Water Damage Restoration in Greeley, CO

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Wednesday, October 23rd 2024

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Plenty of family-friendly trick-or-treat events are set to take place in the days leading up to Halloween next week.

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A financial transaction similar to a home mortgage, but on a larger scale, is how the state of Colorado completed deals for funding a $247 million bill for higher education health care projects including the University of Northern Colorado’s college of osteopathic medicine.

State Treasurer Dave Young, a Greeley resident, said funding was finalized earlier this month through a financing vehicle known as certificate of participation agreements.

“The work we do in the Treasury is very similar to what most people do with their family finances,” Young said. “We have some savings. Most people can’t save all of the money they need to buy a house, right? They go to a bank or some lending institution, and they negotiate an interest rate and they go through a whole process of closing.”

In the spring, state lawmakers passed House Bill 24-1231 allocating the money to pay for capital costs related to the construction and renovation of facilities at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado State in Fort Collins and Trinidad State College in addition to UNC. Northern Colorado was allotted the majority of the bill’s total package to build and develop the university’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine.

The university will build a 100,000-square-foot academic center for $127.5 million on the land currently occupied by Bishop-Lehr Hall on the west side of campus. UNC is in the process of demolishing Bishop-Lehr.

Metro State and Colorado State will each receive $50 million for a health institute tower and veterinary education complex, respectively. Trinidad State will use $19.3 million to renovate its Valley Campus main building.

“The allocation to the University of Northern Colorado will support the construction, startup, and accreditation expenses necessary to establish our new College of Osteopathic Medicine,” UNC President Andy Feinstein said in a news release from the Colorado Treasury.

The university expects construction on the new building to begin in early 2025. The first class of students could enroll in 2026.

State Rep. Mary Young, D-Greeley, who is also Dave Young’s wife, was one of four prime sponsors of the bill approving funding for the four schools. The other prime sponsors were Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, R-Weld County; Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada; and Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Adams County.

Mary Young and Kirkmeyer earlier this year both spoke of the power of the bill because of the different training programs addressed at a time when there is a need to invest in the health care workforce statewide.

A certificate of participation is a tax-exempt lease-purchase agreement. The state often uses the COPs to fund construction of new facilities instead of issuing bonds or another form of long-term debt. A certificate refers to an investor’s proportionate interest in the state’s lease payments.

Bonds, which are often used by school districts in Colorado to fund capital projects, are a fixed-income instrument representing a loan made by an investor to a borrower. These borrowers are typically corporate or government entities.

While a bond requires a vote of the people under the Colorado Constitution, a COP does not.

Dave Young said investors buy the certificates of participation and then own the buildings on the sites and lease those back to the universities. Payments are made annually through appropriations from the state legislature until the money and interest are repaid.

The state negotiated an interest rate of 4% on the COPs.

“Once everything is sold, then it becomes the property of the universities,” Young said.

He called the interest rate a “great deal” for the state, though it’s a higher rate than what might have been set a few years ago.

“Right now, most people are well above 4% if they’re borrowing money for a mortgage,” Young added.

The money is transferred to a custodial bank from the institutional investors, who can be individuals or big investment firms. US Bank is the custodial bank for the UNC project. As the custodian bank, US Bank oversees and disburses funds through a legal process when money is needed.

He said the agreement for a COP is similar to the process of buying a house — from assessment, inspections and securing a mortgage to closing.

“The money doesn’t come directly to the institutions or come directly to the Treasury,” Young said. “It’s in this custodial bank.”

For 55 years, the staff and cooks at Farmers Inn in LaSalle have served its quaint community Mexican food that didn’t require posh ingredients, but rather simple ingredients that turned customers into family.

“I had someone ask me yesterday what the recipe was for our nacho cheese,” said Annette Hopkins, restaurant manager. “I was like, well, we spread it and put it on the chips.”

Hopkins and co-owner Kelly Martinez said the cheese isn’t anything special. Still, after more than 50 years of building relationships with countless customers, all the love poured into all their food — even the nacho cheese — has made the restaurant at 109 3rd Ave. renowned.

It’s that love and the relationships formed that had Hopkins, Martinez and her sister and co-owner Stephanie McKee fighting back tears when asked what their favorite memories are of the restaurant the family has operated since 1970. From working with their fathers to learning customer service skills and welcoming customers with a smile, the memories and tears flowed.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, the restaurant that served nachos, chile rellenos, stuffed sopapillas and other eats to LaSalle residents and others across Weld County and beyond closes permanently.

Martinez said the trio decided in June to sell the building, which is now under contract. A few weeks ago, they decided to close.

Martinez and Hopkins said the lingering effects of COVID-19, the economy, current restaurant regulations and staffing factored into their decision to step away from the restaurant where all three have put in more than 40 years of service. A few years ago, the restaurant started closing on Mondays to try to alleviate staffing problems, but increases in minimum wages and food costs were too much to overcome.

“I think we’re all just getting older and tired,” Martinez said. “I think we’re ready for a new chapter.”

Brothers Cecil and Vincent Vigil started the restaurant in a building a few blocks away from the current location. Cecil is the father of Martinez and McKee, and Vincent is the father of Hopkins. Flora Vigil, Hopkins’ mother, is another co-owner. Hopkins’ brother, David Vigil, and Cheree Miller are longtime staff members.

Being that it’s a family affair makes it even harder for them to step away from what their fathers built, but there is some hope that they could be back in some capacity in the future. They said they’re keeping the Farmers Inn name, along with the recipes, and the door is open for them to return to the restaurant industry — just not anytime soon. Once it closes, the sisters and their cousin plan on enjoying the next chapters of their lives.

Since announcing the closure, McKee said they’ve been busy trying to keep food stocked. When Greeley’s Fat Albert’s announced it was closing in August, a rush of people came to eat there, causing the restaurant to run out of food a few times. Mckee said it’s been busy and they have run out of some items, but customers have been understanding.

The trio is thankful to their customers for years of loyalty and memories.

“When I was in high school, everybody my age worked here,” McKee said. “You’ve seen people grow up here.”

As for what they hope the legacy the restaurant leaves, it’s as simple as their nacho cheese: It’s the legacy of family.

“It was a family place,” Hopkins said. “It’s our dads. A lot of people talk about them all the time.”

To keep updated with the restaurant before it closes, go to its Facebook.

Weld County evaluates restaurants, schools, grocery stores and other facilities that handle food on a scale of three categories — pass, reinspection required and closed. As part of the county’s scoring index, officials evaluate facilities on factors such as cooling, reheating, cooking refrigeration and hot-holding equipment, cross-contamination between raw foods and ready-to-eat foods and employee hygiene, according to the county.

“Pass” — The establishment meets fundamental food safety standards. The establishment could have some priority, priority foundation or core violations. Some or all violations were corrected during inspection.

“Reinspection required” — Food safety violations were found and corrections may have been made, but the rating requires a reinspection to ensure basic food standards are met.

“Closed” — Significant unsanitary conditions or other imminent health hazards were found. The establishment has multiple priority, priority foundation or core violations representing high risk. Facility must cease operations until conditions and violations are corrected.

Establishments that scored a “closed” and marked with a * indicate that the facility later met requirements to reopen.

The following restaurants and facilities were evaluated from Oct. 18-24, 2024.

Greeley

• Berry Blendz, 7008 W. 10th St., Suite 100. Routine. Pass.

• Bittersweet Liquor, 3504 W. 10th St. Routine. Pass.

• Cruisers, 1020 28th Ave., Suite 109B. Routine. Pass.

• Domino’s Pizza, 3521 W. 10th St. Routine. Pass.

• El Tradicional Restaurant Meat Market, 2319 8th Ave. Reinspection. Pass.

• Hank’s Bar & Grill, 22999 U.S. 34. Routine. Pass.

• Jimmy John’s, 6925 W. 10th St., Suite 300. Routine. Pass.

• Katrina’s Ice Cream & Snacks, 819 10th St., Unit B. Routine. Pass.

• Los Ponchos Mexican Restaurant, 6925 W. 10th St. Routine. Pass.

• Pollo Feliz, 921 36th Ave. Routine. Reinspection required.

• Seven Fish, 1116 9th St. Routine. Pass.

• Shawsheen Elementary School, 4020 W. 7th St. Routine. Pass.

• St. Mary Catholic Church, 2222 23rd Ave. Routine. Pass.

• Tacos “El No Se Que,” 1024 8th St. Routine. Pass.

• West Ridge Academy Charter School, 6905 W. 8th St. Routine. Pass.

Evans

• Sam’s Club, 3247 23rd Ave. Routine. Pass.

Johnstown

• Elwell Elementary School, 155 Silverbell Drive. Routine. Pass.

Windsor

• Jimmy John’s, 1180 Main St., Unit 1. Routine. Pass.

• Maverik, 375 E. Main St. St. Routine. Pass.

• Orchard Hill Elementary, 2015 Covered Bridge Parkway. Routine. Pass.

• Pizza Hut Restaurant, 100 12th St. Routine. Pass.

• Tiho’s Tequil Bar and Restaurant, 301 Main St., Unit B. Routine. Pass.

Nature lovers in Greeley have reason to celebrate, especially those in west Greeley, as rare wildlife may soon be found in their own backyards.

The city’s Culture, Parks and Recreation Department on Tuesday presented an update to the Greeley City Council on the acquisition of 978 acres of open space, the largest tract east of Interstate 25.

With grant support from Great Outdoors Colorado and in collaboration with the Trust for Public Lands, the city acquired what had been known as the ShurView property near Missile Site Park in northwest Greeley for $8.5 million in April 2022. The city had been attempting to purchase the property for 20 years.

Greeley put forth $5.5 million of the total cost using revenue from the city’s quality of life tax. The remaining balance came from Great Outdoors Colorado, Land and Water Conservation Fund, the town of Windsor and the North American Wetland Conservation Act fund.

After the open space was purchased, the Culture, Parks and Recreation Department got to work to set up the area as a hub for biodiversity, a wildlife habitat and a place for outdoor recreation.

The open space has a total of 91 different animal species and 168 different plant species, a few of which are very rare for this area of Colorado such as the American bumblebee and bald eagle. There is also a plant called the milkvetch that had not been seen in Weld County since 1833.

The Parks and Recreation Board selected the name “Arroyos del Sol” for the space after sorting through nearly 90 name suggestions that were received between the project start in 2022 and 2023. The name refers to the natural land features of the space, as well as the city’s Hispanic and Latino communities. The official naming will come at a later date after the board makes a formal recommendation to city council.

The city will develop the open space in phases over the next several years. The area will feature trailheads, bike trails and multimodal transportation connections. In total, the city expects the the project to cost somewhere between $22 million and $33.5 million, sourcing funding from private contributions as well as state and federal grant funding.

While the project and the vision presented to council has unanimous support, Councilwoman Deb Deboutez did raise a concern about the other nearby developments and proposed road expansions.

The land is composed of about 600 acres to the east of Colo. 257 and about 400 acres to its west, bordered to the north by the Poudre River. A portion of it has apparently blocked the continuation of 4th Street west toward the highway, and the space is also very close to land that Windsor’s Martin Lind has proposed to build an entertainment district that could include ice arenas, a water park, hotel and commercial development.

“I think there’s going to have to be some conversations,” City Manager Raymond C. Lee III said. “There may be some opportunity of swapping land, too.”

To do this, the city would try to incorporate land that might be owned by developers on adjacent plots so that the open space can maintain its size and projects can go off as intended.

“I think this project is going to come into question how we look at open space out west all together and how we incorporate that into development,” Lee said.

According to the plan, “700 acres of shortgrass prairie and arroyo habitat will be enhanced and protected as high quality habitat critical to declining species, including burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks, mountain plover, chestnut-collared longspur, and long-billed curlew.

“Arroyo habitat will be enhanced and protected as high-quality habitat and wildlife corridors for mammals, birds, and reptiles. Eleven acres of wetland and riparian floodplain will be enhanced and protected as high-quality habitat and wildlife corridor, contributing to the ecological health and resiliency of the region. More than 500 acres of black-tailed prairie dog habitat will be monitored and protected.”

— BizWest reporter Sharon Dunn contributed to this report.

Originally Published: October 25, 2024 at 4:41 p.m.