Record timeIt took the Colorado Springs City Council just 192 hours to race the U.S. Olympic Committee’s five-ring logo onto business cards and stationery.After voting Tuesday to allocate $1.5 million from reserves – the first of $27 million taxpayers will pay to keep the USOC here for 25 years – the council got its cards. (The deal allows the city to stamp the rings on city stuff.)”Don’t be disappointed with the size of the logo,” public communications director Sue Skiffington-Blumberg said. “We’ll get the rings supersized for us soon.” See the cards here.

Your moneyFort Carson had a $154,730 pest problem last year. At least that’s how much the Army paid Jeff Sorensen for “pesticide support services.”And he didn’t compete for the work, according to USAspending. gov, created by the Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which created a searchable Web site that shows, well, a wealth of data.The pest deal was a tiny bit of the $6.2 billion spent by the federal government in Colorado. Ranking 26th for federal spending, Colorado had 6,922 contractors who benefited.USAspending.gov also shows spending based on location and whether awards were competitively bid.Of Colorado’s total, $2.5 billion was spent in the 5th Congressional District, which includes El Paso County. Only half that money was competitively bid. Another 11 percent was spent on contracts that drew just one bid, and the rest lacked competition.The big winner in the 5th was Lockheed Martin, paid $286 million – all but 8.6 percent competed.Colorado Springs Utilities, which provides power and other services to military bases, ranked in the top 20 with $32.5 million for utility services that were not competitively bid.Even Lake County got a little – $15 for guard services for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.There are some strange recipients, so check it out.

Gray mattersThe city of Colorado Springs is getting old. And it thinks a consultant might help.The Human Resources Department is soliciting Requests for Information on how to combat the effects of the baby boomers’ retirement that will drain talent.Human Resources manager Bernard Asui said 48 percent of city employees, not including police and firefighters, were 55 and older as of 2006.”We have a large portion of the population that is retirement eligible,” Asui said. “We’re already starting to see that wave play out.”The city is worried about experience walking out the door. “A lot of corporate knowledge will be leaving with these folks,” he said.That’s why the city might be ready to pay for ideas on what to do. No budget has been set.CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com