CB Town Council ponies up funds to help new events

Lodging, songwriters and yogis

Encouraging and funding ideas to promote Crested Butte appears to be a focus of the Town Council. At the Monday, December 5 meeting, the council allocated contributions to three organizations, including Crested Butte Mountain Resort, to help fund promotional events. They delved into the budgets of the groups and also grilled Tourism Association (TA) director Jane Chaney about her budget and how Crested Butte was seeing good bang for the buck.

In her quarterly report to the council, Chaney said she would be asking the county to ratify a $940,000 budget. That money is primarily raised through a 4 percent lodging tax.
Mayor Aaron Huckstep pointed out to Chaney that the TA’s website still had summer pictures in its slide show. Chaney explained that a recent personnel change had delayed some tasks but changing the photos to winter was at the top of the ‘To Do’ list. She promised it would be winter on the website by Friday.
Huck pressed her for some specifics on marketing and particularly Internet spending. Chaney said she could send Huckstep every specific expenditure, since she had gathered the information for the county commissioners who asked the same thing.
“What about the TA’s relationship with the air program?” asked Huckstep. “Can the TA help more and maybe help pay for some of the airline guarantees?
“We try to make sure the air program is marketed and we identify the airline partners,” said Chaney. “But the RTA [Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority] passed a tax that was earmarked to pay for the airlines and ground transportation. The TA’s tax was passed for tourism and marketing. If that is changed, you would have to go to the commissioners who sit as the Local Marketing District. It’s not up to us.”
Later in the meeting, CBMR director of sales Jon Walters came to the council asking for $3,000 to help fund the BMI inaugural Crested Butte Songwriter Festival scheduled for January 13 and 14. It is sort of a Country-in-the-Rockies Lite event.
The idea is for country music performers to come to town and have two shows on Friday, one at the Eldo and one at Kochevar’s, and have two Saturday performances at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts. There will not be a “celebrity bartender night” that was very popular during Country-in-the Rockies. That may be part of the second-year event.
“BMI’s David Preston [a former Crested Butte resident] called and said they were interested in putting on the event. They have a similar event in Key West that draws 1,000 people,” explained Waters. “BMI benefits by keeping their name in the game. But there are significant costs and a first-year event probably won’t draw big numbers.
“It seems there are long term benefits to the town of Crested Butte,” he continued. “We want to make this an annual event and really grow it. We are starting it on Martin Luther King weekend but may move it if it becomes too big. We think the town will see some significant tax revenues with this event.”
Walters admitted to councilperson Glenn Michel that CBMR would probably be coming back next year and maybe the year after to request further funding. “If it gets big enough, it will generate lodging and lift ticket revenues to cover all the costs,” he said. “But we need help now.”
The town of Mt. Crested Butte, which has an admissions tax to fund such events, has committed $3,000 to the event.
“BMI really cares about the event benefitting the town, and we do too,” said Walters. He said the event would receive television and media coverage. Country music television personality Storme Warren will be in town with a film crew.
Town manager Susan Parker said the Crested Butte venture fund had $12,500 left for 2012 and the event easily fit the criteria for economic development.
The council debated how much to allocate.
“I think we should fund the entire request,” argued councilperson David Owen. “It’s a great event. Most of it happens in town. It’s during a soft weekend when we need new events to be built. It looks strange if Mt. Crested Butte contributes more than us when the primary events are downtown.”
“They do have a funding mechanism of the admission tax,” said Huckstep. “I don’t disagree with you but we need to look at our resources.”
“This is the type of event the funds are there for,” said Michel. “Hopefully they’ll be able to thrive down the road and not come back looking for funds.”
“I just want to have some money left in the fund when we come into January,” said councilperson John Wirsing. “We could get another great request and have no money left.”
The council settled on the $2,500 figure. Proceeds of the event will benefit the Tough Enough to Wear Pink and TJ Martell Foundation.
The council was also impressed with the Downtown Crested Butte Lodging Association. The relatively new group was set up by the seven downtown lodges to promote the town during the winter when they are slowest. They requested $4,500 to help with advertising to push people, especially Front Range residents, to their new website.
Mike Nolan of the Elk Mountain Lodge said the group was trying to shore up the soft spot of winter in downtown lodging. “Summer is great but we need to promote November through February or March,” he said.
“We are friends even though we are competitors,” said Nolan about the group. “We have good relationships with the [chamber of commerce] and with CBMR. But no one else is really promoting just Crested Butte. Our DowntownCrestedButte.com website is moving up in a significant way in Internet searches. We want to focus on that.”
“The idea is to get out there as a lodging option,” added Chris Haver of the Purple Mountain Bed and Breakfast. “It benefits all of downtown. None of us really have kitchens in the rooms, so people go out and eat and shop.”
The council agreed to donate $4,000 to the group for marketing purposes.
Monica Mesa returned to the council with a more detailed budget for her inaugural Yoga Rocks the Butte Festival, slated for February 10-12. She was hoping to receive $3,500 in marketing support.
But council members were a bit leery about her budget figures, which Mesa explained were compiled by a partner in Boulder. While hoping for 500 participants, Mesa said 200 were expected. She said many of the events would be held in Mt. Crested Butte and in her Crested Butte studio. “It’s an amazing event that will bring a new demographic to town,” she told the council.
Council members expressed some confusion over budget figures.
“I don’t understand this budget but I like the event,” said Schmidt. “It’s something new for town. I could support $1,500.”
“I’m not impressed with the budget or plan as presented,” said Michel. “I’m having a hard time giving money to this event.”
“The venture fund is there to support new things. I think it is worth trying,” said councilperson Roland Mason. “February is a slow time in Crested Butte.”
“I love yoga and I love the event, but the budget gives me a lot of problems,” said Matusewicz. “Having said that, I think it will bring people here and be a successful event.”
“I share Shaun’s concerns,” said Huckstep. “I think next year you’ll have a clearer picture.”
“We are trying to promote this place as a health and wellness destination,” said Mesa.
The council voted to allocate $1,500, with Michel voting against the motion.