UPDATE: This blog post has been updated with new information.

Three months after two employees in the Communications Department were sent packing for “budgetary” reasons, the city says it is hiring a senior public communications specialist in that office.

The job pays between $56,388 and $70,476.

“The Communications Division at the City of Colorado Springs is not adding a position,” Chief Communications Officer Cindy Aubrey said in a message.

“Unfortunately, Mary Scott, will be leaving us to take a teaching position – a transition she has been working on for the last few years. We will miss Mary and we wish her well in her new teaching job.”

According to the job posting, the new employee “must be a dynamic, creative individual who brings a spirit of innovation and re-invention to the City Communications Department.”

“You will perform research and analysis using a variety of resources to craft appropriate media messages, write press releases, opinion editorials, and other materials and work with members of the national, regional, and local media to share City stories; identify proactive opportunities for media outreach; coordinate media conferences; track and analyze media coverage trends on key issues of interest; and assist with all scheduled City / Mayoral events. Responsibilities also include writing/editing web material; responding to press inquiries; public outreach opportunities; and working closely with crisis communications team.”

Click here to read the entire job posting.

Cindy Aubrey

Two employees in the city’s Communications Department were shown the door Friday.

John Leavitt, a well-respected city spokesman who routinely handled open-records requests, and Bill Beagle, the go-to guy for all things SpringsTV, were let go “as part of the organization-wide efforts to pursue efficiencies wherever possible,” Chief Communications Officer Cindy Aubrey said Monday in an email.

“I want to stress that these were budgetary, not performance, decisions,” she said.

Aubrey’s explanation raises more questions since the city budget was approved in December and she hired Laura Benjamin, who volunteered on Mayor Steve Bach’s mayoral campaign, at the end of November.

“Laura has a different skill set and knowledge which she brings to the department,” Aubrey wrote in a follow-up email.

Aubrey also said some programming on SpringsTV Channel 18 will be eliminated.

“Springs TV will continue on – with additional replays of City Council and Planning meetings.  We will however, no longer be producing City vignettes about parks, streets etc.” she wrote.

“We will help City Council upon request for any needs they may have,” Aubrey added.

So, who’s left in the Communications Department and what do they do?

Here are the names and titles of who works there now:

Cindy Aubrey – Chief Communications Officer

Mary Scott – Public Communications Specialist I

Julie Smith – Public Communications Specialist II

Laura Benjamin – Public Communications Specialist II

Dee Brown – Public Communications Specialist II

Mary Webb – Communications Admin

Aubrey provided a job description for each employee.

“I am currently rewriting my job description – and will be absorbing some of John’s duties,” she wrote.

Here are their job descriptions:

Laura Benjamin – Communications Specialist

Key Responsibilities:

Produce online communication and news for the City and the Mayor’s Office which includes:

Writing summations for newsfeed, announcements, social media posts, press releases and citizen responses

Act as the primary web content producer as well as web facilities person for communications

Additional Communication Duties:

Daily releases as assigned by CCO

Develop strong, ongoing relationships with media

Respond to media queries with the use of established messaging

Attend events with the Mayor and City personnel, take pictures and update the public with details.

Public speaking on behalf of the City/Mayor

Assist City Council when needed or asked with communication needs

Provide speaker training and media assistance for all staff upon request

Mary Scott – Communications Specialist

Key Responsibilities:

Daily media releases for assigned departments or as assigned by CCO

Assist Donna Nelson with all things Spirit of the Springs

Organize Spirit of the Springs events- including marketing and publicity

Produce employee profiles for Springs TV

Research and present positive media coverage

Oversee E-Town Hall Meetings

Oversee and direct employee communications

Act as liaison between US Pro Cycling Challenge and City

Media Relations

Develop strong, ongoing relationships with media.  This includes quickly responding to journalist requests for stories etc.

Reaching out to beat reporters, assignment editors and news directors to pitch positive City stories

Internal / Employee Communication

Producing content for the Intranet

Answer questions for employees

Determine the best way to proactively communicate information and processes to department and City employees, employee meetings, brown bag lunches.

Julie Smith – Communications Specialist

Key Responsibilities:

Daily releases for assigned departments or as assigned by CCO

Working to find positive stories to tell about City efforts and the community.

Searching the city (media and any outlets available) for Spirit of the Springs’ candidates to celebrate and recognize.

Working with the Sister Cities Board, write all press releases and act as liaison between the City and the SC board.

Greener Corners

Work as a liaison with Nick Kittle to broaden the Greener Corners for the City.

Press Releases

Daily releases for assigned departments or as assigned by CCO

External Marketing

Assist in marketing efforts for the City.

Graphic Design

Assist all in City who request graphic design from Communications

Dee Brown – Communications Specialist

Key Responsibilities:

Operate cameras for all public meeting tapings and broadcasts including, but not limited to all City Council, formal and informal, Planning Commission,

Answer or direct all citizen remarks/complaints that are directed to City Communications

Act as a back- up editor and videographer for Springs TV

Event Planning

Assist in Event Planning & Implementation: Planning and implementing any events, including Spirit of the Springs, Solution Team events, Town Hall meetings or other events managed through the Mayor’s office.

Mary Webb – Administrative Assistant

Key Responsibilities:

Answer phones

Answer phone in department and forward all media calls to appropriate person.

Communications Budget / Contract Manager

Cindy & Dept Scheduler

Event Planning & Implementation: Assist in planning and implementing any events, including Spirit of the Springs, Solution Team events, Town Hall meetings or other events managed through the Mayor’s office.

Media Relations

Writing External & Internal Communication: Writing thank you notes, letters,

e-mails; responding to citizen and employee queries or complaints, etc.; and ensuring all written communication is on message.

Mayor Steve Bach has made a big deal out of using social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, to communicate with Colorado Springs residents.

When he announced a town hall meeting for Wednesday night, Springs resident Justin Burns went on the mayor’s Facebook page and suggested that Twitter would be “a great Q & A tool” to use for the event.

At least 200 million people actively use Twitter.

“Thank you Justin, that’s a great idea,” was the response.

But the mayor’s Communications Office didn’t chirp a single tweet.

The Gazette asked Chief Communications Officer Cindy Aubrey how many of her employees were at the town hall meeting and why no one — including a recent addition with supposed social media expertise — didn’t tweet from the event.

Here’s her response:

For the Town Hall meeting, we had John Leavitt, Mary Scott, Laura Benjamin, Julie Smith, Bill Beagle and myself.

John – Front door greeter and usher – helped with set up.

Julie  – Videographer – helped with set up.

Bill – Videographer

Laura – Collected questions, took pictures and co-emceed with Steve Cox – also helped with set up

Mary – Took notes to write a summary for Q & A – to get something posted today for those who were unable to attend

Cindy – Event producer

Given the hour and the event, was not sure how large of an audience we would have on Twitter.  I have to think about return on investment.  I have included an article about Twitter time – and listened to panel of three Twitter uber users today – they all concur that 8-5 is prime time.  We will discuss and even post a poll to determine if we should have someone tweeting at all events – or if resources should be allocated differently.  This was our first Town Hall, so we learned from it.  Our goal is to provide excellent customer service always.  If enough of our citizens would like to get tweets, we will provide.   http://pinterest.com/pin/270286415106330645/

Cindy

Attorney Pat Mika, who represented 19-year-old Hooters waitress Illysa Medina after she was accused of serving a visibly intoxicated patron, said the CBI investigation of Metro VNI was nothing more than a whitewashing.

Mika said the investigation, which cleared the two undercover detectives involved in the case of wrongdoing, could not be classified as complete.

“They never talked to the victim of this false accusation and that is Illysa Medina. Nor they did they ever talk to the lawyer who represented her. They got nothing but self-serving information from the police officers who were there trying to preserve their careers, their reputations and their jobs.”

According to the CBI report, the only people interviewed were: VNI detectives Jeff True and Greg Young, police Sgt. Bret Poole, city prosecutors Elliot Fladen, Anthony Moore and Jarrett Benson, sheriff Bureau Chief Joe Breister, city spokesman John Leavitt and private attorney Vince Linden, who represented Hooters in front of the city’s liquor board.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved the city’s request to give citizens more time to comment on Ultra Resources’ applications to drill on Banning Lewis Ranch.

The deadline to submit comments is now Jan. 17.

City Attorney Chris Melcher requested the time extension, city spokesman John Leavitt said Friday.

“It was just a matter of trying to give folks a sufficient amount of time to look at everything, consider whether they had any concerns or not, and if they did, they could go ahead and register those comments,” Leavitt said.

“Hopefully that gives them a sufficient amount of time to do it,” he said.

Citizens can leave comments and review Ultra’s applications on the commission’s website www.cogcc.state.co.us by clicking on “permits” and then by searching “pending applications” in El Paso County, the city said.

The City Council, which enacted a six-month moratorium on oil and gas exploration on Nov. 29, has asked the commission to wait to make a decision on Ultra’s two applications until local regulations are in place.

The city recently formed an Oil and Gas Committee to look at regulations for oil and gas exploration in Colorado Springs. The committee is expected to issue a report before the end of the six-month moratorium.

Thursday was the deadline to submit applications to serve on the committee.

Council members Val Snider, who will chair the committee, and Angela Dougan and Brandy Williams will be the only voting members of the committee.

Committee meetings, scheduled every Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., are slated to begin Jan. 26.

The massive mural — or is it a billboard? — being painted on the roof of a downtown building to promote the city’s relationship with the U.S. Olympic Committee has generated a lot of discussion in Colorado Springs.

Some people love it.

Some people hate it.

Some people have taken a special interest in the mural.

One person in particular who has experience in painting has been following the project from the very start.

That person, who asked to remain anonymous, says the mural doesn’t match the rendering approved by City Council.

As proof, the person emailed the picture shown in this blog.

What do you think?

In fairness to the artist, who has been working feverishly to complete the mural, the artwork looked pretty nice from the air during filming of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge earlier this week.

City spokesman John Leavitt didn’t seem too concerned when he saw the picture shown in this blog.

“We are thrilled with the way the mural is turning out,” Leavitt said in an email earlier this week.

“We think the muralist has done a marvelous job applying the designer’s concept to a very challenging surface.  The bottom line is that the mural communicates our pride in being the home of the U.S. Olympic Committee – that has been the goal all along,” he said.

The mural promoting Colorado Springs as the proud home of the U.S. Olympic Committee is about to move into its next phase.

“If you’ve had the opportunity to drive I-25 at Cimarron, you know that the image of Henry Cejudo, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist, is almost complete,” city spokesman John Leavitt said today to Mayor Steve Bach and the City Council.

“As we approach completion (fingers crossed for cool/dry weather) of the original mural concept, we are now planning for the City logo on the south side of the mural,” he wrote.

Leavitt called the city logo a “bonus feature” that expands the visibility of the mural and won’t cost taxpayers any more money.

In reality, the city logo was added when developer Chuck Murphy, who owns the building where the rooftop mural is being painted, cut down two trees blocking the south side of the roof.

“The mural is a true celebration of the Colorado Springs community,” Leavitt wrote.

“It is being done at the hands of a celebrated local artist, Kim Polomka, it showcases a local athlete, Henry Cejudo, who graduated from Coronado High School and it highlights a local organization known throughout the globe – the USOC.”

When the council approved the taxpayer-funded mural on an 8-1 vote, with Councilwoman Angela Dougan opposed, the intent was to have it completed by the Fourth of July before the official start of the U.S. Women’s Open.

But weather and other issues have delayed the painting.

Hey, at least visitors here with the USA Pro Cycling Challenge will get to see a lot more of the finished product.

Listen up, animal lovers.

The city needs 60 volunteers to participate in a mock disaster exercise Oct. 1 to “perform tasks such as handling of horses, drivers for transport of animals, runners and clerical assistance,” according to a news release.

The city is organizing a Community Animal Response Team of volunteers to prepare for emergencies – from wildfires to tornados to terrorist attacks – that require the rescue, evacuation and sheltering of horses and other livestock, the city said.

“If there was a fire on the western half of Colorado Springs right up against the forest, we would be dealing with large animals. We would be dealing with trying to relocate households and all of that stuff, so our feeling is that we might as well exercise that before an (actual) event takes place,” city spokesman John Leavitt said in an interview.

“We don’t want to do it when there’s an actual event. We want to have at least a little experience under our belt to know what we’ll be up against,” he said.

The Police Department is holding an orientation session for people interested in participating in CART and the mock disaster exercise at 6 p.m. Aug. 11. The one-hour session will be at the Police Operations Center, 705 S. Nevada Ave.

If you’re interested, call 444-7878 and leave a message with you name and telephone number.

CART volunteers will receive training and will be credentialed. For more additional, contact Officer Lori Torrini at 444-7276 or Torrinlo@ci.colospgs.co.us

Picture of the mural taken today

At first glance, Colorado Springs doesn’t appear to be the “proud home” of the U.S. Olympic Committee anymore.

Part of a taxpayer-funded mural to promote Colorado Springs as the “Proud Home Of The U.S. Olympic Committee” is being repainted.

“The artist  finished ‘United States Olympic Committee’ with the distressed lettering and background of the letters. Vladamir Jones requested he paint over the ‘Proud Home Of The’ because it was slightly out of position,” city spokesman John Leavitt said today in an email.

The mural, which is being painted on the roof of a downtown building facing Interstate 25, has been a source of controversy since the City Council decided to use taxpayer money to fund it.

Council members hoped to have the mural finished by the Fourth of July in time for the U.S. Women’s Open, but it’s almost a month behind schedule. In addition, some of the letters in the mural looked out of proportion.

The mural will feature hometown hero Henry Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist.

Picture of the mural taken a few weeks ago

“The wrestler image will begin next week,” Leavitt said.

(CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO GET A BETTER VIEW.)

Photo by Daniel J. Chacón

“The mural is a work in progress.  I’m not sure where we’ll be at the end of the week.  We will have to wait and see what the progress is at that point.”

– city spokesman John Leavitt said today in an email when asked whether a rooftop mural promoting the city as the home of Olympic champions would be completed by the end of this week.

Last week, Leavitt told Councilwoman Angela Dougan that the “latest estimate” to finish the mural was the end of this week.

When the City Council decided to pay for the mural in an 8-1 vote, with Dougan opposed, the hope was to have it finished by the Fourth of July in time for the U.S. Women’s Open.

But even now, more than two weeks after council members had hoped to have the mural complete, the mural doesn’t look anywhere close to being finished. In fact, the artist hasn’t even started painting the picture of hometown hero Henry Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist who will be featured in the mural.

The photo in this blog post was taken today. Click on the photo to get a better view.