Manitou Springs council narrows MOU with Crane after debate over funding language

Mayor Pro Tem Judith Chandler moved July 21 to strike two funding provisions from a revised memorandum of understanding between the City of Manitou Springs and Crane, saying an MOU should not obligate future city appropriations.

Chandler said the provisions — an ongoing city funding commitment for economic development promotion and the requirement that Crane's executive director salary be paid through Visit Manitou Springs and included in future city appropriations — should be deferred to the council's annual budget deliberations. "I think that it is inappropriate to have a funding request in an MOU that asked to fund another entity ... before the council meets for our budget discussion," Chandler said.

Barley McDonough, chair of Crane's art committee, and Ralph Rauton, vice chair of the Creative Alliance, explained the maintenance and administration fees are meant to be part of a project's budget when outside entities propose installations on city property, not an additional city appropriation. McDonough told the council: "When a project comes to Crane's art committee for approval that the funding is already in place. . . We're not looking for additional funds on top of the project. We're looking for it to be built into their budget." Rauton added that projects without funding in place would not be presented to Crane until that funding is secured.

Councilor Julie Wolf said she shared concerns about inserting long-term funding commitments into an MOU that could outlast the city's annual budget authority. "I don't think this belongs in here," Wolf said, noting an MOU could remain in force for years and that ongoing appropriations are a budget decision.

After discussion and a clarifying suggestion to reword the section describing the 3% maintenance and 2% administration provisions so it explicitly states who is responsible for including those costs in a project's budget, council approved the consent calendar with the removal of items 1.d and 1.e. The motion carried unanimously.

The council did not eliminate the maintenance requirement for public art projects; Crane leadership said the proposed language would ensure long-term maintenance and clarify who pays for it. The council directed staff to return a revised MOU with clarified language and without long-term appropriation commitments for further review.

What happens next: The revised MOU language will be redrafted to clarify funding sources for the 3%/2% maintenance and administration provisions and returned to council for consideration.