On Wednesday, March 22, the Town of Basalt held a pair of work sessions for Midland Avenue business owners and residents to inform them of the current plan for Phase II of the Streetscape Project, answer questions about the potential process and receive feedback for creative solutions to keep businesses afloat for what may be a tumultuous summer.
The meeting was led by Mitzi Rapkin, a communications consultant employed by Basalt specifically for the Streetscape Project. Rapkin presented how Midland Ave will look upon completion, stating that, first and foremost, parking on central Midland Ave would be converted into parallel spaces, the Midland Spur’s increased spaces would compensate for this loss. Additionally, although the northern sidewalk would be significantly expanded for outdoor seating, a center lane would be preserved for business deliveries.
Construction will generally occur Monday through Saturday from 7am to 5pm, though sometimes it may continue until 7pm. Furthermore, while parking will be impossible, the sidewalks will remain open at all times, and central Midland will be reduced to one lane of flagged traffic. Noise and dust will occur as a result of construction, but representatives from Stutsman-Gerbaz, the main contractor, assured business owners of their dedication to mitigating these as much as possible, stating that many of their team are members of the Basalt community.
Currently, the Town plans on maintaining a shuttle between Midland and school parking lots. Additionally, the Sunday Market will occur this summer on the Midland Spur along with live music in Basalt River Park upon its amphitheater’s completion — the Town is hopeful that these events will stimulate commerce. Business owners suggested best times for the shuttle, as well as suggestions for other ways to keep up business like signage communicating that Midland Ave is still open.
On Tuesday, March 28, Town Council held a very brief regular meeting, largely to exchange comments about the Streetscape Project.
One member of the public reiterated concerns about how construction will affect summer revenue. Another attendee repeated that businesses strongly request construction be paused for the summer.
Mayor Bill Kane offered a response: “When you say we should be talking to the people on Midland Avenue, we talk to them every day … We are very familiar with their concerns, we know their business plans very well, we’ve had years of experience accommodating them for outdoor dining.” He continued, “It’s been a long, cooperative process, and we think we have a good sense of the community relative to Midland Avenue … We’re going to constantly evaluate the schedule, the timing, the calendar, and we’re going to do our damnedest to ensure that access is preserved.”
Councilor Glenn Drummond added that Stutsman-Gerbaz was named 2022 Contractor of the Year by national construction magazine Equipment World, emphasizing the skill and professionalism of the team.
Councilor Angela Anderson offered her own reassurances: “We’re not in an ivory tower, we’re not bureaucrats, we’re not politicians … We hear all of you that are going to be impacted, and if we could do this without impacting anyone, that’s what we would do, because we’re community members just like you guys.”
Finally, Town Manager Ryan Mahoney addressed the possibility of delaying Phase II, stating that staff has been preparing documents for putting this phase out to bid. This would allow the Town to evaluate the cost of delaying construction. “We’ve been hearing that pulling off a project is expensive, and we believe that to be true, but … we do want to see what is possible as far as the schedule.” Mahoney added that the process of receiving bids would take several weeks and if they received a cost which made delaying for a month financially favorable, it would be presented to council.
With the conclusion of public comments, Kane briefly reported on his attendance at last week’s Housing Summit in Aspen, stating that it was greatly informative, and many ideas were offered to address what he described as “the enormous deficit we have of housing.”