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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Community Development & Community Services Committee 2015-04-23RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, April 23, 2015 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT / COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in Town Hall in said Town of Estes Park on the 23rd day of April, 2015. Committee: Attending: Also Attending: Absent: Chair Ericson, Trustees Holcomb and Phipps Chair Ericson, Trustees Holcomb and Phipps Town Administrator Lancaster, Directors Chilcott and Winslow, Managers Salerno and Lynch, Curator of Education Mittelman, Coordinators Wells and Jacobson, and Deputy Town Clerk Deats None Chair Ericson called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. PUBLIC COMMENT. None. STAFF COMMENT. Town Administrator Lancaster introduced Travis Machalek to the Committee. Travis was hired as the Assistant Town Administrator and began work on April 20, 2015. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. REPORTS. Reports provided for informational purposes and made a part of the proceedings. • Quarterly Community Development Report - Director Chilcott provided a report on the activities of the Community Development Department through the first quarter of 2015. Highlights included: o Building permits and safety services have both seen a significant rise in activity. Permits, valuations and fees have increased 29% over the same period of time in 2014. These figures do not include the Falcon Ridge project which will be included in the next quarter’s statistics. She noted that some plan reviews are being contracted out to local firms to maintain the current plan review timetable and a high level of customer service. o Adoption of the 2015 International Building Code is on track. The Board of Appeals (BOA) is participating in the process by reviewing significant changes that may need local amendments. Trustee Phipps requested the dangerous building code be included as an agenda item at a study session in August to coincide with the BOA discussion of this topic, o Addressing project to enhance public safety and easier location of properties is ongoing. o Flood Plain Management continues, focusing on recovery, mitigation, funding, insurance, and working with the watershed coalition. An estimated $8 million worth of damage occurred in the downtown corridor during the flood in September 2015. It is estimated that it would take approximately $20 million to repair the damage and reduce risk for future damage. Director Chilcott noted that funding requests have not been particularly successful because funding entities tend to look at individual portions of a project instead of looking at the big picture. However, funding has been received for a hydrology study on Fall River, the Big Thompson and Black Canyon; and a Downtown Neighborhood Plan, o Sign Code rewrite is in process and on schedule with a goal of June 2015 for completion. o Modernization of the Comp Plan is ongoing. o Vacation Home Rental meeting will be held on May 14th to collect public input and will be a topic of discussion at an upcoming Study Session. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Community Development / Community Services - April 23, 2015 - Page 2 • Verbal Updates - o Lot 4 - Due to non-compliance issues that exist at the Stanley Hotel on Lot 1, review of the development plan for Lot 4 has been delayed. COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT. CONTRACT FOR SHUTTLE SERVICES WITH ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRANSIT MANAGEMENT. Coordinator Wells brought forward a contract for shuttle services with McDonald Transit Associates, Inc., Rocky Mountain Transit Management. The contract is the same as last year’s contract with the exception of an increase in the hourly service rate. The rate for 2015 will be $55.88/hour which includes routine maintenance, shuttle drivers, insurance, and fuel costs up to $2.50 a gallon. In addition to the Town-owned trolley, a second trolley will be rented for operation during the summer of 2015. The Committee recommends the contract with Rocky Mountain Transit Management as specified in the agreement with funding from accounts 101-5600-456-22-60 and 101-5600- 456-22-98 budgeted, be included as an item on the Consent Agenda at the May 12, 2015, Town Board meeting. REPORTS. Reports provided for informational purposes and made a part of the proceedings. • Museum Quarterly Report - Curator of Education Mittelman provided highlights from the report. o Two hands-on mountaineering programs were held In January and drew approximately 40 participants. o The Pioneers of the Peaks series drew 175 people in January, 77 people in February, and 132 people in March. The series will continue with a variety of speakers through June 2015. o Oral histories about the September 2013 flood are being collected from a cross section of the community. o The “Climb On!” exhibit is attracting a new audience to the museum. Curator Mittelman said lower attendance over the past few years may be attributed to not participating in the community’s “Imagine This!” event, as well as less participation in the Friends of the Museum’s historic tours and the Coolest Car Show. Efforts to promote visitation to the Hydroplant include training the museum volunteers to encourage visitors to add a tour of the Hydroplant to their Estes Park experience. In regard to the museum collection facility. Directors Fortini, Winslow, and Muhonen are working to put together an RFP. Staff will come forward to the full Board in September with information related to a building and financial plan for the facility. • Visitor Services Quarterly Report - o Visitor counts were up 31 % over first quarter 2014. o The Visitor Center Open House will be held on Thursday, April 30th. o Manager Salerno stated that the annual training for Visitor Center volunteers will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. She publicly thanked the Ambassadors for the time and effort they devote to staffing the Visitors Center on weekends, throughout the summer, and during the week when needed, o Installation of kiosks in the Visitors Center will be postponed until September to allow time for proper installation and training. • Facility Booking Update - Manager Lynch reported on bookings at Town facilities and strategies to attract events to Estes Park. o To date, 15 contracts have been signed and scheduled; two in the Event Center, nine at the Conference Center, three at the Fall River Picnic area, and one at the Senior Center. Room rental fees alone for these events equal $17,745. o A gymnastic events will be held at the Event Center the first weekend of May. o Website and print ads are utilized. o Attendance at a national sports symposium in Milwaukee will provide an opportunity to speak to many sporting event planners. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Community Development / Community Services - April 23, 2015 - Page 3 o Destination Colorado annual event will be held in August bringing approximately 50 event planners to Estes Park. She said that some obstacles she encounters are: o Larger events cannot be accommodated with the existing facilities, o Conference Center is too small for many groups, o Lodging not being a part of the venues is an issue for some groups, o Utilizing shuttles between venues is inconvenient and adds to the total cost of events. o Groups requesting weekend dates during the summer cannot be accommodated. Due to a previously scheduled appointment, Trustee Phipps left the meeting at 10:00 a.m. • Verbal Updates - o Visit Estes Park (VEP) CEO Fogarty provided the Committee with information about how the VEP marketing budget will be used to promote visitation to Estes Park and events held at the Event Center. She said approximately one-quarter of the budget is earmarked for print advertising, with the balance being utilized for digital advertising, e-newsletters, paid advertising on social media sites such as Facebook, and radio advertising, o Upcoming Events - Event Coordinator Jacobson reported on upcoming events which include: a gymnastics event the first weekend of May, GeoFest, Duck Festival, dressage horse show, Western Days, JazzFest 25th Anniversary, Wool Market 25th Anniversary, and performers scheduled for weekdays at various locations around Town such as Bond Park and Riverside Plaza. There being no further business. Chair Ericson adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m. nthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk APPROVED MAY 1 3 2015 TOWN OF ESTES PARK BOARD OF TRUSTEES