As cities across the State of Colorado prepare to receive State of Colorado funds to upgrade railroad crossings to allow for “quiet zones” in their cities (thus exempting their town from the 2005 Federal Law requiring excessive whistle blowing before crossing roadways) Loveland’s resident are being told in essence to “pay-up or shut-up” about the train noise. Loveland’s City Council will receive a report from staff and a city consultant on March 10, 2009 during a council study session. see story
LovelandPolitics has been informed that City Manager Don Williams and Mayor Gene Pielin are looking to impose the “burden” of paying for the crossing upgrades on the residents in Loveland who live near railroad tracks by proposing a “special district tax.” They believe the threat of a proposed property tax increase for those living near a railroad track will “make the complainers go away” and resolve the issue.
The engineering firm of Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig, in concert with this strategy, held a “public information meeting” on February 19, 2009 regarding the issue known as Quiet Zones. The firm has roughly estimated the cost of both improving the safety devices at Loveland’s railroad crossings and upgrading the roadways and pedestrian infrastructure at $9.5 million. Every local media outlet has now reported the high cost of upgrading the crossings but failed to distinguish between the costs of updating already differed maintenance and modernization or substandard infrastructure and the few extra improvements required to become a quite zone.
Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig used a cookie cutter presentation to “inform” residents of Loveland about the issue but unfortunately provided the community false information regarding the availability of federal or state funding. The firm’s presentation stated that no such funding is available but instead proposed three potential sources – general fund, sales tax or the special district.
These are not the city’s only options. While State and Federal funding should have been sought by the city 3 years ago, it is not correct to say that none is available. Cities hosting the new commuter rail into Northern Colorado will receive that funding in addition to cities across the country using the federal transportation stimulus monies for crossing improvements. Loveland’s representative to the MPO (regional transportation consortium) Larry Heckel has advocated stimulus money instead be spent to improve Crossroads Blvd. and I-25 thus relieving McWhinney’s metro district of the obligation. (see the February posting on this blog for details)
The conclusion that the city cannot afford the upgrades is also not true. Loveland bought a large parcel of land near I-25 for over $6 million (see Lovelandpolitics.com/landbuy) that could be subdivided and sold at auction to the highest bidder. In addition, the City of Loveland bought water shares (to induce people near Johnstown to annex into Loveland) and other speculative non-real property acquisitions at the whim of the city manager and the previous council to expand city boundaries farther South along the I-25. You can watch a video clip of Loveland’s City Manager Don Williams explain to Loveland’s City Council in January of 2008 how the Annexation of land could cost only $2.6 million because they were overpaying the value of water shares but such an amount isn’t really significant on the city’s overall budget.
According to sources inside Loveland’s finance department, sales tax in the city is already down 11% this year and City Manager Don Williams will make a public announcement at the April 14, 2009 council special budget meeting. Nonetheless, a property tax increase is hardly the only solution available. City Manager, Don Williams, is up to his old tricks of trying to drive the study session, consultant data and public input into a single predetermined conclusion – a “make the complainers pay for it” conclusion.
LovelandPolitics has also uncovered a 2006 briefing from a Florida engineering firm on Quiet Zones that appears remarkably similar to the presentation provided by Loveland’s consultant. See the complete story and compare the briefings – decide for yourself whether the money Loveland paid the consultant to prepare a briefing with 3 year old data all over the web was really a wise use of taxpayer dollars.
I never believed the $9.5 million figure. Those estimates even include crossings on private farms and I-25 frontage road. Nobody cares about those since no one lives there. Asking the consultant to even evaluate those was a waste of taxpayer’s money.
It does look like the real motive is to drive the estimate up to the highest possible number just tell everyone they can’t afford to do it.
Thanks a lot for the story! As someone who followed this for a longtime I can say your article was the first time I learned something when reading about it in the news. The others just repeat what they are told which makes their coverage boring and inaccurate.
I like the idea of the city selling the 97 acres they bought near Johnstown and using those funds to fix the rail crossings. Why should anyone suffer with the noise because the city manager wants to play land speculator with our hard earned tax dollars? Doesn’t anyone on the council have a backbone?
Below is a link to a state mineral and energy assistance grant that could be used for some of these improvements, especially the RR crossings to enhance them and improve pedestrian amenities and safety. Its a small grant but the City could use it to do a couple of the key crossings over several years since you can keep applying. The City is eligible because of the oil and gas wells in the City’s Growth Management Area. Also, if the trains are hauling coal it would create a direct link and impact to use the money to mitigate problems. The City could also use some of the CDBG money that it receives annually, with the stimulus increase, to help fund capital improvements in neighborhoods with low and moderate income residents such as the ares north and south of downtown. The City manager will direct the outcome of this thing to meet his pre-determined conclusion without consideration of other ideas or opposing views, internally or externally. He reaches a conclusion and then directs staff and/or consultants to support is pre-ordained decision without input or creativity to look at other options. This project is a perfect example. Somehow or some way the only answer for Loveland to move forward to seek a change in the administration of the City.
https://dola.colorado.gov/dlg/fa/eiaf/index.html
A project like this will create jobs, improve infrastructure… sounds pretty “shovel ready” to me. Why don’t our city officials ask for some of that stimulus money I hear so much about?
Why doesn’t the city apply for state and federal funding to bring commuter train traffic where the people are? The train tracks are in sort of a central corridor where there is more density of people who could use a green, fuel efficient alternative to cars. The I-25 area just has stores.
Hmmm – a special taxing district? I’m assuming that means that along the tracks the property have higher tax making them even less appealing for resale. Train noise, higher taxes, decreased market value, more foreclosures. What is the city thinking? Why aren’t the residents dumping tea in Lake Loveland?
The evidence suggests you’re right… the City Manager and Mayor do appear to be trying to make the “troublemakers” shut up by implied threat of higher taxes to fix “their” problem, when other solutions seem to be available. Of course, as you point out, part of the problem is that the City has only cared about infrastructure needed by its friends, the big developers on the fringes… they could care less about the already-built city. Sorry to say, all this is par for the course here.
And it would not be the 1st time a consultant provided questionable numbers to match the desired outcome of their client. And boy, did that consultant make out pretty good … they appear at least to have just used another firm’s work and called it their own. Seems like a good line of work if you can get it!
And what of the $800,000 “mistake” his honor and comrades allowed recently? Who’s going to pay for that?