Bye Bye City Council

     Another semester has come and gone and I couldn’t be happier. This class truly was a learning experience. 

     I have always wanted to learn to blog and this class taught me the ins and outs of the entire process. This blog was different from other assignments I received that were of a similar nature because the issues that were covered were not only relevant but the stories also followed a strict deadline. 

     I really enjoyed having this blog because it gave me the opportunity to build news clips. Although they are not published under a publication, this blog is a compilation of stories. And since these stories are in regard to contemporary issues, I can show this compilation of stories to a future employer. Especially since an entry level employee may be likely to be assigned to cover a city council.

    The most difficult part of this class was adapting to the Greeley City Council. Since I didn’t know how to write about governmental issues it was a challenge adjusting to the city council’s process and interpreting the material. 

    For those students who will be taking this class next year my best advice would be: give the city council the respect it deserves, although the blog posts aren’t for a specific publication it is important to write with the intended purpose.

Historical Fixer-Upper for Sale

            In the 1950’s, the Norcross House and its surrounding properties were home to the first swimming pool and skating rink in the City of Greeley. But these days, the old amusement properties located on 2nd St. have run dry and instead of smiling faces the buildings are in desperate need of repair.            

            Even though the Norcross House and Warnoco building, have historic value in Greeley, the properties are currently in a state of disrepair that the City of Greeley cannot afford. Therefore, the city has decided to sell the historical sites to Greeley business owner, James Emmett.

            In the 90’s the City of Greeley purchased the Norcross House and converted the property into office space. But the Norcross House is an old farmhouse and the frame, windows, and floors have become outdated and the house is lacking a full bathroom.

            Sadly, Warnoco skating rink is in an even worse state. The Warnoco building‘s structural state was altered in 2010, when the city had to tear down part of the building because it was uninhabitable.

            The city has estimated that the annual repair costs for the two properties ranges from $16,000-$20,000. And if the city were to renovate the properties, it would cost upwards of $60,000.

            Originally when the city decided to sell the historical sites, they attempted to find a non-profit organization to take over but they were unsuccessful.

           But Emmett has contributed to renovations throughout the city. And according to city council member Donna Sapienza, Emmett plans to renovate the properties for residential and industrial uses.

            “This is a long term project for Mr. Emmett. There is no better person that could have purchased the property,” Sapienza said.

            As Emmett takes on the renovations for this historical fixer-upper, Sapienza has high hopes that this diamond in the rough will sparkle again one day.

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

And the mayor has it

            For some students at The University of Northern Colorado, the Greeley city elections are hardly something to get excited over. However, this year a bear of our own has decided to take on the city elections in full force.

            Nick True decided to run against current Mayor, Tom Norton, just a few months ago. True graduated from UNC in 2008 and has been perusing a teaching career in Greeley ever since.

            True’s campaign evolves around a number of ideas, including integrating the university and city culture, continuing downtown development and supporting local arts and music. As well as helping bring life back into the city of Greeley.

            “I would vote for him,” senior audiology major Karie Walter said. “ It’s cool that a former student and someone in their 20’s is up for the task of being mayor.”           

            Although True’s confidence seems unwavering and his campaign is inspiring, he may not meet the standard needed to hold the seat of the Greeley mayor.             According to the U.S. Census Buro, Greeley has one of the highest poverty rates in the state at about 21 percent. In a recent article in The (Greeley) Tribune, the test scores of school district 6 were highlighted because more test scores are decreasing than increasing. And even though the crime rate has been dropping in recent years, the Greeley crime rate is still higher than the national average.

            “I would like to see the mayor and school board focus on bridging the language gap in district 6. The necessary professionals and translators will help test scores improve,” senior education major Liz Blascoe said.

            Unfortunately for True, these kinds of issues take more than confidence to address. Greeley mayor and candidate Tom Norton is running for his second term. And if his previous term wasn’t enough experience, Mayor Norton has been a resident of Greeley for over 45 years.

            Mayor Norton has also been married to UNC’s President Kay Norton for over 35 years. The powerhouse couple has been able to work together on improving the university and Greeley relationship for years. Mayor Norton also has an extensive background career in politics and the Colorado government

            “I work in the president’s office on campus and I have come to know the Norton family on a more personal level. They are all great people and that is why I voted to re-elect mayor Norton,” senior criminal justice major Karli Cobb said.

            Going into the election this morning Mayor Norton was reported to be the favorite. The election results are being updated online for citizens and those involved in the election to stay up to date. And although True had some good ideas, as of about an hour ago Mayor Norton had almost triple as many votes as True.

            Even though not all of the results are in, it is probably safe to wish True better luck next time.

9-1-1 budget response

During these economic times it may be difficult to say who deserves a pay increase more but the city of Greeley is making room in their budget for salary increases.

In the 2012 budget there will be a merit increase of 2.6% with about $788,000 for salaries and benefits. This money will be distributed to around 554 fulltime non-union city employees.

However, the emergency dispatchers will be receiving the largest amount of the sum at about 11%.

“Being a dispatcher requires a lot of training and we discovered that our Greeley dispatchers had a high turnover rate.” Greeley City Council member Robb Casseday said.

Greeley City Council had a study conducted that compared their city employees’ pay rates with other surrounding cities. As it turns out, the dispatchers were not the only ones who were experiencing a negative outcome from their employment.

It was found that 26% of Greeley's city employees were below the average minimum salary compared with other cities. Also, that 10% were above the maximum salary. But the salary turnover rate for dispatchers was the highest.

According to council member Casseday, the merit will allow employees that are under the average salary to bump up to the minimum salary. The merit will also freeze the salary of the employees that are over the maximum.

With the remainder of the funds, the city plans to give pay increases to other non-union city employees based on performance.

“Hopefully this merit will make our employees want to stay in Greeley rather than trying to work for a higher paying city,” council member Casseday said.

As for the locals, it may be nice to know that when dealing with the emergency dispatchers, they are not only taking care of you but the city is taking care of them too. 

A Fair Trade

Greeley- Kids who play sports in school district 6 and the surrounding area may utilize the agreement of trading sports utility usage between University Schools and Greeley public schools.

A resolution for this agreement will be voted on by the Greeley City Council in two weeks.

But the agreement received positive feedback,especially from council member Robb Casseday.

University Schools is a public k-12 charter school located in west Greeley.According to Andy McRoberts, the director of Greeley's leisure services department, University Schools’ recreational matters are separate from the Greeley public schools.

“But University has limited space for sports,” McRoberts said.

Instead of resorting to renting out space to play sports, an agreement was customized to the schools needs for sports like soccer, football and track.

According to McRoberts, Greeley public schools sometimes have too many kids in their sports programs and not enough places to hold practice or games. The agreement allows children from both Greeley public schools and University Schools to use various gyms, courts, tracks and fields around the city.

“We choose to trade in the form of hours rather than a dollar amount,” McRoberts said.

In most cases the schools will trade facilities according to the sport and which season it is in order to avoid conflicting schedules.

“It is important for the citizens of Greeley to see how this relationship with University Schools benefits school district 6,” council member Robb Casseday said.

For more information on recreational programs please visit the recreation division website.

To view a full summary of the resolution, see the Greeley City Council agenda.

Guten Tag

Greeley- The residents of Greeley will be able to participate in the annual Oktoberfest this weekend.

This year marks the 10th Oktoberfest that the city of Greeley will sponsor, and it will take place at the historic downtown Lincoln Park on 8^th st. and 9^th ave.

Greeley's first Oktoberfest took place in 1971. 

The festival's events will stretch over two days. On Friday Sept. 23, Oktoberfest will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 10 p.m. Saturday the festivities will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 7 p.m.

Friday will mark the kick-off of the event and city council member Donna Sapienza will speak a few words of German in honor of the festival.

“The German culture is a traditional root for the city of Greeley,” Sapienza said. “I’m very excited to speak German at the kick-off this Friday.”

During the Oktoberfest Lincoln Park will be lined with booths and vendors that will have food, beer, and shopping.Oktoberfest is free for all adults and children, and there will be tickets for sale that can be used like cash at the booths and vendors. 

After reading the proclamation during the Sept. 20 meeting mayor Tom Norton said, “Please do join us at this event, everybody has a very good time. And it is a celebration for the farmers and people who will be providing for us for the rest of the year.”

“At Oktoberfest everyone is German,” said Alison Hamling, director of downtown experience.

For more information on this even go to the Downtown Development Authority website.