Briefs Mt. Crested Butte

Karl Denson to headline FTBW
Fat Tire Bike Week (FTBW) keeps getting “phatter” with the addition of a free concert added to the week-long event. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, no stranger to playing in the Gunnison Valley, will play a free concert up at the mountain on Saturday, June 26. Other FTBW highlights include the famed Chainless Race, the Fat Tire 40, and a slew of opportunities for guided rides, clinics to polish your skill set, and bike demos for checking out the latest rides. The event runs June 22-27.

CBMF gets grant for Bluegrass in Paradise
The town of Mt. Crested Butte will contribute $5,000 via an Admissions Tax grant to the Crested Butte Music Festival’s Bluegrass in Paradise event. Hosted by musician Drew Emmitt, this festival will start off with a bluegrass kids camp (July 6-8), followed by two full days of workshops and performances on July 9 and July 10. The town anticipates the event will drive traffic to the mountain, and thus sees it as a good use of the funds. The five-day event will include attractions for both kids and adults, from bluegrass education to big-name shows.

Law Enforcement Agreement extended
Mt. Crested Butte’s Town Council approved a six-month law enforcement agreement with the county during its May 11 meeting, which gives both entities time to further evaluate the cost of the service as they work toward a three-year agreement. Mt. Crested Butte’s police department handles the sheriff’s duties north of Round Mountain.
The previous six-month agreement expires June 30, 2010. According to Mt. Crested Butte Town Manager Joe Fitzpatrick, throughout the spring the town has met with the county and analyzed data from officers’ logs to get a sense of how many hours and miles go into upholding the sheriff’s duties in the north end of the valley. The county agreed to increase its funding by 12.5 percent.
“Staff is recommending the council supports this extension,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s good for the community and our officers.”
Councilperson Gary Keiser agreed, although he’d like to see the county up its level of funding in the long term. “We are in the best position to provide this service, but the county can’t afford to pay us what it’s worth,” he said. “I think we keep working on the three-year agreement.”
The council moved to approve the extension for six months, despite some misgivings about “subsidizing” the services, particularly when the town’s budget is already tight.
Councilperson Chris Morgan put it this way: “I understand the need for our partnership with the county. I think there’s a little more money in the county budget than ours. I don’t think we should subsidize it one bit.”
“That’s our goal,” concluded Keiser. The town will continue to forge ahead and continue to work with the county on the details of the three-year agreement, with an eye toward securing more funding. A new law-enforcement agreement will need to be in place by the end of the year.

Council educated on regional parks and rec plan
Jake Jones, head of Crested Butte’s Parks and Recreation program, presented to the council on May 11 on the opportunities for developing a regional recreation plan. One of the key elements of his presentation was the opportunity for the towns to collaborate on bigger projects that they might not be able to undertake on their own because of the cost of construction and ongoing operating costs.
“I’m here to talk about partnerships, said Jones, “and a cooperative approach to achieve bigger, more expensive goals.” Jones admitted this is a challenging economic climate for securing the funding for larger-scale rec projects. “Let’s start aligning ourselves so when it is a good time… It’s my hope that we have good communication and a good relationship with Mt. Crested Butte as we try to do some things we can’t do on our own.”
Councilperson Gary Keiser said Jones was headed in the right direction. “I think a regional approach is really the only way to go,” he said.