Not much is cheap anymore…

So much anymore comes down to dollars and cents. The feds are pushing the county to help pay for improvements to the Cottonwood Pass Road. The full monty would cost Gunnison County about $5 million for a 17 percent match that widens and paves the rest of the road to the top of the pass. The latest revised project would address just the top five miles and would scale back the cost to about $3.5 million for the county, plus or minus, depending on whether the road gets a layer of asphalt.
Personally, my vehicle is pretty old. The road is old. When it’s thin and wash-boarded my old vehicle takes a beating. I could get behind an upgrade to that road. A smooth ride that saves a half hour to the Front Range is okay with me. On the other hand, I’ve heard the suggestion that the real game changer for paving in the county would be Kebler. That move would open up access to a whole part of the state that might find its way over here from the growing cities of Montrose, GJ and beyond…

The ski resort is expected to announce next season’s ski pass prices as soon as this week. I was more than pleasantly surprised when last year the company lowered the price of a pass to $599. Thanks goes out to them. Had they raised the price, I’m afraid they would have seen a lot of folks veer away from the pass and choose alternatives, whether it was a Monarch season pass or a snowmobile that acts like a chairlift to the backcountry.
So as I hold my breath this week, I’ll put it out there that this season’s success is due in part to the bold season pass move of last year. Yeah, I guess great February snow might have played some part in it but skier day numbers were helped by affordable season passes. Let’s hope that innovative decision (for a destination resort off I-70) is carried over. Those few hundred dollars really matter to the working class families that enjoy resort skiing.

Listening to public comments at the recent BOZAR meeting concerning the proposed Music Hall in the old Grubstake, it is apparent that most everyone wants to see that town centerpiece renovated. I think the project would bring good energy, lots of music and a more regular vibrancy to the center of this small resort town. It would be a draw to people visiting and a benefit to those living here. Now, being a writer more than a mathematician, it looks to me like before any dirt is turned on the project the developer will be in for approximately a million bucks to the town. That’s $715,000 in parking fee payments, another $200,000 in affordable housing fees plus all the other permits, use taxes and tap fees. There’s a chance those fee calculations could go up this summer. The developer certainly has the dough to write the check but it sure seems pretty expensive to me. Heck, like I said, a few hundred dollars makes a difference to the working people around here. I haven’t decided if that’s just “growth paying its own way” or the new reality for this resort community. Either way, that price tag makes me cringe a bit. Hopefully it won’t make the project fade away.