Denver Mayor and City Council Weekly Session – March 12, 2024

This was the weekly morning session of the Denver Mayor and City Council, held on March 12, 2024. The meeting focused on two main updates: the city's "All In Mile High" homelessness initiative and the planned community engagement process for the city's seven citywide goals. No consent calendar, public testimony, or formal votes occurred.

Discussion: All In Mile High Homelessness Update

• Cole Chandler, Senior Advisor on Homelessness Resolution, provided an update on the homelessness effort. The first 2024 encampment resolution occurred that day, the 11th overall, with residents moving into the newly opened La Paz Community.
• The stated goal is to reach a total of 2,000 people moved indoors by the end of 2024, including the 1,135 moved indoors last year. As of last week, 1,293 people had moved indoors.
• Chandler described four strategies, with roughly 80% of the work focused on moving people through All In sites, building throughput in the housing system. Other strategies include finding new locations, improving operational efficiency, and maintaining encampment closures.
• A direct-to-leasing encampment resolution pilot is launching this month for encampments of 10 or fewer people, using rapid rehousing dollars to move people directly from the street into leasing instead of transitional housing.
• The city is targeting one to two encampment resolutions per month. Chandler committed to presenting another quarterly update at the Safety Committee meeting on April 3, including budget reconciliation from 2023.
• Services at the sites include 24-hour operations, case management covering benefits, housing and employment navigation, and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless physical and behavioral health services via a medical van seven days a week. A pending $2 million Caring for Denver Foundation grant would expand behavioral health and substance misuse services.

Council Questions and Positions on All In Mile High

• Councilman Cashman expressed strong support for the House 1000 and All In efforts, with the proviso that mental health and substance treatment services be provided on-site. Chandler confirmed 24-hour operational staffing, mobile behavioral health services, and case management roughly 40 hours per week.
• Councilman Hines relayed concerns from the Good Neighbor Agreement committee about the Alati site run by The Gathering Place, including leadership changes and security. Chandler said the new acting executive director is Heather Beck, that a security contract is in place, and that operational staffing will be 24 hours, though uniformed security will not be around-the-clock.
• Councilwoman Parody praised the Denver Fire Department for issuing a simplified regulation allowing sheltering of 15 or fewer people in congregate settings, which may help churches and similar spaces. She also requested more quantitative data on services actually delivered to residents.
• Councilwoman Alvidres noted that one building housing about 300 people had connected only 15 people to housing, and Chandler acknowledged that number was not where they wanted it to be. She also asked about security at La Paz; Chandler said the site has 24-hour staffing but no uniformed security contract, and that rotational security across micro-community sites is being evaluated.
• Alvidres asked when a site would be considered a failure or closed. Chandler said discussions would occur through the Good Neighbor Agreement process and that metrics would be developed. Mayor Johnson added that the administration wants high accountability and strict standards, and would replace providers if needed, with closure as an absolute last resort.
• Alvidres also noted the medical van visits La Paz only once a week and expressed concern about whether residents with trauma and substance use issues would receive adequate care. Chandler said the Caring for Denver grant would help expand those services.
• Councilman Watson asked about connecting people to the communities they were originally from, particularly through the prioritization policy expected in June/July. Chandler said the direct-to-leasing pilot starts from encampments, while the Radisson site has housing-focused case management; he agreed to follow up on integrating the prioritization policy. Watson reported the Radisson GNA process is underway and two people have moved to more stable housing within 60 days out of roughly 120 residents.
• Watson also emphasized security concerns in District 10 related to hate crimes and asked about collaboration with the Aid Center across the street from the Alati site. Chandler said The Gathering Place is excited about that connection.
• Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez asked for an April update on service provider staffing capacity and training, and for details on transition plans for residents moving from All In sites to temporary or permanent housing.
• Councilwoman Lewis asked whether residents themselves had been consulted; Chandler said they have received direct resident feedback. Lewis also requested copies of the quarterly reports that providers submit to HOST, noting she learned during a tour that the Comfort Inn site had changed management and wanted such changes communicated proactively.

Discussion: Community Engagement on Citywide Goals

• Mayor Johnson outlined a new community engagement effort led by outreach director Millie Barsayo. The city will hold "community conversations" in each council district on three themes: Safe Denver (April–May), Affordable Denver (summer), and Vibrant Denver (back half of the year). These will be interactive rather than traditional town halls.
• The mayor also proposed citywide conversations on permitting and on city efficiency systems like 311, to be co-hosted with Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez and Councilwoman Parody.
• Councilwoman Alvidres requested follow-up meetings on a Broadway library that has been a center of drug use and on the Denver Coliseum (DCC) purchase.
• Councilman Watson cautioned that administration-led engagement can "suck the oxygen" from district priorities and asked for a process that does not subordinate District 9's existing community conversations. The mayor agreed to work with him on structuring the sessions to balance district and citywide priorities.
• Councilman Hines noted the 16th Street Mall's first block is opening imminently and pressed for a Vibrant Denver plan sooner. The mayor said the downtown Denver area plan and a 16th Street Mall activation sub-goal will move faster than the broader Vibrant Denver conversations.
• Councilman Cashman proposed re-envisioning the registered neighborhood organization (RNO) structure, which dates to 1979, and asked to partner with the administration to create a working group. The mayor agreed the structure needs modernization.
• Councilwoman Parody said she would co-host the citywide events and attend district events where possible, asking to be included in scheduling.
• Councilwoman Lewis asked that business owners in the Quebec corridor be included in engagement, noting that increased patrols have significantly decreased criminal activity in Quebec Square over the last month.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken. The meeting was informational and directional.
• Cole Chandler will provide a fuller quarterly update at the Safety Committee on April 3, including budget reconciliation, service provider staffing and training, and transition plans for residents.
• The administration will work to provide council members with more quantitative service data and copies of provider quarterly reports submitted to HOST.
• The direct-to-leasing encampment resolution pilot will continue and be evaluated for expansion.
• Mayor's office and council offices will coordinate on scheduling community conversations, with Millie Barsayo reaching out to council offices soon.
• Follow-ups were directed on district-specific topics: Alvidres' Broadway library and DCC purchase requests, Watson's District 9 engagement process, Hines' downtown/16th Street Mall planning, Cashman's RNO working group proposal, and Lewis' Quebec corridor business outreach.