Briefs Crested Butte

Sales tax sucking wind
The final numbers for Crested Butte sales tax in 2008 are in and they aren’t pretty. The town collected 3.1 percent less in sales tax in 2008 compared to 2007. The December numbers were off by 11 percent, with lodging, bars and restaurants seeing the biggest decline.

For the year, the sales tax was down 3 percent, but Crested Butte finance director Lois Rozman had predicted such a shift and was pretty much on budget. “The town has been fiscally responsible and we are better off than a lot of other places,” she said. “That’s why there isn’t a need for more cutbacks and layoffs.”
She said the overall word from ski resorts in Colorado is that the last week of December brought in some numbers to save the month. “The silver lining is that normally, sales tax in Crested Butte rarely goes down two years in a row,” she said. “So given 2008 and what we expect in 2009, you can look at 2010 as being good to go.”

Where should the town planner spend his time?
Town planner John Hess informed the council that he had a voluminous document on his desk in the third draft of the Gunnison County Special Development Regulations.
The regs would ultimately deal with large developments like mines and ski areas in the county. “The regulation draft and the proposed Foothills annexation will be about all I spend time on in the next couple of months,” Hess told the council. “We have a public work session on the annexation next Monday, February 9, and the public hearing on the county regulations is scheduled for April 20.”
Mayor Alan Bernholtz wanted to make sure the rest of Hess’s job wasn’t falling by the wayside. “I think having the county schedule a public hearing in our off-season is not good timing,” he said. “And I’m concerned the staff is spending too much time with the annexation on something that might not even happen. I don’t necessarily want to see everything else put on the back burner. The annexation application isn’t even completed. Why should we spend so much time on it now?”
Councilperson Skip Berkshire said he felt the time spent on the Foothills was appropriate. “I think having a lot of early dialogue is short-term accommodation to get long-term efficiency of process,” he said. “We are getting the issues on the table.”
Town manager Susan Parker said the town will have a better idea of where the annexation is heading, if anywhere, after Monday’s public meeting. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Crested Butte Town Hall.

Turn on the lights…
Parker also told the council that instead of turning off half the streetlights on Elk Avenue at night as suggested by Bernholtz to save energy, the light bulbs could be changed to compact florescent bulbs. Changing the 39 bulbs would cost the town about $195 plus labor. According to Parker, the savings in carbon emissions would be significant, with about 75 kilowatts of energy saved every day.

Looking for ways to support the local biz
The council talked briefly of ways to help alleviate economic woes being felt by Crested Butte in the wake of the national and international recession. Some members of the council and staff met with a few local businesspeople Monday and talked about perhaps forming an economic improvement district. They also bantered about ideas like a revolving loan for businesses that could be used to improve store fronts; making visitor contact smoother; establishing a sales tax holiday a couple of days a year; expanding the Christmas Butte Bucks program; and having a “Shop Local” campaign.
“I’m supportive of the ideas,” said Bernholtz. “But government can only do so much. Everyone is hurting. Property owners should perhaps consider lowering their rents. That could help.”
“We can’t control that,” said Williams.
“I’m just saying the council can only do so much,” said Bernholtz.