Many Riverfront questions

The Riverfront Park on the Levinson property in Basalt has gone out to bid before receiving approval from Town Council? Some members of the River Master Plan Implementation Committee have received no information or plans regarding the Riverfront Park? The public has not been given the opportunity for input on the park design as part of the River Master Planning process? The town staff is requesting an exemption from the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Ordinance, which is designed to protect riparian areas like Levinson?

The design plan for Riverfront Park is to include the removal of more than 100 trees and other heavily engineered elements such as a massive riprap wall. Is this design going to enhance the ecological integrity and natural aesthetics to its maximum potential? Is this design the appropriate model for what should happen up and down the Roaring Fork River as other sites get developed?

Is this true? How can this be happening? Why is the community unaware of what is planned at the Levinson property? Why have we read nothing in the newspapers concerning this issue recently? The Basalt Town Council is meeting on Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. to discuss and possibly approve the Riverfront Park Plan. By attending this meeting, we can better understand what may or may not happen at the Levinson property.

Lynn Nichols/Basalt