Little Blue's wish comes true

By Raleigh Burleigh Sopris Sun Editor

After months of meetings with Planning and Zoning, Little Blue Preschool received approval from the trustees for a rezoning that will allow them to double the number of children they care for at their Carbondale location on Seventh Street. The public hearing for that project predominated Tuesday’s meeting.

But first, a consent agenda was approved that included accounts payable, a special event liquor license allowing Aspen Valley Land Trust to host events at 689 Main Street through September, boards and commissions code changes for greater uniformity and a pledge of up to $100,000 toward the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition’s buydown program.

During trustee updates, Marty Silverstein spoke about the July 20 Tree Board meeting focused on emerald ash borer (now archived on the Town’s YouTube channel). “We are going to lose trees, that’s just what’s going to happen,” he said. As for treatments, “It’s going to be a big budget item, not just for the Town but for members of our community as well.”

Erica Sparhawk announced that she testified with Colorado Communities for Climate Action on behalf of the Town at a Air Quality Control Commission hearing regarding Regulation 7. These new rules would impact how much methane leaks from industrial sources.

Town Manager Lauren Gister then delivered the unfortunate news that Carbondale’s new building official, for personal reasons, bailed on the job before beginning work on Monday.

The good news, she continued, is that Town staff is training on new software to streamline agendas and minutes and make those resources more accessible.

Action items

Before jumping into the Little Blue Preschool discussion, trustees approved a special event liquor permit for Cowboy Up! scheduled for Aug. 25 at Chacos Park (Fourth and Main) from 6 to 10pm.

They also approved an extension to Wember’s contract as the owner’s representative on the Town’s aquatics facility project. The original agreement covered services through May 2024. Construction has since been delayed with an estimated completion date of May 2025.

“Hopefully we can hit that,” said Parks and Rec Director Eric Brendlinger. “It’s a construction schedule on paper.” Wember’s contract originally accounted for a longer timeline scenario with $59,000 additional costs for services, but this extension exceeds that at $118,000.

“We see this project ballooning before our very eyes,” responded Mayor Ben Bohmfalk. “We’re committed, we’re going to keep moving forward, but I anticipate this is the first of many moments where we are asked to find more and pay more and maybe extend schedules as we go forward, so that’s tough.”

Child care

The bulk of the meeting was dedicated to Little Blue Preschool’s proposed expansion. Along with improvements to their existing property on Seventh Street, the child care nonprofit sought to unify its zoning, which was split between Commercial/ Transitional and Residential/Medium Density. Due to eased parking restrictions that will allow for more playground space, Little Blue asked the trustees for Historic Commercial Core (HCC).

Three Rivers Little League state champions stopped by the meeting on Tuesday to let trustees know they’re headed to Texas for regional tournaments, which could carry them on to the Little League World Series. The team is requesting donations (www. bit.ly/3riversbaseball) to help cover travel expenses.

Planning and Zoning, in a 5-2 vote, supported that zoning, while Town staff recommended Commercial/Transitional which would have required another process to potentially share parking spaces with Colorado Mountain College. As explained by Town Planner Kelly Amdur, no other properties were zoned HCC on that block — however HCC is found across the street at 689 Main Street.

Little Blue will reorient three parallel parking spaces in the public right-of-way to head-in, creating five additional spaces to account for some parking eliminated in the alleyway. This reflects other parking arrangements on Seventh Street. The expansion will also come with an improved sidewalk and the removal of three mature Siberian