Briefs Mt. Crested Butte

All set to finish the rec path
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) awarded the town of Mt. Crested Butte nearly $1 million to complete the recreation path between Marcellina Lane and Winterset Drive.

The full amount of the Transportation Alternatives Program award was $922,884. When combined with local funds, Mt. Crested Butte has $1,153,605 to complete the project, and town manager Joe Fitzpatrick says local support made the award possible.
“One of the bullet points to get the award was community support. We had letters of support from the city of Gunnison, Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), Gunnison County, the Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Association, the Gunnison RE1J school district, the town of Crested Butte and the U.S. Forest Service. Having all of those letters of support was a major piece that helped us get here,” Fitzpatrick said.
The intent is to finish the rec path during the summer of 2015.

Going gangbusters
Pamela Loughman, outgoing executive director of the Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Association, gave her final update to the council in December. She provided statistics that show the town had a banner summer last year.
According to data provided by DestiMetrics, which tracks performance in resort communities, Mt. Crested Butte led its competitor set of mountain towns in percentage increases for both taxable sales and lodging sales last summer.
Taxable sales during July 2014 were up 25.6 compared to the year before, and lodging sales were up 41. 6 percent. “This community is going gangbusters, particularly related to the competitor set,” Loughman said.

Partnering with chamber of commerce
The council voted to renew a professional services agreement with the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce on December 16. Under the agreement, the chamber staffs the visitors centers in Mt. Crested Butte and Gothic, supports Mt. Crested Butte events and businesses, and helps promote the town to tourists.

Mountain Express
Mountain Express shared the highlights of a strong year. According to transit manager Chris Larsen, 2014 ridership was strong overall, and in November ridership was up 17 percent over the year before.
During the summer, the bus services added an express route between the Four-way Stop and Mt. Crested Butte to accommodate bicycles, and according to Larsen, carried more than 1,000 bicycles.
A new Crested Butte South service started on December 15, and this year the summer schedule will run two weeks longer into mid-September to accommodate the growing shoulder season. In addition, two more buses have been ordered and are slated to arrive in June or July.

Legal counsel
The council went into executive session on December 16 to receive legal advice concerning the town’s lawsuit against Reserve Metropolitan District Number 2, challenging the district’s mill levy as illegal because it is higher than the amount outlined in its service agreement. According to Fitzpatrick there are no major developments in the case and the trial is still set for November 2015.
The following week, on December 22, the BOCC approved the district’s mill levy with additional language that reserves the county’s legal opportunities to recover the funds should the mill levy be deemed illegal.

Some single-family dwelling housekeeping
In December, the Town Council passed an ordinance on that changed the definition of a single-family dwelling to allow for the construction of detached single-family dwellings in districts slated for low-density multi-family zones.
According to community development director Carlos Velado, these zones often act as a transition between high-density multi-family zones and low-density single-family zones, and corrects an oversight made when zoning amendments were adopted in 2011.

John Sale inducted to Town
Council
In November, John Sale, director of planning for CBMR, was given the oath of office upon joining the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council. As part of his responsibilities, he will sit on the board for the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority.

Winter road maintenance
The council approved a five-year winter road maintenance agreement with Gunnison County, agreeing to take on 50 percent of the cost of having someone on standby to plow during winter storm cycles. The estimated additional cost for the upcoming winter season is about $5,000, which is 35 percent of the total cost of having someone on standby. That number will increase in 5 percent increments until Mt. Crested Butte is splitting the cost with the county.