Hello,

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

Good morning,

In January 2018, I sent an email to the Mayor and each member of the City Council asking questions about the Manitou Incline.

They forwarded that email to Parks Dept and Kurt Schroeder responded.

The city appears to be hiding problems with the Manitou Incline.

Below I have copied questions #2 and #3 along with Mr. Schroeder's response:

2 "I have heard that as long as the three sets of rails were on the ties the entire incline was one piece, but as soon as the rails were removed the long-term stability of the Incline was compromised."

ANSWER - You are incorrect. The rails were removed, and the Incline operation ceased after storms caused significant washouts that compromised the integrity of the track. The rails did not ensure the stability of the Incline. The Incline owners then removed the rails and sold them for scrap.

3 "Did the Manitou Incline Task Force consult with a professional engineering firm about the long-term stability of the Incline? Did the city do so before assuming for the maintenance of the incline? What does the consultant's analysis say about these issues?"

ANSWER - The task force did not, that was not their role. The city did, however. Significant engineering was conducted prior to the final design being completed. The analysis said that the Incline was unstable and recommended repairs that would make it stable which the city then instituted.

After the rains we had in September 2013, the middle section of the Incline ended up in what I call a "pick up sticks formation".

Does the city claim that this would have still happened if the rails had been on the ties?

The Incline was designed to have rails.

As long as the rails were in place it was one piece, it was not possible for any of the railroad ties to move.

The Incline was stable from 1907 until it closed in the 1990's.

Within 20 years of when the rails were removed many of the ties had come completely out.

The Manitou Incline Task Force claimed to have studied every imaginable aspect of the Incline to determine if it was feasible or desirable to legally open the Incline.

The city told me that the task force did not consult with a professional engineering firm to determine why so many ties had come loose and if that could be prevented in the future.

I do not believe this claim.

Did the task force withhold information from the public related to the long-term stability of the Incline?

Thank you, Carl Strow