The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
June and September to get stimulus
The popular local economic stimulus program, “Butte Bucks,” will make a comeback this summer. The Crested Butte Town Council voted Monday, April 5 to contribute at least $6,000 for the promotion, which essentially issues certificates good for 20 percent discounts at participating businesses.
In addition, the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council voted Tuesday, April 20 to contribute $1,250 to the June segment of the promotion. The council then requested that the Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce, which runs the Butte Bucks program, report back in June to request funds for the September leg. The Chamber requested a total of $2,500 from the town of Mt. Crested Butte. The contribution will come from Admissions Tax marketing funds.
The idea is to get a total of $10,000, which would underwrite $50,000 in Butte Bucks that then must be spent locally.
“We think it is a good stimulus for local businesses,” said Chamber executive director Richard Bond. “We have gotten a lot of positive feedback over the program.”
Bond said the Chamber had heard from local businesses that they would like to see the program enacted in June and September this summer and not in July and August.
“We have heard from them that they don’t need the stimulus in the heart of the summer season,” Bond said. “The businesses are busy in July and August.”
So ideally, $25,000 in Butte Bucks will be issued at the start of June and would have to be spent by the end of the month. Another $25,000 would be issued in September with a September 30 spending deadline. “The idea is to create the stimulus in the shoulder periods,” Bond said.
The program started several years ago in December to boost early Christmas shopping and ran last summer for the first time from June through September. It has been geared to locals. The Chamber would like to promote the program to visitors in order to encourage additional spending in the valley. “We could perhaps issue an allocation of the Butte Bucks to local accommodations to sell to visitors when they check in,” said Bond.
Bond said early indicators show summer visitation may be down a bit in 2010. “The first quarter of statistics show visitations at the Four-way office were down 12 percent in the first quarter,” he said. “And information requests for summer visitation are down about 10 percent. That’s an indication we may see fewer visitors this summer than last.”
Crested Butte councilperson John Wirsing voiced concern there could be a backlash for people hoping to use the bucks in July and August, when locals have friends and relatives visiting. “I just don’t want to see a great thing get soured,” he said.
“We don’t anticipate that,” responded Bond. “We want to help the local businesses and they have voiced this direction. The laws of supply and demand come into play and there are plenty of both in July and August.”
Councilperson Dan Escalante echoed that Butte Bucks was a great program but he was feeling the budget pinch. “We may have to throw extra money toward the fireworks to make sure we have a great show,” he said. “We are trying to raise that money with outside events like the soap box derby but if it doesn’t work, that money will have to come out of the budget.”
Town Manager Susan Parker told the council and chamber that if this was going to be a regular program and thus a regular request of town funds, she would recommend the Chamber approach the council at budget time during the service grant process.
Mayor Leah Williams said she would like to fund the entire $7,500. Escalante insisted on starting out with a $6,000 donation since the other $1,500 might be needed for fireworks.
The Crested Butte council committed to spend at least $6,000 on the program, with $3,750 going to the June program and at least $2,250 to September. They could throw in additional funds for September if the budget allows.
The town of Crested Butte’s money came out of the town’s “venture fund” and “service grant fund” with a reminder from councilperson Reed Betz that some of that money would be needed to conduct the town’s energy audits and weatherization program later this year.
