NEWS BLOG |
Loveland's Independent News Source |
Loveland Lobbies Against URA Reform |
51st State House Representative Brian DelGrosso |
From: Rod Wensing Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 3:13 PM To: Representative Brian Delgrosso - State of Colorado (brian@bdelgrosso.com) Cc: Mark Radtke (mradtke@cml.org); Bill Cahill; Alan Krcmarik; Mike Scholl Subject: Possible CCI URA Bill: Local Pressure to Support Importance: High Hi Representative Delgrosso, I recently became aware that you may be getting some local political pressure to support / sponsor a new URA Bill this session that would further erode the flexibility of Colorado Cities and Towns to address the unique challenges around redevelopment issues that most communities are encountering. I would ask that you not succumb to this pressure as I think it is important for you to be aware that over the past few months, there have been conversations among the local government managers of Larimer County, Loveland and Fort Collins concerning use of Urban Renewal Areas (URAs) and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to solve this issue locally rather than have the State Legislature get involved. Linda Hoffmann, Darin Atteberry and Bill Cahill have had separate (two by two) discussions on whether we might come to some new consensual understanding on the proper use of URAs and TIF. Some of the discussion has centered on the recent success of the City of Loveland-Larimer County agreement for TIF from the Brinkman Galley Flats project in the Downtown area. As a result, Larimer County Manager, Linda Hoffman is taking the lead in convening a conversation with municipal staffs throughout the county, as well as other taxing jurisdictions. Senior management staffs of the organizations will meet throughout the year to discuss common interests in the success of URAs, accurate measurements of the benefits and financial impacts of URAs, and any resolutions we see to come to a common approach to the formation and use of URAs. It is expected that the three core jurisdictions in the discussions will be Larimer, Loveland and Fort Collins. However, the process will also include some method for other municipalities and taxing jurisdictions to participate. Please accept my thanks in advance for your consideration of this important request and please find attached the City’s 2014 Legislative Policy Agenda in which it indicates Loveland’s strong support of the preservation of local control. I stand ready to answer any questions you may have. I also hear that there is a new little addition to the Delgrosso family….congratulations! With Regards, Rod Wensing Assistant City Manager City of Loveland, Colorado 970-962-2301 rod.wensing@cityofloveland.org From: Bill Cahill <Bill.Cahill@cityofloveland.org> Date: Thursday, February 13, 2014 Subject: FW: Possible CCI URA Bill: Local Pressure to Support To: "'Tom Donnelly' (donnelt@co.larimer.co.us)" <donnelt@co. larimer.co.us> Cc: Linda Hoffmann <hoffmalc@co.larimer.co.us>, "'NEIL GLUCKMAN' (gluckmn@co.larimer.co.us)" <gluckmn@co.larimer. co.us>, Mayor - Cecil Gutierrez <Cecil.Gutierrez@cityofloveland. org>, Rod Wensing <Rod.Wensing@cityofloveland.org> Hello all: Word has traveled to you that the City of Loveland has asked that Representative Brian del Grosso not sponsor or support a bill on URAs that we have heard about. I am forwarding to you the e-mail we sent to Brian, so that you can see it. You’ll see that we are requesting that Brian not sponsor or support, because we think that we can begin to address these issues locally. We are optimistic that the process Larimer County is starting will have some productive results. Of course, we are also concerned because we’ve not seen the bill and can’t be sure what’s in it. If you share the material, then that might help to address our concern. Thank you. Bill William D. Cahill City Manager City of Loveland 500 East Third Street Loveland, CO 80537 v 970.962.2306 f 970.962.2900 bill.cahill@cityofloveland.org |