Steamboat Councilor Pushes Lift-Ticket Tax Amid Parking Fee Dispute

Steamboat Springs City Councilor Bryan Swintek is done waiting for the Ski Corporation to play nice.

He’s tired of what he calls the “old, tired script” of the resort bringing city officials into private conversations, paying them lip service, and dragging out negotiations until the snow melts. So, ahead of a critical meeting on Monday, May 11, Swintek is urging his colleagues to stop wasting time on mitigation strategies and start drafting ballot language for a lift-ticket tax.

The catalyst is simple: next winter, skiers and riders will have to pay for parking.

The new program, announced in March, creates a tiered system. Parking in the Meadows lot is free Monday through Thursday. But on Fridays, weekends, and during peak periods, you’re paying. There are exceptions — arriving after 1 p.m. helps, as does having three or more people in your car — but the cost is real. The Upper Knoll and Lower Knoll lots are both in play, though Upper Knoll stays free after 1 p.m. and for large groups, provided you reserve a spot in advance.

It’s not just about the wallet. It’s about where that traffic goes when the lots fill up.

City leaders warned resort representatives during an initial conversation on April 13 that this policy could shift traffic, parking demand, and transit pressure into nearby neighborhoods and downtown. The city isn’t just asking for better signage; they’re looking for concrete concessions.

Council President Steve Muntean says the Monday meeting is about finding those solutions. He’s prepared to ask Ski Corp. to compensate the city for future increases in ridership on the already-strained Steamboat Springs Transit system. He’s also pushing for a free shuttle service from the Haymaker Golf Course and/or Emerald Mountain.

“The only conversation I think we should be having is, they can tell us if they’re going to be doing anything, and if not, the conversation we need to have is about a lift ticket tax, and pursuing that aggressively to get it on the ballot this year,” Swintek said.

He sees the private nature of the upcoming meeting as a delay tactic. Unlike the livestreamed April session, Monday’s discussion will be held privately, with no public comment taken. Swintek questions the purpose of keeping it behind closed doors when the stakes are so high for locals trying to park on a Friday.

“I will say based on my experience with them, they slow-walk this to push this out,” Swintek said.

The frustration is palpable. Swintek argues that until Ski Corp. commits to something tangible, like that free shuttle or transit compensation; the city should be focusing its energy on a tax that would force the resort to pay for the infrastructure strain directly.

“There is no other solution here unless someone is able to point that out to me,” he added.

The question for neighbors is whether the city can actually deliver a ballot measure this year. If Ski Corp. doesn’t offer a significant concession at Monday’s meeting, Swintek believes the path is clear. If they do, the push for a tax might cool. But Swintek isn’t holding his breath. He sees the private meeting as another round of “dragging it out” rather than a genuine attempt to solve the parking crunch that’s already affecting local commuters.

As Swintek puts it, the resort has “shown their true colors,” and the city needs to decide if it’s going to keep negotiating or start campaigning.