Manitou Springs District 14 Superintendent Elizabeth Domangue and school board member and former City Councilor Gary Smith asked City Council to schedule a joint meeting of the two groups before council voted to reinstate the city’s mask mandate at its Aug. 17 regular meeting.
That was not done and the mandate was reinstated, effective Aug. 23, without D-14 input.
In a letter to City Council dated Aug. 19, Domangue questioned the process and submitted a list of 10 exceptions to the mask mandate compiled from “current public health orders that were co-created with school districts, municipalities, hospitals, or public health departments” that she wanted included in the mandate.
Council scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 24, to hear Domangue and others wishing to address the topic.
Many of the exceptions in Domangue’s letter are contained in the mandate as written, but she added several to include school athletics, special learning and other school activities in Manitou Springs Elementary, the middle school and the high school.
Domangue’s letter also asked that council discuss how the mandate would end, as Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Fortuin had asked Aug. 14 but which did not occur. The superintendent also repeated the request for a joint meeting so that “our community can see us demonstrating collaborative leadership practices.”
In her remarks to council on Tuesday, Domangue stressed that she was not protesting masks, but rather “how we got here today.” She also detailed the very broad range of other physical and mental health issues and crises the district deals with on a regular basis.
Fortuin chaired Tuesday’s special meeting in the absence of Mayor John Graham and said that council could adjust the mandate “as appropriate.” She thanked the people who had commented by phone and email, stressing the difficulty of the mask question. She also thanked Domangue for her “very reasonable” requests.
Councilor John Shada moved that council adopt the exceptions Domangue submitted, and the motion passed unanimously.
Fortuin proposed that a four-member task force be created to discuss mask-related issues including “loosening” the mandate. Domangue agreed to the task force and said that the district would appoint two members.
Councilors Natalie Johnson and Judith Chandler were appointed as City Council’s representatives. The task force will report back within two weeks. Fortuin noted that the pandemic will be on the next two council agendas.
Members of the public addressed council on the mask issue. One speaker noted the very small percentage of school-age coronavirus victims. He also said that masks were ineffective against COVID-19 due to the small size of the diseased droplets.
A Manitou business owner said that only half of Manitou businesses are complying with the mandate and asked if there were non-compliance consequences. He asked why have a mandate if it’s not enforced and noted the verbal abuse he and his staff have endured.A Manitou High School student told council that masks do “more harm than good” in high school, especially since those students are eligible for vaccinations.
Another speaker said that there was no evidence that masks offer a medical benefit, citing 1947 sources.
Former girls basketball coach Justin Armour said that, during practice and games, masks become “a germ-holding device,” having only symbolic value.
Council then adjourned the special meeting and began its previously scheduled joint work session with the Planning Commission. City Council has been receiving monthly reports from the Planning Commission as the two groups take on the task of revising the municipal subdivision and development code chapters of the city code.
Tuesday’s topics were mobility, including parking, natural hazards and a continuation of last month’s discussions of use standards.
The conversation included pop-up businesses, generally short-term, temporary operations sometimes but not always affiliated with an existing business.
Fortuin felt that requiring pop-ups to obtain a conditional-use permit was pointless since the process takes too long to complete and can’t react to sudden, fleeting opportunities. The topic will be revisited, with input from Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Leslie Lewis.
The mobility discussion focused on parking issues.
Shada noted that Manitou’s two biggest attractions are the Cog Railway and the Incline and that Manitou should not want two large parking lots or many little ones. He stressed the need to make “trolling” for parking unattractive.
Mobility recommendations include developing parking districts, implementing parking credits and reductions to decrease the impact of off-street parking for areas peripheral to downtown, and increasing bicycle parking and shared parking to accommodate different peak usages in the same areas.
The Planning Commission’s natural hazards report included recommendations for adding maximum impervious surface of 60 percent for residential lots not less than 2.5 acres in area and a 75 percent maximum for commercial lots, reducing the allowed development of natural slopes from 30 percent to 25 percent grades and requiring a professional report for proposed developments on slopes greater than 10 percent.
Shada reported that a driveway under construction on Lovers Lane near the Wichita lot now has 15-foot-high walls and he doubted that the builder had cleared the project at City Hall. He asked staff to look into it.
Councilors Julie Wolfe and Chandler told council that people in their neighborhoods are very upset by speeding traffic. They said that their neighbors would oppose a large, blinking, light-polluting sign.
Deputy City Administrator Roy Chaney outlined various options and considerations for slowing traffic in those neighborhoods.
In answer to Wolfe’s question, City Administrator Denise Howell said that Planning Director Christine Lowenberg is leaving and initially will be replaced by an interim director.
ELECTION TIMELINE
Friday, Aug. 27 — Last day nomination petition signatures may be amended, corrected or replaced, if the city clerk determines them to be insufficient;
Wednesday, Sept. 1 — City clerk will draw lots for the order in which candidate’s names will appear on the ballot;
Friday, Sept. 3 — Last day to finalize the city’s ballot and certify contents to the El Paso County Election Office;
Monday, Oct. 11 — First day mail ballots may be sent to registered electors and made available at the El Paso County Election Office;
Tuesday, Oct. 12 — Campaign report due to city clerk (covers period through Oct. 7); and
Tuesday, Nov. 2 — Election Day.
Information: www.manitouspringsgov.com/156/_Elections-2021.