This week, Basalt Town Council convened for a very busy night, unable to come to a conclusion on a possible regulatory fee which would cost short-term rental (STR) owners $2,532 per bedroom per year on their rental properties. For background, the Town of Basalt currently only requires STR owners to pay for a sales tax […]
Will Buzzerd
Posted inLocal Government
Basalt Report: Town adopts new hazard and emergency plans
This week, Basalt Town Council convened to approve new hazard mitigation and emergency operations plans local to Pitkin and Eagle Counties. In addition, council reviewed a request by Colorado Mountain College (CMC) to purchase nine deed-restricted units at Basalt Center Circle to be built at the site of the now-demolished Clark’s Market. Emergency plansThe Town […]
Posted inLocal Government
Basalt Report: Town continues conversation on short-term rental fee
This week, Basalt Town Council convened to discuss potential park and public space projects as well as a potential regulatory fee for short-term rentals which has become a subject of criticism from Basalt residents. Parks updatePrior to the meeting, Basalt Parks, Open Space and Trails (POST) held a public session to discuss its five-year Capital […]
Posted inLocal Government
Basalt Report: Midland Ave to host ribbon cutting this Friday
This week, the Town of Basalt announced a ribbon cutting for the nearly-completed Midland Streetscape Project, and also approved a regional emission reduction roadmap which hopes to steer Eagle County toward net-zero emissions by 2030. Town Manager Ryan Mahoney kicked off this week’s meeting recommending the allocation of Basalt’s discretionary grant and tobacco tax funding. […]
Posted inLocal Government
Another paving milestone on Midland
This week, Basalt Town Council was half-staffed for its pre-Thanksgiving meeting when the council discussed the latest construction on Midland Avenue as well as some additional construction on Two Rivers Road to repair a water line. In lieu of Mayor David Knight, Councilor Ryan Slack acted as the chair for this week’s meeting, which was […]
Posted inFiction
Works In Progress
Letter from Galway The other day, I texted my sister to send me pictures of the aspen groves changing colors — “ASAP,” I requested. I never did get those photos, but I presume it’s because I woke her up at 6 in the morning. In a flash of homesickness, I seemed to have forgotten about […]
Posted inLocal Government
Basalt Report: Bear incidents the highest in five years
Prior to this week’s regular meeting, the Town Council held a public work session with the citizen-run Basalt Affordable Community Housing (BACH) group. During this session, Town Planning Director Michelle Thibeault presented BACH’s 2025 plan to improve housing availability and address market difficulties in Basalt. Based on information gathered from a community housing needs assessment […]
Posted inEducation
Wading into the Arctic from Carbondale
For Sarah Johnson of Wild Rose Education, an environmental education program based in Carbondale, switching between the microcosm of the Roaring Fork Valley and the global scope of climate science can be perplexing. “It’s kind of incredible,” Johnson told The Sopris Sun. “I sit here in my office in the Third Street Center and I’ll […]
Posted inLocal Government
Basalt Report: More rentals go condo
Prior to the regular meeting, the Basalt Town Council held a public work session with private financial consultant Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. (EPS), which performed a rigorous housing assessment for the Town of Basalt and presented its findings and recommendations to the council. In 2023, EPS found that the median sale price of a […]
Posted inBusiness
Cacao price surge, a bitter taste for chocolatiers
As the calendar drifts into the dog days of summer, business has slowed down for Carbondale-based Pollinator Chocolate. Pollinator Chocolate founder Mark Burrows has been staying afloat selling wholesale to restaurants and hotels in the Valley and beyond, plus keeping busy selling coffee to loyal clientele at the Cocoa Club on Highway 133. All the […]