In our May 23 edition, we published an article by Noel Black titled “Letter to COS council alleges Norwood responsible for wastewater expansion cost – but ratepayers are footing the bill.”
The article reports on a letter received by the Colorado Springs City Council – whose members also serve as the board for Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) – from attorney and former Colorado State Sen. Bob Gardner on behalf of an anonymous client. The letter alleges that Norwood Development Group, which owns the majority (18,000 acres) of Banning Lewis Ranch on the eastern side of Colorado Springs, was contractually responsible for the cost of the roughly $400 million Phase 1 of the Eastern Wastewater System Expansion (EWSE), and that CSU may have illegally passed the cost on to ratepayers in breach of both city ordinance and the 2018 Banning Lewis Ranch Amended and Restated Annexation Agreement with the City.
The bulk of the article is a fact-check of the statements made in Gardner’s letter and draws upon extensive independent research, including conversations with CSU staff, video recordings of CSU open meetings and records requests. The article explains CSU’s perspectives and how they differ from the viewpoints put forth in the Gardner letter…