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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcclc.min.1101171 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 1, 2017 Acting Chairperson, Bill Dinsmoor called the meeting to order at 8:36 a.m. Commissioners in attendance: Terry Butler, Amanda Tanaka, Bill Dinsmoor, Charles Cunniffe. Absent were Steve Fante, Bill Guth, Kiki Raj and Erik Klanderud. Staff in attendance: Dan Nelson, Downtown Coordinator Mitch Osur, Parking Services Coordinator Matt Kuhn, Operations Manager Nicole Henning, Deputy City Clerk COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Mr. Dinsmoor asked who sets the bar for municipal lighting and Mr. Nelson said it is he that does. He continued to say that it has expanded over the last three years and is expanding more this year. Last year they were focused on Ruby park and the roundabout. This year will be more focused on the two malls. Mr. Kuhn said that Bill Guth is contributing electricity from Hops, which is a huge help and there is other assistance being contracted out. Mr. Nelson said they are also considering RGB lights that shine up on the trees and he will be speaking to the vendor in Denver today. He said they are planning for white lights, dynamic colors, spotlights and rotating lights. It’s a new thing for Aspen, but we are definitely considering it and forward to it. Mr. Dinsmoor loved the idea and said it is similar to what they do in Sydney and that we should be pushing forward not to just have more twinkle lights on more trees, but even a different technology. Ms. Butler said she was in Vegas recently and they are using the projection lighting and it looks amazing. Mr. Kuhn said they could use a recommendation from CCLC to take back to council. Ms. Tanaka mentioned light pollution and asked if that is something people will complain about. Mr. Dinsmoor said, oh yes, they complain because they want to see the stars at night and that the Dark Sky Initiative is the expectation now. Mr. Osur said there is a standard for Dark Sky Initiative and we can read about it online, but Steve Barwick and others really like what is being done with the lighting, so I’m not sure we will get a lot of push back from council, we just need to go in with a plan. Ms. Tanaka asked if the mountain was lit up for an event, if Ski Co would jump on board and Mr. Osur said there is a long history of dumping winter time events on them and they don’t want to pay for it, but Parks and I will work on these ideas because we love this. Changing gears, Mr. Osur handed out the survey results. Twenty people voted to close at 3:00 pm and eight people voted to close 2:00 pm. As far as the second-floor businesses, ten people voted that they could be allowed to apply, five voted no and four said they should follow the same rules as the market (locally made), so basically 50/50. Mr. Cunniffe said, basically, there appears to be no changes and Mr. Osur agreed except they want their lost weekend back in October for next year. He said, overall, there was 50% participation from the vendors. 2 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 1, 2017 Mr. Cunniffe mentioned a booth project he is working on to get kids more engaged in the market. He spoke with the Buddy program and they are not able to get involved this time around. He also spoke with the Science Center and said if we gave them a booth, they could have a group of kids to do science experiments with and they are more than willing to do it and it would add a little variety. David, of the science center is also a master chef and loves the science of cooking so they have something else to be there for besides just experiments, doing demonstrations maybe. Political booths were brought up and the board agreed that a Rock the Vote booth is fine because it’s bi partisan; otherwise, they don’t want to touch it and feel it’s offensive to people. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Mr. Cunniffe moved to approve, Ms. Butler seconded. All in favor, motion carried. Mr. Osur said he spoke to Nancy Lesley in the special events department and said she is more than willing to help with a December event and that we just need to get some ideas together to take to council and she will back us and go to council in support. Mr. Osur said there is a term going around Aspen lately “ANA” = Aspen Negative Attitude. It’s kind of a known thing that no matter what you do, people are mad. We can get these ideas of ours going with minimal expense, just advertising. We have to go around town and discuss this with the airlines and ski co. Mr. Cunniffe said the enthusiasm could be infectious if the whole town is involved. If it’s pre- Christmas week, it could definitely bring people on board and hopefully we could get the schools to participate. Mr. Dinsmoor said these ideas are good and thinks they work. Discounts are always great, but we also don’t want to lose out on the idea of a bigger mainstay Christmastime event. Mr. Cunniffe added that if people could experience Christmas not just during the week of Christmas, they would love it because it’s a Christmas card here in Aspen. Mr. Osur said we need to go to council within the next two months. Mr. Dinsmoor moved to adjourn at 9:36 am. ______________________________________ Nicole Henning, Deputy City Clerk