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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-16 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, September 16, 2014 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 Andy Daly. Members present: Andy Daly, Mayor Ludwig Kurz, Mayor Pro Tern Jenn Bruno Dale Bugby Dave Chapin Greg Moffet Margaret Rogers Staff members: Stan Zemler, Town Manager Matt Mire, Town Attorney Patty McKenny, Town Clerk The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation with input from several people as follows: Lance Thompson, Vail Chamber and Business Association, spoke about an upcoming golf tournament to benefit the Tom Slaughter Jr. Fund which helps support youth programming in Vail. He encouraged everyone to join in the fun! Dick Cleveland, resident and former councilor, congratulated the town on the recent closing to redevelop the Timber Ridge project. He also spoke about an issue on the Vail Valley Drive bike path noting some confusion about having to dismount bikes at the street and path. And finally, he complimented the town for all the work being done on the Frontage Roads with high praise for CDOT's cooperation to create the bike lanes. Jonathan Levine, Hummers of Vail, distributed another document and continued to express his concern with the Police Chief and his disappointment about a prior incident that he was involved in. John Gottlieb, resident, spoke about his support of pickle ball and encouragement that the town continues to support the game by converting some tennis courts to pickle ball courts. He thought offering this type of court to this group (many of who were in attendance at the meeting) would be a tremendous community asset for such a growing demand of the sport. Mayor Daly summarized some of the progress being made on the topic by the Vail Recreation District subcommittee. There is a recommendation from the group to increase the number of courts to a total of eight at Golden Peak. Daly encouraged their group to contact Todd Oppenheimer with some of their recommendations as well. Jim Lamont, representing Vail Homeowners Association, encouraged the group to work with and inform the area homeowners as well since it seemed parking and noise may be negative factors to the residents. There were comments from the group that some neighborhood contacts have already been completed. Jim Lamont, Vail Homeowners Association, spoke about prior council meeting discussion related to PEC's consideration of the Vail Valley Medical Center project as follows: ✓ the context surrounding his "moonlighting" comment, and related questions by and about homeowner's concerns about the town serving as a partner with the developer or not with the project, Town Council Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2014 Page 1 ✓ requested that an element of a traffic study include Vail Valley Drive and intersection of West Meadow Drive with a scope that would include a review of the pedestrian cross traffic, ✓ requested notification of the timeline of the project development listing topics & dates. George Ruther, Director of Community Development, provided some comments and noted that a timeline would be finalized and publicized in the very near future in order to meet some predictability and transparency to the project. Chapin clarified his comment made earlier in the day and spoke about the town's commitment to ensuring all those interested have access to the information and public input similar to how they have approached the planning of the project up to this point in time. The second item on the agendas was the Consent Agenda as follows: 1. Minutes from August 5, 2014, Council meeting Moffet moved to approve the August 5, 2014, minutes; Kurz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 2. Minutes from August 19, 2014, Council meeting Bugby had suggested some changes be made to the minutes related to his comments on the Timber Ridge redevelopment. Moffet moved to approve the August 19, 2014, minutes which included the changes; Bugby seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 3. Resolution No. 25, Series of 2014, A Resolution in Support of the Great Outdoors Colorado Grant Application for the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Education Center; and Setting Forth Details in Regard Thereto Moffet moved to approve Resolution No. 25; Rogers seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 4. Resolution No. 26, Series of 2014, A Resolution Establishing the Timber Ridge Operations Committee and Setting Forth Its Purpose and Duties Moffet moved to approve Resolution No. 26; Kurz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 5. 12-13-5 Employee Housing Unit Exchange Program - A Request Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute a Release of a Deed Restriction from an Existing Employee Housing Unit Pending Verification of Compliance with the Prescribed Development Standards Moffet moved to authorize the Town Manager to execute a deed restriction release and approve the request for an exchange of employee housing units, pursuant to Section 12-13-5, Employee Housing Unit Exchange Program, Vail Town Code, to allow for the release of an employee housing unit deed restriction at Lot 3, Block 7, Vail Village First Filing, pending verification of compliance with the prescribed development standards in exchange for a fee in lieu payment of $174,910.35, and setting forth details in regard thereto. Kurz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The third item on the agenda was action as a result of the executive session. Town Manager Stan Zemler requested council's direction to enter into a Memo of Understanding between the Vail Valley Foundation (VVF) and the Town of Vail related to an automobile sponsorship which was part of the earlier discussion during the executive session. It was noted that the VVF would be entering into an arrangement with Volvo Cars of North America, and what would follow is an agreement between VVF and Town of Vail. Zemler provided some highlights about the history of the town's relationship with Volvo and some of the benefits in working with the group. Moffet moved to authorize the Town Manager to enter into the agreement with Vail Valley Foundation for the automobile sponsorship; Rogers seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Town Council Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2014 Page 2 The fourth item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report which included an update (W about two senior management resignations, first from Finance Director Judy Camp, and secondly from Fire Chief Mark Miller. He explained some of the transitioning and succession planning that is occurring with the positions noting a promotion of Kathleen Halloran to Finance Director, the use of an outside recruiting company to help hire an Assistant Town Manager as well as an in-house hiring process to begin immediately looking for a Fire Chief. The fifth item on the agenda was the discussion on the Ford Park lower bench with information presented by Greg Hall, Public Works Director and Todd Oppenheimer, Public Works Capital Projects Manager and Landscape Architect. The purpose of this discussion was to update the Town Council on certain elements related to the Ford Park lower bench improvements including the 1) Restroom/Picnic shelter, 2) Playground Modifications, 3) Accessible route between Upper and Lower Benches, 4) Completion of the Lower Bench Water Line Loop/Paver Enhancements and 5) Electrical Transformer Screen near the Nature Center Bridge. Staff requested council's direction noting item options and the need to also coordinate the Town of Vail's project construction with the anticipated construction of the Betty Ford Alpine Garden Education Center (BFAGEC) this fall. As items were presented and council's input included some of the following comments: ■ Concerns about the sidewalk along the playground area ■ Restrooms should not be so visible; the new design seems to continue to place the RR front & center ■ Keep the basketball courts vs. remove the court ■ Build an elevated sidewalk to accommodate the trees ■ Create a walkway, not a ramp, since the existing route is not in compliance for the ramp ■ How does the master plan address ADA compliance ■ Add more ADA parking spaces on lower bench ■ What does the ADA coordinator and Chief building Official favor with regard to the options ■ How to balance ADA compliance with ability to fund There was a detailed review of item numbers 3 and 4 above, with staff presenting some ideas about how to solve the ADA compliance concerns as well as an explanation about the completion of the looped water main as a condition of approval by the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District on the BFAG EC project. It was also noted that installing the concrete pavers on the central part of Betty Ford Way would be accomplished most cost effectively while rebuilding the roadway following the water line installation. The majority of council members supported the Central Betty Ford Way water main installation and the Central Betty Ford Way pavers installation (up to Manor Vail Bridge). At this time Mayor Daly also requested more information about options for solving some of the ADA access concerns and layout of the path on the south side of the park. Rogers noted that she did not want to delay any of the BFAG construction projects. There was interest by Mayor Daly to tour the site one more time in order to help them determine the best ADA option balanced with the appropriate funding level. He then requested the final decision be postponed to a future meeting. The sixth item on the agenda was Capital Projects Fund and the Real Estate Transfer Tax Fund in preparation for the first reading of the budget ordinance scheduled for November 4. The summary of spending in the Capital Projects Fund and RETT Fund (including projects funded by the Vail Reinvestment Authority) were organized by functionality of the project: whether it maintains town assets, enhances town assets, or is a new asset. Assistant Finance Director Kathleen Halloran presented the CIP and RETT proposals and requested input from the town council. The plan revisions and additional items were noted in the memo with a recap Town Council Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2014 Page 3 of what projects were delayed. It was noted that the annual revenue for this fund is projected at an average of $12.9 million per year, which mainly consists of sales tax revenues (projected at an average of $10.3 million per year for the next five years) assuming the same split of sales tax revenue with 62% going to the General Fund and 38% to the Capital Projects Fund. Revenue streams over the next five years also include $785,000 of continued federal grants for bridge reconstruction and $356,000 of state (CDOT) funding for planning and design of the 1-70 underpass project. Annual capital maintenance of town assets averages a cost of $2.8 million per year, leaving approximately $10.1 million of cash funding available annually for larger projects such as road reconstruction, parking improvements, facility renovations, variable message signs, etc. The five-year strategic capital plan presented today results in an ending fund balance of nearly $13.7 million in 2019 before inclusion of any projects considered "unfunded". Plan revisions/additions were noted in the memo and the specific discussion topics included 1) increase Funding for Chamonix Housing, 2) a possible reprioritizing of uses for town owned land related to municipal building redevelopment, 3) include the Data Center to muni building redevelopment, 4) reconcile projects with transit facilities master plan, 4) delay any Dobson Arena funding to coincide with the WMC redevelopment project. The RETT Fund was also part of the evening discussion, a fund with annual revenue projected at an average of $5.9 million per year. Annual capital maintenance, parks and landscaping, public art, programming for environmental sustainability, forest health management and support of partnering service organizations costs an average of $2.8 million per year. This leaves approximately $3.1 million per year of cash funding available for larger projects without the utilization of fund balance. The RETT fund balance is projected to be $8.6 million by the end of 2019. This includes an infusion of $3.9 million in 2016 from the Capital Projects Fund to be used for the Golf Clubhouse and Nordic Center project and savings of $1.3 million from bike lanes that were completed during 2014. With other large projects recently funded from RETT such as the Ford Park Fields, Amphitheater infrastructure, Booth Creek Park redevelopment, Library recreation path and stream bank mitigation, staff recommends an inflow of funding from the Capital Projects Fund to supplement the Golf Clubhouse project, an updated cost estimates currently totaling $10.8 million. Plan revisions/additions were highlighted in the memo and specific discussion topics included Glen Lyon Bridge, library path reconstruction, Booth Creek Park funding and projections, bike lanes and AIPP funding. There was finally a review of the unfunded projects lists, which represents projects not currently included in the five-year capital plan, but with potential funding sources identified. The list had been updated for projects that are now budgeted or completed. Some discussion took place about the main Vail roundabouts, Lionshead parking structure enhancements and Skate Park, street lights and alternative fuel infrastructure. There were several suggestions made to add to the "unfunded project list" as follows: 1. Funding for open space property acquisitions identified in master plan 2. Funding for the Town's share of WMC project roundabout funding (not currently included) 3. Funding for stream bank stabilization projects, some of which is already budgeted 4. Funding for Phase 2 Timber Ridge redevelopment 5. Funding to add back the 2001 budgeted amount of $250K allocated as the "buy down program". Zemler noted some problems with the program in their inability to find any people who could afford to make the purchase even with the buy down feature of the program 6. Funding for additional hiking & biking trails as well as additional pickle ball courts Town Council Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2014 Page 4 The seventh item on the agenda was adjournment. There being no further business to come before the council, Moffet moved to adjourn the meeting and Bugby seconded. The motion passed unanimously, (7-0) and the meeting adjourned 8:30 p.m. Attest: e Patty M ny, lerk c AZ Respectf Submitted, Andy Daly, Mayor �J (W Town Council Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2014 Page 5