The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“One of the great things about our community is you can get involved and make a difference”
On April 1, a new Town Council will take the oath of office in Mt. Crested Butte, with four familiar councilmen starting fresh four-year terms.
Danny D’Aquila, David O’Reilly and Chris Morgan are all returning to the council after serving for at least the last four years, while Todd Barnes is moving from the town’s Planning Commission to take a council seat vacated by term-limited Mayor William Buck.
Each of the councilmen is a dedicated public servant, having served previously on the Town Council or in other volunteer positions on town boards and commissions.
Chris Morgan:
Councilman Chris Morgan is returning to his seat on the council after having served three terms on the Town Council, as well as two terms on the town’s Planning Commission.
Morgan has been very active publicly in his 23 years in the valley, serving as president of the Gunnison County Electric Association board of directors and as a board member for Tri-State Generation and Transmission. Morgan also volunteers as a board member for the Rural Transportation Association.
“One of the great things about our community is you can get involved and make a difference in the lives of the people that live here,” Morgan says. “I can talk to businesses and citizens any time and I’m continuously getting feedback,” Morgan says. “It’s really a lot of fun.”
In the next four years, he’s eager to see the business climate at the base area and around town improve and do whatever he can to help businesses improve the product Mt. Crested Butte offers in both summer and winter, including improved air and bus service. The result, he hopes, will be increased revenues for town to continue strengthening the local tourist economy.
Danny D’Aquila:
D’Aquila is also starting his fourth term on council, having started his public service in town shortly after moving to Mt. Crested Butte in 1995 with his wife and two kids to raise a family.
D’Aquila was driving through Gunnison 19 years ago looking for a mountain town and stopped for dinner. That’s when he heard about Crested Butte for the first time. A week later, his family had purchased a lot in Mt. Crested Butte, where they planned to build a little ski chalet. Soon that plan turned to full-time mountain residency.
“I’m a community guy and I was looking for this life. After moving out here, I immediately volunteered for the Fire Department and got to work. I came out with a dump truck and a backhoe and I dug my foundation, hired three carpenters to help me build the house and we moved in the next February.”
Since then, D’Aquila and his wife have had three more children and he’s happy to have seen his kids grow up with deep roots in the Gunnison Valley. “We wanted to be able to give my kids the same opportunity to live and raise a family in a place like this,” he said, “and it hasn’t changed a bit.”
He’s also happy to have seen such a strong group of dedicated public servants who are willing to show up term after term to get the town’s work accomplished.
“It’s a fantastic council, fantastic town staff and there’s a great company in the ski area. There’s so much potential here, it was the perfect time for all of us to stay together. We’re all on the same page and we want to move on. The economy is better. The growth pattern is good,” he said. “Everything about this end of the valley is just a fantastic time right now.”
David O’Reilly:
David O’Reilly has a similar view of his service in Mt. Crested Butte. O’Reilly had served on a planning commission in Illinois and knew, after moving to town full-time in 2002, big things were about to happen.
“When we moved here I knew something was going to happen at Mountaineer Square and I knew if I wanted to have any input I’d have to be involved in the political aspect,” he said. “So I applied to be appointed to the Planning Commission and did that for six years and that’s what drove me to be involved in the political process.”
O’Reilly has been a big advocate for the completion of the town’s portion of the recreation path and hopes to see the final leg finished this year. He’s also looking forward to watching the proposed Mt. Crested Butte Performing Arts Center take shape.
“It’s going to be an exciting four years. I really enjoy being on Town Council,” he said. “I like to do what I can do to help with issues that come to my attention and I love interacting with the people.”
Todd Barnes:
Todd Barnes, owner of the Avalanche Bar and Grill at the Base Area, first found Mt. Crested Butte during spring break 30 years ago. By the fall of 1988 he was enrolled at Western and he’s been in the valley for the past 22 years.
His first term on the Town Council started 12 years ago, while his wife was pregnant with their first child, and Barnes has continued to serve his family and the community. After his term on the Town Council was up in 2006, he started a stint with the Planning Commission and Downtown Development Authority that continues to this day.
“I love it. I’m always in need of a challenge and it’s a nice way of contributing to my community. That’s an important part,” Barnes said of his service. “I always tell people on heated topics, ‘If you haven’t sat up there and taken it, then you don’t have a leg to stand on in giving it.’”
Barnes admits that his time will be divided during the busiest times of the year, among family, the Avalanche and Town Council, but he’s planning on making up for it in the shoulder season when he’s got time to contribute.
“You want to see continued success. I want to keep seeing us hold and improve,” he said. “What does a councilman have to do with that? Not much directly. But hopefully we’ve seen the low point and can start to see some upward movement in the community and the valley in general.”
The new council members will officially take their seats on Tuesday, April 1.
