Briefs Mt. Crested Butte

DDA makes agreement for adventure park
The concrete was already starting to cure when the official agreement was signed between Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the town of Mt. Crested Butte to construct the new adventure park, The DDA approved the written agreement during a meeting on Monday, June 15. There were several changes made in the wording of the document at the meeting.
DDA member Sara Morgan said she was concerned about a phrase in section 2.4 that would give CBMR the “unilateral right” to move the adventure park in the event the current location is needed for another use “That almost sounds like they can move it without a design review or approval from neighbors,” Morgan said.
Fitzpatrick said it was a good point. “We could probably get some words in there like ‘subject to design approval by Planning Commission.’”
DDA member Al Smith asked if the DDA would get ownership of any of the equipment, should CBMR go bankrupt.
Fitzpatrick said the intent of the agreement was not for the DDA to own anything, but to assist in the development of the facility.
Smith also asked if the agreement was assignable to a successor should the resort be sold.
Deputy town clerk Jill Lindros noted that section 5.6 contained a clause assigning the agreement and operation of the park to any successor of the current resort owners.
CBMR vice president of sales and marketing Daren Cole gave the DDA an update on the status of the park. He said the concrete has been poured, and crews were about to begin installing the synthetic ice rink. He said the facility was still on track for a July 4 opening.
Cole said a day pass for the adventure park will cost $25, a season pass will be only $99, and an adventure park add-on will be offered for $11 along with the purchase of a regular price lift ticket.

DDA has five-year plan
During Monday’s DDA meeting, finance officer Karl Trujillo presented an overview of a five-year financial plan for the DDA.
The DDA would not be directly affected by the town’s proposed ballot issues this November, so there is only a single plan, rather than separate plans based on success or failure of the ballot issues.
Some of the key points of the DDA’s five-year plan include spending $450,000 on the Adventure Park in 2009, spending $50,000 in 2010 for planning costs for the performing arts center project that is being done jointly with the Crested Butte Music Festival, and taking on $6 million in bonds in 2011 for the DDA’s share of the performing arts facility construction costs. Once the bonds are issued, the DDA will begin paying back $600,000 a year in debt service costs.
No other major expenses are expected, and the DDA’s cash balance is expected to increase from $86,000 in January 2010 to $1,023,000 in December 2014. “It looks like we’re going to have some extra cash in the next five years in case some other projects come up,” Trujillo said.

Banners might wait
The DDA was working on hanging up some colorful new banners around town to welcome visitors and advertise all that the town has to offer. Originally the goal was to get some banners for this summer, but the board decided on Monday to wait until next winter to put up some new banners. “We don’t have much money, and summer is just about over,” quipped board chairman Allen Cox. Sara Morgan also mentioned that the banner design should be coordinated with CBMR’s branding study. There will be more discussions on the banner project in future DDA meetings.

Sales tax
“When you look at April, it was a dramatic disaster,” was how Fitzpatrick described the April sales tax collections to the Town Council. April 2009 sales tax collections were $39,690, nearly a 60 percent decrease from the $98,160 taken in April ’08.
But the reality of the town’s sales tax situation, Fitzpatrick explained, was a little different. The town’s sales tax rate dropped from 4.5 percent to 4 percent at the beginning of the year, and the ski area closed about a week earlier, which had a significant effect on sales tax revenues. Fitzpatrick says the town will have to keep a close eye on opening and closing dates at the ski area in future budget preparations.

Kraatz and Christian re-appointed
The Town Council re-appointed Chip Christian and Michael Kraatz to the Downtown Development Authority after their two terms had expired. Both men had joined the DDA as replacements for partially expired terms.