The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
by Alissa Johnson
New council member sworn in
Ken Lodovico was officially sworn in as a member of the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council. “Welcome to Ken, and thank you for your willingness to commit your time and your family for their willingness to let you commit time,” said town manager Joe Fitzpatrick.
New planning commission member
Mt. Crested Butte resident and contractor John Anderson was appointed to the Planning Commission on July 7. He will fill a vacancy left by Ken Lodovico when he was appointed to Town Council.
Looking to repair Crystal Road
The deadline for project bids to repair the culvert on Crystal Road was Friday, July 10. Part of the road washed out earlier this spring, and a temporary repair was put in place. Fixing the road will require some changes to the culvert.
“It is a pretty major project,” Fitzpatrick said, in part because the culvert is the major storm water drainage from Mt. Crested Butte and because the road is the only access to multiple dwellings on the road. Once a contractor is selected, timing will be determined.
Rec path completion moving slowly
Councilmember Gary Keiser wanted an update on completion of the rec path between Marcellina Lane and Winterset Drive. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) awarded the town nearly $1 million for the project, which will ease bike and road congestion on a heavily used section of Gothic Road.
Fitzpatrick explained that the town is moving as quickly as it can, given CDOT processes. “We had a meeting with CDOT on the final design and skipped one step because our plans were so complete,” he said.
The town is, however, waiting on some additional approvals and agreements and cannot move forward with bidding until everything is in place.
“We’ll see. As the time goes, it’s getting late, but we still remain optimistic because we really need [the rec path improvements]… We are moving at the speed of CDOT,” Fitzpatrick said.
Town updates
Grant applications for winter marketing are due to the town of Mt. Crested Butte on July 31. And a new website is up and running for the town at www. mtcrestedbuttecolorado.us.
