The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 on June 10 to override the Pitkin County Planning and Zoning Commission and advance a first reading of a resolution authorizing implementation of the Phillips Mobile Home Park Project — which includes $17.9 million in infrastructure work and 40 new affordable housing units at the county-owned Woody Creek property. Commissioner Greg Poschman cast the lone dissenting vote. The P&Z had unanimously rejected the project in May, finding it out of conformance with the 1987 Down Valley Comprehensive Plan and the 2016 Woody Creek Master Plan because it proposes expanded density and infrastructure outside the county’s Urban Growth Boundary. The board also approved a second-quarter budget supplemental totaling $12.8 million in new expenditures on first reading, anchored by a $7.5 million increase for the Solid Waste Center’s new campus construction. A second reading and public hearing for both items is scheduled for June 24.
Phillips Mobile Home Park
The Phillips resolution incorporates seven conditions recommended by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and carried forward from the P&Z resolution, including requirements for bear-proof dumpsters, restrictions on exterior doorknob styles to deter wildlife, bans on berry- and fruit-bearing landscaping plants, and prohibitions on dogs during construction.
The county purchased the 74.58-acre property at 3558 Lower River Road in Woody Creek for $6.5 million in 2018 to preserve approximately 35 units of naturally occurring affordable housing. The board has held 33 public forums on the property since December 2016. Staff have spent eight years refining plans that now call for replacing the park’s failing water and wastewater systems — four aged, non-compliant septic tanks, two of which encroach on State Land Board property, and wells producing roughly 20 gallons per minute against a design capacity of 75 — and adding 40 affordable housing units to spread the cost of new infrastructure across more households.
Joe Farstad, regional vice president of Wember, the county’s owner’s representative, told commissioners the park has no fire water supply. The proposed 280,000-gallon storage tank would reserve approximately 210,000 gallons for fire flows at 1,750 gallons per minute for two hours — a mandate from the fire authority. The project also includes two new replacement wells, a 900-square-foot water treatment facility, a fully engineered Aquapoint Bioclere wastewater treatment facility, two debris flow mitigation structures, road improvements, and two new access points off Lower River Road.
Housing Director Ashley Perl explained the financial logic for the 40 new units: the new systems will cost approximately $43,000 per month to operate. Divided among the existing 36 mobile homes, full cost pass-through would reach $1,200 per household per month. Spreading costs across 73 total households reduces that burden substantially. The 40 new units — 4 one-bedroom, 22 two-bedroom, 4 three-bedroom, and 10 four-bedroom — would add approximately 100 beds clustered in four groups tucked into hillsides to preserve the rural character of the area.
The horizontal infrastructure budget totals $17.9 million across 2026 and 2027, roughly $700,000 above the $17.2 million the board approved in December. Staff said the gap will be addressed in the 2027 budget process. The board has allocated $10 million for direct construction costs in 2026. Commissioner Poschman asked for written documentation from the fire authority confirming the 280,000-gallon tank mandate; staff agreed to provide it before the June 24 second reading.
Second-Quarter Budget Supplemental — $12.8 Million
Finance staff Connie Baker presented the second-quarter budget supplemental on first reading. The package increases countywide budgeted expenditures by $12,756,319, offset by $6,928,358 in new revenues, for a net budget increase of $5,827,961. The board approved the first reading unanimously.
The Solid Waste Center accounts for 60 percent of the increase — $7,533,497 — bringing the new campus construction budget to $29 million after bids exceeded estimates. Of the increase, $3.65 million comes from a bond premium and $3.88 million from fund balance. Revenues at the center are tracking 12 percent above the prior year.
Open Space and Trails requests total $1,535,364 across three projects. The Glassier Farmstead Restoration requires $1,535,364 in additional funding: $444,413 more for the Phase 1 historic house renovation, where unforeseen masonry deterioration and roof framing complications pushed estimated completion from August to November; $639,951 additional for the Phase 2 Barndominium, a four-bay garage with a three-bedroom loft apartment relocated to a better site on the property; and $308,000 for Phase 3 log barn rehabilitation plus $143,000 for temporary agricultural structures. The Snowmass Creek Trailhead Improvements request adds $1.4 million to replace the informal parking area at the end of Upper Snowmass Creek Road with approximately 70 day-use and overnight spaces, five equestrian spaces, a double-vault toilet, and native landscape restoration. The Dorais Way Firetruck Turnaround adds $200,000 to a $50,000 original budget after design revealed the Hammerhead-style turnaround near Carbondale, required by a 2025 HOA settlement, was too complex for in-house construction.
The remaining supplemental items include $400,000 for Phase 3 of the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center at Roaring Fork Fire Station 42 in El Jebel, covering technology systems and operational buildout not included in the original $8.5 million appropriation, to be reimbursed through Certificates of Participation; $114,000 for SagesGov digital permitting platform enhancements in Community Development; $65,000 in Human Services for the Older Adults Community Supported Agriculture program ($50,000) and a Colorado Housing and Finance Authority pass-through grant to the Aspen Community Foundation ($15,000); and $843,458 in Healthy Rivers and Streams items, including debt issuance costs for water rights acquisition financing, a $303,458 aviation fuel tax transfer to the Airport Fund, and $120,000 for engineering closeout of the Whitewater Park streamside amenities. Commissioner Poschman expressed frustration that phased capital projects often return for supplemental funding late in their lifecycle without a complete cost picture at the outset.
Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park — $1.5 Million Letter of Intent
The board voted unanimously on an emergency resolution authorizing the chair to sign a non-binding letter of intent to contribute $1.5 million from the county’s Housing Property Tax Fund toward the resident purchase of the Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park. The letter is needed before residents submit a purchase offer; the senior lender requires evidence of committed non-debt subsidies. The park’s purchase price is $23 million, with total acquisition costs estimated at approximately $25 million.
April Long, executive director of the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, announced that the Colorado Health Foundation awarded the project $4.5 million, to be administered through the Aspen Community Foundation, bringing total subsidy commitments above $11.5 million. Residents plan to submit an offer the week of June 16; if accepted, close is estimated 120 days out. The board will need to approve additional formal actions if and when funds are disbursed. A confirmatory reading and public hearing is set for June 24.
PACT Program, Airport Safety, and Broadband
The board approved three additional emergency resolutions unanimously. An emergency resolution accepted $390,000 in continued state funding for the Pitkin Area Co-Responder Team (PACT), which pairs behavioral health clinicians with the Aspen Police Department, Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, and Snowmass Village Police Department to respond to crisis calls. The program has operated since 2018; in 2025, it served 249 unique individuals and resolved 65 percent of active calls on scene. The cumulative state grant total reaches $2,119,325. A confirmatory reading is set for June 24.
A second emergency resolution authorized an FAA grant application for $175,500 to install Vehicle Movement Area Transponders (VMAT) at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport/Sardy Field. VMAT devices transmit each airfield vehicle’s position to air traffic control once per second, improving safety during low-visibility operations. The FAA would cover $166,725 — 95 percent — with the airport responsible for $8,775. A confirmatory reading is set for June 24.
The board voted unanimously on first reading to authorize a Colorado Broadband Office grant application for up to $300,000 to run county-owned dark fiber from the Roaring Fork Broadband Project backbone to the new dispatch center at Station 42 in El Jebel. Telecommunications Director Drew Petersen and Senior Advisor Jeff Krueger said Comcast has already contracted to provide fiber to the dispatch center before it opens, but county-owned dark fiber would add redundancy and substantially more bandwidth. Commissioners raised concerns about the proposed route sharing utility poles across Highway 82 with the existing Comcast line — potentially a single point of failure — and about the cost rationale for county fiber ownership over leasing capacity through the regional Project Thor network. A second reading and public hearing is set for June 24.
Airport, Health, and Consent Items
The board voted unanimously on first reading to grant underground easements to Holy Cross Energy and approve a Trench, Conduit, and Vault Agreement for electrical line relocations along the airport’s southwest perimeter and at the Airport Operations Center, needed to support the 2027 runway shift as part of the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport Sardy Field Modernization Program. Estimated cost is approximately $480,000, already appropriated. Second reading is set for June 24. The Aspen Chapel Property Restrictive Covenant ordinance was continued to June 24 by unanimous vote.
On second reading, the board unanimously approved a restated interorganizational agreement between Pitkin County, Eagle County, Aspen Valley Health, and Mountain Family Health Centers, updating the compensation structure to a per-member, per-month rate and requiring annual income statements by March 31 of each following year. No budgetary impact is anticipated.
The board opened the meeting with a Pride Month proclamation and addressed active wildfire conditions in the region. Commissioner Woodruff reported that Pitkin, Eagle, and Garfield Counties and Bureau of Land Management lands entered Stage 1 fire restrictions at noon June 10, with two fires active — approximately 15 acres in Thomasville in Garfield County and a second fire in South Canyon in Eagle County. Residents were urged to mow dry grasses to four inches or less. Consent items included the reappointment of Mick Ireland as property tax abatement hearing officer through June 30, 2027, and the appointment of Joan Klar to the Senior Services Council through April 1, 2030. The board, sitting as the local liquor licensing authority, approved a special events liquor permit for the Environment Foundation for the “Smuggler Social” at Smuggler Mine on June 20, a Food & Wine Aspen benefit event expected to draw 600 to 650 ticketed guests; Commissioner Jacober used the item to raise concerns about youth exposure to alcohol advertising, referencing presentations from Aspen High School students and the county’s outreach to David Goldberg of Belly Up Presents and Kayla Bailey, director of the Aspen-Pitkin Healthy Futures Coalition. The meeting adjourned following the Phillips vote.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent. 