Trustees approved a final draft of their 2026 budget at the Dec. 9 meeting which reinstates Park and Rec amenities previously removed. But first, they approved a consent agenda consisting of meeting minutes, accounts payable, a snow removal agreement with Excavation Services and appointment of Brenda Rivera to the Latino Advisory Board.
During trustee comments, Chris Hassig remarked on how the Rio Grande Trail tends to accumulate snow and ice over weekends and requested this be addressed. He also commented on how in-town light pollution diminished the Northern Lights viewing experience and said Carbondale made a YouTuber’s list for top places in the nation in terms of storage square footage per capita. He suggested focusing there to bolster public funds.
Trustee Christina Montemayor summarized a recent Latino Advisory Board meeting which touched on the Downtowner service now operating under the Ride Roaring Fork app. This new app allows users to summon a Downtowner transportation van in Carbondale, Basalt, Glenwood Springs and Aspen.
Town Attorney Mark Hamilton announced that former Town Manager Jay Harrington, now working for Routt County, was declared County Manager of The Year by Colorado Counties Inc.
The first big item on the agenda involved a Town Center update. Artspace President and CEO Will Law and project director Andrew Michaelson joined in-person to formally conclude their organization’s work with the Town. Law assured that Artspace will remain a resource as the Town seeks to develop donated parcels surrounding the Thunder River Theatre.
“Part of this is the timing dynamic around resources,” he said, explaining how national resources for affordable housing have been gutted on the national and state levels. “I don’t see that changing in the next three years,” he added. “There’s nothing inherently wrong with your zoning, it just didn’t fit in a box the state regulatory environment created for us to access those funds.”
Michaelson emphasized that the design documents, created with robust community outreach, will remain an adaptable template as the Town proceeds. “I absolutely don’t think scrapping those drawings would be useful to anybody,” he said. It was acknowledged that the site is inherently constrained.
Next, two dozen residents of the Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park, consisting of 98 lots and situated halfway between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, asked the Trustees for a commitment of $250,000 or more toward acquiring their park for $26 million, plus $10,000 to help with legal representation. Carbondale gave $1.1 million toward helping to acquire two other parks earlier this year.
“In the context of the discussion we just had about the Town Center,” said Hassig, “I’m less inclined to try to hold my breath around saving too much money for building things if we can immediately help people.” He proposed pledging $500,000 if the Cavern Springs residents can raise the remaining funds.
“I’m always more in favor of preserving affordability than trying to create it,” said Trustee Jess Robison. “It’s less expensive [and] we keep the people here who have been invested in our community.”
With the exception of Mayor Ben Bohmfalk, who also voted against $1.1 million for the other parks, trustees were in favor of pledging $500,000. Bohmfalk joined the rest of the board for unanimous approval of an immediate $10,000 to help with legal representation. Trustee Erica Sparhawk suggested formulating a plan for the remaining two trailer parks closest to Carbondale in case those also go on the market.
Trustees then granted a liquor license to the Crystal Theatre Alliance. Executive Director Kate Schwerin explained that most independent, nonprofit movie theaters depend on this option to stay viable. Revisions to licensing procedures were also approved, expediting the process for local businesses by enabling staff to issue certain licenses.
Lastly, trustees turned their focus back to the 2026 budget. They began by reconsidering certain Park and Rec amenities — new volleyball sand and pickleball shade and bleachers — removed from the budget by a split vote in November. Parks and Rec Director Eric Brendlinger answered questions and several volleyball enthusiasts including coach (and geologist) Laird Little made their case.
“Once we put this sand in,” promised Little, “all you gotta do is rake it and cut the grass and that sand will last 100 years.”
All trustees voted in favor of the new sand for $30,000. All minus Trustee Ross Kribbs voted to reinstate the $80,000 for shade and bleachers at the pickleball courts. Kribbs argued for a deeper conversation around appropriations from the general fund, considering other Town boards and commissions would benefit from similar sums of money to elevate their work. That conversation was scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026.
With those additions back into the proposed 2026 budget, trustees gave unanimous approval. There will be one more regular meeting on Dec. 16 to conclude 2025 business.