Members of the outgoing Manitou Springs municipal government reflected on their time in office during this week’s City Council meeting. Mayor John Graham and Councilors Nancy Fortuin and Michelle Whetherhult ended their terms as newly-elected Mayor Natalie Johnson and Councilors Nate Nassif, Carey Storm, and Gloria Latimer assumed their new positions.
“At the conclusion of three terms in six years, I want to look back at some of the projects the city’s completed,” said Graham. “You have a renovated and expanded library. Your water system has undergone upgrades and improvements. An additional water tank now spells greater safety and reliability. Much of your street paving is now paid for with parking fees. We’ve worked diligently on parking and traffic. The Hiawatha Gardens lot will be getting reworked in the coming months, and we’ll finally have permanent bathrooms there. The planning and administration offices here at city hall have been remodeled and the police department has essentially been rebuilt. Our firefighters now have their own training facility. We can get an ambulance to any location in town in six minutes or less. We’ve added to our open space which means more undeveloped land is protected to be used by our citizens well into future generations. We have done a lot of fire mitigation and we realize we have a lot more to do … A new agreement with Colorado Springs Utilities will help fund undergrounding for our overhead utilities in the coming years. Extensive and overdue repairs at the swimming pool will be completed in February.
“All of this work has taken a team effort in Manitou. Nothing of merit is done by a single person. It takes a village to care for a village. City council and city staff can be proud of these results. We would do well to acknowledge their dedication and foresight along with the many volunteers who make Manitou truly a community. The care and feeding of the place we call home is often complicated, sometimes tedious, often frustrating, and yet there is no more meaningful calling than caring for the place you call home. Thanks to everyone who has had a hand in the progress we’ve made. It’s substantial.”
Councilor Fortuin reflected on the lessons she learned during her time on city council. “This is not a thankless job,” she said. “People told me that all the time. ‘It’s such a thankless job. How can you do it?’ I can tell you that I’ve been thanked over and over again and many times even just tonight. And it’s because of the many people who supported and encouraged me that I was able to continue this job because, quite honestly, there were times when I wanted to just quit. While it is not a thankless job, it is a difficult job. We are trying to do our best for our constituents and our community, often having to quickly make a decision that will have dramatic and long-lasting consequences for our community. On the other hand, this job is incredibly rewarding, and I’ve considered it to be an incredible privilege to serve a community I’ve loved for the past eight years.”
Councilor Whetherhult thanked city staff and urged residents to be considerate to the incoming government. “These last four years have been challenging,” she said. “Denise [Howell], your city administrator and staff, the staff, they do a lot. They do more than you know. They do more than what you see. Just so you know, you can reach out to them at any time and they will do what you ask. They are plowing our streets at 2 a.m. in the morning, and they took very good care of us. And I know there are frustrations with parking, the Incline, the Cog, and all the above, but think of all the tourists that keep us afloat. It’s going to be challenging with the budget. I know there’s going to be frustrations, but please, as you send those emails to your council members and to the mayor, just be kind because it’s very hard to not take it personally. I understand you guys all have a voice. I do. But remember, there is a real person on the other end of that email or phone call.”
After Johnson, Nassif, Storm, and Latimer were sworn in, their first order of business was to pass resolutions of appreciation for Graham, Fortuin, and Whetherhult’s service to Manitou Springs. Councilor Judith Chandler was voted in as the next Mayor Pro Tem, with Councilor Julie Wolfe serving as the alternate Mayor Pro Tem.
Storm was appointed as liaison to the Open Space Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Nassif was appointed as liaison to the Mobility and Parking Board and the Housing Advisory Board, and Latimer was appointed as liaison to Visit Manitou Springs and the Urban Renewal Authority Board.
