Manitou Springs City Council worked to get ahead of potential water shortages by approving a pair of ordinances during the regular meeting on Tuesday, May 17.
Councilors voted 6-1 to adopt Ordinance 1622. Ward 1 Councilor Nancy Fortuin dissented.
This ordinance “gives City Council the ability to delegate the authority to declare a water shortage and impose water restrictions to the City Administrator or the City Administrator’s delegate.”
Denise Howell, city administrator, said she recommended passing the ordinance to “allow flexibility” to city administration in emergency situations.
“This is not an emergency situation, but we are definitely in different situations than we’ve ever been with our water supply,” Howell said.
“My recommendation is to pass this emergency ordinance so you always have that authority. … Let’s say there’s a fire at the reservoir, we would need to make an immediate decision and I could not do that, nor could anybody else without calling a special meeting.
“This allows flexibility based on that situation. You do not have to take it, but it allows it to be part of the ordinance.”
The approval of Ordinance 1622 allowed council to move forward with the determination of authority for imposing restrictions on water usage.
Council voted 6-1 to adopt Resolution 1522, which will “give authority to the City Administrator for the remainder of 2022 to implement water restrictions as needed.”
At-large Councilor Judith Chandler dissented.
“This is an unprecedented year … and we’re getting things that we don’t normally see,” Howell said. “The reservoir is still spilling, so that’s a positive. But that can change quickly.”
During a City Council work session on May 10, Jeff Jones, Public Works director, said Level
1 water restrictions would begin once water stops spilling over the city’s reservoir.
Levels 2, 3 and 4 water restrictions would start once the reservoir’s water levels sank 1, 2 and 3 feet below typical levels.
The past two years, Manitou has experienced its worst water loss in recent memory with a nearly 30 percent loss in 2020 and a 27.5 percent drop in 2021.
Mayor John Graham said he felt comfortable giving city administration authority to make an emergency decision.
“I feel like we should designate this authority to the city administrator,” he said. “I think with the proposal in the ordinance that council still retains authority as well. I think Resolution 1522 is a workable approach, particularly with the situation we’re in now with water and fire conditions that change daily.”
During the hearings portion of the meeting, council voted 7-0 to postpone a second reading of an ordinance regarding restrictions on open fires and open burning until Tuesday, May 24.
“We’ll ask the police and fire chief to give us some recommendations,” Graham said. City attorney Jeff Parker “will provide us an option we can consider next week.”
During the hearing, Fire Chief John Forsett and Police Chief Bill Otto proposed receptacles for residents to dispose of cigarettes to help enforce the law.
“I cannot see how (Ordinance 1022) can be strictly enforced,” Otto said. “I think the deputy fire chief (Keith Buckmiller) said it best, ‘If we come with an approved structure with some kind of container, non-combustible with some kind of lid, I think that’s doable.’
“We’re not going to get people to quit smoking because there’s a Stage 1 or Stage 2 fire ban.”
Fortuin said that she’s for banning smoking outdoors during restrictions and believes Manitou should have already done so.
“El Paso County and Fountain have had no outdoor smoking at all,” Fortuin said. “To me the precedent is strongly set. I think I’ve made it no secret that fire terrifies me.
“I understand the argument that perhaps we’d be pushing people to places that might make it worse. But everyone is expected to sacrifice … I’ve cut down trees to mitigate around my house.”
City Council also:
• Voted 6-1 to opt out of participating in the Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance program. Mayor Pro Tem John Shada dissented.
• Voted 7-0 to approve a lease-purchase agreement for items including Manitou Springs Police Department equipment.
• Voted 6-1 for repealing and re-enacting a Manitou municipal code regarding sitting and lying on sidewalks and street performing. At-large Councilor Julie Wolfe dissented.
• Voted 6-1 for making continuous parking violations separate offenses. Ward 3 Councilor Michelle Whetherhult dissented.
• Voted 7-0 for an ordinance amending a micromobility share and other micromobility businesses and operations.
• Voted 7-0 to approve consideration of an application for a new hotel and restaurant liquor license for a business called Toasted, going into 720 Manitou Ave.
• Voted 7-0 for second reading regarding the inclusion of the Hiawatha Gardens property at 10 Old Man’s Trail and 487 El Paso Blvd. within the local historic district boundaries.
• Voted 7-0 for amending the Manitou Springs municipal code to remove the administrative minor amendment process for material change of appearance certification.
• Voted 7-0 for an ordinance amending the annual budget for fiscal year 2022.