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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-03 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 3, 2012 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. Joe Staufer, a Vail business owner, said he has a lot of relatives and friends in Austria. His brother-in-law told him he watches a lot of ski races on television and said there isn't any mention of Vail in the European media regarding the 2015 Championships. Staufer said if Vail is supporting the 2015 Championships financially, the town should apply for a refund. Staufer said it was his understanding that the 2015 Championships were awarded to Vail/Beaver Creek. He said in the past, Beaver Creek was attached to the Vail brand and now Beaver Creek must not need that connection anymore. He said with the amount of money Vail is contributing perhaps they should be using the ski championship dollars to give it to Red Sandstone Elementary School instead. Jonathan Levine, a limousine company owner, said he just finished working in Vail for fourteen straight days. He said the feedback he is getting from high end clients is there were problems getting cell phone service over the holidays on the ski mountain and in Vail. He said all the cell service providers AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and Nextel said there was no cell service on the mountain and there were problems getting service in town as well. His clients had to walk out of the core village to get cell service. He said after September 11ti', this is a very serious issue. The ability to communicate via text and cell phone is critical. He said another issue he saw was a lot of the service people in Vail businesses were unhappy and glum. Even though there was a lack of snow, people need to stay positive. He would like to see the service programs enhanced to help people promote Vail in a positive way. He also said he still has an issue with the Vail Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 1 p police department regarding limousine staging and access to the transportation centers. He wants signage for taxi and limousine services. He is upset other taxi and limousine services are on the current sign and with the service he is receiving from the Vail police department. There are communication issues. Daly said the town will look into the cell phone service problems. He pointed out there is a service program already in place within the town. Zemler said he is confident the taxi and limousine issues have been addressed appropriately with the Vail Police Chief. Mike Cacioppo asked the Council to send a letter to the cell phone service providers to provide more cell towers. Zemler said there are additional cell towers being brought in and they are working with three or more providers to get additional service into Vail. Cacioppo said the transportation issues need to be addressed and wants the process to be fair. The second item on the agenda was a presentation to thank outgoing Council members Dick Cleveland and Kim Newbury for their years of service to the town and community. Daly said Newbury was continually upbeat and thoughtful throughout her years of service to the community. She was a serious representative with deep roots and passion for the Vail community. She really distinguished herself during her eight years on Council. He also thanked her children for supporting her through the years as well. Newbury said she changed a lot over the years and the town changed as well. She is proud to be a part of the Vail community. She thanked everybody for their support. Daly said Cleveland was also a strong supporter of the community and spent many long hours committed to the community through countless hours on the Council as well as serving on many boards associated with serving on the Council. Cleveland was diligent and a great consensus builder. Daly also thanked Kathy Langenwalter, Cleveland's wife, for all the support she has given him through the years. Cleveland thanked his wife and said it was nice to be on the other side of the table. He enjoyed serving and is proud of the incredible amount of work that has been done in the past eight years. The third item on the agenda was the consent agenda: 1) Resolution No. 1, 2012, Public Notices; 2) Resolution No. 3, 2012, Mutual Aid Agreement; 3) Resolution No. 4, 2012; Mutual Aid Agreement, 4) Resolution No. 5, 2012, Animal Control Services. Moffet made a motion to approve the consent agenda and the motion was seconded by Kurz. Foley said he would like more sites to be available throughout the town for Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 2 1 additional display of notices. Daly explained the content of each of the resolutions for the public benefit. A vote was taken and the motion passed, unanimously, 7-0. The fourth item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report. There were no items. The fifth item on the agenda was Resolution No.2, Series of 2012, supporting the Red Sandstone Elementary School (RESE) in being kept open by the Eagle County School District (ECSD). Each council member read parts of the resolution into the record for the public to show strong support of the resolution and wanting RSES to stay open as it is a vital part of the community. Foley made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2, Series of 2012, and sending it to the Eagle County School District and the motion was seconded by Tjossem. Public comment was taken. Peter Rosenberg, a resident of Edwards and a non -parent volunteer for the ECSD, said he really likes the Vail community. He said the process of cutting $5.5 million from the budget is challenging. He said during the school district's meeting, many folks spoke during the public comment section. Folks requested their favorite program or school not be closed. There were many schools and programs mentioned. He stated he has had to manage an office through three recessions. He said in order to author a successful budget, sacrifices would have to be made for the greater good. He said this Council as well as other community stake holders needed to come together and take some of the pain. He said it was discouraging to read in the paper that another charter school was suggested to be opened. He asked if it wouldn't be better to join the budget committee and help solve the budget cuts currently in front of the school board. Daly clarified that the Council did offer to help. Rosenberg said the budget committee would like to see someone from Council at the next meeting. He said their help is needed and would be appreciated. Mike Cacioppo said after the salaries were put on line and the community now knows how much money employees are making, he thinks the salaries are shocking. He said Eagle County is second in Colorado in top salaries and this is for 8-1/2 to 9 month contracts and not working another 3 months of the year. He said they are making huge salaries and benefits. He said to fix the budget they need to decrease salaries by $5,000 to $6000 per person and it would solve the issue. He said they should involve the school staff members to make the budget work. Nancy Ricci, a retired principal from the ECSD, stated she was the principal for last 16 years at RSES and has been a 32-year Vail resident. She supports the resolution. She Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 3 said there are many avenues that need to be looked at to help solve the budget issues. It can be done. She wants to support RSES staying as it is Vail's school. She said it is interesting that the engine that drives the train is being considered to close. Kim Newbury, Vail resident, thanked the Council for supporting the town's school. She said one thing missing is that Vail has been a partner in the school. She doesn't know of anywhere else where the towns supported the schools. She is 100% behind the resolution. Donovan wanted to propose another whereas in the resolution: "whereas the Town has clearly demonstrated its long-term commitment to the school by our ongoing participation in projects that have been a benefit to the school including securing grants, construction playground improvements, addition of an athletic field and the gymnastic center." Foley amended his motion to add the "whereas" clause as stated by Donovan and the amended motion was seconded by Tjossem. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 7-0. The sixth item on the agenda was a presentation on the proposed municipal site redevelopment project including the key points of the project, the Town of Vail design program, the draft memorandum of understanding (MOU), the financing options, the project schedule, and a series of next steps for advancing the project forward. George Ruther, Community Development Director, said the Council is not being asked to make any formal decisions at this time. Staff and the consultants presented key design program elements, project schedule, financing options, discuss a draft MOU and next steps in the process to keep the approved, prescribed schedule moving forward. Ruther said he has attended a number of homeowner's association meetings around town. He was pleasantly surprised as he spoke to about forty people and most had heard about the project in some fashion. He said there is a net increase of about 2,000 square feet of office space in the new municipal building. One difference in the new development is the center of the site would be approximately ten feet lower so that folks would drive in at grade level. Daly asked for public comment. There was no public comment. Ruther gave out his office phone number for the public to contact him with questions they may have on the project. Ruther said the MOU is not a binding MOU at this time but the topics covered include: a description of project, land value, agreement to subdivide the project, development program for medical and town spaces within the shared parking structure, understanding of site planning and design cost sharing. Michael O'Connor, a representative of Triumph Development, went into further detail of the MOU. He presented the scope of the consulting agreement which includes four Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 4 users of the buildings and three development partners, the schedule and ultimate goal of all partners. The details summarized concluded with a plan that would work for all parties, including the master plan, the schedule and the processes for designing, procuring and constructing new buildings. There are four users, one site and a shared parking garage. The concept is for the Steadman group to buy the land that the medical office building will occupy, along with an agreement on the parking garage that will have a certain number of parking spaces for the medical office building and the municipal site and will be designed according to the town's wishes. Along with the purchase and sale agreement, the Steadman group agree to fund the design costs of the medical center and parking spaces. The land price would be credited to the town building costs. O'Connor asked if the Council had any questions. Rogers said one issue that came up was the relationship between the developer, the town and the hospital. She said the proposal shows Triumph would buy the land and subsequently the hospital and the Steadman group would buy from Triumph. Rogers said the town was not expecting to have the developer in the middle of this process. She wanted to know what assurances the town has that the medical clinic will be the ultimate user of the property. O'Connor said the hospital was agreeable to have a sponsor involved for several reasons. Ultimately, the assurances are that the Steadman group anticipates signing a purchase agreement including deposits and the project is designed specifically for them. Rogers wants assurances in the MOU that the property is being sold to the medical center and clinic and not a developer. Daly said the Council is excited to help this project move forward and to help make the medical centers successful. The Council wants assurances this is what will happen. Another concern is they didn't have time to pass the MOU on to the town attorney for review and comment. Council also wants to make sure the town has the construction costs covered for the town part of the project. The town needs to part of the parking bid process, as well. Council also wants an assurance or some type of reversion clause that the medical building will continue to be used as a medical center in the future. Performance and completion bonds and other requirements also need to be in the MOU. Further discussion ensued and other items discussed were employee housing, the review process and the use of the development will always be for the purpose intended, thus moving the subdivision process forward. Also, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will have a significant role in the approval of the project. The town has been working diligently with CDOT. There is concern of what CDOT will approve for the town versus a private developer. Gwen Scapello, a Vail resident, asked about the condominiumization of the medical office building and if that included the real property. She wanted to know who retains Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 5 ownership of the land, including the subdivision of the property and the medical center. O'Connor said the developer would transfer the land to the condominium owners. Scapello wanted to know who will share in the maintenance of the shared portions, such as the parking structures. She also wants to know where the heliport will be located in the future. She said it's important to resolve where the helipad will be now. She also wanted to make sure the medical office building is an office building and not a medical facility. Daly said they asked the town attorney to add a reversion clause to the documents so it continues to be medical offices. Craig Cohn, representing Howard Bergeron, owner of the Evergreen Hotel, said some of their concerns are the traffic patterns, curb cuts, access to the hospital site, and other issues for this area. It could effect future development on the Evergreen site. Daly said the discussions for this project are in four parts: land sale, financing options, master plan issues (including the helipad placement, possible relocation of emergency access from Meadow Drive to the Frontage Road, traffic patterns and other items) and design of the town building. Ruther said the financing options were discussed at the December 20 evening Council meeting. He reiterated that there were five options but only three were viable. He said the Piper Jaffray consultant stated given the schedule and urgency, that Certificates of Participation (COP's) (or a derivative of COP's) would be the most effective way to go. Judy Camp, Finance Director, reviewed the options: General Obligation Bonds, Sales and Use Tax Bonds and COP's. The first two require a longer period of time to accomplish and timing would be too late to meet the current schedule. The COP's act like a lease and are subject to annual appropriation, don't require an election and would allow Council to issue bonds as early as April of 2012 if needed. The cost of COP's are lower than the sales tax revenue bonds. Another option would be to pay cash for the project from the town reserves. The Council is looking at pros and cons between a COP's or cash standpoint. Beginning in 2013, the town will no longer have a $2.3 million debt service payment. Mike Cacioppo said he is concerned this project is being fast tracked. He thinks the COP's is an attempt to not follow TABOR rules. Daly said the town has researched this at length and this is a viable way to pay for essential buildings. Cacioppo stated he didn't think taxpayers were interested in giving prime land for a private business that many people can't afford and to not get a free municipal building out of the deal. He said he doesn't like it and it isn't a good deal for the town. Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 6 Donovan said she wants information from the hospital on their long term planning process to help her and the community see the benefits to the community, besides the economic benefits. She also asked once the hospital moves some of the other medical center spaces out of the hospital, how this affects the hospital in the future. Daly said he wants more information regarding the helipad placement as it is one of the larger concerns of the community about the hospital campus. He stated this is a significant piece that may not preclude other changes that may need to be addressed in the future, including traffic. Rogers talked about the big picture of the project. She said for four years they have been talking about economic drivers, resort and economic development. The health and wellness industry is ideal for Vail. This project is at the heart of wanting to promote health and wellness. She said Vail has the potential to be the "Silicon Valley" of orthopaedic medicine. This project works well to allow Steadman to move to this site and then the hospital can utilize and expand into the Steadman spaces at the hospital. She is offended that Cacioppo suggests the town is on the take. She said this project will be a win -win for the town and the community. She doesn't see any impropriety by the town, staff, clinic or hospital in doing this project. Moffet said the municipal building is extremely obsolete and is costly to run. The town will benefit. This is an insanely good deal for the town. We are all invested in not just the resort of Vail but the community of Vail. The community includes hospitals and medical centers. He stated there is no place in the world that has a medical facility of this caliber in the town of the size of our community. Great planning means taking a long view. He said moving the hospital and medical center away from Meadow Drive is a great idea. He said not committing to addressing the helipad and traffic relocation at this point would not be a great idea. Cacioppo said he wants the taxpayers to vote on it. Rogers said the Council has been talking about this project for months. Peter Noble, town resident and business owner, is in full support of this project. He asks that whatever variances are required for employee housing he wants the same granted to other developers and projects going forward. Rogers said that is fair. Jim Lamont, representing the Vail Homeowners Association (VHA), asked if they were going to see an outline of the master plan. Daly said these issues will be addressed at future meeting dates. He asked to add to the list considerations: loading and delivery, trash management and the larger issue about off -site impacts. He said the hospital, as much as he treasures it, is not the best of neighbors. The hospital has an extraordinary responsibility to perform the basics. This is the last block of property that has major "original sins" to correct. He said yes, we value it, yes, we want to keep the hospital Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 7 here; but we don't want to keep it here at any and all costs. If there is profit to be made in this endeavor, there has to be a requirement to solving some of the original sins. It's not fair to have noise coming from ventilation systems and helipad use. You can't expect neighbors simply sit back when these problems have not been solved. He stated the resolutions were not in terms of the master plan but with specific terms. The hospital has got to make a commitment even if it requires dollars. He wants to see the letter from CDOT regarding the helicopter issue. If we are going to embrace health and wellness issues, some neighbor's quality of life cannot be for a few. He said they need to dot the I's and cross the T's so issues can be fixed. Doris Kirchner, Chief Executive Officer of the Vail Valley Medical Center (WMC), thanked the Council for all the collaboration and support. She said the key point of the project is that 35,000 square feet will be freed up for the hospital. Master planning for the hospital has begun. She said included in the hospital RFP is the helipad and the emergency area off Meadow Drive. Everyone needs to understand the partnership between Stead man-Phillipon and the WMC is strong. The hospital looks at them as partners of the hospital and the town. She said the hospital writes off about $12 million a year in Medicaid alone in health care and they don't turn away customers. The Steadman Clinic has three of their surgeons that see 65% of their patients come from other areas. They bring year -around revenue to this community. Ruther said next steps on page three of the memorandum of January 17, 2012, include responding to questions on the MOU, a town budget in more detail, moving forward with the design phase and starting a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for design of the project. Additional master planning issues will be coming forward and be responded to. Staff will return to the next Council meeting on January 17"', at which time the Council will be asked to take action on executing a MOU by and between the partners, selecting a financing option and instructing staff to issue a RFP for design services. Daly said the revised MOU will need to come back to the town attorney and town staff as soon as possible so the town is comfortable with it and doesn't create delays. He said a separate work session may be needed. Tjossem asked if the town project was delayed, would this delay the medical center side. Ruther said this is essentially one site and the town will have to work with the partners to see how this would affect them. A five minute break was taken at 8:15 p.m. Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 8 The seventh item on the agenda was second 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 (EHU) Deed Restriction Exchange Program, Vail Town Code, and setting forth details in regard thereto. Bill Gibson, Planner, said the Council had approved another exchange a couple of meetings prior to this request. He stated the Council had approved first reading of this ordinance at their December 20, 2011, meeting by a vote of 4-3 (Daly, Donovan and Foley opposed). He said the initial development had no employee housing units required, but the developer had requested EHU's be considered and six EHU's were added to the development. Foley stated when he was on Council in 1998, and when this development went through the process, having `lights on" in the neighborhood was a great concern for that Council. Foley said he couldn't support and approve this ordinance as this would take away from this neighborhood having "lights on." Rogers asked Gibson if lights were on in the neighborhood. She said virtually every time anyone has developed an EHU, it has been a give and take for both parties. She said there was no distinction between the Grand Traverse developer and other private homeowner properties that have EHU's when they developed their properties. She said as the town changed, the rules allowing existing employee housing units to have exchanges changed. She doesn't see why this project would be treated differently. Gibson said there are no longer any GRFA limits on square footage in the Grand Traverse SDD. He said a significant public benefit is the exchange unit would be deed restricted and that public benefit hasn't changed. He said two of the six units in the Grand Traverse SDD have a deed restriction; however, four units do not have to be occupied. Moffet asked what the average square footage was of the current EHU units. Gibson said the units were between 400 to 600 square feet each. Dominic Mauriello, Mauriello Planning Group and a representative of the applicant, said the public benefit to the subdivision was a reduction of density. He said not all SDD's ask for the same concessions. He said the original developer, Pat Dauphinais, wanted the ability to cluster the units so the developer gave up some density. At the time of the development, an EHU was not required for the project. He said the developer came to the town and asked to be allowed to have EHU's. Mauriello said the required square footage of an exchange unit off -site is two to three times larger than what the size is for the on -site EHU. Mauriello said ten of the twenty-one units at the Grand Traverse are occupied by locals. Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 9 Daly asked if there was any desire of the homeowners to convert from duplexes to single family units. Mauriello said this request had more to do with design parameters and clustering of the units. The reduced density and tradeoff of design was a positive effect. The unit they are proposing to exchange is approximately 800 square feet. Pam Bailey, one of the owners, said they purchased their residence in 2004. She said they have fourteen family members in the residence now. She stated they want to use the additional space for their growing family. They want to participate in the exchange program as the program will allow for a larger unit to be purchased and utilized for an EHU unit elsewhere. She said their EHU is not easy to rent as it is not in a desirable location and is not easily accessible. It would be a win -win for them and the employees by having the unit elsewhere. Bill Bailey, owner, said in 1998 "lights on" in the neighborhood was a valid concern. He said at a recent homeowner's association meeting, ten to eleven units in the neighborhood have lights on most of the time. He also said they would like to be one of the "lights on" in the neighborhood soon. He said they would like approval of this application. Kurz said he was on the Planning and Environmental Commission when this project was built. He said the developer, Pat Dauphinais, was one of the most concerned developers at the time. Rogers made a motion to approve second reading of Ordinance 27, Series of 2012, and the motion was seconded by Tjossem. Additional discussion ensued. Moffet stated he appreciated Foley and Donovan's points of concern. He said the town EHU program is only 33% effective, which means it doesn't work the way it is supposed to. Moffet said he is voting in favor of approval. Tjossem is in favor of the ordinance as the intent of the ordinance is sound and doubling the size of units when exchanged totally affects employees and the ability to be in the neighborhoods where they want to be and have access to town amenities. She said the exchange allows for the units to have employees in them and not have empty EHU units in town. She doesn't want the Council to backtrack on this issue. She said these were done for all the right reasons and the process is working. Donovan stated she would be voting against approval as she wants to support the intent of the original SDD approvals. A vote was taken and the motion passed 5-2; Foley and Donovan opposed. Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 10 The eighth item on the agenda was adjournment. As there was no further business, Foley made a motion to adjourn and the motion was seconded by Moffet. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously, 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Andrew P. Daly, MayL—") Attest: L rel Donaldson, Town Clerk Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2012 Page 11