Columnist: Maybe mayor of Springs needs to get around more

At a recent Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative ceremony, Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera goofed by saying King participated in the “Southern Colorado Leadership Conference” when he meant to say Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Come now, Lionel. Not everything happens in Colorado.

Knock, knock

Colorado Springs City Council members, who serve as the Springs Utilities board of directors, gripe about being locked out of the executive suites on a downtown building’s fifth floor where the board conducts monthly public meetings.

“We need to be thinking about the message we’re sending to the public,” Councilman Darryl Glenn said after arriving 15 minutes before doors are unlocked to the public.

Rivera groused he’d been promised but has never received a key card. “I would like to come in and wander around and talk to employees whenever I want,” he said.

Utilities CEO Jerry Forte vowed to provide cards for all nine council members, and then ordered a security review to boot. The last time Utilities did one — which led to the locked-door policy — was just after Sept. 11, 2001.

Stamina awards

Springs Utilities recently made a deal with a Salt Lake City outfit to provide $112,000 worth of “service awards” for employees marking five, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years.

“About 440 employees are expected to be recognized in 2008 with well over 100 employees having 20 or more years of service to our customers,” Utilities spokesman Dave Grossman said.

That’s $280 per employee.

When asked what kind of items they’re given, Grossman said employees choose from an awards catalog. “I’m not sure of all the items,” he said. “For my five-year recognition last year, I received a desk calculator.”

Noting the contract was competitively bid and deals with a “common practice” of recognizing employee anniversaries, he added, “I’m not sure why this would be newsworthy. This contract is equal to about one one-hundreth of 1 percent of our budget.”

Chump change, in other words. It’s equivalent to only 577 customers’ monthly residential utility bills.

Zoom, zoom, zoom

Colorado Springs will donate a used police cruiser to the San Luis Police Department, continuing a recently established practice.

The county seat of Costilla County in southern Colorado, San Luis has a population of 739 and one of the state’s lowest per-capita incomes, $8,887.

Law enforcement consists of a full-time officer and two volunteers who use two cruisers that top 150,000 miles. So the Springs’ vehicle, a 2002 Chevy Impala with 92,000 miles, is a welcome gift.

The vehicle — which has a $2,500 surplus value and is due for replacement — will go to San Luis complete with lights and siren.

The city previously gave vehicles to sister city Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico; Simla and Florence.

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