The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Cars, parking, climate, second home tax, money
By Mark Reaman
A “Community Conversation” with the two candidates running for Crested Butte mayor sponsored by the Crested Butte News, KBUT and Laccolith Media was held October 16 on the Somrak Plaza patio along Elk Avenue. Questioned by News editor Mark Reaman, KBUT’s Kate Gienapp, Laccolith’s Chad Reich and members of the audience, incumbent Ian Billick and challenger Anna Fenerty seemed largely to align on policy and direction, and both indicated they likely would not apply for the open council seat if they lost the mayor’s election.
Here are some excerpts from the conversation:
The why:
Billick said talking to citizens, affordability is on their minds. “Community is important. Looking ahead, I would look less at community housing for employers and bring in more for community members as they go through different stages of life,” he said.
Fenerty said she was a “product of Crested Butte” having been born and raised in the town. “The work of being a good citizen is about democratic activity day-in and day-out. Being mayor is a chance to give back to what’s been given to me. I align a lot with Ian on policy and I have a lot of the same concerns in this watershed moment. There is a lot more money and pressure involved in Crested Butte right now. I am running to be present and proactive. I hope the best of the past will be the worst of the future.”
How they see the future: less emphasis on vehicles and…
Fenerty said the people are the most important thing in Crested Butte. “It is important to keep the community,” she said. “A lot of our population will come and go but the people make Crested Butte what it is.”
Billick said he came here for the outdoors and agreed the people are a huge part of Crested Butte. “People here live outside the traditional boxes. Our unique traditions like Vinotok are a big part of that culture. About two-thirds of our housing stock is occupied by full-time residents and that is a huge metric for me. A lot of resort communities have nothing near that percentage of residents. I also think in the future Crested Butte has to be about feet and bikes, and not cars. Bikes and pedestrians are a big part of what keeps Crested Butte, Crested Butte.”
Fenerty agreed. “We encourage people to walk and bike, but the affordable housing crisis is pushing more people outside of town limits and they need a car to get into town for services. We need to support infrastructure (like bike lanes) that make people of all ages feel safe walking and biking. Public transit is also important.”
“We need intercept lots at places like Brush Creek,” added Billick. “We can better use the school parking lot, especially on busy ski weekends. We need more public transit and we need to squeeze parking. As long as parking is convenient, people will drive to town. Land use policy is important. Whetstone is explicitly designed with mass transit. It has an underpass to get people safely to the bus stop. The big buildings are located near the highway to reduce walk time for residents to catch the bus. We need to consider pushing for impact fees in the county to address more transit with new developments. It would act like a water tap fee.
“And then there’s Vail and the Epic ski pass that switched us from a fly market to a drive market,” Billick continued. “That is putting huge pressure on town to serve as a parking lot to serve that business. We need big businesses to help build out mass transit infrastructure.”
When it comes to parking, both agreed recent measures have had some success. “The two-hour parking has helped to get more turnover on Elk Avenue,” said Fenerty. “I think we can do more to address the confusion and punitive nature of some of the restrictions. Before I’d put parking meters on Elk Avenue, I would put them on the highway (Sixth Street) by the Center for big events.”
Billick admitted regulating parking was a challenge and he didn’t see parking meters on Elk while he was mayor. But he said there are significant issues. “Some neighborhoods are used for vehicle and construction truck storage. What worked 10 or 15 years is not working now in a town that is growing and changing,” he said. “There is some confusion with the regulations. It is important to innovate and not get locked into a policy.”
“It is important to protect neighborhoods as we adjust parking policy,” agreed Fenerty.
$$$
Reich asked about the influence of new and more money coming into the community.
“A paradox is that as we do a better job with community, more and more people will want to buy into it and that raises prices,” said Billick. “As we push to make this a great place to live, more people come here. That leads to the ‘amenities trap’ where people who can afford expensive houses will vote for things like tax increases to pay for amenities. It can create a more transactional community and litigation can become a more used tool. So, we need to up our game when we use regulating tools or legal instruments like deed restrictions. If we don’t do a good job, we’ll lose them.”
“Crested Butte uses regulation and fees to move the valley,” said Fenerty. “We need a philosophical switch with certain carrots and sticks that adapt to how we live in this valley. Charging more doesn’t work in all cases. Some individuals will continue on as they like without respecting some of our community values. There have been times of division between what people here want and what people coming in want. There is a huge need to integrate people that are coming in and help them understand our values.”
“Communities with social capital are most resilient,” agreed Billick. “Relationship is important. A lot of nonprofits bring together the diverse community for things like trail building days and that builds social capital which is more important than financial capitol. I’m a huge fan of our nonprofits.”
Open seat question
Both indicated they probably wouldn’t apply for the open town council seat if not elected mayor.
“It’s not often in our world when you get to run against someone you really respect and who you’d be happy if they were in charge,” said Fenerty. “So this was a great opportunity for me to act instead of waiting and just retaining the seat. In reflection, sometimes when you are on one side of the table it’s harder to relate to people on the other side. Sometimes it’s harder for the citizens to trust you so taking a break from public office is important. Right now, I don’t see myself trying to be appointed to the seat. I think I could be a very annoying citizen with the board going forward without sitting on the council.”
“I’ve clearly laid out my focus on affordability, North Valley growth, community,” said Billick. “I’ve tried to be helpful with the local political process making it easier for the people. As the incumbent, I would want to honor the community, so if they decide Anna has some great fresh ideas, the best way to honor that would be to give her that opportunity to move into that. I don’t think I would apply.”
Second home tax
Gienapp asked about the idea of supporting a tax on expensive second homes to finance things like affordable housing. Such a tax was rejected by voters in 2021.
“I think council in general has supported movement toward this type of policy,” said Fenerty. “We understand the town is supported by residents, second homeowners and tourists so maintaining that balance without vilifying anyone will be really important moving forward. But we have a lot of ‘asks’ of our community and citizens that need funding. It is not an unusual thing in places, I think even like Texas. I’d like to find ways to address that in a balance that benefits the whole community.”
Billick said he opposed the tax proposal in 2021. “I was concerned how it was rolled out and would be implemented,” he said. “A tax is a tool, not an end result. I would be supportive of considering a tax going forward but it would have to be clearly thought out with a plan for what we would accomplish. Most of the town’s revenue comes through sales tax. One challenge with an empty (second home) house is that it doesn’t generate a lot of sales tax so if you look at it from an equity perspective, how we fund a lot of things, those homes aren’t being used to generate revenue. I wouldn’t necessarily oppose that idea even though I did before.”
“I think it would have to come from the citizens and not the council,” added Fenerty.
Solar farm and climate
While both admitted the look of the new solar farm being constructed south of town was a bit “jarring,” both supported the endeavor.
“It is a huge asset to the community and will serve us well in the future,” said Fenerty. “The appearance is not a huge worry of mine. I see this as an example of a micro-grid in our valley.”
“I’ve heard some feedback by some that they appreciate the look of the solar panels,” said Billick. “To me, the biggest threat to our viewsheds is climate change, not these solar panels. We are very fortunate we still have a lot of our trees. They are disappearing along Monarch Pass and at some major ski resorts and that is a largely climate change phenomena. So, when I look at viewsheds, I worry about how we are changing ecosystems incredibly fast. If there is something we can do to soften the look of the solar farm, absolutely. I do see it as somewhat jarring but I’m guessing in five years I won’t even notice them.”
Ballots have been sent
Both candidates responded to a question from Reich’s and said more could be done to control noxious weeds. As for transferring title of the Center for the Arts, Billick said given its location he wouldn’t be inclined to continue the conversation until a county tie on the title is cleared up. Fenerty said she would be open to more conversation.
Voters should have their ballots in the mail by now. They must be returned by November 4. The recording of the conversation can be found on the here.
