CB South dealing with more vandalism in subdivision

Cameras work, and it’s a small town

By Katherine Nettles The Crested Butte South Property Owner’s Association (POA) has reported several issues with vandalism in recent weeks, ranging from bus stop sabotage at Red Mountain Park to ballot box damage by the POA office. POA manager Derek Harwell has informed the community of the issues, and in one case, successfully tracked down the perpetrator. 

In an April newsletter to POA members, Harwell explained the latest vandalism issues. “On March 4, the window on the door to the bus stop was smashed. Upon further investigation, we found other damage to the bus stop and with the cameras in and around the bus stop, were able to identify the individual responsible.” Harwell shared the video footage with local establishments who helped identify the perpetrator as a local adult male, whose full name has been withheld but is known as Johnny. “It is disappointing that we have needed to resort to the use of camera systems to combat needless vandalism in the bus stop, mail room, public bathrooms, bus stop parking lot and the hockey changing rooms,” he said. 

“In identifying the culprit, we were able to come to an agreement for restitution in lieu of engaging law enforcement and the court system.

“One aspect of the agreement was for Johnny to write an apology letter to the Crested Butte South community for his actions,” continued Harwell.

The letter was printed in the newsletter as follows:

To the community 

of CB South,

I wanted to apologize to all of you for the damage I caused to the CB South bus stop around the beginning of March. I am truly sorry and will be paying for a replacement window, as well as, cleaning the bus stop for the next month. I am ashamed of my actions as they do not reflect the love I have for this valley, the community, the mountains and its waters. We live in a beautiful and safe community, one like no other I’ve ever seen, and it is truly a special place. This is why we live here; this is why I live here. The damage I caused to the window did not display the kind of respect this place deserves. Please forgive me for my actions and know that I have made life changes to ensure this does not happen again. 

Sincerely,     

Johnny

In February, the POA also noticed that someone tried to access the digital storage from a server located inside the POA postal annex building and damaged the housing in the process. 

The Gunnison County Elections Office maintains an election drop box located outside of the building, noted Harwell, and when the effort to download information onto a USB device was unsuccessful they ripped the housing off of the wall. 

“The result is that the drop box will be moved this summer with an inaccessible camera and storage server to monitor the drop box. Tampering with an election drop box is a federal offense and a felony,” cautioned Harwell. “There would be no resolution through an apology letter nor community service for anyone caught tampering with the box, camera or digital storage. The drop box is an amazing example of democracy at work; that we have such voting access for local, state and national elections right at the main point of access to our community. Having this system is a significant part of why Colorado experiences some of the highest voter turnout in the nation.”

CB South has dealt with vandalism at Red Mountain Park repeatedly over the past few years, involving damage to the restrooms, hockey changing rooms, bus stop and other areas. 

“Let’s respect the wonderful amenities that we have here in CBS,” summarized Harwell. “When any of these or other amenities are vandalized, it costs all of us in CBS and threatens our ability to keep such amenities.”

Law enforcement has been informed of each incident. “But expecting law enforcement alone to be able to resolve these issues is unrealistic. We as a community need to set and hold our own boundaries and expectations for what is acceptable and how we want to live here. While none of these issues individually are greatly alarming (election interference aside), collectively they do represent a shift in regard to who we are, what we have and how we want to be as a community,” concluded Harwell.