Deborah Hendrix

District 4 City Council candidate Deborah Hendrix says it’s premature for a pay raise for council when its roles and responsibilities are in flux.

“A change in the governance of (Colorado Springs Utilities) and other measures may decrease the amount of day-to-day operations that the council handles,” Hendrix said Wednesday night in an email to council.

“Also, consider the effect of council moving from a group of citizen politicians to a group of professional politicians. That will change the dynamics of who runs for council and could lead to a situation where the salary becomes more important than serving the community,” she said.

Hendrix also questions whether the city can afford a bump in pay for council members, who are currently paid $6,250 a year.

“If we can find $437,000, why not utilize those funds for firefighters, police officers, or improved transportation?  I know that with these things the citizens would be well pleased,” she said.

Hendrix said she will personally vote against a pay increase if council puts the question on the ballot in April.

The council will decide Tuesday whether to refer that proposal and four others to the ballot in April.

Here is the full, unedited text of Hendrix’s email to council:

Good Morning Councilors:

First, I want to thank you for your service to the City of Colorado Springs.  I appreciate the work you have done and certainly look forward to working with those of you that will remain on Council after the election in April.

My name is Deborah Hendrix and I have been a resident in this City for the past 21 years and currently I am running for District 4 – City Council seat.

My purpose for writing to each of you is in regard to one of the upcoming amendments you will decide to put on the ballot on next Tuesday at the City Council meeting.  I by no means have all the answers and know all the discussions and dialogues that have occurred regarding this issue, so I offer my humble opinion and hope that you will take that into consideration as you make your final decision.

I realize many of the changes over the last two years with the executive/legislative structure have certainly caused some issues regarding who has authority and responsibility over a number of measures that might have been very clear under the past form of government.  So I applaud the work you have done to try and be clear and concise in your voting of policies, laws and procedures.

The one ballot issue, ie. Council Compensation.

Council Compensation – While paying City Council members a wage which is commensurate with the work that currently engages them seems very appropriate, with the new roles and responsibilities of City Council in flux, the increase in pay may be premature.  A change in the governance of CSU and other measures may decrease the amount of day-to-day operations that the Council handles.

Also, consider the effect of Council moving from a group of citizen politicians to a group of professional politicians.  That will change the dynamics of who runs for council and could lead to a situation where the salary becomes more important than serving the community.

Also, can the City at this time afford to allocate $437K within the already tight budget?  If we can find $437K, why not utilize those funds for firefighters, police officers, or improved transportation?  I know that with these things the citizens would be well pleased.

If this measure makes it to the ballot, I as a citizen would not support it and would be highly disappointed that the Council did not consider the short-term (financial/roles) and long-term (change in type of citizens for council) effects of such a major shift.

Thank you for taking the time to read my email.  I would welcome an opportunity to discuss this issue.  Thank you again for your service.

Deborah…

Mayor Steve Bach said he was “surprised” to learn about a last-minute proposal to change the governance of Colorado Springs Utilities.

The proposed charter change by Chairman Scott Hente and board member Jan Martin calls for replacing the council with a seven-member independent board that would be elected as early as June. Board members would serve four-year terms and be limited to three consecutive terms. The proposal also calls for a supermajority vote of Colorado Springs voters to sell Utilities or any of its assets.

The Gazette asked the mayor to weigh in on the proposal, and here’s what he said in a statement:

“Scott Hente and Jan Martin stated at the Utility Board meeting today that they will bring to City Council next Tuesday a ballot measure for the April Municipal Election, asking voters to approve a change in governance for Colorado Springs Utilities, our largest and most important owned asset.  Mr. Hente and Ms. Martin surprised the other members of the Utility Board and me in making this proposal today at the last minute before the City Council statutory deadline for placing items on the April ballot.  They are suggesting that a new 7-member elected Board control CSU in the future.  While this idea may be worth debate, the community should complete a thorough discussion of all alternatives before this most important decision is made.  This is yet another last minute, piecemeal, proposed change to the City Charter on the eve of Mr. Hente being term limited and leaving City Council.   I’m disappointed that Mr. Hente would attempt this power play as he leaves office, and hope the City Council will turn this back next Tuesday and the other piecemeal Charter changes it is entertaining – which represent bad policy and are not in the best interests of our fellow citizens.”

As part of its endorsement process, the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs posed a long list of questions to City Council candidates, ranging from whether the downtown power plant should be decommissioned to how they would assess Mayor Steve Bach’s first two years in office.

Here is the questionnaire:

Please write a short paragraph about why you are running and your philosophical agenda for the City of Colorado Springs:

Please provide a summary of your professional background your qualifications for serving on the Colorado Springs City Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of Colorado Springs Utilities.

Please answer the following series of questions.  Please submit electronically with the questionnaire.  The questionnaire will be distributed to the members of our PAC interview committee prior to your interview.

Do you favor the current form of government as approved by the voters in 2010 to have a strong mayor form of government?  Explain your position.

Will you support any charter amendments to change the form of government by rolling back or adding to the powers of the Mayor or Council? Please explain.

Does the Mayor have too much or too little power under the new form of government?

How would you change the balance of power between the Mayor and City Council.

What is your assessment of the first two years of the term of Mayor Bach?

Do you support changes in the employee pension plans?

– For police and fire

– For civilian employees

If there are not sufficient revenues to meet the expenses of the City, what is your approach:

– Increase revenue?  How?

– Decrease expenses?  How?

At what level should the City maintain its unrestricted reserve fund balance?

It is estimated that the backlog of storm water drainage improvements is around $500 million?

– As a member of Council, what would be your proposal to deal with this?

Did you support or oppose the extension of PPRTA?  Explain your position.

Are the funds received from PPRTA adequate to meet the needs of the City?

– If not, how would you fund the deficiencies?

What are your views on public transportation, including our bus system, FREX, light rail and a downtown trolley?

– Explain your proposal for funding those items you support.

As a member of Council, you will also be a member of the Board of Directors for Colorado Springs Utilities.

– Do you favor a change in the governance of Utilities, and if so to what?

What are your views about the following Utility issues:

– Implementation of the Neumann technology at the Martin Drake or Nixon power plants.

– Should Martin Drake be decommissioned?  Explain your position.

– Do you favor selling or leasing any of the four utilities?  Explain your position.

If you favor selling or leasing, how would you use the proceeds from the sale or lease.

Do you support Southern Delivery System?  Explain your answer.

Should Utilities sell water to the City at a reduced rate for watering of public parks?

Is the City getting its fair share of funds from CDOT?

– If not, what is your proposal to make sure the City gets its fair share?

Did you support or oppose the lease of Memorial Hospital to University of Colorado Health System?

– Would you have preferred the sale or lease to an entity composed of the leadership of the hospital?

– Explain your positions.

Please provide a closing statement with any additional information you would like to provide to our interview committee.

Please include a copy of your professional resume with this questionnaire. 

Tim Leigh

Activist Kanda Calef shot down City Councilman Tim Leigh on Monday when Leigh insinuated that she’s part of the coal lobby.

Calef, who started Colorado Springs Citizens for Affordable Energy, which advocates keeping Colorado Springs Utilities under local ownership, vehemently denied that the coal industry is pulling her strings.

“Verify your facts before you make statements,” Calef told Leigh.

“I’m a stay-at-home mother who home schools my son. I’m a very busy person who is a citizen of this city, and I don’t want it to be intimidating to people like me to come and speak in front of people like you because you make false accusations,” she said.

Click HERE to watch video of the exchange.

Jerry Forte

Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Jerry Forte wants Mayor Steve Bach to reserve any more questions about the Martin Drake Power Plant for a decommissioning study.

“From both a limited staff perspective and to best honor the study initiative, it would be best if any further questions were vetted as part of the study,” Forte said Saturday in an email to the mayor.

“Adding your voice to the scope and depth of the study would be very helpful in reaching a decision that is best for and can be supported by the community at large, both today and into the future,” Forte said.

The email included answers to a long list of questions that Bach had posed to Forte about the Drake power plant and other Utilities power facilities on Dec. 17.

Bach gave Forte a Christmas Eve deadline to answer the questions. Forte told the mayor he needed more time and delivered his responses to Bach via email on Saturday.

Utilities posted the answers on its website “so that our customers can see the information and stay up to date on energy issues that are affecting the community,” spokesman Dave Grossman said Monday.

Forte told the mayor that answering his questions required “certain assumptions” for current and potential environmental regulations and risk mitigation/generation ownership practices, among others.

Jerry Forte

Mayor Steve Bach will have to wait until next year to get responses from Colorado Springs Utilities to a long list of questions about the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown.

Bach had given Utilities CEO Jerry Forte a Christmas Eve deadline to answer 18 questions about the power plant, which city officials are talking about decommissioning.

But Friday, Forte sent Bach an email stating he is working on responses but won’t be able to meet his deadline.

“Because of the number and complexity of the questions, I will not be able to complete this effort by the date you requested. I plan on having something to you during the first week in January,” Forte said in the email.

“Please let me know if you would like to meet in the interim.”

David Neumann

A homegrown technology that scrubs sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants has been nominated for an award that honors innovation and innovators.

“NSG is honored to be considered for an Edison Award,” David Neumann, CEO of Neumann Systems Group, Inc., said in an email Wednesday.

“It is hard to comprehend being mentioned in the same breath as Thomas Edison and great technologies like the iPAD and Ford Focus Electric,” he added.

Neumann said the nomination would not have been possible “without the extraordinary dedication” of his team and “the work that has been and is being done under our public-private partnership with Colorado Springs Utilities.”

The city-owned utility had been looking at buying conventional emissions control technology for its power plants when it met Neumann. After several successful tests of Neumann’s technology at the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown, Utilities decided to invest in the NeuStream scrubbers rather than purchase existing technology.

Bruce McCormick, Utilities’ chief energy services officer, said in a recent interview that Utilities “certainly” took risk into consideration.

“But when you’re convinced that the cost is much lower and the performance is much better, those are the things that tell you, ‘Hey, it’s time to take that risk,’ he said.

The utility also factored in “the benefits to our local community around economic development,” McCormick said, referring to hopes that the technology would prosper.

The technology has faced increased scrutiny over the past year – and future funding from ratepayers is still in question – as city officials debate the future of the Drake power plant. Most recently, questions have surfaced about why Utilities awarded Neumann a sole-source contract.

In announcing the Edison Award nomination, Neumann said his technology has the “potential for revolutionary impact in a wide-range of product areas important to the industrial and economic well-being of the United States and the rest of the world.”

Neumann said the nomination came about from a recommendation from an “unnamed member” of the Edison Awards Steering Committee. Finalists will be announced in February.

Precipitation — or the lack of precipitation — is going to be big in 2013.

Colorado Springs Utilities, which provides monthly updates on the water situation, told the Utilities Board last week that outdoor watering restrictions and maybe even a water rate increase may be needed next year.

In the meantime, the city-owned utility is offering the following winter water tips:

Winter watering

If you’ve ever experienced the discouragement of lawn winter kill or dead landscape plants in spring, try winter watering. Even though landscape plants are dormant and brown, they need to be watered periodically. Dry winter months often kill plants through dehydration. By winter watering, your lawn and landscape plants will have a much better chance of greening up beautifully when the warm weather of spring returns.

A word to the wise, too. Shrubs and trees that don’t receive regular water will search for hydration on their own, oftentimes in your wastewater pipes. Roots are a common cause of pipe damage, and repairs can be messy and costly. Service lines are the homeowner’s responsibility, so have pipes checked at least once a year or more if you live in a long-established, heavily-treed neighborhood.

Finally, keep in mind that your wastewater bill is calculated using the amount of water used Dec. 1 through the last day of February.

When to water

– Choose a warm winter day with air temperature above 40 degrees F and unfrozen soil.

– Water one to two times per month from November to April.

– It is most critical to water in March and April when the new roots are forming.

– Water at mid-day so it can soak in before it freezes.

What to water

– It is most important to water newly planted lawns, trees, shrubs and flowers.

– Established lawn areas and trees, especially those in sunny, windy, or exposed areas should also be a high priority.

– Established shrubs, flowers, ornamental grasses and groundcovers will also benefit.

– Do not winter water cacti, succulents, buffalograss, blue grama and very xeric plants.

How to water

– Use a hose-end sprinkler or watering wand since automatic sprinkler systems are off during the winter.

– Remove the hose from the spigot after watering to prevent freeze damage.

– Water slowly so it can soak in.

– To figure out how long to water, put out cups to catch some of the water. Water until you can measure 0.5 to 1” deep in the cups.

Water leaks turn drops into dollars

Some facts about water leaks from the Environmental Protection Agency:

– Leaks can account for, on average, 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.

– The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year. That’s equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.

– Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.

– Common types of leaks found in the home include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. All are easily correctable.

– Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.

– Keep your home leak-free by repairing dripping faucets, toilet valves, and showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts don’t require a major investment and can be installed by do-it-yourselfers.

– The vast majority of leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances.

David Neumann

The secret agreement between the city of Colorado Springs and the Sierra Club may put a controversial emissions control technology being installed at the downtown power plant in jeopardy.

“My understanding is that recent secret negotiations with the Sierra Club conducted by the City Attorney have resulted in an agreement which partially or wholly suspends our contract,” businessman David Neumann, who invented the sulfur dioxide scrubbers, said in an email to the Colorado Springs Utilities Board.

” I appeal to you to have a full and open discussion with the community before you proceed to endorse the dealings of the City Attorney.  These dealings by the City Attorney may appear to many of the Colorado Springs Utilities’ citizen-owners and ratepayers as truly egregious acts,” he wrote.

Here is the full text of Neumann’s email:

Dear Colorado Springs Utilities Boardmember:

As you know NSG with its 55 employees has a contract to provide emissions control capability for the Martin Drake powerplant in compliance with EPA requirements. Already $60 million of rate payer money has been committed or spent.  NSG stands ready to continue performance of that contract and provide the City with one of the cleanest coal plants in the country.

My understanding is that recent secret negotiations with the Sierra Club conducted by the City Attorney have resulted in an agreement which partially or wholly suspends our contract.   I appeal to you to have a full and open discussion with the community before you proceed to endorse the dealings of the City Attorney.  These dealings by the City Attorney may appear to many of the Colorado Springs Utilities’ citizen-owners and ratepayers as truly egregious acts.

While it is clearly not my place to judge the City Attorney’s actions, I do believe that NSG, as a vendor of Colorado Springs Utilities, has a right to expect full and open discussions, with substantial Community input, before actions are taken that may adversely affect assets of Colorado Springs Utilities, the Community and NSG.

Thanks for considering this,

David K. Neumann, CEO

Neumann Systems Group, Inc.

Should city-owned Colorado Springs Utilities be handing out ratepayer money to groups such as the NAACP and the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance?

The utility budgeted about $774,000 to hand out to various organizations and charities in 2013, raising the ire of some Utilities Board members.

“The greater question pointed out by these gifts and the gift-giving process leads to the overall structure of the board and the built-in conflict of interest presented by being both a city councilor and a utility company board member,” Councilman Tim Leigh recently wrote in his electronic newsletter.

“As a utility company board member I understand and condone the giving.  I encourage it.  As a company, the million dollar give-away is chump change used to curry small-time political favor.  I understand the process,” he said.

“But as a city councilor looking out for Fred the Plumber and his good wife Ethel and their 3 kids living in a poorly insulated, small duplex on the east side, I’m compelled to call-out the unfairness of arbitrary gifts of rate payer dollars. ”

Click here to see the list of groups that are poised to receive ratepayer money and the amount.

The Gazette asked Springs Utilities to provide more information about the “Community Focus Fund” program.

Here is their response:

As a citizen-owned utility, we are committed to giving back to the community we serve.  Our community investments programs include investments in community organizations that retain, grow, and recruit businesses in our region;  grants through the Community Focus Fund program; support of designated City Sponsored events; sponsorships of local non-profit events and memberships in local community associations.

Community investment provides financial support for activities and events in the community or in communities impacted by Springs Utilities operations.  Utilities Board policy requires us to demonstrate strong corporate responsibility and be responsive to community needs and values.  Community investment is limited to financial contributions which are budgeted as annual operating expense derived from operating revenues.  We are able to invest no more than 1/4 of one percent of budgeted operations revenues in support of the community.  Our budgeted amount is actually about 1/10 of one percent. The small increase in the 2013 budget covers increased costs in city-sponsored events and realignment of funding to meet community needs.

Community investments were first formalized in 1997 with the chartering of the Community Focus Fund by City Council. The Community Focus Fund was established as a community outreach program to support employee volunteerism and provide financial support to local nonprofit organizations and schools.  The program is managed by an employee steering committee of about 20 employees from throughout the organization who make volunteer project and funding decisions based on the program’s charter and guidelines. Funding and volunteering is focused on affordable housing assistance, community, education, environment, safety & health, senior citizens, youth.  Funds are also used to purchase supplies and equipment for employee volunteer projects.

Sponsorship funding is determined by a management team to support organizations and events that have a strong alignment with Springs Utilities’ business objectives such as workplace diversity, conservation and the environment, safety, renewable energy, science education or in support of events where Springs Utilities employees have made significant volunteer commitments to organizations as members of the board of directors.

Funds are also used to fulfill requests from City Council to underwrite the cost of barricades for designated city sponsored events such as the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, parades, etc.

In addition, our primary focus is supporting employee volunteerism.  Year after year, we donate thousands of personal hours to local charities and nonprofit agencies to help make our community a better place.  In 2011, our volunteer hours topped 25,000.