Voters in Basalt are being asked to weigh in on the future of the Midland Avenue streetscape project in the town’s upcoming special election on Tuesday, May 21. Ballots have already been sent out to voters.
The ballot measure was brought forward by a group of residents who want to limit the budget and scope of the modernization and infrastructure project on Basalt’s main street.
But the town says the project is already underway and the budget has been set.
Aspen Public Radio’s Eleanor Bennett spoke with reporter Scott Condon who has been covering the ongoing controversy for the Aspen Daily News.
The conversation below has been edited for clarity and length.
Bennett: Before we get into what's actually in the ballot question, can you tell us about the citizen group behind this initiative? Who are they and why are they upset about the Midland Avenue project?
Condon: Yeah, as the project details were being worked out, some citizens came forward and said, “Hey, we're not sure that we really like the project the way it's going.” The impact on businesses was the big deal that first got people attending meetings and they were saying, “Look, you're gonna kill us during the summers, which are our busiest times. Please pare down this project and don't do it during the busy times this summer.”
That effort was led by a longtime midvalley resident, by the name of Ted Guy. He's been a longtime architect in Basalt and involved in various civic matters and he was teamed up with the owners of Tempranillo Restaurant, including Laura Maine, the co-owner, and they regularly attended meetings and just asked the council to consider that some people are upset about the budget, they feel that the project is too expensive and they want it pared down.
Number two, there's the parking. There are those who want to see more of the angle parking preserved downtown. And then number three is character, which isn't part of the ballot question, but that's a big part of it. There are people that feel like Basalt's downtown just needs some minor tweaks and refinements, but not a huge overhaul of the main street.
Bennett: And what has the town's response been to these concerns so far?
Condon: They say that they have taken a lot of public consideration into the project and they think they are adhering to the will of the voters. And they've actually said they've worked on some refinements and feel like they've got a project that is worth moving forward with.
Bennett: When you see the pictures of this project and what it would look like, it strikes me that it looks very modern. There are walkways in the middle of the street and there are plants growing everywhere and it's very different from the old-time Basalt town that you see today.
Condon: Yeah. Throughout that couple block area, they're going to have a lot more pedestrian designated areas to cross. The sidewalks in the street are going to be on one level and there's going to be more public gathering places. It's all designed for traffic calming and making it more pedestrian-friendly.
Bennett: Moving now to the special election that's coming up on May 21, let's talk about the ballot measure itself. What are people actually being asked to vote on?
Condon: Ted Guy and his group went through a process where they collected signatures on a petition with a proposed ordinance. And once they collected the number of signatures that they needed, the town council had the ability to either adopt that ordinance, which they didn't do, or move the issue on to an election. And that's what this election is about.
And I'm not going to read the kind of legalese of the ballot question, but basically what the opponents of the project are trying to get approved is something that would pare down the spending and, in their view, it would prohibit the town from changing the configuration of parking in the downtown core. And that's just the few blocks right in front of all the main businesses in Basalt. The town's project is going to make those all into parallel parking. So there'll be a loss of parking spots downtown and that has run into a lot of pushback.
Bennett: The town has officially now come out against the ballot measure. And one of the things they talked about is that the changes proposed, they say, could actually cost taxpayers more. Can you get into their position a little more and explain that discrepancy?
Condon: So the town council at their last meeting, which was the first meeting with three new members, they went ahead and passed a resolution asking voters to “vote no” on this ballot question on May 21. And one of the things that they're saying is that they don't understand how this ballot question is actually going to affect the project, which is one of the interesting things.
You've got two sides that see this ballot question very differently. Ted and his group, they say, “Okay, so you'd have to pare down the budget if this passes and you'd have to preserve the parking.” And the town is saying, “We don't feel that there was any budget that we have to adhere to, because there was always a plan of using the bonds which they're using.” They also said they would dip into reserves and the general fund and get grants. So in the town's mind they are not going over any specific budget amount.
And secondly, with the parking, the town says that they are going to have no loss of parking, because of parking they added on Midland Spur and on Two Rivers Road, kind of west of downtown.
But yeah, the town feels that if this got approved, it would cause more delays. And then if they get back on track, then construction costs would probably inevitably go up, and therefore it's just going to be more expensive for voters to delay, get the contractor to stop and then get geared back up later on.
Bennett: So given all this…if this ballot measure passes, would it actually accomplish what the citizen group is setting out to accomplish?
Condon: It remains to be seen. Ted has not been shy about saying that if the town sticks to what it's saying now — that they don't see how it would affect the project — he would not hesitate to seek an injunction to make the work stop and then have a judge decide how the project proceeds or doesn't proceed.
Bennett: And from your perspective as a journalist, do you think there's anything else that's critical for folks listening to know, for voters and Basalt to know, as they cast their ballots in the next week or so?
Condon: I think that people just have to listen carefully to what both sides are saying. There's certainly no lack of information out there. The town's got a lot of information on its website. They have to be careful because of Colorado campaign laws where they can't actively take a role in their official duties in campaigning one way or another on issues. And Ted and his group have said that they're going to be going door-to-door presenting information to people and he's very accessible; he would be happy to explain his position to people as well.
Bennett: Thank you so much, Scott. Appreciate you talking with us today.
Condon: Thank you.
