Greeley City Council contemplates massive move, remodel

GREELEY — Extensive spring rains have Greeley city staff discussing remodel, renovation or relocation once again after years of Band-Aids and renovations and employee growth that have stretched city walls.

The Greeley City Council’s Tuesday work session conversation was promulgated by flooding that ensued from a May 28 storm, revealing continued building disrepair in City Hall at 1000 10th St., and other city spaces. Roughly 4 inches of rain fell in two hours, turning downtown Greeley into a lake from inadequate drainage, shutting down two city buildings. 

“We heard council loud and clear in wanting to see different options as it relates to how we still provide services and still have a large component of our operations downtown,” said City Manager Raymond Lee. “We are listening to council and also looking at the best way to provide (services) to the public. We have immediate needs, but we are also trying to have the foresight to see what it would look like in future for us, and the impact on our (downtown business) neighbors.

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“This is a very critical and important topic to us, and how we move forward is going to be very critical,” Lee said.

A massive concern is the shape that City Hall is in. Not only does it flood, but repairing years of damage and wear also will necessitate crews excavating underground tunnels to get to utility lines, such as electrical, sewer, stormwater, irrigation, etc., which are located within asphalt layers, through tunnels and walls, and beneath tunnels.

“City Hall lacks the ability to accommodate growth,” Public Works Director Paul Trombino told the group. “The building cannot address flooding, … there’s quite a bit of challenges in the building itself. For us to find everything where it is, we have to excavate.”

Now, city leaders have some options in a couple of empty buildings — the former Atmos Energy Building at 1200 11th Ave., directly south of the Greeley Fire Station No. 1, and the former Greeley Medical Clinic at 1900 16th St. The council on Tuesday agreed to move forward with leasing the two buildings but delayed any decision on what to do with City Hall. A previous plan would have relocated 205 city employees to empty office space in the State Farm building in Promontory by JBS Foods off U.S. Highway 34 and Colorado Highway 257 for a total cost of $18.85 million over five years.

Trombino now recommends a plan to relocate more than 100 employees to the Atmos Building and former Greeley Medical Clinic for nine months while crews work on City Hall. The move will set off a series of musical chairs that would begin this summer, and pick up again next spring. Here’s the breakdown:

• A remodel of the third floor of City Center North will make room for the housing and homeless solutions department and finance. And a remodel of the second floor would make room for billing and the rest of the finance department. Total cost: $800,000. This is expected to be complete in August.
• Relocate 60 human resources and communications and engagement employees to 1900 16th St. Cost of remodeling, furniture and a five-year lease is expected to run $8.6 million.
• Relocate 45 public works employees to 1200 11th Ave. Total cost of remodeling, furniture and a five-year lease is expected to cost $3.94 million. The city manager’s office would relocate here as well, once City Hall became unoccupiable.

Construction on both the leased buildings is expected to begin in October and be complete in April 2025. Departments would move in May 2025.

The council has not yet decided on excavating City Hall to repair it.

“We need to get something accomplished. But I think putting $300,000 into trying to excavate and seeing what is where doesn’t strike me as good use of money,” Mayor Pro tem Dale Hall said after the meeting. “So, discussions are still ongoing.”

The city still has another employee problem, and that is where to put its public works department. Earlier this year, the council decided to give the Greeley Police Department a “real-time” crime center. At present, that is where public works is located now at 2835 W. 10th St., next to the Greeley Police Department. That move may now have to wait a few more months while the city’s musical chairs situation is finalized.

The city has been slowly redeveloping its offices downtown over the last two decades, most recently refurbishing City Center North, and City Center South, and moving The Greeley Fire Station No. 1 to the former Safeway site.