Here are the comments I have prepared for the City Council today. I have decided not to be at the meeting for the sake of healing, and to avoid further conflict.
At the last meeting statements were made by City officials that were untrue and my character was defamed. I am told that the District Attorney's Office is demanding that the City Attorney apologize to me publicly and reverse the land swap. I do not know why she is refusing to do so.
Good morning,
At the meeting on September 10th the City claimed that my questions about the land swap have already been answered. I checked the emails that I have received from the city, and the cost of each specific category of repair to the Barr Trail is not listed. All that is mentioned is a claim that the Barr Trail needs $40,000 of maintenance per year.
Sources are still telling me that the City asked Timberline Landscaping about the cost of the repairs during the public comment process, and the City was told that the section of the Trail that were were acquiring has to be closed. That the this type of trail is so outdated that the drainage cannot ever be fixed.
Of course this trail can never be closed because a new trail would be much shorter and would not provide the distance required for the Pikes Peak Marathon. So the trail must be repaired as much as is possible, and will require ongoing maintenance over the long term.
I asked for the cost of the repairs during the public comment process and the City failed to provide this information to the public. If the total cost of the needed repairs is above $260,000, or 20% of the appraised value of this land, the appraisal submitted by the Broadmoor is invalid, and so is the land swap.
A year and a half ago KOAA reported that RMFI had done $211,000 worth of work on the trail over several years. Some of that work was performed before the land swap, but that work has barely put a dent in the work that needs to be done. We can assume that another $60,000 to $80,000 in repairs have been done over the last two summers. Most of the work being done is not normal maintenance, it is emergency repair work to stabilize sections of the trail that are in danger of collapsing.
The trail is clearly deteriorating today. The trail is so far gone that $40,000 worth of work per year is not enough to stop the decline.
We have a large trails community here, many people care very deeply about the Barr Trail. Please tell the public exactly what RMFI has told the City about the cost of the needed repairs. The City was aggressive and effective in carrying out the needed repairs to the Manitou Incline, now that you own this section of the Barr Trail it is time to begin a public discussion of the cost of the needed repairs. The public will forgive the City for the mistakes made during the public comment process, please do not harm the Barr Trail out of fear. Everyone will feel better once the air is cleared.
Thank you, Carl Strow