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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19840423Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 23, 1984 ~ JOINT MEETING WITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. with Commissioners Kinsley,~Blake, Klanderud, Child and Madsen and Councilmembers Blomquist, Collins, Walls and Knecht present. ~=~u~ ~u~ ~spen ~l~y councl± April 25, 1984 1. Pitkin County Parks Association Trails Plan. Elizabeth Holkamp presented the trail map and signage program. Over the years most of the trail head signs have disappeared and it is hard for people to find the trail system. Ms. Holkamp has met with Curt Carpenter about a new map and sign program. The trail map has been included with the county bus system maps. This map should the proper perspective of the trails. The PCPA has agreed to spend $5,000 on signs and new map. The program needs about 50 signs, which are $125 each for a total of $9,233. The PCPA wuld like the city to contribute the difference. Mayor Stirling suggested a split between the city and county of $2116 each. Commissioner Kinsley pointed out the county had spent money for trail signs, none of which are left. This might be wasting money by putting more signs up. Councilman Blomquist said the county ended up buying a router and having the county shops do the signs. Kinsley agreed that Carpenter's sign are very nice, but they are sure to be removed to other parts of the country. It would be cheaper to have the county rout the signs. Carpenter told the Board to vandal-proof the signs, they would be mounted with a blind lag and the nut be covered with epoxy. Carpenter said the original idea was to have the trail signs and map be sympathetic and coordinated so tourists would know where they are and how far the trail end is. Ms. Holkamp agreed these signs would have to be replaced periodically. The trail heads should be marked. Henry Pedersen suggested painting or engraving'the signs in very large rocks. Kinsley suggested having the county cost out routing the signs, have Vinnie Belfont share his thoughts, and other alternatives. Kinsley said he is not inclined to spent $9,000 on signs that will not last many years. Ms. Holkmap told the Boards the PCPA is hoping to have a community service day to ask volunteers to put these signs in place, and to do this at the end of the trail-work week. Hal Clark, PCPA, said the parks association feels the trails do need signs, and this will be an on-going cost. Ms. Holkamp said last summer when the county put in the Mill street bridge, they put an underpass under the bridge and saving enough money to finish the grading and do some landscaping. This will enable people to walk from the Visual Arts center under the bridge to the Rio Grande trail. This will be a highly used urban trail, and it would be appro- priate to pave this trail. The request is that the city donate money for the paving. This trail will connect with the trail to the Neale street bridge. Volunteers will be used to put a walking trail from the Neale street bridge to the Hopkins street bridge. Ms. Holkamp has talked to the highway department and has requested they widen the highway 4 feet on either side and have it striped and connect all the way to the Aspen Club trail. The parks association is willing to pay for the stone wall needed outside the Alpine Lodge. Kinsley said the county is not in a position to respond to budget requests in the middle of the year. Curt Stewart, county manager, said the county has a budget preparation time where the commissioners can weigh all community priorities. This is being considered outside that process; these should be looked at the same time all other requests are looked at. Commissioner Klanderud asked about the money from the lottery that was allocated to trails. Stewart said that money covered the maintenance costs. Ms. Holkamp said if the county is going to spend the money to regrade under the Mill street bridge, the request to the city to pave this trail is timely. Ms. Holkamp said the county has only been asked for in-kind services, and also to be kept aware of what is going on. Acting City Manager Ron ~itchell suggested Council might want to look at the entire capital improvement program before approving these two project to see what else Council may want to fund. Mayor Stirling agreed Council needs to look at the entire picture before chipping away at the funds. Hal Clark said the problem is the county has the trails system and the city has the money. Kinsley agreed, originally, the county would construct and maintain all trails no matter which jurisdiction they were in, and the city would do all the parks. Councilman Blomquist pointed out these conditions are passed, and the city Should take the trails within the city limits and main~n~ them. Councilman Knecht said at one time the city was going to maintain the trails and budgeted money for that. The city also budgeted money for a bike, jogging trail up highway 82 towards Independence. COuncilman Knecht said he feels it is important for the city to take care of the trails and is willing to budget the money to get the trails in shape. The PCPA is willing to put up some ~'money for these trails also, and Councilman Knecht would like to have the trails done for this su~nmer. Councilman Blomquist said there is no city department responsible for the trails at this time. Councilman Blomquist said the Council should give parks a budget to take care of thehtrails. Mitchell told Council in determining maintenance of the trails syste~ there is an estimate in excess of $200,000 of capital improvement maintenance items that will have to be done in the next 3 to 5 years on the current system. Whoever will have the responsibility for the trails will have to deal with this issue. Mayor Stirling said he would like the city and county staff to make a proposal to the Boards readdressing the trails system, which entity should be responsible for what. Madsen said the county has the money budgeted for maintenance, and they will take care of the trails. The city can handle the capital expenses with the exception of the grading underneath ~ill street bridge. Bill Tuite said the staff have collected a lot of information on the trails and can put together a comprehensive plan that addresses the Board's concerns. Councilwoman Walls asked about the maintenance for this summer. Stewart said the county has $20,000 for brush cutting, pothole patching, sweeping, etc. for all the paved trails. Kinsley said the county will do a minimum level of maintenance %o make the trails usable for the summer. Ms. Holekamp said on the trail from Neale street bridge to Hopkins street bridge, they need to get started on notifying the landowners along the route and staking the trail so the landowners will know where the trail will be~ The engineering department will send out letters and will stake the trail. Ms. Holekamp said this trail will run on the south side of the river; the trail will be hand work and will be 4 feet. Beth Fergus said she has twelve high school volunteers to do the work, and would like to have some tools to be provided. Ms. Holekamp requested a country trail crew member to help supervise the work. The county said they would provide the tools they could spare. The county only has one member of the trail crew and will lend when possible. Regular Meeting Aspen ~l~y ~ouncl± Aprl± z3, ±~4 Hal Clark presented a plan for beautification of the entry of the Rio Grande trail. Clarkl showed the features at the entry; the house the city owns, the house that is going to be torn down. One house A.C.E.S. will fix up, the city has agreed to let A.C.E.S use this for two years. The idea is to make this area attractive with trees and flowers and to screen the sewer plant as much as possible. They would like to upgrade the trail from thei school to Hallam lake, and to redefinie the parking area at the entry way. Clark said they are estimating this project will cost $15,000; the PCPA is giving $5,000 for this project. Clark pointed out the city has spent about $1,000,000 on property in this area in the last year. Mayor Stirling suggested these items be brought back together for the May 14th agenda. Kinsley said the real leadership for the trails porgram is in the privat, sector, and acknowledged their input and energy. 2. Office Space Report. Curt Stewart presented an update on decision made by the county since the last joint meeting on this subject. The county met to consider recommendations on where the sheriff's office and police department should be jointly house and to look at the different alternatives. The county also wanted to make a decision on a space for the building department, and to interview local architects to redesi~ the space. The Commissioners would like to have the SO/PD together in the basement of the courthouse. Unique uses, like crime labs, dark rooms, locker rooms, would be put in the basement of the new jail. The county would like to move towards relocating the district attorney's office in the basement of the courthouse also. This would eliminate having to pay rent for the district attorney's office. Stewart said the space vacated by the police depart- ment should be renovated so that it can be used by the building department. Stewart said the county staff will be recommending to retain the firm of Gibson/Reno to assist in the redesign of the space in the basement of the courthouse. Stewart said if the Boards agree to this approach, the staff would devise some joint sharing of the rehabi- litation costs for the two buildings. Kinsley said just using the present space and building more offices may not be the most efficient way to utilize the space. It may be more efficient to change the space to make it more usable. Councilman Blomquist said the original idea was the county would take care of the courthouse costs, and the city would take care of costs in city hall. Councilman Blomquist said it is more fair that each entity own and operate and take care of their own building. Stewart said the costs are an unknown, and the staff did not want to deal With whose financial advantage it would be. The most straighforward way to deal with this is to split the costs. Councilman Blomquist said if it is done that way, he wants everything cost accounted and rents charged. Councilwoman Walls said the Council would have to get involved in decisionS about the courthouse, and she would rather not. Councilman Blomquist agreed. Councilman Blomquist said the trade is about the same. Mayor Stirling said the Council will have to look at the effect on all of city hall, moving offices around, improving existing spaces. The staff would like a decision by May 1st. Stewart said the staff needs Council's approval to put the police department in the courthouse and also a commitment to move the building department back to city hall. Dick Kienast, sheriff, said he is in favor of the police department moving into the basement of the courthouse with the sheriffs department. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Councilman Blomquist moved to approve all minutes submitted to date (through April 9, 1984 seconded by Councilman Knecht. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Monroe Summers said Tom Isaac would like to present the handicap accessibility study results, which Council commissioned him to do. Councilman Knecht moved to add this to the agenda; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Nick deWolfe, representing the West Side Improvement Association, said the west end would like to underground their utilities and would like to present a request that the city help the west end in this project, deWolfe told Council the WSIA sent out a survey to the neighborhood and 92 per cent responded that undergrounding the wires was their highest priority, deWolfe said this is a difficult project for the WSIA to undertake without the city. Mayor Stirling said the Council will be discussing the power purchase contract later on the agenda, and there is a potential savings of $200,000. deWolfe said the WSIA is requesting this item be on the May 14th agenda. 3. Charles Hopton said in 1980 the city replaced the street and sidewalk on east Durant. The sidewalk was put in incorrectly, there has been deteriorating. Hopton told Council he has discussed this with the engineering department, and nothing has been done. Hopton said the engineering department said the sidewalk was not properly installed and something should be done. Hopton said he has contacted the city every year and nothing has been done. Mayor Stirling requested a report from the engineering department on May 14th. 4. Spencer Schiffer asked Council to place a matter on the agend having to do with the Cantrup bankruptcy having to do with an exchange of property between the estate and the Asking Skiing Company. One of the properties is the Holiday House, which is subject to an agreement between the city and Cantrup. Councilman Blomquist moved to add this to the end of the agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. 5. Mary Martin said two weeks ago she was present to ask the Council to direct the plan- ning office to restudy residential zoning, and they were to report on R-6 zoning. Mrs. Martin said if the P & Z and planning office has not addressed eliminating duplexes and conditional uses in the R-6 zone, they will take this to a petition very quickly. Mayor Stirling said at that meeting, Council recommended the neighborhood planning process continue, and planning office come back with a recommendation as soon as possible, but not necessarily tonight. Mayor Stirling said the P & Z has not reviewed a proposal about this from the planning office. P & Z will review this before it comes to Council. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell said this issue is on the planning office work program. Bill Martin said in the neighborhood approach, the solutions will not be until October, and they are facing the problem of the summer construction period. Martin said this issue ought to be taken out of the neighborhood planning process and have the P & Z put it on their agenda. Mayor Stirling said Council will discuss this with the planning office. Councilman Blomquist said the WSIA has the right to get a petition going on R-6; the Charter does allow this method to get things on Council agenda. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Walls said she would like to add the MX lawsuit to Council's agenda. Time is of the essence if Aspen is going to join other cities in Colorado in this lawsuit. Councilwoman Walls moved to put the MX lawsuit on the agenda as the last item; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Councilwoman Walls said in December the Council voted to direct the personnel director to do a comparable worth study. Councilwoman Walls asked where the report is. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell said a status report was given several weeks ago. The personnel director, Patsy Malone, is doing a fair amount of analytical work, and needs to do some calculating on comparable position. Ms. Malone is working with data processing to come up with a program; this program should be done in May. 3. Mayor Stirling moved to have an executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss city manager applications; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried.~ 4. Mayor Stirling brought up a memorandum from Monroe Summers about signs related to the visitors center in the Wheeler Opera House. Summers told Council he was not sure about ordering time on the signs. If Council waits until the May 14th meeting, the signs will probably be here by June 1st. Council requested a report on May 14th 5. Council schedule a work session with the planning office on their work program for May 21st at 5:00 p.m. 6. Councilman Knecht said he would like a report from the engineering department on fixing and paving Neale street bridge and Gibson avenue. ACCESSIBILITY STUDY Tom Isaac presented his brochure, which has just been printed, on accessibility. Isaac told Council he will distribute this through the ARA and through other organizations. Isaac said the main purpose of this study is to let people know that Aspen is accessible to handicap persons; they can come here and enjoy the community. Isaac presented a memo pointing out where accessibility could be improved, and said in the future the community should be trying to increase their awareness on accessibility. Isaac said the sidewalk ramp program seems to be stalled. Isaac pointed out there is onely one handicap parking space in the downtown core. Isaac said most of the older buildings are difficult for handicapped people to get into. Isaac said much new construction is also inaccessible and does not conform with the uniform building code. The city does have an ordinance which exempts all but one floor from being accessible, which is a problem. Isaac told Council he has met with city and county staff because the federal government is requiring local governments to examine their policies, buildings, and programs to make sure these address disabled persons problems. This will require local governments to set up a committee to examine these policies. Isaac said he has agreed to sit on this committee for the county and hopes the city will join in. Isaac said there is a possibilitiy if these policies are not examined, local governments could lose their revenue sharing. Monroe Summers said there are no direct costs associated with this. Summers said the thought is to put together a group of local handicap people and put together a report to put Aspen in compliance with the guidelines. This report could cover both city and countyi! facilities. There may be an expense in staff time of helping to prepare the final document!. Councilman Collins moved to form a committee of local handicapped persons to address federal requirements to put Aspen in compliance with the revenue sharing act; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Collins asked which was more stringent, the UBC or the loc~ordinance. Isaac said neither is clear, the UBC says in an office building, only the ground floor has to be accessible. Not all buildings are office buildings, for instance the Mill street buildilng has a restaurant on the second floor which is not accessible. A retail building must be accessible to all floor. Isaac said he did not think the building department is strictly enforcing accessibility on multi-level buildings; most of the new building are inaccessible. Councilman Collins said he would 'like to clear up some of the ambiguities in the ordinance. Councilman Blomquist pointed out in Isaac's report it states that the Aspen Municipal Code exempts new construction from meeting the acceptability standards mandated by the UBC.~i Councilman Blomquist moved to request the city attorney to prepare an ordinance amending the municipal code to remove the exemption from the UBC requirement; seconded by Council- : man Collins. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ~55, SERIES OF 1983 Timeshare Final Review City Attorney Taddune said Council had directed him to make three changes. One was the requirement for handicap access; second revise the language regarding licensing. The finance department suggested the license fee be collectable as a municipal charge against the real estate. Another was the license fee being paid on a pro rata basis. Taddune also said that gifts of free transportation and lodging or gifts in excess of $100 shall be prohibited. aspen ~l~y ~ounclz Aprl± z3, ±9~4 Councilman Blomquist moved to approve Ordinance #55, Series of 1983, subject to the under-il standing that the prohibitions are as the city attorney indicated; seconded by Councilwoma~ Walls. Bil Dunaway asked whether this ordinance was meant to comply with the UBC or with local ordinances, which have amended the UBC. Councilman Blomquist said this ordinance reads "handicap access to and throughout the project". Dunaway said the previous Council had become concerned about the expense of handicap access and amended the code not to require access above or below the ground floor. CityAttorney Taddune said if Council deletes "as required by the UBC", Council has latitude to require handicap access on a case by case basis. Stan Mathis said there is a section in the UBC which calls for a certain percentage of rooms in a lodge to be accessible to handicap persons. Councilman Blomquist agreed there should be handicap access to 10 per cent of the rooms, as the UBC says. Councilman Blomquist said handicapped persons should also have access to all communal facilities. Council should take the standard of the UBC and see if it achieves what the Council intends, that there be 10 per cent of rooms available, and handicapped persons have access to amenities in a lodge building. Mayor Stirling said he does not want to make this so onerous as to preclude some applica- tions from coming forward. Gideon Kaufman said applicants are willing to meet the standards of the UBC; the city standards are less. ~ ~ Councilman Blomquist moved to delete the last six words in 4(13); seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilman Collins said he wants assurance that there will be some level of accessbility by handicapped persons to the facility and the common elements of the facility. Taddune said the UBC does not look at ownership character but at the structure itself. The UBC is an evolving document. Councilman Blomquist amended his motion to read, "satisfactory provision shall be made to provide handicap access to at least 10 per cent of the units and to and throughout the projects common areas" seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilmembers Walls, Collins and Blomquist in favor; Councilman Knecht and Mayor Stirling opposed. Motion carried. Councilman Collins said there is a $5,000 fee accompanying the application; if the applic- ation is denied, he assumes this fee will be returned. Councilman Collins pointed out it should be made more clear that this $5,000 is an annual fee and should be paid per year. Taddune said he would add "per year" in paragraph 2. Taddune said he would add a sentencell that if an application is denied, the $5,000 will be returned. Councilman Collins said there is a requirement for $20,000 cash, $20,000 letter of credit or a $100,000 bond and perhaps the bond should be deleted. Councilman Collins said the bond would leave some question of collection open on this and cash or letter of credit would be more in the best interest of the city. Councilman Collins said this ordinance eliminate the RMF zone for timesharing because of the higher intensity of use and because of the impact in the residential zones. Council- man Collins said the some thinking applies in the L-3 zone, which lodges are non-conforming and often exist in residential areas of the city. Councilman Collins said he does not feel timesharing belongs in lodges that are a minority in residential zones. Councilman Collins moved to approve Ordinance ~55 that the L-3 zone be deleted; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Councilmembers Collins and Blomquist in favor~ Councilmembers Walls, Knecht and Mayor Stirling opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Knecht moved in section 6(j) the words "or a $100,000 surety bond" be eliminate~; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance #55, as amended; seconded by Councilman Blom- quist; Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Blomquist, aye; Walls, aye; Collins, nay; Mayor Stirling,aye. Motion carried. Mayor Stirling said the moratorium on timeshare has been lifted with the final adoption of Ordinance ~55, Series of 1983. ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 1984 - Deane Hydropower Project City Attorney Taddune said after the last Council meeting, John Musick, Jim Maraklunas, Rom Mitchell and Councilman Collins and Taddune met with the Deanes to discuss alternatives to this agreement. The discussion was about converting the agreement to a lease of the property, having a minimum lease payment, with perhaps an escalator for revenues generated% One of the items of discussion was that the Deanes would not involve themselves in control~ of the project. This agreement was distributed to Council and was then the subject of ano~er meeting, and the discussions were to cost out the agreement, take out the partner- ship aspect, and recommend the city would give the Deanes a certain amount annually for the hydropower site, based upon projected revenue flow, and tie up the outstanding questions regarding the dam and pipeline in favor of the city. Taddune told Council this afternoon he received a response from the Deanes, and they are not interested in the proposal discussed this morning. The Deanes would be willing to accept a 60/40 revenue split and to consider some language regarding the Herrick ditch. These terms came from a Council meeting in early April, and the Deanes would like to dis- cuss them with Council. Bob Francis said Council had a straw vote which was 3 to 2 in favor of the project if the Deanes considered a 60/40 revenue split, and if they were willing to negetiate the disposition the Herrick ditch rights relating to this project. Francis said this afternoon, they were presented with a formula to buy out the Deane family. Francis said the Deanes feel this proposal incorporate a number of things that would be difficult to manage. The Deanes felt the best option was to retreat to what Council had a straw vote on at a previous meeting. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. ReguLar Meeting Aspen City Council April 23, 1984 Councilman Knecht suggested waiting until the applicants and attorney have drawn up the separate agreed for the Herrick ditch before voting on this agreement. John Musick told Council the negotiations on the Herrick ditch are very complicated. Francis told Council the Dearies have felt all along that 50/50 split was fair. Francis said the Dearies are willing to put some of the Herrick ditch into the hydropower project, because they will be getting a percentage of it. Taddune told Council he cannot recommend to them that they pass this tonight without addressing everything. Mayor Stirling asked if there was a possibility to set this up so the Dearies were not involved. Mayor Stirling asked if the Deanes would consider a fair market appraisal, buy the hydropower site and forget the Herrick rights. Rick Deane said they proposed the hydropower idea in the first place and feel very stronlgy they would like to be involved with the project. Francis said with the percentage approach, the Deanes are willing to take a chance on what will happen with the price of electricity. Francis said if the Deanes sell the property, due weight might not be given to the fact than in 10 or 15 years the project is worth more than anyone could imagine. Councilman Collins suggested indexing this to some power source and increase the payments. Mayor Stirling said in the best interests of Aspen, the city needs to be as independent in this arrangement as possible. Mayor Stirling said the city could buy the land from the Deanes, and for the Herrick right, the Deanes could agree to lease this to the city whenever the city needs it at an agreed upon rate. Mayor Stirling said if there is abuilding site on this property, it does make it valuable. Councilman Blomquist suggested a ground lease for a small hydropower project, and leave a development site. Musick told Council the cost benefit increases by two if the Herrick water rights are used, for a certain period of time. Bob McGregor told Council the original reason for including the Herrick in this agreement was a comprehensive view of critical drought periods. McGregor said most of the hydropower~ produced will be from the city's own water rights. Taddune said one thing Council has to decide is whether they want staff to negotiate an arrangement which does not involve any participation outside the city. Councilman Collins had suggested the city give the Deanes the same dollar amount, either fixed cost or per- centage amount, but they will not have control of the project. Councilman Blomquist moved that the staff negotiate as outlined; seconded by Councilman Collins. Taddune said the applicants wanted a chance to present to Council what Council had approved earlier at a straw vote. In the negotiations, Councilman Collins had presented a percent- age arrangement but with the Deanes having no control. Councilman Blomquist said the staff should negotiate with the Deanes to give them a reasonable return in such a way the city ends up owning, running and operating its own project. Taddune said a fixed cost project binds the city to a successful project, whether it is successful or not; it binds the city to a certain payout no matter what. Francis said they has proposed that the m~nlmum be tied into the cost of electricity and that it be indexed up or down. This was a renego- tiation point; everyone is trying to anticipate what the situation will be in 20 30 years and no one knows. That is why the percentage made more sense. Council agreed they were amenable to indexing the cost each year; the city would have 100 per cent control Of the plant, and the Deanes would lease the ground to the city. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Knecht. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1984 - Vigoda Rezoning Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance #5, Series of 1984, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Councilman Collins requested a map to show exactly where this property is. Colette Penne, planning office, gave Council a map and discussed where the property is, where the flat area is, and where the slope is. Ms. Penne showed where the Trueman property is, where the trail easement is. Gideon Kaufman told Council part of this property is zoned commercial, and this rezoning is removing the building to do any commercial development on this property. Ms. Penne said the mistake was when the zoning line was drawn right through the middle of the property as the map drawers assumed the city boundary line was a property line. Mayor Stirling pointed out some of the land up on the flat part is the land that is zoned S/C/I rather than R-6. Kaufman pointed out that none of this property goes over the bank, the whole property is on the flat. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Walls, nay; Blomquist, aye; Knecht, aye; Collins, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. 707 GIBSON SUBDIVISION EXCEPTION Colette Penne, planning office, told Council this is a lot line adjustment between two parcels where equal amounts of property are being traded. The applicant has demonstrated this lot line adjustment fits the criteria of the code in there is a boundary change between consulting land owners, the development rights and densities are not affected by this adjustment. The parcel being given is steep; the parcel being received is fla~; however, the slope does not affect the development rights of the property. After the lot line adjustment, parcel B will require to the underlying requirements of the R-30 zone; parcel A is a non-conforming lot of record; the lot line adjustment will not increase its non- conformity. Mayor Stirling asked what the purpose of this is. Ms. Penne said this property went through stream margin review, which dictated the position of the house. This property exchange will give them the required setbacks. Ms. Psnne told Council both P & Z and the planning office recommend approval with one condition that an easement be taken through the property. Mayor Stirling moved to grant approval of the 707 Gibson Associates subdivision exception for the purpose of adjusting a lot line as requested; approval subject to extension of the Hill House utility easement through this property and must be shown upon the plat prior to recordation; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Reqular Meetinq Aspen City Council April 23, 1984 KING STREET CLOSURE Mayor Stirling said this street had been closed, who opened for construction. Fire Chief Steve Crockett said King street is more than 150 feet long; having it closed creates a dead end, which is a problem for fire apparatus. There is no turning radius. Also the fire department needs access to a hydrant on Gibson avenue. Crocket said from the fire department standpoint, closing this street creates a real hazard. Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell said the street department recommends this be left open, as it is easier to plow. Mitchel told Council he had received one call from a resident requesting this street be closed because of the traffic racing through. Mayor Stirling moved to request the street department keep King street open all the way through; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. LODGING IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT - Resolution #14, Series of 1984 Monroe Summers said staff has brought the street scape improvements to Council in a work session late fall. This project has been in the works for two years. This is an improvement district for the Aspen base mountain lodge district, west of Aspen Alps, south of Durant, east of Garmsich and below the 8060 line on Aspen mount. ..Summers told Council CCLC has been strongly behind this project for several years, and they feel it is a very worthwhile project. Summers said he has received a positive response from lodge owners and property owners in the area. The conceptual plans have been reviewed by Council, who was in agreement with the concep- tual plan. Council wanted to wait until there was a resolution of the Aspen Mountain Lodge application and of the Cantrup bankruptcy; these seem to be getting settled. Summers said there was a conceptual plan drawn up, and the staff planned to have public hearings and neighborhood meetings. It was discovered through this process that there is a large number of absentee owners in this area. The people who did show up for the hearings were positive. The staff has concluded it would be very difficult to generate an improve- ment district in this area by citizen petition. Summers told Council the Colorado statute~ provide an alternative method for a district like this, which is the government to initiat~ the improvement district as opposed to citizen petition. Summers said the action for Council tonight is for them to have a reaction to the resolu- tion and to establish their position on taking the initiative in forming a district. Summers said there are things the staff needs to accomplish to put this process in motion. One is approval of the resolution, which states Council takes the position this work should be done. This resolution does not improvement the work, the cost or the assessment It is a position statement. Mayor Stirling moved to pass Resolution ~14, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Knecht Gary Plumley, chairman of the CCLC, explained to Council there are not enough residents of this area who could be qualified electors in order to form an improvement district. Plumley said they have talked to condominums in the area, and the owners are interested in these improvements. Councilman Collins said this is a big step, and there is a differ- ence between Council initiated action and ~itizen-initiated action. Councilman Collins said he would like to know there is substantial support for this in the improvement area. Councilman Collins said he would rather than the citizens petition for this district because they will be paying for the improvements. Councilman Collins asked if there is a vote on this issue, and who gets to vote. Plumley said there are a series of public hearings for these residents. Plumlsy said the number of people eligible to sign a petition for a district are so few, it is a minute percentage of the people who own prop- erty in this area and who ultimately pay for the project. Mayor Stirling said he feels the Council has to take the initiative in this issue, it has been in the works for a long time. There will be public hearings for the residents to voice their opinion. Taddune said two of the public hearings are .to determine whether or not a district should be formed, and a hearing to determine whether or not property should be encompassed within the district. Taddune said Council is being asked to allow the groundwork to allow this to come to the public hearing stage. Plumley said this will be a unique district; some properties have little frontage but the benefits will be to all in the area. Councilman Collins said he feels this project is needed, but the city needs to follow the right procedures. Councilman Collins said he would prefer Council act on a citizens' petition. Councilman Collins said the Aspen Mountain Lodge, who is 40 per cent of the district, has proposed to be involVed in the design and supervision of this project. Councilman Collins said he felt this may be a conflict. Mayor Stirling said that proposal is not part of the resolution. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to have this assigned very specifically to the city engineer. Councilman Blomquist said there are economies of scale if the Aspen Mountain Lodge do the work; however, costs could be distributed that are unfair or advantageous to one applicant. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Collins andl Blomquist. Motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to authorize the Special Projects Director and City Engineer to develop a work program and agreement for the provision of professional services on the design of the Base Mountain Lodge Improvement District with the team of consultants currently designing site improvements for the Aspen Mountain Lodge project. The form of the agreement shall be subject to the approval of the city attorney. Terms and conditions~. of the agreement shall be subject to final approval of city Council; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Mayor Stirling suggested amended the motion to name the City Manager rather than the special projects director, Councilman Knecht amended his motion to include City Manager rather than special projects director; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Councilman Blomquist said he feels it is wrong to designate the team of consultants until the staff has decided who those consultants will be. Councilman Blomquist said he felt using the Aspen Mountain Lodge team may have problems of an ethical nature. Councilman Knecht said he feels the city would be getting a good deal using these teams. Summers said the staff is asking for permission to explore a program which might include this consultant team. Joe Wells said this design team would have a separate contract with a separate client and would be receiving input from the improvement district client. Wells said a benefit to the city is getting the project underway. If the city goes with another consultant, they have to find the funds to finance the design before the district is in place. This will be a four month delay. Councilman Knecht said as long as the area is going to be torn up the improvement district ought to be done all at once. Councilman Knecht said the city has been talking about this project for three years. Plumley told Council one of the reasons the CCLC is interesting in working with the Aspen Mountain Lodge team is that these improve- ments are not spot improvements. These improvements should be contiguous and should have a standard. This improvement district is encompassing projects from undergrounding utilities to beautification through landscaping. Mayor Stirling asked if there was a downside in involving the design team from the Aspen Mountain Lodge. Summers said he feels the staff can ferret out any concerns that may be a conflict of interest. Summers said if the staff were to weigh the economies of scale and toweigh the cost of having two different consultants interfacing with each other, there is a substantial cost savings, which is worth pursuing. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Collins and Blomquist. Motion carried. Councilwoman Walls moved to authorize the city attorney to arrange for legal counsel required to implement the creation of the base mountain lodge improvement district; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Taddune told Council the practice in special improvement districts is for the district to have its own counsel, who communicates with bond counsel. The legal fees will be capital- ized in the district and paid out by assessment. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins. Motion carried. ELECTRIC POWER PURCHASE CONTRACT Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell told Council they have a summary of the issues that were brought up in the study sessions on this issue. The city's consultants, Sheaffer and Roland, are recommending Council direct staff to finalize negotiations with MF2~N to come up with a contract to purchase power from MEAN. Councilman Blomquist moved to direct staff and Sheaffer and Roland to >oommence£~_.. final negotiations with ~unicipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) for purchase of all electrical power requirements of the city over and above that which will be supplied to the city from its hydroelectric sources and future WAPA allocations; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Sherry Public Service, said they are in an enviable position as far as future increases of power costs. PSCo will be adding capacity in the next ten years; however, the cost increases will be minimized. The demand charges will only increase a total of 10 - 15 per cent over the next ten years, including the effects of inflation. PSCO does have the facilities in place to serve Aspen. PSCo feels they can operate Ruedi at a competitive price with superior results. PSCo is uncomfortable with the short and long term implications of contracting with another supplier, and the cost effects of future supply and delivery arrangements. Sherry said she would be glad to meet with Council if they had any concerns. Mayor Stirling asked what kind of control the city would have over the prices of power in the contract with MEAN. Mitchell said MEAN is a non-profit group and has just municipalities as participants, the city would have a vote in the process like any other municipality. The city would be participating in the decision process with MEAN. Mayor Stirling asked where MEAN is in negotiating to bring the power to Aspen. Mr. Wacker said they will have to negotiate with Colorado-Ute, they have had meetings with Colorado-Ute but were waiting for Aspen's decision on the power contract. Mayor Stirling asked if MEAN's summer peak grows, will it have an effect on the current low cost of the power. Bob MacGregor said this will tend to emphasize the advantage that already exists. Aspen has a high winter peak, and MEAN is serving this need out of a lot of idle capacity. Dave Lombard, Sheaffer and Roland, told Council it would be disadvantag- eous for MEAN's summer peak to grow disproportionately. There are two programs to control the rate of growth of their summer peak. One is a voluntary load management program, and secondly, the rate structure would penalize disproportionate increases in the summer peaks. Mayor Stirling asked if MEAN being non-profit gives them an advantage in their rate structure over other supply companies. MacGregor said it gives an initial advantage, but in terms of growth in the future, it is not a big impact. Mayor Stirling asked if MEAN being relatively young in the power field would be any disadvantage. Lombard said they see no downside in this, especially since municipalities make up MEAN and have been in the power business long before they joined MEAN. These municipalities joined forces to have greater influence over the future price of power, and for economies of scale. Mayor Stirling said this agreement is relying on Ruedi producing power, yet Ruedi is totally unproven. Mayor Stirling asked what happens if Ruedi goes down. MacGregor told Council if Ruedi never comes on line, the economic margin of MEAN is even greater. This agreement does not hinge on the success of Ruedi. Mayor Stirling asked why Aspen was in the unique situation of have three power suppliers asking for the contract. MacGregor said the contract is expired, which only happens every 20 years. Second, Aspen is building their own facility. Also, Aspen is remote from their present power supplier. MEAN is interested in serving Aspen because there is a good match of power needs. ~egu±ar ~eetlng Aspen ul~y ~ouncl~ ~pr~± z~, Sherry said PSCo will have to build more capacity but 100,000 megawatts at Fort St. Vrain will be free. Also PSCo has depreciation credits which will go towards defraying the cost of a second facility at Pawnee. PSCo sees a small increase in real term in the increase in power between now and 1992. Wacker said the people on the MEAN board are the customers and the like to keep the money home as much as possible. The rates will go up only as muck as necessary. All in favor, motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. The consent agenda is (1) liquor license renewals - Abetone, Aspen Drug; (2) Special Event Permit - Wheeler Gala. ~.._~. z_~ ~,~. ..... ..~._ .- ~c'cz~c~ ~ ...... POLICE SPACE AND MOVE Acting City Manager Ron Mitchell said the Commissioners have approved the concept of com- bining the police department and sheriffs department in the basement of the county court- house. Council has a memorandum from the chief of police, who supports this concept. This move woUld have staff look at bringing the building department back to city hall, and deal with the office layout problems. This is the first step of solving problems at city hall. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the move and combining the police and sheriffs department in the county courthouse basement, when renovated, and urge the Board of County Commissioners to move quickly; seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilman Knecht said he does not feel the city should put any money into city hall but should be considering other alternates for city hall. Councilman Knecht.said he would like to look into trading with the Elk's Club building. This would be an ideal situation for the city to end up with this building. The present city hall is an old armory building!i and will never be a great building. Councilman Knecht said he would like to see the pol~cel. and sheriffs departments combine but not at the expense of thinking the city hall problem all the way through. Councilman Knecht said the Council has a lot of big projects in front~I of them, and it is not appropriate to put money into city hall. Councilman Knecht said thel city should make some major decisions about city hall before they bring the building depar~ ment back into this building. Councilman Blomquist agreed council should look at the options, however, there is an oppor-il tunity to combine the law enforcement departments. The Commissioners have agreed to financi~ 'the remodelling and not charge the city rent. Councilman Blomquist said the building department can move into the police space without renovation. Dick Kienast, sheriff, told Council the space will be renovated, but it is essential to get a decision as to how it will be planned. The county has hired the architects to do this. Who will use this space will dictate the renovation plans. Rich Rianoshek, chief of police, said combining space will gain the community an improvement of services and in communications between agencies. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Knecht and Mayor Stirling. Motion carried.!! Councilman Blomquist moved to direct staff to review all space needs for the city of Aspen, including the buildng deparmtent and other joint department and to present a report as part of the capital improvement program to be back to Council by June 1; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. GOLF TOURNAMENT REPORT Ted Armstrong, recreation director, reminded Council at budget time they suggested the staff pursue a national golf tournament in Aspen. Armstrong said the first step is to bring in a consultant to confer with the men's and ladie's group and current pro and a Councilperson to see what kind of proposal to present to Council. Mayor Stirling said this!i is a great idea and moves the sports arena into the focus and would add to the summer season. Mayor Stifling asked how much the first step would cost. Armstrong said the consultant phase would cost about $1500. Mayor S~irling moved to spend $1500 out of the golf course budget for this consultant and go forward with the next phase; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. GANT DITCH REPAIRS - Budge Appropriation Request City Attorney Taddune said this should be done as soon as possible because it may effect the water in the mall. Acting City Manager Hon ~tchell said the city has paid out $40,000i! in claims. Jim Holland said CIRSA will not pay any more claims and will drop this coverageli unless the city fixes this ditch. Councilman Blomquist moved to appropriate $10,000 for ditch repair out of the general fund;i~ seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. CANTRUP BANKRUPTCY Spencer Schiffer told Council the bankruptcy court approved the plan and s~le to Commerciali Savings. Schiffer said it is contemplated in the sale there will be an exchange of proper~y between the estate and the Aspen Skiing Company. One of the pieces to be exchanged is the Holiday House, which is subject to an agreement of December 1980 between the city and Hans Cantrup, regarding five dwelling units in the Holiday House, which were built contrary to code. The purpose of the agreement was to impose financial penalties as well as controls to insure the Cantrups used those five units as employee housing units. This agreement is effective for 51 years. 3709 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 23, 1984 Schiffer told Council the financial penalties were $7500 including double tap and connec- tion fees, $2016 for double plan check fees, and S5000 a year or ten per cent of the gross annual rentals from these units, representing an "administration fee". Schiffer said the first two fees were paid, the $5000 a year has not been paid. Schiffer requested Council waive the administrative requirements ~n this settlement agreement. This property is going to be exchanqed to the Skiing Company, who needs the housing units and will use these units as employee housing. Schiffer said the city does not need to require administrative fees from the Skiing Company. Schiffer said he felt this was not an administrative fee but a penalty, and this penalty would fall on the unsecured creditors. City Attorney Taddune said this fee is a debt against the estate in the amount of $10,000 but was not sure how to put this into the bankruptcy. Peter Forsch, Aspen Skiing Company, told Council the Holiday House will be exchanged for the Hillside lodge and will give the Skiing Company more employee housing. It is the intention of the Skiing Company to keep housing costs as low as possible; they charge an average of $120 per person. The $5,000 will add ~o the cost of the housing. Councilman Blomquist asked if the Skii~Company is going to rehabilitate this. Forsch said they hoped ~o. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to see the $5,000 going into to rehabilitation. Taddune said Cantrup had the option to remove the five units. Forsch agreed the Skiing Company still had the same option but removing the units does not do anyone any good. Taddune asked if the Skiing Company would deed restrict these as employee units. Forsch said the Skiing Company would be willing to do that. Taddune recommended to Council these be added to the employee housing pool. Councilman Blomquist moved to waive the $5,000 fee and deed restrict these as employee units; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Collins and Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. MX LAWSUIT Mayor Stirling said there are five municipalities on the eastern slope who have joined the city and county of Denver to sue the U.S. Air Force over the placement of MX missiles. It will cost $1,000 %o jo~n this suit. Mayor Stirling pointed out the Council passed a resolution opposing the MX four months ago. Mayor Stirling moved to join the city and county of Denver to a maximum amount of Sl,000 to become part of the MX lawsuit; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Councilman Blomquist questioned whether the city should become part of things like this. Councilman Knecht agreed. Mayor Stirling said this would effect Aspen if the MX site goes in where proposed. Councilwoman Walls said the lawsuit requires the Air Force to do an environmental impac~ study to consider Colorado and Wyoming. Councilwoman Walls and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Collins, Knecht, and Blomquist opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Blomquist moved to adjourn at 9:05 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn ~. Koch, City Clerk