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Home My WebLink About1997-07-29 Support Documentation Town Council Work Session ~ Agcncla I.isl rcvisccl 7123/97 2 rm PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Monday, July 28, 1997 AGENDA Project Orientation /LUNCH - Communily Development Department 11:00 am MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT John Schofield Site Visits : 12:00 pm 1. Lashovitz - 1780 Sierra Trail 2. SBC Development - 1094 Riva Glen 3. Garton's - 143 E. Meadow Drive 4. Alpine Gardens - 620 Vail Valley Drive 5. Dobseri Ice Arena - Review of design charette results. Driver: Mike . Lionshead Master Plan - Review of design charette results (at Dobsen Ice Arena) with Ethan Moore (DRB invited to attend) (1 hour) 1:00 - 2:00 NOTE: If the PEC hearing extends until 6:00 p.m., the board will break for dinner from 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. Public Hearinq - Town Council Chambers 2:00 p.m. 1. A request for a minor subdivision, to amend the location of the platted building envelope, located at 1094 Riva Glen/Lot 4, Spraddle Creek Estates. Applicant: SBC Development, represented by Resort Design and Associates (Gordon Pierce) Planner: Dirk Mason 2. A request to amend the existing conditional use permit for the outdoor dining deck, to allow for the outdoor operation of a batting cage, located at 143 E. Meadow Drive/Lot P, Block 5D, Vail Village 1 st Filing. Applicant: Dave Garton Planner: Dirk Mason 3. A request for a site coverage variance from Section 18.13.090 and side setback variance from Section 18.13.060 of the Municipal Code, to allow for the construction of a garage addition, located at 1780 Sierra Trail/Lot 24, Vail Village West Filing No. 1. Applicant: Marc Lashovitz Planner: George Ruther/Lauren Waterton ..~<<~ ~ TOW,V OF VA16 k 4 ngcnda ln,l rrvi.cLl 7123/97 2 rm 4. A request for a worksession to discuss a conditional use permit, to allow for.the construction of the Alpine Garden Education Center, located at 620 Vail Valley Drive/Tract A, Vail Village 7th Filing. Applir.arit: Vail Alpine Garden Foundation, represented by Helen Fritch Planner: George Ruther/Mike Mollica 5. A request for an interior remodel, utilizing the 250 Ordinance, located at 2355 Bald Mountain Road, West/ Lot 25, Block 2, Vail Village 13th Filing. Applicant: Orthodontics Associates, represented by Rich Brown Planner: Tammie Williamson STAFF APPROVED 6. A request for a conditional use permit and a variance from Section 18.22.140 (On-Site Required Parking), to allow for the operation of a real estate office in the Swiss Chalet, located at 62 East Meadow Drive/Lot K, Block 5E, Vail Village 1 st Filing. Applicant: Johannes Faessler Planner: Dominic Mauriello TABLED UNTIL AUGUST 25, 1997 7. Information Update II. Approval of July 14, 1997 iYiinules. The appiications and information about the proposals are available for public inspection during regular office iiours in the project planner's office located at the Town of Vail Community Development Department, 75 South Frontage Road. Siyn language interpretation available upon request with 24 hour notification. Please call 479-2114 voice or 479-2356 TDD for inforination. . Community Development Department Publisiied July 25, 1997 in the Vail Trail. ~ ~y TOWN OF VAIL ~ Office of the Town Manager 75 South Frontage Road Vail, Colorado 81657 970-479-2105/Fax 970-479-2157 TM - July 23, 1997 Mr. Keith W. Seibold, Regional Director Mr. Alan Searsy, Case Manager Regional Off ce Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Division of Supervision 1910 Pacific Avenue, Suite 1900 Dallas, TX 75201 Re: Alpine Bank Application to Establish a Branch in City Market, Vail, Colorado Gentlemen: We are writing to explain the circumstance surrounding Rodney Slifer's participation as a Vail Town Council member and the awarding of a contract to City Market to develop a commercial project in which Alpine Bank has filed an application to establish a branch. . Mr. Slifer was appointed to the Vail Town Council on August 15, 1995, to fill the remaining term of Jim Shearer who had resigned from Council. Prior to Mr. Slifer's appointment, the Vail Town Council had selected City Market from four finalists to develop the six acre parcel of land. The development was to include a commercial and a residential element. After Mr. Slifer's appointment the Town Council did consider the terms and conditions of the contact between the Town of Vail and City Market. Prior to any participation on any issue concerning the City Market development Mr. Slifer indicated to us that he held a position on the Board of Directors of Alpine Bank. Alpine Bank, at that time, had a branch facility located in the City Market at El Jebel, Colorado. Considering this information we jointly reviewed the Town of Vail Charter as it pertained to prohibited financial interests and voting. A prohibited financial interest includes any direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the Town. A contract includes any arrangement or agreement pursuant to which any land, material, service or other thing of value is to be furnished to the Town for a valuable consideration to be paid by the Town or sold or transfened by the Town. R6'CYCLEDPAYEH Mr. Slifer explained that he did not personally participate in nor was he a party to, any agreement with City Market to establish the branch bank in the City Market store at El Jebel. Recognizing that any rental agreement for space at City Mazket in Vail Commons would not include the Town of Vail as a party thereto, we a11 agreed that Mr. Slifer's position on the boazd of the bank did not constitute a prohibited financial interest precluding him from being a member of the Council. In regard to voting, "no member of the Council shall vote on any question in whiEh he has a substantial personal or financial interest, other than the common public interest, and in said instances the member shall disclose his interest to the Council." Again, it was clear to the three of us that Mr. Slifer's participation on the Board of Directors of Alpine Bank did not constitute a substantial personal or financial interest in consideration of a contract between the Town and City Market. Subsequent to those discussions Mr. Slifer executed his sworn duties as a member of the Vail Town Council and fairly and objectively considered the terms of the contract which was entered into between the Town of Vail and City Market. That contract did not include any consideration of to whom or under what conditions City Market would make space available to other retail tenants. If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, i~ "V '.t.~,`..:_ ~ Robert W. M aurin R. Thomas Moorhead Town Manager Town Attorney RWA/aw xc: Ms. L. Kristine Gardner 1VIr. Rodney Slifer Vail Town Council i , u ~y TOWN OF VAIL 75 South Frontage Road Yail, Colorado 81657 970-479-21 DO FAX 970-479-2157 MEDIA ADVISORY . July 23, 1997 Contact: Suzanne Silverthorn; 479-2115 Community Information Office VAIL TOWN COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS FOR JULY 22 Work Session Briefs Council members present: Armour, Foley, Johnston, Kurz, Navas --Parking Discussion During the last of three informational sessions on parking yesterday, the Council heard from Arne Ullevig, a transportation consultant who assisted with the 1993 Vail Transportation Master Plan. While providing an historical overview of the master plan work, Ullevig said Vail had been ahead of other communities in recognizing the need to balance the supply and demand of parking using a philosophy called demand management, which is a series of incentives or disincentives--regulatory by nature-- used to modify user behavior. He said the town of Breckenridge is just now coming to terms with the philosophy and will likely implement paid parking on its surface lots in the next few years. Within the next 10 years, he predicts most other ski resorts in the region will adopt similar policies. Ullevig advised the Council to identify a management philosophy, keep it simple, don't be afraid to make mistakes and avoid allowing exceptions to the policy despite community pressure. Council member Sybill Navas said the management philosophy has become more difficult in recent years because the town not only needs to balance supply and demand, it also needs to encourage use of the parking structures to help generate additional sales in the commercial core areas. Jim Lamont of the East Village Homeowners Assn. advocated creation of private sector incentives that would add existing private parking spaces to the pool of public parking spaces. Last ski season, the parking structures filled 83 times (63 times in the Village and 20 at Lionshead; there were 20 days when both were filled), which is triple the number from the year before. Also yesterday, Ron Riley who operates several restaurants in the Village, said that while Vail has enjoyed many positive years in the past, things have changed. Now, he said, Vail is at a critical point in its future in attracting customers due, in part, to down valley competition. He said it's important for Vail to send a collective message that it doesn't take its customers for granted. A parking policy, he said, should provide convenience, value, service, creativity and flexibility. He said merchants should participate in a cooperative program, such as coupons or vouchers. The parking discussions will now move to the TOV-VA Community Task Force meetings for additional brainstorming during the next month. For more information, contact Larry Grafel, public works/transportation director, at 479- 2173. (more) RECYCLEDPAPER . . i TOV Council Highlights/Add 1 --Learning Tree Lease The Council voted 5-0 to renew terms of a lease for the Learning Tree building, which is located on Town of Vail property, for $1 per year for the next five years. The lease rate coincides with the ABC School lease, which was approved in 1996. During discussion, Councilmember Sybill Navas said the Learning Tree is a tremendous community asset that fills a valuable child care need in Vail. Also yesterday, Councilmembers Bob . Armour and Ludwig Kurz suggested the town may want to consider asking Learning Tree to provide a break on tuition for Vail citizens or property owners when its current 15 year lease expires in the year 2002. The lease, as currently written, gives priority to applicants who live and work in Vail, but does not offer tuition discounts for those applicants. For more information, contact Pam Brandmeyer, assistant town manager, at 479-2113. --DRB Review During a review of,the most recent Design Review Board meeting, Councilman Ludwig Kurz shared an unsolicited comment he'd received about the Community Development Department. He said the individual complimented the department for functioning in a more user-friendly and convenient fashion. --Information Update During an update on last week's Council request to explore the impacts of a ban on large trucks from the commercial core areas, the Council approved a loading and delivery problem statement and an action timetable, which calls for implementation of an improved infrastructure management plan by Nov. 15. During discussion, Sybill Navas expressed concerns about truck parking on Willow Bridge. Also, Ludwig Kurz expressed disappointment that trucking firms have not been responsive to Vail's needs in the past. He said Beaver Creek is experiencing the same problem and will also ask for deliveries by smaller trucks. Kurz said there may be some synergy in working jointly with Beaver Creek on the issue. Announcements included: Vail Tomorrow Community Conference, 5 to 9 p.m., Sept. 17-18; Ron Braden, a Town of Vail employee, placed first last Saturday and Sunday during the Courage Classic bicycle ride; and the ribbon cutting for the Dowd Junction recreational path has been changed to the morning of Sept. 6. --Council Reports Responding to a comment by Kevin Foley, a member of the Eagle County Regional Transportation Authority, the Council discussed possible options should Beaver Creek choose to withdraw from its five-year funding commitment because of higher than expected sales tax returns from the one-half cent transportation tax. Several members suggested it would be appropriate to continue the Town of Vail's commitment, while others wondered if it would make better sense to follow Beaver Creek's lead. Mayor Bob Armour reported on a busy week: attendance at the Eagle Valley Leadership Coalition in which the Vail Tomorrow Regional Cooperation Team made a presentation, as well as an information discussion on Berry Creek Fifth; attendance at (more) . TOV Council Highlights/Add 2 the Vail Tomorrow Wortd Class Resort Team meeting in which participants were asked to share their formulas for personal success; a meeting with a Japanese delegation on ski resort planning; and attendance at a check-passing ceremony sponsored by ihe Dancing Bear in which $1,182 was contributed to the town to help fund construction of the West Vail roundabouts. --Other . Councilman Kevin Foley thanked everyone for their contributions in making the Courage Classic bicycle ride through the West Vail construction area a flawless experience. Councilman Ludwig Kurz wondered if the Council would be interested in hearing a presentation on the Stolport development project. Mayor Bob Armour, who had received a letter of complaint from a Vail Commons resident regarding a handicapped parking space, suggested the town buy the unit back from the resident. UPCOMING DISCUSSION TOPICS July 29 (5th Tuesday) No work session August 5 Work Session Site Visit & Discussion of Ski Storage Zone Code Change Site Visit Dobson Re: Lionshead Design Charette PEC Review Task Force Interviews Alpine Garden Update & Vail .Valley Foundation Presentation August 5 Evening Meeting Second Reading, Ordinance # 13 to Revise GRFA Second Reading, Ordinance # 14, Supplemental Appropriations Presentation by TCI Re: System Upgrade Vail Tomorrow Presentation AIPP Seibert Circle Design Approval Appointment of Task Force Members Proclamation No. 3, Re: Mike Kloser August 12 Work Session PEC/DRB Review Kaye Ferry, Re: Progress Toward Establishing a Long-Term Funding Mechanism for Vail Valley Marketing Board and Distribution of TOV Business License Fee # # # M ~ ~ TOWN OF VAIL MEMORANDUM T0: Robert McLaurin Council Members FROM: Judy Popeck DATE: July 22, 1997 RE: Investment Report Enclosed is the investment report with balances as of June 30, 1997. The estimated average yield for the debt service fund was 6.17% and 6.68% for the pooled cash fund. Currently the yield curve for 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year are 5.07%, 5.09%, and 5.32%, respeatively. Please call me if you have any questions. . h ' Town of Vail, Colorado Investment Report Summary of Accounts and investments For the Month Ending 06/30/97 Balances Percentage 06/30/97 of Total Money Market Accounts (see page 3) Commercial Banks $1,349,742 7.44% Money Market Funds $138,759 0.77% Total $1,488,501 8.21 % Commercial Savings Banks & Loans Certificates of Deposit (see page 4) Eagle County Institutions $99,000 $99,000 0.55% Other Colorado Institutions $99,000 $99,000 0.55% National Institutions 0.00% Total $198,000 $198,000 1 10% , Percentage of Portfolio in Savings & Loans 0.00% U.S. Government Securities (see page 5) Treasury Notes & Bills $1,387,162 7.65% GNMA,s $50,322 0.28% ARM'S & SBA'S ' $1,093,491 6.03% Federal Agency Discount Notes & Bonds $13,920,535 76.75% Total $16,451,510 90.71 % Total Portfolio _$18,138,010 100.02% Maturing Within 12 Months $15,453,825 85.20% Maturing Within 24 Months $1,188,403 6.55% Maturing After 24 Months $1,495,782 8.25% $18,138,010 100.00% 06/30/97 Page 2 ~ Money Market Accounts , as of 06/30/97 --For the Month of Jun-97 Institution Balances Type of Accounts High Low Average 06/30/97 COMMERCIAL BANK ACCOUNTS First Bank of Vail - Operating Interest 5.240% 5.100% 5.130% $4,871,424 $2,778,039 $3,494,629 Balance $1,348,807 Colorado National Bank Super Now Account Interest 3.200% General Operating Account Balance $935 Total Commercial Bank Accounts $1,349,742 MONEY MARKET FUNDS Bank One Money Market Fund - Dana Investments Interest 4.017% Balance $137,732 Fidelity Investment Government Money Market Accounts -lnterest 5.400% Bond Issue Reserve Account Balance $1 027 Total Money Market Funds $138,759 Total all accounts $124882501 06/30/97 Page 3 Certificates of Deposit " as of 06/30/97 Bank Name, Location Days to Rates Purchase Maturity Maturity Maturity Ins Coupon Yield Date Date at Purchase Value BestBank, Thornton Colorado . FDIC 6.250% 6.250% 16-Feb-97 16-Feb-99 730 $99,000 Firstbank of Vail, Vail Colorado ~ FDIC 5.830% 5.830% 26-Jun-96 26-Jun-98 730 $99,000 Avg Yield 6.040% $198,000 06/30/97 Page 4 ~ ~ Government Securities as ot 06/30/97 "'Treasury Notes & Bills"' Days to Days Interest Rate Purchase Matudty Matudty to Book Par Type Fund Coupon Yield Date Date at Purohase Ma[uriry Value Value TNOTE Pooled 5.250% 6.281% 11Jun-96 31-Ju1-98 780 396 $494,526 $500,000 TNOTE Debt Service 5.875% 6.130% 24,1an-97 15-Nov-99 1025 184 $293,227 $295,000 TNOTE Pooled 5.250°/a 5.446% 18-Nov-96 31-Dec-97 408 184 $599,408 $600,000 AverageYield 5.88/0 $1,387,162 $1,395000 Average Days to Matudty 280 • "'GNMA'S"' Years to Estimated Interest Rate Purchase Maturi[y Maturity Years to Principal Pool Coupon Yield Date Date at Purchase Maturi[y Ou[s[andinq 14659 8.000% 8.000% 24-Oct-86 15Jan-07 202 9.5 $14,864 13003 8.000% 8.000% 24-Oct-86 15-Oct-06 20.0 9.3 $17,577 5803 8.000% 8.000% 14-Nov-86 15-Oct-05 18.9 8.3 $17,880 Avg Yield 8.000% $50,322 "'Federal Agency Discount Notes & Bonds"' Days/Years DaysNears [o Interest Rate Purchase Matudty [o Maturity Ma[uri[y at Book Original Agency Fund Coupon Yield Date Date at Purchase Month End Value Cost SBA Pooled - Dana 9.725% 29,1un-94 25-Feb-2008 13.7 108.2 $38,640 $82,749 SBA Pooled - Dana 9.225% 26-May-94 25-Mar-2008 13.8 108.3 $64,668 $109,734 SBA Pooled - Dana 9.725% 18-Aug-94 25-Ju1-2008 13.9 108.6 $55,832 $109,875 SBA Pooled - Dana 8.375% 31-Oct-96 25,1an-2013 162 113.1 $58,408 $65,558 SBA Pooled - Dana 8.975% 29Jun-94 25,1un-2019 25.0 119.6 $99,842 $108,523 SBA Pooled - Dana 9.225% 12-Ju1-94 25Jun-2019 25.0 119.6 $61,243 $108,744 SBA Pooled - Dana 8.975% 08-May-95 25-Dec-2019 24.6 120.1 $93,706 $99,391 FNMA Pooled-Dana 7.631% 21-Nov-96 01,1an-2021 24.1 121.1 $91,036 $91,486 FNMA Pooled-Dana 7.344% 24-Mar-97 01-Aug-2021 24.4 121.7 $95,412 $95,549 FNMA Pooled - Dana 6.682% 01-Ju1-96 01-May-2026 29.9 126.4 $55,318 $55,304 FNMA Pooled - Dana 6.000% 24,1un-96 01,1un-2026 30.0 126.5 $21,794 $71,318 FNMA Pooled - Dana 8.319% 28-Jun-94 01-Oct-2017 23.3 117.8 $65,584 $97,572 FNMA Pooled - Dana 7.596% 27-May-94 01-May-2020 25.9 120.4 $55,825 $100,577 FNMA Pooled - Dana 7.917% 24-Jan-96 01-Oct-2023 27.7 123.8 $59,054 $75,722 FHLMC Pooled - Dana 7.752% 28-Mar-96 01-Mar-2026 29.9 126.3 $18,664 $66,341 FHLMC Pooled - Dana 8.335% 28-Aug-94 01-Aug-2018 23.9 118.7 $62,869 $74,245 FHLMC Pooled - Dana 8.452% 28,Jun-94 01-Mar-2019 24.7 119.2 $40,118 $66,355 FHLMC Pooled - Dana 6.360 /0 22-May-96 01-Feb-2036 39.7 1362 $55,478 $60,461 Average Yield , 823% $1,093,491 $1.539,504 Average Years to Maturity 113 Days/Years Days/Years to Interes[ Rate Purchase Matudty to Matudty Matudty at Book Matudty Agency Fund Coupon Yield Date Da[e at Purchase Month End Value Value FHLB Pooled 5.345% 5.958% 26-Apr-96 10-Nov-97 1.5 97.9 $997,758 $1,000,000 FHLB Pooled 0.000% 5.661 / 15-May-97 02-Sep-97 110.0 97.7 $1,014,996 $1,025,000 FHLB Pooled 0.000 % 5.800 % 15-May-97 13-Nov-97 182.0 97.9 $978,996 $1,000,000 FFC Pooled 0.000% 5.950% 28-May-97 20-May-98 357.0 98.5 $754,789 $795,000 FNMA Pooled 0.000 / 5.650 /0 07-Apr-97 09-Ju1-97 93.0 97.6 $499,314 $500,000 FNMA Pooled 0.000% 5.640% 23-Apr-97 02-Ju1-97 70.0 97.6 $1,499,547 $1,500,000 FNMA Pooled 0.000 % 5.761% 29-Apr-97 15-Sep-97 139.0 97.8 $2,015,740 $2,040,000 FHLMC Pooled 5.640 % 5.744% 28-Aug-96 28-Aug-97 1.0 97.7 $699,881 $700,000 FHLB Pooled 5.890% 5.790% 30-Sep-96 25-Sep-97 360.0 97.8 $500,121 $500,000 FNMA Pooled 5.375% 5.852% 10-Oct-96 10Jun-98 1.7 98.5 $497,732 $500,000 FHLB Pooled 0.000% 5.382% 31,1an-97 31-Ju1-97 181.0 97.6 $995,488 $1,000,000 FHLB Pooled 0.000% 5.509% 24,1an-97 09-Oct-97 258.0 97.8 $1,970,261 $2,000,000 FHLB Pooled 0.000% 5.547% 24-Mar-97 18-Ju1-97 116.0 97.6 $1,495,912 $1,500,000 Average Yield 568% $13,920,535 $14 060 000 Average Days to Maturity 144 Total $16,451,509 06/30/97 Page 5 INJUNE97.WK4 VVAC 4(970) 827-5393 ' M07122197 06*31 PM O212 XC; Gft,,~u-~. V A I L V A L L E Y ARTS COUNCI PO Box 1135 Vai I CO 81658 970-827-5299 970-827-5393 fax + i i Jufy 8, 1997 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE I 1 Galen RoweN and Lis! Dennis are 1997 V SI ~ N Speakers Noted outdoor photographer Galen Rowels and travel photograph r sl Dennis will speak in the 1997, VISION photographic Iecture series. This series presents sel e faculty members from the Vail Valley Arts Council's VISION photographic workshops. On J ul y 3, 1997, Galen Rowell will speak about his personal ex ri nces with the Tibetan people in "My Tibet. This slide presentation will begin at 8:00 PM in HeritageHall at the Hyatt Regency Beaver preek. As a frequent visitor to Tibet, Rowell embarked on a special book project. The Dalai Lama proYided the text for the 1990 book of photographs which focused on the impact of the Chinese invasion 9f Tibet in the 1950s. Rowell highlights the Buddhist ethic for eservation that predates Western t ought in this very special evening. " As East eets West, the challenge for the 21 st Century will be a m g r of human and environmental rights," ob rved Rowell. "In order to visualize solutions that have a aqce for working long term, human rights mu become inseparable from the universal responsibility for ur planet." Rowell's ISION workshop runs from July 24 through 28 and there ar stilf spaces availab(e. He was instrumen al in helping to create the VISION workshop with VVAC Ex utive Director, Marilyn McCray, and photographers Scott Dressel-Martin and Jeff Whiteside. This lecture s sponsored by the Camera Shop, in Vail. j I ~ Lisl Den is will present,"The Travelers' Eye," on August 27, at 8:00 PM in the Mt. Jackson Room. Yillage Hall in Beaver Creek. This lecture w II be of special interest to anyone who travels with a camera. Dennis is a seasoned veteran with over thi yyears of global travel. She writes "Travels with Lisl," a column for Outdoor Photographer magazine. H r work has been published in numerous magazines world wide. Shs is ths founder of "Travelers' E e" at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and presents "Inward Bound" portion of a one day workshop with partner Nevada Wier. This lecture is ponsored by Overland & Express Travel of Vail, Avon and Edwards. Ms. Denni ' workshop will focus on the aspects of developing a personal style with the emphasis on interpretin - not just - recording the travel experience. There are still ome places in the Travelers' workshop August 28 through 31. Admission to each Iecture is $10 and is free to workshop participants. For reservations or information about the VISION workshops, call the VVAC at 9 0-827-5299. I , i l ~ 11 Iy TOWN OF YAIL 75 South Frontage Road Office of the Town Attorney Vail, Colorado 81657 970-479-2107/Fax 970-479-2157 MEMORANDUM TO: Vail Town Council FROM: R. Thomas Moorhead DATE: July 23, 1997 SUBJECT: Skate Board Parks I am providing the attached information to follow-up on discussions concerning insurance and management issues in Council's consideration of the BMX park, and skate parks. Attached are two articles from the July, 1997 publication of the National Recreation and Park Association. The key information that I gleaned from the articles are: 1. Insurance experience has been very positive. 2. It is recommended that the park be opened to "free play" without supervision (although the second article on in-line skating states otherwise). 3. That abundant signage be posted of hours of operation and required use of safety equipment. 4. Skate parks have lured foiters from malls leading to a positive law enforcement experience. I hope this information is helpful. RTM/aw ~ f:\council.mem ~ RECYCLEDPAPER D_•_•~ ; ~ ; ~ i E - flFFICIAL ~ PUBLICATION OFTHE ~ NATIONAL ~ RECREATION AND PARK f f~ ASSOCIATION JULY 1997 ~ www.nrpa.org . City.-Run. - S a e arks A S kAti r'l 100 Y~ICira~w ••y ~ i ~ • ~ '•~3~M~', . , ~ Et~i ~ • , • ~ II / i~_ • u, r - . I ' . Y . _ • • ' ' • .i~u" . ~ ~ "C , 7 S l . . F~~~~~ . - V} 'LFT • ,y~ ~ . . 0.1~SY ' ' 4 -.~L~k~.• L.. ' e , 4 ~ ~ ~7 .i~ ' ti • . . . . ~ ' ~ .r • - . . ' ' . i ~ ~ ~ + ~ ' ~ ,S. f ~ ~ ~x E ~ F . S ~t~ 41; Y t . . , ~ Going... ~ 3 +F~ •i},A~ ~ 3 . \ l f Y -i, r a ~ ~ .K ~"{4. ~ +1 ~f~ ~a*. ' f4 ` ~fiw`~ ,i;-' ,'S 4'; a R~~', Y'.' 1 4 ~ T 2~'S t`. kt ~ t 'A,f_ i t. a ; •,`lj +y ~ 4. { ~ ~-~^~+•.c ~ ' ` . ~7F ;•'4. ' ' ~ . ~ ~ • . `v 1 ~Yt~'~ ~ ~ P L '~y j Y ~,.r",'S~,~ k` • 3 i u4P ~ ~ :~Y t~ i ti , ~i c ~.,o. a:~ . J 1 r \ , j ~ I ' . «~.G . 1 . • 1~~^}~ ~ _ J. "~flsL~' ~~/d = / K ~ 7~' ~ 1T13'~b~`~~•~• ~}r''T~t, ~ • y„Y~ f / / K. ~s. . r Ku~~ d 1~• t' ~4a~~~ ` i.y t q•L . S, f~ E ~k. _ ~ ~"•Si,?a, - ~ ' T'~n'{,~2r /.~"~f'v sy ` "*!~S`•' ~ . +~i'~,~,eqt'~...' ~4~'~~cr~h!`4~'~ yA . ~~'K '~y p .•'1~ ~ ~q`t .9S f ~ ~~S.Ly~ '•Y Cta N~~Jt 4. ~ • 'aj ' ~ ~ ' ~.p iy r, ~.y:v> t i x . ~tr'~ ylr~'~'••' # ~h` r~vi ~?k.• 1~5 A ~~~~r~. ~"~,'i1 5'' ~ .y~e s ~ 5. l `_t , j ~S's r 4^A. . z ? . . ` a ~ Mi ~ . ~ OU * ~O O~ I a I 5' I 'Jt ~ ' ? mF t ~.(,~y~',~~" h f _ I ~n.. • . TT~' ~ f a] I ? i~N'~' J 3s~ IV h . Y ~ J , 'I~•K~" nS~'~ J Y ' ~j i I un I a 4,'4S A ti ~5.,,, Y' ~*s:. . ~ ~ arks are k a I ,,•`t { = n a . , , ~ u 1 Xh t } y t S.'~, 1~! . 4. U~ ' I ;M a a~,a y { },ecz e ~ ~e;~ ~7~ ~ + ~ . ' 4 . A r +a,. ..y,.. ~F^' u an_ • . -t: a."~`~` y~ -t~~~ d ti a dL~ ` t ~t y,y~ k d .'k t , ~ t i ~ry_ vy ~ ~ ~ b ty S ~ ~t ' • . ~ kh 2~~ . rr ' ' ( ~ ~ 3 , ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~ k ~ ~ ~a fi { . { Y;.`a~ t 'S ~ . ~ ~'k • . d:'rCw ; ' ..~4 . ,t ~,~q yt~~ a i ~ I ' ~ ~,s+ • ,a oi'~,""roy. T ~ I e see these kids everywhere. Flying through the parking lot, 'I nt, •="4 ~"7 ~ } down the sidewalk and up the middle of the street. For the six ~ million skateboard enthusiasts in this country, every inch of ce- ; ment is their court.and every obstacle is their hoop. And if I you've seen these kids, no doubt you've seen the sign, "No ~ ~s r y ' ~ ~ I Skateboaiazds Allowed." The fact is, no matter how alluring a rail, bank or ~ eurb along Main Street USA may be to a skateboarder, it wasn't designed i .~-0x~"~ ~s< 1`~~ ,.d2~ ~t+ . ~f<#.~f 1•'~ i for t hat spec i fic use, which is why many skaters are viewed as unruly van- I ~O dals and dangers to themselves and the public. In response, local ordi- ~ are,passed.prohibitmg skateboarding in commercial and public - ~ ' I areas Some mumcipahties even go so far as to restrict activity in resi- i areas ~ ~ I s askateboarder to do?'While many will knowingly and will- ~ a ~ . A~'... ` • ~eak t1i'~c~a#ew~will mobilize and march down to their city coun- ,i~yx a~~ ~ .'x,~'~, ~ , ;M~4~,~~r~ as~f,o~tl~same thing that's done for the baseball, soccer, bas- i ~~..'"'";a ¢i~ ~`z" ? ~ rc ~T~ ,t ~k~tbail, an~ tencris players, provide a space that they too can enjoy, w1t1- I fearaf=-osecuhon or,ury With the overwhelming success that ~ 4-,~ parkarid recreation departments have had with city-run skateboard parks t<,~ Vv~~~y~~.t~ laj~]jr, the gr.owing trena is to-honor their request r ; I . a " ~~'~`~~•r~„~e~ ~~'~~~~-~~t i d ~ .s• P 8 R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 l 5 5 I p ,..~.~..:s . . _ . ~ ' • :14~~'~"Z~~-k~~7~'~~ SWIS ~ 4 . ' c v 4 5 ~Y µ 3t" . ' } • S SL ~ ii X ~ 1 ~14k - . 55..~~ ~ • .J,Kt ~ II ~ 'I II x~ ~ • k ..~x ~ . ' ' .k' . . . ~R.1 . Dispelling fhe Mrfh rules governing safety equipment,<there ' • • W }R . h < ' ~ are additional safery measures that pazk • . Certainly, for any park and recreadon and recreation practi6oners can project ~L ` - ' professional who begins the process of upon parficapants to reduce and minimize - planning or researching a public skate- injuries due to falis Supplement the ba park, the issues of safety and liability are sics-helmet elboW and.;knee of the greatest concern. How safe is this with wrist braces, padded clotiung,~..~~~ r77f'~ 1 sport? Is this going to bankrupt my city gloves, or e:ven spec~al shoes thatare with never-ending liability claims? Are signed for. .skateboarding. As wiT~, there actually people who know how to .-'other sport where safety eqcupinent design these things? Not to worry, mu- recommended, make sur~ the`equipment nicipal skateparks can be just as safe (if fits well and does not resU-ict:movement, 3M.F not safer) and just as much fun as any vision or circulation. Learning how to fall ,2~~~~~f~~ other recreational activity we can offer, properlp can also mean the difference be- , r,'~,~~~~ without breaking the bank. tween a bruised ego and a fracture&Omst According to Jim Fitzpatrick, executive Albert Fierro, vice president of 11ie As= ZQ,'j .~,C'4 ~{YK.~y~' k t •,.~4' ~~K„7''~'g.~,t director of the International Association sociation of Bay Area Governments . : • - # ~ti' , ~ ; f x+~~'• of Skateboard Companies (IASC), hun- PooledLiabiliryAssuredNetwork(ABAG._ . OMM{' d`$ dreds of skateboard manufacturers and PLAN) Corporation, a provider of gener Y~~~~.d'~ companies supply American skateboard- al liability and property insurance to 30 ".6~,~z ers with the most contemporary equip- cities in the San Franciso Bay Area; says " ~ q~ t y t'r'tiJ~ ment available, contributing to yearly re- that "the issue of liabiiity i§ really not e than half a billion dol- there." Three of their member cities have ~s tail sales of mor lars. But for three decades, despite its skateboard parks, none of which have popularity, skateboarding has had to fight had any skateboarding clauns .since the for recognition as a practical form of beginning of the insurance program , . . r recreation. . . 1986. Perhaps the most-damaging prejudice Fierro said that he would like to see , ~•xr is the notion that skateboarding is an un- cities take an affirma6ve step in providing R ~ C ~~,r'•~i safe sport. When compared to other skating areas in more public parks; areas ~recreational ac6vities, skateboarding has that are treated just like basketball a smaller percentage of reported injuries courts. One way Fierro hopes to achieve .,,,,-eu•~ ~:;5.+ r~ per participant (.49%) than other activi- this goal is to expose the "two-headed li- ties, including soccer (.93%), baseball ability beasY" as a myth in the minds of (2.25%) and basketball (1.49g'o). the uninformed. According to the U.S. Consumer Prod- He offers some sugges6ons for com- ' uct Safety Commission (CPSC), of all per- munities considering skateboard parks: sons treated each year for skateboard re- include skaters in the design process; in- lated injuries, one-third ofthe injuries are volve professional risk managers and suffered by new participants who have landscape architects during final design . been skating for less than a week. While and implementation; and-in his opin- proper safety equipment is vital to in- ion-open the park only.to "free play" jury-and liability-prevention, it is even without supervision. Lasdy, abundant sig- more important that new riders wear ad- nage in the park-should;be posted4otailg - equate protective equipment while they the hours.of operabon and the requu'eti';~'p are developing balance and body control ~use of safety eqiupmen~ ~ skills. However rt is unportant to understan>d s~";'~ Even though each facility has its own that skateparks do not come { • . _ r } i 56 0 P8 R JU LY 1 997 PHOTOS BY J. GRAN'T`'BR":I,t_;Tit+~~~~~'4wy+ O 01 :7 . . f i?.t" h ~~,~yl, ~4 ~ s F i . ' . ~c aE ~ y ,f~, ~ ~ ~ } I fx o .r „ i ~ :a ay i~~^Y~ +Y'1 i~~ 1 I t I ' ~."R ~~r~ h . r 2 t ' I MY ~ x.. ~ . g fits all." The following testimonies prove ~ ~ i that you can have similar needs and still ~ a i~}„.•~_.•~i~~'+~j,4i't~°'i t5~ ~ft 1 Yc:. ~ i. have different rules, facilities and poli- ~ C1eS. a„ i: ~~x+~ x F ' 1 Huntington SCaCfI. CA ~ L'R: ..f~ C'1 C . F 7J F ~ 4.n Y~e S Bill Fowler, superintendent of Recre- +4 a6on and Human Services for the City of I ti~, • 4' y ~ c <,:a : . Huntington Beach (CA), says that after ar i .•r •'<~,x s~ an ordinance prohibiting skateboarding ~ j ~ `'r•~:~''.+ r`', ~ ~f in commercial areas was passed, it was ~ I 1 evident something had to be done. "We are about providing safe opportunities for . . - - everyone, not just the ones who play a particular sport." It opened up the op- •I } r_} r~ ~ 4 S` _ - portunity to work with a whole new pop- I ula6on of youth. Fowler's department oversees lwo city- ~ '~:'irR r}, ~ ~Sr run skateparks. The Murdy Park - ~ „ skatepark opened in August 1993, and the other park, which is located on the cam- ~ pus of Huntington Beach High School, opened in 1994. Each is free to use and f; j~s cost about $70,000 to build. They are both "streeY' style parks, with concrete bench- es, rails, curbs, and small ramps. The i specifically designed challenges of the skateparks quickly lured the loiterers I ~ from the shopping mall parking lots. i F Four years later, Fowler describes the c~.T.. . ~ - H I end result as a win/win situation in what . i was before thought to be a zero-sum ? .,y4~} ~y t ~'*..d. t r e _ _ TM'~M game. Soon, police were expending less WO time and resources chasing skateboard- i ers. They were working with the kids, I ~ ~ ' ~ ~ k- and in turn, the kids were feeling less an- ~ tagonized by the authority figures. If it i hadn't been for the police enforcing the i ordinance in the first place, the park and - recrea6on department might never have w .yr :..a . had the chance to get involved, and the skaters wouldn't have a safe, legal place I to mee~.: I Fowla':adds that the skateboarding ~.h : commuis "positive mentality" really : ; ~ helped tfieir cause, proving them to be co~mt4 sl't~#~fied. `Although these,~ b i ~ ~ I ~ - - • ` ~.1~"y. ~w': . `they still need tq~w'off' L~ and they just wantta.~lace ~~a y - &S f~ . Fowler went on` Itq dispetk.'ot~er conceptions about sltatepaz~~''~lated has-'",; - ' sles. When asked,about va~d~ism> he ~ replied, "We've nee~`rreally~atl~anyma=`~"~ ~ jor incidents. TheY~rettYmuch;pohcel~ a=~: themselves." Fowler .also ,adds that~ ' skateparks don't requ~re:a- nymore atten 6on than the baseball top. Is this asking foT trouTi7eliability vv~ses ortlieCityofr.~-~ Karen Foster, risk inanagerf ~ - . `~z• 6 Huntington Bea&, doesn'tt7tin'k-so an extremely successful progr'am tliaYs proven to be beneficial=to 01e commum=, ty." To date, there have :been no. hability_ ~ ` ` claims against eimer of`dte sTiateparks:~~ " Even though Foster said1here.were con= cerns at the beginnmg;'&e c2ientele _re-~~y . alizes that there is an "as"siuqption'of in this activity. There are signs tnalsing'Pai~hc~P~~ aware of the safety requu'e~tents--pads, helmets and othp ,c safA~k',!equipment py arer~Aot stnctly ei? u even though tt1e forced. Foster ~aud that'fi.h~y~l~+e nattal~ en out any addi~ona~.liab~Lty~insuranc,e for either park:rThey"are co~v~~d hY tlie~ ' . . ' . k r . l. same general'`insuranc~'`'at~blarik~fs ~ Huntington Beach Fowler strongly recommends that ott~ er cites with public skating protilems faket~ kateparks a closer look at city-run s it looks like others have, Fowler } ~ n ~ his department has received "htindre~S of requests for informahon from tit6s•in~~' a. almost every state in:the country"a 5, Ocean titr, MD The City of Ocean Gity of the oldest municipal skateparks in 'I'he 20-year-old OceanBow1.Skatepai'k ~ • ` ~ 'i, , +is , .z z-~!+..s •k~~~~+~ z. s i• ~it ~ w a was also built in response to A,pofiee or dinance, still in effect, banning skate- 3 . A(~ i ~^ia ~"rl~~~ ~ `~i 0.,~~ • eets and sidewalks ir boarding on str as - _;~y~r•~~ y+~~~,~t~'.1~~~ u?~K'~-tS ermonths.'Ihefenced-~ in warm-weath g '~$Mr~I facility, which contains a half pipe and R~,w~~~e u~''r~rC.+~`'° ! k, ~`1',f`•" 1 9 9 a i P 8 P J U L Y 7 o000 Oil i -.~.l..S 5 . ~8'inA" ~ v t,r r~,+t• . ~ '~'.~y : ~.7y~ ,g3., i 'f ~r . - _ _ I KI >~x`~ "~*'E,~`a'T~'2.: . - . •c ~ t`~f ~,;y' . . ' I ~ I "i'rr t } I ~ - ~+`y~Y L ' d x•`~vR` 3'~S.~t ' t5 t!`~~~ . . , 1 ~ Y , . . . • . ' . . ` ~ pf 1xCS ~ 4 ?J„f x ~~Y. 'aq\Z'?T ~ .l. . . c1s thousands of users each safety equipment, the use of which is ~ g~ ~ ~ ~,r+~~'K ~ F sr w~' na • . he~*16;0O0-square €oot:,faciAtyis maadatory,. This has generated addition- ~ t''~-t`•~•' ~o~y~ear~^ound,wrthyaryuighoursrand ~`,•al revenue, increased h-affic and at the ~ , same time, reiterated the city'S COILIIrilt- I of oiiarahon, de~II(~lIlg' on-the;sea ~ . ? u''4n~'~Jivvk~~ Sf n r~'av r ~ ~ 2 . . ment to safety. Ocean Bowl's, policies and i aL-fhe.Ocean Bowl-Skatepark . rules may differ from its West Coast ~ I fvO rriust first, pay, a yearly.($20 , counterpart, but the need for a safe, legal parqciy ~ . x ~ for.O:G } te51i "[1tS, $40 for non-residents), spot to skate is the same, as are the re- I( .;v`7~ifr.~.F x:~3 ~ '"Y y, L ' . - ` ~ f~`eY • ' I K~~ < weekly ($ZO};, ar' dailq 'fee:'Second,: ' actions from the field. `This gives the kids r~` k'Y.. d. ~ ' ~ ~'Sn~ : r: • : st11y, r - 7~~L i '~3~v~ a"~ at ry ~,y w~,, r 4 n , r•m EY ITIUSt SIgIl S 116Uifi-ty, waiver; ;thqse a creative oudet," says Petito. , users under.the age 6f.18• must have a ~ # N M,, a ` , 3,,, • - . Designing Mofion ~ ' fOC tI1P,m :TtllCCI~ llSCTS muSt. +M~~10k1elm~- t; knee.and elbow pads'an d. . Landscape Architect Ken Wormhoudt. - . . ~~,~gttar~cts ,~a-e$cephons has designed eight public skateboard ~tar - 3 Lt'.a.~ ~ G • ~1- l`aV k + 1ya"~;- ~~s~da1T`-mese.~recatihons-~?ave~anjrn- tracks that-are currendy in use, and is I t.on`saft? ~"Absgtutelp,says Susan worku?g with. cities on another 20. He VA' RRk'e~ta;~Qceas Asistant d'if'ectar,of says that the best explanation for the re- ~ Parlcs, ~tlteinluryrate~ias cent:explosion in public skating facilities 3: ~ r.~ ~ $ • t . ~~een su~gihslrigl,g3'o~vv ~}ty 01,u cean City is due to Ehe popularity of the ones that al- 1 ShttU quck f,o add ready. exist. t~a~~eeri~IBabil'ity~c ~IaiWs , Wormhoudtnever expected that these s~ , ~7 v x 2 . ~ ~ttt fand'" i-T,types of projects would occupy this much lutw;~e a#oretx r of lus time. "I have definitely had more and.'to craclcer}ack su y t,fim doing this.than anything else that I've ~ ~~ea~ne.~nGed3;capable ~ ever donesays Wormhoudt He added babysik~~ that a~great deal of his enthusiasm comes I ~-a: : -from the skaters themselves. "They are ~ 0 ~ sctr~se,{~pTicxr zn ac~ fotalIy, non-competitive, always cheering i other' on-and.very unified. And this i the spor.t theyre.passionate about,» ' NPtiicti brings us to his most emphadc i ~~pressing issue at hand:for the Ocean point about the design process. Involve :o the. need for.r.edesign the skater. Before anything else, Worm- ' houdt meets with local skaters and con- ~ ~y~,jre o€~wear, . i ~ g- fers with them to see what type of facility ~efttheir.pfark40ri is going to work best for the community. wasn't added unhi During these meetings, the skaters are ; 0', ° ' ~gtrej thjlazgei"pf given clay to construct shapes that rep- i _ v ~ fhe r rresent the obstacles they want Worm- i houdt.believes that this approach works ensure: t~iat these parks are both safe aaothev and fun: If'the park can't hold the interest I sT~abe~ 4 of the skater; it won't keep them there for ~ to,Wormhoudt there are a I feurgucdesyou:cairfollow in developing ~ : ar' d g~:jrqur pwn skatepark: The- space consid- I I i,enUng aut 4 ~ eratatons:sf~ould be between 10,000 and ~ t •-'si..4" . a . ' I T t 5. E Y . ; ~ . . I L Y 19 9 7 .1' S 9 I ~'€s.t o~ ;g':..%aj.: ;_~.`~.:.~-~'.';iZi~~,•:`_• ~:f, :a . . ' r . . . . ~ :~:.,;.iY~'~is'y~ ~C^~ji." rhbv~t . ~a'~"' ~p~i~f~.~ s -r 4~~,,w'?S^•+K ~ ~'ksr x.jK ~,x v ~ g~o~~~liabilitr irdps. that lhey first appear to be. . A3~ -tlearly, each.city ~ a A~, a+rt.,a ?a~~' ~i' • . . `.'~d: ~?vi`i',,,~~~.. 4^ Y ~ . . . 5¢ , r . y ~ - r - i . ' . . • . 21 i , ~ a. . . . . . . . t ~C- i tif.~^` ~ • ~ ' . ~ Y~ <<~ ~ `~ependwgron tu~resatea3o~he Pubhc eye~ores ttiatyou the are~ free of debris. ~ what:fype of park you=are"buslding (street woulc~ expect Arclutecturally, <inany of pithough- skaters 'take initiadve in ~ -scene,"or~.bowls,,or`rairigs ;orall of'th~ ;-them are attractive;-free~tanding:forms '-ciean-up efforts, one of their unique . pressioncan .above).The.fotaL•cost.per-,sguare.:foot.,<'.i;::thatyoumightnotassociatervithskating-:formsof~self-ex unwittingly should- be kept between $8 and'$10 ~ • at all, if it were not for ttie hordes of ea= become a hazard 1f Wormhoudt ex- ,a , Design elementsrof the park can alsb ...ger skaters crowded around -pressed concers~ya~l~tt S~affiti, and the k' ~ •si• . minimize danger.for par6cipants. For ex- Once 1:he skatepark : is : complete, tendency for it:;~<r;acet~mu1, at~,on the ac- ample, bowls that are sunk below.ground Wormhoudt says that most parks require tual skj?UW surf~cea :and::o."ver time, be- . level can pro~!ide a safe way.for the skater :no routine-maintenance whatsoever. The C'' ~.Sani~~r~astuttis'not an op6on to "step-out" or "ride-ouY'-of a new or dif- -.skaters realize that excessiye littering; de-. ters thV-purface even more. ; . ficult trick back onto the ground level of struction, : or- abuse_can ,close down a;~- : skaters are .shown that the park. Wormhoudt said that he feels skateparkjust as fas ~ ~nt up and~<, r'` ely unpact the opera- most comfortable with steel-reinforced generally c "elves, -whether that means . , ~ ~ > • concrete, trowled smooth, for safety, osings due. to maintenance " durability and ease of design unplemen- a;~ x poL unus 'a1 to see a sT~ater'~~~~;Sor shut down all together-it is tation. He also added that these struc ,~~fr`ing t~ts oM~~vp.push broom to keep ,.~ore kkely-that they will be as responsi- . . . ~'~h- about:graffiti as they are about simi- ` . ~ r12C 1SSilES;, . - , . r . > - j'. lusf Do It FOR MORE INFORMATION ~ f 'n.eithermethod-or combinatio' n°of. If your organization is considering a facil- City of Huntington Beach . ~ - *F y~ ` ~~n~~ne 4rt~~'evails, skateparks are not ity f o r your skateboarding and/or in-line 2000 Main Street Y.~langet o~s ~iabilJtytraps that they first aR+{ ~ skating constituents, the following people' Huntington Beach, CA 92648 t^~ 'peat~~ b~learly, each city will run'the~r and organizations-who provided much _ .(714) 536-5496 , W faGili 'l~i~y see appropriate. The is-'s"~' r5 " of the informationfor this article-may be ~N , Ocean Bowl Skatepark }~5g09oi.,whether or not to charge admis- able to provide additional insight SusanPetrto, Assistant Directar sior~, supervise:or insure each individual International Associatioa of ;of=Recre:aUOn and Parks ' - . ~=Ns-`Fatk`.are`li~stianswered when all the op- Skateboard Companies (IASC) ` Ocean:~ity Recreation and Parks tions, benefts and poten~hal pitfalls ar~ 3hF.y a il. Jim Fitzpatrick, ExecuUVe Director • T:Departrnent known. Box 37 - , 200125th St If there'are euotig,ki~skateboarders to Santa Barbara, CA 93116 •`Oeean'City, MD 21842 coi~inuainst their access (805) 683-5676 p . . ` 410 250-0.125 ~ ariti`'°* tici ~tron;'could it also be that..;: E-Mail: nosewriter@aol:com Ken Wormhoudt there are enough skateboarders to serve `I as recreators and sports enthusiasts? Association of Bay Area GovernmeMS Landseape Architect No Pooled Liability Assured Network -230 Alhambra matter how dangerous you think a skate- (ABAG PLAN) '•Santa Cruz, CA 95060 board park may be, skateboarding is not Albert Fierro, Vice President 14081426-8424 any safer in the middle of the street. ¦ P.O. Box 2050 Oakland, CA 94604-2050 Tim Payne *Compiled for 1995 using information ~510) 464-4900 , 1203 LaMesa Ave. from the United States Consumer Product Winter Springs, FL 32108 Safety Comnaission (CPSC)'s National Murdy and Huntingtan Beach . `Fhone/Fax (407) 695-8215 Injury In}'ormation Clearing{:ouse, and . High School Skateboard Parks E-Mail: cpain123-aol injormation frona the Sporting Goods Bill Fowler, Superirrtendent, '=or visit his website in AOL Manu}'acturing Association, abstracted from American Sports Analysis, a study Recreation and Human Services • under Surflink profiling sports participation, conducted by • Amerieaii Sports Data, Inc. of Hartsdale ' - pVYJ. 6 0 i P 8 R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 ~Wwl. UAIUAU"~ . _ . { ron their facilitr as th~~ see appropPiate. j ~ ~ THE LATEST TOOL OF THE TRADE-THE S.PARK REVOLUTION VIDEO i byTimPayne . . You probably don't know it, but there has even pledged to donate to a fund that used to be a skateboard ramp in • ~"t~ •a ' q vvill be dispensed to non-profit I . . . ,F•'" k- i_ your neighbor's backyard. It might , skateparks. i not have been up for more than a week or From soft drink commercials to full- I a month, but it was there. A parent, realiz- 'x" ~ scale events like the ESPN Extreme ~ ing thatthe safest place to skate definitely TNE6ames, in-line skating and skateboarding , was not the street, gave in to the repeated ave been receiving national attention pleadings for a place to kill the grass for `and are more popular than evec The time S, PAR'K the summer. But at the same time, the ~ as now to recognize the need for public same parent saw that their son or daugh- 'T =R e.~al u~ ~o:r~ ~`Skating facilities. We must realize that our ter and a couple of friends suddenly multi- 'o'rtd is:changing, and as it does, so will 'ply into throngs of kids. The ramp, then, Vf e canceptof traditional sports. .;~,i•~•``- ~ usually found its way from the backyard to receive a copy of the S.Park Revolu- the woodpile. If it didn't happen that way, send a check for $7.00 (to cover maybe a ciry official stopped by or called bstage and handling) payable to S.Park . . ~ justto letthe parents knowthatthe :r Y : - ~ deo..to: - : • . knew about it. lYs not that the parent did y`~ din it's ust erlc Video, 9. n't want their kids skateboar 1 thattheydon'twantto be responsibtefor B°X'~2~? . . . i and Rapids, MN 55744-1217 the safety of every skateboarder in the time zone. And entrepreneurs shied,away sure to include.your name, title, orga- , from private facilities due to the usual ha _ f::,., t~ ation,:address and phone number, and I 6ility worries and the fact that you can t ~Ilow four to six weeks for delivery. For ~ cram 100 skaters in a space that would . pa ore information visit Airwalk's site on i accommodate as many rollerskaters. pel ing,~amiiran f acs:a" znts~on~epfidns_ wodd wide web at www.airwalk.com. ° Now that.fhe word is out that cities ' about.ciry-run skateparks. Tlie second., ~ across the United States are providing part deals.with the particulars, including: In addifion to directing the S.Park Video, Y 7~4 ' public skating areas-like basketball and funding, cost, location, and size. It starts Tim Payne has been designing and build- ~ tennis courts-Your dePartment mi9ht be the networkin9. Process, connectin the in ~ g g public and private facilities for the last i looking into providing for their communi- cities that:knowir first-hand-whattheir 15 years. He has worked on such re- ~ ties; enter the S.Park Revolution, the video. . skatepark.has done for their communitq, nowned siructures as: Animal Chin Ramp, . I primer for the skatepark uprising. This and the cities that wantto1know: Woodward Gymnas6cs Training Facility/ : . . . . educational fool is offered-at cost=to Airwalk, Morgan,Stone (of.Groove Pro- Skateboard.Camp and Snow Valley Ski ` f I anyone interested in furthering the com=~, ductions) and l creeted this video to ` Resort/Skateboard Summer Camp. ' mon causes of skateboarding and in-Ime = address the tough questinns that every ~ . ~ skating 6y learning aboutttie many_bene- : k?d,•parsn~ cFty-councit`mem6etand parkTm.Payne ` . ' ~ fts that skateparks offer for both city and an~reereahon.professional asks'abnirt: 1203 LaMesaAve_ - . skatec cityruri skateparks- We:arecammitted.to Winter Speings, FL:32708 ' ' . _ , . r= The S:Park Revofution documents, in ensunng tfiat the miltions of in line Phone/Fax;(A07~ 695-8215 I ~ r . defail, what it takes to start the balFbeer , skaters.and skateboarders don'thaue ta'`~ ail~cpaint23-aot ~i, ings•roiling. The first. aR features ma o.~ s =`tmart , . : . • - . ` ~ : P , . Y , ,fi~rever to~skateia€ely on courses - = o~;w~rthE~wehsrtein tlOC ; : . nsk managers, ciiy attorneys; and #ellow that acc¢mmodate,theira6~lmes:°Aitwalk, ~ undec Surflink - ~y . ' .'x„ . . . .G. .r- e ° .s, , 'r .r 7 . . . . , ' . . .r^ . • ~ 4 ...v' . • .r ~ ~ t .T ' . - ' ' _ . . - ' . . P 8, R f U E b 6 t ..,~y~"/5i. ~'.wa: . a .~._+c w.-...... _ A ~ . ; ` .,..Y; . 1.:.>'... S`3'. .I . ~ ..i . t•-~ ~\YY.~.Sil'. . • - ~ ~ . ki~ -vp ~ ~ . 0 7L L M= , ~ . 3L E x~ In-line skates first appeared in the 19th century, but were used . more_ as stage ~ props to simulate ice skating, tiiey • . ~ . , . . ~ never caught on w~th the general public. rfi,` ~r~, ''R si v g~:•'~- b 2 1 p 8 R 1 U L Y 1 9 9 7 O O A O _O O O O~ 199 10I '•I ~ ~ I ~ i ~ 17L I I tiI I 1 I j')hat's the fastest growing sport in America? Soccer, basketball, golf? How about mountain bi- cycling or snow boarding? ~ ~ The answer is "none of the ~ above." The fastest growing sport in i America, and probably the world, is in- ' line skating. With over 30 million persons 'skating last year in the U. S. alone, in-line ~';z•~'; . - skating registered a 19 percent increase in participation over 1995. This kind of r v . ; growth is typical of a sport that had bare- , ly a million participants just a decade ago. There are only a few reasons to believe I that this growth rate will not continue. I The biggest could be a lack of accessible I and safe places to skate. Fortunately, this ~ ~ - I --n-- is a problem that is easily solved, partio- ~ ularly with the help of park and recreation i departments. . In-line Skating's Appeal ~ I In-line skates first appeared in the 19th ' i centurY, but were used more as stage ~ props to simulate ice skating; they never ! . ~ caught on with the general public. More ~ ' - ~ than a century later-in 1980-a young hockeY PlaYer in Minneapolis came j ' across an old pair of skates in a sports ~ store. The skates had four wheels aligned I ~ in a row, unlike the traditional quad ~ skates that had been popular since the turn of the century, and seemed to offer - a soludon to someone looking for a way ~ to play hockey during the short Min- ~ nesota summers. In fact, they worked, , and soon he was making similar skates in , ~ ` P 8. R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 1 6 3 i "Mi 2amom The , appeal of in-line skating is that it is fun, safe, and never boring; not to . initial modest investment in a pair of skates and protectire gear. his basement. 'This was how the Roller- Another unique aspect of in-line skat- blade company was born. ing is its adaptability. Almost anything Today, there are over 250 companies that can be done on ice skates can be manufacturing skates, wheels, bearings, done on in-line skates. Thus it is no sur- clothing and other equipment that meets prise that irn•line hockey is taking off. It the needs of hockey players, fitness can be played indoors or out, on a variety skaters, racers, high-flying aggressive of surfaces, during every season. Today, skaters, and folks who are just out for a there are leagues all over the country for ]eisurely skate down the local bike path. men and women of all ages; there is even The in-line industry has reached the $l a professional league. In-line skates have billion mark; those who forecasted that been adapted for use in figure skating. in-line skating was a fad-the next hula And there xs even an in-line basketball hoop-were wrong! league on the East Coast that is expand- The appeal of in-line skating is that it is ing rapidly. Finally, in-line skating attracts fun, safe and never boring: not to mention superb athletes to its racing scene. that it provides a fitness benefit equiva- One sport that owes its existence to in- lent to running and costs little beyond the line skates is aggressive skating. Created initial modest investment in a pair of by kids and loosely based on skate- skates and protective gear. Anybody can boarding, this sport is the ultimate ex- skate, even those who think that they pression of balance and daring. Skaters can't. Lessons are widely available and slide on their skates down banisters, rails for a commitment of less than an hour and ramps. They do stunts and tricks that and a reasonable fee, the most timid non- are seemingly not possible. They get air- skater will soon be gliding along. borne after shooting down one side of a Instructor Certification Program (ICP) E ach year,The IISA Instructor Certifi- communifiy for a training session. cation Program offers programs for Certification is generally a weekend hundreds of in-line skaters who program which includes classroom work, wantto become certified to teach others a teaching seminar held on skates, a to use in-line skates. The ICP uses a stan- written exam, and a practical exam in dardized and proven formatto assure which instructors are scored while that those persons who are certified are teaching a class. Candidates must pos- effective in-line instructors. It is recog- sess sper,ific skating skills as well as the nized as the finest program of its kind ability to teach. throughout the world. There are three levels of certification. Parks and recreation programs can Level I and II focus an basic and utilize the ICP in several ways. First, they advanced fitness and recreational skiils. - can offer in-line skating classes to mem- Level III focuses on specific skills bers of the community. There are several required for sports, including aggressive, thousand certified instructors in the Unit- racing and hockey. ed States alone. These instructors will Information on the Instructor Certifica- know howto set up an effective program tion Program and helpful assistance in for all levels of ability. Second, if there starting a program is available from the are no instructors in your community, a IISA/ICP office, 201 N. Front Street, Suite host training program can be scheduled. 306, Wilmington, NC 28401. Phone 910- Expert trainers will actually come to your 762-7004; fax 910-762-9477. 6 4 f P& R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 ~ ~ ~ ~am I ~U~o~o, U _I ~~~S"A ~~?r ~r;~,~~ a• ,ition that it provides afatn~ss, ~eneiit equivaaent to running and sost little beyond the ~ i I ( ~ "half pipe" and up the other. Aggressive I skating has become a staple of the sports ( phenomenon and is known as "extreme ~ games." ~ Clearly then, in-line skates can be j adapted to a variety of games, but 85 per- r ~ cent of all persons who skate do so for fun MC' and fitness. They need only smooth pave- ment to get one of the best workouts pos- I ~ sible while enjoying themselves with ~ friends and family. Skating is also a great social activity; a way to meet others who ~ share a common interest in a healthful ; - lifestyle. ~ The Role of Parks Every Saturday and Sunday during the ~ warm weather months, 15,000 to 25,000 ~ persons show up in New York's Central I 4 Park with their in-line skates. Nowhere ; Y`..else on Earth can so many in-line skaters . Y be found at the same time. Some of these I ; skaters are experienced and skillful. They are more than capable of handling them- 'selves amongst the legions of runners, _ wbicyclists, dog walkers, and fellow ~ skaters. On the other hand, many of these ~ skaters are novices; not confident in their ~ skills and less than certain as to how to I 'share the road with others. ~ ; All this creates a real challenge for the ~ i New York Department of Parks and ~ Recreation. Traditionalists might express ~ the view that a resource like Central Park ~ was meant to provide a natural experi- I ence - a tranquil refuge - for city dwell- i - ers. They might see thousands of persons i ` whizzing around its roads as hardly tran- ~quil. However, this smooth, caretess pave- ~ ment is unique in a city like New York. ~ , There is no other place where skaters, I runners and bicyclists can find such a safe and beautiful place to enjoy them- i - selves. Park officials have determined ~ that this resource should be available to I all who can be safely accommodated, con- i sistent with the goals of the park. Where ~ some see chaos, others see a rich pan- oply: a human merry-go-round of color- I ful, structured motion. 1 P& R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 1 6 5 ~ . I Giren the financial constraints faced by public agencies today, in-line faciltties { ~ Elsewhere in Central Park, there are others on in-line skates, only these are ; hockey or aggressive skaters. There are _ no ready-made facilities for their activi- ties; they may be playing hockey in a ~~a M r~rs~o~ parking lot or doing stunts-skating down rails and marble steps-on public ~ monuments or buildings. Because they are younger and dressed differently than - those who are gliding around the park's roads; because they are skating where they aren't supposed to and may possibly cause property damage, they are more likelv to attract the attention of the police than are the recreational skaters. Park of- ficials have too frequently taken a con- frontational posture toward this younger group of skaters. This reaction ignores ~ the realiry, however, that in-line hockey and aggressive skating are skyrocketing in popularity. What is needed in virtually every community in America is a safe, su- w M pervised place where kids can do stunts and play hockey. A typical park system has tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming tlJ, pools, ball fields and other facilities that ! cater to specific sports and recreational , " activities. The provision of such facilities is not questioned as a proper function of a public park system. Few park systems, however, have kept up with or even tak- en notice of the explosive growth of in- line skating. They have yet to provide fa- • cilities for in-line sports and some have j ~ actually banned recreationa] skaters from their paved surfaces. Given the financial constraints faced by - public agencies today, in-line facilities make sense. First, most park systems al- ~ ready have paths and roads. These can be ~ made available to in-line skaters at no cost beyond that of normal repairs. Conflicts yx.- among users can be solved by closing down roads during certain times of the dav or week and restricting use during those times to non-motorized users. Fed- eral money is available for path con- struction under the Enhancements sec- 6 6 ! P 8 R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 - - - - - _ - -^-^..willl~~ . eake sense because most park systems already hawe paths and roads. These can be made arallable to in-line skaters at no addltional cost. tion of the Intermodal Surface Trans- roads that attract thousands of skaters, members are ICP certified and set up free portation Efficiency Act (IS'I'EA). Many bicyclists and runners. The job of the vol- novice clinics in the parks during week- communities have used these funds to unteer members of the skate patrol is to ends. Many instructors work with park build linear parks in areas that would oth- politely interact with all users: keep con- departments all over the country to teach erwise be unusable. Underutilized tennis flicts from deweloping, teach beginners skating as part of the departments' recre- ~ or basketball courts can easilY be con- basic skills like stoPP~, spot inJured Per- ation/education ProS'rams. mg ~ verted into hockey facilities. sons and call for help, and serve as role Hockey is played on in-line skates by Skateparks for aggressive skaters are models. IISA and its members provide over three million persons and is growing popping up all over. These facilities have support to skate patrols in the form of rapidly. Much of this play is casual: kids ramps, walls, steps, rails and other artifi- uniforms, equipment and training; there on the driveway or street in front of their ~ cially constructed surfaces that actually are no financial requirements made of the house. However, USA Hockey, our coun- ~ ' improve on those found at city hall - or park department. try's governing body for Olympic ice I wherever else skaters are unwelcome to Another important IISA function is the hockey, has established an in-line pro- congregate. Skateparks reduce conflicts training and-certification of in-line skating gram that has 80,000 participants playing between kids and authorities, reduce instructors. The Instructor Certificadon in well-organized leagues. There are property damage and provide a super- Program (ICP) has trained several thou- many other leagues that operate inde- i . vised, safe place for kids to enjoy them- sand persons to teach beginning and pendently. All use specially adopted rules, selves (See Matt Rankin's article on skilled skaters how_ to get more enjoy- use either a ball or puck, and emphasize p. 54). Although not unreasonably ex- ment from the sport. Most skate patrol safety by mandating protective gear and pensive, skateparks are more expensive than other in-line skating facilities; how- skate Essentials ever, the cost is easily justified when bal- anced against the problems that they little knowledge, when it comes to the quality of its construction and materi- solve. Builders and designers who spe- in-line skates and skatin is defi- als, and its features. IYs not a ood idea ~ cialize in these parks are readily available, Anitely not a dangerous thing. Just to skimp on your first pair of skates while as is insurance. the opposite:, in fact. Ithelps to under- finding out if you'll like the sport; you will Parfnerships stand a.few basic concepts about skates have stacked the odds against yourself! 8nd howto use them; the resultwill be Protective gear should always be Welcoming in-line skaters into a park, more fun and fewer problems. worn. Never,walk out of the store with I or including them in the plans of a recr~ Buythe right skate for you. If you are that first pair of skates unless you have arion department, may seem daunting to I i ' interested iii recreation you will want a protective gear too. The basic items are managers who did not grow up with in- ~ different skate than will a person who helmet, wrist guards, elbow and knee line skating or are not in-line skaters I , 1'wants to play hockey. There are very pads. It is best to take a lesson before themselves. Fortunately, there is plenty ,specific skFites for racing, fifiess, you set out on your own. If this is not pos- of help available from organizations with ' aggressive, hockey, and recreation. Be sible, practice on traffic free, level, I interests in all of the various manifesta- ve'ry'particulai.aboutfit. Comfort is the smooth pavement, wearing all of your tions of in-line skating. mast,importarrt criterion when choosing a gear. Bring a companion to help you. The International In-line SkatingAsso- f skafe Wheels come in different sizes and Leam how to use your brake. Avoid hills ' ciation (IISA) offers several programs ~ .4. ap~~ C hoose`smaller wheels when unless you are skilled at controlling your that can make a difference in building a ;r,mnll grye the most can- speed and stopping. These words to the successful in-line skating program in your s~rtyj ~8nrtgs in your' wise should`not be taken to mean that community. Think of the skate scene in e". I m~rd"~rta.get smooth rolling~ skating is hard to learn. In fact, skating Central Park. Keeping things operating 13:"" _ kaf8 at~nnltrequire less effort on your can be leamed, literally, in minutes; you smoothly in the capital of in-line skating ~ .a sa~lxite'lydo-notomite brake justwantto be careful during those first is the job of the Central Park chapter of e~,~s0tek_ few minutes! - the National Skate Patrol. This IISA pro- e pair-of skates wi"If~ `for more irrformation on getting start- gram operates in nearly 20 cities in the w~frusueily ae_= . ea, ca11800-56-SKATE, for a free IISA United States and Canada. Each of these Mnded use ofthe skate, Gear Upl Guide to In-line Skating. cities has a large park with paved paths or ._P& R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 # 6 7 i ~ Ninety percent of ail in-line skating iniuries are prerentable if protectire gear is worn, i .I ~ ; using refer°es. Several companies man- sive skating competitions-are inundated , ufacture permanent and portable boards with ca11s from persons looking for help ~ and playing surfaces. getting a skatepark built in their commu- ~ Information on skateparks will soon be nity. Recendy, a group of interested par- ~ " readily available if efforts to establish the hes met in Los Angeles and agreed that ~ National Skate Park Foundation are suc- there is so much interest in skateparks ; cessful. Most organizations that have any- that a new organization is needed to an- ; thing to do with in-line skating-particu- swer questions and promote safety. In the ~<&_: a'-~`~~ . * •larly IISA and the Aggressive Skaters As- meantime, tl:iere are a number of builders . ~ sociation (ASA), which conducts aggres- and designers who are available to help , f any park department install a skatepark. - J Builds Sfrong Bodles Safelr National Skate Patrol In-line skatin (NSP) g is safe. In fact, in-line skating is a lot safer than most sports that take place nn the average park with the T,~•- he IISAs National Skate Patrol support and encouragement of the whole originated when members of the community. New York Road Skaters Associa- According to the U.S. Consumer Prod- ~ I tion saw a need to improve safety and uct Safety Commission (CPSC), lastyear i skating conditions in Central Park. about 100,000 persons were admitted to I Since 1992 the program has spread to emergency rooms with in-line skating- ' many more cities in North America. related injuries. Seven times that number These include Miami Beach, Portland, required treatment for basketball in- ; Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, juries, and over twice that number for ' ~ Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Ft. Lauderdale, baseball injuries. Remarkably, 40,000 ~ Washington, DC, and Vancouver. At golfers required emergency room visits. , least 10 new atrols ma form this ear. ` P Y Y In terms of sheer numbers, in-line skating ~ Starting a NSP chapter is easy. The is barely ui the middle of the pack; look- . f IISA will provide training for the initial ing at injury rates, however, is even more , group of volunteers, as.well as uni- interesting. Basketball has an injury rate forms, some equipment and insurance. of 2.34 injuries per thousand participants. I~ The tough part is finding leadership for Cycling registers at 1.08. In-line skating the patrol. IISA mandates that there be has a 0.37 rate, just a bit worse than golf ~ a chapter coordinator who is willing to at.26 injuries per thousand participants. put in the effort needed to assure that 'Mere is even better news. A study car- the patrol is well organized and man- ried out by the Centers for Disease Con- - - aged. In addition, there is an annual trol (DCD) and published lastyear in the conference for the coordinators that New England Journal of Medicine con- requires chapter representation. Local cluded that 90 percent of all in-line skat- ~ chapters are also expected to secure ing injuries are preventable if protective local support or sponsorship to pay for gear is worn. This creates a strong argu- - phones, maps, and other necessary ment for park and recreation depart- ~ - items. ments taking an interest in in-line skating. ' Information on starting a National The more skating that is done in a su- , Skate Patrol can be obtained from the pervised setting, the more likely it is that ' IISA National Office, 3720 Farragut Ave., skaters will wear helmets, elbow and 5 Suite 400, Kensington, MD 20895. Tele- knee pads and wrist guards. This is par- _ phone 301-942-9770; fax 301-942-9771. ticularly true for kids in a skatepark. Ob- viously, one mission of a park and recre- 6 8 1 P 8 R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 his creates a strong argument for park and recreation departments taking an interest in in-line skating. ation department is to promote safety. Considering the growth of in-line ska6ng, the argument for taking an interest in this activity grows even stronger. No one is quite sure why the mere ` I mention of in-line ska6ng to anyone over the age of 30 elicits this response, but it is almost a sure bet: "It looks like fun, but ' I just don't want to get hurt." This is an in- ~ accurate perception, and because of it, , millions of Americans are depriving ' themselves of a tremendous opportunity to improve fitness, lose weight, meet new - friends, and have fun-all at a fraction of the cost of joining a health spa or pur- chasing expensive home exercise equip- ment. In fact, older Americans stand to benefit the most from in-line skating. It is a very low-impact activity with a high lev- el of strength development and aerobic • gain. It can be done on the street outside one's home or in the neighborhood park. - It lends itself easily to social/fitness ac- tivities that many recreation departments offer for seniors. Each skater can deter- mine an appropriate pace; it is not neces- sary to go fast to have fun. Lessons are easily obtainable; the basic skills are sim- ple to grasp. Even the very design of skates helps support and protect the foot and ankle. IISA Rules of the Road Making It Happen I In-line skating offers something for I 1. Skate SmaR Avoid traffic. everyone. Park and recreadon depart- J ~ Always wear protective gear - helmet, 3. Skate Legal ments are in an ideal position to encour- wrist guards, elbow and knee pads. age young and old, men and women, and Obey all traffic regulations. Skaters have afford them an opportunity to try skating Master the basic skating skills - striding, the same obligatdons as any wheeled in one or more of its many guises. By turning and stopping. vehicle. working with elcisting non-profit organi- Keep equipment in good order - replace Respect property rights. Leave the area zations, first-rate programs can be creat wheels and bearings that are worn and you skated in exactly as it was before you ed without delay and without significant check skates before setting out were there. ' cosk At the very least, based upon the in- , formation in this article, it is hoped that ' 2. Skate Alert 4. Skate Courteous parks and recreation officials who may Skate under control at all times. Skate on the right; pass on the left. have discouraged in-line skating in the past adopt more supportive policies to- Watch for road hazards. Announce intentions to pass verbally. ward members of their communitieswho Avoid water, oil and sand. Always yield to pedestrians. wish to enjoy this remarkable physical ac- tivity. ¦ P a R J U L Y 1 9 9 7 ~ 6 9 ~ a ~~~EIVED JUL 2 Menzei, inc. Gateway Plaza 12 Vail Road Vail, CO 81657 USA Phone(970)476-6617 Fax(970)476-1151 JulY, 20. 97 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, i would like to let you know some ideas of mine regarding the vail valley. please forgive me if sometimes i may not find the right words or sentences to really describe what i have in mind. but for sure you will understand what i mean and maybe get interrested in one of my thoughts. l. permanently installed cameras and big screen in vail village where the mens downhill takes place 2. vail mountain waterworks 3. the dine, pariy and breakfast train 4. a major league ice hockey team ..the " vail ice bears " 5. winter olympics in the vail valley 6. the "vail sports school " and center for skiing, mountainbiking and skijumping 7. employee housing 8. the " town of vail valley " 1. permanent cameras and big screen: vail needs as much publicity as it can get, good , quality, classy publicity. vail should install along the race course in vail village permanendy cute little wooden structures with all the tecnical equipment build in including the cameras , plus a permanently beautifully built in big screen on the side of pepis face, which could also serve on a daily basis to show events on the mountain or ski movies or concerts and what not. vail has not a nice promenade at the bottom of the mountain as has beaver creek, where the non-skiers can watch the activities, a big screen nicely nestled in the steep hill would make up a little bit for this disadvantage. the screen would perfectly blend in the hill ,it could be constructed with rocks around it and would be most interresting for visitors. it could even serve as a little ski jumping facility which would be even more attractive for all the spectators. this way, vai:l would made it extremely easy for television stations to report all . , kind of races ,including mountain bike downhills,or roller blading downhill,or artistic ski jumping on manmade snow and i do not know what else they could come up with. a lot of ski clubs , would want to hold their events in vail. every race could be filmed and easilv marketed. and if their is no event the families could watch their relatives, skiing down on the big screen, i would even say that the national ski teams would like to uain there because the coaches could watch the athletes better on the screen. specialy junior races or races for the handicapped could get more attention. i am sure once this idea is contemplated more by the right people they would even get more ideas for this and what a great marketing tool and publicity tool for vail this would be! again nature is helping vail , if you could not blend in the screen perfectly in the steep hill it would look ugly, also the distance to the spectators is perfect,if you want to go even one step ahead you could install built in cameras all over the mountain and show on the screen whats going on up there. again i must say that the key is looks and quality here,the screen must melt into the surounding landscape it cannot look ugly. once you start to think about it more seriousley you could find all kinds of permanent sponsors who, s advertisement would pay for the project. i am sure once vail offers such a facility there would be an interest worldwide from sport clubs who would decide to hold their events in vail. the upcoming championships could be used to talk right away with the big sponsors and tv stations so you may have it for the championships readN. 2. vail mountain water works: vail needs this as a mega tourist attraction in the summer, but could also be phantastic for the winter. what i envision is a set of connected pools on the mountain with one central huge pool, they are all connected downwazds through a big chanel, and several side channels, one for children for example, etc etc. and so on. there could be one real long big track where people go down on a raft with a driver,this channel could serve at the same time as a bobsledge track for the olympics. you have already all the lifts to get the people up the mountain it would be a unbelievable experience to bring them down with the help of water. this could be a major tounst atraction, nobody has it anywhere on the planet. in the alps we have the so called alp lakes all the way up on the mountains in the middle of nowhere people just love to bath in them. another point is that a huge facility like that will get hundred of childrens every day and they are very loud, if you put the center facility high up in the mountain you would have all the space in the world and nobody would get disturbed. the lynx for example i think will have no problem to retreat into the absolute wildemes many miles away unfortunately vail does not have a lake you can turn this now to an advantage by creating something much more intenesting. ofcourse i only mention a couple of ideas i am sure that your specialists will create much more fun things to do with such a facility.. i think also that the children, the youth, is a mayor factor, in planning something like that, imagine all these thousands of children ( and their mothers and hopefully their dads! ) spending their time up there, crying out of joy, do you think that there is a more wonderful sound in live???? and wait till all these children have discovered skiing, my god, i really should buy stocks from vail resorts. ! at the end they could make even a bit of competition for disney ? which would be not so difficult since vail has the biggest cultivated mountain on this planet, and what is fake against the real thing 3. the train i remember my little nephews going endlessly on a little tuut..tuut. tuut.. train from ruhpolding to traunstein, stopping at our little station with their grandmother in tow. that little train made their day and it was the best babysitter we could imagine. if i look at this very scenic railtracks winding down the valley next to the river i think it is a shame to take them away. and does not everybody connect a steaming locomotive with romantic lost times feelings? and do you really want your children not to grow up with this most chamung toy? i cannot believe that here, in the middle of nowhere , 3 years before the year 2000, you actually consider to remove the dreams of millions and millions of children. a most romantic track back 200 years into our past. so why give it up? what i envision are two things to presetve it forever,and who knows ? maybe one day we reall}, need it again to fulfill our basic needs of transportation. A. a basic local transportation with electric uain buses in the mornings they would pull also 2-3 wagons who would serve as a breakfast place, so all the employees who cannot get housing nearby their job would at least save time for a peaceful breakfast. ofcourse ghese trains must be " non profit trains " so a nice breakfast does not cost more than $ 2.50. with a stop every mile or so just like in the good old times, you would need only little covered platforms in a romantic wooden shape, verv simple the " bus line" would start, lets say in dotsero and would end in redclif.. the electric buses should run every 30 mintes from 6 to 11 in the morning and in the rush hours at the end of the day. i believe this train would rise peoples feelings about the valley tremendousley. i would make it a long long term plan for vail also to build every year a little part of the track, so the train can go all the way to lionshead.along the highway. end point would be a phantastic facility at the vail associates snowcat yard. this would be a big step to give lionshead more bussines. to make lionshead nicer is only half of the problem,the other half is that it NEEDS more people which is difficult because it can never compete with vail village. maybe another gondola can be constructed at the terminal which could people bring direcdy to the waterworks facilties on the mountain. ofcourse the " train " would be connected in a nice way to the neiv village of the lindholm group and last not least would be also connec:ted to the old trailerpark from vail associates in avon direcdy to the planed tram going up to beaver creek. than again ,last not least it would stop at the eagle airport where the " train " would bring the guests in grand style to their hotels along the valley. B. next to the electric train buses i envision the pam, and sightseeing train ! imagine a romantic looking but most modern engine pulling : - wagons with a beautifiil restaurant inside - sightseeing wagons - special children wagons with babysitters - discotheke wagons - wagon with an alcohol free disco for teenagers - wagon with conference rooms - theather wagons and play the freight flatbed wagons of the railroad companies could be converted into extra wide structures to house all these facilities, because the " train " will never go faster than 15 miles an hour,it will have a locomotive on the beginning and one on the end, so it can go back and forth all the time. can you imagine what publicity and interrest vail would get with such a thing. the idea is that the train would run very slow ,lets say starting at 5 in the afiernoon, the children wagons would have babysitters etc. you could enter at one of the many stations. have dinner and dance in the disco in the night , and you could leave the train after he made a couple of rounds right in front of your house. no car involved. special for families during the day such a ride would be the biggest joy. just think about the disco, finally a solution how to party the disco stops almost next to your house! ! and i personally think vail just needs better quality night live,thats why many many people favor aspen over vail. you just MIJST think more about the youth, you can tell me whatever you want, but the youth wants to dance and have great discos. never forget they will get older also and have families,they are your upcoming family visitors. the police can come on the ride too if they want, and everything could be much better under control. and who in this valley can afford a disco for teenagers? this train will be a solution for this problem and i am sure that their parents will just love this idea. is that service or not , ladies and gentlemen?? never forget children are the future customers! ! ! that vail is a long narrow valley is a favor for this idea because the " train" could be reached easily by everybody the only problem is vail itself, but if the people of vail think really long term they could be" connected "within 7- 10 years or faster if they decide to invest first into the traks to give lionshead really a MASSIVE support.. anyways vail needs only a convention center and than there are no more huge projects in sight, so what to do with all the money? the " train " would be just right to connect all. minturn ofcourse could run another sightsseing train up to tennessee pass to get some more money into the cashregister. and if the olympics go through than you could combine everything, even the long awaited convention centerin vail village. 4. the icehockev team in germany , ice hockey is big, but imagine under the ten best teams are 3 teams from bavaria from towns smaller than vail . each of these three little towns won already the german championships.against big cities like berlin or munich. there is no doubt in my mind that the " town of vail valley " could easily do what the little viliages in bavaria did. my idea ofcourse goes along with the olympic stadium and the old railyards in minturn. can you imagine 3 0000 people cheering for vail in a beautiful stadium, even in the summeri!! the publicity would be unbelievable. if you have right now chidren in val ,who are eYCellent icescaters who are going to the junior olympics , i do not see why not the same thing can happen to the icehockey youth. the small villaees in bavaria got most of their players out of their own youth,when they were big, they were beaUng Berlin,, the whole region would just scream like hell in that stadium ,just like in the little towns in bavaria. the media would just go wild about this maybe you could even host a couple of denver nuggets games in that stadium. think big! vail is in also isn t " The Town of Vail Valley " not just the best place to make the icehockey stars and their families feel good, why not ? since we all agree that children and the youth will be the NO. 1. for us in the future. wether wev get the icehockev team or not. although i have to admit that a lot of dadys here, would probably just die to focus their enthusiasm to vail and no longer to denver. not to forget the mam s, who would for sure thank god for that stadium. to unite the whole valley i think we need a big anchor we all love and that can onlv be the future NATIONAI, champion icehockey team of the " VAII, ICE BEARS " and why not hold also world icehockey championships in vail.?? the way to proceed would be a bid for the olympics,and to see how the chances are,. once you know that your chances are very good you could start to get the right investors for the team,because the stadium could be financed with the income from the TV rights ( inc. olympics ) and all kinds of other ideas. a team of the best vail architects could be assembled to design the most beautiful mountain stadium in the world. the minturn railyards would be ideal for all this spacewise,i would just hope that the residents of minturn also could be convinced. if i would live there i would just love it but only if the stadium would be just beautifully be nesded into the space,and if the local trainsystem would be just planned perfectly. 5. winter olympics a dream l !t why not bid for it, the stadium in minturn or the lindholm site is everything, the rest is not so difficult to achieve,and with vails reputation it gained so far i think the odds are very good. the water works on the mountain could serve as a bobsledge track.. the only problem would be the ski jumping, but i am sure it can be done.. timing cant be better because you could incorporate the plans for the olympic village with the plans the lindholm group has for their village. which means that you could create a massive employee housing project, and have the athletes use it for 3 weeks before the real owners move in. in any case you would have a phantastic olympic village right in the center of the valley. ofcourse the alympic stadium would be close to ther highway if you could make a deal with the lindholm group, but i like personally more the minturn site. in any case the plans of the lindholm group, show you that we need to unite strongly, their site would just make these olympics . i think, since we prefer our policemen to drive swedish cars for sure a deal can be worked out. ! personally i think that we should leave aspen the honor to drive saabs and we switch to audi quatro s. another major advantage would be , that you would have now a year to present your bid right when the championships take place. this would run the media wild finally olympics in a real winter village just like in the old days. what an anouncement that would be for the world. the" town of vail valley" has so many excellent architects,that they would have no problem to get the plans ready. ofcourse not one dollar will be spent eveiything should be based on trade or based upon success. a must is also, that you can only use local architects,. same with local contractors or any other bussines needed. the whole enterprise is a" town of vail valley" THING.. and is needed to bond us all together. no greed or speculation is needed absolutely everybody will have a profit,the profit will be used to make the valley better and more independent even from snow. i also mean that you should make a presentation to the olympic comittee which is based on simplicity and compactness, no gigantomania is needed. but the main point is,that through a bid for the olympics a valley wide overhaul in ever}, respect can and should take place,even if that means to start " the town of vail valley " the olympics must pay direct or indirectly and push fonvard new zonings for absolute massive employee housing. that is next to the pure fun for wintersports the main idea to bid for thP olympics. if you go up with an hot air ballon over the valley, you can see vast nature and more or less clear borders to where development can go without disturbing the nature to much, but you also see a vast talent of all kinds of people. construction workers architects,lawyers , doctors, artists, bankers bussines people and many others. i see a tremendous source of energy, if they all would make the planning for the olympics their special hobby each in his field , if it would be possible to unite them all for this great invent " the olympics " it would be unforgettable to them and their children. there cannot be the same problems who arised for other olympic cities, vail must be different,to achieve that, everyone must be a part of the team, and should gain from it. i have already some ideas how to do that. i can give them to you later. the " olympic comunity vail valley what an attraction it would send out to all over the world!. and they all will say " how in heaven did they do it we must go there and find their secret " i still remember when my little village plus 3 other little villages in bavaria made a bit for the olympics which calgary later got, we almost won.but i can tell you that the vail valley is 50 times more stronger and has 100 times more influence. our only big problem was that there were a lot of people against it in our region,and they demonstrated right in sazajevo where we made one of our presentations, against us. thats why i think that the whole valley must be involved, i wrote somewhere before, that it seems to me that the valley is not yet stabalized because its foundations are out of snow and ice,the olympics and the stadium and the therefore resulting unity as one great comunity could help uemendousley to get the funds to reinforce them with "steel and concrete." 6. the "vail sports school " what i mean is a special private school ( and college ) for very talented children in sports. when i think about vail i think outdoors ,i thinlc sport. i think health if you think in the same lines like me, olympics stadium, icehockey team, iceskating, mountainbiking, skijumping, bobsledge etc.etc. than you notice that vail could become a center for all these activities , isn t it already a center for sports medicine? so why not start also a sports school right here , for specially talented children. and this not only on a national level,this school could become very famous and could tempt parents from all over ihe world to send their children to that school. how many pazents do not have the time to help their children, once their talent gets discovered or do not know how to go about it or simply do not have snow or mountains if that is needed or come from small towns where there is no sufficient training for the child. these schools exist already in europe with great success. i am sure the railyards in minturn next to the stadium could easily house this school , ofcourse all this could happen together with the combined effort to host the olympics. maybe it could be connected with plans of some e.xisting schools in the valley, maybe the vail mountain school wants to expand on such an enterprise. T. employee housing the train would help ofcourse, or the olympics would make a big push.. but if nothing of this happens since these aze just some ideas , i would like to say also something about affordable housing. i must say that i have very few knowledge about the law and land issues here. but maybe that helps to observe the problems in a simple way. i come and go since 17 years to vail. since than i hear the problems with affordable housing and the conversation going on about ..open land... i also see during the years all the developments going up , except a few affordable housing project which could be easily identified as that by their look the other developments were more or less pretty expensive. at the moment i think cotton ranch is the one furthest down. all this open land and still affordable housing problems. what is going on ? does the process to start a development cost so much or takes so long that it cost so much are the prices for the land so expensive when it is sold for the purpose of development? are the laws too complicated or what else , i really do not know. always the NON affordable housing projects r,ome through in much higher quantities.,somewhere along the line must be a fundamental flaw in the svstem. but let me please start first with the problem i find much easier to solve or to lessen when i think about it short term housing, one way to integrate short term employees direcdy into the comunity,is a program i call " adopt an employee" which can start by changing the too strict building codes in vail. you should allow every present or future homeowner if he wants, to be part of this program,which means , that he should be able to ad in a VERY TASTEFLJL way a room or studio with bathroom and own entrance to his house or condo. this way that room can be rented out, make some extra money for the owner to pay for the maintenance etc. etc. than the town puts this room or studio on its employee housing list as part of the program and rents it for the owner if the owner. does not want it to rent himself. i would sfart a massive valley wide campaigne for the " adopt an employee program " in the alps we have the same thing,there is a special policeman who just checks all day long wether the owners comply with the program, if not there is a huge fine involved. this is very simple, the town will not even notice on its police budget wether one policeman does just this checking . i bet with you that this way you can ad at least 1000 more happy employees to the towns. the idea is that todays very good azchitects can absolutely, in a very tasteful way get this operation done that even the strictest eye will not see a difference on the houses look, i bet even more that the houses will become more charming and interesting. so next to solve the roommate situation in a elegant and for both sides interesting way, you will give the bussinesses of the town much more daily customers for all kinds of things. this program would vitalize everybody, also a lot of old homes in vail are due for renovating, this new program would go right along with it. can somebody please openly say what speaks against it ? you have read the paperclip about :roommates, this situation should be bettered . in fact the town should not even think twice about it, since ofcourse the homeowners have to come up with the money first. cannot the banks come up with a simple program of lending , also contribute to the " adopt an employee program affordable lifetime housing please go up with a hot air ballon over the valRey and you will see a vast ocean of wilderness around you. than you go up and down the valley and you see on both sides next to the highway a lot of empry land , uncultivated land! next to the beautiful developments. what is the sense of this ? does not a stretch of cultivated scenic , nicely nestled houses in the landscape, with happy children playing around everywhere , do more good, than wildemess right between us, which a lot of people name in my mind wrongly " open land " what do people mean with this " open land there is so much open land around , that it is almost a sin considering what is happening. every time i dlrive along that highway i must wonder... to me ALL of the long narrow valley is good for nice little homes, because at any place you are very very close to the real open land or forest that is to say. parks can easily be constructed along it , if the masterplan asks for it there should be enough money available if everything goes right ( like i will describe shortly the beautiful romantic railroad winding down right along it, with all these great architects in the valley what a chance you would have to turn this valley into a fairytale out of " the brothexs grimm " books and THIS that is the most remarkable thing, can happen in the 21. century. " and a highway runs through it " the aspen people joke, but, thanks god, it is exactly this highway who connects in a practical way all the people who live along it, and allows quality to spread down valley and gives people the feeling that they really almost live in vail if you think 50 years ahead for sure the practicality of living along that highway and the necessity will have vansformed a lot of the land into beautiful homesites. but why wait so long? i asked myself the same question why i had to wait for 17 years to finally be allowed to drive 70mph. , nothing changed why could they not have come to that wise decision earlier.? anyways... the question is will these nice developments, i see in my mind 50 years from now be from the kind " who seems to come through in much higher quantities", or the other kind? do you want to wait 50 years to find out.? i have to come back were i started. in germany and i know also in the other alpine countries, there is land which owns the government and the government decides wether you can build on it or not.than there is land the comunities own and they decide wether they build on it and there is pnvate land and who builds on this also the comunities decide.in a masterplan for at least 30 years.. if you see sometimes a bavarian farmer in las vegas than you know what happened. i have difficulties to understand why there is so expensive development here and how it can come that you have problems to get affordable housing, with all that empty land around you.? my question is why can you not make a very strict long term masterplan for development for land in private hand, like in other countries, and if you do ! why does the following described story not work? ok, i am now the man who is responsible in the valley to acquire homesites for affordable housing., the oficials have agreed to develop a 50 year masterplan for development. here is what i would do : first i get all the available plans from the valley to exactly deternune all the homesites who are for sale in this moment and identify the ones who would fit as affordable housing, which means they should mis and blend in with the rest, we absolutely do not want clusters of cheap looking affordable housings. from now on all the affordable housings will be intergated in a certain ratio,lets say 60 /40 into every developement we also identify sites we believe should stay for always empty. later on we mark those green and the affordable sites on the big map yellow. than i rent a big helicopter from the army or the forest service and we go up with the 3 best landscape architects in the valley and all the town council members and comisioners and government members and who else has a saying. than we start very slowly to see whats going on from east to west. we start to detemune what can be developed and what not, we spend a whole week, every day in that helicopter. after that, the landscape architects bring everything to paper, including the tecnical aspects like electricity sewer water, transportation etc. etc we need at least 4 more connections to the highway ) if possible in a huge three dimensional landscape map of all the valley, where we have them outline our thoughts about the long term masterplan. also at the same time everything is marked what is for sale and the price. or will be for sale in the future, also on the map is outlined who owns what, what we have deternuned to go under development in the next 50 years. we have also marked who owns big portions of land on our wish list. ofcourse the public can study everything too and is welcomed to make coments. there will be also timeframes to be seen on the map, since we do not want to inflate the real estate market by selling too fast, everything will be balanced right, so everybody feels good about it , more attention will ofcourse go towards the section from east vail to west vail when we identify the land,since vail has the biggest problems with affordable housing. right now i have a little problem because i do riot know at all what the forest service owns or who are the other big landowners in the valley except the lindholm group. also again i must say that all the oficials in my helicopter do agree with me and finally have come together to put an end to the housing problem,also they totally agree that this time they will be more generous with the people and less with the land. ok, now the tricky part starts: first we identify the most beautifW homesites and whole developments ( preferably on vail and beaver creek mountain ) and mark them white. ofcourse we absolutely need those the partime residents are as important,if not more than the locals,because they make this valley going. than we detemune the homesites and developments where we think our affordable housing sites should be integrated we mark them yellow , which ofcourse are not the most beautiful but still pretty, included are ofcourse the sites where we think that they are good for condos or duplexes and fourplexes. for these we have in mind to build them for our own town staff and families who just cannot buy eeen with the best will , a third of them however we also plan to sell,while the rest we offer to the hotels to buy for their housing problems. than we start first with all the big private owners and contact them and ask them how much and for what price they would want to sell their land. if the land is not under an existing masterplan and not zoned for nothing it is worth little. so we make a deal with the owner we grant him zoning for the land in return he will sell us the sites we want for a very very good price . ofcourse we are fair and generous in any case. at the same time we have a map with land from all of colorado ( or the USA ) the forest service would like to bu}, or trade from private owners. we have also the adress of the owners of this land. it is clear that we need lots of money, here, there is to say again, that i do not know how much land is really in private hand around that 1 or 2 mile stretch along the highway. but lets say quite a lot. ok. now we start another process once we have as many sites as possible, we start to sell half of them.. than we pay the original owner and with the rest money we aproach the ouside owners in colorado who have land the forest service wants to own ofcourse we also have on the map the land marked the forest service wants to sell for cash. ok. we see that we can buy the land the forest service wants to have, as cheap as possible. than we trade with the forest service and possibly get next to a lot of yellow land also some good portions of white land. at the end we hopefully have thousands of potential homesites in our hands to be wisely distributed over the next 50 years.( or earlier ) is it right to estimate that in the whole valley during the neYt 50 years easily 50000 - homesites could be developed ? with a ratio of 60/40, you could " reward " every year, 400 sites for 50 years to employees. i think 60/40 is realistically in a time were service is everything, do not forget the huge efforts of the competition. if we would get the olympics we could easily stabilize the marked and have a good growth for the neat . 10 years, that would give us time to make a name in other things too in the tourist industrie. ofcourse everything depends alot on the forest service ,i just hope that they understand this maneuver and help. i say that it is also in the interest of the forest service to have a happy valley and a financial strong valley,but again i really do not know whats going on with that and what their position is. but thev are residents too and i just hope that they understand that they will forever help with this drastic step which is to make at least 500 acres of white developments availavble.to give the towns the leverage and potential to solve once and forever the problem. but i emphasize, NOW is the time for the " white homes " the next 2 years . the USA is big with a lot of very nice other places to live ,i am happy for every rich person who makes the decision to buy in vail, for sure if you go with the olympic idea for the year 2008 than you would buy yourself more time to get all this done, anyways i do not think that i am the first one to propose such a thing, so maybe i just bore you with these lines pretty much. to go on, than we make an amazing move,we sell the white land as e.Ypensive as possible through all the real estate agents in town and with the money we let them buy for us as many homesites as possible from the people who have homesites for sale ,which we markeci yellow or green at the beginning, with tlus move, we not only make the sellers happy but also get a better evenly distribution for good employee homesites in the future and a bit empty land. and we also attract more very wealthy people by offering ski in ski out sites,which are too rare in the valley and who are the reason why a lot of rich people go to other towns who have more ski in ski out properties i think its clear by now for everybody how it works! its very simple ( ofcourse i do not know how many complicated laws speak against it ).what you have really done is, that you let more or less the " white homes " pay for the" yellow homes" but in a smart way, Nvith the help of the forest service,that for sure everybody will be happy. in any case the critics will say that -%ve have sold nature against money, i say we have married culture and nature and have widened the future of our people and have furthermore bought a lot of "steel and concrete" for our fundaments. furthermore i believe that this valley will get for sure developed in a nice way anyways the next 100 to 200 years, we only have cemented with steel the 60! 40 ratio NOW, and have therefore also assured that our visitors and parttime residents who are and will be always the NO 1. ( or do you want to start some industries up here have the assurance that the locals and the service they are offering will not come with a grim smile over their lips. you cannot be a long time the NO l.if your employees are not happy. ofcourse it is clear that not right away eveMlung will be developed,since it is a 50 year masterplan.( is this even allowed by law but we have now clearly a lot of land in our hands since ofcourse we have also bought the land the forest service offered us directly for a cheap price. now we can in peace determine how we structure the deal with our homesites , you probably have that program figured out already. to help with one more idea,... there are many companies in the valley who celebrate tkleir " employee of the year i think thats a point were you could also get involved, on a rotating system these empolyee could i think, easily also be rewazded by the town. or for example very small bussinesses whose owners work just as hard could also be rewarded somehow. just put up a system like the " discover card " you know what i mean,!!?? that program would again be an incentive for the owners. i must say that you should come to a decision or compromise soon because the employee housing projects who are in the planning, must know whats going an.anyways often these places do not look nice and i think it is the wrong plan to cluster them together. if you try to distribute them evenly than also the neighbors feel better, because their " expensive " land, still looks good, so nobody cares. we have already experienced the screams if you try to cluster employee housing next to expensive land. i dream from a beautiful valley where the distribution of houses look beautiful ,if you could get the land for the employee houses that cheap as i described than they can in return conswct much nicer homes and you would not even notice the di.fference to many homes of part time residents. if i say before " homes nicely settled into the landscape i mean the look you see inside vail village , this look is culture and beauty and can be achieved everywhere,with a lot of regular residents living all year round in their homes you will for sure se;e much more fresh flowers hanging down from balconies and more freshly moed lawn than you will see from the " part time homes " have you ever heard anybody admiring vail village, " oh where is the nature and the open land so again the question dried out land, and wildemes right between us, open for all kind of speculations the next 50 or 100 years, or a great new masterplan and one comunity and what is more! generosity to the people who work for us. if they work between us they also should live between us. and you do not even have to pay for that, how difficult can it be to vote for that. i really hope that you have time enough to read all this,and i hope that i do not sound too unreasonable to you. i keep thinlang how you can find out more what is going on in this valley. i think you should write every real estate agent in town ,to help you to ask all the people WHO LEAVE THE TOWN and sell their properties, why they do this, if you could make them fill out some sort of extensive questionaere i believe you would get some good leadways. since there are over 400 agents in the valley and all have more or less several customers .vour questionaere would be really pretty representative. ~ s 8. " the town of vail vallev " as a complete amateur in these matters please regard my thoughts only as simple i know that this enterprise would really be a millenium task, considering how many institutions and opinions and what not govern tlus valley. but maybe you can start slow like the european comunity. i propose a dramatic change. save money and time, create the " Town of Vail Valley " and within in you leave the different " village parts " of minturn vail village, west vail, avon , beaver creek and so on.. so much is already mixed so close over and under that it is difficult to desribe clear borders anymore. the whole valley must stand for one idea , quality and unity. so manv reasons speak for this ,i have not the time to speak about them now. this letter has already gotten too long. but think for yourself about reasons ! i only say as long as the times are good you have the time and the money to do drastic changes like that. and since we all live from tourism more or less the advertisement is so important ,if everything would be paid out of one cashregister,than it would also be easier to pay the income out of one cashregister. and weak points could be fixed very fast without disscussing forever who should come up with the money, like it is now. for sure also a own charterline would be possible, i think that would interest vail associates very much since the vail valley is not so easily reachable from other countries. why not i am sure with everything combined you can really determine your borders, for example in a masterplan for the next 50 years or more , how far away from the highway do you allow development ?once and for ever. that would mean that there is no more speculation about zoning and special permits etc etc. you would give everybody in this valley a clear picture what is going on what to expect. the bussiness owners in this valley already are suffering under too much stress everybody can see that,you must work very hard to stay in bussiness up here, if you combine the towns , you can save for everybody and make room ,not neccessarily for more bussinesses but for more people, so it is easier for the existing bussinesses tu survive. this would make people feei good about their investment and people who are coming with their money to invest would also know and feel safer. you could combine so many things, achieve so many things be a role model for all of america, even the world! be a cultural center be an center for international activities where the world meets. be cosmoplitan show a way into the future by making huge steps back to simplicity in all and everything. a new century begins soon. now is the time to rethink many things and change them if they are not good but i think also that much more money and people are needed to achieve all this,and these people MUST,MUST MLTST be able to live as normal and good as they would in the rest of the USA, nobody likes the feeling that ultimately he is just a servant who must go home far away because unfortunately he has not ( that much ) what it takes. ( see paperclip vail trail july 20 1997 ) do _you really think, ihat dried out land is worth more than the person who serves you, and whom you need to serve you.? and does not serve everybody, everybody in a sense so lets serve us all now by starting to think a bit along these lines. thanks for your time, please excuse if i have said the same things a couple of times too often, or if some things may sound a bit confusing in my sentences,or if i said things or propose things you have already discussed before with a negative result. i know that things are not easy and that you cannot make it right for everybody,please see my letter as positive. i.4 ¦ T~ rate of h ' o ~ ~agie~ owest sincerely in the state Out of ti~e-~ ~~~olora~, " '-`R ev: Dietrich Menzel ~ entfi lowest m~o~ne ¦ Housingpiices are 6d"pea~ceai copy: vail associates in the state as a whole; and 7U-encxat • . all newspapers ¦ Housing prices are.rising' mach moieI From town councils 1990 to 1995f the median price of a single faii~i}y~:~. "percei~t, while wa~es town managers comisioners onder to have purchased'the mediaa price single. fausFY.honr~~'~ ¦ Residents are having to liYe-as roommaf,es at twice t'~ sfate~..ancli national levels."Forty-four pea~ce~i of permanent ~slde~t n~n far~j, households con'sisf of ~ pr°xwpat?1Y.~2~300 house~ lds.are.Pa.Yin of d[eir income for honsing:. ¦ Tviielve peii enf of the " ; ~ t w ' ~ - pern~qen ak famce commutes from oth- er countia W - ~ ~a - -atizaslres tahrn from a - of tlre Eag1e _ V_ - IO~~~