JOURNAL 07/09/06
All right, so it's the Tour de Lanceless, and that's been of greater concern
to us fans than issuing reports to those of you not bicycling around the
French countryside. However, today is a rest day, and with no race to watch,
I am returning to my duties.

But first, this commercial message: the Fourth of July festival at Jorgensen
Park, while a lot of fun, apparently was not as lucrative as it was last
year for several of the food vendors -- or so Lynn, a first-time vendor,
heard from a couple of them (not the Ohio City Firefighters: the
popcorn-cotton candy combo was a sure winner with the crowd).

And so Lynn has many, many "big grab" snack-size bags of chips with no real
home right now. She is hoping to make her cost back on them, so if you
personally, or any group you're affiliated with might have a need for chips
at a good price (certainly you could turn a profit re-selling them, as long
as it's a more chip-friendly venue), give her a call at 275-6682, or stop by
her bakery, in the alley between Main and Iowa, just in back of Rocky
Mountain Trophies and Frames. If you'd just like a individual bag, you can
buy those from her or Pat's Screen Printing (50 cents -- well below grocery
rate).

And while they might be great for kids' school lunches, the 'best if eaten
by" date on all of them seems to be in August.

Actually, I have many commercial messages today:

* An early reminder of the library book sale on Aug. 5. The library is still
looking for volunteers, especially those able to help put books away after 2
p.m. that day.

* A tip o' the hat to Marcia Duncan and the Book Worm. Prices at the library
sale may be lower this year, because Marcia has graciously allowed the
library to sell some of its more valuable books no longer needed for the
collection through her store. This has given the library a more steady
stream of revenue from its book sales. Marcia offers this service free of
charge to the library.

* A reminder of the Public Policy Forum schedule, Wednesdays in CB. Butch is
always looking for car-poolers if you're interested. The one that caught our
eyes yesterday is July 26, when THE Sandra Day O'Connor will hold court on
the Supremes (not the singers). Everyone at the meeting yesterday got a
forum schedule, compliments of Butch, and it has also run in the newspaper,
if you want to know what else they're talking about.

* And while we don't usually like to encourage folks to shop out of the
valley, we note that the Al Gore movie, 'An Inconvenient Truth,' will show
Aug. 13 at 1 p.m. at the movie theatre in downtown Montrose (none of us
recall the name of it -- Fox?).

Now, on with the show:

1) City of Gunnison
    The persistent discussion of the Spencer-135 intersection is likely to
be postponed for yet another year, due to costs. There's going to be another
liquor license hearing, this one for Ensenada Baja Grill, which may be this
restaurant's saving grace in the face of all the previous Mexican restaurant
closures in the same space (behind Palisades in the strip mall). The
planning commission made it through three chapters of the master plan last
week, and is hoping to get through one (on land use) this week. Oh, and at
one of these public meetings Dick Bratton said he anticipated submitting his
group's proposal "in two to three weeks."

2) Housing
    Several issues on this front, and since it's Cattlemen's (and the Tour),
I feel certain I'm not coming back to any of these topics this week. So
here's the quickie -- others could feel free to expound/expand (or check
your Gunnison Times this week): A meeting of the minds on housing brought
forth an articulate presentation by Mayor Chris Morgan of Mt. CB, who
carefully went through all the difficulties that city is having in housing
its workforce despite having affordable policies in place. Aspen, it turns
out, has nine levels of affordability, going up to the $1 million range, and
four of five Pitkin County commissioners live in affordable housing. The
Gunnison Housing Authority now has to decide on a structure for managing and
dispensing fees received from the workforce linkage fee that is already
being imposed as of a week or two ago (with a fair sum of money in the kitty
already). Denise Wise has given HA members a 90-page report on what other
housing trust funds do.

And we should be aware that this is not just a Mt. CB issue: representatives
at the housing meeting came from an entire alphabet: GVH, WSC, RE-1J, the
national land agencies, and even a bank president, all of whom talked about
losing key employees due to the inaffordability of housing here in Gunnison.
Ellen called the high cost of housing "our single biggest roadblock to
economic development."

3) County Planning Commission
   Another tip o' the hat, this time to Gary Garland, who voluntarily
deed-restricted 30% of his development near Skyland, and then further
offered the Housing Authority either $100,000 cash or the land for a
four-plex within his development.

Horse Meadows, a proposed development near all the other Meadows in lower
Upper Castle Mountain (if that makes sense), continues to bedevil the
commission, with many neighbors showing up to air concerns about the
proposed individual septic systems (ISDS) and other water-quality/quantity
issues.

Coal bed methane is an issue for the commission, although the county has
extremely little regulatory control over these. At least -- so far -- no one
is threatened to drill within a municipal watershed, as is happening to
Grand Junction and Fruita, particularly now that the current administration
has rolled back EPA oversights on that water quality. I suppose we won't
care until people in Grand Junction begin to get sick and possibly die, and
even then Mesa County could be facing a big-time uphill battle to protect
its water.

4) Detention Facility
    The committee has already met this morning, focused now on financing.
The thinking -- at least before 7 a.m. today -- was that the county would
apply $100,000 in sales tax annually toward the bonds, hoping to step up the
repayment schedule from 20 years to 15.

5) County Manager
    We believe Aug. 1 is the day John Devore will step down as manager,
although he will continue to serve as airport manager and county
grantwriter. Marlene Crosby will serve as the interim manager -- I have no
information on a serarch timetable or strategy.

6) Library
    Peggy Martin reported that 542 patrons passed through the Ann Zugelder
Public Library last Wednesday. Clearly, the library needs more space. A
committee is eyeing several possible spots; the earliest a bond would go
before the voters is November 2007.

7) RE-1J
    The school board meets tonight at 5:30, and lamentably, we couldn't find
anyone to attend. So if someone out there is looking for something to do
this evening, the board meets at 5:30, I guess at Lake Adminstrative
Building (that's not on the agenda). On the list for action tonight is
appointment of Andy Hanks as the new GES principal. Andy grew up here while
his father was assistant principal at GHS; then moved to Meeker; came back
to study history and play basketball for Western State, earned a masters at
UNC; then coached and taught at Olathe before serving in his present
capactiy as Olathe Middle/High School principal.

Molly Illum is scheduled to become the new adminstirative assistant for the
superintendent, while Kristy Ratliff has been recommended for language arts
and Marla Covey as head volleyball coach, both at Crested Butte High. Ashley
Bodkins is likely to be appointed as half-time literacy specialist.

The board will also review several of its policies, including fund balances,
school wellness, flag displays, executive sessions, and early retirement of
administrative staff.

The one piece on the agenda I didn't understand comes during the
superintendent's report: "Approval of discontinuing posting through BOE
meetings."

8) Farmers Market
    Despite the rain, eight vendors showed up, including the GVCA for our
first appearance. With Butch as our pitchman, we raised over $120 for the
Food Pantry. I believe we have opted to turn that money over weekly, so
perhaps it's on its way to the Food Pantry today. Our mission of education
continues just by our presence: apparently several shoppers didn't even know
Gunnison has a Food Pantry, despite the on-going coverage in local media.
And Butch overheard a WSC Orientation participant on a cellphone, eying 4-H
kids and their projects:  "At home, we have dogs on leashes. In Gunnison,
they have sheep on leashes!"

It's not too late to volunteer, and again, if you have garden contributions,
or know someone who does, please let Karen know. We didn't have a lot of
stuff, but it was a wider variety than you might have thought: several
people were excited to find turnips. And I can report first-hand that
Jaclyn's peas are excellente!


We touched on other items, still fumbling around with an approach to
affordable health care, but then as now we were running out of time (as am
I), so this is what you get.

One last commercial: Thursday is the Tough Enough to Wear Pink rodeo. Even
if you aren't attending the rodeo, you can still buy pink shirts (at the
Toggery, Pat's Screen Printing and I think the Chamber). If that's out of
your price range, the Gunnison Valley Cattlewomen will be selling pink and
black bandanas with their brands on them. All of the money generated by
these fund-raisers will stay in this valley, going to help local folks
prevent and/or manage breast cancer.

Vive le Tour, and let's rodeo!

TL