The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Mt. Crested Butte intends to be a part of this”
By Kendra Walker
The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council, while not officially appointing a member to the recently created Crested Butte Black Lives Matter committee, intends to participate in the committee and find ways to address the need for more inclusivity and diversity in Mt. Crested Butte and valley-wide.
Members of the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council, including mayor Janet Farmer and Lauren Koelliker, have been participating in the town of Crested Butte-facilitated Black Lives Matter subcommittee meetings and reporting back to the Town Council.
“I think there are lots of goals of the committee that we could address for the town of Mt. Crested Butte,” said Koelliker during the September 1 Town Council meeting. “I think we can certainly be part of the goals for making our valley more inclusive.”
However, because the committee is currently being facilitated by the town of Crested Butte and utilizing their town staff and resources, Mt. Crested Butte has decided not to officially appoint a member at this time but may further down the road as the committee evolves.
“I see that as the way to go right now until they have a much better picture of what they want to do and then seeing if there’s anything from it that we can tie into,” said Farmer.
“My personal preference is that this should be a constituent-led charge, not a government–led charge,” said council member Dwayne Lehnertz. “We should not be leading the charge as a government body; we should be supporting whatever efforts come from the subcommittee. Let someone other than Town Council lead the charge on this.”
“Mt. Crested Butte intends to be a part of this,” Koelliker clarified in an interview with the Crested Butte News. “The Crested Butte BLM committee has identified a number of topics for consideration and areas where improvement is necessary. Some are specific to the town of Crested Butte, and some are broader community goals… It makes sense for Mt. Crested Butte to look at its own government, policies, etc., rather than focus on another town. However, by still being a part of the conversation, we’re able to get ideas to bring to our council.”
Koelliker also noted that the committee is still in conversations surrounding messaging and who will be in charge of it in the future. “At some point, we may see more of a county-wide coalition that includes municipal representation from Gunnison, Mt. Crested Butte and the surrounding neighborhoods, but right now it’s in the early stages,” she said.
Among the six subcommittee groups formed within the Crested Butte Black Lives Matter committee, Farmer has volunteered to serve on the group focusing on the vision and mission statement, and has also been invited to participate in a full-day training hosted by the town of Crested Butte and the BLM committee.
Koelliker has also been brainstorming areas in which Mt. Crested Butte can make a difference in its inclusivity and diversity, including the town’s admissions tax grant process for marketing. “We have this funding source that’s unique to just our town,” she said. “Something we could add in the grant process would be to give extra consideration to grant requests that are maybe targeting a different population than they have in the past, or are looking at ways to bring in more diverse visitors to our town.” Koelliker also sees opportunity in making sure the town’s affordable housing goals and guidelines are inclusive.
During a September 15 work session brainstorming the marketing of Mt. Crested Butte, the town council briefly touched on wanting promote events related to people of color, whether it be a music event or hosting Black recreation groups, such as the National Brotherhood of Skiers.
“Black lives absolutely matter, and the hard conversations about why Crested Butte lacks diversity in the first place are finally happening,” said Koelliker.
