鈥� The Greeley City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the city attorney鈥檚 office to bring legal action against the neighboring community of Windsor, claiming that the smaller community has ignored a 17-year-old intergovernmental agreement on infrastructure.
The IGA requires Windsor to share some of its wastewater-storage capacity with Greeley, an agreement that Greeley claims has been breached.
According to a resolution in city documents, the 鈥渂reaches have seriously jeopardized proposed commercial and residential development of (commonly identified) properties located within the City of Greeley.鈥�
The council voted 6-0, with Mayor John Gates excused, to pass the resolution, which also stated that the city is 鈥渃oncerned鈥� that Windsor also will ignore its IGA obligations to help with transportation improvements to the intersection of U.S. Highway 34 and Weld County Road 17 north to Weld County Road 60.
Windsor mayor Julie Cline sent the council a note Tuesday addressing the resolution. In her letter, which was not included in Greeley鈥檚 meeting documents, Cline stated: 鈥淭his threat of litigation stems from Greeley鈥檚 request for a substantially reduced rate of fees and costs for Windsor鈥檚 treatment of Greeley鈥檚 future sewage needs. The 2008 Intergovernmental Agreement does not require Windsor to provide Greeley a better rate than it provides its own residents, and the threat of a lawsuit does nothing positive to change this fact.鈥�
Greeley鈥檚 resolution states that Windsor agreed to provide Greeley capacity in its wastewater-treatment plant in 100,000 gallons-per-day blocks to accommodate growth in the west Greeley area. The IGA also called on Windsor to reserve wastewater-treatment capacity for Greeley once its plant reached 80% of its operating capacity, and to begin construction on an expansion of the wastewater-treatment plant once the plant reached 90% of its operating capacity.
Cline鈥檚 letter stated, 鈥淭he Town Board believes that your resolution is premature as Windsor is currently designing and constructing a new sewer plant in compliance with our requirements in the 2008 IGA. Windsor鈥檚 design and construction of the new plant is in full cooperation and collaboration required under the IGA.鈥�
Greeley鈥檚 resolution further stated that the 17-year-old agreement found that 鈥淕reeley and Windsor also agreed to share equally the costs of any and all general improvements and maintenance to Weld County Road 17 between U.S. Highway 34 and Weld County Road 60, and to negotiate in good faith concerning an improved road interchange at the intersection of Weld County Road 17 and U.S. Highway 34.鈥�
The Greeley City Council originally was scheduled to consider the resolution March 18, but the matter was pulled from that agenda to allow for a mayoral meeting.
Greeley mayor pro tem Dale Hall noted that he and Gates met with Cline and Windsor鈥檚 mayor pro tem, and agreed to modify the resolution to state that Greeley is 鈥渃oncerned鈥� that Windsor is not complying with the agreement that asks Windsor to contribute to transportation improvements in that area.鈥�
The original resolution charged that the Town of Windsor was breaching the transportation requirements. The council voted unanimously to amend that language.
Cline鈥檚 letter stated that Windsor believed the town was in full compliance with the agreement.
Growth and development along U.S. Highway 34 in west Greeley 鈥� and how to manage and pay for infrastructure improvements 鈥� has assumed increased significance in recent months as the city considers various large-scale developments in the area.
