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REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 23RD, 2021
At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilors Richards, Mullins, Mesirow
and Hauenstein joining via video conference.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Lee Mulcahy – Mr. Mulcahy wanted to clarify something about Sonya Bolerjack. He said to throw her
out in the middle of a pandemic in the middle of winter and in the middle of a school year is not the
Aspen that he and Torre moved here for. He asked for APCHA to have love and mercy on her. Allow
mercy for her two kids and allow them to rent a place.
Mayor Torre asked Councilor Mesirow if APCHA has had a conversation with Sonya about renting
another place. Councilor Mesirow said yes and it’s a terrible situation. The board that reviewed her case,
provided her the opportunity to demonstrate and work with staff to provide additional information. She
came to meetings to discuss and no resolution was able to be made. This is not something anyone wants
to see happen. Staff looked again and she was not able to show compliance. This is unfortunately the
outcome but not the end. She can still reapply and get back into the program. He said he hopes that she
does.
Mayor Torre reminded the community that council does have compassion on this matter, and it has
been heard and vetted out with APCHA to the full extent.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Councilor Mesirow thanked everyone for the grace of him being absent for the last meeting. His
grandmother passed on and it was unexpected. He said he also grew up in her home and they started
coming to Aspen in the 50’s. Where he rents his studio is where they first bought their condo. This
month is black history month. This is a huge of month of celebration and gratitude. We have an
opportunity to change this. Next year and for the next council, we have an opportunity to take some of
the things we’ve talked about and approach policy from an anti-racist perspective. Lastly, he’s asking for
100% of registered voters to vote. Democracy is fighting for what you believe in. March 2nd is election
day.
Councilor Hauenstein said the year started off with a tremendous surge in real estate transactions.
There are a lot of funds in the Wheeler fund, and he would like staff to come to council with options of
where to use that money in the community. He would like to have a work session discussion on
workforce housing and fully vet the models for public and private housing. He would also like to discuss
HPC having final authority on land use cases. He also wants a discussion on revisiting the service fee on
the electric utility bills. Lastly, he reminded everyone to make sure and vote. Drop your ballots off at city
hall and they must be in by 7pm on March 2nd.
Councilor Mullins said Ward did a great job on squirm night. She said she was up at the landfill this
morning, and she is always impressed at how well run and organized it is. They are working so hard to
extend the life of that landfill and she supports continued discussion on waste diversion. She has also
looked into plaques for historical sites. There has been discussion on most appropriate way to do this.
She has recently discovered, there is an app people can use as opposed to a plaque. This could give
people a history lesson as they walk around Aspen and use this app to give them information about
historical properties.
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REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 23RD, 2021
Councilor Richards said we still need to be vigilant about COVID and the variances. She said hotspots are
still resort communities throughout Colorado. She also reminded everyone to vote.
Mayor Torre said there is a compost facility at the Rio Grande for your “to go” and take away wares. The
city wants everyone to take those items to be composted. He hopes everyone is getting out and
enjoying the hill. We’ve received a lot of snow and a little more on the way. Regarding snow removal,
the Streets department have done a great job this year taking care of high traffic areas. Be sure to vote
on March 2nd. You can also register to vote on the same day as you vote. Returns so far are not that
high. On that same note, he’s encouraging everyone to look into the candidates. Tomorrow is an ACRA
forum for candidates.
City Attorney, Jim True, said that they will pull Resolution #023 from this packet and will bring it back at
the next meeting.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
Sara Ott said that earlier today, the new Wheeler Executive Director was announced, and will be joining
us next week on March 1st. She spent ten years as founding director of the Lone Tree complex and holds
a Masters in theatre management. She will be a great addition.
Mayor Torre said welcome to Lisa and mentioned the candidates went through a rigorous interview
process. She checks a lot of boxes. He said well done to the team and to Sara.
BOARD REPORTS:
Mayor Torre said he had ACRA board meeting this morning and Board of Health later this week.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Councilor Mullins asked for Resolution #022 to be pulled. Councilor Hauenstein said he wants the same
one and also has a question about Resolution #019.
Resolution #019, Series of 2021 – Avocette Service Contract - Councilor Hauenstein said he is curious
about what other providers participated in this. Phillip Supino said we received a number of bids on this
contract. Our intention was a perceived lack of value with the previous contractor, so they were really
looking for value added service. Karen Harrington said they went through a rigorous RFP process with
more than a dozen applicants. This vendor is providing senior level support and will be around $75,000
for annual support.
Resolution #022, Series of 2021 – Audio Video Contract with AV Experts – Councilor Mullins said she
received an email from John Masters at Grassroots, and she’s not sure what the issue is or what he is
addressing. In our memo, there are numbers for design and installation, and she’s confused how to
design something before we know what we’re putting in. There are 10 plus rooms getting AV equipment
but she’s only counting 5.
Ms. Ott said this project has three phases, and a cable fiber optic system which is the backbone. The first
phase was design, the next stage is installing the backbone and the third phase are the peripherals. This
will come back to council on March 8th with diff levels of final peripherals. The ability of rooms to do
multi broadcast etc. This is designed so it can expand, so if you choose, you’ll be able to add on services
as you go. She also said that representatives from Grassroots have been involved in this process, and
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REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 23RD, 2021
they are planning for 13 room in total. She said this contract fits into the original project scope. The
peripherals are not part of the original budget. It’s in the fund balance of the AMP, but you’ll have to
make appropriations to cover this. The contingency has covered a lot of costs already.
Councilor Hauenstein said a good portion of this has been brought on by COVID. All of us have been
through a plethora of virtual meetings and it may change the way we do business going forward.
Councilor Richards said thank you to all. She thanked Rob Schober for the tour. This is about a new
world of communication. She said she supports this and looks forward the future discussion.
Councilor Mesirow said he supports this and is looking forward to the discussion about different
technologies that can be used.
Councilor Mesirow motioned to approve the consent calendar; Councilor Hauenstein seconded.
Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried.
NOTICE OF CALL UP: 925 King Street – Sarah Yoon, Historic Preservation Planner
Ms. Yoon said this was originally designated in 1992. HPC reviewed and approved the request to
demolish six detached structures on the site and met HPC’s criteria for demolition. Staff recommends
that council uphold this decision.
Councilor Richards asked Ms. Yoon to show the structures to be demolished.
Mayor Torre said he enjoyed reading through the history on this site.
Councilor Hauenstein said he loves pages 194 and 195 of the packet which shows old photos. Ms. Yoon
shared an improvement survey plat.
No one on council is interested in calling this up.
PUBLIC HEARING: Ordinance #01, Series of 2021 – Jeffrey Barnhill, Zoning Enforcement Officer
Mr. Barnhill said there are two land use reviews being requested: two minor planned development
requests. The applicant would also like to make an addition to an at grade patio, a new metal freezer
and a stairway reconfiguration. He showed the proposed elevations. Staff recommends approval of the
minor planned development amendment to a project review and to a detailed review approval.
Mayor Torre opened the public hearing.
Alan Fletcher – Mr. Fletcher thanked council for their consideration. He said the use of Marolt is
extremely important and we are pleased to upgrade it and are asking for city support.
Mayor Torre closed the public hearing.
Councilor Mullins motioned to approve Ordinance #01, Series of 2021; Councilor Richards seconded.
Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried.
ACTION ITEMS: Temporary Structures in the Right of Way – Phillip Supino, Community Development
Director
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REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 23RD, 2021
Mr. Supino said we are looking at structures in the right of way for this summer again to provide a key
element of business support, which will provide expanded seating and increased distancing. There was
one ordinance and one resolution that were passed previously regarding this: Ordinance #33, Series of
2020 and Resolution #086, Series of 2020. He said there were 17 temporary structures last summer and
he showed examples of trellis structures in front of Bruno’s and Aspen Tap. He showed a structural tent
at Mi Chola and Tatanka, as well as a prefab structure at meat and cheese, and an open sided approach
at Kemosabe and at Locals Coffee. Jing, Creperie and Mezzaluna provided closed air structures, which
were inspected and approved by the building and engineering departments. Some issues to be
considered are equity, predictability, cost, community characters and enforcement. The staff
recommendation is to continue with the current approach: expedited review, permitting, inspection,
waiving of fees, temporary only, and no permanent structures. His question to council would be what
type of temporary structures should be permitted.
Councilor Mesirow said he is leaning toward structural open sided structures, not so much enclosed
structures.
Councilor Richards said for summer she prefers open air. She does like the diversity of it, however. She
thinks the Creperie needs to become open air again. She’s not saying the roof needs to come off, but all
the windows should be open. She wants to make sure that we aren’t disadvantaging other businesses
and that this is equitable for everyone.
Councilor Hauenstein said he is supportive as long as the structures meet state COVID compliance.
Councilor Mullins said all the different structures have made things fun and interesting. For her, the
safety and circulation issues are the most important.
Mayor Torre said the white tenting is not his favorite. He’s ok with structures having open sides and
open air. He’s supportive of everything except structural enclosed. We do need to make clear that these
will come down again before next winter.
Council discussed ideas and topics they would like to see in upcoming work sessions for the remainder
of the meeting, as well as HPC and utility billing discussion.
City Attorney, Jim True introduced the Executive Session.
Councilor Hauenstein motioned to move into Executive Session, Councilor Mullins seconded.
Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried.
_______________________________
City Clerk, Nicole Henning