This week, Basalt Town Council convened to discuss some hopeful news for young families regarding new childcare centers coming to Basalt within the next few years.
Before the meeting, the council held a brief work session during which Planning Director Michelle Thibeault provided a quick update regarding the development status of some of the Town’s properties. Designated “2E,” the town’s parcel across from TACAW recently received a $200,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to aid in creating a mixed-use development. In accordance with the master plan, the town intends to use the property for a childcare center as well as affordable housing. A request for proposal will likely be posted sometime in late spring. However, Willits residents should not expect a local childcare center coming online until “2025 at best.”
At Stott’s Mill, however, construction is expected to begin much sooner, starting with the Blue Lake Preschool in April. With a building permit coming in this week, Thibeault said the team is hopeful that the four-classroom preschool will be up and running by September. Both the Stott’s Mill and 2E childcare centers are being developed in partnership with Blue Lake Preschool in Carbondale.
Later this year, the Town intends to develop some housing at Stott’s. Basalt owns four lots in the area, but will only be developing two of them this year, raising “highly energy efficient prefabricated homes” on the narrow lots to help provide housing specifically for recruiting and retaining Town employees.
Councilor Elyse Hottel briefly touched on the Community Office for Resource Efficiency’s (CORE) Coal Basin Methane Project. Despite being long abandoned, the coal mines above Redstone are venting large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. After collecting data in 2023, CORE now plans to present both its findings and possible mitigation measures on Tuesday, March 26, from 6 to 8pm at the Basalt Regional Library, and at the Church at Redstone on April 4 — also at 6pm.
Town arborist Chris Beiser gave a brief presentation laying out some wildfire mitigation strategies for the next few years, particularly north of Ridge Road on Basalt Mountain. While the town has designated five acres of the pinyon-juniper woodlands as open space and can manage it independently, the surrounding 80 acres are owned by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). Because of that, Beiser stated that, for the next five years, the town will be working with the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) of Colorado State University to manage the landscape.
Matthew Mastalir presented on behalf of CSFS, stating that treatment will consist of both thinning out the woodlands and restoring sagebrush landscapes being encroached upon by pinyon and juniper.
Beiser also said that thinning out the pinyon forests will not only help mitigate wildfire but assist in some pinyon ips problems springing up on Basalt Mountain. Although it is a native species, the ips (a small, brown, cylindrical beetle) has become responsible for significant tree mortality across Colorado. Environmental stressors — such as continued drought periods or local ecological shifts caused by recent wildfire — can render trees susceptible to the ips, which bores into bark and can bring down mature pinyons within a year.
Thinning out trees on Basalt Mountain, especially stressed and dying trees which pose the greatest fire risk, can help ensure that the ips population is reduced and give uninfested trees a better chance of survival.
CSFS is currently waiting to hear back from CPW about its thoughts on the mitigation plan. This spring and summer, CSFS will engage with partners and the community to create a plan. After applying for grant funding in the fall, implementation may begin this winter depending on whether that funding is secured. After that, a five-year long project will be set to begin.
In construction news, the Town also announced that Frying Pan Road will only have one lane open for three weeks beginning March 18 for the emergency repair of a failing retaining wall. Traffic signals will be used to direct traffic, but those headed in the direction of Ruedi should expect delays.