Carbondale’s Board of Trustees regular meeting on Feb. 11 concluded with an executive session “for the purpose of the town manager’s annual performance review.” Early the next morning, an official Town of Carbondale press release was sent from Town Manager Lauren Gister stating: “After careful consideration and reflection, I have decided that it is time for me to retire as Carbondale’s town manager.” Gister’s final day of work will be in early June, the press release noted. “This decision has been a difficult one, as my time in Carbondale has been an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling chapter in my life.” Her tenure as Carbondale’s town manager began three years ago in January of 2022.
Prior to the executive session, the contents of which are not public, the trustees — all of whom were present — worked through a fairly standard agenda.
First off, two items were pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion. Other consent agenda items included accounts payable as well as a memo detailing meeting procedures and notification protocols. Trustee Jess Robison wished to voice disapproval for required inspections for new short-term rental licenses. Otherwise, the short-term rental ordinance revisions passed with support from the other trustees.
An update on ongoing projects and the implementation matrix was also pulled from the consent agenda. Trustee Ross Kribbs wished for it to be memorialized that the pool project should draw from the Town’s dedicated recreation tax over the general fund as much as possible. “Our priority as a board going forward is Highway 133,” he declared. Gister assured the discussion by trustees will be documented in meeting minutes. Trustee Colin Laird then praised staff for the number of projects they are working through and asked they be tied to long-term plans online so the general public understands all that’s being done. “This community is doing an awful lot,” he said. “The more we can share that, the better.”
During trustee updates, Christina Montemayor said that the Latino Advisory Board met on Feb. 3 and discussed transportation, accessibility and the Carbondale Police Department’s stance on neither working with nor interfering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Chris Hassig commended Carbondale Arts for making winter First Fridays “a little more happening” and gave tribute to Casey Piscura, “a really genuine and righteous person fighting for good in this world” who took his own life on Feb. 2. Hassig called the loss “shocking and devastating.”
Official action items included acceptance of public infrastructure for the Roaring Fork School District’s Meadowood employee housing project along with a security reduction from $290,938 to $29,094. According to Bohmfalk, who works for the school district and recused himself from the vote, there have been some issues with heat pumps and cold units and “it’s good to be a little cautious about these things still.”
Next, trustees received two updates, first from Andrew Michaelson with Artspace about Town Center financing and then with Police Chief Kirk Wilson. The Artspace discussion leaned toward exploring Town Center funding outside the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and its restrictions. Hassig floated that diversifying the project into blocks could be advantageous, pursuing LIHTC funding for a portion of the overall project and allowing employers to purchase units on another portion. Michaelson will return in March with new models for higher income limits and rents to help the Town afford to build the project.
Chief Wilson kicked off his update stating, “Thank you for allowing me to come before you … I liken it to prom, there’s nervous anticipation before prom, but once prom starts, it’s just a dance.” He proceeded with detailed descriptions of his department’s organizational chart, scheduling, the gear officers carry, policies for working with other agencies, alert notifications and more. He said that Sergeant Ciara Chacon is working a 12-day straight stint of 12-hour shifts to cover for people on vacation, stating, “It’s just what we do.”
Ahead of the executive session, trustees briefly touched on Carbondale’s summer concert series. According to her research, Gister revealed the Town of Basalt budgets $20,000 per concert and Snowmass Village allocates some $35,000, whereas Carbondale has historically had community concerts at less than $3,500 each including non-municipal funding.
It was decided that Ralph Pitt and Steve Standiford should be empowered to continue the series another year with $6,480 allocated from the Town’s budget and leniency on the number of concerts scheduled. Trustees affirmed they’d prefer to see two concerts with strong marketing over four or five sparsely attended ones. Hassig volunteered his artistic skills toward creating a poster.
