Quick ideas…

Before going too far — how about June?! Long days, perfect temperatures, blue skies and while getting busier, it’s not too busy. For many, June is the number-one month up here. I’d bet for 99% it’s a top-three month for sure. Lose the red flag afternoon winds, the once-a-week memorials, the start of allergy season, and it’s easy to see why. Don‘t tell anyone!

Now, to the meat…some quick ideas I’ve heard through letters or on the street this week…

So… speaking of not telling anyone about June — hello TAPP. In conjunction with the town of Crested Butte presenting dire capital budget numbers, an old school idea came forth this week to perhaps raise more revenue in town to address budget woes. Consider focusing on the tourist town leg of the stool and focus on marketing a declining ski season. There was indeed a time when skier day numbers were much bigger than they are today. The combination of tourists and second homeowners used to hit the slopes and then the après ski town opportunities. That resulted in sales tax. Now summer months, particularly July and August, are the busiest months of the year in the North Valley and the primary time for sales tax revenues.

The suggestion in a letter from a longtime business owner this week (see page 5) is to perhaps look for ways to regain some of that winter, ski season magic. Advertise and market to get people here spending money to fill up the slower weeks around Christmas-New Year’s, President’s Day and Spring Break. Ski season is the original root of this tourist economy, so work on ways to bring tourists to a tourist town where the tourist infrastructure already exists and the marketing money is already allocated through an organization charged with doing just that — hello TAPP.

I was inundated with messages and calls this week from the people living in and around the Crested Butte Mobile Home Park. They felt the town was continuing to move to change the zoning in their little neighborhood even though they heard from the council that they would be left alone with no major zoning changes.

As of last week, the staff was no longer suggesting two-story units be allowed in the zone, but they were continuing on the path to float the idea of offering a deed restriction if someone wanted to build a narrow stick-built home or perhaps install a modular on their mobile home lot. From what I can gather, the neighborhood felt like the town was trying to pull a fast one, particularly with the town-owned lot in that neighborhood. And there could be a little something to that. The town has the means to do what it can within the zoning rules to get a nicer, deed restricted unit over there. But timing, trust and listening all matter. After the deep meeting between neighborhood representatives and the council a few weeks ago, I too heard the idea that the council would do whatever the neighborhood wanted, and the neighbors were clear they didn’t want major changes over there right now.

And then the idea of pulling the levers of representative government came into play and everyone is back on the same page.

This week, the town staff backed off any proposed major changes to that neighborhood. Staff met with neighborhood representatives. They listened. Neighbors sent letters to the councilmembers and newspaper. They were clear in their desire to maintain a unique pod of CB funk that worked really well. Council is listening.

Some overall town zoning change issues are on the upcoming June 15 council agenda, so there will be discussion on some items that impact all of town like snow storage and parking requirements. But the major M-district changes are gone. The idea of residents reaching out to their elected representatives to voice an opinion to shape direction appears to have worked like it is supposed to. Small-town politics and communication still are valuable in this political small-town.

Then there’s the redo of the utility line area from the town to the Whetstone Village project. The contractors had to re-dig a bunch of that area, including a whole lotta wetlands by Brush Creek, which was again sad to me and others. But we’ve been promised the contractors for the county will mitigate that area and it will be as good as wet soon.

Many people have asked me about the idea of taking the strip closer to town, throwing some road base on it and using it as another path opportunity for people to walk or bike from town to the Baxter Gulch trailhead. They note accurately that a big part of the work was done in the line placement. Sounds simple — but I asked around and it’s not as simple as anyone would like.

The area is under the province of the Colorado Department of Transportation which apparently has long-term designs to eventually add another lane of highway in that spot. That is fair I guess — especially if they anticipate hundreds of new residents at Lower Verzuh might go to Alpenglow. (I’ve also heard the idea this week of requiring a study to determine the actual North Valley carrying capacity before approving such a big subdivision, but that’s a whole other issue).

Anyway, even to do the path idea temporarily would apparently involve more than a little bureaucratic permitting and no one seems willing to take that on. The county’s main goal as Whetstone develops is to focus on a pedestrian underpass to the east side of the highway where people can then use the Deli Trail to bike or walk between their home and town. MetRec is working with CDOT on the bigger picture CB2CBS trail. Of course, we all know Dave Ochs and his CBMBA crew could do the actual work in about half a day but alas, that is not likely.

It’s too bad the quick and easy solution to what seems a quick and easy issue is no longer quick and easy.

Anyway — June! Soak it in. It will get hotter, busier and if we are lucky, wetter as we move into the heart of summer. Enjoy it while you can…

—Mark Reaman