Fort Collins-CSU stadium pact criticized as not strong enough

FORT COLLINS — About 70 members of the public turned out Wednesday night at the Drake Center to study the working draft of an intergovernmental agreement between Fort Collins and Colorado State University regarding impacts on the city from construction and operation of the school’s proposed 36,000-seat on-campus football stadium.

Deputy City Manager Jeff Mihelich, city councilmen Gerry Horak and Ross Cunniff, and members of the city and CSU staffs who had worked to craft the agreement answered questions as citizens milled about, studying displays with the terms of the proposed agreement that is meant to define which entity is responsible for what and which pays for what.

Those who entered the room were handed an information sheet on city of Fort Collins letterhead. Making reference to the acrimonious debate over the $242 million project that has polarized the city and campus alike, the note’s second paragraph read, “Tonight’s event was not about whether the stadium should or should not be built. That decision was already made by the Colorado State University Board of Governors. The city has no jurisdiction over decisions made by CSU and the university is not obligated to work with the city on mitigation measures.”

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Cunniff, a strident stadium opponent whose district includes the main CSU campus and some neighborhoods surrounding it, pointed to one of the IGA’s sections that stated that if either party defaulted on any of the IGA’s terms and no remedy could be reached, the non-defaulting party could terminate the agreement and all its obligations within 30 days.

“This is not nearly as strong as it’s made out to be,” Cunniff said. “It’s not the kind of binding agreement that was contemplated. It’s not the kind of contract I’d sign if I were buying a house.”

Some City Council and mayoral candidates who appeared after the open house at a forum at Lory Student Center on campus echoed Cunniff’s contention that the IGA is “not ready for prime time” and “full of vagaries,” but others hailed it as a positive step and sound framework for dealing with impacts on the surrounding city and keeping the university accountable.

City and CSU staffers heard several suggestions from the public about changes that could be made to the agreement. Mihelich said those ideas, plus other suggestions offered Friday at a Planning and Zoning Board study session, will be considered Thursday when city and CSU negotiators meet again to tweak the IGA before it is presented to City Council. The council is scheduled to consider the agreement during its next regular meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday at 300 Laporte Ave. Public comment will be accepted, and the meeting will be carried on cable and online over the city’s Channel 14.

“Probably what we get will be somewhat different from the one we’ve seen so far,” Cunniff said.