Council should show more respect

I just want to take a quick second and remind the incoming Crested Butte council members that they work for the people of Crested Butte and not the High Country Citizens’ Alliance. The reason I bring this up is because last Monday, four of the five council members in the room voted quickly to jump on a recommendation by HCCA and the Hidden Gems Wilderness campaign to designate 17,000 acres of land around Whetstone Mountain as wilderness.
Now, moving toward making that land wilderness might be a good idea. I’m just not sure. Such a move would certainly have a significant impact on a lot of people. On Monday, the mayor kept talking about needing to see the “big picture,” but he was speaking in tongues about what he meant so he was hard to follow at times. If we need to see that picture, Alan should be able to put something pretty obvious on the canvas. Don’t expect the public to simply trust that this council knows how to turn a doodle into a Picasso. As was alluded by members of the audience and the council Monday night, designating that land as wilderness could perhaps put a crimp in plans for a potential molybdenum mine in the drainage. No one knows for sure and no one would say with any certainty what the impact would be on the mine.
I would argue nine times out of 10 for passion over process in a legislative body. But public process certainly has its place and as council members Skip Berkshire and Dan Escalante pointed out Monday, this process stunk. No real notice was given the public about the council voting to get behind the idea, and even the meeting agenda failed to mention a discussion over Whetstone. Skip still voted to move ahead instead of waiting a couple of weeks before gathering more information. Escalante voted against it. Thank you. The incoming mayor, Leah Williams, a professed process-a-holic, didn’t have a problem pushing aside all normal process and making a quick decision. Margot Levy was the fourth affirmative vote.
When HCCA and the Hidden Gems representatives insisted they needed a decision that night in order to get their plan in by the end of the year, the council should remember they are beholden to the public, not HCCA. A November 16 meeting would still have allowed six weeks of lead time so I don’t buy the urgency expressed Monday night. If HCCA or some other people are working behind the scenes to trip up the mine, great. You won’t get much argument about that type of action from this end of the valley.
But if the Town Council is using the public process to accomplish a goal, then those board members should be honest and up-front and use the public process with full disclosure to the public. Trust the people you work for: the public. The people who live up here are smart and will get behind good ideas. Show some faith in the people who voted you into office. We can appreciate a good piece of art. Monday looked less Picasso and more like a cheap Jackson Pollock knock-off.
As one of the council members remarked after the vote, the council action didn’t really mean anything. Recommending an amendment to a letter of support to include the Whetstone area in the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal was a paper tiger. A real move would be deeper and stronger and include a presentation with more depth. That’s the opinion of one of the affirmative voters. So why do it? Was the council just in the mood to piss off the mountain biking community? The snowmobilers? The motorcyclists? Mission accomplished.
Supporting a major land use change a stone’s throw from the boundaries of a town dependent on recreation is important. It changes things. And this might be the best move for the future of this valley. But the people who should be given a chance to comment for or against the move never really had a clue about the potential discussion.
My guess is if the council and HCCA had more faith in the community, they’d achieve what they want with a solid wall of support. The council and HCCA are smart but they aren’t the only smart people in the valley. The council could have let Thompson Creek come to the next meeting and listen to a room full of people who would gladly sacrifice some of their pleasure for the “big picture” if it meant keeping their water clean, their nearby valleys free from being used as an industrial tailings dump and provided an opportunity to protect nearby lands. That would have been a work of art and sent an impressive message. Instead the council appeared to try to hurry it up and skirt an open process. In its place, they patted the public on the head, told them they know more than they do about the real situation and the council would take care of everything. That type of attitude usually comes back to bite people in the butt.
If it’s simply about wilderness a mile from Elk Avenue, then gather more complete information and give people a chance to mull things over. If it’s about the mine, there better be a more sophisticated back game going on somewhere right now. The boys sitting on the flanks of Mt. Emmons can see a wink and a nod as well as the next guy. A council doesn’t have to take forever to make a decision on an issue, but it certainly shouldn’t be afraid to include the people they work for in a real discussion… and that’s the entire public, not just HCCA.
If the council is going to use the public process as a means to an end, have some faith in the public.