Welcome to Mineral Point (formerly known as Sixth and Butte)

Council chooses an original suggestion

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

Wanting to make sure the future residents living across from the Gas Café were proud of where they reside, the Crested Butte town council on Tuesday agreed to rename the Sixth and Butte affordable housing project as Mineral Point.

It was not the first time the council debated monikers for the rental project to be located at Sixth Street and Butte Avenue. Councilmembers could not agree on an appropriate name at the last meeting and the variety of names continued to flow on January 17. At the January 3 meeting, names put in play included Ye Old Dump, Mineral Point Place and Sixth and Butte. None garnered the needed votes to make an official name change. 

After kicking the can to the January 17 meeting, council again debated other names. Councilmember Mallika Magner liked Sledding Hill Homes; mayor Ian Billick advocated for Sue Navy’s suggestion of naming it after old-timer Tommy Sneller. Councilmembers Beth Goldstone, Anna Fenerty and Gabi Prochaska expressed interest in Oxbow Apartments but Fenerty said she liked Apricity Acres even better. “It’s different and everyone would learn a new word,” Fenerty pointed out. Apricity is defined as the warmth of the sun in the winter.

Fenerty also said that in this day and age it might not be best to name public facilities after people, even old-timers like Tommy Sneller. “I would caution to name things after people,” she said. “You never know what could come up. People are faulty beings.”

Billick countered that he liked having a tie to history and felt a name like Sneller’s Place was authentically Crested Butte. Navy said the town had several spots named after old-timers including Mary Yelenick Park and Pitsker Field.

Councilmember Jason MacMillan reminded the councilmembers that there was a coal mine named Oxbow (owned by a Koch brother) located just over the hill in Somerset. That drew people away from that name suggestion. “I think Mineral Point works but not Mineral Point Place,” MacMillan said. “It shouldn’t be the Old Dump.”

“Maybe it should be called Conundrum because that’s what it is to us,” said Prochaska.

Laccolith Lodge was also mentioned as a possibility.

”We just have to decide,” implored Billick.

With that the council pulled out their cell phones and did an online Menti poll. The top vote getters were Company Homes, Mineral Point, Ye Old Dump and the Lucky Strike District. Fenerty nominated Company Homes but did not receive a second for her motion. Magner tried Mineral Point which passed 5-2 with Fenerty and Goldstone voting against it.

Magner started the discussion saying that the name should be something that the people living there could feel good about. “It should be positive and simple,” she advised. Councilmember Chris Haver agreed. “I’m good with several of these names as long as it’s comfortable,” he said.

Mineral Point, a name originally suggested years ago by former mayor Jim Schmidt, it is.