Council Voted to Dissolve Old Colorado City's DDA. Who Still Runs the Avenue's Holiday Season?

Scarecrows went up along West Colorado Avenue on Oct. 1 for Scarecrow Days, which runs through the end of the month. On the city's books, Oct. 1 is also the day the Old Colorado City Downtown Development Authority stopped existing.

Both things happened on the same street on the same day, and the scarecrows weren't affected. The authority that City Council voted to end had never been the group sweeping sidewalks, planting the planters or booking Santa for Bancroft Park. To see what the vote changes on the Avenue, you have to look at who has been doing that work and how each group gets its money.

What Council decided, and what is still in dispute

Council first voted 5-4 to dissolve the DDA on Aug. 25. On Sept. 9, council delayed the final vote so it could hear more public comment on a last-minute proposal. Under that proposal, the DDA board would put a mill levy back on the ballot in 2027, shrink its boundaries to the properties directly on Colorado Avenue, and dissolve itself if voters said no a second time. The Gazette's Sept. 9 report covers that offer in detail.

Council turned it down. On Sept. 22 it gave final passage to Ordinance 26-48, which says the authority "is hereby dissolved," effective Oct. 1, 2026. The vote was again 5-4. Councilmembers Dave Donelson, Kimberly Gold, Nancy Henjum and David Leinweber voted against dissolution. "There doesn't seem to be any urgency to get rid of this now," Henjum said at the meeting.

The question now is whether the ordinance is final. The Colorado Springs City Charter says ordinances go to the mayor within 48 hours to be signed or vetoed, and KKTV reported that this one never went to Mayor Yemi Mobolade. The city's statement says that under state law, dissolving a DDA is up to the governing body alone, so the mayor has no veto. DDA chair Adam Stepan points out that the mayor signed the 2024 ordinance that created the authority. He argues that if the Charter process wasn't followed, the DDA hasn't been dissolved. Donelson, who voted no, told KKTV, "This whole thing has been odd to me." KKTV's headline says the DDA is considering legal action. No court ruling had been reported in the research behind this post. For now, the city treats the authority as dissolved and its board does not.

The authority never had money to lose

The DDA was a shell from the start, and that's why the street looks the same today. In 2024, voters approved three of the four ballot questions that created it. Residents and property owners voted down the fourth, a five-mill levy that was supposed to be its main source of funding. According to the Gazette, councilmembers pointed to that lack of money, and the board's lack of major action, when they first proposed dissolving it.

Some of the opposition was about the election itself. Jariah Walker, executive director of the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority, asked council to end the DDA. His letter to council said 55% of parcels inside the boundaries were never sent a ballot, and that most returned ballots came from the five-block business core. Those boundaries ran along Colorado Avenue from Interstate 25 to Manitou Springs. That's far longer than the stretch most people think of as Old Colorado City.

So the vote ended an authority that had governing powers but no steady funding. The money and labor behind the Avenue's day-to-day life come from four other places.

Who keeps the Avenue running

The maintenance district is the oldest of the four and the only one with an assured revenue stream. It was created by city ordinance in 1979. According to the city's Special Improvement Maintenance District page, it pays for a full-time technician and part-time seasonal staff. When snow is cleared from Avenue sidewalks this winter, that's the district at work, as it has been for more than four decades. It also shows what the DDA never got. The maintenance district has a fixed assessment that funds a set list of jobs. The DDA asked voters for five mills and got nothing.

Old Colorado City Associates, the merchant group, is a member-based 501(c)(6) nonprofit. It supports business growth on the Avenue and advocates for improvements there. Its membership page says OCCA events bring more than 100,000 people to the neighborhood each year, and it sells sponsorships for individual events, including Pumpkins in the Park and the Christmas Stroll. Those events are paid for with sponsor money as well as dues.

The calendar, with who is behind each date

The events listed through December are all organized by groups other than the DDA:

1. Scarecrow Days, Oct. 1–31. Displays line West Colorado Avenue all month, according to the district's event calendar.
2. Pumpkins in the Park, Saturday, Oct. 24, noon–6 p.m. Free, presented by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and listed among the OCCA events.
3. Trick or Treat Street, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2–4:30 p.m. Held along the stretch from 23rd to 28th Street for children ages 1 to 6.
4. The Christmas Stroll, Saturday, Nov. 28, 4–7 p.m. The listing includes Santa at Bancroft Park, reindeer, carolers, musicians and merchant specials. OCCA lists it as one of its events.
5. Holiday First Friday ArtWalk, Friday, Dec. 4, 5–8 p.m. Runs along West Colorado Avenue from 17th to 31st streets. First Friday Art Walk is another OCCA event.
6. Old Colorado City Christkindlmarket, Dec. 4–6, 9–13 and 16–23, noon–8 p.m. In Bancroft Park at 2408 W. Colorado Ave., free to attend.

These are the organizers' posted schedules. They can change, so check each listing before you go. The Christkindlmarket is the newest item on the list. It started in December 2025 and comes back in 2026 with an expanded run of three weekends plus weekdays. It's also the one event where public money is visible: the market lists the City of Colorado Springs and LART among its supporting sponsors.

Where the strain could show up

The calendar holds up because most of it runs on fundraising and volunteers. The open question is whether that's enough. Stepan described the situation after the vote this way:

"This leaves the community in the same way they've been struggling along for years, relying on local fundraising and volunteer efforts and even some of that will take a hit."

The DDA was meant to pay for capital projects, the major improvements its supporters told council the district needed. None of the four groups in the table is set up for that. The maintenance district covers upkeep. Old Colorado City Associates puts on events and advocates for the district. The Historical Society keeps the History Center open through donations. The Christkindlmarket covers itself with sponsors for about three weeks a year.

The business side faces the same pressure. Base Camp Restaurant at 2611 W. Colorado Ave. closed for good on Sunday, Oct. 4. It had opened in March 2025, and its owner told the Gazette that summer business had dropped while costs kept rising. A single closing doesn't make a trend. Still, it's a reminder that the merchants paying dues and sponsoring events are working under the same cost pressure that closed Base Camp.

Two things are still unsettled. One is whether the DDA's legal challenge to the ordinance goes anywhere. The other is what form a future funding effort for the Avenue might take, if one comes back. The board's September proposal was a 2027 levy vote with boundaries cut back to Colorado Avenue frontage, and that's the plan council declined. In the meantime, Scarecrow Days, the Stroll and the Christkindlmarket go ahead with the same organizers and funding they had before the vote.

If you own on the Westside and want help sorting out which assessments and districts show up on a particular property's tax bill, Innovative Moves can go through the parcel details with you. Aidan Peña follows these decisions on the Avenue closely, and you're welcome to reach out with questions. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.