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VOL. 142. NO. 33 | THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2023 | $1.00
City seeks loan to continue water plant design Total project cost exceeds $50 million Bella Biondini Times Editor
SHOW TUNES: (Left to right) Samantha Lovelace, Sadie Swift, Rose Pankratz, Adelaide Pankratz and Kassidy Robinson practice for their big moment at the Kids of the Gunnison Valley concert at I Bar Ranch on Aug. 15. The girls are not only best friends about the enter the fourth grade, but together, form the band Puguleles. They sang hits from Tom Petty, Imagine Dragons, Miranda Lambert and Ed Sheeran. (Photo by Abby Harrison)
Because the City of Gunnison’s existing cash reserves and water usage rates are insufficient to fund a new multimillion dollar water infrastructure improvements, leaders plan to cover the cost with a hodge-podge of grants, loans and utility rate increases. This assortment will potentially include a $2.3 million interim loan from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Water A6
Community scrambles to find temporary TODAY housing for Frontier Land residents INSIDE NEWS: RTA plans for the future, A13
COMMUNITY: Three years of harvest at Sunny Sage Farm, B1
Owner plans to renovate mobile home park before end of year Bella Biondini Times Editor
Since an eviction notice shared with Frontier Land ten-
SPORTS: GHS softball sweeps Cortez, B6
OPINION A4-A5 CLASSIFIEDS A19-A22 SPORTS B6 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
days from when it was issued to vacate their homes, which are leased on a month-to-month basis. T h e G u n n i s o n Va l l e y Regional Housing Authority, backed by Gunnison County Health and Human Services, entered what Director Andy Kadlec called “emergenc y response mode.” Over the past two weeks, Kadlec reached out to organizations across the Gunnison Valley for help finding temporary housing for the residents during this interim
period — no easy feat with the limited inventory available. Despite the challenge, temporary solutions slowly began to surface. So far, the Rural Transportation Authority has offered six of its presently empty employee housing units at Lazy K until November. The Town of Crested Butte has also offered some of the short-term units it uses for seasonal employees. “No matter how many units you have, people need and want Frontier Land A6
District-wide renovation planning begins Energy, electric systems first on the list
OBITUARIES A3
ants landed on the desks of local leaders, the community has rushed to find temporary and affordable housing for the families before the end of August. Although the owner shared his intent to repair the park’s infrastructure and install new mobile homes for the residents to purchase, the swift timeline took many by surprise. On July 25, Frontier Land residents received a notice that owner CCNB Properties had terminated their leases. They have 30
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
The Gunnison Watershed School District's $95 million renovation project has kicked off with a few minor projects this summer, with the goal to start more considerable work this fall. In the last few months, contractors have started ener-
gy modeling for the Gunnison Community School, evaluating electrical and automation systems at all schools and finalizing community focus groups that will help guide the renovation. In the next three years, the entire school district will get a facelift, focusing specifically on overcrowding at the Crested Butte Community School, adding more student programs and improving security systems at each school. The improvements are funded by a 2022 ballot Schools A7
Students in a sixth grade physical science class work on their morning assignments. (Photo by Abby Harrison)