Author: Barbara Cotter
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Family Connections suspends operations, including respite child care
A 24-year-old nonprofit that works to prevent child abuse and neglect and operates a respite center where frustrated parents can drop off their children has suspended its operations, citing funding problems. No one from Family Connections could be reached for comment, but Jennifer Brown, spokeswoman for the El Paso County, said the organization’s board planned…
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Watering restrictions soak utility for $17 million
Colorado Springs Utilities expects to take a $17 million bath because of watering restrictions this year, but it has no plans to push for a rate hike to make up for the budget shortfall. “Our approach is to look internally,” Utilities spokesperson Patrice Lehermeier said Thursday. “We’re already running a pretty tight shop, but we’re…
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Springs council members get schooled on job
Did you know, Mr. and Ms. Colorado Springs Citizen, that you have the power to pull an item off the City Council’s consent calendar so it can be discussed separately, instead of voted on en masse with other measures? If you didn’t, don’t feel bad. The council’s new president, Keith King, wasn’t aware of it,…
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City official leaving after 1 year on the job
The woman who became the city engineer and public works director for Colorado Springs a year ago is resigning effective May 31 to return to Fort Collins. Helen Migchelbrink said Wednesday she is not leaving because she is dissatisfied with her job or her boss, Mayor Steve Bach. “I support Mayor Bach 100 percent in…
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Colorado Springs Utilities board nixes study on selling assets
In its first meeting as the Utilities Board, the new Colorado Springs City Council voted Wednesday to pull the plug on a process that began last summer to look into the ramifications of leasing or selling the city’s electric assets. The board voted unanimously not to move forward with a contract with NewGen Strategies and…
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City Council software on budget wish list
A $155,000 expenditure may sound like a pittance when you’re looking at a $12 million wish list, but city officials hope it will make a monumental difference in the way Colorado Springs residents interact with City Council members. On Wednesday, the mayor’s office unveiled a proposal to take $12 million out of the city’s reserve…
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VIDEO: New City Council picks newly elected Keith King as president
With two-thirds of its members elected only two weeks ago, the newest incarnation of Colorado Springs City Council made its mark Monday by choosing one of the newcomers to be its president. Keith King, a former state representative and senator, won on a 6-3 vote against another council newcomer, Don Knight, whose nomination took some…
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Plan would target $10M for fire, flood mitigation
Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach will announce a plan Wednesday to take $10 million out of a record-high rainy-day fund to pay for fire and flood mitigation in some of the city’s most vulnerable areas. The request will go before City Council at its informal meeting on Monday, with the first vote scheduled for May…
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Councilwoman cleared of alleged ethics violation
The Colorado Springs Independent Ethics Commission has cleared District 2 City Councilwoman Angela Dougan of alleged ethics violations surrounding a $1,000 contribution she accepted from Comcast in July 2011. Bill Murray, who filed as a candidate to run against Dougan in the April 2 election, claimed Dougan didn’t report the contribution until April 2012, and…
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Hente gifts Waldo Canyon fire, Incline mementos
The American flag that flew over Scott Hente’s home is a red, white and blue reminder of the Waldo Canyon fire that damaged his house and destroyed hundreds of others in his Mountain Shadows neighborhood last summer. Hente intended to keep the faded but undamaged flag in his family — a personal memento from a…