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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-03-07 Town Council MinutesVAIL TOWN COUNCIL - MINUTES OTUESDAY, March 7, 2000 7:00 P.M. IsThe regular meeting of the Vail Town Council was held in the Town Council Chambers on Tuesday, March 7, 2000. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:Ludwig Kurz, Mayor Chuck Ogilby Kevin Foley Diana Donovan Greg Moffet COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Sybill Navas — Mayor Pro-Tem Rod Slifer STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob McLaurin, Town Manager Tom Moorhead, Town Attorney Pamela Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. Michael Cacioppo appeared before the Council and .questioned the appropriateness of a vote, which occurred at the work session authorizing $51,000 of in -kind services for the WestFest 2000 event. Cacioppo maintained the vote was a violation of the Town Charter due to lack of an ordinance. Councilmembers consulted Town Attorney Tom Moorhead who disagreed with Cacioppo's 0terpretation, noting that all appropriations are annually approved by a budget ordinance. Michael Goodbee, District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District) and Bev Christiansan of the Resource Center, requested time on a future Council agenda to solicit funds from the town to help support the non-profit organization. The discussion will be scheduled in the coming weeks. Chris Akers and Sue Dugan, local Census 2000 workers, asked the Council how much the Town of Vail was due to lose for each citizen that does not participate in the Census. Pam Brandmeyer said $1800.00 per person per year. Mr. Akers said with this in mind it just reinforces the importance of the Census and taking the time to fill out the questionnaire. Chuck Lipcon said since he was in town, the Vail Plaza Hotel was tabled (the second time that this has happened to him). He said after the VPH project was approved in violation of the master plan and in a way that would cost millions of dollars of losses to the adjacent land owners who did not get proper notice, he started asking himself questions such as why would a group that is sworn to uphold the law violate their own master plan. He sent out a questionnaire to various members of the Town Council and did not receive any answers so then he said be began his own investigation. He pointed out Section 3.7 of the Town Charter that specifically prohibits Council Members from having any direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the Town. Mr. Lipcon said that Greg Moffet has a contract with the Town of Vail through TIGA Advertising under which he gets paid $64,000 per year or 55% of the gross revenues with respect to the advertising on the buses. Also Mr. Moffet is still advertising on his web site that bus advertising is available. The Town Charter Section 4.11 states that a member of the Town Council is prohibited from voting on matters on which he has a substantial personal financial interest, a common public interest, or on any question concerning his own conduct. Mr. Lipcon pointed out that Vail Resorts is interested in purchasing the Vail Plaza Hotel property. Ludwig Kurz works for Vail Resorts. Rod Slifer is a partner or an Associate of Vail Resorts. Mayor Kurz works directly or indirectly with Vail Resorts. Secondly, if the Master Plan is not followed, Rod Slifer must come up with cash because he was the broker on the sale of unit 3 at the Gateway. .Vail Town Council Minutes March 7, 2000 1 Unit 3 has a penalty clause in their contract under which payment must be made to the buyer if the Master Plan is violated. Therefore Rod Slifer has a direct financial interest in the vote on the master plan, whether it is followed or Wot. Also he presently represents unit 4 in the Gateway. Mr. Lipcon said either the Council will solve the problem ithin the next 2 days or it is going to a different venue. 0Nolf Mueller read from the Real Estate Tax Fund Ordinance under Section 2-6-9, stating that all funds received by the Town pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in a Real Estate Transfer Tax Fund, which fund is hereby created. The fund shall be subjected to appropriation for only the following purposes within the Town within one mile of the boundaries of the Town. Item 1. Acquiring, improving repairing and maintaining parks, recreation, open space and similar purposes. Item 2. The construction, maintenance, and repair of buildings, which are incidental to park, recreation and open space, land. Item 3. Landscaping parks and open space. Item 4. The construction, maintenance, repair and landscaping of recreation paths set forth in the Town of Vail recreation trails plan as the Town Council may amend it from time to time. Item 5. The incidental costs and principle of and interest on any funds borrowed for the purposes set forth in this sub section. There is also a definition of building following this, which applies to Item 2. The second item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda. Pam Brandmeyer requested that the February 1, and 15 meeting minutes be tabled to March 21, 2000. The third item on the agenda was to amend the first reading of Ordinance No. 4, Series 2000. Foley moved to table the amendment of the first reading of Ordinance No. 4, Series 2000. Ogilby seconded. A vote was taken and it was passed unanimously, 5-0. The fourth item on the agenda was the Employee Guest Service Recognition Award. Vail Town Council joined in congratulating Vail's Employee Guest Service Recognition winners for February and to assist in the prize drawing activities. In November, the Town of Vail and its Community Task Force partners launched a monthly employee recognition program as part of the Vail Renaissance initiative. Each month, nominees employed by one of Vail's business license holders receive $25 in Mountain Money and are entered into a drawing for a free merchant ski pass from Vail Resorts (or a refund made on an existing pass or credit for next season), free season -long use of a gold parking pass from the Town of Vail, $100 certificates from Vail's merchant and �staurant associations and a month's worth of free coffee from the Daily Grind. To date, 59 employees have been recognized for outstanding service with another 31 employees nominated for the February award. The fifth item on the agenda was the second reading of Ordinance No. 3, Series of 2000, an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of fee title to the following real property owned by the Town of Vail and located at 770 Potato Patch. On December 1,1994, the Town of Vail acquired the care taker unit at 770 Potato Patch Drive Condominiums for $76,000. The Town was able to acquire this unit as a result of a law suit filed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation against the Town of Vail and 770 Potato Patch Drive Condominium Association to remove a restriction on the unit being utilized as a care taker unit and not to be sold separate from the other common elements of the Association. FDIC had acquired the title to the unit as Receiver of Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan Association upon its failure. The Town of Vail received the property by Quit Claim Deed from Silverado Investment Company without restrictions on resale. The last appraisal on the unit was $225,000. The unit has been rented to a Town of Vail employee for $850 a month. This unit, due to its value and due to the expensive monthly assessments and special assessments, is not ideal as an employee housing rental unit. It is believed that a sale could be consummated which would provide the opportunity to buy one or two additional units that would more appropriately function as housing for employees. Mayor Kurz asked if there had been any changes to this Ordinance since the first reading. Mr. Moorhead said "yes, as directed by Council there has been a change to the second paragraph. The second paragraph states that after the Town Council approves the contract for the sale, the Town Manager is hereby authorized and directed to execute such instruments of conveyance as are appropriate to convey fee title from the Town of Vail to the purchaser with the sale of the unit as is true with any contracts to sell or to purchase real estate. . There will be a contingency included within that contract that it is required to have Town Council approval." Wail Town Council Minutes March 7, 2000 Michael Jewett said in his opinion the Town Council is circumventing the Town Charter. The Town Charier requires all property owned by the Town of Vail to be conveyed by ordinance. The Charter also calls fpr the •opportunity for citizens to rescind or by referendum recall by a public vote any ordinance that the Town Council enacts. Mr. Jewett said by passing an ordinance without a buyer and without a purchase price the Council �takes away the rights of the citizens of the Town of Vail to do a referendum. This parcel is insignificant except or it violates citizen's rights. He asked the Council to reconsider the position of the conveyance until Council has a purchaser, a dollar amount and the citizens of the Town of Vail understand and know who the buyer is. Potential open space could be sold into a third party trust and partnership and conveyed without knowing all the numbers and potential uses. Foley said that this was the reason why Council asked for paragraph two to be inserted into the ordinance on second reading so that it would have to come back before the Town Council. Tom Moorhead said the Town of Vail Charter, as does the Colorado Constitution, preserves to the electorate the right of referendum. Referendum extends to all legislative acts. Town Council acts legislatively, in a quasi- judicial capacity; and also in an administrative compacity. He said in his opinion this particular act is administrative in nature because it is dealing administratively in an executive fashion with property that is zoned by the Town of Vail. The Town had a similar question raised in regard to Vail Commons, where there was an attempt to have a referendum on the ordinance that approved that particular project. After full hearing, the Town Council agreed under that circumstance that it was an administrative act. So while the right of referendum is preserved to the people, it does not include administrative acts. Diana Donovan asked why not create an ordinance when the Town has a contract on the property. Tom Moorhead said that Section 4.8 authorizes the sale of real property when approved by ordinance. There is no question that this is not a legislative act. A legislative act is described as a declaration of public policy. This is a decision by the Vail Town Council directing the Town Manager to deal with a particular asset and is administrative and executive in nature. He said this ordinance authorizes a sale, but does not require that it be sold and it will only be sold when Town Council approves the contract selling the property. Mr. Moorhead said the reason for an ordinance at this time is that there is a very good chance that this would be sold to the general public; as opposed to times in the past where we have had situations under land ownership adjustment agreements where there •were very particular purchasers and different circumstances. In this particular circumstance, staff thought the best approach, since it was in all likelihood going to be held out for sale as a listed property, was to get the uthority of Council to sell the property before we held it out for sale on the open market. Diana Donovan Wed if there would be another ordinance created when the Town has a contract on this property. Tom -"Moorhead said that the contract will be brought to the Town Council and Council will approve or disapprove, deeming what council thinks is appropriate. Carol Hymers asked if it was necessary to do something so far in advance. She asked if this would set a precedent for the rest of the property that the Town of Vail owns. Farrow Hitt said that in his opinion an ordinance is a legislative act. John Fawcett asked if Donovan Park could be sold without a referendum. Tom Moorhead said it could. Kevin Foley moved to approve, Moffet seconded. The motion failed 3-2 with Donovan and Ogilby opposing. (Lack of a majority of the full Council approving, 4 out of 7). The sixth item on the agenda was the Resolution Repealing Resolution No. 10, Series 1998, known as the Common Ground plan. On September 15, 1998, the Vail Town Council adopted Resolution No. 10, which identified sites to be recommended and considered for affordable housing, open space, parks and community facilities. The plan had called for adding 130 acres of newly acquired open space for protected designation; four new parks; 11 affordable housing developments; and two sites for community facilities. As a result of the plan, three lawsuits were filed challenging the town's plan to build housing on several parcels purchased with Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) funds. Mayor Ludwig Kurz said the repeal of the resolution represented Council's good faith to attempt to help settle the lawsuits. Plaintiffs Farrow Hitt and Sally Jackie said it would take more than a repeal of Resolution 10 to settle the lawsuits. They, along with several others in the audience, urged Council to add open space protections to RETT-purchased parcels. Mayor Kurz said the Council had already directed staff to convene the Open Space Board of Trustees for a review of candidate parcels. Flo Steinberg questioned the effectiveness of the repeal, saying Council is being held hostage by the .lawsuits. She also urged Council to support the proposed conversion of lodge rooms to employee housing units at the West Vail Lodge, saying the need for employee housing outweighs the need for tourist beds. Former Councilman Tom Steinberg reiterated his ideas for several employee -housing opportunities available in Wail Town Council Minutes March 7, 2000 3 the Golf Course neighborhood, while Jerry Sibley expressed support for repeal of Resolution 10, calling it a vote towards the sacredness of open space. Sibley said the community can solve the housing problem without flusing open lands. The seventh item on the agenda was the Public Hearing on the Community Facilities program for the ionshead hub site. On March 3, 2000, a public open house was held at the Evergreen Lodge to review the market analysis and spatial opportunities for the hub site uses. The input from that meeting indicated strong support for a conference/learning facility and a 2"d sheet of ice, and minimal support for performing arts. There was also significant discussion on youth recreational activities on the site. Brian Sipes from Zaren and Associates presented Council with an overview of the sites, constraints, and opportunities and briefly reviewed the memo that was distributed to the Council and the public. Jerry Sibley, a West Vail resident, asked whether a phasing program could be pursued for the Hub site project. Project manager Russell Forrest stated that a phased program would be part of the design process. Former Councilman Tom Steinberg asked that a performing arts center with a minimum of 2,000 seats remain under consideration, while John Horan -Kates of the White River Institute asked Council to direct the design team to study the possibility of converting Dobson Arena into a conference/learning center with a bridge connection to the library, while building two sheets of ice on the Hub site. The Vail Recreation District Board will join the Vail Town Council in a discussion on March 14 to prioritize the list of possible uses. The list will then be used to develop alternative site plans by the design team. The eighth item on the agenda was the Lionshead Redevelopment — Tax Increment Financing (TIF), discussion of Tax Increment Financing, Urban Renewal Authorities (URA), Downtown Development Authorities (DDA). In the first of a series of ongoing discussions regarding financing options to fund public improvements for the redevelopment of Lionshead, the council reviewed the concept of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the differences between an Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and a Downtown Development Authority (DDA). There were numerous questions from the Council members, including the impact of the Tabor Amendment, the .election process, bonding requirements, market focus and blight requirements. During the public comment period, Jim Miller of the Lodge at Lionshead urged the Council to abandon consideration of an Urban Renewal uthority since it can be established without a vote of the people. The decision would be a unilateral one, he id, and would serve to polarize the community. Jim Lamont, of the East Village Homeowners Association, aid his membership also supports an approach that would allow property owners an opportunity to vote on the matter. Staff clarified that a public vote is needed for both TIF methods. The next step would include a technical analysis of the study area to continue researching the merits of Tax Increment Financing in addition to other financing mechanisms. The Lionshead Redevelopment Master Plan identifies approximately $50 million in high priority public improvements, such as a new transportation center on the north day lot; South Frontage Road improvements; reconfiguration of the East Lionshead Circle bus stop area; and pedestrian area improvements. Bob McLaurin said staff looked at a variety of tools and brought back two plan that have been used most successfully. Mr. McLaurin said the other option is to pump 8 million dollars of capital into Lionshead for the next 20 years. Diana Donovan asked why this type of financing was chosen. Dominic Mauriello said because it is a non -controversial and painless type of way to fund public improvements over a twenty year period. He said the Town would be guaranteeing bonds based on a revenue stream. Bob McLaurin said the thought was that the new development in this area would pay for the improvements. Greg Moffet asked if development occurring under Tabor, would the Town get to keep the incremental tax on the assessed value. Mauriello said no, the Town would have to de -Bruce. Ludwig Kurz said he was concerned about the PR that would be associated with this. The ninth item on the agenda was the worksession to discuss Vail Mountain School's long range master plan. In preparation for a conceptual review on March 13 by the Planning and Environmental Commission, the Council reviewed and offered support for a long range master plan for Vail Mountain School. The two-phase plan includes removal of the existing temporary classroom structure, construction of an 8-classroom wing to the north of the .existing building, an elevator connection to all existing floors and a reconfiguration of the existing parking area to allow for the addition of a "drop off' lane and 30 additional parking spaces. Also planned is the addition of a 300- seat auditorium, faculty housing, additional classrooms south of the gymnasium and additional parking. The long Bail Town Council Minutes March 7, 2000 4 range master plan was requested by the Council last year after reviewing a conditional use permit for a temporary classroom facility. O The tenth item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report. Bob McLaurin said the new street sweeper would arrive the first week of April. He said with the new sweeper the Town would be able to double the *mount of sweeping lane miles during the summer. McLaurin noted that the Town has been doing a lot of hand sweeping in the Village. Kevin Foley requested that the little sweeper be sent over the pedestrian bridge. Moffet moved to adjourn. Foley seconded. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:50 P.M. SEAL A � �A T T: orelei Donaldson, Town Clerk Minutes taken by Beth Salter • *Vail Town Council Minutes March 7, 2000 Respectfully submitted, i �M Ludwig Kurz, Mayor