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Snowmass Village seeks county contribution to double Little Red Schoolhouse capacity; commissioners ask for follow-up
Summary
Snowmass Village asked Pitkin County on Oct. 21 to consider a discretionary contribution toward redeveloping the Little Red Schoolhouse to expand childcare capacity; county staff said $208,000 in ARPA funds already are committed to the project.
Snowmass Village officials asked Pitkin County commissioners on Oct. 21 to contribute to a capital project to replace and expand the Little Red Schoolhouse childcare facility. Town representatives said the redevelopment would roughly double capacity and help meet a substantial wait list for preschool slots in the valley.
County housing staff director Ashley Pearl reviewed the county’s recent childcare investments and said the county already used ARPA funds heavily for childcare programs: “We were able to put over $2,500,000 over the last three years towards childcare,” she said, and noted that $208,000 of ARPA had been allocated previously to the Little Red project. Pearl told the board that ARPA is no longer available to be reprogrammed and that the county’s remaining discretionary balance for 2025 was $200,000.
Snowmass Village officials said the project is fully entitled with construction documents complete and that construction could begin in May–June 2026, with roughly 14 months of construction during which children would be temporarily relocated to modular units on the site’s back side. The town said the capital stack is nearly all cash; one donation is likely but not confirmed.
Snowmass provided enrollment and wait-list numbers: 35 children currently enrolled (29 families) at Little Red; a joint wait list with Woody Creek Kids totaling 72 children, of whom 27 listed Little Red as the only choice. Of the wait-listed children, 28 live in Snowmass Village and 24 have parents who work in Snowmass. The town said the proposed new facility would have roughly 60–65 slots depending on the age mix.
County commissioners compared the request to the Stotts Mill childcare investment in Basalt, where the county contributed $350,000 ARPA plus $100,000 from general fund sources and received 11 priority slots for county employees for 10 years. Commissioners asked whether similar priority slots could be negotiated; Snowmass officials said they could explore prioritizing slots for county employees if the county requested it.
Commissioners signaled willingness to consider the request but asked staff to revisit the matter after the Healthy Community Fund grant decisions are finalized in two weeks so the BOCC can see broader year‑end pressures on discretionary funds. Commissioner Patty emphasized other urgent funding demands (food assistance, health services) when weighing discretionary allocations.
Ending: Snowmass Village asked the board to consider applying the county’s $200,000 discretionary balance to the project; staff and the town will follow up, and the board asked for additional cost and prioritization information before committing funds.
