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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19840409Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 1984 JOINT MEETING WITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Walls and Blomquist and Commissioners Klanderud, Kinsley, Madsen and Child present. 1. Neale Street Bridge. Leslie Lee, planning office, told the Boards the staff and PCPA want to discuss the Neale street bridge and the rehabilitation of the bridge and how to accommodate the pedestrians and cyclists. Ms. Lee showed the bridge the proposed trail would make a connection to the south side of the Roaring Fork river and connect up with the Hopkins Avenue foot bridge. The staff is ~rylng to interface the rehabilitation of the bridge and address pedestrian needs. The staff is requesting trail connection funds be allocated. The staff is proposing this trail key in with the pedestrian communter needs. Councilwoman Walls asked if there were easements for trails east of the Neale street bridge. Elizabeth Holkamp said there are easements ~n place from the Neale street bridge all the way to the Hopkins Avenue bridge. This would probably be a hand cut walking trail because it is steep and narrow. Councilman Blomquist asked if the staff had looked into a spur trail from Garrish park. Ms. Holkamp said it is very steep. Chuck Roth, engineering department, told the Boards as part of the Neale street bridge project, they would request a link from the trail in Herron park across the river and up to Original. There are no funds in the bridge projec~ to provide this pedestrian connection. The memorandum outlines costs for excavation, walls and asphalt paving. Roth said there is a suggestion ~o consider concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk. Roth said the concrete costs are $15,000 as opposed to $4,000 for using asphalt. ~eguiar ~ee~lng aspen u~Ly ~uunu~ ~Fz~ ~, ~o~ Mayor Stirling asked how this would be funded. Rother said the finance department recom- mended the land fund. Acting City Manager Mitchell said the city would appropriate the money for the trails but the county maintains the trails. Hal Clark told the Boards he thinks it is a mistake to replace the bridge as is, with the steepness and no way to separate pedestrians and automobiles. Clark said he feels the bridge should be redesignedi~~ Roth said there is some redesign, there will be some bank elevation, the bridge will be widened 6 to 8 feet, there will be a separated pedestrian surface like the Mill street bridge. Ms. Lee told the Board to do a major overhaul on the bridge would up cost the considerably above the state grant. Councilman Blomquist asked if the flood cross section is increased. Roth said the flood profile would be improved. Roth said they are increasing the cross section by 1 or 2 feet. They will re-use one of the existing abutment and rebuild another one. Roth said the bridge has not been designed yet. Mayor Stirling said when Council discussed this earlier they requested the bridge be raised so there is clearance for high water. Councilman Blomquist asked how many street lights there are between Original street and the trailer park. Councilman Blomquist said this has been discussed with the neighborhood, who would like street lights. Mayor Stirling said this is not part of the bridge project, but the overall lighting program. Councilman Blomquist said he felt the sidewalk should be extended from Original street to the trailer park. Commissioner Kinsley said a sidewalk in this area is a good idea for the pedestrian link. Bil Dunaway said leaving King street open makes it even more dangerous for pedestrians. Dunaway said King street should be reclosed. Mayor Stirling said he would like to hear the recommendation on closing King street from the engineering department. Commissioner Madsen suggested having the bike path on the downstream side of the bridge so that bicyclists do not have to cross Neale street at the bottom of the bridge. Mitchell recommended the city fund this additional portion out of the land fund because it relates to trails. Councilman Blomquist objected as this is not a trail, it is a sidewalk. Councilman Blomquist said this should be made of concrete with plans to extend all the way to the trailer park. Councilman Blomquist said this should be built as an urban sidewalk. Councilman Blomquist said the street lighting should be tied into this project. Mayor Stirling said he would like to see a sidewalk designed on the bridge. Mitchell said a sidewalk designed up to the trailer park should be incorporated into the capital improvement plan. Councilman Blomquist said he would more cross section for flooding purposes. Ms. Holkamp told the Boards it would cost $270,000 to get this bridge to a six per cent grade. Ms. Hotkamp said the planning office is not in favor of upgradin~ Neale street bridge to $270,000 and to encourage traffic to use the Mill street bridge and Park avenue. Mayor Stirling moved to instruct the designer to incorporate a sidewalk on the east side of the Neale street bridge and to look into elevating the briduge further in terms of the flood plan and not make a decision tonight in regards to asphalt or concrete; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Council asked Roth to get back with the design report as soon as possible. ROARING FORK TRANSIT AGENCY AMENDMENTS Greg Fitzpatrick, director of RFTA, said the purpose of this amendment is based on the terms of UMTA that the grantee cannot turnover assets or lease UNTA~funded assets to a non-eligible agency without UMTA's approval. This amendment sets up a mechanism to cover UMTA until RFTA becomes grant eligible. Mayor Stirling asked how long it will take to become grant eligible. Fitzpatrick said the agency should become grant eligible this fall. This amendment goes through the section in the intergovernmental agreement that addresses federal grants.. Councilman Blomquist said in section 6 he would like to take out the word "may" and replace it with "shall". Mitchell said the city and county have proposed that the assets to be transferred will be done in a supplemental agreement, this agreement is in rough form. C~uncilman Blomquist moved to approve the amendments for the city, without "shall"; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Commissioner Madsen moved to approve the amendments; seconded by Commissioner Child. All in favor, motion carried. Kinsley said there has been a lot of press coverage about RFTA in the last few months. Kindley said he totally supports the drivers and the director. Kinsley said the city and county are very fortunate to have bus drivers who are more than bus drivers; they are people who believe in mass transit. SPACE NEEDS CITY/COUNTY Commissioner Kinsley said the Council has a work session on the use of the basement of the new jail tomorrow. Curt Stewart, county manager, said the county has asked the architect to look at the basement space and advise the county house much usable space would be available. The architect said there is between 1,000 and 1,500 square feet that can be used. The architect recommended a joint use of the basement of the new jail and basement of the courthouse for police purposes. The commissioners are meeting tomorrow to come up with a conclusion on where the police department/sheriff's office would go. Stewart said one alternative is to put the PD/SO in the first floor of the Courthouse Plaza building, which is being resisted by both departments. The sheriff's department does not want to be at the risk of a lease. The second alternative would be to house the PD/SO in the basement of the Courthouse. Stewart said if this alternative is chosen, he would like as a goal to bring back some departments to reduce the outside rentals. Councilman Blomquist asked if the owner of the Courthouse Plaza would consider a lease/ purchase arrangement. Stewart said the county is reluctant to do that because they do not need all the space. ~egu±ar ~eetlng Aspen City Councll April 9, 1984 Stewart said the county does not want to end up in a landlord position. Kinsley said he feels it makes sense to buy the building and rent the rest of the space. Kinsley suggested someone from Council attend the work session tomorrow. Mayor Stirling said he feels the city and county should use the space they have to the maximum because the city and county will grow to fill the spaces, if available. Council and the Commission agreed to have a work session on space needs April 10th at 3 p.m. Councilman Blomquist moved to adjourn at 5:00 p.m.; seconded by Commissioner Child. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCIL MEETING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Bill Martin stated he is protesting a Council action on a lot split at Third and Gillespie. Martin presented a petition for Council stating no building or dwelling circa 1880 to 1945 be altered or demolished without notification in writing to all residents within 1,000 feet one month before the public hearing. Martin said several city actions of late have alarmed the west end resident, particularly the Turley lot split, which had no notice to adjacent property owners. Martin said the west end is historically an area of single family houses and should be historically residential single family area regard- less of the lot size. Martin said the continuation of R-9 (sic) lots sizes in the west end will only proliferate the mingling of duplexes with historic single family dwellings. Martin said in the case of the Turley lot, he recommends the lot be split evenly, and if the neighborhood planning cannot protect the single family uniqueness of the west end, Turly can reapply for readjustment of the boundaries. Martin said this lot split permits Turley to market a 9,000 square foot lot in an R-9 (sic) zone. Martin said there is anot a duplex within five blocks of this intersection. Martin said the lot stake is in the intersection, and the city should consider protecting this intersection. Martin said the HPC voted to permit the demolition of an historically designated building on the Marquand property to make it possible for a lot split. Martin gave Council his petition with 45 signatures. Martin requested Council reopen the Turley lot split and provide time for the neighborhood planning process. Mayo~ Stirling said notice is not required under the shortened process; however, the Code is in the process of being changed to require notice. Councilman Blomquist said he feels the duplex problem, the RBO and FAR problems are all linked and would like to discuss them. Councilman Blomquist moved to place this matter on the agenda at the end of the meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, Mayor Stirling abstained. Motion carried. Andy Hecht told Council on the Turley lot split, the exemption was for a single family house, not a duplex. A duplex would have to compete in growth management. Hecht said Turley wants to preserve the 9,000 square feet for a single family house; an employee unit may be permitted later, this has not been resolved. Hecht said there is a property right in this zone which permits 9,000 square feet for a duplex. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Stirling said Council had discussed with the parks and recreation directors the possibility of staging a major golf event in Aspen. The Council has gotten some interest- ing information, and Mayor Stirling said he would like this on the April 23 agenda. 2. Mayor Stirling said he attended a CAST meeting in Denver at which Mayor Pena was present. CAST discussed Stap~eton airport with Mayor Pena, who made a lot of notes. Mayor Stirling told Council Aspen reduced their participation in the CAST budget by $2,000. 3. Mayor Stirling said there will be an elected officials workshop put on by the Colorado Municipal League and some Councilmembers may want to attend. TIMESHARE Mayor Stirling said Council has a rough draft of an ordinance to further amend the existing timeshare ordinance. Mayor Stirling asked if the moratorium can be extended. City Attorney Taddune said he does not like to see any moratorium unless absolutely necessary. Moratori~ ums should be used as infrequently as possible and should be the exception rather than the rule. Taddune said the changes to Ordinance ~55, timesharing, have been made and will be presented to Council on April 23 for final approval. Councilman Blomquist said Ordinance 955 is a regulatory ordinance; the matter of the tax is a separate issue. Taddune agreed the two ought to be treated as separate issues. Councilman Blomquist said a committee has been working on the taxation issue and are reviewing documents to find a technically correct approach to the problem of time share tax avoidance of the sales tax. Councilman Blomquist said this is part of an overall study of tax equity throughout the resort industry. Councilman Blomquist said this committee should have something for Council in the next month or two. Councilman Blomquist moved upon finalized of Ordinance #55, the moratorium be lifted; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Councilman Blomquist said the taxing ordinance is not tied to the regulatory ordinance. Councilman Blomquist said the tax will apply to anything that has been built at the time the taxing ordinance goes into effect. Councilman Blomquist said there is no reason to maintain the moratorium waiting for the tax ordinance. Councilman Blomquist said he is structuring an excise tax. Regular Meeting Aspen ~l%y uounc~± ~pr~ ~, ~ Andy Hecht agreed the two issues are different, zoning to raise revenues is incorrect. If timesharing is an appropriate land use,?it should proceed. Hecht said he would like Council to consider on the taxation issue is whether the expenditure by the city for those timeshare units is such that the city needs to recoup it or is the city trying to recoup revenues lost in a change of use. Gideon Kaufman agreed these are two different issues. Kaufman said in the tax issue, the city is looking at an election and a lot of different issues. Kaufman said he has questions on the legality of the tax, and it is important there be input from the community on the tax. All in favor, motion carried. ANIMAL CONTROL Lisa Russell, director of animal control, submitted a proposal on the estimated costs of a fourth animal control officer. Ms. Russell also submitted ideas on stricter enforcement of the laws and the fee and fine schedule. Ms. Russell said the city already has adequate laws covering vicious dogs. This proposal makes it stricter for third and fourth offenders, who would have to do 24 hours of jail time or community service. Ms. Russell said this is very strict, but fair. Ms. Russell each year the dog gets a new license, the number of offenses start over. Ms. Russell said if a dog has a tag, the animal control department prefers to take them home rather than put them through the pound. The fines are just as high. This also allows the animal control department to talk to the owner about dogs running at large. Ms. Russell said when the officers take a dog home and summon the owner, this tends to go to court more often, some of this is caused because people forget to pay the fines. Ms. Russe~ said she would like to see dog owners have to take a test to get a dog license like people taking a driving test. Councilman Blomquist asked where the discretion came to say a dog is bad or the owner of a dog is unfit. Ms. Russell said the judge has discretion in the fees and fines. Taddune said in this situation, Council can decide if there is too much discretion in the judge and Taddune will research the issue. Mayor Stirling asked the animal control department how they felt about his previous suggested of fencing and tethering all dogs in the city and if that would help the enforcement. Ms.~ Russell said this would not allow people to play with dogs on their property. The county law allows dogs to be under voice and sight control, fenced or tethered at all times. Ms. Russell suggested hiring a fourth animal control officer, have stricter enforcement, a strong humane education program, and stricter fines. Ms. Russell said the laws are adequate now, there won't be a change over night by changing the law. Councilman Blomquist said the city has to deal with the question of when a dog moved from being a good dog to a bad dog; then what does the city do about it. Mayor Stifling suggested re-writing the ordinance to have voice or sight control on the property, or fence or tethering at all times. Mayor Stirling also suggested mandatory impoundment of a dog on second offense. Councilman Blomquist said he wOuld like to approve the extra officer starting June 1 for city service only. Taddune told Council he would rather have the provision for community service as a recommendation from his office than to be incor- porated in the ordinance. Taddune said if Council feels that extermination or forfeiture of one's dog after so many violations should be pursued, he would be willing to look into the alternatives. Councilman Blomquist suggested a technical task force of Lisa Russell, Paul Taddune, a veterinarian, the Judge, to sit down and go over all these items and come back with an ordinance. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the budget for the extra officer starting June 1 for city service only; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Mayor Stirling said he would prefer with modifying the ordinance and getting a clear direction to judges before passing the increase for a new officer. Councilman Blomquist said the Council has got to commit to an extra officer for six month to get the program going. The city will know the level of enforcement has been increased, and in the mean time have the task force research these issues. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. Councilman Blomquist moved that the city attorney be required to compromise a task force of the municipal judge, Lisa Russel, a veterinarian, Mayor Stirling and Councilman Collins seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling request the report back to Council by May 14th. WHEELER OPERA HOUSE VISITORS CENTER Mayor Stirting said he would like to discuss the plane and procedure of how the visitors center would be operated, whose responsibility the visitors center would like under, and budget and costing for design items and operating items. Mayor Stirling~suggested since Council has not received the figures, to table or continue this session. Tom Hines said having the visitors center run by the ARA, they need to make decisions on higher a decorator and other decisions. Hines has renderings, plans, costs for operating budgets, etc. Hines said the ARA would like the go-ahead to start ordering things to make the visitors center function and to be ready at the opening of the Wheeler. Hines said Council allocated space in the Wheeler for a visitors center available to the public. The task of the ARA is to make that space efficient, to work with the Wheeler as a ticket booth. Hines said the ARA has done a lot of research and has come up with a viable plan that will work for both the Wheeler and the visitors center. The ARA has met with the Wheeler Board, who has endorsed the interior plan. The ARA asked interior designers to look at this project, and decided to use Bethune & Moore. Chris Wurtz will comment on why the visitors center is designed the way it is. ~egu±ar meeting Aspen ul~y uouncl~ Aprl± ~, 1~4 Hines said the designer talked to the architect and figured a way to tie the entire Wheeler together. Chris Wurtz showed a conceptual rendering of the space, which is a take off on the Wheeler lounge area. Ms. Wurtz told Council she duplicated the concenssion area and made it work for the visitors center. There is a counter repeating the oak and brass, with a brochure stand. The traffic flow will be to the traffic booth for the Wheeler. There will be a photo mural of activites of Aspen behind the visitors counter. A video machine with audio will be provided, showing activities of Aspen. There will be a minimal amount of seating; there will be some plants. Ms. Wurtz said the plan is very simple and efficient. Hines said the ARA feels this continues with the ambinace of the entire Wheeler but also makes the room work. Hines said this will be the center to seel, it will be the keynote, it will be Aspen's welcoming mat. This will bring people to one spot and will be used year round. Hines said the ARA would like to be able to continue with changing this room. Councilman Blomquist asked if these costs are additional over those presented before. Hines said these are additional costs; the construction costs Council approved did not include any interior decoration, any furniture, and equipment. Mayor Stirling moved to continue the Council meeting to Wedensday, April 11, at 5:15 to make decision about the Wheeler visitors center; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. ARTS WEST ASPEN BALLOT QUESTION Alan Richman, planning office, told Council this issue~was taken to P & Z who addressed three specific points. First was the size and configurate of the parcel being proposed for conveyance for constructing a performing arts center. The P & Z was concerned about the parcel as it relates to the rest of the Rio Grande. The P & Z was concerned that the last that gets traded to the Arts West not preclude either a parking garage or transit facility at the Rio Grande. P & Z feels if the Arts West is to go forward with a perform- ing arts center, the city or someone move forward with a parking garage at the same time. P & Z wants to make sure the city has looked at the site in detail, and suggested Council allocate some money for a consultant to set the parameters for a parking garage. P & Z feels it would not be good planning to build a performing arts center without building parking also. The second issue P & Z is concerned about is the relocation of Cap's. There is a proposal to move Cap's just south of Andrews/McFarlene building. P & Z feels alternatives should be looked at; they are not happy about relocating Cap's south of Andrews/McFarlene. They are concerned about another curb cut on Mill street. P & Z is concerned that the site proposed for Cap's might have an effect on the river and the open space/playing fields. P & Z is also concerned that locating Cap's on this site would preclude any rail options for Aspen in the .future. P & Z also felt placing an auto parts store at the front of a major redevelopment of a public area is not ~ood planning. P & Z recommended relocating Cap's along Mill street not be pursued. P & Z recommended Cap's be locating in the parking structure, somewhere else in Aspen, or the city purchasing the site and compensating Cap's and let relocate. P & Z's last area of concern in the ballot question is the zoning on the parcels that is being traded. P & Z feels asking the voters to make suggestions about Council's decisions on zoning is not a good idea. The ballot question should not address areas of zoning but this should be done through the land use process, the submission of an SPA or PUD plan. Councilman Blomquist endorsed taking the zoning issue off the ballot question. Mayor Stirling agreed. Councilman Blomquist said Cap's should be purchased. Mayor Stirling said he is not convinced about that. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to se the RETT doubled so that the land funds would not have to be used. Mayor Stirling said the recommendations about the parking structure are excellent, and Arts West would probably not want to proceed if the parking proposal were not integrated with this. Andy Hecht said the parking is important, but not so critical as to prevent Arts West from going forward. Hecht said the city has to find solutions to lots of parking problems, not just for Arts West. Councilman Blomquist pointed out the downtown area has no parking requirements. The city should retain a traffic and parking consul- tant to work with the city and identify the market for off-street parking, consider the possibility of a downtown parking exempt assessment district to support half the costs of parking structure or structures. The consultant should look at the question of bus and traffic flow, and Mill and Main. The consultants should also look at methods of financing, and how easy it is to park on the street. If people do not use the garage, there will be no revenue from the garage. Jay Hammond, engir~ering department, told Council to look at all these items in detail will take about a month. The city does have some previous studies on this area. Perry Harvey said p & Z would like to have an architectural firm who deals in parking structures, look at the site, and make the determination that the piece of property Arts West wants does not preclude a parking garage, or leave the city with a parking garage of 200 cars. Harvey said the parking should be solved, and could be a cooperative effort between the Hotel Jerome, Arts West, perhaps Cap's, and maybe even an impound lot for the city. Harvey said right now the P & Z wants to know if a parking garage will fit and how big it can be. Sunny Vann, planning director, said planning is working on transportation in general and parking also. The planning office will need some technical assistance on this. Vann said the planning office feels the Rio Grande is the most appropriate place to build parking, and would agree with P & Z to make sure the parcels traded to Arts West do not preclude a parking structure. Dr. Scott told Council Arts West has never discussed fund- ing of the parking structure. They have to raise many millions for the performing arts center as well as an operating budget. Jeff Sachs said by coordinating the arts center and the parking lot, a need will be created to use the parking structure and pay mon~es for it during the non-commercial hours. This will be additional revenues for the parking structure. Sachs said asking Arts West to help fund the parking structure when they are giving customers to the parking structure, may be too much. Regular Meeting Aspen ul~y ~ouncl± ~prl± Councilman Blomquist said he would lire to know what percentage of the Rio Grande was bought with sixth and seventh pennies. Councilman Blomquist said this land should be as much park as possible. Councilman Blomquist agreed with P & Z-about curb cuts on Mill street. Councilman Blomquist pointed out there is no charge for parking anywhere in Aspen. Mayor Stirling asked if Cap's had heard the proposal about being integrated into the parking structure. Leonard Oates, representing Cap's, told Council it is hard to concep- tualized this. Street or visualize exposure with easy access with associated parking might be acceptable. Oates said it appears that the P & Z does not want to deal with Cap's at this time, which is a disservice. Oates said Cap's is willing to work with the city in terms of alternate locations. Oates said he would like someone on the city staff to be working on relocation Hecht said Arts West cannot make land use decisions on the Rio Grande. As far as the ballot question, the city has to come up with some alternatives for Cap's, or Arts West has to proceed without this resolved. Councilman Blomquist asked if it would hurt Arts West if the Cap's issue were not resolved and Cap's was left in place. Hecht said there are access issues, but Arts West is prepared to go ahead with the building. Councilman Blomquist said his solution is to buy Cap's. Mayor Stirling said the Cap's question has to be worked out, short of condemnation. Hecht said Arts West would like to include the site to the east for FAR calculations. They would covenant not to build on it and would landscape, but would like it for design purposes. Councilman Blomquist said he would go along with sterilizing the area to east to insure it is a park and to allow Arts West to use it in FAR calculation. Mayor Stirlin~ asked how the parking study would be funded and about how much it would cost. Hammond told Council he has estimates at about $5,000. Mayor Stirling moved to empower Jay Hammond to hire an expert appropriate for this study to a maximum of $5,000 to give Council a report in 30 days or less as to the feasibility of the site between the jail and the performing arts center for a parking garage from the general fund; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Hecht said Arts West can wait Until the middle of July so that the Council can get the results from the parking consultant before they have to have an election. Council said they would rather address the resolution on the May 14 meeting and have the election set for July 17. Council asked for a recommendation from the staff on how many issues could be on this ballot. Hecht said Arts West would be inclined to ask for a single issue. ASPEN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL TAP FEE WAIVER Mayor Stirling said the city has never waived a utility connect charge except for the M.A.A., which was a special circumstance. The Aspen Country Day rents this facility from the M.A.A. and would this be above the fee that has already been waived. City Attorney Taddune told Council any time a faucet is added ~ the system, the water department request~ a plant investment fee. Chuck Brandt told Council this is a relocation of existing water use. The school's art room has to be moved for safety purposes and this necessitates giving up two existing sinks and installing two new sinks. This is really a trade off. That is the basis for the waiver request. Tim Willoughby said this is not an additional use of water but is a relocation of facilities. Willoughy said the water department explained to him any new building consitutes a new request for water. Acting City Manager said the water department interprets this that the building this art class is moving to does not have a tap; therefore, there will be a tap service required. The building they are vacating will continue to have water service to it. Brandt said the building the art room is moving to will probably be moved in two years; it is a temporary building and the waiver would be appropriate. Mayor Stirling said he would prefer to charge the tap fee because it is a new service, in a new building, and is unrelated to the request to close the old classroom down. Councilwoman Walls said it does not seem right to close two sinks and replace them somewhere else to charge a tap fee; this is not increasing usage. Mitchell suggested having the water department take another look at this to see if he could determine this is not increased usage. Mayor Stirling moved to direct the water department to look at this again; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. ENCROACMENT REQUEST - Aspen Ice Garden Jay Hammond, engineering department, said this request is for the cooling system which maintains the ice in the ice garden. There is presently a condenser in the ice garden, which is no longer serviceable. Placing the new condenser in the right-of-way will reduce the city's costs for the duct work in the structure, which will save about $7,000. This will also increase the efficiency and cost less to run. George Pucak, ice garden, showed Council the location of the cooling tower. The cooling tower will be metal and will be sitting on a six foot concrete stand. Pucak said the cooling tower was probably put inside originally because the ice garden does sit on the lot lines. Councilman Blomquist asked about the noise factor. Pucak said this would generate about 60 decibels. Pucak said the neighbors can hear the fans now, and there would not be a major change. Pucak said placing this outside would save the ice garden $7,000. Council- man Blomquist asked if it could be put inside and the noise baffled. Pucak said yes. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the cooling tower inside within budget; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Councilman Blomquist said this is a nice neighborhood and the city should be a good neighbor. Mayor Stirling said the noise difference between outside and inside woUld be minimal. The cost savings is $7,000. This would also create 350 square feet of dry storage inside that could be used. These advantages are very significant. Councilman Blomquist said he wants to know what 60 decibels sounds like before he makes any decision. Councilmembers Walls and Blomquist in favor, Mayor Stirling opposed. Motion NOT carried. ENCROACHMENT REQUEST - Paragon Jay Hammond, engineering department, said the Paragon is in need of creating addition egress from the basement of the building into the alley. This egress is to fulfill build- ing department requirements, and the only way to accomplish this is to move it into the alley. Hammond presented photographs showing the existing fire escape from the upstairs of the Paragon and some drawings on the proposed encroachment. The protrusion into the alley is only 3 feet. There will be an exit from below which is sitting under the stair- way. Hammond said this creates an encroachment that already exists. This encroachment is not formalized by a license. Hammond told Council this is an existing situation in an historical structure which has a special construction problem. They need to create an egress and cannot do it within the structure. Mayor Stirling asked to add a condition that the applicant take responsibility for necess-i ary rerouting and provide an upgraded area for service connections. Hammond agreed and pointed out one of his conditions was on-going coordination with all utility companies. Councilman Blomquist asked about the underground alley to the west of this building. Joe Edwards, representing the Paragon, said when the Roaring Fork building was constructed there was a condition by P & Z that this alleY be an inter-block connector. Edwards said after research, they could not find this condition. The Roaring Fork has requested to cover this mall area over, and has gotten a variance to roof this over. The Roaring Fork has filed suit against the Paragon to ask the door from the lower level into the public mall area be closed off. Edwards said he could not find any evidence that the Paragon, as a member of the public, had the right to use this area. This precipitated a need to put a hole through the back wall into the alley. Mayor stirling moved to approve the Paragon. encroachment request subject to the conditions contained in the engineering department memorandum of April 3, 1984, and more specifically in number 3 on the relocation of utility lines; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #7, SERIES OF 1984 - Water Treatment Plant SPA Amendment Colette Penne, planning office, told Council last year the city adopted an SPA plan for the water treatment plat by Ordinance #18, 1983. There was an error on the plat and also Only a partial plat was recorded. This is to correct the error and to get the entire · site plan recorded. Ms. Penne told Council there were three wooden sheds shown, which will be replaced by a single storage facility of 1,000 square feet. The fence is being moved. This is a general clean up. Mayor Stirling asked what the zoning is. Ms. Penn said the area is zoned public. Councilman Blomquist moved to read Ordinance ~7, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #7 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AN AMENDED SPECIALLY PLANNED AREA PLAN FOR LOT 4 OF THE CITY THOMAS PROPERTY SUBDIVISION was read by the city clerk Councilman Blomquist moved to adopt Ordinance #7, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Walls, aye; Blomquist, aye~ Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. CCLC BUDGET REQUESTS Gary Plumley, chairman of CCLC, told Council the first request is for $40 to buy spray paint to stripe Rubey Park. Plumley said the situation in the parking lot is chaotic because there are no indication of where people are to park. The city owns a device which will paint stripes. Councilman Blomquist said this raises the issue of CCLC having to come to Council to ask for $40. Plumley agreed, and it is because the CCLC does not have a budget. Councilwoman Walls pointed out the CCLC previously asked for $1500 to do the striping. Plumley said that was the estimate from the engineering department. Mayor Stirling moved to approve a $40 line item in the 1984 CCLC budget for striping Rubey parking lot; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Mayor Stirling said at a subsequent meeting, he would like to set maximums and minimums of spending money so the CCLC does not have to come to Council for these requests. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell reminded Council they took the CCLC budget away. In previous years, the CCLC got a budget from half the business license fees and would report to Council how they spent their money. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to ask the parks department why they are not taking care of the striping of Rubey park. Jim Holland, parks department, said his department does not line streetsm. Councilman Blom- quist said he would like to find out whose responsibility it is to run and maintain Rubey park. Plumley said the CCLC feels a resonsibility because they got the parking lot paved. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Blomquist. Motion carried. The second CCLC request if $3500 for downtown summer tree planting. Plumley told Council there has been a tree replacement program for many years. This is important aesthetically and for the traditionaly beauty of ASpen. This program benefits everybody. The Pitkin County Parks Association has pledged matching funds of $3500~for this program. This is not necessarily adding trees but is replacing some old and diseased trees also. The treesll in this year's proqram will be larger trees, which should last longer. Mayor Stifling moved to approve a $3,500 line item in the 1984 CCLC budget for suramer treeli planting; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Regular Meeting ~=~ ~3 --~ .... ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 1984 - Deane Hydropower Project Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Mayor Stifling said there was a request by the applicant this be tabled. City Attorney Taddune said the stadd is meeting with the applicants to go over the new concepts that have been discussed. Mayor Stirling moved to table Ordinance ~3, Series of 1984, until April 23, 1984; secondedl by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFERS - High Altitude Cuisine Mayor Stirling said this is a transfer of the former Ritz, 205 South Mill. Michael Grimsley, one of the owners, introduced himself Leslie Grimsley and Grodon and Rebecca Naccarato. Grimsley said they would like to bring a top notch operation to Asoen with a unique core of talent. Grimsley said they feel this operation can add to the restaurant'~ community. Mayor Stifling pointed out the city has filed a lien against the previous operation for $8,000. Ed Vann asked the Council to postpone the transfer of this liquor license. Vann said the Council is not an arbitrator as far as unpaid employees; however, Vann has contacted the Department of Labor and Wages, and they may have a case against the former owners. If the sales goes through and BK Restaurants no longer exists, the former employees have no way of contesting this. Rick Knezevich, attorney for BK Restaurants, told Council there are about $300,000 to $350,000 in creditors of which $250,000 to $275,000 are secured creditors. There will only be $165,000 in proceeds and there is an order of priority in which people get paid. The only individuals who will be paid are the banks, the IRS, the Colorado Department of Revenue, and the city. The other individuals will not get paid. Knezevich said if Council postpones this transfer, they will become arbitrators as well as hurt the buyers economically. Mayor Stirling moved to approve the transfer of the liquor license formerly held by the Ritz to High Altitude Cuisine Inc.; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - The Love Boat Andy Hecht explained this is a transfer for a liquor license formerly Sumo's to the Love Boat. The new owner plans to operate a Chinese/Japanese style restaurant. Alan Richman, planning office, told Council he would like to look into the conditional use given the former owner to make sure the new owner complies. Mayor Stirling moved to approve the transfer of the liquor license formerley held by Sumo's to The Love Boat; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION ~13, SERIES OF 1984 - Mayor's Goals Task Force Councilman Blomquist moved to approve Resolution #13, Series of 1984; seconded by Council- woman Walls. Mayor Stirling said he would like to commend the goals taks force and their goals report. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL - Eastern Winds Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the renewal for Eastern Winds; seconded by Council- woman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. DUPLEXES IN WEST END Mayor Stirling said Council has received a petition from concerned citizen about multiple family use in the R-6 zone. Sunny Vann, planning director, told Counc±l these people have asked if the Code could be amended to prohibit duplexes in the R-6 zone district. Vann said when the city was rezoned, he assumes the minimum lot size of 6,000 square feet was based on typical lot sizes on existing units. It is a general planning practice not to make all units non-conforming when minimum lot sizes are established. Vann said the planning office could look into restricting the west end area to single family, but it would have to be done looking at other zones districts in Aspen, such as R-15 and R-30. The issue is not that of bulk, since that has been addressed through FAR requirements. This would be a prohibition of the use for some other reason than size of the structures. Vann said the city is in the middle of a planning process to look at the nieghborhood concerns, and this process should be allowed to continue before the Code is changed so the staff can look at the results of the process. Mayor Stirling said another issue in the petition is to have the city look at all structures built before 1945 and urge the HPC not allow these to be razed. Vann said there is an inventory of all historic structures, designated or not, and a request to do anything to these structures must go to HPC. Vann told Council the planning office would be willing to look at the zoning map and at the minimum lot size requirements. Ramona Markalunas said the problem with duplexes came up when the city 'allowed condomini- umization of duplexes; there is more impact with these. Vann agreed there is a problem with short terming in the west end. The planning office tried to tackle that problem several years ago, but the west end was against any restrictions on short term uses in the west end. Bob Starodoj pointed out there are six other properties along Hallam lake that could be eligible for lot splits. This would create impacts on the neighborhood. Starodoj agreed that duplexes are incongruous to the neighborhood. Duplexes have more volume because they are "like" units. A single family home with a caretaker unit. does not have that type of impact. Starodoj said Council should look at what would happen to the west end, especially around Hallam lake, if all the properties are allowed to be duplexes. ~egu±ar ~ee~ng Aspen u~y uouncl± Aprl± ~, ±~4 Vann pointed out duplexes are allowed in residential zones only on lots which were subdivided prior to growth management. Lots created after growth management which could hold a duplex have to compete under growth management. Mary Martin said this area ought to be rezoned to residential single family only. Vann told Council the RBO can be applied in any res~iden~iat zone d~strict~to, get employee housing. Vann said only one application has used the RBO to increase the floor area ratio. The only other use has been to allow employee units an already existing structure. Mayor Stirling recommended that the in neighborhood planning process continue. Vann said if Council does not want to allow lot splits, they can act on that issue. This may make most of the structures in the west end non-conforming. Mayor Stirling moved to con~±nue the meeting to April 11 at 5:15; seconded by Councilm. a~n Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Council left Chambers at 8:35 p.m. Kathryn S~ Koch, City Clerk Continued Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1984 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. wi~h Councilmembers Blomquist and Walls present. WHEELER OPERA HOUSE VISITORS CENTER Mayor Stirling said the Council has to decide how much it will cost to do the visitors center, how much the city can spend, how much it Will cost to operate it, where the money will come from, and an analysis of the remodel work to date. Councilman Blomquist said the task force on the resort stressed flexibility of a visitors center for winteri~' summer, handling special events. Councilman Blomquist said this proposal freezes the space rather leaving it open. Councilman Blomquist said $15,000 for a counter is pretty expensive. Tom Hines, ARA, told Council they cannot use the Wheeler desk because there is no rooms for typewriters, brochures, there is a limited ability of what can be done behind the Wheeler desk. Councilman Blomquist said there is a $5~,000 figure for wages for the visitors center; there is also money for Wheeler personnel at the box office. Councilman Blomquist asked if there is any opportunity for the multiple uses so there could be some economies becaus of the proximities. Mayor Stirling said currently these are separate and the box office will be operating by the~director of the Wheeler. Dan McArthur, city engineer, told Council the architect visited and is not in agreement entirely on the counter size and treatment for the ARA with the oak and brass. Mayor Stirling said the counter is more elaborate than he is willing to commit funding to. Councilman Blomquist agreed. Mayor Stirling said he would like to do something less elaborate and reduce the cost. and not locked into something so permanent. Mayor StirlingI said maybe the audio-visual machine could be put on hold until the city sees the level of activity. The brochure stand could be done without the oak and brass detail. Council' ~ woman Walls asked how the oak and brass counter fits in with the rest of the Wheeler. Mayor Stirling said it is different from the box office counter, but reflects the bar upstairs. Hines told Council the box office counter has eight individual locking stations behind it to fit ticket sale needs. It is a straight counter with no working space. The ARA and Wheeler has tried to make the space fit together. The Wheeler counter top is going to be painted red. The ARA has tried not to detract from the Wheeler's photo mural, which is a focal point. Hines said the ARA is willing not to use brass and to scale down the size of the counter. Hines said he would be disappointed if Council took out the audio-visual,! it is only $1500. Hines told Council he had spoken with the M.A.A., and they are ~ absolutely delighted about having an audio-visual right there where tickets to the M.A.A. events are also sold. Councilman Blomquist endorsed the audio-visual machine. Mayor Stirling said if the oak and brass are not used, and the counter is built more simply, it could be done for around $5,000. Hines said the counter has to be designed to make it safe for employees, allow them to watch both doors, and have security. Hines i said the expense of the counter is to enable the employees to do the visitors function behind it; they will have typewriters, phones, collaterial materials that need to be stored and locked. Mayor Stirling said he also likes the audio-visual machine, but was examining all costs. Hines reiterated the importance of the photo collage for the visitors center, which ties the colors of the Wheeler's photo mural into a continuation of the room. The new proposal has much less continuation of the ambiance of the Wheeler; however, this will still be a functional visitors center. Chris Wurtz said the new counter will not be as detailed but provides all services the ARA needs. This proposal simplies the brochure rack, the audio visual detail. ~ayor Stirling said he is much more comfortable with this proposal and it can always be added to in the future. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve $18,000 for the ARA visitors center; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Councilwoman Walls said she still feels this is too much money for the visitors center. Sheree Sonfield, finance director, told Council there is not enough available in the con- struction money to pay for the $57,000 to do the remodel at the Wheeler. McArthur told Council anything related to the change in the first floor and basement would have to be additional money appropriated to the Wheeler. McArthur said the project will finish within budget, but there is no additional money to apply towards this remodel. ~on~lnuea ~eeslng Aspen City Council April 11~ 1984 McArthur told Council this remodel will cost $69,000 rather than the $57,000 as originally! quoted. To get close to the original figure, the bathrooms in the basement will have to be deleted and different treatments to the manager's office Will have to be handled. These would to be delete the partition, delete the suspended ceiling, this would get the remodel figure closer to $60,000. Deleting the partitions would make one big open space for the manager's space and the arts council offices. Deleting the suspended ceiling would leave exposed pipes. Councilman Blomquist suggested putting in the ceiling and leaving the space open and use movable partitiOns; the finishing of the office could be phased. McArthur said there would be some security problem for the offices. Bob Murray, Wheeler director, told Council he is more concerned about the noise; the Arts Council has lots of activity. McArthur told Council the additional costs come from two additional bathrooms in the basement, the suspended ceiling, light fixtures, rugs, partition walls with glass to take advantage of the light, doors throughout the space. McArthur said the credit upstairs is to delete the tile and put in carpet; this saves about $2,000 but this is still included in the total price. Mayor Stirling suggested deleting the bathrooms but not the ceiling or division details for a price of $62,800. Depending on how this works out, the bathrooms may have to be installed in the fall. McArthur said his figure is $69,679 minus $6200 for the bathrooms. Councilman Blomquist said there would be a tremendous economy in buying movable partitions rather than installing walls. McArthur said deleting the walls would be $1500, including glass and drywall. Councilman Blomquist said he sees this as an evolving space and would rather not have permanent walls. McArthur told Council the money for the remodel includes both the upstairs work with the bathrooms, and treating about 3/4 of the unused space. Mayor Stirling said the budget proposal for the ARA guest services if $60,991 for year round services; the ARA had $34,000 budgeted for 1984, which would leave an overa~e of $38,000. Hines said the ARA trying to isolate and give Council a number just for tourist and guest services at the,Wheeler. This figure is what the ARA needs to function as a guest services group. It has been suggested that this visitors center be open 365 days a year. This budget is a bare bones basis; there will be two people during high season and high peak periods, and one person during off season. Councilwoamn Walls asked what the budget item for uniforms was. Hines said the program at the airport, the employees wear uniforms. The ARA feels it is important in what the Wheeler stands for, that the employees are well dressed and are in uniforms. Mayor Stirling said he is not wild about uniforms. Councilwoman Walls agreed with uniforms at the airport because people need to be identified In a visitors center, it does not seem necessary. Mayor Stirling said the uniforms are budgeted at almost $5,000 and he would prefer in the first year to eliminate uniforms and dry cleaning. Mayor Stirling suggested through the selection and training~ program, to get people to wear what is suitable for a visitors center. Councilman Blomquist suggested if the Council is going to appropriate money for this, they appropriate a lump sum and let the ARA decide what is appropriate within that frame. ~ines said the ARA will have a contractual agreement with the city of Aspen. Mayor Stirling said the responsibility for the visitors center should lie with the city manager, and the city manager could decide with whom to contract for operation of the center. Councilman Blomquist said he would like this budget to be on the same cycle as the city's budget. Mayor Stirling said he would like the city to give $30,000 for a full year's operation. Hines said he is not sure the ARA can do this operation for $30,000. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to see the ARA staff and the Wheeler staff be on a mutual support basis during the off seasons. Mayor Stirling said it is important that the employees of this center by year round, very knowledgeable about the town, rather than sharing with the Wheeler. Mayor Stirling said he would be willing to fund the ARA to $32,000 or $33,000 per year and let the ARA budget within this. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell told Council there are other costs associated with this project. One of the operating expenses will be cleanup and maintenance. The public rest rooms will need continuous attention. Someone will be hired to take care of the mall and Wheeler rest rooms for $10,000 which is salary, expenses, supplies, etc.. Another additional cost of $14,000 is a cleaning contract for the ARA, wheeler offices and a night time cleaning of the rest rooms. Councilman Blomquist said there must be a more efficient way to take care of the building and the restrooms than is being discussed. Mayor Stirling said staff should look at this figure to see if it can be cut; if it can be changed, it should be. Ms. Sonfield pointed out on the spread sheet for the Wheeler, with these changes, the first year will be $117,000 in the negative in the first year of operation. Mayor stirling moved that Council accept $18,000 for design work for the visitors center; $62,800 for remodeling and $21,700 for operations for the visitors center for the rest of 1984 and that it be underneath the auspices of the city manager, with the direction to contract with the ARA to provide services in the visitors center; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Walls. Motion carried. Councilman Blomquist moved to adjourn at 6:30 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. Kat tyne. Koch, City Clerk Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 23, 1984 ~ JOINT MEETING WITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at ~ 4:10 p.m. with Commissioners Kinsley,~Blake, Klanderud, Child and Madsen and Councilmembers} Blomquist, Collins, Walls and Knecht present.