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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-05 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Evening Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 5, 2006 6:00 P.M. Vail Town Council Chambers The regular meeting of the Vail Town Council was called to order at approximately 6:00 P.M. by Mayor Rod Slifer. Members present: Not present: Rod Slifer, Mayor Kent Logan Greg Moffet Kim Newbury Mark Gordon Kevin Foley Hitt, Mayor Pro-Tem Staff Members: Stan Zemler, Town Manager Matt Mire, Town Attorney Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. There was none. The second item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda, Approval of 11.07.06 and 11.21.06 Minutes. Moffet moved to approve the consent agenda with Foley seconding. Gordon asked that the reported per square foot cost of the East West Partners LionsHead redevelopment proposal of $1,400 be added to Item No. 1 of the Nov. 21 minutes. He noted that the Hillwood Partners' projected per square foot sales cost had been mentioned. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The third item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report. Zemler reported the Urban Land Institute would be holding a panel seminar at the Cascade Resort during the upcoming week. He also stated Senator Salazar would be hosting panels in the near future related to beetle kill, bio-mass and other related topics. Revenue Update Finance Director Judy Camp reported sales tax collections for year-to-date through October were expected to be $14.2 million, an increase of $1.0 million, or 7.8% over the same period last year. Expected revenue for the month of October was $599,605, an increase of $33,432 or 5.9% over last year. The year -over -year increase in the consumer price index for October is 1.3%. Construction permit revenue of $2.0 million year-to-date through Nov. 29 is up 38% from last year. This year's revenue includes over $1.2 million (61% of the total) from 11 large redevelopment projects — Arrabelle, Forest Place, Front Door (The Lodge at Vail), Gore Creek Place, Lodge Tower, Manor Vail, Mountain View, One Willow Bridge Road, Sonnenalp, Vail Plaza Hotel, and Westhaven Condos. Major redevelopment projects accounted for just over $900,000 (also 61 % of • total) at this time last year. Construction permit fees include building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and sprinkler permits. Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) collections of $5.4 million through Nov. 29 are down $520,947 or 9% from last year. Two large sales in November brought the revenue from the "Sales over $10 million" category to $1.2 million compared with $1.1 million for that category last year. Therefore, the entire variance is due to smaller projects. Emergency Incident Training Police Chief Dwight Henninger reported on Nov. 29, 17 Town of Vail employees participated in a regional emergency preparedness exercise. The training involved a simulated hostage -taking incident with response by members of the Northwest Type 3 Incident Management Team representing emergency responders from Eagle, Summit, Garfield, Mesa, Pitkin, Moffat, Grand and Routt Counties. There were 104 participants with expertise in the areas of law enforcement, tactical operations, hazardous materials response, fire suppression, public health, emergency medical, and communications. The incident scenario involved a suspect with a volatile liquid who took a hostage on an eastbound bus. Henninger, who served as the incident commander during the training, said the exercise continues to prepare Town of Vail employees to deal with critical incidents that may occur in its jurisdiction. The fourth item on the agenda was a LionsHead Parking Structure Request For Proposals (RFP) discussion. Due to a predetermined conflict of interest (East West Partners Affiliation), Slifer recused himself from the item and left the Council Chambers. As Hitt was absent from the meeting, the most tenured Council Member, Greg Moffet, . served as the Acting Mayor. The purpose of the evening meeting with the Vail Town Council was to: 1. Provide direction to perform a financial analysis on the two development proposals. To ensure a work product is produced that meets Council's expectations, staff prepared an RFP with a brief scope of service. Staff requested authorization to engage Rocky Mountain Valuation to perform a second appraisal on the LionsHead Parking Structure. 2. Review proposed next steps in the process. On Nov. 21 the Vail Town Council received public input on the LionsHead Parking Structure proposals. At that meeting Council directed staff to obtain an additional appraisal and find a highly qualified financial consultant/analyst to review the proposals. Logan said he felt comfortable with the RFP regarding the financial analysis. Gordon moved to authorize up to $9,000 for the appraisal and to issue the financial analysis RFP with Logan seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The fifth item on the agenda was the Seibert Circle Private Fund Raising Results. Project Manager Todd Oppenheimer asked Council to listen to an update regarding the Seibert Circle private fund raising results. On Oct 17, Council approved the design of water and fire feature prepared by WET Design as the final design for Seibert Circle and approved a project budget of $675,000 contingent on the private sector raising $125,000 toward the cost of the improvements by the Dec. 5 meeting. Local residents Ron Riley and Alan Kosloff took the lead in the fund-raising. Riley, a Vail Village property owner, indicated that while he and Kosloff were close to meeting the goal, they needed a little more time to complete the task. Riley then asked Council to move forward with design and construction contracts and to assume the risk in the unlikely event the fund-raising 2 would fall short of its goal. Foley clarified ambitious fundraising efforts were not made in 46 expectation of cost overruns. Gordon made clear that the project was expected to be completed by July 1, 2007.Moffet and Foley thanked Riley and Kosloff for their efforts. Moffet moved to direct staff to proceed with design and construction contracts in preparation of construction of the Seibert Circle improvements beginning in late April or early May 2007 with Gordon seconding. Council agreed to the understanding that the town would "backstop" any shortfalls in donations so as to allow the town to begin accepting the private contributions. Riley concluded his comments by saying, "There will be a big party at Los Amigos when that fountain gets turned on." Moffet clarified all private funding would be completed before construction actually began. Camp made clear that donations could not be refunded. Reilly continually assured Council that all pledged donations would be collectable. The motion passed 5-1, with Newbury opposed. Newbury stated she had been opposed to the project since its inception. The sixth item on the agenda was the first reading of Ordinance No. 29, Series of 2006, an ordinance making supplemental appropriations to the Town of Vail General Fund, Capital Projects Fund, Real Estate Transfer Tax Fund, Heavy Equipment Fund, and Dispatch Services Fund of the 2006 Budget for the Town of Vail, Colorado. Gordon clarified the town maintained adequate health insurance reserves. Moffet moved to approve the ordinance with Gordon seconding. Foley said the town would evaluate its construction fees and continue to pursue the most appropriate use for the Conference Center funds, which will most likely be placed before voters in November 2007. Zemler said he would report back in two weeks with recommendations on a public process to develop a ballot issue for the conference center fund reallocation. The motion passed • unanimously, 6-0 The seventh item on the agenda was the First Reading of Ordinance No. 33, Series of 2006, an ordinance amending Title 12, Zoning Regulations, Chapter 6, Residential Districts, Article E, Residential Cluster (RC) District, Vail Town Code, to add "professional office" and "business office" as conditional uses to the District, and amending Title 12, Zoning Regulations, Chapter 16, Conditional Use Permit, Vail Town Code to add use specific criteria and standards for business offices and professional offices. Chief Planner George Ruther stated that on November 13, 2006, the PEC voted 5-0-0 to forward a recommendation of approval of the proposed text amendment to the Zoning Regulations to add "business office" and "professional office" as conditional uses to the RC District. Moffet said this ordinance allowed businesses to apply for a conditional use permit (14 criteria must be met) for office space in an RC. Ruther said," This is a very unusual property compared to other properties identified as RCs... This office use will always be ancillary to residential purposes." Moffet moved to approve the ordinance with Logan seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The eighth item on the agenda was the second reading of the 2007 Budget Ordinance No. 28, Series 2006. Moffet moved to approve the budget ordinance with Logan seconding. Gordon clarified the Commission on Special Events (CSE) budget was $750,000 and included staffing. Gordon then proposed an amendment to the motion to exclude staffing from the aforementioned $750,000 and add additional dollars for staffing elsewhere in the budget. Camp clarified the amendment would increase the General Fund budget by $48,000. Vail Valley Chamber & Tourism Board President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Robinson thanked Council for their generous contributions to the business community. Logan clarified the RETT Fund included resources for 3 improvements to the golf course club house and course. Moffet then made an amended motion to exclude $483,000 for golf course and club house improvements from the RETT budget and to handle these improvements through a 2007 supplemental appropriation if deemed necessary. Logan subsequently amended his second. Foley and Gordon attempted to secure a funding appropriation for the Vail Guide (a publication produced by the Vail Chamber and Business Association), but were unable to receive support from others. The budget motion passed 5-1, with Foley opposed. The ninth item on the agenda was the Discussion of the second reading of Ordinance No. 30, Series of 2006, an ordinance establishing SDD No. 40, The Willows, pursuant to Article A, SDD, Chapter 9, Title 12, Zoning Title, Town Code of Vail. Chief Planner George Ruther reported that on November 13, 2006, the PEC held a public hearing on a request to establish SDD No. 40, The Willows. The purpose of the new SDD is to facilitate the redevelopment of The Willows Condominiums, located at 74 Willow Road. Upon review of the request, the PEC voted 4-1-0 (Pierce opposed) to forward a recommendation of approval of the request to establish SDD No. 40, The Willows, to Council. On November 21, 2006, Council voted 7-0-0 to approve Ordinance No. 30, Series of 2006, on first reading. Ruther explained the project's streetscape improvements will meet with those being provided by the Front Door project. Representing the Vail Village Homeowners Association, Jim Lamont questioned the streetscape and road realignment proposals. He continued, "You have not really dealt with the safety issues of pedestrian and bicycle safety on Vail Road." Project developer Steve Brostek said their streetscape improvement cost estimates had been reviewed by the Public Works Department. Moffet moved to adopt ordinance No.30 as read with the requirement the sidewalk remain where it was originally proposed, consistent with • findings in the memorandum to the PEC dated November 13, 2006. Logan seconded the motion. Town Engineer Tom Kassmel said he would like to see improved pedestrian access on Willow Road as it had less vehicular traffic. Newbury expressed concern Vail Road was not safe for pedestrians. "Putting pretty streetscape on Willow Road will make Willow Road very pretty, but it will not make people walk there." Willows Manager Tim Hargreaves said he believed the proposed redevelopment would help reduce pedestrian passage on Vail Road. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The tenth item on the agenda was the Second reading of Ordinance No. 31, Series of 2006, An Ordinance Amending Section 2-6-9 of the Vail Town Code, Concerning use of the RETT Fund. In an effort to be the premier mountain resort community, the town has committed to provide its citizens and guests with "a superior level of environmentally sensitive services" in addition to "vision, leadership and stewardship in an environmentally responsible manner." To achieve the goals stated above and for the environmental sustainability of the Town of Vail and the Vail Valley, Council has determined that certain text amendments are necessary to the Vail Town Code as they relate to the use of the Town of Vail RETT Fund to include expenditures related to environmentally sustainable practices. According to the Town Charter, this ordinance will need to be tabled for second reading until December 19, 2006 due to a Vail Daily publication error. Town Attorney Matt Mire asked Council to examine the statement of intent included in the ordinance. Moffet moved to table the ordinance with Newbury seconding. Foley asked for a report of the expenditures made from the RETT Fund in 2006. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. --Second Reading of Mill Levy Certification, Ordinance No. 32, Series 2006 4 Halloran stated the town's mill levy assessments must be certified to the county for collection annually; this ordinance authorizes certification. The numbers have been adjusted for the Eagle County Assessor's report. The town will collect approximately $2.8 million in property tax in 2007. Moffet moved to adopt the ordinance with Foley seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The eleventh item on the agenda was Resolution No. 23, Series 2006, A Resolution Approving a Budget and Operating Plan of the Vail Marketing District (VLMD), for the Fiscal Year January 1, 2007 Through December 31, 2007. Camp reported that Council had received the operating plan and budget of the Vail Local Marketing District for the 2007 fiscal year on or before December 5, 2006, and has provided required notice at set forth in C.R.S. § 29-1-106. The statute C.R.S. § 29-25-110 requires Council to approve the operating plan of the VLMD for the 2007 fiscal year by December 5, 2006. Moffet moved to approve with Gordon seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The twelfth item on the agenda was Adjournment. Moffet moved to adjourn with Newbury seconding at approximately 8:00 p.m. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. F • t Rodney E. Slifer, Mayor ATTEST: Y relei onaldson, Town Clerk Minutes provided by Corey Swisher. 0