Greeley council pulls Civic Campus items from July 7 agenda, sets July 14 special meeting

The Greeley City Council voted Tuesday to set a special meeting for July 14 to take up two Civic Campus items it removed from the regular agenda: a resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to building a new City Hall and an executive session tied to negotiations and legal advice on the project. Acting under temporary Chair Johnny Olson, the council dropped Items 23 and 26 from that night’s agenda after staff recommended delaying them because of the project’s significance.

The motion to schedule the special meeting passed 5-0. During the agenda review, City Manager Craig Huddleston told the council staff recommended continuing both Civic Campus items either to July 14 or to the July 21 regular meeting, and said staff’s preference was a special meeting next week. City Attorney Arzeda advised Olson that the council could remove the two items from the agenda, but would need a vote to set the special meeting.

Item 23 is Resolution No. 100, 2026, which would reaffirm the city’s commitment to planning, design, financing and construction of a new City Hall as part of the Civic Campus project and affirm the city’s intent to finance it with Certificates of Participation. The agenda packet described that vote as the next major implementation milestone for the Civic Campus portion of the broader downtown redevelopment plan.

That Civic Campus proposal centers on the block bounded by 10th Street, 8th Avenue, 11th Street and 9th Avenue, with plans for a new City Hall, School District 6 administrative offices and a boutique hotel. The staff report put the current City Hall project cost at about $83.6 million, including $68.6 million in construction, $11.5 million in soft costs and $3.5 million for land acquisition. It said the building program had grown to about 104,000 square feet.

The resolution itself would not authorize final debt issuance. Instead, it would express the city’s intent to use COPs, a lease-backed financing mechanism repaid through annual appropriations, while reserving later council approval for any final borrowing package. Staff said moving ahead this year would help maintain coordination with School District 6 and Weld County, reimburse predevelopment costs sooner, and reduce exposure to construction inflation and financing risk.

Item 26, also postponed to the July 14 special meeting, is the related executive-session motion. The agenda said council would meet in executive session to receive legal advice and instruct negotiators regarding the Civic Campus project and the development agreement.