Letter: A satisfied skeptic

I wish to publicly extend my apologies to the Lowe Enterprises, Jim D’Francia and the Cottle Carr Yaw Architects group, all the residents who contributed thousands of ideas and hours to the Downtown Advisory Committee and anyone else in Basalt for anything I may have said that was offensive regarding the proposed development of the Pan and Fork site. When the proposed four-story hotel that included 150,000 square feet of mixed development and free-market condos was unveiled and the push for a quick passage of the plan was so powerful and seemingly a certainty, I felt it my civic duty to respond with equal vigor in hopes of swaying things far enough in the other direction to be meaningful. I think Basalt is in good hands with the Lowe group and that the final plan that will evolve, including the more accessible river park as outlined by council Tuesday, will be excellent. I started out as an opponent and skeptic, but now after going through all the debates and recent public meetings and knowing some of players involved, I firmly believe that the Lowe team has Basalt’s best interests at heart. Good luck to us all.

Mark Kwiecienski

Basalt