{"id":1855,"date":"2026-06-22T15:34:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1855"},"modified":"2026-06-22T15:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:34:54","slug":"aurora-tees-up-264-million-project-package-for-fire-stations-libraries-will-voters-go-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1855","title":{"rendered":"Aurora tees up $264 million project package for fire stations, libraries. Will voters go for it?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s been 33 years since Aurora voters last agreed to raise the city\u2019s sales tax to pay for city services or projects.<\/p>\n

Read more Where to find, fly kites: \u2018It\u2019s one of life\u2019s simple pleasures\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The Aurora City Council is poised to ask voters this fall to break that funding drought. It\u2019s set to take a final vote Monday night on three measures for the November ballot that would raise $264.5 million through bond sales to pay for dozens of projects across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s going to be 65 projects that we\u2019re going to ask funding for,\u201d said Councilman Curtis Gardner, who has worked for more than two years heading up a task force to determine what city priorities should receive funding.<\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cBuild Up Aurora,\u201d the bond issue is split into three buckets: transportation infrastructure, public safety and community facilities. Among the projects that would get money, if voters say yes, are a new fire station for the fast-growing southeast section of the city, a new recreation center in the city\u2019s northeast and expansion of a stretch of overcrowded Gun Club Road to four lanes.<\/p>\n

Also on tap would be a new library branch for the city\u2019s northeast quadrant, improvements to two library branches, trail and road enhancements at the Aurora Reservoir, and replacement of the Peoria Street bridge over Sand Creek.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Peoria bridge was built in the early 1960s and has a 40-year lifespan,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n

The bonds would be paid back through a 0.325% increase in Aurora\u2019s sales and use tax, which amounts to just over 3 cents per $10 purchase. <\/p>\n

That would mean the total sales tax shoppers would pay at stores in the Adams County portion of Aurora would go from 8.5% to 8.825%, Gardner said. In the part of the city that falls in Arapahoe County, the sales tax would jump from 8% to 8.325%. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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The tax would sunset in 30 years. The council approved sending the measures to the ballot on a first reading earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Five prior efforts to raise money through tax hikes of various stripes have failed at Aurora\u2019s ballot box going back to 2005. But Gardner doesn\u2019t think that will happen this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons it failed in the past is that there were no specific projects proposed,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople want to know where their money is going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polling conducted earlier this year by Keating Research, Gardner said, showed that the Build Up Aurora ballot measures have solid support. And recently approved tax measures in the city indicate that voters are willing to open their wallets when they think the cause is worthy.<\/p>\n

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In November 2024, voters passed a $1 billion bond for Aurora Public Schools to build three new schools and complete other renovations and expansions.\u00a0The Aurora district\u2019s $30 million mill levy \u2014 which will go toward general building maintenance, mental health services and teacher salaries \u2014 also passed.<\/p>\n

In that same election, voters \u2014 many living in Aurora \u2014 released Arapahoe County from revenue and spending limits imposed by the Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: June 22, soccer great scores \u2018Hand of God\u2019 goal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAurora voters have not always been averse to tax questions,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n

The vote in Aurora will come just a year after voters in Denver\u00a0passed a $950 million bond issue that was split into five ballot measures, with the money allocated to transportation and mobility, parks and recreation, health and human services, and housing.<\/p>\n

Patrick Waggoner, the president of the Aurora Library Board of Trustees, said he is thankful for the approximately $24 million from the new city bond issue that would be spent to remodel the Mission Viejo and Central branches and build from scratch a new library near the Aurora Highlands neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is absolutely nothing by the airport or south of it, or by Buckley (Space Force Base) \u2014 and that\u2019s where all the growth is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It was less than a year ago that Aurora closed two branches because of budgetary issues \u2014 bringing its branch count from seven to five.\u00a0Waggoner is relieved that if the Build Up Aurora measures pass, the city will have one new branch to serve people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like this third space, in this day and age, that provides the ability to check out a book, use a restroom for free, look for a job or take a class,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Aurora Fire Rescue, the nearly $40 million that is identified in the ballot package for its facilities is a godsend to Justin Dodds, the president of Aurora Firefighters Protective Association Local 1290. The money would pay to refurbish two fire stations and build a new one in the underserved Southshore and Blackstone neighborhoods in southeast Aurora.<\/p>\n

The union represents Aurora Fire Rescue\u2019s 430 firefighters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city of Aurora is continuing to develop out east, and we\u2019re short of fire stations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Response times to the southeast part of the city are not meeting standards, Dodds said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Fire Station 4, at East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street, recently closed due to gas leaks. Dodds said the station was built in 1966 and was supposed to have a useful life of 25 years.<\/p>\n

He hopes the money from the bond issue can help Aurora Fire Rescue stay ahead of the city\u2019s growth, rather than just scrambling to keep up with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be building stations at the same time communities are going in,\u201d Dodds said.<\/p>\n

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Suspect in stabbing at western Colorado Dairy Queen fatally shot by police<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Aurora City Council is set to vote Monday on whether to send a $264 million bond package to voters in November. The ballot measures would pay for fire station, recreation center and road projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAurora tees up $264 million project package for fire stations, libraries. 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