HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.cclc.100423REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION OCTOBER 4TH, 2023
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Chairman Ball called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m.
Commissioners present: Terry Butler, Charles Cunniffe, Kiki Raj, Stephanie Davis, Noemi Kiss-Baldwin,
Jeb Ball, Bill Dinsmoor and Amanda Tanaka. Absent was Angi Wang.
Staff present:
Emmy Garrigus, Downtown Services
Bill Linn, Assistant Chief, Aspen Police Dept.
Braulio Jerez, Patrol Officer, Aspen Police Dept.
Sara Ott, City Manager
Mike Sear, Deputy City Clerk
Other attendees: Alycin Bektesh, ACRA
Ward Hauenstein, City Council
Mr. Ball started by reminding the members of the Armory open house and tour scheduled for 4pm
today. He then went over the agenda for the meeting.
Presentation: Homelessness in the Core – Stephanie Davis
Ms. Davis started her presentation by giving some examples of issues related to the homeless
population she had observed around town. She said that she had talked with a few different community
leaders and city staff about the overall homelessness situation in town. She felt it was being handled in a
good and thoughtful way but thought more could be done before it got worse. She mentioned that
there are several cities that are currently writing “camping codes” into law. She then went over her
concerns for the homeless population as well as the safety of local community members. She noted that
she had lived in Los Angeles and San Francisco where the homeless situation was a big issue. She wanted
to bring up and discuss the local situation with CCLC to see what could be done to avoid things getting
any worse.
Mr. Linn confirmed the homeless situation and said that while it is something to discuss, it is not illegal
to hang out in a park and not be clean. He said that many of the homeless population are long time
locals and continue to live that way. He noted that the Aspen Police Department does write tickets when
they are able to per the Municipal Code.
Mr. Ball asked if they had seen an upward trend in the population or if things have stayed stable.
Ms. Ott responded, noting that there is a database on the homeless population and the data is used to
help target services along with Pitkin County. She said there are currently about 100 unhoused people in
the database.
Mr. Linn said that the Day Shelter at the Health & Human Services Building is now more of a structured
program and less of a congregation space.
Ms. Raj asked if there were any other congregation spaces for the population to use other than public
spaces. Ms. Ott said there was not.
There was some discussion about ideas that could help the homeless population and make progress on
the issue.
Mr. Ball asked how often the Police get calls about specific behaviors versus just general calls from
businesses about the issue. Mr. Linn said it was not very often but there is a cadence of calls from
community members.
REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION OCTOBER 4TH, 2023
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Ms. Bektesh asked if it was an issue that is affecting businesses. She also asked if there were any
overnight shelters in Aspen. Mr. Linn said there is an overnight shelter at the Health and Human Services
building, but that St. Mary’s church was no longer operating an overnight shelter.
There was then some more discussion about the current operations that were available and thoughts
about better interacting with the homeless population.
Mr. Linn said there are many conversations happening around the valley about this topic.
Mr. Dinsmoor asked why CCLC was talking about this.
Ms. Davis said it was a relevant topic as it was happening in the core and affecting businesses.
Mr. Dinsmoor said that businesses should be aware that they can contact the Police about concerning
situations and not just after something has happened.
A number of the commissioners reiterated that most issues are for the Police to handle, and that
businesses and community members should call the Police if they are concerned about a situation.
Ms. Ott summarized the ongoing talks and the City’s overall view of the situation. Mr. Linn and Officer
Jerez shared their contact information.
2024 CCLC Goals Discussion – Jeb Ball
Mr. Ball handed out a list of the 2024 CCLC Goals from the last meeting and briefly described them.
These included the Armory Repurposing, Holiday Lighting, and the July 4th Parade. The members briefly
discussed each of them.
Mr. Cunniffe asked if the CCLC budget could be added to the list.
There was then some discussion about how to rank the focus areas by importance.
Block Captain Assignments – Jeb Ball
Mr. Ball moved on to the Block Captain program and passed around a map of the downtown core and
asked the CCLC members to sign up for a block of their choice.
Ms. Garrigus reiterated CCLC’s purpose and said that the Block Captain program was a great idea.
There was then some discussion about how the program would work. Thoughts included having
conversations with businesses on your block and creating a feedback loop between the businesses and
City staff and City Council. It would also help to provide a familiar face for the businesses.
The conversation moved to the Saturday Market and there was some discussion about ideas for next
year.
Ms. Tanaka mentioned having a Kids vendor area and potentially having food vendors out on the street
after Labor Day.
Ms. Raj then motioned to adjourn the meeting. All in favor, meeting adjourned.
_____________________
Mike Sear, Deputy City Clerk
REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION OCTOBER 4TH, 2023
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