The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
But the street was running blue in the rain…
It didn’t start so well for some and didn’t end so well for others, but the long middle of the Whatever, USA Bud Light promotion seemed like the weather—all sunshine and blue skies for those who participated.
The build-up began with some citizens feeling kept in the dark and the Crested Butte Town Council being hammered over the secret nature of the event. Then the number of wristbands allowing people into the Elk Avenue party was limited to 4,000 and many locals were not given one when the bands ran out Thursday about 6 p.m. At the end of the party on Sunday, some participants trying to leave had to deal with a slow TSA (Transportation Security Administration) airport check-in process when machines broke and TSA personnel were not exactly quick. This delayed some departures and resulted in missed connections and probably some missed work on Monday for those flown out for the party.
According to Mt. Crested Butte police department spokesperson Marjorie Trautman, “Delays occurred getting Whatever, USA contestants headed home. The charter company handling flights from Gunnison to Denver was granted permission by the TSA, in an unprecedented agreement, to allow processing of individuals in Mountaineer Square rather than at an airport. Unfortunately, the screening company hired by the air charter company for this purpose significantly under-estimated the amount of time it would take to process 1,200-plus individuals.”
Contrary to popular rumor, no marijuana was found during screening either in Mt. Crested Butte or at the airport.”
Rain brings the blues…
Then the consistent monsoon rains on Monday and Tuesday resulted in some of the blue paint on Elk Avenue flaking up and leaking into the town drainage system. Crested Butte public works director Rodney Due said the town’s system is set up to prevent any hydrocarbons or paint from leaking into the local waterways.
“The paint was supposed to be the same paint used for striping on the highway. I don’t know why it did this. It seems the paint I was told would be used, wasn’t,” he said Tuesday morning. “When we heard about it, we shut down Elk Avenue and booms were put out on the drains. We have a hydro-dynamic separator that separates this stuff and captures it. Nothing will go into Coal Creek. It’s part of the storm water management plan so that nothing gets through our system into the water. The system separates sediment and hydrocarbons. Nothing but liquid goes out to Coal Creek. We put it in three or four years ago and it has been working great.”
Due said after consulting with Sealco the plan is to roto-mill the top eighth of an inch off the impacted sections of Elk Avenue. Sealco will then slurry coat the road. He said a slurry coat is better than a seal coat. That process will now take at least a week to repair Elk Avenue. Due said he would probably close one block at a time to make the needed repairs as soon as the weather turns.
“Sealco said this doesn’t appear to be traffic paint,” Due said. “The silver lining is that we found that out because of the rain and it can now be done right. It will take longer than expected to get the street back to black but it needs to done right. The slurry seal will fill what will be scraped off.”
Event organizers were not pleased with the Tuesday situation. “We contracted with the local supplier and it appears the distributer suggested using a different type of paint than what is normally used on the roads. The thought was it would be better,” said event organizer Bobby Wells. “Obviously, it wasn’t.”
Due was hoping to start the Elk Avenue project Wednesday and expected it to take about a week to complete the project. The price of the Elk Avenue renovation also went from an estimated $20,000 to approximately $70,000. The town will not be paying for that work.
The party was sure good
The event itself seemed to come off smoothly. According to Crested Butte chief marshal Tom Martin, there were more people in town than normal for September but not nearly the amounts that were projected by some. “Overall, it was a great event,” said Martin. “It wasn’t anywhere close to what we prepared for and that was good. We made about seven arrests over the weekend and that’s more than a normal weekend but less than we expected given the numbers and the event.”
Martin said his department made one DUI arrest Friday, dealt with some parole violations and then dealt with a few issues associated with the event. A non-resident male individual was arrested for unlawful sexual contact with one of the winning participants during the Friday evening concert in Big Mine Arena. A local 21-year-old was arrested for trespassing and reckless endangerment after trying to sneak into the Saturday concert at Big Mine. When he attempted to flee officers, he knocked down and injured a local woman before being apprehended by security. Two Denver men were arrested after they stole one of the four-wheelers being used by the event organizers. They took out the tools in the vehicles and put them in their truck. They were caught and arrested for felony theft on Sunday.
From the Mt. Crested Butte police department perspective, it also seemed like a normal weekend. According to Trautman, that’s saying a lot, given that all hotels were filled to capacity and a number of planned celebrations and activities, for large and small groups, were taking place throughout the day and into the early morning hours. “I do believe the hard-working staff at The Avalanche Bar & Grill is a little tuckered out, having been the late-night food and beverage option on the mountain,” she said.
“The Patriot security group did a tremendous job and were total professionals,” Martin said. “I was on Elk Avenue a lot and everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves.”
Good interaction between locals and visitors
That might be an understatement, according to Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce director Dave Ochs. “The overall vibe of the event was that of mass elation,” he said. “Speaking on behalf of those participating in the event, and the contestants themselves, there was no shortage of great times. Smiles were so abundant, good times were being had all over the event footprint, there was great energy and brotherly reception, hugging and reconciliation on many fronts. It was a joyous occasion in and around the festivities.”
Crested Butte mayor Aaron Huckstep seconded that evaluation. “There was lots of great and very positive energy from locals and participants alike,” Huckstep said. “The winners who came in spoke very highly of the locals and how friendly we are. The locals certainly looked like they were doing what we do best, and that was having fun.”
For himself, Huckstep said once the event started, he could finally relax a bit from the stress that came before the opening parade. “I had a blast. I was blown away by the transformation of Big Mine Ice Arena,” he said. “I was glad the frustration turned into excitement late in the week. Obviously the access issues with the wristbands created some stress for all of us but it’s impossible to do a never-before event like this and not have some bumps. Everyone on the event organization team understood that and brought good attitudes to the table.”
Town manager Todd Crossett agreed there were some bumps but overall, the event worked pretty well. “I think the major impacts we were worried about were negated. We didn’t have mobs. We all had fun. It was mostly well executed,” he said. “Anything that big with that many moving parts will have complications and we were running around sorting things out all weekend behind the scenes.”
Crossett said there were some issues with trash pick-up, for example, and some security protocols were confusing at first.
“There were some people who felt impacted by the noise,” Crossett said. “That was understandable. It was certainly noisy at points.
“Probably the biggest problem we had was the lack of our ability to get every local a wristband by Thursday,” Crossett continued. “We did come up with 500 more bracelets by Saturday morning. I think we managed to get wristbands out to most of the upper valley locals and guests that wanted them. People seemed pleased with that effort. There were a handful of reasons we didn’t have enough passes to meet the upper valley demand but we tried to sort it out.”
Crossett said the numbers seemed to peak out at maybe 3,000 people in the street at once. “It wasn’t the first time we had a lot of people on Elk at once. People were well behaved and had a good time,” he concluded.
“We were extremely pleased with the event,” said Wells. “The weather, the vibe, the locals were all fantastic. The images will be great and the winners were psyched. For doing something that’s never been done before, there were some bumps but we think it worked out really well.”
Should we do it again?
Is Huckstep ready to do it again? “No, not yet,” he said. “I think everyone involved in the planning of this is exhausted. Plus, as much fun as it was, it’s nice to return to quiet Crested Butte. I am ready for off-season. Since the Pro Challenge, it has been three straight weeks of intense focus. I’m ready to ride my bike and enjoy the changing seasons up here. I’m also ready to ski.”
Up on the mountain, Mt. Crested Butte mayor Dave Clayton said he doesn’t expect to have to deal with this size of an event any time soon. “I do think we proved that with proper planning that we can host major events here in the valley,” he said. “We can turn the town into a different place and then back to the town that we all love. Yes, we had a few problems and issues but it was also a great weekend where most people got their boogie on and partied like it was 1999. I don’t think the event would have been as good without our town folks being in the mix.”
Clayton expects to see residuals from the Whatever, USA promotion for a long time. “I heard many of the guests were blown away by the scenery and want to come back with families, friends, skis, bikes,” Clayton said. “One reported comment from a young female was ‘My family always goes to Vail to ski but this place is so much better, I will be coming back this winter.’ That is great.
“I believe that Bud Light and our valley got more notice and publicity with all of the controversy than if the original plan of silence had gone off without a hitch,” Clayton continued. “We had exposure on all national networks and a lot of major papers that we would never have otherwise had. Most of the stories that I read and saw put it in that the authentic small town doesn’t want to sell out for a major corporation. At the last CAST [Colorado Association of Ski Towns] meeting in Durango, we had a presentation on the generational shifts in the ski industry and the presenter talked about millennials by saying they look for authentic versus phony, they like that all are treated equally and actually enjoy traveling with their families. Even with the blue streets, fake storefronts and the hype of the weekend, I think they saw a town and a community with spirit and that is real.”
Getting real—again
Speaking of real, the weather turned a little damp as soon as the Whatever USA party was over. The teardown began immediately after the final events on Saturday. Fencing was removed, window wraps taken off and stages disassembled. As for the blue light poles and bike racks that many locals said looked good enough to keep, Huckstep said they would be repainted green. Well, most of them.
“The paint was already ordered and on-sight we would have to repaint the other two-thirds of the light poles. That would cost a lot of money,” Huckstep explained. “At the suggestion of some locals on Sunday afternoon, we plan to leave one blue light pole at Second and Elk as a reminder of the event. It will likely have some specific signage on it as well in recognition of the event.”
Like Huckstep, Ochs said his interaction with the winners was positive and tremendous. “I heard from soooo many of the contestants that they never knew a place like this even existed,” Ochs said. “I heard from countless people that they would be coming back to ski, and from several others I heard they weren’t leaving just yet! They wanted to stick around and enjoy the amenities of the valley a bit longer. My favorite quote was, ‘I have enough clothes for seven days. I’m not getting on that plane!’”
Ochs said initial reports indicate most businesses saw a good bump over last year. He said similar positive reports are coming in from Gunnison. But he admits, not every business was affected the same. “Business emotions run the gamut,” he said. “It was a slow start for some businesses and the set-up period didn’t help some of them. During the event, the restaurants were packed and it seemed even retail saw a bump in numbers. I heard from a lot of businesses that sales were good—in fact, higher than last year to-date. The businesses that cater to the second homeowner and the higher end sales did not seem to fare as well. But the exposure we received should help the bottom line for all businesses in the future.”
On Monday, Ochs sent out a poll to the chamber of commerce members asking for input about the event.
A consistent critic of the event has been Crested Butte resident David Rothman. His problem is with the process and the impact on Crested Butte’s branding.
“I’m pleased that the event came off well and I’m also happy for the many businesses that turned a profit, though I have to ask how we address those who took a loss. How do we compensate them, or are they just supposed to take one for the team?” he asked. “The impression I have of the run-up to the event is that the council, the applicant, and a select group of businesses had lengthy, frequent communications from which the rest of us were systematically excluded, and if that isn’t illegal it’s at the very least unethical. There are those who think this is ‘complaining.’ No: it’s a principled objection.
“This is what has divided the town, because a number of people think their own government manipulated the process and disenfranchised them,” Rothman continued. “Secrecy cannot trump a public process in this case. This is not a matter of national security— we all have a compelling interest and everyone had as much of a right to know what was going on as everyone else. Beyond the secrecy issue there’s the question of whether this is the kind of event that’s in our long-term interests, and I doubt that, but that’s another issue for another day.”
“Maybe not everyone loved it but a lot of people liked it,” Crossett concluded. “I talked to a lot of the contestants who were enchanted with Crested Butte. It was the same with a lot of the production crew who came in. I think they’ll be back to vacation.”
Huckstep said there would definitely be an opportunity for the community to weigh in on the event and the direction it presented to the town. “I’m certain the council will talk about this at our next meeting on September 15 but everyone needs to understand we won’t have a lot of answers at that time,” he said. “We will likely talk about the objective of a process and how that process might work. Plus, we need to conduct a post-event meeting with town staff so we can maximize the lessons learned.”
