NEWS: EMS facility nears fundraising goal, A14
VOL. 143 NO. 27 | THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024 | $1.00
RTA to buy Hwy. 50 lot for ‘enhanced’ bus stop Facility to be half the size of original Rec Center proposal Bella Biondini Times Editor
T h e G u n n i s o n Va l l e y R u r a l Transportation Authority (RTA) is buying a lot on Hwy. 50 that will serve FOAM FUN: Kids splashed through a mountain of bubbles during a foam party at the Gunnison County Library on June 26. For more, see B7. (Photo by Mariel Wiley)
RTA A3
Clock ticking on State budget boon TODAY Whetstone project allows district to INSIDE
NEWS: Blue Mesa bridge opens to limited traffic, A8
COMMUNITY: The rhythm runners, B1
County seeks guarantee for utility connection by mid-July Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
SPORTS: United by the beautiful game, B8
OBITUARIES A2 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A17-A20 SPORTS B8 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Time is of the essence for Gunnison County planners who face the possibility of abandoning Whetstone, the county’s over $130 million affordable housing project, if costs rise enough to push rents past affordability goals. Crested Butte Town Council has yet to decide if it’s able to help the county reduce the cost of Whetstone, or if it’s willing to connect the project to the town’s utilities. Meanwhile, the
county faces escalating pressure to secure construction costs, break ground and issue bonds to guarantee the county could pay for the project. “Time has been a bigger risk, and if we keep seeing delays, we might actually miss a building season again, or part of a building season, which is a huge cost of the project,” Assistant County Manager for Operations and Sustainability John Cattles told the Times. In order to finalize the eventual bond amount, the county needs to know just how much funding and staff time the town is willing to commit to see the development built. All these factors influence the overall cost of Whetstone, and will determine if the county can keep rents at a place that could truly be affordable for Gunnison Valley workers.
FEED YOUR FAMILY OF 4
A BURGER MEAL
FOR UNDER $12
Whetstone A6
offer higher raises, keep counselor the 2024-25 budget at a regular School meeting on June 24. pandemic The extra money means that the district will keep a counfunding dries up selor on staff — a position that Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
After years of back and forth in the Colorado Legislature, lawmakers added hundreds of millions of dollars back into K-12 public education this year. For the Gunnison Watershed School District (GWSD), this meant an additional $1.3 million that allowed the district to offer more significant raises to its teachers. The board adopted
was going to expire with pandemic funding. The district is also shifting some pandemicfunded positions over to being paid for by interest earnings, a temporary solution that will allow it to support a clinical therapist. And, the increase in funds allowed the district to raise starting teacher salaries to just over $50,000, a longtime goal for the district, said Finance Director Tia Mills. This year’s budget includes a Schools A6