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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcoa.cclc.min.10182006 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18. 2006 Chairperson, Bill Dinsmoor called the meeting to order at 8:45 a.m. Commissioners in attendance: Terry Butler, Mark Goodman, Stan Hajenga, Don Sheeley. John Starr was excused. Staff present: Kathleen J. Strickland, Chief Deputy City Clerk Bentley Henderson, Assistant City Manager Scott Chism, Parks planner/landscape architect Guest Pavilion Bentley conveyed that council has been receiving strong opinions regarding the aesthetics and location of the guest pavilion. Council is requesting input from CCLC regarding the location. If relocation is not desirable is there something that could take place to the stark back side of the metal fa9ade so that it isn't so visible. HPC didn't feel that the pavilion is appropriate 0 the mall and they stated that it shouldn't be near the Independence bldg. Bentley said the only location on Cooper Ave. mall would be near the fire hearth. Parks is opposed to that location. Would dressing up the pavilion be an alternative? Scott said members ofHPC and council have changed their minds about the pavilion. It is in a visible place and was placed so that it could be seen. The pavilion is what was approved. It is an information dissemination pavilion. It is an alternative to the visitor center that never happened. The green gazebo was not used as much. The level of use of the pavilion has doubled. Bill asked what HPC's issues were. Scott said they feel I twill block views if it was by the fire hearth. They feel the visual appearance is severe. Bentley said HPC said it should not be near independence square. Mark said he is opposed to moving it near the bathrooms because it won't get the traffic that is needed. Mark pooled businesses and Pismo said the back of the pavilion blocks their store. The businesses do not like the location where it is and it puts a barrier and fortress on the mall where it is now. It is a huge barrier. It was built in a large fashion and we might not need it that large. The information center is a good ideas but it is the scale that is hurting us the most. Ifit is pushed back to the fire hearth it won't take away from anything if the back is facing the trees. . 1 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18. 2006 Don said the ACRA reported that the new kiosk is used ten fold to what was there before. No one likes the architectural design and the back is awful. It looks like a tank. The ACRA does like the existing location. ACRA recommended that the back side of the building be softened. Functionally it does not work. There is not enough space for all the information and the heat and electricity doesn't work. The design and the way it looks is the issue. The location is OK. Terry said she has never received so many comments on the pavilion and unfortunately they were negative. No one likes the architectural design. CCLC never saw the final design. The entire things needs softened and a good architect can make it look differently. It will never be as soft as the old kiosk cottage looked. Terry would be in favor of moving it off Cooper. Don pointed out that the Wheeler site would be redundant. Terry said ifit wasn't so big it would work. This is a mistake but it isn't the end of the world. Stan said he was totally taken back by the process. The cost is horrendous. He worked with Debbie in the ACRA to get information on the process and was shoved back and forth. Every architect can do a computer rendering. It was a terribly flawed process; however, it has done what it is supposed to do. It is obvious that people see it. The lodge people like it where it is and it is easy to find. They like the service. It should not be put down by Wagner Park. IF it is by the hearth it will take away from the hearth. What do you do to dress it up? Leave it where it is for a year and see how it works. No retailer can tell us if it has increased their traffic. If it is softened it will mitigate. Use common sense about fixing it up. Let's go through a full season and see what happens with it. The visitors like it. Mark said Pismo said it has hurt their traffic on the mall. It has been there for two months. From the ACRA point of view it is on a very busy corner and you can see it form all corners. The malls tend to be lighter than the streets. Pismo said visually the location affects them. If you put trees around it to dress it up it will make it even more difficult on them. Mark said by having it back to the heart it will be visible from anyone who is near and approaching it. Softening it up will not solve the "questions". 2 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18. 2006 Bill thanked Mark for his first hand information. We keep bumping into fire access with our malls. During the fire district approval we should have requested a snorkel truck to fight fires frorn the alleys. If you were to look at moving it west by the fire hearth could you also look at moving a few trees. Bentley said there is drainage swales that need dealt with at that location. Scott said there are challenges by the fire hearth. It is a building that needs to be level. The area by the hearth is not level. We could remove trees but whether the community would want that is an issue. Scott said we had extreme thorough public meeting on the process. Models and drawings were presented to CCLC arid HPC. Downtown did not have a comfortable environment. At one point there were two hearths proposed. Council was only willing to pony up a limited amount of money. Council created a hierarchy as to what should be done first. The City decided to take baby steps in the process. Scott said the issue was to disperse information year round and how do we do that. Bill said the materials and shape were what we reviewed. It might be a little larger. Frick and Beer said the pavilion was designed by a committee and it was. The pavilion is about function. The back was to accommodate notices. Scott said magnets were to be used on the back. Bill suggested that the pavilion remain where it is and address the issue in a year. Bill also said lighting is needed on the both malls. Scott concurred. New lighting globes were installed. All the electrical for lighting have been implemented. Mark said he looked at Ruby Park for the pavilion but that area might not get enough traffic. Stan said in the future CCLC needs to receive a final closure report. MOTION: Mark made the motion to move the pavilion closer to the hearth, second by Terry. Motion died 4-1. Stan suggested that the pavilion remain where it is until spring and that staff continue to look at alternative locations and determine the parameters of each location. 3 COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18. 2006 MOTION: Don made the motion that the pavilion building be softened now on a temporary basis; second by Stan. All in favor, motion carried 5-0. Mark pointed out that the question that was asked is if it should be moved. MOTION: Mark made the motion to support considering moving the information pavilion and doing further research on the impacts of each location. A. South of Galena or near the fire hearth; second by Terry. All in favor, motion carried 5-0. RECYCLING BOXES Scott said they were directed to get recycling boxes as experiments. 7 were bought and there was not much available. The same manufacturer that had the bear proof containers had recycling boxes. We looked at different towns and what they did. Artistic skins were discussed that would be unique to Aspen. At the stafflevel we talked about a competition to see what solution would work. Scott said recycling newspapers works well but people aren't using the other bins. Staff pointed out that Shae suggested we use the newspaper recycling bin only. Stan said visitors seem to think that the recycling bins work. Let the bins stay in their locations and monitor what the actual output is. Bill said when CCLC did their walk several bins had been compromised and at what point is the contamination a concern. Mark said trying to legislate is an impossible talk. Mark said the size of the recycling bins seems large and the inside container is significantly smaller. Scott said from a stafflevel they only wanted the newspaper bins. Meeting adjourned at 10:45 a.m. Kathleen J. Strickland, Chief Deputy Clerk 4