The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
We asked those running for Town Council what it is they mean when they cite the political tagline of “preserving Crested Butte values.” After all, looking at, say, Harry Reid and Ted Cruz, one person’s “values” might be another’s nightmare.
But in Crested Butte one “value” I appreciate as much as any is the ability of our small town residents to be able to fight hard and then come together to play. I witnessed that last week as mayoral candidates Aaron Huckstep and Jeremy Rubingh debated the political issues at the Crested Butte News Candidates Forum on Wednesday night and then on Friday, were sharing drinks and social debate downtown at various watering holes. I have written for years that I appreciate that aspect of this place. That’s a “value” of Crested Butte as much as any other worth appreciating. In this small village where it is not always easy to live or make a living, the ability to state your views as honestly as possible and then share a drink is paramount to this place.
Speaking of the election…the mail ballot and school break is making the timing a bit weird this year. The forum was held early and our endorsements will be seen on page 2 next week. And we have an abundance of personal endorsement letters from the community that we will get in over the next few weeks.
At the RTA meeting last Friday, there was talk of how to get more people to fly out of Gunnison. The general idea being floated around is to have tax dollars help pay for your ticket if you use GUC. That won’t hurt when people start their shopping for a plane ticket but honestly, it’s not the price of the ticket that keeps people from flying out of GUC—it’s the matter of trust.
I flew out of Gunnison ten days ago and it worked like a charm. Getting back to the heartland for a wedding, my roundtrip ticket was about $150 more from Gunnison than Denver. Since it was early October and I have been known to gamble once in a while, I looked at the odds. I figured the weather should be good. It wasn’t a major holiday, I would leave on a Thursday and come back early Sunday. The $150 would more than pay for convenience, gas, hotel and parking. So I rolled the dice and booked GUC.
And it worked. But I must say that even driving down for the 12:30 flight, I was worried, given the horror stories I have heard. And there have been horror stories. I myself have had to hop in a car and hightail it to DIA to catch what would have been a connecting flight when a United flight was suddenly cancelled. I’ve heard people who regularly use the airport talk about delays and cancellations and missed business meetings and high stress experiences, praying a plane or crew would show up.
So my advice to the RTA is to not throw money at vouchers. That’s frankly a waste of tax dollars. As much as I would have loved an extra $100 in my pocket, the money will go to people already betting that a flight will work from GUC. As I took off from DIA Sunday morning and looked down at I-70, I commented how worth it the extra money was to use that flight. When it works, it is great and the price point isn’t too far off.
Rather than trying to bribe people to use GUC, perhaps focus on efforts to making it consistently work. People want to use GUC but they can’t trust it. Honestly, you could give people a free ticket but if the plane doesn’t show up and they miss a meeting, a wedding, a class reunion or whatever, they will hate GUC and despise the fact they took that free or discounted ticket. Shift the proposed $50,000 expenditure toward something like chemicals that will keep the runway open no matter the weather conditions. A runway closure was a huge debacle last Christmas when full planes couldn’t get in. Use the money to get more Denver flights in here so there is same day back-up if a flight is cancelled. I don’t know other ideas off the top of my head but throwing money to vouchers is sort of like spending money on a sling for a sprained shoulder when your femur is sticking out of your broken leg.
So coming full circle, unlike our U.S. Congress, this is how local government works in the valley. It should be made up of respect, common sense and small town values. Individuals can make their points on the issues, not be afraid to take a stand, throw out ideas and even throw an occasional punch. But then we should all return to common sense and work out something constructive for a final solution. We are starting to see that template at the County Planning Commission as they deal with the Scarp Ridge master plan. But no matter what the issue in our valley, remember that the final goal should be the ability to move on constructively—and then share a drink or two together.
