Beginning Monday, Aug. 18, work will begin on a Highway 133 pedestrian crossing with a detour simultaneously rerouting north and southbound traffic for about a month. The new crossing, located at Nieslanik Avenue — from the Dollar Tree to FirstBank, approximately — was unanimously approved during the regular Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 12.
But first, trustees approved a consent agenda including meeting minutes, a special event liquor license for the senior prom at Sopris Lodge on Aug. 28, a liquor license renewal for Carbondale Beer Works and accounts payable.
During public comments, two 8th Street residents expressed frustrations with a Comcast fiber internet project that’s stalled. “I’m not sure why it’s taken us eight months to hopefully get a contractor that’s acceptable,” said one. “Please help.”
Ed Buchman, owner of 99 Main Street, then stood to address his grievances. “We’ve been trying to develop this property for 15 to 18 years,” he said, requesting a meeting “so we can present our case” for being annexed into city limits so affordable homes can be built. “From the staff we just get, ‘no,’” he said.
Mayor Ben Bohmfalk later explained he’s spoken with Buchman several times and “staff has given him a path forward” which he hasn’t followed. Bohmfalk asked that the new town manager, Ryan Hyland, circle back on the 8th Street Comcast problem to assure it isn’t being held up on the Town’s end.
During trustee comments, kudos were given for local firefighters and another successful Mountain Fair. Trustee Ross Kribbs noted, “I like to take the opportunity to address public commenters” and encouraged those folks to “stick around” rather than leaving immediately. “Anytime someone says, ‘we can’t get anywhere,’ it’s certainly concerning,” he said.
Mobile home parks
Following the acceptance of an offer by residents of two mobile home parks to purchase the land beneath their homes, West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition Executive Director April Long returned to dig into conditions tied to the $1 million “loan” trustees approved in June toward the purchase.
Regarding conditions that all parties agree upon, Trustee Colin Laird said, “The good news is everybody has the same goals: affordability, affordability, affordability.”
Carbondale, along with other municipalities, counties and businesses helped secure $14 million for the purchase of two parks for a total of $42 million. ROC Capital, working with the nonprofit Thistle, will lend all the money necessary, however $20 million in donations is needed to keep lot rents stable. Nearly 500 people live in these parks, including 150 children, and most are earning below the area median income.
“We don’t anticipate actually ever getting paid back,” Bohmfalk clarified.
“The only payback would be if [the residents] completely are in absolute, utter non-compliance with this deed-restriction,” said Long, calling it “our last claw into enforcement.”
Nieslanik crossing and 133 detour
Next, Public Works Director Kevin Schorzman brought forth a contract with Bryan Construction for the installation of a new Highway 133 pedestrian crossing at $306,962. The Town budgeted $500,000 for the crossing and directed staff to prioritize it based on findings in the Town-commissioned Mobility & Access Plan (adopted earlier this year) and a separate transportation study conducted by the Age-Friendly Carbondale group.
Bryan Construction is also involved with the ANB Bank project south of the City Market fueling station, which Schorzman called “an ideal situation” because both will require Highway 133 closures and can be done in concert. Because asphalt plants close in October, and only one bid on the project was received, work must begin as soon as possible. This will necessitate a major closure of Highway 133 in both directions, from the roundabout to the Dollar Tree.
“This is not going to be easy,” emphasized Schorzman. “I was just trying to be realistic with folks [regarding the four-week timeline] and not sell them a Chihuahua and deliver a Great Dane.”
Trustee Jess Robison expressed concerns with the detour aligning with the start of the school year, while acknowledging the project shouldn’t be pushed to next year. Because the bid came in under budget, she suggested offering the contractor financial incentives to expedite the project, by working weekends and nights, for example.
Dave Eisenson, owner of Plosky’s Deli, joined the meeting via Zoom to inform trustees he anticipates losing up to $80,000 in revenue due to the way this detour will impact parking at his business.
Trustees unanimously approved the contract and work will begin Monday, Aug. 18. Staff was directed to preserve as much parking as possible on Colorado Avenue and 12th Street and to offer Bryan Construction more money to expedite their work, within budget.
In other news…
The meeting continued with approval of a new body worn cameras system for the police department with LensLock, Inc. for $90,520 over five years. Police Chief Kirk Wilson called it “far superior” to the old system being replaced.
Two new liquor licenses were approved. The first for Townline, the new food truck court at east Main anticipated to open in November. The second for Dos Gingos, which owner Julie Oldham said would provide flexibility for hosting events with local businesses and nonprofits.
Lastly, trustees received an update on the Aquatics Center. A mock-up wall has been installed on the corner of the property to show off how the glass-brick feature will look and trustees were invited to see it illuminated after their meeting. A $100,000 grant from CORE (along with $500,000 from Garfield County, $100,000 from Pitkin County and $348,000 from Colorado Energy Office) brought fundraising past the minimum goal, but the capital campaign will continue to offset appropriations from the Town’s reserves.
