Briefs: Crested Butte

By Mark Reaman

Take a ‘lighter touch’ with parking enforcement in September

The Crested Butte council had a brief discussion at the September 15 meeting about the intensity of enforcing parking regulations as summer winds down. Councilmember Kent Cowherd suggested given the slowing down of tourism at the moment that town go ahead and inform Interstate Parking, the town’s parking enforcer, to take its break immediately instead of waiting until September 28. He said it really isn’t needed and it is generating some public anger. Town attorney Karl Hanlon said since the item wasn’t noticed on the agenda, it could be a dicey decision to cancel a contract early. Mayor Ian Billick said he too feels the public is uneasy with the parking enforcement at the moment and suggested the council inform Interstate to tell its employees to lighten up on the enforcement and use a lighter touch. 

Council not inclined to support Snodgrass petition

Meridian Lake resident Graham Elliott asked the council during public comment to support a citizen petition asking the Forest Service to move the Snodgrass trail off private property to public land. He said it would extend the season for use of that trail that now is closed in early fall by the Allen Ranching family. 

“Only 18% of the trail is on private property but it dictates the use of the whole trail,” he said. “It was closed August 25 and there are still no cattle on the property. CBMBA supports the petition and a reroute is a win-win for everyone.” The ranching community disagrees with that assessment.

Elliott asked for official council support for the initiative. When the topic came up for discussion under the “other business” portion of the meeting, no councilmember expressed interest in supporting the request or putting it on a future agenda.

Trash cans – size matters

As the town moves to a Save As You Throw waste management program, the window to select a new bin closed on August 29. Fifty-two percent of the residents in town officially made a bin choice with 36% or 410 households downsizing from the 96-gallon bin to either a 64-gallon or 32-gallon bin. Billing costs will depend on the size of the bin. Wate Management will start dropping off the new bins at each home by late September of early October.

Stuff:

—A sewer line to service the Whetstone community housing project will be installed across Sixth Street at the end of September. An open trench will be required so there will be traffic disruptions.

—Councilmember Anna Fenerty said she had a strange encounter with a Mt. Crested Butte police officer recently who basically pulled her over for walking in the street in Crested Butte. She and the rest of the council have asked for more information about the incident.

—The town will host a Business After Hours gathering on October 1 with the intention to gather public input on the evolving Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails master plan update. There will be a pumpkin patch and free photos!

—During the recent storm cycle a lightning strike hit the town water treatment plant and some significant components were taken out. Staff is working to get them back up to speed.