Skyler Stark-Ragsdale/The Aspen Times
After months-long deliberation and several meetings, Snowmass Town Council approved its 2025 budget.
The council voted unanimously on Wednesday to budget $169.3 million for the year, with an emphasis on workforce housing, infrastructure projects, and employee benefits. Last year, they budgeted $93 million.
The town plans to spend $123 million on new infrastructure and housing projects, accounting for the budget increase from last year, according to a budget message released in October by Snowmass Town Manager Clint Kinney and Snowmass Finance Director Marianne Rakowski.
In the budget, the town included the Draw Site, a plan to build a 79-unit workforce housing project adjacent and uphill from Town Hall, as one of the most notable capital projects in the budget.
“I think we have some (really) exciting opportunities with housing,” Snowmass Council member Susan Marolt said. “I think our town, our county, everyone just up and down the valley realizes that housing is something that can solve many problems.”
The town will allot $3 million per year from sales and lodging tax revenue over a 30-year period to pay for the $86 million project. They will also fund it with grants and rent revenues. Initially, they will borrow the funding.
Snowmass voters approved in the election on Tuesday the town’s request to spend $86 million on the site.
“Allocating those dollars and having that Draw Site approved by the voters is a huge step forward,” Snowmass Mayor Bill Madsen told The Aspen Times on Thursday.
Along with the Draw Site, Snowmass plans to purchase three acres behind the Snowmass Center for $12.5 million to use for workforce housing. They still have to get the approval to use the land before the purchase.
The town also budgeted money for non-housing related major capital improvements. They allotted $8.5 million to fund a renovation of the Little Red Schoolhouse, which is currently being used for child care. They seek to increase the capacity of the building, so it can sustain 60 children rather than 30, as it can currently.
The town allotted $3 million to renovate the Snowmass Center, which could include small renovation to existing bus depots or creating an entirely new transit center, according to past council meetings. They also plan to replace the roadway and culvert at Upper Woodbridge Road and Brush Creek Road in 2025, allocating $2.75 million to the project in next year’s budget.
Along with housing and infrastructure projects, Snowmass increased spending on personnel, including salaries, benefits, and retirement funds, among other employee-related items. The 2025 budget allocates $18.5 million to personnel, almost 11% of the total budget and about a 4% increase from the 2024 budget.
Snowmass Mayor Bill Madsen said the focus on personnel in this year’s budget is a good community investment.
“My ongoing mantra has been: The best way to take care of our village is to take care of the people that work there,” Madsen said. “And so it’s a really good investment in our community to try to take care of the characters in our community.”
Snowmass Town Manager Clint Kinney said the town focuses on providing competitive wages to retain high-quality personnel.
“We’re in a service industry, and we need people to provide the services that we provide and so need to make sure we’re competitive in the marketplace,” Kinney said. “I want to continue to recruit and retain the highest quality staff, like we have been doing.”
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.