City Hall

107 N. Nevada Avenue

Colorado Springs, CO

80903

City of Colorado Springs

Meeting Minutes

Council Work Session

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Tuesday, May 27, 2025

9:00 AM

Council Chambers

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Estimated agenda item times are provided for planning purposes and do not constitute

notice of a specific time for any item. Items may take more or less time than estimated.

City Council may amend the order of items.

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

President Crow-Iverson called the meeting to order at 9:06 AM.

9 - Councilmember Tom Bailey, President Pro Tem Lynette Crow-Iverson,

Councilmember Dave Donelson, Councilmember Kimberly Gold, Councilmember

Nancy Henjum, Councilmember Brandy Williams, Councilmember David

Leinweber, Councilmember Roland Rainey Jr., and Councilmember Brian Risley

Present

2. Changes to Agenda

There were no Changes to Agenda.

3. Regular Meeting Comments

There were no Regular Meeting Comments.

4. Review of Previous Meeting Minutes

25-265

City Council Work Session Meeting Minutes May 12, 2025

4.A.

Presenter:

Sarah B. Johnson, City Clerk

Attachments:

5-12-25 City Council Work Session Meeting Minutes Final

The minutes of the May 12, 2025 Work Session were approved by

Consensus of City Council.

5. Executive Session

5A. Open

There was no Open Executive Session.

There was no Closed Executive Session.

5B. Closed

6. Presentations for General Information

7. Staff and Appointee Reports

25-264

Agenda Planner Review

7.A.

Presenter:

Sarah B. Johnson, City Clerk

Attachments:

Agenda Planner Review 5-27-25

There were no comments on this item.

25-279

Airport Utility Infrastructure Update

7.B.

Presenter:

Ryan Trujillo, Deputy Chief of Staff

Brian Risley, President Pro Tem and Councilmember At Large

Councilmember Risley introduced the Colorado Springs Airport utility

infrastructure update and requested additional information regarding

what utilities are needed at Peak Innovation Park.

Jamie Fabos, Chief of Staff, stated there are additional energy

requirements at Peak Innovation Park and when they have more

information, they will present the infrastructure update to City Council.

President Pro Tem Risley asked when they could expect that

presentation. Ms. Fabos stated staff has been instructed to have it by

next week and present it to Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) no later

than June 4, 2025. Mike Franklin, Chief Customer Officer, CSU, stated

Peak Innovation Park is a huge opportunity for CSU and Executive

Agreement with the Colorado Springs Airport will allow the site to be

available for the construction of data centers, and light duty/heavy duty

manufacturing.

President Pro Tem Risley asked if prolonging this project would be

detrimental to the development. Mr. Franklin confirmed it would be due

to the tight skilled trades labor market and the competition related to it.

Councilmember Williams asked what the feasibility of building the

infrastructure as it is needed rather than all at once. Mr. Franklin stated

they have worked that way previously but, in this market, companies

prefer to have the infrastructure already in place because they don’t

want to wait four to five years for it to be built.

Councilmember Rainey asked how many businesses are anticipated for

economic development in this area. Ms. Fabos stated there are five

businesses currently in the queue. Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, President

and Chief Executive Officer, Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce

and Economic Development Corporation (EDC), identified the number of

prospective organizations interested in this location and the competitive

nature of other jurisdictions.

President Pro Tem Risley asked if these potential contracts would be

dead in the water if utilities were not completed on this site. Ms. Reeder

Kleymeyer confirmed they would.

President Pro Tem Risley recommended staff move forward with this

project as soon as possible.

Councilmember Henjum requested additional information regarding how

all of this came about. Ms. Reeder Kleymeyer stated in the past, CSU

would not build utility infrastructure until there was a prospective client,

but the demand of the region’s growth over the past few years has

necessitated this change in providing infrastructure to incentivize

development because they could not meet the demand as fast as the

City was growing. She stated three and a half years ago, the Chamber

and EDC became more assertive with diversifying the economy with not

only residential, but also primary industry which exports outside a region,

and the money comes back to the region to support the secondary

businesses such as coffee shops and healthcare. Ms. Reeder

Kleymeyer identified they have closed approximately ten to fifteen

prospects a year over the past three years, they have filled in most of

the existing properties which were greenfield/brownfield and Peak

Innovation Park is the largest landmass the City has which is zoned

industrial, commercial, and heavy industrial, but currently the utility need

cannot be met there. She stated they have prospects but they will not

win them if the City is not working hard to close the projects due to the

state adding more business regulation, and that it is more expensive to

live in Colorado.

Councilmember Henjum asked how much it would cost the City if the

customers did not come to Peak Innovation Park. Ms. Fabos stated it

would cost approximately $58 million to build the CSU substation.

President Pro Tem Risley asked how much the City would need to

invest at the beginning. Mr. Franklin stated CSU would need an initial

deposit of $2.8 million and then an additional investment over the

following four years.

Councilmember Henjum asked when Peak Innovation Park was created.

Ms. Fabos stated 2009.

President Pro Tem Risley stated the City would benefit from the money

generated from the revenue generated from the jobs and property taxes

with this development.

Councilmember Rainey asked how many businesses are currently

interested in relocating to Peak Innovation Park. Ms. Reeder Kleymeyer

stated there are eight projects interested in this site.

8. Items for Introduction

25-254

A Resolution approving an Economic Development Agreement

between the City Of Colorado Springs and Project Short Circuit

8.A.

Presenter:

Jessie Kimber, Economic Development Officer

Shawna Lippert, Economic Development Manager

Attachments:

RES_ProjectShortCircuit_2025

EDA Project Short Circuit - DRAFT 05-12-25 SL

Project Short Circuit EDA Presentation_Work Session

Jessie Kimber, Economic Development Officer, presented the

Resolution approving an Economic Development Agreement (EDA)

between the City and Project Short Circuit. She provided an overview of

Project Short Circuit, proposed EDA, EDA requirements,

four-year/ten-year expansion, economic impact, fiscal impact,

incentives, financial safeguards, and staff recommendation.

There were no comments on this item.

9. Items Under Study

There were no Items Under Study.

10. Councilmember Reports and Open Discussion

Councilmember Donelson requested an investigation of Mayor Yemi’s

involvement in the hate crime hoax related to the Mayoral Election.

Councilmember Leinweber expressed appreciation for the stability of the

City’s stormwater infrastructure during the recent rainstorms and spoke

about his work with his homelessness task force and the need for

additional research and data to truly understand the homeless

population. He stated he is planning to attend the ribbon cutting

ceremony for The Launchpad.

Councilmember Henjum expressed appreciation for Councilmember

Leinweber’s homelessness initiatives and highlighted the work of Hey

Neighbor! (formerly Council of Neighbors and Organizations-CONO) and

the residents who live near Rock Island Trail and their participation

toward cleaning up the trail. She stated she attended Mayor Yemi’s