NEWS: Property valuations rise significantly in 2023, A3
VOL. 142. NO. 16 | THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023 | $1.00
Local officials prepare for spring runoff High snowpack could mean high water Bella Biondini Times Editor
Winter still lingers in the Gunnison Valley
Jacob Spetzler
Mount Owen was still draped in snow on Saturday afternoon, April 15.
INSIDE
TODAY RIVER FESTIVAL: All summer long, A8
COMMUNITY: Tutor receives Rotary Club’s Hal Yale award, B1
Flooding A6
City attempts (again) to slow traffic down Purchases four new speed signs, encourages greater enforcement
Bella Biondini Times Editor
Although progress is slow, City of Gunnison staff are exploring a multitude of shortand long-term projects to put an end to speeding in the city and increase pedestrian safety.
Traffic safety has been an ongoing concern for the community and is outlined as a high priority within the city’s strategic plan, said Community Development Director Anton Sinkewich. While staff have numerous overlapping projects underway that are “long range endeavors,” part of the process
OBITUARIES A2 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A13-A17 SPORTS B9 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
included finding a handful of “quick wins” that could be placed on the ground as soon as this spring. Sinkewich gave city council an update on citywide street safety planning during a regular meeting on April 11. Hoping to make some more immediate changes, councilTraffic A6
County breaks ground at Sawtooth Residents to move in by end of summer
SPORTS: GHS baseball wins three in a row, B9
If temperatures warm too quickly, the Upper Gunnison River Basin’s high snowpack could lead to flooding in some areas as the snow begins to melt. On Monday, April 17, Gunnison County Emergency
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
Gunnison County’s next affordable housing development is just months away from welcoming its first residents. This week, county officials broke ground on the first phase of Sawtooth, an affordable housing development located on county-ow ned land on South 14th Street, just west of the Gunnison County Fairgrounds. Officials hope new residents will begin moving in by the end of the summer. The development is named for Sawtooth Mountain, which peeks over the southern skyline of Gunnison, beyond W
Jacob Spetzler
County officials moved the first piles of dirt at the Sawtooth groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, April 17.
Mountain. The name is meant to elicit that essential connection to the natural world, said County Commissioner Jonathan Houck at the ceremony. “This space, where essential
workers and people in our community live, is still connected to open space and to the wild spaces and all the other aspects of this community that make it important for those of us that
live here,” he said. The prefabr icated units were built by Fading West Construction, a Buena Vista modular housing manufacturer. The project is split into two phases. Phase one will add 18 units to the valley’s housing stock, and the first units are expected to be available this summer. Most of the modules are already built and sitting in Salida, just waiting for trucks to bring them over Monarch to the final resting place. Phase two will be completed in 2024, and offer an additional 30 units. The 18 modular units are made up of six duplex buildings and six single-occupancy spaces with two-car garages behind the duplexes. Each unit will have yard space and be heated with ground-source heat pumps, which are two times more efficient than elecSawtooth A7