Photo By Devin Fisher | WASHINGTON — U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson Command Sgt. Maj. Jason R. Mortensen...... read more read more
FORT CARSON, Colo. — The Department of Defense recognized Fort Carson and Colorado Springs Utilities with the 2024 Army Community Partnership Award May 15, 2025, during a ceremony in the Pentagon Hall of Heroes.
The annual community partnership awards highlight examples of exceptional cooperation and diligence resulting in improved readiness on U.S. military installations. They received the award for their joint efforts on their Intergovernmental Support Agreement (IGSA).
“Through our IGSA with Colorado Springs Utilities, we have seen improvements in the reliability of our electric and gas distribution systems, a dramatic reduction in off-line systems, and a cost savings of nearly $300,000 per year,” said Col. Erik Oksensvaag, Fort Carson garrison commander.
According to Chad Weatherly, Directorate of Public Works technical representative for the IGSA, the partnership is important because it enables Springs Utilities to provide the support necessary to operate and maintain the Fort Carson utility infrastructure.
“Fort Carson is a small city, and partnering with Colorado Springs Utilities is ideal for allowing us to receive the benefits of an experienced utility entity capable of operating and maintaining our infrastructure,” Weatherly said.
The IGSA was initiated in 2022, and in 2023 Springs Utilities took over execution beginning with a phased approach. Under the agreement, Springs Utilities provides high voltage electricity, natural gas and water distribution. In addition, providing utility services for the installation, they also manage the maintenance and operations. Over the next few years Springs Utilities will provide sewage and wastewater treatment.
Christopher Markins, utilities operations and IGSA procurement manager for the DPW, was one of the original authors of the agreement. He said the inception of the IGSA began in 2018, when DPW began exploring privatization options. Markins collected information from Springs Utilities and the former base operations support contractor Fort Carson was using for installation utilities. After assessing Fort Carson’s utility needs, he outlined the new partnership scope.
“It took us almost two years to hammer out the language of the contract,” Markins said.
The previous contractor in the base operations support contract was not a utility provider and thus was only able to do minimal maintenance and repairs. He said they conducted operations and maintenance, but they weren’t suited for the extensive utility maintenance needs of Fort Carson.
Now the IGSA allows Springs Utilities’ certified and specialized utility technicians to install, maintain and operate equipment.
“Sometimes you need the specialized kind of O&M (operations and maintenance) and eyes to really do a deep dive on the system to be able to enhance it in a way that will help our resiliency down the road,” Markins said.
In addition to allowing Springs Utilities to bring its team of qualified utility experts, being a non-profit organization amounts to cost savings.
“I think a big piece to this puzzle is the fact that Springs Utilities is a non-profit municipality,” Markins said. “What they bill us is true time and materials.”
Weatherly said the community partnership award symbolizes an out-of-the-box solution to a shared concern.
“The award represents Fort Carson and Colorado Springs Utilities, along with all those who worked to achieve this partnership, coming together to achieve a common goal,” he said. “Making Fort Carson’s utilities more resilient, reliable and efficient is a mutually beneficial goal of both organizations and I think that the long-term benefits of this partnership will reap dividends for years to come.”
Weatherly said he looks forward to the future alongside Springs Utilities.
“I see a very bright future with our partnership,” said Weatherly. “We get the benefits of a reliable, cost-effective and experienced utility company capable of providing Fort Carson’s Soldiers and civilians with quality service based off of best industry standards. I see this partnership continuing to expand to all utilities while providing expert service at a reduced cost.”
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.16.2025 15:09 |
| Story ID: | 498213 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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