Approval of the 2015 budget took an interesting twist when some of the councilors questioned the appropriateness of spending nearly a million dollars on studies of the Denver Federal Center.

The mayor is proposing the city take possession of the northwest corner of the Denver Federal Center inside the loop created by the RTD line serving the Federal Center light rail station. Called the “horseshoe property” it is owned by the federal government and is the site of unknown amount of environmental contamination. Last year the federal government put several inches of dirt over the site to provide a “cap” on the contamination. The mayor wants to take possession of the federal land so he can sell it to favorite developers (whom he will select – anyone see future campaign donors?) who will build 1400 multi-family residential units. This residential development would then provide riders for the RTD light rail light.

Ward 4 City Council member David Wiechman argued that if the city takes legal possession of this federal land and then subsequent development (digging through the dirt “cap”) exposes future residents to environmental toxins, then a potential future law suit may include the city as an owner in the chain of title. Although this potential threat is unquantifiable at this time, Wiechman argued it was not worth the risk to the taxpayers.

In the meantime, the city is planning on spending nearly a million dollars in studies and legal fees to make this project happen. Wiechman argued the city should not be spending money on land it doesn’t own nor should own. Furthermore he noted this money could be better spent on projects that benefit the taxpayers.