Title
A Resolution Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement for Wildfire Mitigation and Suppression Planning
Presenter:
Aram Benyamin, Chief Executive Officer, Colorado Springs Utilities
Body
Summary:
Colorado Springs Utilities (Springs Utilities) requests City Council approval of two separate intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) between the City of Colorado Springs, on behalf of Colorado Springs Utilities and Teller County, on behalf of the Teller County Sheriff's Office (TCSO).
Background:
In order to comply with several United States Congressional land grants to the City of Colorado Springs related to watershed planning and protection, the Catamount Wildland Fire Team (WFT) was established within Colorado Springs Utilities. The Catamount WFT is a 50 plus volunteer fire team whose membership is comprised from Colorado Springs Utilities, Pikes Peak America's Mountain and the City of Colorado Springs Public Works. The team is designed to provide wildland fire suppression support resources to help protect Springs Utilities' infrastructure and provide operational knowledge about Springs Utilities' system during disasters like wildland fires, floods, and wind storms. The Catamount WFT currently works with local fire protection districts, counties where Springs Utilities has infrastructure, the State of Colorado, the U.S. Forest Service, and local military bases to protect Springs Utilities' infrastructure from these types of disasters.
In 2014, Springs Utilities developed an internal team to work on formalizing agreements with various counties, local fire protection districts, and the local military bases to ensure that Catamount WFT resources are used to assist in the event of fires that could pose a risk to Springs Utilities' infrastructure and the Colorado Springs community. As part of this effort, Springs Utilities has worked with Teller County to develop two IGAs related to: (1) wildland fire protection and incident response services and ...
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