As Denver figures out how to move on from private halfway houses, its leaders will be asked to extend a contract with a private prison corporation once again.

If approved, CoreCivic would continue operating four halfway houses in Denver through June 2021, though Denver will reduce the number of beds it pays for to 250 from 330 by September. CoreCivic’s current contract is scheduled to expire June 30.

The proposed extension will get its first vote on Wednesday at the council’s Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee meeting. If the committee approves the extension, the full Council will be asked to vote on it.

“I’m optimistic because the extension is needed, and the advisory group approved,” said Greg Mauro, director of Denver Community Corrections.

The proposal will be the second time City Council considers extending the contract after a vote by in August to sever ties with the two private companies, CoreCivic and GEO Group, that provided community corrections here. Since then, city and community leaders have worked to find other service providers and facilities to fill the gap left by the companies’ forced exit.

That process takes time, Mauro said. GEO Group’s contracts expired in December, reducing the number of available halfway house beds by 157, to 591 from 748.

“This is a system that developed over four decades,” he said.

The city already decided to purchase one of GEO Group’s facilities, called Tooley Hall, to create up to 60 more beds. Although Mauro previously estimated Tooley Hall could be re-opened by August, he revised that estimate Monday and said it was more likely the facility would be operational in the fall. The city also could consider buying some of CoreCivic’s property, Mauro said.

Without the extension, CoreCivic would likely stop placing people in its Denver facilities this month, Mauro said.