NEWS: CPW moves into new Gunnison office, A12
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VOL. 143 NO. 49 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2024 | $1.00
City to prop up Main Street with economic plan Release set for spring 2025 Bella Biondini Times Editor
FROST TROT: Runners sped over icy streets during the eighth annual Thighs Before Pies Turkey Trot race Thanksgiving morning. For more, see A13. (Photo by Jacob Spetzler)
When asked to describe the state of Gunnison’s economy, a collection of residents and business owners chose the word “stagnant.” Over the past few years, businesses on Main Street have shuffled in and out, leaving more storefronts vacant as time went on. In 2024, the City of Gunnison’s sales tax revenue remained mostly flat, and is projected to stay that way in the coming year. The slowdown
has begun to put pressure on the city staff, as this revenue stream supports the police and fire departments, street maintenance and general administration. “When the cost of living, salaries and material goods are all going up, and the [city’s] revenue is flat, the math eventually doesn’t work … We’re trying to focus on that vitality moving forward and making [downtown] a destination so that fundamentally we’re not losing customers to the North Valley,” said City Manager Amanda Wilson. Over the summer, the city began drafting an economic Main Street A6
Gunnison Safeway RTA will fund TODAY to be sold in possible second proposed merger Bustang route INSIDE
NEWS: CB chamber looks to the future, A10
COMMUNITY: Mark High announces retirement, B1
SPORTS: Mountaineer heartbreak against Beavers, B6 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A15-A17 SPORTS B6 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
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Divested stores would stay open, executives say Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
(Editor's note: This story was compiled from news reporting around the state, and includes information from journalists who sat in on a two-week trial in Denver District Court in October.) One of Gunnison’s two commercial grocery stores will be sold if a multi-billion dollar grocery merger is approved.
A nearly $25 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons was announced last year, and is awaiting a slew of state and federal court decisions to move forward. Gunnison’s only two commercial, conventional grocery stores, City Market and Safeway, are owned by Kroger and Albertsons, respectively. Natural Grocers and Crested Butte’s Clark’s Market are both chains, but offer mostly organic or in-house brands, typically at a higher cost. Grocer y executives have promised that they will keep all divested stores open and invest billions to raise wages and lower prices. If the merger goes through, the Gunnison Safeway would be sold to C&S Merger A6
Expanded bus service requires buy-in from Chaffee County Bella Biondini Times Editor
Due to the popularity of the Bustang route, the Gunnison Valley may get access to service twice daily to Denver as soon as next spring. The Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) board of directors hopes the boosted service will encourage more passengers to take the bus. Similar to adding more flights out of the valley,
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additional service can make passengers more comfortable in the case of travel delays or cancellations. With only a single daily trip, making travel arrangements is challenging, while a missed bus could easily leave residents stranded. The Bustang is operated by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). Its main lines run along the I-25 corridor on the Front Range, and I-70 between Denver and Grand Junction. Its Bustang “Outrider” bus moves passengers across the Western Slope with routes that run between the mountain towns of Crested Butte, Telluride and Durango. At its November meeting,
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