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AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
January 19, 2021
4:00 PM, City Council Chambers
130 S Galena Street, Aspen
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I.WORK SESSION
I.A.Consumer Protection Team Update
I.B.Wheeler Rent Relief Discussion
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City County Work Session – January 11, 2021
City of Aspen Health Protection Team Update
MEMORANDUM
TO:Aspen City Council
FROM:Natalie Tsevdos, Senior Environmental Health Specialist
THROUGH:CJ Oliver, Environmental Health and Sustainability Director
Phillip Supino, Community Development Director
MEETING DATE:January 11, 2021
RE:Health Protection Team Update
PURPOSE: This memo is being provided to give an update on the activity of the Health
Protection Team working to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the Aspen community
through education, support and business outreach.
SUMMARY: The Aspen Health Protection Team continues to provide support to the
business community through education and outreach. The onboarding of two full time
staff members in late summer-early fall allowed the Team to shift from a mostly reactive
to proactive approach heading into winter. Developing communication strategies and
business relationships allowed for planning and outreach before regulatory changes went
into effect and ahead of the holidays. The top goal remains to serve as a resource for
businesses so they can stay up to date on Public Health Orders and in compliance with
local and State regulations. Staff from Police and Parking continue to be an integral part
of the Health Protection Team.
DISCUSSION:The Health Protection Team works in conjunction with our counterparts in
Pitkin County to help ensure COVID safety for our community through a primarily
education and support-based approach. Projects vary from compiling written outreach
materials to working with other departments on signage and messaging to door-to-door
canvasing. Random compliance checks supplement scheduled, one-on-one educational
meetings with businesses. On certain occasions, the team will also support the Pitkin
County Public Health Department on enforcement actions at non-complaint businesses
through documentation of observations.
Before the Halloween and New Year’s holidays, the Team did targeted in-person outreach
and sent written communications to restaurants and events-related companies, such as
valets. During the holiday season, the Health Protection Team spent increased time on
complaint investigation and response as well as making and documenting observations,
sometimes past curfew. Compliance on Halloween and over the New Year’s holiday
weekend was high with mostly minor violations being observed. With the busy holiday
time of year in the rearview mirror, the Team will be conducting follow up businesses visits
to verify long-term correction of Public Health Order violations as well as doing in-depth
assessments in facilities.
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City County Work Session –January 11, 2021
City of Aspen Health Protection Team Update
During the presentation, staff will discuss the specifics of how this work is being done in
addition to highlighting major accomplishments that have taken place regarding this
program to date.Updated data on complaint trends and in which sectors staff are
spending the most time will be shared. More detailed statistics regarding overall
compliance, social distancing measures, and mask zone adherence in businesses will
also be reported.Overall compliance is relatively high as depicted below:
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The budget for this program is $200,000 per year including salaries
and other operating costs. The program is currently budgeted through the end of 2021
with the actual timeframe to be determined by COVID activity as we move forward.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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MEMORANDUM
TO:Mayor and City Council
FROM:Nancy Lesley,Interim Wheeler Opera House
Executive Director and Director of Events
Rob Schober, Asset Management
THROUGH:Diane Foster, Assistant City Manager
Scott Miller, Public Works Director
MEMO DATE: January 12, 2021
MEETING DATE: January 19, 2021
RE:Wheeler Tenant Rent Relief Request
REQUEST OF COUNCIL:The two tenants, Aspen Public House and Valley Fine Art are
requesting to be relieved from paying rent for the duration of construction on the Wheeler
Opera House. The projected timeline for the construction is removing the scaffolding in
May 2021 and completion of project in July 2021.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:In July 2020 Council agreed to rent relief for both
tenants for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year due to the anticipated impacts of
the masonry project on the Wheeler Opera House.
DISCUSSION: When COVID shut down the community in the Spring staff came to
Council and received permission to start the masonry project approximately one
year early. In the fall of 2020 staff came to Council as COVID continued to be a
major impact and received permission to continue the project to completion. Both
Wheeler tenants are requesting rent relief through the remainder of the project as
they had received in the early portion on the project. Both tenants will remain open
for business (as the Public Health orders allow).
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The rent from each of these entities goes directly into funding
the Art Grants Program. Valley Fine Art pays $3,775.02/month and Elk Mountain
Hospitality (Aspen Public House) pays $10,897.17/month. If Council approves the rent
relief through May 2021 (target date scaffolding is removed) that is a deficit to the
program of $73,360.95. If rent is forgiven through July (target completion of project)
the deficit to the program would be $102,705.33. Staff is currently exploring options for
funding the deficit in the Arts Grant Program.
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ATTACHMENTS:
A. Letter from Aspen Public House and Valley Fine Art
B. Letter from Valley Fine Art
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Aspen Public House
Date: December 15, 2020
To: City of Aspen, City Manager’s Office
Re: Wheeler Building Tenant Rent Abatement
Sara & Diane,
I’m writing a letter on behalf of Aspen Public House (APH) and Valley Fine Art (VFA) regarding the ongoing exterior
construction of the Wheeler Building and the resulting impact on the two businesses located within.
We would like to continue the current rent abatement through the duration of the of the exterior construction,
expected to be completed late spring/early summer 2021. While the construction team has done an excellent job of
making the front and side entrances of APH accessible, there is remaining uncertainty in how the construction will affect
business revenues. Please consider the following points of concern for the building tenants:
-While the entrances/exits have been made accessible, the affect the remaining scaffolding/construction will
have on customers and foot traffic is unknown. It’s a fair assumption that many potential customers would
avoid an obvious construction site when looking for a place to dine or shop.
-Additionally, the scaffolding is obstructing most of the windows, thus blocking light, obstructing views, and
eliminating any possibility of exterior dining.
-In an effort to help facilitate a quicker fall construction schedule, I closed APH with the assumption that we
would most likely be back to normal by early December. One of the results of closing for an extended period
of time is the need to launch a strong marketing effort to alert locals and tourists that we have reopened for
business. It could potentially take a few months for APH to regain the traction it had prior to closing. (This
was one of the reasons I had initially asked the City for a 50% rent reduction for the first six months of 2021
– back when we were operating under the assumption that business and life would be somewhat to back to
normal.)
Unrelated to the construction, dealing with ongoing circumstances brought on by the pandemic have created struggles
across the industry. I am grappling with stricter regulations and more customer aversion, while also constantly having
employees go through mandated quarantine due to exposure to COVID. This has been difficult from a business
perspective while also creating concern for my employees’ health on a personal level.
I can’t stress enough how generous the city has been towards APH and VFA during the construction process. However,
with so much uncertainty surrounding the circumstances this winter, I would rather not craft a rent proposal that I am
not 100% certain we can fulfill. This is why I am asking for a continuation of the current rent abatement. The savings
from rent will allow me to: keep my employees on our payroll; continue operating a locally serving dining establishment;
and allow for a marketing budget sufficient to help drive foot traffic and business during an otherwise rough winter.
Please feel free to reach out directly with any questions or thoughts.
Sincerely,
Bill Johnson
Owner, Aspen Public House
c. 870-404-3657
wj@publichouseaspen.com
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December 23, 2020
Valley Fine Art
To: City of Aspen, City Manager’s Office
Re: Wheeler Building Tenant Rent Abatement
Sara and Diane,
Here are my thoughts in addition to Bill Johnson of Aspen Public House (APH) letter
regarding the ongoing exterior construction of the Wheeler Building and the resulting
impact to our businesses.
I am appreciative for the current rent abatement, and would be grateful if we could
continue rent abatement through the duration of the exterior construction. My
understanding is it expected to be completed late spring/early summer 2021. Here are
my concerns and why I am asking for the abatement:
The entrance to the scaffolding has been made accessible, however I have
already heard feedback that people are tentative to even walk through given a
small space and concerns with COVID.
Construction sites are just plain not inviting.
The scaffolding is entirely covering my windows. My windows are a huge
invitation and visual draw to my gallery. Sales for old pawn jewelry have basically
come to a screeching halt since the scaffolding went up since the windows were
what drew people into the gallery. Sales have also been less too, but to what
degree I won’t know until more into the season.
I have heard feedback that people think the gallery is closed simply because it is
a construction site.
I am concerned that client’s won’t recognize where the gallery is with the
scaffolding.
I am empathetic that this project hasn’t been easy, and all the issues out of the City’s
control that have surfaced. I expressed to Rob in a phone meeting that at the end of the
day taking the scaffolding down and putting it back up at another time seems like a
waste of time and financial resources for the City. This situation is clearly not ideal, but
Bill and I want to be team players.
Please reach out if you have any further questions.
Warmly,
Mia Valley
Valley Fine Art
Cell: 970-379-9160
mia@valleyfineart.com
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