Mayor Lionel Rivera will run this weekend, but not for political office.   He’ll lace up his New Balance shoes, plug in his headset and jog a 5K route starting in Memorial Park to promote the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation’s State Games of the West.   Rivera runs nine-minute miles now, but back in the day he was quite the athlete.   As an Army first lieutenant, he ran 60 miles a week and finished 62nd out of 25,000 competitors in the 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.   But that was then, when he was 24. Now 51, Rivera trots three miles four times a week in his University Park neighborhood, trailing his wife, Lynn, and drawing jeers from people on their balconies.   Deputy Fire Chief Dan Raider once ofiered him a beer as he passed.   Anyway, the Riveras will compete in Sunday’s event for which 500 people have registered. (thesportscorp.org)   Athletes from 13 states will compete in 31 sports over the weekend in hopes of qualifying for the 2009 State Games of America, which the city will host next summer.A good turn   Springs Councilman Jerry Heimlicher is promoting a program that asks people to pump money into parking meters to get a warm fuzzy feeling. One of the special meters actually is coated in black and white fur.   The serendipitous meters will be put on streets and in businesses to draw attention, and money, to the city’s homeless population.   “The shocking part is, it’s estimated we give $1.5 million annually to panhandlers,” Heimlicher said. He wants to divert some of that to give “a shot in the arm” to homeless agencies.   He said studies show 95 percent of those handouts goes for tobacco, alcohol or drugs — money better spent on treatment and housing.   More facts about the homeless:   • 41 percent are families with kids.    • 44 percent aren’t sheltered.   • 25 percent are military veterans.   • The average age is 9 years, a particularly troubling statistic for Heimlicher.   The councilman hopes to have 50 meters in place by year’s end. To get rolling, he needs volunteers to chase down meters, get them decorated, place them around town and handle proceeds. That means accounting for and distributing the money to agencies that can help people overcome homelessness.   To volunteer, contact him at jheimlicher@springsgov.com or call 385-5986.The nerve   Even though some disagree with this or that government program, how many refuse to pay?   In Colorado Springs, 5.7 percent of those billed for Stormwater Enterprise fees hadn’t made a single payment as of mid-June since collections began in January 2007.   That’s 7,489 customers. Their unpaid bills represent $853,487, or 3.7 percent of the $23.3 million billed.   Not all are scofflaws, though. Some are like a Broomfield resident who owns a Colorado Springs rental house. The owner only recently got a bill and assumes previous ones weren’t delivered to the rental by the mailman who didn’t recognize the owner’s name.    The focus, however, is on large property owners.   “These are situations where the bills may not be getting to the right department because they are large corporations, often with multiple locations and divisions,” city spokeswoman Mary Scott said.   Nonpayers face liens starting this year, meaning stormwater bills will be added to property tax bills. CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com

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