Council good with Big Air but conflicted about safety concerns

Times have sure changed…

In a nod to its insurance company and town staff’s concerns, the Crested Butte Town Council voted 4-3 to hire a consultant to evaluate the safety of next month’s Big Air on Elk event, which is centered on skiers and snowboarders being towed by snowmobiles on Elk Avenue before hitting a jump at Third and Elk.

Volunteer Gabe Martin of the Colorado FreeSkier has organized the annual March event for the last four years. At a meeting last October, the town staff expressed concerns to Martin about the safety of spectators.
They specifically were worried about participants landing and going into the crowd and the proximity of speeding snowmobiles to pedestrians. Admitting there is no internal expertise for this type of event, the town staff requested a third party review to mitigate liability.
The town insurance agency, CIRSA, had apparently indicated that if town employees signed off on the event without seeing some measures taken to allay some of the fears, town employees could be held personally liable if something went wrong, and the insurance company might or might not cover any incidents.
So, town attorney John Belkin contacted the Tilton Safety Group, whose executives were friends of his. Tilton Safety Group provides risk management solutions for action sports events. They said for $2,500 they would look at videos, maps, plans, diagrams and other pertinent information to present safety and risk management recommendations for this year’s event.
At Monday’s council meeting some of the council argued against commissioning such a report, while others argued it was necessary to protect town assets.
“We’re asking for a professional opinion since we’re not experts,” explained town manager Todd Crossett. “The staff is generally supportive of the event but has two concerns: increasing the margin of safety to eliminate pedestrian/snowmobile interaction and the danger of participants going into the crowd. We want to take reasonable steps to make the event as safe as it can be.
“The guys we’ve contacted [the Tilton Safety Group] are in the business of putting on these types of events,” Crossett continued. “They aren’t in the business of shutting them down.”
“Safety has always been my number one priority,” said Martin, “for the spectators and then the athletes and the staff. In the last four years, no one in the crowd has ever gotten injured. We’ve been adding things like padding to the venue and keeping spectators farther back.
“But I can’t see them getting $2,500 and not coming back with something they think we need to do,” Martin continued. “This is a small volunteer-based event and so now you want to pay one guy? I’m a little skeptical of it.”
Public Works director Rodney Due told the council that the CIRSA lawyer said as things stood, whoever signed off on the event could be sued personally if something bad happened. So no town employee had yet signed off on the application. “But [CIRSA] indicated that if we made an effort to mitigate the safety concerns, [CIRSA] would fight for us,” Due said.
“It appears if we responsibly make our best effort to address risk areas, we fall back under protection,” said Crossett. “Tilton can do a pretty quick review and let us know if they see any red flags. We feel we can keep the event on track but the staff feels this helps cover all the bases.”
“These guys have put on a lot of events but evaluating another event puts them in a different role,” said Councilperson Shaun Matusewicz. “Usually such reviews are ultra-conservative so nothing can come back on them. The town is not expert at Nordic skiing or riding chainless bicycles. Where does it stop? What is the precedent?”
“There have probably been more injuries Nordic skiing than at the Big Air event,” added Martin. “Do you hire them for every event in town?”
“If we get a report back asking for some major changes like a NASTAR-type fence to protect spectators, we’re in trouble,” said Mayor Aaron Huckstep.
“We’re talking a lot about this so we have to do it. We can’t just ignore it now,” said Councilperson Chris Ladoulis. “The difference between this and a Nordic race or the Chainless Race is that in those events, the main risk is to the participants. With this, we are allowing pedestrians to flow through the area and impose the risk on people who may not even care about the event.”
“It seems the biggest risk is having a snowmobile malfunction and hit a spectator,” said Huckstep.
“Snowmobiles at speed four feet from people is probably the biggest risk,” agreed Belkin.
“I’m just thinking how times have changed,” said Matusewicz. “You go in The Last Steep [restaurant] and on the wall is a big picture of the ex-mayor jumping through a fire ring a foot from the crowd on Elk Avenue.”
Martin outlined additional safety measures he has implemented at the request of the town. He made it clear he felt the event was extremely safe.
“What if instead of this report we pay to have an expert come in and shadow you the day of the event?” asked Huckstep. “He could make suggestions while actually witnessing the event. That way we could get good feedback and implement it all in 2015. That seems more reasonable.”
“It seems to me this is a thing to purely protect the insurance company,” added Councilman Jim Schmidt. “Is the Chainless next? What about Alpenglow? Certainly having cars speed through town during the Pro Challenge bike race was more dangerous than this. I’d be okay if we can use this report for ten years but I don’t want to pay for a report every year.”
“If the report comes back recommending big changes, can it be used against us?” queried councilperson David Owen. “What happens if the report says ‘Don’t do it’?”
“We all like the event but we can’t keep our heads in the sand,” said Councilperson Glenn Michel. “This is a check on the event. I think it is a rational request. If something were to happen and we hadn’t taken safety mitigation measures, it could bankrupt the town.”
“If they say shut it down, do you rely on their advice or on my reputation for doing this safely the last four years?” asked Martin.
“But now I’m aware of the liability outlined by the staff and our attorney,” said Owen.
“The staff has brought up concerns they have with the event every year and we’ve always approved it,” said Huckstep. “I think it is best to get an expert here for the event.”
“Ultimately it is the council that makes the decision,” said Schmidt. “We are the judges of common sense.”
“But that won’t mitigate any concerns of the event for this year,” said Michel. “The town has been incredibly successful the last 20 years. We have a lot to lose now with our strong financial reserves and strong economy. I’d prefer to pay for the report to provide another layer of comfort.”
“I’m in favor of the report,” said Ladoulis. “I’d hate to look back if something bad happens and say we could have taken one small step to make it safer.”
“Having a guy on-site during the event might meet the criteria CIRSA is asking for,” said Due. “Then you are doing something about the issue CIRSA is concerned with.”
“Government should be proactive and we should be ahead of things,” said Michel.
 Matusewicz made a motion to approve the event while bringing in an expert to be at the event and offer advice.
Only Huckstep and Mason voted in favor. Matusewicz voted against it so procedurally he could bring it up again if needed.
Huckstep emphasized he was against a written review because “It could include unreasonable things for us to do that won’t let the event continue.”
“Risk mitigation is actually reducing the risk,” said Ladoulis. “We’re 2,500 bucks away from getting some actionable items.”
“These reports usually talk about worst case scenarios,” said Matusewicz. “By voting for the report, you may be voting to kill the event.”
The council considered a motion to approve the event contingent upon the Tilton Safety Group writing a report that is looked over by town staff, which can then decide if the safety suggestions can be implemented.
“Look, this is a weird, different event,” said Martin. “No one else does this. We’ve been approached by major sponsors like Budweiser. My reputation is on this. This is a very unique event for the town and it is bringing people in during the dying season. “
The council voted 4-3 to approve the event based on the condition the staff is comfortable with the safety report. Matusewicz, Roland Mason and Huckstep voted against the motion.
The council voted unanimously to allow a special events liquor license for a beer garden at Third and Elk for the event.
The report should be completed by the end of the week. Big Air on Elk is scheduled for Saturday, March 8.