The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
$25,000 annually for three main programs
by Mark Reaman
The Crested Butte Town Council agreed to consider a $25,000 request from the Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Project (GCSAPP) to be included in the town’s annual budget. Although the council expressed some discomfort with the amount of the request and it being an annual line item in the budget, there was enough interest to further investigate the idea and possibly link the funding to revenues generated from local marijuana taxes.
GCSAPP director Kari Commerford made a presentation to the Town Council on September 6 explaining the need for the money. She said grants that currently help fund the program are not always secure, so a reliable funding source would be good for the program.
GCSAPP was started in 2006. The goals include increasing the protective factors for local youth and their families. It also aims to help postpone drug and alcohol use by local teens, with an emphasis on development.
Commerford’s PowerPoint presentation showed a number of statistics related to local youth substance abuse and noted that progress had been made on many fronts.
The most popular part of GCSAPP is probably the Choice Program, in which participating teens receive discounted items—including a season’s ski pass at Crested Butte Mountain Resort—if they remain drug- and alcohol-free. The participants make such a pledge to their parents and random drug testing is an element of participation. There are approximately 650 students signed up this year as part of the Choice Pass program.
The Crested Butte Youth Council is another opportunity for local teens under the GCSAPP umbrella. Crested Butte Community School high school senior Avery Pulley told the council she is a big supporter of the youth council and GCSAPP.
Commerford said the request to the Crested Butte council was the first to a municipality but the plan was to make a similar request of Mt. Crested Butte and the city of Gunnison.
The $25,000 would go to three main GCSAPP projects.
—$12,000 would go to Source of Strength, a youth suicide prevention project “designed to harness the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying and substance abuse.”
—Another $8,500 would be earmarked for positive youth development programs, primarily the Choice Pass program. The idea is that local youth can be engaged in activities and reach their potential.
—The final $4,500 would be allocated to the Crested Butte Youth Council. The council hopes to obtain a late-night space for local kids, as well as organize and hold youth events.
Mayor Glenn Michel said most similar requests come through the twice-a-year service grant process. Commerford said GCSAPP is not a strict nonprofit.
“It’s a rather large ‘ask,’ to be honest with you,” Michel said. “We’ll look at it as we go into our budget cycle that starts shortly.”
Councilman Jim Schmidt suggested that other municipalities and local groups also be asked to help fund the program.
“Perhaps there can be a direct role between marijuana taxes and GCSAPP,” said Michel. “It is worth talking about.”
The rest of the council agreed and so the funding request will be discussed soon when the council begins hashing out its 2017 budget.
