From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Bob Stephens):
The group’s goals are to prioritize stormwater projects and identify funding to pay for the $906 million estimated cost of projects in the region.
Absent from the meeting were Colorado Springs city staffers, some of whom were scheduled to present information.
“This is a difficult, fairly charged issue,” said county commissioner Amy Lathen, who led the meeting along with Colorado Springs City Council member Brandy Williams. “We’re going to barrel on through.”
The event drew 50 people, including business representatives, county politicians, military officials, and officials from Manitou Springs and Fountain.
Williams said she’s excited about the task force moving forward with a regional approach and with representatives from across the community.
The task forces estimates that Colorado Springs needs nearly $687 million in stormwater work — 76 percent of the region’s stormwater problem.
Mayor Steve Bach has said his idea to pay for stormwater projects is to have public-owned Utilities shoulder the brunt of the $687 million.
More coverage from Barbara Cotter writing for The Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article:
There might be uncertainty about whether Colorado Springs will sign on to participate in a regional stormwater plan, but Public Works Director Helen Migchelbrink makes it clear the city isn’t waiting to tackle some high-profile projects this year. “The (regional) study is sort of a global look, but while we’re looking at everything globally, we still have to keep working on projects,” she said this week.
So, look for about $8.5 million in stormwater work to take place soon, including replacement of a decrepit drainage channel near Union Boulevard and Lexington Drive that crumbled during a heavy rainstorm in July, sending concrete chunks flying in the air. The stormwater flooded the basement of one home, and threatened a cluster of nearby townhomes in the Preserve at Briargate…
The Mirage Channel project is estimated to cost about $1.7 million, and will be paid for out of a $2 million appropriation from the general fund that City Council approved for critical stormwater needs for this year. The final design should be completed by May, and work could begin in early summer.
Other projects include:
• Beefing up a “drop structure” on Cottonwood Creek near La Madrina Lane. Drop structures are typically created with grouted boulders and are designed to slow the speed of water. The cost is $250,000.
• Bank stabilization at Cottonwood Creek near Vincent Drive and the Greencrest channel at Austin Bluffs Parkway, just west of Academy Boulevard. Each received a $3 million federal grant for pre-disaster mitigation. The Greencrest embankment is unstable, and erosion is threatening a nearby business and parking lot, Ross said.
• Installing two “debris racks” in the Waldo Canyon burn area near The Navigators headquarters, north of Garden of the Gods. Migchelbrink said the city is working with The Navigators to put in the “state of the art” devices to catch debris when it rains. The project is expected to be finished by the end of March.
The scheduled projects are not part of the 280 stormwater needs the regional Stormwater Task Force identified for the city.