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Vvle. ~ ~- Yabba Dabba no ,~ ~B council says no to gravel pit Ian Olgelrson Stall Writer Fred Flintstone, the pop cul- ture patron saint of gravel pits, indirectly got the cold shoulder in Crested Butte Monday night, as the town council narrowly turned down an offer to enter the mining business. ]n a 4-3 vote, the council rejected a proposal from Gears Inc. to mine the gravel pit on the Eccher Ranch for the next 11 months, citing concerns about a proposed bike path from Crested Butte to River Bend and ecological worries. Gears offered the town a $1 royalty for each ton of grave! extracted from the pit south of town and a discount for future gravel purchases. In total, the proposition would have netted the town as much as $25,000 in royalties and saved the munici- pality as much as $3,OOD on gravel purchases. Councilmembers Mark Reaman, tarry Scgo and Victor Shepard argued in favor of granting the contract to operate the pit, while the remaining four members voted it down, "Every time 1've driven off that hill for the past 15 years, (the pit) has been getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and now we're going to make it a little bit bigger;' said Cath Sherrer in her vocal opposition to the pit. "I don't want to do that." Supporters of the proposal argued that not only would the operation make the town some money, w},ich could be put toward reclaiming the pit, it would also be a first step in healing the ugly scar. "The choice to me is to do something rather Than nothing, and I would rather do some- thing;' Sego said. Town Manager Bill Crank said operating the gravel pit would do little to change the reclamation picture. "1 don't think this is going to have a substantial impact on the reclamation process, pro or con;' he said. Reaction fmm the public was mixed as several audience mem- bers, including noted environ- mentalist Cary Sprung, spoke up in favor of mining gravel from an already established pit, while oth- ers railed against its effect on the quality of life in town. Sandy Conner, from the audience, complained of noise and intense dust from the oper- ation in past summers. "I find it pretty hypocritical that you're worried about stove emissions and you're not wor- ried about dust from a gravel pit;' Conner said. The key issue, however, was the town's proposed bike path, which is to con through the pit. "1 think we would be remiss if we put bikes on the same road with trucks;' Crank said of the traffic that would result From the gravel operation. Other members agree, and, despite a proposal to divide the road to allow a bike path, the council voted it down. GUNNISON COUNTRY TIfAtB Gunnison, CO (Gunnison Cowry) M-F, 3,3T3 . .