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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20020422Regular Meeting Aspen Cit~? Council April 22, 2002 SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES .................................................... 2 PROCLAMATION ~ Mart~n Hershey ............................................................ 2 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION .......................................................................... 3 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS ..... i ........................................................ 3 CONSENT CALENDAR ................................................................................ 4 r-I Resolution #31, 2002 - community Development IGA ..................... 4 [] Resolution #23, 2002 - Contract Tennis Facility - Welch Tennis ...... 4 [] Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant .................................. 4 [] Minutes - April 8, 2002 ....................................................................... 4 RESOLUTION #32, 2002 - Crosstown Shuttle Replacement Contract ......... 4 ORDINANCE #10, SERIES OF 2002: Junior Golf Subdivision & PUD Amendment ...................................................................................... ~ .............. 4 ORDINANCE #I 1, SERIES OF 2002 - Little Red Ski Haus Lodge Preservation PUD/Rezoning ........................................................................... 5 ORDINANCE #12, SERIES OF 2002 -Historic Landmark Lot Split - 513 West Smuggler ................................................................................................ 7 RESOLUTION #33, SERIES oF 2002 - Temporary Use Colorado RiffRaft RESOLUTION #34, SERIESOF 2002 2 Entrance to Aspen..i"i ................... 8 SPARC UPDATE~ ......................................................................................... 12 REQUEST FOR CAPITAL FUNDS ~ Mar01t HouSing ............................... 13 Regular Meetin~ Aspen City Council April 22, 2002 Mayor Klanderud called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. with Councilmembers Hershey, Semrau and Paulson present. Councilman Hershey moved to go into executive session at 4:10 p.m. for the purpose of consultation with counsel pursuant to 24-6-402(4)(b); seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Paulson. Motion carried. Councilman McCabe came into the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Councilman Hershey moved to come out of executive session at 4:40 p.m. seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Semrau moved to adjourn this session at 4:40 p.m.; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Klanderud called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Councilmembers Semrau, Paulson, McCabe and Hershey present. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES 1. Molly Campbell, President of the ACRA, introduced their new executive director Hana Pevny. 2. Melinda Engelman, Alina Robert, Erin Grundy and Jenny Luu, representing the Aspen Youth Council, reported on the various activities of the Youth Council over the past year, including working on raising money for September 11th, a cardboard derby, a community dance and the Olympic Torch celebration. Tentative plans for next year include expanding the mentor program and working with non-profits to try and get teens involved in those programs in the community. Council indicated one of the goals of the Youth Council was for City Council to have a conduit to hear concerns from the high school students and for the high school students to understand how government works and how problems in the community are addressed. The goal should be more civic experience, more involvement with Council and city departments so the school kids will feel they have a voice in what is being implemented in Aspen. PROCLAMATION - Martin Hershey Regular Meeting AsPen City CoUncil April 22~ 2002 Mayor Klanderud read a proclamation honoring the life and accomplishments of Marty Hershey, former Aspen Police Chief, former City Councilperson. Council presented the proclamation to Hershey's chil~en, Lisa and Councilman Hershey. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION There were no comments. COI. JNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Klanderud presented other proclamations; (1) proclaiming April fair housing month; (2) proclaiming April 21 to 27 crime victim's week, to pay tribute to the legal service and law enforcement agencies and all those who work to address the needs of victims; (3) child abuse prevention month - it is important to keep children safe and there are groups in the community who make certain safety becomes part of their lives. 2. Councilman Paulson said today is Earth Day, which was started in 1970. Councilman Paulson said later on the agenda, Council is discussing giving away open space land for the entrance to Aspen. Councilman Panlson said this discussion should be tabled until June to give more people a chance to speak. Councilman Paulson said he hopes everyohe can remember why Earth Day was founded 22 years ago. 3. Steve Barwick, city manager, pointed out the cost for the tennis courts in Resolution #23 should be $400,000. 4. Councilman Semrau noted there was an article in the paper over the weekend about the different pricing for housing units. Councilman Semrau said this was a staff idea and has not been discussed with the housing board yet. 5. Councilman McCabe said the board of directors of Marolt Housing met and went over the recommended capital expenditures, which will be seen. later on in the agenda. The board agreed with all these expenditures. 6. Mayor Klanderud reported Councilman Paulson's request for $60,000 to fix two railroad intersections downvalley was taken to RFTA. The RFTA Board agreed ifEOTC has the money, the paving will be done at the higher 3 .Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 22, 2002 cost. Otherwise, RFTA will do thc paving at $3,000/intersection. Mayor Klandemd said there was a RFTA board retreat last week, which was very beneficial for a hoard with representatives from 7 jurisdictions. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman McCabe requested Resolution #32, 2002, be taken off for discussion. Councilman Hershey moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman McCabe. The consent calendar is: a Resolution #31, 2002 - Community Development IGA ca Resolution #23, 2002 - Contract Tennis Facility - Welch Tennis ca Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant ~ Minutes - April 8, 2002 All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #32, 2002 - Crosstown Shuttle Replacement Contract Councilman McCabe said the computer display signs for these two vehicles cost $5,000 each. There is a cheaper alternative at $2900 each, which requires manual adjustment. Councilman McCabe pointed out the crosstown shuttle vehicles do not change routes and do not need state of the art sign changing. Councilman Hershey requested when staff is looking at replacing the Galena Street shuttle vehicles, they look at faux trolleys. Councilman McCabe moved to approve Resolution #32, Series of 2002, Crosstown Shuttle Replacement Contract, substituting a manual sign for the front of the buses; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #10~ SERIES OF 2002 - Junior Golf Subdivision & PUD Amendment 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 22, 2002 Councilman Hershey moved to continue to July 8, 2002; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #11, SERIES OF 2002 - Little Red Ski Haus Lodge Preservation PUD/Rezoning James Lindt, community development department, told Council this request is to rezone and expand the Little Red Ski Hans Lodge, 118 East Cooper Avenue, to lodge preservation with a PUD overlay. The request is to expand the existing lodge by 518 square feet. P&Z approved a GMQS exemption for lodge preservation and to allow this lodge to be reconfigured from 22 units to 14 units. Lindt told Council the Little Red Ski Hans'was built in 1880's and is historically designated. This operated as a lodge for over 30 years prior to 1999 when it was converted to single family residence. This has been operating as a lodge since November 2001 under a temporary use approval. Lindt showed the proposal, which includes adding square footage and deleting some square footage, removing the existing office, porch addition and one-story addition on the rear. They propose a new carport at the rear with lodge rooms on top. There will be a deck with a hot tub. The applicants propose a basement area with dining facilities. Lindt told Council staff feels LP zoning is appropriate. The property to the east has LP zoning and operates as a lodge. The LTR zone district is one block away. Lindt said the scale and massing of this addition is compatible and the applicant proposes to build to the allowable FAR of 1.25:1. Lindt said the proposed addition will not encroach above the height of the existing building. The proposal will get rid of an alley encroachment of the existing carport. Lindt noted that there is currently only 1 on-site parking space for 22 lodge rooms. The applicants propose 3 on-site spaces for 14 lodge rooms. Lindt told Council lodge preservation allows a property owner to maintain the existing deficit of parking and this proposal is sufficient. P&Z had a concern about this reverting back to a single family residence after gaining extra FAR. There is a condition to require the applicant provide a category affordable housing unit if this reverts back to a residence. Lindt said the fence in the front yard encroaches. Staff recommends the applicant enter into an encroachment license for that fence. Lindt pointed out the neighbor 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 22~ 2002 to the east also has a fence and it would be more aesthetically pleasing to have these two fenCes lined ~pl £indt recommended the hours for the hot tub be 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The applicants originally wanted the hot tub to be open to 10 p.m. but agree to 9:30 p.m. David Fiore, applicant, told council they have met with all the neighbors and tried to meet their concerns. They changed the hours of the hot tub and also changed the deck to give more screening. The applicants also worked with the neighbors on the color of the rear of the building. Fiore said they are increasing the green space on the property by 3%. Fiore told Council the on-site managers will be staying in one of the units. They will be able to enforce the hot tub hours. Fiore said they do pick up guests at the airport. Fiore said they had a 25% request for parking permits over this winter. They never had more than one guest with a car at a time. Most guests come without cars. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. Toni Kronberg said she feels the hot tub should be open for more hours so skiers, bikers and hikers can take advantage of it. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Councilman McCabe said whenever there is the opportunity to do something about encroachments in public rights-of-way, he would like them to be brought into compliance. Councilman McCabe said maintaining the city's properties is more important than aesthetics. Mayor Klanderud said she does not have a problem with this encroachment and entering into an encroachment license. Mayor Klanderud said she is concerned about the health of the cottonwood tree and the parks department should monitor it during the construction so that it is not permanently damaged. Mayor Klanderud noted staff needs to make sure that the sewer connection is adequate for this upgrade and addition of a restaurant. Mayor Klanderud entered into the record a letter from Rita Rasmussen, neighbor, stating with the changes she supports this application. Councilman Hershey moved to adopt Ordinance # 11, Series of 2002, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Semrau. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Semrau, yes; Paulson, yes; McCabe, no; Hershey, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. 6 Regular MeetinR Aspen Ci.ty Council April 22, 2002 ORDINANCE #12, SERIES OF 200.2 - Historic Landmark Lot Split - 513 West smUggler Amy Guthrie, community development department, told Council this proposal is for a lot split of a 9,000 square foot lot with a miner's cottage into two 4500 square feet lots. The applicants propose to relocate the miner's cottage to the west. There is an FAR bonus of 500 square feet. Mayor Klanderud asked if that bonus is applied to the lot with the historic structure, Ms. Guthrie said the bonus is applied to the fathering parcel and then spread between the two structures. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Councilman McCabe asked if there are existing encroachments that could be deleted when this redevelopment takes place. Ms. Guthrie said there are no encroachments on this property. Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Ordinance #12, Series of 2002, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Hershey~ Roll call vote; Councilmembers McCabe, yes; Paulson, yes; Hershey, yes; Semrau, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #33, SERIES OF 2002 ~ Temp°r~ use Colorado Riff Raft James Lindt, community development department, told Council this is a request to use the Aspen Ski Company parking lot for raft and vehicle September 30 . Lindt told Council Colorado storage from May 1 through th Riff Raft has used this area for 6 of the last 7 years and has been a good neighbor. There have been no zoning or noise complaints. Lindt noted this application meets the review criteria and recommends approval. Jim Ingram, Colorado Riff Raft, told Council this serves as staging for their operations in Aspen. Mayor Klanderud entered into the record a note from the Dolinseks requesting there is no loud music or loud motorcycles. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen,, City Council April 22~ 2002 Councilman Hershey moved to adopt Resolution #33, Series of 2002; seconded bY C0unciiman Panlson. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #34, SERIES OF 2002 - Entrance to Aspen Randy Ready, assistant city manager, told Council this resolution authorizes the city manager to convey to CDOT5 Parcels needed to complete the entrance to Aspen. Ready noted these properties were identified in the Record of Decision in 1998 and a Memorandum of Understanding in 1998. Ready pointed out the language from the 1996 ballot issue, which approved a two-lane parkway and a corridor for light rail across city owned properties, was incorporated in the final Environmental Impact Statement and the MOU. The MOU authorized CDOT to acquire 8.6 acres of city-property in exchange for 31 acres of Mills' property. Ready illustrated the 5 parcels the city will be giving to CDOT and the 31 acres CDOT Will give to the city behind the park and ride lot at the Brush Creek interseCtion. Ready showed Council property that the County deeded to CDOT. Ready noted after the alignment is complete, CDOT Will convey the property between the existing Cemetery Lane and the new alignment .8 acres which will be reclaimed open space, and the existing S-curves from Cemetery Lane to 7th and Main. Councilman Hershey asked if this timing was triggered by the MOU. John Worcester, city attorney, said the MOU outlines sequential steps for all these exchanges. Joe Elson, CDOT, told Council they have had letters from the Pitkin County attorney's office urging them to move forward with this. Worcester said the final step in the MOU will be CDOT building the entrance to Aspen and then conveying back to the city the two parcels referred to by Ready. Mayor Klanderud noted this was scheduled for May i 3th; however, two Councilmembers will be absent, so it was put on this agenda. Mayor Klanderud said she would prefer any decisions put off until the first meeting in June. Mick Ireland, Pitkin County Commissioner and member of the Intermountain Transportation Planning Region, told Council prior to 1996 all Colorado highway construction funding was done on a regional basis through 6 engineering regions. Ireland said monies were given to each region to spend as they saw fit, which resulted in partially complete projects around the state. This also resulted in an inability to fund a super project. The legislature created funding, the 7th pot which took money from the regional pots and consolidated into one pot which will fund 28 projects of 8 Regular Meetin~ Aspen Ci,ty Council April 22~ 2002 state-wide significance. Ireland noted Highway 82 Basalt to Buttermilk was one of th°se 28 projects. Ireland told Council each region was asked to list and rank projects that could be funded from a new source of money. Ireland said originally the entrance to Aspen was not funded out of the 7th pot. There are many projects around the state that do not have funding. The state has directed that unfunded projects be the first priority in the 2003 business. This goal has made prioritizing projects within each region easier and the entrance to Aspen is the highest priority in the Intermountain region. Ireland told Council because of the unanimity, the transportation commission may be able to start making funding decisions in June. Staff recommendations will be worked on in May. One of the chief criteria for priorities is the ability to implement a project within 5 years. Ireland stated local support is critical to the decision. Unmet transportation needs in Colorado are estimated to be $60 billion. Ireland told Council it is not known whether the state legislature will create funding for transportation projects. Ireland said he cannot tell Council that a not making this decision until June will be fatal; however, there is some risk in postponing this deciSion. Mayor Klanderud said the threshold issue is whether to continue this item or to consider it at this meeting. Councilman Semrau pointed out this is not a new decision but is a decision to honor a prior contract. Councilman Paulson said this should be put off until the first meeting in June in order to allow the community to comment. The issue is very important to the community. Councilman Paulson said delaying this decision until June should not be critical to the state's decision. The Entrance to Aspen is still a hot topic and is still debatable. Mayor Klanderud said the Memorandum of Understanding does not have a date for this conveyance. Mayor Klanderud noted the 1996 election does authorize a conveyance for a two-lane parkway and a rail corridor. Mayor Klanderud said there is currently no money for rail or for highways. Mayor Klanderud said she feels Council is being pushed to make this decision and would rather wait another 2 or 3 months to collect more information. Mayor Klanderud stated it is premature to make this decision. Mayor Klanderud said she will honor the 1996 vote; however, she would like a chance to see what new information there might be. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 22, 2002 CoUncilman Semrau Said he does not feel like jeoPardizing this project is worth the wait. Councilman McCabe said the city should be moving toward upholding their end of the bargain. The Record of Decision and Memorandum of Understanding are in agreement. Councilman McCabe concurred the community has strong feelings about this. Councilman McCabe said this project is in the most advantageous position for funding of highway projects that it has been; therefore, Council should decide this issue at this meeting. Councilman Hershey agreed waiting six more weeks will not change the dialogue and positions of people in the community. Councilman Semrau said everyone on the Council is tuned into the community and it is not worth the risk putting off the decision for 6 weeks. All Councilmembers have heard a lot of opinions and a lot of facts. Councilman Hershey moved to approve Resolution #34, 2002; seconded by Councilman McCabe. Councilman Semrau suggested this be amended to include a reversion clause of this property back to the city in the event dedicated funding is not available within 10 years. Councilman Hershey said it is not known when the funding will be available and it could be more than 10 years. Councilman McCabe said CDOT would have to review this and perhaps bring it back to Council. This would take time. Councilman Semrau withdrew his SUggestion. Mayor Klanderud noted if this motion and resolution it approved, it will authorize the city manager to convey the easement. Herb Klein noted there are internal inconsistencies in this paperwork. Klein said citizens need the opportunity to look at the text of the right-of-way. Worcester said this language is almost identical to that approved in the ballot, which had a lot of citizen input. Worcester said if there are internal inconsistencies, he would like to review those. Klein said a Council policy decision is whether Council expects CDOT to demonstrate they comply with the conditions in this document. Klein said the Record of Decision is not consistent with the vote. Klein said citizens should have the opportunity to look over the easement, provide the city attorney with comments, and to have Council review the detailed plan with CDOT. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen Ci.ty Council , April 22~ 2002 Worcester said Council can approve this resolution with added language that before c°nstruch°n begins Council will have an opportunity to review CDOT's final plans. Torre said there is a lot of discussion that could go on in the community over the next 6 weeks. Torre said he would like to see a traffic solution transportation package. Cliff Weiss, Eighth Street, said he does not see that Council has a clear mandate to approve this agreement; the voters do not want this land transfer. David Hyman said there is Something suspicious in CDOT wanting the conveyance right now. The city will lose any control over this property. What the city is getting in exchange has dubious value to city residents. Hyman agreed the city should wait 6 weeks and get more public comments. Richie Cohen said he would like an opportunity for this community to get good mass transit. Cohen said the community may have lost sight of arguments for this alternative from 6 years ago. Cohen noted the traffic levels coming into town at that time were unacceptable. Just because there is a decrease right now does not mean it will stay that way. The ballot was to get a transportation corridor across the Marolt property. This solution is to get a worthwhile entry into Aspen. Cohen urged Council to approve this conveyance. Lenir Drake said it is a short sighted vision to destroy the Marolt open space when the S'curves Could be enlarged. There are other alternatives that are more elegant than having a straight shot into Aspen. Howie Mallory said unless the city retains some control over this property, both functional and aesthetic, a mistake will have been made. MallOry said if the city is going to make this transfer of land, they should make it with Conditions. Lorrie Winnerman asked if the Record of Decision contains an exact place for this road, with the tunnel, with cut and cover. Councilman Hershey said that is correct and CDOT can only build what the ROD and the EIS approved. Larry Winnerman urged Council to support this. Toni Kronberg said it would be in the city's best interest to postpone this issue until June and to allow more information to come out. Ms. Kronberg said one criteria CDOT looks at is whether a project has public support. Ms. Kronberg said a gondola between Buttermilk and town should be looked at. Bert Myrin said waiting 6 weeks for a decision on this will not cause Problems with funding for this project. David Guthrie said the community 11 Regular Meetin~ Aspen Ci,ty Council ,, April 22~ 2002 has heard about this issue for years and years. Council should make this deCiSiOn and get in lln~ for highWay funding money. Ed Zasacky said to give this to CDOT to do with what they want in the next 5 to 10 years will not be what the city wants. Zasacky pointed out in the last 10 years this has gone from rail to no rail. Who knows what technology will come out in the next 10 years. This should not be given away without conditions. Zasacky said it is a boondoggle to put a $20 million tunnel into a town that does not need nor want one. Worcester suggested a language change in Resolution #34, Section 1, "Council approves the right-of-way easement in substantially the same form as appended hereto as exhibit A". Worcester told Council he will work with Klein to include language to clarify the intent that before construction begins Council shall review designs and plans to insure that the designs conform with paragraph 3. MayOr Klanderud said this easement will not be conveyed until the city has what they need from CDOT. Councilman Semrau said he wanted to see every possibility explored for expanding the S-curves. Staffdid a report on the S-curves and the bottom line is that S-curves can never provide a mass transit platform for Aspen in the future. The curves cannot be widened. Without the component of mass transit approved in this resolution, there will not be mass transit in Aspen. Mayor Klanderud agreed the Entrance to Aspen task force discarded the rail alignment through the S-curves. Councilman Hershey moved to call the question; seconded by Councilman McCabe. ROll call vote; Councilmembers Semrau, yes; Paulson, no; McCabe, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Klanderud, no. Motion carried. Councilman Hershey moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 9:45 p.m.; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. SPARC UPDATE Matt Vickers, SPARC, told Council they are totally up to date on donations coming in and covering expenses at the ice facility. Vickers said SPARC does not have contributions or pledges to cover the entire cost of this facility. Vickers said the SPARC group is out in the community every day fund raising and are optimistic they will be able to meet the goal. Vickers 12 Regular Meeting Aspen Ci.ty Council April 22, 2002 told Council SPARC plans a topping off party for donors May 17th. The grassroots funding campaign will start in August. Ed Sadler, asset manager, presented a chart showing the revenues received from SPARC and the monies necessary to complete the project. At this point, the two lines converge. After today, SPARC is about $2.7 million short of what they need. Sadler told Council phase I will be finished in the next week. Sadler noted SPARC is contributing a couple of million dollars towards the core costs. Sadler noted in order for the city to get a CO for the rest of the building, the ice rink would have to have lighting, sprinkler systems, stairs, some life safety issues. Sadler said the next big expense for the ice rink is the floor, which is scheduled for early August. Steve Barwick, city manager, told Council at this point the city is getting ahead of SPARC and staff would like permission to get ahead of SPARC in the expenditure side. The city will be spending $1.5 to $2 million from now to the end of July. Barwick said at that time, there should be another Council review with SPARC before this goes any further. Barwick said right now staff does not want to pause the project; however, they do not recommend getting too far ahead of SPARC. Barwick said the money will be coming out of fund balance. Barwick said the city's funds are getting tight so staff does not recommend getting any further ahead than $1.5 to $2 million. Mayor Klandemd asked how much it would cost to stop work on this portion of the building until the contributions are received. Sadler told Council it would cost $500,000 to $1,000,000 to remobilize, depending on how long the project is paused. Councilman Paulson asked if using this money on the ice rink would jeopardize any other city projects. Barwick said staff does not think so. There are some sources of funds that are not currently cash, like anticipated excess property tax of $500,000. Barwick noted the city does not have the money to finish this project alone. Other projects would have to be eliminated. Vickers said if the project is stopped, SPARC runs the risk of losing donors. Council agreed this should be reviewed with SPARC by mid-July and they will decide where to go from there, REQUEST FOR CAPITAL FUNDS - Marolt Housing 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 22, 2002 Cindy Christensen, interim-housing director, requested approval to move funds around to pay for capital projects at Marolt. The total requested is $84,500. The bond requires $50,000/year be put into a maintenance fund, which has a total of $550,000. These proposed capital improvements include road, improvements, exterior staining, tree pruning, patio furniture replacement, boiler storage tank replacement, residential furniture repair and a phone system. Bruce Nethery, property manager, told Council this phone system would allow each unit to have a designated phone number. The phones are restricted from long distance. Nethery said this system is in place at Burlingame and it works well for everyone. Councilman McCabe noted this project has been self-sustaining without a lot of investment. It is time to spend some money on Marolt. Councilman Paulson moved to approve the request for use of capital funds at Marolt; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Hershey moved to go into executive session at 9:50 p.m. for the purpose of discussing potential property acquisition pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6- 402(4)(a); seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman McCabe moved to come out of executive session at 10:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman McCabe moved to adjourn at 10:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 14