The Basalt Town Council convened for its first meeting of the year to discuss some lighting issues on the Spur, as well as the upcoming general election this April and the temporary position left open by Councillor Glenn Drummond’s resignation last fall.
Many citizens from the condominiums at 100 and 104 Midland Avenue came to the council to express their concerns with the new streetlights that have been installed on the Midland Spur as part of Phase I of the Midland Avenue Streetscape project. Since the residences in these buildings start on the second floor, the18-foot poles shine directly into many of the residents’ homes. The town has received complaints about this before and has since installed translucent shields and decreased the brightness of the streetlights, but due to the height of the streetlamps, they still shine through residents’ windows. The residents uniformly wished for the streetlights to be changed, particularly to match the shorter, antique lights on Midland.
Town Manager Ryan Mahoney led the response to concerns about the streetlights. He stated that, since residents are still voicing concerns, metal shields will be installed to totally redirect light away from buildings. However, replacing the poles themselves is cost-prohibitive. Mahoney noted the importance of lighting the Spur so folks feel safe using the new parking spaces at night.
Manager Mahoney, in his regular report, presented a grant application to the council addressed to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) in regard to its Community Business Preservation Program. This state program is designed to provide economic support to long-standing community businesses so that they can keep up with changing customer needs, and, especially in Basalt, to be able to compete with pressures from private developers seeking to modernize areas of Basalt that have remained unchanged for decades.
Despite much of the development seen around Basalt, the grant application emphasizes that the town does not wish to see any of its historic buildings or locally-run businesses replaced. The grant, if approved, can award $10,000 to $50,000 per business as well as consultation support to help preserve the businesses important to the culture of Colorado communities. Currently, the town is discussing the grant with businesses across Midland to see which is most in need of support.
The first council action item of the night was a hearing for a liquor license application for The Wild Fig at Willitt’s. Originally based in Aspen, The Wild Fig is a cozy Mediterranean restaurant looking to set up a second location at 241 Harris Street. The new location already has staff and a menu put together, and now is relying on some changes in the building to be completed before seeking to open its doors in two months. The town approved both the new menu and liquor license.
After that, Finance Director Doug Pattison presented a change to the mill levy rates in 2023, reducing the rate from 10.291 mills in 2022 to 9.071 mills in 2023. This reduction has been possible through reappraisals and a bond refund abatement, and the town hopes to maintain this reduction in the future.
Finally, with the early resignation of Glenn Drummond from the council on Nov. 30, the Council interviewed several candidates to temporarily fill the empty seat at the table until 2024’s general elections take place in April.
The first interviewee was Eric Theile, a local attorney and business owner with an office just across the street from Town Hall. Theile has been part of the town’s Financial Advisory Board since April 2022. Other interviewees included Chris Mullen, a 15-year resident of the Valley who has started an organization called Mid-Valley Visionaries for young parents in the area to get together and make changes to their community. Next was architect Ted Guy, who has significant experience with affordable housing and has previously voiced his concerns with the Midland Streetscape Project. The final applicant was Hannah Berman, a Colorado native who originally came to the Valley to join Ski Co.’s sustainability team, has worked as an election judge in Basalt the past two years and is part of the affordable housing system.
Councilors Angela Anderson and Dieter Schindler voiced their hesitations in appointing a temporary councilor, especially since many of the candidates applying for this seat are also looking to run in the general election. Councilor Anderson and Schindler argued that appointing one of these candidates now would be “putting a thumb on the scale” in their favor for the general election, and may not be fair to the other candidates.
After discussion, everyone on the council, excluding Mayor Kane and David Knight, voted to pass on filling the temporary seat in view of these hesitations. Of the applicants in this process Theile, Mullen, and Berman plan to run in the general election this spring.