Major changes to PUD possible for a “high rise hotel”

By Katherine Nettles

The owners of the Nordic Inn in Mt. Crested Butte are proposing changes to the PUD (planned unit development) of the property to bring it in line with typical four-star, high-end resort-quality lodging, and could begin construction in 2021.

The Pearls Management, LLC came before the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council on March 19 in a concept plan review work session to discuss its plans for a major alteration to the current Nordic Inn PUD. The changes include building and parking lot re-orientation, added landscaping, underground parking, conference facility and other alterations meant to improve the building’s visual appeal and reduce the traffic impacts on Upper Treasury and Mt. Emmons Roads.

The developer, Peter Jago, and his attorney were present for the meeting, and Jago painted a picture for the group of a future four-star hotel with mountain views, a coffee shop, restaurants, on-site employee housing, an underground parking structure and large suites of multiple rooms to accommodate families and large groups. Jago estimated that it would be a $50 to $70 million project, and said he would like to get in the ground by spring of 2021. “Which means we really only have this year to get the PUD done,” he said.

Jago said the initial Nordic Inn PUD was functional, but not pretty, and said there was previously some uncertainty from the town regarding whether it would want a parking lot surface. “Why we’ve come back to change the PUD is because the first one was not really what’s right. And we’ve heard from the town itself, that you didn’t want a blacktop… We didn’t know what the town wanted to do, so we just went through the process. And we’re very glad you adopted it. But it’s not an efficient hotel; it’s not efficient parking. And it would be in my opinion, pretty ugly. So we came back with what we think will be a much better plan. And this is a better hotel, a much more efficient hotel. It has all the necessary items for five stars, including conference facilities.

“Most important, you won’t see a single parking space. It is all underground,” added Jago.

The new plan includes an underground parking structure with a total of 237 parking spaces, 123 of which would be for paid public use. The hotel would allow for 114 parking spaces for its guests, and Jago estimated that he was overestimating that need at .75 parking spaces. Any free spaces could also be made available to the public.

The hotel would contain around 152 units, each with mountain views, and just over 5,000 square feet dedicated to workforce housing—a minimum of six units as contained in the original proposal.

Jago discussed the project as a unique one in his portfolio, contrasting it to a boutique hotel he owns in South Africa with about 60 rooms and a large, $250 million building he owns in Miami “with 400 apartments, a big hotel, a massive supermarket, and tons of retail.”

The two extremes aside, Jago said, “Here, this is going to be for us a trophy asset…so we want to make this look really good. I don’t want to be an Eleven, but I don’t want to be the others. I want to be right in the middle.”

Jago said he felt lucky to have bought the property four years ago and then be around when Vail bought the resort.

“I think Mt. Crested Butte has got huge potential for the future. For us it’s important, this is an asset. This is a long-term asset that has to work and has to flow. But I also don’t like huge development. You could spoil this town too, if you added too much junk… We want to add to the beauty of it instead of detracting from the beauty of it,” he said.

Gary Hartmann, the architect for the project, said the idea was to keep the old hotel building, turn it into restaurants, and build up around it. He said there would be a need for widening the road and changing the entrance to the lot.

The Town Council weighed in on the project, and primarily focused on the parking facilities.

Council member and mayor pro tem Lauren Daniel said she appreciated the developer taking into consideration the input of the neighbors, and said, “It’s all very impressive.”

“Seems like to me that we are getting a parking lot,” said councilmember Dwayne Lehnertz. He asked what the town has to do for that, per its 2018 agreement with the developer that allowed for several options. The ownership of the lot remains with the town, but the developer has the option to build a parking lot and purchase the land back from the town, after the parking lot is in place.

Councilmember Janet Farmer said there will likely be people balking at the new development of “a high rise hotel.”

Community development coordinator Carlos Velado chimed in that he had concerns about the parking allotments and “.75 spaces per unit, which, in my opinion, it is under-parked. This is a dramatic change from the original plan,” he noted. He asked if the council felt this change was dramatic enough, or not dramatic enough to treat it as a new PUD.

The council agreed that this was an appropriate measure to take without starting over, and the developer went before the Mt. Crested Butte Planning Commission the following night to further dig in to its changes in advance of any formal application submitted to the town.

Velado commented afterward on both meetings. “I would say the council demonstrated that they were receptive to the consideration of a new proposal for the Nordic Inn PUD. I was unable to attend the Planning Commission the next night but reports are that the Planning Commission was receptive as well. They did state that they would like to look deeper into the proposed parking when and if an application is submitted. The also expressed traffic concerns along Treasury/Emmons and potential noise from the proposed building.”

The Concept Plan Review was the first one for the town since adopting the idea in an ordinance earlier this year. The purpose of the concept plan review is to familiarize the council with major PUD changes as they develop, rather than only at the time an application comes before them for a vote.

By Dawne Belloise

“It’s a dusty Four Corners kind of place,” Nel Burkett says of her hometown, Cortez, Colo. Her two brothers were a decade older than she was, so she felt that she grew up essentially as an only child. “However,” she laughs, “I was nevertheless picked on by my siblings.”

Her mother, whose family had homesteaded in Sterling, Colo., met her Texan-Arizonan dad at Ft. Lewis College in Durango. Nel realized what she admired about Cortez, but not until after she left.

She says, with a touch of pride, “When you’re growing up in any town you come from, you don’t know what’s good about it until you leave. I think back on it a lot now and know that it really it was a great place to grow up. It was kind of wide open. There’s always something to do whether driving around with friends or doing sports and activities. I grew up playing soccer and was on the swim team. It was an all-American western town. I was in all the school plays and at one point, I quit swim team, which I loved, so I could stage manage The Odd Couple.”

Nel graduated in 2008 with not a clue about what she wanted to do.

At the time, Obama was running for president and Nel felt the excitement of the political climate. “I had originally signed up to be a history major at Western State [now Western Colorado University, WCU] but I got into politics and government as well as philosophy. I had been to Gunnison once before for a swim meet and wandered through the campus. WCU seemed like a smaller school with lots of opportunities. Gunnison reminded me a lot of home, especially with its similar types of people.”

While she attended college, Nel became involved with the creative writing programs and the poetry club, taking part in a sampling of activities, trying new groups and sports, and getting back into some of her old sports. “My dad is an avid fly fisherman. I grew up hating fly fishing because he always seemed to take me along when it was the coldest, with snow on the ground and half the river would be frozen and it’s hard to tie knots when your hands are frozen,” she laughs but shivers with the memory.

“In college, though, I picked fishing back up because I knew just enough to be able to go out on my own and wave a stick in the air. I certainly fish more than I used to but I’m certainly not any better at it,” she grins. “It’s fun to have something you can do by yourself that takes a whole day and makes you slow down.

“Part of my time at WSU was working at the Palisades, a restaurant and saloon. Working there as a waitress forced me to grow as a person and get out of my shell, to learn how to take to charge of a situation, how to think on the fly, and how to not take things too seriously. I made great friends there that I still have today,” Nel says of the job she stayed at intermittently for more than five years.

A couple of years into college, Nel had decided that she didn’t want to be a teacher—she had thought that was the likely path to follow with her degree. Instead, she considered where she liked to spend her time. “I knew I always enjoyed visiting museums, particularly history museums. Being in the physical presence of history had an impact on me.”

In 2010, during her junior year of college, she called the Crested Butte Heritage Museum to apply for an internship. “I wanted to learn how museums work and see if I could create a career out of that. One of the first things I did at the museum was data entry, dealing with the artifacts of people’s lives and creating records for those artifacts. When you catalog something, you really have to get into the piece, you have to really look at it, and that makes you interact much more closely with the piece.”

Nel points to a donated panorama photo that lies framed on the table in front of her. It depicts an Elk Avenue street scene taken on the Fourth of July in 1917 and portrays the Crested Butte Concert Band. Old-time original Crested Butte family names from the town’s mining era are represented in the line-up of music men, every one of them standing proudly in their parade best with their instrument—tubas, trumpets, trombones and other brass horns. “Nicolas Reti taught me to consider the person on the other side of the photo, the photographer,” Nel says of looking beyond the image for more of the story. “People here have taught me different ways to look at historic items.”

As an intern, Nel began interacting with the local history and through that, the wider community that she feels she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience and know otherwise.

“From a historic perspective, as I spent more time working here and getting to know the community and the people who make their lives here, you really get to know something like this photo much more in depth. For example, as I learned more about the Rozmans and Kochevars and the role they play in the community and our history, this photo takes on another dimension because you’re seeing these people interacting with their history.

“What I also love about this photo is that when you really start to think about it and become familiar with our history, it becomes obvious how important music is,” Nel continues. “This picture is an example of that. You’ve got many different aspects derived from this particular photo, like how the landscape has changed, how buildings have changed or stayed the same, and this part of our culture that continues to be important today, the music and, of course, parades.

“We love parades! You start to get to know these men in the picture with their instruments. These guys who are making two or three dollars a day working in the coal mine and we’ve got a full brass band here so they’ve invested into this. You can see what’s important to them. Every fraternal lodge in town had a band. That makes Flauschink one of my favorite events because it embodies that spirit that these folks set up a century ago. In the first early Flauschink celebrations, you had one old-timer and a newcomer as a King and Queen so it would bring those two worlds together. And I love that idea,” she says.

Nel graduated in December 2012 and moved to Mt. Crested Butte in 2013. In addition to working at the museum, she also worked at Rumors Tea and Coffee House for about five years. “It was a busy summer that year of 2013. I was still working at Palisades, Rumors, and the museum and I ran two half-marathons,” she laughs and confesses, “I hated running. But I had a friend who got into running and we were already hiking buddies. We’d hike up and run down. Running downhill worked for me,” she grins. “It eventually turned into running uphill too.”

She runs randomly now but managed to do the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, the 5k hosted by Griggs Orthopedics.

“I don’t ski so much anymore. I grew up skiing Telluride. I’m at that point where I have to get better to keep having fun and with that comes all the gear. Mostly,” she chuckles, “I’m a pro at shoveling snow.”

Currently Nel is working on her master’s degree at WCU in gallery management and exhibits specialization. She’ll graduate in the spring of 2020. “This community deserves to have their history presented well and shared the best we can, so part of the decision to return to school was to learn how to be better at my job.” She’s now the full time collections manager of the Mountain Heritage Museum.

“Really, the most important thing I’ve realized from my time here is learning how personal history is. The history of the Gunnison Valley is not like learning about the American Revolution—that story’s been told and retold thousands of times and you have more resources available. With Crested Butte history, you actually have to talk to people to discover our local history. So much of it is oral history. So when I’m developing an exhibit or writing a short article, I have to call folks and ask them and get that personal history. We’re past that point where old white guys can write one form of the story and expect that to be the end-all be-all, the complete story. History belongs to the community, so because of that you’ll get different perspectives and memories. All of them are valid, all share an insight that you can only get by hearing all the various points of view.”

Nel met her boyfriend and local favorite, Alec Lindeman, while she was working at the museum and, she grins, “He was doing some forced volunteering. We had a long conversation and none of it revolved around skiing. I was tired of trying to guess what the random gear was that all these boys were bragging about at the bar. I had no idea what they were talking about. It wasn’t until Soul Train that I made a move and we’ve been together ever since.” That was 2014, “And we still love Soul Train,” Nel declares of the beloved annual KBUT fundraiser event.

“The weirdness keeps me here,” she laughs. “The people like Nick Hill who builds his cool bicycles and the Red Ladies who ski to the top of Mt. Emmons in full regalia, and the Vinotok friends who thrive off of being wild. It’s hard to put into words. The only thing that can kick me out of this community is not being able to find an affordable and comfortable place to live. Right now I feel lucky that I have a place. My parents asked me if I would ever go anywhere else and I tell them, where else can you go and wear a weird costume on most days out of the year? We all love to complain but we all love to love each other too as a community. It’s always about the community. I love that I can sit out on the front bench at the museum and see so many friends and acquaintances walk by, just like Tony Mihelich and the old timers used to do. Some things never change.”

First fund of its kind in nation

By Cayla Vidmar

There’s nothing but support from the county for the new Gunnison Stewardship Fund, which was responsible for the West Maroon Trailhead toilet, installed last fall. Emily Olsen, Colorado program manager for the National Forest Foundation (NFF), which is managing the fund, stopped by this week’s meeting of the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners to discuss the fund’s progress, and the county committed $5,000 to leverage a challenge donation from the Mt. Emmons Mining Company.

Olsen kicked off the discussion by thanking the county for its contribution to the pilot fund last year, which funded a new pit-toilet at the West Maroon Trailhead that was installed as the snow started to fly. Apparently, photos of the famous toilet have been circulating through local conservation groups and at the National Forest Foundation meetings because of the unique funding mechanism that was employed.

During a phone conversation, Olsen said the Gunnison Stewardship Fund launched last year and is a partnership between local government, community leaders, the NFF, land managers, local businesses, and non-profits. The vision, she says, is to create a sustainable source of funding on an annual basis for outdoor recreation projects.

Contribution to the fund is flexible in terms of how businesses and entities can contribute funds. Olsen says groups can have customers donate a dollar or two to the fund with their purchases, as one example, and any business or entity can contribute. Olsen said at the meeting that she’s actively trying to recruit outfitters and guides, those businesses that make money through outdoor recreation on public lands.

The fund is unique and the first of its kind in the country, because it’s “locally grown, with a diverse group of contributors, and the project selection happens with a local body,” says Olsen. The Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee (STOR) formed a subcommittee called the “STOR Project Selection Committee,” which oversees the projects that are selected for funding.

“Projects come from land management agencies, who will suggest and bring forward priority projects for consideration,” says Olsen. The selection committee is made up of STOR members, the NFF, land management agencies and fund contributors.

Olsen told the BOCC that Mt. Emmons Mining Company has announced they’re donating a $10,000 “challenge donation,” meaning they’re challenging the Stewardship Fund to raise a matching $10,000 in order to unlock the original $10,000. The BOCC members in attendance—John Messner and Roland Mason—spoke up about their support for the fund, and Messner stated his support for leveraging matching donations.

“This is one of the most exciting things we have going on right now, as far as funding outdoor recreation infrastructure … and it’s been clearly prioritized by the community, so I’m on board,” said Messner.

Mason and Messner moved to grant the Gunnison Stewardship Fund $5,000 from the commissioner discretionary fund, to go towards the matching donation from Mt. Emmons Mining Company.

Messner said he would also be interested in looking at committing $10,000 to $15,000 in the future, but wanted to give Olsen the opportunity to find other supporters for the matching donation.

Olsen says she’s hoping the STOR Project Selection Committee will meet for the first time this year in April or May, in order to implement a project between June and September. She said the fund might be smaller for 2019, since it hasn’t had a lot of time to grow, but her goal is to grow the pot for larger projects in 2020.

Interested contributors can reach out to Olsen at eolsen@nationalforests.org.

By Dawne Belloise

When the coal mines of Crested Butte shut down in the mid 1950s, the new ski area that opened in 1962 began attracting a demographic far different from the people and families of the late 1800s whose men came to work below ground.

Following on the heels of those first ski bums, many of whom were Western State College students and athletes, came the artists—the musicians, the actors, the writers, the painters, the dancers and the dreamers who saw beauty in the surroundings and the potential to live a nonconforming creative life in a tiny, dusty town in the back of beyond.

Today, Crested Butte is a haven for “creatives,” a made-to-order noun that expresses inclusivity of all aspects of creativity, from art to food and beyond. The reasons creatives flocked to this space at the end of the road are fairly obvious, as is their resulting influence on the town’s decades of evolution and aesthetic development.

Crested Butte was officially designated a Creative District by the state of Colorado in the summer of 2016. The expressed purpose is to develop cultural patronage so creatives and creative businesses thrive, by nurturing a vibrant creative culture in downtown Crested Butte. This is through support for local artists, increased collaboration between creative organizations, and increased visibility of the arts and creativity throughout the Creative District. At the same time, this designation helps preserve the fun, funky character and cohesive community identity that sets Crested Butte apart from other mountain resort towns.

Creative is a larger definition than just artistic. It’s a broader term, that the Crested Butte Creative District Committee (CDC) worked on to redefine what constitutes a creative and why. From this, a comprehensive valley-wide directory was organized with more than 90 businesses and individuals listed. Melissa Mason, chair of the CDC explains, “There are 300 businesses registered at the chamber of commerce, so we’re looking at one fifth of our businesses being part of the creative economy. Our Creative District designated and defined certain categories of creatives: craft food and beverages, design, film and media, heritage, literary arts, makers, performing arts, and visual arts.”

There are now four subcommittees focused on the areas of marketing, professional development, public art, and education. New in education is a mentorship program that partners with the Crested Butte Community School (CBCS). AP art students, who are working on their portfolio for college, are paired with a local artist. Mason says, “We’ve had huge success with the local artists sharing their expertise. The students get to see how a pro artist works in the world.”

The CDC also purchased a ceramic wheel (used to throw pottery) for the CBCS arts department. They also funded the school’s kindergarten arts class and helped with production costs for the dance production of Celebrate the Beat.

Crested Butte has teamed up with four other Creative Districts on the Western Slope to generate a 331-mile route through the neighboring creative districts of Paonia, Carbondale, Ridgway and Salida. Enabled by a $25,000 state grant, the corridor’s purpose is to invite tourists to lesser-known recreational destinations and experience the mountain towns of the western Rockies in an expanded adventure.

“The corridor is focused on the creative districts,” Mason says, “and part of the beauty of the Creative District is that it brings in visitors with a disposable income who have a low impact on our backcountry. It’s a marketing effort that says we’re not only an outdoor recreational town but we have a huge cultural scene. We want visitors to know there’s more than just mountain biking or skiing. We want them to know what else we have to offer culturally and we want to inform tourists of all the cultural events and options before they get here.”

“Marketing is a huge piece of what we’re doing,” but she also points out, “It’s not that we want to bring in more people, but more that we want to inform the people who are coming here of our cultural offerings so they can mountain bike as well as go to the Crested Butte Music Festival.”

Already more than one quarter, 27 percent, of visitors choose to come to Crested Butte solely to attend arts or cultural events. “There’s a tendency to think we’re only a sports town, but we have more creatives here than most towns and we have excellent cultural events,” Mason says, describing this as a creative economy.

“We don’t get a $20 million arts center in a community that doesn’t care about the arts. One of the cool programs we developed is a comprehensive calendar,” an overall, all-inclusive events listing at Gunnisonvalleycalendar.org, which the CDC created and funded. “We figured out that to have your event publicized online you had to post it in about 90 different places,” Mason says of the recognized need to develop a consistent online calendar where anyone can get pertinent information on valley-wide events from one searchable source. “KBUT stepped in and volunteered to manage the calendar.”

With a public art mandate now in the town code and law, Mason explains, “We have a public art policy. Prior to the code, there was no rhyme or reason as to how art got onto the streets. Now, two percent of any town capital improvement projects goes to public art. The ordinance also allows for the CDC to say where to put monies planned for art projects so that we’re not limited to the specific location of the capital improvement.”

Some of the recent public art projects include the mural in the public town bathrooms, and Mallardi Cabaret’s capital improvement, which features a metal sculpture in the lobby by blacksmith creative Ben Eaton. The Red Lamp Post and plaque on Elk Avenue, in front of Montanya’s, was one of the projects awarded to Jeremy Rubingh and commemorates the fight against a mine on Mt. Emmons, a.k.a. the Red Lady.

Professional development focuses on supporting working creatives and businesses in our community. Most recently, CDC paired up with the Crested Butte Center for the Arts to create a class on how to craft a résumé, how to write an intelligent bio and get professional photos or head shots, because creatives are sometimes not the best when it comes to marketing themselves. “They get the expertise they need to promote themselves. We pay for the majority of the class, which is basically a free, two-day class with headshots to help them get into galleries, or gigs, or magazines.”

In addition to the online calendar and creatives’ directory, the CDC also helps inform visitors and locals of what’s available in the community, bringing an awareness through a marketing campaign to buy from local creatives. “It’s another way for us to support our creatives and businesses by encouraging people in the community to buy from our own locals, from jewelry to show tickets. We don’t need to source things from Amazon or other online outlets, or even other places, because we have locals who can do it here.”

The Crested Butte creative community, cultural tourism and the many events have grown enough to warrant the massive expansion of the Crested Butte Center for the Arts. The district also includes the many art galleries exhibiting local artists and artisans.

Crested Butte has become known for its events such as the Gypsy Jazz Fest, the Mountain High Music Festival, the weekly concerts of Alpenglow and Live from Mt. Crested Butte!, the Crested Butte Arts Festival, the People’s Fair, the Plein Air (Art) Invitational, the Crested Butte Film Festival, the Crested Butte Dance Collective, the Crested Butte Dance Company, the Crested Butte Mountain Theatre—which is the oldest community theatre in Colorado—community radio KBUT, the Wildflower Festival, the Iron Pour, the Beer and Chili Fest, and the week-long community harvest celebration and passion play of the wild and earthy Vinotok, just to name a few of the creatives and events that keep this town funky and dynamic.

When you combine all of these happenings, there’s hardly a moment the town isn’t immersed in a cultural event.

The long-time local artists, the creatives, as well as the current influx of artisanal and art-appreciative residents, have further fueled the flavor and soul of Crested Butte, grooming it into a place that brings more visitors to the area who recognize its wide variety of aesthetic offerings. It’s a small art town that is the sort of place where people can find a true sense of community. Mason feels strongly, “We need to make sure people know about this amazing district. The outdoor aspect goes hand in hand with why artists are here. Look around you—you want to write a song, paint a painting, take a photo, create a sculpture.”

For more information  about the Crested Butte Creative District and the CDC, or if you are a local creative, you can register yourself, services, and talent for free online in the Creatives Directory at cbcreativedistrict.org

For the comprehensive calendar of events online visit Gunnisonvalleycalendar.org.

Info for a long-term vision

by Mark Reaman

With just more than 1,100 responses to the town of Crested Butte’s community survey this past summer, the town planning department has concluded there are three “over-arching community issues that need to be addressed: lack of workforce and attainable housing; affordability and the cost of living; and maintaining the quality of life and sense of community.”

“It was not a surprise to see housing at the top of the list,” town planner Bob Nevins told the council. “The survey has a lot of insights and we can use it as a foundation for our community plan.”

Based on the returns, Nevins informed the council in a summary of the survey that Crested Butte is comprised of long-term residents, with 59 percent of the respondents having lived in town and/or the Gunnison Valley for between 11 and 40 years or longer. The majority of those who responded were homeowners and worked in town.

“Residents are largely outdoor enthusiasts who are open to accommodating responsible growth that preserves the Town’s unique historical character and developing a balanced economy with good-paying jobs and attainable housing,” said Nevins in his report.

Nevins said the three primary concerns (housing, cost of living and sense of community) “are valley-wide as indicated by the residents in the north and south valley that took the survey. “What is interesting to note is that Crested Butte and its environs seem to attract people with like-minded interests, values and concerns as evidenced by the responses from Colorado and out-of-state visitors who participated in the survey.”

The survey was available for three and a half month, from June 1 until mid-September. The SurveyMonkey was on the town website, promoted through the chamber of commerce and Facebook, and available at local coffee shops with dropboxes. The goal was to get at least 1,000 returns and in the end, 1,104 people responded. Thirty percent were from in-town residents; 39 percent from those in Crested Butte South or north of Crested Butte South; and 14 percent from the south end of the valley including Gunnison. The rest were from Colorado residents or people living out of the state.

As might be expected, when given a chance to add comments to the survey, people did. Nevins described them to the council as “some being pretty funny and others being telling.” See the sidebar below this story for a sample.

Results of the survey, including the comments, are posted on the town website. It is expected the survey will be conducted every few years to keep a finger on the pulse of the community.

 

Sample of CB survey comments…

What kind of community do you want Crested Butte to be in 20 years?

• I’d like for Crested Butte to be able to accommodate responsible growth without losing its unique historic character. But, I also need to see Crested Butte support a more diverse community that comes from all different socioeconomic background, races, sexualities, etc. Crested Butte can’t continue to be just an affluent white space, we need to understand the importance and the value of diversity and work harder as a community to become more diverse in all aspects.

• Community is key. If we lose community we become Disneyworld and just a façade. Town has always been a year-round community, although always difficult to financially support oneself here because of the seasonal and supposed consequential low wages. However, taxing primary homeowners is not the answer to affordable housing, we’re already struggling, tax the second homeowners more by sheltering primary residents with a homestead tax break.

• I just hope the locals don’t become super di*ks to the tourists and new people that move to town.

• I want town to keep its character and kindness. That’s what makes Crested Butte the place it is.

• Town closes most of Elk Ave. to Pedestrian Only Zone with planted trees and a small creek using water diverted from Coal Creek.

• In 20 years I will be in my late 80s and hope to walk around like Paul Reddin.

• New CFA monstrosity gets sold to mining company and Mt. Emmons project finds its legs! HCCA moves to Telluride and farms funds there.

What are the greatest local challenges Crested Butte is facing now and in the future?

• Increased traffic and parking problems; changing demographics/values; impacts of climate change and other environmental factors; affordability/cost of living; and second homes/vacation rentals.

• Parking is unbearable.

• Locals being forced out, town is losing its character.

• Kindness Drought.

• Too many tree huggers, not enough miners.

• Stop ruthlessly marketing Crested Butte.

• No affordable housing equals no workforce, multi-million-dollar homes and short-term rentals mean no real housing.

• Lack of mining, too many bicycles, not enough straws.

Solutions for traffic and parking issues?

• Close Elk Ave. permanently to cars. Turn it into a park pedestrian zone with outdoor cafés in the middle. Add a small creek with diverted water from Coal Creek. Allow Bird/Lime eBikes and eScooters with nightly restock at CBCS to encourage remote parking.

• Move the post office off of Elk Ave. Everyone drives on Elk to get their mail.

• Gravel pit parking transportation center/ tram to the mountain/ Electric mass and individual transit, foot and bike travel only.

• No roundabouts! They ruin walkability and speed up cars. If people want to come here they can learn to stop at stop signs.

• Roundabouts at each Four-way Stop.

• Time for permit parking!

• The locals are the worst. Parking on Elk all day in two-hour parking areas. Enforce the law for starters!

• Get over it. Cars bring people. People bring money. Without people with money y’all don’t live in Crested Butte.

• Vegi powered fart cars.

• Phase in a total ban of cars in town over a three-year period except for residents with permits.

How to promote environmental stewardship

• Reduce fuel use by taking the bus, walking or biking to work.

• Bring my own cup and plate to events.

• Quit using straws at the Talk of the Town.

• Choose to not have children.

• Keep my thermostat low. Use flannel sheets and comforters all year.

• Just stay out of the car and off the snowmobiles as much as possible. Don’t fly much at all, a huge fuel suck. Turn off the light, keep heat low (energy efficient home), hang clothes, etc. and conserve energy.

• I rode my bike or walked to work for 35 years. Ban the automobile from town. I know it can be done because I lived it.

• Dumb—This is why you have a problem and are out of touch. These are stupid.

• I take daily actions to increase my carbon footprint!

Any other comments?

• Our motto should be: Crested Butte, love it by leaving it the way that you found it. We should not even try to accommodate more growth, it will simply ruin the wonderful community that we have.

• The reality appears to be that many are leaving not only because they can’t afford to be here any longer but the character and the demographics are changing the town, our home, exponentially. And yes, Crested Butte may lose its essential funkiness.

• Do not put additional expenses on the businesses. It is a tough economy here with the seasonality and bad last winter.

• I am not afraid of the changes that are coming. I’m more afraid that the changes won’t be allowed because so many are trying to stop all change and don’t consider any change with an open mind.

• Your voting district has lost the voice of reason and the voice of the middle class.

• Even the smallest changes are met with heated opposition. Don’t listen to the haters.

• Crested Butte is a fine place to live and raise a family. Keep it that way.

• Talk to the businesses, workers and owners who are directly impacted by the Town decisions instead of solely relying on the public input from people who have enough free time to attend the public meetings and write letters to the papers.

• Keep resisting big massive ill-conceived projects like the Corner at Brush Creek.

• The Town should be supportive of the Brush Creek project, as it would serve the whole Crested Butte community.

• VRBOs are killing this community. Every changing of the season sees more locals moving away because of lack of housing.

• Way too many tourists—we should stop spending tax dollars on tourism promotions.

• The local government has a socialist flavor.

• I loved the Crested Butte of 20 years ago. And I’m still loving it today and sharing it with generations of my family.

• Save the Alleys. Stop promoting. We are full.

• The Town’s values are good, but town has gotten to the point where the average person can’t afford to live here. This is a travesty.

• I’m not anti growth exactly. However I am anti propel forward at any cost. I’m terrified that one day there will be homes from the current edge of town all the way to the base of the Butte. That will make me sick.

• Remove stupid and short-sighted short-term rental regulations.

• We need a gondola from town to the ski hill.

• Not all development is bad development. It’s time to stop blocking every little thing that comes down the pike. And be as open-minded as you claim to be.

• It’s the culture of Crested Butte to resist any changes.

• Out with the yuppies, and in with job creators and people who earn their living!

• The people of Crested Butte are kind and lovely and love their community and it is evident in their care for their community.

• Now that Vail is in town, you might be screwed.

• All these people worried about Vail—they could have not done anything that negatively impacts the town as the new Center does and we did it to ourselves.

• Crested Butte and Gunnison should enhance their serendipity.

• We are privileged to live here. We need to be realistic about our expectations and all play a role in being inclusive and intentional with how we support a viable community so that we don’t become an empty historic over-priced exhibit instead of a town.

• One of the best things about Crested Butte and the valley is how the rednecks and hippies all get along (riding mountain bikes and dirt bikes on same trails).

• Stop regulating and taxing so much.

• Crested Butte is truly special and unique.

• It is important we keep our unique character through our funky festivals, traditions and community events and hard on people who come here and don’t respect the environment we so strongly love and protect.

• Love.

Task force recommends transit loop for deliveries, more short-term parking

By Katherine Nettles

A temporary solution to an ongoing problem with skier drop-off and base area deliveries has been identified, and after six months the Emmons Road Parking Task Force has made several recommendations to the town of Mt. Crested Butte for how it will function this ski season and possibly beyond.

The task force—made up of Planning Commission staff, Mt. Crested Butte mayor (and base area business owner) Todd Barnes, the Adaptive Sports Center, the Fire Protection District, Mountain Express, and Regional Transit Authority (RTA)—held several meetings regarding parking and delivery issues in the base area and along Emmons Road, as community development director Carlos Velado reported to the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council on November 20.

The area at which Emmons Road terminates at the Base Area has been used as a skier drop-off point since the Lodge at Mountaineer Square construction began, according to the Planning Commission document provided to the Town Council. “With the construction and construction activity for the new Adaptive Sports Center building at the south end of Emmons Road, action must be taken to solve the problems” of drop-offs, pick-ups and deliveries congesting the area, as the beginning of the 2018/19 ski season has arrived.

The document states that the south end of Emmons Road is to be kept open and clear at all times as an emergency access and emergency parking area.

As an experiment, during the summer of 2018 deliveries were allowed in one designated space at particular times in the Transit Loop. “This is not an ideal situation for Mountain Express or the RTA bus activity. However, to this point the Task Force has not been able to come up with a ‘better idea’ on how to handle deliveries in the base area,” according to the documentation.

A final decision from the task force is to continue with the Transit Loop delivery zone, “restricting traffic access with a manned control point on Emmons Road, and the addition of 10 skier drop-off spaces on the east side of the Grand Lodge where the 1.5 hour parking exists,” according to the document.

Velado said this plan includes specific guidelines for delivery services, and will carry through the ski season and perhaps be a permanent solution. Barnes asked if the managers for various vendor representatives had been contacted to make sure they are aware of the changes from previous methods and from the more lax oversight of off-season. Velado agreed to follow up with them.

John Gallowich

County Sheriff

As sheriff, do you view time in jail as strictly punishment for offenders or an opportunity to expose those offenders to social service opportunities that might be used in rehabilitation?

As sheriff, I will see that the detention center is operated in a professional and respectful manner, from our detention deputies to our inmates. Many of the inmates are there for a short term and some have not been convicted of a crime. The detention center is there to provide safe and humane housing for the inmates. For long-term inmates, I will work with mental health for those inmates that need their services. Educational programs will be considered; for example, inmates interested in obtaining their GED.

Final message to voters?

I am running for sheriff because I believe it is time for a change at the Sheriff’s Office. I want to bring my proven leadership to stabilize the department, while being fiscally responsible to the citizens of Gunnison County. I will be transparent in my decisions and reasons for spending your hard-earned dollars. I was born and raised in this county and have seen the changes that have occurred. We are no longer small towns with small town issues. We need someone as sheriff who has dealt with the larger issues that growth can bring. I want to bring to our communities my knowledge and extensive training from over 30 years in law enforcement. I will address the high turnover rate and the north valley issue that greatly affects our service to our citizens. The current administration states that high turnover is a win-win situation for the county, when in fact it is a lose-lose because the Sheriff’s Office will lose experience and it is costly to the taxpayers. On the north valley issue, our county is growing and now is not the time to replace eight well-trained officers and eight patrol vehicles, with four new deputies and one car, who will provide less service at three to four times the cost. We are talking $139,000 as opposed to spending in excess of $560,000. The proposed four-deputy plan will negatively affect the response time that is critical to the safety of our citizens.

I have run a positive, honest, truthful and transparent campaign. I want to take this opportunity to thank both newspapers that have endorsed me and the many citizens who have shown their support for my campaign.

Because I am vested in the community, I feel I have a responsibility to step up and make a difference for our citizens. I will be a sheriff for all of Gunnison County. I would be honored if you would vote for John Gallowich for sheriff.

Favorite holiday?

Christmas.

Best piece of advice you’ve taken to heart.

Never give up.

 

Mark Mykol

County Sheriff

As sheriff, do you view time in jail as strictly punishment for offenders or an opportunity to expose those offenders to social service opportunities that might be used in rehabilitation? 

The Gunnison County jail is classified as medium custody jail. It is used by multiple jurisdictions for offenders who have short state sentences, probation violators and those awaiting trial, sentencing or other court appearances and are waiting to post bond or are unable to meet the financial requirements for release. There are no dedicated education or rehabilitation programs. Punitive measures are ordered by the courts. At times, the courts may order an offender to perform “useful public service” through our alternative services program.

What we do have is a program called Jail Based Behavioral Health Services, which was launched by Sheriff McKee from Delta County and signed off by all seven sheriffs in the 7th Judicial District on August 9, 2011. This program, which is overseen by the Center for Mental Health, provides for a screening of certain offenders and provides for continuity of care once they are released. This is a rehabilitation and a redirect service for an offender that meets certain criteria. It is confidential and provides for a support system for those in need. Administrators meet monthly in regards to this program. There have been two occasions, during a screening process, that it was determined that there is a safety risk and a suicide attempt was diverted.

The culture in our Sheriff’s Office/Detention Center is the same as in our Valley: Respect, caring and compassion for our citizens is practiced daily.

Final message to the voters?

First of all, thank you. This campaign has reinforced what a great community we have. I have heard the concerns that our citizens have and I am addressing them now and will continue to. I have grown more than I have ever expected.

I want to thank you for the outpouring of support and to everyone who has stepped up and sacrificed on behalf of this campaign. I have been touched by citizens that I truly care about. All along this journey, I have built relationships that will last forever. People come to me because I am honestly devoted to our community.

Please know I have been working full-time serving our county during this campaign. I haven’t had the free time like my opponent and his campaign associates to knock on doors and visit everyone as much as I would have liked to. We have made great progress at the Sheriff’s Office. I have a great motivated team at the Sheriff’s Office and a great community to support me. I look forward to many years ahead, serving you and accomplishing great things.

I want to be your sheriff. Please vote for me.

Community. Commitment. Courage.

Favorite holiday?

Thanksgiving.

Best piece of advice you’ve taken to heart? 

“It is nice to be important… but it is more important to be nice.”

 

Roland Mason

District 3 county commissioner candidate

What is the county role in the Mt. Emmons situation and what is an ideal outcome?

The Mt. Emmons Mine situation is in a much different place now than it has been for decades. For the first time in 40 years we have a sense that the mine will not reopen. The work put in by the town of Crested Butte, the Red Lady Coalition, High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), and the county has been successful. However, the real turning point came several years ago with the acquisition of the mine by the Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMCO), under the parent company Freeport-McMoRan. I attended the public community open house on August 30 of this year. At that meeting, MEMCO unveiled its plan to upgrade the water treatment plant in an effort to keep water quality in good condition and make the operation run more efficiently. This is a step in the right direction, but I believe there is still a lot of work to do. The county must continue to work with the stakeholders to ensure environmental improvements at and around the site. The ideal outcome is the permanent removal of the mineral site as a potential resource at the federal level. This will give us all assurance that the mine will not reopen. As your future commissioner, I am dedicated to working toward this goal.

Final message to voters?

Thanks to everyone who has already voted for me and shown your support along the way! For those that are still on the fence, please give me a call at ((970) 922-9653 and let’s talk. When this paper comes out, the deadline to mail in your ballot will have already passed. Make sure you sign your ballot envelope and hand deliver it to one of the designated drop-off locations.

Favorite holiday?

Christmas. It is a time to give and receive. There is snow on the ground and the ski area is open. It is a time when the kids are out of school, and Melissa and I are taking a break from work (unless I’m plowing). It is a time to reflect on the previous year and prepare for the year to come. And of course holiday music and lights, presents, tree decorating, the list goes on!

Best piece of advice you’ve taken to heart?

“Just get out there. Be yourself and you will be fine.” —Phil Chamberland when I told him I was running for County Commissioner.

 

Bob Schutt

District 3 county commissioner candidate

What is the county’s role in the Mt. Emmons situation and what is an ideal outcome?

Mt. Emmons is not an appropriate location for new mining activity. The economic future of Crested Butte is in vacation tourism. The county’s role should be to work with all stakeholders in accepting Freeport’s offer not to mine the site. This means working with federal, state, and local officials. Freeport must ensure that water treatment of the acid mine drainage into Coal Creek will continue without interruption forever. This may require the construction of a new or upgraded water treatment plant at Freeport’s expense.

Final message to voters?

I bring business management experience and education to the Board of County Commissioners. I represent all citizens of Gunnison County being independent in my beliefs. I am not a rubber stamp. There are only three County Commissioners—not tremendous room for diversity of opinion. A modest balance exists presently. A vote for my opponent will upset that balance and leave many unrepresented. If you are unaffiliated and want representation, I’m your guy and vote for me!

Favorite holiday?

Any holiday that I am with my family! For me, it is usually the 4th of July or Christmas. I remain idealistic and patriotic. I still believe in duty, honor, and country and having served our country in war, the 4th of July will always be special to me. Christmas is still my favorite. It has religious and cultural traditions and it is a wonderful season. In Crested Butte, the mountains, snow, holiday atmosphere, and decorations make it special. I always enjoy family around the Christmas tree, the feeling of giving, holiday spirit, and the singing of Christmas Carols.

Best piece of advice you’ve taken to heart?

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. —Mark Twain

The State of the Valley according to the One Valley Prosperity Project—is better.

The OVPP held a rally of sorts on Wednesday, October 24 to extol the accomplishments of the project under a State of the Valley Report. The actual report contains lots of numbers and graphs providing information over four primary areas of focus, including affordable housing, community health, economic resiliency and sustainable tourism and recreation.

The report states that 40 action items in the strategic plan adopted two years ago have been completed, while another 82 are in progress.

Admittedly, I have held a cynical view of the OVPP since it emerged a few years ago. The kumbaya element doesn’t carry over for me in the big picture. When OVPP first began, the county seemed to suddenly be looming over everything with firm “answers” to problems that the north end of the valley had been dealing with for many years, including affordable housing and backcountry management. Crested Butte mayor Jim Schmidt isn’t wrong when he points out the friction caused by things like the Brush Creek process, the elimination of the county clerk’s office in the upper valley, the attempt to restructure the sheriff’s coverage—all despite objections from the north valley. He isn’t necessarily right to hold that grudge either, as his fellow councilmembers pointed out Monday night.

When I hear the term “One Valley” it can produce a cringe as it appears to me that some who are deeply involved want all decisions to be smooth and unanimous and based on their definition of “prosperity,” a word that means many different things to many different people in different parts of the valley. The concern is that there is a desire to be uniform for the sake of convenience. That is my personal hesitation to wholeheartedly embrace the OVPP.

BUT… As pointed out Wednesday, the plan on paper has accomplished some really good things and provided focus on important issues. So there has been value in this process and I will say that I have not been totally right in my skepticism. Putting a plan on paper and tracking progress, especially for government, can be beneficial and is working well for some of those focus areas.

For me, the best of the OVPP is less big-picture, philosophic in nature and more a way to implement a plan on what government can accomplish.

The work done in the social services area has been very productive. Statistics show that about 15 percent of the county population lives in poverty, which is defined as a family of four basically living on less than $25,000 per year. The poverty level has come down from almost 18 percent in 2013. The number of people on what used to be known as food stamps and those qualifying for free or reduced lunches on the school has also declined. The county is aware of the problem and is strengthening the safety net for the people who not everyone notices, and who are truly struggling to live here.

The STOR committee that deals with sustainable tourism and outdoor recreation is another productive outcome of the OVPP. The group gets together regularly to discuss how and how not to promote the things we love in the backcountry but then also deal with the ramifications of attracting people to our wild backyard.

Gunnison Forest District ranger Matt McCombs is a huge fan of STOR. “STOR is a pioneering effort,” he told the crowd Wednesday. “It provides the foundation to address the tough problems. It can be a working model for the rest of the country and shows that good governance is possible.”

To hear that enthusiasm and analysis softens my cynicism. Organizing that collaborative committee is an effort that in my mind reflects the best values of this community: People willing to roll up their sleeves and try things out of the norm to discover cooperative solutions to tough issues. It has been done here long before the official One Valley effort came out on paper. Things like the Gunnison Sage Grouse Working Group, the efforts to find a solution to a potential mine on Mt. Emmons, the collaboration for trail work at both ends of the valley, the push for backcountry protections going as far back as when the mountain bike community successfully helped advocate to designate the Oh Be Joyful area as wilderness in the early 1990s are all examples of what I would consider our unique problem-solving ethic in this community.

Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley executive director Pam Montgomery seconded McCombs’ enthusiasm. She said the county’s immigrant community is benefitting from efforts tied to the OVPP. Affordable housing consultant Willa Williford said similar collaboration was happening in the housing realm. Delaney Keating of the ICELab said economic development efforts were also shifting in the effort to get better paying jobs into the community. Most of the Crested Butte council members have made it clear they value the ease of communication with fellow government officials in the county and credit the OVPP with some of that ease.

The nuts-and-bolts work of the OVPP is harvesting results. Social services and the STOR committee are tangible examples of that. Keeping that separate from philosophical expectations that we are all “one valley” with the same thoughts about what it means to be prosperous and how to take action that brings in that “prosperity” makes acceptance of the plan easier.

There is positive benefit for all of us when the people in the broader community find common ground and work toward out-of-the-box solutions to problems people in other places can’t even discuss. Collaborative efforts didn’t start with this OVPP and not every good thing that happens here is a result of OVPP. But it is evident that the initiative is motivating some good people to do good things and that is both constructive and optimistic. So thank you.

—Mark Reaman

Water treatment and tailings work ahead

by Katherine Nettles

The Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMC) held an open house last week on August 30 at the Crested Butte Town Hall to present the public with detailed plans about the reclamation projects beginning at the former Keystone (lead, zinc and silver) Mine.

Staff from the mining company, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Colorado Department of Health and Public Health (CDPHE), and the United states Forest Service were there with maps and infographs that detailed the plans for the next two months of work in the area. The mine is located on County Road 12, three miles west of the town of Crested Butte.

MEMC manager Dave Gosen was there to answer questions as well. The company will begin remediation efforts to the mining site this month, having completed safety audits, a water quality study of Coal Creek, and an evaluation of the tailings area. The initial work to be done is on private property, treating the mine waste tailings areas that flow into Coal Creek.

The open house had a group of displays set up to present different aspects of the work MEMC has planned. “These [charts] describe how to reduce the metals running into Coal Creek,” said Tara Taffy of the BLM, who stood at one section of posters to answer questions. Other work to improve and repair the water treatment plant will take place this fall.

Jim Telle, communications representative for MEMC, said this was the first opportunity the mining company had to hold an open house since acquiring the site in 2014. He said discussions with Gunnison County and Crested Butte town officials had introduced the concept as a way to better inform residents of the reclamation efforts. “The presentation was welcomed, well received, and positive,” said Telle, who estimated about 50 attendees.

THURSDAY 30
• 6-7 a.m. Sunrise Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 7 a.m. Core Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7-7:45 a.m. Guided Meditation at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 8 a.m. Ecumenical Meditation at UCC.
• 8:30 a.m. Women’s book discussion group at UCC.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Level 2 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9 a.m. Historic Walking Tour at the Crested Butte Heritage Museum.
• 9-10:15 a.m. Vinyasa Level 1/2 at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 10:15-11:30 a.m. Ashtanga Vinyasa / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Yoga Basics Level 1 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 11 a.m. Weekly storytime at Townie Books. 349-7545.
• 11:30 a.m. Duplicate Bridge at UCC. 349-1008.
• noon All Saints in the Mountain Episcopal Church Community Healing Service at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church. 349-9371.
• noon-1:15 p.m. Vinyasa Level 1/2 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 12:30-1:15 p.m. Lunchtime Yoga with Leia in the Gunnison Arts Center Dance Studio.
• 3-5 p.m. Watercolor & Wine with the Art Studio of the Center for the Arts.
349-7044.
• 4-5 p.m. RockAsana at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage, a free thrift store. 300 Belleview, Unit 2, on the south end of 3rd Street. 970-318-6826.
• 4:30-6 p.m. Crested Butte Community Food Bank open at Oh Be Joyful Church. (1st & 3rd Thursday)
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Yin at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 5:45 p.m. Cardio Dance at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 6 p.m. Story Crawl: A Progressive Book Reading on Bikes with Matthew Taylor with the Literary Arts Department of the Center for the Arts, meet at Townie Books with your bike. 349-7487.
• 6:30 p.m. AA Open Meditation at UCC.
• 6:30-8 p.m. Restorative Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 7 p.m. Women Supporting Women Group Discussion at the Nordic Inn.
• 7:30 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous meets at 114 N. Wisconsin St. in Gunnison.
• 8:15-8:45 p.m. Free Meditation / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9-10:30 p.m. Evening Sadhana / CB Co-op at Town Hall.

FRIDAY 31
• 6-7:15 a.m. Hip Hop Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 6:30 a.m. All Levels Iyengar Yoga Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7:15-8 a.m. Aerial Conditioning with CB School of Dance in the Pump Room Dance Studio.
• 7:30 a.m. Adult Ballet Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7:30-8:30 a.m. Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 8 a.m. Alanon at UCC Parlour (in back). 349-6482.
• 8-8:45 a.m. Open Aerial Play with CB School of Dance at the Center for the Arts.
• 8:45 a.m. Core Power Yoga Class at the Pump Room.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Flexibly Challenged / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Prana Vinyasa Level 2/3 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 10:15-11:30 a.m. Hatha Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Iyengar at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• noon Closed AA at UCC.
• noon-1:15 p.m. Slow Flow at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 1 p.m. Art group meets at the Senior Center. 641-4529.
• 2-5 p.m. Paint Your Own Pottery in the Gunnison Arts Center Clay Studio.
• 2-5 p.m. Open Wheel Throwing in the Gunnison Arts Center Clay Studio.
• 5 p.m. Friday Night Tennis at the CB Town Courts. (thru mid-September)
• 5:30 p.m. Communion Service at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 6-7 p.m. Poi Playshop at the Pump Room.
• 6:30-7:45 p.m. Restorative at Yoga For The Peaceful.

SATURDAY 1
• 7:30 a.m. Open AA at UCC.
• 7:45 a.m. Weights and Indoor Biking Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8-9 a.m. Mindful Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 9-10:30 a.m. Community Yoga at the Sanctuary Yoga & Pilates Studio, Gunnison.
• 10-11 a.m. Hip Hop Community Dance Class at the Pump Room (above Fire House on 3rd & Maroon). 415-225-5300.
• 10:30 a.m. Storytime with Jen Hillebrandt at Townie Books.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Slow Flow at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage, a free thrift store. 300 Belleview, Unit 2, on the south end of 3rd Street. 970-318-6826.
• 1-5 p.m. The Art of Storytelling with Matthew Taylor (thru 9/2) with the Literary Arts Department of the Center for the Arts. 349-7487.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Slow Flow at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 6:30-7:30 p.m. Guided Sound Meditation at 405 4th Street.

SUNDAY 2
• 7-8 a.m. Meditation at Yoga for the Peaceful, by donation.
• 7-8:15 a.m. Prana Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 8:30 a.m. Mass at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 8:30 a.m. Oh Be Joyful Church Worship Service at the Center for the Arts outdoor field.
• 9 a.m. Worship Service at Union Congregational Church. 349-6405.
• 9-10:15 a.m. Slow Flow at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 9:30-11 a.m. Free Community Class / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 10 a.m. Oh Be Joyful Church Worship Service at the Center for the Arts outdoor field.
• 10-11:15 a.m. Vin-Yin at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Crested Butte Farmer’s Market on the 1st block of Elk Ave.
• 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• noon Narcotics Anonymous Meeting at UCC, 403 Maroon Ave. Closed meeting for addicts only. (1st & 3rd Sundays)
• 4-5:15 p.m. CBCYC Community Book Club at 405 4th Street.
• 5-6 p.m. All Saints in the Mountain Episcopal Eucharist at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church. 349-9371.
• 5-7 p.m. Pick-up Adult Basketball. HS Gym, CBCS.
• 6 p.m. AA meets at UCC.
• 6 p.m. Duplicate Bridge at UCC. 349-1008.
• 6 p.m. Evening Service at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 711 N. Main St., Gunnison.
• 6:30 p.m. Moth-Style Storytelling Showcase with the Literary Arts Department of the Center for the Arts at the Eldo. 349-7487.
• 6:30-7:45 p.m. Restorative Yoga at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 7 p.m. Gamblers Anonymous meets at the Last Resort.

MONDAY 3
Happy Labor Day! Please check listings due to the holdiay.
Gunnison Arts Center is closed for Labor Day.
• 6-7:15 a.m. Hip Hop Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 7 a.m. Adult Ballet Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7:30-8:30 a.m. Intro to Ashtanga at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 8:45 a.m. Mat Mix at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Prana Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Iyengar at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• noon Adult Children of Alcoholics open meeting at Union Congretional Church.
• noon-1 p.m. Gentle Yoga at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 12:45 p.m. Bridge at the Senior Center. 641-4529.
• 4 p.m. Hard Hat Tours at the Center for the Arts. 349-7487.
• 4-7:30 p.m. Tang Soo Do classes for children and adults with West Elk Martial Arts, Jerry’s Gym at Town Hall. 901-7417.
• 5:30 p.m. Communion Service at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Yin Yoga Nidra at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 5:30-7 p.m. Moms in Motion class at the GVH rehab gym.
• 6-7 p.m. Body Maintenance at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 6-7:15 p.m. Slow Flow at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 6:30 p.m. WellBeing Connection Workshop at the CB/Mt. CB Chamber of Commerce.
• 6:30-8 p.m. Women’s Domestic Violence Support Group at Project Hope. Childcare available upon request. 641-2712.
• 7:30 p.m. Open AA at UCC. 349-5711.
• 7:30 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous meets at 114 N. Wisconsin St. in Gunnison.

TUESDAY 4
• 6-7 a.m. Sunrise Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 7 a.m. Core Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7-7:45 a.m. Meditation at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 7:30 a.m. AA/Alanon Open at UCC. 349-5711.
• 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free Co-Working Tuesdays at the ICELab at WSCU.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Level 2 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Mindful Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9 a.m. Historic Walking Tour at the Crested Butte Heritage Museum.
• 10:15-11:30 a.m. Hatha Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Yoga Basics Level 1 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 11:30 a.m. League of Women Voters meeting at 210 W. Spencer in Gunnison.
• noon AA Closed at UCC.
• 1:30-3:30 p.m. Tech Tuesdays at the Crested Butte Library. 349-6535.
• 2-3:15 p.m. Restorative Yoga at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 4-5 p.m. Family Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage, a free thrift store. 300 Belleview, Unit 2, on the south end of 3rd Street. 970-318-6826.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Slow Flow at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 5:45 p.m. All Levels Iyengar Yoga at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 6-7 p.m. Piyo at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 6-8 p.m. Figure Drawing Sessions with live model in Downtown Crested Butte. 349-7228.
• 7 p.m. Alanon meeting at the Last Resort.
• 7-8:30 p.m. Blessing Way Circle support group at Sopris Women’s Clinic. 720-217-3843.
• 7:15-8:30 p.m. Prana Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.

WEDNESDAY 5
• 6:30 a.m. All Levels Iyengar Yoga Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7-8:15 a.m. Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 7:30 a.m. The Crested Butte / Mt. Crested Butte Rotary Club breakfast meeting in the Shavano Conference Room at the Elevation Hotel.
• 8 a.m. T’ai Chi for advanced participants in the northeast corner of Rainbow Park.
• 8-9 a.m. Back to Ballet in the Gunnison Arts Center Dance Studio.
• 8:30 a.m. Hike with HCCA. Sign up at hccacb.org.
• 8:45 a.m. Pilates at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Yoga Basics at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9 a.m. T’ai Chi for beginner participants in the northeast corner of Rainbow Park.
• 9-10:15 a.m. Prana Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 9:30-10:45 a.m. Kaiut Yoga at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Two Buttes Senior Citizens van transportation. Roundtrip to Gunnison. Weather permitting. Call first for schedule and availability. 275-4768.
• 10:30 a.m.-noon Prana Vinyasa Level 2/3 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• noon Closed AA at UCC.
• 12:15-12:45 p.m. Yoga Nidra Relaxtion at Yoga for the Peaceful. ($5 donation)
• 2-3:15 p.m. Forrest Yoga at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 3:30-5 p.m. ICELab tours at Western State College University with Patrick Rowley.
• 4-7:30 p.m. Tang Soo Do classes for children and adults with West Elk Martial Arts, Jerry’s Gym at Town Hall. 901-7417.
• 5-10 p.m. Game night at Tassinong Farms, CB South.
• 5:30 p.m. Mass at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 5:30 p.m. Prenatal Yoga class in Crested Butte South. 349-1209.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Restorative Yoga at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Vinyasa Level 2/3 at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. Healthy Cooking with Cannabis: Entrees with the Center for the Arts.
349-7487.
• 6:30 p.m. Alanon at UCC Parlour (in back), 4th and Maroon. 349-6482.
• 7-9 p.m. “GriefShare,” a grief recovery seminar and support group, meets at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 711 N. Main St., Gunnison. 970-349-7769.
• 7-9:30 p.m. Nicolò Spera Master Class with the Center for the Arts and the New Western Slope Chamber Music Series.

 

Events & Entertainment

THURSDAY 30
• 9 a.m. Coffee with the Community with Mark Reaman at the Crested Butte Library. 349-6535.
• 4:30-7 p.m. Open House with the Mt. Emmons Mining Company at the Crested Butte Town Hall.
• 6 p.m. World Cup of Wine Fundraiser: Wines of Italy, benefiting Crested Butte Friends of the Library at the Crested Butte Library. 349-6535.
• 7 p.m. Sam Heart plays at The Princess Wine Bar.
• 8 p.m. Amy Helm plays at the Center for the Arts.
• 8 p.m. Ladies’ Night at the Red Room.

FRIDAY 31
• 6 p.m. Evelyn Roper and Sean Turner’s Honky Tonk Happy Hour at the Talk of the Town.
• 7 p.m. Aaron Kelly plays at The Princess Wine Bar.
• 7:30 p.m. Crested Butte Mountain Theatre presents Farce of Nature.
• 8:30-11:30 p.m. Rachel VanSlyke plays at Blackstock Bistro.

SATURDAY 1
People’s Fair on Elk Avenue on Saturday and Sunday.
• 8:30 a.m. The 6th annual Gunnison High KIDS Tri, ADULT High Tri at 10:30 a.m. Meet at the Recreation Center Gym. 970-640-0435.
• noon-2 p.m. Scout’s Music on the Lawn: Billy Jeter at Scout’s General Store.
• 1-4 p.m. Rachel VanSlyke plays at
Butte 66.
• 4-6 p.m. CB Unplugged: Brent Cowles plays at Butte 66.
• 7 p.m. Rachel VanSlyke and Floyd Bauler play at The Princess Wine Bar.
• 7:30 p.m. Crested Butte Mountain Theatre presents Farce of Nature.
• 8 p.m. The Mighty Pines play at the Public House.

SUNDAY 2
• noon-6 p.m. Live music on the patio at Public House.
• 2 p.m. Crested Butte Mountain Theatre presents Farce of Nature.
• 2:30 p.m. Oh Be Dogful Rescue’s Strut Your Mutt Dog Show at 3rd and Elk Ave. 349-5047.
• 3 p.m. Live music on the deck at the Eldo.
• 3-6 p.m. Rachel VanSlyke plays at the Public House.
• 7 p.m. Paradise Divide plays at The Princess Wine Bar.
• 8 p.m. MarchFourth plays at the Center for the Arts.

MONDAY 3
Happy Labor Day! Gunnison Arts Center and the Crested Butte Library are closed for the holiday.

TUESDAY 4
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. Zach Bauer Opening Reception at the Piper Gallery of the Center for the Arts. 349-7044.
• 7 p.m. Casey Falter plays at The Princess Wine Bar.

WEDNESDAY 5
• 9 a.m. Socrates Café at the Crested Butte Library. 349-6535.
• 7 p.m. Nichole Reycraft & Renee Wright play at The Princess Wine Bar.
• 8 p.m. Larry Keel Experience plays at the Center for the Arts.
• 8 p.m. Ladies’ Night at The Talk of the Town.
• 8-11 p.m. Crested Butte Table Tennis Association league kickoff Round Robin Social at Pitas in Paradise.

 

Kid’s Calendar

THURSDAY 30
• 9:30 a.m. Munchkin’s Music & Dance Class in the High Altitude Dance Academy in Gunnison.
• 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Art Babies & Toddler Art (ages 0-4) at The Trailhead. 349-7160.

FRIDAY 31
• 11 a.m. Big Kids Storytime (ages 3-7) at the Crested Butte Library. 349-6535.
• 1:30 p.m. Little Minds (ages 3-7) at the Crested Butte Library. 349-6535.
• 4-5 p.m. Tang Soo Do Martial Arts classes for youth with West Elk Martial Arts, Town Hall Fitness Room. 901-7417.

MONDAY 3
• 3:45-5 p.m. Messy Mondays at the Crested Butte Library. (ages 5-12, kids 8 and under must be accompanied by an adult)
• 4-5 p.m. Kids Yoga (ages 8 & under) at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 4-7:30 p.m. Tang Soo Do classes for children and adults with West Elk Martial Arts, Jerry’s Gym at Town Hall. 901-7417.
• 4:45 p.m. Tang Soo Do classes for juniors at Town Hall. 901-7417.

TUESDAY 4
• 4-5:30 p.m. Family Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall. (runs thru Sept. 21)

WEDNESDAY 5
• 9:30 a.m. Munchkin’s Music and Dance Class in the Fitness Room at Town Hall. 349-9639.
• 11 a.m. Baby & Toddler Literacy Time at the Crested Butte Library.
• 4-7:30 p.m. Tang Soo Do classes for children and adults with West Elk Martial Arts, Jerry’s Gym at Town Hall. 901-7417.
• 4-5 p.m. Kids Yoga (ages 8+) at Yoga for the Peaceful in CB South.
• 4:15-5:15 p.m. Kids Yoga (ages 8 and under) at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 4:45 p.m. Tang Soo Do classes for juniors at Town Hall. 901-7417.