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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19840813Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1984! Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. with Commissioners Klanderud, Kinsley, Madsen, Child and Blake and Councilmembers Knecht, Collins, Walls and Blomquist present. 1. Highway 82 Discussion. Mayor Stirling said the Council had voted for retaining the existing alignment. Council felt alternatives 2 through 4 would create extra traffic and are not the most efficient for the Airport Business Center and the airport. Council also felt these alternatives 2 through 4 do not make it easy for people arriving at the airport. to get to either Snowmass or Aspen. Council felt using the meadows south of the airport for the highway would be a significant loss of open space. Kinsley pointed out a meadow would be gained back on the other side where the highway would be torn out. Mayor Stirling said it would be more congested out there, and the trade off does not seem to be worth it. Mayor Stirling said proposals for the south side of the airport would cost all taxpayers more money. The existing access provides a more scenic view of the valley. Kinsley said alternative #1 would require at least three more traffic lights along the highway. Mayor Stirling said traffic lights create bottlenecks and may not be needed. Councilman Blomquist said the county is planning new entrances to the airport and may moveI the Airport Business Center intersection. Councilman Blomquist said the buses could use the service road to town. Councilman Blomquist suggested the county plan for four-laning and work with the highway department on phasing the four lanes. Commissioner Klanderud said the big problem at present is left turn lanes from Maroon creek, airport and airport business center to get back on the highway. Mayor Stirling reiterated the Council is recommending the highway stay with the existing alignment. Kinsley asked when Council would feel the four-lane is justified. Mayor Stirling said it is a question of creating more urbanization with a four-lane highway or whether to keep things the way they are. There is a trade-off in this. Mayor Stirling said a four-lane may invite additional traffic, would have uses of the highway in a differ' ent way, and would change the character of the entrance to town. Kinsley asked what the Council envisions for the entrance to town. Mayor Stirling said the city engineer has a committee to look at all Suggestions on the road from the Maroon creek bridge into town. Mayor stirling pointed out the voters turned down an alternative entrance to town. Councilman Collins said there was an engineering study at the time with no desirable alternative. Councilman Blomquist said a good job has been done to present four different alternatives for the highway alignment. Councilman Blomquist said the city has to look at this road from the Maroon creek bridge into town and what a four lane would do to the area. Commissioner Child said at a public hearing held last Wednesday, most people did not favor an alignment on the south side of the airport. Kinsley said at a public hearing last winter, the public would evenly divided among the four alternatives. Kinsley said the County has to decide by November whether to ask the state highway department to four-lane highway 82 between Brush Creek and Maroon creek. Commissioner Blake urged the Council to go out and walk the alignments in the meadows south of the airport. Blake said this alignment would make the valley more rural. Councilwoman Walls said where the highway is now was probably rural; now there is growth all along the highway. Kinsley said the land along the south alternative is public land so there will be no strip development along the highway. Blake said the highway has to be moved because of the runway according to the F.A.A. Councilman Blomquist asked if the Council had voted on two or four-lanes. Councilman Collins said the choice was modified, improved two-lane. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to consider a modified two-lane with planned phasing to become four-lane when necessary. Councilman Knecht said if there is any four-laning, it will come up the valley and then how do people get into the entrance of town. Councilman Knecht said progress toward four-laning, then the city is in trouble. Madsen pointed out the study done for the county pointed out Pitkin county is going to run out of highway soon; there is too much traffic, especially in the summer. The engineers said a four-lane highway is needed.i Madsen said Shale Bluffs area is very dangerous. A highway on the other side of the air- port would straighten out the road. Madsen said he would like the city and county to try and get unanimity for this project. Blake said he sympathizes about Council's feelings on the aesthetics on the entrance to town and four-laning down to two-lanes. However, the long-term solution has to be lOoked. a~. The county is trying to get a direction from the community for alignments, to try to preserve open space, and to consider the long term impacts of the present alignment. Mayor Stirling said he would be willing to meet in a study session with the county to further discuss this. Blake said Council is siding with the aesthetics but perhaps has not looked at the entire aesthetic picture. Mayor Stirling said Council also considered the efficiency of getting to the airport and Airport Business Center, and felt both these issues were best served by staying with the existing alignment. There will be less circling less traffic congestion and less extra driving. Councilman Knecht said Council was unanimous about their choice of alternatives. Councilwoman Walls said Council is concerned about the Maroon creek bridge and that it is dangerous and old. Councilwoman Walls said she would rather see the bridge addressed first. Councilman Blomquist agreed. Madsen said there is a traffic problem about where to put all the vehicles when they get to Aspen, and that has never been solved. Councilman Blomquist said h'e would like to see the four-lane end in the Basalt area.and would like to endorse that to the state. 2. Landslide Costs and Alternatives. Jay Hammond, city engineer, presented a memorandum showing the actual costs the city has accrued to date of $7610. This is from emergency response of the geologists, some work by Schmeuser & Associates, rental of their equipment, and some other minor costs. Hammond said there is a cost of $18,000 from Schmeuser for further study, which will result in a report to the City. The Council has been discussing a proposal from the Colorado Geological Survey. They will do a general study for the city of geologic hazards for the entire Aspen mountain fronting along the city. This will help the city obtain more detailed information on where threats may exist and threaten properties in town, how the city's approach to development and zoning in this area might be changed or mitigated. Hammond said there is an agreement for a three way split of the $18,000 the Ski Company has contracted with Schmeuser. Mayor Stirling asked how the CGS proposal differs from or supplements the Schmeuser study. Hammond said the CGS study looks at the entire mountain slope above town and adjacent to town. This is a broader look at the mountain. This study will determine if there are other areas that made slide; it will speak to the extent of the hazard and whether this will threaten town. The study will also look at mitigation for the mountain as a whole. Hammond told the Board the CGS study will augment Schmeuser's as it will incorporate the landslide the mountain has already experienced and comment on the appropriateness of Schmeuser's report. The CGS study will also look at the mitigation work that has already been done, if more work is necessary. Mayor Stirling pointed out the city already has USGS maps showing the problem areas on Aspen mountain, and what new would the city get out of a $7,000 study from CGS. Hammond said the CGS map will identify areas of instability and comment on the extent of that hazard into town. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to get an independent, unbiased opinion on Aspen mountain, which is why the city contacted the CGS. There is concern over the proposed development at the Top of Mill site. Commissioner Kinsley said the county is ready to help out with equipment and with money for work done to deal with the emergency situation. The county will share resources to the extent required to protect lives. Kinsley pointed out there has been significant land movement in the Frying Pan valley, Crystal Valley, upper and lower woody Creek valley, Snowmass Creek, Brush Creek. Kinsley said the county cannot afford to get into study and" mitigation of land movement on private lands. Kinsley said if there is land movement on county-owned lands, he would favor picking up the county's pro rata share. Kinsley said he would not favor paying for 1/5 of the survey to be done by the Colorado Geological Survey. Councilman Blomquist moved to direct the city engineer to pursue a contract with CGS for a geologic hazards survey of the lower part of Aspen mountain and to appropriate $7,000 for that purpose; seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilman Blomquist said the governments should find out what the problem is, what the cause is, if the mitigations efforts are working, if there should be further mitigation, whether the zoning should be adjusted. Mayor Stirling suggested this be brought on the Council agenda, rather than the joint meeting. Hammond~ told the Boards that the $7610 referred to above is part of the emergency costs. Kinsley said the county would be willing to reexamine the costs. Hammond said the total would be $8500 per each entity. Mayor Stirling said he felt the act of a RFTA employee was reprehensible. The employee does not understand proper procedure or how to deal with grievances. Mayor Stirling said he feels the employee should be sacked. Ms. Klanderud agreed and said the transit board has not had an opportunity to respond. The RFTA should handle this. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Councilman Collins moved to approve the minutes of July 9, 1984; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. David Zaagman congratulated Council on'their choice of city manager. 2. Lee Miller told Council he built a 3 bedroom, 3 bath home and paid $18,000 in tap fees for water and sewer. Miller said his first water bill for one person is $172 per month. Miller said he feels this is outrageous. Miller said he wanted to put a well in but there is an ordinance against it. Mil~er asked Council to have the staff look into this. Miller said there are no meters available at this time. He will get one and it will lower the rate a little. Mayor Stirling pointed ou~ the city is doing a $9,000,000 water expansion and certain increases were approved by the~voters to cover this. The Council has tried to hold these back, but theoeapltal lmprovement~ have to be paid for. Finance Director Sheree Sonfield said she would look into the water bill.l There is a sur- charge on water bills for not having a meter. Also, the water costs at the top of Red Mountain are higher because it takes two pump stations to get the water up there. Council asked Ms. Sonfield to follow this up. 3. Bill Martin, representing the All Citizen Action Committee, presented a letter to Council. Martin said this proposal was also presented to Pitkin County. The ACAC is interested in the continuing effort on the part of the city and county on combining functions. This has been started and the ACAC want to encourage the end to be reached soon, and they want this issue on the November ballot. Mayor Stirling said this proposal is by no later than December 1985 that the city and county to make all efforts to combine governmental services and eliminate duplication of management. Dick Fenton said the Council can put this on the ballot if they wish. City Attorney Taddune told Council the Charter gives Council the prerogative to submit to the electors any questions. Taddune told Council the November election does not coincide with the city's general election, which is in May. This would have to be a special election, called by Council, which has to be called 60 days before the election. Mayor Stirling requested this be added to the August 27, 1984 meeting. Councilman Blomquist said he does not endorse this particular concept. Counlcilman Blomquist asked the city manager to do an evaluation of the implica- tions and problems associated with this proposal. 4. Grey Young, representing Suzanne Farber, told Council she recently had a very difficult time with animal control, involving euthanasia of a family cat. Young said he will comment at the time of the public hearing on the dog control ordinance. 5. Jon Busch had sent to Council a letter as an assessment of a lighting proposal by Hagman Yaw. Busch said he feels their proposal is seriously flawed in many respects; however, there are some areas which do need addressing. Busch said lighting is a high priority of Council on the capital improvement list. Busch said one of the criteria for this should be safety. Main street is dark and is unsafe. Busch said he feels some points in the Hagman/Yaw proposal is overkill, but the safety aspects should be handled by this winter. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Blomquist moved to place the Colorado Geological Survey item at the end of the agenda; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Councilman Blomquist said three P & Z positions expired in July. Councilman Blomquist pointed out that appointees terms on city Boards and Commission are not available. Councilman BlOmquist would like Council to address this. Mayor Stirling suggested putting this on the agenda for August 27. 3. Mayor Stirling said a representing from Wengen, Switzerland, is coming to Aspen today. Wengen is interested in establishing a sister-city relationship with Aspen. Andrea Coba would like to meet with members of City Council. 4. Mayor Stirling said Council would like to have a tour on lighting. Monroe Summers told Council the CCLC got approval to move ahead to the design/drawing stage in this program for the mall and Main street. Council scheduled a tour for Tuesday, August 21 at 8:30 p.m. Summers said any interested citizens are also invited. 5. Mayor Stirling reminded Council about the work session on capital improvements on Wednesday, August 15 at 5:00 p.m. 6. Mayor Stirling said Thursday, August 16, at 3:00 the Vietnam Veterans committee would like to tour the proposed open spaces as potential memorial sites. Mayor Stirling said any Councilmembers that can join would be appreciated. 7. Mayor Stirling said he would like the Chapman duplex item removed from the consent agenda and placed last on the Council agenda. 8. Councilman Collins said there will be a picnic August 29th at 6:30 p.m. for Jack dePagter at the T-Lazy-7. dePagter has served on Mountain Rescue for 30 years. PROCLAMATION OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE - Kathy Durham Alcoke Mayor Stirling presented a proclamation to city employee Kathy Durham Alcoke, payroll technician, as February outstanding employee. Mayor Stirling read the proclamation. ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 1984 - Handicap Access Amendments Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. City Attorney Taddune said this ordinance was drafted in response to discussions regarding handicap access and timesharing. The Council wanted to discuss the amendments the city had made to the uniform building code. Taddune reminded Council that Tom Isaac had conducted a handicap access survey and explained to Council how difficult it is for handicap persons to get around town. Taddune said the UBC requires handicap access in two story buildings for the floor above and below grade. This ordinance would have to city's code the same as the UBC for handicap access. This would apply to any building permit after the date of enactment of this ordinance; it would not be retroactive. This might also be required in condominiumization of existing buildings because the city has an ordinance requiring existing buildings to comply with life, health and safety standards. Councilman Knecht moved to table Ordinance ~20, Series of 1984, until after the next public hearing; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. ~guiar ~ees~ng Aspen ~lty ~ouncl± August 13, 1984 ORDINANCE ~21, SERIES OF 1984 - Dog Control Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Charles Hopton opposes the ordinance; it is an invasion of privacy. Also this is giving a lot of authority to a department who has shown a lack of ability to make sound decisions. Grey Young said this ordinance will be judgment calls and will open animal control's job, which is difficult already. Young said he feels the animal control department has exhibited lacks of judgment ~in the past. Young presented a letter from Suzanne Farber regarding an experience with an aged cat. The decision was made by animal control to euthanize the cat. The city Code provides cats can be destroyed without seeking out the owner if the cat is seriously injured or diseased. Young said this cat was not diseased but was euthanized. City Attorney Taddune told Council he met to explore the facts of the Farber case. It was made evident this was a very old cat. Someone had called and complained and had said the cat was not in good shape. Taddune pointed out this cat had no tags on it. Taddune said there is a dispute about a mistake of judgement; he is not willing to concede a mistake has been made. Hildur Anderson told Council she does not feel the present laws are being enforced, and another law should not.be put on the books until the present laws are taken care of. Mrs. Anderson said animal control officers would be trespassing to see if dogs are leashed or not. Darlene Vare said she feels that the animal control department is out of control. Ms. Vare said she is opposed to this ordinance. Jon Busch said he feels people have the right to do with their animals what they want on their property. Busch said he feels this is questionable constitutional grounds regarding trespass. Bill Martin said he is opposed to this proposal and feels dog control is adequate, and that animal control department is doing a nice job. Martin said the city does not need an ordinance that would require people to trespass. Marvin Jordan said he is strongly opposed to this ordinance; it is an invasion of privacy. The ordinance would be unenforceable. Jordan questioned how the animal control officers will know that dogs are under voice and sight control. Bill Griswald said he has not heard problems about animal control. Griswald said he feels the current laws are adequate. Eric Harrell said he is opposed to this proposal. Pet owners should be responsible for their pets. Karrell said the implications of having people go on private property are terrifying. Mimi Langenkamp favors this ordinance. Ms. Langenkamp said her grandchildren have been attacked by dogs three times. The animal control department is doing a good job, but dogs are still loose. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Blomquist moved to defeat Ordinance #21, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilman Knecht asked if this is the same law as the county presently has. Lisa Russell said it is; it is needed in the city for condominiums when dogs are on condominium associa~ tion property. Ms. RuSsell said she would like to see it passed for that reason. If dogs are not under voice and sight control, they can run off the property any time. Ms. Russell said in the county, the animal control officers do not go onto private property. Councilman Blomquist said if the problem is condominiums, the ordinance should address that issue. Other property owners are concerned about trespassing, which is a legitimate issue. Ms. Russell said there is a problem throughout the municipality with dogs running off the property when owners are not home. Councilman Blomquist said he feels this ordinance is an encouragement to tresspass. Councilman Blomquist said if people followed the law on the books, there would not be a dog problem. Councilman Collins said there was a task force of about 12 people with representatives from animal control and the Council. The task force had a number of meetings to address the problem of enforcement. The task force made recommendations; increase personnel, which Council agreed; implement a policy of education; to use more discrimination in enforcement of present laws. The task force also recommended improving communications. These items were to be put on a six month trial basis to see how they work. Councilman Collins said this ordinance goes beyond the recommendations of the task force. Councilman Collins questioned the legality of this ordinance and allowing the animal control officers to trespass on private property. Taddune told Council this task force found out that Aspen's animal control ordinance are very strict in Colorado. Taddune said this legislation was requested by Council earlier this year. Taddune said there is an enforceability problem; sight and voice control could be hard to prove or disprove. Crayton Burkholder, one of the task force members, said he thought the animal control officers were going to report back to the task force after they have had a chance to put the new recommendations into effect. Dr. Burkholder said he questions the constitutionality of this ordinance. Councilwoman Walls said this ordinance is in effect in the county, and the purpose of this was to get the city and county laws the same. Dr. Burkholder said animals that are running at large and then go back to their~ property should be ticketed. Dr. Burkholder suggested the county law be changed to the city, s law. Mayor Stirling said he does not feel dogs should be allowed to sit unattended on property. Mayor Stirling said the present law is too nebulouS. This ordinance is not a license to trespass. Mayor Stirling said the problems the animal control department is having is due to the nebulous nature of the ordinance. Mayor Stirling said this ordinance would make the laws very clear to dog owners. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Collins, aye; Walls, nay; Blomquist, aye; Mayor Stirling, nay. Motion carried. ORDINANCE ~20, SERIES OF 1984 - Handicap Access Amendments City Attorney Taddune told Council the Aspen Code amends table 33-A of the UBC to not require handicap access in one or two-story buildings the floor above or the floor below the floor closest to grade. This ordinance would delete this amendment to the UBC. Mayor Stirling reopened the public hearing. George Parry said he opposes this amendment. The previous City Council study very hard what was practical. In a single lot, 100 square feet would be lost to an elevator which would cost $40,000. It comes to the point where people cannot afford to build. Requiring elevators in single lot building puts a lot of problems on those lots. Elevators in multiple lot buildings make sense. Tom Isaac pointed out there are problems with some buildings which have restaurants up or down stairs and have no handicap access. There are many buildings in Aspen which have no access. Aspen's public buildings should have handi- cap access for everyone. Jon Busch suggested adding to the ordinance that elevators are required in buildings on more than one lot in size. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Knecht said he agrees with Busch's suggestion. Councilman Blomquist suggested using square footage rather than one lot. Mayor Stirling agreed the handicap should have access but this probably cannot be accomplished to 100 per cent. Alan Richman, planning office, said three-lot size is where the larger buildings are being built. Two lots are smaller structures. Mary Isaac agreed every small lot should not have to put in an elevator but pointed out the Prospector Lodge is not accessible. Mayor Stirling said the ground level has to be accessible to handicap persons. Councilman Blomquist moved to table Ordinance ~20, Series of 1984, and request George Parryi~ Tom Isaac and Alan Richman meet to work out minor amendment to accommodate small lots; seconded by Councilman Collins. Isaac said he wants the Aspen Municip&l Code to follow the Uniform Building Code and not be more lenient than the UBC. Isaac said he would like restaurants to be accessible to all. In some cases, all that is needed is a small ramp. Buildings in Aspen are getting around putting in elevators or ramps. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Walls. Motion carried. SUBDIVISION EXCEPTION - Fraser City Attorney Taddune said there are some instances where metes and bounds lots were created prior to the subdivision regulations. The building department needs to know whether or not the lots are governed by the subdivision regulations. The city is attempting to make it possible to verify the lot was created before the regulations and is exempt from the regulations. Lennie Oates told Council this lot is 42,240 square feet and does have height restrictions placed on it. Taddune said this lot should be exempt because it was created before the regulations. Councilman Knecht moved that this lot be exempt from the definition of subdivision because of the date it was created and that the fee be waived; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #24, SERIES OF 1984 - Denying Smuggler Mountain Annexation Councilman Collins moved to approve Resolution ~24, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Knecht. Jon Busch told Council he had spoken with one of the seven people in opposition to this annexation petition. Busch said this person is not in opposition to annexation but had filed a protest because they are in favor of Centennial. Busch said the future of the Centennial development is now assured and the protest to the annexation will be removed. Busch said he hopes Council will continue with the annexation. Mayor Stirling pointed out this action is merely closing a petition the Council received six months ago. Taddune told Council he contacted the attorney for the petitioners to allow them to remedy the petition. The petitioners did not do that. Taddune recommended Council find that the petition for annexation is not sufficient. Councilman Blomquist suggested tabling this to give the opposition a chance to withdraw. Mayor Stirling pointed out the petitioners have had a chance to remedy their petition and they have not. Mayor Stirling withdrew his motion. Councilman Blomquist moved to table this for two weeks; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Walls. ORDINANCE ~23, SERIES OF 1984 - Appropriations Councilman Knecht moved to read Ordinance ~23, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~23 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE RECOGNIZING GENERAL FUND REVENUE OF $3,600; APPROPRIATING GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURE OF $68,100; APPROPRIATING ASSET REPLACEMENT FUND EXPENDITURES OF $11,450; APPROPRIATING CAPITAL PROJECTS - WHEELER AND OPEN SPACE FUND EXPENDITURES OF $466,800; APPROPRIATING WATER FUND EXPENDITURES OF $2,700; APPROPRIATING ICE GARDEN FUND EXPENDITURES OF $1,100; APPRPRIATING SMUGGLER SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FUND EXPENDITURE OF $33,050 was read by depu~city clerk ~egu±ar ~eetlng Aspen ~l~y ~ouncl£ August 13, ±~4 Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance #23, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Collins. Finance Director Sheree Sonfield told Council these items were budgeted in 1983 but for some r~asons were not received until 1984. Ms. Sonfield pointed out the Castle Ridge expenditure is an open P.O. for attorneys. City Attorney Taddune explained the city has retained attorneys expert in construction law for Castle Ridge. Taddune said there will be! a settlement meeting held in January; a suit has been filed. Ms. Sonfield said the asset replacement fund expenditure was approved earlier for a point-of-sale cash register; it has not been spent yet. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Collins, aye; Walls, aye; Blomquist, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. ASPEN MOUNTAIN LODGE EMPLOYEE HOUSING Sunny Vann, planning director, told Council the applicants are planning to house 195 employeesl in four separate locations. The Alpina Haus and Copper Horse lodges will take advantage of change in use and convert to long term uses. These have been reviewed and approved by P & Z. The applicants are proposing to convert 32 units at the Airport Business Center from free market to deed restricted employee housing. The applicant propose to construct 22 new units at Ute City Place on Cooper avenue. Ute City Place previously received a GMP allocation for 8 free market and 22 employee housing units. Ute City Place will require Council approval for exemption from grewth management,~subdivision approval and rezoning to RBO. Vann said Council needs to endorse the overall employee housing proposal as it relates to the Aspen Mountain PUD. The P & Z and housing authority have reviewed this proposal. P & Z has passed on a resolution to Council. Councilman Blomquist said the Copper Horse has no parking spaces and the neighborhood will be impacted by employee cars. Vann said the P & Z noted the parking problems at the Copper Horse and Alpina Haus, and attached conditions that the applicant with alternatives as part of the preliminary. Vann suggested Council also attach a condition that the applicant present specific proposals. John Doremus told Council the applicants are still working on the parking proposals. Doremus said there will be 10 spaces exclusively for employees at the hotel. Heinz Coordes said the parking demand will be much greater for emploYees than for tourists. The Copper Horse block is already seriously impacted with parking. David White said he would like to see the hotel buy parking in order to offer extra parking at the hotel. Doremus there is no perfect solution for a conversion, where there is an existing prior use and no parking requirement. Doremus said at the Copper Horse, they are reducing the density the number of people who will live there over the number of.people currently accommodated. Jim Curtis said the Copper Horse will be reduced 53 to 43. Vann sa~d there is a value in this conversion to get deed restricted employee housing. Curtis said there is a common kitchen at the Copper Horse; there will also be an employee ~afeteria at the hotel. Vann told Council the different housing projects are earmarked for different types of employees that will work for the hotel, like seasonal or management. Mayor Stirling asked about transportation proposals from the Airport Business Center into town. Curtis said the applicant's have committed to supplement the bus system with a shuttle to the hotel. The county bus system runs to town every hour. Vann said P & Z discussed seeing if the bus service needs to be increased after a year of operation. Vann said the Copper Horse, Alpina Haus and Ute City Place will give first priority to employees of the hotel because of the proximity of the project. Vann said the residents at the Airport Business Center may not work for the hotel. Councilman Knecht asked how many spaces short the parking is. Vann said he is not sure of the exact number but it is significantly short at the Alpina Haus and Copper Horse. The requirement is one space per dwelling unit for residential. Curtis said the applicants are estimating there will be 243 new employees; they propose to house 60 per cent or 145 employees. Vann pointed, out this figure is substantially above the 33 per cent requirement Council just approved in GMP applications. Mayor Stirling said Council also discussed trying to provide housing with minimum construction and getting more points. Curtis said there will be 46 employees at the Alpina Haus, 43 at the Copper Horse, 69 at the Airport Business Center and 37 at the Ute City Place for a total of 195 employees. Councilman Collins said he would like to know the exact multiplier of employees generated for each type of use. Vann said the planning office does not have an exact figure. The survey work by the housing authority has been direct interview of existing businesses, and they have never quantified the secondary effects of employment. Councilman Collins said he is concerned because this proposal plans to build 37 units for 243 new employees, where is the housing for the rest of the employees picked up. Vann said the existing buildings are not occupied 100 per cent by employees. Vann said this proposal has been formally endorsed by the housing authority. Vann told Council the Ute City Place received an RBO in 1981 to increase the density to gain employee unit. The original proposal was 8 free market, 22 employee units. The revised project would be 22 employee units with a smaller footprint and larger open space and be within the allowable FAR. The parking spaces will meet the requirements of the Code. The applicants went to the Board of Adjustment and got a variance to retain the 28 feet in height, which was originally approved. Councilman Knecht said the only problem he has with the employee housing proposal is parking. Doremus said there are no clear guidelines for dormitories. Doremus said they would like to address the parking solution at preliminary. Doremus said the applicants will only be able to come up with mitigation measures, not more parking at Alpina Haus and Copper Horse. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to see the parking resolved at the conceptual level; Councilman Collins agreed. Councilmembers Knecht, Walls and Mayor Stirling said thet would prefer preliminary. PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS Hal Schilling, city manager, reminded Council they had asked his office to review these and comment back to Council. Schilling said he has not had the opportunity to do this, and also would like some direction from Council on what they want in terms of the review. Mayor Stirling said he was questioning the accrual policy of the city and would like a defense for accruing sick and vacation days. Councilwoman Walls said she would like to have a work session on the personnel rules and regulations. Council requested Schilling report back in September. COMPARABLE WORTH REPORT Councilwoman Walls said the city needs to have a job evaluation and analysis study done. Councilwoman Walls said the Council voted unanimously in December to have this study done. Patsy Malone, personnel director, told Council money for the personnel and staff to finish this study was not budgeted. Ms. Malone recommended to Council she get bids from consul- tants in the field of comparable worth to do a study for the city. Schilling told Council the staff could have a recommendation in 30 days. Councilwoman Walls pointed out the Council cannot make a final decision on the budget until they have the payroll figures. Schilling told Council if they isolate one aspect of the study, it will cost more than if it is an adjunct to other parts of the study. Schilling said the comparable worth study will cost between $10,000 and $15,000. Mayor Stirling moved to have a work session with the city manager and personnel director by no later than September 7; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Knecht. Motion carried. NEALE STREET BRIDGE REPORT Jay Hammond, city engineer, told Council the city has a recommendation for approval for $140,000 to get the Neale Street bridge out of the 100 year flood plain from the special highway committee of the Colorado Municipal League. Hammond said historically the state highway commission always follows these recommendations. Hammond said the staff is going ahead with the original timeframe for the original bridge design and are waiting for a definite answer from the state highway commission. Hammond said the newer bridge design probably cannot be completed this fall, this depends on the redesign for the newer bridge. There is a possibility this can be done in the winter. Hammond said in the new design, the road bed will be raised; the main difference is the increase in span, which is a result of a study by the federal emergency management agency done this spring. Their study showed the Neale street bridge was inundated by the 100 year floor; prior studiesldid not indicate that. The new design will replace both abutments because of the grade change to accommodate a larger hydrolic cross section. Council requested to be kept informed. ROARING FORK RIVER REPORT Jay Hammond, city engineer, presented Council a map outlining the areas the staff has looked at from Mill street bridge east towards the Aspen Club. Hammond said the staff has limited comments to areas that are aggravated by artifical fill which creates a threat to property. Hammond pointed out the 1983 mapping still showed the islands in the Rio Grande; the fill had occurred at that time, but the mapping does not show the fill. The result of the mapping is that there is not a significant backwater into Oklahoma Flats. The newest set of maps includes the fill and shows a significant backwater into Oklahoma Flats. Hammond pointed out there is an indicated that the water in Oklahoma Flats during the 100 year flood plain is probably aggravated by the fill on the Aspen One and Rio Grande properties. Mayor Stirling said the river has changed over the last 100 years with natural phenomena and with bridges. Mayor Stirling said he would like to be convinced that the fill in the Aspen One and Buchanan property is the cause for the backwater. Hammond said there is a difference in results between the Army Corps and the FEMA maps. Hammond said some of these areas would only be fill removal; loading and hauling. The staff should get some specific proposals from contractors on the cost to remove this material. Hammond has talked to FEMA, who will come in on the Rio Grande area and Oklahoma Flats area and gener- ate some cross sections on certain assumption of fill removal. Based on the cross sections, the computer will be able to tell if this changes the flood characteristics in Oklahoma Flats. FEMA said they will do this on no direct cost to the city. Hammond said the project would be removing fill, regrading, replacing the topsoil and revegetation along the river. Councilman Blomquist said there is a problem in where to put all this fill, and the engineering department should have a plan for that. Hammond said his assumptions are that the fill will be ~put off-site. There are other items to deal with on the Rio Grande, like the impound lot and the site for snow dumping. Councilman Blomquist said the staff should look at alternative sites for the impound lot and for snow dumping. The staff should also look at an alternative plan for balancing cut and fill on the site. Councilman Blomquist suggested moving the San District employee units and use that for snow dumping. The city could save $300,000 if they do the cut and fill on-site. Hammond said the staff has met with FEMA to discuss emergency funding; there is a possibility that reconstruction of the Hopkins Street footbridge may be covered. They may consider funding the Cooper street bridge. The staff is working on this. Hammond recommended inves- tigation of removal of the fill north of the Eagle's club. The staff needs to look at the alternatives to repair the bank at the Aspen Art Museum and costs for relandscaping. Hammond said doing alternatives 1 and 2 may mitigate the situation as the Art Museum. Hammond told Council because of flooding this spring, the staff is looking at other repairs, like the Hopkins street footbridge, the Cooper street bridge, which is a state responsibility, and the footbrdige at the Aspen Club, which is in Pitkin County's juris- diction. ~egu±ar meeting Aspen C~ty Council August 13, 1984 Hammond said Council will have to tackle the overall Rio Grande parcel, the removal of the impound lot, the formal plan will tie into the fill question. Hammond said if the Council does not address the overall plan by this fall, the city will have to haul the fill off- site. Mayor Stirling said these will be addressed in the capital improvement work session this week. Councilman Blomquist moved to direct the city engineer to undertake to plan the six items outlined in the memornadum of August 8 to mitigate and prevent flooding hazards along the Roaring Fork; in the interest of undertaking fill removal the city attorney shall develop alternative plans ~for either on-site or off-site removal of fill or a combination thereof; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. ARTS WEST ASPEN Andy Hecht, representing Arts West Aspen, said they wanted to inform Council that despite of the results of the election, they are still hard at work and believe it in the public's interest to have a performing arts center. Hecht said they are disappointed in the election turn out of only 8 per cent of the registered electorate. Hecht said that AWA will continue to work on a structure for raising capital; AWA will then come back to Council in a study session'to discuss if there are other locations, or different alternatives. Hecht said AWA feels there is strong support in the community for a performing arts center. Mayor Stirling said there were good public support in the media for this issue, outside the advertisements of AWA. Mayor Stirling said there was no organized resistance in the community. Mayor Stirling said he felt there was apathy about the issue. Hecht agreed the supporters did not turn out, and the opposition did. Hecht said they feel there is a spirit to continue this effort. Hecht said he would like Council to wait until AWA can come back with a plan to proceed; AWA would not like to see the city dispose of this piece of the Rio Grande until they can report back. Russell Scott said AWA would be willing to take part in discussions about the Aspen Center for the Arts. Dr. Scott told every consultant has agreed the Rio Grande is the property where the performing arts center should be. The AWA has looked at various properties in the valley and still feel the Rio Grande is the best site. Council said they look forward to hearing the next step. RESOLUTION #25, SERIES OF 1984 - Chapman Duplex Mayor Stirling said there is some concern about the appreciation method on the resale of these units. There is concern about employees being granted land free and then being able to make a profit on it. Mayor Stirling said he would like to delete the "sweat equity" paragraph if the contract goes with alternatives 1 or 2. Alternative 1 is a set 5 per cent or cpi; alternative 2 is to have two appraisals. Any changes in the property would be built into one of the above alternatives. Assistant city manager Ron Mitchell said Council would have to approve any improvements to the buildings prior to these improvements. Mitchell pointed out Council can approve the improvements, but eliminate the improvements from the calculations. Mayor Stirling said this clause is acceptable. Councilwoman Walls pointed out property values are going up; everytime these units change hands, the price goes up. These are approaching the point where they are out of employee range. If these units go to the free market, is there a way for the city to recoup the cost of the land. Mayor Stirling said the city could sell the unit with the price of the land on the free market. Councilman Collins said the city would leave themselves open for problems if they took these units out of the employee housing pool and put them in the free market. Mitchell said the original contract should have limits on either the square footage or the amount spent on the unit. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve Resolution #25, Series of 1984, the Chapman duplex contract; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #24, SERIES OF 1984 - Sunny Park Annexation Councilman Knecht moved to read Ordinance #24, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in3. favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #24 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE ANNEXING TO THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, A TRACT OF LAND COMMONLY KNOWN AS A PORTION OF LOT &, SUNNY PARK SUBDIVISION was read by the deputy city clerk Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance ~24, Series of 1984, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Collins. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Collins, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye; Walls, aye; Blomquist, aye. Motion carried. NEW TRAFFIC PERSONNEL Mayor Stirling asked why this request outside the budget procedures, which are starting next month. Rich Rianoshek, chief of police, told Couhcil when the police department got rid of the towing function, the traffic control section went from 5 to 3 employees. The police department was not sure how well this would work; they have tried it for 8 - 10 months, and it does not work well. Rianoshek said with only three employees, the downtown core cannot be maintained and ticketed; the police department does not have time to deal with general3parking complaints. The police department now has a full time traffic supervisor, Rocky Whitford, This summer the police department had two CETA employees, which worked very well. Rianoshek is asking for a fourth full time traffic officer. The police department does not want to go back to the old system, with lower level service. The fourth position creates a lot of revenue for the city in parking tickets, which is about $60,000 annually. ReguLar Meeting aspen ~l~y uounc~l ~ugus~ ~, ~ Mayor Stirling said he felt the estimate of $60,000 revenues is high. RianoShek said the traffic control officers do much more than issue traffic tickets. The fewer there are, the less amount of~ time can~be spent writing tickets. If the traffic control officers are interrupted during a timed~parking circle to come back to the police station, they have to start all over. Rianoshek said with only three officers, they miss at least half of the timed-parking everyday. Mayor Stirling asked if this fourth officer could be absorbed in the 1984 budget, and what is the cost of one extra person. Rianoshek said he would have to look into both of these questions. Councilman Knecht said this should be worked out with the police chief and the city manager. Mayor Stirling said he would like to address this at budget time also as well as wait for the report from the traffic committee. COLORADO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROPOSAL Mayor Stirling said there is a proposal to spend $7,000 for the city only to go ahead and do the geological work on Aspen mountain. Councilman Blomquist said a serious issue is what an actual landslide might have done to the city of Aspen. Councilman Blomquist asked if the zoning is adequate for geological phenomenom. Councilman Blomquist said there are maps which zone landslide areas. Councilman Blomquist said he feels it is appropriate to requests the Colorado Geological Survey to determine the geologic hazards that might impact the city of Aspen, this would be money well spent. Mayor Stirling pointed out there are no new areas than those shown on the 1973 U.S.G.S map which presented any problems. Mayor Stirling said the city should go ahead with the work on the immediate troubled area. Mayor Stirling said he is not convinced of any benefit this new survey would provide the city. Councilman Blomquist asked Hammond if he would feel more comfortable having this study done. Hammond said it would make him more comfortable if the CGS can quantify the extent of the hazard into town. This study would take the information one step further, and would also answer the zoning questions that have been raise. Mayor Stirling pointed out the applicants for the Aspen Mountain Lodge have hired an engineering expert, and this study will be analyzed. This will give the city additional information at no cost to the city. Council- man Knecht agreed one study is enough. Councilman Collins asked what money has been spent by the city. Hammond said the engineering department has authorized payments on an emer- gency basis. Councilman collins asked if this is coUnty or private property. Hammond said it is private property owned or leased by the Ski Company; the road is county land. Councilman Blomquist asked the status of the remedial work. Hammond said Schmeuser has done $18,000 worth of remedial work; $11,000 was the cost of drilling and mitigation work, the rest is further engineering study. Hammond said the report is at the Ski Company, and they are reviewing this report. The Ski Company was set up as the central agency and under. took the efforts with Schmeuser. Councilwoman Walls questioned why the city would pay for something happening on Ski Company property and possibly caused by things the Ski Company or county did up there. Mayor Stirling suggested sending the Schmeuser report to the CGS for their comment. Councilman Knecht said he is not happy about how this was handled; he was not notified about the mudslide. Aspen received devastating publicity that will last for a long time. Council- man Knecht said the slide was on Aspen Ski Company property and the city does not have responsibility for this. Councilman Blomquist said in the emergency, this was handled properly. Councilman Knecht said he felt the entire Council should have been part of the decision. Councilman Knect said the Council has not determined whose responsibility this problem is..and the $18,000 expenditure has not been discussed before Council. Assistant City Manager Ron Mitchell said he and the Mayor had met with the Ski Company and had agreed to split the costs. Mitchell said he felt the Council gave direction to deal with the emergency situation. Councilman Blomquist in favor; Councilmembers Knecht, Collins, Walls and Mayor Stirling opposed. Motion NOT carried. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Knecht moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. The consent agenda is Liquor License Renewal - La Cocina; Resolution #26, 1984, MEAN representatnive; Special Event permit filmfest. Motion carried. City Manager Contract taken off the consent agenda; will be next meeting. Landscaping Work - Water Tank Sites. Councilman Collins asked why no bids were received as this is a substantial contract. City Attorney Taddune said one of the reasons may be the city was requiring bonding, and no landscape contractor is big enough to meet bonding requirements. Taddune said the staff negotiated an alternative with LazY Glen. Mayor Stirling moved to accept the Lazy Glen proposal with the performance and labor material payment bond as designated in the Rea Cassins memorandum; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Blomquist moved to adjourn at 9:55 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. , City Clerk