Starting in 2008, Paonia decommissioned the Town’s old sewer ponds, located just west of the North Fork River at Samuel Wade Bridge. Now the Thliveris family, owner of Berg Harvest Cafe and Mercantile on adjacent property, has put forth a plan to purchase and rehabilitate this four-acre parcel. On February 24, they came before the Paonia Board of Trustees to ask the Town to consider selling it.
Euphemistically called the Twin Lakes Parcel, the land has remained as a brownfield for nearly two decades, serving as an occasional parking lot. The town has considered the four-acre parcel as a possible location for affordable housing or a new municipal complex, but PCBs and arsenic remain even after the cleanup. The site is considered a key infrastructure property. Town Administrator Stephen Wynn told a crowd of about 70 members of the public.
“Staff's evaluation finds that the Twin Lakes property is one of the town's most strategically valuable assets,” said Wynn. “That infrastructure, planning, and operational factors strongly favor public ownership. The Berg Harvest proposal offers cultural benefits, but does not materially advance the town's highest policy priorities. Staff recommends that the Board of Trustees affirm that the Twin Lakes property remains a strategic municipal asset. and declined to initiate any process towards sale or transfer of the property at this time.”
The Berg family's plans have evolved since they first approached the town a year ago with their request to buy the property through a nonprofit, the Carl E. Berg Education Foundation Center and Museum. About 30 people in the crowd spoke, each for three minutes. Berg Harvest owners Andy and Lauren Thliverus were first.
“The Twin Lakes parcel has potential. but it had several strikes against it,” said Andy Thliveris. “It is a brown field that was reclaimed with simple loose fit. Ideally, its use would take advantage of its existing state, i. e. brownfield, no water tap, while maximizing public benefit.
“For example, it could be used as a slab -based open planetarium with an adjoining telescope. It could be an arboretum. It could be an access point to adjoin property's walking paths. It could be a parking area used to help address some of the parking issues.”
“The sale of the Twin Lakes parcel would not preclude any dedication to pristine infrastructure and critical facilities, as any access the town would require can be addressed through appropriate easements,” asserted Lauren Thliveris. “As stated in the comprehensive plan, the prime location at the entrance of town should be a site to celebrate the community and park and visitors.”
Farmer Harrison Topp spoke to another aspect of the plan. “This is one of the few non - agricultural properties that something could happen with,” he said. “Agricultural property is at a real premium in this valley. There's not as many large singular units that we can farm fruit on anymore.”
“I don't want you to pass up an opportunity to rehabilitate this piece of land out there,” said Susan Pagano. “And it's an eyesore. It reaches every person that drives into this town. I remember driving past it as I visited my parents who lived here. I can still see, I can still smell the sewer every time I look at that piece of brown dirt.”
Both former Mayor Mary Bachran and former Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Schwartz spoke in favor of the proposal.
“As for wastewater infrastructure on the property, any current infrastructure can be maintained and sustained through agreement with a purchasing entity.,” said Bachran. “The sale of property can help fund the sewer and water system upgrades.”
“Shortly, you will be asked to make a motion,” said Swartz. “And if I may be so bold, I'd like to suggest a different motion than what's in your packet. And that motion is to approve the consideration of the sale of the Twin Lakes property through the process defined in the packet. And that includes the RFP, public votes, doing all the due diligence. This is the democratic and the right thing to do.”
After the speakers, the board debated the question.
Mayor Paige Smith was concerned about the Town’s bandwidth. “I’m just telling you that this is not an easy thing for the town to absorb at this point in time. And you all would agree, right now, our water system, which has been neglected for decades, it's the most important thing.”
“I like the idea of redeveloping this, said Mayor Pro Tem Rick Stelter. “But I'm not sure it's practical at this point. With the testing results, they're very, very low. We only have two sample sites. And in my opinion, they need to sample in a grid throughout each of those ponds. And that needs to be done first.
“And truthfully, we are jammed up this year for sure, and probably next year on our water, sewer and the Fifth and Grand project.”
Trustee Walter Czech objected to the way the issue came to the Board. “The owner is the one who usually decides if they want to sell their property. So that's not really applicable here. It's more like a business owned a property, and a different business wanted to take over their property. It would be like a hostile takeover. That is sort of what it feels like here.“
The board approved a motion put forth by Czech that the town not decide the disposition of the Twin Lakes property at this time, with only trustee Hector Majorato voting nay.
