Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.cclc.092723 1 REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2023 Chairman Jeb Ball started the meeting at 8:36 a.m. Commissioners present: Amanda Tanaka, Bill Dinsmoor, Terry Butler, Angi Wang, Kiki Raj, Jeb Ball, and Charles Cunniffe, and Noemi Kiss-Baldwin present. Absent was Stephanie Davis Staff present: Emmy Garrigus, Downtown Coordinator William Porter, Communications Director Also in attendance: Councilor Ward Hauenstein and Alycin Bektesh of ACRA Approval of minutes: Mr. Cunniffe motioned to approve; Mr. Ball seconded. Presentation: Mr. Ball gave a recap of the last time the group saw this presentation and that the group covered CCLC history and mission statement, member qualifications and terms. He said the purpose of the current meeting is to review the second half of that presentation which covers continuous programs of CCLC, initiatives and goals for 2024, and feedback loop between CCLC, businesses, and city council. Mr. Ball said the group gave themselves an "A" grade on their duties but discussed that there should be a maximum number of missed meetings allowed before a member was asked to resign. Ms. Butler asked if there could be an exception for a member who missed 6 meetings for sickness. Ms. Tanaka, Mr. Cunniffe and Mr. Dinsmoor said they thought a maximum of 6 missed meetings was reasonable. Ms. Garrigus gave a recap of the topics that CCLC members discussed with her during one-on-one interviews in the Spring of 2023. She mentioned that Mr. Dinsmoor was the only member she was not able to meet with. Mr. Ball asked where Mr. Dinsmoor would cast his vote for the interest topics. Mr. Dinsmoor said he sensed that it is hard to find people to sign up for boards and commissions in the city. He thinks it is important to tell the story about what CCLC does to engage future members. Ms. Tanaka said that having a budget could help CCLC recruit members. Ms. Garrigus said that when CCLC puts together a budget proposal she can help take the proposal to council. Mr. Dinsmoor said a budget is needed for "in the minute" non-line-item projects for CCLC and also would be good for recruiting. Mr. Porter said Citizens Academy will be re-launched in the Spring and could be a good way to gain new recruits for CCLC. He said CCLC needs to find its "brand" and mission in order to promote itself and recruit new members. Mr. Cunniffe said CCLC needs to focus on what the group wants to achieve instead of focusing on pulling people in to help with actions. Mr. Ball said he thinks CCLC has "degraded" into a committee that focuses mostly on the Aspen Saturday Market. Ms. Bektesh asked if CCLC should be giving regular updates to council about what they're doing and that updates to Council would help give CCLC some publicity because those updates would be picked up by the papers. Mr. Ball said CCLC needs to have actions to focus on in order to give updates to Council. Mr. Ball and Ms. Tanaka agreed that a map or list of locally owned businesses would be a good way to support them. Ms. Bektesh said CCLC stands for "commercial core" and needs to represent all businesses in the core, not just local. She suggested that CCLC present a policy recommendation to council regarding future uses of the Armory. Councilor Hauenstein added that CCLC could ask to be 2 REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2023 added to a late November work session with City Council if they had updates or policy recommendation for the Armory. Ms. Wang said she liked a "fall in love with Aspen" sidewalk sale to support business and Mr. Cunniffe agreed it was a great idea to support businesses during the off season. They are interested in discussing whether an "off season" sidewalk sale could be accomplished throughout town in fall. Ms. Raj asked if there is a way to suspend sales tax for locally owned businesses. Councilor Hauenstein suggested a CCLC presence and recommendation to council for future Armory use. Mr. Porter described the event at the Armory as a good opportunity for community feedback on the three proposed uses of the Armory told CCLC the date of the open house. He said a survey is also available on aspencommunityvoice.com where they could provide input if they were unable to attend in person. Councilor Hauenstein said CCLC should introduce itself to new Mountain Chalet owners and lobby for local restaurants in the building. Kiki said transportation and building code should be CCLC's focus. Several members remarked that transportation and building code changes are not in CCLC's scope. Mr. Ball asked Mr. Dinsmoor what his preferred focus areas for 2024 are. He said that he was rethinking his desire to make more changes to 4th of July parade and that he felt that in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas businesses could benefit more from a holiday market. Ms. Bektesh recommended that CCLC contact Julia Hardman about Winterskol because ACRA is considering changing the 2024 Winterskol to be in early/mid December during the slower times. Ms. Kiss-Baldwin said she feels that lodging and hotels are largely excluded from the conversation in CCLC and that the lodging businesses can support any of the tactics that CCLC wants to pursue. Mr. Cunniffe thinks a movement of Winterskol dates could be beneficial for all businesses and that hotels could be champions of Winterskol. Mr. Dinsmoor said he is happy to hear that lodging wants to actively participate in promotions and that in years past the lodging representatives in CCLC have been more limited in their abilities. Councilor Hauenstein said a "local getaway" promotion between hotels and restaurants could be good for the slow time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ms. Kiss-Baldwin said a restaurant representative is needed on CCLC. Councilor Hauenstein said CCLC may be interested in the outdoor lighting code amendments that will be brought to Council for a first reading on October 30th. Mr. Cunniffe said he was concerned about the outdoor lighting code making sweeping changes to holiday lighting. Ms. Raj said we need a more robust holiday lighting scheme on the malls. Ms. Garrigus said she could contact Parks to talk to CCLC about current holiday lighting efforts in the core. Mr. Cunniffe said CCLC could engage retail community to talk about extending hours from apres-ski to dinnertime if the core is more vibrant with holiday lights. Councilor Hauenstein said he would ensure the lighting code updates get sent to CCLC after first reading. Mr. Ball proposed that he would like to see a heightened level of interaction between CCLC members and the business community in the core and proposed that CCLC members split into "block captains" to help promote CCLC and get community feedback on a variety of topics. Ms. Kiss-Baldwin offered to block captain for lodges, and Ms. Tanaka offered to block captain for Mill Street and restaurant row. Ms. Wang is open to visiting business groups as well. Mr. Dinsmoor suggested inviting groups of businesses to come to CCLC meetings. Mr. Ball said the group will revisit block captain assignments at the next meeting and will use a map to create the assignments. 3 REGULAR MEETING COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2023 Mr. Porter asked if ACRA meetings would be a good venue for CCLC to also engage further with the business’s community. Ms. Bektesh said not all businesses in the core are ACRA members, but that CCLC should present their annual goals at an ACRA meeting once they establish them. Meeting adjourned 9:59 a.m. . _____________________ Nicole Henning, City Clerk