All trustees minus Erica Sparhawk were present at the Feb. 13 meeting.
The primary topic was Carbondale’s new pool, which now has a schematic design projecting a footprint that expands further south into Sopris Park than the current pool. First, trustees breezed through the consent agenda: liquor license renewals; a special liquor license; a renewal of the town manager’s employment contract; and an intergovernmental agreement with Garfield County for municipal election services.
During public comments, Richard Vottero spoke about a book he found at Carl’s Pharmacy while attending a Dark Skies meeting in Aspen. The book honors the Civilian Conservation Corp, responsible for building the Forest Service buildings slated for demolition. He concluded, “The Dark Skies program was excellent; I want to participate in bringing some dark skies to Carbondale.”
Next, Dave Johnson spoke about “the migrant situation,” expressing relief about the “tone of recent conversations regarding end goals.” He said that immigration is the number one contributing factor to a nationwide housing shortage and carries other sustainability challenges. “No one can blame immigrants for coming here,” he said, but claimed the federal government is bankrupting cities across the country and jeopardizing national security by not controlling the border.
During trustee comments, Marty Silverstein responded to Vottero, pointing out that “whatever [Dark Skies] regulations we have” are thanks to Frosty Merriott’s efforts. Chris Hassig added, “I would be curious in the future to see what we can do more proactively [to] help some of our most light polluting businesses be retrofitted.”
Lani Kitching said the state’s wolf migration map released in January is misleading because highlighted areas depict entire watersheds. As of now, no wolves have been tracked south of I-70, she said. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a form on their website to report wolf sightings.
Kitching stated that the Crystal River Wild and Scenic and Other Alternatives work could take another three to five years. As for the mineral lease withdrawal on the Thompson Divide, there has been a pause in progress “due in part to personnel transitions with the Forest Service staff.”
Lastly, she relayed a request to designate the hybrid vehicle parking spaces at City Market as parking for seniors as well.
Colin Laird announced that the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) is working with Senator Dylan Roberts and Representative Elizabeth Velasco to sponsor a bill allowing for real estate transfer fees, rather than a tax.
Mayor Ben Bohmfalk said he attended a Garfield Clean Energy meeting in which Jon Fox-Rubin gave an update about the potential geothermal district in Carbondale, which is still in the feasibility study stage. Bohmfalk also asked if the board would be interested in adjusting pay for trustees and the mayor following the next election, so it “would not apply to any of us.” There was agreement that the topic should be explored during a future meeting.
Next, Town Manager Lauren Gister gave updates. She pointed out that Recovery Resources and their staff were interviewing individual newcomers and completing a computerized intake “to a system that can speak across regions.” Therefore, “people who were registered in Denver can be followed to see where they went.” She said they’re finalizing a proposed timeline for the drawdown of shelters and determining how to direct people “to what services may or may not be available.” Next week’s work session will focus on next steps.
Regarding the sidewalk closure fronting the Forest Service, “there are a lot of misunderstandings.” She said the closures were enacted to protect pedestrians. The sidewalk will be completely removed for excavation and replaced once the new building is erected.
“Likely within the next month,” two trenches will be cut across the road for utilities, which will temporarily reroute vehicular traffic. “The pool project will also require closure of the sidewalk and relocation of the bus stop,” she informed.
RFTA
The first action item of the evening involved Carbondale signing onto a letter of support for a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority grant application to Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The project seeking funds would find a new alignment for VelociRFTA Bus Rapid Transit services through Glenwood Springs. This may involve rerouting the bike trail in Glenwood Springs off the old Rio Grande railroad grade but could “possibly make [for a] more attractive user experience [for cyclists],” RFTA planner Jason White told trustees. Approval was easily granted.
UDC amendment
Next, Planning Director Jared Barnes presented a proposed change to the Unified Development Code (UDC) involving the definition of “impervious lot coverage.” He said this has been an area of confusion and difficulty for staff, given certain exemptions like large roof overhangs and outdoor living space. Desiring to be more clear in the UDC for more predictable outcomes, the change makes calculations easier without changing the percentage requirements.
Barnes explained that this code most often affects River Valley Ranch where a lot of applications seek to maximize their impervious lot coverage, given the value of real estate. Without this rule, the size of those houses would likely grow. The changes were unanimously approved.
Aquatics facility
The meeting concluded with an update from the aquatics facility design team. Andi Korber, principal at Land+Shelter, presented a schematic design which has gone out for pricing. This includes a list of features that can be cut to meet the Town’s budget. After meeting with the tree board, it was determined that some trees must be removed. Saving one specific tree would have added half a million dollars to a budget that already exceeds $11 million. This was considered “a nonstarter.” Korber said, “We are staying the course” based on no guarantee the tree could be saved, anyway.
Silverstein suggested the project be “extremely transparent” about that with the public.
Laird pointed out that the new pool design extends further into Sopris Park than the current pool’s footprint, with the fence coming right up to the miners memorial. He suggested minimizing expansion into Sopris Park.
“Our hope is, best case scenario, [to] have the pool open in July of ’25 or beginning of August,” Korber stated.
111 Main Street
By James Steindler
Contributing Editor
On Thursday, Feb. 8, the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a combined application for a food truck court on a small parcel of land at the far east end of Main Street which would be annexed into town limits. The meeting was continued to Feb. 22, when the commission should reach recommendations on land use changes and annexation.
When it comes to annexation, Colorado highly regulates the process. On Jan. 9, it was determined that the parcel is eligible for annexation. The state requires that a hearing be set between 30 and 60 days from that time.
An annexation hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27 in front of the trustees, but it’s likely that meeting will be continued to March 26, so the board can consider the entire combined application.