Loveland -- August 2, 2007
As promised in advertisements and an angry letter to the editor, Chad McWhinney
and senior staff from Centerra faced the public Wednesday night (Aug. 1) and
answered questions regarding the proposed Grand Station development east of I-
25 in Loveland.
Approximately 40 people attended the meeting in downtown Loveland that was
open to the public. A presentation was given to the audience regarding the
proposed Grand Station and the now infamous trolley proposal.
Questions could be submitted to McWhinney only in writing but that didn’t
prevent some audience members from posing some very tough and critical
questions. More than 30 questions were recorded on the projector screen for the
audience to review as Chad McWhinney and Rocky Scott (McWhinney
employee) attempted to respond to every question.
A common theme in the questions was what impact more development east of I-
25 will have on Loveland’s downtown. Another common concern was the
large amount of money McWhinney and their various limited partnerships have
contributed to local campaigns and the last question inquired as to Chad
McWhinney's stance on the proposed ballot initiative to limit contributions to local
candidates in Loveland. The answer simply stated they would follow whatever the
law is and provided no certain position on the ballot initiative.
In response to a question regarding the large amounts of money the McWhinneys
have contributed to local politicians, Rocky Scott said Centerra is a large company
that contributes to many different causes and indicated he wasn't aware of any
effort to coordinate contributions through various companies. A follow-up
question challenged his answer by questioning his inability to remember
contributions that he had made. According to campaign financial disclosure
records, the many contributions from the various McWhinney companies arrived
on the same day, for the same amount and each using the same address and suite
number as the location of the contributor.
Other questions focused on more trivial matters such as how Centerra got its
name, which upscale department store may be attracted to the development and
whether Centerra plans on putting out Christmas lights again this year. Some in the
audience speculated these were not authentic questions but some fluff created by
McWhinney's staff to ensure the questions were not all negative.
As promised in advertisements and an angry letter to the editor, Chad McWhinney
and senior staff from Centerra faced the public Wednesday night (Aug. 1) and
answered questions regarding the proposed Grand Station development east of I-
25 in Loveland.
Approximately 40 people attended the meeting in downtown Loveland that was
open to the public. A presentation was given to the audience regarding the
proposed Grand Station and the now infamous trolley proposal.
Questions could be submitted to McWhinney only in writing but that didn’t
prevent some audience members from posing some very tough and critical
questions. More than 30 questions were recorded on the projector screen for the
audience to review as Chad McWhinney and Rocky Scott (McWhinney
employee) attempted to respond to every question.
A common theme in the questions was what impact more development east of I-
25 will have on Loveland’s downtown. Another common concern was the
large amount of money McWhinney and their various limited partnerships have
contributed to local campaigns and the last question inquired as to Chad
McWhinney's stance on the proposed ballot initiative to limit contributions to local
candidates in Loveland. The answer simply stated they would follow whatever the
law is and provided no certain position on the ballot initiative.
In response to a question regarding the large amounts of money the McWhinneys
have contributed to local politicians, Rocky Scott said Centerra is a large company
that contributes to many different causes and indicated he wasn't aware of any
effort to coordinate contributions through various companies. A follow-up
question challenged his answer by questioning his inability to remember
contributions that he had made. According to campaign financial disclosure
records, the many contributions from the various McWhinney companies arrived
on the same day, for the same amount and each using the same address and suite
number as the location of the contributor.
Other questions focused on more trivial matters such as how Centerra got its
name, which upscale department store may be attracted to the development and
whether Centerra plans on putting out Christmas lights again this year. Some in the
audience speculated these were not authentic questions but some fluff created by
McWhinney's staff to ensure the questions were not all negative.
LovelandPolitics.com
| McWhinney Hosts Community Forum In Effort To Rebut Negative Publicity |
| Rocky Scott (below-left) and Chad McWhinney address group of Loveland residents Aug. 1- click here to hear Chad McWhinney read and answer question regarding concerns raised that he failed to mention the subsidy required for the trolley when Grand Station was first announced |
| Rocky Scott seen here answering question regarding Campaign Finance Reform Initiative. Click here to hear his comments Also, McWhinney calls idea to link trolley to downtown Loveland a "great idea" |