All trustees were present during Carbondale’s regular Board of Trustees meeting on July 9 with Ross Kribbs joining via Zoom from Scotland. The meeting concluded with the narrow passing of a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contract for the demolition of the John M. Fleet Pool, utility work and excavation for the new pool. A second GMP contract will include construction costs, with schematic designs already complete.
But first, the consent agenda was unanimously approved, including accounts payable, a two-year contract extension with Mountain Waste for residential curbside trash and recycling collection services (per a June 11 vote), a liquor license renewal for Tiny Pine Bistro and permission for La Raza to build a temporary dining patio on Main Street. During general comments from the public, several people praised the new Downtowner on-demand shuttle service and commented on the perils of Highway 133.
During general comments from trustees, Colin Laird remarked on the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition asking Aspen City Council for $450,000 toward its pilot program subsidizing home purchases for qualified applicants in exchange for deed restrictions. Chris Hassig stated that the next Bike Pedestrian and Trails Commission meeting (Aug. 5) will be a “big leap forward” in terms of the Multi-Modal Mobility and Access Plan. Town Manager Lauren Gister announced that Christy Chicoine will be departing her role as finance director the first week of August to work as chief financial officer for the Roaring Fork School District.
Action items
Two brief action items were unanimous approval of a public easement acceptance for the new storage facility along Highway 133 and a liquor license for Cowboy Up Carbondale, Aug. 23 from 6 to 10pm at 4th and Main.
Stroad 133
Age-Friendly Carbondale then presented their “Highway 133: Dangerous as Designed” findings to the trustees. The presentation began with a short video by Strong Towns America describing “stroads” — where traffic moves too fast for a business-serving street and too slow for an efficient road between destinations. “Highway 133 divides our town in half,” stated Niki Delson. “The town is not woven together, especially for more vulnerable users.”
Age-Friendly had two asks: Commit to transforming Highway 133 into an aesthetically pleasing and safe street through town and allocate sufficient budget in 2025 to create a safe pedestrian crossing at City Market by the end of the budget year. Bill Crawford, a Colorado Department of Transportation engineer, showed an example of an exceptionally safe crossing Gunnison.
Trustees were receptive to the suggestions, acknowledging the need for safe crossings and reduced speed limits, especially in the school zone from Ross Montessori to Roaring Fork High School. Jess Robison stated she’d like to see the installation of crosswalks both at City Market and Ross Montessori in next year’s budget.
Mayor Ben Bohmfalk pointed out that when Highway 133 was first built, it was a bypass, and the town gradually grew around it. “Now we’re trying to retrofit it to be a street. So I think it’s worth acknowledging that’s a dilemma, it’s not because of somebody’s bad decision making or bad planning,” he stated.
Pool vote
The final item was the aforementioned partial-GMP to begin work on the new pool and stay on schedule for completion in October 2025. Cris Silverberg, representing the town’s owner’s rep, Wember, advocated for the partial-GMP while final pricing is settled around construction costs within the next two to three weeks. Silverberg said aesthetic details could change depending on material costs, including the concrete and glass blocks in the aspirational design.
Gister explained that waiting any longer to begin the project, with an estimated total cost of $11,653,692, could make it more expensive, especially if construction is pushed into the winter, and risk the contractors getting distracted with other work, delaying it further.
Trustees Kribbs, Robison and Laird expressed their hesitation to begin demolition without a guaranteed price for the total project. “Are we putting ourselves literally in the hole?” Kribbs asked.
“I don’t want to be risk averse,” said Trustee Erica Sparhawk. “I don’t see anything we would learn in the next two weeks would suddenly put a hold on this project.”
Hassig mentioned that getting the construction fence up ahead of Mountain Fair may be wise. “We’ve sort of gotten on this horse no matter what,” he added, in favor of proceeding.
Sparhawk moved to approve with Hassig seconding and Bohmfalk and Christina Montemayor joining in favor. Kribbs, Laird and Robison voted “no.” The fence will be installed on July 16 with demolition poised to begin soon after.