The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Government agency doesn’t seem to be trying very hard
By Adam Broderick
The Gunnison branch of the state driver license office was given a deadline in October to find a new office location by the end of February 2016. So far, it doesn’t look like much progress is being made.
Commissioner Jonathan Houck said at a November board meeting that a downtown business had contacted the government agency and told them about space available for rent, which includes ADA bathrooms and everything else the government agency would need to set up shop, for $850 per month. But the agency said it could afford to spend only up to $150 per month in rent.
The agency has paid $152.70 per month to the county since July 2005, and its lease expired back in 2007, but the county has still provided an exceptional rate so that customers would have a good experience. But the office has since sprawled out to the point it’s affecting county services in the same building.
Houck told the Crested Butte News that his guess is the office in Denver is saying they can’t find anything in Gunnison for $150 per month. He says they have an unrealistic price point for what they need, and even told them if they came down from Denver he would drive them around and show them all the open locations.
“I made sure the government’s office understood that there’s no place in the state you can get that rate [of $150 per month],” Houck told the board. “I want to make sure it’s clear that the reason they see nothing available is because they’ve played this narrative that they’ve tried and tried and couldn’t find anything. I think what they’re looking for they’ll never find, and then they’ll use that as a reason to … force people to drive to the next closest office in Montrose.”
Gunnison County is making the argument that there’s good value available for what the agency needs, and even though the agency says it’s too much money, the current office still must be vacated by March 2016.
