Emma Townsite Steering Committee
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COMMITTEE DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE
A Steering Committee assigned to explore potential future uses for the historic Emma Townsite store buildings met Jan. 21 to discuss the first draft of a recommendation that the group will send to the Open Space and Trails Board. Committee members directed further refinements to the proposal. No future meeting date has yet been set. Watch here for additional information as the process moves forward. Previously, the committee met Sept. 26, when it continued to brainstorm on uses for the structures that would fit with the committee's vision statement for the property. Meeting minutes are posted below. At its meeting on Aug. 14, the committee began the discussion on uses and reviewed information, compiled at its request, regarding the potential for highway changes, protective barriers for the buildings and the potential for moving the structures farther from the highway. The materials are posted below (Aug. 14 Steering Committee Packet). Materials from the committee's first meeting on May 28 are also provided below. VISION STATEMENT The Emma Store Buildings will honor their historic agricultural roots, the natural environment and character of Emma, and provide a space that is accessible to the community and celebrates the innovative spirit of this location. KEEP TABS ON THIS PROCESS Watch this web page for future meeting dates and other information as this process moves forward. Steering Committee meetings are open to the public. Posted below is information that has been distributed to the committee. |
DISCUSSIONS BEGAN WITH SITE VISITS
The Emma Townsite Steering Committee convened for a site visit on April 23. Suzannah Reid, Pitkin County's historic preservation officer, led the group on a tour of the structures and explained the work that has been done to date to preserve the buildings. The townsite is located on the county's Emma Open Space. A second site visit took place May 3 for committee members who did not make the April 23 visit. |
SEPT. 26 MINUTES | AUGUST 14 STEERING COMMITTEE MATERIALS / MINUTES
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MAY 28 STEERING COMMITTEE PACKET AND OTHER MATERIALS
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COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Steering Committee includes six members of the public appointed by the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board. They are: Raul Gawrys, Carolyn Shipp, Harry Teague, Mitzi Rapkin, Martha Ferguson and Jason Smith. In addition, Liz Newman is representing the Emma Caucus (with Margaret Simmons as her alternate), Watkins Fulk-Gray will attend for the Town of Basalt and Matt Annabell is the Historical Society representative. Michael Kinsley is participating as a member of the Open Space and Trails Board, and Suzannah Reid is participating as the county's historic preservation officer.
SOME BACKGROUND
The side-by-side store buildings along Hwy. 82, just downvalley from Basalt, are among several historic structures on the property. The distinctive brick structures were built in the late 1800s by Charles Mather, an East Coast native who operated a successful mercantile business at the site when Emma was a thriving hub along the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The store buildings fell out of commercial use in the 1920s, but served as the site of community dances for a time, and then as storage for a succession of owners.
The expansion of Hwy. 82 to four lanes, and its rerouting through Emma in order to bypass downtown Basalt, was completed in 1988. The highway project compromised the store buildings. Heavy traffic rattled the brick edifices and the ravages of plowed snow and de-icer caused further damage.
In 2008, the vacant buildings were acquired by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, with financial participation by the Town of Basalt. By that time, the roofs of the store and warehouse had caved in and the walls were starting to collapse. Open Space and Trails quickly pursued two stabilization projects to prevent the complete collapse of the aging structures and make them structurally secure. State Historic Fund grants helped finance work on the buildings. The 12.5-acre property also includes several outbuildings and the historic Mather House, a Victorian residence that will see needed maintenance in 2019. Installation of a new septic system and well repairs on the property were completed in 2018.
The Emma Open Space Management Plan, adopted in 2017, established agricultural use of 58 acres across the highway from the townsite. That land, also part of Emma Open Space, was acquired in 2000. The Management Plan calls for the formation of a Steering Committee to help determine management of the store buildings - a process that has now begun. The structures are protected from demolition by an historic designation.
Posted below is the Emma Open Space Management Plan. It contains much greater detail on the history of the townsite buildings and the open space at Emma.
MANAGEMENT PLAN
The Steering Committee includes six members of the public appointed by the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board. They are: Raul Gawrys, Carolyn Shipp, Harry Teague, Mitzi Rapkin, Martha Ferguson and Jason Smith. In addition, Liz Newman is representing the Emma Caucus (with Margaret Simmons as her alternate), Watkins Fulk-Gray will attend for the Town of Basalt and Matt Annabell is the Historical Society representative. Michael Kinsley is participating as a member of the Open Space and Trails Board, and Suzannah Reid is participating as the county's historic preservation officer.
SOME BACKGROUND
The side-by-side store buildings along Hwy. 82, just downvalley from Basalt, are among several historic structures on the property. The distinctive brick structures were built in the late 1800s by Charles Mather, an East Coast native who operated a successful mercantile business at the site when Emma was a thriving hub along the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The store buildings fell out of commercial use in the 1920s, but served as the site of community dances for a time, and then as storage for a succession of owners.
The expansion of Hwy. 82 to four lanes, and its rerouting through Emma in order to bypass downtown Basalt, was completed in 1988. The highway project compromised the store buildings. Heavy traffic rattled the brick edifices and the ravages of plowed snow and de-icer caused further damage.
In 2008, the vacant buildings were acquired by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, with financial participation by the Town of Basalt. By that time, the roofs of the store and warehouse had caved in and the walls were starting to collapse. Open Space and Trails quickly pursued two stabilization projects to prevent the complete collapse of the aging structures and make them structurally secure. State Historic Fund grants helped finance work on the buildings. The 12.5-acre property also includes several outbuildings and the historic Mather House, a Victorian residence that will see needed maintenance in 2019. Installation of a new septic system and well repairs on the property were completed in 2018.
The Emma Open Space Management Plan, adopted in 2017, established agricultural use of 58 acres across the highway from the townsite. That land, also part of Emma Open Space, was acquired in 2000. The Management Plan calls for the formation of a Steering Committee to help determine management of the store buildings - a process that has now begun. The structures are protected from demolition by an historic designation.
Posted below is the Emma Open Space Management Plan. It contains much greater detail on the history of the townsite buildings and the open space at Emma.
MANAGEMENT PLAN
| Emma Open Space Management Plan |
For more information contact: Lindsey Utter, Planning and Outreach Manager
lindsey.utter@pitkincounty.com or 970-920-5224
lindsey.utter@pitkincounty.com or 970-920-5224