The Denver City Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved multiple items that arose from high-profile controversies of the past year involving residential corrections facilities and Denver International Airport.

The Department of Safety asked the council to extend until June 2021 a contract with CoreCivic Inc. to operate up to 250 beds in its residential re-entry services for inmates in the Department of Corrections. In August 2019, the council unexpectedly voted to terminate contracts with CoreCivic and the GEO Group, two operators of private prisons. Between October and December 2019, 157 beds were subsequently eliminated at two sites.

“We keep saying ‘beds.’ It’s really people,” pointed out Councilwoman Robin Kniech. The objective is “to not lose people who may have to spend more time incarcerated or who may be released without supervision. That’s what community corrections is. It’s extra supervision and support.”

Community corrections placement in Colorado is for individuals convicted of certain felonies. Offenders are under residential supervision, and they may either be ineligible for probation or awaiting the start of their parole.

Greg Mauro, director of the Division of Community Corrections, said that the division would downsize from 330 residential placements to 250 with CoreCivic by Oct. 1 of this year, before reaching zero placements with the company by June 2021. The company’s placements are approximately 50% of Denver’s community corrections capacity, and include sex offender programming.

Under questioning by Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, who led the opposition to the prison operators’ contracts with Denver, Mauro said that it is possible that operations with CoreCivic may end before that date.

“What this extension does is give us the time to operate and sustain the current model. If through the procurement process new providers are identified, as soon as they can step into that space we can evaluate the need for beds at CoreCivic,” he said.

He mentioned that future operators would propose their own sites, although CoreCivic has agreed to work with the city on the disposition of current facilities, giving Denver the first right to negotiate the lease or sale of the properties.

Included in the resolutions approved was a contract to award Hensel Phelps Construction Co. a $195 million contract to complete phase 1 of the Great Hall renovation at Denver International Airport. The city terminated the original contract with Great Hall Partners last year after delays, reportedly from faulty concrete and repeated change directives. Hensel Phelps will finish the work to expand the check-in facilities, add a screening area to level 6, and build new restrooms, among other upgrades.

“DEN reaffirmed their commitment to transparency at a level higher than we’ve seen in years here in Denver,” said Councilman Chris Hinds afterward. Hinds had questioned airport representatives about the item before the meeting. “I’m looking forward to that transparency and am excited to see their dashboard they’ve promised to make publicly available.”

In November, DIA officials informed the council about a forthcoming online dashboard for the public to track Great Hall construction progress.

Council members on Tuesday night also changed their own meeting rules to allow for 30 minutes of public comment immediately before all meetings. In 2016, the council introduced monthly public comment, which eventually increased in frequency to the first and third meetings of the month. Under the new policy, interested speakers will need to sign up with the council office before 4 p.m. on the meeting day. The council will give preference to those who did not speak in the previous week.

“This will do two things,” said Councilman Paul Kashmann, who brought forward the policy. “It will allow more opportunities to speak, obviously. It will also make it easier for people not to remember when the heck the first and third Mondays fall.” He added that there is an “immediacy” to some items that may not be appropriate to wait two weeks to bring to council’s attention.

Although the public comment will not appear on broadcast, Kashmann said that he might seek to make another change, “that public comment sessions will become televised, which they have not been since they started”.

Rafael Espinoza, the former District 1 councilman who did not run for reelection in 2019, regularly live streamed the public comment on his Facebook page until, he said, other council members asked him to cease the broadcast. Espinoza applauded the rule change on Tuesday.

“It’s been baby steps getting here, but I’m glad after four years it’s finally a reliable part of the legislative calendar,” he said.

The council signed off on several contracts related to homelessness services, including an additional $294,000 to the Salvation Army for shelter and transitional services to families; an additional $400,000 for Mental Health Center of Denver for housing and services to chronically homeless individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues; and an additional $182,000 for Volunteers of America largely for homeless adults recently discharged from hospitals.

In the latter program Denver Health typically refers people who are discharged from surgery, and they are provided a bed to recuperate through the Volunteers of America program. There are 21 beds available there.