Hello,
This is my contribution for Citizen's Discussion at Tuesday's City Council meeting:
Good morning,
During the public comment process for the land swap the City told us that we were getting land that was worth $3.3 million in exchange for land that was only worth $2.2 million.
The City has told me that since 2013 Rocky Mountain Field Institute has done hundreds of thousands of dollars of work on the section of the Barr Trail that is on the land that we acquired from the Cog Railway.
We were told nothing of this during the public comment process. At the very first public meeting the City did mention that the land had drainage problems and erosion damage.
I immediately began asking how much it would cost to repair those problems, but the city refused to answer.
After that night the City never mentioned those problems again.
The purpose of a public comment process is to inform the public of the details of the proposed deal, and answer any and all questions.
The City may not refuse to answer legitimate questions posed by the public.
This invalidates the entire public comment process because the City refused to disclose relevant financial information.
The fact that I asked the right questions, and the City refused to answer casts suspicion on the City's motives and sincerity.
I am sure that this land still needs hundreds of thousands of dollars more in repairs.
This land was appraised at $1.3 million, the fact that it needed between half a million and one million dollars in repairs would change how the public felt about the land swap.
Did that land actually need $1 million in repairs at the time of the public comment process?
The Barr Trail is in dire need of major work, we cannot let politics deprive this beloved trail of proper care.
How much has been spent on that land so far, and how much more money is needed to fix all of the problems?
Thank you, Carl Strow