City Desk ~ An insider’s view of the policies and politics of Colorado Springs city government

Archive for the 'John Fredell' Tag

City-owned bus to transport city officials, Utilities employees to party

August 18th, 2011, 2:01 pm by

(not the actual bus)

Call it the SDS Express.

A city-owned bus is transporting former Mayor Lionel Rivera, City Council President Scott Hente, Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Jerry Forte and other city officials and Utilities employees Friday to the Pueblo Dam for a celebration commemorating the start of major construction on the 62-mile Southern Delivery System water pipeline.

“This is a more efficient way to transport the group than individual cars,” SDS spokeswoman Janet Rummel said in an email. “Those riding the bus will participate in a tour of construction at the dam prior to the event.”

Mayor Steve Bach is scheduled to attend Friday’s event, but he’s not going by bus, according the passenger list.

Rummel said such bus transportation “has been done for similar events that many Council members have attended in the past.”

Colorado Springs ratepayers will apparently foot the bill.

“I have been told that the bus gets 6 miles per gallon and the cost of the fuel per gallon is $2.56,” she wrote. “For the roundtrip, we estimate the cost of fuel to be just under $40. The City also has designated a City employee to drive the bus that morning instead of their normal dispatch duties.”

The bus is fueled from a city fuel station, Rummel said.

“Our understanding is that the driver was already scheduled to work that morning. We will work with the City to reimburse them for their costs,” she said.

Here’s the passenger list:

Council members riding the bus:
Scott Hente
Merv Bennett and his wife
Brandy Williams
Val Snider
Jan Martin
Tim Leigh (tentative)

Staff riding the bus:
Steve Cox
Jerry Forte
Gary Bostrom
John Fredell
Ken Burgess
Sherri Newell
Dave Padgett
Bill Cherrier
Bruce McCormick
Janet Rummel

In addition, former Mayor Lionel Rivera and Vice Mayor Larry Small will be riding the bus.

Posted in: City Council • City employees • Transit • Utilities • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 13 Comments »

Quote of the Day (and other interesting City Council news)

April 20th, 2011, 8:56 pm by

“Today is really the passing of the baton to this board to get us to the finish line, and that will be part of your legacy.”

—Bruce McCormick, chief energy services officer for Colorado Springs Utilities, told the new City Council on Wednesday during a presentation on the Southern Delivery System, a 62-mile water pipeline between here and Pueblo.

The nine-member council, which met for the first time Tuesday, met Wednesday in its capacity as the Utilities Board.

The council oversees city enterprises, including the four-service utility, a billion-dollar operation.

The council is the ninth Utilities Board to oversee efforts to build SDS. McCormick described those efforts as a “marathon” and “not a sprint.”

Among the other highlights of Wednesday’s meeting:

*** John Fredell, SDS project director, said officials are analyzing an accelerated construction schedule for SDS. How an accelerated schedule will affect a series of planned 12 percent water rate increases has not been determined, officials said. The board will get a more detailed report in July.

*** Monday is the deadline for the public to submit comments about proposed storage, exchange and conveyance contracts with the federal Bureau of Reclamation. The contracts would, among other things, allow Utilities to start construction at Pueblo Reservoir.

*** Councilwomen Lisa Czelatdko and Angela Dougan proved they were freshmen. The pair didn’t exactly know or remember where the fifth-floor board meeting room, in the South Tower of the Plaza of the Rockies, was located. I ran into Dougan in the lobby. She didn’t remember which floor the room was located. I bumped Czelatdko in the elevator. She didn’t know which way to go after we got off on the fifth floor. BTW … we were both about 5 or 10 minutes late.

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • City Council • Utilities • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Disgruntled property owner wants pipeline connection

October 4th, 2010, 3:25 pm by

Dwain Maxwell apparently wants to have his cake and eat it, too.

Maxwell, who has courted the news media to criticize Colorado Springs Utilities over its plan to dig a trench through his land to build the Southern Delivery System, must not think the 62-mile pipeline is that bad.

The Pueblo West man, who says Utilities doesn’t want to pay him a fair price to acquire easements on his property, wants a direct connection to the pipeline, according to a letter that SDS Program Director John Fredell wrote to Maxwell in August.

“I understand that during your discussions with our agent, Wilson and Company, you requested to be connected to the SDS pipeline,” Fredell said in the letter. “While we are unable to connect individual property owners to the actual pipeline, as a customer of the Pueblo West Metro District, you will be directly benefitting from the SDS project.”

Utilities spokeswoman Janet Rummel said today that Darlene Garcia, Utilities’ land acquisition manager, has been meeting with Maxwell “to work on the issues (Maxwell) has identified.” She also said Fredell sent him the letter in August to “answer many of the questions he has posed.”

“We are committed to treating property owners fairly and with consistency by following established state and federal laws related to property acquisition,” she said in an e-mail.

“To date, we have signed agreements on 95 of the 122 private properties in Pueblo West and are diligently working to conclude negotiations on the remaining properties. Most of the concerns that property owners have raised are already addressed in our 1041 permit with Pueblo County or with other governing agencies, including:

Dust Control:  We will follow a dust control plan required by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Air Pollution Control Division, and among other requirements, monitor and control dust particulate levels. 

Lighting: We will minimize adverse light impacts to property owners by preventing light spillover, nuisance or glare on properties adjacent to the work site

Noise: We will minimize noise impacts to adjacent property owners by measuring and mitigating noise levels at each lot line location during construction.

Wildlife: We will promptly re-vegetate all disturbed areas with native species that provide species diversity and food and cover for large game and wildlife habitat.

We are also committed to continue working with property owners to address their concerns so that a mutually beneficial resolution can be reached and eminent domain is used as the very last resort.”

Posted in: Utilities • • • | Post a Comment »