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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.regular.202001141 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 14TH, 2020 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilmembers Richards, Hauenstein, Mesirow and Mullins present. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE: APWA Award Mayor Torre introduced the award for the APWA Best Project in the Park and Trails, Small Community Category for the Hallam Street and Castle Creek Bridge improvements. Trish Aragon, Engineering, said that James Phelps, who is the public works director from Breckenridge couldn’t make it. He had a family emergency and wanted to come present this award. She said his grandma used to live at the Aspen Villas. This is the top award for projects like this and we can be proud that we achieved such a competitive award. She read a letter from Mr. Phelps which he would have read. She said the number of bikes on the bridge increased by 50%. There was a huge improvement in commuter traffic. Pete Rice, Engineering, said there was a large amount of staff that was involve in this project. He explained everyone’s role in making it what it what it was. Councilwoman Richards said this project was started when she was on the county side. There was some hesitation and push back. She expressed a lot of satisfaction and ability to prove the doubters wrong. She said it was appropriately funded and thanked them for their hard work. Councilman Hauensteinthanked the team and said hallelujah it’s over. Councilwoman Mullins said they did a great job with public outreach. She thanked the team and agreed there was a lot of opposition. CITIZEN COMMENTS: EM Veazy III Esquire, because he is a gentleman. He said he is not sure if Aspen has been planning on the economic slowdown. He told Councilman Mesirow not to worry about what these people are saying. People have said worse. He congratulated Torre for being here and said he is going to be the most famous worldwide mayor Aspen has ever had. He suggested that council use psychographic studies. They deal with how people think and their behaviors. We should look at this in terms of influence of economics and business enterprise. He wished everyone a happy new year. Lee Mulcahy wished everyone a happy new year. He said he recently turned in a CORA request from APCHA and the city of Aspen said there was no such document. He said he is in appeal in three courts currently. He read a story about a man in Greenwood Village who is being evicted from his home. He said the way forward is compromise. He left a handout of the story for the record. Steve Falender said he is here with Jim Markalunas. He mentioned a letter from Elise Elliot about the crosstown which was sent to council earlier in the day. The decision on what schedule the crosstown follows is not up to the departmentof transportation, but it’s up to council and is a budget issue. It only runs from 8:15 to 8:36 at their house and they are not asking for 6:45 am to 2 am, but something a little more reasonable, so they can go out and get back home. It’s truly not functioning and it’s seasonal. In November it ought to be running. Mayor Torre said there is a work session scheduled for March 3rd on this subject. Councilman Hauenstein pointed out that the downtowner does run until 11 pm. 178 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 14TH, 2020 Mr. Falender said he doesn’t like the downtowner. He said it’s a taxi service and not a scheduled service. Jim Markalunas said that council should show a little more flexibility. Between the city and RFTA, the west side of town pays over a half a million in property taxes, so surely there are some pennies to extend this service. He said his daughter takes this bus every single day to and from work. A couple of hours makes a huge difference. Councilwoman Richards thanked them both and said she responded to Elise earlier too. It’s not going to be easy and it is a tradeoff. Everyone is calling for more service. Toni Kronberg said she wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. She mentioned the designated spot for public notices. She asked for a designated spot on the website for all public notices. She congratulated Nicole for becoming the new city clerk. She said she’s had great experiences working with Nicole in the past and thinks she will do a great job. She mentioned the memo from Tara Nelson in the council packet and said she did an excellent job and it’s a great report and job well done. She mentioned the affordable housing open house coming up this week and said it’s important for the community to get involved. She said Breckenridge just completed an aerial transportation that goes through town and transports one bus load of people every 60 seconds. She’s hoping Aspen can do something similar. Maybe we should consider a parking garage under Wagner Park. Council asked her to send the feasibility study to them. Public comment closed. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilwoman Mullins thanked everyone for the public comment. She is looking forward to the work session. She said Rachel’s comments were valid but she’s going to continue to push for equal bus service. It fulfills the city goals to do this. She said it’s good to be back. There has been a lot of conversation about Skippy’s posts and two councilmembers have already weighed in and she feels the need to do so as well. She said she had eightguests in town from the UK over the holidays. They took advantage of so many things in town and they felt it was one of the most fun places they’ve ever been. She said yes, Aspen is crowded, but it has always been very welcoming to its visitors. It’s very crowded but it’s to sustain aspen’s needs. Everyone has a right to say what they want, but as council members, we serve to represent the community and not disenfranchise any groups. We need to continue to work with and welcome the visitors who treasure our city. Councilman Hauenstein welcomed everyone in and wished a happy new year. He said he had his guests and family in town, and it was a joy. It was a very busy time, and we all know that. He expressed himself in letter to the editor regarding Skippy’s remarks. He said that town is inclusive to all and however difficult, during that time, we need to keep our nose to the grindstone and get through it. Councilwoman Richards said welcome to the new decade. She said there are times when we all might misspeak, and we just pick up and move on. She said welcome to the great many people visiting for gay ski week. She said we are a welcoming and inclusive community. After gay ski week, there will be X Gamers in town. It’s a constant mix and she appreciates it all. Sometimes we forget how stressful it is on people, so we need to keep a smile on our face and in our heart. 179 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 14TH, 2020 Councilman Mesirow wished everyone a happy new year. He said that Ann’s comments were really beautiful. He too had guests in town. He said he has been in the news a lot recently and has incredible gratitude to be here and the town means more to him than anything in the world. He feels an immense amount of responsibility at this tableand he has been working a lot in the peak season. He said he experienced a moment of intense frustration. He said he believes he has a right to his frustrations and his emotions. He believes it is his responsibility to take the time to think about what he says, and, in that instance, he didn’t do that. It was really hard to look in the mirror and saw that he did the opposite of that and he is truly sorry. It had nothing to do with what he did or didn’t eat. To anyone he hurt or offended, he is sorry. He said he has received criticism and support. He asked for understanding and forgiveness and thanked his fellow board members. Mayor Torre wished everyone a happy new year. He thanked everyone for the Winterskol event. He gave kudos to ACRA and said it was the 69 th anniversary of the event. He welcomed all guests and visitors for aspen gay ski week. He wants to reiterate the outreach event for the lumber yard and housing development tomorrow at Roxy’s from 4- 7. This group is doing some great work in Aspen and their website is: hospitalitymattersaspen.net and is a local group providing some support to service industry people who get frazzled and fried by the holiday season. They are providing someone to talk to or lean on and there is a crisis text line: 741741. AGENDA AMENDMENTS: None. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: None. BOARD REPORTS: Councilwoman Richards said APCHA meets Wednesday night. Councilwoman Mullins said POD met last week with each group identifying goals. She said CCLC, CORE, Board of Health and CAST are coming up in the next two weeks. Councilman Hauenstein reminded everyone of the Aspen Snowmass Nordic council and it’s a council ski day at the touring center on January 22 nd at 11:00 a.m. Councilwoman Richards said she did attend the Reudi Power and Water meeting. She said Tyler Christoff presented on hydropower operations. Mayor Torre went to the RFTA board meeting last week and a Sister Cities meeting. He said there are two groups of students walking around town who are from Queenstown, New Zealand and Shimukappu, Japan. There is an ACRA meeting on Tuesday the 28 th and the CAST meeting in Avon. There is a Board of Health retreat on Friday the 24 th. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:Census Update Phillip Supino, Community Development Director & Rachel Brenneman of Manifest Communications Mr. Supino noted that this project began in the fall of 2018. He mentioned that April 1 st is census day and the official website is: A2pcensus2020.com. Ms. Brenneman presented on how she and her team expect to get the word out to the public and what the key messages are. Councilwoman Mullins said this is wonderful and you’ve done great work. She asked about people who don’t have pcs or internet access. Mr. Supino said the public libraries will be the most important resource to assist with this. There will be many computers donated just for this project as well. Councilwoman Richards said this is great work. She mentioned putting up posters with healthcare providers and childcare centers, which are great networks. Ms. Brenneman said the census closes on July 31st, so even though census day is April 1st, you will still have the opportunity to participate through July 31st. 180 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 14TH, 2020 The board thanked the presenters. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilwoman Mullins asked to pull Ms. Henning’s appointment and the minutes. The board congratulated Ms. Henning on her appointment as City Clerk. Councilwoman Mullins said she appreciated the CMCA education listed on Ms. Henning’s resume and she is looking forward to working together. Mayor Torre congratulated Ms. Henning and said the job is not an easy one and she is a master of juggling. He pointed out section 6.6, which is male centric and asked to have it modified. Mr. True said there are a lot of provisions in the charter which are male centric, and it would take a public vote to modify these. Mayor Torre asked if the notices will be posted in both places for resolution #4. Mr. True said our legal obligation is established by posting online with this resolution. Mayor Torre said he would like us to physically post on the board still. Councilwomen Richards and Mullins agreed. Mayor Torre asked Ms. Henning if she is ok with doing that and she said yes. Mr. True said we don’t always know that you are going to a meeting and to please notify Ms. Henning, so she can post notices with enough advance. Council asked for a link on the homepage for notices. Ms. Ott said we can try, but the website has backend issues that are obstacles. Councilwoman Mullins mentioned the minutes from the 18 th and mentioned Grey Lady and the name change to Mr. Grey. Ms. Ott said we typed the minutes consistent with the application. Councilwoman Mullins mentioned both sets of minutes reflect “commissioners in attendance” and they would like it to be council members. Councilwoman motioned to approve the entire consent calendar as presented, Councilwoman Mullins seconded. Councilwoman Richards said she appreciates the continued due diligence on resolution #5 and the reduced purchase price. She’s more than happy to split the difference between the appraisal price and the paid price. Councilwoman Mullins said she is very supportive and thanked Chris Everson for his work on this. She said this is going to improve affordable housing. Councilman Mesirow said this is a concrete step in the right direction for affordable housing and he is proud to move forward. Mayor Torre said he feels very comfortable with the purchase opportunity. He thinks it the right move for right now and a wise investment. Mayor Torre called for a vote. All in favor, motion carried. CALL UP: 333. E. Durant Ave- Mountain Chalet Lodge Elevator Extension Ben Anderson, City Planner Councilman Hauenstein asked for clarification and definition of how this is a PD from 2001 and why it is still alive. Mr. Anderson said it has to do with the ten-year vested rights period. Once a project is built, the same amendment thresholds apply. 181 5 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 14TH, 2020 Councilwoman Richards thanked them and said she isn’t interested in doing a call up. She thinks they’ve done a great job in terms of what you can retrofit with an old building. Mayor Torre said they will not be calling up the item. ACTION ITEMS: Resolution #3, Series of 2020 – City of Aspen 2020 Regional, State and Federal Policy Agenda Tara Nelson Ms. Nelson began her presentation and realized there were missing pages in the packet. Ms. Ott suggested pulling this item and adopting it next week. Councilman Hauenstein said he preferred to continue to the 28 th so they all have time to look it over. Councilwoman Richards agreed and said she hoped they could add how NEPA will be applied and said we need to continue more research on this and how the national environmental act protects private lands etc. Councilwoman Mullins said in terms of this policy, the National League of Cities has put together an agenda for the 2020 presidential election, which is really great and take a look at this later in the year and as an amendment. Councilman Hauenstein said that with the Trump regime, there seems to be a daily attack on the environment, and we have to be ever vigilant. Councilwoman Mullins motioned to continue to the 28th, Councilman Hauensteinseconded. All in favor, motion carried. Mr. True suggested an executive session pursuant to C.R.S.4-6-402 (b) & € at 6:59 p.m. Councilwoman Richards motioned to go into executive session, Councilman Hauenstein seconded. All in favor, motion carried ______________________________ Nicole Henning, City Clerk 182