Kolbe: Of Aspen, for Aspen

I believe being part of a community means knowing your voice matters, feeling valued, and embracing opportunities to contribute to the greater good. My decision to run for Aspen City Council comes from a deep commitment to listening, working collaboratively, and seeking thoughtful solutions that reflect the desires of our community.

Through decades of engaging with neighbors, business owners, and local leaders, I’ve seen firsthand how meaningful conversations — exchanging ideas, asking questions, and considering different perspectives — lead to more inclusive decisions and more decisive actions. 

It is this approach that I would bring to the council table if given the opportunity. I am not a single-issue candidate. I view issues holistically, with long-range goals in mind, while exercising immediate action to attain these goals. While I find the 30,000′ view important as a guide, it is also important to deal with the problems and take action.

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With this in mind, I offer these “day one” ideas — which are not just mine, but rather those shaped by face-to-face discussions with a broad spectrum of community members.

Entrance actions

Traffic congestion is one of the defining frustrations for residents, commuters, and visitors. A mobility study seems like an obvious next step — except we already completed one in 2017. The Aspen Institute spent 15 months examining ways to improve traffic flow and mobility, concluding that increasing highway capacity — that is, more asphalt — will never solve congestion. We cannot build our way out of traffic problems, but we can improve quality of life by systematically integrating the five components identified by the study. We can — and should — also consider the downstream communities, the new airport, the Lumberyard, and future Burlingame projects in our future Entrance needs and design.  

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And while we work holistically to meet our goals of reducing the number of cars that enter and exit Aspen, we can also take action right away to ease the daily frustrations of the entrance and exit experience. These day-one solutions do not require asphalt nor major capital funds.

We should try measures like opening up the transit lane at peak times since CDOT and RFTA already approved this idea, synchronize the traffic lights; allow Burlingame residents access to the Maroon Creek Club road and underpass, so that the Burlingame light can turn off at peak hours; and assign a traffic coordinator to the school, so that busses may easily access the roundabout to get our children home.  

Wildfire mitigation

Wildfires can be really scary and are a real concern here. Regardless of the voting outcome, there will be no immediate second bridge nor a fixed Castle Creek bridge. These solutions will take years. In the meantime, let’s work into solutions that we can activate right away. 

We have Pano AI, a rapid smoke detection camera system — thanks to a project between Gerald Hosier and Pitkin County — that assists our first responders in detecting fires early. This is critical to reducing spread and scale and supporting safe evacuations. Let’s build on this by developing community evacuation plans, practicing a variety of scenarios, and working out the kinks ahead of time. Schools have fire drills; preparation reduces panic. 

Existing avenues

Let’s also diversify our options: Harden the Rio Grande Trail as an emergency corridor — widen pinch points and reinforce the trail, so there is a secondary route. Consider opening the right of way off of Willoughby Way to Slaughterhouse Bridge as another route for emergency access. The Marolt footbridge and Tiehack/ARC bridges were built with emergency use functions, and Independence Pass is open during fire season.

We may need another bridge, but let’s first use what we have to inform what exactly we need.

Prevention measures

Fuel, weather, and topography are the three main components of fire behavior. We can only control fuel, so let’s make systematic improvements to reduce the fuel that exists in and around our city.

First, let’s not allow cedar shingles for roofing material — one of the largest contributors to fires spreading from house to house.

Second, individual homeowners can ensure a defensible perimeter around their property. Imagine if we develop a Wilderness Urban Interface Team to strategically mitigate the fire potential by building a defensive perimeter. Hire laid-off U.S. Forest Service Personnel. House them in the local Forest Service-designated housing and teach local youth to learn about responsible fire protection protocols.

Let’s mitigate disaster before it happens, which saves money, time, energy, and lives, offsetting the cost of Disaster Relief, Red Cross, and FEMA Funds, as well as the time and expense of rebuilding.

Affordable Housing  

Make no mistake: There would be no Aspen community without the bold vision and execution of our 50-year-old affordable housing program. Our program ensures residents can stay, grow, and thrive in the place they choose to call home. Housing is the single most important stabilizing asset to an individual, family, and community. And we just don’t have enough.   

We can build residential housing that is near employment, transportation hubs, and essential services to have the greatest impact on the number of cars, on reducing carbon emissions, and improving quality of life.  We can invest in improvements to ensure that APCHA remains the best resort community housing system in the nation. 

The APCHA board can modify the income restrictions for renters to allow for rather than penalize upward mobility: After qualifying, when you earn a raise, you don’t lose your housing — instead scale up. Make more; pay more. We can resolve Centennial’s 15-year-long legal battle by offering first priority to Centennial homeowners into the Lumberyard project. Then scrape the dilapidated problems of the current Centennial housing transforming it into the next APCHA  modern, multi-family, energy efficient housing homerun.      

Mind, body, and spirit — the Aspen ideal

Aspen’s issues are varied and diverse. Our town has been a leader in transformative thought for decades. Aspen pioneered affordable, deed-restricted housing, which other resort communities have emulated. We house an important think tank right here in the Aspen Institute, whose ideas and conferences are seen and followed worldwide. We can live up to our best ideas and ideals. As we find solutions to our day-to-day issues, we show examples of what is possible. How we choose to address transportation, housing, the environment, wildfire management, inclusion, and quality of life, so too are we setting models for others to follow. 

Aspen has always been a progressive community.  I want to lend my expertise and desire to give back to reach these solutions — and offer fresh ideas and perspectives that protect our small-town community. My background in education and business provides me with experience in contracts, budgets, staff acquisition, management, and front-facing customer service. As an employer, I understand the challenges facing employees and the demands of our tourist economy. As a community, we face issues ranging from STRs, education, financial management of the Wheeler and enhancement funds, and other city-owned properties. Our next council will oversee contracts, manage over three hundred city employees, contract for the design and operation of the Armory, and develop partnerships with statewide organizations, among many critical tasks.

I’m asking for your vote on March 4 to do this work for you, for my hometown, and for our community. Please VOTE.