Briefs… Mt. Crested Butte

Town park gets some love
The Ted Scheske Memorial Park in Mt. Crested Butte (a.k.a. town park) is getting some financial love from the Scheske family.  On February 3 town manager Joe Fitzpatrick said the family of Ted Scheske donated $2,500, “to maintenance, upkeep and new equipment for the town park, in memory of Ted. Any ideas you may have in those three categories let me know. We haven’t made any decisions yet,” he told the council. Ted Scheske Memorial Park is adjacent to town hall at 911 Gothic Road.  

Supporting a neighbor to the south
The town council of Mt. Crested Butte approved a letter of support for a GOCO grant request from the town of Crested Butte. The grant request is for funds to help in creating a parks and recreation master plan for the town of Crested Butte. Fitzpatrick said, “It’s a good thing for us. What’s decided down there will affect how we develop our parks in the future. We do have a 17-acre piece of land that will somehow transform itself into a park.” That 17-acre piece of land may get transferred in a land swap with Crested Butte Mountain Resort, to essentially move the town’s new park into the center of the proposed North Village development.    

NEV’s can buzz on, and hope for CBMR
The town council approved the new neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) ordinance at second reading on February 3.  Fitzpatrick said he met with police chief Hank Smith and they were both comfortable with allowing the small electric cars on Gothic Road, and they felt Ordinance No. 1 would be a good thing for the community. CBMR had asked the council to consider an ordinance allowing electric vehicles in town streets in order to use a pair of electric shuttles on Emmons Road. However, it was discovered that the town only has authority over a specific type of electric vehicle, the NEV, and the resort’s vehicles did not qualify. During Tuesdays meeting, CBMR vice president of finance Jim Ruthven said, “I would encourage you to pass this ordinance even though it’s not a direct benefit to us… I think our plan at this point is to continue to drive (our shuttles) on private property.” Ruthven said the state senate is currently considering a bill (SB 75) that would give CBMR the ability to use their shuttles on town streets. Town attorney Rod Landwehr said SB 75 would allow the use of low speed electric vehicles, on any streets with speed limits less than or equal to 35 mph. He said it would not be necessary for the town to pass another ordinance if the bill passes.  

Council’s audit subcommittee forms rules
The town council formed an audit committee last fall to stay informed of the town’s annual auditing process. That committee consists of council members Dave Clayton and Gary Keiser. The audit committee recently developed a set of guidelines, which the council reviewed and approved on Tuesday night. Landwehr said the council would still have to make final approval of the annual audit, and the new committee would act as an advisory board.

BOLT ordinance not ready
On January 20 the town council agreed to consider an ordinance that would temporarily lower the town’s business and occupancy license (BOLT) tax to $100 per business for 2009. The town has historically charged only $100 based on an ordinance passed in 2003. But that ordinance was only supposed to be temporary, and when the error was discovered last fall the BOLT was set to increase to the original scale. The original fee follows a sliding scale between $100 and $1,500 based on the number of employees in a business. The council had anticipated considering an ordinance to lower the BOLT on February 3, but in a written report town manger Fitzpatrick said the ordinance was not ready, but staff would have it done as soon as possible for presentation to the council.