El Paso County commissioners won’t meet next week on Tuesday and Thursday because of an annual trip to Washington, D.C.

The five commissioners will be among 70 business, civic and government representatives from the Pikes Peak region who will make the trip and meet with the Colorado Congressional delegation.

They will discuss issues ranging from traffic jams at Peterson Air Force Base’s main gate to the ongoing need for a federal courthouse in the southern part of the state.

The group also is scheduled to meet with both Colorado U.S. Senators and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and receive briefings from Congressional staff and federal lobbyists.

Click here to read a story on Mayor Bach heading up the local contingency.

Stephannie Finley, the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce’s president of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, said there’s “no doubt” that these annual trips to the nation’s capitol “have given our region a stronger voice in Washington.”

“But maybe just as important,” she said, ” we have so many local leaders on the trip working together on issues critical to our entire region.”

After returning, commissioners will meet jointly with Colorado Springs City Council for a third “shared services” discussion. The public meeting will begin at 11 a.m. on Oct. 17 at the county office building at 27 E. Vermijo Ave., third floor.

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