What does the future of Saratoga look like and who will have a hand in shaping that future?
This has been a question that has weighed on my mind in recent years, especially as we see continued growth both here in Saratoga and throughout the Valley. While the agriculture and timber industries were long the leading economic drivers for the area, and still employ a number of people, the tourism industry has become one of the major parts of our economy.
Of course, who wouldn’t want to come here?
I, for one, love being able to see the Medicine Bow Mountain Range while walking to work in the mornings. Though I’m not what one would call the most outdoorsy person, it is nice to know that there are miles of hiking trails and winding rivers available to experience whenever I have the opportunity.
I am by no means a native, my family moved here in 1999, but I count Saratoga as my hometown. I’m not alone in this, as Saratoga and the Valley are filled with people who visited at one point and sought to make it their home. Talk to these people and they show the same love as those who have lived here for five or six generations.
Along with being a tourism destination, the Valley has also been a little known retreat for the wealthy and super wealthy. Brush Creek Ranch has pushed Saratoga into the national spotlight. Just last year, Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss were joined by the likes of Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry and Mila Kunis for a second wedding. The ranch also hosted Reba McEntire when she celebrated her wedding anniversary and Allison Williams for her wedding.
While Brush Creek Ranch is a somewhat recent addition to the Valley, it joins a number of other places that appeal to those wanting to experience some of what the West has to offer. Additionally, Saratoga has been the second home of what one could call “people of means”.
Recently, I read an article that got me to really think about what the future might hold for Saratoga. While it seems that I spend most of my time writing articles, or preparing to write articles, I do occasionally get the chance to read other publications. One of those is High Country News.
For those unfamiliar with the magazine, High Country News was founded in 1970 by Tom Bell in Lander, Wyoming. Bell, a lifelong conservationist, was president of the Wyoming Wildlife Foundation and also founded the Wyoming Outdoor Council after a handful of years working for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Bell passed away in 2016.
A non-profit news company, High Country News covers issues throughout the American West ranging from oil and gas leases to wind energy to conservation efforts to economic issues. Despite the massive coverage area and variety of subjects, the publication does a decent job in doing deep dives with their articles.
In this month’s issue, High Country News reported on a political drama in Gunnison County, Colorado that unfolded before and during this most recent election cycle.
It all began when second homeowners in the county were among those directed by the Gunnison County Commissioners and the county health officer to leave the county.
Within Gunnison County is Crested Butte, a popular ski town with a population of just over 1,600, and where a number of the second homeowners would spend their summers. Following that direction, several second homeowners made the decision to form a political action committee to try and flip the three seat Gunnison County Commission, of which two seats were up for election in 2020.
I won’t relate the entire article here but, needless to say, I was engrossed from beginning to end. Among the many parts that stuck out to me, however, was a divide illustrated between the full-time and part-time residents of Crested Butte and Gunnison County. In many ways, Crested Butte and Saratoga are similar.
Gunnison County has a population of 17,400 while Carbon County has a population of nearly 15,000. While Crested Butte has a population of 1,681, Saratoga has a population of 1,623. That, however, is where the similarities seem to end.
In Saratoga, the typical home value, according to Zillow, is $219,210 while in Crested Butte it is $401,363. The median household income in Saratoga, meanwhile, is approximately $37,000 while the median household income for Crested Butte is approximately $61,000.
With these similarities, and these differences, I couldn’t help but ponder if it was possible that Saratoga could someday see a political drama similar to what Crested Butte saw in 2020 (though Saratoga has had no shortage of its own political dramas). I also wondered if, with the growth that both our town and our Valley have seen in recent years, residents who call this place home will find themselves unable to live here.
In Crested Butte, for example, many of the people who work in the service industry live in nearby Gunnison and commute to their jobs and there is a notable lack of affordable housing in Crested Butte. These are problems that Saratoga is not unfamiliar with, as affordable housing has been discussed from time-to-time with some projects being proposed but never followed through.
As we bid 2020 a not-so-fond farewell and look to 2021 and beyond, I hope it is with an eye on a future in which Saratoga and the Valley can find ways to benefit from the tourism industry while allowing those who currently call it home to continue doing so.
This is also where I’ll put a plug for the Saratoga Planning Commission, one of the more important ancillary boards as our town continues to grow. Out of the seven seats, only two are currently filled and they’re taking letters of interest.
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