Aspen Parks Department looks to ‘2026 budget and beyond’

Aspen City Council met with the Aspen Parks and Open Spaces Department to discuss its future budget, with a strong focus on potential budget impacts caused by the projected 2027 Aspen/Pitkin County Airport.

The Parks Department at Aspen manages significant land within the city limits and some outside — in total 922 acres across 146 properties, according to Parks and Open Spaces Director Matt Kuhn. 

Those parks range from trails, like the Rio Grande, to buildings, like the Aspen Ice Garden, and tend to have significant upkeep and maintenance costs. Kuhn said the park maintenance expenses could range from a quarter to nearly half of their budget of between $22 million to $25 million, depending on Aspen’s sales taxes.

“It’s quite variable how much we spend on capital,” he said. “It can range from less than $5 million to well over $12 million. Last year, (it was) close to $20 million.”

He noted that last year’s expenditure in capital projects was out of the ordinary. That money is primarily provided by a 1.5% sales tax in Aspen, which the city of Aspen is expected to “soften” in 2027 when the airport is closed. 

“Even in 2026, we need to start planning for a softening and decrease in revenue associated with the airport closure in 2027 because we are so dependent on sales tax,” he said. “That potential softening that we’re forecasting is going to have a pretty significant effect on what we can do in the next five years.”

Because of this, councilors and Parks Department staff discussed a shift in priorities, including an “acquisition”-focused department that expands its holdings and a “maintenance and upkeep”-focused department that fixates on keeping upkeep costs within budget. 

“When you start to look at these (projects), they beg questions on whether or not you just continue to perform the bare minimum of maintenance, roofs, cooling plants,” Kuhn said. “Or whether you look more holistically at the comprehensive facility overhaul that has a longer term vision.” 

That does not mean the department is abandoning the prospect of new park acquisitions, but it is anticipating a tighter budget and could have less money at its disposal for acquisitions in the near future. 

However, what those priorities are remains to be considered by city staff and councilors. More budget conversations are scheduled in the coming months.

Councilors noted that there are several buildings across Aspen that may be gearing up for renovations for this same period, so there may need to be some urgency in defining specific priorities.

“I keep hearing that a number of our major hotels are planning for remodeling during that airport closure, and so you would think that they are getting contractors kind of locked in,” Aspen Mayor Rachael Richards said. “That’s something for our staff to really keep close tabs on.”