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. 

Mayor Steve Bach said Thursday he hopes the City Council will reverse its decision to move ahead with plans to install “experimental” emissions control technology at the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown.

Last week, the council, acting as the Utilities Board, voted 7-2 to proceed with plans to install a pollutant-removing technology invented by Colorado Springs-based Neumann Systems Group. The technology is designed to clean sulfur dioxide from coal-burning power plants.

The council also voted to delay until 2013 a $500,000 study to look at decommissioning Drake, which was built in 1925 with two 2.5 megawatt generators.​ The plant

Councilwoman Angela Dougan and Brandy Williams voted in opposition.

“What’s the point of doing the study if they’re going to go ahead and upgrade the plant? It makes no sense,” Bach said on the Richard Randall radio show on KVOR.

Randall asked the mayor how he would respond to critics who would question why he was getting involved in matters pertaining to Colorado Springs Utilities  when the utility company is overseen by council.

Bach pointed to his involvement with Memorial Health System, which is also under the purview of council.

“I think the voters expect the mayor to weigh in on matters of general importance to the community,” he said.

“I’m trying very hard not to interfere, not to micromanage or get in the way. But I think the future of our utilities is so important that folks, I think, want the mayor to weigh in,” he said.

Bach said he sent council a letter June 5 asking council to hold up on the expansion of Martin Drake “until we can, all of us, get comfortable with what’s the right direction.”

Bach said council has yet to respond to his letter.

“Respectfully, I’m just saying that I hope city council will reverse its recent decision to move forward with that technology until we can all be comfortable with the answer,” he said.

Williams said she’s heard unofficial discussions about reopening the debate over the power plant’s future.

“I know that phone calls are being made because people in the community are a little concerned what happened last time,” Williams said.

Williams said she was concerned that council didn’t have all of the research and information on the costs of shifting the Neumann system to the Ray Nixon Power Plant before it voted, and that it voted against the recommendation of Utilities’ staff to make the switch to Nixon while Drake’s future was discussed.

“We didn’t take our own best option,” Williams said.

However, Council President Scott Hente said he hasn’t heard any talks about taking another look at Drake and that he doesn’t think doing so would be fair to Neumann Systems Group.

“When we said, ‘Continue,’ I’m sure Neumann Systems started putting more money into it,” Hente said. “I’m not sure I want to keep jerking them around.”

Hente said Bach hasn’t spoken with him about the board’s decision.

Bach said the council’s decision reflects on past practices at City Hall.

“This is (an) example of whether we want to continue to do business as usual or whether we want to transform city government to be more efficient and more effective,” he said.

“I’m not talking about anything other than I believe we do not need Martin Drake Power Plant capacity. When we hit peak load in this city, we barely get into needing Martin Drake from what I’m told by people who are experts in that business outside of Colorado Springs Utilities. Now that needs to be fact checked,” he said.

“I’m also told that we could buy peak power from other providers, far less expensively than maintaining a 50-year-old power plant and upgrading it to the tune of $250 million. Shouldn’t we look at that?”

Utilities spokeswoman Natalie Eckhart said the $250 million cost is if Utilities converts both Drake and Nixon.

“The cost for Drake is $121 million,” she said.

Eckhart also said the community relies on Drake for its electricity.

“The statement that says that we barely use it is absolutely not true,” she said.

Council President Pro Tem Jan Martin said council decided July 18 that keeping Drake open offered the lowest costs for Utilities’ ratepayers.

“I think we just can’t continue to go back and forth on these decisions,” Martin said. “I’m comfortable we made the best decision last Wednesday to move forward with Neumann and Drake.”

An editorial that resurrected the $1.15 million separation agreement with former Memorial Health System CEO Larry McEvoy led City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko to divulge new details about what happened behind closed doors.

On a Facebook post of Gazette editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen, Czelatdko revealed discussions in closed executive session.

Here is what Czelatdko wrote, with edits:

I was actually in the closed executive session Wayne Laugesen and so know exactly what was said and not said. What was not said was a 1.2 million dollar severance package was being given to (former Memorial Health System CEO Larry) McEvoy.

What was said was:

1) Why is McEvoy here in chambers announcing a resignation with no announcement of it on the agenda or notification to Council from the City Attorney’s Office?

2) What was said from the Memorial Hospital Board Chair Jim Moore, was that they (board and Chris) were working on a severance package for McEvoy up to 18 months and that they had been working on possible packages for two weeks under the direction of Chris Melcher

3) What was said was that no Memorial contract would be valid without the signature of Jim Moore and Chris Melcher

4) And lastly, what was said was the reminder that Council, the City Attorney’s Office and Memorial board could not enter into any contracts over 1 million dollars without all three parties acknowledging it. This understanding was put in place a month prior to protect the lease negotiations and keep the current admin entering into big money contracts that UCHealth might not want.

When I left that room I know myself and many of my colleagues who did not support retention packages thought, ‘Good luck getting us to agree to anything more than his agreed contract package,’ and we went home after a 7-hour meeting day.

Wayne, please, please stop perpetuating incorrect information and writing articles based on non factual assumptions. Did (council President Scott Hente) and (council President Pro Tem Jan Martin) know more specifics? I don’t know. Do you know for a fact? Did (Councilman Merv Bennett) and (Councilwoman Brandy Williams) know? I’m not sure. Do you? All I know is Council was told by Jim Moore that Chris Melcher, City Attorney was assisting in package negotiations. Chris did not refute that as he stood there listening to Jim speak. Chris confirmed to Council what I mentioned above regarding signatures needed for agreed contract limits and Council was told a package would come back for confirmation. No confusion for me when I walked out of the room that the city attorney who is suppose to serve both Council and the Mayor, who dare Council question or challenge his legal opinion, had it under control and was working on it with the board. Assumingly looking out for the best interest of council and the city.

I also know after the nightmare began, Chris Melcher, city attorney informed council that he paid for an outside legal consult who confirmed the board could do what they did, that if we challenged them through litigation which (Councilwoman) Angela Dougan, (Councilman Tim Leigh) and myself all said we’d support, the City would be responsible for paying all their attorneys, fees, etc and they probably would win costing the taxpayers millions more of wasted dollars. Chris told Council it was a weak case to challenge, a done deal, basically Council would have to take the lumps, and the lame press release was put out by my colleagues (I was flying with space command) that we would not pursue the matter further. So as I see it everyone won but Council and the health payers.

Memorial and UCHealth got rid of McEvoy who was tainting the campaign and poisoning the morale of hospital employees, the Board showed defiance and wielded their authority one last time, McEvoy lost a job but got a heck of a lot of money, and Council gets the blame for not overseeing the Board more thoroughly. A board who legally was given full authority and fiduciary responsibility years prior. I can only assume that decision was because the prior council thought it made sense to appoint a full time board of knowledgeable people who could dedicate their time to the health system and report back monthly to council. Council, who back then, was a part time, poorly compensated body in charge of the city, the health system and the utility company. Council, who now is even more limited and minionized by certain vocal, agenda driven, influential people, who so obviously serve one master. All I can say is I hope someone is keeping track of some of these personnel issues and making permanent notes in personnel files.

City Attorney Chris Melcher

During a special meeting June 27, the City Council approved on first reading a series of resolutions pertaining to the proposed lease of Memorial Health System to the University of Colorado Health system.

Apparently there are some loose strings.

The council is scheduled to discuss the proposed lease in closed executive session during today’s informal meeting.

“The issues to be discussed involve legal advice and negotiation consultation with the City Attorney,” the agenda states.

The council is also scheduled to go behind closed doors to discuss “land acquisition matters for the Southern Delivery System” and “a proposed franchise matter,” which is probably the proposed cable franchise agreement with CenturyLink.

CenturyLink, which offers telephone and Internet service in the city, is seeking to add cable television to its offerings.

The mayor and City Council are still haggling over the governance of a foundation that will oversee proceeds from the lease of Memorial Health System.

“The main thing that we’re dealing now is the governance of the foundation, and we’ll work through that and have something for you, hopefully, by Monday,” City Councilman Merv Bennett said during Wednesday’s Mayor’s Counsel meeting.

Here’s what Mayor Steve Bach said during the meeting:

“I understand the sticking point is who has the authority and who’s involved with both appointing the foundation board and the oversight. I know we’ll try to get this resolved obviously by Monday. I think that the public is looking for both council and mayor involvement there. Although in talking with Merv in terms of ongoing oversight of that foundation I don’t think that’s something where it makes sense to have both a mayor and council responsible for that. Everybody and nobody is kind of in charge. But hopefully we can work out amicably here how we’re going to nominated and you’re going to appoint that board. I certainly respect section 9-10 of the charter which says that council appoints boards and commissions. I think it’ll be comforting to the public to know that the mayor is involved at least in the set up of the foundation and then the selection of the initial trustees.”

Here’s video of the meeting:

Click here to view the embedded video.

City Councilman Tim Leigh wants the University of Colorado Health system to take over financial responsibility of Boulder Park near Memorial Central.

UCH wouldn’t take over ownership of the park but pay for its irrigation and upkeep — saving taxpayers between $40,000 and $50,000 annually, according to Leigh.

“We’re trying to use commercial real estate negotiation savvy to slide something in (the proposed lease) at the last minute,” Leigh said during Wednesday’s Mayor’s Counsel meeting.

Here’s video of the meeting:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don’t call Larry McEvoy the Million Dollar Man just yet.

McEvoy, the former CEO of Memorial Health System, still hasn’t been paid the entire 18 months severance pay — or $1 million — under a controversial separation package that the former Memorial Board of Trustees approved before being removed from office.

“To date, the only separation-related payment that has been made to Dr. McEvoy is the six-month severance payment of $335,005, which was made in May,” Memorial spokeswoman Cari Davis said in an email.

What’s the holdup?

“I don’t know,” Davis said.

The City Council decided to honor the terms of the agreement rather than embark on a potentially costly legal battle.

Under the agreement, McEvoy will receive 18 months severance pay, a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid and $20,000 to help find a new job.

Extortion.

That’s the word Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko used on Facebook to describe her reaction to a story stating that Mayor Steve Bach will “actively oppose” leasing Memorial Health System to University of Colorado Health unless he is given authority to appoint the board of a foundation that will disburse the proceeds of the lease.

On a Facebook post, Czelatdko left the following comment:

“ex·tor·tion/ikˈstôrSHən/
Noun:
The practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.”

On her own Facebook wall, Czelatdko wrote a similar comment:

“Can we say ex·tor·tion/ikˈstôrSHən/
Noun:
The practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.
Synonyms:
blackmail – exaction

No wonder why people dont trust in elected officials.”

Czelatdko did not immediately return a call for comment.

Since the initial story was first posted online, Bach has clarified that his sticking point is that there needs to be a fixed plan to oversee the money from the 40-year lease before the proposed lease goes to voters.

“My support of this lease is subject to my concurrence with City Council on how to segregate and manage the lease proceeds,” Bach said.

Read the latest story by clicking here.

UPDATE: Memorial provided the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

The new Memorial Health System Board of Trustees has called a special meeting for Thursday.

The meeting will be closed to the public, according to a notice of meetings provided by the city-owned health system.

The meeting is scheduled to convene in open session at 8:30 a.m. and then move into a closed legal session five minutes later.

The agenda states that the board will discuss “legal issues surrounding lease negotiations with University of Colorado Health requiring a conference with the City Attorney for the purpose of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions. § 24-6-402 (4)(b)(1993).”

The meeting will be at Printers Park Medical Plaza, 175 S. Union Blvd.

Former Colorado Springs Councilman Randy Purvis said he has his suspicions about why the former Memorial Health System Board of Trustees gave Dr. Larry McEvoy a $1.15 million separation package.

“I wonder if there wasn’t a little bit of ill feelings on the board’s part,” Purvis said Friday.

“To borrow that old Janis Joplin line, ‘Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.’ The Board of Trustees, thinking they’re out of a job in four or five months, there’s nothing left to lose so what the heck, give McEvoy a sweetheart deal on his way out the door.”