NEWS: County opts out of new gun control law, A14
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VOL. 143 NO. 29 | THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2024 | $1.00
Crested Butte approves Whetstone utility link Agreement gives staff 100 days to resolve major issues Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
County planners inched closer to breaking ground at Whetstone after Crested Butte Town Council approved a request to connect the housing project to the town’s utilities. But the agreement does not provide answers to serious financial hurdles, which threaten to kill the project. Whetstone is Gunnison County’s over $130 million, 252-unit affordable housing development, planned for just south of Crested Butte. Whetstone A6
INSIDE
TODAY NEWS: Billick to retire from RMBL, A13
COMMUNITY: The fast and the curious, B1
HANG ON TO YOUR HORSES: Cowboys from across the country traveled to Gunnison to put their bronc and bull riding skills to the test during three nights of Cattlemen’s Days rodeos from July 11-13. For more, see B8. (Photo by Bella Biondini)
Country Meadows Western enrollment residents seek park down nearly 200 ownership again students Homeowners association asks county for help Bella Biondini Times Editor
SPORTS: Lindner shares his love of climbing, B10
OBITUARIES A3 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A15-A18 SPORTS B10 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Country Meadows residents are trying to purchase the mobile home park for a second time. On June 21, owner Ski Town Village LLC put the mobile home park up for sale, just two years after it was purchased. The notice followed months of unresolved electrical outages at a number of homes in the park. The incident is still under investigation by the state’s Division of
Housing. This month, the Gunnison County District Court granted the Division of Housing's request for a temporar y restraining order against Ski Town Village. It requires the landlord to obtain a state electrical permit, provide alternative housing for the affected homes and reimburse the residents for the rent paid between February and June. A hearing for the Division's preliminary injunction request is set for July 18. The Times has reached out to park manager Mark Hodge multiple times with no response. Under Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Act, residents have 90 days to make an offer and arrange financing. Homeowner Meadows A7
Numbers suffer from WorkDay, FAFSA issues Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
Western Colorado University’s enrollment is down nearly 200 students from last year. The low numbers are a result, in part, of delays in the federal financial student aid process and the university’s implementation of a new computer software system. Western has to maintain its enrollment in order to keep perpupil revenue coming in, and the school’s finances healthy. Its goal this year was to keep growing its on-campus student pop-
ulation following pandemic-era declines. But issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a new operations management software system called WorkDay complicated the process. As a result, fewer students — new, continuing and re-admits — have enrolled for the upcoming school year. The university has not yet calculated the exact impact on revenues, as enrollment is still changing day-by-day, Chief Financial Officer Ian Higgins told the Times. However, due to increased enrollment of non-resident students (freshmen or transfers not from the state of Colorado), who typically pay more, the financial impact of fewer students might lessen. “As I think about next fiscal Western A8