| LovelandPolitics.com |
Loveland - July 20, 2009
McWhinney’s inability to contribute even a portion of the monies it advertized the Centerra Metro District
would contribute to improvements at Crossroads Blvd. and the I-25 is putting the $3,000,0000 of
federal stimulus money for the project in jeopardy. The Metro District is facing a deadline of July 30,
2009 to fund its contribution. The money will now come as a type of "bail out" from another fund.
Earlier this year the McWhinney Company apparently mislead Loveland’s City Council and other regional
governments by assuring them McWhinney had funds available to contribute to the I-25 and Crossroads
interchange improvements without dipping into an escrow account established to protect funds for the I-
25 and U.S. 34 improvements between McWhinney’s Metro District and the City of Loveland.
On Tuesday night (July 21, 2009) the Loveland City Council is now being asked to transfer monies from
an escrow account established to protect funds for the I-25 and U.S. 34 improvements over to the
Crossroads and I-25 project to cover McWhinney’s promised contribution -- the appropriation of the
funds is being handled as an emergency measure by the city.
The staff report to council appears to mislead the elected officials by arguing the Crossroads project is
exceeding earlier estimates thus necesitating the transfer of funds. In fact, the low-bidder for the
Crossroads project, Jalisco International of Commerce City, bid only $4,886,511 to construct the
improvements while the estimate for the construction was $5,000,000 thus saving $113,489 of the
expected cost.
McWhinney is asking to remove $490,000 from the I-25 / U.S. 34 account but only proposes transferring
$414,000 to the Crossroads project. The remaining $76,000 McWhinney is looking to place into their
Metro District general account. While the official city documents identify the future use of those
transfered funds as “public improvements” this is an often abused term. McWhinney’s Metro District has
used such funds to construct signs advertising Centerra, landscaping and make other general
improvements to their commercial projects while calling them “public improvements.”
Ironically, the excuse for removing nearly half a million dollars from an escrow fund for a project they
are now over a year delinquent in starting is because the “estimates” are less than originally anticipated
for the I-25/US 34 improvements. McWhinney promised council to have the contract signed for the
construction "within 60 days" at the beginning of the summer. Now McWhinney is telling council there is
no choice but to raid the I-25 / U.S. 34 funds or risk loosing the $3 million in stimulus money for
Crossroads.
McWhinney appears to have artificially inflated the estimates for the Crossroads project last year to $6.4
million. This allowed the City of Loveland to make the argument that the stimulus money and other
federal funds were not supplanting any part of McWhinney’s Metro District’s obligation and claim
McWhinney’s Metro District was contribution $1.2 million. However, McWhinney is claiming a cost of
nearly $1 million for preparing the original drawings and plans so a large portion their “contribution” is
really soft costs for expenditures they already made in the past using the taxpayer funds from the Metro
District.
The $414,000 now being requested appears to be the only cash required to close the project on top of
the more than $ 4 million provided by various federal sources including the $3 million for the stimulus. It
appears in retrospect McWhinney was indeed relying on funds set-aside for the I-25 and U.S. 34
interchange improvements despite telling the Loveland City Council they were not in a public meeting that
was taped and broadcast.
In correspondence with CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) Loveland’s City Manager
appears to have also mislead the state organization when applying for stimulus funds evidenced by the
following statement by CDOT in a previous Loveland Politics story;
"In the case of the Crossroads Roundabouts, the dedicated funding is coming through Windsor, Loveland
and the URA. As we heard at the meeting, the agreement for funding is split between the three, with an
original cost estimate of $3.6M. The estimate is now over $6M, and the $3M on the stimulus list is a
placeholder to "make whole" the project. It is not to replace any of the funding already identified."
Now, Loveland City Manager Don Williams is providing the following explanation to the City Council
regarding the transfer of funds request:
“At the March 24, 2009 meeting, City Council approved Inter-Governmental Agreements (IGA’s) between
the City and the Centerra Metropolitan District No. 1 and the City and Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) for the construction and maintenance of the interim improvements to the I-
25/Crossroads Boulevard Interchange. Included within the IGA’s was language related to the funding
from the Centerra Metropolitan District No. 1 ($1,291,600) and Federal Funds through CDOT ($4,159,560
consisting of $3,000,000 from ARRA and $1,159,560 from STP Metro), totaling $5,451,160, for this project.
Upon receipt of the bids and tabulation of all costs related to the construction and construction
administration, materials testing, and City and CDOT oversight for this project, it was determined that the
total cost was $5,865,160 and that an additional $414,000 was necessary to make the project whole. The
additional funds have been made available from the Centerra Metropolitan District No. 1. This item
appropriates the additional funds so that they are available for obligating all the contracts.”
This would indicate McWhinney's Centerra District 1 short of money to fund obligations despite
assurances McWhinney company officials made to the contrary.
McWhinney’s inability to contribute even a portion of the monies it advertized the Centerra Metro District
would contribute to improvements at Crossroads Blvd. and the I-25 is putting the $3,000,0000 of
federal stimulus money for the project in jeopardy. The Metro District is facing a deadline of July 30,
2009 to fund its contribution. The money will now come as a type of "bail out" from another fund.
Earlier this year the McWhinney Company apparently mislead Loveland’s City Council and other regional
governments by assuring them McWhinney had funds available to contribute to the I-25 and Crossroads
interchange improvements without dipping into an escrow account established to protect funds for the I-
25 and U.S. 34 improvements between McWhinney’s Metro District and the City of Loveland.
On Tuesday night (July 21, 2009) the Loveland City Council is now being asked to transfer monies from
an escrow account established to protect funds for the I-25 and U.S. 34 improvements over to the
Crossroads and I-25 project to cover McWhinney’s promised contribution -- the appropriation of the
funds is being handled as an emergency measure by the city.
The staff report to council appears to mislead the elected officials by arguing the Crossroads project is
exceeding earlier estimates thus necesitating the transfer of funds. In fact, the low-bidder for the
Crossroads project, Jalisco International of Commerce City, bid only $4,886,511 to construct the
improvements while the estimate for the construction was $5,000,000 thus saving $113,489 of the
expected cost.
McWhinney is asking to remove $490,000 from the I-25 / U.S. 34 account but only proposes transferring
$414,000 to the Crossroads project. The remaining $76,000 McWhinney is looking to place into their
Metro District general account. While the official city documents identify the future use of those
transfered funds as “public improvements” this is an often abused term. McWhinney’s Metro District has
used such funds to construct signs advertising Centerra, landscaping and make other general
improvements to their commercial projects while calling them “public improvements.”
Ironically, the excuse for removing nearly half a million dollars from an escrow fund for a project they
are now over a year delinquent in starting is because the “estimates” are less than originally anticipated
for the I-25/US 34 improvements. McWhinney promised council to have the contract signed for the
construction "within 60 days" at the beginning of the summer. Now McWhinney is telling council there is
no choice but to raid the I-25 / U.S. 34 funds or risk loosing the $3 million in stimulus money for
Crossroads.
McWhinney appears to have artificially inflated the estimates for the Crossroads project last year to $6.4
million. This allowed the City of Loveland to make the argument that the stimulus money and other
federal funds were not supplanting any part of McWhinney’s Metro District’s obligation and claim
McWhinney’s Metro District was contribution $1.2 million. However, McWhinney is claiming a cost of
nearly $1 million for preparing the original drawings and plans so a large portion their “contribution” is
really soft costs for expenditures they already made in the past using the taxpayer funds from the Metro
District.
The $414,000 now being requested appears to be the only cash required to close the project on top of
the more than $ 4 million provided by various federal sources including the $3 million for the stimulus. It
appears in retrospect McWhinney was indeed relying on funds set-aside for the I-25 and U.S. 34
interchange improvements despite telling the Loveland City Council they were not in a public meeting that
was taped and broadcast.
In correspondence with CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) Loveland’s City Manager
appears to have also mislead the state organization when applying for stimulus funds evidenced by the
following statement by CDOT in a previous Loveland Politics story;
"In the case of the Crossroads Roundabouts, the dedicated funding is coming through Windsor, Loveland
and the URA. As we heard at the meeting, the agreement for funding is split between the three, with an
original cost estimate of $3.6M. The estimate is now over $6M, and the $3M on the stimulus list is a
placeholder to "make whole" the project. It is not to replace any of the funding already identified."
Now, Loveland City Manager Don Williams is providing the following explanation to the City Council
regarding the transfer of funds request:
“At the March 24, 2009 meeting, City Council approved Inter-Governmental Agreements (IGA’s) between
the City and the Centerra Metropolitan District No. 1 and the City and Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) for the construction and maintenance of the interim improvements to the I-
25/Crossroads Boulevard Interchange. Included within the IGA’s was language related to the funding
from the Centerra Metropolitan District No. 1 ($1,291,600) and Federal Funds through CDOT ($4,159,560
consisting of $3,000,000 from ARRA and $1,159,560 from STP Metro), totaling $5,451,160, for this project.
Upon receipt of the bids and tabulation of all costs related to the construction and construction
administration, materials testing, and City and CDOT oversight for this project, it was determined that the
total cost was $5,865,160 and that an additional $414,000 was necessary to make the project whole. The
additional funds have been made available from the Centerra Metropolitan District No. 1. This item
appropriates the additional funds so that they are available for obligating all the contracts.”
This would indicate McWhinney's Centerra District 1 short of money to fund obligations despite
assurances McWhinney company officials made to the contrary.
| McWhinney Doesn't Have Funds For Crossroads Stimulus money in jeodardy - Asks for monies from I-25/US 34 improvement fund |