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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority 2008-05-21RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, May 21, 2008 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the ESTES PARK URBAN RENEWAL AUTHORITY of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Municipal Building in said Town of Estes Park on the 21st day of May, 2008. Commissioners: Attending: Also Attending: Absent: Chairman Swank, Commissioners Cope, Halburnt, Little, Steige, and Wilcocks Chairman Swank, Commissioners Halburnt, Little, Steige, and Wilcocks EPURA Dir. Smith and Deputy Town Clerk Deats Commissioner Cope Chairman Swank called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. COMMUNITY COMMENTS. None COMMISSIONER COMMENTS. Commissioner Little thanked the Town Trustees for approving the extension of EPURA at their meeting on May 13, 2008. MINUTES. The minutes of the regular meeting held April 16, 2008 were approved. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT. 1. Facade Program - Dir. Smith stated that the representative of the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority (DDA) he had invited to the meeting to discuss the DDA’s fagade program was unable to attend. He will re-schedule and hopefully be present at the June meeting. 2. Financial Reports - Reports were provided for informational purposes and made a part of the proceedings. Wiest Plaza Gazebo - A dedication ceremony of the Rotary gazebo at Wiest Plaza is tentatively planned for June 12th. The dedication will take place after the regularly scheduled Noon Rotary meeting. Committee Appointments - Mayor Pinkham requested the formation of a committee to study future EPURA projects, establish priorities, and make recommendations based on their efforts. The Mayor appointed Trustees Blackhurst and Homeier to be representatives of the Town Board and requests that Chairman Swank appoint two EPURA members to the committee. Dir. Smith and Town Administrator Halburnt will participate on the committee as well. 3. 4. FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. SIGNAGE. ADDITIONAL PROJECTS - DISCUSSION. The Commissioners reviewed examples of various fagade programs that have been utilized in other communities and discussed aspects that might be relevant to Estes Park. It is the Commissioners’ desire to implement a program that will improve the look of the downtown area, to supplement the expense of the improvements by providing monetary assistance through a loan or grant, and encourage additional improvements RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority - May 21, 2008 - Page 2 through the participation of the downtown merchants and property owners. They discussed: involving local architects to help with renderings and construction drawings; historical preservation; offering the fagade program to all downtown properties on a first come-first served basis, or limiting the number of participants in the program; improvements not intended to create an economic impact of higher rents to downtown tenants; pilot program requiring a great deal of public input; and design a program that will produce the most results with the least amount of public investment. Dir. Smith stated that Trustee Miller is interested in working with EPURA to develop the program and will be in attendance at next month’s meeting, and suggested it may be beneficial to take a field trip to a nearby community, such as Fort Collins, to view the results of their fagade improvement program. Tom Pickering, CVB Director, requested EPURA provide funding to install directional signs to the south parking lot at the Convention and Visitors Bureau. He has been in contact with DaVinci Signs regarding a sign design that will complement the CVB and comply with CDOT regulations along the roadway. Dir. Pickering stated the signs would help to optimize parking in the lot at the CVB, and estimated the cost of two signs at approximately $36,000. Public Works Director Scott Zurn, stated that the Wiest parking lot suffered considerable wear and tear during recent construction projects and that discussions had been held in 2007 related to the Town and EPURA sharing the cost of repaving the lot. The Town has $20,000 budgeted in 2008 for this re-paving project. Dir. Zurn recommends scheduling the overlay along with other Town paving projects in order to reduce costs. He suggested re-paving early in the season or in the fall and estimates the cost, with striping, at $40,000-$45,000. In addition. Dir. Zurn has been contacted by CDOT regarding safety issues related to the pedestrian crossing at Wiest and Moraine. CDOT is requiring the installation of a pedestrian signal at the location to increase pedestrian safety. EPURA would be responsible for the cost of the crosswalk signal estimated to be $80,000-$100,000. Dir. Zurn also spoke to the creation of a master plan for improvements to Bond Park which may result in a future project for EPURA consideration. RESOLUTION 387 - DESIGNATION OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR 2008 AND BEYOND - REQUEST APPROVAL. Dir. Smith read Resolution 387 designating financial resources for projects in 2008 and beyond into the record. The resolution includes a list of proposed projects on which to spend the remaining 2007 TIF revenue which is being received in 2008. Discussion ensued and ended in the Commissioners requesting recycling and beautification-type activities be included on the list. It was moved and seconded (Little/Steige) to adopt Resolution 387 with changes and it passed unanimously. RESOLUTION 388 - RETAINING SAMMONS/DUTTON LLC ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS - REQUEST APPROVAL. Dir. Smith read Resolution 388 retaining Sammons/Dutton LLC for services as-needed into the record. No monthly retainer will be paid to the firm and services will be paid at an hourly rate on an as-needed basis related to the implementation of the Urban Renewal Plan. It was moved and seconded (Steige/Little) to adopt Resolution 388 and it passed unanimously. MISCELLANEOUS. Commissioner Wilcocks questioned whether the repairs to the rocks and mortar on the south side of the river near the Park Theater Mall had been completed. Dir. Smith stated that Heath Construction had re-mortared the rocks to give a more natural RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority - May 21, 2008 - Page 3 appearance and that some plant material still needed to be added to the area. The Commissioners discussed finalizing the repairs and suggested inviting Sharon Seeley, owner of Park Theater Mall, to the next EPURA meeting to assure her satisfaction with the repairs and follow-up with a letter prepared by Atty. Benedetti to bring closure to the project. Whereupon, Chairman Swank adjourned the regular meeting at 9:17 a.m. Cynthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk