Port committee recommends Board approve New Farm Park conceptual plan, asks for five follow-up studies

The Port Committee voted to recommend that the Board of Trustees approve the conceptual design for New Farm Park and proceed into schematic design with five targeted studies, following a presentation by consultant Tyler Kiggins of Wink Associates.

The committee’s recommendation, approved by motion, asks the Board to accept the design revisions discussed at the meeting and to commission studies covering solar/shade, viewshed, sound, safety/traffic and operations and maintenance (economic feasibility). The committee said the studies should inform the next phase of construction documents and help resolve outstanding questions about parking, traffic control and neighborhood buffering.

Tyler Kiggins, the consultant for Wink Associates, described the preferred concept as a blend of three earlier options. It centers on a sloped lawn amphitheater designed for roughly 1,500 people, a larger primary stage with backstage loading shared with an existing smaller stage, ADA parking and flexible “mown” areas intended for event overflow parking. Kiggins said the design aims to retain the site’s rural character and preserve historic buildings on the 13-acre site near Highway 56.

On likely costs, the consultant presented an opinion of probable cost that totals roughly $11 million before contingency, including site prep, utilities, lighting, landscape, irrigation, stage/green room and play structures. “This could go a lot pricier or come down a lot depending on finishes and scope,” Kiggins said.

Developers and nearby project representatives pressed the committee to show stronger buffering in the drawings and to run specific technical studies before final approval. Steve Shroyer of Shroyer Resources, representing the Farmstead development near the park, urged clearer depiction of the landscape buffer and called attention to likely CDOT requirements for acceleration or deceleration lanes, drainage constraints and service-vehicle turning templates. “There will not be a ride-share pickup on Highway 56,” Shroyer said, recommending early coordination with CDOT and the town’s traffic consultant.

Longtime local event organizer Butch recommended an on-site sound test using a line-array system before committing to final staging and sound treatments; he told the committee such tests can provide practical, site-specific measurements of how concert sound would propagate to the boundaries.

Committee members identified a short list of drawing edits to present to the Board: label the green room on the primary stage plan; show a proposed ride-share/drop-off loop and trash/service staging area; clarify the location and extent of proposed berms and buffers (landscape/BMS); and update cross-section perspectives to reflect likely house heights and realistic mountain viewshed. Several members said a schematic design phase should begin after the studies are completed.

The committee’s recommendation will go to the Board of Trustees for final action; staff said a Board review is tentatively scheduled but did not set a binding date during the meeting. The committee also scheduled a port tour and moved its next regular meeting to July 15 to accommodate site visits and follow-up work.