(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The City of Colorado Springs is investing over $458,000 in marijuana tax revenue into a new security pilot program along South Nevada Avenue. The effort aims to improve safety and clean up the troubled corridor by addressing public drug use, illegal encampments and fires.
The Nevada Avenue area was designated as blighted back in 2015. Funded through the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority amid declining sales tax revenues, the pilot program hired Fidelis Security Solutions to patrol the district alongside other private security guards to ensure around-the-clock coverage.
Security teams patrol in pairs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., checking areas along creeks and bridges. Justin Holmes, a supervisor with Fidelis Security Solutions, said guards focus on maintaining a respectful approach toward community members. “Our main goal is compassion with anybody we approach,” Holmes said. “We’re essentially contacting people there at their lowest. So we try to go in with a very open mindset talking to these guys on the street.”…