Briefs Crested Butte

Sixth Street Station plugging along with tentacles
The huge Sixth Street Station project is trudging through the town review process. The developers are meeting monthly with the Board of Zoning and Architecture Review (BOZAR) about the 62,500-square-foot project, which includes restaurants, retail, lodging in the form of fractional ownership units, a spa and underground parking.

Town building and zoning director Bob Gillie told the council that BOZAR was currently focusing on some architectural issues with blocks C and D that included the fractional ownership lodging component.
“This will be a long road,” he told the council at their February 17 meeting. “It will spend months in the oven. There are a lot of tentacles to this.”
When asked by Mayor Alan Bernholtz if the council members should be attending some of the BOZAR sessions, Gillie replied no. “The council is the hearing board if there is an appeal on a BOZAR decision,” he explained.
Bernholtz suggested the council and BOZAR set a time to get together and discuss general council direction and goals so they don’t spend a lot of time spinning their wheels over something the council is adamantly against.
Town attorney John Belkin told the council he was looking over the fractional ownership documents from the developers, and that aspect of the project would be taking some time as well in his office.
Bernholtz also pressed Gillie to get the council some BOZAR guideline revisions they had been anticipating. Gillie said a lot of the department’s time had been taken up with the Sixth Street Station, some annexation issues and the school expansion.
“I’d like to see the revisions be the priority,” said Bernholtz. “The Sixth Street project is still just a concept. The guideline revisions are good for the entire community and I’d like to see them in place.”
Gillie explained that once the Sixth Street project made an official application, the town was committed to certain timelines. “Such applications trigger certain time periods that need to be met by law,” he said. “If we miss some timelines, certain approvals could become automatic for example. I too would rather be pro-active rather than re-active. But I hear you.”
After spending the next several months in BOZAR review, the council will likely get a look at what comes out of the process.

An election is on the horizon… wanna be a councilmember?
Town clerk Eileen Hughes told the council there will be an election this coming fall. The first day to pick up petitions for a council seat is August 1. The last day to file a candidacy for a Crested Butte Town Council seat is August 23.
Hughes said her department was compiling a packet of information for potential candidates. She may also hold a pre-meeting to give candidates an idea of what’s really involved being a Town Council member.
“You mean scare them off?” asked councilman Billy Rankin.
Three council seats and the mayor’s position will be up for election in November. The seats up for election currently are held by councilmembers Leah Williams, Skip Berkshire and Billy Rankin.

Joint meetings in works to discuss everything from Snodgrass to firecrackers
The council has been invited by their counterpart in Mt. Crested Butte to have a couple of joint meetings. The first invitation is for March 4, when Crested Butte Mountain Resort will be giving a presentation on their ski area master plan. That master plan will include their proposed Snodgrass expansion plans. That meeting will take place starting at 5:30 p.m. at Mountaineer Square and the public is invited.
A second joint meeting is tentatively slated for April 6. That meeting is to center on issues pertinent to both towns. Four main topics will be addressed: economic development for the future, rounding up some money to purchase new buses for Mountain Express, what to do with the 17 acres of land located at Brush Creek Road and Highway 135 owned by the towns, the county and the ski area, and how to address off-site impacts such as parking and traffic issues if Snodgrass is approved or Mt. Crested Butte’s North Village expansion is started. The council also wants to touch base on fireworks funding.

Council supports rancher’s request
Council agreed to send a letter to the Colorado Department of Wildlife supporting a proposal for limited elk licensing in game management units 54, 55 and 551. The request for the letter was brought by the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association. Board member Doug Washburn told the council the limits would help one of the county’s largest businesses—ranching
The council agreed to send a letter of support to the D.O.W.

E-mail can get you in trouble
Council briefly discussed how to deal with new-fangled communication avenues such as e-mail. They were informed by the town staff that they were not allowed to discuss town issues, even via email, if more than three council members were linked into the same email loop at the same time. That would constitute a meeting.

Be aware of the future
Bernholtz ended the February 17 meeting with a warning about the future. “I think the world economic problems are going to be coming to the valley more than they are already,” he said. “We need to be prepared. The town staff has done a great job so far and we are in a pretty good position.
“But it is the essential services that we are responsible for,” the mayor continued. “They are important to the community. I’m not sure anyone realizes what’s coming down in the next couple of years. We need to come together and not apart. Neighbors need to take care of neighbors. I am being concerned, not scared.”