Meet the candidates for CB mayor

The only race at the north end of the valley this election season is for Crested Butte mayor. Incumbent Ian Billick is seeking a third term while councilmember Anna Fenerty has thrown her hat in the ring. We will be asking questions on CB topics of each candidate for the next couple of weeks. If you have something you’d like to ask them, send it to us at editorial@crestedbuttenews.com.

You can also swing by a community conversation with the candidates on Thursday, October 16 at 4:30 p.m. on the Elk Ave. patio by Izakaya Cabin. That event will be broadcast on KBUT as well.

Ian Billick

Here’s what the mayoral candidates had to say:

Number of years in Crested Butte: 

Summers at RMBL starting 1988, Gothic winter caretaker 1996-1997, year-round starting 2001 (moving from CB South to CB in 2018).

Why are you running to be mayor of Crested Butte?

I really enjoy complex problem solving and it is a wonderful way to be engaged with a special community. I love the range of projects I get to be involved with and the people I get to know.

What do you see as a major accomplishment of the town council over the time you’ve been on the board, and are you pleased with the results?

Getting the affordable housing pipeline opened up has been the main achievement, given how serious the situation was when I started in 2020. We hit some speedbumps with the housing lottery and TWG’s management of Mineral Point. But it was very gratifying to see people moving into units last spring and I’ve talked to quite a few people that are excited to see more units coming online in Mineral Point and Whetstone. We still have community members, including teachers, struggling to find housing.

What do you see as something the council has missed over the time you’ve been on the board?

Parking is a work in progress. The signs on Sopris and Maroon need work and it is not clear whether the two-hour limit is for a single spot or cumulative for a larger area. We’re struggling to figure out how we want to handle enforcement, including asking for a softer touch on enforcement after just deciding we want to be stricter with enforcement. We’re also struggling to balance the needs of our neighborhoods with the larger community, with some neighborhoods providing long-term storage of vehicles, staging spots for construction and ski resort parking. I’m excited to see planning to integrate the school parking lot with Mountain Express, as well as for more parking at the Brush Creek intersection. But we have a lot of work to do to figure out how to manage parking more effectively.

Give an example of an initiative you led as a member of council, and how did it work out?

A lot of things had to fall into place for the Whetstone housing project to break ground, with Gunnison County doing the bulk of the work and the entire CB Town Council supporting it. When the county asked to connect the project to the Town’s water and wastewater systems, I took a deep dive into understanding the financial impacts on the Town and helping frame the Town’s analysis, including looking at the fixed and incremental costs of adding more residences onto our utilities. I also spent a lot of time talking directly with the county’s representatives about how to align the project with the Town’s priorities, including affordability benchmarks, integration with mass transit and financial impacts. Because Whetstone will allow us to spread the costs of already planned improvements across more users, including adding a second source of drinking water on the Slate River in case fire cuts off our access to Coak Creek, and adding Whetstone won’t involve town residents paying for additional capital improvements, the project will help keep monthly utility bills lower than they otherwise would have been. At the same time, we are providing a major assist to the county in creating affordable housing. Time will tell how Whetstone unfolds, but the Town did a nice job of balancing the needs of our community with supporting the county on a critical project. 

Favorite place to vacation?

We have been visiting New Mexico annually in recent years, including Santa Fe and some of the smaller communities in the northern part of the state. There is a lot of history and culture to explore. It’s a completely different world half a day’s drive away.

Favorite place in the valley to recharge?

In summer it is riding the Lupines and Lower Loop, finishing with a nice slow jaunt down Elk Avenue. They are beautiful trails that are well designed for bikes and I can get to them out my front door. In winter, it is Nordic skiing up on the bench above the Nordic Center. It’s quiet and beautiful up there.

Anna Fenerty

Number of years in Crested Butte: 

24 of my 28 years

Why are you running to be mayor of Crested Butte? 

I am running because I can do this job. The mayor’s role is one of service, leading council meetings and advocating for the community, over the last four years I have done this. I am a daughter of Crested Butte and the values and principles of this town are a part of my character. I am experienced, accessible, receptive, and have skin in the game. I work multiple service jobs, am seasonally employed, and face housing uncertainty. I have roots and relationships with many different facets of our community and can act as a bridge between what is remembered and idealized and what can be. 

What do you see as a major accomplishment of the town council over the time you’ve been on the board, and are you pleased with the results? 

Crafting and adopting the Transportation Mobility Plan was the first of several planning processes we initiated after the Community Compass. This document prioritizes the townie-takeover, free bus, skiing through alley culture that we have cultivated. It is a long-range map and the actions that emerged from this plan have informed our budget priorities for two years. The way a community moves defines how it grows. Transportation and mobility is often where residents and visitors interact immediately with the decisions of the board. Parking discussions, road design, flower boxes, these pressure points are all dependent on how the board interprets the Transportation and Mobility Plan. The document has inspired subsequent planning processes from Mountain Express and the RTA. I am pleased with the impetus the plan has inspired and confident that it will continue to encourage alignment with the community’s expectations.

What do you see as something the council has missed over the time you’ve been on the board? 

The Community Solar Park was a missed mixed use project. The commitment to purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) through the solar farm being installed south of town took several years to implement. The advantage of the site, despite the obvious shade of the location under Gibson Ridge is its proximity to a substation; this advantage has yet to be effectively communicated or understood by the public. The limitations because of the avalanche danger and the need to involve CDOT to safely provide access in the summer forced the hand of the council. The decision became more symbolic than practical. I have aspirations that the board will remain open to creative proposals of how to better utilize this and other land in the future.

Give an example of an initiative you led as a member of council, and how did it work out? 

During the Community Compass outreach efforts I suggested bringing the planning process to the people by hosting block parties in each quadrant of town. By setting up a community space in our streets we connected with residents who can’t always make it to meetings. The whole staff contributed and the Planning Department did an incredible job creating outdoor events reaching our community where they are. This and other opportunities inspired participation of over 700 members of our community, nearly 150 more than who voted in 2021.

Favorite place to vacation? 

Travel was a large focus of my life before 2020, but of all the places I’ve explored India is easily my favorite. I have been three times since 2014 and each visit broadens my perspective. It feels less like a vacation each time but it holds a special place in my story. I can’t think of a more different place in the world than our end of the road yet the value of community and the culture of respect and reverence connects our town beyond the limits of our geography.

Favorite place in the valley to recharge? 

There are a few secret pools in each drainage where I can shed my human layers and bathe in our cold mountain waters.