A resolution approving a proposed Sixth Amendment to Emergency Occupancy Agreement between the City and County of Denver and JBK Hotels, LLC to provide temporary housing for individuals experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 health crisis. Amends an occupancy agreement with JBK Hotels, LLC doing business as Aloft, by adding $2,447,200 for a new total of $13,267,500 and six (6) months for a new end date of 12-31-22 to provide 140 rooms to people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis, in Council District 9 (FINAN-202262777). The last regularly scheduled Council meeting within the 30-day review period is on 6-27-22. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 5-24-22. Councilmember Ortega called this item out at the 6-6-22 meeting for a one-week postponement to 6-13-22.
All right. Thank you, Councilmember Hines. Madam Secretary, would you please put the next item up on our screen? Councilmember Ortega, what would you like us to do with Council Resolutions 557 and 558 this evening? Thank you, Madam President. I want to invoke our Rule 3.7 that allows a member of council to hold those bills. I was not here when the issue came to committee, and I had a brief conversation with Brady Fisher this afternoon and received some information that I want to be able to digest and make sure that I've asked all the questions. A lot of them are related to what kind of exit plan that we will have ensuring that. Number one, the city general fund won't be expected to pick up the tab after all the federal funds are gone, but also to make sure that we are doing the right job with the people who are staying in many of the motels that we have contracted for during COVID. So I am invoking that rule. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Councilmember Ortega. Councilmember Kinney. Thank you, council president. I very much appreciate this rule as a compromise we did with the administration about going from two readings to one, reading four contracts. And it is not up for debate. But I did just want to ask before we move on, if I can just get clarity on whether or not this one week delay will have any particular impact on folks being able to stay housed? I just wanted that to be known if anyone's going to be displaced because of this one week delay. I hope that's not the case, but I know we sometimes run down to the wire on these things, so I'd just like us to know before we move on, if that's okay. Sure, that sounds good. And we've got birds coming up here, if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself. Thank you. Hi, I'm Britta Fisher, the chief housing officer for the city of Denver. And it'll be cutting it close. To our contract date. But we've had a good relationship with the hotel, and I believe that we'll be. Fine in keeping people safely sheltered. Got it. I don't want to rehash our entire debate at committee. I would encourage anyone who was not able to observe it to maybe check back in. But one of the things that we discussed is the fact that the COVID emergency is still very much active, the number of city employees, one of whom will be presenting to us tomorrow remotely because she has covered it, is staggering the number of people around us. I believe I think last time I looked, the positivity was at 11%. I didn't look today, but hospitalizations have been up by several hundred percent. It was it was it was definitely going in the wrong direction. And so the urgency of continuing to protect really medically vulnerable residents, mostly elderly, but also people with oxygen mobility, disabilities, just a lot of vulnerability remains a challenge for our city. And I just want to say how important I think this contract is for that. Obviously, we're not voting tonight, but just because it is so front and center right now that the risk continues to be there. I just wanted to put it on the record. Thank you very much. Thank you. Councilmember each Councilmember Hines. Thank you. Council President, since Director Fisher is here. I am not going to ask him anything, so please feel free to said. I wanted to thank two groups. First, I want to thank you and the Department of Housing Stability and I want to thank the folks who are representing of Dona, the Upper Downtown Neighborhood Association, including the the residents of the Spire. I've had multiple meetings with, with host and and multiple meetings with OB Dona and some of those have both groups. Some of those were separate. But but I really want to I want to thank the donor members for their collaboration and their willingness to have a reasoned dialog. I also want to thank housing stability for for helping with some of that subject matter expertize. And because I don't I don't know everything. It is very complicated topic and and so thank you housing stability for providing that subject matter expertize and helping us on council. Also our residents both who are in the aloft and those who are adjacent to. You'll have to understand some of the complexities that that this contract considers. Thank you, council president. Thank you, Councilmember Hines. And for the viewing public. When the council member invokes our council rule. 3.7, no motion is required. And so Council Resolutions five, five, seven and five, five, eight have been postponed for one week. Madam Secretary, would you please put the next item on our screens?