The Ridgway Town Council gave a thumbs up for the Green Street Sustainability Park’s revised design last week, bringing months of public input and deliberation to a close.

The lightning rod that attracted negative pushback from some community members – a solar microgrid to help boost backup power for the town – remains in the design for the 6.98-acre park. Councilors made it clear they weren’t open to eliminating the solar garden from the project, though there were some last-minute comments from residents about putting the solar panels elsewhere, including ideas to locate them by the town’s sewer lagoons.

“We’re interested in talking about ‘in addition to,’ but not ‘instead of,’ ” Councilor Beth Lakin said. “The council is interested in how much we can do to combat climate change.”

The solar element of the park is meant to provide a hedge against inconsistent power in the grid, as well as support more energy use from electricity, which has been promoted as a way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce climate change. Earlier designs for the solar elements of the park design included 425 kilowatt-hours. The final design includes 300 kWh, including the capacity of the large array and smaller elements scattered elsewhere in the park. This is still enough to provide nearly all of the electricity used by the town of Ridgway’s municipal account in a year. The previous, larger solar design would have provided enough for the town’s municipal needs, plus 15 homes per year.

Designers cut back the capacity of the solar project by more than 25% after public comments criticizing the size and placement of the panels – mostly in a large array that is now planned for the south side of the project, away from the community garden and apiary. It was previously proposed for the middle of the park, which drew criticism.

The solar microgrid was initially proposed as part of the master plan for the Ridgway Athletic Park last year, but it encountered opposition from community members who wanted more space for activities and said it wasn’t a good fit for the park.

The planning for this park’s design has been in process since March, when the town hired the consultant. Since then, the town invited comments through a survey and hosted a series of public meetings to gather input. The design presented at the council meeting in August received significant negative feedback, and the plan was amended again.

The contractors hired to design the park, Superbloom Landscape Architecture, estimated the cost to build the park is $2.6–$3.9 million, not including solar.

The town has not yet budgeted funds to build the park, but Councilor Terry Schuyler, who consults with San Miguel Power Association and is the former key accounts executive for the cooperative, said SMPA would be willing to help research funding opportunities for the solar array. He anticipates the array would be built and owned by SMPA, on 1 ½ acres leased from teh town, and operated as a community solar garden. He said SMPA could help with cost estimates for the other town-owned solar features in the park.

The energy produced by the town-owned solar panels is expected to be included in SMPA’s Totally Green Program, which seeks local sources for its 100% renewable energy program. Schuyler said he anticipates SMPA will sign an agreement with the town for the project to become part of the Totally Green portfolio.

It’s not clear when the town will have funding to develop the park, but town councilors are in the middle of budget planning for next year and beyond, for capital projects. Their next budget retreat is on Oct. 12.

It’s possible the solar array on the southern side of the park could be built before the rest of the park, if the town reached an agreement with SMPA to lease the property and the funds were available for construction.