Utilities hires a director for pipeline plan

With permitting of its pipeline project at least a year away, Colorado Springs Utilities hired a Southern Delivery System project director to begin implementing the plan.

John Fredell, deputy city attorney for Utilities, will become director Sunday and oversee up to 10 people to be hired as Utilities looks to cut 200 other jobs.

“Now is the right time to be prepared for implementation of whatever alternative we build,” said Bruce McCormick, chief water services officer.

“As we transition from several years of development to implementation, permitting, final design and land acquisition, we are recognizing that we need additional internal staff to do that,” he said. “We’re setting up a structure focused on implementation to provide the support necessary to build a project of this magnitude.”

Utilities has spent $60 million on a $1 billion project to pipe water it owns from the Pueblo Reservoir to a yet-to-be-built reservoir east of Colorado Springs to supply water until 2042. The proposal, under review by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, has drawn opposition from Pueblo, where county commissioners could stall or block the project through land-use regulations. That issue is scheduled for trial in October.

The city goes to federal court Sept. 17 in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club over pollution in Fountain Creek, a crucial component of the pipeline project.

The bureau is considering several alternatives, including a path along Colorado Highway 115 from the Arkansas River above Pueblo Reservoir.

Construction of the pipeline and a water-treatment plant will span five to six years. A reservoir would be built later.

This summer, Utilities hired Wilson & Co., a consultant with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs, for $2 million to appraise and handle land acquisition for the pipeline. The contact extends through 2010, and payments will be made as the work is done.

McCormick said Fredell will oversee the consultant and direct employees with expertise in environmental issues, design and construction. Fredell’s team members will be new hires, McCormick said. Utilities’ plan to cut 200 jobs in the coming four years to curtail costs is a separate program, he said.

“We expect over time to make those (new hires) up in reductions in other areas,” he said, adding that the number and skill types of members hasn’t been determined.

Fredell, who’s been with Utilities since 1993, was hired after a national search drew 70 applicants, including seven internal candidates.

The selection panel consisted of McCormick, another officer, water manager Gary Bostrom, and a manager from another Utilities division.

Fredell worked with McCormick and officer Kelly Means for months on pipeline strategies, for which Utilities Chief Executive Jerry Forte gave each a $2,500 bonus in June. Fredell has received three previous cash bonuses for his work, in 1999, 2000 and 2002, totaling $6,383.

Fredell’s salary as project director will be $144,352; he’s now paid $120,616.

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