Author: DANIEL CHACÓN
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Inventor will profit on $73.5 million Utilities contract
A local inventor whose emissions control technology is being funded by Colorado Springs Utilities is guaranteed to make a profit even if the system fails. The $73.5 million contract between physicist David Neumann and Utilities is a cost plus 10 percent contract, which means Neumann gets 10 percent on every purchase. Neumann gets paid as…
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Skorman criticizes decision on downtown power plant
A Utilities Board decision to spend millions on emissions control technology at its aging Martin Drake power plant without first studying decommissioning the downtown facility was “one of the worst decisions” ever, former City Councilman Richard Skorman said Wednesday in passionate testimony before the panel. “There is no poorer decision in my mind that’s going…
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Council tensions flare, F-bomb included
Tempers are flaring among City Council members over the governance of Colorado Springs Utilities and the future of the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown. Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko dropped the F-bomb twice Friday in an email to Councilwoman Angela Dougan, and Councilman Bernie Herpin took a swipe at Dougan and Councilman Tim Leigh in an online…
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Bach: Springs turning to private sector for more services
The private sector will have an opportunity to bid on city street work, fleet maintenance and more snowplowing under an ongoing effort by the Bach administration to find cheaper ways to deliver government services. “We will continue to look for outsourcing and efficiencies in our operations,” Helen Migchelbrink, public works director and city engineer, said…
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Despite layoffs, city hasn’t stopped hiring
Six Colorado Springs city employees in the planning and traffic engineering departments were laid off 
Friday. All six were told their positions were being eliminated “due to a reduction in force” based on a reorganization that will be announced Tuesday, according to an email obtained by The Gazette. “All six played a significant role in…
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WALDO CANYON FIRE: County opts out of forum on disabilities
El Paso County’s Emergency Services Division turned down a request to participate in an upcoming Waldo Canyon fire listening session with disabled people. It wants the Pikes Peak chapter of the American Red Cross to validate their complaints first. Last month, Patricia Yeager, CEO of The Independence Center, a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit that serves people…
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WALDO CANYON FIRE: Disabled cry foul over evacuations
People with disabilities in Colorado Springs were placed in danger and treated as an afterthought during the Waldo Canyon fire, according to a leading local disability advocate who is proposing a series of steps to better prepare for another disaster. “There were a number of things that didn’t go well,” said Patricia Yeager, CEO of…
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Firm has billed Springs $157,974 in legal fees since Bach election
A law firm with close ties to Mayor Steve Bach has billed the city $157,974 in legal fees since Bach was elected last year. Hogan Lovells, an international law firm with a Colorado Springs office, started to get outside legal work from the city in October, four months after Bach was sworn into office, according…
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WALDO CANYON FIRE: Drills prompted city to tweak evacuation plan
When the city of Colorado Springs conducted three wildfire preparedness drills in hillside neighborhoods last year, the exercises exposed weaknesses in the system, including faulty phone connections and concerns over escape routes. “I hope the city is prepared,” wrote a Mountain Shadows resident who participated in an evacuation drill in June 2011, a year before…
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Bach challenges chamber to add 6,000 jobs
Mayor Steve Bach challenged the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and EDC on Thursday to create 6,000 new civilian jobs annually. Bach said in his State of the City address that the region is expected to add only 627 new civilian jobs this year but that it needs to increase that number tenfold to…