Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.regular.20210126 1 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 26, 2021 At 4:30 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilors Richards, Mesirow, Mullins and Hauenstein joining via video conference. PUBLIC COMMENT: Doug Goldsmith – Mr. Goldsmith, sales manager of Mountain Waste Recycle and Trash Company said he has a request. He mentioned a deicing agent on Main Street. On Mill, Aspen and Monarch streets, he is asking to also use a deicing agent because it gets very dangerous running trash trucks. This is a safety issue for trash trucks and UPS trucks. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilwoman Mullins thanked Doug for his comments and agrees that something should be done. She said that she just heard about Barry Crook passing away. He worked for the city for 14 years and was a strong advocate for affordable housing. She didn’t always agree with him, but he should be acknowledged for his work with the city. She passed along her condolences. Councilman Hauenstein said that he is also concerned about deicing. This is important to monitor for public safety. He also addressed the red restrictions. He hopes to have everyone open again as soon as possible. We are at less than half of the incident rate at this time and are appreciative of the restaurants and the efforts they are making. Councilwoman Richards thanked Ann for sharing her comments on the passing of Barry and she shares the same sentiments. She thanked the restaurants for the video of their dedicated staff. We are needing to deal with the issue as a whole. She showed the NY Times Covid page, which was updated on January 24th. She talked about New York being in purple, not red. Outdoor dining and outdoor bars are unsafe. She knows a lot of travelers look at the NY Times before they decide to go somewhere. We were 25th in the country. San Miguel county is now the #5 hot spot. The challenge that resort communities have are due to amount of tourists. She is presenting this snapshot, because the numbers in Aspen are being reported nationwide. It’s a better time to sacrifice the slower times of January than the later months. There’s a lot of PR outside of the community that our actions will impact. Mayor Torre said there is a joint meeting next week with the BOCC and is an opportunity to discuss issues shared by us. He is imploring the community to work together, and it goes past your personal responsibility. It’s also about being kind and understanding to one another. We made the right decision staying open in December. The decline we are in now is not directly related to the closures. This is good news. Be patient and stay with the program we are on and we will be reopened very soon. We will see more data this week. There has been a lot of press regarding donations from folks and contributions, and he sends out a big thank you to Kenny and Robin Smith of Meridian Jewelers. Please go to the restaurants for to go orders. There is a 1.28-million-dollar fund being set up by the county for business relief and will be live on the Aspen community website by Friday. The applications are on a rolling basis as they come in. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: Sara Ott said that Bill Linn will speak about changes the police are making to issuing tickets for health code violations. For the 5 star program, Cj Oliver, is serving on an administrative committee as Aspen’s 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 26, 2021 representative. They are currently fine tuning the program, and an application process will open later this week. Mayor Torre asked about going back to the orange level and not having to do this 5 star program as early as next week. Ms. Ott said it’s possible, and the Board of Health will decide if we will drop back to orange. The 5 star program will determine if businesses can operate at a yellow level. It allows businesses to prepare ahead of time. Bill Linn said they have given their officers an additional tool to address violations. They can now issue a ticket for violations to the public health order. We are continuing to respond to complaints to violations, and this might now end up with a ticket. We’re not out looking for parties in neighborhoods, we are responding to complaints. This is about community values, and must be a shared burden. Ms. Ott said that when individuals are witnessing a violation, we also need that person to assist in the review of the situation and they may be asked to sign a report. Anonymous complaints are harder to address. Officer Linn agreed. Councilman Mesirow asked what the ticket entails. Officer Linn said it’s the highest misdemeanor with a fine of $500-$1500 and could also require jail time and a court date. BOARD REPORTS: Councilwoman Richards said she was ni the Club 20 voices of rural Colorado legislative day. Tara Nelson also attended and will provide notes from the first day. Councilwoman Richards said she attended on the second day and heard from Governor Polis and Senator Hickenlooper among others on the restoration of public lands. Councilwoman Mullins said she had CML and it was a really dense meeting. They have gone to three meetings a year now via Zoom. They made recommended changes to legislative pieces and she’s happy they’ve become more and more involved in this group. Councilman Hauenstein said he attend the Aspen Snowmass Nordic council meeting. He said that dogs occupied a lot of discussion because there have been a lot of them on the Nordic trails at the golf course. He said it’s important that people honor the no dog policy and reminded everyone to get out there on your skis. Mayor Torre said he attended the ACRA Chamber meeting. John Peacock spoke about the 5 star program and vaccinations. We were fortunate to get 1200 doses previously, and we did not get that allocation again this wk. Regarding the occupancy rate, the hotels are tracking at 20-30% through weekdays and we are only seeing 50% on the weekends. We are still really feeling the effects of the pandemic. Some members were advocating to take another look at the visitor affidavit and there was a lot of support for reopening restaurants. Thursday is the Board of Health meeting. He would like to know how the COA is going to advocate at this meeting. There are CAST meetings happening this weekend regarding housing and a panel discussion on managing impacts on public lands. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilwoman Mullins would like more information on Resolution #004. 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 26, 2021 Councilwoman Richards said she wonders if our GMQ allotments are way too large. Mayor Torre said he would like more information on Resolutions #008 and #009. He asked if this is a new cost or was it known as coming at this stage of the contracts. Chris Everson said the original fee amounts were estimated based on the RFP the city put out in early 2019. They are currently meeting the budget for Resolution #008. For Resolution #009, he explained the quality assurance program. Councilwoman Richards motioned to approve the consent calendar; Councilman Mesirow seconded. Councilwoman Mullins asked about the Wheeler imaging project and said she thought we just replaced all the digital equipment. Nancy Lesley said the projector is about 10 years old and that is what is being replaced now. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. NOTICE OF CALL UP: 227 East Bleeker HPC Approval Sara Yoon, Historic Preservation Planner, gave a summary of this project. She said it is an Aspen Victorian landmark and is a one-story miner’s cabin in the R6 zone district. The applicant would like to do a full restoration and HPC approved this and the new addition which will be towards the rear of the property with a connector. HPC approved this with a unanimous vote. Council asked some clarifying questions. Councilman Hauenstein said he has no reason to call this up. Councilwoman Mullins said she does not want to call this up. Councilwoman Richards said she sees no reason to call this up. Mayor Torre advocated for a plaque to recognize where we are going and where we’ve been. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE #01, SERIES OF 2021 – 100 Marolt Place – Marolt Ranch Lot 3 – Minor Planned Development Amendment Councilwoman Richards motioned to read; Councilman Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. City Clerk, Nicole Henning, read Ordinance #01. Councilwoman Richards motioned to approve on first reading. Council asked a couple of clarifying questions. Jeff Barnhill, Zoning Enforcement Officer, answered their questions. Councilwoman Mullins seconded the motion for approval. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. ORDINANCE #02, SERIES OF 2021 – Wheeler Advisory Board 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 26, 2021 City Attorney, Jim True, introduced the item. He said this ordinance is to adopt some guidance and direction based on the Wheeler’s mission statement. We also changed the board of directors, to the board of advisors. Council asked some clarifying questions. Councilwoman Mullins motioned to read; Councilman Mesirow seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. The City Clerk read Ordinance #02. Councilman Hauenstein motioned to approve with the addition of a statement on C that email notification is sufficient; Councilwoman Richards seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Councilman Hauenstein motioned to adjourn; Councilman Mesirow seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. _______________________________ City Clerk, Nicole Henning