City Purchases Two-Bedroom Condo for $1.1 Million

The city of Aspen is moving forward with the purchase of a $1.1 million condominium to serve as housing for city staff, the Aspen Daily News reported. The purchase of the 687-square-foot, top-floor condominium with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a deck located in the ABC brings the city’s total stock of employee housing to 68 units. City employee housing is separate from housing managed by the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority and is reserved specifically for municipal workers.

The funds for the purchase itself will come out of the city’s 505 housing fund, which is designated for city employee housing. It is still undecided whether city employees will rent the unit from the city or be able to purchase it and then later sell it back. It could be used for an essential employee, such as a snowplow driver, who needs a shorter response time to work.

Aspen Utilities Customers Can Expect Price Hike

Aspen utilities customers are likely to see slightly higher water and electricity bills starting in 2024, the Aspen Daily News reported. Average residential customers will see increases of  $19.54 on their monthly electric bills and of $5.25 on their monthly water bills. The increases will differ depending on the property’s location and needs (average Red Mountain customers, for instance, will see a $53.20 increase on their water bills due to pumping costs).

Average small commercial customers will see a $23.78 increase on their monthly power bills. Average large commercial customers will see a monthly increase of $86.80. Generally, the average commercial customer can expect a $41.78 increase in their water bill. It will cost $12.5 million to run the utility’s water services and $14 million for electricity in 2024. The utility’s largest costs are power purchases and capital projects, and the city must increase rates to compensate for the rise.

Aspen Retail Sales Down in August

The eighth month of the year saw an 8% drop in taxable sales produced by Aspen’s retail economy compared to August 2022, the Aspen Daily News reported. Taxable sales amounting to $105.7 million in August were off the mark of $115.2 million posted in August 2022, according to the city of Aspen’s monthly tax report. Year-to-date sales through August were nearly flat at $845.4 million, a 1% bump over the $836.4 million rung up through the first eight months of 2022, according to the report. The accommodations, construction, liquor, jewelry, utilities, marijuana, and bank/finance sectors also experienced double-digit percentage declines in August.

Residents, Natives Split on Tourism

Aspen’s natives and transplants are somewhat split in their views of the town’s quality of life and local tourism industry, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, reported by the Aspen Daily News. The report says that 61% of participating Aspen residents held a net positive view of Aspen’s tourism industry but Aspen natives — residents who were born in the Aspen area and still live here — were the most likely group of respondents to hold that view, with 77% saying they feel positively about Aspen tourism.

Meanwhile, transplants were less likely to feel positively about Aspen’s tourism industry (54%) and showed similar, if not greater, divides on other tourism-related questions. Majorities in all these groups did generally view the industry favorably. Only 13% of all Aspen residents surveyed said they felt negatively about Aspen tourism.

Amy Simon Leaving Position at City of Aspen

After 30 years working for the city of Aspen, Planning Director Amy Simon will leave her position in January, the Aspen Daily News reported. Simon celebrated her 30-year anniversary with the city’s community development department in April. She first joined the city shortly after completing her master’s degree in historical preservation from Boston University in 1993.

She served as the city’s historic preservation officer from 1993 until 2020, when she was promoted to the position of planning director. She will move to Denver to begin her new role as the historic preservation design review supervisor at the city and county of Denver.

New Lighting Code Ordinance in Effect

A new ordinance marks the first change to the city’s outdoor-lighting regulations since 2003, the Aspen Daily News reported. The new ordinance establishes lighting zones, adds “lumen maximums” and regulations on “light trespass.” The ordinance also designates specific hours for lighting, suggests lighting types and has some exclusions for holiday lighting. It went into effect immediately.

Aspen Sales Flatten

Hotels and lodges saw their sales volume plummet 21% in September and Aspen’s year-to-date overall retail performance was nearly identical to the first nine months of 2022, the Aspen Daily News reported. September sales amounted to $97.1 million for Aspen’s retail economy, which drew $103.6 million in September 2022. That’s a 6% dropoff. Sucking the most wind, with a 27% dive in sales in September, was the marijuana industry, which posted $646,372 in sales, down from $881,146 in September 2022.

The bigger-dollar sectors also took hits: Food and drug was down 10%, from $7.2 million to $6.5 million; fashion/clothing dropped 9%, from $13.1 million to $11.9 million; construction was off by 6%, from $10.9 million to $10.3 million. Accommodations went from producing $27.6 million in sales in September 2022 to $21.9 million last September.