HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Town Board Study Session 2021-07-13
July 13, 2021
5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Board Room/Virtual
The Town Board of Trustees will participate in the meeting remotely due to the Declaration of
Emergency signed by Town Administrator Machalek on March 19, 2020 related to COVID-19 and
provided for with the adoption of Ordinance 04-20 on March 18, 2020.
To view or listen to the Study Session by Zoom Webinar
ONLINE (Zoom Webinar): https://zoom.us/j/91077906778 Webinar ID: 910 7790 6778
CALL-IN (Telephone Option): 877-853-5257 (toll-free) Meeting ID: 910 7790 6778
If you are joining the Zoom meeting and are experiencing technical difficulties, staff will be
available by phone for assistance 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting at 970-577-4777.
5:15 p.m. Rooftop Rodeo Financial Overview. (Director Hinkle)
5:45 p.m. Revisit Fee Waiver/Subsidy Policies. (Directors Bergsten and
Hunt)
6:15 p.m. Trustee & Administrator Comments & Questions.
6:25 p.m. Future Study Session Agenda Items.
(Board Discussion)
6:30 p.m. Adjourn for Town Board Meeting.
Informal discussion among Trustees concerning agenda items or other Town matters may occur before this
meeting at approximately 4:45 p.m.
AGENDA
TOWN BOARD
STUDY SESSION
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EVENTS & VISITOR
SERVICES
Study Session
To: Honorable Mayor Koenig
Board of Trustees
Through: Town Administrator Machalek
From: Rob Hinkle, Events and Visitor Services Director
Date: July 13, 2021
RE: Rooftop Rodeo Financial Overview
Purpose of Study Session Item:
A financial overview of the Rooftop Rodeo from 2014 through 2019.
Town Board Direction Requested:
No Town Board direction is being requested, information only.
Present Situation:
Rooftop Rodeo:
The first time the term “rodeo” can be documented as being used in relation to Estes
Park is in a 1923 newspaper article. The beginning of the “Rooftop Rodeo” name was
introduced in 1941 because it was billed as the highest altitude for any rodeo
competition in America.
Recent Major Awards:
2019 Mountain States Circuit Large Rodeo of the Year
2019 Five Finalist PRCA Medium Rodeo of the Year
2018 Five Finalist PRCA Medium Rodeo of the Year
2018 WPRA Justin Boots Best Footing Award Mountain States Circuit 1st Place
2018 Mountain States Circuit Best Ground Award
2017 WPRA Medium Rodeo of the Year
2017 WPRA Justin Boots Mountain States Most Circuit Most Improved Footing Award
Finances:
The finances attached are for 2014-2019. Powder River Rodeo, LLC was the Stock
Contractor in 2014 and Cervi Championship Stock has been the Contractor since 2015.
The Stock Contractor expense includes the base contract, timed events and feed.
I was not able to find the 2014 tickets sold, but would assume it was in the mid 6,000’s
given the admissions revenue. Also in 2014, I was not able to find the lodging invoices
or Secretary’s invoice. I am sure it is included in the Other Expense line item.
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In 2015 the Added Purse money increased $25,000. With the increase in Added Purse
Money and a new Stock Contractor starting in 2015, it has grown the number of
contestants. Each contestant also pays into the purse, so the total purse has grown
from around $100,000 in 2014 to $180,000 in 2019. This makes the Rooftop Rodeo
one of the highest paying Medium Rodeos in the country.
After the Added Purse money increase in 2015, expenses have increased 7-8% over
the five years.
Revenue fluctuates based on the attendance. A majority of the crowd are first time
rodeo attendees on vacation in Estes Park. Weather plays a big role in attendance. A
couple of nights of bad or even threatening weather can cause lower attendance. A
majority of the General Admission tickets sold are at the gate.
Proposal:
No proposal, information only.
Advantages:
None
Disadvantages:
None
Finance/Resource Impact:
Information Only.
Level of Public Interest
Low
Attachments
1.Rooftop Rodeo Financial Overview 2014-2019
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2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Revenue
Admission Tickets $125,128 $140,796 $166,798 $166,156 $152,598 $158,530
Food Concessions $0 $0 $4,882 $4,940 $5,785 $5,622
Vendors $752 $475 $1,825 $1,975 $1,775 $2,150
Sponsorship $12,180 $7,550 $3,500 $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Other Revenue $11,048 $2,510 $1,955 $3,747 $2,094 $465
Total Revenue $149,108 $151,331 $178,960 $180,318 $165,752 $170,267
Expenses
Stock Contractor $81,850 $82,138 $84,559 $86,463 $87,805 $87,009
Added Purse $35,200 $60,000 $61,000 $61,800 $63,000 $64,525
Service Fees $2,154 $16,881 $20,252 $10,834 $8,471 $8,342
Entertainment $4,000 $2,109 $2,250 $5,200 $3,300 $3,925
Vet $1,050 $1,075 $1,250 $1,250 $1,475 $1,475
PRCA Judges $4,000 $4,500 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000
Lodging $0 $8,800 $9,410 $9,000 $16,979 $16,500
Secretary $0 $3,150 $3,325 $3,491 $3,665 $3,849
Security $1,230 $1,400 $1,620 $1,620 $1,620 $2,150
Other Expense $53,739 $15,165 $12,578 $17,757 $20,119 $16,627
Total Expense $183,223 $195,218 $201,244 $202,415 $211,434 $209,402
Net Total -$34,115 -$43,887 -$22,284 -$22,097 -$45,682 -$39,135
Contestants 543 724 786 761 773 828
Tickets Sold ?7093 8156 8514 7353 7679
Admission Price
Box $25 $25 $30 $30 $30 $30
General $17 $17 $20 $20 $20 $20
Senior $15 $15 $15 $15 $15 $15
Military $10 $10 $15 $15 $15 $15
Kids (3-12)$5 $5 $15 $15 $15 $15
ATTACHMENT 1
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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Report
To: Honorable Mayor Koenig
Board of Trustees
Through: Town Administrator Machalek
From: Randy Hunt, Community Development Director
Reuben Bergsten, Utilities Director
Duane Hudson, Finance Director
Date: July 13, 2021
RE: Proposed Policy 603: Development Fee Amortization and/or Fee Subsidy
Objective:
Request for Town Board to consider and provide staff direction regarding a new policy
to allow for amortization of water tap fees and/or subsidies for building and planning
fees for projects meeting specific criteria.
Present Situation:
The proposed new policy addresses two different types of Town fees connected with
development projects: Fee amortization (primarily applicable to water tap fees, which
affect Water division enterprise funding), and fee waivers or subsidies (which can also
impact Water enterprise funds, but are more regularly requested for Community
Development fees.)
There is no policy currently for amortizing Water tap fees, although amortization has
been authorized on an ad-hoc basis for two recent projects.
Regarding fee waivers/subsidies: Currently, Policy 402 (Community Development)
states criteria and outlines procedure for waiving some or all Building and/or Planning
fees, provided the application meets certain threshold standards – the primary one
being that it qualifies as workforce or attainable housing. This policy has been the
subject of relatively frequent requests, and approximately 10-12 waivers have been
approved in the past five years or so. (A number of other waiver requests that didn’t
meet threshold standards have not been approved.)
Both amortization and waivers/subsidies need reconsideration. Amortization of tap fees
has been approved, as noted, but there are no adopted criteria for deciding when or if
that is appropriate, and no process outlined for how amortization should be done.
Waivers under Policy 402 are still feasible for Planning fees; however, true waivers are
no longer possible in Building, as all of our permit revenue is designated to pay
SAFEBuilt under the ongoing contract. That changes the bookkeeping from merely Page 7
waiving a fee to actually writing a check out of Town General Fund to SAFEBuilt, with
no compensation. This effectively makes what used to be a building-permit waiver into a
building-permit subsidy. There is nothing wrong with that in principle, but it does call for
Policy 402 to be overhauled.
Finally, in the past two budget cycles, the Town has been able to formalize the concept
of a fee-subsidy reserve fund, which
Proposal:
Staff proposes a new Policy 603 (Attachment 1), to address the above matters and to
consolidate development-fee incentive options in a single policy. This would replace
Community Development Policy 402 (attached for reference – Attachment 2), and would
be all new material for the Utilities and Finance Department elements.
The attached draft is the product of staff work that began in 2019 with discussion,
proceeded through approx. six drafts, and is now before you with (we believe) most of
the details and difficulties addressed. Primary preparation and review have been among
Directors Hunt, Bergsten, and Hudson; additional review and/or comments were by
Assistant T.A. Damweber and Attorney Kramer.
Some highlights:
• The policy describes the specific fees for which incentives can be granted:
development-review fees (e.g., for subdivision plats, development plans…)
(Planning Division); Plan Review and Building Permit fees (Building Division);
and tap fees (Water Division) (Sec. 2.b.)
• Sec. 2.b.iv provides that fees charged to the Town by third-party reviewers
cannot be amortized or subsidized, unless the third-party entity discounts its own
charges to the Town. This is primarily to ensure that we don’t encounter
unrecompensed payments to SAFEBuilt. Our SAFEBuilt contract does provide
that they will discount 50 percent of fees for Town or public-sector projects, and
under the policy those discounts can be passed along to the applicant if the
overall request is approved.
• A list of entities or proposals eligible for fee incentives is included in Secs. 3. a
and 3.b. These are essentially the same projects now eligible in Policy 402.
• Sec. 3.c identifies the (subsidy) Reserve as the source of funding, and states that
no single project will draw more than 33.3 percent of the Reserve budget, so as
to avoid a single project depleting the funding. (Note: Nothing in this section is
intended to restrict the Town Board from approving a mid-year budget
amendment to add to the Reserve if you wish, in case we have more than
anticipated demand by worthy projects.)
• Sec. 4 is a detailed outline of procedural steps. Among other reasons, this is
useful for cases in which a developer needs to plan due diligence, such as
providing the Policy to a lender.
• Amortization details are set forth in Sec. 5.a. The amortization period is set at
either 5 years or 10 years – this will simplify accounting and tracking for all
parties. Sec. 5.a.iv sets a minimum initial payment of 10 percent or the third-party
fees, whichever is greater; this will help cover the Town’s front-end costs.
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• Sec. 5.b, the Table of Reviewing Authorities, is not much different than the
existing table in Policy 402. The main changes are to add the Utilities Director
and Finance Director to the review and approval for small or medium requests
(Policy 402 just indicates the Community Development Director), and to increase
the threshold for Town Board review to $5,000 from the $3,000 limit in Policy
402. This last change is proposed to facilitate efficient decisions on smaller
projects – for example, a fourplex workforce housing development. Big projects
would still go before Town Board, likely including all projects involving tap fees
(almost always over $5,000 per tap.)
Advantages:
• Provides a single, streamlined policy for consolidating and tracking fee incentives
for facilitating projects the Town deems worthwhile of public financial support.
• Gives potential developers a comprehensive way to understand and plan for
incentive possibilities.
Disadvantages:
• The new incentives, particularly amortization, are somewhat more complex to set
up and administer.
Action Recommended:
No action can be taken on Study Session items. However, staff would welcome
direction from Board members on how to proceed, and on what timetable.
Finance/Resource Impact:
101-1100-411-29-05 (Reserve fund) – currently includes the PRPA Economic
Development annual allocation to the Town.
Level of Public Interest
Low in general; medium-to-high among affected interested parties, such as potential
workforce-housing developers, the EDC, EPHA, etc.
Attachments:
1. Finance Department Policy 603: Development Fee Amortization and/or Fee
Subsidy (draft: July 8, 2021)
2. Community Development Department Policy 402: Fee Waiver (current: 2019-04-
26)
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Policy - Fee Amortization
Town of Estes Park, Community Development
Document Title
Revisions: [tbd]
Effective Period: Review Schedule: Effective Date: References:
Until Superseded Biennially- Summer [tbd]
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
603
Development Fee Amortization and/or Fee Subsidy
1.PURPOSE
To establish a uniform policy for amortization and/or subsidy of Community
Development fees and/or Utilities fees in support of essential community needs.
2.POLICY
a.It is the policy of the Town Board of Trustees to support essential community needs
such as attainable and workforce housing, assisted living, public-sector projects,
and health care services through consideration of: (a) providing a subsidy to offset
the cost of certain development fees assessed by the Community Development
Department and/or Utilities Department; (b) amortizing certain fees assessed by
the Community Development Department and/or Utilities Department; or (c) both of
the above. The Estes Valley Comprehensive Plan may be consulted as a guide in
more specifically identifying these community needs.
b.Only the following fees shall be eligible for amortization:
i.Planning Division-assessed fees (e.g., Development Plans, Rezonings,
Subdivisions, etc.)
ii.Building Division-assessed fees (e.g., Plan Review, Building Permit, etc.)
iii.Water System Development and Water Rights fees.
iv.Note: Any fees that the Town transfers under contract to a third-party project-
reviewing entity shall be eligible for amortization or subsidy only to the extent
that the contract provides for the third-party reviewing entity to discount such
fees for a given project or project category.
c.Fee amortization and fee subsidies are hereby declared to be a privilege, not a right or
entitlement, in connection with any given development project or proposal.
3.CRITERIA
a.The following entities may be eligible for amortization of some or all Community
Development Department and/or Utilities Department fees as outlined herein (except
for direct expenses incurred in outsourcing to third-party reviewing entities):
i.Public funded government construction (federal, state, county, local);
including tax districts/special districts (e.g., hospital, library, parks and
recreation);
ii.Organizations providing low-income health and human services; or
iii.Attainable or workforce housing.
b.The following criteria will be used to qualify low-income health and human services
or attainable or workforce housing projects:
i.A critical service is being provided;
ii.The permitted project or building will serve or support a currently underserved
ATTACHMENT 1
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Policy - Fee Amortization
Town of Estes Park, Community Development
Document Title
Revisions: [tbd]
or disadvantaged segment of the community;
iii. The population being served is the general public and is not subject to any
pre-qualification other than a needs-based (attainability) qualification, or (in
the case of housing) a local employment (workforce) qualification;
iv. Attainable or workforce housing is deed-restricted and/or covenant-restricted
to occupancy by at least one (1) member of the target population; or
v. In the case of housing, a project is eligible for the attainable or workforce
incentive criteria in Sec 11.4 of the Estes Valley Development Code.
c. For subsidy requests, the following criteria shall apply:
i. Per adopted Policy 227 (Workforce Housing Guidelines), Sec. 3.d, it is
anticipated that the Town Board of Trustees will approve an amount
available for fee subsidies (the “Reserve”) in the annual Town operating
budget or amendment thereto. No fee subsidy for an individual project will
exceed thirty-three-point-three percent (33.3%) of the total budgeted amount
in the Reserve;
ii. For purposes of this Section, the term “individual project” may apply to single
or multiple permits or proposed approvals encompassed under Sec. 3.b.i
through 3.b.iii; provided, however, that the Town Decision-Making Body (as
defined in Section 5 below) may in its sole reasonable discretion determine
whether a given permit or proposed approval falls inside or outside the scope
of a given subsidy request. This determination is to be made after
consultation with the applicant.
d. Amortization requests for fee amounts below five thousand dollars ($5,000) per
project shall not be considered or approved, due to the administrative cost of carrying
the note or obligation instrument for small amounts.
e. Per Section 2.c, it is not the policy of the Town of Estes Park to routinely
amortize or subsidize fees for projects meeting the above criteria. These projects
may request amortization and/or subsidy by submittal of a written request to the
Community Development Department and/or Utilities Department per Sec.4. The
Decision-Making Body will hear the request and may choose to amortize and/or
subsidize some or all fees based on the merits of the request and available
funding.
4. PROCEDURE
a. The requestor will submit their request to the appropriate
Department(s) via email:
1. Requests for amortization and/or subsidy will be made
in the form of a letter, preferably on letterhead
stationery.
2. Requests for Community Development Department
fees amortization and/or subsidy will be made by
letter to the Community Development Department,
attention: Director.
3. Requests for Utilities Department fees amortization and/or subsidy will
be made by letter to the Utilities Department, attention: Director.
4. Requests for both Community Development Dept. and Utilities Dept.
fees amortization and/or subsidy will be made in a single letter, copies
sent to both departments.
ii. Letters should state specifically the amount of each fee requested for
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Policy - Fee Amortization
Town of Estes Park, Community Development
Document Title
Revisions: [tbd]
amortization and/or subsidy (Sec. 2.b) and the time period over which the
requestor wishes the fees amortized; the letter should also explain the public
purpose behind the amortization request, with reference to the criteria in this
Policy (Sec. 3.)
iii. Any note or obligation instrument required in connection with a fee amortization
approval shall be in final form (ready for execution) and available to the
Decision-Making Body prior to the amortization decision.
iv. Note: Potential applicants are highly encouraged to discuss their requests,
including anticipated fee amounts and due dates, with each Department before
submitting letters. Applicants should not expect as a matter of course that
inadequate amortization and/or subsidy estimates will result in adjustments to
the amortized and/or subsidized fee amounts.
b. Town staff will schedule the request for consideration by the appropriate Decision-
Making Body (see Table below), and notify applicants of the scheduling.
c. All fee amortization and/or subsidy requests shall be submitted to and approved by
the appropriate Decision-Making Body prior to payment of the fee(s) to which the
amortization and/or subsidy request pertains. No fee amortization or subsidy shall be
approved if such amortization or subsidy would require a refund or reimbursement of a
fee already paid and deposited.
d. The mechanism and instrument(s) needed to commemorate the note receivable /
installment loan amortization and comply with governmental accounting standards
shall be reviewed and approved by the Finance Director for each amortization request
or requested amendment thereof prior to the request’s approval by the Decision-
Making Body.
e. Disposition (approval, denial, approval for partial funding, etc.) of the request shall be
communicated to the applicant via letter from the Finance Department, along with
executed note(s) or other financing instrument(s) as applicable.
5. TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
a. The following general requirements shall be applicable to each amortization and/or
subsidy request:
i. Approved subsidy requests shall take the form of discounted fees payable at
the time(s) mandated by Code or Town administrative procedures.
ii. The amortization period shall be either five (5) or ten (10) years for any given
project, determined by mutual agreement between the Town and applicant.
iii. Annual amortization principal and interest payment terms shall be addressed in
the note or instrument of obligation.
iv. The minimum initial payment under an amortization schedule shall be at least
ten percent (10%) of the principal, or shall include all fees due to third-party
reviewing entities under outsourcing contracts, whichever amount is greater.
v. The terms of the note receivable shall specify the annual interest rate and any
other specific negotiated terms.
vi. In the event any annual payment of principal and/or interest is not made in full
on or before its due date, the remaining balance of delinquent principal and
accrued interest shall bear defaulting interest at a charge of one and one-half
percent (1.5%) per month on the amount due until the annual payment,
accrued interest, and defaulting interest is paid in full.
vii. All water and connection charges, including this installment agreement, shall
be charged against the Owner, shall be a lien upon the Property, and shall be a
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Policy - Fee Amortization
Town of Estes Park, Community Development
Document Title
Revisions: [tbd]
perpetual charge against the Property until paid in full.
viii. The obligation in this agreement shall be separate from any other liens for any
unpaid water service charges for water service to the Property. Any lien for
unpaid water service charges shall be as set forth in the Town’s ordinances,
rules and regulations for water service. Any installment agreement under this
policy has no impact on the Town’s right to terminate water service to the
Property for non-payment of utility charges on the monthly utility bills.
ix. Failure of an applicant or applicant’s successor in interest to complete a project
or to receive a Certificate of Occupancy shall not relieve the applicant or
successor of the necessity to satisfy the obligation per terms of the note or
instrument of obligation.
b. Table of Reviewing Authorities
Amortization/Subsidy Request Decision-Making Body
<=$500 per project Community Development Director
and/or Utilities Director, following
review and approval by the Finance
Director
>$500 and <=$5000 per project Community Development Director
and/or Utilities Director, following
review and approval by the
Finance Director and the Town
Administrator
>$5,000 per project Town Board, following review and
recommendation by the three
Department Directors
Approved:
_____________________________________
Mayor ____________________________________
Date
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EffectivePeriod:UntilSupersededReviewSchedule:Biennially-SummerEffectiveDate:4/26/2019References:N/A______COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT402FeeWaiver1.PURPOSEToestablishauniformpolicyforwaiverofCommunityDevelopmentfeesinsupportofessentialcommunityneeds.2.POLICYItisthepolicyoftheTownBoardofTrusteestosupportessentialcommunityneedssuchasattainableand workforcehousing,assistedliving,and healthcareservicesthroughconsiderationofwaivingin-housefeesassessedbythe CommunityDevelopmentDepartment.TheEstesValleyComprehensivePlanisusedasaguideinidentifyingthesecommunityneeds.3.PROCEDUREa.EligibleEntitiesThefollowingentitiesmay beexemptedfromsomeorallCommunityDevelopmentDepartmentfees,e.g.,buildingpermitfees,developmentreviewfees,andsigncodefees(exceptfordirectexpensesincurredinoutsourcing):1)Publicfundedgovernmentconstruction(federal,state,county,local);includingtaxdistricts/specialdistricts(e.g.,hospital,library,parksandrecreation);or2)Organizationsprovidinglow-incomehealthandhumanservicesorattainableor workforcehousing.b.FeeWaiverCriteriaTheFollowingcriteriawillbeusedtoqualifylow-incomehealthandhumanservicesorattainableorworkforcehousingprojects:1)Acriticalserviceisbeingprovided;2)Thepermittedproject orbuildingwillserveorsupportacurrentlyunderservedandneedysegmentofthecommunity;3)Thepopulationbeingservedisthegeneralpublicandisnotsubjecttoanypre-qualificationotherthananeeds-based(attainability)qualification,or(inthecaseofhousing)alocalemployment(workforce)qualification;DocumentTitlePolicy402FeeWaiver4/26/2018Revisions:2TownofEstesPark,CommunityDevelopmentPage1of3ATTACHMENT 2Page 14
4)Attainableorworkforcehousingisdeed-restricted;or5)Inthecaseofhousing,aprojectiseligiblefortheattainableor workforceincentivecriteriainSec11.4oftheEstesValleyDevelopmentCode.c.FeeWaiverRequestItisnotthepolicyoftheTownofEstesParktoroutinelywaivefeesforprojectsmeetingtheabovecriteria.TheseprojectsmayrequestexemptionbysubmittalofawrittenrequesttotheCommunityDevelopmentDepartment.Thedecision-makingbodywillheartherequestandmaychoosetowaivesomeorallfeesbasedonthemeritsofrequest.WaiverRequestDecision-MakingBody<$500perproject;orCommunityDevelopmentDirector<$500perattainableorworkforcehousingunit>S500and<$3,000perproject;orCommunityDevelopmentDirector,>S500and<$3,000perattainableorworkforcefollowingreviewbyTownhousingunitAdministrator43,000perproject;orTownBoard43,000perattainableorworkforcehousingunitApproved:MayorDteRevisedbyTownAdministrator3/29/2018perOrdinance04-2018DocumentThiePolicy402FeeWaiver4/26/2018Revisions:2TownofEstesPark,communityDevelopmentPage2of3Page 15
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July 27, 2021
• Facilities Master Plan Opportunity
Sites
• Oral History Program Discussion
August 10, 2021
• None
August 24, 2021
• None
September 14, 2021
• None
September 28, 2021
• Trustee Talks and Mayor Chat
Meetings
Items Approved – Unscheduled:
• Quarterly CompPAC Update
• Park Planning and Pocket Parks
• Distributed Energy Discussion
• Vacation Home Philosophy
• Downtown Loop Updates as
Necessary
Items for Town Board Consideration:
• Mid-Season Update on Paid
Parking
• Pre-Election Town Board
Compensation
Future Town Board Study Session Agenda Items
July 13, 2021
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