Who woulda thunk it?

Who woulda thunk CBMR would make it through the ski season despite a low snow, high temperature season? Good on ‘em. Having spent more time après skiing this year than actually skiing given a rotator cuff injury recovery, I watched from afar as the ski area held on nobly. They closed runs, opened runs, moved snow, groomed a disappearing base, dealt with an inbounds wet slide, but they made it. The white strip of death made an appearance on Warming House Hill in March and a surprise heavy snow event less than a week before closing day helped down the stretch. But the CBMR team put it all together and unlike some other ski areas in the Rocky Mountain West, our hill finished the season in fine form under the circumstances. Yeah, there was not much dropping into Third Bowl this year, but from afar, most people I talked to said the groomers were thin but smooth and the skiing a fun spring experience down the stretch. Congrats to them!

Who woulda thunk the county and town of Crested Butte would hit a snag in how to conduct the North Valley corridor plan? Anyone paying attention to our One Valley kumbaya world?

After literally years of chatter about partnering together philosophically and financially to mold a North Valley corridor plan, the county apparently surprised the town without much, if any notice, and said they would alone steer the consultant putting together the plan by being the only government entity to sign the contract. That is contrary to the expected process where the town had even budgeted a healthy $150,000 to be a contract partner. The county apparently believes it’s worth $150K+ to be the One in this instance. The county approved that $635,000 contract Tuesday as part of its consent agenda with no discussion and I was told they will carry the whole bill. Flush! There will probably be some sort of “understanding” worked out among the stakeholders over roles but that is very different from being a direct contractual partner as was “understood” previously.

Look, the reality is that there has always been tension between the county and the town, and I don’t think that is all bad. It’s no secret that I’m weary of the kabuki mantra of being all One Valley where we all agree on everything and want to row in the same direction. I actually like different visions originating from a resort community ski/bike town and a cattle ranching hub community with a small university. Combining those world views can result in interesting outcomes when combined with true partnership. But it takes honest, respectful partnership…and communication (which really shouldn’t be that hard).

I would say ever since the Corner at Brush Creek fell apart years ago, the underlying tension between the two entities has escalated. The county has a tendency to want to make it clear they are the One in the One Valley and this latest kerfuffle reinforces that.

Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick tried to calm the turbulent waters Monday and told the council and staff it was more important to be clear with what the town wants out of the corridor planning process and the final results, than to be a contract partner. I’m not sure I would agree with that since the One who signs the contract gets to direct the contactor under contract what they want out of it…and the county and town don’t always align. The way this decision was handled and communicated shows that. But sure…be clear and dive into the year-and-a-half planning process and hope the county and town can agree to take hard action down the road that benefits the town. After all, continued growth continues to directly impact Crested Butte more than anyone else in the county. What could go wrong?

County senior staff responded to my request for their point of view Tuesday afternoon which I appreciate. Among the comments were that “We understand this represents a shift from prior discussions and appreciate the Town’s engagement as we move forward… The County’s perspective has evolved over the past several months as we’ve worked through the practical considerations of structuring the agreement alongside our legal and financial teams… Given the scope of this effort and the importance of staying on schedule (including launching public engagement this summer and meeting our grant deadline of April 30, 2027), we believe a simpler, more streamlined approach is the right one… we have determined that a single-party contract is the most effective structure from both a financial and legal standpoint… This collaborative planning process will result in a County planning document and subsequent regulatory amendments to ensure future development aligns with broad regional and community input… This is an important regional effort, and our commitment to collaboration has not changed… We will continue working closely with the Town of Crested Butte and all Project Advisory Committee members and the public throughout the process… Our goal is to keep the focus on collaboration and outcomes rather than administration, and to deliver a plan that reflects the shared values of the Gunnison Valley.”

All good aspirations but it sure seems the discussions and decisions all took place with one group leaving out the “partners.” Just sayin’. That seems the norm these days and again — communicating reasonable thoughts with partners shouldn’t be that hard.

For what it’s worth, I can save CB a lot of time and money and guess that the town will be clear that it wants things in the corridor plan like: impact fees on new subdivisions that will impact Crested Butte. Those impact fees would likely be dedicated to things like an expanded mass transit system, future park-and-rides in the corridor, parks and recreation programs in town, increased police needs and affordable housing.

I would also guess that the corridor plan from the town perspective would want every new development to include integrated trail systems, wildlife corridor protections and clustering of housing to avoid sprawl. The county may or may not support such requests…

Who woulda thunk the U.S. would be fighting a war and holding negotiations to open the Strait of Hormuz that was open before Donald started his war of choice a little more than a month ago? A lot of people. A war started in hubris, apparently without much planning if things didn’t go right within a few days (it didn’t), with the encouragement of video game war bro types like Tattoo Pete who seems as crazily intent to wage a Holy War as any Iranian mullah, got us here. Donald is overboiling in frustration as Iran continues to not fit into his obliteration mindset while allies he spent years kicking in the nuts refuse to clean up his mess. So as Republican legislators debate which social programs to eliminate to pay for more weapons, our country’s goal appears to now be to fight to open a waterway that was open before we started this fight.

I write this a few hours before Donald’s deadline where he threatened to take action where a “whole civilization will die tonight” so maybe none of this matters in the slightest anyway. But thank goodness for TACO Tuesday! Who woulda thunk?

—Mark Reaman