There has been repeated talk of bringing World Cup back with a new lift, but even when it does eventually happen there are no guarantees that they will be back anytime soon, as FIS is very happy with their current situation and schedule. People speak of free public parking, which is unfortunately long gone and a thing of the past, as it will not be an option at the new project.
Adding a ski museum at the cost of getting rid of a park and open space to create a more dense environment is unthinkable. These new plans also call for a new lift alignment and starting point, which will bring down more trees on Aspen Mountain and does not yet have Forest Service approval. We are giving up way too much in an attempt to bring the lift closer to town but the reality is that it will not be that heavily used as there will not be anywhere close to park.
The land and park are currently designated “conservation” and they want to change it to “lodging,” which is absurd. If you have not been up there lately, the place is already overdeveloped and the developers are the only ones who will benefit from this. There is nothing being removed to make any room for anything new, and the developers now want the city to subsidize the project for almost 4.5 million which is nearly $3,000 per voter as previously stated. They want all of these concessions but are falling flat on their faces in delivering on-site employee housing for the project. When I take into consideration giving away open space, losing a park, getting almost no employee housing and top of all that the subsidy by the city to the developers, I say, “No way!”
I am not against modest development on the west side but do not want a lift, World Cup and a monstrosity hung over my head to make it happen. The current City Council, with the exception of Bert Myrin, failed us by giving us a ballot question that does not deal with all the issues and caved in on subsidies to the developers. How long are we going to keep trying to cram 2 pounds of crap into a 1-pound bag?
Mike Kashinski
Aspen