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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19970623Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m. with Councilmembers Vickery, Markalunas and Richards present. PROCLAMATION - Thrash a Thistle Day Mayor Bennett and Council invited all members of the Aspen community to join in contributing an hour or more to pull, thrash and basically pummel as many thistles as possible on July 12, 1997 CITIZEN COMMENTS There were none. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Markalunas entered into the record the following note: "Citizens march forward to do battle with leather glove Fritz, Fabi and Elizabeth Paepcke cheer them on from above The sound of music from the tent waves across the meadow sage Sweet summer' s breeze and cloud the sweat of youth and age Remember Fritz and trash a thistle This will be our model this day When we pull together with all our might this noxious weed Then it's hip, hip hooray as we gather them with speed And dispatch them on their way". 2. Councilman Markalunas said a lot of trash cans are tipped over in alleys and the contents are scattered about, which this is due to lack of securing devices. Councilman Markalunas said the city' s ordinance states trash cans need to be animal proof tight containers. Councilman Markalunas said if the wildlife is getting their daily meal from the garbage, the rodent population will increase. Councilman Markalunas said he would like to see if staff could look into this and see if the city can get enforcement on secure lids as there are disease ramifications with this problem. 3. Councilwoman Richards moved to add an executive session to discuss property acquisition to the end of the agenda; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 4. Mayor Bennett moved the softball discussion up on the agenda to immediately behind the consent calendar. 5. City Manager Margemm requested an addition to the consent calendar, request for fitnds Katsuyama Exchange program. Ms. Margemm told Council the city has entered into a friendship agreement with Katsuyama and has had several student exchanges with Katsuyama. Ms. Margemm said Katsuyama is paying for 1/2 the air fare for the chaperone of the upcoming student exchange. This is a request for $600 from Council contingency to cover the remainder of the air fare. Councilman Markalunas pointed out Japanese students have been coming to Aspen since the 1980's; it is appropriate to provide for this air fare. Councilman Markalunas moved to approve $600 allocation from Council contingency; seconded by Councilman Vickery. Councilwoman Richards said when Council gets to the budget discussion and sister cities, there should be a larger discussion of this. The sister city committee had said that 5 cities were all they could handle. All in favor, motion carried. 6. City Manager Margemm requested Council schedule a site visit and work session on Burlingame Ranch. Council scheduled this for August 5 at 4 p.m. for the site visit and 5 p.m. for the work session. 7. City Manager Margemm told Council staff will scheduled a work session to discuss minimum stream flow and stream monitoring. 8. John Worcester, city attorney, told Council the applicant has requested that Ordinance # 18, Historic Designation of 1008 E. Hopkins, be continued to July 28. Dave Riley, representing the applicant, stated for the record this was the case. Councilman Markalunas moved to continue Ordinance # 18, Series of 1997, to July 28; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilwoman Richards moved to read Ordinance #24, Series of 1997; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. 2 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 ORDINANCE #24 (Series of 1997) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING AGREEMENTS FOR THE EXTRATERRITORIAL EXTENSION AND DELIVERY OF RAW WATER TO THE ASPEN HIGHLANDS BASE AREA DEVELOPMENT AND ASSOCIATED AREAS, FOR IRRIGATION AND SNOWMAKING USES was read by the city clerk Councilwoman Richards said she would like to discuss the request for ~tnds for Gillespie Street improvements. Councilwoman Richards said her concern is the usability of catshed fine for the sidewalk. Council moved this to the action items agenda. Councilman Vickery asked to pull Request for Funds - Iselin Park/Moore Pool. This was placed on the action items. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. The consent calendar is: Ordinance #24, 1997 - Raw Water Agreement Hines/Highlands Approval of HPC appointment to DRAC - Mary Hirsch RFTA Ex Officio Board Members Council Appointments Mayor Pro Tem- Rachel Richards Colorado Association of Ski Towns - Rachel Richards Nordic Council - Terry Paulson Roaring Fork Transit Agency - John Bennett; Jim Markalunas (alt) Housing Authority Board - Rachel Richards NWC Council of Governments - Jim Markalunas Aspen Chamber Resort Association - Rachel Richards; Jake Vickery Arts Council - Jake Vickery Ruedi Water & Power Authority - Jim Markalunas Energy Committee - Terry Paulson Sister Cities - (staff) Roaring Fork Railroad Holding Authority - Jim Markalunas ASC Advisory Committee - Jake Vickery; John Bennett 3 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 Trolley Committee - Terry Paulson Healthy Mountain Communities - Jim Markalunas; Jake Vickery Resolmion #47, 1997 - Approval of Expenditures from 1/2 cent Pitkin County Tax Minutes - May 27, 1997 Councilwoman Richards moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Markalunas, yes; Vickery, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. SOFTBALL REQUESTS Steve Saunders told Council softball players are questioning where their fitnds are going, the quality of the fields, what is happening with softball, etc. There are 700 players a year. Saunders said the players do not appreciate the shape of the fields and cannot get an answer to what is happening with the fields. Saunders said they are working on petitions stating, "We, the undersigned, know that the multi-purpose fields proposed in the Moore project are sorely needed to insure the safety and enjoyment for adults, teenagers and children participating in the sports in the Aspen area. It is time for city and county to support it's citizens and workers by subsiding the new multi-purpose fields and maintaining all the fields in top condition" Saunders told Council he has close to 400 signatures on that petition. Saunders said they also passed around a petition for only softball players to sign stating they request the city consider a subsidy to the general fitnd to alleviate the high cost of softball to benefit the many people that work and represent the city. Saunders said he also has 400 signatures on this petition. Saunders told Council the fees are $475 for a team to join and $150 for players fee which is $625 for a recreational sport for a total of 16 games. Saunders said they would like to see the lights turned back on at Iselin Park. At least half of these lights work. Saunders said if these are tom down, they will probably never be replaced. Saunders said if the fields get upgraded they will be able to have tournaments in Aspen and put some money back into the sales tax coffers. Chip McCrory said they would like to support getting the Moore playing fields. The current playing fields can use repair and recuperation. McCrory said his coed team pays a total of $475 in a 10 team league that plays 8 games and 1 playoff game. That is $50 per team per game, $100 for one softball game, $400 per 4 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 evening. McCrory said the costs are skewed and there should be a review of the actual costs of softball. Chip Patterson, softball player of 18 years, said he would like to see the Moore playing fields developed. Patterson said other cities have great facilities. The current play at Iselin could be a safety issue. Tim Anderson, recreation director, told Council staff has been working with the asset management committee for improvements at Iselin. Staff would like to pursue lighting through the Iselin master plan, and softball players will be a part of that process. The master plan will also look at the reconfiguration of the fields at Iselin. The fields at Iselin need to be regraded due to settling of the soil underneath. Anderson said some of the problems are the reconfiguration of sports over the years. Soccer has been added; women' s teams have become co-ed. Wagner park was able to hold 2 women' s teams but can only hold 1 co-ed team. There used to be a softball field at Rio Grande. Anderson said land acquisition for fields is costly in Aspen. Mayor Bennett said this request is legitimate and should be addressed in the 1998 budget. Mayor Bennett said in June 1991 Council inherited a $950,000 budget deficit and was faced with trying to balance the budget. The Council made a lot of policy innovations which over the years have been positive for the citizens of Aspen. One decision was to continue to subsidize recreation programs for children and to continue subsidizing maintenance and purchase of fields. Council determined adult games should be paid for by the players. Mayor Bennett said the city recreation department oversees dozens of programs. Council has to look at all the recreation programs comprehensively when looking at the 1998 budget. Mayor Bennett said maybe the 1991 policy is outlived and can be re-examined. Mayor Bennett noted staff has done an analysis of rec. leagues around the state and Aspen is very slightly less then the average of other softball costs. Mayor Bennett agreed the fields have to be fixed. Roland Kmpp said the players have been playing on substandard fields with substandard umpires and with fees that go up every year. Mayor Bennett suggested looking at the softball leagues hiring their own umpires. Councilwoman Richards said in the budget process, she would like to look at what can be done to hold down the administration costs. Councilwoman Richards said if it were not for a few neighobrs suing, the city would be building new fields at the Moore property this summer. The city has spent thousands of dollars trying to build those fields this Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 summer. Councilwoman Richards said the users of the ice garden end up with a subsidy as do users of the Nordic trail system. Councilwoman Richards suggested forming a recreation board that could weigh fitnding between programs, look for equities to be shared and can advise Council on these things. Councilwoman Richards said there should be a county contribution to the recreation program. This has never been defined. Councilwoman Richards said the people who make up these softball teams make up the backbone of this community. It is appropriate to find ways to turn some simple things back. Mayor Bennett said if the teams want to hire their own umpries, that could be worked out with the city. Councilman Markalunas agreed the budget numbers should be looked at. Councilman Markalunas said softball games and players do represent community values and he is willing to support the softball teams. Councilman Markalunas said he, too, would support a recreation board. Councilman Markalunas said one of the difficulties is the residual effects of lights on playing fields and asked why they are not currently working. Anderson said several years ago, a city policy was to pursue the acquisition of land for more fields rather than lights. Councilman Markalunas pointed out the Council was recently asked to entertain "dark nights", an elimination of lights so that people can enjoy the stars. Councilman Markalunas said the city has a lot of conflicting requests that come up. Council agreed to look at lights at fields again. McCrory said if 2 additional games were played under the lights at Iselin field, the games would be over by 10 p.m. McCrory said they only play softball for 2 months a year. Mayor Bennett said using lights would add playing time and may save the city money. Councilman Markalunas suggested looking at ways to screen the residual impacts of lights. Councilman Vickery asked what it would cost to upgrade the lights at Iselin. Anderson said the existing lights have a lot of residual effects. The new fixtures concentrate light on the fields. Anderson said $130,000 is the maximum cost for new poles, lighting, etc. Councilman Markalunas said he would prefer to spend money on lighting that would mitigate the impacts on the neighbors. Councilwoman Richards said there is a citizen' s panel to evaluate any assets planned by the city. This would be where the lighting and other requests for softball should be looked at. Councilwoman Richards said she would like the city attorney to report what it takes to add a new board. The suggestions for the structure of the board, what other towns do, and what Council may want a recreation board to do can be discussed at Council' s retreat. Councilman Vickery said citizen sport 6 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 activities are a backbone of the community and he would support exploration of a recreation board, looking at lights, anyway to improve the softball league. ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 1997 - Waiver of Park Dedication Fees 303 E. Main Councilman Vickery stepped down due to conflict of interest. Julie Ann Woods, community development department, told Council this is located in the CC historic district and is listed on the national register of historic places. Ms. Woods said the structure has been moved off site to provide for redevelopment. Waiver of a park dedication fee is a historic landmark incentive. The park dedication fee for this is $2725. Staff recommends approval. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #22, Series of 1997, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Markalunas, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #48, SERIES OF 1997 - Roaring Fork Railroad Holding Authority IGA John Worcester, city attorney, told Council this resolution approves an amendment to the original IGA that created the Roaring Fork Railroad Holding Authority. The amendments have been discussed with Council over the past 6 months. This also approve the city' s participating in the purchase of the DRG right-of-way. Worcester said this accepts a number of fitnding conditions identified in the IGA. Worcester told Council the Garfield county agreement is a compromise between Garfield and RFRHA. Garfield did not want to participate in financial expenses into the fitture. RFRHA agreed they could continue to participate as non-voting members and would not be obligated to share fitture expenses of the corridor. Garfield county is concerned about the development of a comprehensive plan over the next 2 years. They wanted a veto power over the adoption of the comprehensive plan as a non-voting member. RFRHA said that is all right; however, if they vote to veto, the other governments will have to pay back a $2 million to GOCO and 7 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 Garfield county said they are prepared to share in the repayment of that grant if that happens. The outstanding issue is the Qwest easement, parts of which have been confidential. The Qwest easement is a fiber optic cable within a conduit. The conduit is owned by Qwest communications and runs the length of the corridor. The purchase and sale agreement is subject to this easement. Worcester told Council generally fiber optics work very well with railroads. There is an issue on how fiber optics work with trails as this corridor is to be used for trails and trains. Worcester said when they first saw the documents, it became clear that there were provisions which made it difficult for the fitnding sources. Worcester said the easement agreement had to be amended so that RFRHA could do what they planned to in the corridor. Worcester told Council late in the game they found out that US West shares the conduit with Qwest. Worcester told Council he is down to very small issues with US West and Qwest in order to make the agreements all compatible. Worcester said the closing is scheduled for June 30th. RFRHA has notified the Surface Transportation Board they are in the process of purchasing the rail corridor. Councilman Markalunas moved to approve Resolution #48, Series of 1997, subject to the successfill resolution of the US West and Quest easements; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Council complimented John Worcester for all his work in this very comprehensive complex deal including 8 governmental entities, 3 public entities and 4 major private corporations. All in favor, motion carried. SNYDER PROPERTY UPDATE Dave Tolen, housing office, reminded Council the city purchased this property 3 years ago when it was being proposed as an affordable housing project by a private developer with up to 30 units. The developer was not able to complete the contract and the property was offered to the city. Tolen told Council because of the site configuration, staff felt the best uses would be a neighborhood park and affordable housing. Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 Tolen said staff spent almost a year in the review process with a designer and in neighborhood meetings and developed a program for this site with a semi-passive park and up to 18 units of affordable housing. Tolen pointed out the site restrictions, the ponds, wetlands, access, slope and grove of trees. Tolen presented renderings of various site plans trying to maximize both the open space and the affordable housing units. Tolen pointed out one issue not resolved is exactly where the entrance access will be. The best location for the Snyder parcel is directly opposite east Hopkins. The east Hopkins residents have some problems with this design. The neighbors have asked staff to address ways to improve Midland avenue, the parking, snow removal. Tolen said one suggestion is to make east Hopkins one-way going east. Tolen said staff would like to continue evaluating solutions for the access. Tolen told Council they started with a density of 18 units. The property is zoned R- 15 and the total build out is 9 single family units with a caretaker unit each. Staff started with the maximum that could legally be built under R-15 or 15,000 per site. An alternative would be for a private developer to request rezoning to AH and do affordable housing units with free market units. As a result of neighborhood meetings and different design scenarios, the proposal is a maximum of 15 units. This number has gained some level of acceptance with the neighborhood. Tolen told Council community development is concerned about the very low density and it may be an under utilization of the site. Tolen told Council staff will continue to explore the density issue through the land use approval process. The current design is for 9 one-bedroom and 6 three-bedroom units. The number and configuration is a fitnction of minimizing the concrete for parking and keeping the visual impacts down. Councilman Markalunas said he would like to see some two- bedroom units in the proposal. Councilwoman Richards asked abom open space fitnding from the county. Tolen said the county never made a commitment to fitnding this open space and has expressed a concern about fitnding any projects that include housing. Councilwoman Richards said when the design is finished, the amount of fitnding from the city open space fitnd and the affordable housing fitnds should be adjusted to a percentage of uses. Councilwoman Richards said one goal was to make a priority for a true park on this location, not just lawns. Councilwoman Richards said she, too, is concerned about under utilization of the city. Councilwoman Richards said she has no desire to see any category 4 housing on the Snyder parcel. The city should be focusing on categories 2 and 3. 9 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 Councilman Markalunas said he would like to see the parking minimized. The city should be discouraging the use of atttomobiles. Councilwoman Richards said if there is too little parking on site, the cars will be pushed out on to Midland and Park where there is already a parking problem. Mayor Bennett agreed about not having any category 4 three-bedroom units. Mayor Bennett said Council has an informal policy of acknowledging the private sector doing the resident occupied and category 4 units and the city has the responsibility to build categories 1, 2, and 3. Nancy Snell, adjacent property owner, told Council the residents of east Hopkins would have vigorous objection to the intersection and access being at east Hopkins and Midland. Ms. Snell said the east Hopkins residents would like to encourage pedestrian access through their street. Ms. Snell said the residents are comfortable with a one-way street. Ms. Snell pointed out the footbridge encourages pedestrian traffic into the park. A four-way intersection would not give the same pedestrian feeling. Ms. Snell said this development will bring 40 more cars into the area on sub-standard streets. Ms. Snell said the neighbor' s preferred access is to have the cars come in and out of the Snyder property to the south of their intersection right along the pond. Tolen suggested staff and the neighbors continue the process and focus on the options for design through the land use approval process. Claire Sanderson suggested Council consider naming this property "Eve Homeyer Park". Ms. Sanderson pointed out parks have been named after Mayors. Eve Homeyer deserves to be recognized as one of the contributors to the Aspen community. Councilwoman Richards said there might be something more appropriate to name after Eve Homeyer, something transit related. Councilman Markalunas suggested the one-way street could be narrowed down in order to accommodate the trail or more stream work. Stan Clauson, community development department, said there is a good possibility for pedestrian enhancements in this area. Tolen told Council this project will be going through the 4 step land use approval and Council will see it at least 2 more times. Council will have the opportunity to really look at it the design issues. Tolen said he is only requesting approval to start the land use process. Councilman Markalunas moved to attthorize the housing office to prepare and submit an application for conceptual approval for the Snyder property affordable housing project based on the conceptual plan developed with the neighborhood and 10 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 to prepare and advertise an RFP for a design build team; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Councilwoman Richards said she would like to see a time line for this phase as she would like this project to break ground in the spring. Councilman Markalunas said this is of great value to the community. Councilman Markalunas said he would like the staff and design team to make it as pedestrian friendly and oriented as possible. The project should be connected with the rest of the community with pedestrian ways or streetscapes. All in favor, motion carried. REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Gillespie Street Improvement Councilwoman Richards said she is concerned about the material, crashed fine, being used in the walkway. This substance does not get good drainage and it is hard to walk on in some shoes or to push a baby carriage on. Stan Clauson, community development department, said crushed fine walkways have been specified by the land use approval for the physics building. This is designed to connect with that walkway. Clauson said this can be reconfigured as an asphalt walkway later. Councilwoman Richards said she supports going forward with the assurance that the city will get feed back from the users and whether people are walking in the street rather than using this walkway. Mayor Bennett said people walk in the street even when there are sidewalks. Councilman Markalunas said he would like to have the city talk to the MAA abom connecting the pathways and the parking lot and the Institute buildings in the back. Clauson said he has talked to the MAA and they are interested in bringing these type of improvements to their budget committee. Councilman Markalunas brought up the 8 inch concrete barrier and noted it does not abut the pavement in all places. Clauson said it is back from the pavement at varying distances, some places far enough to allow parking. Clauson said the reason to have the barrier is to keep cars from parking on the landscaping. Councilwoman Richards moved to approve the request for fitnds for the Gillespie street improvements; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. 11 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Iselin Park/Moore Pool Councilman Vickery requested an overview of this project. Tim Anderson, recreation director, reminded Council last year staff started a needs assessment for the Moore pool. Staff was working with users of the pool and wanted to get more input from the entire community. Anderson said they would like to be able to present several different pool options to the community. Anderson said staff plans on a community forum with representatives from ACRA, Rotary, asset planning committee, pool users, to look at all the different concepts. Anderson said working on the Moore pool lends itself to some site work at Iselin park. Anderson said other issues from Iselin park have arisen and staff will begin work on the master plan for Iselin Park. Design Workshop is already doing work on Iselin park and this will expand their scope of work. Anderson said he would like to have the community forum on the Moore pool by the end of August. Anderson said the master plan for Iselin park should be started in order to get inpm from softball players, tennis player, soccer players, Nordic skiers. Councilwoman Richards said the winter pool lid has a shorter life than the pool itself. This planning work will be done before the discussion on a new pool cover has to happen. Councilwoman Richards said she wants to make sure a wide community representation is looking as the master plan. Councilwoman Richards said she thought that some of Iselin park had a deed restriction for no new buildings or facilities. Councilwoman Richards suggested staff find om if the owners of these deed restrictions is interested in modifying the restriction. Anderson told Council with the consultant they hope to come up with 3 options. These will be presented to Council and the asset planning committee before the public in general. Councilman Vickery moved to approve the appropriation and carry forward of $34,226 savings from 1996 recreation department AMP and appropriate $20,774 from the lottery fitnd to complete the Moore pool master plan and Iselin park site plan; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman moved to go into execmive session for the purpose of possible litigation and property acquisition; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:15 p.m. Councilman Markalunas moved to come om of execmive session at 8:50 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 12 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 Councilwoman Richards moved to send Sarah Pletts a letter denying the request for fitnds and to include in that letter that non-profit requests are to come in during the budget process; seconded by Councilman Vickery. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Markalunas moved to adjourn at 8:55 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Bennett. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 13 Asoen City Council Regular Meetin~ June 23, 1997 PROCLAMATION - Thrash a Thistle Day .............................................................1 CITIZEN COMMENTS ..........................................................................................1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .......................................................................1 CONSENT CALENDAR ........................................................................................2 Ordinance #24, 1997 - Raw Water Agreement Hines/Highlands ..........................3 Approval of HPC appointment to DRAG - Mary Hirsch ......................................3 RFTA Ex Officio Board Members .......................................................................3 Council Appointments .........................................................................................3 Resolution #47, 1997 - Approval of Expenditures from 1/2 cent Pitkin County Tax ......................................................................................................................4 Minutes - May 27, 1997 ......................................................................................4 SOFTBALL REOUESTS ........................................................................................4 ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 1997 - Waiver of Park Dedication Fees 303 E. Main .......................................................................................................................7 RESOLUTION #48, SERIES OF 1997 - Roaring Fork Railroad Holding Authority IGA .........................................................................................................................7 SNYDER PROPERTY UPDATE ...........................................................................8 REO UEST FOR FUNDS - Gillespie Street Improvement ......................................11 REOUEST FOR FUNDS - Iselin Park/Moore Pool ...............................................12 14