Mayor, City Council leadership release statements after tense city council meeting over proposed data center
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs City Council and Mayor Yemi Mobolade are speaking out after a tense city council meeting over a proposed data center led to four people being arrested.
RELATED COVERAGE: Four arrested after disturbance at city council data center meeting, CSPD says
A statement from City Council President Lynette Crow-Iverson and President Pro Tem Brian Risley says in part they are "disappointed" in actions that they say disrupted public participation in the meeting.
The statements from leadership come one week after the city council voted to postpone a decision on appeals over the data center, known as Project Taurus, until April of 2027. Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade echoed the city council's sentiment, saying in part, "we are still neighbors, and we share responsibility for the community we call home."
RELATED COVERAGE: Colorado Springs City Council postpones decision on Project Taurus appeals until April 2027
KRDO13 asked the City Council administration if they are considering changes to the way larger venue meetings are held outside of Council chambers to prevent future incidents.
City Council said at this point, there is no official conversation regarding this, but they are always looking for ways to be more efficient. They added that they try to conduct these meetings as similarly as possible to the standard City Council meetings.
RELATED COVERAGE: Data center developer says it is ‘evaluating’ partnership after tense Colorado Springs City Council meeting
After the decision to postpone any further decision on the appeals, Raeden, the company behind the proposed data center, released a statement that said, in part, they were "carefully evaluating whether or not this is the right partnership for RAEDEN." Their full statement can be read here.
Some residents had mixed feelings on the decision to postpone any decision. While some were upset by the lack of final decision, others say it gives them more time for a moratorium.
RELATED COVERAGE: Residents have mixed feelings on Colorado Springs City Council’s decision to postpone Project Taurus appeals decision
The full statements from Mayor Mobolade and Colorado Springs City Council leadership can be read below:
Statement from Mayor Mobolade:
"I share City Council’s disappointment in the lack of civility and decorum surrounding last week’s hearing regarding Project Taurus.
We are living in a time when political tribalism and heated rhetoric can make disrespectful behavior feel acceptable. It is not.
Democracy depends on our ability to disagree, sometimes passionately, while still treating one another with dignity and respect. The American experiment has always depended on people with profound differences finding a way to share a country, govern together, and keep striving toward a more perfect union.
Our history is certainly not a story of perfect agreement. Democracy does not require agreement. It requires something harder: learning how to disagree and still remain fellow citizens.
We can disagree without demeaning one another. At the end of the day, we are still neighbors, and we share responsibility for the community we call home.”
Statement from City Council President Crow-Iverson and President Pro Tem Risley:
"As City Council, we are committed to fostering a safe, civil, and orderly environment that allows the people of our City to speak openly to their elected representatives.
Last week, Council made significant efforts to welcome our fellow citizens to observe deliberations on Project Taurus and to ensure that all voices could be heard and all viewpoints could be expressed in an orderly, constructive matter. Unfortunately, some individuals chose actions that disrupted the important work before us, including actions by some who may have been from outside of our community. We are disappointed that those actions disrupted public participation and undermined the respectful setting our citizens expect.
We want to be clear that no matter what your position is on this or any issue facing our City, aggression and disorder have no place in our open dialogue. As City Council, we remain steadfast in our duty to serve the people of Colorado Springs civilly and with respect to all.”
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