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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-01-06 Town Council MinutesVail Town Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 6, 2015 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 Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager Patty McKenny, Town Clerk Mayor Daly opened the meeting with best wishes & happy new year to Vail's community and a welcome for the 2015 FIS Alpine World Championships. The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. Jonathan Levine addressed the council with two concerns: 1) there seems to be a delay in snow plowing services on the secondary streets; 2) there is a need for other commercial transportation services to help with the demand in the town and the region. He noted there are not enough services provided from the airport to Vail and he is concerned about the 2015 Championships and available services to meet the needs. Michael Cacioppo expressed concern about the time limit set for citizen participation noting the town has set the least amount of time for its citizens to be heard. The second item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda: 1. Resolution No. 1, Series of 2015, A Resolution Designating a Public Place Within the Town of Vail for the Posting of Notice for Public Meetings of the Vail Town Council, Planning and Environmental Commission, Design Review Board and Other Boards, Commissions, and Authorities of the Town of Vail Moffet moved to approve Resolution No. 1; Kurz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously (7-0). 2. Resolution No. 2, Series of 2015, Purchase of Vail Heights Unit 7, Phase 3 Bugby moved to approve Resolution No. 2; Rogers seconded the motion. Directions was given to staff to return with a proposal on how to use the purchased unit and set a time to review the town's housing master plan. At this time there Bugby amended the motion to include an inspection of the unit; Rogers seconded the revised motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2015 Page 1 3. Minutes from December 2, 2014 Moffet moved to approve the minutes; Kurz seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously (7-0). 4. Minutes from December 16, 2014 Moffet moved to approve the minutes; Kurz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously (7-0). The third item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report which included an update about skier numbers from Vail Resorts which shows numbers exceeded 19,900 skiers four times during the recent holiday timeframe. He cited an agreement executed in the nineties between VRI, Town of Vail and USFS that requires the ski company to report skier numbers more than 19,900 to these parties. It was noted a meeting has been scheduled in the coming week with the two agencies in an effort to further discuss the impacts of skier numbers and outcomes or resources required to provide the service levels. Town Manager Zemler noted the need for an updated agreement that would outline specifics about the role of each party with regard to resources and results. There were some updates presented about parking and transit services during the holiday season and it was noted there were no significant issues. There were no further comments from council or the public. The fourth item on the agenda was the 2015 FIS Alpine World Championships Security Plan Update presented by Dwight Henninger, Police Chief, who is also the Chair of the Security and Safety Committee appointed by the Local Organizing Committee. He reviewed several components of the 2015 Alpine World Ski Championship's public safety command structure, agencies, roles and responsibilities. He noted the agencies working together to create a friendly and safe event with professional service from the security team. His presentation addressed some of the following topics: ✓ Structure of the committees ✓ Identified special event objectives (balance between security & customer focus) ✓ Meeting since 2011 ✓ Identified partners including federal agencies ✓ Spoke about some of the accomplishments, challenges, schedules and security models followed ✓ Identified program for volunteer training ✓ Reviewed organizational chart and boundaries of the event ✓ Reviewed the critical information flow between the agencies and the role of some of those participating ✓ Spoke about the program called "see something / say something" ✓ Spoke about Parking with the listing of which lots will be used ✓ Spoke about transportation services and bus routes After some public criticism from Cacioppo and Levine, the Mayor, Town Council members and community member Charlie Calcaterra commended Henninger on his role with the 2015 security committee and outstanding and professional performance in general. The fifth item on the agenda was the Town of Vail as property owner's consent on a proposal from Gorsuch. The item was introduced by Mayor Daly who indicated there was a site visit which took place earlier during the work session. Jonathan Spence, Community Development Planner, then presented the Gorsuch request to proceed through the development process with a proposal to utilize the Town of Vail property for the purposes of the replacement of an existing retaining wall and guardrail and to accommodate eaves for a proposed building addition. It was noted because the property line location is in close proximity to the building, the applicant is Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2015 Page 2 requesting the use of Town of Vail property for the identified encroachments. There were comments from Town Council members as follows: ■ The request is only to allow for the applicant to move forward in the review process with an application to be reviewed by PEC and DRB. ■ Consider reviewing the current encroachment agreement which dates back 25 years ■ Ask Public Works to review the proposal in terms of drainage, snow removal, encroachments, etc. ■ Review benefits of using removable benches and retractable roof ■ Consider impacts of reducing the pedestrian way too much Mayor Daly asked for public input at this time, there was no public input. Moffet provided clarity that an approval does not provide any approval to their design or the idea that the additional encroachment is acceptable. He also requested a thorough review of the pedestrian -way dimensions. Daly agreed and indicated the approval today only allowed the applicant to move forward in the development review process. Mire confirmed the council reserves the right to say "no" later. Moffet moved to direct town staff to execute the development application on behalf of town council; Kurz seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The sixth agenda item considered was an update on the 1-70 Vail Underpass Project & Optional Funding for Acrylic Noise Wall as presented by Tom Kassmel, Town Project Engineer. The question to address was whether the Town Council will fund the additional estimated $0.8 million for acrylic, IF the noise wall is supported by the benefiting receptors. For the record the 1-70 Vail Underpass is a proposed new multi -modal pedestrian and vehicular connection that is midway between Main Vail and West Vail exits, passing under 1-70. CDOT, the Town of Vail, and the selected design consultant, Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig (FHU), have completed the preliminary design process based on the endorsed preferred location of the underpass. Also, as a result of the project's noise abatement report, a noise wall has been determined to be reasonable and feasible if supported by the majority of the Benefiting Receptors. The project team requested direction with regards to the following items: ■ Will the Town Council provide the additional estimated $0.8 million for an acrylic noise wall, IF the noise wall is supported by the benefiting receptors? • Based on the updated information provided by CDOT's proposed next steps and key decision points with regard to funding, how should this project proceed? Kassmel's presentation addressed a history of project, the benefits and project impacts, the project status (30% design completed), update about the open house which saw 30 participants, project cost estimates (see table presented in packet with estimates for 2 types of walls), and an update from the Colorado Transportation Commission's next steps on project evaluation in light of increased costs seen with more project. It was noted the underpass project has increased from $20.8 M to $29 M and the town's increase (without noise walls) would require an additional $2.4 M to the already $6 M funding required, if the split with CDOT remains the same at 71 % to 29%. Costs were reviewed with and without noise walls although Kassmel noted it is not yet time to determine a decision about funding until more design work is completed. He also spoke about the noise wall survey preference process and benefitting receptors. There was council input as follows: Moffet: concerned about use of mag chloride and impacts on appearance of an acrylic wall Bugby: concerned about impacts of cleaning products required to clean acrylic wall and impacts on Gore Creek Rogers: re-evaluate whether the project should even proceed as funding could be used for other capital projects that would benefit the broader community; too many variables that create uncertainty about using noise wall Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2015 Page 3 Kurz: consider the project that would support the long term benefits to the community and costs would only increase overall moving forward; look to international communities who have noise walls for ideas Chapin: supports the neighborhoods position and wouldn't support the acrylic materials for various reasons Bruno: concerned about losing the scenic views to the neighborhood and increased costs; supports what the neighborhood wants Daly: encouraged a very thorough and strategic review of both the sound wall and the project in general and noted the maintenance of the wall would be impactful and suggested looking internally to see what methods have been used Mayor Daly welcomed public input at this time and the following people gave input: 1. Mr. Maslek, Sunburst Drive resident, questioned the reduction levels as a result of a noise wall, suggested landscaping to create the barrier 2. Zach Cortina, resident, questioned the fact that a concrete barrier makes shadow which would then create ice so would prefer the acrylic materials 3. Janet Testwuide, resident, very concerned about the noise impacts on the neighborhoods, prefers to mitigate the noise and requested a review of reducing the interstate speeds 4. Bob Llewellyn, resident, spoke about the noise wall preference survey, questions about council's role in the survey, and thanked Rogers for her comments about re-evaluting the project as a whole due to the increased cost estimates 5. Jim Lamont, Vail Homeowners Association, supported thorough review of the walls, maintenance, prefers more information 6. Diane Johnson, resident, concerned about noise levels, supports the project, wants to ensure the neighborhood is represented 7. William Pierce, resident, expressed support for the acryclic wall since the noise issue needs to be addressed and the solution includes funding from CDOT as well 8. Charlie Calcaterra, resident, addressed including landscaping in front of the walls and noted Simba Run residents are generally not in support of the noise wall 9. Bob Parker, resident, supported the acrylic wall but values the views as one of the most important marketing points of the valley 10. Robin Birch, resident, suggested more review of the ideas of using a combination of materials for the wall, evaluate what others have done The seventh item on the agenda was a review of the 1-70 Vail Underpass Noise Wall Town Council Voting Process. In light of the fact the Town of Vail is a land owner of the new Lions Ridge Apartments (Timber Ridge), they are the majority Benefiting Receptor of the potential noise wall and will have 34% of all survey votes. At this time the question about "Will the Town of Vail participate in the Benefiting Receptor preference survey?" was reviewed. Kassmel noted the question will be limited to either supporting a noise wall or not supporting a noise wall; he also noted the survey is mandated by federal and state requirements. Council provided feedback on the question of whether or not to support the acrylic sound wall and generally the answers were 1) support of the acrylic wall (Kurz), 2) oppose the acrylic wall (Rogers, Chapin), or 3) keep options on the table (Bruno, Bugby, Moffet). After some further discussion, Rogers moved to participate in the survey process and respond to one question on the survey about whether or not there should be a sound wall, Bruno seconded the motion and it passed unanimously (7-0). The second questions about "if the Town participates, when and how will the Town of Vail make its decision?" was discussed. Bugby moved to allocate the votes for each member to vote for or against the wall; Moffet seconded, however the motions were withdrawn to allow for a presentation and further comments. Tom Kassmel presented some Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2015 Page 4 context to the survey process noting the town has 138 responses of the total 406 surveys tallied. Bugby moved to submit responses as a group with the majority counting for all responses; there was no second to this motion. Mayor Daly then asked for public input with members of the public with input that suggested voting as a group, voting on behalf of the community or on behalf of the tenants of the property, voting either up or down on the question. There was agreement to take public input on the matter on January 20 as well as fine tune the process for responding to the survey. The Town Attorney noted the need to vote as "one governing body." The eighth item on the agenda for consideration was First Reading of Ordinance No. 1, Series 2015, an Ordinance amending Sections 4-1-4, 4-3-1-2 and 4-3-2 of the Vail Town Code to clarify the Business License Fees for Short -Term Rentals within the Town and Requiring that Persons Offering Apartment Hotel, Lodging House, Guest House or Guest Ranch Lodging Services within the Town Must Post Their Sales Tax Account Number in all Advertisements. Kathleen Halloran, Finance Director, presented the background on the topic noting the Town Code currently requires bed and breakfast and short-term rental establishments to pay different business license fees that are calculated based upon the location of the business's management office. Certain bed and breakfast and short-term rental establishments are currently exempt from the Town's business license fees because such businesses maintain a management office outside the Town. She noted the revisions to amend the Town Code will require the payment of business license fees for all bed and breakfast and short-term rental establishments, regardless of where a business's management office is located. In addition, the code amendment will require all persons engaged in advertising of apartment hotel, lodging house, guesthouse, and guest ranch lodging services include a Town of Vail sales tax account number in all such advertisements. There was concern expressed by Bugby that the lodging community was not present and he moved to table the item. Moffet seconded the motion. Several council members were not concerned noting the ordinance process required two readings and a public hearing so there would be ample time for the lodging community to comment on the ordinance at the next meeting. The motion was revised to note the item be tabled for two weeks to the next meeting; Moffet seconded and the motion passed with a five to two vote (5-2; Rogers and Kurz — nay). The ninth item on the agenda was adjournment. There being no further business to come before the council, Moffet moved to adjourn the meeting and Bruno seconded the motion which passed unanimously, (7-0) and the meeting adjourned 9:20 p.m. Attest: Patty Mc nt Town Respectfully itted, OF •V,Q�` L 44nd Daly, Mayor SEA poll • �. ••....• d 41. Town Council Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2015 Page 5