Valley-area notes: Basalt council election update; RFTA closing Rubey Park lobby
Nominations petitions available for three Basalt council seats
Nomination positions for three Basalt town council positions will be available to pick up starting Tuesday.
Three seats on the seven-member board will be up for grabs in the April 5 election. All terms are for four years. The seats are elected at-large, meaning the top three vote-getters in the field will win.
Candidates must collect signatures of 25 qualified electors on the nomination petitions. The petitions must be submitted to the town clerk by 5 p.m. on Jan 24.
Ballots will be mailed to town voters between March 14 and 21.
Bill Infante, Ryan Slack and Gary Tennenbaum currently hold the seats that are up for election. Tennenbaum cannot run again because of term limits. He has served consecutive four-year terms after winning election in 2014 and 2018. He also won election in 2006 but didn’t seek reelection in 2010.
Slack said Monday he hasn’t decided yet if he will run again. He said he “loves it” but must make the best decision for his family.
Infante couldn’t be reached for comment on his intentions.
The other three members of the council and Mayor Bill Kane are in the middle of their terms. The council members whose terms run until 2024 are Glenn Drummond, David Knight and Elyse Hottel.
RFTA will close Rubey Park lobby due to COVID spike
The lobby and waiting room of the Rubey Park Transit Center in Aspen will close to the public starting Wednesday.
The closure is due to the high level of community transmission of COVID-19, recently reported by Pitkin County Public Health, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority said Monday in a news release. RFTA buses are still in operation and the bathrooms at the transit center will still be open. Masks are required on buses and in the bathrooms.
Bus passes can be purchased at the ticket vending machine on the west side of the platform.
“Given the rapid local increase in COVID cases in the past week or so, RFTA is doing what we can to help protect the riding public and our employees while still providing our essential transportation services,” said RFTA safety manager Jason Smith in the statement.
The lobby will be restricted to a maximum of three people at one time for immediate business only with the clerk.
‘Radio icon in the valley’: Broadcaster Jim Williams departs for bigger airwaves
Broadcaster Jim Williams of KSPN and KNFO is leaving the valley after eight years of serving as the voice of Aspen, Basalt and Roaring Fork high school’s sports.
