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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-08-17 Town Council MinutesLl • VAIL TOWN COUNCIL - MINUTES TUESDAY, August 17, 1999 7:00 P.M. The regular meeting of the Vail Town Council was held in the Town Council Chambers on Tuesday, August 17, 1999. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Rob Ford, Mayor Bob Armour Kevin Foley Mike Arnett Sybill Navas Michael Jewett Ludwig Kurz, Mayor Pro-Tem Bob McLaurin, Town Manager Tom Moorhead, Town Attorney Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. Mery Lapin, a resident of Vail and Chairman of the Vail Valley Exchange, stated the Town of Vail is a sister city with Delatite Shire in Australia. He said more entities have come aboard the Vail Valley Exchange including the Town of Avon. They have opposite seasons in Delatite Shire from Vail and they have a great number of people between the ages of 20-35 with a high unemployment rate. He said these people could apply for a training visa, come to Vail, continue their job and get on-the-job training as well. This is the 4" year of the exchange program. They have opened up the job market to expand beyond Vail Resorts to the Town of Vail. In this fourth year, Krista Miller of the Town of Vail Human Resources Department was sent to Australia to help with the interviewing process along with Mike Rose of the Vail Transportation Department. He introduced Jeannie and Graham Nicholas of Australia. Jeannie's employment is equivalent to the role that Colorado Mountain College (CMC) plays in Vail. Graham is a Director of Economic Development and in charge of the J1 visa program. Graham Nicholas thanked the Council for the opportunity to speak to them. He said this is a great project to be involved in when there is a win -win situation. There is a high unemployment rate, up to 25%, and it is a real challenge. There is a challenge to make it a meaningful job situation for them and addressing the concern for the Town to gain employees. This program allows the employees to gain valuable experience and their Council is very supportive of this program. Their exchange people have been invaluable to this exchange program. He said they have a new town manager and a new town mayor. The town manager has a greater understanding of this program since he met with Krista during this process in Australia. They are very excited about this program and he thanked the Council for the warm welcome. Mery Lapin, said they want to make sure the community has 150 people interested in working this winter season. There are some challenges, such as visas for that many people. He stated that any local employer that wants to become involved in the exchange program are invited to 0 1 Vail Town Council August 17, 1999 Meeting Minutes participate. The key is to have housing for people to come over. These people are committed • since they want to stay the season and are committed to the hospitality industry. They are hoping to have over 100 participants in this program this year. Mery asked the Council to be put on a work session to discuss the Berry Creek 5th and how this may help with Town of Vail employee Dousing. Eric Baumann, a local business owner, said he was before Council a few weeks ago. He wanted to know if there was any progress in changing the regulations regarding the outdoor vendors. Bob McLaurin, said he has sent a proposal and has asked Eric to work with the Merchant's Association. Bob stated he would communicate with the Community Development Department and will follow up with this issue. Eric said that during the weekend, several customers came to his shop wanting roasted nuts and he said he is not allowed to operate his vending cart outdoors without a special event. He said there is an artist license in the town and he didn't know what the difference between an artist license and an outdoor vending cart was. He said doesn't see a difference from his business of vending and an artist license. He said his business does not take away from other businesses. Mayor Rob Ford said the Council would do their best to address this issue at a later date when staff has had time to research the issues and regulations. Bob McLaurin, Town Manager, said the artist does have a business license and does pay tax. Kaye Ferry, representing the Vail Village Merchant's Association, said Eric wanted her to address this issue too. She said a lot of merchants want to put things on the street. She wants clear zoning regulations so everyone can follow the regulations. The second item on the agenda was the consent agenda. A. Approve the minutes from the meetings of July 20, 1999. Council member Bob Armour made a motion to approve the meeting minutes of July 20, 1999 with minor changes to correct the names, and Council member Kevin Foley seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 5-0. The third item on the agenda was first reading of Ordinance No. 20, Series of 1999, an Ordinance to Provide For The Regulation Of Newsracks Located On Public Property And Design Review Guidelines For Newsracks Located On Private Property Within Certain Designated Areas Of Vail Village And Lionshead. Tom Moorhead, town attorney, said since he started working for the town in July of 1993, the town has been working on moving forward on a consistent presentation of news racks within the town. He has worked closely with Suzanne Silverthorn, Town of Vail Communications 0 2 Vail Town Council August 17, 1999 Meeting Minutes Officer, Todd Oppenheimer, Public Works Landscape Architect, Greg Hall, Public Works • Director, and George Ruther, Senior Planner, during the last two years. The town staff has also been working with newspaper publishers and 21 distributors to develop a comprehensive program for newspaper distribution in the Village and Lionshead. An ordinance has been developed which will establish this program. It was apparent that movement of vehicles and people restricted certain placements within the town. The town has an obligation to allow pedestrians to pass over the streets unobstructed and safely. We also need to recognize that the town has established a high degree of design requirements in the Vail Village and in Lionshead and it did not appear appropriate to display newspapers without being consistent with the other regulations. There will be 36 cabinets constructed by the Town, which will provide a total of 204 distribution sites throughout the Village and Lionshead. Each cabinet will be located in the public right-of- way so that it will not interfere with the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. There has also been established in the criteria the assurance that emergency services, maintenance and other public safety and health issues will not be disrupted. Initially, the cost of the cabinets will be paid for by the Town of Vail. The cost will be recovered from the distributors over a ten-year period of time. Though the costs are not final, it appears that the annual reimbursement will be approximately $65.00 per year. The decision of which location and which placement within the cabinets for the distributors has been accomplished through personal selection and by lottery. It is planned that the cabinets will be put in place in an installation sequence which will be begin in Vail Village in September of 1999 and continue through August, 2000. This ordinance is reasonable and appropriate balance. There has been no distinction between a real estate brochure and newspapers within the boxes. This ordinance only applies to the sites in Vail Village and Lionshead. Additionally, there will be enforcement of this ordinance by the Town of Vail. One of the primary concerns of the publishers was that regulations may be put in place but are not enforced in other areas. The town has made a commitment that the criteria will be enforced. The ordinance provides for newsrack removal if it doesn't comply with the regulations. This ordinance also allows the distributor the right to have a hearing by the Public Works Director with an appeal to the Town Manager. The schedule allows for sequential placement as early as September of 1999 and concludes in the year 2000. Bob Armour stated one of the items that were researched by the Community Development Department was the full-size and single -size news rack cabinets. He asked how many single size cabinets were there. Tom said there are two single -size cabinets. Council member Kevin Foley said he wanted the construction of the cabinets to be top notch. Tom Moorhead stated what had been available was a prototype. The slope of the boxes was reduced to 2% and Todd Oppenheimer has sent out an RFP for building these racks. 0 3 Vail Town Council August 17, 1999 Meeting Minutes Council member Sybiil Navas asked what a single -size rack means? Todd Oppenheimer stated that the single -size racks are two -dispenser's high. The town did this as a measure to get as many publications out as possible to accommodate sites that didn't allow for larger units. The large units have five individual dispensers and the sixth box has slots for nine publications. Council member Bob Armour said this process has been a challenge and "bumped up" against the free speech issue. He said there was a court case back east that allowed the jurisdiction to control the cabinets but not the content in the cabinets. Tom Moorhead said there is more leeway in the way of safety and health, but not the aesthetics. He said this is one that is being dealt with on a broad basis across the country. The cities of San Francisco and St. Louis are involved in issues. He said the cooperation of the publication community has been wonderful. Everyone involved has worked hard to come up with a product that works. Bob Brown, Publisher of the Vail Daily and other publications, echoed some of the same sentiments that were discussed. He said he is grateful for the mutual understanding, cooperation and consideration from the Town of Vail in working with the publishers. He said there is a chance to lose distribution points, but this is a good solution. He reiterated that this ordinance only applies to the Vail Village and Lionshead, and limits them some, but design - wise, the cabinets are attractive. He stated that from a liability point, the ordinance is asking for publishers to cover the Town and would like the same consideration extended to the publishers from the town. Bob McLaurin said this would be covered under the town's general liability policy. The Town of Vail will be taking responsibility too. Anecdotally, Bob said he met a gentleman that was in Vail during the last meeting on the news racks and said he had remembers discussing these issues 20 years ago. Staff will come to the Council with any changes at the time of second reading. Michael Cacioppo challenged the appropriateness of the ordinance in relation to the constitutional issue of free speech, what actions might be prosecuted, who had received complaints about the present condition of newspaper distributions, how the locations of various publisher distribution points were established and when were they established, the availability to participate in placing news papers or other brochures in the new boxes, the availability to subject this ordinance to a referendum and the cost passed on to the newspapers. Mike stated he was against it 20 years ago and is still against it today. He would like to change the appellate procedures from the department head and the town manager to the Town Council. Diana Donovan, a local resident and business owner, asked that the appeal be changed to go to an elected body. She said this is a good idea, and said no one has taken care of the news rack spaces in the past. She encouraged Council to pass this ordinance. Council member Bob Armour made a motion to approve on first reading, Ordinance No. 20, 0 4 Vail Town Council August 17, 1909 Meeling Minutes Series of 1999, and the motion was seconded by Council member Mike Arnett. Council member Kevin Foley asked Bob Brown how much it costs to make a box. Bob Brown said approximately $185 and new boxes are over $200. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 5-0. The fourth item on the agenda was second reading of Ordinance No. 19, Series of 1999, an Ordinance Approving The General Planning Document For The 1999 Westfest, And Setting Forth A Special Review Process To Allow For Staff Approvals For Temporary Signs, Structures, Street Decor, And Other Temporary Improvements For The 1999 Westfest. Tom Moorhead, Town Attorney, said this ordinance was presented and approved on first reading while the Town of Vail staff and the Vail Valley Tourism and Convention Bureau (VVTCB) worked with the WestFest organizers on the procedures for this event. Tom deferred this issue to Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager. Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager, stated this ordinance would not have to be in place at this time and the event could be produced without this ordinance in place. Pam stated the staff is working on a daily basis with the WestFest organizers. However, this request may come up again in the future because the town is looking forward to nine more years of WestFest. She thanked the Council for the two weeks that were given to allow for working out details Council member Bob Armour made a motion to table indefinitely, on second reading, Ordinance No. 19, Series of 1999, and Council member Mike Arnett seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 5-0. The fifth item on the agenda was an Executive Session to discuss legal matters. This item was taken care of during the Town Council afternoon work session. As there was no further business, a motion was made by Council member Bob Armour made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Council member Kevin Foley seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Res Rob Ford ATTE Mayor Lor ei D aldsop:'d; Town Clerk f a su Vail Town Council August 17, 1990 mlaeliug Minutes • WORK SESSION MINUTES Tuesday, August 17, 1999 2:00 P.M. Town of Vail Council Chambers What follows will reflect motions and actions taken by the Vail Town Council at their regular work session on August 17, 1999. Everyone was present with the exception of Mike Jewett. i . Item No. 3, discussion of an art component within Ford Park playground project. A decision was requested from Council regarding whether to include an art component, and further, if an art component were to be included were the pair of carved stone birds proposed by Robert Tully acceptable? At this point Council had already voted negatively on the stone benches. Following discussion, Sybill Navas moved, with a second from Kevin Foley, to approve purchase of the stone ptarmigans by Robert Tully at a price of $28,500 to be an art component within the Ford Park tot lot. Additionally, it was suggested that picnic tables in lieu of benches be included in the final design. Todd Oppenheimer also acknowledged a start in September or October of this year and completion of the project in July of the year 2000. Currently the total cost including the ptarmigans is about $235,000. Council was reminded they had authorized an expenditure out of RETT of up to $250,000. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 6-0. • 2. Item No. 4, design of the Arosa/Garmisch park. Council commended Todd Oppenheimer on getting the park approval through the Planning Commission and DRB and also for incorporating elements required by that specific neighborhood to be included. A motion was made by Mike Arnett, with a second from Kevin Foley, to approve the park design with the following caveats: that there be a reconsideration of vehicle versus pedestrian traffic at the corner of Arosa/Garmisch; that there be an inclusion of a urinal in the unisex restroom facilities; and thirdly, that the name of the park be revisited. Bob Armour volunteered to discuss the name of the park with the appropriate individuals. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 1-1