The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Candidates hope to shake things up
By Alissa Johnson
Across the nation, all eyes are on the presidential election. In the Gunnison Valley, candidates are beginning to throw their hats in the ring for county commissioners’ seats. But there’s another election season under way, and its outcome could help shape communications and recreation in the Gunnison Valley.
The Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (Met Rec) will hold an election on May 3 for three seats on its five-member board of directors. Three of the five candidates are from the north end of the valley—and in fact, four of six were from the north end until one candidate withdrew. And they seem to be looking for change.
District manager Lori Patin said that it’s unusual to see that many candidates from Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte.
“It is also uncommon to see this number of candidates. Often special district elections, and Met Rec is no exception, will cancel because they get exactly the number of people or get fewer people than they need,” Patin said.
Formed in 1978, Met Rec provides 22 free, over-the-air digital television signals within the Gunnison Valley. Residents simply need to install an outdoor antenna.
In 2000, the district’s mission was expanded so that it could operate as a park and recreation district. In addition to providing television signals, its mission is to “collaborate with and provide funding for park and recreation departments, authorities or other governmental entities, and non-profit organizations, when possible.”
According to Patin, that part of the Met Rec mission has been fulfilled in a couple of ways. Following the expansion of the mission, the district provided $1.3 million in community grants over several years. Most recently, the board of directors has looked for opportunities to support organizations seeking grants and help them leverage more funds.
“In 2011, when the town of Crested Butte was getting GOCO [Great Outdoors Colorado] grants to build the roof over the ice rink, Met Rec stepped forward … and contributed $25,000 with a letter of support saying the district was not only supporting the town but going to come in as funding partner,” Patin explained.
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While that kind of support has been a help to the community, it appears that some of the candidates from the north end of the valley are interested in helping Met Rec expand the ways it implements its mission.
Mt. Crested Butte resident Dave Clayton, who finishes his second term as mayor of Mt. Crested Butte in April, sees benefits to expanding Met Rec’s scope for both recreation and communications.
“Over the past few years, we have been talking in the upper valley about the need for recreation facilities. That’s not just the purview of one municipality. It’s something that would serve Crested Butte South to Mt. Crested Butte and to do that, you need a special district to provide that inter-municipality service,” Clayton explained.
Yet there can be only one special district for a particular purpose within a specific boundary—a recreation district cannot be created inside of a district that already has a recreation component. For Clayton, it would make sense if Met Rec could serve that type of need.
At the same time, Clayton said, Met Rec has valuable assets, including power sites that were established when television was a main form of communication. “Those same power sites could potentially be used for broadband or other services, and that’s one of the things that also needs to be looked at. Are there ways to benefit the community other than television?”
Ian Billick, executive director for the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, is also running for one of the Met Rec board seats. He sees a similar need to reexamine Met Rec’s scope.
“My primary interest is seeing that we’re using tax dollars wisely,” Billick said. He would like to see Met Rec support a broader range of activities. “I don’t think that’s a simple thing, given the finances, but we need to take a look at it. Recreation is an important part of why people are here.”
Billick and Clayton both acknowledged that Met Rec hasn’t “debruced”—meaning it still falls under TABOR, or the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. TABOR places certain limitations on how Met Rec can acquire and spend funding.
Patin explained, “Should revenue collections (which include property tax collections) in any year exceed the allowable revenue collections under TABOR, that amount must be refunded to voters. Typically a refund would be accomplished through a mil levy reduction (credit) in the following year.”
According to Clayton, “debrucing” would be one of the first steps in moving Met Rec forward—something that has been attempted three times already. But he sees it as a worthwhile endeavor.
“We need to take a fresh look at what the Met Rec District charter should be and then, how do we achieve that? Because the world has changed since the 1970s when this was set up,” Clayton said.
“These issues aren’t easy to solve, but they’re important to solve so that’s why I want to get involved,” Billick said. Both Billick and Clayton emphasized that their goals are not intended as criticisms of previous boards.
Crested Butte candidate Derrick Nehrenberg shared a similar reason for running. “The term metropolitan is intended to mean that the district provides more than one service. Right now Met Rec is effectively providing one kind of service, over the air TV…
“I am not interested in ripping the rug out from underneath over the air TV. I would just like to help the Met Rec District provide more than one kind of service, facilitate recreation opportunities, and help the Met Rec District prepare for a transition to over the internet TV, if possible,” Nehrenberg continued.
Two additional candidates are running: Carolyn Cherry of Almont and Paul Foreman of Gunnison.
“Now that most of the TV translator system has been updated and is being maintained, there should be room for more community planning projects. About 30 local organizations have benefited from Met Rec funding since parks and recreation was added to their mission in 2001. I think both objectives need to be balanced by listening to the what the taxpayers want,” Cherry said.
The Crested Butte News did not receive a input from Foreman.
The election will take place on May 3, with polling sites at the Queen of All Saints Church in Crested Butte and the Fred Field Center in Gunnison. Mail-in ballots will also be available for individuals who will be out of town on the day of the election.
Patin explained that the parameters for eligible voters are different from the general election. Registered voters in Gunnison County can vote, with the exception of Marble and Somerset. “In addition, if an elector is the owner of property in the district, they can vote if they are a registered elector somewhere in the state of Colorado,” Patin said.
That means that a registered voter in Denver who also owns property within the Met Rec district can vote in the election. A registered voter in Texas, however, who also owns property in the district cannot.
Patin also noted that the order of the names on the ballot has been determined through a blind drawing. “All three Crested Butte candidates are the first three on that ballot. That can really impact an election,” she said.
