Briefs: Crested Butte

By Mark Reaman

Locals address CB overflowing trash issue

Two local citizens brought up the summer Elk Avenue trash situation to the Crested Butte council during the public comment segment of the August 5 meeting. Penni Ervin said the situation in town after the Fourth of July weekend “was horrid. There just aren’t enough cans out and I see tourists using the Ace Hardware trash dumpster.”

Rob Mahedy described a similar ongoing situation during the busy summer weeks. “The overflowing receptacles is a real problem. I’m offering to help. We all agree and see the problem and I’d like to help come up with some solutions. The dumpster that used to be the Four-Way is missed and gave backcountry campers a place to deposit their trash. That’s not there anymore so I think local businesses are taking the brunt. Hopefully the problem won’t be as bad next summer. Let’s help bring the pride back to Elk Avenue.”

Clark’s liquor license issue postponed until September

At the request of the defendant and a member of the public, the show-cause hearing for issues with the Clark’s Market liquor license was continued to the September 2 meeting. The issue is that Clark’s apparently failed to disclose a liquor license violation on its liquor license renewal application as required by the town code. Because the show-cause hearing had been set, the council allowed public comment on the matter and Acme Liquor owner Peter Cook obliged. While admitting he is biased since his liquor store is located next to Clark’s and the sale of alcohol in the grocery store has taken a big bite out of his sales, he again said the town could, like other communities, not allow liquor sales in groceries. He reiterated his points in a letter-to-the-editor (see CB News issue August 1). He also said the original licensing for Clark’s was not handled right by the town “and this a chance to correct the past.” 

Building code updates generates debate

The council set for public hearing on August 18, an update to the building code in town. The council held a long discussion at the August 5 meeting over a few items in the building code. Some councilmembers want to require that any new remodel in town, no matter how small, come with a mandatory energy assessment that would be subsidized or paid for by the town. There would be no mandate for the homeowners to take further action based on results of the assessment. They argued town could use the data in overall direction for future climate action initiatives. But a few councilmembers were uneasy with mandating such a requirement. 

Other issues the council wanted to discuss or gather more information on included when to require sprinklers in buildings, the ability to put in a solid fuel-burning device and the setbacks for solar panels on roofs. Councilmember Mallika Magner commented that council should be careful with adding too many requirements that add costs to building. “I want to express the worry that imposing more regulations means more expensive units so I would like to see the cost impacts of these issues,’ she said. The council now reviews and updates the building code every three years.

Save As You Throw prep

The town council continues to take the necessary steps to implement the Save As You Throw program. That initiative will charge different rates for different sized trash bins in town. The idea is to get people to use smaller, cheaper containers to encourage more recycling and less throwing away of trash. CB citizens should be in the loop on how to change out the different sized bins. There is no initial charge to change your bin but if you do so later, it will cost $25. 

Opioid settlement approved

The council approved a resolution approving the National Opioid Settlement with the Purdue and Sackler Families. The town granted its share to Gunnison County. Councilmember Mallika Magner voted against the resolution stating that while she understood the need to approve it, she thought the overall settlement was not a good one.

Stuff:

—Mayor Ian Billick wants to craft a letter to the local Gunnison Valley Health and national political representatives asking about the coming giant increase in health care premiums and what, if anything, could be done to not see them skyrocket.

—The council continues to discuss the public access at Academy Place. Some public access was provided as part of the approval process but some on council don’t think it is enough. Others on the council believe it is and staff contends Academy Place is fulfilling what was agreed to during the approval process. 

—The town received a healthy independent audit showing it is in good financial health while continuing to improve the small issues cited by auditors.

—The Crested Butte Senior Center is no longer requesting dedicated space from the town for a senior center. The group has indicated they are pleased with the current situation using various spaces throughout town, including at local churches.

—Town manager Dara MacDonald said Colorado Department of Local Affairs officials toured some potential future project sites and noted the current marshal’s office situation was not good. She said the feeling was that DOLA would be providing some funds to help expand the marshal’s office.

—It’s election season for the town council. Interested people can pick up a petition at town hall that must be returned by August 29 if they decided to run to be part of the Magnificent Seven.