All Carbondale trustees were present at their first regular meeting of the year. It began with quick approval of the consent agenda, including renewals of marijuana, restaurant and liquor licenses, appointment of Julie Little to the Public Arts Commission (and reappointment of Michael Stout and Kris Elice), a contract for Downtowner services in 2025 and accounts payable.
The sole public comment came from Sue Zislis and concerned the Downtowner. Zislis advocated for the service but stated occasionally “unmanageable” wait times have made it somewhat unreliable in certain contexts, like arriving to an appointment. Zislis suggested a third vehicle during peak times may resolve the issue and she suggested reallocating funds from the Circulator bus to help afford it.
During trustee comments, Erica Sparhawk stated the Parks and Rec Department will begin working on their next parks master plan this year; Jess Robison said Garfield Clean Energy is now knocking on doors at trailer parks to grow participation in energy saving programs; Christina Montemayor stated the Third Street Center will have a capital campaign this year and the Latino Advisory Board is advancing; Ross Kribbs suggested “a bit of paint or very small roundabout[s]” to address speeding in neighborhoods; Colin Laird announced that the regional housing coalition’s Good Deeds program is closing on a 10th home in February; Mayor Ben Bohmfalk invited other trustees to join him for coffee at Bonfire on Friday mornings at 8am to meet with the public.
The first big agenda item of the night was an “alley vacation discussion” spurred by preliminary plans by the United Methodist Church to redevelop its property. Essentially, the Town owns a 25-foot wide alley running from 3rd Street toward 2nd Street which dead ends into private property. A ditch and a shed are currently located within that alley parcel. Opinions were mixed as to whether the Town should consider vacating this property.
Public Works Director Kevin Schorzman said, “I really don’t see that being used as a public alley” and it’s not an asset that can be sold. Kribbs said, “I’m leaning toward reserving our alleys as much as possible.” Sparhawk said she’d like to know more about how the neighbors could be impacted, if they need access to a future ADU, for example. Laird considered the public benefit that would come from exchanging the unused alley for a pedestrian access easement that connects 3rd Street to 2nd Street. As Trustee Chris Hassig pointed out, “it’s been used that way,” with a trail already beaten through. Mayor Bohmfalk moved the meeting along stating, “I don’t see any real downside to the Town of doing this [vacating the alley].”
Next, approval documents for the new Highway 133 restaurant across from Dolores Way returned for a final vote and received unanimous approval. The applicant, Chester White, then turned a question on the trustees, asking “as a developer and investor” how to get early input from trustees without jeopardizing a project by setting up expectations or causing officials to have to recuse themselves from the vote. Attorney Mark Hamilton explained that discussing ideas before submitting an application is the best way, and even requesting to present concepts at a work session. Laird mentioned that some communities have a sketch plan as part of their development approval process which could be implemented for specific projects, like those requiring a zoning change.
Lastly, trustees heard updates from WE-cycle after 17 months of bike-share service and the Downtowner after six months. Mirte Mallory, co-founder and executive director of WE-cycle, stated that 4,628 distinct riders have taken 98,561 total trips since August of 2023 in Carbondale, and one-third of those riders also used WE-cycle in other systems in the Valley. The most popular weekend was Mountain Fair with over 1,000 trips in three days. Although electric bikes make up half the fleet, 72% of all rides have been on e-bikes.
Mallory explained that the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) is supporting regional indirect operating costs for WE-cycle, including core infrastructure and replacement and the maintenance of equipment. Thanks to RFTA’s First-Last Mile Mobility grant program, 50% of the direct costs to Carbondale have been offset, however this is the final year Carbondale is eligible for those funds. Beginning next year, unless RFTA shores up additional assistance, the Town faces a cost of nearly $300,000 to continue the service.
Travis Gleason, Downtowner co-founder, then updated trustees on that rideshare program, stating 34,000 passengers have used the service since July with a “really fast uptick.” December was the top month for ridership with 7,600 passengers compared to 1,800 in the first month. The average wait time is 11 minutes, and the busiest time is 3 to 6pm. In 2025, the service will cost Carbondale $673,425.
Mayor Bohmfalk brought the conversation to priorities, considering Glenwood Springs is discussing a paid version of the Downtowner service. Gleason replied that hybrid options are possible, with free rides to and from the park and ride, for example, and others requiring payment by passengers to offset the cost to the Town.
Gleason said he “wouldn’t recommend making too many changes in the short-term” but stated they have a third vehicle in rotation and a third driver could be contracted for those peak hours with more funding. Based on feedback from public comments, Gleason said he would look into adding the option for people to rate their experience even when they cancel a ride. Another consideration was to add the high school to the service area. Students are currently walking to the fire station to receive rides. Trustees suggested allowing the Downtowner to service the high school after 4pm to avoid peak hours and Robison requested the app require people to reveal their age so that data can be collected, too.
Asked again to consider allocating Circulator funds, Laird elucidated that the Carbondale Circulator is seeing around 10,000 riders per month and has only declined in usage by 2% since last year. “If the Circulator has 10,000 rides per month, we’ve basically added 10,000 rides per month of unmet demand with WE-cycle and the Downtowner,” he stated. “I’m excited about how it’s blossomed and hopefully we can find resources to keep it going.”
With that, the meeting adjourned at exactly 8:40pm, per the agenda. “Put that in the minutes,” quipped Sparhawk.
On Jan. 28, the trustees will review the final MAP (Mobility & Access Plan) Carbondale document. All comments received by 5pm on Jan. 22 will be included in the packet. Find details at carbondaleconnect.org/map-carbondale