Briefs Mt. Crested Butte

May sales tax revenues down
The May sales tax report is final. According to a report from town manager Joe Fitzpatrick during a meeting on July 21, May 2009 sales tax collections were 28 percent lower than the previous year, at $24,275, down from about $34,000 collected in May 2008.

The town’s sales tax rate dropped from 4.5 percent to 4 percent at the start of the year. For May 2009, lodging revenues were up, while all other categories showed a drop.
Sales tax collections are coming in 4.3 percent under budget, Fitzpatrick reported.

Butte Bucks update
Crested Butte / Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce director Richard Bond came to give an update on the Butte Bucks promotion. He said more than 80 percent of the people who bought Butte Bucks lived in the Crested Butte area, or 81224 zip code. Additionally, 6.5 percent of the people who purchased Bucks could be specifically traced to Mt. Crested Butte’s 81225 zip code, and 6.5 percent were from out of state. The rest had an 81230 zip code, indicating a residence in the city of Gunnison or Gunnison County. Bond said to-date the businesses had redeemed $31,500 worth of the $50,000 in Butte Bucks issued.
Bond said 50 businesses signed up for the promotion. “I’m sad to say only four of those were in Mt. Crested Butte,” Bond said. Those businesses included Django’s Restaurant, CBMR’s Adventure Park, Camp 4 Coffee and Crested Butte Sports. Bond said he would be going around to Mt. Crested Butte businesses again to encourage them to sign up, as there were still nearly $19,000 of Bucks unspent.
Keiser asked Bond to give a final report once the Butte Buck promotion ends after Labor Day.

Elevator regulators
The town of Mt. Crested Butte is getting more authority over the inspection of elevators in town. During a meeting on July 7 the Town Council approved a memorandum of agreement with the state Department of Oil and Public Safety that will give the town jurisdictional authority over the inspection of conveyances in the town of Mt. Crested Butte.
“Conveyances” include elevators, escalators and dumb waiters. Community development coordinator Carlos Velado said the town’s community development department wouldn’t actually be doing the inspections—just managing when and where they occur.
Council member Bill Babbitt asked if the new authority would generate revenue for the town. Velado said the town would charge a $75 fee to get a conveyance license.
“It’s all just to better regulate the inspections and it’s a revenue source,” Velado said. “Ultimately if [the conveyance] fails inspection, the town has to condemn it.”
Mayor William Buck asked if there was any benefit to the town conducting the actual inspections, too.
Velado said there was currently no one in the department qualified to perform the inspections. He said the town could pursue that additional authority in the future if desired.

Town picnic on Friday
The annual town picnic is on July 31 at 5 p.m. in the Ted Scheske Park at 911 Gothic Road. Earlier this summer the Town Council agreed to give up two meetings’ worth of pay stipends to help cover the cost of the picnic. The town’s extremely tight budget would have precluded a picnic otherwise.
This year Shamrock Foods agreed to donate burgers for the picnic. The town is also providing soft drinks and beer.
On Tuesday, council member Gary Keiser asked, “Do we have to do anything for the town picnic?”
Buck said, “I’ll let you know, but the answer is yes. We’ll be flipping burgers and pouring beers—we’ll talk.”
If you would like to attend the picnic, RSVP to the town by calling 349-6632. The town asks people to bring a side dish to share.

Liquor license and audit approved
On July 21 the Town Council considered granting a liquor license for a party following the Living Journeys Summit Hike on August 8. Town clerk Donna Arwood said all the paperwork was in order, and the license was approved without further discussion.
At the same meeting, the town also approved their annual 2008 audit with little discussion. The town’s audit committee has been giving reports on the audit progress during previous meetings.

Small flood
On Sunday, July 12 there was a big rainstorm in Mt. Crested Butte. The relentless rain and hail moved large amounts of debris through the ditch on the west side of Gothic Road, plugging a culvert and causing water, dirt and rocks to start flowing over the road.
Town Parks and Recreation worker Curt Graeber was off the clock at the time, but saw the incident and ran to get a backhoe to clear the culvert and minimize damage. Mayor Buck asked Fitzpatrick to make sure Graeber gets a “thank you” from the town.

Fireworks a success
Council member Dave Clayton thanked Bond for his efforts on organizing the Fourth of July celebrations. “I thought it was a very successful Fourth of July the Chamber put on,” Clayton said.
Bond replied, “Thanks, but it couldn’t have been done without everyone’s collective participation.
Then, Bond noted, “My only disappointment was the length of show wasn’t as advertised. There was a technical reason… The fuses were a little too short between the cans.”
“It was more intense,” Keiser said.
 “The whole day, from start to finish, was excellent,” Buck said.