Berkshire replaces Owen on Crested Butte Town Council

Experience counts

Former councilman Skip Berkshire will replace David Owen on the Crested Butte Town Council. The sitting six councilmembers selected Berkshire from a field of four hopefuls who had sent in letters of interest to fill the unexpired term that would last another year.
“To everyone who submitted a letter, we appreciate it,” said mayor Aaron Huckstep. “It is sometimes a challenging job and the pay is not really commensurate with the time put in, so thanks to each of you.”

Berkshire, along with Shaun Horne, Paul Merck and Mark Voegeli, presented the council with a four- or five-minute synopsis on their hopes to be appointed, at a special meeting on Thursday, November 20. Lisa Merck withdrew her letter of interest on Thursday.
“When I was on the council previously, we too had to replace a council seat and we chose former councilperson Margot Levy in large part because she had been there before,” Berkshire told the council. “The time it takes to understand the process is a lot less. I understand the players and the environment in the county.”
Horne has been attending council meetings since the end of the summer and said his motivation for appointment was twofold. The artist and gallery owner said he wanted to champion the Creative District that he believes can be a game changer with expanding the tourist market and visitor demographic. He would also like to be a voice for when and how street closures are considered in Crested Butte.
“As the Creative District process really gets going, I think having someone have a seat on council that is intimately involved in the Creative District process is a plus,” Horne said.
Merck, who runs his own business, said he has been thinking of running for a seat on the council, and a one-year test was appealing. He has lived in the valley for 25 years and seen a lot of changes. “The town has turned a corner and is drawing a lot more drive traffic and hopefully more fly-in traffic,” he said. “There are lots of big issues to deal with in town.”
Mark Voegeli, who has served on the fire district board, indicated he became intrigued with the political process after attending the Candidate’s Forum a year ago. “It is an opportunity, as someone on the council said, to test drive the council and see if I would like to pursue it further,” he said. Voegeli, the assistant mountain manager at CBMR, expressed his strong support for the expanding tourism draw in the town.
Councilperson Jim Schmidt said he had spoken with each applicant and found them all to be “intelligent, and I appreciated the work ethic they showed.”
Councilperson Roland Mason reminded aspirants that being a councilman meant spending a lot more time on the job than just two meetings per month. He said even after five years on the board, the time commitment still sometimes came as a surprise. But with some major issues on the horizon such as the final budget discussion and an upcoming annexation application, Mason made it clear that the time commitment would be significant.
After an hour, the council took a paper vote and Berkshire received five of the six votes. He was appointed to serve out the remainder of Owen’s term.
“I really have appreciated the interest and qualifications of each of you,” Schmidt said to the applicants. “I honestly hope and encourage you all to get back in the ring next November at the election.”