Housing, aversion to change, and keeping it real highlight the conversation

By Toni Todd

The One Valley Prosperity Project, which began in 2015, was the Gunnison Valley’s year-and-a-half-long conversation with itself. Those discussions lead to a list of priorities locals believe are crucial for the community to thrive. The OVPP was nudged awake this past Thursday night with a pep rally of sorts at the ICElab at Western State Colorado University (WSCU).

County commissioner Jonathan Houck addressed the gathering of some 50 attendees with a recap of OVPP’s history. He noted skepticism on the part of many during the original discussion process, saying, “People said, ‘Great. Another plan that we’re going to put on a shelf.’”

Thursday’s meeting was, in part, designed to refute that, to share what’s been accomplished so far and to re-open discussion in order to continue moving forward. “We’re finding ways to figure out what we can do together,” Houck said. “Look where we’re sitting. The ICELab, an incubator for entrepreneurship.”

Houck ran down a list of accomplishments that he said have come directly from the OVPP plan. Countywide housing and health assessments have been completed. Additionally, he said, there are more mental health services; Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Program’s Sources of Strength program; a housing project proposed for Highway 135 and Brush Creek; the City of Gunnison’s recent grant award to improve the vitality of downtown; the birth of a new commercial area in Crested Butte South; the completion of a baseline trails report; and more.

“It’s a big group of people accomplishing these things,” Houck said. “We [Gunnison County] just re-did our strategic plan. Sixteen out of 20 things identified during the OVPP process are in that plan. We’re making choices about our future. In a time of doom and gloom, we’re swimming against that tide.”

Houck also touted the Civility Initiative. “We’re able to talk about things that are hard,” he said, suggesting not all communities can say that in these times of polarization and division.

Clark Anderson, executive director of Community Builders, facilitated the gathering. He said the OVPP process made clear some key characteristics of the community. “You guys are very closely connected… this is one of the most amazing places in the world, and yet, there are some real challenges here.” He listed the four priorities that came out of the OVPP discussions:

—Affordable housing

—Community health and equity

—Economic resiliency

—Sustainable tourism and recreation

Clark announced the OVPP Indicators Project, an online dashboard that will provide data on key indicators, where anyone can track the community’s progress.

Two panels took the stage—the first focused on housing and community health, and the second on economic resiliency and sustainable tourism.

The first panel included former county commissioner and former interim Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) director Paula Swenson; current GVRHA director Jennifer Kermode; Maryo Gard-Ewell from the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley; Margaret Walker from Gunnison County Public Health; and Jessica Vogan from the Center for Mental Health.

The panel agreed that the issue facing the community with the most impact is lack of housing. “We need to find new boxes to start thinking outside of,” said Kermode. “The free market is not working.” The housing assessment, initiated by former GVRHA director Karl Fulmer, identified a need of roughly 900 housing units in the Gunnison Valley by 2020.

“The Housing Authority alone cannot fix the housing crisis,” Swenson added. She said the average price of a home in Gunnison is $400,000. “But the average wage can only afford $250,000. The farther north you go, the higher it gets. Currently, we are able to subsidize eight to 12 units per year.” This, Swenson said, won’t cut it.

“We need 300 homes [right now] just to catch up,” added Kermode,” and 600 more to keep up to what we’ll need by 2020.”

“At $200,000 per unit, you’re looking at $80 million to build the housing that’s needed by 2020,” said Swenson.

George Sibley, who attended the meeting, suggested priorities are out of whack when it comes to housing. “We want density, but we don’t,” he said. “We have a lawn problem, not a housing problem.” Sibley said he recently converted his garage into a rental unit, and would like to do the same for his upstairs. “But that would make it a triplex, and that’s illegal.”

Kermode suggested it’s time to take a close look at zoning regulations. Swenson added that setback requirements in the towns and in the county should be evaluated, too.

“Is neighborhood opposition ever a factor?” asked Community Builders’ Anderson.

“Never.” joked Swenson.

The Housing Authority, said Kermode, will likely go to the voters this fall with a request to increase either lodging or property taxes to help pay for community housing needs.

Poverty and mental health were also acknowledged as persistent struggles.

“However,” said Walker, “we have a lot of great collaborative efforts going on.”

“There’s a human tendency to let the experts handle it,” added Gard-Ewell. “If we remain siloed, we can’t address these problems.”

Walker said a Community Health Coalition has been formed to bring providers of health care together to address issues more holistically. She noted the addition of Gunnipacks for youth over the summer. Gunnipacks provide meals for kids over the weekend during the school year, with food supplied by the Gunnison Food Pantry.

Vogan said the County Health Assessment identified behavioral health as a pressing need. She addressed the recent suicides that have wracked the community. “We needed to react to this tragedy,” she said. “We now have a community organizer for suicide prevention.”

Gard-Ewell noted individuals who play important support roles in our community, helping some of our most vulnerable residents. Many locals are unaware, she said, that these jobs are not salaried, county positions. She suggested that if we value what these people do for our community, we should pay them a regular salary.

“What does this say? One—we are saying, ‘Let these people take care of our people. Two, these people are writing grants for their own salaries,” said Gard-Ewell, who then suggested an attitude adjustment, a shift in focus from a mindset of charity to one that recognizes potential return on investment. We should put our money where we say our values lie, she said. Those who serve in such crucial support roles, said Gard-Ewell, should be valued for the return on investment they generate.

The panel agreed that the single greatest factor influencing all four areas of the OVPP’s emphasis is housing.

“I can’t help somebody be less depressed if they don’t have a house to live in,” said Vogan.

The second panel included Erica Mueller from Crested Butte Mountain Resort; WSCU’s Julie Feier; commissioner Houck; Gunnison city manager Russ Forrest; executive director of the Tourism Association John Norton; and Sue Wallace, director of the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival and creator of the Mountain Manners.

“We’re loving this place to death,” said Wallace. “It’s impact. How do we embrace our tourism economy and better manage impacts?”

“I’m making Sue’s life miserable,” said Norton. “The TA’s mission is to promote tourism.” This month, he said, we’re on the cover of 5280 and Denver Life magazines. “Can we keep it up? Can we not screw things up?”

Norton said the TA has put significant effort into promoting mountain biking, a sport that offers what he called a “sustainable advantage.” Expert skiing also gives us a sustainable advantage, he said. “The first thing we did when we started to promote mountain biking, we spent $100,000 on signs,” said Norton.

The TA has also created electronic maps to make it easier for people to know where they are, and when they’re at risk of entering private property or areas closed off due to ranching activity. “We’ve had 35,000 downloads of our maps,” Norton said. “We also started TrailQuest,” he said, an effort to spread people out. TrailQuest challenges riders to ride all the trails, not just the most popular. “We’re also funding Sue and CBMBA’s [Crested Butte Mountain Biking Association’s] Conservation Corp.”

We should look at the mountain as a resource,” added CBMR’s Mueller. “We’re designated as a high-density use area by the Forest Service. Let’s use it.”

Skier visits, Mueller said, were up 5.6 percent this winter over last year. Mueller flashed back to 2011. “That was about as low as we could go,” she said. “We’re up 40 percent since then.” CBMR’s goal, she said, is 450,000 to 500,000 skier visits per year. “We realize we’re looking at operations and infrastructure improvements to support that.” Mueller said the recent push to grow the Denver market has paid off; this year, she said, Denver outpaced Dallas.

Forrest said improvements in broadband capacity were one response to the challenge we face in closing the gap between cost of living and income, making it possible for more people to live here who work at higher paying jobs they can do online. “We’ve also formed a downtown leadership committee to create a vision for Main Street [Gunnison].”

“Back to George’s comment about lawns versus density,” said Feier. “It’s hard to get away from wanting more. And that means we’re going to have to accept change.”

“How do we deal with the tension of changing?” asked Anderson.

“Public servants take the most heat,” Feier said. “I think they work their hearts out… But to say it doesn’t matter whether we have a vibrant downtown is false.” From the perspective of WSCU, she said, “We need to either grow or double tuition. There are definitely people who are throwing down roadblocks and we need to reach out to them in a way to turn that around.”

Forrest said it’s important to frame the need for change in the context of values. People, he said, are afraid they’ll lose what we value about this place and this community. “We asked, ‘What’s the impact of maintaining the status quo?’ If we do nothing, the cost of living is going to continue to go up.”

“Life is harder here,” added Mueller. “We have to all do it together.”

“Mountain Manners has recruited 31 volunteers, who will approach guests in a friendly way. We’ll get the word out as advocates,” Wallace said. “We’ll have volunteers on the trails. Nobody reads anymore. We have to be willing to have that conversation with people.”

“We struggle in this community with implementation,” said Houck, “because implementation means change. And change is hard for people.” It’s tough, he said, to keep people actively engaged. “When people do step up, they get beaten down by the process. If we really want to get people involved, we have to stop fighting and look at what we want to improve.”

“I hear, ‘We don’t want to be Aspen or Vail,’” said Anderson. “What do you mean? Do you mean we don’t want to be built up like that, or do you mean you want a community where real people can live?”

“If we stay connected to the land,” responded Houck, “we stay real. The ranchers are the original conservationists. But a biker or a snowmobiler can love this place as much as a rancher. Other communities have said, ‘We’ve got to look like this so people will come.’” The Gunnison Valley, by contrast, he said, looks how it looks and remains a viable, livable community because we’ve made a conscious effort to maintain that connection.

“It’s important that we not only stay connected to the land, but we connect our visitors to the land,” added Mueller.

Sibley countered that sentiment with what he sees as the new reality. “You can be connected to the land if you have a tiny house on a lot, and you can be connected to the land if you have an 8,000-square-foot house you live in less than half the year,” said Sibley. “I see this valley tending to go toward the 8,000-square-foot house.”

He shared a recent experience trying to get a plumber to work on a small bathroom project. Sibley said he called several, only to learn they were busy working up-valley. “They like working on 8,000-square-foot houses as opposed to my bathroom expansion,” he said.

What’s next? “The Community Builders’ Task Force will be meeting in two weeks or so to discuss next steps and actions,” said Gunnison County community and economic development director Cathie Pagano. That task force is made of up representatives from a variety of entities and organizations throughout the county, such as municipal and county elected officials, Gunnison Valley Health, Western, GVRHA, Gunnison Health and Human Services, the TA, and more.

The Mountain Theatre’s executive director Harry Woods made an interesting point at the Crested Butte Town Council meeting last Monday. He asked the council members to think about how the money they would collect from the local non-profits in rent increases would impact the town compared to how letting those non-profits keep that rent money would impact the organizations.

The town is rightfully in the process of updating the leases it has with its non-residential tenants. That has always been a bone of contention and is never an easy conversation. It seems obvious there were cases in the past when the town felt manipulated, taken advantage of and just plain squeezed by some of its tenants. The fact that the majority of leases weren’t even signed and they varied all over the place between various groups makes the effort legitimate. It’s not just the government being a pain in the butt.

But there are consequences. The rent requirement seems to have been the littlest of straws that pushed the county clerk to close the Crested Butte Department of Motor Vehicles office that has been open once or twice a week in town hall since 1999. I’ve used both the CB and the Gunnison office but having it up here is a convenience for people living in the north end of the valley. Most people, I think, see government as government and not specific jurisdictions or individual departments. So as a taxpayer, I appreciate the government having a convenient place for me to do my government business. It makes sense for me that the town provide a space for the county. Should $1,600 a year be a deciding factor to shutter that space? Probably not, but does the town need $1,600 to keep it open? Probably not. The two sides might chat and see if there is a real issue between them. We are one valley after all!

The same logic applies even more so when it comes to the county health department and a place to provide vaccinations and flu shots and especially for the Crested Butte Library. The library is not something to screw with and if charging them $8,000 a year makes them think twice about having that spot up here, there is risk in making that change.

Which goes to the Woods’ point. As a government entity, the town of Crested Butte is pretty flush. Through diligence and hard work, there are literally millions of dollars in reserves. Strong sales tax is what has padded those accounts and I will agree with the consistent advice of town finance director Lois Rozman who for decades has warned every new council that the economy will not always continue on a constant rosy upward trajectory. And it has taken downturns. There is great value in having those reserves in case of an economic or natural disaster.

But Harry is insinuating that charging the Mountain Theatre $5,000 in rent is a rounding error for the town and puts the squeeze on groups like the theatre. There are so many local non-profit groups in this valley that do so much good work and provide a lot of the character of this community. The town itself does as well. But if the town can afford to donate $1 million to the Center for the Arts expansion plus set aside basically a $750,000 line of credit for the Center but squeezes the Mountain Theatre for $5,000 a year, there seems to be something out of balance.

At the same time, it is not unreasonable for the town to get some money for space it owns. They aren’t asking for top dollar — not even Mississippi Delta top dollar let alone resort town top dollar. And let’s admit that all these groups have been getting the screaming deal of a lifetime with little or no rent.  Every organization should pay at least something or provide a direct benefit to its landlord. That’s just a basic tenet of community responsibility and manners. And I’ve been told by some renters that while not ecstatic about a rent increase they know a deal when they see one and are cool with it.

But we all know that if these little lean non-profits have to pay more rent, then you and me and everyone should expect to shell out an extra dollar for the ticket to a play, or expect to listen to another day of the pledge drive since a higher goal will be needed to cover new costs. Or we’ll deal with another few days of someone in a whacky costume selling raffle tickets to raise money for a nonprofit in front of the post office between 11 and 1. It all trickles down eventually.

So while there is no black and white answer to Harry’s question, it is a question the council should certainly consider now that the rubber is meeting the road with the lease and rent adjustments. What is the squeeze balance? We all like having the convenience of the library and the motor vehicle office. We all appreciate the Mountain Theatre, the land trust, the Paragon Gallery, the CB Avy Center and KBUT. Having the big kahuna of the town subsidize its little partners that all provide something good to the overall community is not a bad thing and that will happen with or without these lease adjustments. No one will be forced out because of unreasonable rent hikes. I just wish both sides weren’t feeling the squeeze…

—Mark Reaman

As I sat in the coffee shop in Mt. Crested Butte Monday morning after skinning up the hill, it was madness. A constant stream of people, primarily families heading toward the ski lifts, coming from the hotels and buses at 8:15 a.m. That stream was continuous and I left about an hour later. Dads with backpacks were carrying four sets of skis. Moms had ski boots in their hands and strapped around their necks. Kids were bundled up in layers and wearing both goggles and sunglasses, while sleepily stumbling toward
the ticket office.

I am always amazed at flatlanders coming to a ski resort on Spring Break, given the hassle
of gear and price compared to a beach vacation where you carry a blanket and a cooler down to the free sand. But I love it and respect them for understanding the call of the mountains. Making memories at 9,000 feet is an adventure. I’ve always said that if our boys hadn’t been born in a ski town, chances are they’d be really good bowlers instead of really good skiers and hockey players.
So when I hear of or witness the sanctimonious local banging on the floundering tourists at Spring Break I shake my head for several reasons. While certainly not at the same level of those who took the plunge and moved here to live in the mountains and ski 100 days a year, these people are trying their best to experience the mountain vibe. Somewhere in their soul is the understanding that mountains are calling. It would have been easier to head to Disneyland, or Moab, on a cruise or to an all-inclusive resort in Mazatlán, but they are here. And if the crusty locals don’t at least appreciate that, they are living in the toocool Crestitude bubble.
Add to the fact that having these throngs a few times a year is what allows the crusty locals to actually stay here year-round and it is absurd to me that there are some who go out of their way to be rude and full of dark attitude to these people. While not always easy, these busy periods might be looked at as the sacrifice zones. Sacrifice zones include a few days or weeks in March, December, August and now, all of July.

Sure, it can get crowded and irritating and it can throw a crusty local on his or her fat bike out of rhythm. But it is during the sacrifice zones that the bank accounts of local business and individual workers get refilled. Yeah, it might be harder to get a slice at 6:30 in the evening or a tall, triple, venti, soy, no foam latte at 7:30 a.m. but just chill and think about June. When someone stops the Suburban at Third and Elk and unloads three families while you are trying to hurry to the post office, think about September. When someone
accidentally bumps into you at the base area and then asks which is the bus to town as the bus with the big “Town Shuttle” signs pulls up, think about January. When someone blows through a stop sign at 30 mph or runs into your kid on the ski hill, by all means, go all crusty Crested Butte on them. That’s just a matter of manners.

But overall, perhaps take a breath in the current chaos and appreciate the big-picture life you live in these mountains. Believe it or not, these people are your soul brothers and sisters trying to taste a slice of your life. Sure, it is surface soul at this point but the search for a kernel of mountain magic is there and that is to be respected.
Another sign of madness in the middle of this March is the quickly receding snowbanks. A
tourist stopped me Monday afternoon and asked about the copious amounts of snow along Maroon Avenue. I explained that a month ago you couldn’t see over the tops of the snowbanks and town was like a series of snow mazes. It blew his mind since he had been to Crested Butte before and had never seen this much snow—and it’s not that much snow anymore. For us, it looks like the remnants of that epic January event are quickly disappearing and we might see some bare ground sooner than any of us would have expected a month ago. Now let’s hope we don’t get the dreaded 100-inch April.

Keeping an eye on the lawsuit between two Crested Butte homeowners and the town over
how stringent the homeowners have to be in renting their accessory dwellings (ADU) is at times maddening. There has been a flurry of lawyering involved as the homeowners, Mr. Mize and Mr. Kiltz, represented by attorney Marcus Lock, have asked the judge for a partial summary judgment to basically dismiss the case with a win for them. The lawyer brought in by the town has responded aggressively (and at times poignantly and humorously) and asked that the judge dismiss the plaintiff’s request or at least issue a stay so that the town lawyers can delve into details in the motion, some of which they indicate they find fishy. Seeing the amount of paperwork involved is March Madness but it can be interesting reading. We’ll let you know when the judge makes a decision in the lawsuit which, as we have always said, could go either way and will have broad ramifications on affordable housing ADUs in town.

Anyway, with still sweet snow, afternoon sunshine and temperatures in the 40s, this is not a bad time of year. Yeah, we have to share it with a lot of people we don’t recognize but that’s the deal we all made choosing to live in a tourist ski town. It’s probably still pretty quiet over in Pitkin. It ain’t all bad so don’t let yourself spiral into the crusty hole of bad attitude. Instead, enjoy the spring, fill up the bank account and think about your off-season trip to the desert, or the beach, or the all-inclusive, where you too will be a tourist. As for the standard March Madness: I have Villanova and Louisville in the final game with Villanova taking it. Write it down.

—Mark Reaman

THURSDAY 9
• 7 a.m. Core Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8 a.m. Ecumenical Meditation at UCC.
• 8:30 a.m. Women’s book discussion group at UCC.
• 8:45 a.m. Indoor Biking at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Gunnison County Branch Office is open at the Crested Butte Town Offices.
• 10 a.m. Mothering Support Group at Oh Be Joyful Church. (last Thursday of every month)
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Yoga Basics at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 11:30 p.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 p.m. BUTI Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. Intro to Prana Vinyasa Level 1 with Monica 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. (first and third Thursday of every month)
• 5:30 p.m. Communion Service at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Lunar Prana Vinyasa Level Open with Jackie at Yoga For The
Peaceful.
• 5:45 p.m. Zumba at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 5:45-7 p.m. Evening Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 6:30 p.m. AA Open Meditation at UCC.
• 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.

FRIDAY 10
• 6:30 a.m. All Levels Iyengar Yoga Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7:30 a.m. Barre Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:30 a.m. Alanon at UCC Parlour (in back). 349-6482.
• 8:45 a.m. Core Power Yoga Class at the Pump Room.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Yoga for the Flexibly Challenged / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9-10:30 a.m. Solar Prana Vinyasa Level 2/3 with Stacey at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 9 a.m.-noon Open Clay Workshops at the Art Studio of the Center for the Arts. 349-7044. (runs through March 31)
• noon Closed AA at UCC.
• noon-1 p.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• noon-1:15 p.m. Restorative Yoga at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 1 p.m. Art group meets at the Senior Center. 641-4529.
• 4:30-5:30 p.m. Aprés Ski Yoga Level Open at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 5:15-6:15 p.m. Freestyle Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 5:30 p.m. Communion Service at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 6-7 p.m. Poi Playshop at the Pump Room.

SATURDAY 11
• 7-8:15 a.m. Ashtanga Level 2/3 with Joe at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 7:30 a.m. Open AA at UCC.
• 7:45 a.m. Weights and Indoor Biking Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Solar Prana Vinyasa Level 2 with Jackie at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 9-10 a.m. Core Power / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9-10:30 a.m. Community Yoga at the Sanctuary Yoga & Pilates Studio, Gunnison.
• 9 a.m.-noon Open Sewing Workshops at the Art Studio of the Center for the Arts. 349-7044. (runs through April 1)
• 10-11 a.m. Hip Hop Community Dance Class at the Pump Room (above Fire House on 3rd & Maroon). 415-225-5300.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Slow Flow at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage, a free thrift store. 300 Belleview, Unit 2, on the south end of 3rd Street. 970-318-6826.
• 11 a.m. Narcotics Anonymous meeting at 114 Wisconsin Street. 970-201-1133.
• 6:30-7:30 p.m. Guided Sound Meditiation at 405 4th Street.

SUNDAY 12
• 7-8 a.m. Meditation at Yoga For The Peaceful, by donation.
• 8:30 a.m. Mass at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 9 a.m. Worship Service at Oh-Be-Joyful Church.
• 9 a.m. Worship Service at Union Congretional Church. 349-6405.
• 9-10:15 a.m. Slow Flow at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 9:30-11 a.m. Free Class / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Backcountry Bistro at Magic Meadows yurt on the Nordic trail system. Trail pass required. www.cbnordic.org. (runs through March 26)
• 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.
• 5:30-7 p.m. Restorative Yoga at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 6 p.m. AA meets at UCC.
• 6 p.m. Evening Service at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 711 N. Main St., Gunnison.
• 6:30 p.m. Duplicate Bridge at UCC. 349-1008.
• 7 p.m. Gamblers Anonymous meets at the Last Resort.

MONDAY 13
• 7 a.m. Barre Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45 a.m. Pilates at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9-10:30 a.m. Lunar Prana Vinyasa Level 2/3 with Jackie at Yoga For the Peaceful.
• 10:15-11:45 a.m. Hatha Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• noon-1 p.m. Yoga Basics at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• noon-1 p.m. Lunch Break Therapeutic Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 12:45 p.m. Bridge at the Senior Center. 641-4529.
• 1-4 p.m. Monthly Watercolor Workshop at the Art Studio of the Center for the Arts. 349-7044.
• 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 p.m. Mothering Support Group at the GVH Education House, 300 East Denver St. (first Monday of every month)
• 5:15-6:15 p.m. Hatha Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 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.
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. Portrait Painting at the Art Studio of the Center for the Arts. 349-7044. (runs through April 10)
• 5:45 p.m. Boot Camp at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 6:15-6:45 p.m. Free Sound Meditation / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 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 14
• 6-7 a.m. Meditation at Yoga For The Peaceful, by donation.
• 7 a.m. Core Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7:30 a.m. AA/Alanon Open at UCC. 349-5711.
• 8:45 a.m. Indoor Biking at The Gym. 349-5288.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa at Yoga for the Peaceful.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Vinyasa Flow / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Gunnison County branch office is open at the Crested Butte Town Offices, 507 Maroon Ave.
• 10:15-11:45 a.m. Hatha Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 10:30-11:45 a.m. Yoga Basics 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.
• noon-1 p.m. Ashtanga Vinyasa / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. Iyengar Yoga at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 1:30-3:30 p.m. Tech Tuesdays at Old Rock Library. 349-6535.
• 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 p.m. Communion Service at Queen of All Saints Church.
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. Cocktails & Canvases with the Art Studio at the Center for the Arts lobby. 349-7044.
• 5:30-6:45 p.m. Slow Flow at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 5:45 p.m. All Levels Iyengar Yoga Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 5:45-7 p.m. Gentle Restorative Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 6-8 p.m. Figure Drawing Sessions with a 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.
• 7:15-8:15 p.m. Dharma Punx Meditation / CB Co-op at 405 6th Street.
• 7:45-9:45 p.m. Drop-in Adult Volleyball, CBCS MS Gym.

WEDNESDAY 15
• 6:30 a.m. All Levels Iyengar Yoga Class at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 7:30 a.m. The Crested Butte / Mt. Crested Butte Rotary Club breakfast meeting in the Shavano Conference Room at the Elevation Hotel.
• 8:45 a.m. Mat Mix at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 8:45-10 a.m. Kundalini Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 9-10:30 a.m. Solar Prana Vinyasa Level Open with Monica at Yoga For The
Peaceful.
• 9:30 a.m. Mah Jong at the Senior Center. 641-4529.
• 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.
• 10:15-11:30 a.m. Forrest Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• noon Closed AA at UCC.
• noon-1 p.m. Power Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• noon-1 p.m. Prana Vinyasa Express Level 1/2 with Stacey at Yoga For The
Peaceful.
• 1-2 p.m. Tai Chi at Town Hall. 349-7197.
• 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 p.m. Mass at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
• 5:15-6:15 p.m. Hatha Yoga / CB Co-op at Town Hall.
• 5:30 p.m. Prenatal Yoga class in Crested Butte South. 349-1209.
• 5:45 p.m. Boot Camp at The Gym. 349-2588.
• 6-7:15 p.m. Slow Flow at Yoga For The Peaceful.
• 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.
• 6:30 p.m. Alanon at UCC Parlour (in back). 4th and Maroon. 349-6482.
• 8-9:30 p.m. Adult Indoor Soccer in the CBCS HS Gym. 349-7197.

Events & Entertainment

THURSDAY 9
• 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tea time with Rabbi-Cantor Robbi at the T-Bar on Elk Avenue.
• 12:30-1:45 p.m. Free seminar: Emotional Intelligence & Leadership vs Management at the ICELab at Western State College University.
• 4-6 p.m. Rabbi-Cantor Robbi Sherwin will present a discussion on the Adelman Torah at the WCSU Student Center 2nd floor fireplace lounge.
• 6-8 p.m. Choice Pass Dinner: Adolescent Development and tips for staying connected at the Fred Field Center in Gunnison.
• 6-8 p.m. Crested Butte Land Trust community meeting at the Fred Field Center in Gunnison.
• 7 p.m. The Red Lady Ramblers play at the first night of the Double-Header 40th Anniversary Red Lady Salvation Ball at the Eldo, the Red Lady will be crowned after the raffle around 9:15 p.m.
• 7:30 p.m. SonofaGunn National Buffoon’s Staycation at the Gunnison Arts Center.
• 8 p.m. Ladies Night at the Red Room.
• 9 p.m. Martin Sexton plays at the Center for the Arts.

FRIDAY 10
• 8 a.m. Gunnison Valley Transporation Authority meeting at the Commissioner’s Room in the Gunnison County Courthouse.
• 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Grab a hot drink with Rabbi-Cantor Robbi at the BWC Café (previously Camp4Coffee) in Mountaineer Square at CBMR.
• 3:45-4:45 p.m. Bnai Butte Hebrew School will meet at the Crested Butte Community School with Rabbi-Cantor Robbi as a guest teacher.
• 5 p.m. CB Youth For Change “Stand With Standing Rock Native Nations March.” Meet in front of Rumor’s
• 6 p.m. Celebrate Purim and Shabbat dinner at the home of Scott & Josephine Nelson, 313 Maroon Ave. 970-349-5211.
• 6-9 p.m. Family Game Night at the Crested Butte Library.
• 7 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival plays at the Center for the Arts.
• 7:30 p.m. SonofaGunn National Buffoon’s Staycation at the Gunnison Arts Center.
• 7:30-9:30 p.m. Blue Recluse plays in the Kincaid Concert Hall at Quigley Hall at WSCU.
• 10 p.m. String Cheese Incident plays the 40th annual Red Lady Salvation Ball at the Eldo (sold out).

SATURDAY 11
• 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Grab a hot drink with Rabbi-Cantor Robbi at the BWC Café (previously Camp4Coffee) in Mountaineer Square at CBMR.
• 5 p.m. Silent auction at Ruben’s followed by music from Kung Pao, Gun Rack and special guests at Kochevar’s starting at 9 p.m. to benefit Micheal Villanueva.
• 5-8 p.m. 4th annual Empty Bowls Hunger Awareness Dinner at McGill’s. 970-641-7720, ext. 6503.
• 6 p.m. Dinner & a Play: SonofaGunn at The Blue Table.
• 7 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival plays at the Center for the Arts.
• 7:30 p.m. SonofaGunn National Buffoon’s Staycation at the Gunnison Arts Center.
• 10 p.m. The Heard plays at The Red Room.
• 10 p.m. Sneaky Pete and the Secret Weapon play at the Eldo.

SUNDAY 12
• 4-6 p.m. Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival Kickoff Party at Trackers Lounge at Mountaineer Square.
• 5-7 p.m. Full Moon Party at the Umbrella Bar at CBMR.

MONDAY 13
• 5:30 p.m. Financial Literacy Series: “10 Simple Things to Know About Money” at the Crested Butte Community School 349-6535.
• 7 p.m. Sohrob plays at the Princess Wine Bar.
• 8 p.m. 1984 Book Discussion at Townie Books.
• 8 p.m. Open Mic Night at the Eldo.

TUESDAY 14
• 10 a.m. High Country Conservation Advocates educational snowshoe tour, meet at the Crested Butte Nordic Center.
• 11:30 a.m. League of Women Voters water update meeting with Frank Kugel in the conference room at the UGRWCD office, 210 W. Spencer St., Gunnison.
• 4-8 p.m. CBCS Research Symposium to debate: What is the greatest problem facing your generation? in the CBCS Library.
• 6 p.m. Wine for the Unpretentious wine class: Sonoma Savy with Mountain Spirits Liquor at McGill’s
• 7 p.m. Books-N-Bars at Tully’s. 349-6535.
• 7 p.m. Change your Life with Essential Oils: An Introduction Workshop at the Crested Butte Library.

WEDNESDAY 15
• 2-3:30 p.m. Free Town Race Series: Giant Slalom Race on Buckley at CBMR to benefit the CB Snowsports Foundation. 349-2217.
• 5:30 p.m. Philosophy on Tap at the Brick Oven. 349-6535.
• 7 p.m. Writer’s Workshop at the Gunnison Arts Center: Show Don’t Tell.
• 8 p.m. Quiz for a Cause for Living Journeys Trivia Night at the Brick Oven.

Kid’s Calendar

THURSDAY 9
• 9 a.m. Munchkin’s Music & Dance Class in the High Attitude Dance Academy in Gunnison.
• 10 a.m. Munchkin’s Music & Dance Class in the High Attitude Dance Academy in Gunnison.
• 10-11:30 a.m. Tumblebugs in Jerry’s Gym in Town Hall (ages 4 & under) 349-7197.

FRIDAY 10
• 11 a.m. Big Kids Storytime for ages 3 and up at the Crested Butte Library.
• 3:45-5:15 p.m. Trailhead After School – Advanced Art Drawing Skills at The Art Studio. 349-7160. (runs through March 10)
• 4-5 p.m. Tang Soo Do Martial Arts classes for youth with West Elk Martial Arts, Town Hall Fitness Room. 901-7417.

SATURDAY 11
• 1:45-3:45 p.m. Crested Butte Book Binders at the Crested Butte Library, ages 9-13. (every 2nd and 4th Saturday)

MONDAY 13
• 3:45-5 p.m. Messy Mondays for school aged kids at the Crested Butte Library. (kids younger than 8 must be accompanied by an adult)
• 3:45-5:15 p.m. Trailhead After School Semi-Private Wheel Throwing at The Art Studio. 349-7160. (runs through March 20)
• 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 14
• 9:30 a.m. Munchkin’s Music and Dance Class in the Fitness Room at Town Hall. 349-9639.
• 3:45-5 p.m. Tween Scene (ages 8-12) at the Crested Butte Library.

WEDNESDAY 15
• 9:30 a.m. Munchkin’s Music and Dance Class in the Fitness Room at Town Hall. 349-9639.
• 10-10:45 a.m. Art Babies at The Trailhead Children Musuem. 349-7160.
• 11 a.m. Baby & Toddler Literacy Time at the Crested Butte Library.
• 11:15-12:15 a.m. Toddler Art at The Trailhead Children Musuem. 349-7160.
• 3:45-5:15 p.m. Trailhead After School Art and Play. 349-7160. (runs through March 15)
• 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.

A path of her own

by Dawne Belloise

Julia Brazell was only four years old when KBUT community radio got its call letters in 1986, riding on the heels of Earth Station, which was operating on the cable system from 1977 through 1982. Her father, Lonesome Bob, one of the original deejays at Earth Station, got his start as an FM radio deejay when KBUT was born and still spins the tunes on his long-running Friday afternoon show.

When Julia and her younger sister, Robin, were kids, they’d help their dad with his show, donning the headsets and making on-air announcements. “I have this vague memory of being a small child and being told by staff deejays that when I spoke into the mic, everyone could hear, including Santa. It was terrifying,” Julia laughs about her radio stage-fright. “I was a pretty shy child, anyway. Before that I would get on the mic and parrot my dad. It was all fun. I was fascinated with the equipment.”

Julia was born at the Gunnison hospital to parents Bob and Denise, who had moved to Crested Butte in 1972. Bob owned Crested Butte Auto with Donny Glover, and her mom worked at the Crested Butte Lodge.

Julia recalls how magical the town was back then, especially for a kid. “As soon as I was out of diapers, I learned to ski,” she says of the common practice for barely walking Crested Butte toddlers. “And I got to ski all the time. I learned to ski through the town recreation program with Sherry Vandervoort and Jerry Deverall, among others.”

Summer brought cruising around town with friends and family. “My mom’s brother was Brian Griffith, who married Liver, so my cousin was Mandy. When I was a child, they lived right next door so the three of us [Julia, Robin and Mandy] ran around the neighborhood. Our parents would send us on scavenger hunts that they’d call Peewee’s Big Adventure. They’d send us out to find random things,” Julia says.

She fondly remembers that it was a childhood spent in carefree Crested Butte, a kid’s world of dreams and youthful mischief. “We’d steal strawberries and rhubarb from Paul Redden’s yard and eat them,” Julia laughs. She grew up watching softball games, where the whole town was on a team, including the kids. “We played softball growing up through the town rec and we rode our bikes everywhere.”

In junior high school, Julia competed in Odyssey of the Mind, “It’s a geeky thing that kids do. I was on a team and went to the state championships. When I was in high school, I did a lot of Crested Butte Mountain Theatre acting and I would do their PSA recordings for their shows through the KBUT studio.”

Her freshman class was the first to not have to ride the bus to Gunnison for school because the new Crested Butte Community School had finally opened. She had previously attended the Crested Butte Academy.

“School was good and I was always a good student… until high school… then I rebelled. I rebelled against structure. I had been raised my whole life to question authority. We had this hippie leftist community mentality that inspired me to rebel.” Nevertheless, she graduated in 2001. “At the time I wanted to be a lawyer. I was really interested in politics and I was inspired to help people in some way. I didn’t just want to have a profession, I wanted to have a purpose.”

Julia went to the very alternative Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., where students aren’t required to declare a major and students received evaluations rather than grades. In her first year, she took an intensive study in prison systems. Throughout her tenure at Evergreen, she received an expansive, eclectic education, studying film, theatre and theoretical physics but Julia ultimately decided not to apply to law school because, “It’s a highly competitive industry and I’m not a competitive person.”

She did what many kids did post-college. “I moved back home because that’s what everybody did. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.” Julia took a retail job managing Pooh’s Corner for a while, and also worked for Crested Butte Vacations at the resort, as well as the ever-present housekeeping jobs. “But I decided I wanted to do something more with my life regarding a career,” so she moved to the big city of Denver in 2007.

She focused on working in the not-for-profit sector, securing employment as an office manager for the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, who advocate for lawyers who advocate for victims. Due to the financial crash of 2008, Julia was only there a year before the funds dried up for her position.

She and her then boyfriend started an HVAC (heating, ventilation, air condition) company, installing air conditioners and furnaces. She found that she really enjoyed the work and labor. “I fabricated duct work, hooked up gas lines and electrical wiring for about two years. It was good, but I wanted to get back into non profit work.”

She signed up at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado as office manager. “When I was in college, I worked as a telephone solicitor, getting donations for the annual fund for scholarships for the school. I found that I was very good at asking strangers for money so I knew then that I could fundraise. I knew that I wanted to come back to Crested Butte and I thought the non-profit field would be a good way to return and have a meaningful career.”

It was time to move on from Big Brothers Big Sisters and her sister, Robin, had already moved back to Crested Butte. Julia found the online posting in the Crested Butte News employment classifieds for the position of KBUT membership director. “I felt it would be the perfect job for me because I like asking people for money and I love community radio. I’m passionate about music and independent media and it seemed like the right fit.” They gave her the job after her successful interview and the child of local community radio had come full circle.

When general manager Eileen Kennedy Hughes decided to retire, Julia applied for the position and was hired in June 2016. “I have the ability to help this organization that I care deeply about. It’s a good opportunity to work for a cause that I believe in and I feel fulfilled. I feel that my whole life was preparing me for this moment. I had the intention of building a career so I could move back to my home, knowing there was a need for non profits here.

“Our federal funding is being threatened again with the new administration. Four years ago, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which doles out the funds for all public media, wanted to ensure that radio stations were sustainable themselves before they would give out any funds, so we had to grow our budget fairly significantly in order to retain the federal funding. My experience in the non profit world has shown me that funding is always uncertain—you can’t rely on federal funding to be there forever so you have to diversify your revenue streams.

“It’s my hope and intention, over the next couple of years, to wean our dependence on that federal funding. I want to get KBUT to a place where threats, such as the ones we’re currently facing, aren’t a make or break for us, that we don’t have to be constantly living in fear, by building a major donor program.”

Julia continues, “The community has really stepped up and they are why we didn’t lose our federal funding four years ago. We just celebrated our 30th birthday in December and had a fabulous party, the kind that only this community knows how to throw. It’s special to be part of this place and have such a vibrant community radio station that’s a cornerstone of the community and when I say community I mean the entire valley. I grew up skiing with girls from Gunnison and it’s really important to me that we maintain this valley-wide one community.”

Julia echoes the sentiment of many long-timers here. “Change is inevitable and this community has changed a lot but it still beats a lot of other places. For many years, we have prevented Vail and Aspen-type overdevelopment but now I feel that we’re in a totally different era. Whatever Crested Butte was, there’s now a new citizenry and they’re experiencing it in a different way than we did and with the same excitement that we had for it.

“I love Colorado. What keeps me here is mostly my job because I’m so super passionate about this station and its success. Living here, I both love and hate the tight-knit community,” she laughs and explains, “because it’s hard sometimes when there’s zero anonymity but at the same time, that’s one of the greatest things about this community, the pulling together. And I don’t have to call my friends to go to the bar—I just go to the bar and they’re all there.”

KBUT’s pledge drive started last Monday, February 13 and goes until they make their goal of $45,000 for operating expenses. Call the station at (970) 349-7444 to pledge.

Take the long way home

by Dawne Belloise

He was a wandering hippie who was part of the free-spirited generation and attended Woodstock, and Moss Wagner’s home is cozy with everything in its place and notably, an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling shelves with an impressive collection of music, from vinyl albums and cassette tapes to CDs and digital mastering DJ equipment.

There are vintage psychedelic concert posters, magazine articles and photos on the walls that reflaect his almost seven decades of life lived to its fullest and complement the expansive views out his mountain condo windows.

Moss has taken the long and winding road to arrive here, creating the life he enjoys in a place that he loves, and seemingly light years away from the start of his journey on the shores of the Delaware River in a small town in New Jersey.

Living on the banks of a constantly flowing river is an adventurous world for a growing kid and Moss remembers spending his days swimming, boating and watching the big ships go by.

“It was a great little town to grow up in,” he says of its quiet and safe environment. “Now I think it would be boring because I’ve lived in resort towns for 40 years where there’s so much going on.”

Moss excelled in gymnastics throughout high school and excelled on the side horse, now called the pommel horse, taking the New Jersey state championship in his senior year of 1965.

When Atlantic City featured the same musical line-up as Woodstock, Moss trotted off to attend, hitting Woodstock’s three days of peace, love and understanding two weeks later. As it was for many of that generation, the experience was life altering.

“It was a mind-blowing thing and we had gotten there so early so we already had tickets. We set up the tent and wandered around, catching the show from a distance and soaking up the love.”

Despite all the turning on and tuning out that was going on then, Moss received a scholarship from Temple University in Philadelphia for his nationally ranked gymnastics talent. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in education. Unsure of what he wanted to do for a lifetime career, but knowing that he liked kids, he taught for a Head Start program and physical education for a couple of years in Philly.

In 1972, he and his girlfriend decided to travel around the world, which was indeed a hippie thing to do, especially hitting all the trendy destinations at the time: Europe, Amsterdam, and at the top of the list, Morocco and India. So the couple set out for Morocco.

They were told that if they entered the country through Spain, he might have to cut his hair. “Hippies don’t like that,” Moss chuckles, “so we went around to the south border.”

Tourist extortion was somewhat prevalent and Moss was forced to pay their hired cab driver double the agreed-upon price, then had to spend the night sleeping in an alley, waiting for daylight before an attempted border crossing from the Spanish Sahara into Morocco. They rode all night on top of a large truck with many other passengers but as indefatigable youth, Moss recalls only the stunning colors of an exotic, strange land.

“It was a beautiful, gorgeous sunset. We stopped in the middle of nowhere to take meals and just outside of Tan-Tan, the driver dumped all the passengers off to walk the rest of the way to town,” he said of the carrier who was also a smuggler, probably using his load of people as a front for whatever he was illegally transporting.

The couple walked into the tiny village at 1 a.m. and discovered that the popular cheap hotel, where young travelers stayed, had no vacancy. “So we wandered around; it was a beautiful night with all these noises, donkeys braying and growling wild dogs in the distance. We slept in a dry riverbed since the sun was going to come up soon. The next day, after getting our passports stamped, we moved up the coast hitting Tunisia and Algiers.”

Moss and his girl traveled for six months, returning to the United States to work in order to get more funds to travel. The wanderlust bug had bitten hard and in 1974 they took off for India and Nepal.

“The fashionable place everyone was going during the holidays, especially New Year’s Eve, was Goa. It was great and it was a nude beach,” Moss says.

Or so he thought, but as he was soaking up the sun, snoozing in the hot sand, Moss awoke to his feet being kicked and a circle of police surrounding him. He and four of his friends were arrested for nudity and hauled off to jail. All five men and women were thrown into the same cell, a cement room with a rebar gate, where, despite the sparse amenities, they were fed excellent curry.

Held overnight, the group missed the big New Year’s Eve beach bash and the next day the police hustled the offending five into a cab for court. The judge wasn’t amused with their loose mores and fined them ten rupees each, which was the equivalent of $1.30, finally threatening them with prison if they ever shed their clothes in public again.

Moss left the idyllic, never-nude beach town of Goa and traveled around the rest of India before trekking to Nepal.

Moss liked Nepal since it wasn’t crowded like India. He hung out in the din of Kathmandu, inhaling its clamor and determined to find original wall hangings, not the cheap, common tourist ones, but the real deal.

In Moss’ quest, he met an Italian who connected him with His Holiness the Chine Lama, the high Buddhist lama of China, who was run out of his country the same time the Dalai Lama was exiled from Tibet. The Chine Lama was the pope and caretaker of the Boudhanath stupa and he happened to have piles and piles of fine, handmade silk wall hangings.

His Holiness reached into one of the large layers of silk and extracted the perfect wall hanging, handing it to Moss. It was exactly what he had in mind, a collage of richly colored brown, silver and grey silk, a detailed story, brushed and sewn with intricate stitches of embroidered figures and symbols. It still hangs on his wall today.

After roaming the Himalayas and traveling for three months, Moss returned to his home in Delaware, where he opened the Bethany Beach Ice Cream Parlor, a successful, but seasonal, business.

“I just fell into it. I liked ice cream, I guess,” he grins, pulling out several magazines with articles and photos featuring the business, including a line in National Geographic that claimed the parlor “dominates summer nightlife.”

Besides serving up ice cream, Moss was politically active as vice mayor of Bethany Beach and was on its town council. He worked to get surfing, once outlawed, legalized. “They didn’t like surfers,” he recalled. He also fought for the use of absentee ballots for local elections.

When Hurricane Gloria tore through, the mayor skipped town and the responsibility of evacuation was hoisted onto Moss. “When it started getting really bad, everyone left except one old lady who was finally convinced to leave with the emergency crew.”

The hurricane destroyed their beachside boardwalk and Moss took charge to ensure its reconstruction. He and a few other locals started the Fourth of July parade since there wasn’t one and in 1987, Moss inaugurated the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral for the end of summer, celebrated on Labor Day when summer business officially died for the tourist town. He donned robes and the title of the “Not Too Grim Reaper,” a character similar to his Crepitus, the Grump Advocate, a leper sort of guy Moss created who tries unsuccessfully every year to argue in favor of not burning the Grump.

In the winter of 1994, Moss’ sense for adventure fired back up when he decided he wanted to live in a small mountain ski town, and his résumés flew out with the mail. He had attended the Cayce School of Massotherapy in Virginia Beach a few years earlier, with the forethought of finding massage work in a Crested Butte.

Bill and Jennifer Rose, who were going to India, needed someone to cover their massage clients while they were gone, and his ice cream parlor was closing for the winter, so at summer’s end, Moss packed up and came west. “I had a job and a place to live and at that point, I started thinking about what I needed to do to move here permanently. I still had my ice cream business back in Delaware and I ran it through the summer of ‘95,” after which, he sold out of the East Coast life, trading it in for permanent residency in Crested Butte.

Moss started his own outcall massage business that year, mostly working through hotels, and that evolved into gigs at the Crested Butte Club on the mountain and later, the Sheridan and Club Med. Club Med operated from 2000 through 2006, and in Moss’ opinion, “It was a great, juicy gig that brought big bucks. It was exciting; you got to meet a lot of interesting people. President Carter and his family were my clients, and world ski champ Johnny Mosely.”

Moss continues to massage aches, pains and woes from his clients now at Sea Level Spa on Elk Avenue.

When Club Med left, Moss needed more work so he signed on to Mountain Express as a bus driver in 2006, and he now proudly sports the decorated 10-year service pin.

If you didn’t know Moss from his diverse talents and characters, you’d probably recognize his voice as a KBUT deejay since he’s been spinning the tables for almost 20 years. In his first three years with the station he had an oldies show called “Classics from the Golden Vault,” featuring R & B and do-wop from the 1950s and ’60s. Now he does intricate production shows that include music, spoken word, comedy, rockumentaries and documentaries.

When Moss first moved here it was Vinotok weekend, “Our great local celebration that’s distinctly Crested Butte in nature, and that was my first impression of the town. I thought, wow, I picked a good town to move to sight-unseen. I wanted to be part of it. I originally started out as a torchbearer but I didn’t think the Grump was getting a fair trial. It was a kangaroo court, so I created the Grump Advocate character. I did the makeup, costume and wrote all my lines. I wanted to be the defender of the Grump. It goes back to my days in Delaware of defending the surfer,” he laughs, and his Crepitus, Defender of the Great Grump is now an integral part of the Vinotok event.

As the snow falls on this epic season, Moss marks his 23rd winter here. “I’m getting too old for world traveling now. I ended up here,” he says happily, “but where else could I go that would be better, where I have things to do, I know people and I’ve got a job and a place to live, I get to do my radio shows and Vinotok?” he shines with gratitude. “I’m still pretty much a recluse, which is a title the Crested Butte News gave me in an April Fool’s issue one year. It’s an honor to get lampooned, it means you’re somebody around town!” he laughs with the knowledge that his many journeys have landed him exactly where he’s supposed to be.

January storms highlight snow removal challenges

By Alissa Johnson

Snowmageddon 2017 continues to keep snow removal crews busy across the Gunnison Valley, but in Mt. Crested Butte, it highlighted a couple of areas that will require some problem solving. Snow removal in Pitchfork and parking in the base area have both stood out as potential issues.

At a January Mt. Crested Butte council meeting, town manager Joe Fitzpatrick informed the council that town staff had put in 169 hours of overtime in two weeks to keep up with snow removal; 49.5 overtime hours were put in by the maintenance supervisor, Bobby Block.

“It’s important when we talk about what goes on to note that the town’s responsibility is life safety and keeping the roads open. We had a high percentage of our roads that were completely open with two lanes, but some were getting down to one lane,” Fitzpatrick explained.

During the height of the storm, Fitzpatrick and Block prioritized every road in town in terms of what needed to be widened and what could wait. They prioritized routes for Mountain Express as well as the school bus, and also placed  an emphasis on keeping roads wide enough for emergency services. As a result, by the Tuesday after the storm, a few roads, such as the upper part of Gold Link, were still pretty narrow.

“But there are just a couple of houses, no other traffic and it’s a dead-end road. It is passable, and fire and police can get there without a problem,” Fitzpatrick said.

The biggest challenge, he noted, had been encountered in Pitchfork. Fitzpatrick read part of the plat for the subdivision: “However, homeowners and/or occupants of Pitchfork will be subject to difficult living situations during periods of significant snowfall. For example, cars parked adjacent to the road will be plowed in and driveways will be blocked by snow banks caused by a plow.”

“If it was just as simple as blocked driveways, it would be okay,” Fitzpatrick said. “But because people don’t clean out where they park their cars, which is private property [and] not right of way, the cars creep out into the right of way, which narrows the road.”

As a result, there were times when getting a fire truck into the subdivision would have been very difficult. In addition, Fitzpatrick noted that the manger of Pitchfork was using town right of way for private snow storage.

“I would like to thank Wayne Meredith, who allowed us to blow snow over the fence, but there is a conflict in the way Pitchfork is being managed…” Fitzpatrick said. “When we need space for right of way snow, we don’t have it, and during a storm cycle like that, it’s not possible to haul snow out of there. We just don’t have the man power and we only have one truck, so it goes pretty slow.”

By the day of the meeting, January 17, the town had already hauled 175 loads of snow out of the subdivision. That in turn raised questions about where to put the snow. Currently, the town stores that snow at the site of the future Mt. Crested Butte Performing Arts Center at the north end of the base area parking lot. It also sometimes hauls snow from the Evergreen Redstone building and the roof of the Three Seasons building.

Block pointed out that Crested Butte Mountain Resort also stores snow there from the hour-and-a-half parking lot. According to Fitzpatrick, that raises questions about not only future snow storage but also overflow parking. He noted that the previous Saturday, at least 100 cars were turned away and sent to the parking lot at the Crested Butte Community School.

“We have a parking issue because this resort has changed in its makeup. We are now bringing Front Range folks here, and they come in cars. We’re not used to so many vehicles, so parking is going to be an issue, especially as we build out the base area,” Fitzpatrick said.

There was little council discussion of the issues.

As I get a little older, the life shades of grey are not just showing up in my mustache—most everything is a complex shade of grey instead of simple black and white.

For example, I defy anyone to give me a solid black-and-white answer to the STR (short-term rental) dilemma in Crested Butte. To ban them completely hurts some of our local neighbors who use such rentals to help pay the mortgage so they can continue to live here. It fills beds in Crested Butte, which used to be rare since in the “old days,” downtown Crested Butte provided the charm and Mt. Crested Butte provided the lodging. Now STRs bring in tourists who shop and eat and fill the coffers of our local businesses that provide jobs, character and an economy.

But to give total carte blanche to STRs would indeed hollow out the neighborhoods and community so that town would be filled with little to no locals during certain periods of the year such as July and August. And if the economics continue on the current trend, every house could be a rental business and there would be no one here ever, except those living in the deed-restricted places. The town would be for the really rich and the working poor and middle class who can’t afford free market housing in a growing resort town. It would make us more like every other place we try not to be like except when we want to follow their lead.

And even some of the deed-restricted places are a bit of a grey area right now with an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) lawsuit gearing up. It is too bad the ADU situation ended up in court but it will be good to finally clear up the grey area and make it obvious what the community and legal expectations really are with the alley units. No matter which way the court rules, I believe more people than not understand the value of keeping working locals living in town—even if not forced to by law, they will do the right thing and continue to rent their units to solid local community members. And if not forced to by law, the people wanting to keep a dark ADU will get a dark town, with no unique characters and no one to serve them. What a great win!

My instinct on the STR issue is to favor those who live here and tax the hell out of it. Then throw that money to workforce housing in town. That will take a vote of the Crested Butte citizens so that is something that could be pondered for 2017.

There are many different shades of grey. Take two conversations I was part of this Tuesday—one having to do with facts in the political realm and the other having to do with the fact of the powcam. There is a difference between, say, the CBMR marketing crew rounding up with the snowfall total received overnight to help the marketing department, and, say, Donald Trump rounding up the number of votes he says were illegally cast to give Hillary the popular vote.

One (nightly snow totals as brought to my attention from a consistent pow-watcher) is a light shade of grey. The pow-watcher reported that on Saturday the powcam showed 3.5 inches and the resort reported six inches. We received 2.5 inches on the powcam Sunday and the report was for five. Tuesday there wasn’t any new snow but the report was for two fresh. Is snow bumping a standard operating procedure at every ski resort? Did we get two inches Tuesday or did someone “forget” to wipe the powcam on Monday? Does it make a difference to a skier from Denver if we report six inches instead of four? Maybe, but I doubt it. I do know the skiing has been really great for December and maybe those reports mean to say that while we got three inches, it is skiing like six! For what it’s worth, the official CBMR snowstake is in a different location from the powcam.

The other example from a separate conversation (Trump’s illegal vote accusation) appears to be a dark grey insecure middle-school response to hard facts that doesn’t shine a golden light on The Donald. But his tantrum actually throws doubt onto the very foundation of America’s democratic process that relies at its core on fair and honest elections. For Trump to hold his breath and stamp his tweety feet that the votes were tainted is dangerous because of his casual disregard for facts and the fact that so many people believe whatever he says. The election system is not perfect but there is not a single shred of evidence of even a tiny amount of voter fraud. To undercut the integrity of the American voting system is not only immature, it is a danger to the republic, given his stature as the incoming president. That is junk. And the Republican “adults” in the room shrug their shoulders at such disregard for facts and cross their fingers that Trump will support some of their schemes and keep them in power.

Finally, a shout out to one of the characters in town who passed over to what is probably the great Canadian outback in the sky. Igor was one of those people who was kind, considerate and sometimes odd… in a good way. He had wanted to visit Cuba and maybe move to Canada. A man with a mysterious and electric past and present, he loved the “older” Crested Butte but found that even the current Crested Butte was better than most other places. And it was because of the people. He missed the people here. He would come back from a trip and not tell you where he had been and question every “weird” and liberal thing the town was doing, and it made you appreciate the other side. But I never was sure how much of any side (except the firearms side) he was on. Igor’s passing to the other side was a shock this week, and I’ll miss running into him on Elk Avenue or in City Market.

His last lesson might be to experience every moment because you just never know when this dimension will come to a close. Experience a foreign desert or a cold continent. And remember that one big reason you live (or visit) here is because of the people. You can go to a warmer place and you can go to an easier place to live but the people won’t be there. So appreciate the quirky people of Crested Butte—and as this place grows and changes, let’s try to keep giving the characters opportunities to actually live here.

Here’s to what is sure to be an interesting 2017. I think I’ll experience a surfing beach sometime this year. What will you do?

—Mark Reaman

Possibly limiting STRs to half the year

By Mark Reaman

While nothing is definitive and probably won’t be until at least January, a majority of Crested Butte Town Council members now feel homeowners in town should be able to short-term rent their houses for up to 180 days a year. This is the council’s latest attempt to somehow limit the amount of short-term rentals (STR) in town.

Such a move would not impact many, if any, houses currently in the Crested Butte STR pool, since renting a house that many nights annually is extremely rare in town. Mayor Glenn Michel said he felt such a lax limit was pointless and would essentially contribute to turning neighborhoods into hotels and would contribute to “losing the fiber of the community.”

The council opted to continue the first reading of the proposed ordinance to the December 19 meeting when details will be included in a formal ordinance. The council can choose to set the ordinance for a public hearing sometime in January and then vote on the ordinance.

In the discussion at Monday night’s meeting, councilmembers all felt that instituting safety and inspection measures for STRs was a good idea and those points will be put into the town code.

But the issue of whether or not to cap or limit STRs as a way to reduce negative impacts to the concept of “community” has been a discussion stretching back into last winter, including a council-appointed citizens committee to come up with recommendations on how to regulate and limit STRs.

As a result of the months-long discussion, the council is now leaning toward allowing STRs for most houses in town for half the year.

The council had received scores of emails this week from homeowners arguing against any form of limits on STRs. In an email, homeowner Peter Sherman pointed out that current town zoning allows “unlimited short term rentals” in the R1, R1A, R1C, R2, R2C, R3C and B3 zoning districts.

Town Council and staff said homes currently being used for short-term rentals will be “grandfathered in” and have the ability to maintain that “unlimited” status. Town attorney John Belkin indicated if a homeowner in one of those zones gave up its license the use would become a nonconforming use.

The council appeared swayed by the flurry of correspondence and thus settled on the 180-night limit. But they weren’t pleased with some of the points in the letters.

“We received a plethora of letters from people interested in protecting their money rights. One described the town as dysfunctional. That is offensive,” said councilman Jim Schmidt and he listed a number of positive things the town provides. “Maybe we’re dysfunctional because we don’t take kick-backs or something.”

“The majority of letters were concerned with investment protection and the positive contributions STRs make to the retail and restaurant base of the town and the jobs they provide,” added Michel. “I didn’t receive any emails or comments this week from people wanting caps on STRs. The letters we received this week were all valid, well-written with passionate arguments. But for me, this is about the forming of a community. It is about more than individual gain. If we all take a little, we might take too much.”

Michel said it was time for the council to make a hard decision and suggested it put an annual 90-night cap on short-term-renting a house in town.

“For me, I want to be clear the town is not saying the second-home community is not welcome,” said councilman Chris Ladoulis. “But we all seem to agree that in the future there is a tipping point if we have too many short-term rentals. If it were 100 percent, everyone would agree that is too many. We don’t want to disallow them completely, either. We are trying to find that middle gound.”

“The question is, do we want to cap STRs so neighborhoods don’t turn into de facto hotel zones?” asked Michel. “When does renting a house in a neighborhood turn that house into a business?”

“I don’t think we have enough data,” said councilwoman Laura Mitchell. “I feel like we could be overstepping our bounds on private property rights. Limiting them to 30 or 60 days is overreaching. We are wading into these waters without the data. I’m not in favor of a 90-day limit. Maybe 180- or 200-day limit. I’m not sure of the magic number.”

Local property manager Steve Ryan of Ironhorse Property Management sat on the citizens committee that studied STRs. He provided the council with some numbers. He said of the 13 houses he has managed in the town more than a year, the average number of days they rent is probably about 120, with the high end being 140.

“For me, if STRs continue to proliferate, we could see the tipping point. I don’t have a problem with what is going on now,” commented councilman Roland Mason. “If we get to the point where Crested Butte is one big hotel, we’ll have an issue. For me, I’d say the 180-night suggestion works because it is not even close to the highest number of days for a rented house in town.”

“It is hard for me to put a cap on without hard data on loss of revenue,” said councilman Paul Merck. “This is a business we’ve built up in town. We continue to ask people to come visit here.”

“What is the right number for a cap?” asked Ladoulis. “I don’t know. But when you move the number to a half a year, it is easier to defend. If something were rented for more than half a year, it would probably meet the test of being a business in a residential area. I’d be comfortable with the 180 number.”

“If something in Crested Butte is rented 180 days, it is a hotel,” countered Michel. “Council is saying they are okay with this. The idea of needing more data? We’ve talked about this ad nauseam. Every homeowner in town should be concerned that every neighbor can rent out their houses for half the year. I think 90 days is a fair compromise for people to make some extra money but it doesn’t make your house a hotel in Crested Butte. The council is kidding themselves if they think 180 nights is legitimate. Why even do it then?”

“Because saying 360 days a year is very different,” responded Ladoulis.

“Any cap or limit will be very difficult to enforce,” added Schmidt who indicated there should perhaps be no limits legislatively imposed. “Patterns will stay similar to today. July will be rented and October won’t have that many rentals.”

“A 180-night limit doesn’t impact anyone currently,” said Mason. “In the future, if Crested Butte is a 360-day resort with no shoulder seasons, people will be glad we put this in, or not.”

“I’m personally passionate about this,” reiterated Michel. “I value true residential neighborhoods. I just think 180 nights is way too much. I think people should be very concerned with that.”

The council is leaning toward the citizen committee recommendation to not allow STRs in the B1, C, B2, T (except blocks 55 & 37), P, R2A and AO, zones. These zones do not allow for any market rate housing to be constructed.  Deed restricted houses will not be able to short term rent the property, however, properties with an ADU may short-term rent either the main home or the ADU so long as the other is rented long-term. Individual room rentals within Crested Butte houses will abide by the same 180-night.

Citizen committee member Dan Escalante said the move would encourage STRs in condo complexes that currently house local workers and he didn’t like that aspect. “In a condo with shared walls it really begins to feel like a hotel,” he said. “You are turning bastions of local workforce housing into hotels. This doesn’t work great for the local workforce.”

Kate Seeley said she couldn’t imagine renting out her home or a room in her home 180 nights a year. “Short-term renting definitely helps supplement income. It is hard to make a living here,” she said. “And second homeowners aren’t going to rent their places long-term. I have an idea for something like a land trust for local houses but we can discuss that later. The whole issue is very complex and a cluster.”

On the regulations side, an STR license will cost more than today but a final number has not been determined, STR houses will be inspected every other year, parking required for the site must be available, the general maximum occupancy is two people per bedroom plus two with a maximum of 10 renters at a time unless there are extenuating circumstances, the licenses will not be transferable with a property sale, town rules and regulations must be posted, and a local contact must be available to deal with issues that come up during a rental.

If a property owner were found to be renting beyond the 180-day limit, the fine would be $1,000 per day and a two-year suspension of the STR license.

The council will look at specifics in an ordinance at the next meeting. A public hearing and vote on the new regulations would likely come in January.

Attending the annual Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce Winter Economic and Tourism Forecast meeting last Thursday, I hung out for a bit but not for the whole thing. Believe it or not, everyone in the room was pretty optimistic about the upcoming ski season—no news there, really—and it wasn’t just because of the free beer and wine. You couldn’t expect this gathering to have the same vibe as the day after a Trump victory in the HCCA office, for example.

No, no, no. Marketing is cranking and should help fill those now-empty seats on the planes from Chicago and L.A. The buses are better and plusher and there are more trips running in the valley. The towns are in great shape and feeling more flush than recent years. The fat bikes are phatter, and the ski resort is ready. Big snow is in the weather forecast. It was a chamber gathering, after all.

Now, I believe all the reports, but being a bit more cynical, I was not shocked by any of them. I left the room when I saw a PowerPoint coming on the One Valley Prosperity Project. Seeing Gunnison County’s new community and economic development director and OVPP leader Cathie Pagano the next morning, I promised to give her and the project another kumbaya shout-out because she appreciates it so much. It is a holiday, so—OVPP gets the strongest kumbaya acknowledgement in a meeting filled with kumbaya! Pagano did tell me the project has actually led to more than just talk and good action has evolved from the hours and hours of OVPP discussion. While not always a cheerleader for OVPP, I believe the process has helped open up constructive dialogue and helped coordinate actionable goals for the broad community. Thanks.

A few other quick takeaways from the meeting. The Tourism Association will aim its healthy financial marketing guns on promoting the mountain’s steeps to millennials. Sort of like the mountain biking trail focus in the summer, they will focus on steep ski trails in the winter. The TA believes it is the Extreme Limits terrain that sets Crested Butte apart from the rest of the state ski areas so they want to let good skiers in their 20s and 30s know it is out there. They will especially be targeting the Los Angeles and Chicago ski markets since there are direct flights originating from those metropolises to Gunnison and those flights need some help.

The TA also reported that a survey of summer visitors showed no “detractors.” None, nada, zip, zilch. That’s unheard of and a compliment to us all. Visitors really liked it here this summer. Laurel Runcie explained that the survey results basically showed that those surveyed would likely recommend a trip to the valley to a friend. That’s a good marker. The TA will do a similar survey with visitors this winter to see how we measure up in the colder months.

The buses from the RTA will be bigger, more comfortable and easier to track this winter. There will be more daily round trips (17 total) zipping up and down the valley between Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison and everywhere in between all winter. That should mean no one should (hopefully) get left behind because of a full bus.

Flights are looking about the same as last year in terms of booked passengers, with December up a bit and March off a tad.

Both towns, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, are seeing record sales tax revenues in the summer. Property valuations are increasing and both communities understand that it is now the June through September period that is dominating this ski resort community. In fact, Crested Butte mayor Glenn Michel said September is now the third-busiest month according to sales tax numbers in Crested Butte. He said the recent passage of 2A to help permanently end the threat of a mine on Mt. Emmons would bring some certainty to the valley for residents, visitors and investors.

CBMR’s Erica Mueller said they are “optimistic about another great winter in Crested Butte.” She said they are tracking about 4 percent up in individual skier tickets but are tracking down about 7 percent in group business at this point. “However, we feel that we can easily make up the group shortfall,” she said. “The phones have been a little slower lately with the lack of snowfall nationwide, but we anticipate the upcoming weather pattern to turn that around.”

Mueller said the Rocky Mountain Super Pass has been a boon the last two years and this third year is expected to give CBMR another great bump. Plus, she said this season is the first year of a new three-year deal with the group. “In addition, we anticipate seeing quite a few MAX Pass holders wanting to check out Crested Butte now that we are on that product as well. And last but not least, THINK SNOW: lots and lots of snow!”

Amen. There is nothing wrong with lots and lots of snow during the ski season.

So—and I’m honestly not being cynical—one of the things I love about the start of any ski season is the energy and optimism that bubble up right now. That gets me and most people living here stoked for the beginning of a new chapter in an always-interesting book. You never know how this chapter will turn out but it feels great to get it going. I love the buzz and there is always reason for optimism. Hey, the Cubs started every baseball season since the early 1900s with an optimistic buzz and they won the World Series this year. It could dump 450 inches this year!

So here is a Thanksgiving toast to some of that optimism going beyond expectations. Here’s to a record snowfall season and an early opening of Phoenix, Third Bowl and the West Side. Here’s to great sales tax numbers with no lines at the ever-running chairlifts that never break down. Here’s to warm, comfortable buses, fatter tires on the fat bikes, no core shots, and a chance for everyone living here to get out and have one of the runs of their life this year.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, everyone. I hear it’s looking pretty good.

—Mark Reaman