By Douglas Crowl • Loveland Connection • February 20, 2009
The latest message from the Citizens for a Vibrant Downtown Loveland to the Loveland City Council is signed by 800 names.
As promised, the group has completed a petition with 800 resident signatures calling for the City Council to financially support projects that would revitalize the Fourth Street District.
“It’s definitely representative of the whole community,” said Leah Johnson, a grass roots political organizer who recently formed Citizens for a Vibrant Downtown. “This is just the beginning, we are going to continue to collect signatures. There are lots of people who truly believe that downtown Loveland is the heart and soul of the community.”
Johnson planned to hand over the names to city leaders Friday.
The citizen group also announced the formation of its governing board, which is a mix of philanthropists, community leaders and downtown property owners, including Norma Hammond, Phil Farley, Bob Torson, Barry Floyd, Justin Erion, Tim Webb and Lu Ball.
The group also is a few months away from getting its nonprofit status, at which time it will be able to raise money, Johnson said.
She said the type of nonprofit designation the group will receive will allow it to endorse political candidates and ballot issues.
So far, Johnson said the group’s intentions are to show that there is city-wide support for redevelopment work in downtown Loveland.
The city has preliminary plans showing $22 million for downtown upgrades, which redesigning streets and walkways, builds a public plaza at Fifth Street and Lincoln Avenue and installs a parking structure.
The city already has a funding plan in place worth millions of dollars to expand three municipal buildings in the downtown area: the Loveland Museum/ Gallery, Loveland Public Library and the Chilson Recreation Center.
No one has opposed investing in downtown Loveland.
However, City Councilman Dave Clark said recently during a Loveland Downtown Team meeting that business owners outside downtown have questioned the validity of such work.
He said the Loveland Downtown Team, which is a city group working on downtown issues, must do a better job of selling the work.
Rich Ball, who signed the citizen group petition and is a supporter of the group, said he knows that some people question the value of redeveloping downtown.
But he believes new employers and potential high-level employees typically rate a community on their downtown core area, which is not in a neglected state, he said.
“We are all responsible for it, there’s no blame here, but it’s time to realize that it’s time to be reactive,” Ball said.