The Aspen Daily Chronicle reported on May 23, 1891 that “Judge Watson went down to his ranch on Brush Creek yesterday to oversee the planting of a large crop of potatoes. The judge expects to have a corner on the market when the tubers are ready to ship.”

Valley farms began growing potatoes for mass production starting in the 1890s and increased into the early 1900s, peaking in 1909 at 225,500 bushels (for the valley). Yields began to decline after 1909 partly because of blight that lives in the soil, but ranchers learned how to replenish the soil by rotating their crops—potatoes for two years, grain for two years, and alfalfa hay for six years. 

There are so many tweets about Snowmass, we thought we would give the Snowmass Sun its own Tweet All About It. We’ve picked out our favorite and not-so-favorite (at least, those that are printable) tweets about Snowmass.

The Aspen Times is available on Twitter, as well. Simply type in “TheAspenTimes” on Twitter (No spaces, please), and get daily updates on what’s happening in the Roaring Fork Valley.

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The Pitkin County Library, in partnership with the town of Snowmass Village, is exploring the idea of putting a satellite library in Snowmass Town Park.

“If you can kind of imagine the Recreation Center, between the gymnasium and the main gallery, that’s what we call the ‘donut hole,’ and that’s where we’re looking to place this library,” said Andy Worline, the town parks, recreation, and trails director.

There will be a new structure built and attached to the existing structure in the area. F&M Architects, a local architecture firm with roots in Snowmass Village, have been contracted to provide Pitkin County Library with architectural design services for the Snowmass Village Library project.

“Flynn Stewart-Severy has a family in Snowmass Village …. He has a great team behind him, and they also have great library experience. It was a no-brainer getting them on board,” Pitkin County Library Director Genevieve Smith said of one of F&M Architects co-founders.

Smith said they are in the programming phase of the process and are working to decide if what can fit in the space will be useful to the community.

“We’re thinking a really vibrant space for children and families, a meeting space, a study space for people who work remotely … high-school students, college students who need a quiet place to sit down and study, but also bigger meeting spaces for boards, HOAs, things like that,” she said.

The library will also provide event space for things like speaker series and author events. Smith said they hope to be able to bring classes of preschool students to the space for storytime events, like they do at the library in Aspen.

“These are the main things we are focusing on at this point to see if those kinds of activities can happen in the rec center footprint. We have a great team thinking very creatively, and I think we can bring something really magical,” she said.

According to her, Pitkin County Library would staff this library with their well-trained, professional librarians.

“Connecting people with information and ideas is our mission,” she said.

Town Manager Clint Kinney added that the library fits in with Town Council goals of increasing community engagement and ensuring public spaces and facilities meet the community’s unique character.

“This is a project we think has good legs and we’re excited to get it off the ground,” he said. “The council has had this goal for several years, it just takes some time to get the momentum going.”

Council member Tom Fridstein called the plan “exciting” and fellow council members echoed their approval.

“We’ve been asking for this for a long time so it’s great,” he said.

Brush Creek Road closed May 15-Nov. 1

The Brush Creek culvert reconstruction project begins on May 15. Brush Creek Road will be closed from the Blue Roof Condos to the intersection with Owl Creek Road from approximately May 15-Nov. 1.

A detour and special traffic alignments will be in place along Owl Creek and Highline roads for the duration of the project. Signage will be in place to help you get where you need to go. Detour routes will be well-marked, and the road closure will be hardened to prevent confusion for road users.

Village Shuttle Route #8 will serve the Melton Ranch and Horse Ranch communities at 15-minute service intervals between 7:05 a.m.–8:05 p.m. (30-minute service continuing to 9:05 p.m.) from June 5-Sept. 24. Ride request service will be available until midnight. Route information and maps can be found at villageshuttle.com or by calling 970-923-2543.

For more information on the culvert reconstruction project, visit tosv.com/566/Brush-Creek-Culvert-Reconstruction.

Brush Creek park-and-ride renovations begin next week

People who use the Brush Creek Park and Ride off of Colorado Highway 82 in the Upper Valley should expect reduced parking this summer, PItkin County officials said on Monday.

Work to improve lighting and landscaping and increase the number of paved parking spaces from 200 to over 400 is scheduled to start May 15. The parking lot will be prepared for EV charging stations during construction with complete buildout of the charging stations in the future.

The number of available parking spaces will be reduced during construction, however, and parking will be relocated to the upvalley side of the park-and-ride in the gravel section of a temporary parking lot. A large portion of the area where paid parking exists during summer months at Buttermilk will be dedicated to Brush Creek overflow.

Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus service will be unaffected, and the county will work with the contractor to accommodate special events. Officials said they encouraged commuters and visitors to carpool or take transit into Aspen and/or to the Brush Creek park-and-ride.

Colorado-based Siete Inc. is the contractor on the project. It’s scheduled to be complete in the fall.

Snowmass Free Concert Series lineup

Celebrating 31 years of free live music this summer, the Snowmass Free Concert Series returns to Fanny Hill every Thursday evening, June 15-Aug. 24, 2023. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with shows starting at 6:30 p.m. Concerts feature a spectrum of sounds, from zydeco to reggae, rock to soul. 

“The Snowmass Free Concert Series is one of our most beloved summer traditions,” said Rose Abello, tourism director for Snowmass Tourism. “We are so looking forward to another summer of stellar music under the sky on Fanny Hill. This summer’s lineup is sure to please listeners of all genres.”

In addition to the Snowmass Free Concert Series on Thursday evenings, Snowmass is home to free live music throughout the summer at restaurants and venues around Snowmass Village, including a bonus concert on Fanny Hill on Saturday, June 10, part of Snowmass Rendezvous. 

The lineup:

• June 15: Don Chicharron (Chicha)
• June 22: Robert Jon & the Wreck (Rock)
• June 29: Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble (Zydeco)
• July 6: A-Mac & the Height (Reggae/Covers)
• July 13: James Hunter (Soul)
• July 20: Chicago Farmer (Country)
• July 27: Emily Wolfe (Rock Guitarist)
• Aug. 3: The Brothers Comatose (Bluegrass)
• Aug. 10: LowDown Brass Band (Brass Band)
• Aug. 17: Digging Dirt (Funk)
• Aug. 24: Honey Island Swamp Band (Bayou Americana)

Alcoholic beverages can be purchased from the Snowmass branded container bars, located inside the venue. Outside food and sealed non-alcoholic beverages are allowed. No glass bottles, open containers, or personal alcohol of any kind are permitted. No dogs are allowed. 

Attendance is expected to be high this summer and parking is limited. Tourism officials encourge using the free parking at Snowmass Town Park, carpool, or take RFTA or Snowmass Village Transit. For more information on the Snowmass Free Concert Series, visit gosnowmass.com/concerts. 

For the full Summer 2023 Event Calendar, visit gosnowmass.com/events. 

Village shuttle construction detour route

Village Shuttle will provide increased service to Route #8 to accommodate transit users impacted by the construction closure from Monday, June 5–Sunday, Sept. 24. The Brush Creek culvert reconstruction project begins on May 15. Brush Creek Road will be closed immediately downhill from the intersection with Owl Creek Road for the duration of this project.

Due to the detour on Brush Creek Rd. this summer, the Village Shuttle will be providing increased Route #8 service to the communities along Brush Creek Rd. and to Town Park. During the closure, buses will be running every 15 minutes with stops along Brush Creek up to Sinclair Rd. and Ride Request service to the Melton Ranch and Horse Ranch communities.

Route #8 will serve these neighborhoods at 15-minute service intervals and will be available from 7:05 a.m.–8:05 p.m. (30-minute service continuing to 9:05 p.m.), and ride request service will be available until midnight. For questions regarding Village Shuttle service, please feel free to call 970-923-2543. Route information and maps can be found at villageshuttle.com.

For more information on the culvert reconstruction project, visit tosv.com/566/Brush-Creek-Culvert-Reconstruction.

Town cleanup day returns to the Town of Snowmass Village

Join your fellow Villagers and help beautify Snowmass Village by participating in this time-honored Town tradition on May 19! Trash and recycling bags will be available for pickup between 8:30-9:30 a.m. at the Daly Lane Depot. Volunteers will then have the morning to work through key areas of the Town, picking up trash and refuse left over from the winter season. Town crews will collect bags of trash throughout the day. 

Town Clean-up Day helps to beautify the town, keeps our waterways clean, and reduces impact to the natural landscape and wildlife.

Lunch will be served at the Town Park Gazebo beginning at noon. Restrooms will be available at Town Park Station.

Pre-registration helps with ordering food for volunteers; please complete the 2023 Town Clean-up Day Registration Form.

Town short-term rental permit portal now available

The Town of Snowmass Village’s short-term rental (STR) permit portal is now available online at tosv.com/str. STR regulations go into effect on May 1, 2023.

Snowmass Village Town Council discussed and considered community feedback on how best to regulate and monitor short-term rentals in the community throughout 2022. Regulations were adopted in Ordinance 6-2022 in November 2022.

These regulations aim to gather better information on STRs and mitigate any negative impacts that STRs may create by allowing permitted short-term rentals to operate within the Town. The STR permit system is now in place, and regulations are effective as of May 1, 2023. Permit fee revenue support administration and regulatory efforts through the General Fund. The regulatory framework including an explanation of permit types may be viewed online.

STR permits are issued through the MUNIRevs system, and permit holders are required to also hold a business license with the Town. New users will be required to create a log in.

STR and permit questions may be directed to:

• Sara Nester (Building Code Compliance Manager) at snester@tosv.com or 970-922-2319
• Jen Beach (Financial & Sales Tax Analyst) at jbeach@tosv.com or 970-923-3796

There are so many tweets about Snowmass, we thought we would give the Snowmass Sun its own Tweet All About It. We’ve picked out our favorite and not-so-favorite (at least, those that are printable) tweets about Snowmass.

The Aspen Times is available on Twitter, as well. Simply type in “TheAspenTimes” on Twitter (No spaces, please), and get daily updates on what’s happening in the Roaring Fork Valley.

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Travis Smith Sinclair’s celebration of life this past Sunday was a beautiful event. Several hundred community members and loved ones from far and wide attended to send him off with love, grief, and gratitude.

“Travis was the quintessential Colorado rancher on skis, and he loved everything these mountains and this town represents,” his family said.

Friends and family cheered and clapped and waved heartfelt goodbyes from the grounds outside of the Black Saddle where Travis’s family once owned one of the original ranches that lauded the foundation for this community. Travis’ children found themselves in a giant kid group hug so big they tumbled down into the grass.

“We will miss him, but his memory is alive within his kids. His family arrived in the Jeep from 1966 that has been in the family,” his family said.

Sinclair and his family have deep connections to the Roaring Fork Valley and Snowmass Village, where they live. His family has been here since the early 1900s and are the namesake for many Snowmass Village locations.

Rocks were painted to be scattered throughout these hillsides that he loved so much as a moving living memorial.

Snowmass Village town manager named tops of 2022

The Colorado City & County Management Association has named Town Manager Clint Kinney the 2022 Manager of the Year.

He received his award at the organization’s annual conference on Wednesday in Glenwood Springs. He was joined by his family to receive the award and hear a presentation recognizing his achievements. Although many people were involved in the nomination process, the award remained a complete secret until the prize was awarded. 

Kinney, who has served as Snowmass Village’s town manager since 2014, holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas and has had a decades-long career in local government.

His enthusiasm for public service inspires his colleagues, fellow managers, and those aspiring to enter careers in local government, according to the association, and the award recognizes his dedication to the profession and his commitment to Snowmass Village through the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, and workforce shortages. 

The Colorado City & County Management Association exists to connect local government managers and assistants through professional networking and career development, supporting their service to Colorado communities. The association is a state affiliate of the International City/County Management Association.

Snowmass Free Concert Series lineup

Celebrating 31 years of free live music this summer, the Snowmass Free Concert Series returns to Fanny Hill every Thursday evening, June 15-August 24, 2023. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with shows starting at 6:30 p.m. Concerts feature a spectrum of sounds, from zydeco to reggae, rock to soul. 

“The Snowmass Free Concert Series is one of our most beloved summer traditions,” said Rose Abello, tourism director for Snowmass Tourism. “We are so looking forward to another summer of stellar music under the sky on Fanny Hill. This summer’s lineup is sure to please listeners of all genres.”

In addition to the Snowmass Free Concert Series on Thursday evenings, Snowmass is home to free live music throughout the summer at restaurants and venues around Snowmass Village, including a bonus concert on Fanny Hill on Saturday, June 10, part of Snowmass Rendezvous. 

The lineup:

• June 15: Don Chicharron (Chicha)
• June 22: Robert Jon & the Wreck (Rock)
• June 29: Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble (Zydeco)
• July 6: A-Mac & the Height (Reggae/Covers)
• July 13: James Hunter (Soul)
• July 20: Chicago Farmer (Country)
• July 27: Emily Wolfe (Rock Guitarist)
• Aug. 3: The Brothers Comatose (Bluegrass)
• Aug. 10: LowDown Brass Band (Brass Band)
• Aug. 17: Digging Dirt (Funk)
• Aug. 24: Honey Island Swamp Band (Bayou Americana)

Alcoholic beverages can be purchased from the Snowmass branded container bars, located inside the venue. Outside food and sealed non-alcoholic beverages are allowed. No glass bottles, open containers, or personal alcohol of any kind are permitted. No dogs are allowed. 

Attendance is expected to be high this summer and parking is limited. Tourism officials encourge using the free parking at Snowmass Town Park, carpool, or take RFTA or Snowmass Village Transit. For more information on the Snowmass Free Concert Series, visit gosnowmass.com/concerts. 

For the full Summer 2023 Event Calendar, visit gosnowmass.com/events. 

Brush Creek Culvert Reconstruction

The Town will perform several infrastructure projects throughout the 2023 construction season. These projects include the Brush Creek Culvert Project, which will involve the replacement and reconstruction of the culvert beneath Brush Creek Road immediately downhill from the intersection with Owl Creek Road. The reconstruction of this culvert will result in the closure of Brush Creek Road from the Blue Roof Condos to the intersection with Owl Creek Road from approximately May 15, 2023, to Nov. 1, 2023.

Town Park and the Rodeo Lot are great options for Park & Ride services to access the upper Village. Village Shuttle and RFTA provide transit services throughout Snowmass Village and have connections at Town Park Station.

Multimodal connections throughout the Village allow residents and guests to navigate without using a car or the Village Shuttle.

Hotels & Lodges connecting guests with the Aspen Airport (ASE) and other locations within the Roaring Fork Valley can still access Snowmass Village via the detour route along Owl Creek Road.

Traffic will flow at the intersection of Owl Creek Road & Brush Creek Road continuously. A road closure (excluding local traffic) will be in place on Brush Creek Road immediately uphill from the Snowmass Recreation Center. Signage will be in place to help you get where you need to go. Detour routes will be well-marked, and the road closure will be hardened to prevent confusion for road users.

Village shuttle construction detour route

Village Shuttle will provide increased service to Route #8 to accommodate transit users impacted by the construction closure from Monday, June 5–Sunday, Sept. 24. The Brush Creek culvert reconstruction project begins on May 15. Brush Creek Road will be closed immediately downhill from the intersection with Owl Creek Road for the duration of this project.

Due to the detour on Brush Creek Rd. this summer, the Village Shuttle will be providing increased Route #8 service to the communities along Brush Creek Rd. and to Town Park. During the closure, buses will be running every 15 minutes with stops along Brush Creek up to Sinclair Rd. and Ride Request service to the Melton Ranch and Horse Ranch communities.

Route #8 will serve these neighborhoods at 15-minute service intervals and will be available from 7:05 a.m.–8:05 p.m. (30-minute service continuing to 9:05 p.m.), and ride request service will be available until midnight. For questions regarding Village Shuttle service, please feel free to call 970-923-2543. Route information and maps can be found at villageshuttle.com.

For more information on the culvert reconstruction project, visit tosv.com/566/Brush-Creek-Culvert-Reconstruction.

Town clean-up day returns to the Town of Snowmass Village

Join your fellow Villagers and help beautify Snowmass Village by participating in this time-honored Town tradition on May 19! Trash and recycling bags will be available for pickup between 8:3-9:30 a.m. at the Daly Lane Depot. Volunteers will then have the morning to work through key areas of the Town, picking up trash and refuse left over from the winter season. Town crews will collect bags of trash throughout the day. 

Town Clean-up Day helps to beautify the town, keeps our waterways clean, and reduces impact to the natural landscape and wildlife.

Lunch will be served at the Town Park Gazebo beginning at noon. Restrooms will be available at Town Park Station.

Pre-registration helps with ordering food for volunteers; please complete the 2023 Town Clean-up Day Registration Form.

Brush Creek Culvert Project Open House

Join the Town of Snowmass Village on May 4 at 4:00 p.m. to learn about the Brush Creek Culvert Reconstruction Project. Staff will be available in the Council Chambers in Town Hall to answer questions about the project.

Project information is available at tosv.com/566/Brush-Creek-Culvert-Reconstruction.

“First School Election Monday for New Board” announced The Aspen Times on May 3, 1951. “The first election for school board members in the reorganized district under House Bill No. 308, will be held at the school house…At that time five persons will be selected for varying terms of office to conduct the affairs of the school district. Aspen school census is under 350 and therefore cannot nominate candidates nor sign petitions by which the names can go on the ballot. In fact the law does not provide for ballots but the voters must go to the voting place and vote for whoever they will….Persons indicating to The Times their desire to be considered for positions on the school board from the five director districts:” included for “No. 5, Brush and Owl Creeks, Mrs. Hildur Anderson, Bernard Stapleton.” Hildur Anderson (of the Hoaglund Family ranch now known as Anderson Ranch) once taught at Brush and Owl Creek schools and later in 1952 was convinced to teach again at the new Red Brick School not long after winning the vote for the school board.

There are so many tweets about Snowmass, we thought we would give the Snowmass Sun it’s own Tweet All About It. We’ve picked out our favorite and not-so-favorite (at least, those that are printable) tweets about Snowmass.

The Aspen Times is available on Twitter, as well. Simply type in “TheAspenTimes” on Twitter (No spaces, please), and get daily updates on what’s happening in the Roaring Fork Valley.

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Want to see your picture in the Snowmass Sun or on our Instagram, @aspentimes?

Send your photos to mail@aspentimes.com with the subject line ‘photo submission’ for a chance to be featured! We want to see it all: friends in town, locals abroad, your family, your beloved pets, a favorite run, trail, event, friends at work. Maybe your garden, an achievement, an anniversary, engagement, an evening out, anything fun. Or a remembrance of someone special. Share with the community! Be sure to include photo credits and a caption.