HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Town Board Study Session Pre Budget 2008-07-25 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, July 25, 2008
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD PRE-BUDGET
STUDY SESSION of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado.
Meeting held at Town Hall in Rooms 201/202/203 in said Town of Estes
Park on the 25th day of July, 2008.
Board: Mayor Pinkham, Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Ericson,
Homeier, Levine and Miller
Attending: All
Also Attending: Town Administrator Halburnt, Deputy Town Administrator
Richardson, Dept. Heads Dorman, Goehring, Kilsdonk,
Kufeld, Joseph, McFarland, Pickering, Smith and Zurn and
Town Clerk Williamson
Absent: None
Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
REVIEW TOWN VISION.
Administrator Halburnt reviewed the current Town vision statement. A work session will
be scheduled to review the vision.
FIVE YEAR OUTLOOK.
Mayor Pinkham provided a five year economic outlook for the Town. The U.S. economy
is experiencing a downturn and the recovery may take several years. Energy cost will
have a significant impact as they continue to escalate due to “Peak Oil” and
environmental regulations. The U.S. tourist industry will face increasing competition
from developing countries and long distance domestic tourism is directly affected by the
higher fuel costs. The Colorado tourist industries rely on Coloradoans with 82% of the
state’s population living within the Front Range. Issues at the local level continue to
increase as the national and state deficits increase with a result in reduced support for
programs at the local level. Estes Valley’s current economic drivers (RMNP, premier
mountain resort, location, geography and logistics) and seasonality rule out attracting
manufacturing or distribution to augment the economy. The future economic drivers for
the Estes valley include tourism, an increase in the retiree population and the potential
to attract location neutral businesses as the Front Range gets more congested.
Tourism activities that are currently lacking in Estes Park range from mountain biking,
road biking, rafting/kayaking, powerboat waters, alpine skiing, Nordic alpine skiing,
snowmobile trails, ballooning and skydiving. Estes Park’s economy is at risk due to the
reliance on tourism, disposable income, increase in real estate values driven by an
increase in retiree population, young families leaving and relocating to the Front Range,
loss of work force due to increasing gas prices and lack of child care. Estes Park’s
economic advantages include it is a gateway community to Rocky Mountain National
Park, proximity to Denver International Airport, proximity to Front Range, accessibility,
shuttles/car-less vacations and the quality of life. The Town needs to develop an
economic plan that will address the issues and give the Town direction on where to
spend its money.
Trustee Blackhurst stated the characteristics of today’s economy are the same as those
displayed in 1982. This is a normal economic cycle and Estes Park will always face
competition from the surrounding areas. He suggested Estes Park should target the
higher income visitor that is not affected by the economy. Estes Park continues to be
insulated from the housing bubble with property values increasing.
Discussion continued and is summarized: the importance of the Local Marketing District
(LMD) to address some of the economic issues and to provide a revenue stream for
Town Board Study Session – July 25, 2008 – Page 2
advertising; the proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) addresses many of the
economic issues the Town faces; the visitor’s expectations are higher and the Town
needs to meet their needs with the aid of the retail community; there is a need to identify
and attract location neutral businesses to provide additional jobs in the Estes Valley; the
Town must identify the level of service to maintain and determine how to pay for the
increase costs, i.e. property tax or pass the cost on to development; the Town must
address the need for 800 new housing units by 2015 including workforce housing; the
population growth rate at 30% is relatively low; however, the Town should protect and
maintain the community base while developing new investments to improve the overall
assets of the community; land costs are driving the development of multi-family housing
development that are not desirable by the community; the downtown core needs to be
rejuvenated to attract the upper income visitors.
Town Administrator Halburnt stated the target population should be reviewed. The
recent Longwood study stated Estes Park was number three on the list of places to visit
while Vail and Eagle County were not even listed.
Mayor Pinkham called a break at 9:46 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 9:56 a.m.
Finance Officer McFarland reviewed comments from several financial institutions that
reflect an economy that is slowing down; however, most institutions are forecasting a
gradual recovery in 2009. Locally property tax assessment will exceed the overall
Larimer County tax in 2009 by 5%. The real estate market has slowed but property
values continue to rise. The Colorado Government Finance Officer Association has
reported sales tax flat to down by 10% in Colorado communities. He stated budgets for
2009 and the next couple of years may be flat; however, the Town is insulated from
trends and less likely to fall into a recession. A review of the forecasting methods
(linear regression, historic percentages and weight multiple forecast – occupancy, traffic
and RMNP visits) revealed Estes Park as a destination independent of RMNP. The
long range forecast shows a possible decrease in revenue of approximately $2.2 million
over a six year period if revenues are flat for the next couple of years. This decrease in
revenue would impact available funds for the completion of major capital improvements.
The average sales tax/month rate of change of 3.3% would indicate the Town might
reach budget, 2.2% the Town would freeze spending and a growth of 0% would require
cuts in current budgets. He stated General fund balances between 25 – 30% would
have the Town in a cautionary spending mode and a fund balance below 25% would
have the Town cutting back expenditures.
2009 POLICY GUIDANCE.
Board Priorities/ 5-yr CIP
The Board was presented with a list of projects to rank in order to develop a five year
CIP plan. The following items were discussed:
Trustee Homeier questioned the method of ranking the CIP projects by subject and the
addition of maintenance items, equipment and policy/code revisions. Staff would
remove those items from the CIP plan and have departments place those items in
the budget. A new CIP would be presented at the next budget meeting.
Stanley Park – The Board ranked the multi-use barns as the top priority for
improvements at the fairgrounds. The dual functioning facility would
increase revenues and the quality of life for the citizens of Estes Park.
The best funding option for building the barn would be to use cash
available and borrow the other portion through a mechanism such as
Certificates of Participation (COPs). The Board would support building the
entire building with the ice rink. The parking lot should become a high
priority with the possibility of developing a park and ride area.
Bond Park – A Request for Proposals (RFP) has been completed for the
Master Plan and will be sent out in a couple of weeks. The estimated cost
Town Board Study Session – July 25, 2008 – Page 3
for improvements on a per square foot is $1 million. There may also be
EPURA funds available.
Recycling Center – This item received a high ranking. Discussion
followed: single stream recycling exists in Estes Park and efforts should
not be duplicated; this is a private industry issue; the Town should
continue to investigate a new facility and grant funds to offset the initial
building costs; cardboard recycling needs to be addressed; review the
cost/benefits of a facility; what are other communities doing to address the
issue; would a new facility be competition for Waste Management; are the
citizens looking at recycling as an essential service.
Development Code and Comprehensive Plan – The Development Code
needs to be reviewed and updated. The Comprehensive Plan is not
essential at this time and money should be spent on infrastructure.
EPURA Funding – The Town has budgeted $200,000 for the operational
costs of EPURA in the past. Administrator Halburnt questioned whether
or not the Board would like to continue funding EPURA. Director Smith
stated the tax increment would take several years to build up, and
therefore, EPURA would need funds for operations and projects. A
general sense of the Board was to continue funding EPURA with the Town
Board setting the priorities and assigning projects to EPURA.
Moraine/Crags Intersection – Trustee Miller stated signalization at the
intersection of Moraine Ave. and Crags Dr. would be beneficial and
questioned how to approach CDOT. Director Zurn stated the Town would
have to purchase the signals at a cost of $350,000 per signal as CDOT
only has funding for half of a signal per year.
Fire Code – The Board would support the addition of a Fire Code with the
administration of the code by the Fire District.
Performing Arts Center – The Town has a MOU with SOPA for the
preparation of the Stanley Fairground site and funding for the operations
of the center of $217,000/year. The site preparation has been contingent
on the sale of Lot 4, Stanley Historic District. Discussion followed
regarding the funding for the site preparation without the sale of Lot 4.
The Board suggested setting aside the $217,000/year beginning in 2009
for possible site preparation in lieu of using proceeds from the sale of Lot
4. Staff will place operational funds in a separate account for
consideration by the Board during the budget process.
EVRPD Recreational/Community Center – The Board discussed the Rec.
Districts request to waive building fees and fund the construction of the
community center portion of the building. Trustee Eisenlauer stated the
center would be an asset to the community, and therefore, the Board
should consider their requests. Trustee Miller expressed concern of the
overall cost of the project. Town Administrator Halburnt stated the
Community Development Department operates partly on the revenue it
generates and a fee waiver policy has been adopted by the Board to
waive no more than $2,500 in fees.
Transportation – The Board considers transportation within the Town a
high priority issue that should be addressed. Administrator Halburnt
stated the Town has received a grant to conduct a transportation study to
determine the Town’s needs as related to the shuttle system. The issue of
purchasing versus renting buses for 2009 will be discussed during the
budget process. Trustee Homeier stated the Town should consider a
valley wide bus system.
The Board expressed concern with the potential for flat sales tax revenues for 2008 and
2009 and the increase cost of fuel. Essential services must be maintained by the
departments; therefore, the Board needs to consider the additional costs to provide
those services.
Town Board Study Session – July 25, 2008 – Page 4
Trustee Miller stated the Town needs to be creative and find other funding sources for
projects.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Parking Lot
Schedule a vision workshop.
Establish a plan for pursuing business development.
Address public expectations and distrust of the Town/Board.
Address lack of workforce housing.
Single family homes will not be affordable due to land costs.
Downtown appearance an issue for some member of the Board. The Town
needs to ensure “improvement” doesn’t result in destroying the charm and
character of Estes Park.
Engage the Urban Land Institute to address development issues.
Identify the Town’s competition.
Local Marketing District issues need to be resolved and agree on a final IGA with
the County.
Review the use of Design/Build concept.
Develop a vehicle policy – type, cost, additions, etc.
Establish new IGA with EPURA.
Priority Filters
Outlook: 2009 revenues flat; costs increasing
Need to ensure funding for:
1. Essential Services (Public Safety and Maintenance)
2. Revenue Producing Services (CVB, Transportation, Barns)
There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 12:00 p.m.
Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk