Town of Basalt

CIVIC VITALITY MEETINGS

Meetings held in January were very well attended. Topics discussed at the November meetings were reviewed and addition notes and comments were recorded.

Recorded notes for “not enough” discussion:

Recorded notes addressing “Activities/Special Events” and “Civic Engagement” topics:

Recorded notes for Committee/Citizen Action Group categories:

The following Citizen Action Groups were formed:

COMMUNITY EVENTS
• To work with the Town, the business community and residents to plan more COMMUNITY EVENTS

YOUTH/YOUNG PEOPLE
• To work on developing more programming with and for YOUTH/YOUNG PEOPLE

ISSUES and FUTURE
• To work on promoting more civic engagement around issues and the FUTURE OF BASALT, short and Long Term.

RIVERS
• To focus on events, activities and access intended to ENGAGE THE RIVERS

COMMUNITY/AFFORDABLE HOUSING
• To focus promoting civic activity around community HOUSING.

Flip Chart Notes by the Citizen Action Groups:

COMMUNITY EVENTS

YOUTH/YOUNG PEOPLE

ISSUES and FUTURE

RIVERS

COMMUNITY/AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Letter from the Town of Basalt prior to the January meeting:

Dear Basalt Supporter:

First of all, thank you very much for participating in one of our recent community conversations about the future of the Town of Basalt, and in particular, the future of our historic downtown. As promised, we’re sending this email to keep you informed of our progress. We were excited and heartened by the turnout at the three November gatherings and the subsequent newspaper coverage we received. It was great to see a mix of new and familiar faces.

We’ve posted the results of the meetings at www.basalt.net where you can see exactly what was discussed in each of the three conversations, including how the ideas were prioritized. The comments and conversations revealed two sets of issues for follow-up. There was a great deal of discussion, as we had hoped, about specific likes and dislikes as they related to the Midland Avenue core. We received incredibly helpful input from all of you about what you want to encourage and discourage when it comes to historic downtown Basalt. In addition, another important theme emerged in all three of the discussions — that of finding ways to get citizens more involved in our community, and specifically, how citizens could play a role in increasing the vibrancy of the downtown core.

The Town Council, the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town staff gathered together on December 2nd to review the results of the gatherings and talk about next steps. Our action plan is as follows:

First, the Town staff will be working on a variety of the issues that were raised during the community conversations requiring changes in zoning for the downtown core.

Second, the Town also wants to pursue the downtown vibrancy/citizen engagement agenda at the same time we are reviewing policies related to the downtown core. To this end, the Town invites you to participate again at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 26th when the we will sponsor a meeting at Basalt Town Hall for those who would like to work on citizen activities geared to making Basalt a more vibrant community. Then, at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 27th, there will be a short meeting for those who can’t attend Monday night but still want to get involved. At these meetings, we will review the ideas that were generated in November for downtown activities and more active civic involvement. We plan to create specific to-do lists. Chris Gates, who facilitated the community conversations in November, will be back to help us out again.

In order for this community to reach its full potential the citizens need to stay involved to help move Basalt forward. The turnout at the November meetings was proof that all of you care about the future of this community. The Town hopes you will come to these meetings in January and help us make those intentions a reality. We really need your help!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season and looking forward to seeing you on January 26th and 27th.

The Basalt Town Council, Basalt Planning and Zoning Commission, and Town Staff