During the course of this semester, I have learned how to approach high ranking members of the community and ask them intelligible questions to which they feel obligated to expand on.
Creating a blog was an incredibly exciting experience for me because it is unlike anything that I have ever done in any of my other journalism courses. It gives the writer a chance to be published on the web for the world to see what one has to say on the topic at hand.
I wish that we would have covered more topics than solely the happenings of the Greeley City Council. Being such a small community, it makes it hard to find a topic of conversation that is newsworthy and interesting to the reader.
I would have liked to have known that we would be attending Greeley City Council meetings every other week in order to better prepare myself for the course as a whole.
The most difficult thing about the class was finding a topic to write about every other week at the City Council meetings. The council covers so much information so quickly, and sometimes barely discusses an extremely important topic, that you must be listening at all times in order to catch the minutest of details.
The advice I would have for those taking this course next semester would be, be prepared to be extremely patient and let the stories come to you. Make sure you are constantly taking notes at every meeting and you will be sure to find an interesting topic to cover.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
North Range Behavioral Health Center Rezoning
North Range Behavioral Health is a community mental health center and substance abuse provider agency serving Weld County, Colorado. They are a private, nonprofit organization that provide professional, knowledgeable mental health services to residents of the Greeley area.
The center has been a residential treatment center and group since 1997.
The modifications that the city is looking to make in the center are turning it into a rehabilitation center and office space. Truly the only change to the structure that will be made is the addition of a parking lot where a former cul-de-sac used to be, as well as a new sidewalk leading up to the entrance of the facility.
The only access to these facilities is through the residential neighborhood that encompasses this center.
City council member Robb Casseday could not vote on the ordinance because of a conflict of interest.
The City Council passed the ordinance to rezone the North Range Behavioral Health Center.
"I am extremely happy that the rest of the council decided to pass the ordinance," Casseday said.
The center has been a residential treatment center and group since 1997.
The modifications that the city is looking to make in the center are turning it into a rehabilitation center and office space. Truly the only change to the structure that will be made is the addition of a parking lot where a former cul-de-sac used to be, as well as a new sidewalk leading up to the entrance of the facility.
The main change, according to Mayor Tom Norton, would be the transformation of a low density space into a semi-commercial out-patient facility.
Zoning is the only obstacle in the way of moving forward with this transformation.
The Administrative Review and Planning Commission both approved of the rezone request.
The entire property is just less than 15,000 sq. ft. The property at hand is extremely well maintained.
City council member Robb Casseday could not vote on the ordinance because of a conflict of interest.
The City Council passed the ordinance to rezone the North Range Behavioral Health Center.
"I am extremely happy that the rest of the council decided to pass the ordinance," Casseday said.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Greeley Mayoral Election 2011
The mayoral election for the city of Greeley was held on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
The last day to register to vote for this year's election was Oct. 3.
The ballots for all the Weld County electors were sent out on Oct. 11-14.
Current mayor of Greeley, Tom Norton, ran against unsuspecting new comer Nick True.
True is former graduate of the University of Northern Colorado with a biology degree, emphasis in secondary education. He now teaches advanced placement physics and chemistry at Frontier Academy High School. True intends to keep his position at Frontier if elected mayor.
"I am a teacher above all else," True said.
Pursuing his second term as Greeley mayor, Tom Norton has been apart of the Greeley community for over 45 years. Norton is a graduate of Colorado State University with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering. He spent more than a decade in the Colorado Legislature, including six years as Senate President. Norton also served the state as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for eight years during the administration of Colorado Governor Bill Owens.
“Tom Norton is first and foremost an engineer who gets things done,” said former Colorado Governor Bill Owens.
The current qualifications in order to be nominated for mayor of the city of Greeley are as follows:
- A citizen of the United States
- At least 21 years of age
- A resident of the City of Greeley for at least one year immediately preceding the election, and resident of Ward for 90 days immediately preceding the election for Ward candidates
- No other elective office held
- No felony convictions
Along with the election of mayor, there will also be one At-large council member, one Ward I council member, and one Ward IV council member to be elected into council.
The newly elected mayor will take office as of Nov. 8.
As of 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday Nov. 1, Tom Norton will take office for his second term as mayor of the city of Greeley by defeating opposing candidate Nick True with a 73 percent margin of victory.
"I voted for Tom Norton because has always been an upstanding citizen and has helped develop the Greeley community into great place to raise your children," said elector Analisa Moreles.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Council approves Proposed Budget
The Greeley City Council met once again for their weekly meeting tonight to vote on the Proposed Budget for 2012.
"I anticipate a vote in favor of the Proposed Budget this evening," said council member Robb Casseday.
Finance Director Tim Nash took the podium to go over a brief synopsis of the Proposed Budget before allowing the council members to vote on the budget.
Nash showed the council two pie graphs signifying the percentage of budget being used in Greeley's expenditures and incoming revenue. Charges and services took up the bulk of incoming revenue, where transfers made up the largest percentage of expenditures.
The Proposed Budget is broken down into two parts; the Operating Budget and the Capital Improvement Budget. The Operating Budget is a detailed projection of all income and expenses based on annual revenue. The Capital Improvement Budget is a financial plan in scheduling capital projects and equipment purchases for the community.
The Operating Budget was averaged out at $198.8 million. The Capital Improvement Budget averaged at $67.8 million; making the overall budget come out to $266.6 million.
"I anticipate a vote in favor of the Proposed Budget this evening," said council member Robb Casseday.
Finance Director Tim Nash took the podium to go over a brief synopsis of the Proposed Budget before allowing the council members to vote on the budget.
Nash showed the council two pie graphs signifying the percentage of budget being used in Greeley's expenditures and incoming revenue. Charges and services took up the bulk of incoming revenue, where transfers made up the largest percentage of expenditures.
The Proposed Budget is broken down into two parts; the Operating Budget and the Capital Improvement Budget. The Operating Budget is a detailed projection of all income and expenses based on annual revenue. The Capital Improvement Budget is a financial plan in scheduling capital projects and equipment purchases for the community.
Last year's Capital Improvement Budget was $99.1 million. This year's Capital Improvement Budget was much lower at $67.8 million, which is even lower than its initial budget of $69.2 million.
The Operating Budget was averaged out at $198.8 million. The Capital Improvement Budget averaged at $67.8 million; making the overall budget come out to $266.6 million.
The motion to pass the Proposed Budget was accepted with a vote of 5 to 1. The only one opposed to the budget was council member Mike Finn.
"The way it's written, I don't agree with this," said Finn.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Greeley 2012 Proposed Budget
The Greeley City Council went over the Proposed Budget for this upcoming year at tonight's meeting.
The budget totaled at $266,577,728.
The budget included an average pay increase of 2.6% for all general employees, as well as an 11% pay increase for all police dispatchers.
In the $181.5 million revenue that is predicted to be produced in 2012, $101.8 million of that will come from Charges for Services, which is the largest portion of revenue with 56.1%.
The large majority of expenditures by fund will be going towards water; 70.5% of all capital projects will be water related. Among the projects that were mentioned in the budget was the Bellvue Transmission Line, which was by far the largest and most expensive of all the project expenditures.
Near the end of the meeting there was some dispute over why the council members had not received the proposed budget at an early time in order to go over the items listed. Council member Mike Finn was one of two council members who stated his anger with certain aspects of the budget as well as its delayed arrival.
"I am too disappointed to receive this last minute," said council member Donna Sapienza.
The City Council will meet again on Oct. 18 to further discuss the budget, as well as make a motion to accept or reject it.
The budget totaled at $266,577,728.
The budget included an average pay increase of 2.6% for all general employees, as well as an 11% pay increase for all police dispatchers.
In the $181.5 million revenue that is predicted to be produced in 2012, $101.8 million of that will come from Charges for Services, which is the largest portion of revenue with 56.1%.
The large majority of expenditures by fund will be going towards water; 70.5% of all capital projects will be water related. Among the projects that were mentioned in the budget was the Bellvue Transmission Line, which was by far the largest and most expensive of all the project expenditures.
Near the end of the meeting there was some dispute over why the council members had not received the proposed budget at an early time in order to go over the items listed. Council member Mike Finn was one of two council members who stated his anger with certain aspects of the budget as well as its delayed arrival.
"I am too disappointed to receive this last minute," said council member Donna Sapienza.
The City Council will meet again on Oct. 18 to further discuss the budget, as well as make a motion to accept or reject it.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Oktoberfest in Greeley
The Greeley City Council covered the events of this upcoming weekend involving the 22nd annual Greeley Oktoberfest tonight at their weekly meeting.
This event will be held at historic Lincoln Park on 10th Avenue and 8th Street. There will be beer, brats, polka, German dancers, craft vendors, and a children's area for everyone to enjoy. Admission to the event is free. The event begins on Friday, Sept. 23, from 5-10 p.m. It continues on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Games begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. There is also a baking competition to find the best rye bread, best pie, and best rival kuga (German coffee cake).
Proceeds from the event go to both the Downtown Development Authority and to the Greeley Transitional House.
"It's a celebration of all of the farmers who provide all of our natural produce for the next year," said Greeley Mayor Tom Norton.
Oktoberfest originated in Germany in 1810 in celebration of a king's wedding.
Greeley's first Oktoberfest was held at a UNC professor's backyard in 1971.
"Like St. Patrick's Day when everyone is Irish, everybody is German during Oktoberfest," said Allison Hamling, the recipient of a certificate for the Heritage Program of Greeley.
This event will be held at historic Lincoln Park on 10th Avenue and 8th Street. There will be beer, brats, polka, German dancers, craft vendors, and a children's area for everyone to enjoy. Admission to the event is free. The event begins on Friday, Sept. 23, from 5-10 p.m. It continues on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Games begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. There is also a baking competition to find the best rye bread, best pie, and best rival kuga (German coffee cake).
Proceeds from the event go to both the Downtown Development Authority and to the Greeley Transitional House.
"It's a celebration of all of the farmers who provide all of our natural produce for the next year," said Greeley Mayor Tom Norton.
Oktoberfest originated in Germany in 1810 in celebration of a king's wedding.
Greeley's first Oktoberfest was held at a UNC professor's backyard in 1971.
"Like St. Patrick's Day when everyone is Irish, everybody is German during Oktoberfest," said Allison Hamling, the recipient of a certificate for the Heritage Program of Greeley.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Getting Started
My name is John William Connolly, but most of my friends call me Will. I am a junior at the University of Northern Colorado. My major is journalism and my minor is English. I plan to one day be a famous movie critic for a prestigious newspaper or magazine.
I am taking a course called JMC352 Reporting Contemporary Issues in which our class will be covering a variety of different topics involving the Greeley City Council. Our class will attend a number of city council meetings. We will be asked to interview both experts and actors (everyday people) about their opinions following the meetings. I have never personally witnessed a city council meeting and am very excited to see the happenings of next week's meeting.
I plan to learn a lot from these city council meetings, as well as to grasp a better understanding of how the government process works.
I am very excited to start blogging because I have always wanted to have a place to write down and publish my thoughts. I am confident in the fact that I think that I am a moderately adequate writer and can articulate my thoughts quite easily. Blogging is different from any other college assignment I have been assigned because it is automatically published, and therefore you must make sure you don't have any mistakes or typos before publishing your thoughts. I think that I will thoroughly enjoy blogging and will continue to do so long after this class has concluded.
I am taking a course called JMC352 Reporting Contemporary Issues in which our class will be covering a variety of different topics involving the Greeley City Council. Our class will attend a number of city council meetings. We will be asked to interview both experts and actors (everyday people) about their opinions following the meetings. I have never personally witnessed a city council meeting and am very excited to see the happenings of next week's meeting.
I plan to learn a lot from these city council meetings, as well as to grasp a better understanding of how the government process works.
I am very excited to start blogging because I have always wanted to have a place to write down and publish my thoughts. I am confident in the fact that I think that I am a moderately adequate writer and can articulate my thoughts quite easily. Blogging is different from any other college assignment I have been assigned because it is automatically published, and therefore you must make sure you don't have any mistakes or typos before publishing your thoughts. I think that I will thoroughly enjoy blogging and will continue to do so long after this class has concluded.
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