Council comes to terms with Center for the Arts lease after months of delays

Search for a director stirs a lot of interest

By Mark Reaman

It appears the Crested Butte Town Council is finally satisfied with a proposed lease for the Center for the Arts and will not push to have a council member be a full member of the Center board.

A vote on the lease had been postponed in November, December and January over issues that arose from the lease, but with very little discussion Monday the council gave the okay for the lease at the February 3 meeting.

The council held a closed-door executive session on the issue during that February 3 meeting. Afterward, the council approved the proposed lease from two weeks ago in a 6-0 vote with little discussion. Council member Will Dujardin was not at the meeting.

The lease addressed issues from both sides over the term of the lease, which is now a 50-year base agreement with three 10-year extensions, lighting issues and community oversight language. While there was significant council discussion in January about wanting full representation as a board member with voting privileges and access to executive sessions, the topic was not discussed in public at all during the February 3 meeting.

Center board of directors president Joel Benisch did inform the council that a national search is under way for a permanent executive director to replace Jenny Birnie. Melissa Mason is acting as the interim director. Benisch said a professional recruiter is conducting the process. Of the approximately 75 applications received thus far, Bensich said about 25 have passed the first filter and more than a dozen have so far been recommended for an initial interview.

“We are very pleased,” said Benisch, “and some with experience are current or former locals who know the community.”

“I like locals,” added mayor Jim Schmidt.

The hope is to have someone in the permanent position by this spring.