Greeley voters soundly reject 2G and 2H

By Kelly Ragan

Voters made one thing clear Tuesday night: they have confidence in how the City of Greeley makes decisions on water.

Two ballot questions, 2G and 2H, would have made changes to the city’s charter and fundamentally changed how the city made decisions regarding the sale, purchase and lease of water. But the two proposed amendments failed, with a no vote of 78.97% and 81.24% respectively.

John Gautherie was the force behind the proposed amendments. Gautherie was the leader of Save Greeley’s Water — he also (unsuccessfully) ran for mayor.

Gautherie was inspired to get the two amendments on the ballot this year after city council purchased the water and storage rights to Terry Ranch, an aquifer storage project that added 1.2 million acre-feet of water to the city’s portfolio.

The two amendments would have given residents much more control over the water department – something Gautherie said residents needed.

According to the city, such a change would have been expensive and time-consuming, requiring additional elections to make basic decisions. It also would have taken decision-making power away from the experts on Greeley’s water board.

Greeley voters sided with the city on this one.