Met Rec board gets grilled by Crested Butte non-profits

TV versus things like hockey and the arts…

Board members of the Gunnison Metropolitan Recreation District got an earful from Crested Butte non-profit organization directors and advocates at their meeting Monday night.

The Met Rec District has allocated more than a million dollars for non-profit projects in the county over the last eight years, but citing a tightening budget, increased utility bills, state TABOR restrictions, and lack of reserve funds, they are taking a year off from their grant cycle in 2009.
That decision has led to a repeat of the debate over whether it’s worth spending Met Rec funds on providing over-the-air television signals or spending the money on more concrete projects like hockey rinks and art centers.
Board president Bob Beda pointed out the board had donated $125,000 last year to the Gunnison swimming pool project and an additional $25,000 to the Gunnison ice-rink complex. “Taking the grant cycle break is not a permanent move,” he stated. “We intend to go back to fund a grant cycle, but not this year.”
The district charges a small .298 mil countywide tax that generates approximately $200,000 a year.
Former board member Joel Vosburg told the Met Rec officers that there was a “concern that the board was spending a lot of money in Gunnison. Those are well-deserved projects.” But he said there was a perception of the board not paying attention to the north end of the valley.
“The number of people using the television system vs. the number of people using true recreation, seems to me, not a good balance,” Vosburg said. “In my opinion, the board is spending good money after bad for things like antiquated towers and systems and it’s a waste of taxpayer money. In this end of the valley, in my opinion, very few people are using the television system and instead of spending money on a TV translator system, the money should be spent where more people will use it.”
Vosburg claimed that the majority of the money for the district is raised from the north end of the valley. “It seems to me the money isn’t being spent wisely,” he said.
Vosburg pointed out that the 2009 Met Rec budget had a $20,000 line item for grants. “Why isn’t that being spent?” he asked. “It’s not much, but it means a lot to these non-profits.”
District business manager Lori Patin said that money was originally set aside for unexpected opportunities. “There could be times that say a GOCO grant needs some matching funds and that was the original intent of the $20,000.”
Board member Paul Wayne Foreman said he would consider donating some of that money to non-profits that brought a request to the board. “The money is in the budget,” he said. “We’d consider it. But there isn’t as much money to grant. No one is coming to us and saying turn off the TV signal.”
“I am,” responded Vosburg. “The people at this end of the valley are saying ‘Let it go away.’ And now you are considering a downlink in Crested Butte South for maybe five or ten or twenty families? Why?”
Board member Dave McGuire responded that the Met Rec board would be amenable to making a major contribution to a project in the north end of the valley if one came along. But the television system was still a priority. “The number of people using the system is higher than you think,” he said. “The Crested Butte South Property Owners Association was sent a message when they took a position to go ahead and get rid of the translators. A lot of people contacted them and said they used the system. We are hearing from more people than we thought from both Crested Butte South and beyond.”
Pointing out line items in the budget, Vosburg again contended that too much money was going to the television system. “There isn’t room for anything else,” he said.
“It’s the reality that our budget is being ratcheted down,” agreed Foreman. “As you know, a lot of the grant funding given out between 2001 and 2008 came from reserves. The well is drying up.”
Foreman told the group that a north valley Met Rec Sub-District is in place and could ask the voters to pass a bond funding recreation projects in the north end of the valley. “You have an avenue right now,” he said.
Another former Met Rec board member and music festival supporter, Peter Kennel, said the board should perhaps get a finite number for the number of people using the television system throughout the county. “Finding the real number seems critical,” he pointed out. “The question when I was on the board and now is the same… Is it a fair and equitable way to distribute the district’s money?”
Crested Butte Nordic Council board member Skip Berkshire argued that the board should have had a sunset clause. “Is giving everyone television a health and safety service?” he asked. “It appears the organization has taken on a self-perpetuating existence. And if you plan to distribute the $20,000 to non-profits, it should be done in a fair process.”
Berkshire again pointed out that, given the property valuation in the north end of the valley, the majority of district funds come from north of Round Mountain but the benefit appears to be primarily going south of Round Mountain.
“Let me address that,” said board president Beda. “The other end of the valley is a different story from up here. Some people can’t afford cable or satellite. The board was formed in the 1970s for one reason—to provide an over-the-air TV signal.”
District technician Bill Cote pointed out that perhaps one reason to have such a tax is to “serve the minority that needs to be served rather than just the elite. Not everyone can afford or wants their kids to play hockey.”
Beda said that if, theoretically, the board decommissioned everything north of Almont, not a lot of money would be saved in the big picture.
Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum director Glo Cunningham said she had learned a lot from the debate and discussion. She also said she would begin preparing a grant request to tap into the $20,000 in the budget.
Foreman said Cunningham was welcome to apply for some of the money. “That doesn’t mean you will get it, but feel free to apply,” he said. “And now I agree there should be a process set up to apply for that money and make it a level playing field. That is a good point.”
Nordic Center director Keith Bauer said the bigger picture needed to be addressed. “There is a big demand to fund recreational opportunities in this end of the valley,” he said. “It’s not just the building of facilities—it is the operational costs as well. There is a ton of stuff and I’d like to figure out the parameters we can work with to get a solution.”
Foreman again stated that a north valley sub-district is in place. “There is authority at this end of the valley to put something together,” he said. “Go for it. You have that ability. You have a tool at your disposal.”
Crested Butte Center for the Arts director Jenny Birnie thanked the board for its past funding but let them know non-profits were heading into tough financial times. “The Center for the Arts is reducing its budget 20 percent and we are seeing donations go down 50 percent and fewer people attending the shows. It’s not easy right now for anyone. If you are able to open up that $20,000 in a grant cycle, let us know.”
Vosburg told the board he appreciated their work and the hard position they were in. “Maybe this is the beginning of a process. A lot of the non-profits are finding themselves in desperate times. I’m just asking that you look at what you do and how you are spending your money.”
Patin said, “It would be sad for the Crested Butte area to go dark. It is important to some people. They use it. It would be like going back twenty years.”
“I see it as the world being different,” said Vosburg. “People get their information from the Internet and communicate with cell phones.”
“Not everyone can afford those things,” said Patin.
At their February meeting the district board members will consider a process for potential grant funding for 2009.