The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Plan will have big impact on future feel of town…
by Mark Reaman
Gunnison County is partnering with other governmental entities to develop a Gunnison Valley Corridor Plan focused on the North Valley. The process is expected to last 18 months and end up with a vision for the future of the area between Gunnison and Mt. Crested Butte.
As plan begins to formulate, the Crested Butte town council wants to stay ahead of the curve and make sure they communicate clear desires in what they’d like to see out of the process.
Councilmembers on Monday, July 6 decided it would be good to take the temperature of the North Valley community and make sure goals and priorities were expressed clearly.
“As it’s being set up, there is a lot of pressure on the staff and Mel (Yemma, town community development director) to be the voice. Should council get ahead and put together our thoughts on the plan?” mayor Ian Billick asked the council. “Should we get an understanding of council’s key points?”
“I would love for us to brainstorm and put down our values and priorities,” agreed councilmember Mallika Magner.
“I too agree. I’d like to start with what is in our Three-Mile Plan and maybe Mt. Crested Butte wants to do the same,” said councilmember Kent Cowherd.
“It would provide clarity for the staff,” added Billick.
Yemma said the focus of the corridor planning process at the moment was gathering data. She indicated she has been asking if/how all of the elected officials of the project partners would be engaged early and throughout the process, rather than just at the end.
“The scope of the process has pretty much been vetted,” said town manager Dara MacDonald. “You can shape the conversation from there.”
“We all agree this plan is vital to how our community will look, feel and operate,” said Magner. “It is major. It is important for us to come up with a clear picture of what we want to see and don’t want to see.”
Billick said he would suggest starting with basics of key points.
“With all due respect, it is their planning process and will be a county document; the project scope has been defined and executed with the consultants. The county may be open to thoughts on the town’s values and where the council wants to focus, but they are unlikely to shift the scope at this point,” said MacDonald.
“Can we look into a timeframe to work through some ideas?” asked Billick. “I’d like to engage the community and hear what the North Valley is thinking.”
“I’ll try to get more clarity on their process,” said Yemma. “We don’t want to get ahead of any outreach they’re planning.”
“I feel like we as staff have a fairly good grasp of what council is looking for through the various plans we’ve been doing like the Transity and Mobility Plan,” said MacDonald.
“We haven’t exactly had a totally positive start but going forward clarity, clear expectations, roles and knowing feedback touchpoints is important,” said Yemma.
“It is a big subject, so it is important to take the next step,” concluded Billick. The council will continue the conversation on how best to clearly communicate its goals and priorities in the 18-month long process. Staff is expected to return with a potential process later this month and also provide the council with more details of the county engagement plan.
