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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-07-01 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, July 1, 2008 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 Dick Cleveland. Members present: Dick Cleveland, Mayor Mark Gordon Farrow Hitt Kevin Foley Kim Newbury Margaret Rogers Andy Daly Staff Members: Stan Zemler, Town Manager Matt Mire, Town Attorney Pam Brandmeyer The first item on the agenda was Citizen Input. Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival representative John Giovando announced the summer season was off to a great start. He thanked the town and the community for its continued support. Vail Farmers' Market representative Rick Scalpello invited Council to a special concert at the upcoming market. He then reported a recent increase in marketing efforts to offset competition and the recent economic downturn. He also announced a new market manager had been hired and that he was stepped down. Vail Homeowners' Association President Alan Kosloff reported closures on Beaver Dam Road have caused undue duress on local residents. He encouraged Council to do whatever was possible to expedite construction progress. He then thanked staff for their efforts in alleviating the problem. Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer Chris Jarnot reported a new sculpture, "The Edge," has been completed as part of the Front Door project. He invited the Council and community to attend a ceremony to welcome the new public art on July 5. The second item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report. ➢ Summer Parking Update. Town Manager Stan Zemler explained the town was attempting to preserve parking in the Vail Village parking structure. "It's estimated 55% of the vehicles entering the structure are construction -related ... We are currently conserving 300 spaces until 10:00 a.m... The town is trying to send as many vehicles as we can to LionsHead ... We think we have identified some additional spots outside of the Village and LionsHead ... We are going to rub someone the wrong way no matter what we do here." Hall reported the number of construction workers has increased over the past year. "When we are holding 300 spaces we are holding our breath." Hall said the Vail Village structure held around 200 vehicles overnight. Zemler explained an additional 300 parking spots could be created by moving vehicles to the LionsHead parking structure. "Maintaining shopper parking in LionsHead is the second piece of this." During a pause for pubic comment, Mike Laturno asked if Frontage Road parking could be allowed year- round. Hall responded that both structures are attempted to be filled before Frontage Road parking was allowed. Laturno then asked if parking in the Front Door parking garage was possible. LionsHead business owner Tommy Neyens expressed concern the parking problem was being moved to the LionsHead parking structure. Rick Silverman asked if the town would be liable to damages if an accident occurred due to Frontage Road parking. He then urged Council to create more parking. Vail Village shop owner Ghiqui Hoffman said her customers had complained about the appearance of trucks in the parking structures. Hitt said the town had taken several steps to alleviate the problem. Hall commented, "We have 1,000 spaces available in the Village parking structure at 6:00 a.m... How we want to distribute those is up to us." Village restaurant manager Matt Morgan said he was cautiously optimistic about voluntary parking compliance. "It's disturbing that we are in this place." Rogers suggested requiring pick-up trucks to park in the LionsHead parking structure. Daly said the town must react quickly and effectively to maintain summer sales tax revenue. Newbury urged caution in regard to filling the LionsHead parking structure with construction workers as they have had limited retail activity due to construction over the past few years. Foley said, "Who cares where people park ... Let's get this thing managed ... It is a town -wide problem not just Vail Village." Gordon commented, "We did not foresee the success of our redevelopment." Gordon then proposed building a significant number of parking stalls at Ford Park. "It's important to remain reasonable." Cleveland said Roger's proposed solution had some merit. Laturno said part of the casual summer atmosphere was the availability of free parking. ➢ Response to Audit Report. Finance Director Judy Camp explained a recent audit finding reported the town's parking payment system was inadequate. She explained a recently purchased 2 credit card charging system continued to be revamped. Parking and Transit Manager Mike Rose stated the new system would be tested in an isolated fashion to identify any further issues. ➢ Revenue Update. Budget and Finance Reporting Manager Kathleen Halloran reported when all sales tax returns are received for the month of May, collections for the month are expected to be $617,735, up 13% from May, 2007. Year-to-date sales tax collections of $11 M are up 6.8% from 2007. For comparison, inflation as measured by the consumer price index was up 4.2% compared with the prior year. Use tax collections began as of January 1, 2008. As of June 24, collections total $303,384 of unbudgeted revenue. Construction permit revenue currently totals $1.4M, up 1.3% from this time last year. The increase is due to major redevelopment projects, which make up 80% of the total. Construction permit fee revenue from non -major projects is down 30% from this time last year. Real Estate Transfer Tax collections through June 24, 2008, total $3.6 million. This amount is a 16% increase from this time last year primarily due to recent sales of major redevelopment projects. The overall real estate market in Eagle County is down 25% in sales dollars and down 43% in sales transactions as of April, 2008. Major redevelopment projects such as Arrabelle, Forest Place, One Willow Bridge and Vail Plaza account for 54% of year-to-date 2008 collections. This is significantly higher than the 26% from June 2007, and is the reason Vail's RETT revenue is performing much better than the rest of the county. RETT collections from property transfers not related to major redevelopment projects dropped by 28% year-to-date as of June, 2008 compared with 2007. This is more in line with the sales decrease across the county. Daly said the increase in RETT collections was largely attributable to recent closings on residential units at the Arrabelle at Vail Square. Rogers asked if staff was aware of the percentage of sold units in other large projects. ➢ CDOT Incident Management Plan. Police Chief Dwight Henninger provided Council with an update on efforts by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to create an 1-70 incident management plan for Eagle County. "A component of the plan will be the addition of a tractor -trailer parking lot in the Dotsero area." Henninger also announced creation of a vehicle access placard for East Vail residents to help with traffic flow during 1-70 closures. A draft of the complete incident management plan will be released in September. Daly asked if additional funding was available so as to improve the maintenance of 1-70 and avoid closures. Henninger said Colorado Department of Transportation staffing was at 1980's levels. Zemler said staff was working on funding to increase the connectivity of fiber-optic camera transmissions and variable message signage. During a pause for public comment, Tommy Neyens asked if the town could link the town's web -site for road closure information and updates. The third item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda. a. Approval of 06.03.07 and 06.17.08 minutes. Gordon moved to approve the consent agenda with Hitt seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. The fourth item on the agenda was a Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Out -of -Cycle Contribution Request. At the June 17th meeting, Council requested additional information from Betty Ford Alpine Gardens concerning their request for funding to replace three bridges in the garden. This agenda item and the attached memo are in response the request for information. Daly moved to approve the request with Hitt seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. The fifth item on the agenda was an Emergency Generator Bid. Fleet Manager Todd Scholl asked for approval to award the bid for the Emergency Generator Project to JL Viele Construction. The town received four bids and Viele Construction was the low bid at $179,660. The project is budgeted at $175,000 in capital project; the project requires additional funding from the 911 Authority Board which authorized $25,000, and the Fire Chiefs which endorsed the use of $50,000 from the Dispatch Fund Balance, for a total project budget of $250,000. The budget line items are: ➢ Viele Bid ➢ Arch/Engineer ➢ Generator ➢ Contingency ➢ Grand Total $179,660 $17,500 (so far) $33,500 $19,340 $250,000 Bringing the municipal/Police Department building emergency lighting up to code was an unforeseen cost when the budget was originally put together. Staff also required contingency money as there may be unforeseen items come up as the project gets underway. Daly asked if the other participating 911 agencies were paying their fair share. Communications Manager Joe Ribeiro said the 911 system was paying back the town over a period of time. Daly moved to approve the bid request with Rogers seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. The sixth item on the agenda was the 2008/09 Parking Task Force Recommendations. Public Works Director Greg Hall said the 2008/09 Parking Task Force Recommendations include: ➢ Temporary use of the town -owned Chamonix property in West Vail, 180 spaces; requires review by the Town of Vail. ➢ Use of the west side of the North Frontage Road, Wendy's to Chamonix, 35- 60 spaces; requires review by the Colorado Department of Transportation. ➢ Limited use of Donovan Park lot during non-event days (39 last season), 70 to 90 spaces. ➢ Park and ride TBD in Avon, 100 spaces. ➢ Park and ride at U.S. Forest Service office lot in Dowd Junction, 50-75 spaces. In addition, the following spaces will be available this coming season: ➢ Vail Front Door/Vail Village Club, 200 spaces. ➢ Arrabelle Club parking, 100 spaces. The Parking Task Force also recommended increases in mass transit to service the park and ride lots as well as increased bus service to accommodate the suggested expansion of parking in West Vail. Also, six designated bus stops were recommended to be added along the South Frontage Road during peak times. Introduction of a privately -managed van pool service for commuters is in the works, as well as a recommendation to allow private parking lots to be used for peak period public parking. Vail Resorts representative Chris Jarnot said he thought the Task Force provided a good process. Jarnot explained Frontage Road parking did not always correlate with the number of skiers on the mountain. "It becomes very difficult to pin it down." Jarnot explained private parking spaces will lessen public parking demand. "We understand this is a serious challenge for us ... It's the weakest part of the experience our guests encounter in the wintertime." Rogers asked if Vail Resorts would be amicable to allowing public parking at the Vail Mountain Club. Jarnot said he would examine actual garage usage when it comes on line. Rogers spoke in support of vanpooling. She then asked if large employers could sublet parking spaces at Middle Creek. Rogers also encouraged expanding parking in neighborhoods that received substantial bus service. Representing the Vail Homeowners Association, Jim Lamont pledged to assist in making "equitable and good decisions." During a pause for public comment local restaurateur Matt Morgan said he found it was hard to believe there was no correlation between parking shortages and skier days. Tommy Neyens encouraged focusing on getting skiers to use outlying parking areas. Local restaurateur Brian Nolan said he was excited the town was working proactively to solve the parking issue. He also encouraged having developers provide construction parking mitigation plans. Cleveland said it was imperative Vail Resorts share the financial burden of providing additional parking services. He also encouraged using the Holy Cross lot for guest parking (as opposed to Vail Resorts employee parking). Daly said he thought Jarnot had done a meaningful job of working with the town to eradicate the town's parking woes. "Parking on the frontage road is not a superior guest experience. He then asked for the Parking Task Force to provide some long term solutions. Newbury encouraged exhausting all parking possibilities before allowing parking on the 5 Frontage Roads. Hitt expressed gratitude for the cooperation shown by Vail Resorts. "When it gets down to money time I think everyone will be surprised." Foley moved to approve the Parking Task Force recommendations with Daly seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. The seventh item on the agenda was a request for first reading of Ordinance No. 5, Series of 2008, an ordinance approving a major amendment to Special Development District (SDD) No. 4, Cascade Village, pursuant to Section 12-9A- 10, Amendment Procedures, Vail Town Code, to allow for the development of the Cornerstone Site, On February 19, 2008, Council held a public hearing to consider Ordinance No. 5, Series of 2008, an ordinance approving a major amendment to SDD No. 4, Cascade Village, on first reading. At that meeting, the Council voted unanimously to table the public hearing to their regularly scheduled meeting of March 18, 2008, citing concerns over the proposed amendments to the SDD, building height, public benefits, parking and employee housing mitigation. The applicant submitted subsequent requests to table the hearing to the Council's regularly scheduled meeting dates of April 1, May 20, and July 1, 2008, to properly respond to the Council's previously stated concerns and to work with staff to fully analyze previous amending ordinances for SDD No. 4 prior to returning to the Council for further consideration of the development plans and first reading of Ordinance No. 5, Series of 2008. On January 28, 2008, the PEC voted unanimously to forward a recommendation for approval, with conditions, of an application for a major amendment to SDD No. 4, Cascade Village, pursuant to Section 12-9A-10, Amendment Procedures, Vail Town Code, to allow for the development of the Cornerstone Site. Applicant representative Rick Pylman informed Council about the changes made to the projects original application. Pylman said the project would create the most accessible skier drop off location of any of the four portals in Vail. Rogers said she did not consider a new lift ticket office a public benefit. Newbury asked if the onsite employee housing units (EHUs) would be located above ground. She also encouraged providing storage for the onsite EHUs. Applicant legal representative Tom Ragonnetti explained there was a miscalculation of Gross Residential Floor Area (GRFA) within Area A, Cascade Village. "A project is legally approved but it can't be built," referring to the Cascade Residences Project which was approved in 2007. He then clarified that allowing for additional GRFA would not set precedent. Gordon said he thought an improved skier access portal would be a public benefit. Liftside Condominium Association legal representative Beith Aires, representing the Liftside Condominiums Homeowners Association, expressed concern the eastern portion of the building would be too high. Hitt moved to enter a brief Executive Session with Rogers seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. Newbury moved to end the executive session. The motion passed. Newbury then moved to approve the ordinance with the conditions listed on pages 26-28 in the staff memorandum, dated July 28, with Rogers seconding. Discussion was held regarding the motion. Newbury amended her motion and Rogers amended her 6 second, to include additional conditions of approval. The motion passed 6-1, Foley opposed. The eighth item on the agenda was a request for first reading of Ordinance No. 12, Series of 2008, an ordinance amending Chapter 12-16, Conditional Use Permits, to allow for the administrative review and approval of specific conditional uses. Planner Bill Gibson explained that on June 23, 2008, the PEC voted 6-0-0 to forward a recommendation of approval for the prescribed text amendments of Ordinance No. 12, Series of 2008. "The purpose of the ordinance is to streamline the development review process ... This will create efficiencies for our customers as well as staff." Rogers said the ordinance would better allow staff to deliver service. She then moved to approve the ordinance with Gordon seconding. The motion passed 4-3 with Daly, Foley and Hitt opposed. The ninth item on the agenda was Adjournment. Newbury moved to adjourn with Hitt seconding at approximately 10:15 p.m. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. op STEAL ATTEST: Lorelei Donaldson, Town Clerk Dick Cleveland, Mayor