AURORA, Colo. Aurora city leaders are turning to a new initiative to address roughly $700 million in unmet critical infrastructure projects.Aurora's current population is 410,000 a 40% increase from 2003, according to city officials. With that increase comes a strain on public infrastructure. A new initiative, Build Up Aurora, aims to address those critical infrastructure needs, including roads, parks, libraries, recreation centers and fire stations. Aurora leaders told Denver7 its been a long time since the city has been able to address these needs. So far, theyve identified $700 million worth of unmet capital projects to maintain existing city infrastructure and provide for immediate and future needs.The City of Aurora created a Build Up Aurora Task Force that will come up with plans for allocating resources, create criteria to prioritize those needs, engage with the community and review funding options. The task force will consist of city council members, businesses, and representatives from economic development.Joel Boyd, the general manager at the Town Center at Aurora, is a member of the task force."The biggest goals are to protect our future. So we need roads that are reliable. We need infrastructure that helps our city build and become world-class," Boyd said. "Everything that we build starts with a good quality infrastructure, and that's why we have a task force like this."Boyd said although it won't happen overnight, it's an important step to make some big improvements. "You're looking at about a year and a half to two years to really see this through and get projects even started and going, but you have to have a plan, and our leadership in the city has done a great job laying that out with Build Up Aurora," he said. "I just think this group is a well-assembled group. It represents a lot of the community. It's diverse, it's quality leadership, and I think that's what you need to push initiatives like this forward."City officials said they'll look at various sources in order to fund the projects. It's likely some initiatives could appear on the November ballot, according to the city. The City of Aurora wants to hear from residents about what some of these projects should be. Leaders will hold community meetings throughout the summer.