Hello,

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

Good morning,

For the land swap, the Broadmoor submitted an appraisal for the land that was owned by the Cog Railway which claims that the land is worth $1.3 million.

We know now that that land cannot be worth nearly that much.

The public needs to know how much it would cost to repair the first two miles of the Barr Trail if we were to decide against building a reroute.

They also need to know how much we will have to spend to close the old trail if we do build a reroute.

A drainage study will still have to be done as well as drainage improvements. This will be necessary before we can repair the erosion damage on the hillside.

Will the fence have to be taken down and hauled out?

The cost of either option proves that the appraisal submitted by the Broadmoor is invalid. 

Why would the city even be considering which course of action to take when we acquired that land in a legally flawed transaction?

We cannot make any major changes to that land because the city is not going to own it in the future. It rightfully belongs to the Cog Railway.

That piece of land is a lemon as far as the city is concerned.

We got duped by the Broadmoor. I am not claiming that the Broadmoor knew that they were overestimating the value of that land, but the fact is that the land in question is likely worth only about half of what the Broadmoor claimed.

Therefore, the entire transaction is invalid, and all land has to be returned to its original owners.

Thank you, Carl Strow