Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-03-23 Town Council MinutesWORK SESSION MINUTES Tuesday, March 23, 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 March 23, 1999. All members were present with the exception of Mike Arnett. Item No. 3, End of Season Bus Service Update. In response to community concern about paid parking continuing past the winter bus schedule, staff presented a variety of information showing cost of operating the structures, amount of revenue raised and cost of savings from lessening the bus schedules. By Council consensus, it was agreed to move to the summer schedule as of Monday, April 5, 1999, through April 18, 1999. At this time on the 19"' of April, the Town will move to off-season bus service to continue through the 15" of June, 1999. From the 15'h of June up until the beginning of the season in December or Thanksgiving, Council will continue with summer bus service. Council also urged staff to take a closer look at developing a hybrid that would more appropriately suit our current needs as far as in -town transportation. Item No. 5, Council Reports. Sybill Navas, on behalf of the Chamber, requested a $500.00 contribution for the employee survey that is currently funded by Vail Associates and the Chamber. It was indicated a Chamber member was also going to approach the Town of Avon for a like amount. Bob Armour moved, with a second from Kevin, to approve the $500.00 from Council contingency. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 6-0. PAB/aw xc: Steve Thompson Christine Anderson — billing address for the Chamber is P.O. Box 1437, Avon, CO 81620, Attention: Jen Brown. • 0 75 South Frontage Road Vail, Colorado 81657 970-479-2100 FAX 970-479-2157 MEDIA ADVISORY March 24, 1999 Contact: Suzanne Silverthorn, 479-2115 Community Information Office VAIL TOWN COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS FOR MARCH 23 Work Session Briefs Council members present: Armour, Foley, Ford, Jewett, Kurz, Navas --Discussion of City Market/Bright Horizon Space Representing City Market, John Caldwell briefly explained the company's attempts to find a new day care operator for the 3,500 sq. ft. Vail Commons space vacated by Bright Horizons. Although several entities had expressed interest, Caldwell said the space remains vacant with no additional leads for a day care operator. That left Councilmembers wondering if there's a so demand for additional day care in Vail. The ABC and Learning Tree preschools are each operating about 10 spaces below their state license (although both operators prefer these operating levels), according to Assistant Town Manager Pam Brandmeyer. Also yesterday, the Council heard from Martha Peck who operates a Montessori school in Edwards. Peck told the Council she developed a business plan for the space that would include caring for infants and toddlers. But the plan was soon abandoned after a weeklong marketing campaign generated 6 inquires, compared to 70 phone calls she'd received during a similar campaign for her current ,facility. The Council also heard from Ulana Bihun, program coordinator for the Resource Center,"a childcare resource and referral agency for Eagle and Garfield counties. Bihun urged the Council to keep its options open, noting the supply of childcare slots in Vail for children 2 and under is "woefully inadequate" in Vail. Also yesterday, Anne Esson, representing the Vail Tomorrow expanded Affordable Housing Team, asked Council to keep its options open until plans are finalized for the town -owned Mountain Bell site, which currently houses the ABC School and Learning Tree preschool. The Affordable Housing Team is pushing for development of seasonal housing on the site, which could displace the two preschools. Dawes Wilson, representing the Vail Commons Homeowners Association, shared the neighborhood's concerns about traffic and parking impacts when assessing the possibility of a new use for the space. Wilson said the association wants to be involved in the decision -making process. Later in the afternoon, the Council toured the facility, but no decisions or conclusions were reached. The former Bright Horizons space has been added to the inventory of townwide sites to be considered for a community facilities plan that will be developed this spring. --End of Season Bus Service Update After reviewing several options for end of season bus service, the Council agreed to implement (more) RECYCLEUPAPER TOV Council Highlights/Add 113-23-99 a "summer" service schedule April 5-18 and to continue with paid parking in the structures through April 18. The bus service plan will cut $50,000 from the town's operating budget. In addition, Councilmembers Kevin Foley and Sybill Navas suggested extending a reduced bus service schedule from April 19 to mid -June. During discussion, Councilman Michael Jewett suggested offering a program that would allow free parking during the last two weeks of ski season for vehicles with local license plates. But other Councilmembers, noting that free parking would still be available at Ford Park and the soccer field, as well as the "Free After Three".program in the structures, said Jewett's suggestion would be too difficult to implement at the end of the season. --Information Update Announcements included: following complaints by an East Vail resident, several abandoned vehicles have been towed from the trailhead parking area north of the East Vail interchange; dinner with the Avon Town Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 1 at Gratzie; the Vail Town Manager's staff breakfast also is April 1. --Council Reports Kevin Foley encouraged Councilmembers to visit with members of the Vail Recreation District (VRD) Board of Directors in preparation for a VRD retreat on April 12-13. Discussion items will include long range planning and regional expansion. (Foley serves as the Vail Town Council's liaison to the VRD.) Also yesterday, Foley said he had been re-elected to serve as chairman of the Eagle County Regional Transportation Authority for another year, --Michael Jewett reported on his attendance at the March 17 West Vail neighborhood parks meeting (Arosa/Garmisch and Buffehr Creek). Jewett said residents of the Buffehr Creek so neighborhood expressed interest in preserving the town -owned lot adjacent to Buffehr Creek Park as a dedicated open space parcel, while adding a small tot lot to the existing park. Jewett also said residents complained about an abundance of dog feces that has been accumulating on both parcels, --Sybill Navas said a community facilities selection team spent last Friday interviewing 5 of the 10 design teams who had responded to the Town of Vail -Vail Recreation District request for proposals to develop a conceptual siting plan for community facilities. Following reference checks, Navas said the selection group will invite three teams to participate in a four -day planning charette later this spring. Each of the three teams consists of multiple firms, with national and local representation. They are: EDAW; Zehren & Associates; and Hammel, Green & Abrahamson IQ Magic; Orne & Associates; and Oz Architecture Otis Architecture; Sasaki Associates; and Design Workshop Bob Armour gave an update on the most recent meeting of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST). The meeting included an annual legislative update with the Colorado Municipal League as well as candid discussions with Tom Norton, director of the Colorado Department of Transportation. --Other Sybill Navas, who represents the Town Council on the Chamber of Commerce Board of (more) TOV Council Highlights/Add 213-23-99 Directors, described scheduling conflicts that have prevented her from attending recent Chamber meetings. It was suggested that Navas ask a town staff member to fill in for her during the conflicting meeting dates. Also, in response to a Chamber request forwarded by Navas, the Council voted 6-0 to approve a $500 contribution out of the Council contingency budget to help fund a valleywide employee survey that will probe issues related to working in the Vail Valley. On a related note, Navas expressed concerns about the status of the regional marketing district discussions. In particular, Navas said she was concerned about Avon's ability to opt out of the marketing district. In response, Assistant Town Manager Pam Brandmeyer reported on a recent meeting of the Business Alliance group during which the issue of "opting out" was discussed. Enabling legislation for the proposed special marketing district already allows for this provision, based on submittal of petitions and a public vote, therefore allowing any participating entity to avail themselves of the same opportunity, she said. Additionally, board membership was discussed. Allowing 1 vote per participating entity (BCRC, Avon, Vail, unincorporated Eagle County, Minturn), and then adding to based on percentage of funding collected from the proposed lodging tax, would result in the following total number of votes per entity: BCRC - 3; Avon - 1; unincorporated Eagle County - 1; Minturn - 1; Vail - 6. Navas also inquired about the status of a dumpster near the Wall Street Building in Vail Village and the timing of a Council review of the employee housing guidelines. Navas expressed interest in strengthening the eligibility guidelines to reflect employment within Vail's boundaries rather than within Eagle County. Kevin Foley inquired about the status of a constituent's complaint about overnight RV camping Alhft on the Lionshead charter lot (which is prohibited). In addition, Foley suggested the town lobby to improve its placement of the proposed Cascade pedestrian overpass on the Intermountain Regional Transportation high priority project list . During an overview of the selection process, Acting Public Works Director Greg Hall said the town has 3 other projects that made the list (in addition to the overpass): Lionshead intermodai center, Simba Run underpass and Frontage Road improvements. Also yesterday, Foley gave Council a heads up that parents and teachers from Red Sandstone Elementary School are interested in developing an athletic field near the school. And lastly, with an election coming up in November, Foley suggested the town purge the voter registration list. Although Assistant Town Manager Pam Brandmeyer said previous efforts have been unsuccessful due to state purging requirements (voters must miss 2 general elections in order to be purged from the list), efforts will be resumed by the Vail Town Clerk's Office. Next, Councilmembers presented Sybill Navas with birthday greetings. Kaye Ferry of the Vail Village Merchants Association announced that a series of employee forums are being held next Monday for workers under 30 to probe attitudes and needs that might address improved guest services. Next, Vail Town Manager Bob McLaurin commended Bob Armour for his leadership as president of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) for the past three years. McLaurin said Armour's efforts have resulted in elevating CAST's presence and credibility statewide. (more) TOV Council Highlights/Add 3/3-23-99 UPCOMING DISCUSSION TOPICS April 6 Work Session Discussion of Ordinance re: Rezoning Arosa/Garmisch Housing & Park Site Interview for 3 PEC Positions Interview for 2 DRB Positions Discussion of Model Traffic Code Changes to Spring Clean -Up April 6 Evening Meeting Appoint 3 PEC Members Appoint 2 DRB Members First Reading, Ordinance re: Rezoning Arosa/Garmisch Housing & Park Site Second Reading, Ordinance re: Lionshead Code Amendment Second Reading, Ordinance re: Lionshead Rezoning Second Reading, Ordinance re: Exempt PEC Member from DRB Update on U.S. Forest Service Controlled Burn April 93 Work Session PEC/DRB Review 01