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Home My WebLink About2007-06-05 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Evening Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 5, 2007 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: Rod Slifer, Mayor Greg Moffet Kim Newbury Mark Gordon Farrow Hitt, Mayor Pro-Tem Kevin Foley Not Present: Kent Logan Staff Members: Stan Zemler, Town Manager Matt Mire, Town Attorney Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager EVENING SESSION HIGHLIGHTS The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. Kaye Ferry asked why parking structure maintenance was occurring in June as opposed to April or May when parking demand is considerably less. PEG Member Bill Jewitt urged Council to aggressively pursue employee housing. 'We should look at employee housing as part of the infrastructure of the Town of Vail." Director of AXS Vail Valley Sarah Will asked Council to address disabled parking accessibility as much of it has been eliminated due to construction activity. She then asked if AXS Vail Valley could be a part of special event planning. Kevin Foley said he attended a Youth Foundation golf tournament earlier in the day. He then expressed concern over a possible clear cut near Gore Creek that had occurred in Ford Park. He then mentioned 'The skate park grand opening was great." The second item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report. Revenue Update. Finance Director Judy Camp reported sales tax collections for the month of April were expected to be $1.3 million, up 3.4% from last year. Year-to-date collections through April are expected to be $9.8 million, up 5.8% from the same period last year. For comparison, inflation as measured by the consumer price index was up 2.6% in April i compared with the prior year. Ski lift tax collections for the month of April are up 19.3% 7 from the previous year following a slight downturn in the month of March (1.4%). Year- • to -date collections through April are up 6.4% from last year, while the ski season to date (November —April) is up 4.7%. Construction permit revenue, which can be considered an indicator of redevelopment activity, continues its strong trend with year-to-date construction permit fees of $812,961 up 41% from the first five months of last year. Year-to-date permit fees include $513,780 from major construction projects: the Arrabelle at Vail Square, Forest Place, Four Seasons, Lodge Tower, Lodge at LionsHead, Manor Vail, Mountain View (formerly Apollo Park), Ritz Carlton, Solaris, Vail Plaza Hotel, Westhaven Condominiums, and the Willows. Major projects accounted for approximately 63% of the fees in 2007 and 65% in 2006. Construction permit fees include building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and sprinkler permits. Year-to-date Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) collections through May 29, 2007, total $2.2 million compared with $2.1 million for the same time period last year, an increase of 2.7%. Major redevelopment projects including Gore Creek Place and Forest Place contributed $202,500 or 9% of the total in 2007 while no major redevelopment projects closed in the first five months of 2006. Brandmeyer then provided Council with a summary of Spring Back to Vail participation and revenue information, which event along with others contributed to the strong April results. Construction Update. Town Engineer Tom Kassmel reported: Streetscape work continues in front of the Austria Haus; the Front Door continues with excavation; Manor Vail has just set up their tower crane; Mountain View (Apollo Park) and the Four Seasons excavation continues; One Willow Bridge has received a partial Temporary Certificate of Occupancy; Nine Vail 10 Road continues to work their re -skin; Solaris is still under demolition and utility locates, LionsHead paver installation continues and the Ritz Carlton is looking at starting demo and excavation very soon. Gordon acknowledged George Ruther for his appointment as Community Development Director and Lori Barnes as Town Librarian. The third item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda. Approval of 05.01.07 and 05.15.07 Minutes. Moffet moved to approve the minutes without amendment with Foley seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The fourth item on the agenda was a Presentation of the 2006 Audit Report. Michael Jenkins, C.A., C.P.A, and principal of McMahan and Associates presented Council with the annual independent financial audit. The 2006 audit report is presented for Council information; no action is requested. In accordance with section 9.11 of the Vail Town Charter, an independent audit shall be made of all town accounts at least annually. The audit shall be conducted by certified public accountants and copies made available for public inspection at the municipal building. The 2006 audit was conducted by McMahan and Associates, LLC. Michael N. Jenkins presented the results of the audit to the Council and the public. "The financial health of the town is generally good ... Timber Ridge continues to be an area of concern for everybody." Hitt thanked Zemler and Is Camp for their strong financial management. 2 iThe fifth item on the agenda was the LionsHead Structure Redevelopment Update. Zemler announced not a lot of activity had occurred over the past few weeks. 'Work will significantly ramp up in the near future ... The Open/Hillwood group will be in town for most of a week...l've continued to have an open dialogue with Vail Resorts." Representing the Vail Village Homeowner's Association, Jim Lamont asked for a business plan for the conference/event center. The sixth item on the agenda was The Town has received approval from San Joaquin RTD to utilize one of its options from a contract with Gillig Corp. to purchase a 40' low floor hybrid bus. Town Fleet Manager Todd Scholl stated the purchase price of the bus is $515,771, the town has an Federal Transportation Authority grant for $382,976, so the Town's portion to fund this purchase $132,795. "We are asking for approval to enter into a contract with Gillig to purchase this bus." Moffet moved to authorize town staff to enter into the contract with Gordon seconding. Scholl clarified the bus will be delivered in 11 months. Future funding of hybrid buses was discussed as grant monies may be diminishing. During a pause for public input, Sara Will asked if the buses would provide an internal or an external wheelchair lift. Transit Director Mike Rose said the lifts would be located inside and would be heated. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. The seventh item on the agenda was the First reading of Ordinance No. 16, Series 2007. An Ordinance to Prohibit the Possession, Sale or Use of Fireworks within the Town of Vail. Pursuant to C.R.S. §12-28-107, the Town is authorized to adopt an ordinance establishing prohibitions upon the sale, use, and possession of fireworks, including "permissible fireworks" as defined in C.R.S. § 12-28-101, within the corporate . limits of the town. Gulick announced about six fireworks violations occurred per year. Moffet moved to adopt with Newbury seconding. The motion passed 5-1, Hitt opposed. The eighth item on the agenda was the First reading of Ordinance No. 15, Series of 2007, an ordinance amending the official zoning map for the Town of Vail in accordance with Title 12, Zoning Regulations, Chapter 5, Zoning Map; Rezoning Lot 21, Buffher Creek Subdivision, from Primary/Secondary (P/S) district to Low Density Multiple -family (LDMF) district. Senior Planner Warren Campbell stated that on May 14, 2007, the Town of Vail PEC held a public hearing on the request to amend the Official Zoning Map of the Town of Vail. Upon consideration of the request, the PEC unanimously approved a motion recommending approval with a condition the rezoning request be forwarded to the Vail Town Council. (That Lot 21, Buffehr Creek Subdivision, shall be limited to no more that six (6) dwelling units regardless of that allowable under LDMF. Moffet explained, 'We are encouraging compliance with the law.) Moffet moved to adopt with Gordon seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. Moffet said the Open Space Advisory Committee has been requested to put together a Countywide open space plan. 'We will participate aggressively." The ninth item on the agenda was Adjournment. Moffet moved to adjourn with Newbury seconding at approximately 7:02 p.m. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 0 0 ATTEST: G LoreleiDonaldson, Town Clerk Minutes provided by Corey Swisher. i. "Z ) Rodney E. Slifer, Mayor