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Home My WebLink Aboutminutes.council.19980209Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 1998 PROCI ,AMATION - Aspen Olympians ..................................................1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ...............................: ..............................1 COUNCIl ,MEMBER COMMENTS .....................................................1 CONSENT CALENDAR ...................................................................2 Minutes- January 12, 14, 26, 1998 .........................................2 .........2 . Resolution #10, 1998- Contract - Street Equipment ................................2 Resolution #11, 1998 - 1/2 Sales Tax Expenditures .................................2 Ice Garden Request for Budget Allocation ............................................2 WATER PI .ACE HOUSING UPDATE ................................... ..............2 ORDINANCE #4, SERIES OF 1998 - Grand Aspen Extension .....................4 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 1998 Mayor Pro Tem 'Richards called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m. with Councilmembers Markalunas and Vickery present. PROCLAMATION - Aspen Olympians Mayor Pro Tem Richards read a proclamation honoring Aspenites representing their country and competing at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan - Kate Monahan, Alex Shaffer, Chris Klug and Jim Finch. The Mayor and Council recognize, commend and applaud these athletes for their outstanding accomplishments in their sports. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION There was none. COUNCILMF. MBER COMMF, NTS 1. Councilman Markalunas commended LySa Usher, transportation department, for all her efforts to encourage city employees to use alternative transportation. Councilman Markalunas showed a brochure from Ms. Usher given to all members of TOP. 2. Councilman Vickery acknowledged the letters he has been receiving regarding resident occupied units. 3. Councilman Vickery reported on a conference last week attended by staff and elected officials from the Roaring Fork valley. Councilman Vickery said there is momentum for everyone to work together up and down the valley. 4. City Manager Amy Margerum told Council the executive session should be canceled and a work session on Burlingame Ranch added to the end of the Council meeting. 5. City Manager Margerum reminded Council of the community lecture by Dr. Joan Borysenko, The Healing Power of Community at the Wheeler Opera House tomorrow February 10th at 6 p.m. The community lectures are sponsored by the City, Leadership Aspen, and the Aspen Institute. Regular Meeting Aspen City. Council February 9, 1998 6. City Manager Margerum noted Council has received a memorandum from the HPC on the historic review of the former Paepcke house at 414 North First. The HPC is holding a public hearing February 11 at 5 p.m. on the demolition and reconstruction of this house. P & Z and Council are invited to this meeting. 7. Start Clauson, community development director, introduced an intern from Slovakia who is studying winter resort towns. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Vickery. The consent calendar is: · Minutes - January 12, 14, 26, 1998 · Resolution #10, 1998 - Contract - Street Equipment · Resolution #11, !998 - 1/2 Sales Tax Expenditures · Ice Garden Request for Budget Allocation All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Markalunas moved to continue Ordinance #45, Series of 1997, to February 23 and Ordinance #3, 1998, to March 23; seconded by Councilman Vickery. All in favor, motion carried. WATER PI ~ACE HOUSING LIPDATE Steve Barwick, assistant city manager, told Council this project is near completion after a 4 year process. Barwick reminded Council the purpose of this is to provide housing for emergency response workers and to help in recruitment and retention of key positions in the city. Barwick told Council 18 of the 22 units have been allocated to emergency response and key personnel. Barwick told Council there are some requests for the other 4 units. Staff is requesting $187,000 from the Wheeler fund balance to allow the new executive director of the Wheeler to rent a unit until she is more settled and can decide 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City. Council February 9, 1998 whether or not to buy a Water Place unit. Staff requests use of a studio unit for recruitment of the community relations officer. Staff would like to allow the water and electric department to buy down some units with money previously approved through the asset management plan for 4 employees, rather than 3 employees. There will be one category 4, three-bedroom unit and staff would like to put that into a lottery for city employees. Council may discuss whether this lottery should be open to other emergency response personnel in Pitkin County. Barwick requested $9500 from Council contingency or general fund balance to hire an asset manager replacement. Barwick noted that one unit is allocated to a maintenance worker. in the parks department. The parks department would like to use $74,000 of their funds to buy down that unit to a lower category. Councilman Markalunas suggested the city use some Wheeler excess funds to buy down this unit and get a better than market return rate, like the city is doing with child care funds. Councilman Markalunas said .although communications is not purely a city department, it is a critical department for all city employees who use a radio. Councilman Markalunas suggested they may want to get in the lottery for this unit. Mayor Pro Tem Richards said she is supports buying down units to a lower rate. Mayor Pro Tem Richards said the money for the asset manager should come from the general fund fund balance not Council's contingency. Mayor Pro Tern Richards said she would like the lottery be open to city employees first before open to emergency workers throughout the community. City Manager Margerum suggested staff find out if there is interest in this unit from the fire department, communications or mountain rescue. Ms. Margerum suggested a reversion clause in any unit that if they leave their organization, the unit come back to the city. Council supported the use of the money from water and electric funds for their emergency response employees and also the use of a unit for the community relations officer. Council agreed the money for the asset manager should come out of general fund balance. Council agreed with buying down the unit for the parks department employee using money out of general fund balance and then paying this money back out of the appropriate fund. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February. 9, 1998 ORDINANCE #4, SERIES OF 1998 - Grand Aspen Extension Councilman Vickery moved to read Ordinance #4, Series of 1998; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #4 Series of 1998 AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING AN EXTENSION OF THE DEMOLITION DEADLINE FOR THE "GRAD ASPEN HOTEL" FROM OCTOBER 1, 1998 TO OCTOBER 1, 1999, AMENDING SECTION M AMENDMENT TO THE FIRST AMENDED AND RESTATED PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT/SUBDIVISION AGREEMENT FOR THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN SUBDIVISION, ASPEN, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council the Music Associates requested the city extend the deadline for the demolition of the Grand Aspen hotel from October 1998 to October 1999. This deadline arises from the planned unit development agreement for the Ritz hotel. In 1995, the original date for demolition of the Grand Aspen hotel, an extension was requested in order to accommodate music students. This extension request was controversial and opposed by some small lodge owners. In 1995 a citizen roundtable met and discussed concerns of extending the deadline for the Grand Aspen. There was an agreement to allow the Grand Aspen to stay open with fairly stringent conditions, including closing the hotel during the off season and limiting over half the rooms to large groups. Ms. Margerum told Council the MAA has been working diligently to try and build additional student housing; however, even if they started today it would not be ready for the summer of 1998. MAA has requested a one-year extension of the Grand Aspen. The same group was convened to go over community concerns from 1995 and present. Ms. Margerum said there was not a proposal that everyone could live with.. The majority was to allow the demolition deadline be extended to October 1999 with the same conditions from 1995. Ms. Margerum told Council the positives of allowing the Grand Aspen are that everyone in the Community benefits from the Grand Aspen; non-profit groups use the hotel, 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 9, 1998 performing artists stay there, rooms are given for non-profit events in the city. Everyone but the small lodges gain from the Grand Aspen staying open. John Sarpa, representing Saranab Limited Partnership, pointed out that because SLP is currenfiy working with the city on land use approvals on this site, if that process would move forward and there is an agreement for that site, SLP did not want to find themselves in the position to have to have the Grand Aspen open ~ summer of 1999. Sarpa told Council SLP asked the group for the option to give notice by January 15, 1999, on whether they will be open for the summer. MAA agreed to that. Councilman Markalunas encouraged the small lodgse to try and work with the MAA and help them out. Edward Sweeney, MAA, told Council they have worked with small lodges in the past; however, larger blocks of rooms are for the dormitory-type housing. Mayor Pro Tern Rioharris said she supports this. Since the first request for ' extension, there have been changes in the small lodge community. Council has passed the small lodge ordinance which allows underlying zoning. Several small lodges have closed or are changing use. Mayor Pro Tem Richards pointed out forcing demolition does not force construction. The city could have a large hole at the base of the ski mountain for several years. Mayor Pro Tem Richards said she does not want to see additional' construction while both the Hines and Moore projects are getting underway. Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt Ordinance//4, Series of 1998, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Vickery. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Vickery, yes; Markalunas, yes; Mayor ProTein Richards, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Markalunas moved to adjourn at 5:55 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Vickery. All in favor, motion carried. ~n~S. Koch, City C1/¢/~rk