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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Town Board Study Session 2025-03-25RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town ofEstes Park, Larimer County, Colorado March 25, 2025 Minutes of a Study Session meeting of the TOWN BOARD of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in the Board Room in said Town of Estes Park on the 25th day of March, 2025. Board: Mayor Hall, Mayor Pro Tem Cenac, Trustees Brown, Hazelton, Igel, Lancaster, and Younglund Attending: Mayor Hall, Mayor Pro Tem Cenac, Trustees Brown, Hazelton, Igel, Lancaster, Younglund Also Attending: Town Administrator Machalek, Deputy Town Administrator Damweber, Town Attorney Kramer, Recording Secretary Gretal Campbell Absent: None Mayor Hall called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. ESTES PARK HOUSING AUTHORITY (EPHA) BOARD APPOINTMENT INTERVIEW PROCESS. EPHA Director Moulton provided the Board with insight as to the process of appointments and historical perspective. Previously EPHA staff posted the board openings at the appropriate time or when required by law and standards. The EPHA board would form an interview committee who would then conduct the interviews and make recommendations to the Town Board with the request to appoint the candidates. In 2024, EPHA asked the Town Board to become more involved in the appointment process which resulted in creating an interview process with the assistance of the Town Clerk's office posting the opening in all appropriate places where the candidates would complete the online application and the inten/iew would then be scheduled with the inten/iew committee consisting of the Town Board liaison and one additional Trustee. Director Moulton added that moving forward with the current process, the EPHA would provide data which highlights when current terms are coming up and the level of expertise for the open position, along with recommendations from the EPHA staff. After further discussion, the Town Board agreed with the current process but expressed the need to have term limits on all appointed positions, as the current EPHA board positions are five-year terms with no term limits. ESTES PARK MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 10 PARKING PROHIBITION REVISIONS. Manager Klein presented a proposal to the Town Board regarding several changes to the Estes Park Municipal Code (EMPC) sections 10.040.030 and 10.04.040. The proposed changes would allow overnight parking on public streets in areas outside of the downtown commercial zoning district where the Town has marked spaces for on street parking. The revised code language would add clarifying details to the EPMC which reduces ambiguity regarding potential violations parking enforcement encounters during the peak guest season. The proposed changes would intentionally omit any parking duration limitations which are already capped at 48 hours in the code, and omit any prohibitions on types of vehicles that may park on street to retain maxima! use of these parking spaces for the general public and simplify enforcement expectations. Board discussion and questions were heard and have been summarized: questioned the current language for downtown parking and overnight parking; the current language tends to outline that parking would be allowed with the exception of downtown; questioned overnight parking and the concerns with allowing it downtown; and the Board agreed with the importance of distinguishing between parking lots and parallel parking in downtown. Board consensus was to consider the proposed amendments at an upcoming meeting in April, and to hold an additional study session to discuss overnight parking regulations with a date to be determined. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board Study Session - March 25, 2025 - Page 2 POLICY 842 PARKING PERMITS REVISIONS. Manager Klein provided an overview of the proposed changes to Public Works Policy 842 Parking Permits. The current policy contains a business permit titled "Business Permit: Commercial Loading", which allows the holder to load and unload their business vehicle from a parking stall located in a downtown parking lot. Item 6 of the Rules & Regulations for this permit allows the permitted vehicle to park overnight in the downtown lot between the hours of 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. Business vehicles with this type of permit are occupying parking stalls in the downtown lots during both daytime and overnight hours, and, in some cases, the driver's personal vehicle parks in the lot while the marked business vehicle conducts business. This scenario reduces the available spaces for visitors in the high-demand downtown parking lots during the summer paid parking season. The proposed changes would require the business permit vehicles to park between the hours of 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. in the Events Center Parking Lot (1125 Rooftop Way) only with one vehicle per parking permit. The Board agreed that they would consider this proposed revision during a regular Town Board meeting in April. 6E CHILDCARE GRANT FUNDING FRAMEWORK AND UPDATES TO POLICY 225 CHILDCARE FUNDING GUIDELINES: Manager Bangs proposed updates to Policy 225 Childcare Funding Guidelines which included revising language that clearly defined the use and distribution of the 6E funds in relation to childcare, annually approving and appropriating funds through the 6E Funding Plan, Childcare Facility Fund and introducing the Grant Funding Framework as the funding distribution mechanism. The Grant Funding Framework that was proposed in the Annual 6E Funding Plan included details of the Grant Program, eligibility and qualifications for funding, maximum award amount and the total 6E Fund allocation to said program and the yearly schedule for the applications and timeline for the award distribution. The Childcare Facility Fund was created to support the maintenance, repairs, expansion and acquisition of Town-owned childcare facilities. The revisions would allow the funding to be made available through an application process and would be dependent on the available funds and the applicant's ability to advance priorities. Town staff would make award decisions and execute the funding agreement as specified in the approved Annual 6E Funding Plan. Priority Grant Programs proposed in the revisions would streamline and direct the use of funds to key objectives and outcomes in a more efficient manner. Creating a grant framework for the Annual Funding Plan would provide the Town Board and the County Commissioners an opportunity to approve the distribution funds for an annual budget year. Board discussion ensued and clarification was received that any revenue that goes into the Childcare Assistance Fund would accrue year to year. With the proposed revisions to Policy 225, the Annual Funding Plan would include the proposed distribution funds for Priority Funding Grants and Childcare Stability Funding. Any unspent funds from the prior year would be allocated to the Childcare Assistance Fund, Priority Grants or accrued and unallocated or marked for rollover to the following budget year. The Board agreed to increase the current spending authority to $50,000 for the Housing and Childcare Manager, and to bring forward the proposed revisions at a Town Hall Board meeting in April. TRUSTEE & ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS & QUESTIONS None. FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS. Mayor Pro Tem Cenac proposed a future study session to discuss overnight parking and other parking policies with scheduling to be determined. Town Administrator Machalek stated the following items would be scheduled: High Impact Project Process Study on May 27th and Outside Entity Funding Policy 671 on May 27th RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board Study Session - March 25, 2025 - Page 3 COMMENTS & QUESTIONS. No additional comments or questions. There being no further business, Mayor Hall adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m. <^ru-kA ^Ci^^h^DJL Gretal Campbell, Recording Secretary