Councilmembers will vote on several housing-related resolutions at Monday night’s Aurora City Council meeting, including one to renew an eviction legal service program and another to accept a grant for an addition to the city’s homelessness team.

The first is an agreement between Adams County, several cities including Aurora and Colorado Legal Services to fund the Legal Services Eviction Clinic, which provides legal assistance to low-income households to try to prevent homelessness, according to council documents.

The program initially started as a pilot program in 2018, when Aurora entered into the agreement with Adams County and several cities within the county. Every two years since, the council has approved a renewal of the program. 

City staff recommend that the council renew it again this year, after helping 41 families from Aurora through the program in 2024, council documents said.

Additionally, councilmembers will vote on a resolution to approve $90,000 in grant funding from the state to hire an additional homeless outreach worker for the city’s homelessness division, according to council documents.

Councilmembers will also vote on a master plan amendment for Red-Tailed Hawk Community Park, a 35-acre park in southeast Aurora. 

Aurora’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board has held three public meetings and surveys in the process of developing the park’s master plan. If the plan is approved, staff will plan future construction and timing, according to the Engage Aurora website.

In the study session, councilmembers will vote on whether or not to move forward with joining the Firefighter Heart, Cancer and Behavioral Benefit Trust. 

The city has been self-insuring benefits to firefighters, but the legislature passed SB 24-089 last year, requiring the city to join the trust to provide benefits to firefighters instead.

Aurora’s workers compensation attorneys, however, said membership is voluntary due to the state not having sufficient funds to cover the entire cost to the city, according to council documents. 

If the city joins the trust, the presumption statute would no longer apply to firefighter worker’s compensation claims, meaning firefighters have to prove that employment with the city caused their cancer, council documents said. Currently, the statute presumes that the cancer was caused by employment unless the city proves otherwise. 

Monday night’s study session is open to the public via livestream at 5:15 p.m. The public comment session will not be livestreamed, and will be held in the Paul Tauer Aurora City Council Chamber at the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway, starting at 6 p.m.

The regular meeting of the council will follow starting at 6:45 p.m., also in the Paul Tauer Chamber.

Livestreams are available at auroraTV.org, on Youtube.com/TheAuroraChannel, as well as on cable channels 8 and 880.