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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19790611 ~egular Meeting Aspen City Counci£ June 11, 1979 JOINT MEETING WITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 1. Maroon Bells Bus Program. Curt Stewart, transportation planner, submitted an agreement summarizing what the City and County had agreed to at their May 14 meeting as to their ro.~es in the Maroon Bells Bus program. The only difference from the previous figures i iMar°°n Bells is that under maintenance, in the event there is expenditures in excess of $5158 estima- ~.~ Bus Program ted, the City would submit a bill to the County. If they are less, the County will get credit back. Mayor Standley suggested that in light of the Highlands jacking up the rent for the parking lot, the City talk to them about marketing; the Highlands could get a lot of use of their restaurants and ski ride from these people. Councilman Behrendt moved to adopt the joint resolution regarding a joint operating agree- ment for the 1979 Maroon Bells bus tour; seconded by Councilwoman Anderson. All in favor, motion carried. Commissioner.s Chil~ said the Forest Service has only funded this to a minimum level, and it might be appropriate for the City and County to jointly request them to seek an increase in their funding level. Commissioner Kinsley agreed the City is creating an amenity for them, and they ought to pick up the ball. Commissioner Edwards said the Forest Service recognized they had a problem in overcrowding of the campground, and the community was willing to front end the money for an experimental program. The .Forest Service did not have the money and couldn't get it. Now the program is established, and the benefits are primarily to the National Forest Management. Their percentage of fund- ing should be larger. The countY has established the viability, and they should pick up their fair share. Commissioner Child moved to have a letter written to the Forest Ser~ce for Edwards and the Mayor's signature; seconded by Commissioner Child. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Recommendation for Forest Service Boundary Redrawing. Jolene Vrchota, planning office, told the Boards there is a Bill in the House of Representative.to expand the Forest Service boundaries in this area. The Forest Service will extend to include BLM property Forest Service along the east and north sides of Aspen. The Open Space Advisory Board is looking at Boundaryl different means of preserving open space that are alternatives to actual acquisition, extension and they want to encourage this. BLM controlled land still allows the land to be sold, and under Forest Service management, the land had a greater chance of being preserved~'~.as open space. Ms. Vrchota included a joint resolution she would like passed; the City and County made a joint commitment to preserve open space and established the OSAB. Commissioner Edwards said'he felt it would be best in the Forest Service. The City and County can't seem to get to the point of buying this land. Councilman Behrendt moved to adopt the joint resolution regarding the White River National Forest Boundary Extension; seconded by Commissioner Child. All in favor, motion carried. Commissioner Child told Mayor Standley, Council~embers~ ~ Wishart and Anderson he had enjoyed working with them; they had made a great commitment and done a good job. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Councilman Parry moved to approve the minutes of April 16 and May 14; seconded by Council- man Behrendt. Councilman Van Ness added, "an alley is only as wide as its narrowest spot". All in~ favor, motion carried. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Councilman Parry moved to approve the accounts payable; seconded by Councilman Van Ness. All in favor, motion carried. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Stormy Mohn thanked Mayor Standley for his energy and input. 2. Missie Thorne read a letter from the Board of the Visual Arts Center expressing gratitude for Council's cooperation and support of this project, and congratulating them for taking an innovative approach to supporting the arts. The Board invited the Council to the opening of the Visual Arts Center on Saturday, June 16th. 3. Tim Cottrell, Volunteer Fire Department, told Council he is in charge of the fireworks 4th of July for the Fourth of July, Presently the Council has budgeted $1500, which was believed to Fireworks be the amount budgeted last year. The amount budgeted for'1978 was $2000, and Cottrell requested another $500 for the fireworks. The fireworks in 1978 actually cost $2500. The fire department is going to build the ground displays to save money; they are about $1000 short of last year. Councilman Behrendt moved to add this to the agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Anderson. All in favor, motion carried. 4. Michael Chandler, KSNO radio, spoke regarding KSNO's application for their new build- ing. The n~w owner wanted to include employee housing in the new commercial building. They went to the Board of Adjustment seeking three variances; trash, parking, and floor i KSNO Special area ratio. The new owner of KSNO engaged an architect to respond to the shortage of ~.~ review employee housing, and in the last 7 months they have been going through enumerable reviews. The building meets the heighth,.set back and open space requirements, but they have had to go on a continuous bureaucratic roller coaster ride. The owner believes this will never happen and the whole project will fall through. Chandler told Council that KSNO is trying to do something for employee housing, and are meeting enumerable stumbling blocks. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 11, 1979 COUNC IL~4EMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Wishart submitted his hoUsing project, Faro Cement Cowboy Boot, to house two employees each, and he plans to Put 60 up on McClain Flats. 2. Councilwoman Anderson asked if anything is being done about bicycle racks in front of the old post offices. City Manager Mahoney said the post office annex is on private property and he would have to discuss it with the owners. 3. Councilwoman Anderson thanked Council for the chance to serve. 4. Councilman Van Ness said it keeps gets hotter and hotter in Council Chambers and asked for some fans. 5. Councilman Isaac thanked Mayor Standley, CoUncilmembers Wishart and Anderson for a job well done, their time, and Chat he appreciated working with them. FIREWORKS ON FOURTH OF JULY Councilman Wishart asked Tim Cottrell if he had gone to the business community for funds Fireworks for firewOrks. Cottrell told Council the fire department decided they did not like the 4th of July roll of going door to door asking for money and being caught in the middle. The policy was decided on a year ago. This is not the fire department's display; their extent is strictly to manufacture and set off. Councilman Van Ness said the fireworks is a benefit to the entire City and that the City should appropriately be responsible for paying for them. The fire department volunteer their time for this; the City should pick up the entire tab and thanks the department for donating their time and not send them ar(~und with a tin cup in their hand. Councilman Van Ness moved to approve $2~500 and have more aerials; seconded by Councilman Behrendt. All in favor, motion carried. SETTLEMENT CITY VS. FASCHING City Attorney Stock told Council basically there are three long standing cases; criminal prosecution wherein Ms. Fasching was found guilty of construction without sufficient City versus permits and was fined $229. Ms. Fasching appealed that and it is pending. Prior to going Fasching to Municipal Court, Ms. Fasching filed a suit in District Court against the Municipal Court Building of the City of Aspen and asked i~~ be prohibited from hearing the case. This case is pend- violation ing, but moot. The final case is a civil action brought by the City requesting a perma- nent injunction requiring Ms. Fasching remove the improvements, additions and alterations made in violation of our ordinances. That case is also pending. The proposal from Ms.. Fasching is not all the building inspector hoped to get, but the City could reasonabl~ accept. Stock and the building inspector both recommend approval. The proposal is (1) MS. Fasching would vacate her appeal of the criminal case and would immediately pay the fine that was assessed. (2) Dismiss with prejudice her civil action against the Municipal Court. (3) Upon stipulation, agree to settlement of the City's case, dismissed without prejudice. Ms. Fasching took a unit which was rented short term lOcated on the first floor and removed it and made it an office area. Took stairs out of the property, and removed a 3 bedroom apartment, and put into the property 7 units. In a sense, she added 5 new units, which cannot be done under the growth management plan. The stipulation would require Ms. Fasching to remove 5 units. She made 2 units out of the third 3-bedroom apartments. Part of the apartment was used as a lounge. The City said that 2 units had to be returned to some form of public use. The agreement requires her to remove units 1, 2, 3, and 4 from operation. Ms. Fasching would do so by making unit 1 a deed restricted employee unit in the low income category. Unit 2 would be made into a storage area. Units 3 and 4 are located right next to the sauna and swimming pool, and they would be returned to a public use as dressing facilities for public use. Units F and G would turn into a one unit ensemble that would have to be rented together; there would have to be some material change to make sure they do get rented together. This modifica- tion would be such that she would be back to the original number of units, but will have one bedroom less to rent. Stock told Council Ms. Fasching would have to obtain building permits for the work already done as well as work necessary to comply with the settlement. These permits would be issued at double fee; there would be a requirement that all work would be done according to code. Ms. Fasching will have to reveal the names of contractors, plumbers or electri- cians that assisted in the illegal construction. Finally, to insure that everyone realizes that no profit can be made from violating the ordinances of the City, Stock will require admission. Ms. Fasching did violate these, and then using normal accounting methods, compute the profit~ made from all 7 units, and Ms. Fasching will have to donate the money to some accepted charity within the valley. Stock said the donation will be in the neighborhood of $1,000 to $2,000. The units were rented from the fall of 1976 through the winter of 1978-79. Mayor Standley asked if Ms. Fasching was running the units this year after the City had started proceedings and got initial judgements. Stock said the City started proceedings in 1976 and she has been running them ever since. Mayor Standley said he finds this an untenable solution based on that. Mayor Standley said Ms. Fasching had more than amortized her investment at the City's expense. Mayor Standley said she was required to take the units out and she has been ren~ing them for three years. Stock told Council if the City takes this to Court, the only thing they will get is requiring her to remove 5 units, not any particular 5 units. Stock said he felt this settlement went beyond what the City could get in Court. Councilman Van Ness agreed. Councilman Behrendt said he felt like this was a flag for people to go ahead and ignore the City's ordinances and cheat. Councilman Isaa~ "moved the City try and complete the agreement with Barbara Fasching and authorize Stock to negotiate it; seconded by Councilman parry. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 11, 1979 Stock told Council he had not figured out the amount to be donated, but it must be donated to a charity tied to the community. The amount will be determined by audit by a CPA. Councilman Wishart said in light of the expense of legal fees already spent and to continue fighting this, the amount ought to be a lot more than $1,000 or $2,000. Mayor Standley said someone who is in the lodging business ought to look at the figures. Mayor Standley said he felt this was a travesty and it should be sent back to the drawing board. The City had identified the problem, and then it went on operating for two or three years. City Manager Mahoney told Council the City has had three different City Attorneys after this problem. Councilman Van Ness said he could go for this~settlement, except the clause to use normal accounting methods. Perhaps the settlement should Specify what items could be deducted from the profits. Mayor Standley suggested a Council committee to work with Stock to come up with an acceptable settlement. Councilmember Isaac in favor, all other opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Van~Ness moved to instruct Stock to bring the settlement back with the final figure determined, and then Council will reconsider the agreement; seconded by Councilman Behrendt. Councilman Parry asked if there was a way to go about it ~o that Ms. Fasching could not use these units. Stock told Council that the City would have to obtain a court order with a full blown hearing. The courts will nOt take away property rights without a determination that she has no rights to use those units. Councilman Parry said the settlement should be expedited quickly. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~ 29, SERIES OF 1979 - Employee Housing Parking Requiremen~ Review Mayor Standley opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Standley closed the public hearing. Ord. 29,1979 ~l~ployee Housing Councilwoman Anderson moved to read Ordinance #29, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman parking requirsment Parry. All in favor, motion carried.~ special ORDINANCE #29 review (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 24-4.1(c), EMPLOYEE HOUSING PARKING REQUIRE- MENT SPECIAL REVIEW TO THE CITY OF ASPEN ZONING CODE was read by the city clerk Councilman Wishart moved t° adopt Ordinance #29, Series of 1979, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Anderson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Wishart, aye; Van Ness, aye; Isaac, aye; Behrendt, aye; Anderson, aye; Parry, aye; Mayor Standley, aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE 930, SERIES OF 1979 Broadcasting Station as Conditional Use in Office Zone Mayor Standley opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Standley closed the public hearing. Ord. 30,1979 Councilwoman Anderson moved to read Ordinance #30, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman B~oadcasting Parry. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Wishart. Motion carried. s~atiouas conditional ORDINANCE 930 use (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE ADDING BROADCASTING STATION AS A CONDITIONAL USE IN THE O-OFFICE DISTRICT was ready by the city clerk. Councilman Parry moved to adopt Ordinance ~30, Series of 1979, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Anderson. Roll call vote; Council~embers Parry, aye; Behrendt, aye; Anderson, aye; Wishart, nay; Isaac, aye; Van Ness-; aye; Mayor Standley, aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 1979 Rezoning Independence Subdivision Mayor Standley opened the public hearing. Karen Smith, planning director, told Council this rezoning will be committed to employee housing. An agreement has been drafted to Ord. 3%, 1979 Rezoning.. cover the maximum price, number of units, period of time - 10 years - to remain in employee Independence housing, and that all the tenants be notified. Council had felt this would balance the Subdivison impacts of greater density in the neighborhood. Ms. Smith told Council this does not comply with the current guidelines, but it is a commitment that establishes a reasonable price for the units. This does tie the units up for a longer period of time than Council has been getting. Mayor Standley ct~sed the public hearing. Councilman Parry moved to read Ordinance #31, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman Wishart. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #31 (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING DISTRICT MAP OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, SEC. 24-2.2 BY CHANGING THE ZONING OF LOTS 4, 5 AND 6 OF INDEPENDENCE SUBDIVISION FROM R-15 TO R-6 was read by the city clerk ReguLar Meeting aspen ~l~y ~ouncl£ ~une Councilman Wishart moved to adopt Ordinance ~31, Series of 1979, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Parry. Roll call vote; Counc~lmembers Anderson, aye; Behrendt, aye; Isaac, aye; Van Ness, aye; Parry, aye; Wishart, aye;' Mayor Standley, aye. Motion carried. Councilman Van Ness moved to add the subdivision exemption to the agenda; seconded by Councilman Parry. All in favor, motion carried. Ms. Smith told Council this would create two lots out of three; this is to accommodate the employee housing duplex. The engineering department had a number of conditions for approval, which are fairly technical and minor. The planning office recommends subdivision exemption approval for the lot line rearrangement conditioned on satisfaction of four conditiors in Dan McArthur's memo of May 11. Councilman Parry moved to approve with conditions; seconded by Councilman Wishart. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #35, SERIES OF 1979 - Smuggler Enclave Annexation Mayor Standley opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Standley closed Ord. 35, 1979 the public hearing. S~uggler Annexation Councilman Isaac moved to read Ordinance ~35, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman Wishart. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #35 (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE ANNEXING CERTAIN UNINCORPORATED TERRITORY TO THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Councilman Isaac moved to adopt Ordinance #35, Series of 1979, on second reading; se~conded by Councilman Wishart. Councilman Van Ness stated he was still opposed for the same reasons. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Behrendt, aye; Isaac, aye; Wishart, aye; Van Ness, nay; Parry, nay; Anderson, aye; Mayor Standley, aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE ~37, SERIES OF 1979 - Supplemental Appropriation for the Ice Garden Ord. 37.1979 Appropriation Mayor Standley opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Standley closed for Ice the public hearing. Garden Councilman Parry moved to read Ordinance #37, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman Wishart. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~37 (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE TRANSFERRING $50,000 TO THE 6TH PENNY SALES TAX FUND FOR LAND PURCHASE FROM THE WATER FUND, MAKING A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION IN THE 6TH PENNY SALES TAX FUND FROM NOTE PROCEEDS OF $280,304.20; AND APPROPRIATING AN EXPENDITURE OF $330,304.20 was read by the city clerk Councilman Parry moved to adopt Ordinance #37, Series of 1979, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Wishart. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Wishart, aye; Anderson, aye; Parry, aye; Behrendt, aye; Isaac, aye; Van Ness, aye; Mayor Standley; aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #39, SERIES OF 1979 Supplemental Appropriation/General Fund Ord. 39,1979 Mayor Standley opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Standley closed General Fund the public hearing. Appropriation Councilman Parry moved to read Ordinance ~39, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilwoman Anderson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~39 (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE MAKING A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION IN THE GENERAL FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $73,500 FROM CURRENT YEAR UNAPPROPRIATED REVENUES, AND APPROPRIATING EXPENDITURES OF $73,500 FOR MISCELLANEOUS GENERAL FUND PURPOSES was read by the city clerk. Councilman Wishart moved to adopt Ordinance #39, Series of 1979, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Anderson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, aye; Van Ness, aye; Behrendt, aye; Anderson, aye; Parry, aye; Wishart, aye; Mayor Standley, aye. Motion carried. SECOND READING - ORDINANCE #36, SERIES OF 1979 - Issuance of Notes for the Ice Garden Mayor Standley reminded Council they had asked for an updated financial statement and Ord. 36, 1979 had received one dated May 31, 1979. There have been some changes. Janet Roberts told Issuing Notes Council the balance sheet is Changed from December 31; it should be expected since the for Ice Ice Garden has been closed for two months. There will be expenditures made for on going Garden expenses not covered by revenues. In the statement, in' terms of working capital, there has been a change of $44,000, which is a significant change. The reason their current assets have been reduced is by the loss of $45,000, which has been adjusted for deprecia- tion. Also a loan to a shareholder of $6600 was paid off; this produces a net decrease in fund~, of $44,000. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council J.u~le 1]~ ]93_9 Ms. Roberts pointed out the cash went up by $201, the accounts receivable went down, the inventory was reduced through sales; the most significant increase is in the liabilities. Ice Garden The accounts payable is up $9,000; the payroll taxes have not been paid in five months, which is $3500. The deposits are for the Hockey Camp, which is held in August. The reason the $44,000 occurs is primarily because the loss ate up all the cash that was available. The cash was used to pay off normal operating expenditures and is no longer available. Ms. Roberts said through an analysis, there will be an~6~her $9,000 in August to help pay the accounts payable. There is going to be $35,00~,~, the Council will have to pick up in excess of liabilities over assets; these arose from normal operations and were not really unanticipated. Mayor Standley asked if Ted A~mstrong,S budget would be able to cover this as it has been looked at. Ms. Roberts said in her analysis regarding the net income generated from operations showed $14,000 could be generated from operations given a full operating schedul~ - both summer and winter. There are many potential revenue sources and the bud- get is good. Right now, the deposits for the Hockey Camp are not shown because they have not b~een earned yet. Ms. Roberts told Council the Ice Garden has been generating a $20,000 tax lOss every year. Ms. Roberts said she anticipated the tuition from the Hockey Camp will generate another $19,000 in addition to the deposits shown; the costs of running the camp will be $17,000. The short fall of $35,000 is an excess of liabilities over assets and represents a cash flow. The City is looking at picking up the additional liabilities that have been generated through normal operations and paying them out of City revenues. Councilman Wishart said he did not feel the City could commit to that money now. Mayor Standtey stated that based on the first analysis the $330,000 price represented a good deal; lOoking at that now with a $35,000 short fall, does that still represent a good purchase position for the City. Ms. Roberts answered yes. When the City considers a $330,000 investment and a big contribution by the stockholders, $30,000 does not repre-~ sent that much money. This could be converted to something not nearly as good for the community. Councilman Wishart agreed, but asked if the short fall could be converted. Ms. Roberts said she doubted that. City Attorney Stock said he felt the best approach for the City would be to liquidate the corporation and transfer the assets to the City. The City will probably want to accomplish that this year. This way the City will not be able to delay the payment of the $35,000 as one of the requirements of liquidation will be paying the debts. Stock said over and above the $35,000, the City will either have to renegotiate or pay off the $23,000 plus loan at a local bank. Ms. Roberts told Council she doUbted the City would be able to reduce this figure very much. City Manager Mahoney told Council when they initially entered into these negotiations, the price ~was $330,000, and now the City finds there is a significant change. Mahoney said the sellers should share part of the burden in coming up with some of this money. Chuck Cole, speaking for the shareholders, told Council their position is that the $35,000 is a figure that has resulted from the normal c(~ur~e of operations and it has happened every year they haVe owned the rink. They feel fairly confident the rink's operation will run true to f~rm in the next_7 months, and a good portion of this amount could be made up. They have never showed~ ~ $35,000 in any one year. Cole pointed out the original figure offered to the City was ~an extremely generous offer. Mayor Standtey noted they had represented the costs would not be substantially different at the time of closing; then the sellers told Council they had anticipated what had happened in the last 5 months. Mayor Standley said the sellers had not shared that anti- cipation with the City. Mayor Standley said he feels this is a pretty reasonable deal, but this represents a significant change in the City's cash requirement to close. Mayor Standley said he felt this should be tabled until the next meeting and instruct the manage- ment to sit down with the shareholders and negotiate a compromise. Mayor Standley said he did not feel it is fair for the City to take on this additional liability. Some attempt to mitigate the adverse impact on the City is appropriate. Mayor Standley said the closing should be put off for more negotiations and bring this back to the new Council. Councilman Isaac moved to table Ordinance ~36, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman Behrendt. All in favor, motion carried. RECONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE #24, SERIES OF 1979 - Trash Access Ms, Smith told Council there is an amendment to this ordinance; they would like to break Ord. 24, 1979 down the measurements parallel to the alley; 10 feet for utility transformers and equip- Trash Access ment and building access; 5 feet for enclosed area for boxes; and 5 feet for trash facilities. This ordinance is more restrictive than the ordinance originally turned down. For a 3,000 square fOot~ lot, the minimum trash area would bY 20 x 10 x 10. The difference in this is that it ties the additional trash area requirement to the size of the building, not the size of the. leiS. This is a more functional concept; it is related to the trash generation the building might have. Ms. Smith told Council this p~opo~al came out of meetings with Vic Goodhard, Tom Dunlop and Dave Ellis to work on. The~feel it provides the minimum area, promotes more efficient trash storage, and does not get into a bind in the alley. Mayor Standley pointed out the alleys are continually being infringed upon by trash dump- sters and snow and ice, the City needs all the space they can get. Ms. Smith explained that for any lot, they would haVe to provide 5 x 10 x 10 box bin storage area, and 10 x 10 x 10 for utilities, and space for the trash bins. Tom Dunlop pointed out they were not taking into consideration the use of the building because the uses change frequently. They felt with this formula what ever goes into the building, there will be ample space for trash. Councilman Parry moved to adopt Ordinance ~24, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman Isaac, Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, aye; Wishart, aye; Anderson, aye; Parry, aye; Behrendt, aye; Van Ness, aye; Mayor Standley, aye. motion carried. ~egu±ar Meeting Aspen City Counci± June 11, 1979 Outgoing Councilmember Wishart made a speech about his four years on Council, the good and the bad. Councilwoman Anderson paSS. ed on most of the thanks to Nina Johnston who did most of the job. Councilman Van Ness said he would miss the outgoing Councilmembers. Council- man Parry said he had enjoyed working with the old Council and looked forward to working with the new. Mayor Standley said he looked upon the administration with a great deal of pride. Mayor Standley outlined the accomplishments of his administration, the Visual Arts Center, the land acquisitions programs, parks development, the land transfer tax to get the Wheeler going. Mayor Standley said he felt there is a strong and Powerful new Council coming in. Mayor Standley handed over the gavel to Mayor-elect Edel. Municipal Judge Scott sworn in Mayor Edel and Councilmembers Collins, Parry, and Michael. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Michael said she had an interest in pQli~ics~and is looking forward to seeing if this interest lasts lOnger then the term of ~ffice. 2. Councilwoman Michael pointed out there are some branches on trees from recent storms Tree d~mage than are just hanging, and asked the administration if the street department could check on these branches. Councilwoman Michael noted there might be some elderly citizens who are unable to get up and get these branches down. City Manager Mahoney told Council he has asked for an estimate from a commercial tree trimmer. When Mahoney gets an estimate, he will have to come back to the Council. 3. Councilwoman Michael said she would like to change the shape of the Council table, as she had found it difficult to hear Council from the back room. It is frustrating as a citizen not to be able to hear what is going on. Mayor Edel appointed a committee of Councilmembers Michael, Parry, Behrendt to work with the City Manager and City Clerk on this. 4. Councilman Collins added his thanks to Stacy Standley, Ellen Anderson and Steve Wishart for the time and effort they spent Working for the City. Councilman Collins said he is looking forward to working with the new Council and the City staff for the next four years. 5. Councilman Isaac wished the new Council good luck and said he hoped they did not get burned out. 6. Mayor Edel said he is excited about serving with the new Council; that he felt City Hall is functioning pretty well, and there is a potential for a good Council. 7. Mayor Edel told Council there is no longer a Mayor's office; it is now a Council office. The Councilmembers may use it to work in and may use the secretary. 8. Mayor Edel said on the citizen participation, as long as a citizen has something of value to say, he is all for them saying it. 9. Mayer Edel said he found getting the packet Friday afternoon was not enough time to digest all the material. Mayor Edel suggested receiving the packet on Tuesday. Councilman Behrendt asked if that meant there would be a lot o~f addendums to the packet. Mayor Edel said if it is not in the packet, it will not be discussed. Council decided the packet would be out no later than Tuesday at 5 p.m. 10. Mayor Edel suggested the new Council sit down with City Manager Mahoney and describe what they expect from him and what he isn't getting from Council. This should be an executive session. This was scheduled for June 22nd at noon. 11. Mayor Edel suggested that starting with the next Council meeting, each department head should give a report, working with Mahoney, as to personnel, long range problems and goals. Mayor Edel said he would like to start with the Parks department. 12. Mayor Edel said he would like to know what the City owes, to whom it is owed, and how it is being paid for. Mahoney noted the City has just had an audit done. Councilman Van Ness said it takes a while to figure out how the government routine goes on, and the audit is very close to what Mayor Edel is looking for. Council suggested waiting until the finance director returns. ~3- Mayor Edel said he had had a suggestion of a totally non-partisan committee of i~vol- red citizens to address themselves to where the city is going in 1~85, 1990, etc. This would be done in an abstract way. Councilman Behrendt noted this has been done twice in the last six years and the results are written up. Karen Smith, planning director, told Council she would give them copies of the last report. Pl~uTreeInn 14. Mayor Edel asked if the question of interest on the Plum Tree Inn account was brought up. Mahoney said no. This will be on the next agenda. Account 15. Mayor Edel told Council he had spoken with KSNO, KSPN, and Grassroots about whether they would be interested in having a weekly meeting where Councilmembers discuss what is going to be on the following agenda. Councilmembers Behrendt, Isaac, and Mayor Edel said they would work with the press on this. ELECTION OF MAYOR PRO TEM Councilman Isaac nominated Councilman Behrendt; seconded by Councilman Parry. All in Mayor Pro T em favor, motion carried. Councilman Behrendt thanked Council for this honor. Behrendt SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT City Manager Mahoney told Council the old Council had approved this event for the Cooper Special Event mall, but because of the liquor laws they have to apply for this permit. Permits Councilman Parry moved to approved~ seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. The special event permit for Rocky Mountain Roadrunners was withdrawn. Colorado Heart Association had asked for one for June 30th in Paepcke Park after their race. Councilman Isaac moved to approve the special event permit; seconded by Councilman Parry. All in favor, motion carried. REQUEST TO EXPAND PREMISES - Golden Barrel Pietro Danieli of the Golden Barrel told Council they wanted to serve lunches outdoors to Golden Barrell the east of the building. Danieli showed where these tables would be. request of expand premises Councilman Behrendt moved to approve the expansion request; seconded by Councilman Parry. Councilman Isaac said he was not really happy about people sitting out on the highway. Councilwoman Michael pointed out this is the customers choice. City Attorney Stock told Council they were only approving the right to expand sales to this area; when this license comes up for renewal, Council can look at the expansion. All in favor with the exception of Councilman Isaac. Motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL - Sargeant Pepper's Liquor License Councilman Isaac said this application has had a history of being.strange. There was no Renewal one to represent the applicant. Mahoney asked that the staff be allowed to review this. Sgt. Pepper's Councilwoman Michael moved to table; seconded by Councilman Behrendt. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Parry. Motlon carried. WESTERN SLOPE COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Edel said he hoped this Council would be finicky about conflicts of interest. Mayor Western Slope Edel will have to remove himself from the table as he is one of the general partners of C~m~manications Western Slope Communications. Councilwoman Michael said she would not be voting on any liquor license matters because her husband is in the restaurant business. City Attorney Stock pointed out the only legal conflict of interest is one of direct financial interest, and voting on that particular item will put money in one's pocket or take it out. Stock told Council he will establish rules for conflict of interest for Council. Councilman Van Ness said he felt it is a question of whether in your own mind you feel capable of making an unbiased decision. Councilman Isaac said he felt it was important to have a representative of the restaurant and bar business on Council. City Attorney Stock told Council that they are already on record supporting the application of Western Slope Communication for a transmitter. WSC asked for allocation of channel 3. Stock, in his memorandum, has explained what happens to other channels within the valley if they do receive this. The need for this channel is engineering based on penetration into the mountain terrain. The question came up on the part of Roaring Fork was how they m~ght be able to cover the costs of channel reallocation, and a position on part of Council mlqht be used as leverage to obtain some of the funds. To change from VHF to UHF it would cost $10,000 per ch-annel. The purpose of putting this on the agenda was to obtain lever- age to have WSC part for a part or all of it. The County Commissioners have asked that this be taken off the agenda because WSC has begun negotiations with them as to the alloca- tion of the channels. Stock recommended this be tabled. Mayor Edel said he felt some misinformation had been given. The $180,000 figure is a non- existent figure; there is no such thing as transferring from UHF to VHF. Mayor Edel said there is no allocation which goes to a channel; the process is asking for an allocation for the valley. Should the FCC grant that allocation; WSC will petition to have that allocation. WSC has no right to cha~nel 3. Mayor Edel told Council the entire pattern of translators is a grid pattern that a computer will rearrange. Sandy Sommers, Canyon Cable TV, told Council they have followed these proceedings closely and channel 3 is in a great contour of three other conflicting channel 3's. As far as the translator question, Canyon Cable is in the process of having a field engineer come out and give a pattern analysis on conversion to UHF. Garfield County has completed about 60 per cent of their upgrade, and Roaring Fork is planning to tie into it at a future date. Councilwoman Michael moved to table this item; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Edel abstained. RENEWAL OF PEPPERMINT PATTI VENDING CONTRACT The contract was not ready; this item was stricken from the agenda. FRUIT VENDING - Steve Feather Vending l~quest Steve Feather presented a letter to Council and told them he had had fruit stands on the Steve Feather interstate for 5 years. Feather said he felt the ability to get western Colorado fruit Fruits sold in Aspen on a regular basis, but zoning prohibited him from selling from a truck except in City Market and Clark's Market parking lots, both of which can not do it. Feather is requesting from Council a vending stall on the mall, or somewhere in town to make it available in small quantities. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council ~une l±, Councilman Behrendt suggested looking into the Rio Grande, and have up to three spaces so there could be some competition. Councilman Parry asked if Feather had looked into private places. Fieather said most of the places he had looked at had zoning problems. Feather said he did not need a very large place to work, it could be-stationary or mobile. Karen Smith,told Council thi'~.~is allowed in three districts, including the commercial core, and the neighborhood/commercial zones. Ms. Smith said the area used for selling Christmas trees is a non-conforming use and if it is not discontinued forgone year, they can estab- lish another non-conforming use. Tom Dunlop told Council the truck that sells fish at the Little Nell parking lot only comes once a quarter, they are in compliance with all codes. They work in conjunction with a school for a benefit. Dunlop said he would like to see a farmer's market type at the Rio Grande parking lot. The only restrictions are that the fruit has to be washed, and they cannot sell home canned products. Dunlop suggested during the harvest season, Council look at using the Ice Garden. Mayor Edel said he felt the Council would be putting the public sector in the private sector role by trying to help him find a location. Mayor Edel said he did not think it is a proper position for Council to be in management of this man's business. Feather said he had worked with the planning office, and there is no place to set up unleSs Council would allow a place under their jurisdiction. Council suggested looking into using the Pope Rowland property, if it is a non-conforming use established, and if that is not possible, come back with a proposal for a mobile push cart. SUBDIVISION EXEMPTION - Detweiler Subdivision Jim Reents, planning office, told Council this subdivision exemption request is for the Exemption purpose of condominiumizing a duplex located in the West Aspen subdivision. This has Detweiler been reviewed by City staff and by P & Z. The P & Z recommended approval conditioned upon tabled deed restriction and to comply with the notice and occupancy requirements, and six month minimum lease and a 3 year period with one unit restricted as to rental price. This price should be based on the current guidelines and an increase be allowed. Councilman Isaac asked why this restriction was only 3 years. Reents said half of the duplex has been occupied by a close family friend for a long time, and favors were afforded this family in their occupancy over and above.what would normally be]~iven'>to a tenant. Because of that, a compromise ~s~-~eached afa~ year restriction. Cou~lman Van Ness said he felt uncomfortable ~-not' h~ving '~'!'~he applicant or his attorney present to answer questions. Mayor Edel questioned why the process has taken since February. City Attorney Stock told Counmil that the referral process through the planning office, other staff, outside agencies, and P & Z takes at least a month. There are public notice requirementsfor some applications, which makes the process take longer. Mayor Edel said he would like to find out if there are any ways to accelerate the process. Ms. Smith told Council there might have been a problem with this application as the P & Z has been busy with the Institute. Reents told Council the P & Z is facing a big case load, and they are currently scheduling things 6 weeks at least because the agendas are full. Councilman Van Ness moved to table this item so a representative could be present; seconded by Councilman Behrendt. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Parry. Motion carried. FINAL SUBDIVISION PLAT - Mills Jim Reents told Council this is a final plat for a lot split. The growth management plan Subdivision allows for subdivision exemption from GMP to separate a lot into two development parcels Final -Mills when the total square footage is double that for the existing zoning. In addition, it requires there be aN existing single family dwelling on one parcel and the other parcel be deed restricted to a single family dwelling. The theory is that the zoning allows for a duplex, and with the available square footage, there is no change in density if Council allows two single family dwellings. The preliminary plat has been approved by P & Z; there are some minor modifications to be made before signing. Reents told Council the -subdivision requirements are there is road access to any parcel. The footag.e for both lots will be off Cemetery Lane, Councilman Behrendt asked if the City were going to trade any land with Mills. Mahoney said he did not see any advantage to trading at this point. Stock told Council that a single family dwelling would be exempted from GMP. If the lot is of proper size, it can be a duplex but only if it goes through GMP. This should be indicated on the plat. Councilman Behrendt moved to approve the Mills subdivision with amendment as indicated; seconded by Councilman Parry. Councilman Van Ness stated he represented Mills and had a conflict of interest. All in favor, with Councilman Van Ness abstaining, Motion carried. NEW TRANSIT VEHICLES Curt Stewart, transportation director, told Council the old Council was in favor of expan~ Purchase of ding the fleet up to 6 more vehicles but felt that the new Council should be included in an expenditure of this size. Stewart told Council it is important to maintain an adequate new buses reserve, and based on the national average there should be 22 per cent back up of the maximum amount of vehicles used at any on~ time during the year. For 1979-80 the peak service would be 25 vehicles; 6 on City ~outes, 13 to Snowmass, and 6 to Buttermilk. Applying the 22 per cent average, there shS~uld be 31 vehicles; this shows a clear justifi- cation for 3 new vehicles. Stewart told Council the City and Ski Corp both have been discussing expanding their routes; this would require additional buses. The requests for special services have gone from 1 per month to 2 per Week. This is done on a charter basis and does represent increasing revenue to the City. ~egu±ar Meeting Aspen City Council June 11; 1979 Stewart told Council he had just completed a test for the Aspen School system to see if the City could acCommodate trips for the school. The School District is talking about dropping all service within 2 miles of the school. Stewart will bring back the results of the tests and recommendations. If that does happen, another vehicle should be added to the fleet; Stewart said the present delivery time on buseS is a minimum 2 years for major suppliers. Bluebird will deliver on a 7 to 8 month period.. There will be an additional 11 per cent price increase on any orders placed after June 15, 1979. S~tewart presented costs for 3, 4 and 6 vehicles. The Aspen Skiing Corporation has committe~"'to purchasing extra vehicles, and that contract is in Council packet. The financing for the buses has been reviewed with the Finance Director. The sources for funding is the seventh penny and there is sufficient funds to purchase vehicles in either of the three options presented. Stewart told Council at the time the 20 buses were ordered, they were supposed to be equipped with turbo chargers. At that time turbo chargers were not available. They are available now, and Stewart feels it makes more sense to put the turbo chargers on; it is an additional $80 per month. Stewart requested approval of Council with a contract with Elder, Quinn & McGill for an appropriate number of buses and approval of the contract with the Ski Corp. Stewart said he would like some latitude to work with Ron Stock to bring the two documents in to sync. Councilman Behrendt said he felt the bus system has been one of the City's most successful programs. COuncilman Behrendt said he is worried~ about the energy crisis, and this may be a last ditch economy effort and one of the las{ chances to get buses. Stewart said Highlands paying the City is deper~ent upon how much money they are asked to put into the system. H. J. Stalf told Council they were paying 50 cents per rider, and he had told them their share is more like $40,000 to $50,000 per year. The City's option will be to stop running the Highlands bus and make them run more buses. Councilman Van Ness said if the 'energy crisis gets out of hand, the City will not save themselves by getting more buses. The National UMTA average of 22 per cent reserve fleet is probably for people who are running 20 year old buses; the City's buses are new and probably don't require a 22 per cent reserve. Councilman Van Ness said he felt the City could use maybe 3 more buses but not 6, 8, or 10. Mayor Edel said he is. bothered by the size of the buses. It would be more efficient in terms of pay load to have smaller buses. Mayor Edel said he was reluctant to authorize buying big vehicles when he did not think they are needed. Stewart said the operating costs between 30 and 44 passenger buses is only 10 per cent difference. Talking about a van system is a completely different level of service. Councilwoman Michael said she did not think Council can make policy or financial decisions out of fear for the future, and that because of an energy crisis the City should start spending whole hog. Councilman Parry said he supported Councilman Behrendt very strongly; if the City does not order buses now, they might not be able to get them. There will be pressure put on the transportation system. Councilman Parry said he would like to order the whOle group. Councilman Behrendt said he would like to look into getting a couple of small buses. Councilwoman Michael pointed out if the City integrates vans or smaller buses,, there will be a whole different repair system and different parts. Councilwoman Michael said she would go with Stewart's recommendation and make a decision on 3 or 6 buses. Councilman Van Ness pointed out the peak service is 25; right now the City has 28 vehicles. If they order 3 more it will bring it to 31. This is 6 more than is needed. Duane Fengel~ bus mechanic, told Council the 44 and 30 passenger buses are interchangeable on the routes. Six of the City buses started out in 1976. At the present time there are 3 buses down. The buses have held up well. This is a hard type of operation with a lot of stop and go. Fengel told Council the City runs the buses 21 hours a day 7 days a weeks. It is hard to run that long and there is a certain amount of time the buses are down. Councilman Van Ness said it seemed there should be time to do extensive overhauls, Fengel said they do . that between April and June; after that there are 16 buses on the road everyday. Fengel recommended if the City goes for 3 or 4 buses not to get turbo chargers; if they go for all 6, they should get the turbo charger. Fengel said he felt the turbo chargers would kelp get better mileage on the Snowmass runs. Councilman Behrendt moved to approve the contract with Elder, Quinn & McGill for six buses with turbo chargers; seconded by Councilman Parry. Councilman Isaac asked to amend that to ask Stewart to work with the Ski Corp on paying for the turbo chargers. Mayor Edel said if Stewart said there is really only justification for 3 buses, he is concerned about going for the extra money. Councilman Behrendt said there is a large back log for buses, and if the City finds they do not need them, they could put them on the market. Councilman Van Ness said the money could be used for malls, parking structures, trolley cars, etc. Councilmembers Parry, Collins, Isaac and Behrendt in favor; Councilmembers Michael, Van Ness and Mayor Edel opposed. Motion carried. LEASE FOR CENTRAL RESERVATIONS City Attorney Stock told Council Central Reservations came to Council and requested that Aspen Central Council provide some funding, as space rent free including utilities excepting the tele- Reservations phone. This lease is the completion of the contract. Stock recommended the term be lease June 1, 1979 to May 31, 1980~ and the rent be $1.00. Paragraph 6 indicates the utilities (Lift (lqe Bldg) other than telephone charges will be paid by the City. This is the City's contribution to the Central Reservation system. Councilman Isaac said he needed a commitment that they would get off Saturday to Saturday booking. Councilman Parry said all they do is contract or rent what is available in town. Councilman Van Ness said he felt this was the City's contribution to the lodging industry. As far as the Saturday to Saturday booking, this seems to be what the tourist wants. Regular Meeting Aspen City council 0une ±±, ±~/~ Councilwoman Michael said the Chamber, lodging Association~ and Council should come up with!i meetings to discuss common problems, there should be more c~mmunications between these groups. Councilman Parry pointed out if there is no central reSerVations, it will be difficult to get people to come to town. Councilman Isaac said he brought up the Saturday: to Saturday issue because it gives the City some leverage. Kris Marsh, president of the Chamber, told Council various groups had met on this issue and are trying to work on some solutions. Councilwoman Michael moved to approve the lease betWeen the City of Aspen and Central Reservations from June 1, 1979 to May 31, 1980 for $1; seconded by Councilman Parry. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. AGREEMENT FOR WATER PLANT HOUSING MayOr Edel told Council he was one of the founders of the group that is coming forward; there is no profit, but he feels he is prejudiced in his knowledge of these people. Councilman Behrendt said this is an agreement for the approval of the water plant housing. E~ployee Housing It has been written by the City Attorney and the committee has not met on this agreement, at Waterplant Councilman Behrendt recommended putting this off and have the committee look at the agree- Agreement ment and the procedures. Councilman Behrendt said the committee should give Council an update on what they are doing. There are no decisions that do not come out of the full Council. The committee should be re-formed, and then review the agreement with Adventura. City Manager Mahoney tOld Council the staff was directed by CoUncil to fast track this project. If this goes back to committee and then back to Council, that is another two more weeks, and this will almost preclude groundbreaking this fall. Mayor Edel asked if the City had a right to build .. ~..this building. Stock said under current zoning, the City has the right to build under C~nty restrictions. Mayor Edel said he felt the annexation process is quite a ways off. Councilman Behrendt said if Council wanted to go back and go through the whole process, he felt that would be all right. Don Ensign, Design Work- shop, disagreed with Councilman Behrendt as he felt the process was a good process and the committee emerged with a workable plan. Ensign said he felt if the Council went back through the procedure, they would not have the private sector particip.a~c~n~g in the projectl The participation has been based on the assumption it will move the way ~t has been adver- tised. City Attorney Stock noted there is a not a Contract at this point. If this project is going to work, it is going to be because the City and developer are willing to make it work. Harry Truscott said the COuncil is forgetting the most important part, what will the City be able to give the employees. TruscOtt felt this has been rushed through. Truscott said he is convinced the way the City is gOing now, the employee will not end up with good employee housing. Mayor Edel stated he had met with the Adventura group and was impressed with them; their presentation was good, they are knowledgeable. However, this is a key issue getting off on, one of the biggeSt focal points people will be looking at. Mayor Edel said there is enough controversy, the COuncil should re-examine the process~ to show the Council went out of their way to do the job. Mayor Edel said this is a new Council; this is an extremely important issue. The right posture for Council is to re- examine the process and come back to Council in two weeks. Mayor Edel said he felt Council really ought to look at it. Councilman Isaac said he did not feel Council should reconsider unless everybody that took part in the decision making agrees the issue was not looked at in depth and some mistake was made. Mahoney said if this were only a two week delay, it would be appropriate. The City could be working on annexation strategy. Ma~oney said there were really only two finalists in the decision. Perhaps a new commit~eeand the two finalists can sit down and go over this. Councilman Van Ness said one of the problems is that Council appointed a committee of two to do the bulk of the work. They came to Council with recommendations, and Council followed them. Councilman Van Ness said he felt it was dangerous way to operate with half of Council knowing more than the other half. If the decision is to bring the process back, it should be done in front of the whole Council. Reents told Council the proposals were not submitted as a biddable project; there was not a hard price attached. A great deal of the numbers were based on supposition. Ensign Said he felt what would deter people from resubmissions is a lack of certainty that a decision will be made. Councilman Van Ness said the old Council set up the ground rules and time table, appointed a sub committee, gave them authority, and directed them to spend time going into this and come up wi~ a recommendation. Councilman Van Ness said he felt Council had to stick to the basic r~les. · It is not fair to say the City will select someone by a date certain, and then turn and say they have changed their minds. Stock told Council this contract is set up so that the group will do the conceptual design phase at a cost of $25,000. Stock said it would be proper to ask the committee what the process was they went through; they can explain how they came to a decision. If Council changes the~ mind about this because there is a local involved, it will say to everyone that a local contractor is the prime ingredient. Councilwoman Michael pointed 'out she has been watching Council make decisions and th~n rescind' them, and she is tired of this. Councilwoman Michael said if she had been here through the decision process, she would have preferred a local g~oup. However, the process has come this far, and she would not like to see the ~unci~ rescind~this decision. The old Council made the commit-' ment, and that verbal commitment is very important. Councilman Parry moved to approve the contract and authorize the signatures; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Stock explained to Council there are three documents attached. There is a description of the property;~there is a request for proposal which the City sent out; and responses to that reques~ made by the applicant. In the whereas clauses, th~ City tried to define what their general intent was, to build a certain development~ the City would provide financingS' Adventura would ~rovide 5 per cent of the equity. The contract calls for Adventur& to provide schematic architectural plans, site plan, outline specifications~ Regular Meeting Aspen ~l~y uouncl± ~m~-!~±±, ~and including the footprint of the structures, representative floor plans, cluster config- uration of the units by number and type, elevations, description of general building materials, parking layo~s~ etc. Adventura must provide the City with information that can help establish th~b'ond requirements~ tentative estimates of cost of the project, the initial rental rates, ~agement costs, cash flow during construction. Th~have agreed to a certain time commitment. Advent~ra asked to establiSh a committee ~o~ork with them on a day-to-day basis. They agreed to hire two locals, Wilbur Carlson as contractor, and Jack Miller architect. The City agrees to pay $25,000. The City anticipates there will be a second contract if the figures turn out such that the Council is willing to build that project. The City will then enter into a design, build and operate' ~greement. The ~City commits itself to annexing, if necessary, and to obtaining the building permits. The plans and all documents will become the property of the City. There is a 10 day written notice termination clause after completion of this phase. Adventura has agreed to make part of the second contract, if the City decides~o build, the $25,000 will be reimbursed to the City and will become part of their 5 per cent equity so that the City will be able to bond for a total 95 per cent of the project. Stock noted in the whereas_cl-a~use the intent is that Aspen will finance.95 per cent~ that Adventura will advance ~ii.?er ce~ of the cost of the development. The land will be leased to ARDC Ltd. Whoever ends up owning the project will grant Aspen an option to purchase of the development, and that the land of the development will revert to the City at the ~piration of the lease. Councilman Van Ness said he was uncomfortable with the~whereases~! making general intent; what happens if the City changes their mind. Stock pointed out paragraph 9 is a walkaway. Mahoney noted this contract gives the City two places to pull out, the City can stop their losses at $25,000. Councilman Behrendt asked that if at the end of the project, it will be turned over to the housing authority for $1~ Mahoney said that is his intent. Mahoney said that would be in the next contract. Councilman Behrendt said there was concern that rent increases should be tied to increases in variable costs and nothing else, and asked if that should be in the contract. Stock agreed. Councilman Behrendt asked if the next contract would give a nailed down square foot price; Mahoney answered yes. Councilman Van Ness asked for a clause to terminate the agreement with or without cause after completion. Councilman Behrendt asked at what point the Council has the right to go back and approve or disapprove the quality of the structures. Stock said that is the next contract. Ensign pointed out this contract does not bind to anything except for the plan and the program. At the end of the process, Council still has the Option to go with a local group and contract for the.building. Truscott suggested that Council establish goals for the employee/'how much they will cost. Stock said the City has clearly defined the price category ~hey are aiming for from Section 24.10-4(b) (3), and the price for 1979 is 47 cents per square foot. There is an inflation clause established by Council. Stock said these are shooting for the moderate price guideline. Stock rec~endedadding 1980 in section land put in~"suchrental rates shall increase each year thereafterinrelation to the actual increase in variable ~Sts,associated~with operat~ing of the faCili~ provided~such in~rea~esiare~iapp~o~ed by the C~ty Council of the City of Aspen". Councilman Parry amended his motion to include that clause into the contract; seconded by CounCilman Isaac. Alt in favor, Councilmember Collins and Mayor Edel abstained. Motion carried. CITY MANAGER 1. Pavement Evaluation. City Manager Mahoney told Council the City already had the authority to expend money for this program within City limits. City Engineer Ellis is requesting money to spend money on this program outside the City timits in areas that may possibly be annexed. One of the biggest issues in annexations is how much the street Pavement maintenance will cost. The staff is asking for money to find out the cOnditions of the Evaluation study streets in Mountain Valley, Red Mountain, etc. City Engineer Ellis told Council that money for the basic program within City limits was budgeted within the engineering depart- ment's budget. Ellis pointed out there are two proposals; (1) those streets within the City and (2) those streets plus those streets in the areas that would appear to be most likely to be annexed in th~ next five years. Ellis told Council the minimum cost of the study is $16,000; the City system barely makes that minimum. The 10 miles laying outside the City would cost twice the dollars per mile if it were to be done later. An advantage to this is having the information on hand, in advance, so the data is available for use when annexation questions come up. There are about four potential annexations in the offing. Ellis is asking for an additional cost at~ the maximum of $8,341 and it could be less than that. Ellis told Council the finance director said the Council had budgeted $50,000 or $75,000 for the purpose of financing the annexation effort this year; most of the money is encumbered, but there is sufficient funds for this $8,341 request. Councilman Van Ness stated the first thing is for the new Council to come up with an annexation policy. Councilman Van Ness said his annexation policy would be to see what happens with Smuggler, and the budget of the City staff. Mayor Edel said he would like to!~ see this because he would like every input possible before considering any annexation. Councilman Behrendt said he felt this knowledge was in-house, but that none of it was in writing. Ellis said if he had to hire someone to do this, it would cost much more than the presented program. The intent of this analysis would be to give the City an overall picture of the entire system. Mayor Edel said he would like to hear what the street department superintendent had to say about,this. Ellis said they know there are problems, but do not know where all the problems ar~, What they are. Ellis said he would like to ~get the study underway/aS S°°n as possible so that the departments can start whatever main- tenance possible this year. This consolidates the street study and there is an economy of scale. Councilman Collins moved to approve the request for the study to include the out-of-city roads; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Councilmembers Isaac, Collins, Parry, and Mayor Edel in favor; Councilmembers Van Ness, Behrendt, Michael opposed. Motion carried. ~egu±ar Meeting Aspen City Counci± June £±, 1979 2. Mall Bricks. Mahoney told Council there is $90,000 worth of mall bricks stored and !iMall bricks asked if Council wanted to sell them, or table this item. Councilman Isaac moved to table; seconded by Councilman Parry. All in favor, motion carried. 3. IDCA Mall Bunting. Mahoney told Council Mary Apple had made a request for banners or bunting in the mall for the design conference. Councilwoman Michael moved to endorse Mary Apple's plan; seconded by Councilman Behrendt. Councilman Van Ness asked how many of these banners there would be. Mahoney said there ~would be 50 banners 2 feet by 4 feet. All in favor, motion carried. ~4. Mahoney told Council staff has been asked to develop employee housing in addition to the water plant to be addressed at a later date on t~e M~rolt property. There will be two attorneys from Denver meeting with Mahoney in the morning, and Mahoney invited any interested Council person. P~EEDER - LAND DEDICATION IN LIEU OF FEE City Attorney Stock told Council this could be tabled until the next meeting. SHORT TERM LOAN AUTHORIZATION - ISELIN PARK Stock told Council the City began negotiation for addition to Iselin park for~8 acres; Iselin Park during this time James E. Moore gave the City one of the 8 acres. The City is negotiating short term the price of 7 acres for a total of $200,000 at $40,000 an acre and a donation of one acre, loan The City applied for a grant with the Bureau of Recreation and received notification that the City has been approved for a $100,000 matching grant. The contract for that was approved. The staff asked for authorization to spend $100,000 and that was approved. Because of the personal needs of the Moores, the City closed on 4-1/2 acres in January and expended the $100,000 with the agreement the City would close on the remaining 2-1/2 acres when the City received the grant money from BOR. Stock told Council the City had received notification that what the BOR requires in addition to what has already been provided is an actual formal closing on all 7 acres, a recorded deed, .and then bill the BOR. Stock told the Council the City does not have another $100,000 and is asking for authorization to enter into a short-term, six month loan, at the lowest rate in Denver at 6-1/2 percent interest, which would be paid from the sixth penny fund. There is a lot of pressure on the City to get the money paid to James E. Moore and get repaid from the BOR. Council decided the letter was ambiguous and was no guarantee that we would get the money reimbursed. Mayor Edel agreed the letter from the State was no ~ c~mmitment to the City, yet the City is committed to spend $200,000. Stock told Council that the State required the City have the property appraised three times before they would accept it. Their guidelines required the City to offer the Moores $244,000 even though the City had an agreement to buy it at $200,000. Council decided to wait two weeks on thiS issue. ORDINANCE ~38, SERIES OF 19~9, Street ImProvement Bonds Don Diones, Kirchner/Moore & Company, passed out the ordinance and explained to Council Ord. 38, 1979 this was prepared by Willson and Lamm in Denver. The ordinance authorizes the issuance Street Improve- of $1,200,~000 bonds for the street improvements and Mill street. Mahoney said he did not ment bonds want toWait ~?.weekslo~ this as a lot of bonds will be hitting the market and this issue will be com~ting. Diones showed Council the maturity schedule and explained the issue will be paid by a mill levy, which starts off at 2.8 the first year and declines to 1.17 mills. Diones told Council the bond buyers index is at the low for the year; there will be 3.2 billion dollars worth of housimg bonds coming on the market in 30 days and will have a depressing factor on the market. Diones told Council the City has a bond rating of B-AA-l, which has been moved up; with this year's auditors report they hope to upgrade it to A. The money will be reinvested at 9-1/2 to diminish the mill levy required in 1980. Councilman Van Ness moved to read Ordinance ~38, Serie~ of 1979; seconded by Councilman Van Ness. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~38 (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE TO CONTRACT AN INDEBTEDNESS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO AND UPON THE CREDIT THEREOF BY ISSUING GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OF THE CITY IN THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF $1,200,000 FOR THE PUP~POSE OF PAYING THE COST OF CON- STRUCTING GENERAL STREET AND STORM DRAINAGE IMRPOVEMENTS; PRESCRIBING THE FORM OF SAID BONDS AND PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY OF TAXES TO PAY THE BONDS AND THE INTEREST THEREON, AND PROVIDING OTHER DETAILS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH was read by the city clerk. Councilman Parry moved to adopt Ordinance #38, Series of 1979, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Van Ness. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Parry, aye; Collins, aye; Behrendt, aye; Isaac, aye; Van Ness, aye; Michael, aye; Mayor Edel, aye. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #34, SERIES OF 1979 - Floor Area Ratios Councilman Behrendt requested this issue be tabled in order to allow the new Council time to study ~, Councilman Van Ness pointed out that for the past few months building Ord. 34, 1979 applicati6n~h~ve been held up in City Hall~ and nothing has been built. If this issue FARs is tabled, the entir~building season will be gone. Joe Wells, planning office, told Council presently the~ity is operating under P & Z's recommendation, and there is only one case where someone is being held up. Wells said the ordinance did not get in the packet, and he had told a number of people it would not be on tonight's agenda. Regular Meetang Aspen Caty Council ~ il, £~/d Councilman Behrendt moved to table Ordinance #34, Series of 1979; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Wells noted Council should open the public hearing and continue it to their next regular meeting. Councilman Behrendt moved to withdraw his motion; seconded by Council- man Isaac. Stock outlined this ordinance has been read on first reading; there as now a recommenda- tion to amend the ordinance, which is the document prepared Friday. This amendment lies somewhere between the restrictiveness of the ordinance as first written and the liberal- ness of the P & Z recommendations. Mayor Edel opened the public hearing. Councilman Behrendt moved to continue the public hearing to June 25, 1979; seconded by Councilwoman Michael. Councilman Van Ness said he had seen enough of this ordinance and felt there is nothing left to study. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Van Ness. Motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to continue the Council meeting to Tuesday, June 12, 1979~ seconded by Councilman Parry. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Van Ness. Motion carried. Council left Chambers at 11:05 p.m. Continued Meeting Aspen City Council June 1'2, 1979 Mayor Edel called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM in the City Council Chambers with Councilmembers Parry, Michael, Collins and Isaac present. Also present were Karen Smith, Joe Wells and Curt Stewart of the Planning Office and City Attorney Ronald Stock. Aspen Mayor Edel noted that this is a continued public hearing on the Aspen Institute. He Institute- stated that in speaking with the rest of the Council, they feel this is an extremely important issue that should be carefully rev~ewed.'.and resolved. Attorney Andrew Hecht noted that they were waiting for the arrival of Gene Keluche. Mayor Edel asked fg~. comments from the public. Attorney Nick McGrath noted that he represents a few a~jacent_ land owners and asked that all written submissions a~ the last meeting be entered into the public record. He stated that his clients generally support the Institute but would like the requirements to be a bit more specific. Councilmember Behrendt entered the meeting. Mayor Edel asked McGrath to identify his clients. McGrath said his clients were John Kelly's father who owns land across Meadows Road and other adjacent land owners. They do not feel the 18 points originally required by Council to be specifically addressed and resolved have been answered. They ask that Council be concerned with the open space requirements. He questioned the use of the riding rink. He noted that what Bill Kane found as the maximum dehsity was assumed by the Institute as the minimum necessary on an economic basis. He noted that the Institute wishes to find a funding mechanism beyond Mr. Anderson's personal pocket and questioned if the development in Aspen is intended to provide the funding source for the program in Aspen or for other Institute programs. He also questioned if the Institute should be exempted from the GMP. He did not feel this is a strictly academic proposal and this is the basis for the exemption. Jack Walls, representing the Aspen Physics Institute, noted thear concern over the em- ployee housing proposal. Their main concern as the congestion and no~se and their need for isolation and quiet. They have spoken with the Institute about alternate sites for this housing for a buffer between the~residential use and the Physics Institute. He noted their submitted plans do not reflect any change in location. He registered a complaint from the Physics Institute against this location. He suggested disbursing ~his housing so there was not a block of housing in one area. He felt they have enough land to do this. Joe Wells gave a history of the Institute application. In late 1975, the P&Z denied a request for rezoning by the Institute and encouraged them to proceed with the development of a Master Plan as required in the SPA zone district. Their resolution defined the process of filing the necessary PUD and subdivision applications and the final SPA plan would result from their approvals. Bill Kane then arrived at the maximum number of units by assigning density ~o the acreage and comparing that to a total room count. Councilmem- ber Behrendt asked if ~his calculation was computed on City land or was the land inh~he County included. Wells and Ensign did not think the County land was included. Stock said he believed it~excluded the County land north of the Roaring Fork. ~.Councilmember~Behren~t asked if Kane included open space, floodplain and other such considerations in his calcu- lation. Ensign said he took out slopes, floodplain and the rest and then drew lines that would create the zoning boundaries in the property similar to adjacent zoning. These lines were arbitrary and could have been calculated differently. Wells continued with the history. The P&Z again denied their request for rezoning but did grant conditional ap- proval of the conceptual SPA plan with four conditions; establishment of an on-going winter . conference and educational program, the availability of rooms for community service in- cluding MAA and employee housing, that the 356 rooms be established as the maximum to balance the existing academic facilities and that the balance of the land be deed restric- ted as open space and all development should be clustered in the Meadows area. In August of 1977, Council granted conceptual approval conditioned on the P&Z considerations and other points raised, the ma3or o~es being there would be no subdivision of land, and the total of units approved would constitute rooms and not units. In June of 1978, P&Z recom- mended denial of the conceptual PUD and subdivision application because the considerations of their conceptual SPA approval had not been resolved to ~heir satisfaction. Council, later that month, granted conditional approval of the PUD and subdivision application which prompted this' application. This approval was conditioned upon a list of conditions, approximately 17, which were to be addressed at the time of the filing of a ~inal SPA and preliminary PUD and subdivision application. The present application was filed at the end of 1978 as a final SPA and preliminary PUD and subdivision. The applicant than withdrew the PUD and subdivision applications pending resolution of deficiencies an the application. P&Z recently recommended approval of the final SPA plan and a draft zoning ordinance on the Continued Meetin~ Aspen City Council June 12, 1979 property and recommends that a number of the issues originally Outlined by Council to be specifically addressed should be deferred until the PUD and subdivision application is reviewed which must be filed within six months of the original withdrawal. The P&Z made their recommendation on ~he split application because Council is the only Board that may Aspen refuse to accept the split application. The Planning Office has asked P&Z and Council if Institute they think we should have outside input on the following areas: employee generation neces- sary to support the facility, the question of the balance of existing facilitieS and the necessary additions, the question of financibility, etc. Ensign said the program was designed with three things in mind; the requirements of the Institute, the requirements and concerns of the community and the requirements of a first rate conference center. The concerns of the Institute was first to create an endowment, one for the Aspen facility only. Mayor Edel said if the Council was to approve this type of application, they need to know how it will change Aspen, what it will yield for Aspen.. Councilmember Behrendt added the question of what would happen if the assets were s01d a~d Councilmember Isaac also questioned if they were creating something that couldn'i~ support itself. Councilmember Behrendt wanted to see a way to bind the money earned by the Aspen Institute to the Aspen program. Hecht felt this was unreaSonable. Mayor Edel polled the members of the Council to see if they needed to see where the Projected income would go. The Council felt they needed to see this information. Ensign said the second concern of the Institute is housing and a guarantee for an indefinate period of time. Councilmember Isaac asked how~ many participants they average in the summer. Susan MacMichael said between 200-300. Ensign added that 40% bring their spouses; the In- stitute rented 450 rOom~ in the community last year. Councilmember Collins asked if the conferees pay for their own housing. MacMichael said it depends upon the program, tke InstitUte pays for approximately 70%. Councilmember Behrendt asked what will be ~he Con- tractural agreement between the Institute and the housing management. Hecht said it will be a permanent lease.--~ CoUncilmember Behrendt asked, if they sell the control on this housing, will the Council have the right of veto. Mayor Edel asked if the Aspen Meadows Corporation will own the conference center. Hecht said the Aspen Meadows Corporation is the operating entity of the lodging facility. The Meadows Comporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Institute, a non-profit corporation. Ensign said the Institute could sell the development rights to the Meadows, a conference center developer could come in and finance, manage, and operate the~entity under the direction of the Institute to guarantee the housing is where it needs to be and the quality of facilitiSs is at a level consistent with the Institute's program. Ensign said if the Institute wanted to generate megabucks, they would sell the land to then be ~subdivided. Hecht said they are trying to zone this property, the Council said they wanted to look at an academic conference facility and the appropriate zoning, not that it's related to the Institute and if the Institute doesn't promise to stay, the Council will never zone it. Ensign said they could come back with the figures Council requested on demonstrating a need for an endowment.~ They cannot think of an instrument that would bind the Institute as the Council wishes. Councilmember Isaac noted that even if the Institute leaves, they still have control over the uses through the zoning. He questioned if they really want a conference center in Aspen. Councilmember Behrendt noted that this facility does not send business to Aspen, he questioned the real advantageito Aspen. Ensign said, in terms of community concerns, there are three main elements: 1) will the Institute remain in Aspen, 2) is it going to be a conference center instead of a resort hotel, 3) the size and impact of the development. In terms of the requirements of a con- ference center, he noted Gene Keluche would speak to the marketing, etc. Stock recommended the reStrictions be on the property, the zoning should be the same if it is for the Institute or the Hilton. He noted there was a limitation in the P&Z resolution so that subdivision is only for the purpose of allowing the construction of an apartment type dwelling for employee housing, the land is one entire mass of property, not dividable, condominiumizable or saleable. Mayor Edel asked who owns the academic buildings. MacMichael said the Institute owns the academic buildings, the Meadows owns the land. Ensign introduced Gene Keluche, consultant to the project, Chairman of the Board of Western Conference Resorts. He explained how the conference center concept evolved. They surveyed 10,000 corporations for their opinions and preferences toward conference facilitites. The results showed there are approximately 193,000 meeting annually.involving 7.8 million peo- ple, 99% invOlve 400 people or less, averaging 2.5 days. This translates into approximately 12.7 room nights per year. He estimated there are 20-50 facilties nationally. He ncted summer is the slow season. The pattern is usually Sunday-Wednesday, Wednesday-Friday and Friday-Sunday. The conference center concept supported the summer program at the In~itUte by giving them superior facilities, it reduced the transportation problem and it did not conflict wi~h the traffic in the valley in the winter months, Mayor Edel asked if any other conference centers were as remote as Aspen. Keluche said there were a few other remote locations. He noted that all the properties they are designing now for conference centers i~olve a minimum of 250 units. He explained the difference between food service for a hotel and a conference center. He justified the need for small meeting rooms for informal discussion. He stated the advantages of their booking policy toward anticipating their needs. Mayor Edel asked what other centers do with their empty rooms. Keluche said that depends upon the location and market. Councilmember Isaac asked if the market is sufficient to warrant a new commercial conference center. Keluche said yes. Councilmember Isaac asked how Keluche felt this facility would compete on the conference center market. Keluche said he felt it would do well especially with the pull of the Institute. Hecht asked how the meeting facilities would compare to others. Keluche said the existing facilities are good but not necessarily the right mix for the corporate meeting market. Councilmember Isaac asked how many employees per unit Keluche would recommend. Keluche estimated there would be 125-150 employees. The Council reviewed the P&Z resolution point 'by point and made recommendations. Hecht felt the zoning was sufficient to guarantee the Institute will continue to operate. Wells said the Planning Office recommended that an exemption would be forthcoming on completion of the PUD and subdivision process if the con- ditions of the City were addressed. P&Z concluded that to rely On anything other than zoning to restrict the bulk of the conditions would be unrealistic. Councilmember Collins noted a phrase "because of the academi.c nature of the facility" and felt this wording was insufficient since it is only academic during the summer months. Hecht felt the word "academic" was used interchangeably With the word "conference". He did not feel the appli- cation required an exemption from the GMP since it was never considered in the calculations 2663. CQntin~d Meeti~__ Aspen City Council Ju~ of the GMP. Councilmember Collins did not think that the language adopting the GMP ex- cluded the area. Mayor Edel asked that this point be clarified. Councilmember Behrendt said it was included in the calculation to be later exempted. Councilmember Isaac felt ~ Aspen they could only exempt it from GMP if the zone they are creating is exempted. Mayor Edel Institute questioned what the development would have received as points during GMP review. Hecht said the difficulty is deciding how to characterize the application since it zs not a lodge nor any other category under the GMP. Wells said they classified it as a lodge application and it scored very poorly. Councilmember Isaac felt this was because they do not have alot of amenities in the application which he felt they should have. The next point on the resolution was has the Institute considered alternate site for employee housing and are they in the most appropriate location. Hecht said they have considered alternate locations and they feel this is the most appropriate location. He did not feel putting the conferee and the employee in the same area was wise. Keluche agreed with this. Councilmember Parry objected to the implication that these "employees" are a different type of person and should be housed elsewhere. He felt people would complain no matter where they put the complex. MacMichael noted that they have changed the site of the employee housing. Ensign added that this zs compatible with the zone. He said the resistance %o housing in this location is not density, it is no~se, congestion, etc. He said it is located where it is at the request of Council. Councilmember Behrendt asked how they would deal with married couples. Ensign noted that P&Z asked them to house 60% of their employees and an interview indicated that only 38% are willing to live in employee housing. MacMichael said they think they can handle 37% of the spouses. The food facility is adequate and they have transportation for those who live outside the facility. They also provide maid service for the magority of the outside housing. Mayor Edel noted that the application provide 32 units and 'questioned the definition of a "unit". Councilmember Collins said there are 32 residential units for a total of 58 bed- rooms. Councilmember Behrendt stated that, in their meetings with R.O. Anderson, it was decided that a unit was a room that could be slept in, including living rooms. He felt there were rooms in the application that, by RO's definition, should be declared a unit and should come under the 356 maximum. MacMichael noted that there are 92 existing units and within these units, some living rooms were counted and some were not. Ensign felt the understanding was that any room that was reasonably likely to be used as a bedroom was counted. He did not feel a living room zn an employee duplex should be counted since it is needed as common space for employees. Councilmember Parry agreed with Councilmember Behrendt's definition and suggested exempting the 12 living rooms and increase the project by 12 units. Mayor Edel agreed that if they have a living room and a bedroom, it should counted as two units. The next question on the resolution was has the Institute satisfac- torily refined its estimate of faculty/conferee ratio. Wells noted the P&Z was satisfied. Councilmember Isaac did not think it was an important question since there is a very fine line between faculty member and conferee. Has the Institute satisfactorily refined the number of units necessary to house faculty, staff, and guests? What restrictions by.use (for employee, conferee and faculty) are required? Wells said he believed they were correct in assuming that all rooms were to be considered rooms and said he would investigate. Has the Institute provided adequate data to justify the size of its proposed food and beverage facilities? Smith said it is difficult for them to determine what is necessary for the food service. Keluche felt it is justified. Wells said the only way they could have con- fidence in the numbers presented is to be authorized to hire a consultant to examine it. Is the proposed traffic circulation pattern, both interior or exterior, capable of satis- factorily mitigating the impacts of the approved denisty and, if not, what modifications are required? Councilmember Collins said they cannot define the impacss until they come up with the plan (PUD). He felt the impact will be there and did not feel this issue should be deferred until PUD and subdivision. Ensign felt they should be granted the equipment to monitor the current traffic. He felt it is a justified concern and one they can resolve. Councilmember Parry moved to continue the public hearing to June 26, 1979, at 5:00 PM in the City Council Chambers, Councilmember Michael seconded. All in favor, motion approved. Councilmember Parry moved to adjourn the meeting, Councilmember Michael seconded. All in favor, motion approved. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM. Shefy~/~Lmen, Deputy City Clerk