Briefs Mt. Crested Butte

Road repair update
According to Mt. Crested Butte town manager Joe Fitzpatrick, the town is making progress on its paving projects. The asphalt milling work began September 29 but is experiencing some delays. Apparently the operator of the milling machine was ill, and now the milling machine has experienced a major breakdown. At press time, estimates were that paving should have started October 11 or October 12, and “some roadwork will be finished in the spring,” said Fitzpatrick. The town’s website will be updated with roadwork information and KBUT will air public service announcements when appropriate.

PO boxes in
Purgatory
The town has been exploring options for temporary post office boxes on the mountain, most recently in the Transit Center at the base area. That space is deed-restricted, and the restriction does not allow for the installation of post office boxes. However, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, which provides the space for the town’s use, said it as open to discussing the possibility of installing boxes.
Town manager Fitzpatrick said about 220 boxes could be fit in the transit center, and would include some package capacity. “We’d have to pull the vending out, and we’d lose that income stream,” said Fitzpatrick.
“Is there a survey we could send out to find out how many [boxes] we need, how many people actually want [them]?” asked councilman Andrew Gitin. “I’ve been hearing people like going into town.”
The town will continue to explore options for temporary post office boxes somewhere on the mountain.

Budget Plans A and B
The town of Mt. Crested Butte is preparing its 2011 budget—or two of them, actually. Town finance director Karl Trujillo presented an initial budget, with a “Plan B” budget in case Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101 pass. Plan B revenue assumptions include some deep cuts, including 13 full-time town employees, and shuttering the recreation program altogether. The police and maintenance staff would be cut in half, and the town could not hire any part-time or seasonal employees. There would be limited plowing and police services, according to Trujillo. “It will be devastating,” he said. The first 2011 budget work session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 19.