Crested Butte Town Council Briefs

Forest Service assures mayor: Snodgrass not a done deal
Crested Butte Mayor Alan Bernholtz informed the council at their January 20 meeting that he had been contacted by the Forest Service and had been assured that the Snodgrass expansion plan was not a done deal. After the geology report was released last week, Crested Butte Mountain Resort officials had indicated that the Forest Service had told them the plan would be accepted into the NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) review process if the resort avoided hazard areas pointed out in the report.

“Jim Dawson and Corey Wong of the Forest Service called and told me that just because the plan goes to NEPA doesn’t mean it will necessarily be approved,” he said. “They pointed out a project in Santa Fe that was denied in NEPA and said the original Snodgrass proposal had been rejected in NEPA as well. They promised plenty of opportunity for more public comment.”
Bernholtz said he was told that the Forest Service felt that while there was a public opinion split over support for the project, the fact that three of four governmental entities (the town of Mt. Crested Butte, the city of Gunnison and the Crested Butte South Property Owners Association) had written letters in support of proceeding to NEPA, showed enough public backing for a potential lift-served expansion onto Snodgrass to continue the process. “They emphasized to me that ultimately the decision on whether or not to go to NEPA was up to Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond,” he said.
CBMR hopes to have an amended plan ready to submit to the Forest Service by the end of February.
Public meeting for annexation set for February
A public work session on the proposed Foothills of Crested Butte annexation will be held Monday, February 9. The topic will concern buildable areas on the proposed 68 acres along with appropriate density. Town planner John Hess is working on a summary of council comments to use as direction for the annexation. The work session is expected to last about two hours.
Watershed ordinance violation?
High Country Citizens’ Alliance public lands director Dan Morse brought to the council’s attention the fact that the Mount Emmons mine project had built a weather station on their property last summer. While it was a small construction project, Morse said it was in violation of the town’s watershed ordinance since they didn’t apply for a permit.
“The extent of the construction is not very big but it technically meets the definition of activity that needs a permit,” he said. “I am sure it can be resolved easily and it’s not a big deal, but we want to make sure that proper procedures are followed.”
Morse said that while the project is relatively insignificant, the point was to ensure that “consistent and fair enforcement of this watershed ordinance is done because it is important to the residents of Crested Butte.”
Parker said they were aware of the situation and would follow up on the matter with the Mount Emmons project managers.
Council stuff; no to Club 20, yes to Mardi Gras, maybe to bathroom locks…
The council took care of some administrative matters at the meeting. They decided not to renew their Club 20 membership. Club 20 is a Western Slope organization focused on business in the area. Recently the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners decided to end their relationship with Club 20 as well.
The council also approved a liquor license for the Alley Loop this weekend. A parade permit was granted to the Mountain Theater for a Mardi Gras parade Tuesday, February 24. They appointed designer Carolina Alling to the Board of Architectural and Zoning Review. And they are letting Parker investigate a $2,000 expenditure for automated locks for the public bathrooms in town. The idea is to relieve the Mountain Express bus system supervisors from the obligation to open and close the restrooms.
Turn out the lights…
Bernholtz asked the staff to look into cutting down on the Elk Avenue street light power bill. “We are always talking about trying to save energy and being green and when I am out early in the morning all the street lights along Elk Avenue are blazing away all night. It seems weird. Can we turn half of them off?”
Parker said she thought the lights were all on the same circuit so turning half of them off was not really an option. But it was something she would look into.