The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
17 minutes, $14K worth of pyrotechnics on tap
Under a partnership between the town of Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte Mountain Resort, the main Fourth of July fireworks show will be launched from the Nevada Ridge site by the WestWall ski lift on the mountain this year. The town held a special Town Council meeting Monday and agreed to sign a “Fireworks Production Contract” with Western Enterprises Inc. for $14,000. The town will pick up $11,000 of the tab, while CBMR will pay the additional $3,000. That should provide 17 minutes of holiday fun.
“I don’t see it as a Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte thing,” said Mt. Crested Butte Mayor William Buck. “I see it as a Mt. Crested Butte event. We can establish it as an annual event. I like the [Chamber of Commerce’s] idea that daytime activities for the Fourth of July are downtown while evening activities take place on the mountain.”
Crested Butte Mayor Leah Williams had hoped something could be worked out to have the fireworks display launch from town. “It’s very disappointing to me that they’ve taken this direction,” she said. “It’s a bit absurd that we are even talking about it. But there certainly doesn’t seem to be the spirit of working together on this. Crested Butte will take a look at our options and look for ways to satisfy the visitors and tourists that want to stay in town. If we do a show, I’m sure it will be a smaller show than what is proposed for the mountain.”
Mt. Crested Butte had $6,000 budgeted this year for fireworks. An additional $5,000 will come from the town’s admission tax fund that can be used for marketing and events.
“We are in a challenging economic time at the moment and I question the use of that money right now,” said Mt. Crested Butte councilperson David O’Reilly. “But if admission tax money can be used for such an event, that is okay. I’m just a little concerned spending additional money when we’ve told other organizations the budget is tight.”
“I share some of the concerns from the funding aspect,” said Mt. Crested Butte councilperson Chris Morgan. “To spend that money on fireworks comes at the expense of something else like marketing. I’m also concerned that as long as I’ve been here the fireworks have been a community event funded by both towns. It concerns me that we are changing that. If we do this, we’ll be doing it well into the future and our town budget doesn’t look very good right now.”
Buck reminded Morgan that CBMR was chipping in for the show. “For the future, I think it would be appropriate to go to the local businesses and get some financial help,” Buck said. “And I want to remind everyone that last year was the first time in 11 years that we held the fireworks up on the mountain and we donated money every year.”
O’Reilly said he was fine with the mountain taking over the show as long as next year there was time to solicit help from local businesses. “We need their support to make this happen,” he said.
Mt. Crested Butte councilperson Dave Clayton said he was confident the local businesses would step up to the plate if given enough notice.
Mt. Crested Butte councilperson Danny D’Aquila said the idea was to get people up on the mountain spending money. “If we make an event of it, hopefully people come up here and spend. I hope that in the future Crested Butte would consider participating financially.”
Morgan said it was important that whatever the outcome, the two towns had to figure out a way to work together. “Neither town can succeed on its own,” he said. “Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte are joined together. We can’t be successful working independently. We need to come together as best as possible.”
Addressing concerns brought up by Sara Morgan and Tyler Newman of the WestWall Lodge, which sits below the launch site, town manager Joe Fitzpatrick said there would be adequate security provided by the town, the Chamber of Commerce and CBMR to prevent trespassing.
“We are ready to do the security as necessary,” said Fitzpatrick. “Nevada Ridge has generously donated the site for the launch and there is a 400-foot radius that needs to be secured. We will make sure that happens.”
The show should last approximately 17 minutes and be choreographed to music. Clayton, who is also general manager of KBUT, said he has spoken to Western Enterprises representatives about broadcasting the show. “It should be a pretty spectacular fireworks display,” he promised, “and we hope to broadcast the show.”
Buck and Clayton pointed out that the best place to view the show would be from the Base Area, where a Mama’s Cookin’ concert will be held starting at 7:30 p.m. Extra buses will be provided to help alleviate traffic after the show—the hope is that the bars and restaurants won’t immediately close after the finale.
During the fireworks tests held two weeks ago, Chamber of Commerce Director Richard Bond said the fireworks that were launched from Nevada Ridge were visible from Rainbow Park in Crested Butte.
D’Aquila recommended the town start thinking long-term and search for a permanent launch site. “If Nevada Ridge comes on line, we’ll be doing the same thing next year and looking for another launch site. We need to find something more permanent.”
As it stands for 2010, the biggest fireworks show will originate on the mountain, while a smaller show might take place from downtown.
