PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAND SWAP!
Here is the text of an email I sent to the City and the media today:
Hello,
At the City Council meeting on September 10th 2019 President Richard Skorman told me that my questions about the land swap have already been answered. Since then I have sent repeated emails to the City Council and the Mayor's Office asking if they stand by that claim. They refuse to so much as answer.
Mr Skorman lied. I asked that the City disclose the details to the cost of the needed repairs to the section of the Barr Trail that we own. I asked for the cost of each specific category of repair that is needed. Britt Haley of our Parks Dept told me last summer that RMFI has communicated with the city on this subject.
As City Council President and the founder of Save Cheyenne Mr Skorman has to tell us the truth. He may not orchestrate a cover up of the flaws in the land swap. I have fought to get the truth out on this issue for years, Mr Skorman is seeking to put an end to my activism on this subject.
That crosses a line. He sat quietly listening to my comments at many, many meetings. I was shocked that he did nothing to act on the facts I presented before him. Now he is lying to the public, and obstructing the just process that has to reverse the land swap that he once claimed to oppose.
I am calling on the media to pressure Mr Skorman. If we allow this to stand, the public will have no right to oversight on city officials, and we will have given them permission to abandon all accountability. If Mr Skorman will not answer my questions honestly he should be exposed publicly and have to resign.
I include a copy of the email that Mr Skorman claims contains the answers to my questions below.
Thank you, Carl Strow
https://www.change.org/p/force-colorado-springs-to-repair-the-barr-trail
------ Forwarded Message --------
From: Haley, Britt I <britt.haley@coloradosprings.gov>
Date: 6/13/2019 5:09:22 PM
Subject: RE: Land Swap
To: Murray, Bill <bill.murray@coloradosprings.gov>, cstrow539@hotmail.com<cstrow539@hotmail.com>
Cc: Palus, Karen <karen.palus@coloradosprings.gov>, Schroeder, Kurt <kurt.schroeder@coloradosprings.gov>
Hello Councilman Murray:
Thank you for sending the questions from Mr. Strow to our office for response. Please find our responses to Mr. Strow’s questions in blue below. I am copying Mr. Strow as well.
Regards,
Britt Haley
Britt I. Haley CPRP
Parks Design and Development Manager / TOPS Program Manager
City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services
1401 Recreation Way
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Office: 719-385-6530
Email: britt.haley@springsgov.com
cid:image001.png@01D4E486.AE796950
From: Carl Strow [mailto:cstrow539@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 7:31 AM
To: Suthers, John; allCouncil@springsgov.com; kjaray@comsgov.com;citycouncil@comsgov.com; save cheyenne; krdo; koaa; kktv; fox;citydesk@gazette.com; news@csindy.com
Subject: Land Swap
CAUTION! - External Email. Malware is most commonly spread through unknown email attachments and links. DO NOT open attachments or click links from unknown senders or unexpected email!
Hello,
Here are my comments for the City Council today:
Good afternoon,
Did the City learn during the public comment process that the appraisal submitted by the Broadmoor for the land swap was flawed?
The City does not agree with your premise.
Why did the City remove mention of these repairs from their presentations after the meeting of February 24th 2016?
It is nearly impossible to identify from the question what presentations you are referencing. With regard to the Broadmoor land exchange presentations, subsequent presentations focused on other issues pertinent to the subject being presented at the particular time.
Why does the City refuse to even mention the repairs to this day?
The City is more than willing to discuss repair and maintenance issues related to the Manitou Incline and has never hesitated to do so.
If members of this Council have learned that the land swap is legally flawed, you are each required by law to disclose this fact to the public.
The City disagrees with your premise. The Colorado Supreme Court has determined that the Broadmoor land exchange was lawful. Based upon the fact that the Save Cheyenne organization took the issue of the land trade through the court system and the courts found nothing illegal about the trade, we would submit that the trade had no legal shortcomings.
If the City is claiming that they have not looked into the cost of these repairs, you should know that such a claim is not believable.
The City was well aware of the repair and maintenance issues associated with the Manitou Incline at the time of adoption of the agreements which served to legalize the trail and has taken the appropriate steps to address those issues.
I asked and asked during the public comment process about the cost of the needed repairs on the land we were acquiring. If you are buying a used car and it needs engine work, do you not learn the cost of the repairs before purchasing the car?
The City of Colorado Springs was responsible via intergovernmental agreement to conduct repairs on the Manitou Incline well before the land exchange occurred. The land that was acquired under the land exchange agreement did not affect those Manitou Incline maintenance and repair costs. It was always anticipated that the cost to repair the Manitou Incline would be significant. In as much that both City Councils were actively promoting legalization, until the legalization agreements were completed it would not have been prudent to have invested in the engineering investigation to determine those costs. That investigation was completed post legalization and the repairs were accomplished primarily through grants.
I spoke at public meetings. I spoke before this Council. I sent emails to the Mayor, the City Attorney, and to this Council. Karen Palus and Jack Damioli both heard me speak on more than one occasion. The claim that the City did not investigate this question before approving the land swap is not believable.
The Department is unsure what question you are saying that was not investigated nor who may have claimed this. Please clarify. However, legalization of the Manitou Incline occurred years before the land swap was ever contemplated.
Why is the City of Manitou Springs spending their own money to do repairs on the land that Colorado Springs now owns? When do they estimate that all repairs will be completed? What do they estimate the total cost of the needed repairs to be?
The City of Manitou Springs has put $35,000 into the repairs of the Manitou Incline. They have put dollars into the maintenance of the Barr Trail. Their participation in Barr Trail and Manitou Incline maintenance was anticipated and discussed through the development of the master and management plan and identified in the license agreement they have with Colorado Springs Utilities for the management of the Barr Trail parking lot.
When do they estimate that all repairs will be completed? Repairs on the Manitou Incline have been completed.
The maintenance for any kind of infrastructure is ongoing. The cost of this can be variable depending on use, weather impacts, etc.
What do they estimate the total cost of the needed repairs to be?
Repairs to the Manitou Incline cost approximately $4,000,000 with the overwhelming majority of funding coming in the form of grants. Annual routine maintenance costs are very low due to the involvement of the Friends of the Manitou Incline. Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) estimates annual maintenance to the section of Barr Trail impacted by Incline return traffic to be approximately $40,000.
Historically, has the City of Manitou Springs been pushed around or taken advantage of? Did the Broadmoor cross the line in obtaining tax breaks from them for the work being done on the Cog Railway? I email my comments to them, why have they not spoken up about the cost of future repairs on the Barr Trail? Have they been discouraged from telling what they know?
These are all questions that would be most appropriately addressed to the City of Manitou Springs.
Is it true that the original motivation for the land swap was to protect the Manitou Incline? No. My understanding is that the Federal Government never wanted the Incline to become legal, they preferred that it be shut down instead.
Legalization of the Manitou Incline as a trail took a bi-partisan bill before Congress sponsored by Representative Lamborn (R) and Senator Bennett (D) and signed by President Obama. This is indicative of the federal government’s support of its legalization.
The Cog Railway owned a revocable license for the middle section of the Incline. If the Cog Railway was ever sold the new owner would have been able to force the rightful closure of the Incline. Most people either don't know about the problems with the Incline, or for some reason are not capable of speaking out about them. Did the City conspire to obstruct the government from carrying out its plans to eventually close the Incline?
No.
Thank you, Carl Strow