| As the email below indicates, the decision to rely on the Front Range Gun Club by Loveland Police postponed many issues with the Greenridge Glade shooting range. Don Williams doesn't appear to have alerted anyone in Larimer County about his decision to abandon the Front Range Gun Club as an option for training nor has he apparently briefed the new Loveland City Council regarding the issues that will resurface as a result of his decision. |
| LovelandPolitics.com |
| Loveland's Rogue City Manager Williams unilaterally Imposes Economic Sanctions On Loveland Family: Police Suffer a Consequence of His Actions |
Loveland - February 1, 2010
Last summer, Loveland City Manager Don Williams ordered the Loveland Police Department to abandon their state mandated
firearms training at a private state-of-the-art indoor shooting range in Loveland. This despite the fact 55% of the Loveland's Police
Department firearms training was taking place at the Front Range Gun Club located in Loveland.
The police were told to instead use the city's dated outdoor shooting range in a county area far from the center of town. The Loveland
police outdoor range at Greenridge Glade Reservoir is located on the east side of County Road 29, approximately 2 miles north of
Highway 34. The outdoor range has been the subject of a number of controversies over the years including environmental hazards to
ground water, noise and safety complaints by county residents who live nearby and land use and zoning issue disputes with the County
of Larimer.
William's decision has run afoul of county officials who say they are in the process of preparing correspondence to send the Loveland
City Council regarding the return to the county located outdoor range for all city police related firearms training. (see email lower right)
The problem is that county residents near the city's outdoor range were not informed of Williams' decision and properly assumed such
a change would have required public council direction as the use of the indoor range was a council directed change.
Loveland's lease agreement with the Front Range Gun Club allowed the police to train in-town during all weather using advanced
targeting equipment. Ideally, Loveland police want to have their own indoor shooting range to complete mandated firearms training
and qualifications each month. Estimates to construct such a dedicated indoor facility for the police top $10 million. The next best
option has been to lease the Front Range Gun Club on Monday's for the exclusive use of Loveland police. As the colder winter
months have dragged on the rank and file in the Loveland police department are unhappy with William's unilateral decision and
especially with their chief's capitulation.
While a number of officers were said to be furious with the decision banning officers from training in the private facility, Loveland
Police Chief Luke Hecker complied with his boss's order and told officers to cease all indoor training in July 2009 despite the fact the
city's contract did not expire for another 30 days. In June, when the contract did expire, the city failed to renew the agreement
despite an offer by the proprietor of a 20% discount from the previous year's lease for the city.
At issue was not the new 10,000 square foot facility operated by the Front Range Gun Club. The patented wet capture system is the
envy of police departments across Northern Colorado as it utilizes low angle entrance ramps and a circular deceleration chamber to
prevent airborne lead dust that can become a health hazard for frequent users of indoor ranges. Loveland's finest especially liked the
fact the range accommodated up to .50 caliber high power rifles allowing for indoor training with weapons not normally allowed in
privately operated indoor ranges.
The range was so popular with some officers who used the programmable moving targets that they even train in the facility today --
but at their own expense and on their own time. Colorado requires all police officers in the state to spend a certain number of hours
firing a weapon to reach a minimum accuracy to protect the public safety.
What Is Don William's Agenda?
The Loveland City Council ordered a reluctant Williams in 2008 to allow the police department to train in the private indoor facility in
Loveland which resulted in a city lease of the Front Range Gun Club. When the owners of the building, Steve and Ed Klen, took
over the day to day operations of the Front Range Gun Club from their previous tenant it was more than Williams could handle.
Flagrantly ignoring previous council direction, Williams ordered the police to stop using the facility when he learned of the management
change in the summer of 2009. Williams did not allow the issue to go before council again likely in fear of council's sympathy with the
police department rank and file. Instead, Williams unilaterally over-turned the council's direction through an administrative act.
Williams has so far successfully kept the issue off the public agenda of the new city council elected last November thus avoiding a
public discussion with council regarding his actions.
Williams is apparently carrying a personal grudge for the owners of the Front Range Gun Club and isn't afraid to use his city position
to blacklist them receiving any city business. Police safety training, quality of life issues for county residents and environmental issues
that could create millions of dollars in future liability for the City of Loveland apparently take a back seat to Don William's need to
punish those who have been critical of his administration of the city.
The Klens, a multi-generational Loveland farm family turned developers have not sought the special treatment and tax rebates the City
of Loveland has lauded on others "bringing jobs to town". Instead the Klens have insisted they be treated fairly. The Klens
discovered an entirely different side of Don Williams in 2005 when they complained about what they believed to be unfair treatment
by the city's planning and development services department.
As first reported by LovelandPolitics, Williams, warned the brothers who became involved in a dispute with the city in March 2005,
Ed and Steve Klen, "you're big boys and you know what you are getting into."
Williams Admits A Personal Motive In Denying Police Training Opportunities
False statements to the Loveland police commission regarding the availability of the private facility and other shenanigans have
successfully deflected attention away from Williams having to answer direct questions regarding his reasons for so abruptly terminating
the police training at the private indoor range.
In August of 2009 Williams sat down with an attorney involved in the Klen claim against the city on another matter and answered
some direct questions regarding the cancellation of the city contract. Whether the decision was personal or not appears to have been
made very clear by his answers to the attorney's questions. While the lawsuit really involves other matters, Williams' handling of the
Front Range Gun Club issue may serve as an example of how he rewards or punishes his friends and enemies with city resources as if
they were his own.
Asked during an August 2009 court deposition whether he told the previous operator of the private gun range in Loveland, "Did you
tell Mr. Cooper at some point that -- and I'll quote what I understand to have been said -- that you would be damned if
you'd allow your officers to train there while the Klens were involved?"
Williams replied, "Words to that effect. I didn't tell Mr. Cooper. I told Chief Hecker. He may have told Mr. Cooper."
Asked if he also stated, "...no way I will contribute to the Klen's financial gain to mount a campaign against me."
Williams responded, "Yeah.."
As a follow-up the attorney asked whether he was speaking about himself or the city. Williams claimed it was for the city in his
response. When the attorney asked, "But both times you referred to me? Williams responded, "I do that a lot."
While Williams' actions may have caused economic harm for the Klens it also appears to have bolstered their claim city management
operates in an arbitrary and capricious manner. The City of Loveland has now spent nearly $250,000 in the lawsuit defending
Williams' administration over enforcement of the building code and other issues. A summary judgement in the case is expected by
March 2010.
Last summer, Loveland City Manager Don Williams ordered the Loveland Police Department to abandon their state mandated
firearms training at a private state-of-the-art indoor shooting range in Loveland. This despite the fact 55% of the Loveland's Police
Department firearms training was taking place at the Front Range Gun Club located in Loveland.
The police were told to instead use the city's dated outdoor shooting range in a county area far from the center of town. The Loveland
police outdoor range at Greenridge Glade Reservoir is located on the east side of County Road 29, approximately 2 miles north of
Highway 34. The outdoor range has been the subject of a number of controversies over the years including environmental hazards to
ground water, noise and safety complaints by county residents who live nearby and land use and zoning issue disputes with the County
of Larimer.
William's decision has run afoul of county officials who say they are in the process of preparing correspondence to send the Loveland
City Council regarding the return to the county located outdoor range for all city police related firearms training. (see email lower right)
The problem is that county residents near the city's outdoor range were not informed of Williams' decision and properly assumed such
a change would have required public council direction as the use of the indoor range was a council directed change.
Loveland's lease agreement with the Front Range Gun Club allowed the police to train in-town during all weather using advanced
targeting equipment. Ideally, Loveland police want to have their own indoor shooting range to complete mandated firearms training
and qualifications each month. Estimates to construct such a dedicated indoor facility for the police top $10 million. The next best
option has been to lease the Front Range Gun Club on Monday's for the exclusive use of Loveland police. As the colder winter
months have dragged on the rank and file in the Loveland police department are unhappy with William's unilateral decision and
especially with their chief's capitulation.
While a number of officers were said to be furious with the decision banning officers from training in the private facility, Loveland
Police Chief Luke Hecker complied with his boss's order and told officers to cease all indoor training in July 2009 despite the fact the
city's contract did not expire for another 30 days. In June, when the contract did expire, the city failed to renew the agreement
despite an offer by the proprietor of a 20% discount from the previous year's lease for the city.
At issue was not the new 10,000 square foot facility operated by the Front Range Gun Club. The patented wet capture system is the
envy of police departments across Northern Colorado as it utilizes low angle entrance ramps and a circular deceleration chamber to
prevent airborne lead dust that can become a health hazard for frequent users of indoor ranges. Loveland's finest especially liked the
fact the range accommodated up to .50 caliber high power rifles allowing for indoor training with weapons not normally allowed in
privately operated indoor ranges.
The range was so popular with some officers who used the programmable moving targets that they even train in the facility today --
but at their own expense and on their own time. Colorado requires all police officers in the state to spend a certain number of hours
firing a weapon to reach a minimum accuracy to protect the public safety.
What Is Don William's Agenda?
The Loveland City Council ordered a reluctant Williams in 2008 to allow the police department to train in the private indoor facility in
Loveland which resulted in a city lease of the Front Range Gun Club. When the owners of the building, Steve and Ed Klen, took
over the day to day operations of the Front Range Gun Club from their previous tenant it was more than Williams could handle.
Flagrantly ignoring previous council direction, Williams ordered the police to stop using the facility when he learned of the management
change in the summer of 2009. Williams did not allow the issue to go before council again likely in fear of council's sympathy with the
police department rank and file. Instead, Williams unilaterally over-turned the council's direction through an administrative act.
Williams has so far successfully kept the issue off the public agenda of the new city council elected last November thus avoiding a
public discussion with council regarding his actions.
Williams is apparently carrying a personal grudge for the owners of the Front Range Gun Club and isn't afraid to use his city position
to blacklist them receiving any city business. Police safety training, quality of life issues for county residents and environmental issues
that could create millions of dollars in future liability for the City of Loveland apparently take a back seat to Don William's need to
punish those who have been critical of his administration of the city.
The Klens, a multi-generational Loveland farm family turned developers have not sought the special treatment and tax rebates the City
of Loveland has lauded on others "bringing jobs to town". Instead the Klens have insisted they be treated fairly. The Klens
discovered an entirely different side of Don Williams in 2005 when they complained about what they believed to be unfair treatment
by the city's planning and development services department.
As first reported by LovelandPolitics, Williams, warned the brothers who became involved in a dispute with the city in March 2005,
Ed and Steve Klen, "you're big boys and you know what you are getting into."
Williams Admits A Personal Motive In Denying Police Training Opportunities
False statements to the Loveland police commission regarding the availability of the private facility and other shenanigans have
successfully deflected attention away from Williams having to answer direct questions regarding his reasons for so abruptly terminating
the police training at the private indoor range.
In August of 2009 Williams sat down with an attorney involved in the Klen claim against the city on another matter and answered
some direct questions regarding the cancellation of the city contract. Whether the decision was personal or not appears to have been
made very clear by his answers to the attorney's questions. While the lawsuit really involves other matters, Williams' handling of the
Front Range Gun Club issue may serve as an example of how he rewards or punishes his friends and enemies with city resources as if
they were his own.
Asked during an August 2009 court deposition whether he told the previous operator of the private gun range in Loveland, "Did you
tell Mr. Cooper at some point that -- and I'll quote what I understand to have been said -- that you would be damned if
you'd allow your officers to train there while the Klens were involved?"
Williams replied, "Words to that effect. I didn't tell Mr. Cooper. I told Chief Hecker. He may have told Mr. Cooper."
Asked if he also stated, "...no way I will contribute to the Klen's financial gain to mount a campaign against me."
Williams responded, "Yeah.."
As a follow-up the attorney asked whether he was speaking about himself or the city. Williams claimed it was for the city in his
response. When the attorney asked, "But both times you referred to me? Williams responded, "I do that a lot."
While Williams' actions may have caused economic harm for the Klens it also appears to have bolstered their claim city management
operates in an arbitrary and capricious manner. The City of Loveland has now spent nearly $250,000 in the lawsuit defending
Williams' administration over enforcement of the building code and other issues. A summary judgement in the case is expected by
March 2010.
| Loveland City Manager Don Williams |
"The Loveland Police Department Firearms Training Unit is comprised of eight instructors and manages training curriculums for ninety sworn peace officers in the use of handguns, patrol rifles, submachine guns, and precision rifles. The Firearms Unit's evaluation determined that approximately 55% of the overall current training curriculums could be conducted at Front Range Gun Club with some modifications to the current LPD training schedule." Loveland Police Sergeant Jeff Fisher (early 2008 report) recommending use of the Front Range Gun Club for training |
| From: Ken Cooper Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 10:40 AM To: Tracy Turner-Naranjo Cc: Luke Hecker; Phil Metzler Subject: FW: Direction from Gun Range meeting on 2-29-08 Hi, Tracy - Our plans to upgrade the existing Gun Range at Greenridge Glade Reservoir will very likely not happen. Instead, we'll be working on a different solution for their long-term training needs. However, we will continue to use the existing range on a limited basis. Therefore, I'm wondering if we still need to do anything with environmental issues this summer. Can you please let me know what's required of the City on this, and the required timing? Thanks! Ken |
| August 2009 Deposition of City Manager Don Williams Okay. So where are the officers training now? Don Williams: "I don't know if they have ended their use of the indoor range or if that's pending but when that does happen, they will go back to doing the amount of training that's required to meet the state requirements at the outdoor range for the time being unless we can discover another alternative." |
| Loveland's Front Range Gun Club |