The effort to relocate dozens of residents in Basalt’s Pan and Fork Mobile Home Park is underway. Town staff met with residents in eight homes on Monday. They’re trying to find out what kind of replacement housing would suit each, individual household. As Marci Krivonen reports, it’s a task unlike any other the Town has taken on.
The effort to relocate people living in the flood-prone Pan and Fork mobile home park began in 2003. But, in recent years, it has picked up steam. The idea is to get residents out of harm’s way and redevelop the area with a park and new development. Right now, 38 mobile homes housing more than 120 people sit inside the trailer park.
Assistant Town Manager Judi Tippetts met with the first eight households to be relocated, on Monday.
"(We're) trying to assess individual needs as far as, do they have kids in the school system, do they want to take their trailers, so are they looking for a lot? Are they looking for an apartment, are they looking for another mobile home. So, we’re just trying to meet with them and find out how we can best help them," she says.
The Town wants to relocate these households first, because they’re closest to the Roaring Fork River. They’d like to bring in heavy equipment in October, to stabilize the riverbank and decrease the flood risk. Tippetts says the trailers need to be moved soon.
"There are only certain times and short windows where we can get into the river without disturbing the fish and when the water’s down."
Tippetts says she’ll go before Town Council next week with the information she’s gathered from residents in the park. The estimated cost of the project, including relocating the residents, demolishing the trailer park and restoring the river, is about $7.5 million. The Town is hoping taxpayers cover the bill. They’re planning to go to voters in November to ask permission to issue $5 million worth of bonds.
