Race Board Asks For Apology
Mayor and Members of Council:
CC: the Loveland Community:
The Loveland’s Amazing Race Board of Directors received the Mayor's email below. We appreciate your attention to the issues raised in the last few weeks. However, the issues that arose go beyond miscommunication. Communication difficulties are a normal challenge of event planning. We work through them. But, the two actions by Tom Carroll were completely unnecessary and damaging. These two actions were: 1) the attempt to coerce Martin Schickel into signing the sales contract with the Loveland Station developer, and 2) a last-minute demand (10 days prior to the event) that we pay $5,000 that afternoon or the event would be canceled.
As the Mayor states, this event is on the City Calendar every year. It has served the City well for 7 years. This event essentially and by comparison to any other event covers its own expenses and hires City Services.
Under these circumstances the charging of such a large sum of money, due that afternoon, 10 days before the event date, is unreasonable and poor service. Connecting the signing of the event permit to a property sales contract signature is inappropriate Government service under any circumstances. This connection to the property sales contract was made by the City Manager and directly by Council Woman Paulette Leeper.
Ms. Leeper said that the City Manager was not going to sign the permit unless Martin signed that contract. She also said she was surprised we paid the $5000 instead of Martin just signing the property sale contract. Apparently Paulette does not remember it this way.
The property sales contract was emailed to Martin Schickel during these communications with a note saying “Please execute today as requested by the City.” This connection, permit for sales contract signature, was not even oblique it was direct.
It is the two actions above that have made us shift our communication from City management to our elected officials to whom Tom Carroll reports. We do not dispute Tom Carroll's list of accomplishments and have long called him friend. However, at this point these particular issues must be addressed by Council. If Council takes action on these two issues and an apology is issued we can move forward.
We and the community need assurance from Council that they understand both these actions were inappropriate, that Council has made this clear to the City Manager and is confident such things will not occur again.
Loveland’s Amazing Race Board (501c3)
Doug Portmann, Gary Huber, Kathy Schickel, Martin Schickel, Tom Grome, Marjorie Blaire, Nancy Kaufman
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Mayors Email Thu 6/21/2012 11:15 PM
Martin,
I am glad the Amazing race was a great success again this year. Unfortunately I was out of town and could not be here to enjoy the event as I have in the past. I am sorry communication difficulties created hard feelings. I hope you and the organizing committee choose to stay in Loveland for next year but ultimately that decision is yours to make. The city of Loveland will work with the committee as we have every year to help the Amazing race be a continued success here in the city. Just like in years past, the father's day weekend is being held open pending your decision. Please call Tom Carroll to work through the details.
I look forward to hear from the organizing committee what your decision is for next year.
Rob Weisgerber
Mayor, City of Loveland
Recent Comment
After reading your article on Race Board Asks for an Apology I'm wondering if anything you print is truthful. I have known Paulette Leeper for 10 years and I don't even have to speak to her to know that the quote I read in that article about her is false. So then one has to wonder what else is false. Please do not misquote or misprint information. For a news organization you should only print the facts, and after reading that article I now know that is not what you print. I'm very disappointed in all of this. I read your online magazine all the time but now wonder why, obviously you are not printing all the facts, or maybe any, given what I just read. I think Loveland's residents deserve ALL of the truth, not 1/2 truth's and misquotes.
AJ
Editor's Response:
This "Open Letter" is re-printed here at the request of the Loveland Amazing Race Board. It, and the Mayor's e-mail are printed verbatim without editing.
David Miller, Publisher and Editor
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