CB council starts discussion on how to help owner/operators

By Mark Reaman

To what extent should town government help local small businesses keep things affordable for the greater population? What, if anything, can the town do to support owner-operators being able to run businesses in the North Valley? 

Those were the topics of discussion for the Crested Butte town council at a work session on Monday, November 20. Council wondered if it could somehow subsidize property values to then somehow deed (or lease) restrict prices from small businesses. An example could be town offering cheap rent for a restaurant if it agrees to keep menu items below a certain average price point.

The initial discussion on the topic is a part of the greater comprehensive planning effort that will result in a strategic plan for Crested Butte. Other elements of the plan being discussed include transportation and mobility planning, historic preservation planning, a major update to the town’s design standards and guidelines, along with updates to the town building and zoning codes. It’s all part of the Community Compass initiative and Monday’s discussion centered around the goal of enabling people who live and work here to thrive. 

Crested Butte community development director Troy Russ led the work session and reminded the council that data indicated 2012 was the last time that people making the average income in the town could afford a free market house in CB.

“Mountain communities are really understanding they need to address cost of living impacts to remain a viable community,” he said. He pointed out that previous action on business activity has been taken through the town’s horizontal zoning that restricts certain uses on the first floors of Elk Avenue businesses; strict commercial zoning that prohibits bars and other uses along Belleview Avenue; restrictions against franchises except in limited parts of town; and the town employing a local business preference in its competitive bidding process.

“The town has been active but needs to be more active going forward,” suggested Russ. He presented five ideas “for discussion purposes only” to take the temperature of the council. The ideas included: allowing density bonuses to, for example, allow free market residential units on top of a commercial building to help subsidize the costs of business on the lower floors; expanding access to local capital by partnering with local banks to help with loan or grant opportunities; similar to the GoodDeed program that helps with housing, having the town financially assist in real estate transactions with the expectation the property will be deed restricted to lower the cost of the land in the operation of future businesses; developing town property to use as incubator opportunities for local businesses; and having the town acquire and develop property specifically for the development of deed-restricted commercial opportunities to attract small and local businesses.

Russ said the most efficient idea was probably for the town to develop its own property, but staff had not yet determined how that would work. “Is there a need in town for such a direction,” he asked council. “And what should town be trying to target? Restaurants? Retails? The trades?”

Councilmembers were certainly open to the discussion. Mayor Ian Billick said the dramatic increase in land values in mountain resorts was probably accelerated during COVID and the issue is a growing one in communities like Crested Butte. 

“Thinking about the residential segment in such places, it is easier to understand what is happening with housing given the higher prices and things like short-term rentals replacing long-term rentals. In the commercial sector, what is leaving and what is replacing it,” asked councilmember Jason MacMillan.

“An example would be The Last Steep,” responded Russ. “That was a small, family-owned and run restaurant and now Kyleena (Falzone) and Jeff (Hermanson) have it. They have more efficiencies so can lower costs through things like using accounting in all their restaurants. The Steep is not a bad loss with what was gained but it is an incremental change in who is there.”

“We are seeing more of that type of transition,” agreed Billick. “I think one thing that is unique to Crested Butte is the number of owner/operators like Marchitelli at the Noodle, Kyleena with her restaurants, Dewey Overholser who is doing some things like the Coffee Lab and A Bar Above.” 

“Hometown growth is important,” said Russ.

Responding to a question from councilmember Mallika Magner, Russ said the current restrictions on the lots and buildings in town could be changed to allow things like more density and larger, taller buildings. He said he was not advocating for such changes but said the council could look at providing such incentives to see if they make sense in reducing cost of living impacts on prices for the general population. “The entire purpose of the infill study is to examine those questions with the community,” he said.

“If we go down that path, the first question we have to ask and answer is ‘what problem are we trying to solve?’,” said Billick.

Councilmember Anna Fenerty suggested the town somehow encourage and perhaps subsidize ways to support local students moving toward the trade industry through things like electrical apprenticeships. “That to me seems a good investment,” she said.

“That is a great example of what could be done,” agreed Russ. “But so much with cost of living comes down to the cost of land in the valley. For example, an electrician who has been here a while and owns his building and is getting close to retirement probably wants to sell that property. It’s the cashing out dilemma which is legitimate. Should the town try to work with him to help him keep his wealth while then keeping an electrician in town by helping a young tradesman afford that property?”

“I support keeping a strong trade community here but geography questions matter. While we want restaurants on Elk Avenue it might be more affordable to subsidize an electrician’s building in Riverland where it costs half the price and maybe provides two spaces,” said Billick. “Does it need to be in town? I’m not sure how to think about that.”

“Housing is still the primary issue for me,” said Fenerty. “But we have to view it all. We have all these flowers we’ve been enjoying but we need to look at the roots and make things more stable.”

“My big thing is encouraging the owner/operators,” said councilmember Gabi Prochaska. “I agree the trades don’t necessarily have to be located right in town. But we need them up here. We need people to have the capacity to own and operate a business here. How we help small businesses stay owned by owner/operators is important.”

“A diversified economy is very important,” said MacMillan. “Having owner/operators is really important and I agree we can think regionally. Training and developing a new generation of tradespeople is important.”

“I appreciate the range of options,” said Magner. “It is an important discussion and drilling down will help with community.”

“If the town has opportunity to purchase land, that is probably the most important thing,” concluded Billick. “I would want the town to try things. Utilize some of these new tools on a small scale and see what works. Start small and get the innovation cycle going. I think we should try new things in this area.”

As part of the discussion, Russ said the upcoming Crested Butte Infill Study will provide a market analysis of various retail and trade industry service areas and identify where the town and north valley have deficits.

Full demolition, redesign and public outreach in the cards

By Kendra Walker

During their September 19 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council selected Bywater Development/SHM Architects to complete the unfinished community housing development in the Homestead Subdivision and plans to move forward with demolition of the current incomplete buildings. The council agreed that outreach to previous and potential Homestead contract owners is a crucial step and should take place as soon as possible while the contract details are finalized between Bywater Development and the town.  

Homestead underwent an unsuccessful construction attempt starting in 2020 by Lance Windel of Homestead Housing LLC. According to a staff memo to the council, “Due to construction practices, the Homestead development process resulted in a settlement agreement, in which the Town took ownership of the Homestead property on June 30, 2023.”

The memo shared that “construction ceased with three buildings being constructed with slab foundations, three buildings framed and two buildings not yet started. Bringing the Homestead project to successful completion is a high priority for the Town.”

Based on engineering and geotechnical assessments and evaluations conducted earlier this year, town staff recommends that all existing structures and foundations be demolished. 

“In the settlement agreement we acknowledge that we might have to take everything out,” town manager Carlos Velado told the council. “Going in, it was pretty well demonstrated that the framing had to go. We had both a structural engineer and geotechnical engineer do assessments and they found that three of the foundations were salvageable. But the amount of work to be put into them to get them up to snuff might be a wash in the costs.”

The town sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) in July for qualified builders/developers to complete the project. The RFP evaluation team, comprised of town staff, councilmember Steve Morris, Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority executive director Andy Kadlec and housing consultant Willa Williford, recommended the council consider Bywater/SMH for the completion of the Homestead project. 

In the application, the Bywater team said they preferred to start construction from scratch, requested financial contributions from the town to complete demolitions and site preparation, recognized the need for public outreach and involvement on the front end of the project, and proposed a redesign for more efficient, durable and affordable buildings. Town staff said they support those recommendations. 

Velado noted that Bywater has a very strong local track record with community housing projects, having previously worked on the Paradise Park project in Crested Butte. “Building here is unlike building in other places, there are challenges with our terrain, weather, and environment,” said Velado. “Joel (Wisian, of Bywater) has some roots in the community and has demonstrated the ability to do projects on time and on budget.”

Regarding a full demolition and redesign, Wisian added, “I think we end up with a better project, a better home for Mt. Crested Butte folks to live in. We get a better product there at the end of the day.” 

“I’m very comfortable with the idea of scratching it and starting all over again,” said councilmember Janet Farmer.

Town staff also noted that Bywater Development is based out of Ardmore, Oklahoma, the same location as former Homestead developer Windel. When asked to elaborate on any past business relationship with Windel, Wisian responded that while Windel has bought lots from him, he has never been a building partner with Windel and they have never worked together. Velado confirmed that everyone on the RFP evaluation team felt comfortable and confident with Wisian’s answer.

Town staff recommended that the demolition of the current building infrastructure, site preparation and utility work occur all at the same time. “The benefit of doing it together is we save time and costs not just by taking the buildings out but also doing site prep for new buildings,” said Velado. “My preference is to get that done before the winter, so the clock is ticking.”

As the town and Bywater develop a contract in the coming weeks, they plan to begin the demolition process, move forward with public outreach and meet with previous contract holders to gather input that will help inform the redesign. 

“Our very first step is having a design meeting with everyone that was previously contracted,” said Wisian. “We want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. There’s a window of opportunity where some vetting can occur, and we can find ways to achieve everybody’s concerns and goals. At the end of the day, we all understand that demolition is the path forward, but let’s do a design collaboratively, help us design your house.”

Councilmember Roman Kolodziej also suggested that before the redesign occurs, they also talk with homeowners in Paradise Park for input on anything that could have been done differently. “Once you’re in a place for a while you understand it better,” he said. “What should we have done differently, what should we have asked differently to make better decisions,” he said, referencing the town’s relationship with the previous developer. 

“I think outreach to potential homeowners is a really crucial part of this,” said mayor Nicholas Kempin. 

“Bywater has to be a partner,” concluded Wisian. “We’ve got to right the errors of the past. We’re excited to make lemonade out of lemons.”

Aside from the goal to demo the buildings on site before this coming winter, no additional timelines were discussed.

by Dawne Belloise

Jeremy Johndrow figured out his life’s calling when he started guiding, which led him to start his jeep touring business, JJ’s Jeeps. He recalls his struggles after college to find his path in the world. He even tried moving to the city a couple of times and wound up in Denver doing construction for half a year and then Nashville where he only lasted three months before realizing, “I’m not a city person. I’m a mountain guy. I learned enough about the real world that I didn’t want any part of it.” So he moved to Crested Butte and started doing what his passion dictated with the hope of spreading the passion of the outdoors to others. And he is doing it through his business of providing jeep tours to people who might not otherwise truly experience the real Colorado outdoors. That, he hopes, will make those people passionate about the environment and the specialness of the backcountry.

This year’s touring season is still ongoing, he tells, and fall is one of his busiest seasons. This summer saw large numbers of tourists in town and Jeremy says, “People wanted to see wildflowers and we teamed up with the Wildflower Festival this year for tours. It was their first time offering jeep tours since 2017 and it was wildly popular. We sold out all the tour events.” He also teamed up with geologist Dr. Amy Ellwein to offer geology tours and says, “People loved it, and it was quite popular.”

And best of all, Jeremy feels he’s not only getting paid to do what he loves but, “There’s no better way to inspire someone to protect nature than to take them out in it to experience the splendor first-hand.” Jeremy considers himself a steward of the land and an environmentalist. “I care deeply about the health of nature, but it is also critical that we preserve our precious public lands, because that is why people visit the Gunnison valley and our economy depends on people doing so. Many would consider it hypocritical since I drive around a 4×4, burning fossil fuels all day in the mountains. While I certainly won’t look you in the eye and tell you it’s good for the environment, it’s not as bad as one would think and definitely has the least amount of negative impact of all the motorized activities one can do in the mountains. Street-legal vehicles have stricter emissions standards than OHVs, plus my Jeeps are virtually silent and travel much slower down the trails than dirt bikes or ATVs, causing less erosion. While I do my best to reduce JJ’s Jeeps’ impact on the environment, the most important thing we do is act as a platform for educating people. My clients learn about a variety of issues, both local and global.”

Jeremy grew up in Lebanon, New Hampshire on a beautiful, small horse farm with his mom. It’s where his love for nature and the outdoors blossomed, “We had 25 acres and apple orchards that backed up to a nature preserve with trails, so I grew up tromping around the woods. It was an enormous backyard for a kid,” but trails and bikes connected him with neighborhood friends. “That’s how I got into mountain biking.”

He started skiing when he was three years old on small, local slopes. “There was a poma lift to the three runs and it was about two miles from my house,” he says of the town-owned area that had snowmaking and night skiing. “It was affordable at $3 for night skiing and $6 for the entire day. I still ski and it’s literally why I moved to CB.”

In high school, Jeremy was very active in sports. “I was a nerdy jock,” he confesses. “I played football, Nordic ski raced, and did track and field in the spring.” He graduated in 2004 and was determined to move west and be a ski bum, having been inspired by a Warren Miller film in his youth. 

He looked into various liberal arts colleges in small towns, and discovered Western Colorado University (WCU) as a competitive Nordic skier. “I literally Googled it in 2002 and by the time I made it out here I was more into riding chairlifts and drinking beer than I was Nordic racing,” he laughs. Jeremy decided to take a gap year first and was hired as a liftie at Alta ski resort in Utah. It was his first time living and skiing out west and that year dumped 700 inches of glorious white snow.

Traveling back home to New Hampshire that spring, he came through Gunnison, which didn’t impress him much with its low sage covered hills. “But then I drove to Crested Butte and was absolutely awestruck. I thought, if this is 40 minutes down the road from Gunnison, I can go to WCU.” He arrived at the WCU dorms in August of 2005. The wilderness-based orientation, a 5-day backpacking trip before school started, took him up Cement Creek and Hunter Hill. “It was an awesome experience, and I met a great bunch of friends right off the bat who I’m still friends with to this day. I immediately fell in love with this valley. I felt this is the place.” Jeremy double majored in business and outdoor recreation with an emphasis in ski resort management and a minor in environmental science and graduated in 2010. 

 Throughout college, Jeremy worked at the popular Gunnison restaurant, The Trough, a job set up for him by a New Hampshire friend who had also attended WCU. He tells that there weren’t a lot of ski area management jobs available when he graduated because of the 2008 recession, so he went into property management and, eventually, construction. In 2013, he started his own handyman business called JJ’s Property Maintenance and Construction. For six winters starting in 2011, he also led snowmobile tours up Kebler Pass. ”I realized I was actually a good guide,” he says.

Jeremy had been introduced to four-wheeling in college, exploring all the vast public lands with his friends. “I bought my first jeep in June 2006, right after my freshman year. It was a great way to get out and explore and find out where all these roads go.” After chatting with the U.S. Forest Service he determined that local jeep guiding would be a good business. At the end of 2019, Jeremy did an incubator program with ICE LAB at WCU (a boot camp for entrepreneurs starting up new businesses), attended first aid and CPR classes and applied for his guiding permit in February of 2020. “There’s a lot to the application and quite a bit of paperwork involved. It’s not easy.”

And then COVID hit one month later. The Forest Service reached out to ask if he wanted to push the application until next year. “But I wanted to get started as soon as possible.” Jeremy got a temporary permit, which is required for the first few years before you can apply for the 10-year priority permit. “I wanted to get that going ASAP and figured COVID would only last through the summer. Well, that wasn’t the case… Even though CB was busy by the following Memorial Day and the public lands were busy because it’s what people could do at distance, not a lot of people wanted to ride in a jeep,” he recalls. He did take about two dozen people out that first season. While he didn’t make any money, Jeremy felt it was good practice to figure out his routes and timing. The business has grown consistently since then. By 2022, he reached the cap of permitted people at 200. This spring, he was granted the 10-year priority permit. Jeremy currently employs three guides.

In the fall, when the leaf peepers come to town to view the spectacular golden display, Jeremy’s business booms. “It’s a beautiful time to visit CB because it’s less crowded and the weather is really nice. I take people where the foliage is best and cater the tours to each client’s request. Some have certain sites they want to see, some want to get extreme and some don’t,” he says. However, he emphasizes, “I avoid Kebler during foliage season because anyone can go there in a car. I will escape the crowds and go to places that cars can’t go for the beautiful foliage. The places to go for the best foliage change every day with the climate due to elevation. Up high, the leaves are going  to change first and that determines when the leaves are peaking.”

Jeremy loves the sense of community he finds in Crested Butte and the access to the outdoors. “I get to share my passion for this valley. I love history, I love geology and I love jeeps. I’ve been a gearhead since I was a little kid and I’m a good mechanic. I’ve been wrenching on cars since I could drive them and when you’re driving mountain roads things can definitely break.” 

Jeremy’s tours are an opportunity for him to educate people on a variety of issues that are important to him, from climate change to beetle kill to the importance of the sage grouse, wolf reintroduction and even the local housing issues.

“When my clients see the mountains up close and personal, they fall in love with them and it’s easier to get them to care about the environment. Older, or less physically-able people can’t hike, bike or climb mountains and it’s a great way for them to get out and experience the backcountry again and see the beautiful sights of nature. The majority of my clients are older people who have the time and want to get out and do things, but their bodies aren’t what they were. I’m doing what I love and where I love and you’re showing people these sights and they’re just awestruck. It’s a nice reminder of how lucky we are to live in this beautiful place.”

For more info, visit his website at jjsjeeps.com 

Struggling to find meaningful action…

By Mark Reaman

In a largely symbolic gesture, the Crested Butte town council passed a resolution declaring an official “local distaster emergency” regarding grocery services and restaurant or dining options at its Monday, August 21 meeting. According to the staff report to council, the declaration basically gives the town manager emergency powers to “take immediate steps to alleviate the current food services challenges facing the town.”

While being clear that any changes allowed under the emergency declaration will not modify any life, health and safety regulations, the resolution basically suspends portions of the town code requiring public hearings and town processes that could delay action in coping with the emergency. The town manager now has the authority to make certain decisions that would speed up the approval process for food service outlets as long as the applications are consistent with the requirements of the municipal code in Crested Butte. 

It was noted that grocery services and restaurants are the “economic anchor” for Crested Butte, accounting for more than 40% of town tax revenues. The staff report stated that before the pandemic, the town had a restaurant vacancy rate of just 5%. The restaurant vacancies have increased to more than 18% and the hours of operation of many open restaurants have decreased since the pandemic. Added to that is the closing of Clark’s Market, the main grocery store in town, for a four-month renovation project.

It was also noted that the number of independently owned properties with operating restaurants has reduced significantly since the pandemic. “The restricting of the market and increasing costs of commercial real estate limit the opportunity for affordable independently owned businesses, a cornerstone characteristic of Crested Butte,” the staff report points out. The idea of deed restricting some commercial property to keep them affordable to independent owner-operators was brought up and could be discussed further in the future.

While a similar emergency was declared for the local housing crisis, there are far fewer initiatives included in the emergency declaration for restaurants. Council previously approved funds that could be used to help restaurant owners obtain professional and technical help with restaurant-oriented issues, but so far only two businesses have expressed interest in the money. 

“We were struggling to find meaningful actions the town could take for this,” town manager Dara MacDonald told the council Monday.

“The capacity of local architects and engineers with the technical expertise for restaurants is an issue,” said community development director Troy Russ. 

“Who would this resolution and action help?” asked councilmember Anna Fenerty.

Mayor Ian Billick indicated it represents the symbolism of recognizing an important issue.

“There are no applications pending,” said Russ.

“These were the few things we could come up with under the current situation,” said town attorney Karl Hanlon, referencing four potential actions including removing the limit on and placement of food trucks and carts allowed in CB.

The resolution came about after the owner of Miette, a lunch offshoot of Soupçon, asked council for help earlier this month to continue to be allowed to serve lunch outside. He had started the practice this summer, but his outside service was shut down for not having the proper permits after a neighbor apparently complained. When asked if Miette’s situation might have been helped under the new resolution, Russ said it could have possibly had a small impact if the owner had submitted a completed application for his outdoor lunch business.

“Is there any risk with approving this?” asked councilmember Gabi Prochaska.

“Aside from false expectations,” responded Billick.

“That’s true,” said Russ.

“The loss of small owner-operators is not a good thing for town,” said Billick. “Finding ways to help them might be something to start thinking about for the long term.”

“I am cautious in doing a gesture-based resolution after hearing tonight that it won’t do much” said councilmember Anna Fenerty. But she moved to approve the resolution taking out a section that would have lifted limits on the number of food trucks and food carts in town.

Citizen Karl Zachar questioned the wisdom of passing the emergency declaration.

“It takes away the potential public comment from neighbors,” he said. “Not having the ability to voice an opinion for a gesture? What are we doing? It is a negative to take away the public’s voice and give it to staff. That’s not why we elected you guys.”

“To your point, we felt frustrated we couldn’t help a local business,” said councilmember Mallika Magner. “Had we had this, it could have helped. So hopefully it is not just symbolic. It could come back again. No one comes to public hearings for liquor licenses.”

“It is not purely symbolic. It could have helped a business that was thriving,” added Prochaska.

The council voted unanimously to approve the emergency declaration.

Council asked town staff to return to the council to consider ending the declaration once the restaurant vacancy rate declines to 2020 levels at about 5%.

Sale prices coming, employees get paid, no major replacement assistance

By Mark Reaman

People are bracing for the four-month closure of Crested Butte’s largest grocery store as Clark’s Market begins a major renovation on August 18 that will last until December. It will be harder to run in and get that gallon of milk or pound of hamburger without planning in advance. Clark’s customers will begin to notice signs of the preparation to close this week.

“Effective immediately, we will not restock items that are typically slow movers and/or not regular grocery staples for everyday customers,” explained Clark’s marketing director Samantha Johnston. “This includes things like spices, specialty baking ingredients, kitchenware and many other items that we keep in the store but aren’t fast moving products. We will be restocking fresh items such as produce, meat, dairy, eggs, etc. as normal through Friday, August 11.”

Beginning August 11, Clark’s will intentionally reduce all inventory through storewide priced reductions. Everything in the store (excluding alcohol and the pharmacy next door) will be reduced as follows: August 11 and 12 = 25% off, August 13, 14 and 15 = 50% off and August 16 and 17 = 75% off. Johnston said the goal is to sell out of everything possible in the Crested Butte location.

Clark’s began remodeling all of its existing stores in 2014 starting with the Snowmass grocery. There currently are nine other Clark’s locations and a tenth opening up in Denver. Johnston said the Crested Butte store is the only remaining Clark’s location in need of a remodel. Understanding the impact of a closure on a small mountain town, Clark’s hopes the renovation project goes smoothly and fast. 

“We’re just very thankful for the support we’ve received from the community of Crested Butte in response to this remodel. We know that closing a grocery store in a mountain town is very disruptive,” she said. “We explored every option to keep the store open on a limited basis while remodeling, but the power infrastructure is so old that our contractors said it was necessary to close in order to redo everything properly. We’ll do everything in our power to keep the remodel on schedule and to reopen as quickly as we can.”

The pharmacy will not close during the renovation. 

Johnston said it was important to Clark’s to find a way to support power to the pharmacy during the remodel so that customers who rely on the store for prescriptions retain easy access to their medications.

Helping out in crunch time

In the meantime, Johnston said the company has “had conversations with Mountain Earth to see if there are things that we can do to support them with increased sales volume during our closure. Grocers in Gunnison have also been made aware of the closure.”

Mountain Earth Organic Grocers in Crested Butte is a full-fledged grocery store but a lot smaller than Clark’s. Co-owners Paula Sieve and Steph White said they will do what they can to help alleviate the crunch that will come with a Clark’s closing in mid-August, but there is only so much they can do.

“I imagine we’ll see more people here when Clark’s closes,” said Sieve. “We will do our best to be here for the people. We don’t want people having to drive to Gunnison for every little thing, like to buy a loaf of bread. Right now, we get three big deliveries a week and we will likely take that to four. But at our store what you see is what you get. We don’t have a big storage space in the back to keep stocking the shelves.”

Mountain Earth has added another line of organic products with a more affordable price point, and they added more shelving to create space for more items within the store. Sieve said Clark’s representatives did reach out to basically offer moral support. Mountain Earth said they would be happy to hire any of the Clark’s employees during the closure, but they have seen no takers. That might be in part because Clark’s will be offering reduced wages to their employees.

“It is always a pinch point when our high school and college workers leave to go back to school and that will happen about the same time Clark’s closes so we will really be pinched,” predicted Sieve. “Staffing is an issue for us like it is for everyone, but we will max out our space as best we can.”

Josephine Kellett of Frank’s Deli located next to Clark’s Market said as a result of the temporary closing she plans to produce more lunch sandwiches to pick up the slack from closing the Clark’s Deli. “We plan on increasing the quantity of our grab-and-go offerings during that time,” she said.

The town of Crested Butte is allowing an informational banner to be hung on the construction site, and it was noted at a recent town council meeting that the free RTA buses make it easier for people to travel to Gunnison to shop for groceries there. The Mountain Express is exploring the idea of providing a regular ride to Gunnison to grocery shop for local senior citizens.

Staging for the construction is expected to take place in the parking lot but details are still being worked out on logistics.

Employee care

As for local Clark’s employees, efforts are being made to help them out through the four-month closure. Clark’s has 13 full-time employees, 26 part-time workers and five seasonal J-1 Visa employees. Johnston said a few employees will continue working full-time at the Crested Butte store during the remodel assisting with day-to-day tasks associated with the construction. 

“All full-time employees were offered an opportunity to schedule hours in another Clark’s Market store in the company and we will provide housing and travel benefits,” she added. “We realize that many employees may not choose this option if they are unable to leave their families, etc. but it is available to all. All full-time employees will be paid 60% of their regular wages regardless of whether they work. We know that some employees will take this as an opportunity to travel or spend additional time with family and friends; others have indicated that they will pick up additional full- or part-time work to supplement their income and take advantage of an opportunity to make financial headway. For any employee paid at 60% who volunteers at least 40% of their normally scheduled work hours to a local nonprofit, we will pay them at 100% of their wages.”

End product expectations

When the remodel is completed, Johnston said the new store will be significantly nicer. “The Crested Butte Clark’s Market will enjoy the same rich, warm and vibrant interior décor and feel of the other Clark’s Markets. Exceptional lighting is a fun component of all the Clark’s Markets with custom lighting by department to highlight products throughout the store,” she said by email last week. “Customers will notice local imagery on aisle signage and throughout other areas of the store. With the exception of the self-checkout lanes, everything in the CB store will be new. We are ripping everything out to the dirt inside and refinishing from the floor up.”

A major change in how the store flows will also be apparent to customers, she said. Currently, produce is on the left-hand side of the store, which is not the traditional flow of a grocery store – produce is most always on the right allowing people to start with fresh vegetables, add meat and seafood, shop the center of the store and end with cold dairy items in the cart just before checkout.

“The size of the fresh produce department will nearly double in size and the deli and meat and seafood departments will have expanded capabilities to produce more in-house prepared meals for grab-and-go, etc.,” Johnston said. “Things that will be new for customers will include signatures of our other Clark’s Market stores (stone-fired pizza, fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies, pre-sliced and packaged vegetables and fruits, fresh doughnuts and expanded bakery items).”

“We are open to ways in which we can continue to support the community and are actively watching our Facebook, Instagram (my phone number and email is also appearing online, on our website and in our newspaper ads) for ideas or suggestions that we may not have thought about,” concluded Johnston.

“Relative to our peers, we’re doing great”

By Kendra Walker

At their June 26 meeting, the Gunnison Watershed School District (GWSD) board reviewed data comparing teacher salaries and cost of living against other Colorado school districts. With the district feeling the same hiring pinch that many businesses in the Gunnison Valley have experienced over the past few years, the school board was interested to see how it fares regarding staff recruitment and retention compared to similar districts.

Board treasurer Dave Taylor shared data from Douglas Bissonette, the superintendent of Elizabeth School District, who tracks teacher pay and cost of living across the state. The data compares 178 Colorado school districts, and Taylor noted that the most recent data is for 2021/2022. He also said this is the data the district uses during salary negotiations with the Gunnison County Education Association.

For average teacher salary, GWSD ranks 44th at $52,853. For starting salary, GWSD ranks 51st at $39,265. These rankings do not capture the 9% raise teachers received last year or this upcoming school year’s 9-15% raise to base salaries. “I feel really good that we’re going to move up this chain,” said Taylor, based on the recent salary raises.

For cost of living, GWSD ranks 29th against the other 178 districts. 

“That is interesting that we fell,” said superintendent Dr. Leslie Nichols. “For a while we were in the top 10 (most expensive).”

“A lot of Front Range districts moved up,” Taylor explained. “Other places got more expensive.”

When comparing cost of living versus average teacher salary, GWSD ranks 60th. In other words, “our average salary is $7,226 below our cost of living,” said Taylor. “There are only 18 school districts in Colorado that pay a wage above what the cost of living is.”

He noted how even some districts with a higher average salary than Gunnison Watershed are less affordable. “Aspen is less affordable to live and work in than Gunnison, even with the average salary of $65,000 versus our $52,000.”

Taylor highlighted that the district fares well for teacher turnover, ranking 135th with a 14% turnover. “That is a good thing!” he said.

Taylor pointed out that peer districts have a higher turnover, including Telluride (23%), Roaring Fork (19%), Aspen (17%) and Eagle (16%).

“Relative to our peers, we’re doing great. Our increased cost of living doesn’t really manifest itself into a high turnover rate in Gunnison schools.”

The board is also working with housing specialist Willa Williford on a community housing plan to determine potential ways the school district can help with producing more housing for staff recruitment and retention. Many of GWSD’s peer districts have employee housing initiatives in place, including the Telluride, Aspen, Roaring Fork and Eagle school districts. 

“Those districts that do have employee housing have higher turnover,” said Taylor. “They may need it more than we do.”

“This represents history, this low turnover,” said board president Tyler Martineau. With a large share of employees at or approaching retirement age, the district estimates 30-40 retirements in the next five years, which could result in the need to hire 70-80 new employees through 2028. “As many of our teachers are approaching retirement, the new people can’t afford to buy,” he said. “In five to 10 years down the road, suddenly it won’t be that small of a number if we don’t address the housing.” 

“The need was there before anyone did anything about it. I’m sure the need is still greater than the inventory and that would affect the turnover rate as well,” said board member Anne Brookhart. “I’d be curious to see how’s it’s changed.”

“We’re solidly in the upper half of every single metric we look at,” Taylor summarized. “Yes, it is getting harder to recruit…but it’s harder to recruit in 118 districts than in Gunnison.”

Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, especially in the slow season. And what might be little to some can be huge to others. Little things keep the rhythm of life going and set up the big picture to fully blossom…

If you don’t bike or want to hike in high desert dirt, the opening of Hartman Rocks last Monday might not matter much. It is a small thing. But for those of us who appreciate the kingdom that is Hartman’s in the spring, the opening is a big deal. The parking areas will no doubt fill quickly as people from around the valley swarm to one of the best spring and fall playgrounds on the Western Slope. Unlike the trails in Fruita, or increasingly Salida, Hartman’s is one of those places where the parking lots can be full but riders hitting the trails can see hardly anyone. It is vast, it is beautiful and it is a true valley treasure. Thanks to the BLM and Gunnison Trails and everyone else who oversees an important spot in our communal soul.

You can literally see the snow melting this week. While the additional late winter/early spring storms replenished the snowpack, the recent warm days and not quite-cold nights are taking the snowpack down pretty quickly. Walking the dog in the morning, it was just a couple weeks ago when I couldn’t see over the plowed piles. This week, the sage brush is poking up and bare ground is emerging. The river is rising and the deer, the birds, the geese, and the heron are finding their spring rhythms. While a lingering but melting snowpack might be a small thing for the wildlife, it is a huge thing for the two-legged mammals who need to be mentally finished with winter. It might also turn into a big thing as we approach June and peak high water fills or overfills the local creeks and rivers. That is something to be aware of, but we can worry about that later.

During one of several housing discussions at the Crested Butte town council meeting on Monday night, the mention to the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority of the need for a focus on “livability” in its long-term strategic plan seemed a little thing. It’s not. To me, that guidance is huge because it means those in the decision seat understand that affordable workforce housing means more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It means more than cramming another bed in a 250-square-foot apartment to get another federal dollar and attempting to fill every job listed in the classifieds. It means addressing the issue with deliberate effort to build a neighborhood, build a community where people come to live and experience life and not just pocket a paycheck. It means focusing on the humanity and not just the numbers and that can be a good reflection of us as a community for years into the future.

The council also heard a quick staff analysis that town will continue to be restaurant deficient this summer in CB. That is a big thing no matter how it is sliced. New wealthy owners of restaurant properties are working to fix up and bring the spaces up to code while improving the offerings. That is good. But they aren’t there yet despite wishing they were. And that will make it no less frustrating for anyone visiting or living here who wants to have a fun culinary experience on Elk Avenue this summer. As was the case this winter when too often the downtown business core felt like an embarrassing ghost town, the offerings available will be lean but good. Hopefully the stalled-out CB restaurant scene blossoms soon or we would have to wonder why people would bother to come back…

While a lot of the Elk Avenue restaurants aren’t opening anytime soon, word from Katie Macarelli of Natural Grocers is that they’ll be opening a store in Gunnison this fall. She emailed this week that while not able to make any guarantees, the hope is that it will open in early autumn. 

There was little discussion at the Monday council meeting about the Crested Butte Fire Protection District’s county building permit application for its new safety campus, and that was big. That silence was hopefully hugely indicative that the town and fire district were heading in the right direction with their talks to get the fire district hooked up to at least sewer service operated by the town. The proposed safety campus will contain a big fire station and search-and-rescue building right next to the Slate River in front of the CB Cemetery. To the untrained eye, it looks extremely close to wetlands. The idea of basically having a septic system in that spot is antithetical to the community values of the North Valley. No one needs to be worrying about poop leaking into the Slate River when there is a wastewater treatment plant literally a stone’s throw away from the site. The two entities haven’t always walked down the aisle hand-in-hand, but this one seems a no-brainer so the fact there was no major discussion Monday indicates a huge step is hopefully being taken together toward common sense.

It now actually feels like spring is supposed to. The days are warm, the evenings pleasant. Snow is melting and for me, two wheels are replacing the two boards with skins. Little things matter during these slow days and this week there was evidence that there are plenty of small things keeping the rhythm going.

—Mark Reaman

4,393 bags of popcorn sold and counting

[  By Kendra Walker  ]

Movie magic is back in Crested Butte, and over the last several months since reopening, the Majestic Theatre has been buzzing with film screenings, moviegoers and community events. 

“It’s a rollercoaster every day,” says Carrie Wallace, co-founder and executive director of Friends of the Majestic. “People are really stoked and the thing I hear most often is, ‘We’re so happy you’re back open!’ The next thing I hear most is, ‘We haven’t been to a movie in three years!’ It’s fun to see people coming back out to the movies.”

Wallace, along with fellow Majestic employees Conrad Kaul and Whitney Favor, spearheaded the Save the Majestic campaign to help reopen the theater after it was closed in March 2020 due to COVID and then officially closed for good in September 2020. Over the next two years, they established the Friends of the Majestic non-profit and sought to raise $300,000 to help get the theater going again. In August 2022, the team signed a lease and in less than two months got everything ready to open back up and running in September.

And according to Wallace, operations are going great. Since opening in the fall, the Majestic has shown 29 new Hollywood movies and has six part-time staff, along with her and Kaul as directors. The most attended movie so far has been Avatar: The Way of Water, followed by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Puss in Boots, Top Gun: Maverick and Ticket to Paradise. 

Wallace says that so far crowds have followed the tourist season, with a big uptick in numbers around Christmas and New Year’s. “The holidays were nutso for us, but that was also combined with Avatar coming out,” she says. “But even during the slower weeks, we’ll have some rentals where a ton of people come out.” In general, Wallace says that Sundays are pretty busy and some of the biggest days are the “hangover days,” including the day after Halloween and New Year’s Day. 

As part of reopening, the Majestic now offers event rentals and Wallace says they have booked more than 100 rentals so far, including 27 events for local organizations. “We’ve had some great community events,” says Wallace. “We’re really happy to be an affordable rental option for folks and it’s been fun to watch the rental theater catching on. People are starting to realize the array of what can happen here.” 

Event collaborations have included the Crested Butte Film Festival, Crested Butte Avalanche Center for their Fireside Chats, HCCA’s Backcountry Film Festival, CB State of Mind, Melanin Mountain Project, Trailhead Children’s Museum, Irwin Mini Film Fest, the Valley Housing Fund, Townie Books, and a fundraiser for Club Q after the devastating shooting in Colorado Springs. 

The Majestic has also hosted dozens of free events for the public, such as Nick Cage November and James Earl Jones January. “I see us as the home for the movie nerds and the pop culture nerds,” says Wallace. 

Wallace notes that you don’t have to be a part of an organization to rent out the space. The Majestic has already hosted 32 birthday parties, and the theatre has access to “all the streaming accounts” and a growing DVD and VHS collection. “The VHS tapes don’t look good, but it’s nostalgic,” laughs Wallace. “And we hear from a lot of folks that they missed the movie while it was in the theatre. But they can still watch it here.” She explains that before COVID, movies took six months from the theater run to go to streaming channels, but now a lot of things go to streaming at six weeks. That is also why the Majestic is changing the movies a lot quicker. “But if you still really want to see Black Panther on the big screen, when it comes out on Disney+ you can rent out the theater and watch it here,” says Wallace.

The Majestic has also worked with the Crested Butte Community School for film screenings, including showing Dead Poet’s Society to the senior English class. “We’re showing The Hobbit to the middle schoolers next week because they just finished reading the book,” says Wallace. 

Since reopening, Wallace says they’ve also upped their concessions game having acquired a liquor license. “The liquor license was a big thing. We now have three beers on tap, four wines, all sorts of liquor, five signature cocktails and an ever-changing specialty cocktail,” she says. The Majestic has also expanded its concessions offerings to include pickles, cookies, jerky, new candy, kombuchas, CBD drinks and sparkling waters. Wallace says the next big project is to get a pizza warmer so they can sell pizza slices. “I would love to get a dishwasher this year to be able to get more reusable products as well.”

Wallace says they have also increased their tech capacities with a new sound board, video switcher and wireless microphones. “The wireless mics are great for Q&As and presentations, and the video switcher allows us to have multiple things plugged into it and we can go seamlessly between things. It’s easier to do slide shows or switch from a movie to a slide show at intermission. We’ve really upped our game.” The theater also has a new mural by Sarah Beabout, and they’ve added games and an old TV playing VHS movies in the lobby.

Looking ahead, Wallace is excited for what’s to come at the Majestic. “There are some big movies coming out this year and we want to keep the fun events coming.” Some events in the pipeline include the Sweaty Kids film fest on February 9, Dark Side of Oz with KBUT on February 16, an Oscar Viewing Party on March 12 and Karaoke Nights. “Now that we have our staff and the first few months under our belt, we’re excited to start applying for grants and figure out how we want to reinvest in the theater,” says Wallace. “I’m excited to start looking ahead.”

More regulations to come?

[  By Katherine Nettles  ]

Gunnison County commissioners and their staff have kicked off the new year just as they did last year with a review of the county’s climate actions and goals. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have decreased across the county by 6% since 2015, and without further action they will likely decrease at least another 30% in the next decade due to an energy grid that is getting cleaner and more efficient. But Gunnison County has a higher average rate of emissions per square foot of built environment than other communities in the same climate zone, so there’s work to be done. Commissioners will consider further actions, including new regulations, this year as they prepare to update their building codes for the first time since 2017.

During a work session on January 17, commissioners received a presentation from John Cattles, assistant county manager for sustainability and operations, to get a baseline on current local climate-related trends and potential next steps toward the county’s strategic goal of cutting 2015 GHG levels by 50% by 2030. 

Progress

Cattles noted that from 2015 to 2020 there was a 6% decrease in emissions across the county, mostly related to increased renewable electricity generation. Gunnison County produced 273,165 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015 and 256,697 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020. 

“As a share of total emissions, we are seeing natural gas as a larger proportion of emissions,” said Cattles, because electricity is getting cleaner. “And natural gas cannot really do that, so it will continue to represent the larger portion of GHGs.”

Two years ago, the county rejoined ICLEI, an international group of governments that promote climate action and provide a framework and tools to streamline the emissions inventory process. Cattles said ICLEI’s guidance and advice mirror the county’s climate action plan quite well. “It’s important to understand that we’re on the right track,” he said.

Cattles also said that according to ICLEI, “If we don’t change anything and we just kind of go with what’s already in place,” emissions would decrease by about 37% by 2030, primarily because of utility provider commitments to decarbonize the grid. “That’s significant,” he acknowledged. “But if we want to get to 50%, which is what the International Panel on Climate Change would say we need to do…then we need to do more.” 

This would include an increase in the percentages of electric vehicles on the road, and a 5% decrease in overall vehicle use. 

Incremental steps to reduction

 Cattles and other county staff reviewed many ways of further reducing GHG emissions, with six major sectors identified for reduction: residential buildings, commercial buildings, fossil-fueled vehicle use reduction, electric vehicle use increase, electric utilities and waste to landfill. They focused mostly on the sectors of residential buildings, transportation and utilities.

“Buildings are the largest source of our emissions,” said Cattles, accounting for 61% of all GHGs in the county, with residential buildings representing 57% of that and commercial buildings representing 43%.

“It’s hugely important and it’s actually an area where we have regulatory authority,” he noted. Compared to other communities in the same climate zone, Gunnison County would need to reduce the emissions in this sector by 20% just to meet the average. “We are far above the average in BTUs per square foot,” said Cattles. “Our building sector is not very efficient.”

Commissioners and staff discussed what they as a board want to see in the future, as the county is scheduled to adopt the 2021 International Building Code this year, according to the county’s six-year cycle for code updates. The county’s current 2015 International Building Code was adopted in 2017. 

Cattles reviewed that the county has first chosen to lead by example by addressing government-owned buildings, and could now pivot to more regulatory measures since that work is done. 

The steps to take in the commercial and residential sector include improving building envelopes, mechanical/electrical systems and increasing renewable energy production or use. 

Cattles said he didn’t think a ban on natural gas would work well for the community, but for smaller units it makes fiscal sense to go electric anyway and all local governments are required by the state of Colorado to adopt the 2021 energy code in the next few years.

Cathie Pagano, assistant county manager for community and economic development, said her department has also considered adopting the latest international building codes every three years.

Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels asked about the costs to comply with updated building and energy codes, and staff agreed to come back with some numbers. “Savings outweigh those costs by a large margin,” said Cattles.

Commissioner Liz Smith said that savings opportunity doesn’t always translate well to homeowners, as they may simply pass energy costs on to renters. And county manager Matthew Birnie noted that in many cases, it takes a few years to realize those savings and Americans often sell their homes after a few years making more costly improvements less appealing. He noted that the Gunnison Valley has better longevity with homeowners, however.

“Most of our rental stock was built a long time ago and is not efficient,” said Birnie. “And many people pay almost as much in energy as they do in rent in the winter.”

Cattles said improving those low efficiency homes is trending in the right direction. “The GV Heat program is making a difference in dozens of homes each year, improving efficiency by large margins, sometimes 30%,” he said. The program applies to renters as well as owners.

The discussion turned to brainstorming possible add-ons for the upcoming code updates. There could also be limits to high emissions amenities, or requirements that at a certain level such homes must generate a portion of their own energy.

“The higher dollar homes, even if they have adopted these codes…they often have more energy consuming amenities,” said Pagano. Examples were heated driveways and walkways, additional refrigerators or other appliances. 

Cattles concurred that former second homeowner practices of turning the heat off in their cabins when no one was visiting have mostly been abandoned and owners just leave things running while vacant. He suggested limiting the use of heated sidewalks and driveways could be a starting point. 

Houck added that building in remote locations in the county could be considered. “Running a mile worth of electric to a building versus running photovoltaic or geothermal makes a difference.”

Other ideas were requiring blower door tests; post-commissioning inspections in which contractors come in after a building is finished to assess how well things are working; and creating an energy consumption allotment and charging fees beyond that allotment. 

Cattles suggested they figure out the median home size in the county, and create a fee structure for exceeding the size or energy consumption of that median. 

Smith said she wasn’t comfortable allowing higher-end homeowners to simply buy their way out of emissions reduction. 

“That would be a mechanism that is very similar to what is done in Pitkin County. Pitkin County has reported the net benefit is that they are offsetting more than they allow. Frankly they have very good reporting, and they have a research-based culture,” said Cattles.

Smith also talked about Summit County’s practice of making pre-approved architectural plans available to residents to help minimize costs to locals who are building and allow for built-in energy efficiencies.

The discussion wrapped up with a few key questions. Pagano asked commissioners to consider if they are interested in going above the 2021 code, so she can get direction on how to approach it with the planning commission. She also asked them to consider whether they would want to create an impact program, in which fees might go toward GV Heat.

“I think there’s some ways we can achieve your policy objectives, and try to thread the needle here. We’d have to be very thoughtful about that. It takes a lot of time to develop this,” said Cattles. 

Pagano said it would also be useful to ask how they can make the regulatory process easier, more predictable and more affordable to reduce those costs for the average resident and worker.

Puckett Daniels agreed with streamlining regulations, “So that we’re not disproportionately punitive to folks who are building smaller, more affordable homes…there are still a portion of those folks in our valley.” She also wanted to make sure costs and benefits could be communicated to the public. “I think we need to have really clear example models to show people at every cost level,” she said. 

Regarding utility and transportation aspects of GHG reductions, the discussions focused on less tangible immediate plans.

Cattles explained that as a regulated utility, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Inc., which supplies Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) has to produce plans to how it will develop energy resources over a long period of time and be held accountable to those plans. GCEA supplies about two-thirds of all electricity in the county, he said, while the City of Gunnison provides the remaining third within city limits and is not regulated and therefore harder to account for. 

Regarding the goals to reduce vehicle traffic, Pagano and Cattles discussed the impact of creating more workforce near jobs to improve quality of life and lower emissions. 

Birnie commented that the highways are more congested even as RTA ridership has hit an all-time high. “The buses are full, the highways are full. We need housing,” he said.

Cattles and Pagano said they will come back with more information to work with commissioners toward possible recommendations based on this preliminary conversation. 

“As much as we’ve covered, we’ve barely scratched the surface,” concluded Cattles. 

[  By Dawne Belloise  ]

Born in Y2K to parents Krista and PJ Hildebrandt, Robbie Hildebrandt was raised with the rest of the CB millennial kids. If you’ve been on the mountain anytime in the past 35 years, you’ve most likely run into his parents since that’s how long PJ has been fitting skis and Krista has been on ski patrol. Robbie tells of the November day before he was born—his mom was going up to do lift evac training, but they wouldn’t let her because she was too pregnant and couldn’t fit into the harness. “She was all emotional about it and then went into labor,” he tells. Adding to the adventure of having a baby in winter at the end of the road, “They were stopped on the way to the hospital by a cattle drive in a blizzard. And that’s about the most Crested Butte birth I’ve heard yet,” he laughs.

Despite that exciting birth, Robbie says he had a pretty relaxed childhood compared to the outside world. “It was awesome. My parents didn’t worry too much about where I was because I was in a one square mile area. It was all an adventure and really helped me experience the world – going out hiking whenever I wanted, exploring the backcountry. It gave me an appreciation and understanding of the nature that surrounds us, giving me more of the eco-friendly view of life, an environmentalist view.” 

His graduating class from CBCS in 2019 had around 60 kids and Robbie says that he was a bit more on the outside of the social scene. “I was a little more of an introvert and did things on my own a lot, trying to figure myself out. The other side of growing up in a small town was trying to figure out what I wanted to be.” 

He also felt that there weren’t a lot of activities for his friends and him to do together for the most part that didn’t involve the outdoors, and thought it was challenging trying to figure out something extracurricular. Robbie felt that if you weren’t an uber athlete, you didn’t fit the CB mold. “We have a lot to do in nature but there’s not a lot for kids to do if you’re not into sports. I was into sports growing up, but I like to call myself the social athlete. I do like to ski, bike and hike but not at the uber level, I’m just there to kick back and have a good time,” he explains. “I found other things to fill my time with.”

Robbie’s niche was music and he and some friends put together a band called Limeade in their senior year with Robbie on drums and his percussion of choice, the cajon. “We were just a jam band playing music like Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead. We were total hippies, hanging out in my friend’s garage after school. We’d just jam for hours. It was Max Faust, Pierce McLaughin, Hunter Wright and Linda Horn and sometimes her sister Essie too. We threw parties at the garage.”

Robbie attended Western Colorado University (WCU) for a year to study mechanical engineering and was part of the inaugural class of the CU Boulder partnership program but when COVID hit and classes went online, Robbie didn’t feel he could focus. “Online classes weren’t my thing, so I decided that college was not my speed.” At the same time, he observed that essential workers were a necessity and were able to make a living here. He already knew he wanted to stay in the valley and came to the conclusion he needed to learn a trade that he would enjoy and one that would also pay the bills. Starting out with roofing, Robbie then jumped into high end carpentry with Crested Butte Builders. 

As most youth feel, Robbie started thinking he needed to experience life outside of the valley, so he moved in with friends in Colorado Springs. It didn’t work out so well and after someone rear-ended and totaled his truck, he thought home looked pretty good. “I felt relieved to be back in a familiar place, but I still didn’t feel like I had what I wanted or needed, so I was still searching. I took a road trip up to Seattle to check out a diving program for underwater welding.” 

Seattle was a bit too aggressive for Robbie and he didn’t like its vibe. “The people seemed angry and the city was dark, the weather was dark, everything seemed dark as compared to sunny CB.” During this time, he went to see his maternal grandpa in Minnesota, who passed away four days after Robbie arrived. His grandfather’s passing led Robbie to realize how much home meant to him and that revelation was the impetus for him to return. “I realized how beautiful the place I live in is, even though it’s so small there’s so much opportunity, especially at this point in time.”

He’s now working at Timberline Mechanical, having started out as an apprentice for boiler work and moving into head boiler tech when the position opened up. “I’m taking the natural gas coming into the house and basically making it blow up to make it heat the floors or baseboards,” he grins. “I love what I’m doing. I’m getting the education I was looking for and I’m learning hydronics and thermodynamics.“  

Robbie is currently living in CB South with his support pooch, Callie, a white shepherd he adopted from Gunnison Underdog. “She’s been living a happy life here with me. She’s a CB dog. Pretty much the only way I was able to find an affordable place in the valley that would allow a dog was through my parents, who own the Alpengardener property,” he says of his upstairs apartment. “I know that I’m one of the more fortunate kids to grow up in this valley to have parents who were able to plant their roots enough to have a place for me to live. This is invaluable.” 

Robbie notes that over the years, he’s watched the valley change for both the better and the worse. “The cost of living is hard. The ability to hold a labor body of workers in the valley seems impossible these days with the cost of living and the affordability and availability of housing.” But he certainly feels this is his home, and loves how Crested Butte and the valley is still so accessible to the outdoors. “I go dirt biking on the back roads. Dad made sure I was a dirt biker growing up and I got my first dirt bike at four years old. Mom said a dirt bike is a great way to learn clutch. Right now, I can walk out my back door to go do anything I want whether it’s biking, hiking or skiing, and nature’s my escape.”