Northglenn's Choice: Plaques or Essential Servives

Our community leaders and a minority of the residents in Northglenn are and have been in a mode best entitled, “I want a ‘Northglenn’ (Blank).” In the past it was a Water system, a Sewage treatment plant, a new Mall and on. Now we hear our leaders saying, I want a Northglenn Library, a new Northglenn Recreation Center and a Northglenn Fastracks rail station.

There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting all of these services and amenities. The need to have a plaque saying, “Northglenn’s (Blank)” is a source of pride to many. This is certainly true for the residents who have spent most of their adult life experiencing the ups and downs of the community over the past forty years. Just because much has changed over the years is no reason to abandon that sense of pride.

When you are at the intersection of 104th avenue and Zuni street, which city are you in? The intersection has the Nissan dealership on the southwest corner and Enterprise auto sales/rentals on the southeast corner. Depending on your location in the intersection there are four possible correct answers. The point is that our community leaders and those residents who are very active in making our decisions know the answer. It is a very important factor to them in their decision making. Does it mean a lot to you?

We have many expensive facilities available to us. A recreation center is available to us just 17 blocks east of our city limits. There is another just 28 blocks west of our city limits. We have a public and collegiate library just 19 blocks west of our city limits. Ranageview is going to build a library 3 blocks south of our city limits. None have a Northglenn plaque on them and that is a driving force for many.

If it is important to you that we have our own library and recreation center, are you willing to extend the capital water sales tax ending in 2009 for these projects? Or perhaps increase your property tax levy? Twenty Million is not chump change and the figure does not include the interest or other financing costs. Make up your mind soon because you will be voting on it this November.

As far as a train station goes, many very powerful people in the area and in the city are saying, “We want a Northglenn station at 112th avenue.” Get ready for another couple million dollars in local costs. We will be required by State law to reimburse RTD for two percent of all costs associated with the station improvements. Add to this amount, the public costs associated with the potential new Transit Orientated Development; meaning, commercial structures in the areas now occupied by industrial and residential owners contiguous to the train station who are willing to sell for a profit.

In early February I posted an article listing your priorities for city services according to the random survey conducted late last year. Residents made the Core or bottom line services and improvements their top priority. From the General Fund, street improvements and maintenance plus public safety were the top priority. This November will it be the essential services or the “Plaque Projects”?

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The picture is a large outlet pipe under Huron street at the Croke reservoir

Rangeview Requests Millions For Northglenn Library

In the previous article I covered the deceitful, official election flyer distributed on behalf of the Board by Rangeview Library Board member, Ray Coffey, to all Northglenn residents. I also started to discuss the Board’s determination to close the Northglenn branch and construct a new facility west of the Thornton City Hall at Huron Street.

After the election, the Northglenn Council again discussed the election issue on the Park land and decided to start a public process. This information was passed on to Rangeview but they choose to reaffirm the decision to construct in Thornton. The strong support from the Northglenn residents at the polls and the Board’s promises in the flyer should have meant something but it didn’t.

After the Rangeview vote Councilman Miller was contacted by former Mayor, Odell Barry. As a result of the discussion, Mr. Barry chose to publicly offer the donation of his land on 112th Avenue, immediately east of Huron Street as a site for the library. The City Council, represented by Council members Mayor Novak and Jim Miller, jumped on the new opportunity and met with the Board. As a result of the meeting, the Board agreed to look into the Barry site with the understanding that the City would provided all of the support needed to make the facility possible.

The Board feels that it must provide for all the facilities described in the mill levy increase question as its first priority. I see no argument with that fiduciary responsibility. I do however question their opinion of what “support” should be required from the City. The Board committee requested the following: 1. The property is to be a completed “construction ready” pad site. 2. A parking lot for 60 vehicles. 3. Ownership or control of the land in perpetuity. 4. All utilities to be stubbed into the pad area. 5. The wavier of all city building and tap fees. 6. A financial contribution towards construction costs in the amount of $1,200,000. In addition, the Board requires an annual, minimum subsidy for operating costs in the amount of $500,000.

In addition to all the requested “support” from the City, the Board committee says it will be necessary to reduce the size of the planned facility in Thornton at Huron and 92nd avenue or to construct it in phases. This comes from a Board that just received a permanent 162% increase in its property tax levy from the voters. In this year alone their revenue will jump from $4,636,120 to $11,816,708 per their own estimates. Unless Adams County, Thornton, Brighton, Commerce City and all other cities agree to place a permanent moratorium on all growth, their annual revenues will continue to skyrocket.

All of this effort to find a site and entice the Board into constructing a library in Northglenn would not have been necessary if the Board had just followed through with its alleged promise to the residents of Northglenn as stated in its flyer. The Board violated the residents’ trust by voting to proceed with the site in Thornton.

The multi-million dollar commitment the Board has submitted to the City on the Barry site is rationalized by the statement in their proposal concerning the need to “provide the facilities described in the mill levy increase as its first priority.” They are reminded that constructing the library in Thornton near 92nd avenue is not a required location according to the TABOR notice they submitted for the November election.

Perhaps they would be willing to construct the library on the Barry site and tell the City of Thornton to pony up the millions necessary to build a “second” library at 92nd avenue. That brings up a question. What incentives has Thornton already promised the Board to obtain a library at the site? I’ve already heard that a land swap is in the works. What else? The Thornton Council members must know in addition to the Board members??

Some members of the City Council believe that the Board may compromise on some of the demands related to the Barry property. Others find the “support” sought so outrageous that they see no reason to purse a library at the location. I sense from the tone and logic used in the proposal from the Board committee, that the terms are not negotiable. The next few weeks will be very interesting. If the Board doesn’t come clean with the true reasons why they have chosen to leave Northglenn without a library, we, the residents, can do something about it.

Library Deceives Northglenn Residents

No other city or area in Adams County approved of the Rangeview Library District property tax increase last November more than the residents of Northglenn. Why did the residents of Northglenn give the issue the highest percentage of victory? A flyer was distributed to all residents with these ominous words on the front page:

Northglenn Library To Be Closed!
Help keep this headline from becoming a reality…
Vote YES on 5A to
SAVE OUR LIBRARY
Paid for by SAVE OUR LIBRARIES committee,
Ray Coffey, Treasurer

In case you didn’t know, Mr. Coffey is a member of the Rangeview Board. There is no question as to the Library Board’s involvement in the issuance of the flyer. On the back of the flyer one of the points is that the Northglenn library will be relocated. The Board had made it known that the facility had many problems, including parking, and they wished to move the administrative offices to the location.

When word got around in September that the Board was looking to reconstruct the branch in Thornton, west of its City Hall, some members of the City Council and many residents became very upset. One member of the Council, Jim Miller, initiated a one man campaign to find an alternative site in Northglenn that met the Board’s criteria. It eventually came down to Winburn Park. The park is located on Huron Street just a couple of blocks north of the present Northglenn Library location.

During the period leading up to the election, Councilman Miller pressed the issue with newspaper articles, blog postings on YourHub and in dozens of conversations with the Council, residents, and with the Library Board in particular. To make a long story short, City Council member Miller and the Interim Manager, asked the Board in a presentation to consider the alternative site. The Board demanded a firm commitment before the election. Because the park contained a land restriction on its use, the Council explained that they would need to obtain approval from the voters before making a commitment. That fact was all it took for the Library Board to reaffirm its position favoring the Thornton site.

Since the election another site became available in the city. The Board is willing to consider an additional library at the location provide the City comes up with millions in permanent financial support. I will share the information on Tuesday the 13th. In closing I would like to point out why the Rangeview Library Board members can afford to be so cavalier in their actions.

The District’s Board members are appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. They are however not subject to the jurisdiction or control of the elected County Board. They have no accountability to the public. The County can replace the members one at a time when their terms expire but that is the total extent anyone has over their actions. Maybe we, the residents, should change that.

Planning Crises in Northglenn??

The Community Development Center Manager, Terence Quinn, chose to move ahead with plans to increase his staff. In case you do not recognize the nature of his “center”, it is primarily composed of Planning and Economic Development.

He is the supervisor of two areas entirely outside his area of expertise: Economic Development and Housing. His promotion was the result of actions taken by the former City Manager and then Interim Manager, Leslie Cullen. Their new organizational structure needed a center manager regardless of the employee’s knowledge or experience. Intelligent and informed supervision is evidently not required. Supervisors should know and understand the workings of their staff. How else can you effectively be assured that the services are being carried out as requested by the policy makers?

In the 2004 so call layoffs, our City Planner of 25 years was terminated. Another planner was hired and fired. Mr. Quinn, who was formerly employed by DRCOG, was then hired to be the City Planner. Here is a paste from my posting of March 12, 2006. It addresses Mr. Quinn’s initial appointment and how he handled it.

Mr. Quinn ran straight into the rigors of local government which includes a zoning ordinance, master planning, design review, permit applications, signs and subdivision regulations. Since he is either not qualified or experienced in these areas or too distracted, he immediately found that he needed help.

Mr. Childress and our new Interim Manager, Leslie Cullen, entered into a consulting contract 12 days after Nelson resigned. For the tidy sum of $45,000 payable for services through mid-December, we now have a “practical” planner named Travis Reynolds. Guess where he used to work? Guess what his duties are? Did you say DRCOG and look at Mr. Quinn’s duties as listed in the previous paragraph.

With the departure of Mr. Childress, Mr. Quinn took over as center manager. Shortly thereafter, he convinced the manager to cancel Mr. Reynolds’s contract and employ him as a permanent employee. This week he introduced another full time planner to the staff. What was one planner for over twenty years is now three.

I was not aware we had a planning crisis in the City. Perhaps Mr. Quinn believes the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances need to be trashed and rewritten. Perhaps we need three planners to address the future needs of all of our non-existent vacant land. It cannot be because there are plans to redevelop the backbone of our financial security: the commercial areas. That is of course impossible because all of NURA’s current revenues are gone while plans are being laid to mortgage its future in the development of land next to city hall.

I hope Mr. Quinn has finished building his empire in time to watch it slip away. Our new City Manager knows just a little about economic development and Mr. Reynolds has demonstrated that he is fully capable of serving as City Planner. Why do we need just “another” supervisor on the payroll?

City Misleads Residents in the Connection

The March 2007 edition of the Northglenn Connection, official newsletter of the City, carried a lengthy article on the new editions of the building codes. It also described the new contractor licensing ordinance in considerable detail. I congratulate the City for devoting considerable space to the new licensing requirements. I’ll take some of the credit for that portion of the article. The three appearances before the Council, articles and posting criticizing certain provisions and the distribution of information to various businesses certainly prompted a good deal of the coverage.

While some consider my articles to be negative and slanted, the information in the Connection is often slanted with a positive spin. A positive spin means it is in keeping with the official line as defined by the City. While I am truly pleased that they have informed the residents about the licensing ordinance, I am compelled to comment about their spin, omissions and interpretations. In my previous career as a city manager I administered and dealt with contractor licensing ordinances and laws for 13 years.

If you want to grab your copy of the Connection, we’ll start with the third column on the front page. It states that the testing of contractors will be done by an arm of the International Code Council. The ordinance states, “The Chief Building Official shall establish such reasonable examining procedures for the issuance of licenses as shall, from time to time, become necessary.” There is no mention of the ICC testing in the ordinance and its use at this time is subject to change by administrative decision.

Next, we have the statement that contractors whom have tested at an ICC Center AND are licensed by another jurisdiction utilizing the same, will not be required to take the test. The ordinance states in 10-18-4 D, that applicants who hold licenses from other cities that the Building Official deems equivalent to his requirements may be licensed without an examination. The statement in the Connection makes a commitment that can be rescinded or modified administratively at any time.

In the next paragraph of the article we find a completely false statement. “As a licensing requirement contractors are required to show proof of lawful immigration under State immigration laws.” There is no such statement or anything similar to it in the ordinance. As we all know the State established such requirements. Why it was necessary to make such a claim is mysterious but not unexpected. The majority of the City Council supported the ordinance from the first day it was proposed last June because “they wanted to protect the residents”. Why the staff made this false claim is another matter.

Next we have a statement that should work on your project be delayed, the ordinance requires the contractor to protect the incomplete work from being damaged by the elements. The city neglected, probably intentionally to spin the alleged protection, to add the fact that this provision only comes into play if the work is stopped for six months.

On page three of the Connection the first column is designed to assure you that the ordinance will not be a hindrance to established contractors. I would agree only in cases where the contractor worked in Northglenn previously. When you are obtaining bids from a contractor, make sure you ask if they have a local license. If not, you will be waiting for them to become licensed. No building permits will be issued without a license per the ordinance.

I must slightly digress from the article to once again remind all that in accordance with the terms of the ordinance, (10-18-2 (A)) you are a contractor if you Build, Construct, Alter, Remodel, Repair, Move or Wreck any building of structure. Think outside of the box and what you would normally consider to be a contractor.

Starting at the bottom of the column on page three, the city refers you to www.contractorlicensing.org and then offers a quote from the site. I did check it and found something entirely different. If you check, you will not find the quote on the web site. You wouldn’t know that the quote is false unless you checked. I’m not disagreeing with much of the alleged quote. Only that it is missing and not supported in the City’s ordinance.

The spin and slant in the article becomes much more obvious in the second column when a bill under consideration in the Legislature is discussed. In discussing House Bill 1078 it is stated that, “The language of this bill is similar to the language contained in Northglenn’s ordinance, as well as those of surrounding jurisdictions.” Here is a link to the bill as passed by the House:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2007a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/845FB4E821E91DB887257251007BF071?open&file=1078_ren.pdf
Here is the Northglenn ordinance for comparison:
http://www.northglenn.org:8000/webdocs/2007/council/20070125/packet/CB-1590R.pdf
To claim that the Bill and ordinance are similar is true deceit.

The article goes on to pose and answer some questions. When will the ordinance go into effect? The staff is going to begin enforcing it April 1st. Know that the Council adopted it on January 25th and made it retroactive to the first of the year. The second question discusses what type of work requires a permit. It looks like they copied one of my previous postings on permit requirements and exemptions or they verified the information I provided in previous articles.

In the question concerning homeowners they state that a permit is not required. That is accurate only if the homeowner personally does all the labor. If one person or company is hired to do some of the work on the home, a license is required for each.

The question on apartment maintenance staff comes from my distribution of information to all the apartment complexes in the city. The City’s answer is incomplete and very misleading. The ordinance requires that when the maintenance staff conducts any activity that requires a permit, a license is required. There is a provision in the ordinance that allows for one member of the staff to become licensed and serve as an approved supervisor. All other maintenance personnel are not required to obtain a license. If an apartment manager relies on the information in the Connection, there is a sad lesson ahead.

Comment: Once an ordinance is adopted it is up to the staff to implement it. I do not disagree with some of their decisions. My concern is that the article is misleading substantially and not a public service. Residents should be able to rely on the information they receive from their elected officials.

City Takes a Bite out of Heidi's Deli

The City's disregard for existing businesses was demonstrated again in an article that appeared in the Rocky Mountain News on March 2nd. This time, the City’s target was Heidi’s Deli. It is located in the shopping center along 120th Avenue which NURA acquired last year.

The City is in the process of widening Grant Street at its intersection with 120th. The construction has severely hampered Heidi’s operations. The staff, after consulting with the Council reacted to the owner’s plight by offering to reduce the lease payments beginning in January. Just over a month later, the City came to the ridiculous decision that Heidi’s situation was untenable and the owner was instructed to vacate the property in early April.

I would have assumed that the owner of Heidi’s would have been the better judge of when, or if, to pull the plug than the City.

I was pleased to see that one member of the Council, Jim Miller, ran across the situation outside of city channels and stepped in to question the need to terminate the lease. Fortunately there are a few members of the Council who were not afraid to question the motives and actions of the majority and the staff while under the leadership of the former City Manager.

Councilman Miller and all members of the Council know they do not have the individual power to instruct the City Manager in anything; and they don’t. The Rocky owes Councilman Miller a correction and we all owe the Rocky a word of thanks for reporting this abuse of Heidi’s.

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If you didn't read the article in the Rocky, click on the title of this posting.