HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20090209Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
CITIZEN COMMENTS ..................................................................................................... 2
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .................................................................................. 2
CONSENT CALENDAR ................................................................................................... 4
• Minutes -January 14, 26, 2009 .............................................................................. 4
• Resolution # 10, 2009 - 210 West Francis Ordinance 48 Negotiation Extension .. 4
• Resolution # 11, 2009 - 411 Pearl Court Ordinance 48 Negotiation Extension..... 4
• 621 West Francis Ordinance 48 Negotiation .......................................................... 4
ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 2009 -Adopting Instant Runoff Voting Procedures ....... 4
ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 2009 -Historic Designation Aspen Athletic Club .......... 7
RESOLUTION #9, SERIES OF 2009 -Extension of Vested Rights South Aspen Street 7
RESOLUTION #3, SERIES OF 2009 -Aspen Valley Hospital Conceptual PUD ........... 8
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Regular Meeting Asoen City Council February 9, 2009
Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Skadron,
Romero, Johnson and Kasabach present.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
1. Phil Golden presented an idea for safety of pedestrian crossing Main Street which
is used in other cities. Golden said cities that use flag crossing have reported zero
pedestrian/auto instances. Golden said the flags cost $250 each, there is a container on
each corner, each side of the street which can be mounted on the existing poles. Mayor
Ireland refened this to Randy Ready to consider this idea. Mayor Ireland noted the
public agrees something needs to be done about safety crossing Main street. Ready told
Council he will include this in the list of pedestrian solutions.
2. Neil Siegel said for other pedestrian safety, 3 suggestions; adopt a hand free cell
phone law; large bright walk signals for pedestrians crossing main street; police cars
randomly parked along Main street to slow down the traffic.
3. Roine St. Andre suggested Council readdress property taxes on locals, especially
seniors who maybe on a fixed income. Mayor Ireland said the city does not have the
ability to change the assessment of property, on which the tax is based. Mayor Ireland
said Council can look at mill levy reduction or rebates in the budget discussions for 2010.
4. Phyllis Bronson noted at the recent community visions meetings, there was a
strong message that people want to maintain a historic perspective, maintain the
neighborhoods, and the quality of life, less traffic, smaller lodges with a gradation of
room prices. Ms. Bronson noted the Lift One ads in the paper and that the COWOP is
dead. Ms. Bronson suggested the developers should speak to the opposition and invite
conversation. Ms. Bronson said she has spoken up because she feels Aspen is going in
the wrong direction. Ms. Bronson said the developers and the opposition should try to
get to a win/win solution. Ms. Bronson said she does not want to see a fortress along the
base of the mountain. Mayor Ireland said lift one plan will be on the ballot in May and
the Aspen voters are smart enough to do the right thing.
5. Andrew Kole noted Council is having a budget work session tomorrow and he
hopes they will listen to creative solutions to keeping the Ice Garden open.
6. Toni Kronberg said it is a disservice to put the land use application forward to the
electorate. The plan is lacking transportation, it is block views and there is too much
mass and scale.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
1. Councilman Romero noted the budget work session tomorrow is to look at the
financial information and to look at cuts proposed by staff in order to be proactive to
offset the negative impacts of the economy. Councilman Romero said cost benefit trade
Regular Meetin¢ Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
offs have to happen. Councilman Romero stated Council will be reviewing the budget
and the revenue figures every month.
2. Councilman Romero stated the Lift One COWOP was a recommending body; it's
duties and roles are complete. The COWOP went through a process and reported back to
Council. Councilman Romero said the COWOP tried to achieve a balance in their
recommendation that would work for the community and for the developer; everyone
gave up as much as they gained. Councilman Johnson suggested staff prepare a fact sheet
about the ordinance before the election.
3. Councilwoman Kasabach said the Citizen Budget Task Force recommended an
on-going finance committee and forwarded suggested members to Council. Mayor
Ireland referred this to staff to come back with an outline for a financial advisory board
and what assignments they many have.
4. Mayor Ireland said the Aspen High School hockey team lost their game this
weekend as did the basketball team.
5. Mayor Ireland said the change in economic circumstances presents the city with
problems and difficulties; it is also an opportunity for the city to look at the way it does
business.
6. Mayor Ireland said the expectations to the Lift One COWOP were clear and the
expectation was that Council would tackle the difficult issues, like parking, housing,
mass and scale. Mayor Ireland noted COWOP projects have been sent to the voters
before; it is not unusual for the citizens to have input on COWOP projects. Mayor
Ireland agreed the city will need to put information out to the voters.
7. Chris Bendon, community development department, requested the action item
IXa 621 West Francis Ordinance 48 Negotiation be moved to the consent calendar.
Mayor Ireland moved to move 621 West Francis to consent calendar; seconded by
Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion carried.
8. Councilwoman Kasabach reported she attended the NW Colorado Council of
Governments and the subcommittee meeting of Rural Resort Region. The Rural Resort
Region has been working on bark beetles and have completed that study. They are going
to work on the senior population in rural resort areas as the senior population will double
in the next 20 years. The rural resort group will discuss housing, transportation,
continuing care.
9. Councilman Skadron said he attended the Colorado Association of Ski Towns and
all ski towns are facing decreasing sales taxes in the range of 10 to 20%. Councilman
Skadron reported on the plastic bag challenge last year between Aspen and Telluride to
raise awareness of reducing plastic bags. Councilman Skadron said CAST is going to
Reeular Meetiua Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
enlarge the competition to include all mountain communities. Mayor Ireland said Aspen
uses 2 million plastic bags a year and there are alternatives, like the Chico bag.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilman Romero moved to adopt the consent calendar as amended; seconded by
Councilman Johnson. The consent calendar is:
• Minutes -January 14, 26, 2009
• Resolution # 10, 2009 - 210 West Francis Ordinance 48 Negotiation Extension
• Resolution # 11, 2009 - 411 Pearl Court Ordinance 48 Negotiation Extension
• 621 West Francis Ordinance 48 Negotiation
All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 2009 -Adopting Instant Runoff Voting Procedures
Mayor Ireland noted adopting instant runoff voting procedures was mandated by the
electorate in November 2007. Council appointed a citizens committee who reviewed and
recommended procedures. Mayor Ireland said instant runoff voting is new in the United
States and there are different methods of tabulation. Mayor Ireland said the state requires
election officials to discern voter intent; these guidelines will be adopted as part of the
procedures.
Jim True, assistant city attorney, told Council the recommendations of the committee
were based on mimicking the procedures of runoff elections since 2001 and electing
Council members. True said voters will be asked to rank their choices for Mayor and for
Council. If candidates for Mayor or for Council reach a majority in the first round, those
candidates are elected and the election is over. If no one receives a majority in the
Council race, four candidates with the most votes go on to the runoff.
True pointed out aone-seat race, like the Mayoral race, is relatively simple. In the instant
runoff, if no one reaches a majority, the two highest ranking candidates go into an instant
runoff. If a candidate you ranked as your first choice is eliminated, a candidate as you
ranked as your second choice, if they were still in the race, would receive that vote. True
said for Council, one can rank as many choices as there are candidates. The committee
recommends in the first round the 1 s` and 2"d choices are counted. The threshold is
determined at the beginning of the 15` round to set the number of votes a candidate must
receive in order to be elected. If two candidates reach the threshold, they win and the
election is over. If no candidate reaches the threshold, the top 4 vote getters go into the
2"d round and the top two votes are again counted because there are 4 candidates for 2
seats. The counting continues until two candidates have both reached the threshold and
have a majority. True noted the threshold is adjusted as ballots become determined
"blank" as there is no obligation for a voter to rank all 8 candidates.
Regular Meeting Asnen City Council February 9 2009
True told Council he has looked at the differences between different tabulating methods
and there are different ways to tabulate atwo-seat election. True said in the two-seat
instant runoff he looked at, they have all adopted different procedures, like reaching a
threshold of 25% and Aspen's Charter requires 50% plus 1 to be elected.
True said the committee's recommendation attempts to mimic the election procedures
over the last 30 years which allows a voter two votes for the two candidates. Mayor
Ireland reiterated the two tabulation methods aze one that mimics the current system with
the top two choices count and the other system is to determine one winner and then go
back and determine a second winner. True outlined that in the latter method, one's I s`
choice would count in the first round. If there is no majority winner, the candidate with
the lowest number of votes is eliminated and ballots are reassigned to the 2"a choice.
This procedure continues until a candidate reaches the threshold and is elected. All
ballots with the winner as their ls` choice aze reassigned to their 2"a choice or 2"a highest
ranking to candidates remaining in the race. True said the anomaly in this situation is
that in some cases a ballot for a certain candidate as their ls` choice is never reassigned
and that voter never gets their 2"a ranking counted. True said in the tabulation
recommended by the committee, all voters ls` and 2na choices are counted.
True said the system recommended by the committee also has anomalies in that a 2"a
ranking could conceivably defeat one's ls` ranking. If one's 2, 3, 4, and 5 choices were
eliminated, the 6`h ranking could eliminate one's first candidate. The committee
recognizes there are anomalies in both systems and felt it was most important to mimic
the existing system as best possible. True reiterated there is little information on two-seat
elections and little procedure to follow. Those with two-seat elections use a transferable
vote or a threshold that is less than a majority.
City Clerk Kathryn Koch pointed out the link on the City's website where people can
vote on a test instant runoff ballot. The city will design and mail to all registered voters
information on instant runoff voting; a video will be done to be available on the city's
web site.
Councilman Johnson said the ballot question on instant runoff voting and his campaign
for that was for a traditional runoff voting. Councilman Johnson said he feels that voting
for two candidates in the first run violates a key principal of the instant runoff voting
procedure, which is sepazate from sequential or batch elimination. Councilman Johnson
noted sequential or batch elimination are independent choices. The main issue is the
tabulation method.
Councilman Skadron said what is important is a system that insures accuracy of results.
True said either method can be accurate in its counting procedure. Councilman Johnson
said any system that is well written and can be duplicated and the same results aze
reached every time with the same data is accurate. Councilman Johnson said each system
could arrive at a different result. Councilman Johnson said the idea of mimicking a
system that does not work should not be a high priority. Councilman Johnson said the
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
system Aspen chooses should be one that follows the voter's intent. Councilman Johnson
said this tabulation does not follow the instant runoff procedures.
Councilman Johnson said there is only an anomaly in the sequential elimination
tabulation procedure if it is compared to the batch tabulation system. Councilman
Johnson noted in an instant runoff voting procedures, one's 15` choice always counts until
that 15` choice is no longer a candidate. The fact that a ballot's 2"a choice might not be
considered because the 1S1 choice is still being considered is not an anomaly. It is a
feature of that system. Councilman Johnson said it is only when compared to the system
that 15` and 2"d choices have to be counted at the same time, does that become
problematic so it is not accurate. Councilman Johnson said in the voter information, it
should be stressed that voters should mark their ballot as completely as they can because
their lower choices can be important. Councilman Johnson said he under-estimated the
notion of voting for 2 candidates.
Mayor Ireland said he feels the differences in the two tabulations are small. Mayor
Ireland said when he campaigned for instant runoff voting, it was to come up with
something that created the results like the two election the city had since 2001 in only one
election. Mayor Ireland said either tabulation will give an accurate result because the
rules will predict the results when people vote in any combination of ways. Mayor
Ireland said his objection to Councilman Johnson's method is that the in order in which
things aze counted makes a difference. The objection to two votes is that one's 5t° choice
can wind up eliminating their 151 choice. Both of these objections are true and a
consequence of instant runoff voting is that one or the other is a possibility.
Andrew Kole said the goals is that the people with the most votes win and there is a
simpler way to do this by treating each round independently and run through the process
eliminating the candidate with the lowest number of votes. Marilyn Mazks said when
voters approved instant runoff voting, voters did not know they were voting for
something not used in the United States. Ms. Marks said there will be need for a lot of
voter education. Ms. Marks suggested deferring this and have a regular election. There
are a lot of moving pieces. Councilman Johnson said voters knew they were voting for a
different system and voted overwhelmingly for that. Jesse Boyce told Council the
magazine New Scientist talks about different voting methods and there is a science to it.
The magazine asserts the standard U.S. voting system is the worst of all possible methods
and any method will be better than where we are now.
Council requested staff come back with a set of procedures for tabulation of two 151
choices and sequential elimination for second reading.
Councilman Johnson moved to read Ordinance #3, Series of 2009; seconded by
Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE NO. 3
Series of 2009
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN,
COLORADO, AMENDING TITLE 2 OF THE ASPEN MUNICIPAL CODE BY THE
ADOPTION OF A NEW CHAPTER 2.26, INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING
PROCEDURES.
Councilman Romero moved to adopt Ordinance #3, Series of 2009, on first reading;
seconded by Mayor Ireland. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Skadron, yes; Johnson,
yes; Kasabach, yes; Romero, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 2009 -Historic Designation Aspen Athletic Club
Jason Lasser, community development department, told Council since first reading and
review by HPC, the applicant has requested this be continued and entered a letter from
Leonard Oates so the applicant has time to reanalyze their proposal. Leonard Oates,
representing the applicant, told Council they are not changing course in having this
designated; they are working on plans for designation and redevelopment.
Councilman Romero moved to table Ordinance #1, Series of 2009; seconded by Mayor
Ireland. All in favor, motion carried.
RESOLUTION #9, SERIES OF 2009 -Extension of Vested Rights South Aspen Street
Councilman Johnson stated he is recused because of a conflict of interest.
Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council this project at South
Aspen Street Subdivision is a townhouse project on the site also known as Lodge at
Aspen Mountain for 14 free market and 17 affordable housing units, 100,000 square feet
of development. Bendon noted the extension request is to extend the vested rights for 1 F
months which reflects the amount of time the project was put on hold to accommodate
the COWOP process and the May 2009 election. Staff supports this request and
proposed a condition regarding the application of rules of general applicability, which
rules are typically excluded from extension of vested rights.
Councilman Romero moved to approve Resolution #9, Series of 2009; seconded by
Councilman Skadron.
Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing.
Toni Kronberg asked what would happen if this request is denied. Mayor Ireland said the
applicant would have the opportunity to apply for building permit and build the project.
Ms. Kronberg said if the COWOP is defeated by the voters, then the community can
expect to see townhomes built on this property. Mayor Ireland said the applicants will
retain the right to build these townhouses.
Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing.
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
All in favor, motion carried.
RESOLUTION #3, SERIES OF 2009 -Aspen Valley Hospital Conceptual PUD
Jennifer Phelan, community development department, reminded Council this is the 3ra
public hearing. The applicants have received some direction from Council. Ms. Phelan
said the applicant is prepared to discuss bus stop and pedestrian improvements and
requests a larger discussion of transportation on April 13`h. The applicants would like to
do more work and discuss transportation in better detail in April.
Dave Ressler, CEO Aspen Valley Hospital, reminded Council there was a discussion
about the origin of patients at AVH. Ressler said the premise is that AVH is a district
hospital and the service area is the hospital district -the mid and upper valley. The
charter for the hospital district is that hospital serves the district and patients within that
district. Ressler told Council they did a zip code analysis to run reports for the hospital's
demographics. Ressler note the hospital's district is Pitkin County less Redstone and the
Crystal River and part of Basalt is in the district and part is not.
Ressler presented data broken down by origin of patients between services, in-patient,
out-patient, obstetrics and emergency room. The data for origin of patients show that
73% in 2004 and 77% in 2008 for in-patient services and for obstetrics 65% of the
patients are from the Aspen to Basalt area. There was an increase in obstetrics from
down valley over the 5 year period. Obstetric patients go where they physicians are
located. In the out patient services, 91% have regional addresses. In the emergency
room is where the highest percentage of patients are from outside the area.
Mindy Nagle, obstetrician, told Council obstetricians cover the entire valley as private
practitioners. Ms. Nagle said many of her patients work in Aspen and the office hours
are during working hours. Ms. Nagle's patients go where she has privileges. Ms. Nagle
said the goal of this remodel proposal is to better serve the existing patients and valley
residents. Ms. Nagle said the population of Aspen is aging and the requirements of the
hospital will have to change to meet those differing requirements.
Councilman Skadron said he has to determine if this proposed plan is the most reasonable
and prudent in light of all the alternatives. Councilman Skadron said he assumes this
plan has been scrutinized at many levels. Councilman Skadron asked if this plan has
been looked at objectively with doctors on the Aspen Valley Hospital's Board. Ms.
Nagle noted the AVH Board has wide interests on it and the number one goal of the
physicians on the board is patient care.
Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing.
Toni Kronberg asked if there will be a public vote on this application. Ms. ICronberg said
people going to the hospital will not use the bus stop. Ms. Kronberg said transportation is
a big issue. Ms. Kronberg said a warm therapy pool is important in the hospital plan.
Regular Meetin¢ Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
Ms. Kronberg asked if Council has considered that with the growing population, a new
hospital may be better located in the mid-valley.
Helen Burnett, president of the Aspen Valley Hospital volunteers, told Council she is
enthusiastic about Aspen Valley Hospital. Ms. Burnett said when she and her husband
moved here, a good hospital and good health care were important to their decision. Ms.
Burnett said it is excellent for the community that the hospital is a "wow" factor; the
newly remodeled birth center has that "wow" factor. Ms. Burnett said the hospital is one
of the best assets of the community and she does not want to see it age.
Todd Bartlett, registered nurse for 17 years and director of surgical services, told Council
he has never worked with such a dedicated group of physicians and nurses and the
community should realize how lucky they are to have this facility. Bartlett said the
hospital provides some of the best care he has seen and in a 33-year old facility, which
was designed for a different type of patients. Over the past 30 years, there have been
changes in technology; surgeries are done laproscopically and patients tend not to spend
the night.
Amy Covington, employee hospital, told Council she was born at the middle hospital, has
seen many changes and is proud to be an employee of this hospital. Ms. Covington told
Council medicine is evolving and Aspen Valley Hospital does a great job with the
facilities they have. Ms. Covington said the trauma room is used as a storage room and
the storage has to be wheeled out before it can be used as a trauma room. The space
limitation to provide the best health care is limiting the health care rating. Gynny Dyche
presented a letter from Taylor Liebman, his presentation in writing from the last public
hearing.
Ms. Phelan said she would like Council to review the possible conditions of approval as
well as the bus stop before continuing this meeting to April 13`h. Laura Kirk, DHM, went
over the proposed improvements at the RFTA bus stop and Doolittle Drive. Ms. Kirk
said this is not safe for pedestrians nor for circulation; there is no pull off, no pedestrian
paths. Ms. Kirk told Council she has worked with the city and with RFTA to make this
safer. Ms. Kirk showed the proposal with a formal pullout for the buses; RFTA will use
shorter buses to make this more efficient and for better use of their equipment. Mayor
Ireland suggested the applicants consider getting power to the station so that if and when
there are bus scheduled information signals, they can be installed.
Councilman Skadron asked if there are answers to previous Council questions about
location of a detox center or an expanded senior services, on-site affordable housing and
the traffic impacts. Ms. Phelan said those issues will be addressed at a continued public
hearing. Ms. Phelan said these are in the potential conditions in the resolution. Leslie
Lamont said there has been a lot of feedback from Council on issues they want the
applicant to look at and bring back information, which is why the applicants request a
continuance to April 13th
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
Councilman Skadron asked about a warm water therapy pool. Ressler said the hospital
has an aqua therapy program but they do not have specifics yet. That will be addressed in
the final application. Councilman Skadron said one value a community health facility
should bring is to provide high quality services at a reasonable cost. Councilman
Skadron asked if this proposed new building results in operational efficiencies which
could provide lower costs. Councilman Skadron asked if prices aze posted in hospitals.
Ressler told Council there is a push for transparency in health care pricing. Ressler said
there is a complicated pricing system depending on the patient and what they need.
Ressler told Council the hospital tries to provide cost estimates and keep average charges
for given procedures. Ressler told Council the hospital employs an independent company
to provide analysis for comparing prices to ensure AVH stays competitive.
Ressler told Council they do not know that the efficiencies will lower prices however, the
efficiencies will benefit all users of the hospital as they are a community hospital and put
the profits back into the hospital and equipment. The hospital is a district with publicly
elected board members. Councilman Skadron agreed the site tour emphasized the need
for more space, for privacy for patients. Ressler said this plan is not to draw additional
mazket shaze or business but to accommodate the business they already have and to align
with the services required by today's medicine needs.
Councilman Romero asked if there have been discussions about day care and identifying
providing child care on campus. Ressler said they have not had conversations with the
child Gaze community; they have discussed providing "sick" day care for employees'
children to keep the employees at work. Ressler noted small hospitals usually do not get
involved in day care because of the licensing and safety issues. Ressler told Council the
hospital has 250 FTEs. Councilman Romero asked if there is an increase proposed as
part of this master plan. Ressler said there will not be a significant increase but there will
be an increase just based on the fact this plan goes several years into the future to
complete.
Mayor Ireland said his main concern is that the greatly improved quality of service may
make this unaffordable for people in the community who do not receive annual increases
in their salary. Mayor Ireland said he does not expect health care to slow down; however,
a lot of cost increases seem to come from creating the best and the biggest world class
health care.
Councilwoman Kasabach said her two issues are that medical offices will generate
pazking and traffic impacts and that there is no employee housing on site, which will
exacerbate the situation. Councilwoman Kasabach said the mission and motivation to
make changes at the hospital make sense and this hospital at this point does not meet
standards of care.
Councilman Johnson said opening up unused beds during the off season for things like
cosmetic surgery, the community could be served by limiting growth to off season.
Councilman Johnson said 20,000 square feet of new medical space, the community
should have an answer on how this will be allocated, existing doctors or new doctors.
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Re¢ular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 2009
Councilman Johnson said he is not agreeing to any employee housing credit but will
listen to the applicant's arguments. Councilman Johnson said a detailed traffic analysis
will be submitted at final PTJD; however, he would like some traffic analysis to be
provided at conceptual in order to approval this application. Councilman Johnson said
the hospital should be responsible for local health care, like detox or expansion of senior
services. Councilman Johnson stated if this is not the hospital's responsibility, whose
responsibility is it. Councilman Johnson said he would like to see a detailed plan about
how these types of health care issues will be taken caze of. Councilman Johnson said he
no longer has questions about the expansion of the hospital; the presentation has
answered many of his issues. Councilman Johnson said the issues have been easily
digested and he likes the way the issues have been broken up. Councilman Johnson said
he does want to review how the impacts of this growth will betaken care of but he no
longer has reservations about the need for growth -the community needs to expand its
hospital.
Mayor Ireland stated he cannot support transporting patients with mental health or
substance problems out of the community without stabilizing them at the hospital first.
Mayor Ireland said there is a responsibility to stabilize and detox people; this is not just a
hospital responsibility. It is a community responsibility to take care of those least able to
care for themselves.
Councilman Romero moved to continue Resolution #3, Series of 2009, Aspen Valley
Hospital, to April 13`h; seconded by Councilwoman Kasabach. All in favor, motion
carried.
Councilman Skadron moved to adjourn at 9:25 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Romero.
All in favor, motion carried.
Kathryn .Koch, City Clerk
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