When I served on the Greeley-Evans School Board, I saw the best of our community. I saw city officials, county commissioners, chamber members, business leaders, residents, and school board members come together around visions and ideas.
At the time, we were looking for ways to invest in our town’s future. Together, we traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to learn about the Kalamazoo Promise and find out how we could give every child a college scholarship upon high school graduation.
We learned that to generate funds for their ambitious project, Kalamazoo had built a downtown hotel surrounded by supporting businesses. We spoke to local leaders and learned from their project, and then adapted Kalamazoo’s success right here at home — implementing G Town Promise. We passed a bond issue and a mill levy override. We rebuilt Greeley West and completed long-overdue improvements. I was — and still am — so proud of my community and our commitment.
This is why I find the current Cascadia Project and how our local elected officials are approaching it so concerning.
Greeley’s government has been pushing full steam ahead on a $1.1 billion hockey stadium project, with taxpayers footing the bill. Unlike the Kalamazoo Promise, Cascadia has no guarantee of investment in our local people or community. The hockey team is privately owned, and its financials are unknown. Our local town council has not asked Martin Lind, the team’s owner, to make any investment or agree to any terms to stay in the area or give any benefit back to our town. Unlike the public-private partnerships we created with the Kalamazoo Promise, Cascadia appears to be a taxpayer-funded public giveaway to a private CEO.
Our elected officials have not done due diligence to find out why Lind’s current stadium in Loveland is not working out. As far as we know, they haven’t traveled to Larimer County – far closer than Kalamazoo – to learn from them or get the answers to the numerous questions that have been raised about the Cascadia Project. At recent town council meetings, Greeley citizens have had many questions. Citizens have asked how much water this massive facility would need, if the town will need to invest in roads to handle traffic, or if school district boundaries will be altered. Answers are few and far between.
Bringing community together is hard work. When I served on the school board, we disagreed on some things, but we shared a goal to make Greeley better for our residents. Together, we turned District 6 (which I represented) around and developed internships and opportunities for kids.
The focus of our town’s leadership today appears to be less about investing in the people of Greeley and more about landing the Cascadia. Nonetheless, community members have repeatedly been showing up to question this move, to challenge the process, and to ask about both spending and community benefits.
It is not wrong for community members to ask how they will benefit from the Cascadia Project — in fact, it is right. After all, it is our money that will be footing this enormous bill, and our government needs to get us the best deal. We are asking if Greeley residents and businesses will beneift with jobs and contracts from the Cascadia Project; if Greeley residents (especially those who are low or middle income) will be helped with affording access to Cascadia; and if a Community Benefits Agreement could help ensure Greeley residents are truly at the table as decision about this project are made.
It is the job of an elected official to listen to the community, but that is not what residents are experiencing in Greeley. The city appears to only listen to Lind, who does not live here. I’m shocked at the number of unanswered questions around the project, the lack of transparency, and the disregard for community input. I’m surprised by the partnership with a for-profit entity that does not rise to the level of community commitment that I have previously experienced in our town.
Rhonda Solis is a long-time Greeley resident and former District 6 school board member and State Board of Education member representing Congressional District 8.
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