The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Town could end up with the property if payment is never received
By Alissa Johnson
The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council has agreed to the extension of a settlement deadline with a Mt. Crested Butte property owner who has yet to pay his full share of a bond secured to complete avalanche mitigation work. The extension allows three extra months for compliance.
Town manager Joe Fitzpatrick explained that the town created a special improvement district in 2005 and then secured a bond to build an avalanche barrier on the west side of town. “Then the people included in the special improvement district were assessed to pay back, over a 10-year period, the bond,” he said.
Town finance director Karl Trujillo confirmed that about 230 property owners were included in the assessment and included the likes of the Out Run Condominiums, Ski Jump Condominiums, Mountain Sunrise and Eagle’s Nest.
The assessment also included Sunlight Ridge Estates, owned by Joel Hillman.
According to Fitzpatrick, Hillman paid some, but not all, of the assessments and also incurred additional fees and penalties.
According to the settlement agreement between Hillman and the town, “Due to Hillman’s default and resulting inability of the Town to make payments to the bondholder, the Town was required to declare a default and certify the amount due by Hillman to the Gunnison County Treasurer, to be sold at a tax lien sale.”
The amount certified to the treasurer was $315,661.50. Through the settlement agreement, the town has agreed to accept $205,000. “We had a June 1 deadline and the check was never in the mail or at least never got here,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Council held an executive session at its August 2 meeting to discuss negotiations related to the situation. Afterward, councilmember Janet Farmer made a motion to extend the deadline for the payment to September 1, and the council passed the motion six to zero, with Danny D’Aquila absent.
“We’re in a three-year waiting period and about half way through it,” Fitzpatrick told the News, “and if Mr. Hillman does not make it whole, the town will end up with the property.”
