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Pueblo officials announce Denver Air Connection as EAS carrier and schedule town halls ahead of possible Black Hills 'off‑ramp' vote
Summary
City staff announced the USDOT chose Denver Air Connection for Pueblo's essential air service and Mayor Graham and council leaders scheduled a series of town halls to discuss a possible 'off‑ramp' from Black Hills Energy; the mayor said some meetings will precede a consultant study and others will follow it.
Brian McCain of the mayor’s office gave council a city update on March 17 that included several community notices and two items of broader public interest: the USDOT selection of a replacement essential air service carrier for Pueblo and the schedule of town halls the mayor will host to discuss a potential "off‑ramp" from Black Hills Energy.
McCain said the U.S. Department of Transportation selected Key Lime Air Corporation doing business as Denver Air Connection to provide essential air service at Pueblo for a two-year term from Feb. 1, 2025 through Jan. 31, 2027. McCain said the operation is expected to run 12 flights a week between Pueblo and Denver. He said a city statement would follow explaining the department’s selection and why Breeze Airways was not chosen. "The USDOT selects Key Lime Air Corporation doing business as Denver Air Connection to provide essential air service at Pueblo, Colorado for a 2 year term," McCain said.
Town halls and the Black Hills off‑ramp study
McCain and Mayor Graham announced a town-hall series addressing the possible Black Hills Energy off‑ramp and other community issues. McCain said the mayor and the council president will host multiple town halls over the coming weeks; the first listed meetings were March 18 (5–6:30 p.m., Rawlings Library Friends of the Library Room) and March 19 (5:30–7 p.m., Barkman Branch Library Community Room). Parks department hiring and a March 21 drop-in hiring event were also announced.
Councilors asked whether the town halls would include detailed study results. Mayor Graham said several town halls will occur before the municipal study is complete; she described early meetings as informational and said the city expects a formal council presentation of the consultant study around April 7. "The first 2 town halls that we'll have will be before the study is done," Graham said, adding that once the study is back the presentations and Q&A will be more detailed.
Several councilors pressed the mayor about regional partners. Councilor Maestri asked whether neighboring communities served by Black Hills would be included in the outreach and whether municipalization could obligate the city to bear costs alone. Mayor Graham said the study will examine regional scenarios and the city's franchise fee role, noting that only city voters currently decide because only the city collects a franchise fee from Black Hills: "...only the city collects the franchise agreement, the franchise fee. So if the city was to ... take this off‑ramp ... the city voters are going to be the ones to make that decision, if feasible," she said.
Why it matters
City voters will decide whether to pursue an off‑ramp only after the study and further council discussions; the mayor and councilors said the town halls aim to provide early information and answer frequently asked questions about timelines and ballot language. Councilors emphasized that neighboring jurisdictions might want to participate in any regional municipalization discussion, and the mayor said those conversations are part of the study.
Ending
McCain and the mayor said staff will circulate the USDOT notification and the town-hall schedule and provide the study results to councilors as soon as they are available; councilors asked for more public detail once the consultant returns its report.
