HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-12-06 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
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 Andrew P. Daly.
Members present: Andrew P. Daly, Mayor
Kerry Donovan
Kevin Foley
Ludwig Kurz
Greg Moffet
Margaret Rogers
Susie Tjossem
Staff members: Stan Zemler, Town Manager
Matt Mire, Town Attorney
Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager
The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. Diana Meehan, a Rotary Club
member, stated they wanted to have the support of Council to keep the Rotary Duck
Races on Sunday.
Mike Cacioppo asked Council if there was a tax abatement from the county in regard to
the mil levy ordinance that will be addressed later in the evening. Halloran said the tax
abatement was $42,000. Cacioppo was concerned the tax payers interests were not
represented if the assessor has assessed their property incorrectly. The rest of the
community has to pay for the errors made by the assessor. He asked that the second
reading of the mil levy ordinance be placed on hold and have the town research this
issue in further detail. Daly said this item will be discussed in further detail under item
number seven of the evening agenda.
John Cogswell, a resident and member of the Rotary Club, said there was discussion
suggesting the Duck Races move to the Monday of Labor Day weekend instead of
Sunday. He stated the annual Rubber Duck Race needs to be held on Sunday and not
moved to Monday. Susan Pollack, a member of Rotary, also wants the support of
Council to keep the Duck Races on Sunday. She said it's a big family race and it's
important to leave it on Sunday for guests. Dan Telleen, a business owner and Rotary
member, said the Duck Races have picked up a lot of momentum through the years
and he is afraid the momentum would be lost if it was moved to Monday. He also
encouraged the Council to support keeping the Duck Races on Sunday.
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 1
Bill Suarez, a Vail Chamber and Business Association (VCBA) member, said it seems
rumors are circulating that the VCBA doesn't exist anymore. He said Rich Ten Braak is
still the director. He said the VCBA is still in existence, still trying to get new members
and they are a viable entity. As a VCBA member and Rotary member, he had several
calls over the weekend from concerned merchants stating the Lionshead area
merchants feel they are not well represented with special events. He reported the Vail
Daily newspaper listed the Snow Daze event schedule and it didn't have any events
going on in Lionshead. Rich Ten Braak, VCBA Director and Rotary Club member, said
there was a motion at the Commission of Special Events (CSE) meeting to move the
Duck Races to Monday and that no funding would be given if it did not move. He said
Lionshead would love to have more special events in Lionshead. Daly said CSE funding
allocations will be discussed under a separate item on the evening agenda.
The second item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda; the approval of the
November 1 and 15, 2011, Council meeting minutes.
Foley asked to split the voting on the minutes as not all members were on the board at
the time. Foley moved to approve the November 1 meeting minutes and the motion
was seconded by Tjossem. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 5-0-2, with Kurz
and Moffet abstaining as they weren't on the Council at the time. Foley made a motion
to approve the November 15 meeting minutes and the motion was seconded by
Donovan. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
The third item on the agenda was the Town Manager Report. There was nothing to
report under this item.
The fourth item on the agenda was the appointment of the Election Commission from
November 2011 to November 2013.
Pam Brandmeyer stated the town charter requires the Council appoint two people to be
on the town's election commission after each election for the next two years. Staff
recommended the Council appoint Vi Brown and Summer Holm as the representatives
for the Election Commission.
Rogers made a motion to appoint Vi Brown and Summer Holm as the representatives
for the town's election commission from November 2011 to November 2013, and the
motion was seconded by Tjossem. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
The fifth item on the agenda was the discussion and appointments to the various
committees and task forces. Every two years Council members select or volunteer
members, either from Council, staff or other town representatives, to represent the
Town of Vail on several committees or task forces. The appointments run concurrent
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 2
with the election cycle which is every two years. The appointments for each committee
or task force will be from November 2011 to November 2013.
A discussion was held in which each member of Council stated which committee they
would like to serve on as a representative for the town for the next two years. The
appointments are as shown in the attached memorandum dated "updated December 7,
2011," from Brandmeyer.
The sixth item on the agenda was the Commission on Special Events (CSE) funding
allocations for special events in 2012.
Jen Bruno, CSE Chair, reviewed the CSE's process with the Council and the suggested
special event funding recommendations and allocations for 2012. She said the CSE has
worked collaboratively throughout the past year with the Vail Local Marketing District
Advisory Council (VLMDAC) to align their criteria and strategy for special event funding
with the VLMD's marketing campaign and to insure a calendar of events that supports
the "Vail Brand." On November 2nd, the CSE reviewed the 37 responses they received
from the request for proposals (RFP) which was sent out in August. The entire day was
spent interviewing the event producers and listening to their presentations. Each CSE
member used the criteria that had been jointly developed by the CSE and the VLMDAC
to "grade" each event proposal. The final combined scores were used to rank the
events that most successfully met the criteria.
On November 16, the CSE met to determine the allocations that are being
recommended to Council. Both the strategic memorandum and the proposed allocations
were reviewed at the VLMDAC meeting on November 17th. The VLMDAC members
expressed 100% support for both the strategic document and the allocations that were
presented. Bruno stated they received $1.7 million in special event requests and they
had $837,000 in the CSE budget. One of the main goals was to have events that
brought in overnight guests to Vail and to reinvent existing events. The CSE was also
interested in funding new events that would occur at pivotal timeframes throughout
2012.
Bruno said there were two new iconic events: the Mojo Man Adventure Race which will
be exciting and happens on Memorial Day weekend which is a pivotal time period. The
CSE allocated $75,000 and the VLMDAC allocated $25,000 to this event. The other
iconic event was the Teva Winter Games to be held in February. They hope this event
builds and has the same effect as the Teva Summer Games does in June. She said
without a larger budget, there were some special events that were cut. South of the
Boarder Fiesta, held in June, showed on the rating grid used by the CSE that it did not
receive high marks and did not live up to the Vail brand or standards. One of the
solutions was to add $6,000 to the Saturday Family Afternoon Club. This event
provides a great family atmosphere and the funding will add five additional days to the
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 3
event and help Lionshead merchants. The Barbeque Bonanza was also cut. The CSE
didn't score this event very high.
Vail's Carnivale was also cut as it didn't bring in additional people during President's
Week. The Vail Antique Festival didn't apply for any funding. She said the CSE was
continuing to fund successful events, i.e., Teva Mountain Games, Vail Farmers Market,
Vail Snow Dazes and Spring Back to Vail were also funded but at reduced amounts.
Gourmet on Gore as well as the Taste of Vail Lamb Cook -off, and the Kick It 3v3 were
also funded. The largest summer occupancy rates occur during the Kick It 3v3 event.
The CSE said the 4th of July celebration needed more vitality and the CSE is sending out
a Request for Proposal (RFP) for this event. The CSE stated there is nothing occurring
after the parade and people leave town. There is a need to create additional events
that keep people in town throughout the day and up through the fireworks display.
They will be making a decision at the CSE's February meeting to fund an event group to
help get sponsorships for this event, have a festival atmosphere and with additional
events happening throughout the day.
She discussed further events that were funded for 2012. Vail Restaurant Month could
extend the fall season. The merchants noticed more people in town. The VLMDAC
funding helps support the event in addition to funding from CSE. The Vail Soul Music
Festival could be successful; however, there are concerns that the marketing of this
event gets overlooked. The VLMDAC has offered to help market this event, add funding
to the budget while controlling the marketing funding for this event.
Bruno said this past year was exciting and collaborating with the VLMDAC was great.
Collaborating with the Council is the next step and the CSE asked the Council for
funding for the Gran Fondo cycling event. She said they would team up with the U.S.
Pro Cycling challenge and produce this around the U.S. Pro Cycling event. This is a big
bike event with an Italian festival which will create a full event atmosphere and will
have a large group in town with up to 1,000 participants. This event has proven to be
successful in other cities and countries. The event producers have requested $50.000.
The CSE wants support from the Council and is currently looking for an additional
$43,000 for this event which would occur in mid -August. Daly said their memorandum
requested $35,000. Bruno said the funding from CSE was $14,500.
Daly said the U.S. Pro Cycling may or may not be in Vail every time so how does that
impact the Gran Fondo event. Bruno said the Gran Fondo will only be in Vail. Tjossem
asked if this event will be in Lionshead and Vail Village. Sybill Navas, special event
coordinator, said the actual ride is the Leadville Loop. The vendors would need to be
somewhere besides Meadow Drive because the Farmers Market will held on Sunday,
the weekend they are planning the race. The Health and Wellness Symposium was
funded at $25,000 and the CSE thinks this will be a great investment and believes it
could be successful.
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 4
Daly said this is the most exciting CSE report he has been involved in. This is the type
of cooperation that is necessary to make Vail successful and drive our economy. He
stated he can't thank everyone enough for their collaborative, hard work on the CSE
and VLMDAC. Rogers is going to sit as an ad hoc non -voting member of the CSE. She
is impressed with their ability to work together and their ability to agree to disagree.
Bruno stated the CSE is excited to have someone from Council attend the CSE
meetings. Donovan asked when the 4th of July RFP's are due. Navas said they have
not been sent out yet as they are looking for Council feedback. They plan on sending
out the RFP at the end of the week. Daly said it makes sense to keep people in town.
Donovan asked about the country fair type atmosphere. Bruno said a family type affair
is what they are aiming for the 4th of July. They want an event producer with fresh
ideas to keep people in town and keep them happy. The right producer will want to
make it special. Tjossem said the event infrastructure in town with power sources and
other challenges needs to be addressed. She wants event producers to give Council
feedback on the challenges they have to produce events in town. She also wants a
barbeque event the weekend prior to Father's Day so there is not a conflict on Meadow
Drive. Foley thanked the CSE and VLMDAC for their collaboration. He said Vail Local
Marketing District funding needs to go toward events.
John Dawsey, Treasurer of VLMDAC, stated the VLMDAC is in support of the CSE
direction and funding. They support the collaboration between the CSE and the
VLMDAC to provide vibrant events. The VLMDAC is earmarking $100,000 for the U.S.
Pro Cycling and $50,000 toward marketing these events.
Mike Cacioppo said he is very impressed by the presentation made by Bruno. The idea
of keeping people in Vail after the parade is a great idea. He suggested having a
concert at the base of the mountain to keep people in town after 5 p.m. He suggested
hiring America, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (the "Dirt Band") or Bruce Springteen to play.
He said some people may get a room for the night as it's a long day.
Rich Ten Braak, representing the VCBA, said he knows how difficult it is to fund all
events. He said the Lionshead merchants want more events and representation in their
area. He said there is a shift from ambient events to get "heads in beds" events. He
suggested ambient events still need to be funded. When people come to town and
there is something going on, that keeps people in town. If the town begins to just fund
a particular event and not ambient events, we may lose folks just passing through.
Bruno said the CSE does focus on bigger events. However, the Farmers Market is an
ambient event and they also increased the Family Fun Club from six days to ten days in
Lionshead. They have continued to fund the kayakers in early May to showcase the
Whitewater Park. Also, the Iamb cook -off is an ambient event as well as Octoberfest
family activities and music. The CSE is continuing to find a balance between ambient
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 5
and big events. The CSE always encourages and ask event producers to have more
family activities.
Tjossem said they need to address the Rubber Duck Race event. Bruno said the CSE
put in a recommendation for the Duck Races to move to Monday over the Labor Day
weekend. She said Highline Sports added a Monday element for the Gourmet on Gore
event and it proved to be successful. The have recommended the Rubber Duck Races
move to Monday as they will bring people in on Monday. Combined with the Gourmet
on Gore brunch on Monday it will be busy. The CSE believes people will come to Vail
on Monday. Bruno said there is a huge amount of congestion on Sunday with Gourmet
on Gore, the Farmers Market and the Rubber Duck Races all happening around the
same area. They want to make the quality of time better for everyone. Rotary doesn't
request funding from the CSE. Moffet said the difference between events is that the
Rotary Club raises money for the community. If they don't raise money, they don't
have funding to do things for the community. They need to make their budget to help
the community.
)im Lamont, representing the Vail Homeowners Association (VHA), said this is a
teachable moment. The Council moves from good intentions to regulations in an
attempt to regulate. He said after having watched this process over three years and
has seen the frustrations, due to coordination and collaborations. He is impressed with
the talent and passion of each group. They have created a platform in the community
and it represents itself to the world various attributes. He appreciates the effort but
believes more things for the family unit are needed. The CSE needs to have a column
on the grid that tells the community what demographic it serves. Each event has its
specialty and specialty audience. He said enough is enough; there are events
stumbling over themselves. The mix and program of events needs to be considered.
When any of the efforts are made, it needs to recognize the full audience of who is
being served.
Sybill Navas said the purpose of the next CSE meeting was to come to a compromise
and agreement for the Labor Day events: the Rubber Duck Races, the Farmers Market
and Gourmet on Gore. She stated these are recommendations, not a mandate. She
wants everyone to understand that they need to come to a compromise. She said not
every date the Rubber Duck Race has been held in the past was on Labor Day
weekend. Daly asked that the Council be informed as to what the solution turned out
to be. Moffet said he appreciates all the work the CSE has done. Daly said thanks to
everyone for all their hard work.
Foley made a motion to approve the 2012 funding allocations for special events as
presented by the CSE, and the motion was seconded by Rogers. Further discussion
ensued regarding funding for the Gran Fondo.
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 6
The motion was amended by Foley to add up to $35,000 allocated to the Gran Fondo
event subject to approval by the Council in the first supplemental appropriation of the
2012 budget. The motion was seconded by Rogers.
A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
The seventh item on the agenda was second reading of Ordinance No. 24, Series
2011, the Mil Levy Certification.
Kathleen Halloran, Budget Manager, stated the Mil levy assessments must be certified
to the County by December 15. This ordinance authorizes certification of the mil levy.
Mire said there was a question that this was a tax and he said this was definitely not a
tax.
Cacioppo said he had spoken to the Avon Town attorney and Avon had done a "De-
Brucing" ordinance many years ago. Mire said the Town of Vail "De-Bruced" in the
1990's and pursuant to Colorado law this is not considered a tax.
Rogers made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 24, Series of 2011, on second reading
and the motion was seconded by Kurz. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 5-2,
Foley and Daly opposed.
The eighth item on the agenda was first reading of Ordinance No. 26, Series 2011, and
ordinance making adjustments to the Town of Vail General Fund, Capital Projects Fund,
Real Estate Transfer Tax Fund, Heavy Equipment Fund, Health Insurance Fund and
Conference Center Fund.
Kathleen Halloran, Budget Manager, said staff has asked for an increase of $869,000
across all funds and adjusting revenue by $2.8 million. Daly had a question on the
Lionshead Welcome Center overruns.
Tom Kassmel, project engineer, said the Welcome Center is over budget. He said the
majority of overruns are extensions due to many changes made to various parts of the
project such as first floor changes, connections to the existing structure, snowmelt and
water systems, fire sprinkler systems, etc. The total forecasted overrun cost is
projected to be approximately $400,000. Staff has been in discussion with the general
contractor, R.A. Nelson, and the contractor doesn't think the cost will be that high. A
contingency was carried within the contract and there are inherent change orders costs.
The items stated above were not included in the contingencies. Daly asked if the
architect is also involved in the discussions. Kassmel stated they were involved in the
discussions.
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 7
Kurz made a motion to approve first reading of Ordinance No. 26, Series of 2011, and
the motion was seconded by Foley. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
The ninth item on the agenda was first reading of Ordinance No. 25, Series of 2011,
an ordinance amending Chapter 12-15, Gross Residential Floor Area, Vail Town
Code, pursuant to Section 12-3-7, Amendment, Vail Town Code, related to the
calculation of gross residential floor area (GRFA) when the basement level of a structure
includes a garage or employee housing unit (EHU) in the Hillside Residential, Single -
Family Residential, Two -Family Residential, Two -Family Primary/Secondary Residential,
Residential Cluster, Low Density Multiple -Family, Medium Density Multiple -Family, High
Density Multiple -Family, and Housing Districts, and setting forth details in regard
thereto.
Bill Gibson, Community Development Planner, stated on October 24, 2011, the PEC
forwarded a recommendation of approval to the Council for amendments to the Vail
Town Code to allow the basement, garage and EHU deductions from the GRFA
calculations to be applied to the entirety of the lowest level of a residential structure.
Currently, the GRFA basement deduction is only applied to those portions of the lowest
level not otherwise deducted as a garage or EHU. The purpose of the proposed
amendments is to create consistency and equity in the calculation of GRFA. Without
these amendments, houses with garages or an EHU located on the basement level will
continue to be allowed less floor area than houses with the same garage or EHU
located on an upper level. The PEC recommends approval of Ordinance No. 25, on first
reading. He said Moffet and Kurz were on Council in 2003 and GRFA was a discussion
topic back then.
He said currently, the GRFA basement doesn't count toward the limit if you can't see it
above ground. He said this is a proportional topic, i.e., someone can have a garage,
employee housing unit and other things that didn't apply toward GRFA. This created
some inequities. If you move a garage or an EHU gets moved up into the house, this
changes the GRFA. The code is not clear on this topic so PEC asked staff to amend the
code for clarification purposes. Properties with the same lot size and area will have the
same GRFA no matter what. The basement deduction applies to the lower level no
matter whether it's about a garage or an EHU. He said Cartin was the only dissenting
vote at PEC. Daly asked for examples. Gibson gave examples of two houses on the
golf course. Tjossem asked why the staff is bringing this forward. Gibson said it was
about equity and fairness, as an appeal came forward and brought this to light. Further
discussion ensued about various types of scenarios and examples of how this ordinance
would clear up GRFA in lower levels.
Rogers made a motion to approve first reading of Ordinance No. 25, including the
findings as stated, and the motion was seconded by Moffet. A motion was taken and
the motion was passed unanimously, 6-1 with Donovan opposed.
Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 8
The tenth item on the agenda was a request to continue all the Ever Vail applications,
the major subdivision and Ordinance Nos. 7, 8, and 9, Series of 2011 be continued to
the December 20, 2011 public hearing.
Donovan made a motion to continue the Ever Vail applications, the major subdivision
and Ordinance Nos. 7, 8, and 9, Series of 2011, to be continued to the December 20,
2011, public hearing and the motion was seconded by Moffet. A vote was taken and
the motion passed, 7-0.
The eleventh on the agenda was adjournment.
There being no further business, Tjossem made a motion to adjourn and the motion
was seconded by Foley. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Attest•
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Town Council December 6, 2011 meeting minutes Page 9