City Gov: IndyBlog, Colorado Springs Independent

Water restrictions: meeting the goal

Pam Zubeck — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:57:00 -0600

After imposing watering restrictions in April, it appears the public is doing its part to hold water usage down.

Of course, there are higher charges for water if you exceed certain levels of usage, so that discourages over-watering.…

Colorado Springs issues voluntary evac notice for northern tip of city

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:09:00 -0600

As winds blast and temperatures rise, further complicating efforts to battle the Black Forest Fire, the city of Colorado Springs has issued a voluntary evacuation order for the northern part of the city.

The evac area includes an area west to Interstate 25 and all areas north of Old Ranch Road within the city limits.…

Coming soon to city offices: more security

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:01:00 -0600

In the end, Colorado Springs City Council approved $300,000 for additional security measures for the City Administration Building, 30 S. Nevada Ave., and City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave.

The extra protection is needed, city officials have said, now that the cit'sy allowed employees with concealed carry permits to carry firearms into the buildings, just like citizens can do.

But during debate on the allocation, Councilor Helen Collins and city government critic Douglas Bruce got in a few jabs about how dumb they think the expenditures are.…

Councilman Miller takes on the mayor

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:54:00 -0600

Newly elected District 2 City Councilor Joel Miller is passionate about the Colorado Springs Airport.

He used to serve on the Airport Advisory Commission, and with good reason.…

City chooses Serco for fleet contract

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:05:00 -0600

An international firm with its fingers in everything from education to national security intelligence has been chosen to maintain city and Colorado Springs Utilities fleets, Mayor Steve Bach's chief of staff Laura Neumann said today.

Neumann says the company, Serco, has a national office in Virginia and employs 9,000 people in the United States, but is headquartered in the United Kingdom.…

UPDATE: Ultra 'not soliciting' offers ... but will 'entertain' them

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:16:00 -0600

We received a message sent to an open-space supporter by an Ultra Petroleum vice president, Doug Selvius, who provided the following points to clarify the company's position:

- Ultra is not actively trying to sell the ranch
- We are not soliciting offers for the ranch
- Ultra has not retained a broker and has no immediate plans to do so
- We have received a lot of interest and inquiries about our selling the ranch
- We will entertain offers that are submitted to us — preferably for the entire ranch
- To warrant consideration, such offers will need to afford us a decent profit on our $20 million investment

—————————————POSTED THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 3:13 P.M.———————————————

This just in from Kelly Whitely, Ultra Petroleum's director of investor relations:

At this time, Ultra hasn't made a formal decision to sell the Banning Lewis Ranch. As you recall, earlier this year we suspended our exploration efforts in El Paso County since they were unsuccessful.…
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Bach slams gov for signing fire fighter bill

Pam Zubeck — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:32:59 -0600

Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed a bill that enables fire fighters to discuss working conditions with management, sending Mayor Steve Bach into a rant.

The State government's decision via Senate Bill 13-025, which Governor Hickenlooper just signed, to impose potential fire fighter collective bargaining on Colorado Springs is deeply disappointing.…
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City: We're all about transparency

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:50:00 -0600

As we report in today's issue, the city continues to pay certain employees money to leave and to keep their mouths shut. The total paid so far, from July 2011 on, approaches $1 million, not including additional benefits such as health coverage and accumulated sick time.…

Like the Balloon Classic? Better speak up

Edie Adelstein — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:00:00 -0600

It's easy to take some things for granted, and after 37 years, it's easy to expect the Colorado Balloon Classic will keep occurring every Labor Day weekend.

But not so fast.…

New windows guard against fires, city says

Pam Zubeck — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:19:00 -0600

One of the more strange bid postings of late on the city's procurement website calls for requests for proposals for replacement of windows at the Mount Saint Francis nursing facility.

Bids are due June 21 for a job that could cost several hundred thousand dollars.…

Shhh ... baseball stadium poll is a secret

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 29 May 2013 16:39:00 -0600

As you can read in today's Independent, we've been trying to find out more about the downtown baseball stadium survey in which the Regional Business Alliance and Sky Sox are participating.

Although Mayor Steve Bach and City Attorney Chris Melcher apparently asked the two entities to take part, the city won't say anything about it.…

Reefer madness, next chapter

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:35:00 -0600

First, Mayor Steve Bach likened retail sales of recreational marijuana to porn. Then, he said major employers might pull out or others might not relocate here if retails sales are allowed.…

Bach mum on road closing

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:21:00 -0600

Despite the passage of several weeks since the Broadmoor Hotel announced it wants to close a segment of Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard, people still seem to care quite a bit.

The Broadmoor would like to land big-name golf events, such as the U.S. Open, which have certain requirements.…

Aimee Cox joins Bach's team

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:37:00 -0600

Aimee Cox, who's worked for the City Council as its first administrator under the council-mayor form of government adopted two years ago, has been lured to the other branch by Mayor Steve Bach. She'll receive an 11 percent raise, to $90,000 a year.…

Police chief: Looking at helicopters and drones

Pam Zubeck — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:51:00 -0600

Last week, Police Chief Pete Carey said he was looking at reactivating the Police Department's helicopter unit, as well as unmanned aircraft — drones, in other words.

His comments came during Mayor Steve Bach's town hall meeting at Broadmoor Elementary, after a citizen asked what can be done to get aviation assets to respond to wildland fires quicker and whether drones are viable for early detection of fires.…

Bach plays paperboy for Gazette

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:14:22 -0600

Mayor Steve Bach sure has an interesting relationship with the daily newspaper.

Take, for example, what happened when Gazette reporters wrote a perfectly serviceable story about the city's Waldo Canyon Fire After Action Report, released April 3.…

So sue me, Bach says

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:32:00 -0600

Once again, the issue of whether Colorado Springs City Council is getting the sound and unbiased legal advice it needs has arisen.

This is not a new issue, as the daily newspaper would have its readers believe.…

Anti-fracking group sues city

Kirk Woundy — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:51:00 -0600

Yesterday, Colorado Springs Citizens for Community Rights filed suit against the city in its ongoing effort to put a ban on fracking before local voters.

As explained in this week’s paper, the Initiative Title Setting Review Board last week rejected CSCCR’s proposed amendment to the city charter that would prevent “the extraction of natural gas or oil, including but not limited to, the processes commonly known as hydraulic fracturing and/or directional natural gas and oil well drilling, within the City of Colorado Springs.” The board contended the amendment violated the city’s rule against having multiple subjects addressed in a single ballot measure; CSCCR disagrees with that assessment, and even argues that the single-subject rule itself may not be legally valid.…

Fix your sidewalk! No really...

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:53:00 -0600

What with the stinky economy, the poor job market, and the increasing cost of basic goods like food and gas, we know that most of you spend your free moments worrying about the deplorable condition of the sidewalk outside your home.

It's amazing how weathered concrete just haunts your subconscious.…

Broadmoor road-closing meeting is tonight

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:56:00 -0600

Tonight, folks at the Broadmoor will lay out their plans for millions of dollars in improvements to the resort, in addition to the closing of a well-established route through that part of the city, Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard.

The meeting, by invitation at Broadmoor Hall, is expected to draw a good number of the 1,700 neighbors who were invited.…

Tommy Smith to serve as interim fire chief

Pam Zubeck — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:18:00 -0600

Deputy Fire Chief Tommy Smith as been named interim fire chief for Colorado Springs, the city says in a news release.

Deputy Chief Smith has served on the Colorado Springs Fire Department since 1991 and has been a firefighter, paramedic, Lieutenant, Captain and Battalion Chief.…
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UPDATE: Austin Bluffs widening project awarded

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:32:51 -0600

UPDATE:
The city's procurement department advises the contract was awarded using a Request for Proposals process (Best Value), not a low bid process. The evaluation criteria included construction phasing and traffic control, cost, project approach, qualifications, construction schedule and overall quality and value of the proposal.…

City seeks help in promoting the airport

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:49:00 -0600

Bids were due at 3 p.m. Thursday for a consulting contract to promote Colorado Springs Airport.…

UPDATE: Fire Chief Rich Brown retires, will get paid as 'consultant'

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:07:00 -0600

The city has been in touch regarding Chief Brown’s current salary: It's $147,657.

---ORIGINAL POST, TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1:36 P.M.---

Here we go again. Another department head, this time Fire Chief Rich Brown, is retiring, the City of Colorado Springs has announced in a news release.…

Springs Utilities: Not for sale

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:30:02 -0600

Remember when Mayor Steve Bach was feeling his power and sent a letter to City Council urging a study of selling or leasing the city's electric utility?

Well, 11 months and a lot of brain damage later, the Colorado Springs Utilities Board today killed a study that could have cost ratepayers $500,000, an action we predicted in a blog post yesterday.

The unanimous vote came after a fairly lengthy presentation by Utilities Policy Advisory Committee member Terri Carver, who outlined what the study would cover; including a call to hire a consultant to act as project manager to help hire yet another consultant that would place a value on Utilities' power generation, distribution and transmission assets.…