ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — When Adams County Sheriff's deputies and a health department representative arrived at the Comfort Inn off East 58th Avenue and Interstate 25 in late September, they called it a "fact finding situation" because they didn't know what was going on.
The City and County of Denver took over the hotel to house migrants who were arriving to the city by the hundreds at the time. Denver had done this in other places too – there was just one problem.
The Comfort Inn is in unincorporated Adams County – not Denver.
"Tell me a little bit about what’s going on here because we had no idea this was occurring," the health department worker asked Denver Human Services employees.
The shelter at a hotel off I-25 opened in late September. Adams County said Denver notified them on a Friday that it would be operational the following Monday – a timeframe with which county health leaders took issue.
"We’re quite concerned about the health and safety of welfare of the people," the health department worker said.
In a statement, a Denver Human Services spokesperson said, "The shelter effort began at that facility before we had adequately communicated with Adams County officials. We regret that occurred."
But the scramble had already begun. The Adams County Board of Health authorized a public health order mandating disclosures by any entity running a migrant shelter within the county, including requirements to Denver to disclose personal information and health data on each migrant at the shelter.
The information, the health department said, would help with contact tracing if there is an outbreak of a communicable disease like tuberculosis.
Apparently Denver got confused and representatives told Adams County they saw a Denver address and assumed the hotel was inside county lines.
Adams County commissioners weren't thrilled with that excuse, a recording of one of their study sessions showed.
"You're the giant gorilla," they told Denver. "You came through the china shop and you stomped on us."
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