Frustrations between county and Crested Butte come to a head

Disagreement—with respect?

By Mark Reaman

Some personal animosity issues between local public figures apparently bubbled over last week at the latest intergovernmental dinner held for elected officials. The Crested Butte Town Council discussed the drama at its March 4 meeting.

A relatively new practice is taking place where members of the Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, and Gunnison town councils, along with the Gunnison County commissioners and their managers gather to mingle in an informal setting and broadly discuss pertinent issues. On Wednesday, February 27, the city of Gunnison hosted such a gathering at The Dive.

According to several officials from various boards who were in attendance, Crested Butte mayor Jim Schmidt made his remarks on his views, citing at one point some action taken by the “county manager.” When it came time for county manager Matthew Birnie to make his remarks, he apparently stood up and walked toward Schmidt and said his name was Matthew Birnie and he had been county manager for the last 12 years.

By all accounts he went over some contentious issues on which he and Schmidt disagreed and, through tone and words, berated some of Schmidt’s positions and past actions. He apparently ended his remarks with a comment about how he was simply saying what everyone was thinking. Schmidt did not react to what was described as a confrontation. It is not a secret that Schmidt and Birnie do not generally get along on a personal basis.

On Tuesday, Birnie replied to an emailed question about the situation, writing, “I apologize for the time, place, and manner in which I addressed Mayor Schmidt at our recent meeting and I apologize to any whom I offended or made uncomfortable. Further, I understand that some other members of the Town Councils took my comments as directed towards them, but they were not. My comments were directed solely at Mayor Schmidt in a frustrated response to his repeated and incorrect assertions about what he perceives as a lack of the One Valley Prosperity Project’s efforts to help those less fortunate in the community. In fact, much excellent work on these issues has grown out of the OVPP process and is being led by the dedicated members of the Community Health Coalition of the Gunnison Valley.

“Nonetheless,” Birnie continued, “it was a failure on my part to respond how I did in that setting and I unconditionally apologize for that.”

Talking it out

Crested Butte councilman Will Dujardin did not attend the dinner but brought up the episode at the March 4 Town Council meeting. “Is it worth discussing the Birnie-Jim moment?” he asked. “Despite how unprofessional it sounds like it was, he could have presented his ideas better.”

Schmidt said he did not want to ask for any formal apology and while surprised at the outburst, had moved on. But he noted that he had heard of another confrontational moment between the county and town at a recent One Valley Prosperity Project leadership meeting.

Councilman Chris Haver, the Town Council representative on that board, confirmed that comments were made by county representatives that everyone on the panel should buy in with the OVPP strategy as presented “or stop warming a seat” on the board. Town officials were taken aback by the ultimatum.

“It seems to me we have a hard time communicating with one another,” said Haver. “How do we bridge that gap? One of the council values listed on the agendas is to seek collaborative solutions to regional and local issues. We can either continue to keep doing how it’s been done in the past or seek a new way to work with the county. We have been successful in our relationships with Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison and that’s not always been the case. It might be time to have the difficult conversations. It won’t be pretty, but are we willing to do what it takes from both sides?

“Was it ugly at that dinner?” Haver continued. “Yes. And I’d say uncomfortable. But I don’t think it will be the last time we see stuff like that. I see us trying to be heard. We need to figure out better communications.”

“Having [county commissioner] Roland [Mason] come to the council tonight opened up an attitude I haven’t seen in awhile,” said Schmidt. “It is a good step forward. There is no doubt I have been critical of the county at times … such as when they pulled the county clerk’s office from up here and ignoring our requests for a different public process for the Brush Creek proposal. But I see they are using a much more extensive public process for their Lot 22 affordable housing project. When Matthew said we were against working people because we didn’t approve the large 240-unit Brush Creek affordable housing project, the fact is we are in agreement to go ahead with the biggest such project ever proposed in the county. I want this end of the county to be part of the county and be respected.”

Can the new guy build a bridge?

Roland Mason, the newest member of the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners, suggested earlier in the meeting that perhaps staff members should not attend the informal dinners. Councilmember Laura Mitchell was open to that idea.

“I spoke with [town attorney] Barbara [Green] about the situation and maybe we shouldn’t have staff there,” she said. “We can record the event so that if someone acts like a two-year-old, people can hear it.”

Town manager Dara MacDonald countered that idea by saying it is beneficial for staff to hear the discussions to help guide process. “Being there is helpful for me,” she said.

“I’m not going to let the behavior of one person kill the good momentum we have going with the county,” said councilman Paul Merck. “These meetings have been productive. We’ve done really well.”

Mitchell gave kudos to Schmidt for not reacting during the dinner confrontation. “That was impressive. You did well on that one. Now, let’s move ahead,” she said.

Dujardin asked if other council members felt Crested Butte was being treated like an island in the county and asked if Birnie’s criticisms were meant  not just for Schmidt but for the entire council. “There’s probably a reason he is not being reprimanded by his bosses for his behavior,” he said.

“It’s time to just let it go,” said Mitchell.

“The commissioners have not been shy about criticizing us and some of our decisions,” said Schmidt.

“I’d encourage everyone here to reach out individually to them to continue to build the relationships we have with them,” suggested Haver.

No formal action was taken by the council.

“The saga continues,” concluded councilman Jackson Petito.