Author: Daniel Chac
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Utilities ratepayers footing $25,000 water tour bill
Colorado Springs Utilities ratepayers are funding a two-day, $25,000 tour for 74 elected officials and community leaders to get a first-hand look at the city’s water system. Participants include City Councilman Bernie Herpin, El Paso County Commissioner Dennis Hisey and state Rep. Janak Joshi, all of whom have gone on the tour in years past,…
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Police spokeswoman: Kind impulse tough to overcome
Even as Colorado Springs police advocate for a law to fight panhandling in the heart of downtown, the department spokeswoman can’t resist an outstretched hand. Barbara Miller gave money to a panhandler on the corner of Tejon Street and Pikes Peak Avenue Thursday morning; The Gazette was interviewing downtown panhandlers and photographed the exchange. “When…
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West-siders get behind effort to ban solicitations
Saying the panhandling problem extends beyond downtown Colorado Springs, residents and business owners on the west side are organizing to get city officials to pay just as much attention to the issue in their part of town, too. Dozens of people showed up to a two-hour neighborhood meeting Wednesday to learn more about a no…
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Less of Bach just fine with some on council
Some Colorado Springs City Council members want to see less of Mayor Steve Bach. Soon after Bach took office last year, he started holding monthly meetings with the council to discuss myriad issues facing the city. Agenda items have included Colorado Springs’ half-billion-dollar stormwater backlog, redistricting and the governance of Colorado Springs Utilities. But now,…
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Bach: $73M deal made with inventor ‘alarming’
Mayor Steve Bach on Monday called a $73.5 million contract between Colorado Springs Utilities and an inventor of a clean coal technology “alarming,” saying it illustrates the need for a thorough review of the city-owned utility.Bach’s comments come after a story in The Gazette describing the terms of the agreement with physicist David Neumann, CEO…
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Mayor again takes on Utilities with City Council
Mayor Steve Bach is starting to sound like a broken record. The mayor on Wednesday asked the City Council again to lead a community conversation about the future of Colorado Springs Utilities, including whether the city-owned utility’s electric generating capacity should be leased or sold. The council serves as the Utilities Board and oversees the…
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Officials pledge to find resolution to region’s stormwater needs
With washed out Sand Creek as the backdrop, city and county officials pledged Tuesday to work together to come up with a solution to the region’s stormwater needs. “For decades, there have been discussions about stormwater in this area,” El Paso County Commission Chairwoman Amy Lathen said during the so-called Sand Creek Summit, where officials…
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Senior firefighter still on leave
The Colorado Springs Fire Department’s most senior firefighter is still on leave six months after he became the subject of a personnel matter. R.C. Smith, Jr., who joined the fire department nearly four decades ago, is a well-known battalion chief. His late father, Richard Smith, served as the city’s fire chief from 1979 to 1989.…
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Police chief claims responsibility for illegal arrest
Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey took responsibility Tuesday for the illegal arrest of a man who was carrying a gun in the open in Acacia Park last month. Guns can be openly carried in city parks. “I share some concerns about what happened,” Carey said during the City Council meeting after a citizen raised…
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Council member wants time limits on meetings
The Colorado Springs City Council held its informal meeting Monday. Among the highlights: • Councilman Val Snider suggested the council consider time limits on council meetings.“I want council to set priorities for the things that we hear and give the public all the brain power that is due to the public,” Snider said. Coincidentally, Monday’s…