City Violates Open Records Law, Lawyers to File Suit Over Cascadia Deal Documents
City's failure to comply with CORA deadline raises questions about transparency in billion-dollar financing arrangement.
GREELEY, CO – July 17, 2025 – The Greeley Deserves Better campaign announced today that the City of Greeley has violated Colorado's Open Records Act by failing to provide requested documents related to the controversial $1.1 billion Cascadia financing deal, despite their legal obligation to respond with the requested information within two weeks. This evening, the campaign's attorney filed a notice of intent to file suit on Monday to compel the city's compliance with state transparency laws.
The massive financing arrangement includes $115 million in Certificates of Participation secured by mortgaging 46 city buildings, approximately $832 million in bonds, $129 million through a General Improvement District, $55 million from water/sewer funds, plus a required $33.2 million annual reserve fund and guaranteed developer fees of $25-30 million.
"The city's refusal to provide these documents on time is deeply troubling and raises serious questions about what they're trying to hide," said Suzanne Taheri, attorney representing the campaign. "When taxpayers are being asked to shoulder over $1 billion in financial risk and unlimited liability for a private entertainment district—while the city mortgages essential public buildings as collateral—they have an absolute right to know exactly how this deal was negotiated and whether proper protocols were followed."
The Colorado Open Records Act request, submitted on June 12th and paid for on June 25th, sought comprehensive documentation about the Cascadia deal negotiations, including:
All communications with developer Martin Lind since January 2024
Travel records for city officials, including a controversial trip on the developer's private jet to Texas
Communications regarding project planning and negotiations
Property appraisals and zoning records
Any separation agreement for former economic development director, John Hall
Campaign Questions City's Transparency
"The fact that the city is now a week overdue in providing legally required documents about a $1.1 billion deal that exposes taxpayers to unlimited financial liability is unacceptable," said Taheri. "Citizens deserve full transparency about how such an unprecedented deal was negotiated, especially given arrangements like city staff being flown on the developer's private jet to view other projects."
The records request explicitly seeks to examine whether proper ethical protocols were followed during deal negotiations, including documentation of the private jet trip funded by developer Martin Lind that transported city officials to Texas.
Legal Action Imminent
"We will not allow the city to stonewall legitimate requests for transparency on a deal of this magnitude," said Taheri. "When you're talking about over $1 billion in taxpayer exposure and guaranteed developer profits regardless of project performance, Colorado's Open Records Act exists precisely to prevent this kind of secretive behavior by public officials. We will pursue all legal remedies to ensure these documents are released."
The Greeley Deserves Better campaign continues to gather signatures to place a repeal measure on the November ballot, with recent polling showing that 87% of informed voters support repealing the financing arrangement.
