Free television service on the ropes in Gunnison County

It’s not just about priorities or money…

By Mark Reaman

A situational tsunami has put the continued free television signal broadcast in the county through the Gunnison Metropolitan Recreation District (MetRec) in jeopardy. The North Valley is particularly likely to lose its access to broadcast television but the outlier communities like Pitkin and Powderhorn are also in danger of not having access to a signal. Everyone in the district who uses the free MetRec television system will likely lose four of the most popular stations, NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox this coming summer.

The MetRec board of directors held a discussion outlining the dire circumstances during its October 30 meeting. While copious public comment was provided by those in favor of doing whatever it took to preserve the free television service, the board said some of the circumstances are out of its control, but they indicated they will continue to work to see if a television rabbit can be pulled out of the magician’s magic hat. The last two surveys indicated that fewer than 400 households use the TV service.

Led by board member Earl Marshall, the board relayed the bad news to the packed crowd at the Gunnison city council chambers.

“We aren’t here tonight to make a decision but to inform the public we have issues that have arisen with the translator system, and we need to decide how to move forward with our television system.”

He said the board has invested heavily over the last several years in television along the Highway 135 corridor between Gunnison and Mt. Crested Butte where the vast majority of users are living. 

Key problems 

But Marshall said three major issues have suddenly put the television system in peril. First, in 2023 the MetRec building on Monarch Pass that is a key cog in the TV system for people living outside that main corridor fell into significant disrepair. He indicated the damage was so bad that a big winter could take the building down.

Second, MetRec received a notice from Comcast that it will discontinue its satellite feed effective June of 2025. That feed provides four major television channels for MetRec including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. That would impact all MetRec users.

Third, MetRec was informed this year that the lease on Sunlight Ridge where a translator is located in Mt. Crested Butte may not be renewed. Given geographical constraints, that could eliminate the MetRec broadcast signal anywhere north of Brush Creek including users living in Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. No timeline was given for when that might occur.

Marshall explained that the Monarch site is at the end of its life and to update it would cost more than six figures. “Over the last 18 months we have done what we can to keep it operating cost-efficiently without investing more than $100,000 into it,” he said. “Hopefully it makes it through the coming winter.”

“Comcast was the gut punch we got in August, and it is unclear what the path forward is,” continued Marshall. “Comcast cannot provide us clear details on how we can go from satellite to using fiber optic cable from Montrose. For us to run that line would cost us about a quarter million dollars. This situation is still very fluid. We are looking into the Dish Network potential but I’m not confident in that.”

The North Valley broadcasting linchpin is the Sunlight Ridge location on the western ridge above Mt. CB. “Sunlight is a spot like many others we have throughout the county that has a partnership between MetRec and a private landowner. We lease their land to put our equipment,” said Marshall. “Now leasing to a special district (like MetRec) is not very conducive for private landowners to say the least. We are thankful for those private landowners who have held our towers for decades but at this point I don’t think Sunlight Ridge will be renewed. If that’s the case, I don’t know when, but I’m not sure how service continues. There is no alternative identified. And once that happens, users in Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and north of Brush Creek won’t have access to MetRec service at this time.”

The Sunlight Ridge property owner is the Kapushion family, and they made clear this week they are very willing to renew the Sunlight Ridge lease as has been done for decades. They did say they are uncomfortable with some of the new lease provisions being pushed by the new MetRec attorneys. 

Marshall emphasized the board has significantly supported TV and spent more than $250,000 a year to run the television system. “When the Comcast and Sunlight Ridge issues came together along with the Monarch situation, we began to worry about our operations plan.”

Public comment

The board then opened the floor to public comment and several dozen people spoke of the importance of the free television service provided by MetRec. Citing the cost of television alternatives, the value of a variety of free messaging sources and staying true to the original mission of the MetRec district, many citizens emphasized they counted on MetRec TV to stay connected to things like news, sports and elections. It also did not go unnoticed by some members of the public that the MetRec work session that took place immediately before the TV discussion was centered on a potential future $83 million North Valley Recreation Center that the board seemed ready to embrace. There was also an acknowledgment that the public was not aware of the drastic issues facing MetRec regarding TV.

Rogene Mckiernan told the board TV is considered by many in the county to be a recreational activity and should be supported. 

Lori Patin said the October 30 meeting felt sudden and she questioned the transparency of the board. She also emphasized the board should do a better job in promoting the free TV service and make sure people throughout the district know how easy it is to access and use. “The television element of the MetRec is a valuable and necessary service,” she said. “If TV goes down, what happens to the mill levy?” Marshall said that situation is not yet close to being a certainty but if it comes to be, he would hope a future board lowered the mill levy that goes to TV.

“In 2024 it is now an assumed fact of life that everyone needs home internet and mobile phones in order to maintain basic communication and a reasonable quality of life,” Alex Mattes-Ritz said. “These are not trivial monthly expenses for many households in a valley with an increasingly high cost of living. Free over-the-air TV service is a valuable asset for the households that can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars for satellite TV, cable TV or streaming services on top of these now mandatory monthly expenses… The district should stop subverting its own stated mission and instead make a good faith effort to promote the excellent TV service that it currently provides.”

Colleen Hannon suggested the public hearing be continued so the public can analyze the information and asked the board to provide more information over the situations. “This board and the staff need to be more engaged with the public. You are not being transparent with the constituency,” she said. 

Back to the board

After more than hour of public comment, Marshall circled back to the three primary obstacles. He suggested the board could send out a mailer to the approximately 9,400 residential addresses in the district to explain the situation and gather general citizen feedback.

“The people I worry about if TV goes away are the people here tonight. It’s a service that matters. I’ve really struggled with the issues and the comments we’ve heard tonight,” Marshall said. “The question is with regard to the Comcast terrestrial replacement is, is this a good use of taxpayer money when we know we are facing additional headwinds in the industry. I wonder if it is throwing tax money down the drain.” 

Marshall went on to explain that given the valley’s topography, the tower locations are now “very sought-after terrain.” He said it is hard for special districts to lease private sites, and that cell phone and internet companies all need such places for their infrastructure, and they can pay higher lease prices.

“It’s now time to start solving the problem,” concluded Marshall. “I think we are the last special district in Colorado providing television and that’s discouraging to me. Special districts are getting muscled out of leases. Are there creative solutions for MetRec to fund TV but not have a special district operating it?”

Nehrenberg said the district board would have to decide soon if it wanted to proceed with a fiber optic line in conjunction with Comcast to maintain the primary channels. “It will need to be installed in the summer of 2025,” he said.

“Money is in the reserves to use if we need to use it, but I’m not convinced when it could even get turned on,” said Marshall. “I believe eventually there is a path forward with Comcast but I’m not sure of the timing. As for Sunlight Ridge in Mt. Crested Butte, we do not have a path forward. I could maybe envision a couple of hypotheticals that might potentially get us back in Crested Butte in a couple years but nothing immediately. As far as I’m aware, we are out of luck in CB and Mt. CB whenever that signal goes dark, but we don’t know when that will be.” 

“There is so much (technological) change in this industry I can’t understand how you drop into the current system and have any confidence it will be relevant in two years,” said board member Mary Haskell.

“Major upgrades have been made to the television system since 2018 but if you look at the future, it’s iffy,” concluded Nehrenberg.

Marshall suggested sending out a mailer to spread information and gather input. “We need to make sure people know about the service and determine if they value the service,” he said.

Board member Keith Bauer agreed. “It’s important to get that out and make sure people understand they need to respond,” he said.

The next board meeting is November 20 and the board could choose to vote on whether to proceed with sending out an informational and survey mailer. Marshall said the board and staff would continue to look for more information and possible solutions to the major issues before then, but he wasn’t confident more details would be forthcoming by the next meeting.