Letter: For the record

For the record

This letter is in response to “Too much faith in Basalt projections,”printed on Nov. 30 in The Aspen Times.

Mark Kwiecienski failed to mention that I was also a member of the Downtown Area Advisory Committee when he noted I had served in “influential capacities for this critical town parcel…”

As the bankrupt developer of the Basalt Bluffs project, it’s ironic that Mr. Kwiecienski contends his financial analysis is somehow more credible than the Town Manager or Ehler’s Group evaluation of the complex economics behind the CDC Parcel.

For the record, when I got up to speak at the Nov. 24 Basalt Town Council meeting, I did so as a private citizen and tax-paying resident of Basalt. This is my Basalt, too.

I have two great kids on the BMS Honor Roll and it is absurd that we are considering saddling their generation with millions of dollars in future debt (while defunding other important programs like the Southside Underpass, Real America Affordable Housing, and sensible daycare solutions) when the Town already owns 2.07-acres of parkland and over 550 feet of riverfront on the former Pan & Fork Site. Just saying.

Chris Touchette

Basalt