Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19840611Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 11, 1984 JOINT MEETING WITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. Commissioner Kinsley called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. with Commissioners Klanderud, Blake, Child and Madsen and Councilmembers Blomquist, Walls, Knecht and Mayor Stirling present. 1. Report from Representative McInnis. Representative McInnis said he feels he and Senator Glass have worked well together, which is important for this community. Repre- sentative McInnis said he and Senator Glass will carry the anti-trust bill and the sales tax issue in the next session. Representative McInnis complemented the city and county staff on keeping in contact on issues. Representative McInnis suggested that for the anti-trust legislation, the city and county concentrate on swing votes and on opposition. Representative McInnis said for the sales tax issue, the CML and Colorado Counties should be very active. Commissioner Kinsley said he would like to see increased salary and staff for legislators in the state. The state is at the point where issues are complicated and numerous enough to justify this. Representative McInnis agreed with the salaries the way they are, an important part of the middle class is being excluded. Representative McInnis said the legislators do not get expenses for in-district travel. Representative MeInnis said he feels this is the finest district in the state. 2. City/County Sales Tax Issue. Curt Stewart, county manager, reminded the Boards they had directed staff to look at alternative ways to go about the sales tax problem. Tom Smith, county attorney, prepared two alternatives for Commissioner Child and Councilman Blomquist to take to CCI and CML to discuss the pros and cons. One method gives the counties more power; the other method gives the cities more power. This would allow either counties or cities to have two different tax rates. Smith told the Boards these are the only two options the staff came up with. Kinsley said the questions seem simple and asked who they might injure. Stewart said he doesn!t think this would injure anyone but it might get into the issue of who has more flexibility. Representative McInnis said option 1 seems more feasible. Representative McInnis said people have been upset with property taxes and option 1 does not call for an increase in taxes. Smith said option 2 allows taxes to be raised rather than not be collected. ~egu±ar meetlng Aspen ulty uouncl± dune Councilman Blomquist moved to endorse option 1; seconded by Commissioner Child. Ail in favor, motion carried. 3. Land Use Operating A~reement/Ruedi Reservoir. Mark Fuller presented a memorandum of agreement between the city, county and Bureau of Reclamation for the construction operation and maintenance of the hydropower plant at Ruedi. This agreement outlines the division of responsibilities between the BOR as owners of the reservoir, and Aspen and Pitkin county as owners of the hydropower plant. The BOR will retain the right to review construction plans and comment on them; the BOR will retain ownership of their facility to interconnect with the hydropower plant. The BOR will retain full control over the amount of releases out of their reservoir. The BOR will commit to making releases to the hydropower plant for generation of electricity whenever possible. The BOR will have the right to make inspections and to require changes if it is evident these would danger the safety or integrity of Ruedi. The city and county will reimburse the BOR's costs for those inspectioAs and activites tied to this agreement. Fuller told the Boards there is general agreement this agreement is fair and eqUitable. The agreement leaves specific operating procedure open until the plan is in operation and how the entities will relate to each other. Fuller went over some minor changes and recommended approval of the memorandum of agreement. Kinsley asked what is the potential for the operation by the BOR of Ruedi for their purposes being a problem with the hydro- power facilities. Fuller said the only problem would be if the BOR would divert all releases of Ruedi out of the auxi!l~aryoutlets. The hydropower plant is retrofitting out of the main outlet, and if all the releases were to be out of the auxillia=y outlet, there would be nothing with which to generate power. Fuller said the BOR diverts only out of the auxilliary outlet for repair and maintenance on the main outlet; this happens very rarely. Tom Gibbons, BOR, told the Board the reservoir has only been done once in the last 16 years. Gibbons said they do have periodic inspections when they shut the main outlet down for a day. Fuller said he would coordinate the BOR's shutdown times with the hydro- power facility for standard maintenance work. Mayor Stirling asked about the change with the FERC license. Fuller said his latest estimate based on the FERC formula is $53,000 payment to the federal government. The latest FERC rule, which may take effect in August, would reduce the charge to the federal govern- ment to $20,000 and the difference would be added to the city and county revenue. Kinsley asked the BOR's policy regarding small scale hydropower facilities on their dams. Gibbons said he feels the BOR has a positive attitude; one of the objectives is to produce as cheap power as possible for the general public. Fuller said the BOR has been very helpful in making this project move along. Commissioner Blake moved to approve the memorandum of agreement; seconded by Commissioner Madsen. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the memorandum of agreement; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. 4. Castle Creek Road Resurfacing. Curt Stewart told the Board the county has approved some improvements in the vicinity of the music school that were utilities and required the road to be torn up. The contractor was to patch the road. There have been discussions on whose responsibility is what. There has been agreement; rather than patch the road, the county would take the money from the contract and do an overlay. The county will come up with money not previously budgeted to do that portion of the road not covered by the area to be patched. There is a dispute over 800 feet of the road. The city engineering depart- ment does not want to acknowledge this 800 feet being in the city because they do not want to set up a maintenance area. The staff agreement is not to worry about this 800 feet the County will maintain it. The city and county should take all road that are in dispute and divide them up evenly. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell said the Council needs to deter- mine if it is willing to allocate $9800 to overlay this 800 feet of road, otherwise there will be a hole in the middle of the project. Councilman Knecht said the county has agreed to maintain this portion of the road, if the city finishes it. Councilman Knecht said the city has responsibility to fix this area; it is a heavy traffic area. Councilman Blomquist moved the city appropriate $9800 to the county for the fixing of Castle Creek road~ and that the city and county staff sit down and resolve the problem of disputes over roads; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling said the highway 82 section east from Cooper is in bad shape. Mayor Stirling said he would like the Boards to pressure the state to fix this portion of the road. Mayor Stirling moved to j'ointly resolve to strongly urge the state highway 82 to patch and repair highway 82 from Cooper avenue to Riverside drive; seconded by Commissioner Child. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCIL MEETING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION There were no comments COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Stirling said last Wednesday it was noted there was a fissure on Aspen mountain which had cracked. The city called in a consulting geologist in the valley. The residents in the area were alerted to have the option of vacating because of the uncertain circum- stances. Mayor Stirling said during the first 24 hours, there was 1½ inches of movement. The city has monitored the fissure for 5 days and the total movement has been 11 inches. Mayor Stirling said the city has been renting monitoring equipment and taking readings and charting the movement. .~he city has had the fortune: to have a U.S.G.S. expert, Dave Varns, in town during this. There will be a meeting between concerned parties tomorrow. Mayor Stirling said a bulging at the bottom of the area and a small fracture has been noted Mayor Stirling said the city feels the threat is no longer serious at this point. ~=~u~ ~.~u~? Aspen Ulty ~ouncll June 11, 1984 2. Mayor Stirling asked what the city is doing about all the fallen branches. Acting Cityli Manager Ron Mitchell said the street department is picking up branches collected and left ~ on the curbs. Councilman Blomquist urged everyone who can to carry the debris to the dump.' The streets department cannot handle all this at once. 3. Mayor Stirling acknowledged all the city departments, police, streets, parks, city manager, and engineering would did work above and beyond the call of duty during the emergency. 4. Mayor Stirling said the P & Z has an alternate position open and Council needs to schedule interviews. Council scheduled this for June 16 at 5:00 p.m. 5. Mayor Stirling brought up the editorial about long Council meetings and suggested returning to once a week meetings. MaMor Stirling moved to add this to the agenda; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Knecht and Walls. Motion carried. ASPEN MOUNTAIN LODGE CONCEPTUAL PUD Sunny Vann, planning director, said Council has requested the outstanding issues be con- cluded so that the planning office can draft a resolution on this item. Vann said in the site design, the P & Z was concerned about the relocation of several of the Top of Mill buildings to improve visual aspects of the project. The P & Z wanted to relocate two buildings at the top to increase the vista up Mill street to the mountain. The P & Z and staff are concerned about the accessibility of internal portions of the Top of Mill. One of P & Z's conditions is that the applicant will provide additional information regarding fire protection at the preliminary stage. Vann said he is concerned about storm drainage relating to the Top of Mill site; the applicants have proposed an extensive collection of runoff. The staff is concerned about the location of these impoundments. The P & Z and staff are concerned about vegetation and retention of mature vegetation at the Top of Mill site and including futher landscaping to reduce the impact of the project as viewed from above the project, especially. Chris Gleister said the applicant feels the two buildings at the top of Mill street should be relatively close together in order to frame the view of the mountain. Putting them farther apart will lose some architectural impact of the plan. Gleister showed Council a 'picture of where the buildings are proposed to be located, showed the view up Mill street. Gleister said the farther apart these two buildings are, the less effective the architectural composition is in framing the view of the mountain. Council did not object to this site plan, and concurred with the applicant's suggestion. Councilman Blomquist said in the past a Senate Bill had been passed setting up areas of state concern about subdivisions and that certified consulting information in matters of geology and other physical facts should be certified by those qualified to do so, and that planning commissions, Councils receive these facts and make a decision on these facts. Councilman Blomquist pointed out the two U.S. geological survey maps of Aspen done in 1972. Councilman Blomquist noted that in the exact area of recent danger, there is an orange area indicating mudslide. On the Top of Mill site, two alluvial fans are shown. Council- man Blomquist said the law is clear, if Council requests a geological study, the applicant is required to have a study done. Councilman Blomquist said he feels the city erred in not zoning this area C, conservation, as is the area to the east and west zoned C, conser- vation. Councilman Blomquist said there is evidence from the maps in 1972 as well as the recent evidence of land in motion. Councilman Blomquist said if Council were to permit develop- ment in the alluvial fan area, they may be subject to liability. Councilman Blomquist said he questions the zoning judgement of the city in 1975, and this judgement could be changed now since the parcel is vacant. Nick Lampiris, geologist, said there is a mapped landslidei area, in which there has been 11 inches of movement in the last 5 days. Lampiris said the run out zone would approximate portions of the alluvial fan on the west side of the map. Lampiris said there could be flash flooding or debris movement, which would also affect the alluvial fan. Lampiris said the buildings under consideration are at the margins of the fan and do not seem to be as susceptible as sites further up. Lampiris said maybe proper geotechnic applications could mitigate some of the potential hazards. Councilman Blomquist said this is not known, and he sense some potential liability on the city if this project is approved. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to table this and request a geological report. Lampiris said this is a bona fide geological hazard area and these questions should be addressed. City Attorney Taddune said the exposure of municipalities for approving subdivisions resulting in some detriment to the property owner are the exception rather than the rule. Taddune said it is rare to have a municipality sued for approving something. Taddune said he would like to look at Senate Bill 34 and the law in areas of municipal regulations. Alan Novak, representing the applicant, said there is not action proposed tonight having to do with approval of a subdivision. All the facts about the conditions on the mountain and the steps that can be taken to alleviate the situation will be gathered before subdivi- sion approval is at Council. Novak asked Council not to react to the bare beginnings of the facts. Joe Wells pointed out that investigations of geologic hazards is a matter to be considered at preliminary. There is no requirements at conceptual to provide the city with informa- tion about geologic hazard except regarding the 8040 review. P & Z has recommended Council postpone the 8040 review to preliminary. Wells said the applicant will provide Council with the geologic information at preliminary. Vann said had the problem with Aspen mountain occurred earlier, the planning office would have notified the applicant of the potential problem and requested conceputal investigation of the appropriateness of this site for development. After the application was submitted, the staff put the applicant on notice about the concern of subsidence, the are is underlain with tunnels, and asked for detailed evaluation on this in the event the application received conceptual approval, Council should attach a condition requiring detailed information as part of the preliminary submission. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 11, 1984 Mayor Stirling said the geological problem is valid, and would like this attached as a condition to any approval that this be brought forward in preliminary. Councilman Blomquis~ said he feels the city needs a geological study by the Colorado state geological study to check against the applicant's study. Mayor Stirling agreed with this condition. Councilman Collins said one of the items Council is considering in conceptual is site design, and that would have some influence on the geologic information. Councilman Collins said it would be appropriate to table this application until there is more information on the geologic situation. Councilman Collins said this situation is a very serious matter and the time to address is now, not at preliminary; to defer the matter would be a mistake. Councilman Knecht said he would like to keep the process moving and address the geologic information at preliminary. Mayor Stirling moved Council accept the concept of continuing with conceptual PUD subdivision review and attach a condition that the applicant meet all geologic survey needs and necessities, as outlined by staff, to be presented at preliminary; seconded by CouncilwomaniI Walls. Councilmembers Wall, Knecht and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Blomquist and Collins opposed. Motion carried. Vann included P & Z's concern about strom drainage to be part of the preliminary submission as well as detailed landscaping. There is a desire to retain maximum landscaping on the site and also to minimize the visual impact. Mayor Stirling said he would like P & Z's condition about soils and water table investigation be part of the preliminary. Councilmanl!! Collins said if the Top of Mill is approved for site design, what can be done about the 8040 review; why have an 8040 review if the site design is approved at conceptual. Vann said conceptual review is to give the applicant an indication of the appropriateness of the project without having to incure major costs of specifics. The 8040 greenline review deals!! mainly with technical engineering concerns. Vann told Council when the applicant prepares a detailed information for preliminary, the engineering department reviews this and should they find problems in the 8040 greenline criteria, the applicant will be notified and specific amendments to the conceptual design would be done. Vann said there is no reliancei on the conceptual approval; the Code states this does not grant approval of subsequent phases. The 8040 greenline review could change the project. P & Z is not dealing with the! 8040 greenline review at conceptual because they do not have enough information. Councilman collins said the main question under 8040 greenline review is the visual one, to keep the development from creeping up the mountain. Councilman Collins said he did not feel the 8040 review should be turned into a technical review. Vann said Council is being asked to look at the visual impact of the buildings at conceptual level; the criteria under~ PUD for visual impacts are the same as 8040 review. P & Z in conceptual approval approved the visual aspects of the project; the deferred the technical aspects to preliminary. Vann said if Council has a problem with this project visually, it should be raised at this point. Councilman collins said the reason the 8040 greenline was established was to keep development below the 8040 line, and he is concerned about buildings extending above the 8040 greenline. Vann told Council the Code requires within a certain distance of the 8040 line, either above or below, the projects are subject to review. The Code does not preclude development above the 8040 line. P & Z felt, in this case, the development as shown was preferable to forcing it all below the 8040 greenline because it would create a denser project. P & Z did a site insepction with sticks indicating elevations, and the project is almost invisible except from the top looking down. P & Z is requiring landscaping to mitigate the view from the top. Gleister showed pictures of the site, describing the physical characteristics, with a hole in the ground at the back corner of the site. Gleister said in order to meet Code require-i! ment, with a certain limited number of feet above natural grade, some of the units will be'~ in the bottom of the hole and units half way up the slope. Gleister showed a section of the site and the difference point between the natural grade on the site is 29 feet. Gleist~r said one of the most important objectives is to remove the car from the site, and in order to do that, underground parking garages have to be built. Gleister illustrated how much digging out would have to occur and where the units would have to be placed. Gleister saidl they have taken an apprOach to minimize the amount of excavation and would equalize the heights between the two sides of the site. This will create the shaping of the bowl not to be so deep and to be more regular in shape. There will be a net drop in the average height of the units in this approach, as well as making it possible to put the cars under- ground. Gleister told Council their original submission has heights of 40 feet; P & Z asked that the overall heights be reduced. P & Z made a condition to limit the height of the units anywhere on the site to 33 feet from midpoint of the roof to finished floor area. Gleister said if the grade from the back of the house to the front is averaged and measured back to the roof, there is a calculated height of 25 feet, which is the underlying zoning requirement. Councilman Blomquist said this is a good solution. John Doremus requested a work session with Council to concentrate on this topic. Mayor Stirling moved to continue the discussion of the Aspen Mountain Lodge until Monday, June 18, 1984 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Councilmembers Knecht, collins and Walls opposed; Councilman Blomquist and Mayor Stirling in favor. Motion NOT carried. Council scheduled this for the next regular agenda, June 25, 1984 for two hours. CENTENNIAL WATER AGREEMENT Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell told Council this agreement is the one the staff and Centennial has agreement upon, there are no open items. John Musick and Centennial have had meetings on this and taken care of the outstanding items. Mitchell said the Rubey interconnect language has been changed where the city is protected with a letter of credit and Centennial will pay as bills are submitted. There will also be a $5,000 deposit allowing the city to enforce the letter of credit. Centennial has agreed to the $143,000 deposit, has agreed to paying as buildings tap on, at least $300,000 through the end of this year, and paying all the tap fees as of July l, 1985 even if construction is not all completed. Mitchell said the deadline of July 1, 1985, as the effectiveness of the agreement has been agreed to. The rebates based upon EQR's in that area as those EQRs materialize for the Rubey interconnect have been agreed to; there is a refund if other development goes on in that area, and Centennial will get $450 per EQR. Mitchell told Council the staff feels · ~=~ ~.~==~m~9 ~spen u~Ey ~ouncl± June 11, 1984 the agreement is fair and beneficial to the city water department by getting the cash flow into the fund. The Rubey interconnect and Park Circle line are a benefit to the city~ Staff recommends approval of the agreement. Councilman Blomquist asked if Council wants to acknowledge all priced controlled employee housing should have a reduction in the water tap fees, and should this be for any type employee housing. John Musick pointed out the city statutes say this can apply to "moderate priced controlled housing". Mitchell said another inducement for the reduced fees is the water conservation measures in the project. Musick said the applicant for a reduction in water tap fees must demonstrate the reduction will be passed on to tenants or purchasers. Musick told Council the city's water extension are for non-monetary purposes, they are for utility purposes. Musick said this agreement is normal operating procedure. Musick said the city staff has not believed in total the claimed water conservation benefits by the developer. The developer asked for a 40 per cent reduction; the staff agreed to a reduction of 20 per cent, and there is a method in the agreement if the 20 per cent is not met, the city can charge more. Also, the developer is being asked to oversize lines in the project at his expense, for the city's benefit, and is not being given a rebate on a defined schedule, Mayor Stirling asked if the city's water system has the capacity to provide water for this project. Jim Markalunas, water department, told Council the system has the capacity, and this was addressed in the GMP process. Mayor Stirling said this agreement may be in the best interest of the water fund for the short term, but not necessarily for the long term. Musick told Council the city could charge the full 1984 water rates if they choose to not look at this project as moderate income employee housing. Mayor Stirling asked if the rates being charged at Centennial qualify the project as moderate income housing. Jim Adamski, housing director, said this project falls within the guidelines adopted by the city. Councilman Collins said his concern is the exceptions that have been made and some of the concessions made to the applicant. Councilman Collins said the city agreed to go with the 1982 connection charges as well as give another 20 per cent reduction. Councilman Collins said if the daily per capita consumption is as low as 150 gallons, if this prevails over a year, the tap fee could be reduced another $133,000. This would be a total reduction of over $400,000. Councilman Collins said it is difficult in fairness to the city water users as a whole to suppot these reductions in the connect charge. Harris Sherman, representing the developer, told Council they have worked on this agreement at great length. There were 5 or 6 points in contention, and the developer has conceded to all these points. They have agreed to the $143,000 up front; the developer has agreed to the cut off date of July 1, 1985, by which time all tap fees have to be paid. Sherman said the developer has agreed to pay $175,000 for the Rubey interconnect, which will have system-wide benefits. The developer has agreed to a letter of credit and a $5,000 bond. The developer has agreed to explore the merits and questions of a potential annexation of the area. Sherman pointed out the city will save $327,000 in costs because of the Rubey interconnect these costs the city woUld incur at some point. This would reduce the tap fee to $533,000 and the developer is paying a tap fee of $572,000. The developer is putting up front $143,000, which is an exception to the policy. Sherman said the developer has come a long way in trying to meet the objectives of the city. Michael Kinsley pointed out there are unfavorable exceptions to the developer, such as the over-sizing of the system, payment up front, Rubey interconnect. Kinsley said there have been precedents set by the city for other employee housing project. Mitchell told Council for Castle Ridge there was a ~i delayed payment, no down payment, but the tap fee was paid with interest. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to amend the agreement that Centennial-Aspen would initiate annexation proceedings or join another petition for annexation at the earliest possible time and no later than October 1, 1984. Taddune said the city should investigate what costs it would inherit in temrs of improvements the county was going to undertake. Sherman said the developer wants to cooperate with the city and the county; in annexation, there are questions to be answered~· The annexation decision ought to be carefully thought through be everyone involved. Councilman Blomquist pointed out annexation is a high priority of this Council. Councilman Knecht moved to accept the agreement for the Centennial water provisions; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Mayor Stirling said there have been major concessions for this project. The county granting the land;~the city reducing the tap fees. Mayor Stirling said the Council needs to honor prior commitments. This project is outside the city's jurisdiction, and this Council did not have consultation on it. Mayor Stirling said he is not interested in changing prior policy of the water plant not being a utility. Councilmembers Knecht, Walls and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Blomquist and Collins opposed. Motion carried. RESOLUTION $20, SERIES OF 1984 - Ballot Questions City Attorney Taddune presented a resolution with the two ballot questions for the July election. The two questions are the cable television permit and the Arts West question. The Arts West question asks the voters the authority to convey to Arts West Aspen land on terms of a mutually acceptable agreement. This parcel is 1.9 acres of land owned by the city and by Cap's. The conveyance of this land is to construct a performing arts center on this parcel. These agreements will be done by ordinance. Taddune told Council the conveyance will address a promissory note on the property, around $175,000; the exact terms of this promissory note have not been worked out. David Zaagman said he feels this should be a multi-purpose facility and there might be more appropriate locations, like the Marolt property or the Meadows. Andy Hecht said Arts West is prepared to make a commitment to explore whether this performing arts center can be built. Arts West needs to negotiate with Council the precise terms of the conveyance if this ballot question~ is approved. Arts West would like the land conveyed to them in order to raise money to build a performing arts center; if this cannot be done, the land will revert to.the city. Russell Scott said Arts West cannot go to donors for money for the Regular Meeting Aspen ~l~y uounc~± ~une ±~, ~ center unless the land is secure. Scott said the Arts West will start paying the city on the note, which the city will then pass on to the noteholder; it would be inappropriate for Arts West to pay the note directly. Scott said between now and the election an agreement between Arts West and the city can be drawn up, so that after the election, the land can be conveyed and Arts West can go to the donors. Scott said this site and the performing arts center has been studied for years. Ail the studies have concluded this center ought to be within walking distance of the commercial core. Stan Stevens said the vote may be endangered if it is indicated that Cap's will be moved next to the Andrews/ McFarlin building. Taddune said the city and Arts West will have to come to an agreement on the conveyance, and the issues are how much land, how the land will be conveyed, when the arts center will! be constructed, what happens if it is not built. This will be done by ordinance procedure so the public will be involved. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to see another 1/2 of 1 per cent RETT to pay for Cap's and for the performing arts center. Right now, Cap's would have to be paid for either by a land trade or out of the land fund. Council- man Blomquist does not agree with open space or the land fund being used to pay for Cap's. Hecht said the performing arts center can proceed without Cap's; they cannot make the commitment to pay for relocating or buying Cap's. Taddune said this resolution is flexible the city and Arts West will then enter into an agreement which will address Cap's. Taddune pointed out the electorate already voted on the relocation of Cap's. The city is trying to find another alternative. Councilman Blomquist moved to adopt Resolution ~18, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman!~ Knecht. Councilman Collins said when the Plum Tree was on the ballot, the language was more specific than general. Taddune said this is a general question to allow the process to move forward and to go through an ordinance for the agreement. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins and Mayor Stirling. Motion carried~ ANIMAL CONTROL REPORT and ORDINANCE ~15, SERIES OF 1984 City Attorney Taddune said there is a draft report from the dog control task force and a resolution adopting that report. Taddune said the task force addressed whether or not there was an animal control problem, and they agreed there was a problem. The task force found that Aspen's animal regulations are about as strict as any in the state. Taddune said the task force feels there is a correlation between the reduction of animal control personnel and the heightening of the problem. Taddune said a measured approach should be used to address the problem to see if the present regulations can work in solving the problem. Stricter regulations can be looked at if what is presently in the Code does not help solving the problem. Taddune said the procedures for the public to contact animal control personnel are not very good. There has been reorganization of the dispatch center and an increased work load. Taddune said there are six recommendations. The Council should agree with the task force than an animal control problem does exist and something should be done to make the program work better than it is currently. The second recommendation is to hire additional animal control personnel. The task force recommended the Council adopt and announce a policy of strict enforcement. If the rules and regulations are not strictly applied, the Council will not know if the rules they are are working effectively. Another recommendation is if Council adopts a strict policy, this ought to be publicized. The task force felt the animal control personnel ought to use more innovate procedures. The communications procedures should be improved between the public and animal control officers. Hiring another officer will help this some. This should be re-evaluated in three months. Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Resolution ~22, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Councilman Blomquist said he does not like the term "strictly enforced"; it should be "reasonably enforced". Councilman Blomquist said he does not like to see measures of entrapment used in animal control. Lisa Russell, animal control officer, said what this means is that tickets are written for dogs running at large; there is no discretion to give warnings. Entrapment or tricks will not be used. Ms. Russe~ said a dog walking with its owner but not on a leash, is in violation of the law and a ticket is written. Councilman Collins said the opportunity for strict enforcement is there now, but enforce- ment is done on a very discretionary basis and there are some abuses. Councilman Collins said the problem is how the present laws are enforced, there has been too much discretion. Councilman Blomquist said he would like this changed to "reasonable enforcement" also. Councilmembers Blomquist and Collins in favor of changing the words to "reasonable enforcement"; Councilmembers Knecht, Walls and Mayor Stirling opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilwoman Walls said she would also like to change the animal control ordinance to be the same as the county's, which is to have dogs under voice control when on person's property. Taddune said he would write this ordinance for Council. Mayor Stirling said he disagrees with some of the proposals of the task force and has written a minority report. Mayor Stirling said this proposal does not go far enough. Councilmembers Knecht and Walls in favor; Councilmembers Blomquist, Collins and Mayor Stirling opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilwoman Walls said the effect of turning this resolution down is that animal control will not enforce the ordinances. Mayor Stirling said he feels this does not go far enough~ Mayor Stirling said he will change his vote if the Council will go along with the voice control ordinance. Mayor Stirling moved to reconsider Resolution ~22, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman i! Knecht. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution ~22, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Knecht~ All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to read Ordinance ~15, Series of 1984; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #15 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 5-68(c) OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN TO ESTABLISH NEW PENALTY ASSESSMENTS FOR THIRD AND FOURTHER OFFENSES OF A DOG RUNNING AT LARGE was read by the city clerk Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance ~15, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Blomquist, aye; Walls, aye; Knecht, aye; Collins, nay; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. CONSULTANT PROPOSAL- Aspen Lodge Improvement District Monroe Summers said this is a proposal by a team of consu}~a~ts currently working on the Aspen Mountain Lodge project, to also do the improvement district design work. This request is.for approval to develop a contract with this team of consultants, and for approval to hire Sandra Stuller as legal counsel for this lodge improvement district. Council had requested to hear from the property owners in the area on how they feel about this. Mayor Stirling said Council's other concerns are is this a conflict of interest in having the same consultant team as the Aspen Mountain Lodge, and should the city be bidding this contract out. Taddune told Council he has discussed this with Sandra Stuller, who will advance 25 hours as a contingent contribution. If the district is formed, Ms. stuller will be paid out of the district. Summers said Council has received some letters from property owners in the area supporting this and the team of consultants. Lee Miller, representing six condominiums, said this has been discussed with the owners of the condominiums. These owners understand they will be paying for this; they are quite supportive of the project. Miller said he sees this team of consultants as a way of getting the project moving forward and does not see this as a conflict of interest. Miller read a letter from Jerry Hewey, Aspen Alps, supporting using these consultants and supporting the lodge improvement district. Charles Hopton said his condominium owners have been very supportive of the district; however,:! there is a concern about possible conflict of interest and this should be moni~ored. Gary Plumley, condominium owner, said he is very much for the improvement district and does not feel there is a conflict of interest. Plumley said there are advantages in having this consultant team work on the project. Councilwoman Walls said this looks like a very elaborate project and asked if the condominium owners understand the scope of the project. Miller said this area of town has a high tourist usage, and the condominiums have signifi- cant value. The owners are willing to invest in the areas surrounding their condominium. Plumley said this project has been worked on for 4 years, and the idea is to realize significant improvements. Feedback has be~n gotten from owners in the area that the need is not just basic improvements. Mayor Stirling said the need to bid design work is very different from bidding the acutal construction work. Mayor Stifling said there should be full disclosure throughout the project, there should be mechanisms in the contract to provide constant information. Summers said there will be bond counsel, who will be concerned about the monites; there will be counsel for the district, who will be concerned about the levies, equity of interest basis. Summers said in the initiative process, there is a two-step public review which can help determine the level of the improvements. Homeowners will be able to say if they feel certain things are too extenseive or frivolous. Hopton said his homeowners understand they will be paying for improvementS all over the district but do not want to pay for landscaping on the lodge's property, for instance. Councilman Blomquist said this contract said that the consultants will perform field visits and will advise the city throughout construCtion. Councilman Blomquist said other consul- tants work for the city, and in this situation he is not comfortable with employees of the ! hotel representing the city in a major project. Councilman Blomquist said he feels this relationship will 6ause difficulties, and will the city be properly represented. Council- man Blomquist said this is a cost plus contract and questioned this when there is no competitive bidding. Mayor Stirling pointed out that Sandra Stuller would be hired by the district and will be working for the district. Summers said the Council will have the opportunity to hear from the public through the review process. Summers told Council the staff tried to get enough interest to do this district through petition; they advertised, held work shops, but has to have this district initiated by the city because the majority of the landowners are not full time residents. Councilman Knecht moved to authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to develop a detailed contract for planning and design services on the base mountain lodge improvement district with the team of consultants and under the terms outlined in the Doremus & Company "Lodge Improvement District Draft Proposal 92" dated May 21, 1984, and submit same to Council for final approval; and move to appoint Sandra Stuller counsel to the base mountain lodge improvement district~and to provide a reimbursable budget allocation of $13,200 for her services prior to official creation of the district; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Councilman Collins said he feels there is a conflict of interest in having the consultants for the lodge also be the consultants for the improvement district. Councilman Collins said he does support the improvement district but would rather see it done by the property owners. Taddune said there is a protest procedure for the property owners. The Council may then decide who should be in and who should be out. There is a procedure for assuring each property owner is assessed its fair share. Regular Meeting Aspen ~l~y ~ouncli ~une xi, Councilman Collins said he would have liked to have requests for proposals. This has beeni discussed for a month, which gave time for these requests for proposals. Joe Wells said the consultants have tried to establish an arms length relationship, and are proposing to have a contract with the city. The hotel owners are not involved in this negotiation at all. The bills would be submitted to and reviewed by the city. The hotel owner is going to front some of the costs, and this arrangement would be negotiated separately between the city and legal counsel. Councilwoman Walls asked if the hotel owners would only front i the costs if this design team does the work. Summers said there is no advantage for the hotel owners to pay for this if their ~eam does not do the work; the hotel owners are trying to keep design continuity. The hotel owners have an affect on 40 per cent of the property in the district. If the hotel owners have to go through the entire design process again with new consultants, there is no advantage to them. John Doremus said the other incentives for the hotel owner are to fulfill the obligations they made in the GMP application. The other item that is important is to get the districtll done as soon as possible. Councilman Collins said if the city is going to participate in this improvement district, they should request for proposals. Councilmembers Walls, Knecht and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Collins and BlomquiSt opposed. Motion carried. Council asked that staff work on the contract and bring it back to Council. Mayor Stirling asked the attorney's office to start working with the attorneys for the hotel to devise a mechanism of payments to be at arm's length. Taddune suggested using the CCLC as the committee to watch the consultants. The CCLC has been very actively involved in this process and could protect the city's best interest. Mayor Stirling agreed wi~ this approach. Taddune suggested negotiating this so it is not a bulk services contract. Council agreed with this approach also. Councilman Collins asked that at some point along the line this project is defeated by the voters or dropped, who would be responsible for the costs already spent. Mayor Stirling said the city is only committed to $13,000 for legal fees. Councilman Blomquist said he would like the contract to provide that any monies expended by the Aspen Mountain Lodge in the design process, if the district is not formed, will be borne by the Aspen Mountain Lodge not the city of Aspen. Summers said this would negate the entire process. Cou ~ilman Blomquist said there are a lot of advantages to the Aspen Mountain Lodge, and they should be willing to go that far. Summers said the city either uses their own money or gets an interest free loan. ORDINANCE ~3, SERIES OF 1984 -Deane Hydropower Project Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. John Musick, water counsel, said through the process this agreement has become two agreements; one for the dam, pipeline, reconstruction of the dam, access; the second agreement deals with the hydropower project and the compen- sation based on the hydro-electric project and the size of the ground being granted by the Deanes towards the project. Musick said in' the first agreement, the Deanes are acknowledging the ownership of the city of the dam, the pipeline, ownership of the city's water rights, right of ingress and egress. The approval of this agreement is tied to the approval of the hydropower agreement. Musick told Council in the hydropower agreement, there are none of the provisions regard- ing the Deanes being involved in construction, operation, maintenance or o~herwise. If this project is bid by the city, the Deanes could enter into the bid if they wish. The compensation and maximization of power issues are not in the agreement. There is a simple net lease and the terms of the net lease are 55/45 with the prospect of the use of the Herrick ditch. Musick said the compensation is based on if there are net revenues greater than necessary to pay off the costs, the Dearies will share 55/45. Net revenues will be power generated times the wholesale power rate paid by the city, in no case less than 4 cents. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Blomquist moved to adopt Ordinance 93, Series of 1984, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Collins. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Blomquist, aye Collins, aye; Walls, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE ~9, SERIES OF 1984 - Growth Management Quota System Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Alan Richman, planning office, pointed out the changes in the ordinance. Council requested non-profit be eligible for an exemption and the ordinance makes it clear that commercial and lodge projects are not eligible for the exemption. The criteria makes it clear this applies to public facilities. Richman said P & Z recommended an increase in employee houSing for commercial projects from 15 per cent to 50 per cent. Richman said the projects he looked into provide 25 per cent and 10 per cent of the employee housing. Richman said this increase is to get commercial projects to carry their own weight. Mayor Stirling said he would rather see the increase be consisten~ with residential and lodge, which is a 5 per cent increase. Councilman Knecht said he would like to see all employee housing requirements 35 per cent so they are all the same. Councilwoman Walls agreed with 35 per cent. Council agreed. Richman said he would adjust the scoring. Richman said the present system says free market allocations expire after 2 years and deed restricted employee housing units expire after 4 years. This has been a difficult section to administer. Richman said the staff recommends that everything expires after 2 years; P & Z recommended this be shortened by 3 months so that if something is going to expire, other applicants will be able to compete. Richman said Council can give extensions for 180 day period. Councilman Knecht said he feels this sh0uld be longer than two years; the city should not speed up the process to get more buildings. Councilman Knecht said he would rather have the expiration be three years. Council agreed the expiration period should be 33 months. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve Ordinance #9, Series of 1984, on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Walls, aye; Collins, nay; Knecht, aye; Blomquist, aye; Mayor Stirling, nay. HIGHWAY 82 ALTERNATIVES Councilman Blomquist moved to approve alternative ~1 and instruct the planning office to prepare a map street ordinance incorporating number 1; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Mayor Stirling said alternative ~1 is essentially retaining the existing alignment and recommending whether the road should be two-lane or four-lane. Alternatives 2, 3, 4 all have proposals to take traffic on the south side of the airport. Mayor Stirling said he feels the meadows on the south side of the airport should be retained and the traffic should stay on the existing right'of-way. Mayor Stirling pointed out the Airport Business Center has been emphasized and traffic should not be taken away from it. Councilwoman Walls said she would like the Council to encourage money spent up here to replace the Maroon creek bridge, which is dangerous and in bad shape. Council agreed with this. COUncilma~ Blomquist amended his motion include the recommendation of replacing the Maroon creek bridge and supplying bicycle and jogging lanes; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Knecht said he does not feel a map street ordinance has,anything to do with this vote. Councilman Blomquist said this is the power of a city to adopt extra-territorial street alignments. Council said this was not their intent. Councilman Knecht moved to reconsider; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Blomquist. Motion carried. Councilwoman Walls moved to recommend alternative #1, including the recommendation of replacing the Maroon creek bridge and suPplying pedestrian lanes; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. Council said they would like to pursue Councilman BlomqUist's idea at a future date. ORDINANCE #13, SERIES OF 1984 - Appropriations Mayor Stirling moved to read Ordinance ~13, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Blom- quist. All in Favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~13 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE APPROPRIATING GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURE OF $171,016; RECOGNIZING GENERAL FUND REVENUE OF $13,750; TRANSFERRING $21,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE GOLF COURSE FUND; TRANSFERRING $142,900 FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE WHEELER TRANSFER TAX FUND; TRANSFERRING $7850 FROM THE TRANSPORTATION/MALL FUND TO THE GENERAL FUND; APPRORPRIATING WHEELER TRANSFER TAX FUND EXPENDITURES OF $37,200; RECOGNIZING WHEELER TRANSFER TAX REVENUE OF $18,000; TRANSFERRING $193,000 FROM THE WHEELER TRANSFER TAX FUND TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS-WHEELER AND OPEN SPACE FUND; APPROPRIATING $193,000; APPROPRIATING ASSET REPLACEMENT FUND EXPENDITURES OF $70,000; RECOGNIZING ASSET REPLACEMENT FUND REVENUE OF $70,000; APPROPRIATING ELECTRIC FUND EXPENDITURE OF $40,050; APPROPRIATING WATER FUND EXPENDITURES OF $150; APPROPRIATING GOLF COURSE FUND EXPENDITURES OF $20,880; RECOGNIZING GOLF COURSE FUND REVENUES OF $430; APPROPRIATING ICE GARDEN FUND EXPENDITURES OF $500 was read by the city clerk Councilman Blomquist moved to adopt Ordinance ~13, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Collins, aye; Knecht, nay; Blomquist, aye; Walls, aye; Mayor Stirling', aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #18, SERIES OF 1984 - Water Rate Increase Councilwoman Walls moved to read Ordinance #18, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilm'an Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #18 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING DIVISION 3 OF ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 23 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, ENTITLED "WATER RATE AND CHARGES" (THEREBY AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 3, 1984, AND ORDINANCE NO 36, 1981) BY INCREASING CERTAIN WATER RATES AND CHARGES was read by the city clerk Finance Director Sheree Sonfield told Council this is a 10 per cent increase in the water rates as planned. There was a 10 per cent increase in March 1982 and March 1983. Ms. Son~ield said even with these increases, the water fund will be in a deficit position. Las~ fall, Council turned down a 20 per cent water rate increase. Councilman Blomquist said utilities should pay for themselves. Mayor Stirling said he does not feel the city should put the burden on the water users to pay for the deficit in the water fund caused by a miscalculation. Councilwoman Walls said the city should stick to the original plan of 10 per cent increases per year up to a total of 50 per cent. Councilwoman Walls moved to adopt Ordinance ~18, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Knecht. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Blomquist, nay; Walls, aye; Collins, aye; Mayor Stirling, nay. Motion carried. ~egu±ar ~ee~lng Aspen ~l~y ~ounlc± ~une ±±, ±~4 ORDINANCE ~19, SERIES OF 1984 Utility Connect Charge Increases Mayor Stirling moved to read Ordinance #19, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Collins~! All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~19 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF DIVISION 2 OF ARTICLE III, CHAPTER 23 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED UTILITY CONNECTION CHARGE, (AND THEREBY AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 40, 1982, AND ORDINANCE NO. 52, 1983) BY ENACTING THE SECOND YEAR OF A PHASED INCREASE IN CERTAIN WATER UTILITY CONNECTION CHARGES was read by the city clerk Finance Director Sheree Sonfield told Council this is the second 20 per cent increase in the utility connect charges; there will be two more 20 per cent increases for a compoundedli total of 100 per cent. Councilwoman Walls moved to adopt Ordinance #19, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Collins. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Walls, aye; Collins, aye; Blomquist~i aye; Knecht, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. JANITORIAL BUDGET - Wheeler Opera House Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell recommended $12,000 for additional cleaning of the Wheele~ Opera House and $2190 for daily cleaning of the bathrooms. Mitchell said these fees are reasonable based on the bids for cleaning the Wheeler. Mitchell said the reduction in costs from the original price is that the Wheeler is saying their offices do not have to be cleaned on a daily basis. The ARA will keep the supplies in the bathroom and do superficial cleaning; the parks department will check the bathrooms twice a day rather than every two hours. Mayor Stifling moved to approve the additional parks allocation of $2190 and an additional $12,000 for the Wheeler Opera House cleaning and to amend the ARA contract to have the ARA monitor the bathrooms; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL - Arthur's Chinese Restaurant City Attorney Taddune said the city owns this land, and under the lease if the payments are not made, the city has the option to terminate the lease. In order to buy back the land from the city, Arthur's would have to pay back the city all amounts owned plus two years base rent. The city also has ~the opportunity to appoint a receiver. Taddune told Council Arthur's is delinquent about $18,000. Taddune said he has worked very hard to keep Arthur's current on their payments. Bob Nelson, environmental health department, told Council nothing has been done to keep Arthur's in compliance with the health codes since the last inspection. Nelson asked Council to condition the liquor license renewal on compliance with correction of violations noted in the last report. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell said staff is recommending the lease payment situation. Mayor Stirling asked if the payment schedule is realistic. David Moss said he is only concerned about the first payment; the rest of the payments he expects to meet based on previous years business. Moss said he appreciates the city's plan to put Arthur's on fixed payment rather than 10 per cent. Moss pointed out that $4500 of the deficit is an audit the city had done, which would not have taken place if Arthur's had been on fixed rent. Mayor Stirling asked about the health violations. Nelson said to correct some of these will involve capital expenditure. There is moneY that will have to be spent to maintain the equipment, fix the place up. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the liquor license renewal contingent upon meeting the health department requests and to accept the proposed amendments to Arthur's lease agreement as presented by staff; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. RAW WATER SUPPLY UPDATE Sheaffer & Roland presented Council with a comprehensive water management plan and raw water supply update. Bob McGregor said the water management plan is three phases; phase 1 was to get hardward into the ground; phase 2 is to build hardware for a 20 to 30 year planning horizon; phase 3 is to make sure there is water in the future. This report addres~ses where the water will come from. McGregor told Council he looked at all the city's water supply sources; Maroon creek, Castle creek, Hunter creek, Roaring Fork, some wells. The city is committed to minimum stream flows as a policy. McGregor said potable water is the most important, raw water irrigation is second, minimum stream flows is third, and hydro- power is fourth as priorities. McGregor told Council looking at a 30 year planning horizon, there will be shortages. These will probably be in the minimum stream flows. McGregor said the report ranks the alternatives; there are some things thank can be done immediately and at low cost. McGregQr said the city's golf course should not be irrigated with clean water; waste water can be used to irrigate the golf course. Snowmass uses waste water to irrigate the golf course. This waste water can be brought from the sewage plant after it has been treated. This is an inexpensive alternative. Another priority is gaining a better position for the city in the streams in terms of owning more water rights. McGregor suggested only using the water rights when it is needed and leasing it back to the agricultural users the rest of the time. McGregor said this is an economical and good environmental approach. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 11, 1984 McGregor said the lowest priority is reservoirs on Maroon and Castle creeks; these are expensive and have bad environmental impacts. This report recommends certain steps to be taken in a timely fashion. These cost a lot of money to make up the shortfalls. McGregor said the city is reaching the limits of their resources. McGregor showed charts for the streams with the information in the report. McGregor told Council the city has to improve its position on Maroon creek. John Musick said he would like to schedule a work session on this after Council has studied the report. SUMMER VISITOR STUDY Monroe Summers told Council there is a need to develop a good data base on the summer visitor; this has never been pursued. The ARA invited Denver Univeristy to give a proposal to do this study. The planning office is in favor of having this study done for their use in long term planning. Summers said this is a request of the city to underwrite the cost of the study of $7100. Councilman Blomquist said he would like something in the study to distinguish between the short term summer visitor and the destination visitor. Spencer Videon, ARA, said this study has got to be started; there is not much use in doing a lot of marketing unless there is information on the visitor. Mayor Stirling said he is enthusiastic about this, but the city should not underwrite the whole cost. Mayor Stirling moved to pay 50 per cent of the proposed $7100 and the ARA pick up the balance; seconded by Councilman Knecht. Councilman Blomquist said the city should have a program of doing a summer visitor study one year, winter visitor one year and locals the third year. Councilwoman Walls said the city ought to confine itself to funding programs that citizens cannot do for themselves, like water and parks, and this study should be funded by the ARA. Councilman Collins said he would like the city to stay out of the marketing business. The city should give a donation to the ARA and let them use the funds as they see fit. The city has already been responsive to the ARA this year. Councilmembers Blomquist, Knecht and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Walls and Collins opposed. REQUEST FOR LIQUOR LICENSE - Wheeler Opera House Wayne Pleasants, technical director, told Council they have used up all the special events for this year. Pleasants said the Wheeler would like to have a full time liquor license for live performances as they feel they can generate about $200 from liquor sales per performance. Councilman Knecht moved to instruct the staff to work out a lease agreement for the Wheeler board and to work on a liquor license application; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to adopt the consent agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. The consent agenda is (1) liquor license renewals - Aspen General Store; Takah Sushi; (2) Resolution ~21, 1984, Deputy Municipal Judge/Hecht. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Blomquist moved to adjourn at 11:58 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn ~ Koch, City Clerk