Candidates for Crested Butte Town Council make impressive showing

But one will be voted off the island

For the first Crested Butte News Candidates’ Forum in years, if not decades, not one audience member asked about the potential for a molybdenum mine on Red Lady or a ski area expansion. Instead, the majority of questions focused on the economy, local business and regulations in Crested Butte.

Town Council candidates Glenn Michel, David Owen, Shaun Matusewicz and Kevin McGruther, along with lone mayoral candidate Aaron Huckstep, spent more than 90 minutes fielding questions from citizens at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts on Thursday, October 20. There are three open seats on the Town Council so one of the candidates will not be elected.
After each candidate made an opening statement establishing his love for the community, moderator Denis Hall took questions from the audience. The first addressed town staff. The council hires two positions: the town manager and the town attorney. The question was, are they doing a good job?
Huckstep said he had good working relationships with both town manager Susan Parker and town attorney John Belkin. He said he’s already discussed with Parker how the council and staff can collaborate better to actually “get things done to achieve success.”
McGruther said Parker “is very professional and she has the best interests of the community at heart.” But he said she seems to have a “lack of integration with the community and maybe she could get out in the community more.”
Owen said that Parker “has a hard job but the council must hold the staff accountable. The policies we set must be executed by the town manager and staff.”
Matusewicz said the question was not unique to Crested Butte. He quoted former county commissioner Fred Field in saying he’d “rather have a town staff he has to reel in occasionally as opposed to one he had to spur on. The manager needs to be fair in her dealings with the citizens and we as a council need to be clear with our expectations.”
Michel said the council must be able to rely on the town manager and town attorney. “The manager in Crested Butte is very strong. The attorney is the highest paid member of the staff. There have been some hiccups we’ve heard about lately with the town manager and she’s had her feet held to the fire, but the council needs to give her clear expectations.”

Is Owen too “no growth”?
Resident Mike Potoker asked Owen about his perceived “no growth” attitude as a member of the Gunnison County Planning Commission. Potoker cited many times that Owen had voted against proposed developments when the rest of the commission saw fit to vote yes.
“I don’t think I have a no growth attitude,” responded Owen. “My record shows that I voted yes a number of times. The Planning Commission is charged to uphold the rules set by the commissioners. The council sets the policy and that is one reason I am running. Now, I do encourage growth to be encouraged near population centers and don’t think developments in very rural areas of the county to be a great idea.” Later in the forum Owen said it takes courage to vote against the majority when on a public board and that should be seen as an asset and not a detriment.

Who should be able to vote in town?
KBUT’s Chad Reich fielded some e-mailed questions from citizens not at the forum. The first was a question about allowing second homeowners or business owners who don’t live in town to get a vote in the election.
Matusewicz said, “That is great in concept but is not constitutional. So their voice has to come through us and I will listen to their input.”
“I think this council is a strong voice for the entire north end of the valley,” said Owen. “It’s important for the council to listen to the Elk Avenue business owners and speak for all the residents of the upper valley. We need to help bring the entire upper valley together.”
“The beauty is we have a small, intimate community and no matter what, the better policy should take precedence over territory,” said McGruther.
“You vote where you live,” said Michel. “But the second homeowners have a huge impact here and they contribute a lot to the community. We welcome them and we’re glad they are here. We can listen to them but they can’t vote.”

Budget thoughts
Steve Glazer asked if the candidates would change the town budget. The budget carries large reserve funds.
“The budget is very healthy and we’re lucky to have finance director Lois Rozman,” said Huckstep.
“I believe we should increase the amount set aside for service grants to non-profit organizations,” said Owen. “The economy hasn’t been great lately and donations to non-profits are down. Our non-profits contribute directly to our quality of life and contribute to our economy. They could use more help in our budget.”
“It is difficult to make adequate decisions if you don’t have adequate input,” said McGruther. “I’ll try to get out in the community and get input. As for the non-profits, not every one of them comes to town for money. Some are sustainable.”
Matusewicz pointed out the council and town “are guided by the budget. I think we can take a closer look at every line item. If 20 line items go up $5,000 each, that’s a lot of money. We need to know the reasons why they go up before approving the line item.”
“Kudos to Lois,” added Michel. “We are a liberal ski town with a conservative budget. That’s rare. I feel we could spend more time on some of the bigger items.”

Are fees on business too high?
Local restaurant owner Peter Maxwell asked if the candidates felt, given the health of the budget reserves, local businesses were perhaps over-taxed through things like affordable housing and parking in lieu fees. “Increasing these types of fees is basically a moratorium on growth,” he said.
“We need economic sustainability and we need to keep healthy reserves,” said Huckstep. “It seems the staff agrees that the affordable housing fees are too high with the latest revisions and need to be adjusted. It will be good to look at that, but we need to figure out an overall plan for affordable housing.”
“It’s very difficult to balance the desire for town services with the desire to keep taxes and fees low,” said Owen. “The economy is bad now but not that long ago, in the roaring 2006’s, it was hard to find employees. Economies are cyclical and I sat on the committee that recommended that affordable housing fee increase. There were problems and we are relooking at it and its impacts. But it’s important to understand we can play keep-up but not catch-up. It’s more fair to keep the structure in place so when the economy turns, we are prepared.”
“Living in a tourist economy that fluctuates, it is important to have good reserves,” said Michel. “We need to be ready for the lulls. Parking spaces cost $27,000 each, so it is important to have those fees. I’m a fan of payment-in lieu fees. The affordable housing fees are huge. I like the idea but in reality they are too onerous. But the overall goal of affordable housing is admirable.”
“The current regs are prohibitive,” said Matusewicz. “It’s a tremendous burden on a business. We need to look at other options—maybe a one-tenth of one percent increase in our sales tax. That would have brought in about $49,000 last year. A very small bump could bring in real money and give us a competitive advantage and it wouldn’t just be a burden to businesses or locals. That’s a dime on every $100 spent. Let’s look at other alternatives.”
“I agree with Shaun that these costs and fees are prohibitive,” said McGruther. “We need to change our economies. We have an old model. How can we dynamize events? We have limited parking spaces in town but how much additional parking is coming from the fees? We have accessory dwellings in town not being used to the full extent of the intention. Maybe that needs to be revised. I encourage smart growth.”

Better business relationships
Kristen Van Hoesen of the Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce asked for proactive ideas to support business owners.
“We need to dynamize our events,” reiterated McGruther. “Make them dynamic and functional. Organize smart events year-round. We can market and appeal to a more diverse community. There are several events that can generate a quarter million dollars that we can bring to town.”
“The town can do better to establish a better business-friendly environment,” said Owen. “We can have better signage for businesses not located on Elk Avenue. We can help encourage new businesses with a business incubator program. We need to work collaboratively with Mt. Crested Butte and [Crested Butte Mountain Resort]. We’re all in this together. We need to unite the north end of the valley. And we need to remember that our product is our environment and it is critical that we protect it.”
“It is absolutely critical to support the business community,” said Huckstep. “Mt. Crested Butte, CBMR, the business owners themselves. We need to promote more events in the community. Expanding broadband is also important. Communication and collaboration is absolutely critical.”
There are different needs for small business vs. large business,” said Matusewicz. “We should be reaching out to every new business. Maybe the chamber can offer ’junior memberships’ to give new businesses a bit of a break in the cost. One big thing Huck has suggested is that it might be good to gather sales tax data by the week instead of the month so we can see the real data and see how events impact the numbers specifically.”
“We need to encourage support of events in town like the USA Pro Challenge bike race,” said Michel. “The new council will be looking at an Elk Avenue master plan. It seems we might be underutilizing some things in town. Heritage tourism is huge and we have a great National Historic District. We need to collectively market our assets.”

Full court press
Asked by Reich through an email what the most pressing issue is in town, Michel said retaining a sense of place when there is a huge gulf between wages in the community and home prices. “I want to live in a place where teachers and firefighters and carpenters can live,” he said. “So affordable housing is a big issue to maintain our sense of place.”
“We need to keep people here and employed,” said Huckstep. “It’s not easy to live at 9,000 feet. Winters are long. We’re not immune to the national economy. It’s important to keep those that can hack it here, to be able to live here.”
“The culture here is unique,” said McGruther. “Real people live here and we need to keep that. We need to protect our natural resources. People are nothing without clean water. A food-shed infrastructure is important. A sustainable community with real people is the most pressing issue to me.”
“The economy is pressing,” said Owen. “We need to do more to expand the economy. We need to expand the shoulder seasons. Bring more people to town any time of the year. There shouldn’t be roadblocks. Maybe we need to relook at and expand the flights coming in. Instead of direct flights just from Texas, maybe get a direct flight from Chicago. Lone eagles who can work here are also a great fit.”
“Preserving the town character is pressing,” said Matusewicz. “The people, the environment and the culture. Having people living in town makes a strong community stronger. We also need to protect our clean air and clean water and we need economic growth without sacrificing the character of town.”

Midtimer Angst
Dan Jones wanted to know how the relatively young candidates could stay in touch with the heritage of the town.
“We need to talk to you and others that have been here awhile,” said Huckstep. “We need open ears and open minds.”
The rest of the candidates were on the same page.

 Vinotok fire love
Reich asked if the candidates would pave the parking lot at the Four-way Stop, which could eliminate the Vinotok bonfire at that location.
“I love Vinotok so much I’ll fight to keep it so the fire can be there,” promised Matusewicz.
“Paving that lot would cost a lot of money. There may be better uses for that money,” said Michel. “I’d spend it somewhere else.”
“I like anything with a big fire and I love Vinotok,” said Huckstep. “We may need to look at creative alternatives. What’s sacred and what’s not sacred? The fire is certainly sacred but is the location? I honestly don’t know. Let’s figure it out.”
“You’re talking quality of life,” said Owen. “Maybe there is too much pavement in Crested Butte? Protecting the quality of life here is most important for the council.”
“It’s important to recognize that the community is the center of Vinotok,” said McGruther. “There’s no priority to pave that parking lot for me personally. We need to be flexible and whatever the problem, bring in all the stakeholders and communicate.”

MMJ direction
Current Councilperson Roland Mason asked the candidates their thoughts on medical marijuana.
Michel said he would support the staff recommendation to not allow grow operations in town.
“That’s a sensitive issue,” admitted Huckstep, saying the town should keep an eye on what the state is doing and perhaps reevaluate the town position in the future.
“It is time to look at this scientifically,” said McGruther. “Infuse science and intellect into our decision making process.”
Matusewicz said he would be in favor of looking into marketing restrictions so MMJ, and especially edibles like cupcakes and candy, could not be marketed or advertised to children.

Who had good ideas?
Fellow Councilperson Jim Schmidt said that listening is big part of being on council and he asked each candidate to cite a good idea brought up by a fellow candidate.
“Owen made a great point about fairness,” said McGruther. “We need to focus on fairness.”
Michel said Matusewicz’s call for bringing in high speed Internet was a good one.
Owen said Matusewicz’s desire for the town to jump into the sandwich board signs on Elk Avenue was good.
Matusewicz reiterated Huckstep’s idea for monitoring sales tax on a weekly instead of a monthly basis.
“David and Shaun both have mentioned getting more airline seats in here,” said Huckstep. “That is an issue we’ll have to face. I’m not sure we can just assume CBMR will continue to fund that indefinitely into the future. We need to pay attention on how to keep getting businesses here by air.”

Mail your ballot soon
The candidates each gave a closing statement. Owen reminded everyone that this is a mail-in ballot election. Voters must return their ballot to the county by Tuesday, November 1. It must arrive there by mail or can be dropped off in Gunnison at the Blackstock
Building.