Hello,

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

During the public comment process for the land swap, the city said that if the Cog Railway was ever sold the new owner could use the revocable license to close the Incline.

So, the city felt a need to take the revocable license away from the Cog Railway.

Wait, that is not what the city told us.

The city claimed that they were afraid that a new owner of the Cog Railway could close the Barr Trail.

Which is more likely, that the new owner would try to close the Barr Trail, or that they would try to close the Manitou Incline?

Why would the new owner of the Cog Railway want to close the Barr Trail, is the Barr Trail not legal?

Why did the city not mention the possibility that the new owner could easily close the Incline?

Had the city heard any talk of a possible sale of the Cog Railway​?
Who would the possible new owner be?

Would that person want to close the Barr Trail?

Or did the city hear that this individual would close the Incline, and fail to disclose this fact during the public comment process for the land swap?

Did the city intentionally mislead the public?

The city also claimed that if they took that land away from the Cog Railway it would enable the city to build the long-promised alternate route down from the Incline.

I will ask again: Did the city ever ask the Cog Railway to give them an easement for the alternate route down from the Incline?

Why would the city need to own that land?

Nearly two years ago I heard Karen Palus tell the Manitou Springs City Council that the city would be initiating a NEPA process for the alternate route down from the Incline at or before the end of 2020.

Was the claim that owning that land would make the alternate route down from the Incline possible true or false?

Did we trade away Strawberry Fields for nothing?

Has the NEPA process begun, or not?

One does not acquire a piece of land for some commercial development before getting the needed zoning changes approved.

In the same way, why would the city acquire the land from the Cog Railway before getting approval from the USFS for a proposed conceptual alignment for the alternate route down from the Incline?

Has the USFS rejected the city's proposed route for the trail?

I find myself wondering why the city wanted that land in the first place.

The public needs to know the answers to all these questions.

Thank you, Carl Strow