Mayor's focus on roads ruffles some feathers

When Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach voiced his opinion on regional transportation priorities, more than a few local politicians weren?t happy.

Bach has the same goal as El Paso County commissioners Sallie Clark and Dennis Hisey ? leaders of the group that actually makes transportation decisions.

But Bach has a more aggressive approach, and that was reflected in a recent exchange of letters with Don Hunt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, and Les Gruen, the region?s transportation commissioner.

?I?ve known the mayor for well over 20 years,? Gruen said. ?He has a direct way about him. To some people it may have been a throw-down-the-gauntlet type of letter. I wouldn?t have used the same tone, but he wasn?t trying to put a gun to anyone?s head.?

In December, Bach detailed his four transportation priorities ? I-25 interchanges at Cimarron and Fillmore, Powers Boulevard at Old Ranch Road, and creating an interchange at Powers and Stewart Avenue near Peterson Air Force Base? ? and asked when construction would begin.

?That was unusual for me to get that letter,? Hunt said, noting that he rarely receives letters from individual politicians not directly involved in the decisionmaking process.

The Jan. 4 response from Hunt and Gruen informed Bach that the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments ? not an individual ? sets priorities and approves funding for projects. It also provided project updates, as Bach requested.

Hisey, voted chairman of the PPACG board Wednesday, said, ?Bach?s four priorities are the same as PPACG?s. We?re glad to have him on board with us, but a lot of people were working on these projects long before he was sworn in.?

Clark, PPACG board chairperson the past two years, was offended by the perception that Bach was riding in on a white horse to save the day.

?I?m glad he?s willing to further the work done by a lot of people for a lot of years,? Clark said. ?I?ve pushed for Cimarron and I-25 for years.?

Manitou Springs Mayor Marc Snyder defended Bach?s initiative but said his letter ?needed to be a little more understanding of the statewide responsibilities of CDOT, rather than demanding our needs be met.?

Sugar tastes better than vinegar, Snyder said.

Hunt spoke to the PPACG board at its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday, but not with Bach.

?Don wanted to show up and acknowledge PPACG?s role in the process,? Gruen said.
The relationship between Bach and the two transportation bosses ? Hunt and Gruen ? is ?cordial,? Gruen said.

Bach wants a seat
Bach said he respects PPACG?s authority and appreciates the leadership from Clark and PPACG executive director Rob MacDonald.

?I?m sorry if (Clark?s) feathers were ruffled,? Bach said. ?Here?s the question. Why did Steve Bach have to have that conversation? But it wasn?t intended to step in front of her.?

Instead, Bach said he wants to sit with Clark and others on the PPACG board. He also wants a seat on the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority board, which decides the priority for voter-approved transportation projects funded by a one percent sales tax.

The PPACG and PPRTA boards include three Colorado Springs City Council members. Previous mayors also were on the City Council and were eligible to be on those regional boards. Bach is not part of City Council.

?When we changed our form of (city) government, we didn?t look at our participation on those boards,? Bach said. ?For long term, I think we need to take a fresh look and have two council members and the mayor on those boards. I don?t have a seat at that table. I think the mayor should have a seat.

?I?m not trying to grab power. People may say, ?Oh, here is the dictator demanding something again.? But we have a real gap in communication and rapport.?

Snyder, a member of both boards, said Bach got the idea for the informal Pikes Peak Region Mayor?s Caucus ? he invited all the region?s mayors to participate ? from a similar group in the Denver area.

?He saw how they were all speaking with one voice and how it helped,? Snyder said.
Bach, Snyder and Woodland Park Mayor David Turley met with Hunt and Gov. John Hickenlooper in September along with Clark, MacDonald and Fountain city manager Scott Trainor.

?Combining forces helps,? Bach said. ?That brought an extra element to the conversation.?
Snyder said it?s difficult to gauge how much that meeting might affect funding.

?It certainly didn?t hurt,? Snyder said. ?To me, it never was an end run around the system or meant to be an alternative voice.?

But, Snyder said, Bach ?sent the letter on his own.?

Key players represented
Formed in 1967, PPACG is an organization of 16 municipal and county governments from the region. All the major entities are represented, though membership is voluntary.

For 35 years, PPACG has set priorities and approved funding for transportation projects in the area.

In a letter dated April 22, 1977, PPACG was designated the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Colorado Springs area, putting it in charge of transportation planning.

The Cimarron interchange was deemed PPACG?s top priority March 14. Five other projects were noted in no particular order: widening Interstate 25 to six lanes from Interquest Parkway to Monument; creating a diverging diamond interchange at Fillmore Street and I-25; widening Powers Boulevard to six lanes, which includes an overpass at Old Ranch Road; extending Powers from state Highway 83 to Interstate 25; and creating an interchange at Powers and Stewart Avenue at Peterson Air Force Base.

CDOT provided $6 million for design and ongoing right-of-way acquisition for the Cimarron interchange in 2012. The additional $95 million needed to rebuild the interchange has yet to be identified, but officials hope construction begins in 2014.

?It?s not etched in stone, but we?re well on our way to getting Cimarron and I-25 done,? Gruen said.

When CDOT recently targeted funding to widen I-25, that job got pushed to the forefront. It combined two projects and work will begin in the next month or two to widen the freeway from Woodmen Road to Monument.

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Contact Bob Stephens: 636-0276

Source: http://www.gazette.com/articles/mayor-149672-few-steve.html

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