Author: Barbara Cotter
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City Council rebuffs mayor, OKs stormwater resolution
In one of its last actions before six of its members leave office, the Colorado Springs City Council approved a resolution supporting a regional flood control and stormwater management steering committee, despite opposition from Mayor Steve Bach. It was the second time the council considered a resolution to work jointly with El Paso County 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…
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City Council OKs expansion of community solar garden
Colorado Springs’ Community Solar Garden is about to grow bigger, at a cost of $22 million to $33.2 million over 20 years. On Tuesday, City Council approved changes to electric rate schedules to expand a pilot project that created the area’s first community solar gardens in 2011. The gardens allow customers of Colorado Springs Utilities…
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City to pay $9.2 million to settle three unrelated lawsuits
The city of Colorado Springs will pay out about $9.2 million in settlements surrounding three unrelated lawsuits that, coincidentally, are being resolved around the same time. The biggest settlement, $8 million, stems from lawsuits the city’s former transit operator filed in 2010 over the termination of a contract. On Tuesday, Colorado Springs City Council OK’d…
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Catholic Charities will open new office
Catholic Charities of Central Colorado is opening its first office outside Colorado Springs in one of the state’s more affluent areas, but there’s enough demand for the nonprofit’s safety-net services in Castle Rock to warrant an expansion, a spokeswoman says. “The need is there, the population is there, the desire is there,” Rochelle Schlortt said…
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New council members ready for rapid start
Keith King hasn’t taken office yet, but he knows one of the first things he’d like to do when he officially joins the Colorado Springs City Council on April 16. “I would like to have a long discussion with all the council members on how we structure council, and create a more legislative body,” he…
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Homeless tent camps on the rise again
Warmer weather and the closure of a temporary homeless shelter are contributing to a resurgence in tent camps in Colorado Springs, despite a no-camping ordinance meant to dissuade people from turning public land into their bedrooms. The situation isn’t nearly as dramatic as it was three years ago, when City Council passed the ordinance. Officials…
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ELECTION NOTES: No recount in District 6
The three-man race in Colorado Springs City Council District 6 may have been close, but not close enough to trigger a recount, City Clerk Sarah Johnson said Wednesday. Just 159 votes separated the first- and second-place candidates, but Johnson said the recount would only be launched with a difference of 20 or fewer votes. According…
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No recount in tight District 6 race, city clerk says
The three-man race in Colorado Springs City Council District 6 may have been close, but not close enough to trigger a recount, City Clerk Sarah Johnson said Wednesday. Just 159 votes separated the first- and second-place candidates, but Johnson said the recount would only be launched with a difference of 20 votes or less. According…
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New city leaders pledge to work together
The United States marked an “era of good feelings” 200 years ago. It may be Colorado Springs’ turn this year with the election of six new City Council members who, by and large, are pledging to work more cooperatively and disagree less stridently than their predecessors. “I’m optimistic that we will not only work better…