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Vol. 142. No. 4
Thursday, January 26, 2023
January gives basin water supply a lift Blue Mesa projected to fill to 71% capacity Bella Biondini Times Editor
Snow accumulation in the Upper Gunnison Basin is off to a strong start, with levels at 200% of average for the month of January alone. While snowfall was a little scarce during the fall season, it returned in December — giving the snowpack a boost with the arrival of the new year. The active storm pattern continued into January, and by the 18th of the Water supply A6
INSIDE TODAY NEWS: Gunnison and Taylor rivers reach Gold Medal status, A3 COMMUNITY: Tracks through the past with Russ Lallier, B1
SPORTS: GHS swim team wins home meet, B6
Abby Harrison
Burn baby, burn Jarrod Cawley, a maintenance mechanic with the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest, ignites a pile of cleared timber near Slumgullion Pass. For more, see A13.
City moves to fill manager position Tax increase remains an option for street funding Bella Biondini Times Editor
After extensive interviews and a community Q&A session, Gunnison City Council has directed staff to work toward negotiating an employment con-
tract with Brian Berger to fill the vacant city manager position. Berger presently serves as the town administrator, treasurer and clerk for the Town of Poncha Springs, just east of Monarch Pass. Council will make a final decision in the coming weeks, likely in a special session before Feb. 14. Council selected three finalists for the position, which has been vacant since late October, during a closed session last week. The candidates were invited to a City council A7
Bella Biondini
Community weighs in on Whetstone OBITUARIES A2 OPINION A4-A5, A9 CLASSIFIEDS A15-A17 SPORTS B6 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Building placement and liveability among top concerns
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
Gunnison County’s largest and most ambitious affordable housing development, Whetstone, is still years away from completion, but last week the public had an opportunity
to offer input. At a Jan. 19 public hearing, county officials and consultants laid out the twoyear evolution of the project. Every member of the public who commented affirmed their overall support, but each had a few modifications in mind. The development is located
just a mile and a half south of the Town of Crested Butte off of Hwy. 135, near the intersection with Brush Creek Road. The county purchased the 15-acre parcel in 2019 and work started in the spring of 2021 with a Whetstone A6
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