An Account From DJ Sugar Monkey

And then there were three. In a landslide victory, Ryan Vinciguerra was re-elected as Mayor of the Town of Marble on April 2nd. He will preside over a Council of just three consisting of himself, incumbent Amber McMahill, and new appointee Dustin Wilkey, who ran unopposed. A warm round of applause filled the Marble Community Church Hall for Wilkey, who together with his partner Samantha, run the Crystal Jeep Tours business and who alone is responsible for keeping the Town’s streets free of snow and in good order.

The new Council will be officially sworn in at the next regular meeting scheduled for May 2nd. In addition to the Town’s administrative staff (Ron Leach, Terry Langley, and Alie Wettstein) there were nine residents present at the April meeting. El Tel sported a dashing pair of colorful and very comfortable-looking shoes (pictured). Once the applause for new Council member Wilkey died down, the meeting began in earnest. 

There were thanks for Emma Bielski, who had shown up for her final appearance after serving three terms on the Board, and Larry Good, who made his final (virtual) appearance after a decade of service. Alas, Tony Petrocco, runner-up for Mayor, was not present. There was a brief interlude before Good went live, during which some soporific lounge music played on the speakerphone. I was quite enjoying it, but it proved an unwelcome distraction for Sue Blue sitting in the audience with her canine companion, Jumpstart. 

Town Administrator Ron Leach explained that a notice would be posted looking for further Trustees interested in joining Vinciguerra, McMahill, and Wilkey. If that produces more than two candidates (which it did), a public selection process would ensue (which took place on May 2nd, an hour ahead of the next Board Meeting). 

Minutes were approved in short order for the meeting of March 7th, together with current bills, after which resident and professional project planner Josh Vogt took to the floor to offer an update on the Marble Charter School renovation project. Vogt’s presentation was detailed and authoritative; he explained that the $1 million bond allotted to the school for the development would not be nearly enough to cover the project, and the school was expecting to hear about two further sources of funding in which it had already applied. The first is a “Best Grant,” the outcome of which will be known in May, and the second is a grant from History Colorado, to be revealed in June. His presentation was accompanied by a slide show, the highlight of which was a detailed geographical layout of the Marble Charter School along with all of its nebulous boundaries. 

Vogt was followed by Hawkins Siemon, Chairman of the Board of the Marble Charter School, joined by yours truly, to present the financial position of the school and the Town respectively, to launch a discussion on possible extra funding for both. The school is in a tricky financial position. It is funded on a per-student basis by Gunnison County, which results in a cash shortfall of $1,440 per student when compared with other school districts not incorporated in the same County. Its costs, unsurprisingly, are higher because of the need to compete with “down valley” wages and pricing. The net result is that the school has had to dip into its $150,000 reserve fund this year to the tune of $50,000, a clearly unsustainable position barring the discovery of another source of funding or a dramatic increase in enrollment. 

It was then my turn to take to the floor (Squirt fuelled of course) to present a brief snapshot of the Town’s financial position. Although the numbers are relatively small, the Town has managed to balance its budget for the last several years. The Council and administrative staff are to be congratulated for building the Town's reserves from close to zero subsequent to the fraud of 2012 to a little over $430,000 today. After a brief look at the macro inflationary and interest rate trends gripping the whole country, I highlighted that the Town’s net income has remained essentially flat over the last four years, although 2023 resulted in a net loss of $35,000. This was almost entirely due to a spike in road maintenance expenses due to extremely heavy snowfall. The cost to the Town came in at $65,000, or 16% of total Town expenses, almost double the figure for 2022 ($37,000). 

By far the most significant proportion of the Town of Marble’s revenues comes in the form of Sales Tax, approximately $166,000 in 2023 or 45% of annual revenues. It was suggested that a small increase in Sales Tax would constitute the Town’s “biggest bang for its buck,”  but this failed to garner the support of the Council given that Sales Tax had only recently been increased following a vote in November 2020 and that everyone was currently “feeling the pinch” of higher inflation, higher rates and an ensuing increase in the cost of capital/credit. Mayor Vinciguerra opined that in any case, a Sales Tax increase should rightly go in its entirety to the Town and that the school should pursue other revenue-raising avenues, in particular the introduction of an optional extra charge to be applied to bills generated by local tourist-facing businesses. This option would not need to go to a public vote, unlike a further increase in Sales Tax. Siemon agreed to explore the matter further on behalf of the school.  

Monique Villalobos, organizer of the popular Marble Gem and Mineral Show then took to the floor to request $1,500 in funding from the town for four porta potties for the event. Her request was unanimously approved by the Board. 

The discussion then turned to road maintenance priorities for the year ahead. Mayor Vinciguerra noted that the “East side of Town is in dire need of love,” and that the asphalt road needs attention. Town Administrator Ron Leach assured those present that road improvements would be taking place over the summer, addressing “cracks and shoulders, and a couple of serious potholes.” The conversation then turned to the long-running issue of the Jailhouse restoration project, a subject close to the heart of soon-to-be ex-Trustee Emma Bielski who admitted that after serving three terms she was “really excited not to be doing the Jailhouse and Town Council at the same time.” Despite her gargantuan efforts, the project is still in need of a large slug of funding and Bielski agreed to come back to present details to the new Board in May. 

She was unimpressed when Mayor Vinciguerra characterized the momentum behind the project as “a little stagnant.” He sought to justify his comment by adding, “This is how I make sure something gets done in May.” Unfortunately, he failed to placate his fellow Trustee and after a prickly exchange, Bielski made an early exit, leaving the remaining Board members in the awkward position of having no quorum. 

On behalf of all Marble residents, I would like to extend a mountain of gratitude to Emma Bielski, Larry Good, and Tony Petrocco for their many years of invaluable service, hard work, and dedication to the preservation and good health of our beloved little Town. The role of Trustee is no doubt at times a thankless one. Nevertheless, all three have performed their duties with grace, intelligence, and good humor and I applaud them for their efforts (and fashion sense). Thank you!  

The next meeting of the Town of Marble Board of Trustees will be on Thursday, June 6th at the Marble Community Church's Fellowship Hall starting at 7 p.m.

DJ Sugar Monkey is the host of “Snack Time” every other Thursday after- noon from 12-2 p.m. The music show features mostly jazz with a mix of funk and, according to DJ Sugar Monkey, a "smattering of world music thrown in, mostly from Africa." You can find him on KDNK (88.1 FM), Carbondale’s public access radio that connects community members and the world.