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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES Town Board 2026-01-13Town ofEstes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 13, 2026 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Town Hall in said Town of Estes Park on the 13th day of January, 2026. Present: Gary Hall, Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Marie Cenac Trustees Bill Brown Mark Igel Kirby Hazelton Frank Lancaster CindyYounglund Also Present: Travis Machalek, Town Administrator Greg White, Special Counsel Sarah Stoddard Cameron, Recording Secretary Absent: Dan Kramer, Town Attorney Jason Damweber, Deputy Town Administrator Mayor Hall called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and all desiring to do so, recited the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL. It was moved and seconded (Hazelton/Younglund) to approve the Agenda with the removal of Consent Agenda Item 7: Resolution 03-26 as well as the Executive Session, and it passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS. John Guffey/Town Resident recognized the First Peoples Festival being held January 16th through January 18th and urged the community to attend due to its cultural and spiritual significance. He reflected on the privilege of living next to Rocky Mountain National Park and the meaning of the word "indigenous". TRUSTEE COMMENTS. Board comments were heard and have been summarized: Attended the Town Board Trustee Candidate Forum, encouraged interested constituents to run for the Town Board noting the benefit of a diverse slate of candidates, and reiterated important deadlines for those running; the Estes Park Sisters Cities Association has filed an application to name "Monteverde Park" after our current sister city of Monteverde, Costa Rica; Trustee Younglund formally announced she would vacate her seat on the Board of Trustees on March 24, 2026; acknowledged Trustee Younglund's dedication and hard work while serving as a trustee, and thanked her for her work; commended the Estes Valley Restorative Justice Partnership (EVJRP), Mama Rose's Restaurant owners Rob and Julie Pieper, and supporters from the community for the success of the Better To-Go Fundraiser Dinner held in December; at the December Visit Estes Park (VEP) meeting the board set parameters for the newly formed Marketing Advisory Committee, per the recent Intergovernmental Agreement with Larimer County; noted that applications for the VEP Marketing Advisory Committee are currently being accepted, and encouraged community engagement; praised recently resigned VEP Board member, Jerusha Rice, for her years of service; noted that the Estes Park Housing Authority has relocated from the US Bank Building to 278 Sunny Acres Court at the Fall River Village Complex; urged the public to vote in the upcoming elections; and encouraged attendance at the First People's Festival, noting its success in previous years. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT. Commended the Power and Communications staff who worked through an incredibly challenging wind event December 19th and 20th which resulted in wide spread power Board of Trustees - January 13,2026 - Page 2 outages. He also praised the Public Works Department Parks staff for their assistance cleaning up fallen-trees and debris from the storm. Town Clerk Willamson provided an update on the Election for the Board of Trustees, noting that a Candidate Forum had been held on January 6th, six (6) candidate packets had been picked up, named Bill Brown as the first official candidate, and confirmed petitions for those interested in candidacy must be received by the Town Clerk's Office by January 26th at 5:00 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Expenditure Approval Lists - Bills 2. Town Board and Study Session Meeting Minutes dated December 9,2025 3. Planning Commission Minutes dated November 18, 2025 (acknowledgment only) 4. Resolution 01-26 Public Posting Area Designation 5. Resolution 02-26 Approving Compensation for Mail Road Water Loop Construction Easements, $13,000, Budgeted 6. Resolution 03-26 Contract Renewal with The Car Park for 2026 Parking Management Services, $440,000.00, Budgeted 7. Resolution 04-26 Contract with Maddison Mechanical, Inc for On-Call Plumbing Services It was moved and seconded (Younglund/lgel) to approve the Consent Agenda Items 1-5, removal of Item 6, and removal of Item 7: as approved through the agenda approval process and continued to the January 27, 2026 meeting, and it passed unanimously. CONSENT ITEM #6 - RESOLUTION 03-26 CONTRACT RENEWAL WITH THE CAR PARK FOR 2026 PARKING MANAGEMENT SERVICES, $440,OQO,QO, BUDGETED. Trustee Igel requested the performance evaluation stipulated at the time of initial contract approval on January 14, 2025, with The Car Park for consideration during contract renewal. Manager Klein acknowledged this contract renewal lacked performance evaluations from the previous year and explained three quarters of evaluations of The Car Park had been performed. He reported an average rating of three point one-three (3.13) out of a five (5) point scale, of which 3 indicated "meeting expectations". He noted the contract price increased marginally, by $10,000, from $430,000 in 2025. Board discussion ensued and has been summarized: expressed concerns over the lack of packet materials and failure to meet performance evaluation expectations; preference was heard by a majority of the board to postpone a vote on the item until the performance evaluation was presented in full; noted the importance of public transparency and proper consideration of government spending; and acknowledged the pricing advantages of The Car Park as compared to other bidders at the time of selection. It was moved and seconded (Brown/Hazelton) to reconsider Resolution 03-26 with the inclusion of the performance evaluation at the January 27, 2026 Town Board meeting, and it passed with Mayor Hall voting "No". ACTION ITEMS: 1. ORDINANCE 01-26 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF ESTES PARK, COLORADO, ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS WATERACTIVITY ENTERPRISE, AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF A SECOND AMENDMENT TO CONSTRUCTIONI LOAN^ AGREEMENT AND A SECOND AMENDED CONSTRUCTION LOAN NOTE, SERIES 2022A AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATED THERETO IN CONNECTION WITH REBUILDING AND IMPROVING THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF THE FORMER PROSPECT MOUNTAIN WATER COMPANY; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Mayor Hall opened the public hearing. Director Zimmerman explained that due to the delay in United States Board of Trustees - January 13,2026 - Page 3 Department of Agriculture - Rural Development (USDA-RD) funding resulting from the federal government shut-down in October, 2025, staffing transitions, as well as continued delays and problems with construction, an extension of maturity of the CoBank Construction Loan Note, Series 2022A, would be necessary for adequate time to refinance and finish the Prospect Mountain Water Reconstruction Project. The CoBank Construction Loan Note, Series 2022A, was initially approved under Ordinance 14-22, and the loan maturity was subsequently extended to February 1, 2026, through Ordinance 14-25. CoBank has agreed to further extend the loan maturity to January 20, 2027, under the existing variable interest rate terms, with no penalty for repayment. It was acknowledged that failure to extend the maturity of the loan could result in loan default, and damage to the Town's financial position and credit standing. Additionally, the extension would also allow the loan to be classified as a long-term liability rather than a current liability. Project Manager Wesley explained that the project has reached partial substantial completion as substantial completion had been issued for everything except for the water tank, which had substantial performance issues. It was noted that Prospect Mountain property owners would be assessed the additional accrued interest. A future budget amendment would be required to reflect these charges and assessments. Board discussion ensued and has been summarized: questioned whether there was a party at fault for the project's failure to meet past deadlines; determined that no fault could be assigned; raised concerns about project completion given current performance issues of the water tank; and acknowledged the financial implications for Prospect Mountain property owners. Mayor Hall closed the public hearing. It was then moved and seconded (HazeltonA'ounglund) to approve Ordinance 01-26, and it passed unanimously. ORDINANCE 02-26 AMENDING SECTION 1 .20.020 OF THE ESTES PARK MUNICIPAL CODE TO ENSURE TOWN PENALTIES CONFORM TO STATE LAW. Mayor Hall opened the public hearing. Special Counsel White explained that in December, the Colorado Supreme Court held that municipal penalties may not exceed state caps for corresponding state offences. In order to ensure conformance with the law, staff have requested to amend the Estes Park Municipal Code to state that any fine or penalty exceeding state cap would be reduced on a case-by-case basis to the highest lawful amount. It was clarified that this amendment would include any changes to state penalties and fines as no amount has been specified in the code language, and these rulings would be made individually. Board discussion ensued and has been summarized: Acknowledged opposition to the Supreme Court ruling from the Colorado Municipal League and Colorado Counties, Inc.; and clarified that the Municipal Court Judge would be responsible for determining applicability and implementation. There being no further discussion, Mayor Hall closed the public hearing. It was then moved and seconded (Younglund/Brown) to approve Ordinance 02-26, and it passed unanimously. 2. RESOLUTION 06-26 6E EXPENDrTURE TO FUND TUITION ASSISTANCE THROUGH ESTES VALLEY INVESTMENT OF CHILDHOOD SUCCESS (EVICS) FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER. Manager Bangs, Rut Miller/EVICS Executive Director, and Sarah Schmidt/EVICS Child Resource Specialist presented the application for funding EVICS tuition assistance awards. Manager Bangs explained the approved Annual 6E Funding Plan allocated $300,000 to tuition assistance for low-income eligible households, and an additional $150,000 to middle-income assistance, and $50,000 to school-age summer programs. EVICS has projected $267,000 in tuition assistance and administrative costs for 2026. Current tuition assistance has not been capped, allowing for potential inconsistencies in awards across programming. In conjunction with EVICS, staff have developed reimbursement schedules to better manage funds. The maximum reimbursement rates for tuition were proposed as follows: Center-based tuition reimbursement was to be capped at $100 for infant care, $80 for toddler care, and $66 for pre-kindergarten care; tuition reimbursement for family child care homes (FCCH) would be limited to $80 for infant, toddler, and pre-kindergarten care; for family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers, tuition assistance would be limited to $40 for infants, $35 for toddlers, and $30 for pre- kindergarten care. It was explained that the reimbursement schedule sought to cover 100% of provider costs of care, as well as provide staff members with the 2024 Colorado living wage. The Service Contract presented allowed for four (4) additional Board of Trustees - January 13,2026 - Page 4 renewals. It was noted that little evidence on the cost of care for FFN providers existed, and more research would be required to fairly assign reimbursement caps, altering future schedules. Board discussion ensued and has been summarized: Expressed concern over the differences in operational costs between center-based, FCCH and FFN providers; questioned how decreasing school enrollment rates would affect the demand for tuition reimbursement in the future; expressed disapproval of "full-ride" reimbursement, noting the program intended to provide assistance only; acknowledged the success of our childcare assistance initiatives, and thanked staff for their hard work; expressed desire for additional data regarding EVICS tuition reimbursement be presented upon contract renewal. After further discussion, it was moved and seconded (Hazelton/Younglund) to approve Resolution 06-26, and it passed unanimously. 3. RESOLUTIONA5-26 RESERVATION OF SITE LOCATION FOR THE PROPOSED KAHUNA MEMORIAL WILDLIFE SAFEPir PARK. Prior to the staff report Trustee Brown recused himself, reporting that he was a donor to the project. Director Careccia explained that an extension of the site reservation had been requested by the Kahuna Memorial Committee for the Kahuna Memorial Wildlife Safety Park. The requested site consists of roughly two thousand six hundred (2,600) square-foot located between Virginia Lane and Elkhorn Avenue, across from Bond Park. Plans for the Wildlife Safety Park include a large eik statue, educational elements, and landscaping/hardscaping, which are subject to evaluation and approval by the Town, per Policy 880. It was noted that the Town would retain ownership of the property and assume maintenance of the memorial. Reported advantages of the reservation include an addition to the Town's art inventory and the addition of educational materials to an otherwise underused space. Disadvantages included the increased funding and staff capacity required for long-term maintenance of the property. He noted that site reservation was initially granted in October of 2023, but the project did not move forward as anticipated and the resen/ation expired. He then introduced Elizabeth dark of the Kahuna Memorial Committee, who explained that roughly $150,000 would need to be raised to complete the project, the majority of which would contribute to the commission of the desired life-size elk statue. She noted that this commission would be undertaken by a native Coloradan artist, with ties to Rocky Mountain National Park. Maintenance for the statue was reported to cost $500 annually. It was noted that the requested site may require utility relocation at an additional cost. Board discussion ensued and has been summarized: Questioned why progress had not been made during the initial reservation period; questioned if other proposals had been received for the space; acknowledged the opportunity cost of allowing second reservations of parcels, noting that this parcel has few other opportunities for improvement due to its size and location; requested additional public comment be read into the record; acknowledged the importance of acting on site reservations in a timely manner; and expressed support for additional wildlife education opportunities, particularly in an area highly concentrated with pedestrian tourists. After further discussion, it was moved and seconded (Hazelton/Lancaster) to approve Resolution 05-26, and it passed with Mayor Hall voting "No" and Trustee Brown abstaining. REQUEST TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION: The executive session for a conference with an attorney for the Board for the purposes of receiving legal advise on specific legal questions - Section 24-6-402(4)(b) - The Town's Role in Noise Regulation understate Law, was removed during agenda approval. Whereupon Mayor Hall adjourned the meeting at 9:23 p.m. ./" ^, -~ "~—~>\ ' - - -~ ^- .. Gary Hall, Mayory Sarah Stoddard Cameron, Recording Secretary ^ - L