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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcclc.min.080101 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1~ 2001 Jon Busch called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Commissioners in attendance were Bill Dinsmoor, Jon Busch, Eric Cohen, John Starr and Terry Butler were present. Janice Voss updated the board on problems on the mall; bike riding on the mall and the mall bathrooms will be serviced more. FARMERS MARKET Jeanette Whitcomb, Environmental Health Dept. Jeanette said this is the last summer for farmers market vending agreement. It is the fourth season of the market. The market was set up to sell primarily Colorado grown produce. In the second year they expanded and sold items that were not produce. Since then the association members keep requesting to expand. Some of these items include soap, brooms bird houses etc. The issues that we are seeing should it be expanded to a small fair with food prepared on site, crafts or should it just be produce or somewhere in between. Another issue is what about competition with local businesses. Should the association be able to decide who gets in or should anyone be able To have a booth such as a retailer. Who should decide and how. They are planning a work session with council in October. Eric asked what staff felt about all the questions as to who should be let in. Jeane~e said it is really not our decision and they will go to council to see what they want. Council will give them direction as far as where to go before changing the vending agreement or keeping the vending agreement. Staff needs council to answer some of the questions. Eric asked for a list of items that will be brought up. John Start said he feels the CCLC has a better sense of the ~ssues than council would. John said there is a feeling about disquiet here and among others about the way the process has worked in the past. We definitely want to be part of the process and see more transparency. CCLC would like to be at the work session. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 Jeanette said staff will present the issues and council will ask questions etc. There will be a chance for the public to comment. John said there is a sense in the community that this is a closed shop. There are issues of competition. Jeanette said she goes every weekend as she is the food program manager and there are places that need inspected. They have a good feel of what is going on. Any new vendor will have to meet the criteria set up by Environmental Health. Jon said we should hold a public hearing before going to the work session with council to see what the businesses have in mind. He also has concerns about the closed shop. The blanket agency has to be insured. We do not have in mind for the committee to make it a profit venture. Bill said the CCLC needs to digest the issues and concerns before they go to a work session with council. Bill said maybe this isn't the proper location and possibly should be outside of town some weekend. All components of the farmers market need reviewed. Terry has gone every Saturday and she sends her residents over. She used to go to the Santa Monica fair a lot and it was extremely diverse. There is a lack of people in our downtown. People that come to the farmers market filter out into other shops. It is a good gathering place in the community. If we leave it open to the people in the local community to put their flowers out then they are not being excluded, Any ploy to encourage business in the downtown area is good. She feels the farmers market should be bigger. Lee said ACRA will be doing a survey in Sept, in order to see what concerns the businesses have and how they feel about the farmers market. John suggested Jeanette call Boulder regarding their market. Jon suggested calling Portland Oregon regarding their market that has been going on for 20 years. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 John suggested we invite the Farmers Market committee to the next meethg to discuss their concerns. We need to hear the association's views. Eric requested the budget from the association. Eric also said we should have the ACRA involved. ENTERTAINMENT PERMIT Jeep said he heard the CCLC is putting the music students under one license and the rest of us have to pay. Jeep said he has a civil rights attorney and he doesn't agree with the concept. Jeep said he understands that there is some kind of licensing proposed. He said he gives people a lot of pleasure and it doesn't cost them a dime and they don't spend a dime. He can't see where that is a business. John Starr asked if he was suggesting that he is a non-profit organization and Jeep said he isn't an organization at all. Chief Deputy Clerk, Kathy Strickland said business licenses are $150. This license fee proposed would be the same fee for direct or indirect compensation on public property. Jeep said he is going to walk around playing his banjo until they throw him in jail. John said this license is about the community in generally, not Jeep. Jeep said he performed here 18 straight years. He ~s against the street performers having a license. He hated getting up to come here. Sometimes he doesn't work. John requested staffto contact the city legal department in order to determine if a blanket license is possible. Jon said our goal is to encourage musicians performing on the mall. What do we hope to accomplish with the license agreement if it stops us from having street performances. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 Terry said if unintentionally we keep performers from coming out our way, that is not what we want. Staff said this ordinance also addresses health and safety issues. Do we want to allow the use of fire and high apparatuses? Jeep said you only have six weeks.of business here in this town. He comes here in June and usually only works on Saturdays. He talked to his attorney and you can't charge any more than what it costs to process the license. Staff reiterated that the cost of a business license is $15). Special events can run from $150. to $500. Per day depending on the crowd. Jeep said each performer has to have liability insurance in Key West. In Australia someone had used fire and a woman got caught on fire. In the states you have to have insurance and a fire extinguisher. John said Jeep mentioned a blanket license for the music students and is that appropriate. Jeep said the fee is outrageous and you can make money for only six weeks. Staff said we have had requests for performers doing fire and is that appropriate on the mall and what are the consequences. Jeep said he would like Aspen to be the center for the international busters fest. Bill said the someone comes to perform and is doing something that raises the public safety issue than that is one of the reasons to have this process in place. Eliminate the opportunity for something inappropriate to happen on the city streets. Jeep said if you charge a license he is going to play his guitar and get put in jail. He has no objection about having insurance for protection. He doesn't like to work everyday. Bill said how does someone know that the things they are using are safe and the animals are safe unless they present it to someone to scrutinize it. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 George Vicenzi said every one who has a business pays for a business licenses whether you make money or you don't make money. These performers block the mall and they set up well two hours before and you can't get through. This is not an onerous fee. Jori asked staff to look into the issue of soliciting money. Jeep has no objection filling out a license but does not want to have to pay a fee. George said he has observed street performers actually soliciting and making comments and making them feel guilty. This should not be allowed and in the license process it should be clear that this isn't allowed. This commission should monitor the performer and if soliciting occurs they should not be allowed to perform in town. Jeep said he does the deaf and blind school and the Wildwood school. He gives the balloons to the kids free. He said ifI have a business license then I can charge anything I want. John said then you have another ordinance that is violated because you cannot run a business on the mall in the sense of selling things. Jon said anyone who stays more than a week has to pay the license fee. Staffwas directed to look into what is direct or indirect soliciting. What about the music students being permitted. What about is the relationship of a business license/vending license? George said there should be no animal acts; the dog is shaking on the ladder. Is this humane or not humane? Eric said people could leave anytime they want too. Bill said he doesn't disagree with George's comments. He also said we need to look at the time frame for performing. Jon said it is hard to control what is humane or inhumane. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 NEWSPAPER RACK ORDINANCE Ed Sadler, assistant city manager said the ordinance is not an issue we just need to flush out some of the issues so we have the information for city council. Ed also stated that there are oxqerlapping departments. The board discussed the enforcement department and it was determined that it should be the CCLC in conjunction with the Engineering Dept. regarding the review process not community development. Reviews should be done once a year by CCLC. CCLC would look at the placement area of the racks and Engineering who handles right-of-way issues etc. would review it also. Jon said it will not be an onerous issue on where the news racks would go. Ed said it mentions keeping the racks in shape and those are issues as to what extend and what expectations does the CCLC want. Do we do this once a year etc? John said it will be your normal enforcement, driven by complaint. Once a year CCLC will walk around and look at the racks. The newspaper vendors are very organized. Bill said the big issue is going to be the 13th newspaper in a 12-newspaper rack. Ed said the second issues is that the ordinance gives the newspapers a year to come into compliance and as he thought through this and it took 7 months for DEPP's boxes to get delivered. Who is responsible for ordering the pedestal and install them. You are looking at talking out a piece of the sidewalk, pouring a slab, and putting rock bolts in it and then pouring the sidewalk over the top. Kathy said it was the intention for the city to pay for the pedestals and the newspapers would pay for the boxes. You need to give council some amount of the cost. John said on the surrounds CCLC feels they can get them made cheaper due to the number of surrounds. The city should pay for the surrounds and the pedestals and preparation for the pedestals. Part of that money can come out of the CCLC budget. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 Ed said the dates should be changed and gave the time frame to have the newspapers install their boxes after the pedestals are installed. They will need a certain amount of time to change out the old boxes to ours. You are looking at either getting council to do a supplemental appropriation right now or including it in the 2002 budget. Ed said you couldn't get a contractor for the pedestals until June and then the sidewalks would need to be tom up etc. He would give them a lead-time from January after the pedestal is installed. Ed asked about the position in the boxes. John said it will be first come first serve in the slots. The 12 pack newsracks will be addressed first. Staff will look into a corral that is pre-made but similar to the existing corral on the DEPP project. Bill said the effect of the corrals is everything that we had hoped they would do. Ed said the cost for the DEPP pads and newsracks was $15,000 each. That does not include the corral. Staff said we can use the contingency from this year for the preparation of the sites and next year budget for the rest. Possibly we could the bases and racks and at another time do the corrals. Ed said we need to get the budget by Sept. 15th. Ed said maybe you should approach this over a three-year time frame. Bill said the pedestal before the enclosure is a good idea because we do not have a design or cost estimate: Ed said the 12 packs are double sixes so that would be four pedestals. The board discussed Phase II of the DEPP project. COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 Bill said there is unanimous support to go forward with the next phase of the DEPP project. Motion: Bill moved to hereby have DEPP re-incarnated to discuss Phase II. Motion second by Terry. All in favor, motion carried. Yes vote: ,[on, Bill, Terry, John. Jon said Phase II needs explored. The original was Hyman to Cooper on Galena and Cooper over to Hunter. That is the major pedestrian way currently. Jori said when we get to Galena it requires advance planning due to the old sewer line in Galena. John asked if the board is in support of the outside theatre and he will begin talking to the City. The board unanimously supported the theatre concept. Charles Kennedy will be helping with the project. CLUB CHELSEA - MALL LEASE Todd Grottstein from Chenoa, a realestate company was present to express his concerns about the proposed outside seating. Staff informed the board that they invited Anthony from Club Chelsea to the meeting and there were no representatives at this meeting to discuss alternatives. Todd said he has concerns about the way Club Chelsea went about the process. They did not approach the management of his company to discuss the outside seating. Todd invited Club Chelsea several times to discuss the matter but no one attended. His concern is that his view from his window is lost. Terry also felt this should not be discussed without representation of Club Chelsea. MOTION: Bill moved to not recommend approval of Cl~tb Chelsea outside seating; second by Jon. Yes vote: Bill, ~ohn, ?on Terry abstained. Todd said he would like to get move involved in the process for next year if this issue comes up again. 8 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2001 Terry requested more doggie bags for the mall area. Staffwill forward the information to the Parks Dept. MOTION: Bill moved to adjourn; second by Yon..4ll in_favor, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Kathleen J. Strickland, Chief Deputy Clerk