El Paso County commissioners agreed Thursday to extend the public comment period on its draft oil and gas regulations until Nov. 28. The deadline had been set for Monday.
The county is creating local land use regulations for the industry to cover numerous environmental and aesthetic issues and has sent out more than 100 copies of the draft rules. They can be viewed on the county website at www.elpasoco.com, under the development services department.
 Darryl Glenn District 1 El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn will host a town hall meeting at Woodmoor Community Center, commonly referred to as “The Barn” at 1691 Woodmoor Drive, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday. The discussion will include an update on transportation projects scheduled for completion in 2011 as well as those projected for 2012, a review of the proposed 2012 county budget and other topics. Residents are invited to attend and learn about issues of particular interest to residents in District 1, which covers the north and northeast portions of the county. |
Karen Magistrelli of Crystola will vie for the District 3 El Paso County Commissioner’s seat next November. The district covers the county’s western section and includes Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, Chipita Park and Green Mountain Falls. Commissioner Sallie Clark currently represents the district.
A 27-year county resident who runs a nonprofit organization that helps ex-prisoners rejoin society, Magistrelli said she’s concerned about “government shenanigans,” including the “confusing, deceptive language of the term limit ballot issue” and “unreasonable, excessive government regulations.”
“I’m ready to fight back to reduce waste, restore trust and integrity, and return to the principles of freedom,” she said, in announcing her candidacy.
Magistrelli became familiar with county government during a three-year struggle to win approval to build residences on land her family owns in the western-most part of the county.
Magistrelli said she’s “not a career politician,” and her qualifications come from life in the private sector.
Two other candidates have announced they will seek office in the November 2012 election. Commissioner Amy Lathen, current chairwoman of the board of county commissioners, has said she will run again for the eastern District 2, and Auddie Cox, a military veteran, will challenge the seat currently held by Commissioner Dennis Hisey, who represents the southern part of the county.
Auddie Cox, candidate for El Paso County Commissioner District 4
Auddie Cox, a 25-year military veteran, once again will seek the District 4 county commissioner seat, which represents southwest El Paso County, including Fountain, the Security-Widefield area and Fort Carson.
Cox, ran against current El Paso County Commissioner Dennis Hisey in 2004 but lost the primary race with 34 percent of the vote.
Cox is a recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for more than 5,000 hours of volunteer work with the American Red Cross, Lions Club International, Pearl S. Buck Foundation and the Fountain Valley Senior Center.
In a written statement announcing his candidacy, Cox said he wants to restore respect that he believes has been lost due to a “lack of ethical behavior” regarding the term limits debate.
He also wants to “realistically address issues in our region, which include fiscal responsibility, transparency in government, job creation, growth and natural resource development.”
Three commissioner offices will be on the November 2012 ballot. Commission Chairwoman Amy Lathen also has announced she will seek re-election for District 2.
El Paso Countystaff will begin reviewing draft regulations for local oil and gas regulations Thursday, planner Craig Dossey said this week during a joint meeting of county commissioners and Colorado Springs City Council members.
Outside agencies related to the industry and stakeholders will receive copies for review and comment Oct. 31.
Comments will be accepted through mid to late November. The county’s planning commission then will issue a recommendation to the board of county commissioners, which will finalize and adopt land use regulations in late December or mid-January.
Commissioners enacted a four-month moratorium on new drilling permits on Sept. 29, to give staff time to develop local land use regulations after it appeared imminent that energy development companies were planning large-scale exploration.
While the state licenses and regulates many aspects of the industry, local jurisdictions can impose their own set of rules, and Dossey defended the decision to do so.
“The state regulates extensively in certain areas — the drilling process, construction, the exploration and production, design of onsite pits, the waste management — but is silent on issues regarding local roads,” he said.
And while the state regulates some of the activities related to environmental damage, Dossey said, “we think there’s still room in terms of air and water quality monitoring.”
The draft regulations will address a host of issues surrounding exploratory drilling and production, including road impacts, setbacks, water supply, lighting, noise, drainage, erosion control, trash and debris, asthetics, site security, environmental impacts, air and water quality monitoring, floodplains, dust and odor control, emergency response and more.
Commission Chairwoman Amy Lathen will host a public town hall meeting, 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 5 at Peyton High School, 13885 Bradshaw Road, to discuss the county’s oil and gas regulation process.
Branch offices often have long wait times but not many people have discovered the new main office on Garden of the Gods Road.
Don’t have much time to renew your driver’s license or get license plates for your car?
The main headquarters of the Motor Vehicle Division, which is part of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, reopened Tuesday at its new location, a former Intel building at 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road.
But on Wednesday afternoon, there were hardly any customers at the new office. And a quick look at “real-time” waits at the three branch offices that offer the same services on a smaller scale showed wait times up to more than an hour.
Many motor vehicle division transactions also can be done online. Click here to go to the motor vehicle website.
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.
It’s time to start thinking about preparing your trees, flowers and vegetable gardens for fall. And there are just a few 
weeks left to get free mulch made from donated slash materials.
Mulch will be available from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the next three Saturdays: Sept. 10, 17, and 24, at the Black Forest slash/mulch site, located on the east side of Herring Road, just south of Shoup Road between Black Forest and Vollmer roads.
The program will close for the season Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. No slash will be accepted after Sept. 11.
Mulching helps protect trees and plants during winter and conserves moisture. As mulch decomposes, it forms topsoil, so residents also can store mulch over the winter for use in the spring.
Slash is the residue left from cutting and trimming trees, pine cones, limbs and needles. The slash/mulch program accepts only tree and brush debris and does not take stumps, roots, weeds, grass, lumber or trash.
Hand-loaded mulch is offered for free. Mulch that is loaded for pick up is $4 per bucket.
The site is open to residents of El Paso and Teller counties and is run by volunteers as a wildfire mitigation and recycling program. Sponsors are the El Paso County Environmental Division, the Colorado Forestry Association and the Black Forest Fire Department, in cooperation with the Colorado State Forest Service and the State Board of Land Commissioners.
For more information, go to www.bfslash.org.
El Paso County is taking final public comments on the 2040 Major Transportation Corridor Plan beginning Friday and through Oct. 2.
Public input began one and one-half years ago with open houses about future transportation needs.
The plan guides how taxes and fees are spent on local roadway projects.
The county’s planning commission will review the plan Sept. 6 and look at final public comments on Oct. 4.
The documents can be reviewed and commented on at this web site.
El Paso County Commissioner Amy Lathen talked with Chuck Brown at the building rededication.
Longtime local politician Chuck Brown was all smiles Thursday, at the official dedication of a county building now named after him.
The county’s transportation center and hazardous waste facility east of town on Akers Drive is known as the El Paso County Charles C “Chuck” Brown Transportation and Environmental Complex.
Brown said he appreciated the honor.
Brown twice served as a county commissioner, from 1981 to 1985 and 1993 to 2005, where he was known for wanting to spin off the eastern plains of the county amid controversy over new zoning rules.
In honor of its 150th anniversary, El Paso County built a float with historical photos.
He also was a Colorado Springs City Councilman from 1975 to 1979 and served on the city’s park and recreation board, the city’s planning commission, the city’s urban renewal board, the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments and the county’s highway advisory commission.
Brown is credited with the initial concept and development of the Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority, a sales tax mechanism to fund local road projects. He also envisioned the county’s transportation center and hazardous waste facility, which now bear his name.