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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19870817Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17, 1987 RESOLUTION #22, SERIES OF 1987 - Underground District 1 RUBEY PARK SPA 2 CITIZENS COMMENTS 7 Fire Department Block Party 7 9 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17, 1987 Mayor Pro Tem Fallin called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Isaac, Tuite, and Gassman present. RESOLUTION #22. SERIES OF 1987 - Underground District City Attorney Taddune requested Council reconsider Ordinance #34, 1987, which they adopted on first reading, and adopt Resolution #22, 1987, in its place. Taddune told Council staff feels this resolution accomplishes a more understandable format. The resolution establishes Council's intent to create the under- grounding district and to provide for a public hearing to be held September 28, 1987. Taddune gave Council an outline of the work proposed to be done as well as the legislative methodology for establishing the underground improvement district. Taddune said if Council decides to form a district, this will be done by ordinance as the city's special improvement legislation calls for the creation of a district by ordinance. Councilman Isaac asked why Council cannot just leave ordinance #34 in place, as Council will have to adopt an ordinance. Taddune said the ordinance was not in proper form, and it wold be better to pass this resolu- tion. Councilman Isaac moved to reconsider Ordinance #34, Series of 1987; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Pro Tem Fallin moved to withdraw Ordinance #34, Series of 1987; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, m otion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to adopt Resolution #22, Series of 1987; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Taddune said this resolution declares the intention of Council to create a local improvement district, referred to as utility underground district number 1, for the purpose of converting existing overhead electric and communication facilities to underground location, and setting forth and adopting the details for the creation of the district, ordering the publication and mailing of notice of hearings to owners of the properties to be assessed. Taddune reiterated the resolution sets September 28th as a public hearing. Taddune told Council staff will publish notice as required by Colorado Revised Statutes. In addition, two notices will be mailed to each owner, to the address of the property and to the address on the assessment roles. Taddune told Council at the public hearing, there will be an ordinance for adoption on first reading. All in favor, motion carried. 1 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17, 1987 RUBEY PARK SPA Glenn Horn, planning office, gave Council a copy of the recom- mended conditions forwarded from P & Z to Council accompanying their approval of the Rubey Park precise plan. P & Z also asked staff to prepare a resolution containing the coordination of improvements between the Roaring Fork Transit Agency and the city. Horn said P & Z urges Council to coordinate the city's capital improvements in this area so that the outside improve- ments, which are upgrading the alley to the north of the site and extension of the mall sidewalks to the site, take place at a minimum at the time of the second stage of RFTA's improvements. Horn said P & Z feels it is important that this public project is coordinated and happens all at once to minimize the impacts on the adjacent property owners. Councilman Isaac asked if a soils test on site has been done. Bruce Abel, RFTA general manager, told Council the soils test has been scheduled but has not been done. Councilman Isaac said this project is being pushed so fast he does not want to see it in construction and then have a product which does not last or satisfy the community's needs. Horn told Council staff agreed they want the facility but that they do not want to do a poor job. P & Z reached a compromise with RFTA, which is to do the pedestrian areas, ski storage areas this fall, and come back later and do the vehicular areas. Horn said it is asking a lot of the adjacent neighbors to go through two construction stages on site. Horn said it is a question of Council balancing interests and deciding what is best. Councilman Gassman said if this is approved tonight, what is the earliest the project will be started. Abel said the target date is September 21st. The interim operations will be run out of Wagner park. Abel said if the requested condition of reconstruc- tion of parking lot is necessary based on the soils analysis, that RFTA proceed with the depot improvements, the pedestrian improvements and leave the parking lot improvement until next year. Councilman Isaac said he is committed to making improvements on site but does not want this rushed so that it will be inadequate. Augie Reno, architect, told Council the building itself if 1100 square feet. The pedestrian area is flat work. They feel confident if the constructions starts the middle of September, it can be complete no later than December. Abel told Council RFTA has specifically requested in their letters of intent that the construction companies address their construction schedule at it relates to their overall work load. Councilman Isaac said he would like to add a condition if this is not started by September 21st it will not be built this year. 2 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17, 1987 Horn told Council a specially planned area is followed up with an SPA agreement between the city and the applicant. This agreement ties everything together in terms of the development proposal. Horn said on the advice of the city attorney, staff is uncomfortable developing an SPA agreement between the city and RFTA and the city, who is a co-applicant. The attorney is recommending using all the conditions and making them the binding element of this development application. Horn pointed out there has been a change in the original plan consistent with Council's recommendation. Bus storage on site has been reduced from 11 buses to 6 buses. There is a cor- responding reduction in parking spaces on site. Currently there are 42 spaces on site;, with this plan there will be 12 parking spaces on site during off times. Horn told Council the engineer- ing office notified him there i s a problem with the sub-soils on site with spongy soils. This is why the streets department has to do repatching every few years. This condition exists in Rubey park and in the alley north of the site. This problem has to be addressed by RFTA and the city. The recommendation of the planning office is that a soils engineer be brought in to do a study and give recommendations on the best way to treat this problem. Horn told Council the applicant and city may have to go in and scrape off all soils, use road base and rebuild the site. This is expensive and time consuming but it will avoid bi-annual repatching. Horn said long term costs will be higher if t hat part of the project is not done right up front. Horn told Council another issue from P & Z are the curb going in and out. The recommendation was that these curbs be done in concrete rather than asphalt, which tends to chip. This recom- mendation is for the RFTA board in developing their potion of the site and f or the city in resurfacing Galena, Mill and the alley. Horn told Council P & Z discussed ski boot and ski locker storage on site. P & Z feels it is important to have adequate storage facilities on site for skiers. Horn told Council the applicant has a proposal to have 93 lockable ski racks for 124 skis. These will be removed in the summertime and replaced with bicycle racks. There will be 112 lockers inside for ski boots and accessories. Horn said the requirement for paving materials is 4 foot strips of mall bricks in areas of the pedestrian portions with concrete in between. Horn said staff feels there should be a continuation of the mall effect on Galena and Mill to the RFTA depot. Horn recommended the same paving treatment to make this feel like an extension of the pedestrian mall. Councilman Tuite asked if there are enough mall bricks. Augie Reno said there are 170,000 3 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17, 1987 mall bricks still available. Reno told Council if they did the entire site it would take 70,000 bricks. P & Z did not recommend this use of mall bricks but go with the plan as submitted. (Mayor Stirling came into the meeting) Horn noted an issue during conceptual was the queuing on site. The applicant has presented a plan which satisfies that the pedestrian queuing will work. Horn said the question of mall extensions is a major issue for Council. At the conceptual stage Council asked the applicant to respond to what it would cost to extend the mall excluding the cost of the bricks. Council wanted this figure to include in the capital budget process. The applicant's estimate is that it will cost about $50,000 to extend the Galena and Mill sidewalks and neck them down toward Rubey park. Horn told Council in the Aspen Mountain Lodge PUD agree- ment there is a commitment from the developer to pay $25,000 to the city to study the use of Rubey park as a transit facility. Horn told Council the present owner has indicated they would be willing to give the city the $25,000, even though the studies have been completed, to be used f or the Rubey park improvements. Horn recommended this $25,000 be used as a half and half match to extend the malls to the Rubey park facility. Horn said another consideration is the sidewalk on the north side of the alley. Council asked the applicant to come back with an estimate to do the sidewalk in mall pavers with a rolled curb so that delivery vehicles can get across the sidewalk. The estimate for the sidewalk is $4500 excluding the bricks. The parks department has indicated is it important that the sidewalk be wide enough for them to get the sweeper across. The parks department has commented if they will have to maintain Rubey park, they want the planters done is a certain way so that they can get through with their sweeping equipment. The applicants have responded and rearranged the planters to the satisfaction of the parks department. It is not clear whether there is a commitment from the parks department to maintain that site in the winter; however, it is more likely they will make that commitment given the configuration of the planters. Abel told Council the parks department says this will require additional manpower with the possibility of an additional piece of equipment for the addi- tional snow removal responsibilities. Horn told Council the applicant has responded to Council's request of additional restroom facilities on sight. The current proposal is 3 facilities for men, 3 facilities for women and a facility for bus drivers. Councilman Isaac asked if the re st- rooms meet the handicap requirements. Reno said these are designed per UBC handicap standards. 4 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17, 1987 Horn said an issue that came up at P & Z was the type of temp- orary facility that will be placed at Wagner park. P & Z felt it would be good to move the trolley previously used as an office by the Nordic council over to Wagner park. Abel told Council the Nordic Council has advised they do not intend to renew their lease for the trolley and there is no other lease for that facility. Abel requested Council to allow the moving of the trolley to Wagner park to be used as an interim information facility. Horn said staff should check this to make sure the surface is adequate for the trolley. Elyse Elliott, engineering department, told Council it will take money to remove the trolley to the Cozy Point ranch after it is used. Horn told Council the applicant has prepared a drainage plan, which staff feels will work. The applicant has proposed an underground drain from the northwest corner of the site to catch the runoff water before it gets into the alley. Horn said the planning office recommends approval of the applicant's request to construct the facility. Horn recommended the city improvements take place at the same time as the RFTA improvements. If this means postponing the project until spring, staff recommends doing that for the good of the neighborhood. P & Z is recommending the project be phased and do the parking area in the second phase. Mayor Stirling said he does not think the city should take the gift from Hadid until things get sorted out with the hotel project. Horn pointed out this is not a gift; it is an obliga- tion in the PUD agreement. City Manager Bob Anderson said accepting the money would not put the city in a bad position. The city has been asked to extend the development several times. This is filling one of the conditions of the development agree- ment. Councilman Gassman said he is hesitant to ask for the $25,000 when the hotel project is not certain. Councilman Tuite told Council the RFTA Board feels if they cannot do this project properly, they would not start the construction this fall. Councilman Tuite said he is not prepared to commit the money for the mall extension at this time. Councilman Isaac asked if this has been noticed as a public hearing. Horn reminded Council the public hearing was at the conceptual stage. During the precise stage, the public hearing was at P & Z. At the P & Z meeting, there were representatives of adjacent property owners. Councilman Isaac asked how the residents feel about this project. Mari Peyton told Council the residents had several concerns, most of which have been addressed. One of the concerns is to have proper lighting for Rubey park. Another major concern is the drainage, which has been corrected. Councilman Isaac said the residents wants more intense lighting and the staff is recommending lighting consistent with the 5 Continued Meeting Ashen City Council August 17, 1987 downtown plan. Horn said the residents want lighting; RFTA has been responsive and come back with additional lighting as part of the planters. There are 3 lights in the alley to satisfy the concerns of the residents. Ms. Peyton said the planters on the north side are the only buffer between the residents and the noise and pollution of the buses. Abel said the small traffic islands have not changed and are still in the plan. Councilman Gassman said the applicants have done a good job reacting to Council's concerns. Councilman Gassman said he does not see how the city can commit to spending money before the budget process. Abel said RFTA appreciates the desire to complete the project in one phase; however, it is difficult for RFTA to be committed to a financial obligation the city has not had a chance to review. Horn said the planning office feels everything should be done at once, even if it means postponing the project until spring. P & Z feels comfortable with separat- ing the development into two stages. Abel said staff recommended doing the entire project in mall paver bricks, which was over- ruled by P & Z. Councilwoman Fallin agreed the Council cannot commit to their share until they have the budget hearings. Mayor Stirling asked about the $4500 for the sidewalks, and if Council is committed to pay for that. Councilman Gassman said he is willing to pay for that; Councilman Isaac and Mayor Stirling agreed. Mayor Stirling said the enlarging of the bathrooms is positive. Horn told Council the approval with conditions is ready to go, except for checking with the parks department on the drainage plan and snow removal. Horn said the conditions should add there is permission to RFTA to use the trolley car on an interim basis. Councilman Isaac said he would like to add a condition that construction begin by September 21st or be put off until spring. Councilman Isaac said he would like to have this development agreement in writing and approve it at the next Council meeting. Councilman Tuite moved to approve the SPA for the Rubey park depot plan based upon the 17 conditions reviewed by Council and the recommendations of P & Z; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Horn said the city attorney's office advises it would not make sense for the city to develop a SPA agreement between itself. City Attorney Taddune pointed out the city would be on both sides of the agreement. Mayor Stirling said this is a quasi-governmen- tal body and there should be an agreement. Councilwoman Fallin said it is the city's property that is being developed. Council- man Gassman said RFTA has authority that is distinct from the city, and this agreement should be clear about it. Taddune said there should be a memorandum of understanding at least. 6 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council August 17. 1987 Councilman Tuite amended his motion to included RFTA•dseconded prepared by the city attorney between the city an , by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Isaac. Motion carried. CITIZENS COMMENTS 1. Fire Department Block Party Tim Cottrell, representing the fire department, told Council he was unable t Cottrell sa d they meeting to discuss the requested block party. had a block party last year for the benefit of the fire depart- ment; this year it will include Mountain Rescue. Cottrell said last year there was a raffle to benefit ter andewinearandnfood street dance with no admission fee, be sales. Cottrell told Council last year they raised 52500. Cottrell said Council argued that closing the streets for the benefit of a business, like the Smuggler Land Office, was inappropriate. Cottrell told Council it costs the Smuggler money to put on this event. Cottrell pointed out the city has no problem closing the streets for events like the Coors bicycle race. Cottrell said this event is to benefit two important local organizations. Cottrell said he feels there should be more events like this which allow the public to get involved in benefits. Cottrell told Council he is representing only Smuggler and the fire department. The Cantina is withdrawing their request for a street closure. Councilman Gassman moved to reconsider the motion; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Mayor Stirling said last year one of the reasons Council voted for this street closure was the moving of Little Cliff's after 24 years in its location. Mayor Stirling said until Council has a work session on these types of requests and develops some criteria, he is opposed to these events. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to approve the proposed street closure of Hopkins between Galena and Mill on September 5 for a benefit for the Aspen Fire Department and Mountain Rescue between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilwoman Fallin asked if the city needs an agreement to indemnify the city. City Attorney Taddune said last year the city entered into a vendor's agreement and required indemnifica- tion. 7 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council _ August 17, 1987 Councilman Isaac amended his motion toy include, secondedr by agreement prepared by the city attorney s offic , Councilman Tuite. Dan Arrow said these types of events get mixed reactions. Arrow told Council he feels the city, ARA, and restaurabe much cfairer could work to put something togethteoWntha Arrowlt old Council the and more beneficial to the entire day of some special events, his business is considerably down. Arrow said it would be better to close 5 or 6 blocks, have a lot of participation and donate the money to lslallowin arthiss events Zucchini, Cooper Street Pier, said he fee g to happen causes too many problems. Mayor Stirling suggested Council add this to the work session August 31 eria therefshould address the closing off of streets and what crit be. Councilman Gassman said he is uncomfortable of not allowing this after it was allowed last year without further discussions about criteria. Councilman Gassman said he was opposed to the Cantina's application. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Fallin and Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. Councilwoman Fallin told Council she accepted a plaque from Uncle Forrest honoring the citizens of Aspen. 2. Ramona Markalunas suggested Council having a proclamation for Uncle Forrest and his children's concerts. Councilman Gassman moved to adjourn at 6:45 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. och, City Clerk 8