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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19911028Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 5 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS 5 19 9 2 BUDGET 6 ORDINANCE #24, SERIES OF 1991 - Newsracks 6 ORDINANCE #42, SERIES OF 1991 - Ute Avenue Improvement District 6 RESOLUTION #43, SERIES OF 1991 - Cemetery Lane Underground District 8 MOORE POOL 1991 WINTER FUNDING 10 ORDINANCE #40, SERIES OF 1991 - 1001 Ute Avenue Lot Line Adjustment 10 ORDINANCE ##41, SERIES OF 1991 - Alpine Bank Condominiumiza- tion 10 CITY SHOP TANK LOCATIONS 12 1991 TRUSCOTT AND MAROLT BUDGET DEFICIT 13 RFTA CROSS TOWN SHUTTLE/GALENA S TREET OPTIONS 14 YOUTH CENTER LEASE 15 REQUEST FOR FEE WAIVER - Nordic Council 16 18 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Council members Peters, Reno, Pendleton and Richards present. OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS Amy Margerum, city manager, and Council presented employee awards to Jody Baker, personnel department, Scott Keller, data processing department; Susan Aranella, recreation; and Beth Ufkes, police department. Mayor Bennett gave these employees a check and a plaque. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Fred Peirce, representing the Youth Center, requested Council address one item on the Youth Center lease that is a disagreement between the city and the Youth Center. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to move this to action item IX(j); seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Chuck Brandt, representing the Aspen School District, told Council the board discussed the tap fee and to try and put this into better perspective, they would like to undertake a more definitive history of what has happened to date. On the red brick school and the agreement with the city, the board discussed what happens if there is a major expense, like the boiler shutting down. The board suggested in the event of an unlikely catastrophe, this would be the end of the arrangement. The school board requested that the city undertake snow removal during this 30 days agreement period. Brandt told Council the board would like the business office and the warehouse to stay in the red brick building for the next 30 days. Councilman Peters said he left the school board meeting with the expectation that the school would pay the tap fee and work out a payment schedule. Councilman Peters said he is not interested in further discussing or investigating the history. Councilman Reno said he does not have a problem giving the school board extra time to discuss the history and to report back to Council no later than the next Council meeting. Councilman Peters said this issue continues to consume staff time; however, he is willing to send staff to address the board. 3. Ann Owsley, representing Partners in Education, told Council they have been planning a holiday bazaar at the red brick school on November 16th. Ms. Owsley said they would like city permission to keep with that event. Jed Caswall, city attorney, said this is not municipal property and they should continue to work with the schools district. Amy Margerum, city manager, pointed out staff is 1 Regular Meeting __ ___Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 suggesting the only use in the next 30 days is this holiday bazaar. Council agreed and said this is more like a 30 day option to keep the possibilities open. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Peters moved to suspend the rules and add to the consent calendar the appointment of George Newman to the CCLC and the License to Occupy for Grassroots for the parking garage Halloween party; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Peters moved to table Ordinance #37, Series of 1991, Water Conservation and Haan Encroachment Request to November 11; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Councilman Reno said he has been hard on the housing authori- ty. There are serious problems with the housing authority. Councilman Reno said he would like a work session with the housing authority to deal with this in a constructive manner and to give some direction where Council wants them to go. Councilwoman Richards agreed this would be appropriate. Councilman Peters agreed and said it is difficult to find time to have substantive talks during the budget hearings. Council scheduled this work session for November 5th at 7 a.m. 3. Councilwoman Pendleton requested the waiver of planning office fees for the Nordic Council and Trout Unlimited be taken off the consent agenda. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would rather review this as a budget item. Councilwoman Richards said Trout Unlimited is requesting this because it was on city property. Trout Unlimited has not submitted a formal request. Mayor Bennett agreed to wait on Trout Unlimited until there is a request. Councilwoman Pendleton said she feels uncomfortable waiving fees or paying for them out of contingency. 4. Councilwoman Pendleton told Council she and other local representatives went to Denver to a meeting arranged by Hank Brown with Presidential appointees for the Bureau of Reclamation and the regional director of the BOR. The meeting was arranged by Senator Brown to find out what has been going on with Ruedi and the BOR. The BOR talked about $15 million in interests and recovery costs that need to be paid off. They are getting ready to go into second round water sales. BOR plans to sell the water at $21 an acre foot, which is cheap. The Ruedi WAPA discussed maintaining Ruedi for recreation as well as a hydropower supplier for the city. WAPA wants to be involved in the decision making with the Division of Wildlife and other entities on what happens to Ruedi's water. WAPA wants to help Wildlife meet their obligations to endangered species. WAPA requests major purchasers of water provide on-site 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Councl____ October 28, 1991 storage and also make sure local entities in WAPA get their requests for water out of Ruedi without having to provide on-site storage. Councilwoman Pendleton told Council the Presidential appointees were very sympathetic to WAPA and their positions. They instructed the BOR to let WAPA know exactly what their power was and about recovery costs and on-site storage. Councilwoman Pendleton said the representatives from Washington D.C. directed the local BOR to work with WAPA as there seemed to be a lot of miscommunication. Councilwoman Pendleton told Council this was a very positive meeting and opened up good lines of communication. Councilman Peters said Council appointed the right member to Ruedi WAPA. 5. Councilwoman Richards thanked everyone who put together Energy Awareness Week. The staff worked very hard; there were a lot of good ideas generated. 6. Councilwoman Richards said she would like Council to have a work session on the red brick school. Council scheduled this for November 4 from 5 to 6 p.m. Council suggested a member of the in- town school sites committee and a Commissioner as well as the Aspen Arts Council representative be invited . 7. Councilman Peters suggested Council look at a code amendment. The city and county have different ways of measuring housing mitigation in determining points for GMQS scoring. The county gives more points for lower income housing and the city does not have emphasis on low income housing. Councilman Peters said it would be appropriate for clarity and consistency that the city coordinate its housing scores with the county. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council the planning staff is doing a comprehensive review of the entire program. The committee has a list to redo all the scoring for all the categories. This will be coming back to Council. Mayor Bennett suggested this be brought up at the oversight committee meeting November 14th. Councilman Peters agreed and said he would like to act in some determinant amount of time. 8. Councilman Peters noted the County Commissioners discussed the Maroon creek bridge earlier today. Councilman Peters asked the engineering department if they could get hold of the design parameters used to determine that the lower end of the weight limits on the Maroon Creek bridge was the appropriate action. Councilman Peters said the city has been told this is appropriate and that good engineering practices dictate this; however, the city has not been told why. Councilman Peters said this action will have serious impacts on the community. Councilman Peters requested Council pass a resolution for the engineering department forward to the Department of Transportation to request the decision parameters 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council__ October 28, 1991 for the decision taken on the Maroon Creek bridge, design, cost effectiveness, risk, etc. so the city can see why the county would be taking this action. Councilman Peters moved that the Council resolve the request from the Colorado Department of Transportation through the engineering department the issues and parameters that were used in the decision to lower the weight limits on Maroon Creek bridge and that the response be detailed; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. 9. Councilman Peters said he attended the BOCC meeting to outline what the city has been doing to discover the issues around the red brick school, its various uses and to see if he could enlist support from the county to preserve this building. Councilman Peters reported there is support from the Commissioners and will work with the city. 10. Amy Margerum, city manager, recommended a goals session. Council scheduled this for November 19th at 5 p.m. 11. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council she has received a call from ACRA. Their public relations committee would like to meet with Council in terms of where they are going to market Aspen, etc. Council requested this committee attend one of their Monday lunch meetings. 12. Mayor Bennett asked if the $6500 per mile from the state for taking care of highway 82 through town is appropriate. Amy Margerum, city manager, said she will have staff review this and report back. Mayor Bennett asked about the air pollution monitor- ing tower. Ms. Margerum told Council the city has received approval to put this on top of the fire department and EPA finds this acceptable. Mayor Bennett asked about the parking enforcement on East Bleeker street, who made this decision and on what basis. John Goodwin, police chief, told Council as part of the construc- tion of the parking garage there was an analysis done of areas already marked for timed parking and those not marked. It was recommended from staff to have timed parking in this area and the rationale was if there is free parking on the streets people will not use the garage. Councilwoman Richards asked if the businesses here have a drop and pickup type businesses. Goodwin agreed there is some need to have vehicles near by; however, 90 minutes if a reasonable amount of time to accomplish most things in this area. 12. Mayor Bennett said there is a request from the city attorney for an executive session to discuss the attorney's personnel review. Council scheduled a special meeting for November 6 at noon in the Council Chambers. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Reno moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Councilman Peters asked about the skier's shuttle funding. Dallas Everhart, finance director, told Council the funding is the transportation/mall fund cash balance for the 91-92 season. Funding for subsequent years will be discussed during the 1992 budget. The consent calendar is A. Resolution #42, 1991 - Assignment ABA Contract to Red Mountain Associates B. Request for Funds - Wildlife Task Force C. Contract Approval - Electric Systems Improvements D. 1991 City Council Budget Request E. City Manager contract F. RFTA Skier's Shuttle Funding G. Red Brick School Lease H. CCLC Appointment - George Newman I. Grassroots License to Occupy Parking Garage All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council she received a letter about the noise problem at the Copper Kettle. If Council wants to discuss this, they should withdraw the Copper Kettle renewal and schedule a public hearing. Sirous Saghatoslami, Copper Kettle, told Council this problem has come up and he has come before Council many times. Sirous said the Copper Kettle is not violating any ordinance or laws. Councilwoman Richards said there is nothing from environmental health to indicate whether the noise ordinance has been violated or not. Sirous told Council the Kettle has their own measuring devices. Every time the environmental health department has come to measure, they are within the noise stan- dards. Jed Caswall, city attorney, said noise complaints can be relevant to whether the licensee is operating his establishment in a proper manner. Councilman Reno said he feels it is unfair to have a public hearing on this. Councilman Peters said the city should determine whether this is a neighborhood problem by having a public hearing. Sirous told Council based on the city's ordinances, he has spent at least $200,000 sound proofing the premises. Councilman Reno requested staff make an administrative determination whether or not there is sufficient evidence to come back on this complaint. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to approve the liquor license renewals for Copper Kettle; Grape & Grain; Paradise; Mama Maria's; Thai 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 Kitchen; Pepi's Hideout; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. 1992 BUDGET Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. Dallas Everhart, finance director, said Council is in the middle of budget hearings which are scheduled through the second week in November. Staff anticipates Council adopted the budget by November 25th. Council has to certify the mill levy by December 15th. The 1992 budget includes certain restricted revenues and impact fees, which will be used as described in the budget document. Councilman Peters moved to continue the public hearing to November 11, 1991; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #241 SERIES OF 1991 - Newsracks Mayor Bennett said all parties have met and are working on a voluntary compliance program for the next 6 months. The CCLC is recommending this be continued to April 27, 1992, to make sure the city is getting compliance. John Worcester, city attorney's office, suggested Council vote this ordinance down and if necessary start with a new one in the Spring. Councilman Peters said he is very concerned about the USA Today boxes which are not bolted down . This is a safety issue. Councilwoman Richards agreed she would like the safety issue addressed. Council requested a CCLC member be present. Councilman Peters moved to table this to November 11, 1991, and to invite the CCLC to attend; Council wants the safety issues addressed immediately; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #42, SERIES OF 1991 - Ute Avenue Improvement District Councilman Reno moved to read Ordinance #42, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #42 (Series of 1991) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, CREATING THE UTE AVENUE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 1991-1, IN THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO; ORDERING THE CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION THEREIN OF CERTAIN LOCAL PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS; PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT BONDS IN PAYMENT FOR SAID IMPROVE- 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 MENTS; AND PROVIDING FOR NOTICE TO CONSTRUCTORS, AND OTHER DETAILS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DISTRICT was read by the city clerk Cindy Wilson, assistant city manager, suggested Council pass this on first reading and discuss the financing at the budget hearing October 30th during capital improvements. Jim Gibbard, engineering department, recommended adoption of the ordinance. These improve- ments are much needed from snow removal and safety issues. Gibbard pointed out in January 1990 Council approved the first resolution on the Ute Avenue improvement district. The district was put on hold until the completion of the bikeway/pedestrian plan. The proponents of the district came back August 12, 1991, and a resolution was approved by Council in September. Gibbard reminded Council the original district included only the lower Ute avenue. Council directed staff to investigate revising the boundaries to include upper Ute avenue. Gibbard said zone 1 is the city's property, Ute Cemetery, Ute Children's park. The assessment for zone 1 is $73,000. The assessment for Zone 2, which is the upper area, is $150,000. The allocations are based on an agreement between the city and the property owners. Zone 3, assessed at $286,500, and the allocation is pro-rated for each property owner based on assessed valuation. Gibbard said the total construction costs will be $509,500 and the scope of work will include widening and overlay of the street, some parking improvements, widening the shoulders for snow storage on upper Ute, drainage on the south side of the street, widening the bike trail in the lower district, street lights, and some under- grounding. Ron Thompson, Schmeuser Gordon and Meyer, showed Council the improvements for the lower district. The street will be paved to 22 foot standards adding an 11 foot parking lane. The drainage will be improved, 8 street lights will be installed. The concept is to improve the street not to make this too fancy. Bob Daniel, Banner Associates, showed Council the improvements for upper Ute, which begins at the parking lot for Ajax park. Daniel said it does not seem to make sense to stop the improvements at this line. There are also safety considerations on this road, which will they improve the line of sight, improve separation of the trail and the road and to flatten out the curve. They will also try and create some real parking at the Ute trail and end of the road. Mayor Bennett said staf f has reduced the total cost of the district by $31, 000 by removing costs which relate to trails and open space. Mayor Bennett asked if this is cost to the district or cost to the city. Cindy Wilson, assistant city manager, said this is both. These costs were included in the district last time Council saw it. The parks projects have been taken out to allow Council to consider 7 Regular Meeting Aspe__n_City Council October 28, 1991 them independently of the district. These could are entirely city costs and not to be shared by anyone else. Nick McGrath, representing Ute Place, pointed out the lower district has been approved by Council twice before. In the lower district, the city is not participating as a land owner and is not assessed, even though they own Glory Hole park and Ajax park. Daniel reiterated there are real safety issues on the upper Ute district that need to be fixed. Council will discuss this district further at the budget hearing. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #42, Series of 1991, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #43, SERIES OF 1991 - Cemetery Lane Underground District Chuck Roth, city engineer, said this is to form an underground district for utilities in Cemetery Lane, Waters area and at the base of the mountain. Roth told Council this resolution starts the district formation process and requires the utilities to submit a feasibility study within 120 days. Holy Cross is doing the district voluntarily and paying their own costs of undergrounding the primary. Canyon Cable TV, by franchise with the city, is required to pay their undergrounding costs. The only utility the resolution addresses is the phone company who cannot and will not pay their own costs. This resolution allows them time to submit their feasibility study. Roth said if Council passes this resolution, staff will do final engineering and send out the required notifications to property owners. Roth reminded Council the city has sent out two mailings to try and determine if the property owners really want this district. Roth said in 1986 the city issued a $3 million bond for the antique street lights and to complete undergrounding the city's electric system. After the primary system was undergrounded, an improvement district was formed to bury the secondaries. This is another improvement district to the secondary, which is the hook up to people's houses. City Council earlier passed a resolution encouraging Holy Cross to underground within the city as the city had done. Council has directed staff to examine the costs for this district and see if they could be lowered. Staff has taken out costs for the Ute district as they are proceeding, restoration costs, reduced bond issuance costs and removed them as an up front cost. Staff also calculated 5, 10 and 15 yesr payments for property owners. Currently with 50 percent response it is 66 percent in favor. Roth told Council the $65,000 for engineering fees will be covered out 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 of the remaining $3 million bond as are the 9 city-owned properties in the district. Councilwoman Pendleton said she thought Council indicated they were not interested in pursuing this unless the property owners were totally in support of this. Councilwoman Pendleton said under- grounding utilities is not high on her priority list for city projects. Councilman Reno said this is making easier for Holy Cross and putting a larger burden on the property owners. Councilman Reno said another issue is spending $264, 000 to bury the telephone companies lines. This may not be the purpose of an improvement district. Roth said the costs in this district are higher because there are no alleys for the utilities. Councilman Peters asked if this undergrounding is being aligned to make it easier and cheaper for Holy Cross to carry their lines. Craig, district manager Holy Cross, told Council their construction practices are to go on front lot lines whenever possible because of access. Craig said the consumer owns the secondary to the house, and Holy Cross is not in a position to contribute to secondary construction. Councilman Peters asked who owns the poles. Craig said Holy Cross electric does. Holy Cross has joint use agreements with other users. Roth said this originated with Council asking Holy Cross to consider undergrounding all their lines in Aspen. Roth said this has less public support than the district in the west end. Roth said this district is costing twice as much as the underground district in the west end. Councilman Reno objected to burying a major utility company's lines at the district's expense. Council- man Reno said this is also adding additional costs to the taxpayer because Holy Cross is moving the lines. Fred Peirce, Cemetery Lane resident, said he is concerned as some residents already have power undergrounded. Peirce said they should not be included in this underground district. Peirce agreed it is not appropriate for this district to be burying U. S. West's primary lines. The other utilities are bearing the costs to bury their lines. Boots Ferguson, Cemetery Lane, said his lots are already undergrounded. Ferguson said there are 4 or 5 different subdivisions with different regulations in this area. Ferguson favors undergrounding this but would like to see U. S. West participate in this project. Roth pointed out the city paid for the phone company to underground last time. There have been limited investigations about the city having their own phone company. John Worcester, assistant city attorney, said U. S. West boundaries extend beyond this district and if they undergrounded, it would be asking other customers to pay for this project. Mayor Bennett asked if other cities have had 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City .Council October 28, 1991 experiences with undergrounding and the phone company. Mayor Bennett asked staff to check with CML on this. Councilman Peters said he would like to pursue this. The city has already committed $65, 000 to engineering fees. There is potential to work with U. S. West and see if this number can be reduced. Council requested staff investigate the issues with the phone company and how to allow for properties that are already undergrounded to be dealt with. Councilman Peters moved to continue this to November 25, 1991; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. MOORE POOL 1991 WINTER FUNDING George Robinson, leisure services director, told Council after reviewing the initial proposal, they have come up with savings by cutting out small programs and services the city can do without down to the bare minimum of $18,069 to keep the pool open through the end of 1991. Robinson suggested funding this out of the lottery fund. The lottery fund has been used in the past for capital projects but it can be used for programs . Dallas Everhart, finance director, told Council the city has accumulated funds from prior years of $22,000 in the lottery. Councilman Peters said this is a capitol item which has been turned into an operation item. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to fund the Moore pool operations of $18,069 to come from the lottery fund to keep the Moore pool open through the end of 1991; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Peters said if the pool operation looks this bleak next fall, he will vote against keeping the pool open. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Bennett. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #40s SERIES OF 1991 - 1001 Ute Avenue Lot Line Adjustment Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council the applicant's representative requested this be tabled. Councilwoman Richards moved to table this to November 11, 1991; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #41, SERIES OF 1991 - Alpine Bank Condominiumization Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #41, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #41 (Series of 1991) 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING SUBDIVI- SION EXEMPTION FOR THE CONDOMINIUMIZATION OF THE ALPINE BANK BUILDING, LOTS K,L,M,N AND THE WEST HALF OF LOT O, BLOCK 98, ASPEN, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Leslie Lamont, planning office, requested adding to the list of items that need to be on the plat (e) fences and stairs if they encroach into the public right-of-way. In Section 3, delete in the second sentence "encroachment on sidewalk fences and stairs". Councilwoman Richards asked if this is a change in use from leased offices to offices for sale . Ms . Lamont said it is not a change in use but a change in ownership. Ms. Lamont said the 3 different categories in change in use are residential, lodge and commercial. Change in use is when uses go from residential to commercial or vice versa; this requires city review. Councilwoman Richards said she is concerned about the increase in parking and traffic at this building. Ms. Lamont said unless this building is redeveloped or an applicant is adding more square footage, the city does not have the ability to review and require mitigation. Gideon Kaufman, representing the applicant, told Council condomini- umization offers tenants a way to purchase their spaces. Kaufman ointed out with existin buildin s it is difficult to p g g provide more parking and employee housing. Mayor Bennett said this is something that should be encouraged to foster competition and better deals for the smaller businesses. Councilwoman Richards said it is critical for the city to have guidelines for this. It is an assumption to think that all tenants will be buying their own space. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed in order to preserve local businesses the city should have standards. Ms. Lamont said the last correction in section 4 adding (c) an easement should be provided for the sidewalk that is on private property. Kaufman said the reason the sidewalk is on private property is a large tree. Kaufman said they are willing to grant the easement; however, in the future they would not like this easement to be subtracted from their FAR. Kaufman pointed out this building was approved 18 years ago with a landscaping plan including gravel. There are two small depressed areas that have gravel. Ms. Lamont said the city does not allow gravel as part of a landscaping feature. Council said the gravel should be allowed to stay and to approve the existing landscaping plan. Councilman Reno moved to adopt Ordinance #41, Series of 1991, on first reading with the amendments; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richard, yes; Reno, yes; Pendleton, yes; Peters, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 CITY SHOP TANK LOCATIONS Diane Moore, planning office, reminded Council they had requested a list of alternative locations for fuel storage tanks. The streets department uses 3 underground tanks at the city shop. These tanks need to be replaced by December 1992. These tanks are used for fueling all city vehicles. Ms. Moore told Council in July 1990 the streets department submitted a stream margin review for replacement of their underground tanks in the same location. This project received an exemption from stream margin review but was reviewed by staff. There are 5 standards of review for exemption and this project met those standards of exemption. In September 1991, the streets department installed concrete pads adjacent to Castle Creek to accommodate above ground fuel storage tanks. This was not the location identified in the original review. The streets department assumed their review encompassed the entire site rather than a specific site. The 1990 approval was only for replacing above ground tanks in one location. The streets department will remove the 3 underground tanks and replace them with 2 underground tanks in the area for which they received in 1990 and will also remove the concrete pad adjacent to the river. Jack Reid, streets superintendent, said the closest alternative site is the parks and golf facility and highway 82 and Cemetery Lane. This would have the least financial impact on the city. This is a small area and would cause congestion. The water plant is a 2.4 mile round trip. This would require all city vehicles to go up Castle Creek to fuel up. The county fueling station is a 6.2 mile round trip; the city would have to install a dedicated phone line. Going to this location would cause traffic problems on highway 82. The city could only obtain gasoline at local stations which would cost 21 cents a gallon more. Reid said the real issue is a desire to move the city shop. Reid told Council environmentally there is not a lot of difference whether the tanks are above or below ground. Reid said one reason to put tanks above ground is that they will be easier to move if the city gets a new shop within the next 5 years. Reid said he did not know there was no way to allow above ground tanks in the city. Reid suggested the tanks be replaced and then have everyone work on a new location for the city shop. It will cost more money to fuel in another locations and will not be safer anywhere else. Tom Dunlop, environmental health department director, urged the removal of the existing tanks to see if there have been leaks over the past years. Dunlop told Council either above or below ground tanks can be installed to meet federal and state regulations. 12 Reqular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 John Foley said he appreciates all the work that has been done. Foley said it seems to be cheaper to put above ground tanks at the parks department if the city were willing to change the land use code. Councilman Peters said it is environmentally sound to dig up these tanks to make sure they are not leaking and to replace them with something safe. Councilman Peters supports burying the tanks underground where they are with the least disruption of the neighborhood. Councilwoman Richards agreed with the desire to move the city shop and would like to move that date up from 1997. Councilwoman Richards said the citizens approve of ambitious parks and open space programs but no one wants to see the trucks and graters. The city shop is a historic use in its present location. Councilwoman Richards pointed out trucks driving several miles to fuel up will be adding to the air pollution problem. Councilwoman Richards agreed with leaving the tanks where they are as long as the momentum for relocating the city shop is not dropped. Councilman Reno noted the city shop is one of several facilities which are in dire needed of being replaced or refurbished. This should be put to the voters for solutions. Councilwoman Pendleton reiterated the city keeps getting asked to do more and more and there is no place to put this equipment. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed with putting the storage tanks at the city shop as long as it is environmentally all right. Councilman Peters said he does not support the tanks above ground nor the code amendment. Mayor Bennett suggested sta f f meet with the residents to work out whether the tans should be below ground or semi above ground and bermed. Amy Margerum, city manager, pointed out the land use code does not allow above ground tanks. If Council is interested in having staff pursue this code amendment, they should let staff know. Council- woman Richards said she would favor sub-grade tanks that are not totally above ground. Council agreed staff should work this out with the neighbors. Councilman Peters moved to suspend the rules and continue the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. 1991 TRUSCOTT AND MAROLT BUDGET DEFICIT Dallas Everhart, finance director, told Council the approved budget for both Truscott and Marolt include a $31, 000 each deficit for operations in 1991. Everhart said the g.o. bond documents for Truscott and Marolt, Council created a $300,000 reserve which was set up in case there was an operation shortfall in the first few years of operation. Everhart requested Council's approval to use funds out of this $300,000 reserves for 1991. Councilwoman Richards asked if it is seasonal portion of these projects that is 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council _October 28, 1991 losing the money. Everhart said the finances are not broken out that way. Councilman Peters pointed out that administration costs were not figured into the original pro formas. The housing authority is charging administration. If they were not charging or managing the projects, the city would be paying someone else to do this. Councilman Peters told Council damage deposits were not being charged at Marolt and a lot of units were damaged. The housing authority is now charging a damage deposit. Councilman Peters said the short term units are much more difficult and work to manage. Councilman Peters said for a first year, it is appropriate to take this out of reserves and also to see if staff can get the projects back in line. Council said it is all right to take this out of operating reserves. RFTA CROSS TOWN SHUTTLEfGALENA STREET OPTIONS Councilwoman Pendleton said the proposed program will cost a minimum of $35,000 for one bus. A suggestion has come up to use "van pool" vehicles to take people from the parking garage to the gondola. Someone suggested RFTA supply the buses, insurance, gas and maintenance; ACRA could supply the administration; the city could get volunteers to drive the buses. Councilwoman Pendleton suggested the city may be able to get some form of compensation for drivers, like one day ski passes or golf passes. Councilwoman Pendleton said she wants the shuttle to go up Galena rather than Spring. This would be a community effort to work out a shuttle with small investment. Councilwoman Richards said there would have to be a large pool of drivers to make this work. Mayor Bennett encouraged Council to pursue this and to see if they can get a program going for this winter. Mayor Bennett said this will not prove the validity of a cross town shuttle because this does not contain all the elements of a cross town shuttle. Councilwoman Richards suggested someone specific should be in charge of taking this forward with all partners. Councilwoman Richards said some money should be budgeted for this program. Councilwoman Richards recommended promoting this through RFTA, ACRA and having brochures for lodges and businesses. Dan Blankenship, RFTA, said the route for this shuttle has not been finalized. One issue is whether this shuttle will cross the mall. Councilwoman Richards said a shuttle should be a straight shot. Amy Margerum, city manager, suggested for a one year experiment, the Council go with attachment B. Mayor Bennett said he does not like the shuttle crossing the mall. Councilwoman Pendleton said she w~.ll keep working on the shuttle with Blankenship and George Newman of the ACRA. 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 28, 1991 YOUTH CENTER LEASE Fred Peirce, representing the Youth Center, said the outstanding issues are the value of the building at the expiration of the lease terms and the right of possession of the building when the lease terminates. Peirce said at the last discussion with Council, the Youth Center was directed to get appraisers to help figure out the value of the building. The appraisers came up with a value for the lease between $25,000 and $50,000. Peirce said there was a meeting with the city on how to value the building at the end of the lease, taking into account this is a non-profit group, it is sitting on a land lease at a diminimus cost to the tenant. Peirce said it is difficult and arbitrary to try and come up with a value if and when the city were to purchase the building back from the Youth Center. Peirce suggested an appreciation schedule, what a building is worth over its life based on the effective age of the building and taking into account the level of maintenance. Peirce pointed out a building ages differently depending on where it is in its life scale. Peirce noted the schedule the Youth Center has worked out indicates the building still has some value at the end of 50 years. Peirce told Council the Youth Center has said they think the appreciation schedule makes sense; they are willing to give up an inflation factor in exchange for free rent. Mayor Bennett asked how the lease was valued at $25, 000 to $50, 000. Scott Bowie said they did not know whether they were supposed to value a building that has a deed restriction against it as to who can use it or whether they were supposed to look at a building if it came to someone else they would have to go through change of use and supply employee housing and parking. Bowie said this was difficult to value because of the land lease and the restriction as to use. Bowie said the building is 6900 square feet and they used $20 per square foot based on other office rents, which assumes the ability to use it as an office. After deducting some vacancies and other costs, it showed a value of $1,350,000 Bowie told Council they also looked at a market approach and some sales. Bowie said the building cost too much to build for what is there. If the building costs $1,350,000 and the structure costs $1,280,000 there is nothing for land. Bowie said the building should have cost $125 to $150 per foot. Bowie told Council at the Airport Business Center they get 10 percent of market value, which is $7.50 a building foot. For the Youth Center, the total is $50,000. Mayor Bennett said at the last meeting with the Youth Center, Council asked for an appraisal of the building and the land, both of which would be based on the fact that this was non-profit use only. This is a full market appraisal. Mayor Bennett said there is a non-profit market in Aspen; there are leases around. Councilman Peters said the point is to be fair and simple. Council 15 Reaular Meeting Asuen Citv Council October_2.81 1991 agreed if the land and building were valued on equal terms, this would be acceptable. They could be valued equally on the non- profit or the market approach. Councilman Peters said the city and county attorneys were wise to chose a simple way to value the Youth Center by giving them the land for 50 years and to assume over that course the city will continue to provide a place to kids to congregate. Mayor Bennett said at the last meeting Council discussed appraising the building as a physical entity used only by non-profits. Leases range for non-profits from zero per foot to $12 per foot. If one uses this as an income valuation and applies it to a building, the value will be a lot less than $1,300,000. Mayor Bennett said Council wanted the building valued at what a non-profit pays rather than what free market businesses pay. Randy Gold said in that case the land would be worthless. Councilwoman Richards said Council is accepting the building at actual construction cost rather than what it should have cost to build. This building has been designed for a very specific use. Councilman Peters said this is not a business deal and was never designed as an investment. Councilman Peters moved to suspend the rules and continue to 10:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. Peirce brought up the issues of when or if the Youth Center vacates the premises or defaults on the lease, the Youth Center can sub- lease to a non-profit group approved by Council. If Council fails to approve a non-profit, they can lease it themselves. Peirce said under this the city could refuse to allow a sub-lease and put the Youth Center in a possession with no one to lease it to. Peirce requested "reasonable discretion to approve a sub-tenant". Councilman Peters said Council should have the same discretion in the future as it had when it picked the Youth Center for this space. Worcester said Council could appoint itself or the county as a lessee. Worcester said "reasonable discretion" implies that one can elucidate what the reasons are. Worcester said Council should not be put in a position of having to explain to a non- profit why they do not want them in this building. Council agreed to approve the contract; it legitimizes the use that will be in this building. It is simple and straightforward. Councilman Reno said he does not want the city to get in this situation again; details should be worked out much earlier. REQUEST FOR FEE WAIVER - Nordic Council Amy Margerum, city manager, said Council can take the fees out of contingency or waive the fees or have the Nordic Council bring this up during the budget. Ms. Margerum said Council's policy is to have no automatic waiver of any fees, except affordable housing. 16 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council October 28. 1991 Councilman Reno said the work had been done and this was an invoice for additional hours. This bill was unexpected and the Nordic Council thought they had already paid. Councilwoman Pendleton said she does not like doing this on a case by case basis. Councilwoman Richards suggested making this part of the Nordic Council's budget request for the 1992 season. Dallas Everhart, finance director, said this would encourage people to not pay their bills and to ask for the fee waivers out of the next budget season. Everhart told Council the city encourages all groups to request needed funds during the budget season. Council has a contingency fund for unexpected requests during the year. Ms. Margerum suggested Council could look at a non-profit fee schedule different from the regular fee schedule. Councilman Peters moved to pay the Nordic Council planning fees out of contingency budget up to $1007.50 with the direction to staff to come up with policy recommendations for the future; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Richards moved to adjourn the Council meeting at 10:3 0 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. och, City Clerk 17