Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19890724Regular Meetinct Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 1 CIVA PRESENTATION CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 4 CONSENT AGENDA LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Aspen Skiing Company 5 ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 1989 - GMP Quota Code Amendment 5 ORDINANCE #51, SERIES OF 1989 - Amending Duplex Require- 6 ments ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 1989 - Repealing R-15A Zone 7 ORDINANCE #36, SERIES OF 1989 - Noise .. 8 ORDINANCE #39, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations 8 ORDINANCE #44, SERIES OF 1989 - Holy Cross Easements 9 ORDINANCE #45, SERIES OF 1989 - Banning the Sale of Ivory 9 ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 1989 - Prohibiting Street & Utility Construction in rights-of-way during summer 10 1989 RFTA BUDGET AMENDMENTS 11 1988 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 11 AUDIT CONTRACT 12 REQUEST FOR FUNDS - James E. Moore Pool Cover 12 AUTO FREE DAY REPORT 13 ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 1989 - Historic Designation 15 ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 1989 - Rezoning Holiday House 16 PLACEMENT OF CONQUISTADOR STATUE 17 PARKING STRUCTURE MODIFICATIONS 17 RFTA VAN/CAR POOL 2 0 FREE USE OF THE WHEELER - Roaring Fork Railroad Association 20 23 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 BOARD APPOINTMENTS 2 0 LEASE FOR ZOLINE PROPERTY 21 24 Mayor Pro Tem Gassman called the Councilmembers Crockett, Tuite CIVA PRESENTATION meeting to order at 5 : 05 p . m. with and Peters present. Dottie Coppock, CIVA, thanked Council for their contribution to the guide listing valley organizations and services. Ms. Coppock told Council this guide will be updated annually. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said this guide is a great idea and the first time everything has been listed in one place. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Kay Clark, representing the Western Slope Railroad Associa- tion, told Council they are planning a Tom Wells film of the Great Train Robbery at the Wheeler Opera House on August 24. Ms. Clark asked Council to consider waiving the fee for using the Wheeler. Councilman Tuite moved to add this to the agenda as item VIII(k); seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Al Blomquist, representing the Shadow Mountain neighborhood, told Council they are very appreciative of what is happening at the Koch property. The parks department is doing a terrific job of sodding, etc. Blomquist suggested the conquistador statue could be moved to the Koch property temporarily. Council said they are discussing the placement of this statue later on the agenda. 3. Mark Kirkland, representing Aspen Concerned Citizens Coaliti- tion presented Council a poll they took of the prioritization of issues they feel Council should be focusing on, such as housing and parking. Kirkland said the ACCC would like to open a dialogue between their group and Council to better achieve the goals of the community at large rather than pursuing some of the international issues that are best left to the international community. 4. Frederick Becker, West Francis Street, a member of the ACCC, said it is his understanding the federal government has put a ban on the importing of ivory. The ivory situation is international in scope and in handling. Becker said some countries in Africa charge a lot of money to hunt elephants in an effort to cull the herd. Becker said the money goes back and helps to establish wildlife parks. Becker said he does not feel Council needs to be establishing bans on marketable products in this town. Becker said Council should be spending time on issues that need to get done in the city. 5. David Mitchell said often things have to start at the local level to get legislation moving. 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 6. Kay Gallup asked if it is unconstitutional to ban the selling of furs. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said at this point the city does not know. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said there is currently no proposal before the Council to ban anything. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Peters asked if there is any action on the crosswalks on Main street. City Manager Bob Anderson said the highway department will be doing the crosswalks next week. 2. Councilman Peters asked about the staff research about campaign spending limits. Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, said he has done some preliminary research and will have a report ready for the next regular Council meeting. 3. Councilman Peters said the Council discussed the Shadow Mountain trail easements but did not take any action on easements across the Parlour car property. Councilman Peters said he would like to pursue this easement. Deputy City Manager Ron Mitchell said this is scheduled for the August 14th agenda. 4. Councilman Peters said he would like to see the housing office consolidate a master waiting and application list for housing. Councilman Peters said there does not seem to be coordination between the lists for the various projects. Councilman Peters requested the housing office create master lists. Jim Adamski, housing office, said the housing office can do this; however, this will take more resources. Adamski agreed the housing office should do this in order to control the waiting lists. Council agreed this is worth looking into and requested a report back from the housing authority. 5. Councilman Peters asked about the status of the undergrounding of the city's electric project. Chuck Roth, engineering depart- ment, told Council they are anticipating this be almost 100 percent complete in 4 weeks. Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, reminded Council the problem with this project was the people who chose to do the work themselves are still on poles. The city would have to cut off service to them in order to get the poles out. Gannett told Council the city has the ability to do this but has been hesitant to do so. 6. Councilman Crockett reported he, Spence Videon, Bil Dunaway and Bob Maynard made a proposal to the 10th Mountain Division to have their 50th anniversary in Aspen. Councilman Crockett said this proposal was too late. Spence Videon told Council their hearts are in Aspen but Vail treated them too well. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 7. Councilman Crockett asked about the ban on open burning in the city. Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, reminded Council at the last meeting they adopted a motion to support the Governor's proposal. 8. Councilman Crockett asked Council to schedule a follow up meeting for the goals. This was scheduled for July 26 at 5:00 p.m. Councilman Crockett asked if this is the appropriate time to include the department heads in the goals session. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman suggested discussing that process at the meeting. 9. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said the dinner with the County Commissioners is scheduled for August 3 at the Steak Pit. The dinner is not exclusive and everyone buys their own dinner. 10. Councilman Crockett asked from Boards if the Council can voted. Council agreed. when there are referral comments get the vote and how the members 11. Councilman Crockett said he went on a picnic with the PCPA and found that the city is not exercising some water rights because of lack of repair of ditches. Bill Efting, leisure services director, told Council staff will be coming in with a capital project request this fall. 12. Councilman Crockett moved to put the nominations to Boards and Commission on the agenda as item VIII (1) ; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. 13. Councilman Crockett said staff is requesting a work session with John Musick, city's water counsel, on water and extension policies. Councilman Crockett asked if this would be an appro- priate time to also discuss the Holy Cross buy out. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said there is a study session on July 31 to discuss Holy Cross. There will not be enough time to discuss both issues. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman requested an introduction on the water issues at that meeting and then schedule another work session. 14. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said the city just received a grant from the state for $13,000 to assist with local preservation efforts. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman congratulated staff on this. Roxanne Eflin told Council this is the largest grant any city received. Ms. Eflin told Council this is the third year the city has received this grant. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said this weekend there is a preservation workshop jointly sponsored by the state and the city of Aspen. 15. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman encouraged Council to look at the Koch park. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman complimented the city staff on putting this project together. It has taken very little money. Mayor Pro 3 Regular Meetinq Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Tem Gassman thanked Leon Fell who kept pushing this project. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman also thanked Ralph Melville who donated a lot of good quality fill for this project. 16. City Manager Bob Anderson asked Council to table VIII(g). Mayor Pro Tem Gassman moved to table Fee Increase Criminal Justice Records to August 14; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. 17. City Manager Bob Anderson requested Council reschedule the joint meeting with the Commissioners that was scheduled for August 8. Council scheduled this for August 22 to discuss revenue sharing, GIS, planning department agreement. 18. City Manager Bob Anderson told Council he has met with the Castleridge committee and has made some agreements which make the rate increases across the board better. Anderson said he is continuing to work on this. Councilman Peters said the tenants have been very involved and have been a great asset in negotiating with the owners' representatives. Anderson said the committee has gotten good response from the owners on the short term issues. Anderson said one thing that needs to be responded is the amount of the increase that is over 5 percent be escrowed. 19. City Manager Bob Anderson requested Council add the lease for the Zoline property to the agenda. Anderson said the applicant would like a sense of Council's direction. Council agreed to put this on the end of the agenda if there is time. 20. Councilman Crockett told Council he is concerned about the time on the moratorium. Councilman Crockett asked if there is a way to get the new planning director on board any earlier and to get her involved in the budget process. City Manager Bob Anderson said the new planning director will start September 4th. Anderson said Alan Richman is staying on another month. Tom Baker, planning office, told Council staff is suggesting a status quo budget which will give the new director flexibility and will request less time in preparation of the budget. Deputy City Manager Ron Mitchell chief building official. Mitchell building official in Teller county department here for 4 months. introduced Gary Lyman the new told Council Lyman was the chief and has been with the building CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Pro Tem Gassman moved to approve the consent agenda ; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Crockett asked if there is being any money requested for the Aspen Mountain bicycle cross country event. Charlie Tarver told Council this is the same event they had 4 Regular Meeting ____Aspen Citv Council Julv 24. 1989 last year and one of the four events comes into town. The consent agenda is A. Financial Performance Report (Craig Overbeck) B. Minutes - June 26, July 10, 17, 1989 C. Liquor License Renewals - Downtown Sports Center; Syzygy; Paradise Club (Kathryn Koch) D. Housing Office Staff Increase (Jim Adamski) E. Anderson House Resale Contract Amendment (Bob Anderson) F. Aspen Mountain Bicycle Cross Country Event (Patsy Malone) All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Aspen Skiing Company Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. City Clerk Kathryn Koch told Council the file, posting and publication are in order. Eric Calderon, general manager, told Council this is a full service 92 room hotel scheduled to open November 1989. The guest rooms will include mini-bars and gas fireplaces. The hotel includes 2 restaurants, a bar, meeting rooms that can accommodate 150 people. Calderon told Council there are 144 underground parking spaces, which are open to the public on a leased basis. There will be room service 24 hours a day, and the restaurants will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The facility will also service the people using Aspen mountain. Shlomo Ben Hamoo told Council he will have a restaurant there. Shlomo reminded Council there used to be a liquor licensed outlet there. Jonathan Steeler presented petitions with 190 signatures in favor of the license. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman asked for opponents. There were none. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved that based on the evidence presented at the public hearing held July 24, 1989, relating to the application of the Aspen Skiing Company for a three-way liquor license, the Council finds that the needs of the community have not been met and the license as applied for is hereby granted; seconded by Council- man Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 1989 - GMP Quota Code Amendment Alan Richman, planning office, reminded Council at the last meeting they reviewed and approved the portions of this ordinance which deal with the amendments to the GMQS. The second portion of the ordinance deals with duplexes, which has received a lot of comment. At the last meeting, Council tabled the ordinance and requested staff to amend it. Richman recommended splitting this ordinance into several ordinances. Ordinance #21 now deals with just the GMQS changes. The new ordinance #51 deals with the duplex issues. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Richman said there have been several changes to this section since first reading and publication. Having a new ordinance will require publication and public hearing, which is good because of the effects to duplexes. The new ordinance #48 repeals the R-15A zone and rezones those lands to R-15. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. Councilman Tuite moved to adopt Ordinance #21, Series of 1989, as amended, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Crockett. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #51, SERIES OF 1989 - Amending Duplex Requirements Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #51, Series of 1989; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #51 (Series of 1989) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DUPLEXES IN THE MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDEN- TIAL (R-6), MODERATE DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (R-15}, LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (R-30), RESIDENTIAL MULTI FAMILY (RMF), OFFICE (O) AND LODGE/TOURIST RESIDENTIAL (LTR) ZONE DISTRICTS; AMENDING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TWO DETACHED DWELLINGS IN THE R-15 AND R-30 ZONE DISTRICTS; AND AMENDING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IMPACT FEES APPLICABLE TO CONDOMINIUMIZATION was read by the city clerk Howie Mallory said this ordinance has the potential of fourplexing a lot of neighborhoods in the city. Mallory pointed out that several years ago the city down zoned residential neighborhoods. Mallory said the city does not seem to be consistent. Mallory said there is one solution to employee housing in place, and that is the citizens have committed to $17,000,000 towards providing employee housing at the Red Roof, Marolt, and bonding in the county. Mallory said the potential fourplexes in this ordinance should be removed until the community can see the positive impacts of the approved bonds. Mallory said he is objecting to the provisions in the ordinance which would make neighborhoods more dense. Jane Wade said her main concern is the density, the amount of traffic in the areas. Ms. Wade said the Cemetery Lane area has a lot of duplexes and families. With a 300 square foot accessory unit, these will be single people. Alan Richman said these units cannot be left vacant by the owner, and the housing authority can 6 Rectular Meeting Aspen Citv Council ___ July 24, 1989 lease these units. Ms. Wade said single family lots are not being made to add any employee units. Tom Schroeder said the Cemetery Lane neighborhood is made up of a lot of employee and employers and they feel they are providing employee housing. Christopher Bigley suggested if this is made voluntary, there could be a property tax incentive for building a fourplex. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said this ordinance would only effect structures that are totally demolished or vacant lots. People can remodel and not have to meet the provisions of this ordinance. Fred Peirce said this ordinance encourages people to maximize the floor area ratio and size of their duplex. This will increase size, scale and density. Richman said he would put together a question and answer pamphlet between now and the public hearing. Councilman Crockett said this ordinance is in response to the employee housing crisis. Council- man Crockett said it is not a stand alone ordinance but is a parcel of legislation the city is trying to address. Boots Ferguson said Council should consider the impact of this ordinance on the character of the neighborhoods. Councilman Crockett moved to adopt Ordinance #51, Series of 1989, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Tuite, yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 1989 - Repealing R-15A Zone Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #48, Series of 1989; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #48 (Series of 1989) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL REPEALING THE MODERATE DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (R-15A) ZONE DISTRICT AND REZONING THOSE LANDS PRESENTLY ZONED MODERATE DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (R-15A) TO MODERATE DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (R- 15) was read by the city clerk Alan Richman, planning office, told Council the R-15A zone district requires that newly built duplexes have to be half free market and half affordable housing. This is similar to the approach in the previous ordinance; however, Ordinance #51 provides more options to the homeowners. Richman pointed out if Ordinance #51 is not approved, Ordinance #48 should not be approved. Councilman Crockett moved to adopt Ordinance #48, Series of 1989, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Crockett, yes; Peters, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Tuite questioned the city wanting more 300 square foot accessory units in neighborhoods. ORDINANCE #36, SERIES OF 1989 - Noise Rick Bossingham, environmental health department, told Council this is updating the current noise ordinance, to update the definitions of zone districts because they have changed. Bossingham said this prohibits construction within the city limits from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. City Manager Bob Anderson said one of Council's goals is to shorten the construction time in the downtown core on street projects, and would this ordinance effect that goal. Bossingham said he does not think people would be amenable to having construction start before 7 a . m. Tom Dunlop, environmental health department, said there is a provision in the ordinance which allows for special circumstances, to start earlier. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. Councilman Crockett moved to adopt Ordinance #36, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #39, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations Cindy Wilson, finance director, told Council this ordinance contains some carry forward items from 1988, items allocated from the contingency fund, and an increase to the contingency fund of $100,000. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said he would like staff to look at reducing the photocopying. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said the Council gets stacks and stacks of information. City Manager Bob Anderson said the difficulty staff has is defining the level of interest Council has. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman asked staff look into this. Councilman Crockett moved to adopt Ordinance #39, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24j 1989 ORDINANCE #44, SERIES OF 1989 - Holy Cross Easements Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. Councilman Crockett brought up granting Holy Cross easements and then perhaps the city buys Holy Cross, will they have to pay for these easements. Councilman Peters said he is also concerned about the physical electrical improvements the city is deeding over to Holy Cross. Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, said the acquisition of Holy Cross would be the fair market value of the value of the services and the revenues generated. Gannett said the value of these easements would be negligible. Councilman Tuite suggested the easements state the city is giving these at no value . Gannett recommended this be tabled and a clause added this before Council adopts the ordinance. Councilman Peters asked staff look at the policy of deeding over improvements associated with develop- ment. Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, said the city can reserve the rights to take assets back in the event of acquisition. Councilman Tuite moved to continue the public hearing to August 14 ; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #45, SERIES OF 1989 - Banning the Sale of Ivory Jim True requested this ordinance be tabled at least until August 28th or no later than October 9th. True said 300 elephants a day are killed for their ivory and it is anticipated the elephant will be moved to appendix one of the list of endangered species. Lowell Nelson told Council some African countries have opposed the ban on the sale of ivory. Some countries have well managed herds and use the management program as the funding for the increasing of the park system in those countries. Nelson said this ordinance raises a question of what is good for Aspen and for Aspen's businesses. Nelson said the United States makes up 15 percent sale of the ivory of the world. Russell Newell said Aspen banning the sale of furs is working against the people as the city gets sale tax revenues from these sales. Gail Craig said the Council should be addressing the needs of this town and not trying to curtail businesses. Councilman Crockett moved to table Ordinance #45 until Council has completed their goals 1 through 16. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Councilman Peters said across the country communities are realizing that national politics are beyond the influence of local citizens so they are expressing themselves at the local level. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Councilman Peters moved to continue the public hearing to August 28, 1989; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Crockett said he is not saying that the city should not think globally; it is a question of priorities. Councilman Crockett said this issue is not as high a priority as items 1 through 16 on the Council's goals. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Crockett. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 1989 - Prohibiting Street & Utility Construction in rights-of-way during summer Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. Chuck Roth, engineering department, told Council this is a good idea as the city has had problems this summer with work that could have happened at some other time with less inconvenience to the com- munity. Ray Patch, Rocky Mountain Natural Gas, said this ordinance may limit their sale of product by disallowing them to put in a gas line when a business needs to open. Patch suggested a utility coordinating committee to schedule large projects. Cathy Zupancis told Council the alley near her business has been torn up 17 times in the last 15 years. Ms. Zupancis agreed she would like the times of this construction coordinated better. Ms. Zupancis suggested the ordinance be amended to include a public notice when these projects are going to take place. Ms. Zupancis said restaurants were stuck with extra supplies because they did not know about the construction projects. Ms. Zupancis said the notice could be in the newspapers. Bob Gish said he has met with the utility companies and they have agreed there is not enough communication. Gish told Council a utility group has been sug- gested. Ms. Zupancis suggested there also be representatives from the businesses on this committee to help coordination. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. City Manager Bob Anderson said this ordinance only deals with the downtown area. Anderson said the staff will do the coordination. Anderson said this committee may not be able to catch private contractors. Councilman Crockett suggested a variance procedure be included in the ordinance. Councilman Gassman moved to continue the public hearing to October 9, 1989; seconded by Councilman Crockett. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Councilman Gassman said he would like to see a provision for public notice, a way to exempt routine hook ups, and include the idea of increasing coordination and communication in the amended ordinance. All in favor, motion carried. 1989 RFTA BUDGET AMENDMENTS Bruce Abel, RFTA General Manager, told Council when the budget was in process, RFTA was still in negotiations with the Skiing Company about winter service. Abel told Council they made their best guess about the rolling stock. Abel said RFTA budgeted money to begin refurbishing the Bluebird fleet. Abel told Council during negotia- tions with the Skiing Company, they reached a resolution to allow replacement of buses rather than refurbishing them. Abel said the budget included $220,000 for refurbishing, which will now be an acquisition program. Abel told Council due to the changes in the tax laws, RFTA will no longer be able to secure tax exempt financ- ing for these vehicles. Abel said they will purchase these vehicles with cash. RFTA has a $1,600,000 cash balance. This budget amendment is to appropriate the cash to purchase 10 new vehicles, which will be usable throughout the service. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman closed the public hearing. Abel said this will leave RFTA with a $300,000 cash balance above the minimum cash reserve, which is 7 percent of sales tax and working capital. Councilman Peters asked if RFTA is pursuing a multi-year contract with the Skiing Company. Councilman Tuite said this is being discussed at the staff level. Councilman Tuite moved to approve RFTA budget amendment; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. 1988 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Cindy Wilson, finance director, introduced Jerry Alger, Grant Thornton, the city's auditors. Ms. Wilson said the city staff prepares the information, Grant Thornton audits that information, and it is up to Council to determine if they are going to accept the audit. Jerry Alger told Council the city received a clean audit opinion on the financial statements. Alger said the revenues exceeded expenditures. There is a slight improvement in the overall financial position. Alger said the water and electricity funds both show good improvement. Alger said there is sufficient revenue base to support the city's debt service. Alger said the audit went very well, and the city staff is knowledgeable and efficient. 11 Reaular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 AUDIT CONTRACT Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, asked why there is a provision in the contract that the city waives their right to a jury trial in the event of a dispute. Alger said this is common practice. If there is any problem, this can be taken out. Ms. Stuller said if the city and Grant Thornton litigate, this can be addressed at that time. Ms. Wilson told Council they city has contracted with Grant Thornton since the 1984 audit. This was a 3 year contract and extended to 2 more years. Ms. Wilson recom- mended Council approve a 5 year contract with Grant Thornton, subject to the annual appropriation. Ms. Wilson said this arrange- ment has become more and more efficient. Ms. Wilson told Council she is happy with the price and the service that has been provided. Councilman Crockett moved to approve the contract with Grant Thornton for 5 years at $28,500 as amended; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Peters asked if the more should be done in examining internal control and document verification. Alger said the current engagement with the city is what is required by the state. Alger said there is an additional level of in-depth review where the auditors would evaluate the internal control at a detailed level. Alger said this is more costly and he does not see it as necessary. All in favor, motion carried. REQUEST FOR FUNDS - James E. Moore Pool Cover Richard Roth said last fall this committee presented Council with two alternatives for a covered pool; an air supported system, and a beam supported structure. The Council gave approval for an air supported system, which will give year round use of the pool. Roth said the committee is requesting Council look at the beam supported structure. Roth said since the presentation to Council at their last meeting, the committee has received letters of support from the Red Cross, superintendent of schools, the Internal Medicine Associates, the Child Care center, Senior Citizens, and CMC. The committee feels the beam supported system would be more attractive, a better place to teach, and would last longer. Kelly Kelley told Council the use of the pool has increased 10 times in the last 10 years. Ms. Kelley said she is trying to be conservative in her estimate of pool usage. Ms. Kelley said the beam supported system gives a much better teaching deck for classes. Bill Efting, leisure services director, said the opera- tion and maintenance is a major cost. Efting said he feels this can pay for itself in 5 or 6 years. Councilman Peters asked if 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 staff will work with the pool committee to review the engineering specs. Bob Gish said he would. Councilman Peters asked who guarantees the engineering. Efting said the structure company will guarantee the engineering on the support beams. Efting told Council this project is going to the county for approval in August. Councilman Tuite said he supports the project; however, this is a lot of money and a subsidy of $90,000 a year. Councilman Tuite said he would like the users to pay their fair share. Jackie Broughton said the school has indicated they will pay for use. Efting said he would like to generate at least 50 percent of the costs. Swimming pools do not break even. Council- man Tuite said he would like to see the subsidy lowered. Council- man Peters said he feels the city owes it to the community to give them a first rate facility. Councilman Peters moved to approve $65,000 request to upgrade the cover at the James E. Moore pool; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said he likes that this has come about through a grassroots effort. The pool committee has put in a lot of work. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said he would like to keep the committee involved in the operations and how this gets paid for. Ms . Broughton said the committee will continue to work closely with staff on this project. All in favor, motion carried. AUTO FREE DAY REPORT Ellen Sassano, planning office, told Council response from the general public to the events was good; people enjoyed the quiet. Response from the business sector was not as good. Ms. Sassano told Council she did a follow up survey and about 60 percent of the businesses showed a decrease in business of 5 to 60 percent. RFTA ridership was up 13 percent in the city and 21 percent in the valley routes. Ms. Sassano told Council the intercept lot at Buttermilk was largely ignored. Ms. Sassano said staff feels an interceptor lot at the point of origin rather than destination would be more successful. Ms. Sassano said she feels the experiment was a success as it brought the use of the automobile in Aspen to the forefront and received a lot of response. Ms. Sassano said an auto free or parking free downtown in unlikely to be successful unless the city gives residents and guests reasonable and enticing alternatives to use of the automobile. Lee Cassin, environmental health department, told Council the way an auto inspection program would work is that Pitkin County would 13 Regular Meeting Ashen Citv Council Julv 24, 1989 adopt a program where vehicles registered in Pitkin county would be inspected. Ms. Cassin pointed out a lot of cars drive in Aspen that are not registered in Pitkin county. Ms. Cassin said Council could have an impact on the program by providing ways for people who do not 1 ive in Pitkin county but drive in Pitkin county to have their cars inspected. Ms. Cassin said staff would rather appeal to people's environmental concerns than impose this on people. Ms. Cassin said the public awareness program would be a continuation of the one started last year using a professional agency to develop an education program in conjunction with RFTA's marketing program. Ms. Cassin said emphasis would be given to ways to leave one's car at home. Ms. Cassin said a program could be started within city hall immediately, which would set an example for the community. Ms. Sassano said car pooling is a good way to start, and this, too could start within the city. Ms. Sassano recommended that all city vehicles be used for car pooling. Ms. Sassano said staff would like to see bicycles provided to all departments for errands. Ms. Sassano said there could be preferred parking in the garage for people who car pool. There could also be discounted parking passes to the parking garage for people who car pool and who have auto emissions stickers. Ms. Cassin said flex time for employees could be implemented. Flex time spreads out the peak load on the buses and shifts pollution to an earlier time when it is still windy and the pollution can disperse. Ms. Sassano recommended a residential parking permit program if there are parking restrictions in the downtown areas. Ms. Sassano said there have been suggestions that the city shovel sidewalks in the city to promote pedestrian use. Tom Baker, planning office, said if the city is going to do a permanent program, they will need to retain some consulting service to look at the overall transpor- tation picture. Baker said he likes the attitude of encouraging people to respond positively to the problem. Mark Friedberg said he hopes Council will look seriously at introducing the concept of an auto free downtown when the garage gets done to see how this will work. Councilman Crockett said he likes the public awareness program and would like to know how much it will cost. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman agreed. Councilman Crockett said he would like to see a master plan approach to less dependency on the automobile and how it integrates to the rest of the work the city is doing. Baker agreed the city has to look at the long term picture. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman agreed if the city can cut down car use in general, they may not have to do the more repressive things. Councilman Peters agreed this is a minimally invasive way to start with a inspection and information approach. Councilman Peters said the city ought to ratify the county's inspection program. 14 Rectular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Council said they are all in favor of the car pool approach and anything that can be done to help it. Ms. Sassano said hiring a marketing person for RFTA to promote car pooling is a good start. Councilman Tuite said this is in the process. Council agreed with the concept of flex time. City Manager Bob Anderson said he is in favor of flex time, but the city will have to balance the service needs. Flex time would not be equally accessible to all depart- ments. Councilman Crockett asked that the staff's input and support be elicited on this. Councilman Crockett said he would like more information on items 4 through 9. Councilman Crockett said he would like to see the sea level versus high altitude information for emissions validated. Councilman Tuite said he would like more information about how all the cars will be inspected. Councilman Tuite said he would also like to see all three counties in the valley being part of an inspection program. ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 1989 - Historic Designation Roxanne Eflin, planning office, told Council these are designations 96, 97 and 98. Ms. Eflin told Council the owners of 430 West Main and 406 West Smuggler have requested the $2,000 designation grant. Ms. Eflin told Council the code states that structures rated 4 and 5 are allowed a designation grant. Ms. Eflin said she feels it is appropriate for them to request this and will recommend at second reading Council approve this grant. Ms. Eflin said the code states there will be no more than 10 grants per year. This year there will be 6 grants. Councilman Crockett asked if this is setting a precedent. Ms. Eflin said HPC will formally adopt the new evalua- tion process and rating system, which will eliminate the numerical system. Councilman Tuite moved to read Ordinance #49, Series of 1989; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #49 (Series of 1989) AN ORDINANCE DESIGNATING 430 WEST MAIN STREET, 406 WEST SMUGGLER STREET AND 210 SOUTH GALENA STREET, AS H, HISTORIC LANDMARK PURSUANT TO DIVISION 7, SECTION 7-701 OF THE LAND USE CODE was read by the city clerk Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #49, Series of 1989, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. 15 Regular Meetinct Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 1989 - Rezoning Holiday House Francis Krizmanich, planning office, told Council the city has an application by the Aspen Skiing Company to expand the Holiday House and add 9 additional employee units. This is a request to rezone from LP to RMF/PUD. Krizmanich said one issue that will come up is employee housing that is operated by private employers. Councilman Crockett asked when the Council will be discussing water tap fees and employee housing. Deputy City Manager Ron Mitchell said he has a report from finance, which he will circulate this week. Councilman Crockett asked about the parking problem at this site. Krizmanich said there are only 12 spaces for a proposed 35 units. P & Z was concerned about impacts on surrounding properties. Parking is set by special review by P & Z, who felt the best way to deal with this was to have the Skiing Company designate 9 spaces off site or pay the cash-in-lieu. Councilman Crockett said he is trying to get the private sector to work in concert with Council and get people out of their cars and use incentives to do that. Councilman Tuite asked if the applicant is going to use conserva- tion devices. Phil Byrne, representing the applicant, told Council they are still in the initial planning stages and will be willing to work on conservation devices. Councilman Peters commended the applicant for taking a lead in employee housing. Councilman Peters said the growth management quota exemption is for 100 percent affordable housing. Councilman Peters said there will be 9 units in the Holiday House that will be free market. Councilman Peters asked if the applicant has considered deed restricting these also. Bryne said P & Z has requested the applicant deed restricted the entire project and they are working on this. Councilman Tuite moved to read Ordinance #50, Series of 1989; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #50 (Series of 1989) AN ORDINANCE OF THE 7.5 FEET OF LOT B BLOCK 60, CITY AND city clerk ASPEN CITY COUNCIL AND ALL OF LOTS C, TOWNSITE OF ASPEN REZONING THE EAST D, E, F, AND G, was read by the Councilman Tuite moved to adopt Ordinance #50, Series of 1989, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gassman, yes. Motion carried. 16 Regular Meetincr Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Councilman Crockett moved to apply the consolidated PUD to this project; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Tuite moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting for 30 minutes; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. PLACEMENT OF CONOUISTADOR STATUE Elyse Elliott, engineering department, said the conquistador statue, which was on the Rio Grande site had to be moved for construction of the parking garage. Ms. Elliott asked if Council would be interested in moving it back on top of the parking garage. Ms. Elliott said the statue belongs to the county, who have agreed to placing it on the parking structure. Councilman Tuite moved to put the conquistador statue on the parking garage; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. Council agreed to leave it where it is until the parking garage is finished. PARKING STRUCTURE MODIFICATIONS Steve Newman, RNL architects for the parking garage, told Council there are some design options to address the concerns due to the amount of water. Newman said two of these options are worth costing, and PCL has been asked to cost these. Newman told Council this water issue is a major issue and has schedule and cost impacts on the construction of the garage. Steve Pollock, Chen Glenwood Office, said they were asked to produce a sub-soil study report for the parking structure. Pollock said the work was done by drawing borings and assessing what the subsurface conditions were. The main emphasis was on the foundation design and what the building should be supported on. Pollock said they were concerned about the uphill excavation. The study was fairly extensive. Pollock told Council the study concluded the structure could be built on spread foundations and the excavation would need to be shored to maintain the stability. The ground water which was encountered and logged in the borings had to be dealt with. Pollock said the two con- clusions of the study were that the shoring had to be installed and that the dewatering had to be performed prior to excavating. Pollock said the conclusions regarding the water system were based on his experience in the area. Pollock said an underdrain system was proposed for the structure to address permanent dewatering. Pollock said the strategy was to open up the excavation and start the dewatering and come back in and re-evaluate the situation 17 Rectular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 regarding the design of the underdrain. Pollock said based on his experience on other projects in the area, the ground water had not been that severe. Don Ganser, hydrogeologist with Chen, told Council this is the first time that groundwater has been a problem with a major excavation in town. Ganser said there is more water than anti- cipated. Expectations rose from 200 gallons a minute up to 1500 gallons a minute during design. Right now there are 8 wells pumping about 2200 gallons a minute. The ground water levels for temporary construction purposes are about half way to the level that is needed. Ganser said the problem is the construction has hit a zone in an alluvial aquifer that is more conductive than was anticipated and is producing more water than was expected. Ganser said there was no data as to the aquifer characteristics in the area. Ganser said the current estimates are exactly that. Ganser said there is more water than expected and no one knows precisely how much water will have to be dealt with. Ganser said one approach is to do some preliminary work to refine the number so that RNL can make some cost evaluations so the Council has options to choose from. Councilman Peters asked if there is a possibility this could be water from flooded mine shafts. Ganser said there have been studies with the mine shafts, and they are at 300 plus feet in the valley in the bedrock formation. Ganser said he sees little impact from the mine shafts. Newman told Council they have looked at four different options. The first option would be to raise the garage because only two- thirds of the lowest level is causing problems. Newman said this option flies in the face of the SPA approvals because it would delete the park and the library would have to be redesigned. Newman said the costs would be high in this option. A second option would be to expand the garage under the library. Newman said a problem in this option is cost, which would be at least $1,000,000 more and the library structure would have to be inte- grated with the garage structure. The third alternative is to go with the existing design. Newman said if they can identify how much water they are dealing with, they can determine whether or not to go with the existing design. Newman told Council if there is 15,000 gallons a minute, this is too much water to get involved with both from the cost of pumping the water and safety of the garage. Newman said if they can identify they are at the low end of the 5,000 gallons per minute scale, they can go with the existing design. The fourth option is to delete half of the lowest level and lose 50 parking spaces. Newman said the excavation is now at that level, is dewatering and 18 Regular Meeting Asuen Citv Council Julv 24, 1989 is a reasonable environment to build in. Newman said this is the least expensive option. Jim Brown, PCL, told Council these are only projected numbers for the options. Brown said based on the 5,000 gallons per minute the temporary dewatering would cost $350,000; the modifications to the permanent dewatering is $360,000, delay and lost time is about $160,000, total of $850,000. Option b, deleting the lowest level of the garage would cost temporary dewatering $150,000, losing 60 days of construction and working in the winter $75,000 and $85,000 of delay costs, permanent dewatering system modified at $100,000, deleting level one $75,000, which does not eliminate a structural slab, for a total of $385,000. Councilman Peters asked how many cubic yards of concrete would be eliminated. Brown said he did it by square footage. Councilman Peters asked if there are additional engineering costs related to having this much water in the ground. Pollock said the plan is to construct at the grade excavated to date. Newman said if the lower level is deleted and proceed with the redesign work, the contrac- tors can resume work the second week in August. Brown told Council the contractors have been attempting to get rid of the water for 80 days. They originally had an allowance for 3 wells; there are now 8 wells in. Newman said he and the city staff will be looking at the delay and impact claims and analyzing the documents. Newman said they have identified a technique that will work where the soils and water below the existing excavation can be inves- tigated to determine what the gallons per minute going through the sand layer really are. Newman recommended the city have Chen do the additional investigation. If the water is on the lower end, the city should look at and cost out the option of increasing the capacity of the underdrain system and staying with the existing design. Newman also recommended the design team proceed as if the worst case will happen and do the redesign drawings to delete the lower level. Newman pointed out this would cost $350,000 and does not include any work on Spring street, which would add $200,000. Councilman Peters asked what is the risk to miscalculate the water, excavate down to that level and found out it is an impossible problem. Ganser said they will get within 10 to 20 percent of an accurate number. Right now there is no data to calculate the hydraulic conductivity, which is what the study is designed to gather. Newman said in the design of the underdrain system, they would take that spread into account. Pollock told Council the information they currently have with 8 wells pumping is very complex and there is no analysis that can easily account for all those super positions in the excavation. 19 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 Mayor Pro Tem Gassman asked if the design team has looked at and costed the option of not doing anything more this construction season and designing a new garage. Newman said the impacts would be great on the general contractor, and the city would incur very high costs. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman asked how much is left in the contingency. Mitchell said they have used some of this money for the dewatering and there is about $650,000 left out of $800,000. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman asked what effect losing 50 parking spaces would have on the revenues . Mitchell said the city will lose about $30,000 to $40,000 annually. It appears that over the long term, the city will be able to generate enough revenues. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman moved to concur with the recommendation in the letter of July 13, 1989; seconded by Councilman Crockett. Mitchell told Council the city has hired an independent hydrologist to look at the preliminary information. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said he has no criticism. This appears to be a problem no one know about. All in favor, motion carried. RFTA VAN/CAR POOL Councilman Tuite reported this project is moving along in hiring a market person. Councilman Crockett moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. FREE USE OF THE WHEELER - Roaring Fork Railroad Association Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said the Council has allowed some free nights in the Wheeler when it is a non-profit organization and it is free to the public. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said this seems to qualify. Kay Clark said the evening will inform people what is happening with the railroad in this valley and a possible future for a light rail system. Ms. Clark said the goal is to promote the purchase of the right-of-way for the purpose of transportation between Glenwood and Aspen. Councilman Tuite said he would like to make sure that down valley people are invited. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman moved to waive the Wheeler Opera House fee for August 24 for the first annual Roaring Fork Valley train movie; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. BOARD APPOINTMENTS 20 Reaular Meeting Aspen Citv Council Julv 24, 1989 Councilman Crockett thanked the people who have served on boards who are not reapplying or being reappointed. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said the city had a lot of good applicants. Councilman Peters moved to reappoint Welton Anderson, to remove Jim Colombo because of his attendance record and to appoint Richard Compton to the Planning and Zoning commission; seconded by Council- man Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Crockett moved to reappoint Rick Head and to appoint William Martin to the Board of Adjustment; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman moved to reappoint Charles Cunniffe, Bill Poss and Zoe Compton and to appoint Les Holst and Glenn Rappaport to the Historic Preservation Committee; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Tuite moved to reappoint Mike Otte and to appoint Bob Grueter and Jon Busch to the Wheeler Opera House Board; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Gassman moved to reappoint Harry Truscott and Doug Allen and to appoint Hall Parrott to the Housing Authority; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman moved to ratify the county appointments to the Board of Appeals; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Those are Richard Arnold, regular; Larry Doble, Augie Reno, Russell Penning and Billy Dittmar alternate members. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said he would be the representative to the Arts Council. Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, requested Council schedule an executive session with Susan Griffiths to hear the report on the Hadid lawsuits. Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, suggested Council continue their next regular meeting to August 15th at 5:00 p.m. LEASE FOR ZOLINE PROPERTY Chuck Vidal told Council they are developing a project in the county, which includes putting a golf course on the north side of highway 82 by the Grand Champions club. The staff decided this should be taken to a vote. Vidal said the city purchased the Zoline property for open space and to preclude development on the property. The vote to the electorate asked if golf could be used as open space. Vidal reminded Council originally they were also going to use the Red Roof as employee housing for this project. 21 Reaular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 1989 The city elected to retain the Red Roof and the two issues were bifurcated. Vidal said the applicants want to proceed with the lease of the Zoline parcel as a golf course. Vidal said the PCPA's position was tying this property up under a long term lease would maintain its open space character. City Manager Bob Anderson said the proposal is the applicant will take over the city's payments for the Zoline property. Anderson recommended the city also have the applicant make the earlier payments that were made to Zoline. Council should also discuss what the term should be. Councilman Tuite said he is willing to continue discussion but is concerned about the price. Vidal said having the applicants make the payments to Zoline would free up that money for other open space purchases. Vidal said the initial purpose of the acquisition was to sterilize the development rights. The city has accomplished that, and the applicants are not acquir- ing the development rights. Councilman Peters asked if the applicants had any land they could trade that would be suitable for housing. Vidal said they have been looking for land for housing since the city decided to keep the Red Roof. Vidal said they have accommodated housing on their property to 100 percent of their requirement. They do not have any excess land to trade for housing. Anderson said staff has examined holding out one or two potential housing sites on this land to sell on the free market, which would give money for employee housing. Vidal said an issue in the earlier discussion is that this course be available to the public. Rachel Richards said she feels it is important that this golf course has some conservation strips in it to leave room for the red tail hawks. Vidal said the course will be a "links course", which leaves a lot of natural terrain between the holes. This reduces the amount of water required. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman said he feels the golf course is an appropriate use. Mayor Pro Tem Gassman suggested that Anderson, Ms. Stuller and Councilman Tuite get together to negotiate an agreement for Council to review. Council adjourned at 10:10 p.m. Kathryn S Koch, City Clerk 22