The Greeley Tribune reports that the Weld County Council is questioning the Board of County Commissioners’ decision to divide the Downtown Justice Center into three projects, with Council members raising the possibility of an injunction if the matter is not referred to voters. At issue is Section 14-8 of the Weld County Home Rule Charter, which requires voter approval for projects costing more than $177 million. The current plan separates the work into a parking garage, core and shell, and tenant finish.
The article notes that Commissioners Scott James and Jason Maxey, along with Sheriff Steve Reams, argue the phases are part of the same project and should go to a public vote. Commissioners Kevin Ross, Perry Buck, and Lynette Peppler voted May 11 to move forward with the current approach, which Ross says is intended to save money and allow multiple contractors to bid on different phases.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The core dispute is simple: is this one Justice Center project, or three separate projects? I believe it is one project. A parking garage can stand alone. A single Justice Center sliced into “core and shell” and “tenant finish” feels like a clever way to tiptoe around the charter.
- Commissioner Maxey and I have requested language for a resolution to refer this issue to the voters. That requires coordination, legal review, statutory research, and correct wording. Democracy is not a microwave burrito.
- Section 14-8 is about expenditures, and the Board is currently operating within charter mandates. That matters. Feelings are loud, but legal language still gets a vote.
- County Council can invite the Board to a meeting. It cannot order commissioners to appear. This is Weld County government, not a congressional subpoena hearing with cable-news graphics.
- Councilman Terry DeGroot’s rhetoric about “sickness,” “complacency,” and “cowardice” was wrong, inflammatory, and beneath the office. Disagreement is governance. Bombast is just fog with a microphone.
My Bottom Line
I have written before about my dissatisfaction with the current course of the Weld Board of County Commissioners, of which I am chair. I believe the “three projects” plan violates the spirit of our Home Rule Charter. Commissioner Maxey and I have been plain about that. We believe this matter should be sent to the voters.
We have requested that the county attorney draft language for a resolution that would refer this issue to the ballot. That is not something you scribble on a napkin between meetings. When coordinating with other elected officials and researching statute to make sure a referendum is legal, properly worded, and defensible, it takes time. I expect that resolution to come before the Board in late July or early August, well in advance of the ballot deadline. The commissioners can either vote to refer it to voters, which Commissioner Maxey and I will, or they can choose not to.
That is the process. That is governance.
I would gently remind members of the County Council that Section 14-8 of the Home Rule Charter is about expenditures. The Board of County Commissioners is currently well in line with the charter’s mandates. I do not say that to minimize the issue. I say it because accuracy matters, especially when public trust is on the line.
I am also disappointed by the rhetoric from Councilman Terry DeGroot. He texted me. I called him. We talked. He knows my position. So to accuse the Board of having a “sickness,” or of “complacency” and “cowardice,” is wrongfully accusatory and divisive. Frankly, it sounds more like one of these paid agitators who have recently wandered into Weld County politics than a duly elected representative of the people.
The County Council does not have subpoena power. It cannot “order” the Board of County Commissioners to appear before it. County Council President Elijah Hatch extended an invitation for the Board to attend a County Council meeting on Saturday, May 16, at 7:55 a.m. for a Monday evening meeting. We were already previously committed. That is not cowardice. That is a calendar.
On Wednesday, May 6, in my formal role as chair of the Board, I invited the County Council to meet with the Board on this matter. The County Council could not agree on a time. On Friday, May 15, I again emailed President Hatch offering to meet with County Council to discuss this issue. That meeting would be hosted in our Events Center, open to the public, and recorded for public record and review. We are still working on a date.
Those actions are not complacent. They are not cowardly. They are exactly how adults in local government should handle a difficult disagreement: openly, publicly, and with a record.
To be clear, I agree with Mr. DeGroot that this matter needs to be sent to voters. I simply disagree with the bombast. I can agree that a parking garage is a stand-alone project. I cannot agree that one Justice Center becomes two separate projects because someone found a clever way to package the invoices. That looks too much like navigating around the constraints of our charter, and I do not believe that is the right course.
Three of my fellow commissioners disagree with me. That is fine. That is governance. There are not “big fights on O Street.” There is disagreement among elected officials. That happens every day. It is not a constitutional crisis every time people who serve together see an issue differently.
The water gets cloudy when people pour vitriol into a pool where it need not be poured. We can disagree strongly. We can argue the charter. We can send the matter to voters. We can do all of that without turning Weld County government into performance art for the angriest people in the room.
Source: The Greeley Tribune
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