The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Time is of the essence…
[ By Mark Reaman ]The investigation and analysis into what needs to be done to remedy the capacity issue for the main Mt. Crested Butte interceptor sewer line will begin this summer. The Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District board of directors voted 3-1 at its July 9 meeting to allocate $550,000 from its capital reserve funds to begin the initial process in 2024. The stated idea is that the money will be reimbursed by future developments in town.
The board made public earlier this year that, based on a consulting engineer’s analysis, the main sewer interceptor line collecting sewage throughout town, which runs from north Mt. Crested Butte to the treatment plant at the south entrance to town, was reaching its capacity during certain times of the year. The district made clear it could not approve any major developments that would tip the capacity of the line over its limits.
The board met with several developers at the meeting to discuss possible ways forward since the district discovered the capacity issue and made clear that new major developments would push the current interceptor line over capacity so no new permits would be issued. The board also has consistently stated that “growth must pay its own way” so developers were made aware they would have to be part of the solution.
For their part, the developers made clear at the board meeting that for everyone involved, time is money, so the sooner the process to fix the interceptor line problem is addressed, the better.
“The bottom line is that time works against the district, against the community and it works against all the development teams. The costs will only get worse as time goes on and the condition of the collector will only deteriorate over time,” said Black Dragon Development’s Crockett Farnell, who is overseeing the Villages at Mt. Crested Butte (formerly the North Village) project on the northern border of the town. “There is no dispute at this point that we all have to pay an equitable share of the improvements. Our team understands that the solution may be costly, and we will be required to share in the costs as appropriate.”
Farnell said that while no one dealing with the problem today was part of the original decision to use the current interceptor line that wasn’t adequate then for the number of potentially entitled units on the mountain, the community now must deal with the problem and work together to solve it.
“There is an urgency here to come to a meaningful and equitable solution to this problem,” Farnell said. “I implore the board to at least accomplish the due diligence aspect of the project this building season. It is the quickest and easiest part of the process.”
“The main point from our perspective is that time is of the essence,” said Carolynne White, representing the Upper Prospect development. “We urge you to approve the analysis component of this project as soon as possible. We want to do whatever we can to help you move as fast as you can. We agree with Crockett that we are prepared to enter into appropriate agreements to contribute the appropriate, proportional share (of the costs) at the appropriate time.”
The board went into a long executive session at the end of the meeting before coming back to discuss the issue. Board chair Nancy Woolf said the board heard the message that “time is of the essence” to proceed this year with the initial investigation, but she also pointed out the $550,000 expenditure was not in the 2024 budget. “The issue then is should the district do this now or wait until 2025. The developers want us to do this work this year. Our staff and engineering consultant say the collection line is currently adequate for what needs to be served.”
“I’d say we try to move forward in 2024 with this investigative work,” said board member Brian Brown. “If we don’t move forward it could result in significant delays. Given the summer timing, there is no guarantee we can get it done but I’d like to see the district use the existing capital reserves to make that work happen.”
“I agree and would like the district to get as much investigative work as possible done in 2024,” said board member Jenn O’Brien. “In the short term, I am fine using the capital reserves and getting the costs recouped later. I think we should proceed given the sense of urgency.”
Board member Nancy Grindlay disagreed. “While I recognize the need to collect this data to at least get a sense of the overall costs for the project improving the interceptor line, I do not recognize the urgency to begin this summer,” she said. “We have adequate interceptor capacity to serve the community at this point. $550,000 out of a $7-and-a-half million budget is a big chunk and it is not currently budgeted. I think doing it next year is more appropriate and we would have the whole summer to have the investigation completed.”
District finance manager Kent Fulton said using the reserve fund money would not impact the current loan for the water treatment plant. He said the board would have to amend the 2024 budget to include the expenditure and any work not completed could be part of the 2025 budget. Future reimbursements would go to the capital reserve fund.
As for doing the actual work involved with the investigation, district manager Mike Fabbre said he and the Water and San staff were currently “spread pretty thin right now with some positions vacant that needed to be filled. Our engineering consulting firm HDR would act as the project manager in this investigation,” he said. “We would rely heavily on HDR. (HDR’s) Jamie Eichenberger said they have the capacity to do this work at this time.”
Brown moved to direct the staff to move forward with the site investigation activities related to the Gothic interceptor improvements starting in 2024 “with the idea to continue messaging that the district will seek reimbursement from developers related to activities associated with this project.”
The board approved the motion 3-1 with Grindlay voting against it.
“We appreciate the progress on this issue, and we all want to work with Mike and HDR to accommodate progress,” concluded Farnell.
