HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-12-20 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 20, 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. Dick Neal, a member of the
Board of Directors for the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum, thanked the Council
and staff for their support of the museum. He suggested they visit the new snowboard
exhibit. Foley expressed the Council's condolences to the Fetterolf family for the loss of
Robyn, one of Vail's police officers.
The second item on the agenda was a discussion regarding Red Sandstone Elementary
School (RSES) Update.
Brian Nolan, representing the RE501 Eagle County School District Board, gave the
Council and Vail residents an update. He said Sandra Smyser, Superintendent of the
district is at another meeting this evening. Nolan is representing himself as a board
member and he does not represent the whole board. He said they were not closing the
Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy and the Red Canyon High School as they don't cost
the district much money. He said RSES is at the top of a lot of people's minds. He said
that the board was clearly told by the voters that there isn't a strong enough support
for more funding for the school district. He said this is the most difficult board he has
sat on. He said the public's call was for the board to pay more attention and they are
doing that. He described some of the information still needed by the board to make
informed decisions. The board's intent is to address this in January of 2012. He said
the school district, over the past eight years, has made a commitment to support
community schools. By having many small schools, there was a conscious decision
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 1
made to keep a school in each community. His opinion, as a board member, is that the
thought of closing any schools in Eagle County is not where they are headed.
Nolan said the next funding cuts to review will be staffing cuts throughout the school
system. From cafeteria staff, transportation staff, teachers, etc., it will be across the
whole school system, not just one school.
Rogers thanked Nolan for coming to the Council meeting. Donovan asked if they had
to make a decision by their February meeting. Nolan said that isn't necessarily so. He
said the thought process is that they need to make decisions sooner than later. The
school board meets twice a month. Nolan said the numbers from Phil D'Ofrio will come
out right after the holidays. It's a matter of updating current numbers and finding out
how much it would cost to move children around the county if they closed a school.
They are inviting any ex -school board members to come and help brain storm.
Tjossem asked about selling property. Nolan said they have a catalog of assets;
however, this is probably the worst time to sell anything, but it's on the table. Tjossem
said the referendum was voted down; but it wasn't because the citizens weren't
supportive. It was voted down because of how the referendum was written and there
wasn't a sunset clause. Moffet said in the past a similar referendum was voted down,
and then it was brought back with detail and clarity and passed. Daly said the $5.5
million is a shortfall for 2012, but what is it in 2013 and 2014. Nolan said $5.5 million is
steady throughout the five year forecast. He clarified $5.5 million was a shortfall each
year for the next five years. He said if the school district can reduce their budget $5.5
million this year, they can reach that each year there after and have a balanced budget.
Moffet said there are other ways to help with charter schools. Nolan said there are
already two charter schools in the county.
Jim Lamont, Vail Homeowners Association (VHA), said they should not compound the
complexity with keeping the school open. He said the land was provided by the Town
of Vail to build the school. If worse comes to worse, there needs to be a discussion
between the Town of Vail and the school district about reversion of the facility and the
land back to the town. This is a strategic land placement within town. He said a school
is the heart and soul of a community. The town should explore other potentials if the
worst comes to pass.
Nolan said if the school district makes the decision to close RSES, there is no cost
because it would revert back to the town. One of the reasons the school has a light on
it is because the school district doesn't own the property. Daly said the Council is
willing to work with the school district to help keep the school open. RSES is a critical
part of the community and would keep the community viable. Nolan also said it's the
Council and community's responsibility to get engaged. The school district needs to
keep the Council and Vail community informed on what is happening at the school
district. Tjossem said the superintendent came before Council two years ago and had
given assurances that RSES would be kept open. Nolan said they should know
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 2
something in the next few meetings of the school district. Rogers said the Council is a
group of seven people and he can call on any of the Council members to speak for the
Council to help keep RSES open.
The third item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report.
Mark Miller, Fire Chief, stated that West Vail Fire Station #3 was awarded a Station
Style Award. An application was submitted to Fire Chief magazine for an award
consideration. Vail received a silver award for the Career Category award. He said this
is a big deal. There are 51,000 subscriptions to the magazine. The cost per square foot
for construction of the West Vail Fire Station #3 was less than 75% of fire departments
that had career or fulltime stations. He thanked the Council for their support. This has
brought prestige to the town and the fire department. Daly said it was also a tribute to
Miller and his team for monitoring this project.
The fourth item on the agenda was the appointments to the Vail Local Marketing
District Advisory Council (VLMDAC) and the Commission on Special Events (CSE).
There were four vacancies on the VLMDAC and four vacancies on the CSE for two year
terms.
Kurz made a motion to appoint Dawsey, Hayda, Mullen and Gunion to the VLMDAC and
the motion was seconded by Moffet. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
Kurz made a motion to appoint Kerstiens, Bank, Bruno and Kundolf to the CSE, and the
motion was seconded by Moffet. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
The fifth item on the agenda was an update on the Timber Ridge Development.
Stan Zemler stated on November 11, 2011, the pre -development agreement between
the Town of Vail ("Town") and Vail Timber Ridge LLC (VTR) expired. Council directed
staff to continue discussions with the developer for up to 90 days to work out further
conditions of approval. Zemler announced that both parties have failed to come to an
agreement to move forward and said there has been a suspension of the process
between TOV and Vail Timber Ridge LLC. The town will continue to operate the Timber
Ridge project and keep it a viable entity in town.
Daly said this has been a very long process and the objective of the Council was to
redevelop the site and reduce the amount of debt. The whole scope of the project
changed and there were many long discussions trying to make this project work. The
Council still thinks this is a viable project and the town will move forward. Daly
authorized Zemler to put out a press release regarding the status of this project.
The sixth item on the agenda was an update on the Municipal Site Redevelopment
project .
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 3
The municipal site project is a partnership between the Town of Vail (TOV), the Vail
Valley Medical Center (VVMC), and the Steadman Clinic (SC) to redevelop the town
office site with a new municipal building and a new medical office building. The
presentation will include a summary of the proposed project, an update on the due
diligence work currently underway, a preview of the schematic design and architecture,
an overview of the financing options the Town Council may consider for the project,
and a schedule of next steps to be taken.
George Ruther, Community Development Director, stated there was a lot of information
to go over with Council. He went through staff's power point presentation quickly to
make room for questions after the presentation. He said staff and the consultants were
now 45 days into a 90 day process for the scope of work.
Michael O'Connor, representing Triumph Development, presented the design and
predevelopment investigation points that would happen in the next 45 days. He said
the scope of work includes due diligence to date, advance design that works on the
site, the construction budget, legal work, recommendation of needs for all parties to
work together and a progress report.
He provided a quick overview of the site study, design constraints, utilities, geotech
information, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) right-of-way
information, overall parking demand (194 spaces), easements and helipad relocation
that currently is located on CDOT and TOV property. He said the TOV program
elements include relocation of temporary council chambers to Donovan Pavilion and
relocation of other office spaces. He said a temporary helipad is possible at the east
end of the Ford Park parking lot or the west end of the public works snow dump area.
The preferred site is the east end of Ford Park. The helipad would displace two to
three parking spaces. The helicopter pilot preferred the Ford Park site. The
redevelopment design program would accommodate the needs of all parties, including
the medical office building housing the Steadman Clinic, the Steadman Philippon
Research Institute, Howard Head spaces and the TOV offices, plus the parking spaces
for all entities involved.
George Ruther stated the Community Development building would be totally
demolished. The west side of the administration building would be destroyed. The
Police Department section of the building would be left in tact . He said he had
reviewed the design concepts and the building would be inviting and flexible, last much
longer than the current building, would be sophisticated and sustainable, active and
energetic, and in keeping with Vail's theme and brand. The proposal shows the new
municipal building would be atop a parking level. The two to three story building
would be approximately 18,000 square feet net usable space. They are looking at
possibly adding an additional 5,000 square feet. All Community Development and
Administration Services would be accommodated in the building. Accommodations
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 4
would include civic use of the structure. The current building is approximately 85%
efficient and the new building would be 90% efficient.
Jonathan Heroux, representing Piper ]affray, discussed financing options for the town's
portion of financing this project. He said traditionally, municipalities have four options:
general obligation bonds (GO), sales tax revenue bonds (STR); certificates of
participation (COP); or tax increment financing (TIF). He went through each issue type,
describing the pros and cons, and what are viable options for this project. He stated
there was a general market acceptance for all four types of financing options.
Daly asked if TIF is an option. Heroux said not really, the town has done this type of
financing in the past, so he added the option. He said the COP's are used for essential
purposes, i.e., fire stations, police and administration buildings, and public safety
buildings. Further discussion ensued regarding COP's versus other financing structures.
Heroux stated given the time constraints, the COP's are the town's only option at this
point in time because an election is not needed. He included rating reports for the TOV
in his presentation.
Ruther said there was a lot of information dispersed. He said staff had
recommendations and time is of the essence. Based upon the proposed project
schedule and due diligence work completed, staff recommended moving forward with
next steps.
Doris Kirschner, representing the VVMC, said three to four years ago the VVMC was
looking at relocating down valley but has chosen to stay in Vail. She said the hospital is
excited to be working with all the parties in this project. There is tremendous value in
making this project work and to move it forward. She said it will help the hospital
regain 35,000 square feet once the Steadman group moves out to help maintain their
goal of enhancing and maintaining patient support and safety. The additional parking
will be appreciated as well. The economic impact to the community is large and they
are tremendously excited about this project.
Dr. Peter Millett, an orthopaedic surgeon with the Steadman Clinic and a board member
of the Steadman Philippon Research Institute, thanked the town for considering this
opportunity. He was a faculty member at Harvard about six years ago and was
recruited to come to Vail. He said it's a world class center but they are lacking in space.
He stated there is a need for additional space to become a world class facility. They
need the opportunity to grow and have a greater economic impact to the town. He
stated he has about 500 patients each year that come from out of town and around the
world with their families. This has a significant impact to the community. The clinic
also brings in other resources, one of which is medical education to physicians from
around the world. This brings in hundreds of physicians and would be a significant,
positive impact to the whole valley. Millett said this project could make the valley the
"Silicon Valley" of the medical community. They are crammed in their current facilities
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 5
and look forward to what can be achieved with this project. He wants the Council to
look favorably upon this opportunity as they need a world class facility. Daly said the
town is fortunate to have this high caliber of physicians in Vail. He stated Dr. Millett
was recognized in U.S. News and World Reportas one of the top 1% of physicians in
the U.S., as well as three other colleagues at the Steadman Clinic.
Rogers said they have the highest regard for the caliber of orthopeadic surgeons in the
country, if not the world. She said she had heard that replacements, hip, knee,
shoulder, etc., can't be done in Vail. She asked why they can't do replacements if we
are the silicon valley of orthopeadics. Millett said that is not a true statement. He said
he does about 100 shoulder replacements a year. They are not as well known for doing
replacements, but they do them. He said they want to recruit world class talent for
replacements to expand their opportunities and services.
Daly asked how many physicians are currently in the clinic and with the expansion, how
many could they add. Millett said there are currently nine physicians and they could
expand to 14 or 15 physicians. This would increase surgical volume and increase
patients. He said when they vacate their space in the hospital, the hospital could
expand their surgery space to handle more patients.
Jim Lamont stated the issues he sees are there has been a tradition through
redevelopment to make a conscious effort to prepare for the future but cure some of
the original errors. He wants to see master planning done for the municipal site and to
add the Evergreen Hotel site to the mix.
All traffic and loading and delivery should be relocated to the Frontage Road and no
longer use West Meadow Drive. This is an opportunity to bring the entire WMC
campus up to contemporary standards. He said the reason the Evergreen Hotel site
becomes important is over period of years, there have been a series of deed restrictions
and covenants that restrict the hospital and medical center. The master plan can be
expanded and Vail could become a more aggressive medical care center than we now
realize. This is a rare opportunity to review and rethink larger parts of Vail.
Kirschner said after the first of the year, a master facility planning process will begin.
Ideally they will look at how they could take all ambulance traffic off West Meadow
Drive and relocate the helipad. Daly said the Council would like to participate in that
process. Kirschner said they would be invited. She said the helipad at Ford Park is a
temporary site.
Donovan stated at some point she wants a very good understanding of the pedestrian
overpass and to broaden the scope of discussion. She wants to know how the whole
project works together. Moffet said he agrees with Lamont and wants to see a master
planning process on the WMC. He said he is frustrated the current plan for the
municipal site doesn't have another level for employee housing or lease space. He isn't
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 6
convinced the town hall needs to be on this site. If the buildings are land locked, he
would like to see a 50-year solution with room to grow.
Rogers said she is in favor of pursuing this project. Health and wellness is a key
component to the year' round vitality of Vail. She is pleased with the progress made so
far and is enthusiastic about the project. She doesn't see any issues that were brought
up that would be insurmountable to getting this project done. Foley said he is
concerned that employee housing hasn't been addressed and expects the town and
other parties to keep to the same standards as we ask other developers. He is not in
favor of COP's. He wants to have this go to a vote of the community for other financing
options.
Tjossem said the hospital and research institute haven't been appreciated or as well
known locally as on the world wide stage. However, once the community understands
what is happening at the institute and the services the medical center brings to Vail, the
community will embrace it. Kurz said he is coming late to the discussions; however,
both the redevelopment of the town functions and the hospital are pretty important to
the community. It is vital that the hospital stays in the community. He asked how
realistic the timing of the project is, if we have to go to the vote of the people to get
this project done by the Championships of 2015. He wants to accommodate some of
the points made regarding the master planning process.
Daly said there is much work to be done. He asked staff to put aside adequate time in
the next 30 days to help Council with a comprehensive work session to understand the
space requirements, the business component, the timing as well as long term
implications relative to the VVMC, such as the parking, helipad location,etc. He said to
plan on bringing this topic back to work sessions on January 3 and January 17 and at
the evening meeting on January 17 for public comment. He said there is a great deal
of enthusiasm for the project and there need to be consistent world class standards
that we hold ourselves to.
Ruther thanked the Council and said everyone is looking forward to the challenge.
A brief 2 minute break was taken.
The seventh item on the agenda was second reading of Ordinance No. 26, Series
2011, an 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 there weren't any changes to this original
ordinance but is requesting adding both a revenue and expense line item for the
Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) lease for overflow parking in the
amount of $20,000.
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 7
Kurz made a motion to approve, as amended, second reading of Ordinance No. 26,
Series 2011. The motion was seconded by Foley. A vote was taken and the motion
passed, 7-0.
The eighth item on the agenda was first reading of Ordinance No. 27, Series of 2011,
an ordinance repealing and re-establishing Special Development District (SDD) No. 22,
Grand Traverse, pursuant to Section 12-9A-10, Amendment Procedures, Vail Town
Code, to allow the employee housing requirements of the special development district
to be met off -site through the provisions of Section 12- 13-5, Employee Housing Unit
Deed Restriction Exchange Program, Vail Town Code, and setting forth details in regard
thereto.
Bill Gibson, Community Development Planner, said on December 12, 2011, the Planning
and Environmental Commission (PEC) forwarded the Vail Town Council a
recommendation of approval, with the modifications outlined in Section II of the Staff
memorandum to the commission dated December 12, 2011, for amendments to the
employee housing requirements of SDD No. 22, Grand Traverse.
The purpose of this ordinance is to amend the provisions of the special development
district to: allow the employee housing requirements of the special development district
to be met within the district, off -site, or a combination thereof; allow employee housing
units to be exchanged in accordance with the procedures of Section 12-13-5, Employee
Housing Unit Deed Restriction Exchange Program, Vail Town Code; and to "clean-up"
the unclear, outdated and inconsistent provisions of the district.
This ordinance only makes a change to the SDD. This is a first step in the process for
an EHU exchange program for the applicant, the Bailey's, who have one of the six EHY's
in this SDD. This amendment would allow all six existing EHU's in the Grand Traverse
SDD to participate in the EHU exchange program now and in the future. Gibson
explained the EHU exchange program for the benefit of Councilman Moffet and the
public. Foley asked if this SDD required the units be rented. Only the most recent two
of the six are required to have occupancy. Further discussion ensued regarding EHU
exchanges.
Ruther said this does not obligate the owners in the SDD's to do an EHU exchange; it
allows them to do so if they choose. Gibson said all homeowners in the SDD have
discussed this at their homeowners association (HOA) meeting and no one had any
objections to this change.
Donovan asked since this is an SDD, the EHU's were part of the public benefit to get
the development approved. She feels with these amendments they are not honoring
the original intent of the SDD process. Gibson said this doesn't mean any units will be
lost since they could be on other town property sites, not just on this property. He said
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 8
this is very similar to the Valley EHU exchange SDD in October that the Council
approved.
Tjossem said the exchange would be doubling the size of the EHU as they have to
double the size of the units when they do an exchange. They don't necessarily need a
garage. Daly said Donovan's point is that SDD's have specific tradeoffs made for the
public benefit and are we losing the public benefit with this exchange. Donovan said
that is part of it. She said the SDD is almost a contract between the town and the
developer and changing it is possibly diminishing the public benefits in the SDD. Gibson
said amendments are common in SDD's and the review criteria is the same.
Daly asked to table this item to the January 3, 2012, work session discussion and have
a discussion on EHU's. Then have the first reading of this item at the evening meeting
on that day.
Tjossem said we passed one exactly like this two meetings ago. She said it was an
SDD and she doesn't know why we are back tracking. There has been a slue of these
and this has been incredibly beneficial to the town. These units were not being
occupied. Now we are seeing results.
Rogers said she is not in favor of tabling this item. She has an issue as she doesn't see
the difference for a SDD. She said this is true for properties that are not SDD's as well.
The EHU was not being used or being occupied. This is a benefit to the town as the
town gets another EHU bigger and better somewhere else in town. This isn't about
SDD's. This allows employee housing available in the town and this process is working.
She said being an SDD is irrelevant.
Donovan said since this is a SDD, it is relevant to her. She feels the town isn't seeing a
direct public town benefit. Foley said in a historical perspective, the reason for EHUs on
site was so there were lights on in the neighborhood, have more vitality in the
neighborhood.
Dominic Mauriello, representing the Bailey's (the applicant), said their life circumstances
have changed and they want to use their homes differently from 15 to 20 years ago.
First the HOA approved the application being submitted and all folks in neighborhood
are on board. This is a different SDD than a typical SDD, since this became a
subdivision. It was the developer coming forward in the beginning. The policy decision
to open this up six months ago was to invite people who have underperforming EHU's
to change the space they want. The biggest benefit is the town is getting 2 to 1 or 3 to
1 square footage for the exchange spaces. The town is getting homes or
condominiums that can accommodate families and in equal standing somewhere else.
It's a primary unit and not a lock off. Mauriello has done three exchanges and has four
more coming through the process. He agrees with Rogers that there is no difference
on this SDD. He said the units moved to another area in town where there is bus
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 9
service and other amenities available to the employee is a plus. Even the town's own
housing requirements don't require 100% employee housing to be on site. Rogers said
she wants the Council to allow this ordinance to move forward to second reading.
Rogers made a motion to approve first reading of Ordinance No. 27, Series of 2011 and
the motion was seconded by Tjossem and Kurz. A vote was taken and the motion
passed, 4-3, Daly, Foley and Donovan against.
The ninth item on the agenda was second 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, said the purpose of the proposed
ordinance is to create consistency and equity in the calculation of GRFA. He stated
there were no changes of the ordinance from first reading.
Moffet made a motion to approve second reading of Ordinance No. 25, and the motion
was seconded by Foley. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 6-1 with Donovan
against.
The tenth item on the agenda was the Ever Vail applications.
George Ruther, Community Development Director, stated staff requested the major
subdivision and Ordinance Nos. 7, 8, and 9, Series of 2011 be continued to the January
171 2012, public hearing.
Moffet made a motion to continue the major subdivision and Ordinance Nos. 7, 8, and
9, Series of 2011 to the January 17, 2012, public hearing. The motion was seconded by
Donovan. Ruther stated the request to continue this item was requested by the
applicant, Vail Resorts, Inc. Alex Iskenderian will have a written response for the next
meeting. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0.
The eleventh item on the agenda was adjournment. As there was no further business,
Moffet made a motion to adjourn and the motion was seconded by Donovan. A vote
was taken and the motion passed 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 10
Attest:
r
L lei [(onaldson,
401�1
Town Clerk
Respectfully Submitted,
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Andrew P. Daly, Mayor
Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of December 20, 2011 Page 11