The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“This is one piece of a larger puzzle”
After lengthy discussion Monday evening, the Crested Butte Town Council passed an ordinance making it illegal for a person to knowingly allow underage drinking on private property. The offense is a misdemeanor and came to the council through the Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Project (GCSAPP).
Councilperson Reed Betz said while he agreed with the intent of the measure he also saw “red flags of unintended consequences.”
“As much as we are trying to influence youth not to drink, I think this could worsen the situation,” he said. “I hear from kids in town that they go to Gunnison to party. How will this not push them to continue going down there or going up one of the drainages, drinking a lot and then driving home? It seems dangerous.”
“There is already a state statute that addresses the situation but it is a felony,” explained Crested Butte chief marshal Tom Martin. “Sometimes the situation doesn’t deserve a felony charge. This is a middle ground and it is a resource we can use.
“I don’t think it will deter kids from drinking,” Martin continued. “But it will hold the responsible adults, responsible.”
“I appreciate what you are trying to do but doesn’t the idea of a felony charge make you think more?” asked Betz. “I see this as being redundant but the state attacks the situation forcefully.”
GCSAPP program director Molly Mugglestone said if enough communities in Colorado adopted similar laws, the state might take notice and adjust its law. “The municipal ordinances are easier to prove than charges at a felony level,” she said.
“This is geared more toward consistent party houses and not a parent drinking a few beers with his 19- or 20-year-old son and a few friends,” said Martin. “The philosophy will be clearly defined and we’ll use discretion.”
Local parent and executive director of the Gunnison Area Restorative Practices program, Nancy Osmundson, spoke to some of Betz’s concerns. “This ordinance won’t further drive kids to Gunnison,” she said. “I think they go to Gunnison to be more anonymous than in this little town. The problem as the situation stands, as we see it, is that with a felony on the books, it falls on the [young person] who was drinking to say where they got the alcohol and they won’t do that and turn in their friends’ parents. That is a big weight to put on a minor in a small town. The common thread we see is that kids always say they know which houses they can get alcohol at. This is a much more manageable law to be enforced.”
Local parent Kevin McGruther said he doesn’t have a problem keeping kids off toxic substances, “but what about caffeine and sugar? Those are toxic to the human body. Don’t think adding a redundant prohibition to the books when there is already a state law will produce a successful outcome.”
“It is whether the council wants to make a political statement in support of what the GCSAPP is doing,” said mayor Leah Williams.
“I don’t want to pass this just to make a political statement,” said Betz. “And I appreciate Nancy’s comments. It sheds some new light on the conversation.”
“This is one piece of a larger puzzle,” said councilperson Dan Escalante.
“Reed is right and the kids will continue to drive up one of the valleys and drink,” said councilperson John Wirsing. “But this helps send a message that might fight peer pressure.”
The ordinance was passed by a 5-2 vote with council representatives Roland Mason and Phoebe Wilson voting against it.
