Hello,

This is my contribution to Citizen's Discussion at Tuesday's City Council meeting:

Good morning,

During the public comment process for the land swap we were told that the land owned by the Cog Railway was appraised at $1.3 million.

This land is practically worthless except for its recreational value, meaning that part of the Barr Trail and part of the incline are on this land.

I questioned the value of this land, and I asked for the estimated cost of the needed repairs to the section of the Barr trail that is on this land.

The city refused to answer.

Now the President of Friends of the Peak is recommending that an entirely new trail be built, and the existing trail be closed.

Why?

Is there something wrong with the trail that we traded Strawberry Fields to obtain?

As a citizen, I have a right to question the integrity of this land exchange, and I have a right to know the estimated cost of the necessary repairs.

The claim that the problems with the Barr Trail have been caused by too much Incline traffic is ludicrous.

As Mr. Bremner pointed out, the problem is water, meaning drainage problems.

This trail was built close to 100 years ago, trails with so many tight switchbacks are no longer built precisely because of the drainage issues.

Why did the city not mention this fact during the public comment process?

This is what the city should have told us:

“This trail is a dinosaur and a lemon. It is outdated and high maintenance, it may not be possible to bring it up to modern drainage standards.”

Was this fact considered by the appraiser?

The land owned by the Cog Railway was practically worthless other than for its recreational value.

I now realize that I failed to ask all of the right questions.

Part of the Manitou Incline sits on this land.

How much did we have to spend repairing the section of the Incline that came with this land?

That work began less than 3 months after the land swap was approved.

As I recall the section of the Incline on Cog Railway land was in worse shape than the rest of the Incline. Was this the section of the Incline that was in what I call a “pick up sticks formation”?

By this, I mean that some ties had come completely out, and had been piled upon each other by the floods of September of 2013?

I don't remember the city discussing the shocking condition of the Incline on this land during the public comment process either.

The city was preparing to do the stage two repairs to the Incline during the public comment process. Was the city afraid that the public would reject the appraisal for this land if the cost of the repairs to the Incline was discussed?

So we spent a significant portion of its appraised value doing repairs on the section of the Incline that is on this land?

We were told that the Broadmoor was “giving” us land that was worth $3.3 million, in exchange for land that was only worth $2.2 million.

How much have we spent doing repairs to the trails on this land so far, and how much more will we have to spend?

Were the costs of those repairs considered by the appraiser?

Now we are told that the section of the Barr Trail on this land might not even be worth repairing?

How much might a new trail cost?

What is the estimated cost of a new trail and the necessary rehab to close the old trail?

What was the cost for the repairs to the section of the Incline that is on that land?

Do all of these repairs add up to more than the appraised value of the land?

The public has a right and a need to know.

Thank you, Carl Strow