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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcclc.min.061621 1 REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION JUNE 16, 2021 Chairperson Jeb Ball called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. Commissioners in attendance: Jeb Ball, Angi Wang, Terry Butler, Amanda Tanaka, Candice Olson, Charles Cunniffe, Kiki Raj. Staff present: Nicole Henning, City Clerk Mitch Osur, Parking Services Director Other attendees: Councilman Ward Hauenstein, Saturday Market Manager, Kathy Strickland and ACRA representative, Mackenzie Sexton COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Mr. Ball said that this past Saturday was the best first Saturday market that we have ever had. Ms. Strickland agreed and said it was the best start to the market in 23 years. She said all of the aggies were sold out and everyone did well. She said congrats to the CCLC for taking the ice cream cart. She said it’s delicious and not sugary at all. They were nervous for their first day, but she got them electricity, etc. They had 100 little cups of ice cream and they sold 96 of them. She said everyone loved the new vendors, and they all appreciated the five feet in between. We had one ACRA member fill in thanks to Mackenzie Sexton. She said there was a guy who walked around handing out prayer cards. Mr. Osur said it’s a public space and the guy can hand out whatever he wants but can’t hassle people. She said they have Evergreen composting coming in six times during the market and it’s working out really well. They take care of all trash and compost. They use our bags, and they are promoting their project. They want people to sign up to compost, and their stations are beautiful. She also mentioned that the City of Aspen booth was empty, and no one showed up. Ms. Raj said she liked the library being there. Ms. Strickland said the Aspen Science and Wilderness Workshop will be there this week and will be a good one. She said everything went really well overall and she did readjust the Harvey Meadows space a bit. She said they did an opening in front of the cycle place, and there were no problems or issues with anyone this past week. She said the aggies still want to close at 1:00 because they were all out of product by 12:30. She said the food court is super busy around that time. Ms. Butler said there are waves of people that come and go at certain times with the market. Mr. Osur said 2:00 p.m. is a much better closing time for the town. Ms. Strickland said that weather wise it’s better as well because the wind starts picking up around 1:30. She felt really comfortable with the 2:00 time. Mr. Osur said he will be there this Saturday. He heard it was really crowded this past weekend and said it’s only going to get busier. He’s concerned from a COVID point of view. He said the bakeries both had long lines and maybe we want to control the lines and where they go. Let’s be a little prepared. He said he pushed to have the vendors wear masks, but most didn’t want to. It went over like a lead balloon, so we will drop it. Ms. Tanaka said that at her store, she will put a mask on if customers walk in with masks on, to be respectful of them. 2 REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION JUNE 16, 2021 Mr. Osur said Victoria’s is still requiring masks and Ms. Raj said Prada is as well. Mr. Osur said it’s up to the businesses. Ms. Olson asked about Mawa. Mr. Osur said he met with her regarding the crepe shack and said they spoke about parking spots and a liquor license etc. Her lawyer asked us for examples of good applications for the Saturday market and we gave them to him and then they dropped it. If she puts effort in next year, it shouldn’t be an issue. Mr. Osur said that regarding this summer, you can expect to pay the highest prices with the worst service. We have to find a way to up the customer service. There is no staff anywhere. About 10 different restaurants reached out and think food and wine moving to September permanently would be a success for the town. Mr. Cunniffe said that September is already jam packed and having food and wine permanently in September would be a mistake. Councilman Hauenstein agreed and said that the lodges in town say that food and wine normally makes their June. Ms. Sexton said that 2022 is already set for June. Ms. Wang gave a downtown update and said there are no vacancies, and the days of pop ups are over. There are only two spaces left and the rest will be available in October. People are paying full prices for leases and there are no more discounts from the landlords. It’s not that much different than all of the residents being bought up because all of the restaurants and spaces are also being bought up. Councilman Hauenstein said it’s bubbling in his mind that the formula retail ordinance from a few years ago did nothing to keep rents under control. In his mind, the only way to keep the small locally serving businesses is to provide some kind of reduced rent. We need a community led discussion on retail. Maybe the city should have deed restricted commercial spaces. He remembers that Adam Frisch said if you can find a way to do it other than government, to do that. He said he would like an angel investor to buy the salmon building. Ms. Wang said someone already bought it. Ms. Olson said she is scared because she feels that the remaining local businesses that are here, will be squeezed out. She wants to be a part of the solution. Councilman Hauenstein brought up bear problems and suggested that Aspen needs a bear coalition to monitor through the core, and the dumpsters, etc. to prevent euthanization of bears. If CCLC wants to be involved in this, that would be great. Mr. Ball passed around a sheet of possible initiatives for 2021 including the newsletter, alleyways, holiday shopping event, holiday lighting in the core, welcome bags for new business, outdoor activation, food trucks, cycle and pedestrian safety. He asked the group to rank the importance of these and at the next meeting on the 7th they will go over it. Ms. Wang said there are tons of galleries coming in and more now than ever. Ms. Raj said they are moving to places like Palm Beach, Hamptons, and Aspen because they are following all the rich people. No one else buys art. Ms. Wang said there is an uptick in office leasing as well with premium pricing. The people that have moved here, don’t want to be at home while their kids are on zoom, etc. so they’ve been leasing office space. 3 REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION JUNE 16, 2021 Mr. Cunniffe said a house on Red Mountain sold yesterday for 72 million. There goes the neighborhood. Ms. Wang said that Balenciaga will be opening in the Theory space next to Lulu. There will be some shuffling over the next couple of years among the high-end luxury stores. Res Ipsa is expanding into the space next door and Nice Guy is taking over the Maru space. Mr. Osur said he has been working with the Jerome and they will not be doing pop ups there in the library anymore. Only the Limelight will be doing it and they are closed right now for renovations. There is a new GM at the Jerome who understands, and they are putting a coffee shop in there instead of doing the pop ups. It’s a huge success for the city to eliminate the 3-day pop ups. Ms. Olson mentioned that she is stepping down to attend to other issues, but she will stay on until September. Councilman Hauenstein said there were many years where ACRA was not involved, and now we have an ACRA representative here in Mackenzie and said we need to work together on all of these shared goals. He thanked Mackenzie for being here and everyone welcomed her. Mr. Osur said he meets with ACRA every other Tuesday and he would like Mackenzie involved in those conversations as well. Ms. Butler said it’s great this is our best market we’ve ever had and she said great job to Kathy. Ms. Raj motioned to adjourn; Ms. Butler seconded. All in favor, motion carried. _________________________ Nicole Henning, City Clerk