Briefs Crested Butte

Town TA rep not impressed with TA
Councilperson Shaun Matusewicz reported to the council that he recently attended the Tourism Association retreat and found it “fairly worthless.” His disappointment came because he said the first several hours were spent with staff and board members focused on how to defend their branding and their work to the public. “It was an indoctrination justifying what they do. That’s a big red flag to me,” he said. “They even handed out laminated wallet-sized cards explaining why they are great.”

“Was it indoctrination or education?” asked Councilperson John Wirsing, who has sat on the TA board.
Matusewicz also showed the council a recent e-mail blast from the TA touting the great trail riding in the valley. “That was great,” he said. “But the picture with the email was of a pack of road riders. It’s just poor.”
The topic of the TA is on the agenda for a joint council meeting between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte scheduled for Thursday. “I’m sure we can discuss it more at that time,” said Mayor Aaron Huckstep.

Cell service conundrum
Councilmembers have been receiving complaints from constituents over cell phone service in and around town. “It’s both AT&T and Verizon, from what I’m hearing,” said Huckstep. “Can we look into helping to make it better? That’s an important thing for the town.”
Town Manager Susan Parker said she’d contact local Jason Swenson, who deals with such issues and see if he can report to the council.

Town on board with new housing authority
The council is ready to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the county, Mt. Crested Butte and city of Gunnison. The topic is a new housing authority and the town is willing to contribute $30,000 toward the effort.

Push out your sign …
The council approved a recommendation from the staff to craft an ordinance changing the sign code to allow projecting signs on buildings that have architecturally distinct facades. The issue came up at the request of the Sea Level Spa, located at 308 Elk Avenue.

Lobar asking for more outdoor seating
Without making any promises, the council said it would consider allowing some sidewalk seating for the Lobar in front of the Company Store. The building is slated to change hands in mid-June and the new building owner is fine with such seating. The Lobar did just construct a deck on the west side of the building to accommodate outside seating and it will be opening for lunch this summer. Lobar co-owner Kyleena Falzone made the strong argument that every business needs to get whatever it can to continue to operate in Crested Butte. “Outdoor seating is so valuable in a six-month economy. We all need it,” she said. The council will look into the matter once the sale of the building is complete but made it clear there were some concerns with the request since the regulations would have to be amended.

Lose the chamomile and wormwood
Door hangings will be popping up around town reminding homeowners to control noxious weeds in their yards. Beware the Yellow Toadflax!

Council moves the July 2 meeting to July 3 to move to the music
The council wants to take a Monday night off to watch the July 2 Alpenglow concert. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Center for the Arts and KBUT, the concert is featuring the marching band “March 4th” and will start with a parade down Elk Avenue. The council will be there and will meet instead on Tuesday, July 3.