Town council briefs

Crested Butte budget lessons begin
It was Budget Class 101 for the Crested Butte Town Council last Monday evening as it began the process of gathering information and allocating money from the town coffers for 2009.

Crested Butte finance director Lois Rozman explained where the money that runs the town comes from and asked the board members to start thinking about how to spend—or not spend—the revenues.
As usual, Rozman recommended taking a conservative approach to the budget and the council agreed. The general fund and general capital fund are where the council has most control and those two funds will come in at just over $4.5 million. The Crested Butte sales tax, real estate transfer tax and general mil levy generate most of those dollars.
Other sources of revenue include a property tax earmarked for the streets, use taxes on autos and buildings, refunds from the county sales tax and a variety of use fees.
“Sales tax is the main driver by far,” explained Rozman. “I always recommend a conservative approach for fund balances because we are so reliant on sales tax which can have big swings.” She also wanted to keep town debt at a minimum.
Rozman said she “budgeted down” on expected 2009 sales tax revenues but has heard some good signs coming from the ski resort in terms of winter reservations.
The council generally agreed with Rozman’s conservative approach and admitted the town was facing some stiff economic times. “I recommend anyone who wants to steer things in town come to the budget meetings,” suggested mayor Alan Bernholtz. “That’s where the money hits the grindstone.”
Bernholtz asked the council to begin considering cutting back on “service grants.” Those allocations are doled out to causes the council deems worthy and in recent years have amounted to approximately 2 percent of the general fund revenue or just over $55,000. “Perhaps we give 1 percent or no money during these lean times,” said Bernholtz. “I think we need to have that discussion.”

Slow down the sledders
At the request of resident and Nordic Center director Keith Bauer, the council asked the town staff to look into mellowing out the sledding hill. “We’ve had some serious accidents over there,” he said. “It is too steep for the run-out. I’d like to get a Cat in there to reshape the hill and make it safer. I think it is a great amenity and would hate to see it go away. It’s not bad with fresh snow but once it gets glazed it gets extremely fast.”
Bauer estimated it would take a couple of thousand dollars to mold a safer hill and asked that it be done this fall before the snow begins. The council asked the staff to investigate the cost of reshaping the hill and proceed if it was reasonable.

Crested Butte Parks and Rec update
Parks and Recreation director Jake Jones told the council that the Rocky Mountain Youth Hockey League has okayed the Big Mine Ice Rink for games, including competitive check games. A flying puck at a hockey game injured a 16-year-old spectator last season. As a result of that incident, the town will be putting up 10 feet of chain-link fence around the north boards. “Our hockey rink is doing fine and we will be hosting home games at every level,” said Jones.
Jones also brought the council up to date on Pitsker Field, which is seeing a renovation. A new backstop is being installed along with a new grass-free infield.
According to Jones, his department is compiling the beginnings of a new study that will eventually lead to a Crested Butte Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The idea is to bring in a consultant to evaluate the current situation and potential future of the department. “The intention is to conduct the process with a lot of community inclusion,” he said. “We also want to look beyond the borders of town and start exploring a regionalized aspect for recreation.”
And the Rainbow Park soccer field will likely not see action this year. While a “grand opening” could take place this fall, no organized games will be allowed on the field until next spring. The sod is still taking hold and the town is dealing with some drainage issues. Meanwhile the Rainbow Park pavilion is under construction and should be completed by early November.

How much snow can the bus barn roof hold?
While preparation work for the new bus barn is near completion, the building will be going up this fall. It is not without a glitch, however. Due to apparent miscommunication between the town of Crested Butte and the building engineers, the snow-load for the roof is coming in at about 70 pounds a square foot. Last year, the roof of the Rainbow Park pavilion was measured at about that same snow load weight and the building collapsed. Building and zoning director Bob Gillie said the staff was not comfortable with a 70-pound snow load on the roof.
But the steel building has already been delivered. The council told the staff to prioritize safety and it may result in extra weight-bearing posts being included in the structure. Who pays for it is still an issue. While the town of Crested Butte will own the building, the Mountain Express is paying for the structure. But they have indicated a reluctance to pay the additional costs.
“We have a flaw in our process that needs to be fixed,” said councilperson Leah Williams. “This can’t happen again.”

Four-way Stop focus of building department
From the building department, the council learned that the Four-way Stop at Sixth Street and Elk Avenue has not been wired for a stoplight. The conduit is there for such a situation, however. But Bernholtz made it clear that no decision has been made to pursue a stoplight in town.
Gillie also told the council that as the landscaping proceeds at Sixth and Elk, “You can look for some plant life later this week.”
The town will also increase the performance deposit for building deposits. The idea is to recoup costs in staff time that comes as a result of changes in building projects after they have started. Gillie said the increase would be minimal and amount to one-half of one percent of the building valuation. On a house valued at $700,000 the deposit would rise from $1,750 to $3,500.
Gillie also informed the council that some issues in regard to the T-Zone could be making their way to the council. The last time he said something like that the Sixth Street Station negotiations started and lasted for eight months. Speaking of which, the town and the developers of that project will meet this week to address some issues before the development gets under way. In fact, members of BOZAR will be taking a field trip to Telluride to look at some big buildings in a little town.

Next annexation meeting slated for October
The next meeting of the Crested Butte planning commission dealing with the proposed Foothills annexation has been scheduled for October 6. The meeting will take place between 5:30 and 7 p.m. and address the issues regarding wetlands, views, the Slate River, the old Town dump and the cemetery.