“I move that we postpone this item until our meeting on May 17th, 2022. During the postponement, staff is directed to have architectural drawings prepared by a licensed architect which reflect the proposals depicted in the neighborhood model.
“The architect is also directed to present plausible floor plans, elevation views and conceptual cost analysis, on par with those that were presented in November 2021.
“In addition, staff is also directed to obtain an updated cost analysis of the November 2021 drawing, because costs may have changed since November. This will facilitate a cost comparison between the architectural drawings.
“Staff is also directed to coordinate an in-person community engagement which allows the public to compare and contrast the neighborhood model vs the November 2021 plan.”
It is our opinion that, when Councilor Michelle Whetherhult made this motion at the April 5 City Council meeting, she, along with the councilors who voted to support the motion, knowingly and deliberately obstructed the progress of the Carnegie Library project.
This is not an overblown or unreasonable conclusion. It was painfully obvious to everyone who was in attendance that evening that the motion was coordinated and deliberately designed to derail the Carnegie project.
The above-mentioned directions to staff will result in months of delay and additional costs that could reach in excess of $100,000. I agree with Councilor Nancy Fortuin that, in approving this motion, a new process has been overlaid on an existing process that has already proven to be very effective.
For the past 18 months, the Preserve and Renew Our Carnegie Library Task Force has worked in cooperation and collaboration with the city and the Pikes Peak Library District to finally achieve a decades-old goal: to restore, expand and make Manitou’s beloved Carnegie building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The task force has, upon City Council’s request, made quarterly progress reports. They have also met with the city’s financial adviser, finance director, the city administrator and a capital campaign consultant to create a strategic plan and determine potential funding opportunities for the project.
Their work has not been, as Councilor John Shada repeatedly stated, a “scheme,” but a concerted and prolonged endeavor by a dedicated group of individuals.
Despite claims to the contrary, at every point during this process of designing the library addition, the public has repeatedly been engaged, and their comments, objections and feedback considered at every turn.
That has also been the practice over the past 20-plus years, as this latest architectural design is the third such effort. A design was approved in 2010 and a second design was approved in 2015. Community engagement is an ongoing part of the process.
The motion also ignored the fact that there is no longer a need to “compare and contrast the neighborhood model and the November 2021 plan.” A representative from the task force recently met with the “neighborhood” group, and achieved consensus on minor architectural revisions.
As task force chair Rob Danin repeatedly corrected Whetherhult, the design is now in the process of merging. However, Whetherhult was unable to deviate from her assigned script.
Manitou’s citizens should be asking Councilors Shada, Wolfe and Chandler if they believe that Manitou deserves a Carnegie that will serve for the next 100 years. They claim that they do support the library but, at this point, their actions are in direct contradiction to their words.
Without a financial commitment from the city, the task force cannot move forward with the pursuit of major grants to help fund the library renovation.
Every day that these councilors continue to obstruct the process increases the likelihood that the project will die on the vine and our beloved Carnegie will (once again) not receive the attention and work that it deserves.
As the can is once more kicked down the road, the people of Manitou will be the ones who lose.