Dallas Heltzell at BizWest reports on the latest twist in the fight over Greeley’s $1.1 billion “Catalyst” entertainment district project. A citizen-initiated petition that sought to repeal the city’s financing plan was thrown out by hearing officer Karen Goldman, who ruled the ordinance in question was administrative, not legislative, and thus outside the voters’ repeal power. Four Greeley residents had challenged the petition, and while opponents collected more than enough signatures, the ruling means the measure won’t make the November 2025 ballot. “Greeley Deserves Better,” the opposition group, vows to appeal to Weld District Court and still has a separate TABOR-based lawsuit in play.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Hearing officer says City Council’s May ordinance approving $115 million in certificates of participation was administrative, not legislative – so voters don’t get a direct say.
- Greeley’s clerk had certified nearly 1,000 extra signatures beyond the minimum, but four residents immediately filed a protest, triggering the hearing.
- The ruling effectively delays any public vote until at least 2026, even if opponents score a court victory.
- Opposition leaders Pam Bricker and Dan Wheeler argue the city’s move mortgages key public assets and should have been subject to voter approval.
- Attorney Christopher Beall, representing the four residents who protested, called the petition “fundamentally unconstitutional” and hailed the ruling as a win for fairness.
My Bottom Line
Here’s the thing: more than one truth can exist at once. You can oppose the Catalyst project (which I do not) and still believe the Constitution matters. These four citizens were right to raise their complaint, and the hearing officer was right to treat this as a legislative-versus-administrative distinction. That’s how a Constitutional Republic functions. Like it or not, we elect representatives – city council members in this case- to make these kinds of decisions on our behalf. Don’t like their votes? Replace them. But don’t pretend you can bend the rules whenever the outcome isn’t your flavor. That’s the democracy cosplay the “Greeley Deserves Better” crowd has been playing since day one.
Of course, they’ll appeal – lawyers don’t work pro bono on billion-dollar developments, so you have to wonder if the allegations are true about where Greeley Deserves Better is bagging their bucks. But let’s stop pretending every loss at the ballot box or the council dais is an excuse to sprint to court in hopes of finding an activist judge. We live in a Republic, not a mob-rule democracy. Respect the process. It’s kept this country together for 250 years.
And here’s more truth: I admire the Catalyst vision, and I’m not wild about COP financing. You see, more evidence that two things can be true at once. But I’m not on the Greeley City Council, and neither are most of the petitioners. Representation means exactly that – representatives take the vote. If you live in Greeley, you’ve got every right to pressure your council member, and if you don’t like their answers, work to replace them. What you don’t have is the right to do their job. That belongs to the people elected to do it. Greeley Deserves Better should concede that fact – but they won’t, because they didn’t get their way.
