Yerman stepping down from CB community development director role

Back to school for the next level

By Mark Reaman

Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman will be moving on at the end of the ski season. Yerman will be heading back to school to work on a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Colorado Denver.

Yerman was hired six years ago in Crested Butte as a town planner to replace John Hess. When Bob Gillie retired in 2016, Yerman stepped up to take on the community development director role merging the building and planning departments. Among the duties involved are the long-term planning of the town, overseeing affordable housing projects, sustainability and climate issues, land use planning in and around the town, overseeing the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) and the building department, annexations and planning relationships with the county and nearby municipalities. Yerman was also heavily involved in negotiations when the Mt. Emmons Mine changed hands. He helped lead the effort toward a mineral claim withdrawal and helped develop a funding solution to help pay for the claims by leveraging the town’s open space real estate transfer tax.

During Yerman’s six-year tenure, another 101 units of affordable housing were created or constructed in town that included the Paradise Park and Anthracite Place projects. More are on the drawing board through the upcoming Slate River annexation.

“Working for the town has been an amazing opportunity,” Yerman said this week. “I’m so grateful for my team of employees as it’s been because of their hard work, we have accomplished so much over the past six years. My experience in Crested Butte will help me as I prepare for the next level of my career at CU. I’d like to thank Dara and the councils I served for allowing me the opportunity to serve the Town.”

Town manager Dara MacDonald said Yerman has played a big role in town government. “Michael has accomplished many great projects for the town in his six years with Crested Butte and I appreciate his hard work, creativity and dedication to this community,” she said.

MacDonald explained the town would begin the recruitment process immediately and hope to have a candidate selected before Yerman’s last day on the job on April 10.