The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
County replaces contractor with local company
By Mark Reaman
Crested Butte town officials were shocked and dismayed Tuesday, November 11 when they discovered a subcontractor working for Gunnison County on the Whetstone housing project utility extension encroached into protected wetlands on the Crested Butte Town Ranch causing noticeable damage. That action resulted in the county essentially firing the offending company, Mountain Concrete Group out of Montrose, a subcontractor of Moss Construction, Wednesday morning. Locally based Spallone Construction was immediately hired to replace them.
Crested Butte town manager Dara MacDonald sent a strongly worded letter to Gunnison County manager Matthew Birnie Tuesday afternoon making it clear the encroachment was not authorized and a complete surprise to the town. It demanded all activity in the area cease immediately and a restoration plan be provided by the county.
The letter said there was “serious concern regarding the extensive and unauthorized damage to the protected wetlands on the Town Ranch property. This property is owned by the Town and protected under a conservation easement held by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. At no point did the Town grant permission for any intrusion into the wetlands or for activities east of the gravel pit road,” the letter stated.
Mountain Concrete Group also completely closed the gravel pit road without town authorization and that resulted in additional harm to the wetlands as workers at the school expansion project were then forced to drive through the area causing more damage.
“The Town expects that all activities and materials storage east of the previously established roadway cease immediately,” the letter made clear. “We request that Gunnison County provide, without delay, a clear plan and timeline for full restoration of the wetlands and any other disturbed areas east of the original roadway.”
There was clear frustration from the town over the action. “The Town has worked in good faith to maintain a collaborative relationship in facilitating utility services for the County’s Whetstone Housing Project,” the letter concludes.
“We are therefore deeply disappointed by the disregard shown for Town property and conservation obligations in this instance. We expect a prompt and substantive response to address this violation and prevent any further damage as well as plans for restoration and better communication going forward.”
Tuesday evening the town placed barricades that were deployed after all contractor vehicles were out of the area. Town officials were considering additional steps to further block off the area to prevent any further damage to the wetlands.
The county responded to questions about the issue Wednesday in a prepared statement by Gunnison County communications director Patty Dowd Schmitz.
“We were as dismayed as everyone to learn about the unexpected wetland impacts this week,” she said. “A subcontractor moved dirt onto the access road to the gravel pit without authorization, and several vehicles drove around the dirt, which created the impact. We are working on getting the dirt moved and are monitoring vehicle traffic in this area. We are very frustrated and disappointed in the work of this subcontractor, which does not meet our standards as a County. As a result, the contractor has now been removed from the project.”
Birnie informed MacDonald on Wednesday that, “Spallone will be working to get the road reopened as soon as they can get equipment mobilized.”
