Briefs Crested Butte Council

Sales tax boomed in June
Crested Butte sales tax took a huge jump in June. It was up a whopping 10 percent over 2011 for the month. For the year to date, Crested Butte sales tax is up 4 percent and, given the numbers of people on the street, it is hoped by the staff that the trend will continue for the summer.

No conspiracy theory with the TA
Mayor Aaron Huckstep made a point of publicly stating that while he and the town councils at the north end of the valley have expressed some frustration with the Tourism Association, “None of us are engaged in any conspiracy to shift all the marketing dollars to this end of the valley,” he said. “There is no plan to hijack the money. Our issue is primarily a lack of transparency. It also seems too unstructured. It might be a worth a work session to discuss specifics and come up with constructive feedback.”
The council generally felt that would be a good idea but no specific time was set.
Town councilperson and TA representative Shaun Matusewicz reported the TA is in the throes of hiring a new executive director. A national executive search firm is being used to whittle down the original 34 applicants. The idea is to get down to 15 and then to five for interviews. Three will then be selected to be flown in for meetings. No local applicants made the cut to 15.

Millie Hamner says hi
State representative Millie Hamner came to the council to introduce herself at their August 7 meeting. The Democrat hopes to represent House District 61, which includes Crested Butte. She is a former superintendent of schools in Summit County and said she has lived in ski towns since the 1970s. Hamner currently resides in Dillon.

Council can’t talk enough about potties…
The council held a long discussion over a staff proposal to investigate the possibility of constructing new bathrooms on the main floor of the town hall. The staff presented the council with some preliminary numbers and budget and hoped for a quick nod to investigate further. The council got all potty mouth and spent close to 45 minutes discussing the “issue.” Councilperson Roland Mason pointed out that the current facilities on the bottom floor of the building are the same bathrooms in the same condition as when he attended school in the building. The staff expressed surprise at the detail of council discussion and said they would gather more information.

…or talk enough about the cemetery
The council also felt it necessary to spend almost an hour discussing the best way to set up a citizen’s committee to help guide the town cemetery. Thirteen people sent letters of interest to be a part of a new advisory committee. Town Clerk Eileen Hughes, along with council representatives Roland Mason and Jim Schmidt, will meet to discuss parameters and make-up of the committee and give the full council a recommendation.

Mountain Express seeking late-night funds
The Mountain Express asked the council to help financially support late night bus service during some special events. The request was for $3,000. According to board member Roland Mason, the Mountain Express has a reserve fund balance of $400,000.
Mountain Express director Chris Larsen wasn’t at the meeting so the council did not want to take any action until he was there to answer questions. He will come to them at an upcoming council meeting.
“To ask us for money with that much money in reserves is interesting,” pondered councilperson Glenn Michel. “We shouldn’t act on it until we get some questions answered.”
Mason said the extra trips would cost the bus system $15,000 and they were seeking $9,000 in assistance from local entities.
“Without the service, there will be a lot of additional stress on the town,” said Mason.