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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.regular.20210112 1 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 2021 At 4:30 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilors Richards, Mesirow, Mullins and Hauenstein joining via video conference. SPECIAL APPEARANCES: – Swearing in of new Police Officers Andy Williams and Joseph Watson. Bill Linn introduced the two new officers and Mayor Torre swore them in. PUBLIC COMMENT: Graham Ward – Mr. Ward said he is a resident of Glenwood Springs. He is here to express his favor for Aspen considering divestment from fossil fuel financing banks, such as, Wells Fargo. He said he has submitted a petition and some documentation with alternatives and is pushing for this to be considered. Mayor Torre asked him to send an email to him so he can follow up. Will Hodges of 350 Roaring Fork – Mr. Hodges said he is following up on Graham’s comments regarding divestment from Wells Fargo Bank. He is happy to email the mayor and has already provided some information to Chris Menges. He said the best ETF’s in Europe right now are the ones that have screened companies that don’t have ties to climate change. There is money to be made in other companies and he is looking forward to providing more resources. Lee Mulcahy – Mr. Mulcahy is grateful for Torre being mayor. He’s seconding Will’s sentiments on investing with banks like Wells Fargo. He also commented on the closing of indoor dining. Our government is out of control. He said we should all hold hands with Lauren Bobert who is in favor of putting a stall on all evictions. He spoke about APCHA and evicting his mother in the middle of a pandemic. He wants to rent the house back from APCHA. Sandy Mulcahy – Ms. Mulcahy said in the middle of a pandemic, she is being evicted. More troubling, she has applied for a vaccine and has received no emails or phone calls and thinks she’s been removed from the list by a government official. APCHA broke the law yet moves forward in a life threatening situation for her. Mayor Torre will look into her accusation regarding a vaccination. City clerk, Nicole Henning, read a public comment submitted by Elizabeth Milias. CITIZEN COMMENTS: Councilwoman Mullins asked how we are moving ahead to address added security regarding the Black Hills breach. Sara Ott said there are improvements being made and security has been greatly improved over the past few years. She said that as a council person, she would never endorse or agree with any post that was described by Elizabeth’s comment. Councilman Hauenstein said he was hoping 2021 would start off better than it has. This is a time that we need cool heads and respect. It is a time to reflect before acting, listen effectively and hold people accountable for words and actions. It’s a time to mend deep divisions and get train back on the tracks and tolerate different ideals. Last night was the Board of Health meeting and the hardest decision he remembers having to make. He is proud of Torre for representing the city council. The incident rate is above 3000. We have to be mindful of public health. He’s supports the decision that was made and he thanked Black Hills Energy for their hard work. 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 2021 Councilwoman Richards said thank you to Black Hills Energy. He agrees with Ann to ask for a future update on how they will take care of security in the future. This last weekend, she spent a lot of time thinking about what happened on Wednesday of last week. It was Earth shattering. The timeline is out there. This isn’t going away easily or readily. There has to be accountability and investigations. She apologized for mixing local and national politics. Councilman Mesirow said that our lives locally, state and nationally are inextricably linked. In observing the events of last week, it can be easy to write off those individuals as crazy, but at the end of the day they are people just like you and I. Let us ask ourselves what we can do locally to relieve these stressors. Aspen is uniquely placed to do such work. Mayor Torre if you have info regarding the Black Hills investigation, please reach out. Regarding the Board of Health meeting, it’s probably the hardest thing he’s had to deal with. Restaurants were not targeted in these new restrictions. They will feel big impacts certainly, but it is an area of possible transmission. We knew two months ago that we would have to take action if numbers didn’t get better. Hopefully, we can quickly get all of the restaurants on board with the 5-star certification program and back open. Restaurants need to get in this queue. Now is the time to still work together. This is a community call, and it requires all of us. We need to do our part individually. There’s so much going on in the world right now and thought 2021 would be a fresh beginning but I know we are up to the task facing these challenges. Councilman Hauenstein said he doesn’t see anything in the packet for the item on vested right for the Aspen Club. Sara Ott asked the City Clerk to assist him while she goes into her comments. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: Ms. Ott mentioned a financial link for resources on applying for food and rent assistance, unemployment, etc. on the Pitkin County website to give folks that are being laid off one place to find help. She said we are here to support people, and this is what we do to help when people are down. We have mental health contacts available as well. We also have staff to assist with giving vaccines in the community and turn around time is top priority. She shared a memo with council on an emergency expenditure that she authorized over the weekend of $103,000 to upgrade the heating and ventilation system in four of our buildings. We’ve been looking at this for some time. This will show up in the Spring Supplemental. We are still accepting community input on the community survey regarding communication. The link is still available on the city’s homepage and will strengthen our plan for the next few years. Ms. Ott asked the City Clerk for an update on the packet item. Ms. Henning notified council that a staff member had the view set to confidential so that it was not showing up to the public and that the item was being continued by the applicant. BOARD REPORTS: Councilwoman Richards had an executive committee call for Club 20. They will be co-hosting with Progressive 15 and Action 22. If any other members of board would like to attend, Tara Nelson can get you signed up for this. She also has CML on the 15th. 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 2021 Councilwoman Mullins has RFTA on Thursday and CML on Friday. Councilman Mesirow had APCHA last week and sent out a survey and are moving forward on a two-year change of guidelines. Councilman Hauenstein had CCLC and discussed the Saturday Market. Mayor Torre had Board of Health and had over a thousand people on the call. They will convene again next Thursday. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilwoman Mullins pulled everything except the minutes. Regarding Resolution #001, Councilwoman Mullins asked about a physical posting place at City Hall. Jim True told her council has a right to ask for a physical posting in addition to the online posting. Councilman Hauenstein said that people can’t get into city hall to see the postings right now, but maybe we can amend this once city hall is back open and functioning. Mr. True said that we shouldn’t change the resolution, but we can just give staff direction. Regarding Resolution #005, Councilwoman Mullins asked about budget. Jen Phelan said the total cost is $350,000 and will be coming from the 505 fund. This is a duplex with an accessory dwelling unit and will have a deed restriction. Councilwoman Mullins asked about Resolution #006 and if this is an annual cost or a one-time cost. Diane said the $100,000 cost is due to the launch. The annual cost should be around $20,000. Councilman Mesirow motioned to approve the consent calendar; Councilman Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes, Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. PUBLIC HEARING: Resolution #003, Series of 2021 – Michelle Bonfils-Thibeault Ms. Bonfils-Thibeault said the applicant has requested that the public hearing be continued to June 8th. They would like to complete the building permit first, which is why they’ve picked June 8th for continuation. Mayor Torre opened the public hearing. Mayor Torre closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards moved to continue the item to June 8th, Councilwoman Mullins seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Ordinance #22, Series of 2020 – 211 W. Hopkins Ms. Simon said this is a voluntary designation that contains a Pan Abode home. Aspen has been doing historic designation since the 1970’s, which has evolved in Aspen Modern. This is a partnership process between the city and the owners. This is the 20th voluntary designation and is our best representation of the Pan Abode. 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 2021 Applicant Presentation: Sara Adams of Bendon Adams Ms. Adams is requesting a small floor area bonus, tree mitigation waiver, and expedited building permit review. They are proposing restoration of the Pan Abode. HPC voted 5-0 in support of the requests and the rear yard setback for living space. Ms. Adams went on to describe the details and characteristics of the Pan Abode homes and explained the design proposal. Matt Joblon the owner, said he is honored and privileged for this opportunity. He’s been coming to Aspen since he was ten years old. He feels they have hired the best local team. He’s really grateful for this consideration and is hopeful for support. Councilman Mesirow asked if this is considered one unit or two. Ms. Adams said this is one property. There is no lot split proposed. Councilwoman Richards asked if there will be any landscaping behind the garage. Ms. Adams said Sheri Sanzone is working on the landscaping and it will soften the appearance of the house from the alley. Mayor Torre opened public comment. David Scruggs – Mr. Scruggs lives at 212 W. Hopkins and said he and his wife support it. We think it’s important to preserve the history of Aspen. He’s been inside of the structure and it’s like walking into a time warp. Mayor Torre closed public comment. Councilman Hauenstein said his two concerns were addressed in the memo. He can appreciate this structure and said it reminds him of large linkin logs. It’s a beautiful example of Pan Abode. His objections remain on the tree removal and expedited review, but he can live with the other requests. Councilman Mesirow is comfortable supporting this as is. Councilwoman Richards appreciates all the work put in on this. The tree removal fee in her mind is there as a safeguard to keep people from removing trees, so she is ok with the waiver. She sees the community as receiving a great benefit. She is supporting this. Mayor Torre is struck by the pictures in the packet and is excited for what this represents. He is still in favor of some type of plaque to describe the history of this home. This is an opportunity for us to learn more about the permitting process. He stumbled on the tree removal fee, but he is supportive of this project. Councilwoman Richards motioned to approve Ordinance #22; Councilman Mesirow seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 4-0, motion carried. ACTION ITEMS: Resolution #002, Series of 2021 – Regional, State and Federal Policy Agenda – Tara Nelson Ms. Nelson said there are just some minor revisions today. There was only one Scriveners change in the Table of Contents, but no other comments received. Mayor Torre thanked Ms. Nelson for bringing this to them so quickly and for her work. 5 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 2021 Councilman Mesirow said thank you to Ms. Nelson and said this is really impactful. Councilwoman Mullins said thank you to Ms. Nelson for working on this and said it’s a 360-degree difference from what they were doing three years ago. She is happy with the content and the way it’s organized. This helps her enormously with CML. Councilman Hauenstein said he supports this 100%. He said this is magnificent work and he commends Ms. Nelson on putting it together. Councilwoman Richards said she appreciates Ms. Nelson’s work and support. We may really see a lot of federal policy changes coming down quickly. This will help us be prepared to sign a letter of support. Councilwoman Mullins motioned to approve Resolution #002, Series of 2021; Councilman Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Ms. Nelson said this will be on cityofaspen.com under the council page. Councilman Mesirow motioned to adjourn; Councilwoman Mullins seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. _______________________________ City Clerk, Nicole Henning