Here are my comments for the City Council today:
Good afternoon,
At the meeting on June 11th a man named Bruce spoke at citizens discussion. He claimed to be sympathetic with my message on the land swap.
Was this man a plant? Was he told what to say?
If so, a serious crime was committed. The City cannot compromise the integrity of the meeting by putting on a show, or conspire to deceive the audience.
The discussions that ensued also appeared to be scripted, and conspire to deceive the audience. The message seemed to be that the City Council does not care what the truth is about the land swap, and wants me to go away.
Two days later I received an email from a Brit Haley of our Parks Dept. It appears that Councilman Murray asked her to send me an email, after I stated that I do not interact with Parks Dept because they give me the run around. The email sent to me felt hostile and intimidating, and she repeatedly gave answers that were not relevant to my comments.
I will ignore that email except for this one sentence: “Rocky Mountain Field Institute estimates annual maintenance to the section of Barr Trail impacted by Incline return traffic to be approximately $40,000”.
This statement appears to be incomplete, although it does indicate that our Parks Dept. has communicated with RMFI on the subject.
Does RMFI agree that this section of the Barr Trail needs a drainage study, drainage work, repair of erosion damage, a new fence, stabilization work, and obstacle removal? Do they not say that these repairs will cost in excess of a half a million dollars? My own research indicates that the new fence alone will cost between two and four hundred thousand dollars. How much has RMFI told the City that the total needed repairs will cost?
I asked for the cost of the needed repairs during the pubic comment process, and the city failed to provide the public with the answer.
That fact alone invalidates the public comment process, and is enough to mandate the reversal of the land swap. You do not get to decide, the public does. Please provide the public with the information that I have requested.