The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Town is chugging along pretty well right now”
By Kendra Walker
During their June 6 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council discussed goals and priorities for town manager Carlos Velado. The council and Velado shared similar sentiments that the relationship has gone well since he took the position in January.
Among the priorities and goals the council wants Velado and town staff to focus on this year include: integrating the Master Plan; sustainability across town; providing good customer service; regional cooperation; affordable housing, specifically getting Homestead back up and running; and base area vibrancy.
“And world peace,” joked councilmember Roman Kolodziej.
“I’m happy to hear those things because those are things I’m prioritizing,” said Velado.
“Without understanding limitations of bandwidth, it’s difficult for me to advocate for one thing in particular,” said Kolodziej. “In the past there were pet projects that sucked up bandwidth and when we tried to push things forward, we heard, ‘oh, we’re full,’” he said of his frustrations with previous town leadership.
“In my opinion, it’s not my role to say, sorry I’ve got too many things going on,” said Velado. “I operate at your discretion, so if you set a plan or goal for me, you’re asking me to do it. That’s what the focus needs to be.”
Over the past several years, the town’s community development department has had its hands full with large Planned Unit Development (PUD) projects, including the Village at Mt. Crested Butte. Kolodziej asked if the town should look into hiring an affordable housing specialist.
Velado explained it would be difficult to have a town staff position that’s so focused on one item. He said that with the town’s recent hiring of new community development director Neal Starkebaum to fill his previous position and the town partnering with an outside firm to help handle large-scale projects, the department is in a good place. “The firm was hired to see those applications to the finish line. We’re set up right now in the short term to having those big land use applications off our planners’ plate to help free up that planner time.”
Overall, the council was pleased with Velado’s work so far and noted the difference they’ve noticed in the town experience for both staff and residents.
“It seems like town is chugging along pretty well right now,” said mayor Nicholas Kempin. “What we’re hearing from our constituents has been positive. I want to make sure we’re keeping an eye on that and making sure that continues to go well.”
The town council will hold an official evaluation with Velado in August or September.
