The Greeley Tribune reports that the Weld County Council is challenging the Board of County Commissioners’ decision to divide the Downtown Justice Center into three projects, with council members floating an injunction if the issue is not sent to voters. The dispute centers on Section 14-8 of the Weld County Home Rule Charter, which requires voter approval for projects above $177 million.
Reporter Tyler Duncan lays out the split clearly: Commissioners Kevin Ross, Perry Buck, and Lynette Peppler voted to move ahead with the current structure, while Commissioner Jason Maxey and I believe the Justice Center should be treated as one project and referred to the voters.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The question is not complicated: is this one Justice Center, or three projects wearing a trench coat? I believe it is one project.
- A parking garage can stand on its own. A single Justice Center divided into “core and shell” and “tenant finish” looks like a clever way around the charter.
- Commissioner Maxey and I have asked for resolution language to refer this to voters. Legal wording, statute review, and coordination take time. Government by napkin sketch usually ends with lawyers buying nicer boats.
- County Council may invite commissioners to a meeting. It cannot order us to appear. This is Weld County, not a made-for-TV subpoena circus.
- Councilman Terry DeGroot’s talk of “sickness,” “complacency,” and “cowardice” was divisive and wrong. Disagreement is governance. Bombast is just fog with a microphone.
My Bottom Line
I have been clear about my dissatisfaction with the current direction 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 believe this should go to the voters.
We have asked the county attorney to draft language for a resolution referring this issue to the ballot. That is not something you slap together between meetings. It takes coordination with elected officials, statutory research, and careful legal wording so the referendum is lawful, clear, and defensible. I expect that resolution to come before the Board in late July or early August, well ahead of the ballot deadline.
At that point, commissioners can vote to refer it to the people, which Commissioner Maxey and I will do, or they can vote not to. That is the process. That is governance.
I would also remind the County Council that Section 14-8 is about expenditures, and the Board is currently operating within the charter’s mandates. That does not erase the larger concern. It does mean words matter, especially when public trust is on the line.
I am disappointed in Councilman DeGroot’s rhetoric. He texted me. I called him. We talked. He knows my position. So accusing the Board of “sickness,” “complacency,” and “cowardice” is not only inaccurate, it is needlessly inflammatory.
County Council does not have subpoena power. It cannot order the Board to appear. President Elijah Hatch invited the Board on Saturday, May 16, at 7:55 a.m. for a Monday evening meeting. We were already committed. That is not cowardice. That is a calendar.
On Wednesday, May 6, in my formal role as chair, I invited County Council to meet with the Board on this matter. Council could not agree on a time. On Friday, May 15, I again emailed President Hatch offering to meet. The meeting would be held at our Events Center, open to the public, and recorded for the public record. We are still working on a date.
Those are not the actions of complacent people. Those are the actions of adults trying to handle a serious disagreement in public, on the record, and without turning the whole thing into a county fair dunk tank.
I agree with Mr. DeGroot that this should go to the voters. I disagree with the theatrics. I can accept that a parking garage is a stand-alone project. I cannot accept that one Justice Center becomes two separate projects because somebody found a clever way to package the invoices.
Three of my fellow commissioners disagree with me. That is fine. That is government. There are no “big fights on O Street.” There is disagreement among elected officials, which happens every day in every county worth its salt.
The water only gets cloudy when people pour vitriol into a pool that does not need it. We can disagree. 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 folks in the room.
Source: The Greeley Tribune
