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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19880606Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1 ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 1988 - Alley Vacation 3 REQUEST TO USE CITY PROPERTY - Volleyball at Koch Property 6 RED ROOF INNS CONTRACT 6 RESOLUTION #13, SERIES OF 1988 -Condemning Sheehan Property 10 CITY ATTORNEY OPT IONS 11 CITY/COUNTY OFFICE SPACE 12 ENGINEERING TEMPORARY HELP 15 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS - Galena Street Improvement District 15 PARKING STRUCTURE REPORT 16 RESOLUTION #14, SERIES OF 1988 - Setting Special Election 19 ICE GARDEN REPORT 2 0 SNOW MELT SYSTEM 22 25 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Fallin, Isaac, Tuite, and Gassman present. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Mark Freidberg, executive committee Aspen Valley Improvement Association, told Council, they recognize the importance of the future of the Aspen Institute property. Three months ago the AVIA began a survey of the community and interviewed 42 prominent citizens to start getting a view of how these people envision the future use of the Institute property. Freidberg told Council the AVIA is collating this material and has solicited input from the rest of the community. Freidberg requested Council schedule a study session to discuss this matter and review what the community sees as the future of the Institute property and try to plan it in an appropriate manner. Council scheduled a work session for Monday, June 20, at 5:00 p.m. to hear a report from the AVIA and to have community discussion. 2. Mickey Herron, representing the Grill on the Park, requested Council reconsider their decision to only allow the Grill mall lease of 10 feet from the building and to reconsider the applica- tion which requested 12-1/2 feet from the building. Herron told Council the 10 feet restriction came about when there were only mall leases on Copper and Hyman avenue malls. The 10 feet requirement was set by the fire department so that the fire trucks could get by. Herron said that 10 feet is not applicable to every mall; Mill street is a different situation. Howard Gunther, the Grill, told Council when he bought the Grill, there was a precut metal fence. Gunther told Council he added an 18 inch overhang to beautify the restaurant, which takes away from usable mall space. Gunther told Council the space has two large trees in the patios, which the other mall lease spaces do not have. Gunther said if the mall space is moved back to 10 feet, there would be no space for a wheelchair to get around the area. Gunther said he feels each mall lease should be looked at for its particular problems rather than a blanket statement of a 10 foot width. Councilman Gassman moved to reconsider the Grill mall lease; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Fallin and Mayor Stirling. This will be on the June 13 agenda. 3. Frank Peters, representing the Hotel Lenado, brought up the continuing noise problem on Aspen street. Peters said this is due to the excavation at the Hadid hotel. Peters said the noise is inappropriate in a residential neighborhood. The problem falls to Aspen street because of the stop light at Main and the 1 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 lack of stop signs on Aspen street. Peters told Council the engineering department tried to spread this construction traffic around the city. Peters said having the trucks go out Aspen street is not spreading the problem around; it is concentrating half of the traffic on a significant residential corridor. Peters said there is no reason the trucks cannot go down Monarch or any other street to the west. Mayor Stirling said this was an arrangement worked out between the staff and the Ski Company and Hadid hotel. Jay Hammond, city engineer, told Council the staff had arrangements with both applicants to route the traffic in a loop fashion; outbound on Aspen street, inbound on Main and Original. Hammond told Council the Little Nell contractor went both ways on Aspen street. In response to complaints, the rest of the Little Nell traffic was routed directly to the highway at Original. Hammond pointed out with the Little Nell site, Original was significantly closer to the site. Hammond said at the Ritz site, the difference between the two routes is pretty much the same. Aspen street is a direct route without stop signs and with access to the highway. Hammond told Council the more trucks are stopped, the more noise they make. Part of the rationale was to get the trucks out of town on a quick route that does not require a lot of stop and start. Hammond told Council the contractor is back to the original agreement of looping traffic in on Original and out on Aspen street. Hammond told Council the Ski Company excavation work is done and the Hadid hotel is to be finished June 24th. Imra Prodinger, Aspen street resident, said Aspen street has more buses and trucks than other street in town. Ms. Prodinger said Monarch street is flat. Ms. Prodinger said the town is not sensitive enough to the guests. Pat Flynn suggested putting stop signs at every corner of Aspen street. The problem is not just the trucks in the summer, but fast traffic in the winter. Daniel Delano asked if the city considered the wear and tear of the trucks on Aspen street. Councilman Tuite said some street is going to have to get the trucks. Councilman Tuite pointed out that the city buses will not be routed on Aspen street for the next 6 months. Councilman Isaac said it sounds like the staff is doing the best job that can be done in this case. 4. Mayor Stirling brought up Resolution #11, authorizing Aspen Mountain Lodge planned unit development project to proceed through the PUD process for the purpose of processing amendments thereto. Mayor Stirling said there is some language in the whereas which he is concerned about. Councilwoman Fallin said she has not seen this resolution. Mayor Stirling said he would like to add this to the agenda. Bob Hughes suggested this item be added to the June 13 agenda. 2 Special Meeting _ Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Mayor Stirling moved to bring Resolution #11 for final considera- tion for language aspects only on the June 13 agenda; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 1988 - Alley Vacation Jay Hammond, city engineer, told Council this request for an alley vacation is located at 1000 East Hopkins, the Valley High apartments. Hammond said this alley is not in use as a roadway. There is a sewer partially in the alley. Hammond told Council the prospect of the city using this alley in the future is not likely. There are not alleys adjacent to it. Hammond supported the vacation request with conditions. Sunny Vann, representing the applicant, told Council the owner of the property proposes to tear down the Valley High apartments and reconstruct a small, multi-family building on site. The appli- cants own parcels 1 and 2, which are separated by the alley. The project has been designed to meet the constraints of parcel 1 only. The alley and parcel 2 are not required to build this project. Vann told Council if the alley were to be vacated, parcels 1 and 2 would merge and the applicant would have an opportunity to set the building back further f rom Hopkins avenue. Vann said this is the sole reason for the vacation request. The vacated alley is not to increase the density of the project nor for FAR purposes. Vann told Council in the R/MF zone there is a 10 foot rear yard setback, which is measured from the rear of parcel 1, adjacent to the alley. If the alley is vacated, this 10 foot setback could be measured from the rear of parcel 2. Vann told Council because of the sewer location, the building would only be moved 10 feet to the rear; it would not encroach in the alley or on parcel 2; it would be moved the distance of the 10 foot setback. Vann said setting the building back will provide additional visual relief from Hopkins street and will provide additional area on the street which can be landscaped. Vann told Council the parking is below grade. The portion above the parking garage will not sustain a sufficient amount of dirt to be landscaped. Moving the project back 10 feet, a plantable area between the front property line and the parking garage is increased. Vann told Council the ramp to the subgrade parking garage could be less steep if the building is moved back. Vann told Council in exchange for vacating the alley, the applicant will grant an easement for the existing utility line as well as granting a trail easement across parcel 2. Vann told Council there is a footpath on the rear of the property but it does not have an easement. Vann said it appears the benefits from vacating this alley are in everyone's best interests. Jay 3 ,~ Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Hammond said the city would seek a 20 foot permanent easement plus 5 feet on either side as a temporary construction easement. Vann said access to the sanitation easement is a subdivision concern, and this will be discussed during subdivision review. Vann said usually the alleys are also maintained for other utilities. In this area, all the utilities have been under- grounded in Hopkins avenue. Mayor Stirling said this is a unique situation and is as if the alley is isolated. Hammond said on the east side there are not alleys through to the river. Jon Busch asked that the parks department inspect this in detail. Busch said this area is important to the overall concept of a trail loop system throughout town. Vann said the trail envisioned as part of the master plan is a hiking-type easement rather than an 8 foot wide paved surface. Vann said some of the buildings to the west already encroach into what would be a platted alley. Vann said staff suggested a trail be maintained along the river and requested an appropriate easement be granted. Vann said the applicants are offering that easement. Vann stated the ability to put a continuous trail in that alley does not exist. Councilwoman Fallin said she is opposed to the city vacating alley easements and utility easements, especially when it is more to the benefit of the applicant than to the city. Councilwoman Fallin said she has not seen a reason demonstrated why the city should vacate the alley. Councilwoman Fallin said she feels the city should maintain their alleys. Vann said he would agree, if the ability to construct an alley were feasible. Vann pointed out a portion of this alley is over the riverbank. Vann said he feels the neighborhood benefits from having additional landscap- ing. Vann said that a portion of the site is vacated Cleveland street. Mayor Stirling said he has always applied certain criteria to street vacations. One is not giving anything up; another is that the vacation is in the best interest of the citizens. Mayor Stirling said this is unusual because of the landlocked situa- tion. Mayor Stirling agreed the trail issue is important. Mayor Stirling said another issue is that of compensation by the applicant . Hammond said the staf f has discussed the sale of rights-of-way, which is a difficult issue. Rights-of-way are held in trust as opposed to owned. Vacation is the appropriate mechanism as opposed to sale. Hammond told Council a vacated alley may not be used for additional square footage on a struc- ture. Al Blomquist said when the trail was built in this area, inspection indicated that the alley land was filled by construc- tion overhead. Blomquist said this should also be looked at in terms of flood control. 4 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Councilman Gassman asked if there is platted alley to both sides of this property. Hammond answered there is platted alley to the west; there is not platted alley to the east. Hammond said the sewer line is not centered in the alley. By getting a 20 foot easement, the city moves an existing utility into an easement. Hammond said this would not just be a sewer easement. Busch said the trails in this part of town are smooth, paved trails. This trail is up and down and very rough. If the city is going to work with the developer, one area may be to improve this trail. Councilman Isaac moved to read Ordinance #23, Series of 1988; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #23 (Series of 1988) AN ORDINANCE VACATING A PORTION OF THE ALLEY OF BLOCK 25 AND 26 OF THE EAST ASPEN ADDITIONAL TOWNSITE AND CLEVELAND STREET CONTAINING APPROXIMATELY 2,843.07 SQUARE FEET, ALL WITHIN THE CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Councilman Isaac moved to adopt Ordinance #23, Series of 1988, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Tuite said good concerns have been raised on first reading. Councilman Tuite said he would like to make a site visit before second reading. Councilman Tuite requested a report from staff at second reading. Councilman Isaac said he feels the citizens are getting a good deal because of the 5 conditions put on the request. Councilman Isaac said this is a request to vacate an alley that never was. Councilman Isaac said he does not have problems with this request but does have problems with the entire project. This project will be taking away 20 units of employee housing. Mayor Stirling agreed something needs to be done about displacement. Vann said the city did adopt a mitiga- tion requirement as part of the land use code. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Fallin, no; Isaac, yes; Tuite, yes; Gassman, yes; Mayor Stirling, no. Motion carried. Councilman Tuite moved to direct staff to work to get a resolu- tion regarding the trail system and what would be the best alignment for that trail; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. 5 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 REQUEST TO USE CITY PROPERTY - Volleyball at Koch Property Leon Fell presented Council with a rough site plan and budget for the project. Fell said he has tried to come up with good prices. Fell said he has not been able to come up with any outside money for these volleyball courts. Fell said the city needs more space for volleyball, which is an inexpensive form of recreation. Fell said volleyball has grown a lot in popularity in recent years. Walt Harris told Council the courts have become very crowded. This would be a good location for new courts and it is close to the existing courts. Alan Blomquist told Council the Shadow Mountain neighborhood has discussed this proposal and is in favor of it as long as the courts are set back as shown, and that a landscape program on the two street sides be included. Bill Efting, leisure services director, reminded Council at last year's capital program budget, he proposed a 5 year $25,000 a year package for landscaping, volleyball courts and possible trailhead. Efting said staff feels this is a good project. Fell told Council the budget is $12,000 for two courts not including any landscaping. City Manager Bob Anderson said there is only 530,000 left in the contingency fund. Anderson pointed out this is a good project but it is out of phase. Council decided earlier not to do this project and there is only so much money for capital projects. Efting told Council the staff can begin in two weeks and can probably get the project done in a month. Councilwoman Fallin asked if there are additional funds, beside the contingency fund, that could be spent on this project. Anderson said the city earned some money on the Red Roof Inns lease that goes into the land fund. This 540,000 could be used on this project. Council agreed this would be an appropriate use of land f and money . Councilman Gassman moved to appropriate up to 512,000 for the volleyball courts and to direct the manager to come up with the money from a source other than the contingency fund; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. RED ROOF INNS CONTRACT City Manager Bob Anderson said the staff has been negotiating with representatives of Jack DeBoer about the possible sale of the Red Roof Inn. Anderson told Council the main contingency of this purchase is to be able to lease or purchase the Zoline property for use as a golf course. Anderson said DeBoer does not want the risk of leasing long term the Zoline property without a vote of the electorate. Andy Hecht, representing the applicant, told Council DeBoer's interest is leasing the Zoline property for fair rental and buying the Red Roof for employee housing. The 6 Special Meeti_nq_ Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Charter requires an election if the city is going to dispose of city-land that was acquired for the purpose of open space. Hecht said the applicant and city have to come to a conclusion on an offer for the Zoline property. The city paid $1,375,000 with an approval f or 8 units. The city purchased the property for the purpose of open space and extinguished the development rights. Taddune said the city did not have the intention to use these development rights. Hecht said if the applicants lease the property from the city long term, and if the voters want the city to be able to get full value from this, the applicants would either get off the land or buy it from the city. Hecht said if the city leases it for a golf course, they are only doing so for such period as that remains the city's intention. Chuck Vidal told Council the applicants want to lease the open space value. Vidal said the way the question was phrased on the Red Roof Inns, this has to go to the voters to be able to use the Red Roof for employee housing. The ballot issue was specific in that the Red Roof can only be used f or short term tourist accommodation. Mayor Stirling asked if the applicants would be willing to go to contract with contingencies before the election. Vidal said they would be willing to do this. Taddune recommended packaging this with a contract to go to the electorate so all pieces of the proposal would be presented to the voters. Hecht said the third element is additional employee housing on this site. Anderson suggested the expansion of employee housing being a separate issue on the ballot. Mayor Stirling asked if the applicants would be prepared to close 30 days after an election. Hecht answered yes. Mayor Stirling asked if there would be a clear option for the city to buy the property back for what the applicant purchased it they are unable to negotiate the employee housing issue with the county. Hecht said yes. Anderson said this would be the city's option with a time limit. Councilwoman Fallin said if the applicants cannot complete their proposal and the city does not exercise their option, does the applicant sell it with all the conditions placed on the property. Taddune said the reason the deed restrictions are in place and the ballot question was precise is at that time Council was concerned that the electors approve something definite. If anything other was to be proposed, the voters would have input. Vidal said the applicants have an employee housing requirement and would like the ability to build units, if the city would approve that option. Mayor Stirling pointed out the Red Roof is 50 units in place, and the city is not getting any new units by this proposal. The city is getting them dedicated to employee housing. Mayor Stirling said the additional employee units are important. 7 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Anderson said one issue is whether the Council accepts that part of the Zoline value was development rights that the applicant will not have access to. Anderson said the applicants are justified in this argument. Another issue was if the applicants wanted to use the property for low income housing, the city would be bound to that, or if the applicants wanted to give the property back, the city would be bound to that. Anderson told Council he used a figure of $800,000 as the property the city would be leasing to the applicant. The city would then be paying $575,000 to extinguish the property rights. Anderson told Council he needs to know their feelings before he can negotiate the contract. Hecht told Council the applicants came up with $50,000 annual lease with a way for the city in the future to develop the land, they could get the development. Hecht told Council the appli- cants are asking to lease the entire Zoline property subject to easements and trails. Hecht said the golf course design will not use all the property. Vidal said the applicants need to use all of the property for design purposes. Vidal said this will be an 18 hole golf course, and the Zoline property will have between 4 and 6 holes depending on the par of the golf course. Councilman Isaac said he wants to make sure the city retains the easements and that the community can use that land in the winter. Vidal said they would like to increase the use of the easements. Vidal told Council they plan the golf course for the Pfister property and property adjacent to the Zoline property. The golf course will come across the highway and tie into the Grand Champions club. Vidal told Council this will not be a golf club that will preclude the public; it is an open course. Hecht said they feel a golf course is an asset of the community that people can access. It will also free up the municipal course. Anderson said based on the. shape of the city's capital improvement and open space fund, he recommends if the city can lease out this property and keep it open space and let someone else maintain it, they should accept it. The city only has so much money and there will be other proposals to use the open space or capital improve- ment funds. Councilman Tuite asked if the PCPA has commented on this. Hal Clark said the PCPA has not looked at this in detail. There have been comments for and against it. Vidal said the concept is that the price of $1,375,000 bought open space, it precluded develop- ment, and the city bought development rights. Vidal said the applicants feel they can replenish the open space funds with $50,000 per year, keep the property open and preclude develop- ment. Hecht said the applicants want a 99 year lease. Councilman Isaac said he would like the agreement tied to the rights of the community to be able to use the facility and to play golf. 8 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Mayor Stirling said the issues are how much the lease payments for the Zoline property should be; the option the city would be able to buy this back, and an election strategy. Phoebe Ryerson said there should be a restriction on the price of the housing at the Red Roof. Vidal said the applicant will have to satisfy the housing office requirements and fit into the county guidelines. Vidal said he assumes the revenues generated will pay off t he note to Zoline. Hecht said their concern is that they cannot make an investment with an encumbrance on the Zoline property. Vidal said they do not want to put a golf course on the Zoline property, and not have the city be able to pay off. Anderso n said the applicants cash f low will not be enough to pay of f the note. Hecht suggested the city could get Zoline to subordinate to a golf course use. Anderson said he would like Council's position on whether they want to use the Red Roof for housing rather than a lodge, and whether it is worth it to agree to a lease of the Zoline property as a concomitant point, and is this worth going to an election. Anderson said an alternative is going back to the market and see if there are bids out there. Mayor Stirling moved to enter into negotiations with the city manager designated as point person to develop a contract to bring back to Council in June to include a sale price of no less than $2,100,000 for the Red Roof; that there be an annual lease payment and lease term to be negotiated of no less than $50,000 for utilization of the Zoline property; there be an option for the city to buy the Red Roof back and negate the lease, details to be worked out, once the applicants have worked through their determination with the county; that the package be taken to the electorate at a special election in August but not including the expansion; other details relating to public access, trail ease- ments, public easements throughout the Zoline property be maintained f or the general public; and an inflation clause in the lease; and that Council is committing to utilization of the Red Roof Inns as residential, employee housing. M.A.A. use; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Anderson said he will negotiate the continued use of the res- taurant facilities as a golf course support facility. Council agreed this should be part of the contract. Hecht said the motion mentions extinguishing the lease, and is that on the Red Roof. Anderson said the applicants want the lease right on the Zoline property based on fair value, and they want the lease to go on whether they sell the property back to the city or not. Vidal said if the applicants develop a golf course on the Zoline property, and at some point the city takes back the Red Roof Inns, that would extinguish the lease on the Zoline property. 9 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Vidal said the applicants would like it structured so that the city buying back the Red Roof does not extinguish the lease on the Zoline property. Mayor Stirling said his motion is different than that. Councilman Tuite said if the applicants gave the city back the Red Roof for employee housing, would they be taking credit on their development rights for that donation. Hecht said the applicants want the lease on the Zoline property; they also want to buy the Red Roof as a way to supply employee housing. Hecht told Council if the applicants are required to supply employee housing f or the development on Pfister, they will deed restrict the Red Roof. Anderson said the fair thing to do would be not to reduce the lease price if the applicants use the Red Roof as employee housing and it gives them credits. Anderson said he would argue against a reduction of the price if the applicants use this as their employee housing credits. Vidal said the lease is not affected by the city taking back the Red Roof Inns. Hecht told Council the Red Roof Inns would be used as employee housing any way the city feels appropriate. Mayor Stirling withdrew the negation of the lease if the city were to buy it back; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #13. SERIES OF 1988 - Condemning Sheehan Property City Attorney Taddune told Council this resolution has to be amended because there are two easements. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Resolution #13, Series of 1988, as amended; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Taddune said this resolution will incorporate by reference the exhibit and reference two easements. Taddune said exhibit A is a portion of the plat plus a description of the two easements. Taddune reminded Council Hans Gramiger has a covenant on one of the properties that precluded the use of the property for pedestrian trail easement purposes. That condition may be the subject of the condemnation as well as Sheehan's desire to convey it to the city. Sheehan is not allowed to convey this under the covenant and the city could not reach agreement for purchasing the easement because of the covenant with Gramiger. This resolution authorizes the city attorney's office to commence condemnation. Taddune told Council he does not know the cost of the proceeding because the city does not know if there will be a value placed on the Gramiger interest. Taddune said the city has agreed the value is in the neighborhood of $4,500. The PCPA gave the city money toward this purpose. 10 Special Meeting Aspen City Council --June 6, 1988 All in favor, motion carried. CITY ATTORNEY OPTIONS City Attorney Taddune said the change date will be August 1, if Council wants this as a solution. Councilwoman Fallin said the proposal is fine with her. Mayor Stirling brought up the clause, "My firm and I would not take on private assignments directly conflicting with the City" . Taddune said he is sensitive to this issue because it does not help him or his clients to take on matters that conflict. Taddune said he does not know what the opportunities might be; keeping out of the private sector is a concern. Taddune said in the long term, this may not work for his firm. Mayor Stirling said he thought one of the goals in this change was to give Taddune's firm more flexibility. It concerns him that Taddune is limiting this flexibility. Taddune said this is why he is proposing six months so that he can look at this concern and see if it works. Mayor Stirling said he likes the proposal. Mayor Stirling said the proposed budget is $85,000 to $95,000. Taddune said the retainer of $2,000 per month is not included in this budget. Taddune said the proposal could be a cost savings approach to the city but probably will not because of the volume of work generated by some of the new programs. Taddune said his firm will be providing services to the city on a demand basis and on a relative market basis with a slight discount for being a public sector. City Manager Bob Anderson said it will be better for Taddune if he has a continuing monthly relationship with the city for issues like retirement. Anderson said the city will settle up on an averaged out basis rather than a monthly basis. Taddune said he will have to provide that much work on an averaged basis. Mayor Stirling asked if Council is comfortable with Taddune retaining the house on the general outline of the May 19 memoran- dum. Councilwoman Fallin said since there is no employee waiting for the house, it is better to have Taddune in the house rather than hav e it vacant. Taddune said he is exploring the opportunities to get into the free market. Mayor Stirling said Taddune does not want to make major investments in the house without recapturing the costs. Taddune said if he were going to live in the house for a long time, he would make improvements that are necessary. Taddune said the property has to be main- tained and he will maintain it, but not at his expense. Mayor Stirling said everyone else takes the risk of maintaining their own property. Mayor Stirling said Taddune has a guarantee that someone will buy the house. 11 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 Councilman Isaac said what Taddune has said in his memorandum is consistent with the arrangement the city had with Anderson when he took over his house. The city funded some improvements because they were not up to code. Councilman Isaac said he would like to see Taddune take care of his house, and any investment he puts into it, he should have the right to recover. Anderson said there are some improvements that are not integral to the maintenance of the structural stability of the house. If these are done, they are added to the purchase price. Taddune said there are a number of improvements he would make to the house if he were to stay there long term and they were going to get the investment back. Councilman Tuite said he does not have a problem with Taddune trying to amortize some of these improve- ments over a period of time. Councilman Tuite moved to approve the joint approach set forth in the memorandum including the considerations regarding the house and to direct the city manager and attorney to prepare a document for the Mayor's signature; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Anderson said what index to be used needs to be discussed. Anderson said he has a conflict because this will reflect on his contract, too. Anderson pointed out there is a specific index referred to in the contract which no longer exists. Staff has suggested the contracts go to the overall cpi and use the broadest figure available. The rationale i s that thi s i s the least changing index over time. Councilman Tuite said he would like to see this tied to the housing index, whether it is national or not. Anderson suggested a sub-committee be formed to work with staff and he will stay out of it not to influence his own situation. Councilman Tuite said he will discuss this with staff. Mayor Stirling asked the sub-committee report back with recommendations. Council asked this contract be on the June 27th agenda. All in favor, motion carried. CITY/COUNTY OFFICE SPACE City Manager Bob Anderson said there are 3 different options for the city and county to deal with for overall office space. There is also the aspect of what to do as a temporary expedient. Anderson said the staff has the approval to do the fire improve- ments but did not discuss spending $83,000 to fix the Council chambers and move the building department into city hall. Anderson said staff feels it will be better administratively to move the building department to city. Anderson said the city is still seeking a long time solution. Anderson pointed out under the option of fixing up city hall, everyone will have to be moved out. Anderson told Council the county has taken a strong stand 12 Special Meetinq Aspen Cites Council June 6, 1988 and is no longer willing to pay their share of the rent for the building department after July 15. Anderson said he would like Council to express an opinion on the 3 options for long term space. Anderson told Council the Commissioners will be looking at the alternatives, their assets, use of the community center, etc. Mayor Stirling said Council already allocated 545,000 for the safety work to city hall. The remaining 538,000 would equal rent for a year. Anderson told Council the staff has bid the building department work at bare bones. There will be other expenses for modules and dividers. Anderson said the intent is to spend no more than necessary to make the space functional. Councilman Tuite said if the Council decides to approve major renovation for city hall, then the building department will have to be moved again. Anderson said one option is the city can take over the county's share of the rent payments and leave the building department where it is. Councilwoman Fallin moved to allocate 584,000 for the remodelling of city hall for fire and safety protection and bringing the building department into city hall by July 15; seconded by -- Councilman Tuite. Councilman Isaac asked if the money is available. Anderson said there is 597,000 left in a city hall fund. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling said alternative one is to renovate city hall including a partial basement and third floor loft and create a 6500 square foot police annex. Mayor Stirling asked what would happen to the County Courthouse. Augie Reno said the Courthouse will renovate and use the attic. Councilwoman Fallin said when the jail facility went to the voters, it was stated this would never be used for office space. Reno said this would be an addition to the jail, and the existing building would not be used for offices. Anderson said this would be an add-on to a blank wall on the recreational side of the jail. Anderson said this alternative is not recommended by staff. Anderson said he favors alternative 3 where the county builds a separate court facility, there are some improvements to the Courthouse including making it handicap accessible, and city hall is renovated with a mezzanine on top of the third floor, but no basement is done. Anderson said this is the middle cost option and is the best cost benefit. Mayor Stirling asked how the money would be allocated between city and county. Anderson said one option is to go back and divide all the facilities and allocate 13 Special Meeting. ___Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 costs by what city space and county space. Anderson said that may be the easiest way to handle this, given that the costs are relatively in scale. The county has spent about 5500,000 to fix up the Courthouse basement. The total cost for this option is 52,620,000 and 51,600,000 is the city' s share. Anderson said that would leave 51 ,000 ,000 for the county plus what was already spent on the Courthouse base- ment. The work would be~ about even. Councilman Gassman said it seems alternative 2 with the basement ends up with more square footage at less cost. Anderson said using the city hall basement for office space is not very good space. Reno said the advantage of the courthouse annex is there would be an envelope to use to move employees during the renovation work. Councilman Isaac asked where staff plans to get the 52,620,000. Anderson said the plan is to get the city's share from the sale of the Red Roof. The county would get their share through the avoided rent. Councilman Isaac asked if the money from the sale of the Red Roof would have to go to the open space fund. Anderson reminded Council the open space fund is also available for major capital improvements. Councilman Gassman said that would rule out ever buying the Red Roof back. Mayor Stirling said one observation is to only spend money to leave enough to enable the city to get the Red Roof Inns back. This would require holding back 51,000,000. Anderson said there are other ways the city could get money for the city hall projects. None of these has been popular in the past. Anderson said the city could get sufficient cash flow to bond for this, but this would require an election. Mayor Stirling pointed out alternatives 2 and 3 cost the city 51,600,000. Mayor Stirling said he would like to only spend 51,100,000 and hold the other 51,000 ,000 to see if the city has to buy the Red Roof back. Councilman Tuite agreed the city should hold 51,000,000 back. Reno said for 51,100,000, the existing 3 floors of city hall could be redone; the third floor loft would not be done. Mayor Stirling moved to begin the process under a modification of alternative 3, let the county work out what they are going to do with the annex, hopefully it will stay in the campus area, the city limits itself to 3 floors, does not do a loft and limits the expenditures to 51,100,000; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. Councilman Tuite asked if the loft can be done after the 3 floors are completed. Reno said it could be done that way; however, use of the third floor would have to be vacated during that work. Reno said if the courthouse annex is built, the courts would move out and that room would be used for meeting rooms. Anderson said square footage can be reduced by using a multiple meeting room. 14 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 All in favor, motion carried. ENGINEERING TEMPORARY HELP Councilwoman Fallin moved to approve the addition of a temporary staff person for the engineering department for the summer of 1988, funding which comes out of current budget; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS - Galena Street Improvement District Jay Hammond, city engineer, told Council the low bidder for the project was Elam construction of Woody Creek. Hammond told Council this bid was under the engineer's estimate for the project. Hammond also requested approval of a second contract with Schmueser Gordon for construction staking. Hammond told Council Elam was not asked to bid the construction staking as part of the project. Hammond told Council staff has discussed inclusion of empty PVC conduit in the project with the electrical engineering contract- ors. Hammond reminded Council the budget approved by the city was for basic improvements. The additional funding from the district was for enhanced improvements. Hammond said staff has taken the view that the basic funding from the city is committed. The conduit is of interest to the city and may be of interest to utilities. The city can use it for electric extension, other utilities or can sell it to Holy Cross for their undergrounding. This is a benefit to the city and specific interest to the district. Hammond requested Council's direction on pursuing this and getting firmer prices, and finding an appropriate source of funding. Councilman Isaac asked if Holy Cross is unwilling to underground during this construction project. Hammond said most of Holy Cross' remaining plant is behind other projects in the area. Holy Cross has the option of using their existing corridor or going to the street, in which case they could buy the conduit from the city. City Manager Bob Anderson pointed out the city has a resolution to Holy Cross pushing them to get involved in an underground program or suggesting the city could take over the load. Councilman Tuite moved to approve the contracts for construction and layout staking of the South Galena and South Mill improve- ments with Elam construction and Schmueser Gordon Meyer respec- tively; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Hammond told Council they are planning on starting construction in the next two weeks. Anderson said this will be during the summer season but it is not a problem given the location and the will of the people involved. Hammond told Council staff is 15 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 planning to complete paving for the entire project by August 19th. Anderson told Council there may be some flexibility in working with Hadid on the water line. Hammond told Council the city is prepared to coordinate with the Hadid the work that is being done. Mayor Stirling asked why this project could not begin in September and not have to interfere with the summer. Hammond said the city is concerned about running into weather problems. Hammond told Council the condominiums in that area have planned to do considerable on-site improvements at the same time. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to approve putting the conduit in and taking the money out of the electric fund; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilman Tuite said whatever the city can do to work with Holy Cross in getting underground in would be great. Mayor Stirling said he would support this only if there was a lot of cooperation from Holy Cross. Hammond said staff will establish firmer cost estimates and report back to Council. Mayor Stirling said he wants a report back from staff before Council acts on this. Councilman Isaac amended his motion to have this brought back to the June 27 meeting for final approval; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. PARKING STRUCTURE REPORT Tom Baker, planning office, told Council this parking structure report is an important aspect of the conceptual SPA, which P & Z has initiated. P & Z will be meeting in the next month to go over the conceptual SPA for the entire Rio Grande site. Steve Newman, RNL consultants, told Council the findings say to build the Rio Grande garage, to put a question on the August 9 special election ballot, with a planned completion day of January 1990. Newman said they feel the garage can be designed to minimize the impact on the environment and on the city. The garage has been built into the hillside and camouflaged f rom the rest of the city. Newman said the consultants feel this garage is afford- able. With 1/4 cent sales tax, the majority of the operational options can be covered for the garage. The second finding on the City Market/Bell Mountain site suggests that the city continue the planning. process on that site. This has emerged as more of a City Market garage site. City Market has indicated a willingness to enter into negotiations to see if this can happen. Newman said the completion on this garage would 16 Special Meeting Aspen Citv Council June 6,__1988 not be until 1992, which is when the impact of parking will start to overflow out of the Rio Grande . Newman said the consultants would like input from Council on the Rio Grande garage size and cost. There are two alternative designs from 343 cars at $4,500,000 to 471 cars costing $5,300,000. The second issue is what is the interface between the library and the garage. Newman told Council the consultants have talked with the county and with P & Z. The larger garage has a basement to the library. This would tie the library into a construction schedule with the garage. The smaller garage is stand alone. The library can take it owns planning track. Newman told Council the consultants had the library's architects attend a design session two weeks ago. City Manager Bob Anderson told Council the Commissioners have not agreed to anything about the library. The last issue is how should the garage operate; free parking, $.50 flat rate, variable rate, or $2.00 flat rate. Newman presented slides and a model of the design of the garage. The accesses will be off Spring and off Mill opposite Sleeker. Newman told Council the current parking lot has 40 spaces in the upper Rio Grande lot, 140 spaces in the lower lot. The library will take out the 40 upper parking spaces, and the garage will take out 30 in the lower lot. There will be 110 spaces left. Newman pointed out commercial space designed into the garage for transportation related uses. Where the design has not been able to bury the garage, they have taken people-oriented uses and put them to the outside edges. Newman showed a stairway to give a Galena street pedestrian corridor to connect with the river. Anderson told Council the Commissioners are contentious about where the pavilion should be in this design. Newman said one central concept of this design is to promote Galena street as a pedestrian corridor. Newman showed slides of the design from various points. Newman told Council the 6,000 square feet of commercial space would be airline pre-ticketing, pre-check in and over-highway buses. Newman said Cap's site is a triangle. The design plans to take off the tip of the triangle in order to pull Spring street as close to the garage and Cap's to give more parking and more green space. In trade for this, they will make a rectangular piece which is more usable for Cap's needs. Lennie Oates, representing Cap's, told Council they are not concerned about this issue going to the electorate. Newman said there are considerable site improvements both to Spring street extension and the alley between Spring and Main street included in the costs for the garage. Gordon Shaw, RNL, told Council in their analysis they found the parking garage will not pull more cars into town. The garage is not changing the equation that makes people decide transit versus cars. Shaw said 17 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 the garage would reduce traffic in the commercial core by taking the wanderers looking for parking and putting them into the facility. Shaw said a major benefit of the parking plan is a reduction of traffic on Main street between Spring and Mill; they project a 16 percent reduction in traffic. The volume of traffic on Spring will increase. There will be as much traffic in town but it will shift in location. Shaw told Council the number of half hour parking spaces and the need in Aspen is about equal with a parking structure. The number of over two hour spaces is also about equal. Shaw said there is a need for about 10 percent of the spaces in the half hour to hour category. One of the recommendations of the plan is to pull 270 one hour spaces and make them two hour spaces and to focus the parking structure as long term parking. Shaw said in order to get people to use the parking garage, they propose an increase in parking enforcement. Shaw said currently there are 2.6 parking control officers. The current program costs about $60,000 annually to operate and brings in about $140,000 in revenues. Shaw said the enforcement can be increased and still make money for the city. Bob Walker, RNL, showed graphs on the financial operations of the garage. Walker told Council the consultants developed 4 scenar- ios for each parking garage, the only variable is the pricing mechanism. The red line on the graph is the forecast operating subsidies for the garage assuming the different prices for parking. Walker said the operation requiring the least subsidy is a $2.00 flat fee. Walker said the graphs overlay the forecast for 1/8 and 1/4 penny sales tax at a 4 percent increase per year. Walker told Council the revenues generated by the parking garage will come from the user fees, lease revenues from the transporta- tion center, and $150,000 per year from in-lieu parking fees. The latter two sources are more speculative and add up to about $200,000 annually. Walker told Council with a 1/8 cent sales tax, the only scenario the city would be comfortable with is the $2.00 flat fee. The variable f ee does not begin to work until 3 or 4 years into a 340 space garage, and does not work with a 470 space garage. Walker told Council all the scenarios would work in a 470 space garage with the 1/4 cent sales tax. Anderson pointed out the transportation development plan looks at more parking than either the 350 or 420 parking plan. Si Kelly said he feels the first priority should be a downtown parking garage. The consultants expect a lot from this proposal, including a shuttle, and the police to increase enforcement. Kelly said he feels the city should start with a parking struc- ture downtown. Oates told Council Cap's does not expect any 18 Special Meeting Aspen Citv Council June 6,_1988 building improvements out of this plan but would like to coordinate site improvements. Jon Busch said he feels this is a great plan and encouraged Council to go for the larger plan. If the city does not go for the larger plan to include the library, they will never be able to include the library. Alan Blomquist said using the land at the Rio Grande should preclude a parking structure at Bell Mountain. Blomquist said the owners of Bell Mountain should make decisions on their own. Roger Hunt said nothing would preclude the Bell Mountain parking garage in the future. This site has always been in the future anyway. Council is not interested in changing location. Council's consensus is for the larger garage. Newman said the larger garage can handle 415 spaces with a landscaped roof or 471 spaces with 60 cars on the roof . Councilman Isaac said the consultants should meet with the library and the Commissioners. Anderson said if Council is predisposed to the larger site, the staff can start coordinating with the library. Councilman Tuite favors a free parking garage; Councilman Isaac favors $.50; Councilwoman Fallin favors $2.00. Councilman Isaac said the city ought to charge something for this garage but should charge the minimum to encourage people to park there. Councilwoman Fallin said it is a privilege to drive one's car, and it is an impact to the community and the environment. Councilwoman Fallin said the city should not encourage people to drive their car and to park free at the taxpayer's expense. Councilman Tuite said if the city wants people to stop driving around town looking for parking, the garage should be free to make it more attractive. Councilman Tuite said if people are going to drive, they should be encouraged to use the garage. Mayor Stirling said he favors the variable rate. The users should be paying for the facility, and something has to be charged f or parking. The issue is if the parking structure will be used if too much is charged for parking. The consensus is the majority of Council wants to charge for parking. Oates asked Council if they are comfortable with the concept of the Cap's exchange. Council said they feel it is workable. Councilman Isaac said he supports better enforcement of the existing parking. Newman told Council there are 3 more public hearings they will hold between now and the special election. RESOLUTION #14, SERIES OF 1988 - Setting Special Election City Attorney Taddune told Council there is a limited window for an election because of the primary and general elections. The primary is August 9 and the general election is November 8. The 19 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 city cannot call a special election within 32 days of either of these elections. Councilman Isaac moved to adopt Resolution #14, Series of 1988, calling a special election August 9, 1988; seconded by Council- man Tuite. Mayor Stirling said the first proposed ballot question is the use of city-owned property, Red Roof expansion, Marolt and/or Koch property for dormitory housing. All of Council favored the inclusion of this question. The next issue is 1/4 cent sales tax for a parking structure. Council favored adding that question to the ballot. The next issue is bond capability for capital projects, including city hall renovation, improvements to the. ice skating facilities, and possibility snow melt facilities. City Manager Bob Anderson said staff feels the only way to fund major improvements at the ice garden is with bond authorization. Anderson said there is a judgement of how many issues to put on one ballot. There is a risk that issues will get confused about what monies are going where. Anderson said people could think that the 1/4 cent sales tax was going for the ice rink. Councilman Isaac moved to add the Zoline property into the election resolution; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Fallin moved to delete the bond authority from this special election; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in f avor, with the exception of Councilman Isaac. Motion carried. All in favor of the resolution as amended, motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to suspend the rules and meet for 15 more minutes; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in f avor, with the exception of Councilmembers Fallin and Gassman. Motion carried. ICE GARDEN REPORT Mayor Stirling said the Council can continue this into a work session later in the summer and schedule a g.o. bond election for the ice rink in the fall. George Pucak, ice garden manager, reminded Council at the April 5 election, the voters defeated the sale of the existing ice garde. Pucak said the city is faced with the idea of renovating the existing facility. Pucak said earlier Council allocated $25,000 for study of ice garden improvements and possibilities connected with the Rio Grande site. The latter has been eliminated as a possibility. Pucak told Council most studies have the attitude the city is going to replace the ice garden with a new one. Because of the recent vote, the city will look at renovation. 20 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6. 1988 Pucak said there are two serious concerns at the ice garden; the ammonia refrigeration system, and deterioration of the dasher boards, gates and wire screen around the rink. There are also modification of lockers room, applying rubber walkway covers inside the rink, remodel of the entry, upgrading of the locker and restroom at the front of the rink, and some redesign to better serve the public. Pucak said there are some concerns with heating and ventilation of the facility. Pucak said the staff has done some work on the financing possibilities. Pucak said the number one priority is replacement of the refrige- ration system. There are two possibilities. A refrigeration company did some studies based on what was available in the rink. The first option is to modify the existing compressor system and install seals and pumps. Pucak said this would be changing the refrigeration charge to R22 or CF22 which if a freon-based refrigerant. Pucak said the first option would leave a fairly large charge circulating in the building but it would be similar to the ammonia there now and maintain a nice slab of ice. Pucak said this is a safer refrigerant. Pucak told Council CF22 has a low depletion f actor in the atmosphere and is better that the other refrigerants currently available. CF22 is much less dangerous than ammonia in the case of a leak or loss. Pucak said the other option would involve the same refrigeration and use an indirect system. This will not give quite as good a slab of ice and will necessitate greater modification to the existing piping and refrigeration and the installation of more massive equipment. The second priority for the rink would be the hockey boards. The first and second option are almost interchangeable. Pucak said they propose to remove the existing boards and wire and cement about 2500 square feet in the rink so the new board system would be able to be bolted down. New hockey boards with a poly facing will be installed with a glass spectator shield. This would eliminate the wire screening, which is a danger to the spectators and participants. The third priority would be replacement of the music sound system, which is in bad shape. The sound system would make the rink more enjoyable to the spectators and make staff more effective in crowd control and in instructions to the ice rink. The fourth priority would be remodelling of the existing locker rooms and construction of one new dry locker room for men' s hockey and addition of a major locker room for ladies. Presently there are almost no facilities for women. Pucak told Council because of the cool temperature inside, they cannot dehumidify 21 Special Meeting Aspen Citv Council June 6. 1988 the rink. Pucak said with a new system, they could temper the outside air coming in and bring it into the building at a warmer temperature, which will raise the comfort level. This will also be tied into a new exhaust system to clean up the air inside the building. The last priority is redesign of the front end of the building, estimated at about 5200,000. Pucak said the bids for modifica- tion of the refrigeration, the proposal to go with replacement with the freon charge is a better cost. The second proposal would double the cost to 5189,000. Pucak said the modification of the ammonia refrigerant would be a requirement in any modific- ation or renovation of the building. Councilman Tuite asked if there will be any difference in energy costs in the freon system. Pucak said there will be higher energy costs because they will be running a higher compressor load. Pucak said the ammonia system is dangerous; ammonia is toxic and displaces oxygen and is explosive under certain conditions. Pucak urged Council to consider modifications to the ammonia system now. Pucak said it would require about 6 weeks installation time for the freon system. Pucak said the best time to do this would be next spring when the rink is normally shut down for maintenance. Pucak said the other choice is to shorten the programs and do this in the fall. Councilman Isaac said he is concerned about he ammonia system and would like to fix it as soon as possible. Mayor Stirling suggested the ammonia refrigeration system be discussed on the June 27 agenda, whether the city wants to install the system this fall, and some funding sources for this. Councilwoman Fallin said the dasher boards are equally important. SNOW MELT SYSTEM Chuck Roth, engineering department, told Council staff has investigated snow melter alternatives. Roth said the franchise of Trecan is present. Ellen Archer told Council this is a proven technology and is used extensively in the east. Ms. Archer told Council Trecan will prepare the melting equipment specifications to suit the city's application. The city will appoint a contractor to undertake the construction on the melting pit. That is not included in the prices. Roth told Council the pit is part of the site improvement cost. The units are about 565,000. City Manager Bob Anderson asked what the chances are of the city purchasing used units. Ms. Archer said that is a possibility, and these come with a one year warranty. Ms. Archer suggested the city charge other snow removal contractors a fee to dump at this site. The snow removal contractors can save money and the city can generate some revenues. 22 Special Meeting Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 Jon Busch said it looks like the operational costs of snow melter operations are such that the city should look at also doing it on the Marolt property. Busch asked why other towns are phasing out these systems. Roth said the 20-unit facility in Montreal was very large. The steam clouds that came off of the melting snow condensed on the streets and froze. Roth said using the Marolt property will increase the haul time and haul costs. Anderson said there is a break even point for hauling versus melting. Anderson said there has not been support f or using the Marolt property. Mayor Stirling said the majority of Council was in favor of using the existing Aspen One site. Roth said the Council budgeted $125,000 in the capital improve- ment budget. Ms. Archer told Council the snow melt machines are made to order and takes 3 to 4 months to get it installed. Roth said the city could get one snow melter in operation f or next winter. One snow melter cannot keep up with the snow removal needs but it can eventually melt all the snow. Ms. Archer told Council Trecan will help the city with formulas to determine where the snow melters should be placed. Trecan will absorb some costs to bring a person here to do some startups. Councilman Isaac said he would like to get different proposals for snow melt equipment. Anderson said there is only one company that is in this business. Mayor Stirling moved to direct staff with the budget limitations for 1988 to come back to Council as soon as possible with a proposal to use the $125,000 as effectively as possible; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Janet Deane asked where all the melt goes. Anderson said it will go into a holding pond and into the river eventually. Anderson said the city has talked to the EPA and state department of health, and they see no problems. Roth said there are two existing retention ponds on the property. The EPA looked at these ponds, and said they could function better by making some relatively minor changes and adding another pond. Roth said the city does need to maintain the ponds and keep them clean. Denise Reich said the Aspen One property keeps getting higher and higher. Roth said every spring the streets department goes to the Aspen One property and scrapes it down to the dirt. Roth offered to establish a surveying control to maintain that the snow dump is not rising. Roth said there is the possibility of putting the snow melt into a hole so that it is less visible. Roth said if there is snow melting equipment, the height of the snow will not get as high as it is now. Janet Deane said the current runoff is a mess now and is concerned about the runoff 23 Special Meetinq____ Aspen City Council June 6, 1988 from the snow melting machine. Ms. Reich said the street sweeping truck was dumping into the holding pond last week. Roth told Council the area of concern the EPA has is the garbage that blows around the in area. The EPA suggested putting up a snow fence to keep the wind blown debris in. Ms. Deane pointed out that the top of the trees have garbage in them. All in favor, motion carried. Council adjourned at 9:45 p.m. ~r ti ~/.~ Kathryn Koch, City Clerk 24