Manitou Springs’ annual October coffin races are still on this year after city councilmembers settled some of their security concerns over the popular event.

“There’s more conversations to be had,” said Councilwoman Judith Chandler at a Juna 9 workshop on the issue.

The Emma Crawford Coffin Races, organized by Visit Manitou Springs, attracts over 10,000 people each year to the small mountain community west of Colorado Springs. Earlier this month, Manitou Springs Police Chief Bill Otto told councilmembers at a city workshop that his department’s current staff was unable to meet the festival’s safety needs.

His original ask was for 10 additional officers, probably contracted deputies from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, to supplement the 10 local police who can usually staff the races.

Some councilmembers expressed concern that even doubling the number of officers would not be sufficient, based on staffing ratios recommended by some national law enforcement groups. Whether the races would continue as scheduled this year was in question.

The council decided to reconvene on the issue on June 9. Otto came back with a revised staffing number after consulting with comparably sized Colorado towns, the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency (CIRSA) and Visit Manitou Springs.

He now says the city can get by with 25 sworn officers: seven to secure road closures and the rest to patrol the races.

“I would not recommend 25 officers if I did not think it would be adequate,” he said.

Not all of the council was reassured.

Councilwoman Julie Wolfe wanted Otto to consider the hiring of additional security guards. She also briefly discussed the possibility of discontinuing shuttle service for the races to limit attendance. According to Visit Manitou Springs Executive Director Jenna Wells, over 2,000 people were shuttled to the races last year from the Citizens Service Center.

Chandler generally discussed the size limit on events.

“Is there a tipping point where the city boundaries of Manitou Springs cannot handle more than X amount of people?” she said.

The council settled on 25 officers for the 2026 races, but Otto agreed to create an “after-action” report to inform a safety plan for all events in Manitou Springs. The City Council planned to discuss any more event guidelines later in the fall.

While Otto now has guidance to hire more officers for the races, funding is still up in the air between the city and Visit Manitou Springs. He estimated the cost of the additional staff would be about $9,600.

A third funding source also could come from the community. Over the weekend, the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade is hosting a fundraiser to support the races and the Flying Pig Farm, according to a social media post.

Meeting attendee Kathryn Hughes said the safety discussion felt “inconsistent.” She said she felt the city should foot the bill for extra security.

“I don’t know why the city can’t figure that out,” she said.