The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
School bond would put classrooms at current site
Books instead of baseball?
The Crested Butte Community School may expand onto the current Tommy V baseball field, which is town-owned land, if voters approve a proposed school bond issue this fall.
With cooperation between the Gunnison RE1J school district board and Crested Butte Town Council, the Tommy V field would be rebuilt to its current standard or better, east of the existing school facility where the town barn is now located.
Preservation of the spirit of the field is at the top of the list for both the Town Council and the school board. The council will look at a resolution endorsing such a move but highlighting council concerns at a special meeting next Monday, August 25.
Town manager Susan Parker will present the council with a resolution describing council issues that include the rebuilding of the Tommy V field, finding a way to flow traffic away from Red Lady Avenue, incorporating energy efficiency components into the design and working out details on such topics as plowing and maintenance of shared items like parking lots. She said a detailed intergovernmental agreement between the town and school district would have to be formulated if the bond passes.
The council heard a work session presentation Monday night, August 18, led by school board president MJ Vosburg. “We will open school next Monday with 510 students in a school that was built for 350 students,” she said. “We have teachers utilizing converted janitor closets and classes taking place on the stage. The town and the school have always had a strong partnership and it is time for another step in that partnership.”
Along with school superintendent Jon Nelson and Roy Blythe of the Blythe Group architectural firm, a plan was presented to the council that added 16 new classrooms to the school along with a second gymnasium, an expanded library, room for a full-size track, a bigger cafeteria and storage spaces.
“After doing a scientific telephone survey, we listened to the people who said consistently their biggest concern was cost and we cut nine or ten million dollars out of the budget,” said Vosburg. “This plan in Crested Butte still allows us to have separation with the elementary and secondary school students, gives us a good traffic flow and allows for future expansion. It provides benefits with shared spaces for the town and the school.
“Moving Tommy V is a very sensitive issue,” she continued. “We think we have a plan that allows it to be better than ever and we even included lights in the budget if that’s what the town wants. Overall, we think moving in that direction is visionary for the overall school expansion.”
Crested Butte councilperson Skip Berkshire said he liked the idea of the expansion but wanted traffic flow to be guided away from the Red Lady Avenue neighborhood that fronts the school to the north.
Blythe said traffic flowing in front of the building has been looked at, and while obstacles such as water issues and a retaining wall must be confronted, it could be done.
Councilperson Kimberly Metsch asked what would happen to the current barn and community garden area if Tommy V is moved there. Town manager Susan Parker said the staff has already started to consider where those things could be moved and she was confident alternative sites could be found.
Councilperson Billy Rankin brought up the idea of keeping the new school green and building it to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. While any new large building in Crested Butte must be LEED-certified by town ordinance, school districts are state-governed entities and are not required to meet municipal ordinances.
“We want to design a 40- or 50-year building that is sustainable and we design with LEED in mind,” assured Blythe.
“We want it to not just be energy-efficient but also be constructed with safe, environmentally friendly materials,” added Vosburg.
The architects have been working with the Office of Resource Efficiency and its building director, Andris Zobs. Zobs told the council a LEED certification on the project would likely add about a half million dollars to the cost of the facility.
Former town councilman Ron Chlipala wanted to make sure that the Tommy V field issue was treated with respect and wouldn’t just disappear. “It’s a very emotional issue for a lot of people in town,” he said.
“It is our intent that that money is at the top of the list and the field will be addressed immediately,” responded Vosburg.
Mayor Alan Bernholtz agreed with the need for the school expansion but wanted to point out the downsides. “Land is important to us in Crested Butte and the cost of the land the town gives up should be addressed by the school board. It is an issue,” he said. “Space is limited in this town. The arts contingent had wanted at one time to place a facility on the site of Gothic Field and build a new field where you guys are talking about moving Tommy V. With that space gone, there probably won’t be a chance for an arts facility on Gothic Field now. There are ramifications to these actions.”
Bernholtz also expressed a little frustration at the timing of the request. “I wish I had three months to figure this all out instead of one meeting,” he said. “I am a little tainted after the Crested Butte Academy issue and I am still a little leery about rushing things without thinking them through. I just want everything out on the table. But I don’t see any showstoppers.”
Michael Villanueva spoke to the council after the work session. He wanted to make absolutely sure that the field named after his brother wouldn’t disappear. “I’d like to see a real master plan with the field, the school, the art center, the ice rink,” he said. “For many towns it is a real struggle to keep ball fields. It’s important to keep these places that the local kids grew up playing on. My biggest fear is to not get it back… rapidly.”
Bernholtz assured Villanueva, who missed the work session because he was participating in a play-off softball game, that it was a priority of the council and the school to protect Tommy V field. “We have the same values you have,” he said.
The resolution supporting the school’s move onto Tommy V will be voted on by the council next Monday.
