First things first. Vote for Amendment 66. It will help schools across the state and will directly benefit the schools in our valley, to the tune of more than a million bucks. It looks like for a relatively small personal cost, this proposal will benefit our children and classrooms with more than $1.3 million.

Now on to the local council election. Writing endorsements is always one of the hardest tasks in a small town. This year is harder than most. I know most of the candidates, through either work or social contact. Every one of them is a good person who could sit as competent representatives on the Town Council. This year’s candidate’s forum made the endorsements all the more difficult since everyone showed well.
Issue-wise, the seven candidates all appear if not on the same page, at least in the same chapter. While Danica and Jeremy would get the highest HCCA ratings, no one wants to roll up the pavement and return Elk Avenue to the elk and grouse. Chris has the strongest business background but no one wants to pave the town into a mountain mall. All seven contenders say they understand the importance of a healthy business climate and a clean environment. No one is secretly hoping to get a mine on Red Lady. A lot of this election will be determined on personality and familiarity. Welcome to small-town politics.

Let’s look at the council hopefuls.
Jim Schmidt is a regular council hopeful. He is comfortable in the seat and brings a long-term perspective that no one else on the ballot can provide. History and perspective are good things to have on a government board. While my friend “Deli” might sometimes reminisce too much about paving the streets or banning wood-burning stoves, he is also pushing for a solar array on town buildings, is active in securing more nearby recreational trails and supports fair business policies for downtown shops. Jim is an asset at the table.
Roland Mason has grown as a councilman after four years on the job. He brings a perspective of having been born and raised here. He works in the construction trade and has a growing family. He wants to thoughtfully grow the place and make it attractive for people to visit. He thinks before he speaks and has a forward vision integrating positive change that he hopes will allow his two young daughters to be able to live here. He embodies a growing segment of the Crested Butte population.
Like Roland, Danica Ramgoolam was born and raised in Crested Butte. Danica is a young woman who holds Crested Butte and its rough-edged past in her heart. Her priorities carry a more old-school Crested Butte flavor, as evidenced in part by her being a huge proponent of anything “sustainable.” Obviously sincere in her love of the town and local environment, just the fact she could be the lone woman at the table is a plus.
Josh Schumacher is the least politically active of the group and he brings a sincere, salt of the earth, blue-collar element to the mix. Obviously a fan of the town’s Parks and Rec program, the CBMR lift mechanic comes across as the most raw of the candidates in terms of the wide range of issues they have to face. But his common sense and sense of community are solid and would serve him and the town well.
Chris Ladoulis is the traditional businessman in the group. The owner of an Elk Avenue and Mt. Crested Butte restaurant as well as the father of a new kindergartner, Ladoulis was comfortable and collegial at the forum while providing thoughtful answers from a business viewpoint. He seems to understand the role of a councilperson and has the tools to cogently communicate his views. He has a professional air about him and could be an immediate connection to a segment of the community (Elk Avenue business owners) that has felt disenfranchised in the past.

In the mayor’s race, let’s start with the maxim that nobody’s perfect. But both are pretty good in their own ways. You have two candidates who, despite what many would like to believe, have a lot of similarities. Single guys in their 30s with a bit of ego, both Aaron Huckstep and Jeremy Rubingh are smart, eloquent and embody a Crested Butte vibe. Rubingh’s vibe is more laid back and “green,” while Huckstep’s vibe appears a tad more professional and kinetic.
I appreciate the efforts of each to knock on doors and reach out to the Crested Butte voters this election season. I don’t appreciate the shadowy “whisper” campaign being perpetuated by some trying to paint Huckstep as shady. He has his issues for sure and I don’t like some of his decisions (can you say not hiring a local?) but the community shouldn’t buy into campaign innuendo and rumor.

Huckstep ran unopposed for mayor two years ago without ever having sat on the Town Council. I told him at the time I thought that was a mistake. Council members learn invaluable practical lessons about the town and governing. By choosing to bypass that apprenticeship Huck has sometimes overstepped his role and obviously irritated his fellow councilmen and those who work as staff or partners with the town. He leads a fractured council and that is a concern. Huckstep certainly puts in more time than most other elected representatives I have seen in this town. His networking skills are good and he has excellent relationships with partners like CBMR and Mt. Crested Butte. Hopefully Huckstep has learned about the need to bring along his fellow council people if he wants to truly accomplish real goals. It’s not just working harder—and he works harder than anyone—it’s about working smarter. In my opinion, like many people coming from a business background but with a sometimes politically tin ear, he too often counts changes in “process” as major political success. He does deserve major credit for bringing us the USA Pro Challenge bike race, which is a hit in August. Overall, he is smart, energetic, works hard and represents the town well.
Rubingh is also smart and energetic. While Huck’s background is the private sector, Jeremy’s background was formed more in political advocacy. Like I did with Huckstep two years ago, I told Jeremy my concern with his jumping directly to the mayor’s seat. By bypassing the apprenticeship of council, Rubingh is in danger of making the same or similar missteps as Huckstep. That is human nature and a concern.
The biggest issue difference between the two candidates appears to be how much of a role HCCA might play with the town. It appears Rubingh wants the town to embrace the more combative HCCA Red Lady philosophy, while Huckstep has a more nuanced view. Rubingh is a past HCCA board member and was active in what I characterized at the time as the “rolling” of a previous Town Council to make a poor and hasty decision on the proposed Hidden Gems project that included Whetstone Mountain. His politics have been forged in activism and he can be effective. While it is apparent he has grown, Jeremy’s zeal in the past has not always been inclusive and diplomatic.
But it’s the HCCA influence that keeps scratching at me. The longtime enviro group has done some good and powerful things and obviously has a valid role in this mine situation. They’ve also overreached in other areas. I’d rather see HCCA continue to be a scrappy, effective environmental advocate, but continue to have the town act on a different, less aggressive avenue toward helping to drive the mine to a “permanent solution.” Few would argue that the advocacy group would have more success influencing Rubingh than Huckstep.
In general, Jeremy would probably focus more on the “green” elements surrounding Crested Butte and would likely try to distribute some more municipal time, energy and money to reduce the town’s carbon footprint than is currently being done. Based on his campaign comments and my conversations, I trust that he’s mellowed a bit in his political activism role and would take a more productive and moderate position as mayor on local and regional issues. Overall, Rubingh is charming, a good listener and like Huck, could handle being a good face person for Crested Butte.

As I mentioned, this is a fine group of competent candidates. If they do what they say, there really are no bad choices. There may be better choices, depending on your personal wants and needs. But as the town starts to pull out of a long recessionary period, the priorities of where the candidates want to focus limited resources matters. Given the present situation, the four most solid, pragmatic picks in my view are: Huckstep, Schmidt, Mason and Ladoulis.

First things first…you should have your ballot by the end of the week. If you don’t have it by Monday, call the county election’s office. This week we are publishing part-1 of our coverage of the Crested Butte News Candidate’s Forum. Part-2 will run next week. We will also continue to ask the seven candidates questions until the Halloween edition of the paper, which means they get two more opportunities to reach out to you, the voters. Thanks…

—Mark Reaman Read More »

Just a Small Town Boy

In between fragments of barely audible sentences, the grill flames are stabbing the air with sizzling aromas of burgers and fries. Ling Ling, a.k.a. Aaron Braitling, is juggling fried avocados, incoming orders and tales of his life from behind the bar at the Eldo. The evening’s entertainment is doing a sound check on their kick drum in a rhythmic annoyance. Aaron tells of a childhood that reverberates more than the incessant booming on the stage, one that shakes the very foundations of the heart, and yet, his is a story of survival and moving on. Read More »

Some weeks there is lots of news. Other weeks, it is pretty lean. Early August was lean. It appears to be fattening up. A few examples…

—Holy guacamole. The Crested Butte Community School is bursting at the seams…this just three years after a major expansion. So people appear to like it enough here that they are moving their families to the valley. The school is one big reason our population base is increasing. The CBCS is a quality learning institution that provides a top-notch education for those hoping to move on to the country’s finest universities. It is probably one of the biggest draws for people moving here and it is becoming too small. With another 10 percent increase in enrollment, it won’t be long before another expansion will be needed—or those mobile classrooms will have to return.

—The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame is departing Crested Butte. There’s something odd about that. Maybe as a local mountain biker, I took it too much for granted and I shouldn’t have. After talking to Hall of Fame co-director Don Cook this week, I understand the decision. I don’t like that it is moving but it might actually help the sport’s exposure by relocating to northern California. Thanks to those who have maintained it here in the valley throughout the decades and good luck as it moves to a new home in Marin County.

—U.S. Energy Corporation, the owners of the molybdenum mining rights on Red Lady, are publicly talking up the potential of a mine on Mt. Emmons. It appears they really want to sell the “opportunity” of a mine. In a conference call with investors last week, company executives said they expect to have Forest Service approval for the mine through NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). They said they hope to be fully permitted in three or four years. They insinuated they’ve had some nibbles of interest from real miners that may want to take on the project. Sure. It just seems USE shouldn’t expect any sort of easy NEPA process from this community and if they expect to be fully permitted in three years, they’re dreaming. Even if they eventually do get mining permits from the feds, the price of moly better skyrocket to pay for the billion dollar start-up costs involved. The last “real” miner they partnered with, Thompson Creek, came, saw, spent and ran after getting a feel for the real situation. Smart mining company.

—The monsoons are here but the lakes aren’t filling. The moisture is a blessing but Blue Mesa is still really low so understand that the drought conditions haven’t totally evaporated. We have a long way to go. Hopefully we’ll be able to fill the Mesa next spring from the copious amount of snow we receive this winter.

“You kind of get addicted to it”

What can you do on four hours’ of sleep total over the course of four and a half days? Read More »

Matty Robb takes the title

Call it what you will. A Dumb-Off. A triathlon. Something to do on Saturday. Fact is, six committed athletes (?) risked life, limb and genitalia to walk, bike and float Coal Creek through town twice in the third, or second, annual officially unofficial Coal Creek Triathlon on Saturday, June 15. Read More »

BORN TO BE WILD

Me? I’m not worthy,” laughs the Royal Has-Been Flauschink Queen Paula Dietrich when asked to be this week’s profile. She had the dubious honor of being crowned in the 35th year of the distinctly Crested Butte event in 2003.

Read More »

Keeping Busy

Two young boys sit at attention with necks stretched up to catch the earliest glimpse of the dishes being brought to their table. Wide-eyed, they break into huge grins as Robin Yost delivers two plates, each filled with sandwiches and a hefty hunk of baked yellow and orange sunshine in the form of homemade mac and cheese. It would beckon to even the fussiest of children’s tastes and adults who revel in olfactory memories of their own childhood.

Read More »

Some bold ideas that have a seed in the valley and helped move the place forward:
—Ski Free, which was the most successful ski promotion in our history that introduced thousands to Crested Butte and fattened cash registers throughout the valley.
—The idea of “guaranteeing” airlines to fly into Gunnison.
—Making Extreme ski terrain accessible by a lift.
—-Riding townies from Elk Avenue to the Hotel Jerome over Pearl Pass on what years later would turn into $8,000 mountain bikes and a major summer sport.
—Buying a local ranch at the entrance to town and putting a community school on the land.
—Luring the X Games to the Rockies.
—Restricting the size of houses inside the town of Crested Butte.
—Forming a Land Trust to acquire open space in a growing resort valley.
—Starting a voluntary 1% for Open Space program to help fund that open space.
—Getting the state to declare Crested Butte the Wildflower Capital of Colorado.
—Having the town sanction a huge fall bonfire at the main intersection of Crested Butte.
—Embracing “uphill skiing” at the downhill resort.

To own a business takes courage. To own a business in a ski town where you must rely on a lot of things out of your control—things like copious snowfall and the national economy—takes even more nerve. This applies especially to the big dog, the ski area itself.
Successful businesses are usually nimble businesses. Things are always changing. Few people still ski on 210 Atomics wearing leather boots. The ski area can’t control the weather but it can (must) try more interesting ideas if the current template isn’t working.
I’ve written about some product improvement ideas in the past that might lead to increased customer demand. It now appears Crested Butte Mountain Resort is taking a bold step and is in the early stages of working on developing a partnership with traditional rival ski area Telluride. That doesn’t happen often in the ski industry. Without knowing the details, I like the concept. It is something bold and innovative and something new.
We learned this week that CBMR’s top management has been meeting with Telluride owner Chuck Horning. Horning has declared that the meetings have been “historic.” Horning is searching for “radical” and “innovative” ideas to bring change from what’s been done in the past in his resort. While keeping their cards close to their chests, the Muellers appear to be boarding that train. Make love, not war.

Partnering with a traditional rival is a big change but could be a game changer. It does not come without risk, but kudos to those trying something bold in order to see some sunlight.
This community and the leadership of the ski area can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. We aren’t sure how deep this new partnership will go. Is it just a shift in air strategy or is it a deeper partnership based on two cool, old western ski towns that can offer winter clients a unique authenticity? We’ve suggested such a partnership in the past to help combat Epic Passes and somewhat sterile Front Range industrial tourism. We look forward to seeing the details of this new direction soon. There will certainly be impacts to the community as a whole but the end game might be enough to start a climb up out of the economic cellar for almost everyone. Given where we are, and where we’ve been stuck in the last few seasons, just sniffing at something bold and different is welcome.

Bold ideas come with risk and there is no doubt some risk involved with any sort of new partnership. But that makes life interesting. We may be adding something to that list of bold ideas that take us another step forward. Thank God we can at least talk about a new idea…

Bonfires, events coordinators and Butte Bucks

Early season fire!
Crested Butte’s newest celebratory party event is scheduled for the upcoming weekend and it should be hot. Not only hot, but bright and fast and fun. Read More »