April 28, 2022 Vol. 21, No. 23 Serving Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City and Lower Ute Pass
$100
Iron Man
Photo by Rhonda Van Pelt
Kevin French, Manitou Springs’ lead maintenance worker, carefully places cast-iron pieces believed to be parts of stoves from the Colorado Midland Railroad. He was operating the forklift last week behind the Manitou Springs Heritage Center. Michael Maio, MSHC board president, said the center’s volunteers are planning an open-air display to be part of the city’s 150th anniversary celebration.
City Council reviews budget, shuttle service during work session By Marcus Hill Manitou Springs City Council members agreed during a work session on Tuesday, April 26, to postpone a decision on a shuttle purchase program with Gray Line until they can review a contract regarding the process. Dole Grebenik, Manitou Springs city engineer, hopes to provide an electric shuttle service for transportation needs such as for the Incline, shopping, dining and the Cog Railway. Grebenik also said the shuttle would “meet many needs of the community in residents, employees and tourists.” The shuttle would comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and hold approximately 28 passengers. Currently, Manitou’s free shuttles can hold around 40 passengers for short jaunts through the city. “If we want to have this mobility be effective, it needs to be easy,” Grebenik said. “It needs to make sense. … it needs to be an obvious Manitou transit vehicle, it needs to be a good experience. … It’s encouraging because we can control the experience.” Grebenik also spoke about the reliability of electric vehicles, noting their low maintenance. “They last for 300,000 miles … they’re a low cost to own and operate,” he said. Grebenik did not have the project’s exact costs and said he hopes Gray Line, the potential provider of the vehicles, will have the contracts soon. “We would like to go ahead and sign a contract with Gray Line if the pricing works and the terms work,” Grebenik said. “Then we’d run one of (the electric vehicles and) potentially a second one. …We would like to do it sooner rather than later before we get busy, so we would have time to vet it, understand it, tweak and modify and get reliable route data.” Councilor Julie Wolfe asked how Gray Line services would be paid for this summer.
See COUNCIL/page 3
Coronavirus cases continue to decline in El Paso County El Paso County has experienced 576 COVID-19 cases, eight hospitalizations and two coronavirus-related deaths from Tuesday, April 12, to Tuesday, April 26. According to the El Paso County Public Health Department, the county has seen 176,389 cases, 7,506 hospitalizations and 1,636 deaths since March 1, 2020.
So far this year, case numbers peaked at 2,369 on Jan. 14, but have steadily declined since then. Hospitalizations have also declined from a peak of 42 on Jan. 17. People aged 60 to 69 lead all other groups with 1,507 hospitalizations since the pandemic began here. People in the 80- to 89-year-old group account for 443 deaths.
El Paso County is fourth on the Colorado county list of deaths per 100,000 people, with 223. The health department no longer posts statistics by ZIP code. For information on tests: www.elpasocounty health.org/covid-19-testing-information. For vaccine information: www.elpasocountyhealth. org/how-can-i-get-a-vaccine.
INSIDE MORE VIEWPOINTS ABOUT DISTRICT 14............... PAGES 4, 5 OCC SHOP IS OWNER’S DREAM COME TRUE..............PAGE 8 ATHLETES FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS.............. PAGES 10, 11