Trump’s federal funding freeze puts Snowmass project in ‘limbo’
Council stands to lose $13.5 million grant for new transit center

Plans for a new Snowmass Transit Center landed in the crosshairs after President Donald Trump froze all federal loans and grants Tuesday.
Town council stands to lose $13.5 million of Federal Transit Administration funding to use toward the center.
“It’s kind of a difficult situation to be honest,” Snowmass Mayor Alyssa Shenk said.
Council was already under time pressure before the freeze to approve the transit center reconstruction project by March 3 and finalize the grant contract, according to Town Manager Clint Kinny. The approval would culminate months of deliberation.
But with Trump’s recent funding freeze, there is no longer a guarantee that the town will receive the $13.5 million even if they approve the project.
“We’re kind of in limbo at this moment,” Snowmass Mayor Alyssa Shenk said of the grant freeze, adding, “I do think it’s hard to commit to something when you don’t know if you’re going to get the funding or not.”
The conditions of Trump’s grant freeze are still murky. The memo from the executive office of the president stated “this temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.”
The memo froze “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” but targeted specifically assistance for foreign aid, NGOs, diversity equity and inclusion, woke gender ideology, and the Green Deal. It went into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Though the grant for the transit center does not fall under these categories, it is adversely affected by the freeze, according to Kinney. After discussing the grant with the FTA and state, Kinney wrote in a memo to council that they should expect scope changes and longer approval timeframes for grants, especially for those that have not been finalized — such as the $13.5 million.
Even with the grant included, council hesitated to commit to the cost of the design presented in last week’s council meeting.
The entire project was predicted to cost $58 million. It would include a two-level transit center in the location of the current center and over Lot 6 as well as a two level parking garage over existing Lot 5, providing access to both Roaring Fork Transit Authority buses and Village shuttles.
Council asked designers SEH Design|Build Inc. to come to the next meeting with a design closer to $40 million that would exclude parking, believing $58 million to be over budget.
Assuming they overcome the freeze, it is unlikely the town would secure the federal funding if they remove the parking garage from designs. The parking was in the original grant application.
That likely leaves council with the option of a roughly $40 million transit center design with no parking and no federal funding, or a $58 million transit center design with parking and the potential for the $13.5 million, which must still be finalized and unfrozen by the Trump administration. Council also plans to allot $6 million from Pitkin County and $1.5 million from RFTA toward the project.
“The question for the council is going to be: do you want to go forward with this project without parking and see if you can still get the federal grant, even though they said the likelihood is low?” Kinney said.
But Shenk worries carrying on with the project should they lose funding could affect other capital improvement projects.
“We have to determine if it’s a priority for the town and priority for the council,” Shenk said. “And there are a lot of other projects.”
The Little Red School House expansion, which would double the capacity of the child care facility from 30 to 60, is one of the projects that would be most affected should expenditures increase on the transit center due to a lack of federal funding, according to Kinney. The construction of a roundabout at the Owl Creek-Brush Creek intersection could also lose funding. As it stands, the town has $6 million and $8 million allotted to each, respectively, Kinney said.
“If we committed to this project,” Shenk said of the transit center’s potential lack of funding, “We would have to put other capital projects on hold.”
Council member Tom Fridstein said they will discuss the issue in their upcoming council meeting on Feb. 3.
“But my personal view is that I think we should still proceed as planned,” Fridstein said, adding, “We’re trying to get to a future where we’re less dependent on cars. This transportation center is critical.”
He said the two level design is the only design council has seen that functions for both shuttles and buses, is safe for all passengers, and is physically appropriate to the scale and character of Snowmass. And Snowmass has discussed replacing the center for over 30 years, he added.
“No other solution we’ve looked at meets that criteria,” he said.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
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