Archive for the 'Stormwater Enterprise' Tag

Council plans private meeting to get legal advice on storm water

July 19th, 2011, 3:28 pm by Daniel Chacon

Before meeting as the Utilities Board tomorrow, the Colorado Springs City Council is scheduled to hold a special meeting in closed executive session to discuss storm water.

“The issue to be discussed involves receipt of legal advice and conference with the City Attorney regarding storm water,” the agenda states.

The agenda doesn’t provide any more details about what will be discussed.

However, the council had been considering placing past-due fees from the much-maligned Stormwater Enterprise on property tax bills until Mayor Steve Bach put the brakes on the proposal.

Bach asked the council to put the proposal on hold to give the city more time to work out a solution with county officials, who balked at the proposal in the past.

The closed-door meeting starts at 1 p.m. and is expected to last 30 minutes.

After the special meeting is adjourned, the council will open the doors to the public and convene as the Utilities Board.

Both meetings will take place in the Blue River Board Room on the fifth floor of the south tower of the Plaza of the Rockies, 121 S. Tejon St.

Posted in: Uncategorized • City Council • Colorado Springs Utilities • Steve Bach • Stormwater Enterprise • Utilities Board | 1 Comment »

Bach cans policy requiring visitors to sign in at administration building

June 8th, 2011, 9:58 am by Daniel Chacon

While he was campaigning to be mayor, Steve Bach promised to bring more transparency to city government if he was elected.

So far, so good.

On Tuesday, the day Bach was sworn in, the city eliminated a policy requiring the public to sign in at a security desk in the lobby of the City Administration Building downtown.

“During the transition, we’ve had discussions about being more open to the public, and based on the last year or so of experience with our security screening process, we probably had more negatives than we had positives related to people feeling welcome into the CAB,” Assistant City Manager Nancy Johnson said today.

The sign-in policy was instituted either late 2008 or early 2009 by former City Manager Penelope Culbreth-Graft.

City spokesman John Leavitt said there had been concerns about “angry people” going to the CAB to confront employees of the much-maligned Stormwater Enterprise customer call center.

“The thought was that if you just provided a little bit of a net there, that people would maybe be discouraged from any kind of a violent confrontation or something,” he said.

Although the safety of city employees and visitors at the CAB is always a concern, Leavitt said history has shown very few negative instances.

“Before Ms. Culbreth-Graft instituted that policy, we had a free and open entry policy for years,” he said. “There we a few occasions when had little problems, but we corrected them or addressed them on an individual basis as opposed to a general policy.”

Leavitt noted that the seven-story building at 30. S. Nevada Ave. still has security.

“We do still have guards that are available to us and will continue to patrol the buildings,” he said.

Under the policy, city employees were also required to show their badges.

At 6:37 a.m. Tuesday, city employees received the following email:

“Effective immediately we will no longer require employees to show their ID’s upon entering (or wearing them while in the facility) and visitors will no longer need to sign-in when visiting the CAB.”

Posted in: City Administration • City employees • City Administration Building • John Leavitt • Nancy Johnson • Penelope Culbreth-Graft • Steve Bach • Stormwater Enterprise | 5 Comments »

City urges residents to keep storm drains clear of debris

May 31st, 2011, 8:48 am by Daniel Chacon

Julie Smith in the city’s Public Communications Office issued the following press release today:

Summer is here and that means yard maintenance season is in full swing. The City of Colorado Springs Stormwater Engineering Division is reminding residents to keep storm drains clean and clear of yard debris.

Grass clippings and leaves blown into the street during yard maintenance end up in the nearest waterway. Stormwater runoff washes clippings and other yard waste from our streets, sidewalks and driveways into the city’s storm drains, which lead directly to creeks and rivers in the area. This causes problems in the city’s stormwater drainage system and can lead to flooding.

Tips for lawn maintenance:

Do not leave or sweep grass clippings or other yard waste into streets, sidewalks, driveways or parking lots, especially around storm drains.

Compost or mulch yard waste. Grass clippings naturally fertilize lawns and do not cause thatch in Colorado.

Use pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers sparingly and follow manufacturer’s directions. Excess chemicals are washed into streams and pollute the water.

Do not over-water lawns.

For more information, visit springsgov.com/stormwater or 385-5980

Posted in: Etc. • Stormwater Enterprise | 4 Comments »

Economic development project on council’s closed-session agenda

April 21st, 2011, 6:57 pm by Daniel Chacon

The new City Council has had a lot of firsts in recent days.

On Tuesday, council members took up their first order of business and elected a president and a president pro tem.

On Wednesday, the council met as the Utilities Board for the first time.

And during its first informal meeting on Monday, the council is scheduled to meet in closed executive session for the first time.

According to the agenda, the issues “to be discussed involve determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategy for negotiations and instructing negotiators, as well as legal advice from the City Attorney’s Office.”

They include:

The purchase, acquisition, lease, transfer or sale of any real, personal, or other property interest regarding Vincent Drive

An economic development project involving the electronic industry

Pending litigation regarding stormwater

Council President Scott Hente will poll council members to determine whether at least two-thirds of the members present agree to meet behind closed doors. If consent to is not given, the items may be discussed in open session or withdrawn from consideration.

Posted in: City Council • Meetings • City Council • Stormwater Enterprise • Utilities Board | Post a Comment »

City wins first court case involving delinquent storm water fees

March 4th, 2011, 12:09 pm by Daniel Chacon

Score one for the city in the ongoing battle to collect past-due storm water fees.

On Feb. 23, the first court case to collect delinquent storm water fees went to trial – and the city prevailed.

“Although we had other default judgments issued so far, this was the first case that went to trial per the account holder’s request,” interim City Manager Steve Cox wrote in his weekly report to the City Council.

“A judgment for $3,317.90 was issued on behalf of the City for payment in full,” he wrote.

The next court case is scheduled for Wednesday.

Posted in: City Council • Lawsuit • City Council • Fire Chief Steven Cox • Stormwater Enterprise | 5 Comments »

Quote of the Day

January 27th, 2011, 5:40 pm by Daniel Chacon

“She watches the City Council meetings and then she gripes at me when we are mailing out Constitutions or doing something … and the way I would with anybody who has the same general fiscally conservative philosophy I do, I say, ‘Well, you need to do something about it. Volunteer for committees or run for City Council or run for the Legislature or this or that.”

— anti-tax activist and newly declared City Council candidate Douglas Bruce, when asked whether he recruited Helen Patrice Collins to run for council.

Collins, who filed papers Thursday to run for an at-large seat, volunteered on Bruce’s Issue 300 campaign to eliminate the Stormwater Enterprise and has written letters to the editor in support of Bruce.

During his announcement yesterday, Bruce urged other fiscal conservatives to run for office to form a five-person majority on council. In other words, Bruce is apparently recruiting candidates to run as a slate with the hope of gaining a majority.

Posted in: Elections • Douglas Bruce • Helen Collins • Stormwater Enterprise | Post a Comment »

City warns delinquent Stormwater customers to pay up

March 18th, 2010, 3:47 pm by Daniel Chacon

The city calls them courtesy letters.

But they’re more like warning letters.

This week, the thousands of Colorado Springs property owners who haven’t paid their storm water fees started to receive letters in the mail reminding them that they have “one final chance” to pay their bills before they’re referred to collections.

“The letter included a tear-off payment coupon that lists the total amount due, including applicable late fees,” city spokeswoman Mary Scott said today in an e-mail.

“This gives those property owners one final chance to pay the fees before they (are) turned over to A-1 Collections on or about April 21, 2010,” she said.

Scott said there are about 15,000 delinquent storm water accounts, totaling about $2.5 million in past-due fees, including late fees.

“If someone owns multiple properties with delinquent fees, they would get one letter for each as it was too time-consuming to try to separate and match up owners and addresses,” she said.

Among the property owners who received multiple letters is anti-tax activist Douglas Bruce, who authored ballot Issue 300, a voter-approved initiative that prompted the City Council to eliminate the Stormwater Enterprise.

Bruce, who owns multiple properties in the Springs, is telling residents who haven’t paid their storm water fees not to pay.

“I haven’t paid for three years,” Bruce said in an e-mail to Paul Baranek, who asked Bruce for advice after receiving a so-called courtesy letter in the mail. “It’s all a bluff.”

Baranek told Bruce he stopped paying his storm water bill after Issue 300 passed.

“Now I received a letter saying I owe the last payment, plus a penalty, and if I don’t pay it within 30 days, my name will be sent to a collection agency,” Baranek said in an e-mail to Bruce, which Bruce forwarded to The Gazette.

Bruce encouraged Baranek to go to this Web site, www.cityreforms.com, for “advice on how to sue the city to get a refund.”

Posted in: Elections • Douglas Bruce • Stormwater Enterprise | 16 Comments »

City wants to ‘stick’ it to delinquent Stormwater customers

January 22nd, 2010, 7:40 am by Daniel Chacon

Property owners who haven’t paid their storm water fees may take a hit on their credit scores if they don’t pay up under a proposal the City Council will consider Monday.

When the council abolished the controversial Stormwater Enterprise after the Nov. 3 passage of ballot Issue 300, council members asked city staff to come up with recommendations for collecting past-due fees, which now total more than $2.5 million.

The staff’s recommendation is to task the city’s current collection agency to go after delinquent property owners.

Under the proposal, the city will provide the collection agency a list of overdue accounts.

“Letters and phone calls will be (the) primary collection method,” according to a PowerPoint presentation prepared for the council.

“Delinquent accounts may be reported to (the) credit agency – this is our option, not mandatory,” documents state. “This credit report acts as the ‘incentive’ or the ‘stick’ to encourage people to pay their bill.”

The collection agency will file a so-called notice of lien against a property “only when all other means have been pursued,” documents state.

However, no action will be taken on the liens.

“Liens will likely be paid off when properties are sold,” documents state.

The collection agency will receive 30 percent net of collections on regular accounts and half “for accounts where legal action is taken to collect.”

Of the $2.5 million in unpaid fees, $1.9 million is past-due 90 days or more.

“There has been an approximate 15 percent decline in bill payment of the invoices that have been issued since passage of Initiative 300,” documents state.

Posted in: City Administration • City Council • Elections • Stormwater Enterprise | 19 Comments »

Stormwater Enterprise will mail refunds later this month

January 7th, 2010, 12:33 pm by Daniel Chacon

The controversial Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise, which the City Council abolished at the end of 2009 after voters approved ballot issue 300, is winding down.

The city today announced that the estimated 20,000 customers who paid their storm water fees in advance will start to get refund checks the last week of January.

Customers received a 5 percent discount if they paid four or more quarters in advance.

The refunds, which total about $700,000, could range between $6.45 for residential customers and up to $11,040 for commercial customers with large properties.

“I know we have (a residential customer who) initially paid 30 years in advance,” city spokeswoman Mary Scott said. “Right when we first started, they said, ‘Here’s my payment for the next 30 years.’ But that’s an anomaly. That’s not normal.”

Scott said customers owed a refund may want to verify that their name and address is correct in the El Paso County Assessor database, which the city-owned enterprise used to send out bills to Colorado Springs property owners.

Scott also encouraged customers who used automatic bill pay to stop future payments because the city is still getting money from accounts with no balance due. However, those customers will also receive refunds, she said.

“We think they most likely had automatic bill pay … and they haven’t turned that off yet,” she said.

Call the enterprise at 385-5913 if you have any questions.

Customers will no longer be billed for storm water fees, but city officials are expecting people to pay their bills through 2009. The last bill from 2009 will be due at the end of this month.

“For those who have not paid, the city will pursue collections, whether that’s through liens on property or through collections agencies,” Mayor Lionel Rivera said in December. “The $1.7 million that’s still owed the city, we’re not just going to wave our hands and say it’s going to go away.”

Scott said the plan is to return to council members around February or March to ask how they want the enterprise to pursue collections.

Posted in: Elections • Issue 300 • Nov. 3 election • Stormwater Enterprise | 7 Comments »

Stormwater Enterprise spent $1.64 million on equipment

December 23rd, 2009, 12:13 pm by Daniel Chacon

The soon-to-be-annihilated Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise has spent more than $1.6 million on trucks, trailers, mowers and other pieces of equipment since it was created in 2005, according to documents obtained under an open-records request.

The most expensive piece of equipment purchased by the city-owned agency that levies fees for drainage projects is a 2008 Vactor Sewer cleaning truck, which was purchased for nearly $339,000.

“The Vactor Sewer trucks run in that high price range,” city spokeswoman Mary Scott said today in an e-mail.

The least expensive were a pair of 2008 Eagle Trailers, which cost $3,536 each.

The enterprise has purchased at least nine vehicles, including two heavy-duty 2008 Ford F-350s, which were purchased for $38,490 each.

With the looming demise of the enterprise, there have been questions about the fate of the enterprise-owned equipment.

“These vehicles will be used in 2010 during the phase out of the program,” Scott said recently. “We will be doing a reduced maintenance program so we will be using the equipment required to perform the maintenance, we will also be working on the in-progress and pending (capital improvement) projects, etc. We have not yet identified what will happen with the vehicles in late 2010.”

Here’s a complete list of the enterprise-owned equipment:

Unit	Description	Fund	Purchase Price
E1134	2008 CAT 924H	ENTERPRISE	86,000
E1309M	2007 FRONTIER RC1072	ENTERPRISE	7,500
E1532M	2007 US EX60HD	ENTERPRISE	18,750
E1665	1996 VERMEER V1150	ENTERPRISE	3,000
E177	1994 CHEVROLET CT10506	ENTERPRISE	18,736
E301	1999 FORD RANGER	ENTERPRISE	15,700
ST17000	2008 FORD ESCAPE	ENTERPRISE	26,872
ST17001	2007 FORD EXPLORER	ENTERPRISE	22,720
ST17213	2008 FORD RANGER	ENTERPRISE	17,795
ST17214	2008 FORD RANGER	ENTERPRISE	17,770
ST17215	2001 CHEVROLET CT10653	ENTERPRISE	21,153
ST17216	2000 CHEVROLET CT10653	ENTERPRISE	21,407
ST17217	2008 FORD F150	ENTERPRISE	21,638
ST17500	2008 FORD F250	ENTERPRISE	24,430
ST17600	2008 FORD F350	ENTERPRISE	38,490
ST17601	2008 FORD F350	ENTERPRISE	38,490
ST17701	2009 INTERNAT 7400	ENTERPRISE	116,470
ST17701CM	2008 STONE CEMENT MIXER	ENTERPRISE	9,975
ST17701G	2008 ONAN GENSET	ENTERPRISE	9,825
ST17806	2008 INTERNAT 7600	ENTERPRISE	338,829
ST17900	2004 CAT 325CL	ENTERPRISE	20,207
ST17901	2009 BOBCAT S70	ENTERPRISE	13,714
ST17905	2008 CAT 330DL	ENTERPRISE	261,000
ST17910	2008 CAT 277C	ENTERPRISE	69,910
ST17911	2009 CAT 279C	ENTERPRISE	63,125
ST17911M	2009 CAT BR172 72″	ENTERPRISE	6,152
ST17915	2009 CAT 279C	ENTERPRISE	72,432
ST17917	2007 CAT 430E	ENTERPRISE	118,685
ST17920	2008 CLEMENT TRAILER	ENTERPRISE	29,596
ST17921	2008 EAGLE TRAILER	ENTERPRISE	3,536
ST17922	2008 EAGLE TRAILER	ENTERPRISE	3,536
ST17923	2008 TOWMASTER TRAILER	ENTERPRISE	17,100
ST17950	2007 VERMEER BC1000XL	ENTERPRISE	24,900
ST17950R	2007 VERMEER 11266-0022	ENTERPRISE	3,800
ST17951	2007 JOHN DEERE MOWER	ENTERPRISE	28,900
ST17951M	2007 JOHN DEERE MOWER	ENTERPRISE	Inc. with ST17951
ST17952	2007 JOHN DEERE MOWER	ENTERPRISE	28,900
ST17952M	2007 JOHN DEERE MOWER	ENTERPRISE	Inc. with ST17952
ST17953M	2008 CAT MOWER	ENTERPRISE	6,500

Posted in: Colorado Open Records Act • Stormwater Enterprise | Post a Comment »