Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte town council spent more than two hours Monday digging deeper into the idea of placing a possible second home tax on the November ballot. No decisions were made, and staff was tasked with gathering more information on details of such a tax, and other alternatives that could generate revenue for the town. Councilmembers all expressed the need for more town revenue, and Monday’s work session centered on the vacant home tax but also drew some public pushback of the idea.

A Crested Butte Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails (PROST) master plan was approved by the Crested Butte town council at the May 4 meeting with no further discussion. Finishing touches on the document were made and the council discussed a last glimpse of the draft last month.

After several months of delay caused by a nagging disagreement over a quick termination clause in the proposed lease, Crested Butte Search and Rescue (CBSAR) reached an agreement with the Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) and both boards approved the document this week. The latest lease structure has a 35-year initial term with five-year renewals up to 100 years. CBSAR can terminate the lease any time with a 30-day notice while the fire protection district can terminate the lease no earlier than 35 years from now and must provide a five-year notice.

Crested Butte Search and Rescue were called into action for a major mountain bike accident on Sunday, May 17. A 49-year-old Crested Butte man injured himself riding 409 ½ and was about a mile-and-a-half into the trail.

The proposed 85-foot cell tower to be located in Crested Butte South near Red Mountain Park continues to be controversial. The proposal was discussed at the May 12 Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) board meeting. The fire district has agreed to lease their CB South site for the tower and is awaiting final county approval but that hasn’t stopped the comments. The tower would be placed on CBFPD property near the park and would in part, improve fire district emergency communication capabilities along with upgrading general cell phone reception in the subdivision.

Residents and neighbors of Crested Butte’s Mobile Home Park on the west side of town came out in force to the May 18 town council work session on zoning code updates to let the council know they were not in favor of changes to their neighborhood being discussed by town. Those proposed changes include incentives such as allowing future homes in the newly named “Residential Small Lot District” to be up to 24-feet tall or replacing a current mobile home with a modular or stick built home in exchange for a deed restriction requiring occupancy by a full-time owner or long-term renter to a working local.

The Crested Butte council approved the Five-Year Community Spaces Strategic Plan along with the Five-Year Housing Strategy at the May 18 meeting.

With the summer tourism season just around the corner, early indications are the busy factor is still a bit uncertain. Tourism and Prosperity Partnership (TAPP) executive director Andrew Sandstrom reported last week that overall, tourism is pacing flat with last summer. He said current numbers look strong at the beginning and end of the season compared to previous years, but “soft” in the middle.

Conflicts between Gunnison Valley citizens and officers from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have spiked in the past couple weeks. The encounters have taken place at the Gunnison County Sheriff’s jail facility in Gunnison and videos show aggressive give-and-take between citizens and ICE agents that occur as the agents pick up apparent undocumented people as they are being released from the county jail.

The kerfuffle between the Crested Butte South Property Owner’s Association (CBS POA) and the Gunnison County Library District has escalated to the next step. The CBS POA last week filed a complaint for declarative relief with the Gunnison County Court.