Rivera wants Gallagher out of water talks

Mayor Lionel Rivera wants Councilman Tom Gallagher barred from decisions about a proposed water pipeline because of Gallagher’s involvement with a firm competing with Colorado Springs for water rights.

At least one other council member, Margaret Radford, agrees that Gallagher has a conflict of interest.

“First of all, he needs to explain how it is he can serve two masters,” Radford said.

Vice Mayor Larry Small said Gallagher “needs to answer” the mayor’s questions.

The allegations contained in a Rivera memo are significant because it’s the first time in recent memory a council member has formally accused another of a conflict of interest.

Allegations of Gallagher’s potential conflict over the Southern Delivery System have been simmering for months, and Rivera’s memo forced the issue.

Gallagher is employed by H2O LLC, which is vying for water rights for a 48-inch pipeline upstream of Pueblo Reservoir in Fremont County that would pump water to Colorado Springs along Colorado Highway 115.

If granted, it would prevent the city from installing a water line in the same location, Rivera said.

In addition, two entities controlled by H2O are seeking permission for a hydropower project to which the city has officially objected in water court.

The city has filed for the right to siphon water from the river at the same place, which Rivera said makes the city and H2O “competing applications.”

In his Nov. 28 memo to Gallagher, copied to other members, Rivera wrote, “It is my opinion that you have a direct conflict of interest in your role as director of project development for H2O Providers, LLC, in your for-profit venture and in your role as a Colorado Springs Utilities board member when both entities are competing for the exact same resources. Considering these circumstances, I do not believe you should partic- ipate in open or confidential discussions relating to our selection of which option to select for the Southern Delivery System.”

Rivera told The Gazette, “All I’m looking for is an explanation from Tom why my perception is incorrect. We’re doing the same thing in water court right now. Regardless of what option we choose, we’re both competing for that senior water right.”

Gallagher could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Radford said she talked with him about the issue long before Rivera wrote the memo.

“Tom’s position with me has always been that he’s done absolutely nothing wrong and we’re all crazy for thinking he has,” she said. “He’s expressed a great deal of anger, and he’s never been willing to consider the possibility he could be doing anything wrong.”

Small said that although the city’s first priority for the pipeline runs from the Pueblo Reservoir, the Bureau of Reclamation, not the city, will ultimately decide.

“I think Tom should respond to Lionel’s letter and give him the answers to the questions he asks, and then we’ll see what happens from there,” Small said.

Under council rules, members with conflicts decide whether to recuse themselves.

Rivera wasn’t sure what happens if a member doesn’t recuse himself, but Small said the council then could take punitive action, such as censuring them, for “wrongdoing.”

Whether legal action could be brought is unclear. Colorado laws generally prohibit government employees from personally profiting from their management of public resources.

According to the Colorado Municipal League, state law prohibits elected officials from using confidential information for personal benefit, voting on matters pertaining to a personal or private interest and accepting gifts or economic benefits as rewards or inducements for official action.

But Colorado Springs is a home-rule city and may not be subject to some state laws governing elected officials.

Rivera said he wants to resolve the issue before Dec. 20, when the council may take up pipeline matters. The allegations could be discussed as early as today, when the council meets in a work session to set its 2007 calendar as the Utility Board.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazette.com