Council supportive of new mental health care facility in Crested Butte

Renovating Ore Bucket space

By Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Town Council appears to be in support of helping to develop a mental health care facility in Crested Butte. A request came to the council on Monday, October 15 for it to donate $5,000 to help renovate a space in the Ore Bucket Building at Sixth and Maroon that would then be used for mental health issues. Gunnison Valley Health owns the space and the Center for Mental Health is helping to finance the needed renovation.

Dr. John Tarr of GVH and Sarah Kramer, assistant regional manager for the Center for Mental Health, told the council on Monday that both groups were committing $30,000 each to the project.

“One of the GVH efforts of late is suicide prevention,” explained Tarr. “There have been a number of unfortunate incidents involving suicide in the valley in recent years. The whole medical care spectrum in the valley is collaborating on mental health issues. I have been encouraged in recent months how the system is working actively toward collaboration on this issue.”

Tarr applauded the Center for Mental Health for participating in providing funding for a low-cost mental health professional in Crested Butte. He said while there is space in the Ore Bucket to house a facility, it is not currently suitable for a mental health facility and he asked the council for $5,000 in assistance.

Kramer said her organization was a big supporter of the project and had agreed to the $30,000 donation. She said there could be many services and programs provided in such space.

Tarr said the work involved indoor remodeling but he wasn’t sure of the timeline for the project. He said the speed was dictated by securing funding to fulfill the contract.

“I look at this as a marathon and not a sprint,” he said. “Crested Butte hasn’t had a non-profit mental health care provider in town. This facility could add a whole new dimension to that.”

Kramer indicated the immediate goal was to get it up and running and having someone there from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. She said the professional would serve anyone, with cost not being a factor. She also said many private providers do not take insurance because of the headaches associated with collecting fees. “We want to be the first line for folks and be there for anyone who needs this,” she said.

Councilman Jackson Petito said he wanted to okay the request immediately.

Town manager Dara MacDonald said the group had applied for the money through the town’s fall grant process that would close soon. Other council members agreed with Petito and asked that the subcommittee that recommends the grant awards consider the request favorably.