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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19850128 ~u~=z ~v~c~ng Aspen City Council January 28, 1985 JOINT MEETING WITH TOWN OF SNOWMASS COUNCIL Mayor stifling called the meeting to order at 4:10 p,m. with Councilmembers Knecht, Blomquist, Collins present and Pete Bedford Phil Desmond, Herschel Ross, John Francis, Jim Hooker and Mayor Jeff Tippett from Snowmass present° Nordic Council/Cross Country. Trails Craig Ward showed a slide show of various cross country areas in Europe and wisconsin, and the possibilities of what can be done. Ward read a cable from Davos, switzerland, saying that cross country skiing is the fastest growing movement in winter sports. Ward said there is a possibility of staging a cross country race from Snowmass to Aspen. Ward said this valley can be promoted as Nordic as well as downhill. Ward said the need more marketing and promotion now the system is in place. Ward said the Nordic council received permission from 16 landowners for tracks, i they have a brochure showing the various tracks. Ward said they do not feel people should~ be charged for either using the trails or for the brochure. Ward read some letters from around the country complimenting the new system as well as an article from the Los Angeles Times about Nordic skiing in the Aspen-Snowmass area. Ward told the Boards they have received 135 contributions ranging from $10 to $2,000; it is easier to raise money when people can see the system. Ward~presented the budget to the Boards. The biggest capital cost is the piston bully. The Nordic Council would like to get a second piston bully machine; right now Snowmass Club does the maintenance from Snowmass to Buttermilk. Ward challenged the Aspen Council to match the $12,000 given by Snowmass Council and would also lik~ Aspen to capitalize the cost of the piston bully of $56,000. This is maintaining th~ ~olflcourse, Marolt trail, Rio Grande trail. If Aspen funds the two requests, the Nordic Council Will only have a short fall of $22,000. Ward said he would like a commitment fr0m both Councils to help the Nordic Council in 1985-86 as this is a tremendous value to the community and promotes the entire valley as a resort. The total cost for 1985 will be $150,000 and Wards said he would like the two Councils to fund half of that. They will try to fund the second piston bully machine through the private sector° Ward said the piston bully cannot be used for anything other than setting track. Councilman Knecht suggested someone in the private sector buying the piston bully so they can get the tax cuts and leasing it to the Nordic council. Ward said the connection between Aspen and Snowmass is contingent upon two bridges, one at Iselin park and one over Castle creek. There is an anonymous donor who will fund the bridges if they see more commitment from Aspen so this will be a year-round trail. Mayor Stirling asked if they know the number of skiers using the trails. Ward said they are getting a counter for the Owl Creek trail in connection with the forest service. Jim Hooker asked if there is a count of people to take Nordic vacations. Bob told the Boards that from 1979 to 1982, Nordic skiing grew slightly faster than alpine skiing and the amount of people who do both increased even more. Mayor Tippett said this gives the valley one more reason people who choose here and puts Aspen and Snowmass in a better position than other resorts. John Francis said he hears a lot of support for this program. Both Councils need to discuss their funding commitments. Francis said he is an advocate of donations but would not county on them. The Nordic Council needs a certain amount of financial certainty. Ward told the Boards the Nordic Council is forming an executive committee to study funding methods but for the next two years, they need the help of Aspen and Snowmass. Phil Desmond asked about charging for the use of the trails. Ward said they are not in favor of this as well as it would be very difficult to police in an extensive system. Council- man Blomquist suggested Aspen buying the piston bully. City Manager Schilling said the city could finance it on a lease purchase arrangement. Mayor Stirling moved the Council make every effort to support the Nordic Council in this endeavor and move forward to put in place a proposal the Council can respond to within 30 to 45 days; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling asked the City Manager and Town Manager to work on this. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES ! Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the minutes of December 17, 1984 and January 14, 1985; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. il CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ! David White told Council that the Boards and Commission members were not invited to the city employee Christmas party, and they were told it was because Council was going to sponsor something else. Mayor stirling said the size of the party was getting too large and Council discussed having a separate affair. Councilman Blomquist moved to sponsor a recognition banquet for the Boards and Commissions as soon as possible; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Monroe Summers showed Council the Subaru poster; Winternational is auctioning off one ~ Subaru and raffling off one Subaru. The proceeds go to many non-profit groups in the area. Summers asked permission to allow these tickets to be sold in two places on the mall as they have done in the past. The tickets are being sold in many private locations around town~ Summers said they would like to erect two informal kiosks as the west end of Hyman avenue mall and the east end of Cooper avenue mall. These will be manned with ~volunteers who will have schedule of events, Winternational buttons, etc. Councilman Blomquist asked about vending on city property. City Attorney Taddune said there are criteria in the Code for Council to cOnsider; public need, availability of existing services, the cost of policing, revenues that will accrue to the city. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve this request and give a vending permit for a charitable cause based on the findings of fact as above and the charge is $1.00 for each booth; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. Regular Meeting COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Stirling requested the scheduled work session with the traffic committee for January 18 be rescheduled. Council scheduled this for Thursday, February 14 at 5 p.m. 2. Mayor Stirling reminded Council of the scheduled work session for Monday, February 4 at 5 p.m. with P & Z to discuss Burnt mountain. 3. Mayor Stirling asked about the appraisal on the Shaw lots. Assistant City Manager Ron Mitchell said he will have that report later this week. 4. Mayor Stirling said he and City Manager schilling attended the legislative session of the colorado Association of Ski Towns in Breckenridge. The towns made presentations on sales tax simplification, real estate transfer tax proposals. This session was covered in the Denver Post. Mayor Stirling said it was an excellent session and the Mayors and City Managers made friends with the legislators. 5. Councilman Knecht a~ked the status of the report on the Marolt property. City Manager schilling said this is due back to Council in february. ORDINANCE ~26, SERIES OF 1984 - Refunding bonds Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Mayor Stirling noted the city had hired a different bond counsel for this issue and asked why. Finance Director Sheree Sonfield told Council said that Talmidge was lookin~ at this issue in a way that was more advan- tageous to the city. Joe Barrows, Kirchner/Moore, told Council the original bonds these are refunding, part of that issue was to refund a short term not for the Wheeler. This is a complex issue of different types of finances and refunding back to 1977. Barrows said the treatment of the funds from the IRS viewpoint is not clear, and Kutak took the conservative point saying these $600,000 could not be invested at unrestricted yields. Barrows said the bonds have been insured by MBIA. Barrows said it is advantageous to the city to do this refunding. Mayor Stirling asked about the exposure to the city. Barrows said the city has an unqualified opinion that the bonds are legal and validly issued. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance ~26, 1984, on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Collins, aye; Knecht, aye; Blomquist, aye; Mayor Stirling,aye. Motion carried. APPLICATION FOR THREE-WAY LIQUOR LICENSE Ricardo's Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. City Clerk Koch reported the posting, publica- tion and file in order. Rich Perez, the applicant, said he has had a beer & wine license for 9 years and is upgrading the restaurant. The previous operation was a fast food operation. Perez has redone the restaurant and changed the menu, and would like a three- way license to compete with the surrounding restaurants. Mayor Stirling asked for opponents. There were none. Councilman Knecht moved to approve a three-way liquor license for Goomba's Inc.; seconded i by Councilman Collins. Ail in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~31, SERIES OF 1984 - Owl Creek Club Water Extension Councilman Knecht moved to table Ordinance ~31, 1984, to February 25, 1985 at the request ' of the applicant; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~1, SERIES OF 1985 - Reoganization Plan Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Mayor Stirling said there are benefits in this plan. This is one of the things Council had discussed with City Manager Schilling. Councilman Blomquist moved to adopt Ordinance ~1, Series of 1985, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Collins. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Blomquist, aye; collins, aye; Knecht, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY HEALTH REPORT Anne Knowlton, community health director, introduced Dr. Tom Vernon, state public health director. Dr. Vernon said the public health department includes environmental protection, responsibility for inspection and licensing of health facilities, as well as maternal and child care, handicap children, family planning, community nursing, etc. This is a diverse department. In Pitkin County, these duties are carried out by the environmental health department and Anne Knowlton. Dr. Vernon told Council the fundamental role of public health is prevention and a concern about the entire community. Councilman Blomquist asked how many health services are mandated and how many are optional, and why is there double taxation on city populations. Dr. Vernon said he cannot answer the latter as he does not understand the tax base well enough. Dr. Vernon said the mandate to the health department is very broad. Councilman Blomquist said there is not a clear definition as to whom the various health responsibilities should fall. Mayor Stirling said there is a misconception that ski towns are wealthy areas; there is a core community of working people in Aspen. Mayor Stirling asked the state remember that when the local community health director brings programs forward. Dr. Vernon told Council communities that do not have organized health departments, like Pitkin County, receive 20 percent of the salaries of the public health nurses and 35 percent of the salary of the county sanitarium. All counties get some funding from grants. Dr. Vernon said the state health department has less money in its budget than 1981-82, and does not have money to go into local areas except in crisis. PERRY DUPLEX CONDOMINIUMIZATION Colette Penne, planning office, told Council a trail link dedication should be a condition of this approval. This site is zoned R-30/PUD and has adequate land for a duplex unit. There is an employee unit which will be condominiumized as a common element of unit 1. Taking the kitchen out of that unit will keep this as a duplex. This three-story house will be divided into two units. P & Z reviewed this and recommended approval with five conditions. Councilman Knecht moved to approve condominiumization of the Perry duplex with five conditions; seconded by Mayor Stirling. John La Salle, representing the applicant, told Council one of the conditions at P & Z was that the parking requirement of one space per bedroom be imposed and be shown on the plat. Councilman Knecht amended his motion to include one space per bedroom be imposed and shown on the Plat; seconded by Mayor Stirling. La Salle said this caretaker unit is the result of a 1974 agreement with the city and Will be an accessory use to unit 1. The lack of a kitchen keeps this from being a free Standing unit. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Knecht. Motion carried. FIGURE SKATING SCHOOL Ted Armstrong, recreation director, said Council had requested staff to come back with a program prior to encumbering a budget. Armstrong said the proposal by the Aspen Figure Skating Club is a good one, enthusiasm is being shown and this program should be success- ful. The revenues has been increased over past years. Armstrong recommended accepting this proposal. Jim Holland, parks director, told Council the figure skating club is recommending they recoup the first $10,000, then the city should recoup their losses and there would be a split after that. Mayor Stirling said this program is excellent and the citizens have worked hard on this program, Mayor Stirling moved that the city go forward with this program; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. RELOCATION AND WEATHERIZATION OF CITY TROLLEYS Mayor Stirling said this is a proposal to move the trolleys from the Cozy Point ranch to the Elam gravel pits and to be covered for a maximum cost of $4300. City Manager Schillin? said there is no storage space available at the bus barn site. Schilling said the plannin~ staff spent a lot of time looking for possible storage spaces. The firSt priority was to find a protected, covered site. There were none available. Schilling said the trolleys could be left where they are and weatherized, but the majQr problem has been vandalism. Councilman Knecht said there is enough interest to keep moving forward with the trolley proposal and this seems a good temporary answer. Councilman Blomquist said he would prefer the trolleys not to be out of sight and suggeste~ they be stored at the impound lot. Schilling said the impound lot is out of the question as it is full. Councilman Knecht reminded Council they had approved an expenditure of ~ $2500 to get the original plan updated for the cost of running the trolleys. The trolley task force also recommended the trolleys be stored and stablized. Councilman Blomquist moved that the city manager be authorized to implement this plan; seconded by Councilman KneCht. Councilman Collins said a time frame should be established for the trolley program and moving forward rather than just letting the trolleys deteriorate. Councilman Knecht said the trolley task force is working on the program. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. DURANT MINE City Manager Schilling explained the city has water rights of 3.5 to 4 cfs of water flowinc through the Durant Mine down to Glory Hole park, The mine has collapsed and this reduces the amount of water to 1 - 1.5 cfs. The Aspen Chance developers spent about $28,000 to reopen the mine to about 40 feet as they do not want the water to dam up and flood some of the development. Schilling said 70 feet remains to totally reopen the mine to get the entire water rights and to protect the Aspen Change subdivision. Schilling said the cost would be $37,000. Schilling said if the value of this water right can be verified, the staff would recommend a 50/50 sharing of all costs to reopen the mine. Schilling recommended no final action be taken until John Musick can research this item. Councilman Knecht said he could not support this request. Mayor Stirling said this seems to mostly benefit the developer. The water is coming out of the mine now. Mayor Stirling said he would like the water counsel to report on the value of this water right. Ed ZasackY said the water has been tested and it is excellent quality. Zasacky said this is a valuable asset and nothing has been done to see this water right is protected and maintained. This is the water that flows through the mall, so it has some aesthetic value as well. Stephan Albouy said there is a chance the water will find its way into other workings and it will be gone for good. Councilman Blomquist moved to table this item until Council has a more definitive report from the city's water counsel; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. BOARD APPOINTMENTS Mayor Stirling and Councilman Blomquist interviewed 15 people a week ago for vacancies on the Wheeler Board and Roraring Fork Transit Authority. Councilman Knecht said he would! like an executive session with the entire Council to go over the interviews. Councilman Collins moved to table the Board appointments; seconded by Councilman Blomquist!. ~_j All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to have an executive session with the entire Council, February 14 at 4p.m.; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. City Attorney Taddune asked Council for an executive session after this meeting to discusSl the Castleridge litigation. Councilman Blomquist moved to go into executive session regarding Castleridge litigation; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. CONTRACT/COMPARABLE WORTH STUDY Mayor Stirling said the Council has passed a budget of $3500 for this study. Assistant City Manager said the staff contacted the companies that had put in proposals to see if they could do the study for that amount. Only Arthur Young & Company could do a study detailed enough for $5,000. Council Blomquist moved to approve the appropriation of an additional $1500 to conduct a job evaluatiOn/comparable worth study and to approve the selection of Arthur Young and Company to conduct a job evaluation/comparable worth study; seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilman Collins said the letter appears to be telling the Council that they may not want to ha ~ this study done. The letter in page 3 says that after weighing the advan- tages and disadvantages, the Council may decide such a study should be postponed. Councilman Collins suggested the firm should first come to Aspen and discuss this with the Council before the study. Arthur Young's letter suggests a couple of times to have the briefing before making this decision. Councilman Knecht said he does not want to spend any money to do this study. Councilman Knecht said the city manager and staff can make these determinations. Mayor Stirling said this is a question of equity, and the staff is not equipped to do this kind of study. Mayor Stirling said for legal and liabili!ty purposes, the city should have an expert come in to do this. Councilman Blomquist said this represents a good professional check up and wOuld be helpful. Councilman Collins moved to table this item until Councilwoman Walls returns. Motion DIES for lack of a second Councilman Blomquist and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Collins and Knecht opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Knecht moved to disapprove this study. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Councilman Collins moved to table this until February 11, 1985; seconded by Councilman Knecht. Motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL - Aspen Club Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the liquor license renewal for Aspen Club; seconded by Councilman Knecht. Motion carried. BANKRUPTCY BALLOT City Attorney Taddune asked for authority from Council, as a creditor, to vote for the plan reorganization as long as an agreement can be reached with the bankruptcy estate on how much is owing to the city. Taddune said the city bankruptcy counsel agreed it would be in the city's interest to vote for the agreement. Taddune said the city's claims are both secured and unsecured. There are four civil rights lawsuits outstanding, which is part of the settlement agreement. The Aspen Institute litigation is to be dismissed as part of the plan for reorganization. Taddune said there is a possibility if the plan is not approved, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy could occur and the creditors would not be guaranteed anything. The city's total claim is $80,545 and the city will receive utilities, sales taxes, property taxes. Councilman Knecht moved the City Council allow-the city attorney to vote in favor of the bankruptcy court proceedings; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Councilman Collins asked how come the amount is less than in earlier documents. Taddune said this was through negotiations with the staff and the bankruptcy estate. Spencer Schiffer, representing the estate, told Council the city did not make any concessions. The original claim included some duplication of sales taxes and property taxes. Taddune told Council Tom Kerwin has objected to the city's claim and there may be some litigation concerning this claim. David Zaagman said the city should vote yes on the secured claims and no on the unsecured claims in the hopes the ante is upped for a second ballot. Taddune said the city's bankruptcy counsel feels if this ballot is not approved, this will go into a chapter 7 liquidation and the unsecured creditors would receive nothing; the city's lawsuits would not be dismissed. Schiffer said there will be no second ballot,~ if this is ~t approved February 8, the court cannot take action on March 5 but will have ~ to start all over again. Commerce Savings has made it clear if this is not approved, the~ will convert to chapter 7 as soon as possible. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 7:55 p.m. ~ch, City C erk