Executive Session 12/01/05

A former City Attorney once told me that the Council could meet for any reason they wanted as long as it was posted as "Conferring with City Attorney over legal matters". Such is the long standing habit in our City. The notice on the posted agenda for this and all executive sessions as well as the motion always read by the City Attorney at the meeting is so comprehensive anything goes. No attempt is made to be reasonably specific as to the authority for the meeting they are using under State law.

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On Thursday at 5:00 pm the City Council and NURA will meet in executive session to discuss the next move in the effort to develop the land acquired by the City adjacent to the proposed theater. As you might remember they are trying to decided whether to select another developer or attempt the project internally. The discussion most certainly will cover public policy issues and then they might spend a few minutes discussing a real estate or contractual agreement. I would venture a guess that 80% of the time will be on matters that do not justify the need for secrecy.

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The Mayor, City Council, City Attorney and City Manager should break with the questionable tradition of using the executive session at the drop of a hat. It should be convened when absolutely necessary and only cover the point or issue that must be held in temporary secrecy. The executive session this week should be cancelled or at least only convened for the minimum time necessary to discuss eligible items. Convening an executive session for the planned, far ranging discussion is inappropriate and a public disservice. Thanks to a court decision earlier this year the executive session will be recorded and subject to an in camera review by a District Court judge, should one be requested.

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I have one more complaint about the Mayor and Council's continuing disregard for serving the public interests. Once again they have scheduled the executive session at the start of a Regular meeting. Once again they have not established an estimated time for the beginning of the Regular meeting. If you have any interest in other items on the agenda, you can sit and wait thanks to your current public servants.

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As a public service I would like to give some advice to the NURA Board. You are a seperate governmental body and notice of your meeting with the City Council must also be posted in advance. Furthermore, you too must call a meeting and vote to go into executive session; in public.

We Need a Building Inspector Now

Since the infamous layoffs the City has been operating without a Certified Building Inspector. A plumbing inspector, Rick Davis, was given the title of Chief Building Inspector even though he is not certified and less qualified then others in the trades area currently employed by the City.

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The City's Northglenn Neighborhood Development Corp, is heavily involved in efforts to up grade homes in area eligible for Airport Noise mitigation areas. I still contend that we were treated to a bogus ground breaking for the proposed theater as a campaign ploy. Should construction actually start in February, I certainly hope that a certified building inspector reviews the plans before permits are issued. The public's safety deserves no less.

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If you agree and don't mind the possible repercussions, call the City Manager at 303-450-8706 or email him at pnelson@northglenn.org.

December 1st Retail Meeting

The City Council has cancelled the last two regular meetings and scheduled one for the 1st. At that meeting they will be discussing a new direction for the retail area. As the Mayor and Manager have repeatedly stated, they want retail facilities that will be unique. Small big box stores and up-scale restaurants are now in the mix.
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In allocating future revenues the City has established a precedent of keeping future sales taxes and allowing the Urban Renewal Authority to receive the property tax increment. The increment is the amount of new revenue from property taxes that exceeds the property taxes that previously existed. At the time that the Project was established the area was receiving property taxes from the Days’ Inn. Even though that revenue has been lost since the City acquired the property and demolished it, NURA will only receive the property tax revenue that exceeds the amount previously received.
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This fact brings up an interesting question. The proposed theater will generate property taxes that result from the building itself. The City owned land remains tax exempt since the theater is a lessee only. The same scenario will exist if the City becomes the developer and leases space to the future retail businesses. If a private developer acquires the land, it will no longer be tax exempt. Will the Manager be successful in convincing the Council to reject using a private developer? Will the General and Water funds ever see a return on the property?
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If he is successful in his quest, the key person on the staff is Katy Press. She developed her expertise in the real estate development area from 1983 through 1989 with two firms as a real estate representative. From 1990 till 2000 she lists herself as Real Estate Manager for the Denver Division of Safeway. From June of 2000 until October of 2001 she worked for a commercial development group. Starting that November she formed a corporation with another lady in the retail land consulting business. On August 15th of this year she came to work for the City as a full-time temporary employee with a starting wage of $43.22 per hour. I have included these details for the benefit of the Council as well as you. The Council only knows Katy as a former VIP with Safeway.

A setback in the retail oasis

I would like to thank one of my readers, J.C., for reminding me to check today’s business section in the Rocky. Poor Thornton took a hit on a Northglenn story. The subject was the Mayor’s proposed retail development near the proposed theater. The Thornton City Council was attributed with the taking of a vote in an executive session. That, of course, is illegal. The City in the story is ours and our Council would not vote in executive session. But, this is a side issue to the content of the story.
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The development agreement with Opus Northwest/Goldberg Properties was terminated by the Council. The City Manager had to be tickled by the decision. I first heard from him that he was considering having the City develop the property a year ago last July. In the story he accurately states that the type of retail the development group was considering did not fit the “type” desired by the Mayor and majority of the Council.
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If you have been reading the Sentinel since the campaign on the recreation center project and or the flyers put out by the Mayor and Mayor Pro tem, you know that the Mayor and majority do not want a typical retail development. The desire to create a "destination" and an oasis from normal retail has been and remains their goal.
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The City has over $5.9 million tied up in the potential retail parcel of which $1.6 came from your Water Fund. It was been repeatedly called a safe and sound investment. Let’s hope that the retail oasis will not be a gigantic loss. We already know that a large portion of the property will produce no return on the investment for twenty years because of the one dollar a year land lease to the theater.

Sentinel Article on Theater November 10th

The truth started to come out today. The City is finally admitting that construction will not start until December or January. I still stand by the fact that due to a lack of construction plans, construction is more likely in late January or February. There is a chance that you might see City contractors installing utility facilities late this year.

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The October groundbreaking still remains a pre-election publicity stunt. You don't have a groundbreaking two to three months before initial construction. Ask anyone in the field and be wary of other promises that have been made recently.

NURA 2006 Budget

The Urban Renewal Authority is estimated to receive $1,705,000 in property taxes during 2006. (Its only source of revenue other than interest.) The Authority's Board has approved the recommendations of the Executive Director/City Manager. He asked them to make the first of two payments to Jordan Permutter for the property adjacent to 112th and York. $365,000 In 2007 the second payment by NURA will be $375,000.

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His second request is for $700,000 for site improvements in new redevelopment areas such as the 120th and Grant site. The improvements are City public works activities related to the street and intersection.

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The last major expense is the next to last repayment to the City for fronting money used in the development of the Marketplace. $669,663

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The total is $1,734,663 or $29,663 more than the property tax revenue.

Policies and Events to Watch

1. The progress of Century theater per previous post.

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2. The use of the Urban Renewal authority's money to construct public works projects. With Alberston's on the bidding block and Safeway contemplating a closing, the redevelopment of our existing commercial areas might be a higher priority. Per State law the authority's primary purpose is urban renewal, not as the Public Infrastructure Construction Authority.

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3. The finalization of another expansion plan for the recreation center using Certificates of Participation without any prior community wide consultation. COP's are a financing scheme which pledges physical buildings and property for the purpose of obtaining long term debt financing. They are in vogue because the issuing entity, our City, does not need voter approval.

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4. The paving of Huron without first addressing the encroachment of Croke reservoir into the sub-base. In the November issue of the Connection my posting on this site and www.northglenn-watch.org were answered by stating the water level is 11 to 16 feet below the street and therefore not a problem. The engineer I contacted has 27 years of experience in this field and says otherwise. It will be very difficult for the Council to seek a third opinion since it will appear that they do not trust their current staff. The City has also announced that community meetings will be held on the proposed project. I applaud this step and urge you to attend when they are scheduled. Experts from the community will be appreciated by all.

Century Theater Construction Plans

All of you active and retired in the commercial construction field might want to take me up on a proposal. Drop by City Hall and ask to review the utility and building construction plans for the Century Theater. Copies of the various permits that have been issued may also be of interest. Make sure that you are not shown the building plans that were used in construction the Century theater in Lakewood. The plumbing inspector with the title of Chief Building Inspector is Rick Davis.

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Let us all know what you find. Since the City already had the ground breaking you should see complete plans and permits.

Water Fund Watch

On election day evening some of the Council incumbents were expressing their feelings about the overwhelming passage of the charter amendment creating a Water and Sewer Utility Fund and prohibiting the usage of its funds for any purpose other than water and sewer activities. They were discussing the possiblity of adding a sunset provision to it. Such a provision would cancel the amendment on the date specified.

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While the intent is there, they cannot add such a provision or make any changes to the charter amendment you adopted. Only the voters at a subsequent election can modify the provision should they propose the same at a public meeting.

Mayor Novak's response to the election

Fifty-four percent of you looked at your ballots and said anyone but Novak for Mayor. Yet, she is quoted in the Sentinel as stating, “I think the vote says that residents support the direction the city is going in.” Another statement is paraphrased as, Despite the challenges of the last year, she has learned from the experience and criticism. Another quote is, “I have learned that we need to have better communication with our citizens.”
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Let me interpret her statement to mean the following. “Even though the misguided majority of the voters do not approve of the direction I have taken the City, I can convince them that it is in their best interest with a better public relations effort.”
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After reviewing the City’s list of payables for the last four months, I can give you the cost of this communication. The following are average monthly costs: $6,900 for the Connection newsletter and $2,500 for Channel eight programming. The public relations firm has a minimum of $5,000 per month. Two staff members assigned to this area has a combined salary of $90,000 per year.
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If the Mayor has seen the light I would ask that she stop blocking my request and offer, from last June, to conduct a detailed, accurate and reliable survey of all residents on the future of the recreation center.

THANK YOU

We were successful in demonstrating that serious problems exist in the current City operations. Unfortunately, John Thomas received credit for our work despite the fact he doesn't even understand the issues. The good news is the Water Fund money is now safe, Robin Tichy paid the price for saying 13 votes does not constitue a win last January, and Jim Miller and Susan Clyne have your best interest in mind; not their own.

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I thank you for supporting our community. As for me, I'M STILL HERE, and ready to carry the banner on important issues when necessary to protect Northglenn's future.