Author: Daniel Chac
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Council members have good attendance records
Working as a City Council member means a lot of meetings, a lot of paperwork and little pay. It’s hard to say how well council members, who are paid $6,250 a year, do with the paperwork. But when it comes to meetings, council members have a good attendance record – one’s even perfect. Since six…
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Bach’s push for more detail in Utilities’ budget gains traction
Mayor Steve Bach on Wednesday renewed his request for more transparency in Colorado Springs Utilities’ proposed $1 billion budget. Bach asked City Council members to direct the city-owned utility to “get you and me and the public more detail” about the 2013 spending plan before a Nov. 19 public hearing, especially as it relates to…
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Utilites’ letters touting Neumann scrubbers generate no replies
Colorado Springs Utilities is trying to drum up business for the local company that invented sulfur dioxide scrubbers that are now at the center of a community debate about the future of the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown. So far, no one has called back. On Sept. 5, Chief Energy Services Officer Bruce McCormick mailed…
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City, Utilities to spend nearly $28M on stormwater projects
Hey, Pueblo County, the city of Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs Utilities expect to spend a combined $27.8 million next year on stormwater projects. The city and the public utility issued a joint news release Friday outlining their proposed stormwater-related expenditures in 2013. The funding includes $7 million to address impacts caused by the Waldo…
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Mayor ticks through project list, takes questions at town hall
Mayor Steve Bach hosted a town hall meeting Wednesday night that highlighted his 2013 budget priorities and gave students at Eagleview Middle School a real-life civics lesson. About 200 people, including a few dozen middle school students, attended the mayor’s fourth and final town hall meeting of 2012. The meeting was geared toward residents of…
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Drilling in city parks? Council moving forward with oil and gas rules
The city of Colorado Springs is on the verge of adopting oil and gas regulations. A City Council majority agreed Monday to move ahead with oil and gas regulations developed by the Planning Department and approved by the Planning Commission. The council will take a formal vote Nov. 27. Also on Monday, the council learned…
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Springs considers new campaign finance rules
The city of Colorado Springs is considering changes to campaign finance rules in a bid to avoid a repeat of the confusion and complaints that muddled the 2011 municipal election. Proposed changes cover everything from the city clerk’s responsibilities to timelines for hearing complaints. The proposal also specifies that candidates are free to accept corporate…
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Scrubber technology at center of power plant debate, again
An ongoing discussion about a study to decommission the coal-fired power plant downtown reverted Wednesday to a controversial Utilities Board decision to spend millions of dollars on sulphur dioxide scrubbers at the aging facility. “I’m going to keep talking and talking and talking and talking until we can actually get to the right place,” City…
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Bach’s budget recommendations spark more dissension
Mayor Steve Bach fired off two separate letters Friday recommending that the Colorado Springs Utilities Board follow the same budget process as the city. In turn, Utilities Board Chairman Scott Hente on Monday offered a recommendation of his own for the mayor, who is an non-voting member of the board: Start attending meetings to get…
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Communication gap grows between Bach, Utilities boss
An idea for the city and Colorado Springs Utilities to work together to save money on fleet operations turned into a big mess this week, exposing a growing communication gap between Mayor Steve Bach and the CEO of the city-owned enterprise.Only a month ago, city officials thought they were going to partner with the $1.1…