BRECKENRIDGE — Larry Crispell wants voters to send him back to Breckenridge Town Council so he can expand on a wealth of accomplishments from previous terms.

“When people choose to vote for me, they can have the confidence that I've actually walked the talk,” he said. “I can look back on a track record of housing, early childhood options, open space and trails and say ‘I'm proud of what I as a town council member have achieved in that 10-year period.'”

Crispell, 62, was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1996 and was re-elected twice before he was term-limited in 2006. Now eligible once again, he intends to lead again to improve quality of life in the town.

His past efforts include increasing the number of attainable-housing units from 50 to 531 during his town council tenure and helping to get an open space tax approved that led to 4,000 acres of open space.

Crispell serves on boards for the Upper Blue Sanitation District and Breckenridge Heritage Alliance. He said the town should continue bolstering heritage tourism.

“There's no doubt the ski area is an economic driver, but we've learned heritage tourists come in the shoulder seasons as well as regular seasons,” he said, adding that they're known to spend more money in town.

Crispell said that during his 10 years on council, he helped improve previously rocky relations between the town and Summit County government.

“We have built a relationship that allows us to work together for the benefit of the whole community,” he said.

He said this work led to backcountry zoning as well as the transferable development rights program — which helps to preserve open space by allowing backcountry property owners to sell their development rights to areas perhaps more suitable for building.

Crispell said town marketing revenue is one of the top issues the town faces, and he wants to level the playing field.

“If we want economic success, we have to market at the same level Vail or Telluride market themselves,” he said.

Crispell said he wouldn't rule out a lift-ticket tax toward achieving that goal, but he also suggested coming up with a fund similar to the town's reserves fund that would build up marketing dollars during the higher-revenue years so the town is better equipped during the down years.

He also said the town has done well with its resources to be fiscally responsible during the economic recession.

“It's hard on a community when you're counting on every year increasing sales tax revenues and they go away,” he said. “I have a business background. I know what it's like to have to make payroll every week and keep employees happy.”

Crispell grew up in San Diego, Calif., and earned an engineering degree from Stanford University before moving to Colorado to work for a local molybdenum mine. He worked construction for a few years before starting his own company. Crispell now owns and rents mini-storage warehouses in Summit County.

He and his wife Janet have two kids who attended Carriage House for preschool; one is a seventh-grader at Summit Middle School and the other is attending the Art Institute of Chicago.

Crispell said that if elected, he will dedicate his council salary to Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center “to support programs that my family has initiated for families who have suffered from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).”

On Breckenridge Ski Resort's plans to develop Peak 6, Crispell said he is supportive but that “further development should not be a part of the Peak 6 process.”

He said Vail Resorts also needs to support the additional employees through child care and housing.

“It's a good thing,” he said of the ski area expansion. “It just needs to be done with social responsibility.”

Regarding the town's work to expand attainable housing, Crispell said the right decision was made to sever ties with Mercy Housing in developing the 42-unit Valley Brook neighborhood.

“I view it as an opportunity,” he said. “I fully support Valley Brook with the town assuming more of a leadership role. What exactly is the right model? I'm not sure. But the town is heading in the right direction.”

With Mercy out, the town is expected to oversee the development. Crispell said the town has “a lot of qualified people” who could get the neighborhood developed more efficiently, at a lower cost.

Crispell said his campaign involves him knocking on every door of the Wellington Neighborhood, Vista Point and Gibson Heights deed-restricted housing neighborhoods.

He said seeing a young family with young kids reminds him of his 1996 campaign promise.

“Every time I see a family like that I know that my efforts of 10 years on council were successful,” he said.

Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.