HomeMy WebLinkAbout10. Town_Manager_Report_11.2.17
TOWN MANAGER REPORT -
NOV 7th TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Newsletter Date
TOPICS
• Hotel Talisa & DoubleTree
Update
• Clubhouse Update
• Recognizing Charlie
• Eagle County Regional
Airport Training Exercise
• Intermountain Fire
Mitigation
• Fire Station #1
• Staff Affairs
• IACP Election
• CAST
• Economic Development
Manager Recruitment
• Preservation of History
• Season Parking Passes
Hotel Talisa & DoubleTree Update
The Fire Department and Building Inspection team have been busy assisting the two
contractors for these two projects in terms of completing the final punch lists. Hotel Talisa
obtained a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy on October 25th. There are a few minor
issues to be corrected prior to the permanent Certificate being issued. The hotel is largely
ready for occupancy. Fire Marshal Mike Vaughn has informed us that Hotel Talisa may
have their team in the building by Novem ber 6th.
As of the time of this writing, the Chief Building Official, CJ Jarecki, is meeting with the
DoubleTree group, which has been busy working toward the completion of that facility.
The work is progressing and the town is doing what it can to facilitate the process. It is
anticipated that approval for occupancy will occur around December 14th. Again, we will
keep you updated.
Golf & Nordic Clubhouse Update
Members of the Vail Rec District, Public Works and I have been meeting with the
contractor, Evans Chaffee, the architectural firm, Zehren & Associates, and others related
to completing the punch list out at the Clubhouse. Many of the items are small-scale in
terms of scope and complexity, although the wood flooring laminate throughout the facility
is a central talking point as it is in need of repair or replacement. We will keep you
apprised of this issue and its ultimate resolution.
Recognizing Charlie
The Colorado Chapter of the American Public Works Association honored Charlie
Turnbull, our long-time Street Superintendent, as Professional Manager of the Year at its
annual awards luncheon last month. A 40-year veteran of Public Works, Charlie was
nominated by his co-workers for top professional in the administrative management in the
small community category.
During the past 17 years as Street Superintendent, Charlie’s leadership has guided the
streets division through substantial growth, change and challenges. We are very proud of
his achievement of this award, which truly reflects his dedication and service to the Vail
community.
Eagle County Regional Airport Training Exercise
Representatives from our Fire, Police, Vail Public Safety Communications Center/Mobile
Command Unit and Public Information/Communications staff joined with other first
responders from across the county to take part in a full-scale training exercise at the
Eagle County Regional Airport on October 18th. The exercise was used to demonstrate
and evaluate the area’s capability to respond to a mass casualty incident and to test
multi-agency mutual response, communications and overall coordination. An after -action
report will be used to assess what worked well and areas for improvement. This exercise
is conducted every three years as a requirement of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Intermountain Fire Mitigation Project
As of October 30th, all helicopter logging operations have been completed. All of the logs
have been hauled from the west landing, which is located at the west end of Basingdale
Boulevard. The west landing has been rehabilitated and per the requirements of Colorado
Parks and Wildlife, the landing and the access road have been left covered with logs and
slash to deter recreational use.
Log hauling has been occurring on the Matterhorn Road landing site. It is estimated that
all the logs will have been hauled away and the site restored by mid-November. The
areas that were logged will have additional mitigation work completed during 2018. This
work will consist of piling the remaining slash for burning the following winter.
Vail Fire Station #1
The East Vail Fire Station renovation has been recognized with the Award of Merit from
the Engineering News-Record. The award cited storm water quality improvements,
innovative use of space, and sequencing the construction so as to allow continued fire
department operations throughout the project. The Engineering News-Record is a weekly
publication that provides news related to the construction industry.
Staff Affairs
It has been a busy period of time lately. On November 1st many employees (and retired
employees) attended the celebration of Rudy Sandoval’s retirement after 31 years of
service with the town. Rudy, who has considerable expertise in providing mechanical
services to the many Fire Department trucks and vehicles, drew a packed house and a
nice farewell lunch was had by all. He will be missed.
Also of note was the celebration of Halloween in Town Hall (and a very good chili cook-off
with first place awarded to John King). And the crews have been seen around the
community placing holiday decorations (Corey Gonyea and Joe Duran in the lift).
The Human Resources Department put together a Biometrics medical screening event
that spanned three different days, each of which was well attended. The department also
hosted the Open Enrollment and Benefits Fair at the Donovan Pavilion on October 25th.
After many meetings and contract negotiations, the town has entered into an agreement
with GMC regarding the arrival of five pool vehicles that will be utilized exclusively for
business purposes by employees.
Town Manager’s Report Page 2
IACP Election
As has been properly publicized of late, our Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger was
elected 4th Vice President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police at the IACP
Annual Conference held in Philadelphia recently. This remarkable accomplishment
positions Dwight to become president of IACP in 2021-2022. Throughout his service on
the IACP executive board, Chief Henninger intends to continue to serve the Vail
community as Chief of Police. The IACP serves 30,000 members from over 9,000
agencies in the U.S. and from across the globe.
CAST Meeting
The quarterly CAST meeting was held in Silverton on October 26th & 27th. The Town of
Vail was represented by Mayor Chapin and me. It was an excellent meeting featuring a
nice array of topics and presenters. Notably, there was a presentation by the owner of
Silverton Mountain, discussion of the Superfund cleanup of the Gold King mine and
others, and a group conversation about municipally-owned recreation amenities.
Economic Development Manager
The search process is nearing completion. On November 9th, preliminary Interviews will
be held with seven candidates. This will involve in-person interviews with the appointed
panel, consisting of staff members as well as members from the VEAC, VLMDAC, and
CSE. Concurrent interviews will occur with my office, and we will all share notes at the
conclusion of the process. The qualifications of the candidates are quite impressive.
Preservation of Heritage
The town has advanced a donation of $5,000 to cover the video cost associated with the
recent Dr. Steinberg Memorial Service, as this seems to be consistent with the stated
objective to help preserve and memorialize the those individuals who have helped define
Vail’s history and heritage. The contribution derived from a contingency fund in the Town
Manager’s Budget. We will come forward with a more formalized approach to make
similar and consistent donations in the future, emphasizing the memorialization of such
individuals in the Vail community.
Season Parking Passes
The town’s parking pass sales office opened for the season on Oct. 30th and has seen a
steady stream of customers purchasing parking passes throughout the week. As of this
writing, staff has handed out 148 free parking coupons as part of the program
incentivizing early pass purchases. The last day for this incentive is Friday, November
10th. Staff is also working to implement a new pilot program in partnership with the Vail
Chamber & Business Association which will provide a $5 off parking coupon at a
discounted $2 price for VCBA members. The coupons will also be available for purchase
by other business license holders in Vail for $2.50 each. Our thanks to the VCBA Board
for agreeing to take on administration of this pilot program!
Town Manager’s Report Page 3