During this week’s meeting, Basalt Town Council reviewed the results of a public ballot feasibility survey regarding financing the construction of a new public services facility and the direction of Basalt writ large. Despite problems with the survey’s distribution, results favored financing the new building with an increased sales tax, although opinions were mixed as to how the Town is balancing increased urban density and managing affordable housing supply.
“I do not see anything in this survey that would tell me to tell you all to stop,” said communications consultant Bill Ray with regard to the development of the public services facility.
The new facility, which will house both Basalt’s Public Works and Police departments, will be located at the southern corner of Highway 82 and Original Road. A majority of responses to the survey favored the construction of the new facility.
In order to finance the construction and maintenance of the new facility, the Town of Basalt is considering a sales tax increase of 0.5%, which would bring its sales tax up to 3.5%. This increase, which would still keep Basalt’s sales tax lower than those of surrounding Roaring Fork Valley communities, would generate no more than the $1,175,000 considered necessary for this purpose. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents favored the sales tax increase.
At the previous council meeting, some members expressed concerns about the distribution of the surveys by mail. Following some investigation, it was discovered that only 38% were distributed by mail. According to Ray, all of the surveys successfully made their way to the Basalt Post Office, but most were not delivered from there. The Town of Basalt has contacted the U.S. Postal Service for an explanation, but had not received any response as of press time. The Town is currently in the midst of filing a claim with the Postal Service for reimbursement.
Once Town Staff learned of this, an extra push was made to distribute the survey digitally via text messages and by updating the Town website. In all, the Town only received 193 responses between April 29 and June 5. However, Ray stated that these are still “good numbers” and statistics worthy of consideration moving forward.
In addition to the primary question regarding the sales tax increase, the survey also asked respondents how they feel about the general direction Basalt is headed and which issues deserve the most attention.
Fifty-four percent of respondents said Basalt is on the right track, while 31% had mixed views. Overall, respondents felt that the Town was on the right track regarding the construction of new facilities, the improvements to Midland Ave and public programming. However, some respondents felt that the Town was on the wrong track regarding an increased cost of living, the loss of Basalt’s small-town character in favor of increased density, and housing strategies.
In terms of top issues facing Basalt, 35% of respondents selected availability and cost of housing, which was more than double the second most-selected issue of traffic and congestion.
Ray suggested conducting an additional survey in August to review whether opinions have changed.
Mayor David Knight said that he would like the Town to continue moving forward in its current direction regarding the development of the new public services facility.
Councilor Angele Dupre-Butchart said that she would like more public outreach and an additional survey to better capture public opinion. In addition, she stated that public messaging could also be improved so that citizens are more aware of the reasoning behind the council’s development decisions. Councilor Hannah Berman agreed and argued that more statistics will only benefit future development.
Town Staff was directed to draft an official ballot measure to put the sales tax increase to a public vote.