HomeMy WebLinkAboutInformation Only 031423AGENDA
INFORMATION UPDATE
March 14, 2023
5:00 PM,
I.Information Update
I.A
New Castle Creek Bridge Public Education Outreach Summary and Next Steps
Work Session Follow Up
I.B Public Safety Memo
I.C Childcare Capacity Goal
I.D Destination Marketing Staff Report
I.E Lift Corridor Status Update
WorkSession FollowUp Memo 022323.docx
Public Safety Letter Final with signatures.pdf
2.21.23 Information memo.docx
Feb2023_DM Report.pdf
INFORMATION ONLY_ Lift Corridor status update_2022.10.06.docx
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FOLLOW-UP MEMORANDUM
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
MEETING DATE:February 13, 2023
FOLLOW-UP MEMO DATE:February 24, 2023
AGENDA TOPIC:New Castle Creek Bridge Public Education
Outreach Summary and Next Steps
PRESENTED BY:Trish Aragon, P.E., City Engineer
Diane Foster, Assistant City Manager
Jenn Ooton, Sr. Project Manager
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:Mayor Torre, Councilmembers Rachael
Richards, John Doyle, Skippy Mesirow, Ward
Hauenstein
_______________________________________________________________________
WORK SESSION DISCUSSION SUMMARY: Team members representing the City
Manager’s Office and Engineering Department presented a summary of a 70-day
community awareness effort designed to share information and increase understanding of
the history of the Entrance to Aspen, current conditions of the existing Castle Creek Bridge,
information about the Preferred Alternative, 1998 Record of Decision, and next steps. The
project team hosted open community events, one-on-one meetings, small group meetings
and provided information through both social media and traditional media channels. After
discussion, Council provided the following direction:
1. Topic: Confirmation that the communication mid-February through May would
shift from proactive educational methods to responsive communication.
Council majority consensus. Council agreed with this approach.
2. Topic:Confirmation whether any groups were missed in the
information/community awareness effort.
Council majority consensus.Council did not identify groups that had been
missed in the awareness effort.
3. Topic: Confirm approach to Request for Proposals
Council majority consensus. During the community awareness phase,
questions arose that the project team was unable to answer because technical
information is not yet fully developed. Council agreed they would like to prioritize
getting answers to technical and policy questions from the Federal Highway
Administration and Colorado Department of Transportation, to bring back options
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for Council consideration for prioritizing consultant work to answer other technical
questions, and have staff present information about what community questions
cannot be answered without schematic-level design.
NEXT STEPS: Staff will send questions to FHWA and CDOT and bring back options for
the prioritization of studies for Council direction.
CITY MANAGER NOTES:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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INFORMATION ONLY MEMORANDUM
TO: Aspen City Council
FROM: Megan Monaghan and Nancy Nichols Co-Managers, Kids First
THRU: Sara Ott, City Manager,
Diane Foster, Assistant City Manager
Scott Miller, Assistant City Manager
MEETING DATE:February 21,2023
MEMO DATE:3/2/23
RE:Childcare Capacity Goal
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this memo is to provide information concerning a question raised at the February 21st
Council Work Session on Council goals.
SUMMARY:
At the February 21st work session, Kids First staff provided an update on the City Council Capacity goal
and specifically the new Childcare programs that have opened over the last 6 months. One such
program, Ajax Cubs is taking over 4 previously vacant classrooms in the Yellow Brick Building. Council
Member Skippy Mesirow asked a question concerning the number of days per year the new program
will be operating and how many days per year the previous tenants were in operation.
Ajax Cubs will operate 8:00am-4:15pm, 5 days a week. They will be open between 243-247 days
per year depending on the calendar and where holidays fall.
This is compared to the previous tenant that operated from 8am -4pm, 4 days a week and
approximately 175 days during the 2021-22 calendar.
The difference is that Ajax Cubs is open 5 versus 4 days a week, and will close very limited winter
holidays, and breaks whereas the previous operator closed for all major holidays, fall and spring
break, a week at the end of the summer and 3 weeks in August.
Ajax Cubs will close for major holidays for a total of 11 weekdays days off and will operate 243
days in 2023.
Conclusion:
Kids First will present an update to City Council on April 24th.
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February 2023 Destination Marketing Report for Council
Destination Marketing Staff Report Excerpt from ACRA’s Board of Directors Packet:
Destination Marketing has received the interim Visitor Profile and Resident Sentiment Study reports which will be
presented at the 2/28 board meeting. The reports will reflect only 6 months of full year study. We will continue two
more months of the monthly Stakeholder surveys. As we work towards our Global Sustainable Tourism Certification, we
will be reaching out to community partners to collect information pertinent to the process, this will be a multi-year
endeavor. As a reminder Vail & Breckenridge have this designation and Aspen and Durango are in the same phase.
Maroon Bells Reservations, for both parking & shuttles, will be released in 2 month rolling segments: March 1st will
release May & June reservations, April 1st July & August reservations, and May 1st September & October reservations.
We have hired Mary Isgro, a contractor from Carbondale, to assist us with two projects this spring, one is an Aspen
specific learning lab with the Colorado Tourism Office, and one is a website feature called TripTuner. She will be assisting
us with content creation and aggregation for those projects. ACRA is an active partner on the recently revived Top of the
Rockies Scenic Byway. Next Month Destination Marketing is sponsoring two community serving events. Please join us on
Saturday March 11th at 6pm in Paepcke Auditorium for a screening of High Country. On Wednesday March 15th, in
partnership with Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, please join us at the Wheeler Opera House from 6-8pm for
Living with Wolves: Coexistence in Colorado. Please save the date of November 14thfor our annual Tourism Outlook.
ACRA will partner with Snowmass Tourism on international PR in the UK, Australia, and Mexico this year. The
partnership will include contracting agencies in each market to manage media pitching, distributing press releases, and
organizing a fam trip for summer 2023. International PR initiatives were last done in 2019. The sales team attended the
City of Aspen’s open house regarding park rentals. It was helpful to share the types of groups and their infrastructure
needs at this open house for consideration for the policy that will be set moving forward. Nichole enrolled in the
Professional in Destination Management Certification Program through Destinations International and began taking the
courses. The sales team is partnering with Destination Colorado to do a qua rterly social post across Instagram, LinkedIn,
Twitter, and Facebook. The sales team partnered with WedLuxe, a global luxury wedding platform, to send out a
dedicated eBlast to the WedLuxe database of 19,000+. This was a great opportunity to showcase Aspen Weddings to a
new segment of the wedding market.
By the numbers:
Occupancy Reports:
January Occupancy was 77.5%, an increase of 11.2% over 2022. Average daily rate for January was $936, +17.1% YOY.
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Sales Tax Reports:
As of December Consumption Tax Report, released in February of 2023, the Tourism Promotion Fund came in $164,464
over the 2022 appropriation. ACRA has advised we would like for the City to hold those funds to replenish the reserve
fund held by the City of Aspen. December’s revenues were up 2.4% against December 2021.
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Recent Press Coverage
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Website Stats
Please see aspenchamber.org web statistics on the following page.
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INFORMATION ONLY
MEMORANDUM
TO:Mayor Torre and City Council
FROM:Jen Phelan, Development Manager
THROUGH:Scott Miller, Public Works Director
MEMO DATE:March 9,2023
RE:Status update of Lift One Corridor project (9)
This memo is providing City Council with a current progress update of the Lift 1 Corridor project. As
mentioned in the initial memo in 2020, voter approval of the multi-stakeholder project1 was granted in
March 2019. The project stretches from Dean Street to the southerly termination of S. Aspen Street.
Five stakeholders are involved in the project: Lift One Lodge (LOL), OKO Group (OKO)–formerly Gorsuch
Haus, the Aspen Historical Society (AHS), Aspen Skiing Company (ASC), and the City of Aspen. Besides a
land interest in the corridor project, the city also has a financial interest.2
Stakeholders have been working with Lift One Lodge representatives by reviewing plats and agreements
that are required to formally entitle the project. As the redevelopment of the LOL properties and city
property directly affects four stakeholders, the documents have been carefully reviewed to ensure
stakeholders are comfortable with the content. Stakeholders have been meeting weekly to go over the
documents (such as a base area construction and maintenance agreement, white box delivery agreement
for the Skiers Chalet Lodge, and civils)and they are ready to record with the county clerk. Staff is currently
circulating the documents for necessary signatures and expects to have the Lift One Lodge documents
recorded prior to the end of the month.
Once the approval documents are recorded, LOL can submit a building permit application. It is anticipated
that LOL will submit shortly,with the hard deadline for both hotel developers being the expiration of their
1 The project includes two hotels (Lift One Lodge and Gorsuch Haus), installation of a new telemix lift that loads
closer to Dean Street and skier return, relocation of the historically designated Lift 1 bullwheel and associated
towers, development of a ski museum and ticketing/skier services, as well as the redevelopment of city parks,
Dean Street, and the termination (a new cul-de-sac) of S. Aspen Street.
2 The city has allocated $4.36 million dollars within an escrow account to help fund certain “public facing” elements
of the project such as improvements to Dean Street and relocation of the Skiers Chalet Lodge (home of a future ski
museum and ASC services) that will benefit the public. These funds are to be released to Lift One Lodge when overall
improvements are constructed and “once the new ski lift is in a working condition.”
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vested rights on December 24, 2025. Lift One Lodge expects a longer construction timeline than OKO
Group, so construction start dates can be consecutive but aspects of the construction timeline will be
coordinated for sequencing needs within the corridor.
Once Lift One Lodge’s approval documents are recorded, staff will begin working on a number of items
and documents associated with the Skier’s Chalet Lodge, as the city will transfer that building over to AHS
and ASC, as well as an operations plan between ASC and the city for summer and winter operations within
the corridor.
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