Briefs Mt. Crested Butte

Increase in demand leads to water restrictions
Councilman Tom Steuer told the council at a meeting July 2 that there was an emergency meeting of the town’s water board that day, July 2, to address what the staff saw as an alarming increase in the amount of water being pumped in town.

“The staff of the water department was quite concerned with the consumption,” he said. “In May, eight-and-a-half million gallons of water were consumed and in June it jumped to 17 million gallons, which requires pumps to run almost 24-7 to keep up with demand. Therefore we’ve gone to the extraordinary lengths of restricting the irrigation watering to every other day.”
Starting Wednesday, July 3, people with an even-number address may water their lawn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while people with an odd-numbered address may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No watering will be allowed on Sundays.
“Hopefully that will resolve the issue,” he said, “and until the rains come, they’ll be pretty restrictive.”

Council agrees to administer CBMR liquor license
The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council agreed to take over Gunnison County’s responsibilities in administering the liquor license for Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Discussions about the arrangement were put on hold after the subject was first broached last spring.
The approved Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison County will consolidate the several liquor licenses CBMR has for its various drinking establishments on the mountain under one license administered by the town.
The arrangement will allow CBMR to buy its liquor in bulk, saving on purchase and delivery costs, while the town will collect the equivalent of a 5 percent tax as a capital improvement fee that could add up to $35,000 to $40,000 a year.
“As money grows there will be more money for capital projects,” Fitzpatrick said. “Capital improvements is one thing that we need as a community.”

Wedding garden gets decked out
The Mt. Crested Butte Wedding Garden has been earning its keep, bringing in more new revenue to the town every year, and will get some attention ahead of the upcoming summer season.
“We’re totally in control of the Wedding Garden and with that we have some revenues coming in that we didn’t have in the past. With those revenues we’re making a few improvements,” town manager Joe Fitzpatrick said. “One is a small fire pit where you can have a marshmallow roast and the other is an upgrade to the chairs for the pavilion, of which we have 125.”