Loveland City Council, Ward II: Dana Foley

Years in Loveland: I lived in Berthoud from 1998 until 2017, when I married my best friend, Kristy Hall.

Professional background: Safety, risk and loss control specialist

Education: Agriculture farm insurance specialist certification from the International Risk Management Institute; U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration general industry outreach instructor certification; SafeLand/SafeGulf instructor certification from PEC Safety; fire protection specialist certification from the National Fire Protection Association; construction safety training from Trinidad State Junior College; EMT-B certification from Front Range Community College; firefighter certification from Aims Community College; and armor crewman certification from the U.S. Army Armor School

Age: 49

Family: My beautiful wife, Kristy Hall, and our seven children.

1) What could the city do to improve the quality of life in your ward specifically? How would you, as a councilor, help accomplish that?

The council needs to get back to the basics of city business. Stop partisan politics and personal attacks that delay getting the work done for the city. During drop-off and pick-up times, the traffic around Loveland Classical School is a safety concern and needs attention. Look to revitalize the west U.S. 34 area of Loveland. Be fiscally conservative with our taxpayers' funds. Basically, we should make sure that we are fixing streets, patrolling our neighborhoods and making it easier for people to live, work and play.

I will push for these enhancements to be implemented and advocate for a higher standard of conduct and professionalism as an elected official. I will be available and open to our citizens, no matter who they are, by hosting regular town halls, meeting one on one and attending meetings for groups. Councilors need to be accessible on a regular basis. I will keep the focus on what is best for Loveland and its citizens to safely live, work and play.

2) Under what circumstances would you support using financing tools, such as bonds or certificates of participation, to fund capital projects? When would you prefer to see the city pay cash up front?

A primary purpose of government is to provide essential services to the citizens and businesses to work and live. These tools should be available and expanded when needed to ensure we can consistently provide these critical services and infrastructure. Because the need for such services increases with population, the current method of collecting capital expansion fees works well and should be timed with improvements so that we can pay for those new items without further burdening the citizens of Loveland.

If properly managed, the City should have adequate funds available. Additional monies might be needed due to timing or construction costs and then might make bonding improvements a necessity but only on an emergency basis and rare occasions. Loveland has a proud history of paying cash for things, even the savings for our share of Chimney Hollow. The costs of construction and delay due to litigation made that project more reasonable with bonding as a group, but our raw water dollars protect the citizens of our city from bearing the full burden of those costs.

3) Are there any groups in Loveland whose voices you feel are underrepresented currently and who you would like to represent specifically if elected?

One group that has been drowned out by all the noise on council are the citizens not seeing the work of the city getting done. As an elected official, my job is to represent everyone in the entire city. It is my job to seek out the various voices within the city. Furthermore, it is my job to create collaborative approaches to city business.

4) In the past year, the City of Loveland has faced and settled multiple lawsuits against police stemming from alleged incidents of excessive force. Do you believe there is a culture tolerant of excessive force within the Loveland Police Department? What changes, if any, do you believe should be implemented to improve the department?

We have problems. I believe we must boldly address the multitude of contributing factors that led to the issues the Loveland PD is facing today. To do that, we must investigate thoroughly all of the contributing factors rather than act rashly out of our emotions. Knowing all of the pertinent facts allows us to build a stronger department while keeping the aspects of our department that are working well.

We need to reassess and conduct an evaluation to understand and then align the community safety needs with the needs of the department to deliver the necessary services to maintain public safety. Understanding these core items will allow us to determine the current resources available and additional resources needed. One change that could be implemented immediately is who from the department attends the police commission. I believe having a patrol officer versus a senior officer could be of value.

5) What is the most significant long-term challenge you believe Loveland will face over the next four years?

Loveland is growing rapidly. The councilors need to guarantee well-planned and well financed-infrastructure, and essential services. Further, we need to fund reserves and revise contingency plans to handle unavoidable events. Finally, we need to focus on community enhancements and social/economic programs to help those who need a hand up. The goal is to have a vibrant community where the choice is easy to move your family or company here. That means we must focus on some less flashy stuff, like making sure we are prepared for the future. Having some reserves is the fast way to fix a pothole.