No snag seen for OCCA tree-lighting ceremony

       There appears to be no issue with the Old Colorado City Associates (OCCA) using Old Town Plaza for its Christmas Tree lighting ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m.
       OCCA President Charles Irwin said in an e-mail that the commercial group has “no plans of requesting the parking lot be closed, being sensitive to the parking needs of our retail members in the Plaza. In addition, our experience shows that most visitors watch the tree lighting ceremony from across and down the street a little for a better view.”
       A permit question had arisen because of a recent dispute in which the OCCA and Kasten Accounting went separate ways. The accounting firm is one of the major owners of the condo-style Plaza property in the key Old Town location at 25th Street and Colorado Avenue.
       However, the Old Town Plaza Governing Board would have to decide on any future OCCA requests to close the Plaza's lot for an event. Some in the past year have included Ice on the Avenue, Old Town Showdown and the Great Pumpkin Weigh-off.
       Kasten said she has stepped down from the Plaza board because of a potential conflict of interest. She noted, however, that she had been criticized in the past by some other board members for supporting lot closures for such events.

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