> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://yvindy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Steamboat pauses gondola transit center shuttle plan, puts geothermal on wait as core project stays stalled
- URL: https://yvindy.com/steamboat-pauses-gondola-transit-center-shuttle-plan-puts-geothermal-on-wait-as-core-project-stays-stalled/
- Published: 2026-10-25T22:56:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T22:59:29.000Z
- Description: The city's redevelopment board told staff to finish a geothermal study and then wait, and to set aside a shuttle plan. City records show the project has been slowed by cost overruns, a bus-berth dispute and the question of how to power its snowmelt without fossil fuels.
- Author: Anna Parashina
- Tags: Government

The city's redevelopment board told staff to finish a geothermal study and then wait, and to set aside a shuttle plan. City records show the project has been slowed by cost overruns, a bus-berth dispute and the question of how to power its snowmelt without fossil fuels.

## Key points

- On Oct. 20, the Steamboat Springs Redevelopment Authority, whose board is the City Council, told staff to finish a geothermal study and then wait for conditions to improve, and to pause a shuttle-coordination program, both as staff recommended.
- Design has been on hold since December 2024, when, according to a later staff report, the authority and Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. agreed to wait until a low- or no-carbon power source for the snowmelt was settled. Cost overruns, a dispute over bus berths and slow contracting for studies also held the project back.
- All work on the core project has been paused since May, after the board declined to add money as estimates rose above $70 million against $50 million committed and voted 4-3 for a redesign.
- The 2023 agreement aimed to start construction in April 2025\. The authority's newest budget says the earliest start is 2028.
- The agreement's Dec. 31, 2026 contract deadline can be extended by notice to Dec. 31, 2027\. The Independent is asking the city where that stands.

The Steamboat Springs Redevelopment Authority (SSRA) on Oct. 20 told staff to finish a study of geothermal heat for the gondola transit center's snowmelt and then wait for conditions to improve. It also told staff to pause a program to coordinate private lodging shuttles at the bus hub until redevelopment is nearer. Both followed staff recommendations. The board, whose members are the seven City Council members, gave its direction in informal shows of thumbs. Council Member Steve Muntean called the geothermal direction approved 5-1, and four members backed the shuttle pause, according to the city's video of the meeting.

The two studies were the only parts of the project still progressing while the core project stayed paused, according to the staff report.

The project would rebuild the transit center at the base of the ski area, while Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. would build a new gondola from the Meadows parking lot and improve the lot. Their 2023 agreement set a goal of starting construction in April 2025\. The authority's newest budget says the earliest possible start is 2028.

City records point to several causes: a design that came in over budget, a dispute over bus berths, slow contracting for studies and, from December 2024 into 2026, the unsettled question of how to power the snowmelt without fossil fuels. All work on the core project has been paused since May, when the board declined to add money as estimates rose.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_rendering_city.png)

## What the geothermal study found

The consultant, The GreyEdge Group, found both options technically feasible, but the staff report says project financials present the greatest challenge.

- A borefield serving only the transit center's snowmelt would cost about $4.65 million, or $2.8 million after a 40% federal tax credit, against about $1 million for electric boilers. It would save $108,000 a year and reach cost parity by year 30\. Staff said it could be financially viable, but it cannot be built before the transit center itself.

A district linking the Steamboat Grand, the Sheraton and One Steamboat Place would cost about $29 million, or $16.5 million after the credit, and save $315,000 a year. Against natural gas, it would not pay for itself within 30 years, and its savings would support only $2 million to $3 million of debt.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_fig1_snowmelt_only_cost_city.png)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_fig3_district_cost_city.png)

"Gas for the same amount of energy is two and a half to three times as cheap as electricity," SSRA Project Manager Gates Gooding told the board. Staff called waiting "an efficient and pragmatic approach."

## Shuttle plan set aside

Staff said three low-cost first steps (shuttle registration, coordination meetings and driver training) could start before reconstruction, but the city has no specific budget or surplus staff capacity to run them. When Council Member Brian Swintek asked who wants the program, Gooding said coordination had long been a city and resort concern and was written into the 2023 agreement, then answered, "The city and the resort theoretically."

Michael LaMotte, who represents Ski Corp. on the project team, said the resort also lacks the staff and money for the program and that its benefit "is a little ambiguous." Members who wanted to act sooner cited pedestrian safety.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_shuttle_tiers_city-1.png)

## How snowmelt became the gate

The 2023 agreement says the authority "cannot commit to including snowmelt in the project at this time, unless a zero-carbon district energy source is found to be feasible or certain melted areas are deemed to be critical for public safety," and applies the same limits to Ski Corp.'s scope.

In fall 2024, value engineering on a design that was significantly over budget cut the planned snowmelt from 120,000 square feet to between 39,000 and 62,000\. Ski Corp. favored sawtooth bus berths, closer to the original plan, which need snowmelted lanes; the authority favored pull-through berths, which don't. City staff estimated sawtooths would add $2 million to $3 million, plus the unknown cost of a larger power source. By May, Ski Corp. had said it could accept pull-through berths in an amended agreement.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_snowmelt_area_dark.png)

In December 2024, staff recommended pausing design until a low- or no-carbon power source was validated, a delay of at least six months that could push construction to 2027\. Ski Corp. recommended proceeding to keep a 2026 start possible, using its existing natural gas boilers at first if needed; it had bought carbon offsets and committed to switching later, the staff report says. Gas would have required a building code variance, which staff said would not be guaranteed for all snowmelt areas. A later staff report says the two sides agreed that month to pause design.

The studies then started slowly: state grant contracting for the geothermal study wasn't complete until the end of May 2025, its kickoff came in late August, and the city approved the shuttle consultant's contract in early September.

A September 2025 staff report ruled out gas because city regulations ban fossil-fuel-powered outdoor snowmelt. It found electric boilers feasible at two to three times gas's operating cost, and Ski Corp. accepted them as a backup. In November 2025, staff wrote that a low- or no-carbon system must be fully validated before the partners would commit to more design spending. In May, staff estimated electric boilers would cost $2.5 million to $3.5 million more than gas over 20 years and, citing the perception that requiring them is an SSRA and City Council decision, said an amendment sharing that cost was likely needed.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_power_options_dark.png)

## Why work stopped in May

The authority committed $20 million and Ski Corp. $30 million, and Ski Corp.'s metro districts would repay the city $13 million through a promissory note once the project is built, leaving the city and the authority a net cost of about $7 million. In May, staff put the combined estimate at "easily above $70-75 million" and the authority's share at more than $30 million.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_budget_dark.png)

Ski Corp. said it had no money beyond its original commitment, and the steering committee asked the authority to cover the gap with more cash and by letting Ski Corp. apply the promissory note to its own scope. The authority declined. Staff had recommended negotiating a full set of amendments by June 30, warning that a redesign would prolong the schedule and was unlikely to find a path both sides would accept. The board instead voted 4-3 to have staff work with Ski Corp. on a redesign to reduce the budget, according to the minutes. Shortly afterward, two of Ski Corp.'s three steering committee members left in staffing changes, and steering meetings gave way to broader city-Ski Corp. working group talks.

## The contract deadline

The agreement requires construction contracts by Dec. 31, 2026\. If they aren't signed, either side may end the agreement or give notice extending the date to Dec. 31, 2027\. In May, staff said contracting would slip into at least early 2028 and suggested moving the date to Dec. 31, 2028\. If the project isn't built, the promissory note would no longer be owed. The Oct. 20 packet does not mention the deadline.

The authority has spent about $750,000 on the project since the agreement was signed. Staff warned in September 2025 that the delays leave urban renewal money held rather than spent, while costs keep inflating. The 2027 budget, adopted 7-0, includes $500,000 for design. Asked by Council Member John Agosta to confirm that there are no plans to spend it for now, Gooding agreed.

## Each side's case

City staff has said designing before the snowmelt question was settled risked wasting money, and called electric boilers compatible with the city's and the authority's environmental goals. The project team is prepared to restart if the partners reach an agreement that lets design resume, the Oct. 20 budget memo says.

Ski Corp. has called sawtooth berths the most transformative design and the most consistent with plans stakeholders supported, according to city staff reports. It has said it has no funds beyond its metro districts' bonding capacity, and it has questioned the lifetime cost of electric boilers and whether Yampa Valley Electric Association's Green Choice program truly cuts emissions.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_partners_split_dark.png)

## Open questions

- Has either side given notice extending the contract deadline, and does the city consider the agreement in force? Staff reports describe what happens after Dec. 31, 2027 differently.
- What has come of the May redesign direction and the proposed cost-sharing for electric boilers?
- How often has the city-Ski Corp. working group met, and is the transit center on its agenda?
- Which code section bars fossil-fuel outdoor snowmelt, and could the project get a variance?

The Independent is asking the city about the contract deadline, the redesign, the working group and the snowmelt rules, and will update this story with any response.

## How we got here

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_timeline_dark.png)

The 2023 goal of starting construction in April 2025 has given way to a 2028 earliest start, after cost overruns, a bus-berth dispute, slow study contracting and the snowmelt power question.

## By the numbers

By the Independent's calculation, the May 2026 combined estimate is at least $20 million over the $50 million committed in 2023, and the earliest construction start has moved from 2025 to 2028.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/gtc_then_and_now_dark.png)

The authority's 2027 budget: $1.62 million in capital spending, including $500,000 for transit center design, and a projected ending fund balance of about $21.3 million.

## What's next

- **Geothermal study:** staff expected The GreyEdge Group's Phase II study to be finished in late fall 2026.
- **SSRA meetings:** staff proposed 2027 meetings on March 16, Sept. 14 and Oct. 19, with more as the transit center project requires.
- **Deadlines:** construction contracts are due Dec. 31, 2026, unless a side gives notice extending the date to Dec. 31, 2027; 2029 is the last year of the area's tax-increment financing.
- **Working group:** the core project waits on city-Ski Corp. working group talks; no meeting dates are in the Oct. 20 packet.

## About this story

This story is based on public records: Steamboat Springs Redevelopment Authority agenda packets from Aug. 22, 2023, Dec. 10, 2024, Sept. 16, 2025, Nov. 18, 2025, May 5, 2026, Sept. 15, 2026 and Oct. 20, 2026, including the 2023 Public Improvements Agreement; the approved minutes of the May 5, 2026 meeting; and the city's video of the Oct. 20 meeting. Records are on the city's agenda portal, docs.steamboatsprings.net/OnBaseAgendaOnline.