Do you think of areas near the I-25 in Loveland as slums?  According to a study conducted "for the city" but really for McWhinney the areas colored in red on this image are slums needing the immediate intervention of local government to cure.



Not really, but that is just what people are pretending so McWhinney can later developed these properties by using debt raised through the urban renewal authority and repaid by future taxes once developed.  Taxes that will not be available for police, fire or other local services these developments will likely require increasingly in time.



The reality is that only one lot, the former dog track, even comes close to meeting the State of Colorado definition of blight but even than it is mostly parking lot not buildings coming apart.  See a larger version of the map on LovelandPolitics homepage along with a chronology of the stories on this topic beginning with the secret meetings in mid-April.  You can also access a copy of the blight report from the homepage.

 All this is in anticipation of the August 19, council meeting where 7 of 9 councilors will likely vote to abdicate their elected responsibilities to McWhinney by way of an amendment to the MFA (Master Financing Agreement) with the city.  The euphemism being used for the abdication of governmental authority to McWhinney is “Flexibility” in the future.

 The City Council is not abdicating its authority over any processes or regulations that impact residents.  They need some reason to show-up every two weeks and vote.

In a stunning lack of common sense or ethics, the Loveland City Manager, Don Williams, told the local media that the Council decided (following a closed meeting) not to buy Staples Farm for open space. According to Councilors, no such desicion was made. Williams is now defending himself by saying the comment was a negotiation tactic and not true.

However, Brian Hayes, the city staff responsible for advising the commission and Mayor Pielin are being accused of manipulating the process to the point where the option was never allowed a fair hearing before the commission.



In addition, a number of angry citizens have contacted LovelandPolitics to say the Mayor was playing both sides of the fence. He met with the investors and promised to help them develop the land while also pretending to support the open space plan when meeting with the Save Staples Farm supporters.



Now the Save Staples Farm group is promising to raise the question again at another City Council meeting to force Councilmembers to make the decision in public (as required by law) instead of in private. The city has access to $6.6 million to acquire open space but Pielin has said he wants it saved for another piece of land not to be disclosed - ugh...more secret governing when those decisions are supposed to be made during public meetings.

In a brazen act of self-interest, Loveland’s City Manager Don Williams is pushing the City Council to approve a plan where the City of Loveland provides health insurance to he and some 20 other employees this year if they retire early. He wants the plan to run for the next 5 years.

Loveland residents have endured ever increasing (in both frequency and noise level) horns and whistles from trains coming through Loveland. This is due to new regulations requiring trains to use their horns on certain types of at-grade crossings that are not safely protected from traffic or pedestrians. SEE STORY

One solution is to apply for a quiet zone with the railway but according to Keith Reester, Director of Public Works, that will cost $4.5 million since Loveland is at “the bottom of the barrel” in its infrastructure.

This is because our infrastructure has not been updated as capital improvement funds are increasingly being diverted to annex or outright buy property along the I-25 to satisfy the City Manager’s ambitions for the city to expand.

According to the railway the estimate is high but either way the money doesn’t appear to be available since it doesn't involve the City Manager's priorities. The staff at LovelandPolitics studied the issue and believes the quality of life of those being impacted by the horns and the safety of the community demands the Council appropriate funds to fix the problem – starting with a serious study to determine the actual costs to improving the intersections. What do you think?

Pictured Above is One of Many Vacant Commercial Parcels in West Loveland Where the Tenant Moved to Centerra -

The Loveland City Council adopted on a 7-2 vote stretched over 6 separate resolutions the annexation of five McWhinney owned parcels into the City of Loveland called the Grange Addition, changes in zoning for the "Savanna Addition" and other changes to the Millennium Addition PUD at their June 24 meeting.

One adjacent property owner who spoke to the council, Kelly Jo Bonser, asked, "Is this normal - to do so many in one evening...?

Especially eerie was the lack of discussion over so many complex and consequential items.  Of course, many of these items were already discussed with the City Council in advance via secret meetings at McWhinney headquarters where the public was unable to attend. 

Councilmen Kent Solt and Cecil Gutierrez voted no while the rest were in lock-step with Mayor Pielin in supporting the many resolutions.



Next step will be the August meeting where the Council debates giving the authority to add properties to the McWhinney tax MFA (Master Finance Agreement) to McWhinney.