Business owners near Manitou frustrated over floods
The constant rain is highlighting other problems on the city’s west side: businesses in Old Colorado City leading into Manitou Springs are being flooded out on a daily basis.
Ongoing construction in the area will eventually address the drainage issues, but business owners say the lack of communication and the slow speed of the Storm Drain Project has been infuriating.
“The water is all coming down in front of the Mecca Motel, absolutely nowhere for it to drain. We’ve been underwater, our driveway is blocked, our entrance is blocked, and the street is under water over [the] time it rains,” said Lizabeth Salinas, owner of Mecca Motel.
Salinas took video from outside her business during Monday’s dangerous flash floods and described what she saw.
“We have 36th Street here, two feet underwater, well over the curbs — three feet in some areas, all of this under water. Cars stranded here … and they didn’t know [it] was construction area so cars were drifting off in both areas until it was blocked off when I called it in,” said Salinas.
Mecca Motel is in the center of the flooding zone, leaving it with sinkholes exposing gas lines and hurting the clientele.
“In the middle of the summer, our parking lot is full. All this traffic, all these tourists, and our parking lot is empty,” said Salinas as she looked at the dozens of cars at a standstill nearby.
Salinas has been so frustrated; she’s called the contractors at Wildcat Construction numerous times, hoping for some answers. Wildcat is being contracted by the city for the drainage project.
“I have not been informed of a plan, I was laughed at over the phone,” said Salinas.
Senior project manager Zane Stultz had no answer to when the new storm drains would be fully functioning. I was directed to call their office, instead.
But the office just referred me right back to Stultz.
After Monday’s heavy storm, Salinas emailed videos of the chaos outside her business to Mayor John Suthers but got a generic response from his assistant.
“Ms. Salinas: thank you for your correspondence; I will share this with both Mayor Suthers and public works director,” said an email from Suthers’ office to Salinas.
“But I don’t know if they’ve done that yet,” said Salinas.
Until then, with more rain in the forecast, Salinas and many business owners are left frustrated and must come up with a plan themselves on how to keep their businesses afloat.
