Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting: Migrant Update and Announcements - October 10, 2023
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting: Migrant Update and Announcements - October 10, 2023
This weekly session of the Denver Mayor and City Council took place on October 10, 2023, at 8:30 AM. The agenda included council announcements, a detailed update on the migrant response from Mayor Mike Johnston, and a subsequent executive session to discuss settlement agreements. Council members asked questions and clarified operational details.
Announcements
- Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer (District 5) announced that Rose Hospital committed $1.2 million to safety and security upgrades (including lighting) after a crime mapping overlay with Denver Police Department identified a problematic parking lot at the hospital.
- Councilman Darrell Watson (District 9) promoted a “Celebrating Black Authors” event on October 14, 2023, at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center (2836 Walton Street) starting at 10 AM, and thanked Commander Stigler for his service in District 2 during the transition and Mayor’s Housing 1000 initiative.
- Councilman Paul Cashman (District 6) reminded residents of a community meeting on October 11, 2023, at 5 PM at Ellis Elementary School (1651 South Dahlia Street) to discuss a proposed micro-community location on South Birch Street as part of Mayor’s Housing 1000.
Discussion Items
Migrant Update
Mayor Johnston provided a comprehensive update on the migrant situation in Denver:
- Current shelter population: Over 3,000 individuals; arrivals have slowed to 5–6 buses per day (down from 7–9 last week).
- Shelter sites: Five hotels within Denver, one congregate church site, and one site in Adams County. The city is actively seeking additional non-congregate sites and working with other counties.
- Total arrivals: Slightly over 20,000 migrants since the crisis began. Many are bused to Denver against their will and wish to go to other states; the city helps with onward travel.
- Staffing: 175 on-call city employees working in shelters, plus an additional 40 employees provided by the state.
- Length of stay: Families can stay up to 37 days; individuals up to 14 days.
- Costs: Total city spending: $27 million. State reimbursement received: $3.5 million. Federal commitment (not yet received): $9.5 million. Current weekly spending: $1.5 million, which would imply a $75 million annualized cost if sustained.
- Work authorization: Mayor welcomed federal changes for Venezuelans and CBP One applicants but urged faster work authorization for all arrivals.
- Federal advocacy: The mayor is working with other mayors for more funding, adjudication capacity at the border, and expedited work authorization. A White House team is visiting Denver the week following the meeting.
- State partnership: The governor has been supportive, providing staff and $3.5 million; the mayor has not requested a state emergency declaration but supports a regional approach.
Council members asked clarifying questions and made suggestions:
- Council President Pro Tem Sandoval confirmed reimbursement figures.
- Councilman Watson asked about impacts on the District 9 Welcome Center; staff explained monitoring and shuttle arrangements.
- Councilwoman Parody requested a deeper briefing on immigration law and push factors, and offered to help connect community resources. The mayor’s chief of staff, Jen, is the point person for federal advocacy.
- Council President Torres announced plans for a weekly working group (Tuesdays 12–1 PM) for council briefings on the two city emergencies (migrant response and housing).
- Councilman Cashman noted faith leaders in his district want to help and will connect with the mayor’s team.
- Councilwoman Elidris asked about departmental roles; it was explained that the Department of Human Services leads operations, with support from HRCP and OEM.
- Councilman Elidris asked about a state of emergency; the mayor stated the current declaration already enables needed flexibilities and funding.
- Councilwoman Merrill Campbell asked about state-level engagement; the mayor confirmed ongoing coordination and suggested a statewide emergency may be worth exploring.
Key Outcomes
- The council moved into executive session (motioned and seconded, all in favor) to discuss settlement agreements under DRMC 23-4A(3) and (6). No further public business was conducted after that.
- No formal votes were taken on migrant-related items, but the mayor committed to connecting council with the visiting federal team and to continue working with faith leaders and community partners.
- Council President Torres will formalize a weekly working group for council briefings on emergency responses.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to this meeting of the mayor and Denver City Council. At this weekly session, city agencies brief the mayor and council members on various proposals and projects across the city. This meeting of the mayor and city council members begins now. Great. Welcome everybody. I was giving a review of my Saturday night plans, which probably doesn't need to be covered on Channel 8, but we're delighted. Turns out we were down in District 9. It was fantastic. Come over to Solutions Restaurant and Escape Pology. It's fantastic fun. All right. Good morning. We will do start with introductions. Thank you all so much for being here. Councilman, I'm gonna let you start this morning with your introductions. Thank you so much. Paul Cashman, South Denver, District Six. Good morning, Amanda Sawyer, District Five. Sarah Parody, I represent the city at large. Good morning, Darren Watson. Fine District Nine. And Jamie Torres, District Three. We have a couple of items this morning on our agenda. I do want to start with any announcements that council members may have that they want to make for the good of the viewing public at home or anyone that was here in the chamber. Yes, Councilwoman Sawyer. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Um just wanted to announce something really exciting. My office earlier this year worked with DPD to do an uh an overlay of lighting and crime and maps in my district. Um one of the locations that we noticed that that jumped out at us was the Rose Hospital um uh parking lot. And so I worked with Rose Hospital, told them about it, showed them the maps, talked through it with them, connected them to DPD, and they have committed to putting one point two million dollars into upgrades, um, safety and security upgrades around their facility to help address that. So it's just it's a really big deal. It's a really um exciting uh partnership, and I'm really grateful to them for being willing to invest in our community like that. So just wanted to acknowledge them this morning and and let everyone know about it. Wow, congratulations. Thank you for doing that, and thank you so much to Rose. Yes, Councilman Watson. Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, very excited. This Saturday, there's going to be a celebrating Black Authors uh event in uh historic five points. Uh uh, we were honored last night to put forward a proclamation for a Dr. Daddy. Uh many of us uh grew up, I could say grew up because I've been there since I was 17, listening to him on the radio, and he is really uh leading a process to include and to uh highlight um black authors um in our communities uh at a time throughout the country where um we are there are states and cities and municipalities trying to change um what our history says about the impact of black people and black authors. Um is great to have in Historic Five Points a celebration this Saturday at uh Brother Jeff's uh Cultural Center at 2836 Walton Street starting at 10 a.m. You are all encouraged uh to come out. Um this is a little more of a comment than an announcement. I wanted to thank uh Commander Um Um Um Stigler from District 2. Uh the word is seeping out, the streets are talking. He is moving on from his interim commander position within district two.
openpublica.com