Residents demand vote on West Greeley Cascadia deal as council approves addition to COP property pool

Dozens of Greeley residents told the City Council on an August 2025 evening that the proposed West Greeley “Cascadia” development — also described by speakers as the Catalyst campus — should be decided by voters, while the council approved a resolution to add the Union Colony Civic Center to the city’s 2025 certificate of participation (COP) property pool.

The issue surfaced repeatedly during the citizen-input segment, when speakers cited project finance terms, a citizen petition and perceived risk to city-owned property. The council adopted a resolution (item 15 on the consent agenda) authorizing the addition of the Union Colony Civic Center to the property pool backing the COP 2025 series; the resolution passed 5–2 with Councilors Butler and Debuti voting nay.

Speakers said the Cascadia proposal would put city assets at risk and asked that the petition demanding a public vote be certified. “Heads, he wins. Tails, Greeley loses,” said Mary Metzger, a longtime resident, characterizing the financial terms she described as asymmetrical between the developer and the city. Metzger also told the council she…