based, so ensuring that the right people are doing it.

3:42

Um and you know it's just it's really just a matter of maintaining uh maintaining discipline and and rigor with the process in my opinion.

3:52

Uh Councilmember Bergen, you are now recognized for two minutes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Personnel Matters███████████████████████████27%
Homelessness████████████████████20%
Community Engagement████████8%
Transportation Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Aurora City Council Study Session - March 10, 2026

The Aurora City Council held a study session on March 10, 2026, to interview four candidates for the Civil Service Commission and to discuss a resolution formalizing notice and outreach procedures prior to abatement of unauthorized camps, as well as a proposal to create a working group for Gun Club Road transportation improvements. The meeting included roll call, a recess, and reconvening for the regular agenda.

Consent Calendar

  • Council moved items 3A through 3G forward without objection, approving routine and unanimous actions.

Discussion Items

  • Civil Service Commission Appointments: Four candidates were interviewed:
    • Joshua Rodell (Josh Fidel): A lifelong Aurora resident with service on multiple boards, including the Oil and Gas Advisory Commission and an independent review board. He expressed strong support for the commission's role in ensuring merit-based hiring, transparency, and due process. He emphasized consistency and a willingness to take chances on candidates who have made mistakes.
    • Rex McKinney: A 37-year Aurora resident and retired Aurora Police lieutenant with 35 years of service. He highlighted his experience with hiring, promotions, and discipline from both officer and command perspectives. He stressed the importance of merit-based hiring and following rules to protect the city and community.
    • Marcus Moreno (Marcus Marino): A U.S. Air Force veteran and current OSHA compliance officer. He emphasized his investigative background and experience with promotion and disciplinary boards. He advocated for following established standards and evaluating candidates holistically.
    • Dr. Thomas Mays: A pastor and longtime Aurora community leader with extensive work with the police department and community groups. He stressed the importance of hiring the best candidates, fairness in discipline, and maintaining integrity. He expressed willingness to make unpopular decisions.
    • Councilmembers asked about each candidate’s experience, views on hiring/disciplinary processes, ability to be objective, handling of public pressure, and community involvement in public safety.
  • Resolution on Notice and Outreach Prior to Abatement of Unauthorized Camps (Item 4A): Staff presented a resolution to formalize current practices, including a 72-hour notice before abatement, exceptions for imminent public health/safety risks, and postponement due to adverse weather. Several councilmembers expressed concerns: Councilmember Bergen argued it effectively extends camp clearing times, Councilmember Hancock called it a rollback of the camping ban, and Councilmember Lawson questioned the need given existing exceptions. Councilmember Wiles supported the resolution as a realistic alignment of policy and practice, noting resource limitations and the need for humane treatment. Mayor Pro Tem Coombs noted that constituents raised cold-weather abatement concerns. The resolution also exempts CDOT-controlled areas (e.g., I-225 and Parker Road) from the notice requirement. City staff clarified that the resolution does not change city code but codifies existing procedures.
  • Gun Club Road Transportation Working Group (Item 6A): Councilmembers Bergen and Wiles proposed an intergovernmental working group to address long-standing issues on Gun Club Road, a state highway (SH 30). The working group would bring together the city, state, and county stakeholders to collaborate on funding and solutions. Mayor noted that previous resolutions prioritized funding but this working group aims for a specific timeline and proposal.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent calendar (items 3A–3G) was approved without objection.
  • The council voted to move forward the resolution on notice and outreach prior to camp abatement (Item 4A) for further action. No final vote was taken on the resolution itself.
  • The council voted to move forward the proposal for a Gun Club Road Transportation Working Group (Item 6A) for further development.
  • Civil Service Commission interviews were conducted; no appointments were made during the study session.

Meeting Transcript

Mayor Kaufman here. Councilmember Andrews. Here. Councilmember Bergen. Here. Mayor Protoum Coombs. Present. Councilmember Gardner. Councilmember Hancock? Here. Councilmember Horton. Here. Councilmember Jackson. Councilmember Lawson. Here. Councilmember Medina? Here. Councilmember Wiles. Here. There's a quorum. Joshua Rodell, please take a seat at the end. How are you doing? Thank you so much for your interest in being a member of the Civil Service Commission. You have one minute for introductory remarks. Okay. Uh my name is Josh Fidel. I've been a Aurora resident for all but two years of my life for educational purposes. I had to move out of the city, but been here my entire life, still am. I live over in Blackstone now. Um went to school Roar Public Schools all the way through. Um I've served on multiple Aurora boards and commissions. I was on the Oil and Gas Advisory Commission for three terms before I was term limited out. Um I've also been on the uh an older variation of the independent review board. I served on that for a while until they they revamped it. Um I was a reserve police officer for Jefferson County, so I've been through this process. I've experienced kind of what a civil service process looks like. Um I served in that capacity for two years. Uh and now I am the chief growth officer for a defense contractor called Synergy ECP that's based in DC, but we have offices here and other and elsewhere. Thank you very much. Um Councilmember Andrew uh Councilmember Andrews, you are now recognized for two minutes. Thank you, Mayor. Have a couple questions for you. Sure. So in this role, how do you see it um how do you see how do you see your role impacting the city? So this is an important role just because it's a separate service that establishes the hiring process for Aurora Public Safety. I take that very seriously. Um the people that serve uh our community need to be vetted properly. So the the processes that are in place to establish the right the right group of people are very important. So to be able to have a an impact on ensuring that the practices and procedures are followed and then also perhaps offering possibilities and examples of how to improve it is something that is exciting to me. Um as someone that's been through this process too.

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