More improvements made to Rustic Hills drainage area in Colorado Springs
After taking the day off for Thursday’s holiday, a Colorado Springs work crew was back Friday — for the third time this week — to resolve issues along a drainage channel in the east side Rustic Hills neighborhood.
Members of the Neighborhood Services unit removed some brush piles that workers said were illegally dumped, adding to the existing debris from fallen trees, limbs and branches generated by a late-season snowstorm.
The crew also tried to remove graffiti from fences bordering a concrete trail along the channel; in some instances, painting over it, and in other instances using a sander to grind it away.
Workers said they will return next week to finish graffiti removal.
On Wednesday, the crew trimmed high weeds along the homeowners’ fence line and along the upper banks of the channel.
On Tuesday, workers removed trash from a small homeless camp along the channel — a day after KRDO NewsChannel 13 made the city aware of the situation.
“The homeless campers were gone when we arrived,” said Pedro Laumbach, a crew member. “The tents were still here but they were gone. Police came out earlier and told them they faced a $2,500 fine for camping along a waterway.”
The city said two departments, Parks & Recreation and Stormwater, likely will conduct removal of remaining debris from the channel at a later date.
Creating a long-term maintenance plan, and possibly improving drainage, are other goals the city has for the channel east of the intersection of Academy and Palmer Park boulevards.
Sheila Kinney, who has lived along the channel for 30 years, said she’s surprised and thankful the city responded at all, and responded quickly.
“Many of us have built our fences higher so that strangers can’t easily climb over them,” she said. “The homeless camps just appeared in the last year or so. I hope the city will patrol this area more often.”
As it turned out, several police officers were along the trail Friday, investigating a report of a homeless camp.
