Setting the Record Straight on Cascadia
Cascadia:
Cool Project. Bad Deal for Greeley Taxpayers. Public Risk for Private Reward.
The Greeley City Council Says . . .
Catalyst (the public investment vehicle for Cascadia) will not raise taxes.
But the Facts Are . . .
Catalyst / Cascadia imposes massive liabilities and risks upon Greeley’s taxpayers. To fund the project, the Greeley City Council mortgaged dozens of city properties, including our police and fire stations. And if Cascadia fails or even just falls short? Just a 5% shortfall from revenue projections puts taxpayers on the hook for an estimated $96.7 million.
The Greeley City Council employed a commonly used funding mechanism (a lease-purchase agreement known as certificates of participation (COPs)) to finance Catalyst / Cascadia.
This is highly misleading. While many Colorado municipalities have employed COPs to get around TABOR, Greeley’s funding plan for Catalyst / Cascadia envisions something entirely new with COPs, essentially taking out an equity loan on city-owned properties. It takes risk to the next level.
Cascadia will be the crown jewel of northern Colorado.
We do not oppose Cascadia. Cascadia could well become the crown jewel of northern Colorado. It’s a cool project. But this is a bad deal for Greeley taxpayers.
Cascadia will be an economic boon to Greeley.
Cascadia could benefit far western Greeley, but it will likely yield at least as much economic upside and job creation for areas outside Greeley. The Cascadia project is 9 minutes from downtown Windsor and 8 minutes from downtown Johnstown. (e.g., Johnstown and Windsor). Cascadia will have little, if any, upside impact for areas to the east, such as downtown. But it’s Greeley’s taxpayers who bear all the public cost and risk of the project.
The City of Greeley, not the developer (Water Valley Company) will own the assets under construction (e.g., water park, stadium). The developer is simply a contractor and (by implication) not a long-term beneficiary of the project.
This is technically true but masks the whole story. When payments on the project are complete (in about 40 years), the city will own the assets. But the developer of the project happens to own the hockey team, the Eagles, and therefore stands to benefit from the development immediately and for years to come, perhaps decades.
Passage of the initiative repealing Ordinance 2025-15, which authorized the funding mechanism for Catalyst, would not cancel the city’s contracts with the developers. Greeley is committed to moving forward either way.
Cascadia is a cool project, but the city council’s finance plan is a bad deal for taxpayers. Let’s repeal it and start over. The council will have to face the voters at some point. Under TABOR, only the voters can bind the city to debt. If the Greeley City Council charges forward after voters speak up this November, it will have to face the voters again and explain why it is continuing to try to leverage city assets for the benefit of a developer.
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Photo: Bittersweet Park, Ulli Limpitlaw