The Greeley Tribune reports that the anti-Catalyst financing group “Greeley Deserves Better” has officially appealed a hearing officer’s ruling that invalidated their repeal petition. The group had gathered more than 5,500 signatures to try and overturn Greeley’s $1.1 billion financing plan for the Catalyst entertainment district – complete with a hockey arena, water park, and luxury hotel. But city-appointed arbiter Karen Goldman ruled the ordinance was administrative, not legislative, and therefore not subject to repeal by voters. Now, attorney Suzanne Taheri has taken the fight to Weld District Court, asking for expedited review before ballot deadlines hit.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Greeley Deserves Better appealed the ruling that tossed their petition to repeal Catalyst financing.
- Their lawyer argues that mortgaging city buildings for $115 million in debt is a legislative act, not administrative.
- Opponents say the appeal is “sour grapes” after an impartial hearing officer already ruled against them.
- The case highlights the blurred line between legislative and administrative actions in city governance.
- Meanwhile, Greeley residents watch lawyers rack up billable hours while the Catalyst project keeps moving.
My Bottom Line
As expected, Greeley Deserves Better appealed. And as expected, I’m still wondering where they’re getting all this cash. That’s one hell of a generous pro bono arrangement – may we all be so lucky when our HOA fines us for keeping a boat in the driveway.
And God bless America – we’ve all got the right to appeal nonsense if our hearts (or wallets) feel called. But let’s stop pretending this circus is anything other than what it is: special interests hunting for a second opinion because they didn’t like the first one. That’s not civic engagement – that’s legal whack-a-mole with taxpayer time and patience.
I agree with the hearing officer – the Catalyst situation was an administrative matter handled correctly in our constitutional republic. That means elected leaders made a decision through proper channels – not by mob rule or viral outrage campaigns pretending they speak for us all. Want to win your fight? Win an election next time instead of dragging folks into courtrooms like it’s daytime television.
You can hate the Catalyst project (I don’t), you can hate the financing plan (I’m not a fan, but the Greeley City Council decided), you can hate Martin Lind’s grand Cascadia vision (I think it’s amazing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Greeley and all of Weld County). But you should respect the process. If you don’t like your representative’s decisions, replace them at the ballot box. That’s the way it works. What you don’t do is cry foul and try to rewrite the rules until a judge gives you what the voters didn’t. That’s not democracy, that’s gamesmanship – and it erodes the very system these activists claim they’re trying to “save.”
