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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20190826Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 26, 2019 1 CITIZEN COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 2 COUNCIL COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................ 2 CITY MANAGER COMMENTS ................................................................................................................ 3 BOARD REPORTS .................................................................................................................................... 3 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................................ 3 • Resolution #73, Series of 2019 – Phil Vaughan Construction Management – Cma Contract for Wheeler Infrastructure Improvements Project ................................................................................. 4 • Resolution #90, Series of 2019 – Professional Services Contract – Affordable Housing Fee in Liew Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 4 • Minutes – August 12, 2019 ............................................................................................................... 4 ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 2019 – Water Treatment Plant Facility – Major Public Project Review ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 ORDINANCE #18, SERIES OF 2019 – Sandwich Board Sign Amendments .................................. 5 RESOLUTION #94, SERIES OF 2019 – Retention of Additional Tobacco Tax Funds .................. 6 EXECUTIVE SESSION ............................................................................................................................. 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 26, 2019 2 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilmembers Mullins, Richards, Mesirow and Hauenstein present. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Lee Mulcahy said council should consider new blood for the city manager position. He read a quote from the Daily News by Ward regarding his housing from September 2016. APCHA has asked for a receiver to sell the home. We are not going to comply with an unjust order. Everything rests on a premature notice of violation. 2. Sandy Mulcahy said how can you take a persons home away on a premature notice of violation. Asked why this can’t be looked at. 3. Toni Kronberg said The W will be great for town. Not keeping Tasters there is wrong. Where is the public outreach on the city office project. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilwoman Richards said the November election is coming up. We’ve passed the first thing saying we will have items on the ballot. She suggested an item to change the city charter if there is an appointment to council, would the appointment be only until the next general election. It seems awkward that someone could serve two to three years until the public gets to choose who would fill that seat. Councilman Mesirow said currently if someone is appointed they serve until the end of the term. You are suggesting that the next election that seat should be filled. Jim True, city attorney, said the last time that provision was amended it was to address the situation when there was a tie amongst the charter. Council under that provision can set the election to replace the resigning member. Councilwoman Richards said she is more comfortable with the public making that decision rather that arbitrary by council. Mr. True said you could write it in a way where the person appointed had to run in the next election. Councilman Hauenstein said he was away for a few weeks and it’s always nice coming back home. Councilman Mesirow said the Aspen Film Fest at the Wheeler was fantastic. He thanked the APD for all they do. Mayor Torre thanked everyone who attended the community picnic. We have been going through a city manager search. Hoping to have some news in the coming days. On bear interactions, I’ve received a lot of calls from people concerned about the bears. APD, Pitkin and SMV all respond to minor bear calls. 920.5130 for help with bear issues. CPW responds to bear break ins. Regarding euthanization of bears, CPW are in the position of putting the bears down. From April 1 to today, Pitkin county reported 512 bear incidents with 11 euthanizations. Re-location is very difficult, 2 this year. The Aspen fine schedule relates to humans being responsible. If you are not securing your trash a first offense is 250 dollars, 500 for a second offense and 999 and a mandatory court appearance for a 3rd offense. We may have to raise the fines. What does the future look like. There is no real plan out there. Bears are overpopulated and Aspen is prime bear habitat. CPW will be coming to a work session. Councilman Hauenstein said he was contacted by a concerned lady. She wanted an ordinance that windows in homes need to be closed. Can we do that. Councilwoman Richards said Pitkin county staff should be invited to the CPW work session. The crab apple trees on Main street in front of the court house, I was told the trees are historic and we cannot touch them. I’m not suggesting we remove those but maybe a bucket brigade to go pick them. We need a longer term solution. Councilwoman Mullins said there are non-fruiting crab apple trees but they Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 26, 2019 3 don’t survive well in this climate. We need to be fining for people not securing the trash but those with damaged dumpsters. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Sara Ott talked about the changes on the long range calendar. September 3rd city offices part 3 will be moved to September 10th. CJ Oliver, environmental health, talked about the changes at the Rio Grande recycle center. Thursday is the last day for single stream collection. Saturday will begin targeted collection, cardboard, scrap metal and yard waste. Glass will remain the same. Plastic and mixed paper will not be accepted. Mayor Torre said I think a lot of us have a little disappointment about what is happening at the center. Curbside is available at your home. Councilwoman Richards said this was a difficult choice for this council. The costs to maintain it like it was could have been close to a million dollars. Residents are paying through their trash collection for the same services. Councilman Mesirow said it is time to get serious about reducing what we use. BOARD REPORTS Councilman Mesirow attended APCHA where Peter Louras commented about creating a working group. Sept 27 is the board retreat. The goal to come up with a working plan of items to address throughout the year. They also discussed changes to the guidelines. NWCOG met in Frisco. We looked at the ski fees bill and possible expansion of it. There is a second bill out of Senator Bennet’s office related to fire fix with a better opportunity for passing yet addressing many of the same concerns returning money back into our communities. There was an update on the economic development program. What would be our main area of focus. Lastly there is a member survey looking at best practices in home rule communities. Councilwoman Mullins attended CAST in Frisco with Torre. We are hosting in October. Mayor Torre said they got an update from Copper mountain and what is happening there. Census 2020 update as well. There are jobs available. There was a presentation from Park City about dark sky benefits CONSENT CALENDAR Councilwoman Richards moved to approve Resolution 73 and the minutes; seconded by Councilman Mesirow. Councilwoman Richards said she has known Phil Vaughn for close to 20 years. She thanked him for his work. All in favor, motion carried. Reso #90 – FIL analysis Councilman Hauenstein said I don’t think there is much appetite for cash in lieu for mitigation for affordable housing. I question spending $68,000 to do a study for something we don’t support. Councilwoman Mullins said I’ve asked several times if we have to have this. Mr. True replied I can understand the statement. It is an important tool in our tool box and important to make certain we have appropriate data to support the program. If you feel it is required or an applicant makes a request to use it, you have the proper tools. It is important to relook at what we have done and we have the proper data to support it. Councilwoman Richards said I emphasize with your comments. There may be a fractional amount that needs mitigated. Having the fraction be the appropriate amount is really important. If it is a single family home you can’t force them to have an affordable housing unit on their property. The updated standards would not be just for commercial development. I don’t think it Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 26, 2019 4 is just the number and the cost we would be looking at. Councilman Mesirow said if this is a tool we are going to use then the number needs to be corrected. We first need to determine is this a tool we want to use. If I could, I would eliminate FIL entirely. We are looking for housing and we are looking for housing now. By the time a unit lands we haven’t been paid for it. I would rather see a scenario where somebody builds their own or buys on the credit system. Can we ban FIL. Mr. True stated you need the tool because there are circumstances where you have no other tool. There are a number of circumstances where you could face that. FIL was a way to accept under particular circumstances. In the past there have been circumstances in which we felt council was best to accept the FIL. The ability to build on site was unavailable or credits unavailable. Once you recognize you have to have that tool you want it to be measured in the best possible way. They are very defensible. Councilwoman Mullins said it is not by right either. Councilman Mesirow said to me, there is not a scenario in which we couldn’t solve this with a purchase of a fraction of a credit if it is available. Councilwoman Richards said I think you may run in to the same issue that you don’t have the built unit immediately available. At some level employee growth is related to our county partners as well. She would like to make sure the numbers for actual cost of construction are updated. Councilwoman Richards moved to approve Resolution 90; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. Ben Anderson, community development, said we have identified really qualified folks to do the study. Here are two sides to FIL. What does a unit cost and how does it increase over time. If we are supportive of the credit program, right now they are benchmarked at the FIL rate. We’ve heard folks can’t make projects pencil out with these numbers. Is the relationship between FIL and the credit program defendable. All in favor, motion carried. • Resolution #73, Series of 2019 – Phil Vaughan Construction Management – Cma Contract for Wheeler Infrastructure Improvements Project • Resolution #90, Series of 2019 – Professional Services Contract – Affordable Housing Fee in Liew Analysis • Minutes – August 12, 2019 ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 2019 – Water Treatment Plant Facility – Major Public Project Review Councilman Hauenstein moved to read Ordinance #21, Series of 2019; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 21 (SERIES OF 2019) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING MAJOR PUBLIC PROJECT REVIEW AND RELATED LAND USE APPROVALS FOR THE CITY OF ASPEN WATER TREATMENT PLANT FACILITY LOCATED AT 480 DOOLITTLE DRIVE ON THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT PLANNED DEVELOPMENT, LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS: LOT 25, CITY OF ASPEN WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT SPA AND SUBDIVISION, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED JANUARY 28, 1997 AT RECEPTION NO, 401287 IN PLAT BOOK 41 AT PAGE 41 AS AMENDED BY THE LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT PLAT RECORDED APRIL 29, 2013 AT RECEPTION NO. 599061 IN PLAT BOOK 102 AT PAGE 86 COUNTY OF PITKIN, STATE OF COLORADO. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 26, 2019 5 Councilwoman Mullins said for second reading she would like to know why the lot area went from 54 to 49 acres. The memo talks about expanded storage at the reservoir, how much. expansion of residential treatment area, how great and why is it needed. In the phasing plan you talk about the need for more storage. Why is the reservoir expansion in the last phase. How was the phasing determined. Garrett Larimar, community development, said the site is boarded by Meadowood, Twin Ridge and Water Place. It is zoned public. An SPA was approved. There was a significant amendment in 1996 approving the affordable housing development and subdivided the property. It is roughly a 50 acre lot. The scope of work included expansion of the reservoir, expansion to the admin building, expansion to the west plant building, new vehicle maintenance and storage facility and expansion to the residual treatment area. Proposed to be phased starting in 2020 through 2025. Step one was the P&Z hearing. They approved Reso 10, 2019 by a 7 to 0 vote recommending council approve the requested use. Step 2 is a council combined review. The request is for a major amendment to a site specific approval. Council is the final decision making authority. Second reading is set for September 23. Councilwoman Richards asked are we doing soil testing due to the slopes up there. Mr. Larimar replied the soil was vetted as part of the application. She asked about the cost of the project. Ms. Ott replied it is in the long range financial plan and will come forward as part of the budget process. Councilwoman Richards said it would be valuable to pursue whatever grants we can for the project. There is a lot of money allocated for drinking water annually. Councilman Hauenstein asked does expanded capacity encourage growth. The plant serves more than Aspen. Councilman Mesirow said he wants to make sure we are mitigating for employees as anyone else would. Have all the employees been previously mitigated for. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Ordinance #21, Series of 2019 on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mullins, yes; Mayor Torre, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #18, SERIES OF 2019 – Sandwich Board Sign Amendments Phillip Supino, community development, said this is a housekeeping item to ensure sandwich board signs can remain in place for an additional year. We will come back with options for a permanent solution. Mayor Torre opened the public comment. There was none. Mayor Torre closed the public comment. Mayor Torre talked about how this relates to the sign code. We have stringent regulations related to stringent down town. We need to look at this holistically downtown and what we can do there. Signage on the mall feels stale and archaic. Open up the conversation about what we are doing overall with the sign code. Councilwoman Richards said a long time ago when we put up the sign panels at the ends of the mall they were related to activities. Now they are a map of business locations. It isn’t the feel the original intent of those boards were put up for. She would like to restore some of the original intent. Councilman Mesirow asked why are we having this conversation. Mr. Supino said the supreme court ruled that material need to be content neutral. Mr. True said the Reed case came down in Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 26, 2019 6 2015. It was very complicated and significant dissent between justices. It is focused on freedom of speech and regulating the sign based on what the sign says. Councilwoman Richards said you can make requirements regarding the material, size and location. Councilman Hauenstein moved to adopt Ordinance #18, Series of 2019; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Mullins, yes; Mesirow, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Torre, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #94, SERIES OF 2019 – Retention of Additional Tobacco Tax Funds Mr. True said I reached out to our local CML tax expert, Dee Weiser, and ran the language by him. He made some suggestions and they are included in the ballot language. We are confident it complies with Tabor. Mayor Torre asked about the agreement with the school district and majority of funds being utilized for that programming. Ms. Ott said typically IGAs are one year with renewal clauses. Mr. True said this language is written to allow that piece later. Councilwoman Richards said she forwarded to council the county’s healthy community fund dollars allocated last year. Continuing to engage with the BOH will be very valuable. Regarding the language, is there a reason we lead off with including HHS and tobacco. The real meat of this is addiction. Mr. True replied he followed the language that was passed previously. Councilwoman Richards replied she is sure it will be fine. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Resolution #94, Series of 2019; seconded by Councilman Mesirow. All in favor, motion carried. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mr. True recommended Council go in to executive session pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4) (b) conferences with an attorney for the local public body for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions; (e) Determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations; (f)(I) Personnel matters. Councilman Mesirow moved to go in to executive session; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. At 9:05 P.M. Councilman Hauenstein moved to come out of executive session; seconded by Councilman Mesirow. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Hauenstein moved to adjourn; seconded by Councilman Mesirow. All in favor, motion carried. Linda Manning City Clerk