After a lengthy process, Carbondale adopted long overdue code amendments with a few final adjustments on Tuesday night, April 8. All trustees were in attendance.
But first, a proclamation was read declaring April as Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month in 2025. A rapidly approved consent agenda included meeting minutes, license renewals for New York Pizza and Sopris Liquor & Wine and accounts payable.
During general public comments, Beth Krasemann, a teacher at Colorado Rocky Mountain School, spoke to the value of immigrants to our society. To the cheers of a couple dozen students in attendance, Krasemann asked Carbondale to thank Rep. Elizabeth Velasco for sponsoring a bill to protect immigrants’ civil rights and urge Sen. Marc Catlin to support it.
Then, a self-described “public lands user” from Basalt commented on the environmental impacts of pollution beneath the 133 bridge from people illegally camping. “I agree with everything [Krasemann] said,” he elaborated, “but [the trash] is affecting the amount of empathy and compassion I have toward the immigrant community and other homeless people who are not immigrants.”
During trustee reports, Ross Kribbs relayed public feedback about the 72-hour parking limit on public streets, suggesting that rule be revisited. Colin Laird addressed the mobile home park behind Honey Butter going up for sale. He reported that roughly 80 people attended a meeting regarding resident ownership. Chris Hassig suggested the Town be ready to assist however appropriate, if that includes annexing the property, for example. Christina Montemayor reported that the Latino Advisory Board has a new member. And Mayor Ben Bohmfalk gave a brief update about the process to hire a new town manager, stating, “the pay range is appropriate and attracting high-quality applicants.” The application window closes April 25.
During outgoing Town Manager Lauren Gister’s update, she said the police chief is looking at ordinances that are “either out of date or controversial” and maybe needing adjustment on April 18. She also noted that the Town has two trailers in the mobile home park being used for employee housing and that municipal managers from throughout the Valley are talking about what may be appropriate to assist both mobile home parks on the market.
Holy Cross Energy CEO and President Bryan Hannegan, joined by Lauren Suhrbier representing Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER), then addressed the trustees regarding geothermal energy. Despite earning federal funds for a feasibility study, Carbondale’s aspirational geothermal project at the Third Street Center did not receive funding for implementation. Hannegan stated that Holy Cross, a member-owned electric cooperative, provided 75% carbon-free energy in 2024 and hit 90% in October. As they work toward 100% they are interested in partnering with Carbondale to establish a geothermal network should the opportunity arise.
Trustees then met with Parks and Rec Director Eric Brendlinger and Joe Farstad, mountain region vice president at Wember, for a monthly report on the aquatics center construction and financing. Wember was contracted as the Town’s owner’s representative on the project and has faced scrutiny from the trustees. This meeting was no different, with Trustee Jess Robison expressing confusion and dismay with how the finances are being tracked.
According to Brendlinger, fundraising has $840,000 left to make the budget, with $330,000 in grant requests awaiting response and the potential for direct-pay tax credits for the all-electric facility once it’s built. Robison scrutinized a $354,000 change order that did not come before the trustees in alignment with a procurement policy that states they should review any change order over $100,000. Brendlinger accepted responsibility, explaining, “We had the blinders on.”
“I think blinders are not appropriate in this project or any,” Kribbs responded. “As an elected board, people have placed in us the responsibility to take a look at those things.”
After a quick break, the trustees reviewed a resolution and ordinance adopting updated codes. Building Official Aaron Kuhns began by substantiating his qualifications with a brief life story. He answered a few questions from trustees then the floor was opened for public comments. Fred Malo reiterated 350 Roaring Fork’s desire to see no gas outlets in new construction, to which Kuhns replied, provisions were added that disincentivize gas.
Jack Wheeler expressed several concerns, specifically around new requirements for an architect stamp on residential construction, which he said would unnecessarily “create a burden on people” by making certain home projects unaffordable. He also thought the property management code should not be adopted because it would prevent people from addressing emergency situations, like replacing a toilet, without a permit.
Kuhns explained that the professional design requirement was developed to match Glenwood Springs and Basalt more closely, and the property management piece is mainly to assure failing appliances are not replaced with less efficient ones.
After some back and forth, the trustees narrowed down on a motion approving the ordinance with some changes: removing the property maintenance code; allowing more than one accessory structure less than 120 square feet and up to 10 feet “not on a permanent foundation;” allowing for adding radiant heat in garages on an existing gas system; and not requiring an architect stamp on single-family home and renovation projects. The new codes will apply to projects submitted after June 31. Adoption was unanimously approved.
Suhrbier returned along with Zuleika Pevec for a presentation by CLEER on work completed in 2024 and review of a work plan for 2025 which includes looking at a multi-county electric vehicle car share program. Given the late hour, it was suggested CLEER return at another time to dial in on ideas like making home energy assessments mandatory based on some trigger and incentivizing electrification more in future code updates.
Lastly, per an intergovernmental agreement with Garfield County, Carbondale was asked to comment on a major development application: Harvest Roaring Fork PUD, proposing up to 1,500 dwelling units and a hotel on 283 acres across Highway 82 from Cattle Creek. For comparison, Carbondale’s municipal boundaries are roughly four times the size and include 2,633 households. Town Planning Director Jared Barnes prepared a letter. Mayor Bohmfalk stipulated, “We’re not the approval body,” and asked not to get into a philosophical discussion of individual opinions but comment on how effectively Barnes applied Carbondale’s guiding documents in the letter.
Hassig insisted on digging in, considering whether water rights were appropriately exercised in the 30 years since topsoil was scraped from the land. He also contended that Willits, a comparable project, has the worst traffic in the Valley, and treating Highway 82 as a local street will have big impacts on commuters to and from Carbondale. Solely providing technical input, he said, “is implicit endorsement of this project, which I think needs to go back to the drawing board.”
Gister suggested adding a general comment along the lines of: “Without substantial changes, Carbondale would have real concerns about the size and scope of this project.”
