While Citizens Determined to Save McArthur Gulch has been campaigning to prevent the state land board from transferring the lease on the 480 acres of land in the Shawnee area to Human Movement Management, Jeff Suffolk, CEO of the company, has gone the private citizen route to acquire the lease.
The Austine Stitt family of Aspen, who owns the lease and 160 acres of private property next to the McArthur Gulch parcel, sold 40 acres of the private property to Suffolk. Stitt was also one of the lease holders on the McArthur Gulch land.
Kent Collins of Shawnee was added to the McArthur Gulch lease about five years ago. Collins signed agreement with Stitt that if any of the 160 acres of private land was sold, then he would be removed from the state land lease.
After the sale of the 40 private acres, Stitt informed the state land board of the agreement with Collins and the McArthur Gulch lease was modified to remove Collins from the lease.
Stitt made a request to the state land board to transfer the lease to relative Betty Stitt and Suffolk. This relieved Austine Stitt from any association with the lease and the McArthur Gulch property.
Betty Stitt and her husband have been longtime residents of Shawnee. The sale of the 40 acres does not affect the Stitt residency.
