Snowmass is boosting housing and infrastructure in the 2025 budget

After months of deliberation and several meetings, the Snowmass City Council approved the 2025 budget.

The council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a $169.3 million budget for the year, with a focus 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, which explains 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 city included the Draw Site, a plan to build a 79-unit workforce housing project adjacent to and uphill from City Hall, as one of the most notable capital projects in the budget.

“I think we have some (really) exciting opportunities in housing,” said Snowmass Council Member Susan Marolt. “I think our city, our county, everyone across the valley realizes that housing is something that can solve a lot of problems.”

The city will allocate $3 million a year from sales and lodging tax revenues over 30 years to pay for the $86 million project. They will also finance it with subsidies and rental income. Initially they will borrow the financing.

Snowmass voters approved the city’s request to spend $86 million on the site at Tuesday’s election.

“Appropriating those dollars and getting that Draw Site approved by 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 must obtain permission to use the land before purchasing.

The city has also budgeted money for non-housing-related major capital improvements. They have allocated $8.5 million to fund a renovation of the Little Red Schoolhouse, which is currently used for child care. They are trying to increase the capacity of the building so that it can accommodate 60 children instead of 30, as is currently the case.

The city has allocated $3 million to renovate the Snowmass Center, which could include a minor renovation of existing bus depots or the creation of an entirely new transit center, according to previous 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 pension funds, among other employee-related issues. The 2025 budget allocates $18.5 million to staff, nearly 11% of the total budget and an increase of approximately 4% over the 2024 budget.

Snowmass Mayor Bill Madsen said the focus on staffing 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 who 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 is focused on providing competitive wages to retain a high-quality workforce.

“We are in a service industry and we need people to provide the services we provide and so we need to make sure we are competitive in the marketplace,” Kinney said. “I want to continue to recruit and retain the highest quality staff, as we already do.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at [email protected].