Hundreds of parents with children in the Thompson R2-J School District received recorded phone calls last week from Loveland High School Assistant Principal Devin Anderson encouraging them to attend the May 5, 2009 Loveland City Council meeting to support city funding of the renovation of LHS swimming pool. see story
While the issue of renovating the LHS pool is certainly important, the tactics used by public employees are regrettable. Using taxpayer funds to conduct a political lobby campaign against another government entity is certainly not illegal but it isn’t prudent either. Parents don’t expect the school automated notification system to be employed for such a purpose especially when there is not unanimous agreement within the school district itself. In addition, the decision whether or not taxpayer’s dollars should be used for this purpose really needs to be determined at the Board of Education level within the district.
We believe the pool needs to be re-opened and applaud the efforts of the Hansen family of The Group Inc. and the considerable private resources they contributed to achieve this goal. The support they have received in the community and the money already raised demonstrates the pool is an important public good the community supports. Whether Loveland’s City Council can find the >$1 million being requested from the city’s General Fund is another matter as city employee lay-offs may be just around the corner.
We suggest the city consider selling the 97 acres it purchased near the I-25 and 402 (story first reported by LovelandPolitics in Oct. 2007) for approximately $6 million. The pool restoration (especially since 20-30% of the time the public will have access) seems more important than the City of Loveland holding onto vacant land it doesn’t intend on using for any public purpose.
Another area of savings could be to reverse its recent decision to provide City Manager Don Williams and other senior city employees full-time employee health benefits if they decide to leave their position early for whatever reason until they qualify for medicare at age 65. One last opportunity to raise money for the general fund would be to sell the large boulders sitting in front of the Cattail Golf Course on 29th Street for the past 6 years. Those may have been intended for some public use but now appear to be abandon and create an eyesore in an otherwise nicely developed area of town.
The bottom line is the pool has many potential public uses not the least of which is the LHS dive and swim teams. Loveland should be able to find the money but it will require a little creative thinking and effort by the management. Given the opposition already coming from Parks & Recreation and the opposition from councilors Rousey and Johnson (at least behind the scenes) it doesn’t appear likely the council will approve the request tonight.
Nonetheless, people should attend and express their hope the City of Loveland does its part to renovate a public facility that has been sitting empty now for the past 7 years.
I can’t believe there’s any debate. That pool used to get lots of use by local residents, not only by the high school. If it’s also cheaper, apparently a lot cheaper than a similar proposal for the Chilson Center, what’s the problem?
Your headline on the home page is, once again, incorrect. “Council apporves funding LHS pool renovation” Council did not approve funding, we directed staff to return to council with a proposal containing the stipulations that council wanted. The actual vote to approve or deny has yet to happen.
Let me ask the readers of this blog…should the LHS pool come first before the library, chilson center, or other city projects? Funding is limited even in good times and it is impossible to do all projects at once. If you could do one project now, which one would it be? Which one is more important to you?
Also, the last time I checked, there has not yet been any city employee who retired and took advantage of the health insurance. This blog has at numerous times been against providing city employees the opportunity to keep their health benefits between retirement and medicare even while paying the premiums themseleves. Why is that? I really would appreciate an answer.
The golf operation is an enterprise fund…the boulders were purchased with funding from golf fees not through taxpayers dollars and if sold the proceeds would go back into the enterprise fund.
“ouch” is trying to make a point, but it’s off target. Yes, the LHS pool is a worthy project. It’s long past time for the City Council to stop kicking the can of the LHS pool down the road, pretending that it’s not worthy of City attention, and hoping that it will just go away. The IGA directive from 5 May is years over-due and confirms the ambivalence of the current council, and past councils, to this issue. This is an example of the penalty public policy decision makers pay for years of in-decision, leaping at crises of inattention, and pursuing the wrong priorities.
The answer for how to prioritize all of these competing interests (yes, I was listening Tuesday night) is a hard lesson in accountability, representative government and actions in the public trust. The rank and file citizenry of Loveland are showing that the LHS pool is their priority. Perhaps regrettably, the Council has not acted effectively on this issue until four days ago. When the decision-making timeline is shortened from 4-years to less than 5-months (from the Council Retreat to this week) the results are certainly going to be painful and contentious.
While I have some appreciation for reading a defense of universal healthcare, accountability and consequences for decisions like the $6 Million dollar city owned cornfield, and sophomoric enthusiasm for any request made by the McWhinney’s, are coming due. Rather than accepting an attempt to tar the LHS pool as the competition for funds needed at the Chilson Center or Library, Loveland citizens should look carefully at the 10s of millions the Council has committed since the School District bond issue passed in 2005.
Further investigation (…the rest of the story…) shows that the communications by Devon Anderson achieved accountability and transparency of a public policy issue. Receiving news on developments regarding the LHS pool has been a priority for LHS parents for several years. This is especially pertinent considering that the LHS pool issue did not even appear on the publicly published council agenda as late as April 28th.
I’ve been a member of the LHS School Accountability Advisory Committee (SAAC) since 2006. Every year the parents on that panel have raised the issue of the pool project and funding during our analysis and critique of budget and policy matters. It does appear that the only way Loveland citizens were able to learn of this being added to the City Council agenda was from Mr. Anderson dutifully responding to long established requests for information from LHS parents.
Loveland Politics is correct in pointing out the $6 Million dollar cornfield as a critique of City Council inaction on the LHS pool issue. A full accounting of City of Loveland capital investment (construction) decisions since the pool linked bond issue was approved is needed.
Perhaps this view of City investments will show the balance of public interest projects, infrastructure responsibilities and corporate welfare support to multi-millionaire land speculators. I am still building my conclusions about the $113 Million dollar (and growing) debt, the $12 Million dollar “just trust me” issue, using urban redevelopment laws to convert virgin farmland into retail sprawl, and $1.1 Million.
A Response For Councilman Rousey
The Loveland City Council once again ignored the rules of parliamentary procedure they claim to follow and instead teased a position from each councilor before having a proposal on the table. Councils that indeed follow parliamentary procedure wait until a motion and second are made before considering and discussing an item as required.
Roberts Rules of Order, “Before any subject is open to debate it is necessary, first, that a motion be made by a member.”
Only one question should be considered at a time so logical precedence governs the introduction and considerations of questions. A majority of Loveland’s City Council likely favored funding the pool without a 24 month window restraint but instead the Mayor was allowed to manipulate the outcome of the vote by ignoring parliamentary procedures.
Normally, the Chair isn’t allowed to initiate a motion but instead presides over its consideration. Loveland’s Council doesn’t follow this democratic process of rules but instead lets the Mayor determine both the content and timing of motions allowing him absolute control over the process. The appearance of legitimacy is attempted when he turns to Carol Johnson to tell her what to read as the motion. This way the official record records the motion not coming from the Chairman.
The question by Mayor Pielin to each council member May 5, 2009 was whether they would vote to support a measure brought back to council with elements X,Y or Z included or not. By the time council voted on Pielin’s motion mimicked in part by Johnson, a proposal by the one person not allowed to initiate a motion – the Mayor – was passed.
Not until everyone agreed (by voting) was staff directed to draw-up the official language to be voted on at your next meeting. There were two versions of the motion;
The action negotiated by Pielin with the members and Johnson’s perfunctory motion shorter version only requesting staff bring the item back.
Councilman Rousey’s comment above is correct, no official action was taken other than to direct staff to draft an agreement to bring back for consideration. Hundreds of people watching applauded because they knew (or misunderstood) that the council was really voting on the Mayor’s motion that said they will support funding the pool if certain conditions are met.
When the record doesn’t represent the reality – we report what really happened. On a technicality, Councilman Rousey is correct. The council never voted to support funding the pool renovation but only to have staff draw-up language for them to vote on later.
OuchRousey posted above
“Also, the last time I checked, there has not yet been any city employee who retired and took advantage of the health insurance. ”
It is clear to me you have ZERO experience in the private sector. I would seek your guidance and help regarding fire suppression methods but never let you near my company’s finances!
Do you have any idea what a “liability” means. Right now the city has spent the entire budget for health costs for 2009 and we are only in May(2nd Qtr). You have grossly underestimated and under budgeted the health costs for city employees this year. If you strap-on additional liabilities without covering that liability you already failed to properly fund with a reserve fund you have put the city’s financial integrity at great risk.
The City Manager or any other employee who leaves now expects us to pay for all his health costs until he is 65. Do you have any idea what bypass heart surgery will cost or maybe a new kidney for a diabetic patient even if you give a kidney?
Wake-up man and take responsibility. Your one ledger accounting arguments don’t work on people who understand the difference.
Your little trick of trying to ask us which comes first the Chilson etc…is absurd. The Chilson Center wasn’t built with Loveland’s money but instead the Chilson grant.
What you should really ask is whether you should sell the 97 acres of vacant farmland you bought to annex into the city with no development plans at market rate. You had no business buying that property when fundamental community assets like the LHS pool are empty and rotting due to neglect and lack of funding.
Your tactics remind me of the Soviet Bureaucrat who asked the mother with the sick child if she wanted bread, heating or electricity.
The answer is all of the above – Downtown improvements to basic infrastructure (like sewers), Chilson Center and the LHS pool. And no to speculative property ventures where nobody lives for property the public isn’t allowed to use.
Well, except of course Chad McWhinney and staff who have surveyed it for acquisition when they need it at a reduced price.
DemonChaser: Please read the ordinance on the health plan for retirees. Your assumptions on who pays what are incorrect.