Dear readers,
As a news organization serving the small, tight-knit community of Manitou Springs, it can be particularly difficult to navigate some stories because members of the Bulletin team know the people involved so well. We may personally like them, or we may have mutual friends – often both. Our personal and professional relationships may overlap and that’s unavoidable. But newspapers play a vital role in transparency for the public good, and when there are years of consistent issues at a public institution – and former employees willing to go on the record to bring those issues to light – we are on the hook to explore the problems as fairly and thoroughly as possible.
I believe we have done that with “Manitou City administrator backed by mayor and council amidst years of high turnover, complaints.” Being thorough and fair resulted in a story that is about three times the length of our typical news stories. We considered breaking it into separate parts, but in the end decided to keep all the facts in one piece.
Another aspect of reporting in a small town is that readers will have their own opinions and history with the subjects of an article. Sometimes that leads to hard feelings that escalate quickly – and that’s never something we want to foster.
Readers, I ask you to please keep in mind that everyone in this article is a unique individual worthy of respect. This story is not the sum total of anyone’s life, and should not be used as an indictment of any individual’s character.
But, as you will read in this article, there is clearly a longstanding issue at Manitou Springs City Hall, and resolving the problems will require an open dialogue on solutions. We’ve had people contacting us behind the scenes about the things discussed in this article for many months, and there has been talk amongst community members. With this article, we are taking the conversation into a place of verified facts from which we may create a better path forward.
May that be the main takeaway from this story: that a better path forward is needed, and we can find it peaceably.
Warmly,
Heila Ershadi
Managing Editor/Pikes Peak Bulletin
Last month, Roy Chaney, the former deputy city administrator, became the latest employee to suddenly leave his position with the City of Manitou Springs.
“While my service with the City concluded unexpectedly, I remain deeply proud of what was accomplished during those 21 years,” wrote Chaney in a May 13 letter to the Pikes Peak Bulletin. “Manitou Springs is a remarkable city – full of passionate, resilient people – and I am grateful to have played a part in shaping its progress and character.”
Chaney is at least the tenth employee to leave the City in 2025. A March 6 Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request showed nine employees had left the City of Manitou Springs since January. In recent months, the turnover among City employees has become a topic of concern for the Manitou Springs City Council. Manitou Springs denied a CORA request from the Pikes Peak Bulletin requesting resignation letters from former employees, and also denied a recent CORA request for a copy of a workplace climate survey conducted by Employment Compliance Solutions and paid for by the City.
“The documents responsive to your request are privileged attorney-client communications … and are further withheld because such records are part of the record of an executive session,” wrote City Clerk Elena Krebs in response to the Bulletin’s request. “The responsive documents are also withheld as work product prepared for elected officials … and are separately withheld as a personnel record.”
In response to a request for comment, Mayor John Graham said in an email, “The report by Employment Compliance Solutions contains candid and frank statements from a number of City employees made with the expectation that they were speaking privately and in confidence,” he said. “Releasing the report could have a chilling effect on the willingness of employees to speak truthfully about their supervisors in the future.”
Based on the reporting done by the Bulletin, which involved reviewing resignation letters and speaking directly with nine former Manitou Springs employees, there is already a chilling effect on the “willingness of employees to speak truthfully about their supervisors.”
On May 6, days before Chaney was let go by the City, Graham appeared in a video discussing recent executive sessions.
“The city council has held a number of executive sessions that concern City Administrator Denise Howell,” said Graham. “I understand when matters are discussed in private, speculation and rumors can occur. I want to be clear, on my behalf and on behalf of city council, that these executive sessions were not to address any wrongdoing or misconduct by Ms. Howell. Because the city administrator is responsible for the supervision of all city employees and day-to-day city operations, these executive sessions necessarily involved her and her management of the City and its employees. We have discussed Mrs. Howell’s duties during these executive sessions and we want to be clear that city council values Mrs. Howell’s dedication and hard work and we support her and look forward to her continued leadership in the city.”
Howell has been with Manitou Springs as the city administrator since 2019 after spending six years as a customer service manager for the City of Fountain.
” The city council concluded that Ms. Howell has very high expectations of City employees and expects them to deliver extremely high quality work,” said Graham. “On numerous occasions Ms. Howell’s intervention on important projects that were not being managed properly was critical to their ultimate success.”
Though the Mayor and council voiced support for Howell, copies of resignation letters obtained by the Bulletin and conversations with former employees – some of whom spoke under the condition of anonymity out of concerns of retaliation – told a different story.
Former staff say problems with city administrator led to their departure
All of the former employees the Bulletin spoke with expressed fear of retaliation from Howell for speaking out publicly. Many employees have gone on to find subsequent employment in neighboring municipalities that work regularly with Manitou Springs, and Howell, and are concerned that Howell might reach out to their current employer. Others expressed concerns about how speaking out as a whistleblower might impact future employment. One former employee told the Bulletin that Howell contacted a member of the Colorado Springs City Council after they ended their employment with Manitou Springs.
“She is very, very good at character assassination,” said former Manitou Springs Public Works Director Jeff Jones, a retired Air Force veteran and civil engineer who left his position with the city in 2022, after he claims Howell intentionally embarrassed him during a community leadership conference in 2021.
“You have to fill out a bunch of paperwork prior to going to this week-long group conference, and your supervisor fills out paperwork on you – rates you in certain areas,” explained Jones. “Your supervisor – mine was Roy Chaney – and then you get the other department directors or department heads to rate you, too, on what you can improve on, what do you do good, and so forth. When you get there they open it up about halfway through class and you read it out loud. They read it out loud to everybody, to compare what other people think, [people] that you’ve been in class with, if they feel the same way.”
Jones was taken aback by the evaluation provided by Howell. “She just totally berated me and told me I was hung up on the military, I didn’t know what I was doing, I need to retire. I just was embarrassed about the whole thing, and I thought to myself ‘Why would she send me to an expensive leadership school, and knowing – because she had just went – they’re going to read this in front of everybody, other than to get me to quit.”
As a result of the experience, Jones filed a complaint with human resources.
“I put in a complaint, and of course I knew what was going to happen before I did it – the way things were breaking down,” he said. “It was [determined by HR to be] unfounded. Then right after that, I immediately got letters of counseling, letters of punishment for stupid things, silly things like kids would get, not grown men. I said, ‘You know what? I’ve just about had enough of this.’ So I resigned.”
Jones’ experience was not unique.
“The ‘write-up’ is [Howell]’s go-to move – she deems even something like not returning an email fast enough as ‘insubordination,'” wrote former Manitou Springs Senior Planner Michelle Anthony in a Sept. 5, 2021 letter to City Council. [Anthony is a board member of the Pikes Peak Bulletin. -ed] “Over the last two years, Denise has turned City employment into a revolving door of miserable people who are actively looking for other jobs, trying to hold on, hoping to outlast her, or just biding their time, hoping they can last long enough to retire and leave.”
Like the recent spate of City Engineers – three in the last three years – in 2021 the Planning Department experienced similar turnover.
There is a pervasive fear of reprisal. – Former Parking and Mobility Director Juan Alvarez
“During the process of the Cog Railway going through a Conditional Use Permit and other planning processes, the Planning Department was told to facilitate the Cog and get them through the process,” wrote Anthony. “Planning Director Kim Johnson held the line and made it clear the department would treat the Cog like any other applicant. Kim resigned soon after [Howell] became the permanent Administrator because she knew there was no way to succeed with [Howell] in charge. In between directors, I was called into [Howell]’s office a couple of times to talk about why the Cog had to do certain things. One time in particular I just kept responding that I was going to enforce the code – no more and no less – and questioned what [Howell] wanted me to do. We sat there for a long, uncomfortable silence and finally [Howell] said the meeting was over. Right after that James Mayerl was hired as Interim Director and instructed to take on the Cog application. I don’t know if Council realizes it, but Mr. Mayerl walked out the Thursday afternoon before Christine [Lowenberg] started work at the City. He was supposed to overlap by a couple of weeks with Christine, but as soon as she was hired, James left, wishing staff luck.”
Following Lowenberg’s departure in 2021, multiple members of the Planning Department also left.
“If [Howell] stays as Administrator, I will not be able to continue working for the city,” wrote Anthony. “I have started putting my retirement plan in place. I hate this – it is not what I want to do. I still feel like I have something to give, but I cannot be successful with the current administration, and I have no confidence in her leadership or her ability to select a new Planning Director. I just don’t have the wherewithal to withstand the stress, anger, and serious unhappiness that I’ve been carrying for the last couple of years. It is affecting my physical and mental health.”
Efforts to collect staff feedback not mutually satisfactory
Former Parking and Mobility Director Juan Alvarez, in a copy of his March 7 resignation letter, obtained by the Bulletin, describes previous efforts to collect feedback on staff experience and job satisfaction.
“Last fall, the City Administrator scheduled an attrition meeting with directors and supervisors to look at this problem critically,” he wrote. “The very structure of this meeting, led by her rather than a neutral person, did not lend itself to honest feedback. There is a pervasive fear of reprisal, and the idea of anonymous feedback from current staff was rejected. Nothing changed as a result of that meeting.”
Chaney told the Bulletin he believes his request for a staff climate survey and the resulting Employment Compliance Solutions report contributed directly to his termination.
“I received a letter saying I was being terminated because of the survey – the same survey I initiated due to growing concerns among staff about the work environment,” Chaney explained. “I wasn’t accusing anyone; in fact, I gave the City Administrator, Denise Howell, a fair opportunity to respond. I submitted a neutral memo outlining the concerns, which I provided to Human Resources and the City Attorney. It was then passed along to the Mayor and City Council. I followed all city policies and was told by both HR and the City Attorney that I was protected in doing so. I expected the complaints to be handled appropriately and was simply trying to ensure [Howell] was given due process.”
Chaney said the first letter he received from Howell through Human Resources stated he was being terminated at the end of the month “since you’re retiring anyway.” However, he clarified that while he had requested a PERA retirement package for potential retirement in June, he had never formally submitted a resignation or retirement letter. “The PERA process was never finalized and, in fact, could have been revoked at any time,” he said. “I only asked for the packet because I was feeling pressured – like so many others before me who were forced out – and I wanted to be prepared. But I made it clear to HR that I was not retiring and wanted to keep my job.”
After informing HR of his intent to stay, Chaney received a second letter stating that termination was still planned at the end of May. “This time, the letter said I was being let go due to the survey results – which I’ve never been allowed to see – and for performance issues, which were never formally documented,” he said. “I have never received a write-up or any kind of counseling about these supposed errors. She just said we weren’t working well together, even though she’s never addressed any concerns with me directly.”
Chaney said the sudden shift from a congratulatory tone about an assumed retirement to claims of poor performance felt calculated. “At first, it was ‘Congratulations on your retirement – here’s three weeks of pay to start early.’ But when I clarified that I never submitted a retirement letter, suddenly it became about my job performance. That’s a big red flag.”
He continues to request access to the survey, stating, “Since it was cited as part of the reason for my termination, I believe it should now be considered part of my personnel file – and I have a right to see it.”
In resignation letters and in conversations with former employees, Chaney was lauded.
“I want to express my deep appreciation for your leadership and mentorship over the past 18 months,” wrote Alvarez. “Your investment in me has helped me become a better leader, and I have grown professionally through our many critical and problem-solving conversations. You have always demonstrated the best interest of my department and have supported my team well.”
Jones couldn’t believe the City would fire Chaney. “This last firing of Roy was absolutely ridiculous,” he said. “He was the only glue that was holding everything together.”
Employees give examples of workplace issues
Despite the support from Chaney, Alvarez ultimately made the decision to resign. “I have been contemplating the decision to leave Manitou Springs for some time now, and I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer serve under the micromanagement and unreasonable expectations of the City Administrator,” wrote Alvarez. “That, along with lack of support at that level, has created a toxic work environment that has made it difficult for me to continue working here. As you know, there has been significant turnover in staff, and some have shared their concerns with me confidentially. I feel that the City Administrator may be cultivating a toxic work environment and contributing to attrition.”
Alvarez joined the City of Manitou in August of 2023, and Chaney provided a laudatory summary of Alvarez’s qualifications in an email introducing him to the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG), citing the comprehensive experience he’d gained over decades in his career managing multi-modal transportation and parking projects.
Alvarez was not the only employee who cited Howell in their resignation letter. “Sadly, I was faced with an extremely difficult decision after realizing there were several challenges I did not feel I would ever be able to overcome and that were never going to change,” wrote another former employee, who asked not to be named. “Examples of these challenges include: micro-management with no direction or proper information to back the directives with, fear of retaliation if the City Administrator felt you misspoke, constant confusion and a lack of transparency and truth. I also noticed an extreme disconnect with communication between City Council, the City Administrator, and Public Works or City Staff.”
In an Oct. 28, 2024 email obtained via CORA, Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority (PPRTA) Contract Manager Rick Sonnenburg wrote to former city engineer Andrew Morren, with Howell cc’ed, regarding upcoming meetings. Three minutes later, Howell responded to Sonnenburg.
Another former employee, who also asked not to be identified, described Howell going over the heads of project managers and department heads to outside agencies, causing confusion and consternation.
In a Nov. 28, 2023 email obtained via CORA, Howell emailed Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal. “I thought I would reach out to see if we could meet with you to discuss the Ruxton project,” she wrote. “The update that I continue to receive is it is going slow. As you can imagine we are all concerned about the project, and I think a meeting with all of us would be helpful.”
“The project team was very upset that she went over their heads and complained to the CEO,” said the former Manitou employee. “Obviously, this got the project team in hot water, and they were totally blindsided since they had no idea there were any issues. Imagine how our next project management team meeting went after she called their CEO?”
Two years later, the Ruxton project is no closer to completion.
“When a leader requests reports or explanations without follow-up, it results in time spent producing detailed reports and updates rather than focusing on what you are employed to do,” noted Alvarez in his resignation letter. “There can be a constant need to justify yourself that comes from the feeling that you are not trusted to do your job. The City Administrator often asks for reports, then gives no feedback or response.”
In May 2023, Howell and members of the PPACG were involved in a multi-email thread regarding a PPRTA sales tax spreadsheet. After weeks of back and forth requests for clarification and revision, Howell wrote:
“I appreciate you sending this over to us and appreciate all the time and effort you have put into ensuring the numbers are accurate. I will not be utilizing these numbers tomorrow during our meeting, for I do not have time to review and see if we have questions. I appreciate that we are all taking a hard look at the numbers and ensure they are accurate as we move forward.”
A perceived disconnect between council and staff
One former employee “noticed an extreme disconnect with communication between City Council, the City Administrator, and Public Works or City Staff.” An example of that disconnect was the March 4 Council meeting where Councilor Michelle Whetherhult – despite the Mayor’s stated concern for confidentiality – revealed alleged reasons why employees left Manitou Springs.
“Alex left us for Colorado Springs, Dole left for more money, our parks and rec, he left to be closer to his extended family, and Hannah left for medical reasons,” said Whetherhult in the open meeting.
“The thing about all of us was that you can add ‘because of [Howell]’ to the end of it,” said former Manitou Springs City Engineer Dole Grebenik in an email. “I left because of [Howell] and the toxic work culture. How did [Whetherhult] even get the information I left for more money and why is it coming up in a Council meeting a year after I left? Did [Whetherhult] have access to our personnel files? The truth is that [Howell] shared somewhat private information with [Whetherhult] to justify why people were leaving. The way it was phrased makes it sound like we all left for normal reasons. It redirects the conversation away from the toxic culture. We did not leave for normal reasons. However, [Howell] controlled the narrative and buffered the truth.”
Another former employee named by Whetherhult, who like many others asked not to be named due to concerns of retaliation, told the Bulletin that Whetherhult’s remarks were similarly inaccurate. Whetherhult did not respond to the Bulletin’s question regarding where she obtained the information she shared during that March 4 meeting. A source within Manitou Springs government, who asked not to be named, confirmed to the Bulletin that they received similar information from Howell regarding the disposition of former employees whose own statements contradict claims made by Whetherhult.
Mayor says independent review finds ‘allegations and complaints not warranted’
In response to the Bulletin’s request for comment about the ongoing concerns regarding Howell, Graham responded via email, “The Mayor and City Council are fully aware of the allegations and the complaints,” he said. “They have met a number of times to review them. An independent professional was engaged to conduct a review of the concerns. The conclusion of the review was significantly different from many of the allegations and complaints from former employees. After reviewing the independent evaluation, speaking with the individual who conducted the evaluation, and discussing the concerns with City Administrator Howell, the City Council determined that the allegations and complaints were generally not warranted.”
Additionally, Graham noted that employees are able to take any concerns to human resources. “In the last five years, we have added a full-time human resources person to ensure that employees are treated fairly and consistently – to the best of our ability, without fear or favor,” he wrote. “We have provided necessary training for workplace compliance for issues like harassment and discrimination. We offer job training classes for many employees and generally strive to have a productive and rewarding workplace. We have increased compensation and benefits.”
We did not leave for normal reasons. – Former Manitou Springs City Engineer Dole Grebenik
However, Manitou Springs’ human resources director reports directly to the city administrator. “Denise is good at using her position and what appears to be a deep knowledge of human resources to manipulate people and situations to suit the outcome she is looking for,” wrote Anthony. “Staff does not feel HR works for all employees but is a tool of the Administrator. That, the fact [that] Denise has driven a wedge between staff, City Council and the board/commission chairs and volunteers, and her unending, unreasonable demands are exhausting and leave people feeling helpless and hopeless, with no way to turn.”
Alvarez echoed Anthony’s concerns in his resignation letter – nearly four years later. “Normally, an employee is able to go to human resources to express concerns and seek support, but the human resources coordinator works directly under the City Administrator, making it impossible to file a professional complaint against her or request mediation without fear of reprisal,” wrote Alvarez in his resignation letter. “This shows a lack of consideration and dignity for staff. It affects productivity and morale, employee well-being suffers, toxicity spreads, and the city reputation is at risk.”
Chaney noted that the fear of retaliation is real. “Look what happened to me,” he said. “I spoke up and I got terminated walking in from vacation. That right there shows the fear people have.”
Manitou Springs currently faces a series of challenges – aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance, dwindling tax revenue as Colorado Springs begins recreational marijuana sales, and most recently a lawsuit from the Cog Railway over tax reimbursement payments – while hemorrhaging qualified, experienced employees.
“The time she’s been there, which I believe now is going on six years, there’s been 50 plus employees leave. Fifty,” said Jones. “You’re talking 10 or 12 a year. That’s massive turnover. We’re not talking about just people who are ditch diggers or handing out parking tickets at our parking department. We’re talking about supervisors, directors – multiple directors from certain departments – also now the Deputy City Administrator, Roy Chaney. There’s a common denominator here. It’s not those 50 people. The common denominator is the person who’s supposed to be leading and guiding and mentoring everybody.”
In his response to the Bulletin’s request for comment, Graham included an excerpt from a March 9 email from City Attorney Jeff Parker to the Mayor and Council regarding Alvarez’s resignation letter. “I was provided this letter, which is apparently an exit letter from the City’s former parking director,” he wrote. “I have instructed Kelly Padilla [HR Director] and Roy [Chaney] to follow the standard exit interview follow-up process with this letter. However, given the process currently underway to evaluate the City’s retention and employment culture, I am passing this along to you. This is confidential information, and should be considered as part of a third-party review of the City Council’s retention and employment culture concerns. I have no opinion regarding the accuracy of the information, allegations, and opinions in this letter. I do believe there is almost certainly more than one side to this coin, which is why an organized formal review by a neutral third party is important.”
