A Waste of Time?

Mayor Ed Clark told the Director of Finance, Tim Nash that he might have wasted his time presenting a proposal for increasing development fees. “Mr. Nash, I do not know if you have any support here,” Clark said at the Greeley City Council meeting earlier this evening. What concerned the Council and the residents of Greeley the most was the impact the ordinance would have on small business developments and home-buyers. Greeley is a small town that relies on small businesses. Council member Carrol Martin says he is worried that small businesses will not want to build here if the fees are raised. Greeley apparently lost a small business development to Pueblo and it was speculated at the meeting that the reason for this was Greeley’s higher fees. Tom Marrik, civil engineer and member of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce, said he assessed both Greeley and Pueblo developing fees and Greeley is much higher. He added that other cities are reducing impact fees. Chris Moser, President of Weld County Business Association, said the ordinance eliminates the incentives to develop here and small businesses will look at other communities that will better support their needs. Tony Belfiore, home builder, said he has been building homes in the community since he was a student at the University of Northern Colorado in the 70’s and this will be the first time on over 30 years he will not build a new home. The reason he gives for this is the cost of building a new home is higher than the appraised value. Increasing fees would not be “economically responsible,” he said.