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Record of Proceedings

Aurora City Council Study Session - March 24, 2026: Water Restrictions, Immigration MOU, Court Updates, and Animal Shelter

City Council — Tuesday, March 24, 2026
BodyAurora, Colorado
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, March 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

The study session of the Aurora City Council for Monday, March 23rd, 2026 is called to order.

0:09

With the clerk please call the rule.

0:10

Mayor Kaufman.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Councilmember Andrews.

0:14

Here.

0:15

Councilmember Bergen.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Mayor Po Tim Coombs.

0:19

President.

0:20

Councilmember Gardner.

0:22

Councilmember Hancock.

0:24

Councilmember Horton.

0:27

Mayor.

0:27

Councilmember Jackson.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Councilmember Lawson?

0:30

Here.

0:31

Councilmember Medina.

0:32

Here.

0:32

Councilmember Wiles.

0:35

Mayor's update.

0:36

I will uh defer to City Attorney Pete Schulte.

0:38

Uh thank you, Mayor.

0:39

I just wanted to uh let everybody know that Jack Bajorek stand up for me, sir.

0:45

No.

0:46

Stand up one.

0:49

Jack is retiring April 6th.

0:52

I know.

0:54

April 3rd, but he uh this is his last council meeting.

0:57

So yes, yeah.

1:01

So um he's done a long time with the city, so I just wanted to highlight uh we're gonna miss him dearly.

1:11

Thank you, Mayor.

1:13

Uh are there any issue smiles?

1:18

I'm a little jealous.

1:22

Are there any issue updates?

1:24

Uh saying none, is there any uh objection to move the consent counter forward?

1:28

I'm number two A through two Q.

1:33

Seeing none, the consent counter will move forward.

1:35

I'm number three A, Aurora Police Department and Aurora U.S.

1:38

Immigration and Customs Enforcement uh Processing Center.

1:42

Memorandum of understanding.

1:44

Uh Mark Hildebrand.

1:47

Yeah, we'll talk right here.

1:50

Yeah, basically, just so the boards are could you uh go up to the phone?

1:54

Sorry, yeah, so we can get you on the microphone, Chief.

2:07

All right, good afternoon.

2:08

Yeah, what this does is basically um it it really clarifies what the Aurora Police Department would do when it responds to emergencies.

2:16

Uh we have always had a MOU with uh the Geo facility.

2:21

The geo facility, as everybody knows, is in the city of Aurora, so that is the impact, and that is what we have to make sure.

2:28

The one thing that we wanted to make sure is that we were good stewards with what was occurring within the geo facility.

2:33

So on the old uh MOU again, it gave some very specific guidelines about what would be considered a cold escape, a warm escape, how we would deploy what we would do.

2:43

It basically put parameters on how our responsibility and how we'd be we we would go about our business.

2:48

The new one is much broader.

2:49

Um it's like I said, it basically establishes coordination between public safety responses.

2:54

It's a very clear, lawful, organized.

2:57

It does not expand the authority whatsoever of the geo facility.

3:01

The one thing I want to make very clear, um this is not an immigration enforcement authority.

3:06

Um our officers are not deputized, it's all written within the MOU.

3:10

Our officers do not become deputized as federal immigration officers.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████████████████████34%
Public Safety███████████████████████████27%
Pending Litigation████████████12%
Animal Welfare███████████11%
Procedural████████8%
Immigration Detention██████6%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Aurora City Council Study Session - March 24, 2026

Note: The transcript dates this meeting as March 23, 2026, but the provided date for the summary is March 24, 2026; the latter is used here.

The Aurora City Council held a study session covering several major items: the consent calendar, a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the GEO immigration detention facility, implementation of Stage One water restrictions due to severe drought, an update on municipal court ordinances following the Colorado Supreme Court's Camp Simmons decision, and progress on the new animal shelter. The meeting also recognized the retirement of staff member Jack Bajorek. The session concluded with adjournment to executive session.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 2A through 2Q were moved forward without objection after a motion.

Discussion Items

  • Aurora Police Department and GEO Immigration Detention Center MOU (Item 3A): Police Chief Mark Hildebrand presented a revised MOU that clarifies APD's role in responding to emergencies at the facility, emphasizing that it does not grant immigration enforcement authority and complies with state law. The MOU establishes clear command and communication protocols for incidents like escapes. Councilmembers asked about response times, risk assessment factors, and the MOU's 10-year term. City Attorney Pete Schulte noted that the MOU would expire if the facility closes. No objections were raised, and the item moved forward to regular session.
  • Stage One Water Restrictions (Item 3B): Marshall Brown, General Manager of Aurora Water, reported dire conditions: reservoir levels at 58% of capacity, snowpack at 49% of average, and projected water supply of only one-third of normal. Proposed restrictions include reducing outdoor watering to two days per week, prohibiting new cool-season turf installations, and implementing surcharges on water use above 110% of winter quarter average. Enforcement will utilize AMI meters with escalating fines. Council discussed impacts on developers, parks, and homeowner education. The item will be brought for formal approval on April 6 with a waiver of reconsideration for immediate effect.
  • Municipal Court Update – Camp Simmons Decision (Item 4A): Chief Deputy City Attorney Julie Heckman and Chief Public Defender Elizabeth Cadez presented a review of municipal code sections affected by the Colorado Supreme Court ruling. They identified about 135 sections, with agreement on all but four regarding penalty caps. Many offenses (e.g., resisting arrest, trespass) now have lower maximum penalties under state law. The city has implemented safeguards for ongoing cases, including joint notices to cap exposure for suspended sentences. Councilmember Bergen suggested discontinuing criminal prosecutions in municipal court to save costs, but the matter was referred to the public safety committee for further code revisions.
  • Animal Shelter Update: Acting Director John Weselowski and consultant Katie Garguero presented the new shelter design: two stories, 42,000 square feet, located at 32nd and Chambers (city-owned land), with a budget of $51.3 million. The project will use a CMGC delivery method, allowing phased bid packages. The shelter will increase kennel capacity from 74 to 118 dogs and 77 to 110 cats. Funding sources include ARPA, COPs, gifts (including a catio donation), impact fees, and capital funds. Construction is scheduled from 2026 to 2028. Councilmembers asked about staff input in design and plans for future growth.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent calendar (Items 2A-2Q) was moved forward.
  • The GEO facility MOU (Item 3A) was moved forward without objection for consideration at the regular session.
  • The Stage One water restriction proposal (Item 3B) was discussed and will be presented for a vote on April 6, with a waiver of reconsideration for effectiveness on April 7.
  • The municipal court code revision work will continue through the public safety committee; no immediate vote was taken.
  • The animal shelter project is proceeding with CMGC delivery; multiple contract awards will come before council in the coming months.
  • The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:00 p.m. for an executive session.

Meeting Transcript

The study session of the Aurora City Council for Monday, March 23rd, 2026 is called to order. With the clerk please call the rule. Mayor Kaufman. Here. Councilmember Andrews. Here. Councilmember Bergen. Here. Mayor Po Tim Coombs. President. Councilmember Gardner. Councilmember Hancock. Councilmember Horton. Mayor. Councilmember Jackson. Here. Councilmember Lawson? Here. Councilmember Medina. Here. Councilmember Wiles. Mayor's update. I will uh defer to City Attorney Pete Schulte. Uh thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to uh let everybody know that Jack Bajorek stand up for me, sir. No. Stand up one. Jack is retiring April 6th. I know. April 3rd, but he uh this is his last council meeting. So yes, yeah. So um he's done a long time with the city, so I just wanted to highlight uh we're gonna miss him dearly. Thank you, Mayor. Uh are there any issue smiles? I'm a little jealous. Are there any issue updates? Uh saying none, is there any uh objection to move the consent counter forward? I'm number two A through two Q. Seeing none, the consent counter will move forward. I'm number three A, Aurora Police Department and Aurora U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uh Processing Center. Memorandum of understanding. Uh Mark Hildebrand. Yeah, we'll talk right here. Yeah, basically, just so the boards are could you uh go up to the phone? Sorry, yeah, so we can get you on the microphone, Chief. All right, good afternoon. Yeah, what this does is basically um it it really clarifies what the Aurora Police Department would do when it responds to emergencies. Uh we have always had a MOU with uh the Geo facility. The geo facility, as everybody knows, is in the city of Aurora, so that is the impact, and that is what we have to make sure.

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