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HomeMy WebLinkAbout21. VEAC January MinutesVEAC Minutes January 8 , 2019 Vail Economic Advisory Council January 8, 2018 Vail Town Council Chambers 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM MEETING MINUTES VEAC Members Present: Sarah Franke, Rayla Kundolf, Greg Moffett, Chris Romer, Lori Pohl, Michael Connolly, Ki m Newbury-Rediker, Mark Gordon, Mike Glass, Alison Wadey, Laurie Mullen, Mike Lange, Meredith MacFarlane, Matt Ivy, Mark Gordon, Matt Morgan, Mike Ortiz, Brian Nolan, Travis Coggin Town of Vail Staff Present: Mia Vlaar - Economic Development Director, Kathleen Halloran – Finance Director, Greg Clifton – Town Manager, Matt Miano, Economic Development Coordinator, Matt Gennett, Community Development Director Others Present: Sidney Bonser January Packet Link AGENDA Civic Area Priority Discussion, VEAC, Matt Gennett (30 minutes) • 1110 site visits, 112 surveys completed • People are happy with library • Dobson people would like to see upgrades • Want to hear VEAC perspective, Top Five Goals • Comments on Town Hall moving • Comments from emergency services potentially being put together • Moffett – Is this a 20 year Plan? A) Yes, 20-25 years • Moffett- Went through 2012 plans • Ivy – Q) Is there any possibility of reworking the Frontage Road? A) Cost prohibitive, CDOT also poses obstacles • Nolan – I wouldn’t discount this idea considering it’s a 25 year plan and this would make it much more pedestrian friendly • Kundolf – Give fire department town hall • Will a Hyper Loop affect this vision? Moffett – Important to consider connectivity with Front Range • Mullen – Clarified goals on surveys and encouraged everyone on VEAC to try to reach out to 10 people to help increase participants Mullen Q) Is survey confidential? A) No, we ask people to register • Mullen noted that she keeps hearing ‘multi-use’ aspects VEAC Minutes January 8 , 2019 • Mullen commented on the wording of a question surrounding the ‘safety’ of Dobson Ice Arena • Mullen questioned Vail Resorts thoughts on parking structure and is concerned that it could have major implications • Clifton – We do need to ensure our messaging is understandable and not worrisome, Dobson Arena is safe. No concerns there. • Kundolf – Encourage more reach out and surveys and VEAC could help • Moffett- Plan for the reality of the situation • Nolan – Atmosphere in Vail with Vail Resorts has changed on this side of the Junction. Vail Resorts have a lot invested in the future of the town and down valley they seem to be more willing to work together but in town the atmosphere is different • Nolan – Somebody needs to talk to Doug Lovell on a regular basis • Vlaar – Town staff has been meeting with Vail Mountain on a collaboration plan on Guest Experience and Special Events initiatives. Group is meeting on Thursday and the civic plan is on the agenda. Your comments are appreciated and we are moving forward with similar thoughts and are optimistic • Ortiz – Notre Dame’s new hockey facility is worth taking a look at. Also, to make a viable concert venue they want at least 3000 ticketed seats. I feel we need to consider underneath the ground and what’s above • Gordon – If we have buildings that lend themselves to programming we will have new event producers bringing forth new ideas. A multi use meeting facility, performing arts space, civic center will really enhance the guest experience • Kundolf – Library is lovely and offers a great experience for the guests, repurpose the municipal area and be smart about it. Let’s not overthink, sometimes simple stupid is the best method. • Vlaar- Talisa is using tennis courts as conference space which is a testament to the fact that we need additional group meeting space could be 20K square feet • Moffett- What is the shelf life of parking structure. A) The belief is that we have 20-25 years • Coggins – Can we put two sheets of ice here on municipal site? • Ortiz – I’m hesitant to discuss 2 sheets because we need to demonstrate demand first, then we have to maintain it and our town isn’t large enough • Ortiz – Multi functional is paramount • Wadey – Would like to maintain small town feel of Dobson and other facilities even if we end up with new buildings and cautions staff to not do away with that ‘charm’ • Wadey – I do believe we can support a second sheet of ice and know Eagle is planning to install a second sheet but most people would prefer to stay in Vail than have to head to Eagle. • Ivy – Q) Can it be operated as a Co-op to facilitate a second sheet? Ortiz) A) It’s possible but… • Moffett – Down valley can be political and personal • Nolan - Be careful we don’t compete with ourselves and concerts are everywhere VEAC Minutes January 8 , 2019 • Romer – We have had groups that have outgrown us and no longer can come to Vail such as Colorado Municipal League • Nolan – While we are looking at ways to gain size to keep some of these groups are we missing an opportunity to market to the groups that are right behind these groups. The next tier of group size that is growing into the size of Vail. • Mullen – As soon as we start partnering down valley people will begin to stay down Valley, so we need to get fine tuned to what our needs are. • Connolly – There’s a huge parcel just past Dowd Junction why can’t we annex Eagle Vail. We have too many governmental institutions in the valley. • Moffett- It would be financially ruinous to try and annex Eagle Vail. • Romer – Sunday through Thursday for 49 weeks of the year we have availability and room for growth • We went from 2008-2018 and our rate growth was large and isn’t sustainable as a whole. • Kundolf – My worst two months are July and February at the gallery. We are at 90% lodging capacity and the experience is lessened. • Coggin- I wouldn’t support a rec center when there is one 4 miles away, that would be too duplicative. My question is “What is the best thing?” Everything needs to be mixed use and multi purposed. • Franke – I think we need to look at things differently. There are many things going on throughout the country that are outside the box and multipurpose. • Morgan – We need to be thoughtful moving forward, otherwise we end up with a Band-Aid that will need more attention later • Nolan – We are very spoiled and need to not lose sight of that. • Gordon – Agreed, and lets keep our eye on the big picture and not get bogged down with the small stuff • Gennett – Good conversation, Key takeaways multi use with flexibility and adaptability. Mobility, connectivity, future technology. Looking both horizontally and vertically. Communication with regional partners Town Manager’s Report, Greg Clifton (5 minutes) • Council Retreat, February 20th • Next three weeks – slight upgrades to town hall, opening space, new furniture Financial Update, Kathleen Halloran (5 minutes) • At end of Nov up 7.2% sales tax • Real Estate up 19% (without Lion sale it’s up 10%) • Construction use Tax up more than double • Permits and fees up 92% • Parking Pass Sales up 43%, daily use parking up 138% • Total Revenues up 5% budget and 9% prior year VEAC Minutes January 8 , 2019 Citizen Input (5 minutes) • Sidney Bonser - More Vail Valley partnerships and economic advisory council Other Business (5 minutes) • Wadey- Hospitality Reboot next week at Bol with guest speakers • Kundolf – Wadey is now chair of Commission on Special Events • US Mountain Housing Summit will be in Vail next week (apx1.co) Adjournment Next Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2019 8:00 – 10:00 AM, Town Council Chambers