The City is lying about issues with the Manitou Incline

Why is the City lying to me about the Manitou incline? They must have something to hide. I sent questions to the Mayor and members of the City Council. They refused to answer and forwarded my email to the Park Maintenance and Operations Manager. He lied, and said things that are just stupid. The Mayor and Council members are still refusing to answer my questions. They cannot continue this way for ever. Below is the response that I recieved, it lists my questions and Mr. Schroeder's responses. I have inserted my responses to each. Dear Mr. Strow, You have posed a number of questions/comments that I will try to answer individually. 1. "I once read in the Colorado Springs Independent where Sara Bryarly stated that repairs being done on the Manitou Incline would hold up for "about a hundred years. That does not seem to be accurate. I assume that she was implying that the Incline was being restored to its original condition." ANSWER - In as much as it has only been three years since the initial work has been performed we do not know the answer to this. It certainly was designed to last a considerable length of time. I also think that she was possible talking figuratively when making that statement. My Comments: Sara Bryarly was speaking to the public through the media. To my knowledge this is the only time the City gave us any indication of how long the repairs would last. They will not last anywhere near a hundred years. The middle section of the Incline ended up in a pick up sticks formation twenty years after the rails were removed. She may not speak figuratively to the public in matters relating to millions of dollars of public grant money. She mislead the public. If the City does not stand by the claim that the repairs will last about a hundred years you must issue a retraction in the media. 2. "I have heard that as long as the three sets of rails were on the ties the entire Incline was one piece, but as soon as the rails were removed the long term stability of the Incline was compromised." ANSWER - You are incorrect. The rails were removed and the incline operation ceased after storms caused significant washouts that compromised the integrity of the track. The rails did not ensure the stability of the incline. The incline owners then removed the rails and sold them for scrap. My Comments: Does the City claim that the middle section of the Incline would have still ended up in a pick up sticks formation if the rails had been left on? The long term stability of the Incline was absolutely compromised when the rails were taken off. 3. "Did the Manitou Incline Task Force consult with a professional engineering firm about the long term stability of the Incline? Did the City do so before assuming responsibility for the maintenance of the incline? What do the consultant's analysis say about these issues? " ANSWER - The Task Force did not, that was not their role. The City did however. Significant engineering was conducted prior to the final design being completed. The analysis said that the incline was unstable and recommended repairs that would make it stable which the City then instituted. My Comments: If the Manitou Incline Task Force did not determine if the Incline was stable and sustainable over the long term then the process conducted to legally open the Incline was invalid. I have heard that we were advised against trying to maintain the Incline precisely because once the rails were removed constant and repeated work would be necessary to keep the ties in place. Did the Cog Railway have to reset ties over and over when the rails were on? Who has the reports that the Task Force used in its analysis? Are they available to the public? 4. What do the contracts with Timberline Landscaping say about how long we can expect these repairs to hold up? ANSWER - The Timberline contract included performance requirements that the work would be performed per the engineer's specification and plans. Their work complied with all elements of the specifications. Their is no guarantee of longevity. My Comments: I have no problem with this answer. 4. Are any ties on the Incline loose today? - No. My Comments: I cannot speak to this because I have never been on the Incline. I have heard for a long time that some ties that were reset in the stage one repairs on the middle section of the Incline are indeed beginning to come loose. Does any one know this to be true? Who does inspections on the Incline? The City, and or the Forest Service? Are official results of those inspections available to the public? I ask that the Mayor or a member of the City Council personally tell us if any ties on the Incline move or wiggle at all today. 5. Does the Incline meet the safety standards required by the Special Use Permit today? - Yes My Comments: While I have not seen the Special Use Permit I am certain that no ties may move due to liability issues. Thank you for your questions. Kurt Schroeder Park Maintenance and Operations Manager Mr. Schroeder absolutely made statements that are not true in his response to my email. This leads us to believe that the City has something to hide. The City may not withold this information from the public, the City may not lie to the public. Our elected representatives serve the interests of the people of our City, you may not keep secrets from us. The Manitou Incline is a problem. The overuse of the Barr Trail is unacceptable. The Incline has been legally open for basically five years now, the claim that the City is still studying potential routes for an alternate trail down is no longer believable. The public must assume that an alternate route down is not feasible, and that the City has decided to withold this information from the public. Had the Task Force indicated that three or four hundred thousand people would use the Barr Trail to come down from the Incline in a single year, the public would not have allowed it to legally open. There is no excuse for this abuse and mismanagement. There are other serious problems with the Incline that I am not at liberty to discuss openly here. The City is ignoring those. Peoples rights are being violated, people are being harmed, and laws are being broken. It is illegal for the City to pretend that these problems do not exist. These problems are irreconcilable and the Incline has to be closed permanently. When I prepared this email I considered sending it to Parks and Recreation, but I decided not to do so because over the years they have consistently avoided my questions, answered with spin, and have even lied to me. I sent my email to the Mayor and members of the City Council because they are held to a higher standard of accountability. Unfortunately they decided to refuse to answer and passed the buck. I am still waiting for them to provide us with truthful answers.