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Silver Plume commission advances Taylor Kennedy purchase, plans single park master plan
Summary
The commission reported the Town has raised funds to buy the Taylor Kennedy parcel on Republican Mountain, but Great Outdoors Colorado is rejecting the town’s original appraisal and the State Historic Fund is delayed; the purchase closing was extended 30 days while staff work through grant conditions and THK prepares to expand the park master plan.
Special Projects Manager Cindy Neely told the Silver Plume Mountain Park Commission on Jan. 27 that the Town has raised the necessary funds to purchase the Taylor Kennedy parcel on Republican Mountain and will fold that property into the existing park.
Neely said more than half the financing comes from two large grants: one from the State Historic Fund (SHF) and one from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). She reported GOCO has refused to accept the Town’s original appraisal and SHF has been delayed processing paperwork because of staffing shortages; to allow time to resolve these grant issues, the purchase closing that had been scheduled for Jan. 30 will be extended 30 days.
The Town has completed required title work and environmental studies, Neely said, and she expects there will be surplus funds that could be used for a conservation easement and other items. To create a coordinated plan for the enlarged park, THK — the firm that produced the Jack Pine master plan — will expand that plan to include the Taylor Kennedy land so the park has a single, unified master plan rather than two separate documents.
Neely said THK has asked to meet with the commission and the Silver Plume public in the second quarter of 2026 to accept suggestions for uses of the Taylor Kennedy parcel. The commission asked staff to consider a range of interpretive and stewardship options, including redesigning existing QR-code content along the 730 trail, creating consistent interpretive signage that conforms to HDPLC standards, and developing a stewardship approach for buildings categorized in the current plan as ruins, stewardship sites, or interpretive sites.
On the specific ruin near the upper 730, commissioners discussed fencing off the structure, stabilizing the fabric, and converting it into an interpretive stop with a bench and podium-style signage. Neely said signage should appear on the ruin itself stating something to the effect of "Historic Ruin, Do Not Enter." Commissioner Martin Gitlin suggested recruiting local students to assist with the physical work; Commissioner Ryan Redfield added that Georgetown Community School students could be involved in interpretive development and QR-code storytelling. Redfield also said his father-in-law could help build benches from on-site timber.
Neely recommended coordinating the interpretive design with Greg Jarvis and Silver Plume’s representative to HDPLC, Mac McDonald, so the proposal can appear on the HDPLC’s March agenda. The commission agreed to hold a planning meeting at 6 p.m. on March 24, 2026; Neely will invite THK, and Commissioners Chelsea Nihiser and Ryan Redfield will prepare an interpretive-site plan ahead of that meeting.
Neely also reported an engineering concern: a retaining wall with buckling cribbing will need prompt attention and ideally an engineer willing to consult pro bono. Neely said Logan from the Clear Creek Trails Crew should be looped in for maintenance responsibilities.
The commission took no formal vote on the master-plan expansion at the Jan. 27 meeting; members set the March meeting to advance planning and outreach with THK and HDPLC.
