Manitou Springs City Council approves flood project funding and recreational pot ban extension

Flood project funding and recreational marijuana were two hot topics the Manitou Springs City Council voted on Tuesday night in the council’s final meeting OF the year.

Counselors voted unanimously to approve an agreement with Wright Water Engineering to give them $418,000 for designing, permitting and bidding for flood projects in Manitou Springs.

Wright Water assessed Manitou Springs and spotted which areas need flood mitigation.

Even though the engineering firm was granted the money, there was a clause in the contract between Wright Water and Manitou Springs that says Wright Water would not be held responsible for any damage to flood projects, but that changed.

“(Wright Water) needs to be held to the same standards as the industry is. That was the motion that was made. There needs to be wording in the contract to ensure that (Wright Water) is held to those standards and not let off the hook completely in case there is negligence,” said Councilwoman Coreen Toll.

Toll said she hopes Wright Water can be done with the flood projects before May.

City Council also voted unanimously to purchase property on 609 Canon Ave. for $10,000

“(609 Canon Ave.) is considered critical to the city’s flash flood mitigation efforts along Williams Canyon and Canon Avenue,” City Administrator Jack Benson said.

Benson said the property will have a detention basin which will keep debris out of the city’s storm water drainage channel.

Flood projects wasn’t the only topic discussed in the meeting.

City council unanimously approved to extend the recreational marijuana moratorium to Jan. 31.

Council members said the extension will give them enough time to draft an ordinance for the sale of recreational marijuana.

Council members gave a preview of the recreational marijuana ordinance, for instance, a recreational shop can’t be established within 500 feet of a private or public educational institution, sellers must be a resident of Colorado and stores can’t be open before 8 a.m. and later than 7 p.m.

City Council will meet again on Jan. 7.