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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19930303Special Meeting Aspen City Council March 3, 1993 Hayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. with Councilmembers Pendleton, Peters and Richards present. RED BRICK RENOVATION AND MANAGEMENT Amy Hargerum, city manager, reminded Council at the last meeting they directed staff to proceed with a management agreement with the Arts Council to manage the project. On the renovation portion, Council directed this be taken to the Historic Preservation Commission for their advisory comments on demolition or moth balling of part of the building. Council also asked for better costs on what it would take to close off and leave the older part of the building until such time as money was raised or architectur- al drawings were completed. Ms. Margerum told Council the HPC met February 24th. HPC unani- mously voted against demolition of the older portion of the Red Brick School. HPC indicated they would be in favor of adding this building to the historic inventory. HPC voted 4 to 3 in favor of designating this as a landmark building. Staff looked at costs to moth ball the older portion, including adding a new roof, and it would cost about $128,000 to mothball the building. Hs. Hargerum told Council she has received comments from the public that they have not received enough notice about this meeting. Councilman Peters said he favors mothballing to see what the other options are. Councilwoman Richards said this should have been sent to HPC earlier in the process. Jon Busch pointed out the differ- ence in cost between 1 and 2B is $140,000; at 14,000 square feet that is $10/square foot. Council needs to look at whether it will cost more to rehabilitate 14,000 square feet or to build 14,000 square feet. Busch said he feels it will be cheaper to rehabili- tate rather than build a new building. Busch said the smaller alternative appears to be providing the arts with too little space. Hs. Hargerum said one reason the committee recommended demolition of the old building was the cost per square foot of renovating versus building a new building. Applying the available budget over the entire building would be spreading the money too thin. Hs. Hargerum suggested if Council were to pick mothballing the old portion of the building, that a deadline be set on deciding what to do with it. Lee Ambrose said if the city is doing this project, they should be setting an example for any other developer in town and not using different standards. Ambrose noted the committee hired a consultant who told the committee what had to be done to meet codes. Ambrose said the maintenance costs will be astronomi- cal if the renovation is done to bare minimum standards. Special Meeting Aspen City Council March 3, 1993 Councilwoman Pendleton said energy efficiency and structural renovation are basic renovation items. Painting and finishing can be done by the tenants. Councilwoman Pendleton asked for examples on what the better upgrade for the smaller portion would be. Hs. Hargerum said the $1 million will be used for the roof and plumbing and heating. Councilman Peters said the city will not know what is cost effective until they get actual bids. Councilman Peters pointed out for $128,000 the city could get alternative 2B and mothball the old portion of the building. Councilman Peters said he would like to invest the money in design work to preserve the building. Julia Harshall agreed it is a good idea to spend the money to make the 1970's portion a quality building; mothball the older portion and let the community decide over the next year what to do with that portion of the building. Sy Coleman asked when there will be standards for eligibility for tenancy. Joann said the committee sent out letters asking for interest in this building. Joann said the eligibility is that the uses should be non-profit arts groups. Joann agreed with moth- balling the older portion of the building. Hs. Hargerum told Council the eligibility standards have yet to be worked out. This was put on hold until Council decided who would manage the building as they should have part of that decision process. The management agreement will lay out the criteria by which that group will decide who gets to go into the building. Coleman pointed out one of the most precious resources in this valley is indoor space. Jon Busch agreed the city should look at this facility beyond meeting the present needs. Jill said the committee would like to see an arts center available within the next year, which is why they recommended 2B. Jill agreed the older portion is a valuable space but cannot be done with the available money. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed to getting a time limit on moth- balling the older section. Councilwoman Pendleton said very little money should be spent on this portion. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would like the arts group in the building this coming summer; the Arts Council should be managing the building and have a manageable building. Councilwoman Richards noted the Aspen Area Community Plan talks about trying to create community serving spaces. Councilwoman Richards said she feels a year deadline on the older portion of the building may be too short for the community to figure out how to organize and use the space. Councilwoman Richards said she does not want to design a project that is too small before it is finished. Councilwoman Richards said there is the chance of demolishing the older portion of the building and not ever being Special Meeting Aspen City Council March 3, 1993 able to replace it. Councilwoman Richards said she feels demoli- tion is only an alternative if it will substantially reduce the price of the project, like affordable housing units as a replace- ment. Councilman Peters suggested the next step is to hire an architect. Councilman Peters said the city should put out on RFP for architectural services and specify options like basic renovation of the entire building, basic renovation of part of the building and mothballing the old building indefinitely and/or short term mothballing. Hayor Bennett asked if the committee has addressed spaces for the arts and how much is enough; what does this building do for the arts space need of Aspen. Lee Ambrose said the committee tried to accommodate the arts groups as they saw the list with space that could be provided within the budget. Ambrose said no one knows what the ultimate demand will be. Ambrose said the committee felt they were addressing the issue to the best of their ability and accommodating as many people as possible. Julie said the committee found a difference between the amount of space arts groups said they wanted and the amount of space they could pay for. Coleman said the city should also think about arts groups that have not even been formed yet. Hayor Bennett said Council seems to favor a modified alternate 2B which is mothballing the older portion of the building. Councilman Peters suggested waiting until there is a complete Council before making a decision. Ms. Margerum said this will be a two-step process; doing RFPs, then bidding these out for architectural drawings. If there are 2 options, there is a lot of extra effort. Hs. Hargerum said staff could come back at the bidding process and have this be the next decision point. Hayor Bennett said it ought to be bid both 2B and 1. Hs. Hargerum said the costs cannot be refined much further without working drawings. Hayor Bennett requested a phasing approach for the next regulation Council meeting. Councilman Peters suggested staff investigate whether the space in the older building should be programmed to be subdivided. Councilwoman Pendleton said she is concerned about the timing and she wants to see the arts groups in the building this summer. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adjourn at 7:05 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Ail in favor, motion carried. Special Meeting Aspen City Council March 3, 1993 Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk