Walk into my office at 1150 O Street in Greeley, and you’ll be greeted by three stern faces staring down from the wall—George A. Hodgson, W.C. Levis, and T.E. Rowe, former Weld County Commissioners. Dressed in period garb, each sporting a mustache so thick and well-waxed it could qualify as a structural feature, they were the Commissioners responsible for building one of Weld County’s greatest landmarks: the Weld County Courthouse.
That’s why they still hang on that wall over 100 years later. They made the right decision.
Completed in 1917, the courthouse, known as “The Jewel of the Plains,” was built with no debt—the Weld County Way. More than a century later, it still stands as a testament to their foresight and fiscal responsibility. It still holds court, too, though the county’s judicial operations have long since spilled into the adjoining Centennial Center, and even that space is bursting at the seams. We have outgrown it all and now a decision for the next century must be made.
The Weld County Courthouse has a very cool history – read more about it HERE.
I have a history with that courthouse – I exist because of it. In 1955, my father, Dale James, traveled from Pueblo to Greeley to work on a Western Electric contract inside the courthouse. While on the job, he met a local girl, Patsy Carbaugh. That summer, they were married. Seven years later, I came along.
I didn’t know, as a teenage kid cruising “D-Block” in my 1969 Chevy Malibu, circling the courthouse on Friday and Saturday nights, that one day I’d be inside that same building raising my right hand to take the oath of office as a Weld County Commissioner. God has this funny and beautiful way of leading us where we’re meant to be and in retrospect, making it all make sense.
And that brings me to today. As I walk in and out of my office, I can almost feel those three former commissioners watching me from their portrait, their mustaches twitching in silent judgment: Don’t screw this decision up, Commissioner James.
The decision in front of me—and my fellow commissioners—is a big one. In 1917, Hodgson, Levis, and Rowe spent $414,000 to build the Weld County Courthouse. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $10 million today. I wish my decision were only $10 million. If you haven’t noticed, Weld County has grown – and continues that trend. The decision we face will likely carry a price tag north of $300 million.
Weld County has grown from 35,000 residents in 1917 to over 360,000 today. Greeley alone has swelled from 8,000 people to more than 113,000. And the state demographer tells us we aren’t done—by 2050, Weld County could reach 750,000, with Greeley at a quarter-million. Could the commissioners of 1917 have envisioned what Weld County would look like today? Probably not. Can I possibly predict what Weld County will look like in 2125? Doubtful. But a decision must be made nonetheless.
Richmark Development LLC has proposed a massive government campus in downtown Greeley, a project that would consolidate the offices of Weld County, the City of Greeley, and the local school district. And they are just one developer.
There are valid concerns—especially from downtown business owners—about what relocating county offices could mean for the local economy. But Weld County is bigger than just Greeley, and I have to weigh those concerns against the needs of businesses and governments in Johnstown, Frederick, Fort Lupton, Erie, and all of Weld County’s 32 municipalities, and the residents who live in the unincorporated parts of the county, too.
On February 18 at 4:00 p.m., the Board of County Commissioners will receive the final findings of our facilities master plan. We will hold multiple Town Halls to present these findings and hear from you on the decision at hand. I will post the details about those Town Halls on this website. The decision ahead of us will shape Weld County for the next hundred years.
I don’t take that lightly.
I would love to hear your feedback. My county email is [email protected] or you can call me at 970-400-4209.
Commissioners Hodgson, Levis, and Rowe made the right decision in their time. Now, it’s time for Commissioners Buck, Maxey, Peppler, Ross, and James to do the same in our time.
