Hente, Brody face off for Council District 1

       The April 5 city election offers voters a choice for City Council in District 1 between incumbent Scott Hente, who builds houses for a living, and challenger Al Brody, a self-defined “full-time volunteer” who questions the impacts of growth.
       District 1, covering the city's northwest quadrant, includes Pleasant Valley and Westside areas north of Uintah Street.
       The Westside Pioneer asked each candidate to respond at some length to five questions. Their answers appear below.
Hente Brody
1) What is your position on the planned Centennial Boulevard extension west of the Mesa Springs neighborhood?
       Although I can see a benefit to the extension of Centen-nial, I think it is important to keep in mind the reality that this is not going to happen anytime soon. The reason for this is that with the recently approved Rural Transportation Authority (Issue 1A from the November 2, 2004, election), this project was categorized as a priority C. That means that this, along with other priority C projects, will only be funded after all priority A and B projects are taken care of. There is no justification or impetus to alter the voter approved priority lists and as such the funding of the Centennial extension is, at best, several years out.
      
       2) What would you propose to improve the aesthetics of the Camp Creek ditch through Pleasant Valley?
       Improving, mitigating, or eliminating this ditch is my #1 goal for Council District 1. The city had a similar situation, on the southeast side of town, with the Monterey Storm Sewer. Although smaller and considerably shorter than the ditch along 31st Street, the previous council managed to obtain the funding to cover that unsightly ditch and I believe we can do the same on Camp Creek. But first we need a strategy and a plan to attack this problem. I will continue to work with the city's Public Works staff to identify possible solutions, present those to council, and seek the necessary funding to finally do something about the entire stretch on 31st Street. As a first step, I have worked with the City and the Pleasant Valley neighborhood to take the ugly large median, just south of 31st and Bijou, and turn it into a City flower bed.
      
       3) What is the best strategy to ensure that homes are affordable in Colorado Springs?
       As a statewide spokesman on this issue and as a local builder who is involved with several of the non-profit housing organizations, there is no issue I am more familiar with than that of affordable housing. While the factors that affect the price of housing are many, and the possible solutions have far reaching implications, I believe we need to be mindful that local government also can influence this. Colorado Springs has one of the most stringent development processes in Colorado. This bureaucratic and inefficient development process imposes an arbitrary control of its own making on growth, resulting in costly and unneeded delays that add additional costs to the price of housing. We need to work harder at reducing delays, inefficiencies and artificially imposed costs, at the city level, so as to help keep housing more affordable.
      
       4) What do you see as the major issue facing Colorado Springs and what will you do to address it?
       Addressing the long-term issue of additional water storage and delivery systems for our community has to be our top issue. Several times in our community's past, our forefathers had the courage and the vision to plan for the growth of our City. We are at a similar crossroads now. This issue, along with others affecting Colorado Springs, cannot be decided solely at the local level - a concerted effort must be made to actively work with the local congressional offices. Many of us on the current council have met publicly and privately with local, state, and national leaders in an effort to move forward on both the Southern Delivery System and any proposed federal legislation we may need. While initially disheartened by the lack of success in last year's congressional session, we remain committed to seeing this through and settling any differences, real or perceived.
      
       5) What is your position on a proposed downtown convention center, partially funded by the city?
       I have long advocated for a convention center and was willing to proceed at this time to ask the voters for a lodging and rental automobile tax (LART) increase to pay for it. Some would argue that my devotion to a convention center is because of my association with the development industry. Maybe. However, I feel my position as the council representative to the Urban Renewal Authority is a stronger influence. In many ways, the Urban Renewal Authority is establishing a vision for Colorado Springs that will guide us for the next 20 or 30 years. I believe a convention center is part of that vision.
       Clearly, funding is the number one obstacle. Ideally, a public/private partnership would be a solution - that may be how an associated hotel is eventually constructed. However, an increase in the LART seems to be the only viable alternative at this time. 		1) What is your position on the planned Centennial Boulevard extension west of the Mesa Springs neighborhood?
       As a frequent user of the trails in Sonderman Park, I would encourage preserving as much of the wetland habitat/ natural drainage/open space area located north of the park/ south of Fillmore/east of Mesa as possible. I would reopen the Beidleman Nature Center to encourage the educational and beneficial use of this urban gem. I would also encourage multiuse/ transit oriented development to make this development appealing to residents that work downtown, on the Garden of the Gods corridor, or in the new North Nevada Urban Renewal Zone/ UCCS research park.
      
       2) What would you propose to improve the aesthetics of the Camp Creek ditch through Pleasant Valley?
       We need to stop thinking of creeks as ditches and start treating Camp Creek and Fountain creek as the natural waterways/greenways that they are. We need to return this concreted open pipe back to a naturally absorbing micro ecosystem with pervious soil, plants, and trees. To do this, we need to look upstream from Glen Eyrie and Garden of the Gods for ways to effectively manage flood control and base flow.
       Camp Creek is just one example of the $300 million and growing drainage infrastructure backlog we are creating in this city as we steal from the future to subsidize growth. We can and should do better to incorporate our beautiful natural environment with our built-up neighborhoods.
      
       3) What is the best strategy to ensure that homes are affordable in Colorado Springs?
       Reduce the need to own one or more cars with mixed-use, transit-oriented development. Make lot sizes smaller, allow homes to cover a larger percentage of the lot, and encourage energy-efficient multifamily buildings.
       We should institute flexible building codes that rapidly adapt to new and better technologies. Create “fee bates” where less efficient options are charged fees to fund rebates for the best options such as improving energy efficiency or installing solar power systems. Encourage net metering where utility customers sell back power from their solar cells to the utility company and reduce their monthly electric bills. Transfer fixed daily utility charges to the commodity charges in a way that would not increase the average bill. This would enable utility customers who use less to save more and customers who use more to pay more. All customers would have more of an incentive to conserve resources.
      
       4) What do you see as the major issue facing Colorado Springs and what will you do to address it?
       The major issue facing Colorado Springs is maintaining an adequate supply of safe water at a reasonable cost as we continue to grow. This is a regional issue affecting anyone that accesses water originating from the Rocky Mountains. We may seize all of the water rights we can, but at some point we will exceed the available supply. I believe the solution is managing our available water better. We should start by replacing infrastructure that has exceeded its expected useful life and begin a trend of losing less water. This will be a significant, but fiscally wise, ongoing effort. We should also implement low- or no-cost demand-side management (DSM) conservation incentives, such as transferring all fixed daily fees to the commodity charges and then if necessary, tiered rate structures. Another option is using non-potable and tertiary treated water where it is appropriate.
      
       5) What is your position on a proposed downtown convention center, partially funded by the city?
       I support a convention center but I am not in favor of a public-private partnership for its operation and maintenance. I believe the private sector is more adept at making profits and would better serve our community by owning it outright. That said, I do believe the city should fund the improvements necessary to mature our downtown. Improvements include: street, sidewalk, traffic control, pedestrian amenities (benches, trees) and utility access. To further develop our unique “brand” or feel, the city should provide incentives to attract new, locally owned, independent downtown businesses. To help make the convention center attractive and profitable, the city should aggressively market tourism. All of these improvements should be funded by an incrementally raised Lodging and Rental Car Tax (LART) which is paid mostly by tourists. This all means that the real question is WHEN will a private entity choose to build a convention center.