Hello,
This is my contribution for Citizen's Discussion at Tuesday's City Council meeting:
Good morning,
We are now beginning a public discussion on the fate of the first 2 miles of the Barr Trail.
The city does not have much standing in this matter because the land is rightfully owned by the Cog Railway, and because the Manitou Incline has to close.
The city conducted a public comment process before the land swap was approved that was not legal because they willfully withheld relevant financial information.
The city forfeited their right to acquire and own that land.
It is also necessary to think away the Manitou Incline in this discussion.
The Incline is not legal and has to close.
Therefore this discussion cannot consider the Incline or its needs.
The Incline will not exist in the future, therefore we would regret giving it any influence in these discussions.
The Barr Trail is a National Recreational Trail, it would not be legal for any party to withhold information from the public discussion about the future of this trail.
All information must be presented to the public fully and openly.
The public cannot make an informed decision unless they know how much it will cost to repair the old trail.
They must also know that the land swap is going to be reversed, and that the Manitou Incline is going to be closed permanently.
Does the Forest Service prefer a new trail, or repairs to the old trail?
Does the Cog Railway prefer to build a new trail, or try to repair the old one?
Is it true that if we were to build a new trail we would still have to do some kind of a drainage study to rehab the old trail.
We could not leave its drainage problems, and severe erosion damage as it is today.
I read in the media that the city's current priority is building other trails to supplement the Manitou Incline.
I strongly discourage the city from doing that because the Incline is going to close.
It is difficult to envision the proper future for the lower section of the mountain today.
We need to close the Incline, return the land to the Cog Railway, let the dust settle, then take a fresh look.
Thank you, Carl Strow