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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19931108Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Reno, Richards and Waggaman present. OUTSTANDING BONUS AWARDS Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council the entire parks depart- ment has been nominated for their parks management program in which employees are assigned to a specific park for total care of the park. The entire golf staff was nominated for an employee bonus award for the quality management of the golf course. Walter Chi, police department; Karen Resh, parking department; Kendra Palmer and Neal Goldsborough, customer service department; and Rob Umbreit, finance department, were also nominated for outstanding employee bonus awards. Council presented these departments and employees with certificates and checks. NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR AWARD Nan Sundeen, human services director, presented Council with an award for participation in the Neighbor to Neighbor program. City employees have payroll deductions which are given to this program. Last year the city employees contributed $1800. Mayor Bennett accepted the award on behalf of the employees. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Raymond Auger said he believes no public transit system, other than those where travel restrictions are imposed, any place in the world has reduced traffic. Auger suggested Council or staff ask this question of their consultants to see what their answer is. 2. Fred Peirce said Council has to look at the impacts of affordable housing and not exempt these units from the growth management quota system. The city will soon be the biggest developer in the county. Mayor Bennett said the people working on the community plan spent months and months working on this subject. Diane Moore, planning director, pointed out that starting in 1994, there will be GMQS allocations for affordable housing units. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Bennett thanked everyone who voted for the new transpor- tation plan. Mayor Bennett said the governments will try and win the trust of the people who voted against the plan. 2. Amy Margerum, city manager, requested Council approve an appropriation of $12,000 to cover the work done on the water main break last week. The majority of the work was done by Elam construction and Aspen Earthmoving. Ms. Margerum said staff did an 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 excellent job responding to this emergency. Ms. Margerum told Council she received a letter from the property management company complementing the city staff. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to appropriate $12,000 from fund reserve of the water department; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 3. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council there will be a field trip for Council and members of the Asset Management Committee to tour all the city assets Saturday, November 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. Staff will provide vans and interested people meet in the alley behind city hall. 4. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council the city received an AIA award on the Aspen Area Community Plan. It is nice to have recognition of all the staff and community work on this plan. 5. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Coun cil there will be work on the electric transformers this Sunday in the commercial core. The electricity will be off from 8 to 11 a.m. as it is too dangerous to do this work before daylight. 6. Mayor Bennett asked who will be attending the Aspen to Snowmass decision makers meeting November 10th. Councilmembers Richards and Waggaman will attend. Amy Margerum, city manager, said the topics of discussion are the Basalt to Buttermilk EIS and a request to RFTA to start the procurement process for the new buses. 7. Amy Margerum, city manager, requested Council schedule an executive session on the super block negotiations and also a meeting with the County Commissioners to discuss water policy and the land use process. Council scheduled this for November 23 at 5 p.m. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilwoman Richards moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Reno. The consent calendar is: A . Minutes - October 4, 25, 1993 B . Request for Funds - Moore Pool Boiler C . Resolution #79, 1993 - Revised IGA Comprehensive Valley Transportation Plan Snowmass/Pitkin County/Aspen All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE AUTHORITY - Legends Transfer of Financial Interest and Renewal 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 City Clerk Kathryn Koch told the Authority Craig Glendenning purchased 36 percent of Legends of Aspen, Inc. This was not reported on last year's liquor license renewal. Joe Krabacher, representing the applicant, said the person who filled out the renewal failed to disclose the transfer of stock from Christina Ellis to Craig Glendenning. Krabacher presented the Authority with an outline of the financial transaction, and disclosure of lenders over 5 percent. Beth Ufkes, police department, said there have been no problems with the operation of Legends. John Bennett said the individual history form regarding the disposition of driving under the influence and the staff report do not coincide. Glendenning said he was mistaken in writing the DUI had been dismissed and corrected his application. Glendenning said he been part of the business for the last year and a half, has not had any problems, and has tried to be an asset to the community. Glendenning told the Authority he works in the establishment two night a week and takes personal responsibility for the business Ms. Richards moved to approve the transfer of financial interest and approve the renewal for Legends of Aspen, Inc; seconded by Ms. Waggaman. Reno said the Council should discuss appointing a separate liquor licensing authority. Amy Margerum, city manager, said staff is ready to meet and recommends doing it after the budget hearings and holiday. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #53, SERIES OF 1993 - Code Amendment, Condominiumization Francis Krizmanich, zoning department, told Council this ordinance provides a simple administrative subdivision process for subdivi- Ssion exemptions or condominiumizations, approved by the planning director. Krizmanich pointed out the ordinance eliminates the affordable housing fee for future condominiumizations. Krizmanich said there are other ordinances that help take care of affordable housing. This ordinance also eliminates the 6 month minimum lease restrictions, which is singled out in condominiumization and is in direct conflict with the new state legislation, Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act. The ordinance includes a definition of "long term" to strengthen the intent of the residential zone districts. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Jed Caswall, city attorney, pointed out by adopting this ordinance, 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 the Council is authorizing refunding impact fees paid since July 1992. Diane Moore, planning director, said this is between $15,000 and $20,000. Councilman Reno moved to adopt Ordinance #53, Series of 1993, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman, Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Richards, no; Reno, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. Diane Moore, planning director, told Council the owners of 834 West Hallam sent out notices regarding the second reading of the ordinance designating their structure as a historic landmark and that this meeting would be the public hearing. The public hearing is November 22. ORDINANCE #54, SERIES OF 1993 - Aspen Skiing Company Buttermilk Water Service Agreement Bob Gish, public works director, told Council this is a new structure at the base of Buttermilk. The city has the capacity to continue serving this facility. Staff and the applicant have negotiated this agreement consistent with the city's adopted water policy. Gish pointed out the new ECU equivalent is less than the previous equivalent. Gish noted the city is not asking for either water rights or cash-in-lieu. The city has been providing water to this area for over 30 years and did not feel is appropriate to extract water rights or cash-in-lieu. Gish said staff felt it was important for the Ski Company to continue the raw water irrigation and snowmaking and encouraged them to use their water rights for these. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt Ordinance #54, Series of 1993, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Waggaman, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN Cris Caruso, asset manager, told Council several projects were reviewed by the asset management committee. Caruso said this plan will be adopted with the 1994 budget. One of these was the data processing plan, which is a city/county wide plan. Caruso recommended allocation of $118,000 as a place holder in the budget. There will be a presentation of this plan by the computer consul- tants November 16th at 4 p.m. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 Another item is the pavement management system, which will give a better picture of pavement deterioration and scheduling for replacement. The asset management committee feels the implementa- tion of this is a proactive rehabilitation plan. Another project is the parks maintenance and storage facility. The committee recommends an allocation of $15,000 for design work. The Wagner park playground and restrooms is another program. Caruso said there should be a citizens committee to work on this. Caruso told Council the schedule on this is to plan it in 1994, design work to be done in 1995 with possible construction in late 1995. Caruso said the construction date will depend on how extensive the renovations will be. Council requested the snow melter be moved from its present location to the recycle circle. Caruso said an estimate is $60,00 to move the snow melter. Staff plans on working with the county to come up with a plan to handle the snow melter and a trolley barn and to fit these into the Rio Grande master plan. Councilwoman Richards said the Wagner Park project has gone from upgrading the bathroom to a major renovation. Janet Roberts, asset management committee, reminded Council the original recommendation was that this area needed more than minor repair. It is an area in the center of town and used by a lot of tourists. Ms. Roberts said the committee felt an extensive renovation was beyond their scope and recommended a citizens committee do the planning. Ms. Roberts said the asset management committee would be glad to participate. Councilwoman Richards said she is not opposed to redevelopment of this area but would like to know where it fits in the priorities of the parks master plan. When Council saw this earlier, it was a minor upgrade; now it looks like a major rehabilitation. Council- woman Richards said she would like to see short term improvements. Amy Margerum, city manager, said staff can return with costs for a minimal upgrade. Councilwoman Waggaman asked about the pavement program and the distress to the streets referred to the Caruso's memo. Caruso said the streets department is not able to determine whether this is surface distress or subsurface problems. When the streets department broke into Mill street, they found a bed of coal underneath causing problems. What the paving management system does is establishes a plan of rehabilitation for the streets. The asset management committee discussed whether the city should repair streets as they need it or to put a proactive plan together to investigate where the problems are coming from and plan for renovation several years in the future. Councilmembers Richards and Waggaman said core samples would need to be taken every 10 feet as the conditions change so much. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 Amy Margerum, city manager, said staff feels in the past overlays have been done and conditions underneath are not known and the overlay work goes to waste. Ms. Margerum said core informa tion would help the streets department make decisions on what type of work to do. Councilman Reno asked about projecting the work for the next 2 or 3 years and just taking those core samples. Caruso said there is a cost saving by doing this work all up front. This would also give the city a priority list of street work. Ms. Margerum said she will have the street director report to Council on this. Ms. Margerum said the snow melter can be moved up to Recycle Circle with the recycling area. Staff will have to work with the county to coordinate this. Ms. Margerum said the Rio Grande master plan calls for a trolley barn in that location. All 3 uses will not fit on this site. Mayor Bennett said he wants the snow melter moved out of Rio Grande park. Mayor Bennett said he cannot believe the city does not have another location for the snow melter. Council- woman Richards said she would like to hear the county's intention for their recycling operation. There has to be a better site than on Rio Grande place. Councilwoman Waggaman said she does not feel the two sites on the Rio Grande are far enough apart to make a difference where the snow melt is located. Councilman Reno said this originally started because the Council wanted the snow melt off the Rio Grande site. The snow melter does not belong in the Rio Grande park. Ms. Margerum said it is difficult to find a location given neighborhood concerns, land constraints, truck traffic, turning radii, for this operation within the city limits. Councilwoman Waggaman said 1500 feet and a cost of $60,000 do not add up to a logical equation. Mayor Bennett said this issue is whether to move the snow melt operation out of the Rio Grande park or leave it where it is. Mayor Bennett said he wants it out of the Rio Grande park. Councilwoman Richards said the difference in location is how the site will be used. In the past there was a large dumping facility, trucks moving the snow around. This operation will only be used for immediate melting and is a change is use by moving it up to curbside. Councilwoman Richards said the alternative to not moving the snow melt operation is to set aside $200,000 to start to work on a permanent site. Councilwoman Richards said she would prefer to move the snow melt up to the recycle area and get it off the park area. Mayor Bennett agreed with committing $60,000 to move it and spend the next 8 months looking for a permanent solution. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council the asset management plan will be brought back with the entire budget for adoption in December. 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 ORDINANCE #60, SERIES OF 1993 - East Hopkins AH Rezoning GMQS Exemption Councilman Reno moved to read Ordinance #60, Series of 1993; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 ORDINANCE #60 (Series of 1993) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING REZONING FROM R/MF (RESIDENTIAL MULTI-FAMILY) TO AH (AFFORDABLE HOUSING), SUBDIVISION, GROWTH MANAGEMENT EXEMPTION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, CONDOMINIUMIZATION, AND VESTED RIGHTS FOR THE EAST HOPKINS PROJECT FOR FOUR DEED RESTRICTED TOWNHOMES SITUATED ON LOTS F, G, AND H, BLOCK 33 EAST ASPEN ADDITION AND LOT 5 BLOCK 5 OF THE RIVERSIDE ADDITION, CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Kim Johnson, planning office, told Council this is a 9,000 square foot site which will be developed with deed restricted category 4 townhouses. There will be 4 three-bedroom units. P & Z unanimous- ly recommended approval of this rezoning to AH. Councilman Reno said he would prefer to see the vehicles access off the alley rather than congest an already overcrowded street. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #60, Series of 1993, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Reno, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #61, SERIES OF 1993 - Extension of GMQS Allotments, Asia Councilman Reno moved to read Ordinance #61, Series of 1993; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #61 (Series of 1993) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING A SIX MONTH EXTENSION OF THE 1989 OFFICE GMQS ALLOTMENT GRANTED BY RESOLUTIONS 90-44 AND 90-45 FOR THE ASIA OFFICE DEVELOPMENT, 132 WEST MAIN STREET, ASPEN, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council the applicants are requesting a 6 month extension to April 10, 1994. They have submitted their building plans and application for building permit. There are no outstanding issues. The applicants expected a building permit much earlier. Ms. Lamont said staff is not recommending any further extension beyond the initial 6 month extension, although the code does allow more than one extension. Ms. Lamont reminded Council staff is redoing the growth management quota system and would prefer not to entertain extension. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #61, Series of 1993, 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #59, SERIES OF 1993 - 409 East Hopkins GMQS Extension Request Councilman Reno moved to read Ordinance #59, Series of 1993; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #59 (Series of 1993) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING A SIX MONTH EXTENSION OF THE 1990 COMMERCIAL GMQS ALLOTMENT GRANTED BY RESOLUTION 90-58 AND RESOLUTION 90-61, FOR THE 409 EAST HOPKINS COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, 409 EAST HOPKINS AVENUE, ASPEN, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council the growth management allocation for this project will expire in January 1994 and they are requesting a 6 month extension. Ms. Lamont recommended a one time extension. Tom Smith, representing the applicant, told Council they hoped that before they are halfway into the extension the final building plans will be in the department. Councilman Reno moved to adopt Ordinance #59, Series of 1993, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. Councilwoman Richards moved to add a discussion of the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to the agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES Randy Ready, transportation director, reminded Council the Main street HOV lane implementation began November 3. The right hand, west bound land is restricted to buses and vehicles with 5 or more passengers. This is designated with cones, signs and safety personnel. Ready told Council the police department has made several informational stops; no traffic citations have been issued. Ready told Council there were problems on the first night. Several changes have been made including controlling the signal at Cemetery Lane, which helps the flow of traffic. Ready said one issue that has been raised is the street width and is it enough to accommodate an HOV lane. Ready pointed out there was effectively only one lane of traffic going out of town and 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 capacity has not been lost on Main street. Another issue is the sealing off of the West End, access from the west end of Bleeker, Hallam, Frances and Smuggler streets have been restricted. Ready told Council the residents in the west end have not been impacted in any way. Ready told Council the HOV lane also functions as a right turn lane. Ready said there needs to be a balance so that the HOV lane does not get too congested. The number of buses going out of town will increase to 40 per hour after the ski season starts. Ready said he is leery of lowering the number of passengers in a vehicle to qualify for the HOV lane. Mayor Bennett said the concept of the HOV lane is an experiment. He would like the number of passengers lowered to 3 or 4. Councilwoman Waggaman agreed and said she would like to see if allowing cars with 3 or more passengers would encourage car pool- ing. Councilwoman Richards said she supports changing it to 3 or more passengers per car. Mayor Bennett said the city should encourage car pooling since they cannot buy enough buses needed to transport everyone. Council agreed it should 3 or more passenger to qualify for the HOV lane, that this will be a 30 days experiment to be discussed at the December 13th meeting for any fine tuning before the ski season. EARLY LEARNING CENTER ROOF Cindy Wilson, assistant city manager, told Council last week Councilmembers Richards and Reno, and Peter Carvelli from the ELC met with two members of the school board to discuss alternative funding for the ELC roof. The agreement was that the school board would pay the water tap fee up front, rather than over 10 years; the city and school district will split the cost of the roof replacement. Ms. Wilson told Council the school board cannot do a 10 year lease with a 10 year renewal clause but can do a 10 year lease with an annual renewal. Other issues are long term operation and who will be responsible for property management. Chuck Brandt, school board, told Council at the last school board meeting it was noted that the city has a revenue source for day care and money to repair or replace the roof. The school board's contribution to the ELC is the building and the land. The school board would like the building returned to the school district in the same condition it was given to the ELC. Brandt said because of the uncertainties of the school finance act, the school board needs to protect the district's revenues and not commit them to something not budgeted for. The school board is willing to prepay the water tap fee in order to get the roof on the yellow brick school fixed. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 Brandt said the school board feels it is prudent to retain ownership of the yellow brick school for future needs. Brandt said the school board does not want to entertain anything that would decrease the value of the yellow brick building in the future. Brandt said if the building were fully occupied, the ELC could set aside some of the rental revenues for maintenance and repair in the future. Jeff Yusem, school board, said the building is not the asset; the ground is. Spencer Schiffer, school board, pointed out the board is making is a significant financial contribution to the ELC. Giving the building to the ELC costs the school board a lot of revenue. The school board has a million dollar wish list of capital items for 1994 that is unbudgeted. Mayor Bennett said supporting pre-school is much closer to the interests of a school board than the city council. Mayor Bennett said the city just purchased the red brick building from the school board for $3.6 million, which the school board has in reserve. Schiffer said their requirement is to spend money on Kindergarten through 12th grade. Schiff said the original lease proposal, which was not signed by the ELC, required them to pay all costs for maintenance and repair on the yellow brick building. Yusem said the school board is operating on the same money today as they were in 1988. As costs go up, they have to eliminate programs to stay within budget. Yusem suggested with the $128,000 tap fee, that a new roof is put on and the rest of money is put into a capital repair and replace- ment fund. When that money runs out, the ELC or city maintains the building. Councilman Reno said the reason for tap fees is so the city can continue to maintain and upgrade the utility run by the city. Councilwoman Waggaman said she would like to separate the issues of the water tap fee and the roof. Jeannette Darnauer, school board, said if they were getting rent for the yellow brick school, the roof would be their responsibility. Councilwoman Richards said the ELC was formed because of a dire need in the community. Councilwoman Richards said the day care sales tax was passed within Aspen and she would like to see it spent within Aspen. Katherine Lee urged Council to spend the day care sales tax money and fix the roof. Councilwoman Waggaman said there may be some way to open up the zoning so that the space at the yellow brick school can be rented out more efficiently. If the ELC gets a 10 year lease and the roof is fixed, there would be more tenants at the yellow brick school bringing in more revenue. Yusem said the school board will pay the entire water tap fee if the city will put a new roof on the yellow brick school. The balance will be used for any future capital expenses. Schiffer said any future capital repairs to the building should come out of 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 the revenue. Brandt said the school board is not willing to step forward on any future repairs. Mayor Bennett asked about zoning the building to Public. Yusem said the school board cannot answer for future boards. Ms. Wilson told Council the ELC is requesting a $20,000 subsidy for 1994 just for the building because they cannot break even. Councilman Reno said he feels the ELC has enough to do focusing on child care and should not be in the property management business. Yusem said the school board would have to hire someone to manage the yellow brick building. Ms. Darnauer said there has to be a way to provide revenue and a future for pre-school. Councilwoman Richards said she would like to see some education-oriented uses solicited for this space. Mayor Bennett said the city has already put a lot of money into the yellow brick school. Mayor Bennett said the Council needs to look at whether this is the highest and best use for the money. Councilwoman Richards said it will not be cheaper to try and find another day care program somewhere else for the 70 families that use the ELC. Councilwoman Richards said not having adequate day care will undermine goals of the community plan. Councilman Reno said he is bothered by the subsidy growing over 40 percent every year. Councilwoman Waggaman said she would be willing to spend $5,000 to $10,000 to patch the roof and give the ELC a year to work on getting more tenants and being more efficient. Councilwoman Waggaman said she wants to make sure the ELC has had enough time to be viable. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 9:25 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Reno. Motion carried. Councilwoman Richards said she does not want to be have the same discussion in 9 months and to give the ELC an uncertainty in pursuing tenants. Councilmembers Waggaman and Reno said they are willing to patch the roof; Councilwoman Richards would prefer a new roof. Councilman Reno said he has concerns about the ELC being able to afford this space to be able to take care of it. Council- woman Waggaman suggested continuing the meeting. Councilwoman Richards moved to continue this discussion to 4:30 p.m. November 9; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Richards. Council left the meeting at 9:30 p.m. 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 8, 1993 OUTSTANDING BONUS AWARDS 1 ................................ ....... NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR AWARD 1 ................................ ..... CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1 ................................ .......... COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1 ................................ ......... CONSENT CALENDAR 2 ................................ ............... LIQUOR LICENSE AUTHORITY - Legends Transfer of Financial Interest and Renewal 2 ................................ ...... ORDINANCE #53, SERIES OF 1993 - Code Amendment, Condominiumi- zation 3 ................................ .................... ORDINANCE #54, SERIES OF 1993 - Aspen Skiing Company Butter- milk Water Service Agreement 4 .............................. ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN 4 ................................ .......... ORDINANCE #60, SERIES OF 1993 - East Hopkins AH Rezoning GMQS Exemption 6 ................................ ................. ORDINANCE #61, SERIES OF 1993 - Extension of GMQS Allotments, Asia 7 ................................ ...................... ORDINANCE #59, SERIES OF 1993 - 409 East Hopkins GMQS Exten- sion Request 8 ................................ .............. HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES 8 ................................ ... EARLY LEARNING CENTER ROOF 9 ................................ ..... 14 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council November 9, 1993 Mayor Bennett called the continued meeting to order with Council- members Richards, Waggaman and Reno present. EARLY LEARNING CENTER ROOF Cindy Wilson, assistant city manager, presented a memorandum outlining the alternatives for the early learning center roof.. Councilman Reno said he is intrigued by the idea of using the red brick school property and expanding the square footage to include an early learning center. The FAR is probably below the require- ment. The major cost of any building is the land, and the city already owns this land. This is almost the same location. Councilman Reno said Council needs to look at alterna tives for the ELC and the costs, pros and cons. Councilwoman Waggaman said the red brick school will probably be full. There are some spaces that might be used temporarily for an ELC. Councilwoman Waggaman said if the Council only patches the roof and makes no other commitment to the ELC, it will be doomed to failure. No one will rent space at the yellow brick school from the ELC in such a tenuous situation. Councilwoman Waggaman said Council needs to bite the bullet or realize this will not work. Two reasons the ELC is not working is they cannot rent all the space and the cannot get all the children needed to meet their income expectations. Councilwoman Waggaman said she feels the program is a good enough gamble to put the money into it. Councilwoman Waggaman said the ELC or city should work on the zoning in order to get the building fully utilized; this is critical to the whole program. Mayor Bennett said he hopes the ELC continues to build upon their present success and to remain in this location. Mayor Bennett said some issues for him are the highest and best use of the money; the highest and best location for the ELC; and the highway and best use of the day care funds. Mayor Bennett agreed the city should spend the $100,000 on the roof. To do otherwise would create a self- fulfilling situation. Mayor Bennett said the yellow brick building is an enormous community resource and it should remain a community resource. Mayor Bennett said the best hope of keeping a valuable community facility in the public domain is to spend the $100,000 on the roof and to continue working to help the ELC make sure it is successful. Mayor Bennett said he agrees with the recommendations in Ms. Wilson's memorandum under #1, including if the building is resold or re-leased, the city should capture some of their invest- ment. Mayor Bennett said he would like the permitted uses expanded to give the school as much flexibility as possible. Councilwoman Richards said during the committee work on the red brick school, the group rejected the idea of day care at the red 1 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council November 9, 1993 brick school. Councilwoman Richards said she does not feel a building in front of the red brick school would make this a desirable arts and recreation center. Councilwoman Richards said if the ELC is lost, the yellow brick building will be lost as a community resource and this will become demolition by neglect. Councilwoman Richards said the ELC is de facto public zoning. Councilwoman Richards agreed a patch job on the roof would be signal to the community. Councilwoman Richards said the two options are to pursue other day care alternatives by expanding the other day care providers or approve the ELC. Councilwoman Richards said there are commitments Council can make to the ELC beyond the roof. One is the concept of multi-year financing so the ELC directors will be able to count on these grants. Another is working on the zoning changes or working in partnership with CMC to see expanded uses in the building. Councilman Reno pointed out the city has already put $150,000 into the yellow brick building. If Council approves the roof, there will be at least $250,000 in a building the city does not own. Councilman Reno said he feels there are creative ways to put additional square footage at the red brick school. Councilman Reno said the yellow brick building was vacated by the school because it needed major maintenance. Councilman Reno said he is afraid the yellow brick school will continue to need money. Mayor Bennett said he has struggled with the same issues; however, with the investment in the roof Council will know the building will be there at least 10 years and the school board has agreed to a 10 year lease with annual renewals. Mayor Bennett said saving a valuable community resource is an acceptable risk. Jed Caswall, city attorney, said one requirement is the school board sign a water service agreement. Chuck Brandt, school board, said they will pay the entire tap fee up front and will sign the water service agreement. Caswall said if the city pays for the roof, would the school board sign a right of first refusal on the sale of the building. Brandt said that sounds reasonable. Caswall told Council the city will be participating in negotiating the lease and incorporating the right of first refusal. Amy Margerum, city manager, said she would rather give the school board the money and have them repair the roof since it is their building. Brandt said he will talk to the school district's maintenance person about this. Councilwoman Richards moved to move forward with alternate #1 on page 3 of Cindy Wilson's memorandum; the city paying for a new roof on the yellow brick building with the provision the city will be reimbursed if the building is sold or redeveloped or re-leased within the life of the roof; that the school district and ELC enter into a 10 year lease with annual renewal clauses; that the school 2 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council November 9, 1993 district pay the full water tap fee in a lump sum and sign a water service agreement; that the ELC and the city work together to contribute to a capital reserve fund for the ELC building in the future; and the city receives a right of first refusal to purchase or re-lease the building; that all parties work on expanding the permitted uses to make the building easier to fill; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Councilman Reno said this motion only deals with the roof from an investment standpoint. Councilman Reno said if the city is investing more money, this should be accounted for in the recapture back to the city if the building should be sold or redeveloped. Councilman Reno asked where the funds are coming from. Councilwoman Richards amended the motion that the funds come out of the day care fund; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Caswall said the lease can include that if repairs are made on capital improvement, the city will get it back. Councilwoman Richards amended the motion to include a provision in the lease between the ELC and the school board that any additional capital money the city puts in to maintain the building will be recouped upon sale or redevelopment; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Councilwoman Waggaman said if the city has right of first refusal on buying the building, should any capital improvements be part of the purchase price. Brandt said some school board members feel the value is in the land and not the building and may not be willing to acknowledge additional credit for contributions to the building. Councilwoman Richards amended the motion to include the provision that should the city exercise the right of first refusal, any capital monies will go toward the negotiated price; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Reno. Motion carried. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adjourn at 5:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 3