The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Crested Butte is friendly? Odd? At the end of the road?”
Defining a vision or at least a vision statement for the town of Crested Butte isn’t an easy task. Ten people gathered Monday evening April 25 to start the process and another half dozen residents submitted emails with thoughts of their visions.
“This is the first step in visioning for the town,” explained mayor Leah Williams. “It will start the framework for a vision statement for the town. We are looking for the beginning of a vision statement so people know what we are and what to expect when they move here or come here to work.”
“You don’t want it to be too big,” said resident Harvey Castro. “I’ve seen some good ones that are only four words long.”
“I’ve been a bit dubious about the vision thing,” admitted councilperson Jim Schmidt. “I’ve seen a lot of these things at different towns that say essentially the same thing. I mean, you could look at something like the Bible that should be pretty obvious, but people interpret it in their own way. My advice is to be concise.”
The participants then broke into two groups for a half-hour brainstorming session. Words and phrases like “odd,” “end of the road,” and “friendly” were bandied about.
“We are trying to make this unique to Crested Butte,” said councilperson Phoebe Wilson when the groups came together. “The concepts we want to get across are the people, the space and catchiness.”
“We talked about using perhaps a collage of pictures to express a vision,” said councilperson John Wirsing.
Councilperson Roland Mason said he had seen a similar concept recently in Moab and it had caught his eye. “It showed in a really great way all the things you could do there.”
“But that seems more like marketing than vision,” said Williams.
“Our collage could be used more to capture the essence of this place,” said Mason, “and we could include words.”
“Who is this vision statement meant for?” asked resident Jeff Scott.
“We want to use this for people to see who we are and what we want to be in the future,” responded Williams. “It could also be used for council members to keep them focused when making decisions.”
“Does anyone really know what we want to be in the future?” asked Matthew Scala. “And what does the future look like? It will be different if gas goes to $10 a gallon. What are we evolving toward? “
“One thing that strikes me is that we are a community with a resort. Community is number one,” said Williams.
“It’s certainly not for everybody,” added Schmidt.
“And that’s a great aspect,” said Scott. “It’s not for everyone.”
“Part of the attraction is that even visitors and second-home owners can have a relationship with the locals,” said Williams.
“I hope we can move toward more of a vision of where the town is going,” said Scala.
“Community is an important word and that can apply to the future,” said Scott. “It is a value.”
“It’s a community with a great playground,” suggested Castro.
“It’s a community you drive a long way to, to walk around,” quipped Wirsing.
“Look outside. It’s a community where nature will take its course and weed people out,” said Mason as the snow fell.
The group debated whether a slogan-type statement would be better than a narrative. The collage idea kept coming up. Eventually the group decided not to decide. They agreed to go home and reflect on the discussion.
Williams re-emphasized the idea of incorporating “who we are, the place we live and the ideas of family and community.” More meetings will be held in the quest for a Crested Butte vision. Contact town hall for the latest times if you would like to participate.
