Briefs Crested Butte

Input from Skip… murals, coffee and raises
Former Crested Butte Councilperson Skip Berkshire addressed the new council with some suggestions at the November 21 meeting. He suggested the council look into painting the concrete retaining wall at the new covered ice rink. “It would be great to have something like a mural on the outside,” he said. “That road gets a lot of traffic from hikers and Nordic skiers. I think it could become a tagger’s venue. A neat mural would be really cool. It would sort of be like the buses.” The council asked the staff to look into the potential of painting the wall.
Berkshire would like to see a return of “Coffee with the Council.” Those informal meetings were held twice a month on the Monday mornings before council meetings. “It was a good chance for citizens to just chat with the council.”
The council will consider restarting the sessions but some felt they had become a place for blatant lobbying instead of give-and-take with the council and its constituents. Mayor Aaron Huckstep said he and Mt. Crested Butte mayor William Buck are exploring a possible regular “Mingle with Mayors” happy hour gathering. “It is a gesture for the two councils to come together and chat about common business and get together socially,” said Huckstep.
“I think you need to change the name,” quipped Councilperson Shawn Matusewicz.
And while not a huge fan of the council giving itself a raise, Berkshire said he supported the idea. “It won’t really compensate you for lost income but I’m good with it.” The council pushed the raise discussion off for another year.

Jones touting the holidays and the ice rink
Parks and Recreation director Jake Jones told the council the holiday wreaths will be going up on the light posts in the next few weeks. “They look great when they go up but they are live and they will turn brown,” he said. “But we are trying to coordinate the hanging closer to the Chamber of Commerce Light Up Night. That will be held December 10.”
Councilperson and chamber representative John Wirsing asked the public to participate in the parade during Light Up Night from the Four-way Stop to the town tree at the Brick Oven. “It’s not much of a parade but hopefully more people will take part this year,” he said.
Jones also said the ice rink project is getting closer. He hopes to have an official dedication date on December 20 or 21.

Standard Mine meeting
Town planner John Hess said an Environmental Protection Agency meeting will be held November 30 to discuss the next steps with the Standard Mine reclamation project. The meeting will be held with the Standard Mine advisory committee in the council chambers at 6 p.m.

Finances looking rosier
 Town finance director Lois Rozman informed the council the third quarter finances were good in Crested Butte. Summer was busy. Just about everything is ahead of budget, including the real estate transfer tax, thanks to $19 million worth of real estate sales in town that took place between July 1 and September 30. Still, Rozman warned the council that the town is “below what were considered normal revenue in past years…”

Some would prefer a Tuesday meeting
The council discussed their procedures and will make some minor adjustments in how they do things. They will consider a big change in council meeting days. Several council members stated a preference for holding the meetings on Tuesdays instead of Mondays. They will further discuss the issue at the next meeting… on Monday, December 5.

Yoga support with questions
Monica Mesa came to the council asking for $3,500 in financial support for the February Yoga Rocks the Butte event. The first winter yoga gathering of its kind, the event is expected to bring hundreds of people to town. Mayor Aaron Huckstep asked about the budget presented with the proposal that showed a healthy profit without any town financial support. Mesa said that was a very incomplete budget and she would bring an updated financial report to the next meeting. The council liked the idea of the festival but wanted to see firmer numbers before acting on the marketing request.

Depot about to see some work
The council approved a contract for state historic funds that will go toward renovating the Depot. The state will donate $97,000 and the town will throw in about $43,000 to start fixing up the historic building. Roof work will commence next summer; the following year, interior renovations will begin.

Trivial Pursuit: How many council members does it take to answer a question?
Councilperson Jim Schmidt commented that the town had received a letter of concern from someone who had spotted three council members teamed up at a recent trivia contest at the Brick Oven. “Frankly when I got the email from [town manager] Susan Parker about the concern I was insulted that my integrity would be questioned,” he said. “We live in a small town and there are not always a lot of things to do in the off season. I can assure the public that nothing untoward was being done. No public business was being discussed. We were discussing how many more miles it was to travel around the Cape than go through the Panama Canal.”
“I want us to be seen out in public,” added councilman and teammate Glenn Michel. “It is beneficial for us and the public.”
“If anyone is concerned, they can come join our team, especially if you know anything about ’80s music,” added mayor Huckstep. “We could use you. We have a little competition going with the CBMR team and we like to beat them.”
The next Trivia Night will be held November 30 at the Brick Oven.