This year has presented unique challenges, but the planning and management for critical services never stops. Commissioner Holen will provide updates on recent and upcoming projects and initiatives that affect our diverse communities.
A Virtual Conversation with
Commissioner Bill L. Holen
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020
7-8 p.m.
At the time of the event, listen in and ask questions by either:
Join representatives from Arapahoe County, A/D Works!, and Tri-County Health Dept. on July 30 at 7 p.m. to get your questions answered.
Thursday’s Telephone Town Hall will focus on employment resources and training available to job seekers, and also offer compliance guidance to businesses aiming to keep both their employees and patrons safe.
At the time of the event, listen in and ask your question by:
Closure effective from Wednesday, July 15 through Friday, July 17
Arapahoe County will temporarily close its Aurora Motor Vehicle Office from Wednesday, July 15 through Friday, July 17, after the county confirmed one employee tested positive for COVID-19 and other employees may have been exposed. The office is located at 490 S. Chambers Road in Aurora.
Arapahoe County is following Tri-County Health Department and CDC guidelines that cover what steps to take when an employee tests positive, and the one employee who tested positive is quarantining. Additionally, employees who have worked at the Aurora office within the past week are being encouraged to get tested. Public health guidelines state that exposure has taken place when a person is in a contained space for 15 minutes or longer with someone known to have the virus.
The County is reaching out to customers who had appointments for motor vehicle services at the Aurora office for rescheduling. Motor vehicle services will continue being offered by appointment only at the Littleton, Centennial and Byers offices. Offices are being deep cleaned and decontaminated as a precautionary measure.
“We are closing the Aurora Motor Vehicle Office out of an abundance of caution for our customers and our employees,” said Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez. “We will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with Tri-County Health to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep everyone safe. We ask for patience and understanding during this time and understand this closure comes at a time when customers have had limited access to services due to COVID. The safety or our customers and employees is our top concern.”
Many motor vehicle transactions can be handled online at https://mydmv.colorado.gov, including vehicle renewals, replacement documents and disability placards. Renewal kiosks are also available throughout Arapahoe County and in neighboring counties that can process most renewal transactions. These kiosk locations can be found at https://comvexpress.com/. Customers can use any of these kiosks to process renewals.
Arapahoe County has instituted health and safety protocols since reopening facilities to the public. These measures include sanitizing counters and workstations regularly, requiring employees and visitors to wear face coverings, additional cleaning in public areas, employee temperature monitoring, practicing social distancing, ample instructional signage in all offices, adding hand sanitizing stations throughout the buildings, and encouraging residents to access services online to handle many transactions remotely.
LITTLETON — Small- and medium-sized businesses across Arapahoe County have the opportunity to access fiscal assistance to help with recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
Officials announced June 22 that the Arapahoe County CARES Program has commenced Advance Arapahoe, a $6 million grant program to provide support and retain jobs at businesses throughout the county. The county received $114.5 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act grant monies.
“This is one of the first grant programs we’re launching through the Arapahoe County CARES Program, and it will provide crucial relief to businesses most affected by the COVID-19 shutdowns,” said Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners chair Nancy Sharpe. “These small- and medium-size businesses are essential to our economy, and Arapahoe Advance is a step toward providing some stability through this transition to reopening.”
The first priority will be to fund employers within unincorporated areas, as most businesses within incorporated communities can apply to relief programs through those jurisdictions. Award preference also will be given for employers who commit to retain or bring back employees with the money.
Funds are available in two categories:
• Business interruption grants to support operational needs such as lease or mortgage payments, utility expenses, payroll expense, supplies, services and materials.
• Infrastructure/Personal Protective Equipment grants to purchase items needed to adapt a business to new processes or items that are required to operate in a different manner because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Grants up to $20,000, depending on the size of the company, are available in both categories.
Qualifying businesses must have operated a physical location in Arapahoe County on or before June 1, 2019; have 500 or fewer employees; be in good standing with regulatory agencies; meet minimum financial requirements; and retain at least one job (that meets low- to moderate-income requirements) as a result of the assistance.
Applications are due by Friday, July 10, or until the funds have been depleted.
Closure will include the building’s Voter Service and Polling Center
The Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners tonight voted to close its CentrePoint Plaza, 14980 E. Alameda Drive in Aurora, on Saturday, June 27, because of expected demonstrations and resulting road closures at and around the nearby Aurora Municipal Building. This closure means that the Voter Service and Polling Center (VSPC) at CentrePoint Plaza will also be closed tomorrow.
The Board made this decision out of an abundance of caution for voters, elections staff and volunteers who were scheduled to be in the CentrePoint building for voting services. The Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s office requested approval for the temporary closure from the Colorado Secretary of State, but the request was denied. The Board subsequently decided to close the entire CentrePoint building, which includes the VSPC.
Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez supports the Board’s decision. “Our main goal is always to ensure that our citizens can exercise their right to vote safely, and after extensive discussions with local police and County officials, we determined that closing the CentrePoint Building, and therefore the Voter Service Center, was the best way to do this,” said County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez. “We encourage voters to visit another VSPC if they want to vote in person on Saturday, or drop off their ballot at any of our 24-hour drop boxes.”
Sheriff Tyler Brown agrees that a temporary closure is the safest course of action. “The Aurora Police Department is closing roads and intersections around the site in anticipation of a large turnout,” he said. “This would make it extremely difficult to ensure that anyone working or voting at the VSPC would be able to leave the area safely and quickly if necessary.”
All Arapahoe County officials support the right to peaceful protest and made this decision reluctantly. “After receiving information from the Aurora Police Department and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office about the large protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon near the CentrePoint building, the Board decided that it would be safer for our staff and voters to close the building that was scheduled to be open between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” said Arapahoe County Board Chair Nancy Sharpe. “We’re making this decision as a last resort. But the County has jurisdiction over the CentrePoint building and all of our facilities, and it’s essential for us to protect our voters and staff.”
Voters can drop off ballots for the June 30 State Primary Election at one of the 30 drop boxes around the County. The nearest drop box to CentrePoint is at the Arapahoe County Aurora Motor Vehicle office, 490 S. Chambers Road. For those who wish to vote in person, the nearest VSPC to CentrePoint is at Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 9898 E. Colfax Avenue in Aurora, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Other drop box and VSPC locations can be found on arapahoevotes.com.
The CentrePoint VSPC will resume normal operations on Monday, June 29 at 9 a.m.
Although some businesses have reopened under the new Safer at Home guidelines, Arapahoe County buildings remain closed to the public as we continue to put safety measures in place.
Safety measures include retrofitting public points of contact with plexiglass, rearranging public waiting areas and staggering employee schedules to ensure social distancing, posting safety guidelines signage at each building, deep cleaning “high contact” areas, and more.
Buildings will only be reopened when we can ensure that we can do so safely.
Details on reopening will be announced in the next week on our website and social media. In the meantime, please reference https://www.arapahoegov.com/covid19 for the most up to date information.
The Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners has announced that all county facilities will remain closed to the public effective through at least April 17, 2020. This closure is designed to help curb the spread of COVID-19, and the decision is consistent with guidelines issued by the White House, and by state and public health officials.
The county will continue to make a number of its services available online, and many county operations will continue during this closure.
The Board of County Commissioners is working closely with the Tri-County Health Department and the county’s Office of Emergency Management to monitor the situation and will make any changes as new data or guidance becomes available.
County departments and offices will maintain reduced staffing levels to support essential operations, while other employees will work from home.
Administrative tool used to manage critical resources and directions
Arapahoe County today issued a local emergency proclamation to unlock resources, organize county response strategies and provide additional assistance for municipalities that are dealing with COVID-19, the coronavirus.
To date, Arapahoe County has three presumptive positive cases and is working with Tri-County Health to provide resources, information and direction to the more than 650,000 residents in Arapahoe County. The declaration is authorized for seven days at which point the county could extend it for a set time period.
“During an emergency, which includes a pandemic, the county is charged with taking the lead in coordinating efforts,” said Board Chair Nancy Sharpe. “This action was not taken lightly but it is the necessary trigger for that to happen. This allows Arapahoe County to direct all possible resources to help manage the response at the appropriate level.”
Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown affirmed that the declaration is a necessary step in taking a measured response to the pandemic.
“This declaration helps provide the county the necessary—and absolutely critical—resources needed to keep our collective community safe in a coordinated response,” said Brown. “Our efforts can be focused on providing additional public health and safety measures while also fully supporting the work of Tri-County Health in managing this crisis. Keeping our residents safe is our absolute top priority.”
Although most individuals affected by COVID-19 will experience mild flu-like symptoms, some will have more serious symptoms and require hospitalization. Response and containment efforts will draw upon available local, state and county resources, which could strain supply chains and cause delays in delivery or execution.
The emergency declaration allows county officials to authorize the furnishing of aid and assistance as necessary and better coordinate with the 13 municipalities within Arapahoe County.
Last week, the county opened its Emergency Operations Center, which is the central clearinghouse for critical incident management. The EOC coordinates efforts with Tri-County Health and other local, state and national agencies to direct operations, resources and personnel to deal with incidents such as the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, Arapahoe County joined forces with Tri-County Health and Adams and Douglas Counties to provide a virtual town hall where residents in the tri-county area asked questions and received answers from health experts about COVID-19. More than 1.5 people live in the tri-county area. A recording of the town hall is available on the County website, the County Facebook page and the County YouTube page. A Spanish-language version is available here.
The Arapahoe County woman in her 30s recently returned from international travel to India and lives in Centennial. This is the first presumptive positive test for a person in Arapahoe County.
“We are just learning of this positive test from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and will begin our contact investigation to determine if there were any other potential exposures,” said John M. Douglas, Jr., MD, Executive Director of Tri-County Health Department.
The case is a “presumptive positive” because the initial testing was done at the state level, and test results will be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). TCHD is working closely with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to work with each family and to protect the health and safety of Coloradans.
If you are feeling ill with symptoms of cough, fever, difficulty breathing similar to those associated with COVID-19:
Manage your symptoms at home the same way you manage other cold symptoms. We want to reduce the risk of transmission, so to the extent possible, people with flu-like symptoms should remain at home.
If you need medical care, contact your primary care provider and schedule a visit. Let them know that you are concerned you might have COVID-19.
Only contact 911 for emergencies requiring immediate life-saving care and let them know if you are concerned you might have COVID-19.
Restrict visits to the hospital emergency room or urgent care – only individuals needing immediate care should visit these facilities. If you must visit an ER or urgent care facility, call ahead and let them know that you are concerned you might have COVID-19.
CDC’s testing guidance includes three types of people:
Those who have symptoms such as fever OR lower respiratory symptoms (cough or shortness of breath) and have had “close contact” with a confirmed coronavirus patient within 14 days of their first symptoms.
Those who have fever AND/OR lower respiratory symptoms, require hospitalization, and have traveled to areas impacted by the epidemic in the last 14 days.
Patients with fever and severe, acute lower respiratory symptoms who require hospitalization, and for whom no other diagnosis has been found — such as the flu. No travel or contact exposure is needed.
Health officials advise Coloradans to stay informed, take simple disease prevention measures, and to be prepared to shelter at home for an extended period of time, as if preparing for a major snow event.
Practice good hygiene. Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water. In the absence of soap and water, use hand-sanitizer.
Use your elbow or sleeve to cover coughs and sneezes. If you use a tissue, throw it away and promptly wash your hands.
Stay home if you are sick, even if you think you only have the flu, a cold or allergies– and keep your children home if they are sick. Talk to your employer about their sick policy and telecommuting.
Stay informed with reliable, up-to-date information by visiting tchd.org/coronavirus and www.cdc.gov/covid19.
If you have general questions about COVID-19 coronavirus disease, call the CO-HELP InfoLine at 303-389-1687 or 1-877-462-2911 or email , for answers in English, Spanish, Chinese, and more.
On Wednesday, March 11, 7– 8:30 p.m., Douglas, Adams and Arapahoe Counties will host a COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall with the opportunity to hear directly from Tri-County Health Department officials: Dr. John Douglas, executive director; Dr. Bernadette Ann Albanese, medical epidemiologist; and Michele Askenazi,MPH, CHES, the department’s director of emergency preparedness, response, and communicable disease surveillance. Tri-County Health Department serves more than 1.5 million people in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas Counties and is the largest local public health agency in the state.
The virtual town hall will be aired live from 7-8:30 p.m., on the County’s website at douglas.co.us , as well as on Douglas County’s YouTube page, and Facebook page. A Spanish translation of the event will also be available. The recorded event will be posted online following the meeting. Callers may also listen in and ask questions during the town hall by dialing 1-855-436-3656.
Tri-County Health Department officials will provide updates on the status of the virus in the three-county area. They will also provide information about proactive measures being taken to maximize community safety and other fundamental information such as: what is the transmission risk; what are the best actions individuals and businesses can take right now; and more. Virtual town hall participants may ask questions both before and during the live event and receive answers from Tri-County Health, county leaders and emergency management staff.
Residents and business owners from all three counties may immediately post questions that will help officials from each county, and from Tri-County Health, learn more about some of the most frequently asked COVID-19 questions in their communities, and to have the opportunity to research the answers before the meeting.
A serial rapist was sentenced Friday to 90 years to life in prison for an attack on a woman on a Littleton trail.
Arapahoe County District Court Judge Michael Spear sentenced Johnny Dewayne Harris Jr, 49, to an indeterminate sentence of 90 years to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections for sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman who was walking her dog on July 25, 2018. This sentence will begin after he serves his sentence for a sex assault in Denver.
“This defendant is why we need strong laws regarding rapists,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “Monsters like him will continue to terrorize innocent victims whenever they get the chance. This offender will no longer be a threat to our community.
“I am in awe at the strength of the survivor in this case, who fought him off, spoke out about the attack and took the stand to help convict him.”
The survivor and several supporters spoke at sentencing. She thanked her family, friends and strangers who have rallied to her, calling them “her tribe.”
She asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
“What he did to me is not something you move on from or just get over,” she said. “But I’m smart and strong – a warrior woman. “
The jury reached its verdict Sept. 18, 2019. Harris was found guilty of:
one count of first-degree kidnapping
one count of attempted sexual assault
one count of first-degree assault
one count of unlawful sexual contact
When he attacked the woman in Littleton, Harris had also committed two sexual assaults in Denver in March 2018. He was sentenced in July 2019 to 25 years in prison for the Denver assaults.
One of his Denver victims spoke at his sentencing on Friday.
“He deserves the longest sentence possible – the public is not safe when he is outside prison,” she told the judge.
“This is the thing that all good people fear – this is the stuff of nightmares,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Gallo told the judge Friday in asking for the maximum sentence. “Keeping this defendant in prison is the way the nightmare ends and the court can guarantee the safety of this community.”
Harris had been convicted in 1999 in Texas after he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl. He was released from prison in 2014 but failed to register as a sex offender.
He pleaded guilty to failure to register in Colorado in December 2016 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Danielle Jaramillo prosecuted the case with Gallo.
“Nothing can make right what this defendant has done, but I hope this sentence brings a measure of security to the survivors knowing he will not be able to hurt them or anyone else ever again,” she said. “This painful chapter in their recovery is now closed.”
