Board of Aldermen 12-28-2021 Page 10
I'd like to speak tonight against R-21-202 and R-21-203. | keep hearing mentions of save our park and protect our park.
Just to be clear, you Know, | love Greeley Park myself. A development of this property would not have a negative impact
on existing services (inaudible) by Greely Park. New housing would not resulting in the loss of the horseshoe pits, or
softball fields, demolition of the sensory garden. It’s not going to result in the removal of walking trails. All of these things
that everybody loves about Greeley Park will still be there whether we buy this property or not. | spend a lot of time in
Mine Falls using trails for walking and biking. I've hosted many of my kids’ birthday parties in the picnic areas of Greeley
and I'm an avid softball player that makes frequent use of the softball fields. If there was any chance that this
development would negatively impact the use of the park, I'd be the first to stand against. But the fact is, that's not really
the case.
| am very sympathetic to the people who've spoken tonight against the development of a neighborhood. | don't blame
them for that. If | lived on Bartlett Ave. or Maywood Drive, | wouldn't want a new development in my backyard either. The
difference is there is a difference in being opposed to new construction new neighborhood and demanding with the city
government fork over $2.5 million to interfere with the private land deal. We as citizens should not expect the city to go
around buying up every property that somebody wants to develop.
Every time a needed project comes up in the city, we're told that there's no funding. | recently spoke with DPW about the
possibility of sidewalks along one road, which is a very busy street that children use to walk to school at Fairgrounds
Elementary and Fairgrounds Middle School as well as Bishop Guertin High School. It was estimated that it would cost
around a million dollars to undertake such a project and | was told there's no money in the budget. So it's disappointing to
know that there isn't a million dollars to build a sidewalks for children but there are people who think we should spend
nearly three times that to protect (inaudible).
A major problem that occurs in the city far too often is that too many people think that we can pay for everything we want
to do without restriction. The sad reality is that we can't pay for everything that we want. It's unfortunate that things like a
performing arts center, boardwalks, and parks along the river...
Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager
30 seconds.
Alex Comeau
...are potentially interference in the private land sale to protect people's backyards can be pushed forward but the cost of
multiple tens of millions of dollars while kids have to walk in the street to get this. Thank you.
Michael Viggiano
Thank you. My name is Michael Viggiano from 35 Columbia Avenue. | want to speak in favor of the two resolutions. | had
a tremendous presentation ready but my predecessors have already covered most of what | wanted to say. | do want to
thank the Mayor for his perspective on this. Thank you Mayor Donchess. That was well put and | agree with you.
Through the miracle of technology, I'm actually speaking to you tonight from just outside of Red Rock, Colorado. My wife
and | are visiting our daughter out here and anybody who's been here is amazed by the open space that's available. The
amount of people who exercise, the amount of people who get outside, the amount of people who do everything they can
to be outside almost all the time, including my daughter and husband who live here.
(inaudible) state park as well. Anything like what we're talking about here tonight — Nashua - here in Colorado would be
unheard because open space is what people want. | think we have heard a very good number of pros and cons about
this project but favoring developing this land with housing, which really by the way is not affordable housing, is really off
the mark. So thank you to those who spoke before me, very well put. Thank you.
Dan Richardson
Dan Richardson, 70 Berkeley Street. | just want to make a few points. Part of the purpose of having a city park is its relief
for mental exhaustion actually. It's just so relaxing to go out and take a walk off the trails through the park and it's a very
important part of the therapy of developing mental health. That's one of the things that hadn't been said before. So |
wanted to get that out there.
The other thing is that you'll have to pass both of these resolutions tonight for preservation of that 13 acres as part of
Greeley Park because a lot of people don't know that at the end of a legislative term, which will be in the next few days,
