Colorado Springs – City officials declared they’ve done enough for hurricane evacuees and have drafted a plan to let a faith-based charity and the NAACP take over relief efforts.
Officials have asked a man who has bused in evacuees to start taking them elsewhere, as officials fear social services will stretch too thin.
“I think we have every reason in the world as a community to be proud of how compassionate we’ve been,” City Manager Lorna Karma said Monday. “But I think we need to say, ‘No more.’ Or we need to drive them to Denver.”
Norman Vaux of Cañon City, who has arranged transportation for about 500 evacuees to Colorado Springs, said a bus that left Baton Rouge, La., with 49 passengers probably will be the final run.
At least 2,000 people have registered for aid in Colorado through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and a shelter has been set up at the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver and Aurora.
By the end of the week, Colorado Springs will have processed more than 1,600 evacuees, helping them to find shelter, jobs and cars, Deputy Fire Chief Steven Cox said. It originally offered to aid 1,500.
Fire Marshal Brett Lacey has drafted a plan to let Lutheran Family Services and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People take over relief operations.
Some council members said they were reluctant to suggest evacuees go elsewhere in Colorado. Councilwoman Margaret Radford said she didn’t want the city to be known as the town that said, “No.”
