The town of Carbondale and the developer in charge of the Chacos Park development project are soliciting community input through index cards and a drop box. Those are available in the red phone box lent to them by Carbondale Arts, located at the corner of 4th and Main at the edge of the park.
A meeting about the park’s development took up the entirety of a Carbondale Town Trustees work session on Tuesday, December 19th. A video of the session is available on the town’s YouTube page.
As of the trustee work session, one-hundred and thirteen votes had been cast. The most popular options so far are to use the park as a multi-functional community gathering space, with plenty of trees and gardens as well as a stage to host events and concerts.
Carbondale’s Parks and Recreation Director Eric Brendlinger says that the Park has 44 days of activities for next year, not including time as a winter ice rink. He notes that they hope to prioritize pedestrians and space versatility. Another challenge is to find new shade options for the plot of land, since several old unhealthy trees were removed to help allow for more flexibility. Some of those trees had been leaning on an old storage building and creating a severe safety hazard for the public.
Carbondale Parks and Rec will be posting different questions for residents to respond to every few weeks, all regarding events in the park and how it is used.
The comment period is expected to last through end of January.
According to the preliminary timeline, a community listening event will be held on the First Friday of January, with a community open house anticipated but yet to be scheduled. Also in January, the preferred site plan will be confirmed. Final schematics and plans for the park will be submitted and set up for adoption in March of 2024.
