Aspen
Sales Flat in June
Aspen’s retail economy generated nearly $356 million in total sales through June, up 3 percent from 2016, a slight boost that continues to be led by the lodging sector, according to the Aspen Daily News. Retail sales by industry were up 2 percent for June over the same month the previous year.
Lodging, the largest contributor to city coffers — accounting for over a quarter of overall retail sales — rose 6 percent for the month. The next largest sector of sales tax, restaurants and bars, rose 4 percent for the month compared to June 2016, and is up 3 percent over the previous years.
In June, which accounts for roughly 8 percent of the Aspen’s annual sales, total retail sales reached $60.8 million. Construction-related sales, which accounts for 7 percent of overall annual sales, was nearly $8 million, up 4 percent for the month and is tracking 1 percent higher than this time last year.Aspen Considering Sin Tax on Tobacco
Funding tobacco education and cessation programs and supporting broader substance abuse reduction initiatives would be a good use for the nearly $300,000 in new revenue anticipated if voters approve a new local tobacco tax in November, Aspen City Council members said at a work session in August, according to the Aspen Daily News.
However, elected officials were less enthusiastic about spending those monies on other programs suggested by city staff, including wildfire mitigation and a “clean team” to pick up cigarette butts around town. Council members were also leaning toward allowing the tobacco tax remittance to accumulate in the general fund, with the understanding that the money would be steered toward specific health-related programs.
Aspen City Council earlier this year passed a new law raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products in the city to 21. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, is aimed at reducing youth tobacco use rates, which, according to national data, have begun to increase after a long-term decline.
Council is now considering a tax of between $3 and $4 per pack of cigarettes and around 40 percent added on to the cost of other tobacco products to act as a further deterrent.
Aspen Club Construction Stalls with Lack of Financing
The Aspen Club and Spa is restructuring the financing of its 55,000-square-foot residential expansion project, which has impacted construction enough so that this winter’s completion deadline will not be met, the Aspen Daily News reported. A $45 million loan and security agreement between Firstbank and the Aspen Club was established in May 2016.
Construction is continuing, albeit at a lesser pace than one month ago. The completion will be delayed from its targeted date of this winter. All told, the club’s new facility is approved at 130,000 square feet and includes a residential component of 20 townhomes, which would be sold as timeshares. Those who have kept an eye on the project that began in earnest one year ago have noticed recently that a site once active with up to 200 subcontractors working on everything from steel to electric, plumbing and roofing had dwindled to only a few dozen.
Snowmass
Sales Up Double-Digits in June
June sales tax collections in Snowmass Village surged 15.05 percent when compared to the same month in 2016, according to the Aspen Daily News.
Sales taxes contributed to the general fund in June totaled $96,124.29, compared to June 2016, when $83,550.81 was earned. That’s the best June for sales tax revenues since at least 2012. Through month’s end, the general fund had earned $1,227,594.07, which is up 5 percent over the first six months of 2016.
General retail was the industry which saw the most gains, with a 51.81 percent increase over the same month last year. In June 2017, general retail contributed $14,519.38, a huge rise over the $9,563.79 in June 2016. Construction-related retail was up 20.21 percent, for a total of $8,881.23 in June 2017.
Collections from food drug and liquor sales were up 18 percent. Lodging tax collections were strong as well, notching a 19.28 percent rise — $33,600 in sales tax generated — compared to $22,336 in June 2016.
New Fire Station Construction Underway
Construction workers poured the first layer of concrete that will serve as the foundation to the Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District’s future $17 million home, the Snowmass Sun reported. After demolishing the old fire station in late May and two-plus months of digging, construction of the new firehouse is behind about one month due to “bad soil” that the construction team discovered while excavating the site. A “failing” foundation on the fire district’s 46-year-old former station was among its many issues and need for a new site; the new one will be around for the next 50 to 75 years.
Basalt
Willits Town Center Moving Forward with Next Phase
The developer of Willits Town Center is securing approvals from Basalt to start construction of its most visible buildings, the Aspen Times reported. Mariner Real Estate Investment earned approval from the Basalt Planning and Zoning Commission to build residential and commercial buildings at the primary entrance to the development. The site, formally known as Block 3, is located near the roundabout on Willits Lane.
One building, closest to Willits Lane, will contain 49 rental apartments. Two smaller buildings to the east will have commercial uses. The structures will combine for about 62,500 square feet total. A pocket park will separate the structures. The goal is to start construction of the 47,500-square-foot residential building this fall. The hope is to start the 15,000 square feet of commercial space as well.
Carbondale
Pro-Immigration Measure Passed by Town Council
Carbondale Town trustees unanimously passed a resolution that Carbondale Middle School students brought forward that seeks to clarify town policy with respect to the immigrant community and recognizes that the sector “contributes to the social, educational and economic life of the town,” according to the resolution language. “Town of Carbondale supports a clear path for immigrants to legally live, work and become citizens of the United States. The public safety and well-being of all residents of the town is not served when immigrants are afraid to report crimes, bear witness and seek essential services for fear of deportation.”
Carbondale’s resolution — which was released in both English and Spanish — says that police are instructed to not inquire into a person’s immigration status unless it directly.
Glenwood Springs
Forest Service Plans to Regulate Visitors to Hanging Lake
The number of people hiking up to Hanging Lake on peak weekend days would be cut nearly in half under a proposed management plan unveiled by the U.S. Forest Service, the Aspen Daily News reported.
A fee-based reservation system would cap use at 615 people on such days — as many as 1,100 are hiking to the pristine lake at peak times — and shuttles, likely originating from Glenwood Springs, would be mandatory. Bicyclists would pay a reduced fee to obtain a reservation or permit; reservation prices have yet to be set and will likely be guided by public input.
Hanging Lake visitor numbers have soared from 99,000 in the summer of 2014 to 150,000 last summer, a 50-percent increase. The swell of hikers is degrading both the fragile ecosystem of Hanging Lake and the user experience, he said.
Pitkin County
Sardy Field Looking Toward a Busy Winter
On busy Saturdays during the height of ski season, Sardy Field could see 40 commercial flights, up from about 36 a day in 2016/17 and the most since the early 1990s, when Continental and United Express offered competitive daily service to Denver, the Aspen Daily News reported.
Stay Aspen Snowmass, which tracks local reservations and occupancy, announced that United, American and Delta airlines have expanded schedules from 10 hubs including Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, Houston and Los Angeles, into Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, the state’s third busiest airport.
About 20 percent of the flying public who visit Aspen/Snowmass still land at Denver International Airport and drive the rest of the way. Eagle County Airport accounts for about 5 percent of the locally air-served guests and Grand Junction Airport visitors to Aspen/Snowmass are about 1 percent of the total.
Pitkin County Releases Airport Plan with No Surprises
The long-awaited environmental assessment for the proposed expansion/upgrade of the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport has been released for public consumption and there are few surprises, the Aspen Daily News reported.
Specific components of the EA, two-and-a-half years in the making, include aircraft noise, air quality, climate, socioeconomic conditions and surface transportation; the two major components of the proposed airport expansion are an expanded runway and a new terminal building. According to the EA, the preferred alternative, culled from 18 options, is to shift the airport’s lone runway 80 feet to the west, widening it to 150 feet and strengthening it to allow up to 150,000 pounds of landing weight.