Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20220927 1 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilors Doyle, Richards and Mesirow, and Hauenstein present. Mayor Torre announced a proclamation for the global meeting of the UN Mountain Partnership. He read the proclamation and said this would be presented to them on Thursday. The meeting is currently happening over at the institute as we speak. CITIZEN COMMENTS: Sarah Pletts – Ms. Pletts said she is here because budget time approaches. It’s a great time for vision. She spoke about an arts commission and endowment plan. She is receiving help from several media people because they are concerned about the RETT money and where it’s going. The scarcity of funds for artists in town has been concerning and she had to refinance her art studio this year. She read a poem that she wrote regarding a ten-year financial plan. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Mayor Torre said our budget for next year does have funds for this arts commission. There is interest at this table, and it will be discussed on Monday during the work session. Councilor Hauenstein said he was in Bariloche, Argentina, in celebration of their partnership. He said he visited a hospital, and a fire protection district. He met with a nuclear facility using radioactive isotopes combined with CT and MRI. He met with two private schools. This town is also dependent upon tourism, and they would like to diversify economy. He met with the ski patrol and the mayor of Bariloche. He’s thankful for Aspen Sister Cities. The people greeted him so warmly and it’s because of our 20 years of friendship. He said Mayor Torre introduced and made opening comments this morning at the UN Mountain Partnership. We had people from all over, and there is a lot of meaningful work going on. Mayor Torre asked him about the traffic in Bariloche and he said it’s a lot like ours and they don’t have a bus system that is anywhere close to ours. Councilor Doyle mentioned Yvon Chouinard, who started Patagonia, and how he gave all of the stock in the company to a trust and nonprofit. He is dead serious about saving this planet and Councilor Doyle said he is hoping that other companies will follow his lead. Mayor Torre said he would like to give a mental health reminder for the community. He mentioned the Aspen Hope Center and Aspen Strong, who can connect you to counselors and are free of charge. The Mayors Cup golf tournament was a huge success, and they raised 35k for the two charities. He spoke about the UN Mountain Partnership and said the meetings that some of us have been attending have been absolutely amazing. He was really struck by the international participation and that five continents are represented. This was something to be marveled at. There is some great work going on over there. Also, right now in the community, we are having issues on the roads. We always have congestion issues when the construction isn’t going on, and now we are being shown what we can and can’t handle. We have a lot of people emailing and calling us commenting. Today he got messages from the schools regarding Maroon Creek being backed up. We are doing everything we can. It’s a two-lane bridge that is now a one lane bridge. This is a CDOT project. One half of the bridge cannot be used even at night, but they will be addressing CDOT to see what else can be done during this project. Please stick to the detoured routes. Speaking about the living lab, he distributed maps to show what the next alliteration is 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 over there. He mentioned having council approve a stop sign at the intersection where Ute Mountaineer is located, heading south. City Manager, Sara Ott, asked if three of them are interested in this. Councilor Richards said she would be interested. Councilor Hauenstein said he doesn’t like the way it’s come to them, and he would like to see it come as a formal item on the next regular meeting agenda. City Attorney, James R. True, said there are two ways to do it. Through the American Association of State Highways, or they can bring it back as a resolution for a temporary or long-term basis and come back at a future council meeting. Councilor Mesirow said it’s a level of detail beyond his expertise, but he doesn’t see any harm in this. Ms. Ott said the stop sign can come back on October 11th. AGENDA AMENDMENTS: Mayor Torre moved Resolution #114 under Action Items forward to be presented before Resolution #113. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: Ms. Ott said she had a power session with the Federal Highway Association discussing the Castle Creek Bridge, and the alignment on next steps. We will be bringing back information as part of budget discussions. Regarding bears, the last two weeks we are really experiencing challenges with bears in town. It’s because of our bad behavior. People need to make sure to recheck coolers, pumpkins, doors. We have been issuing some citations. We need local responsibility. BOARD REPORTS: Councilor Richards said they discussed survey results at APCHA from the right sizing survey, and they looked at a couple of guideline changes. Councilor Hauenstein said he has been serving on Sister Cities for the past five years and this is the first trip he’s been on. Within the first hour, he saw the value of the program. It’s something we can be really proud of. Mayor Torre spoke about Mountain Towns 2030, which was a conference that he and Councilor Mesirow attended. CONSENT CALENDAR: Mayor Torre requested to pull Resolution #111 and Councilor Richards requested #110. Resolution #110 & #111, Series of 2022 – Matt Kuhn, Parks Director Mayor Torre asked regarding the suggested layout, what the life span is of the installation. Mr. Kuhn said it’s too early to answer that question and said nothing is permanent and they can modify the courts at a later date. The covered facility is a much bigger question. We’d like to make the improvements to the courts first. 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 Councilor Richards mentioned the half penny tax on the ballot and that they may have to relook at spending if it does not pass. Mr. Kuhn said both of these projects are supposed to be completed before the half penny expires. Councilor Richards motioned to approve the consent calendar; Councilor Doyle seconded. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. ACTION ITEMS: Resolution #114, Series of 2022 - Sale of the Isis Building – Pete Strecker, Finance Director Mr. Strecker said he is here to discuss the option in the lease that the city entered into to preserve a community asset. The city leveraged its credit to borrow 8.5 million. The rents were set up to cover the debt service. Included in the lease agreement, was the option to buy. Aspen Film would come in and acquire their portion of the space and they are asking to remove a covenant regarding internal naming rights. The Isis Theater will still be called the Isis theater and will remain a theater. Mayor Torre asked Susan Wrubel if she had any comments. Ms. Wrubel thanked council and said it’s been a long time coming. She said they are in a position with cash right now to move forward, with the goal of keeping this as a community asset. We will make it more ADA accessible and as green as possible. Councilor Richards said thank you for your perseverance. We had some faith in your ability and were astounded to see this in the packet. Councilor Hauenstein said this seems more like a celebration than anything else. Councilor Richards motioned to approve Resolution #114, Series of 2022; Councilor Mesirow seconded. Mayor Torre said congratulations. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Ms. Wrubel said she hopes to see everyone at the film festival this week. Resolution #113, Series of 2022 – Cooper Street Amendment to Covenant - James R. True, City Attorney Mr. True said that similar to the situation with the Isis, this space was to be locally serving. The Cooper Street Pier was there for a long time. Lucchi’s was operated in the basement space. When this approval came forward, it was denied. A council member took personal interest in preserving this space. Since 2007, it didn’t turn out as expected and has been empty since that time. There have been efforts to occupy the space and haven’t been successful. We have Brad Smith and Jordan White proposing to operate a restaurant under the provisions of the deed restriction with one exception to operate from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The lunch hours did provide difficulty for certain operators in the past. The service of lunch in a location such as this is challenging. The deed restriction can be amended by the property owners, and that is why we are here. Councilor Doyle said he supports this. 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 Mr. Smith said they are talking about opening around 3:00 – 4:00 in the afternoon during the week but hope to be open on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and see what they get. Councilor Richards said she feels this represents good work. Councilor Doyle said we need you guys. Mr. True pointed out a few other little cleanups. There is still a requirement that it still be in the lower 1/3 of the cost of meals in town. Councilor Hauenstein said both of these action items seem like bedtime stories. These have been two things hanging out there for a long time and are very welcome agenda items. He wishes them all the best in the world. Councilor Richards motioned to approve Resolution #113, Series of 2022; Councilor Hauenstein seconded. Councilor Richards asked for the Lucci’s lasagna. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Councilor Richards motioned to adjourn; Councilor Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. _____________________________ Nicole Henning, City Clerk