GREELEY — Less than two hours after backers of the planned Cascadia and Catalyst project in west Greeley celebrated a groundbreaking for infrastructure for the project, opponents announced another petition drive to halt the development.
Catalyst will include a new arena, hotel and water park along U.S. Highway 34, with the arena serving as a new home for the Colorado Eagles minor-league hockey team. That development will be largely surrounded by Cascadia, a new mixed-use development by Windsor-based Water Valley Co.
Greeley Deserves Better, an issue committee that previously circulated a petition to overturn the Catalyst project’s financing plan, but which was stymied by a court ruling, announced just after noon that it would request a referendum to overturn the project’s zoning.
The Greeley City Council on Sept. 16 approved a planned unit development for more than 833 acres of the Cascadia project.
A press release from Greeley Deserves Better described the new effort as “a grassroots campaign that is pressing the City of Greeley to find a new funding solution for the billion-dollar ice arena in Greeley …”
“Put simply, the Catalyst project is contingent on zoning. Once the petition is turned in and found sufficient, the zoning ordinance cannot go into effect until voters decide, halting any forward motion of this deal,” Greeley Deserves Better attorney Suzanne Taheri said in a statement.
After the petition language and format is approved, Greeley Deserves Better will have 30 days to collect signatures from the date the ordinance was passed, with the city clerk having five days to issue the petition for signatures.
Taheri encouraged the city to appoint a neutral official, instead of the city clerk, to review the referendum.
“At this point, the citizens of Greeley will now get to decide on the zoning,” Taheri said. “Any legal actions from the proponents of the Catalyst deal would only delay the vote of the citizens and the effective date of the ordinance. The Greeley City Clerk has already admitted she has a conflict of interest in this matter. We are calling on the City to appoint a neutral designated election official that won’t work against the citizens. With a neutral process, we expect the City to approve this referendum immediately with no further unnecessary delays or monkey-wrenching of the process so signature-gathering can begin. The citizens deserve a smooth and transparent process.”
Whereas the previous petition effort was co-chaired by Dan Wheeler and Pam Bricker, the new effort is co-chaired by Brandon Wark, a candidate for Greeley City Council Ward II, and Rhonda Solis, a former member of the Greeley-Evans School District and former Board of Education member from Congressional District 8.
The press release also cited a poll conducted on the Catalyst project, but representatives from Greeley Deserves Better repeatedly have declined to provide information on the poll’s methodology, actual questions asked and who paid for the poll.
That’s led Catalyst proponents to describe the poll as a “push poll,” one designed to influence respondents toward a certain outcome.
Bill Rigler, a spokesman for Greeley Forward, a pro-Catalyst issue committee, denounced the latest petition campaign.
“Whoever is bankrolling Ms. Taheri’s ongoing efforts must be tired of all this winning,” Rigler said in an email to BizWest. “This announcement is the latest in a series of embarrassing maneuvers by a Denver law firm that has profited handsomely from the disruption and division it has sown here in Greeley."
"For Ms. Taheri to claim that this reincarnation of Greeley Deserves Better is a grassroots effort is pure fiction. The reality, confirmed in financial disclosures filed just days ago, is that nearly $40,000 in Dark Money has already poured into the group. … This isn’t a grassroots campaign, and it’s clearly designed to enrich lawyers while misleading Greeley residents about the future of this community.”
Groundbreaking for infrastructure
Before the new petition drive was announced, about 200 supporters of Cascadia and Catalyst gathered Wednesday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony for horizontal infrastructure, including roads and utilities.
The overall project is expected to create 2,480 temporary construction jobs and more than 1,200 permanent jobs once operational.
Martin Lind, CEO of Cascadia developer the Water Valley Co. and owner of the Colorado Eagles, credited city officials, Water Valley employees and community supporters who have embraced the project.
He said the project will be an economic boon for Greeley, helping change the narrative about the city.
“I firmly believe that we’re relocating the front door to Rocky Mountain National Park to this property,” Lind told attendees. “This is going to be the front door because there’s 4 million visitors a year that go up Highway 34 and they’re going to swing by because the fun never stops right here, and they’re going to bring their families here.”
Lind touted the vision for Cascadia, which he said will help Greeley celebrate its ample water resources.
“Greeley owns all this water, and you don’t celebrate it … You don’t get to play on it,” Lind said. “Let’s bring that water over and let’s celebrate it.”
Lind, whose father and grandfather farmed the property, described a bridge that will be built over a draw that runs through the development, with cascading waterfalls and fountains to be visible from U.S. Highway 34.
“This is just going to come to life with this lush oasis that right now is housing weeds and prairie dogs,” he said.
Mayor John Gates, who soon will end his final term as mayor, told the crowd the project reflects Greeley’s “bright future.”
“West Greeley is rapidly growing and expanding, and with Catalyst and Cascadia, we are committed to ensuring that growth is intentional, balanced and reflects the needs of our community,” he said. “Places for families to gather. Places for small businesses to thrive. Places to shop, to dine, to celebrate. And places to live, to work and to enjoy all that Greeley has to offer.”
Gates applauded the city’s “40-year agreement with the Colorado Eagles,” which he said was “unprecedented in Colorado” and “a statement of confidence and commitment from this team and this city. When the arena opens in 2028, the Eagles won’t just be playing in Greeley. They will be calling Greeley home for generations to come.
“I want to acknowledge that there are some in our community who have opposing views on this project, with concerns about potential risks,” he added. “I respect and encourage productive dialogue no matter where you fall on this issue. But cities are often faced with tough decisions, forks in the road, and weighing risk versus reward. After nearly two years of research, analysis and community engagement, I can confidently say that we are ready to take on this transformational development, and that all Greeley will benefit from the economic prosperity that will be reinvested back into the community.”
In remarks to BizWest after the groundbreaking, which he described as “probably the biggest groundbreaking I’ve been a part of,” Gates expressed satisfaction that Greeley Deserves Better had withdrawn one of two lawsuits that it filed in Weld District Court, one that alleged the the Catalyst financing plan violated Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
“I’m happy that they did,” Gates said, but he lamented some of the discourse that ensued over the summer.
“I respect those that had opposition,” he said. “I had some issues with some of the vitriol, I think the difference of opinion is what makes democracy work, and I’m perfectly fine with that, but it’s time to move on.”
