Editor’s note: Due to limited editorial space, additional Snowmass Town Council race Q&As will be printed throughout the week.
As the Nov. 5 election looms, Snowmass Town Council member Alyssa Shenk and mayoral incumbent Bill Madsen compete to serve as the town’s next mayor. The Aspen Times asked each candidate where they fall on key Snowmass issues.
Madsen, so far serving two terms, looks to serve his third.
Why have you chosen to serve the Snowmass community in the past and why do you seek to serve the community in the future?
I often tell people that Snowmass Village reminds me of Aspen when I was a kid. There is nothing more satisfying than raising a family in a small town with a strong sense of community. I was inspired to get involved with politics in 2014 because I wanted to help improve the Village and represent my neighbors and friends. I am a firm believer in planning for the future and I am proud to have helped develop the Snowmass Village Compressive Plan, the Workforce Housing Master Plan, and our Community Connectivity Plan. I feel incredibly fortunate to live in employee housing and I want to help people live in the community where they work. The Snowmass Village Housing Department has done an incredible job developing and refurbishing our stock of employee housing, but we can do more. We need to strive to cultivate pedestrian-friendly developments that prioritize walking, biking, and effective public transit. I am eager to continue this progress and work collaboratively towards making Snowmass Village a model for sustainable living.
Are you in favor of or opposed to Snowmass ballot question 2D which would determine funding for the proposed 79-unit, $86 million employee housing project at the Draw Site adjacent to Town Hall? Why?
I am in favor of ballot question 2D because we need to address the housing crisis without delay. The Housing Master plan identified the Draw as one of five locations with the greatest potential for workforce housing, but the Draw Site is the preferred location because it is not in the center of the Village where the impact of construction would be much higher, and it does not displace residents. The project will be funded mainly by tourism taxes and rental income, so a new tax is not needed. It is important to understand the tourism taxes are restricted to funding workforce housing and promoting Snowmass Village. The Draw Site will utilize $3 million annually from a fund that generates $15 million each year. Building housing on the Draw Site will not limit our ability to fund other housing projects in the future. The land behind the Snowmass Center may provide another opportunity for the town to build housing, but that opportunity is still many years away. The Draw Site provides our community with an opportunity to act now to provide homes for our essential workers so they can live in the town where they work.
Do you favor or oppose Pitkin County ballot question 1A, which would raise county property taxes by 1.5 mills over 25 years, providing an estimated $8.5 million in additional funding per year for affordable housing, but creating an estimated property tax increase of $121 for private properties valued at $1 million, and $435 for commercial properties valued at $1 million? Why?
I am in favor of 1A because Pitkin County has not substantively contributed to the stock of affordable housing in the county because they have not had a funding mechanism. We need to provide the county with an opportunity to address the housing crisis and the Phillips Mobile Home Park is a great place to utilize the funds. In addition, the county plans to use the funds for a down payment assistance program for deed restricted homes, and the funds can be used by category 1-4 households for grants to make life-and-safety-related repairs to their homes. The county is also in desperate need of housing as 90% of our sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, EMTs, hospital workers and protective services live outside of Pitkin County. The tax increase is relatively small, $121 per year for properties valued at $1 million.
Are you in favor of moving the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport runway 80 feet to the west and widening it from 100 to 150 feet? Why? Are you in favor of Pitkin County ballot question 200, which would allow residents to vote on the expansion or movement of the runway, or Pitkin County ballot question 1C, which would reaffirm county officials’ ability to approve and implement changes to the physical layout of the airport on behalf of the community?
I support 1C and I am against ballot question 200. There is unanimous agreement that the runway is failing, and it needs to be rebuilt. If we rebuild the runway using funds from the FAA we can also build a new terminal, airside improvement that will address the future of air travel, and we can improve transit options to and from Snowmass Village and Aspen. If the runway is rebuilt with the current configuration, without funding from the FAA, we will not have the capacity to bond for a new terminal and other improvements that our airport needs. There was extensive community outreach to develop the common ground recommendation that resulted in the Airport Layout Plan. The ALP took years to develop with community concerns front of mind. Our county commissioners have spent years working on solutions and they were elected to do the hard work in our representative government. We all have friends and family members that work at the airport. Let’s provide them with a working environment that is safe, comfortable and efficient. If we rebuild the runway without funding from the FAA, the status of our terminal will be stagnant for decades.
Do you favor or oppose construction of more available parking and RFTA transit options at the Snowmass Mall? If so, how should the project be designed?
A transit center at West Village, aka The Mall, has been in the planning process since the 1990s. The Elected Officials Transportation Committee began allocating funds for a transit center in 1998. The town council spent two years developing a design that moved the RFTA buses and the TOSV shuttles to one facility. The design also maintained the timed parking spaces from lot six. The challenge with the design was that the deck was quite large, and the planning commission recommended denial as it did not fit within the character of our community. My main concern with the initial design was that the duration of construction was set at 40 months. I feel strongly that disturbing our mall businesses for three and half years is unacceptable. The two-level structure that is currently being proposed has the same construction timetable, eliminates the timed parking from lot six, and is more expensive than the initial design, so I am against it. I have challenged our staff and consultants to develop a less impactful design that maintains our timed parking, eliminates the pedestrian and auto interaction at lot six, and brings the RFTA buses and TOSV shuttles to the same location. Until that plan is developed, I will support the incremental improvements that have been proposed.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
The Cortez resident was appointed by the Republican Party Congressional District 3 Vacancy Committee to fill the seat left by Stephen Varela, who resigned earlier this month to take a school-based position. Wright will serve in this role through Jan. 8, 2025.
Burlingame Ranch Phase 1 homeowner Anna Garofalo filed a lawsuit against the Burlingame Ranch 1 Condominium Association, Inc. on Oct. 8.