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Letter: Basalt at the confluence

I joined the Basalt Planning and Zoning Commission nearly 20 years ago and we worked on the master plan that laid the groundwork for welcoming Willits and redeveloping Old Town while honoring its history. In that plan we identified the Pan and Fork Mobile Home Park as one of the cornerstone parcels that could unlock Old Town’s potential. We also set a goal of creating enough affordable-housing options in Basalt so the Pan and Fork residents could stay in the community.

Today the Pan and Fork residents have all been relocated, and we have hundreds of affordable-housing options being built and in sight. We also have an opportunity to take the next step by voting for 2F to purchase and 2G to build an amazing river park. In doing so we will also own the best 1-acre riverfront parcel in Basalt and can sell it with clear zoning so it can be redeveloped with low risk.

I am sanguine that this investment will ultimately unite our community and spur some incredible redevelopment opportunities, not just on this parcel, but also on other town-owned land, the Clark’s Market parcel and many other in-fill and redevelopment parcels in and around Old Town.



Voting for 2F and 2G (and 4A for our library, too) is the next step for Basalt and the midvalley community toward realizing a vision that embraces the confluence of our past, present and future river culture.

Jon Fox-Rubin




Executive director, The Manaus Fund