Tuesday’s regular meeting, Feb. 25, was relatively short with only two action items and no public comments. All trustees were present. A Carbondale Police Department ceremony honoring the promotion of Paul Lazo to patrol sergeant was postponed due to illness.
The consent agenda consisted of a special event permit for the Carbondale Arts Fashion Show, March 6-8; a special event permit for Crystal River Ballet’s Ballet Ball at the Third Street Center on March 21; accounts payable and meeting minutes for a Feb. 18 work session. Trustee Colin Laird requested a clarifying adjustment to the minutes.
Before getting into action items, trustees and the town manager gave updates. Ross Kribbs mentioned that the Ruedi Water and Power Authority will be convening a summit for constituencies on May 15, discussing (among other things) invasive species like the quagga and zebra mussels as well as the golden mussel, a larger species now spreading in California waters. Kribbs said the Tree Board looked at the planting plan for the new pool and has concerns about the effort it will take to maintain. He also said the Tree Board expressed grievances about not being consulted after a Siberian elm was accidentally removed by the contractor at the corner of Main and 7th Street.
Laird fought back tears expressing condolences for everyone impacted by the death of Mark Johnson, a 66-year-old Glenwood Springs resident who died tragically in a car accident on Feb. 15. “He brought a lot of joy to many people through his music and impacted thousands of students through his teaching and mentorship and he’s going to be deeply missed.”
Erica Sparhawk said she attended the most recent Parks and Recreation Commission meeting which included a review of the Integrated Weed Management Plan and “big changes” that will come before the trustees later in March. Jess Robison attended the Carbondale Chamber meeting and announced a website update will be launched in March. Christina Montemayor toured the state capitol with the Colorado Municipal League.
Mayor Ben Bohmfalk said the search process for a new town manager is underway beginning with reviewing request for proposals responses from four hiring firms. For her update, Town Manager Lauren Gister said there will be an update on the new pool at the first meeting of each month beginning in March.
OpenGov
The first of the two action items involved a presentation by OpenGov, “an end-to-end, cloud-based platform designed specifically for local government operations,” explained the memo. Greg Hansen, Carbondale’s new finance director, advocated for the upgrade in light of a new state law requiring budget documents to be ADA compliant. Plus, he experienced inefficiencies with the Town’s historic reliance on spreadsheets and PDFs to draft its budgets.
After researching solutions for several months and getting quotes, Hansen identified OpenGov as the best option with a unified suite for budgeting and planning, permitting and licensing and tax and revenue. The cost to implement OpenGov is around $147,300 in 2025 including a $94,000 one-time setup fee, then $66,244 in 2026 — a difference of some $27,410 compared with current software the Town uses, GovOS and MuniRevs. According to the memo, “the Town can utilize vacancy savings for multiple unfilled positions in 2025” to fund the one-time setup cost.
Mayor Bohmfalk noted this is a significant cost outside the normal budget cycle, but also the former finance director was pushing for an upgrade. Gister mentioned that the Town is obligated to honor software for short-term rentals licensing (until the end of this year) and building and planning permits (for “a few more years”). It will take up to six months to migrate to the new platform, which would put Carbondale on track to utilize the new software for the next budget cycle.
With unanimous approval, the contract will be further negotiated and signed by the town manager. The software would make Town documents available in 130 languages with integrated data pulling from the Town’s financial system for up-to-date numbers. Permit and license applications would include real-time updates.
Complete Streets
Next, trustees reviewed a resolution brought forth by the Bike Pedestrian and Trails Commission (BPTC) approving the creation of a Complete Streets policy “for all transportation and land-use planning based on Complete Streets principles.” Complete Streets is a nationally-recognized philosophy championed by Smart Growth America that prioritizes safety and accessibility for all road users, as well as sustainability and livability.
Carbondale’s Comprehensive Plan and recently adopted Mobility & Access Plan both declare the intention for adopting a Complete Streets policy. However, “I was a little surprised this was at a resolution stage,” stated Gister. “It feels a little premature.” She suggested instead adopting a “fully-baked” resolution once a plan has been drafted.
Nonetheless, the Board of Trustees agreed with the language and intention behind the resolution, approving it unanimously with support from BPTC and Age-Friendly Carbondale. The one exception was removing binding language from the bottom of the document. The policy will be crafted with input from staff, boards and commissions and the public to return with another resolution. There is no deadline.