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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19870526Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 26, 1987 CITIZEN COMMENTS 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 3 ORDINANCE #17, SERIES OF 1987 - Refunding 1985 Sales Tax Bonds 4 ORDINANCE #15, SERIES OF 1987 - Elimination of Vendors Fees 4 GMP APPEAL - 1001 Ute 5 LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Andre's 7 LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - O'Leary's 7 GMP EXTENSION REQUEST - Hotel Aspen 7 COORS CLASSIC 8 RED ROOF INN REPORT 9 PISTON BULLEY AGREEMENT 9 ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 1987 - Self-Collection of Sales Tax 9 REEDER ANNEXATION 10 REPORT ON UNDERGROUNDING QUESTIONNAIRE 12 INCREASED APPROPRIATION FOR MAROLT BRIDGE 14 RESOLUTION #16, SERIES OF 1987 - Zoning Map Correction Alpine Acres 15 SK I COMPANY MEETING 15 18 R_eaular Meetina Aspen City Council May 26. 1987 Mayor Pro Tem Walls called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Councilmembers Collins, Fallin and Isaac present. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Dan Arrow said he was disappointed Council took the stand they did on the Aspen mountain improvements and that the gondola issue was separate from the pricing issue. Arrow said although this is a valid point, actions that indicate an overall philosophy which are not beneficial to the entire community are often more important than a specific issues, and there are precedents. Arrow pointed out the federal government puts sanctions on countries which have views that conflict with those of the United States. The government also puts tariffs on country when there is an overriding philosophical issue, the welfare and benefit to the entire United State. Arrow said some cities and counties deny application from rodeos because of cruelty to animals. Arrow said there are plenty of precedents for taking action on the use of the gondola during the summer. Arrow stated government is legitimate only if it is an expression of the people, and the people have expressed themselves in the last few weeks. Land use issues should be judged not only on their own merits but also on the general benefit to the community. Arrow requested Council either re-open the issue of recommending the gondola or come up with a resolution stating the disagreement with the philosophy of the Skiing Company and ask them to undo the damage that has been done and to meet with the community in some forum. Arrow said the community wants to meet with the Skiing Company and to work with them to make Aspen the best skiing resort. Glenn Horn, planning office, told Council the Commissioners met this morning on the Aspen mountain improvements. There were many public comments on the pricing, and there was not time to take action on the Skiing Company's request. The meeting has been tabled until Friday, May 29th. Councilman Isaac said Council discussed this and decided not to send any comments. Councilman Isaac reported he sent his comments to the Skiing Company. Councilman Isaac said this not before the Council. 2. Richard Roth, co-chairman of ARC, urged Council to come up with a sentiment of their feeling on the ski ticket price issue. Rot h said Council individually discussed the pricing issue but has not made a statement as a Council. Roth told Council over 2300 people have signed a petition asking for a meeting with the Skiing Company. The Skiing Company has not announced a public meeting with the community. Roth said Council is the elected officials and they should come up with a collective view on the pricing issue and not sit on their hands. Roth urged Council to take some action on the pricing issue and an affordable, non- validated ski pass. 1 Regular Meeting -- Aspen City Council May 26, 1987 3. Laurie Adams requested clarity on the farmer's market issue from the previous meeting. Ms. Adams told Council she thought they had approval to do a farmer's market on private property and at the Rio Grande. Ms. Adams said staff said the approval was just for Saturday on the Rio Grande property. City Manager Bob Anderson said his interpretation of Council's action was that the Rio Grande was to be used on Saturdays for a farmer's market. Anderson said Council did not direct a change in the administrative policy in appropriate use of private property. 4. Glenn Horn, on behalf of 1010 Ute Avenue, told Council the applicants have completed all documents f or final plat approval. The applicants have requested to be on the June 8th agenda and to be heard by the present Council before swearing in of the new Council. Horn said he feels this would be a good idea because this Council has more familiarity with the project. Horn pointed out no one has gone through the city's subdivision process starting in December and finishing in June. 5. David Herrington requested the Agate (Victorian Square) also be heard on June 8th before the old Council. Glenn Horn told Council the Agate application has not been certified as complete by staff nor has it been referred out, and it is not ready to be placed on a Council agenda. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said it is fine to have these two items on the old Council agenda if they are ready to be heard. 6. Hans Gramiger said the Council should take credit for the Marolt bridge and should be there f or the dedication June 6th. Gramiger said at that time Council should take a look at the intersection of 7th Street with West Hopkins avenue. Gramiger said it is necessary to widen that part of 7th street. Gramiger said the city will be liable for a safe trail to the Marolt bridge. Gramiger asked Council to lobby the Commissioners to declare the width necessary for 7th street for legal traffic and for a trail. 7. Jim Colombo urged Council to provide a public forum format for discussions with the Skiing Company. Colombo said land use issues should not be tabled because of this and the community unsettlement should be resolved as soon as possible. Councilman Isaac said he understood the Skiing Company has said they will meet with members of the community. Councilman Isaac said Council should say they are willing to meet with the Ski Company and discuss the pricing decisions. Councilman Isaac said he would like to keep the forum open. Councilman Isaac moved to add to the agenda as VII (m) the possibility of the Council meeting with the Ski Company in a 2 Regular Meetina _ Aspen City Council May 26. 1987 public meeting to discuss the pricing; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. 8. Laurie Adams asked if the issue of farmer's market is closed or can the possibility of extending it to 2 or 3 days a week be looked at. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said she would not favor using the Rio Grande during the week as it is used f or parking. Ms. Adams asked about using the Rio Grande for Sundays. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said she would not object to Sundays. City Manager Bob Anderson said the use on weekends could be adjusted as they go. COUNCILMEMBBR COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Fallin said she had a call from a homeowner on Waters avenue who was upset about the commercial allocations being reduced in the improvement district. The major concern is that homeowners on Waters avenue are not getting the same degree of upgrading as the rest of the district. Councilwoman Fallin requested staff address that concern at the June 8th meeting. 2. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said Council voted down Ordinance #15 at the last meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said there are 3 Councilmembers in favor of the ordinance, and there was no public opposition at the hearing to that ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said Councilman Isaac requested Ordinance #15 be tabled until he could be present. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said she voted on the prevailing side to defeat the ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Walls moved to reconsider Ordinance #15, Series of 1987, Elimination of Vendor's fee; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Pro Tem Wall s moved to add reconsideration of Ordinance #15, Series of 1987, as item VI (c) ; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. 3. Mayor Pro Tem Walls noted on the consent agenda is the Ruedi Water and Power Authority requesting a $500 contribution to pay for the analysis of the environmental impact statement, biological study portion, f or the sale of Ruedi water that the Bureau of Reclamation is planning. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said RWPA hired a Wetlands Consultants of Boulder to analyze the study for any possible mistakes. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said the consultants did a very thorough job, and this shows that the conservation f 1 ow requirement s that are part of the BOR sal a plan cannot be supported on the basis of their benefit to endangered species and they will automatically increase adverse impacts to Ruedi and the Frying Pan. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said RWPA is getting support from the Colorado River Water Conservation District. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said the only way to f fight these sales is to f fight 3 Rectul~r Meeting--- -- ---- - -Aspen Ctv -Co-uncil Mav- 26. 198 every change that is tried to be made. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said the formation of the RWPA was brilliant and is a way to present a united front. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said Council needs to continue to support RWPA. Every jurisdiction in the valley belongs to RWPA, except Garfield county. ORDINANCE #-17 . -SERIES OF 19-87 - Refunding 1985 Sales Tax Bonds Cindy Shafer, finance director, recommended Council table this and the next ordinance to June 8th. Ms. Shafer said the market may turn around in the next two weeks. Ms. Shafer said in the refunding portion of this, the city is trying to save $200,000 in the land fund to make the refunding feasible. Ms. Shafer said if this cannot be accomplished, Ordinance #17 will be rewritten to issuing the $600,000 bonds that are already authorized. Councilman Collins moved to table Ordinances #17 and 18, Series of 1987, to June 8; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #15-,----5~~2I-ES - OF--1987 - Elimination of Vendors Fees Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #15, Series of 1987, as amended to be effective January 1, 1988; seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilman Isaac suggested using this revenue to give to the ARA as a marketing fund. Cindy Shafer, finance director, said this money is land fund money and can be used for any land fund purpose. Staff projected receiving 558,000 for 1987. Councilman Collins said it may be premature to vote for this now as it is not going to go into effect for 6 months, and Council will be discussing self-collection of sales tax later on the agenda. Ms. Shafer said this is a separate issue. This is a fee the retail person keeps when they fill out their sales tax return. The other discussion item is whether the city finance department should be collecting the tax from the retailer or whether the state should collect the tax. Councilman Collins said self- collection of sales tax may be better done jointly with the county. Ms. Shafer said the county cannot collect their tax right now. Councilman Isaac asked how many other cities have a vendors fee. Ms. Shafer answered a number of cities have reduced it or eliminated it completely. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Collins, no; Fallin, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Walls, yes. Motion carried. 4 Regular -Meet-i ng --- ---- ------ ~-spe n C-ity Council Mav 2 6 . 19 8 GMP APPEAi, - 10 O1 Ute Glenn Horn, planning off ice, reminded Council they heard an appeal on this project several months ago and Council's decision was to remand the scoring to P & Z to make sure there were no abuses of discretion or violation of due process. Horn said staff felt this process was fair for the applicant. Horn told Council P & Z rescored the entire project, it was not limited to any one issue, and one of the chances the applicant took when this was rescored was that scores could change in either direction. Horn told Council the first score was 31.67 and the second scoring was 31.65. The minimum threshold for an allocation is 31.8. This application did not meet the threshold again, and the applicant has filed another appeal saying that a P & Z commissioner abused his discretion because he changed scores in certain categories. Horn presented to Council the scoring from P & Z on both times. Horn told Council P & Z member David White adjusted his scoring down in several categories. Horn told Council it is staff's opinion when an applicant goes through restoring, they are taking a chance on the scoring going either way. Horn recommended Council uphold the scores awarded by P & Z. The alternatives available are to alter P & Z's score, as requested by the applicant; schedule a hearing to score the project, or remand the project to P & Z again. Ron Austin, representing the applicant, said when the last appeal was heard, the applicant took issue with whether the Code allowed for a remand and stated the only remedy was Council reviewing the scores and determining whether there was an abuse of discretion or lack of due process. Nonetheless, the applicants went along with the remand procedure. Austin said the appeal process is part of the code and is part of the system. Austin said when this project was rescored, it was on all points in all areas. The applicants had asked that the review be on the areas where the controversial scores were in the first place. Austin t old Council the P & Z was handed their first scores sheets, available to determine what they had done in the first instance. Austin said in the areas where the score was reduced by David White, there was no new information presented at the restoring by staff , by P & Z no r by the public. The only information presented on storm drainage was why the applicants felt they should have been scored higher because of offering to grant the easement to complete the drainage system of f Aspen mountain. Austin stated in the absence of some new information, given the nature of the appeal with respect to specific scores, there can be no basis for reducing scores in the areas where there were no new issues raised. Austin said it may appear the applicant is getting due process with this appeal, however, they may have 5 Reauiar-Me-e-~t-na-------- - ----A-sne~ -City Council Mav_ 26. 1987 gotten the wrath of a P & Z member for taking the benefit of a code provision allowing an appeal. Austin said the new scores, even if they are a mistake, are an abuse of discretion because there is no new data. There is no basis to downscore a category. Austin told Council one commissioner kept this project from reaching the threshold, not be decreasing scores in the areas that were appealed but by decreasing scores in areas where there was little room for scoring differently. Austin said this results in a lack of due process. Austin urged Council to end the appeal process at this meeting, to acknowledge the P & Z members can make mistakes, and adjust the scores to the original scores of P & Z member David White. Austin told Council this project has received conceptual PUD approval with conditions. This is not a controversial project. Austin reiterated the city code gives the applicant the right to appeal. Horn told Council the applicant presented arguments why the scores should be the minimum. P & Z had a hearing. Austin said there were 4 different categories in which there was no new information detracting from the original scoring which received lower scores. Councilman Collins said the first appeal, he perceived a selectivity in how the applicant interpreted the scores. Last time it was another P & Z member who was faulted for scoring low in certain categories, and yet had a higher total than the other commissioners. Councilman Collins said the fact the two different scores come out so closely, indicate that the process comes up with the same answer. Austin said this appeal is based solely on the fact that one commissioner by reducing his scores 1.75 points in areas where there was not additional information and no objections raised is an abuse of discretion. Austin said to reduce these scoring areas without a rational basis is an abuse of discretion. Councilman Collins pointed out one of the commissioners changed the score in the other direction and increased his score. Councilwoman Fallin said she favored remanding this to the P & Z the first time because she felt the hearing might have been rushed. Councilwoman Fallin said she is not willing to become the P & Z and rescore this application. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said when one goes back a second time for rescoring, it gives a chance to score either up or way. Councilwoman Fallin moved to deny the appeal by the applicant for the 1001 project; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. 6 Regular ~t~etina ----__. _____ ._A~.pe-n -City Council ~ May 26. 198 L IO UO~--L-I CEi~1 gE fi~A~SLF~ER - Andre ' s Thi s i s a transfer f rom Compania Chinona S. A. to Andre U1 rych. Ulrych told Council he will be operating the business, which will be much the same with a new menu. Councilwoman Fallin said Andre's has been known as a place where the underage can get in and drink. Councilwoman Fallin urged Ulrych to be very strict about this in his establishment. Ulrych told Council the 15 years he managed Andres, there was never a violation and he always had someone stationed at the door. Councilwoman Fallin moved to approved the transfer of the liquor license to Andre; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. Ulrych told Council he would like permission to move the existing bar over 6 feet to move open more dining area in the back. Councilman Collins moved to approve the relocation of the bar at Andres; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in f avor, motion carried. IQUOR L IC-ENSE TRAidSFE~t - 0' Leary' s This is a liquor license transfer from O'Leary's Pub Inc. to High Country Enterprises, Inc. owned by Rowland Krupp, Larry Mages, Patricia Franks, Joshua Saslove, Donald Bouloukas, Maury Guttman and Walter Stein. This business will be continued the same. Councilwoman Fallin moved to approve the transfer of the O'Leary's liquor license to High Country Enterprises; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. GMP EXTEiVSi-~T~- REQUEST - Hotel Aspen Glenn Horn, planning office, reminded Council the Hotel As [pen received a GMP allocation several years ago. The Code has a provision if the building is not built within 33 months of the conceptual submission, the allocation is lost. There is an extension provision up to 180 days if the applicant has shown diligence in trying to construct the units, and if it is determined this is in the best interests of the community. Horn told Council the applicant has been pursuing financing, which has become more difficult to obtain because of changes in the lending requirements. Horn told Council it is in the best interest of the city to extend this allocation. The Hotel Aspen is a smaller lodge, and it is important to maintain diversity in the community. Staff is recommending 180 day extension in the GMP allotment. Councilwoman Fallin asked w hen the next lodge allocation is. Horn said it will be at the end of the year. 7 Re4ular Meet-inu - -~- --- - --- - Aspen Ctv Coun~~~ Mav 26 , 198 Councilwoman Fallin asked if this extension would be up and if f financing was not obtained, would the lodge rooms be available for the quota. Horn said it will be very close, and the decisions could be paired if Council chooses. Councilwoman Fallin moved to grant a 180 days extension t o the Hotel Aspen lodge; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. COORS OLA~S-I-C Patsy Malone, personnel director, told Council the Mayor requested this be tabled until the next Council meeting. The Mayor has not been able to get in contact with Coors about renegotiating the $10,000 fee down to $8,000. Ms. Malone told Council Coors is still negotiating with ESPN for television coverage; there will not be coverage by the major networks. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said Coors wants to add another leg of the race, starting in Aspen and ending in Vail. This will cost Aspen another $2,000 as well as feeding and housing the racers for an extra day. Ms. Malone told Council the beds and food would cost another $6000 on top of the extra $2,000 fee. Ms. Malone said in 1986 there was $2,000 for paving in the budget, and paving will not be needed this year. Councilman Collins moved to table until the next meeting; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Councilman Isaac said he f eels the extra 52,000 is too much when the town gets no benefit. Councilwoman Fallin said the city has already allocated $25,000 and she is not willing to give the Coors Classic any more money. This request would total over 531,000 and when you add in the money the lodging community loses on the bed and further asks the restaurants for food, the community is contributing between $75,000 and 5100,000 to put on this event. Councilwoman Fallin said she does not feel this expense is worth that to the community. This is one of the busiest weekends of the summer, and the Coors Classic does not bring that much business to Aspen. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said she objects to Coors coming back at the last minute asking for more money, time, beds and f ood. Dan Arrow, CCLC, said this event has a great impact on the commercial core. There are gas station s that have to close all day and lose business. Councilmembers Isaac and Collins in favor; Councilwoman Fallin and Mayor Pro Tem Walls opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Isaac moved to continue to f and the Coors Classic up to $25,000 allocated; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Walls. All in favor, motion carried. 8 Re ct-a l a r -Meet i n-c~- - ----- -__ __~~~e n -City - C~un c i i_ May 2 6. 19 8 7 Councilwoman Fallin moved to table the contract to June 8 for the old Council's agenda; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. RED RE3E1F __ lt~N-- RE R@RT City Manager Bob Anderson told Council he has met with Infotel in order to give a progress report. Infotel has had a preliminary structural report on the premises and has found one area that is not up to what they would like. This will not stand in the way of their deal. Infotel has proposals out to appraisers as part of their financing. Anderson told Council Infotel is negotiating with a sports psychologist to add into their partnership and to expand their scope. City Attorney Taddune reported he is meeting with Infotel this week. They are firm on their price. The contract is contingent upon their ability to finance 70 percent of the project. Councilman Collins said there should be some deadline on the negotiations. Anderson said he feels it is to both parties interest to get this completed as soon as possible. Anderson said he hopes to have a contract for Council's review at the next Council meeting. Taddune pointed out this will have to be done by ordinance. P I STAN SL~L~ E-i~-A~E~ME-N~ City Attorney Taddune told Council this is a revision to the previously approved agreement. The reason for the revision is that the Nordic Council is not an organization that can be used in municipal financing for lease-purchase purposes. Taddune told Council the new documents have not been presented to his office. Councilman Collins moved to table this to June 8th for the new Council; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Isaac. Motion carried. ORDINANCE --#-2.1;--SER3~--4F- -987 - Self -Collection of Sales Tax Cindy Shafer, finance department, told Council the issue is whether collection of sales tax by the city would pay for itself or bring extra revenues. Ms. Shafer told Council the city could do as good a job as the state depending on how much personnel this would take and whether it would be cost effective. Ms. Shafer said the other cities who collect sales ax themselves do see additional revenues. However, Aspen can only collect the 1 percent city tax, and it is not obvious this would pay for itself. Ms. Shafer told Council staff could commit one-half person and break even financially but not get any better information on the status of businesses. Ms. Shafer said the city could assign a full time person to the collection effort 9 Reau-1 ar -Meet-i-n-cr--------_---------As-~en-- City e~uncil - Mav- 26 , 19-87 which would yield more accurate information but perhaps not additional revenues to cover the investment. Ms. Shafer recommended if Council is interested in pursuing a collection effort, they discuss this with the Commissioners. If the County is also interested in self-collection, this could be combined in one position. The problem is the state does not allow counties to collect their own sales tax. Mayor Pro Tem Wall s said combining this effort with the county seems to make more sense. Councilwoman Fallin said there is the possibility if a county wants to collect their own tax, they could pursue legislation through the state. Council agreed to discuss this with the county and indicated they are not interested in pursuing self-collection of 1 percent sales tax. RE EDER - AI~i3-RXAT-i6i~1 Assistant City Manager Mitchell told Council Lyle Reeder and Hans Gramiger have brought an annexation to see if Council is interested in going forward. Mitchell told Council the applicants are interested in developing this property, which is on the lower portion of Shadow mountain. Mitchell said if Council chooses to annex this property, they will have some control over the review of the development. Lyle Reeder presented a map of the proposed parcels for annexation, including the city-owned Little Cloud parcel, Hans Gramiger's Pride of Aspen, and Reeder's lot 20. Reeder told Council both lot 20 and the Pride of Aspen are entitled to lot splits because of their size. Reeder told Council the adjoining property owner, John Tucker, may also be interested in annexation. Sunny Vann, representing Tucker, told Council his client owns several mining claims and currently has a growth management exemption for the construction of 4 single family dwelling units on the property. Vann said with the nature of the site, it will probably require this be developed in a PUD concept and will require county review. Vann said one of the mining claims is technically eligible for a lot split which would result in an additional unit, raising the total development to 5 units. Vann told Council Tucker is interested in annexation, and there are benefits which could accrue to Tucker and to the city. Vann pointed out that Tucker cannot do a lot split and be exempt from growth management in the city. Vann said he is examining the feasibility of obtaining the lot split approval in the county prior to making a decision about proceeding with annexation. Vann said if the site is too difficult to get approval in the county, this would clear the way to annexation as the total number of units in the city or county would be the same. Vann told Council Tucker would like to develop the property to its development potential, since these units are free and clear of 10 Rea txl-ate - -Me-~-t-i n a--------- ------- -- ~e-rr----~stv~ __Cn-un c ri - -- - - _ Ma v - ~ 6 , l 9 8 growth management. Tucker would like to develop the units in a way that is acceptable to the community. Vann said he would like to know if there is interest in the city to review the applicants under the city regulations as opposed to having them reviewed in the county. Mayor Pro Tem Walls asked what the advantages are of having this property in the city. Mitchell said Council will have to deal with the problems of development on these parcels. This is up the slope on Shadow mountain and the neighborhood will be concerned about view planes, road access. Mitchell said there is a possibility of making land trades to preserve the base of Shadow mountain if this property is annexed into the city. Mayor Pro Tem Walls asked if this property is annexed, would there by any right for further development in the city. Vann answered said the build out potential is theoretically greater in the county than the city. Vann explained the county has a lot split provision which allows 2 units outside growth management, which provision does not exist in the city. Vann said they would have to compete in growth management in the city to achieve the same results. Reeder said some of the benefits to him in annexation would be lower water rates, voting in city elections. The properties would be subject to the city's real estate transfer tax. Councilman Isaac said the county regulations better deal with geologic and other hazards, and these sites have steep slopes and avalanche danger. Councilman Isaac said the Council does not have all the information and it is difficult to tell whether it would be better to annex before or after development. City Attorney Taddune said the petition was not sufficient and the applicants withdrew the application. Taddune told Council one component of the applicant was an annexation agreement, which may address some concerns Council has. Taddune told Council this is before them to give the applicants an indication whether they are interested in annexation or not. Glenn Horn said he feels it is in the city's best interest to see these parcels are developed in a unified parcel as one planned unit development. Horn stated there could be a signif icant adverse impact on the city and Shadow mountain neighborhood if these parcels are developed individually without common driveways and common planning for all utilities. Horn said the city should take a leadership role to see the site is planned as one site. Horn said annexation may be the vehicle to do this. Councilman Isaac said if the city can guarantee there will not be greater density and can secure easements for the trails, and does not disregard the concern for the geological hazards, annexation makes sense. 11 Re au-1- ~r-~e-e~ ti-rna---- _ -- - - - -~s ~e rr - ~ t~-_ C~un c-i l - - - - Mav --2.6 1-9 8 7 Mayor Pro Tem Walls said Council does not want to increase density as a result of annexation. Councilwoman Fallin suggested directing Mitchell proceed on annexation, work with the planning office and come back to Council with recommendations. Mitchell told Council staff could come up with a specific annexation agreement containing any specific conditions. One of the issues is the significance of the area and whether the city wants to have any control over it. Mitchell pointed out the whole Shadow mountain area has been identified as an annexation area. Councilwoman Fallin asked why not do the entire area. Reeder said in this case all the applicants would sign the petition and there would be no one opposed to annexation. Reeder said this area contains about 21 acres. Horn told Council he feels everything possible should be done to get Tucker to join in the annexation. Horn said the houses do not make the most sense on the specific property sites. Mayor Pro Tem Walls indicated Council is interested in going the next ste p with the application. Mitchell said he will negotiate an agreement and bring back specifics. R-EP6RT _f}I~i-- L~I~~L~-R$iJ-I~H-I-~Jf~-~ESTIf~1iV-AIR~ Chuck Roth, engineering department, told Council staff mailed out questionnaires to the property owners in the proposed improvement district area to determine if the property owners were in f avor of forming a district. Roth said the reason for forming a district is that the city is burying the primary distributio n lines but the secondary distributions were not part of the city's plan and still need to be burred. Roth told Council 1400 of these questionnaires were mailed out and staff received back about 500 responses. Roth said the results seem to be in favor of forming a district. Roth reported some residents were unhappy with details of the questionnaire. Roth said one concern is there are 1400 property owners but only 560 will have to bury their service connection and why should 1400 people be voting on this. Roth pointed out this is a neighborhood of all the people. Roth said of the responses, 229 need to underground their service and only 35 voted against doing a district. Roth said it appears the city should proceed with a district. Roth said one issue is the city going to charge people to do the connection to change from overhead to underground and is the city going to charge for wrecking out the overhead plant. Roth recommended the city does not charge for these. Roth pointed out the electric department may need to have a personnel increase to do this work. Councilman Isaac asked if this could be paid f or out of the electric bonds. Council agreed they would like this paid for out of the original electric bonds. 12 1-ar- -Me~e-t i-rra--- --_ _.. ____~ As~e rr --Ei tv ---C~unc i _ _ __ _.. _Mav __ 2-6..._..19 8 Councilwoman Fallin asked if a property owner has already done the work and the utilities are underground, they will not have to participate in the district. Roth said that is correct and people that plan to do the undergrounding themselves by a certain date, will not have to be in the district. Councilman Isaac asked how it is determined who is in the district and who isn't. Roth said if city proceeds with the formation of the district, a list will be generated of all properties that have to have their services undergrounded. The list will contain how much it will cost f or this service. People will have a chance to remonstrate at that point. City Attorney Taddune said there will be notices to the individual property owners and in the newspapers. Roth told Council the $27,000 includes notifying property owners, preparation of the specifications and the contract documents for the project. Jan Collins told Council some property owners have come up with a different picture of the answers to the questionnaires and suggested an independent analysis. Ms. Collins told Council the constituency is unanimous in its support for undergrounding. Ms. Collins pointed out in the responses, 102 people were interested in the district, 192 had already done undergrounding or will do it at their own expense. Ms. Collins said the West Side Improvement Association is anxious to get the undergrounding completed but are concerned that all the pieces are not present. Ms. Collins pointed out if only 200 people desire undergrounding, perhaps a district is not needed. Ms. Collins asked how this will be made an equitable situation with Holy Cross customers, who are not getting the same service the city is going to give in undergrounding secondary connections. Roth told Council there is a policy difference between the city and Holy Cross. Roth said the staff does not feel they have any jurisdiction in asking Holy Cross to change their policy to match that of the city's. Roth pointed out Holy Cross customers are paying lower electric bills than city customers. Roth noted that Holy Cross has buried conduit to the property line from the transformers. Councilman Collins said the entire district may cost between $229,000 and $500,000. The staff is asking for 527,000 plus already spent 59,000 which seems like a large percent of the entire project. Roth said the appropriation request tonight comes out of the underground electric bonds. This will be backed into the district. Taddune said one of the primary reasons for this district is to force the people who either cannot or will not underground their secondary service. Taddune said it is not known how many services the city will have to take to underground nor how much it will cost. Taddune said who will underwrite the administrative costs has been discussed. It is presumed these will be spread out among the people whose service has to be undergrounded. Taddune told Council the 13 1 a r --Me~et-i-n-~--- -------- --------~s-n~n --C tv -.~~txn c~i~l~- ---- -- _ -- _.M~-_ ~6_, . _l 9 district format is the most available to force the property owners to underground, because the city will do it for them. Councilman Isaac asked if Banner is the right firm to do this phase of the work. Roth said staff advertised for the design of the primary system and received 8 proposals. Roth told Council Banner seemed the best; they have done undergrounding in Snowmass and Vail, they are local, and are familiar with what the city has done in the past. Councilman Collins moved to table this issue until the next meeting f or more information. Councilman Coll ins said he would like the 540 overhead lines identified. Councilman Collins said the more the districts shrinks, the most cost per person to set the district up rises. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said that cannot be answered until this survey is done. Councilman Isaac moved to proceed to proceed with the district, to move that the 120 days requirement of Resolution 7, 1987, be waived, and to approve the $27,700 contract with Banner; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. Ms. Collins said when the city did the commercial core undergrounding, the residential units were taken care of by the city. Ms. Collins said there should be a resolution with Holy Cross as a district cannot be formed when people are not getting the same service . Budge B ingham pointed out there are a few older people in the proposed district who may have f financial hardship in dealing with this expense. Bingham requested the city take this into consideration and mitigate any hardship of this type. Roth said staff has discussed this but has made no plans for hardship cases. Councilwoman Fallin suggested using the guidelines the city uses for water customers for this electric service. Councilwoman Fallin said the city's guidelines exclude the value of the home in the total resources and use the old age pension guidelines. Assistant City Manager Mitchell said in the water department, the city charges the minimum. Mitchell said staff would need some direction as to those people who qualify, what type of adjustment i s needed, and will the city pay for this. Anderson suggested deferring this assessment until sale of the property. Council requested this be addressed in the formation of the district. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. i-NCR-E~S-RD--A --F6R---i~R~f3i,-T - -B~i-~3C~ Chuck Roth, engineering department, reminded Council they had awarded a construction contract for $271,000 and granted a 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 26. 1987 $19,000 contingency fund. Roth told Council most of the contingency fund has been used, related to poor soils found under one of the pier f ootings. Roth told Council the city' s restoration at the site is probably insufficient and more money will need to be spent to bring this to an acceptable condition. The entire appropriation for the bridge was $500,000 and there is money to cover any existing problems. City Manager Bob Anderson said the issue is, does staff have permission to use some of that 530,000 for additional landscaping. This money has already been appropriated but not been approved in a specified contract. Councilman Isaac moved that the city manager make sure that the 1 andscaping is accomplished as needed out of money already appropriated by Council; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Walls. Roth told Council the original bid came in at 5315,000 and Council awarded a contract of $271,000. The city whittled the bid to get it to a reasonable amount, knowing that some items would have to be put back in. Councilwoman Fallin asked what the city promised the landowners in the area. Assistant City Manager Mitchell said the city did promise a fair amount of landscaping. Councilman Isaac said he would like staff to make sure the project is done properly within the budget. Hans Gramiger said the approach of south 7th street extended needs to be brought up to standards to accommodate the additional traffic. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Fallin. Motion carried. RESOLUTIOi~i -#-lfr;---SE~IEB- OF 19-87 - Zoning Map Correction Alpine Acres Steve Burstein, planning office, told Council this is a small subdivision along Matchless drive and when it was annexed into the city it was zoned R-15; however, the official zoning map states it is R-6. Burstein reminded Council they had initiated a rezoning to R-6. The zoning map is in error and the city attorney's office has recommended Council take an action to amend the zoning map. Councilwoman Fallin moved to approve Resolution #16, Series of 1987; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in f avor, motion carried. SK I COMPANY -ME E ~ ~iG Councilman Isaac said the Skiing Company has said they were willing to have a meeting with community leaders. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said the Skiing Company is going to have a public meeting within 3 weeks. Richard Roth told Council Jerry Blann has said 15 Regular Meeting--------- _ _Aspen -Cites Council __ _ -i+~tav --26......1987 the public meeting will be scheduled around Rlutznick's schedule. It just seems like this is nebulous. Roth requested Council to come up with a sense of resolution on these issues. Roth said the petition has 2300 signatures on it. Councilman Collins said the Council responded to this issue at their last meeting on the Skiing Company's amendment for their mountain. Councilman Collins said Council determined at that time that the two issues were separate. Councilman Collins said outside Council meeting, councilmembers have met or talked with various officials of the Skiing Company. Councilman Collins suggested Council urge the Skiing Company to look at the entire pricing questions as it is a multi-layered community problem that needs to be addressed. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said Council agenda item last meeting was discussions of master plan amendments on Aspen mountain. The city has no power over the Skiing Company or the Commissioners. Mayor Pro Tem Walls said she did not want to leave the Commissioners in a vacuum as to what the Council would like t o see happen on Aspen Mountain. Councilwoman Fallin pointed out the Commissioners, not the Skiing Company, were requestin g comments from the Council. Councilwoman Fallin said she feels it is in the interest of the Skiing Company to have a public meeting, and in the very least meet with the Council and Commissioners. Roth said individually Council has expressed an opinion on the pricing issue but has not spoken collectively as a group. This issue effects people on all levels of the community. Councilman Isaac said the city should make a formal request to the Skiing Company to discuss ski prices for next year and the future. Councilman Isaac said this should be in a spirit of cooperation and not attack. Roth said his committee ha s made meaningful suggestions to the Skiing Company and would like to get a resolution to that issue. Roth encouraged Council to take a leadership role in this issue. The petition that has been circulated requests a reasonable affordable pass with a daily validation and a reconsideration of the $35 a day lift ticket and that a public meeting be held to discuss these issues. Councilman Isaac moved that the Mayor Pro Tem personally contact the Skiing Company to discuss the $35 a day lift ticket and an of f ordabl a skiing s ituation for local people; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin on the condition this is meant in the spirit of cooperation and is not tied to land use issues. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Collins moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. The consent agenda is Liquor License Renewal - Chelsea's Terrace; Contribution to Ruedi Water & Power. All in favor, motion carried. City Attorney Taddune recommended further proceeding against the two remaining defendants in the Castle Ridge case may be cost 16 Regular Meeting----------_ __.__ .. _-Aspen ~i-tv Counoil- _ Mav 26 . 1987 ineffective. Taddune told Council co-counsel does not feel there are any assets that can be attached from Wilbur Carlson or from Peco. Co-counsel is estimating proceeding with trial will cost between 525,000 and $50,000. Mayor Pro Tem Walls asked if the contractor had insurance. Councilman Collins said Colorado contractors have to carry general liability and workman's compensation. Taddune said the city obtained 5210,000 several years ago through an insurance settlement. Taddune said there has been much transition in city personnel and answers to some significant questions have not been answered, one of which is why wasn't a performance bond obtained. Taddune said the city ha s collected on general liability on all defendants except Wilbur Carlson and Peco. Councilman Coll ins moved to adjourn at 8: 20 p.m. ; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. J~ - Kathryn Koch, City Clerk