Photo by Liz Copan / Studio Copan
A letter opposing recent actions and discussions of the Breckenridge Town Council stirred the pot at Tuesday’s council meeting. Mayor Eric Mamula responded to the letter, and community members chimed in during the public comment period asking the council to work with them to address the lack of attainable workforce housing in town.
The 71 signatures on the letter included both individuals as well as people who signed for their business, including Breckenridge Grand Vacations CEO and co-owner Mike Dudick, Breckenridge Resort Managers President Toby Babich and Breckenridge Associates Real Estate founding partner Rob Neyland. The letter was labeled “One Voice” in an email that was sent to the Town Council and forwarded to the Summit Daily News.
I want to commend the Breckenridge Town Council for its decision to not bring back Walkable Main this year. It shows a lot of courage to make a decision that goes against the wishes of 86% of your constituents in order to do what’s best for the town.
You did a great job analyzing the data and listening to your businesses to decide that Walkable Main’s overwhelming popularity might give some businesses too much of an unfair advantage in a less restrictive world. I have no doubt that if you had not listened, one or more of the businesses outside Walkable Main would have suffered irreparable harm.
Conservative Common Sense
At long last, the Breckenridge Town Council is showing some backbone and making decisions that benefit the people: Abandoning the outdoor mask mandate and walkable Main Street are decisions that are to be applauded.
There has been no science to support the outdoor mask mandate for the past year. There have been ambivalent directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some in favor and some not. Yet the council blindly followed Gov. Jared Polis’ dial of repression making life on Main Street unbearably restrictive.
Pedestrians have been languishing somewhere between walking dead and Nazi brownshirts, some floating listlessly along the sidewalk with a dazed and confused look in their eyes, barely poking out above their mask, and being unable or unwilling to make eye contact with fellow passersby.
Photo by Elaine Collins
Breckenridge will not bring back Walkable Main, the pedestrian-only Main Street concept that sprung up last summer. The Breckenridge Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday, April 27, to not reinstate the walkway.
Community Development Director Mark Truckey explained in a memo to council that there have been numerous inquiries on whether the town would bring back Walkable Main. The town recently surveyed residents and businesses, asking for feedback about the concept. Results favored reintroducing the pedestrian walkway with 86% of residents and 83% of businesses that responded supporting the return of Walkable Main.
Mayor Eric Mamula countered the results of the survey by stating that there were a lot of conditions listed along with people’s support of the concept.
Photo by Libby Stanford / Summit Daily archives
Breckenridge’s mandatory mask zone is officially a thing of the past. The Breckenridge Town Council unanimously approved an emergency ordinance on Tuesday, April 27, that loosens mask requirements in town.
The newly approved mask ordinance in Breckenridge requires people to comply with any local, state or federal mask orders. The new ordinance repeals a 2020 ordinance that created a mandatory mask zone in Breckenridge, which required everyone in the core of town to wear a mask at all times inside or outside.
“As we appear to be transitioning to lesser face-covering requirements, it is important to have an ordinance that spells out compliance with whatever the current orders are at the time,” Town Manager Rick Holman explained in his memo to council.