The Midland Avenue Streetscape project will continue as planned after Basalt voters said “no” to a ballot measure targeting the scope of the major downtown infrastructure project.
In a special election Tuesday, about 70% of voters rejected changes to the town code that focused on bond spending and the preservation of parking spaces in Basalt’s downtown core. (There were 809 "no" votes to 335 "yes" votes, according to unofficial results.) The measure was a citizen-driven initiative that aimed to curtail the scope of the Midland project, which involves extensive construction in the town’s historic business corridor.
The project is already well underway, with a current budget of about $16.8 million. More than half of that money comes from a bond that voters approved in 2021, while the rest comes from reserves, grants, interest and partnership funding. It involves some upgrades to infrastructure, like sewer and water lines, as well as updates to pedestrian walkways and some “beautification” efforts, like landscaping.
It also changes the parking layout in downtown Basalt, with parallel parking spaces replacing some angle parking spots on the main drag; more parking is now concentrated one block over, on the Midland Spur.
A group of citizens wanted to preserve the angle parking on Midland Avenue proper — and pare down the budget and “frills” of the project so it would align with the original projected cost of $11.5 million from 2021. They secured enough signatures to propose an ordinance to the Basalt Town Council focused on bond spending from the Capital Construction Fund and parking configurations, but the council chose not to adopt it; that led to this ballot initiative, which the council also opposed and which voters rejected as well.
Even if the measure had passed, town council members and other municipal officials believed the initiative would not and could not apply retroactively to a project like the Midland Avenue Streetscape that’s already in motion. They also expressed concerns that this “yes” vote would have caused delays in the construction schedule. Meanwhile, Basalt resident Ted Guy, who spearheaded the ballot initiative, had expressed that he was willing to pursue legal action to seek applicability to the Midland project.
Even as work proceeds, Basaltines still have several more months of downtown construction to endure. The project is currently in phase two, which will proceed into the summer, followed by phase three in late summer and fall.
Results for the special election are still considered "unofficial" until votes have been certified. Any voter who received a "missing/discrepant signature" letter from the town clerk has until 5 p.m. on May 29 to cure their ballot and have their vote counted.
