Gene Wieneke

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Study Session Presentations

At tonight’s study session, the City Council will be bombarded with major presentations covering Water, Sewer, Streets and other traditional public works issues. Capital expenses in the multi-millions will be tossed at them in a jam packed agenda.
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I laud the fact that this type of information is going to the Council well in advance of the budgeting process for 2007. Unfortunately the Council members will have a very limited time to ask questions but they will be held to their comments by the staff.
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I hope the aftermath of the meeting will not follow the same pattern as that of previous years. Each year the staff makes a major power point presentation and then uses it as a “We told you so” whenever the Council questions or objects to some future expenditure as the ensuing year progresses.
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I hope this year the Council members will remember that the generalized, global presentation is not tying their hands when considering the budget because they will hear “We told you so.” This staff loves to make a general presentation, ask if there are any comments and then slam in the details many months later. Don’t make one commitment until you see the fine print and associated costs.
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Another concern about tonight is that one of the presentations includes specific requests for funding during 2007. That is troublesome because of two reasons. First, the budget development process does not begin normally until mid-September when all requests are compared to needs, objectives and revenues. Second, there will be a new City Manager and tonight’s presentations could well be seen as a way to tie his hands if the Council is not careful. If the present staff could convince the Council to buy into some specifics now, it would only be human of them to resist changes.
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My suggestion is that the Council obtains the big picture and says thanks. No more.

Century Theater Update

Time for an update. The first two paragraphs were previously posted.
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Time for Century Theater’s groundbreaking? The company has finally received all of the necessary building permits. Oh wait, the groundbreaking was scheduled, rescheduled and held during the City’s election campaigns last October. How many times did I state on this site between August and January that the ceremony was an election lie?
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Do you remember the selected developer for the area, Opus/Weinberg? They were subsequently fired by the City. But first, the City staff leaned on them and they agreed to pay the $8,000 in costs for the ceremony in advance. I wonder if there will be a payback during the Las Vegas junket. Contrary to the economic development speeches by Mayor Novak, Northglenn’s treatment of a nationally known developer will be remembered.
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At the NURA meeting held last night, June 28th, the City’s Economic Development Director Katy Press, updated the Board on the progress of the theater construction. According to the information she received from staff, the main disagreement with Century currently is caused by the incompetence of the engineering firm that is working on the infrastructure needed for the theater. J.R. Engineering is under contract to Century for a portion of the work.
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Here is the kicker. While blaming the engineering firm for the quality of their work, the City also has them under contract to reconstruct the intersection of 120th Ave and Grant St. Duh! The real problem is with some members of the staff working for J.R. Engineering. Hint: Former City employees are working for J.R...

Rick Davis Exposed

Last night’s meeting of the urban renewal authority (NURA) had a little excitement that was not specifically on the agenda. The Board was scheduled to approve a relocation agreement later in the agenda with one of the tenants from the shopette recently acquired by NURA at 120th Ave and Community Center Drive. During the Public Participation agenda item the owner of the business address the Board.
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Since you might not believe what happened, you can listen for yourself by clicking on the title of this posting. It will take you to the official audio of the meeting. It is well worth your time because it is so typical of the experience other new business have received at the hands of Rick Davis.
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The shop owner told the Board that he was ready to sign the relocation agreement until the building inspectors’ swat team descended on him recently. He described in full detail the unprofessional “attack” made by Rick Davis and two lackeys when they were asked to look at the new tenant space he had leased.
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According to him, they used his equipment without asking, damaged his newly painted wall and misread conditions that existed above the ceiling tile. Two wires he was subsequently written up for were lying in the area but not connected to anything. He solved the problem after receiving the formal notice of violation by picking them up and placing them in the trash.
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His presentation was so real and sincere that the Board, following an executive session, voluntarily added a $2,000 maximum award to the relocation agreement to pay for the valid violations concerning a hole in a firewall and an exit light. The Board also asked Davis’s boss and personal friend, Interim Manager Leslie Cullen, to address his decorum and actions with him.
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You should also know that the tenant space that the owner had leased was located in an existing building that had previously been occupied. The new tenant was the victim of past errors by the city staff through no fault of his own.
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Finally, during the campaign last fall I ran into other new businesses that had ugly stories to tell about Rick Davis’s lack of knowledge and extremely overbearing behavior and ego. Finally, the word is out and the new City Manager, when hired, will hopefully rectify the situation. I will make sure he knows about it. After all, Davis has not passed the skills test necessary to be certified as a building inspector even though the former City Manager gave him the title of Chief Building Inspector.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

City Manager Selection Process

The search for a new City Manager is finally moving. The advertisement appeared in the International City Management Association’s Newsletter this month. The online version appeared just before the 12th and the mass mailing was delivered between the 20th and 21st. The deadline for resumes and applications is July 10th.
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The process that the City Council has chosen will probably not result in interviews until late July at the earliest. Theoretically, we could have a new Manager onboard by the first of September. I wish I could be optimistic about the end result of the process, but the direction in which the Mayor has taken the Council has tainted it.
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The use of a headhunter has and will continue to skew the process. As you are reading this, the headhunter is contacting over a hundred of his firm’s contacts and suggesting that they submit an application. The cronies are in the game plan and as such, favorites to be interviewed. Out of perhaps fifty candidates, the headhunter, not your Council, will choose five to be interviewed.
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Of course the individual members of the Council will be told who the other candidates are but they will be discouraged from even considering them. And, you can bet that the Mayor will make sure that only the consultant’s choices will see the light of day. During my career as a city manager I participated in selection processes using headhunters and not. I’ve been blessed and damned by both. I learned and observed that too often the outcome expected for a particular city depended on which consultant the city used. Not good.
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Lastly, why has the selection process taken so long? Answer: Phil Nelson did not have a new position until a couple of weeks ago and the Mayor had many debts to pay back. She stalled even initiating the process for many months in order to avoid harming his chances at securing a new position. When a city manager is seeking a different position, it is ten times better to be employed than unemployed. By not advertising the position, cities outside of the State were not aware that he had been sent packing. Fact: The members of the press in the metropolitan area he ended up in thought, from his resume, that he was still employed by Northglenn. I will go into the details a little later for those of you who have not been involved in City affairs.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Thistles Renewed

In October 2005 I posted this picture and suggested that city staff remove the thistles. They were located outside of the Police and Council entrance to City Hall.
Last week I saw that they survived the winter. At the council meeting a citizen mentioned the thistles during the meeting. They are gone today at long last. Who says the Council doesn't listen. Embarrassment is the key.

Aquatic Facility Strikes Out?

At last night’s Council Study Session, it was presented with an updated proposal by senior staff member, Steve Zoet, and representatives of the District Twelve School District concerning an Aquatics Facility. The proposal called for a joint venture between the District and the City for the area between the Recreation Center and City Hall.
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The full proposal is available as a Council Public Document on the City’s web site for the date of June 15th. I thank them for being open with the proposal. You can check it out in full detail because I am going to comment on it and the discussion that followed. You can also click on the title of this posting.
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Two options were presented: One for a 25 Yard by 25 Yard pool and the other for a 25 Yard by 50 Meter pool. The latter is far less common than the first. The price tag for the smaller pool, including on-site improvements, was $11,900,000. For the larger pool the price tag, including on-site improvements, was $18,200,000.
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The District offered to fund $5,700,000 for the smaller one, leaving the City with a capital cost of $6,200,000. For the larger one the District offered $10,000,000, leaving the City with a capital cost of $8,200,000. This is only part of the story.
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The School District had a few more requirements: 1) The District would have unrestricted and full access to the facility to accommodate their needs. It was anticipated that this would run for six months each year (November through May) Monday through Friday. Swim meets and other activities would also consume some of the weekends. 2) The City would have to provide the land and pay for all on-going maintenance and operation costs; indefinitely. Ouch!
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To the City Council’s credit, with only Mayor Novak and Councilmember Paiz absent, it was the consensus of the remaining seven that both proposals were not in the best interest of the City. I hope that the proposal does not surface a third time.
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Unfortunately, I have to add a negative to this posting. Following the recreation center election the Council adopted an ordinance stating that any future projects for the expansion of the center would have to go to the voters. Last night Steve Zoet suggested that the City could get around it by having the District construct the aquatic facility instead of the City. I am saddened but not surprised that this staff and its current leader, Interim City Manager, Leslie Cullen, would propose such an idea. Once again, thanks to the Council, their suggestion went nowhere.

Water Fund-Preserved and Restored

I would like to thank you, the voters, the City Council and especially Rosie Garner for actions taken to restore and protect the Water and Sewer Utility Fund.
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As the author of the ballot initiative creating the Fund, I was pleased immensely with your overwhelming passage of the citizen initiative. You know what is right for our City when asked. Thank You!
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When the affidavit for the initiative was presented to the City Council, the majority led by current Mayor Pro-Tem, Rick Lindsey, agreed to submit the initiative to you without forcing us to gather a considerable number of signatures. The Council minority, on this issue, is also to be thanked for not campaigning against the ballot issue.
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A special thank you goes to Ward Four Councilmember, Rosie Garner, for recently initiating and advocating a resolution that paid the Fund back, in full, for the money that had been previously used to purchase land in the vicinity of the recreation center. Through the efforts of many Members the resolution restoring the money was passed unanimously. Thank You!

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Congratulations

I would like to congratulate the City for providing a complete audio recording of all meetings held by the council and the major boards and commissions. It is a service well worth the cost and effort.